The Deeds of Louis the Fat

By Abbot Suger

Book Overview

An important twelfth-century narrative describing the difficult task King Louis VI faced in bringing order and justice to his violent and militaristic principality and kingdom.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813207584
• ISBN13: 9780813207582
• Release Date: May 1992
• Publisher: Catholic University of America Press
• Length: 244 Pages
• Weight: 0.78 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

The Deeds of Louis the Fat - The Thoughts of Suger the Abbot

A translation of Suger's Deeds of Louis the Fat is here presented in an accessible and readable form for both students and the general reader. There is a concise yet comprehensive twenty-page introduction, an accompanying map, and an index at the end. There are both footnotes and endnotes, which is unfortunate, since those seeking further background information must refer to both. This can be a bit of a handful when not reading at a desk. It would have been far better to have all notes set at the foot of each page. The translation, introduction and notation have been undertaken by Richard Cusimano of the University of Southwestern Louisiana and by John Moorhead at the University of Queensland. In their introduction they point to the work's value by seeing Louis's reign as a pivotal era in the progress of French monarchical consolidation. But they also view the work as important in the context of Suger's own life and literary style. And indeed the work can often be seen to be more about Suger than about Louis. The writers explore the background to the reasons why it was written and why it was written in the way that it was, for the title was not Suger's own. Their analysis includes comparisons with other twelfth-century (and earlier) texts and writers of a similar genre are made. They point out why the work cannot be treated as a biography per se of Louis VI, for there is a concentration on secondary details, whilst primary facts of Louis's life - his knighthood, his presence at the court of England's Henry I, his marriage, etc - are ignored. The secondary features that are mentioned, however, conform suspiciously with Suger's own views about kingship and the primacy of his abbey at St-Denis. That is not to say that Suger's account of Louis's deeds cannot be trusted, for he was clearly present at many of the events described and he writes about them with the air of someone who has no difficulty in remembering details. The translators end their introduction with details about the difficulties they encountered with the translation in terms of style as well as content. Suger employed a sometimes convoluted literary style, re-inforcing his meaning by allusions to contemporary theological ideas, "But just when the temptation to despair is strongest, the reader comes along a witty turn of phrase or pun that alerts one to the fact that, at least sometimes, Suger knew very well what he was doing." Whatever problems the translators had to overcome in their work, the reader of this volume need not worry about, as the English text flows smoothly from chapter to chapter. This is a fine volume that will be of use to students in a number of disciplines and will be of value also to the general reader.

The Deeds of Louis the Fat

Suger of St. Denis (1080/81-1151) is best known for his promotion of what we call Gothic architecture but he was also an important politician and historian. Suger was most likely given as an oblate at the age of ten to the Abbey of St. Denis. After he completed his studies he accompanied Abbot Adam on diplomatic missions to Pope Paschal II among others. He rapidly gained administrative experience and became abbot of St. Denis after Adam's death. Louis VI (1081-1137) the Fat, the eldest son of Philip I (1053-1108), was likewise educated at St. Denis. However, he was declared the heir only after a period of uncertainty when Philip I forsakes Louis mother in favor of the wife of one of his vassals, Fulk IV of Anjou. The `France' of Louis VI and Abbot Suger was centered around Paris and the Ile-de-France. This controlled by Louis VI but even here he constantly had to assert himself against powerful local castellans (men with in charge of castles). Most of Louis VI's nobles who theoretically owed their land to him were more powerful and could raise larger armies then their feudal overlord. The king therefore only occasionally acted against his powerful lords and concentrated on regaining royal control on his own dominion. The Deeds of Louis the Fat is not a biography in the modern sense but does provide vital information for this important king's reign. The Deeds was written in the style of other famous chroniclers of the time. This type of history concentrates on individual deeds rather than a comprehensive documentation of events. But it would be wrong to see this work as merely a collection of incidents chronologically arranged for Suger has an agenda and structure. He was close to Louis and sought to illustrate the king's support of the Church, thus, many entries chronicler the King's intervention on part of a church against a powerful noble. Likewise, Suger sought to contrast Louis with his womanizing father, Philip I, who put the love of a married woman above the just ruling of a kingdom. The introduction puts the text in a historical background but also provides some interesting comments on the Suger's purpose of composition and the 'individual' St Denis (who was actually a combination of three individuals who lived centuries apart), the patron of Suger's Abbey. The introduction is very approachable and easy to understand (in other words not in the dry scholarly vein). The text however, is what gives this volume five stars.