Considerazioni sopra due manoscritti della Biblioteca Marciana di Venezia (Homerus Venetus A e Marc. gr. 539), alla luce della politica artistica nella Palermo normanna

Abstract

Twelfth-century Palermo was a city animated by different languages, cultures and religions, as is well described by the famous miniature in the Liber ad honorem Augusti, which depicts the city in mourning after the death of William II. The Hauteville rulers, especially King Roger II, promoted a cultural program reflecting this Mediterranean koiné. The rhetorical choice of using Arabic artists to create the image of a luxurious and cosmopolitan court, while Byzantine art emphasized Roger's role as pius rex christianus, sustained and legitimated his political aspirations and power. Starting with the mosaic panel in the Church of St. Mary of the Admiral, in which the sovereign is shown being crowned by Christ with the Byzantine loros, and then analysing two manuscripts conserved in the Venice's Biblioteca nazionale marciana – the Homerus Venetus A (Marc. gr. 454) and the Greek-Arabic Gospel (Marc. gr. 539) – this article investigates the political use of art made during the reign of Roger II and the ideological motives that influenced the king's decisions.