Messages in Mosaic concerns the themes represented in three Sicilian churches celebrating a new monarchy established in the twelfth century by a Norman family who conquered South Italy. The mosaic schemes in the cathedrals of Cefal, and Monreale as well as in the royal palace chapel in Palermo were Norman inventions rather than provincial Byzantine formulas. The arrangement of the subjects and choice of the inscriptions show how theology, politics and ceremony merged to create eloquent works of art with multiple messages.