The Crusades and the Expansion of Catholic Christendom is a fascinating andaccessible survey that places the medieval Crusades in their European contextand exam... » 

The Crusades and the Expansion of Catholic Christendom is a fascinating andaccessible survey that places the medieval Crusades in their European contextand examines for the first time their impact on European expansion.Taking a unique approach that focuses on the motivation behind thecrusades John France chronologically examines the whole crusading movementfrom the development of a crusading impulse in the eleventh century throughto an examination of the relationship between the Crusades and the imperialistimperatives of the early modern period.France provides a detailedexamination of the first Crusade the expansion and climax of crusading duringthe twelfth and thirteenth centuries and the failure and fragmentation of suchpractices in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Concluding with anassessment of the influence of the Crusades across history and replete withillustrations maps timelines guides for further reading and a detailed listof rulers across Europe andthe Muslim world this study provides students withan essential guide to a central aspect of medieval history. «