ePub The Devil's Broker: Seeking Gold, God, and Glory in Fourteenth- Century Italy download

by Frances Stonor Saunders

Author:

Frances Stonor Saunders

ISBN13:

978-0060777302

ISBN:

0060777303

Language:

English

Publisher:

Harper Perennial; As stated, 1st Harper Perennial edition dated 2006 edition (June 27, 2006)

Category:

Biography

Subcategory:

Historical

ePub file:

1814 kb

Fb2 file:

1281 kb

Other formats:

txt lit azw lrf

Rating:

4.1

Votes:

672

Frances Stonor Saunders Historical English

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The Devil's Broker book.

Frances Stonor Saunders, who lives in London, is the daughter of Julia Camoys Stonor and Donald . ISBN 0-571-21908-X (in the USA: The Devil's Broker: Seeking Gold, God, and Glory in Fourteenth-Century Italy, 2005, Fourth Estate, ISBN 0-06-077729-X)

Frances Stonor Saunders, who lives in London, is the daughter of Julia Camoys Stonor and Donald Robin Slomnicki Saunders (d. 1996) Career. A few years after graduating (in 1987) with a first-class honours degree in English from St Anne's College, University of Oxford, Stonor Saunders embarked on a career as a television film-maker. ISBN 0-571-21908-X (in the USA: The Devil's Broker: Seeking Gold, God, and Glory in Fourteenth-Century Italy, 2005, Fourth Estate, ISBN 0-06-077729-X). The Woman Who Shot Mussolini, 2010, Faber

Saunders, Frances Stonor.

Saunders, Frances Stonor. Books for People with Print Disabilities. Internet Archive Books. Uploaded by Tracey Gutierres on September 6, 2013. SIMILAR ITEMS (based on metadata).

Among the other titans moving through Frances Stonor Saunders's magnificent narrative are the anorexic . So begins this effervescent history of an Italy about to shake itself free of the medieval age and move confidently into the Renaissance. First, though, there was an ordeal to pass through, one worthy of the imagination of Dante. Unleashed by a pause in the cataclysmic Hundred Years' War, hordes of soldiers with an appetite for pillage swooped down on the opulent city-states of Italy - bloated with gold from trade and the birth of the modern banking industry - and commenced to unburden them of their wealth.

The Devil's Broker : Seeking Gold, God, and Glory in 14th Century Italy. By (author) Frances Stonor Saunders. AbeBooks may have this title (opens in new window). Close X. Learn about new offers and get more deals by joining our newsletter.

Seeking Gold, God, and Glory in Fourteenth-Century Italy. by Frances Stonor Saunders. Italy’s internecine political, religious and military conflicts left an opening for mercenaries to intrude during the Hundred Years’ War. Most notable was Englishman John Hawkwood (ca. 1324), a soldier who moved to Italy from Essex at a time when many flourishing independent cities competed with one another for trade and power-and who somehow endeared himself to the Italians even as he enriched himself at their considerable expense.

Written by. Frances Stonor Saunders. Manufacturer: Harper Release date: 24 May 2005 ISBN-10 : 006077729X ISBN-13: 9780060777296.

Frances Stonor Saunders. For other uses, see Frances Saunders. Stonor Saunders' other works reflect her academic background as a medievalist. Her second book, Hawkwood: Diabolical Englishman (The Devil's Broker in the US), recounts the life and career of John Hawkwood, a condottiere of the 14th century. English-born, Hawkwood (1320–1394) made a notorious career as a participant in the confused and treacherous power politics of the Papacy, France, and Italy. The Woman Who Shot Mussolini (2010) is a biography of Violet Gibson, the Anglo-Irish aristocrat who shot Benito Mussolini in 1926, wounding him slightly.

A vibrant history of Italy in the cataclysmic fourteenth century as seen through the life of a brilliant military strategist and bandit lord

At the dawn of the Renaissance, hordes of mercenaries swooped down on the opulent city-states of Italy and commenced to drain them dry. The greatest of all the bandits was Sir John Hawkwood, an English expatriate and military genius who formed his own army, cleverly pitted ancient rivals against one another, held the Pope for ransom, and set blood running in the streets.

In this gripping biography of the charismatic Hawkwood, Frances Stonor Saunders illuminates the fourteenth century as a time of plague, political schism, and religious mania offset by a gargantuan appetite for spectacle and luxury. Dazzling and addictively readable, The Devil's Broker is a riveting account of the fortunes gained and lost in a tumultuous time.

Eigonn

This is a good book. But I read it along with The Bad Popes (Sutton History Classics) and at times I thought I was rereading the same passages.

For example.

"The cardinals realized that they had to elect an Italian, but the four candidates present were disqualified by circumstances: the cardinals of Milan and Florence came from cities recently at open war with the papacy; the cardinal of Saint Peter's was too old; and Cardinal Orsini was considered too young and ambitious." p 270

"They had come at length to a realization that an Italian would have to be presented as pope--but each of the four Italians present was disqualified by circumstances: The cardinals of Milan and Florence came from cities recently at open war with the Papacy; the cardinal of St. Peter's was too old; Cardinal Orsini was too young and ambitious." p138

and

"But according to his secretary Dietrich von Niem, the absolute power so suddenly thrust upon him turned his brain, transforming him from a short-tempered bureaucrat into a raging tyrant." p272

"According to his secretary, Dietrich von Niem, the absolute power so suddenly thrust upon the man actually turned his brain, transforming him from a short-tempered bureaucrat into a raging tyrant." p140

I am neither a writer nor a historian so I do not know what to make of these similarities in reporting. I welcome your comments.

Thofyn

Although this book can in no way compare in accuracy and sheer scope of information to William Caferro's superior John Hawkwood: An English Mercenary in Fourteenth-Century Italy, it is still worthwhile as long as the reader doesn't take everything Saunders says as fact. I agree with the one-star review titled "Serious Students of History Beware!", and believe that a serious student should read more than one biography of Hawkwood to be sure information is accurate, yet give four stars myself because I did glean valuable information as I continue to research my novel. I'm mainly writing this review because I want to bring to the attention of any potential buyers that this is a paperback edition of Saunders' hardcover book titled Hawkwood: Diabolical Englishman. Why the publishers confusingly decided to change the title is unknown, but if you already have Diabolical Englishman, don't duplicate your purchase with this book.

Netlandinhabitant

Ostensibly this is a book about John Hawkwood the British mercenary who spent virtually his entire freebooting career on the Italian Peninsula during the 14th century. The problem is that Hawkwood was a soldier not a writer and we have very little sense of him as a person, a leader or family man. The solution is to use his activities as the backbone for describing the chaotic violent character of 14th Century Italy.

For those who know the Catholic church as Pope John Paul II, a religious and moral force in the world, the papacy of these time will come a big shock. They hired mercenaries to secure hegemony over large swaths of Italy. These mercenaries were frequently very violent. The papacy was frequently selling indulgences (a remission of punishment due to sinning) at high prices, their rule was repressive and brutal in many places leading to a massive uprising in many of the City States they controlled, most famously Perugia. The papacy during these years operated more like the Soviet Union and in the case of the schism, the split between the French and Italian church led to the establishment of the papacy in Avignon, it was like when China split off from the Soviet Unions orbit in the nineteen sixties.

Biggest takeway: power is mostly wielded in an ugly manner throughout human history and nowhere is that more clear than in 14th century Italy. Power continues to be wielded in a brutal manner throughout our own world and even in the U.S.A, what we like to believe is a shining city on a hill. However this "city" has the largest military in the world with a thousand secret bases and has supported regressive regime after regressive regime through our history. However, that was a time when power was expected to be wielded in a brutal fashion with little messianic window-dressing. Now thanks to Orwellian double-speak, corporations, governments and the media have become expert in making the brutal, the dishonest, the hurtful seem tolerable thanks to words like "right-sizing" and SEC settlements that don't require corporations to admit any wrongdoing. This change may have saved more lives but its unlikely to develop, groom or mentor real authenticity in our leaders.

Jwalextell

What on earth was an Englishman doing in Italy in the mid 1300s? In the 20 years after the Black Death hit Europe, the soldiers that had fought in the 100 Years War in France did not return home, but drifted through Europe, pillaging as they went. At that time, Italy was the place to be (Florence took in more money each year than the Pope did). This is the story of John Hawkwood, one of the most successful of these mercenaries. His portrait is in Florence's cathedral, but I never knew his story, even though I studied in Florence in college. At a time when the Pope in Avignon could not figure out how to get back to Rome without a safe buffer zone in central Italy, this story tells of the ongoing battles among the wealthy Italian city states who did not want to be subjagated by the Pope, thank you, the machinations of the French and English kings (and the marriages of their relatives), and the travails they all endured. And it was grim! Along the way we learn about what life was like in the city states (Milan, Siena, Naples, Bologna, Perugia and several others), how cardinals and saints acted (and some of their more unattractive habits), and what happened in central Italy--money, sex, and war. This is a very readable, well researched history. This would be a great read for any one going to visit the hill towns in Italy (or like my nephew, thinking of studying there). I highly recommend this!

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