This German-to-English translation of a highly successful book is a clear, approachable, student-friendly introduction to the history of the Crusades.
With a long chronological span, from the eleventh to the late fifteenth century, and with a wide geographical coverage of the whole of Europe and some of the Middle East, The Crusades is clear, concise and more wide-ranging than most single-volume works.
Taking recent scholarship into account, and using boxes, case studies, marginal directions and chronologies, the book is well laid out and easy to follow, providing a comprehensive overview of the crusade movement for students at all university levels.

Nikolas Jaspert is a Professor of Medieval History at Ruhr-Universität Bochum. He is widely published on the crusades, on the history of the Iberian Peninsula and on religious orders in the Middle Ages.

Phyllis Jestice is Associate Professor of Medieval and Early Modern Europe at the University of Southern Mississippi. She is a highly experienced translator and has recently completed translations of Whalen Lai and Michael von Bruck's Christianity and Buddhism (2001) and Gerd Althoff's Otto III (2003).

Part 1: The Background 1. Christendom, Islam, and Pagan Lands in the Late Eleventh Century 2. Holy War, Knighthood, and Pilgrimage 3. Papacy, Piety, and Indulgence Part 2: The Crusades in the Near East 1. The First Crusade 2. The Crusades of the Twelfth to Fifteenth Centuries 3. Practice, Theory, and Critique of Crusading 4. The Crusades from the Muslim Perspective Part 3: The Crusader Lordships 1. Secular Rule 2. Christians, Muslims, and Jews 3. The Churches of Palestine Part 4: The European Crusades 1. The Iberian Peninsula 2. The Baltic Region 3. Internal Enemies Part 5: The Military Religious Orders 1. Basis and Beginnings of the Military Orders 2. The Military Orders in Palestine, on the Iberian Peninsula, and in the Baltic Part 6: The Consequences 1. The Heritage of the Crusades. Map 1: Palestine. Map 2: Iberian Peninsula. Map 3: Northern Europe