The Nazareth Capitals and the Crusader Shrine of the Annunciation

by Jaroslav Folda

The Nazareth capitals are the most important and finest figural sculptures to have survived from the Crusader States between 1099 and 1291. Excavated in 1908, these capitals have long been known, but never fully discussed in terms of function, form, and meaning. This book aims to restudy systematically the five famous capitals so as to explain their intended function, their iconographic program, and the character of their remarkable style; to examine the historical and archaeological aspects of the holy site of the Annunciation and the cult of the Virgin Mary at this unique place; and to understand the capitals as masterpieces of late 12th-century Crusader art in terms of their special regional characteristics between East and West - that is, between the medieval Latin West and the Byzantine East - and as major examples of 12th-century medieval stone sculptures.Using archaeological and historical evidence, Dr. Folda argues that the capitals were planned and completely carved, but never

164 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Jaroslav Thayer Folda III is a medievalist, in which field he is a Haskins Medal winner; he is a scholar in the history of the art of the Crusades and the N. Ferebee Taylor Professor of the History of Art at the University of North Carolina. His area of interest for teaching and research is the art of the Middle Ages in Europe and the Mediterranean world.

Reviews

[Deanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I'm sure there was some interesting info in there, this is a textbook example of an academic taking what should have an interesting topic and making it as mind-numbingly boring as possible. I don't expect sparkling prose from academic writing, but I've also read enough books and journal articles to know that it can be done in an engaging manner. If I hadn't had to read this for class I would have dnf'ed it long ago.