Abstract

Why do the crusades still matter so much? Why is their history mobilised so strongly for political violence at the moment? And how do these political uses relate to the vast popular culture of the crusades? What is the appeal of not only reading books, watching films or playing video-games about the crusaders but of dressing up as a crusader, tracing their routes on horseback and reenacting their battles? This talk will take the long view by offering a promenade around sites associated with the crusader past in the Mediterranean and discuss their uses between the ideological and the mundane ever since Napoleon started the modern colonisation of the Mediterranean in 1798. By problematising the tensions between political and experiential uses of these sites, the talk will address broader questions about the nature and impact of historical culture.