The Crusades (PDF)
"Pope Urban II's Call to the First Crusade" by Robert the Monk
History of the First Crusade
The Collection of Histories by Ibn Al-Athir
Author: Various (see above)
Date: c. 11th-13th centuries CE
Location: France, Mesopotamia
Course Unit: The Other
Context:
"At that time [of the Crusades after 1096], Christian knights from across Europe joined together - ostensibly to come to the aid of Constantinople, but actually to recover Jerusalem from the Muslims and occupy the Holy Land. This 'holy war' - as formulated according to Christian doctrine in the tenth and eleventh centuries - was often portrayed as a belated response to the Muslim conquest of the Middle East nearly four hundred years before. But since Christians and Muslims had found ways to live peaceably together in the interim, especially in Muslim Spain, the Christian Crusades satisfied new political ambitions as much as they reflected longstanding political and religious differences." ("The Crusades: War And Faith in the Middle Ages" 1371)
"The Crusades: War And Faith in the Middle Ages." Bedford Anthology of World Literature: Compact, Vol. 1, edited by Paul Davis, et al, Bedford Saint Martin’s, 2009, pp. 1371-1393.
Topics/Questions to Consider While Reading:
How is the concept of the "Other" represented?
Who is the "Other"?
How is the "Other" treated?