God's Battalions


Book Description

In God's Battalions, award-winning author Rodney Stark takes on the long-held view that the Crusades were the first round of European colonialism, conducted for land, loot, and converts by barbarian Christians who victimized the cultivated Muslims. To the contrary, Stark argues that the Crusades were the first military response to unwarranted Muslim terrorist aggression. Stark reviews the history of the seven major Crusades from 1095 to 1291, demonstrating that the Crusades were precipitated by Islamic provocations, centuries of bloody attempts to colonize the West, and sudden attacks on Christian pilgrims and holy places. Although the Crusades were initiated by a plea from the pope, Stark argues that this had nothing to do with any elaborate design of the Christian world to convert all Muslims to Christianity by force of arms. Given current tensions in the Middle East and terrorist attacks around the world, Stark's views are a thought-provoking contribution to our understanding and are sure to spark debate.




Preaching the Crusades


Book Description

A study of the Dominicans' and Franciscans' propagandist role in the thirteenth-century crusades.




Crusade Propaganda and Ideology


Book Description

This book, first published in 2000, presents an edition of seventeen ad status model sermons for the preaching of the crusades from the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. The majority of these texts had never been printed before publication of this book. They are unique sources for the content of crusade propaganda in the later Middle Ages, giving a rare insight into the way in which propaganda shaped the public's view of crusading during that period. Accompanying the Latin texts is an English translation which is aimed at making these sources accessible to a wider circle of students and scholars. The first part of the book consists of a study of these model sermons which focuses on their place in the pastoral reform movement of the thirteenth century, their specific character as models for the use of crusade propagandists, their internal structure, and the image of the crusade conveyed in the texts.




Preaching the Crusades to the Eastern Mediterranean


Book Description

Preaching was an integral part of the crusade movement. This book focuses on the efforts of the first four Avignon popes to organize crusade preaching campaigns to the Eastern Mediterranean and on the role of the secular and regular clergy in their implementation. Historians have treated the fall of Acre in 1291 as an arbitrary boundary in crusader studies for far too long. The period 1305–1352 was particularly significant for crusade preaching, yet it has not been studied in detail. This volume thus constitutes an important addition to the flourishing field of late medieval crusade historiography. The core of the book deals with two interlocking themes: the liturgy for the Holy Land and the popular response to crusade preaching between the papacies of Clement V and Clement VI. The book analyses the evolving use of the liturgy for the crusade in combination with preaching and it illustrates the catalytic role of these measures in driving popular pro-crusade sentiments. A key theme in the account is the analysis of the surviving crusade sermons of the Parisian theologians from the era. Critical editions of these previously neglected propagandistic texts are a valuable addition to our corpus of papal correspondence relating to the crusades in the later Middle Ages. This book will be of interest both to specialized historians and to students of late medieval crusading.




The Crusades


Book Description

In 1095 Pope Urban II launched the First Crusade to recover Jerusalem from the Seljuq Turks. Tens of thousands of people joined his cause, making it the single largest event of the Middle Ages. The conflict would rage for over 200 years, transforming Christian and Islamic relations forever. Andrew Jotischky takes readers through the key events, focussing on the experience of crusading, from both sides. Featuring textboxes with fascinating details on the key sites, figures and battles, this essential primer asks all the crucial questions: What were the motivations of the crusaders? What was it like to be a crusader or to live in a crusading society? And how do these events, nearly a thousand years ago, still shape the politics of today?




Christian Crusade


Book Description




Western Warfare In The Age Of The Crusades, 1000-1300


Book Description

In 1095 the First Crusade was launched, establishing a great military endeavour which was a central preoccupation of Europeans until the end of the thirteenth century. In Western warfare in the age of the Crusades, 1000-1300 John France offers a wide-ranging and challenging survey of war and warfare and its place in the development of European Society, culture and economy in the period of the Crusades. Placing the crusades in a wider context, this book brings together the wealth of recent scholarly research on such issues as knighthood, siege warfare, chivalry and fortifications into an accessible form. Western warfare in the age of the Crusades, 1000-1300 examines the nature of war in the period 1000-1300 and argues that it was primarily shaped by the people who conducted war - the landowners. John France illuminates the role of property concerns in producing the characteristic instruments of war: the castle and the knight. This authoritative study details the way in which war was fought and the reasons for it as well as reflecting on the society which produced the crusades.




War and Violence in the Western Sources for the First Crusade


Book Description

Medieval Westerners accepted killing for religion and praised the outcome of the First Crusade (1096-1099). At the same time, their attitude to violence was ambivalent. Theologians shunned the practical use of force, while the warrior aristocracy valued the capacity for physical destruction. In the absence of theological doctrine on the practicalities of holy warfare, the first crusaders draw their ideas about killing from diverse and sometimes conflicting traditions. This book answers questions about how religious violence was described, justified and remembered in the sources of the First Crusade. What was the relation between faith, convention, and action?




The World of the Crusades [2 volumes]


Book Description

Unlike traditional references that recount political and military history, this encyclopedia includes entries on a wide range of aspects related to daily life during the medieval crusades. The medieval crusades were fundamental in shaping world history and provide background for the conflict that exists between the West and the Muslim world today. This two-volume set presents fundamental information about the medieval crusades as a movement and its ideological impact on both the crusaders and the peoples of the East. It takes a broad look at numerous topics related to crusading, with the goal of helping readers to better understand what inspired the crusaders, the hardships associated with crusading, and how crusading has influenced the development of cultures both in the East and the West. The first of the two thematically arranged volumes considers topics such as the arts, economics and work, food and drink, family and gender, and fashion and appearance. The second volume considers topics such as housing and community, politics and warfare, recreation and social customs, religion and beliefs, and science and technology. Within each topical section are alphabetically arranged reference entries, complete with cross-references and suggestions for further reading. Selections from primary source documents, each accompanied by an introductory headnote, give readers first-hand accounts of the crusades.