Additional information
by David Nicolle (Author)
This book presents as many aspects as possible of warfare during the period of the crusades within all the cultures most directly involved. To a large extent the current interest in the Crusades reflects the perceived threat of a so-called "clash of civilisations". While warnings of such a supposed clash in our own times are based upon a misunderstanding of the natures of both "Western" and "Islamic" civilisations, some commentators have looked to the medieval Crusades as an earlier example of such a clash. In reality they were no such thing. Instead the Crusades resulted from a remarkable variety of political, economic, cultural and religious factors. The Crusades, even excluding the Northern or Baltic Crusades, also involved an extraordinary array of states, ruling dynasties, ethnic or linguistic groups and the fighting forces associated with these disparate participants.
Author Biography
David Nicolle is Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of Medieval Studies, Nottingham University. He is the author of over a dozen books on medieval military history.
