Riley-Smith's acclaimed book is now regarded as a classic short study. The updated fourth edition of this essential introduction features a new Preface which surveys and reviews developments in crusading scholarship, a new map, material on a child crusader, and a short discussion of the current effects of aggressive Pan-Islamism.
'None of the growing number of rather good general books on the Crusades performs the same service in anything like the same measure as Riley-Smith's; no bibliography for an undergraduate course can afford to dispense with this book.' - Professor Peter Jackson, Keele University, UK
'An indispensable short introduction to a vast subject.' - Professor Thomas Madden, St Louis University, USA
'A fourth edition, 32 years after the first, is a tribute to the merits of this concise and perceptive book. It is also timely because Islamic fundamentalism has given a contemporary significance to the Crusades and has made its study essential, not only to students of medieval history, but to those wishing to understand the tensions of the modern world...A subject that was, 30 years ago, important to medievalist historians and interesting but arcane to others in our secular society has acquired a new relevance.' Times Higher Education
Preface
Preface to Second Edition
Preface to Third Edition
Preface to Fourth Edition
Map: The Theatres of War
What Were the Crusades?
A Just Cause
Legitimate Authority
Who Were the Crusaders?
When were the Crusades?
Chronology, 1095-1798
Select Bibliography of Secondary Works
Index
JONATHAN RILEY-SMITH is Dixie Professor Emeritus of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Cambridge, UK, and a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, UK.
Description
Riley-Smith's acclaimed book is now regarded as a classic short study. The updated fourth edition of this essential introduction features a new Preface which surveys and reviews developments in crusading scholarship, a new map, material on a child crusader, and a short discussion of the current effects of aggressive Pan-Islamism.
Reviews
'None of the growing number of rather good general books on the Crusades performs the same service in anything like the same measure as Riley-Smith's; no bibliography for an undergraduate course can afford to dispense with this book.' - Professor Peter Jackson, Keele University, UK
'An indispensable short introduction to a vast subject.' - Professor Thomas Madden, St Louis University, USA
'A fourth edition, 32 years after the first, is a tribute to the merits of this concise and perceptive book. It is also timely because Islamic fundamentalism has given a contemporary significance to the Crusades and has made its study essential, not only to students of medieval history, but to those wishing to understand the tensions of the modern world...A subject that was, 30 years ago, important to medievalist historians and interesting but arcane to others in our secular society has acquired a new relevance.' Times Higher Education
Contents
Preface
Preface to Second Edition
Preface to Third Edition
Preface to Fourth Edition
Map: The Theatres of War
What Were the Crusades?
A Just Cause
Legitimate Authority
Who Were the Crusaders?
When were the Crusades?
Chronology, 1095-1798
Select Bibliography of Secondary Works
Index
Authors
JONATHAN RILEY-SMITH is Dixie Professor Emeritus of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Cambridge, UK, and a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, UK.
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