The Siege of Jerusalem (1099)
It was a city that was besieged 20 times during the medieval period, including its (in)famous capture during the First Crusade. John Hosler joins Michael Livingston and Kelly DeVries to talk about his new book Jerusalem Falls: Seven Centuries of War and Peace. This episode focuses on the siege of 1099
Graffiti from 15th-century Swiss hero discovered in Jerusalem
Adrian von Bubenberg, who has gone down in history as a hero of medieval Switzerland, went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1466. Israeli researchers have now discovered that graffiti of his name and family emblem at the site of David’s Tomb in Jerusalem.
Archaeological evidence of the First Crusade discovered
Archaeologists digging along the southern wall of the Old City of Jerusalem on Mount Zion have announced the discovery of a ditch and artefacts that have been linked to siege and conquest of the city in 1099 during the First Crusade.
Byzantine fountain and pools discovered in Israel
Archaeological Excavations in Ein Hanniya Park in Rephaim Valley National Park, Israel, have uncovered impressive and significant finds, including pools and an elaborate fountain dating back 1500 years, a capital typical of First Temple-era royal estates, and a rare silver coin.
Byzantine mosaic discovered in Jerusalem
Israeli archaeologists have discovered a 1,500 year old mosaic floor near the Damascus Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is believed to be part of a hostel built by the Byzantine emperor Justinian for Christian pilgrims.
Virtual Pilgrimage through the Jerusalem Cityscape
This essay considers a group of images depicting the Passion that are, at one level, quite disparate: they are executed in different media, in vastly different sizes, and with different target audiences.
Crusaders, Pilgrims, and Relics – Bearers of the Cross: Material Religion in the Crusading World 1095-1300
The Museum of the Order of St. John is hosting a series of events and talks to promote their project: Bearers of the Cross: Material Religion in the Crusading World 1095-1300.
The Medieval Story of Jesus’ Prison Cell
Today it is one of the quieter corners of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, but hundreds of years ago the ‘Prison of Christ’ was one of the must-see spots for medieval Christian pilgrims.
Walk this Way: Two Journeys to Jerusalem in the Fifteenth Century
This paper appraises place pilgrimage to Jerusalem in two late-medieval English texts: The Itineraries of William Wey and The Book of Margery Kempe.
How to travel to the physical and heavenly Jerusalem without leaving home
By the fifteenth century numerous accounts of the holy places circulated in Western Europe, many of them in Latin, a few in various vernaculars such as French and Middle Dutch.
Medieval cesspit in Jerusalem reveals 15th century diseases
Analysis of a latrine in Jerusalem that dates back over 500 years finds human parasites common in northern Europe yet very rare in Middle East at the time, suggesting long-distance trade or pilgrimage routes and shedding light on prevalent infectious diseases of the age.
‘De civitatis utriusque, terrenae scilicet et caelestis’: Foundation Narratives and the Epic Portrayal of the First Crusade
My summary of a paper given at the Institute of Historical research on the accounts of Antioch and Jerusalem during the First Crusade.
Charlemagne’s Denarius, Constantine’s Edicule, and the Vera Crux
In 806 a much-discussed silver denarius bearing the likeness of Charlemagne was issued. This is called the “temple-type” coin due to the (as yet unidentified) architectural structure illustrated on the reverse side, and which is explicitly labeled as representing the epitome of “Christian Religion.”
An aspect of Alcuin: ‘Tuus Albinus’ – peevish egotist? or parrhesiast?
In over 270 letters from about a decade and a half, alcuin of york (†804) informed, advised, consoled and admonished contemporaries, reacted to current events, and maintained a circle of friends and partners in reciprocal prayer that extended from Jerusalem to Ireland and from rome to salzburg. Alcuin left york in the 780s to become a friend and chief advisor to Charlemagne.
Medicine and surgery in the Livre des Assises de la Cour des Bourgeois de Jérusalem
The Livre des Assises, written in the thirteenth century in Acre, not only provides insights into the practice of medicine and surgery in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, but also suggests that the licensing and regulation of doctors reflected contemporary Islamic practice.
The Journey of Charles I, King of Hungary, from Visegrád to Naples (1333): Its Political Implications and Artistic Consequences
The aim of this article is to reconstruct the journey of Charles I, King of Hungary (1310– 1342), from Visegrád to Naples in the year 1333.
An Unknown Female Martyr from Jerusalem
In the present article we edit the fragment of a text related to an unnamed female new martyr from Jerusalem from the time of John XIII.
BOOK REVIEW: “Defending the City of God” : A Medieval Queen, the First Crusades, and the Quest for Peace in Jerusalem, by Sharan Newman
This is my review of Sharan Newman’s latest book, Defending the City of God: A Medieval Queen, the First Crusades, and the Quest for Peace in Jerusalem.
Mass Pilgrimage and the Christological Context of the First Crusade
The importance of Jerusalem as a holy city for Christians serves as a starting point for understanding the motivations of eleventh-century pilgrims.
Movement Through Stillness: Imagined Pilgrimage in Medieval Europe
This paper examines the phenomenon of ‘spiritual’ or ‘imagined’ pilgrimage in Medieval Europe.
Asserting Political Authority in a Sacred Landscape: A Comparison of Umayyad and Israeli Jerusalem
Maintenance of authority is of course the end goal, but how does political leadership ‘build’ political authority in the first place?
The Charlemagne Window at Chartres Cathedral: New Considerations on Text and Image
The Charlemagne Window, justly considered one of the most beautiful of the history windows of Chartres Cathedral, is located in the northeastern intermediate radial chapel and can probably be dated to about 1225.
Melisende: A True Queen
This leads us to our primary question: did Melisende rule as a political entity during this time?
Rivers of Blood: An Analysis of One Aspect of the Crusader Conquest of Jerusalem in 1099
The blood that was spilled in the massacre of Jerusalem was real; the rivers of it that course down the pages of modern newspapers and popular books are not.