1 POPE GREGORY X AND THE CRUSADES A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE SCHOOL OF HISTORY AT QUEEN MARY, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON BY PHILIP BRUCE BALDWIN UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF DR. THOMAS ASBRIDGE 2 FOR MY PARENTS 3 ABSTRACT This study examines the crusading movement during the reign of Pope Gregory X in the latter part of the thirteenth century, before the Latin presence in the Levant came to an end. It seeks to demonstrate the important position of this little-known pope, who formed the bridge between what can now be seen as two separate eras in the crusading period, namely, the era of the traditional passagium generale, and the ‘new’ era of the passagium particulare. To do this, it will study Western and Muslim sources to understand the condition of the Holy Land during Gregory’s pontificate to see the effect it had on the manner in which he organised his crusade, using both traditional and ‘new’ methods. By drawing on sources from crusading in Iberia, it will show that Gregory approached the crusade flexibly, and was not, as commonly described by historians, wholly obsessed with the Holy Land. It also seeks to dispel one of the more popular myths surrounding Gregory, which is that he wanted to change the government of the kingdom of Jerusalem by putting Charles of Anjou in charge there. A study of the Angevin chancery records – little used by crusade historians – will demonstrate that it was not Gregory’s idea, but rather Charles’ own. Finally, using Gregory’s papal registers and chronicle evidence, this study will attempt to imagine the crusade that would have occurred had Gregory not died prematurely. This includes a discussion of the unprecedented scope of its recruitment as evidence of Gregory’s exceptional ability as a crusade organiser, as well as the evidence and reasons for a dramatic change in direction away from Egypt. 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Focusing so closely on one figure, Pope Gregory X – following his career from his youth in Piacenza, to his election as pope, and to his untimely death in Arezzo, as well as reading his letters – has inevitably given me a strong attachment to a man who lived over 700 years ago. Yet, it has been my very conscious goal not to let any attachment disrupt the scholarly rigour of this study, nor lead me to misguided conclusions. Reading so many of Gregory’s letters has given me insight into his mind, but inevitably there is still much that can never be known. First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor, Tom Asbridge, for his constant dedication in guiding me in the preparation of this work. It has been a pleasure to work with him for the past three years, and wherever my career may lead me after this, my enduring commitment to the study of the crusade movement, and the medieval period in general, will remain thanks to him. I would also like to thank my mentor at Queen Mary, Miri Rubin, for her warm reception when I began this program, and for her very useful advice throughout my study. As with any work, my thesis has been richly improved by advice large and small from a number of people. Thus, I would also like to thank Jonathan Riley-Smith (who brought Pope Gregory X to my attention, for which I am extremely grateful), Malcolm Barber, Simon Barton, Stephen Bennett, Andrew Buck, Nikolaos Chrissis, Peter Denley, Peter Edbury, Bernard Hamilton, Ahmet Hilmi, Konrad Hirschler, Kati Ihnat, Antonella Liuzzo Scorpo, Kathleen Neal, Erik Niblaeus, Jonathan Phillips, William Purkis, Yossi Rapoport, Donald Richards, Tom Smith, and Chris Wilson. I would also like to thank Richard Greenfield and Adnan Husain at Queen’s University in Canada, who guided me through my undergraduate and master’s degrees there, and encouraged my interest in the Crusades. 5 Attempting to tackle Gregory’s registers, none of which exist in translation, would have been a daunting task were it not for the aptly named ‘Latin therapy’ with Sue Edgington. With her instruction, and with the crucial help of Martin Hall and the rest of the Latin therapy group, I was able to gain a better understanding of the sources, and find help at the times when my own skill in Latin was tested. Help in the many works of translation throughout this thesis has also been generously provided by several friends, most of all Avital Vallois, as well as Susannah Brower, Eleonora Corsini, Corinna Coulmas, Tamer El-Khouly, Lena Hammen, and James Hawkey. Any errors of translation, or any other errors in this work, are of course mine alone. Undertaking this PhD would not have been possible without funding through the Overseas Research Students Awards Scheme provided by the British Council, but this pales in comparison to the support provided to me by my parents. Without my parents’ generous financial support, and their unfailing encouragement, you simply would not be reading this. I owe it all to them, and they have my thanks and the overall dedication of this thesis. Finally, I would also like to make mention of my grandfather Philip E. Baldwin, who passed away during my study, but who would have loved to have seen the day when there was a ‘Dr. Philip Baldwin’ in the family. I hope I have done him proud. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 8 Historiographical Overview 10 The Main Sources 21 Thesis Overview 24 CHAPTER ONE – The Early Life of Pope Gregory X 28 Introduction 28 An End to the Longest Papal Interregnum: The Unusual Papal Election of 1271 31 The Early Education of a Diplomat: In the Entourage of James of Palestrina 35 The Development of an Organiser: The First Council of Lyons 40 Negotiating Politics and Personalities: The Archdeacon of Liège 42 In the Heart of High Politics: The England Mission 49 Educating a Crusader Pope: The Holy Land Experience 52 Conclusion 57 CHAPTER TWO – ‘We Saw With Our Eyes and Felt with Our Very Own Hand’: 59 The Importance of Understanding the Condition of the Holy Land Introduction 59 The Formation of Peace Treaties in the Holy Land 62 The Effect of Peace Treaties on Crusading 67 Gregory’s Use of His Personal Experience in the Holy Land 74 Additional Sources of Information on the Condition of the Holy Land 78 Letters from the Holy Land 89 Conclusion 97 CHAPTER THREE – Interim Crusade Planning 99 Introduction 99 The Question of French or Papal Control of Crusade Planning 104 Organising the Supply of an Interim Garrison in the Holy Land 109 The Command Structure of the Interim Garrison 118 Missed Opportunities? The Underutilisation of the Rest of Europe 123 The Problem of Unsuitable Mercenaries 128 The Availability of Indulgences for Mercenaries to the Holy Land 130 Conclusion 133 CHAPTER FOUR – A Problem of Governance: 136 Gregory X, Charles of Anjou, and the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem Introduction 136 The Succession Dispute before Gregory’s Time as Seen in the Historiography 141 Charles’ Dealings with the Holy Land Immediately before Gregory’s Papal 144 Tenure Charles’ Dealings with the Holy Land during Gregory’s Papal Tenure 152 Charles’ Relationship with the Templars and the Proof of His Power in the Holy 156 Land 7 Patriarch Thomas and the Government of the Holy Land 160 Gregory’s Addresses to Hugh of Lusignan 166 Maria of Antioch’s Claim to the Throne of Jerusalem 171 The Relationship between Gregory and Charles 178 Gregory’s Role in the Exchange of the Throne of Jerusalem 181 Conclusion 184 CHAPTER FIVE – Political Exigencies and Gregory’s Crusade 186 Introduction: Gregory’s Crusading Priorities 186 Historiographical Background 190 Iberia and Empire at the Beginning of Gregory’s Papacy 193 The Election of a New King of the Romans 198 The Awareness of Oncoming Crisis in Iberia 205 Double Crisis: the Empire and the Invasion of Iberia in 1275 211 Conclusion 222 CHAPTER SIX – Imagining Gregory’s Crusade 224 Introduction: the Crusade that Never Was 224 The Participation of Philip of France 226 The Participation of Charles of Anjou and Michael Palaeologus 230 The Participation of Rudolph of Habsburg and Ottokar of Bohemia 237 The Participation of Edward of England 244 Iberian and Genoese Participation 250 The Leadership of Gregory’s Crusade 256 Pope Gregory X’s Participation in His Crusade 261 The Timing of Gregory’s Crusade 264 The Destination of Gregory’s Crusade 271 CONCLUSION 282 BIBLIOGRAPHY 287 Abbreviations 287 Primary Sources 287 Secondary Sources 292 APPENDICES 297 A: Large Quotations: Original Text 297 B: Family Tree of Henry of Guelders, Bishop of Liège 317 C: Claimants to the Thrones of Jerusalem and Cyprus 318 D: Charles of Anjou’s Dealings with the Holy Land and the Military Orders 319 Immediately before and during Gregory X’s Papal Reign, from the Angevin Chancery Records E: Participants in Gregory’s Crusade 328 F: Research Notes on Tedaldo Visconti’s Early Life 330 8 INTRODUCTION Pope Gregory X’s papal tenure (September 1271 – January 1276) stood at the very centre of the crusading movement in the later thirteenth century. Gregory was the last pope to come close to launching a traditional passagium generale to the Holy Land, and the first pope to use the passagium particulare, which would come to be the common crusading form after his death. Gregory’s crusading efforts came at a time when the Christians had never been in a worse situation since the disaster of 1187, when Saladin had succeeded in conquering essentially all the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem except Tyre, with Tripoli and Antioch remaining to the north.