For the first time ever, this book offers a much-needed comprehensive and introductory overview of the tumultuous era of the Crusades. číst celé
Helena P. Schrader Livres
S'appuyant sur une vaste expérience internationale et un amour profond pour l'histoire, Helena crée une fiction historique captivante. Sa prose se caractérise par une profonde compréhension de diverses cultures et motivations humaines, invitant les lecteurs à s'immerger dans le passé. À travers des romans méticuleusement documentés, elle explore des thèmes complexes de résistance, de relations internationales et de résilience de l'esprit humain. Helena écrit pour connecter les lecteurs à l'histoire, offrant des aperçus sur des dilemmes humains durables.
Balian, the landless son of a local baron, goes to Jerusalem to seek his fortune. Instead, he finds himself trapped into serving the young prince suffering from leprosy, an apparent sentence to obscurity and death. But the unexpected death of King Amalric makes the leper boy King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, and Balian’s prospects begin to improve. The Byzantine princess Maria Comnena is just thirteen years old when she arrives in the Kingdom of Jerusalem at her great uncle’s orders to cement the alliance between the two Christian kingdoms in the East. The child wife of a man almost three times her own age, she is despite her excellent education and intelligence little more than a pretty doll in the eyes of her husband. When she fails to produce a male heir for the desperate king, her marriage becomes a gilded prison. Until suddenly the king is dead and Maria finds herself a wealthy widow at just twenty years of age. Meanwhile, the charismatic Kurdish leader Saladin has united the forces of Islam and vowed to drive the Christians into the sea. While King Baldwin IV—and Balian—struggle to save the Holy Land for Christendom by whatever means they can, the internal rivalries of Templars and Hospitallers, the advocates of offense and defense, and the bitter rivalries of barons threaten to tear the kingdom apart.
Envoy of Jerusalem: Balian d'Ibelin and the Third Crusade, Book III in the Jerusalem Trilogy
- 510pages
- 18 heures de lecture
Hollywood made him a blacksmith; Arab chronicles said he was "like a king." He served a leper, but defied Richard the Lionheart. He fought Saladin to a standstill, yet retained his respect. Rather than dally with a princess, he married a dowager queen- and founded a dynasty. He was a warrior and a diplomat both: Balian d'Ibelin Balian has survived the devastating defeat on the Horns of Hattin, and walked away a free man after the surrender of Jerusalem, but he is baron of nothing in a kingdom that no longer exists. Haunted by the tens of thousands of Christians now enslaved by Saladin, he is determined to regain what has been lost. The arrival of a vast crusading army under the soon-to-be-legendary Richard the Lionheart offers hope -- but also conflict, as natives and crusaders clash and French and English quarrel. This is Part III of a biographical novel about Balian d'Ibelin. The first two books in the series, 'Knight of Jerusalem' and 'Defender of Jerusalem', were both BRAG Medallion honorees. 'Defender of Jerusalem' won the 2016 Chaucer Award for Historical Fiction set in the Middle Ages and was also awarded the Silver (second place) for Spiritual/Religious Fiction in the 2016 Feathered Quill Book Awards. It was a finalist for the 2016 M.M. Bennetts Award for Historical Fiction.
Set against the backdrop of a tumultuous Cyprus, the story follows John d'Ibelin, the son of Balian, as he navigates the challenges of being a squire amidst rebellion. With Greek insurgents threatening to dismantle Richard the Lionheart's legacy, John must survive his apprenticeship and prepare for a future where he will confront the most powerful monarch. The narrative explores themes of loyalty, legacy, and the struggle for power in a land torn by conflict.
Find out more about the twelfth and thirteenth-century women inhabitants of Outremer.