The exploration of gender and the crusades has only in recent years received scholarly interest. Previously the crusades were viewed for their importance in the development of political, social and cultural history, but the crusades also provide history with a dynamic gender history. This thesis aims to demonstrate how contemporary views on gender changed during the crusading period of 1096-1189. This thesis will explore the perceptions of crusading men and women individually to assess how that gender experienced crusade and how that gender’s ideals changed during the crusading period. In the final chapter this thesis will combine both genders in a more thematic exploration of gender and rulership. The main themes of this thesis are masculinity, femininity, gender ideals, leadership qualities, gender and social status among others. This thesis will show how gender ideas affected the crusades and in turn how gender ideas developed during the crusades. It will also discover how chroniclers used gender in their writings to explore human perfection. To do this there will be a variety of source material, including both Christian and Muslim sources. This source material will give access directly to information that will assist this thesis in its arguments that gender directly affected the crusades and had a period of development during the crusades.
| Date of Award | 31 Jul 2025 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Sarah Bastow (Main Supervisor) |
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