The 28th of October will mark one year since I launched this blog, Crusades and Crusaders. My passion for History — medieval history and the Crusades in particular — compelled me to start this blog. One year later, that passion still burns strong.
I initially started Crusades and Crusaders with the intention of being neutral and with the goal to present events as accurate as I’m able to while avoiding the political correctness and bias that is so common in literature that examines this era in history (that includes translated documents from sources written by medieval chroniclers). That was the biggest challenge I faced when starting this blog, especially since I jumped from writing fiction to nonfiction and since I knew very little about the Crusades. I needed to find my writing voice and also to find a method of learning without relying heavily on my resources.
While I feel much more confident on the writing front, I am still faced with challenges: the biggest challenge I am constantly having to confront is a lack of resources. I’m confident in the resources I do have, but I always feel like I do not have enough; like I need more. Not just any book or article on this topic, but good resources. Hence my desire to receive a Kobo for Christmas.
The question is; what makes a book good? What makes it a valuable addition to Crusades and Crusaders? Good writing is a necessity. I would far rather pick up a book that is well-written and engaging than one that is poorly written or where the writing is dry. However, most, if not all medieval scholars are slanted either in favor of the Muslims or of the Christians. Regardless, I enjoy reading material taken from all points of view even though I have yet to find and/or purchase resources written from the Muslim point of view.
Any Medieval historian will know that the surviving works written by chroniclers in the 12th and 13th centuries are heavily biased in favour of the Christian cause. I’m still slogging my way through the First Crusade, so all I know thus far is that the works that chronicle the First Crusade were written in the second decade of the 12th century, nearly twenty years after Jerusalem fell to the Crusaders. These clerics relied solely on memory. They were also moved by religious fervor and by a shared hatred for Muslims. Also, the Crusades happened so long ago that much of the truth of what really happened was lost or distorted in the passage of time. Yet, these medieval manuscripts continue to provide historians with the best information on the Crusades. They are our only window that looks into the past to that time in history. Without them, a history that is so bloody, yet vibrant and exciting would disappear into the abyss forever.
That said, I have never taken any sources, be it primary or secondary, for gospel and I never base my knowledge entirely on one or a few scholars’ works. This has not been an easy feat for me, but over the months, I have learned how to read between the lines. A good part of that involved me imagining what it was really like to live back then, and what it was like to be a crusader or a Muslim warrior. The series of fictional vignettes I wrote while writing about The People’s Crusade helped me to better analyze the content and to come up with my own opinions unique from that of other historians.
Aside from these challenges, a lot has changed in my life within the past year. I have decided to change my career completely. I am currently enrolled in a TESOL Diploma program with the goal to become an ESL teacher. For that reason, I have not been the most vigilant in keeping this blog updated as often as I’d like. Yet, before I enrolled in this program, I decided that Crusades and Crusaders was the only thing writing related I wanted to continue doing. So, even though I’m struggling to make ends meet with this blog, I’m determined to keep it active. Besides, I am not the kind of person who gives up on things, especially when I enjoy doing them.
Regarding research and writing, I have done the best with what little I have and I will forge ahead with the intention uphold my standards for this blog.
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