The First Crusade (Canto) [Paperback]

Steven Runciman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521427053 | ISBN-13: 978-0521427050 | Publication Date: January 31, 1992

Whether the Crusades are regarded as the most romantic of Christian expeditions, or the last of the barbarian invasions, they remain one of the most exciting and colourful adventure stories in history. An army of mounted warriors, travelling with peasants, merchants and artisans, faced a journey over hostile terrain, meeting with unforeseen antagonism, desert heat, and the constant struggle to feed and water their troops and horses. Remittance from penance, a desire to see the Holy Places, or greed for the power and booty to be captured in the East spurred the crusaders on towards the prize, be it spiritual or temporal, of the Holy City of Jerusalem. Their journey's spectacular culmination was the long siege of Jerusalem, at the end of which the Crusaders, by a brilliant tactical manoeuvre, broke down its defences and poured into the city which erupted in a bloody massacre. Steven Runciman's History of the Crusades is justly acclaimed as the most complete and fascinating account of the historic journey to save the Holy Lands from the infidel.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'It reads magnificently. As an example of sustained and intelligent narrative it could hardly be bettered. Sir Steven's great achievement was to make a complicated subject appear simple and then to write it up beautifully ... No one is likely to surpass Sir Steven's powers of synthesis or the masterly way he writes.' History Today

Book Description

Whether the Crusades are regarded as the most tremendous and romantic of Christian expeditions or the last of the barbarian invasions, they remain one of the most exciting and colorful adventure stories in history. Steven Runicman's History of the Crusades is justly acclaimed as the most complete and fascinating account of the historic journey to save the Holy Land from the infidel. This abridgment makes accessible to a wider readership one of the most compelling historical narratives. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 209 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (January 31, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521427053
• ISBN-13: 978-0521427050
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,380,996 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars down to earth description of motives and moves, May 17, 2000

By 

mathilde de gardin "mathilde_de_gardin" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The First Crusade (Canto) (Paperback)

This Canto abridged version gives in nearly 200 pages a good account of the motives of the "west" to start the crusades, the reasons why the Byzantines agreed, the very indivual human motives of the kings, popes, clergyman, nobles, and poor. It also spells out what it takes to get (mostly on foot) from France to Jerusalem, with a large mass of poorly prepared people. A fascinating account.

If you have romantic ideas about the crusades they will have been replaced by solid facts out of the everydays crusaders lives at the end of this book. You'll have a better grasp of this era as a whole, and the place of the crusades in it.

Sometimes there are more scholary details offered then I really need in an abridged version. But it still is a good read, that offers you the flavor, the look and feel, of the past.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good survey, beautiful book, July 23, 2002

By 

Glenn McDorman (Denver) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The First Crusade (Canto) (Paperback)

This abridgement couples Runciman's well narrated and concise account of the First Crusade with some beautiful illustrations of the Holy Land, medieval warfare, and Byzantine, Latin, and Muslim art. It is a shame, however, that amongst all these wonderful illustrations, there is not one detailed map of the Holy Land and Asia Minor. Still, the book is well worth having and reading. If you haven't already read the unabridged edition you may want to read that as well.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Historical as well as Romantic, April 28, 2004

By 

medievalcrusadesbabe "ebabsedasurclaveidem" (Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The First Crusade (Canto) (Paperback)

Steven Runciman is well noted for his three-volume 'History of the Crusades' published in 1951. This paperback edition is an abridged excerpt of that work that focuses on specifically the First Crusade.

This is a much 'romanticized' narration of the First Crusades, as Mr. Runciman is well known for inscribing his passion for this event into his work. But do not let that stop you from reading this account. Mr. Runciman has added detail to this volume using quotes from actual chroniclers of the time to build and augment his story.

This abridged paperback gives you contemporary descriptions of the political climate, the backgrounds of the main players, overviews of many of the campaigns and battles of the event and weaves it all into an interesting story filled with zealots, nobility, passion, intrigue and fire. Reading this you can easily get swept into the spiritual fervor and single minded determination that these people must have had.

You also feel the impact of the battles and massacres in his descriptions of the sieges and taking of the various cities. Mr. Runciman does a very good job of making sure the reader becomes involved in the details of events as the Crusaders storm through the Holy Land to the city of Jerusalem.

There is no bibliography in the volume I have nor are there any pictures or maps. The 'Introductory Note' states 'The book is published without reference notes nor a bibliography. If readers wish to consult the sources, primary and secondary, on which my account is based, may I refer them to the original work, in which a full apparatus criticus is provided? A recent edition is still in print.'

For a very well written and passionate account of the First Crusade this book will provide a good read as well as an historical overview of the event.
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