Louis Mendola

Lou Mendola's first academic article, dealing with the Battle of Benevento (1266), was published in 1985. He was one of the first scholars to present balanced histories of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which was annexed to Italy in 1861, and has authored a book on that subject. His Sicilian Genealogy and Heraldry, a guide for researchers, established a new Dewey subject category in the British Library and in the New York Public Library. He co-authored The Peoples of Sicily: A Multicultural Legacy, the first general ethnography of medieval Sicily. His highly-detailed Kingdom of Sicily 1130-1860 is a definitive work, the first history of that monarchy spanning its entire existence. His landmark translation of the chronicle known as Lu Rebellamentu di Sichilia contra Re Carlu, written in Middle Sicilian around 1288, is a useful resource for students of history and literature as a key reference in the study of the War of the Vespers and the first narrative prose in an Italian language. He wrote the first English translation of the Jamsilla Chronicle, an account recorded in 1262 about events in southern Italy from 1250 to 1258. Mendola's books are used in several university courses, and one is a guide for professors planning courses about Sicily. He is one of Sicily's most widely-published medievalists, and one of the few whose work enjoys an international readership. A popular speaker, he has lectured groups ranging from students (New York University) to business leaders (YPO).