In the present volume, the third selection of his articles to be published, Professor Mayer deals with questions of royal authority and power in the Crusader kingdom of Jerusalem. He first examines the relationship between the monarchy and the Church, questions of royal succession, and aspects of the royal chancery, but is also concerned to trace the king’s efforts to create a new clientele of loyal vassals. The second group of studies reverses the perspective, and looks at the origins and...

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...