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Die Kreuzzüge
This is a comprehensive account of the eight religious wars between the Christian West and the Muslim East that dominated the Middle Ages.
432 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
42 people are currently reading
367 people want to read
About the author
Robert Payne
339 books36 followersPierre Stephen Robert Payne was born December 4, 1911, in Saltash, County of Cornwall, England, the son of Stephen Payne, a naval architect, and Mireille Louise Antonia (Dorey) Payne, a native of France. Payne was the eldest of three brothers. His middle brother was Alan (Marcel Alan), and his youngest brother was Tony, who died at the age of seven.
Payne went to St. Paul's School, London. He attended the Diocesan College, Rondebosch, South Africa, 1929-30; the University of Capetown, 1928-1930; Liverpool University, 1933-35; the University of Munich, summer, 1937, and the Sorbonne, in Paris, 1938.
Payne first followed his father into shipbuilding, working as a shipwright's apprentice at Cammell, Laird's Shipbuilding Company, Birkendhead, 1931-33. He also worked for the Inland Revenue as an Assistant Inspector of Taxes in Guilford in 1936. In 1937-38 he traveled in Europe and, while in Munich, met Adolf Hitler through Rudolf Hess, an incident which Payne vividly describes in his book Eyewitness. In 1938 Payne covered the Civil War in Spain for the London News Chronicle, an experience that resulted in two books, A Young Man Looks at Europe and The Song of the Peasant.
From 1939 to 1941 Payne worked as a shipwright at the Singapore Naval Base and in 1941 he became an armament officer and chief camouflage officer for British Army Intelligence there. In December, 1941, he was sent to Chungking, China, to serve as Cultural Attaché at the British Embassy.
In January, 1942, he covered the battle of Changsha for the London Times, and from 1942 to 1943 he taught English literature at Fuhtan University, near Chungking. Then, persuaded by Joseph Needham, he went to Kunming and taught poetry and naval architecture at Lienta University from 1943 to 1946. The universities of Peking, Tsinghua, and Nankai had converged in Kunming to form the University at Lienta. It was there that Payne, together with Chinese scholars and poets, compiled and co-translated The White Pony.
In China Payne met General George C. Marshall, Chiang Kai-shek, and Mao Tse-tung, who was elusive and living in the caves of Yenan, all of whom later became subjects for his biographies. From his time in China also came the autobiographical volumes Forever China and China Awake, and the historical novels Love and Peace and The Lovers.
From China, Payne briefly visited India in the summer, 1946, which resulted in a love for Indian art. Throughout his life, Payne retained a love for all forms of oriental art.
He came to the United States in the winter of 1946 and lived in Los Angeles, California, until he became Professor of English and Author-in-Residence at Alabama College, Montevallo, 1949-54. He was the founding editor of Montevallo Review, whose contributors included poets Charles Olson and Muriel Rukeyser. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1953.
In Spring, 1949, Payne visited Persia with the Asia Institute Expedition. He received an M.A. degree from the Asia Institute in 1951.
In 1954 Payne moved to New York City, where he lived the rest of his life, interrupted once or twice a year by travel to the Middle East, the Far East, and Europe, mostly to gather material for his books, but also to visit his mother and father in England. His very close literary relationship with his father is documented in the hundreds of highly personal and informative letters which they exchanged.
In 1942, Payne married Rose Hsiung, daughter of Hsiung Hse-ling, a former prime minister of China. They divorced in 1952. In 1981, he married Sheila Lalwani, originally from India.
Over a period of forty-seven years Payne had more than 110 books published. He wrote his first novella, Adventures of Sylvia, Queen of Denmark and China, when he was seven years old. Payne's first publication was a translation of Iiuri Olesha's Envy, published by Virginia and Leonard Woolf's Hogarth Press in 1936. A year later, T.S. Eliot published his novel The War in the Marshes under
Payne went to St. Paul's School, London. He attended the Diocesan College, Rondebosch, South Africa, 1929-30; the University of Capetown, 1928-1930; Liverpool University, 1933-35; the University of Munich, summer, 1937, and the Sorbonne, in Paris, 1938.
Payne first followed his father into shipbuilding, working as a shipwright's apprentice at Cammell, Laird's Shipbuilding Company, Birkendhead, 1931-33. He also worked for the Inland Revenue as an Assistant Inspector of Taxes in Guilford in 1936. In 1937-38 he traveled in Europe and, while in Munich, met Adolf Hitler through Rudolf Hess, an incident which Payne vividly describes in his book Eyewitness. In 1938 Payne covered the Civil War in Spain for the London News Chronicle, an experience that resulted in two books, A Young Man Looks at Europe and The Song of the Peasant.
From 1939 to 1941 Payne worked as a shipwright at the Singapore Naval Base and in 1941 he became an armament officer and chief camouflage officer for British Army Intelligence there. In December, 1941, he was sent to Chungking, China, to serve as Cultural Attaché at the British Embassy.
In January, 1942, he covered the battle of Changsha for the London Times, and from 1942 to 1943 he taught English literature at Fuhtan University, near Chungking. Then, persuaded by Joseph Needham, he went to Kunming and taught poetry and naval architecture at Lienta University from 1943 to 1946. The universities of Peking, Tsinghua, and Nankai had converged in Kunming to form the University at Lienta. It was there that Payne, together with Chinese scholars and poets, compiled and co-translated The White Pony.
In China Payne met General George C. Marshall, Chiang Kai-shek, and Mao Tse-tung, who was elusive and living in the caves of Yenan, all of whom later became subjects for his biographies. From his time in China also came the autobiographical volumes Forever China and China Awake, and the historical novels Love and Peace and The Lovers.
From China, Payne briefly visited India in the summer, 1946, which resulted in a love for Indian art. Throughout his life, Payne retained a love for all forms of oriental art.
He came to the United States in the winter of 1946 and lived in Los Angeles, California, until he became Professor of English and Author-in-Residence at Alabama College, Montevallo, 1949-54. He was the founding editor of Montevallo Review, whose contributors included poets Charles Olson and Muriel Rukeyser. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1953.
In Spring, 1949, Payne visited Persia with the Asia Institute Expedition. He received an M.A. degree from the Asia Institute in 1951.
In 1954 Payne moved to New York City, where he lived the rest of his life, interrupted once or twice a year by travel to the Middle East, the Far East, and Europe, mostly to gather material for his books, but also to visit his mother and father in England. His very close literary relationship with his father is documented in the hundreds of highly personal and informative letters which they exchanged.
In 1942, Payne married Rose Hsiung, daughter of Hsiung Hse-ling, a former prime minister of China. They divorced in 1952. In 1981, he married Sheila Lalwani, originally from India.
Over a period of forty-seven years Payne had more than 110 books published. He wrote his first novella, Adventures of Sylvia, Queen of Denmark and China, when he was seven years old. Payne's first publication was a translation of Iiuri Olesha's Envy, published by Virginia and Leonard Woolf's Hogarth Press in 1936. A year later, T.S. Eliot published his novel The War in the Marshes under
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
August 25, 2023
One of the finest narratives of the Crusades, covering the period of the lead up to the Crusades to their final end after the Mongols.
One of the greatest parts of this book is that it avoids segregating groups of people into good and bad, as there’s plenty of larger than life characters on all sides of these conflicts that range from some of the most charitable good to the most loathsome evil, but most people are a mix of both.
More than anything else, this book helped me to understand the environment around the Crusades, in Africa, Europe, and the Holy Land. The detailed history, with supporting documents, of the actions taken by the Christians and Muslims during this period is fascinating, beyond the intrigue and intricacies of A Song of Ice and Fire.
My 5/5 rating for this is because I would recommend it to people without any particular interest in the Crusades. It’s both accessible and as thorough as any single volume could be, with great writing, and an engaging of a storyline that I’ve ever seen in nonfiction.
One of the greatest parts of this book is that it avoids segregating groups of people into good and bad, as there’s plenty of larger than life characters on all sides of these conflicts that range from some of the most charitable good to the most loathsome evil, but most people are a mix of both.
More than anything else, this book helped me to understand the environment around the Crusades, in Africa, Europe, and the Holy Land. The detailed history, with supporting documents, of the actions taken by the Christians and Muslims during this period is fascinating, beyond the intrigue and intricacies of A Song of Ice and Fire.
My 5/5 rating for this is because I would recommend it to people without any particular interest in the Crusades. It’s both accessible and as thorough as any single volume could be, with great writing, and an engaging of a storyline that I’ve ever seen in nonfiction.
March 30, 2008
The first book I read about the period, I was fascinated by it. Especially since I live in Israel the subject is significant to me- one can draw a lot of parallels between the situation Israel is in today to that of the Crusaders (putting aside of course the fact that they slaughtered many a Jew in and on their way to the Holy Land).
The book is a good introduction and the author obviously has a great passion for the subject which is infectious to the reader. You'll need other books for a deeper discussion of each Crusade and specific aspects such as battles, warfare and fortifications.
The book is a good introduction and the author obviously has a great passion for the subject which is infectious to the reader. You'll need other books for a deeper discussion of each Crusade and specific aspects such as battles, warfare and fortifications.
March 27, 2017
Superb, excellent writing, excellent information and eye opening. Great introduction to the Crusades as a whole. Definitely recommended for those just getting into the Crusades who will continue to read more after this book or for those just wanting to gain knowledge on the basic overview. Either way cannot go wrong with this book.
Want to read
May 26, 202199p on amazon 26th May 2021
April 7, 2019
Payne tuntuu alkupuheessaan jossain määrin ihailevan ristiretkiläisiä. "Kaipaamme" kuulemma ristiretkien aikaista selkeämpää maailmaa, emmekä kykene ymmärtämään ristiretkiläisiä, koska olemme menettäneet kyvyn samanlaiseen "uskomusten energiaan." Tämä tuntuu oudolta, koska Payne käy heti alussa läpi kristittyjen aikalaiskirjoituksia, joiden mukaan ensimmäiset ristiretkeläiset mm. seivästivät vauvoja ja paistoivat heitä nuotiolla. Muutoinkin sotarikokset ja korruptio käydään sen verran yksityiskohtaisesti läpi, että on vaikea ymmärtää miten kirjoittaja voi romantisoida aikakautta.
Payne on kuulemma käynyt läpi myös muslimilähteitä, joten siinä mielessä oli pettymys, kuinka vähän muslimien näkökulmaa kirjassa käsiteltiin. Huomio on enemmän Euroopasta lähteneissä kuninkaissa ja ristiretkiläisissä ja esim. alueelle vakiintuneet kristityt tahot, kuten temppeliritarit, ohitetaan. Payne tuntuu myös olettavan aiheen olevan lukijalle jo jossain määrin ennestään tuttu, koska esim. Vuoren Vanhus mainitaan useita kertoja, mutta lukijalle ei kerrota kuka hän on tai mitkä ovat hänen taustansa.
Mutta noilla varauksilla kirja on todella hyvä! Teksti on selkeää ja viihdyttävästi kirjoitettua ja jos kaikki kaipaamani lisätiedot olisi kirjaan lisätty, niin 400 sivua ei olisi riittänyt.
Payne on kuulemma käynyt läpi myös muslimilähteitä, joten siinä mielessä oli pettymys, kuinka vähän muslimien näkökulmaa kirjassa käsiteltiin. Huomio on enemmän Euroopasta lähteneissä kuninkaissa ja ristiretkiläisissä ja esim. alueelle vakiintuneet kristityt tahot, kuten temppeliritarit, ohitetaan. Payne tuntuu myös olettavan aiheen olevan lukijalle jo jossain määrin ennestään tuttu, koska esim. Vuoren Vanhus mainitaan useita kertoja, mutta lukijalle ei kerrota kuka hän on tai mitkä ovat hänen taustansa.
Mutta noilla varauksilla kirja on todella hyvä! Teksti on selkeää ja viihdyttävästi kirjoitettua ja jos kaikki kaipaamani lisätiedot olisi kirjaan lisätty, niin 400 sivua ei olisi riittänyt.
August 2, 2011
Of all the accounts of the Crusades I've read, this one strikes the best balance between being comprehensive and being readable. Oldenbourg goes into more detail, Mackay's long chapter in Extraordinary Popular Delusions is written with more humour but Payne has been most successful in educating me.
October 11, 2011
Probably my favorite history book, certainly the best on the crusades. Thoughtful, narrative, and comprehensive, this is a wonderful book for anyone who wants to take a hard, in depth look at one of the formative events in modern society.
April 22, 2023
Some details I find cool. For this review I’ll enter a bunch of info of each crusade or stuff I found interesting and then I’ll recap the whole book shortly at the end. Trying something different.
-The Tafurs, we’re a group of willingly impoverished people that fought for Christ in the crusades. They wore bare clothes and fought with rough weapons, they are never really mentioned but they’re cool. They fought intensely for Christ and hurled themselves into danger being hero’s for Christ.
-the holy lance and how it was found and Peter Bartholomew getting a vision of St. Andrew and Jesus coming to him and telling him to go to Antioch to find it for the crusaders. He found it in a ditch where he was told it would he and he walked through fire with minor burns holding it to prove it was real. He lived barely getting burned and came out and the crowd hurt him, breaking his spine from it. He died approx. 2 weeks later, not from the burns. I believe in this miracle to be honest
-the first soldiers to go crusading were led by a poor man/ hermit and though they got defeated, they still fought with valor in Christ. They are also not often mentioned but it’s cool to learn of them too.
-Baldwin III led a second expedition to capture Bosra after a Muslim said he would give it to them, they marched out and were tricked and encircled but they fought their way back to the sea to get back home and on their way back they saw a knight on a white horse with a scarlet banner who didn’t talk to anyone who led them the rest of the way back, a true miracle likely
*Those were cool facts about the first crusade, now onto the second.
-Saladin comes into the picture and Amaury I rules Jerusalem after Baldwin III, Amaury dies and the leper king Baldwin IV comes to the throne to challenge Saladin.
-Baldwin at around age 17 led far fewer troops than Saladin had into battle with him and they emerged victorious scattering the Muslims by the hundreds/thousands. More fights ensued with Saladin and Baldwin each having victories and defeats, but Baldwin IV was a really good king imo. They signed a truce for 2 years, in 1180 I believe, so each could rest after the brutal fighting to recover for more fighting later on.
-A story of Saladin being enslaved and a castle servant could have been true. Muslim chroniclers would’ve likely hidden that info, so it’s not improbable as a kid that he was captured in a skirmish or raid or something. Page 195/96 for more details if wanted.
- The battle at the horns of Hattin, the crusaders worst defeat. The king, Guy, a new king since Baldwin IV died and his heir Baldwin V, a child kind died after a year, led them there to get to a city that needed help and camped the army by the horns (these 2 hilled mountain type things. Starving and thirsty the Christians were surrounded, they somehow got the courage to fight till the last with only certain knights and men escaping so they could fight another day. The Christians had to give up once it got too bad and they surrendered, the kingdom of Jerusalem was essentially no more, it fell to Muslims soon after and Jerusalem was unfortunately never regained by Christians until Frederick in the late 1220’s.
*Crusade number 3
-King Richard and king Phillip of France are leading a joint expedition and crusade. After hearing of the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin they decided to go together to try and wrest the land back from the Saracens.
-King Richard after finally landing in the holy land after a lot of other things like fighting kings in Crete and Cyprus and more, falls sick to likely malaria. He is sick and there is the siege of Acre I believe and he’s laying in his bed sick and sees a Saracen on the walls mocking them with Anglo armor from a soldier he killed, Richard I sits up and shoots him with a crossbow in the heart killing him. Richard the lion-heart is epic.
-Richard never conquered Jerusalem unfortunately. He stayed in the holy land for some time and came close to great victories but never, sadly, took Jerusalem. He went home to France and England and waged war there and died some years later besieging a castle.
*4th crusade
-The Doge and the vermillion galley along with nobles from France who’s family fought in the holy land decided to go on another crusade. The target was oddly Egypt and not the holy land, there was a secret though so the doge could attack Zara, Hungary took it, and then sack Constantinople, one of the biggest blunders ever I think.
-The sack of Constantinople was more brutal than I knew really. They destroyed so many Greek texts, libraries, relics, statues that were from the classical era, raped, murdered, everything. I knew they stole a lot but not to that great an extent or for a long while. Thus the 4th crusade ended and no trip to the holy land was every really taken.
*The Children’s Crusade
-I never heard of this but about a decade after the 4th, kids from France and Germany decided to go on a crusade. Almost 10 thousand decided to go try to free Jerusalem from the Saracens. They didn’t make it far, some took ships from southern Europe and were blown to Africa and sold into slavery, crossing the alps they were later taken command of and the boys sold into slavery, the girls became prostitutes. The children’s crusade is a sad event that is largely not remembered.
*The fifth crusade
-This one was actually in the holy land at first and started off pretty well. A king of Austria, and a king of Hungary, along with many more started off pretty strong in the holy land. They captured some strategic areas with the Teutonic knights, templars, and Hospitallars all working with the crusade. They came to a halt when their camps flooded and the sickness and plagues started to weaken them a lot.
-led by a cardinal from Spain, the crusades came to essentially a standstill. The money being asked for in Europe was not given or reinforcements were being sent never came to fruition. The crusade halted and in Egypt the crusaders and Muslims set an 8 year truce. The fifth crusade lost a decent amount but never gained much, if anything, if Frederick II, the holy Roman emperor had come to the east on time instead of stalling and being caught up in Germany, then maybe the fifth crusade could’ve had a way more positive course.
*6th crusade
-Frederick II, after delaying so long finally made his way to the holy land. On the way there though, he took detours and breaks and conquered Cyprus. He was excommunicated but still continued on his way. He married the queen of Jerusalem before leaving and she birthed Conrad but died shortly after. He made it to the holy land and signed a deal with a Saracen leader who handed over Jerusalem and so many other places. Muslims were still allowed in Jerusalem though. He left Jerusalem after being crowned king there in under 48 hours. He decided to head back for Europe and thus the crusade was brought to an end. Before leaving he attacked templars and Acre. They held their ground and he left after a week. The 6th crusade was a victory for the Christian’s by a king who was no longer a Christian declared by the pope and the church. Also Frederick was oddly fond of Islam too and was friends with the sultan of Egypt.
*Barons Crusade
-Called by pope Gregory IX, a large crusade that was aimed at reconquering Jerusalem after Frederick’s viceroy let the city fall to Muslims again, I say aimed at that because it’s what happened but the fall of Jerusalem that time wasn’t largely talked about, the book claims the Christian’s left the city but no one really talked about it.
-The land held by the crusaders was secure at first, the Muslims were fighting amongst themselves and were unstable, many different groups existed and wanted power. Then the crusaders also fought amongst themselves and the Templars and Hospitallars were angry at each other, the kingdom was divided only together in name really. Then a few years after the barons came and got a lot of land back, the Muslims unfortunately took it back largely.
-Jerusalem fell to tribesman In 1244, except a three month period in 1300, but it was a long while till Christians took back Jerusalem, almost 700 years. The British army took it in ww1 when the Turks surrendered it.
*Crusade of St. Louis
-a pious king, the only French one to become a saint, loved Christ and wanted the holy land. He set off for a crusade to take Jerusalem and stopped in Cyprus on the way. There, 2 mongols envoys arrived and tried to broker peace with the Franks to conquer the Saracens. It was accepted and so embassy’s were sent to the mongols but when they arrived, all the ruling khans of those areas were dead, a wife of one of the khans wasn’t that interested in an alliance and just wanted gold, so no peace in this moment was ever fully set.
-King Louis and the French easily took Damietta, they decided to attack Egypt directly because it was thought it would be better to do that and then move onto Jerusalem. The took the city after the Saracens fled, it seemed a miracle to many.
-After the Damietta victory, they marched south to Cairo. It was a mistake and the king was both directly or indirectly responsible for 50 thousand dead men. He sued for peace and paid ransom, he left for Acre after the peace to pay the rest of the ransom.
-The French met with the Assassins to attempt to mediate peace between Muslims kinda. The assassins are an interesting sect of Islam that’s dedicated to Muhammad’s nephew I think, Ali.
-A Shepard from Hungary led a “crusade” but just ransacked French country side and caused damage just wanted power for himself, he wanted the papacy and kingship and also performed “miracles” he was dealt with though, later on the king, Louis returned to France after 6 years and with 3 kids born in the holy land. He was the last true western king to lead a crusade it could be said. Louis set out on 2 crusades, the second was essentially doomed from the start. The crusade went to Carthage and lasted a total of 4 months, the king died while there
*Fall of Antioch and Acre
-Antioch fell to Baibars, a Muslim who was ruthless and cruel, Antioch would be Christian no longer.
-Edward I went to the holy land to crusade but other than that, there was no really huge crusades there anymore. Spain sent troops but left soon and even Edward didn’t bring a lot of men with him. Acre eventually fell a few years later, it was the last Christian stronghold and on Friday, may 18, 1291, acre fell and the kingdom of Jerusalem was gone, tragically. There ends the crusades largely. There were expeditions with mongols, Armenians and Christians from Cyprus who succeeded in taking the land again, it was quickly abandoned though because no help from Europe ever came, that was in the years 1300-1301 basically. Sadly Christians never held Jerusalem or the holy land until after WW1.
This book was super amazing! I recommend it to basically everyone especially if you like history, Europe, Christianity, etc.. The details were amazing and dense and it was so fun to read. Robert Payne, in my opinion, has written the best book on the crusades I’ve ever read so far. This book was amazing!
5/5
-The Tafurs, we’re a group of willingly impoverished people that fought for Christ in the crusades. They wore bare clothes and fought with rough weapons, they are never really mentioned but they’re cool. They fought intensely for Christ and hurled themselves into danger being hero’s for Christ.
-the holy lance and how it was found and Peter Bartholomew getting a vision of St. Andrew and Jesus coming to him and telling him to go to Antioch to find it for the crusaders. He found it in a ditch where he was told it would he and he walked through fire with minor burns holding it to prove it was real. He lived barely getting burned and came out and the crowd hurt him, breaking his spine from it. He died approx. 2 weeks later, not from the burns. I believe in this miracle to be honest
-the first soldiers to go crusading were led by a poor man/ hermit and though they got defeated, they still fought with valor in Christ. They are also not often mentioned but it’s cool to learn of them too.
-Baldwin III led a second expedition to capture Bosra after a Muslim said he would give it to them, they marched out and were tricked and encircled but they fought their way back to the sea to get back home and on their way back they saw a knight on a white horse with a scarlet banner who didn’t talk to anyone who led them the rest of the way back, a true miracle likely
*Those were cool facts about the first crusade, now onto the second.
-Saladin comes into the picture and Amaury I rules Jerusalem after Baldwin III, Amaury dies and the leper king Baldwin IV comes to the throne to challenge Saladin.
-Baldwin at around age 17 led far fewer troops than Saladin had into battle with him and they emerged victorious scattering the Muslims by the hundreds/thousands. More fights ensued with Saladin and Baldwin each having victories and defeats, but Baldwin IV was a really good king imo. They signed a truce for 2 years, in 1180 I believe, so each could rest after the brutal fighting to recover for more fighting later on.
-A story of Saladin being enslaved and a castle servant could have been true. Muslim chroniclers would’ve likely hidden that info, so it’s not improbable as a kid that he was captured in a skirmish or raid or something. Page 195/96 for more details if wanted.
- The battle at the horns of Hattin, the crusaders worst defeat. The king, Guy, a new king since Baldwin IV died and his heir Baldwin V, a child kind died after a year, led them there to get to a city that needed help and camped the army by the horns (these 2 hilled mountain type things. Starving and thirsty the Christians were surrounded, they somehow got the courage to fight till the last with only certain knights and men escaping so they could fight another day. The Christians had to give up once it got too bad and they surrendered, the kingdom of Jerusalem was essentially no more, it fell to Muslims soon after and Jerusalem was unfortunately never regained by Christians until Frederick in the late 1220’s.
*Crusade number 3
-King Richard and king Phillip of France are leading a joint expedition and crusade. After hearing of the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin they decided to go together to try and wrest the land back from the Saracens.
-King Richard after finally landing in the holy land after a lot of other things like fighting kings in Crete and Cyprus and more, falls sick to likely malaria. He is sick and there is the siege of Acre I believe and he’s laying in his bed sick and sees a Saracen on the walls mocking them with Anglo armor from a soldier he killed, Richard I sits up and shoots him with a crossbow in the heart killing him. Richard the lion-heart is epic.
-Richard never conquered Jerusalem unfortunately. He stayed in the holy land for some time and came close to great victories but never, sadly, took Jerusalem. He went home to France and England and waged war there and died some years later besieging a castle.
*4th crusade
-The Doge and the vermillion galley along with nobles from France who’s family fought in the holy land decided to go on another crusade. The target was oddly Egypt and not the holy land, there was a secret though so the doge could attack Zara, Hungary took it, and then sack Constantinople, one of the biggest blunders ever I think.
-The sack of Constantinople was more brutal than I knew really. They destroyed so many Greek texts, libraries, relics, statues that were from the classical era, raped, murdered, everything. I knew they stole a lot but not to that great an extent or for a long while. Thus the 4th crusade ended and no trip to the holy land was every really taken.
*The Children’s Crusade
-I never heard of this but about a decade after the 4th, kids from France and Germany decided to go on a crusade. Almost 10 thousand decided to go try to free Jerusalem from the Saracens. They didn’t make it far, some took ships from southern Europe and were blown to Africa and sold into slavery, crossing the alps they were later taken command of and the boys sold into slavery, the girls became prostitutes. The children’s crusade is a sad event that is largely not remembered.
*The fifth crusade
-This one was actually in the holy land at first and started off pretty well. A king of Austria, and a king of Hungary, along with many more started off pretty strong in the holy land. They captured some strategic areas with the Teutonic knights, templars, and Hospitallars all working with the crusade. They came to a halt when their camps flooded and the sickness and plagues started to weaken them a lot.
-led by a cardinal from Spain, the crusades came to essentially a standstill. The money being asked for in Europe was not given or reinforcements were being sent never came to fruition. The crusade halted and in Egypt the crusaders and Muslims set an 8 year truce. The fifth crusade lost a decent amount but never gained much, if anything, if Frederick II, the holy Roman emperor had come to the east on time instead of stalling and being caught up in Germany, then maybe the fifth crusade could’ve had a way more positive course.
*6th crusade
-Frederick II, after delaying so long finally made his way to the holy land. On the way there though, he took detours and breaks and conquered Cyprus. He was excommunicated but still continued on his way. He married the queen of Jerusalem before leaving and she birthed Conrad but died shortly after. He made it to the holy land and signed a deal with a Saracen leader who handed over Jerusalem and so many other places. Muslims were still allowed in Jerusalem though. He left Jerusalem after being crowned king there in under 48 hours. He decided to head back for Europe and thus the crusade was brought to an end. Before leaving he attacked templars and Acre. They held their ground and he left after a week. The 6th crusade was a victory for the Christian’s by a king who was no longer a Christian declared by the pope and the church. Also Frederick was oddly fond of Islam too and was friends with the sultan of Egypt.
*Barons Crusade
-Called by pope Gregory IX, a large crusade that was aimed at reconquering Jerusalem after Frederick’s viceroy let the city fall to Muslims again, I say aimed at that because it’s what happened but the fall of Jerusalem that time wasn’t largely talked about, the book claims the Christian’s left the city but no one really talked about it.
-The land held by the crusaders was secure at first, the Muslims were fighting amongst themselves and were unstable, many different groups existed and wanted power. Then the crusaders also fought amongst themselves and the Templars and Hospitallars were angry at each other, the kingdom was divided only together in name really. Then a few years after the barons came and got a lot of land back, the Muslims unfortunately took it back largely.
-Jerusalem fell to tribesman In 1244, except a three month period in 1300, but it was a long while till Christians took back Jerusalem, almost 700 years. The British army took it in ww1 when the Turks surrendered it.
*Crusade of St. Louis
-a pious king, the only French one to become a saint, loved Christ and wanted the holy land. He set off for a crusade to take Jerusalem and stopped in Cyprus on the way. There, 2 mongols envoys arrived and tried to broker peace with the Franks to conquer the Saracens. It was accepted and so embassy’s were sent to the mongols but when they arrived, all the ruling khans of those areas were dead, a wife of one of the khans wasn’t that interested in an alliance and just wanted gold, so no peace in this moment was ever fully set.
-King Louis and the French easily took Damietta, they decided to attack Egypt directly because it was thought it would be better to do that and then move onto Jerusalem. The took the city after the Saracens fled, it seemed a miracle to many.
-After the Damietta victory, they marched south to Cairo. It was a mistake and the king was both directly or indirectly responsible for 50 thousand dead men. He sued for peace and paid ransom, he left for Acre after the peace to pay the rest of the ransom.
-The French met with the Assassins to attempt to mediate peace between Muslims kinda. The assassins are an interesting sect of Islam that’s dedicated to Muhammad’s nephew I think, Ali.
-A Shepard from Hungary led a “crusade” but just ransacked French country side and caused damage just wanted power for himself, he wanted the papacy and kingship and also performed “miracles” he was dealt with though, later on the king, Louis returned to France after 6 years and with 3 kids born in the holy land. He was the last true western king to lead a crusade it could be said. Louis set out on 2 crusades, the second was essentially doomed from the start. The crusade went to Carthage and lasted a total of 4 months, the king died while there
*Fall of Antioch and Acre
-Antioch fell to Baibars, a Muslim who was ruthless and cruel, Antioch would be Christian no longer.
-Edward I went to the holy land to crusade but other than that, there was no really huge crusades there anymore. Spain sent troops but left soon and even Edward didn’t bring a lot of men with him. Acre eventually fell a few years later, it was the last Christian stronghold and on Friday, may 18, 1291, acre fell and the kingdom of Jerusalem was gone, tragically. There ends the crusades largely. There were expeditions with mongols, Armenians and Christians from Cyprus who succeeded in taking the land again, it was quickly abandoned though because no help from Europe ever came, that was in the years 1300-1301 basically. Sadly Christians never held Jerusalem or the holy land until after WW1.
This book was super amazing! I recommend it to basically everyone especially if you like history, Europe, Christianity, etc.. The details were amazing and dense and it was so fun to read. Robert Payne, in my opinion, has written the best book on the crusades I’ve ever read so far. This book was amazing!
5/5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 5, 2015
History is filled with remarkable stories but none that I have come across tells of such an incredible adventure as the Crusades. For over 200 years starting in 1098 CE, Europeans attempted to take and hold the Holy Land from those who they considered the infidel - the Muslims. Just when you would think they'd give up, the effort would be renewed, including an absurd "children's crusade" led by a fifteen year old that hoped to see Muslims abandon Jerusalem at the sight of thousands of pious unarmed children. As it happened, the kids never made it, being sold into slavery long before reaching Jerusalem.
Most amazing of all, after countless battles between Christians and Muslims over decades, the Mongols swept in out of Asia, put the Muslims to flight and then offered the entire Holy Land to the Christian Crusaders as a gift. Yet, in one of the greatest ironies of all time, the Christian presence had by that time dwindled to such a tiny population that there was no hope of holding the prize...there were hardly enough knights to hold even one city, let alone a dozen.
Talk about big names-the kings of France and England joined the cause. Richard the Lionhearted cemented his fame in Crusade battles. Disputes broke out about who should be crowned king of Jerusalem and greed drove nobles to over-extend themselves trying to grab additional land.
It was a call from the Byzantine emperor to a European noble to come defend against the Turks that started the whole thing and, something I had not known, the very first Crusade was the most successful - it was able to take Jerusalem and most of the Holy Land, keeping it for several decades, even to the point of creating "counties".
This book is very readable for a history. Payne doesn't get deeply into detail, offering only enough background to tell the story. This may leave some history fans disappointed, such as those who might be expecting a masterwork such as those produced by Barbara Tuchman or David McCulloch that delve deeply into personalities and the background on events. Payne is more like a journalist, wishing only to get the story out as clearly and concisely as possible and he succeeds. You will never find yourself struggling to turn the pages as there is more than enough action to pull you on. If anything, I found myself thinking, "oh no, not another battle!"
I was also reminded of how things haven't changed too much in the last 1000 years in the Middle East - there is still, at least on one side, the invocation of God and much talk about his will, the slaughter of innocents, beheadings and sieges. How many months have we been reading about the give and take in the suburbs of Damascus? In 2014, over 75,000 died in the Syrian civil war. Israel talks of Jerusalem being "the eternal capital of the Jews" and is trying to expel the Muslims as surely as the Crusaders, witness the recent wholesale massacre of defenseless Gazans in the name of defense.
The Dream and the Tomb is a great read. Better maps would be appreciated but the story itself is well told.
Most amazing of all, after countless battles between Christians and Muslims over decades, the Mongols swept in out of Asia, put the Muslims to flight and then offered the entire Holy Land to the Christian Crusaders as a gift. Yet, in one of the greatest ironies of all time, the Christian presence had by that time dwindled to such a tiny population that there was no hope of holding the prize...there were hardly enough knights to hold even one city, let alone a dozen.
Talk about big names-the kings of France and England joined the cause. Richard the Lionhearted cemented his fame in Crusade battles. Disputes broke out about who should be crowned king of Jerusalem and greed drove nobles to over-extend themselves trying to grab additional land.
It was a call from the Byzantine emperor to a European noble to come defend against the Turks that started the whole thing and, something I had not known, the very first Crusade was the most successful - it was able to take Jerusalem and most of the Holy Land, keeping it for several decades, even to the point of creating "counties".
This book is very readable for a history. Payne doesn't get deeply into detail, offering only enough background to tell the story. This may leave some history fans disappointed, such as those who might be expecting a masterwork such as those produced by Barbara Tuchman or David McCulloch that delve deeply into personalities and the background on events. Payne is more like a journalist, wishing only to get the story out as clearly and concisely as possible and he succeeds. You will never find yourself struggling to turn the pages as there is more than enough action to pull you on. If anything, I found myself thinking, "oh no, not another battle!"
I was also reminded of how things haven't changed too much in the last 1000 years in the Middle East - there is still, at least on one side, the invocation of God and much talk about his will, the slaughter of innocents, beheadings and sieges. How many months have we been reading about the give and take in the suburbs of Damascus? In 2014, over 75,000 died in the Syrian civil war. Israel talks of Jerusalem being "the eternal capital of the Jews" and is trying to expel the Muslims as surely as the Crusaders, witness the recent wholesale massacre of defenseless Gazans in the name of defense.
The Dream and the Tomb is a great read. Better maps would be appreciated but the story itself is well told.
August 5, 2009
I read this book when I was about twelve years old, and forever fell in love with the story of the Crusades. I am now much older than that and am still learning lessons and re-understanding material I learned from this read! Payne takes the narrative approach and explores the personalities that formed the well-known and less-known events from 1097 to about 1250 (terminating with the sacking of Constantinople). Additional documentation and correspondences brought to light by Payne reveal personal motivations of movers and shakers like Pope Innocent III, Richard the Lion heart and others that have become house hold names. Great read for anyone, though he does get a little long-winded at intervals.
August 26, 2018
Historia exhaustiva de las tres cruzadas, tal vez tan exhaustiva que resulta en ocasiones difícil de seguir. Se echa en falta una cronología o algún tipo de ayuda. Tuve que hacer mi propia línea temporal para no perderme. Aunque lo considero un imprescindible para cualquier aficionado al tema.
April 12, 2024
Un relato interesante sobre las cruzadas. Uno puede terminar perdido entre tantos nombres, pero los hechos relatados son capaces de maravillar y horrorizar por igual. Las últimas líneas sin duda son de las más memorables o graciosas según se mire.
January 1, 2025
Un libro que te pavimenta un tramo bastante amplio de caminos terrosos y quebrados con una loza precisa, consisa y de buena calidad sobre aquellos acontecimientos que de cierta manera nos persiguen hasta nuestros días.
Aunque un poco errático y denso luego de pasar la latitud de las 100 páginas lo he encontrado interesante y casi adictivo. Las anécdotas de las aventuras occidentales del cristianismo en un territorio álgido se narran de manera cronológica, es claro que quien narra pertenece a este lado del mundo, pero no por ello le quita heroísmo a los guerreros musulmanes, Babiars, Saladino y sus correspondientes dinastías de mamelucos, turcos contra toda una gama compleja de francos, germanos, italianos, venecianos con sus enrevesadas gestas, al principio honestas y humildes, después organizadas y al final corruptas y podridas desde adentro.
Gualterios, Bohemundos, Reyes, Reinos, San Luises, condes, duques para terminar con el gran Ricardo corazón de León, en un compendio de doscientos años que hacen difícil creer que aquellas tierras fueron alguna vez cristianas... Después de todo, Jerusalén es un lugar en el corazón...
Aunque un poco errático y denso luego de pasar la latitud de las 100 páginas lo he encontrado interesante y casi adictivo. Las anécdotas de las aventuras occidentales del cristianismo en un territorio álgido se narran de manera cronológica, es claro que quien narra pertenece a este lado del mundo, pero no por ello le quita heroísmo a los guerreros musulmanes, Babiars, Saladino y sus correspondientes dinastías de mamelucos, turcos contra toda una gama compleja de francos, germanos, italianos, venecianos con sus enrevesadas gestas, al principio honestas y humildes, después organizadas y al final corruptas y podridas desde adentro.
Gualterios, Bohemundos, Reyes, Reinos, San Luises, condes, duques para terminar con el gran Ricardo corazón de León, en un compendio de doscientos años que hacen difícil creer que aquellas tierras fueron alguna vez cristianas... Después de todo, Jerusalén es un lugar en el corazón...
September 12, 2019
I have always been interested in the Crusades but haven't known much about them. This book provided information to the finest detail! It was interesting but would have been much more useful to this reader with maps and with a timeline. Many of the people involved over the 200 years of the Crusades had the same names, which also made it a bit difficult. A very bloodthirsty time in the history of the Middle East, much like the last century.
July 8, 2021
An excellent one volume story of the Crusades in the Middle East putting them into a social, economic, political and religious context of their time.
Steven Runcimen's three volume history is more comprehensive but this give a really good and easy to follow overview with sufficient detail to wet the appetite for more.
Steven Runcimen's three volume history is more comprehensive but this give a really good and easy to follow overview with sufficient detail to wet the appetite for more.
February 9, 2024
Good read on history of that region.
Read
February 18, 2017more than I wanted to know about the Crusades. Parts were very interesting.
January 29, 2022
Resumir en un solo tomo toda la historia de las Cruzadas no es tarea fácil y, en este sentido, el libro cumple con su objetivo. Aquí se recoge información de las 8 Cruzadas realizadas en los 200 años que abarcaron en un estilo ameno y didáctico. Lógicamente, esto implica que no se puede profundizar mucho en ninguna de ellas y que en ocasiones la gran cantidad de personajes que aparecen se hace difícil de seguir. Lo recomendaría como una lectura para una primera aproximación a este tema (que a mí me parece apasionante, uno de mis períodos favoritos) o para fijar conceptos, una vez leída la Historia de las Cruzadas (3 tomos) de Steven Runciman, esta última mucho más compleja y detallada.
June 23, 2008
Perfect history in that you don't have the luxury of having a favorite; at any time, either the "Muslims", the Byzantine Empire, or the "Franks" are doing things so contrary to their religions and espoused moralities that they engender disgust and contempt in all but the worst apologists.
The book paints with equal accuracy the beauty, opulence, and decadence of the East and the brutality, inhumanity, and cruelty of those who would control that beauty. Essentially, the story of the Crusades is, sadly, a microcosm of the human condition...told with scathing precision by Robert Payne.
The book paints with equal accuracy the beauty, opulence, and decadence of the East and the brutality, inhumanity, and cruelty of those who would control that beauty. Essentially, the story of the Crusades is, sadly, a microcosm of the human condition...told with scathing precision by Robert Payne.
December 15, 2012
It is not often I can call a history text like this a "page turner" but Payne keeps the reader engrossed for nearly the entire book. Towards the end he appears tired, and pace and editing are not as strong as in the beginning, but still very much worth reading if you enjoy medieval history. A nice addition to any library.
December 7, 2015
Spoiler alert: Invading and occupying Muslim countries was a real tarball of an endeavor even 600-700 years ago. Payne's review of the two centuries of European efforts to control the Holy Land is a well-told tale in which the main players get full credit for avarice, stupidity and genuine religious zeal. Many lessons to be gleaned.
August 5, 2023
Title in German:
Die Kreuzzüge. Zweihundert Jahre Kampf um das Heilige Grab
Die Kreuzzüge. Zweihundert Jahre Kampf um das Heilige Grab
July 27, 2009
too broad of a subject for one volume, but it is well written and a fair primer as an introduction to the topic.
May 24, 2012
Better works on the crusades are available.
February 11, 2013
Really really good history of the Crusades. The authors point out the absurdity of the Europeans embarking to The Holy Land to free an empty tomb. The tone is even-handed, and fair to both sides.
November 22, 2013
It was kind of disjointed but very interesting.
July 2, 2015
Good history is good story telling. This author does that very well.
I appreciated that he stuck to facts, and not imagination. Especially in reference to Richard III of England.
I appreciated that he stuck to facts, and not imagination. Especially in reference to Richard III of England.
February 4, 2016
One of, if not the best written history book I have ever read. This book reads as easy as a fiction novel. Very informative, my highest recommendation
February 1, 2016
Reads like candy. Loved this one.
May 24, 2011
A superb and surprisingly readable history of the Crusades.
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