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Product Description
Product Description
Runciman examines the revival of the Frankish kingdom at the time of the Third Crusade until its collapse a century later. The various themes of the book include: Christiandom, the replacement of the cultured Ayubites by the less sympathetic Mameluks as leader of the Muslem world, and the coming of the Mongols. He includes a chapter on architecture and the arts, and an epilogue on the last manifestations of the Crusading spirit.
About the Author
Sir Steven Runciman (1903-2000) was a medieval historian and expert on Byzantium.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Challenging, but ultimately worth the effort.,
By A Customer
As an earlier reviewer has noted, this is a book essentially intended for genuine historians, and is thus a little dry for interested laymen like myself. However, if you're willing to make the effort, what you get is definitely worthwhile. The first part of the book is an attempt to summarise the road to the crusades from the early history of Europe and the Middle East and the founding of Islam. Whilst this is interesting, it is also, of necessity, somewhat rushed, which is the book's major weakness. Thereafter, we are treated to a meticulously sourced and detailed history that occasionally gets a little arch, but isn't afraid to make a few speculations about the character and state of mind of the various protagonists. A difficult and academic read, then, but if you're interested in the Crusades, this classic should be a first port of call.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Crusade,
By A Customer
This book is a detailed account of the beginning of the Crusading movement, giving you a well researched and interesting description of the events and characters of the First Crusade, like the infamous Tancred and the quixotic Walter Sans-Avoir.
The first section of the book gives you an overview of the wars between Islam and the Byzantine Empire. It also deals with the origin of pilgrimages, which can be difficult to follow considering the constant flow of events, names and dates. Yet when it comes to describe the First Crusade, Runciman's book becomes an adventure. This (and its two follow-ups) are must reads for anyone interested in the Crusades. Runciman actually intended this series as a three volume set for other historians and academics, but his prose is so brilliant and lucid it can be easily read by the layman, give or take a few words. All in all this is definately worth getting, and very rewarding if you stick too it. Highly recommended.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Desert War,
By A Customer
This review is from: A History of the Crusades: Volume 3 - The Kingdom of Acre and the Later Crusades: The Kingdom Of Acre and the Later Crusades v. 3 (Paperback)
After the somewhat tiresome feuds and intrigues of volume 2, this book picks up the momentum again and sees the story through to (and beyond) the final destruction of the Frankish Kingdom of Jerusalem. It's actually the best of the three, and the stuff you're most interested in is probably here: Richard the Lionheart's heroics and Saladin's enlightened behaviour in the Third Crusade; the disgraceful sack of Constantinople by the Fourth; the strange expeditions against Egypt of the Fifth and Sixth. After a couple of interesting, but strictly irrelevant, digressions about the empire of Genghis Khan the narrative returns to Palestine and the desperate, futile last defence of Outremer.Whilst it's obviously true that Runciman writes from a European perspective, no-one could find fault with his objectivity: he impartially awards both praise and blame where they are due, and if anything his sympathies are obviously with the hapless Byzantine Empire rather than the Crusaders (he believes there has been 'no greater crime against humanity' than the attack on Constantinople; a claim rather undermined by his own description of Genghis Khan's campaigns). As a set these books are an outstanding example of history as literature, and blessed relief from postmodern witterings and the cartoon-strip of TV history alike. The crusading movement was distinguished by appalling savagery and stupidity, yet there is also enough self-sacrificing courage to demonstrate that this was an age at once more generous and more intense than our own. It is a definite injustice to say these volumes are remotely academic in tone or outlook. What they are, is detailed: there are a lot of names and situations to keep track of. They assume a degree of knowledge of the historical and cultural background (which is probably reasonable); and also a quite localised acquaintance with medieval Levantine geography (which is possibly not). If the latter is a fault, it's compounded by a dearth of the clear maps which are essential in any work about military campaigns. That aside: brilliant.
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