Medieval crusaders

Crusading for God and Gold The were driven by religious zeal. But, as the writings of a crusader from the merchant city of Genoa reveal, pro t was also a powerful motive. Jonathan Phillips tells his story

50 BBC History Magazine The looting of after its capture by Christians in 1099 during the , shown in an illuminated manuscript from the 15th century

he Canons of the Council quality, which were substantial. They started That said, one important group of early of Clermont, the official their journey back to Genoa on the Eve of St crusaders has tended to receive a very bad record of Pope Urban II’s James the Apostle [24 July]; and they arrived press: the reputation of the Italian crusaders pronouncement of the First back in the month of October 1101 in triumph is usually one of money-grabbing merchants. T Crusade, in November 1095, and covered in glory.” Eugene Byrne, an eminent historian of Genoa stated: “Whoever for devotion Here, it seems, substantial profit, fame writing in the 1920s, stated: “It would almost alone, not to gain honour or money, goes and participation in the holy war were not seem to them… [that] the crusade was a to Jerusalem to liberate the church of God at odds. The substantial volume of evidence matter of indifference except as it affected can substitute this journey for all penance.” produced by clerical writers has, rightly, their material prosperity.” Compare this with the confident eyewitness led historians to place religious motivation The Venetians’ prominent part in the sack assertions of Caffaro of Genoa as he described at the top of the range of factors that drove of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade the division of spoils after the crusader people to set out to recover Jerusalem from (1204), coupled with the Italians’ persistent capture of Caesarea in 1101: the Muslims in the late . Other reasons disdain for embargoes on trading in materials “They first set aside one-fifteenth of the undoubtedly also played a part in drawing of war with Muslims during (especially) the booty in the camp for the galley crews. people to the cross, namely, the desire for 13th century, produced the simplistic The remainder they divided among 8,000 fame; the possibility of financial advantage stereotype represented by Byrne above. men, and gave to each as his share 48 solidi – although crusading was an astoundingly The writings of Caffaro of Genoa, however, in the coin of Poitou, and two pounds of expensive business; the acquisition of land offer us a chance to reassess this for the early peppercorns, except for the rewards due to (most crusaders returned home, however); decades of the 12th century, not least because

BRIDGEMANART LIBRARY the consuls, the sea-captains, and men of and patronage. he was an eyewitness and a layman. Unlike

BBC History Magazine 51 Medieval crusaders

Crusading for God… “Whoever for devotion alone, not to gain honour or money, goes to Jerusalem to liberate the Church of God can substitute this Pope Urban II preaching the journey for all penance.” First Crusade at Clermont in 1095. It became the first of Pope Urban II’s pronouncement of the several expeditions by European Christians to regain the Holy First Crusade, in November 1095 Land from Muslim control

many other First Crusaders – that is, mounted the category of mainstream crusading warriors from the castles and estates of the Ca aro of Genoa practice and is consistent with what clerical west – he came from one of the dynamic He wrote a history of the crusades writers described too. Thus, there are little emerging mercantile cities of Italy (Genoa, and of the city of Genoa grounds for doubting the importance of Pisa and Venice), a position that offers a religious motivation to the Genoese. In the different perspective on the Muslim world Caffaro di Rustico, Lord of summer of 1096, leading French bishops and the relationship between money and Caschifellone (an area just north of offered remission of all sins if the citizens religious motivation. Crucially, he reminds the city of Genoa in Liguria, north- took part in the effort to recover Jerusalem. us, therefore, to recognise the range of people western Italy), was born c1080. He The appeal was enthusiastically received and who took part in the First Crusade and the took part in a Genoese crusading several boats of Genoese crusaders sailed to multiplicity of their motives. expedition of 1100–01, an episode the east where they helped in the siege of Inspired by his experiences on crusade, that prompted him to start writing a (1098), the conquest of Jerusalem record of historical events. By his Caffaro chose to record the history of his early 40s Caffaro had become a man and the battle of Ascalon (both 1099). people in what became the first official civic of some standing in Genoa because These groups were not, of course, as big or annals in the medieval west. He also produced he was elected a consul de communi , important as the contingents from northern a history of The Liberation of the Cities of the responsible for administration, France, Toulouse, Flanders and southern East (an account of the First Crusade and its diplomacy and military leadership. Italy, but they clearly contributed to the aftermath) and a short account of the capture He was re-elected on five expedition’s success. As Caffaro noted, in the of Almeria and Tortosa in Spain during the subsequent occasions, as well as aftermath of the battle of Ascalon the in 1147–48. Caffaro was twice taking on the role of consul de Genoese seized “huge treasure of gold, silver born in c1080 and died in 1166 and thus his placitis , or judge of lesser pleas. and gemstones from the sultan of Babylon life spanned both the First and the Second Caffaro led a large Genoese fleet in []… on Christmas Eve they arrived in the conquest of Minorca in 1146, a Crusades. In an extraordinary career he was precursor to campaigns against Genoa and delivered a letter from the court in a consul for Genoa eight times and headed Muslim Iberia during the Second Jerusalem… about the capture of Jerusalem important diplomatic missions to the papacy Crusade. In 1152 he presented his and the assistance needed”. The Genoese and the German emperor. account of the history of Genoa to became far more prominent in the years the commune; so widely admired immediately after the capture of the holy city God’s favour was the work that it became and they dispatched a series of fleets to the Perhaps most interesting of all for modern the city’s official record. east in 1100, 1102 and 1108 and 1109. historians is the fact that he was a layman. Caffaro updated the text Several other regions of western Europe Other narratives of the early crusades were until the early 1160s (he sent contingents to the Holy Land in what can almost entirely written by churchmen, such died in 1166) and it was be seen as lengthy coda to the First Crusade. continued by a series of as (in the contingent of authors until 1293. As a result of these campaigns the Franks (as Count Raymond of Toulouse) or Fulcher of the western Europeans who settled in the Chartres (with Count Baldwin of Boulogne, after the capture of Jerusalem became later King Baldwin I of Jerusalem). Caffaro di known) seized the coastline and established Churchmen had a particular perspective Rustico was the so-called . The Genoese a man of some on the crusade and emphasised the need played a crucial role in these events because of standing in for participants to behave in a fashion that 12th-century their naval expertise and skill in constructing would ensure God’s favour, as Pope Urban Genoa wooden siege machinery. had outlined at Clermont. In 1101 Caffaro and his Genoese colleagues

Much of what Caffaro describes falls into took part in the annual Easter celebrations in ARTARCHIVE/AKG IMAGES

52 BBC History Magazine …and for Gold “They rst set aside one-  eenth of the booty in the camp for the galley crews. The remainder they divided among 8,000 men (…) except for the rewards due to the consuls, the sea-captains, and men of quality, which were substantial.” Ca aro of Genoa’s eyewitness account of the division of spoils a er the capture of Caesarea in 1101 A 12th-century Italian merchant, depicted on a marble carving

the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and visited means of remaining in contact with western towards the Muslim world. The city had the river Jordan. Soon afterwards they Europe, meaning that hardly any pilgrims traded with Muslim Spain, Muslim north assisted in the capture of Caesarea, fighting could come to the Levant to perform their Africa and even the near east prior to 1099 their way into the city wearing crosses on religious devotions. Furthermore, the trade and carried on doing so afterwards; to cease their shoulders, just like all their fellow vital for a society to prosper would barely doing so would have been commercial suicide. crusaders. Caffaro related a speech in which happen. From the perspective of the Genoese As we continue to try to understand why the patriarch of Jerusalem argued that “since it is important to remember the very basis of the First Crusade attracted such extraordinary you [the Genoese] have come to these regions their existence – as a trading city. support from people across western Europe, in the service of God and the most Holy As the crusaders prepared to scale the walls Caffaro offers a distinctive and refreshing Sepulchre” they should believe in God’s of Caesarea, Caffaro reported that their viewpoint that is a striking supplement to the courage rather than their own and, if they had leader, Guglielmo Testadimaglio (William numerous accounts of churchmen. As he faith, they would take the city, “its men and ‘Hammerhead’) shouted: “Citizens and wrote: “Whosoever desires for his own benefit women, and its treasure before noon”. warriors of God, do not be slow in fulfilling or the benefit of others news from the time of God’s orders.” The emergence of a strong the expedition to Caesarea to the present Promising pro t sense of civic identity is shown here, albeit one should read these writings by Caffaro… for One can argue that this is too accurate a placed in parallel with their commitment as all times the victories of the Genoese city shall foretelling of what happened to be plausible, crusaders fighting for the faith. King Baldwin I be known, those who departed in 1100 and but we should still take the notion of rewarded the Genoese with privileges that returned in 1101.” promising profit as credible. Crusading was were inscribed in golden letters on the walls of He couples conventional religiosity expensive and for an army not to want the the Holy Sepulchre itself. That alone, in with a distinctive urban, mercantile and spoils of war was unrealistic. Old Testament placing this agreement in the most holy of all Mediterranean voice. Through its apparent books, familiar to the Genoese from the Christian sites, should show us both how contradictions and complexities, his work Matins service, offer support for this. Thus central the Genoese were to the king’s efforts, should encourage us to acknowledge the in II Chronicles 20, 20–25, the king of Judah but also that their roles as traders and crusaders variety of reasons why one particular group benefited from a battle between Ammonites, were not seen as contradictory or negative. among the polyglot forces of the First Crusade Moabites and the people of Mount Seir to In the aftermath of the 1101 campaign, was so committed to the Christian cause and leave him “more jewels than could be carried” several important reached Genoa, took such pride in its achievements. and to return to Jerusalem in triumph. including the head of John the Baptist and The preachers of the First Crusade were a beautiful emerald green bowl, thought to Jonathan Phillips is professor of crusading history worried greed might bring divine disfavour, have been at the Last Supper, now in the at Royal Holloway, University of London but for laymen there had to be, out of treasury of St Lawrence’s cathedral. necessity, a long boundary before the need The practice of sending relics back home DISCOVER MORE for money crossed over into greed. was, of course, entirely in tune with crusaders It is true that in return for their support the across Europe. A large mural (a small portion BOOKS ̈ Caffaro, Genoa and the Twelfth Century Genoese extracted a high price from the of which survives) in St Lawrence’s celebrated Crusades, MA Hall & JP Phillips (Ashgate, 2013) rulers of the east and one that went beyond the capture of Almeria and Tortosa from ̈ The Crusades, 1095–1204 by JP Phillips short-term profit; namely, substantial Muslim Spain where, again, the city secured (Routledge, 2014) commercial privileges for themselves, such as large commercial rights. Once more, LISTEN ONLINE tax reductions and areas within conquered crusading identity is proudly advertised ̈ Melvyn Bragg discusses cities. But without their involvement, the within the spiritual heart of the city. the in a Radio 4 coast could not have been taken and the Taking part in the First Crusade did not – In Our Time podcast.

GETTYIMAGES crusader states would have had almost no and could not – transform Genoa’s attitude bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00547ls

BBC History Magazine 53