Medieval Religious Institutions

When looking different things up for research paper ideas I came across many different medieval institutions (mainly religious) that are still around today. These institutions came about during the crusading era and in some cases played very large roles in certain conflicts. Two I found that had full fledged websites, membership info, etc. were the Dominicans and The Franciscans. Their respective websites are http://www.op.org/ and http://www.franciscans.org/. I find it very interesting that an institution can have trouble lasting a few years in modern society, but these have lasted for many hundreds of years. It raises the question with me as to why religious ideals can last, when ethical and moral based groups cannot. Those types of groups may change drastically over the years to maintain stability, but the Bible, Koran, etc. are the same book they always have been.

Gregorian Chant and Holy Week

As a lover of music and tradition--and as Holy Week is upon us--I wanted to do some research on the types of music that would have been sung for Holy Week masses during the Middle Ages. I searched for some of the Gregorian Chants specific to these days--here's what I found:

Click here for a website with recordings from St. Benedict's Monastery in São Paulo, Brazil. This has a number of recordings of all the masses during Holy Week; although sometimes the sound quality is not perfect, I think it's kind of interesting to hear birds chirping in the background.

Below are two links to the abby of Solesmes, in France. The first gives a decent description of Gregorian Chant (as a subject), the second describes the order of the mass (for those who may not be familiar with the service).
Gregorian Chant
Order of the Service

Gregorian Chant was recorded in one of the earliest forms of written music called neumes: click here for a description of them and how to read them.

Finally, this is a link to a youtube video I found. It is described as an "old Roman chant" for "Easter Sunday Service." The organ pedel that you hear in the background is called a "drone," which did often accompany Gregorian Chant when it was sung.

Happy Easter!

~C. Erba

Albigensianism

In doing some research on the Albigensian Crusade recently, I came across some really interesting information about the origins of the Albigensian, or Cathar, doctrines. For all intents and purposes, Albigensianism (also known as Catharism) is a version of the ancient doctrine of Manichaeism, which initially developed in the first few centuries after the death of Christ. Both of these share a belief in a dualist deity that is composed of a good entity and a bad: the bad entity is responsible for all things material (including the human body), and it is the principal aim of the soul to escape from its imprisonment in the human body and to rejoin the good entity. In addition, these sects had select members of their believers who formed an inner, sanctified core (in the Albigensian tradition, these people were called “perfaits” or “perfects”). Most intriguing was that Albigensianism flourished in Languedoc, a region in modern-day southern France which has been known throughout the centuries for its religious tolerance.

For more information see:
Peter Brown, Augustine of Hippo, A Biography, (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2000)
http://www.cathar.info/

~C. Erba

The Modern Use of Trebuchets

For your amusement:

In High School I joined an engineering club that built a Trebuchet every year to participate in an event held in early November in which teams compete to hurl a pumpkin as far as possible.

The event is World Championship Punkin Chunkin.

The largest Trebuchet there is called Yankee Siege which uses a counter weight that can hold 30,000 lbs. It can hurl a 50-100 lb projectile between 300-400 yards with a partially filled counter weight. Its maximum range to date is just over 2000 ft.

Midieval Trebuchets were used to either destroy fortifications or as terror devices, employed to throw dead animals or live enemies over the wall as a psychological weapon. They generally had a range of about 300 yards. In many ways they were the pinnacle of siege technology and were made obsolete by the advent of gunpowder. They fired slowly as it took a long time to reload the device.

The operation of a Trebuchet is a bit of history that you can witness and it is easy to see how these massive machines could tear down walls with ease or fill defenders with fear.

Children's Crusade

I was looking up some more information on the Childrens Crusade and instead of taking it all for face-value, I tried looking up some information against it. Turns out there was a study in 1977 by Raedts called "The Children's Crusade of 1213". He argued that the army was not made up of primarily children, but of the 'wandering poor'. The traditional view of the crusade was that it began with a little boy claiming that he had been told to lead a crusade to the holy land by Jesus himself. He was supposed to peacefully convert Muslims to Christianity. He gained as many as 30,000 children but before making it to Jerusalem, most either died or were tricked into slavery. Modern views have claimed this story to be fake. Recent historians claim that there were actually two movements of people (of all ages, really). Mistakes in the interpretation of pueri, meaning boys, arose when past historians thought it to literally mean children where they probably actually meant country boys.

Crusading in the News

I would just like to comment on how common the term "crusading" has become these days. Just by searching the term in Google News, I ran into several articles describing some more 'modern' crusades: Obama's health care crusade, a crusade to provide food and shelter for the homeless of New York City, a crusade against junk food (seriously?). In my opinion, I think that the term "crusading" should be reserved for describing past crusades of the Middle Ages, where the term was originally coined, or even to describe modern religious warfare. But when I read an article telling me a chef is launching a CRUSADE to promote healthier eating, I can't help but feel a little frustrated at how common and poorly-used this word/concept has become.

A Very Long Walk In The Park

I feel like a major part of the Crusades that is often overlooked was the actual journey to get to the Holy Land itself, not just the conflict/fighting that was done once the Crusaders had arrived. I mean, in some Crusades (most notably the First and Second) people would walk by land the entire way from Western Europe to the Holy Land, not being shipped over across the Mediterranean Sea. That's pretty inconceivable. The distance from Paris to Jerusalem, for example, is just over 2000 miles, and that's if you travel as the crow flies, which is impossible because the Mediterranean Sea stands in the way. That is an incredible distance to travel on foot. Imagine walking one marathon a day, every day, for close to three months, and that's about the distance some of these Crusaders had to traverse. Just doing this without any hardships would be an amazing accomplishment-- but then you have to factor in (to the First Crusade) the battles fought along the way to the Holy Land, in such places as Nicaea and Antioch. Undoubtedly there was something strong motivating these Crusaders to march on, whether it be the promise of redemption or riches.
Anyway, all of this got me to thinking about the type of footwear that the Crusaders used on their multi-thousand mile journey, but I really couldn't find that too much on it. I did find that as a result of the Crusades, shoe styles from the Byzantine Empire were brought back to Western Europe, including the characteristically Medieval long-pointed shoes. These were called crackowes or poulaines.

The Tafurs

Some accounts of the First Crusade seem to agree that crusaders would sometimes resort to cannibalism when actual food was lacking. I assumed that it was a general accusation but I just saw a site that asserts that such atrocities were attributed to one particular group: the Tafurs. The nature of this groups is debated but a disturbing proposition is that the Tafurs lay at the core of crusading atrocities. It was rumored that they raped any women they captured, looted everything they could get their hands on, and simply reveled in butchery. Led by a former knight, Le Roi Tafur, the Tafurs dressed in sackcloths and used only the crudest of weapons. Yet Muslim sources refer to them as being "living devils" who fought with almost beast-like fury in combat. Apparently their reputation was so fierce that even the crusader nobles required an armed escort to pass by their tents. The Tafurs were also motivated by greed, with Le Roi Tafur leading the first assault on Jerusalem exclaiming, "Where are the poor folk who want property? Let them come with me!....for today with God's help I shall win enough to load many a mule!" Although the Tafurs' exploits are undoubtedly exaggerated, their legacy is definitely an interesting of the crusades often overlooked. http://www.antiqillum.org/texts/bg/Qadosh/qadosh018.htm (There is also a wiki article on them but it only comes in French)

Art of the Crusades

The crusades not only introduced Islamic knowledge to the West, but also Islamic art. I found it very interesting that the crusaders would plunder the Muslims of the Levant and then they used these religious pieces of art for their own Christian practices. For example they would take Muslim silks and use them to decorate churches or wrap holy relics. They even went as far to use a Muslim made cloak for the German Emperor's coronation. This was also the beginning of the Gothic Period and large lavish Cathedral were sprouting up in all the major cities of Europe. I am always impressed by these pieces of both architectural and artistic genius. Having visited some examples of this architecture, it boggles the mind a how the laborers of that time could build this huge structures of stone, with no power tools or construction equipment.

Source

Louis IX

I had looked over material on the Crusade of St. Louis and was interested the life of Louis IX. I read over an article on Louis IX early life: http://www.questia.com/library/encyclopedia/louis_ix_king_of_france.jsp. The kingdom of France was inherited by Louis IX at a young age after his father, Louis VIII, died. France was actually ruled by Louis IX's mother, Blanche of Castille, while he was learning how to rule his country. Blanche was a chief adviser of Louis IX until her death. Duke Peter I of Brittany, Duke Raymond VII of Toulouse, and King Henry VIII of England began several revolts in Louis' early years as King but were quickly suppressed by Blanche. Louis took the cross in 1244 and led his crusade into Egypt in 1248 only be captured two years later. He was ransomed and immediately traveled to the Latin colonies to promote organization and strong fortification. Louis returned to France an continued to rule until he was canonized in 1297. Under Louis' rule, France reached a high level of peace, prosperity, and organization through excellent diplomacy and administration.

The Spanish Inquisition

"In the early years of the 16th century, to combat the rising tide of religious unorthodoxy, the Pope gave Cardinal Ximinez of Spain leave to move without let or hindrance throughout the land, in a reign of violence, terror and torture that makes a smashing film. This was the Spanish Inquisition..."

NO ONE EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!

In a response to the Albegensian Crusade, the papacy instigated one of the first inquisitions against the Cathar heretics. Though it was only moderately effective against the Albegensians, it became a weapon of the papacy against heretics.

During the end of the 15^th century, Spain was a melting pot for many religions. Mulsims, Jews, Protestants, and Catholics all were packed into the small country. In order to combat this, Pope Sixtus IV laid the papal bull Sinceras Devotionis Affectus which served to establish the inquisition under the control of the Spanish monarchy in Castile. In 1483 Tomas de Torquemada was appointed to grand inquisitor. He established a structure to the inquisition, and began it on the reign of terror that would make the movement infamous. Thousands were accused and killed, and often the inquisitors would already know the victims guilt and require only a confession, which they obtained with harsh questioning and torture. The papacy was astonished by the ferocity and indiscriminate accusations of the inquisition, but was unable to put a slow its advance. It continued in force for the next fifty years, pursuing heretics, witches, blasphemy and any other threat to the church. Though the ferocity of the inquisition subsided around 1530, it remained a political tool for the Spanish monarchy until the papacy finally ended it in 1843.

Eleanor of Aquitane

As I was researching about the crusades, I was interested in finding out the women’s role in the crusade. When Pope Urban II decreed that no women should join the crusades, few women actually took part in the crusades. There are many accounts of men leaving for many years in crusades having adverse effect on their wives. However, Eleanor of Acquitane was one of the few that actually joined the crusade. She was an energetic woman dedicated to help the crusaders. Her marriage with King Lous VII, the King of France, brought together her vast region from the River to the Pyrenees. At age of 19, she knelt in the cathedral of Vézelay before the Abbé Bernard of Clairvaux offering him thousands of her vassals for the Second Crusade. According to the article: http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/heroine2.html “Queen Eleanor appeared at Vézelay dressed like an Amazon galloping through the crowds on a white horse, urging them to join the crusades.” But the church was not happy when Eleanor and her 300 ladies decided to join the crusade to help care for the wounded. However, the women never actually took part in battle. And Eleanor returned when the crusaders lost. It amazing to see that even when Pope did not permit women to join the crusades, strong willed women like Eleanor still found a way around it.

The Mongol Invasion of Europe

The Crusades reader talks about the Mongol presence in the Middle East. However, the Mongols advanced much farther west than just the Middle East; it turns out that they invaded and conquered all the way through Central Europe. They originally had conquered Russian lands, sacking Kiev in 1240. Apparently many of the Russian boyars fled westward into Hungary, as well as a people called the Cumans. Batu Khan, the leader of the Mongols in this operation, cited this as a reason to invade and conquer Hungary, as the Cumans were thought of as traitors in the Mongolian Empire. (Of course, he probably would have invaded anyway, and this was just a petty excuse.) The Hungarian forces were absolutely decimated by the Mongols, who then killed Hungarians who resisted them. Luckily for Western Europe, the Geat Khan died in 1242 and Batu Khan went back all the way to Central Asia, where he had a chance of being elected Great Khan, taking pretty much all of the Mongol army that he had back with him. This is the general reason cited by historians as to why the Mongols stopped their invasion of Europe. The invasion prompted Hungary to build many stone fortresses, which were effective the next time the Mongols invaded Hungary in the 1280's.

NY Times Book Review

There is a review on the NY Times website for a recent book about the Crusades, titled
HOLY WARRIORS: A Modern History of the Crusades. The review was titled Butchers and Saints so read through it, wondering if it was anything worthwhile or just a crowd-pleaser. From the review, it seems to have achieved both. The author, Jonathan Philips, stresses that the crusaders were indeed motivated largely by religious faith, not greed, and that slaughter in God's name was truly believed to have divine approval. Philips apparently makes the historical figures of the time come to life, with descriptions and personalities so appealing that the book sounds more like a historical novel than nonfiction text. The book places a good deal of emphasis on the Muslim perspective, as well. Apparently Philips also describes relatively unknown but influenital personalities on each side, such as Queen Melisende of Jerusalem. It sounds like it could be an interesting counterpart to Thomas F. Madden's The New Concise History of the Crusades. Here's the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/books/review/Ormsby-t.html?ref=world

Crusading at it's Height

I've been looking at many websites for information but I found that lots are just too much to take in at once; almost like there way to spread out over the place or too random or they just aren't clear enough. Anyway, I found this website that is very clear and gives some really helpful information. Also, lots of the links here are primary sources!
Hope it helps!
-Abby

Crusading at it's Height

Kingdom of Heaven - Sound Off

After being pushed to pay attention to close details while watching Kingdom of Heaven, I decided to re-watch important scenes with the volume set on mute. Basically, I realized that about 90% of the strength of the movie comes from the music/sound effects superimposed with the actual footage. Balian of Ibelin's entry into Jerusalem was very bland on mute; we watch him entering a city with lots of people in it. Cool. Watching it yet again with the sound on, Jerusalem appears to be an exotic, exciting new place for Balian and the streets come through as a cultural melting pot as they are filled with different faces, languages, foods, etc. Background music also plays an important role, setting a mood to scenes which would otherwise appear unimportant or uninteresting. I suggest you watch Kingdom of Heaven with the sound on (obviously) but don't forget to mute some scenes to appreciate the importance of sound in Kingdom of Heaven and any other movie!

Assassins

I was playing Assassins Creed earlier today and got to thinking about the effect hashshashins had during the time of the crusades and how they played into the scene. The hashshashin movement started around 1090 and continued until 1256. They fought under Hasan ibn Sabbah at the beginning with the belief that following him was the only way to receive salvation. They listening to him without question and ended up taking the lives of many nobles including Raymond II of Tripoli, Conrad de Montferrat, and Prince Edward. Sometime they even fought along with the Crusaders but only because they had similar enemies.
There's not much information I could find about how they specifically were involved... but I'd really love to find more information on this!!!
- Abby

The Fourth Lateran Council

I wanted to know more about the Fourth Lateran Council so I looked at a few articles on http://www.questia.com/library/encyclopedia/lateran_council_fourth.jsp. The Fourth Lateran Council was convened in Rome by Pope Innocent III in 1215. It was summoned for the purpose of creating a list of canons to dictating the Pope's policies regarding the Church. These canons included minimum requirements for remaining a Christian, various disciplinary protocols, and arrangements for another crusade. The council caused the majority of soldiers still engaged in the Albigensian crusade to migrate east to support the fifth crusade. Simon of Montfort, controlling the Christian forces of the Albigensian Crusade, resorted to hiring mercenaries to conquer and control Toulouse.