Following Orders

[Lady Christina de Pond]

and apparently the only one

[amy]

Count me in!   I can't always read up daily, but I catch up when I can.    You have groupies!

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

I'm still here .........and apparently the only one.

Count me in!   I can't always read up daily, but I catch up when I can.    You have groupies!

*kicks dirt...weaves back and forth..........blushing.........*


I must say that my Brethren must be out escorting pilgrim caravans from the coast....I am sure they'll be here after vespers...

[SirMichael]

Greetings Brother,

Sir Michael and my daughter Princess Emma still follow this board. I was going to wish you all a greetings from the Great Lakes Medieval Faire. I went to opening weekend last weekend. The faire was good, but they have a lost a few vendors from years past. The playtrons are still strong but the faire will remain dry this year as it was last year. It is BYOB . It's still a great faire.

Sir Michael of Mentor
Knight Commander
Equistrian Order of the Holy Sepectur

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

Welcome back Brother. All the best to you and your Princess. 

[Hospitaller]

Vacation!!!! Ya' know, sometimes you just have to get away.....

Always check in on this thread when I can.

[Lord Clisto of York]

Hey, welcome back.

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

An interesting side note to main line Crusades history, was a group known as the Tafurs. These pilgrims are alleged to have eaten their fallen foes during the first Crusade. Whether the claims are true or not, remain a debated issue amongst prominent historians.

http://medievalcrusades.blogspot.com/2010/03/tafurs.html

http://www.crusades-encyclopedia.com/cannibalism.html

[Hospitaller]

...And just WHAT, pray-tell, were you looking for to make such a find?

Personally, I think they would find Saracen "meat" just a wee bit on the greasy side...but that's just me....

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

...And just WHAT, pray-tell, were you looking for to make such a find?

Just following up on notes I take about obscure details on the Crusades......

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

Ladies and Gentlemen,
You know him as Edward "Longshanks", "Hammer of the Scots" thanks to Mel Gibson's BRAVEHEART, but did you know........

Edward took the crusader's cross in an elaborate ceremony on 24 June 1268, with his brother Edmund and cousin Henry of Almain. Among others who committed themselves to the Ninth Crusade were Edward's former adversaries—like the earl of Gloucester, though the earl did not ultimately participate. With the country pacified, the greatest impediment to the project was providing sufficient finances. King Louis IX of France, who was the leader of the crusade, provided a loan of about £17,500. This, however, was not enough; the rest had to be raised through a tax on the laity, which had not been levied since 1237. In May 1270, Parliament granted a tax of a twentieth, in exchange for which the king agreed to reconfirm Magna Carta (Made famous now with movies like Russell Crowe's Robin Hood, and the new release: Ironclad), and to impose restrictions on Jewish money lending. On 20 August Edward sailed from Dover for France. Historians have not determined the size of the force with any certainty, but Edward probably brought with him around 225 knights and all together less than 1000 men.

Originally, the Crusaders intended to relieve the beleaguered Christian stronghold of Acre (which would fall to the enemy in 1291), but Louis had been diverted to Tunis. The French king and his brother Charles of Anjou, who had made himself king of Sicily, decided to attack the emirate to establish a stronghold in North Africa. The plans failed when the French forces were struck by an epidemic which, on 25 August, took the life of King Louis himself. By the time Edward arrived at Tunis, Charles had already signed a treaty with the emir, and there was little else to do but return to Sicily. The crusade was postponed until next spring, but a devastating storm off the coast of Sicily dissuaded Charles of Anjou and Louis's successor Philip III from any further campaigning. Edward decided to continue alone, and on 9 May 1271 he finally landed at Acre.

By then, the situation in the Holy Land was a precarious one. Jerusalem had fallen in 1244, and Acre was now the centre of the Christian state. The Muslim states were on the offensive under the Mamluk leadership of Baibars, and were now threatening Acre itself. Though Edward's men were an important addition to the garrison, they stood little chance against Baibars' superior forces, and an initial raid at nearby St Georges-de-Lebeyne in June was largely futile. An embassy (launched with the support of Prince Edward) to the Mongols helped bring about an attack on Aleppo in the north, which helped to distract Baibar's forces. In November, Edward led a raid on Qaqun, which could have served as a bridgehead to Jerusalem, but both the Mongol invasion and the attack on Qaqun failed. Things now seemed increasingly desperate, and in May 1272 Hugh III of Cyprus, who was the nominal King of Jerusalem, signed a ten–year truce with Baibars. Edward was initially defiant, but an attack by a Muslim assassin in June forced him to abandon any further campaigning. What is clear is that one evening a Moslem came to see the Prince, when he was alone in his chamber, and attacked him with a poisoned dagger. Edward, a man of swift reflexes, kicked out at the attacker, and in short order killed his would be murderer. Some believe that the Old Man of the Mountains (Spiritual leader of the Assassin sect) sent the attacker. Far more probable is that the Emir of Ramlah, perhaps at the urging of Baibars, sent the assailant as a result of Edward's opposition to Hugh III's truce. Although he managed to kill the assassin, he was struck in the arm by a dagger feared to be poisoned, and became severely weakened over the following months. The anecdote of Queen Eleanor saving Edward's life by sucking the poison out of his wound is almost certainly a later fabrication. Other accounts of the scene have Eleanor being led away weeping by John de Vescy, and suggest that it was another of Edward's close friends, Otto de Grandson, who attempted to sucking the poison from the wound.

It was not until 24 September that Edward left Acre.

[Brother J. Heaton]

When my martial,medical and monastic duties allow I still enjoy your Crusading days in History updates. I believe we all have become much wiser thanks to you Fra' Cliff.

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

When my martial,medical and monastic duties allow I still enjoy your Crusading days in History updates. I believe we all have become much wiser thanks to you Fra' Cliff.

Thanks. Currently on the road. 

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

Well, I'm back now. I know I was thinking about posting interesting figures that particpated in the Crusades/Reconquista, but I think first I will go through key battles of both theaters to shed light on what they went through. So for the next couple of days, I will post a link that covers the highlights of the epic struggles. They won't be in any specific order like time or place, but just brought forward depending on what I thought interesting at the time.

Today, we'll begin with the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in July of 1212. (Take note of how many Military Orders were present!)

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

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

Crusaders and Pirates......oh my!

The Mahdian Crusade:

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