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Viticulture in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem in the Light of Historical and Archaeological Evidence

Issue: Vol 33 No. 1 (2020)

Journal: Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology

Subject Areas: Ancient History Archaeology

DOI: 10.1558/jma.42347

Abstract:

Archaeological remains of viticulture in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem (AD 1099–1291) are quite
rare, and those that are present are incomplete. In contrast, textual sources show extensive evidence of grape
cultivation, wine production and wine consumption. Based on integration of archaeological and historical
data, the focus of this article is on characteristics of Frankish grape cultivation and wine production in
the East. By doing so, its goal is to offer new interpretation and identify new questions. Coming from the
Christian West, the Latins brought with them a wine culture which differed from that in the area under
Muslim rule. This new attitude towards wine expressed itself in the demand for large quantities of wine
for nutritional, religious and therapeutic purposes, and consequently influenced vine growing and wine
making in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Through the topic
of viticulture, we aim to explore the extent to which Frankish society—as a migrant society—assimilated
with, borrowed from, rejected and/or influenced its new environment.

Author: Judith Bronstein, Elisabeth Yehuda, Edna J. Stern

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