Earl, the Kings, and the Chronicler
«This book is necessary reading for anyone with an interest in 13th century politics, the history of Bristol in the same century, or the nature of 13th-century aristocratic life.»
Peter Fleming, Transactions
King Stephen (1135-54) in the civil war known as the Anarchy.
Robert of Gloucester is one of the great figures of Anglo-Norman history (1066-1154). He occupies important niches in the era's literature, from comprehensive political studies of Henry I's and Stephen's reigns and an array of specialized fields to the 'Brother Cadfael' novels of Ellis Peters. Gloucester was one of only three landed super-magnates of his day, a model post-Conquest great baron, Marcher lord, borough developer, and patron of the rising merchant class. His trans-Channel barony
stretched from western Lower Normandy across England to south Wales. Robert was both a product and a significant agent of the contemporary cultural revival known as the Renaissance of the Twelfth Century, being bi-lingual, well educated, and a significant literary patron. In this last role he is
especially notable for commissioning the greatest English historian since Bede, William of Malmesbury, to produce a history of their times which justified the empress Matilda's claim to the English throne and Earl Robert's support of it.
Detaljer
- Forlag
- Oxford University Press
- Innbinding
- Innbundet
- Språk
- Engelsk
- ISBN
- 9780198797814
- Utgivelsesår
- 2019
- Format
- 24 x 16 cm
Om forfatteren
Anmeldelser
«This book is necessary reading for anyone with an interest in 13th century politics, the history of Bristol in the same century, or the nature of 13th-century aristocratic life.»
Peter Fleming, Transactions
«...this brief but extensively researched and densely argued work makes a valuable contribution to historical understanding of two important reigns, of aristocratic power in the Anglo-Norman realm, and of the composition, purpose and patronage of medieval chronicles.»
Daniel Power, Swansea University, The Welsh History Review
«The attention Patterson gives to Robert's earlier career as a king's son, a learned and well-connected layman, and a powerful feudal lord, not only throws important new light on Robert's best-known role as Matilda's champion, but shows that he was more than that -- a great magnate of Anglo-Norman England, preoccupied with family, status, and land.»
Michael Staunton, Speculum
«this book represents a much-needed addition to the existing historiography ... [it] encapsulates a wealth of important research and scholarship that will be of direct interest and great benefit to many readers ... The Earl, the Kings and the Chronicler certainly represents a significant contribution to the field and a springboard for further research.»
Daniel Booker, H-Soz-u-Kult
«... as never before, Robert emerges here as a dynamic, three-dimensional figure completely enmeshed in the key questions of his generation.»
Kathryn Dutton, The English Historical Review