These carved wooden figures at the city hall in Cologne, Germany represent the "nine worthies" a group of nine historical, biblical, and literary figures who personified ideas of chivalry in the Middle Ages. These nine figures were divided into three…
This 17th century drawing illustrates a scene from Torquato Tasso's epic poem, "La Gerusalemme liberata" (The Liberation of Jerusalem or Jerusalem Delivered). The subject of this poem was the First Crusade. It served as a subject for numerous artists…
The Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem contains the sites of Jesus' crucifixion (on Golgotha) as well as the tomb (hence the name, Holy Sepulcher) where we was buried before his resurrection. The Church has been a site of Christian worship for…
The capture of Jerusalem by Saladin on October 2, 1187. You might recognize this image from the course canvas site! Balian of Ibelin (right) offers Saladin (left, on horseback) the keys to the city. This image is from fol. 144r in volume 2. To view…
The Alexiad was written c. 1148 by Byzantine Princess Anna Komnene. It is a historical text detailing the political and military life of her father, Alexios I, including his interactions with the crusades. This image is of fol. 1r, but the entire…
These folios from Saladin's Treatise on Armor show just one example of the illustration and text in the complete manuscript, which can be viewed in its entirety here:…
Belvoir fortress is a crusader fortress in modern day Israel. It was constructed by the Knights Hospitaller in the 12th century, and was near to the site of the Battle of Belvoir Castle fought between Baldwin IV and Saladin in 1182
The cross in this panel comes from the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, while the panel into which the cross has been set comes from the Rhine-Meuse region. The Latin inscription reads: "You who ask about the cross: read! The heir of Judas the…
The Hague, KB, 76 F 5, fol. 1r: Plan of Jerusalem and scene of the knights of the cross. Potentially made as a Psalter/the prefatory cycle preceding a Psalter