OLD DUFFER'S
BOOK CORNER

The First Crusade
and the Idea of Crusading

Jonathan Riley-Smith for Athlone

The First Crusade was not only one of the most successful expeditions but one of the most reviled by the stupider of our historical brethren. As time passes the old butts (irish, Jews and blacks) are no longer fair game so the contempt that most of us seem to need must be employed elsewhere. The Crusaders are a wonderful target, firstly they were (sort of) Christians so no chance of a fatwa there, secondly they were notoriously anti-Semitic (the code of vendetta requiring them to regard Jewish communities as responsible for murdering their god - lets not get into the Athanasian Creed here - I'm an Arian myself), thirdly they were white conquistador types, fourthly, because they were physical chaps they were clearly completely stupid (goes without saying really), fifthly, they did not admire the civilised but effete Byzantines.

This sort of tommy-rot should suffer some reversal at the hands of Riley-Smith (assuming its supporters ever read anything beyond Runciman). Not that all those distortions do not have some elements of truth, but this book puts the whole thing in context. The theological element, its practical translation in the lives of the crusaders and the conditions and practices of the First Crusade are carefully analysed with the correct attention to contemporary vernacular sources and the later church sources. The whole event remains very remarkable and Riley-Smith does not deny this, but its participants are at least a little more rounded than before.

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© Copyright 1997 by Charles and Teresa Vasey.
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