The Crusaders: The Struggle for the
Holy Land by Regine Pernoud
"Don't Confuse Me With Facts"
There is no shortage of stories about the crusades, or of biographies of
those who played the leading roles in this, the greatest epic of the Middle
Ages. But there has been no book in which we could find, recreated, the
way of life, the world view, the everyday social organization of those who
tempted adventure. They were kings and paupers, barons, clerks, women,
and merchants. Some were driven by their faith, others by the spirit of
conquest, and some by a hunger for greatness and wealth. Régine
Pernoud presents for us a living picture in which we can view, first hand,
the awe of the Christians as they beheld the Muslim world, the myriad
ordeals they sustained while traveling for years in unknown lands, and the
remarkable way in which they managed to adapt, to colonize, to erect
churches and fortresses, and to abide for centuries in the face of an
adversary far greater in number. Here, an unrecognized page in our history
finally reveals itself. A great historian and writer brings this colorful period
alive. Régine Pernoud, a renowned French archivist and historian, is
among the greatest medievalists of our times, and the success of her

books has helped to bring the Middle Ages closer to us. Among her
numerous works are Those Terrible Middle Ages! and Women in the Days
of the Cathedrals.
Personal Review: The Crusaders: The Struggle for the Holy
Land by Regine Pernoud
This book uses the Crusades and the Crusaders to illustrate how feudal
society lived and how feudal man thought. This book is not a narrative of
the Crusades proper and does assume the reader has some knowledge of
the events.
I found surprising that the culture of "Truce of God" (the restrictions on
warfare imposed by the Church and observed by most European
combatants) was such an obstacle to raising a Crusading army. Also since
the Crusades were not a war of conquest, most Crusaders left when they
felt they had fulfilled their vow. For example after the 1st Crusade less than
2500 Crusaders remained in the Holy Land. When you add logistic
difficulties, Byzantine treachery, and internal rivalries it is amazing the
Crusaders accomplished as much as they did. Most important, though she
doesn't gloss over when atrocities were committed, she makes irrefutably
evident that, overall, the Crusaders made a positive contribution to life in
the region: something you are not likely to read about the Crusades from
modern American writers.
Regine Pernoud was a historian unlike any I have read. Her ability to
present what it was like to live in medieval society and to think like a
medieval person in a manner that a modern reader can relate to is nothing
short of wondrous. Her description of places and events is almost poetic.
Her historical insight is literally jaw-dropping. If, like me, you imagined that
it must have been horrible to live in the Middle Ages this book will give you
a different picture.
Her translators also need to be congratulated since they have done a great
job transmitting her words of genius.
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