Depicting the Holy War: Crusader Imagery in Medieval French and English Murals
By Elizabeth Lapina
The Pennsylvania State University Press
ISBN: 9780271099248
How did Europeans view the crusades during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries? According to this book, the answer is literally painted on the walls. It examines five sets of murals from the period, revealing how medieval people chose to depict, remember, and interpret the crusades.
Excerpt:
According to the traditional definition, so-called crusader art was produced in the Latin States between the capture of Jerusalem in 1099 and the fall of Acre in 1291. It includes manuscripts, sculpture, mosaics, icons, ivories, mural paintings, coins, and other objects that still survive in relatively large quantities. Most of the examples of crusader art, narrowly defined, are products of cross-cultural interactions involving multiple actors, including various groups of Latin Christians, Eastern Christians, and Muslims. The present monograph will treat a different collection of “crusader art”: visual sources produced in western Europe that represent or reflect crusades.
Who is this book for?
Although this book focuses on five sites in England and France—four churches and one secular location—it tackles a much larger subject: the Crusades. The murals examined here provide a valuable window into how medieval people understood the crusades, viewed the concept of “holy” violence, and celebrated the knights who fought in these campaigns.
Those interested in crusading history will find this book sheds light on an understudied aspect of the movement. At the same time, scholars of medieval art, religious culture, and church decoration will also benefit from its insights into how the crusades were represented and remembered in the medieval world.
The Author
Elizabeth Lapina is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This work is representative of her diverse research on the crusades.
Depicting the Holy War: Crusader Imagery in Medieval French and English Murals
By Elizabeth Lapina
The Pennsylvania State University Press
ISBN: 9780271099248
How did Europeans view the crusades during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries? According to this book, the answer is literally painted on the walls. It examines five sets of murals from the period, revealing how medieval people chose to depict, remember, and interpret the crusades.
Excerpt:
According to the traditional definition, so-called crusader art was produced in the Latin States between the capture of Jerusalem in 1099 and the fall of Acre in 1291. It includes manuscripts, sculpture, mosaics, icons, ivories, mural paintings, coins, and other objects that still survive in relatively large quantities. Most of the examples of crusader art, narrowly defined, are products of cross-cultural interactions involving multiple actors, including various groups of Latin Christians, Eastern Christians, and Muslims. The present monograph will treat a different collection of “crusader art”: visual sources produced in western Europe that represent or reflect crusades.
Who is this book for?
Although this book focuses on five sites in England and France—four churches and one secular location—it tackles a much larger subject: the Crusades. The murals examined here provide a valuable window into how medieval people understood the crusades, viewed the concept of “holy” violence, and celebrated the knights who fought in these campaigns.
Those interested in crusading history will find this book sheds light on an understudied aspect of the movement. At the same time, scholars of medieval art, religious culture, and church decoration will also benefit from its insights into how the crusades were represented and remembered in the medieval world.
The Author
Elizabeth Lapina is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This work is representative of her diverse research on the crusades.
You can learn more about this book from the publisher’s website.
You can buy this book on Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk
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