Given the vast period of time the Crusades were spread over, they are obviously not practically covered in a 133-page book. The author of The Way of the Crusades makes no effort to give a thorough account of the military action of the Crusades. Rather, he recounts some âmemories of heroism and endurance, devotion and high adventure.â
He gives us a history of some of the terminology introduced during the era. A heavy, double-edged sword was called a sax, and gave us the name for one of the peoples associated with early England, the Saxons.
Chivalry developed during the era. It became the ideal for knighthood. Its characteristics were courage, loyalty, feudal service, religious service, upright behavior and courteous deeds.
The knight himself was a free fighting man who followed a nobleman. The knight came to be a special class of armed and mounted landholder. Knights of the period were trained from childhood in the use of arms, in riding and in wrestling.
The author traces the phrase, âhitting below the belt,' to the time of the Crusades. While holding their spears pointing to the left side, jousters aimed at their opponents' shield or helmet. This would send the lance flying but remove the opponent from his horse. If an opponent was touched below his sword-belt, it was considered a foul.
On the first page the author states that the first Crusade occurred at a time âwhen Europe was only beginning to recover from the disruption of the Dark Ages.â The book was first published in 1962. Since then, the period of the âDark Agesâ has been re-examined and found to have had a lot of learning and achievement going on that was previously overlooked by historians. Even the back page blurb for this 2005 edition redefines the era as such: âOnce considered âdark,â the crusading age is now recognized for its contribution to the art and culture of both Western and Eastern civilization. It is a time that is widely considered one of mankind's truly great historical periods.â
Players discussed in the book include William the Conqueror and his great-great-grandson, Richard the Lion-Heart, Peter the Hermit, Pope Alexander III and Saladin, Sultan of Egypt and Syria.
Williams's book serves as a fine introduction to the era of the Crusades, and indeed makes the reader crave knowing more about the times.
He gives us a history of some of the terminology introduced during the era. A heavy, double-edged sword was called a sax, and gave us the name for one of the peoples associated with early England, the Saxons.
Chivalry developed during the era. It became the ideal for knighthood. Its characteristics were courage, loyalty, feudal service, religious service, upright behavior and courteous deeds.
The knight himself was a free fighting man who followed a nobleman. The knight came to be a special class of armed and mounted landholder. Knights of the period were trained from childhood in the use of arms, in riding and in wrestling.
The author traces the phrase, âhitting below the belt,' to the time of the Crusades. While holding their spears pointing to the left side, jousters aimed at their opponents' shield or helmet. This would send the lance flying but remove the opponent from his horse. If an opponent was touched below his sword-belt, it was considered a foul.
On the first page the author states that the first Crusade occurred at a time âwhen Europe was only beginning to recover from the disruption of the Dark Ages.â The book was first published in 1962. Since then, the period of the âDark Agesâ has been re-examined and found to have had a lot of learning and achievement going on that was previously overlooked by historians. Even the back page blurb for this 2005 edition redefines the era as such: âOnce considered âdark,â the crusading age is now recognized for its contribution to the art and culture of both Western and Eastern civilization. It is a time that is widely considered one of mankind's truly great historical periods.â
Players discussed in the book include William the Conqueror and his great-great-grandson, Richard the Lion-Heart, Peter the Hermit, Pope Alexander III and Saladin, Sultan of Egypt and Syria.
Williams's book serves as a fine introduction to the era of the Crusades, and indeed makes the reader crave knowing more about the times.
