The Crusades

"A concise, clearly written synthesis . . . by one of the leading historians of the crusading movement. "—Robert S. Gottfried, Historian

"A lively and flowing narrative [with] an enormous cast of characters that is not a mere catalog but a history. . . . A remarkable achievement."—Thomas E. Morrissey, Church History

"Superb."—Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, Speculum

"A first-rate one-volume survey of the Crusading movement from 1074 . . . to 1798."—Southwest Catholic

With flair and originality, Christopher Tyerman presents a clear and lively discussion of the Crusades, bringing together issues of colonialism, cultural exchange, economic exploitation, and the relationship between past and present. He considers the effects of the Crusades on ordinary life in Western Europe, and the parts played by ordinary men and women in the conflict, and explores the term "Crusade" for contemporary political ends. Whether the Crusades are regarded as the most romantic of Christian expeditions, or the last of the barbarian invasions, they have fascinated generations ever since, and their legacy of ideas and imagery has resonated through the centuries, inspiring Hollywood movies and great works of literature.

St. Francis of Assisi is know to many as a lover of animals and a caretaker of creation, but unfortunately little else. One of the most overlooked moments in Francis' life however, was his encounter with an Islamic Sultan during the fifth Crusade. In 1219, Francis and his brothers crossed into Egypt in order to gain an audience with the Sultan Malik Al-Kamil. Impressed by his bravery, Al-Kamil allowed Francis to preach the message of Christ to his Muslim subjects.

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.

In The First Crusade, Thomas Asbridge offers a gripping account of a titanic three-year adventure filled with miraculous victories, greedy princes, and barbarity on a vast scale. Beginning with the electrifying speech delivered by Pope Urban II on the last Tuesday of November in the year 1095, readers will follow the more than 100,000 men who mobilized in Europe (where great waves of anti-Semitism resulted in the deaths of thousands of Jews), to their arrival in Constanstinople, an exotic, opulent city--ten times the size of any city in Europe--that bedazzled the Europeans.

In God's Battalions, Rodney Stark argues that the medieval Crusades were not waged in order to gain land, steal money, or to win converts as popularly believed today. Instead, Stark suggests that the Crusades were foremost a military response to unwarranted aggression by expanding Turkish invaders. By looking at the history of the seven major Crusades from 1095 to 1291, Stark argues that the crusaders launched their campaign because of extensive Islamic provocation after centuries of repeated attempts to colonize the West.

"There is a gaping chasm between myth and reality. Leading churchmen, scholars in other fields, and the general public hold to a caricature of the Crusades created by a pox of modern ideologies. If that chasm is ever to be bridged, it will be with well-written and powerful books such as this,"---First Things. 136 pages, softcover. Columbia University.

A brilliantly cohesive look at the Medieval World, readers will re-discover history from a linear, detailed, global scope. Moving from kingdom to kingdom, each chapter includes a timeline and the beginning of each chapter is labeled with the years it covers. Integrating dates and names with the information that breathes life into facts, the narrative flows easily between marriages made, treaties forged, wars waged, and the trials and tribulations that came with defending land and honor in the Medieval Age. 746 pages, indexed, hardcover with dust jacket.

The gripping story of the First Crusade, as witnessed firsthand

The fall of Jerusalem in 1099 to an army of exhausted and starving western European soldiers was one of the most extraordinary events in history—with a legacy that remains controversial more than nine centuries later. This remarkable collection contains firsthand accounts from the knights, religious leaders, and peasants who experienced the First Crusade in all its cruelty and strangeness. Edited with an introduction and notes by one of the foremost experts on the Crusades, Chronicles of the First Crusade is a comprehensive look at the climax of Christian fervor and the record of an ultimately futile attempt to implant a European kingdom in an overwhelmingly Muslim world.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

As she examines the many misconceptions about the "Middle Ages", the renown French historian, Regine Pernoud, gives the reader a refreshingly original perspective on many subjects, both historical (from the Inquisition and witchcraft trials to a comparison of Gothic and Renaissance creative inspiration) as well as eminently modern (from law and the place of women in society to the importance of history and tradition). Here are fascinating insights, based on Pernoud's sound knowledge and extensive experience as an archivist at the French National Archives. The book will be provocative for the general readers as well as a helpful resource for teachers.

Scorned for centuries, although lauded by the Romantics, these thousand years of history have most often been concealed behind the dark clouds of ignorance: Why, didn't godiche (clumsy, oafish) come from gothique (Gothic)? Doesn't "fuedal" refer to the most hopeless obscurantism? Isn't "Medieval" applied to dust-covered, outmoded things?

Here the old varnish is stripped away and a thousand years of history finally emerge -- the "Middle Ages" are dead, long live the Middle Ages

The famous novelist de Wohl presents a stimulating historical novel about the great St. Thomas Aquinas, set against the violent background of the Italy of the Crusades. He tells the intriguing story of St. Thomas who defied his illustrious, prominent family's ambition for him to have great power in the Church by taking a vow of poverty and joining the Dominicans.

The expulsion of the Christians from the Holy Land in 1291 was far from being the end of the crusading movement. Crusades continued for three centuries over a vast area stretching form Morocco to Russia, and played an important role in the politics and society of late medieval Europe. Norman Housley's comprehensive survey is the first to focus in depth on the later crusades.

The medieval historian who revealed The Real History Behind the Da Vinci Code uncloaks the Templars.

In the year 1119, these noblemen found their calling as protectors of the faithful on a dangerous pilgrimage to newly conquered Jerusalem. Now, historian Sharan Newman elucidates the mysteries and misconceptions of the Templars, from their true first founding and role in the Crusades to more modern intrigues, including:

- Were they devout knights or secret heretics?
- Did they leave behind a fantastic treasure-hidden to this day?
- How did they come to be associated with the Holy Grail?
- Did they come to America before the time of Columbus?
- Does the order still exist?

"A first-rate, scholarly, up-to-date, and highly readable survey of the entire crusading movement, overall perhaps less entertaining and less inspiring than Runciman, but more balanced and, as a synthesis of two generations of further research, often much better informed,"---New York Review of Books. 1040 pages, softcover. Harvard University.

The second edition of The Crusades, for long standard work on the subject, has been extensively rewritten to take account of the latest research and new interpretations. Crusading was a central theme in the early medieval European history, and the book covers all the expeditoins which took place between the First Crusade in 1096 and the final retreat from Palestine in 1291.

Intriguing and entertaining, The Crusades Through Arab Eyes is a vivid portrait of a society nearly destroyed by internal conflict and shaken by a traumatic encounter with an alien culture. Maalouf offers fascinating insights into the historical forces that even today shape Arab and Islamic consciousness.

In this collection of essays, the story of the Crusades is told as never before in an engrossing and comprehensive history that ranges from the preaching of the First Crusade in 1095 to the legacy of 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 book's coverage ranges from the elaborate social and civic systems that arose to support the Crusades to in-depth and vivid descriptions of the battles themselves. The contributors provide keen and insightful commentary on the reactions of the Muslims to a Christian holy war. Also included are studies of crusades outside the eastern Mediterranean region as well as post-medieval crusades.

By describing the combat and homefront conditions, by evaluating the clash (and coalescence) of many cultures, by tracing a legacy that continues in our conflict-ridden present, and by documenting the enduring artistic and social changes that the Crusades wrought, A History of the Crusades offers an unsurpassed panorama of one of the great movements in western history. All students of medieval culture, religion, politics, and/or history will find in these pages a highly useful, thorough, and contemporary account of that movement.

This stirring novel is set in the climactic months before the opening of the Third Crusade, called the Kings' Crusade. The Brethren is a classic tale of love and chivalry, unfolding amidst the touching story of two English knights who are in love with the same maiden. The devotion of these men is tested when their beloved is carried away against her will to Palestine and eventually to the court of the famous Muslim leader, Saladin.