Crouch (medieval history, U. of Hull) takes on the considerable Anglophone and Francophone historiography of the rise and function of the medieval aristocracy, sorting all the arguments into elements of noble conduct, noble lineage, noble class and noble power, and comparing source material with current scholarship. In the process he develops a new way of looking at the nature of aristocracy in France and England in the time period, its rituals and myths, and some of the emotions it arouses in modern historians. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
For 300 years scholars in Britain and France have been working industriously to explain the idea of medieval aristocracy. One part of this book analyses this enormous international field of publications, and breaks it down into four debates: on noble conduct, noble lineage, noble class and noble power. It identifies the points of divergence in the national traditions in each of these debates, and where they have been mutually incomprehensible. It integrates American historiography into the British and French debates as it touches on each.
But in addition to all this, the book presents an entirely new perspective on each of the four great debates. Each is subjected to a thorough review by comparing current scholarship with what a vast range of historical source material actually says about each.
For 300 years separate and mutually uncomprehending English and French historiographies have confused the history of medieval aristocracy. Unpicking the basic assumptions behind both national traditions, this book explains them, reconciles them and offers entirely new ways to take the study of aristocracy forward in both England and France.
The Birth of Nobility analyses the enormous international field of publications on the subject of medieval aristocracy, breaking it down into four key debates: noble conduct, noble lineage, noble class and noble power. Each issue is subjected to a thorough review by comparing current scholarship with what a vast range of historical source material actually says. It identifies the points of divergence in the national traditions of each of these debates and highlights where they have been mutually incomprehensible.
For students studying medieval Europe.
