The Capture of Constantinople: The "Hystoria Constantinopolitana" of Gunther of Pairis (The Middle Ages Series) [Paperback]

Alfred J. Andrea (Translator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0812215869 | ISBN-13: 978-0812215861 | Publication Date: April 1, 1997

The armies of the Fourth Crusade that left Western Europe at the beginning of the thirteenth century never reached the Holy Land to fight the Infidel; they stopped instead at Byzantium and sacked that capital of eastern Christendom. Much of what we know today of those events comes from contemporary accounts by secular writers; their perspective is balanced by a document written from a monastic point of view and now available for the first time in English.

The Hystoria Constantinopolitana relates the adventures of Martin of Pairis, an abbot of the Cistercian Order who participated in the plunder of the city, as recorded by his monk Gunther. Written to justify the abbot's pious pilferage of scared relics and his transporting them back to his monastery in Alsace, it is a work of Christian metahistory that shows how the sack of Constantinople fits into God's plan for humanity, and that deeds done under divine guidance are themselves holy and righteous.

The Hystoria Constantinopolitana is one of the most complex and sophisticated historiographical work of its time, deftly interweaving moods and motifs, themes and scenes. In producing the first English translation and analysis of this work, Alfred Andrea has captured the full flavor of the original with its alternating section of prose and poetry. His introduction to the text provides background on Gunther's life and work and explores the monk's purpose in writing the Hystoria Constantinopolitana—not the least of which was extolling the virtues of Abbott Martin, who was sometimes accuse of laxity by his superiors in the Order.

Gunther's work is significant for its effort to deal with problems raised by the participation of monks in the Crusades, making it a valuable contribution to both crusading and monastic history. The Capture of Constantinople adds to our knowledge of the Fourth Crusade and provides unusual insight into the attitudes of the participants and the cultural-intellectual history of the early thirteenth century.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Latin --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Alfred J. Andrea is Professor of History at the University of Vermont.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press (April 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812215869
• ISBN-13: 978-0812215861
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,484,978 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic edition, June 10, 2010

By 

Kirialax (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Capture of Constantinople: The "Hystoria Constantinopolitana" of Gunther of Pairis (The Middle Ages Series) (Paperback)

Just for the record, I am reviewing the edition, not Gunther of Pairis as a historian. That sort of work is best left to academic journals, and frankly, due to the perishibility of ancient and medieval manuscripts, we are fortunate to have as many as we do.

Gunther of Pairis was a monk attached to the monastery of Pairis, which despite any phonetic similarities to the modern capital of France, was actually in the diocese of Basel, although it was a fair bit north of that city. Gunther's abbot, Martin, travelled with the Fourth Crusade and participated in the sacking of Constantinople, going so far as to make off with a whole score of relics. Due to the controversy surrounding "sacrum furtum", Gunther wrote this as an apologetic account on behalf of Martin. However, it is not just a simple defence of a relic thief, but a rather elaborate weaving together of high medieval monastic thought and literature. Andrea remarks on how long he spent studying the text after he figured that this would be a rather straight-forward translation. This is a highly complex document, with parts written in verse, and one that needs heavy contextualizing for it to be understood.

With that out of the way, I can get on to reviewing the edition, and I can say that it is superb. The translation is crisp and flows very well, and the first 60 pages of the book discuss Gunther of Pairis' life, his learning, the intellectual climate fostered by Citeaux and the value of this work as history. This introduction goes a long way towards giving the reader a good understanding of the text, and it is very clear that Andrea knows what he is talking about. I was initially disappointed that there was no Latin text attached, especially since Andrea said that he had explored all of the relevant manuscripts, but he notes later on that a new Latin critical edition had just been released before the publication, of this book, so I see no need for there to be another one, as it would just be superfluous. The middle 70 pages of the book make up the text, and this is where my sole criticism lies and the reason that I have only given this book four stars. It is followed by 50 pages of endnotes. These notes are excellent and provide a lot of insight into the text. The problem is that each and every page of the text references several of these endnotes, and it becomes very tiresome to constantly flip back and forth. Had those notes been placed at the bottom of the page as footnotes, we would probably end up with something akin to Whitby's 'Chronicon Paschale' where 50% of the page space is devoted to notes, but at least they are in front of the reader.

In sum, this is an excellent translation. It has a fantastic introduction, is a very learned volume and has great notes. Its only flaw lies in the fact that the numerous and useful notes are confined to the back of the book, where they must be referenced constantly by flipping back and forth.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good stuff, May 25, 2001

By 

Ashareh (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Capture of Constantinople: The "Hystoria Constantinopolitana" of Gunther of Pairis (The Middle Ages Series) (Paperback)

The Capture of Constantinople is an interesting history of the disastrous and controversial Fourth Crusade. Written by the monk Gunther of Pairis, it tells of the sacking of Greek Orthodox Constantinople by the Roman Catholic crusaders, casting the abbot Martin of Pairis as a hero. (In reality, Martin was viewed in an ambiguous light for his theft of holy relics from Orthodox churches.) Gunther serves as a kind of apologist for his abbot. The text is engaging and easy to read.