No description available

The Haskins Society presents papers from leading scholars on the political and social history of the Western European world through the Viking times via the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms to the break-up of the Carolingian state in the mid-13th century.

The first full English translation of Rigord's Gesta Philippi Augusti, The Deeds of Philip Augustus makes available to Anglophone readers the most important narrative account of the reign of King Philip II of France (r. 1180–1223), a critical source about this pivotal figure in the development of the medieval French monarchy and an intriguing window into many aspects of the broader twelfth century. Rigord wrote his chronicle in Latin, covering the first two-thirds of Philip II's reign, including such events as Philip's fateful expulsion of the Jews in 1182, his departure on the Third Crusade in 1190, his governmental innovations, and his victory over King John of England. As Philip II transformed French royal power, Rigord transformed contemporary writing about the nature of that power. Presented in a lively and readable translation framed by an introduction that contextualizes the text and accompanied by annotations, maps, and illustrations, The Deeds of Philip Augustus makes one of the most important documents of twelfth-century France available to a wide new readership.

First full examination of why and how certain locations were chosen for opposition to power, and the meaning they conveyed.

Richly illustrated, Early Gothic Column-Figure Sculpture in France is a comprehensive investigation of church portal sculpture installed between the 1130s and the 1170s. At more than twenty great churches, beginning at the Royal Abbey of Saint-Denis and extending around Paris from Provins in the east, south to Bourges and Dijon, and west to Chartres and Angers, larger than life-size statues of human figures were arranged along portal jambs, many carved as if wearing the dress of the highest ranks of French society. This study takes a close look at twelfth-century human figure sculpture, describing represented clothing, defining the language of textiles and dress that would have been legible in the twelfth-century, and investigating rationale and significance. The concepts conveyed through these extraordinary visual documents and the possible motivations of the patrons of portal programs with column-figures are examined through contemporaneous historical, textual, and visual evidence in various media. Appendices include analysis of sculpture production, and the transportation and fabrication in limestone from Paris. Janet Snyder's new study considers how patrons used sculpture to express and shape perceived reality, employing images of textiles and clothing that had political, economic, and social significances.

The Crusades were a startling and spectacular phenomenon that exerted a powerful influence on European development over a period of many centuries. Much recent writing has been devoted to explaining how the crusades began and what they achieved. This volume is intended as an introductory guide and analysis of how different aspects of crusading studies have developed. Rather than giving an account of events, each chapter offers an interpretative and historiographical study. It is aimed both at postgraduates and at professional academics.

In Kings, Knights, and Bankers, Richard Kaeuper presents a lifetime of medieval research on Italian financiers, English kingship, chivalric violence, and knightly piety. His foundational work on public finance connects Italian merchant banking with the growth of state power at the turn of the fourteenth century. Subsequent articles on law and order offer measured contributions to the continuing debate over the growth of governance and its relationship with contemporary disorder. He also convincingly proves that knights, the foremost military professionals of the medieval world, considered their prowess as both a source of honor and of sanctification. All interested in the history of medieval chivalry, governance, piety, and public finance can learn from this impressive collection of articles.