Sailing To Byzantium

For over 1000 years, the Byzantine Empire stood as a symbol of Christian power in the eastern half of what had once been the Roman Empire, symbolizing a final link to the ancient world of the Greeks and Romans. Renamed Constantinople in 330 AD by Constantine I, the ancient city of Byzantium remained a center of wealth and power despite its fall to the western knights of the Fourth Crusade in 1203. The future of the city changed forever in 1453, when it was besieged by Sultan Mehmet II and the Ottoman Turks, overrun, and reborn as Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire.

A city of ancient Roman stonework, early Christian domes, towering Islamic minarets and intricate Ottoman tile and mosaics, Byzantium now stands for a dream of splendor and beauty straddling Europe and Asia Minor.

Byzantine architecture is notable for its stacked shapes; minarets towering over domes, above arches and blocks. The repeating geometric motifs create a strong visual effect, in warm tones of sandstone, clay, stone and lead. The geometry is enhanced by decorative elements of repeating carved mosaics and tiles, often in warm reds and bright azure.

The Sailing To Byzantium Collection includes the Selimiye shawl, Iznik shawlette, Mosaic Socks, Sofya Cowl, Minaret Hat, and Lattice Mittens – accessories connected by shape and color, and reminiscent of Byzantine architecture.

*“Sailing To Byzantium” is a poem by William Butler Yeats, which represents the metaphorical journey of a man pursuing his own vision of eternal life as well as his conception of paradise.

See it on Ravelry, to read more and purchase the patterns.

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