Sacred Plunder

Explores the emergence of a body of texts about relics transported from Constantinople to the West as a after the Fourth Crusade, and the role of these texts in the development of Venice's civic identity in the thirteenth century.

“This insightful work is the first to explore the effects that waves of displaced relics from Constantinople had on Venice and, more broadly, Latin Christianity. Peeling back layers of narrative in the translation accounts, David Perry reveals evolving attitudes and anxieties about crusading, sanctity, and power. His expertise with these scattered sources illuminates his analysis, and his evocative prose makes it a real pleasure to read.”

—Thomas F. Madden, Saint Louis University

“David Perry has made an important contribution to medieval crusade and relic-cult scholarship with this carefully researched and convincingly argued book.”

—Alfred J. Andrea, University of Vermont

“[ Sacred Plunder ] is a perceptive addition to the debate over the outcome of the Fourth Crusade.”

—Michael Angold Renaissance Quarterly

“Lucidly and insightfully argued throughout. . . . [ Sacred Plunder ] makes a significant contribution to our understanding of attitudes towards the Fourth Crusade, of medieval hagiographical texts and of the evolution of Venetian identity.”

—Nicky Tsougarakis Journal of Religious History, Literature and Culture

“Perry's work represents a significant contribution to our understanding of the contested legacy and memory of the Fourth Crusade in the medieval West. His focus on the notion of narrative is quite brilliant; he shows that the medieval world understood something only recently explored by modern psychology: the power of narrative creativity to persuade where other means would undoubtedly fail.”

—Brendan McGuire The Medieval Review

“Meticulously researched, well written, and carefully argued.”

—Holger A. Klein American Historical Review

“ Sacred Plunder approaches a contested history and offers us yet another window into how medieval people wrote about complexity in their own worlds. Perry helps us think through these narratives in new and probing ways.”

—Anne E. Lester Speculum

David M. Perry is Associate Professor of History at Dominican University. He is a frequent contributor to CNN.com, the Chronicle of Higher Education , the Atlantic , and Al Jazeera America.