Roger II and Il Idrisi_WIP

Work in progress: *errors abounding*. Media: Color pencil.

Roger II Altavilla (Hauteville) and Il (or Al or El) Idrisi – perhaps among the most maligned and extraordinary duos in medieval history, and the subject of yet two more recent misconceiving novels.

Roger (1095-1154) broke all the rules by reigning over a kingdom of Christians, Muslims, Jews and Byzantines in relative harmony, and took the best from each culture to fashion an amazing society. Holding a highly intellectual and cosmopolitan court as patron of the arts and sciences, he dared to defy his Pope by refusing to join the Crusades. “Rogerios Rex” became the invincible foe of marauding Mediterranean pirates with his own extraordinary navy (hence the “The Jolly Roger” is credited to him). Charismatic but feared, he was also a romantic who deeply loved his wife. He was a Norman who ruled the then-vast Kingdom of Sicily, a land that is now a mere whisper of its former self.

Il-Idrisi was a Muslim scholar, scientist, and world-traveler with an insatiable appetite for knowledge and adventure. As a young man from either Spain or Morocco, he sought his fortunes in the Sicilian court, forming a close and unusual friendship with Roger. Among his greatest achievements was a golden globe, which was the first of its kind to perceive the world as a sphere, and a book dedicated to Roger which displayed detailed maps of the then-known world.

Now forgotten save for a few misinformed novels and several academic tomes, and one forgettable operetta, Roger’s and Il Idrisi’s names have been resurrected in two current and fanciful novels that seem to miss the mark.