"This is a collection in modern English of the key texts describing Saladin's conquest of Jerusalem in October 1187 and the Third Crusade, which was Christendom's response. The greater part of this book comprises a rendering of the 1184-97 section of the Old French Continuation of William of Tyre (from the edition prepared by the late M.R. Morgan). This is a major narrative source for the period under consideration and one which preserves the perspective of people living in the East. There then follows a selection of texts and excerpts, chosen because they illustrate further the events handled in the main narrative. These include episodes in the rise to power of the ill-fated king of Jerusalem, Guy de Lusignan, accounts of the Battle of Hattin (4th July 1187) that were written directly after the events, reports written from the siege of Acre (1189-91) and letters from King Richard the Lionheart describing the progress of his campaign. In preparing this collection, Peter Edbury has had in mind the needs of University students taking courses on the Crusades, but this book will appeal to anyone with an interest in the Crusades to the Holy Land."--