Norman and Anglo-Norman Participation in the Iberian Reconquista c.1018

414 Pages·2016·7.22 MB·English

by  Christine Middleton

Norman and Anglo-Norman
Participation in the Iberian Reconquista
c.1018 - c.1248

By Lucas Villegas-Aristizábal BA (Hons), MA.

Thesis submitted to the University of Nottingham
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

June 2007
In Memoria avi mei
Jaime Villegas Marulanda
1925-1999

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Abstract

This thesis covers the Norman and Anglo-Norman contribution to the Iberian
Reconquista from the early eleventh to the mid-thirteenth centuries. It explores
the involvement of these groups as part of the changing ideas of Holy War and
their transformation as result of the First Crusade. It shows that although the
Reconquista was the result of important political and economic factors within
the Iberian realms, the theological aura that the papacy started placing on this
conflict was a powerful motivator increasing the interest of the Normans and
later Anglo-Normans, especially when coincidental with the general call for
crusade in western Europe that resulted in the large expeditions that are
known to us as the crusades.

To cover these areas, this work is divided in four main sections: the
first, Chapter II, pursues chronologically the careers of individual members of
the Norman nobility such as Roger of Tosny, Robert Crispin and Robert
Burdet as they became involved. It also addresses the influence that
institutions like Cluny and the papacy might have had in the creation of the
idea of the Reconquista in the minds of those involved. The second section,
Chapter III explores the brief decline of the Norman interest in the peninsula
as a result of the Norman conquest of England and the First Crusade. It also
explores the revitalization of the Norman interest in the peninsular conflict with
the careers of Rotrou of Perche and Robert Burdet. Chapter IV, addresses the
large contribution of the Anglo-Normans as part of the Second Crusade and
their motivations and the impact of their arrival on the Iberian realms. Chapter
V explores the participation of the lower aristocracy and merchants from the
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mid-twelfth century onwards in the coastal actions on both the Atlantic and
Mediterranean coasts of Iberia, showing the impact that these actions had in
the Reconquista. Finally, Chapter VI explores how the changing political
circumstances in Iberia and the Anglo-Norman domains helped to increase
awareness during the rise of the Angevin empire and the newly found
diplomatic relations between the two regions. However, it also shows that
although by the thirteenth century the Reconquista was perceived as a
legitimate area of crusading, the political and economic circumstances on the
peninsula as well as of the English Crown had important repercussions for the
drastic decline in the number of participants.

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The University notes that the candidate is dyslexic.

Acknowledgements

To complete this work I had to get help and support from so many people and
institutions. I would thus like to express my gratitude to all those who made it
possible for me to write this thesis. First, I offer my eternal gratitude to my
parents for their continuous support and encouragement throughout my
studies in England. I would like to also give thanks to my supervisors Prof.
Michael Jones, Dr Claire Taylor, and Dr Kristian Molin for their guidance and
patience during my studies at Nottingham and especially for their hard work,
dedication, and endless help in proofreading, which was truly invaluable. Also
I would like to thanks my examiners Dr Richard Goddard and Professor
Norman Housley for their understanding and guidance with correction and my
future career.

Kind thanks also goes to Student Support and more specifically to Kim
Lawson for her help with my Dyslexia and proofreading my drafts. For general
help and advice I would also like to thank, Kristin Bundesen, Dr Anna Rich
Abad and Dr Paul Evans. I am grateful to the library staff of the University of
Nottingham and more especially to Alison Stevens for help with interlibrary
loans and to Rebecca Jones for her aid with Arabic texts.

Additional thanks go to Professor Robert Brian Tate and to Don Eloy
Benito Ruano, perpetual secretary of La Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid,
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for their guidance with research in Spanish archives. I would like also to
mention Jack Hol at the Arxiu Municipal de Tarragona for his invaluable aid
with reproduction of manuscripts and for letting me stay in his home on many
occasions. I would also like to mention the institutions, archives, and libraries
to which I had access and which allowed me to compile the research material
necessary to completing this thesis: the British Library, Institute of Historical
Research, Public Record Office, Biblioteca Nacional de España, Consejo
Superior de investigaciones Científicas en Barcelona, Biblioteca de Catalunya,
Archivo Histórico Nacional, Arxiu de la Catedral de Tarragona, Arxiu Municipal
de Tarragona, Arxiu diosesa de Barcelona, Arxiu de la Corona d’Aragon, and
Archivo de la Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid.

Finally, I give especial thanks to my friends and fellow students for their
support: Felipe González Sánchez, Joan Riera Baladas, Victor Durà Vila,
Maria Ribo, Blai Soler Marce, Nuno Suares, Dr Vytautas Pashkunas, Vitali
Ustsinovich, Dr Alexander Stasinski, Dr Paul Evans, Dr Davide Santoro,
Fancesco Tomasini, Kristin Bundesen, Dr Anna Rich Abad, Rebeca Pérez
León, Mark Steele, Enrique Ajuria, Derek Hunter, Jian Zhang, Dr Maurice
Milne, Dr Dominic Alessio, and Amanda Samuels.
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Contents

Abstract............................................................................................................................................2
Acknowledgements........................................................................................................................4
Preliminary Note.............................................................................................................................8
Abbreviations..................................................................................................................................9
Chapter I
Introduction..................................................................................................................................11
Historiography of the Reconquista and the Crusades............................................................21
Historiography of the Anglo-Norman Involvement..................................................................22
‘Reconquista’, defining the term...............................................................................................35
Defining ‘Crusade’.....................................................................................................................38
Chapter II
Early Norman Participation in the Iberian Reconquest
and Cluniac Influence (1018-1065)............................................................................................45
Was the Iberian idea of Reconquista introduced into Normandy in the eleventh century?.46
The papal policy in Iberia..........................................................................................................64
Roger of Tosny..........................................................................................................................66
The sources and their problems..........................................................................................66
Roger’s Manzer.....................................................................................................................70
Roger’s arrival in Spain........................................................................................................71
Roger’s conquests in Iberia.................................................................................................72
Roger’s marriage alliance....................................................................................................74
Length of Roger’s career in Iberia.......................................................................................77
Catalonia as a destination....................................................................................................78
Roger’s return to Normandy.................................................................................................78
The Normans and the Conquest of Barbastro........................................................................81
Was the Barbastro campaign a crusade?...............................................................................90
Chapter III
Decline and revitalization of the Norman Participation in Iberia (1066-1157).................101
The Norman Conquest of England........................................................................................101
The First Crusade to the Holy Land (1095-1101).................................................................103
The Return of the Normans....................................................................................................107
Rotrou of Perche and Robert Burdet in Aragon....................................................................108
Origins of Rotrou of Perche....................................................................................................109
Origins of Robert Burdet.........................................................................................................112
Robert Burdet’s wives.............................................................................................................114
The extension of the crusading idea to Iberia.......................................................................115
Participation of Rotrou and Robert in Iberia..........................................................................124
Robert Burdet and the Principality of Tarragona..................................................................129
End of the independent Norman principality.........................................................................137
Chapter IV
The Second Crusade: The Great Anglo-Norman Expeditions to Iberia (1147-1149).....146
The Anglo-Norman domains under King Stephen................................................................147
The Lower Nobility and the Merchants..................................................................................150
The Promulgation of the Second Crusade............................................................................155
The Promulgation of crusading indulgences In Spain..........................................................159
The Crusade of Lisbon............................................................................................................160
Portugal and the Reconquista................................................................................................164
The First Anglo-Norman Intervention in the Reconquista in Portugal.................................166
Evaluation of the Sources for the Conquest and Settlement of Lisbon...............................169
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The Anglo-Normans in the Lisbon campaign........................................................................176
The siege and conquest of Almeria.......................................................................................185
The sources for the conquest of Almeria...............................................................................189
The conquest of Tortosa.........................................................................................................192
The unification of the county of Barcelona and the kingdom of Aragon..............................194
Sources for the conquest of Tortosa......................................................................................196
The prelude to the conquest of Tortosa.................................................................................199
The Anglo-Normans’ arrival at Tortosa..................................................................................200
The Anglo-Norman settlers.....................................................................................................206
The impact of the Anglo-Norman crusading colony..............................................................211
Chapter V
The decreasing role of Anglo-Normans in the Reconquista and its consequences for
contacts between England and Iberia....................................................................................218
Henry II and the rise of the ‘Angevin Empire’........................................................................219
The continuation of the Portuguese reconquest (1150-1217).............................................226
Political disputes, alliance and contacts between England and Iberia. (1153-1216).........252
The Anglo-Normans in the greatest phase of Reconquest (1212-1248)............................267
Chapter VI
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................278
Bibliography...............................................................................................................................293
Manuscript Sources................................................................................................................293
Arxiu de la Corona d’Aragó................................................................................................293
Arxiu Històric de Tarragona...............................................................................................293
Arxiu de la Catedral de Tarragona....................................................................................293
Arxiu Diòcesa de Barcelona...............................................................................................293
Biblioteca Pública de Tarragona........................................................................................294
British Library......................................................................................................................294
Primary Sources in Print.........................................................................................................294
Secondary Sources.................................................................................................................303
Unpublished Theses...............................................................................................................324
Online Sources @ December 5, 2006...................................................................................324
Maps.............................................................................................................................................325
Map of sea routes of the Second Crusade (Map 1)..............................................................325
Map of the Territory of Tortosa with its corresponding villages (Map 2).............................326
Map of the City of Tortosa 1150-1200 (Map 3). ...................................................................327
Iberia 1000 AD (Map 4)..........................................................................................................328
Iberia c. 1170 AD (Map 5)......................................................................................................328
Appendix.....................................................................................................................................329
Index of Norman and Anglo-Norman names.........................................................................410

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Preliminary Note

In this thesis I have used the proper names of each individual place in the
language that corresponds to their area of origin. Therefore the Castilian kings
appeared in Spanish, while the Aragonese in Catalan, the Portuguese in
Portuguese, the English in English and the French in French and so on. I use
the name of the person as was known in his or her place of origin, therefore I
refer to Robert Burdet, as such and not as he is usually mentioned in the
modern Catalan sources and Blanca of Castile, mother of Louis IX by her
Castilian spelling instead of the French one. However, the names of the
medieval kingdoms, counties, cities and duchies are in their modern English
spelling.

For the documents relating to the conquest and settlement of Normans
and Anglo-Normans in the Valley of the Ebro, this thesis makes use of a table
in the appendix where all the documents used are listed in chronological
order. The table contains columns to give a clearer presentation of the
information contained within each document. It also allows shorter footnote
references to be given to the main text.

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Abbreviations

AAT Arxiu de l’Arxidiòcesi de Tarragona
ACA Arxiu de la Corona d’Aragó
ACB Arxiu de la Catedral de Barcelona
ACT Arxiu de la Catedral de Tarragona
ACTo Arxiu de la Catedral de Tortosa
ACTu Archivo de la Catedral de Tudela
ADB Arxiu Diocesà de Barcelona
ADP Archivo de la Diócesis del Pilar
ADT Arxiu Diocesà de Tortosa
AEM Anuario de estudios medievales
AHDE Anuario de historia del derecho español
AHN Archivo Histórico Nacional de España
AHR American Historical Review
AL Archivos leoneses
AMT Arxiu Municipal de Tarragona
AnCA Geronimo Zurita, Anales de la Corona de Aragón, ed. A. Ubieto
ANS Anglo-Norman Studies
ASAB L’arxiu de Santa Anna de Barcelona, ed. J. Alturo i Perucho
BH Bulletin Hispanique
BL British Library
BNE Biblioteca Nacional de España
BNF Bibliothèque national de France
BRAH Boletín de la real academia de la historia
CAI Crónica del Emperador Alfonso VII, ed. M. Pérez González
CAT Caffaro, De captione Almerie et Tortuose
CCM Cahiers de civilisation médiévale
CDRG Codice diplomatico della repubblica di Genova, ed. C. Imperiale
CGE Primera crónica general de España, ed. R. Menéndez Pidal
CHE Cuadernos de historia de España
CLRC Crónica Latina de los Reyes de Castilla, ed. L. Charlo Brea
CMJ Mathew Paris, Chronica Majora ed., H. Richards Luard
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