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CLARK, VICTORIA: : THE FAR-FARERS: A Journey from Viking Iceland to Crusader Jerusalem

LONDON.MACMILLAN,2003.

ISBN 033390219X.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.FINE/FINE.Bright, crisp,clean,glossy laminated,colour pictorial wrap-around medieval style artwork by Nicola Clark illustrated dw/dj; with negligible shelf-wear and minimal creasing to edges - no nick or tears present - almost as new.Miniscule bumping with reciprocal creasing to head+foot of spine/backstrip.Top+fore-edges bright, crisp and clean; contents bright,tight pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners - an unread copy? Publisher's original,unblemished,clean, dark blue cloth boards with bright,crisp, stamped gilt letters to spine/backstrip and immaculate unmarked map illustrated endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,viii-xxpp+3-450pp [paginated] +half-title+title pages,a dedication,contents+illustrations lists/tables,3 double-page b/w maps,a preface,Pts 1-3,16pp of contemporary colour scenic photographs and colour, medieval illustrations,in 2 blocks of 8pp apiece,between pp140/41and pp300/01 respectively,a chronology,notes,a bibliography and an index. Just before the year 1000 a young Viking named Thorvald the Far-farer turned his back on the pagan gods of his fathers to preach the Christian gospel. But his Icelandic countrymen mocked him as a homosexual,stoned him and finally outlawed him. Abandoning his homeland,Thorvald embarked on an epic journey to the golden heart of all medieval world maps - Jerusalem.A thousand years later,in the year 2000, Victoria Clark embarked on the same journey to discover to what extent the dramatic changes and conflicts sweeping western Europe a thousand years ago still resonate today.'The Far-Farers' is both the story of this 21stC journey and a history of extraordinary 11thC western Christendom.In this remarkable book she gathers a group of influential 11thC characters.Viking Thorvald,emperors of East and West Christendom,abbots,saints, princesses,a robber Norman and Crusaders are personally or professionally connected to one another to form links in a historical chain extending down the century and all the way from Iceland to the Holy Land.Western Europe was struggling to unite in the 11th century, expanding rapidly and changing utterly. Warfare,peacekeeping,multinational monasticism,institutional power struggles, mass pilgrim travel,and rising religious fundamentalism,were a few of its salient characteristics.In short,it was a world more like our own than we might imagine. The twenty-first-century people she encounters as she travels through Iceland, central and western Europe,the Balkans, Turkey and the Middle East cast fresh light on both worlds.A Swedish violinist she meets on a Turkish train reclaims the religion of his pagan Viking ancestors.In the ancient capital of Poland,a young Catholic priest scorns the idea of Europe uniting in the name of human rights instead of Christ.A Greek Jewess in Thessaloniki makes her peace with a thousand years of her people's persecution.At the Crusader stronghold of Krac des Chevaliers a Syrian playboy highlights the deep and widening gulf between the West and Islam.A richly evocative and beautifully written work, 'The Far-Farers' is neither conventional history nor travel, but a powerful and authoritative demonstration of our enduring connection with the distant past. Please contact seller,because of the weight - nearly 1Kg unpackaged - of this item,for correct,insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! ** N.B. UK,buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch, especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included or FREE. Available UK only,unless indicated otherwise. ** N.B. US customers please be aware: US Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to USA can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.
Not SIGNED.

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