Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: donation

Sicily, the largest Mediterranean island, has a long history, that starts around 8000 BC, but later there were Phoenician, Carthaginian, Greek and Roman periods. After the Roman Empire had fallen apart the Vandals tried to take over the island but failed. Finally, the Ostrogoths took possession. Mid of the 6th century Sicily was conquered by troops of the Byzantine Empire. After the advent of Islam, Sicily got attacked by the Arab forces. Raids seeking loot continued until the mid-8th century. A Muslim army was sent to the island in 827 but met with much resistance. So it took a century to conquer it and even later revolts constantly occurred In 1038 the Byzantines invaded the island supported by Norman mercenaries, led by Roger. In 1072, after the siege of Palermo, most of Sicily was under Norman control. Roger´s son Roger II raised the status +of the island to a kingdom in 1130. During this period, the Kingdom of Sicily was prosperous and powerful, The court of Roger II became melting out of culture from Europe and the Middle East. This attracted scholars, scientists, artists, and artisans. Muslims, Jews, Greeks, Lombards, and Normans cooperated and created some extraordinary buildings. In 1186 the last descendant of Roger, Constance of Sicily married Emperor Henry VI, the second son of Barbarossa. So the crown of Sicily was passed on to the Hohenstaufen Dynasty. Frederick II, the only son of Constance, was crowned King of Sicily at the age of four in 1198. He became "Stupor Mundi", one of the greatest and most cultured men of the Middle Ages. - William II of Sicily built from 1172 here a fort-like complex of buildings, which included a cathedral, an archiepiscopal palace, a royal palace and a Benedictine monastery. In 1183 the monastery became the seat of the archdiocese of Monreale. The town then developed around this complex. According to a legend, William fell asleep while hunting. The Holy Virgin appeared to him in a dream, suggesting him to build a church here. After removing a tree, a treasure was found, whose coins were used to finance the construction. Well, it is much more likely that Monreale was founded in competition with the bishop of Palermo, who had commissioned the large Cathedral of Palermo. This would explain the vast dimensions and the splendour of the "Duomo di Monreale" (= "Cattedrale di Santa Maria Nuova"), that with the cloister, is the only building that survived the times. The interior is breathtaking, but as the cathedral is about 100 m long, there are distances here, not like inside the "Capella Palatina", where all the mosaics are so "near" - plus the visitors can sit down here - and gaze. It is overwhelming. Here are more than 6000m² of byzantine mosaics. The sides of the nave show many very strong parallels to the Cappella Palatina. Here and there probably the same workshop. Probably a large, maybe even a generation-spanning studio of Byzantine artists. Seen here is King William II of Sicily as the donor. He hands over the church to the Virgin Mary. William´s donation is blessed by God.

Walking the Via Turonensis I had two books with me. One was a little booklet, telling me, where to turn left or right. The most important (absolut recommendable!) book was Anne Prache´s "Ile de France Romane". Anne Prache mentions, that in the hamlet of Mervilliers is a former church with a remarkable tympanum. In found a large farm in Mervilliers, entered and tried to find anybody to ask. But there was nobody at home. This was private property and I did feel uneasy, walking around, knocking on doors and shouting "Allo" and "Coucou"...... I finally found a small wooden garden gate. I pushed it open, entered, turned around - and there was the tympanum. Here is another total. Though the tympanum is very weatherad and eroded, some names can still be found. Near the knight and the squire are the names HERBERTUS and GUILERMUS. The letters left and right of the seated person in the center are X IEORGIUS (Saint George). Over God´s head stands RENBAUDUS. The inscription of the banderole reads HERBERTUS GUILERMUS SIMILITER CUNCE(SSIT) RENBAUDUS MILES EIS (EJUS) HERES MICHI C(ON)TULIT GAZAS P(RAE)SENTES UT HABERET FINE CARENTES Herbertus and as well Guilermus gave/concedet as well as (their) heir knight Renbaudus me earthly treasures to receive treasures without end. Well, the translation may not be very precise. The French website below goes into the details: Here is a French website about the tympanum: jfbradu.free.fr/mervilliers/index-mervilliers.htm

Prache´s "Ile de France Romane". Anne Prache mentions, that in the hamlet of Mervilliers is a former church with a remarkable tympanum. In found a large farm in Mervilliers, entered and tried to find anybody to ask. But there was nobody at home. This was private property and I did feel uneasy, walking around, knocking on doors and shouting "Allo" and "Coucou"...... I finally found a small wooden garden gate. I pushed it open, entered, turned around - and there was the tympanum (previous upload). Here is a closer look on the tympanum´s left side. A knight in full armour makes a donation to Saint George (only George´s hand can be seen), while his squire on the left holds the knight´s horse. Some see this as the infeudation of a knight, what I doubt. The artistic style is not really elegant, but a bit rough. Note the oversized heads and hands. Here is a French website about the tympanum: jfbradu.free.fr/mervilliers/index-mervilliers.htm

Walking the Via Turonensis I had two books with me. One was a little booklet, telling me, where to turn left or right. The most important (absolut recommendable!) book was Anne Prache´s "Ile de France Romane". Anne Prache mentions, that in the hamlet of Mervilliers is a former church with a remarkable tympanum. In found a large farm in Mervilliers, entered and tried to find anybody to ask. But there was nobody at home. This was private property and I did feel uneasy, walking around, knocking on doors and shouting "Allo" and "Coucou"...... I left the farm, finally found a small wooden garden gate. I pushed it open, entered, turned around - and there was the tympanum. Here is a closer look now. The tympanum was probably created within the 12th century. There are two "tiers". In heaven - Crowned God in a blessing gesture, holding the bible flanked by two angels swinging censers. Below - on the ground has two parts. On the left the laity (a knight and squire) Saint George seated on a throne in the center, a priest and a monk on the right side. Here is a French website about the tympanum: jfbradu.free.fr/mervilliers/index-mervilliers.htm