In this session, we want to deepen our understanding of the codex known as Skylitzes Matritensis (Madrid, BNE, Vitr. 26-2), an extensive illuminated manuscript produced in 12th-century Sicily during Norman rule. Although numerous scholars (Cirac, Estopañán, Ševčenko, Wilson, Grabar, Tsamakda, Boeck) have studied various aspects of the manuscript, its date and the place of its production remain a matter of debate. Mid-12th century Palermo and the palatine court under Kings Roger II (1105-1154) and/or William I (1154-1166) dispute the leading role against the “Basilian” monastery of San Salvador at Lingua Fari in Messina during the rule of William II (1166-1189). Similarly, there is no consensus as to the rationale for the illuminated manuscript: some think it an attempt by the Normans to present their enemies as a merciless and tyrannical court. Others prefer to consider the codex as proof of the existence of a diplomatic relationship and exchange between the two courts; a reflection of the interest of the Normans and the Italo-Greek community in exploring the Byzantine roots and the multicultural reality of the 12th-century Sicily. Thanks to two research projects on Byzantine illuminated manuscripts, chronicles and gospels—MABILUS and PARADIGMATA—it has been possible to build an interdisciplinary team to carry out a novel and pioneering study of the Skylitzes Matritensis, in which a series of lab-analyses of the codex by the Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de España (IPCE) have been also undertaken. This research has contributed to a better understanding of how Sicilians appropriated this Byzantine Chronicle (paleographically, artistically, technically, historically, and conceptually) and what Byzantium meant, not only in the context of the cross-cultural court and estate of 12th-century Norman Sicily, but also in terms of Sicilian identity.
The Skylitzes Matritensis (Madrid, BNE, VITR/26/2) is an illuminated codex that offers a privileged field for the analysis of cross-cultural phenomena and exchanges beyond Byzantium. Firstly, it is a Greek chronicle, which was produced in the mid-12th-century Norman Sicily, in the context of the multicultural curia of Palermo, following a Constantinopolitan manuscript as a model….
This paper explores the visual construction of the feminine ideal in Byzantium through the Skylitzes Matritensis, an eleventh-century illuminated chronicle preserved in the Biblioteca Nacional de España. Out of its 574 miniatures, 110 depict women, revealing their symbolic significance within the manuscript’s visual narrative of imperial authority. Far from being mere illustrations of John Skylitzes’…
The Madrid Skylitzes miniatures are among the most widely recognized images of Byzantine art, reproduced for decades in textbooks, scholarly works and university courses. More than any other Greek medieval manuscript, they have served as realia in visualizing the Byzantine court, warfare, and ceremonial life. Yet, despite their familiarity, a closer look reveals a striking…
The eight manuscripts of the Chronicle of Skylitzes that derive from the Skylitzes Matritensis (SM) manuscript—easily identifiable by gaps in the text—were copied in Italy during the 16th century. None of the apographs went beyond transcribing the Chronicle and its paratexts (the miniature captions and marginal poems). A copy of the miniatures could hardly have…
Analytical investigations conducted on the illuminations of the Skylitzes Matritensis have made it possible to determine, with considerable precision, the range of inorganic pigments that constituted the colour palette. Although various organic colorants appear to have been applied in the decorative program, their precise identification remains inconclusive. The iron-gall ink employed for the text is…