Armies of Heaven

Starred review from October 10, 2011
The years 1096-1099 marked a major turning point in the history of the Western world as Christian crusaders began their march toward Jerusalem in a quest to regain the holy city of Jerusalem from the Muslim invaders. Eight more crusades would follow, but this first effort left an indelible imprint on the historical record. Rubenstein, associate professor of medieval history at the University of Tennessee and a MacArthur Fellow “genius,” insists that students of the period miss its real essence when they apply the accepted historical method of stripping away the myths and focusing on empirically provable facts. The author instead gives us a rich harvest of legends and writings from the period, often apocalyptic in nature, that give us a keener insight into the minds of those who lived these tumultuous years. Rubenstein offers up a heady mix of soldiers and prophets, militants and supplicants, weaving it all into a wonderfully readable account that puts flesh on the story. A satisfying and highly recommended read in every respect.

September 15, 2011

Apocalyptic thinking in the organization and conduct of the First Crusade.

In order to profile the rationalizations and beliefs in the apocalyptical mission of some of the participants in the Crusade (approximately 1095-1099), Rubenstein (Medieval History/Univ. of Tennessee; Guibert de Nogent: Portrait of a Medieval Mind, 2002) examines chronicles from the 11th and 12th centuries, like the Gesta Francorum and the accounts of Raymond of Aguilers and Albert of Aachen. Like other historians, the divides participants into "popular" and "princely" components, led by Peter the Hermit on the one hand, and Norman and Frankish aristocrats on the other. Peter and his followers didn't make it, but on the way, those who took up the cross first massacred Jews in a variety of locales and then Christians in Hungary; then they attacked Constantinople and the Byzantine Emperor. The Emperor wanted to turn the crusaders against the Seljuk Turks, incoming invaders from Central Asia who were threatening the Byzantines from Central Anatolia, and succeeded to some extent. Unlike Anne-Marie Edde's Saladin (2011), Rubenstein does not try to compare the stories of the chronicles with the diplomatic and political record. He focuses more on the supernatural elements in play, as portents and omens, ghostly visitors and holy relics came together with the bestiality of the crusaders' bloodthirsty conduct.

An engaging, cautionary account emphasizing the consequences of untrammeled irrationalism.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

November 15, 2011
The First Crusade, proclaimed by Pope Urban II in 1095, began two centuries of internecine warfare between Christian Franks and Muslim Saracens. It led to the opening of Western Europe to influences from the East, massive slaughter, and a legacy of suspicion and bitterness that endures today. The motivations behind the movement were many, including deep religiosity, adventure, and desire for plunder and acquisition of land. Rubenstein, associate professor of medieval history at the University of Tennessee, concentrates on the religious aspect, asserting that a near-hysterical sense of the impending apocalypse spurred commoner and noble alike to embark on the arduous journey to liberate the Holy Land. Rubenstein suggests that the intense sense of partaking in a monumental struggle of good versus evil accounts for the chronic atrocities committed against Jews, Muslims, and even some Christians as the crusaders moved to capture Jerusalem. This is a well-written account that relies on primary sources to describe one of the seminal episodes in world history.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)