Medieval Sicily: Cosmopolitan Culture

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 6
• Convenor and tutor: Dr Clare Vernon
• Assessment: a 1000-word object or image analysis (20%) and 3000-word essay (80%)

The medieval Mediterranean was a multicultural world where Christian, Muslim and Jewish cultures existed in constant dialogue with one another. In this module we focus on the Kingdom of Sicily, at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, as a way of exploring cultural exchange across the Mediterranean world. We will see how the Norman kings in southern Italy created a hybrid visual culture which blended different artistic influences: Byzantine, Islamic, Romanesque, Lombard and Classical art. We will look at buildings, images and objects in a variety of media: mosaics, bronze, ivory, marble, silk and rock crystal. We will compare Sicily with other artistically diverse places such as Venice, Constantinople, Cairo and Cordoba.

Indicative syllabus

• Introduction to Sicily and Roger II
• Mosaics
• Cappella Palatina: architecture
• Cappella Palatina: decoration
• Mantle of Roger II
• Images of Roger II
• Beyond Palermo
• Porphyry
• Convivencia? Sicily and Spain
• Essays workshop

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• analyse the visual culture of Sicily, especially Palermo, in the twelfth century
• compare medieval Sicily with other areas of the Mediterranean and situate Sicilian culture within the wider context of medieval Mediterranean culture
• apply theoretical frameworks related to cultural exchange and cosmopolitanism
• research medieval Mediterranean topics and write essays.