The Horns of Hattin: proceedings of the Second Conference of the Society for the study of the Crusades and the Latin East, Jerusalem and Haifa 2-6 July, 1987 (review)

156 Reviews Kedar, Benjamin Z., ed., The Horns of Hattin: proceedings of the Second Conference of the Society for the study of the Crusades and the Latin East, Jerusalem and Haifa 2-6 July, 1987; Jerusalem & London, Yad Izhak BenZvi /Israel Exploration Society & Variorum, 1992; cloth; pp. 368; various figures, plates, and maps; R.R.P. £45.00. This handsomely-produced volume publishes papers given at the second conference of the Society for the study of the Crusades and the Latin East in Jerusalem and Haifa in 1987, on the eight-hundredth anniversary of the battle of Hattin, and a symposium on the Crusading kingdom as thefirstEuropean colonial society, chaired by Professor Giles Constable which occurred in 1984. It refers to research which is thus at leastfiveto eight years old. The twentyfour papers cover a wide range of subject areas: social history, art, archaeology, architecture, diplomacy and politics, law, military history, economics, ideology, critical editions, semantics, and historiography. As in all such volumes, the papers vary widely in length. Some are extremely helpful brief notes on very specific topics; for example, H. E. J. Cowdrey, 'Canon law and the first Crusade', C. P. Melville and M . C. Lyons's edition of Saladin's Hattin letter, Zvi Gal, 'Saladin's dome of victory at the Horns of Hattin', and Michael Markowski, 'Peter of Blois and the conception of the third Crusade'. Longer general contributions include Christoper Tyerman, 'Who went on Crusades to the Holy Land?', Norman Housley, 'Jerusalem and the development of the Crusade idea, 1099-1128', James Powell, 'The role of women in the Third Crusade', James Brundage, 'Humbert of Romans and the legitimacy of Crusader conquests', David C. Nicolle, 'Arms and armour illustrated in the art of the Latin east', and William Hamblin, 'Saladin and Muslim military theory'. Major contributions on more narrowly-defined topics include Graham Loud on 'Norman Italy and the Holy Land', Thomas Lyman on 'The counts of Toulouse, the reformed canons and the Holy Sepulcher', Molly Lindner on 'Topography and iconography in twelfth-century Jerusalem', Nurith Kenaan-Kedar on 'The cathedral of Sebaste: its western donors and models', Hans Eberhard Mayer on 'The beginnings of king Amalric of Jerusalem', Bernard Hamilton on 'Miles of Plancy and thefiefof Beirut', Denys Pringle on 'Aqua Bella: the interpretation of a crusader courtyard building', Ronny Ellenblum on 'Construction methods in Frankish rural settlements', Benjamin Kedar on 'The battle of Hattin revisited', Zvi Razi and Eliot Braun on 'The lost Crusader castle of Tiberias', Richard Rose on 'The native Christians of Jerusalem, 1187-1260', Jean Richard on '1187: point de depart pour une nouvelle forme de la croisade', John Pryor on 'The Eracles and William of Tyre: an interim report', James Brundage on 'Humbert of Romans and the legitimacy of Crusader conquests', and Malcolm Barber on 'Supplying the Crusader states: the role of the Templars'. Reviews 157 Several of these contributions present work in progress or work on littleknown topics. As is usual in such volumes, some of these essays have since been expanded and published elsewhere in longer articles or monographs. The amount of space devoted to art archaeology and architecture is unusual in a volume of work in this area. Strangely, although the book includes a host of useful plates, maps, and figures they are not listed anywhere. See, for example, the two-page spread of illustrations of Crusader arms and armour on pp. 336-37, or the map of roads and springs in Lower Galilee (important for the battle of Hattin) after p. 192. It would have helped considerably had the editors chosen to index this volume. It can take a considerable length of time to search through various articles in order to find, or fail to find, the reference to a particular topic. It would also have been of assistance if some information had been included on the contributors beyond the mere name of the institution to which they are accredited. It is presently impossible to distinguish senior scholars from postgraduate students. Surely the place in which the university is located should be included? This collection will most definitely be extremely useful to any Crusader historian or to any scholar interested in any facet of the...