The geographical lore of the time of the Crusades: A study in the history of medieval science and tradition in Western Europe

About this book

This work is a scholarly survey of medieval geographical thought, concentrating on the era of the Crusades. Beginning with a broad statement that geographical ideas arise from war, commerce, pilgrimage and imagination, the author frames the study as an effort to trace “the most characteristic geographical ideas current in Western Europe at the height of the Middle Ages.” The introduction outlines the book’s structure: three opening chapters that sketch the classical, patristic and Oriental sources that fed Western medieval lore, followed by chapters that examine the literary and cartographic material of the Crusading period and finally a topical, region‑by‑region analysis of the main body. The author makes clear that the core chapters (IV‑XIII) rely on printed editions of primary sources, while the early chapters draw on modern secondary scholarship. The study grew out of a 1922 Harvard Ph.D. thesis and benefited from research trips, fellowships and the support of the American Geographical Society.

Written in a measured, academic voice typical of early‑twentieth‑century historical scholarship, the text combines meticulous source citation with a narrative that links geography to theology, cosmology and the social forces of the Crusading age. Readers who enjoy intellectual histories that situate scientific ideas within their cultural and religious contexts, particularly those interested in medieval studies, the history of science, or the intellectual background of the Age of Discovery, will find this book rewarding. Its detailed treatment of primary texts and its focus on both accurate knowledge and prevailing misconceptions make it especially suitable for scholars, graduate students and informed amateurs seeking a nuanced picture of medieval geographical lore.

Opening lines

When viewed historically, geographical concepts are seen to have come from an immense variety of sources. They have sprung partly from activities that cause men to travel over the surface of the earth: war, commerce, pilgrimage, diplomacy, pleasure. They have also sprung from the accumulated learning and lore of preceding ages and to no small extent from unfettered flights of the imagination. The history of geography, therefore, leads its students into many fields, affording them a key by means of which they may gain a sounder understanding of the extensive ranges of human activity and of the evolution of important phases of intellectual life. …

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