The Second Crusade, 1144-48

About this Course

About the Course

In this course, Dr Nicholas Morton (Nottingham Trent University) explores the Second Crusade (1144-48). We start by thinking about the origins of the Second Crusade, focusing in particular on the fall of Edessa at the hands of Zengi. In the second module, we think about launch of the Second Crusade, before turning in the third module to think about the (separate) progress of Conrad III of Germany and Louis VII of France from Europe to the Crusader states. In the fourth module, we think about the Siege of Damascus and the failure of the Second Crusade, before turning in the fifth and final module to other frontiers of the Second Crusade, including the conflict between Christians and Muslims in the Iberian peninsula, and the so-called Wendish Crusade.

About the Lecturer

Dr Nicholas Morton is a specialist in the history of crusading and the Medieval Mediterranean between the tenth and thirteenth centuries. More recently he has begun to focus specifically upon the theme of inter-faith relations between Christianity and Islam in this region. He has published extensively on topics connected to this subject area, writing a range of monographs and scholarly articles. He is also an editor for the Ashgate series Rulers of the Latin East.

Currently Dr Morton is completing a monograph exploring the First Crusaders' attitudes and behaviour towards the various non-Christian peoples they encountered during their campaign. This will be a highly revisionist work addressing many key scholarly and public orthodoxies surrounding the nature of Christian/Islamic interaction during the crusade.