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France and the Holy Land: Frankish Culture at the End of the Crusades

2006; Oxford University Press; Volume: CXXI; Issue: 492 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1093/ehr/cel151

1477-4534

Jonathan D. Phillips,

Medieval History and Crusades

This is a stimulating volume of essays that sets out to explore the cultural development of the Latin East in the decades of Frankish rule in the Holy Land prior to the fall of Acre in 1291. These interdisciplinary papers examine the subject from historical, art historical, literary and archaeological perspectives. The majority of the Frankish settlers in the Levant originated from France and this collection shows how their cultural heritage was carried with them and blended in with that of the Eastern Mediterranean. In turn, through the experiences of crusaders, traders and pilgrims, the Levant might have exerted an influence on lands in the West. Perhaps the only period in which the French dominance over the Latin East was challenged was during the first half of the thirteenth century. German influence emerged via the rise of the Teutonic Knights and, most particularly, after the marriage of Emperor Frederick II into the royal house of Jerusalem (1225) and the subsequent period of imperial power down to the early 1240s. While the German presence was relatively short-lived, it is an important preliminary to the era of the French and neatly explained here in Folda's paper. The most significant event within this latter period was the first crusade of King Louis IX of France (1248 to 1254), when the presence of the most important ruler of the age and his exposure to crusading and the culture of the Holy Land generated a substantial legacy. Riley-Smith relates the changing levels of Capetian military involvement in the area, ebbing and flowing according to external factors such as the Italian crusades or the rise of the Angevin Empire in Sicily. The crusade had a significant impact on Louis' self-perception and Weiss and Kühnel both use art historical evidence to show this. Weiss describes how the biblical content of the Morgan Picture Bible in Paris was themed to engage with the idea of the crusades and a crusader king. Kühnel concentrates on the narration of Helena and the emperor Heracles on the windows at Sainte Chapelle and demonstrates how their image as ‘proto-crusaders' was in the same vein as Louis’ view of himself as a crusader king. The impact of crusading in France extended beyond the Capetian dynasty, of course. Derbes and Sandona lucidly analyse Flemish female patronage of certain manuscripts of the Histoire Universelle and suggest this is a reason for the unusually positive depiction of Amazon warriors in these texts. Corrie discusses the imagery in the Conradin Bible and relates this to Angevin ambitions in the Mediterranean. Other excellent papers here explore cultural connections at a more local level in the Levant. Ousterhout argues convincingly for an assimilation of indigenous and French architectural influences in the construction techniques of ribbed groin vaults. Jacoby casts new light on the polyglot society of crusader Acre and draws attention to the production of mundane artistic objects, alongside the more familiar luxury items. Redford and Cutler both outline the effect of Islamic models on the production of Frankish ceramics and Carr relates how the indigenous religious art and observance on Cyprus were employed by the Lusignan rulers into the fourteenth century. This is a well-illustrated collection, with a full index and bibliography, and contains many original and provocative papers of real interest to a wide range of readers.