![]() From works produced during the Han Dynasty (206 bc-25 ad) it appears the crossbow was at the time the principal offensive arm of foot soldiers fighting on China’s far-flung frontiers. (Read more about the events and conflicts that came to define modern Europe inside the pages of Military Heritage magazine.) The Origins of the CrossbowĪncient Chinese manuscripts, such as the Shih chi written around 100 bc, document the extensive use of crossbows during the 4th century bc, notably at the Battle of Ma-ling in 341. It would come to later redefine war in the Middle Ages. The impetus for its creation was the desire to improve upon bows of the time. Thought to have been invented about the time of the First Crusade by western Europeans, the crossbow actually arose around 500 bc simultaneously in China and Greece. The unfortunate man who is struck by it dies without feeling the blow however strong the impact he knows nothing of it.” Such is the crossbow, a truly diabolical machine. ” Warming to her topic the princess related how “in the shooting, the string exerts tremendous violence and force, so that the missiles wherever they strike do not rebound in fact they transfix a shield, cut through a heavy iron breastplate and resume their flight on the far side, so irresistible and violent is the discharge. However, the maps, notes, and glossary are invaluable, and readers are sure to find the author’s enthusiasm for Crusade-era history infectious.Anna Comnena, daughter of the Byzantium Emperor Alexius Comnenus, writing at about the time of the First Crusade (1096-1099), said of the medieval crossbow, a military tool new to her part of the world, “The crossbow is a weapon of the barbarians, absolutely unknown to the Greeks. The author gives a real sense of the dangers of daily life at that time: “A glass of dirty water could kill as easily as a crossbow bolt, a lance, or a sword” Maria’s first husband died of dysentery.Įven with a cast list, it can be hard to keep the novel’s numerous characters straight. Schrader, a career diplomat with a PhD in history, delivers a meticulous historical drama full of telling details and dialogue that’s contemporary-feeling without compromising its historical authenticity. Moreover, the story presents both Christian and Muslim points-of-view, so there is no facile stereotyping of villains. The novel sensitively explores Isabella’s role as a pawn in men’s power plays both she and Maria are multi-faceted, appealing female characters. ![]() Maria’s daughter Isabella becomes queen in 1190, but her marriage to Humphrey is soon annulled because she was under the age of consent at the time of their wedding she remarries Conrad de Montferrat. Throughout these vividly described conflicts, Balian serves as a mediator, supplying siege camps and petitioning the sultan for prisoner exchanges.Īnother major plot element concerns the contested leadership of Jerusalem. The plot covers five tumultuous years of late 12th-century history in the Middle East, including the sieges on Tyre and Acre and the arrival of Richard the Lionheart, who, with Philip II of France, leads the fight to reclaim the Holy Land. Balian takes it upon himself to negotiate the freedom of the city’s Christians. Balian and his wife, Maria, Dowager Queen of Jerusalem, despair over Jerusalem’s capitulation to Muslim ruler Salah ad-Din. Schrader sheds light on the later years of the Crusades. In Envoy of Jerusalem, the third volume of her biographical novel about Balian d’Ibelin, Helena P.
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