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.Professor Rubenstein
Office: S0S 277
Office Hours: T/Th 11:00-12:00
and by appointment
jayruben@usc.edu
T/Th 9:30-10:50
History 321
The Crusades
Fall 2022
This course will examine the phenomenon of the Crusades in the Middle Ages, a topic
that encompasses social, cultural, political, intellectual, and military history, among other
topics. It also involves a variety of cultures (French, German, Greek, Arab, Turkish,
Mongol, etc.). We will therefore attempt in this class to balance chronological narrative
with background information and cultural analysis. It will begin with a detailed
examination of the First Crusade. Next, the course next will consider the Latin Kingdom
of Jerusalem, with a focus on some of its characteristic institutions (the Templars, the
Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the practice of kingship) and on the Islamic culture that
existed alongside. Finally, the course will consider the later crusades, with an eye toward
the underlying question of how the various cultures changed as a result of these conflicts.
The course will end in 1291, when the final crusading state of Acre collapsed. Writing for
the course will consist of three papers, a mid-term, and a final essay/exam.
Learning Objectives:
This course will examine the intersection of religious, military, and cultural forces and
how they shaped conflict and accommodation during one of the central periods in history.
It will complicate the traditional, simplistic interpretation of religious disputes (Christian
vs. Muslim) by introducing a variety of other cultures into the story — Latin Christians,
Greek Christians, Armenian Christians, Seljuk Turks, Fatimid Shi’i Muslims, Mamluks,
Kurds, and others. As such, it will foster in students a greater appreciation for the
complexity of the human experience. It will also push you to read and interpret actively
and analytically, to think critically and creatively, and to write and speak persuasively.
You will also learn how to evaluate ideas from multiple perspectives and to formulate
informed opinions on complex issues of critical importance in today’s global world.
Finally, you will learn to collaborate effectively through traditional and new ways of
disseminating knowledge.
By meeting these learning objectives, you will master strategies for finding, reading and
understanding relevant information from different genres, for analyzing complex
problems, for making and evaluating compelling arguments, and for preparing effective
presentations. You will become a clearer thinker and a stronger writer. You will know
how to situate current events and ideas. Disputes over sacred ground in Jerusalem, after
all, remains a much-contested question. By the end of the courser, students will be able to
make better decisions and to gain a greater sense of self-understanding and of empathy
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with people who hold wildly different world views. You will gain new insights into the
past and a greater appreciation for the complexities and challenges of our world.
Required Work:
Students will be expected to complete three short papers (one paper about 2 pages long
and two papers 5-6 pages long), as well as a midterm and a final essay/exam.
Additionally, there will be a participation grade based on class discussion work, including
group questions (see below).
Group Questions:
Early in the semester, the class will be divided up into groups of three or possibly four
students. Four times during the semester, each group will be responsible for developing
discussion questions to help lead class discussions – one question for each person in the
group. You will develop those questions in advance of our class meeting. You are
welcome to run the questions by the instructor in advance for comments or suggestions
During a portion of each class, your group will ask your questions.
Exams:
The Midterm and Final exams will both be take-home exams.
Attendance Policy:
Students are expected to attend all classes and to miss no more than two classes without
an excused absence. Please notify your instructor in advance if you will not be able to
attend a class. You are especially expected to attend class on the days that your group
presents its discussion questions.
Academic Integrity & Conduct
In accordance with USC policy, students are expected to submit their own work for
evaluation. You may not submit work previously evaluated in another course without my
prior approval.
Plagiarism is the act of presenting someone else’s ideas as your own, either word-forword or paraphrased. Instances of plagiarism may merit serious consequences. Please
familiarize yourself with the discussion of plagiarism in SCampus in Section 11,
Behavior Violating University Standards https://scampus.usc.edu/1100-behaviorviolating-university-standards-and-appropriate-sanctions. Other forms of academic
dishonesty are equally unacceptable.
All assignments must have the appropriate footnote citations acknowledging the
intellectual contribution of others to your work, including all primary and secondary
sources. Lectures do not need to be cited unless you quote me verbatim. I will not accept
any papers that do not have footnotes.
All students are expected to arrive on time and to remain for the entire duration. If you
come late, please enter quietly and take the nearest seat available to minimize the
disruption;
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Discrimination, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, stalking, and harassment are
prohibited by the university. You are encouraged to report all incidents to the Office of
Equity and Diversity/Title IX Office http://equity.usc.edu and/or to the Department of
Public Safety http://dps.usc.edu. This is important for the health and safety of the whole
USC community. Faculty and staff must report any information regarding an incident to
the Title IX Coordinator who will provide outreach and information to the affected party.
The sexual assault resource center webpage http://sarc.usc.edu fully describes reporting
options. Relationship and Sexual Violence Services https://engemannshc.usc.edu/rsvp
provides 24/7 confidential support.
Plagiarism Policy
Plagiarism occurs when a student either copies material from a printed or electronic
source without sufficient citation, or else copies material from another student. At a
minimum, plagiarism will result in an immediate “zero” for the assignment. Depending
on the severity of the offense, additional penalties can be added, including expulsion
from the course and disciplinary action from the university. Students who work together
and turn in substantially the same work are similarly guilty of plagiarism. Both students
would liable for such penalties.
Support Services
Students whose primary language is not English should check with the American
Language Institute http://ali.usc.edu, which sponsors courses and workshops specifically
for international students. The Office of Disability Services and Programs
http://dsp.usc.edu provides certification for students with disabilities and helps arrange
the relevant accommodations. If an officially declared emergency makes travel to
campus infeasible, USC Emergency Information http://emergency.usc.edu will provide
safety and other updates, including ways in which instruction will be continued by means
of Blackboard, teleconferencing, and other technology.
Confidential mental healthcare services are available Monday through Friday, 8:30am 5pm at Student Counseling Services in the USC Engemann Student Health Center. Their
phone number is (213) 740-7711 and website is https://engemannshc.usc.edu/counseling/.
For after-hours counseling, call (213) 740-7711 and dial 0.
Sources
These books are available for purchase, including in Kindle Editions
Anna Komnene, The Alexiad (ed. by Peter Frankopan)
The Song of Roland, (ed. by Simon Gaunt and Karen Pratt)
Chrétien de Troyes, Arthurian Romances (Penguin Classics)
Usama Ibn Munqidh, The Book of Contemplation
Other texts will be made available through Blackboard. It is recommended that you
download copies of the anonymous Gesta Francorum and Raymond of Aguilers’ Liber,
since we will be using them over the course of several days.
Grades:
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Class Participation: 10%
Two-page paper: 5%
Two five/six-page papers: 20% each
Mid-Term Exam: 20%
Final Paper: 25%
Extra Credit Opportunity:
March 18-19, USC Dornsife will be sponsoring a symposium on “Conspiracy Theories,
Medieval and Modern.” There will be five sessions. If you attend one session take notes,
and turn in your notes to the instructor, you will receive 3 bonus points to your final
grade. If you attend two sessions, take notes, and turn the notes in, you will receive 5
bonus points.
Grade Scale:
This is the scale to be used in this class:
93 — 100 = A
90 – 92 = A87 – 89 = B+
83 – 86 = B
80 – 82 = B77 – 79 = C+
73 – 76 = C
70 – 72 = C67 – 69 = D+
63 – 66 = D
60 – 62 = D59 and below = F
LATE PAPER POLICY
For paper deadlines, short extensions (normally no more than 48 hours) will be granted
PROVIDED THAT the student requests the extension in advance and gives reason for
the extension. If a medical problem causes the delay, students should present some sort of
documentation (e.g., record of a doctor’s visit). If a paper is turned in before the start of
the next class without an extension, it will receive a slight penalty (a “B” becomes a “B”; a “B-” becomes a “C+”). Papers turned in before the beginning of the subsequent class
period, which is to say one week after the deadline, will be penalized a full letter grade.
After that the paper will receive a penalty of 50% of the final grade, which is to say an
automatic “F” (but better an “F” than a zero). If a student receives an extension and does
not submit the paper according to the new deadline, determined in consultation with the
instructor, the paper will then be treated as a “late paper” and will be penalized
accordingly.
A Note on Papers
Papers should have a strong, clear thesis, with an argument justified through footnoted
citations of primary source evidence. Grammar will not determine grades, although bad
grammar can adversely affect thesis and presentation. Papers are to be based on what we
read in class, with an emphasis on the primary sources. For these papers, you are not
expected to read beyond the assignments in this class. You will win no points for citing
material off of the internet, and will most likely be penalized for it — not because citing
the internet is inherently bad, but rather because you have limited space and time to write
these essays, which grow directly out of our course readings. Chances are, if you are
bringing in outside sources, you are wasting valuable space and time.
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Schedule of Class Meetings
PART I: PRELUDE TO CRUSADE
Tuesday, August 23
Introduction to the Crusades
Thursday, August 25
The Warrior Ethos
Reading: Song of Roland, pp. 3-81 (or §§1-176)
Tuesday, August 30
Holy War
Reading: Song of Roland, pp. 81-133 (or §§177-298)
William of Poitiers on the Battle of Hastings (on Blackboard)
Paper #1: Compare the treatment of War or Leadership in the Song of Roland and
William of Poitiers (2 pages)
Due on Tuesday September 6 at 11:59 p.m.
Thursday, September 1
Greeks and Normans
Reading: The Alexiad, pp. 3-7, 30-49, 99-164
Tuesday, September 6
Jerusalem in Christianity and Islam
PART II: THE FIRST CRUSADE
Thursday, September 8
Prelude to Crusade
Reading: The Alexiad, pp. 274-79
Three Versions of the Sermon of Urban II (Blackboard)
Gesta Francorum, pp. 1-9
Documents on the Peoples’ Crusade (Blackboard)
Tuesday, September 13
First Crusade: The Early Stages
Reading: The Alexiad, pp. 279-306
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Gesta Francorum, pp. 10-27
Raymond of Aguilers, Liber, pp. 15-29
Thursday, September 15
The Siege of Antioch
Reading: The Alexiad, pp. 306-15
Gesta Francorum, pp. 28-71
Raymond of Aguilers, Liber, pp. 29-92
Tuesday, September 20
The Fall of Jerusalem
Reading: Fulcher, Gesta Francorum, pp. 72-97
Raymond of Aguilers, Liber, pp. 93-135
Excerpts from the Chronicle of Albert of Aachen
Thursday, September 22
The Later Career of Bohemond
Reading: The Alexiad, pp. 321-96
Paper #2: Pick two Chroniclers from this list: Anna Komnene, Raymond of
Aguilers, and the author of the Gesta Francorum. How do the accounts of the
crusade as presented by those two writers differ?
Due on Thursday, September 29 at 11:59 p.m.
Tuesday, September 27
Kingship and the Miracle of the Holy Fire
PART III: ISLAM AND THE CRUSADER STATES
Thursday, September 29
The Field of Blood
Reading: Walter the Chancellor, The Antiochene Wars (On Blackboard)
Tuesday, October 4
Syrian-Muslim Culture in the Twelfth Century
Reading: Excerpt from al-Salami’s Book of Jihad (Blackboard)
Usama ibn-Munqidh, Book of Contemplation, pp. 11-96
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Thursday, October 6
Frankish-Muslim Relations in the Twelfth Century
Usama ibn-Munqidh, Book of Contemplation, pp. 96-180
Tuesday, October 11
The Culture of the Crusader States
Reading: William of Tyre’s Chronicle, Book 16
Bernard of Clairvaux, “In Praise of the New Knighthood”
(Both on Blackboard)
Thursday, October 13
Mid-Term Break
Tuesday, October 18
The Crisis of the Crusader States
Reading: William of Tyre’s Chronicle, Book 21
Thursday October 20
The Rise of Saladin
Reading: Baha al-Din ibn Shaddad, Excerpt 1 (On Blackboard)
Tuesday October 25
The Third Crusade
Readings: Baha al-Din ibn Shaddad, Excerpt 2
Richard of Devizes, Chronicle (Both on Blackboard)
Thursday, October 27
Mid-Term Examination (Due at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, October 28)
No Class Meeting
PART IV: CHIVALRY AND THE LATER CRUSADES
Tuesday, November 1
Sacred Warfare?
Reading: Arthurian Romances, “Percival,” pp. 381-439
Thursday, November 3
Chivalry
Reading, Arthurian Romances, “Percival,” pp. 439-94
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Tuesday, November 8
The Fourth Crusade
Reading: Robert of Clari, The Conquest of Constantinople
An excerpt from the chronicle of Niketas Choniates
Thursday, November 10
Frederick II and Francis— Antichrist and Christ on Crusade
Reading: Oliver Paderborn, The Capture of Damietta
Paper #3: Did the culture of chivalry reshape the idea and practice of crusading?
Due on Thursday, November 17 at 11:59 p.m.
Tuesday, November 15
A Saint on Crusade
Reading: “Gloriossisimi Regis,”pp. 33-81 (Blackboard)
Excerpts from Joinville’s Life of St Louis (Blackboard)
Thursday, November 17
Crusading’s Impact on Europe
PART V: EPILOGUE
Tuesday, November 22
Mongols and Mamluks
Reading: Sources about the Mongols and Crusading
Sources about the Fall of Acre
Thursday, November 24
Thanksgiving – No Class Meeting
Tuesday, November 29
Dreams of Return
Reading: Pierre Dubois, Recovery of the Holy Land (On Blackboard)
Thursday, December 1
Crusades Aftermath
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FINAL PAPER DUE AS IF A FINAL EXAM