Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T03:42:16.072Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Peace never established: the case of the Kingdom of Jerusalem

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 February 2009

J. S. C. Riley
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

No historian of the Kingdom of Jerusalem is likely to ignore the hostile environment in which the western settlers found themselves and the effects of military needs on their politics, government and society. The Latins’ war establishment has long been the subject of study, with historians naturally concentrating upon the actual manifestations of conflict: invasions and defence, feudal institutions and the use of mercenaries, castle-building and tactics in the field. Other less tangible factors, quite as important in contributing to the stresses to which society in Palestine was subjected, are rarely considered. The Latins believed themselves to be engaged in a sacred task in maintaining Christian presence on the holiest soil in Christendom; others believed this too, and military reverses in the East aroused in the West bitter criticism of them. They found themselves, moreover, in a situation in which, for reasons outside their control, permanant peace with their Muslim neighbours was impossible. It is this ideological background to the history of the defence of the kingdom that is discussed in this paper.

Type
Research Article
Information
Transactions of the Royal Historical Society , Volume 28 , December 1978 , pp. 87 - 102
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Historical Society 1978

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 See especially Smail, R. C., Crusading Warfare (1097–1193) (Cambridge, 1956), passimGoogle Scholar; Deschamps, P., Les châteaux des croisès en Terre Sainte (Paris, 1934–1939), passimGoogle Scholar; Prawer, J., The Latin Kindgom of Jerusalem (London, 1972), pp. 280–351Google Scholar; Prutz, H., Kulturgeschichte der Kreuzzüge (Berlin, 1883), pp. 181–213Google Scholar.

2 James, of Vitry, Lettres, ed. Huygens, R. B. C. (Leyden, 1960), pp. 88–93Google Scholar.

3 Alexander, IV, Registu, ed. Ronciére, C. Bourel de la and others (Paris, (1903–1931), nos. 956, 971, 1085, 1726Google Scholar; Gregory, X, Registre, ed. Guiraud, J. and Cadier, L. (Paris, 1892–1906), no. 27Google Scholar.

4 Nicholas, IV, Registre, ed. Langlois, E. (Paris, 1886–1893), no. 2270Google Scholar.

5 In the thirteenth century, Cypriot knights distinguished ‘service of God’, when they fought as crusaders, from more normal actions in defence of the main-land settlement. See ‘Les Gestes des Chiprois’, Recueil des historiens des croisades. Documents anmèniens, ii, p. 677; ‘Document relatif au service militaire’, Recueil des historiens des croisades. Lois, ii, pp. 430, 432.

6 See Riley-Smith, J. S. C., The Knights of St. John in Jerusalem and Cyprus, c. 1050–1310 (London, 1967), pp. 113–15, 141–4, 201–02CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

7 For the just war, see Russell, F. H., The Just War in the Middle Ages (Cambridge, 1975) passimGoogle Scholar. For a tentative approach to the holy war, see Riley-Smith, J. S. C., What were the crusades? (London, 1977), pp. 15–17CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

8 Riley-Smith, , What were the crusades?, pp. 18–33Google Scholar.

9 Leyser, K., ‘Frederick Barbarossa, Henry II and the hand of St. James’, Eng.Hisl. Rev., xc (1975), 481–506CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Frolow, A., Recherches sur la deviation de la IVe croisade vers Constantinople (Paris, 1955), pp. 49–71Google Scholar.

10 ‘Tractatus de inventione sanctorum patriarcharum Abraham, Ysaac et Jacob’. Recueil des historiens des croisades. Historiens accidentaux, v, pp. 302–16; Benjamin, of Tudela, , Itinerary, ed. and trans. Adler, M. N. (London, 1907), p. 25Google Scholar; Strange, G. Le, Palestine under the Moslems (London, 1890), pp. 316–19Google Scholar.

11 Lincy, Le Roux de and Bruel, A., ‘Notice historique et critique sur Dom Jacques de Breul’, Bibliothéque de I'Èole desChartes, xxix (1868), 492–3Google Scholar. SeeTheoderic, Libellus de lods sanctis. ed. Tobler, T. (St Gallen, 1865), p. 96Google Scholar; Oliver, of Paderborn, , ‘Descriptio Terre Sancte’, ed. Hoogeweg, H.. Die Schriften der Kölner Domscholasters Oliverus (Tubingen, 1894), p. 12Google Scholar.

12 Thesaurus novus anecdotorum, ed. Marténe, E. and Durand, U. (Paris, 1717), i, cols. 351–2Google Scholar.

13 Patrologiae cursus completus. Series Latina, comp. Migne, J. P. (Paris, 1844–1864), civ, cols. 477–80Google Scholar.

14 See, for instance, Frolow, A., La relique de la mate croix (Paris, 1961), pp. 310–11, 321–5, 335–6, 338, 341–2. 344–5, 351, 449–50 (but see also p. 305)Google Scholar; also Mayer, H., ‘Das Pontifikale von Tyrus und die Krönung der lateinischen Könige von Jerusalem ‘, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, xxi (1967), 182–3 noteGoogle Scholar. One might also note the extraordinary collection, including pieces of stone, a fragment of the True Cross and hair from the heads of Our Lady, St. Mary Magdalene and the Holy Innocents, presented to various churches in the Limousin by a monk of Grandmont called Guy of Blond, who claimed that the seals from the Holy Land authenticating them had been stolen from him on his journey home.‘Documents inedits concernant l'Orient latin et les croisades (XIIe-XIVe siècles)‘, ed. Kohler, C., Revue de I'Orient latin, vii (1899), 6–9Google Scholar.

15 Pat. Lat., clxii, col. 732; John, of Wurzburg, ‘Descriptio Terrae Sanctae’, ed. Tobler, T., Descriptions Terrae Sanctae ex saeculo VIII, IX, XII et XV (Leipzig, 1874), pp. 160–1Google Scholar; ‘Les Gestes des Chiprois’, p. 771;Innocent, IV, Registre, ed. Berger, E. (Paris, 1884–1931), no. 1531 (and see also no. 2057)Google Scholar.

16 Frolow, , La relique de la vraie croix, pp. 55–152Google Scholar. See also Frolow, A., Les reliquaires de la vraîe croix (Paris, 1965), passimGoogle Scholar.

17 Frolow, , La relique de la vraie croix, pp. 68–9, 286–7Google Scholar. For the history of the relic, or rather relics, of the True Cross in Jerusalem before the First Crusade, ibid, pp. 55–68. By the early twelfth century four churches in Jerusalem, including the Holy Sepulchre, possessed fragments of the Cross (Pat. Lat., clxii, col. 732).

18 Kohler, C., ‘Un rituel et un bréviaire du St.-Sépulcre de Jérusalem (Xlle-XIIIe siécle)’, Revue de VOrient latin, viii (1900–1901), 421Google Scholar.

19 Cartulaire de l'église du Saint sépulre de Jérusalem, ed. Rozière, E. de (Paris, 1849), pp. 46, 48, 285, 297, 302Google Scholar.

20 For references other than those in the succeeding notes, seeFulcher, of Chartres, , Historia Hierosolymitana, ed. Hagenmeyer, H. (Heidelberg, 1913), pp. 312, 409, 411, 495, 625–6, 648, 665, 686–7Google Scholar; Albert, of Aix, , ‘Historia Hierosolymitana’, Receuil des historiens des croisades. Historians occidentaux, iv, pp. 491–3, 550Google Scholar; William of Tyre, ‘Historia rerum in partibus transmarinis gestarum’, ibid., i, pp. 455, 528–9, 542, 647, 795, 974, 992, 993, 1054, 1095, 1103, 1108, 1130; ‘Historia Nicaena vel Antiochena’, ibid., v, pp. 178, 179; ‘Li Estoire de Jerusalem et d'Antioche’, ibid. v, p. 647; Anselm, of Gembloux, ‘Continuatio Sigeberti’, Monumenta Germaniae historka. Scriptores, vi, p. 379Google Scholar; ‘Annalista Saxo’, ibid., vi, p. 736.

21 William of Tyre, p. 807 (see especially the old French translation).

22 Albert of Aix, p. 492; William of Tyre, pp. 425, 855 (old French translation), 856; ‘Annalista Saxo’, p. 736; ‘Li Estoire de Jerusalem’, p. 647.

23 Fulcher of Chartres, p. 454; William of Tyre, pp. 544, 650, 760 (see especially the old French translation), 1042, 1119; ‘Gesta Ludovici VII regis’, Historiae Francorum Scriptores, iv, p. 404; Ekkehard, of Aura, ‘Chronicon universale’, Monumenta Germaniae historica. Scriptores, vi, p. 223Google Scholar.

24 Fulcher of Chartres, pp. 414, 453–4, 495, 629–31, 639; Albert of Aix, pp. 492–3, 544. 551, 552, 653; William of Tyre, p. 529; ‘Li Estoire de Jerusalem’, p. 647; Ekkehard of Aura, p. 223; Cartulaire général de l'ordre des Hospitallers de St.-Jean de Jérusalem (1100–1310), ed. Roulx, J. Delaville Le (Paris, 1894–1906), no. 53Google Scholar.

25 Fulcher of Chartres, pp. 453–4.

26 Albert of Aix, pp. 551, 653–4; William of Tyre, pp. 723–4.

27 William of Tyre, p. 812.

28 Fulcher of Chartres, pp. 632–3, 641–2,650–1,668, 690; William of Tyre, pp. 530, 727. See ‘Li Estoire de Jerusalem’, p. 647.

29 Fulcher of Chartres, pp. 639–40: see also William of Tyre, p. 533. For the effect in Antioch, seeWalter, the Chancellor, ‘Bella Antiochena’, Recueil des historiens des croisades. Historiens Occidentaux, v, p. 119Google Scholar. Antioch had had its own relic of the True Cross, but this had been lost in battle the year before (Frolow, , La rclique de la vraie croix, pp. 316–17)Google Scholar.

30 William of Tyre, pp. 721–2. On the other hand, although Anselm of Gembloux (p. 379) referred to the patriarch ‘pro vexillo ferens crucem Christi’, the vexillum sanctae crucis, also carried on particularly serious occasions, was presumably a battle-flag. SeeRecueil des historiens des Gaules et de la France, ed. Bouquet, M. and others (Paris, 1737–1904), xvi, p. 63Google Scholar; Cart. gen. Hasp., no. 527.

31 See Frolow, , La relique de la vraie croix, pp. 347–9Google Scholar; Röhricht, R., Geschichte des Königreichs Jerusalem (1100–1291) (Innsbruck, 1898), p. 437 noteGoogle Scholar. During the siege of Jerusalem that followed the battle, a fragment of the Cross in the possession of the monophysite Jacobites was processed through the city.(Ernoul, , Chronique, ed. Mas-Latrie, L. de (Paris, 1871), p. 216Google Scholar; ‘L'Estoire de Eracles empereur et la conqueste de la Terre d'Outremer’, Recueil des historiens des croisades. Historiens Occidentaux, ii, p. 88).

32 Ernoul, pp. 170–1; ‘L'Estoire de Eracles’, ii, pp. 65–6.

33 Frolow, , Recherches sur la deviation, pp. 63–71Google Scholar.

34 James, of Vitry, , Lettres, p. 103Google Scholar; Oliver, of Paderborn, ‘Epistolae’, ed. Hoogeweg, , Die Schriften, p. 288Google Scholar.

35 See Alphandéry, P. and Dupront, A, La chrétienté et l'idée de croisade (Paris, 1954–1959), i, pp. 20–6, 39—42Google Scholar; Rousset, P.. Les origines et les caractères de la première croisade (Neuchatel, 1945), pp. 78–80Google Scholar.

36 John of Wurzburg, pp. 115–16, 175, 182; Theoderic, pp, 73, 94; James, of Vitry, ‘Historia orientalis seu Hierosolymitana’, ed. Bongars, J., Gesta Dei per Francos (Hannau, 1611), i, p. 1076Google Scholar. For the itineraries, see Röhricht, R., Bibliotheca geographica Palaestinae (Berlin, 1890), passimGoogle Scholar; Tobler, T., Bibliographia geographica Palaestinae (Leipzig, 1867), passimGoogle Scholar.

37 Frolow, , La relique de la vraie croix, pp. 71–2, 324–6Google Scholar; see also p. 351. For a stone, supposedly from the Holy Sepulchre, treated as a relie in the early twelfth century, see ‘De reliquis sanctissimae crucis et dominici sepulchri scaphusam allatis’, Recueil' des historians des croisades, Historiens occidentaux, v, p. 338.

38 James, of Vitry, 'Historia, i, p. 1081Google Scholar.

39 Rutebeuf, , Onze poèmes concernanl la eroisade, ed. Bastin, J. and Faral, E. (Paris, 1946), p. 71.Google Scholar

40 Epistulae et chartae ad historiam primi belli sacri spectantes, ed. Hagenmeyer, H. (Innsbruck, 1901), p. 168Google Scholar.

41 Fulcher of Chartres, pp. 362, 364, 389.

42 Ibid., pp. 362, 397, 409.

43 Ibid., p. 476.

44 Ibid., pp. 411–12. See also Albert of Aix, pp. 509, 546.

45 Cart. gen. Hasp., no. 46. The editor's tentative dating of this document to c. 1121 is certainly wrong. It must date from the 1140s because of the clear reference to the Hospitallers’ military activities.

46 William of Tyre, pp. 455–6. Fulcher of Chartres (p. 495) was much less explicit.

47 William of Tyre, p. 549. See the ‘Pactum Warmundi’. Urkunden zur älteren Handels- und Staatsgeschichte der Republik Venedig mit besonder Beziehung auf Byzanz und dieLevante, ed. Tafel, G. L. F. and Thomas, G. M. (Vienna, 1856–1857), i, p. 84Google Scholar. In the same document (p. 88) reference was made to future rights in Ascalon and Tyre ‘if the Holy Spirit should wish to hand them over to the Christians.’

48 William of Tyre, pp. 583, 590, 598.

49 ‘Tractatus de locis et statu sancte terre ierosolimitane’, ed. Thomas, G. M., Sitsungsberichte der philosophisch-historischen Klasse der Bayrischen Akademie der Wissenschqften, part 2 (Munich, 1865), p. 157Google Scholar.

50 See Throop, P. A., Criticism of the Crusade (Amsterdam, 1940), pp. 97–100Google Scholar.

51 For Geoffrey of Sergines, seeRiley-Smith, , What were the crusades?, pp. 65–70Google Scholar. For Oliver of Termes, seeKedar, B. Z., ‘The passenger list of a crusader ship, 1250’, Studi Medievali, ser. 3, xiii (1972), 276–8Google Scholar. See also Rutebeuf, Onze poémes, passim.

52 See the material collected inPrutz, , Kulturgeschichte, pp. 527–31Google Scholar; also Stickel, E., Der Fall von Akkon (Bern/Frankfurt, 1975), pp. 106 ff., 193ffGoogle Scholar. For Acre, seeJames, of Vitry, Lettres, pp. 86–7Google Scholar; James, of Vitry, ‘Historia’, i, pp. 1088–9, 1096–7Google Scholar; Burchard, of Mt Sion, ‘Descriptio Terrae Sanctae’, ed. Laurent, J. C. M., Peregrinatores medii aevi quatuor, 2nd ed. (Leipzig, 1873), PP. 88–9Google Scholar; Paris, Matthew, Chronica maiora, ed. Luard, H. R. (Rolls Series, London, 1872–1883), iv, p. 274Google Scholar; Gregory, IX, Registre, ed. Auvray, L. (Paris, 1896–1955), nos. 4134–5Google Scholar; Innocent, IV, Registre, no. 4106Google Scholar; Goitein, S. D., A Mediterranean Society (Berkeley/Los Angeles, 1967–), i. pp. 126–7Google Scholar; and see also ‘Livre des Assises de la Cour des Bourgeois’, Recueil des historiens des croisades. Lois, ii, pp. 151, 170; Richard, J., Le royaume latin de Jerusalem (Paris, 1953), pp. 209–10Google Scholar.

53 Riley-Smith, , The Knights of St. John, pp. 201–02Google Scholar.

54 William of Tyre, pp. 1014–16; and see p. 1132.

55 James, of Vitry, Historia ‘, i, p. 1088Google Scholar. For James's, first impression of them, see his Lettres, p. 86Google Scholar.

56 Fidenzio, of Padua, ‘Liber recuperationis Terrae Sanctae’ ed. Golubovich, G., Biblioteca bio-bibliografica delta Terra Santa e dell' Oriente francescano (Florence, 1906–1948), ii, p. 14Google Scholar.

57 See for instance King, E. J., The Knights Hospitallers in the Holy Land (London, 1931), pp. 299–300Google Scholar.

58 Riley-Smith, J. S. C., The Feudal Nobility and the Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1174–1277 (London, 1973), pp. 121–44Google Scholar. Cf. Prawer, , The Latin Kingdom, pp. 75–6Google Scholar: Richard, , Le royaume latin, pp, 323–6Google Scholar.

59 Riley-Smith, , The Feudal Nobility, pp. 27–31Google Scholar.

60 Rousset, , Les origines, pp. 157–9Google Scholar; Stickel, , DerFall von Akkon, pp. 106 ff., 190ffGoogle Scholar. Of course, there was also severe criticism of what was believed to be a lack of response in the West to the needs of the Holy Land.(Stickel, , Der Fall von Akkon, pp. 113 ff)Google Scholar.

61 Tyan, E., ‘Djihād’, Encyclopaedia of Islam (Leyden, 1960–), ii, pp. 538–40Google Scholar; Sivan, E., L'Islam et la croisade (Paris, 1968), pp. 5–6Google Scholar.

62 Sivan, L'Islam et la croisade, passim.

63 See, for example, Holt, P. M., ‘Qalāwūn's treaty with Acre in 1283’, Eng. Hist. Rev., xci (1976), 802–12CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

64 William of Tyre, p. 909.

65 Ibid., pp. 910–13.

66 Ibid., pp. 948–9, 957–8.

67 ‘L'Estoire de Eracles’, ii, p. 317.

68 Sacrorum conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, ed. Mansi, G. D. (Florence/Venice, 1759–1798), xxii, col. 1058Google Scholar. For the direct relationship between the ending of the truce and the timing of sailing, see ‘L'Estoire de Eracles’, ii, pp. 318, 321.

69 See Van Cleve, T. C., ‘The Crusade of Frederick II’, A History of the Crusades, ed.-in-chief Setton, K. M., 2nd ed. (Wisconsin, 1969–), ii, pp. 455–6Google Scholar.

70 Roger, of Wendover, Chronica, ed. Coxe, H. O. (London, 1841–1844), iv, pp. 327–30Google Scholar; Mommunta Germaniae historica. Epistolae saeculi XIII, ed. Rodenberg, C., (Berlin, 1883–1894), i, no. 663Google Scholar.

71 Thesaurus novus anecdotorum, ed. Martene, and Durand, , i, col. 1012Google Scholar.

72 See Riley-Smith, , What were the crusades?, pp. 18–33Google Scholar.

73 Riley-Smith, , The Feudal Nobility, p. 64Google Scholar.

74 See Hayward, L. R. C., ‘The subjective meaning of stress’, British Journal of Medical Psychology, xxxiii (1960), 185–94CrossRefGoogle Scholar.