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Zsolt Hunyadi, The Hospitallers in the Medieval Kingdom of Hungary, c.1150-1387. CEU Medievalia 13-METEM Books 70. Budapest: Central European Universtiy-METEM, 2010.
ISBN 978 963 9662 44 5, pp. xxi+353.

List price: USD 35 / EUR 26 / GBP 23.99. 10% discount for the members of the SSCLE: USD 31.50, EUR 23.50, GBP 21.50
Order from CEU Press at http://www.ceupress.com/Order.html or from METEM via e-mail: heh@t-online.hu

"... The Order of Saint John had its headquarters in the East but its activities there depended for men, money and political support on its Western preceptories and priories but most of them relied on local materials without utilizing the Order's central archives, the remains of which are now on Malta. There have, more recently, been books on priories which did partly make use of the Malta documents. The work of Zsolt Hunyadi is a further addition both to the study of particular Hospitaller priories and to the history of the order as a whole. What presented the author with a major problem was the dramatic loss of archives and documents in Hungary, a difficulty which he laboured admirably to counter in Malta and elsewhere. In one way it is precisely because developments in the Hungarian priory were so different from those elsewhere that Hunyadis's work has such interest. The appearance of this thesis marks a major turning point in a subject which has hitherto been largely misunderstood. It is an excellent and much needed addition to Hospitaller history." - preface by Anthony Luttrell

Pierre-Vincent Claverie, L'ordre du Temple en Terre sainte et a Chypre au XIIIe siecle. Nicosie: Centre de Recherche Scientifique, 2005, 3 vols.
ISBN 978 9963 0 8094 6, pp. 1608. List price EUR 150/USD 225

Offre spéciale pour les membres de la SSCLE 100 EUR au lieu de 150
Special offer for the members of the SSCLE EUR 100 instead of 150 (150 USD instead of 225)
Freight expenditures: to France: EUR 10,50, to Europe: EUR 26,50, to the USA: USD 52

Présentation/Présentation:
Ce coffret rassemble le texte intégral d'une these de doctorat soutenue a la Sorbonne en 2004 sur les activités des templiers en Orient apres 1187. L'ordre du Temple par sa dimension a la fois religieuse et militaire attira au cours du XIIIe siecle de nombreux lignages chevaleresques en quete d'aventures et de promotion sociale. Il affronta dans les années 1270 de nombreux revers militaires et politiques avant d'attirer la convoitise de Philippe le Bel au début du XIVe siecle. Les interrogatoires menés par l'Inquisition révelent l'orthodoxie de ses pratiques ainsi que sa popularité au sein de la société chypriote a la veille de sa disparition en 1312.
This set contains the text of a Ph.D thesis defended at the Sorbonne University in 2004. Like the Knights Hospitallers and the Teutonic Knights, The Templars were formed in 1120 to protect the Holy Land. By combining monastic privilege with chivalrous adventure, they attracted many nobles. The order, organized under a grand master and general chapter, had its headquarters in Acre during the major part of the thirteenth century. On the 13th of October 1307 came the arrest of all the Templars, the breaking of a storm conjured up by royal jealousy and greed, and organized by the French bureaucracy. The order was suppressed by Pope Clement V five years later despite its clear innocence, confirmed by the Processus Cypricus

Alan V. Murray, ed. The Clash of Cultures on the Medieval Baltic Frontier. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2009. Hardback. ISBN 9780754664833. List price 65 GBP

The conversion of the lands on the southern and eastern shores of the Baltic Sea by Germans, Danes and Swedes in the period from 1150 to 1400 represented the last great struggle between Christianity and paganism on the European continent, but for the indigenous peoples of Finland, Livonia, Prussia, Lithuania and Pomerania, it was also a period of wider cultural conflict and transformation. Along with the Christian faith came a new and foreign culture: the German and Scandinavian languages of the crusaders and the Latin of their priests, new names for places, superior military technology, and churches and fortifications built of stone. For newly baptized populations, the acceptance of Christianity encompassed major changes in the organization and practice of political, religious and social life, entailing the acceptance of government by alien elites, of new cultic practices, and of new obligations such as taxes, tithes and military service in the armies of the Christian rulers. At the same time, as the Western conquerors carried their campaigns beyond pagan territory into the principalities of north-western Russia, the Baltic Crusades also developed into a struggle between Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy.
This collection of sixteen essays by both established and younger scholars explores the theme of clash of cultures from a variety of perspectives, discussing the nature and ideology of crusading in the medieval Baltic region, the struggle between Catholicism and Orthodoxy, and the cultural confrontation that accompanied the process of conversion, in subjects as diverse as religious observation, political structures, the practice of warfare, art and music, and perceptions of the landscape.
Contents
Members of the SSCLE are eligible for a discount price.

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Simon Phillips, The Prior of the Knights Hospitaller in Late Medieval England. Boydell Press, 2009. Hardback. ISBN 9781843834373. List price 95 USD/50 GBP

The Prior of the Knights Hospitaller played a major role not only within the Order, but also in the wider arena of English - and indeed European - politics. This role, and its changes between 1272 and 1540, are the focus of this new book, which draws extensively on archival material both in the United Kingdom and in the Hospitaller archives at Malta. It argues that the Prior's allegiance to the crown was as important as his allegiance to his order, that the relationship between crown and priory was generally cordial and that usually there was no contradiction between service to crown and convent. It demonstrates a general expansion in the public roles of the Hospitaller Prior, not just under the most politically important Priors. It analyses the Priors' interactions with financially important merchants and the terms that three Priors served as treasurers of England. Finally, by revealing how the order lost political control of its estates, it contributes to the broader themes of secularisation and emerging nationalism.

Author: Simon Phillips is a Research Fellow at the University of Winchester and Research Associate of the University of Cyprus.

Discount: Until 30 April, the Boydell Press are offering a 25% discount for the members of the SSCLE on direct orders with them, if customers quote the reference number at the bottom of the attached flyer.

Projets de croisade (v. 1290-v. 1330), présentés et publiés par/edited by Jacques Paviot. Documents relatifs a l'Histoire des Croisades, tome XX, Édités par l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, Paris, 2008, 416 pages.

Offre spéciale pour les membres de la Société pour l'étude des croisades et de l'Orient latin / Special offer for the Members of the Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East: EUR 47,50 (au lieu de EUR 50)

Conor Kostick, The Social Structure of the First Crusade. Brill: Leiden, 2008, Hardback (336 pp). ISBN 978 90 04 16665 3. List price EUR 99 / USD 154. The Medieval Mediterranean, 76.

The First Crusade (1096 - 1099) was an extraordinary undertaking. Because the repercussions of that expedition have rippled on down the centuries, there has been an enormous literature on the subject. Yet, unlike so many other areas of medieval history, until now the First Crusade has failed to attract the attention of historians interested in social dynamics. This book is the first to examine the sociology of the sources in order to provide a detailed analysis of the various social classes which participated in the expedition and the tensions between them. In doing so, it offers a fresh approach to the many debates surrounding the subject of the First Crusade.

Readership: Those, in the main academics, with a special interest in the crusades, social theory and medieval social structure.

Author: Conor Kostick is an award-winning author of both history and fiction. He holds a Ph.D. (2005) and gold medal in history from Trinity College Dublin, where he teaches on the subject of the crusades.

Discount: (please mention the SSCLE for your discount). Brill has agreed to offer a discount of 25% to all SSCLE members. This offer is valid till 31 December 2008.

Order at http://www.brill.nl/default.aspx?partid=18&pid=27619

Ashgate Publishing provides a special offer promotion (up to 30% discount) for the members of the SSCLE for several new and feature titles. For the details, see the flyers (offer20%, offer30%) compiled by Ashgate.

Jochen Burgtorf, The Central Convent of Hospitallers and Templars History, Organization, and Personnel (1099/1120-1310)
F rom their humble beginnings in Jerusalem as a late eleventh-century hospital and an early twelfth-century pilgrim escort, Hospitallers and Templars evolved into international military religious orders, engaged in numerous charitable, economic, and military pursuits. At the heart of each of these communities, and in many ways a mirror of their growth and adaptability, was a central convent led by several high officials and headquartered first in Jerusalem (to 1187), then in Acre (1191-1291), and then on Cyprus (since 1291), from where the Hospitallers conquered Rhodes (1306-1310), and where fate in the form of a heresy trial caught up with the Templars. The history, organization, and personnel of these two central convents to 1310 are the subject of this comparative study.
For further information, please, download the flyer of the book.

Elena Bellomo, The Templar Order in North-west Italy (1142-c.1330)
This book provides the first reconstruction of the Templar presence in North-west Italy. Based on extensive archival searches, it gives general insights into the development and organization of the Order in this area, also examining the links between the Templar houses and the Latin East and their involvement in the struggle between Papacy and Empire. Recruitment, relations with lay and ecclesiastical institutions and the activities of the Templar settlements are highlighted as significant factors in shaping the particular development of the Order in the region. The trial records also confirm the special nature of the Temple's establishment in North-west Italy where the vicissitudes of the Templars on trial were intertwined with local factionalism, and positive relations with lay and ecclesiastical authorities continued and in some places even defeated the charges leveled against the Order.

Iben Fonnesberg-Schmidt, The Popes and the Baltic Crusades 1147-1254
The Popes and the Baltic Crusades examines the extension of the crusading idea from the Holy Land to the Baltic region. Highlighting the interplay between canon law, missionary ideas and politics, it shows how papal policy on the campaigns against the pagan peoples of north-eastern Europe developed from Pope Eugenius III's proclamation of a crusade against the Slavs in 1147 to the end of Innocent IV's pontificate in 1254. It also discusses the interaction between Rome and the princes and bishops of the Baltic region and demonstrates how these local leaders influenced papal crusading policy. The volume shows the variety of the crusading movement of the central Middle Ages and offers a contribution to the ongoing debate about the nature and definition of crusading.

Janus Moller Jensen, Denmark and the Crusades, 1400-1650
This first full-length study of the role of crusading in late-medieval and early modern Denmark from about 1400 to 1650 offers new perspectives to international crusade studies. The first part of the book proves that crusading had a tremendous impact on political and religious life in Scandinavia all through the Middle Ages. Danish kings argued in the fifteenth century that they had their own northern crusade frontier, which stretched across Scandinavia from Russia in the east well into the North Atlantic and Greenland in the west. A series of expeditions in the North Atlantic were considered to be crusades aimed at re-conquering Greenland as a stepping stone towards India and the realm of Prester John, which was argued to be originally Danish, adding a much neglected corner to the expansion of Christendom in this period. The second part shows that the impact of crusading continued long after the Reformation ostensibly should have put an end to its viability within Protestant Denmark.

Conor Kostick, The Social Structure of the First Crusade
The First Crusade (1096 - 1099) was an extraordinary undertaking. Because the repercussions of that expedition have rippled on down the centuries, there has been an enormous literature on the subject. Yet, unlike so many other areas of medieval history, until now the First Crusade has failed to attract the attention of historians interested in social dynamics. This book is the first to examine the sociology of the sources in order to provide a detailed analysis of the various social classes which participated in the expedition and the tensions between them. In doing so, it offers a fresh approach to the many debates surrounding the subject of the First Crusade.

Daniella Talmon-Heller, Islamic Piety in Medieval Syria: Mosques, Cemeteries and Sermons under the Zangids and Ayyubids (1146-1260)
A study of religious thought and practice across a broad social spectrum, but within a well-defined historical context, this book is an interdisciplinary endeavor that incorporates the tools of philology, social-history and historical-anthropology. Focusing on the mosques, public assemblies, cemeteries and shrines of Syrian Muslims in the period of the crusades and the anti-Frankish jihad, the book describes and deciphers religious rites and experiences, liturgical calendars, spiritual leadership, and perceptions of impiety and dissent. Working from a perspective that breaks down the dichotomization of religion into 'official' and 'popular,' it exposes the negotiation, construction and dissemination of hybrid forms of religious life. The result is an intimate and complex presentation of the texture of medieval Islamic piety.

The Festschrift for Anthony Luttrell is now available. The papers include studies on the Hospital in Jerusalem, relations with the Assassins, finances, indulgences, transportation and careers of the brothers and knights. Other contributions concern the later Middle Ages, both Rhodes and the European priories of the Hospital.

Gary Dickson's book, The Children's Crusade, is expected to be out by November 16, 2007. For further information, see its flyer.

Barbara Bombi's book on the conversion of the heathen in Livonia in the early 13th century has come out at the Istituto Storico Italiano per il Medio Evo: B. Bombi, Novella plantatio fidei. Missione e Crociata nel nord Europa tra la fine del XII e i primi decenni del XIII secolo, Roma 2007 (Nuovi studi storici, 74).

"Depuis dix ans de travail, j'ai pu livrer a la presse ce livre, qui garde la moitié de ma these de doctorat a la Sorbonne (Une expérience neuve au sein de la spiritualité médiévale: l'Ordre du Temple, 1120-1314. Etude et édition des regles latine et française) - avec le commentaire ponctuel a la regle et a la lettre de Hugues de Paiens, le fondateur de l'ordre -ainsi que les résultats des mes cours magistraux a l'université de Boulogne-sur-Mer et a l'université pontificale Antonianum de Rome. L'édition critique de la regle et l'édition critique de la lettre de Hugues va paraître, comme prévu, chez Brepols. L'édition italienne de la Regle (chez Mondadori) va paraître en 2008. (further information)

Marco Meschini, Innocenzo III e il negotium pacis et fidei in Linguadoca tra il 1198 e il 1215. Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei Bardi Editore, Roma 2007 (Atti della Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, anno CDIV [2007], Classe di Scienze Morali, Storiche e Filologiche, Memorie: Serie IX, Volume XX, Fascicolo 2), pp. 542.

Der geistliche Ritterorden der Johanniter verfügte im späteren Mittelalter über Häuser im gesamten lateinischen Europa. Der Unterhalt des Haupthauses auf Rhodos und die Erfüllung der Stiftungsaufgaben machten ständig neue Regelungen erforderlich, wodurch die interne Gesetzgebung immer unübersichtlicher und teilweise widersprüchlich wurde. So kam es zu einer Statutenrevision, die 1489/93 ihren Abschluss fand. Der revidierte Text wird hier erstmals in einer kritischen Edition zugänglich gemacht, die auch die ältere Überlieferung berücksichtigt. Die Stabilimenta Rhodiorum militum erlauben Einblicke in die Kommunikationsformen und die Ausgleichsmechanismen zwischen lokalen, regionalen und >nationalen< Interessengruppen in einer >internationalen< geistlichen Korporation.