The Norman Kingdom of Sicily
The Norman Kingdom of Sicily

Author: Donald Matthew

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1992-07-30

Total Pages: 442

ISBN-13: 9780521269117

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This book is an introductory account of the kingdom of Sicily established in 1130 by Roger II, a 'Norman' king, and ruled by Roger, his own son and grandsons until 1194 when the kingdom was conquered by his son-in-law, Henry VI of Hohenstaufen. The period covered does, however, extend from Charles of Anjou, a period roughly as long and as coherent as the 'Norman' monarchy of England between 1066 and 1204. Roger II's difficulties in creating an enduring kingdom needed continuous military effort. Even when these efforts were no longer required, the monarchy had still to learn how to function in lands where traditions of local government were strong. Yet when the monarchy itself faltered, the kingdom did not fall apart. Frederick II, the grandson of Roger II, showed that it could be revived and that his sons could maintain it. The ways in which the monarchy made itself indispensable cannot be traced in detail, but pointers to its success can be seen. The kingdom did not spring full-armed at birth - it took time and experience to hammer it into shape. When at last it looked capable of assuming the leadership of all Italy, its enemies combined to prevent it from doing so with the most profound consequences for Italy, the papacy and the west.

The Administration of the Norman kingdom of Sicily
The Administration of the Norman kingdom of Sicily

Author: Takayama

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2021-09-20

Total Pages: 307

ISBN-13: 9004476245

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The administration of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily has long been held up to be the most advanced government in twelfth-century Europe. However, until now there has been considerable confusion about how this bureaucracy actually functioned, whether it developed in the 12th century or retained the form given it by Roger II; whether it had regional variations, what the identity of different departments of government was, who did what within the structures of government, and what the relationship between the Greek, Arabic and Latin elements within the administration was. This work goes a long way to sorting out these problems. The author's meticulous work with chronicles and charters enable him to clear up many problems and mysteries in the administration of finance and justice and to identify such uncertainties as remain. This fundamental work forms a basic reference point for future studies of Norman Sicily and of government in the high Middle Ages.

The Norman Conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily
The Norman Conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily

Author: Gordon S. Brown

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2015-05-12

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 0786451270

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The Normans originally came to Italy and Sicily in the 11th and 12th centuries looking for adventure or a livelihood, but once there, found opportunity for fame and fortune. The story of the Norman conquest in Italy and Sicily is indeed one of knights and adventurers, great battles and lowly pillage, opportunism and statesmanship, and crusade and coexistence. This rich and often dramatic study focuses on the eight sons of Tancred of Hauteville, especially Robert Guiscard, who has been called "the most dazzling military ruler between Julius Caesar and Napoleon," and his youngest brother Roger, who conquered Sicily. It discusses how they expanded their lands throughout southern Italy, and then took Sicily from its Muslim rulers. The brothers, often in conflict with each other, challenged both the Papacy and the Byzantine Empire, became the main supporters of the reformed Papacy, and founded a rich, sophisticated kingdom that lasted until the nineteenth century.

The Kingdom of Sicily, 1100-1250
The Kingdom of Sicily, 1100-1250

Author: Karla Mallette

Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press

Published: 2011-06-06

Total Pages: 222

ISBN-13: 0812204794

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When Muslim invaders conquered Sicily in the ninth century, they took control of a weakened Greek state in cultural decadence. When, two centuries later, the Normans seized control of the island, they found a Muslim state just entering its cultural prime. Rather than replace the practices and idioms of the vanquished people with their own, the Normans in Sicily adopted and adapted the Greco-Arabic culture that had developed on the island. Yet less than a hundred years later, the cultural and linguistic mix had been reduced, a Romance tradition had come to dominate, and Sicilian poets composed the first body of love lyrics in an Italianate vernacular. Karla Mallette has written the first literary history of the Kingdom of Sicily in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Where other scholars have separated out the island's literature along linguistic grounds, Mallette surveys the literary production in Arabic, Latin, Greek, and Romance dialects, in addition to the architectural remains, numismatic inscriptions, and diplomatic records, to argue for a multilingual, multicultural, and coherent literary tradition. Drawing on postcolonial theory to consider institutional and intellectual power, the exchange of knowledge across cultural boundaries, and the containment and celebration of the other that accompanies cultural transition, the book includes an extensive selection of poems and documents translated from the Arabic, Latin, Old French, and Italian. The Kingdom of Sicily, 1100-1250 opens up new venues for understanding the complexity of a place and culture at the crossroads of East and West, Islam and Christianity, tradition and innovation.

The Invention of Norman Visual Culture
The Invention of Norman Visual Culture

Author: Lisa Reilly

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2020-02-29

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 1108863418

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In this book, Lisa Reilly establishes a new interpretive paradigm for the eleventh and twelfth-century art and architecture of the Norman world in France, England, and Sicily. Traditionally, scholars have considered iconic works like the Cappella Palatina and the Bayeux Embroidery in a geographically piecemeal fashion that prevents us from seeing their full significance. Here, Reilly examines these works individually and within the larger context of a connected Norman world. Just as Rollo founded the Normandy 'of different nationalities', the Normans created a visual culture that relied on an assemblage of forms. To the modern eye, these works are perceived as culturally diverse. As Reilly demonstrates, the multiple sources for Norman visual culture served to expand their meaning. Norman artworks represented the cultural mix of each locale, and the triumph of Norman rule, not just as a military victory but as a legitimate succession, and often as the return of true Christian rule.

Roger II of Sicily
Roger II of Sicily

Author: Hubert Houben

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2002-04-04

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 9780521655736

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Although many studies have addressed important aspects of medieval southern Italy, this was the first work for nearly ninety years to be devoted specifically to the life and reign of King Roger II, the founder of the kingdom of Sicily. The book provides a comprehensive introductory narrative of the reign and a clear, scholarly analysis of its culture and of the development of royal government. The kingdom created by the Norman Roger of Hautville in the first half of the twelfth century was a monarchy with highly developed absolutist ideas, an elaborate bureaucracy, a reasonably well-filled treasury, and a mixed cultural heritage reflected by the presence of Arabs and Greeks at court. Based on many years of research in archives and libraries across Europe, the book offers a valuable overview of one of the most striking periods in south Italian and European history.

Designing Norman Sicily
Designing Norman Sicily

Author: Emily A. Winkler

Publisher: Boydell Press

Published: 2020-04-17

Total Pages: 245

ISBN-13: 9781783274895

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Essays showing how the stuff of Norman Sicily, its mosaics, frescoes, art and architecture, was used to construct its history.

Roger II and the Creation of the Kingdom of Sicily
Roger II and the Creation of the Kingdom of Sicily

Author: Graham Loud

Publisher: Manchester University Press

Published: 2012-06-15

Total Pages: 408

ISBN-13: 9780719082023

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This student-friendly volume brings together English translations of the main narrative sources, and a small number of other relevant documents, for the reign of Roger II, the founder of the kingdom of Sicily. The kingdom created by King Roger was the most centralized and administratively advanced of the time, but its genesis was fraught with difficulty as the king sought to extend his power from the island of Sicily and Calabria into other parts of the south Italian mainland. This struggle, that lasted from 1127 until 1140, is graphically revealed by the two main texts in this book. A number of other texts illuminate key aspects of the reign: the relationship with the papacy, the German invasion of 1137 that came close to toppling the king's rule, the expansion of Sicilian power into the Abruzzi in 1140, and the law and administration of the kingdom, often seen as a model for the growth of effective government in the twelfth century. Despite the great intrinsic interest of the reign of King Roger, these texts have never appeared in English translation before. This will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars of medieval Europe.

The Society of Norman Italy
The Society of Norman Italy

Author: Graham A. Loud

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2002-01-01

Total Pages: 416

ISBN-13: 9789004125414

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Betrifft die Handschrift Cod. 120.II der Burgerbibliothek Bern. - Abb. auf Umschlag: f. 101r.

A Companion to Islamic Art and Architecture
A Companion to Islamic Art and Architecture

Author: Finbarr Barry Flood

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2017-06-16

Total Pages: 1442

ISBN-13: 1119068576

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The two-volume Companion to Islamic Art and Architecture bridges the gap between monograph and survey text by providing a new level of access and interpretation to Islamic art. The more than 50 newly commissioned essays revisit canonical topics, and include original approaches and scholarship on neglected aspects of the field. This two-volume Companion showcases more than 50 specially commissioned essays and an introduction that survey Islamic art and architecture in all its traditional grandeur Essays are organized according to a new chronological-geographical paradigm that remaps the unprecedented expansion of the field and reflects the nuances of major artistic and political developments during the 1400-year span The Companion represents recent developments in the field, and encourages future horizons by commissioning innovative essays that provide fresh perspectives on canonical subjects, such as early Islamic art, sacred spaces, palaces, urbanism, ornament, arts of the book, and the portable arts while introducing others that have been previously neglected, including unexplored geographies and periods, transregional connectivities, talismans and magic, consumption and networks of portability, museums and collecting, and contemporary art worlds; the essays entail strong comparative and historiographic dimensions The volumes are accompanied by a map, and each subsection is preceded by a brief outline of the main cultural and historical developments during the period in question The volumes include periods and regions typically excluded from survey books including modern and contemporary art-architecture; China, Indonesia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Sicily, the New World (Americas)