These essays, selected from papers presented at the International Symposium on Crusade Studies in February 2006, represent a stimulating cross-section of this vibrant field. Organized under the rubric of "medieval worlds" the studies in this volume demonstrate the broad interdisciplinary spectrum of modern crusade studies, extending far beyond the battlefield into the conflict and occasional cooperation between the diverse cultures and faiths of the Mediterranean. Although the crusades were a product of medieval Europe, they provide a backdrop against which medieval worlds can be observed to come into both contact and collision. The range of studies in this volume includes subjects such as Muslim and Christian understandings of their wars within their own intellectual and artistic perspectives, as well as the development of memory and definition of crusading in both the East and West. A section on the Crusades and the Byzantine world examines the intersection of western and eastern Christian attitudes and agendas and how they played out - particularly in the Aegean and Asia Minor. The book concludes with three studies on the crusader king, Louis IX, examining not only his two crusades in new ways, but also the role of the crusade in his later sanctification.

These essays, selected from papers presented at the International Symposium on Crusade Studies in February 2006, represent a stimulating cross-section of this vibrant field. Organized under the rubric of "medieval worlds" the studies in this volume demonstrate the broad interdisciplinary spectrum of modern crusade studies, extending far beyond the battlefield into the conflict and occasional cooperation between the diverse cultures and faiths of the Mediterranean. Although the crusades were a product of medieval Europe, they provide a backdrop against which medieval worlds can be observed to come into both contact and collision. The range of studies in this volume includes subjects such as Muslim and Christian understandings of their wars within their own intellectual and artistic perspectives, as well as the development of memory and definition of crusading in both the East and West. A section on the Crusades and the Byzantine world examines the intersection of western and eastern Christian attitudes and agendas and how they played out - particularly in the Aegean and Asia Minor. The book concludes with three studies on the crusader king, Louis IX, examining not only his two crusades in new ways, but also the role of the crusade in his later sanctification.

A lively reimagining of how the distant medieval world of war functioned, drawing on the objects used and made by crusaders Throughout the Middle Ages crusading was justified by religious ideology, but the resulting military campaigns were fueled by concrete objectives: land, resources, power, reputation. Crusaders amassed possessions of all sorts, from castles to reliquaries. Campaigns required material funds and equipment, while conquests produced bureaucracies, taxation, economic exploitation, and commercial regulation. Wealth sustained the Crusades while material objects, from weaponry and military technology to carpentry and shipping, conditioned them. This lavishly illustrated volume considers the material trappings of crusading wars and the objects that memorialized them, in architecture, sculpture, jewelry, painting, and manuscripts. Christopher Tyerman’s incorporation of the physical and visual remains of crusading enriches our understanding of how the crusaders themselves articulated their mission, how they viewed their place in the world, and how they related to the cultures they derived from and preyed upon.

Engaging the Crusades is a series of volumes which offer windows into a newly-emerging field of historical study: the memory and legacy of the crusades. Together these volumes examine the reasons behind the enduring resonance of the crusades and present the memory of crusading in the modern period as a productive, exciting and much needed area of investigation. The Crusades in the Modern World evaluates a broad range of contemporary uses of the crusades and crusading to answer key questions about crusading today and how the crusades are understood. Each chapter demonstrates how perceptions of the crusades are deployed in causes and conflicts which mark the present, exploring the ways in which those perceptions are constructed and received. Throughout the book there is a focus on the use of crusading rhetoric and imagery to frame and justify violence, including crusading discourses employed by both Islamic fundamentalists and far-right terrorists, and the related deployment of ‘Reconquista’ rhetoric by populist movements in Europe. The use of the crusades for building national identity is also a recurring theme, while chapters on academic engagement with the crusades and on the ways in which Wikipedia articles on the crusades are created and contested highlight the ongoing production of knowledge about crusading. The Crusades in the Modern World is ideal for scholars of the crusades as well as for military historians and historians of memory.

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.

'Wonderfully written and characteristically brilliant' Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads 'Elegant, readable ... an impressive synthesis ... Not many historians could have done it' - Jonathan Sumption, Spectator 'Tyerman's book is fascinating not just for what it has to tell us about the Crusades, but for the mirror it holds up to today's religious extremism' - Tom Holland, Spectator Thousands left their homelands in the Middle Ages to fight wars abroad. But how did the Crusades actually happen? From recruitment propaganda to raising money, ships to siege engines, medicine to the power of prayer, this vivid, surprising history shows holy war - and medieval society - in a new light.

For half a millennium, throughout almost the entire medieval period, the Catholic church sanctioned military campaigns against what it perceived as its enemies. The rise of Islam and its spread across large parts of the Middle East, Asia, North Africa, and even the peripheries of Europe, saw Muslim warriors seize the Holy Land, occupy Jerusalem, and threaten Constantinople. In response, Pope Urban II advocated a crusade to retake the Holy Land - the first of nine military campaigns that stretched over the succeeding 200 years. Other, lesser-known crusades were subsequently mounted with the aim of Christianizing the more remote regions of northern and north-eastern Europe, as well as against the Cathars in southern France. The advance of the Ottomans into the Balkans saw further crusades to halt the Muslims in Bosnia and Serbia, and the re-conquest of Spain from the Muslim Moors. Such diverse theaters of conflict have resulted in an equally diverse number of relics still to be found in a score of countries. From magnificent castles, swords, artillery and coats of arms, to Crusader-struck coins and even the brass pen box used by Muslim writers to spread the word of Islam, this remarkable collection of artifacts and structures tells the story, much of it largely forgotten, of the conflicts which shaped the nature of the Western World known today, both in spiritual and geographical terms. Beautifully illustrated and written by acknowledged period expert James Waterson, The Crusades in 100 Objects opens a window into the past as never seen before.