Abstract
When Cedric Norman Johns found the first Crusader-period horseshoe in ‘Atlit in the 1930s he set the foundation for research on horseshoes in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He labeled it “European” to distinguish it from the “traditional native horseshoe”. Many scholars have used this distinction, but to confuse matters, Frankish horseshoes have also been classified into two chronological types. Johns estimated the horse to be small, like the “mounts of the Palestinian Police” (c. 1.5 m). Almost 90 years after Johns’s excavations, time is ripe to revisit these subjects. Horseshoe typology can only be used to confirm the general date of horseshoes from the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The ‘traditional native’ shoes were used to shod donkeys, and the assemblage of the Crusader period includes many donkey shoes. The height of the Frankish horses was less debated, but horse skeletons, found at Frankish sites, have shed some light on this subject. The horseshoes from the Kingdom of Jerusalem are large compared to European finds. Studies on the relation between hoof width and withers height in modern horses allow us to estimate the height of the Frankish horses. This kind of research is not available for donkeys; therefore I have collected data from 60 donkeys in order to make an estimate. Shoeing horses started in Europe during the early Middle Ages, but until the Crusader period no horses or donkeys were shod in the East. There were very few donkeys in Northern Europe in this period, but it seems that somewhere during the thirteenth century a 1.2 m high donkey, shod with iron shoes, climbed up to the Montfort Castle. In the fourteenth century Mamluk veterinarians wrote in detail on shoeing horses and donkeys.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Exploring Outremer Volume II |
Subtitle of host publication | Studies in Crusader Archaeology in Honour of Adrian J. Boas |
Publisher | Taylor and Francis |
Pages | 216-234 |
Number of pages | 19 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781000869156 |
ISBN (Print) | 9780367705596 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1 Jan 2023 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2023 selection and editorial matter, Rabei G. Khamisy, Rafael Y. Lewis, Vardit R. Shotten-Hallel; individual chapters, the contributors.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Arts and Humanities