The course covers a significant chapter in the history of medieval Europe and its interaction with the rest of the world. The Crusades both contributed to and were a consequence of the dynamic evolution and expansion of Latin Christendom in various fields, such as politics, military affairs, commercial life and cultural development, and in all directions, from the 11th c. onwards.
The course deals both with the more generally well-known crusades to the Holy Land against the Muslim powers of the region, and with less known Crusading activity on several other fronts, such as the Iberian Peninsula, the Baltic, Greece and the Balkans, and even within western Europe itself.
Among other things, the course will examine: i) the roots and theoretical foundations of the Crusading movement (the notion of the just and holy war, pilgrimage, East-West contacts, the papal reform, etc.); ii) its evolution from the proclamation of the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont (1095) to the end of the Middle Ages; iii) the diffusion of Crusading activity on various fronts and against various opponents, such as Muslims, “pagans”, Orthodox Christians, heretics, political opponents of the papacy; iv) the “Crusader states” that were created in Outremer (Syria-Palestine) and on the other frontiers of Latin Christendom; v) the motivations of the Crusaders and the criticisms levelled against them; vi) the consequences of the Crusades both for Western Europe and for the various areas that were targeted by them; and vii) modern historiography on the Crusades.
Panagi Tsaldari 1
Komotini, 69100
Τel: 25310-39462
Fax: 25310-39483
Email: secr@he.duth.gr