Greeks, Latins, and the Church in Early Frankish Cyprus (review)

A proverbial crossroads, Cyprus hosted numerous cultures and religions during the late Middle Ages. Their local development and continued interchanges with the larger medieval Mediterranean world make Frankish Cyprus a compelling yet challenging subject of study. One of the greatest challenges is that our understanding of many of the issues and even the issues themselves have become quite knotted over time and can be difficult to untangle. In the ten studies collected here—the earliest published in 1998, the newest appearing for the first time—the historian Christopher Schabel clarifies a number of the questions that have not only affected local scholarship but also have affected areas of study further afield. The rich variety of studies, focusing on the period 1191-1359, assures that there is much of worth both for scholars who focus on Frankish Cyprus and for those who come to the island tangentially.

Schabel's strength as a scholar—reflected in this collection—is his consistent use of grounded, historical research and comparative study to unravel confusing threads in both the primary and secondary literature, explain their origins, correct past misconceptions, and place them in their medieval context(s). Article II ("The Myth of Queen Alice. . ."), for example, represents Schabel at his best. He thoroughly examines a problem in our contemporary scholarship through the lens of an exhaustive and extensively documented study of both the primary documents and their reception by medieval, early modern, and modern authors, including those writing in Greek. As in all of the articles, his treatment includes copious amounts of supporting information and references to his sources. The particular issue at hand, the role of Queen Alice in the subjugation of the Greek clergy on Cyprus (c.1213-23) is very entangled historiographically, and readers, including those more familiar with the events, may find it useful to reread the appropriate sections of article I ("The Status of the Greek Clergy in Early Frankish Cyprus") to assure themselves of the current state of understanding once they have finished article II.

Many of the studies have also been made more readily available to scholars by their inclusion here. In this regard, article I on the status of the Greek clergy will be seminal for most readers seeking to understand both the medieval, cultural/religious and the modern, scholastic environments on the island. Schabel re-evaluates the traditional understanding (in which the Latin Church consciously and continuously oppressed and impoverished the Greek) and presents a new, nuanced view centered on various spheres of activity such as the economy, jurisdiction, doctrine, and practice in their broader medieval context.

Readers interested in particular popes, bishops, or other figures and/or groups may want to begin with the index and will most likely be drawn to articles IV (Greek bishops), V (Latin bishops), VI (Cistercians and certain nobles),VII (Peter de Castro),VIII and IX (Elias of Nabinaux), and X (Hugh IV de Lusignan). Those more interested in either local events or Cyprus's role in contemporary issues, church-related and otherwise, may find themselves drawn to article II, article III ("The Martyrdom of the Thirteen Monks of Kantara"), and the general narratives of articles VII-X. The amount of information provided by these studies may seem overwhelming to some readers, but the process of cross-checking people and interpretations is made easier by the index that Schabel has provided. All readers will want to note the corrections, updated bibliography, and notes that he has added to the texts, as well as his useful preface. Taken together, these ensure that this is and will remain for quite some time a very rich and useful collection.