The Crusades (BBC BOOKS)

Terry Jones is proably best known for his participation in the Monty Python troupe. The present Broadway musical about King Arthur demonstrates the ability of this British comedy to attract audiences. Not so well known is the serious side of this actor. Mr. Jones is an amateur historian about the Middle Ages and especially the Crusades. Although there were a number of "crusades" such as against the Slavs in the Balkans or the Cathars in southern France, most Westners think of the struggle between Christians and Muslims from the end of the 11th century to the end of the 13th century. Jones gives a sweeping view of this struggle--entertaining as well as informative. Drawing upon actual locations, contemporary documents, and recognized experts in the field as Sir Steven Runciman, Jones illuminates this time period to the general public. Many will be surprised about the revelations that Jones presents. With subtle and sometimes not so subtle humor, viewers will remember tidbits as a "divinely inspired goose" leading a crusade or that Peter the Hermit looked like his donkey. The ordinary comes to life as Mr. Jones poses questions as how does one walk in soft leather shoes thousands of miles? Or what it must have been like to wear a suit of armour? One cannot help but come away with a greater appreciation of what it must have been like to be on campaign in Syria or Palestine in the 11th century. But, Mr. Jones goes beyond the entertainment level to address the sinister aspects of the Crusades. Each Crusdae often began with pogroms against the local Jewish population as in Germany. The journey to Constantinople was marred by fighting, pillaging, and killing. Once in Asia Minor, the Western knights commited acts of barbarism and cannibalism. The taking of Jerusalem was accomplished with the wholesale slaughter of Muslims and Jews. Just as disturbing, Jones does not gloss over the capture of Constantinople by Western knights and the three days of mayhem that followed. Jones includes wonderful vignettes as the high level of Islamic culture compared to the West in the Middle Ages or the observation that Muslim and Jew fought alongside one another in defense of Jerusalem. Perhaps due to production constraints, there were occassions when history was a bit garbled. One of the most glaring was Mr. Jones reference to the Mamluk warrior Baibars. The video gave the impression that Baibars completed the destruction of the Cursader states when in fact his successors did. The most important note of this video is when Mr. Jones sees the relevancy of the Crusades to what is happening in the world today. The misperceptions of the West in the 11th century has not much altered in the 21st century. As we portray the Muslims as fanatics that threaten us, Westen armies and their surrogates occupy Arab-Muslim lands. Mr. Jones comment about unleashing a people's fury is as telling for Reynauld, Guy, or Richard I then as it is for Blair and Bush today.

This series is a very insightful and entertaining examination of the Crusades, a historical period which naturally is quite relevant for contemporary studies. It is important for all Westerners to be thoroughly familiar with the Crusades, to better understand (though not to condone) the mentality and actions of those currently living in areas affected by the Crusades, and this documentary has a plethora of fascinating anecdotes, primary source quotations, humorous presentations, and stunning cinematography that is especially essential to engage Western youth, many of whom are thoroughly accustomed to tuning out many traditionally formatted documentaries. As a social studies teacher, I highly recommend it (though take note of a possible inappropriate scene near the very end), as well as to all who want an overview of this unfortunate series of events that have strained Christian-Muslim relations.

A funny, intriguing and non-bias view on the crusades. I recommend this doc to anyone interested in learning about the Crusades. While it does not go into great detail it is still entertaining for the novice and the expert alike. Some people call this a "pro-Muslim" doc but the truth is that was the truth of the Crusades. Some people just can't accept the fact that (for the most part) the Christians were far more brutal and merciless than their Muslim counter parts. This is no slight on either religion, I am simply stating the facts.

I had been looking for this DVD for a long time. Terry jones is very good in explaining and recreating what happened at that time. The western world is still, to this day, reaping the whirlwind we sewed back then. Why do humans on either side feel the need to slaughter those of whom pray differently?

My daughter got this on Netflix and we watched it because of Terry Jones. I enjoyed it so much I wanted to own my own copy. I am a fan of history and thought this was a light yet educational look. Terry Jones is a wonderful entertainer, educator and human being. I own nearly all of his historical DVD's and highly recommend them.

This is a hard documentary to review, because while I found most of the material funny - I can see how many wouldn't see the humour. Second, for the sake of "True History" it does fall short of the mark - mainly because it impossible to have an accurate descripition of the Crusades in under four hours. So my question is what kind of documentary does it attempt to be? I think it is an attempt to be a humour informative primer on the history of the first great world war... an event that still shapes our lives. In this account "Crusades; With Terry Joens" succeeds. True, I would have liked to seen a greater history of the Templars, and Richard the Lionheart's epic struggles with Saladin - but there really wasn't time for all of that. It covers the basics and does a good job of showing us how demanding the life of crusader must have been. One thing that is disappointing is that this movie could have been ideal for use in High School as a brief (but entertaining) view of the Crusades. However, there are a couple of scenes that make it inappropriate - one is a scene of men sitting a round a table smoking what appears to be bongs and in disc 4 there is an extended scene of a topless women. Without these scenes it could have been a nice tool for education.

This documentary is funny and informative about the Crusades. The narrator (Terry Jones) and his team took a journey following the same path taken earlier by the Crusaders. This documentary shows brutality, horrors, and massacres committed by Crusaders against fellow Christians and against Muslims in Palestine. It is a good documentary telling the story of the crusaders in a non-boring style.

Phython and History combined at its best.

Le produit, je le connaissais déjà mais il n'est pas (ré)édité en Europe. Comme la "zonification" des DVD est une mesure anti-compétitive obsolète (la plupart des lecteurs modernes sont "toutes zones", vérifiez avec votre vendeur ou le fabricant) j'ai acheté sans crainte de ce côté là.La bonne surprise est venue d'un service très pro, et d'un produit d'occasion virtuellement neuf.

A great beginners guide to the Crusades. Whilst the book is a few years old now I purchased it again recently to give to someone who has never studied the Crusades or even had a basic knowledge. Jones and Ereira have a lovely prose style that makes it suitable for non-academics of all ages. If Crusades are still on the history syllabuses I would recommend this for students.

It's strange that at the time of writing we have to purchase an American copy of this 1995 series, despite it being a joint-production by the BBC and the A&E Network. Still, it's pleasing to report that all is present and correct, and prospective purchasers should not be put off by buying this region one edition (so long as you have a multi-region DVD player, of course).There are four fifty-minute episodes of this series. Thankfully, it's no dumbed-down docudrama, but an imaginative take on the history of the Crusades with an emphasis on original sources. An instance of this fresh view is demonstrated by the very opening, which focuses on the cannibalism practised by the first Crusaders on the road to Jerusalem. One of Terry Jones's first questions is, `What made the Crusaders into monsters?' (This issue, of course, has contemporary resonances with the events of 9/11 and Abu Ghraib happening since the series was broadcast.)The imaginative production is evinced by the clever way of showing the main players in the Crusades' story. These are reproduced in a quasi-mosaic Byzantine form, using anonymous actors with painted closed eyes. It's very effective as they act out the symbolic moments in the story. There are also many contemporary pictorial references throughout, in which Terry Jones makes the odd appearance, with the addition of some computer graphics. Even the music by Jose Nieto has a contemporary feel reminiscent of Orff's `Carmina Burana'. The talking heads chosen for this production are first class and include theologian Karen Armstrong, historian Sir Steven Runciman, and the animated Jonathan Riley-Smith: give this man a series!Terry Jones has proved himself as a historian in his own right, but humour can never be far away when his presence is near. This is both expressed in the script ("Knights had no teddy bears: no wonder they lashed out in a crisis" or "It's a thousand miles to Jerusalem and it's all uphill") and on screen, when he explores the importance of washerwomen. Another instance occurs when we witness an anachronous medieval cinema newsreel that implores its audience of peasants to "Go to Jerusalem!" The projectionist is a bishop, and instead of ushers dishing out ice cream, soldiers hand out cloth crosses.In the first episode (`Pilgrims in Arms') Terry tells the story of the background to the Crusades, the `People's Crusade' that resulted, and the knights/mercenaries that arrived in Constantinople. From this point, Terry follows the events on the ground, as in the second part he becomes footsore in Anatolia (I'm impressed with his Turkish), visits Edessa, witnesses the siege of Antioch, and assesses Arab civilisation in Damascus and Aleppo. Terry was lucky to have been able to film in Syria and Israel. Jerusalem is finally reached, three years the Crusaders set out, two-thirds of them dying in the process. This series should have been watched by all those neo-cons who called for a new crusade against the Muslim world. Professor Riley-Smith says at one point that, "Anyone who deals with Crusade history has to get used to a combination of piety and brutality."One downside is that half of the series is concerned solely with the first Crusade. This is understandable, but means that so much has to be crammed into the remainder of the series. (Could we not have had more episodes?) The third episode (`Jihad') moves forward fifty years to 144 with the attack on Edessa provoking the third Crusade. Zengi, Nur-ed-Din and Saladin make their appearances, as do the Assassins, the world's first suicide terrorists. The massive fortresses of Krak des Chevalier and Kerak are featured, as is the owner of the latter, Reynald de Chatillon. It was his depredations that united the Arab world under Saladin, but by this time we are in the 1180s. The cramming alluded to earlier means that there can be a lack of feeling for the passing of time in the overall context. For when we are told that Jerusalem falls, this is eighty-eight years later!With the Crusaders last outpost, Tyre, surrounded, is this the end of the Crusades? The fourth and final episode introduces us to the Third Crusade with Richard the Lion Heart, Philip of France, and their short-term successes. Ironically, in the west Saladin came to be seen as the hero of chivalry. Terry visits his tomb - or rather tombs - but for the Arabs, Saladin is surprisingly not the greatest hero of the Crusades. Instead, they venerate a name barely known in Europe: Baybars. The last twenty minutes of the series deals with Baybars and the Fourth Crusade with the eradication of the last Crusader kingdom.As can be seen, Terry Jones covers the main points, but has no time to explore the wider Crusader culture, the interaction with the Muslim world, the `going native'. Nor does he spend much time looking at the economic and commercial links or the agricultural work undertaken by the Crusaders."Anyone who believes the Crusades were bold and heroic needs to justify the cold-blooded murder of men, women, and children who were too much of a nuisance to keep alive. No Muslim army had ever treated Christians with this mechanical barbarity." This is not necessarily a symbol of anti-Muslim feeling on the part of the Crusaders, as they often treated Christian civilians equally appallingly when besieging towns back in Europe. At the end, Terry argues that the Crusades were an ingredient in the creation of Islamic fanaticism. They were a total failure, their net result being "the total opposite of what they had set out to achieve."Extras include a very basic timeline and a biography of Terry Jones.

Good history. We can now see why the Crusades took place; what transpired during its course; who were some of the main characters and what was the final result. Some of these things are still with us today, but in altered form. It is good to be able to make the connection and to be able to benefit from a better perspective through reading history.