Rewriting the First Crusade: Epistolary Culture in the Middle Ages(Crusading in Context)

About the Book

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.

Table of Contents:
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

About the Author :
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.

Review :
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. 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." In conclusion, this monograph is not only an essential contribution for scholars of the Crusades, but also offers an excellent example of how the synergy between philology and history is essential for a deeper understanding of the past, free from prejudice and aimed at restoring texts to their authentic historical and manuscript context. In conclusione, la monografia non costituisce soltanto un contributo imprescindibile per gli studiosi delle crociate, ma offre anche un esempio eccellente di come la sinergia tra filologia e storia sia indispensabile per una comprensione più profonda del passato, libera da pregiudizi e volta a restituire i testi al loro autentico contesto storico e manoscritto. Das vorliegende Buch ist ein hervorragender Beweis dafür, wie unverzichtbar die Historischen Grundwissenschaften, besonders Paläographie und Diplomatik, für die Geschichtswissenschaft sind. ...Das Buch sei daher nicht nur Mediävisten, sondern auch Literaturwissenschaftlern zur Lektüre empfohlen, da es in die Methoden historischer Quellenkritik und Rezeptionsforschung einführt und wertvolle Ergebnisse zur mittelalterlichen Briefkultur und Mentalitätsgeschichte 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.) 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 přesvědčivě demonstroval, jak k dopisům přistupovat nejen jako ke zdroji faktických informací, ale jako k prameni odhalujícímu interakci středověké epistolární kultury s první křížovou výpravou a křižáckým hnutím obecně.