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The Crusades

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The Crusades

By: Abigail Archer
Narrated by: Sarah Nichols
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About this listen

Looking into the past, the Crusades seem incomprehensible. What combination of religious fervor, hatred of people of different faiths, and gall led Europeans of AD 1100 to make their way thousands of miles to conquer the Holy Land? Why did they continue for 200 years? How did the Crusades change the world?

The intriguing story is peppered with colorful characters. Over the centuries, this well-researched and written book argues, crusaders saw - and participated in - the evolution of warfare and the transformation of society from feudal fiefdoms to nations and empires. The story of the Crusades is a reminder, too, of the horrors wrought in the name of religion. The Crusades are seen by many Christians today as an exercise in fanaticism, an episode in which the teachings of Christ were used to justify the horrors perpetrated on innocents. That judgment is accurate, but not the whole story.

©2015 Abigail Archer (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Christianity Europe Medieval World Middle Ages Crusade Scary World History
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a rather brief and desultory account of the various crusades. it failed to grab me and the occasional American pronunciations of the narrator (B'naaarrd of Clairvaux , for example) were grating.

a perfectly adequate account of the Crusades, but offered very little in the way of insight.

a bit thin

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If this is all true then Christianity needs to repent on behalf of what has happened in the past. On the other hand if it is a biased account trying to appease certain cultures because of political fears , I would be disappointed. The saying goes that the victor writes history

An EYEOPENER OR JUST BEING POLITICAL ???

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At least it was short. You will learn how Western civilisation was inferior, how women were really in charge and of the origins of empire and cultural appropriation. It is very close to brainwashing.

The woke version of the crusades, very preachy

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This book paints a typically modern and lazy take on medieval history. The hypocrisy surrounding the Muslim forces in this period is exhausting. They are hailed as advanced and ethereal despite their obvious and relentless barbarism, plenty of which is ironically outlined in this book. To talk about the crusades and not have an understanding that these were defensive wars fought as a result of centuries of Islamic invasion and oppression is disgusting and even propagandistic. Even more astonishing are the conclusions Abigail has drawn for the crusades, suggesting they are underwhelming in comparison to the discovery of America or the renaissance. What a bizarre take, when the events within the crusades set the stage for these two historical events. A book suited for total novices in reading history and even then I wouldn't recommend it as its filled with strange modern political bias and dubious and contradictory conclusions.

Biased and boring.

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