Jerzy Sikora

The ‘little sister’ of Zamora Cathedral: the collegiate church in Toro. ‘Little’ does not mean ‘inferior’. In fact, it is all the better for not having been rebuilt during the modern era, meaning it has retained its late Romanesque structure in its entirety.

Zamora Cathedral. Although it is not particularly large, it is the city’s largest and most important church. This 12th-century, three-nave basilica with a transept features an imposing west tower and a dome above the crossing of the naves. The choir is a later addition in the Late Gothic style.

It is now time for even more medieval impressions from León. The cathedral in León is arguably the finest example of French Gothic architecture in Spain.

A splendid realisation of the concept of a glass (stained-glass) wall.

Some more medieval impressions. This time from Salamanca.

Medieval impressions from #Avila.

The Church of Saint Gilles, with its magnificent portal, as we know it today, was not built for decades. The present building has destroyed most of older fundations.We do not know what the church looked like at the end of the 11th century. So I can use my imagination.

The year 1085. A Polish embassy send by Prince Władysław Herman is travelling to Saint Gilles in Provence. They are carrying a golden statuette of a boy, along with a request for the monastery to pray for the birth of the prince’s heir to the throne.

In 2022, I asked the AI model DALL-E to generate an image of an army led by the 12th-century Polish duke Bolesław Krzywousty fighting Pomeranians. It produced an image of 'knights' fighting Pomeranian dogs. In the 12th century, the Pomeranians were still only the inhabitants of Pomerania,

which is now northern Poland. The model was unable to understand the context of medieval Pomerania and was unaware of the Pomeranian Wars in 12th C. I was curious to know if this had changed after 4 years of developing such models. So I asked Nanobanana to generate a picture using a similar prompt.

Dotarła właśnie w moje ręce książka "Bolesław Chrobry. Konteksty", nieco spóźniona na milenium koronacji władcy. Całkiem ładnie wydana, w dwóch wersjach językowych. To co mi się podoba, to różnorodność autorów pochodzących z różnych ośrodków badawczych, w tym zza granicy.

Wczoraj narysowałem ostatnią z 63 plansz komoksu o Bolesławie Krzywoustym. To jest miejsce, w którym kończy się narracja Galla Anonima, a ja na ostatnie 3 strony przechodzę na Herborda, by zrobić krótki epilog, związany z misją Ottona z Bambergu.

In the battle Comes Żelisław had his shield-holding hand cut off but immediately avenged the loss by manfully striking down his maimer. To honor him Duke Bolesław gave him a golden hand in place of the one of flash he had lost. (Gallus Anonymous Chronicle, beggining of the 12th century)

This ring pin was found during excavations in the 11th-century ring fort in Spycimierz, central Poland, in the 1960s. Unlike most Viking Age Scandinavian ring pins, it is made of iron, not bronze. However, it is decorated with thin bronze wire inlays. Iron pins were popular in 10th-13th c. PL.

The little Romanesque church in Inowłódz, central Poland, was probably built at the end of the 11th or beginning of the 12th century. Its contemporary, campanile-like western tower is the result of a reconstruction carried out in the 1930s for Ignacy Mościcki, the President of the Republic of Poland

On the absis wall, you can easily find a stone with a carved cross, which is part of a 12th- or 13th-century grave slab. Before the entrance is a baptismal font, which is also likely to date from the 12th or 13th century.

The little Romanesque church in Inowłódz, central Poland, was probably built at the end of the 11th or beginning of the 12th century. Its contemporary, campanile-like western tower is the result of a reconstruction carried out in the 1930s for Ignacy Mościcki, the President of the Republic of Poland