Sons of Saint-gilles ― The Counts of Tripoli in the Twelfth Century

Following the First Crusade (1095-99), the descendants of the famous southern French crusader Raymond IV, count of Saint-Gilles and Toulouse, ruled much of the coast of Syria and the foothills of Lebanon for almost a century. The self-appointed counts of Tripoli managed to retain power over a society of great religious pluralism and linguistic diversity until 1187, when the southern French line - bowed but unbroken - simply died out. Over eight centuries after the death of the last a€?Toulousana€ count, the residents of Lebanon still retain the memory of these lords, living in the shadow of Tripolia€?s imposing a€?Citadel of Saint-Gillesa€ or claiming descent from crusader barons. Sons of Saint-Gilles represents the first full-length study of the county of Tripolia€?s history in English, and the first in any European language since Jean Richarda€?s Le comtAc de Tripoli sous la dynastie toulousaine in 1945. The book represents a chronological study of the counts of Tripoli, from Raymond IV of Saint-Gilles, I of Tripoli, to his controversial great-great-grandson Raymond III. It tackles a number of historiographical issues, old and new. Why was the county of Tripoli independent of the kingdom of Jerusalem and the principality of Antioch? How far did the counts integrate with local Syro-Lebanese society? To what extent did the counts and their followers import a distinctly southern French a€?proto-coloniala€ identity - an a€?Occitan diasporaa€? The book uses a great diversity of sources written in European and Middle Eastern languages, including Latin, French, Occitan and Arabic. The book also draws on insights from other disciplines, including archaeology, art history, geography and genetics. The breadth of its approach to sources and methodology ensure that Sons of Saint-Gilles not only brings hitherto unknown events to light, but also represents a comprehensive and novel study of a highly neglected aspect of the history of the Crusades, of the South of France, and of Syria and Lebanon.

Kevin James Lewis, University of Oxford, UK