Agarwal
History Keya 102gm - Prof. Glenn and Mr. Justin Haar
10/20/11
Texts and Textures essay #5
Odo of Deuils The Journey of Louis vii to the East
Between The Song of Roland and Joinvilles Life of Saint Louis
An analytical exploration of the Second Crusade during the twelfth century, Rudi Paul
Lindners essay on Odo of Deuils The Journey of Louis vii to the East is highly
opinionated and informative. Lindner discusses the roles of King Louis vii and of Odos
account, suggesting that they are both transitional figures in the history of religious
expression and emotional response. More interestingly he investigates the relationship
between author and subject in Odos work and in The Song of Roland and Joinvilles Life
of Saint Louis. The connection he describes between Joinville and subject, his King
Louis, is idealized and presumptuous, as he bases it on the fact that Joinville mentions
that King Louis dies at the same hour as that of Jesus and hence understands the
spirituality about the subject. He goes on the critique how Odo misses this key element of
spirituality in presenting King Louis vii, and fails to understand his subject and delivers
mere description of events instead of providing an understanding of the events. Although
I find the concept of discussing the connection between the author and subject
fascinating, it appears that Lindner may be attributing his own biases to the study and
choosing sides rather than extracting glimpses of the time period presented by the
authors, which he states the books provide, but fails to fully investigate.