The Crusades (Paperback)

by Hans Eberhard Mayer (Author), John Gillingham (Translator) "THE geography of the world as men pictured it in the late eleventh century differed hardly at all from the conceptions formulated in classical times..." (more)
Key Phrases: crusading indulgence, crusader states, remissio peccatorum, Holy Land, Haute Cour, William of Tyre (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Crusades first appeared in English translation in 1972 and was widely acclaimed both as a work of scholarship and as a teaching instrument that brilliantly encompassed within a single comprehensive volume the history of the crusades....[The new edition] will continue to provide the basic foundation for beginners and advanced students alike of the subject in an authoritative, orderly, and judicious manner."--History: Reviews of New Books
"Many have considered Mayer's work to be the best short introduction to the crusades. They will certainly applaud this updated edition."--Church History
"[Mayer] is the leading historian of the Crusades writing in German today."--The Catholic Historical Review


Product Description
The second edition of this standard introduction to the Crusades has been extensively rewritten to take account of the latest research and interpretations. Mayer covers all the expeditions which took place between the First Crusade in 1096 and the final retreat from Palestine in 1291, touching on a wide range of issues, from the impact of the Crusades on the history of participating states to the political entaglements it instigated between the Pope and emperors.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 366 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2 edition (June 2, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198730977
• ISBN-13: 978-0198730972
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #344,974 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Crusades: A Masterful Synthesis, July 5, 2000

By A Customer

The second edition of Mayer's work on the crusades should be a basic text in any course dealing with the subject. It is lucidly written with a particularly good translation by John Gillingham.

Mayer has succeeded in explaining the crusade phenomeon within in the context of its own period by focusing on the societies which produced the crusaders. Mayer eschews the mono-causal explanations that too frequently pass for informed judgments in text books of medieval history. He turns instead to the numerous contemporary circumstances that led Christian men and women to make the long and difficult journey to the East. In particular, Mayer's effort to explain the problem of remission of sins and indulgences granted to crusaders is a model of clarity attained by few other historians dealing with the problem.

Although Mayer is at his best in dealing with the First Crusade, his treatment of the later crusades is also valuable.This is the only work of its kind that deals with the first century of crusading warfare as a unified whole.