• Geoffrey de Villehardouin - The Conquest of Constantinople
• Robert of Clari - The Conquest of Constantinople
• Baha Al-Din - Life of Saladin
• Richard the Canon - Travel to the Holy Land and the Deeds of King Richard
• William of Tuleda - Song of the Cathar Wars
• Joinville - The Life of St. Louis

You may choose another text with approval from me if there is a subject in which you are particularly interested (the Northern Crusades, one of the earlier crusades, one of the much latter battles, and so forth). We are somewhat limited with the Arabic sources by what scholars have translated for us, but one could also look at Early Mamluk diplomacy, 1260-1290: treaties of Baybars and Qalawun with Christian rulers, by P. Holt or The annals of the Saljuq Turks: selections from al-Kamil fi`l-Ta`rikh of `Izz al-Din Ibn al-Athir, translated by D. Richards. Talk to me if none of these strike you as interesting and we can try to find another text together.

Your assignment is to read the text, and then read historians who have written about the text and the subject matter. You will need to read at least two books and at least four articles, but you may (of course!) use as many additional sources as you like.

Your essay should consist of an analysis of the nature of "Holy War" as evidenced by this text and the events it describes. How does the author portray the conflict, the motivations, the negotiations, outside influences on the course of events, and, most of all, the 'sacredness' (or lack thereof) on one side or another? How does the author portray each group involved in the campaign? How does the author understand what is going on here (remember these are all late campaigns, long after the concept of crusade and jihad as a counter-crusade have been well developed)? Consider these types of questions as you read the text and the scholars who discuss the text. Develop a strong thesis making an argument about the source. To do this, you may want to refine your question in a particular way, and then answer it.

Your grade on the final paper is worth the full 35%, but you cannot receive higher than a C- if you fail to complete each step along the way. These steps are:

1. Selection: Choose your document and provide a preliminary bibliography. Explain the issues you wish to address, offer a provisional thesis statement, or at least the core question you hope to answer in your paper. Due Thursday, October 18
2. Summaries: Summarize the contents of your primary document and the relevant parts of your secondary material. Include an outline of the overall paper. Due Thursday, November 3
3. First Draft: Bring a complete draft of your paper to class. You will read one of your peer's papers (or possible more) and comment on it. Due Tuesday, November 22
4. Final Paper is due Tuesday, December 13