crusades-art

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crusades-art - 7/25/94

"The Political Crusade" by Mistress Nicolaa de Bracton of Leicester.

NOTE: See also the files: crusades-msg, heretics-msg, p-relig-tol-msg,

Islam-msg, pilgrimages-msg, religion-msg, relics-msg.

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NOTICE -

This article was submitted to me by the author for inclusion in this set

of files, called Stefan’s Florilegium.

These files are available on the Internet at:

http://www.florilegium.org

While the author will likely give permission for this work to be

reprinted in SCA type publications, please check with the author first

or check for any permissions granted at the end of this file.

Thank you,

Mark S. Harris

AKA: Stefan li Rous

stefan at florilegium.org

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This one was in last year's Pennsic book (the one you get at the gate),

so if it looks a bit familiar....

The Political Crusade

--Nicolaa de Bracton of Leicester

To most thirteenth century Europeans, taking crusader's vows would be

completely natural. Publicly (usually in church), the potential

_crusignatus _ would pledge to support the Church's efforts in the

Holy Land, and sew a linen cross to his or her garment. These vows

could be taken at any time (the Holy Land was continuously in need of

aid in these, the declining days of the crusades) and by anyone: rich

or poor, man or woman, layman or cleric. This was in decided contrast

to earlier practice in which all but knights were actively discouraged

from taking the cross. One's reasons for taking the vows could range

from an act of loyalty to a lord preparing to embark for the Holy Land

to an act of penitence assigned as partial retribution for crimes.

Needless to say, everyone who took such vows did not make the trip to

Outremer. Very few women made the journey. We have, of course, the

famous story of Eleanor of Aquitaine, who accompanied her first

husband Louis VI on crusade; of Eleanor, Countess of Leicester, who

accompanied Simon de Montfort as far as Sicily before stopping to give

birth, and of Eleanor of Castile, Edward I's queen, who actually had a

daughter born in Acre. But these women were exceptions. Clerics,

especially those charged with duties to a parish or diocese, were also

discouraged from actually going. The poor could usually make the

journey only if they were attached to some lord's retinue. What these

folk were encouraged to do was give money to support the crusading

efforts. They received the same protection as other _crusignati _--

indulgence from sins, special papal protection, and the like. The

survival of a fair sized body of literature, music, and art relating

to the crusade is ample proof of the depth to which the idea of the

Crusade permeated society by the thirteenth century.

However, SCA society is somewhat more refined; most of us would

blanch at the idea of anything resembling a religious war (my friends

with Islamic personae would probably not be thrilled at that

prospect). It is little known, however, that not all who took the

cross did so in relief of the Holy Land or against heretics. In

England twice and in Sicily once we may find examples of "Crusades"

which under their religious veneer hide essentially political conflicts.

In 1216 England was in chaos. At the death of King John many of his

barons were in open revolt due to his successful attempt to gain papal

annulment of the provisions of Magna Carta, which had entailed doing

homage to the Pope for the kingdom of England as a papal fief. John

had then taken the cross. London and a large portion of southeast

England were in the hands of the rebellious barons and their allies,

French forces under Prince Louis (later Louis VIII). The heir to the

throne, Henry III, was nine years old. Upon his coronation, Henry

took the cross, and the royalist forces sewed white crosses onto their

clothes. The Pope now had a direct interest in English affairs. He

declared that the royalist forces were indeed "soldiers of Christ" and

likened the rebels to Saracens. Papal registers are explicit in their

reference to the crusade "in defence of the King of England"

Contemporary sources use crusade imagery to depict the resulting

battles, in which the French are driven out of England and the

rebellious barons are eventually brought back into the fold.

In the late 1250's comes another example of this type of crusade.

Unlike the English example, in which one's vows to go to the Holy Land

could not be redeemed by participating in the suppression of the

revolt, the Pope in this instance allowed those who had taken the

cross to redeem their vows in Sicily, where Manfred, the illegitimate

son of Frederick II (whose policies had threatened papal power in

Italy), now ruled as king. Few were willing to engage in such an

overtly political war against such a strong opponent, however. The

crown was first offered in 1252 to Richard of Cornwall, brother of

Henry III, who refused it on the grounds that actually taking control

in Sicily was impossible. Henry III was later enlisted in this task,

being promised the crown of Sicily for his son Edmund and the

commutation of his crusader's vow to a papal-sanctioned holy war

there. However, he was required to assume responsibility for the

enormous papal debt, which immediately caused an uproar in England and

insured that Henry would never complete the task. It was left to the

French, who starting in 1264 and under much more reasonable terms

succeeded in expelling Manfred and installing Charles of Anjou,

brother of Louis IX, as king.

We must return to Henry, because here we find our third "political

crusade". Henry's demand for funding for this "Sicilian Enterprise"

led directly to a baronial revolt (reminiscent of the baronial revolt

which followed John's demands for funds for ill-advised wars in

France). To make a long story short, after seven years of attempted

reform the baronial party (which came to be led by Simon de Montfort)

was defeated by the royalist forces at the Battle of Evesham. In this

case, we have evidence that the forces of both sides had taken the

cross: a fair number of the English clergy, who loathed the Italian

papal curia and its attempts to interfere in English affairs,

supported Montfort and had promised his forces remission of sin, while

the royalist forces had received papal sanction to preach a crusade

against the Montfortians and were likewise promised absolution. It

appears that the royalists wore a red cross on each shoulder, while

Montfort's wore a single white cross on the right shoulder. Who were

the "real" crusaders, then? The question is not one of religion; both

Henry and Simon de Montfort had reputations as pious men. It seems

that by this time the idea of crusades against other Christians whose

political policies one opposed had become commonplace and that the

practice of seeing one's opponents as "enemies of God and Christian

unity" had become well established.

In the SCA, we don't go on crusades; but we do go to War. In many

ways going to Pennsic or Estrella is like going to the Holy Land

without all the risk. It is far away (or at least for most of us it

is), requires months of planning, features dazzling bazaars filled

with all manner of merchandise, hot, steamy days, and nights spiced

with storytelling and revelry, and a chance for the fighter to win

glory on the field of battle. However, these are certainly not wars

against the Saracen infidel. Perhaps it can be seen as a political

crusade of a sort (albeit a rather civil one)-- those of us who are so

inclined might take the vow of the crusader and redeem it in the field

battle or the archery field, or by giving alms (rattan? duct tape?

beer?) to help a few fighters go where we ourselves do not wish to.

In this way we might bring alive an important part of the culture of

the Middle Ages.

Sources:

Lloyd, Simon. _English Society and the Crusade, 1216-1307._ Oxford 1988

____________, T "Political Crusades" in England, c. 1215-17 and c.

1263-5', _Crusade and Settlement_, P.W. Edbury, ed., Cardiff, 1985. 113-9.

Powicke, Maurice, _The Thirteenth Century_. 2nd edition, Oxford, 1962.

Toronto, Ontario M4H 1L1 CANADA. Permission granted for

republication in SCA-related publications, provided author is credited

and receives a copy.

If this article is reprinted in a publication, I would appreciate a notice in

the publication that you found this article in the Florilegium. I would also

appreciate an email to myself, so that I can track which articles are being

reprinted. Thanks. -Stefan.

Stefan's Florilegium

crusades-art