“The Daughter of al-Andalus”: Interrelations between Norman Sicily and the Muslim West

Abstract

While there has been extensive scholarship on the interrelations of medieval and Arab Sicily with the eastern and (to a lesser extent) the central Mediterranean (Fāt˙imid Egypt and Muslim Ifrīqiya), the island's connections with the Muslim West (al-Andalus and the Western Maghrib) have scarcely been considered. This article presents some suggestions and reflections on the links of travel, trade and pilgrimage between Sicily and the Muslim West, and how they might have contributed to the exchange of objects and artistic styles between the two regions. In particular, it considers the impact of the Almoravid and Almohad arts of al-Andalus and Morocco upon the royal monuments of Norman Sicily during the sixth/twelfth century.