A History of the Crusades 3 Volume Paperback Set: A History of the Crusades: The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East, 1100-1187 A History of the Crusades, Vol 2 vol 2

Sir Steven Runciman's three volume A History of the Crusades, one of the great classics of English historical writing, is now being reissued. This volume describes the Frankish states of Outremer from the accession of King Baldwin I to the re-conquest of Jerusalem by Saladin. As Runciman says in his preface, 'The politics of the Moslem world in the early twelfth-century defy straightforward analysis, but they must be understood if we are to understand the establishment of the Crusader states and the later causes of the recovery of Islam ... The main theme in this volume is warfare ... I have followed the example of the old chroniclers, who knew their business; for war was the background to life in Outremer and the hazards of the battlefield often decided its destiny.' This is one of the great classics of English historical writing. Whether we regard the Crusades as the most tremendous and most romantic of Christian adventures, or as the last of the barbarian invasions, they form a central fact in medieval history. Before their inception the center of our civilization was placed in Byzantium and in the lands of the Arab caliphate. Before the crusades faded out, civilization had passed to western Europe. Out of this transference, modern history was born. -- Publisher description Sir Steven Runciman's, A History of the Crusades (volume 2), describes the Frankish states of Outremer from the accession of King Baldwin I to the re-conquest of Jerusalem by Saladin. This is one of the great classics of English historical writing and a great survey of the time. When the Frankish armies entered Jerusalem, the First Crusade attained its goal. Analyzes the Crusades from European and Arabic viewpoints