The Sicilian Vespers: A History of the Mediterranean World in the Later Thirteenth Century (Canto) [Paperback]

Steven Runciman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 31, 1992 | Series: Canto

On 30 March 1282, as the bells of Palermo were ringing for Vespers, the Sicilian townsfolk, crying 'Death to the French', slaughtered the garrison and administration of their Angevin King. Seen in historical perspective it was not an especially big massacre: the revolt of the long-subjugated Sicilians might seem just another resistance movement. But the events of 1282 came at a crucial moment. Steven Runciman takes the Vespers as the climax of a great narrative sweep covering the whole of the Mediterranean in the thirteenth century. His sustained narrative power is displayed here with concentrated brilliance in the rise and fall of this fascinating episode. This is also an excellent guide to the historical background to Dante's Divine Comedy, forming almost a Who's Who of the political figures in it, and providing insight into their placement in Hell, Paradise or Purgatory.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

On March 30, 1282, as the church bells of Palermo were sounding vespers, a crowd of Sicilians fell on a party of French soldiers, the enforcers of Angevin rule over the island. Within minutes the French lay dead. The Palermo revolt spread quickly across Sicily, opposed by Frankish lords and the Italian clergy, and supported by Sicilian commoners, Aragonese infiltrators, and Byzantine spies. Against a complicated multinational backdrop, the noted medieval historian Steven Runciman deftly portrays the tangled world of Mediterranean politics in the 13th century, the apex of the Middle Ages.

Review

"All medievalists should read it. Layman, too, are certain to find it as enjoyable as it is enlightening." Italian Quarterly

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (July 31, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521437741
• ISBN-13: 978-0521437745
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #492,486 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sicilian History Expertly Done, October 21, 2003

By 

Peter McGivney (Wappingers Falls, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sicilian Vespers: A History of the Mediterranean World in the Later Thirteenth Century (Canto) (Paperback)

In the early spring of 1282 a great fleet lay at anchor in the harbor of Palermo, Sicily. The commander of the fleet, Charles of Anjou, brother of King (and later Saint) Louis of France, and by the blessing of the Pope and his own political machinations, King of the Two Sicilies, planned to attack the Byzantine capital of Constantinople and re-establish the Latin Empire, with himself as Emperor. For Charles, a man of formidable military and administrative talent, and considerable political ruthlessness, the possibility of being an emperor, of dominating the Mediterranean world, must have seemed so close that he could not fail to grasp the opportunity. And then everything changed.

The Sicilian Vespers, by the late Sir Steven Runciman, is the story of the late 13th century European world that created Charles of Anjou. Runciman describes in considerable, and very interesting detail, the interplay of politics and religion at that time, especially the bare knuckle politicking of the Popes, whose attempts at creating a universal Christendom ruled by the papacy eventually lessened respect not only for the individual popes involved, but for the papacy as an institution as well. The interweaving lines of narrative come together on the evening of March 29th, Easter Monday, of 1282, when a group of drunken Frenchmen arrived outside the Church of the Holy Spirit in Palermo just as the crowd of worshippers was going in for the Vespers service. One of the Frenchmen made advances, or actually tried to rape, a young Sicilian woman. Her husband killed the Frenchman, and when the Frenchmen's friends drew their swords, the crowd jumped them and killed them as well. The oppressed Sicilians then went on a rampage through the streets of Palermo, screaming Moranu il Franchkisi [Death to the French!] and slaughtering every Frenchman they could find, including French priests, nuns, and monks, as well as Sicilian women who had married Frenchmen. The rebellion rapidly spread to other cities across Sicily.

Runciman expertly weaves together the story of what happened and why it happened and what the consequences of the great rebellion were for Charles and the Sicilians and for a papacy more interested in politics than religion. There might be a better book on this subject somewhere, but I tend to doubt it; Runciman writes in clear and understandable English, a talent not usually cultivated by academic historians in the United States, and he knows his subject backwards and forwards. I would recommend this book highly to anyone interested in the Middle Ages, and to anyone interested in how history ought to be written.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Byzantine diplomacy was the best in the world..., February 14, 2002

By 

M. A Newman (Alexandria, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Sicilian Vespers: A History of the Mediterranean World in the Later Thirteenth Century (Canto) (Paperback)

Sir Steven Runciman was one of the leading scholars of the Middle Ages. He also had a profound understanding of diplomacy and warfare. He is not only the author of this book, but also several books on the Crusades and Byzantium. However, this I feel is his best book. First of all it is a wonderful story. This is how the Byzantine empire managed with no army, no navy, very little money, but with a great deal of diplomacy and intelligence to prevent a planned invasion from the mightiest power in 100 years. This book should be required reading for all statesmen, would be statesmen, and military planners. Runciman describes here how things can go wrong regardless of ability, manpower, and money when one is faced with a very clever foe.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well researched, well written piece of scholastic history, September 18, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Sicilian Vespers: A History of the Mediterranean World in the Later Thirteenth Century (Canto) (Paperback)

I was pleasantly surprised to find this a well-informed piece of modern historical anayalsis of the later thirteenth Mediterranean history. The book focuses primarily on the careers of both Manfred and Charles and their struggle to maintain an outdated concept of ancient imperialism. More than anything this book clearly shows the final transistions from an autocratical imperial Europe to a papal-dominated fractured set of European vassal states.
It is interesting for its succinct prose and deliberate factual outlay. Rather than seeking to impress upon his own ideas, Runciman deliberately tells us the history from a Latin perspective without impression of telling a story with all its propagandistic baggage. Don't be fooled by the usual publisher gumph on the back. The incident in Palermo in 1282 is used as a focal point for the history rather than being the main point of discussion and the work succeeds all the more for it.
A hugely impressive piece of scholastic history and, I would think, a vital book for any serious student of thirteenth century Mediterranean history.