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This volume is the only scholarly work in English examining the multicultural society of the Lusignan Kingdom of Cyprus during the first two centuries of Frankish rule following the conquest of the Byzantine island during the Third Crusade. In this global synthesis based on original research, often in manuscripts, six chapters by acknowledged experts treat the main ethnic groups – Greeks and Franks – and the economy, religion, literature, and art of a frontier society between Byzantium, the papacy, the Crusader States, and the Islamic world. Cyprus, also home to Armenians, Syrians (Maronites, Melkites, Jacobites, Nestorians), Jews, Muslims, and others, offers an excellent opportunity to study the fascinating issues of identity construction, acculturation, and assimilation in a ethnically and religiously diverse society.
The First Crusade (1096-1099) was an extraordinary undertaking, the repercussions of which have reached down to the present day. This book re-examines the sources to provide a detailed analysis of the various social classes that participated in the expedition, and the tensions between them.
Tyerman gives a sweeping new vision of one of history's most astounding events: the Crusades. Drawing on all of the most recent scholarship, and told with great verve and authority, "God's War" is the definitive account of a fascinating and horrifying story that continues to haunt our contemporary world.
In the Middle Ages, religious crusaders took up arms, prayed, bade farewell to their families, and marched off to fight in holy wars. These Christian soldiers also created accounts of their lives in lyric poetry, putting words to the experience of personal sacrifice and the pious struggle associated with holy war. The crusaders affirmed their commitment to fighting to claim a distant land while revealing their feelings as they left behind their loved ones, homes, and earthly duties. Their poems and related visual works offer us insight into the crusaders’ lives and values at the boundaries of earthly and spiritual duties, body and soul, holy devotion and courtly love. In The Subject of Cru...
Covering the period from the fall of the Roman Empire through to the beginnings of the Renaissance, this is an indispensable volume which brings the complex and colourful history of the Middle Ages to life. Key features: * geographical coverage extends to the broadest definition of Europe from the Atlantic coast to the Russian steppes * each map approaches a separate issue or series of events in Medieval history, whilst a commentary locates it in its broader context * as a body, the maps provide a vivid representation of the development of nations, peoples and social structures. With over 140 maps, expert commentaries and an extensive bibliography, this is the essential reference for those who are striving to understand the fundamental issues of this period.
For this new edition, Malcolm Barber has revised each chapter, taking into account the historiography of the past decade & bringing the text up to date.
A new appraisal of the Order of the Hospitallers, showing how they were responsible for the survival of the Christian settlement in the East. The Order of the Hospital of St John was among the most creative and important institutions of the Middle Ages, its history provoking much debate and controversy. However, there has been very little study of the way in which it operated as an organisation contributing to the survival of the Christian settlement in the East, a gap which this book addresses. It focuses on the impact of the various crises in the East upon the Order, looking at how it reactedto events, the contributions that western priories played in the rehabilitation of the East, and the various efforts made to restore its economic and military strength. In particular, the author shows the key role played by the papacy, both in the Order's recovery, and in determining the fate of the crusader states. Overall, it offers a whole new perspective on the connections between East and West. JUDITH BRONSTEIN gained her Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge
The objective of this book is to analyse the historical relationships between the phenomenon of Christian pilgrimage and political power within Europe, from the Middle Ages up to the present day. It establishes a discussion in which the twelve contributors to the volume can compare very different situations, such as the medieval pilgrimages and politics in the Latin East as part of warfare and conflict resolution, the significance and reality of pilgrimages in late medieval England or in Rome during the papacy of Innocent III, the 'two-way traffic' pilgrimages in the Tuscan city of Lucca, or the pilgrimages in Eastern European countries as an aspect of opposition to communist power. A major ...
Forty papers link the study of the military orders’ cultural life and output with their involvement in political and social conflicts during the medieval and early modern period. Divided into two volumes, focusing on the Eastern Mediterranean and Europe respectively, the collection brings together the most up-to-date research by experts from fifteen countries on a kaleidoscope of relevant themes and issues, thus offering a broad-ranging and at the same time very detailed study of the subject.
The differences that divide West from East go deeper than politics, deeper than religion, argues Anthony Pagden. To understand this volatile relationship, and how it has played out over the centuries, we need to go back before the Crusades, before the birth of Islam, before the birth of Christianity, to the fifth century BCE. Europe was born out of Asia and for centuries the two shared a single history. But when the Persian emperor Xerxes tried to conquer Greece, a struggle began which has never ceased. This book tells the story of that long conflict. First Alexander the Great and then the Romans tried to unite Europe and Asia into a single civilization. With the conversion of the West to Ch...