- Why it started, when, and what was the reality of "The Crusades" are some of the questions this book aims to answer. Many people saw the Crusades as pilgrimages, many believed they were doing the will of God, and many more were there for the booty. This was an institution that for more than five centuries punctuated European history, troubled Christian consciences and embittered Muslim attitudes towards the West. Geoffrey Hindley takes us from the Middle East and Muslim Spain to the pagan Baltic when "Crusaders" reclaimed or extended Europe".