From c. 1000 the struggles of the Lombard princes of Benevento, Capua and Salerno, both against Byzantine hegemony and among themselves, provided opportunities for military service which attracted the Normans to southern Italy; but they only established a permanent presence with the acquisition of Aversa in 1030. They went on to seize Melfi in 1041, from where they began the conquest of Apulia and Calabria from the Byzantines, who turned to the papacy for help. The turning point came in 1053 at the battle of Civitate, where Pope Leo IX was defeated and captured by the Normans. This produced a realignment of forces, culminating in 1059 with the Investiture of Melfi, whereby Pope Nicholas II invested Richard of Aversa with Capua and another Norman leader Robert Guiscard with Calabria, Apulia and Sicily. Calabria fell in 1060 with the capture of Reggio, but the conquest of Apulia was delayed until 1071, when Bari, the Byzantine capital, surrendered. Guiscard left the conquest of Sicily from the Muslims to his brother Roger, who in 1061 established a bridgehead at Messina. Victory at Cerami (1063) brought him control of the Val Demone, from which he threatened the capital of Palermo. It capitulated in 1072, though Muslim resistance continued until 1091. After Guiscard's death in 1085 Sicily increasingly became the centre of Norman power, which reached its height under Roger II. He assumed the royal title in 1130 and extended his authority over all the Norman territories in
Southern Italy. This was at first opposed by the papacy, but later accepted in 1156 at the treaty of Benevento. The Norman kings were great patrons of the arts. Their achievement is still visible in their churches and palaces at Palermo and in the cathedrals of Monreale and Cefalii. The Norman kingdom passed to the Hohenstaufen in 1194 following a disputed succession.
M. Angold
Where Did the Crusaders Come From? Major Areas of Recruitment to the Crusade in the Near East From the Latin West, 1095-1271
The problem of crusade motivation must be put into its geographical context. As one might have expected, there was a strong correlation between the leadership of individual crusades and the regions of crusade recruitment. The first crusade, preached by Pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont in 1095, attracted recruits from virtually all over Christendom. Englishmen, Scots, Scandinavians, Italian merchant-seamen,
Even Tuscan monks (who were forbidden to go) and Spanish knights (who were told to stay and fight the Moors at home) sought to take the cross. But from the major areas of recruitment came the great feudal nobles, bringing their vassals, and assuming leadership positions. The most prominent amongst them were Robert of Normandy, Robert of Flanders, Hugh of Vermandois, Godfrey of Bouillon, Baldwin of
Boulogne, Bohemund of Taranto, Adhemar of Le Puy (the papal legate) and Raymond of Toulouse. The crusade of 1101 drew a large army of Lombards under Archbishop Anselm of Milan, as well as first-crusaders who had failed to honour their original vow, along with some others. In the second crusade, led by Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany, kings and kingdoms became involved for the first time. The champions of the third crusade were Emperor Frederick I, King Richard Lionheart of England (who also brought his troops from Poitou) and King Philip II Augustus of France. The fourth crusade saw the Venetians join great barons from northern and central France and Flanders, while the fifth crusade—after the first, perhaps the most truly 'international' crusade—aroused Frisians, Rhinelanders, Frenchmen, Italians from the papal state, Austrians, Hungarians and other contingents, too. The crusading armies of King Louis IX of France (St Louis) were overwhelmingly composed of Frenchmen, although his latter expedition attracted far less support than his first. Prince Edward of England's crusading army, which arrived in Tunis after Louis had already died there, must still be counted as part of Louis' crusade. The geography of crusade recruitment may be an essential clue to the psychology of crusade motivation.
G. Dickson
The Routes of the First Crusade
Following Pope Urban II's appeal at Clermont in November 1095 the crusaders set out over the next summer for Constantinople. They followed two main routes. The first was through Hungary to the Byzantine frontier post at Belgrade and then along the military road across the Balkans. This was taken by Peter the Hermit and by Godfrey of Bouillon, duke of Lower Lorraine. Other leaders, such as Robert of Normandy, Robert of Flanders and Stephen of Blois, travelled through Italy and crossed over to Dyrrachion, whence the Via Egnatia led to Constantinople. Variants of this route were followed by Bohemund of Taranto and by Raymond of Toulouse, who were the last to arrive at Constantinople (April 1097). The next stage was across Asia Minor which was controlled by the
Seljuq Turks. The crusaders captured Nicaea, the Seljuq capital, and then on 1 July 1097 defeated the Turks at Dorylaion. This victory opened up the routes across the Anatolian plateau to Edessa, which was occupied in March 1098, and to Antioch, which finally capitulated on 28 June 1098. The crusaders set out in January 1099 on their last stage to Jersualem, which fell after a month's siege on 15 July. Their successes were made possible by help from the Genoese, who dispatched a fleet in July 1097. News of these triumphs prompted the departure of two more crusading expeditions. Both were cut to pieces by the Turks in the summer of 1101. These defeats were decisive. They meant that Anatolia would remain Turkish and that the crusaders' hold in Syria would always be tenuous.
M. Angold
The Second and Third Crusades
The second crusade was in response to the fall of Edessa in 1144. Its inspiration was St Bernard who in 1146 persuaded both Louis VII of France and the German Emperor Conrad III to participate. The route chosen was through Hungary and across the Balkans. The Germans reached Constantinople in September 1147 and the French arrived in October. The Germans were turned back by the Turks near Dorylaion and joined up with the French who were marching down the west coast of Asia Minor. Conrad fell ill and returned to Constantinople, where he took ship to Palestine. Louis fought his way to Attaleia, whence he was ferried by the Byzantines to Antioch. Damascus was chosen as the goal of the crusade. A brief siege (24-28 July 1148) broke up in confusion. As a participant observed, 'if it brought no worldly success, it was good for the salvation of many souls'. Associated with this crusade were an English expedition which captured Lisbon from the Muslims (October 1147) and a Saxon campaign across the Elbe against the Slavic Wends.
The third crusade aimed to recover Jerusalem which had fallen to Saladin on 2 October 1187. The Germans under Frederick Barbarossa set out in May 1189 and followed the traditional route across the Balkans and Anatolia, but Frederick died en route. The English and French went by sea, wintering at Messina. The French under Philip Augustus arrived before Acre in April 1191; the English under Richard I not until June, having secured Cyprus on the way. Acre fell on 12 July. Philip Augustus then returned home. Richard stayed for another year. Despite his victory over Saladin at Arsuf Jerusalem eluded him. He only secured a foothold along the coast.
M. Angold
The Crusades of the Emperor Frederick II and St Louis
As king of Sicily the Emperor Frederick II was well-informed about the Muslim world. He realized that the rivalry between the Muslim rulers of Egypt and Syria could be exploited to recover Jerusalem. Even before he set off on crusade in 1228 he was negotiating with the sultan of Egypt, who in February 1229 agreed to the return of Jerusalem. Frederick entered the city and crowned himself king on 18 March. This propaganda coup turned sour, as he found himself condemned. The manner of his recovery of Jerusalem was an affront to the crusading ideal, while the terms left it isolated. It fell in 1244 to the first serious Muslim attack.
This produced a wave of crusading fervour centring on Louis IX of France. In 1249 from his base on Cyprus he launched an attack on Egypt— seen as the key to Jerusalem. Damietta fell in
June, but Louis delayed his advance against Cairo until the autumn. He won a victory at Mansourah, but then found himself cut off. On 6 April 1250 he surrendered. He was released after paying a ransom of 800,000 bezants. To atone for his failure he stayed in the Holy Land until 1254, strengthening its defences. In 1270 he launched another crusade; this time against Tunis. Its ruler was thought to be ready to convert to Christianity. Louis fell ill outside the city and died on 25 August.
St Louis was an idealist who brought meticulous planning to his crusades—down to the construction of the port of Aigues-Mortes. His utter failure did more harm to the cause of the crusade than Frederick's blatant opportunism.
M. Angold
The Crusader States
Of the four states the first to be established (1098) and the first to fall to the Muslims (1144) was the county of Edessa. Its position athwart the middle Euphrates left it exposed, but provided cover for Antioch, while its crusader princes tried and failed to take Aleppo which blocked expansion inland. After the defeat at the Field of Blood (1119) they were more or less restricted to the coastal plain. To the south the county of Tripoli was similarly confined to the coast, where the plain known as La Bloquee opened up a route inland, but it was blocked by Horns. Krak des Chevaliers was built in 1142 to defend the frontier.
This pattern of going onto the defensive after failing to break out into the interior was repeated by the kingdom of Jerusalem, but with differences. While a frontier was quickly established along the Jordan from Galilee to the Dead Sea and then in 1115-16 extended as far south as the Gulf of Aila (Aqaba), the coast took much longer to secure. Tyre only fell in 1125; Ascalon not until 1153. The kingdom of Jerusalem thus drove a wedge between the Muslim powers of Egypt and Syria. It threatened both Cairo and Damascus, but once these were united by Saladin in 1174, the crusaders were forced on the defensive. Though the kingdom of Jerusalem prospered—Acre was becoming the entrepot of the trade of the eastern Mediterranean—the costs of defence, particularly the construction and maintenance of fortresses, were crippling. The strain contributed to the collapse of the kingdom after Saladin's victory at Hattin in 1187. Though reconstituted by the third crusade, it was virtually limited to the coast; Jerusalem was only briefly recovered (122944). The kingdom survived thanks to the commercial interest of the Italians and
Divisions among Saladin's successors. Once Egypt passed to the Mamluks (1250), who were dedicated to the revival of the holy war, it was only a matter of time for the crusader states, with Acre finally falling in 1291.
M. Angold
World History
