Deus Lo Volt!: A Chronicle of the Crusades

by Evan S. Connell

God wills it! The year is 1095 and the most prominent leaders of the Christian world are assembled in a meadow in France. Deus lo volt! This cry is taken up, echoes forth, is carried on. The Crusades have started, and wave after wave of Christian pilgrims rush to assault the growing power of Muslims in the Holy Land. Two centuries long, it will become the defining war of the Western world.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, War, Religion, Historical, Novels, Medieval

480 pages, Paperback

First published May 4, 2000

About the author

Evan Shelby Connell Jr. (August 17, 1924 – January 10, 2013) was a U.S. novelist, poet, and short-story writer. His writing covered a variety of genres, although he published most frequently in fiction.

In 2009, Connell was nominated for the Man Booker International Prize, for lifetime achievement. On April 23, 2010, he was awarded a Los Angeles Times Book Prize: the Robert Kirsch Award, for "a living author with a substantial connection to the American West, whose contribution to American letters deserves special recognition."

Connell was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the only son of Evan S. Connell, Sr. (1890–1974), a physician, and Ruth Elton Connell. He had a sister Barbara (Mrs. Matthew Zimmermann) to whom he dedicated his novel Mrs. Bridge (1959). He graduated from Southwest High School in Kansas City in 1941. He started undergraduate work at Dartmouth College but joined the Navy in 1943 and became a pilot. After the end of World War II, he graduated from the University of Kansas in 1947, with a B.A. in English. He studied creative writing at Columbia University in New York and Stanford University in California. He never married, and lived and worked in Sausalito, California for decades.
(Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excerpts from possible real chronicles of the crusades where the most famous French medieval chronicler, [used here fictionally] narrator, Seneschal Jean de Joinville, breaks in once in awhile. Odd book--mixture of fiction and nonfiction. Jean doesn't become part of the action until King Louis's crusade, the Seventh, near the end. He exhibits absolutely no personality; his function is to tie the excerpts together. He does attribute the various excerpts to real-life chroniclers of that period, such as Anna Comnena, writing about her father. We are carried through the sweep of the crusades from beginning to end.

The 3rd Crusade was a major part. It was interesting how Richard of England happened to be captured by Leopold of Austria and why. Background of 4th Crusade: why Dandolo hated Constantinople. Jean interjects at various places such-and-such relative fought at such-and-such battle, also after telling a certain anecdote he doesn't swear as to its veracity. Saladin is presented as a model of chivalry and courtesy: template for his subsequent fictional treatment for the most part.

I felt 4th Crusade--Sack of Constantinople--one of the best parts. I didn't realize some men went home rather than attack other Christians. Afterwards, there was an "Albigensian Crusade" and an Inquisition to root heretics out. Finishing up the last crusades seemed a bit rushed. The style took awhile to get used to, but the book on the whole was enjoyable, although reading was slow. The structure of the book was an interesting concept.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted so badly to love this book because I'm a Connell fan and because I like experimental and unusual approaches to narrative, but this didn't fully click with me due to the extreme lengthiness and repetition, not to mention the lack of a through line or any real characters, and I threw in the towel at page 85. I did get a vivid sense of what a cluster every aspect of the Crusades was, and appreciated his droll, ironic, refrain-like insistence that "Thus do they benefit who truly believe" (61).

I also admired his vocabulary and learned the words:

peregrini Christi

halegrins -- The Tafurs, or Halegrins, whom we notice as followers of Godefroy de Bouillon at the time of the Crusades, towards the end of the eleventh century, were terribly bad characters, and are actually accused by contemporary writers of violating tombs, and of living on human flesh. On this account they were looked upon with the utmost horror by the infidels, who dreaded more their savage ferocity than the valour of the Crusaders. The latter even, who had these hordes of Tafurs under their command, were not without considerable mistrust of them, and when, during their march through Hungary, under the protection of the cross, these miscreants committed depredations, Godefroy de Bouillion was obliged to ask pardon for them from the king of that country.

pickthanks -- a person who seeks favor by flattery or gossip; sycophant

witlings -- a person who considers themselves to be witty

villeins -- (in medieval England) a feudal tenant entirely subject to a lord or manor to whom he paid dues and services in return for land

malicide -- the killing of a heretic, especially in reference to the killing of Christians

kalends -- the first day of the month in the ancient Roman calendar

[Laura Baugh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love history. I love historical novels. This was... not what I expected.

I'm totally cool with history reference books giving a dry narrative of a timeline and events. Apparently it was felt that wouldn't sell, though, and so this historical pseudo-novel features a nominal "character" (with absolutely zero characterization) reading us his... dry narrative of a timeline and events. It was actually quite jarring to hear the first-person come in occasionally, reminding us that the voice telling us what happened hundreds of years before his birth is not, in fact, the author's.

I do like the information, but I found the presentation disappointing. When my audiobook's checkout period expired, with me three-quarters of the way through, I did not renew to finish.

[Crystal · Rating 2 out of 5]

The subtitle, "A Chronicle of the Crusades," is a big hint that this is not a typical novel. There is no character development, not much dialogue, and the internal monologue is a twentieth-century imagining of the medieval mind ( and a disturbing thing that is ). Having just read "The Crusades through Arab Eyes," I recognized a lot of the events, and the violence on both sides was astounding. This book doesn't give you a very positive image of the human race.

[Alexander Seifert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book starts of very slow. Once you get through the first couple of chapters/sections, it starts to pick up speed.

I went into the book with little idea what it would be about (aside from the Crusades). This is a historical fiction that's set up as a historical text written by a French nobleman (who is based on Jean de Joinville, a real-life French chronicler, although there are some fictional liberties taken). He tells the details of the various crusades over the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries in a format much like a historical work from the 13th century might read (that is, far closer to Homer than von Ranke. The author is religious, and his obvious bias only makes the book more enjoyable to read. There are references to the narratives ancestors, who also took part in a few of the higher profile Crusades.

By the time the 7th Crusade rolls around, you discover that the author partook in this Crusade, and from this point, the book details his experiences as the seneshal of King Louis IX. The author has a deep love for Louis IX, and his first-hand experience is a nice departure from the previous 'recollections' of older Crusades built from what the author has heard. What I found confusing, however, was that the author seems to ignore the 8th Crusade, which involved Louis IX dying outside Tunis. The end of the book focuses instead on the canonization of Louis IX and the collapse of the remaining Crusader states following the ascendance of the Mameluks.

All in all, this was a fairly entertaining blend of history and fiction. The pseudo-real person narrator-turned-protagonist was a nice spin. As was the interweaving critique of Christianity at the time. There are some hurdles that may be off-setting to people, like the slower start to the book. There's all the issue that there's a lot of older jargon, random Latin, and some syntax from the period, but for me--a history person--I didn't mind one bit, because it added to the immersion. Bear that in mind if you give this a go.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm glad I finished this book as I've been curious about the crusades. This book, considered a novel, but with a tremendous amount of historical detail, had a little too much detail for me. I would have liked it to be about 100 pages shorter. Nevertheless, for anyone ignorant of what the crusades were like, this book will more than satisfy the itch. It can be pretty gruesome in parts, but this is what war was like at the time.

[Chrissie]

*********************

*The Connoisseur 5 stars
*Mrs. Bridge 5 stars
*Mr. Bridge 4 stars
*Son of the Morning Star: General Custer and the Battle of the Little Bighorn 4 stars
*Deus Lo Volt!: A Chronicle of the Crusades maybe

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Deus Lo Volt!" is that rare modern fiction book that truly reads like it was written in it's pertinent time period, and that is a hard thing to pull off. I would say that was the book's main strength: the air of authenticity. There are a lot of interesting turn-of-phrases that make you really feel like you are reading a medieval chronicle.
Unfortunately, that also means the book is rather dry by modern standards and at that point I think I would have rather just read the original, authentic sources. This book was rather dense and not the easiest to get through.
I also could have used more characterization; even for a history book it's a little lacking and especially so for fiction. Having said that, the best part of the story is the end where the narrator, Jean de Joinville, enters the story because we do get more character and personality, with him and with Louis IX.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic book. Evan S. Connell was an American treasure because he wrote unique books like this. This was truly, and credibly, written from the point of view of a French seneschal in the during the 13th century. I would have given it five stars but I thought it covered too many of the Crusades. Why the Albiginsian Crusade was include I am not sure. Glad I read this!

[Bryan Deemer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't put it down. I was absorbed from the first page. A fantastic look at the crusades from the soldier's point of view. Wonderfully written.

[Jude Walko · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m going to be totally honest here. The first 150 pages or so of this book read like chapter 5 of the book of Genesis in The Bible, and not in a good way. There were so many names and events going on it was impossible to track. If you said you could follow it, you’re either lying, part of the 10% of the World’s smartest people, or maybe have a PHD in the History of the Crusades. But if you managed to get that far into the book it’s kind of like watching a series on Netflix that you have already committed so much time to, that you refuse to throw in the towel. After that it did start to flow slightly more narratively, but throughout it is consistent to sounding like an article out of The American Journal of History, or the like, if said article was almost 500 pages long. If you’re looking forward to a good three act, narrative story structure this is not the book for you.

In its defense I learned a lot of vocabulary and if you ever want names for your Knight Errant characters this book is full of them. I’m not going to lie though, this was bit of a task for me to trudge through.

I can sum the whole thing up in one sentence. The Muslims and Christians hated each other and the Crusades were filled with violence, rape, beheadings and the most creative deaths you could ever imagine.

Game of Thrones is mild when compared to this reality.

[Colin Darby · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the characteristics of medieval books, because they were hand-written using relatively scarce and expensive resources, is, if written by a single author, brevity; a book written by a collection of authors, such as a chronicle, might run a little longer.

Unfortunately, this book features the worst features of both of those. It has the rhetorical flourishes of a single author, combined with the dry recitation and length of a chronicle. Because this was partly written as a literary exercise, it's both a success (it reads like a medieval document) and a failure (it reads like a medieval document - which modern readers won't always enjoy).

I enjoyed it, but it does take some getting used to and is definitely best read in stages. I did a chapter a night and that took me a couple months. If I'd tried to do it in a mass, I'd have burned out and put it aside, because it is very dense material.

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written in stilted archaic prose that turns even the most interesting events into a dull block of text. Characters constantly introduced without context, then often killed within the same page, seemingly without significance. Some interesting choices with the actual approach, but told in such a way as to make it very difficult to read through.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

author did not pick sides. ALL dangerous people. Unlike now, the culprits are on the battlefield.
Currently we have politicians de-funding police, allowing riots, while keeping their homes safe and well protected.

[Mer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very detailed read.

[Justen · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is very tough to understand the language they use in it.

[Mark Gannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, if a bit 'dry' in places.

[Coleen Dailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read about the Crusades. Sometimes the style, written like a medieval chronicler, was a little difficult. Good combination of real chronicles and fiction.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried to finish this book, I really did. But, after reading half of it, I just couldn't take the dry, somewhat uninspired narrative of "Jean," the narrator any more. This didn't read like a novel, it read more like a dry accounting of facts and happenings that I already know about. It does say, "A Chronicle of the Crusades" on the cover, and that's what you get. A Chronicle. If you're looking for a story here, try another book set in the Crusades, this isn't it.

[Bob Rosenbaum · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this novel. It gave me a sense of life in the dark ages from one important perspective - that of a Christian crusader. Many will find this a hard read and a slog. The language used feels archaic - though I don't actually think it is; it's just successfully stylistic to help you feel you're reading narrative history. But it is rooted in well-researched history, has a compelling story and is loaded with point of view.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a little long in the prose. It reminds me of Tynneson's Idylls of the King. It's not poetry, but it has the same feel. I found the end of the book particularly powerful. For a book that comprises the entire 12th century, it is very concise and well thought out. Deus Lo Volt! is an amazing piece of art. I recommend it for anyone interested in the crusades.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I barely made it through this book. The writing style was so over the top that at times I thought it was a joke and at other times it was just plain difficult to understand. There were also passages I found some what offensive.

[Herb Hastings · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is meticulously written in the style of a Medieval Chronicle and is therefore, until you ease into the rhythm, not an easy or quick read. If you have any interest in the Crusades or the Middle Ages is is well worth the effort.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

A barely novelized history of the crusades. The deliberately archaic style takes a long time to get into, but once you do, it's a good read (for those who want to understand the real crusades, not the anti-western parody of hte crusades we are subjected to these days).

[Chris Tollefson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really, really wanted to like this book more. It's an incredible literary feat, and I'm in awe of the author. But I just couldn't get past the deliberately archaic language and structure. It reads like a monk's narrative of the time, and though informative, this style just feels mannered.

[Ayrnnotyarn]

this is about the crusades. i liked the rapist one better.

[Kevin de Ataíde · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book for its pious Christian reading of a conflicted subject. The Christian ascend gloriously to their reward and the infidels fall screeching into the pit. :D

[James Dayspring · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly hard to read. Too much like a history book.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

decent historical fiction about the first crusade.

[Serafina Sands · Rating 1 out of 5]

I LONGED to read this book, and have tried several times, but cannot, cannot get past the first section.