How the Crusades Changed History

By: Philip Daileader, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Philip Daileader

Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Centuries have passed since the last crusader knight laid down his sword, but the Crusades continue to hold sway over our world. Because the Crusades have been so consequential to history, it's essential to understand the context, motivations, and preconditions of these dramatic military campaigns. In doing so, you'll not only get a fresher understanding of the Crusades, you'll discover surprising truths about why (and how) they were fought.

More than just an enriching recount of events, this series of 24 lectures is an intellectually rewarding exploration of how the Crusades shaped the medieval world and laid the seeds for our own. Plunging you into the series of Crusades to the Holy Land and elsewhere - from the calling of the First Crusade in 1095 to the collapse of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, in 1291 - Professor Daileader's lectures are filled with eye-opening insights and gripping stories that will help you reach your own conclusions about just how important these centuries of warfare were to the story of human civilization.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2013 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2013 The Great Courses

compelling lectures on the Crusades

I was already a Prof. Daileader fan from his three-part Middle Ages lecture series, and this was another hit. I'm surprised at the negative reviews. If you like Teaching Company college-style history lectures, you will love this. (I find lectures easier to listen to than audiobooks at times, but I realize tastes vary on that.)

If you enjoy this, you would also enjoy the Thomas Madden lectures on the Crusades (through Modern Scholar on audible). Each professor chooses to emphasize different details.

Strengths here include an increased emphasis on causes and later impacts, while not skipping some of the interesting stories along the way. The lectures changed my perspective in many ways. He does a good job presenting the different schools of thought among historians on these issues, which seems especially prevalent in this time period with limited sources.

Overall, one of the better TC history lecture series.

a great course

wonderful, engaging, enlightening lectures! dr daileader is a terrific lecturer: my favorite history lecturer of the series.

Curious as to the What, Who, Why and When?

What did you love best about How the Crusades Changed History?

The detail. The summary in the last two chapters was very much appreciated. However, this lecture series contains so much material I may need to go through it a few more time. I do love listening to Professor Philip Daileader as he lectures.

What other book might you compare How the Crusades Changed History to and why?

NA

Have you listened to any of Professor Philip Daileader’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have listened to his wonderful series on the Middle Ages; those are incomparable!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No way - much too complex

Any additional comments?

I completed this course "How the Crusades Changed History" narrated by Professor Philip Daileader today. Great stuff!

I can't recommend this for those with a lackluster interest in the how, why and who of the Crusades or those who shy away from violent history, but it is a doggone good collection of lectures for a neophyte like me.

This course did address a huge gap in my understanding of the many dimensions/layers of the crusades. Particularly enlightening was Professor Daileader's explaining the ignorance that crusaders had of Islam and the Arabic culture, particularly in what is now Spain when all this started. The crusaders' fear of something of which they had so little understanding and how that changed over the course of the 500 years following the first crusade made for a fascinating study.

Be advised there is no soft pedaling of the violence that characterized this era.

Another Brilliant Performance by Dr. Dialeader

Once again Dialeader brings his special brand of clarity, wisdom, and humor to a fascinating period of medieval history. I heartily recommend this and every other series he's recorded for the Great Courses. Philip Dialeader is a national treasure.

Daileader is my Leader.

A fascinating set of lectures. Professor Daileader is one of a kind - uniquely charming and a masterful educator. I highly recommend this and all of his Great Courses. He makes the Middle Ages quite a delight. I just wish he had more Great Courses available, and I sincerely hope to see more from him in the future.

would have liked more had this been twice as long

this lecture is somewhat of an overview are rather difficult subject to try and accomplish and 20 lectures

Exceptional lecturer!

Professor Daileader is one of the top lecturers in the Great Courses series. His encyclopedic knowledge of the Middle Ages is incredible, and the spirit of the medieval age comes alive in these lectures.

Do not give up

While some of the lectures gave me pause to daydream, I managed to complete that session and try "maybe one more lecture, to see if it improves." Prof. Daleader has a unique ability to "pull his bacon out of the fire," and give me new hope that the value in this course comes from the long-term view, not the individual session. That perspective came to its full and rewarding end in the closing lectures, when Prof. Dakeader summed up the broad and multifaceted impacts of the Crusades, not merely in the eleventh through thirteenth centuries, when those wars took place, but in the years, decades, centuries, and millennia since.

Good narration, engaging

The author was a surprisingly good narrator, that's a huge plus. My only regret was that the review of crusade after-effects seemed a bit short.

Glad I downloaded this.

Very detailed accounting of the Crusades while being easy to listen to and follow along.