In this book Norman Housley, one of the most distinguished historians of the medieval period, provides an introduction to the complex history of crusading.

• Steers readers through the key debates in this popular area of medieval history.
  
  
• Draws on the author’s 30 years’ experience of crusading scholarship.
  
  
• Issues addressed range from the definition of ‘crusade’, through the motivation and intentions of the crusaders, to the consequences of the crusades for European society

Norman Housley is Professor of History at the University of Leicester. His previous publications include The Italian Crusades, 1254–1343 (1982), The Later Crusades: From Lyons to Alcazar 1274–1580 (1992), and Religious Warfare in Europe, 1400–1536 (2002).