L’arte della guerra nel Liber ad honorem Augusti sive de rebus Siculis di Pietro da Eboli (1194-1197)

The extraordinary vivacity of the polychrome images accompanying the well-known manuscript Liber ad honorem Augusti by Pietro da Eboli preserved in the Burgerbibliothek in Bern (Cod. 120/II) provide an extremely interesting picture of the military knowledge and fortified architecture present in Norman southern Italy a few years after the end of the 12th century. What is immediately apparent to those who delve into the Liber is the extreme evocative power of the war scenes, so much so that the events of the proposed narrative picture are charged with not only historical but also extremely interesting technological values, to the point of offering new food for thought. The iconographic apparatus of the work depicts the various armies engaged in clashes and hard fighting within the main Norman cities of southern Italy such as Naples, Capua, Salerno, Messina, Palermo and other minor centres. Consequently, beyond the formal values linked to the narration of the fifty-three miniatures characterised by a strong medieval symbolism that stage the various historical episodes, the study intends to focus on the imagery of war, in particular on the way the art of medieval warfare was interpreted, represented and communicated.