The Oxford History Of The Crusades - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0192803123 ISBN 13: 9780192803122

Publisher: Oxford University Press, U.S.A., 2003

Synopsis

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.

About this title

Review

Review from previous edition makes the results of the recent academic study of the Crusades accessible to a wide section of the general public and succeeds in conveying that this is a living and developing subject, which has far from exhausted its potential (THES)

The great merit of Professor Riley-Smith's book is to follow the story down to the present day (Church Times)

Detailed exploration of the plots, intrigue and subterfuge surrounding the events and leading protagonists make for fascinating reading (Universe)

fascinating ... a comprehensive history of the wars (History Today)

In a series of finely-crafted and admirably succinct essays the contributors unravel a number of important medieval political and religious themes. This comprehensive approach adds a great deal to the book's interest and presents some of the best insights of modern Crusading scholarship ... excellent (Tablet)

Synopsis

Written by a team of leading scholars, this fascinating book presents an authoritative and comprehensive history of the Crusades, from the preaching of the First Crusade in 1095 to the legacy of crusading ideas and imagery today. Reflecting the recent developments in crusade historiography, it covers crusading in many different theatres of war. The concepts of apologists, propagandists, song-writers, and poets, and the perceptions and motives of the crusaders themselves are described, as are the emotional and intellectual reactions of the Muslims to Christian holy war. The institutional developments - legal, financial, and structural - which were necessary to the movement's survival - are analysed. Several chapters are devoted to the western settlements established in the eastern Mediterranean region in the wake of the crusades, to the remarkable art and architecture associated with them, and to the military orders. The subject of the later crusades, including the history of the military orders from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, is given the attention it deserves.And the first steps are taken on to a field that is as yet hardly explored - the survival of the ideas and images of crusading into the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press, U.S.A.
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0192803123
• ISBN 13: 9780192803122
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 488
• Editor: Riley-Smith Jonathan