Cultures of the Medieval Kingdom of Jerusalem: Frontier Inventiveness in the Age of the Crusades
By Benjamin Z. Kedar
Cornell University Press
ISBN: 9781501781704
In the aftermath of the First Crusade, a new state emerged in the eastern Mediterranean that was very different from the lands its conquerors had come from. This book examines the social and cultural landscape of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, revealing a remarkably diverse society shaped by peoples of different ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds.
Excerpt:
…only one book-length study, the cultural/civilizational history of the crusades by Hans Prutz, published in Berlin in 1883, has explicitly focused on the culture of the people who lived in those states. It is a culture worthwhile of study, because it stands out for a pervasive—though often overlooked—inventiveness. In the present book I intend to deal with various manifestations of this singular culture, from the particularities of everyday life to the spiritual and intellectual endeavors that evolved in this faraway periphery of medieval Europe. The book offers a series of new departures. I attempt to integrate the discoveries, insights, and conclusions of many friends and colleagues, of my students, and of myself—but, beyond integration, much of what follows is original research. Also, I have decided to call attention to some underlying problematical attitudes of some historians working in this field. And, after a lifelong grappling with the topic at hand, I experiment with a novel nomenclature.
Who is this book for?
This book, which recently was the co-winner of the SSCLE Best Book Prize 2026, seeks to dispel the idea that the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem was a kind of “cultural backwater.” It shows how the Crusader State’s diversity, where Western Europeans mixed with Eastern Christians, Muslims, Jews, Samaritans and Armenians, created a unique environment for cross-cultural exchange. Chapters examine topics such as daily life, the role of the military orders, and William of Tyre.
Both the subject matter and the author’s importance within the field make this book required reading for anyone interested in the Crusades, particularly the Crusader States. Those researching cultural and religious interactions in the Middle Ages will also find it an excellent case study.
“Kedar’s aim is to recuperate the reputation of the Franks of the Kingdom of Jerusalem as culturally vibrant. He is overwhelmingly successful in meeting this aim. The book argues for discarding teleological obsessions about influence and diffusion in favor of a comprehensive engagement with cultural activity, inventiveness, and vibrancy as it unfolded in situ. As he notes in the introduction, this is a book that Kedar has been working on in some fashion for the last four decades. It is the culmination of a lifetime of research and thought on the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the medieval world more generally. It is apposite, I think, to call it his magnum opus—one that those who study the Crusades and the Latin East have eagerly awaited. It does not disappoint.” ~ review by Jesse W. Izzo in The Medieval Review
The Author
Benjamin Z. Kedar is Professor Emeritus of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is widely regarded as one of the leading historians of the Crusades and one of the most important scholars the field has produced.
Cultures of the Medieval Kingdom of Jerusalem: Frontier Inventiveness in the Age of the Crusades
By Benjamin Z. Kedar
Cornell University Press
ISBN: 9781501781704
In the aftermath of the First Crusade, a new state emerged in the eastern Mediterranean that was very different from the lands its conquerors had come from. This book examines the social and cultural landscape of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, revealing a remarkably diverse society shaped by peoples of different ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds.
Excerpt:
…only one book-length study, the cultural/civilizational history of the crusades by Hans Prutz, published in Berlin in 1883, has explicitly focused on the culture of the people who lived in those states. It is a culture worthwhile of study, because it stands out for a pervasive—though often overlooked—inventiveness. In the present book I intend to deal with various manifestations of this singular culture, from the particularities of everyday life to the spiritual and intellectual endeavors that evolved in this faraway periphery of medieval Europe. The book offers a series of new departures. I attempt to integrate the discoveries, insights, and conclusions of many friends and colleagues, of my students, and of myself—but, beyond integration, much of what follows is original research. Also, I have decided to call attention to some underlying problematical attitudes of some historians working in this field. And, after a lifelong grappling with the topic at hand, I experiment with a novel nomenclature.
Who is this book for?
This book, which recently was the co-winner of the SSCLE Best Book Prize 2026, seeks to dispel the idea that the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem was a kind of “cultural backwater.” It shows how the Crusader State’s diversity, where Western Europeans mixed with Eastern Christians, Muslims, Jews, Samaritans and Armenians, created a unique environment for cross-cultural exchange. Chapters examine topics such as daily life, the role of the military orders, and William of Tyre.
Both the subject matter and the author’s importance within the field make this book required reading for anyone interested in the Crusades, particularly the Crusader States. Those researching cultural and religious interactions in the Middle Ages will also find it an excellent case study.
“Kedar’s aim is to recuperate the reputation of the Franks of the Kingdom of Jerusalem as culturally vibrant. He is overwhelmingly successful in meeting this aim. The book argues for discarding teleological obsessions about influence and diffusion in favor of a comprehensive engagement with cultural activity, inventiveness, and vibrancy as it unfolded in situ. As he notes in the introduction, this is a book that Kedar has been working on in some fashion for the last four decades. It is the culmination of a lifetime of research and thought on the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the medieval world more generally. It is apposite, I think, to call it his magnum opus—one that those who study the Crusades and the Latin East have eagerly awaited. It does not disappoint.” ~ review by Jesse W. Izzo in The Medieval Review
The Author
Benjamin Z. Kedar is Professor Emeritus of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is widely regarded as one of the leading historians of the Crusades and one of the most important scholars the field has produced.
You can learn more about this book from the publisher’s website.
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