Rewriting the First Crusade
Epistolary Culture in the Middle Ages
Published on 16. April 2024
Book
Hardback
246 pages
978-1-83765-175-7 (ISBN)
Description
An exploration of the letters from the First Crusade, yielding evidence for a number of reinterpretations of the movement.
The letters stemming from the First Crusade are premier sources for understanding the launch, campaign, and aftermath of the expedition. Between 1095 and 1100, epistles sustained social relationships across the Mediterranean and within Europe, as a mixture of historical writing, literary invention, news, and theological interpretation. They served ecclesiastical administration, projected authority, and formed focal points for spiritual commemoration and para-liturgical campaigns.
This volume, grounded on extensive research into the original manuscripts, and presenting numerous new manuscript witnesses, argues that some of the letters are post hoc "inventions", composed by generations of scribe-readers who visited crusading sites from the twelfth century on, adding new layers of meaning in the form of interpolations and post-scripts. Drawing upon this new understanding, and blurring the distinction of epistolary "reality", it rewrites central aspects of the history of the First Crusade, considering the documents in a new way: as markers of enthusiasm and support for the crusade movement among monastic clergy, who copied and consumed them as a form of scribal crusading. Whether authentic letters or literary "confections", they functioned as communal sites for the celebration, commemoration and memorialisation of the expedition.
The letters stemming from the First Crusade are premier sources for understanding the launch, campaign, and aftermath of the expedition. Between 1095 and 1100, epistles sustained social relationships across the Mediterranean and within Europe, as a mixture of historical writing, literary invention, news, and theological interpretation. They served ecclesiastical administration, projected authority, and formed focal points for spiritual commemoration and para-liturgical campaigns.
This volume, grounded on extensive research into the original manuscripts, and presenting numerous new manuscript witnesses, argues that some of the letters are post hoc "inventions", composed by generations of scribe-readers who visited crusading sites from the twelfth century on, adding new layers of meaning in the form of interpolations and post-scripts. Drawing upon this new understanding, and blurring the distinction of epistolary "reality", it rewrites central aspects of the history of the First Crusade, considering the documents in a new way: as markers of enthusiasm and support for the crusade movement among monastic clergy, who copied and consumed them as a form of scribal crusading. Whether authentic letters or literary "confections", they functioned as communal sites for the celebration, commemoration and memorialisation of the expedition.
Reviews / Votes
Smith makes an important contribution to our understanding of the manuscript milieu that conveyed these narratives, and to the process of reassessing how historians should be reading and teaching them now. * American Historical Review * This industrious monograph, drawing from an impressive array of historiography, and combining historical studies with philology and the fields of medieval manuscript culture and diplomatics, is a most welcome contribution to the field, and is accessible for students and specialists alike." * The Journal of Religious History, Literature and Culture * Das vorliegende Buch ist ein hervorragender Beweis dafuer, wie unverzichtbar die Historischen Grundwissenschaften, besonders Palaeographie und Diplomatik, fuer die Geschichtswissenschaft sind. ...Das Buch sei daher nicht nur Mediaevisten, sondern auch Literaturwissenschaftlern zur Lektuere empfohlen, da es in die Methoden historischer Quellenkritik und Rezeptionsforschung einfuehrt und wertvolle Ergebnisse zur mittelalterlichen Briefkultur und Mentalitaetsgeschichte beisteuert."(The present book is an excellent testament to the indispensable role of the auxiliary historical sciences, especially palaeography and diplomatics, in the study of history. ...It is therefore recommended not only to medievalists but also to literary scholars, as it provides an introduction to the methods of historical source criticism and reception studies, while offering valuable insights into medieval letter culture and the history of mentalities.) * FRANCIA RECENSIO * Smith convincingly demonstrates how to approach the letters not only as a source of factual information, but as a source revealing the interaction of medieval epistolary culture with the First Crusade and the Crusader movement in general.
Smith presvedcive demonstroval, jak k dopisum pristupovat nejen jako ke zdroji faktickych informaci, ale jako k prameni odhalujicimu interakci stredoveke epistolarni kultury s prvni krizovou vypravou a krizackym hnutim obecne. * CESKY CASOPIS HISTORICKY *
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Woodbridge
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
1 map, 3 graphs and 6 b/w illus.
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
537 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-83765-175-7 (9781837651757)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
05/2026
Boydell Press
€30.90
Shipment within 3-4 weeks
E-Book
04/2024
1st Edition
Boydell & Brewer Ltd
€48.99
Available for download
E-Book
04/2024
1st Edition
De Gruyter
€48.99
Available for download
Person
Thomas W. Smith gained his PhD from Royal Holloway, University of London; he is presently Keeper of the Scholars and Head of Oxbridge (Arts and Humanities) at Rugby School.
Content
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
1. The Call from the East: The Letters of Alexios I
2. The Launch of the Crusade: The Letters of Urban II, 1095-96
3. Letters from the Crusader Host, 1097-98
4. Letters from the Leaders of the Crusade, 1097-98
5. Interpreting the News from the East, 1099-1100
6. First Crusade Letters and Medieval Manuscript Cultures
Conclusion
Appendix: New Manuscripts of First Crusade Letters
Bibliography
Manuscript Index
General Index
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
1. The Call from the East: The Letters of Alexios I
2. The Launch of the Crusade: The Letters of Urban II, 1095-96
3. Letters from the Crusader Host, 1097-98
4. Letters from the Leaders of the Crusade, 1097-98
5. Interpreting the News from the East, 1099-1100
6. First Crusade Letters and Medieval Manuscript Cultures
Conclusion
Appendix: New Manuscripts of First Crusade Letters
Bibliography
Manuscript Index
General Index