William of Tyre's history of the Kingdom of Jerusalem has long been viewed as one of the most useful sources for the Crusades and the Latin East from the beginnings of the First Crusade to William's death shortly before Saladin's conquest of Jerusalem. However, this text was most popular during the medieval period in an Old French translation. In The Old French of William of Tyre Philip Handyside identifies the differences between the Latin and French texts and analyses the translator motives for producing the translation and highlights significant changes that may provide a better understanding of the period in question. Handyside also argues for a complex manuscript tradition that developed across the medieval Mediterranean.

This is a complete collection in modern English of the key texts describing Saladin’s conquest of Jerusalem in October 1187 and the Third Crusade, which was Christendom’s response to the catastrophe. The largest and most important text in the book is a translation of the fullest version of the Old French Continuation of William Tyre for the years 1184-97. This key medieval narrative poses problems for the historian in that it achieved its present form in the 1240s, though it clearly incorporates much earlier material. Professor Edbury's authoritative introduction, notes and maps help interpretation of this and other contemporary texts which are included in this volume, making it an invaluable resource for teachers and students of the crusades.

The establishment of feudal principalities in the Levant in the wake of the First Crusade (1095-1099) saw the beginning of a centuries-long process of conquest and colonization of lands in the eastern Mediterranean by French-speaking Europeans. This book examines different aspects of the life and literary culture associated with this French-speaking society. It is the first study of the crusades to bring questions of language and culture so intimately into conversation. Taking an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the crusader settlements in the Levant, this book emphasizes hybridity and innovation, the movement of words and people across boundaries, seas and continents, and the negotiation of identity in a world tied partly to Europe but thoroughly embedded in the Mediterranean and Levantine context.

During the Central Middle Ages Catholics had the opportunity to take part in Holy War in the Latin East in two different but related ways, by taking the Cross and by entering the Order of the Temple. Both crusaders and Knights Templar were dubbed by contemporary panegyrists milites Christi, knights engaged in combat for the cause of Christ. On numerous battlefields in the Middle East crusaders and Templars fought side by side. By the late thirteenth century both modes of Holy War faced critical situations. Crusading failed to save the mainland states of Palestine and Syria from Muslim conquest in 1291, while the Knights Templar entered a period of internal demoralisation and external attack that culminated in the suppression of their Order in 1312. This collection of essays by distinguished historians of the Crusades and the Order of the Temple covers the whole span of their historical evolution and offers numerous insights into the ideologies, practicalities and ramifications of Christian Holy War in the Middle Ages.

The reign of King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem (1174-85) has traditionally been seen as a period of decline when, because of the king's illness, power came to be held by unsuitable men who made the wrong policy decisions. Notably, they ignored the advice of Raymond of Tripoli and attacked Saladin, who was prepared to keep peace with the Franks while uniting the Islamic near east under his rule. This book challenges that view, arguing that peace with Saladin was not a viable option for the Franks; that the young king, despite suffering from lepromatous leprosy (the most deadly form of the disease) was an excellent battle leader who strove with some success to frustrate Saladin's imperial ambitions; that Baldwin had to remain king in order to hold factions in check; but that the society over which he presided was, contrary to what is often said, vigorous and self-confident.

Modern study of the Hospitallers, of other military-religious orders, and of their activities both in the Mediterranean and in Europe has been deeply influenced by the work of Anthony Luttrell. To mark his 75th birthday in October 2007 twenty-three colleagues from ten different countries have contributed to this volume. The first section focuses on the crusading period in the Holy Land, considering the Hospital in Jerusalem, relations with the Assassins, finances, indulgences, transportation and the careers of the brothers and knights. The second and third sections move to the later Middle Ages, when the Hospitallers had their centre on Rhodes, and military and charitable activities in the East had to be supported with men and money from the West. The papers in the second section consider the Hospitallers on Rhodes, relations between Rhodes and the West and plans for crusades, while the third section includes papers on the Hospitallers in the Iberian Peninsula and in Hungary, the territorial administration of the Order of Montesa in Valencia, a plan to transfer the headquarters of the Teutonic Order from Prussia to Frisia, and a Hospitaller reconsideration of warfare and learning on the eve of the council of Trent. The final paper proposes new definitions and guidelines for future work on the military-religious orders. The authors include both well-known experts and younger scholars who promise to follow in the footsteps of Anthony Luttrell and to continue research into the Hospitallers and their fellow orders, these peculiar European communities avant la lettre.

From their humble beginnings in Jerusalem as a late eleventh-century hospital and an early twelfth-century pilgrim escort, Hospitallers and Templars evolved into international military religious orders, engaged in numerous charitable, economic, and military pursuits. At the heart of each of these communities, and in many ways a mirror of their growth and adaptability, was a central convent led by several high officials and headquartered first in Jerusalem (to 1187), then in Acre (1191-1291), and then on Cyprus (since 1291), from where the Hospitallers conquered Rhodes (1306-1310), and where fate in the form of a heresy trial caught up with the Templars. The history, organization, and personnel of these two central convents to 1310 are the subject of this comparative study.

This volume has been created by scholars from a range of disciplines who wish to show their appreciation for Professor John France and to celebrate his career and achievements. For many decades, Professor France’s work has been instrumental in many of the advances made in the fields of crusader studies and medieval warfare. He has published widely on these topics including major publications such as: Victory in the East: A Military History of the First Crusade (1994) and Western Warfare in the Age of the Crusades (1999). This present volume mirrors his interests, offering studies upon both areas. The fifteen essays cover a wide variety of topics, spanning chronologically from the Carolingian period through to the early fourteenth century. Some offer new insights upon long-contested issues, such as the question of whether a new form of cavalry was created by Charles Martel and his successors or the implications of the Mongol defeat at Ayn Jalut. Others use innovative methodologies to unlock the potential of various types of source material including: manuscript illuminations depicting warfare, Templar graffiti, German crusading songs, and crusading charters. Several of the articles open up new areas of debate connected to the history of crusading. Malcolm Barber discusses why Christendom did not react decisively to the fall of Acre in 1291. Bernard Hamilton explores how the rising Frankish presence in the Eastern Mediterranean during the central medieval period reshaped Christendom’s knowledge and understanding of the North African cultures they encountered. In this way, this work seeks both to advance debate in core areas whilst opening new vistas for future research.

This book contributes to the flourishing interest in memory and the crusades. It offers a nuanced understanding of how medieval authors presented the crusades. It opens up new avenues for research into medieval texts and songs about the crusading movement.

This second collection of papers by Peter Edbury focuses primarily on the literature either composed in the Latin East or closely associated with it. The legal treatises from the kingdom of Jerusalem and from Cyprus and Antioch have long been recognized as providing insights into the juridical and social history of these places in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and some of the papers re-issued here reflect the author's work in re-editing two of the most famous of these treaties, those by John of Ibelin-Jaffa and Philip of Novara. The studies on historical literature are chiefly concerned with vernacular texts, most notably the Old French translation of William of Tyre and its Continuations, again much a result of his current work on a new edition of the Continuations and the associated text known as La Chronique d'Ernoul. Other papers concerned with aspects of the narrative traditions that furnish a significant part of our knowledge of Lusignan Cyprus in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and with which in one way or another Peter Edbury has been engaged since the early 1970s.