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Crusader Archaeology examines what life was like for European settlers in the Latin East and how they were influenced by their new-found neighbours. Incorporating recent excavation results and the latest research, this new edition updates the only detailed study of the material culture of the Frankish settlers in Israel, Cyprus, Syria and Jordan. Adrian Boas provides comprehensive coverage of the key topics connected to crusader archaeology, including an examination of urban and rural settlements, agriculture, industry, the military, the church, public and private architecture, arts and crafts, leisure pursuits, death and burial and building techniques. There are also entirely new chapters on domestic architecture and disease, injury and medical treatment. Drawing on the extensive experience of an established writer in the field, Crusader Archaeology effectively combines a broad body of material to introduce readers to the archaeological research of the region. This well-illustrated volume is a crucial survey for all those interested in the Middle Ages, and in particular the Crusades.
List of contents
List of illustrations
Preface and acknowledgements
A note on the use of place-names
Abbreviations
Chronology
1 Background: the Crusades and Outremer
Geography and climate
The native population
The Frankish settlers
The Italians
Frankish administration and institutions
The Church
The military orders
2 The city and urban life
Major cities
Coastal towns
Inland towns
3 The rural landscape
Land ownership and the rural population in the kingdom of Jerusalem
Taxes and tithes
Monopolies
The structure of the native casalia and the status of the local peasants
The Frankish villani and the planned villages
Illustrations Manor houses and farmhouses
Agriculture and rural industry
4 The defence of the Latin East
Typology of the Crusader castle
How the Franks built their castles
Siege warfare
5 Frankish ecclesiastical architecture
Introduction
Typology
6 Frankish domestic architecture
Introduction
Typology
7 Crafts and minor arts
Ceramics
Glass
Metalwork
Stone vessels and objects
Inscriptions and heraldry
Wood
Games
Arms and armour
Greek fire
Textiles
Leather working
Ivory carvings
Objects of bone and mother-of-pearl
Crusader coins
Crusader seals
8 The fine arts
Figurative sculpture
Non-figurative ornamentation
Wall painting Mosaics
Manuscript illumination
Icons
9 Building techniques and materials
Mortar and plaster
Wood
Stone
Construction
About the author
Adrian J. Boas is Professor of Medieval Archaeology in the Departments of Archaeology and Israel Studies at the University of Haifa, Israel. He is president of the international Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East (SSCLE). His research focuses on the archaeology of the Crusader period and his publications include The Crusader World (2016), Jerusalem in the Time of the Crusades (2001) and Archaeology of the Military Orders (2006).
Summary
Crusader Archaeology examines what life was like for European settlers in the Latin East and how they were influenced by their new-found neighbours. Incorporating recent excavation results and the latest research, this new edition updates the only detailed study of the material culture of the Frankish settlers in Israel, Cyprus, Syria and Jordan. Adrian Boas provides comprehensive coverage of the key topics connected to crusader archaeology, including an examination of urban and rural settlements, agriculture, industry, the military, the church, public and private architecture, arts and crafts, leisure pursuits, death and burial and building techniques. There are also entirely new chapters on domestic architecture and disease, injury and medical treatment. Drawing on the extensive experience of an established writer in the field, Crusader Archaeology effectively combines a broad body of material to introduce readers to the archaeological research of the region. This well-illustrated volume is a crucial survey for all those interested in the Middle Ages, and in particular the Crusades.
