Research Output in Medieval and Crusade Studies 1981–2011: A Bibliometric Survey

This article investigates the numerical research output of crusade studies over the past thirty years. The article compares its findings to the output of medieval studies in general in the same period. It shows in detail how the applied bibliometric statistics are generated and elaborates on some of the methodological considerations necessary in carrying out this kind of quantitative research. On the basis of bibliometric statistics generated from the International Medieval Bibliography (IMB) and Bibliographie de Civilisation Médiévale (BCM), the article identifies a numeric decrease in research output both in crusade studies in particular and in medieval studies in general. The article proposes further discussion on the “why” and “how” of this somewhat surprising result.