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Chronicles of the Crusades (Penguin Classics)
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Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
Author: Jean de Joinville, Geffroy de Villehardouin
Publisher: Penguin Classics
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Our Price: $10.20
You Save: $ 4.80 ( 32% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
Author: Jean de Joinville, Geffroy de Villehardouin
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Average Customer Rating:
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Chronicles of the Crusades (Penguin Classics) Description
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 909.07
EAN: 9780140441246
ISBN: 0140441247
Label: Penguin Classics
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 368
Publication Date: 1963-08-30
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Studio: Penguin Classics
Dewey Decimal Number: 909.07
EAN: 9780140441246
ISBN: 0140441247
Label: Penguin Classics
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 368
Publication Date: 1963-08-30
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Studio: Penguin Classics
Editorial Review of Chronicles of the Crusades (Penguin Classics)
Customer Reviews of Chronicles of the Crusades (Penguin Classics)
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Very readable translation - recommended
Review: I highly recommend this translation of Joinville and Villehardouin.
The translator has taken care to translate these works into lucid, contemporary language without dumbing down the writing. Her work has paid off, providing a readable and lively edition still suitable for scholarly review.
Whether you are reading these for enjoyment, personal interest, or academic reasons, this translation is a good one.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The Crusades outlined as the Crusaders wanted them to be remembered.
Review: Chronicles of the Crusades is a chronicle of the Crusades from two of the senior participants who took part in two of the Crusades. The book covers the descriptions of the fourth and the seventh crusades as seen through the eyes of Geoffroy De Villehardouin (who took part in the fourth crusade) and Jean De Joinville (who took part in the seventh crusade). The two chronicles were translated for this book by Margaret Shaw. The book was published in 1963 around the time of her death. The two chronicles give us a look into the two crusades as chronicled through the eyes of two important noblemen of their time. This in itself will taint the purity of the chronicle. Chronicles such as these lay out the justifications for the crusades and tend to gloss over the blemishes. These two are no different. They were written to glorify the Crusaders and surely the writers would not put on ink anything that would later detract from their names. These chronicles do an excellent job of showing how the two chroniclers thought and how they wanted these two crusades remembered. When this book is read this should be kept in mind. The average crusader was a mixture of those driven by greed and religious extremists. The crusaders were allowed to plunder the lands they conquered. In today's terms they were allowed to take war trophies, thus stealing from the inhabitants of the land. They were barbaric in their means of taking the land and the raping of women was allowed, if the women were not of the Christian faith. The fourth crusade received condemnation on its behavior when the Christian city of Constantinople was sacked. This was due to the crusaders raping of the women. This of course is not pointed out by Villehardouin. The chroniclers mention a little of the plunder, but do not mention anything else. Though the chroniclers are quick to point out the cruelty of the Saracens. Margaret Shaw refers to these two chronicles as being the most reliable accounts of the crusades written in French. I would have to disagree that these chronicles should be taken as completely accurate. Joinville refers to Prestor John as if he was a person who actually existed, thus showing that his accounts are not strictly cemented in fact. The chronicles give an overview of the crusades and do not go into much detail on the equipment used and the everyday life of the average crusader. This book is a good book to show the chroniclers thoughts and perspectives but if you are trying to get an accurate picture of what happened during these crusades I would look into other books as well. Such books that describe the opposing views as seen from the Muslim side and other books that can give specifics on how the crusaders lived and their equipment could help in understanding these crusades better. I am giving this book 5 stars because it does accurately convey it's title. It does cover the Chronicles of the Crusades.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A must read
Review: I had to read this book in my Medieval and Ranasance Class at OSU. This book gives a first person view of what the Crusades were like. My teenage son has read the book several times and used for several research papers in high school.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Eyewitness Crusades
Review: The one feature that strikes me the most in reading the Chronicles of the Crusades is how terribly unfocused they were. Granted, the fourth and seventh Crusades were latecomers in the grand quest, but one wonders how much thought was really put into what they were doing.
Chronicles is a collection of two contemporary French accounts of the Crusades. The first, by Villehardouin, is entitled The Conquest of Constantinople, and it covers events in the fourth Crusade. It was a well-meaning venture that, while stopped in Venice to obtain transport ships, was sidetracked into attacking the Greek empire based in Constantinople. Villehardouin himself was a knight of some rank during this campaign. His style of writing is crisp and direct, and he refers to himself often in the third person as he relates the sieges, battles, and political machinations that make up the French and Venetian invasion. It's interesting to note how often he justifies their actions as following God's plan, and equally how often he dismisses as vile and un-Christian those actions of the crusaders who had other ideas about how to wage war. Case in point: a group of crusaders met not in Venice but elsewhere (many groups did this) and actually did travel to Syria to fight there. God, according to Villehardouin, cursed their unfaithfulness and caused them to fail. All hinges apparently on the quaint medieval notion that the Eastern Orthodox Church was, by being non-Catholic, also non-Christian. But in any case, off to Constantinople they went and had a grand time getting caught up in political battles left and right and undoubtedly weakening the non-Christian Greek Christians that much more before the Turks eventually came and took over. For storytelling I give Villehardouin high enough marks, but his political analysis needs some work.
The second account is Joinville's The Life of Saint Louis. Joinville is also a highly placed participant and aid to king Louis of France during the seventh Crusade. Unlike Villehardouin they do actually reach Saracen lands and fight there. Joinville is a much more personal account of things, involving actual conversations and a wide selection of individual actions by Joinville and Louis. He is also considerably less dogmatic in his evaluations of God's will, though he is nearly fanatical about the piousness of Louis. But even there he tells us accounts of his disagreements with his king and how they were resolved. Though his goal is clearly hagiography, he does present a much more personal account of their life on in the campaign than Villehardouin's earlier work. Joinville also continues the narrative back to France, with aspects of Louis's reign there given to us.
Both accounts present us with fairly clear and readable accounts of what might be otherwise forgettable events in history. Neither the fourth nor the seventh Crusades have the historical importance of the early ones but thanks to these participants they won't be lost to us, so pick up a copy and take a look at how the Crusaders handled themselves in the quest for honor, glory, piety, and adventure.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The Crusades through European eyes
Review: The two accounts in _Chronicles of the Crusades_ provide readers with fascinating accounts of the 4th and 7th crusades. Villehardoun's observations of the sack of Constantinople leave some questions regarding whether it was a conspiracy to destroy the city or not; ultimately it is up to the reader to decide... It does, however, provide a window into 12th century warfare and politics.
Joinville's chronicle of the 7th crusade into the Holy Land was similarly fascinating, providing more information about a European's impressions of the Near East and Christian-Islamic conflict than Villehardoun. I much preferred Joinville for this reason. Together, both accounts provide a well-rounded history of the time and place - a tremendously interesting read for professional and armchair historians alike.
Review Summary: Very readable translation - recommended
Review: I highly recommend this translation of Joinville and Villehardouin.
The translator has taken care to translate these works into lucid, contemporary language without dumbing down the writing. Her work has paid off, providing a readable and lively edition still suitable for scholarly review.
Whether you are reading these for enjoyment, personal interest, or academic reasons, this translation is a good one.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The Crusades outlined as the Crusaders wanted them to be remembered.
Review: Chronicles of the Crusades is a chronicle of the Crusades from two of the senior participants who took part in two of the Crusades. The book covers the descriptions of the fourth and the seventh crusades as seen through the eyes of Geoffroy De Villehardouin (who took part in the fourth crusade) and Jean De Joinville (who took part in the seventh crusade). The two chronicles were translated for this book by Margaret Shaw. The book was published in 1963 around the time of her death. The two chronicles give us a look into the two crusades as chronicled through the eyes of two important noblemen of their time. This in itself will taint the purity of the chronicle. Chronicles such as these lay out the justifications for the crusades and tend to gloss over the blemishes. These two are no different. They were written to glorify the Crusaders and surely the writers would not put on ink anything that would later detract from their names. These chronicles do an excellent job of showing how the two chroniclers thought and how they wanted these two crusades remembered. When this book is read this should be kept in mind. The average crusader was a mixture of those driven by greed and religious extremists. The crusaders were allowed to plunder the lands they conquered. In today's terms they were allowed to take war trophies, thus stealing from the inhabitants of the land. They were barbaric in their means of taking the land and the raping of women was allowed, if the women were not of the Christian faith. The fourth crusade received condemnation on its behavior when the Christian city of Constantinople was sacked. This was due to the crusaders raping of the women. This of course is not pointed out by Villehardouin. The chroniclers mention a little of the plunder, but do not mention anything else. Though the chroniclers are quick to point out the cruelty of the Saracens. Margaret Shaw refers to these two chronicles as being the most reliable accounts of the crusades written in French. I would have to disagree that these chronicles should be taken as completely accurate. Joinville refers to Prestor John as if he was a person who actually existed, thus showing that his accounts are not strictly cemented in fact. The chronicles give an overview of the crusades and do not go into much detail on the equipment used and the everyday life of the average crusader. This book is a good book to show the chroniclers thoughts and perspectives but if you are trying to get an accurate picture of what happened during these crusades I would look into other books as well. Such books that describe the opposing views as seen from the Muslim side and other books that can give specifics on how the crusaders lived and their equipment could help in understanding these crusades better. I am giving this book 5 stars because it does accurately convey it's title. It does cover the Chronicles of the Crusades.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A must read
Review: I had to read this book in my Medieval and Ranasance Class at OSU. This book gives a first person view of what the Crusades were like. My teenage son has read the book several times and used for several research papers in high school.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Eyewitness Crusades
Review: The one feature that strikes me the most in reading the Chronicles of the Crusades is how terribly unfocused they were. Granted, the fourth and seventh Crusades were latecomers in the grand quest, but one wonders how much thought was really put into what they were doing.
Chronicles is a collection of two contemporary French accounts of the Crusades. The first, by Villehardouin, is entitled The Conquest of Constantinople, and it covers events in the fourth Crusade. It was a well-meaning venture that, while stopped in Venice to obtain transport ships, was sidetracked into attacking the Greek empire based in Constantinople. Villehardouin himself was a knight of some rank during this campaign. His style of writing is crisp and direct, and he refers to himself often in the third person as he relates the sieges, battles, and political machinations that make up the French and Venetian invasion. It's interesting to note how often he justifies their actions as following God's plan, and equally how often he dismisses as vile and un-Christian those actions of the crusaders who had other ideas about how to wage war. Case in point: a group of crusaders met not in Venice but elsewhere (many groups did this) and actually did travel to Syria to fight there. God, according to Villehardouin, cursed their unfaithfulness and caused them to fail. All hinges apparently on the quaint medieval notion that the Eastern Orthodox Church was, by being non-Catholic, also non-Christian. But in any case, off to Constantinople they went and had a grand time getting caught up in political battles left and right and undoubtedly weakening the non-Christian Greek Christians that much more before the Turks eventually came and took over. For storytelling I give Villehardouin high enough marks, but his political analysis needs some work.
The second account is Joinville's The Life of Saint Louis. Joinville is also a highly placed participant and aid to king Louis of France during the seventh Crusade. Unlike Villehardouin they do actually reach Saracen lands and fight there. Joinville is a much more personal account of things, involving actual conversations and a wide selection of individual actions by Joinville and Louis. He is also considerably less dogmatic in his evaluations of God's will, though he is nearly fanatical about the piousness of Louis. But even there he tells us accounts of his disagreements with his king and how they were resolved. Though his goal is clearly hagiography, he does present a much more personal account of their life on in the campaign than Villehardouin's earlier work. Joinville also continues the narrative back to France, with aspects of Louis's reign there given to us.
Both accounts present us with fairly clear and readable accounts of what might be otherwise forgettable events in history. Neither the fourth nor the seventh Crusades have the historical importance of the early ones but thanks to these participants they won't be lost to us, so pick up a copy and take a look at how the Crusaders handled themselves in the quest for honor, glory, piety, and adventure.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The Crusades through European eyes
Review: The two accounts in _Chronicles of the Crusades_ provide readers with fascinating accounts of the 4th and 7th crusades. Villehardoun's observations of the sack of Constantinople leave some questions regarding whether it was a conspiracy to destroy the city or not; ultimately it is up to the reader to decide... It does, however, provide a window into 12th century warfare and politics.
Joinville's chronicle of the 7th crusade into the Holy Land was similarly fascinating, providing more information about a European's impressions of the Near East and Christian-Islamic conflict than Villehardoun. I much preferred Joinville for this reason. Together, both accounts provide a well-rounded history of the time and place - a tremendously interesting read for professional and armchair historians alike.