Family Trees and the Roots of Politics: The Prosopography of Britain and France from the Tenth to the Twelfth Century [Hardcover]

K.S.B. Keats-Rohan (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 3, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0851156258 | ISBN-13: 978-0851156255

In recent decades historians have become increasingly aware of the value of prosopography as an auxiliary science standing at the crossroads between anthropology, genealogy, demography and social history. It is now developing as an independent research discipline of real benefit to medievalists. The geographically and chronologically wide-ranging subjects of the essays in this collection, by scholars from the British Isles and the Continent, are united by a common theme, namely the significance of genealogy and kinship ties in determining political events in the middle ages. The papers, including a review of the history of prosopography and some of its major successes as a method by Karl Ferdinand Werner, range from general considerations of prosopographical and genealogical methodology (including discussion of Anglo-Norman royal charters) to specific analyses of individual political and kinship groups (including the genealogy of the counts of Anjou and a rehabilitation of the prosopographical material in Wace's Roman de Rou). The main geographic focus is England and France from the tenth to the twelfth centuries, but other areas as diverse as Celtic Ireland and the Latin Principality of Antioch also come under prosopographical scrutiny. Contributors: DAVID E. THORNTON, ANNE WILLIAMS, C.P. LEWIS, DAVID BATES, ELISABETH VAN HOUTS, EMMA COWNIE, JUDITH GREEN, JOHN S. MOORE, K.S.B. KEATS-ROHAN, CHRISTIAN SETTIPANI, HUBERT GUILLOTEL, KATHLEEN THOMPSON, VERONIQUE GAZEAU, MICHEL BUR, ALAN V. MURRAY, DANIEL POWER.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Medieval genealog(ists) will find that this work provides valuable insight into the sources available, as well as into some of the pitfalls to be encountered in their use. AMERICAN GENEALOGIST The papers are of high quality and of significance to others in their fields. ALBION The fact that the editor is KSBKR suggests (these studies) will be both unorthodox and brilliant... (she) has used her considerable skills at diplomatics and textual criticism to question the perceived Norman cultural and administrative dominance in post-Conquest England... the essays ar all meticulously crafted models of prosopographical research. MEDIEVAL PROSOPOGRAPHY A thought-provoking collection which deserves to be widely read. FRENCH HISTORY

Language Notes

Text: English, French

Product Details

• Hardcover: 394 pages
• Publisher: Boydell Press (July 3, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0851156258
• ISBN-13: 978-0851156255
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 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: #3,674,259 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Important essay collection in a growing field, July 8, 2005

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Michael K. Smith (South Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Family Trees and the Roots of Politics: The Prosopography of Britain and France from the Tenth to the Twelfth Century (Hardcover)

Some thirty years ago, prosopography began to be used as a tool in the study of history, especially medieval European and Byzantine history. Concentration, naturally, has centered on the wealthy and powerful because that's who created the surviving records. The seventeen papers in this collection (five of them in French) were read at a conference at Oxford in 1995, and one of the most important is "L'apport de la prosopographie à l'histoire sociale des élites" by Karl Ferdinand Werner, one of the principal founders of the field. Others of special note include David E. Thornton's "Kings, Chronicles and Genealogies: Reconstructing Mediaeval Celtic Dynasties," Christian Settipani's "Les comtes d'Anjou et leurs alliances aux Xe et XIe siècles," and "The Formation of the County of Perche: the Rise and Fall of the House of Gouet," by Kathleen Thompson. Boydell Press, incidentally, has made a niche for itself in publishing works on the subject of prosopography.