The establishment of feudal principalities in the Levant in the wake of the First Crusade (1095-1099) saw the beginning of a centuries-long process of conquest and colonization of lands in the eastern Mediterranean by French-speaking Europeans. This book examines different aspects of the life and literary culture associated with this French-speaking society. It is the first study of the crusades to bring questions of language and culture so intimately into conversation. Taking an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the crusader settlements in the Levant, this book emphasizes hybridity and innovation, the movement of words and people across boundaries, seas and continents, and the negotiation of identity in a world tied partly to Europe but thoroughly embedded in the Mediterranean and Levantine context.

About the Author
Laura K. Morreale (Edited By)
Laura Morreale is Associate Director of Medieval Studies at Fordham University.
Nicholas L. Paul (Edited By)
Nicholas L. Paul is Associate Professor of History at Fordham University and a member of the faculty of Fordham University's Center for Medieval Studies.


Reviews
"An excellent and timely collection that makes an important intervention in the fields of Medieval Studies and Mediterranean Studies, highlighting the role of transnational French in the 'sea of languages' located at the meeting point of the three known continents of Asia, Europe, and Africa." -- -Suzanne Conklin Akbari University of Toronto



Book Information
ISBN 9780823278169
Author Laura K. Morreale
Format Hardback
Page Count 320
Imprint Fordham University Press
Publisher Fordham University Press