A dank, Oxford, early March evening in 1979; a tyro historian stumbling through a lecture in the Examination Schools; the sparse audience nodding; the speaker wondering why he had ever begun. The door bursts open. Enter medieval knights, mailed soldiers, minstrels, fallen nuns (in fishnets and habits split to the thighs), lepers (the effect achieved with the application of candle wax) and other exotica. They chant ‘Deus lo volt!’, present the speaker with a splinter of wood (carried in a snuff box), beg him to lead them to Jerusalem, and then adjourn to the pub next door, quickly to be joined by lecturer and audience, united in relief at the destruction of his chain of thought. Later, splashed on the front page of the local newspaper, the reason for this trivial, youthful brouhaha was the lecture’s title: ‘How to plan a successful crusade’.
For the next three decades, similar provocation was avoided. Then, ambushed into presenting a paper to a seminar dedicated to planning in general, thoughts from times past revived. For the invitation that sparked the collection of ideas and material for this book, I have to acknowledge the ambushers, Mark Whittow and Nicholas Cole. Subsequent audiences in Oxford, Cambridge, Dublin, St Louis and New York have provided sympathetic sounding boards for my ideas. I must thank John Smedley for supplying the first opportunity to present my arguments for the payment of crusaders in print. For particular points, it is a pleasure as well as duty to record debts to Jessalynn Bird, Tim Guard and Kevin Lewis. More general obligations to other scholars working on related aspects of this book will be clear in the endnotes, but especial mention should be made of Martin Aurell, David Crouch, David d’Avray, Piers Mitchell, Alan Murray and John Pryor. Without the libraries and librarians in Oxford, there would be no book. Colleagues in my two colleges, Toby Barnard, Roy Foster, Ruth Harris, David Hopkin, Robin Lane Fox and David Parrott, have provided possibly unwitting support and inspiration. My agent, Jonathan Lloyd, has, as ever, proved an effective champion. My editor, Simon Winder, has kept me honest. He and his team at Allen Lane/Penguin have once again presented a model of sympathetic and efficient publishing. This book is dedicated to someone who currently understands more keenly than most the importance of adequate provisioning.
CJT
Oxford
11 November 2014