The Crusades: A History

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Yale University Press, Jan 1, 2005 - History - 353 pages
"Pulls off the enviable feat of summing up seven centuries of religious warfare in a crisp 309 pages of text."--Dennis Drabelle, Washington Post Book World

In this authoritative work, Jonathan Riley-Smith provides the definitive account of the Crusades: an account of the theology of violence behind the Crusades, the major Crusades, the experience of crusading, and the crusaders themselves. With a wealth of fascinating detail, Riley-Smith brings to life these stirring expeditions to the Holy Land and the politics and personalities behind them. This new edition includes revisions throughout as well as a new Preface and Afterword in which Jonathan Riley-Smith surveys recent developments in the field and examines responses to the Crusades in different periods, from the Romantics to the Islamic world today.

From reviews of the first edition:

"Everything is here: the crusades to the Holy Land, and against the Albigensians, the Moors, the pagans in Eastern Europe, the Turks, and the enemies of the popes. Riley-Smith writes a beautiful, lucid prose, . . . [and his book] is packed with facts and action."--Choice

"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

 

Contents

The Preaching of the First Crusade
1
2 The Course of the First Crusade
26
3 The Holy Places and the Patriarchates of Jerusalem and Antioch
50
4 Settlement Government and Defence of the Latin East 10971187
82
5 Crusading in Adolescence 11021187
112
6 Crusading Comes of Age 11871229
137
7 Crusading in Maturity 1229c 1291
183
8 The Latin East 1192c 1291
215
9 The Variety of Crusading c 12911523
245
10 The Old Age and Death of the Crusading Movement 15231798
282
Afterword
299
Bibliography
310
Index
330
Copyright

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About the author (2005)

Jonathan Riley-Smith (1938-2016) was Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Cambridge, and the author or editor of many books on the Crusades and the Middle Ages.

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