Subject encyclopedias and dictionaries are useful for getting ideas for a topic to study, for finding out a little bit about it, seeing how it might be broken down or enlarged, and finding further reading references from experts.
World of the Crusades, a Daily Life Encyclopedia Main D 155 .H65 2019 v. 1-2
This series of encyclopedias illuminates the lives of average people of the time/place through examination of social, cultural, and material history. v. 1 has topical entries on the arts, economics and work, family and gender, fashion and appearance, food and drink, housing and community. v. 2 has topical articles on politics and warfare, recreation and social customs, religion and beliefs, and science and technology. There are copies of primary documents in v. 2 and a bibliography.
The Crusades: an Encyclopedia Main D 155 .A6 2003
Covers nearly 400 years of dissension, battle, political intrigue, and religious upheaval known as the Crusades. Ranging geographically from Europe to Near East to Africa, and chronologically from the First Crusade in 1096 to the Varna Crusade in 1444, the 1,000 alphabetically arranged entries cover major figures, significant battles, and important locations. Entries have short bibliographies. Biographical entries cover rulers, religious figures, soldiers. Also covers thematic topics, such as ships, Eastern churches, the True Cross, Islam, jihad, eschatology. Over 50 maps. Some illustrations, usually paintings or engravings.
Chronology of the Crusades Main D 158 .V45 2015
Covers run-up to the First Crusade in 1095 to Turkish attack on Belgrade in 1456, concentrating on events in the Near East. Also covers Christian expeditions sanctioned by the Papacy as 'Crusades' in the medieval era, clashes between Christians and Muslims in the Latin States, the Albigensian Crusade, clashes in Anatolia and the Balkans, and the Reconquista in the Iberian peninsula. Draws upon Latin/Frankish, Byzantine, and Arab/Muslim sources. Author is an experienced, independent scholar educated at University of London.
Crusades to the Holy Land, the Essential Reference Guide Main D 155 .C79 2015
Covers crusades from 1095 through the end of the 13th century. Has entries on the main crusade expeditions, key individuals, subjects, places, and analytical essays. Overview essays on causes and consequences lead off the book. The entries are a page to several pages and conclude with further reading references. There is a section of primary source documents, and appendix on the historical dilemmas in the Crusades, a chronology, and an overall bibliography. Entries are by individual scholars who are academics from universities, colleges, and research centers from around the world.
Dictionnaire de la France Medievale Main DC 60.6 .F38 1993
All entries by Jean Favier. Entries on topics, people, and places vary widely in length, from a few lines to ten pages. Coverage extends beyond borders of medieval France to include the Crusades, French rule elsewhere, from 4th-15th centuries. No bibliographies, cross-references, or indexes, regrettably.
Historical Dictionary of the Crusades Main D 155 .S53 2013
Authored by a professor of European history and the Crusades at Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington, who has published on crusade charters and on church reform in the 11th and 12th centuries. Has entries on people, topics, places, concepts, mostly a page or so in length. An overall bibliography is at the back, organized by place written about and the individual crusades.
Byzantine Empire, a Historical Encyclopedia Main DF 504.5 .B98 2019 v. 1-2
Has entries bearing on religion, such as the Crusades, and on events, personages, the Eastern Orthodox Church, secular topics including government and organizations, places, objects and artifacts, the military, and a selection of primary documents.
Historical Dictionary of the Mongol World Empire Main DS 19 .B84 2018
Chronology, maps, dictionary arrangement of short entries, and appendices: Mongolian scripts, glossary of Mongolian words and terms, selected recipes. 50pp bibliography. Useful for study of the vast are covered, including the Middle East, from the perspective of the native peoples living there.
Medieval France: an Encyclopedia Reference DC 33.2 .M44 1995
Medieval Islamic Civilization Main DS 36.85 .M434 2006
Routledge Companion to the Crusades Main D 157 .L64 2006
9 parts. 1) Chronology by year, of background, military expeditions, crusader states. 2) Narrative outline of each crusade in a page or so each. 3) Brief, paragraph length biographies of crusading figures. 4) An essay, 20 pages or so, on historiography, what have historians said about the crusades? 5) Brief, paragraph length biographies of crusade historians, including mention of their book titles. 6) Short essays on such topics as women and the crusades and on the crusades from Byzantine Armenian, Italian, Jewish, Muslim, and Frankish perspectives. 7) Select bibliography of publications about the crusades mainly in English. 8) Genealogical tables. 9) Maps.