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Crusading Warfare (Medieval Studies)

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  1. Introduction
  2.  
  3. The Crusades are one of the spectaculars of historical study—a series of events so startling that they demand attention even from writers whose primary interest lies elsewhere. The whole history of western Christendom in the Middle Ages, and indeed beyond, is interwoven with the crusading movement, which became deeply embedded in the piety of medieval people. Partly as a result, the study of the military aspects of the Crusades was long overwhelmed by interest in many other aspects of the subject, especially the nature of the piety that drove people to join these expeditions and to live in the distant East. Thus, much early discussion of military matters was found in general histories of the Crusades or in histories of the warfare of western Europe, and to some extent these remain important. Outline histories of the Crusades are plentiful, but surveys of European warfare are less common, and some old and outdated books are still in use. Writing the military history of the Crusades is no easy task because the sources are voluminous, and many of them contain only passing references to military matters. This, in part, is why no major synthesis has emerged, although in recent years there has been a substantial volume of very specialist writing on the military history of the Crusades.
  4.  
  5. General Overviews
  6.  
  7. The nearest works to a general overview are Smail 1995 and Marshall 1992, but they concern only the Crusades to the Middle East. Lewis 1988 sets this conflict into the context of the wider clash between settled and steppe peoples. Ideological aspects are covered in Bachrach 2003, Housley 2002, and Housley 2008, while France 2000 suggests that there was such a thing as a distinctive crusading style of war.
  8.  
  9. Bachrach, David Stewart. Religion and the Conduct of War c. 300–c. 1215. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell, 2003.
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  11. The Crusades were a form of ideological warfare, and this book seeks to explain the evolution of Christian attitudes to violence.
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  13. France, John. “Crusading Warfare and Its Adaptation to Eastern Conditions in the Twelfth Century.” Mediterranean Historical Review 15 (2000): 49–66.
  14. DOI: 10.1080/09518960008569778Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  15. This article suggests that the settlers modified their military methods considerably in the face of conditions in the East to produce a distinctive style of war. But if that is the case, did it end with the defeat at Hattin and the collapse of the Kingdom in 1187, after which Jerusalem ceased to be the main participant and became dependent on outside military forces?
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  17. Housley, Norman. Religious Warfare in Europe, 1400–1536. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
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  19. It is often forgotten that crusading did not end in 1291 and covered a much wider area than merely the Middle East. Housley is the preeminent scholar of this later period and here deals comprehensively with military aspects of the subject.
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  21. Housley, Norman. Fighting for the Cross. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2008.
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  23. Here we have the soldier’s story of the Crusades. The experience of individual crusaders to the East in the period 1095–1291 is explored in some depth in a popular but learned work.
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  25. Lewis, Archibald R. Nomads and Crusaders A.D. 1000–1368. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1988.
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  27. This book has been rather neglected, yet it is very important for an understanding of the conflict between the different style of war of western Christians and their steppe enemies, the Turks.
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  29. Marshall, Christopher J. Warfare in the Latin East 1192–1291. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
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  31. Marshall, a pupil of Smail, continues his master’s work down to 1291. The book is thematic and rather thin on individual Crusades.
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  33. Smail, R. C. Crusading Warfare 1097–1193. 2d ed. Updated by Christopher J. Marshall. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
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  35. Only a work of the very highest quality could have such enduring importance. Smail looked at the crusaders in the light of the kind of society from which they came and argued that their fighting qualities arose from the nature of their world and religious beliefs. He paints a striking portrait of a society struggling to survive in a hostile environment and perceives that all kinds of military campaigns were important. A great contribution is to reveal the nature of the fighting march by which the crusaders avoided battle until they could meet it on their own terms. Smail regarded the mounted arm as vitally important for the settlers in the Holy Land but saw the infantry as important but essentially subordinate, and most later writers agree with him. Inevitably, some parts of Smail’s work have been superseded and he omitted some matters altogether.
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  37. Histories of Western Warfare
  38.  
  39. Contamine 1984 presents a general account of Western warfare, though its strength is on the later centuries, which DeVries 1996 and Rogers 2000 discuss in great depth. France 1999 focuses on the age of the Crusades. The essays in Keen 1999 summarize earlier work and are now dated. Nicolle 1995 is very useful, especially for areas outside Europe. Verbruggen 1997 is brilliant on cavalry, but Bennett 1998 provides an alternative view. For technical aspects, see DeVries 1992.
  40.  
  41. Bennett, Matthew. “The Myth of the Supremacy of Knightly Cavalry.” In Armies, Chivalry and Warfare. Edited by Matthew J. Strickland, 159–170. Stamford, CT: P. Watkins, 1998.
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  43. The title is self-explanatory: a clear and coherent discussion of the role of cavalry in medieval warfare and a useful antidote to Verbruggen, who emphasizes its importance.
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  45. Contamine, Philippe. War in the Middle Ages. Translated by Michael Jones. Oxford: Blackwell, 1984.
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  47. Contamine’s book, originally published in French in 1980, is the most popular and accessible general introduction to medieval warfare. It is strongest on the later Middle Ages, but as a whole is well balanced, with a good understanding of the importance of all aspects of war, though it is brief on the Crusades.
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  49. DeVries, Kelly. Medieval Military Technology. Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview, 1992.
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  51. Provides a good general introduction to the subject. This author has published a number of works on aspects of military technology.
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  53. DeVries, Kelly. Infantry Warfare in the Early Fourteenth Century: Discipline, Tactics, and Technology. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell, 1996.
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  55. Provides a view of changes in warfare, especially infantry warfare, in the later Middle Ages.
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  57. France, John. Western Warfare in the Age of the Crusades c. 1000–c. 1300. London: Routledge, 1999.
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  59. This examines all aspects of European warfare and is particularly concerned to show how cavalry, infantry, siege are related to politics and society. There is considerable emphasis on the Crusades.
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  61. Keen, Maurice. Medieval Warfare: A History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
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  63. This includes a chapter by P. Edbury, “Warfare in the Latin East,” that updates Smail 1995 (see General Overviews) by reference to more recent work.
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  65. Nicolle, David. Medieval Warfare Source Book. 2 vols. London: Arms and Armour, 1995.
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  67. There is a huge range of material in these two well-illustrated volumes (Volume 1: Warfare in Western Christendom; Volume 2: Christian Europe and Its Neighbours). The second volume is particularly useful for Middle Eastern warfare.
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  69. Rogers, Clifford J. War Cruel and Sharp: English Strategy under Edward III 1327–60. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell, 2000.
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  71. This is particularly valuable for its discussion of the tactical aspects of later medieval war. It is controversial because, in opposition to many others, Rogers argues that Edward III enjoyed success in the early stages of the Hundred Years’ War because he consistently employed battle-seeking strategies.
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  73. Verbruggen, J. F. Art of Warfare in Western Europe during the Middle Ages from the Eighth Century to 1340. Translated by Sumner Willard and Mrs. R. W. Southern. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell, 1997.
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  75. Verbruggen has relatively little to say about the Crusades in this brilliant book (Dutch original, 1954). He wrote here and elsewhere very perceptively about cavalry warfare, and because of this the balance of the work tends to reinforce the myth of knightly supremacy.
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  77. Histories of the Crusades
  78.  
  79. General histories of the Crusades are legion. Jotischky 2004 is very comprehensive for the Middle East, while Housley 1992 established the study of the later Crusades. Tyerman 2006 is a huge book and very stimulating, while Phillips 2009 emphasizes military matters.
  80.  
  81. Housley, Norman. Later Crusades, 1274–1580: From Lyons to Alcazar. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.
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  83. Historians no longer see 1291 as the end of the Crusades, and this book is a highly significant reason why, as it clearly established the continuity of crusading.
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  85. Jotischky, Andrew. Crusading and the Crusader States. Harlow, UK: Pearson, 2004.
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  87. The author is not primarily interested in military matters but offers a comprehensive introduction to the history of crusading in all its aspects, down to the early 14th century.
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  89. Phillips, Jonathan. Holy Warriors: A Modern History of the Crusades. London: Vintage, 2009.
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  91. A lively and popular history of the Crusades, with a substantial military interest.
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  93. Riley-Smith, Jonathan. What Were the Crusades? 3d ed. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave, 2002.
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  95. This is the latest edition of a key work first published in 1977, which advanced the “pluralist” view, now widely held, that the Crusades were not simply expeditions to Jerusalem, but a whole host of military initiatives with various objectives characterized by papal approval. The new edition is valuable because it provides a guide to the whole controversy in its preface.
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  97. Tyerman, Christopher. God’s War: A New History of the Crusades. Cambridge, MA: Belknap, 2006.
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  99. A massive and very comprehensive study, of striking originality, on the origins of the Crusade. Tyerman provides an alternative to Riley-Smith’s pluralist views that are now so dominant.
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  101. Reference Works
  102.  
  103. General military companions such as Holmes, et al. 2001 are inevitably thin on the Crusades, but Rogers 2010 has a much closer medieval focus, while Murray 2006 is massive but much concerned with matters other than military. Lock 2006 is particularly useful for historiography. Here again it is important to look at works on both crusading and warfare. There are many encyclopedias of military history, most of which focus on the modern experience. For excellent maps, see Riley-Smith 1990 and Hooper and Bennett 1996.
  104.  
  105. Halsall, Paul. Internet Medieval Sourcebook.
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  107. Halsall has established a valuable collection of translated source material, some of it on the Crusades.
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  109. Holmes, Richard, Hew Strachan, and Christopher Bellamy, eds. The Oxford Companion to Military History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
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  111. In common with most such works, the entries are generally of good quality, but because of the enormous range of material covered there are omissions.
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  113. Hooper, Nicholas, and Matthew Bennett. The Cambridge Illustrated Atlas of Warfare: The Middle Ages, 768–1487. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
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  115. Section III (pp. 80–113) and parts of IV are devoted to the Crusades, with clear and comprehensible maps. There is a useful section entitled “Theory and Practice of Medieval Warfare.”
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  117. Lock, Peter, ed. The Routledge Companion to the Crusades. London: Routledge, 2006.
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  119. The series Routledge Companions to History is very well known, and this conforms to its general pattern. There is a substantial outline of the Crusades and a great many useful articles, notably the brief biographies of crusading figures and the section on historiography.
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  121. Murray, Alan V., ed. The Crusades: An Encyclopedia. 4 vols. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC CLIO, 2006.
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  123. This enormous work has really everything you want to know about the Crusades, including much military material. Entries are consistently of a high standard, and the short bibliographical notices are very useful.
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  125. Riley-Smith, Jonathan, ed. The Atlas of the Crusades. New York: Facts on File, 1990.
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  127. By far the best atlas for the study of the Crusades, though its maps cover much more than simply military subjects. An essential companion.
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  129. Rogers, Clifford J., ed. Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology. 3 vols. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.
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  131. A substantial reference work with more than a thousand entries by nearly two hundred international contributors. Because it is confined to the Middle Ages, there is a substantial interest in the Crusades.
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  133. Bibliographies
  134.  
  135. Nothing dates like a bibliography, as Mayer 1960 reveals, but DeVries 2002–2006, the International Medieval Bibliography or IMB, and Iter are available in electronic form. France 2001 is useful background for understanding the evolution of the study of medieval military history.
  136.  
  137. DeVries, Kelly. A Cumulative Bibliography of Medieval Military History and Technology. 4 vols. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 2002–2006.
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  139. This valuable bibliography covers the entire Middle Ages and extends down to 1648. The updates include older works omitted from previous volumes. It is available on CD.
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  141. France, John. “Recent Writing on Medieval Warfare: From the Fall of Rome to c. 1300.” Journal of Military History 65 (2001): 441–473.
  142. DOI: 10.2307/2677167Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  143. This provides a critical survey of works on medieval military history, including crusading history, produced in the past thirty years, with an analysis of the main trends and ideas.
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  145. International Medieval Bibliography.
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  147. Produced at the University of Leeds and accessible only to subscribers, this website (conventionally abbreviated IMB) provides a comprehensive database of journal articles and chapters in conference proceedings, essay collections, and Festschriften dealing with Europe, North Africa, and the Near East from 400 to 1500, across all the scholarly disciplines. It covers works written since 1967.
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  149. Iter.
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  151. A massive searchable bibliography, accessible only to subscribers, of books, book chapters, journal articles, reviews, and dissertations dealing with all aspects of the period 400–1700. Strongest on material published since 1980. Interface functionality is somewhat limited (for example, one cannot sort output by date).
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  153. Mayer, H. E. Bibliographie zur Geschichte der Kreuzzüge. Hannover, Germany: Hahnsche Buchhandlung, 1960.
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  155. This is now very old, but it was exhaustive in its day and remains very useful for older works and for finding source material.
  156. Find this resource:
  157. Society for the Study of Medieval Military History.
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  159. This provides an enormous list of books and articles on medieval military history, including the Crusades.
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  161. Journals
  162.  
  163. Most learned journals that cover the Middle Ages publish articles on the Crusades, some of which have military content. The Journal of Medieval History has a strong record in this respect. Crusades, De Re Militari, the Journal of Military History, and The Military Orders are more specialized publications that are likely to publish specifically military material.
  164.  
  165. Crusades. 2002–.
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  167. The journal of the Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East (SSCLE) publishes articles on all aspects of the movement, including much military material. A single volume is produced annually.
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  169. De Re Militari. 2002–.
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  171. The journal of the Society for the Study of Medieval Military History caters to an interest in the Crusades. Some of the articles are also published online. A single volume is produced annually.
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  173. Journal of Military History. 1994–.
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  175. Published by the Society for Military History, it includes articles on all aspects of military history. Four volumes are produced annually.
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  177. The Military Orders. 1994–.
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  179. The Military Orders Conference meets every four years. Its proceedings are always published under the title The Military Orders, with a subtitle for each occasion. The fifth conference was held in 2009.
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  181. Weapons and Technology on Land and Sea
  182.  
  183. There is a tendency to project our emphasis on military technology into the past, which must be resisted. For arms and armor worldwide, Nicolle 1988 is essential, while France 1997 focuses on understanding the role of technology in the First Crusade. For naval matters, Pryor 1988 is essential, while Prouteau 2008 and Rogers 1992 focus on siege warfare. Kaegi 1964 and Parry and Yapp 1975 are essential for Eastern warfare, while Hyland’s study of the horse (Hyland 1994) is very wide reaching.
  184.  
  185. France, John. “Technology and the Success of the First Crusade.” In War and Society in the Eastern Mediterranean, 7th–15th Centuries. Edited by Yaacov Lev, 163–176. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1997.
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  187. This article argues for a parity of technology between the crusaders and their Islamic enemies at the time of the First Crusade.
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  189. Hyland, Ann. The Medieval Warhorse: From Byzantium to the Crusades. Stroud, UK: Sutton, 1994.
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  191. War was powered by the muscles of men and horses, and in this book Hyland explains the various types of horses and harnesses and the way they worked. Although it is a general book, there is considerable coverage of the Crusades and of Eastern warfare.
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  193. Kaegi, W. E. “The Contribution of Archery to the Turkish Conquest of Anatolia.” Speculum 39 (1964): 96–108.
  194. DOI: 10.2307/2850132Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  195. A very important analysis of the role and importance of the Turkish horse-archers who were so important throughout the period of the Crusades.
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  197. Nicolle, David. Arms and Armour of the Crusading Era 1050–1350. 2 vols. New York: Kraus, 1988.
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  199. An exhaustive and learned study of weaponry almost worldwide. It is particularly useful for the areas affected by the Crusades. The two volumes need to be used together, as one contains illustrations and the other commentary.
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  201. Parry, V. J., and M. E. Yapp, eds. War, Technology and Society in the Middle East. London: Oxford University Press, 1975.
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  203. A distinguished collection, including an important essay by Cahen on the changing technology of warfare in the Middle East. This is a vital collection for the understanding of technological change.
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  205. Prouteau, Nicolas. “Beneath the Battle? Miners and Engineers as Mercenaries in the Holy Land.” In Mercenaries and Paid Men: The Mercenary Identity in the Middle Ages. Edited by John France, 105–118. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 2008.
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  207. A study of miners and mining as used by both sides in the Middle East during the crusading period.
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  209. Pryor, John H. Geography, Technology and War: Studies in the Maritime History of the Mediterranean 649–1571. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
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  211. There is no overall study of naval warfare in the age of the Crusades, but this remarkable work explains a great deal and is especially good on sailing conditions in the Mediterranean.
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  213. Rogers, Randall. Latin Siege Warfare in the Twelfth Century. Oxford: Clarendon, 1992.
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  215. This is a very fine study of the poliorcetic art in the 12th century, with heavy emphasis on the crusader-Muslim conflict in the Middle East.
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  217. Logistics and Crusading Warfare
  218.  
  219. Logistics was a somewhat neglected aspect of medieval warfare, but even crusading armies had to eat and needed equipment, and this has inspired some attention recently. Leyser 1994 and Nesbitt 1983 focus on the First Crusade, while Pryor 2006 is concerned with the Crusades in general, and Lynn 1993 is much wider but thinner on the medieval experience. Many of the general books on crusading and warfare now pay much attention to issues of supply.
  220.  
  221. Leyser, Karl. “Money and Supplies on the First Crusade.” In Communications and Power in Medieval Europe: The Gregorian Revolution and Beyond. Edited by Timothy Reuter, 77–95. London: Hambledon, 1994.
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  223. Leyser was not a specialist in the history of the Crusades, so this essay is often forgotten, but it is thorough and well researched.
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  225. Lynn, John A. Feeding Mars: Logistics in Western Warfare from the Middle Ages to the Present. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1993.
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  227. A general study of logistics that has great standing but is perhaps better on the modern than the medieval period and has only a limited concern with the Crusades.
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  229. Nesbitt, J. W. “Rate of March of Crusading Armies in Europe.” Traditio 19 (1983): 167–182.
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  231. The methodology of this essay is very important. Most writing on the early Crusades is based on Nesbitt’s conclusions.
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  233. Pryor, Jonathan H., ed. The Logistics of Warfare in the Age of the Crusades. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2006.
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  235. This volume of essays by specialists directly addresses the subject of crusading logistics and is the only major work that has that focus.
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  237. The Individual Crusades to the East
  238.  
  239. The great Crusades were obviously military expeditions, but it is only comparatively recently that they have attracted specialist studies. Such work has been unevenly distributed, so that many events have been rather neglected, and we are still often dependent on general studies. Part of the fascination of the subject is the clash between the very different styles of war of West and East.
  240.  
  241. First Crusade
  242.  
  243. The First Crusade involved very large armies and the whole panoply of contemporary war, with great battles and major sieges. Indeed, the Crusade essentially turned on three attacks on major cities: Nicaea, Antioch, and Jerusalem. The spectacular success of this expedition has attracted disproportionate attention from historians. Riley-Smith 1986 is a general account of the Crusade, but with many observations on the conflict, while France 1994 offers a specifically military overview of the whole campaign. Murray 1992 provides an analysis of a particular contingent, while Riley-Smith 2002 discusses the vexed question of numbers. Prawer 1985 tells us what Jerusalem was like in 1099. Aird 2007, Flori 1999, and Knappen 1928 are biographies of important leaders.
  244.  
  245. Aird, William M. Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell, 2007.
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  247. Robert was a major leader of the Crusades, and this new biography replaces the much older one by C. W. David, though it is less focused on the First Crusade.
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  249. Flori, Jean. Pierre l’ermite et la première croisade. Paris: Fayard, 1999.
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  251. This is the only recent study of the “People’s Crusade,” though its military importance is discussed in other works in this section.
  252. Find this resource:
  253. France, John. Victory in the East: A Military History of the First Crusade. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
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  255. As the title suggests, this treats the First Crusade as a military expedition in all its aspects.
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  257. Knappen, M. M. “Robert II of Flanders in the First Crusade.” In The Crusades and Other Essays Presented to Dana C. Munro by His Former Students. Edited by Louis J. Paetow, 79–100. New York: Crofts, 1928.
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  259. It is strange that this important leader has been so neglected; this is the only study.
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  261. Murray, A. V. “The Army of Godfrey of Bouillon, 1096–99: Structure and Dynamics of a Contingent on the First Crusade.” Belgisch Tijdschrift 70 (1992): 301–329.
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  263. This study has a clear military focus, and in many ways is more useful than the much older study by J. C. Andressohn, Ancestry and Life of Godfrey de Bouillon (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1947).
  264. Find this resource:
  265. Prawer, Joshua. “The Jerusalem the Crusaders Captured: Contribution to the Medieval Topography of the City.” In Crusade and Settlement in the Latin East. Edited by Peter W. Edbury, 1–16. Cardiff, UK: University College Cardiff, 1985.
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  267. This is essential for an understanding of the siege that was the climax of the First Crusade.
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  269. Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading. London: Athlone, 1986.
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  271. Perhaps the finest study of the First Crusade as a whole, and while its focus is not military, it provides an excellent picture of the army and its problems.
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  273. Riley-Smith, Jonathan. “Casualties and the Number of Knights on the First Crusade.” Crusades 1 (2002): 13–18.
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  275. A number of historians have attempted to estimate numbers on the First Crusade, and Riley-Smith takes note of them in coming to his own conclusions.
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  277. Second Crusade
  278.  
  279. This huge expedition was largely ignored until very recently, perhaps because it seemed to be a hopeless failure. Phillips 2007 provides a splendid overview with much military interest, while Forey 1984 and Hoch 1996 analyze particular events in the Holy Land. Bennett 2001 focuses on the siege of Lisbon as a military event.
  280.  
  281. Bennett, Matthew. “Military Aspects of the Conquest of Lisbon.” In The Second Crusade: Scope and Consequences. Edited by Jonathan Phillips and Martin Hoch, 71–89. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 2001.
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  283. The capture of Lisbon was one of the few successes of the Second Crusade, and this important article brings out the military importance of the event.
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  285. Forey, Alan. “The Failure of the Siege of Damascus in 1148.” Journal of Medieval History 10 (1984): 13–23.
  286. DOI: 10.1016/0304-4181(84)90022-8Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  287. A pioneering study, this article suggests, contrary to accepted opinion, that the attack was undertaken for good reasons and examines the reasons for its failure.
  288. Find this resource:
  289. Hoch, Martin. “The Crusaders’ Strategy against Fatimid Ascalon and the ‘Ascalon Project’ of the Second Crusade.” In The Second Crusade and the Cistercians. Edited by Michael Gervers, 120–123. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1992.
  290. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  291. In this article, Hoch discusses a neglected aspect of the history of the Second Crusade: an expedition against the Fatimids that never happened.
  292. Find this resource:
  293. Hoch, Martin. “The Choice of Damascus as the Objective of the Second Crusade.” In Autour de la première croisade. Edited by Michel Balard, 359–369. Paris: Sorbonne, 1996.
  294. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  295. A detailed discussion reinforcing many of the ideas discussed by Forey but with a much greater emphasis on the strategic choice.
  296. Find this resource:
  297. Phillips, Jonathan. The Second Crusade: Extending the Frontiers of Christendom. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007.
  298. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  299. The outstanding study of the Second Crusade. It is not simply a military account, but it discusses all aspects of the expedition in detail, making it extremely valuable.
  300. Find this resource:
  301. Third Crusade
  302.  
  303. There are plenty of narratives of the Third Crusade embodied in general histories of the Crusades, but the lack of a specialist study of the Third Crusade is a major gap, especially in view of its plethora of military events. The historiography of this Crusade is dominated by two personalities, Richard the Lionheart and Saladin, both of whom have been widely admired. Ehrenkreutz 1955 and Lyons and Jackson 1979 provide views of Saladin, while Gillingham 1994 is excellent on Richard. Murray 2007 is a welcome new departure of great importance. A number of translations of Latin and Arabic sources have recently appeared and these may prompt further work, which is certainly needed.
  304.  
  305. Ehrenkreutz, A. S. “The Place of Saladin in the Naval History of the Mediterranean Sea in the Middle Ages.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 75 (1955): 100–116.
  306. DOI: 10.2307/595012Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  307. This is an important article because it casts light on the naval failure of the Muslim states.
  308. Find this resource:
  309. Gillingham, John. Richard Coeur de Lion: Kingship, Chivalry and War in the Twelfth Century. London: Hambledon, 1994.
  310. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  311. This is a very fine series of studies by a distinguished military historian, but the emphasis is on Richard rather than the Third Crusade as a whole.
  312. Find this resource:
  313. Lyons, Malcolm C., and D. E. P. Jackson. Saladin: The Politics of the Holy War. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1979.
  314. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  315. A fine and balanced view of Saladin that reveals his limitations, especially in the military field. It is particularly valuable for the light their research casts upon the battle of Hattin.
  316. Find this resource:
  317. Murray, A. V. “Finance and Logistics of the Crusade of Frederick Barbarossa.” In Laudem Hierosolymitani: Studies in Crusades and Material Culture in Honour of Benjamin Z. Kedar. Edited by Iris Shagrir, Ronnie Ellenblum, and Jonathan Riley-Smith, 357–368. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2007.
  318. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  319. An innovative study of the Crusade of Barbarossa, which has been badly neglected.
  320. Find this resource:
  321. Fourth Crusade
  322.  
  323. The historiography of this expedition has largely focused on a “blame game”: who was responsible, if anybody, for the attack on Christian Constantinople? Queller and Madden 1997 focus on this. As a result, consideration of the military questions raised by the capture has been limited, but Bell 2008 and Pryor 2003 have much to say on military matters.
  324.  
  325. Bell, G. D. “Unintended Consumption: The Interruption of the Fourth Crusade at Venice and Its Consequences.” Journal of Medieval Military History 6 (2008): 79–94.
  326. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  327. This article examines the impact of logistics on the course of events of the Fourth Crusade.
  328. Find this resource:
  329. Pryor, Jonathan. “The Venetian Fleet for the Fourth Crusade and the Diversion of the Crusade to Constantinople.” In The Experience of Crusading: 1, Western Approaches. Edited by M. Bull and Norman Housley, 103–123. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
  330. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  331. A fine study of the Venetians and their fleet, by a distinguished naval historian.
  332. Find this resource:
  333. Queller, Donald E., and Thomas Madden. The Fourth Crusade: The Conquest of Constantinople. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997.
  334. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  335. The indispensable account of the Fourth Crusade, which has established the modern consensus that the assault on Constantinople was the consequence of an extraordinary sequence of events and their interplay with attitudes. While dominated by the blame game, this book does pay attention to military affairs.
  336. Find this resource:
  337. Fifth Crusade
  338.  
  339. Apart from narrative outlines, writing on this expedition is totally dominated by a single work, Powell 1986.
  340.  
  341. Powell, James M. Anatomy of a Crusade, 1213–1221. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986.
  342. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  343. This is such an excellent study that it is hard to think that it will ever be superseded. It is particularly good on military events. A remarkable work, and a model for the study of individual Crusades.
  344. Find this resource:
  345. The 13th Century and the Later Crusades
  346.  
  347. The work of C. J. Marshall is very important. Crusading in the 13th century is perceived as dominated by the personality of Saint Louis, brilliantly set in context in Richard 1992. The history of the Latin Kingdom is often seen as dominated by factional struggles, but Jackson 1987 provides an able study of an important issue in this context, and Marshall 1989 and Marshall 1990 are very useful on other military aspects. Housley 2003 provides a fine study of a distinguished medieval crusader who managed to be on the losing side at both Nicopolis and Agincourt, while Halecki 1943 remains the only real study of the Varna episode.
  348.  
  349. Halecki, Oscar. The Crusade of Varna. New York: Polish Institute of Arts in America, 1943.
  350. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  351. The specialist study of the battle of 1444 at which the Ottomans crushed the Hungarians.
  352. Find this resource:
  353. Housley, Norman. “One Man and His Wars: The Depiction of Warfare by Marshal Boucicaut’s Biographer.” Journal of Medieval History 29 (2003): 27–40.
  354. DOI: 10.1016/S0304-4181(02)00057-XSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  355. Boucicaut was present on many important campaigns, including the disaster of the Nicopolis Crusade of 1396, and this is a very thoughtful study of him.
  356. Find this resource:
  357. Jackson, Peter. “The Crusades of 1239–41 and Their Aftermath.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 50 (1987): 32–60.
  358. DOI: 10.1017/S0041977X00053180Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  359. Clear and precise study of these neglected Crusades, particularly useful on military aspects.
  360. Find this resource:
  361. Marshall, Christopher J. “The French Regiment in the Latin East, 1254–91.” Journal of Medieval History 15 (1989).
  362. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  363. During his residence in the Latin East after the failure of his Crusade, Saint Louis established a regular force at Acre, which he and his successors maintained. This is the only elucidation of its history.
  364. Find this resource:
  365. Marshall, Christopher J. “The Use of the Charge in Battles in the Latin East, 1192–1291.” Historical Research 63 (1990).
  366. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  367. This is an attempt to examine tactics in the later period of the Latin settlement.
  368. Find this resource:
  369. Richard, Jean. Saint Louis: Crusader King of France. Translated by Simon Lloyd. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
  370. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  371. An outstanding work that provides excellent accounts and analysis of the two great Crusades, but of course presents events as seen through the lens of biography.
  372. Find this resource:
  373. The States of the Latin East, Frankish Greece, and the Byzantine Successor States after 1204
  374.  
  375. The focus of interest among historians has always tended to be on the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, not least because of its prominence in the sources. Recent work has only slightly changed the balance. The states of Frankish Greece and the Cilician Armenian kingdom have been somewhat neglected.
  376.  
  377. Edessa
  378.  
  379. Edessa was the first crusader state established in the East, in early 1098, and the first to fall, in 1144. It was always very exposed to hostile attack and has received little attention, apart from Beaumont’s study of its origins (Beaumont 1928), until the excellent work in Amouroux-Mourad 1988.
  380.  
  381. Amouroux-Mourad, Monique. Le comté d’Edesse, 1098–1150. Paris: Geuthner, 1988.
  382. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  383. The definitive history of the county, very thorough and carefully written, elucidates all aspects of its history, including the military.
  384. Find this resource:
  385. Beaumont, Andre Alden. “Albert of Aix and the County of Edessa.” In The Crusades and Other Historical Essays Presented to D. C. Munro. Edited by L. J. Paetow, 101–113. New York: Books for Libraries, 1928.
  386. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  387. This is valuable for its account of the origins of the Latin dominion in Edessa, and for the light it casts upon Albert, now generally referred to as “of Aachen,” whose work is a valuable source for military events.
  388. Find this resource:
  389. Antioch
  390.  
  391. Antioch was the second of the Latin states, and its establishment in 1098 was very much the work of Bohemond, whose personality and military gifts loom large in its early history and are discussed in Russo 2009. But Asbridge 1997 and Asbridge 2000 provide the best study of its origins, and France 2001 examines its connections with the wider Norman expansion.
  392.  
  393. Asbridge, Thomas S. “The Significance and Causes of the Battle of the Field of Blood.” Journal of Medieval History 23 (1997): 301–316.
  394. DOI: 10.1016/S0304-4181(97)00015-8Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  395. At the Field of Blood in 1119, the army of the principality of Antioch suffered a catastrophic defeat, whose causes and consequences are discussed here.
  396. Find this resource:
  397. Asbridge, Thomas S. The Creation of the Principality of Antioch 1098–1130. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell, 2000.
  398. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  399. This is a very useful account of the origins and early history of the principality, though with little emphasis on the Muslim enemies. It is unfortunate that we have nothing similar for the period after 1130.
  400. Find this resource:
  401. France, John. “The Normans and Crusading.” In The Normans and Their Adversaries at War. Edited by Richard P. Abels and Bernard S. Bachrach, 87–102. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell, 2001.
  402. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  403. Examines the contribution of the Normans, both military and political, to the establishment and maintenance of the Latin settlements in the Middle East.
  404. Find this resource:
  405. Russo, Luigi. Boemondo, figlio del Guiscardo e principe di Antiochia. Avellino, Italy: Elio Sellino, 2009.
  406. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  407. This biography covers all aspects of Bohemond’s life and is a worthy replacement for Yewdale’s 1924 study. Jean Flori has recently produced a biography in French that has many virtues but deliberately does not consider Bohemond as a warrior—Bohémon d’Antioche: Chevalier de’Aventure (Paris: Payot, 2007).
  408. Find this resource:
  409. Jerusalem
  410.  
  411. On the nature of the Kingdom, Ellenblum 1998 is essential, while Edbury 1977 examines evidence bearing upon its military strength, Harari 1997 discusses its light cavalry, and Bennett 2001 looks at the “fighting march” first noted in Smail 1982. Some of the best recent works on military history have focused on the dramatic events that culminated in the destruction of the Kingdom at Hattin in 1187. Barber 1998 brings an important episode to life, while Ehrlich 2007 analyzes a campaign often referred to but little studied. Smail 1982 casts light on the relationship between internal disputes and military events, while Kedar 1992 has produced the best discussion of Hattin.
  412.  
  413. Barber, Malcolm. “Frontier Warfare in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Campaign of Jacob’s Ford 1178–9.” In The Crusades and Their Sources: Essays Presented to Bernard Hamilton. Edited by John France and William G. Zajac, 9–22. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 1998.
  414. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  415. The building and loss of the castle of Jacob’s Ford, held by the Templars, is a dramatic episode in the history of the Latin Kingdom, told here with great scholarship and clarity.
  416. Find this resource:
  417. Bennett, Matthew. “The Crusaders’ ‘Fighting March’ Revisited.” War in History 8 (2001): 1–18.
  418. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  419. Bennett explores Smail’s “fighting march” and attributes its origins to Byzantine military precedents.
  420. Find this resource:
  421. Edbury, Peter W. “Feudal Obligations in the Latin East.” Byzantion 47 (1977): 328–356.
  422. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  423. This important article contains a fascinating assessment of the military obligation owed to the kings of Jerusalem by their vassals.
  424. Find this resource:
  425. Ehrlich, Michael. “The Battle of Hattin: A Chronicle of a Defeat Foretold?” Journal of Medieval Military History 5 (2007): 16–32.
  426. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  427. This is actually about the campaign of 1183, when the army of Jerusalem under the leadership of Guy of Lusignan refused battle with Saladin. This campaign is often favorably contrasted with Hattin, but Ehrlich suggests it was characterized by Guy’s poor generalship.
  428. Find this resource:
  429. Ellenblum, Ronnie. Frankish Rural Settlement in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
  430. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  431. This is a radical reassessment of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Ellenblum suggests that the Latins had put down much deeper roots, colonized the countryside, and established close relations with the native Christians. This sweeps aside the conception of the Kingdom as a transitory structure whose destruction was inevitable. This has clear military implications.
  432. Find this resource:
  433. Harari, Y. N. “The Military Role of the Frankish Turcopoles—a Reassessment.” Mediterranean Historical Review 12 (1997): 75–116.
  434. DOI: 10.1080/09518969708569720Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  435. This is a substantial attempt to understand the Turcopoles who served in crusader armies. Harari argues that they were light cavalry, and his careful examination of the sources demonstrates their importance. His suggestion that the Turcopoles were Franks is controversial.
  436. Find this resource:
  437. Kedar, B. Z. “The Battle of Hattin Revisited.” In The Horns of Hattin. Edited by B. Z. Kedar, 190–207. London: Variorum, 1992.
  438. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  439. This is probably the best analysis of the battle, and the author is frank and clear about the enormous difficulties posed by the sources.
  440. Find this resource:
  441. Smail, R. C. “The Predicaments of Guy of Lusignan.” In Outremer: Studies in the History of the Crusading Kingdom of Jerusalem Presented to Joshua Prawer. Edited by B. Z. Kedar, H. E. Mayer and R. C. Smail, 159–176. Jerusalem: Israel Academy of Sciences, 1982.
  442. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  443. The great mystery of why Guy of Lusignan, king of Jerusalem, decided to confront Saladin in battle at Hattin in 1187 is here analyzed with special emphasis upon the political background.
  444. Find this resource:
  445. Tripoli
  446.  
  447. Tripoli was the last established of the principalities and was always closely linked to Jerusalem. The Hospitallers had a strong presence in the county, symbolized by their possession of Crac des Chevaliers. Baldwin 1936 discusses an important count of Tripoli, but Richard 1945 is really the only proper study of the country, and it is now very old.
  448.  
  449. Baldwin, Marshall W. Raymond III of Tripolis and the Fall of Jerusalem (1140–1187). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1936.
  450. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  451. Essentially about the Latin Kingdom rather than the County of Tripoli, but this does reveal a certain reality.
  452. Find this resource:
  453. Richard, Jean. Le comté de Tripoli sous la dynastie toulousaine (1102–1187). Paris: Geuthner, 1945.
  454. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  455. Really the only study of the county as a whole. It is excellent but now aging.
  456. Find this resource:
  457. Frankish Greece and the Byzantine Successor States after 1204
  458.  
  459. Lock 1995 provides a modern overview of the history of Frankish Greece, and Edbury 1991 is the obvious source on crusader Cyprus. Setton 1948 remains the best study of the Catalan dominion in Athens but is now aging. Bartusis 1992 provides a welcome picture of the late Byzantine army, while particular events in the struggles after 1204 are illuminated in Kanellopoulos and Lekea 2007, Mitchell 2008, and Noble 2007.
  460.  
  461. Bartusis, Mark C. The Late Byzantine Army, Arms and Society, 1204–1453. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992.
  462. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  463. The study of late Byzantine military affairs that covers all the successor states.
  464. Find this resource:
  465. Edbury, Peter W. The Kingdom of Cyprus and the Crusades 1191–1374. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1991.
  466. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  467. Cyprus was seized by Richard of England on the Third Crusade. Thereafter it played a major part in the defense of the crusader states in the Holy Land, and when they fell, it was the most easterly European outpost in the Mediterranean.
  468. Find this resource:
  469. Kanellopoulos, N. S., and J. K. Lekea. “The Struggle between the Nicean Empire and the Bulgarian State (1254–56): Towards a Revival of Byzantine Military Tactics under Theodore II Laskaris.” Journal of Medieval Military History 5 (2007): 56–69.
  470. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  471. This article examines the Byzantine Army in action fifty years after the Latin capture of Constantinople.
  472. Find this resource:
  473. Lock, Peter. The Franks in the Aegean, 1204–1500. London: Longman, 1995.
  474. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  475. The most comprehensive modern study of the Frankish states in Greece.
  476. Find this resource:
  477. Mitchell, Russ. “Light Cavalry, Heavy Cavalry, Horse Archers, Oh My! What Abstract Definitions Don’t Tell Us.” Journal of Medieval Military History 6 (2008): 95–118.
  478. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  479. This analyzes the battle of Adrianople of 1205, at which Baldwin, the first Latin emperor of Constantinople, was defeated and captured.
  480. Find this resource:
  481. Noble, P. “Baldwin of Flanders and Henry of Hainault as Military Commanders.” In Knighthoods of Christ: Essays on the History of the Crusades and the Knights Templar presented to Malcolm Barber. Edited by Norman Housley. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2007.
  482. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  483. A study of the first two Latin emperors of Constantinople as commanders.
  484. Find this resource:
  485. Setton, Kenneth M. Catalan Domination of Athens, 1311–1388. Cambridge, MA: Medieval Academy of America, 1948.
  486. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  487. Even though it is aging, this remains best study of the Grand Catalan Company and its military importance.
  488. Find this resource:
  489. Armenia
  490.  
  491. Armenian participation in the Crusades is often forgotten, yet they were vital, as France 1994 (cited under First Crusade) shows, to the success of the First Crusade at Antioch and subsequently played a major role, especially in the history of the principalities of Edessa and of Antioch. Dédéyan 1982 sets this in the context of Armenian history, while Boase 1978 provides a good account of the Cilician kingdom and Edwards 1992 focuses on its fortifications.
  492.  
  493. Boase, T. S. R. The Cilician Kingdom of Armenia. Edinburgh and London: Scottish Academic Press, 1978.
  494. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  495. Cilicia and its Armenian population were annexed to the principality of Antioch at the time of the First Crusade but subsequently partially recovered by the Byzantines. As Byzantine power waned toward the end of the 12th century, an independent Armenian kingdom arose and lasted with many vicissitudes until 1375.
  496. Find this resource:
  497. Dédéyan, Gérard. “Le temps des croisades.” In Histoire des Arméniens. Edited by Gérard Dédéyan, 297–340. Toulouse, France: Privat, 1982.
  498. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  499. An alternative study of the Armenians during the Crusades.
  500. Find this resource:
  501. Edwards, Robert W. Fortifications of Armenian Cilicia. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks, 1992.
  502. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  503. This is a remarkable, definitive study of the fortifications of Armenian Cilicia.
  504. Find this resource:
  505. The Military Orders
  506.  
  507. The military orders were a unique product of the Crusade. Their knights were monks who took normal vows but in addition were sworn to defend the holy places and fight the infidel. The Temple and the Hospital originated in the Latin Kingdom and by 1130 had excited so much admiration that they became major landholders all over Europe. Very quickly new orders arose, especially in Spain. It is a curious fact that most studies of the orders focus on them as institutions, and relatively few have a real military focus. This is largely because the sources that have survived are mainly documents about landholdings. Barber 1994 is the study of the Temple, while Forey 1992 and Nicholson 1993 look at other orders. Bennett 1989 is an excellent military study, while Schein 1989 attempts an assessment of the military value of the Templars in the 13th century. Urban 2003 provides a very readable account of the Teutonic Order, while Ekdahl 1982 analyzes one of the most important battles of the later Middle Ages.
  508.  
  509. Barber, Malcolm. The New Knighthood: A History of the Order of the Temple. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
  510. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  511. This is the most authoritative account of the Templar Order, though it has relatively little to say about military matters.
  512. Find this resource:
  513. Bennett, Matthew. “La Règle du Temple as a Military Manual, or How to Deliver a Cavalry Charge.” In Studies in Medieval History Presented to R. Allen Brown. Edited by Christopher Harper Bill, Christopher J. Holdsworth, and Janet L. Nelson, 7–20. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell, 1989.
  514. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  515. The Old French Templar Rule has survived, and in this article Bennett uses its instructions to reconstruct how a cavalry charge might have been delivered.
  516. Find this resource:
  517. Ekdahl, Sven. Die Schlacht bei Tannenberg 1410: Quellenkritische Untersuchungen, I: Einführung und Quellenlage. Berliner Historische Studien 1. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 1982.
  518. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  519. This is the first part of a definitive study of the battle of Tannenberg. A second volume is planned.
  520. Find this resource:
  521. Forey, Alan. The Military Orders: From the Twelfth to the Early Fourteenth Centuries. London: Macmillan, 1992.
  522. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  523. A comprehensive survey of the orders.
  524. Find this resource:
  525. Nicholson, Helen. Templars, Hospitallers and Teutonic Knights: Images of the Military Orders, 1128–1291. Leicester, UK: Leicester University Press, 1993.
  526. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  527. This study deals, among other things, with the military reputation of the orders.
  528. Find this resource:
  529. Schein, Sylvia. “The Templars: The Regular Army of the Holy Land and the Spearhead of the Army of Reconquest.” In I Templari: Mito e Storia. Edited by G. Minucci and F. Sardi, 15–25. Siena, Italy: A. G. Viti-Riccucci, 1989.
  530. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  531. This is one of the few attempts to evaluate the military usefulness of the order, in this case for the 13th century.
  532. Find this resource:
  533. Urban, William. The Teutonic Knights: A Military History. London: Greenhill, 2003.
  534. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  535. This survey of the Teutonic Order deals with military matters in some detail.
  536. Find this resource:
  537. Eastern Warfare
  538.  
  539. Islamic warfare against the Latins was largely conducted by the Turks and associated peoples who came with them into the Middle East after the 11th century. They were essentially steppe soldiers, and this style of light cavalry warfare was dominant. Kaegi 1964 and Bowlus 1996 explore this style of war, while the articles in Parry and Yapp 1975 are very important. Hillenbrand 2000 provides by far the best account of the Muslim reaction to the Crusade. Lev 1991 provides vital studies of the Fatimids, Ayalon 1954 examines the Mamluk army, and Amitai-Preiss 1995 studies a conflict between two steppe peoples.
  540.  
  541. Amitai-Preiss, Reuven. Mongols and Mamluks: The Mamluk-Ilkhanid War, 1260–1281. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
  542. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  543. An outstanding study of the conflict between two steppe peoples fighting for control of the Middle East, the Mongols, and the Turks of Egypt, the Mamluks.
  544. Find this resource:
  545. Ayalon, David. “Studies on the Structure of the Mamluk Army.” Bulletin of the School of African and Oriental Studies 15 (1953): 203–222, 448–476; 16 (1954): 57–90.
  546. DOI: 10.1017/S0041977X00111073Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  547. A series of articles that is seminal for the study of the army in 13th-century Egypt.
  548. Find this resource:
  549. Bowlus, Charles. “Tactical and Strategic Weaknesses of Horse Archers on the Eve of the First Crusade.” In Autour de la première croisade. Edited by Michel Balard, 159–166. Paris: Sorbonne, 1996.
  550. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  551. An interesting analysis of the limitations of the horse archer, by a historian who has written extensively about military history and especially the Hungarians, who were also horse archers.
  552. Find this resource:
  553. Hillenbrand, Carole. The Crusades: Islamic Perspectives. New York: Routledge, 2000.
  554. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  555. This is an indispensable aid to the study of the Crusades. It gathers an enormous quantity of Islamic material illustrating Muslims’ response to the crusader incursion, and has a good chapter 8 on the conduct of war.
  556. Find this resource:
  557. Kaegi, W. E. “The Contribution of Archery to the Turkish Conquest of Anatolia.” Speculum 39 (1964): 96–108.
  558. DOI: 10.2307/2850132Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  559. A very important analysis of the role and importance of the Turkish horse archers who were so important throughout the period of the Crusades.
  560. Find this resource:
  561. Lev, Yaacov. State and Society in Fatimid Egypt. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1991.
  562. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  563. A major study of all aspects of Fatimid Egypt, whose part in attacking the new Kingdom of Jerusalem is often underestimated.
  564. Find this resource:
  565. Lev, Yaacov. Saladin in Egypt. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill 1999.
  566. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  567. There is an important chapter on the army and Saladin’s development of it, as well as an account of his rise to power. This book is strong on the organizational development of the Egyptian state.
  568. Find this resource:
  569. Parry, V. J., and M. E. Yapp, eds. War, Technology and Society in the Middle East. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1975.
  570. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  571. A distinguished collection, including a very important essay by Cahen on the changing technology of warfare in the Middle East. This is a vital collection for the understanding of technological change.
  572. Find this resource:
  573. Fortifications in the East at the Time of the Crusades
  574.  
  575. When modern historical studies began in the 19th century, scholars were deeply impressed by the numerous ruins of stone castles, many of which had been built on a truly massive scale. This provoked a controversy that continues to the present day about whether and to what extent the crusaders copied Eastern models, Byzantine or Muslim, and thereby influenced castle development in the West. The famous T. E. Lawrence wrote his undergraduate dissertation on this very subject. Modern debate has been based on studies of crusader fortifications such as Deschamps 1934–1973, but more recently, serious studies of Eastern fortifications (such as, Faucherre, et al. 2004 and, Kennedy 2006) have developed, providing a different perspective. Pringle 1986 and Pringle 1997 have been vital in understanding the evolution of crusader castles, and Kennedy 1994 remains the best introduction to the subject. However, the most innovative work is Ellenblum 2007 that, although limited to the Latin Kingdom, combines archaeology and historical study.
  576.  
  577. Deschamps, P. Les Châteaux des Croisés en Terre-Sainte. 3 vols. Paris: Geuthner, 1934–1973.
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  579. This monumental work describing all the major crusader fortifications is still of immense value, though its underlying ideas are now being challenged. Volume 1: Le Crac des Chevaliers; Volume 2: La Défense du royaume de Jérusalem; Volume 3: La Défense du comté de Tripoli et de la Principauté d’Antioche.
  580. Find this resource:
  581. Ellenblum, Ronnie. Crusader Castles and Modern Histories. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
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  583. This builds on Ellenblum’s earlier work on settlement and demonstrates how firmly rooted the crusader polity was. The work establishes the various phases of castle building and identifies three periods of building, in the third of which, 1167–1187, there was a remarkable development with the emergence of concentric fortifications. Ellenblum also suggests that these structures were influenced by continuous cultural interchange between the settlers and their neighbors.
  584. Find this resource:
  585. Faucherre, Nicolas, Jean Mesqui, and Nicolas Prouteau, eds. La Fortification au temps des Croisades. Rennes, France: Presses Universitaires, 2004.
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  587. This fascinating and radical study looks at Ayyubid and Mamluk fortifications as well as crusader castles and in its final section considers the whole question of cultural interchange and its impact upon architecture. In a sweeping conclusion, Hugh Kennedy raises doubts as to whether there was an Islamic tradition of fortification before the age of the Crusades.
  588. Find this resource:
  589. Kennedy, Hugh. Crusader Castles. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
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  591. By far the best introduction and general survey of the subject, although the author’s radical ideas had not developed when this was written.
  592. Find this resource:
  593. Kennedy, Hugh, ed. Muslim Military Architecture in Greater Syria. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 2006.
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  595. A wide-ranging study of Islamic fortifications in Syria down to the Ottoman period, with some consideration of Western influences.
  596. Find this resource:
  597. Pringle, Denys. The Red Tower. London: British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem, 1986.
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  599. A pioneering study that switched attention away from spectacular monuments to a much more typical crusader castle and its setting.
  600. Find this resource:
  601. Pringle, Denys. Secular Buildings in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: An Archaeological Gazetteer. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
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  603. A remarkable and inclusive account of fortifications and other secular buildings in the Latin Kingdom. There is a parallel work on churches.
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  605. Crusading in the West
  606.  
  607. The work of Riley-Smith and others has established that the Crusades were a much wider phenomenon than merely as expeditions to the Middle East. As a result, there has been new interest, some of which, noted here, has a military aspect.
  608.  
  609. Spain
  610.  
  611. Spain was the scene of a long conflict between Christianity and Islam that lasted until the end of the 15th century and even then continued into a struggle for control of the Mediterranean and North Africa. For an outline of the Spanish wars, see Lomax 1978. Fletcher 1987 takes a revisionist view of when they became “holy.” Lourie’s study of the organization of Spanish society (Lourie 1966) was a radical departure, which others, including Powers 1988, have followed.
  612.  
  613. Fletcher, R. A. “Reconquest and Crusade in Spain 1050–1150.” Transactions of the Royal Historical Society 37 (1987): 31–47.
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  615. Fletcher produced a powerful argument that the wars in Spain were not primarily about religion: the wars were something imported into the peninsula.
  616. Find this resource:
  617. Lomax, Derek W. The Reconquest of Spain. London: Longman, 1978.
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  619. This book provides a clear and concise account of the Spanish wars.
  620. Find this resource:
  621. Lourie, Eleanor. “A Society Organized for War: Medieval Spain.” Past & Present 35 (1966): 54–76.
  622. DOI: 10.1093/past/35.1.54Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  623. This truly seminal article has influenced all later writing on the Spanish wars.
  624. Find this resource:
  625. Powers, James F. A Society Organized for War: The Iberian Municipal Militias in the Central Middle Ages. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988.
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  627. The cities and their urban militias were very important in the long wars in Spain, and Powers has produced a brilliant examination of their role.
  628. Find this resource:
  629. Rojas Gabriel, Manuel. “Guerra de asedio y expugnación castral en la frontera con Granada: El reinado de Alfonso XI de Castilla como paradigma [1325–1350].” Revista da Faculdade de Letras Universidade do Porto 14 (1998): 871–897.
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  631. An examination of the importance of siege warfare in a rather neglected period of the Spanish wars.
  632. Find this resource:
  633. The Baltic
  634.  
  635. A strong impetus to the study of the Baltic Crusades is the work of Henry of Livonia, which provides a vivid and startling picture of the brutality of these wars, while the prominence of the Teutonic Order and the survival of many of its great castles have also pushed it to the fore. Christiansen 1997 is the best introduction, while Nicholson 2005 provides an excellent historiographical overview. The essays by specialists in Murray 2001 are very weighty; Urban 1975 provides a lively military history of the Teutonic Order.
  636.  
  637. Christiansen, Eric. The Northern Crusades. Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin, 1997.
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  639. The best summary of the subject, with a strong military interest describing the process of conquest.
  640. Find this resource:
  641. Murray, Alan V., ed. Crusade and Conversion on the Baltic Frontier, 1150–1500. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2001.
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  643. An important series of specialist essays on the Crusade in the north.
  644. Find this resource:
  645. Nicholson, Helen J., ed. Palgrave Advances in the Crusades. Houndsmill, UK: Palgrave, 2005.
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  647. This book examines recent developments in crusading historiography and includes an essay by Ekdahl on Baltic.
  648. Find this resource:
  649. Urban, William L. The Baltic Crusade. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 1975.
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  651. This account of the Baltic Crusade is now aging, but the author has a very strong military interest that is reflected in the book.
  652. Find this resource:
  653. Western Europe
  654.  
  655. There is as yet no comprehensive survey of crusading in western Europe with a military emphasis, and the wars of the papacy and Hohenstaufen in particular need attention. Marvin 2008 is excellent on the rather short part of the Albigensian Crusade he chose to study, while Housley 1982 has looked at the political Crusades of the 13th century, and Heymann 1955 provides a study of a great commander.
  656.  
  657. Heymann, Frederick G. John Zizka and the Hussite Revolution. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1955.
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  659. The German Crusades against the Hussites of Bohemia were defeated largely thanks to the methods of Zizka. This is a substantial study of the Hussite wars through a biography of this outstanding warrior.
  660. Find this resource:
  661. Housley, Norman. The Italian Crusades: The Papal-Angevin Alliance and the Crusades against Christian Lay Powers, 1254–1343. Oxford: Clarendon, 1982.
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  663. Crusades within western Europe used to be characterized as “political crusades,” somehow radically different from those to the Middle East. This was a key work in establishing the seamless nature of crusading, and it is also an important contribution to the military history of this period.
  664. Find this resource:
  665. Marvin, Laurence W. The Occitan War: A Military and Political History of the Albigensian Crusade, 1209–1218. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
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  667. There is a vast literature on the Albigensian Crusade, most of which is deeply concerned with the heresy itself and the response of the church. This is actually a history of the war itself, and a very good one.
  668. Find this resource:
  669. Victims and Making Peace
  670.  
  671. The victims of war have long been neglected, and this was certainly true of the Crusades until very recently. Making peace is a closely related subject since it often involved prisoners and decisions over their fates. The long duration of the wars in Spain led to the rise of institutions that coped with their consequences, and these are studied in Brodman 1985, while Friedman 2002 shows that such institutions did not develop in the Latin East. Edgington 2006 and Mitchell 2001 discuss medical treatment. France 2008 is concerned with the problems of surrender in the Latin East, while Gillingham 2009 takes a broad view of the treatment of prisoners in Europe.
  672.  
  673. Brodman, J. W. “Municipal Ransoming Law on the Spanish Frontier.” Speculum 60 (1985): 318–330.
  674. DOI: 10.2307/2846474Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  675. Arrangements over ransom in Spain were highly developed and even embodied in municipal law. This author has explored the Order of Merced and its activities in this respect in a 1986 book—James William Brodman, Ransoming Captives in Crusader Spain: The Order of Merced on the Christian-Islamic Frontier (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986).
  676. Find this resource:
  677. Edgington, S. B. “Medicine and Surgery in the Livre des Assises de la Cour des Bourgeois de Jérusalem.” Al Masaq: Islam and the Medieval Mediterranean 17 (2006): 87–97.
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  679. An exploration of the means of treating the sick and the victims of war in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem.
  680. Find this resource:
  681. France, John. “Siege Conventions in Western Europe and the Latin East.” In War and Peace in Ancient and Medieval History. Edited by Philip de Souza and John France, 150–172. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
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  683. This argues that the crusaders and their enemies adhered to contemporary practices of surrender and mercy during sieges to a much greater extent than hitherto recognized.
  684. Find this resource:
  685. Friedman, Yvonne. “Captivity and Ransom: The Experience of Women” In Gendering the Crusades. Edited by Susan B. Edgington and Sarah Lambert, 121–139. Cardiff, UK: University College Wales Press, 2001.
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  687. Women were often the victims of war, and this was certainly true in the age of the Crusades, as this short essay shows.
  688. Find this resource:
  689. Friedman, Yvonne. Encounter between Enemies: Captivity and Ransom in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 2002.
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  691. Friedman has produced a very important study of the treatment of the victims of war in the age of the Crusades.
  692. Find this resource:
  693. Gillingham, John. “The Treatment of the Defeated, c. 950–1350: Historiography and the State of Research.” Paper presented at Caceres Conference, November 2009.
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  695. This provides an overview of a neglected aspect of military history.
  696. Find this resource:
  697. Mitchell, Piers. Medicine in the Crusades: Warfare, Wounds and the Medieval Surgeon. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
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  699. The author is a medical man with a fine knowledge of the Crusades, and this excellent work is based on archaeological and archival investigations.
  700. Find this resource:
  701. Strickland, Matthew J. “The Vanquished Bodies: Some Comparisons and Conclusions.” In El cuerpo derrotado: Cómo trataban Musulmanes y Cristianos a los enemigos vencidos (Península Ibérica, ss VIII–XIII). Edited by Maribel Fierro and Francisco Garcia Fitz, 531–570. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, 2008.
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  703. A survey of the treatment of the victims of war across the Mediterranean and European world, in an important volume on the fate of such people in the Iberian Peninsula.
  704. Find this resource:
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