The Albigensian Crusade

Rating:
Summary: To
Review: (...)


Cathars are a people. Look in any English dictionary. There will be 2 entries for catholic/Cathlic. The first, catholic, means pertaining to the whole Christian body or church, in other words, not just referring to Roman Catholics, like I would guess that you are, as am I. Catholic means of or pertaining to the Roman Catholic Church, notice how I capitalized Church in my last usage and did not in my first. Different usages of words command different cases and I saw nothing unusual in the spelling of catholic without capitalization in this book but I did not read your review until after I had read the book.

I found the book to be an exhaustive and detailed account of the Albigensian Crusade that did a great job of detailing related material from the time that better put the whole issue into focus. From reading "A reader's (NYC)" review, I get the idea that she/he wanted a historical novel with a lot of blood and guts, action and posibly even steamy romanticism to spice up the reading instead of an intellectual and honest analyzation of historical events.

Anyway, maybe I am wrong about my suppositions but what I guess I am saying is that if you want to read an account that is spiced up to make it exciting then there are plenty of romance novels and historical novels in print that are not remotely true to the history they lay claim to, but if you want to read what really happened with the Albigensian Crusade, this book seems an excellent choice to me.



Rating:
Summary: A terrible war
Review: Anyone of Huguenot extraction knows that the French have traditionally been rather rough on the religiously unorthodox. This book tells the story of France's most savage crusade, its war against the dualist Cathars of Languedoc and those who sheltered and supported them. But the Albigensian Crusade, as this book points out, was more than a war against heretics; it changed the king of France from a regional lord to a great European power.

Jonathan Sumption tells this story as well as I've ever read it. His research is meticulous and he never fails to be interesting. This is an excellent contribution to the subject as well as a fascinating read. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Here's what war is all about
Review: France is a melange of 10 or more countries, and two largely distinct cultures: langue d'oui in the north and langue d'oc in the south. The south has a flourishing heretic culture, defiantly independent of Roman orthodoxy. The Pope offers indulgences to the kings in the north if they will invade the south and kick [tail]. So with a guaranteed ticket to heaven in your pocket, and visions of rapine and pillage dancing in your head, you ride down there and start killing, maiming, raping and theiving. But you complain that you can't tell the heretics from the Christians. Your general replies, "Kill 'em all. God will know his own."

Rating:
Summary: Here's what war is all about
Review: France is a melange of 10 or more countries, and two largely distinct cultures: langue d'oui in the north and langue d'oc in the south. The south has a flourishing heretic culture, defiantly independent of Roman orthodoxy. The Pope offers indulgences to the kings in the north if they will invade the south and kick [tail]. So with a guaranteed ticket to heaven in your pocket, and visions of rapine and pillage dancing in your head, you ride down there and start killing, maiming, raping and theiving. But you complain that you can't tell the heretics from the Christians. Your general replies, "Kill 'em all. God will know his own."

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Summary: Just Had To Weigh In...
Review: I looked up Catholic/catholic on both dictionary.com and merriam-webster.com. Merriam-Webster says that "catholic" is "often capitalized" when used in the sense that Sumption uses it. Dictionary.com lists one definition of Catholic (capitalized) as "Of or relating to the ancient undivided Christian church" while reserving the lower case for the meanings "comprehensive" and "universal" and the like.

That being said, I probably wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't read it on a review here earlier. And there may be two different schools of thought on this, but it does seem like Catholic is capitalized more often than not in similar circumstances. So it does prompt the question as to why Sumption would do this in an otherwise very well written and organized work.

There is not a tremendous amount of easily accessible scholarly work on the Cathars, but I have been very impressed with this book all in all. I love it when a history book is a page-turner, forcing me to stay up late reading because I want to know what happens next.

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Summary: Great book on a tragic period
Review: I stumbled on this book in a library in England, and since I've read all the important works on the Levant Crusades, I decided to check out the Crusades on Europe. The book is extraordinary, explaining the chain of events since the advent of the Cathars into Southern France to the creation of the Inqusition and the anexation of Tolousse into the French crown. You feel the despair in the Albigensian nobles, from almost certain defeat, to the joy of victory to the final summision by the French Crown. The military genius of Simon de Monfort, the indecisions of the Count Raymund, the greediness of the papal prelates are among the many pictures you see. Tha Author did an extraordinary job to fill the voids where no history has been written with creativity (read the notes to each chapter). If you are looking for a book that gives you the general outlook of the Albigensian Crusade, get this one.

Rating:
Summary: OK, But
Review: One can learn facts about the history of the Cathar movement and the crusade, but Sumption's strange steady praise of Simon de Monfort as a man of integrity and admonition of the people of Tolouse who celebrated his death, makes me wonder if the whole story is not being told i.e is the human imapct recounted with accuracy. If someone slaughters so many people with so little restraint becuase of a dedication to principles, should he really be called "a model Christian of austere personal morals?" See TS Eliot on Otello-- Terribly, one is also responsible for one's unconscious as well.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent narrative, rich detail....
Review: THE ALBIGENSIAN CRUSADE by Jonathan Sumption is an extremely well written and readable book. Sumption was a history fellow at Magdalene College until 1975, and his historical training shows. His writing is accurate, detailed, clear, and concise. He currently serves as a QC practicing commercial law, but thank goodness he takes time away from his day job to write history. I will certainly read some of his other works. Sumption's book on the Albigensian Crusade(s) was first published in 1978, but never fear, his material is as current today as it was 22 years ago.

I found the sections describing the series of confusing battles de Montfort fought in Languedoc from Beziers to Murat, as well as the ever changing loyalties of the southern nobiliy and the mood swings of the Catholic Church quite easy to follow. He writes in a brisk style that provided me, a non-military enthusiast, with enough information to understand what took place without dampening my tiny enthusiasm for battle. In addition to his very rich text, Sumption's book is filled articulate maps showing the various sites where Simon de Montfort waged his crusader war. If you're about to visit Languedoc, this is the book to take along.

Sumption writes like Stephen Ambrose. Both provide on-the-ground detail while they simultaneously explain what was going on back at headquarters (Rome in Sumption's book). They personalize the impersonal. You also come to understand why leadership is so critical, why troops matter, why casualties happen inspite of the best plans, and just how wonderful De Montfort's tactical manuevering really was.(Yes, I know Ike was a strategist.)

Sumption writes dynamic and interesting passages, but he eschews the sensationalism found in O'Shea's book on this topic. Although Sumption's book provides some background on the Cathar heresy, it does not contain the detail of Lambert's book THE CATHERS. Read Lambert's book and Sumption's book on the crusades and you will have a very good understanding of what took place in the 13th Century in Languedoc.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: The Albigensian Crusade may have been rather hodgepodge, but that hardly justifies Jonathan Sumption taking a hodgepodge approach to his chosen subject.

I suspect that Mr. Sumption's research into the crusade so exhausted him that he had little energy remaining for actually writing about it. Was he in a state of jet lag when he took pen to paper? No? Then how can he explain his wilted and garbled approach to such an inherently interesting subject? Mr. Sumption has actually managed to render a crusade (which, by nature, is all blood-and-thunder) dull!

Mr. Sumption: Get some rest, read some authors who know how to write about battles -- e.g., Donald Morris -- and try again. Take baby steps, however. Start perhaps with an article on a Ladies' Sowing Circle.

And another thing: If "Cathar" is capitalized, then so should "Catholic." I gritted my teeth every time I had to read "catholic."

Rating:
Summary: Interesting narrative of an interesting war.
Review: The Albigensian Crusade was, as the reviewer before me mentioned, a confusing series of events. It mostly consisted of the northern crusaders and southern dissidents exchanging castles and towns during about twenty years of campaigning seasons, sitting tight during the winter, and playing mind games with that fount of wisdom and mercy, the medieval church. Sumption is exceptionally erudite in describing all this, and bringing in a semblance of order. His writing is sometimes clunky and awkward, but he gets the job done. A good book, and a worthwhile read for anyone interested in history and warfare.