Le motte e i dongioni de La Tapisserie de Bayeux : materiali sulla storia e sull'iconografia dell'architettura fortificata normanna dell'XI secolo

The essay examines the relationship between image and military architecture in an important iconographic apparatus of the Norman period: the ‘Tapisserie de Bayeux’. Beyond the ideological and narrative use of the elements present of the basic lexicon of the artistic masterpiece, the intensity of armed action, the different types of weapons employed and, above all, the engineering of the military defenses of the time emerge with extreme clarity. The astonishing number of drawings, whose scenes are reproduced in hundreds of medieval history books, offers a clear overview of the art of warfare and castle architecture in 11th century Western Europe. Iconographic analysis, as the leitmotif of the research, makes it possible to delve into the different architectural realities represented, also with a view to possible comparisons from contemporary testimonies, archaeological artefacts and monuments that are still visible, which could offer stimulating ideas for new models of investigation aimed at extending knowledge of the fortified architectural culture of the Norman period.