Bader College

... 6 LUCAS VILLEGAS-ARISTIZABAL stories like the Song of Roland in an oral form would have acquainted a Norman audience with a literary vision of this area of the peninsula.4 All these factors would have made the Frankish-influenced Norman noble more familiar with this ...

This article tries to gather what has been written on the subject of Roger of Tosny participation on the Iberian Reconquest and extend it by using the two narrative sources which exist: the Chronicon of Adémar of Chabannes and the Chronique de Saint Pierre le Vi., The article narrates the events of this Norman involvement in the Iberian Reconquest, trying to answer questions, base on these two sources like the reason behind his participation, what did he achieve in the county of Barcelona, and the dates of the events narrated.

This article explores the Anglo-Norman military intervention during the Third Crusade on the Portuguese coasts, by analysing the narratives of Ralph of Diceto and the Gesta regis Ricardi. It then examines the motives that produced the multiple interventions by the Anglo-Norman fleets from the point of view of the English historiography of the crusades to the Levant. Finally, it discuses the contemporary perception and the consequences of these incursions to the peninsula, and the later interventions of Nordic crusaders in Iberia.

This article revisits the failed attempt to conquer Lisbon by a combined host of Anglo-Norman and Portuguese crusaders in 1142 within the wider context of both the crusader movement to the Holy Land and the Iberian Reconquista. Focusing on the Historia Gothorum, De expugnatione Lyxbonensi and other sources, it endeavours to demonstrate the degree of involvement of the Anglo-Norman contingents in maritime adventures at a time when no other crusades had been declared. Finally, it illustrates the consequence of this undertaking for the final conquest of Lisbon, as part of the Second Crusade, in 1147.

The Iberian Reconquista seems to have been a theatre of Holy War that started to attract the reform papacy from the second half of the 11th century. The siege and conquest of the frontier town of Barbastro in 1064 by a combined host of Norman,Occitan, Burgundian and Iberian forces has drawn its fair number of scholarly works thanks to the cryptic letter of Alexander II in which he  appears to have granted the Frankish forces remission of penance for their actions. On the other hand, a series of letters between Gregory VII and Eblous II of Roucy with regards to their planned expedition to Iberia has received little attention in comparison apart from demonstrating the continued interest of the reformed popes in the Iberian struggle and the controversial claim by the latter Pope of papal overlordship of the lost Christian lands of Spain. It is the purpose of this paper to survey the surviving material to find out where Gregory and his Frankish general were aiming to go in Iberia.  Also, to access how Gregory attempted to use the current arguments for Holy war to encourage this adventurer to fight in the Christian-Muslim frontier. It will address one of the most puzzling facets of this episode; that is whether Eblous really went to Iberia to fight the Muslims since some of the accounts seem to contradict each other. Finally, it will explore the significance of this episode in the development of Holy War in Iberia in the preamble of the First Crusade.

Savary of Mauléon was a Pontevin nobleman who played a significant role in some of the most important events in England, France, and the Holy Land in the first quarter of the thirteenth century. He is also remembered for his prolific career as a troubadour. Because of his eventful life, he has received a fair amount of attention in the historiography. On the other hand, Savary of Mauleon’s participation in the campaigns of reconquest in Iberia is an episode of this noble’s life, which has not been fully researched. The involvement of this Pontevin in the failed attempt to conquer Caceres by Alfonso IX of Leon with the aid of the Iberian military orders in November 1217 is only described by the Anales toledanos. Most recent scholars have accepted the Anales’ reference without question. Yet, Savary’s contribution if it really occurred would have been significant in relation to this nobleman’s campaigns on the side of King John of England or the side of the Cathars during the Albigensian Crusade. Henry John Chaytor who wrote Savary’s bibliography and was well acquainted with Iberian history seems to have been unaware of the Iberian connection. The purpose of this paper is to assess the evidence on whether Savary of Mauleon could have been present in the campaigns of Alfonso IX of Leon and Alfonso VIII of Castile around the autumn of 1217. Also, it will explore what were the historical circumstances that would have encouraged the involvement of this particular noble in the wars of reconquest in a campaign led by two of the most belligerent Iberian monarchs of the period. Moreover, it will also attempt to contextualise his participation in Iberia in relation to his later contribution in the siege of Damietta during the Fifth Crusade.

This article explores the involvement of the Norman nobility in the wars between Christians and Muslims in the Ebro Valley in the  rst half of the 12th Century. The work recognises how the participation of this particular ethno-cultural group in the peninsula was renovated to a certain degree by the deeds and religious transformation that took place as a result of the preaching and success of the First Crusade. Furthermore, by exploring the careers of Rotrou of Perche, Robert Burdet and Walter Guidvilla this piece demonstrates how their religiosity as well as the  lial relations and traditional desire for wealth that characterise this group of warriors, made the Iberian theatre of con ict so attractive at this particular period. Also, this article, tries to show how their Iberians lay and clerical coreligionists perceived the usefulness of these Norman contingents in their con ict with the Almoravids.

The First Crusade (1095-1099) opened an age of voyages to the Levant from Western Europe that were recorded in detail by multiple eyewitness accounts as the popularity of the movement thrived in the following century. The most famous and prestigious crusaders in the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries such as kings and high-ranking nobles travelled to the East on the land route or from Mediterranean ports in southern France or northern Italy. However, as the crusading movement attracted other groups with less material resources, the sea route from Northern Europe around the Iberian Peninsula stared to be perceived as an attractive and cheaper alternative. Furthermore, the passage through the Iberian Peninsula gave these crusaders an opportunity to attack Muslim cities and forts along the way without incurring into raiding of fellow Christians as it happened often on the land route to Asia.
During the Fifth Crusade  (1216-1222) a Frisian fleet travelled to the East on a similar voyage as countless northern crusaders had done before them, but as they did they described their travels in a itinerary known as the Itinere frisonem which compared to other similar texts, such as De expugnatione Lyxbonensi and the Gesta regis Ricardi, contains a higher level of detail for the distances, the stopovers, the kingdoms and the general geography of the lands. As I have showed in my previous work, this chronicle has given us an insight into the Frisian fleet’s motives and actions in the Iberian conflict against the Almohads. In this work, however, I intend to show how this chronicle can be used as a source for naval journeys and the spiritual views of the crusaders with regards to the expedition to Jerusalem. Also, as crusaders engaged in trade, raiding and praying along the way, this paper will attempt to address the following questions regarding its content: How did the clerical author of the chronicle view the activities of his fellow crusaders within the framework of the imitation of Christ? What was the purpose of the itinerary? Why does the text end with their arrival at Acre and does not mention the capture of Damietta? And finally how was the sense of ‘other’ used to portray the peoples (both Christian and Muslims) they encountered along the way?

This article surveys the surviving material regarding Gregory VII and Eblous of Roucy’s expedition to Iberia c. 1073. This is an expedition that usually has been overlooked which provides a glimpse in to Gregory VII’s mindset with regard to the Iberian wars against the Muslims. This article assesses how Gregory attempted to use the current arguments for ‘Holy War’ to encourage Eblous and his followers to fight in the Christian–Muslim frontier. It also compares the papal plans with Eblous’ probable motives as they can be discerned from sources and the circumstantial evidence. Furthermore, it addresses whether Eblous went to Iberia to fight the Muslims since some of the accounts seem to contradict each other. It will also explore the significance of this episode in the development of Holy War as a preamble to the First Crusade, especially in comparison with the better-known siege of Barbastro of 1064. Lastly, it will also analyse how Eblous’ filial relations with the Aragonese rulers would help create family networks between the Burgundian and Norman nobility and the ruling houses of the Iberian Peninsula in the following decades, and the effect of these on the later involvement of Frankish contingents in the Iberian wars against the Muslims.

In 1213 Innocent III, inspired by earlier victories, issued Quia maior in which he asked the Christendom to put aside its quarrels and to join forces in a new expedition to rescue the Holy Land. He also announced that the indulgences offered for participating in Iberia and Southern France would be suspended so the crusading forces could concentrate their efforts on the task at hand.

However, in 1217, when the fleet of Northern Crusaders arrived in the Iberian Peninsula on their obligatory stopover on the coasts of Portugal, they were invited by the Bishop of Lisbon to join an expedition being planned to recapture Alcacer do Sal. As it had occurred earlier crusades, the Iberian prelates tried to convince the forces of the Northern Crusaders to join their coreligionists in their coming campaign arguing of the value of their struggle as part of their Crusading venture. Traditionalist Crusade historians have sometimes used Innocent’s disqualification and the Itinere Frisonem version of the events in the eve of the siege to illustrate their point that the Iberian wars against the Al-Andalus did not enjoy the same status as those to the Holy Land. However, it is evident that Pope Innocent was unprepared to disqualify the Iberian Christian efforts against the Muslims in their region, making an artificial separation between the Iberians and the rest of Christendom. Furthermore, the Itinere is far from clear in its view that their involvement in Iberia was not a crusading venture. This paper will try to revise the evidence that survive to decipher what was the real status of the campaign in the eyes of the Papacy by 1217. It will also explore how this differentiation of one group of lay Christians from another might have affected the conceptualisation of the Iberian theatre as Crusade in the eyes of its participants.