The History Book Club discussion

The Northern Crusades

by Eric Christiansen (no photo)

Synopsis:

The 'Northern Crusades', inspired by the Pope's call for a Holy War, are less celebrated than those in the Middle East, but they were also more successful: vast new territories became and remain Christian, such as Finland, Estonia and Prussia. Newly revised in the light of the recent developments in Baltic and Northern medieval research, this authoritative overview provides a balanced and compelling account of a tumultuous era.

Dungeon, Fire and Sword: The Knights Templar in the Crusades

by John J. Robinson (no photo)

Synopsis:

Over the last 1000 years the bloodiest game of king-of-the-hill has been for supremacy on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This book recounts the stirring saga of the Knights Templar, the Christian warrior-monks who occupied the sacred Mount in the aftermath of the butchery of the First Crusade. Recruited to a life intended to lead only to martyrdom, they were totally dedicated to the pious paradox that the wholesale slaughter of non-believers would earn the eternal gratitude of the Prince of Peace. The Templars amassed great wealth, which they used to finance their 200 years of war against Moslems on the desert battlefields. The Templar's reward for those two centuries of military martyrdom was to be arrested by Pope and King, tortured and finally decreed out of existence. But their legend and legacy just would not die.

Islam's War Against the Crusaders

by W.B. Bartlett (no photo)

Synopsis:

The Crusades continue to exert a fascination as a story of perceived gallantry and battles against impossible odds. Yet what is less often considered is their effect on the Holy Land, and in particular the response of the Muslim world to the invasions of west European Crusaders. By a previously divided Islamic world, they gave an unstoppable impetus towards the declaring of jihad against the West, a holy war against Christendom. They also helped to shape the careers of some important figures, most notably Saladin but also other great men like Sultan Baibars and Nur al-Din. The rise of these great leaders is traced in this book, as are the many great battles that were fought by men just as devoted to their cause as the Crusaders were.

Armies of Heaven: The First Crusade and the Quest for Apocalypse

by Jay Rubenstein (no photo)

Synopsis:
At Moson, the river Danube ran red with blood. At Antioch, the Crusaders— their saddles freshly decorated with sawed-off heads—indiscriminately clogged the streets with the bodies of eastern Christians and Turks. At Ma’arra, they cooked children on spits and ate them. By the time the Crusaders reached Jerusalem, their quest—and their violence— had become distinctly otherworldly: blood literally ran shin-deep through the streets as the Crusaders overran the sacred city. Beginning in 1095 and culminating four bloody years later, the First Crusade represented a new kind of warfare: holy, unrestrained, and apocalyptic. In Armies of Heaven medieval historian Jay Rubenstein tells the story of this cataclysmic event through the eyes of those who witnessed it, emphasizing the fundamental role that apocalyptic thought played in motivating the Crusaders. A thrilling work of military and religious history, Armies of Heaven will revolutionize our understanding of the Crusades.

Victory in the East: A Military History of the First Crusade

by John France (no photo)

Synopsis:

This book looks at the First Crusade as a military campaign and asks why it was successful. Modern writing about the crusade has tended to emphasize motivation and the development of the idea of the crusade, but its fate was ultimately decided on the field of battle. This book looks at the nature of war at the end of the eleventh century and the military experience of all the contending parties in order to explain its extraordinary success. It is the first such examination, taking into account all other factors but emphasizing the military.

Byzantium and the Crusades

by Jonathan Harris

Synopsis:

The first great city to which the Crusaders came in 1096 was not Jerusalem but Constantinople. Almost as much as Jerusalem itself, Constantinople was the key to the foundation, survival and ultimate eclipse of the crusading kingdom. The Byzantines had developed an ideology over seven hundred years which placed Constantinople, rather than Rome or Jerusalem, at the centre of the world. The attitudes of its rulers reflected this priority, and led to tension with the crusaders over military and diplomatic strategy. At the same time, the riches and sophistication of the great city made a lasting impression on the crusaders. In the end, the lure of the city's wealth was fatal to the claims of Christian unity. In April 1204, the Fourth Crusade under the Venetian doge Enricho Dandolo captured and sacked Constantinople, signalling the effective end of almost a thousand years of Byzantine dominance in the east.

Downfall of the Crusader Kingdom: The Battle of Hattin and the Loss of Jerusalem

by W.B. Bartlett (no photo)

Synopsis:

The Third Crusade of Richard the Lionheart is well known but the build-up to it less so. Downfall of the Crusader Kingdom is a story of intrigue, plot and counter-plot, and the abuse of power culminating in one of the fiercest battles of the medieval epoch, the Battle of Hattin in 1187.

Hattin is one of the few battles in history that can truly be called decisive, and it was a catastrophe for the Crusaders. The leading men of the kingdom of Jerusalem, including the Knights Templar and the Hospitallers, were trapped in an arid wasteland, without water and surrounded by hostile forces. The battle ended with thousands of them being taken prisoner. It was the culmination of a series of events that had been progressively leading the kingdom of Jerusalem down the road to oblivion. It was partly the resurgence of the Muslim Middle East and the rise of Saladin that led to the loss of Jerusalem, but there was another equally dangerous element at work - the enemy within.

W.B. Bartlett brings to life the bitter infighting and political battles which ultimately led to the disaster at Hattin and the downfall of the Crusader kingdom.

Warriors of God: Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in the Third Crusade

by James Reston Jr.

Synopsis:

Warriors of God is the rich and engaging account of the Third Crusade (1187-1192), a conflict that would shape world history for centuries and which can still be felt in the Middle East and throughout the world today. Acclaimed writer James Reston, Jr., offers a gripping narrative of the epic battle that left Jerusalem in Muslim hands until the twentieth century, bringing an objective perspective to the gallantry, greed, and religious fervor that fueled the bloody clash between Christians and Muslims.

As he recounts this rousing story, Reston brings to life the two legendary figures who led their armies against each other. He offers compelling portraits of Saladin, the wise and highly cultured leader who created a united empire, and Richard the Lionheart, the romantic personification of chivalry who emerges here in his full complexity and contradictions. From its riveting scenes of blood-soaked battles to its pageant of fascinating, larger-than-life characters, Warriors of God is essential history, history that helps us understand today's world.

An Ungodly War: The Sack of Constantinople & the Fourth Crusade

by W.B. Bartlett (no photo)

Synopsis:

The Fourth Crusade was perhaps the darkest hour of the Catholic Church and of religion in the West. In 1204 thousands of men, dispatched by Pope Innocent IV to recover the Holy Places in Palestine, were diverted by the Venetians to the territory of the Christian Byzantine empire. The army sacked Constantinople, then the greatest city of Christendom. Thousands of people lost their lives, buildings were destroyed and treasures looted. The Byzantine government was ousted and a short-lived 'Latin empire' established. W. B. Bartlett's book tells the whole story of the crusade of 1204. It recounts the apocalyptic events of that year and attempts to explain how and why they happened, and to examine the context in which they occurred. How could an expedition designed with the protection of the 'true faith' and the protection of the souls of those who took part have been so easily diverted to destroy the world's greatest Christian city and so many of its inhabitants? This is the story of how an army that went forth in the name of God lost sight of its fundamental motivations - an object lesson in how a misguided idealism can lead to disaster.

An Ungodly War chronicles the nadir of the Crusading movement in detail. It will be a must-have book for anyone shocked by the depths to which the Crusades - one of history's most controversial enterprises - could sink.

The Road to Armageddon: The Last Years of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem

by W.B. Bartlett (no photo)

Synopsis:

The Third Crusade of Richard the Lionheart is well known but the build-up to it less so. Yet the years that led up to the Battle of Hattin in 1187 is resonant with intrigue, plot and counter-plot, and the abuse of power. This is the story of those events, involving the greatest of the military orders, the Templars and their key ally, the ruthless Reynald of Chatillon, and how they seized a throne, sought to rule a kingdom and eventually, as a result, lost it. In the 1180s the Christian kingdom of Jerusalem was ruled by a weak king, Guy of Lusignan. A puppet, placed on the throne by power-hungry 'hawks' Reynald of Chatillon and Templar Grand Master, Gerard de Ridfort, he was the worst possible ruler at this crucial time. Arrayed against the hawks was a group of 'doves', those who wished to have some form of accommodation with the Muslims. This infighting among the Christian forces, coupled with the rise of a Muslim leader of genius, Salah ed-Din Yusuf, Saladin, led almost inevitably to the fateful field of Hattin. Wayne Bartlett reveals the causes and the aftermath of one of the few battles that can truly be called decisive.

The Crusades from the Perspective of Byzantium and the Muslim World

by Angeliki E. Laiou (no photo)

Synopsis:

The essays in this volume demonstrate that on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean there were rich, variegated, and important phenomena associated with the Crusades, and that a full understanding of the significance of the movement and its impact on both the East and West must take these phenomena into account.

The web site noted below is a wonderful resource for all who are interested in the Crusades. Well worth visiting.

http://www.the-orb.net/encyclop/relig...

Thank you Jose and Jill

Battles of the Crusades 1097-1444: From Dorylaeum to Varna

by Kelly DeVries (no photo)

Synopsis:

When Pope Urban II called upon European Christianity to seize Jerusalem and stem Islamic expansion into Europe, he set off a series of events that would last many hundreds of years and have far-reaching political and economic consequences.

Battles of the Crusades introduces 20 key battles from this period of religiously-inspired conflict in Europe and the Middle East. Beginning with the battle of Dorylaeum (1097), where Anglo-French heavy cavalry decisively defeated a much larger Turkish army, and finishing with the battle of Varna (1444), where Sultan Murad II's Ottoman army destroyed a combined Hungarian and Polish force, examples from every era and campaign are featured.

The First Crusade is represented by battles at Antioch (1098), Jerusalem (1099), and Harran (1104), while battles between the Crusader states and their Muslim neighbours include Sarmada (1119), Montgisard (1177), and Saladin's destruction of the Crusader army at Hattin (1187).

Colorful accounts of lesser known Crusades, such as the Christian recapture of Lisbon (1147), the massacre of the Albigensian heretics at Beziers (1209), and the destruction of Louis IX's expensively assembled crusader army at Mansura (1250), are also included. Battles from the Reconquista of Spain (Las Navas, 1212) and the expansion of the Teutonic Knights (Lake Peipus, 1242, and Grunwald, 1410) make this a rounded account of 400 years of religious conflict.

Each battle includes a contextual introduction, a concise description of the action, and an analysis of the aftermath. A specially commissioned, color map illustrating the dispositions and movement of forces brings the subject to life and helps the reader to grasp at a glance; the development of the battle. With more than 200 color and black-and-white maps, artworks, and photographs illustrating the battles, leading players, and tactics of the era, Battles of the Crusades provides a useful and accessible introduction to some important battles of the Crusading era. Designed for both the general reader and enthusiast, the book is an essential companion for anyone interested in medieval military history.

The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades

by Jonathan Riley-Smith

Synopsis:

In The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades, the story of the Crusades is told as never before in an engrossing, authoritative, and comprehensive history that ranges from the preaching of the First Crusade in 1095 to the legacy of the crusading ideals and imagery that continues today. Here are the ideas of apologists, propagandists, and poets about the Crusades, as well as the perceptions and motives of the crusaders themselves and the means by which they joined the movement.
The authors describe the elaborate social and civic systems that arose to support the Crusades--taxation, for example, was formalized by the Church and monarchs to raise enormous funds needed to wage war on this scale. And here are vivid descriptions of the battles themselves, frightening, disorienting, and dangerous affairs, with keen and insightful commentary on the reactions of the Muslims to a Christian holy war. Extensively illustrated with hundreds of photographs, paintings, drawings, maps, chronologies, and a guide to further reading, The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades even includes coverage of crusades outside the eastern Mediterranean region and post-medieval crusades.
From descriptions of the battles and homefront conditions, to a thorough evaluation of the clash (and coalescence) of cultures, to the legacy of the crusading movement that continues into our conflict-torn twentieth-century, to the enduring artistic and social changes that the Crusades wrought, The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades offers an informative, engaging, and unsurpassed panorama of one of the great movements in western history.

José Luís Pinto wrote: "Battles of the Crusades 1097-1444: From Dorylaeum to Varna

by Kelly DeVries (no photo)

Synopsis:

It is odd how history repeats itself....for example the 1444 Battle of Varna in the Crusades. Varna appears again as thhe British and French campaigning against Russia in the Crimean War (1854–1856) used Varna as headquarters and principal naval base; many soldiers died of cholera and the city was devastated by a fire. A British and a French monument mark the cemeteries where cholera victims were interred.

Jill wrote: "José Luís Pinto wrote: "Battles of the Crusades 1097-1444: From Dorylaeum to Varna

by Kelly DeVries (n..."

Normally I would agree with you regarding the way how History repeats itself, but not in this case. The Battle of Varna in 1444 was the last great medieval crusade and a military disaster for the Poles, Lithuanians and Hungarians, while in the Crimean War Great Britain and France intervened (and ended up winning the war) to contain Russia's expansionsism and save the European balance of power, which was feared it could be destroyed if the Ottomans were vanquished and Russia took control of Constantinople and the Straits of Bosphorus and the Dardanelles.

José Luís Pinto wrote: "Jill wrote: "José Luís Pinto wrote: "Battles of the Crusades 1097-1444: From Dorylaeum to Varna

by [author:Kelly DeVr..."

What I meant was that Varna was the center of two wars so many centuries apart.....not who won or lost but that famous battles involved a city that many people have never heard of.

The Leper King and His Heirs: Baldwin IV and the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem

by Bernard Hamilton (no photo)

Synopsis:

The reign of King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem (1174-85) has traditionally been seen as a period of decline when, because of the king's illness, power came to be held by those who made the wrong policy decisions. Notably, they ignored the advice of Raymond of Tripoli and attacked Saladin. This book challenges that view, arguing that peace with Saladin was not a viable option; and that the young king, despite suffering from lepromatous leprosy, presided over a society that was (contrary to what is often said) vigorous and self-confident.

The Second Crusade 1148: Disaster outside Damascus

by David Nicolle (no photo)

Synopsis

After the fall of the crusader kingdom of Edessa, the Pope called for a new crusade in 1145. This new campaign by the Christian west against the forces of eastern Islam would culminate in the 1148 siege of Damascus, then the capital city of an Islamic state that had been friendly towards the crusaders. Despite the earlier successes for the crusaders at Antioch and Jerusalem, and the weak fortifications around Damascus, the siege proved a dismal and embarrassing failure for the western armies. The siege was abandoned soon after it had started and the crusaders retreated. This defeat shocked the Christian world and dealt a severe blow to the confidence of the crusading armies, while bolstering the morale of their enemies.

Utilizing numerous illustrations and full-color artwork, medieval warfare expert David Nicolle analyzes the often-debated battles around Damascus, explaining how the domination of the surrounding countryside by the Islamic forces became the decisive factor, and how the besieging crusading forces found themselves under siege. He also looks at the crusade in the larger context of the battle between East and West and explains how the Second Crusade proved a turning point in this ongoing struggle.

From Jerusalem to Malta: the Hospital’s Character and Evolution

By Anthony Luttrell



The origins of the Order of St. John remain somewhat obscure, and the homelands of the founder Girardus, perhaps an Italian, and of the first Master Fr. Raymond de Podio, possibly French or Provençal, are unknown. The emergence of the Hospital was an aspect of the profound religious revival in the West which generated a reformed papacy, monastic renewal based on Cluny, lay movements for the support of charity and hospitals, and the first crusade. Probably in about 1070 various merchants from Amalfi, and perhaps from elsewhere in Southern Italy, founded a hospice for Latin pilgrims in Jerusalem which was attached to the Benedictine house of Sancta Maria Latina; subsequently a second house was established for women. These hospices were for pilgrims and especially for the poor rather than for the medically sick. Their staff may have been lay brethren under some vow of obedience. The hospices seem not to have had their own incomes or endowments, their resources coming from the Amalfitans and the Benedictines and perhaps also from pilgrims and other visitors.

The crusaders’ conquest of 1099 brought fundamental change to Jerusalem which became a Christian city. The number of Latin pilgrims and poor increased, the Holy Sepulchre was occupied by Latin canons and the Greek Patriarch was replaced by a Latin one. The Benedictines of Sancta Maria Latina lost their predominance in Jerusalem. The Latin hospice survived under its competent leader Girardus; it was detached from Sancta Maria Latina and was somehow associated with the Holy Sepulchre nearby. It expanded greatly and reincorporated the female hospice, while support and donations were received in Syria and in the West, especially from those who had themselves benefitted from the Jerusalem hospital. For several years that organization was not entirely independent but formed part of a broad Holy Sepulchre movement which had inspired the crusade itself. This movement had several branches: an ecclesiastical group formed by the Canons of the Holy Sepulchre, a charitable element in the adjacent hospital, and a military wing consisting in the 1110s of knights owing obedience to the Prior of the Holy Sepulchre. These knights apparently lived in the Hospital quarters until 1120 when they moved to the Temple area and established themselves there as a military order, the Templars.

Source: From Jerusalem to Malta: the Hospital’s Character and Evolution

Modern perceptions of the Crusades...

Obama and the Crusaders: Medieval News Roundup

From Medieval News



It's not often that the President of the United States talks about the Middle Ages, but earlier this month President Barack Obama wade into a debate the crusades. During a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, he spoke about religious violence, including the atrocities committed by the Islamic State in the name of religion. During his remarks, the President added, "Humanity has been grappling with these questions throughout human history. And lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ. In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ."

Source: Medieval News

Louis IX And The Challenge Of The Crusade: A Study In Rulership

Louis IX And The Challenge Of The Crusade: A Study In Rulership (no image) by William Chester Jordan (no photo)

Synopsis:

Noting towards the start that it's been very difficult to write a good biography of Louix IX - there's so much to cover that it's hard to write a traditional, accessible biography - William Chester Jordan tries to harness the best of both worlds by viewing the king's reign through the lens of crusading. Most of the king's actions, whether making peace with Henry III of England or revamping the crown's system of provincial administration, were undertaken to provide the kingdom with enough stability and revenue to allow Louis to head east for a crusade. This allows for an engaging biography of a classical medieval figure, with particular attention paid to the activity that the king himself seems to have cared about the most.

Thank you Katie.

Crusade and Christendom: Annotated Documents in Translation from Innocent III to the Fall of Acre, 1187-1291

by Jessalynn Lea Bird (no photo)

Synopsis:

Intended for the undergraduate yet also invaluable for teachers and scholars, this book illustrates how the crusade became crucial for defining and promoting the very concept and boundaries of Latin Christendom. It provides translations of and commentaries on key original sources and an up-to-date bibliography.

Acre 1291: Bloody sunset of the Crusader states

by David Nicolle (no photo)

Synopsis:

Osprey's study of the battle at Acre, one of the last campaigns of the Crusages (1095-1291). In April 1291, a Mamluk army laid siege to Acre, the last great Crusader fortress in the Holy Land. For six weeks, the siege dragged on until the Mamluks took the outer wall, which had been breached in several places. The Military Orders drove back the Mamluks temporarily, but three days later the inner wall was breached. King Henry escaped, but the bulk of the defenders and most of the citizens perished in the fighting or were sold into slavery. The surviving knights fell back to their fortress, resisting for ten days, until the Mamluks broke through. This book depicts the dramatic collapse of this great fortress, whose demise marked the end of the Crusades in the Holy Land.

I am new to the group and was looking to reading a couple of books about The Knights Templar. Any recommendations?

Good question, Scotty! The Templars are tough - they're so interesting, but there's lots of sensationalist stuff out there about them. Were you looking for any type of book in particular?

If you want an accessible book about the eventual downfall of the Templars, Malcolm Barber's The Trial of the Templars would probably be good. Jonathan Riley-Smith is an excellent historian of the crusades, so his Templars and Hospitallers as professed religious in the Holy Land is likely very good, but perhaps a bit academic. If you're in the mood for a collection of essays, Knighthoods of Christ : essays on the history of the Crusades and the Knights Templar, presented to Malcolm Barber or The Crusades and the military orders : expanding the frontiers of medieval Latin Christianity may be interesting to you. I haven't read these, though, and I'm far from an expert in the field, so someone may have a better answer for you. Hope this helps, though!

by Malcolm Barber (no photo)

by Jonathan Riley-Smith

edited by Norman Housley (no photo)

edited by Zsolt Hunyadi (no photo)

Very good introductory reading list. Academically sound!

Thank you Katie. I am looking for a good overall history based on sound research. I like to stay away form the myth and hype created by recent movies and novels.

No problem, Scotty. If you decide to read any of them, come back and tell us what you thought of it!

The Crusades

by David Nicolle (no photo)

Synopsis:

Born of a mixture of religious fervour, military ardour and political will, the Crusades (1095 - 1291) remain a fascinating and misunderstood aspect of medieval history. Born amid immense suffering and bloodshed the Kingdom of Jerusalem remained a battlefield for almost 200 years. The Crusades raised to campaign for it gave rise to the Military Orders of the Templars and Hopitallers as well as numerous smaller orders, and were a backdrop to the careers of some of history's most famous leaders including Richard 'The Lionheart' and Saladin. David Nicolle recounts the background and events of these fundamental campaigns that scarred the Late Medieval period.

Byzantium and the Crusader States 1096-1204

by Ralph-Johannes Lilie (no photo)

Synopsis:

This is the first scholarly history of the relations between Byzantium and the Crusader States of Syria and Palestine. Ralph-Johannes Lilie sets out to explore the policies and principles which shaped contacts between the Eastern Empire, the Crusader States, and the nations of Western Europe when the Crusaders came. Originally published to much acclaim in German, Byzantium and the Crusader States has been revised by the author for the English edition and presented in a lucid and scholarly translation.

Thank you Jose for your adds this month on this thread and the other Medieval threads.

Sacred plunder: Venice and the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade

by David M. Perry (no photo)

Synopsis:

In Sacred Plunder, David Perry argues that plundered relics, and narratives about them, played a central role in shaping the memorial legacy of the Fourth Crusade and the development of Venice’s civic identity in the thirteenth century. After the Fourth Crusade ended in 1204, the disputes over the memory and meaning of the conquest began. Many crusaders faced accusations of impiety, sacrilege, violence, and theft. In their own defense, they produced hagiographical narratives about the movement of relics—a medieval genre called translatio—that restated their own versions of events and shaped the memory of the crusade. The recipients of relics commissioned these unique texts in order to exempt both the objects and the people involved with their theft from broader scrutiny or criticism. Perry further demonstrates how these narratives became a focal point for cultural transformation and an argument for the creation of the new Venetian empire as the city moved from an era of mercantile expansion to one of imperial conquest in the thirteenth century.

Jerusalem in the Time of the Crusades: Society, Landscape and Art in the Holy City Under Frankish Rule

by Adrian J. Boas (no photo)

Synopsis:

On 15 July, 1099, the Crusaders conquered Jerusalem, beginning an innovative and prosperous Frankish rule over the city, which lasted over 100 years and ended with the Khwarizmian conquest in 1244. This time of Crusader rule can be considered one of the most important in the history of Jerusalem. Through systematic renovation and repopulation, the Crusaders transformed a provincial town into the capital city of an eponymous kingdom: the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Saladin: The Politics of the Holy War

by Malcolm C. Lyons (no photo)

Synopsis:

Saladin was one of the best-known figures of the Middle Ages. The West accepted him as a hero; Islam was indebted to him for the recovery of Jerusalem. Much of his life, however, was spent in fighting his fellow Muslims, and what unity he managed to impose on his dominions was shattered at his death. The history of his career is complicated by the fact that as well as being a military leader he was a diplomat, politician, and administrator, but the details of his manipulation of power in these several spheres shed important light on the structure of Islam, its unifying and divisive elements, and the society in which these operated. Lyons and Jackson make use of hitherto neglected Arabic sources, including unpublished manuscript material - notably the correspondence, both private and official, of Saladin's own court. Such letters contain fresh information on the battles and diplomatic campaigns that accompanied Saladin's efforts to be accepted by his contemporaries as their leader in the Holy War.

An upcoming book
Publication date: 5th September 2015

Seven Myths of the Crusades

by Alfred J. Andrea (no photo)

Synopsis:

Seven Myths of the Crusades is the first volume in a new series of books devoted to dispelling common historical myths. This volume features seven commissioned essays and an editorial introduction that reflect the most up-to-date scholarly consensus regarding some of the most popular misconceptions about the medieval crusades.

Thank you Jose

The Military Orders from the Twelfth to the Early Fourteenth Centuries

by Alan Forey (no photo)

Synopsis:

It is over eighty years since the last important comprehensive work on the military orders, including the Templars, was published. Yet the present volume seeks to do more than just summarise recent research on individual sources; based on a wide range of primary sources, it also sets out to answer questions about the military orders which have not been posed before. The reasons for the emergence and establishment of military orders on the various borders of Western Christendom and within the West are discussed, as are the military functions and roles which they assumed. The orders made a major contribution to the defence and expansion of Western Christendom, and this required considerable funds and reserves of manpower. This book describes the ways in which these were obtained, and gives an account of extensive governmental machinery developed to enable the orders to carry out their tasks effectively. Although their members combined a military with a monastic way of life, the military orders are shown to have differed from other religious foundations not only in their daily routine but also in their administrative structure and in their predominantly lay membership. Written by a leading authority in this area, The Military Orders is the first generic approach to this subject. Dr. Forey has written a book that will become indispensable reading for the student and general reader alike.

The Crusades and the Christian World of the East: Rough Tolerance

by Christopher MacEvitt (no photo)

Synopsis:

In the wake of Jerusalem's fall in 1099, the crusading armies of western Christians known as the Franks found themselves governing not only Muslims and Jews but also local Christians, whose culture and traditions were a world apart from their own. The crusader-occupied swaths of Syria and Palestine were home to many separate Christian communities: Greek and Syrian Orthodox, Armenians, and other sects with sharp doctrinal differences. How did these disparate groups live together under Frankish rule?In "The Crusades and the Christian World of the East," Christopher MacEvitt marshals an impressive array of literary, legal, artistic, and archeological evidence to demonstrate how crusader ideology and religious difference gave rise to a mode of coexistence he calls "rough tolerance." The twelfth-century Frankish rulers of the Levant and their Christian subjects were separated by language, religious practices, and beliefs. Yet western Christians showed little interest in such differences. Franks intermarried with local Christians and shared shrines and churches, but they did not hesitate to use military force against Christian communities. Rough tolerance was unlike other medieval modes of dealing with religious difference, and MacEvitt illuminates the factors that led to this striking divergence."It is commonplace to discuss the diversity of the Middle East in terms of Muslims, Jews, and Christians," MacEvitt writes, "yet even this simplifies its religious complexity." While most crusade history has focused on Christian-Muslim encounters, MacEvitt offers an often surprising account by examining the intersection of the Middle Eastern and Frankish Christian worlds during the century of the First Crusade.

The Gibraltar Crusade: Castile and the Battle for the Strait

by Joseph F. O'Callaghan (no photo)

Synopsis:

The epic battle for control of the Strait of Gibraltar waged by Castile, Morocco, and Granada in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries is a major, but often overlooked, chapter in the history of the Christian reconquest of Spain. After the Castilian conquest of Seville in 1248 and the submission of the Muslim kingdom of Granada as a vassal state, the Moors no longer loomed as a threat and the reconquest seemed to be over. Still, in the following century, the Castilian kings, prompted by ideology and strategy, attempted to dominate the Strait. As self-proclaimed heirs of the Visigoths, they aspired not only to reconstitute the Visigothic kingdom by expelling the Muslims from Spain but also to conquer Morocco as part of the Visigothic legacy. As successive bands of Muslims over the centuries had crossed the Strait from Morocco into Spain, the kings of Castile recognized the strategic importance of securing Algeciras, Gibraltar, and Tarifa, the ports long used by the invaders.

At a time when European enthusiasm for the crusade to the Holy Land was on the wane, the Christian struggle for the Strait received the character of a crusade as papal bulls conferred the crusading indulgence as well as ancillary benefits. The Gibraltar Crusade had mixed results. Although the Castilians seized Gibraltar in 1309 and Algeciras in 1344, the Moors eventually repossessed them. Only Tarifa, captured in 1292, remained in Castilian hands. Nevertheless, the power of the Marinid dynasty of Morocco was broken at the battle of Salado in 1340, and for the remainder of the Middle Ages Spain was relieved of the threat of Moroccan invasion. While the reconquest remained dormant during the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, Ferdinand and Isabella conquered Granada, the last Muslim outpost in Spain, in 1492. In subsequent years Castile fulfilled its earlier aspirations by establishing a foothold in Morocco.

The Latin "Renovatio" of Byzantium: The Empire of Constantinople

by Filip Van Tricht (no photo)

Synopsis:

In 1204 the army of the Fourth Crusade sacked the great city of Constantinople. In earlier historiography the view prevailed that these Western barons and knights temporarily destroyed the Byzantine state and replaced it with a series of feudal states of their own making. Through a comprehensive rereading of better and lesser-known sources this book offers an alternative perspective arguing that the Latin rulers did not abolish, but very consciously wanted to continue the Eastern Empire. In this, the new imperial dynasty coming from Flanders-Hainaut played a pivotal role. Despite religious and other differences many Byzantines sided with the new regime and administrative practices at the different governmental levels were to a larger or lesser degree maintained.

The Assassin Legends: Myths of the Isma'ilis

by Farhad Daftary

Synopsis:

For hundreds of years Westerners have been fascinated by stories of the Assassins, their mysterious leader and their remote mountain stronghold at Alamut in Northern Iran. The legends first emerged in the 12th and 13th centuries, when Crusaders in Syria came into contact with the Nazari Isma'ilis, one of the communities of Shi'ite Islam who, at the behest of their leader Hassan Sabaa (mythologized as the "Old Man of the Mountain"), engaged in dangerous missions to kill their enemies. Elaborated over the years, the tales culminated in Marco Polo's claim that the "Old Man" controlled the behaviour of his self-sacrificing devotees through the use of hashish and a secret garden of paradise. So influential were these tales that the word "assassin" entered European languages as a common noun meaning "murderer".

Daftary traces the origins and early development of the legends - as well as investigating the historical context in which they were fabricated and transmitted. As such, this book reveals an extraordinary programme of propaganda rooted in the medieval Muslim world and medieval Europe's ignorance of this world. This book also provides the first English translation of French orientalist Silvestre de Sacy's famous 19th-century "Memoire" on the Assassins.

Narrating the Crusades: Loss and Recovery in Medieval and Early Modern English Literature

by Lee Manion (no photo)

Synopsis:

In Narrating the Crusades, Lee Manion examines crusading's narrative-generating power as it is reflected in English literature from c.1300 to 1604. By synthesizing key features of crusade discourse into one paradigm, this book identifies and analyzes the kinds of stories crusading produced in England, uncovering new evidence for literary and historical research as well as genre studies. Surveying medieval romances including Richard C ur de Lion, Sir Isumbras, Octavian, and The Sowdone of Babylone alongside historical practices, chronicles, and treatises, this study shows how different forms of crusading literature address cultural concerns about collective and private action. These insights extend to early modern writing, including Spenser's Faerie Queene, Marlowe's Tamburlaine, and Shakespeare's Othello, providing a richer understanding of how crusading's narrative shaped the beginning of the modern era. This first full-length examination of English crusading literature will be an essential resource for the study of crusading in literary and historical contexts."

The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading

by Jonathan Riley-Smith

Synopsis:

Focusing on the inner workings of the First Crusade in a way that no other work has done, The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading delves into the Crusade's organization, its finances, and the division of authority and responsibility among its leaders and their relationships with one another and with their subordinates.

In the year 1095, Pope Urban II initiated what is known today as the First Crusade. His summons of the lay knights to the faith between 1095 and 1096 was Urban II's personal response to an appeal that had reached him from eastern Christians, the Pope referred to the struggle ahead as Christ's own war, to be fought in accordance with God's will and intentions. It was, too, called a war of liberation, designed to free the church and city of Jerusalem from oppression and pillage by the Muslims while liberating western Church from the errors into which it had fallen.

In this classic work, presented here with a new introduction, one of the world's most renowned crusade historians approaches this central topic of medieval history with freshness and impeccable research. Through the vivid presentation of a wide range of European chronicles and charter collections, Jonathan Riley-Smith provides a striking illumination of crusader motives and responses and a thoughtful analysis of the mechanisms that made this expedition successful.

The Creation of the Principality of Antioch, 1098-1130

by Thomas Asbridge

Synopsis:

The First Crusade wrought many changes across the medieval world, not least in Levant, where the expedition culminated in the Frankish conquest of much of Syria and Palestine. This book is the first major study of the early history of one of these Latin settlements, the principality of Antioch; it reasserts the significance of Antioch, and challenges the dominant position of the kingdom of Jerusalem in modern crusading historiography. Thomas Asbridge examines the formation of Antioch's political, military and ecclesiastical frameworks and explains how the principality survived in the hostile political environment of the Near East. He also demonstrates that Latin Antioch was shaped by the complex world of the Levant, facing a diverse range of influences and potential threats from the neighbouring forces of Byzantium and Islam. Historians of the Frankish East and of medieval Europe in the eleventh century will find this an important contribution to crusading history; it is also a significant contribution to the study of frontier societies and medieval communities.

Warriors of God: Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in the Third Crusade

by James Reston Jr.

Synopsis:

Warriors of God is the rich and engaging account of the Third Crusade (1187-1192), a conflict that would shape world history for centuries and which can still be felt in the Middle East and throughout the world today. Acclaimed writer James Reston, Jr., offers a gripping narrative of the epic battle that left Jerusalem in Muslim hands until the twentieth century, bringing an objective perspective to the gallantry, greed, and religious fervor that fueled the bloody clash between Christians and Muslims.

As he recounts this rousing story, Reston brings to life the two legendary figures who led their armies against each other. He offers compelling portraits of Saladin, the wise and highly cultured leader who created a united empire, and Richard the Lionheart, the romantic personification of chivalry who emerges here in his full complexity and contradictions. From its riveting scenes of blood-soaked battles to its pageant of fascinating, larger-than-life characters, Warriors of God is essential history, history that helps us understand today's world.

A Concise History of the Crusades

by Thomas F. Madden

Synopsis:

This title places the crusades within the medieval social, economic, religious and intellectual environments that gave birth to the movement and nurtured it for centuries. Also included is a historiographical overview of the crusades.

Gendering the Crusades

Gendering the Crusades by Susan Edgington (no photo)

Synopsis:

Visions of the Crusades call up images of knights, soldiers, and priests. However, evidence suggests that many women played an active role in the actions and culture of the Crusades. Gendering the Crusades stands as the first substantial exploration of this comparatively neglected topic. Offering interdisciplinary readings of new and old sources that examine masculinity, gender roles, and historical narratives, these essays show the key roles played by women in the military, politics, and family life. From the Knights Templars' devotion to female saints to Anna Comnena's account of the first Crusade, all of the topics covered in the book look at the way society structures and imagines itself.