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    God's Wolf: The Life of the Most Notorious of All Crusaders: Reynald de Chatillon
    Unavailable
    God's Wolf: The Life of the Most Notorious of All Crusaders: Reynald de Chatillon
    Unavailable
    God's Wolf: The Life of the Most Notorious of All Crusaders: Reynald de Chatillon
    Ebook391 pages5 hours

    God's Wolf: The Life of the Most Notorious of All Crusaders: Reynald de Chatillon

    By Jeffrey Lee

    4.5/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    In 2010, a parcel bomb was sent from Yemen by an al-Qaeda operative with the intention of blowing up a plane over America. The device was intercepted before the plan could be put into action, but what puzzled investigators was the name of the person to whom the parcel was addressed: Reynald de Chatillon - a man who died 800 years ago.

    But who was he and why was he chosen above all others? Born in twelfth-century France and bred for violence, Reynald de Chatillon was a young knight who joined the Second Crusade and rose through the ranks to become the pre-eminent figure in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem - and one of the most reviled characters in Islamic history.

    In the West, Reynald has long been considered a minor player in the Crusades and is often dismissed as having been a bloodthirsty maniac. Tales of his elaborate torture of prisoners and his pursuit of reckless wars against friends and foe alike have coloured Reynald's reputation. However, by using contemporary documents and original research, Jeffrey Lee overturns this popular perception and reveals him to be an influential and powerful leader, whose actions in the Middle East had a far-reaching impact that endures to this day.

    In telling his epic story, God's Wolf not only restores Reynald to his rightful position in history but also highlights how the legacy of the Crusades is still very much alive.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAtlantic Books
    Release dateAug 4, 2016
    ISBN9781782399278
    Unavailable
    God's Wolf: The Life of the Most Notorious of All Crusaders: Reynald de Chatillon
    Author

    Jeffrey Lee

    JEFFREY LEE is the retired Bishop of Chicago, known across the church as a charismatic preacher, liturgist, and spiritual leader. He wrote Opening the Prayer Book for the new Church's Teaching series (1999) and Gathered for God with Dent Davidson for the Church's Teachings for a Changing World series. He lives in Chicago.

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    Reviews for God's Wolf

    4.5/5

    17 ratings3 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Enjoyable reading. Presents a counter-case to the usual portrayal of Reynald de Chatillon (a Frankish crusader of the mid-late 12th century) as one of period's primary villains. Depicted in the Ridley Scott film KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (played by Brendan Gleeson), Reynald is an impious warmonger guilty of uniquely brutal, evil treatment of prisoners, civilians, and fallen foes. In Lee's treatment, he's portrayed as a significant political and military figure though not the especially evil character depicted in the film. Probably the truth falls somewhere in between. I am not a period scholar, so I'm not attesting to this as a historical document, but it is comprehensively sourced and though I detect trace amounts of pro-Western bias in the author's telling, it's not so overblown as to make the entire depiction incredible. Like any history-lite, which is what this is, you have to take it with a grain of salt. If you're interested in seeing the major figures of that era in the Middle East dealt with in more depth and more historical accuracy than the film, this book may interest you. It's heavy on political intrigue, battles, and tactics which is appropriate to the era and the class and type of person Reynald was.
    • 5/5
      I thoroughly enjoyed this book as it attempts to discover the real Reynald of Chatillon. Often portrayed as one of the worst villains of the Medieval age I think this goes some way to providing greater balance to his story, though I feel that the truth remains somewhat obscure. Thoroughly entertaining book.
    • 5/5
      Great book about the man who may have been the archetypal crusader, infamous in his day, but largely forgotten, in the West anyway. Its a different story in the Islamic world, where Raymond de Chatillon is remembered as a brutal and amoral thug, the worst of the crusaders. Lee start his account by recounting the story of a parcel bomb which in 2010 was to be planted aboard a jet and detonated over Chicago. Astonishingly, the parcel was addressed to Reynald, who had been dead for over 800 years. This demonstrates as effectively as anything how fresh the memory of the crusades remains in the Muslim world. Lee takes a long-overdue look at this much-maligned individual, and finds he was far from being just a brutal killer and truce-breaker as the Muslims depicted him, but a great warrior, effective ruler and a major player in the politics of the Holy Land between the Second & Third Crusades. Reynald was a constant thorn in the side of the great Islamic warlord Saladin, who swore several times that he would kill him, and after finally capturing him at the disastrous battle at the Horns of Hattin, executed him ostensibly because of his crimes against Islam, but really because he was simply too dangerous to the Muslim cause to keep alive. Despite their hatred for him, he was admired by the Muslims for his bravery and skill as a warrior. This is a terriffic read, not only because it restores the reputation of one of the great crusaders, but gives a great picture of the ups & downs of the wars between Christianity and Islam. Highly recommended.