Non-fiction, page 25 — Cappelen Damm Agency

Narrative Non-fiction2020 · 200 pp

A Brief Introduction to the Crusades

Pål Berg Svenungsen

Few phenomena from European medieval history are as controversial and debated as the Crusades. While attitudes toward the Crusades during the Middle Ages were largely overwhelmingly positive, subsequent reactions have been deeply divided: ranging from positive admiration to moral condemnation. The Crusades have been held up both as an example to follow and as a perversion of religion. Furthermore, the term 'crusade' has acquired an alternative meaning in everyday language, where it has been emptied of its original religious content and is instead used to refer to any good cause. This book aims to provide the reader with a better understanding of what the medieval Crusades actually were, as well as to highlight the central role crusades have played – and, to some extent, still play – in European history. «It is a truly excellent book—modest in size, but filled with interesting reflections and a thorough examination of several important aspects of the medieval crusades that most other scholars have either forgotten or simply taken no interest in (…) it is a well-written book with many new, important, and often surprising perspectives—solidly grounded in extensive research. It should definitely be included in university medieval studies curricula and can, moreover, be warmly recommended for general reading for pleasure.Kurt Villads Jensen, Historisk tidsskrift“(…) well-written and informative, managing to provide an overview of a highly complex historical topic in an easily accessible manner (…) All in all, A Brief Introduction to the Crusades is a superb book that can be both enjoyed and put to good use by a broad readership, from schoolchildren to pensioners. Because it is appropriately detailed while remaining easy to read and clear, this is a book Norwegian readers need, and one that Norwegian literature truly benefits from.”Steffen Hope, Heimen