Letters from the East: Crusaders, Pilgrims and Settlers in the 12th-13th Centuries

by Malcolm Barber, Keith Bate

Overview

This volume presents translations of a selection of the letters sent by crusaders and pilgrims from Asia Minor, Syria and Palestine. There are accounts of all the great events from the triumph of the capture of Jerusalem in 1099 to the disasters of Hattin in 1187 and the loss of Acre in 1291. They convey the immediacy of circumstances which were frequently dramatic and often life-threatening, and show us the feelings of those who lived in and visited the crusader states. Some of the letters translated here are famous, others hardly known, but all offer unique insight into the minds of those who took part in the crusading movement.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472413932
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/31/2013
Series:	Crusade Texts in Translation
Edition description:	1
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Malcolm Barber is Emeritus Professor of Medieval History at the University of Reading, UK; until his retirement, Keith Bate was Senior Lecturer in Classics at the University of Reading, UK.

Table of Contents

Contents: Preface; Maps; Chronology of events; Introduction; Contents; Letters from the East; Sources; Sources in translation containing letters from the East; Index.

Editorial Reviews

'... in crusader studies, these letters will help to shed light on the feelings, motivations, and beliefs of the writers, which are not usually evident in the chronicles. This will be particularly relevant for teaching, as the material presented here is an anthology of sorts, which students at undergraduate and postgraduate level will find extremely useful for their research. The valuable work by Ashgate thus continues, and other volumes in the series are eagerly awaited.' Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations 'Altogether, this book is an important contribution to research, and especially to teaching, about the crusading movement.' The Medieval Review 'This excellent and very useful collection... The book is now essential reading for any course in crusade history and takes a proud place in a distinguished publication series.' Edward Peters, Catholic Historical Review 'The great strength of the collection is its scope... [a] fascinating and accessible contribution to the growing body of literature on the crusades.' Parergon 'The translations are readable without compromising on accuracy ... The collection’s strength is in its potential contribution to a fully realised undergraduate reading-list, providing a source type often neglected and inaccessible, to be read alongside more familiar accounts.' English Historical Review

From the Publisher