1st Edition

Charles I of Anjou Power, Kingship and State-Making in Thirteenth-Century Europe

By Jean Dunbabin Copyright 1998
    264 Pages
    by Routledge

    264 Pages
    by Routledge

    Charles I of Anjou (1225-85), brother of St Louis, was one of the most controversial figures of thirteenth-century Europe. A royal adventurer, who carved out a huge Mediterranean power block, as ruler of Provence, Jerusalem and the kingdom of Naples as well as Anjou, he changed for good the political configuration of the Mediterranean world - even though his ambitions were fatally undermined by the revolt of the Sicilian Vespers. Jean Dunbabin's study - the first in English for 40 years - reassesses Charles's extraordinary career, his pivotal role in the crusades and in military reform, trading, diplomacy, learning and the arts, and finds a more remarkable figure than the ruthless thug of conventional historiography.

    Aknowledgements.
    Note on names.
    Abbreviations.
     
    PART ONE: The Man.
     
    The Prince.
    The Capetian.
     
    PART TWO: The Dominions.
     
    The French Lands.
    Provence.
    The Regno.
    The Rest of Italy.
    The Mediterranean World.
    The Sicilian Vespers.
    An Empire?
     
    PART THREE: Policies.
     
    The Papacy.
    The Church.
    The Economy.
    The Army and Navy.
     
    PART FOUR: Court Life and Culture.
     
    Family and Familia.
    Chivalry and Display.
    Literature, Art and Architecture.
    Learning.
    Personal Piety.
    Genealogical Table.
    map.
    Bibliography.
    Index.

    Biography

    Jean Dunbabin