The Routledge Handbook of the Material Culture of the Crusader States 1099–1571

The great Crusader fortresses are amongst the most enduring and iconic legacies of the Latin East, but they represent only a fraction of the surviving material culture. From the establishment of the kingdom of Jerusalem in 1099 through to the fall of the kingdom of Cyprus in 1571, these complex and energetic societies produced an astonishing variety of items, from textiles to metalwork, from mural paintings to stone carving, and from ceramics to glassware, whilst constructing a huge array of buildings and installations, including houses, churches, ports and fortifications. This handbook explores the rich material culture from this era whether produced by the Frankish settlers themselves or by the many other communities within the territories they founded. Dovetailing these sources with the surviving textual materials, the chapters contained in this volume demonstrate how items of material culture can illuminate themes as varied as daily life, religious observance, warfare, trade, and technological change. In particular, this work draws out the cross-cultural trends shaping the Crusader states’ history and the constellation of influences that contributed to its evolving identity. It also extends beyond the Crusader states’ final collapse to consider how cultures in later centuries drew upon these territories’ memory in their own material culture.