Book description
Composed by soldiers who fought in the Holy Wars, these two famous
French chronicles are among the most important portrayals of both the
dark and light side of the two hundred year struggle for possession of
Jerusalem. The first trustworthy and fully informed history of the
Crusades, Villehardouin's Conquest of Constantinople describes the era
of the Fourth Crusade - the period between 1199 and 1207, during which a
planned battle with Moslem forces ironically culminated in war against
Eastern Christians that led to the sacking of Constantinople. The Life
of Saint Louis, by Joinville, was inspired by the author's close
attachment to the pious King Louis, and focuses on the years between
1226 and 1270. It provides a powerful, personal insight into the brutal
battles and the fascinating travels of one nobleman, fighting in the
Sixth and Seventh Crusades.
Jean de Joinville was born between 1224 and 1225, the second son of a
nobleman of Champagne. Many of his faimly had gone on crusades and he
grew up in their shadow. Due to a series of deaths, he became Lord of
Joinville in his early teens. Jean probably first saw Louis (the man
who had a profound effect on his life) at Saumur in 1241, though he
met him properly on the Seventh Crusade. he wrote his Life of Saint
Louis in old age, as a tribute to a king and also a portrait of a
loved friend.
Geoffroy de Villehardouin was probably born between 1150 and 1154.
His father was a nobleman of Champagne, and Geoffroy became Marshal of
Champagne in 1185, due to his family connections. He compiled his
history of the fourth crusade a few years after the close of the
expedition, and wrote from first-hand knowledge. He later became
Marshal of Romania, where he remained until the end of his life around 1207.
Margaret Shaw received a first from Oxford in languages, after which
she taught in Bradford, before moving to Paris. She did research on
Laurence Sterne and published a book about his 'Letter to Eliza'. She
became a tutor at St Hugh's, Oxford and translated Stendhal for the
Penguin Classics. She died in 1963.
