Lectures

International crusading studies today

by Kurt Villads Jensen (kvj@hist.sdu.dk)

(Lecture given at the seminar Denmark and the crusading movement in the Middle Ages, University of Southern Denmark, spring 1998)

The actual conquest of Jerusalem 15. July 1099 by the First Crusade seems to have come as a surprise to the first historians writing about it, of whom some had themselves participated in the crusade, others had good connections to participants. Some of these chronicles explicitly stated that the conquest of Jerusalem was an unheard of event and a novelty in the history of mankind. It had been impossible before then, but a higher stage of human ability has how been reached.(1) This understanding of history was elaborated on by e.g. Fulcher of Chartres in the rewriting of his narrative during the first decades of the twelfth century so that God as the cause of the crusaders' success was gradually replaced by reference to the effort of individual humans.(2)

The First crusade was thus from the beginning understood as a major step forward in the history of Western Europe. Also, it was generally agreed that the crusade was a common Latin Christian endeavour with a very wide appeal. Guibert of Nogent wrote about the northerners leaving their swamps and mountains to go to Jerusalem although they could not speak any recognizable language and simply had to cross their fingers to show that they were part of the crusading movement.(3) And William of Malmsbury wrote c. 1120 about the Welsh abandoning their poaching, the Scots their familiarity with fleas, the Norwegians their gorging on fish, and the Danes their continuous drinking, to go on crusading.(4)

The crusade was presented as a mass movement but at the same time, the military role of the contingents and leaders from Flanders, France, Germany, and Normannic Italy was recognized to have been decisive in the conquest of Jerusalem. The crusade was a mass movement but it consisted of less and more civilized peoples, of barbarians and nobles.

The Golden Age of Crusading Studies

After the Enlightenment's openly criticism of crusading as a religious and thus superstitious endeavour, the noble achievements of the crusaders became again an important feature of crusading history during the nineteenth century. French historians depicted the crusades as the heyday of French medieval chivalry, and the French scholar Paul Riant in 1864 explained the Scandinavian participation in the crusading movement as motivated by noble tradition, i.e. by an attempt to repeat the glorious deeds of the forefathers.(5) In literature, the theme of the crusader knight as a hero became immensely popular since the publication of sir Walter Scotts novels Ivanhoe and The Talisman just after the Napoleonic wars. These novels gave rise to a whole genre that was closely parallelled at the same time in Denmark by B.S. Ingemanns Historiske Romaner.

Modern critical history was inaugurated by Leopold von Ranke who in a series of lectures in 1837 compared the different narrative sources to the First Crusade in order to establish which were closest to the events described and which were the most reliable. Instead of constructing a picture of what happened by harmonizing and combining different sources, the projectof the historians now increasingly became one of distinguishing between sources in order to reconstruct an understanding of the individual medieval historian and his attitudes which might help us to a better understanding of his writings.

The golden age of crusade history from the middle of last century till the wars of this century was characterised by edition of sources and detailed studies of individual, medieval authors. Institutional history of the crusader kingdoms in the middle East was prominent and to a large extent build upon normative sources as the law codices of Jerusalem (the assises). Military history in a broad sense was still important. The founding of the Société de l'Orient latin in 1875 greatly furthered international cooperation between scholars, and it also became a centre for collecting evidences for individuals' participation in the crusades and therefore for supporting the idea of the crusades as a mass movement.
A recognition of the importance of economic aspects of crusading and of the establishment of crusading states was more pronounced in the late nineteenth century than before, but the crusades were still by historians primarily depicted as idealistic movements, driven by religious and/or noble sentiments, and they were generally held in positive esteem because of the benefits they created both to Western Europe and to the Middle East.

This changed between the two world wars. To many, warfare now seemed ignoble and inhumane because of the mass casualties of the wars; an attempt to claim that the crusades were noble wars would have been met with much greater scepticism and criticism after Word War I than before. Also, the dissolution of colonial empires slowly began, not least because the Western European obligation and right to civilize others was not undisputed and unquestioned any more.

This changing attitude towards warfare led to at least three distinctively new characteristics in crusading historiography. One was the openly disapproving of the ideals behind crusading which was labelled barbaric, primitive or fundamentalistic.(6) A second was the search for a medieval alternative to crusading, a search for the tolerant and peaceful European in the middle ages.(7) A third was that much more emphasis was put upon explaining the crusade in socioeconomic terms as motivated by the attempt to control economic resources in the Middle East or as motivated by demographic and social changes within Western Europe.

Crusading studies since c. 1970

During the last twenty to thirty years, international crusading studies have been growing rapidly and it is simply difficult to keep up with all the reading necessary to get a clear picture of what has happened in the field. The following is therefore very much a personal impression, but it is also to some extent based on a round table discussion arranged by Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East at the medieval congress in Leeds, summer 1997.

The changes can be summarised in nine points:

1) The definition of crusading has changed. Since the Reformation and till this century, crusades have been defined almost exclusively as the military attempts to conquer Jerusalem and control the holy shrines there. Today, much more emphasis is put on the spiritual aspects of crusading which are now more explicitly seen as a means to gain indulgence.

Crusading as an instrument of indulgence has been known throughout this century and is for example an important aspect for Carl Erdmann who wrote in 1935,(8) but it is only later that a dynamic connection between crusading, indulgence and church reform movement has been pronounced by e.g. Giles Constable(9) and H.E.J. Cowdrey.(10) This broader, non military definition is closely connected to the second point:

2) The motivation of the individual crusaders is now interpreted different than before. Since the 1960s, historians have stressed the individual engagement and conviction more than economic and social explanations.

In the period between the wars, crusading was often explained by referring to the gains in economic terms that the crusaders expected from the participation. It has been shown during the latest twenty years that, on the contrary, crusading was so expensive and the gains so insecure that it was normally very bad business to go on crusading. Another common explanation was that younger sons who could not hope for a position in the feudal hierarchy at home went on crusade to make themselves a living in the Middle East. It has been shown recently in a very detailed study by Riley-Smith that the opposite was the case, and that normally the heads of families were the leading figures in crusading, and they sometimes seem to have postponed crusading till late in their life.(11)

Since c. 1970 it has been stressed that crusaders were motivated by personal reasons. Primary among them was a religious conviction, as argued by Riley-Smith in 1986. Another reason was the individuals connection to a "crusader network" which meant that knights would go on crusade if their family had a tradition for doing so or if their overlords did so. Such a network seems to have been closely connected to the ecclesiastical reform movement under pope Gregory VII in the late eleventh century. The role of this network has been emphasised by Riley-Smith (1997) and John France(12) and is built on the simple observation that some went on crusade while others with a comparable status stayed at home. This considerably changes our understanding of the First Crusade from having been a mass movement to having been one among more religiously and politically acceptable behaviours around the year 1100.

3) This new definition of crusading means that there are now more crusades than before. First, crusading is now seen more as a continues movement which from time to time might attract more of less followers but which was never cancelled or stopped. It is therefore impossible to put numbers to the crusades because there were between the First, Second etc. Crusade a continues flow of minor crusades. Second, late medieval crusades are now taken seriously. Before, crusading history normally stopped with the loss of the Holy Land in 1291 but by defining crusading as a means to gain indulgence, there is no important difference between the crusades of the thirteenth century and the later crusades. One of the most important historians who has studied the later crusades is Norman Housley(13) who has suggested that crusading history in the future should concentrate, not on the beginning and end of single crusades but on the dynamics and fluctuations of the crusading movement as such. Third, the geographical area of crusading studies has been vastly expanded in recognition of the fact that in the Middle Ages, there was normally no significant difference between crusades to the Middle East and to e.g. Spain or the Baltic.

Crusading history has become more inclusive - more and more political and military movements will now be considered crusades. It should be added, however, that a more exclusive approach is also found especially in the German historical tradition represented by H.E. Mayer,(14) who insist that only military expeditions to Jerusalem were proper crusades while others were a misunderstanding or distortion of the original crusading idea.

4) The fourth point is a new interest in the organization of the crusades within Europe. How were crusaders recruited and how were they financed? This has given rise to new studies of crusade preaching and its content. Very few of the sermons have been published so it is a very time consuming work but it gives a possibility of getting close to medieval attitudes and views. The interest in sermons is clearly connected to a general interest in history of mentalities since c. 1970. It has led to broad studies such as Penny Coles from 1991 about the crusade preaching from the First Crusade till 1270(15) and to studies in particular periods or in particular groups of preachers as Christoph Maiers from 1994 about the mendicants' preaching.(16)

The interest in organization has also led to new studies in papal crusade taxation which has been very much neglected since the turn of the century; Norman Housley has recently studied crusade taxation of the Avignon papacy and given an over all picture that makes it possible to relate the taxation in single countries to general fluctuations in the papal policy.(17)

The interest in organization has also led to a number of studies of individual crusader's financing by pawning, borrowing, or selling land. In for example Southern France it is possible to follow closely the many economic transactions that were necessary both to equip the crusader and to secure his family while he was away.(18)

This interest in the details of organization has led to a shift in recent years from focussing on papal initiative to promote crusading to greater emphasis on the practical organization of local ecclesiastical authorities and of the various religious orders.

5) The fifth point is a growing interest in the influence of crusading upon the societies in Europe. If crusading was a permanent project throughout the whole of the middle ages, and if it involved most layers of society, it must have had a significant influence upon the local military organization, the position of the local ruler, and the integration of the local region into Western Europe. Recent studies have focussed on detailed investigation of the crusading movement in areas as England,(19) Scotland,(20) and the Spanish kingdoms.(21)

6) The sixth point is - closely connected to the former - a growing interest in the study of border societies and religious and cultural interchange. The actual convivencia between Christians and Muslims has been studied for the Iberian Peninsula, but also for Palestine.(22) The former impression of a sharp antagonism between the two religions is now supplemented by a more diversified picture of a necessary modus vivendi both economically, administratively, and sometimes even religiously.

7) The seventh point is the study of polemics and enemy images. There has often been an explicitly expressed connection between the opening of the Catholic Church towards non-Christians during the Second Vatican council in 1960 and studies of the medieval picture of Muslims and Jews.(23) One result of this opening has actually been the publication of a number of harsh, polemic texts from the Middle Ages.(24) Since World War II, there was a tradition for understanding missions as an alternative or maybe even a criticism of crusading, but since c. 1980 it has been demonstrated that there was a close connection between polemic literature, theological studies of non-Christian religions, and crusade preaching. Crusade and mission are now considered supplementary initiatives and not alternatives.(25)

8) The eight point is a renewed interest in military history, including tactics, equipment, castles and military orders, which had been relatively neglected since the 1950s.(26)

9) The ninth and last point is a growing interest in crusader architecture and crusader art.(27)

Notes

1. Cf. J. Riley Smith, The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading, London 1986.

2. V. Epp, Fulcher von Chartres: Studien zur Geschichtsschreibung des ersten Kreuzzuges, Düsseldorf 1990.

3. In Recueil des Historiens des Croisades: Historiens occidentaux (RHC Occ), Paris 1844-1906; vol. 4, 125.

4. William of Malmesbury, Gesta Regum Anglorum, ed. W. Stubbs, London 1887-89, vol. 2, 399 (Rolls Series).

5. Paul Riant, Expéditions et pèlerinages des Scandinaves en Terre Sainte au temps des croisades, Paris 1865.

6. One classical example is sir Steven Runcimans comments thoughout his A history of the Crusades 1-3, Cambridge 1951-54.

7. E.g. P.A. Throop, Criticism of the Crusade: A Study of Public Opinion and Crusade Propaganda, Amsterdam 1940.

8. Carl Erdmann, Die Entstehung des Kreuzzugsgedankens, 1935. English transl.: The origin of the idea of crusade, trsl. Marshall W. Baldwin. Princeton, N.J., Princeton University Press, 1977.

9. Giles Constable, "The Second crusade as seen by contemporaries", in Traditio 9, 1953, 213-... See also Giles Constable, Monks, hermits and crusaders in Medieval Europe,London, Variorum reprints, 1988.

10. H.E.J. Cowdrey, Popes, monks and crusaders, London, Hambledon, 1984 (History series; 27); H.E.J. Cowdrey, "Martyrdom and the First Crusade", in Crusade and settlement, ed. Peter W. Edbury, Cardiff: University College Cardiff Press, 1985; H.E.J. Cowdrey, "The Gregorian Papacy, Byzantium, and the First Crusade", in Byzantium and the West c. 850-c.1200, ed. J.D. Howard-Johnston, 1988.

11. Jonathan Riley-Smith, The first crusaders, 1095-1131, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1997.

12. John France, "Patronage and the Appeal of the First Crusade; in The First Crusade: Origins and Impact, ed. Jonathan Phillips, Manchester: University Press, 1997, 5-20.

13. Norman Housley, The later Crusades, 1274-1580. From Lyons to Alcazar, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1992; Norman Housley, The Italian crusades. The Papal-Angevin alliance and the crusades against Christian lay powers, 1254-1343, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1982. Norman Housley, The Avignon papacy and the crusades, 1305-1378, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1986.

14. H.E. Mayer, Geschichte der Kreuzzüge, Stuttgart et.alibi: Kohlhammer, 1995 [1. ed. 1965].

15. Cole, P.J., The Preaching of the Crusades to the Holy Land, 1095-1270, Cambridge, Mass. 1991.

16. Christoph T. Maier, Preaching the Crusades. Mendicant friars and the cross in the thirteenth century,Cambridge: University Press, 1994 (= Cambridge studies in medieval life and thought; 4. ser., 28).

17. Norman Housley, The Avignon papacy and the crusades, 1305-1378, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1986; chapter 5.

18. Fx M.G. Bull, Knightly Piety and the Lay Response to the first Crusade: The Limousin and Gascony c. 970-c.1130, Oxford: Clarendon 1993; cf. M.G. Bull, "The Diplomatics of the First Crusade", in The First Crusade: Origins and Impact, pp. 35-54.

19. Christopher Tyerman, England and the crusades 1095-1588, Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press, 1988; Simon Lloyd, English society and the crusade, 1216-1307, Oxford: Clarendon, 1988.

20. Alan Macquarrie, Scotland and the Crusades 1095-1560, Edinburgh: John Donald 1997 [1. Ed. 1984].

21. R.I. Burns, Muslims, Christians, and Jews in the crusader kingdom of Valencia. Societies in symbiosis,Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984; and more books and articles by R.I. Burns.

22. R.I. Burns, ut supra; Muslims under Latin rule, 1100-1300, ed. James M. Powell, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1990; Crusade and Settlement.

23. Albeit one of the most influential of these studies actually appeared before the concil: Norman Daniel, Islam and the West: the making of an image, Edinburgh: University Press, 1960.

24. E.g. Wilhelm von Tripolis, Notitia de Machometo ; De statu Sarracenorum, hrsg. Peter Engels, Würzburg: Echter, 1992 (= Corpus Islamo-Christianum; Ser. Latina; 4); Raymundi Martini, Capistrum Iudaeorum, ed. Adolfo Robles Sierra, Würzburg: Echter, 1990- (= Corpus Islamo-Christianum; ser. Latina; 3+5); Riccoldo da Monte di Croce, Contra Legem sarracenorum; ed. Jean-Marie Mérigoux in Mémorie Dominicane, nouva ser. 17, Pistoia 1986, 1-144.

25. Benjamin Z. Kedar, Crusade and mission: European approaches toward the Muslims, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1984; Elizabeth Siberry, Criticism of crusading 1095-1274, Oxford: Clarendon, 1985.

26. John France, Victory in the East: a military history of the First Crusade, Cambridge: University Press, 1994; Christopher Marshall, Warfare in the Latin East, 1192-1291,Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992 (= Cambridge studies in medieval life and thought; Ser. 4 ; 17).

27. Hugh Kennedy, Crusader castles, Cambridge: University Press, 1994; Jaroslav Folda, The art of the crusaders in the Holy Land, 1098-1187, Cambridge: University Press, 1995.