Madden has written numerous books and journal articles, including the "Crusades" entry for the
Encyclopedia Britannica. His research specialties are ancient and medieval history, including the Fourth Crusade, as well as ancient and medieval Italian history. His 1997 book
The Fourth Crusade: The Conquest of Constantinople was a selection of the History Book Club. He is also known for speaking about the ways that the history of the Crusades is often used for manipulation of modern political agendas. His book,
The New Concise History of the Crusades has been translated into seven foreign languages.
His book
Enrico Dandolo and the Rise of Venice won multiple awards, including the 2007 Haskins Medal from the Medieval Academy of America and the Otto Gründler Prize from the Medieval Institute. It was also selected as Book of the Month by the
BBC History Magazine. According to the
Medieval Review, with this book "Madden more than ever stakes out his place as one of the most important medievalists in America at present." Johns Hopkins University Press | Books | Enrico Dandolo and the Rise of Venice
His 2008 book,
Empires of Trust: How Rome Built -- And America Is Building -- A New World, examines the histories of the Roman and American republics, seeking elements in both that led to the development of their empires. He finds that their citizens and leaders acquired a level of trust among allies and potential enemies that was based upon an unusual rejection of hegemonic power.
Books
- Empires of Trust: How Rome Built -- And America Is Building -- A New World, 2008, Dutton/Penguin
- The Fourth Crusade: Event, Aftermath, and Perceptions, 2008, Ashgate.
- The New Concise History of the Crusades, 2005, Rowman & Littlefield
- Crusades: The Illustrated History, 2005, University of Michigan Press
- Enrico Dandolo and the Rise of Venice, 2003, Johns Hopkins University Press
- The Crusades: The Essential Readings, 2002, Blackwell
- Medieval and Renaissance Venice, 1999, University of Illinois Press
- The Fourth Crusade: The Conquest of Constantinople, 1997, University of Pennsylvania Press
Select Popular Articles
- "America's Days Aren't Numbered", The Wall Street Journal, July 4, 2008.
- "Not Dead Yet: The Lost Tomb of Jesus -- One Year Later", NRO, March 21, 2008.
- "Unreasonable Response: Benedict XVI Hasn't Revived the Crusades," NRO, September 18, 2006.
- "Crusaders and Historians," First Things, June/July 2005.
- "Onward P.C. Soldiers: Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven, NRO, May 27, 2005.
- "The Real Inquisition: Investigating the Popular Myth,", NRO, June 18, 2004.
- "The Truth About the Spanish Inquisition", Crisis, October 2003.
- "The Real History of the Crusades", Crisis, April 2002. The Real History of the Crusades
Select scholarly articles
- "The Latin Empire of Constantinople’s Fractured Foundation: The Rift Between Boniface of Montferrat and Baldwin of Flanders," in The Fourth Crusade: Event, Aftermath, and Perceptions (Brookfield: Ashgate Publishing, 2008): 45-52.
- "Food and the Fourth Crusade: A New Approach to the 'Diversion Question,'" in Logistics of Warfare in the Age of the Crusades, John H. Pryor, ed. (Brookfield: Ashgate Publishing, 2006): 209-28.
- "Venice, the Papacy, and the Crusades before 1204," in The Medieval Crusade, Susan J. Ridyard, ed. (Woodbridge: Boydell and Brewer, 2004): 85-95.
- "The Enduring Myths of the Fourth Crusade," World History Bulletin 20 (2004): 11-14.
- "The Chrysobull of Alexius I Comnenus to the Venetians: The Date and the Debate," Journal of Medieval History 28 (2002): 23-41.
- "Venice's Hostage Crisis: Diplomatic Efforts to Secure Peace with Byzantium between 1171 and 1184," in Ellen E. Kittell and Thomas F. Madden, eds., Medieval and Renaissance Venice (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1999): 96-108.
- "Outside and Inside the Fourth Crusade," The International History Review 17 (1995): 726-43.
- "Venice and Constantinople in 1171 and 1172: Enrico Dandolo’s Attitude towards Byzantium," Mediterranean Historical Review 8 (1993): 166-85.
- "Vows and Contracts in the Fourth Crusade: The Treaty of Zara and the Attack on Constantinople in 1204," The International History Review 15 (1993): 441-68.
- "Father of the Bride: Fathers, Daughters, and Dowries in Late Medieval and Early Renaissance Venice," Renaissance Quarterly 46 (1993): 685-711. (with Donald E. Queller)
- "The Fires of the Fourth Crusade in Constantinople, 1203-1204: A Damage Assessment," Byzantinische Zeitschrift 84/85 (1992): 72-93.
- "The Serpent Column of Delphi in Constantinople: Placement, Purposes, and Mutilations," Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies 16 (1992): 111-45.
Recorded lectures
- "God Wills It!" Understanding the Crusades
- The Decline and Fall of Rome
- From Jesus to Christianity: The History of the Early Church
- Upon This Rock: A History of the Papacy from Peter to John Paul II
- Empire of Gold: A History of the Byzantine Empire
- One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic: A History of the Church in the Middle Ages
- Christianity and the Crossroads: The Reformations of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries
- Heaven or Heresy: A History of the Inquisition
- The Catholic Church in the Modern Age