{"product_id":"to-follow-in-their-footsteps-9781501710643","title":"To Follow in Their Footsteps","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen the First Crusade ended with the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099, jubilant crusaders returned home to Europe bringing with them stories, sacred relics, and other memorabilia, including banners, jewelry, and weapons. In the ensuing decades, the memory of the crusaders'' bravery and pious sacrifice was invoked widely among the noble families of western Christendom. Popes preaching future crusades would count on these very same families for financing, leadership, and for the willing warriors who would lay down their lives on the battlefield. Despite the great risks and financial hardships associated with crusading, descendants of those who suffered and died on crusade would continue to take the cross, in some cases over several generations. Indeed, as Nicholas L. Paul reveals in \u003ci\u003eTo Follow in Their Footsteps\u003c\/i\u003e, crusading was very much a family affair.Scholars of the crusades have long pointed to the importance of dynastic tradition and ties of kinship in the crusading movement b\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e[\u003ci\u003eTo Follow in Their Footsteps\u003c\/i\u003e] is a stimulating contribution to each of the two subjects it covers. Its publication should mark a new phase in critical discussion about how the crusades were interpreted in the middle ages.\u003c\/p\u003e * The English Historical Review *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e[Paul] weaves a history of the texts produced about crusader families into an analytic framework that draws on the insights of anthropology, literary theory, and sociology. Eschewing the more traditional positivist reading of crusade chronicles and family histories, Paul lays bare the various and variegated components of these texts, highlighting the role of women, objects, orality, romance, ritual, and liturgy in the collective articulation of dynastic memory. \u003ci\u003eTo Follow in Their Footsteps \u003c\/i\u003emarks a critical moment in the creation of a new cultural history of crusading.\u003c\/p\u003e * Speculum *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eA prominent example (of many) from Medieval Europe of how past generations were invoked to mould the actions of their successors is supplied by the crusades. As Nicholas Paul puts it in this lively new account, crusading was always a family matter. And by family he means the dead as wll as the quick.... In the first part of the book, Paul provides a splendidly informative, illuminating and often entertaining description and analysis of what, how and where ancestral voices could have been heard by putative crusaders in the twelfth century.\u003c\/p\u003e * Times Literary Supplement *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003ePaul showcases examples of two effective monarchs constantly exhorted to crusade, Henry II of England and Alfonso II of Aragon. For all the literary energy expended trying to persuade them, neither actually went, although their sons did. In the end, Paul suggests noble memory kept the idea of the crusade alive long after it had been laid to rest by governments and Christian society. Summing Up: Recommended.\u003c\/p\u003e * Choice *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003ePaul's book is an important contribution to crusading scholarship inthat it expands the current scholarship on memory and commemoration.An added strength of this work lies in the variety of themes undertaken.This is a compelling work that opens the way for further scholarship andmethodologies on many aspects of crusading, not least of all the ways inwhich texts and objects intersected with individuals and families to providemeaning and context to the early crusaders.\u003c\/p\u003e -- Kathryn Smithies * Parergon - Journal of the Australian and New Zealand Association for Medieval and Early Modern Studies *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe real achievement of this book is not so much that it is the 'last word' on aristocrats and the Crusades. Rather, in the sheer variety of the themes that it tackles, it broadens scope for discussion of this crucial issue. Paul's book may well follow in Marcus Bull's footsteps, and set the agenda for the 'next generation' of investigation into the topic. That is no mean achievement for the author's first book.\u003c\/p\u003e * Reviews in History *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe result is a very thoughtful and thought-provoking study of the impulses, dynamics and mechanisms involved in the shaping of medieval social memories and identities, and the long-term impact of the crusades on Europe's collective memory and culture. It is by all measures an intensely meticulous piece of research, presented by the author in an engaging way. Those inspired to delve deeper into the 'memories' of the many families and individuals introduced throughout the chapters will be greatly helped by the book's four appendices.\u003c\/p\u003e -- Jochen Schenk, University of Glasgow * History: Journal of the Historical Association *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eIntroduction\u003cb\u003ePart I. Family Memory: Form and Function\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 1. Ancestor, Avatar, Crusader\u003cbr\u003e 2. Relations\u003cbr\u003e 3. The Fabric of Victory\u003cbr\u003e 4. Missing Men\u003cbr\u003e 5. Opening the Gates\u003cbr\u003e Conclusions\u003cb\u003ePart II. Two Count-Kings and the Crusading Past\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 6. The Fire at Marmoutier\u003cbr\u003e 7. Triumph at Ripoll\u003cbr\u003e Epilogue\u003ci\u003eAppendix 1:\u003c\/i\u003e Dynastic Narratives and Crusading Memory\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eAppendix 2:\u003c\/i\u003e Dynastic Narratives in Local and Monastic Chronicles\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eAppendix 3:\u003c\/i\u003e Description of Paris, BNF, MS Lat. 5132\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eAppendix 4:\u003c\/i\u003e Letter of \"Clement\" in Paris, BNF, MS Lat. 5132, f. 106\u003ci\u003eBibliography\u003cbr\u003e Index\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cornell University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49409324843351,"sku":"9781501710643","price":23.19,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781501710643.jpg?v=1730506424","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/to-follow-in-their-footsteps-9781501710643","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}