NORMAN SICILYVenetian success was matched
in the western Mediterranean by the Normans, the
northern French descendants of the Vikings (see
Chapter 16) who, having driven the Arabs from
Sicily, set up a powerful kingdom there. Though they
were the enemies of Byzantium, the Normans, like
the Venetians, assimilated Byzantine culture and
even employed Byzantine artisans. The Normans
also incorporated in their monuments elements of
the Islamic art of the Arabs they had defeated (see
Chapter 13). The Normans’ Palatine (palace) Chapel
at Palermo, with its prismatic (muqarnas) ceiling, a
characteristic Muslim form (FIG. 13-17), is one ex-
ample of the rich interplay of Western Christian,
Byzantine, and Islamic cultures in Norman Sicily.
The mosaics of the great basilican church of
Monreale, not far from Palermo, are striking evi-
dence of Byzantine influence. They rival those of
Saint Mark’s in both quality and extent. One scholar
has estimated that more than 100 million glass and
stone tesserae were required for the Monreale mo-
saics. The Norman king William II paid for them,
and he is portrayed twice, continuing the theme of
royal presence and patronage of the much earlier
Ravenna portraits of Justinian and Theodora (FIGS.
12-10and 12-11) at San Vitale. In one panel,William,
clearly labeled, unlike Justinian or his consort,
stands next to the enthroned Christ, who places his
hand on William’s crown. In the second, the king
kneels before the Virgin and presents her with a
model of the Monreale church, a role that Bishop
Ecclesius (FIG. 12-9), rather than the emperor or em-
press, played at San Vitale. As in the Ravenna church,
the Monreale mosaic program commemorates both
the piety and power of the ruler who reigns with di-
vine authority.
The apse mosaics (FIG. 12-25) are especially impressive. The
image of Christ as Pantokrator, as ruler and judge of Heaven and
Earth, is in the vault. It served also as a colossal allusion to William’s
kingly power and a challenge to all who would dispute the royal
right. In Byzantium proper, the Pantokrator’s image usually appears
in the main dome of centralized churches such as those at Daphni
(FIG. 12-1) and Hosios Loukas (FIG. 12-22), but the Greek churches
are monastic churches and were not built for the glorification
of monarchs. Monreale, moreover, is a basilica—longitudinally
planned in the Western tradition. The semidome of the apse, theonly vault in the building and its architectural focus, was the most
conspicuous place for the vast image with its political overtones.
Below the Pantokrator in rank and dignity, the enthroned Theo-
tokos is flanked by archangels and the 12 apostles, symmetrically
arranged in balanced groups. Lower on the wall (and less elevated
in the hierarchy) are popes, bishops, and other saints. The artists
observed the stern formalities of Byzantine style here, far from
Constantinople. The Monreale mosaics, like those at Saint Mark’s
(FIG. 12-24) in Venice, testify to the stature of Byzantium and of
Byzantine art in medieval Italy.332 Chapter 12 BYZANTIUM12-25Pantokrator, Theotokos and Child, angels, and
saints, apse mosaic in the cathedral at Monreale (Sicily),
Italy, ca. 1180–1190.
In centrally planned Byzantine churches, the image of
the Pantokrator usually appears in the main dome, but
the Monreale cathedral is a longitudinal basilica and
the semidome of the apse is its only vault.12-25ACappella
Palatina,
Palermo,
begun 1142.