Riemenschneider in Rothenburg

Abstract

Counts of Toulouse, all purported to impose their authority through architecture, albeit on very diverse modes of movement and in very different ways. Sequence is then contrasted with rupture, times during which the micro-ecologies of SaintSernin and Karatay Han were reconfigured by the actions of the multitudes who dwelled in and around them. Salgirli argues that multitudes were often successful in destabilizing the preestablished significance and expected functions of Mediterranean architecture. In that regard, Karatay Han and Saint-Sernin simultaneously exerted and functioned outside the expectations of their makers. In his analysis, the rhythms described, sequence, rupture, flux and unrest, are produced by architecture and through it, and do not operate independently from one another. Instead, these disparate rhythms coexist, producing an arrhythmic cacophony that may well be the pulse of the medieval Mediterranean. Adding to its bold methodology, the variety of sources encompassed by the volume is quite remarkable. When depicting the evolutions of Saint-Sernin and Karatay Han, Salgirli not only draws from their physical characteristics, but also makes use of a wider array of material and visual sources, from sculptures to illustrated manuscripts and portolans. The breath of textual documents employed is also noteworthy, not only in terms of linguistic command, but especially in Salgirli’s adroit juxtaposition of travel accounts, charters and endowment deeds. However, as the narrative travels back and forth from Toulouse to Karatay, one might sometimes regret the abundant use of conceptual phrasing and out-of-context references (from Black Mirror to King Rat) which tend to obscure, rather than help, the overall argument. Nevertheless, following Peregrine Horden and Nicholas Purcell’s formulation, this volume crafts an original narrative of architecture in the late medieval Mediterranean, rather than a history of the Mediterranean region or of Mediterranean architecture as a whole. In this regard, The Fluctuating Sea not only sheds new light on the interwoven pasts of Saint-Sernin and Karatay Han, but also provides an array of insightful ways of jointly conceptualizing movement, architecture, and temporality in the late medieval Mediterranean and beyond.