The first of 4 vols. which trace the history of the later Crusades & papal relations with the Levant from the accession of Innocent III (in 1198) to the reign of Pius V & the battle of Lepanto (1566-71). From the mid-14th cent. to the conclusion of his work the author has drawn heavily upon unpub. materials, collected in the course of 17 trips to the Archivio Segreto Vaticano & the Archivi di Stato in Venice, Mantua, Modena, Milan, Siena, & Florence,...