Scandinavian Baltic Crusades 11th-15th Centuries

Description: Wielding their swords in the name of their faith, the crusaders originally set out to reclaim Jerusalem and its surrounding territory in the Middle East. Increasingly, however, Eastern Europe and the last remaining bastions of pagan Europe became the targets of their religious zeal. The subsequent Scandinavian campaigns laid the foundations of modern Baltic society by destroying pagan rural farming settlements, and establishing fortified Christian towns and major castles. As with the majority of crusades, the prospective acquisition of land and power was the one of the key driving forces behind these bloody military expeditions. This book reveals the colourful history of these Crusades when the soldiers of the Pope fought their way across Eastern Europe and inexorably changed the future of the continent.

Author Biography: David Lindholm MA, was born in 1970. He was educated at the University of Lund in Sweden where he studied medieval archaeology, history and ethnology. He is also a specialist of medieval weaponry and warfare.David Nicolle was born in 1944 and worked in the BBC Arabic service for a number of years, before gaining an MA from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, and a doctorate from Edinburgh University. He has written many books and articles on medieval and Islamic warfare.