Customer Reviews

The Crusades (BBC Books)

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This documentary is so funny, it is almost cruel. After all, the Crusades were very serious affairs (God, country, heathens, invasions, and so on), so what is Terry Jones of "Monty Python" fame doing here, leading the new barbarians of the West in a Quest for the Greater Glory of God and a little bit of plunder? Well, he, and the whole BBC-A&E production team, are taking us to a journey Eastward, retracing the steps of the medieval pilgrim-soldiers, ignorant peasants and nobles alike who invaded Levant because they were religious zealots, greedy, and unscrupulous. Does this sound a bit one-sided? It is, and that is the only problem with this very entertaining and educational documentary: in their attempt to be fair to the Arab/Moslem side, the producers have ended up taking sides, which is not very susprising since the historical bulk comes from the late Sir Steven Runciman, one of the most respected and most widely read historians of the Crusades, whose bias against the "Franks" and for the Byzantines, is evident once one reads his great "History of the Crusades." Jonathan Riley-Smith attempts to balance the story with his commentaries, and it is no secret that his sympathies are with the Crusaders, but the program is structured in such a way that not even Riley-Smith's input saves it from being tilted. Terry Jones is simply outstanding with his British (Welsh) accent and deadpan humor as the perfect guide in this tour.
The Crusades were far more complicated than the simplistic Bad Guys (ignorant Europeans/Christians) against the Good Guys (enlightened Arabs/Moslems) picture would make us believe. Historical perspective helps us see the Crusades as a chapter in the (sometimes quite deadly) embrace of two world religions. Long periods of peace are punctuated by terrible periods of war and invasion. The Moslems got the ball rolling when they invaded the Christian lands of North Africa, Spain, and the Bizantine Empire. It took a while for the Christians to counterattack (just as it took a --shorter-- while for the Moslems to react to the Crusaders). When the Christians finally went on the offensive, their timing was not the best, and their choice of tactics was very questionable. Christendom was extremely intolerant back then, so everybody who was not a Christian, and many who were the "wrong" kind of Christian, were immediately suspect and dealt with mercilessly. What the program fails to mention is that Europe always had voices of dissent, and not all Crusaders were murdering barbarians, as not all Popes were conniving greedy zealots. The program also fails to provide the true historical setting of the Crusades: after the Crusaders were defeated, the Moslem world advanced into Europe from the East and South, and it remained in Western Europe (Iberian Peninsula) until the late 15th century. It was not until the late 17th century that the Ottoman Turks retreated from the siege of Vienna. The Crusades were a chapter in this stormy relationship of European Christianity and Islam. The producers of the documentary would have served their viewers better by being less politically correct. The slef-flagellation is appropiate and even funny in the hands of Terry Jones, but sometimes too much of a good thing is just too much.
Still, "Crusades" is an excellent program, mostly because I am sure it will interest people who otherwise would have never bothered with medieval history or the Crusades in particular. This documentary is the perfect place to start a healthy interest in history. I also recommend (in book format) Steven Runciman's "History of the Crusades" 3 volumes (try to get the Folio Society Edition: the prints are in color and the binding is superb); "The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades," and "The Atlas of the Crusades," both edited by Riley-Smith; "The Cross and the Crescent," by Malcolm Billings; "The Dream and the Tomb," by Robert Payne; "The Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe," edited by George Holmes; and "The Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages," edited by Norman F. Cantor. For an interesting thesis that I find flawed, check Karen Armstrong's "Holy War." For a magnificent history of Islam, nothing better than "Islam: Art and Architecture," edited by Hattstein and Delius. And anything written by Professor Bernard Lewis on Islam, the Arabs, the Turks, the Jews, or the Middle East in general, is uniformly good.

"Crusades" does the basics well, better than most other television programs, while garnishing the outline with little, fascinating details. Still, you'll have to go to the library for a wider perspective. For starters, this series is top heavy; the first two episodes cover the First Crusade, the third races through the Second Crusade to get to Richard and Saladin, and the final episode concerns itself mainly with the Fourth Crusade, leaving the final 100 years of the Kingdom Acre 15-20 minutes of time.

Jones approaches his subject from what might be called a neo-European perspective, looking at the era mostly as two centuries of western interference in the Middle East. That's not necessarily a bad thing: in fact, it's perfect when Jones details Crusader horrors, giving them an immediate, in-our-streets quality. But the approach loses its footing when Jones explains the ambitions, the background and the people of the wars.

This leads to a few minor but irritating lapses. Jones sees the pope's political ambition as the sole spark of the First Crusade; you'd never know Christians and Muslims had fought each other in Spain for nearly 400 years by 1095. A statement by Saladin that his people had always been in possession of Palestine goes unchallenged (it's not like Jews lived there for 5,000 years or anything).

The biggest sins are errors of ommission. There's virtually nothing about the internal government of the Crusader states, the feudalization of Palestine or the fact they actually got along with their Muslim neighbors when their French and German brethren weren't leading cavalry charges across the sands. Worse, the Byzantine Empire is used solely to bookend the first and fourth crusades. The Emperor Manuel breathed new life into the Kingdom Jerusalem with his diplomacy and warfare in the 1160s, and hastened its collapse with his overreach in the 1170s. None of this warrants comment.

That's ultimately the weakness of this series -- the history mostly serves Jones' hypothesis that Christian extremism created Muslim extremism, a reasonable if simplistic conclusion from the era. It's more a failing of the medium, though; 200 minutes isn't nearly enough time for a subject like this. A thorough exploration would require a multi-hour, Ken Burns timeframe. But "Crusades" is visually inventive, and Jones is a cheerful and well-informed host who smartly uses the landscape and architecture of the Middle East to make his points. As a primer, it works.

Terry Jones starts this four-part documentary series by talking about the historical event that first sparked his interest in the Crusades: the 1098 massacre and cannibalization of the inhabitants of the small town of Ma'arrat al-Numan, during the First Crusade. How was it, he asked, that medieval Europeans had come so far, and been brought to such a pass? What, exactly, had gone on there?

It's a good starting point. Anyone who takes it to mean that the whole series is about nothing but the awfulness of the Crusaders is just being stupid.

I can't imagine a better general introduction to the Crusades than this series. Jones discusses the social background, diverse interests, and triggering events that first set the Crusaders' feet on the road to the Holy Land. He doesn't stop there. His handling of his material is simultaneously lighthanded, judicious, and intelligent.

What this series isn't:

1. A comedy routine. Not that it isn't funny whenever there's occasion to be; but that's not the main point of it.

2. A complete history of the Crusades. It couldn't be. Nor is it meant to be. If Terry Jones had tried to squeeze the whole history of the Crusades into four episodes, the series would have been unwatchable, and he still wouldn't have gotten everything in.

3. An "Us versus Them" vindication of Westerners, Christians, and Crusaders, as opposed to all those wicked Middle Easterners, Muslims, and other Sneaky Mediterraneans. Frankly, it's embarrassing how many reviewers here are outraged at what they perceive as Jones's failure to condemn the entire Medieval Islamic world.

Some of the series' strong points:

1. The role of unintended consequences. No one had any idea what they were starting. As Jones repeatedly demonstrates, many crucial actions were undertaken by people who had no clear overall picture of what was going on, and consequently had no way to judge the effects they'd have.

2. The varying motivations of the Crusaders of different social classes at different times.

3. The way the crusading impulse, and responses to it, changed over time.

4. The everyday realities of Crusader life.

That last is one of Terry Jones' continuing interests. You can see it in his other historical documentaries as well. He's always asking what life was like for the ordinary people, and how it was like and unlike our own lives. In this series, it leads him to do things like don chain mail and trek across an Anatolian hillside, test the proposition that anyone who tried to wade ashore at Acre while wearing armor would necessarily drown, and investigate the role of washerwomen.

The three best things about these documentaries:

1. They're always clear and never dull.

2. When you finish watching them, you may not know absolutely everything about the Crusades, but nothing you've learned will be wrong.

3. You're likely to come out of it thinking the Crusades are interesting, and want to learn more about them.

For those who wish to buy this dvd-box ,
don't expect superior picture and sound quality because it looks like they have been copied from the VHS-tapes.
You can clearly see the overal vagueness and in the darker scenes where dvd's usually shine brighter than tapes ,you've got no improvement at all.
Also , u have to turn the sound up quite a bit to understand anything that is said and even then it's not great.
The only plus points to buying the dvd are the navigation menu ,less space than the tapes and no tape wear ,no rewinds.

This book is the companion to the very popular A&E TV special that ran back in 1995.

Terry Jones, to his credit, has several books, including "Chaucer's Knight: The Portrait of a Medieval Mercenary" and some children's books. His television work also includes "The Complete and Utter History of Britain". Alan Ereira is a producer of many historical documentaries for the BBC.

Terry Jones is probably best known for his work with "Monty Python" but this work, while sometimes humorous, is not "Monty Python and the Holy Grail".

Terry Jones presents us with the book companion to an A&E documentary on the Crusades (DVD available) that covered the time period from the First Crusade (1099 CE) to it's final ending at the fall of Acre to the Mameluk's in 1291 CE.

Terry Jones tongue in cheek style of presenting the history dominates both the DVD and the book. No one is left unscathed, Crusaders or Moslems. Terry Jones points out the obvious wanton waste of lives, the continued stupidity of historians to paint a gilded picture of the Crusaders and their cause, and brings to light some very good historical references. He also, unfortunately, got a few "tiny bits" wrong. But for the most part, it is historically accurate.

Terry Jones is an entertainer, and because of this, the DVD tends to be more of a theatrical production than the book. The book, however, is a very valuable reference for those interested in the Crusades. Again, while being entertaining, it takes what has been dealt with in other works as very cut and dry and makes it a very interesting read. The book is chock full of pictures from manuscripts and photos of places that are important to the history. Also included are some maps to help you track the progress.

The book is well written, following a chronological history of the Crusaders through the Holy Land. It is easy to follow, it is interesting in its content, and does not fail to hold the attention of the reader. There are many "gee, I didn't know that" moments. There are also Terry Jones' biting satirical remarks. The approach is from a historical and not a Christian viewpoint, while still maintaining the fervor and the cause for event. The Moslems are treated with respect when they deserve it, and the Christians are called upon to answer for some of their deeds. This is what made the DVD and the book different; we see things from the viewpoint of someone who challenges us not to look at the Crusades as a respected institution.

The book includes the battle, the intrigues, all the court dramas and interesting "side line" notes. It does not wash over the blood and guts of the Crusades. Yet, Terry Jones manages to approach this all with intelligence and common sense.

Depending on your own personal view of the Crusades, this book can be beneficial in opening up a whole new look at the Crusades. I would recommend it for college level students and over who will find it a very interesting read, challenging some of the more accepted renderings of the Crusade story. And if you can find a copy of the DVD to go along with it, give that a watch, as it provides you with Terry himself relating the story which is as entertaining as it is thought provoking. Medievalcrusadesbabe

Don't like history? Then watch this documentary. Terry Jones of 'Monty Python' fame, will bring you into the world changing Crusades with wit, humor, and historical accuracy. The most interesting part of this set is that it covers both sides of the story, not just the European side, but the Muslim veiwpoint, too. Mixing historical reenactment with historical fact and theory, Jones paints a very realistic portrait of the of the Crusades and the mindsets of both religions involved. If you could say that there was a fault in the series the only area that I found faulting was that they focused on more set pieces than the overall picture. But then again if you were out to do a full coveraging documentary of the Crusades the tape series would be a 30 dvd set instead of the two.

Terry Jones is proably best known for his participation in the Monty Python troupe. The present Broadway musical about King Arthur demonstrates the ability of this British comedy to attract audiences. Not so well known is the serious side of this actor. Mr. Jones is an amateur historian about the Middle Ages and especially the Crusades. Although there were a number of "crusades" such as against the Slavs in the Balkans or the Cathars in southern France, most Westners think of the struggle between Christians and Muslims from the end of the 11th century to the end of the 13th century. Jones gives a sweeping view of this struggle--entertaining as well as informative. Drawing upon actual locations, contemporary documents, and recognized experts in the field as Sir Steven Runciman, Jones illuminates this time period to the general public. Many will be surprised about the revelations that Jones presents. With subtle and sometimes not so subtle humor, viewers will remember tidbits as a "divinely inspired goose" leading a crusade or that Peter the Hermit looked like his donkey. The ordinary comes to life as Mr. Jones poses questions as how does one walk in soft leather shoes thousands of miles? Or what it must have been like to wear a suit of armour? One cannot help but come away with a greater appreciation of what it must have been like to be on campaign in Syria or Palestine in the 11th century. But, Mr. Jones goes beyond the entertainment level to address the sinister aspects of the Crusades. Each Crusdae often began with pogroms against the local Jewish population as in Germany. The journey to Constantinople was marred by fighting, pillaging, and killing. Once in Asia Minor, the Western knights commited acts of barbarism and cannibalism. The taking of Jerusalem was accomplished with the wholesale slaughter of Muslims and Jews. Just as disturbing, Jones does not gloss over the capture of Constantinople by Western knights and the three days of mayhem that followed. Jones includes wonderful vignettes as the high level of Islamic culture compared to the West in the Middle Ages or the observation that Muslim and Jew fought alongside one another in defense of Jerusalem. Perhaps due to production constraints, there were occassions when history was a bit garbled. One of the most glaring was Mr. Jones reference to the Mamluk warrior Baibars. The video gave the impression that Baibars completed the destruction of the Cursader states when in fact his successors did. The most important note of this video is when Mr. Jones sees the relevancy of the Crusades to what is happening in the world today. The misperceptions of the West in the 11th century has not much altered in the 21st century. As we portray the Muslims as fanatics that threaten us, Westen armies and their surrogates occupy Arab-Muslim lands. Mr. Jones comment about unleashing a people's fury is as telling for Reynauld, Guy, or Richard I then as it is for Blair and Bush today.

Some people can't look at history objectively, and have to try to find "their" side in struggles that took place thousands of years ago. If they don't see "their" side portrayed in a good light, they cry fowl.

Terry Jones does not suffer from this problem. His history is both accurate and humorous, and how else can one approach the sheer absurdity of many of the events which took place, whether it is the parading of religious figures around the walls of beseiged cities, the military blunders, or the crazed fanatacism of the rank and file. Contrary to some other reviews, the series is not anti-European and looks under the robes of many Islamic heroes just as thoroughly as it does the Crusaders. Sure the Christian armies of the first Crusade are depicted in all their brutal glory (using direct quotations from direct sources, the Crusaders themselves) but so are the Mamelukes. Reynard de Chattillion comes across as the psychotic jerk that he was, but many Muslim leaders including Nur Adin and Baybars are shown warts and all, while other Crusader leaders are much more sympathetic. And while Crusader myths are abolished, so are many Muslim myths, such as when Terry himself simulates an amphibious landing in mail armor contrary to Muslim claims that it was impossible.

From the undiminished mystery of Crusader miracles at the Siege of Antioch, to the strange terror of the Assasins, the sheer wonder of this amazing era comes across, in many cases in beautiful scenery shot on location often in the words of those who lived through it, the Crusaders, the Byzantines, and the Arabs themselves. The delivery is excellent and the history, is accurate... if some people are upset that Terry Jones does not try to rationalize such atrocities as the Massacre of Jerusalem or the Cannibalism in the First Crusade any more than he does massacres by Saladin or Baybers, thats there problem. The facts speak for themselves. My only complaint is that the series while very strong on the first Crusade, somewhat glosses over the other important reiterations of the next 150 years. I for one would like to see more of this type of documentary, showing every aspect history as it really was, good bad and ugly.

This is a hard documentary to review, because while I found most of the material funny - I can see how many wouldn't see the humour. Second, for the sake of "True History" it does fall short of the mark - mainly because it impossible to have an accurate descripition of the Crusades in under four hours.

So my question is what kind of documentary does it attempt to be? I think it is an attempt to be a humour informative primer on the history of the first great world war... an event that still shapes our lives. In this account "Crusades; With Terry Joens" succeeds.

True, I would have liked to seen a greater history of the Templars, and Richard the Lionheart's epic struggles with Saladin - but there really wasn't time for all of that. It covers the basics and does a good job of showing us how demanding the life of crusader must have been.

One thing that is disappointing is that this movie could have been ideal for use in High School as a brief (but entertaining) view of the Crusades. However, there are a couple of scenes that make it inappropriate - one is a scene of men sitting a round a table smoking what appears to be bongs and in disc 4 there is an extended scene of a topless women. Without these scenes it could have been a nice tool for education.

This is a very nice introduction to the Crusades, presented with humor and drama. It is by no means complete or very detailed to any degree. I do think that it accomplishes what it was intended to do, give an individual a general overview of the crusades in an entertaining way and make him want to learn more. As with almost any modern works on history, there are some mistakes and it is presented with overtones of some of todays societal standards. I realize that too many people take what they are told at face value and may be led to believe that all muslims were kind, sophisticated, cultured, etc when compared to their European counterparts, when in reality there are good and bad on both sides. Quite frankly, both sides were barbarians when viewed by todays standards. That being said, I do believe that this show is acceptable in it's presentation and technical quality and makes one want to learn more. I do believe that is does present both sides a bit more evenly than some of the other reviewers have.