description The High Crusade Overview
The High Crusade is a 1960 science fiction novel by Poul Anderson that combines medieval adventure with satire. Its story begins when English knights encounter an alien spacecraft and seize it, believing that it can help them extend their earthly conquest, before being carried into a much larger interstellar conflict. The novel uses the contrast between medieval assumptions and advanced alien technology to explore warfare, empire, religion, and human adaptability through comic speculative fiction.
help The High Crusade FAQ
What is the plot of The High Crusade?
In the year 1345, a scouting ship from the alien Wersgorix lands in England, and the knights of Sir Roger de Tourneville storm it with longbows and sheer audacity. They capture the vessel and end up carrying their crusade out into the galaxy, turning Poul Anderson's satire loose on both medieval chivalry and alien imperialism.
Was The High Crusade ever made into a movie?
Yes, a film adaptation was released in 1994, starring John Rhys-Davies as the friar Brother Parvus. It played the premise more broadly for comedy than the 1960 novel does.
Who are the alien antagonists in The High Crusade?
The aliens are the Wersgorix, a vast, technologically advanced but socially stagnant galactic empire. Their ruthlessness in conquest backfires when they underestimate what a band of medieval English soldiers can do with a captured ship.
Is The High Crusade part of a series?
No, it is a standalone novel from 1960. Poul Anderson was a prolific author better known for other independent works like Tau Zero and The Boat of a Million Years.
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