No subject in medieval history is changing as rapidly as crusade studies. Even so, the Second Crusade has been oddly neglected. The present volume is the first ever to have been devoted to it in English and one of the few which has appeared in any language. The twenty contributors represent six nations on three continents and their work reflects the most recent research on a crusade which mobilized Europe on a larger scale than any expedition undertaken since the time of the Roman Empire. Particular attention is paid to the key role played by St. Bernard and the Cistercians in this crusade and their relations with the Military Orders. An interdisciplinary approach is taken, incorporating history, art and music. One of the most valuable contributions of the volume to crusade scholarship is its unparalleled bibliography, listing over 700 primary and secondary sources.

The three Garima Gospels are the earliest surviving Ethiopian gospel books. They provide glimpses of lost late antique luxury gospel books and art of the fifth to seventh centuries, from the Aksumite kingdom of Ethiopia. This book reproduces all of the Garima illuminated pages for the first time, and presents extensive comparative material. It will be an essential resource for those studying late antique art and history, Ethiopia, eastern Christianity, New Testament textual criticism, and illuminated books. 316 colour illustrations. Preface and photographs by Michael Gevers. Like most gospel manuscripts, the Garima Gospels contain ornately decorated canon tables which function as concordances of the different versions of the same material in the gospels. Analysis of these tables of numbered parallel passages, devised by Eusebius of Caesarea, contributes significantly to our understanding of the early development of the canonical four gospel collection. The origins and meanings of the decorated frames, portraits of the evangelists, Alexandrian circular pavilion, and the unique image of the Jerusalem Temple are explored.

This wide-ranging collection provides important insights into the relationships among diverse groups of peoples in the period from the eleventh to the seventeenth centuries.

This book covers diverse topics such as the treatment of prisoners, the ransom of captives, and the problems faced by many groups during the period of the Crusades. One of the central issues revolves around the attitudes of the participants.

There were significant differences among Latin and Eastern Christians between Christians and Muslims and Christians, Muslims, and Jews. But, too, great overemphasis on the religious roots of intolerance has oversimplified the ways in which ideas of tolerance developed. What is important in these essays is an effort to explore these relationships in their complexity in order to penetrate those generalizations that have often distorted more than enlightened. Tolerance and intolerance therefore are terms that can obscure as much as enlighten.

What the reader discovers in these works -- all written specifically for this volume -- is that these attitudes play an important role in the shaping of international relations. Cross-cultural cooperation was not rare -- not entirely surprising given the diversity of groups involved. This collection brings together an international group of scholars who have made significant contributions to the field. There is no competing collection that deals with such a range of topics.