Following Orders

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

Today in Medieval Crusading History:

19 April

1095 – 1492 Nothing to report.

See more:
http://absolutelynothing

With this being the case today, I thought I'd look at some other information. Today's topic is Saints who used to be Crusaders.

The following are Saints who played a role in the Crusades:
1. St. Dominic
2. St. Bernard of Clairvaux (Templar favorite)
3. St. Francis of Assisi (Challenged a Saracen Ruler)
4. St. Louis IX (Lead a Crusade)
5. St. James the Moor Slayer (The name says it all)
6. St. John of Capestrano
7. St. John of Matha


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Dominic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_of_Clairvaux
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_of_Assisi#Missions_work
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_IX_of_France#Crusading
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_James_the_Moor-slayer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_Capistrano
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_Matha


This posting does not include those members of the Military Crusading Orders who became Saints.

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

Today in Medieval Crusading History:

20 April

1453 – The last naval battle in Byzantine history occurs, as three Genoese galleys escorting a Byzantine transport fight their way through the huge Ottoman blockade fleet and into the Golden Horn.

1314 – Death of Pope Clement V (b. 1264)- see Templar demise

See more:
The fall of the Byzantine Empire stimulated the development of an Ottoman navy. Using the port and dockyard facilities which had long been in existence in or near the city and largely Greek seamen and shipwrights the Ottoman Empire came to dominate the waters of the eastern Mediterranean as it already dominated the land. The Venetians who, with the Knights of St John (previous known as the Hospitallers) from Rhodes, the only other naval power of consequence active in these waters, were faced with a new and aggressive opponent; an opponent who, unlike the Genoese, controlled the greater part of the interior of the Balkans.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_V

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

I am happy to see that more of the Brethren are showing up in the pages of Renaissance Magazine. Brother Marcus and Lord Clisto have been in two issues in a row, with a challenge for a third! Huzzah & Deus vult!

This issue of the magazine had an article on the brutality of medieval warfare, and although I applaud the author for his efforts, there were some misleading information.

So here is my "Letter to the Editor":

Vol. 15 #6 - Issue 78: The Brutality of Medieval Warfare

The author felt the need to mention the event involving Richard the Lionheart at Acre twice in this article. Having served as an Infantryman for twenty years, I would also put forth another possibility as to why this event took place. Richard and Christian forces had just taken Acre after it had been under a prolonged siege. Since the Muslim forces had negotiated surrender, conditions within the city would have been deplorable. This doesn't automatically change when the besieging forces capture the city. Conditions in the Crusader camp weren't any better. Top this off with the fact that the Christian forces were themselves surrounded at the time, and you get the picture of the hardship the Christians were facing.

Saladin and Richard had entered into negotiations to prevent further bloodshed during this Crusade, part of the deal centering on the return of the True Cross captured at Hattin in 1187 (A quick note: Saladin had Templars massacred at a little place called Jacob's Ford in 1179 as well). After a period of time Richard felt that Saladin was delaying or sandbagging on the deal. Up to this point, Christian forces would have had to feed these prisoners, drastically decreasing food supplies for the overall inhabitants of the city, should this new siege go on. What should Richard do?

If he kept them, he would have to guard and care for them. If he released them, he would possibly have to fight them again. Saladin was at this time awaiting the arrival of fresh troops, and a sudden gift of 2000+ soldiers and laborers at the scene would have helped drastically, not to mention the operational information they could provide about the condition of the city and Christian forces and their dispositions in side.

In a time where might made right, and visible actions displayed the sincerity of a leaders intentions, Richard opted for the one that best met the long term interests of the Christian host. Let it be noted that even though Richard never physically took possession of Jerusalem during his time in the Outremer, he never lost a battle against the great Saladin, and the negotiated terms upon his departure back to Europe allowed Christian pilgrims to visit the Holy City.

Better examples of brutality during the height of medieval and crusading warfare would have been that of the Mongols. See several key cities in both Afghanistan and Iraq during the 13th century:


Herat (1221)- The Arabs first took the city in 651 C.E., but lost and regained it several times before the issue was settled. Herat subsequently became part of the dominions of the Samanid, Ghaznavid, Saljuk and Ghorid dynasties (10th through 12th centuries C.E.). It was clearly a substantial city in those days: both Istakhri and Ibn Hawkal, geographers of the 10th century, describe a prosperous town with ample water and an unusual square plan. The city was guarded by strong mud walls with four gates and a central citadel. It held a large Friday Mosque and, in the suburbs, both a fire temple and a Christian church. But here as elsewhere, the Mongol tsunami brought disaster (1221 C.E.). Herat surrendered after a short siege, and the Mongols contented themselves with slaughtering the garrison while sparing the populace. A few months later, however, the city rose in revolt. The Mongols returned in force under the personal command of Ghengis Khan, and this time the entire population was put to the sword; contemporary accounts speak of more than a million and a half corpses. The network of irrigation canals was destroyed, the whole region devastated, and desolation reigned for decades along the Hari Rud.

Balkh (1221)- The Arabs came in the 8th century, and made it an important centre it became important in the world of Islam as the original home of the Barmakids. Under the Abbasid caliphate its fame as a center of learning earned Balkh the title "mother of cities. From his conquest of the region, Genghis Khan moved south in pursuit of a fugitive islamic prince, and surrounded the city in 1220/1. It was thought to be the oldest city of the world, and might have possibly been one of the principal cities to the primitive Aryan race. It was written at the time of the Khan's operations that the city could boast of 200 mosques and 1200 public baths. The inhabitants of the city were anxious to prevent a repeat of Herat and offered to surrender the city, but the Khan didn't trust them as long as the prince was still alive, and chose to solve the issue by force of arms. A Persian poet later wrote of the event, "The noble city he laid as smooth as the palm of his hand-its spacious and lofty structures he leveled in the dust".

Baghdad (1258)- In 1257, the Mongol ruler Möngke Khan resolved to conquer the Abbasid Caliphate next after conquering and creating vassal states out of the surrounding regions. He conscripted one out of every ten fighting men in the empire for the invasion force knowing that Baghdad was a large and central area in the region. This force, by one estimate 150,000 strong, was probably the largest ever fielded by the Mongols. It also contained a large contingent of various Christian forces, chief among which seems to have been the Georgians, who were eager to avenge the sacking of their capital, Tiflis, decades earlier by Jalal al-Din Khwarazmshah. Other participating Christian forces were the Armenian army, led by their king (Hetoum I), and some Frankish troops (soldiers of Bohemond VI ) from the Principality of Antioch. Prior to laying siege to Baghdad, Hulagu easily destroyed the Lurs, and his reputation so frightened the Assassins that they surrendered their impregnable fortress of Alamut to him without a fight in 1256. He then advanced on Baghdad.

Mongke Khan had ordered his brother to spare the Caliphate if it submitted to the authority of the Mongol Khanate. Upon nearing Baghdad, Hulagu demanded surrender; the caliph, Al-Musta'sim, refused. By many accounts, Al-Musta'sim had failed to prepare for the onslaught; he neither gathered armies nor strengthened the city's walls. Even worse, he greatly offended Hulagu Khan by threats he made, and thus assured his destruction.

Hulagu positioned his forces on both banks of the Tigris River, dividing them to form a pincer around the city. The caliph's army repulsed some of the forces attacking from the west, but were defeated in the next battle. The attacking Mongols broke some dikes and flooded the ground behind the caliph's army, trapping it. Thus were many troops slaughtered or drowned.

The Chinese contingent then laid siege to the city starting January 29, constructing a palisade and ditch, and employing siege engines and catapults. The battle was swift by siege standards: by February 5 the Mongols controlled a stretch of the wall. Al-Musta'sim begged to negotiate, but was refused.

On February 10, Baghdad surrendered. The Mongols swept into the city on February 13 and began a week of massacre and destruction. Citizens attempted to flee, but were intercepted by Mongol soldiers who killed with abandon. Close to 90,000 people may have died. Other estimates go much higher.
The Mongols looted and then destroyed mosques, palaces, libraries, and hospitals. Grand buildings that had been the work of generations were burned to the ground.
The caliph was captured and forced to watch as his citizens were murdered and his treasury plundered. According to most accounts, the caliph was killed by trampling. The Mongols rolled the caliph up in a rug, and rode their horses over him, as they believed that the earth was offended if touched by royal blood. All but one of his sons were killed, and the sole surviving son was sent to Mongolia, where Mongolian historians report he married and fathered children, but played no role in Islam thereafter.
Hulagu had to move his camp upwind of the city, due to the stench of decay from the ruined city.
All splendid examples of the ruthlessness of medieval warfare.

The author also mentioned Arnaud-Amaury's famous quote of "Kill them all, God will know his own" (made famous in the shirts of "Kill them all and let God sort them out"). He stated that this occurred under Richard III. This would have been quite impossible as there is a period of 200 years between the men.

Arnaud-Amaury was the Papal Legate during the Albigensian Crusade or Cathar Crusade (1209–1229). This was a "Crusading" action that took place in Southern France. Richard III wouldn't be born until 2 October 1452 and he died in 22 August 1485.

Thanks for an article on the reality of medieval warfare!

Brother Cliff de Beaumanoir

[Lord Clisto of York]

Excellent information Brother.

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

Today in Medieval Crusading History:

21 April

1095 – 1492:  Nothing of note, so I'll include some Crusades related trivia, for the next time you're at the pub, waiting for the closing song to start, just lean on over to that pirate or wench next to you and tell them.........

1.   The beginning of the Crusades can be found in the defeat of the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, which cost them most of Asia Minor. The Byzantines lost the battle because the Turkish Sultan, on the edge of defeat, bought Byzantine's mercenaries, leading to a crushing Turkish victory, and causing the Byzantines to ask the Pope for help to recover the territory. As early as 1074 (21 years prior to Pope Urban II's call), Pope Gregory VII entertained plans to launch a military expedition to help, but nothing came of it.

2.   In the first Crusade in 1096, two armies of beggars set out alongside the knights, one army from southern France and the other from Germany, regions that had been suffering from famine recently. When travelling towards Palestine, these armies plundered many cities on the Rhine and in southern Germany, killing Jews and in some cases Christians. They never reached the Holy Land; they were defeated in Turkey and were slaughtered or sold into slavery.


3.   One of the most unusual military maneuvers ever was performed in 1191, during the third Crusade, when Richard the Lion-Hearted captured the city of Acre. The inhabitants were barricaded inside, so King Richard is recorded to have had his soldiers throw 100 beehives over the walls.


4.   During the Crusades, the symbol of the star and crescent moon was commonly worn—by Christian soldiers. The Star and Crescent originally symbolized the city of Constantinople (now Istanbul), and was first used as a Muslim symbol only after the Turks captured the city in 1453.


5.   Honey was used as a synonym for anything pleasant ("land of milk and honey") in ancient and mediaeval times because it was about the only sweetener then available to the West. Sugar didn't reach Europe in quantity until the twelfth century, when returning Crusaders brought it with them from the East.

6.   A method of hardening steel swords in the Middle Ages was the damascene process of thrusting a superheated blade in the body of a slave and then into cold water. Crusaders discovered, to their dismay, that swords made of Damascus steel were more resilient and harder than those of European manufacture. Europeans did not discover the secret until 500 years after the Crusades, however, when it was discovered that thrusting a red-hot sword into a mass of animal skins soaking in water had a similar effect to the Damascus method. The nitrogen given off by the skins in the water produces a chemical reaction in the steel.

7.   The use of canes or walking sticks was at one time forbidden in Rome by Imperial edict, except to persons of patrician rank, thus making their use a privilege that came to be popular among the nobility. During the Middle Ages the use of canes as a status symbol died out, but was re-established by pilgrims and soldiers returning from the Holy Land during the Crusades.

8.   In the first half of the thirteenth century, there was a higher intensity of Crusading activity than at any other time. This period saw Crusades against Muslims in Egypt, Palestine, and Iberia, Orthodox Christians in Constantinople, heretics in France, Germany, and Hungary, non-Christian Baltic people, Mongols, and various enemies of the Pope.

9.   King Juan Carlos I of Spain holds the title "King of Jerusalem", as successor to the royal family of Naples. The title was also continuously used by the Angevin kings of Naples, whose founder, Charles of Anjou, had bought a claim to the throne from Mary of Antioch. Thereafter, this claim to the kingdom of Jerusalem was treated as a tributary of the crown of Naples, which often changed hands by testament or conquest rather than direct inheritance. As Naples was a papal fief, the Popes often endorsed the title of King of Jerusalem as well as of Naples, and the history of these claims is that of the Neapolitan Kingdom.

There are several potential claimants today on the basis of (disputed) inheritance of the title. None of these has, or claims, any power in the area of the former Kingdom.

1)   Juan Carlos I, current king of Spain
2)   Victor Emmanuel, Prince of Naples, claimant to the royal throne of Italy (House of Savoy)
3)   Amedeo, 5th Duke of Aosta, claimant to the royal throne of Italy (House of Savoy-Aosta)
4)   Otto von Habsburg, claimant to the imperial throne of Austria and the royal thrones of Hungary and Bohemia (House of Habsburg-Lorraine)[may surrender this claim shortly as he's over 98 years of age]
5)   Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria, claimant to the royal throne of Two Sicilies (House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies Calabria line)
6)   Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro, claimant to the royal throne of Two Sicilies (House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies Castro line)
7)   Charles-Antoine Lamoral, prince de Ligne de La Trémoïlle, heir-general of Yolande-Louise of Savoy and the Brienne claims

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

Today in Medieval Crusading History:

22 April (Also Good Friday, but I listed no events tied to this day)

1451 – Birth of Isabella I of Castile (d. 1504) Royalty of the longest and successful Crusade (Reconquista)

See more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_I_of_Castile
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconquista

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

Today in Medieval Crusading History:

23 April

1229 – Ferdinand III of Castile conquers Cáceres.

1343 – Estonia: St. George's Night Uprising. (Fans of the Teutonic Knights)

1170 –Birth of  Isabelle of Hainaut, queen of France (d. 1190)

See more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_III_of_Castile
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A1ceres,_Spain#History
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._George%27s_Night_Uprising
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabelle_of_Hainaut

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

Today in Medieval Crusading History:

24 April

1254 - King Louis departs for France after a failed seventh Crusade from Acre leaving 100 knights to garrison the city at his expense.

See more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventh_Crusade

Easter Day

On Easter day 1197, the eldest son of Frederick I (Barbarossa-who died while leading troops in support of the Third Crusade) of Germany, Henry VI summoned his subjects to Crusade and promised to supplement Crusaders with 3000 mounted mercenaries.

See more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_I,_Holy_Roman_Emperor#Third_Crusade_and_death
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_VI,_Holy_Roman_Emperor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusade_of_1197

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

Today in Medieval Crusading History:

25 April

1214 – Birth of King Louis IX of France (d. 1270)

1265 – Death of Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester, English crusader

See more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_IX_of_France#Crusading
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_de_Quincy,_2nd_Earl_of_Winchester

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

I would also like to extend a welcome to Hospitaller Brother J. Heaton who has now just joined the forums.



Brother Heaton at GARF 2011

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

Today in Medieval Crusading History:

26 April

570 – Birth of Muhammed, founder of Islam, according to the Shi'a sect. (d.632) (goes without saying why this is here)

See more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammed

[Brother J. Heaton]

Fra' Cliff, loved your letter to the editor. The politically correct world always makes the Christian out to be a monster ! Like this day in crusader history also. Looks like I'll have to spend some time catching up. Brother Sargent Heaton

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

Fra' Cliff, loved your letter to the editor. The politically correct world always makes the Christian out to be a monster ! Like this day in crusader history also. Looks like I'll have to spend some time catching up. Brother Sargent Heaton

Glad to see you made our humble thread Brother. Should you have any old photos of you sporting your Order's habit, please post them, as some use this thread to develop their own commitments. 

Difficile est tenere quae acceperis nisi exerceas.

[Hospitaller]

Welcome to our little corner of the world, Brother Heaton! Always happy to see new worthies on board. Feel free to post any pictures of you in your Order's habit.

[Lady Christina de Pond]

welcome brother J. Heathern