The Miraculous and the Writing of Crusade Narrative
Title Details

214 Pages

23.4 x 15.6 cm

Series: Crusading in Context

Series Vol. Number: 3

Imprint: Boydell Press

The Miraculous and the Writing of Crusade Narrative

by Beth C. Spacey

  • Description
  • Contents
  • Author
  • Reviews
First comprehensive study of miracles in Crusade narrative, showing how and why they were deployed by their authors.

The medieval Latin Christian narratives of the crusades are replete with references to miracles, visions and signs. Mysterious white-clad knights lead crusader armies to victory in battle, Christ and the saints offer guidance in visions, and great signs are seen in the skies. However, despite the frequent appearance of these themes in the sources, and the evident importance of these ideas to the narratives which describe them, scholars have often analysed examples in isolation.
This book represents the first far-reaching examination of the miraculous in crusade narrative, offering an analysis of the role of miracles, marvels, visions, dreams, signs and augury in narratives of the crusades of 1096 to 1204 and produced between c.1099 and c.1250. It argues that the miraculous and its related themes represented a powerful tool for the authors of crusade narrative because of its ability to convey divine agency and will, ideas which were central to the belief held among Latin Christian contemporaries that crusade was divinely inspired and spiritually salvific. Overall, the volume demonstrates how the authors of crusade narrative drew upon various intellectual authorities on the miraculous in the service of their narrative agendas and reveals how the use of the miraculous changed as authors were forced to respond to the challenges of narrating crusade during this period.
Introduction
Part I: Miracles and Marvels
1. Divine Agency
2. Writing Failure
Part II: Visions and Dreams
3. The Mockery of Dreams
4. Intercession and Insurance
Part III: Signs and Augury
5. Ways of Knowing
6. Signs of the Times
Conclusion
Appendix: The Sources
Bibliography

BETH C. SPACEY is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Queensland.

"[This] is a book that should become compulsory reading for anyone studying crusading literature or the use of miracles in medieval narratives." HISTORY
"Will doubtless become a point of first reference for those investigating the relationship between the miraculous and crusading." SEHEPUNKTE
"The Miraculous and the Writing of Crusade Narrative draws key critical attention to the much-neglected workings of the miraculous in crusade narratives and constitutes an accessible and invaluable resource for those studying crusading literatures." JOURNAL OF BRITISH STUDIES

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9781783275182

March 2020

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9781837650743

June 2023

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Title Details

214 Pages

2.34 x 1.56 cm

Series: Crusading in Context

Series Vol. Number: 3

Imprint: Boydell Press