Textile Connections? Two Ifrīqiyan Church Treasuries in Norman Sicily and the Problem of Continuity across Political Change

Abstract

Recent research has stressed the particular importance of silks as the portable agents of a common aesthetic of Mediterranean elites. A number of similarities can be detected between the silk fabrics listed in the twelfth-century inventories of two Ifrīqiyan churches, and textiles from medieval Sicily. Should they be ascribed to a pan-Mediterranean fashion, or is it possible to make a more specific case for textile connections between Sicily and Ifrīqiya and – possibly – for a continuity between pre-Norman and Norman, Islamic and Christian rules? This article will discuss evidence for a medium-specific continuity in silk production and weaving, and will explore, with reference to Roger II's mantle, whether such continuities can be explained purely by practical arguments, or whether a visual display of continuity in royal representation may not also have reflected political intentions.