Imitation is not always a Sincere Form of Flattery: The Message of Roger II of Sicily's Byzantine Loros in Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio, Palermo

A Brief Introduction

The Meaning of the Loros in Byzantium

The Message of Roger II of Sicily's Byzantine Loros in Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio,

Palermo

- Founded by George of Antioch and Possibly Roger II Himself

- Church's Construction Likely Underway by 1143

- Mosaics Mounted before 1151 (Ernst Kitzinger)

- Possibility that a French Connection was Intended via the Use of Fleurs-de-Lis on Roger's Robe

- Numerous Breaks with Byzantine Iconography - Including the Anachronistic Loros - Suggest that the Mosaic was Likely an Artful Piece of Propaganda that Represents Roger's Political Aspirations during the Late 1140s/Early 1150s

"Each of them was allotted the leadership for one year and was sent to war. After the completion of this, he returned to the City and was examined by the consuls as to how he conducted the business of the wars, and he was duly dressed in the consular attire in recognition of his victory." [my emphasis]

Book of Ceremonies, 10th Century

“. . . in the manner of the consuls of old, and

rather than of the emperors later, [the loros is

thought] to be the dress when they [the consuls]

assumed some high-priestly title for fixed

periods, ruling for a time effectively as

emperors.” [my emphasis]

- One of the Most Distinctive Elements of the Imperial Wardrobe

- Symbol of Resurrection, Worn on Easter Sunday

- Traditional/Crossed Loros Associated with Assumption of Higher Office

- Constantine VII (probable), Book of Ceremonies: (Traditional) Loros Symbolizes Burial (in that it Resembles a Shroud) and Resurrection in the Splendor of its Jewels

- In Addition, the Loros was an Icon of the Empire Itself

• Identified Wearer as Supreme Ruler in the Earthly Order

Book of Ceremonies, 10th Century

“We think of the magistroi and patricians putting

on loroi on the feast day of the Resurrection of

Christ our God as representing his laying out for

burial, and their being made of gold, for the

splendor of this day, as being struck by the rays

from the sun at the Resurrection of Christ

himself.”

Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio

(La Martorana)

Book of Ceremonies, 10th Century

Mosaic Portrait of George of Antioch

Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio

Founder's Panel

“O Child, shield from all adversity George, the first of all archons [magnates] who has built me this house from the foundations, and also all his family. Grant (him) absolution from (his) sins. For thou, O Word, as the only God, hast the power.”

Mosaic Panel of

Roger II and Christ

Endowment Charter of 1143

"When it was the month of May, in Indiction VI, we asked Our Majesty, the glorified and holy king – may God prolong his rule! – to place his noble signature (‘alāma) upon this document (sijill) to let it be known that he, may God maintain his power, has approved that [gift] and signed it. He graciously gave his consent, and sanctioned it, and placed his exalted ‘alāma at the head of it."

Comnenos Mosaic, Emperor John II and Empress Irene with the Virgin and Christ Child, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, ca. 1122

The Problem

Sicilian-Byzantine Relations

A Loros was a Long Ceremonial Scarf that Distinguished Wearer as Head of Byzantine State

Transition in Byzantium during Tenth and Eleventh Centuries from Traditional/Crossed to Modified/Simplified Loros

Martorana Mosaic Created almost a Half Century after Latest Representations of Traditional Loroi in Constantinopolitan Art. Yet Roger is Wearing an Antiquated Loros, Despite that:

- Artists were Likely from Constantinople

- Roger and George Headed an Incredibly Wealthy State

- Fabric of the Church is "Modern" by Contemporary Standards

- Roger was Familiar with the New Shape of the Loros

- Sicilian Navy Attacked Parts of the Empire in 1147, 1148 and 1149

- Emperor Manuel I Comnenos and Holy Roman Emperor Conrad III were Likely Planning a Joint Invasion of Roger's Kingdom around that Time

- A Number of Prominent Frenchmen Blamed the Failure of the Second Crusade on the Byzantines and Urged a Joint Franco-Sicilian Campaign against the Byzantine Empire

- Roger was Likely Interested in such a Campaign against Byzantium but the Death of his Heir in 1149 Prevented it

BERENGAR GRAF VON = ADELHEID VON SULZBACH WOLFRATSHAUSEN

Manuel I = BERTHA

Byzantium

GERTRUD = Conrad III

of Germany

So Called "Hugo-Falcandus" on the Untimely Death of Roger's Sons

"When after many efforts and dangers [Roger] had brought a peace to his kingdom that remained unshaken for as long as he lived, he also made provision for the future and prepared a vast treasure for the defence of the realm, which he stored at Palermo. Thereafter he devoted himself to peace and leisure, thinking that he was happy in successful offspring, and entrusted participation in the care of the realm to his sons Roger, Duke of Apulia, and Anfusus, Prince of Capua, in whom the image of their father’s virtue was reflected most truly. But later they both paid the debt due to fate, not without unbelievable pain on the part of their father and the greatest grief throughout the kingdom, leaving as a survivor William, Prince of Tarento, whom his father had hardly thought worthy of the same princely status. Since there was no one else left, his father placed the diadem on his head and made him a partner in sovereignty."

Anonymous Source of the Late Twelfth Century

Mosaic of Emperor John II

Wearing a Modified/Pullover Loros

(ca. 1122)

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul

Ivory of Byzantine Emperor,

Possibly Constantine VII,

Wearing a Traditional/Crossed Loros

(ca. 950)

Pushkin Museum, Moscow

The Quest for Trojan Ancestry

Dispersion of Frankish Identity

Historia pontificalis

“[Roger] desired an opportunity of showing his devotion to the king and queen of the Franks.”

John of Salisbury,

Secretary to the Archbishop of

Canterbury

ca. 1164

- Took on an Increased Relevancy as Franks Participated in Crusades

- Fostered Solidarity in a Constructed Bloodline

- Helped Connect Developing States to a Distant Past

- Used to Justify Campaigns Abroad

- Could be Used to Undermine the Standing of the Byzantine Empire as a Power that Occupied Land Once Ruled by the Trojan People, Ancestors of the Franks

De profectione Ludovici VII in orientem

"And it is not strange that Roger, a wise and powerful king, favored our king's undertaking [i.e., the Second Crusade] or that one who came originally from our part of the world cherished the Franks."

Odo of Deuil,

French Royal Chaplain

ca. 1150

- France was an Emerging Power at this Time and Roger Cultivated a Relationship with the French, with whom there was a Sense of Shared Heritage

• Especially Important as Roger's Relations with the Other Major Powers of the Time were Hostile
• Second Wife, Sybille of Burgundy, was a Descendant of Hugh Capet, Founder of the Capetian Dynasty (Married ca. 1149)
• Third Wife, Beatrice of Rethel, was a Descendant of Charlemagne, Ruler who had Reestablished the Imperial Title in the West (Married ca. 1151)

. . . the emperor’s mother, a sorceress, had predicted that a man of Frankish origin would take his empire and his life from him. Judging by events, Bohemund tried to fulfill this oracle, attacking the emperor with such force, and compelling him so often to flee from battle, that a large part of the provinces fell into his hands. Since his family was from Normandy, a part of France, and since he had obtained the hand of the daughter of the King of the Franks [Constance, daughter of King Philip I of France], he might very well be considered a Frank.

Guibert of Nogent, The Deeds of God through the Franks

On the Significance of Roger II of Sicily's Antiquated Loros in the Mosaic in Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio, Palermo

Dawn Marie Hayes, Ph.D.

Professor, Department of History

Montclair State University