This book reveals the medieval Mediterranean region as a richly nuanced space of places and peoples connected by a body of water, but far from unified—and seeks to challenge what we think we know about the medieval Mediterranean and the world it influenced. Reflective of the diversity of the Mediterranean region, the contributors are an international body of scholars that bring together topics that are seemingly disparate but are in fact in a vibrant conversation with one another. The volume seeks to shed new light and perspectives on familiar topics. Each chapter begins with secondary commentary for context, and is followed by primary sources comprised of images and texts that invite careful reading, lively discussion, and possibilities for deeper research. Topics that are discussed include: Archaeology and Architecture, Stories of Travel and Encounter, Literature and Poetry, Matters of Faith, Crusades, Monarchies and Conflict, Ties that Bind, and Around the Mediterranean World. Windows into the Medieval Mediterranean is simultaneously a scholarly and reader-friendly book intended to engage undergraduate and graduate students, scholars, and anyone interested in the Mediterranean of the Middles Ages.

This book reveals the medieval Mediterranean region as a richly nuanced space of places and peoples connected by a body of water, but far from unified - and seeks to challenge what we think we know about the medieval Mediterranean, and the world it influenced. Reflective of the diversity of the Mediterranean region, the contributors are an international body of scholars that bring together topics that are seemingly disparate but are in fact in a vibrant conversation with one another. The volume seeks to shed new light and perspectives on familiar topics. Each chapter begins with secondary commentary for context, and is followed by primary sources comprised of images and texts that invite careful reading, lively discussion, and possibilities for deeper research. Topics that are discussed include: Archaeology and Architecture, Stories of Travel and Encounter, Literature and Poetry, Matters of Faith, Crusades, Monarchies and Conflict, Ties that Bind and Around the Mediterranean World. Windows into the Medieval Mediterranean is simultaneously a scholarly and reader-friendly book intended to engage undergraduate and graduate students, scholars, and anyone interested in the Mediterranean of the Middles Ages.

This book analyses the artistic and cultural legacy of Western Islamic societies and their interactions with Islamic, Christian and Jewish societies in the framework of the late medieval Mediterranean, from a range of multi-disciplinary perspectives. The book, organised in four parts, addresses the Andalusi legacy from its presence in the East and the West; analyses the relations and transfers between Al-Andalus and the artistic productions of the Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula; explores other manifestations of the Andalusi legacy in the fields of knowledge, construction, identity and religious studies; and reconsiders ornamental transfers and exchanges in artistic manifestations between East and West across the Mediterranean basin. Chapter 2 is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license.

These essays by medievalists touch upon many aspects of intercultural links in the medieval Mediterranean, covering not only strictly cultural and religious contacts, but also political, military, ethnic, social institutional, scientific and technological relationships.

This volume fluctuates between conceptualizations of movement; either movements that buildings in the medieval Mediterranean facilitated, or the movements of the users and audiences of architecture. From medieval Anatolia to Southern France and the Genoese colony of Pera across Constantinople, The Fluctuating Sea investigates how the relationship between movement and the experiences of a multiplicity of users with different social backgrounds can provide a new perspective on architectural history. The book acknowledges the shared characteristics of medieval Mediterranean architecture, but it also argues that for the majority of people inhabiting the fragmented microecologies of the Mediterranean, architecture was a highly localized phenomenon. It is the connectivity of such localized experiences that The Fluctuating Sea uncovers. The Fluctuating Sea is a valuable source for students and scholars of the medieval Mediterranean and architectural history.

This book is a study of architecture and urban design across the Mediterranean Sea from the 12th to the 14th Century, a time when there was no single, hegemonic power dominating the area. The focus of the study--four cities on the Italian peninsula, and four in Syria and Egypt--is the interconnectedness of the design and use of urban structures, streets and open space. Each chapter offers an historical analysis of the buildings and spaces used for trade, education, political display and public action. The work includes historical and social analyses of the mercantile, social, political and educational cultures of the eight cities, highlighting similarities and differences between Christian and Islamic practices. Sixteen new maps drawn specifically for this book are based on the writings of medieval travelers.

A Plural Peninsula embodies and upholds Professor Simon Barton’s influential scholarly legacy, eschewing rigid disciplinary boundaries. Focusing on textual, archaeological, visual and material culture, the sixteen studies in this volume offer new and important insights into the historical, socio-political and cultural dynamics characterising different, yet interconnected areas within Iberia and the Mediterranean. The structural themes of this volume --the creation and manipulation of historical, historiographical and emotional narratives; changes and continuity in patterns of exchange, cross-fertilisation and the recovery of tradition; and the management of conflict, crisis, power and authority-- are also particularly relevant for the postmedieval period, within and beyond Iberia. Contributors are Janna Bianchini, Jerrilynn D. Dodds, Simon R. Doubleday, Ana Echevarría Arsuaga, Maribel Fierro, Antonella Liuzzo Scorpo, Fernando Luis Corral, Therese Martin, Iñaki Martín Viso, Amy G. Remensnyder, Maya Soifer Irish, -Teresa Tinsley, Sonia Vital Fernández, Alun Williams, Teresa Witcombe, and Jamie Wood. See inside the book