Aversa (Campania) Carved flagstone Second half of the 11th century (before 1090)

    This marble flagstone possibly comes from one of the doors of Aversa Cathedral (nowadays it is kept in the ambulatory). It depicts a monster, a lion or dragon, transfixed by a knight. This has been seen as an allusion to the legendary feats of Siegfried or St George. Without looking for any particular identifiable source, the theme of the knight in combat against a fabulous creature is a common reference to the triumph of Faith. The low relief treatment clearly suggests that Scandinavian influences are at work, but the iconographic treatment of the monster, here a lion rather than a dragon, also borrows a great deal from oriental models.

Dimensions of the object
165 x 55 cm

Bibliography
- I Normanni, popolo d'Europa, Roma-Venezia, 1994, Mario d'Onofrio (dir.) , n° 30.
- Italie des Normands, Normandie des Plantagenêts, Musée de Normandie, Caen, 1995, n° 5.

Location
Aversa, Ambulatory of the Cathedral

Photography : DR