Fighting for the Cross: Crusading to the Holy Land [Hardcover]

Professor Norman Housley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 11, 2008

In a series of massive military undertakings that stretched from 1095 to 1291, Christendom’s armies won, defended, and lost the sacred sites of the Holy Land. Many books have been written about the Crusades, but until now none has described in detail what is was like to take part in medieval Europe’s most ambitious wars. This vividly written book draws on extensive research and on a wealth of surviving contemporary accounts to recreate the full experience of crusading, from the elation of taking up the cross to the difficult adjustments at home when the war was over.

 

Distinguished historian Norman Housley explores the staggering logistical challenges of raising, equipping, and transporting thousands of Christian combatants from Europe to the East as well as the complications that non-combatant pilgrims presented. He describes the ordinary crusader’s prolonged years of difficult military tasks, risk of starvation and disease, trial of religious faith, death of friends, and the specter of heavy debt or stolen homelands upon arriving home. Creating an unprecedented sense of immediacy, Housley brings to light the extent of crusaders’ sacrifices and the religious commitment that enabled them to endure.

(20081006)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Narrative histories of the Crusades tend toward bloody accounts of a particular Crusade. This imaginative thematic treatment draws on all the Crusades to portray them coherently as a centuries-long institution of armed pilgrimage, with its own religious ideology, economic imperatives, social dynamics and folkways. After a lucid synopsis of the seven major Crusades from 1096 to 1291, British historian Housley (University of Leicester) offers a topical survey of the crusader experience, drawn from letters, songs and other primary sources. He covers the recruitment of crusaders by superstar preachers; the horrific journeys by sea (with terrifying storms and wormy food) or land (with Turkish attacks and no food at all); protocols for plundering cities; attitudes toward the Muslim foe; commoners' resentment for their overlords; and the occasionally triumphant but often dejected homecoming. The chapter on crusader warfare, which corrects the usual overemphasis on knightly cavalry, is especially good. Throughout, Housley focuses on crusading as a sincere, if easily misdirected, expression of Catholic belief, a march toward personal salvation through the collective recovery of the Holy Land. This rich, multifaceted study imparts a deeper understanding of why and how medieval Christendom went to war. Photos, maps. (Sept.)
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Review

"Accessible to a general audience. . . . A study that succeeds in providing us with a better understanding of what the experience of crusading entailed."—Vincent Ryan, America

(Vincent Ryan America )

“Distinctive and compellingly contemporary . . . fascinating.”
—Timothy Renick, Christian Century

(Timothy Renick Christian Century )

"Housley demonstrates an effortless familiarity with a wide variety of primary sources, iconography, and secondary literature. . . . It essentially represents the state of crusade studies in the twenty-first century. . . . Fighting for the Cross will both inform and entertain students and the general public. At the same time the work is deeply grounded in the source material and current secondary literature about crusading. The fact that it covers so many topics concisely, but well, is what makes the book particularly valuable."--Laurence W. Marvin, Canadian Journal of History

(Laurence W. Marvin Canadian Journal of History )

". . . it does a fantastic job of drawing readers into the medieval world and describing the crusades in light of that world. . . . for anyone seeking to understand the events and ethos of the crusading enterprise in the Holy Land, Fighting for the Cross is highly recommended."—Adam S. Francisco, Concordia Theological Quarterly

(Adam S. Francisco Concordia Theological Quarterly )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 356 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (November 11, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300118880
• ISBN-13: 978-0300118889
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #736,555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid introduction to a complicated field, April 20, 2009

By 

A. J. Morris "Art Historian, Medievalist, Gra... (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fighting for the Cross: Crusading to the Holy Land (Hardcover)

Norman Housley has been a major figure in Crusading scholarship for decades, and his reputation for thoroughness and evocative writing is well-deserved. This book is perfect for the undergraduate or lay reader looking for a carefully constructed introduction to the mentality of the Crusades. Professor Housley's interest has often focused on the men and women who participated in the Crusades, and here he attempts to shed light on their emotional responses to the ideas and actualities of crusading. This is a vivid, wide-ranging book that personalizes the various experiences of Western Europeans who marched off to Jerusalem. Even for specialists in the field, this book is a refreshing and human look at what is often examined through battle statistics and contemporary political evocations. Really attuned to the "why" of crusading, Housley explores the various reactions to and notions of Crusade over two hundred years, and asks many fascinating questions along the way.