The Decline and Fall of Medieval Sicily: Politics, Religion, and Economy in the Reign of Frederick III, 1296-1337 [Hardcover]

Clifford R. Backman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 29, 1995 | ISBN-10: 0521496640 | ISBN-13: 978-0521496643

This is the first detailed study of Sicilian life in the reign of Frederick III (1296-1337), a period that marked Sicily's transition from a bustling and prosperous Mediterranean emporium to a poor backwater torn apart by violence. This book, by focusing on Frederick III's crucial reign, argues that there were many more things "wrong" with Sicilian life than just the shape of its overseas trade relations. Placing itself between those who blame the foreigners and those who blame the Sicilians themselves, it shows that an entire nexus of factors and influences were at work in unravelling Sicilian life. It also demonstrates that these forces can be seen best in the forty years that followed Sicily's liberation from foreign control in the bloody war of the "Sicilian Vespers."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book opens up a new subject in English for the first time." American Historical Review

"...a valuable and thought-provoking addition to this growing corpus of research....Clifford Backman guides his readers with authority through notoriously complex themes, and his lively prose style disguises an impressive depth of scholarship. He has written an admirable book...his study will be required reading in its field." The Catholic Historical Review

"Backman's new questions and fresh research challenge the conventional themes of Sicilian history....By rooting a familiar story into the political and cultural realities of the first decades of the fourteenth century, he has written a convincing account of how peace and prosperity eluded Sicilians, despite their best intentions." Journal of Interdisciplinary History

"Backman's monograph makes a substantial contribution toward comprehending the origins of Sicily's notorious poverty and pervasive lawlessness. A lively writing style sustains the reader through a great deal of detailed social. political, and economic analysis, and Backman provides fascinating vignettes of social customs, religious mores, and the condition of women." Choice

"Backman presents his material in a pleasing manner; his organization is goo....His familiarity with the topography of Sicily greatly assists the reader. The book includes a most useful map, three tables of justices and one of feudal dues, an extensive bibliography, and a brief index." Louise Buenger Robbert, Journal of Church and state

"...The Decline and Fall of Medieval Sicily: Politics, Religion, and Economy in the Reign of Frederick III, 1296-1337 is an excellent study of its subject and a magnificent contribution to our knowledge and understanding of Sicily's long, intricate, and often misunderstood history." William Granara, The Medieval Review

"...this is a welcome book that fills an important gap in the history of Sicily and the Mediterranean. It is also excellently produced with full and detailed footnotes, including ample quotation of the more important passages in the sources. It is nice to encounter a book at once scholarly and readable." Carola M. Small, Speculum

"Backman writes with great fluency and has produced a thoughtful, wide-ranging book that fills a gaping whole in the literature on the medieval Mediterranean." Journal of Economic History

"Backman writes with great fluency and has produced a thoughtful, wide-ranging book that fills a gaping whole in the literature on the medieval Mediterranean." David Abulafia, Jrnl of Eco Hist

Book Description

This is the first detailed study of Sicilian life in the reign of Frederick III (1296-1337), a period which marked Sicily's transition from a bustling and prosperous Mediterranean emporium to a poor backwater torn apart by violence. This book, by focusing on Frederick III's crucial reign, argues that there were many more things "wrong" with Sicilian life than just the shape of its overseas trade relations. Placing itself between those who blame the foreigners and those who blame the Sicilians themselves, it shows that an entire nexus of factors and influences were at work in unraveling Sicilian life. It also demonstrates that these forces can be seen best in the forty years that followed Sicily's liberation from foreign control in the bloody war of the "Sicilian Vespers."

Product Details

• Hardcover: 374 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (September 29, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521496640
• ISBN-13: 978-0521496643
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,845,828 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Layman's review, May 18, 2001

By 

David Willis (LA, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Decline and Fall of Medieval Sicily: Politics, Religion, and Economy in the Reign of Frederick III, 1296-1337 (Hardcover)

About a year ago, and by a string of coincedence, I spent a month travelling around Sicily. To keep this short and get to the point, I'll just say that finding myself travelling in a strange country is not an extraordinary occurance for me. What did strike me as odd was how little I knew about the history of this island. So when I got home I grabbed the first book I could find about Sicily. I'm glad it was this one.

Mr. Backman's book is obviously a scholarly text written more for other historians than for a civilian like myself. The writer didn't feel the need to fill me in on the history immediately preceding the half century that he covers in his book. He assumed that his reader knew about the earlier Norman conquest, and the Vespers war and Angevin antagonism to Catalan rule. I did not. But because of Mr. Backman's skill, this did not matter. Knowing his subject so well, he effortlessly glides from the broadest geopolitical concepts to the timeless drama of a personal feud between two rivals.

Not unlike tuning in to the middle of a daytime soap opera, you are drawn in. And I thank him for inspiring me to fill in the gaps in my knowlege by further reading.