The Forgotten Crusaders ─ Poland and the Crusade Movement in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries

The crusades to the Holy Land of 1095-1291 have traditionally been described from a fairly limited western European viewpoint. In this fine translation (by Paul Barford, from the Polish original of 2002) the impact and influence of the crusades in eastern Europe, specifically in the Polish kingdom of the Piast dynasty, is explored in full. Painstakingly researched and clearly presented in a chronological narrative, the history of the crusades from the time of Pope Urban II's speech at Clermont in 1095 until the fall of Acre in 1291 is described in terms of the Polish point of view, with attention to crusades against the Balts, the participation of Poles in the Teutonic knights, crusading theology applied to heretics and pagans, and specific crusading activites of Polish aristocracy and church leaders. This is a significant addition to the vast literature on the history of the crusades. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Mikolaj Wiktor Gladysz, Ph.D. (2001) in Humanities, University of Gdansk, is a medievalist and manager who specializes in educational multimedia and Internet projects. He has published a number of books in Poland, including a series of history textbooks Podroze w czasie Historia (Gdansk).