Preface

When, at the Council of Clermont in 1095, Pope Urban II called for an armed pilgrimage to liberate the Holy Land, he brought into existence a movement that was to have profound consequences for the history of Europe, the Near East, and North Africa for centuries to come. Hundreds of thousands of men and women took part in crusade expeditions to various goals, a huge number of them dying in the process. Millions of people lived as subjects of states that were brought into existence as a direct consequence of crusades to Palestine and Syria, to the Baltic lands, and to Greece and the islands of the eastern Mediterranean. Others served as members of religious orders established to protect pilgrims or ransom captives, while many more supported crusades through taxes and voluntary donations, or by prayers and participation in the liturgy of the Christian Church. Many of the political, economic, religious, and artistic consequences of the crusades are still apparent in the world that we live in.

This encyclopedia is intended as a reference work on the crusades from their origins in the eleventh century up to the early modern period. It comprises one thousand signed articles and translated texts, with a historical introduction by Professor James Powell. Articles are accompanied by bibliographies, and are thus intended to function as a first point of reference and orientation for users who wish to proceed further with their enquiries. The scope of the work is intentionally wide: it has long been accepted that the crusades were neither purely heroic manifestations of Christian valour nor cynical wars of aggressive colonialism; in more recent years historians have also recognized the diverse and changing nature of crusading, which gradually developed in scope from campaigns to defend the Holy Land, to take in wars of conquest or reconquest against Muslims in Iberia and North Africa and pagans in northeastern Europe, as well as heretics, Christians of the Orthodox faith, and even political enemies of the Roman Catholic Church.

The aim of the encyclopedia is to reflect the state of knowledge of the crusade movement as it is understood in historical scholarship at the beginning of the twenty-first century. It contains longer entries on the major crusade expeditions themselves; the various states that contributed to, were established by, or were targeted by crusading; sources for the history of the crusades; the main military religious orders; and key concepts and institutions connected with crusading. There are also a great number of shorter articles on persons and places. While an absolutely comprehensive treatment is not achievable in a work of this length, the reader will nevertheless find articles on all the major crusades of the eleventh to fourteenth centuries, on most of the military orders, and on all of the crusader states of Outremer, the Baltic lands, Frankish Greece, and Cyprus. There are also entries for all of the rulers of the kingdom of Jerusalem, the kingdom of Cyprus, the Latin Empire of Constantinople, the principality of Antioch, the county of Edessa, and (save one) the county of Tripoli. Within this overall framework, a particular emphasis has been given to the events, institutions, and personalities connected with crusade expeditions and the Frankish states of Outremer and their enemies in the period 1095-1291. Finally, it should be emphasized that in a publication bringing together the work of over a hundred scholars from some two dozen countries, the user should not expect a uniformity of approach or opinion, but will find a diversity of analysis and interpretation from different authors, even if the fortuitous nature of the A-Z sequence has permitted the editor, at least in one sense, to have the last word.

Many debts of gratitude are incurred in a work of the dimensions of this one. The encyclopedia first took shape in a series of conversations with Professor James Powell of Syracuse University and Dr. Robert Neville, then of ABC-CLIO, and I am grateful to them for their advice, as well as to the members of the Editorial Advisory Board, who readily provided assistance and counsel whenever it was requested of them. The authors of articles deserve thanks, not only for sharing their scholarship, but also for their forbearance in dealing with numerous queries and requests for alterations or clarifications, and not least for their patience in waiting for the work to see the light of day. Several board members and other contributors also deserve thanks for their readiness to step into the breach by agreeing to write articles for which, for whatever reason, no other author could be found. Much of the attractiveness of a work such as this derives from its illustrations, and I am particularly grateful to Professors Alfred Andrea, Benjamin Z. Kedar, and Graham Loud for generously allowing the use of photographs from their own collections, and to Dr. Janus Moller Jensen, Dr. Kristian Molin, and Dr. Samantha Riches for their help and advice in procuring images.

Among the staff at ABC-CLIO, a great deal is owed to the energy and enthusiasm of Wendy Roseth and to the good sense and experience of Martha Whitt, who supported the project during its most crucial stages, while Anna Kaltenbach and Vicki Moran in turn provided the care that brought it to publication. Significant contributions to the final product were also provided by Ellen Rasmussen, who undertook picture research; Bill Nelson (cartographer) and George Zirfas (graphic artist), who drew maps and genealogical tables to the editor’s specifications; as well as Silvine Farnell and Kathy Streckfus (copyeditors), Mary Kay Kozyra and Lori Kranz (proofreaders), Tim Giesen (typesetter), and Heather Jones (indexer). are also due to Alison Miller and Patience Melnik, who acted as development editors during the initial stages of the project.

Lastly, I am grateful to Martina Hacker and Rhiannon Lawrence-Francis for their assistance in proofreading the final text.

— Alan V. Murray Leeds, 5 July 2006