Crusades

Rating:
Summary: Good introduction to the Crusades....
Review: I would consider this a good, brief overview of what the Crusades were about, but I wouldn't formulate my opinions based on these two DVDs alone. There is quite a bit of tongue-in-cheek-humor and a modern-day perspective on what occurred in the past. I wouldn't necessarily look at this as being a "scholarly" effort but more of an easily accessible and easily digested popular version of what the Crusades were about. It was very enjoyable, and I took it for what it was....entertainment. Like anything else, it had its own peculiar biases which aren't necessarily accurate, but for me it didn't detract from the overall experience. However, for those who would like a much more balanced treatment of the Crusades, I would recommend The Dream and the Tomb.

Rating:
Summary: A Very Different Look at the Crusades
Review: This book is the companion to the very popular A&E TV special that ran back in 1995.

Terry Jones, to his credit, has several books, including "Chaucer's Knight: The Portrait of a Medieval Mercenary" and some children's books. His television work also includes "The Complete and Utter History of Britain". Alan Ereira is a producer of many historical documentaries for the BBC.

Terry Jones is probably best known for his work with "Monty Python" but this work, while sometimes humorous, is not "Monty Python and the Holy Grail".

Terry Jones presents us with the book companion to an A&E documentary on the Crusades (DVD available) that covered the time period from the First Crusade (1099 CE) to it's final ending at the fall of Acre to the Mameluk's in 1291 CE.

Terry Jones tongue in cheek style of presenting the history dominates both the DVD and the book. No one is left unscathed, Crusaders or Moslems. Terry Jones points out the obvious wanton waste of lives, the continued stupidity of historians to paint a gilded picture of the Crusaders and their cause, and brings to light some very good historical references. He also, unfortunately, got a few "tiny bits" wrong. But for the most part, it is historically accurate.

Terry Jones is an entertainer, and because of this, the DVD tends to be more of a theatrical production than the book. The book, however, is a very valuable reference for those interested in the Crusades. Again, while being entertaining, it takes what has been dealt with in other works as very cut and dry and makes it a very interesting read. The book is chock full of pictures from manuscripts and photos of places that are important to the history. Also included are some maps to help you track the progress.

The book is well written, following a chronological history of the Crusaders through the Holy Land. It is easy to follow, it is interesting in its content, and does not fail to hold the attention of the reader. There are many "gee, I didn't know that" moments. There are also Terry Jones' biting satirical remarks. The approach is from a historical and not a Christian viewpoint, while still maintaining the fervor and the cause for event. The Moslems are treated with respect when they deserve it, and the Christians are called upon to answer for some of their deeds. This is what made the DVD and the book different; we see things from the viewpoint of someone who challenges us not to look at the Crusades as a respected institution.

The book includes the battle, the intrigues, all the court dramas and interesting "side line" notes. It does not wash over the blood and guts of the Crusades. Yet, Terry Jones manages to approach this all with intelligence and common sense.

Depending on your own personal view of the Crusades, this book can be beneficial in opening up a whole new look at the Crusades. I would recommend it for college level students and over who will find it a very interesting read, challenging some of the more accepted renderings of the Crusade story. And if you can find a copy of the DVD to go along with it, give that a watch, as it provides you with Terry himself relating the story which is as entertaining as it is thought provoking. Medievalcrusadesbabe

Rating:
Summary: Narrowly focused but still pretty good
Review: "Crusades" does the basics well, better than most other television programs, while garnishing the outline with little, fascinating details. Still, you'll have to go to the library for a wider perspective. For starters, this series is top heavy; the first two episodes cover the First Crusade, the third races through the Second Crusade to get to Richard and Saladin, and the final episode concerns itself mainly with the Fourth Crusade, leaving the final 100 years of the Kingdom Acre 15-20 minutes of time.

Jones approaches his subject from what might be called a neo-European perspective, looking at the era mostly as two centuries of western interference in the Middle East. That's not necessarily a bad thing: in fact, it's perfect when Jones details Crusader horrors, giving them an immediate, in-our-streets quality. But the approach loses its footing when Jones explains the ambitions, the background and the people of the wars.

This leads to a few minor but irritating lapses. Jones sees the pope's political ambition as the sole spark of the First Crusade; you'd never know Christians and Muslims had fought each other in Spain for nearly 400 years by 1095. A statement by Saladin that his people had always been in possession of Palestine goes unchallenged (it's not like Jews lived there for 5,000 years or anything).

The biggest sins are errors of ommission. There's virtually nothing about the internal government of the Crusader states, the feudalization of Palestine or the fact they actually got along with their Muslim neighbors when their French and German brethren weren't leading cavalry charges across the sands. Worse, the Byzantine Empire is used solely to bookend the first and fourth crusades. The Emperor Manuel breathed new life into the Kingdom Jerusalem with his diplomacy and warfare in the 1160s, and hastened its collapse with his overreach in the 1170s. None of this warrants comment.

That's ultimately the weakness of this series -- the history mostly serves Jones' hypothesis that Christian extremism created Muslim extremism, a reasonable if simplistic conclusion from the era. It's more a failing of the medium, though; 200 minutes isn't nearly enough time for a subject like this. A thorough exploration would require a multi-hour, Ken Burns timeframe. But "Crusades" is visually inventive, and Jones is a cheerful and well-informed host who smartly uses the landscape and architecture of the Middle East to make his points. As a primer, it works.

Rating:
Summary: history DOES repeat itself
Review: A blend of dramatic recreations and more "artistic" presentations which make Terry Jones' documentaries unique: informative AND entertaining, while remaining well-balanced. Come to think of it, what the Crusades come down to here is the mobilization of the public in the Christian West to smite the East, which has yet to accept the "universal truth" (i.e. then Christianity). And the tools used to mobilize public opinion is distorted information about the East through the use of the "media" at the time...... sound familiar? Viewers from Western industrialized countries have a good reference for some self-examination over whether things have changed in East-West relations , while those of us in the Muslim world understand that the religious fanaticism branded upon us was also merely a result of "bad press".

Rating:
Summary: An excelent and one of the very few unbiased accounts.
Review: A highly scholastic book that has done a thorough and dramatic analysis of the Crusades from a purely unbiased standpoint. A great reading full of illustrations. Unlike most books on this subject, it does not favor a particular viewpoint and gives the reader an opportunity to interpret history based on facts. This book also brings a new insight and understanding into today's rise of Islam and the Western standpoint and how the unfolding events are part of a chain reaction of the crusades. This book is a must for anyone who is interested in getting an insight into why the Western World views Islam as a threat and what psychology drives the rise of Islam and the western perception of it.

Rating:
Summary: Great story, relatively shallow history
Review: After reading only the very first pages of the book, it became obvious to me what the book was not trying to do - be a comprehensive, scholarly and totally accurate history of the crusades. In order to meet these goals, the book would have had to include detailed maps, detailed chronological timelines etc. It would definitely not have included hinted (and usually unsupported) suppositions relating to the motivations of the various protagonists.

So what was the book trying to do? It appears to me to have been trying to portray the story of the crusades in les than 200 small pages of extremely enjoyable commentary, addressing both the political, religious, military and economic sub-motivations of the process (with the occasional humorous quip), without getting bogged down in the levels of detail which are best dealt with in the specialized histories.

End result - a wonderful read, which can serve as a perfect launching ground for additional reading of the specialized subjects. If your goal is just to get an overview of the crusades for general knowledge purposes - this is the book for you. If your goal is to become an expert on the topic - this is a great way to get started.

Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: excellent graphical account
Review: An excellent BBC production and graphical historical account of the Crusades, that is surprisingly pro-Muslim. It describes the European Crusaders as cannibals, thugs, superstitious, illiterate and intolerant in nature. Muslim civilisation on the other hand was far more sophisticatd and advanced. For example, mention is made of the fact that at the time of the Crusades a Muslim scholar had calculated the distance between the Earth and the Moon and another had determined that if the atom was split, enough energy would be released to destroy a city the size of Baghdad. Muslim universities taught Medicine including circulation of blood through the body, hygiene and had developed music as treatment for psychiatric disorders. The Muslim leaders who fought against the Crusaders are all mentioned e.g. Zengi, Narrudin and of course, Salahudin, their chivalry, strategies and battle tactics in dealing with the Crusaders. Richard the Lionheart is also mentioned. For a country that models itself as the beacon of secular democracy, it is quite ironic that Richard's statue stands outside the Houses of Parliament, but then that should come as no surprise as the House of Lords replicates the old order of the Dark Ages of Europe i.e. it is occupied by non-elected people such as the Church of England clergy, the monarch, feudal lords, barons, earls, viscounts who taxed the masses (the Commoners represented by the House of Commons) to pay for the Crusades.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and accurate for the most part
Review: Being a scholar of history and Medieval Europe in particular, I found this documentary rather accurate on most points, despite what a few of the previous reviewers have said. Also, it was very entertaining. You can't beat that combination.

The only real problemswith it, is that it is only 4 hours long, and therefore, takes some short-cuts, oversimplifies a few things and is not as in-depth as I would have liked it to have been.

That said, it is still mostly true to the sense of the Crusades that is conveyed in many historical accounts, while at the same time cutting away the Pro-European bias that is present in many texts.

Some of the "facts" that the previous reviewers have mentioned (such as: the Crusades being a response to the Muslim takeover of the Balkans, which in actuality did not occur until well in the 14th century. another is the statement that the Muslims who eventually took over the Balkans were motivated by Mohammed's original fervor, which is also not true as these Muslims were Turks who only recently converted to Islam), are not really facts, and are clearly motivated by unfounded Anti-Muslim sentiments. I suggest ignoring them.

All in all, this is a very informative and enjoyable DVD set.

Rating:
Summary: As balanced as Humpty-Dumpty
Review: Call this history? Try Monty Python and the Holy Grail for deeper insight, historical content and accuracy.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining!
Review: First of all I know this does not contain the information of books, and I know that unless this production were ten times longer it never could, so I won't go on about that. It is, however, both a solid introduction for beginners and a good companion for the more advanced. Watching someone put on chain mail and plodding through the desert sun helps put things into perspective, as well as seeing all the locations and settings. It nicely demonstrates how the Arab civilization was invaded by the barbarian hordes - ironically this time at Rome's beck and call - and how they needed to find the military organization and leadership to deal with the problem. Certainly worth spending an evening infront of the television.