Analysing the narration of the translatio of the body of Saint James from Palestine to Santiago de Compostela and its impact on the historical and biblical construction of Jacobean pilgrimages, this book presents an interdisciplinary approach to the two cities at the centre of the legend: Jerusalem and Compostela. Using a range of political, anthropological, historical and sociological approaches, the contributors consider archaeological research into Palestine in the early centuries and explore the traditions, iconography, and literary and social impact of the translatio on the current reality of pilgrimages to Compostela.

A glorious illustrated history of sixteen of the world's greatest cathedrals, interwoven with the extraordinary stories of the people who built them. 'An impeccable guide to the golden age of ecclesiastical architecture' The Times 'Vivid, colourful and absorbing' Dan Jones 'An epic ode to some of our most beautiful and beloved buildings' Helen Carr The emergence of the Gothic in twelfth-century France, an architectural style characterized by pointed arches, rib vaults, flying buttresses, large windows and elaborate tracery, triggered an explosion of cathedral-building across western Europe. It is this remarkable flowering of ecclesiastical architecture that forms the central core of Emma Wells's authoritative but accessible study of the golden age of the cathedral. Prefacing her account with the construction in the sixth century of the Hagia Sophia, the remarkable Christian cathedral of the eastern Roman empire, she goes on to chart the construction of a glittering sequence of iconic structures, including Saint-Denis, Notre-Dame, Canterbury, Chartres, Salisbury, York Minster and Florence's Duomo. More than architectural biographies, these are human stories of triumph and tragedy that take the reader from the chaotic atmosphere of the mason's yard to the cloisters of power. Together, they reveal how 1000 years of cathedral-building shaped modern Europe, and influenced art, culture and society around the world.

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.

The Book of Martyrs by John Foxe written in the sixteenth century has long been the go-to source for studying the lives and martyrdom of the apostles. While other scholars have written individual treatments on the more prominent apostles such as Peter, Paul, John, and James, there is little published information on the other apostles. In The Fate of the Apostles, Sean McDowell offers a comprehensive, reasoned, historical analysis of the fate of the Twelve disciples of Jesus along with the apostles Paul and James, the brother of Jesus. McDowell assesses the evidence for each apostle’s martyrdom as well as determining its significance to the reliability of their testimony. The question of the fate of the apostles also gets to the heart of the reliability of the kerygma: Did the apostles really believe Jesus appeared to them after his death, or did they fabricate the entire story? How reliable are the resurrection accounts? The willingness of the apostles to die for their faith is a popular argument in resurrection studies. In this thoroughly updated new edition, McDowell offers insightful scholarly analysis of this argument to break new ground within the spheres of New Testament studies, Church History, and apologetics.

This is an investigative novel that starts by asking the simple but pertinent question: since there are no sources whatsoever testifying that the saint, or his remains were in Spain, then who invented all this, and why? I became interested in this issue after having read a tiny sentence in the official history book of St. James, which casually states that the Cathedral of Compostela lost the relics of St. James for nearly three hundred years, from 1588 to 1879. Lose the most important relics in Christendom? I surmised that they didn’t lose them, because they never had them in the first place. That also would despatch the implausible tale of how the saint’s remains had travelled by stone vessel, steered only by the wind, in eight days, from Jerusalem to Galicia in Spain, in 44 A.D. Still, St. James’ legends gave rise to the largest pilgrimage in European history. A riddle indeed. Challenged by a publisher, I decided to investigate this story not as most historians have, namely to accept the Church’s version, but instead, to follow a journalistic approach; to search for those who benefitted - who had ulterior motives. Banking on my business experience, and art historical knowledge, I hoped to solve this riddle whilst walking part of the route, the so-called ‘camino’, between Burgos and Santiago de Compostela. In so doing I also aimed to find out why people should want to do this arduous journey today, as ca. 300,000 annually do. It resulted in this travel account and investigative analysis, and a very defensible solution to the riddle of St. James. The Church employed fear to persuade Christians to seek penance and forgiveness at an empty shrine in Spain. This exploit I have called a conspiracy. A serious accusation, but in my view, also a defensible claim. Once underway something strange happened. An English former banker was shot in front of my eyes. Whilst this incident is fictional, it strangely fits in my fact-based investigation of what happened between the 9th to 16th centuries when literally millions upon millions of pilgrims took a year off to visit Compostela. The pilgrimage led to a colossal industry, and the strange shooting incident pointed me to some of its present-day benefactors.

Crusades covers seven hundred years from the First Crusade (1095–1102) to the fall of Malta (1798) and draws together scholars working on theatres of war, their home fronts and settlements from the Baltic to Africa and from Spain to the Near East and on theology, law, literature, art, numismatics and economic, social, political and military history. Routledge publishes this journal for The Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East. Particular attention is given to the publication of historical sources in all relevant languages – narrative, homiletic and documentary - in trustworthy editions, but studies and interpretative essays are welcomed too. Crusades also incorporates the Society's Bulletin. The editors are Benjamin Z. Kedar, Hebrew University, Israel; Jonathan Phillips, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK; Nikolaos G. Chrissis, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece.

Crusades covers seven hundred years from the First Crusade (1095-1102) to the fall of Malta (1798) drawing together scholars working on war, theology, law, literature, art, numismatics and economic, social, political and military history. It publishes both historical sources of the Crusades - narrative, homiletic and documentary - in European and oriental languages, and interpretative studies. Ashgate publishes this journal for The Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East in both print and online editions, and the subscription price covers both. The print edition also incorporates the Society's Bulletin. The journal is available on-line via IngentaConnect: www.IngentaConnect.com/Crusades. The on-line edition does not include the Society’s Bulletin.