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AD 1202: A Story of Crusaders' Siege of Zadar and Constantinople
The novel AD 1202 describes true and brutal events that were described in diminished versions of the events by two French knights who were present. The Frenchmen's modest accounts were used to justify the crimes committed by the crusaders to the wider European public.
The sacking of Constantinople symbolized the irreversible weakening of the Byzantine Empire bordering with Muslim nations growing stronger by the day.
The first chronicler, Geoffrey de Villehardouin, the nephew of both the French and the English king, Marshal of Champagne, was in charge of negotiating with the Venetians. He is one of the more prominent characters in the novel and represents the highest rung of knights in the crusader army.
The second chronicler, Robert de Clari, is a lowborn knight who will also play an important role in the events described in the novel.
The novel is a fusion of real and fictional characters and events,filled with action, grand battles, spies, assassination by poison, andforbidden love games within the most powerful monastery in the city.
Zadar is the most powerful city in Dalmatia at the time. It commands an exceptional fleet of warships and merchant vessels. The city has successfully defended against Venice, its sworn enemy since the fall of the Western Roman Empire, on several occasions and brought it before bankruptcy. Zadar has friendly relations with other Italian cities such as Pisa and Ancona, as well as the pirates from Neretva Valley. It accepts heretics (Albigenses and Bogomils), it appoints its own archbishops, and is in open dispute with the Pope.
But prior to the events described in the novel, Doge Dandolo rises to power in Venice. Ninety-seven years old at the time of the siege, the doge was blinded as a young diplomat to the Byzantine court for seeing things he should have not. The blind old man even bends an experienced diplomat such as Villehardouin to his will.
In 1202, a knight called Maius comes to Zadar (Iadera) to find his under-aged daughter who had been kidnapped from their family estate in order to be sold into slavery. He finds employment as a personal guard serving the most powerful noble family in Zadar. Serving the Madie family, he will become entangled in numerous diplomatic and political schemes.
The novel about the crusaders' siege of Zadar AD 1202 depicts real events that occurred eight centuries ago, when more than 40 000 thousand French and Venetian knights and 350 siege engines arrived before Zadar on more than 500 ships, later sailing for Constantinople.
This unbelievable army for that time period was mustered under the patronage of Pope Innocent III in order to reclaim Jerusalem from Saracen control. However, the crusader army never reached Jerusalem, nor will such an army ever again be mustered, and Christ's Tomb will remain in Muslim hands to this day. Furthermore, the army was cursed by the Pope for neglecting his warnings and conquering two Christian cities.
The sacking of Constantinople symbolized the irreversible weakening of the Byzantine Empire bordering with Muslim nations growing stronger by the day.
The first chronicler, Geoffrey de Villehardouin, the nephew of both the French and the English king, Marshal of Champagne, was in charge of negotiating with the Venetians. He is one of the more prominent characters in the novel and represents the highest rung of knights in the crusader army.
The second chronicler, Robert de Clari, is a lowborn knight who will also play an important role in the events described in the novel.
The novel is a fusion of real and fictional characters and events,filled with action, grand battles, spies, assassination by poison, andforbidden love games within the most powerful monastery in the city.
Zadar is the most powerful city in Dalmatia at the time. It commands an exceptional fleet of warships and merchant vessels. The city has successfully defended against Venice, its sworn enemy since the fall of the Western Roman Empire, on several occasions and brought it before bankruptcy. Zadar has friendly relations with other Italian cities such as Pisa and Ancona, as well as the pirates from Neretva Valley. It accepts heretics (Albigenses and Bogomils), it appoints its own archbishops, and is in open dispute with the Pope.
But prior to the events described in the novel, Doge Dandolo rises to power in Venice. Ninety-seven years old at the time of the siege, the doge was blinded as a young diplomat to the Byzantine court for seeing things he should have not. The blind old man even bends an experienced diplomat such as Villehardouin to his will.
In 1202, a knight called Maius comes to Zadar (Iadera) to find his under-aged daughter who had been kidnapped from their family estate in order to be sold into slavery. He finds employment as a personal guard serving the most powerful noble family in Zadar. Serving the Madie family, he will become entangled in numerous diplomatic and political schemes.
The novel about the crusaders' siege of Zadar AD 1202 depicts real events that occurred eight centuries ago, when more than 40 000 thousand French and Venetian knights and 350 siege engines arrived before Zadar on more than 500 ships, later sailing for Constantinople.
This unbelievable army for that time period was mustered under the patronage of Pope Innocent III in order to reclaim Jerusalem from Saracen control. However, the crusader army never reached Jerusalem, nor will such an army ever again be mustered, and Christ's Tomb will remain in Muslim hands to this day. Furthermore, the army was cursed by the Pope for neglecting his warnings and conquering two Christian cities.
- GenresFiction
248 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 1, 2018
About the author
Frane Herenda
10 books22 followersFrane Herenda (Zadar, 1983.) autor je četiriju romana, zbirke pjesama i slikovnice. Član je Hrvatskog društva pisaca i Zadarske udruge pisaca ZaPis.
Završio je Farmaceutsko-biokemijski fakultet u Zagrebu.
Honorarno je pisao za više dnevnih novina i portala, bio je urednik srednjoškolskog i studentskog časopisa.
Dobitnik je književne nagrade „Goran Bujić – Književnici novinari“, koju dodjeljuje Hrvatsko književno društvo.
Uredio je slikovnice "Optimist oko Zadra" i "Optimist na hrvatskim vodama" (Mirjana Mrkela i Marin Franić) te "Kako su slova stvorila riječi" (Petra Marušić i Marin Franić).
Objavio je:
2022. fantastični anti-ratni roman "Beskonačna šuma"
2020. slikovnica "1202. Križarska opsada Zadra"
2020. roman "Sedam", nastavak "Sobe 909" (Profil)
2018. roman suvremene tematike "Soba 909" (Profil).
2018-2022. knjiga "Prirodna kozmetika", tri izdanja, prevedena na engleski i slovenski jezik.
2016. roman o križarskoj opsadi Zadra "1202." (Profil). Po romanu HRT snima radio roman, Maxima film animirani film, a preveden je i na engleski jezik.
2004. zbirka pjesama "Daleki vrhovi"
2003. kratke priče u zajedničkoj zbirci "Ponoćni tulum u školi"
Završio je Farmaceutsko-biokemijski fakultet u Zagrebu.
Honorarno je pisao za više dnevnih novina i portala, bio je urednik srednjoškolskog i studentskog časopisa.
Dobitnik je književne nagrade „Goran Bujić – Književnici novinari“, koju dodjeljuje Hrvatsko književno društvo.
Uredio je slikovnice "Optimist oko Zadra" i "Optimist na hrvatskim vodama" (Mirjana Mrkela i Marin Franić) te "Kako su slova stvorila riječi" (Petra Marušić i Marin Franić).
Objavio je:
2022. fantastični anti-ratni roman "Beskonačna šuma"
2020. slikovnica "1202. Križarska opsada Zadra"
2020. roman "Sedam", nastavak "Sobe 909" (Profil)
2018. roman suvremene tematike "Soba 909" (Profil).
2018-2022. knjiga "Prirodna kozmetika", tri izdanja, prevedena na engleski i slovenski jezik.
2016. roman o križarskoj opsadi Zadra "1202." (Profil). Po romanu HRT snima radio roman, Maxima film animirani film, a preveden je i na engleski jezik.
2004. zbirka pjesama "Daleki vrhovi"
2003. kratke priče u zajedničkoj zbirci "Ponoćni tulum u školi"
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 3, 2017
Ovaj mi se roman jako svidio, iako me kraj malo razočarao. Svidio mi se jer se lako čita, jer je tema zanimljiva, jer sam željela znati što će se dogoditi s likovima u romanu, iako autor previše prepričava, a ne pripovjeda.
Ovo je priča o ospadi Zadra, o Zadru u 1202., o bitkama i religiji, o prijateljstvu i obitelji. Pročitajte, uživat čete.
Ovo je priča o ospadi Zadra, o Zadru u 1202., o bitkama i religiji, o prijateljstvu i obitelji. Pročitajte, uživat čete.
August 16, 2022
Around the world: Croatia
Honestly, this was no more than a 1.5 stars read. No matter how historically accurate, it was simply exceptionally badly written.
The characters were flat, their entire behaviour senseless. Every single person was practically a device through which the author could narrate historically known facts. Like, take Maius - who's Maius? Maius is a nobody who always happens to be with one of the city/army leaders so that that leader can narrate the historical moment to him (and then be like "Well damn, those guys do trust nobodies like me").
There was no art of writing in this, it was a parody of fictionalised history. None of the characters are ever where it matters and they never do anything that matters, they just retell what happens as if they were people who might know the story. Might as have told us the story without picking narrators, for all I care.
Honestly, this was no more than a 1.5 stars read. No matter how historically accurate, it was simply exceptionally badly written.
The characters were flat, their entire behaviour senseless. Every single person was practically a device through which the author could narrate historically known facts. Like, take Maius - who's Maius? Maius is a nobody who always happens to be with one of the city/army leaders so that that leader can narrate the historical moment to him (and then be like "Well damn, those guys do trust nobodies like me").
There was no art of writing in this, it was a parody of fictionalised history. None of the characters are ever where it matters and they never do anything that matters, they just retell what happens as if they were people who might know the story. Might as have told us the story without picking narrators, for all I care.
May 13, 2018
Great historical novel. I have read it in one day. I highly recommend it to everyone.
April 8, 2024
3.5
Lako se čita, ali fali mu "ono nešto" da baš bude super.
Lako se čita, ali fali mu "ono nešto" da baš bude super.
July 25, 2023
A great historically accurate novel that I really enjoyed.
It tells the story of my hometown's doom that came with the arrival of the armies of the Fourth Crusade. A great insight into the darkness of the Middle Ages that was equally present worldwide.
It tells the story of my hometown's doom that came with the arrival of the armies of the Fourth Crusade. A great insight into the darkness of the Middle Ages that was equally present worldwide.
December 4, 2022
A short review of the novel. I'll try to keep it brief and general, but may contain some spoilers.
Disclaimer: it is based on personal experience of the novel; my opinion may differ from yours
The novel '1202.', as a whole, is an interesting read, short but enjoyable and very close to the historical truth. It manages to present (to some extent) a sad episode from medieval times - the 4th Crusade - in less than 200 pages with somewhat grim, cruel, vivid detail. Plot is centered on a siege and destruction of Zadar (lat. Iader, tal. Zara), but also portrays siege of another christian city. There are several MCs and semi MCs, but mostly we follow Maius, a bosnian knight, his dominus, dominus' daughter and, later, a french crusader.
I mentioned vivid and grim detail in the novel. This "realistic" details differ, from scenes to scenerey; some portions of the book may as well been omitted for all I care. Several times throughout the novel author depicts crimes (always the same though) by the crusaders that made me feel as if I was reading Song of Ice and Fire. A lot of deaths, destruction, suffering, treason, deceit, r**e and so on. Some readers may have problems with this one, though.
Now, every book has its good and bad points and this novel is no exception. Few reviewers already stated their irks with the book so I'll briefly divide this into 'good points' and 'bad points'.
Good points:
- interesting plot (as a whole) & some interesting characters (usually a side character, e.g. a doctor)
- plot largely overlapse with historical truth
- some scenes of the battle and fighting are vivid, chaotic and realistic
- author is not afraid to kill his characters to keep the narrative flow
- feelings of dread, uncertainty, moral confusion throughout the novel
- vocabulary of less known words
Bad points:
- characters are not as interesting as the plot (generally); MC has no depth, is boring and repetitive as a character (same words, same vices, same acts), and the same goes for others
- human interactions are a bit stiff, forced, broken, one wayed or "weird"
- some battle scenes are insufficient in my opinion; way too vague and confusing at times; and not just battle scenes, but some ordinary scenes too (traveling, navigating through the city, etc.)
- for a historical novel, it lacks a hero; it doesn't need to be Achilles, or a moraly superior knight but some protagonist that DRIVES the storyline and the plot; here, everyone's way too ordinary and unimportant or moraly bankrupt and antagonist/ anti-hero; I got the feeling that the plot drives the characters, not the other way around
- female characters are not done justice here; those few of them are mainly unimportant or slaves or wh**es: main female characters is deceitful and a wh**e while the other is literaly a "witch"
- too much time spent on arrival and chitchat for a rather weak resolution of the first siege and unnecessary ending with the 2nd city's siege; so this novel has two endings: the 1st one was weak and not satisfying enough, while the 2nd was both unsatisfying and unnecessary; this is for me one the grave flaws of the book for it gave way to much time and space of this short novel to a city that is in no way a core of the plot
- author is not afraid to kill some of his characters for the sake of them being killed in a chaotic mess; some deaths are just that and serve no purpose but to "shock" the reader just like G. R. R. Martin likes to "piss us off" when disposing of some liked characters; but this author is not Martin so this killing spree of characters is just so the plot feels "real and horrible", nothing more
- MC's driving force is abandoned on the very beggining and is referrenced here and there; this leaves us with the "MC" that goes with the wind, is passive and just so happens to be here and now; I'd say that the real MC is the plot itself
- also concerning MC, as others have pointed out, he is constantly reminding himself - and us - that he is a nobody from nowhere, but somehow everyone confides in him and tells him what needs to be said and known; for example, we don't know all reasons for the siege and motifs of the crusaders but their leaders TELL our MC everything
- adding to the previous point, the plot is TOLD not SHOWN, all the time; everything is recited to the MC and we are served the finished plot; no discovery, no accidental learning from surroundings and secret letters, weird carving on the walls - nothing, others just tell everything
- every single soldier mentioned here is a sex deprived, moraly bankrupt animal that has only two things in mind: money and sex; you can imagine what those things do in a war, particulary to women but other men as well
- not much connection between characters; everyone is dubious, moraly ambigious, neutral or downright evil and antagonistic, driven by hate and lust
- weird sex scenes with the MC and female MC that never led to something more important than "I see her everywhere", "I need to find her", "I still remember her wet insides" (yes, I know)
- so much moral ambiguity that novel starts to feel emotionally draining for I couldn't figure out how to feel with characters and the story
- when it comes to more known vocabulary, for example that which we use everyday, author seems to forget consult an editor/s; sentences feel "off" and forced (not that much, but noticeable to veteran readers and students of language and literature). I myself am not a linguist, though I am familiar with the matter, so the style of writing, the words chosen for sentences, their combinations and so on are bugging me and are diminishing experience I'd otherwise have.
Despite its flaws, which are a plenty, novel is still a quick, enjoyable read. I finished it in a day and enjoyed it quite a bit. The flaws are generally not so grave, you can overlook them.
Worth the time, money and effort.
I'd advise author to take our reviews as a guiding tool for the next novel which I'd like to read. Most urgently, though, to improve the characters (inner motivation) and their interactions; plot needs to have more depth and details (not the story, story is fine); writing too could be polished more.
Recommend this to everyone, especially history buffs and those afraid of chunky books.
Disclaimer: it is based on personal experience of the novel; my opinion may differ from yours
The novel '1202.', as a whole, is an interesting read, short but enjoyable and very close to the historical truth. It manages to present (to some extent) a sad episode from medieval times - the 4th Crusade - in less than 200 pages with somewhat grim, cruel, vivid detail. Plot is centered on a siege and destruction of Zadar (lat. Iader, tal. Zara), but also portrays siege of another christian city. There are several MCs and semi MCs, but mostly we follow Maius, a bosnian knight, his dominus, dominus' daughter and, later, a french crusader.
I mentioned vivid and grim detail in the novel. This "realistic" details differ, from scenes to scenerey; some portions of the book may as well been omitted for all I care. Several times throughout the novel author depicts crimes (always the same though) by the crusaders that made me feel as if I was reading Song of Ice and Fire. A lot of deaths, destruction, suffering, treason, deceit, r**e and so on. Some readers may have problems with this one, though.
Now, every book has its good and bad points and this novel is no exception. Few reviewers already stated their irks with the book so I'll briefly divide this into 'good points' and 'bad points'.
Good points:
- interesting plot (as a whole) & some interesting characters (usually a side character, e.g. a doctor)
- plot largely overlapse with historical truth
- some scenes of the battle and fighting are vivid, chaotic and realistic
- author is not afraid to kill his characters to keep the narrative flow
- feelings of dread, uncertainty, moral confusion throughout the novel
- vocabulary of less known words
Bad points:
- characters are not as interesting as the plot (generally); MC has no depth, is boring and repetitive as a character (same words, same vices, same acts), and the same goes for others
- human interactions are a bit stiff, forced, broken, one wayed or "weird"
- some battle scenes are insufficient in my opinion; way too vague and confusing at times; and not just battle scenes, but some ordinary scenes too (traveling, navigating through the city, etc.)
- for a historical novel, it lacks a hero; it doesn't need to be Achilles, or a moraly superior knight but some protagonist that DRIVES the storyline and the plot; here, everyone's way too ordinary and unimportant or moraly bankrupt and antagonist/ anti-hero; I got the feeling that the plot drives the characters, not the other way around
- female characters are not done justice here; those few of them are mainly unimportant or slaves or wh**es: main female characters is deceitful and a wh**e while the other is literaly a "witch"
- too much time spent on arrival and chitchat for a rather weak resolution of the first siege and unnecessary ending with the 2nd city's siege; so this novel has two endings: the 1st one was weak and not satisfying enough, while the 2nd was both unsatisfying and unnecessary; this is for me one the grave flaws of the book for it gave way to much time and space of this short novel to a city that is in no way a core of the plot
- author is not afraid to kill some of his characters for the sake of them being killed in a chaotic mess; some deaths are just that and serve no purpose but to "shock" the reader just like G. R. R. Martin likes to "piss us off" when disposing of some liked characters; but this author is not Martin so this killing spree of characters is just so the plot feels "real and horrible", nothing more
- MC's driving force is abandoned on the very beggining and is referrenced here and there; this leaves us with the "MC" that goes with the wind, is passive and just so happens to be here and now; I'd say that the real MC is the plot itself
- also concerning MC, as others have pointed out, he is constantly reminding himself - and us - that he is a nobody from nowhere, but somehow everyone confides in him and tells him what needs to be said and known; for example, we don't know all reasons for the siege and motifs of the crusaders but their leaders TELL our MC everything
- adding to the previous point, the plot is TOLD not SHOWN, all the time; everything is recited to the MC and we are served the finished plot; no discovery, no accidental learning from surroundings and secret letters, weird carving on the walls - nothing, others just tell everything
- every single soldier mentioned here is a sex deprived, moraly bankrupt animal that has only two things in mind: money and sex; you can imagine what those things do in a war, particulary to women but other men as well
- not much connection between characters; everyone is dubious, moraly ambigious, neutral or downright evil and antagonistic, driven by hate and lust
- weird sex scenes with the MC and female MC that never led to something more important than "I see her everywhere", "I need to find her", "I still remember her wet insides" (yes, I know)
- so much moral ambiguity that novel starts to feel emotionally draining for I couldn't figure out how to feel with characters and the story
- when it comes to more known vocabulary, for example that which we use everyday, author seems to forget consult an editor/s; sentences feel "off" and forced (not that much, but noticeable to veteran readers and students of language and literature). I myself am not a linguist, though I am familiar with the matter, so the style of writing, the words chosen for sentences, their combinations and so on are bugging me and are diminishing experience I'd otherwise have.
Despite its flaws, which are a plenty, novel is still a quick, enjoyable read. I finished it in a day and enjoyed it quite a bit. The flaws are generally not so grave, you can overlook them.
Worth the time, money and effort.
I'd advise author to take our reviews as a guiding tool for the next novel which I'd like to read. Most urgently, though, to improve the characters (inner motivation) and their interactions; plot needs to have more depth and details (not the story, story is fine); writing too could be polished more.
Recommend this to everyone, especially history buffs and those afraid of chunky books.
May 17, 2018
Roman sam pročitao u dahu i danu, osim intrigante ljubavne priče najjača snaga ovog romana je njegova povijesna preciznost koja je u domeni povijesno znanstvenog djela, minuciozno istraživanje autora dalo je svijetlo na najsvijetlije trenutke povijesti velikoga grada Zadra i samo gašenje svijetlosti u ime Presvijetle – Serenissime Venecije.
Preporuka glasi obaveznooo pročitati i uživati
Preporuka glasi obaveznooo pročitati i uživati
May 19, 2022
Povijesni romani mi nisu (bili) privlačni i nemam puno iskustva s njima. A ova knjiga bi to mogla promijeniti.
Neobično je to što u romanu baš i nema dijaloga, ali meni je to dodatno približilo taj davni i okrutni svijet. Ovih dana sam bio potpuno obuzet atmosferom romana.
Zanimljivo je promatrati kako se vijekovima zlorabi vjera, pa i sam Isus, u svrhu ratovanja, stjecanja moći i bogatstva, i to ponajviše od strane same Crkve. Niti danas stvari nisu jako napredovale po tom pitanju.
Vidljivo je da je autor pisanju ovog romana pristupio jako ozbiljno i da su u stvaranje romana uložene godine priprema. Posvetio se odabiru svake riječi. Rečenice su odlične, a naletio sam i na nekoliko pravih bisera u romanu.
Ozbiljno preporučam ovaj roman, a ja krećem u potragu za sljedećim povijesnim romanom za čitanje.
Neobično je to što u romanu baš i nema dijaloga, ali meni je to dodatno približilo taj davni i okrutni svijet. Ovih dana sam bio potpuno obuzet atmosferom romana.
Zanimljivo je promatrati kako se vijekovima zlorabi vjera, pa i sam Isus, u svrhu ratovanja, stjecanja moći i bogatstva, i to ponajviše od strane same Crkve. Niti danas stvari nisu jako napredovale po tom pitanju.
Vidljivo je da je autor pisanju ovog romana pristupio jako ozbiljno i da su u stvaranje romana uložene godine priprema. Posvetio se odabiru svake riječi. Rečenice su odlične, a naletio sam i na nekoliko pravih bisera u romanu.
Ozbiljno preporučam ovaj roman, a ja krećem u potragu za sljedećim povijesnim romanom za čitanje.
March 5, 2017
Pročitala sam knjigu u jednoj noći.
Zadar,Venecija,Kršćanstvo, Križari...
Sve strahote koje su se događale u Ime Boga jedinoga
Preporuka svakome da pročita ovu knjigu
Zadar,Venecija,Kršćanstvo, Križari...
Sve strahote koje su se događale u Ime Boga jedinoga
Preporuka svakome da pročita ovu knjigu
January 7, 2020
Nije mi jasno što je autor htio točno nama poručiti napisavši ovu knjigu. Knjiga je povijesno točna, te glavni dio knjige ako sam dobro shvatio je opisati četvrti križarski pohod te uništenje grada Zadra, no ne vidim poantu likova u ovoj knjizi. Za ni jednog lika me nije bilo briga, nitko nema nešto previše osobnosti, svaki dijalog je objašnjavanje nekog događaja, nema pravih razgovora, ova knjiga bi bila bolja bez ikakvih likova, povijesna literatura. Ne mogu reći da je loše napisano, definitivno je knjiga dobro napisana, samo po mojem ukusu nije, definitivno ću pročitati još koju knjigu ovog autora. Ako netko ovo čita i vidi samo dvije zvjezdice nemojte se ustručavati kupiti knjigu, možda će se vama baš svidjeti.
August 25, 2022
Više je pola kraka, nego 1 zvijezdica. Očekivala sam da će biti nešto više o opsadi Zd i onima koji su branili, ali priča kao da se svodi na muškarce koji imaju probleme s kontrolom svojih seksualnih nagona.
May 14, 2018
Odlična i inspirativna knjiga! Preporučila bih je svakome!
July 7, 2022
Neobična radnja i stil pisanja, pomalo plošni likovi, ali usprkos svemu dojmljiv roman! Vidljiv je veliki trud koji je autor uložio u istraživanje.
May 25, 2022
Opisuje stvaran povijesni događaj ali nema nikakve napetosti a ponekad je uopće nejasno o čemu se radi. Puko nabrajanje povijesnih činjenica.
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