It is a recurring complaint among historians that no one has defined 'the crusade' and that students of the subject are thereby seriously hampered. Michel Villey's La Croisade made the attempt in 1942, but this—primarily the work of a legal historian—was not translated into English, and is now outdated.
Dr Riley-Smith's book is the first in the English language to define what the Crusades were. In this concise introductory text on the crusading experience in the Middle Ages he elucidates key ideas and institutions which have been neglected in narrative accounts.
He establishes that the movement was not confined to the expeditions launched to recover, or to defend, the Christian presence in the Holy Land. His survey therefore includes campaigns in Europe. Central to his inquiry is the doctrine of the 'Holy War' and his definition of this is more precise than previous examinations of the concept.
Among other key aspects, Dr Riley-Smith deals with the legitimizing authority (and also the limitations in exercising it) of the Papacy, the nature of the crusader vow and of the privileges accorded to crusaders, the development of the Indulgence, and the role of the Military Orders. The important point is made that crusading was not confined to a particular class; and the author argues that the movement did not decline in the later thirteenth century to the extent that has been supposed.
Original in its conception, the book is a contribution of major importance to Medieval History scholarship and, in its lucid and systematic treatment of the issues, it is an unequaled introduction to the subject for students and for the general reader.
Did you find this review helpful?