The Hijacked Crusade

The loss of Jerusalem to Saladin in 1187 inevitably altered the dynamics of crusading in the following century. Saladin had proved that the Christian kingdoms were vulnerable, and this made it easier for subsequent Muslim leaders to inspire to their followers with religious zeal. Meanwhile, in the West, crusaders and crusading had lost the aura of invincibility. Men increasingly doubted God’s Will when it came to the crusades. But the process was slow. Five more crusades – or six depending on how one counts – occurred before the last outpost of Outremer fell to the Saracens in 1291. (It is important to remember that the numbering of crusades is a historical convenience and completely anachronistic. No one in medieval times talked about "crusades" at all, much less referred to specific campaigns by set numbers.)

The first of the crusades that followed the fall of Jerusalem was, of course, the Third Crusade that achieved sufficient success to  make the crusader states viable for nearly a hundred years -- but it failed to recapture Jerusalem, so in 1198, when the crusaders had hardly returned, Pope Innocent III began preaching a new crusade.
  

Enthusiasm for this crusade was notably diminished compared to the three earlier ones. No king, nor any important nobleman, was prepared to lead it, and financing was so short that when the crusaders reached the port of embarkation, Venice, they were unable to pay for transport. The Venetians offered to provide the shipping for “free” – in exchange for crusader help in eliminating their (Christian) commercial rival, the city of Zara. Over the vehement protest of many participants -- and the Pope! -- and after much soul-searching, the crusade’s commanders agreed to do Venice’s dirty work, but a number of crusaders refused to follow their leaders and proceeded independently to the Kingdom of Jerusalem to offer their services there.

Following the capture of Zara, however, the crusaders still lacked the resources to sail for Egypt and their proposed crusade. They were no closer to recapturing Jerusalem than before they embarked. Furthermore, they had been excommunicated by the Pope for attacking a Christian city and pursuing material gain when under crusader vows. Many men abandoned the army altogether, the wealthy traveling independently to the Kingdom of Jerusalem to take up the struggle for Jerusalem as individual armed pilgrims rather than as part of a crusading army.

It was now, however, that the son of a deposed Byzantine Emperor, sought their aid. Alexios Angelos alleged that he would be welcomed with jubilation by the people of Constantinople and offering huge rewards. The crusaders succeeded in putting Alexios on the Byzantine throne in August 1203, but his promises of pay proved empty. Worse, he was highly unpopular and deposed in a popular upraising in January 1204 -- an uprising that was directed against the Latins still camped outside the city.

There was now no hope the crusaders would be paid for their services and they were in worse straights than ever. At this juncture, Venice proposed taking the wealthy city of Constantinople on their own account..

It was a daring plan. The crusaders were few in number, and morale was low. On the other side was a city that had defied all attempts to capture it up to now. Twice, massive armies led by devout (not to say fanatical) Muslim leaders had failed to take the city after months-long sieges.

The crusader victory is largely attributable to the remarkable technology of the Venetian ships which enabled an assault from the sea -- something the Arabs had not been able to do. Equally important, however, is the fact that the mob in Constantinople did not elect a new emperor until the very day before the city fell. This suggests the population was divided and that there was no clear leadership of the defense. The great city fell to the crusaders on April 13, 1204, and the erstwhile crusaders captured and sacked one of the greatest Christian cities in the world.

Although this action was repudiated by the Pope and reviled by many devout Christians throughout Western Europe, the damage had been done. The reputation of so-called "crusaders" was besmirched forever -- and the "Fourth Crusade" is always held up as an example of the corruption of the entire concept by opponents. Yet the capture of Constantinople was not a crusade at all! The Pope had very explicitly prohibited the siege and capture of Constantinople and papal approval is the essence of a crusade. It is only a historical convention to refer to this hijacked crusade as the "Fourth Crusade."

My new series is set in the first half of the 13th century following the establishment of a Latin empire based in Constantinople. The first book in the series is:

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Dr. Helena P. Schrader holds a PhD in History.

She is the Chief Editor of the Real Crusades History Blog.

She is an award-winning novelist and author of numerous books both fiction and non-fiction. Her three-part biography of Balian d'Ibelin won a total of 14 literary accolades. Her most recent release is a novel about the founding of the crusader Kingdom of Cyprus. You can find out more at: http://crusaderkingdoms.com

The Culture of Bathing in Outremer

One of the most persistent myths about the Middle Ages is that people did not bathe regularly and went around dirty and stinking. This is demonstratively not true. The Medievalists.net have published a good and lengthy post on the topic (Bathing in the Middle Ages), which provides a great deal of documentation and detail. This entry is not intended to recount or compete with that or other sources, but rather focus on the unique traditions of "Outremer" or the Crusader States.

All the Crusader States established in the course and subsequent to the First and Third Crusades were in locations that had been under Greek influence at the latest since Alexander the Great. They had also been part of the Ancient Roman and Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empires before coming under Arab and Turkish influence from the 7th to 11th centuries AD. This means that for the native population the predominant traditions with respect to personal hygiene came not from the Germanic tribes, Vikings or Celts, but from Greece, Rome, Egypt, and Arabia.

Whereas bathing in Western Europe is usually depicted in small, wooden tubs with curtains over them...

...the baths of any Roman town were gracious, spacious and elegant, often open to the skies in a series of atriums surrounded by colonnades.  They were public spaces in which men conducted business and politics. The baths of Turkey and Arabia, on the other hand, while darker and more inward-looking, nevertheless sumptuous with domed roofs and elegantly furnished with marble floors, benches, and fountains. They were less important for business and politics but all the more important culturally because of the emphasis Islam places on personal cleanliness. Both the Greco-Roman and Arab/Turkish traditions shared the principle of having both hot rooms for steaming/sweating (like a sauna) and cold rooms for washing off. Both also integrated massages with fragrantly scented oils into the bathing experience.

When the crusaders arrived in Outremer they found a large number of functioning bathhouses, particularly of the later (Turkish/Arab) type, already in place. Far from scorning, abandoning, dismantling or altering their function, the Frankish settlers adopted them readily -- rather like ducks to water, one might say.  Indeed, they started building their own, and archaeologists have identified a number of Frankish baths. These include baths in the Hospitaller and Templar headquarters in Jerusalem, at or near the monastery on Mt. Zion, at Atlit, a bathhouse on the Street of Jehoshaphat near the convent of St. Anne, and another in the Patriarch's quarter. (For more details I recommend Adrian J. Boas' excellent works Jerusalem in the time of the Crusades and Crusader Archaeology.) 

The Frankish settlers in Outremer adopted some of the bathing customs as well. Thus, while men and women bathed jointly in Western Europe, they probably bathed separately (either in separate spaces or at different times) in Outremer, although this is not 100% certain. The crusaders certainly adopted the custom of massages with scented oils stored in lovely glass vessels produced locally.

It wasn't only the bathhouses that the Frankish settlers of Outremer inherited from their predecessors. They also inherited Roman aqueducts and sewage systems. The Greeks (both Ancient and Byzantine) and Romans were famous for building very sophisticated and extensive networks for bringing fresh water to the public fountains of their cities, often from many miles away. The Franks followed this example and built a number of their own. Thus while cities extant in the Roman period had Roman aqueducts that the crusaders merely needed to repair and maintain, the construction of new castles, new towns or water-intensive industry such as sugar plantations, brought forth new aqueducts that date from the crusader period.

In crusader times, the city of Caesarea was served by no less than three Roman aqueducts. All photo copyrights: www.romanaqueducts.info

Likewise, the ancient cities were served by extensive (and again very solid and sophisticated) sewage systems. These consisted both of stone-faced drains and stone or pottery pipes. The Byzantines, for example, used pottery pipes to bring sewage down the outside of their residences from upper stories to underground sewage systems. Frankish castles had extensive latrines with sewers that emptied well below the level at which people lived. While rooftop cisterns and tanks provided the means to flush out these latrines with water (as we know castles in England did a hundred and fifty years later), the archaeological evidence is insufficient to verify the practice in the Holy Land. Archaeological evidence of highly sophisticated drainage systems to divert underground streams, however, have been uncovered, and the level of engineering skills available to the Frankish settlers of Outremer should not, therefore, be under-estimated.

To conclude, there may be a direct link between the hygienic conditions in Outremer and the hot-and-cold running water of Edward III and the Black Prince. The bulk of the crusaders, including Richard the Lionheart and Edward I of England, returned home, and by the time they went home they had probably become fond of the higher standards of hygiene enjoyed by the Frankish settlers -- the very standards that had induced the crusaders to ridicule the native "poulains" initially. (See Clash of Cultures)  The large number of crusaders returning particularly to France, Germany, and England may, in fact, explain the fact that Western Europe saw a flourishing of "bathhouse culture" in the 12th - 14th centuries. 

Throughout my Award-winning "Jerusalem" trilogy and my newer books I endeavor to depict the lifestyle of the characters as realistically as possible.

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Dr. Helena P. Schrader holds a PhD in History.

She is the Chief Editor of the Real Crusades History Blog.

She is an award-winning novelist and author of numerous books both fiction and non-fiction. Her three-part biography of Balian d'Ibelin won a total of 14 literary accolades. Her most recent release is a novel about the founding of the crusader Kingdom of Cyprus. You can find out more at: http://crusaderkingdoms.com

 

The Emperor's Men: The Five Baillies of Cyprus

Frederick II spent little more than a month on Cyprus, but his short stop triggered a chain of events that ended with the Holy Roman Emperor losing this rich and valuable kingdom forever. While this was the result of the Emperor's disastrous policies, he also showed poor judgement in his choice of deputies or “baillies," who aggravated the situation and brought rebellion to a head.

The fundamental mistake that Frederick II made with respect to Cyprus was his refusal to recognize it as an independent and unique kingdom, rather than simply “part of the Empire.” He took no account of the fact that it had its own history and laws, and conveniently overlooked the fact that his ancestors had had no role in the conquest or establishment of the kingdom. Instead, as David Abulafia points out, he “insisted that, as overlord of the king of Cyprus, he had full powers of intervention in the island’s affairs.”[i]

Prof. Peter Edbury suggests that, based on his actions, Frederick’s principle interest in Cyprus was “getting his hands on the profits from the regency for the previous decade.”[ii] Certainly, when he sailed away never to return again in May 1229, his arrangements for the regency of the kingdom were marked by greed; rather than appointing a man (or men) of particular trustworthiness or ability, he sold the regency for 10,000 marks. Indeed, one suspects — although we have no proof of this — that the only reason he chose to appoint five equally powerful baillies (a curious and inherently weak arrangement) was because he could find no one man willing to meet his excessive demands for cash. 

Nevertheless, having found five men willing to pay for the privilege of ruling, Frederick appears to have expected no further problems in milking the rich Cypriot cow.  Because the king was only 12 years old and it would be three years before he reached the age of majority, Frederick assumed he could be ignored. As for the king’s former regent, the troublesome and principled Lord of Beirut, the Emperor believed he had been check-mated by being lured out of Cyprus to take part in the Emperor’s “crusade.”

This is important. Based on the historical record it is clear that Frederick never intended to fight for Jerusalem. We know now that he was negotiating for the peaceful return of Jerusalem with al-Kamil before he ever set out on his non-crusade. In light of this, it is equally clear that he did not need Beirut’s knights and men to purse his objectives in Syria. We can conclude that the only reason he wanted to ensure they accompanied him on his “crusade” was to make sure they left Cyprus.  Thus, when Frederick sailed away he left behind an island denuded of all of Beirut’s sons, kinsmen, vassals and fighting-men.

With Ibelin out of the way, Frederick turned over control of Cyprus to the five men willing to pay his price and do his bidding. He gave them orders not to allow the Lord of Beirut or any of his partisans to return to the island. The fact that he gave no legal justification for dispossessing another king's vassals is another example of his autocratic behavior, and completely in character with the rest of his actions in the Holy Land.

So who were the five men Frederick II put in joint control of Cyprus?

The names are given as: Sir Amaury Barlais, Sir Amaury of Bethsan, Sir Hugh of Gibelet (also sometimes transcribed as Jubail), Sir William of Rivet, and Sir Gauvain of Cheneché. All were the sons of men who had been active on Cyprus since the establishment of the Lusignan dynasty on the island. Barlais particularly was closely associated with the Lusignans, which may explain why he emerged as the leader or most forceful member of the Emperor’s “quintet.”

Curiously yet significantly, however, the name Barlais is always listed without the preface “of” or “de,” suggesting the family was not of noble extraction.  His father, Renaud Barlais, is known to have come from Poitou to Outremer in the train of one of the three Lusignan brothers (Guy, Aimery or Geoffrey) sometime in the late 12^th century. Renaud married the heiress to two fiefs in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. However, it is doubtful that either of these fiefs were still in possession of the lady at the time of the marriage. In light of the fact that Barlais’ field of action was exclusively Cyprus and he does not appear to have been part of the High Court of Jerusalem, I’m inclined to believe his wife’s lands had been lost in 1187 and her titles were nominal.

Amaury de Bethsan came of more exalted heritage, and his father was the uncle of Barlais’ mother, making them cousins.  Bethsan was chamberlain of Cyprus 1218-1220. John La Monte describes the Bethsans as a noble house with an honorable reputation.[iii] Which nevertheless tells us nothing about Sir Amaury himself. 

Gibelet was an even more important family in Outremer.  Gibelet was a major fief of the Count of Tripoli, indeed the fief closest to the border with the Kingdom of Jerusalem and contiguous with the Lordship of Beirut. It had a port and a major castle. Although it fell to Saladin in 1187, it was back in Christian hands by the end of the 12^th century.  The Lord of Gibelet at the time of the Sixth Crusade was Guy, who was not a close relative of the Sir Hugh appointed Baillie of Cyprus. The latter came from a cadet branch of the family, albeit not an insignificant branch as his mother has been identified as a sister of King Leo of Armenia. Perhaps the most curious fact about the Gibelet family, however, is that it had a long tradition of good ties with the Ibelins. Indeed, there is good reason to suspect that the author of the pro-Ibelin Chronicle of Ernoul was a Gibelet. Hugh de Gibelet can be said, therefore, to have come from one of the most powerful and respected noble families of Outremer, although he himself may have been a younger son of a cadet branch anxious to improve his personal standing.

The Rivets and Chenechés were also established families in Outremer and Sir Gauvain and Sir William were related to one another as Rivet’s brother was married to the sister of Cheneché’s wife.

As for the men themselves, we know virtually nothing about Sirs William de Rivet, Hugh de Gibelet and Amaury de Bethsan. A hint of their looks or character may be found in Philip de Novare’s satirical fable Le Roman de Renard,  which depicted the opponents of the Ibelins as respectively a fox (Barlais), a badger (Bethsan), and a monkey (Gibelet). Unfortunately, I could not find Novare’s characterization of Cheneché or Rivet.

We do know, however, that Cheneché was accused of attacking a certain knight, Sir William de la Tour (who latter served as an ambassador to the court of the Emperor), treacherously at night. Sir William brought charges against Cheneché before the High Court of Cyprus, then presided over by the baillie Philip d’Ibelin. Cheneché demanded and received the right to defend himself against his accuser in judicial combat. However, Cheneché was bested in the ensuing joust, and had to accept terms which he deemed humiliating. He therefore left Outremer and made his way to the Kingdom of Sicily. According to Novare: “…he knew much concerning birds and so was much honored in [the Emperor’s] court.”[iv] This tidbit is interesting as Frederick II is known to have had a passion for falconry, wrote an entire book about birds, and is often depicted with birds of prey. 

Aimery Barlais, as described in Seeds of Civil War, was also involved in judicial combat that went poorly for him, however, his grievances against the Ibelins were considerably more substantial. He received the mandate to rule Cyprus from the Queen Mother and recognized regent Alice of Champagne sometime between 1224 and 1227 but was denied the right to exercise office by the High Court of Cyprus.  Since the Ibelins were the beneficiaries, he blamed them.

Nevertheless, regardless of their noble backgrounds and legitimate grievances, the recorded actions of the five baillies do not redound to their credit.  First, they happily set about seizing the property of the Ibelins and their supporters without due process. While this was perhaps understandable given their grievances, it was not wise government.  The problem is that subjects tend to get nervous about breaches in the rule of law. No matter what anyone thought of the Ibelins, they recognized that without due process the next victim of unjustified executive action might be anyone — including themselves. Second, the baillies needed to find the money they had promised the Emperor, so they raised everyone’s taxes. Few things are more guaranteed to provoke unpopularity and unrest that levying new taxes. Third, they threatened violence to the women and children of the Ibelins and their supporters. Indeed, they so thoroughly intimidated and frightened them that hundreds of them took refuge in the armed commanderies of the militant orders, particularly the Hospital.

We can also learn something about their character from an incident that Novare describes. Obviously, his account is biased, but it unlikely to have been completely fabricated. Novare claims when he was reluctant to take an oath to the baillies, they ordered his immediate arrest. Fearing for his life, Novare tells us, he appealed to the young king, but the boy king was “much afraid” and did not intervene.[v] Next Novare offered to face any of the baillies in judicial combat, but they refused. He was arrested and placed in a pillory, then released for the night and told to return the next day to face trial. Novare went instead to the commandery of the Knights Hospitaller, where many Ibelin women were already seeking sanctuary. That same night, men broke into his lodgings, killed one of his servants and stabbed his bed many times.  Novare claims to have been warned of this intended murder “by one who cared not whom it might displease” — apparently the young king himself, who had overheard talk of the planned murder.  

It was from the Hospitaller commandery that Novare then penned a lengthy appeal for help — in verse. The long poem is reproduced in full in his memoirs, and is amusing, although it certainly loses much in translation. His appeal appears to have been the final straw inducing the Lord of Beirut to take action in defense of his house and those loyal to it. Within just weeks of Novare’s bungled murder, the Ibelins landed on Cyprus with an army prepared to challenge the Emperor’s men.

---

[i] Abulafia, David. Frederick II: A Medieval Emperor. Oxford University Press, 1988, p.232.

[ii] Edbury, Peter. John of Ibelin and the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Boydell Press, 1997, 40.

[iii] La Monte, John. The Wars of Frederick II against the Ibelins in Syria and Cyprus. Columbia University Press, 1936, p. 19.

[iv] Novare, Philip. The Wars of Frederick II against the Ibelins in Syria and Cyprus. Columbia University Press, 1936, p. 70.

[v] Novare, p. 94.

The five baillies appointed by Frederick II play an important role in:

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Dr. Helena P. Schrader holds a PhD in History.

She is the Chief Editor of the Real Crusades History Blog.

She is an award-winning novelist and author of numerous books both fiction and non-fiction. Her three-part biography of Balian d'Ibelin won a total of 14 literary accolades. Her most recent release is a novel about the founding of the crusader Kingdom of Cyprus. You can find out more at: http://crusaderkingdoms.com

Kerak - The Castle of the Robber Baron of Oultrejourdain

The Castle of Kerak has become inextricably associated with the infamous Reynald de Châtillion, the Lord of Oultrejourdain in the late 12^th century. Indeed, the Arabs referred to Châtillion as “al-Karak”— of Kerak. The castle, however, is greater than its most famous lord, serving both the Ayyubids and the Mamlukes as a center of power as well. Today it is a still impressive reminder of Crusader military architecture.

 

The construction of Kerak (also Karak, Kerak in Moab and Karak al-Shawbak) began in 1142 in the reign of King Fulk and Queen Melusinde. The construction was undertaken by Payen (also Pagen) the Butler, Lord of Montreal and Oultrejourdain.  

It was constructed on Roman foundations, but its design was mostly dictated by geography.  It was built on the very tip of a promontory or spur formed by two steep gorges. To the east, south and west, the land dropped almost vertically to the valley floor some 3,000 feet below. To the north, as the spur of the ridge widens slightly, is the town of Kerak.  In medieval times the castle was separated from the town by a deep fosse that cut across the entire width of the spur and could only be crossed by a draw bridge.

Because of the sheer sides of the cliffs to the east, south and west, siege engines could only be brought to bear from the north after capturing the town. To capture the castle it was also necessary to fill in the deep fosse separating it from the town. The castle itself had two walls facing the vulnerable north, the first flanked by two towers and the second reinforced by five towers. Vaulted chambers on two levels backed up against the inside of the inner wall and could also be used as fighting galleries. Altogether the castle’s situation and design caused a number of Arab commentators from the 12^th to 14^th centuries to conclude it impregnable.

However, the castle was also designed to withstand long sieges. It had a massive cistern, ample cellars for storing food, and accommodation for a substantial garrison. It was divided into two long wards that ran north south, the western of which was narrow and appears to have been used for stables and the like, while the upper/eastern ward contains the chapel and the better accommodations.

Kerak is located beyond the Dead Sea in what is now Jordan. It lay along the lines of trade and communication between Egypt and Syria, or (in Crusader times) the Sultanates of Cairo and Damascus. It also lay along the main pilgrimage route from Turkey and Syria to Mecca. Yet the town, high above the desert, had been a Byzantine bishop’s seat and remained predominantly Christian throughout the period of Arab occupation from the mid-7^th century to the establishment of the crusader kingdom of Jerusalem.

In 1176, Reynald de Châtillion married the widowed Stephanie de Milly, the heiress to Kerak. He used the castle as his base to pursue a aggressive policy against Salah ad-Din. Although frequently portrayed as a “renegade” interested only in his own profit, a number of serious crusades historians have pointed out that, far from being senseless, his attacks served strategic goals. (For details see: http://www.crusaderkingdoms.com/reynald-de-chatillon.html)  It was precisely because Châtillion’s raids humiliated and threatened Salah ad-Din’s lines of communication to his power-base in Egypt that the Sultan came to see Châtillion as a personal enemy.

Hollywood's Reynald from "The Kingdom of Heaven"

Salah ad-Din moved against Châtillion in 1183, laying siege to Kerak in November. By chance the siege commenced during the celebration of the marriage of Châtillion’s stepson, Humphrey de Toron IV, to Princess Isabella of Jerusalem. Among the guests visiting the castle for the nuptials were Isabella’s mother, the dowager queen of Jerusalem, Maria Comnena, and the queen mother, Agnes de Courtney.

The relief of the castle was delayed by the unanimous refusal of the assembled barons of Jerusalem to fight under the leadership of the king’s brother-in-law, Guy de Lusignan. Guy had been named regent of the kingdom earlier in the year because the king was suffering from leprosy that was becoming increasingly debilitating. Only after King Baldwin IV agreed to resume the rule of his kingdom and lead the feudal army himself did the feudal army come to the relief of Kerak.  Despite being delayed by roughly a month, the appearance of the force was enough to induce Salah ad-Din to lift his siege.

The sultan returned the following year, 1184, prepared to fill in the fosse and take the castle by storm.  Yet again, the arrival of the Frankish army forced him to lift the siege.  For a second time he withdrew his forces without a fight.

After the Christian defeat at Hattin, Salah ad-Din executed Reynald de Châtillion immediately and -- according to some accounts -- personally. This act made Kerak  the property of Châtillion’s step-son Humphrey de Toron IV.  Toron had been captured at Hattin and was Salah ad-Din’s prisoner. The Sultan attempted to exploit this fact to negotiate the surrender of Kerak in exchange for the release of Toron. The garrison refused, so Salah ad-Din dispatched his brother al-Adil to reduce Kerak. After roughly one year, in November 1188, the garrison surrendered. Most sources agree they were not out of food much less water.  Rather, the hopelessness of their situation, since there was no longer a feudal army capable of coming to their relief, or possibly disease is believed to have led to the surrender. 

 

Salah ad-Din granted the castle to his brother al-Adil, who made it one of his power-bases and treasuries. He re-fortified parts of it and built or embellished the accommodations turning them into a (rough) palace in 1192. Thereafter, it served as the administrative center for what is now essentially Jordan under the Ayyubids. 

With the fall of the Ayyubids, Kerak passed into the control of the Mamlukes, who also used it as a power base, deepening the fosse and improving the fortifications and accommodations. Finally the Ottomans used the castle as an administrative center for the region, but it’s relevance in defense had long since been lost. Today it is a tourist attraction, open to the public, and can be visited.

Kerak is featured in the first two volumes of my Jerusalem Trilogy, particularly in award-winning Defender of Jerusalem, which describes Salah ad-Din's siege of 1183 in detail.

 

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Dr. Helena P. Schrader holds a PhD in History.

She is the Chief Editor of the Real Crusades History Blog.

She is an award-winning novelist and author of numerous books both fiction and non-fiction. Her three-part biography of Balian d'Ibelin won a total of 14 literary accolades. Her most recent release is a novel about the founding of the crusader Kingdom of Cyprus. You can find out more at: http://crusaderkingdoms.com