Chronicles of the Crusades

by Jean de Joinville, Geffroy de Villehardouin

Overview

The individual narratives brought together here reveal insight into the two hundred year struggle for possession of Jerusalem, in the words of two soldiers who participated first-hand in the bloody campaigns. Geffroy de Villehardouin (1150-1212?) was an appointed marshal of Champagne, France, whose "Conquest of Constantinople" recounts the controversial Fourth Crusade of 1204, against Eastern Christians in the Latin empire of Constantinople. Jean de Joinville (1224-1317) inherited the office of seneschal of Champagne at a young age, and wrote "Life of Saint Louis" after having accompanied King Louis IX on his first crusade and later living as a friend in his court. These accounts, originally composed in Old French, are considered to be some of the most accurate portrayals of the Crusades, and give fascinating insight into the religious and political fervor that sparked centuries of brutal battles and the struggle for holy conquest.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781420937497
Publisher:	Digireads.com Publishing
Publication date:	01/01/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	934,223
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Jean de Joinville was a thirteenth-century medieval French chronicler. His most famous work is Life of St. Louis, a biography of Louis IX of France that chronicled the Seventh Crusade.

Geoffrey de Villehardouin was a soldier and historian who took part in, and wrote extensively on, the Fourth Crusade. His eyewitness account of the 1204 conquest of Constantinople is the earliest surviving French historical narrative.

Caroline Smith studied history at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, from where she graduated with a PhD in 2004. Her publications include Crusading in the Age of Joinville (2006). She lives and works in New York, where she continues to pursue her research on the crusades and thirteenth-century French society, and on the life and writings of John of Joinville.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Villehardouin: The Conquest of Constantinople1. Muster-Roll of the Fourth Crusade
2. Treaty with the Venetians
3. The Army Seeks a Leader
4. Delays and Disappointments
5. Siege of Zara
6. Discord in the Army
7. Voyage to Scutari
8. Preparations for an Assault
9. First Siege of Constantinople
10. The Emperor's Covenant
11. Appeal to Arms
12. Second Siege to Constantinople
13. Election of an Emperor
14. A Case of Strained Relations
15. War against the Greeks
16. Siege of Adrianople
17. A Regency Established
18. King Johanitza Ravages the Empire
19. Offensive and Counter-Offensive
20. War on Two Fronts
21. Excursions Outside the EmpireJoinville: The Life of Saint LouisIntroduction
Part One
1. The Servant of God
2. The Servant of His People
Part Two
1. Turbulence of Barons
2. Preparations for a Crusade
3. Voyage to Cyprus
4. Landing in Egypt
5. Occupation of Damietta
6. Operations on the Nile
7. The Battle of Mansourah
8. Victory and its Aftermath
9. The French in Captivity
10. Negotiations with the Saracens
11. The King in Acre
12. The Old Man of the Mountain
13. The Tartars
14. Life in Caesarea
15. Expedition to Jaffa
16. Expedition to Saida
17. Return to France
18. The King's Administration of his Realm
19. A Fatal Crusade
20. Canonization of Saint Louis
Notes on the Translation
Glossary
Maps