Description
By Alfred John Church. A wonderful retelling of the stories of the First, Third, and Eighth Crusades, narrated by a fictional “wandering Jew” (cursed to live until the Second Coming of Christ), this classic work takes the reader on an epic rollercoaster ride of the triumphs, tribulations, and ultimate defeat of the European counterattack against the rampant Muslim aggression which had seized the Christian lands in the Middle East.
The author explains how the Islamic military conquest of huge areas of the Byzantine Empire sparked off the call to Crusade, and then weaves the story of some of the most famous characters and events of the Crusades. From the dizzying successes of the First Crusade—the siege and fall of Antioch and the fall of Jerusalem—to the recapture of Jerusalem by the Muslims, the reader will meet and understand the major characters of the time: Richard Lionheart, Duke Godfrey (the Norman warrior and first king of Jerusalem), Saladin and King Louis of France. The reader will also discover the full tragedy of the ill-fated “Children’s Crusade” and much more in this enthralling book.
Contents
Chapter I: Concerning This History
Chapter II: Peter the Hermit
Chapter III: More Concerning Peter the Hermit
Chapter IV: The First Crusade
Chapter V: Of the Besieging of Antioch
Chapter VI: Of the Taking of Antioch
Chapter VII: How the Christians Were Besieged in Antioch
Chapter VIII: Of the March to Jerusalem
Chapter IX: Of the Besieging and Taking of Jerusalem
Chapter X: How Duke Godfrey Was Chosen King, and of His End
Chapter XI: Of the Kingdom in Jerusalem
Chapter XII: How Saladin Took Jerusalem
Chapter XIII: Of What Befell After the Taking of Jerusalem
Chapter XIV: Of the Siege of Acre
Chapter XV: More Concerning the Siege of Acre
Chapter XVI: How King Richard Took a Great Ship
Chapter XVII: Of King Richard in Camp
Chapter XVIII: How the Town Was Given Up
Chapter XIX; How the Hostages Were Slain
Chapter XX: The Battle of Arsuf
Chapter XXI: How King Richard Parleyed with Saladin
Chapter XXII: How the King’s Purpose Was Baulked
Chapter XXIII: How King Richard Departed
Chapter XXIV: Of What Befell at Constantinople
Chapter XXV: The Children Crusaders
Chapter XXVI: How King Louis Came to Egypt
Chapter XXVII: How the Crusaders Fared in Damietta
Chapter XXVIII: Of What Befell at Mansoura
Chapter XXIX: How the King Surrendered Himself
Chapter XXX: Of the Slaying of the Sultan, and What Followed
Chapter XXXI: Of King Louis at Acre
Chapter XXXII; Concerning the Tartars
Chapter XXXIII: Of the Ending of the Expedition
Chapter XXXIV: The Last Crusade
Historical Note
About the author: Alfred John Church (1829–1912) was a school teacher and professor of classical Latin at University College in London. He specialized in retelling classical stories in the vernacular, and won fame for his translations of Tacitus, Pliny, Virgil, and Homer. In addition, he wrote many historical works of his own, each time presenting them in easily-readable story format.
175 pages. Paperback.
