Galbert of Bruges and the Historiography of Medieval Flanders

Galbert of Bruges's The Murder, Betrayal and Assassination of the Glorious Charles, Count of Flanders is one of the most widely read books of the Middle Ages. It recounts the assassination of Charles, count of Flanders, and the events leading up to and following the murder. Galbert was a resident of Bruges and had served in the count's administration for at least thirteen years by the time of the assassination in 1127. He was well-acquainted with Charles and many of the other actors in this drama, an eyewitness to many of the events he relates, and exceptionally well positioned to gather information about others. Galbert's chronicle takes the form of a journal, the only one that exists from northwestern Europe in the twelfth century.

Edited by two of the world's most prominent specialists on Galbert today, Jeff Rider and Alan V. Murray, this book brings together essays by established scholars who have been largely responsible for the radical changes in the understanding of Galbert and his work that have occurred over the last thirty years and essays by younger scholars. The essays are written by British, Belgian, Dutch, German, Canadian, and American scholars of literature and history, and are divided into four sections—Galbert of Bruges at Work, Galbert of Bruges and the Development of Institutions, Galbert of Bruges and the Politics of Gender, and The Meanings of History. The book includes an extensive bibliography of editions, translations, and studies of Galbert's chronicle, and of works devoted to the reign of Charles the Good and the Flemish Crisis of 1127-28, to the government and institutions of Flanders in the age of Galbert, and to the topography and history of medieval Bruges.

In addition to the editors, the contributors are Lisa H. Cooper, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Godfried Croenen, the University of Liverpool Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies; Bert Demyttenaere, University of Amsterdam; Mary Agnes Edsall, Bowdoin College; Martina Häcker, University of Mainz; Dirk Heirbaut, University of Ghent; Steven Isaac, Longwood University; Nancy F. Partner, McGill University; Robert M. Stein, Purchase College and Columbia University; and R. C. van Caenegem, University of Ghent.

Jeff Rider is professor of Romance languages and literatures and medieval studies at Wesleyan University. He is the author or translator of numerous works, including the 1994 edition of Galbert of Bruges's chronicle and the more recently published God's Scribe: The Historiographical Art of Galbert of Bruges (CUA Press). Alan V. Murray is lecturer in medieval studies at the University of Leeds, editor of International Medieval Bibliography, and author of numerous studies on the history of Germany and the Low Countries, the crusades and the Latin states of Outremer, medieval chronicles, and Middle High German literature.

Praise for the Book:

"Jeff Rider stands at the center of the renaissance of Galbert studies. With the help of Alan Murray, he enlists scholars with a wide variety of talents and interests to contribute to a new understanding of Galbert and his history."—James M. Murray, director of the Medieval Institute, Western Michigan University

"Galbert's story has long been a classic in undergraduate courses on medieval history and in seminars on feudalism, urban history and social thought. This remarkable collection of essays by an international panel of experts re-examines old themes and asks new questions (not in the least those prompted by the study of gender) that will delight and stimulate all readers of Galbert's famous journal."—Walter Simons, associate professor of history, Dartmouth College