John of Brienne's progress, from mid-ranking knightly status to king of Jerusalem and, later, Latin emperor of Constantinople, traces one of the most remarkable careers in the entire medieval period. But how and why did he achieve such heights? This biographical study of aristocratic social and geographical mobility in the 'Age of the Crusades' reassesses John's fascinating life, and explores how families and dynasticism, politics, intrigue, religion and war all contributed to John's unprecedented career. John was a major figure in the history of the thirteenth-century Mediterranean, and yet very much a product of the workings of the society of his day. This book reveals how John's life, and its multifarious connections to France, Italy, the German empire and the papacy, can illuminate the broad panorama of the early thirteenth-century world, and the zenith of the crusading movement.

'Guy Perry has in this engagingly written work produced an excellent biography of John of Brienne (Jean de Brienne), a relatively little-known medieval figure who led one of the most fascinating of careers and whose life encapsulates the notion of a rags-to-riches story … Perry’s work is a superb reassessment of the extraordinary life of John of Brienne and offers an excellent point of departure for further investigation into the affairs of the Latin East and Latin West and where they overlap. The book contains more than enough for those concerned with the details of John’s fascinating life, and appeals to those with wider interests in Champagne and the Mediterranean world.'

Stephen Donnachie Source: Royal Studies Journal

'… a wide-ranging and immensely readable work. Perry writes well and has a light-hearted but scholarly turn of phrase that makes this book a pleasure to read … this study will be the fundamental point of reference on this subject for many years to come.'

Nicholas Morton Source: History

'So unlikely, so varied and highly coloured can John of Brienne’s career appear to us that the relative lack of attention it has received from historians is all the more surprising. Guy Perry’s assured and very readable new study of John is the first full-length treatment of his career since 1938. Since then, of course, crusading historiography has changed almost out of recognition, and Perry’s John of Brienne is a very different and more nuanced figure.'

Source: Crusades