On the subject of the Crusades - I went to a wonderful lecture by Terry Jones (former Python) on the subject of Chaucer's knight. Those literati and English Lit scholars among you will be familiar with the paragon of virtue portrayed in the General Prologue. Terry Jones has constructed a fascinating argument that the knight was, in fact, a mercenary, intended by Chaucer as a rather complex joke, rather than a shining example of chivalry. Definitely worth a read if the Crusades are your thing. http://www.methuen.co.uk/chaucersknight.html