A History of the Crusades 3 Volume Hardback Set [Hardcover]

Homer (Author), Colin W. Macleod (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 3, 1987 | ISBN-10: 0521205549 | ISBN-13: 978-0521205542

Sir Steven Runciman's three volume A History of the Crusades, one of the great classics of English historical writing, is now being reissued. Volume I deals completely with the First Crusade and the foundation of the kingdom of Jerusalem. Volume II describes the Frankish states of Outremer from the accession of King Baldwin I to the re-conquest of Jerusalem by Saladin, and in the final volume, Runciman examines the revival of the Frankish kingdom from the time of the Third Crusade until its collapse a century later. The interwoven themes of the book include: Christiandom, the replacement of the cultured Ayubites by the less sympathetic Mameluks as leader of the Moslem world, and the coming of the Mongols. Runciman includes a chapter on architecture and the arts, and an epilogue on the last manifestations of the Crusading spirit.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'I do not know when, in recent years, I have read a book which so enlarged my knowledge of and interest in a period of history ... It sets before us one of the formidable moral and romantic epics of our time, with scholarship and imagination worthy of it.' The Times Literary Supplement

'The three volumes ring with battle trumpets and drums, glitter with the splendor of noble parades, and are replete with true stories of bravery and cowardliness, rash daring and wily intrigue ... To the specialist [Runicman] offers a wealth of new interpretations ... To the layman, he tenders romance and suspense at nearly every page.' The Yale Review

' ... the best scholarly survey of the subject by a single author. It will always remain the first considerable work of its kind in the English language.' The English Historical Review

'One of the grand historical monuments of the twentieth century ... Written with imagination and based on immense scholarship, [the volumes] are filled with true stories of rash daring and wily intrigue as the flower of Western knighthood assaults the infidel East for God, gold and glory.' Washington Post Book World

Language Notes

Text: Greek --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 466 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (December 3, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521205549
• ISBN-13: 978-0521205542
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 3.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.7 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,099,286 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Homer was probably born around 725BC on the Coast of Asia Minor, now the coast of Turkey, but then really a part of Greece. Homer was the first Greek writer whose work survives.

He was one of a long line of bards, or poets, who worked in the oral tradition. Homer and other bards of the time could recite, or chant, long epic poems.