Seminar 1: Before the Crusade – What did the Mediterranean world look like before 1095? Examining the developments of the early medieval period, we consider the relationship between the Latin West, the Byzantine East, and the Muslim world before the advent of the crusading movement.

Seminar 2: First Crusade – Without question, the most successful crusading expedition was the first. This session will examine how the crusade was formed, who came to lead it, and the challenges it faced on the way to Jerusalem.

Seminar 3: Outremer: The Crusader States – How do we understand life under crusader rule? Examination of the sources will demonstrate different peoples coexisted in the crusader states, and the degree to which the crusaders themselves assimilated into their surroundings.

Seminar 4: Byzantines and Crusaders – The relationship between Christians of East and West played a significant role in the course of the crusading movement. This session considers how that relationship developed, and how it came to the disastrous encounter of 1204.

Seminar 5: Popes and Emperors – The crusades overlap with a period of conflict between sacred and secular authorities in the Latin West. How did the movement impact how popes and emperors related to one another?

Seminar 6: A Crusading Legacy – The final session will look at later crusading expeditions, considering how the movement is manipulated by people today for very modern purposes, both good and bad.