Overview

This book offers a new appraisal of the ancestry and career of Godfrey of Bouillon (c.1060-1100), a leading participant in the First Crusade (1096-99), and the first ruler of Latin Jerusalem (1099-1100), the polity established by the crusaders after they captured the Holy City. While previous studies of Godfrey’s life have tended to focus on his career from the point at which he joined the crusade, this book adopts a more holistic approach, situating his involvement in the expedition in the light of the careers of his ancestors and his own activities in Lotharingia, the westernmost part of the kingdom of Germany. The findings of this enquiry shed new light on the repercussions of a range of critical developments in Latin Christendom in the eleventh and early twelfth centuries, including the impact of the ‘Investiture Conflict’ in Lotharingia, the response to the call for the First Crusade in Germany, Godfrey’s influence upon the course of the crusade, his role in its leadership, and his activities during the initial phases of Latin settlement in the Holy Land in its aftermath.

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9780367280291

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Reviews

‘Omnipresent in the crusader sources but seldom studied in his career beyond the crusades, Godfrey of Bouillon was due for a new biographical examination. Through painstaking analysis of the sources, in-depth prosopographical work, and clear analysis of the political and military background, John has produced a thorough portrayal, which by rooting Godfrey in his context before the crusade deepens and roots our understanding of his career in service of the Latin conquest of Jerusalem’ - De Re Militari: The Society for Medieval Military History. ‘… deeply researched and clearly presented… this book deserves to be read and enjoyed by anyone with an interest in the political world of 11th-century Europe, the religious climate that spawned the First Crusade, and the problems faced in establishing the Latin East’ – Reviews in History. ‘In sum, this new biography of Godfrey will surely become the standard work on Godfrey in any language… It is sure to make a considerable impact on the scholarship on the First Crusade’ – Sehepunkte.

This new biography of Godfrey will surely become the standard work on Godfrey in any language. It is sure to make a considerable impact on the scholarship on the First Crusade and one hopes that it will also find an enthusiastic audience among the general public as a lower-priced e-book; hopefully, in time, it will also appear in paperback. Thomas Smith, University of Leeds

Author Information

Simon John is Lecturer in Medieval History at Swansea University. He previously taught at the University of Oxford, and held a Junior Research Fellowship at the Institute of Historical Research. Much of his work to date has focussed upon the crusades and their socio-cultural impact in Latin Christendom. He has published articles in the English Historical Review, the Journal of Medieval History and the Journal of Ecclesiastical History, and is the co-editor (with Nicholas Morton) of Crusading and Warfare in the Middle Ages: Realities and Representations. Essays in Honour of John France (2014).

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