Elizabeth A. R. Brown

The Cistercians in the Latin Empire of Constantinople and Greece, 1204–1276

With the fall of Constantinople to Crusaders from the West the Cistercian Order found a new area for development. Cistercians had taken an active part in the Fourth Crusade and they were ready to share in the process of settlement which followed hard on the conquest of the Empire and Greece. The fortunes of the Cistercians in the East waxed and waned with great rapidity, paralleling the course of the Latin Empire itself: between 1204 and 1276 the Order acquired at least twelve houses and lost at least nine of these. The interesting but unspectacular history of the Cistercian Order in the Latin Empire and Greece has received little attention, either from historians of the Order itself or from those scholars who have treated the history of the Latin conquest and occupation. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the foundation, development and final abandonment of the Cistercian houses in the Empire and Greece, to explore the activities of Cistercian abbots and priors in the affairs of the Empire, and to examine the contacts between Cistercians of East and West. But since the interest of the Cistercians in Constantinople and Greece began with their participation in the Fourth Crusade, consideration will first be given to their activity as Crusaders.

Eleanor of Aquitaine Reconsidered: The Woman and Her Seasons

Eleanor of Aquitaine is a woman who, over the centuries, has seen many seasons. Born in 1124 in the south of France, in or near Poitiers, she lived for eighty years, dying at the end of March 1204 and being buried at the abbey of Fontevraud where she had lived for a decade.1 Since her death, for almost 800 years, she has proved perpetually fascinating and has been many things to many people. She has intrigued historians of literature, culture, art, politics, and institutions; novelists, cinemasts, and playwrights; and a horde of people who know little more about the Middle Ages than that she (and Joan of Arc) lived then. Despite (and in part because of) the wealth of books and articles dedicated to her, she herself remains elusive. Her contemporaries and near-contemporaries are less informative about her than they are about her husbands, Louis VII of France (1120–80; r. 1137–80) and Henry II of England (1133–89; r. 1154–89). Still, “the not inconsiderable bulk of record material” has cast light on many aspects of her numerous activities and interests, and will, in future, yield more information about her patronage of religious foundations and the people, both French and English, who served in her household.2

Moral Imperatives and Conundrums of Conscience: Reflections on Philip the Fair of France

When I was asked to propose a topic for my presidential address, the subject I chose, moral imperatives and conundrums of conscience, seemed to me particularly appropriate and timely. This was in part because of the problems of conscience caused for many members of the Academy by the decision to hold the annual meeting in Arizona, whose restrictive laws on immigration seemed to many to violate basic principles of right and justice and hence to warrant a boycott. Long, thoughtful, and impassioned discussion of the issues revealed their complexity. Although the final decision disappointed many members, all recognized its virtue in supporting the Arizonans who were struggling to accomplish revocation of legislation they believed wrong. There was more. The crises in the leadership of the Academy during two of my years as a presidential officer raised issues of conscience and morality for all who worked to achieve equitable, just, and rational solutions to our problems and conflicts. On both issues, the site of the meeting and the governance of the Academy, colleagues adopted and defended positions that demonstrated the variety and strength of their convictions and the diversity of their reasons for holding them.

Subsidy and Reform in 1321: The Accounts of Najac and the Policies of Philip V

The year 1321 is crucially important in the history of the development of French constitutional and political activity, for it was then that Philip V, the most inventive and imaginative of the sons of Philip the Fair, attempted to utilize assemblies of different sorts for an unprecedented purpose, to secure from the kingdom of France a grant of funds in time of peace to support a program of administrative and economic reform. His predecessors had had some success in securing levies for the defense of the realm, and, like them, Philip had raised money for campaigns against the Flemings. Neither Philip nor the kings who had ruled before him had, however, tried to obtained the active cooperation of the kingdom in advancing the welfare of France by introducing improvements which were totally unrelated to the needs of defense. It is a testimony to Philips vision that he made such an attempt, abortive though it proved to be, for in the end his work came to nothing, and early in 1322 Philip died. While the complete failure of Philips plans, which have fittingly been termed his ‘Grand Design,’ meant that 1321 would not become a landmark in French constitutional history, it does not make the brief episode any the less interesting. Its details illustrate the practical difficulties involved in the execution of such a project, and help explain why the evolution of viable institutions to facilitate cooperation between ruler and ruled to promote the common good were so halting, and why instances of such cooperation are so rare.

Memoirs of Fellows and Corresponding Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America: Robert-Henri Bautier

Robert-Henri Bautier was one of Frances leading and most respected medieval historians, dedicated to preserving and enhancing the traditions of textual and documentary study that have flourished in France since the seventeenth century. He died at Paris on 19 October 2010 after a long and courageous struggle with illness, supported by his devoted wife and lifelong colleague Anne-Marie until her death in 2008, and to the end by his daughter Genevieve and his son-in-law Henri Bresc.

Memoirs of Fellows and Corresponding Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America: Bernard Guenée

Our colleague Bernard Guenee, Corresponding Fellow of the Academy since 1982, was born in Rennes on February 6, 1927, and died in Paris on September 25, 2010.

The Lit de justice : semantics, ceremonial, and the Parlement of Paris 1300-1600

Elizabeth A. R. Brown, Richard C. Famiglietti: The Lit de Justice. Semantics, Ceremonial, and the Parlement of Paris, 1300–1600 (Beihefte der Francia, 31), Sigmaringen (Thorbecke) 1994, ISBN 3-7995-7331-3.