The subject of the crusades is enormous, covering 700 years from the First Crusade (1095-1102) to the fall of Malta (1798) and comprising scholars working on theatres of war, their home fronts and settlements from the Baltic to Africa and from Spain to the Near East and on theology, law, literature, art, numismatics and economic, social, political and military history. Although in almost every one of the many topics into which the subject is divided there is lively debate and development, there has not been a journal dedicated to the history of the crusades since the "Revue de l'Orient Latin". Crusade studies now centre on the Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East, and this organization, together with Ashgate, has taken the initiative to launch a new journal. Because the greatest need appears to be for more historical sources - narrative, homiletic and documentary - to be made available in trustworthy editions, editorial preference is given to the publication of texts in both European and oriental languages. "Crusades" also incorporates the Society's Bulletin.