Keystone from a Vaulted Ceiling

German

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 300

During the 1100s and 1200s, fortified settlements were built in the Holy Land by knights from western Europe trying to establish a Christian kingdom with Jerusalem as its capital. Founded by French Crusaders in the 1100s, Castle Montfort was purchased in the 1220s by the Teutonic Knights, German Crusaders who rebuilt it and renamed it Starkenberg. This keystone was probably carved during the Teutonic Knights’ restoration of the site. In 1272 after a heavy siege, the castle fell to Baybars, the Mamluk sultan of Egypt. The surviving knights retired to Acre (now Akko, Israel), the last Christian stronghold in the Holy Land. In 1926 the Museum took part in the excavation of the ruined castle.

Keystone from a Vaulted Ceiling, Limestone, German

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Keystone from a Vaulted Ceiling, Limestone, German
Keystone from a Vaulted Ceiling, Limestone, German

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