Jerusalem in the Time of the Crusades

Jerusalem in the Time of the Crusades combines archaeological and historical evidence, together with first-hand accounts written by visiting pilgrims, to provide a multifaceted description of one of the most important periods in the history of Jerusalem.

The book has been fully updated with the results of the latest excavations and research. Much of the new material has previously only been available in Hebrew or in unpublished or difficult-to-access studies. Four new chapters—‘Pilgrims in the Holy City’, ‘Institutions of Commerce and Finance’, 'Frankish Jerusalem in the Thirteenth Century' and ‘Frankish Epigraphy in Jerusalem’—make this the most comprehensive survey of Jerusalem in the Crusader period. The book is divided into three parts. The first explores the history of the city in the Crusader period and its unique society, almost exclusively Christian and largely Western (Frankish). The second presents the rich architectural evidence for Jerusalem under Crusader rule. The final part considers examples of Crusader art in the city and contemporary representations of the city and its buildings.

Generously illustrated, this book is primarily for students and scholars of Jerusalem, the Crusader period and medieval pilgrimage, as well as being a useful guide for the interested reader to a city at the centre of international and religious interest and conflict today.

Adrian J. Boas is Professor Emeritus of Medieval Archaeology at the University of Haifa. He has excavated extensively, including a major project at Montfort Castle in northern Israel, and is the author and editor of numerous publications and several books on Crusader period archaeology and history. He is the former president of the Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East.