HI3G5-30 Conquest, Conflict and Co-existence: Crusading and the Crusader Kingdoms
Introductory description
This advanced option module will focus on the crusades to the Eastern Mediterranean, investigating the development of the crusading movement and the establishment of crusader states. The crusading movement had an enduring appeal throughout the medieval period and beyond: the reasons behind this fascination will be analysed, focusing on the motivations of people from various social groups who took part in the expeditions.
Module aims
The first term will provide an overview of the political and religious background to movement, looking at the aims, organisation, routes of the first seven crusades. While the First Crusade saw the capture of Jerusalem, later expeditions often produced catastrophic and unexpected results (such as the final destination of the Fourth Crusade). The papacy played an undeniable part in shaping the crusader movement; in turn, successive crusades transformed the power and authority of the pope.
In the second term, our main focus will be on the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, exploring themes such as royal and local administration, the church, rural settlements, towns and trade, the rise of the military orders, changes in warfare and fortifications. We will investigate the ways in which Western feudal institutions were guarded, modified, altered and in some cases amalgamated with the indigenous institutions. We will also be looking into the impact of the crusades on the native populations of the Near East and examine settlement and trading patterns to determine the social and economic impact of the movement. Changing currents in the historiography of the crusades and crusader settlements will be reviewed throughout. The module's main focus will be on the period between 1095 (the call to the First Crusade) and 1291 (the fall of Acre). However, as the fall of Acre as the last bastion in the Holy Land did not mean the end of crusader presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, attention will be paid also to Cyprus and Armenia.
While this period has often been viewed as one of violent conflict, crusader existence in the Holy Land depended on economic and cultural cooperation and collaboration: the module will explore the intricacies and complexities of co-existence through the analysis of mutual perceptions. The final two weeks of the Spring term will look at the later crusades and explore the problematic legacy of the crusading ideals.
Outline syllabus
This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.
Autumn Term
Week 1 : Introduction: What were the crusades?
Week 2: Background to the First Crusade: The West, Byzantium and the Near East
Week 3: The First Crusade and the establishment of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem
Week 4: The Second Crusade: Failures and recriminations
Week 5: Rulers and subjects, enemies and allies: The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem before 1187
Week 6: Reading Week
Week 7: The Fall of Jerusalem and the Third Crusade
Week 8: Debating the Fourth Crusade: Accidents and conspiracies
Week 9: The Fifth Crusade: Disaster, defeat and destruction
Week 10: The Sixth and the Seventh Crusades: Triumphs and failures I
Spring Term
Week 1: The Sixth and the Seventh Crusades: Triumphs and failures II
Week 2: The Military Orders: Templars and Hospitallers
Week 3: Crusader castles and the organisation of warfare
Week 4: Gendering the Crusades: Crusader masculinities and the role of women
Week 5: Towns and Trade: Venice and Genoa in the Eastern Mediterranean
Week 6: Reading Week
Week 7: 'Rough Tolerance?': Settlements and co-existence in the Eastern Mediterranean
Week 8: The Later Crusades
Week 9: Debating the Crusades
Week 10: 'The Crusader Legacy': Crusades and their modern audiences
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- Demonstrate a systematic knowledge and understanding of the political developments in Europe in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, including the motivations and aims of various groups of people who took part in crusading and the role of the papacy in the development of the crusader movement
- Critically analyse and evaluate a broad range of primary sources relating to the key political and economic developments in the Eastern Mediterranean in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries
- Effectively communicate ideas, and make informed, coherent and persuasive arguments relating to the development of the crusader movement
- Critically review and consolidate theoretical, methodological, and historiographical ideas relating to the key political and economic developments in the Eastern Mediterranean in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries
Indicative reading list
- Riley-Smith, J., What were the Crusades? (London, 2003) (e-book)
- Riley-Smith, J., 'The Crusading Movement and Historians' in Jonathan Riley-Smith (ed), The Oxford History of the Crusades (1999) (e-book)
- Tyerman, C., ' What were the Crusades?' in Fighting for Christendom: Holy War and the Crusades (Oxford, 2004), pp.27-35. (e-book)
- Erdmann, C., The Origin of the Idea of Crusade (1977) ('Foreword to the English translation' section presents a useful summary of debates on origins until c.1975)(e-book)
- Housley, N., 'Defining the Crusade' in N. Housley, Contesting the Crusades (Oxford, 2006) chp 1.
- Riley-Smith, J., The Crusades: A Short History (London, 1987)
- Riley-Smith, J. (ed), The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades (Oxford, 1995)
- Websites: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/crus/hd_crus.htm
View reading list on Talis Aspire
Subject specific skills
See learning outcomes.
Transferable skills
See learning outcomes.
Study time
| Type | Required |
|---|---|
| Seminars | 18 sessions of 2 hours (12%) |
| Tutorials | 4 sessions of 1 hour (1%) |
| Private study | 260 hours (87%) |
| Total | 300 hours |
Private study description
History modules require students to undertake extensive independent research and reading to prepare for seminars and assessments. As a rough guide, students will be expected to read and prepare to comment on three substantial texts (articles or book chapters) for each seminar taking approximately 3 hours. Each assessment requires independent research, reading around 6-10 texts and writing and presenting the outcomes of this preparation in an essay, review, presentation or other related task.
Costs
No further costs have been identified for this module.
You do not need to pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Assessment group A2
| Weighting | Study time | Eligible for self-certification | |
|---|---|---|---|
Assessment component |
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| Seminar contribution | 10% | No | |
Reassessment component |
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| 1000 word reflective essay in lieu of Seminar Contribution | Yes (extension) | ||
Assessment component |
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| 1500 word essay | 10% | Yes (extension) | |
Reassessment component is the same |
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Assessment component |
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| 3000 word source based essay | 40% | Yes (extension) | |
Reassessment component is the same |
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Assessment component |
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| 3000 word essay | 40% | Yes (extension) | |
Reassessment component is the same |
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Feedback on assessment
Written feedback provided via Tabula; optional oral feedback in office hours.
Courses
This module is Optional for:
- Year 3 of UENA-VQ32 Undergraduate English and History
- Year 4 of UENA-VQ33 Undergraduate English and History (with Intercalated year)
- Year 3 of UHIA-V100 Undergraduate History
- Year 4 of UHIA-V101 Undergraduate History (with Year Abroad)
- Year 3 of UHIA-V1V5 Undergraduate History and Philosophy
-
UHIA-V1V8 Undergraduate History and Philosophy (with Year Abroad and a term in Venice)
- Year 3 of V1V8 History and Philosophy (with Year Abroad and a term in Venice)
- Year 4 of V1V8 History and Philosophy (with Year Abroad and a term in Venice)
- Year 4 of UHIA-V1V6 Undergraduate History and Philosophy (with Year Abroad)
- Year 3 of UHIA-V1V7 Undergraduate History and Philosophy (with a term in Venice)
- Year 3 of UHIA-VM11 Undergraduate History and Politics
-
UHIA-VM14 Undergraduate History and Politics (with Year Abroad and a term in Venice)
- Year 3 of VM14 History and Politics (with Year Abroad and a term in Venice)
- Year 4 of VM14 History and Politics (with Year Abroad and a term in Venice)
- Year 4 of UHIA-VM12 Undergraduate History and Politics (with Year Abroad)
- Year 3 of UHIA-VM13 Undergraduate History and Politics (with a term in Venice)
- Year 3 of UHIA-VL13 Undergraduate History and Sociology
-
UHIA-VL16 Undergraduate History and Sociology (with Year Abroad and a term in Venice)
- Year 3 of VL16 History and Sociology (with Year Abroad and a term in Venice)
- Year 4 of VL16 History and Sociology (with Year Abroad and a term in Venice)
- Year 4 of UHIA-VL14 Undergraduate History and Sociology (with Year Abroad)
This module is Option list A for:
- Year 3 of UHIA-V100 Undergraduate History
- Year 4 of UHIA-V101 Undergraduate History (with Year Abroad)
This module is Option list B for:
- Year 3 of UHIA-V1V5 Undergraduate History and Philosophy
- Year 4 of UHIA-V1V6 Undergraduate History and Philosophy (with Year Abroad)
- Year 3 of UHIA-VM11 Undergraduate History and Politics
- Year 4 of UHIA-VM12 Undergraduate History and Politics (with Year Abroad)
- Year 3 of UHIA-VL13 Undergraduate History and Sociology
- Year 4 of UHIA-VL14 Undergraduate History and Sociology (with Year Abroad)