Guy Perry

This will be a go-to reference book for anyone working on the Briennes or the other branches of this aristocratic family (the Ramerupt, Eu, and Beaumont) during the High Middle Ages for one key reason: Guy Perry has mined the relevant primary and secondary sources probably as thoroughly as is possible. If you're trying to figure out the chronology or movements of a member of the family at a particular moment, this is where you should turn.

However, when considered as a monograph rather than show more as a reference, I thought The Briennes was on much shakier ground. Perry's refusal to engage with much of the last couple of decades' worth of historiography on the social history of the Middle Ages—particularly when it comes to aristocratic women's roles—is so steadfast as to be almost impressive. (Almost.) It makes for a curiously old-fashioned, quasi-antiquarian read.

If you're a specialist in the field, there may be useful material here for you to mine, but I would not recommend this to the general reader. show less