The book of 320 pages, written in a very pleasant style, is particularly interesting in his long introduction describing what had actually pilgrimages to the Holy Land for men of that time and how they are processed very slowly in operations including a strong military component. Heers strives to find the exact meaning and the right words to describe a vast phenomenon too often simplified or caricatured. The word crusade, for example, appears in the thirteenth century, when Jerusalem after a century in the hands of "Franks" has already been reconquered by Saladin.
The rest of the book is much more classic, but the story of Jacques Heers preserves a beautiful evocative strength and relevance, particularly in its approach to relations between Latins and Greeks. The author also discusses the role of the three kings of France having gone to the Holy Land (Louis VII, Philip Augustus and St. Louis), and other major figures such as Richard the Lion Heart.
Accessible synthesis and brilliant on the Crusades, the book deserves our attention, even Jacques Heers has not had time to provide it with all his critical apparatus (reference notes or supplementary instructions).
