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The Crusades from a Historical Perspective: Communication, Culture, and Religion

by Sophia Menache

Religions 2024, 15(1), 67; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15010067 - 04 Jan 2024

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The Crusades have attracted scholarly attention ever since Pope Urban II called for the recovery of the Holy Land at the Council of Clermont (27 December 1095) [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Crusades from a Historical Perspective: Communications, Culture, and Religion)

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12 pages, 310 KiB

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Communicating the Turkish Military Strength and Organisation after the Crusader Defeat at Nicopolis: Comparing Philippe de Mézières’s Une Epistre lamentable, Honorat Bovet’s L’Apparicion Maistre Jehan de Meun and Bertrandon de la Broquière’s Le Voyage d’Outremer

by Zeynep Kocabıyıkoğlu Çecen

Religions 2023, 14(11), 1386; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14111386 - 06 Nov 2023

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Abstract

The outcome of the Nicopolis crusade (1396)—a crushing victory for the Ottoman Turks over a crusader army led by Franco-Burgundian knights—had particularly deep resonances in the Kingdom of France. This was reflected in several contemporary works that lamented and/or criticised the crusaders’ defeat. [...] Read more.

The outcome of the Nicopolis crusade (1396)—a crushing victory for the Ottoman Turks over a crusader army led by Franco-Burgundian knights—had particularly deep resonances in the Kingdom of France. This was reflected in several contemporary works that lamented and/or criticised the crusaders’ defeat. Among these, Philippe de Mézières’s Une Epistre lamentable (1397) and Honorat Bovet’s L’Apparicion Maistre Jehan de Meun (1398) are of special note because they contain not only remarkable reflections on the campaign but also interesting observations on the successful Ottomans. Their praise of the Turks, especially regarding their military organisation and discipline, served both to criticise the crusaders’ own lack of discipline but also to present an example for them to follow in order to avenge the defeat. As Nicopolis marked the beginning of a Burgundian claim to champion the crusading movement, these works were primarily addressed to the Duke of Burgundy, among other European princes and nobility. In the mid-fifteenth century, Duke Philip the Good would carry this claim to its zenith by several undertakings that included sending envoys to the East to gather information about the enemy. One of these envoys, Bertrandon de la Broquière, visited the Ottoman lands in 1432–1433 and some twenty years later wrote his Le Voyage d’Outremer to communicate the observations and intelligence gathered during his journey. The fact that this work, written almost six decades after Nicopolis, contains multiple allusions to the defeat, in addition to similar portrayals and comments on the Turks within the two earlier works, can be taken to suggest a continuity in Western military portrayals of the Turks from Nicopolis onwards. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Crusades from a Historical Perspective: Communications, Culture, and Religion)

13 pages, 303 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Communicating the Crusading Activity of the Kings of Navarre in the 14th and 15th Centuries

by Julia Pavón Benito

Religions 2023, 14(10), 1304; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14101304 - 17 Oct 2023

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Abstract

The mediaeval historiographical memory of the Crusades in the Kingdom of Navarre is unique precisely because two of its monarchs, the Counts of Champagne—Theobald I and II—actively participated in the Crusader campaigns during 1239–1241 and in 1270, respectively. Despite the importance of the [...] Read more.

The mediaeval historiographical memory of the Crusades in the Kingdom of Navarre is unique precisely because two of its monarchs, the Counts of Champagne—Theobald I and II—actively participated in the Crusader campaigns during 1239–1241 and in 1270, respectively. Despite the importance of the Crusades which, starting from the early twelfth century, also encompassed the connection of this kingdom with Jerusalem’s paradigms of the warrior and religious pilgrimage, it can be asserted that there are scarcely any traces of narrative communication in Navarre about the Crusades, either politically or ideologically. This paper analyses the question of documentation and communication about the Crusades from the study of the chronicles of the Kingdom of Navarre in the Late Middle Ages. The purpose is to identify the characteristics and keys of the texts, dissimilar to the welcoming impact of the Crusades in Hispanic and European political, cultural and religious spheres. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Crusades from a Historical Perspective: Communications, Culture, and Religion)

14 pages, 283 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Exchange of Gifts between Christians and Muslims on Lusignan and Venetian Cyprus 1192–1517

by Nicholas Coureas

Religions 2023, 14(9), 1163; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14091163 - 12 Sep 2023

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Abstract

In this paper which comes under the theme of macro-historical perspectives and Mediterranean history I shall discuss the exchange of gifts in three sections: first between the Lusignan kings of Cyprus and the sultans of Mamluk Egypt and Syria, between the Lusignan kings [...] Read more.

In this paper which comes under the theme of macro-historical perspectives and Mediterranean history I shall discuss the exchange of gifts in three sections: first between the Lusignan kings of Cyprus and the sultans of Mamluk Egypt and Syria, between the Lusignan kings and the Turkish emirs of Anatolia, and thirdly between the Venetian rulers of Cyprus, including Queen Catherine Cornaro, and the Mamluk sultans for the period postdating 1473. Many of these exchanges of gifts took place during times of war, sometimes during the prelude to hostilities and sometimes immediately after their end. In addition, exchanges of gifts between Christian and Muslim rulers occasionally took place at times of peace. The reasons why gifts were exchanged, the type of gifts exchanged when these are described, not an invariable occurrence, and the symbolism underlying these exchanges of gifts will also be analyzed where possible. Furthermore, occasions when the recipient refused to accept the gift and why it was rejected shall also be examined. Where possible, comparisons with the exchange of gifts taking place in other societies and countries of the Eastern Mediterranean will be alluded to and discussed. In terms of source materials, the Cypriot chronicles of the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries will form the principal source but reference shall also be made to diplomatic correspondence of the period under discussion. The exchanges of gifts normally took place within a diplomatic setting, this being the arrival of embassies, and gifts were sent sometimes to the close advisers of a ruler who could influence his policy and decision-making. On certain occasions, however, the exchanges of gifts could take place outside of this diplomatic context, for example as an expression of gratitude for assistance received. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Crusades from a Historical Perspective: Communications, Culture, and Religion)

10 pages, 660 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Vanquishers of the Crusaders: Mujāhidūn Characters in Arabic Folk Epics

by Oleg Sokolov

Religions 2023, 14(8), 1042; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14081042 - 14 Aug 2023

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Abstract

Although the militant jihād remains one of the most popular topics in modern Islamic studies, most of the works focus on ideologies and actions, leaving out the popular perception of this phenomenon. Our study of the storylines about confronting the Franks (ifranj [...] Read more.

Although the militant jihād remains one of the most popular topics in modern Islamic studies, most of the works focus on ideologies and actions, leaving out the popular perception of this phenomenon. Our study of the storylines about confronting the Franks (ifranj) in the Arabic folk epics, inspired by the Crusades, shows that the protagonists of the epics are presented in the narratives precisely as the holy warriors, i.e., mujāhidūn, whose key attributes are the power of faith, which often goes through tests in the fights against the infidels, as well as the divine support and readiness for martyrdom on the path of jihād. The widespread jihād and anti-Frankish rhetorics in the epics make them a valuable source for the study of the Crusades’ memory in the Medieval Arab culture. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Crusades from a Historical Perspective: Communications, Culture, and Religion)

15 pages, 1053 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Did the Virtuosity of the Pen Compensate for the Shortfall of the Sword? Remembering the Eighth Crusade against Tunis (1270)

by Sébastien Garnier

Religions 2023, 14(8), 1011; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14081011 - 07 Aug 2023

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Abstract

The Eighth Crusade was launched by Saint Louis against Tunis in Summer 1270. For a few months, the French kingdom and its allies posed a serious threat to the Hafsid regime. Even though they ultimately failed to conquer the capital city, they heavily [...] Read more.

The Eighth Crusade was launched by Saint Louis against Tunis in Summer 1270. For a few months, the French kingdom and its allies posed a serious threat to the Hafsid regime. Even though they ultimately failed to conquer the capital city, they heavily weakened the rule of al-Mustanṣir (r. 1249–77), emptying his coffers and damaging his prestige. In this paper, we first inventoried the points at stake. Then, we identified the rationale behind the expedition, evaluated the balance of the armed forces, and measured the losses and gains for each side. Second, the sources showed how the authors could depict the situation and assess its aftermath, depending on their political agenda. The Hafsid thurifers tended to minimize the sultan’s impotency, while others (e.g., the Mamluks) sometimes harshly criticized it. Third, the courtiers resorted to poetry and satirized “al-Franṣīṣ” for his setback of the Seventh Crusade (1248–1254) which he had led too. They mocked him in famous epigrams that we translated and analyzed. In conclusion, we examined why they concealed the blow. The Literati of the Restoration (ca 1370–1488) strove to portray al-Mustanṣir as a model king for the First Golden Age (until 1277) in a long series of sovereigns that stretched over more than two centuries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Crusades from a Historical Perspective: Communications, Culture, and Religion)

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13 pages, 362 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sicily, Constantinople, and Jerusalem: A Geographical Pattern in Crusading Expectations along the Centuries

by Marco Giardini

Religions 2023, 14(8), 999; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14080999 - 04 Aug 2023

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Abstract

Among the aims of Charles VIII’s Italian expedition, the reappropriation of the kingdoms of Naples and Jerusalem served as the main purpose for preparing the decisive crusade that would regain Jerusalem to Christianity. However, the connection established by several early modern sources between [...] Read more.

Among the aims of Charles VIII’s Italian expedition, the reappropriation of the kingdoms of Naples and Jerusalem served as the main purpose for preparing the decisive crusade that would regain Jerusalem to Christianity. However, the connection established by several early modern sources between Charles VIII’s claims to the kingdom of Naples and the expedition to the Levant had already been expressed in previous centuries in very similar terms. Also, in the case of Charles I of Anjou in the thirteenth century, the acquisition of the kingdom of Sicily was perceived as a necessary precondition for setting military campaigns aiming at recovering Constantinople and Jerusalem. The same pattern appears also in Benzo of Alba’s Ad Heinricum imperatorem (eleventh century), where the pacification of Southern Italy is presented as the first step towards the reunification of the Constantinopolitan empire and the conquest of Jerusalem under the rule of Henry IV. The paper intends to shed light on a geographical pattern that periodically emerges in various iterations of crusading (and pre-crusading) propaganda (very often intertwined with prophetic expectations) which implied a tight interconnection between the recovery of the Holy Land and the unification of the orbis christianus under one universal ruler. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Crusades from a Historical Perspective: Communications, Culture, and Religion)

13 pages, 308 KiB

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The Crusades and the Latin East in the Memories of the Hispanic Hospitallers (14th Century)

by Maria Bonet Donato

Religions 2023, 14(7), 892; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14070892 - 11 Jul 2023

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Abstract

A set of memories forged an institutional history, disseminated for and by the Catalan, Aragonese, and Navarrese Hospitallers, that paid attention to the crusader past in the Latin East as justification for their functional and administrative features after the Order was re-founded in [...] Read more.

A set of memories forged an institutional history, disseminated for and by the Catalan, Aragonese, and Navarrese Hospitallers, that paid attention to the crusader past in the Latin East as justification for their functional and administrative features after the Order was re-founded in Rhodes. The translated versions of the statutes were a key means for transmitting the Order’s iconic references to the time of the crusades in the Holy Land. These images operated as a mirror that permitted Hospitallers to recreate identity functions and mythical characters in the most emblematic phase and places, after becoming the crusader Order par excellence in the eastern Mediterranean in Rhodes. Reports on military actions from the 12th to 13th centuries and other allusions stood out in a historiographical tour that extolled its mission and identified itself with symbolic places and people. All this was without forgetting the importance of their caring and religious roles in these narratives. This paper analyses the uses of the memory of the Eastern Hispanic priories of the 14th century found in the crusades and in the history of the Latin East fundamental arguments to affirm and guarantee the strong links between East and West in the headquarters in Rhodes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Crusades from a Historical Perspective: Communications, Culture, and Religion)

15 pages, 337 KiB

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‘Loca Deserta’, ‘Silvae Condensae’ and ‘Abrupta Montium’: How Crusaders Viewed Nature in the Balkans

by Svetlana Luchitskaya

Religions 2023, 14(7), 830; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14070830 - 25 Jun 2023

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Abstract

The Crusaders who followed Via militaris or Via Egnatia to the Holy Land traversed the vast and more or less unknown region of the Balkans, where they found themselves in an unfamiliar natural environment. This article explores the physical and psychological effects experienced [...] Read more.

The Crusaders who followed Via militaris or Via Egnatia to the Holy Land traversed the vast and more or less unknown region of the Balkans, where they found themselves in an unfamiliar natural environment. This article explores the physical and psychological effects experienced by the Crusaders in this environment as recorded in their chronicles and accounts of pilgrimages. The purpose of this study is to investigate how nature affected the Crusaders and what they thought about it. When chroniclers write about nature in the Balkans, they emphasize its desolation, inaccessibility and remoteness from any established society and civilization. The portrayals of the wild and treacherous environment align with the stories about the Balkan people and their brutish customs, “barbarous” language, and way of life. Overall, these descriptions are based on the contrasting concepts of ‘nature’ and ‘culture’, ‘barbarism’ and ‘civilization’, ‘chaos’ and ‘order’, and so forth. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Crusades from a Historical Perspective: Communications, Culture, and Religion)

10 pages, 290 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustaining Crusader Ardor: Eudes of Châteauroux’s Memorial Sermons for Count Robert of Artois

by William Chester Jordan

Religions 2023, 14(6), 735; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14060735 - 01 Jun 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 712

Abstract

Papal legates who appealed to potential crusaders by preaching also tried to explain to soldiers and commanders the many defeats the Christian armies endured, even though they were carrying out what they asserted to be God’s wishes. This article examines two memorial sermons [...] Read more.

Papal legates who appealed to potential crusaders by preaching also tried to explain to soldiers and commanders the many defeats the Christian armies endured, even though they were carrying out what they asserted to be God’s wishes. This article examines two memorial sermons preached by the legate, Eudes of Châteauroux, after the failure of the crusade of King Louis IX (r. 1226–1270), during which the ruler’s brother, Count Robert of Artois, died in battle at the Egyptian town of Mansourah. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Crusades from a Historical Perspective: Communications, Culture, and Religion)

13 pages, 324 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Crusade: The Arising of a Concept Based on Portuguese Written Records of Three Military Campaigns (1147–1217)

by Paula Pinto Costa and Joana Lencart

Religions 2023, 14(2), 244; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14020244 - 13 Feb 2023

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Abstract

The historiography of the crusade and reconquest in the Iberian Peninsula, and Portugal in particular, dates from the beginning of the twentieth century. Since the 1920s, it has been assumed that the reconquest was an output of the crusade in the Iberian West [...] Read more.

The historiography of the crusade and reconquest in the Iberian Peninsula, and Portugal in particular, dates from the beginning of the twentieth century. Since the 1920s, it has been assumed that the reconquest was an output of the crusade in the Iberian West due to the so-called “Bull of Crusade” given to Portugal. The “idea of the Crusade” in Portugal was enhanced by Carl Erdmann in the 1930s and 1940s. This interpretation has been endorsed by the very context in which the Kingdom of Portugal emerged and developed throughout the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. From the 1980s onwards, the launching of systematic research on the military orders also reinforced this perspective. The deep affinity between the military orders and the crusades in the context of the reconquest is reflected in this historiography. These concepts—military orders, crusade, reconquest—have been studied without distinction being made between them, adding to the complexity of this analysis. Considering the historiographical achievements regarding the crusade, it is pertinent to rethink the associations between reconquest, crusade and military orders. Reading certain historical narratives is crucial for this analysis, although the written records do not fully deplete the subject. To reinforce the relevance of this approach, we will also consider royal and pontifical diplomas. Tracing the terminology used in these documents and identifying how these historical realities were referred to are the two main goals of this paper. For that purpose, three key moments of the Portuguese reconquest have been chosen: the conquests of Lisbon (1147), Silves (1189), and Alcácer do Sal (1217). These have one feature in common: the presence of crusaders travelling to the Holy Land, which supports the terminological analysis of those discourses. Different perspectives are embodied in these conquest narratives when compared with royal and papal diplomas on the same issue and of a similar chronology. Historiography on Reconquest, crusade, and the military orders is often conditioned by ideology, occasionally revealing a tendency to repeat ideas without debating them. This paper’s analysis is based on the aforementioned written records and is undertaken in order to verify when the word crusade/crusader appeared in Portugal, to assess to what extent the war of conquest in Portuguese territory followed the example of the holy war and to evaluate the commitment of the crown and the Holy See in this complex process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Crusades from a Historical Perspective: Communications, Culture, and Religion)

18 pages, 356 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Communication Challenges in the Crusade Period: A Survey

by Sophia Menache

Religions 2022, 13(10), 930; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13100930 - 09 Oct 2022

Viewed by 1705

Abstract

Considering communication as an analytical category provides new insights into crusading history. This paper investigates two main aspects, namely, (1) Papal propaganda campaigns, and (2) the communication challenges inherent in the development of the crusades and the Latin East. Both fields combined offer [...] Read more.

Considering communication as an analytical category provides new insights into crusading history. This paper investigates two main aspects, namely, (1) Papal propaganda campaigns, and (2) the communication challenges inherent in the development of the crusades and the Latin East. Both fields combined offer additional perspectives of the crusades while hinting at a twofold failure: vis-à-vis the European audiences, who throughout the thirteenth century were no longer receptive to the traditional papal message. Second, the almost complete lack of communication initiatives that could have facilitated a more fluent interchange across the Mediterranean and perhaps also retard if not obstruct the collapse of the Latin settlements Outremer. From a communication perspective, therefore, the papal policy encapsulated not only a propaganda fiasco but possibly also a communication blackout. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Crusades from a Historical Perspective: Communications, Culture, and Religion)

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