Overview

An interdisciplinary approach to sources for our knowledge of the crusades. The interrelation of so-called ""literary"" and ""historical"" sources of the crusades, and the fluidity of these categorisations, are the central concerns of the essays collected here. They demonstrate what the study of literary texts can do for our historical understanding of the crusading movement, challenging earlier historiographical assumptions about well-known poems and songs, and introducing hitherto understudied manuscript sources which elucidate a rich contemporary compositional culture regarding the matter of crusade. The volume discusses a wide array of European textual responses to the medieval crusading movement, from the Plantagenet and Catalan courts to the Italy of Charles of Anjou, Cyprus, and the Holy Land. Meanwhile, the topics considered include the connexions between poetry and history in the Latin First Crusade texts; the historical, codicological and literary background to Richard the Lionheart's famous song of captivity; crusade references in the troubadour Cerveri of Girona; literary culture surrounding Charles of Anjou's expeditions; the use of the Melusine legend to strengthen the Lusignans' claim to Cyprus; and the influence of aristocratic selection criteria in manuscript traditions of Old French crusade songs. These diverse approaches are unified in their examination of crusading texts as cultural artefacts ripe for comparison across linguistic and thematic divides.

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9781843845843

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This fine collection of essays is but one product of a truly international consortium of scholars SEHEPUNKTE

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SIMON THOMAS PARSONS teaches Medieval History at Royal Holloway, University of London and King's College London. LINDA PATERSON is Professor Emerita at Warwick University. SIMON THOMAS PARSONS teaches Medieval History at Royal Holloway, University of London and King's College London. Simon John is Senior Lecturer in Medieval History at Swansea University. STEPHEN J. SPENCER is Assistant Professor in Medieval History at Northeastern University London and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

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