Monreale Cathedral Mosaics: God’s Promise to Men

Monreale Cathedral Genesis Cycle

Monreale Cathedral

Angels and Saints Mosaic 
in Monreale Cathedral

Monreale Cathedral (or Norman Cathedral) was built in 4 years between 1174 and 1178 in respect to the Norman Architecture. The cathedral is set in Palermo, Italy. The structure contains plenty of mosaics created on a background which was composed of yellow gold tiles. The exact number of these dividual parts, are counted as 130 and each one has been made to illustrate a religious event concerning biblical content mostly. Although these mosaics are quietly unique, they do not have the characteristics of deesis mosaics which could be seen in some historical temples such as Hagia Sophia.

Words of God Depicted in Mosaics

Jesus Christ, Mother Marry
and William II

The mosaics on the walls cover over six thousand square metres, and represent the Old Testament and the New Testament, with inscriptions in Greek and Latin languages. Those mosaics belong to the time period between late 12th and early 13th centuries. "Along the central nave isthe Genesis cycle, in the central apse are Christ and the Virgin Mary sitting on a throne, surrounded by apostles, saints and angels. On the two sides, over the royal and the episcopal thrones, there are mosaic scenes representing William crowned by Christ and again William offering the cathedral to the Virgin Marry." 

Noah's Ark

One of the mosaics is a portray which describes the words asked by god. Via the words of God; “I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall before a token of a covenant between me and the earth.” It is implied that there would be an indication of the new agreement and a promise given by God. There is no doubt that mosaics and the words refer to the story of Noah and his ark.

What was God’s Promise to Men?

Noah and the Rainbow

He promised to never destroy the earth again or wipe out every single living thing with a surge. Afterwards, He defined the rainbow as a sign of his promise. More particularly, God says that He has set his bow in the cloud in this depiction. Although the word of bow can be thought as a fight bow here, the event of mists and the confusion of implying a similar word on earth, is a clue to clarifying the situation. God was exactly talking about the rainbow. This is only a sign which individuals can see straightforwardly. The dialect utilized by God here is intended to recommend the emblematic hanging up of a fight weapon after the war which was done and it makes the situation an ideal opportunity for peace. God is assuming liability for making rainbows as an image of his promise to men and all creatures. He makes humankind to understand that He is never again disposed to send a worldwide destruction.

Relation with Nature

In the artworks created, to depict this kind of divine events, the effects of natural disasters and the stories form ancient civilizations are often utilized. This is the window of a bridge between monotheistic religions and pagan beliefs. While rainbows are a logical, meteorological marvel, Genesis attests that God is in charge of each logical and meteorological wonder. All in all, God created the rainbow as an image of his agreement of guarantee for this case.