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Ο Σικελικός Εσπερινός: Η ιστορία του μεσογειακού κόσμου στα τέλη του 13ου αιώνα
Στις 30 Μαρτίου 1282, την ώρα που οι καμπάνες του Παλέρμο καλούσαν τους πιστούς στους Εσπερινούς, οι Σικελοί πολίτες κατέσφαξαν τη φρουρά και τα μέλη της Κυβέρνησης του Ανδεγαυού Βασιλιά τους. Αυτά τα γεγονότα, μικρής σημασίας εκ πρώτης όψεως, συνέβησαν σε μια κρίσιμη καμπή της ιστορίας. Ο Runciman θεωρεί το περιστατικό αυτό σαν αποκορύφωμα της γλαφυρής, όπως πάντα, διήγησής του που καλύπτει όλη την περιοχή της Μεσογείο, κατά το 13ο αιώνα και τονίζει το σημαντικό ρόλο που έπαιξε το επεισόδιο αυτό στην Ιστορία του Βυζαντίου.
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 2, 1958
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1428 people want to read
About the author
Steven Runciman
45 books237 followersA King's Scholar at Eton College, he was an exact contemporary and close friend of George Orwell. While there, they both studied French under Aldous Huxley. In 1921 he entered Trinity College, Cambridge as a history scholar and studied under J.B. Bury, becoming, as Runciman later commented, "his first, and only, student." At first the reclusive Bury tried to brush him off; then, when Runciman mentioned that he could read Russian, Bury gave him a stack of Bulgarian articles to edit, and so their relationship began. His work on the Byzantine Empire earned him a fellowship at Trinity in 1927.
After receiving a large inheritance from his grandfather, Runciman resigned his fellowship in 1938 and began travelling widely. From 1942 to 1945 he was Professor of Byzantine Art and History at Istanbul University, in Turkey, where he began the research on the Crusades which would lead to his best known work, the History of the Crusades (three volumes appearing in 1951, 1952, and 1954).
Most of Runciman's historical works deal with Byzantium and her medieval neighbours between Sicily and Syria; one exception is The White Rajahs, published in 1960, which tells the story of Sarawak, an independent nation founded on the northern coast of Borneo in 1841 by the Englishman James Brooke, and ruled by the Brooke family for more than a century.
After receiving a large inheritance from his grandfather, Runciman resigned his fellowship in 1938 and began travelling widely. From 1942 to 1945 he was Professor of Byzantine Art and History at Istanbul University, in Turkey, where he began the research on the Crusades which would lead to his best known work, the History of the Crusades (three volumes appearing in 1951, 1952, and 1954).
Most of Runciman's historical works deal with Byzantium and her medieval neighbours between Sicily and Syria; one exception is The White Rajahs, published in 1960, which tells the story of Sarawak, an independent nation founded on the northern coast of Borneo in 1841 by the Englishman James Brooke, and ruled by the Brooke family for more than a century.
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September 12, 2017In common with Runciman's writing generally this is an approachable, easy reading but shallow political history. He tells a good story, but the history is marred by his taste for making judgements.
Unless you are a particular Verdi fan or a devotee to popular insurrections in medieval Europe you may not have heard of the Sicilian Vespers - when while waiting for Church doors to open for Vespers in 1282 before Easter, Sicilians turned on the French soldiers of the Anvegin King Charles I and begun a rebellion which was to last for many years.
The book takes a straightforward narrative approach, beginning with the end of Hohenstaufen power in Southern Italy, continuing with the take over of southern Italy and Sicily by the French Angevins , with the backing of the Papacy (and along with it the ambitions of Frederick II and his ancestors the Norman rulers of southern Italy to extend their lordship into northern Italy and across the Adriatic) and finishes with the Vespers and their aftermath when eventually Sicily was to pass into the eager hands of the King of Aragon. Naturally, the theme of passionate resistance to foreign rule and interfering Popes was virtually tailor made for Verdi.
With the exception of an appendix, it doesn't engage with the source material nor is there any context beyond the narrowly political so the reader is subjected to a sequence of events but there is not much in the way of analysis of the basis of political power and success. As far as I recall the book was marketed as providing helpful background to reading Dante, its fair to say that in Hell as far as Dante was concerned, one would meet many of the supporters of the Angevins.
Unless you are a particular Verdi fan or a devotee to popular insurrections in medieval Europe you may not have heard of the Sicilian Vespers - when while waiting for Church doors to open for Vespers in 1282 before Easter, Sicilians turned on the French soldiers of the Anvegin King Charles I and begun a rebellion which was to last for many years.
The book takes a straightforward narrative approach, beginning with the end of Hohenstaufen power in Southern Italy, continuing with the take over of southern Italy and Sicily by the French Angevins , with the backing of the Papacy (and along with it the ambitions of Frederick II and his ancestors the Norman rulers of southern Italy to extend their lordship into northern Italy and across the Adriatic) and finishes with the Vespers and their aftermath when eventually Sicily was to pass into the eager hands of the King of Aragon. Naturally, the theme of passionate resistance to foreign rule and interfering Popes was virtually tailor made for Verdi.
With the exception of an appendix, it doesn't engage with the source material nor is there any context beyond the narrowly political so the reader is subjected to a sequence of events but there is not much in the way of analysis of the basis of political power and success. As far as I recall the book was marketed as providing helpful background to reading Dante, its fair to say that in Hell as far as Dante was concerned, one would meet many of the supporters of the Angevins.
November 17, 2014
No conception in medieval history was finer than that of the Universal Church, uniting Christendom into one great theocracy governed by the impartial wisdom of the Vicar of God. But in this sinful world even the Vicar of God needs material strength to enforce his holy will.
Feel free to read the above with cynicism. Runciman offers a series of top-down facts. The doctor doesn't appear troubled by living conditions or world views. The principal characters trot onto stage and various episodes unfold. Causality is short-changed. The only detail supplied pertains to battles. One is quickly struck by the precarious health of the Bishops of Rome: it appears that a pope dies every few pages. Ultimately the Sicilians, once a proud multicultural society rebel in 1282 against their Angevin occupiers. Their French hegemon, Charles of Anjou had hoped to create a Latin Empire and retake Constantinople from those Greek-speaking Orthodox buggers. As a result of this unexpected intifada, all such Norman expansionist matters ground to a halt. The papacy shifted gears and nationalism edged ahead of the Universal Church. This is not a satisfying text, but it did whet appetites for further researches.
Feel free to read the above with cynicism. Runciman offers a series of top-down facts. The doctor doesn't appear troubled by living conditions or world views. The principal characters trot onto stage and various episodes unfold. Causality is short-changed. The only detail supplied pertains to battles. One is quickly struck by the precarious health of the Bishops of Rome: it appears that a pope dies every few pages. Ultimately the Sicilians, once a proud multicultural society rebel in 1282 against their Angevin occupiers. Their French hegemon, Charles of Anjou had hoped to create a Latin Empire and retake Constantinople from those Greek-speaking Orthodox buggers. As a result of this unexpected intifada, all such Norman expansionist matters ground to a halt. The papacy shifted gears and nationalism edged ahead of the Universal Church. This is not a satisfying text, but it did whet appetites for further researches.
July 1, 2012
The story surrounding the Sicilian Vespers is one of my favorites of medieval history - it's dramatic, engaging, and pulls in most of the big players in Europe at the end of the 13th century - and Runciman tells the story really well. It's a huge cast of characters, enough to require several pull-out charts of family dynasties in the appendix, and he mostly manages to balance them well and keep things from getting too muddled. If you want to know what was going on the Mediterranean in the late medieval period, this is a great book to read.
I don't want to give it five stars, though, because I think Runciman is a little to quick to cast characters or groups of people into pretty strict moral categories without providing much evidence to back it up. Charles of Anjou is cold and remote, a "failure as a man" whose hubris led to his downfall. Martin IV is a short-sighted French patriot who caused the downfall of the medieval papacy. The Sicilian people were united victims of repression whose spirit of nationalism caused them to fight for freedom. All of these things have aspects of truth to them, I think, but Runciman uses them too frequently as the causation behind events without providing good evidence that they were true rather than attempts to make complicated people fit neatly in molds. The papacy, for example, was probably not set on an inevitable decline thanks to the Vespers, as Runciman suggests. While it was a big of setback, it was one that was recoverable at least until the mess with Philip IV and Boniface and the lengthy trip to Avignon. The Sicilians probably weren't a united national front, and stating that there rebellion was a pure demonstration against repression is unsubstantiated (especially since Runicman spends so little time on how Charles of Anjou's regime was different from the Hohenstaufens before him). I got the impression that Runicman in general just wasn't much of a fan of the medieval papacy, and really loved Byzantium, and that colors the account.
Those are all definite problems underlying Runciman's narrative, but it's still excellently written and serves as a great introduction to the political events that dominated the Mediterranean in the later 13th century.
I don't want to give it five stars, though, because I think Runciman is a little to quick to cast characters or groups of people into pretty strict moral categories without providing much evidence to back it up. Charles of Anjou is cold and remote, a "failure as a man" whose hubris led to his downfall. Martin IV is a short-sighted French patriot who caused the downfall of the medieval papacy. The Sicilian people were united victims of repression whose spirit of nationalism caused them to fight for freedom. All of these things have aspects of truth to them, I think, but Runciman uses them too frequently as the causation behind events without providing good evidence that they were true rather than attempts to make complicated people fit neatly in molds. The papacy, for example, was probably not set on an inevitable decline thanks to the Vespers, as Runciman suggests. While it was a big of setback, it was one that was recoverable at least until the mess with Philip IV and Boniface and the lengthy trip to Avignon. The Sicilians probably weren't a united national front, and stating that there rebellion was a pure demonstration against repression is unsubstantiated (especially since Runicman spends so little time on how Charles of Anjou's regime was different from the Hohenstaufens before him). I got the impression that Runicman in general just wasn't much of a fan of the medieval papacy, and really loved Byzantium, and that colors the account.
Those are all definite problems underlying Runciman's narrative, but it's still excellently written and serves as a great introduction to the political events that dominated the Mediterranean in the later 13th century.
April 14, 2021
Ο 13ος αιώνας είναι από τις δυσκολότερες περιόδους της ευρωπαϊκής ιστορίας. Το σκηνικό αλλάζει συνεχώς και η Ευρώπη είναι κατακερματισμένη σε αυτόνομα ή ημιαυτόνομα κρατίδια. Μια εξαιρετικά πολύπλοκη σκακιέρα όπου τα πάντα είναι αβέβαια. Ο αναγνώστης, που δεν είναι εξοικειωμένος με την περίοδο, χάνεται μέσα στο πλήθος των τοπωνυμίων και των ονομάτων τα οποία εναλλάσσονται διαρκώς. Είναι χαρατηριστικό ότι στο διάστημα της πενηντάχρονης ιστορίας που περιγράφεται στο βιβλίο, περισσότεροι από 30 πάπες, αρχιεπίσκοποι και καρδινάλιοι έρχονται στο προσκήνιο και χάνονται για να αντικατασταθούν από άλλους. Σε αυτούς πρέπει να προστεθούν οι δεκάδες ευγενείς αξιωματούχοι και άρχοντες (Ευρωπαίοι και Αραβες) οι οποίοι επίσης εναλλάσσονται. Στις ιταλικές πόλεις κυριαρχούν δύο μεγάλες παρατάξεις, οι φιλοπαπικοί Γουέλφοι και οι αντιπαπικοί Γιβελλίνοι, ενώ η Σικελία αποτελεί το μήλο της έριδος ανάμεσα στον Πάπα και τους Γερμανούς Χοχενστάουφεν. Η εμπλοκή του Καρόλου του Ανζού προσδίδει νέα διάσταση στο σκηνικό: ο Κάρολος αναδεικνύεται στον τραγικό πρωταγωνιστή αυτού του δράματος: "ένας λαμπρός Πρίγκιπας του οποίου η αλαζονεία υπήρξε η αιτία της καταστροφής του" . Όλα αυτά τα γεγονότα ζωντανεύουν με μυθιστορηματικό τρόπο χάρη στην χαρισματική αφήγηση του Στήβεν Ράνσιμαν. Και πάλι όμως το βιβλίο αυτό δεν είναι εύκολο για τον μη ειδικό-και ο Ράνσιμαν το γνωρίζει καλά. Γι αυτό και μας προειδοποιεί στον πρόλογο του βιβλίου λέγοντας ότι "...στον ιστορικό καμβά αναγκαστκά υπάρχει συνωστισμός προσώπων και οι αναγνώστες που το φοβούνται αυτό, καλό είναι να περιοριστούν στις καλοστρωμένες αράδες των μυθιστορημάτων".
The 13th century is one of the bleakest periods in European history. The political scene changes all the time and Europe is segmented into small independent or semi-independent states. On this chessboard everything looks uncertain. The reader who is not familiar with this historic period, is lost in a huge number of names and places that change all the time. In the fifty years’ time that is described in the book, more than 30 Popes, Archbishops and Cardinals come and go to the foreground only to be replaced by others. To these we must add numerous noble dignitaries who also change all the time. The Italian city states are dominated by two great parties the Guelphes who support the Pope and the Gibellines who are against him. Sicily is contested between the Pope and the German House of Hohestaufen. Then a new hero comes to stage: Charles d’Anjou. He is a brilliant but very arrogant young Prince; his arrogance was the reason for his downfall. All these events are described vividly like a novel thanks to the narrative of Steven Runciman. Even so, this is not an “easy” book -and Runciman knows it very well. That’s why he warns us from the start that if we are afraid the mess of the so many names and places, we should better confine ourselves to the well written novels about the period.
The 13th century is one of the bleakest periods in European history. The political scene changes all the time and Europe is segmented into small independent or semi-independent states. On this chessboard everything looks uncertain. The reader who is not familiar with this historic period, is lost in a huge number of names and places that change all the time. In the fifty years’ time that is described in the book, more than 30 Popes, Archbishops and Cardinals come and go to the foreground only to be replaced by others. To these we must add numerous noble dignitaries who also change all the time. The Italian city states are dominated by two great parties the Guelphes who support the Pope and the Gibellines who are against him. Sicily is contested between the Pope and the German House of Hohestaufen. Then a new hero comes to stage: Charles d’Anjou. He is a brilliant but very arrogant young Prince; his arrogance was the reason for his downfall. All these events are described vividly like a novel thanks to the narrative of Steven Runciman. Even so, this is not an “easy” book -and Runciman knows it very well. That’s why he warns us from the start that if we are afraid the mess of the so many names and places, we should better confine ourselves to the well written novels about the period.
September 25, 2023
Runciman does it again. He takes a period full of constant strife and turmoil with a bewildering array of characters and shifting alliances and aggressions and lays it all out plain as day.
Mostly centering on the life and times of Charles II of Anjou and King of Naples and Sicily,it is the island itself that both becomes pawn and pivot in Europe at a time when all of western christendom would turn after centuries of outward reaching and seeking instead would become both inward and self-absorbed. Internal or cross border factionalism would remain the by-word of collective activity rather than the forging of bonds to make overseas conquests of the numerous crusades over the previous centuries. Sicily would thereafter become an appendage to the Two Scilies crown and forgotten as mostly a source of revenue with scanty and problematic representation.
Mostly centering on the life and times of Charles II of Anjou and King of Naples and Sicily,it is the island itself that both becomes pawn and pivot in Europe at a time when all of western christendom would turn after centuries of outward reaching and seeking instead would become both inward and self-absorbed. Internal or cross border factionalism would remain the by-word of collective activity rather than the forging of bonds to make overseas conquests of the numerous crusades over the previous centuries. Sicily would thereafter become an appendage to the Two Scilies crown and forgotten as mostly a source of revenue with scanty and problematic representation.
June 9, 2017
The Sicilians decided to celebrate Easter in 1282 by stabbing as many Frenchman as possible in protest over the heavy taxes imposed on them by their absent French overlord, Charles of Anjou. This book is mostly about Charles and his various schemes to build his Mediterranean empire.. until stabbing starts and derails everything.
Exit question: how can anyone ever take the Papacy seriously after reading this? Grandma Weitzel would not be pleased.
Exit question: how can anyone ever take the Papacy seriously after reading this? Grandma Weitzel would not be pleased.
January 23, 2023
Η πένα του κορυφαίου ιστορικού Steven Runciman δε χρειάζεται ιδιαίτερες συστάσεις και το βιβλίο αυτό είναι ακόμα ένα αριστούργημα. Αναφέρεται στα γεγονότα του περίφημου Σικελικού Εσπερινού στα τέλη του 13ου αιώνα αλλά περιγράφει εκτενώς και τα γεγονότα πριν και μετά από αυτόν. Τα γεγονότα αυτά ήταν πολύ σημαντικά για την εποχή καθώς στους σικελικούς πολέμους ενεπλάκησαν όλες οι μεγάλες δυνάμεις της εποχής και καθόρισαν σε μεγάλο βαθμό τις μετέπειτα εξελίξεις σε ολόκληρη τη Μεσόγειο. Ο Runciman, αν και γνωστός φιλέλληνας που βαφτίστηκε ορθόδοξος λίγο πριν το τέλος της ζωής του, δίνει εξέχουσα σημασία στην συμβολή του βυζαντινού αυτοκράτορα Μιχαήλ Παλαιολόγου στον Εσπερινό.
November 18, 2025
Truly what it says on the tin: a popular narrative history that's well-written and well-crafted. Nothing too momentous here (though the some of the 'morals' drawn are solid perennial principles) but a good time was had by me if not by Charles of Anjou.
May 9, 2025
Nice read to be in Sicily for, though I managed to miss the church where it all began at Easter Vespers in 1282 Palermo.
The Sicilian rebellion against the Angevin regime of Charles of Anjou shook the medieval order and is the nominal topic of Runciman's book, but it covers a much wider ambit. It is non-stop narrative of European and Mediterranean 13th century geopolitics that rarely pauses for reflection, analysis or deep background. Unless you are well-grounded in the time period, some confusion is likely to ensue. Having just finished a history of the Byzantine Empire, I may have been better off than some. Really gets 3-stars on that score. It is still a captivating tale however, that might make 'Game of Thrones' seem boring. To squeeze it all into under 300 pages is impressive but also a fault.
At this moment of a new Papacy, it is interesting to consider the outsize role these guys played in the geopolitical landscape of the Middle Ages. Runciman is inspiring in his final critique on this score. I still remember Barbara Tuchman's wonderful book on the 14th century 'A Distant Mirror' which would be a great follow-up to this one.
The lack of decent maps (not one of Sicily!) is absurd and takes this to 3.5 stars but will round up anyway.
The Sicilian rebellion against the Angevin regime of Charles of Anjou shook the medieval order and is the nominal topic of Runciman's book, but it covers a much wider ambit. It is non-stop narrative of European and Mediterranean 13th century geopolitics that rarely pauses for reflection, analysis or deep background. Unless you are well-grounded in the time period, some confusion is likely to ensue. Having just finished a history of the Byzantine Empire, I may have been better off than some. Really gets 3-stars on that score. It is still a captivating tale however, that might make 'Game of Thrones' seem boring. To squeeze it all into under 300 pages is impressive but also a fault.
At this moment of a new Papacy, it is interesting to consider the outsize role these guys played in the geopolitical landscape of the Middle Ages. Runciman is inspiring in his final critique on this score. I still remember Barbara Tuchman's wonderful book on the 14th century 'A Distant Mirror' which would be a great follow-up to this one.
The lack of decent maps (not one of Sicily!) is absurd and takes this to 3.5 stars but will round up anyway.
February 13, 2014
(Spanish review) El 29 de marzo de 1282 los sicilianos se rebelan contra sus invasores y explotadores franceses. Al rescate acuden, a última hora, los aragoneses de Pedro III y el gran almirante catalán Roger de Lauria. El Papa es aliado de la casa de Francia y de Carlos de Anjou.
El libro comienza mucho antes de los hechos en cuestión, durante la llegada de los normandos a Sicilia, e incluso hace un breve repaso a epocas anteriores, los primeros pobladores, la llegada de los musulmanes. Cierto que son muchos los acontecimientos y personajes que se suceden, y aunque el autor escribe con su maestría característica, no da tiempo al lector a concentrarse en un momento concreto porque se suceden al instante. Avanzada la segunda mitad del libro nos hallamos ya en las Vísperas. Y aquí sí que va poco a poco y escrutando todo el terrero nuestro autor. Presentando a las partes implicadas, sus circunstancias, etc. Lo que cabe esperar de este maestro historiador. Interesante como libro de historia sobre Europa y el Medievo, sobre España, Italia, por supuesto sobre Sicilia, pero especialmente para el lector general, que aquí tendrá materia suficiente para asombrarse de nuevo de cómo somos los humanos y de qué poco hemos cambiado a lo largo de los siglos. Reyes, papas, señores, siervos, aventureros free-lance, mercenarios, reclutas, aventuras, amor, batallas, vanagloria, hipocresía, opresión... de lo que sigue hecha la vida.
El libro comienza mucho antes de los hechos en cuestión, durante la llegada de los normandos a Sicilia, e incluso hace un breve repaso a epocas anteriores, los primeros pobladores, la llegada de los musulmanes. Cierto que son muchos los acontecimientos y personajes que se suceden, y aunque el autor escribe con su maestría característica, no da tiempo al lector a concentrarse en un momento concreto porque se suceden al instante. Avanzada la segunda mitad del libro nos hallamos ya en las Vísperas. Y aquí sí que va poco a poco y escrutando todo el terrero nuestro autor. Presentando a las partes implicadas, sus circunstancias, etc. Lo que cabe esperar de este maestro historiador. Interesante como libro de historia sobre Europa y el Medievo, sobre España, Italia, por supuesto sobre Sicilia, pero especialmente para el lector general, que aquí tendrá materia suficiente para asombrarse de nuevo de cómo somos los humanos y de qué poco hemos cambiado a lo largo de los siglos. Reyes, papas, señores, siervos, aventureros free-lance, mercenarios, reclutas, aventuras, amor, batallas, vanagloria, hipocresía, opresión... de lo que sigue hecha la vida.
May 18, 2021
This is still the classic narrative account of the Sicilian Vespers, written with Sir Steven Runciman's usual lucidity, which places the events of 1382 within the context of late thirteenth century Europe, and coherently makes sense of the convoluted politics of the time in a manner that is fair to the participants, particularly the dominating figures of the emperor Frederick II, whose death in 1250 provoked the series of crises that brought about the Vespers, his bastard son Manfred, and, most pertinently, Charles of Anjou.
For those bewildered by the interconnected complexities of the high medieval Mediterranean world and the Guelf-Ghibelline rivalries of the Italian peninsula, this is as accessible and readable account as can be desired.
For those bewildered by the interconnected complexities of the high medieval Mediterranean world and the Guelf-Ghibelline rivalries of the Italian peninsula, this is as accessible and readable account as can be desired.
August 2, 2012
A superb account of the political/diplomatic/military situation in the late-Medieval Mediterranean, focusing on the island of Sicily and it's various foreign rulers. And while Runciman had his bones to pick, almost nobody writes with his verve and quiet humor anymore - see his classic 3-volume history of the Crusades as a further example. This particular work is how the Papacy and the Angevins were thwarted by the Byzantines and the Aragonese but most of all, by the courage and stubbornness of the people of Sicily themselves. How early forms of nationalism started to confront the "Universal Church." A splendid read indeed.
December 28, 2019
I just couldn’t work up interest in this. By the end, I skimmed.
July 17, 2021
Each paragraph is like a mosaic.
May 11, 2020
🦅 Η Αυτοκρατορία αντεπιτίθεται (τα τα τα τααν τα τα τααν τα τα τααααν)
"Το μάθημα (σ.σ. των Γάλλων) δεν ξεχάστηκε τελείως. Ο Βασιλιάς Ερρίκος ο IV της Γαλλίας καυχιόταν στον Ισπανό πρέσβη για το κακό που θα μπορούσε να κάνει στις ισπανικές κτήσεις στην Ισπανία, αν ο Ισπανός Βασιλιάς έβαζε σε μεγάλη δοκιμασία την υπομονή του." Θα πάρω πρωινό στο Μιλάνο και θα γευματίσω στη Ρώμη" του είπε, για να πάρει την πληρωμένη απάντηση από τον Ισπανό "τότε η Μεγαλειότητά Σας θα βρεθεί εγκαίρως για τους Εσπερινούς στη Σικελία" ΜΠΟΥΜ!
Οι Σικελικοί Εσπερινοί (ιταλ. Vespri Siciliani), είναι μία από τις τελευταίες προσπάθειες της Ανατολικής Ρωμαϊκής Αυτοκρατορίας, να επιβιώσει (και) μέσω της περίφημης σκιώδους διπλωματίας της.
Τη Δευτέρα του Πάσχα του 1282, οι Σικελοί, επαναστάτησαν υποκινημένοι από τους κατασκόπους του Έλληνα (όπως τον αποκαλούσαν οι σύγχρονοί του) Αυτοκράτορα Μιχαήλ Η' Παλαιολόγου και του Βασιλιά της Αραγωνίας Πέτρου Γ' , που κράτησε τη Σικελία μετά για τον εαυτό του.
Από τότε, οι Σικελικοί Εσπερινοί έγιναν όπερα του Βέρντι, ιστορικό μυθιστόρημα της Ισμήνης Καπάνταη και εν προκειμένω μυθιστορηματικά δοσμένο ιστορικό δοκίμιο του Steven Runciman, μεταξύ άλλων, ενός από τους επιφανέστερους βυζαντινολόγους του 20ού αιώνα και όχι μόνο.
Ένα όχι τόσο εύκολο βιβλίο, όπως σπεύδει να ενημερώσει ο ίδιος ο συγγραφέας στις πρώτες κιόλας σελίδες, όχι λόγω γραφής, αλλά λόγω των πολλών πληροφοριών μαζεμένων: Δούκες, Κόμητες, Πρίγκηπες, Βασιλιάδες - εκπτωτοι και μη - Αυτοκράτορες και wanna-be-Αυτοκράτορες, με τις γυναίκες τους και όλο τους το σόι, τοπωνύμια απ' όλη την Ευρώπη (ειδικά για Ιταλία, αν δεν ξέρεις λίγο γεωγραφία, χάνεις την μπάλα)· αλλά μην σε τρομάζουν όλα αυτά επίδοξε αναγνώστη! Πρόκειται για ένα εξαιρετικό βιβλίο, για μια από τις πιο ενδιαφέρουσες περιόδους της ιστορίας, με έντονο ελληνικό ενδιαφέρον. Μου έκανε τρομερή εντύπωση πχ που ο Runciman αναφέρει σε πολλά σημεία ότι οι Σικελοί, παρά το γεγονός ότι έχουν αποκοπεί από την ελληνόφωνη Ρωμανία 100δες χρόνια και έχουν περάσει απ' το νησί Λατίνοι, Άραβες, Νορμανδοί, Γάλλοι και πλείστοι άλλοι, έχουν "ελληνική συνείδηση" στην πλειοψηφία τους μέχρι και τις αρχές του 13ου αιώνα, ενώ ο Αυτοκράτορας Μιχαήλ, αναφέρεται από τους σύγχρονούς του ως ο Έλληνας Αυτοκράτορας ή ό Αυτοκράτορας των Ελλήνων.
All and all, ένα must read για τους ιστοριοδίφες!
"Το μάθημα (σ.σ. των Γάλλων) δεν ξεχάστηκε τελείως. Ο Βασιλιάς Ερρίκος ο IV της Γαλλίας καυχιόταν στον Ισπανό πρέσβη για το κακό που θα μπορούσε να κάνει στις ισπανικές κτήσεις στην Ισπανία, αν ο Ισπανός Βασιλιάς έβαζε σε μεγάλη δοκιμασία την υπομονή του." Θα πάρω πρωινό στο Μιλάνο και θα γευματίσω στη Ρώμη" του είπε, για να πάρει την πληρωμένη απάντηση από τον Ισπανό "τότε η Μεγαλειότητά Σας θα βρεθεί εγκαίρως για τους Εσπερινούς στη Σικελία" ΜΠΟΥΜ!
Οι Σικελικοί Εσπερινοί (ιταλ. Vespri Siciliani), είναι μία από τις τελευταίες προσπάθειες της Ανατολικής Ρωμαϊκής Αυτοκρατορίας, να επιβιώσει (και) μέσω της περίφημης σκιώδους διπλωματίας της.
Τη Δευτέρα του Πάσχα του 1282, οι Σικελοί, επαναστάτησαν υποκινημένοι από τους κατασκόπους του Έλληνα (όπως τον αποκαλούσαν οι σύγχρονοί του) Αυτοκράτορα Μιχαήλ Η' Παλαιολόγου και του Βασιλιά της Αραγωνίας Πέτρου Γ' , που κράτησε τη Σικελία μετά για τον εαυτό του.
Από τότε, οι Σικελικοί Εσπερινοί έγιναν όπερα του Βέρντι, ιστορικό μυθιστόρημα της Ισμήνης Καπάνταη και εν προκειμένω μυθιστορηματικά δοσμένο ιστορικό δοκίμιο του Steven Runciman, μεταξύ άλλων, ενός από τους επιφανέστερους βυζαντινολόγους του 20ού αιώνα και όχι μόνο.
Ένα όχι τόσο εύκολο βιβλίο, όπως σπεύδει να ενημερώσει ο ίδιος ο συγγραφέας στις πρώτες κιόλας σελίδες, όχι λόγω γραφής, αλλά λόγω των πολλών πληροφοριών μαζεμένων: Δούκες, Κόμητες, Πρίγκηπες, Βασιλιάδες - εκπτωτοι και μη - Αυτοκράτορες και wanna-be-Αυτοκράτορες, με τις γυναίκες τους και όλο τους το σόι, τοπωνύμια απ' όλη την Ευρώπη (ειδικά για Ιταλία, αν δεν ξέρεις λίγο γεωγραφία, χάνεις την μπάλα)· αλλά μην σε τρομάζουν όλα αυτά επίδοξε αναγνώστη! Πρόκειται για ένα εξαιρετικό βιβλίο, για μια από τις πιο ενδιαφέρουσες περιόδους της ιστορίας, με έντονο ελληνικό ενδιαφέρον. Μου έκανε τρομερή εντύπωση πχ που ο Runciman αναφέρει σε πολλά σημεία ότι οι Σικελοί, παρά το γεγονός ότι έχουν αποκοπεί από την ελληνόφωνη Ρωμανία 100δες χρόνια και έχουν περάσει απ' το νησί Λατίνοι, Άραβες, Νορμανδοί, Γάλλοι και πλείστοι άλλοι, έχουν "ελληνική συνείδηση" στην πλειοψηφία τους μέχρι και τις αρχές του 13ου αιώνα, ενώ ο Αυτοκράτορας Μιχαήλ, αναφέρεται από τους σύγχρονούς του ως ο Έλληνας Αυτοκράτορας ή ό Αυτοκράτορας των Ελλήνων.
All and all, ένα must read για τους ιστοριοδίφες!
March 5, 2025
Monografia ta utrzymana jest w podobnym stylu co "Dzieje wypraw krzyżowych" tego samego autora. Mam na myśli ogrom przytaczanych dat, nazwisk i innych szczegółowych informacji, przeplatanych radykalnymi opiniami Runcimana. Myślę jednak, że w przypadku "Nieszporów sycylijskich" efekt jest znacznie gorszy, przede wszystkim ze względu na podejmowaną tematykę. Opisując ten okres w dziejach politycznych basenu Morza Śródziemnego, trzeba było bowiem nawiązywać do historii właściwie wszystkich państw europejskich. W efekcie czytelnik co rusz gubi się w prowadzonej narracji; ciężko jest zorientować się, kto jeszcze żyje, a kto już umarł, lub kto jest z kim w sojuszu. Podsumowując, myślę, że "Nieszpory" dało się opisać dużo lepiej.
September 3, 2017
Steve Runciman is one of those authors in the tradition of Stefan Sweig, half historian, half journalist, who doesn't seem to care much about academia and is determined, on the contrary, to write an enjoyable book. And by God, he succeeds.
The Sicilian Vespers reads like a greater-than life drama, a conflict between Pope and Emperor, with all the major powers of the Mediterranean also playing a role, an entangled, passioned political intrigue with the occasional battle thrown in.
I have the theory that you can only call it "history" when there are swords and horses involved: the rest is just old newspapers. Sicilian Vespers is the kind of history that I like: an alien world where everything seems possible and yeah, plenty of swords and horses.
The Sicilian Vespers reads like a greater-than life drama, a conflict between Pope and Emperor, with all the major powers of the Mediterranean also playing a role, an entangled, passioned political intrigue with the occasional battle thrown in.
I have the theory that you can only call it "history" when there are swords and horses involved: the rest is just old newspapers. Sicilian Vespers is the kind of history that I like: an alien world where everything seems possible and yeah, plenty of swords and horses.
Read
October 22, 2014Excellent explanation of the complex situation prevailing in 13th century Europe and beyond.
Runciman begins by warning the reader that if he or she cannot cope with a vast cast of characters, then it would be better to put down his book and read a novel.
Runciman skillfully marshals and makes sense of an unbelievable number of interconnected historical strands and weaves a pleasing tapestry that explains the importance of the events leading up to the revolt in Sicily known as the 'Sicilian Vespers'. This historical account is truly a most remarkable and highly enjoyable 'tour de force'. This is how history should be written. It is comprehensible yet laden with scholarship.
Runciman begins by warning the reader that if he or she cannot cope with a vast cast of characters, then it would be better to put down his book and read a novel.
Runciman skillfully marshals and makes sense of an unbelievable number of interconnected historical strands and weaves a pleasing tapestry that explains the importance of the events leading up to the revolt in Sicily known as the 'Sicilian Vespers'. This historical account is truly a most remarkable and highly enjoyable 'tour de force'. This is how history should be written. It is comprehensible yet laden with scholarship.
May 6, 2017
Steven Runciman e un bun povestitor. Cartea se oprește copios asupra scenelor de luptă, intrigilor și relațiilor dintre personajele istorice din epocă încât uneori uiți că citești o carte de istorie iar nu un roman istoric.
December 16, 2017
Ένα νησί και ο λαός του, στην μέση της μεσογείου γίνονται πρωταγωνιστές των γεγονότων που θα καθορίσουν την Ευρώπη του ενδέκατου μέχρι και του δέκατου τέταρτου αιώνα. Γύρο της, μεγάλη άρχοντες, βασίλεια και παλαιές αυτοκρατορίες μηχανορραφούν για την απόλυτη κυριαρχία ή την επιβίωση.
September 22, 2025
In de Siciliaanse Vespers uit 1958, vertaald naar het Nederlands in 1988, onderzoekt Steven Runciman niet alleen de geschiedenis van de beroemde opstand van het Siciliaanse volk tegen Karel van Anjou maar de hele politieke context van de hele dertiende eeuw in het middellandse zeegebied, zolang het relevant is voor de Siciliaanse geschiedenis. Het boek gaf mij een dubbel gevoel. Enerzijds is er ontzag voor het werk van de auteur. Niet alleen de gekende hoofdrollen zoals Karel zelf maar ook Peter van Aragon, verschillende pausen, koningen en keizers speelden een rol maar ook lokale politici tot zelfs stadsbestuurders worden uitvoerig besproken. Ook leiders die letterlijk en figuurlijk veraf lijken van de kwestie - zoals islamitische vorsten en Mongoolse khanen - komen aanbod indien zij via via een rol speelden. Dit zorgt voor een zeer uitgebreid werk, dat bij momenten de lezer aangrijpt maar evengoed op andere momenten de lezer laat verdwalen. In de proloog wordt beknopt een overzicht gegeven van het eiland tot de 13de eeuw maar wat zeker een bijdrage had geweest was een synopsis van alle figuren die meermaals aan bod komen. Zeker wanneer Italiaanse vorsten het tegen elkaar opnemen is het meermaals bij de pinken blijven om niet door het bos de bomen niet meer te zien. Al bij al wel zeker een goed boek dat eindigt met een interessant naschrift over de problematiek rond de gebruikte middeleeuwse bronnen.
May 2, 2023
8/10
Biggest compliment and worst insult I can give this is this is very dry and rigorous academic history, offering up both a concise depiction of both the Vespers Rebellion and a sprawling examination of the continental politics and key figures responsible for its outbreak. Runciman may not have much way of literary flourish, but he is a high-calibre historian able to utilise the sources offered to him in order to make his central argument: that the Vespers was the first event in a domino effect that led to the destruction of the powerful Hildebrandine Catholic Church and it's notions of papal supremacy, ultimately leading to the Renaissance and Reformation. Can hardly claim to know enough about the period to agree or disagree with that, but it is certainly one made with conviction and an informed sense of place and context.
Biggest compliment and worst insult I can give this is this is very dry and rigorous academic history, offering up both a concise depiction of both the Vespers Rebellion and a sprawling examination of the continental politics and key figures responsible for its outbreak. Runciman may not have much way of literary flourish, but he is a high-calibre historian able to utilise the sources offered to him in order to make his central argument: that the Vespers was the first event in a domino effect that led to the destruction of the powerful Hildebrandine Catholic Church and it's notions of papal supremacy, ultimately leading to the Renaissance and Reformation. Can hardly claim to know enough about the period to agree or disagree with that, but it is certainly one made with conviction and an informed sense of place and context.
August 23, 2024
Really interesting book about a period of history which I didn't know a huge amount about. Sicily in the 13th century, the crumbling Holy Roman Empire, the struggling Byzantines and the emergence of Western European colonial powers. Early on the chapters focus on a protagonist at a time which means skipping back and forth in time and can be quite confusing. However once established it gathers pace and portrays a fascinating look at the interplay between early Nationalistic feeling, the slow decline of Papal influence in secular European politics and the final breaths of the traditional "crusading" ideal.
July 14, 2021
This excellent non-fiction classic is essentially a treatise on Roman-Byzantine intelligence activity in the century that opened with the 4th Crusade. Like the Latin Empire before them, the French in medieval Sicily was attacked by the Eastern Roman Empire because they (the Latins and the French) were doing business in former Byzantine lands. The power of espionage reaches the level of world-building and seems almost a holy thing.
August 22, 2022
Wonderfully written history that focuses on an otherwise often ignored area. This book takes the kingdom of sicily, and specifically its kings, and shows them as being in the center of Mediterranean politics. It's focused enough to go into sufficient detail yet also provides background when necessary. Though it might be better to have some kind of background knowledge on the period it's not necessary to read and enjoy the book.
June 10, 2025
Runciman does an excellent job of painting the very vibrant landscape of the Mediterranean World which served as the backdrop to this momentous event. This book also served as one of the best accounts of Charles of Anjou's life which I have come across - I have read many other Anglo/Franco-centric books where Charles pops up as nothing more than an interesting side character, so unpacking his life was an unexpected treat.
October 12, 2020
Decepcionante, es una relación de principes, reyes de distintas zonas de Europa en el sigloXIII, un lucimiento de la investigación que hizo el autor, pero para ser un libro de historia es excesivo el relato de todos los personajes, ya que muchos podrían ser obviados, no aportan nada, para contar una epoca de la historia de Sicilia.
June 30, 2024
How does he do it? Runciman's style has almost nothing in common with modern popular history,few emotive adjectives, no little imaginative vignettes, psuedo-narratives or unqualified psychologizing but still manages to be more gripping and fulfilling to read. This book has single-handedly reignited an interest with medieval history that I lost when I was 15.
February 25, 2018
At this juncture Runciman needs no allocates from me. I will suffice to say it was both an enjoyable and illuminating read.
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