How the Crusades Changed History

by Philip Daileader

Centuries have passed since the last crusader knight laid down his sword, but the Crusades continue to hold sway over our world. Because the Crusades have been so consequential to history, it's essential to understand the context, motivations, and preconditions of these dramatic military campaigns. In doing so, you'll not only get a fresher understanding of the Crusades, you'll discover surprising truths about why (and how) they were fought. More than just an enriching recount of events, this series of 24 lectures is an intellectually rewarding exploration of how the Crusades shaped the medieval world and laid the seeds for our own. Plunging you into the series of Crusades to the Holy Land and elsewhere - from the calling of the First Crusade in 1095 to the collapse of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, in 1291 - Professor Daileader's lectures are filled with eye-opening insights and gripping stories that will help you reach your own conclusions about just how important these centuries of warfare were to the story of human civilization.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Medieval, Religion, War, Middle East

Audio CD

First published August 13, 2013

About the author

Ph.D., Harvard University,
The College of William and Mary

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_D...

Reviews

[Linda ~ they got the mustard out! ~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This did exactly what it said it would do: examined each of the Crusades and why they were ... crusaded; what they accomplished, if anything, and how they've been viewed over time; and what impact they had on the course of history. I liked how the lectures were laid out and progressed. The lecturer was pretty clear, though occasionally dry.

The Crusades were messy, ridiculous and filled with hypocrisy, which is to be expected, but much more disorganized than I anticipated. And a Children's Crusade? Really? And those were some violent shepherds.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic summary of the crusades and their impact.

Daileader is one of the best 3-4 professors of The Great Courses. This series is consistently interesting, covers all the major crusades, as well as peripheral crusades such as the Reconquista, Albigensian Crusade, and the northern crusades, as well as topics such as life in the crusader states or in the military orders.

I particularly enjoyed the several lectures where Daileader steps back and looks at the broader arc of history: for example, the expansion of the Ottomans and the history of papal indulgences.

I've listened to Daileader's other three series (Early, High, Late Middle Ages), and I can also confirm that very little material is retread in this series.

Highly recommended.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

These lectures explore why the Crusades where such a big deal.

Why I started this book: Perfect compliment to my other books about the Middle East, comparative religions and history.

Why I finished it: Fascinating to see the flow on effects, from the fall of the Byzantine Empire, the rise of the Turks and the granting of indulgences to all those that fought, then all those that promised to fight and then to all those that promised to fight and then paid an "I'm sorry I got sick and can't fight" to the straight just give me the money and I'll grant you an indulgence. Martin Luther wasn't the first but he did point out the corruption of the indulgences. Also I had no idea that there were crusades to Southern France, Germany, Latvia and not to mention Egypt in addition to the Holy Land.

[Cookie M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a lot to learn from this lecture series, especially since the Crusades are not well covered in American public schools, nor in basic college modern World history courses. My only complaint is Prof. Daleander's diction is a bit hard to understand and his French is atrocious. I kept having.to look things up on Wikipedia to figure out who he was talking about, until I remembered the supplemental course material provided.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was too short! So absorbing. Was free on Audible.

[Michael Beck · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent summary of the crusading movement of the Middle Ages. Daileader is a historian that is very engaging and often funny. I had previously enjoyed his three Great Courses lecture series on the Middle Ages, but this one was even better than those. Daileader keeps to the historical events and does not add extensive commentary (where so many others want to show their "chronological snobbery" on subjects like this.) He does not go into much depth with theological issues (another plus). He is even handed towards all groups represented, with a very slight tone of criticism towards the Roman Catholic Church. He even shows in the last lecture how the indulgences invented to support the Crusades eventually lead to Luther's response during at the Reformation. This last lecture was a much needed connection to Modern times, as the Reformation would have far ranging effects upon the world.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best depiction of the crusades I have seen so far. Very insightful, systematic, and balanced. After the crusades kept going on, the common people started asking if maybe God's favor was not with the crusaders because of how badly they went over time. Francis of Assisi is mentioned as seeing crusades (pilgrimage) as a way of spreading the gospel if I recall correctly. Eventually the contractual nature of the crusades become more apparent as they morphed into indulgences with no real oath of pilgrimage. This practice became cruder and cruder until Martin Luther broke the church because it had become too corrupt. Francis Schaeffer would say that this is the inevitable result of creating a dichotomy between grace and nature.

[Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is so much information told in this course! I knew some of it, learned lots, but most of all I gained a plethora of perspective concerning the Crusades. What caused them, how it all shaped the thinking of both sides, what were some of the contemporary thoughts concerning the Crusades, what other factors could have shaped the time periods, and so much more. Truly understanding events in time is a gateway to the human psychie, not to mention a key to actual knowledge. The Crusades we're not so much about taking things away from others but just enough about understanding ones place in . . . everything. This is truly a fascinating bit of history!!

[Ethan May · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incredibly well researched and dripping with knowledge.

This is a great history of the crusades, though at many times it feels more like a bullet point breakdown of events and timelines rather than an explanation of how the crusades shaped history.

Hard to follow along with sometimes but that’s less to the fault of the author and more to the sheer weight of the subject matter and number of years that are gathered in these lectures.

I will also say I appreciate that every lecture is nearly exactly 30 minutes so you can pace yourself well if you only want to listen to one per day.

There was also a fair bit of humour here that I appreciated.

[Drew Fortune · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s a sleight of hand when we discuss the Crusades. This course refuses the safe endpoints. Forget the Renaissance. Instead, trace stranger threads: How do the Crusades midwife the Ottomans? The Protestant Reformation?

What the Crusades actually were: an experiment in mobilizing resources at unprecedented scale. Financial instruments for distant wars. Administrative infrastructure dressed as religious fervor. Crusades transformed the Church into a bureaucratic machine so grotesque it generated its own antibodies.

Solid history. Better questions. Another week spent with a great course.

[Mark Lawry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great quick overview of the entire disastrous few 100 years. We all know it was common to kill Jews as the bands of crusaders headed east. I did not however know how extensive crusading was within Europe against other groups, to include other Catholics. Now I have a better understanding as to why my friend who recommended this series now recommends books on each individual crusade. And if I was a faster reader I'd try to keep up with him on this challenge.

[Kemp · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is laid out as a series of lectures so best consumed via audio; which is what I did. Daileader’s book is part of The Great Courses series – a set of lectures by professors ranging across a broad set of topics.

I found Daileader easy listening. If my professors had had any of Daileader’s traits I might have finished my studies sooner while enjoying the journey more. I immediately looked for other lectures in this series and others by Daileader.

[RJ Wit · Rating 2 out of 5]

The lecturer is good, the information is presented in a good way, BUT.

The title of the course isn't very accurate. It's mostly a recounting of the crusades with only 4 or 5 lectures talking about how they actually changed history. I know context is required, but if 80% of the lecture is context and 20% is the thesis, I don't think it's a decent course. If you spend most of the course not even addressing your thesis, the premise that you're trying to prove, what are you doing?

[A.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ooh I love stuff like this. It is a recording of a series of lectures. 12 hours of them. With an accompanying pdf of all the slides. Free on Audible Plus right now. [July 2022]

Richard the Lionheart and Sulaiman swapping gifts, like polar bears and giraffes, and sending fruit baskets to each other when they were ill. ‘Who doesn’t love a good fruit basket’ he quips. bwahaha.

4 stars

[Kevin Hanks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great set of lectures and I enjoyed it. Learned a lot that I didn’t know before. Only complaint was that that it was much more a retelling and recitation of the crusades (dates, people, actors, cities, etc), than others was an analysis of the impacts of these events. So the title was slightly misleading, and It did not, in fact focus on how the crusades changed the world.

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

The fake applause after each lecture was a bit much. I enjoyed these lectures, albeit they got a little repetitive. Folks want a shortcut to heaven, so they join a crusade, various miscommunications befall them, and the crusade fails. I have to wonder what Jesus thought/thinks about this whole thing.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very long recitation of the history of the crusades. The lectures were well-done, but included far more of a play-by-play version of what happened, with less commentary or "and this is what happened as a result..." type analysis thrown in. I found it hard to finish.

[Scott Loughridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Overview of the Crusades

[Arkrayder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating to learn about the crusades. I didn’t realize there were multiple crusades and not just to the Holy Land, but also Germany, Southern France and Egypt, to name just a few.

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Tonya · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. Kinda dull in places. The best was the last 7 chapters or so.

[Martin Spiegelman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Philip Daileader is a wonderful and effective lecturer. I have audited all hist lectures on the Middle Ages (multiple times) and have enjoyed them thoroughly.

[Kenneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lecture 19 is particularly good.

[Michael Patton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detailed, but entertaining. The Crusades were crazier than I thought. And the waste was even greater than I thought.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably the best course I've listened to thus far by this lecturer. Engaging, informative and well structured.

[Paula Schumm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this group of lessons from the Great Courses. The lecturer tells the history of the Crusades. Recommended.

[Aaron Ash · Rating 3 out of 5]

The theme of these lectures is stated in the last: Respect and Fear the law of unintended consequences.

I knew very little about the crusades before listening to this. I know a great deal more at the moment. The information about the Knights Templar I found especially interesting.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I ended up listening to this lecture series shortly after listening to The Era of the Crusades because of a discussion with a friend about the potential value of having a deeper focus on a topic; normally I would have wanted to space things out a bit more. But I was also drawn in by the fact that the title suggested a different perspective: How the Crusades Changed History seems like it would be retrospective, looking at events in later history and tracing them back to events in the crusades. As it happened, that was not the case: this series has broadly the same structure of Era (though more condensed at two thirds the length), covering the different crusades and their outcomes in broadly chronological order, then providing some overview commentary at the end. Also problematic is the fact that I think history should be broadly inclusive, but this series is almost entirely focused on the Western European perspective; I was critical of Era for not being more inclusive in its sources, but it tried more than this one. However, once you accept that the title is not to be read as an overview of the content, and that the intended focus of the lectures is a primarily European account of the Crusades and their impact, I think it does a decent job. Compared to Era, there is a lot more focus on the economics and conditions "at home" so to speak, the way and reasons that the idea of Crusading evolved in Western Europe. And in particular, more attention is given to Crusades in Europe: in Spain, in north-eastern Europe, and in southern France. Though I still wish for a history that better integrates cultural sources (or maybe straight up tells of the Crusades from the Muslim perspective), this was a useful series both for reinforcing information I had gained from Era and adding to my knowledge of related topics.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This consisted of 24, 30-minute lectures in audio format, downloaded from TheGreatCourses.com.
I find Dr Daileader a very skilled and entertaining lecturer, so I may be a bit biased in my review...but, what the heck, it's just a review. For those thinking of purchasing this series, the lecturer is very well prepared and delivers with an energy and dry wit that is both entertaining and informative. Since I prefer audio lectures (always following along in front of a laptop that I can bring-up real-time specific maps and items that shed more light on particular subjects) I could spend more time using the references and suggested reading (authors) which were quite helpful (and we all watch too many videos anyway).
The lectures lay the foundations for how these sometimes awful crusades might have changed the course of history. Not so much for what they accomplished, but for what they did not... Ottoman domination...the reformation...the foundation of prejudices that endure even to today?
Makes you think. In the end, isn't that what we all want from these courses?
Highly recommend (as always, on sale and with a coupon). Now I want to try the Dr Harl (from The Great Courses) lectures on the same subject.

[Jennifer Bohnhoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

14 hours of lecture by the Great Courses Company, this is a good overview of the entire scope and sequence of the Crusades. Dr. Daileader follows both a chronological and thematic line of thinking and does a lot of good name dropping, but anyone really interested needs to use this as the first step in a more extensive and deeper journey.