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Far-Farers
Just before the year 1000, a young Viking named Thorvald turned his back on the pagan gods of his fathers to preach the Christian gospel. But his Icelandic countrymen mocked and outlawed him. Abandoning his homeland, Thorvald embarked on an epic journey to the heart of all medieval world mapsùJerusalem.
A thousand years later, Victoria Clark embarked on the same journey to discover to what extent the dramatic changes and conflicts sweeping Western Europe a millennium ago still resonate today. The Far-Farers is both the story of this twenty-first-century journey and a history of eleventh-century western Christendom.
In this remarkable book Clark illuminates a group of influential eleventh-century charactersùThorvald, emperors of eastern and western Christendom, abbots, saints, princesses, Crusadersùwho form links in a historical chain extending down the century and all the way from Iceland to the Holy Land. Western Europe was struggling to unite then, expanding rapidly and changing utterly. Warfare, peacekeeping, multinational monasticism, institutional power struggles, mass pilgrim travel, and rising religious fundamentalism were a few salient characteristics of this worldùa world more like our own than we might imagine.
The twenty-first-century people Clark encountered as she traveled through Iceland, central and Western Europe, the Balkans, Turkey, and the Middle East cast fresh light on both worlds. In the ancient capital of Poland, a young Catholic priest scorns the idea of Europe uniting in the name of human rights instead of Christ. At the Crusader stronghold of Krak les Chevaliers, a Syrian playboy highlights the deep and widening gulf between the West and Islam. A richly evocative and beautifully written work, The Far-Farers is neither conventional history nor travel, but a powerful and authoritative demonstration of our enduring connection with the distant past.
A thousand years later, Victoria Clark embarked on the same journey to discover to what extent the dramatic changes and conflicts sweeping Western Europe a millennium ago still resonate today. The Far-Farers is both the story of this twenty-first-century journey and a history of eleventh-century western Christendom.
In this remarkable book Clark illuminates a group of influential eleventh-century charactersùThorvald, emperors of eastern and western Christendom, abbots, saints, princesses, Crusadersùwho form links in a historical chain extending down the century and all the way from Iceland to the Holy Land. Western Europe was struggling to unite then, expanding rapidly and changing utterly. Warfare, peacekeeping, multinational monasticism, institutional power struggles, mass pilgrim travel, and rising religious fundamentalism were a few salient characteristics of this worldùa world more like our own than we might imagine.
The twenty-first-century people Clark encountered as she traveled through Iceland, central and Western Europe, the Balkans, Turkey, and the Middle East cast fresh light on both worlds. In the ancient capital of Poland, a young Catholic priest scorns the idea of Europe uniting in the name of human rights instead of Christ. At the Crusader stronghold of Krak les Chevaliers, a Syrian playboy highlights the deep and widening gulf between the West and Islam. A richly evocative and beautifully written work, The Far-Farers is neither conventional history nor travel, but a powerful and authoritative demonstration of our enduring connection with the distant past.
- GenresNonfictionTravelHistory
460 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 10, 2026
I did enjoy it and learnt a lot about the crusades which I didn't know much about. It's not what I expected the book to be about though and I think it tried to cover too much in one book.
July 23, 2024
While the book was interesting for the most part, I can't help but feel disappointed somewhat because I thought this book would solely be focused on the Crusades. Rather, we get an unnecessary insight into Victoria's journey from Iceland to Israel, visiting notable Crusader sites along the way. I did enjoy her accounts of Crusader history, but her travels in the numerous countries just didn't do it for me. I wanted more accounts on the Crusades and less on her personal travels. Decent book, not as good as I had hoped for though.
May 12, 2022
Focused in a different direction than I thought. Not my cup of tea. I'm too old to finish a book just out of habit......
August 20, 2009
I am afraid I must dam this book with faint praise. All I can say about it is that it was a nice book. It did not offend nor did it stimulte any great interest in me
March 5, 2011
Done simiarly to John Man and his books. Victoria Clark wrote a interesting account, mixing history with her own present day travel.
October 10, 2018
A book I got from the library that recounts the author's attempt to retrace the steps of an Icelander named Thorald who made a journey to Constantinople in the 11th century. Along the way she describes the modern places along the route and her experiences in those places.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews