The Crusades, the Genoese and the Latin East - DSpace at ...

`perhaps most notable for its handsome baptistery with its wonderful repertory of decorative
sculpture on the arches and hood moldings: Arab godroons on the north side, cornices and
modillions reminiscent of Roman architecture and western Romanesque ornament paralleled by
French sculpture. '434 The cathedral and the baptistery suggest that the ruling family of Gibelet
was not merely interested in the defence of their town or the commercial revenues, but had made
a clear attempt to design it in an impressive manner. Apparently, despite the fact that Genoa never
seemed to have raised money from Gibelet, the Embriaci who lived there had enough capital to
spend in their small town.
The nineteenth-century map of Gibelet by Renan is a useful piece of evidence as long as
there are no excavation reports available. The reason that Renan's account and map are so
valuable is because, as Nina Jidejian described historical Gibelet: `with the departure of the
crusaders Jebeil sank into obscurity. '435
It is interesting to notice the four churches marked by
Renan as well as the Khan, near the main land gate according to his plan of the sea-port town
(Figure 6). The Embriaci are responsible for the reconstruction of most of this town, including the
cathedral, most of the walls and towers (especially on the northern side) and the castle.
Importantly, the family must have invested much of its resources in these constructions and later
the reconstructions of the damaged parts. It would be interesting to further examine the remains
of the medieval town to examine if there were any remains of commercial structures built in
town, such as loggia orfondaco, custom houses, equivalent to the fonde by the land gate and the
chaine near the port, as in Tyre and Acre. These structures would have been necessary in order to
accommodate the travelling merchants and for local bureaucracy. Wilbrand of Oldenbourg wrote
about the small port of Gibelet: 'portum habet paruis nauibus saris commodum, raro
frequentatum, quia eius tanquam `pauperis est numerare pecus",, a36 However, an examination
of such buildings, if they existed, might be useful for the estimation of the measure of commerce
that crossed through town and how much Italian influence can be identified in the urban structure
of this special crusader and Genoese
town.
Hugh de Biblio
Gerald Day wrote about the Embriaco family in the Latin East that `the role... of the Embriaco
family in the crusading states, where that family, with all Genoese property enfoeffed to them,
433
Enlart, text, vol. 2, p. 123.
434
Folda, The Art, pp. 70-2.
435
Nina Jidejian, Byblos through the Ages, p.
436 Wilbrand of Oldenburg Peregrinatio, p. 167.
124