Schein, Sylvia 1947-2004

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Schein, Sylvia 1947-2004

PERSONAL:

Born 1947; died 2004. Education: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, B.A., 1971, M.A., 1973; University of Cambridge, Ph.D., 1980.

CAREER:

Writer, educator. Former professor in the department of land of Israel studies, Haifa University, Haifa, Israel.

MEMBER:

De Re Militari.

WRITINGS:

Fideles Crucis: The Papacy, the West, and the Recovery of the Holy Land, 1274-1314, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1991.

(Editor, with Michael Goodich and Sophia Menache) Cross Cultural Convergences in the Crusader Period: Essays Presented to Aryeh Grabois on His Sixty-fifth Birthday, P. Lang (New York, NY), 1995.

Gateway to the Heavenly City: Crusader Jerusalem and the Catholic West (1099-1187), Ashgate (Burlington, VT), 2005.

Contributor to various journals, including the English Historical Review, Cathedra, Bar Ilan Studies in History, Hagiographica, and Mediterranean Historical Review.

SIDELIGHTS:

Writer and educator Sylvia Schein was born in 1947 and died in 2004. She was educated in Israel, attending the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she earned first her undergraduate degree in general history and political science, and then her master's degree, for which she focused primarily on the history and politics of the Middle Ages in Europe. From there she went to England to complete her studies, earning her doctorate at the University of Cambridge, and writing her thesis on Europe and the Crusades. Prior to her death, Schein served as a member of the faculty at Haifa University in Israel. She was considered a leading expert on the history and politics of the Crusade States, and did research on a number of related topics. She contributed to numerous journals, such as the English Historical Review, Cathedra, Bar Ilan Studies in History, Hagiographica, and the Mediterranean Historical Review. In addition, she was the author of several books, including Fideles Crucis: The Papacy, the West, and the Recovery of the Holy Land, 1274-1314 and Gateway to the Heavenly City: Crusader Jerusalem and the Catholic West (1099-1187), and served as the editor for Cross Cultural Convergences in the Crusader Period: Essays Presented to Aryeh Grabois on His Sixty-fifth Birthday, in conjunction with Michael Goodich and Sophia Menache.

Fideles Crucis looks at the way the Europeans launched the Crusades, and their strong desire to claim the city of Jerusalem and restore it to its previous glory according to Western thinking. Many of the Crusades were the result of an ancient marketing campaign, one that addressed restoration and the political priorities of those left behind who were anxious to gain some connection to Jerusalem and the perceived benefit of having control over the Holy City. Peter Edbury, in a contribution for the English Historical Review, noted that "at the heart of her research lies an analysis of the considerable body of contemporary literature on the theme de recuperatione."

In Gateway to the Heavenly City, Schein addresses the attitudes of Christians from the West in relation to Jerusalem during the Crusades, focusing in particular on the period from 1099 to 1187, at which point the city was lost to the efforts of Saladin. However, up until this point, it was considered a Crusader State, as well as a vitally important fixture for Christianity pertaining to prayer and life in general, and it also served as the goal of many a pilgrim. Having access to Jerusalem solidified its role in the overall picture for Christianity, and served to buoy the city's importance as a religious hub. Prior to this time, however, the emphasis was on a Heavenly version of Jerusalem that would be achieved later, in direct contrast to the modern-day, Earth-bound version of the city, that was considered more commonplace. According to Schein, the actual goal of the initial Crusade was to capture Jerusalem and by so doing solidify the religious claim to the history of the city. John France, writing for the American Historical Review, remarked that "this is an important book that posits new ideas about the place of Jerusalem in the thinking of the twelfth century, and it is very regrettable that its author died before she could develop them."

Cross Cultural Convergences in the Crusader Period, which Schein coedited, is a collection of essays on varying subjects ranging from the capture and ransom of women during the Crusades to the relationship between Jews and popular culture in the fourteenth century. K.S.B. Keats-Rohan commented in the English Historical Review that "a wide variety of subjects is covered, sometimes for the first time. Each item has something to offer. In short, this is a little gem and every bookshelf should have one."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Historical Review, April 1, 1992, review of Fideles Crucis: The Papacy, the West, and the Recovery of the Holy Land, 1274-1314, p. 536; December 1, 2006, John France, review of Gateway to the Heavenly City: Crusader Jerusalem and the Catholic West (1099-1187), p. 1577.

Catholic Historical Review, April 1, 1992, Anthony Luttrell, review of Fideles Crucis, p. 285; October 1, 1997, Penny J. Cole, review of Cross Cultural Convergences in the Crusader Period: Essays Presented to Aryeh Grabois on His Sixty-fifth Birthday, p. 774.

Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, October 1, 2005, D.A. Michelson, review of Gateway to the Heavenly City, p. 352.

Church History, September 1, 1995, Thomas Renna, review of Fideles Crucis, p. 464; September 1, 1997, Francis Oakley, review of Cross Cultural Convergences in the Crusader Period, p. 580; June 1, 2006, James M. Powell, review of Gateway to the Heavenly City, p. 416.

English Historical Review, September 1, 1994, Peter Edbury, review of Fideles Crucis, p. 995; April 1, 1998, K.S.B. Keats-Rohan, review of Cross Cultural Convergences in the Crusader Period, p. 413.

Historian, fall, 1992, James F. Powers, review of Fideles Crucis, p. 138.

History: The Journal of the Historical Association, June 1, 1992, Simon Lloyd, review of Fideles Crucis, p. 283.

International History Review, May 1, 1992, review of Fideles Crucis, p. 342.

Journal of Ecclesiastical History, July 1, 1997, Peter W. Edbury, review of Cross Cultural Convergences in the Crusader Period, p. 543; October 1, 2006, Jonathan Riley-Smith, review of Gateway to the Heavenly City, p. 751.

Journal of Religion, January 1, 1995, review of Fideles Crucis, p. 178.

Reference & Research Book News, August 1, 2005, review of Gateway to the Heavenly City, p. 30.

Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies, January 1, 1994, John R.E. Bliese, review of Fideles Crucis, p. 252.

Times Literary Supplement, June 28, 1991, Robert Irwin, review of Fideles Crucis, p. 22.