#crusades

#crusades

Love him or hate him, it's hard to take one step into the medieval world without running into the larger-than-life figure of Richard the Lionheart. Rebel, crusader, prisoner, castle-builder Richard is one of the most colourful and quotable kings of the Middle Ages. This week, Danièle speaks with Heather Blurton about how Richard's contemporaries saw him, the wild stories told about him in the later Middle Ages, and why we still just can't get enough of this controversial king.

The tomb effigy of a French crusader from the thirteenth century preserves a surprising secret: a carved copy of a Chinese sword which belonged to the knight. The question of how a Chinese sword ended up on the tomb has fascinated scholars for decades. It is a story that speaks to the influence of global travel, crusading warfare, trade and plunder, inviting us to reconsider the Middle Ages as more globally connected than often imagined.

The Crusades to the Holy Land were 'wars of liberation' launched to restore Jerusalem to Christian rule, evolving into a struggle for holy sites against Muslim forces.

The course offers a sweeping panorama of military history from 1000 to 1300, analyzing the development of land warfare across several crucial regions.