Hybrid culture on Norman Sicily, 1130-1197:
How Muslim and Greek culture came together under Norman rule
"The art of the Sicilian Kingdom, like its learnings and its government, was the product of many diverse elements. The Roman basilica and Greek cupola, the bronze doors and brilliant mosaics of Byzantine craftsmen, the domes, the graceful arches and ceilings, and the intricate arabesques of Saracen art."
(Charles Homer Haskins, The Normans in European history, (Boston 1915), 240) Haskins' characterization of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily describes the view of many historians until now, as the product of diverse elements. But there are also historians who dare to argue this notion. Their view questions the existence of such a hybrid culture. In my research I traced and evaluated arguments of both sides. This page will introduce the debates background and the results of my research. |
Introduction
Sicily has
a rich history in rulers. Because of its location in the periphery of the
Mediterranean and its fertile grounds, the island was a loved place for
conquest. The Byzantines were in control during the seventh century and
established a Greek Orthodox community. After the Arab conquest in the tenth
century, the Greek Orthodox Christians could still freely exercise their
religion under Arab rule. And so, when Roger II (1130-1154) ascended the throne in 1130 and
founded the Norman kingdom of Sicily, the two largest groups on Sicily were the
Arabs and the Greeks. This situation where Muslims and Greeks were united under
the rule of a western king was unique and is a very interesting subject to
study. The clash of cultures and the rule of Rogier II resulted in what some
call the Arab-Norman-Byzantine culture, a culture where diverse features would
come together and become a hybrid culture only known to Sicily in world
history. Others question the existence of such a hybrid culture and describe
the kingdom as a place where these cultures merely existed besides each other.
Therefor my main question was: to what extent did the Arab-Norman-Byzantine
culture exist on Norman Sicily?
Norman structures as arguments for and
against the hybrid culture
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There were in fact more Arabic features in the chapel, such as tapestries on the wall and an Arabic styled throne. Tronzo questions the hybrid culture by drawing parallels between the decline of Arabic influences in the Norman Kingdom and the decline of the Muslim population. He
says that Roger II only incorporated Arabic influences because he liked them at
the time. And later when William II (1166-1189), his grandson, build the cathedral in
Monreale, the Arabic influences were drastically reduced. This was due to the
shift of focus from the Arabic world to the Latin world. So the mix of styles
were not an expression of a hybrid culture, but they were just styles.
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Further Reading
Britt, Karen. "Roger II of Sicily: Rex, Basileus, and Khalif? Identity, Politics, and Propaganda in the Cappella Palatina." Mediterranean Studies 16 (2007): 21-45. Loud, G. A. "Norman Sicily in the twelfth century." The New Camebridge Medieval History, 2004: 442 - 474. Traivaini, Lucia. The Normans between Byzantium and the Islamic World. Washington D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Press, 2001. Tronzo, William. "Regarding Norman Sicily: Art, Identity and Court Culture in the Later Middle Ages." Römisches Jahrbuch der Bibliotheca Hertziana, 2004: 101-114. Sources Images: Fig 1. Roos Kuijper Fig 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monreale#/media/File:Monreale-bjs-3.jpg Fig 3. Jesse Laurens Fig 4. Jesse Laurens |
Other expressions of culture
Besides structures there are other ways of researching the hybrid culture. G. A. Loud for example argues that the court language was first Greek with Arabic translations and in the time of William II that changed to Latin. This is a parallel with the decline of the Arabic influence on Sicily, but Loud also illustrates that law was made up of fragments from both worlds, thus an combination of multiple cultures. In literature we see illustration of stories mostly in Byzantine style or Arabic style. Not much of a crossover there. Furthermore poems about Roger II and his country by travelers don’t mention the mix of cultures. They merely praise the king and his rule, mentioning his just approach towards Muslims as well as Greeks. Social Network Analysis Social network analysis is a method to analyze social networks consisting of "nodes", "ties" and "hubs". Nodes can be people and ties are the connections between people, a hub can be a node which ties people together. In this particular occasion Roger II functions as a hub between multiple cultures and social groups. SNA can be used here to tie the decline of the Arabic influence and Arabic population together. In the picture below can be seen how Roger II stood between political actors and how those ties can be characterized, the same can be said with William II. As we can see, William II improved his ties with the Latin world, while severing his ties with the Arabic world. As a result the Arabic population declined due to migration and the Arabic stylistic influences rapidly disappeared from Sicily, completely being gone by the time of Henry VI (1194-1197). Conclusion So did the Arab-Norman-Byzantine culture exist? In our terms, there was a mix of two cultures present on Sicily. But it is not clear whether there was a hybrid culture, or there were two different cultures existing besides each other. Also the contemporaries of Rogier II did not realize they had a common culture with one another. I would rather call this a harmonious culture. Where Roger II embraced both cultures to use them as he pleased. Styles were just styles, nothing with a political meaning. This explains why the citizens didn’t have a sense of belonging together and why the Arabic influence left with the leave of the Arabs themselves. Thus the Arab-Norman-Byzantine culture did not exist as a whole, but rather as a pool where components were pulled out to the likings of those in power. |