ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE MILITARY ORDERS During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the Military Orders played an active role in the defence of the Latin States in the East (modern Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Cyprus) and administered various urban and rural properties. They were also signifi- cantly involved in the various activities relating to the welfare of the Frankish populace and of the pilgrims visiting the Holy Land. This book presents a detailed description of the archaeological evidence for the five Military Orders active in the Latin East – the Hospitallers, Templars, Teutonic Knights, Leper Knights of St Lazarus and Knights of St Thomas. The three principal sections of the book consist of chapters relating to the urban quarters of the Orders in Jerusalem, Acre and other cities, their numerous rural possessions, and the tens of castles built or purchased and expanded by them in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The distinctive architecture relating to their various undertakings (such as hospitals in Jerusalem and Acre) is discussed in detail, with emphasis on the important role of the Military Orders in the development of military architecture in the Middle Ages. Adrian J. Boas is Senior Lecturer at the University of Haifa. He has published several articles and two books on Crusader archaeology. ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE MILITARY ORDERS A survey of the urban centres, rural settlement and castles of the Military Orders in the Latin East (c. 1120–1291) Adrian J. Boas IN MEMORY OF MY FATHER NORMAN SAMUEL BOAS First published 2006 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2006 Adrian J. Boas This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN 10: 0-415-29980-2 ISBN 13: 978-0-415-29980-0 CONTENTS List of figures ix Preface and acknowledgements xii List of abbreviations xiv Chronological summary xvi Background 1 The idea of the Military Order 2 Establishing a foothold: the foundation of the Order of the Knights of the Temple 2 The foundation of the Military Order of the Hospital of St John 4 The Teutonic Knights 6 The Leper Knights of St Lazarus 7 The Order of St Thomas of Canterbury 7 Expansion in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries 8 The armies of the Military Orders 10 Contemporary sources 11 Archaeological research of the Military Orders 12 PART I Urban administrative centres 15 1 The urban Quarters of the Templars 19 The Templars’ Quarter in Jerusalem 19 The Templars’ Quarters in Acre 29 The Templar faubourg in Chateau Pelerin 32 Templar possessions in other towns of the Latin East 38 2 The urban Quarters of the Hospitallers 43 The Hospitallers’ Quarter in Jerusalem and the Asnerie 43 The Hospitallers’ possessions in Acre 49 Hospitaller possessions in other towns of the Latin East 58 v CONTENTS 3 The urban quarters of the Teutonic Knights 61 The German Quarter and tower in Acre 61 Possessions of the Teutonic Knights in other towns of the Latin East 63 4 The urban quarters of the Leper Knights of St Lazarus 64 The leper Quarter outside the walls of Jerusalem 64 The Quarter of the Leper Knights of St Lazarus in Acre 65 Other urban possessions of the Leper Knights of St Lazarus in the Latin East 66 5 The quarter of the Knights of St Thomas 67 PART II The rural activity of the Military Orders 69 6 Expansion into the countryside 71 Hospitaller rural possessions 71 Templar rural possessions 86 Teutonic rural possessions 89 Rural possessions of the Order of St Lazarus 92 7 Sugar-cane cultivation and the sugar industry 93 PART III The defence of the Latin East 95 8 Castles and the defensive role of the Military Orders 99 Defending pilgrim travel in the Kingdom of Jerusalem 102 The establishment of marches and the defence of borders and passes 103 Castles controlling passage on the roads and serving as toll collecting posts 104 Castles as central administrative headquarters of an Order 105 Castles used for the administration of rural properties 105 9 The choice of plan: castle typology, design, location and function 106 Tower keeps 108 Large enclosure castles 113 Quadrangular enclosure castles with projecting towers (quadriburgia) 116 Spur castles 126 Hilltop (and island) castles 136 Others 148 vi CONTENTS 10 Non-defensive components of a castle 149 Chapels 149 Chapter houses 155 Halls 155 Dormitories 156 Water systems 156 Latrines and waste disposal 157 Bathhouses 159 Refectories 159 Kitchens 160 Mills, presses, bakery ovens and forges 160 Storage and stables 163 11 Elements of fortification 165 Gate complexes 165 Posterns (sally ports) 168 Portcullises 168 Machicolation, murder-holes (meurtrières) and hoardings 170 Curtain walls, battlements (wall-head defences), arrow-slits, embrasures and the chemin de ronde 173 Forewalls (antemuralia) and barbicans (barbicana) 175 Projecting wall towers 176 The talus (glacis) 178 The moat (ditch) 179 12 Stonemasonry and construction techniques 182 The choice of stone 182 Foundations 183 Wall construction 183 Types of masonry 184 Masons’ marks 187 Property ownership and ownership marks 187 13 Weapons, arms and armour 190 Siege weapons 190 Arms 191 Armour 193 vii CONTENTS PART IV Additional archaeological evidence 195 14 Daily life of the Military Orders 197 At the table 198 Tableware and eating utensils 199 Sleeping quarters 202 Bathing and hygiene 202 Games and other forms of recreation 203 Seals and bullae 204 Horse equipment: shoes, bridles, spurs and saddle fittings 206 15 Works of art in urban sites and castles of the Military Orders 208 Sculpture 208 Frescoes and painted decoration 213 The reliquary of the Church of St John the Baptist 215 Conclusion 217 Appendix I Chronology of castles 220 Appendix II Gazetteer of sites of the Military Orders 222 Notes 260 Bibliography 291 Index 307 viii FIGURES 1 Map of the Crusader states xviii 2 Map of Crusader Jerusalem showing the Quarters of the Military Orders 16 3 Architectural sculpture on the Temple Mount area, Jerusalem 22 4 Ruins of the Templar Palace in Acre, 1752 30 5 Plan of the faubourg, Chateau Pelerin 33 6 Plan of Templar castle at Tortosa 39 7 Wall and rock-cut talus of Tortosa Castle 40 8 Plan of the Hospitaller compound in Jerusalem 44 9 Nineteenth-century photograph of the Hospitaller ruins in Jerusalem 45 10 Plan of the Hospitaller compound in Acre 52 11 Hospital compound in Acre 53 12 Excavations at the possible site of the Teutonic house in Acre 62 13 Map of the rural sites of the Military Orders in the Kingdom of Jerusalem 72 14 Site of the Hospitaller mill, Molendina desubter Mirabellum 75 15 Church at Fontenoid (Abu Ghosh) 76 16 Hospitaller building at Aqua Bella 78 17 Interior of Hospitaller building at Aqua Bella 79 18 Foundations of the Hospitaller mill of Recordana 83 19 The Templar mill of Doc 84 20 Templar courtyard complex at Somelaria 88 21 Plan of the mill and guest house below Montfort 90 22 Map of Templar castles in the Latin East 96 23 Map of Hospitaller castles in the Latin East 97 24 Map of Teutonic castles in the Latin East 98 25 Tower at Maldoim 102 26 Tower of Burj as-Sabî below Margat 104 27 Remains of the Templar tower of Le Destroit (Districtum) 109 28 Remains of the Teutonic tower at Tarphile near Montfort 110 29 Aerial photograph of Toron des Chevaliers (Latrun) 111 30 Castellum Arnaldi (Yalu) 114 31 Plan of Toron des Chevaliers 115 32 Plan of Bethgibelin 117 33 Plan of Castellum Regis (Miiliya) 119 34 Eastern ward of Arima Castle seen from the south 120 35 Plan of Arima Castle 121 ix LIST OF FIGURES 36 Belvoir Castle, facing east 123 37 Plan of Belvoir Castle 124 38 Montfort Castle viewed from the north-east 127 39 Plan of Montfort Castle 128 40 Montfort Castle: blocked doorway in the south wing 129 41 Crac des Chevaliers viewed from the south-west 130 42 Plan of Crac des Chevaliers 132 43 Plan of Chateau Pelerin 134 44 Margat Castle from the south 137 45 Plan of Margat Castle and faubourg 138 46 Plan of Safed Castle 140 47 Gaston Castle (Baghras) seen from the east 141 48 Plan of Gaston Castle 142 49 Plan of Silifke Castle 143 50 Harunia Castle from the south 145 51 Plan of Harunia Castle 146 52 Plan of Judin Castle 147 53 La Roche de Roissol 148 54 Plan of the chapel at Sidon (Sea Castle) 152 55 Plan of the chapel at Chateau Pelerin 154 56 Latrine chute at Montfort 158 57 Ovens in the kitchen at Belvoir 161 58 Ovens in the kitchen at Arsuf 161 59 Bakery oven at Vadum Jacob 163 60 Stairs to a sally port in a tower at Belvoir 169 61 Portcullis channel at Vadum Jacob 170 62 Portcullis channel at Arsuf 171 63 Machicolation on the north-west gates of Montfort 172 64 Arrow-slit at Safed (from within) 174 65 Stirrup-shaped arrow-slit at Doc 175 66 Round tower at Silifke 177 67 Talus at Toron des Chevaliers