Geoffrey Hindley (1935–2014)

CONTENTS

1. Acknowledgements - pag. vii
2. List of Illustrations - pag. ix
3. Maps - pag. xi
4. Chronology of Jihad and Crusade - pag. xv

1. Introduction: What;s in a Name ? - pag. 1
2. Beginnings 632 - 1095 - pag. 9
3. The First Crusade 1095 - 1099 - pag. 25
4. Life and Politics in a Multicultural World - pag. 51
5. The Second Crisade: Disaster on the Road to Damascus - pag. 71
6. Turk and Kurd: Heroes of Islam - pag. 87
7. Women and an Alternative FEudalism - pag. 107
8. Loss of Jerusalem and the Third Crusade 1187 - 1192 - pag. 121
9. The Fourth Crusade: The Latin Conquest of Constantinople and the Scandal od Christemdom - pag. 143
10. Heathen, Heretics and Children - pag. 159
11. Triumphs of an Excommunicated Emperor - pag. 177
12. The Failures of a Saint - pag. 195
13. Acre and After - pag. 209
14. Chivalry Decline of a Flawed Ideal - pag. 225
15. The Lingering Decline of a Flawed Ideal - pag. 237
16. Epilogue: The Aftermath - pag. 255

Appendix I: The Popes, from Gregory VII to Sixtus V - pag. 261
Appendix II: Rulerl of The Kingdom of Jerusalem - pag. 267
Appendix III: Ayyubid Dynasty - Rulers of Egypt - pag. 270
Appendix IV: Byzantine Emperors at the Time od the Firts Crusades - pag. 272
Appendix V: Ottoman Prices and Sultanes 1300 - 1566 - pag. 274
Appendix VI: Western Emperors 1056 - 1555 - pag. 276

Notes - pag. 281
Select Bibliography - pag. 288
Index - pag. 292… (mais)

Pros: excellent overview, covers all the crusades, good supplementary material

Cons: superficial coverage can leave gaps in knowledge

This is a short but comprehensive record of the crusades, from what led up to the calling of the first crusade, to how modern nations have looked back on them. In addition to dealing with each crusade and what happened between them, the book also has an excellent chronology, a few maps, and appendices of the various popes and secular rulers of some of the principle nations involved. There are 14 chapters, with an additional introduction explaining what the crusades were and an epilogue. While there are scant details of each crusade, the author is careful to note the various horrors each side perpetuated and how each side was impacted by the crusades (so you get some idea of how Jews, heretics, Muslims, Orthodox Christians, Catholic Christians, etc. reacted. The one group that got very little input were the Eastern European pagans, who are mentioned in later chapters but there isn’t much information about how they reacted to the crusades beyond what battles they were involved in).

There isn’t much detail for each crusade, the length of the book necessarily forcing the author to cover each one briefly, but the author does an excellent job of covering the basics and more. In some cases it’s easy to skip over some of the more horrible aspects, as they could get a single line - like the fact that some crusaders resorted to cannibalism to survive the first crusade. Having said that, I was impressed by how much information was crammed in. The book provides an excellent overview of the crusades as a whole after which you can easily pick up a book on a specific crusade/period to get more in depth information, knowing the broad strokes of the movement.

If you’re interested in the crusades and want a book that covers it all, this is a good one.… (mais)

A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons covers the Anglo-Saxon history from A.D. 400 (around the time of their invasion of England) through to the 1100s (the ‘Aftermath' of the Norman invasion). Geoffrey Hindley not only includes the Anglo-Saxon influence on the British Isles but also how they influenced mainland Europe. Despite being a "brief" history, this book covers a wealth of information, including culture, religion, and literature as well as military aspects. Geoffrey Hindley has a scholarly writing style that none the less manages to convey the history of the Anglo-Saxons in an interesting and informative manner. Maps, photographs and genealogical tables are included in this book.

I much preferred this book by Geoffrey Hindley in comparison to The Anglo-Saxon Age by Martin Wall, which has a more informal writing style, but leaves out mainland Europe completely and ignores the Anglo-Saxon cultural history in favour of a simplified military history.
… (mais)