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2 - Authorship

from PART I

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 September 2012

Natasha R. Hodgson
Affiliation:
Nottingham Trent University
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Summary

IT is impossible to generalise about the authorship of crusade narratives. To some extent authors shared social and literary influences, but as well as geographical and chronological diversity, each had unique perspectives or personal agendas in terms of patronage, opinion, justification or propaganda. The widespread practice of plagiarism during the medieval period meant that some authors simply compiled crusade texts, including additional evidence where they had access to it. All of these factors may have influenced opinion of women in crusade narratives. Unfortunately there is not space within the scope of this book to give detailed background information for each author. Instead this chapter will provide an overview of issues such as textual interdependence and authorship in terms of patronage, education, and access to material, in order to show that the authors of histories of crusading and the Latin East cannot be universally described as more misogynistic than their contemporaries.

Textual Interdependence

THE propensity of medieval authors for borrowing extensively from other sources often makes it difficult to assess individual agendas. If a text influenced the development and spread of the crusade idea it might also have influenced attitudes to women's involvement. In these circumstances, a careful comparison of texts can be of benefit. Deletion of information suggested that it was considered inconsequential or incorrect, whereas its inclusion verbatim implied tacit approval. Additions indicated personal knowledge, opinion, or access to external sources. Nicholson views this kind of plagiarism as ‘evidence … of how the crusaders themselves saw crusade and how they developed the account of the crusade which they would have eventually retold in Europe’.

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Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Print publication year: 2007

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  • Authorship
  • Natasha R. Hodgson, Nottingham Trent University
  • Book: Women, Crusading and the Holy Land in Historical Narrative
  • Online publication: 12 September 2012
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  • Authorship
  • Natasha R. Hodgson, Nottingham Trent University
  • Book: Women, Crusading and the Holy Land in Historical Narrative
  • Online publication: 12 September 2012
Available formats
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Authorship
  • Natasha R. Hodgson, Nottingham Trent University
  • Book: Women, Crusading and the Holy Land in Historical Narrative
  • Online publication: 12 September 2012
Available formats
×