Envoy
of Jerusalem, third volume in Dr. Helena Schrader’s
superlative Jerusalem trilogy, opens in
the first week of October 1187, on a distinctly bleak note. Three months after the
disastrous Battle of Hattin and ensuing onslaught of Salah ad-Din, displaced
fighting men gathered in a shabby tavern behind the walls of Tyre, the last
Crusader stronghold remaining in Christian hands, take a bitter potion with
their ale: the fall of Jerusalem to the Sultan. In that city, holiest to
Christendom, thirty thousand women and children, elderly, and poor spared on
the strength of the heroic Balian d’Ibelin’s hard negotiations desperately
scramble to meet the Sultan’s price of ransom from a fate worse than death, a
lifetime as slaves forever lost in the far-flung Islamic world.
Little is to be gained by
further summarizing the story. Suffice to say Balian d’Ibelin and his wife, the
Dowager Queen Maria Zoe Comnena, continue their leading roles in this vast,
immersive, and well-told tale of the tumultuous events in the Holy Land
preceding, over the course of, and after the Third Crusade. For review
purposes, most pertinent is Dr. Schrader’s continuing success in translating
her encyclopedic knowledge of the Crusader States and her proven abilities as a
purely creative writer into works of high literary and historical value.
As in the previous two
volumes, a convincingly evocative sense of physical environment marks every
setting. In Envoy, a kingdom ninety
years in its building lying ravaged, fallow, and desolate in the wake of Salah
ad-Din’s armies, remains hauntingly poignant in memory.
Action, be it a meeting
among dissenting hot-tempered barons, cruel words between husband and wife, or
an all-out blood-splattered battle on land or sea, is vividly shown with a sure
hand for all aspects, verbal, emotive, and physical. In
characterization, Balian d’Ibelin faces a formidable challenge to his leading
role with the show-stealing Richard I Couer
de Lion, capably portrayed as a great king, leader, and warrior who
yet shows human strengths and failings, whose deeds and persona match the
historical record, and is worthy of his legendary status.
As known to serious
students and scholars of the Middle Ages, women in High Medieval Europe and its
transplanted culture in the Crusader States were most decidedly not a class of downtrodden
beings, solely present to be used by men as sexual toys, heir factories, or
currency. In her numerous and extensive characterizations of women of all
social stations, Dr. Schrader strictly avoids the clichés of modernist
feminism, as well as the common ‘medieval’ stereotypes regularly seen in
historical fiction. Consequently, her female characters stand in strong and
authentic contrast to these too often seen typecasts. She doesn’t neglect to
sharply illustrate the wide disparities between the status and treatment of
women in the Christian and Islamic cultures of the time.
Envoy
of Jerusalem continues at the same compelling,
page-turning pace established in Knight
of Jerusalem and Defender of
Jerusalem, not relenting until the conclusion of the final scene. Also,
like these preceding volumes, Dr. Schrader’s unfailing attention to the
complexities of the historical and environmental frameworks make careful
reading an agreeable necessity. The extensive supplementary materials: genealogical charts, maps, introduction,
historical afterward and notes, and the glossary and list of additional
reading, are easily accessible, and contain answers to any questions that might
arise. In themselves, these well written and organized resources provide ample
evidence of the author’s scholarly qualifications and standards.
In conclusion, Envoy stands alone as captivating and entertaining,
as well as scholarly and far-reaching in scope and intent. As a complete work,
the Jerusalem trilogy represents an
outstanding achievement; a literary oeuvre constructed in keeping with the
highest academic principles for research and verifiable accuracy.
From Real Crusades
History, a solid five stars and a hearty Deus Vult for Envoy of Jerusalem! ~ Scott Amis
Very nice and informative review indeed.
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