A Tale of Two Monasteries takes an unprecedented look at one of the great rivalries of the Middle Ages and offers it as a revealing lens through which to view the intertwined histories of medieval England and France. This is the first book to systematically compare Westminster Abbey and the abbey of Saint-Denis—two of the most important ecclesiastical institutions of the thirteenth century—and to do so through the lives and competing careers of the two men who ruled them, Richard de Ware of Westminster and Mathieu de Vendôme of Saint-Denis.
Esteemed historian William Jordan weaves a breathtaking narrative of the social, cultural, and political history of the period. It was an age of rebellion and crusades, of artistic and architectural innovation, of unprecedented political reform, and of frustrating international diplomacy—and Richard and Mathieu, in one way or another, played important roles in all these developments. Jordan traces their rise from obscure backgrounds to the highest ranks of political authority, Abbot Richard becoming royal treasurer of England, and Abbot Mathieu twice serving as a regent of France during the crusades. By enabling us to understand the complex relationships the abbots and their rival institutions shared with each other and with the kings and social networks that supported and exploited them, A Tale of Two Monasteries paints a vivid portrait of medieval society and politics, and of the ambitious men who influenced them so profoundly.
"Jordan, a Princeton professor and a much-lauded medievalist, knows a good coincidence when he sees one. He has set about comparing and contrasting the tenures of the two abbots (which both lasted for a quarter of a century) and, along the way, he manages to provide some fascinating insights into the turbulent thirteenth-century relationship between France and England. This is a spectacularly accomplished book: learned, witty and very important. The shock is that no one has undertaken such a study before. . . . I've said it once, and I'm told that repetition is a useful rhetorical device, so here we go again: this book is superb."—Jonathan Wright, The Tablet
"[T]his is a work that could only be written by a scholar who has spent a career examining the intricacies of medieval government in the often turbulent years of the thirteenth century. As such, the reader is well served by Professor Jordan's excellent book."—Leonie Hicks, Church History
"In this tidy comparative study of two of the most important ecclesiastical institutions of the Middle Ages, Jordan uses the monasteries and the men chosen to govern them in 1258 as an entry into relations between 13th-century England and France."—Choice
"William Chester Jordan's . . . meticulous research, lively mind, and unburdened prose. . . . A Tale of Two Monasteries is a closely researched and energetic cameo."—Paul Binski, Catholic Historical Review
"Jordan's comparative approach and expert insights make this book an important study for scholars in the field. Its lucid style, engaging narrative, compact synthesis, and clear explanations, however, open up the political and ecclesiastical world of the thirteenth century to a wider audience and it is likely to become a favourite textbook and a model for historical writing."—Marc B. Cels, Canadian Journal of History
"Jordan enlists these two monasteries, their abbots, and especially their documents to trace a new and privileged path through the political history of later thirteenth-century England and France. Jordan has given us another of his own classics, a refreshing account of a well-known era."—David C. Mengel, Journal of World History
"Meticulous in historical detail, A Tale of Two Monasteries tells a remarkable and rather captivating narrative. . . . Jordan's research is based on a thorough reading of a huge array of documents. . . . The bibliography is impressive, and the citations and discursive footnotes are immensely valuable to medieval scholarship. But Jordan is also a storyteller; he captures something of the spirit of daily life. . . . The reader has a sense of being there and is guided through the poignancies, the portent, and the bearing these royal successions will have for the abbeys and their abbots."—Rosemary Drage Hale, Journal of British Studies
"Historians talk about comparative history. Professor Jordan has done it: two monasteries, two abbots, two kings, two kingdoms, and the turmoil of the mid-thirteenth century. This is a boundary-crossing study of men, policy, ambition, competition, and their efforts to leave a legacy. Another Jordan triumph."—Joel T. Rosenthal, distinguished professor emeritus, Stony Brook University, State University of New York
"Another classic Jordan book: wholly original in conception, thoroughly grounded in the primary sources, and written in a vigorous, inimitable style. With a keen eye for detail, Jordan has strewn his chapters with perceptive observations about the principal players and their complex relationships. This is a thought-provoking and thoroughly absorbing book. Readers will find a vivid window into the thirteenth century."—Theodore Evergates, author of The Aristocracy in the County of Champagne, 1100-1300
"This is an original and striking book by a leading American medievalist. It will be essential reading for all scholars in the field. Written in a clear and accessible prose, it will also reach a wider public."—David Carpenter, author of The Struggle for Mastery: The Penguin History of Britain 1066-1284
