Alan Ryder
- Published in print:
- 1990
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198219545
- eISBN:
- 9780191678356
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198219545.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This is a biography of one of the most brilliant 15th century monarchs, Alfonso V of Aragon, who won from his contemporaries the title ‘the Magnanimous’. The book follows him from childhood in the ...
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This is a biography of one of the most brilliant 15th century monarchs, Alfonso V of Aragon, who won from his contemporaries the title ‘the Magnanimous’. The book follows him from childhood in the chivalric world of Castile, to the newly-acquired states of Aragon, and his subsequent accession to the Aragonese throne. Pulled by powerful dynastic interests towards intervention in the turbulent world of Castilian politics, Alfonso eventually broke free to pursue his own ambitions in the central Mediterranean. Here he conquered Naples, bent the papacy to his will, broke the power of Genoa and planted his standards against Turkish advance in the Balkans. The book shows that Alfonso was also a shrewd politician, who made himself at home in the diplomatic jungle of Renaissance Italy, a merchant prince acutely aware of the power of commerce and one of the greatest patrons of the early Renaissance. Alfonso the Magnanimous brought humanism to life in Southern Italy, and made his court the most brilliant in Europe. Based on extensive archival research, this biography of Alfonso also covers political and cultural developments during his reign.Less
This is a biography of one of the most brilliant 15th century monarchs, Alfonso V of Aragon, who won from his contemporaries the title ‘the Magnanimous’. The book follows him from childhood in the chivalric world of Castile, to the newly-acquired states of Aragon, and his subsequent accession to the Aragonese throne. Pulled by powerful dynastic interests towards intervention in the turbulent world of Castilian politics, Alfonso eventually broke free to pursue his own ambitions in the central Mediterranean. Here he conquered Naples, bent the papacy to his will, broke the power of Genoa and planted his standards against Turkish advance in the Balkans. The book shows that Alfonso was also a shrewd politician, who made himself at home in the diplomatic jungle of Renaissance Italy, a merchant prince acutely aware of the power of commerce and one of the greatest patrons of the early Renaissance. Alfonso the Magnanimous brought humanism to life in Southern Italy, and made his court the most brilliant in Europe. Based on extensive archival research, this biography of Alfonso also covers political and cultural developments during his reign.
Conrad Leyser
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198208686
- eISBN:
- 9780191678127
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208686.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This book examines the formation of the Christian ascetic tradition in the western Roman Empire during the period of the barbarian invasions, c.400–600. In an aggressively competitive political ...
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This book examines the formation of the Christian ascetic tradition in the western Roman Empire during the period of the barbarian invasions, c.400–600. In an aggressively competitive political context, one of the most articulate claims to power was made, paradoxically, by men who had renounced ‘the world’, committing themselves to a life of spiritual discipline in the hope of gaining entry to an otherworldly kingdom. Often dismissed as mere fanaticism or open hypocrisy, the language of ascetic authority, the book shows, was both carefully honed and well understood in the late Roman and early medieval Mediterranean. It charts the development of this new moral rhetoric by abbots, teachers, and bishops from the time of Augustine of Hippo to that of St Benedict and Gregory the Great.Less
This book examines the formation of the Christian ascetic tradition in the western Roman Empire during the period of the barbarian invasions, c.400–600. In an aggressively competitive political context, one of the most articulate claims to power was made, paradoxically, by men who had renounced ‘the world’, committing themselves to a life of spiritual discipline in the hope of gaining entry to an otherworldly kingdom. Often dismissed as mere fanaticism or open hypocrisy, the language of ascetic authority, the book shows, was both carefully honed and well understood in the late Roman and early medieval Mediterranean. It charts the development of this new moral rhetoric by abbots, teachers, and bishops from the time of Augustine of Hippo to that of St Benedict and Gregory the Great.
J. R. S. Phillips
- Published in print:
- 1972
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198223597
- eISBN:
- 9780191861048
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198223597.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This book examines the course and significance of English politics in the reign of Edward II through a study of the career of one important magnate, Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke from 1307 to ...
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This book examines the course and significance of English politics in the reign of Edward II through a study of the career of one important magnate, Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke from 1307 to 1324. It is not, however, intended as a biography. The Earl of Pembroke has been chosen to illustrate the problems of the period from the point of view of a magnate who, for most of his career, was closely associated with the monarchy and with the making and performance of royal policy. In this sense Pembroke represents the opposite side of the coin to Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, the King's opponent. Detailed coverage of the period starts in 1312, when Pembroke first became of real importance, and continues until his death is 1324.Less
This book examines the course and significance of English politics in the reign of Edward II through a study of the career of one important magnate, Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke from 1307 to 1324. It is not, however, intended as a biography. The Earl of Pembroke has been chosen to illustrate the problems of the period from the point of view of a magnate who, for most of his career, was closely associated with the monarchy and with the making and performance of royal policy. In this sense Pembroke represents the opposite side of the coin to Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, the King's opponent. Detailed coverage of the period starts in 1312, when Pembroke first became of real importance, and continues until his death is 1324.
Ralph-Johannes Lilie
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198204077
- eISBN:
- 9780191676116
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198204077.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This book is a study of the relations between Byzantium and the Crusader States of Syria and Palestine. The author sets out to explore the policies and principles that shaped contacts between the ...
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This book is a study of the relations between Byzantium and the Crusader States of Syria and Palestine. The author sets out to explore the policies and principles that shaped contacts between the Eastern Empire, the Crusader States, and the nations of Western Europe whence the Crusaders came. He traces the actions of the Byzantine Emperors in the twelfth century as they sought to keep control of the crusading armies within their territories and to maintain their positions with respect to the West, and shows how mutual suspicion and attempts at co-operation ended in enmity.Less
This book is a study of the relations between Byzantium and the Crusader States of Syria and Palestine. The author sets out to explore the policies and principles that shaped contacts between the Eastern Empire, the Crusader States, and the nations of Western Europe whence the Crusaders came. He traces the actions of the Byzantine Emperors in the twelfth century as they sought to keep control of the crusading armies within their territories and to maintain their positions with respect to the West, and shows how mutual suspicion and attempts at co-operation ended in enmity.
Andrew Jotischky
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198206347
- eISBN:
- 9780191717055
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198206347.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
The Carmelite Order began when a group of hermits settled in a regulated community on Mt Carmel in the kingdom of Jerusalem in the first decade of the 13th century. As the hermits began to found new ...
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The Carmelite Order began when a group of hermits settled in a regulated community on Mt Carmel in the kingdom of Jerusalem in the first decade of the 13th century. As the hermits began to found new houses across Christendom, they adopted mendicant practices and developed legendary traditions designed to extend their putative history back before 1200. The Carmelite historical legendary sought to associate generic eremitical monasticism and its Old Testament precursors with the Carmelite Order in order to claim that the Order, founded by Elijah, represented the oldest form of monasticism. This book examines the processes entailed in creating Carmelite history, analyses Carmelite historical narratives written between c.1280 and c.1530, and offers interpretations of the main techniques and arguments deployed in their construction. The wider context of historical writing in other religious orders is also considered, both for comparative purposes and to examine the reception of Carmelite arguments among contemporaries.Less
The Carmelite Order began when a group of hermits settled in a regulated community on Mt Carmel in the kingdom of Jerusalem in the first decade of the 13th century. As the hermits began to found new houses across Christendom, they adopted mendicant practices and developed legendary traditions designed to extend their putative history back before 1200. The Carmelite historical legendary sought to associate generic eremitical monasticism and its Old Testament precursors with the Carmelite Order in order to claim that the Order, founded by Elijah, represented the oldest form of monasticism. This book examines the processes entailed in creating Carmelite history, analyses Carmelite historical narratives written between c.1280 and c.1530, and offers interpretations of the main techniques and arguments deployed in their construction. The wider context of historical writing in other religious orders is also considered, both for comparative purposes and to examine the reception of Carmelite arguments among contemporaries.
Richard Kaeuper
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199244584
- eISBN:
- 9780191697388
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199244584.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
Medieval Europe was a rapidly developing society with a problem of violent disorder. This study reveals that chivalry was just as much a part of this problem as it was its solution. Chivalry praised ...
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Medieval Europe was a rapidly developing society with a problem of violent disorder. This study reveals that chivalry was just as much a part of this problem as it was its solution. Chivalry praised heroic violence by knights, and fused such displays of prowess with honour, piety, high status, and attractiveness to women. Though the vast body of chivalric literature praised chivalry as necessary to civilization, most texts also worried over knightly violence, criticized the ideals and practices of chivalry, and often proposed reforms. The knights themselves joined the debate, absorbing some reforms, ignoring others, sometimes proposing their own. The interaction of chivalry with major governing institutions (‘church’ and ‘state’) emerging at that time was similarly complex: kings and clerics both needed and feared the force of the knighthood. This book lays bare the conflicts and paradoxes which surrounded the concept of chivalry in medieval Europe.Less
Medieval Europe was a rapidly developing society with a problem of violent disorder. This study reveals that chivalry was just as much a part of this problem as it was its solution. Chivalry praised heroic violence by knights, and fused such displays of prowess with honour, piety, high status, and attractiveness to women. Though the vast body of chivalric literature praised chivalry as necessary to civilization, most texts also worried over knightly violence, criticized the ideals and practices of chivalry, and often proposed reforms. The knights themselves joined the debate, absorbing some reforms, ignoring others, sometimes proposing their own. The interaction of chivalry with major governing institutions (‘church’ and ‘state’) emerging at that time was similarly complex: kings and clerics both needed and feared the force of the knighthood. This book lays bare the conflicts and paradoxes which surrounded the concept of chivalry in medieval Europe.
Henry Mayr-Harting
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199210718
- eISBN:
- 9780191705755
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199210718.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
Integrating the brilliant biography of Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne (953-65) and brother of Emperor Otto I, written by the otherwise obscure monk Ruotger, with the intellectual culture of Cologne ...
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Integrating the brilliant biography of Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne (953-65) and brother of Emperor Otto I, written by the otherwise obscure monk Ruotger, with the intellectual culture of Cologne Cathedral, this book provides a study of actual politics in conjunction with Ottonian ruler ethic. Our knowledge of Cologne intellectual activity in the period, apart from Ruotger, must be pieced together mainly from marginal annotations and glosses in surviving Cologne manuscripts, showing how and with what concerns some of the most important books of the Latin West were read in Bruno's and Ruotger's Cologne. These include Pope Gregory the Great's Letters, Prudentius's Psychomachia, Boethius's Arithmetic, and Martianus Capella's Marriage of Philology and Mercury. The writing in the margins of the manuscripts, besides enlarging our picture of thinking in Cologne in itself, can be drawn into comparison with the outlook of Ruotger. Exploring how distinctive Cologne was, compared with other centres, this book brings out an unexpectedly strong thread of Platonism in the 10th-century intellect. The book includes a critical edition of probably the earliest surviving, and hitherto unpublished, set of glosses to Boethius's Arithmetic, with an extensive study of their content.Less
Integrating the brilliant biography of Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne (953-65) and brother of Emperor Otto I, written by the otherwise obscure monk Ruotger, with the intellectual culture of Cologne Cathedral, this book provides a study of actual politics in conjunction with Ottonian ruler ethic. Our knowledge of Cologne intellectual activity in the period, apart from Ruotger, must be pieced together mainly from marginal annotations and glosses in surviving Cologne manuscripts, showing how and with what concerns some of the most important books of the Latin West were read in Bruno's and Ruotger's Cologne. These include Pope Gregory the Great's Letters, Prudentius's Psychomachia, Boethius's Arithmetic, and Martianus Capella's Marriage of Philology and Mercury. The writing in the margins of the manuscripts, besides enlarging our picture of thinking in Cologne in itself, can be drawn into comparison with the outlook of Ruotger. Exploring how distinctive Cologne was, compared with other centres, this book brings out an unexpectedly strong thread of Platonism in the 10th-century intellect. The book includes a critical edition of probably the earliest surviving, and hitherto unpublished, set of glosses to Boethius's Arithmetic, with an extensive study of their content.
John Blair and Brian Golding (eds)
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198204404
- eISBN:
- 9780191676246
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198204404.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This book's chapters honour a distinguished scholar best known for her work on late medieval economy, demography, and estate management, and on the monastic community at Westminster. The uniting ...
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This book's chapters honour a distinguished scholar best known for her work on late medieval economy, demography, and estate management, and on the monastic community at Westminster. The uniting theme is the imprint of the church, especially the monastic church, upon society at large. The breadth of contributions range from the 8th to 16th centuries, with an emphasis on the later middle ages, looking at urban religion, monastic education, and the role of religious communities in stimulating economic growth. Westminster Abbey figures prominently, alongside chapters on the effects of the Dissolution on nunneries, the role of sanctuary in local communities, and on individuals such as Matthew Paris and Robert of Knaresborough whose lives reveal much about medieval England. In a worthy tribute to a great medievalist, the chapters show us a world where the influence of the cloister reached into almost every aspect of daily life.Less
This book's chapters honour a distinguished scholar best known for her work on late medieval economy, demography, and estate management, and on the monastic community at Westminster. The uniting theme is the imprint of the church, especially the monastic church, upon society at large. The breadth of contributions range from the 8th to 16th centuries, with an emphasis on the later middle ages, looking at urban religion, monastic education, and the role of religious communities in stimulating economic growth. Westminster Abbey figures prominently, alongside chapters on the effects of the Dissolution on nunneries, the role of sanctuary in local communities, and on individuals such as Matthew Paris and Robert of Knaresborough whose lives reveal much about medieval England. In a worthy tribute to a great medievalist, the chapters show us a world where the influence of the cloister reached into almost every aspect of daily life.
M. S. Kempshall
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207160
- eISBN:
- 9780191677526
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207160.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History, History of Ideas
This study offers a major reinterpretation of medieval political thought by examining one of its most fundamental ideas. If it was axiomatic that the goal of human society should be the common good, ...
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This study offers a major reinterpretation of medieval political thought by examining one of its most fundamental ideas. If it was axiomatic that the goal of human society should be the common good, then this notion presented at least two conceptual alternatives. Did it embody the highest moral ideals of happiness and the life of virtue, or did it represent the more pragmatic benefits of peace and material security? Political thinkers from Thomas Aquinas to William of Ockham answered this question in various contexts. In theoretical terms, they were reacting to the rediscovery of Aristotle's Politics and Ethics, an event often seen as pivotal in the history of political thought. On a practical level, they were faced with pressing concerns over the exercise of both temporal and ecclesiastical authority — resistance to royal taxation and opposition to the jurisdiction of the pope. In establishing the connections between these different contexts, this book questions the identification of Aristotle as the primary catalyst for the emergence of ‘the individual’ and a ‘secular’ theory of the state. Through a detailed exposition of scholastic political theology, it argues that the roots of any such developments should be traced, instead, to Augustine and the Bible.Less
This study offers a major reinterpretation of medieval political thought by examining one of its most fundamental ideas. If it was axiomatic that the goal of human society should be the common good, then this notion presented at least two conceptual alternatives. Did it embody the highest moral ideals of happiness and the life of virtue, or did it represent the more pragmatic benefits of peace and material security? Political thinkers from Thomas Aquinas to William of Ockham answered this question in various contexts. In theoretical terms, they were reacting to the rediscovery of Aristotle's Politics and Ethics, an event often seen as pivotal in the history of political thought. On a practical level, they were faced with pressing concerns over the exercise of both temporal and ecclesiastical authority — resistance to royal taxation and opposition to the jurisdiction of the pope. In establishing the connections between these different contexts, this book questions the identification of Aristotle as the primary catalyst for the emergence of ‘the individual’ and a ‘secular’ theory of the state. Through a detailed exposition of scholastic political theology, it argues that the roots of any such developments should be traced, instead, to Augustine and the Bible.
Chris Wickham
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207047
- eISBN:
- 9780191677458
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207047.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This book addresses a gap in Italian historiography by examining rural rather than city communes. In recent years, historians have increasingly focused on local and ...
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This book addresses a gap in Italian historiography by examining rural rather than city communes. In recent years, historians have increasingly focused on local and regional studies of village communities as a way of understanding medieval European history. This discussion of a group of villages around Lucca is the first detailed study of the origin of organized village communities in Italy for over seventy years, showing how the social and political structures of the countryside ran alongside those of the city. The author analyses how local politics took recognizable shape as its ruling structures gradually emerged over time. His argument does not end there, and indeed extends beyond Italy to France and Spain, providing sustained comparisons of rural development and social organization. The result is a rare combination of systematic local analysis and wide synthesis, aimed at illuminating the whole area of social transformation in twelfth-century Europe.Less
This book addresses a gap in Italian historiography by examining rural rather than city communes. In recent years, historians have increasingly focused on local and regional studies of village communities as a way of understanding medieval European history. This discussion of a group of villages around Lucca is the first detailed study of the origin of organized village communities in Italy for over seventy years, showing how the social and political structures of the countryside ran alongside those of the city. The author analyses how local politics took recognizable shape as its ruling structures gradually emerged over time. His argument does not end there, and indeed extends beyond Italy to France and Spain, providing sustained comparisons of rural development and social organization. The result is a rare combination of systematic local analysis and wide synthesis, aimed at illuminating the whole area of social transformation in twelfth-century Europe.
Francis Oakley
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199541249
- eISBN:
- 9780191708787
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199541249.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Ideas, European Medieval History
In the early 15th century, the general council assembled at Constance and, representing the universal Church, put an end to the scandalous schism which for almost forty years had divided the Latin ...
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In the early 15th century, the general council assembled at Constance and, representing the universal Church, put an end to the scandalous schism which for almost forty years had divided the Latin Church between rival lines of claimants to the papal office. It did so by claiming and exercising an authority superior to that of the pope, an authority by virtue of which it could impose constitutional limits on the exercise of his prerogatives, stand in judgement over him, and if need be, depose him for wrongdoing. In so acting, the council gave historic expression to a tradition of conciliarist constitutionalism that long competed for the allegiance of Catholics worldwide with the high papalist monarchical vision that was destined to triumph in 1870 at Vatican I and to become identified with Roman Catholic orthodoxy itself. This book sets out to reconstruct the half-millennial history of that vanquished rival tradition.Less
In the early 15th century, the general council assembled at Constance and, representing the universal Church, put an end to the scandalous schism which for almost forty years had divided the Latin Church between rival lines of claimants to the papal office. It did so by claiming and exercising an authority superior to that of the pope, an authority by virtue of which it could impose constitutional limits on the exercise of his prerogatives, stand in judgement over him, and if need be, depose him for wrongdoing. In so acting, the council gave historic expression to a tradition of conciliarist constitutionalism that long competed for the allegiance of Catholics worldwide with the high papalist monarchical vision that was destined to triumph in 1870 at Vatican I and to become identified with Roman Catholic orthodoxy itself. This book sets out to reconstruct the half-millennial history of that vanquished rival tradition.
Regina Pörtner
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199246151
- eISBN:
- 9780191715228
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199246151.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This is an account of religious belief and conflict in the strategically important province of Inner Austria between 1580 and 1630. It shows how Protestantisation in the first half of the 16th ...
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This is an account of religious belief and conflict in the strategically important province of Inner Austria between 1580 and 1630. It shows how Protestantisation in the first half of the 16th century was linked to communication with the Protestants of the rest of the Empire, and to the failure of ecclesiastical reform in the church province of Salzburg, of which Styria formed part. The Protestant success of 1578, however, proved deceptive because it lacked constitutional substance, and was defended by an inherently weak union of the Inner Austrian estates. The book analyses the aims, achievements, and shortcomings of the Habsburgs' confessional crusade in Styria, showing how although the progress of Protestantisation was reversed, the Counter-Reformation left an ambivalent legacy to the modern Austrian state.Less
This is an account of religious belief and conflict in the strategically important province of Inner Austria between 1580 and 1630. It shows how Protestantisation in the first half of the 16th century was linked to communication with the Protestants of the rest of the Empire, and to the failure of ecclesiastical reform in the church province of Salzburg, of which Styria formed part. The Protestant success of 1578, however, proved deceptive because it lacked constitutional substance, and was defended by an inherently weak union of the Inner Austrian estates. The book analyses the aims, achievements, and shortcomings of the Habsburgs' confessional crusade in Styria, showing how although the progress of Protestantisation was reversed, the Counter-Reformation left an ambivalent legacy to the modern Austrian state.
Norman Housley
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199227051
- eISBN:
- 9780191746031
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199227051.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
The fifty years that followed Mehmed II's capture of Constantinople in 1453 witnessed a substantial attempt to revive the crusade as the principal military mechanism for defending Christian Europe ...
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The fifty years that followed Mehmed II's capture of Constantinople in 1453 witnessed a substantial attempt to revive the crusade as the principal military mechanism for defending Christian Europe against the advance of Ottoman Turks. This study investigates the origins, character, and significance of this ambitious programme. It locates it against the broad background of crusading history, and assesses the extent to which protagonists and lobbyists for a crusade managed to refashion crusading to meet the Turkish threat, combining traditional practices with new outlooks and techniques. It pays particular attention to diplomatic exchanges and political decision-making, military organization, communication, and devotional behaviour. The book demonstrates the impressive scale of the effort that was made to create a crusading response to the Turks. Crusaders were recruited in very large numbers between 1454 and 1464, and in 1501–3 substantial sums of money were raised through the vigorous preaching of indulgences in the Holy Roman Empire. But while the crusading cause was recognized as important and urgent, the mobilization of resources was prejudiced by the volatile nature of international politics, and by the weakness of the Renaissance papacy. Even when frontline states such as Hungary and Venice welcomed crusading contributions to their conflicts with the Ottomans, building robust structures of cooperation proved to be beyond the ability of contemporaries. As the Middle Ages drew to a close, the paradox of crusade was that its promotion and finance impacted on the lives of Catholics more than its instruments affected the struggle for domination of the Mediterranean Sea and south-eastern Europe.Less
The fifty years that followed Mehmed II's capture of Constantinople in 1453 witnessed a substantial attempt to revive the crusade as the principal military mechanism for defending Christian Europe against the advance of Ottoman Turks. This study investigates the origins, character, and significance of this ambitious programme. It locates it against the broad background of crusading history, and assesses the extent to which protagonists and lobbyists for a crusade managed to refashion crusading to meet the Turkish threat, combining traditional practices with new outlooks and techniques. It pays particular attention to diplomatic exchanges and political decision-making, military organization, communication, and devotional behaviour. The book demonstrates the impressive scale of the effort that was made to create a crusading response to the Turks. Crusaders were recruited in very large numbers between 1454 and 1464, and in 1501–3 substantial sums of money were raised through the vigorous preaching of indulgences in the Holy Roman Empire. But while the crusading cause was recognized as important and urgent, the mobilization of resources was prejudiced by the volatile nature of international politics, and by the weakness of the Renaissance papacy. Even when frontline states such as Hungary and Venice welcomed crusading contributions to their conflicts with the Ottomans, building robust structures of cooperation proved to be beyond the ability of contemporaries. As the Middle Ages drew to a close, the paradox of crusade was that its promotion and finance impacted on the lives of Catholics more than its instruments affected the struggle for domination of the Mediterranean Sea and south-eastern Europe.
D. L. d'Avray
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198203964
- eISBN:
- 9780191676055
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198203964.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History, History of Religion
This book is a study of medieval de mortuis sermons in memory of kings and princes. It examines medieval kingship and attitudes to death, and identifies a period in which this-worldly and ...
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This book is a study of medieval de mortuis sermons in memory of kings and princes. It examines medieval kingship and attitudes to death, and identifies a period in which this-worldly and other-worldly interests were held in a relatively stable equilibrium. This book's conclusions are based on unpublished medieval sermons from 14th-century Europe. After an outline of the genre's development, the book argues that the portrayal of individual personalities seemed to convey a message about kingship. The message is shown to be much the same as that of 15th-century humanist preaching so far as the ‘external goods’ of wealth and nobility are concerned. Aristotelian influence enhances the secular character of the ideology. The secularity, however, is harmoniously balanced by a more predictable emphasis on death and the afterlife. Furthermore, in drawing this balance the sermons are representative of an outlook widely current in the real world of a 14th-century kingship.Less
This book is a study of medieval de mortuis sermons in memory of kings and princes. It examines medieval kingship and attitudes to death, and identifies a period in which this-worldly and other-worldly interests were held in a relatively stable equilibrium. This book's conclusions are based on unpublished medieval sermons from 14th-century Europe. After an outline of the genre's development, the book argues that the portrayal of individual personalities seemed to convey a message about kingship. The message is shown to be much the same as that of 15th-century humanist preaching so far as the ‘external goods’ of wealth and nobility are concerned. Aristotelian influence enhances the secular character of the ideology. The secularity, however, is harmoniously balanced by a more predictable emphasis on death and the afterlife. Furthermore, in drawing this balance the sermons are representative of an outlook widely current in the real world of a 14th-century kingship.
Jonathan Phillips
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198205401
- eISBN:
- 9780191676611
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198205401.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
The triumph of the First Crusade (1095–1099) led to the establishment of a Latin Christian community in the Levant. Remarkably, despite growing pressure from the neighbouring Muslim powers, and the ...
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The triumph of the First Crusade (1095–1099) led to the establishment of a Latin Christian community in the Levant. Remarkably, despite growing pressure from the neighbouring Muslim powers, and the failure of the Second Crusade (1145–49), the settlers were able to occupy Jerusalem and substantial areas of what are now Israel, Syria, and the Lebanon for over three-quarters of a century. It was the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin in 1187 which precipitated the famous Third Crusade dominated by Richard the Lionheart. This is the first systematic investigation of the settlers' attempts to seek support for their vital role as guardians of the Holy Land. The book draws together a disparate range of evidence to show how they turned to western Europe, and to a lesser extent Byzantium, for help. As attitudes and strategies evolved, the settlers' approach became increasingly sophisticated, peaking during the reign of King Amalric of Jerusalem (1163–74), when diplomatic activity was particularly intense. The book also investigates the attitude of King Henry II of England towards the crusades, and the effects of the Becket dispute on western responses to the needs of the Holy Land. The study demonstrates that contact between the Latin East and the West was far more complex than previously believed, and exposes for the first time the range and scale of the settlers' efforts to maintain Christian control of the Holy Land.Less
The triumph of the First Crusade (1095–1099) led to the establishment of a Latin Christian community in the Levant. Remarkably, despite growing pressure from the neighbouring Muslim powers, and the failure of the Second Crusade (1145–49), the settlers were able to occupy Jerusalem and substantial areas of what are now Israel, Syria, and the Lebanon for over three-quarters of a century. It was the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin in 1187 which precipitated the famous Third Crusade dominated by Richard the Lionheart. This is the first systematic investigation of the settlers' attempts to seek support for their vital role as guardians of the Holy Land. The book draws together a disparate range of evidence to show how they turned to western Europe, and to a lesser extent Byzantium, for help. As attitudes and strategies evolved, the settlers' approach became increasingly sophisticated, peaking during the reign of King Amalric of Jerusalem (1163–74), when diplomatic activity was particularly intense. The book also investigates the attitude of King Henry II of England towards the crusades, and the effects of the Becket dispute on western responses to the needs of the Holy Land. The study demonstrates that contact between the Latin East and the West was far more complex than previously believed, and exposes for the first time the range and scale of the settlers' efforts to maintain Christian control of the Holy Land.
Matthew Gabriele
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199591442
- eISBN:
- 9780191725128
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199591442.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History, History of Religion
Beginning shortly after his death in 814, the inhabitants of Charlemagne's historical empire looked back upon his reign and saw in it an exemplar of Christian universality—Christendom. They mapped ...
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Beginning shortly after his death in 814, the inhabitants of Charlemagne's historical empire looked back upon his reign and saw in it an exemplar of Christian universality—Christendom. They mapped contemporary Christendom onto the past and so, during the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries, the borders of his empire grew with each retelling, almost always including the Christian East. Although the pull of Jerusalem on the West seems to have been strong during the eleventh century, it had a more limited effect on the Charlemagne legend. Instead, the legend grew during this period because of a peculiar fusion of ideas, carried forward from the ninth century but filtered through the social, cultural, and intellectual developments of the intervening years. Paradoxically, what happened was that Charlemagne became less important to the Charlemagne legend. The legend became a story about the Frankish people, who believed they had held God's favor under Charlemagne and held out hope that they could one day reclaim their special place in sacred history. Indeed, popular versions of the Last Emperor legend, which spoke of a great ruler who would reunite Christendom in preparation for the last battle between good and evil, promised just this to the Franks. Ideas of empire, identity, and Christian religious violence were potent reagents. The mixture of these ideas could remind men of their Frankishness and move them, for example, to take up arms, march to the East, and reclaim their place as defenders of the faith during the First Crusade.Less
Beginning shortly after his death in 814, the inhabitants of Charlemagne's historical empire looked back upon his reign and saw in it an exemplar of Christian universality—Christendom. They mapped contemporary Christendom onto the past and so, during the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries, the borders of his empire grew with each retelling, almost always including the Christian East. Although the pull of Jerusalem on the West seems to have been strong during the eleventh century, it had a more limited effect on the Charlemagne legend. Instead, the legend grew during this period because of a peculiar fusion of ideas, carried forward from the ninth century but filtered through the social, cultural, and intellectual developments of the intervening years. Paradoxically, what happened was that Charlemagne became less important to the Charlemagne legend. The legend became a story about the Frankish people, who believed they had held God's favor under Charlemagne and held out hope that they could one day reclaim their special place in sacred history. Indeed, popular versions of the Last Emperor legend, which spoke of a great ruler who would reunite Christendom in preparation for the last battle between good and evil, promised just this to the Franks. Ideas of empire, identity, and Christian religious violence were potent reagents. The mixture of these ideas could remind men of their Frankishness and move them, for example, to take up arms, march to the East, and reclaim their place as defenders of the faith during the First Crusade.
Peter Sarris
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199261260
- eISBN:
- 9780191730962
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199261260.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
Drawing upon the latest historical and archaeological research, this work provides a panoramic account of the history of Europe, the Mediterranean and the Near East from the Fall of Rome to the Rise ...
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Drawing upon the latest historical and archaeological research, this work provides a panoramic account of the history of Europe, the Mediterranean and the Near East from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Islam. The formation of a new social and economic order in western Europe in the fifth, sixth and seventh centuries, and the ascendancy across the West of a new culture of military lordship, are placed firmly in the context of on-going connections and influence radiating outwards from the surviving Eastern Roman Empire, ruled from the great imperial capital of Constantinople. The East Roman (or ‘Byzantine’) Emperor Justinian’s attempts to revive imperial fortunes, restore the empire’s power in the West, and face down Constantinople’s great superpower rival, the Sasanian Empire of Persia, are charted, as too are the ways in which the escalating warfare between Rome and Persia paved the way for the development of new concepts of ‘holy war’, the emergence of Islam, and the Arab conquests of the Near East. Processes of religious and cultural change are explained through examination of social, economic, and military upheavals, and the formation of early medieval European society is placed in a broader context of changes that swept across the world of Western Eurasia from Manchuria to the Rhine. Warfare and plague, holy men and kings, emperors, shahs, caliphs and peasants all play their part in a compelling narrative suited to specialist, student, and general readership alike.Less
Drawing upon the latest historical and archaeological research, this work provides a panoramic account of the history of Europe, the Mediterranean and the Near East from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Islam. The formation of a new social and economic order in western Europe in the fifth, sixth and seventh centuries, and the ascendancy across the West of a new culture of military lordship, are placed firmly in the context of on-going connections and influence radiating outwards from the surviving Eastern Roman Empire, ruled from the great imperial capital of Constantinople. The East Roman (or ‘Byzantine’) Emperor Justinian’s attempts to revive imperial fortunes, restore the empire’s power in the West, and face down Constantinople’s great superpower rival, the Sasanian Empire of Persia, are charted, as too are the ways in which the escalating warfare between Rome and Persia paved the way for the development of new concepts of ‘holy war’, the emergence of Islam, and the Arab conquests of the Near East. Processes of religious and cultural change are explained through examination of social, economic, and military upheavals, and the formation of early medieval European society is placed in a broader context of changes that swept across the world of Western Eurasia from Manchuria to the Rhine. Warfare and plague, holy men and kings, emperors, shahs, caliphs and peasants all play their part in a compelling narrative suited to specialist, student, and general readership alike.
Julia M.H. Smith
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780192892638
- eISBN:
- 9780191670626
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780192892638.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This book offers an integrated appraisal of the early Middle Ages as a dynamic and formative period in European history. It makes use of original sources to introduce early medieval men and women at ...
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This book offers an integrated appraisal of the early Middle Ages as a dynamic and formative period in European history. It makes use of original sources to introduce early medieval men and women at all levels of society from slave to emperor, and allows them to speak in their own words. It overturns traditional narratives and instead offers a fresh approach to the centuries from AD500 to AD1000. Rejecting any notion of a dominant, uniform early medieval culture, it argues that the fundamental characteristic of the early middle ages is diversity of experience. To explain how the men and women who lived in this period ordered their world in cultural, social, and political terms, it employs a methodology combining cultural history, regional studies, and gender history. Ranging comparatively from Ireland to Hungary and from Scotland and Scandinavia to Spain and Italy, the analysis highlights three themes: regional variation, power, and the legacy of Rome. Collectively, the book's chapters establish the complex cultural realities which distinguished Europe in the period between the end of the central institutions of the western Roman empire in the 5th century and the emergence of a Rome-centred papal monarchy from the late 11th century onwards. In the context of debates about the social, religious, and cultural meaning of ‘Europe’ in the early 21st century, this books seeks the origins of European cultural pluralism and diversity in the early Middle Ages.Less
This book offers an integrated appraisal of the early Middle Ages as a dynamic and formative period in European history. It makes use of original sources to introduce early medieval men and women at all levels of society from slave to emperor, and allows them to speak in their own words. It overturns traditional narratives and instead offers a fresh approach to the centuries from AD500 to AD1000. Rejecting any notion of a dominant, uniform early medieval culture, it argues that the fundamental characteristic of the early middle ages is diversity of experience. To explain how the men and women who lived in this period ordered their world in cultural, social, and political terms, it employs a methodology combining cultural history, regional studies, and gender history. Ranging comparatively from Ireland to Hungary and from Scotland and Scandinavia to Spain and Italy, the analysis highlights three themes: regional variation, power, and the legacy of Rome. Collectively, the book's chapters establish the complex cultural realities which distinguished Europe in the period between the end of the central institutions of the western Roman empire in the 5th century and the emergence of a Rome-centred papal monarchy from the late 11th century onwards. In the context of debates about the social, religious, and cultural meaning of ‘Europe’ in the early 21st century, this books seeks the origins of European cultural pluralism and diversity in the early Middle Ages.
Mary Carruthers
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199590322
- eISBN:
- 9780191804540
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199590322.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This book articulates a new approach to medieval aesthetic values, emphasizing the sensory and emotional basis of all medieval arts, the love of play and fine craftsmanship, of puzzles, and of strong ...
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This book articulates a new approach to medieval aesthetic values, emphasizing the sensory and emotional basis of all medieval arts, the love of play and fine craftsmanship, of puzzles, and of strong contrasts. This book offers an understanding of medieval literature and art that is rooted in the perceptions and feelings of ordinary life, made up of play and laughter as well as serious work. Medieval stylistic values of variety, sweetness, good taste, and ordinary beauty are grounded in classical and medieval biological theories of change and flux in the human body, not only in symbolism and theology.Less
This book articulates a new approach to medieval aesthetic values, emphasizing the sensory and emotional basis of all medieval arts, the love of play and fine craftsmanship, of puzzles, and of strong contrasts. This book offers an understanding of medieval literature and art that is rooted in the perceptions and feelings of ordinary life, made up of play and laughter as well as serious work. Medieval stylistic values of variety, sweetness, good taste, and ordinary beauty are grounded in classical and medieval biological theories of change and flux in the human body, not only in symbolism and theology.
Stephanie Downes, Sally Holloway, and Sarah Randles (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- February 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198802648
- eISBN:
- 9780191840944
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198802648.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Early Modern History, European Medieval History
This volume investigates the various interactions of people, feelings, and things throughout pre-modern Europe. The subject of materiality has been gaining interest in recent historical inquiry, ...
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This volume investigates the various interactions of people, feelings, and things throughout pre-modern Europe. The subject of materiality has been gaining interest in recent historical inquiry, alongside growing emphasis on the relationships between objects, emotions, and affect in archaeological and sociological research. The historical intersections between materiality and emotions, however, have remained under-theorized, particularly with respect to objects which have continuing resonance over extended periods of time, or across cultural and geographical space. The book addresses this need to develop an appropriate cross-disciplinary theoretical framework for analysing the emotional meanings of objects in European history. It draws together an international group of historians, art historians, curators, and literary scholars working on a variety of cultural, literary, visual, and material sources. Objects considered include books, letters, prosthetics, religious relics, shoes, stone, and textiles, and individual chapters address the ways in which emotions such as despair, fear, grief, hope, love, and wonder become inscribed in and ascribed to these items, producing ‘emotional objects’ of significance and agency.Less
This volume investigates the various interactions of people, feelings, and things throughout pre-modern Europe. The subject of materiality has been gaining interest in recent historical inquiry, alongside growing emphasis on the relationships between objects, emotions, and affect in archaeological and sociological research. The historical intersections between materiality and emotions, however, have remained under-theorized, particularly with respect to objects which have continuing resonance over extended periods of time, or across cultural and geographical space. The book addresses this need to develop an appropriate cross-disciplinary theoretical framework for analysing the emotional meanings of objects in European history. It draws together an international group of historians, art historians, curators, and literary scholars working on a variety of cultural, literary, visual, and material sources. Objects considered include books, letters, prosthetics, religious relics, shoes, stone, and textiles, and individual chapters address the ways in which emotions such as despair, fear, grief, hope, love, and wonder become inscribed in and ascribed to these items, producing ‘emotional objects’ of significance and agency.
