Need more medieval in your life?

Well that was an awesome semester. Thanks everyone! But don't mourn its passing too soon. The internet is a treasure trove of amazing medieval information. Here I'm just highlighting a few places you could go in particular for podcasts (online audio files) about historical topics, including medieval ones, by famous historians from all over the world.

For example, did you know that the BBC History Magazine has a free online section with audio interviews and brief talks? You can hear the latest one, or browse the archive for whatever topic takes your fancy, from the Crusades to WWII: http://www.historyextra.com/podcast-page

If you want a bit more detail, try the online lectures available [on almost any topic] from the Universities of Oxford (http://itunes.ox.ac.uk/) and Cambridge (http://www.cam.ac.uk/video/itunesu.html).

Did you know that our own Clare Monagle is also a podcasting sensation? Check her out on Radio National talking about the medieval concept of 'political theology': http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/encounter/politics-and-god/3126076

And if you enjoyed the Robert Bartlett series Inside the Medieval Mind, linked earlier in semester, you could follow up by listening to this interview with him about making the series and what he wanted people to learn.

The end of semester doesn't have to be the end of medieval!

Naturally, there are also other Medieval and Renaissance units you can take here at Monash - just check out the Handbook! In semester 2, look for ATS1317 (Renaissance Europe); ATS2603 (Age of Crusades); and ATS2604 (Arthur: History and Myth). In summer 2012 there will be the exciting travel unit ATS2612 (Renaissance in Florence). And in 2013 look our for ATS3288 (Angels & Demons: Rome, the Papacy and the World); ATS2572 (Crisis and renewal in the late Renaissance); ATS2573 (Relics and legends); and ATS2579 (Witches and depravity).

See you then...
Kathleen

P.S. Comments remain open, so those of you still writing your essays, please feel free to post queries about citation, etc., below.

Test Revision

So I'm just putting this here to provide a space for those who would like to make use of a communal discussion to help them think about the unit and revise for the test on Monday.

God the Geometer, Codex Vindobonensis 2554

Details, in case you missed them, are:

• The test takes place in the lecture slot on Monday 21 May.
• It is expected to take about an hour, but you can take up to two if required. 
• It will follow an essay format.
• It will take the form of a statement you must discuss with reference to primary sources.
• Select primary sources will be provided.
• A mock test is available on Blackboard
• The marking criteria are listed in the Unit Guide
• There is no exam in the exam period.
• There is no tutorial in week 12 after the test.
• Please submit outstanding essay hard copies to the SOPHIS essay box (Menzies W604).

It's been a blast, so thanks everyone. And good luck on Monday!
Kathleen

Unit Feedback & Sundry Announcements

Dear Students,

You will have received an email from SETU (Student Evaluation of Teaching and Units), inviting you to evaluate ATS 1316. Please do so! We really want to know what you think.

These surveys are taken extremely seriously by the University. They are used when staff members apply for promotion, or for other jobs. They are also used to make changes to the units for next year, drawing on student comments. These blogs, for example, emerged out of comments by students that they sometimes felt disconnected during first year. Hence, we have tried to build community and encourage your readings by running these blogs.

So let us know what you think of the unit. YOU ARE VERY POWERFUL!

Many thanks, Clare

P.S. You will also see a link on the right to a survey specifically asking you about the blog. We are really interested in your feedback on this learning tool in particular. This is separate from the University's SETU feedback.
Thanks!

Prato

Kathleen

P.P.S. Those interested in following up on the medieval and renaissance world by taking the summer subject in Prato and Florence should look at the ASA website here.
Also, consult the University handbook for more detail about prerequisites, etc., here. 
You may also want to contact the course coordinator, Peter Howard.

P.P.P.S. The Black Death blog follows below!

The Black Death

Medieval Venice

For this week’s tutorial I will be discussing the legal and political structures of two of the largest urban centres at the time in Italy and across all of Europe. We will discuss the formation of Venice and Florence’s merchant-elite governments, and how through commerce and production, humble merchants and traders of both cities came to eventually form reasonably well functioning oligarchies and civil governments. Above is a picture of medieval Venice in which shipping (its main commercial enterprise at the time) is featured.

Below is an image from inside the Palazzo Davanzati in Florence. Take notice of the walls which are adorned with 14th century opulent woollen tapestries (with wool manufacturing being one of the most important economic activities for medieval Florence).

Palazzo Davanzati, Florence.

Just a question to get the ball rolling for the tute this week: Despite both Venice’s and Florence’s system of civil politics and governance lacking total democracy, why do you think they (for the most part) functioned more effectively than others, and (in Venice’s case) prevailed for so long?

Looking forward to further discussion with all of you.

--Tom

What was Italian civilization like in the years after 1250C.E and before the arrival of the Black Death?

Prior to the Black Death, civilization in Italy was flourishing. Both Florence and Venice were autonomous republics governed by elite merchants, and it was a time of great wealth and great vision. This was reflected in Florence’s architectural achievements of the era, which included the building of the new Cathedral, the Palazzo Vecchio, the Church of Santa Croce, Or San Michel and Logga del Lanzi.

What were the economic foundations of Florence?

Most of Florence’s wealth during this period was generated from two enterprises: banking and wool.

Banking

• Close ties between Florence and the Papacy gave merchants the opportunity to act as the Church’s fiscal agent
• Collected the Tithe (Church Tax)
• Two of these banking families, the Bardi’s and the Peruzzi’s, helped King Edward III of England finance the 100 Years War

Wool

• Wool was readily available from the Angevin rulers
• Wool was one of the two most viable products for foreign trade, the other being metal
• Two wool guilds: The Calimala Guild and the Lana Guild
• Apart from guildsmen, there were many other people involved in the process of wool manufacturing e.g. fullers, dyers, weavers, washers and spinners
• Also created jobs in transportation and selling goods
• It is estimated that at its peak in the 14th century, approximately half of Florence’s population was employed in wool manufacture

What were Venice’s economic foundations?

Unlike Florence, Venice was a coastal city, whose wealth was derived primarily from trade and shipbuilding. The historian Frederic Lane describes Venice during this time as a ‘maritime republic’. In fact, the ‘noblemen’ (merchants) of Venice usually held positions such as officer, captain, or admiral. Trade was conducted not only in the Mediterranean but also in the English Channel and along the North Sea coastline.

Shipbuilding and the State

• The State began its own shipbuilding enterprise from 1290
• Developed a system called the ‘arsenale’
• This new system allowed specialist government workers such as carpenters, sail-makers and caulkers, to build efficient and sturdy galleys
• It was a complex and highly efficient process

--Steph K

Does the extract from Petrarch’s Letter to Posterity indicate an optimistic or pessimistic sense of his legacy?
Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374) was a writer and thinker who produced numerous works primarily on the human personality and mind. He was most concerned with issues of religious life, striving for fame, the passion of love, the value of different forms of knowledge and of course his main love was the study of classical antiquity. To me he emanates a modest man who thought very logically and ahead of his time. Petrarch Wrote one of very few autobiographies from the middle ages. He did so in the hope that future generations or “posterity” would take an interest in not only his life but the times he lived in and they issues they faced in everyday life. 

The excerpt which we were given to read begins very modestly with Petrarch expressing a rather pessimistic attitude that future generations will hear of him. Although he writes as though it is unlikely, the fact that he is writing a 4000 word autobiography must spring from some kind of optimism that someone will read it.  Petrarch writes that he “always tried to transport [himself] mentally to other times”. From this admission it is clear that he understands how others, like him, will have less interest in their own times and want to know as much about past generations as possible, making it more likely that his works will be read. 

I draw from this extract that Petrarch’s exploration of the human identity strongly enhanced his understanding of himself.  Consequently, this knowledge and studied opinion of his own works and the time he lived in, gave him hope that his work would stand the test of time. I think that Petrarch had an optimistic yet very modest sense of his legacy. 
--Anna

Perin also addressed this question:

Francesco Petrarch, often considered the Father of Humanism, was a poet, historian, and scholar who had a firm admiration for the classics and introduced them to his contemporaries. Petrarch is often seen as one of the forerunners of the Renaissance as his main works were based on classical antiquity and the revival of classical thinkers. His "Letter to Posterity," presents an autobiographical passage that reflects on his personal history and philosophy on life, which in turn provides an idea of what he thought would become of his legacy.

To begin with, his actions of writing a letter to posterity and addressing to those who “word may have come to”, reveals that he is optimistic that he will be talked about in the future. It can be observed that Petrarch’s writing is a calculated effort to leave a monumental self-portrait for those to come. His letter to ‘future generations’ portrays a strong sense of desire to be remembered for his labours and also for individual fame that would match his predecessors, namely Cicero. 

Though this is evident, it is also important to note Petrarch’s strong level of humility and self-awareness that he maintains in his writing. He remains modest and sceptical and at times, his optimism is dulled when he displays signs of uncertainty, noting “though even this is doubtful, since an insignificant and obscure name will scarcely penetrate far in either time or space”. 

From this, we can establish that he is conflicted. While the certainty in his work and learnings is why he believes people may want to know about his life and how he came to be, his pessimism arises out of his inability to know what time will determine for his legacy.  

Ultimately, the extract indicates a level of both optimism and pessimism. Despite being aware of the vast social changes that were approaching at the time, his self-consciousness makes him doubt the magnitude of his legacy.

--Perin

How does King characterise the economic and social impact of the Black Death?

In the summer of 1348, the Black Death arrived in Europe having a devastating impact on the population. Originating in Asia, it is transmitted by a flea, which was carried by a particular type of rat. It spread to Sicily through merchants who had carried the rat aboard and as Sicily traded with areas such as the Crime and Byzantium, the disease spread further.  The plague effected people in waves, epidemics reoccurring 5 different occasions throughout the 14^th century and decreasing in frequency after 1400 up until the 18^th century. The three types of plague infecting people were:

• Septicaemic: where the disease enters the blood stream and kills in hours
• Pneumonic:  where the disease enters the lungs (transmitted by droplets and not requiring flea or rat) killed in days
• Bubonic: (the most common type) Which was spread by the rat and its infected fleas and caused swellings called ‘buboes’ that usually killed in most cases.

The plague was more common in the city than the countryside but affected the country too. It also had a bigger affect on the elderly and children – those whose immune system were least likely to stand up to the disease. The plague affected the population accordingly:

• Florence: Pre plague – 90,000-100,000; post plague – 30,000
• Venice: Pre plague – 120,000; post plague – 84,000
• Bologna: Pre plague - 54,000; post plague – 35,000
• Padua: Pre plague – 38,000; post plague – 18,000
• Pisa: Pre plague – 50,000; post plague – 10,000

At the time, doctors didn’t know anything about the plague, how it was caused and how to treat it and they often refused to treat patients due to its deadly nature unless paid. Common treatments included urine examination and blood letting to no avail. They thought it was transmitted through the air recommended filtered air and closed windows. There was no cure for it at the time. Cities would try and quarantine households and arrange for burials (sometimes mass burials) and the clergy would assist and serve the sick where they could. Some of the clergy however would abandon cities, leaving the survivors to unceremoniously bury their dead.

King mentions Giovanni Boccaccio who wrote about his experience with the plague in 1348. He comments on the way the plague affected the human spirit. He talks about the way the disease spread fear throughout Europe and caused family members to abandon each other out of fear of catching the plague. Parents would abandon their sick kids, wives would abandon sick husbands, sibling would abandon sick sibling and so on. The sick were on their own for the most part, only receiving support from friends, which was not a common occurrence according to Boccaccio. Although there are critics of Boccaccio’s account, the plague definitely would have had a massive effect on both society and the economy, including the production of art and literature, which would eventually lead to the renaissance.

Questions to consider:

What effect do you think the plague had on city and country life? How did these places affect each other (which area had the bigger impact overall)? How did the Church's response to the plague affect society? How did the Black Plague affect people's interactions with one another?

Do the documents relating to the Black Death reflect Kings understanding of the impact of the Black Death?

In Margaret King’s article it is noted that:

• “It [The Black Death] changed the course of history; it interrupted, but did no choke off the movement of ideas”
• Her chronology in the “age of republics” on p.276 shows a lot of activity every few years, for example major public works, buildings started, guilds set up just to mention a few, but then in King’s words “after the hiatus of the plague and reconstruction, literature figures don’t emerge till 1390’s and no significant innovations in the visual arts until the 1400’s” – that is 42 years later, a generation on before anything started to be note worthy
• From the impact graph it looks like Florence lost 50 % of the population Siena 70 % and Venice 35%, this looks like more than a hiatus for medieval life at that time.
• King’s extract from Boccaccio explains the social breakdown of law and order and customs

Giovanni Boccaccio

• Giovanni Boccaccio in extract number 3 tells us that not only is there a breakdown in the social fabric of society but also tells us of medicine failure and religious institutions were not immune from the effects. Leaving the people asking the question as to why the church and their prayers didn’t save them.
• It became hard to find a priest to deliver the last rites and no consecrated ground left in the cemeteries to bury the dead and clergy’s ran off abandoning their post.
• The citizens who managed to avoid the plague consumed life as if it was there last day on earth, people could do what they wanted
• Bordering on a famine before the plague, now crops laid wasted with no one to harvest
• Giovanni Boccaccio continued to write through the plague years for the next 26 years, till his death

Other Quotes

• As far as the church being a power house before the plague and, from extract 7, Gille de Muisis sums up all funeral rites ceased; the deaths grew from day to day as did the priests who administered to the sick became sick themselves; fear would have grown as the church was supposed to be immune
• Matteo Villani, in extract 11 criticizes the few surviving folk left, who escaped the grave; he says they would be better to be more pious, humble, virtuous, and more catholic; he thought they would guard themselves from sin, be full of love and charity towards one another
• But in a short time gave into a shameful, disordered, sordid life of sin and gluttony and inventing strange fashions. Matteo tells us that after the plague, goods and services cost twice as much, lawsuits over land grabbing, disputes, and riots flared up, so for a time they lived in utter chaos.

Questions to consider:

 Do you think the Black Death was just a bump on the time scale or a hiatus as King calls it or... a huge shift in social, economic and cultural belief that needed changes in attitudes and time to come to terms with?

--Rosslyn, Georgia and Roman

[Editor's note: Jordan's contribution to come...]

The Crusades and Christian Love

1. Sir Steven Runciman on the First Crusade

Reasons for the Crusade

Runciman stresses that the first Crusade was born from the zeal of Pope Urban II in attempting to mend the damaged relationship between the West and the Byzantium Empire. This relationship had been gradually deteriorating, culminating with the excommunication of Byzantine by the papal legate and the excommunication of the Latin West by the patriarch of Constantinople in 1054. Pope Urban began his effort to better these relations by raising the ban of excommunication of the emperor with resulted the restoration of diplomatic and religious relations. In an effort to further strengthen the relations with the Byzantine’s Pope Urban II overreacted to the emperors call for western recruits to aid his fight with the Turks. Pope Urban II preached a Crusade with the aims of raising a Christian army to aid the Byzantines and in this he succeeded.      

Impact of the First Crusade

This Crusading army greatly damaged relations between the Latin West and the Byzantines despite the good intention of Pope Urban II. The vast differences in religious practices and ideologies present between the Roman and Orthodox Churches generated resentment between the Latin West and the Byzantine Empire with:

• The difference in Orthodox ritual that were proclaimed as strange and hardly Christian by the Crusaders.
• The Byzantine’s tolerance of Muslims shown by allowing a Mosque in Constantinople and by being content with Egyptian Fatimid control of Palestine was seen by the West as heretical and supportive of the infidel.  
• The Chirsitan attempt to convert the Ortodox Christains of Jerusalem after its capture and in doing so completely disregarding their pre-existing ecclesiastical hierarchy.
• The disregard for the emperor’s claim to the ex-byzantine city of Antioch where instead of returning it to the Byzantines the Norman Bohemond named himself master of the city and removed the Orthodox patriarch replacing him with a Latin of his choice.

Although Pope Urban II’s crusade succeeded in capturing the Holy Land it resulted in the emphasising of the differences between the Western and Eastern Christians resulting in a breakdown of relations between the Latin West and Byzantine contrary to the intent of Pope Urban II.

--Nathan

2. What does Steven Runciman mean when he refers to a ‘melancholy pile of misunderstandings’ throughout the First Crusade?

Runciman attributes that gross misunderstandings occurred during the events of the First Crusade led to eventual fallout between the Latin West and the Byzantine Empire. 

Pope Urban first attempted to improve relations between East and West. The Byzantine Emperor, Alexius Comnenus wanted the West to send troops to join his own army to reclaim Anatolia. However the Pope misunderstood this to be to send Western armies to work alongside Byzantine troops. This was not Alexius goal as he would have no control over foreign armies. The Pope also thought that this request for aid meant conquering all Muslim lands, not just retaking Anatolia has Alexius intended. When Crusading armies reached the Byzantine Empire, they were disappointed in the Byzantines response (as large Crusading armies were not what they wanted). They accepted that while the Emperor was leader of the Christian East they could not understand his indifference towards the Holy Land. This misunderstanding was a fundamental issue that caused numerous problems.

The Crusaders lacked discipline, causing trouble. Western Europeans would not blame themselves if anything went wrong (except for the English who in a way embraced this). They attributed blame to the Byzantines and their emperor creating conflict and deterioration in relations. For instance the failure of Peter the Hermit was blamed on the emperor. When Nicaea surrendered to the Byzantines the Crusaders were forbidden from looting which outraged them as they could not see the worth in the city. Bohemond the Norman wanted Antioch for the West instead of it returning to Byzantine hands. He made life difficult for Byzantines marching with his army to the point they withdrew.

At Antioch when the Crusaders army requested aid from the Byzantines. The Byzantines agreed but when they heard from a knight the siege was pointless they turned back. Despite later tacking Antioch the Crusaders regarded this as treacherous. The Byzantines were accommodating of other religions while the Crusaders did not understand other religious practices and hence disliked them.

Crusaders would place Western men in positions traditionally held by Eastern Orthodox Christians. Such examples include installing Latin patriarchs in Palestine and Antioch. As a response to this the Byzantines wanted to restore Greek hierarchies.

Upon his return to the West, Bohemond persuaded the new Pope that the Byzantine were disloyal to Christendom resulting in a campaign against and eventual defeat by the Byzantines. The Westerners could not understand how the East could be tolerant of Muslims.

All these factors resulted in the West feeling the East was a traitor to Christendom.

Some questions to consider:

Would the Crusades have at all occurred if the Pope Urbans’ misunderstanding of the Byzantine Empires goals had never had happened? Can the First Crusade be attributed to have been caused by a minsunderstanding? Who would be mostly to blame for the misunderstandings? Is it surprising that despite these fundamental misunderstandings that the First Crusade succeeded at all? 

--Stuart

3. Jonathan Riley-Smith asks whether or not we can consider ‘Crusading an Act of Love’, what does he mean by this?

Jonathan Riley-Smith examines love on a number of levels and in differing contexts. Particularly, he addresses how it underpinned the motivation of the crusades and how it formed a justification for the Papacy. 

Riley-Smith argues that crusading was an act of love by examining the way it was preached, by the clergy, to the knightly class. He proposes this idea of ‘caritas’ meaning charity or Christian love and links it to the objective of the crusades through the second great commandment of loving one’s neighbour as oneself.  Hence, it is an action of love to give up one’s property and travel to the East in the pursuit of helping one’s Byzantium cousins. 

The audiences addressed by popes and preachers saw this love of God in terms of a feudal relationship and this was utilised by the preachers. The suggestion that Christ was a king who had lost his inheritance or ‘haereditas’ of the Holy Land, to non-Christians, made it the obligation of his subjects to fight for its recovery. This idea of love, in relation to earthly notions, was expanded upon to include the desiring of his honour and glory as a form of love, comparable to the way a vassal desires the honour and glory of his lord. Hence, by presenting theology in everyday terms, the ideas of loving God and loving one’s neighbour can become a motivation and justification for crusading.

However, this love of neighbour is one-dimensional and a simplification, and one that was used to make crusader rhetoric accessible to a wider audience. Riley-Smith continues by exploring how loving one’s neighbour implied all of mankind, including enemies, and how this idea is compatible with the violence of the crusades. The violence of the crusades can be perceived as violence motivated by love, due to the argument that the violence punished sin. Therefore, the crusaders were acting out of love when they killed because they were correcting the sins of nonbelievers, and so this love is a disciplinary force. Hence, through exploring crusading as an act of love, Riley-Smith reveals the complexity of the Church’s position, yet this was not fully comprehended by the laity.  

Source: Louise Riley-Smith and Jonathan Riley-Smith, The Crusades, idea and reality, 1095-1274, (London: Arnold, 1981).

--Gian

4. What evidence does Riley-Smith use to argue that a theological notion of love underpinned crusading?

Acts of love underpinning crusading are said to be love for Christ, love for thy neighbour and love for thy enemy.

Evidence presented for loving Christ:

• Pope Innocent III: If God underwent death for man, ought man to question for dying for God?
• Pope Innocent III: “Let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”
• Pope Innocent III: “You receive a soft and gentle cross; he bore one that was sharp and hard”
• Cardinal Odo: “It is a clear sign that a man burns with love of God and zeal for God when he leaves country, processions, house, children and wife, going overseas in the service of Jesus Christ”
• Pope Innocent III: “Will not Jesus … condemn you for the vice of ingratitude… if you neglect to help him”

Some questions to consider about these examples are what people think about them. Are they truly about love? Is this just rhetoric from the Church? IS the Church using love of Christ in this manner to compel people to go on crusades through making it an obligation to show ones love for Christ? Perhaps consider who said these quotes?

Evidence for love for thy neighbour

• Pope Innocent II: “Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friend”
• Pope Alexander III: “it would be difficult to find a field of action in which this charity could be expressed with more glory with regard to virtue … than in aid to relieve the needs of the Church in the East and the faithful of Christ”
• Pope Innocent III: “How does a man love according to divine precept his neighbour as himself, knowing that his Christian brothers in faith and in name are held by the perfidious Muslims…”
• Pope Adrian IV: “they do not fear to lay down their lives fir their brothers”
• Pope Urban II: “your full brother, your comrades, your brothers born of the same mother, for you are sons of the same Christ and the same Church” [referring to the Eastern Church]

Is it by coincidence that Popes say all these quotes? Is this rhetoric? Was love of neighbour and excuse to go to Jerusalem? Did the west really have such a great love for the East particularly in considering the events of the forth crusade?

Evidence for love thy enemy

• St Augustine [paraphrased]: the intention behind punishment designed for the purpose of correction had to be to make the offender happy
• St Augustine [paraphrased]: those put to death for their sins suffered no injury from it rather they were already being injured by their sins
• St Augustine [paraphrased]: it is right for a loving state to force heretics from the path of error for their own benefit.
• St Augustine [paraphrased]: love in fact could involve physical correction, in the same way as a father punished a son or a master a servant

Do people agree with this? Does this view align with what our modern perceptions are of the crusades?  Did Popes also stress this point?

Having looked at these examples form the text, I have included some other pieces of evidence on Crusades and in my presentation I will ask you about them. For now let them stimulate discussion here on the blog about crusading being an act of love as well as the questions above.  

Do any of these following examples fit into any of the categories of love outlined?

Niketas Choniates on the fourth crusade:

“Some of these which were unable to keep their footing on the splendid and slippery pavement, were stabbed when they fell, so that the sacred pavement was polluted with blood and filth”

The Archbishop of Tyre, eye-witness, wrote:

"It was impossible to look upon the vast numbers of the slain without horror; everywhere lay fragments of human bodies, and the very ground was covered with the blood of the slain. It was not alone the spectacle of headless bodies and mutilated limbs strewn in all directions that roused the horror of all who looked upon them. Still more dreadful was it to gaze upon the victors themselves, dripping with blood from head to foot, an ominous sight which brought terror to all who met them. It is reported that within the Temple enclosure alone about ten thousand infidels perished."

--Matthew

 5. Chronology of the Fourth Crusade

• 1198 Pope warns Venetians not to supply Saracens with war related products
• 1200 French nobles plan Fourth Crusade to be undertaken by sea
• Crusaders send envoys to Doge in Venice to negotiate contract for supplies and transport
• Doge agrees Venice will supply transport and food for 4500 horses, 4500 knights and 29000 other men over a period of nine months at a cost of 85000 marks
• The contract will last one year from the day of departure from Venice harbour
• In addition, the Venetians will supply fifty armed galleys if crusaders pay a half share in every conquest.
•  1201 they publicly agreed and set Cairo as their first target
• Messengers are sent to Venice to adjust preparations to meet  needs for 4000 Knights and 100,000 men
• 1202 only 1000 knights and about 60,000 men arrive in Venice and are accommodated in island of St Nicholas
• Venetians demand payment for full number of men and horses agreed to in plan
• Crusaders pay what the can, but are 50,000 marks short
• Venetians are angry and threaten  to cut crusaders off from all supplies
• Crusaders pay another 14,000 marks, leaving them without means to support themselves
• To protect their reputation, Venetians agree to commence crusade if crusaders will pay the debt of 36,000 marks, out of the loot from their first conquest.
• Winter has set in and it is too late to set out for Cairo, but crusaders can’t afford to stay
• Doge suggests that crusaders take the city of Zara, a rich enemy of Venice.
• In November they march on Zara
• People of Zara negotiate with the Doge to give up their city and wealth in exchange for their lives
• The Doge takes their offer to the Crusade leaders who agree
• They return to accept the offer of Zara, to find that other crusaders have undermined the negotiations and the people of Zara have withdrawn their surrender
• A French abbot, on behalf of the Pope forbids the crusaders to attack Zara, as it is Christian
• Doge pressures the crusaders to attack and they agree
• They attack Zara and after five days, the city surrenders
• After division of loot, the crusaders are still short of money and cannot commence crusade
• Doge suggests that crusaders invade Greece to fund their crusade, using the excuse that they are restoring the rightful heir to the throne
• They invade Greece, restore Alexi to the throne and ask for payment   
• Alexi short pays the crusading army. After the division of loot, the crusaders still can’t afford to complete their crusade
• The crusaders threaten Alexi , but he is insulted and refuses to pay
• The crusaders attack Constantinople, but fail to take it
• The clergy urge the crusaders to continue, but also insist all the ‘evil women’ be sent away
• The clergy offer absolution to all who attack the Greeks
• 1204 crusaders sack Constantinople. Murder, rape and pillage ensue
• Relics and Church treasures removed to Latin West
• Cardinals sent by Church, desert Jerusalem and head to Constantinople
• Many pilgrims and natives of Jerusalem  follow them
• Cardinals absolve people from their pilgrimage and crusading vows if they stay to defend Constantinople
• Pope is furious because Jerusalem is weakened and relations with the Greeks are unsalvageable.

--Kellie

For my presentation I will be discussing the controversies which surround the Fourth Crusade.  I will discuss the agreement concluded between the Crusaders and the Venetians concerning their repayment of debts and its relationship to the events to come.  I will also discuss the sacking of Zara, attempting to emphasise the irony of an army of Christians, called to arms by the Pope, sacking a Christian city whilst on crusade; as well as the controversial events surrounding the sacking of Constantinople.  Lastly, I will discuss the outcome of the Fourth Crusade.  This discussion will include the division of the Byzantine Empire into small, independent states, the founding of the Latin Empire, and the annexation of some parts by the Venetian Republic, and how this dismemberment of the Byzantine Empire ultimately lead to the expansion of the Turkish Sultanates and the spread of Islam into Europe, at the expense of Christianity.  I will attempt to give this presentation from the point of view of the Papacy and the Eastern Church, focusing on how the actions of the Crusaders opposed the principle of Christian fraternity as preached by the Papacy, in regard to their brothers of the faith in the East, which was one of the major arguments given in support of the Crusades.
--Nathaniel

St Francis and the New Orders

Jacques Le Goff on Saint Francis Of Assisi – by Levi King

Hi all. The information below provides a basic overview of the first reading for week 9 by Jacques Le Goff. Together with some questions, I hope you can gain a better understanding of the changing world in which Francis of Assisi established his own belief system.

Growing Urbanization:

Land is the basis of life:

• Land clearances = more cultivation
• The ox is replaced by the horse
• Crop rotations emerge. (Triennial – Three per year)
• Increased number of mills
• Increased population
• ‘Holiness’ becomes a town-related practice (Bishop holding power over a town)
• Towns are places of exchange
• Economic and social inequality are now based on possessions and property, not birth and family
• ‘Bankers’ are taking care of money, not monasteries

Question: How do you think the Church benefitted from this rise of urbanization?

The Church struggles:

• Social and economic standing:
• Put simply, the Church holds feudal secular domination
• The Problem:
• To quote Le Goff. There soon became a “struggle against the incontinence of the clergy”
• Large separations between the clergy and the laity:
• The church begins to put measures on marriage and cohabitation

• The Result:
• The Gregorian reform:
• A reform of the church which was attempting to adapt to outside events
• It established new religious orders, the canonical movement and acceptance of diversity
• Held a large emphasis on manual labour
• Changes in laity:
• Barriers between the laity and the clergy remained, and the laity increased their religious authority
• For example – Arnold of Brescia (1140s) preached of the corrupt life of the clergy
• Church cannot control the flock
• A new “intellectual environment” is established no longer based solely on religion, but scholasticism
• Real opposition to Christianity emerges: Catharism (an actual religion)

Question: Why do you think that the Church turned to the more firm doctrines of sin and sacrament during this time of change?

Francis of Assisi:

• Background:
• Born at the rise of urbanization
• The turbulent social structures above had been established by the time of Francis’ birth
• His religious life:
• The period of Francis’ life saw the laity spark strong opposition to the Church
• Francis was similarly disgruntled by the Church’s supremacy
• Instead of acting in opposition to the clergy, he maintained the practices of “a feeling of poverty,” remaining faithful to the Church “out of humility”
• Ultimately, it seems, he searched for equality between the Church and the laity

Question: What are the limitations to Francis of Assisi’s ‘dream’ the Le Goff brings to light?

Medieval Civilisation – by Chelsea Dullard

The Inquisition:

During the 12^th century, any heretical beliefs or activities had been regarded as treason against society. This view was endorsed and approved by the church and it's figureheads, who originally held faith that accused heretics could once again become diligent and devoted Christians. However, eventually it was conceded that a line of formal inquisition and interrogation must be taken in order to control the rise of dissent within the church. The following procedure usually occurred during an inquisition...

• Suspected heretics could be accused of heresy and the wilful rejection of the church's influence by a church official, or by a member of the laity.
• Following the initial accusation, the inquisitor would then summon the clergy and the public, where a sermon would be delivered. Then, the inquisitor would call for any heretics to denounce themselves. If someone voluntarily denounced themselves, they were granted indulgence by the church, so long as they wished to return to the fold of Christianity. Reformed heretics were then required to take an oath which affirmed their faith, and intentions to pursue heretics. They were also required to serve penance, and had all possessions taken from them.
• If an accused heretic who refused to renounce their faith, or who returned once again to their heretical behaviour were generally burnt at the stake.

The Mendicant Orders:

A Mendicant is a person owned no property and practised begging to provide for their daily needs. A series of new orders emerged, who subscribed to a life of apostolic piety, and who believed that a person could attain salvation whilst living amongst the people, rather than confined to isolation. The Franciscans were the first of these revolutionary orders to emerge....

The Franciscans:

After seeking consolation in Christianity, Francis Bernardone felt that he had been called to serve God. He felt that to do so, and in order to live out a life which mirrored that of Christ, he had to insist on poverty. As such, Francis' followers were not allowed property, and were required to subsist through manual labour and by begging. The Franciscans also lived among the people, tending the needs of the poor, and preaching the word of God. In doing this, they appealed to many Christians desires to live a life similar to Jesus', one of poverty and of compassion. However, the Franciscan method of worship was initially regarded as a form of heresy, and the Pope was quite reluctant to grant the group his approval. Eventually though, he approved the group, and they were able to continue their interpretation of Christianity.

The Dominicans:

The Dominicans were another Christian group who endeavoured to live a life of apostlic piety and poverty. The Dominicans however, differed from the Franciscan's in that they embraced and encouraged education and learning. They also governed their group in a much more modernistic way, the group employed democracy to elect and monitor the actions of their leaders. The Franciscans and Dominicans had a very similar approach to evangelising the European population, preaching and living the word of God.

New Forms of Spirituality:

The establishment of Christian groups such as the Franciscans and the Dominicans embody the  transition which occurred in terms of the way people regarded Christ. Prior to these groups influence, Jesus had been portrayed as a stern judge, however, during the 12^th and 13^th centuries, the human aspects of Jesus were emphasised. This in turn developed a more inclusive and kindlier church.

The Life of St Francis – by Bronwyn Brough

In Celano’s account of Francis’ life, with what values does he imbue the figure of Francis? Discuss with examples from the text.

From Celano’s account of Francis, we are led to believe that he is a changed man after his ‘conversion to God’s work’ from a man who lived ‘riotously among his relations and acquaintances’ to one who was ‘contemptuous for money’ and desired ‘wisdom’ and ‘prudence’.

After hearing the gospel story of Christ sending out the disciples, Francis’ passion was changed from just the physical rebuilding of churches, into a desire to build ‘the church’ through preaching and calling people to repentance.

He attired himself as the disciples would have, but also took it a step further and made his tunic to the shape of a cross, to beat off temptations, rough to discourage ‘sins of the flesh’ and poor so that no one would ‘covet it’.

Francis was portrayed as ‘reverent’ and ‘diligent’, trying hard to do all that the gospel had said.

Some of the main values of the Franciscan order were: Contemplation, Humility, and the desire to imitate Christ.

Celano describes the way in which Francis lives out these values.

Contemplation: We are told that they were continuously praying and praising God: They would try many methods to prevent them from falling asleep during prayer, often painful and damaging. He practiced mortification of the flesh: “not because the body was considered evil- it too was created by God-‘, but because it would distract one from ‘higher pursuits’.

Humility and Patience: They sought out bodily persecution rather than being exalted by the world

Desire to imitate Christ: while not an exact imitation of what Christ did; Francis desired to suffer martyrdom at the hands of the Moslems. This may have been come from the idea of Christ dying for the world, and thus he may have felt that if Christ died in this way, so must he if he were to really imitate Christ.

Francis also appeared to value obedience to God, and through his obedience he was granted authority over animals (p230, 3^rd paragraph from the bottom)

Francis was also consistent in his disdain for wealth; thus he was regarded well by his enemies and was able to preach to the sultan.

From Celano’s stories, how do you understand Francis’ relationship with the natural world?

Francis highly regarded all of God’s creation, including the human body (despite the mortification inflicted upon his own body), -I think this is apparently a new idea to the Christian community at the time?-

Celano tells of many occasions where Francis has an almost unnatural relationship with animals and nature.

It seems that Francis’ view on nature is that everything is created by God, and is thus good. When he is talking to the birds, he expresses his views on how God, their creator, ‘protects and governs’ them. His view on their song and behaviour is that it is an act of worship and reverence to their creator.

Francis appears to see God’s authority over the natural world and from Celano’s account uses that authority in his interaction with many animals; as seen in his telling the swallows to be still and quiet while he preached the word of God.

Celano seems to think that it is through Francis’ obedience to god, that he is granted this gift of authority from God, in being able to command nature. He is described as being able to perform miracles such as healing, even just through being able to touch an object, and that ‘power’ is retained within the object afterwards (such as his clothes, the reins of a horse he had ridden, bread he had blessed, even hay in a manger he had blessed). Whether we believe this is possible or not is irrelevant, what is important is that they believed it then and that is something that influences their lives and reactions to Francis and through him, God.

Clarification

Clarification I:
There are no classes on campus for ATS1316 in week 8. Your posts on the Crusades and Crusade Historians post, below, constitute your 'virtual tutorial' for this week.

Clarification II:
Blogs by presenters in week 9 will go live on Wednesday. Everyone needs to read and comment on these, even if they are not presenting.

Clarification III:
For presenters in weeks 9-11:

Topic	St Francis (wk 9)	Crusades (wk 10)	Black Death (wk 11)
Blog Post to Kathleen	5pm Tue. 24th April	5pm Tue. 1st May	5pm Tue. 8th May
Presentation	Mon. 30th April	Mon. 7th May	Mon. 14th May
Essay Due	Fri. 11 May	Fri. 18 May	Fri. 25 May

Important Announcement

Unfortunately the audio of the week 7 lectures have not been recorded. The slides are available, however, on both MULO and Blackboard. I am very sorry for the inconvenience, but sometimes technology does fail. I know that some of you have clashes and need to rely on the recordings. I would urge, however, those of you who can attend the lectures to do so, because that is the only absolutely guaranteed way that you have of hearing the material
Cheers, Clare

Crusades and Crusade Historians

  [Edit: spellings corrected. Thanks to JJ for noticing.]

Truce between Christians and Saracens.

Matthew Paris, Chronica Maiora, Parker MS 16II, f.139v.

In lectures during week 7 Clare raised the issue of thinking about where historians are coming from when they write. I'd like us to try and incorporate this into our discussions in this week's virtual tutorial. I've provided some links that give you other people's perspectives on Christopher Tyerman, author of the chapter on the Meaning of the Crusades, and his work. There are reviews of one of his recent books by Jonathan Philips - another well-known historian of the Crusades - and Dame Janet (a.k.a. 'Jinty') Nelson, a prominent early medievalist. I've also given you a link to an interview with Dr Tyerman himself. If you can, I recommend reading through these after you've looked at Tyerman's chapter. Address the questions in the reading pack, but also consider whether Tyerman's view seems to represent a consensus; and how his views differ from or relate to those of others who have written and thought about the Crusades.





Urban II preaching at Clermont


• Review of God's War by Jonathan Phillips in The Telegraph, September 2006.
• Review of God's War by J.L. Nelson in the London Review of Books, 2007.
• Interview with Christopher Tyerman about his book God's War.

In this interview, Tyerman talks about how it is misleading and ahistorical to draw direct connections between modern wars in the Middle East and the medieval crusading movement. I agree with him on this point, and it brings me to a general matter I forgot to mention in class, which is: while modern parallels and experiences can be useful tools for helping us think about the past, we should never confuse them with historical argument itself, which always has to be based in the evidence and context of the period. I'm sure you knew this - but especially following our discussions about ANZAC cove and Canterbury it seemed a good time to remind ourselves of this point...



Urban II preaching the crusade



But back to the Crusades! The Institute for Historical Research in London runs a monthly seminar about the Crusades, so clearly there's no shortage of opinion and debate on the topic.



The same was true at the time of the very first crusade. As Megan told us a couple of weeks back, pope Urban's sermon was recorded in different versions by a range of observers. Does applying similar principles of interpretation to these reports help you think about how and why they differ? Where were these medieval writers coming from, do you think? Why were they writing? Who was in their assumed audience?
Post your thoughts and responses to these readings below by Monday evening. Then we'll be moving on to St Francis and Co.!

Gender Roles

This week in Medieval Europe we will look at the establishment of women within Canon Law, as well as women's place in society. Juxtaposing women such as; Eve, Mother Mary, Mary Magdalene and Joan of Arc are all important figures during this period. 

The role of women in Christianity is emphasised through Mary, mother of Jesus and how she - virginal - gave birth to not only the saviour but to a new age of believers and life.

What other female figures outside of the readings can you identify as being important in Medieval Culture? And what were your thoughts on the roles of such women aforementioned before? Were women in Christianity simultaneously revered and considered subordinate?

--Lauren

These readings cover medieval attitudes to women by revealing attitudes towards important women in Christian theology. Women were defined by their gender and sexual status – as maiden, wife or widow.  The power, sexuality and worth of women was both treated with suspicion and suppressed, and the authority of men emphasised. However, some women did manage to overcome these conditions. 

Bible:

• Woman (Eve) created for man, out of man, to be a helper to man…before ‘betraying’ him and getting them both kicked out of Eden
• Mary as the Mother of Jesus, worked with God and was ‘giver of life’ – opposite to Eve, who defied God and became the ‘giver of death’ (st Jerome). Virginity and purity emphasised
• Mary Magdalene a sinner who reformed, became a leader amongst her Christian community in Marseilles, converting the local governor and performing miracles. Later lived in wilderness, saw angels etc.

Sexuality:

• Abelard unsurprisingly is pro-sex…shows that the ideas he counters were common at the time of his writing the  letter (eg sex is not sinful just because it is enjoyable).
• Augustine of Hippo very negative towards sex – marriage and procreation ‘makes something good out of the evil of lust’, defending marriage: good for creating children and companionship, lust, fornication, infidelity and adultery are all temptations of Satan.
• St Jerome prizes virginity very highly – equates loss of virginity with Adam and Eve being expelled from Eden. Only acceptable states for women (makes no mention of men) are to be virgins or to be married.

Power of women/women in power:

• Ancien Riwel demands nuns essentially hear no evil, speak no evil – modesty and demureness required.
• Saint Scholastica apparently had the power of influencing nature – but used it for a petty purpose (to force her brother stay with her), a very negative portrayal. Her brother Benedict was nevertheless a good person, and gave her a good Christian burial.
• Radegund may have established a convent, but was reliant on help and support of men to finance her convent, and for protection; women must be ‘taken under ward’
• St Clare writes that women are weak and fragile of body, but willing to take on the same hardships as her male counterparts.
• Joan of Arc first thought to be ‘deranged and deluded’ for boasting she could accomplish what the princes could not. Had to fight to be heard and taken seriously. Wore men’s clothing, suit of armour and rode with the men.
• Christine de Pisan clearly outlines dominant thought at the time: that women were subordinate to men, and prevented men from being all they could. The minds of women were thought to be inferior, and not worth an education. Nevertheless challenges all these notions by use of reason.

--Sian

Women and the family 

In the Medieval era gender roles played a major role in society.  The Klapisch article is divided into four main categories the role of women, marriage, children and the church. 

1. Women:

Society granted no specific place for them in the hierarchy. As they were not knights or could they be religious leaders. Women were defined by their body, gender and her relationships with family groups.

The role of women:

• Be obedient to their husband, father or care giver.
• Used to reconcile families and groups in society.
• Responsible for maintaining the alliance between the two clans.
• Husband comes first and her choices and opinions come second.
• To produce children and start the family line.
• Order and punish servants if they could be afforded.

Women had little rights:

• A widow a right to one third of her husband’s estate.
• Loss of rights and possessions when their husband died.
• Less control over their wealth as they were under the control of their husband.
• They must be obedient to their husband.
• Women could be kidnapped or forced into marriage or the convent.

2. Marriage:

Marriage was used as a way to end rivalry as two families joined together, forming a peace pact. A woman may be given to a man as a way to offer reconciliation. An example of marriage being used as a peace treaty, is in the eleventh century when the king of France Henry I married a bride in Kiev to form an alliance.  In Florence in 1300 the party of whites formed an alliance with the blacks as a man of the Cerchi family married to an Adimari bride. 

It was not uncommon for marriage to occur between blood relatives. At times brothers and sisters would marry if fortunes required it.

When women got married it involved two transfers the transfer of the bride to the new family and the transfer of wealth. Goods or money were given by the husband or his family to the family of the bride in exchange for the loss of their daughter. Later these gifts were given to the bride herself to assure she was maintained after her husband’s death.

By the twelfth century the dowry value from the wife’s family overcame the value of the husbands.  Women after their husband’s death would often loose what she had bought and what her husband had given her.

The age of marriage varied between social classes.  In 1200 the aristocracy tended to marry their girls young at 12 and 13 at which Cannon law permitted. Rural classes tended to marry their daughters of at 17 or 18. In Florentine bourgeoisie between 1340 and 1530 136 brides were married at the average age of 17.2.  Whereas young men tended to get married even later with an average age of 27.

3. Children:

Children were necessary in marriage in order to establish the male line. After the birth of their first child other children would follow at a rapid place. In 1461 one wife become a widow at 29 after having 12 children in her 13 years of marriage. Pregnancies occupied more than half a woman’s life before 40. Families would have between 10-12 children. However not many of them lived long, a child had a 1 in 2 chance of making it to adulthood.

4. The Church:

The Church had a great influence on marriage and the role of women in the Medieval era. The Church was against blood relation marriage however in 1215 the fourth Lateran Council lowered the requirement for marriage in the family from seven degree to four. The church also forbids the use of contraception as it would prevent new life.

Duties of the wives in the Medieval era range from forming alliances, to keeping the peace to raising the family to obeying the husband. Although women from different classes have different roles and needs they have one thing in common they are both seen as below men.

-- Steph D. & Erika

Marriage Making

In the high Middle Ages, marriage was matter of diplomacy and wealth, not love or mutual attraction. Marriage forged an alliance between two lineages, reinforced by the exchange of money, goods and property and the creation of offspring. The wife's job was to maintain peace between the two families and have as many children as possible.

Women often married into families of a lower social status, bringing with them a dowry for their new husband’s family. Women became a burden on the men of their family, who had to come up with a dowry in order to marry them off. Boys brought money into the family by way of marriage and girls took money away from it.

In addition, the control of any property a women inherited was transferred by default to the closest male relative, then to their husband when they married. Women were financially worth less than their husbands, in spite of any superiority of lineage and the inheritance they brought into the marriage. Their lack of financial worth could be equated with their lack of personal worth at the time, except for when it came to procreation. IN contrast, men could run businesses, own land and be self-sufficient.

Due to this dependency on men, girls were known to be married off, at the guidance of their fathers or brothers, as early as twelve. Men got married later, at an average age of twenty seven, when they had reached a certain social standing and level of power. Girls in lower classes got married an average of five years later than those coming from wealthy families or the aristocracy.

Marrying earlier meant that a women could have more children which, at a time where child mortality was very high, was very important, especially in ensuring that the lineage carried on.

Source: Christiane Klapisch-Zuber, 'Women and the Family', in Jacques Le Goff, ed. The Medieval World, (London: Parkgate, 1990), pp. 285-312.

--Jenn

Some questions to think about :

1. Do you think sexuality was understood in a positive or negative way?
2. What impediments does Klapisch-Zuber see to studying the lives and experiences of medieval women?
3. How does Klapisch-Zuber describe the duties of the wives in the Middle Ages?

Easter Week

Hi everyone,
I hope you're having a nice break - but not too much of a break, because essays are looming! Use time off lectures and tutorials to get ahead on your research if you can. In the meanwhile, here's some medieval Easter music to pass the time...

Resurrexi, Music for Easter Sunday, British Library, Crowland Gradual, c.1240.

The image shows a manuscript called a Gradual, which is a collection of musical items for the Mass. There are two musical pieces on the page. The decorated capital R is the beginning of the introit for Easter Sunday. An introit, as you might guess from the name, is sung at the beginning of the Mass. This one comes from Psalm 138, and reads, in Latin:

Resurrexi, et adhuc tecum sum, alleluia. Posuisti super me manum tuam, alleluia. Mirabilis facta est scientia tua, alleluia. Domine probasti me et cognivisti me. 

[I rose up and am still with thee, alleluia. Thou hast laid thy hand upon me, alleluia. Thy knowledge is become wonderful to me, alleluia. Lord, thou hast proved me, and known me]

Listen to a performance of a medieval setting of this psalm by Schola Cantorum here

Then, with the large black "h", begins another psalm, no. 118:
Haec dies quam fecit Dominus: exultemus et laetemur in ea

[This is the day that the Lord made: let us be glad and rejoice in it.]

Listen to a performance of a later (16th century) setting of this psalm by The King's Singers here

Can you make out any of the words, now that you know what it should say?

See you on Monday week,
Kathleen

The Passion

The Passion, for those who don't know, is a term for Jesus' crucifixion on Good Friday. In medieval times one of the symbols of this was the pelican. A widespread story, often illustrated in Bestiaries, related how the pelican fed her starving young with her own blood; this was taken as a metaphor of Christ's sacrifice. The Pelican in her Piety, as this story was called, became a common artistic motif in medieval religious architecture, and in encyclopaedic books. The image here shows the Pelican in her Piety represented in a misericord at St Mary's Abbey, Beverley, in Yorkshire, a famous example of 14th century English Gothic style. She is pecking her own breast to release the blood and feed the chicks. (They weren't shy of graphic images in those days!)

Pelican in her Piety, St Mary's, Beverley. By awmc1 @ flickr

A misericord is a little folding seat in the quire (i.e. choir) area of churches that the monks or canons could lean on during long services. It comes from the Latin for mercy, because allowing a tired singer to sit down was like taking mercy on him! In the medieval period the underneath of misericords, like the one shown here, came to be decorated in marvellous carvings, since this was the part of the seat most often visible to those moving about the church between services. Some had religious images, and others had very surprisingly secular ones, like illustrations from tales of knightly deeds and the rescue of fair maidens, or images of monsters.