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The Peoples of Sicily: A Multicultural Legacy (Sicilian Medieval Studies) Paperback – November 10, 2014
Can the eclectic medieval history of the world's most conquered island be a lesson for our times?
Home to Normans, Byzantines, Arabs, Germans and Jews, 12th-century Sicily was a crossroads of cultures and faiths, the epitome of diversity. Here Europe, Asia and Africa met, with magical results. Bilingualism was the norm, women's rights were defended, and the environment was protected. Literacy among Sicilians soared; it was higher during this ephemeral golden age than it was seven centuries later.
But this book is about more than Sicily. It is a singular, enduring lesson in the way multicultural diversity can be encouraged, with the result being a prosperous society. While its focus is the civilizations that flourished during the island's multicultural medieval period from 1060 to 1260, most of Sicily's complex history to the end of the Middle Ages is outlined. Idrisi is mentioned, but so is Archimedes.
Introductory background chapters begin in the Neolithic, continuing to the history of the contested island under Punics and Greeks. Every civilization that populated the island is covered, including Romans, Goths, Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Germans, Angevins, Aragonese and Jews, with profiles of important historical figures and sites. Religion, law, geography and cuisine are also considered.
The authors' narrative is interesting but never pedantic, intended for the general reader rather than the expert in anthropology, theology, art or architecture. They are not obsessed with arcane terminology, and they don't advocate a specific agenda or world view. Here two erudite scholars take their case to the people.
Yes, this book actually sets forth the entirety of ancient and medieval Sicilian history from the earliest times until around 1500, and it presents a few nuggets of the authors' groundbreaking research in medieval manuscripts. Unlike most authors who write in English about Sicily, perhaps visiting the island for brief research trips, these two are actually based in Sicily, where their work appears on a popular website. Sicily aficionados will be familiar with their writings, which have been read by some ten million during the last five years, far eclipsing the readership of any other historians who write about Sicily. Alio and Mendola are the undisputed, international "rock stars" of Sicilian historical writing, with their own devoted fan base. Every minute of the day somebody is reading their online articles.
This is a great book for anybody who is meeting Sicily for the first time, the most significant 'general' history of the island published in fifty years and certainly one of the most eloquent. It has a detailed chronology, a useful reading list, and a brief guide suggesting places to visit. The book's structure facilitates its use as a ready reference. It would have run to around 600 pages, instead of 368 (on archival-quality, acid-free paper), were it not for the slightly smaller print of the appendices, where the chronology, the longest Sicilian timeline ever published, is 20 pages long.
Unlike most histories of Sicily, the approach to this one is multifaceted and multidisciplinary. In what may be a milestone in Sicilian historiography, a section dedicated to population genetics explains how Sicily's historic diversity is reflected in its plethora of haplogroups.
Here medieval Sicily is viewed as an example of a tolerant, multicultural society and perhaps even a model. It is an unusually inspiring message. One reader was moved to tears as she read the preface.
Can a book change our view of cultures and perhaps even the way we look at history? This one just might.
Meet the peoples!
- Print length464 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherTrinacria Editions LLC
- Publication dateNovember 10, 2014
- Dimensions5.02 x 1 x 8.01 inches
- ISBN-10061579694X
- ISBN-13978-0615796949
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About the Author
Louis Mendola is one of Sicily’s foremost medievalists, and one of the very few whose work is known beyond Italian borders. His first scholarly paper (on the Battle of Benevento of 1266) was published in 1985; others consider such topics as the history of the medieval Normans in Sicily. He wrote the first book covering the entire seven-century history of the Kingdom of Sicily, and the first English translations of two chronicles of the thirteenth century. Having researched in Italy, Britain, Spain, Germany, France and the Vatican, he has been consulted by The History Channel, the BBC and The New York Times. Read by millions internationally, his online articles have made him one of the most popular Sicilian historians of the present century.
Jacqueline Alio is one of Sicily’s leading historians, and part of a new wave that is writing the history of Sicily's women. Over the last decade, she has been consulted by The History Channel, The Discovery Channel and other media. An accomplished medievalist, she has published the results of her original research while writing insightful articles for a general readership. Online, her articles have captivated millions, gaining her a special place as one of the Sicilian historians with the most readers around the world. In print, scholarly works like her translation of the Ferraris Chronicle have earned her kudos in academic circles. Margaret Queen of Sicily, the first biography of that regent, is the lengthiest published work of original scholarship written in English by a historian in Sicily. She co-authored the first book in English to outline the emerging field of Sicilian Studies. Her most recent book, the result of years of research, is a compendium of biographies of the queens of Sicily into the middle of the 13th century.
Product details
- Publisher : Trinacria Editions LLC; Second edition (November 10, 2014)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 464 pages
- ISBN-10 : 061579694X
- ISBN-13 : 978-0615796949
- Item Weight : 1.16 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.02 x 1 x 8.01 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,169,427 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,166 in Italian History (Books)
- #4,697 in Cultural Anthropology (Books)
- #9,654 in Ethnic Studies (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors
Jacqueline Alio is one of Sicily's leading medievalists, and the author of several monographs about Sicily's early queens. She wrote the first biography of Margaret of Navarre, the first compendium of biographies of the Sicilian queens of the Norman and Swabian eras, and a study of queenship in the Kingdom of Sicily during that period. Other books include the first English translation of a medieval chronicle written during the reign of Frederick II, a guide for educators teaching Sicilian Studies, a guide to the Norman-Arab sites around Palermo, a history of multicultural Sicily, a book on historical Sicilian women and a guide to Sicilian cuisine. At 740 pages, her Queens of Sicily 1061-1266 is the longest book written in English by a historian based in Sicily. In addition to the Ferraris Chronicle, completed in 1228 by a monk near Naples who knew Frederick II, Jacqueline Alio has translated other medieval texts for publication, including poetry composed in Sicilian by Frederick himself. She has lectured classes of university students and groups from organizations such as YPO, and been consulted by The History Channel and other media. Visit her at QueensofSicily.Com and at JacquelineAlio.Com
Lou Mendola's first academic article, dealing with the Battle of Benevento (1266), was published in 1985. He was one of the first scholars to present balanced histories of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which was annexed to Italy in 1861, and has authored a book on that subject. His Sicilian Genealogy and Heraldry, a guide for researchers, established a new Dewey subject category in the British Library and in the New York Public Library. He co-authored The Peoples of Sicily: A Multicultural Legacy, the first general ethnography of medieval Sicily. His highly-detailed Kingdom of Sicily 1130-1860 is a definitive work, the first history of that monarchy spanning its entire existence. His landmark translation of the chronicle known as Lu Rebellamentu di Sichilia contra Re Carlu, written in Middle Sicilian around 1288, is a useful resource for students of history and literature as a key reference in the study of the War of the Vespers and the first narrative prose in an Italian language. He wrote the first English translation of the Jamsilla Chronicle, an account recorded in 1262 about events in southern Italy from 1250 to 1258. Mendola's books are used in several university courses, and one is a guide for professors planning courses about Sicily. He is one of Sicily's most widely-published medievalists, and one of the few whose work enjoys an international readership. A popular speaker, he has lectured groups ranging from students (New York University) to business leaders (YPO).
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Some of the interesting nuggets in this book:
-Jews forced to convert or emigrate often took the name of their town as their last name
-Marsala comes from Mars el' Allah or "Port of God"
-The Arab conquest brought a lot of financial innovation to Sicily such as letters of credits and checks
-At the time of the Norman conquest, Palermo alone generated more revenue than all of England
-To this day, Sicilians refer to red haired people as "Normans"
-During the Vespers rebellion, people were asked to say "ceci" or chickpea in Sicilian to see if they had a French accent
I just wish the book did not end at the Spanish Inquisition. There has been a lot more history over the past 500 years.
My wife and I are planning a Mediterranean trip and found this book more useful and informative than any travel guide. When visiting historical sites, we now have a framework in which to place the major historical events from the Tarxien Temples of Malta to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V- King of Spain, King of Sicily and ruler of Western Europe.