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I read the new edition of The First Crusade In the words of Participants and Witnesses published in 2024 by Roman Helmet Guy on TikTok.
This is such a unique book, I’ve never read another like it (though that could be because I don’t read much nonfiction). The author has cropped passages from several memoirs and letters from participants of the First Crusade, stitching them together into a complete narrative. Aside from occasional footnotes, the author does not include any commentary on the events discussed, instead allowing the passages to speak for themselves.
While this book is not for everybody, I really enjoyed it. I particularly enjoyed the passages detailing the extended siege of Antioch and the finding of the Holy Lance. It was interesting reading the differing accounts of the same events, though it could at times become a bit dry if the speakers had nothing different to say.
After finishing the book I found myself wishing for a Breakfast Club style recap of how each of the major players ended up following the end of the Crusade.
1921 Hardback, excellent shape. Maroon with gold lettering. Princeton University Press (Woodrow Wilson era)
I have not read this, but he does mention Gibbon and his cynicism. He also is able to say a lot of things that couldn't or wouldn't be said in our time, just over 100 years later. In my opinion, that is both good and bad. It is well known what views of guys like Woody Wilson and Booth "Penrod" Tarkington were like, and those needed to go.