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 book compares Westminster Abbey and the abbey of Saint-Denis - two of the most important ecclesiastical institutions of the thirteenth century.
"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
"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
