Crusader Castles Author:Robin Fedden, John Thomson The network of castles linking the valleys, passes and mounntain ranges of the near East is quite unique as an architectural phenomenon and it sprang from a variety of causes connected with the Crusades. Both the authors have travelled all over the area in which the castles are found, and many of the photographs and plans in this book are the re... more »sult of their visits to the sites themselves. In this book they discuss the factors leading to the construction of the castles and their political and military background. There emerges a picture of the sweeping period of expansion, the individual architectural developments at the different sites, castle life, and the methods of siege warfare. The castles of Saone, Krak of the Knights, Chastel Merin, Sis, Ilan, Camardesium and Anamur are described in detail. The historical account ends with the withdrawal of the Crusaders to Cyprus after the fall of Acre, and the almost legendary heights and wonders of the castle of St Hilarion are a fitting end to the magnificent adventure of the Crusades. The authors have undoubted scholarship at , their disposal and they have brought together really valuable original contributions and a great deal that was little known before into a most interesting book.
The first edition of this book was published for Robin Fedden by Art and Technics in 1950. This revised edition contains material that has never before been published on the Castles of Cilicia. John Thomson, who has written the sections dealing with this area, himself visited the castles he mentions and made the plans included in this book in situ. There are no other plans available in this country, and together with his descriptions they provide a new and important light on the wonder of the Crusades.« less