Crusades

One of the more mysterious siege engines of t he High Middle Ages is the 'Turkish' variety of trebuchet. Vague references to Turkish perriers (or petraries) and mangonels begin to appear in English and French narrative chronicles around the end of the twelfth century and can be found in administrative documents from the early thirteenth century. The nature of these engines has puzzled historians for decades. While they appear to have been a small variety of traction trebuchet, different theories over the years have associated these engines with a range of technologies, from the classical onager to a giant torsion crossbow.

In recent years, archaeological research has uncovered a vast network of sites identified as Frankish- or crusader-built, some of which were located far from the main fortified and urban centres associated with the Latin East. In terms of rural settlement, the current consensus suggests that the Franks inhabited regions with a predominantly Eastern Christian population. However, evidence attesting to the distribution of local Jewish or Muslim communities can be found in charters, chronicles, travel accounts, and other textual sources. This essay begins with an overview of evidence for Muslims living under Frankish rule in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, contextualized using a set of chronological markers that reflect changes in the political situation. An analysis of the collected archaeological and textual evidence follows, which demonstrates that pre‐crusade pilgrimage sites, agricultural land use, and strategic considerations all factored into decisions made by Franks on selecting settlement sites throughout the sixth century AH/twelfth century AD. These three factors arguably precluded segregation from the local non‐Christian population. Finally, this essay explores the possibility of mapping recorded encounters between Franks and local Muslims onto the demographic landscape. The conclusions reached in this synthesis provide new material for the debate on “Frankish society”.

Book Link:
http://www.brepols.net/Pages/ShowProduct.aspx?prod_id=IS-9782503587936-1

Map Link:
https://brepols.figshare.com/articles/figure/Reassessment_of_Frankish_Settlement_Patterns_-_Maps/13227689

*I would like to add a note of gratitude to the late Professor Ronnie Ellenblum for his inspiring work and generosity in sharing his knowledge early on in my thought process.

La fides (fe ou fei en langue d'oc) est une notion centrale dans la trentaine de sirventes dénigrant la croisade albigeoise. Engagées, ces chansons récriminent contre les adversaires de leurs auteurs et commanditaires. Pour réussir dans cette propagande, leurs attaques ad hominen se fondent largement sur les contrevaleurs de la foi, de la confiance et de la parole donné que fomente la falsa croisada : perfidie, trahison, mensonge, hypocrisie… Elles développent enfin le thème de la décadence, qu'elles associent souvent au bouleversement des normes du droit féodal que provoque l'invasion venue du nord.

Il re norvegese Sigurd Magnússon è stato il primo sovrano cristiano a visitare la Terrasanta dopo la conquista crociata di Gerusalemme. E la sua storia è unica nel panorama delle crociate medievali proprio per la sua provenienza: uno scandinavo, signore di un regno lontano in cui il cristianesimo si era affermato da appena un secolo. Un viaggio straordinario: dall'Inghilterra alla Spagna musulmana, dalla Sicilia a Gerusalemme e oltre, fino a Costantinopoli, in un susseguirsi di battaglie navali e assedi, prestigiosi incontri con re e imperatori e violenti scontri con nemici musulmani ma anche, all'occorrenza, cristiani. Un periplo del mondo allora conosciuto che, in cinque anni (1107-1111), condusse sessanta navi dagli estremi confini della terra fino al cuore della cristianità e da qui nuovamente in patria. Uno degli episodi meno conosciuti e più affascinanti della grande storia delle crociate che unisce ai tratti tipici delle scorrerie vichinghe (desiderio di avventura, di fama e di ricchezze) quella tensione spirituale di cui è permeata tutta l'epoca, e che farà guadagnare al suo giovane protagonista fama imperitura.

الحملة الصليبية الألمانية لعام 1197 م، والمعروفة أيضًا باسم "حملة الإمبراطور الصليبية"، هي حملة عسكرية قادها الإمبراطور الروماني المقدس هنري السادس (1191-1197 م). على الرغم من وفاة الإمبراطور أثناء التوجه شرقًا، إلا أن جيشه تمكن من انتزاع بيروت من الدولة الأيوبية. وعندما وصلت أخبار وفاة هنري في جزيرة صقلية، تخلى جنوده عن عملية حصار تورون (تبنين)، وإنسحبوا إلى ديارهم، وبكثير من أوجه التشابه مع الحملة الصليبية الثالثة (1189-1192 م)، كانت المسألة فيما كان قد سيحدث لو تمكن الإمبراطور الجرماني المقدس من إطلاق الحملة بمفرده.

"In Reinventing Jihād, Kenneth A. Goudie provides a detailed examination of the development of jihād ideology from the Conquest of Jerusalem to the end of the Ayyūbids (c. 492/1099-647/1249). By analysing the writings of three scholars - Abū al Ḥasan al Sulamī (d. 500/1106), Ibn ʻAsākir (d. 571/1176), and ʻIzz al-Dīn al-Sulamī (d. 660/1262) - Reinventing Jihād demonstrates that the discourse on jihād was much broader than previously thought, and that authors interwove a range of different understandings of jihād in their attempts to encourage jihād against the Franks. More importantly, Reinventing Jihad demonstrates that whilst the practice of jihād did not begin in earnest until the middle of the twelfth century, the same cannot be said about jihād ideology: interest in jihād ideology was reinvigorated almost from the moment of the arrival of the Franks"--