Year: Second
Part of the year: Half Year 2
Module Leader: Dr. Natasha Hodgson
Assessments:
Keywords:
Crusades, religion and violence, Holy Land, Latin East, Syria, Egypt, Byzantium, Military Orders, twelfth century, military history, social history, settlement and colonisation, Richard the Lionheart, Philip II of France, Saladin, Christianity, Islam, Judaism.
Description:
The triumph of the First Crusade (1099) resulted in the establishment of a Western European community in the Holy Land for almost two hundred years. On this module you will examine how and why Christians from all over Europe joined crusade expeditions, settled in the East during the twelfth century, and consider the repercussions of their presence for the neighbouring Byzantine and Islamic worlds. At the outset, we will look at religion and violence in eleventh century society in both Christian and Isalmic contexts, and the pressures which led to the calling of First Crusade and the capture of Jerusalem in 1099. We will then examine the Frankish way of life in the East, the difficulties facing Christian settlements and the extent to which there was cross-cultural convergence between eastern and western cultures. As 'jihad' or Holy War became the primary channel for Muslim opposition, the Latins in the East sent appeals for help to western Europe and to the Byzantine empire. These calls led to yet more crusading activity but some of these expeditions caused discord between crusaders and settlers as well as providing aid. Other solutions had to be found, such as a permanent military presence in the form of Military Orders: Templars, Hospitallers and Teutonic Knights. In 1187, Jerusalem was recaptured by one of the most renowned Muslim generals of the era, Saladin. The Third Crusade, led by Richard I of England, the 'Lionheart' and Philip II of France forms the conclusion to the course. It restored a number of significant ports and fortifications to Christian rule for a time, but the Holy City remained in Muslim hands. This course will utilize a variety of primary materials from European, Byzantine, Jewish, Muslim and Syriac sources - all in translation!
Prerequisites:
Useful Information:
Twelfth century; 1095-1192
Set texts (these are all useful text books with chapters that cover parts of the course, one or two of these should be supplemented with the more detailed weekly reading lists):
Asbridge, Thomas S., The Crusades: the war for the Holy Land (London: Turnaround, 2010).
France, John, The Crusades and the Expansion of Catholic Christendom, 1000-1714, (London, 2004).
Housely, Norman, Contesting the Crusades (Oxford, 2006).
Jotischky, Andrew, Crusading and the Crusader States (Recovering the Past) (Longman, 2004).
Lock, Peter, The Routledge Companion to the Crusades (Routledge Companions) (London, 2006).
Madden, Thomas F. A New Concise History of the Crusades (Oxford, 2006).
Mayer, Hans E. The Crusades, trans John Gillingham, 2nd edition (Oxford, 1998) Phillips, J. P. The Crusades, 1095-1197, (Harlow, 2002).
Phillips, Jonathan, Holy Warriors: A Modern History of the Crusades (New York, 2009)
Richard, J. The Crusades c.1071-c.1291 (Cambridge, 1999).
Riley-Smith, Jonathan What were the Crusades, 3rd edition (Basingstoke, 2002).
Riley-Smith, Jonathan, The Crusades: a Short History 2nd edition, (London, 2005).
Teaching methods/structure:
Two hour interactive lectures and 1 hour seminars on the following topics:
Studying the Crusades
The Islamic world on the eve of the Crusades
Developing Holy War
The First Crusade
Settlement of the Holy Land 1101-1131
The Second Crusade
Fulk, Melisende and Baldwin III : Latin East 1131-1163
Military Orders
The Muslim Response
Latin East up to Hattin 1163-1187
The Third Crusade
Please view the module specification for the learning outcomes for this module.
Contact details for further queries (module leader):
Dr. Natasha Hodgson: MAE 315 (Office hours 2015-16 Thursday 10-12)
Email: Natasha.Hodgson@ntu.ac.uk
Tel: 01158 483217