A “must have” collection of classic adventures by one of Europe’s most feted cartoonists.

This is the story of Godfrey de Bouillon, Frankish nobleman and warrior. His father Eustace fought with William the Conqueror, and his mother Ida was sainted by the Roman Catholic Church. In 1082, Godfrey became Duke of Lower Lorraine making his capital at Bouillon. Renowned for his adventures, ferocity, and piety, Godfrey became the hero of many songs and poems. Joined by his brothers, Godfrey led the First Crusade. In July of 1099, Godfrey captured Jerusalem. He refused the title King of Jerusalem, saying, "No man should wear a crown of gold where Jesus wore a crown of thorns." He took the title Defender of the Holy Sepulchre. In August 1099, an enormous Egyptian force attacked, but Godfrey's small army defeated them at Ascalon. On July 18, 1100, Godfrey died and was buried in the Holy Sepulchre, where tradition holds Jesus was -- for a short while -- buried after his crucifixion.

A “must have” collection of classic adventures by one of Europe’s most feted cartoonists.

A “must have” collection of classic adventures by one of Europe’s most feted cartoonists.

Nearly 900 years after Duke Godfrey de Bouillon set out on the First Crusade, Tim Severin set out with one woman and two horses to retrace his steps. Starting out from Chateau Bouillon in Belgium with the same breed of Ardennes Heavy Horse used by Duke Godfrey, Severin followed the historic trail for eight and a half months. Riding out of the green countryside of northern Europe into the heat and parched landscape of the Near East, he and his companion covered more than 2,500 miles, past ruined Crusader settlements and ancient battlefields, through arduous mountain passes and across barren Anatolian steppes. Across Germany, Austria, Hungary, (then) Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Turkey and Syria, he followed the precise route of the medieval voyagers towards their common destination - Jerusalem.In this dazzling synthesis of adventure, practical history and exploration, Severin assesses just how far Duke Godfrey could have travelled each day; which routes the Crusaders would have taken and how they would have cared for themselves and their horses.