{"product_id":"the-siege-of-jerusalem-a-broadview-anthology-of-british-literature-edition-9781554811588","title":"The Siege of Jerusalem: A Broadview Anthology of","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Siege of Jerusalem\u003c\/em\u003e (c. 1370-90 CE) is a difficult text. By twenty-first-century standards, it is gruesomely violent and offensive. It tells the story of the Roman destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE, an event viewed by its author (as by many in the Middle Ages) as divine retribution against Jews for the killing of Christ. It anachronistically turns first-century Roman emperors Titus and Vespasian into Christian converts who battle like medieval crusaders to avenge their savior and cleanse the Holy Land of enemies of the faith. It makes little sense without frank understanding of medieval Christian anti-Semitism. There is, nevertheless, some consensus that \u003cem\u003eSiege\u003c\/em\u003e is a finely crafted piece of poetry, and that its combination of horror, beauty, and learnedness makes it an effective work of art. As literary scholar A.C. Spearing has put it, “We may not like what the poet does, but it is done with skillful craftsmanship and sometimes with brilliant virtuosity.” \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe tale that the anonymous \u003cem\u003eSiege\u003c\/em\u003e poet tells, moreover, is an important and still reverberating part of the history of Western thinking about the East. It is, in Yehuda Amichai’s phrase, a “currency of the past” that continues to be negotiated. The first-century destruction of Jerusalem has been understood in both Christian and Jewish traditions as the beginning of the Jewish Diaspora; for medieval Christians it was also a model of successful Christian leadership and justified warfare, an allegory of political and personal spiritual battle. As part of the story of the historical rift between Christianity and Judaism—and of the inevitable victory of Christianity—the destroyed Second Temple was taken as symbolic of the fall of Judaism and the rise of the new Christian era in which anyone who rejected Christ would suffer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWritten in alliterative verse in the late fourteenth century, \u003cem\u003eThe Siege of Jerusalem\u003c\/em\u003e seems to have been popular in its day; at least nine fourteenth- and fifteen-century manuscripts containing the poem have come down to us. Yet this is the first volume to offer a full Modern English translation. In addition, appendices provide extensive samples of the alliterative original, a wide-ranging compendium of materials documenting anti-Semitism in the Middle Ages, comparative biblical passages, and much else.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This translation of the alliterative \u003cem\u003eSiege of Jerusalem\u003c\/em\u003e—and the volume to which it belongs—will provide a much-needed pedagogical resource.” — Timothy Stinson, North Carolina State University\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The appearance of Williams Boyarin’s translation of \u003cem\u003eThe Siege of Jerusalem\u003c\/em\u003e will be a welcome step in the recent reconsideration of that fourteenth-century poem, which was famously characterized by Ralph Hanna as “the chocolate-covered tarantula” of alliterative poetry. After decades of relative neglect, in the past ten years \u003cem\u003eThe Siege of Jerusalem\u003c\/em\u003e has come to seem quite timely in its frank parading of East-West violence, religious war, and cultural bigotry. This translation will allow the poem to move into undergraduate classrooms, where it will sit uneasily but productively alongside such texts as Chaucer’s \u003cem\u003ePrioress’s Tale.\u003c\/em\u003e” — Heather Blurton, University of California Santa Barbara\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“It can be a daunting task to grapple with a text that enjoys the memorable critical reputation of being a ‘chocolate-covered tarantula.’ Yet, Adrienne Williams Boyarin’s translation and contextualization of \u003cem\u003eThe Siege of Jerusalem\u003c\/em\u003e has accomplished precisely that—she has pinned down that candied arachnid on a velvet block and, in so doing, has reframed the discussions around this poem’s wider participation in ‘intellectual and literary histories.’ The main translation distinguishes itself as both sensitive to the alliterative cadences of fourteenth-century Middle English poetry and also to the sense of the sweep of this complex, historically-based alliterative poem, paying close attention to what the editor and translator identifies as the specific ‘vocabulary, ambiguities, and repetitions.’ For general readers and students, it will be an invaluable entrance into this fascinating and quite popular text. … Adrienne Williams Boyarin’s framework—the introduction and selection of contextual documents—will reopen critical discussions; it will shape future scholarship on the \u003cem\u003eSiege of Jerusalem\u003c\/em\u003e.” — Dorothy Kim, Vassar College\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Boyarin’s modernization evokes all the alliterative spit of the original. Her book fills itself out, too, with selections from the Middle English text and from others that bear on the poem’s setting, its possible sources and analogues, and its shared cultural contexts. More than merely updating an old poem, Boyarin presents a veritable anthology of medieval anti-Judaism.” — Seth Lerer, \u003cem\u003eTimes Literary Supplement\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Boyarin’s Modern English translation of \u003cem\u003eThe Siege of Jerusalem\u003c\/em\u003e is the first of its kind, and a valuable undergraduate classroom resource. … In addition to a skillfully produced translation, Boyarin offers an introduction, brief summary, and a final section to her edition; this latter section, entitled, ‘In Context,’ features primary source excerpts useful to audiences [and] … contextualizes the poem’s anti-Semitisms through the lenses of crusade violence and ritual murder … , opening and supporting intelligent conversation about the poem’s attitudes toward non-Christians, and its place in premodern culture.” — Suzanne M. Yeager, \u003cem\u003eArthurianna\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAcknowledgements\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePreface\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIntroduction\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Siege of Jerusalem\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAppendix A: The Middle English \u003cem\u003eSiege of Jerusalem\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePrologue, lines 1-35\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePassus 3, lines 573-608\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePassus 5, lines 1069-1100\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAppendix B: \u003cem\u003eThe Siege of Jerusalem\u003c\/em\u003e and the Bible: Key Passages\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e1 Maccabees 6\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Gospel According to Matthew 10.1-15\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Gospel According to Matthew 24.14-15 and 27.1-9\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Gospel According to Luke 19.37-48 and 21.5-28\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Gospel According to Luke 22.63-23.38\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Gospel According to John 11.47-56 and 18.3-19.21\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRevelation 21\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAppendix C: \u003cem\u003eThe Siege of Jerusalem\u003c\/em\u003e and Medieval Christian Legend\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrom \u003cem\u003eThe Golden Legend\u003c\/em\u003e, c. 1260\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ea. From \"The Passion of the Lord\" (Pontius Pilate, St. Veronica)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eb. From \"Saint James, Apostle\" (St. James, the destruction of Jerusalem)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ec. From \"Saint Peter, Apostle\" (St. Peter, St. Paul, Nero)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAppendix D: Other Medieval Anti-Semitisms and the Crusader Conquest of Jerusalem\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCrusade Violence in Historical Writings\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e1. From Albert of Aachen, \u003cem\u003eHistory of the Journey to Jerusalem\u003c\/em\u003e (c. 1125-50)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e2. From Eliezar bar Nathan, \u003cem\u003eGezerot Tatnu\u003c\/em\u003e [Persecutions of 1096] (c. 1150)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e3. From Raymond d'Aguilers, \u003cem\u003eHistory of the Frankish Conquerors of Jerusalem\u003c\/em\u003e (c. 1100)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e4. From William of Newburgh, \u003cem\u003eThe History of English Affairs\u003c\/em\u003e (c. 1198)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e5. Ephraim of Bonn, \"Tatkan-tatkana b'Angleterre\" [\"In England, 1189\"] (c. 1196)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRitual Murder Libel: The Case of William of Norwich (c. 1173)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEcclesiastical and Secular Legal Documents\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e1. Pope Innocent III, Canons and Decrees of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e2. A Bull of Pope Gregory X (1272)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e3. Statute of the Jewry, England (1275)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePopular Literature: Miracles of the Virgin and Mandeville's Travels\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e1. From \u003cem\u003eThe South English Legendary\u003c\/em\u003e, \"The Jewish Boy\" and \"The Jews of Toledo\" (c. 1280)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e2. From the Vernon Manuscript, \"The Child Slain by Jews\" (c. 1390)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e3. From John Mirk’s Festial, \"How a Monk Painted a Miraculous Image\" (c. 1390)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e4. From \u003cem\u003eThe Travels of Sir John Mandeville\u003c\/em\u003e (c. 1360)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChristian Dates in relation to the \u003cem\u003eDestruction of the Second Temple: A Jewish Response\u003c\/em\u003e, from Abraham Zacuto, Sefer Yuhasin [Book of Lineage] (c. 1500)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWorks Cited and Recommended Reading\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Broadview Press Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51041311555927,"sku":"9781554811588","price":19.9,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781554811588.jpg?v=1750949763","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-siege-of-jerusalem-a-broadview-anthology-of-british-literature-edition-9781554811588","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}