Professor Mayer's previous volume of collected studies looked at different aspects of the Crusading movement in the Holy Land and at its religious institutions, the main emphasis being on the documentary material, the proper understanding of which is essential for historical analysis. This concern is equally apparent in the present volume, but the focus now rests on the problems of government in the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem. He first deals with the monarchy as an institution and with the particular rulers, examining the theoretical basis of rulership and the actual realities of their position vis-á-vis the feudal nobility. The second section looks more closely at the subjects of the crown and their status. These studies also reveal the influence of the geographical situation of the Crusader states at the crossroads between the Latin, the Byzantine and the Islamic worlds.
