Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of illustrations
- List of tables
- Acknowledgments
- List of abbreviations
- Map 1 Frankish rural sites in Palestine
- PART I PRESENTATION OF THE PROBLEM
- PART II THE “CASTRUM,” THE BURGUS, AND THE VILLAGE
- PART III THE ISOLATED DWELLINGS
- PART IV THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF FRANKISH SETTLEMENT
- 17 The boundaries of Frankish settlement in Western Galilee and Samaria
- 18 The spatial distribution of Frankish settlement north of Jerusalem
- 19 Spatial distribution of Christian and Muslim settlements in Samaria
- 20 Differential geographical changes and the cultural borders of Samaria and the Galilee
- 21 Summary and conclusions
- Bibliography
- Index
18 - The spatial distribution of Frankish settlement north of Jerusalem
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 January 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of illustrations
- List of tables
- Acknowledgments
- List of abbreviations
- Map 1 Frankish rural sites in Palestine
- PART I PRESENTATION OF THE PROBLEM
- PART II THE “CASTRUM,” THE BURGUS, AND THE VILLAGE
- PART III THE ISOLATED DWELLINGS
- PART IV THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF FRANKISH SETTLEMENT
- 17 The boundaries of Frankish settlement in Western Galilee and Samaria
- 18 The spatial distribution of Frankish settlement north of Jerusalem
- 19 Spatial distribution of Christian and Muslim settlements in Samaria
- 20 Differential geographical changes and the cultural borders of Samaria and the Galilee
- 21 Summary and conclusions
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Like similar settlements in other parts of Palestine, the network of Frankish settlement north of Jerusalem included developed castra and castella, various suburbs, administrative centers of seigniorial estates, parish churches, and dozens of farm houses. It would appear that settlement in the central hilly regions was more developed than that which can be reconstructed in Western Galilee. From a comparative study of the few settlement regulations which have been preserved it transpires that the rights granted to the settlers in the region of Parva Mahomeria were inferior to those granted to the settlers in Western Galilee. From this it can be assumed that it was not very difficult to attract settlers to this region. An expression to the density of population in this region was given in a text describing Salah al-Din's conquest. The text refers to the “castella et villulas Francorum” which were in the hill region. Another document, referred to above, testifies to the fact that in the region of Jerusalem there was no land for sale.
Traces of well-developed Frankish rural settlement can be found also in the roads which they constructed. The road to Jerusalem, for example, was apparently built by the Franks themselves, and there is no evidence concerning the use that was made of it before the First Crusade (fig. 19). The Franks also took care of its maintenance and placed road accessories alongside it.
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- Information
- Frankish Rural Settlement in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem , pp. 222 - 233Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1998