The Crusades and the expansion of Catholic Christendom, 1000-1714

The Crusades and the Expansion of Catholic Christendom, 1000-1714 is a fascinating and accessible survey that places the medieval Crusades in their European context, and examines, for the first time, their impact on European expansion. Taking a unique approach that focuses on the motivation behind the Crusades, John France chronologically examines the whole crusading movement, from the development of a ‘crusading impulse’ in the eleventh century through to an examination of the relationship between the Crusades and the imperialist imperatives of the early modern period. France provides a detailed examination of the first Crusade, the expansion and climax of crusading during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and the failure and fragmentation of such practices in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Concluding with an assessment of the influence of the Crusades across history, and replete with illustrations, maps, timelines, guides for further reading, and a detailed list of rulers across Europe and the Muslim world, this study provides students with an essential guide to a central aspect of medieval history. The Crusades and the Expansion of Catholic Christendom 1000-1714 is a fascinating and accessible survey that places the medieval crusades in their European context, and examines, for the first time, their impact on European expansion. Chronologically structured, John France provides a comprehensive overview of crusading from the development of a crusading impulse in the eleventh century through to an examination of the relationship between the crusades and the imperialist imperatives of the early modern period. Conceiving of the crusades as a long running phenomenon, France provides a detailed examination of the First Crusade, the expansion and climax of crusading during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and the failure and fragmentation of such practices in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Concluding with an assessment of the influence of the crusades across history, France notes that whilst continuities existed into the Age of Discovery and beyond through the impulse to explore and seize territory the motives behind post Renaissance European expansion differed fundamentally.Repiete with illustrations, maps, timelines, guides for further reading and a detailed list of rulers across Europe and the Muslin world this study provides students with an essential guide to a central aspect of medieval history.

France (history, U. of Wales) takes a new tack on the impact of the Crusades on Western history by focusing on the concept of European expansion and how it changed fundamentally in the course of seven centuries of attempted conquest. Although he has written the text to have the accessibility level of a survey, France in essence offers a series of monographs on the origins of the Crusades as a movement within the papal monarchy, on the movement's expansion into the twelfth century and that period's obstacles to what had been almost unchecked power, the relatively brief period of zenith in the early thirteenth century and the miscalculations, failures, and fragmentation that followed. One of the most interesting chapters is on the period in which Europe took many of the lessons learned and applied them to conquest in the New World. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Book cover......Page 1 Half-Title......Page 2 Title......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Dedication......Page 6 Contents......Page 8 Illustrations......Page 9 Acknowledgements......Page 10 Frontispiece......Page 12 1 In the beginning......Page 14 2 The papal monarchy and the invention of the crusade......Page 36 3 The first crusade......Page 77 4 Crusade and expansion in the early twelfth century......Page 110 5 Crusade, Expansion and check, 1144-92......Page 143 6 The Zenith of the crusading movement, 1192-1254......Page 171 7 Progress and miscalculation, 1254-1337......Page 215 8 Failure and fragmentation, 1337-1444......Page 264 9 Towards a new world, 1444-1714......Page 299 10 Prespectives......Page 341 Appendix I......Page 351 Appendix II......Page 367 Index......Page 379 In the beginning The papal monarchy and the invention of the crusade The First Crusade Crusade and expansion in the early twelfth century Crusade, expansion and check, 1144-92 The zenith of the crusading movement, 1192-1254 Progress and miscalculation, 1254-1337 Failure and fragmentation, 1337-1444 Towards a new world, 1444-1714 Perspectives.