The Art of the Crusaders in the Holy Land, 1098-1187 examines the art and architecture produced for the Crusaders in Syria-Palestine during the first century of their quest to recapture Jerusalem. Commissioned by kings and queens, patriarchs and bishops, knights and merchants, who came as pilgrims or settlers to the Holy Land, it is an art of manuscript illumination, fresco painting, mosaics, stone sculpture, metalwork, ivory carving, coins and seals by artists trained in the Latin West, and the Byzantine and Islamic East. Combining the stylistic and iconographic traditions of these regions, Crusader art defies easy categorization: indeed, it is a unique phenomenon within the spectrum of medieval art.

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This work tells the story of Crusader art, focusing on the full range of Crusader painting (manuscript illumination, frescos, mosaics and icon painting) as providing the most significant continuous surviving evidence for the development of Crusader art.

Based on the latest scholarship by experts in the field, this work provides an accessible guide to the Crusades fought for the liberation and defense of the Holy Land—one of the most enduring and consequential conflicts of the medieval world. The Crusades to the Holy Land were one of the most important religious and social movements to emerge over the course of the Middle Ages. The warfare of the Crusades affected nearly all of Western Europe and involved members of social groups from kings and knights down to serfs and paupers. The memory of this epic long-ago conflict affects relations between the Western and Islamic worlds in the present day. The Crusades to the Holy Land: The Essential Reference Guide provides almost 90 A–Z entries that detail the history of the Crusades launched from Western Europe for the liberation or defense of the Holy Land, covering the inception of the movement by Pope Urban II in 1095 up to the early 14th century. This concise single-volume work provides accessible articles and perspective essays on the main Crusade expeditions as well as the important crusaders, countries, places, and institutions involved. Each entry is accompanied by references for further reading. Readers will follow the career of Saladin from humble beginnings to becoming ruler of Syria and Egypt and reconquering almost all of the Holy Land from its Christian rulers; learn about the main sites and characteristics of the castles that were crucial to the Christian domination of the Holy Land; and understand the key aspects of crusading, from motivation and recruitment to practicalities of finance and transport. The reference guide also includes survey articles that provide readers with an overview of the original source materials written in Latin, Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Armenian, and Syriac.

In the 88 years between its establishment by the victorious armies of the First Crusade and its collapse following the disastrous defeat at Hattin, the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem was the site of vibrant artistic and architectural activity. As the crusaders rebuilt some of Christendom's most sacred churches, or embellished others with murals and mosaics, a unique and highly original art was created. Focusing on the sculptural, mosaic, and mural cycles adorning some of the most important shrines in the Kingdom (such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, The Basilica of the Annunciation, and the Church of the Nativity), this book offers a broad perspective of Crusader art and architecture. Among the many aspects discussed are competition among pilgrimage sites, crusader manipulation of biblical models, the image of the Muslim, and others. Building on recent developments in the fields of patronage studies and reception theory, the book offers a study of the complex ways in which Crusader art addressed its diverse audiences (Franks, indigenous eastern Christians, pilgrims) while serving the intentions of its patrons. Of particular interest to scholars and students of the Crusades and of Crusader art, as well as scholars and students of medieval art in general, this book will appeal to all those engaging with intercultural encounters, acculturation, Christian-Muslim relations, pilgrimage, the Holy Land, medieval devotion and theology, Byzantine art, reception theory and medieval patronage.

Crusading and the Crusader States follows the progress of the major crusading expeditions, offers insights into their continuing failure, and charts the development of new attitudes towards Islam and its followers. This new edition takes into account the wealth of rich and varied recent research to demonstrate that crusading should be seen as central to the European experience in the Middle Ages, and engages in the key historiographical debates of the past decade. This includes new research on how crusades were formed, the political culture, networks, liturgies and crusading culture in the East. It is essential reading for all students of the Crusades and medieval history.