Le crociate del Nord. Il Baltico e la frontiera cattolica (1100-1525)

Someone needs to tell the Islamophobes: Europe was made Christian at the point of the sword and the most important targets and lasting conquests of the centuries of Crusades were not the Muslims but the people of Europe. This history looks at the enforced Christianisation of the northern lands aroun Leggi tutto

“Northern” and “Crusades” might not be words that would seem to fit together naturally. Most of us, when we hear the term "the Crusades," would think of the endless fighting over the Holy Land, of Saladin and King Richard the Lionhearted. But we probably wouldn't think of Crusades in association wit Leggi tutto

_The Northern Crusades_ by Eric Christiansen is an attempt to shed light on a relatively poorly known aspect of European medieval and early modern history, that of the Northern Crusades. Less well known than the Spanish Crusade and certainly less known to the average non-specialist reader than the C Leggi tutto

This is one of the best, and one of the only books in English, on the Northern Crusades. Consequently, it has gone through several reprints. The book reads like a narrative of battles with little interpretation or analysis. It is very informative for cursory interest.

Given that this book combines two parts of history that aren't terribly popular in the U.S. (medieval history and eastern European history), I would wager this is the best general overview available on the topic. And even if competition for that title wasn't so scarce, this would be a strong contend Leggi tutto