Overview

The bloody Albigensian Crusade launched against the Cathar heretics of southern France in the early thirteenth century is infamous for its brutality and savagery, even by the standards of the Middle Ages. It was marked by massacres and acts of appalling cruelty, deeds commonly ascribed to the role of religious fanaticism. Here, in the first military history of the whole conflict, Sean McGlynn tells the story of the crusade through its epic sieges of seemingly impregnable fortresses, desperate battles and destructive campaigns, and offers expert analysis of the warfare involved, revealing the crusade in a different light as a bloody territorial conquest in which acts of terror were perpetrated to secure military aims rather than religious ones. The dramatic events of the crusade and its colourful leading characters Simon de Montfort, Louis the Lion, Innocent III, Peter of Aragon, Count Raymond of Toulouse are brought to life through the voices of contemporary writers who fought and experienced it.

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9780752486321

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A full and well-researched narrative . . . makes for a powerful and gripping read showing a mastery of the sources. . . . [ McGlynn ] keeps the reader turning the pages. History Today on Blood Cries Afar

Author Information

Sean McGlynn is the author of By Sword and Fire: Cruelty and Atrocity in Medieval Warfare, which was translated into four languages, and Blood Cries Afa r. He is a regular contributor to history magazines and academic journals such as History Today, BBC History, and English Historical Review. He was a major contributor to the prestigious Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare. He lectures in history at the University of Plymouth, and for the Open University and has a Masters from King s College, London.

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