The Battle of Las Navas De Tolosa: the Culture and Practice of Crusading in Medieval Iberia
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University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 8-2011 The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa: The Culture and Practice of Crusading in Medieval Iberia Miguel Dolan Gomez [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the European History Commons, History of Religion Commons, Islamic World and Near East History Commons, and the Medieval History Commons Recommended Citation Gomez, Miguel Dolan, "The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa: The Culture and Practice of Crusading in Medieval Iberia. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2011. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/1079 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Miguel Dolan Gomez entitled "The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa: The Culture and Practice of Crusading in Medieval Iberia." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in History. Thomas E. Burman, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Jay Rubenstein, Chad Black, Maura Lafferty Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa: The Culture and Practice of Crusading in Medieval Iberia A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Miguel Dolan Gomez August 2011 Copyright © 2011 by Miguel D. Gomez All rights reserved. ii ABSTRACT This study examines the phenomenon of crusading in the Iberian Peninsula through the lens of the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212). This battle was both a major Christian victory over the Almohad Empire of Morocco and its Andalusian allies, and the most successful crusade of the papacy of Innocent III. As such, it serves as an ideal case study for the practice and culture of crusading in the early thirteenth century. The examination of the battle helps to expand our understanding of crusading in a number of ways. First, by examining the institutional aspects of the battle, against the backdrop of the career of Innocent III, it becomes clear that Las Navas was the first crusade in which all of the aspects of papal crusade policy were successfully brought together and implemented. The victory gave the Pope both the confidence and capital to officially institutionalize the crusade shortly thereafter in 1215. Secondly, a close study of the participants reveals that, despite the development of official crusade practices, there were many disparate views on what exactly it meant to go on crusade. The Iberian Christians differed greatly from many of the international crusaders both in their cultural attitudes and their expectations of the campaign. For the French participants, the campaign was part of a well-established crusading tradition, passed down from their ancestors. For the Spanish, the crusade was a new concept, just beginning to take hold and influence their approach to the regular warfare with their Muslim neighbors. However, the victory of Las Navas helped to solidify and expand the acceptance of crusade ideology in the minds of the Iberian Christians in the ensuing years. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1- Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 Chapter Two-- Crusade and church art in the era of Las Navas de Tolosa ...................... 25 Crusader Art in Spain.................................................................................................... 27 San Román .................................................................................................................... 35 Santa Cruz ..................................................................................................................... 43 Apocalypse and Convivencia ........................................................................................ 50 Chapter Three-- Las Navas de Tolosa and the Church: The Institutional Crusade in Theory and Practice .......................................................................................................... 55 Innocent‘s Vision of the Crusade .................................................................................. 58 Peace, Diplomacy and Reform ..................................................................................... 63 Recruitment and Preaching ........................................................................................... 70 The Indulgence.............................................................................................................. 86 Papal Protection ............................................................................................................ 90 Clerical Taxation ........................................................................................................... 92 Spiritual Intercession .................................................................................................... 98 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 99 Chapter Four—The Ultramontanos ................................................................................ 101 Diffusion and Propaganda: The Troubadours ............................................................. 105 Official Recruitment in France and Provence ............................................................. 114 Who Went: The identifiable ultramontanos ............................................................... 122 The Ultramontanos in Toledo ..................................................................................... 134 The ultramontanos on campaign ................................................................................ 146 The French Go Home.................................................................................................. 153 Conclusions ................................................................................................................. 158 Chapter Five—The Iberian Experience .......................................................................... 161 The Diplomatic Evidence ........................................................................................... 166 The Documents ........................................................................................................... 170 The Participants: Identity and Status .......................................................................... 172 Property ....................................................................................................................... 178 Preparing for Battle ..................................................................................................... 185 Fear of Death and Burial ............................................................................................. 188 The Name of the Enemy ............................................................................................. 190 On Crusade.................................................................................................................. 194 The Wills and Crusading ............................................................................................ 197 The Military Orders .................................................................................................... 205 Epilogue-- Aftermath and Consequences ....................................................................... 208 Remembering Las Navas in Spain .............................................................................. 213 Remembering Las Navas beyond the Pyrenees .......................................................... 216 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 220 LIST OF REFERENCES ................................................................................................ 223 Archival Sources ......................................................................................................... 224 Catalougues and Printed Primary Sources .................................................................. 225 iv Secondary Works ........................................................................................................ 229 Vita .................................................................................................................................. 240 v CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCTION Near the northern gate through the walls of the city of Toledo stands a very small but quite remarkable church. The church of Santa Cruz was originally the Bad-al- Mardum mosque, one of the few structures surviving today from the era when the city was the center of northern Al-Andalus. Medieval legend suggests that the mosque was originally a Christian church, appropriated by the Muslims after their conquest of the city in the eighth century. The true identity of the church