BASIC BOOKS ON THE CRUSADES
This list cites books by modern scholars as well as actual participants of the crusades. While by no means complete, the list can serve those who start a quest for understanding the crusades. Only excellent scholarship appears here.
A note to the reader (paraphrasing the crusade historian William of Tyre): "Accepting that 'mistakes tend to creep into lengthy communications' [Prov 10:19], we invite our reader to correct errors in the spirit of kindness." CC LXIII, p 101.
This includes errors of omission, i.e., if you have reason to suggest additions to this list of books, send me the information and your reasons for inclusion. My E-Mail address (clickable):
mmarkowski@westminstercollege.edu
Book titles are in bold print, rather than underlined or italicized, because bold is easier to skim through on a video display.
Also feel free to visit the SSCLE's page on Crusade Chronology, which contains a survey of significant dates in the crusade movement, or the list of Online Crusade Sources.
PRIMARY SOUCES (CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTS) ON THE CRUSADES:
Arab Historians of the Crusades. Ed. Francesco Gabrieli. Berkeley, 1984. Views from the Arab side of most of the crusades, presented in chronological order.
An Arab-Syrian Gentleman and Warrior, Memoirs of Usamah Ibn-Munqidh. Trans. Philip K. Hitti. Princeton, 1987. Covering the Mid-Twelfth century, Usamah provides an interesting Arabic view of the people, land and events of his day.
The Crusades: A Documentary Survey. Ed. James Brundage. Milwaukee, 1962. Chronological presentation of sources from throughout the period.
The Crusades: Idea and Reality. Ed. Louise and Jonathan Riley-Smith. London, 1981. Thematic presentation of sources from throughout the period.
A History of Deeds done Beyond the Sea by William, Archbisop of Tyre. 2 vols. Trans Emily Babcock and A.C. Krey. N.Y., 1943. Born in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, William's history stands alone for the period he covered (1095 to his death ca. 1185) and for a fairly mature historical perspective.
SECONDARY SOURCES (MODERN HISTORIANS) ON THE CRUSADES:
Atiya, Aziz. Crusade, Commerce and Culture. Puts the crusades into the large context of the East-West Question.
Mayer, Hans E. The Crusades. An important text with much detail and bibliography.
Jean Richard. Histoire des Croisades.An important work in beautiful French prose.
Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The Crusades: A Short History. A new, wider interpretation of what the crusades were.
Runciman, Steven. A History of the Crusades. 3 volumes. N.Y., 1965. Fine stylist and very influential. Contains useful discussions of primary sources.
Setton, Kenneth, Harry W. Hazard and Norman P. Zacour. A History of the Crusades. 6 volumes. Last volume: Madison, 1989. An exhaustive series of essays on each crusade and on many related topics with extensive bibliography.
Note to the Reader: After perusing the above, the following sections suit more specific interests. The same pattern continues in each section: Primary Sources listed first, Secondary Sources follow.
THE FIRST CRUSADE:
Anna Comnena. The Alexiad. Her own point of view of the crusaders she met, and the events that transpired from the Byzantine persepective of the day.
The First Crusade. Ed. Edward Peters. Includes a long excerpt from Fulcher of Chartres and many other short excerpts concerning the First Crusade arranged around themes.
The First Crusade. Ed. August C. Krey. Gloucester, 1958. Many excerpts concerning the First Crusade.
Fulcher of Chartres. A History of the Expedition to Jerusalem 1095-1127. Trans Frances Rita Ryan. Ed. Harold S. Fink. Knoxville, 1969. Fulcher went on the First Crusade, remained in the East and wrote this account which deals not only with the crusaders, but local people, flora and fauna.
Raymond D'Aguilers Historia Francorum. Trans. John H. Hill and Laurita L. Hill. Philadelphia, 1968. A participant of the entire First Crusade who wrote a few years after returning.
Gesta Francorum [or] The Deeds of the Franks. Ed. Rosalind Hill. London, 1962. Participant of the First Crusade from his point of view as a knight.
Chazan, R. European Jewry and the First Crusade. Concerns how the Jews fared as the First Crusade progressed.
Crusade and Settlement. Ed. Peter Edbury, 1985. SSCLE contribution concerning the First Crusade and later events, including a group discussion of the crusades as the first European venture of colonial imperialism.
Erdmann, Carl. The Origins of the Idea of the Crusades. Trans. M.W. Baldwin and W. Goffart. Princeton, 1977. Seminal work on the underlying ideas/context of the First Crusade.
France, John. Victory in the East. Cambridge, 1994. Fine military history of the First Crusade.
Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading. Philadelphia, 1986. Insightful examination of the ideas and sources.
Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The First Crusaders, 1095-1131
THE SECOND CRUSADE:
Odo of Deuil. De profectione Ludovici VII in Oriente. One of the only accounts of a participant.
Otto of Freising. The Deeds of Frederick Barbarossa. Trans. C.C. Mierow. New York, 1966.
Constable, Giles. The Second Crusade a Seen by Contemporaries. In the journal, Traditio, vol IX (1953), 213-279.
The Second Crusade and the Cistercians. Ed. Michael Gervers. N.Y., 1992. Good place to begin for the topic -- covers important themes and provides further bibliography.
THE THIRD CRUSADE:
Ambroise. The Crusade of Richard Lion-Heart. By a companion of Richard, a work with literary aspirations.
Archer, T.A. The Crusade of Richard I: 1189-92. Excerpts from participants concerning Richard's crusading activity.
The Conquest of Jerusalem and the Third Crusade: Sources in Translation. Ed. Peter W. Edury. Aldershot, 1996. Useful contemporary accounts.
Gerald of Wales. Itinerary through Wales. Trans. Lewis Thorpe. N.Y., 1978. Personal account of preaching the crusade and the effects on the populace.
Horns of Hattin. Ed. B.Z. Kedar. Jerusalem, 1992. SSCLE contribution on the events that led up to, and including, Saladin's victory at the Battle of Hattin which caused the Third Crusade.
Phillips, Jonathan. Defenders of the Holy Land. Oxford, 1996. Explores the serious problems which faced the the Latin Kindom of Jerusalem after the First Crusade and before Saladin's victory at Hattin.
THE FOURTH CRUSADE:
Villehardouin. The Conquest of Constantinople. In Chronicles of the Crusades. Trans. M.R.B. Shaw. N.Y., 1963. A main source by a participant.
Queller/Madden. The Fourth Crusade. Philadelphia, 1997. Classic study of this strange crusade.
THE FIFTH CRUSADE:
Christian Society and the Crusades 1198-1229. Ed. Edward Peters. Philadelphia, 1971. Primary Sources concerning the period, with Oliver of Paderborn's account of the Fifth Crusade.
Donovan, Joseph. Pelagius and the Fifth Crusade. Deals with the papal legate who was a leader of the crusade.
Powell, James M. Anatomy of a Crusade 1213-1221. Analyzes many aspects of the Fifth Crusade, includes careful statistical analyses and graphs.
THE SEVENTH CRUSADE:
Joinville. The Life of Saint Louis. In Chronicles of the Crusades. Trans. M.R.B. Shaw. N.Y., 1963. A main source by a participant.
Jordan, William. Louis IX and the Challenge of the Crusade. Fine book on the topic and related aspects.
THE LATIN KINGDOM OF JERUSALEM:
Prawer, Joshua. The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. London, 1972. Examines the aspect of Colonialism in the Middle Ages through the crusades.
Richard, Jean. The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Amsterdam, 1979. Deals with the locals in the East, Europeans who settled there, and the related events.
THE MILITARY ORDERS:
Bernard of Clairvaux. In Praise of the New Knighthood. The Templars' Rule.
Barber, Malcolm. The New Knighthood: A History of the Order of the Temple. Cambridge, 1994. Recent work on a facinating topic.
RELIGIOUS ASPECTS:
Cowdrey, H.E.J. Popes, Monks and Crusaders. London. 1984. Cluniac Reform context of the crusades.
Hamilton, Bernard. Monastic Refrom, Catharism, and the Crusades. Kedar, B.Z. Crusade and Mission: European Approaches toward the Muslims. 1984.
Kedar, B.Z. Crusade and Mission. Princeton, 1984.
BOOKS ON IMPORTANT THEMES:
Brundage, James. The Crusades, Holy War and Canon Law. An in-depth and easily understandable exploration of medieval law in terms of the crusade movement.
-----. Medieval Canon Law and the Crusader. Madison, WI, 1969. Includes a wealth of details and clear explanation.
Burns, Robert. The Crusader Kingdom of Valencia. 2 vols. Cambridge, Ma., 1967. On the Reconquista.
Chazan, Robert. In the Year 1096: The First Crusade and the Jews. Philadelphia, 1996.
Folda, Jaroslav. The Art of the Crusaders in the Holy Land: 1098-1187. Cambridge, 1995. Excellent description, analysis and reproductions.
Housley, Norman. The Later Crusades, 1274-1580. Oxford, 1992. Expands the horizons of the crusade movement beyond the Fall of Acre in 1291.
Kennedy, Hugh. Crusader Castles. Cambridge, 1994.
Powell, James. Muslims under Latin Rule. Princeton, 1991.
Prawer, Joshua. The History of the Jews in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Oxford, 1988.
Siberry, Elizabeth. Criticism of the Crusade 1095-1274. Oxford, 1985. Shows the contemporary support for, and the criticism of, crusades.
Smail, R.C. Crusading Warfare. Cambridge, 1994. Classic work on the subject.
Tyerman, Christopher. England and the Crusades, 1095-1588. On how the crusade movement affected a single country.
Urban, William. The Baltic Crusade. Chicago, 1994, and: The Teutonic Knights: a Military History.
Note to the Reader: If this list (meant to be manageable, not inclusive) is insufficient for your needs, see vol. 6 of Setton's History, or try Hans E. Mayer's Bibliographie; for the most up-to-date scholarship, SSCLE publishes an annual Bulletin which lists most new crusade publications and works-in-progress.
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