Crusades-Encyclopedia Return to Crusades Historians    Return to Crusades-Encyclopedia Joseph Francois Michaud
French scholar Joseph Francois Michaud (b.1767-d.1839) was perhaps the most important crusades scholar of the nineteenth century. His scholarship served as the foundation for what was later described as the "golden age" of crusades studies. [Continued] Among his most important works were his multi-volume History of the Crusades (1st ed., 3 vols., Paris, 1812-17; 6th ed., Poujoulat, 6 vols., Paris, 1841). It served as one of the earliest and most important modern historical approaches to the study of the crusades, but its value for historians today is suspect as a result of numerous  innovations in crusades scholarship since Michaud's work was first published nearly two hundred years ago. Additionally, the romantic tone of the work has colored Michaud's account to a degree unacceptable for modern scholars. Michaud later produced a four volume collection of sources titled the Bibliothèque des Croisades (Paris, 1829), meant to accompany his crusade history. The Bibliotheque contained French translations of the European and Arabic chronicles relating to the Crusades and inspired the efforts of the Academy of Inscriptions in 1841, of which Michaud was a member, to publish the sixteen volume Recueil des Historiens des Croisades. The Recueil des Historiens des Croisades, commonly known as the RHC, remains the most important collection of crusades sources in their original languages to the present day. [Continued] Recueil des Historiens des Croisades- Crusades-Encyclopedia History of the Crusades (Michaud)- Crusades-Encylopedia Academie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres- External Link Joseph Francois Michaud- Catholic Encyclopedia (c) Andrew Holt, August 2005- Permission is granted for electionic copying and distribution in print form for educational and personal use. No permission is granted for commercial use.