Romanesque Mosaic Floors: Images and Uses

Lively lecture from the London Art History Society introducing church mosaic floors from the 12th century.

This was a new topic to me and Richard Plant gave a clear and well-illustrated overview of them. He took us through some wonderful ones including this masterpiece in Otranto complete with weird legends such as King Arthur the cat and the ascent of Alexander complete with a kebab.

He talked about some of the themes though maps, the sea, the months of the year and labyrinths with good examples from around Europe. He compared them to ancient Roman examples explaining there is no known link between but there are obvious themes in common. Were Roman mosaics known at the time than we now have?

He also compared them to two examples of carpets from the time which were new to me. Yet more to learn about!

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