Bayt 'Itab - Crusader Era

Crusader Era

Bayt ʿIṭāb is identified with Enadab, a name that appears in a list of Palestinian towns compiled by Eusebius in the fourth century CE. In the mid-12th century, Bayt ʿIṭāb was a fief of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was acquired by them from Johannes Gothman, a Frankish (Flemish) knight, whose wife was forced to sell his landholdings after he was taken prisoner by Muslim forces in 1157 in order to raise the money needed for his ransom. An impressive maison forte or hall house in the ancient centre of the modern village is thought to have served as Gothman's residence prior to its sale to the Church. The building had two stories, both vaulted; the ground floor entrance was protected by a slit-machicolation and had stairs leading to the basement and upper floor.

The Arabic name of the village appears in Latin transliteration as Bethaatap in a list recording the sale of the land holdings belonging to Gothman in 1161. Its affiliations with the Crusader era has led some to erroneously characterize the village as "Crusader", when in fact its habitation by Arabs predates, persisted through and extended beyond this period.