Increasing military and cultural contacts with the Muslim world, including the Norman conquest of Islamic Sicily in 1090, the Crusades, beginning 1096, and the Islamic presence in Spain, may have influenced Medieval Europe's adoption of the pointed arch, although this hypothesis remains controversial. Certainly, in those parts of the Western Mediterranean subject to Islamic control or influence, rich regional variants arose, fusing Romanesque and later Gothic traditions with Islamic decorative forms, as seen, for example, in Monreale and Cefalù Cathedrals, the Alcázar of Seville, and Teruel Cathedral. COUNT 5
QSN1 What could have affected Medieval Europe's embracing of the pointed arch? ANS1 cultural contacts with the Muslim world QSN2 What event in the year 1090 could have had an effect on Medieval Europe's embracing of the pointed arch? ANS2 the Norman conquest of Islamic Sicily QSN3 In which parts of the Western Mediterranean did the blending of Romanesque and Islamic styles occur? ANS3 those parts of the Western Mediterranean subject to Islamic control QSN4 What is one cathedral in which the mixing of Romanesque, Gothic and Islamic styles can be seen? ANS4 Cefalù Cathedrals QSN5 What is another example of a cathedral in which the blending of Romanesque, Gothic and Islamic styles can be seen? ANS5 Teruel Cathedral