ABSTRACT
The Frankish tenure of the Holy Land moved through phases of conquest, consolidation, expansion, defence, defeat and recovery. Each of these episodes required a range of military skills, techniques and approaches to warfare, albeit with different emphases according to circumstance. Many aspects of military engagement were familiar to the Franks; for example, warfare in eleventh-century Europe was dominated by raids and battles and these forms of conict played a prominent role in the history of the Latin East. Other types of warfare, however, were new to the westerners, especially the tactics of their Muslim enemies and the intensive level of siege warfare, notably against urban settlements. The settlers’ lack of manpower also inuenced their approach to military issues in terms of battle tactics and castle-building.
