The Booke of Days
I've been lucky enough to find a brilliant book on the Crusades... The more I think of it, the more I have to share. It was called The Booke of Days by Stephen J. Rivelle. It's not a modern fiction or reference book, but a translated version of the journal of a French leader named Roger, Duke of Lunel who marched with over 80,000 others as a Crusader in 1096. He went for the promised absolution of his sins by God, and to retake the holy Christian city, Jerusalem, from Muslim hands. The journey took 4 years. During that time, Roger and his men fought and bribed their way through Europe. They faced mountains, desert, countless enemy soldiers, disease, malnutrition, desertions, treachery and constant attack on their beliefs. By the time they reached Syria, the Pope's holy army was cut to less than 10,000 men. Even so, they went on, and captured Jerusalem. This may not be a good thing in our histories, but it's an incredible feat. That subject alone could carry a book to greatness - but there is more to it than that. This was a journal, a place of salvation for the tortured thoughts and discoveries of the inspiring, charismatic man who kept it. He hides nothing. All the tension, the mistakes, the beliefs and cruelties of that age live again, untempered. It's amazing.Okay, that's enough for today... ^ - ^
posted by Anonymous @ 3:04 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home