Review
“Madden's new book seeks to bridge the gap between popular caricatures of the crusades and the more balanced picture of the movement that historians have been producing for more than a generation. The dozen specimens of lively recent scholarship on the crusades that Madden has assembled here are shrewdly calculated to provoke students into rethinking what they thought they knew about the crusading movement.” James A. Brundage, University of Kansas
Product Description
The twelve readings in this volume represent some of the best recent scholarship on the Crusades.
From the Back Cover
The twelve complete articles in this volume represent some of the best recent scholarship on the crusades. The collection introduces students to fundamental concepts of crusading, including the nature of the movement, the motivation of the participants, and the impact on the East. The focus is not on individual crusades but on the political, economic, spiritual, and demographic factors behind these medieval holy wars and on their consequences.
A strong editorial structure guides students through the competing perspectives that have dominated scholarly discussion. An opening introduction summarizes relevant historical events and provides an overview of the historiography. Each article is then contextualized by the editor with a discussion of its significance to scholarship.
About the Author
Thomas F. Madden is Associate Professor of History and Chair at Saint Louis University. He has published numerous studies on the crusades including The Fourth Crusade: The Conquest of Constantinople (1997) and A Concise History of the Crusades (1999).
