Edward
Hutton (1875-1969) was a British travel writer, who wrote several books about Italy Ravenna
The text is
divided into twenty chapters, eleven of which follow a chronological line from
antiquity to the Renaissance. The remaining nine chapters cover different topics
connected with Ravenna
The
chronological section:
Chapter 2 –
Julius Caesar in Ravenna
Chapter 3 –
Ravenna
Chapter 4 –
The Retreat upon Ravenna
Chapter 5 –
The Fall of the Empire in the West
Chapter 6 –
Theodoric [king of Italy
Chapter 7 –
The Reconquest [Belisarius]
Chapter 8 –
Modica Quies [“a certain amount of quiet”]
Chapter 9 –
The Citadel of the Empire in Italy
Chapter 10
– The Papal State [about Pepin and Charlemagne]
Chapter 14
– Ravenna
Chapter 17
– Ravenna Battle
The topical
section:
Chapter 1 –
The Geographical and Political Position of Ravenna
Chapter 11
– The Catholic Churches of the 5th Century
Chapter 12
– The Arian Churches of the 6th Century
Chapter 13 –
The Byzantine Churches
Chapter 15
– Dante in Ravenna
Chapter 16
– Mediaeval Ravenna
Chapter 18
– Renaissance Ravenna
Chapter 19
– Gallery and Museum
Chapter 20
– The Pineta
At the end
of the original version from 1913 there is an index (pp. 287-300). Ancient and
modern sources are cited in footnotes and sometimes quoted in the text, but
these sources are not listed in a bibliography.
I have
mixed feelings about this book.
On the
positive side I can say this:
the chronological section gives useful
information about the history of Ravenna
On the
negative side I will say this:
Hutton is so fond of the Catholic faith that it disturbs
and distorts his account to a large extent. According to him, the only true
religion is the Catholic faith, and any other Christian denomination, such as
Arianism, is condemned as a heresy, just as bad as or perhaps even worse than
Paganism.
The first
example of this tendency appears in chapter 5 “The Fall of the Empire in the
West” when he covers the meeting between Attila the Hun and Pope Leo I in 452.
On page 49 the pope is described as “… an old and unarmed man, alone and
defenceless. Our saviour was Pope Leo the Great.”
But Leo was
not alone. He was accompanied by Avienus, a man of consular rank, and the
prefect Trygetius.
Hutton is
convinced that the words of the Catholic pope forced Attila to give up his plan
to attack Italy
There
could be other reasons for Attila’s decision to turn back. See for instance Philip
Matyszak, The Enemies of Rome (2004) chapter 17: “Attila the Hun” - in
particular pp. 278-279.
If this was
the only example, I would not let it bother me. I would just consider it a
romantic idea with little credibility. But there is more; and it gets worse, as
the story continues: on page 69 the Arian faith is defined and rejected as a heresy,
as the mark of barbarism; on page 98 he talks about “a fight to the death
between two religions, Arianism and Catholicism, upon the result of which the
whole future of Europe depended.”
On pp.
103-106 he tells us how the Catholic faith triumphed over the Arian faith, and
we can see how he feels that this is the only fair outcome.
On page 136
he explains why several invasions of Italy
“One and all they
failed for this fundamental reason, that they were not Catholic. The future
belonged to Catholicism…”
On the same
page we are told that the Byzantine Emperor “Justinian’s success in Italy
Hutton
ignores the fact that Justinian did not always agree with the man who was the
formal head of the Church of Rome.
In 1928
Hutton followed his heart and converted to the Catholic faith. I do not object
to this. I do not mind if an author is Catholic or not. But I do mind if an
author keeps telling me how true his religion is, how false every other
religion is, and how historical events must be explained as the rightful
triumph of this religion.
In short:
when one of Hutton’s heroes wins, it is because he is Catholic. When one of
Hutton’s villains loses, it is because he is not Catholic. It is God’s will.
The final verdict
When I consider the positive and negative elements of this account, I think it deserves a rating of two stars.
PS # 1:
There are not many books available in English about the art and history of Ravenna
** Corrado Ricci, Ravenna (Italian Institute for Graphic Arts, 1913) 141 pages
** Antonio
Paolucci, Ravenna: An Art Guide (Edizioni Salera, 1973) 96
pages
** Massimiliano David, Eternal Ravenna: From the Etruscans to the Venetians (Brepols, 2013) 288 pages
** Deborah
Mauskopf Deliyannis, Ravenna
PS # 2: On
the internet you can find a website with interesting descriptions of some of
the famous monuments in Ravenna Ravenna
The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia.
From Edward Hutton, Ravenna (1913).
Sarcophagus of Emperor Honorius (?)
This sarcophagus is placed in the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia.
From Edward Hutton, Ravenna (1913).
Basilica di San Vitale.
From Edward Hutton, Ravenna (1913).
Sarcophagus of Isaac the Armenian, who was Exarch 625-643.
Today this sarcophagus is placed inside Basilica di San Vitale.
From Edward Hutton, Ravenna (1913).
The Mausoleum of Theodoric.
From Edward Hutton, Ravenna (1913).
Basilica di Sant'Apollinare in Classe.
From Edward Hutton, Ravenna (1913).
Dante's Tomb.
From Edward Hutton, Ravenna (1913).
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