The Third Crusade (1187–1192) is renowned as a conflict between King Richard I of England and the Muslim Sultan Saladin—a reductionist perspective that reflects an enduring fascination with these protagonists both inside and outside academia. In fact, the expedition was significantly more diverse, with the German emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, and the king of France, Philip Augustus, leading major contingents to the East, while a number of smaller-scale expeditions also constituted part of the overall Third Crusade. This article surveys key developments in the enterprise's historiography—focusing primarily on the crusading careers of Richard, Frederick and Philip—and introduces the main sources. It suggests that hindsight has played a surprisingly prominent role in directing scholarly interpretations and that historiography has gradually diversified during the 20th and 21st centuries, moving away from the traditional Richard versus Saladin narrative to explore understudied individuals, events and themes.

中文翻译：

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从史学角度看第三次十字军东征

第三次十字军东征（1187-1192）以英格兰国王理查一世与穆斯林苏丹萨拉丁之间的冲突而闻名——一种还原论的观点反映了学术界内外对这些主角的持久迷恋。事实上，这次远征明显更加多样化，德国皇帝弗雷德里克·巴巴罗萨和法国国王菲利普·奥古斯都率领主要的分遣队前往东方，而一些规模较小的远征也构成了整个第三次十字军东征的一部分. 本文调查了企业史学的主要发展——主要关注理查德、弗雷德里克和菲利普的十字军生涯——并介绍了主要来源。