Every once in a while a long-forgotten work emerges from the
shadows of the Middle Ages to be published in English for the first
time. This is the first complete English translation of the prose
chronicle named for the abbey of Santa Maria della Ferraria. It was
written during the reign of Frederick II, Italy's greatest medieval
ruler, early in the thirteenth century about the Normans and
Swabians in southern Italy. Based in part on the work of Falco of
Benevento and others, it complements our knowledge of a complex era
of Italian history. The identity of its author, a monk in an abbey
in the Volturno Valley near Naples, is not known. Discovered in the
nineteenth century, his manuscript - which reposes in quiet dignity
in a library in Bologna - brings to life the figures who forged the
Kingdom of Sicily. First published (in its original Latin) in
Naples in 1888 in a limited edition of just 275 numbered copies,
the chronicle long remained virtually unknown. As a rarity found in
just a few library collections, its very existence was something of
an 'open secret' among specialized scholars. The Apulia of the
title is not simply Puglia, which in the Middle Ages extended from
the heel of the Italian peninsula northward to Pescara and even
Ancona, but southern Italy generally, embracing regions such as
Basilicata and parts of Calabria. Although parts of the chronicle
are drawn from earlier sources, the span of time from circa 1195 to
1228 is original, based on the monk's firsthand knowledge of the
reign of Frederick II, who visited the abbey in 1223, when the
chronicler probably met the monarch (the original Latin of the
chronicle's last years was written in the present tense). Even for
the Norman reigns of the twelfth century, it brings us a few
details not found in the surviving codices of other chronicles. Ms
Alio advances the theory that this medieval work, with its style
conforming to more than one genre (chronicle, annal), its facts
drawn from several sources, and its principal range (1096-1228)
spanning several generations, could be considered the first history
of the Kingdom of Sicily, which was founded in 1130. It is the last
chronicle written in the Kingdom of Sicily during the reign of
Frederick II to be published in English. As a scholarly work
intended for use as a reference, this book contains over 400
informative end notes, five appendices, eight pages of maps and
seven genealogical tables, along with numerous (black and white)
photographs. It includes an introductory background chapter on the
medieval history of southern Italy and its Greeks, Arabs, Lombards
and Normans. Also included is an insightful introduction to the
chronicle and its author (the longest essay ever published about it
in English). Ms Alio's translation is faithful to the original
Latin, yet fluid and understandable. Her native's knowledge of
southern Italy and its people is evident on every page. This volume
is a useful resource for researchers and an interesting excursion
into the medieval world for armchair historians. Its publication
was long overdue. The book is printed on acid-free paper.
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