The Crusades - Hardcover

Jones, Terry; Ereira, Alan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0563370076 ISBN 13: 9780563370079

Publisher: BBC Books, 1994

Synopsis

900 years ago, Christian Europe was seized by a fever that changed the world forever. Inspired by a Pope who offered rewards on earth and a certain place in Paradise thereafter, tens of thousands of men, women and children - knights and peasants, rich and poor, old and young - set out for the Holy Land to recapture the Holy City Jerusalem and save their fellow Christians from persecution by the Infidel. "Crusades", and the television series which this book accompanies, tells the dramatic story of these events, and the reality behind the myths: of Popes motivated by greed as well as faith; of power-hungry nobles and pilgrims on Crusade who murdered, robbed and raped not only Moslems but Jews and fellow Christians as well; of the great kings of the West, such as Richard the Lionheart of England, Philip of France and Frederick Barbarossa of Germany, leaders of the Third Crusade, who became the very stuff of legends; and of the Arab heroes, Zengi, Nur ed-Din and of course Saladin, who faced the Christian, onslaught often with much greater tolerance than their enemies, until finally the Crusaders were driven out of the Holy Land. The authors show how the Europeans used the morality of the Crusades to justify the conquest and destruction of any society which stood in their way, sowing the seeds of fear, suspicion - and even hatred - in the Arab world. A legacy which remains to this day.

About this title

About the Author:

TERRY JONES is most famous as a member of Monty Python. He has directed several feature films including Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Life of Brian, and The Meaning of Life. He is the author of several children's books and of two books on medieval England: Chaucer's Knight and the highly acclaimed Who Murdered Chaucer? He has been praised as "a natural story-teller, inventive and mesmerising".

ALAN ALEIRA was co-producer on the BBC's Crusades series. He has worked as a BBC radio and television producer, specialising in history since 1962. His credits include Battle of the Somme (Japan Prize 1978) and Armada (Royal Television Society Best Documentary Series, 1988). He is the author of The People's England, The Invergordon Mutiny and The Heart of the World.

About this edition

• Publisher: BBC Books
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0563370076
• ISBN 13: 9780563370079
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256