First published in 2006. This important book presents three of the most interesting contemporary accounts of the Crusades. The first, by Richard of Devizes, tells us of events taking place in the Holy Land and their connection to contemporaneous events in England. The second account is work by Geoffrey de Vinsauf on the Third Crusade. It is an eye-witness account of the ferocious assaults which Saladin made on the Christians and of the firmness with which Richard the Lionheart repulsed them. The third work is a memoir of Saint Louis, the Crusading King of France, written by Lord John de Joinville. All of the texts are valuable for their content as well as contrasting points of view they bring to light.

This book features two eyewitness accounts of the Crusades: Villehardouin's Chronicle of the Fourth Crusade and the Conquest of Constantinople and Joinville's Chronicle of the Crusade of St. Lewis. A pair of engrossing narratives by actual participants, these are among the most authoritative accounts available of the medieval Holy Wars. They recount terrifying scenes from the battlefields that recapture the horror of warfare, and offer invaluable insights into the religious and political fervor that sparked the two hundred-year campaign. The first reliable history of the Crusades, Villehardouin's work spans the era of the Fourth Crusade, from 1199–1207. It traces the path of a small army of crusaders who despite overwhelming odds captured the city of Constantinople. Joinville's chronicle focuses on the years 1248–1254, the time of the Seventh Crusade. Written by a prominent aid to King Louis of France, it offers personal perspectives on the pious monarch and his battles in the Holy Lands. Both of these highly readable histories provide rare glimpses of medieval social, economic, and cultural life in the context of the crusaders' quest for honor, piety, and glory.

Medieval Christian writers distorted the teachings of Islam and caricatured its believers in a variety of ways. This book provides a comprehensive study of Christian polemical responses to Islam in the Middle Ages.

There's danger by day and wild conquest by night when Scottish and English nobles clash in this medieval romance bundle. Don't miss a moment as these knights in shining armor launch valiant quests and discover love where they least expect it. Knight Errant: Lady Juliana Verault joined the religious Beguine community to seek safe haven, but when she's entrusted with a letter from the pope that could radically change the church's stance on women, her life is thrown in turmoil. Knight errant Sir Robert Clarwyn has been sent by King Edward I of England to marry her off as political leverage. If he can't find a way to compel her to return to England, he'll lose any chance of regaining his family lands and redeeming his heritage. Can Juliana find a way to use this godsend for her own agenda--without risking their hearts, too? Knight Protector: Blackmailed into marrying her family's enemy, then swiftly widowed by illness, Lady Sorcha Marr must take charge of a clan who hates her. But fate intervenes with the return of her husband's twin--Sir Colin Marr, who betrayed her and led to her downfall. A decade later, he's back to root out the Scottish traitors who have infiltrated his family stronghold, and he must persuade Sorcha to set aside her hostility and treat him as her husband in his brother's place. He needs the cover not only to save Scotland but to protect her inheritance, which his resentful clan would gladly confiscate. Has fate set them up to even an old score, or embark on a beautiful new beginning? Knight Defender: Sent alone to wed a wild Scot to serve the needs of her father and her king, Lady Jessamyn intends to escape the marriage for a nunnery. But her intended is not the monster she imagined--just Baron Raeb MacKai, a man struggling to provide the best for his clan...even if that involves attacking the king's ship that bears her brother. The Scot's secret plot to keep King Edward I from getting a foothold on their rugged coastline will secure his family's future. If Raeb must deny himself the spirited woman who would warm his bed, so be it. But can he truly deny his heart? Sensuality Level: Sensual