Piety, Brotherhood and Power

The Role and Significance of Emotions in Albert of Aachen's Historia Ierosolimitana

Bibliographic Data

ID12880796
AuthorsStephen J Spencer (0000-0001-6581-7415, Queen Mary University of London, corresponding author)
Year2016
Volume13
Issue6
Pages423-443
Publication date2016-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLiterature Compass (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1741-4113 • E-ISSN: 1741-4113
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/lic3.12317
OpenAlexW2412198181
LanguageEN
References cited69

This article explores the role and significance of emotions in the Historia Ierosolimitana attributed to Albert of Aachen, long recognised as one of the most detailed and colourful histories of the First Crusade and the early years of Latin settlement in the East. Rather than attempting to reconstruct the crusaders' lived passions, it analyses the comments the author made about emotions and the ways in which emotion terms functioned in his history. It will be argued that emotions interacted with, and helped to communicate, a number of key themes in Albert's Historia , three of which are discussed here: crusader piety; Christian brotherhood; and power. At the same time, through a comparison with contemporaneous narratives of the First Crusade, it will be suggested that the emotional content of Albert's Historia is not without historical value, for it offers a window onto wider social and cultural conceptions of emotions in the 12th century

Aesthetics · Art · Content (measure theory · Literature · Narrative · Passions · Piety · Power (physics · Settlement (finance · Sociology · Value (mathematics · History · Medieval History and Crusades · Medieval Literature and History · Philosophy · Psychology · Reformation and Early Modern Christianity · Religious studies

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