John France is Professor of History and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Wales, Swansea. His previous publications include Western Warfare in the Age of the Crusades, 1000-1300 (1999).

"A study that is both wide ranging and refreshingly insightful, which pulls together historical episodes that are often accorded insufficient attention and traces the fortunes of a developing political matrix in which piety and greed, loyalty and aggression, self-interest and faith, went hand in hand." - Professor Peter Edbury, Cardiff University

• Acknowledgements List of illustrations 1. In the beginning 2. The Papal Monarchy and the Invention of the Crusade 3. The First Crusade 4. Crusade and Expansion in the Early Twelfth Century 5. Crusade, Expansion and Check 1144-92 6. The Zenith of the Crusading Movement, 1192-1254 7. Progress and Miscalculation 1254-1337 8. Failure and Fragmentation 1337-1444 9. Towards a New World 1444-1714 10. Perspectives Appendix I Chronology of events Appendix II List of rulers

John France is Professor of History and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Wales, Swansea. His previous publications include Western Warfare in the Age of the Crusades, 1000-1300 (1999).

"A study that is both wide ranging and refreshingly insightful, which pulls together historical episodes that are often accorded insufficient attention and traces the fortunes of a developing political matrix in which piety and greed, loyalty and aggression, self-interest and faith, went hand in hand." - Professor Peter Edbury, Cardiff University

• Acknowledgements List of illustrations 1. In the beginning 2. The Papal Monarchy and the Invention of the Crusade 3. The First Crusade 4. Crusade and Expansion in the Early Twelfth Century 5. Crusade, Expansion and Check 1144-92 6. The Zenith of the Crusading Movement, 1192-1254 7. Progress and Miscalculation 1254-1337 8. Failure and Fragmentation 1337-1444 9. Towards a New World 1444-1714 10. Perspectives Appendix I Chronology of events Appendix II List of rulers

John France is Professor of History and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Wales, Swansea. His previous publications include Western Warfare in the Age of the Crusades, 1000-1300 (1999).

"A study that is both wide ranging and refreshingly insightful, which pulls together historical episodes that are often accorded insufficient attention and traces the fortunes of a developing political matrix in which piety and greed, loyalty and aggression, self-interest and faith, went hand in hand." - Professor Peter Edbury, Cardiff University

• Acknowledgements List of illustrations 1. In the beginning 2. The Papal Monarchy and the Invention of the Crusade 3. The First Crusade 4. Crusade and Expansion in the Early Twelfth Century 5. Crusade, Expansion and Check 1144-92 6. The Zenith of the Crusading Movement, 1192-1254 7. Progress and Miscalculation 1254-1337 8. Failure and Fragmentation 1337-1444 9. Towards a New World 1444-1714 10. Perspectives Appendix I Chronology of events Appendix II List of rulers