Charlie Baynard Dr. Timothy May Crusades November 11, 2015 Comparative Book Review The books: A Most Holy War by Mark Pegg and The Teutonic Knights by William Urban. Both had a lot of good information for readers; however each book presented many different problems. Urban and Pegg’s books were also difficult to follow for a variety of reasons and the sources were used in a confusing way or not at all. While both books provided a good history of each event, they had many problems throughout. In Urban’s book, The Teutonic Knights, he gives a detailed history of the knights and the different conflicts that they took part in. Urban began his book by offering readers a detailed guide about the rank structure and different roles of each position in the Teutonic Knights. Additionally, he explained the role of the knights and the reasons people were drawn to join the order. He also addresses many political and religious circumstances that surrounded them in different parts of history. The book is broken up into multiple chapters with subparagraph headings spread throughout. Urban uses a variety of maps in each different subsection to help readers better understand the areas that he addresses and the important cities visited or occupied by the Teutonic Knights. The book does not use any kind of citation system, however it does have a bibliography for readers to reference. The book is very easy to read, but it can be confusing because it is not organized fully chronologically, so
Historians have learned a great deal about the Crusades from chroniclers like William of Tyre and Ibn al-Qalanisi. Today, reporters and newscasters travel all over the world to report on international events, including conflicts. Reporters and world leaders use social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook to connect with the public. Imagine what we might know had there been access to television, cell phones, and social media in the 13th century.
Man’s tenure upon face of the earth consists of inundated thoughts of “World Dominance.” Be it through religious factors of papacy, or hatred for selected peoples groups on the face of the earth. The Crusades revile the desire of control from popes that required the Greek Church (all non-Christians) to be under the control of the Catholic Church of Rome.
Thomas Madden’s Crusades is an exposition of the crusades, which occurred during the Middle Ages. The Crusades were a series of military conflicts of a religious character. They remain a very important movement in human history, and are hard to understand, as they include several themes and they lasted for a long time (about two hundred years, and the author covers a period of about eight centuries in his chronological work). Religion is, of course, the most recurrent theme we think about the Crusades, but is it the only factor to explain them? How does Madden, considered as one of the most foremost historian of the Crusades, expose them in his book? Is his work effective to understand this period of History? Madden has the ambition to
Timothy Findley in his novel The Wars uses a postmodern device where the narration is nonlinear in chronology, making it subjective and more based on memory, ultimately deeming the reader’s perception of the past and the present to be precarious and unreliable. The Wars focuses on a young Canadian WWI officer named Robert Ross. Robert’s story is recounted after his death through many other characters such as Marian Turner, Lady Juliet d’Orsey, and the archivists. Yet, these characters are separated from Robert Ross through one main medium: time. Since these characters are separated from Robert Ross through time and space, the consistency of their perception comes
“He stood at the window of the empty café and watched the activities in the square and he said that it was good that God kept the truths of life from the young as they were starting out or else they’d have no heart to start at all” ("All the Pretty Horses"). World War One was the first war that used the media and propaganda to target the public (“Propaganda in World War I”). Much of the propaganda used was targeted towards young men. The media emphasized the patriotism and heroism one would show for their country by enlisting in the army. More than 250,000of these young men were under the age of 19 ("The teenage soldiers of World War One"). These boys were susceptible to
The Trojan War has long been debated on historical accuracy by experts on whether or not it actually happened. In Barry Strauss ' book, The Trojan War, he draws from multiple sources to illustrate what occurred during this time period. Strauss utilizes archeological evidence and descriptions from poets, such as Homer, surrounding the Trojan War to argue what probably happened and what was likely made up.
Timothy Findley’s The Wars portrays the effects of war on soldiers in battle, as well as the members of family and friends that suffer from loss and insanity. As each character over the progression of the story is exposed to change, the character’s ability to adapt has a significant correlation with their survival, those that can quickly adapt to survive can manage to get by. Soldiers must be able to suppress the extreme stress on the battlefield. Those that cannot overcome these challenges do not survive in war. Murder is quickly pushed out of a soldiers mind, killing others in effort to protect their own life or the life of others around them. Findley demonstrates how war can negatively alter a person’s behaviour. This is seen through
The Knights were very political and influence many coups
Accordingly, Memoirs of the Fourth Crusade has been reviewed vigorously over the past century and central among these reviews is a genuine acceptance of Villehardouin s authenticity and accountability with respect to his
Individuals go through many experiences in life, and through their experiences they learn about the world, and how to react to the way it treats them within a society. A society has many expectations that mold people 's attitudes and moods. Throughout life, people are constantly changing themselves to fit into the society and once people fulfill its requirement to meet its expectations they can fit into the world, because the world is built on society’s expectations. The society can make people distant from themselves, when they are busy, and are always being pressured to complete a certain task on time. The society can impact people 's decisions by alternating their ways of treating them. They can be strict, and force people to put their ego aside, while in other situations they want the the people to only think about themselves, and what they want, and how they should value themselves more often, Especially children, who at a young age are trying to find their place in society. In “An army of one” by Jean Twenge, many children are surrounded by coloring books, and other activities that support their self-esteem, hoping to build a concrete understanding of the importance of self. In “Project Classroom Makeover” by Cathy Davidson, students are surrounded by rules, and regulation, that always lead to standardization, and a way for students to forget about themselves, but Davidson wants to change that with technology and restore the students’ self-esteems. The ability for an
The Crusades were one of the most prominent events in Western European history; they were not discrete and unimportant pilgrimages, but a continuous stream of marching Western armies (Crusaders) into the Muslim world, terminating in the creation and eventually the fall of the Islamic Kingdoms. The Crusades were a Holy War of Roman Christianity against Islam, but was it really a “holy war” or was it Western Europe fighting for more land and power? Through Pope Urban II and the Roman Catholic Church’s actions, their proposed motivations seem unclear, and even unchristian. Prior to the Crusades, Urban encouraged that Western Europe fight for their religion but throughout the crusades the real motivations shone though; the Crusaders were power
Known for his speeches, Hitler was a big believer in using words to change opinions. He said in one speech that “It is always more difficult to fight against faith than against knowledge.” By using faith for his benefit, he gave people something to fight for, and connected them and their faith to their “mission” by using propaganda, and speeches, and never stopped persuading people to join his movement. Another person who used faith to help accomplish a goal was Pope Urban the second, the initiator of the first Crusade. Pope Urban said that God wanted the Christians to fight for Jerusalem during the Crusades, and gave the people a reason to fight. He said to “Undertake this journey for the remission of your sins, with the assurance of the imperishable glory of the Kingdom of Heaven!”, and gave his people a chance to “redeem” themselves of their sins. Both Pope Urban and Hitler tried to pulverize the Jewish nation. The Crusades, similar to the Holocaust, was a war against everyone different led by stubborn leaders; however, unlike the Holocaust, the Crusades were part of a religious war, led by a religious Christian leader.
The Crusades: A Short History, written by British Historian Jonathan Riley-Smith, offers a broad overview of this part of the medieval era, but he also explores how historians have attempted to explain these events in modern terms. Riley-Smith also makes sure to note all major contributors to the Crusade movement and their personalities. Numerous scholars have wondered whether this was a political or religious mission. This helps to spark the question of why people would leave their homes and their families to risk their lives invading a land that was thousands of miles away for religious reasons. In his book, Riley-Smith makes this era come alive for the modern reader. He does
The Crusades of the High Middle Ages (a.d. 1050-1300) was a period of conquest or rather, reconquest, of Christian lands taken from Muslims in the early Middle Ages. It is an era romanticized by fervent Christians as the time when Christianity secured its honorable status as the true religion of the world. The affect of the Crusades is still with us today. It sailed from Spain and Portugal to the Americas in the fifthteenth century aboard sailing ships carrying conquistadors who sought new territory and rich resources. They used the shield and sword of Christianity to justify a swift conquest of mass territory and the subjugation of the indigenous peoples; a mentality learned, indeed,
Going against modern day religious beliefs, in 1095AD the Christians went to war to claim the holy city of Jerusalem, massacring the Muslims in a bloody attempt to worship their God. Pope Urban II’s speech at Clermont inspired by claims made by the Byzantium Emperor encouraged the Christians to partake in the First Crusade in an attempt to liberate Jerusalem. The religious and economic factors were the most relevant to cause this crusade, with some influence from desired political gain and little from social factors unrelated to religion. The immediate consequences were positive for the Christians and negative for the Muslims, but the First Crusade launched an ongoing conflict between the Christians and Muslims which had positive and negative consequences for both sides. There are a number of relevant modern sources which examine the causes and consequences of the First Crusade, but, while there are many medieval sources, they do not explicitly discuss the causes and consequences of the war. In order to fully comprehend the First Crusade, it is necessary to analyse the religious, economic, and political factors, as well as the short-term, long-term, and modern consequences.