The monograph under review is a wide-ranging analysis of Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy’s (1396–1467) various Crusade-related activities, with a focus on texts and manuscripts made at his court. The introduction argues that Philip’s commitment to Crusade was sustained and earnest, and that the works under discussion are best understood “as part of [a] larger crusading effort” (3). Chapter 1 examines historiography in the Burgundian Netherlands, chronicles written during Philip’s lifetime, and his decision to appoint the first official chronicler of Burgundy. In chapter 2, after a discussion of compositional techniques (particularly mise en prose), reading practices, and literary preferences at Philip’s court, Moodey focuses on the fictional works and historical romances made there (Roman de Girart de Roussillon, Le Chevalier au Cygne, Istoire Royale, etc.) and how they related to the duke’s political and crusading ambitions. Chapter 3 opens with overviews of earlier Crusades and descriptions of Crusade accounts in Philip’s possession. There follows a discussion of the texts produced during Philip’s lifetime that reflect both his Crusade preparations and the prestige he garnered for them abroad (Bertrandon de la Broquière’s pilgrimage account, a plea from the Emperor of Constantinople, Jean Germain’s Desbat du Chrestien et du Sarrazin, etc.). Chapter 4 examines the famous 1454 Banquet of the Pheasant, at which Philip and numerous others vowed to take up the cross. Most of the chapter is devoted to a detailed description of the event and to an interpretation of its multifarious symbols and tableaux. Chapter 5 provides an account of Philip’s extensive Crusade-related activity subsequent to the Banquet of the Pheasant. He commissioned a compilation of descriptions of the Holy Land, pursued diplomacy to acquire land and allies for the launching of a Crusade, and received numerous pleas for help. The chapter concludes with an analysis of the medieval and modern arguments about Philip’s motives. Chapter 6 analyzes Les croniques de Jherusalem abregies, a sumptuously illuminated manuscript commissioned by Philip in 1455 in which the duke is figured as the natural successor to Godfrey of Bouillon, the first Christian king of Jerusalem. Chapter 7 focuses on Les cronicques et conquestes de Charlemaine, a two-volume chronicle completed in 1458 whose text is an amplification of preexisting works (notably the French royal chronicle) accompanied by numerous miniatures. The conclusion argues that the Burgundians had a cultural identity shaped by competition with the French monarchy, which is why they commissioned works about Godfrey and Charlemagne, “two crusading heroes who were not exclusively French” (244). There follow two appendixes: a transcription of Les croniques de Jherusalem abregies and a summary of the documentation related to the artist Jean le Tavernier.

The text is well written and there are useful insights throughout. Following recent reassessments of late medieval Crusade culture, Moodey makes a very convincing case that Philip’s Crusade activities were both crucial to his political strategy and indicative of larger social currents in Western Christendom. Fittingly, Moodey draws on a wide range of sources and media to support her contention that Crusade shaped much of the Burgundian court’s rich cultural production. Her citations of primary texts are judicious and apposite, and she moves clearly between artifacts and historical context. Chapters 6 and 7 contain careful analysis of mise en page and illumination to show how the manuscripts make their arguments that Philip and his nobles are worthy heirs to crusaders past.

One questions the decision to devote so much space to summaries of literary works and wishes there were more on the exceptional books examined in the final two chapters since, judging by Moodey’s descriptions, the image-text relationships in these manuscripts are particularly complex. In her discussion of reading practices and tastes in chapter 2, Moodey fails to cite the foundational work of Joyce Coleman and D. H. Green, and therefore misses an opportunity to tie literature to the performance culture she later describes. More discussion of how Philip’s writers and artists depicted Muslim foes past and present, who were after all the focus of so much anxiety, energy, and expense, would also have been welcome. Overall this is an engaging, accessible, and informative book that will appeal to those interested in topics including the Burgundians, the Crusades, and late medieval book history and historiography.