The Seventh Crusade, 1244–1254: Sources and Documents: 16 (Crusade Texts in Translation) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0754657221 ISBN 13: 9780754657224

Publisher: Routledge, 2007

Synopsis

The Seventh Crusade, led by King Louis IX of France, was the last major expedition for the recovery of the Holy Land actually to reach the Near East. The failure of his invasion of Egypt (1249-50), followed by his four-year stay in Palestine in order to retrieve the disaster, had a profound impact on the Latin West. In addition, Louis's operations in the Nile delta indirectly precipitated the Mamluk coup d'état, which ended the rule of the Ayyubids, Saladin's dynasty, in Egypt and began the transfer of power there to a military elite that would prove to be a far more formidable enemy to the Franks of Syria and Palestine. This volume comprises translations of the principal documents and of extracts from narrative sources - both Muslim and Christian - relating to the crusade, and includes many texts, notably the account of Ibn Wasil, not previously available in English. The themes covered include: the preparations and search for allies; the campaign in the Nile delta; the impact on recruitment of the simultaneous crusade against the emperor Frederick II; the Mamluk coup and its immediate consequences in the Near East; Western reactions to the failure in Egypt; and the popular 'crusade' of the Pastoureaux in France (1251), which aimed originally to help the absent king, but which degenerated into violence against the clergy and the Jews and had to be suppressed by force.

About this title

Review

'A very informative overview of several pages at the beginning of each chapter puts the subsequent sources in their historical context. There are numerous reference and explanatory footnotes and an outstanding up-to-date bibliography for Christian and Muslim sources. An excellent source collection that conveniently assembles English translations of all major original sources for the Seventh Crusade. Highly Recommended.' Choice 'It is a convenient way to survey a vast documentation in all its multifaceted complexity, useful to the expert, the near expert, and the student alike. I personally would recommend a thorough examination of this volume for anyone studying the First or Second Crusades... Taken as a whole this is a splendid addition to the series on Crusader Texts in Translation.' The Medieval Review 'Jackson is a renowned expert on the thirteenth century, in particular on the Mongol invasions. Here he shows himself to be a superb translator and judicious commentator. ... There are many collections of crusade sources in translation. Peter Jackson's is one of the best.' Catholic Historical Review 'Each section of this book comes with a careful introduction, presenting and explaining the events in a very clear, very comprehensive way, which makes this book more than a collection of texts: an excellent history of the Crusades.' Revue d'histoire ecclesiastique '... has an ideal compiler and translator in Peter Jackson, an accomplished historian who is at home in both western and oriental languages... the bulk of the volume, containing the material on the crusade before 1250, is a tour de force. This is a first-class addition to a worthy series.' Journal of Ecclesiastical History 'Professor Jackson is to be congratulated on what will be a required textbook for any student course not just, it is to be hoped, on thirteenth-century crusading, but on government, politics and diplomacy as well.' English Historical Review 'By gathering these sources together in a single volume of English translations, Professor Jackson has performed a great service to students, teachers, and scholars of the crusades... By concentrating on the campaign, Professor Jackson allows himself the space for a superb scholarly apparatus and the inclusion of invaluable Arabic sources... This is an exemplary primary source reader...' Crusades '...(an) admirably thorough and meticulously researched book...a most splendid achievement and the fruit of many hours of difficult textual work. Jackson treats with equal assurance events and themes in both Crusader and Muslim contexts-this is a rare skill.' Journal of Islamic Studies

About the Author

Peter Jackson is Professor of Medieval History at Keele University, UK, and an acknowledged authority on the history of the Mongol Empire, the Eastern Islamic world in the later Middle Ages, and on the Crusades and the Latin East.

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0754657221
• ISBN 13: 9780754657224
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 274
• Editor: Jackson Peter