Crusaders in the Red Sea: Renaud de Châtillon’s raids of AD 1182–83
This fresh look at Renaud’s exploit is intended to clarify some of the motives, facts and geographical details of the campaign, though much still remains obscure.
The Prussian Uprisings: A Story of Knights, Pagans, Traitors, and Miracles
Before 1242, the Teutonic Order was a rising power in the Baltic. The Knights had conquered most of Prussia, incorporated the Livonian Order, and were pressing into Russia; in a few short years they would be fighting for their very survival.
Evolution of the account of Duke Godfrey’s deed of hewing the enemy through the middle with a single blow during the siege of Antioch by the First Crusade: A source study
The article contains research on the narratives describing the battle of the Bridge Gate (March 6, 1098), which took place during the siege of Antioch by the Crusaders.
Crusaders with Dan Jones
Who were the men and women who took up the cross and journeyed to Holy Lands? Danièle speaks with Dan Jones about his latest book on crusaders and on why it’s important for historians to talk about the crusades today.
‘More of a Burden Rather Than a Benefit’: Perceptions of Crusading Women and How They Developed From the Eleventh to Fourteenth Centuries
Were women only a ‘burden’ to the crusades or did they challenge this perspective and benefit the movement?
Crusader Urban Archaeology in the Kingdom of Jerusalem: Methodologies, Constraints and Possibilities: The Cases of Jerusalem and Acre
I might have called this paper a Tale of Two Cities for that certainly what it is – a tale of two very different cities and how they contribute to our understanding of the Crusader period and the Latin East
Siege Engines during the Crusades
In the Holy Land during the eleventh to fourteenth centuries, it seemed as if one place or another was continually under siege, and armies on both sides of the crusades moved from city to city attempting to dominate each other.
Few people from the British Isles participated in the First Crusade, historian finds
Chroniclers of the First Crusade often noted the diversity of the people who took part in the campaign to capture Jerusalem at the end of the eleventh-century. Among the long lists of groups they mentioned include the English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish. However, a new article shows that participation from the British Isles was very slim.
A Transient Pulse of Genetic Admixture from the Crusaders in the Near East Identified from Ancient Genome Sequences
Human migrations, which often accompanied historical battles and invasions, have profoundly reshaped the genetic diversity of local populations in many regions.
Warfare during the Crusades: Usama ibn Munqidh and his Memoirs
Some of the most useful sources on medieval warfare are the ones written by the warriors themselves.
On the Highway to Hell: History, Archaeology and the Crusader Defeat at the Battle of Hattin in 1187
Is there any archaeological evidence for the Battle of Hattin?
Archaeological evidence of the First Crusade discovered
Archaeologists digging along the southern wall of the Old City of Jerusalem on Mount Zion have announced the discovery of a ditch and artefacts that have been linked to siege and conquest of the city in 1099 during the First Crusade.
How the borders of the Crusader States changed in the Middle Ages
The launch of the First Crusade in 1095 would result in new states in the medieval Middle East. Here are three videos on how the Crusader States developed from the 11th to 13th centuries.
Pope Gregory VII and Count Eblous II of Roucy’s Proto-Crusade in Iberia c. 1073
This article surveys the surviving material regarding Gregory VII and Eblous of Roucy’s expedition to Iberia c. 1073.
First genetic study of Crusaders reveals diverse origins
The first genetic study of medieval human remains believed to be Crusaders confirms that warriors travelled from western Europe to the near East, where they mixed and had families with local people, and died together in battle
Medieval Geopolitics: Crusades Against Christians
The most notable example of an ecclesiastical war waged against a heretical social movement was that waged against the Cathars or Albigensians in the Languedoc region in what is now southwestern France.
Dragomans and Crusaders: The Role of Translators and Translation in the Medieval Eastern Mediterranean, 1098-1291
How did the invading Franks navigate the multifaceted language barrier when they conquered, settled, and ruled Syria in the era of the crusades?
Medieval Geopolitics: The Iberian Crusades
The pre-history of the Iberian Crusades can be traced to the disintegration of Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba in 1031 and the subsequent emergence of a constellation of weak successor kingdoms.
Medieval Geopolitics: The High Phase of Northern Crusading
Examining the Prussian Crusades (1230-83), the Lithuanian Crusades (1280-1435), and the Novgorod Crusades (1243-16th century).
Medieval Geopolitics: The Northern Crusades as a “Penitential War”
In this column, I look at the next phase in history of the Northern Crusades: that of “penitential war.”
Medieval Geopolitics: What were the Northern Crusades?
I am going to sketch a very brief history of the so-called “Northern Crusades” – that is, the crusades undertaken by the Christian kings of Denmark, Poland and Sweden, the various German military orders, and their allies against the pagan peoples of the southern and eastern shores of the Baltic Sea.
Medieval Geopolitics: The Crusades to the Holy Land, Phase Three
The third phase of crusading in the Holy Land – that of its “maturity” – began with the expiration of Frederick’s truce in 1239 and ended with the fall of the last remnant of Outremer, the city of Acre, in 1291.
The Crusades with Andrew Latham
Episode 4 of The Medieval Podcast – Danièle is joined by Andrew Latham to talk about the Crusades.
Medieval Geopolitics: The Crusades to the Holy Land, Phase Two
The history of the crusades from the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin in 1187 to the city’s restoration to the Crusader States in 1229.
Women and the Crusades
Did women support crusades? Did women go on crusades? If they did, did they fight?