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Play this game recently? | When Byzantium broke its images, it nearly broke itself. It's 787, and the Byzantine Empire is tearing itself apart over images. Empress Irene has called a council in Nicaea to settle the question once and for all: are religious icons sacred objects worthy of veneration, or dangerous idols that must be destroyed? Students play bishops, monks, courtiers, and foreign diplomats, each armed with their own reading of scripture and their own political agenda. They'll debate whether art can depict God, whether icons can be holy, and who has the authority to decide — all while jockeying for power on issues from papal primacy to imperial succession. The game asks what happens when theology becomes politics, and politics becomes theology. |
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Using the Game |
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Reacting Consortium members can access all downloadable materials below. You will be asked to sign in before downloading. Please fill out the Permissions Request Form before using Iconoclasm, 787 in your class! |
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John Giebfried
John Giebfried is a historian of intercultural connections in Medieval Eurasia, especially in relation to the Crusades and the Mongol invasions. He has taught at over half a dozen institutions across three continents, and currently works in the faculty of History and Digital Humanities at the University of Vienna. |
Kyle LincolnKyle C. Lincoln is Associate Professor of Pre-Modern European History and Interdisciplinary Humanities at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. His 2021 Reacting textbook, co-authored with John Giebfried, Remaking the Medieval World: The Fourth Crusade, 1204, won several prizes, including the Reacting Consortium's Brilliancy Prize. |
Members can contact game authors directly if they have questions about using the game. We also invite instructors join our Facebook Faculty Lounge, where you'll find a wonderful community eager to help and answer questions.
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