Books by Nicolas Bock
Art et économie en France et en Italie au XIVe siècle Prix, valeurs, carrières, 2020
Nous remercions chaleureusement les membres du comité scientifique externe pour leurs expertises.
Dedicato a Serena Romano, questo libro vorrebbe restituirle un po’ di quel tanto che ha offerto, ... more Dedicato a Serena Romano, questo libro vorrebbe restituirle un po’ di quel tanto che ha offerto, in vari modi, a tutti quelli che hanno avuto la fortuna di conoscerla e di frequentarla. L’argomento generale, quello delle continuità di lunga durata, dei ritorni in generale, e delle rinascite dell’antico, le è caro da sempre. Lei stessa lo ha esplorato in contributi fondanti e i numerosi autori che hanno accolto l’invito a partecipare al volume ne hanno dato declinazioni diverse.
La decisione di dare un tema unitario a questo volume miscellaneo si giustifica anche per un’altra ragione: figlia del ’68, Serena Romano ha sempre avuto una certa reticenza nei confronti di onorificenze troppo accademiche, staccate a volte dalla dimensione concreta della ricerca. Da qui il desiderio di costruire un volume che possa essere un prolungamento tangibile di un modo di guardare la storia cui Serena Romano ha contribuito per anni.
Essays in collective books by Nicolas Bock
Mystik, Sprache, Bild: Die Visualisierung des Unsichtbaren, 2022
Vier auf Leinwand gemalte Bilder einer neapolitanischen Flagellantenbruderschaft vermögen die vie... more Vier auf Leinwand gemalte Bilder einer neapolitanischen Flagellantenbruderschaft vermögen die vielschichtigen Verbindungen zwischen Kunst, franziskanischer Spiritualität, laikaler Bußbewegung und mystischer Erfahrung zu veranschaulichen (Taf. 7a-d). Die Ikonographie der vier Leinwandbilder und der expressive, fast grobe Malstil legten die Vermutung nahe, dass es sich um typische Beispiele einer Kunstform handelt, die als Medium frommer Meditation intendiert gewesen sei. Die Bilder seien, so die Forschung, nicht nur ein historisches Dokument religiöser Laiendevotion, 1 sondern aufgrund ihrer Expressivität auch Mittel zu spiritueller Versenkung und mystischer Erfahrung-"aggrieved humility or spiritual rapture"-gewesen. 2 Es ist jedoch zu fragen, ob diese Assoziation zwischen Malstil und Mystik haltbar ist. Soll die Expressivität des Ausdrucks eine unmittelbare und über das gewöhnliche Bewusstsein hinausgehende Erfahrung einer transzendenten Realität hervorrufen, 3 oder dient sie vielmehr einer emotionalen, aber nicht notwendigerweise mystischen
Neapolitan Bishops as Patrons of Art: from Anjou to Aragon
Arte y poder episcopal en la Peninsula Iberica durante la Baja Edad Media, Maria Victoria Herraez Ortega / Maria Dolores Teijeira Pablos edd. Annuario des estudios medievales, 1, 2021, pp. 135-173 , 2021
Simone Martini paints Robert of Anjou. Angevin Portraiture between Naples and Assisi
Meanings and Functions of the Ruler’s Image in the Mediterranean World (11th - 15th centuries), Michele Bacci, Manuela Studer-Karlen and Mirko Vagnoni edd., Leiden/Boston (Brill) 2022 (Medieval Mediterranean Series, 130), 2022
La linea d’ombra. Roma 1378-1417, Walter Angelelli / Serena Romano edd., Roma , 2019
Artisti anonimi romani. Monumenti funebri e scultura all'epoca di Bonifacio IX Nel 1985 -ormai tr... more Artisti anonimi romani. Monumenti funebri e scultura all'epoca di Bonifacio IX Nel 1985 -ormai trent'anni fa -gli studi sulla scultura funeraria romana ebbero un grande risveglio con il convegno organizzato da Jorg Garms e Angiola Maria Romanini, i cui atti sono densi di studi importanti sull'arte funeraria medievale, specialmente italiana. 1 Questo convegno era parte del più ampio progetto di Garms, cioè il censimento dei monumenti funebri di Roma e del Lazio, pubblicato in due volumi rispettivamente nel 1981 e 1994. 2 Habent sua fata corpora: nonostante la grande quantità di materiale a disposizione della ricerca, anche dopo la pubblicazione dei due grossi volumi l'interesse per i monumenti funebri romani non registrò apici esplosivi. Certo, alcuni monumenti eccelsi continuarono a godere di una certa fama. A mantenere vivo l'interesse erano soprattutto i nomi illustri dei loro artisti e la loro "mano di Dio": basti pensare ad Arnolfo e ai suoi monumenti funebri a Roma, Viterbo e Orvieto. 3 La maggior parte dei mo-1. Skulptur und Grabmal des Spiitmittelalters in Rom und ltalien, Akten des Kongresses "Scultura e monumento sepolcrale del tardo medioevo a Roma e in Italia" (Roma, 4-6 luglio 1985), hrsg. Jorg Gann s, Angiola Maria Romanini, Wien L990. 2. Die mittelalt erllchen Grabmiiler in Rom und l.Atium vom 13. bis zum 15. Jahrhundert, 1, Di e Grabplatt en und 7èr/ eln (Publika.tionen des Osterreichi schen Kulturinstitut in Rom, li. Abteilung : Quellcn , 5. Reihe) hrsg. Jorg Garms, RoswiU1afoffìnger , Bryan Ward-Perkins , Roma-Wien 1981; 2, Di e Monum entalgriiber (Publikatione • des l·listorischen Instituts beirn Osterre ichischen Kulturinstitul in Rom rr. Abtei lung: Quellen, 5. Rcihe), hrsg. Jorg Garms , Andre a Sommerlec . hner, Wemer Telesko, Wien 1994.
Les modèles dans l’art du Moyen Âge (XIIe-XVe siècles) / Models in the Art of the Middles Ages (12th-15th centuries), Denise Borlée / Laurence Terrier Alfieris edd., Turnhout , 2018
Re-thinking, Re-making and Re-living Christian Origins, Ivan Foletti / Manuela Gianandrea / Serena Romano / Elisabetta Scirocco edd., 2018
Art history played an essential role in establishing the
knowledge necessary to re-thinking, re-c... more Art history played an essential role in establishing the
knowledge necessary to re-thinking, re-creating and re-living the Christian origins of Prussian authority.66 While under Friedrich Wilhelm in the first half of the nineteenth century, art served the higher purpose of religion, the situation had changed by the end of the century under Wilhelm II. Now religion served the State, and churches were named after emperors. The choice of style shifted
accordingly. Meanwhile, art history had continued to progress, defining different historical periods and their styles ever more accurately. Now, the Romanesque
was considered to be - as had been the case with Gothic architecture at the beginning of the century - German national style symbolizing the Nation's cultural greatness. The use of Early Christian models retreated to the mosaics expressing the emperor's devotion. At the end of the century, however, art historians produced not only a more complete availability of exact models and
interpretations, but contributed also to the spiritualization of all domains in art. One may ask whether this did not also contribute to its use as a vehicle for all kinds of overestimation, be it royal, national or other. By producing cultural models, however, the art historian proves to be a political agent.
Cristo e il potere. Teologia, antropologia e politica, Laura Andreani / Agostino Paravicini Bagliani edd., Firenze , 2017
La statua di re Roberto in trono domina ancora oggi l'incera chiesa di S. Chiara e testimonia il ... more La statua di re Roberto in trono domina ancora oggi l'incera chiesa di S. Chiara e testimonia il potere dei re angioini. La presenza della sua immagine in naiestate, in alto sulla parete dietro l'altare maggiore, lo pone in stretta relazione con tutto ciò che si svolge al di sotto (fig. r, z), in modo parricolare conl'elnatio hotÍiae, durante la quale il prete officiante sembra offrire il corpo di Cristo direttamente al sovrano. In questa occasione il fedele è messo di fronte a una cristomimesi perfetta'.
Survivals, revivals rinascenze. Studi in onore di Serena Romano, Nicolas Bock / Ivan Foletti / Michele Tomasi edd., 2017
The discussion on 12th century art in Rome has long overlooked an important work: the seal of the... more The discussion on 12th century art in Rome has long overlooked an important work: the seal of the Roman commune, which was established in 1143-44. It is easily overlooked because it no longer exists and can only be reconstructed through documentary sources.
The Roma in majesty on the senatorial seal links to different strata of meaning. First, of course, it evokes Antiquity and the glory of the past, and aligns itself with the evocation of renovatio and aurea Roma on imperial seals. Second, and more importantly, the seal visualizes the Roman Senate's pretention of rulership. The throne and insignia are telling visual indicators related again to
the tradition of imperial seals. The choice of the Roman Senate to create a seal should be seen in the context of the reform of the chancellery and the introduction of a new way of dating senatorial documents, according to the years of its rule. Both attest to the establishment of the Senate as a juridical body. The expression «sacer senatus», used by the senate in its documents, points in the samedirection, using this reference to ancient Roman law to express the legitimacy of its rule. 66 The Roma on the senatorial seal denies however any Christian connotation of its rule, thereby contrasting it with the papacy. The image on the second senatorial seal - the standing figure of Roma in the walls of the city - is
rooted in the same tradition of imperial seals. The half-image of the emperor within the walls of Rome appears first under the rule of Henry II, and, contemporary
to the creation of the Roman seal, under Lothair III. It surely was well known to the Romans, and can therefore be taken as the model of the second senatorial seal. Even though the personification of Roma on the senatorial seal relates ideologically to Antiquity, its imagery - and, linked to it, the political and
juridical aspirations of the senate - refers to contemporary imperial traditions.
The Roman seal proposes therefore an imitatio imperii, which is part of the most actual discussions about the origins of political power.
Courts and Court Cultures in Early Modern Italy. Models and Languages, Simone Albonico / Serena Romano edd.,, 2016
In art history, the notion of court, court style and court culture normally presupposes a hierarc... more In art history, the notion of court, court style and court culture normally presupposes a hierarchical, top-to-bottom way of elite distinction. This scheme has
generally been applied to the European courts: to the Carolingian and Ottonian courts of the ninth and tenth century as well as to those of the thirteenth and
fourteenth centuries, from the English court of the Plantagenets in the North, to the French court under Louis XI or Philippe le Bel in the West, and to the Neapolitan court under the Angevin dynasty in the South. Serving the king and his immediate circle of family members or courtiers, court art has been defined as
outstanding, representing the major aesthetic and intellectual achievements of each period. The question arises; however, as to whether this scheme is invariably
valid or whether it is subject to change. If art produced for members of a court must necessarily be called "court art", one must question whether it need always follow and descend the hieratical scale of court society.
In order to answer these questions, Neapolitan funeral monuments of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries provide a perfect subject of study. Not only are they primary objects of competition for social distinction, but their formal development is to be seen in close relation to models proposed by the royal family. The development of these monuments reveals many of the various possible correlations between political and social order and the development of taste. Contrary to the assumptions of previous research, though, it can be shown here that it was not always the royal family that set standards by providing the artistic models to be followed by nobility. Certain cases lead us to assume that members of thehigher nobility could (and did) choose other models deliberately, thus defying
royal leadership in taste. Their choice is therefore indicative of signiflcant changes within court society itself and the social order its artworks express.
Das Geheimnisvolle im Mittelalter und anderswo / Le mysterieux au moyen âge et ailleurs. Colloque international en l’honneur d’Alexander Schwarz à l’occasion de son 65e anniversaire, Danielle Buschinger / Mathieu Olivier edd., 2015
Baudri de Bourgueil, gestorben 1130 im stolzen Alter von 84 Jahren, ist der Autor ei-nes Briefes ... more Baudri de Bourgueil, gestorben 1130 im stolzen Alter von 84 Jahren, ist der Autor ei-nes Briefes an die Gräfin Adele von Blois, der mit 634 Distichen zugleich die umfang-reichste Versekphrasis des Mittelalters darstcllt. Dieser Brief hat in der Forschung Berühmtheit erlangt, weil er darin überaus genau den üppigen figürlichen Schmuck des Schlafgemachs der Gräfin beschreibt, die nierrmnd geringeres war als die Tochter Wilhelm des Eroberer. Alle vier Wände waren mit goldgewirkten Tapisserien behangen: Zeigte der erste die Schöpfung, das irdische Paradies und die Sintflut, so folgten auf dem zweiten Geschichten des Alten Testamentes, auf dem dritten solche der grie-chischen Mythologie und der römischen Geschichte. Den Höhepu nkt bildete schließ-lich der vierte der sich im Alk ven hinter dem fürstlichen Bett befand, und der die Eroberung Englands vorstellte. Das Bett dav r war mit elfenbeinemen Statuetten jun-ger Mädchen geschmückt, die unter der Pührung der Philosophie die Allegorien der artes liberales, des Quadrivium und Trivium, und der Medizin begleitet von Galenus lllld f-Tippokratcs darstellten. Der Boden zeigte sodann eine delaiJlierte Weltkaite mit Meeren, Flüssen, Völkern, Bergen, Städten und Monstern, wohingegen die Decke schließlich Sternzeichen und Sterne mit deren Namen abbildete. Von diesen Themen hat besonders die Tapisserie mit der Darstellung der Erobe-rung Englands das Interesse der Kunstgeschichle erweckt. Der Brief Baudris schi en eine literarische Be chreibung det· berühmten Tapisserie von Bayeux zu geben, so dass sich eine intensive Diskus ion um den Wahrheits-und Realitätscharakter des Saales und seiner Dekoration entspann. Auch das von Baudri be ·chri ebcne Fußbodenmosaik mit einer Weltkarte schien den Fußbodendekorationen romanischer Kirchen zu ent
The Antique Memory and the Middle Ages, Ivan Foletti / Zuzana Frantová edd., Roma/Brno (Viella/Masarykova univerzita, Brno), 2015
Like perhaps no other artistic medium, tapestry made its public engage in visions and dreams. Its... more Like perhaps no other artistic medium, tapestry made its public engage in visions and dreams. Its sheer size, its coloured magnificence, its opulence in images all incited and stimulated the fantasy of its public. The tapestries not only represent a literary subject of political relevance, but they also incite the beholder to feel, to react, to respond, to imagine, and to project and develop his own fantasy about what is represented. The Trojan heroes came to life in the late medieval world in this way. By various means - images, literary readings and inscriptions - the border between the spectator and his ancient counterpart became intentionally blurred, and all participants - not only the duke, but also his followers - engaged willingly in a play of dream and imagination, which covered the political reality of everyday life with a golden gleam.
Cuius patrocinio tota gaudet regio. Saints’ Cults and the Dynamics of Regional Cohesion, Stanislava Kuzmová / Ana Marinkovic / Trpimir Vedris edd., Zagreb 2014 , 2014
Throughout the Middle Ages, the cult of the saints was important, if not decisive, for propagatin... more Throughout the Middle Ages, the cult of the saints was important, if not decisive, for propagating and affirming a distinctive identity, be it civic or monastic, local or regional. A saint could play an important part in everyday life as an individual role model as well as a figure of collective identification. The regional acceptance or refusal of certain saints can tell us much, therefore, about a political developrnenc and the adherence to the
underlying political ideas.5 In order to investigate the way collective regional identities were forg ed , the present research focuses mainly on the geographic diffusion of the cult of individual saints. This approach, however, implicates often tacitly the notion of a centre from which a certain cult emanates and to which it relates. This centre can be geographical - a monastery, a church, or a saint's tomb - or personal, the cult being associated with a king or the ruling family. Thus, the diffusion of a specific cult becomes a parameter for the degree of regional or political
cohesion.
This juxtaposition of the concept of unity with the adhesion to a
particular cult has to be questioned because it underestimates the role of diversity in a political system. A plurality of individual actors of more or less equal political standing may just as well produce and stand for a concept of poilticai coiiesiuu. Taking the Kingdom of Naples in the later Middle Ages as an example, a succession of different historical phases can help us understand how these models succeeded each other, shifting from centralizing tendencies to diversity and back to centralizing tendencies again. On the basis of art historical evidence, it can be shown how each of these concepts gave room to different actors and different dynamics.
Körper – Kultur – Kommunikation / Corps, culture, communication, Alexander Schwarz, Catalina Schiltknecht, Barbara Wahlen edd, 2014
The Face of the Death. Early Christian Portraiture, Ivan Foletti ed, 2013
Portentum est quotiens eoepit imago loqui Martial XI, 102 The poet Martial had acquired fame and ... more Portentum est quotiens eoepit imago loqui Martial XI, 102 The poet Martial had acquired fame and prosperity in the capital of the Ro-man Empire when he returned to his native Spain in 98 AD. The reign of the new emperors Nerva (96-98) and Trajan (98-117) did not promise him much profit. The new men in power did not like his most important source of income, the panegyric elegy, as much as the preceding emperors Titus and Domitian had. A new taste and new virtues were proclaimed instead. Martial therefore wrote his twelfth book in Spain and sent it as if from abroad to his Roman friends and protectors. His book began with a few lines addressed to the future reader in the form of a letter, followed by a sort of introduction in verse. To his great regret, Martial said, this new book would arrive in the Roman Capital as a stranger, whereas his other books had gone out from the Urbs to the provinces of the empire. In Rome, though, the new book would not be lonely because it could go into library, the temple of Augustus or to the palace of the consul Stella, and would find there his readers there among the people, the senators, and the nobles. It would not need a proper name, a titulus, because after reading the first three verses its origin would be clear to everyone in the public. 1. The metrical preface to Martial's book is part of a long tradition. He makes ample,use of classical models such as Ovid. He paraphrases nearly verbatim some passages of Ovid's Tristia, while taking back the sad classical pathos of the venerated author in favor of the irony so typical of his own writing. 2 Of special interest here are 'his_ ,thoughts on the use of the titulus, which he simply deems * First thoughts on this topic were outlined during a stay at the National Humanities Center, NC. I would like to thank especially Rachel Bruzzone, Douglas Olson, and Tas Skorupa for their valuable help and suggestions.
Zeichensprachen des literarischen Buchs in der frühen Neuzeit: Die ‚Melusine’ des Thüring von Ringoltingen, Ursula Rautenberg / Hans-Jörg Künast / Mechthild Habermann / Heidrun Stein-Kecks edd., 2012
La battaglia nel Rinascimento meridionale. Moduli narrativi tra parole e immagini, Giancarlo Abbamonte / Joana Barreto / Teresa d’Urso / Alessandra Perriccioli Saggese / Francesco Senatore edd., 2011
«Approche, Approche / venga, venga», ordina il maggiordomo agli ospiti di Jean de Berry nella mi... more «Approche, Approche / venga, venga», ordina il maggiordomo agli ospiti di Jean de Berry nella miniatura del mese di gennaio dei fratelli Lim-bourg (fig. 47). Il duca è seduto a un tavolo mentre i suoi vassalli gli porta-no dei doni preziosi per l'anno nuovo. 1 Prima di essere ammessi dinanzi al duca, gli ospiti dovevano certamente aspettare un bel po'. Durante questo tempo, potevano ammirare i regali dei loro colleghi e rivali, potevano pro-babilmente parlare a voce bassa, ma potevano ugualmente, come testimo-nia la miniatura, contemplare le tappezzerie con le quali erano decorate tutte le pareti della sala. Vi vedevano rappresentate battaglie feroci, massa-cri ed azioni eroiche. Coloro che erano colti e dotati di una buona memoria riuscivano forse a riconoscere le storie mitologiche raffigurate e potevano fare dei commenti dotti destinati ai nobili circostanti. Caso mai la memoria ne avesse avuto bisogno, i tituli degli arazzi, cioè le iscrizioni inserite nei bordi superiori, aiutavano a identificare le battaglie rappresentate. In ogni caso, il tema generale delle immagini-le battaglie-dimostrava visiva-mente la natura cavalleresca e l'origine nobile del duca. Il medium delle tappezzerie sottolineava lo stato sociale elevato di quest'ultimo, essendo, per la sua preziosità, il culmine della produzione artistica dell'epoca. Le battaglie, specialmente quelle mitologiche, delle tappezzerie erano dunque il modo ideale per l'autorappresentazione cortese. Come furono viste, percepite e capite queste scene di battaglia? Le rap-presentazioni di battaglie erano quasi onnipresenti nella decorazione delle 1. Per la natura di tali regali cfr. Das Goldene Rössl. Ein Meisterwerk der Pariser Hofkunst um 1400, a cura di R. Baumstark, München 1995. Ringrazio Ivan Foletti e Teresa d'Urso per il loro aiuto linguistico. Per ragioni di spazio, la versione scritta della relazione limita i rinvii bibliografici allo stretto necessario.
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Books by Nicolas Bock
La decisione di dare un tema unitario a questo volume miscellaneo si giustifica anche per un’altra ragione: figlia del ’68, Serena Romano ha sempre avuto una certa reticenza nei confronti di onorificenze troppo accademiche, staccate a volte dalla dimensione concreta della ricerca. Da qui il desiderio di costruire un volume che possa essere un prolungamento tangibile di un modo di guardare la storia cui Serena Romano ha contribuito per anni.
Essays in collective books by Nicolas Bock
knowledge necessary to re-thinking, re-creating and re-living the Christian origins of Prussian authority.66 While under Friedrich Wilhelm in the first half of the nineteenth century, art served the higher purpose of religion, the situation had changed by the end of the century under Wilhelm II. Now religion served the State, and churches were named after emperors. The choice of style shifted
accordingly. Meanwhile, art history had continued to progress, defining different historical periods and their styles ever more accurately. Now, the Romanesque
was considered to be - as had been the case with Gothic architecture at the beginning of the century - German national style symbolizing the Nation's cultural greatness. The use of Early Christian models retreated to the mosaics expressing the emperor's devotion. At the end of the century, however, art historians produced not only a more complete availability of exact models and
interpretations, but contributed also to the spiritualization of all domains in art. One may ask whether this did not also contribute to its use as a vehicle for all kinds of overestimation, be it royal, national or other. By producing cultural models, however, the art historian proves to be a political agent.
The Roma in majesty on the senatorial seal links to different strata of meaning. First, of course, it evokes Antiquity and the glory of the past, and aligns itself with the evocation of renovatio and aurea Roma on imperial seals. Second, and more importantly, the seal visualizes the Roman Senate's pretention of rulership. The throne and insignia are telling visual indicators related again to
the tradition of imperial seals. The choice of the Roman Senate to create a seal should be seen in the context of the reform of the chancellery and the introduction of a new way of dating senatorial documents, according to the years of its rule. Both attest to the establishment of the Senate as a juridical body. The expression «sacer senatus», used by the senate in its documents, points in the samedirection, using this reference to ancient Roman law to express the legitimacy of its rule. 66 The Roma on the senatorial seal denies however any Christian connotation of its rule, thereby contrasting it with the papacy. The image on the second senatorial seal - the standing figure of Roma in the walls of the city - is
rooted in the same tradition of imperial seals. The half-image of the emperor within the walls of Rome appears first under the rule of Henry II, and, contemporary
to the creation of the Roman seal, under Lothair III. It surely was well known to the Romans, and can therefore be taken as the model of the second senatorial seal. Even though the personification of Roma on the senatorial seal relates ideologically to Antiquity, its imagery - and, linked to it, the political and
juridical aspirations of the senate - refers to contemporary imperial traditions.
The Roman seal proposes therefore an imitatio imperii, which is part of the most actual discussions about the origins of political power.
generally been applied to the European courts: to the Carolingian and Ottonian courts of the ninth and tenth century as well as to those of the thirteenth and
fourteenth centuries, from the English court of the Plantagenets in the North, to the French court under Louis XI or Philippe le Bel in the West, and to the Neapolitan court under the Angevin dynasty in the South. Serving the king and his immediate circle of family members or courtiers, court art has been defined as
outstanding, representing the major aesthetic and intellectual achievements of each period. The question arises; however, as to whether this scheme is invariably
valid or whether it is subject to change. If art produced for members of a court must necessarily be called "court art", one must question whether it need always follow and descend the hieratical scale of court society.
In order to answer these questions, Neapolitan funeral monuments of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries provide a perfect subject of study. Not only are they primary objects of competition for social distinction, but their formal development is to be seen in close relation to models proposed by the royal family. The development of these monuments reveals many of the various possible correlations between political and social order and the development of taste. Contrary to the assumptions of previous research, though, it can be shown here that it was not always the royal family that set standards by providing the artistic models to be followed by nobility. Certain cases lead us to assume that members of thehigher nobility could (and did) choose other models deliberately, thus defying
royal leadership in taste. Their choice is therefore indicative of signiflcant changes within court society itself and the social order its artworks express.
underlying political ideas.5 In order to investigate the way collective regional identities were forg ed , the present research focuses mainly on the geographic diffusion of the cult of individual saints. This approach, however, implicates often tacitly the notion of a centre from which a certain cult emanates and to which it relates. This centre can be geographical - a monastery, a church, or a saint's tomb - or personal, the cult being associated with a king or the ruling family. Thus, the diffusion of a specific cult becomes a parameter for the degree of regional or political
cohesion.
This juxtaposition of the concept of unity with the adhesion to a
particular cult has to be questioned because it underestimates the role of diversity in a political system. A plurality of individual actors of more or less equal political standing may just as well produce and stand for a concept of poilticai coiiesiuu. Taking the Kingdom of Naples in the later Middle Ages as an example, a succession of different historical phases can help us understand how these models succeeded each other, shifting from centralizing tendencies to diversity and back to centralizing tendencies again. On the basis of art historical evidence, it can be shown how each of these concepts gave room to different actors and different dynamics.