Domestic Construction

Chapter Summary

In constructing their houses the Frankish builders in the East were influenced by the methods used in the West and by those in use in the area that had now come under Frankish rule and in neighbouring lands. The period of Frankish settlement in the Levant falls neatly into the two major architectural styles current in medieval Europe: Romanesque which was the predominant style in use into the middle of the twelfth century and Gothic which immediately replaced it. Wood or wattle and daub was still predominant throughout much of Europe, even when building stone was available. The methods of construction of vaulting, walls and floors vary somewhat depending on the region and available materials and on the size of the building and the wealth of its builders. Two tombstones from the cemetery at Chastiau Pelerin (Atlit), apparently burials of masons, are decorated with illustrations of their tools of trade.

Keywords: Chastiau Pelerin (Atlit); Frankish architecture; Gothic style; Levant; medieval Europe; Romanesque; Vault construction