Picture the sun-drenched cities of the eastern Mediterranean, where the very stones tell a story of conquest, trade, and coexistence. In Jerusalem, the gold-domed splendor of the Dome of the Rock presides over an architectural patchwork of recycled Persian columns, Greek capitals, and fragments of Roman churches. To the north in Damascus, the soaring Umayyad Mosque seamlessly blends a Roman temple’s intricate carvings with Byzantine craftsmen’s shimmering mosaics, all beneath a towering minaret.
This rich tapestry of Islamic art and architecture may seem a world away from the stony gloom of a medieval European monastery. But as cultural historian Diana Darke reveals in her lavishly illustrated new book, Islamesque, the influence of the Muslim world runs like a golden thread through the great Romanesque masterpieces of the West.
Uncovering Forgotten Links
In Islamesque, Darke takes readers on a whirlwind tour of “hundreds of Romanesque buildings scattered across England, Wales, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Sicily,” drawing fascinating parallels to “scores of sites across North Africa, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey.” Her mission: to demonstrate how Islamic art shaped European architecture in ways that have been overlooked or deliberately suppressed.
Islamic influence has been less “forgotten” than deliberately suppressed by chauvinists and culture warriors.
Diana Darke, Islamesque
Through meticulous examination of archivolts, muqarnas, squinches and voussoirs, Darke builds a compelling case that the superior geometry, engineering and artistry of the Islamic world made their way to Europe via several key portals:
- Sicily, seized from Muslim rulers by the Normans in the 11th century
- Spain, where the boundaries between Muslim and Christian territories – and their hybrid architecture like Córdoba’s Mezquita – fluctuated for centuries
- The Crusades and Italian maritime trade with Middle Eastern ports
The resulting fusion produced some surprising juxtapositions. In England’s Wells Cathedral, 13th-century stonemasons labeled their sculptures with Arabic numerals. Peterborough Cathedral’s astonishingly intricate wooden ceiling was crafted using techniques then unknown in Europe. Everywhere Darke looks, she finds evidence of a deep and sustained cultural dialogue written in stone and wood.
Dazzling Details from Cairo to Córdoba
Some of the book’s most evocative passages transport readers to the architectural wonders of medieval Cairo under the Fatimids. Darke’s infectious enthusiasm brings to life the city’s “exquisite shell-like facade of the tiny al-Aqmar Mosque, rich in esoteric symbolism” and the “defensive bulk of the Bab al-Futuh and Bab al-Nasr city gates.”
In a fascinating digression, she traces how Egypt’s highly decorated Coptic monasteries inspired Celtic Christian art. By the 6th century, Irish monks were flocking to visit Egypt’s hermits in such numbers that a guidebook was written for them, now preserved in Paris.
A Patchwork of Influences
Darke also skillfully untangles the dense weave of artistic influences that crisscrossed the boundaries of faiths and empires. The Mezquita in Córdoba, Spain began as a mosque, became a church, then reverted to a mosque before its final incarnation as a cathedral. With each change of hands between Muslims and Christians, the building acquired new stylistic layers fusing elements of both traditions.
As the extent of Christian and Muslim territories waxed and waned, buildings such as Córdoba’s Mezquita changed hands and the boundaries between languages and cultures blurred.
Diana Darke, Islamesque
While Islamesque may not be quite as revolutionary as Darke claims, it offers an enlightening and richly detailed tour of the Muslim world’s lasting imprint on medieval Europe. It challenges readers to look beyond simplistic notions of a “clash of civilizations” to appreciate the complex cultural exchanges that shaped some of the West’s most iconic sacred spaces. The marvels of Romanesque architecture, Darke compellingly argues, conceal a patchwork of Eastern influences hidden in plain sight.
