THE SUNDAY SNAP: CRUSADER EDITION
From the Horns of Hattin to the beaches of Normandy…
I don’t know what piece of historical trivia you commemorate on the 4th of July, but tomorrow I’ll be meditating on the big one: the battle of Hattin 1187. For those of you who’ve been living underwater for the last eight and a half centuries, with no access to medieval history textbooks or the internet, that was the battle at which Saladin’s forces annihilated a huge crusader army led by the hapless King Guy I of Jerusalem.
In an engagement that lasted two days, Saladin’s forces goaded the crusaders onto parched, hot ground near the horns of an extinct volcano, cut them off from water, lit fires to choke them overnight on smoke, taunted them with promises of death and damnation, then fell on them, slaughtering hundreds of the most capable crusader warriors in the region and taking prisoners including King Guy himself. Most devastatingly - for the crusaders - Saladin’s men also captured the holy relic of the True Cross, a chunk of wood supposedly dating back to the crucifixion. It was the most prized relic in the kingdom, and it was never seen in Christendom again.
If you want to read more about Hattin and its causes/consequences, check out my books The Templars and Crusaders. If you don’t, well, screw you, you’re dead to me. Either way, know that the image above, depicting Hattin, was drawn by the great English chronicler Matthew Paris during the thirteenth century. I think it’s rather nice.
While I’ve got you, just a few more things to mention
There are a few signed, numbered special editions of my new novel Essex Dogs left, via The Broken Binding. The edition is limited to 1,346 copies. It ships internationally and the price (excl shipping) is a crazy low £23. The story follows an ordinary platoon of soldiers in the Hundred Years War as they hurtle from the beaches of Normandy to the battle of Crécy… but it’s kind of wild in ways you might not imagine…
You can ALSO pre-order my new collaboration with Marina Amaral. A Woman’s World is the third volume in our series of books pairing 200 of Marina’s amazing colorized photographs with my words. It’s out on August 4th.
Want to win £500 towards your next holiday? Then enter this exclusive competition for my Substack readers, in partnership with JourneyHero, the best new app in travel.
That’s all for now. I owe you all an audio post. I’m on it. I promise!
Dan x
Typical of a Brit to ignore the Glorious Revolution of the oppressed American male against the tyranny of paying taxes and focus on yet another loss in the battle against the infidels. I think I'll go fire off my military arsenal into the air which the second Amendment demands that I keep in my basement just to prove how free I am. Or maybe the mushrooms just kicked in. One Love from the Colonies!
I'll be celebrating my sons birthday! He's an independent boy 😉
When he was 7 we took him to Washington. We stood on the Hay Adams roof and told him all the fireworks were for his birthday 🤣