Between parson and poet: a re-examination of the Latin Continuation of William of Tyre

Although historians of the crusades and the Latin East are familiar with the Old French translation and continuations of William of Tyre’s Historia, very little has ever been written about the narrative of the Third Crusade generally known as ‘the Latin Continuation of William of Tyre’. This article re-examines the probable date and sources of the Continuatio. Challenging long-standing assumptions about when the Continuatio was written and where the continuator drew his information from, it argues that the evidence points to an original date of composition in the early thirteenth century, not c.1194, as is commonly believed, and that the continuator used Roger of Howden’s Chronica, not his Gesta, as a principal written source. Furthermore, analysis of numerous parallels between the Continuatio and the vernacular Estoire de la guerre sainte attributed to the poet Ambroise reveals a possible relationship between the two texts that has hitherto gone largely unnoticed.     

Crusade narratives in French and German history textbooks, 1871–1914

This article is a comparative study of crusade portrayals in French and German history textbooks published between 1871 and 1914. The crusades had been events that had moved practically all of Europe in the Middle Ages. In the course of the nineteenth century the crusades once more became a matter of scientific, cultural and therefore public interest. Crusade narratives portrayed these events as the climax and the heroic period of the Middle Ages and thus offered highly varied patterns of interpretation. Although in this nationalist age France and Germany consigned themselves to national history and thus the glorification of one's own nation, this article will not only analyse the national and sub-national (denominational, Laicist …) images conveyed via this European event. It will also ask if and how the tension between nationalism and concepts of Europe were made subject of discussion in this historical ‘European event’. Therefore, it focuses on school textbooks as a source that, during the period in question, was responsible for a significant portion of national mythology and cultural memory as conveyed by media.     

The non-military functions of crusader fortifications, 1187-circa 1380

Although many of the military and strategic aspects of crusader fortifications have been studied in the past, their non-military uses have rarely been looked at in any detail. This omission has to some extent led to the misleading impression that Latin (and Armenian) strongpoints in the eastern Mediterranean were only used for the waging of war, and played no significant role during peace time. In reality, however, many of these structures, particularly in less exposed areas such as Cyprus, spent far more time fulfilling rather mundane domestic functions than they did being directly involved in warfare. The purpose of this article, therefore, is to discuss the use of such structures as residences, prisons and courtrooms, as well as focal points for trade, administration, farming, and religious activities. Reference will be made to fortifications in Frankish Greece, Cyprus, the Holy Land and Cilician Armenia, during the period 1187-circa 1380.     

List of figures and acknowledgements

Although many of the military and strategic aspects of crusader fortifications have been studied in the past, their non-military uses have rarely been looked at in any detail. This omission has to some extent led to the misleading impression that Latin (and Armenian) strongpoints in the eastern Mediterranean were only used for the waging of war, and played no significant role during peace time. In reality, however, many of these structures, particularly in less exposed areas such as Cyprus, spent far more time fulfilling rather mundane domestic functions than they did being directly involved in warfare. The purpose of this article, therefore, is to discuss the use of such structures as residences, prisons and courtrooms, as well as focal points for trade, administration, farming, and religious activities. Reference will be made to fortifications in Frankish Greece, Cyprus, the Holy Land and Cilician Armenia, during the period 1187-circa 1380.     

Liturgy and devotion in the crusader states: introduction

ABSTRACT

This special issue contains eight essays on the liturgy celebrated in the Latin East in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The papers as a whole demonstrate how the study of the liturgy can open up the religious and cultural history of the crusades and the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, reveal crusade spirituality and practice, and trace how the Latins of Outremer expressed through their liturgy their historical consciousness and awareness of contemporary realities.     

New books: Books received

In early January 1203, the majority of the leading barons of the Fourth Crusade concluded the Treaty of Zara with Prince Alexios, son of Isaak II, the deposed Byzantine Emperor, thereby agreeing to divert the crusade to Constantinople in order to place the young prince on the throne of Byzantium. The treaty was ratified, despite fierce general opposition and dissension within the crusade, which led hundreds to leave the crusading army either to make their own way to Palestine or to return home. In April 1204, a year after the crusading fleet sailed from Zara to the Byzantine Empire on the pretext of defending the ‘rights’ of the ‘legitimate heir’ to the throne of Constantinople, the crusaders attacked and conquered the Byzantine imperial capital for themselves. Through a new and close examination of the primary evidence, this paper reconsiders the motives of the crusader leaders for their decision to conclude the treaty and then to conquer Constantinople. Although the crusaders proclaimed a range of high-minded motives, which have been largely accepted by modern historians, the real reason for the diversion to the Byzantine capital in 1203 by the Venetians and the French, and their subsequent attack on the city in 1204 was a simpler and, in the crusaders' minds, increasingly pressing concern: the payment of outstanding debts.     

Crusaders and mercenaries: the west-European soldiers of the Laskarids of Nicaea (1204–1258)

The so-called empire of Nicaea was one of the new political entities that emerged in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. The raison d'être of Nicaea was the recovery of Constantinople and the restoration of the Byzantine Empire. Consequently, the Nicaean rulers were almost constantly involved in wars against the Latin empire of Constantinople. Nevertheless, west-European soldiers made up a large part of the Nicaean armies. This article examines the impact of these troops on the military ideology and military organization of Nicaea during the reign of the rulers of the Laskarid dynasty.     

The ‘Feast of the Liberation of Jerusalem’: remembering and reconstructing the First Crusade in the Holy City, 1099–1187

Every year on 15 July the Latin inhabitants of twelfth-century Jerusalem celebrated a feast in remembrance of the capture of the Holy City by the forces of the First Crusade on that day in 1099. This article explores how the inhabitants of Jerusalem interpreted that day – the culminating events of the crusade – in the context of celebrating this 15 July feast. It examines the events which took place in Jerusalem as the city fell on 15 July 1099 and traces the establishment of the feast, showing that it was founded within a few years of 1099. It then considers the development of the feast over the course of the twelfth century and examines the ritual processions prescribed in one liturgical programme used in Latin Jerusalem. It argues that the route of these processions had two functions: firstly, it mirrored the actions of the First Crusaders in Jerusalem on 15 July 1099; and, secondly, it visibly aligned Latin Jerusalem with sites which were associated with the Old and New Testaments. The route of these processions in Jerusalem was intended to convey an interpretation of the First Crusade as the continuation of biblical history.     

The Mural Paintings of Berzé-la-Ville in the Context of the First Crusade and the Reconquista

The programme of mural paintings in the Cluniac chapel of Berzé-la-Ville in Burgundy has a highly peculiar iconography. The present article argues that Abbot Hugh of Cluny (1049-1109) designed the programme, and makes the case that many of the unusual iconographical choices were due to his desire to make a particular statement about the First Crusade and the Reconquista. The question of Cluniac attitudes towards Christian-Muslim warfare has been the subject of numerous discussions, but remains murky due to shortage of evidence. The present article attempts to interpret the programme of Berzé-la-Ville as a new source to shed light on the matter. The paintings are not a typical example of crusader propaganda in that they do not argue in favour of the crusading movement, but underscore those aspects of Christian belief that it appeared to discount or discard, particularly the need to evangelise non-Christians and the superiority of monastic profession over any other. The article attempts to demonstrate that the programme functions as a self-affirmation of Cluny in the face of rapid changes and implicit challenges, not only from crusaders and their supporters, but also from the reforming papacy.     

How to justify a crusade? The conquest of Livonia and new crusade rhetoric in the early thirteenth century

This article addresses the issue of how it was possible to justify a crusade to a region, such as the eastern shore of the Baltic, where there were no sacred shrines to protect or Christian lands to reconquer. Adopting a pluralist perspective of crusades, it argues that the Livonian crusade of the early thirteenth century offers some interesting clues to the new developments of crusading ideology. Conceiving of the conquest and conversion of Livonia as a crusade, albeit not quite equal to the liberation of Jerusalem, its initiators and apologists employed legal and rhetorical devices to justify the occupation of a region under the auspices of a crusade. This article examines these strategies through the medium of contemporary chronicles and papal letters.     

Murphy's Moral Economy of Labor

Abstract

Throughout its history, the institution of the Catholic Church has been at odds with the social and political changes of modernity. However, many scholars claim that after Vatican II, the Church began to accept modernity's political regnancy, and subsequently embraced doctrines such as separation of Church and State and religious freedom. In fact, some scholars go so far as to claim that in recent decades, the Catholic Church has led political crusades that resulted in the political, economic, and social liberation of many, such as its spearhead movement against Communist countries and the liberation theology movements in Latin America. The purpose of this article is not only to examine such claims but to look more closely at the political implications of the thought of Pope Benedict XVI. I propose that Benedict XVI does not simply embrace modernity, but he challenges it from within and presents political society with an alternative foundation for political liberalism. To this effect, I examine the main tenets of his social thought, including his political anthropology and concept of personhood, his idea of secularity, and his understanding of the role of political institutions. I assess whether his ideas can be universally accepted by liberal, secular societies or whether the character of these ideas will appeal only to those who embrace Christianity.     

Women on the Third Crusade

Historians remain undecided over whether or not women actually took up arms during crusading expeditions. Opinions vary widely, from denying that women could ever be true crucesignati to concluding that they took an active role in the fighting, This study focuses on the Third Crusade, for which the chronicle evidence is particularly full. Some of the narrative accounts of the crusade never mention women or even deny that they took part, while others describe their assisting crusaders in constructing siege works or performing menial tasks. The Muslim sources for the Third Crusade, however, depict Christian women taking part in the fighting, armed as knights. The study discusses the reasons behind these divergent depictions of women in the Third Crusade. It examines the evidence for women taking an active part in military activity in Europe, and concludes that women could certainly have taken an active military role in the Third Crusade. Yet, as the European sources are silent on the subject, it is unlikely that women did play a significant military role, although it is possible that some fought in particularly desperate battles.     

The underclass in the first crusade:: a historiographical trend

This study explores a recent trend in the historiography of the First Crusade, specifically the behaviour of the Jewish and Christian ‘underclass’. This term is used to refer to women in the Jewish society of Latin Europe and to the ‘common folk’ in the neighbouring Christian society; both of these groups did not traditionally dictate social and political norms in their respective milieus. The argument is that historians traditionally accorded both sectors a leadership role in the Rhineland pogroms, based on medieval sources, but that they have recently revised the record and claimed that events were actually driven by the traditional (adult male) leadership, i.e. rabbis and nobles. The article studies the sources that served as the bases for the traditional and revisionist perspectives and traces the chain of historiographical development through the views of prominent historians. It also suggests contemporary issues that appear to underpin the revisions.     

The business of human trafficking: slaves and money between Western Italy and the House of Islam before the crusades (c.900–c.1100)

ABSTRACT

Before the First Crusade, the maritime cities of Italy imported precious objects from Islamic regions. The question of what they exported in return has long occupied historians. Due to the large economic disparity between Latin Italy and the wealthier House of Islam, human trafficking offered a strong profit opportunity to merchants from Amalfi, Pisa and other ports. This was because the price of a slave in Egypt or North Africa, at around 20 gold dinars, represented a large sum in the silver currency zones of Latin Europe, especially compared to low prices in Italy. Even moderate numbers of trafficked humans may therefore have provided the capital for further maritime economic expansion. Moreover, slaves offered a commodity with low infrastructure and transportation requirements, unlike bulk agricultural products, as well as unique advantages in market access, which suggests that slave trading preceded investment in other branches of commerce.     

Did the Teutonic Order create a sacred landscape in thirteenth-century Prussia?

This article defines ‘sacred landscape’ as a combination of factors that the two authoritative chroniclers of the crusades in Prussia, Peter of Dusburg and Nicolaus of Jeroschin, present in their texts. These are the intersection of hierophanies (manifestations of the sacred), martyrdom, relic veneration and pilgrimage activities at specific locations over time: connecting them can account for the Teutonic Order’s role in the sacralisation of Prussia. To map the growth of this concept, the article uses Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in combination with textual analysis, providing a visual and spatial representation of the landscape propagated by the Order. The succeeding period of crusades in the Baltic, namely those against Lithuania in the fourteenth century, shows how the places founded during the thirteenth century functioned as pilgrimage centres for knights going toward the frontier. This article considers to what extent the Teutonic Order’s crusades to Prussia in the thirteenth century created a sacred landscape.     

Women on the Third Crusade

Historians remain undecided over whether or not women actually took up arms during crusading expeditions. Opinions vary widely, from denying that women could ever be true crucesignati to concluding that they took an active role in the fighting, This study focuses on the Third Crusade, for which the chronicle evidence is particularly full. Some of the narrative accounts of the crusade never mention women or even deny that they took part, while others describe their assisting crusaders in constructing siege works or performing menial tasks. The Muslim sources for the Third Crusade, however, depict Christian women taking part in the fighting, armed as knights. The study discusses the reasons behind these divergent depictions of women in the Third Crusade. It examines the evidence for women taking an active part in military activity in Europe, and concludes that women could certainly have taken an active military role in the Third Crusade. Yet, as the European sources are silent on the subject, it is unlikely that women did play a significant military role, although it is possible that some fought in particularly desperate battles.     

Norman crusaders in the Catalan reconquest: Robert Burdet and the principality of Tarragona, 1129-55

A Norman adventurer, Robert Burdet, while participating in the Reconquista, established a short-lived crusader principality at Tarragona. This Norman gained fame after 1114, first serving Alfonso I el Batallador (‘The Warrior’) of Aragón in the wars against the Banu Hūd of Zaragoza; thereafter he was contracted by Archbishop Oleguer Bonestruga of Tarragona, the primate of northeastern Spain after 1118 and a papal legate after 1123, to assume in 1129 the secular lordship of Tarragona which had been constituted by the comital house of Barcelona as a papal fief and ecclesiastical principality. After this prelate's death in 1137, the Norman held this frontier and attempted to found an autonomous crusader state, but in 1146 the new archbishop, Bernard Tort, began to re-impose ecclesiastical control over Tarragona. At the same time, the house of Barcelona inherited the royal title from Aragón, thus forming the crown of Aragón by merging the former kingdom with the Catalan counties and reviving the crusade against Muslim Lérida and Tortosa which fell in 1148 and 1149. The archbishop and count moved against the Normans to integrate their principality into the new Aragó-Catalan federation. Prince Robert lost much of his power before his death in 1155, and his heirs were reduced to vassalage to Barcelona and subservience to their ecclesiastical lord, the archbishop of Tarragona. Civil war broke out after 1155 and the expulsion of the Normans by 1177 brought their principality to an end.     

We are never alone: a conversation on bio art with Eduardo Kac

Brazilian-born artist Eduardo Kac’s (Rio de Janeiro, 1962) work has raised eyebrows especially for his ‘transgenic art’ projects, among others: Genesis, 1999; GFP Bunny, 2000; The Eight Day, 2001; Natural History of the Enigma, 2003/08. In all of these, Kac and his scientific collaborators realize genetic interventions into living organisms at the same time as they trigger audience reactions to these from playful kinds of interaction that is integrated into the works’ open and dynamic creative process. Yet whereas the ethical and political challenges Kac’s work poses have sparked lively debates within and beyond the realm of the arts – can and must art engage with the ‘creative’ potentials of biotechnology and genetics? Do these not in fact (as Vilém Flusser and others have suggested) hold the key to realizing the vanguardist dream of merging art and life? Or should the artist, from the vantage point of his own creative practice, not rather warn us against the ethical and political risks involved in genetic engineering? – much less attention has been paid to the way Kac’s art also continues and transforms a particular legacy of post-concretist, ambient and performance art in Latin America.

Kac himself has referred to Brazilian artists Flávio de Carvalho, Hélio Oiticica and Lygia Clark as informing his interest in open, participative forms, which characterize both his transgenic and his earlier ‘tele-presence’ art projects. Other Latin American artists of the late twentieth and early twenty-first century have been producing intriguing engagements with living materials, multispecies habitats and organic remains, including such diverse names as Luis Fernando Benedit, Nicola Constantino, Nuno Ramos, or Teresa Margolles. In a conversation with Jens Andermann and Gabriel Giorgi at the University of Zurich’s Center of Latin American Studies on March 12, 2015, Kac addressed the way in which his work might be seen as continuing or challenging long-standing representations of the New World as a repository of ‘nature’, from colonial chronicles of discovery to contemporary discourses of biodiversity and conservation. To what extent is bio art – and the questions it raises about the Anthropocene as a threshold of radical biopolitical convergence between ‘history’ and ‘nature’ – necessarily ‘transcultural’ and planetary in its extension?     

The importance of Old French chronicles as historical sources of the Fourth Crusade and the early Latin Empire of Constantinople

Michael Angold has shown that the collapse of Greek resistance to the crusading army has not yet been fully explained by historians (Journal of Medieval History, 25, 3 (1999) 257–78). The chronicles of Villehardouin and Clari are an additional, important source, written by eyewitnesses. They provide first-hand evidence of the morale of the army, its sense of mission and the problems which it faced. Henri de Valenciennes provides a similar, first-hand account of the start of the reign of Henry of Hainaut as Latin Emperor. Close study of these texts helps to explain the victory of the westerners. They are even more important as historical sources than as examples of early French prose.