Crusades And The Near East: Cultural Histories, The

Description: The crusades are often seen as epitomising a period when hostility between Christian West and the Muslim Near East reached an all time high. This edited volume reveals a more complex story, exploring how the Holy Wars led on the one hand to a reinforcement of the beliefs and identities of each side, but on the other to a growing level of cultural exchange and interaction. Review: 'The articles published here aim to explore a relatively neglected area: the cultural history of the Crusades and how they shaped European identities. All ten are lively and accessible but they are also exhaustively footnoted. They both synthesise previous work and bring new insights of their own ... So while this book will be of interest to researchers in the field, it will also be useful for teaching the crusades especially to those teachers who wish to go beyond the stereotyped 'clash of cultures' and explore complexity and diversity in the ways that human societies interact.' -- Jonathan Harris, Reviews in History Table of Contents: Introduction Conor Kostick 1. Warfare in the Mediterranean Region in the Age of the Crusades 1095-1291: A Clash of Contrasts John France 2. Muslim Responses to the Frankish Dominion in the Near East (1098-1291) Yehoshua Frenkel 3. The Crusades and the Byzantine Empire Chris Wright 4. Conflict and cohabitation: marriage and diplomacy between Latins and Cilician Armenians c.1097-1253 Natasha Hodgson 5. National Identity, Regional Identity and Language in the Crusades to the Holy Land, 1096-1192 A.V. Murray 6. Inimicus Dei et Sancti Christianitatis? Saracens and their Prophet in Twelfth-century Crusade Propaganda and Western Travesties of Muhammad's Life Sini Kangas 7. Western perceptions of the Byzantine Empire in the aftermath of the First Crusade Lean Ni Chleirigh 8. Oriental and Occidental Medicine in the Crusader States Susan Edgington 9. Architecture of the crusaders in the Holy Land: the First European Colonial Architecture? Jurgen Kruger 10. Peacemaking: Perceptions and Practices in the Medieval Latin East Yvonne Friedman Afterward Bernard Hamilton Author Biography: Conor Kostick teaches on the crusades at Trinity College Dublin. A former winner of the Dublinia Medieval Essay Competition and holder of a Trinity College Gold Medal, his historical works include The Social Structure of the First Crusade (2008) and The Siege of Jerusalem (2009).