Description
Book SynopsisThis fascinating study examines the customs, legal codes, and socioeconomic mechanisms that evolved from the initial Christian-Muslim encounter on Crusader battlefields. It pinpoints changes in European mentality, and conduct of war, tracing acculturation processes in Frankish society in the Levant. These changes emerged from the need to redeem captives, making payment of ransom to the infidel conceivable and acceptable. The book pays special attention to the story of the vanquished, to the situation of women, to the behavior of the Military Orders toward captives, and to the image of the captive in Crusader literature, in the context of making war and peace.
Trade ReviewWinner of the 2002 Izhak Ben-Zvi Prize (awarded every year for an outstanding publication in the field of Land of Israel studies in memory of the second president of the State of Israel, Izhak Ben-Zvi). '...a very welcome addition to the scholarly literature not only on the crusades but on the practice of medieval warfare in general.' Alan V. Murray, Crusades, 2006. ‘…un livre indéniablement remarquable…‘ Leo Carruthers, Le Moyen Age, 2003. ‘Friedman advances a bold thesis and brings forward an impressive array of evidence to support it.‘ James A. Brundage, The International History Review, 2002.
Table of ContentsTables and Illustrations Preface Abbreviations Introduction 1. The First Encounters – Crusaders Face Captivity 2. Prisoners of War in the Levant 3. The Western Legacy 4. Later Encounters 5. Life in Captivity 6. The Way out of Captivity 7. Weak and Violated? The Experience of Women 8. Charity and Prestige – The Military Orders and the Ransom of Captives 9. Shameful Failure or Romantic Hero – Images of Captivity 10. Ransom on Both Sides of the Mediterranean Bibliography Index
