The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades

by Riley-Smith, Jonathan

• ISBN13: 9780198204350
• ISBN10: 0198204353
• Edition: Illus.
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1995-10-19
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Nine hundred years ago, at a church council in Clermont, Pope Urban II delivered an impassioned sermon, calling upon Frankish knights to vow to march to the East to free Christians from the yoke of Islamic rule and to liberate the tomb of Christ, the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, from Muslim control. Thus began the Crusades: the bloody and grueling battles pitched between European knights and the Islamic defenders over the course of two hundred years, movements that created the legends of King Arthur and the Holy Grail, military orders such as the Knights Templar, and an unusually rich tradition of art and architecture. In The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades , the story of the Crusades is told as never before in an engrossing, authoritative, and comprehensive history that ranges from the preaching of the First Crusade in 1095 to the legacy of the 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--crusaders were required to "take the cross" (which involved making a vow, often at an emotional public gatherings under the influence of preachers whose business it was to whip their audiences up into a frenzy) and were foresworn to wear a cross on their clothing until they returned from their mission in the East. The authors describe the elaborate social and civic systems that arose to support the Crusades--taxation, for example, was formalized by the Church and monarchs to raise enormous funds needed to wage war on this scale; nearly 1,000,000 livres tournois were raised from the French church (out of estimated total expenses of some 3,000,000 livres ) for Louis IX's first crusade in 1248. And here are vivid descriptions of the battles themselves, frightening, disorienting, and dangerous affairs, with keen and insightful commentary on the reactions of the Muslims to a Christian holy war. Extensively illustrated with hundreds of illustrations, maps, chronologies, and a guide to further reading, The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades even includes coverage of crusades outside the eastern Mediterranean region and post-medieval crusades. From descriptions of the battles and homefront conditions, to a throrough evaluation of the clash (and coalescence) of cultures, to the legacy of the crusading movement that continues into our conflict-torn twentieth-century, to the enduring artistic and social changes that the Crusades wrought, The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades offers an unsurpassed panorama of one of the great movements in western history. This beautiful work will engage and inform anyone with an interest in the Crusades.

Author Biography

About the Editor:
Jonathan Riley-Smith is Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Cambridge and is one of the world's leading authorities on the Crusades. He is the author or editor of a number of books including The Atlas of the Crusades and The Crusades: A Short History

Table of Contents

List of Colour Plates	ix
List of Maps	xi
The Crusading Movement and Historians	1	(12)
Jonathan Riley-Smith
Origins	13	(21)
Marcus Bull
The Crusading Movement, 1096--1274	34	(32)
Simon Lloyd
The State of Mind of Crusaders to the East, 1095--1300	66	(25)
Jonathan Riley-Smith
Songs	91	(21)
Michael Routledge
The Latin East, 1098--1291	112	(29)
Jonathan Phillips
Art in the Latin East, 1098--1291	141	(19)
Jaroslav Folda
Architecture in the Latin East, 1098--1571	160	(24)
Denys Pringle
The Military Orders, 1120--1312	184	(33)
Alan Forey
Islam and the Crusades, 1096--1699	217	(43)
Robert Irwin
The Crusading Movement, 1274--1700	260	(34)
Norman Housley
The Latin East, 1291--1669	294	(32)
Peter Edbury
The Military Orders, 1312--1798	326	(39)
Anthony Luttrell
Images of the Crusades in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries	365	(21)
Elizabeth Siberry
Revival and Survival	386	(6)
Jonathan Riley-Smith
Chronology	392	(9)
Further Reading	401	(17)
Illustration Sources	418	(2)
Index	420