Fighting for Christendom: Holy War and the Crusades

Fighting for Christendom: Holy War and the Crusades. Christopher Tyerman. Oxford University Press. [pounds sterling]12.99. xv + 247 pages. ISBN 0-19-280325-5. Few aspects of 'mediaeval history' are better known and less understood than the Crusades. Numerous histories have appeared recently: this small volume is not just a brief introductory history but, more importantly, a discussion of the historiography of the Crusades. While their impact lingers on in false analogies and bogus comparisons he argues that they can only be understood as events rooted in their own eras. Whilst Mr Tyerman's historical passages are solid and well written, the book's real value lies in his analyses, not of what took place, but of how historians, playwrights and modern commentators and politicians understand what took place. One can easily get a more detailed history of the Crusades but one will not find a better delineation of the issues and legacies of the events and their historians. (R.R.P.)

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