2. The Journey East

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, the follow the leaders of the three main armies as they make their way towards the Holy Land – Frederick Barbarossa, Philip Augustus of France and Richard I of England. In particular, we focus on: (i) the presence of smaller continents of crusades, sometimes just a single ship, alongside the major armies of England, France and Germany; (ii) the advantages and disadvantages of travelling to the Near East via land, as the German army did; (iii) the advantages and disadvantages of travelling to the Near East via ship, as the English and French armies did; (iv) Frederick's success in crossing the Byzantine Empire and Turkish-held Anatolia to reach Christian Armenia, his accidental death by drowning in 1190, and the dispersal of his army; (v) the mustering of the French and English forces as Messina in Sicily, the problems in Messina, and their journey to the Near East; and (vi) Richard's conquest of Cyprus, and the importance of the island for rebuilding the Crusader States.

Course

In this course, Dr Nicholas Morton (Nottingham Trent University) explores the Third Crusade (1189-92). We start by thinking about the origins of the Third Crusade, focusing in particular on the annihilation of the Crusader forces at the Battle of Hattin (1187) and Saladin's capture of Jerusalem (1187). After that, we turn to the journey east of the various contingents of the Crusader army, especially those led by the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, the French king, Philip Augustus, and Richard I of England. In the third module, we think about the progress of the Crusaders, focusing in particular on the Siege of Acre (1189-91) and the Battles of Arsuf (1191) and Jaffa (1192), as well as the Treat of Jaffa that brought the conflict to an end. In the final module, we consider the Third Crusade from Saladin's perspective, and think about which side 'won' the Third Crusade – was it the Crusaders or Saladin? or neither? or both?

Lecturer

Dr Nicholas Morton is a specialist in the history of crusading and the Medieval Mediterranean between the tenth and thirteenth centuries. More recently he has begun to focus specifically upon the theme of inter-faith relations between Christianity and Islam in this region. He has published extensively on topics connected to this subject area, writing a range of monographs and scholarly articles. He is also an editor for the Ashgate series Rulers of the Latin East.

Currently Dr Morton is completing a monograph exploring the First Crusaders' attitudes and behaviour towards the various non-Christian peoples they encountered during their campaign. This will be a highly revisionist work addressing many key scholarly and public orthodoxies surrounding the nature of Christian/Islamic interaction during the crusade.