Présentation de l'éditeur
Frederick II of Hohenstaufen (1194-1250) - King of Sicily, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Jerusalem, expert ornithologist, Wonder of the World - has long been considered the first Renaissance ruler - a visionary autocrat who embraced the religious divisions within his empire to challenge the armies and oppressive limitations of the medieval church. He has aslo been denounced as the Antichrist, a heretic and a heathen, who died condemned by the papacy to eternal damnation. David Abulafia's masterly biography overturns the myths and reveals Frederick as neither the Beast of the Apocalypse nor the Universal Hero adopted by pre-Nazi Germany. Instead we are shown a man very much of his time, an emperor whose reign coincided with the great turning-points of the high Middle Ages.
Revue de presse
“David Abulafia has written a brilliant book.” – Andrew Wheatcroft,
Evening Standard
“This is the rarest of books, a biography which is both a persuasive and compelling portrait of a man, and of genuine and major historical importance. Nobody will read it without pleasure.” – R.I. Moore,
TLS
Biographie de l'auteur
David Abulafia has written extensively on the political, economic and social history of the Mediterranean, especially Sicily, southern Italy and the Catalan world. His books, several of which have been translated into Italian, Spanish or German, include
The Two Italies, A Mediterranean Emporium and
The Western Mediterranean Kingdoms 1200-1500,
The New Cambridge Medieval History, volume 5, c.1198-1300, which he edited, and
Frederick II. He has also written over a hundred historical articles. He had lectured in several European countries and in the United States, Israel and Japan, and he regularly visits Italy for his research. He has been awarded the King Roger II Prize in Sicily for his books on the history of the island. He strongly believes that historians should attempt to convey the results of their research to a wider public. He is Professor of Mediterranean History at Cambridge University and he has been a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, since 1974.
