Thomas F. Madden


Thomas Francis Madden is an American historian, a former chair of the history department at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri, and director of Saint Louis University's Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies.
A specialist on the Crusades, he has often commented in the popular media after the events of September 11, to discuss topics such as how Muslims have viewed the medieval Crusades and their parallels to today's interventions in the Middle East. In 2007, he was awarded the Haskins Medal from the Medieval Academy of America for his book Enrico Dandolo and the Rise of Venice, also a "Book of the Month" selection by the BBC History magazine. In 2012, he was named a Fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. In 2018, he was named a National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar.
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Biography

Madden received his bachelor's degree from the University of New Mexico in 1986, and his Masters and PhD degrees in history from the University of Illinois.
Madden is active in the Society for the Study of the Crusades in the Latin East, and organizes panels for the Annual Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Studies in Saint Louis, Missouri. He is the Director of the Crusades Studies Forum and the Medieval Italy Prosopographical Database Project, both housed at Saint Louis University.

Writing

Madden has books and articles including the "Crusades" entry for the Encyclopædia Britannica. His research specialties are ancient and medieval history, including the Fourth Crusade, as well as ancient and medieval Italian history. His 1997 revision of The Fourth Crusade: The Conquest of Constantinople was a selection of the History Book Club. He is also known for speaking about the ways that the history of the Crusades is often used for manipulation of modern political agendas. His book, The New Concise History of the Crusades has been translated into seven foreign languages.
His book Enrico Dandolo and the Rise of Venice won multiple awards, including the 2007 Haskins Medal from the Medieval Academy of America and the Otto Gründler Prize from the Medieval Institute. According to the Medieval Review, with this book "Madden more than ever stakes out his place as one of the most important medievalists in America at present."
His 2008 book, Empires of Trust, was a comparative study that sought elements in historic republics that led to the development of empires. In the cases of Rome and the United States, he argued that their citizens and leaders acquired a level of trust among allies and potential enemies that was based upon an unusual rejection of hegemonic power. His most recent book, Venice: A New History is the culmination of decades of work in the archives and libraries of Venice.

Books

Istanbul: City of Majesty at the Crossroads of the World, 2016 Viking ; Venice: A New History, 2012, Viking

Select popular articles

  • , New York Times, May 31, 2022.
  • , First Things, July 17, 2020.
  • , First Things, July 7, 2020.
  • , New York Times, November 22, 2017.
  • , Washington Post, December 4, 2015.
  • , Wall Street Journal, February 14, 2013.
  • , ARMA, March 19, 2011
  • , The Wall Street Journal, July 4, 2008.
  • , NRO, March 21, 2008.
  • , NRO, September 18, 2006.
  • , First Things, June/July 2005.
  • , NRO, May 27, 2005.
  • , NRO, June 18, 2004.
  • , The Catholic Dossier, January/February 2002.

Select scholarly articles

  • "The Venetian Version of the Fourth Crusade: Memory and the Conquest of Constantinople in Medieval Venice," Speculum 87 : 311–44.
  • "The Latin Empire of Constantinople's Fractured Foundation: The Rift Between Boniface of Montferrat and Baldwin of Flanders," in The Fourth Crusade: Event, Aftermath, and Perceptions : 45–52.
  • "Food and the Fourth Crusade: A New Approach to the 'Diversion Question,'" in Logistics of Warfare in the Age of the Crusades, John H. Pryor, ed. : 209–28.
  • "Venice, the Papacy, and the Crusades before 1204," in The Medieval Crusade, Susan J. Ridyard, ed. : 85–95.
  • "The Enduring Myths of the Fourth Crusade," World History Bulletin 20 : 11–14.
  • "The Chrysobull of Alexius I Comnenus to the Venetians: The Date and the Debate," Journal of Medieval History 28 : 23–41.
  • "Venice's Hostage Crisis: Diplomatic Efforts to Secure Peace with Byzantium between 1171 and 1184," in Ellen E. Kittell and Thomas F. Madden, eds., Medieval and Renaissance Venice : 96–108.
  • "Outside and Inside the Fourth Crusade," The International History Review 17 : 726–43.
  • "Venice and Constantinople in 1171 and 1172: Enrico Dandolo's Attitude towards Byzantium," Mediterranean Historical Review 8 : 166–85.
  • "Vows and Contracts in the Fourth Crusade: The Treaty of Zara and the Attack on Constantinople in 1204," The International History Review 15 : 441–68.
  • "Father of the Bride: Fathers, Daughters, and Dowries in Late Medieval and Early Renaissance Venice," Renaissance Quarterly 46 : 685–711.
  • "The Fires of the Fourth Crusade in Constantinople, 1203-1204: A Damage Assessment," Byzantinische Zeitschrift 84/85 : 72–93.
  • "The Serpent Column of Delphi in Constantinople: Placement, Purposes, and Mutilations," Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies 16 : 111–45.

Recorded lectures

History Channel documentaries

Decoding the Past, "Spear of Christ"Decoding the Past, "Secrets of the Koran"The Big Build, "The Castle Tower"

Awards