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Helen Nicholson
Book Code: GR2685
ISBN: 0-313-32685-1
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-32685-1
248 pages, maps; photos
Greenwood Press
Publication: 9/30/2004
List Price: $49.95 (UK Sterling Price: £27.95)
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Also Available: Ebook
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and graduate students.
    —Choice     March 2005
  • [W]ill prove an outstanding survey....A timeline and maps provide excellent overviews and make it easy for all to understand.
    —MBR Internet Bookwatch     February 2005
  • [N]icholson discusses the many different types of crusades, including not only the expeditions to the Holy Land, but also those against heretics and pagans in Europe; the "reconquest" of Spain from the Muslims; and crusades against the Turks in the Balkans. She also discusses the different schools of thought among historians as to how to define crusades and why medieval Christians went on them....[w]ould be most suitable for students doing advanced-placement history classes. The appended biographies and glossary are well done, but even more useful are the relevant primary documents conveniently included.
    —School Library Journal     January 2005
Description: The Crusades of the Middle Ages were fought by "Latin" Christians against peoples who they believed were threatening the existence of their Christian faith. Some of these campaigns were against Muslims, some were against other Christians, and some were against pagans. The Crusades were distinctive because they were an invention of Latin Christians, they had their own symbols and traditions, and they were not one war but many, fought over several centuries. Thematic chapters provide an overview of the Crusades--why scholars believe they were fought, why they appealed to a very broad cross-section of Europe's population, and what motivated crusaders to dedicate years of their lives to the martial cause of Christendom. Among other interesting facts, readers will learn that to the Muslim states, the Christian Crusades were more of a distraction, as the Mongols from the East and schisms within occupied the bulk of their efforts, and that when it was convenient and advantageous--which was often--Christians and Muslims would ally with one another, or serve as mercenaries in each other's armies. Covering the classic crusades to the Holy Lands and the taking and defending of Jerusalem, Nicholson also gives equal treatment to the just as important Requonquista of the Iberian peninsula, the subjugation and conversion of pagans in North-Western Europe, the Crusades against the Ottoman Turks in the Balkans, and the internal Crusades against the heretical Albigensians and Hussites. An annotated timeline provides readers with an easy-to-follow overview of the several centuries' worth of Crusading, and a half-dozen maps provide rapid and easy-to-read geographical and political information on the most important campaigns. Seventeen biographical sketches of key Christian, Muslim, Balkan, Spanish, and pagan figures and a dozen annotated primary documents breathe fresh life into the topic, providing students and readers with a new look at the period. A glossary is provided, as is an annotated bibliography and index.
Table of Contents:
  • List of Figures
  • Preface
  • Acknowledgments
  • Chronology: 1095-1800
  • Introduction
  • Crusading Expeditions to the Holy Land, 1095-1291
  • Expeditions in the Iberian Peninsula
  • The "Crusade" in the North-Eastern Europe
  • Crusades Against Heretics: The Albigensian Crusades and the Hussite Crusades
  • Crusades Against the Ottoman Turks in the Balkans
  • Conclusion: The Impact of Crusading on the History of Europe and Its Neighbors
  • Biographies
  • Primary Documents
  • Glossary
  • Annotated Bibliography
  • Index
LC Card Number: 2004043642
LCC Class: D157
Dewey Class: 909
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