Medieval Holy Wars in Modern Times Crusader movies and their contemporary political messages Edward DE MAESENEIR 2018 - 2019 A dissertation submitted to Ghent University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of History Supervisor: Dr. Micol Long Verklaring i.v.m. de consulteerbaarheid Ondergetekende, Edward De Maeseneir Masterstudent in de Geschiedenis aan Universiteit Gent in het academiejaar 2018-2019 en auteur van de scriptie met als titel: Medieval Holy Wars in Modern Times. Crusader movies and their contemporary political messages verklaart hierbij dat hij geopteerd heeft voor de hierna aangestipte mogelijkheid in verband met de consultatie van zijn scriptie: • De scriptie mag steeds ter beschikking worden gesteld van elke aanvrager Elke gebruiker is te allen tijde verplicht om, wanneer van deze scriptie gebruik wordt gemaakt in het kader van wetenschappelijke en andere publicaties, een correcte en volledige bronverwijzing in de tekst op te nemen. Gent, 27 mei 2019 Preface I like to take this opportunity to thank my promotor Dr. Micol Long for her guidance. The past two years she offered me valuable feedback and advice, first with the bachelor thesis and now with this master thesis. The course, the Middle Ages and the modern world, that she organized together with Dr. Erika Graham, introduced me to various concepts within medievalism and a plethora of new and exciting sources. It encouraged me to work with seemingly unconventional material and combine my passion for movies with my interest in medieval history. I would also like to thank Julia, from the bottom of my heart, for proofreading everything that I write and just for being there. Table of contents Verklaring i.v.m. de consulteerbaarheid ................................................................................................... 3 Preface ..................................................................................................................................................... 4 Abstract .................................................................................................................................................... 1 I. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 3 II. Cinematic medievalism: origins .................................................................................................. 6 III. Crusader Movies ....................................................................................................................... 10 i. Film d’art .................................................................................................................................. 11 ii. The First Crusade ...................................................................................................................... 12 iii. The Northern Crusades .............................................................................................................. 13 iv. Third Crusade ............................................................................................................................ 15 IV. Case study I: The Crusades (1935) ............................................................................................ 19 i. Synopsis .................................................................................................................................... 19 ii. Setting ....................................................................................................................................... 20 a. Medieval ............................................................................................................................... 20 b. Contemporary ....................................................................................................................... 24 iii. Characters.................................................................................................................................. 28 a. The Hermit ............................................................................................................................ 28 b. King Richard ......................................................................................................................... 30 c. King Philip ............................................................................................................................ 34 d. Conrad de Montferrat ............................................................................................................ 35 e. Berengaria ............................................................................................................................. 36 f. Saladin .................................................................................................................................. 38 iv. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 39 V. Case study II: El Naser Salah Ad-Din (1963) ............................................................................ 41 i. Synopsis .................................................................................................................................... 41 ii. Setting ....................................................................................................................................... 43 a. Medieval ............................................................................................................................... 43 b. Contemporary ....................................................................................................................... 45 iii. Characters.................................................................................................................................. 48 a. Saladin .................................................................................................................................. 48 b. Issa and Louisa ...................................................................................................................... 51 c. Virginia ................................................................................................................................. 53 iv. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 54 VI. Case study III: Kingdom of Heaven (2005) ............................................................................... 56 i. Synopsis .................................................................................................................................... 56 ii. Setting ....................................................................................................................................... 57 a. Medieval ............................................................................................................................... 57 b. Contemporary ....................................................................................................................... 60 iii. Characters.................................................................................................................................. 61 a. Balian .................................................................................................................................... 61 iv. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 63 VII. Final conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 65 Appendices ............................................................................................................................................. 68 i. List of crusader movies ............................................................................................................. 68 ii. Transcription The Crusaders ..................................................................................................... 79 iii. Transcription El Naser Salah Ad Din ........................................................................................ 85 iv. Transcription Kingdom of Heaven ........................................................................................... 109 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................................i Filmography ............................................................................................................................................iv Abstract Populaire films die zich afspelen in de middeleeuwen worden vaak genegeerd als onderzoeksobject door academici. Nochtans hebben zij een grote invloed op de perceptie van de geschiedenis bij een groot publiek. Deze films als een waardige bron op zich beschouwen, kan tot kostbare inzichten leiden over het verleden, het heden en de wisselwerking tussen die twee. In dit onderzoek focus ik me op films die zich afspelen tijdens de kruistochten. Daarbij leg ik de nadruk op de politieke context waarin ze werden gecreëerd. In het eerste deel bekijk ik het ontstaan en de ontwikkeling van de subdiscipline die kan bestemd worden als “cinematic medievalism”. Die subdiscipline is een aftakking van het onderzoeksveld medievalism, de studie die zich bezighoudt met de interpretatie en recreatie van de Europese