HI4331 The Crusades, c, 1095-1204

Module Coordinator: Dr Lean Ni Chleirigh
Duration: Hilary Term
Contact hours: 2 hours per week
Weighting: 10 ECTS
Assessment: 20% essay, 80% examination

The module examines the crusading movement from the launch of the expeditions by Pope Urban II in 1095 to the Latins' sack of Constantinople in 1204. It traces the development of the idea of a crusade. It considers how events in western Europe and the Near East shaped the way in which crusades were viewed and pursued. The crusades brought Latin Christians face to face with long established and thriving alien cultures in Byzantium and Islam. Once the Crusader states were established, relations between the settlers and these two groups were often complicated by the intermittent arrival of warriors from the West. The struggles between the settlers and newly arrived crusaders as well as the politics within the crusade armies often caused as much difficulty as the Muslim enemy. Students will be expected to develop the critical skills to analyse and interrogate primary sources. There will be an opportunity to engage with recent theoretical approaches to the crusades and historiographical debates on the subject.

The aim of this module is to analyse key developments in the history of the crusading movement, through the study of primary and secondary sources

Bibliographical advice will be provided in the module handbook

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

• Analyse developments in the history of the crusades between 1095 and 1204
• Identify and search for relevant secondary literature
• Engage with relevant theoretical and critical approaches to the history of the crusades in this period
• Apply different techniques of evaluation and interpretation to relevant primary sources
• Critique relevant historiography in the light of primary sources
• Present and discuss analysis of questions relating to the history of the crusades during this period
• Analyse the impact of different aspects of crusading ideas and the crusading movement on western Europe and the Near East.