Over ten years have passed since the publication of The Crusades: A Reader. In that time, interest in the Crusades has increased, fueled in part by the global interactions of the Muslim world and Western nations. It could be argued that the Crusades, more than any other medieval event, have become inextricably linked to present-day political and religious debates. As Christopher Tyerman aptly observes:
Even today, writers on the crusades are routinely interrogated by reviewers and readers as to whether they regard the crusades in a positive or negative light. While some still oblige, experts on few other medieval events are expected to provide such moral opinions.1
1 Christopher Tyerman, The Debate on the Crusades (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2011), p. 4.
Crusade scholarship has also developed over the decade, with most works providing a much-needed re-examination of the nature and significance of crusading. There has also been a rise in popular and academic works of a more political, revisionist tone. It is, therefore, important to state from the outset that this new edition does not intend to promote any political or moral stance. We believe that the major strength of The Crusades: A Reader lies in its impartiality. It is, first and foremost, a sourcebook and as such is meant to facilitate a broad range of discussion and debate on crusading topics.
We did, however, recognize the need for a new chapter to address the history of perceptions of the Crusades in the modern period. The inclusion of post-medieval perceptions has become an accepted component of modern crusading scholarship. While many of these works focus on the historiography of the Crusades, we chose to include both popular and scholarly views, and to show how these reflect the social, political, and religious contexts of the given periods.
Hence, Chapter X begins with the Enlightenment period as seen through the works of David Hume and Edward Gibbon (docs. 98 and 99). This is followed by sources that reflect the Victorian Romantic movement and the rise of imperialism. Here, Wordsworth’s poetical take on the Crusades (doc. 100) is provided alongside Michaud’s popular history of the crusading era with its patriotic and nationalistic overtones (doc. 101). The theme of imperialism is clearly seen in Hillary’s Suggestions for the Christian Occupation of the Holy Land, as a Sovereign State, by the Order of St. John of Jerusalem (doc. 102). Sayyid ‘Ali Hariri’s Book of the Splendid Stories of the Crusades (doc. 103) marks the first independently written Islamic history on crusading since the medieval period. Moreover, the work is one of the earliest Islamic sources to link crusading with contemporary European imperialism.
Documents from the first half of the twentieth century indicate how, for the West, the crusading image could be used to promote patriotism within the context of imperialism (doc. 104). Again, this ideal was highlighted and condemned by many Islamic writers, including Muhammad Asad and Sayyid Qutb (doc. 105). Qutb writes of “Crusaderism,” a term that defines a policy that seeks to destroy Islam, Islamic society, and Muslims. We can see how later institutions such as Hamas, building on Qutb’s use of this term, came to adopt the notion of an ongoing crusade, particularly in light of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (doc. 106). At the same time, there is evidence of the West’s growing awareness of these tensions and, in document 107, the Catholic Church’s desire to address actions of the past, such as the Crusades.
The final section of the chapter looks at crusading rhetoric within the twenty-first century. The events of 9/11 and subsequent hostilities again show the link between perceptions of the medieval Crusades and modern political and religious conflict. Both sides employ the term “crusade” yet both have different ideas as to what it means (doc. 108).
Document 109, however, provides evidence of a new perception of medieval Crusades. A commemorative statue of Saladin and the use of his image in political posters show how some Muslims have begun to see the Crusades in more positive light. Such images promote the Islamic crusading story, extolling the heroism of its leaders as well as the Islamic values and culture of the period. The final document (doc. 110), Umej Bhatia’s Forgetting Osama bin Munqidh, Remembering Osama bin Laden: The Crusades in Modern Muslim Memory, considers modern perceptions of the Crusades, with the aim of reassessing this movement and facilitating an Islamic/Western reconciliation.
The present edition also includes new medieval material. al-Sulami’s The Book of the Jihad offers a rare Islamic reaction to the fall of Jerusalem and its consequences (doc. 22). Further Islamic sources can be found in document 46, which records the treatment of prisoners after the Battle of Hattin (Ibn al-Athir) and later at Acre during the Third Crusade (Baha ad-Din). There is also an Islamic recording of Frederick II’s visit to Jerusalem in 1229 showing the unique character of the emperor and how he was received by the Muslim population of the city (doc. 73).
Chapter Five: Setting Out and Returning Home includes a selection of sources detailing the homecoming of those who had ventured to the Holy Land (doc. 54). The History of the Counts of Guines and Lords of Ardres provides two stories, one of a supposed apostate who faces a hostile reception upon his return, and the other a tale reminiscent of The Return of Martin Guerre, in which a man returns claiming to be a noble who left home for the crusades some 30 years previously. From The Book of the Foundation of Walden Monastery we have an account of a noble whose return is celebrated and who ensures his favorable reception with gifts of silken cloth and relics. The most interesting of these there-and-back-again stories, however, is found in document 55, Thomas of Froidmont’s The Adventures of Margaret of Beverly, a Woman Crusader. Newly translated from the Latin, this is a fascinating record of Margaret’s journey to the Holy Land, where she participated in the defense of Jerusalem in 1187, was wounded and, on several occasions, captured by the enemy. Her travels home were no less perilous, and they show the particular hazards faced by women who chose to travel to the Holy Land and back.
In drafting a new edition of the book we have had to make difficult decisions as to what documents to omit. No doubt we have cut someone’s key source and offer our apologies to those for whom this is the case. Publication restrictions necessitated difficult decisions, but we hope the new additions will be of some consolation.
As before, we are very grateful for the ministrations of our publisher. We would especially like to thank the Series Editor Paul Dutton, as well as History Editor Natalie Fingerhut and Editorial Assistant Megan Pickard. We are also indebted to Professor Nicholas Paul for his excellent suggestions on crusader homecoming sources. The inevitable flaws that remain are entirely our own.