The power of God A study of power in medieval religious discourse regarding the crusades Master thesis Author: Olof Pilhage Stockholm University Department of History Supervisor: Kurt Villads Jensen Seminar leaders: Nils Edling & Karin Dirke Spring 2018 Table of Contents Abstrakt ................................................................................................................................... iii 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Background ................................................................................................................ 2 1.2. Previous research ........................................................................................................ 4 1.3. Research aims and questions ...................................................................................... 7 1.4. Source material ........................................................................................................... 8 1.4.1. The structure of medieval papal letters .................................................................. 9 1.5. Methodology ............................................................................................................ 11 1.5.1. Defining my use of discourse ............................................................................... 12 1.5.2. Michel Foucault .................................................................................................... 13 1.5.3. Episteme or ‘That which can be thought’ ............................................................ 14 1.5.4. Power and knowledge .......................................................................................... 14 1.5.5. Non-agency and strategic positions ...................................................................... 16 1.5.6. Pastoral power ...................................................................................................... 18 1.5.7. Points of deviation from Foucault ........................................................................ 19 1.6. Disposition ............................................................................................................... 21 2. Analysis ........................................................................................................................... 22 2.1. Eugene III – Quantum Predecessores ....................................................................... 22 2.2. Eugene III – Divini Dispensatione ........................................................................... 27 2.3. Gregory VIII – Audita Tremendi ............................................................................. 30 2.4. Innocent III – Post Miserabile .................................................................................. 34 2.5. Innocent III – Quia Maior ........................................................................................ 39 2.6. Innocent III – Ad Liberandam .................................................................................. 44 2.7. Comparison – Claims of authority and the use of power ......................................... 49 2.7.1. Authority .............................................................................................................. 49 2.7.2. Religious legitimacy ............................................................................................. 51 2.7.3. Privileges .............................................................................................................. 54 2.7.4. Intimidation .......................................................................................................... 57 2.7.5. Depiction of the ‘pagan’ ....................................................................................... 58 3. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 60 3.1. Religious claims of authority and legitimacy ........................................................... 60 3.2. Religious power and the difference between religious and secular power .............. 62 3.3. The distinguishing aspects of the papal letters ......................................................... 66 4. Sammanfattning ............................................................................................................. 70 5. References ....................................................................................................................... 74 i 5.1. Sources ..................................................................................................................... 74 5.2. Translations .............................................................................................................. 74 5.3. Literature .................................................................................................................. 74 Appendix ................................................................................................................................. 76 Divini dispensatione ............................................................................................................. 76 ii Abstrakt Korstågen har haft stor inverkan på världshistorien. De stora krigshärarna som drog ut i strid i främmande områden lämnade ett blodigt spår efter sig där de drog fram i Mellanöstern, Baltikum, Spanien såväl som i södra Frankrike. Korstågen gestaltar dessutom det kontroversiella ämnet om relationen mellan religion och politik som har genomsyrat historien och som är av lika stor vikt i modern tid. Korstågen har därför en särskild plats inom historievetenskap, fiktion såväl som modern politisk agenda. Denna studie ämnar lyfta fram användandet av Gud och religiösa uttryck i påvliga brev mellan 1145 och 1215 för att, genom en adaptering av Foucaults diskurs- samt maktanalys, påvisa hur makt användes genom religiösa uttryck och vad Foucault kallar för pastoral makt. Syftet med denna studie är att skapa en större förståelse för religiöst inflytande under medeltiden samt hur den religiösa makten manifesterades i påvliga brev. iii 1. Introduction Verum cum longe plus de divina clementia quam de humana potentia confidere debeamus, oportet nos in tali conflictu non tam corporalibus armis quam spiritualibus dimicare But since in the long run we should trust more in divine mercy than human power, we ought to struggle in this conflict not only with physical weapons but also with spiritual Innocent III, Quia Maior1 The crusades have always been of great interest both within and outside of the academic world. The theme of intertwined religious and political struggles is just as relevant today as it was 900 years ago and for this reason there is a plethora of literature about the crusades, both scientific and fictional. The crusades have also had a significant impact on history, it has brought about communities, united people and peace but also war and exclusion. During the crusades many ‘took the cross’ to fight the enemies of the church. However, many also died under that cross, both Christians and non-Christians. According to the traditional way of looking at the crusades, based on Latin sources, all crusades launched during the Middle Ages was part of one historical narrative. Beginning with the first crusade in 1095 launched by pope Urban II, it then came to an end in 1291 with the fall of the last Latin kingdom in the Middle East and the city of Acre.2 During this time many scholars and learned people within the church wrote texts concerning the crusades, for example papal letters and treatises. This study will focus on one of these sources, namely the papal letters, and more specifically, letters concerning the planning, organisation or call to a crusade will be studied. The choice to use solely papal letters for this purpose was to focus the study around power and the strategic position3 of the papal seat in the Middle Ages. The great interest for the crusades as historical events can be both positive and negative. Many people are aware of the general turn of events of the crusading movement and the 1 Innocent III, Quia Maior, translation in Bird, Jessalyn & Peters, Edward & Powell, James M., Crusade and Christendom. Annotated Documents in Translation from Innocent III to the fall of Acre 1187-1291, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 2013, p. 111; Original in Migne, Jacques Paul, Patrologiae Cursus Completus Latina. Vol. 216, (PL) p. 820. 2 Cobb, Paul M., The race for paradise: An Islamic history of the crusades, 1st ed., Oxford university press (New York 2014), p. 239. 3 A Foucauldian concept which indicates a position from which an individual would have the possibility to wield power. 1 repercussions it had on the medieval world. However, because war, religion and ethnicity are controversial topics in modern times, there are also cases in which the crusades have been (ab)used by people seeking to legitimise actions which are to their benefit. A common misconception is to view the crusades as a war between Christians and Muslims4 and using this image to paint the crusades as a defence against continuous Muslim aggression rather than as a result of European expansion. The events and actions of the crusades cannot be explained through one perspective. This study will to some extent be taking a traditional perspective on the crusades5 but it aims to build on and broaden that perspective by analysing the material in a new