BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

What Were the Crusades?

Knights of Jerusalem examines a key military order of the Christian Crusades

Read the full original review by Adrian Boas as it appeared in Biblical Archaeology Review , Sept/Oct 2011

 

Knights of Jerusalem: The Crusading Order of Hospitallers 1100–1565

by David Nicolle

Oxford and NY: Osprey, 2008, 224 pp.
$25.95 (hardcover)

What were the Crusades? And who were the knights of Jerusalem who fought the Christian Crusades in order to liberate the Holy Land from what medieval Christians termed the infidel? David Nicolle’s book Knights of Jerusalem: The Crusading Order of Hospitallers 1100–1565, reviewed by Adrian Boas of the University of Haifa, presents an overview of one of the most famous knightly orders that fought in the Christian Crusades between 1100 and 1565 A.D.

The Order of the Hospitallers was one of many orders of the knights of Jerusalem that fought in the Christian Crusades. The well-illustrated book addresses the Hospitallers’ history, administration, organization and recruitment, as well as their training, discipline and warfare techniques.
 

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For a more detailed study of the Crusades’ effects on Jerusalem, read Jack Meinhardt’s When Crusader Kings Ruled Jerusalem for Free on Bible History Daily
 

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For someone seeking to answer the questions, “What were the Crusades?” and “Who were the knights of Jerusalem who fought in them?” Nicolle’s text should prove to be a very good resource. Boas draws attention to the book’s very useful chronological timelines and appendices, as well as its discussions of surviving documents and collections of arms and armor. In terms of scholarly works on the Christian Crusades, however, Boas feels that Knights of Jerusalem falls short of the mark. He points out that, unlike other academic texts on the Christian Crusades, Knights of Jerusalem lacks footnotes and in-depth discussions of the presented material.

Nevertheless, today there is increasing interest in the Christian Crusades, as well as the knights of Jerusalem who fought in them. Such an interest by the general public in examining the question, “What were the Crusades?” has given rise to a wide assortment of literature, movies and television programs on the Christian Crusades. Some of these modern-day works are more accurate than others. So while Nicolle’s new book may not be a scholarly treatise on the subject of the Christian Crusades, it is certainly a good resource for those beginning to seek answers to the question, “What were the Crusades?” And by focusing on the Order of Hospitallers, Nicolle gives readers an insight into one of the more well-known military orders that participated in one of history’s longest-running ideological conflicts.