Rivers of Blood: An Analysis of One Aspect of the Crusader Conquest of Jerusalem in 1099

Published 2015-10-16
Section Papers

Authors

  • Thomas F. Madden Saint Louis University

Keywords:

First Crusade, Temple of Salomon, Al-Aqsa Mosque, Blood Levels

Abstract

Many medieval chroniclers described the Christian conquest of Jerusalem during the First Crusade in 1099 and their words have been repeated ever since without much scrutiny. As horrible as the carnage was in the mosque and in the rest of the city, it could never be enough to sustain the reports of streets of blood that are heard so often today. These are fantastical descriptions, clearly impossible. Modern descriptions of crusaders wading through streets of blood turn a historical massacre into little more than a cartoon. The blood that was spilled in the massacre of Jerusalem was real; the rivers of it that course down the pages of modern newspapers and popular books are not.

How to Cite

Madden, T. F. (2015). Rivers of Blood: An Analysis of One Aspect of the Crusader Conquest of Jerusalem in 1099. Revista Chilena De Estudios Medievales, (1), 25–37. Retrieved from http://revistas.ugm.cl/index.php/rcem/article/view/3

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