Knight of Outremer

63 Pages·2004·9.02 MB·English

WEAPONS = ARMOUR =TACTICS
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The publ~shersr egret !ha! they can enter mfo no corresmndence
upon thrs matter
any hooks on the Crusacles assume that the Crr~saclers tatrs in
the Middle East were sh;~do~vosf their former sclvcs fnllot\.irsg
Saladin's great victory at the battle of Mattin in 118T.Outr-cme~;
;\s ~t~eclie\awle stcrners called the remaining tatin or Gatl~olice ~lcla\.r+s
in tl~cea stern .Ueditcrmnean, was no lotlgrr a threat to Islam and their
military elitcs generally preferred to livc in peace, focusing on tracle as
much as the dcfencc of Chrisrenclorn's holy pfaccs. Ftdlalvin;~t hc
Cntsade of t 2.1941 the Kingdom ofJerusalem expantled ag~inh, ut rllen
-
fell hack following the bartFe OF LT Forbie in 1244 n rlisast~ri n that it
was mnre final than Hattin. TF~ereafterf ear of an alliance I~enveent he
G.t~sacleras nri the Mongol inrsdcrs convinced the Ma~nlnkst o dcstl-ov
rhe Latin stales once and for all. But the fall of Acre in 3291 was not the
cntl of the stnry. The hmcnian Kingdom of Cilicia survi\*ccl Cr>r alntost
a centrity ~vllile the Crusaclcr ECingdnrn of Cyprus outlaster1 the h-liddlc
Ages. Another Outremcr had meanwhile Exen created nroz~ntl the
Aegean arid cventuaIly into the Rlack Sea following the Fourth Crusade
of 1204. In fact Ourremer only survived hecause Europeans dominated
the seas while its gradual colIapse usually resulted from insufficient
manpower to hold fortified places. Nevertheless this fa11 still came as a
zerrible shock to CI~rhistendorn.
1f 87 Muslims reconquer almost all the Kingdom ofJerusalem and other
Cru,mder stares.
118 9 Kingdom of Jerusalem begins counter-attack.
1I 92 Richard I of England conquers Cyprus from Byzantines.
1204 Fourth Crusade captures Byantine capital of Constantinople
(Istanbul); establishment of the tatin Empire of Romania.
1229-33 Civil war in Latin IGngdom oFCyprus.
I244 hluslims (Khwarazmian freebooters) retake Jerusalem; defeat of
Kingdom ofJerusalem at battle of La Forbie.
125658 Civil trar in Kingdom ofJerusalem (War of St Sabas).
126 l Byantines retake Constantinople (Istanbul) and much OF southern
Greece.
l!M Mamluks conquer htioch,Jaffi and other parts of the Crumder states.
-. .
1271 Charles of Anjou, King of Naples and Sicily, recognized aq K.C r~g'of
Albania.
1277-78 Charles of 11n.jou buys I<ingclonl of Jcri~salctna ncl c;ikes over
Latin Principality of Acliaea.
1282 Invasion of Sicily by Aragonesc; start of ilnge~-in-Ne;lpolitaria nd
Aragonese rivalry in eastern hlecliterrancan.
1286 I<ingdom ofJerus:ilem untlcr Icing of Cyprus.
1291 Muslims conquer rlcre, end of I<ingtlom of.Jerusalem.
131 1 Catalzin freebooters conquer Principality of Athens.
1334 Crr~saderL eague clefeats Turks in Gulf of Edremit.
1344 Crusader League seizes Izmir from Turks.
Crusaders and residents
European knights had been taught to despise their h,luslim foes as
cowards who fought from a dist;~nce;supposedly because they had so
little blood in their veins that they feared getting hltrt. Such ludicrous
propaganda clecreased in tlie 13th century as tlie Church, and tlie more
educated knights, came to see their enemies as heretics rather than
pagans. Moral doubts prompted by contact \\rith Islamic ci\ilization were
also expressecl bv a certain Ricoldus around 1294 when lie wrote: 'We
have been amazed that amongst the follo~\-erso f so perfidious a law,
deecls of so great perfection are to be found.' R4eanr\lhiIe anti-Byzantine
prejuclice increased; Orthodox Greeks being portrayed as devious,
colv;irtlly and effete. Tliougli tlie appeal of Crusading was fading fast,
many knights remained a warlike breed. As the southern French trou-
badour Pierre de Dergerac sang ;u-ound 1204:
I like to h~otrh e rnttling
Of ihr hozrberk (rgai~tstth r sniilr-Dozu
A71i to hrclr the tinlzling and jingling of the hnrness Dells,
Annales de Genes, late 12thlearly
Tften I rush for~unrdc lni see pou~poinfns nd gn~nbrsons 13th century. (Bib. Nat., Ms. Lat.
Tlzrol~mo n tq/) of arm0tcr.r. 1013 4, Paris)
The rustling of thr pennons Iifrs nty sj~irifs. BELOW LEFT Tho-masted
merchant ship of the type which
I know that IzatrO~rksa nd hekn~ka nd shirkis
carried Crusaders and supplies
llrill /lave thPir iq soon,
to the eastern' Mediterranean.
And horses and lances nnd szuords BELOW War-galley or perhaps a
And good vassals from this time on. horse-transport tarida with its
mast and sail removed.
Tl~rfit ct tll:~tl t~:~ric?:*~ rlyI C:lii+i~~i;zsu; lilltx I1:ztl hcr.11s trlrlir-1-si ll 11ii-
I<(IIII:III AIIII~~I ~~CQ;IIC-C1I l it- ~ Iit$ I r ly cli~ss1tv 11 icli :~ilop~t ~i ~d1 tI i~kt~. 5 1
(irtrt-gc :!ntl St >l;~tlricr:I S thrkir parrcltl s:lilatu. rI'l~c.c r~lot f St C:rv>t-sr* ~v;~s
si~liil;~rrly1i co11ragec1l ~ y1 1 1 ~I <ingcI~O~~~~'Jl~ -B~~IYI>:~IGII<I~ISI~It Ih v sair~t's
crltltrc of pily-inrnge was at I.ydrI;~,~ cc~ost[ ]cr~lr;llc~A~S~ r;.l rlv :IS ~llr1 21h
crntIiry [he 111or:ilist St~ptlto'~f ~hl rlt-rt ~t-ivrlt rt <Ira1 witti 11ic pt-u131~111s
\vi~iclr~ar ctl ;I gnarl knight rvllr, W;I~i n rl~ca vrvict. of n Imcl lo~+cla url
wrote: 'Ez s Iln\cs arlmir-ahlc kna~\~Ictlqancr l is WI-v plcilsi ng to C;od \vhrn
3 I I M \~\+ I111i s i~~vc~lvine tnl n c\il cntrrprisc rr'stl-ai nq hin~sc-Ifli'- 0111r -141. t t
rail I)e clone likr this, If ;I kni~ilits sr~tingot et 011 arl csprclitiot~f i>r rF~t.
sitkc of I~is~ ~~111;1lo1r' d. tn \clln~~IICt c;tn~iutI -c'i*itsr- cll~r.(lice~cci,f 111.
wi41es to he fairllT111 to C'.nd Ic[ lii~nf irst sprak ~IIIIS ill 111sh c.:tr-1. 1.01.tl
Gc~rl.I ~r-illg o cl~rt hi~eu petlition hilt I prntl~isetF l:~tI ~t-illl) c yn~tk~l'~ iglit
~hrrew, ~ ~ t i1n1gr) thing ill it esrt-pt ol~crlic~t~oc yro it, to eliinie~atce vil
;III1~n srek alrer n.l-r;iri s gotld ill cvcry orrasion :IS ~lrrlrlla s I ran.'
Ttio~~gthhem I-lnly I,;IIIC~1% ';1s SP~??a s '~IIc atpreme religiuris relic lo hc
dcfrndetl againlit hluslirn t-cconqllrst. thr cntasrroplkic failzirc nf silr-
crq5it.c C:l-rrsndcs ~~ntlcrmirrerrln tll~~l;E:~s11~;lnck in Etrlmpe. Rv rhr
n1id-l:3th centtiry leatlirlg C111tr.ch tl~i~~klrikres Htrnll~erro f Romans
nor erl th;~t ~IIOJC: 1v11o ])r~;tcE~t'td !I t' C:I=IIS;IC~CI \,CI+C 0frr11 ITIPT ir~t1i1
~nnckrr?rv hilc tliosc wllo sigticrl 1111 if~rlrr licl so 1\.11c.u drtbnk. 0tlrt.l-s
\r7cnr0 11 Crusarle ro will a place in Ilca~crd~e spite their sin.; l ~oyh tilining
;\II ind~ilgence.i n rezzlrn for ~vllicIi:I 131;111 agreed tn scrve fol- ;i spccifietl
pericl<lr lr-prntling nn it is prc.\.Eous I\-ickedness.
By the 13th centt~t-yth e knightly class oS Outrerncr- 11;ltl l>rcr>~n;Ie c ity
basecl coastal Elite wl~ileth e wallecl cities Ejllctl zip ;IS i~tl;~ntr<rtl- ikory was
BELOW Archetypal Crusader
lost, thus the pop~zl;~tioorf~ [ he Latin states dicl not stirink ns fast as iu
'battle arrays (ex A. Von-
Pawllkowskl-Chole-w al size. A witlesprcad belief t11at the kilights of Out~e~nrItli-~ dI >CCOIII~
A:- E arly perlod-: 1 Cavalry; rlegener;lte w ; ~h,o wever, unfout~declh. lany 11;1d slip~rcrilr 1 to pnvcrty E-mt
2 Squires; 3 Cmssbowmen in hattle they still f011ght hard, 011 tlre otli~rII ;IIIC~ ~rlilitaryl eadership
-
and archers; 4 Close-weapon
became confiasecl as political authority Frqmcntz-d.
Infantry; 5 - Baggage.
B:- L ate perlod: 1 - Infantry; The sit~~atioinn the Coltnty c ~Tfr ipoli was similii~;.1 11$1 in 1 2X9 some
2 Cavalry of the city's ilite consicIerecl putting tl~emscl\.es~ tnrlcrP llamFuk ps*
tection as a wav of ;~~oidinGgP IIC)PS(Ll'o lt~i~~;~~i~tl.
thrlugh this was thwar-~cd l,v the t';ia~atical
Tcmplars. Antioch's sitt~aticm was comp;~rable
tho11g81 there hati also I~renr fforu to r~rlify
Antioch ancl Cilician Armenia, all of wltich failetl.
;I rcast~lt Cilician rtrtnrlli;~ tot\^ had scver-;11
Ii.;~turcsi n cotrlrtlorl ~vithi ts Cr~ls;~drr~rc ighl>or~rs.
Mramvhile the Crr~sadrr Kingrlorn or Cypl-us
au-vivccl for the si~nplci ca;lsrHI [hat it W;IS ;1n
~SI;IFI<I,T he Latin status ust;~hlisliccl ;~rot~nthde
Aegean in the wake or the Fot~rthC ri~sadein I203
also existed in a state of ;host pern3;lnent war,
thcir foes being Orthodox Cl~ristiatiB yzantines
and Bulgarians. rt. partly Catholic, partly
Orthotlox Kil~gclolno f Alballia \u;ls set tip bv tlle
F~-ench-~~ngc\r*titln~ 1.s of so11t l~rrn Italy frtm
1272 to 1286, and again from 1304 until it was
conquered by the Serl>s in the 1340s.
Italian pirates infested the Aegean even before
the Fourth Crusade anrl afterw;~rdst he snlaller
Fortttir?dt owns and citics
-
A: -A cre: 1 Ho-pitoElrr I-'Q ;
2 G~noescq uartcr; 3
Venetian -q uartcr; 4 - Templar
castle; 5 Outcr harbour;
- -
6 Pisan q-u arter; 7 hlarseillcse
qu-a ltcr; 8 fnontrnusa-r d suburb:
9 lnncr harbour; f Q Harbour
chain F3. -T ortosa (Tartus): 1 -.
-
Ke-e p; 2 Chavcl; 3 Cath-ed ral:
4 Citadcl- C ' Caesama: 1
-C itadel; 2 Cathedral D: 'Atlit: 1
-
North har-b our; 2 South -
harbour; 3- Bath-hor!se; 4
Ch-u mh: 5 Stables; -
6 Spring E Si-s (in CiIIcIa): 1
Steep slope; 2 Edge at
-
escarpment F: Famagusla: T -
Cttadcl: 2 -Harbour chain; 3
-
Latin Cathedr-a l; 4 Orthodox
Cathedral; 5 Arsenal G Katla In
the 18th century. The fortiff-
cations and main structures wen!
virtually unchanged fmm the
14-t h century: 1 - Castle;
-
2 - Citadel; 3 Suburbs;
4 Warehouses
Ae~t'nni 4;lnilr I~t'carnem eeting piaces for- pirates of all wigins esrepr
lluqlilns. ;\!any of tl~nsci il\.nlivcr1 wcrc of kniglltlv nnk chile ~roc~pwsh c,
gar-"-isonctlli >l>c.ti;tn;to r! Gcnnese ellclaves I~;CI-Ca l~nost~ rltil*clyI tali;~~~
in origin, Ry tl~isr ime, Iia~t~cvcrrh, c knight]!! elites oiI taly ancl of the
Itali:ua c.ncla\*c*isl l Or~t~-rrw~e~reer v ery different rr-on1 those of most of
Il'estel-n Europe, Here r\,arf;~rcU :IS srcn 3s a husines? where victory
meant prof t ;~ndd efr;~ltw s, with little room for abstract ideas of glory.
Tl~enreticallyt he defence of the KingiInrn of Jerusalem \\.as the joint
responsihiliry of :IIF C:hrE.iti;ln rulers hzit fro111 the mid-13th centurJ*
on\i*;trclst he 1t;lli;ln merchant rep~~hlicexse rciser1 a virr~~aplr otectorate
ovpr the Crusaclcr st;itcs, tlra~uingO utremer into the hitter rivalry of*
Irenice and C;enoa, Rv the second half of the 13th century the Latin
stiites ofJel-us;~lrrnT,r ipoli and Antioch had, however, lost so much ter-
ritory that they had to hc supplied by sea with every~hing,e vcn Food. In
remrn they solcl 3iuslin1 sIa\.es and Ituxury gootls in trxnsit from the
Middle East, 11irli:t or China.
THE KNIGHT IN OUTREMER
ABOVE Paetlally defaced
Patriarchal Cross from the
keystone of an arch In the chapel
Western feut1;ilism evol\.ccl in a sit~lationo f manpower surplli~s,b ut the of Ww'aira castle in Jordan,
opposite was the case in the Crusader states. In fact the conquest of probably cawed shortly before
SaladFn" victory at the batt!e al
western Syria and Palestine probablv Ied to a general fall in population, Hattin In 11 87. (Author's bh&
just as happened when Spain, Portugal anrl Sicilv fell to Christian tograph)
reconquest. As a result the knightly 6lite of Outremer was not only few The south-eastem comer of the
in number but held fiefs with an inadequate number of peasants. Most fortified medieval city of Gibelet
of the elite were also of modest origins. Of almost 70 identifiable ("OW Jubai"* the
lordship in the County of Tripoli.
seigneurial families the great majority came from France, wit11 a smaller
(Author,s photograph)
number from the German Empire, the Norman kingdonis, Italy, Cilician
Armenia and Latin Cyprus.
The acute shortage of manpower also led to a relaxation of the rules
for knighthood to encourage pilgrims to settle. Such pilgrims came from
as far afield as Iceland and Ethiopia. The Fourth Crusade led to another
wave of settlement, though largely in the new Latin states around the
Aegean. Knights 1\.11o lived permanently in Outremer called themselves
chertnliers de la terre, or 'knights of the land'. Those of mixed origin
descended from a European father and a Middle Eastern mother, were
called poulnins or polnins by Westerners, possibly meaning colts or runts.
Another characteristic of Outrerner, particularly in the 13th century,
was the fact that most knights supported themselves with Jigs en be.~snnts,
or 'money fiefs', rather than landed estates as in France; some drawing
money from market tolls, industrial production or the sale of specific
vegetables. A shortage of resident troops, combined with a relative
abundance of cash, also led to a widespread use of mercenaries while the
powerful Military Orders and urban communes also provided troops
with knights. The nature of these 13thcentury forces was changing, with
the rising power of rich Italian merchants and knightly families being
seen as a threat to the existing French-speaking knightly 6lite. For
example, a Genoese knight of the Gatiluxius family and his four sons
arrived in 1251, along with their weapons, horses and some followers
aboard a merchant ship and a galley. Detailed information about others
survives in a legal document dating from St Louis IX's Crusade a year
earlier. The good ship St Victor had 453 Crusaders on board, eight of the
ten leading passengers being knights together with a total of 90
retainers. Amongst them was Oliver de Termes, a southern French
Universal History of William of knight ~vhoha t1 forliicl himself on the \\.rang side clt~ringt he ~\lbigcnsian
Antiochl second half of the (:~IIS;ICICO. nce in Ot~trerncl:l io~\.evc~Il:e car~cclo ut a nc\v career ancl
13th century. (Bib. Apost., Ms. sose to commantl the Clite 'French Regiment' of kniglits and cross-
Pal. Lat. 1963, Rome)
I~o\\.men.O ther 1e;lclel-s also hrouglit troops to Outreiiier; Fi1;lngiel.i'~
ABOVE LEFT 'Crusader army',
so~lthcrnIt alian canli-y, Philip of Nowra's mixed force and the X~lgeviii
showing a knight with an early
form of great-helm. (f. 31v) king of soutllern Italy's French, Provenqal :tntl Catalan cavalry.
MIDDLE 'Crusader siege of
Antioch.' If. 40r) RIGHT
'Bohemond entrusts Tancred
with the government of Antioch
and sails back to Italy.' In the
upper register Bohemond gives
Tancred his sword when handing
over authority. (f.100r)
Wall-painting in the Templar
Church at Cressac, western
France, mid-late 12th century.
(Author's photographs) Top:
'Crusaders emerge from their
castle.' Below: Paintings on the
lower register at Cressac are in a
different, perhaps southern
French, style.
Interior of the hall of the fortress Follo\ving. . ;I scl-ic.s of \l;lmlttk \.ictol.ic.s ill tlie' I;llc-l :it11 (.c'111111~1\1~1.;1 11\.
and hospital at Aqua Bella ("ow 1i11l1ilic.st- c-.;~lizcttlh at tl1ct.c. \\.;IS no li~t~tt.icll. S\.ri;l 01-I ';~l(.stitlc.; 111tl so cn~i-
Khirbat 'lqbala) just west of gl-;~tc.tl0. thc.l.s llctl \\.hen tllc fitl;~lc oll;~l,sc. c;~ti~cI-),r ~to tiI\. tliosc \\.it11
Jerusalem, mid-1 2th century.
~iio~icl~i;>~.t lt his optio~.~\I.; IIIs~ct tlc.tl it1 (;>.~I.IsIsit,~ ctt,l ic.\, 110 lo~ig(*l~~;.~ tl
(Photograph D. Pringle)
co~i~ic-ctioin~ lisl' c~stc*r~EiI II-OI)~\\..,l ~ileo tllc-1.s \~.c*tltt o tlic~1 ,:11i11 stateb0 1'
C;~-cc.cc%'-1. lk\\, i11;ly c~.c~li;~i\ .e: go11~to (:iIici;tti ;11.11ic.t1i;11.1 1 filct tl~c-
nr~~libet-osf k~iights ill <:!.p~-its il~ct-t.;~sc.ttllt -;t~~t;ttic.;~;IlSl ~(.: I-IIS;I~~CI-
fi)~.tltncse hlwd else\vhe~.c.,i ncliitli~lg/ )olrltrit~s0 1' 1i1isc.tl origi~i.s cvc.1.;11
.-\r.meni;~il; incl 1I;lronite colonies tllotlgI1 not of' 1101)lc rank. 'I'lit- l.;rtiti
states of'tlie Aegean \\.el-r.o ften short of t~.ool,s,s ot1tlic.1.11(; t-t~c.ccI.l avitig
I~eenc onquerccl b!, a mcrc 100 knights ;ltitl ;1t.ot111t3l 00 sc.1-gc;r~lts..\ lost
c;tmc fi-on1 (:h;~lnpagne;1 11t1 R~irgttntl~I;;i~ .gc.lyI ~citigo f' ~llitltllc01 , Io\\.r-~.
~111kin~gl obleo rigin \\.it11 a h;~ndfitlf i.0~1tl ic. grc.;it I,;~~-oniI;'~;~ll llilic.s.
The F~-;lnco-B~~~-g~~knnitglllitl;y~ a~riis tocl.;~c)io. f ..\~lie\~\.;~IS st lic~~\\i.i petl
ottt 11y the conquering Catalans in IS 1 1. l'lic <:;II;I~LII~Stl ic.~ilselvcs
tlif'Serecl fi-on1 previous settlers, the rn;!jol-ity I~cingli ght infiintry \\.it11 ;I
sinall number of knights let1 by a Iiighl~e. tlt~catctlC litc ~chiclii nc111tlc.tl
tlie architect Ionnes Per;llta. He repail-ecl tlie dome of S;rnta Sofia ill
(;onst;~ntinopIe follo\\~inga n earthquake ill 134i. 1le;11i\\.l1ile,; ill the
I.;~ti~slt ates of Ot~trernes~~.t Sfe~-etthl e same tlt.sl>el-;~tes liortnge of' sill--
vi\.ing male of'cspring, r\.ith many settler Siiniilie~sc I\.ing orlt completel!.
;ificr only two genel-ations.
rlfter the Latin settlers in Greece lost tliost of tlie intc.t.ior to
B\.zantine cor~nter-attackt hey ilgain 1,ec;tnie all ul-1);111c oastal Clite, n
process reinforced the art-i\.al of Italiztn fitmilies ~vllog ~-;ttltt;~llc!a~m e
t o tlo~ilinatet he Frencli. In fact ul;lny of tlic.sc It;~li;l~ki nights reg:irtletl