John of Brienne: King of Jerusalem, Emperor of Constantinople, c. 1175-1237

"John of Brienne's progress, from mid-ranking knightly status to king of Jerusalem and later Latin emperor of Constantinople, traces one of the most remarkable careers in the entire medieval period. But how and why did he achieve such heights? This biographical study of aristocratic social and geographical mobility in the 'Age of the Crusades' reassesses John's fascinating life, and explores how families and dynasticism, politics, intrigue, religion and war all contributed to John's unprecedented career. John was a major figure in the history of the thirteenth-century Mediterranean, yet very much a product of the workings of the society of his day, and this book reveals how John's life, and its multifarious connections to France, Italy, the German empire and the papacy, can illuminate the broad panorama of the early thirteenth-century world, and the zenith of the Crusading movement"-- "John of Brienne's progress, from mid-ranking knightly status to king of Jerusalem and later Latin emperor of Constantinople, traces one of the most remarkable careers in the entire medieval period. But how and why did he achieve such heights? This biographical study of aristocratic social and geographical mobility in the 'Age of the Crusades' reassesses John's fascinating life, and explores how families and dynasticism, politics, intrigue, religion and war all contributed to John's unprecedented career. A major figure in the history of the thirteenth-century Mediterranean, and yet very much a product of the workings of the society of his day, this book reveals how John's life, and its multifarious connections to France, Italy, the German empire and the papacy, can illuminate the broad panorama of the early thirteenth-century world, and the zenith of the Crusading movement"-- Résumé de l'éditeur "John of Brienne's progress, from mid-ranking knightly status to king of Jerusalem and later Latin emperor of Constantinople, traces one of the most remarkable careers in the entire medieval period. But how and why did he achieve such heights? This biographical study of aristocratic social and geographical mobility in the 'Age of the Crusades' reassesses John's fascinating life, and explores how families and dynasticism, politics, intrigue, religion and war all contributed to John's unprecedented career. A major figure in the history of the thirteenth-century Mediterranean, and yet very much a product of the workings of the society of his day, this book reveals how John's life, and its multifarious connections to France, Italy, the German empire and the papacy, can illuminate the broad panorama of the early thirteenth-century world, and the zenith of the Crusading movement"-- Provided by publisher "More than two centuries ago, the great English historian Edward Gibbon summed up John of Brienne's life with the typically rotund observation that 'it was only in the age of chivalry, that valour could ascend from a private station to the thrones of Jerusalem and Constantinople'. Whatever one may think of Gibbon's judgement here, John (d. 1237) had one of the most remarkable careers in the entire medieval period."-- Résumé de l'éditeur "More than two centuries ago, the great English historian Edward Gibbon summed up John of Brienne's life with the typically rotund observation that 'it was only in the age of chivalry, that valour could ascend from a private station to the thrones of Jerusalem and Constantinople'. Whatever one may think of Gibbon's judgement here, John (d. 1237) had one of the most remarkable careers in the entire medieval period."-- Provided by publisher