Sean McGlynn reconsiders the origins of the popular myth and suggests a new contender for the original folk hero; not an outlaw from Nottingham but a devoted royal servant from Kent, who opposed the French invasion against King John in 1216.
Pope Urban II launched the First Crusade, which lasted from 1096 to 1099. Jonathan Phillips examines the origins and motives of the first Crusaders.
The popular image of crusading is derived almost entirely from western accounts of the victorious First Crusade. Yet when historians examine Byzantine sources about the campaign a very different picture emerges, argues Peter Frankopan.
John France recounts the against-the-odds narrative of the capture of the Holy City by the forces of the First Crusade.
Robert Irwin on how Islam saw the Christian invaders.
Outremer, the crusader kingdom, and its capital Jerusalem entered a golden age during the 1130s. Simon Sebag Montefiore portrays its extraordinary cast of kings, queens, conquerors and criminals.
Peter Edbury profiles medieval Christendom's militant apologist.
Frankish disunity and impetuosity produced a disaster that lost Christendom the holy city of Jerusalem.
Marius Ostrowski explains why the Church was so dominant in the Middle ages, but also sees traces of a growing secularism.
Richard Cavendish marks the anniversary of a great fortress being sacked, on August 15th, 1209.
