An embarrassment of riches? The sources for the Third Crusade

Nicholson, Helen ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1715-1246 2025. An embarrassment of riches? The sources for the Third Crusade. Hosler, John D. and Bennett, Stephen, eds. The Third Crusade (1189–1192): New Interpretations, Vol. 9. Crusading in Context, vol. 9. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell Press, pp. 27-41.

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

At first glance, scholars approaching the Third Crusade may feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of surviving written sources – let alone the wealth of archaeological material. The events of this crusade were reported by contemporaries writing in Arabic, Armenian, French, Greek, Latin, and Syriac – to mention just the best-known sources – in well-crafted, coherent, and compelling narratives. On further examination, however, none of these sources provide the breadth of viewpoint and depth of understanding necessary to give a full picture of this campaign. This article surveys the surviving written and archaeological sources for the crusade and argues that rather than taking the sources at face value, researchers must try to establish when, by and for whom, and why each source was created, and be prepared to acknowledge that some familiar and much-used sources are neither comprehensive nor a reliable record of events.

Item Type:	Book Section
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Schools > History, Archaeology and Religion
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D111 Medieval History
Publisher:	Boydell Press
ISBN:	9781837653324
Last Modified:	02 Dec 2025 12:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/182759

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item