Transcultural Approaches to Arabic Script on the Royal Norman Mantle and Alb

This article applies recent methodological approaches to a case study of two Mediterranean objects from Norman Sicily—Roger II’s mantle and William II’s alb. Approaching the Arabic inscriptions on the royal garments through the methodological frames of ‘transfer’ and ‘shared court culture’ allows for an observation of formal relations and continuities across the Mediterranean, although these do not account entirely for the idiosyncrasies of the Norman objects. The comparative approach, on the other hand, and particularly the differences which it reveals between the Norman and other Mediterranean uses of Arabic textile inscriptions, highlights the choices underlying the adaptation of these ornamental motifs to twelfth-century Sicily. I shall argue, therefore, that an assessment of the receptions in medieval Europe of ‘transcultural’ ornamental motifs, such as Arabic textile inscriptions, greatly benefits from an approach combining methodologies

Arabic Script on Christian Kings. Textile Inscriptions on Royal Garments from Norman Sicily

Isabelle Dolezalek is the recipient of the 2018 ICMA Annual Book Prize. Roger II’s famous mantle and other royal garments from twelfth- and thirteenth-century Sicily prominently display Arabic inscriptions. While the phenomenon is highly unusual in the context of Latin Christian kingship, the use of inscriptions as a textile ornament was common and imbued with political functions in the Islamic courts of the medieval Mediterranean. This case study of the inscribed garments from Norman Sicily draws attention to the diverse functions of Arabic textile inscriptions using various contextual frames. Such a contextual approach not only highlights the specificities of the Norman textile inscriptions and emphasises the practical and political choices underlying their use at the Sicilian court, it also pinpoints the flaws of universalising approaches to transcultural ornamental in circulation in the medieval Mediterranean. This new perspective on the royal garments from Norman Sicily draws from a variety of disciplines, including Islamic and European art history, the history of textiles, epigraphy, legal history and historiography, and aims to challenge established notions of cultural and disciplinary boundaries

Introduction: Rediscovering Objects from Islamic lands in Enlightenment Europe

The heatedly debated question whether Islam belongs to Europe occupies a central place in current political discourse surrounding the inclusion – or indeed exclusion – of migrants from North Africa, the Near East and elsewhere within the frame of the European Union. Identitarian visions of pan-European traditions and customs, which have Christianity at their heart, are contrasted with the religious background of migrants from predominantly Islamic countries. This carries wide-reaching implications for perceptions of Islamic culture, as distinct from and sometimes even opposed to European culture and heritage. Such a binary opposition leaves little room for the perception of present and historical entanglements. Yet people, thoughts and objects from Islamic lands have formed an integral part of European culture for centuries

Wikingergold - Eine Auseinandersetzung mit kulturellem Erbe und Identitäten im Kunstunterricht

In welcher Beziehung stehen Schmuckobjekte zur eigenen Persönlichkeit? Mit welchen Erinnerungen, Erzählungen und Projektionen sind sie verbunden? Ausgehend vom Hiddenseer Goldschmuck, ein heute im Stralsund Museum bewahrtes Schatzkonvolut aus der Wikingerzeit, führen diese und weitere Fragen Schüler*innen an Vorstellungen von kulturellem Erbe, Identität und regionaler Zugehörigkeit heran. Wikingergold – eine Auseinandersetzung mit kulturellem Erbe und Identitäten im Kunstunterricht richtet sich an Schüler*innen der 7. bis 10. Klasse und ist fachübergreifend nutzbar. Drei Arbeitspakete – „Der Hiddenseer Goldschmuck“, „Goldschätze aus der Wikingerzeit – Kulturerbe des Ostseeraums“ und „‚Wikinger‘ darstellen und ausstellen“ – können komplementär, aber auch einzeln bearbeitet werden. Jedes enthält einen Einführungstext, Vorschläge zur Unterrichtskonzeption und Arbeitsblätter. Neben Text- und Bildmaterial kann ein eigens für das Projekt entwickelter Kurzfilm betrachtet oder eine digitale Ausstellung besucht werden. Ziel der Unterrichtsmaterialien ist es, Verbindungen von Geschichte und Geschichtsmythen mit dem Alltag der Schüler*innen aufzuzeigen und zu reflektieren. „Wikingerschmuck“ wird so zum Instrument der Reflexion des eigenen Selbstbildes und er kann Anstoß für identitätsbildende Prozesse sein