The First Crusade: A New History

Unlike other professorial treatise, this is written in a prose easily followed by the layman.

An engrossing account of the travails undergoneby Christian Crusaders setting out to reclaimChristendom's Holy Land from the Muslimrulers who had conquered the area in theSeventh century,which brings out conflictingpersonal ambitions, inhumanities mutually visited upon enemy forces as well as the inhabitants ofthe areas traversed and contested between theCrusaders and their opponents. The reality of descent from the high religiously inspired moral ground to bitter fights for sheer survival contrasts with the Nietzschian idea of war leading tothe emergence of the "Superman"!

This is a wonderful book. The author, Thomas Asbridge, has written a taut, clear account of a time in history that, at least for me, has always seemed terribly murky and shrouded in fable.The main strength of the book is its strong, direct, linear flow. The reader follows the First Crusade from its birth in Clermont and Pope Urban's preaching tour across France; to the Crusade's bloody finale and the Christian army's rampage through Jerusalem. Asbridge is, plain and simply, a good writer, and his vivid language bring the time and place to remarkable light. He has a good writer's eye for drama and the telling detail, and he brings in amazing writings from Crusade participants to flesh out the telling. Characters and events really came to life in my mind's eye while reading, whole landscapes and battles, so that I found myself setting the books aside more than once, simply to let the movie play for a moment. All in all, a great reading experience.As the book progressed, I really came to visualize the Crusading armies marching from Western Europe across the known world, slowly transforming itself through the crucible of starvation, decease, horrific battles, and hardship. They had begun as an unorganized, splintered assortment of rabble and soldier, princes and false prophets, numbering perhaps 100,000 souls, barely able to mount a cohesive attack. By the time they had reached Lebanon, the army had hardened down to a pack of fast moving, ruthless veterans, sending terror through the Muslim world. Muslim cities, hearing of their barbarity, began begging for peace, throwing riches at them, usually to no avail.Finally, this efficient juggernaut simply stormed against the heavily fortified Holy City of Jerusalem, taking it quickly and horribly despite overwhelming odds against them, then tore through the city like starved wolves, killing everything (including children and women). The image of the victorious crusaders, coming to fall in tearful prayer at the Holy Sepulchre, their faces and clothes still drenched in blood, is one of the most perfect in the book - at once capturing the strange amalgamation of genuine religious fervor and blood-curdling terror that marked the times. The author also poses many new ideas about the Crusades as well (such as his view of the effect of the religious relic, the Holy Lance, which the author feels had much less importance than is traditionally thought), which make this book good for both history novice and expert alike.The author does a good job of viewing the times in a fair light. The magnificent achievement of the crusading armies is not understated. After reading what the soldiers and knights of this crusade went through, it is easier to understand why they truly considered many of their victories "miracles" and sure evidence of God's hand. The author does not overlook the grimmer realities of the First Crusade either, which can be summed up in this simple sentence near the end of the book: "In bitter revelation, these eastern Christians soon discovered that they had in fact been better off under Muslim rule than they were in a 'liberated' Jerusalem."You will be glad you read this book.

Comprehensive content

A readable account of the First Crusade. Other reviewers have explained the synopsis and contents of the book. I will add that I found this to be a readable, easy-to-understand account of the First Crusade. The horrors of Medieval war are made clear, as well as the motivation of the crusaders and why they succeeded, often against impossible odds. Some of the problems were of their own self-doing. I found the beginning of the book particularly useful, such as explaining the concept of a 'Just War', the right of conquest and just how real hell and sin were to the medieval mind. The maps are clear and concise and the photographs are in colour and add to the experience of reading the book. Recommended.