'Medieval' Book Reviews Spring 2009

Statue of Richard the 1st of England 'Lion Heart', by Carlo Marocchetti. Richard the 1st of England, as a bronze, brandishes his sword outside the Palace of Westminster.

A series of book reviews on recent publications covering medieval history.

Medieval Jonathan Shepard, (ed.) The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire c. 500-1492 (Cambridge University Press), 2009  1207pp, £120 hard, ISBN 978-0-521-83231-1

The Byzantine Empire lasted a thousand years undergoing metamorphosis as its territories changed and, especially under the onslaught of Islam shrunk. Yet it repeatedly recovered from disaster and even after Constantinople fell in 1204, it was a further two and a half centuries before the Empire was finally consigned to history.  The approach of the volume is broadly chronological and is divided into three parts covering the early empire c.500-c.700, the middle empire from 700 to 1204 and the Byzantine lands in the later Middle Ages 1204-1492.  The periodisation of the book explained in the lengthy introduction by the editor in which he also explores how the study of Byzantium can be approached and the question of texts in translation.  Beginning with Justinian, the four chapters on the early empire examine Persia and the Sasanian monarchy, Armenia, the Arabs to the time of the Prophet and the relationship between the empire and the west.  There are fifteen chapters on the middle empire that provide a detailed account of imperial issues, the question of iconoclasm and the relationship between Byzantium and the different threats to its existence from east and west.  The six chapters in the final stages of the empire examine the post-1204 Latin empire, the resurgent Balkan states of Albania, Serbia and Bulgaria, the Palaiologoi and their rule from 1261 to 1453 and the Roman orthodox world to 1492. 

This excellent volume, written by acknowledged experts on the subject, provides a cogent narrative of political and military events, religious controversy and economic change and with its maps, glossary and exhaustive bibliography it provides a stimulating introduction to new approaches to the subject that could equally serve as an introduction and essential reading for specialists.  The different chapters are invariably well-written and up-to-date and provide a coherent narrative, aided by pertinent sub-headings.  If you are considering teaching Byzantine history (and there are very good reasons for doing so), then this volume will be essential reading.

Richard Brown

Medieval David Crouch The Beaumont Twins: The Roots & Branches of Power in the Twelfth Century (Cambridge University Press), 2008  242pp. £18.99, paper, ISBN 978-0-521-09013-1

Originally published in 1986, this book combines a dual biographical study of Waleran of Meulan and Robert of Leicester, the twin sons of Robert, Count of Meulan and Earl of Leicester, with an examination of the nature and exercise of power in twelfth-century Normandy and England. The twins were important and colourful individuals, whose lives reveal many new issues in the politics of the period.  In particular, Crouch provides the first extensive treatment of the Norman rebellion of 1123-1124 led by Waleran against Henry I, the wars of Stephen's reign in Normandy and England and the early years of Henry II. While Waleran was perhaps the more important of the twins until 1141, Crouch concludes that Earl Robert, the younger of the twins was the more able politician.  The book analyses the twins' followings, revenues and lands, and studies their relations with the church, their level of literacy, and heraldry. It also contains the first in-depth study of Norman feudal society in the duchy itself, suggests reasons why Normandy was more difficult to govern than England, and explores the use of patronage in twelfth-century society.  This is a readable and important book and the story of the Beaumont twins is well worth telling to students.  It really is a fascinating story.

Richard Brown