Holy Warriors

Holy war: Christianity versus Islam. Brutality, greed, honour, chivalry, the clink of chain mail, the clatter of hooves, and the call of the muezzin. Such are the stock ingredients of the Crusades. But to what extent do the stereotypes fit with the reality? In his remarkable new book, Jonathan Phillips explores this conflict of ideas, beliefs and cultures and shows both the contradictions and the diversity of holy war: friendships and alliances between Christians and Muslims; triumphs of diplomacy rather than the sword; the launch of crusades against Christians, and calls for jihads against Muslims. Phillips draws on contemporary writings - on chronicles, songs, sermons, travel diaries, letters, financial accounts and peace treaties - to throw a brilliant new lights on people and events we thought we knew well: the bloody conquest of Jerusalem in the First Crusade; the titanic struggle between Richard the Lionheart and Saladin; the breathtaking naivety of the Children's Crusade; and the ruthless suppression of the Knight's Templar. Less familiar but no less central are the stories of the intimidating and astute politician, Queen Melisende of Jerusalem; the fiery preacher, Al-Sulami; the Arab-speaking excommunicate and Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II. Over time the Crusades were directed against a variety of opponents: not only Muslims in the Middle East but against Cathar heretics, political enemies of the papacy, the Mongols, pagan tribes of northern Europe, and the Ottoman Turks. Although the notion of fighting for one's faith fell into disrepute in the Enlightenment, in a final chapter Jonathan Phillips traces the crusading impulse up to the present day - to George W. Bush's characterization of the war on terrorism as a crusade. Vivid, original and illuminating, "Holy Warriors" provides an unparalleled account of one of the great cultural, political and religious movements in world history.

ISBN 0224079379   Pages 448 ISBN13 9780224079372 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 792 Publisher Vintage   Published in London Imprint The Bodley Head Ltd   Height (mm) 240 Format Hardback   Width (mm) 159 Publication date 29 Oct 2009   Spine width (mm) 40 DEWEY 909.07   Academic level General DEWEY edition DC22

1		'Deus vult!': The First Crusade and the Capture of Jerusalem, 1095-1099		1
2		'May God's curse be upon them!': Relations Between Muslims and Franks in the Levant, 1099-1187		28
3		'A woman of unusual wisdom and discretion': Queen Melisende of Jerusalem		50
4		The 'blessed generation': St Bernard of Clairvaux and the Second Crusade, 1145-1149		75
5		Saladin, the Leper King and the Fall of Jerusalem in 1187		103
6		'Nowhere in the world would ever two such princes be found': Richard the Lionheart, Saladin and the Third Crusade		136
7		'An example of affliction and the works of hell': The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople, 1204		166
8		From 'little foxes in the vines' and the Children's Crusade to the Greatest Church Council of the Age		197
9		'Stupor mundi' - The Wonder of the World: Frederick II, the Fifth Crusade and the Recovery of Jerusalem		219
10		'To kill the serpent, first you must crush the head': The Crusade of Louis IX and the Rise of the Sultan Baibars		244
11		From the Trial of the Templars to Ferdinand and Isabella, Columbus and the Conquest of the New World		276
12		New Crusaders? From Sir Walter Scott to Osama Bin Laden and George W. Bush		312
		Conclusion: In the Shadow of the Crusades		350
		Illustrations and Maps		356
		Notes		357
		Primary Bibliography		384
		Secondary Bibliography		391
		Index		405

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