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PREFACE THE conception embodied in the title The Crusade in the Later Middle Ages is a comparatively new one. The older view as expressed by a series of writers from Wilken (1807) to Grollssct (t934-6) was that the crusade as a movement came to an end with the fall of 'Akka and the termination of Latin dominion in the Holy Land in 129 I. During the last fifty or sixty years, however, various scholars, with increasing show of reason, have questioned the validity of the standard doctl·ine. As a result of their activities, extensive masses of unpublished material on the crusade in the fourteenth century were brought to light in the publications of the 'Societe de l'Orient Latin' and in the Architf.1cs de r Orient Latin under the editorship of the comtc Riant, one of the greatest pioneers of the new school of thought. Delaville Le Roulx then wrote his work on La France en Orient and Iorga his biography of Philippc de Mczii'res, and both dealt with many aspects of our subject. The latter has also published a large number of documents on the crusade in the fifteenth century in his six series entitled Notes et Extraits pour sCY'Vir a I' histaire des crfJisadcs au Xfle silde. In the meantime, a few monographs on persons and events related to the crusade in our period appeared in Germany and France (see Bibliography). The result of these activities is that the conception of the crusade according to the old school of thought has been seriously modified although that con.. ception still finds notable support, as for example in the case of M. Rene Grousset in his recent work. Our debt to all these scholars has been acknowledged in the proper place in the footnotes. On the other hand, v

vi

THE CRUSADE IN THE LATER MIDDLE AGES

it is essential here to note as justification for the present essay, that the longer works of DelavilIe Le Roulx and Iorga which cover the fourteenth and part of the fifteenth centuries are mainly biographical in character-the one. concerned mainly with the life of Boucicaut, marshal of France, and the other with that of Philippe de Mczieres, Chancellor of the Kingdom of Cyprus, and, later, tutor of Charles VI of France. The crusade is treated in both works on account of the fact that both Boucicaut and Mezieres espoused its cause for the greater part of thei r lives. Without minimizing the achievement of either scholar, we may be justified in saying that the wider outlook on the crusade as a general movement remainl!d secondary to their original thesis. It is this gap whil.'h we propose to fill in our present study-the first to d"ai with the subject in its entirety from the Western as well as the Oriental sides. The plan of our work was forumlated in a course of lectures on the 'Relations between th(~ East and the West in the Later Middle Ages' deliver(~d at the University of Londpn School of Oriental Studies some years ago. Close research in a subject of this kind, and a period of this length, necessitated visits to most of the famous depositaries of manuscripts in Europe and the East; the material and other difficulties involved need not 'be stressed. A fair estimate of the crusading impulse and its expression, a,s we have been fully and consistently aware) cannot be made without a thorough and comprehensive examination of the western as well as the eastern sources; an 9. this examination we have attempted in the following pages. On two occasions, in connexion with the crusades of Pierre d.e Lusignan and Jean de Bourgogne respectively, we found It essential to visit Alexandria and Nicopolis for accurate topographical knowledge and for the reconstruction of the two famous battles of I 365 and 1 396. For the t?pography .of the Mahdiya region) the scene of the expedinon of LoUIS de Bourbon in 1390) invaluable information has been received from Professor H. A. R. Gibb, to whom

PREFACE

vii

we are also indebted for reading our manuscript and for his many and valuable suggestions on the Oriental side of this study. As will be noted, we have divided the work into four parts. The first of these consists of a general view of the later medieval world in regard to the crusade; and the second includes treatment of the enormous mass of propagandist literature in the West, of which accounts of pilgrimages are an outstanding feature. In the third, we have surveyed the state of Eastern Christendom, the relations between Europe and the Mongols, and Latin missionary activities in the Near, Middle and Far East) along with the bearing of these neglected subjects upon the crusade in our period. In the fourth we have traced the history of the crusading movement itself) expedition by expedition. At the close of the last section, we have briefly outlined what we call 'counter-propaganda' and 'counter-crusades', in other words the reaction of the East to Western attacks. This reaction, in its manifestations from the age of Saladin to that of Suleiman the Magnificent, demands special treatment and we were tempted to offer a detailed account of it, but its doubtful relevance to our thesis and the exigences of space compelled brevity. The story of the crusade of Nicopolis, already dealt with in a separate published study, has been much curtailed in this work; for the generous appreciation that study has received in England and abroad, we express our gratitude. To the University of Liverpool and to numerous friends and colleagues in many countries, we are indebted for assistance, sympathy and encouragement. We wish to mention in particular that easier access to a vast amount of material in the German manuscript collections was made possible in the Oriental Seminary of the University of Bonn, thanks to the good offices of its learned Director, Professor Paul Kahle. We again owe much to Miss Gertrude Winter for unsparing effort in her intensive revision of our text and footnotes. Mr. Hunt of the

viii

THE CRUSADE IN THE LATER MIDDLE AGES

Palaeography Department in the University of Liverpool has also helped in the transcription of the Munich MS. of Ramon Lull which appears in Appendix 1. Professor R. A. Furness has kindly read Chapter XV, and Mr. D. M. Dunlop has assisted in the task of proof-correction. Our greatest debt remains that to Professor G. W. Coopland, not only for reading manuscript and proofs, but for his invaluable suggestions and encouragement at all phases of the work. To him in the last resort the completion of that work is due. It is also our privilege and our duty hen.~ to record our permanent debt to the enlightened policy ill matters of research of the Egyptian Education Authorities in Cairo and London; notably, His Excellency Muhal'nmad EI-Ashmawy Bey, Under-Secretary of State for Educntiol1, and Messrs. J. M. Furness and V. Watson, former and present directors of the Egyptian Education Offkc ill England, without the material assistance which they hitvt.~ freely given, the accomplishment of our task would have been long delayed or impossible.

A. S. ATIYA March I938

CONTENTS PART J INTRODUCTION CIIAP.

PAGE

'nu.:

BACKGROUND

3

The rh:Ulg'ing world in the Later Middle Ages; old ideals and new fatts. Europe and the Crusade: historical developmenu against war in the East; events and factors in favour (If the movelUlmt. The Levallt and the Crusade: strength of Egypt ,me! Syri:lj Rise of the Ottoman Empire. The West and the: 'l'atal'll: mis~ionary work and rapprochement! for union :lgainst l~larn; failure. Dawn of Modern History

PART II PROPAOANDA AND PROJECTS II

JII R'I'U OF AN l!;POCH

Fall uf 'Akka (Acre). Thaddcn ()f Naples, first propagantii8t ut' perilld. Nicholas IV. Charles Il of Anjou.

Jo'iden:llli' nf Pad \la III

PIERRH IJUllOIS AND U

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RIHGN OF PlULIPPE

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(iclleral t~ndlllldt'a of the rdgn. Diplomatic pr()paganda: i'icrrc l)uhuia and (iuillnun\c de Nugan!t. Advil'e of men ()f a('tion: Jacqllc8 de MO!:lY, }
'I'1Ir: (' RtJiMIH:S 011 !'U:RRII I 1>I1 LUSIGNAN: AIMI.IA AN/) THlI Wk:~TIiI~N JOURNI-.'Y Pi~rrll'~ 1t('('(1AAion and I:h:tr,u·!l·r. First foothold (Ill AHiatic IIminhmd: (;oriK!l6 in Armenia. Capture of Adalia and !luminal 8uhmi"iu!l of Takka, Al,Lya (lnd M()novgat; friction with thr Turks and (:ollfl~(luen(:cs. Dream uf (I great crusade. )Clurnr.y Ihrough()u! r:urope. Prcpar:Ltic1I18 for the capture of Alt:xullliria: influenae ()f Urban V, Pime de Thomas and l'hilippe de Mczicr~j Venice and the fll:Ctj the King and the cru.adtll't ill Rh()de.

319

THE CRUSADE IN THE LATER MIDDLE AGES

xii CHAP.

xv

THE CRUSADES OF

PIERRE I DE LUSIGNAN:

CAPTURE AND LOSS OF ALEXANDRIA

.14S

Object of the Crusade. Choice of Alexandria and causes. Arrival, landing and preliminary skirmishes. The Egyptian system of defence. Entrance of Christians into city and Bight of inhabitants. Massacre and ,pillage. Evacuation of city. Effect of news in Europe. Negotiations for peace. Raids 011 Syrian coast. Results of the Crusade XVI

THE CRUSADE OF AMEDEO VI OF SAVOY

.179

Circumstances leading to Amedeo's crusade. Nehl'()tiations. levies and preparations. Itinerary. Capture of Gallipoli. Campaign in Bulgaria. Negotiations with the King of nul· garia and deliverance of the Emperor of Constantinol,lc. Attempt to unite churches. Return of the crusaders. Report to Rome. Results of the Crusade XVII

CRUSADE OF LOUIS II DE BOURBON

Idea and precursors of action against North Africa. France, Genoa and the Crusade. Object and causes af thl." expedition: Tunis and piracy. Itinerary. AI-Mnhdiya allll its siege. End of expedition. Effect XVIII

THE CRUSADE OF NICOPOLIS

Europe and the Crusade; propaganda; preparation. MllrI'h of the crusaders: Buda, Widdin, Rahova and Nicl)pClli•• Siege of Nicopolis and march of the Ottomans. The huatill! forces; preliminary skirmishes; battle of Nicupolisj clcfellt :mtl massacre of the crusaders. Ransom and return uf tht: ('ilplivl'l. Results of the Crusade XIX

THE AFTERMATH OF THE CRUSADES

The Ottomans and their 'Counter-Crlllll1des'; the Balklln!, Byzantium, Hungary Ilnd Venice. l
2 ib., X7;

BIRTH OF AN EPOCH

37

Minorite Order. Grouped together, these references only present a series of disconnected landmarks in Fidenzio's biography. Nevertheless they bear sufficient evidence of his multiple activities and the importance and originality of his plan for a crusade. Of his childhood and his early education, nothing is known except that he had a military training before deciding to take the vows of a Franciscan. 1 In 1266, he became Provincial Vicar of the Minorite Friars in the Holy Land,2 and we may therefore assume that he had already been there long enough to justify his preferment to that dignity. Fidenzio's life in the IIoly Land was certainly one of great trial, for the fortunes of the Christians had sunk to a very low level during that period and their derelict fortresses beyond the sea succumbed to the Saracens one by one. Fidenzio himself was an eye-witness at the fall of $a:fad to Baibars Bunduqdari in 1266. Two years later, when Antioch was seized by the Egyptians and many of its Christian inhabitants were carried into slavery, Fidenzio risked his life by crossing to the Mamliik camp to inspire and fortify the captives. Ultimately, he managed to reach the Sultan's court where he presented a twofold plea,-first for the termination of hostilities by the conclusion of a tru.ce, and second, for the grant of a safe-conduct to the members of his Brotherhood. 3 His mission, however, does not' seem to have borne fruit, as subsequent events prove. In 1274, he was at the Council of Lyons, where Pope Gregory X (I 27 1-6) asked him to prepare a report on the project. Go Instead of responding immediately to the papal requ.est, Fidenzio returned to the East and travelled far and wide for some years in Egypt, Syria, Cyprus, Armenia, the Empire of by Golubovich, in the Eiblioteca Eio-EiNiogrojica delfa Terra 8//1IIa, IJ, 9-60, to which reference is made here. 1 Golubovieh, op. eit., 11, 2. 2 ib. a ib., 2-3, 24-5, 29. 4 ib., 4, 9. 'Felicis recordationis dominus papa Gregorius Sanc:to Spiritu infiamatus toti5 visceribus liberationem Terre Sanctc dc~idcr:lllS, •.• miehi mandavit in conr.iIio Lugduncnsi ut in scriptis ponercm CJ\la1it~'r Terra Sancta acquiri posset de manibus infidc1ium, et qualitcr aCtlui~ita possit a Christi fidelibus conservari.'

PROPAGANDA AND PROJECTS

Constantinople, Turkey and Persia,l probably with the object of making further inquiries into the subject of the report which he ultimately dedicated in 1291 to one of Gregory's successors, Nicholas IV.2 During that period, however, Fidenzio is known to have been in Europe in the course of 1286 when he acted as mediator between Venice and Pope Honorius IV (1285-7) for the lifting of an interdict which Martin IV (128 I-5) had imposed on the Republic of St. Mark.:! Judging from the above-mentioned facts about his life and work, Fidenzio was well-qualified to give sound advice on the matter of the crusade. His extensive travels in the Near and Middle East, his long residence in Syria, his acquaintance with the Sultan and his court, his experience with the Mamluk army and Mamluk warfare, and moreover, his knowledge of the Arabic tongue '-all these must necessarily have added considerable weight to the force of his argument. On the other hand, it is essential to bear in mind that Fidenzio's plan was completed while 'Akka was still in the hands of the Latins,G and as 11. result his views were partly based on a situation which no longer existed after the fall of the city on 18 May 1291. The Liber Recuperationis Terre Sancte is divided into two large parts. The first part consists of a general Golubovich, 01" cit., U, 5-6, 25. a ib., 9. a ib., 1-2; Eubel, Epitome Bul/ar., no. 1575; Sbaralea, Dull.f. frallc., III, 563. , Golubovich. 01" cit., 3. IS ib., 19; 'nam modo, id est tempore quo libclIus iste scriptu9 est, currunt ab Incarnationc Domino Jhesu anni mille cc1xxxxj; It Machomcto autcm citra currunt anni sexcenti lxxxviiij'. The mention of the Hijro. year, unusual in medieval documents of the West, is of great importance here as it narrows down the completion of I
MajorfUt, I, 73.

Peers, 128-3)' , Clidt lupro, 86. He translated for example, his own Arl illfJtlltiCltl fJ4ritlltiJ into Ara.bic. Peers, 225. 8

S

90

PROPAGANDA AND PROJECTS

he sailed from Genoa to Tunis 1 despite an illness from which he seems to have recovered as soon as the craft had sailed with a sure prospect of reaching Muhammadan soil. At Tunis his preaching was regarded as blasphemous and the penalty for this was death. The Haf~id Caliph, however, magnanimously changed the verdict of death into exile, and Lull was dragged from his cell under a shower of stones through the streets of the town to a Genoese boat ready to sail. I lis life was narrowly saved from the infuriated crowds, but his mind remained intent on return to save their souls. Before his second African mission, rumours circulated in the West that the 'Great Khan' of the Tatars had invaded Syria. He therefore hasteiled to Cyprus)2 whence he might interview the 'Great Julx, I, 89 nnd note 311 Several MBS. of thll original Latin text of this work Ilrc known to exist; Oxford, Magd. 43 and 21 S4-i D.N. Lllt. 5138 and 5990i BIlle, I, 28; Brussels, Bib!. Roy. 9178; Vatican, Reg. Chr. 603; Vienna, Nat.-Bibl. 536. :r'or MSS. of the contemporary French versicln (1333) by jean de Vignay, a. Hospitallcr of Altopass, Nee H.M. Roy. 19 D. I; Munich, fr. 49 I. For later I ib., 133. 6 Ed. L.le Grand, in ROL, 38 annee (1895), no. 4,566-669' See also C. Enlart, Nota fur le fJoyage de Nicolai de Martoni en C1Jypre, in ROL, 4 8 annee (1896), no. 4, 423-32; Cobham, Exctrpta Cypria, 22-8; Golubovich, V, 305-9; Rohricht, BiM. Geogr., 94.

PROPAGANDA AND PROJECTS

he saw many of these in the desert, but they were very much smaller than he had been led to expect. On his return to his native town of Carinola, to his great grief, he found that his wife had died and that her death had been hastened by her growing fears 'and anxiety for his safety. On the whole, his diary contains no deliberate exhortation for the crusade. His pilgrimage was an act of pure devotion. l English pilgrims, too, were quite numerous, although the written accounts of their journeys are meagre and compare rather badly with those by men of other nations during the period under review. One explanation may be that travel was a more usual matter in England whose medieval empire covered most of the British Isles and vast territories in France. Multitudes of Englishmen were continually crossing the sea either to Ireland, Flanders or Gascony in the same manner as the Italian merchants and mariners sailed to and fro across the Mediterranean in search of goods and markets; if we overlook the activities of the clergy and the limited class of secular explorers such as Marco Polo 11 and great theorists such as Marino Sanudo,3 we can find very few written accounts of pilgrimages by the Italian sailors and business men who paid frequent visits to other countries. The same seems to apply to the English men of action. They devoted little time to the art of writing; and when they did so, their accounts were curt and husiness-like. A notable example of this may be found in Thomas Brigg's Itinerarium in Terram Sanctam Domini Thomae de Swynourne.' Little can be said about Brigg beyond the conjecture that he was either a squire or a chaplain attached to the train of Thomas Swinburne on his pilgriIl1;age to the Holy Land.1i Thomas 1 Lioer, 668, concludes with the following naive verses which explain the author's sole motive: 'Finito scripto isto, Sit laus et gloria Christo, Qui scripsit hoc opus In paradiso reservetur locus.' 11 'lIide infra, Cap. X. a vide supra, Cap. VI. 4 Ed. comte Riant, in AOL, II, Documents, 380-8; Rahricht, op. cit.,

94· 11

Riant, 37 8.

PILGRIMS IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY

177

Swinburne,l on the other hand, was a personage of some importance in his time. On 14 October 1390, Richard II appointed him Chastellain of Guisnes for two years as from 8 February 1391, though he actually remained in that office until 8 November 139 3,. a While retaining his title of Chastellain of Guisnes, he received permission from the King to perform the pilgrimage in 1392. After his return from the East, Swin burne became Mayor of Bordeaux on 8 March 1402,8 then Chastellain of Fronsac on I March 1408.' In the meantime, he appears also to have been one of the English ambassadors at Calais for the settlement of Flemish affairs 0 in 1404; and in the following year was entrusted with the admiralty of the English fleet at Bordeaux in addition to his mayoralty of the city.6 Swinburne, accompanied by Brigg, left Guisnes on 6 August 1392, arrived at Venice on 1 September, and sailed with a group of other pilgrims from Germany and Bohemia on the following day. 7 They landed at Alexandria on 20 October, and after staying there for ten days sailed up the Nile on 29 October arriving at Cairo on 3 November.s In the Egyptian capital, he saw among other wonderful things Pharaoh's famous granaries (granaria famosa), that is, the pyramids of Giza, the elephants and the giraffes. He also visited the Coptic Church of Our Lady underneath whose altar was the cave where She and the Child Jesus 1 ib., 380. Thomas is believed to have been one of the early members of the family of the Swinburnes of whom the best known modem representative is the poet Algemon Charles Swinbume. a French Rolls, 14 Ric. Il, m. 8 and 15; IS Ric. Il, m. 10; and 17 Ric. Il, m. 13; ef. Riant, Ope cit., 379 and notes 8 and 9. 3 Vascon Rolls, 6 Hen. IV, m. 5; ef. Riant, I.e., note 10. , Vascon Rolls, 10 Hen. IV, m. 6; cf. Riant, I.e., note I I. of. C. Hingeston, Roy. alld Hilt. uturs durillg tlte Reigll of Hemy JP (Rolls Series, 1860), I, 230, 304, 314, 332, 348, 392; cf. Riant, l.e., note 12. It is interesting to note that among the ambassadors was one William de Lisle, an English knight 'de camera regis', who appears to have performed the pilgrimage to the Holy Places; Hingeston, I, 379 and French Rolls, 16 Rie. 11, m. 8, cf. Riant, I.e., notes 15 and 16. 6 Trokelowe, .dllllales Henrici Jy, 4I5; cf. Riant, l.e., note 13. 7 Jti"., 380. 8 ib., 380-1. The length of the journey is estimated by Brigg as 'quatuor dietas'.

178

PROPAGANDA AND PROJECTS

took refuge in Old Cairo.1 The pilgrims then took the road to Mount Sinai on 8 November and stayed at the Monastery of St. Catherine from 19 to 22 of the same month. For the rest, the Itinerarium is but an enumeration of Holy Places and dates of arrivals and departures on the road from Ghazza (Gaza) to BeirUt 2 with little new material. Finally~~ dley sailed to the West by way of Rhodes on IS January 1393. The work closes with an interesting account of the expenses of the journey including the cost of passage by sea and travel by land, the prices of provisions, the custom duties and the interpreters' fees,s all of which are worthy of special study. In France, the most important record of late fourteenthcentury pilgrimages came from the pen of Ogier VIII seigneur d' Anglure, who visited the Holy Land and Egypt during the period of the Crusade of Nicopolis. Widespread interest was displayed in his pilgrimage from an early date and his work has been edited several times.' Ogier's accurate statements and personal observations, in spite of the failures and gaps in his diary, amply justify this interest. The dates and often the hours of his arrivals and departures are given with precision. The description of Holy Places, towns and the manner of his peregrinations is provided in simple, terse and realistic style. It is a lamentable feature, however, "that he overlooked matters which evidently caused him no special concern such as the minor expenses at the various stages of his journey. Fortunately, a number of Italian travellers and the English Thomas Brigg gave sufficient attention to this aspect of medieval travel. Ogier VIII was descended from a minor noble family of 1

It;lI., 381- 2 .

ib., 383-6. They reached G.hazza (Gaza) on 3 December, Hebron on 7. Bethlehem on 8, Jerusalem on 9 and left on 17 coming to Damascus on 25 and Beirut on 3 January J 393 where had to wait for twelve days for a ship bound for the West. There is no indication of the route beyond Rhodes. 3 ib., 387-8. 40 First edition in 162 r. 2nd in r 8 58, and 3rd in x878 by 1,ola (Poll e), Zara Garre), Sebenico (Sebenich) and Modon (Moudon) as well as the islands of Corfu, Rhodes and Cyprus, Bertrandon finally landed at Jaffa.~ Thence he proceeded like Lannoy by the normal pilgrim route direct to Jerusalem by way of Ramleh (Rames). Inside the Church of the Resurrection he meets Abyssinians, Armenians and J acobites; and notes that of all the Christians in the Holy Land, the Franks are the object of the worst oppression. s Bertrandon and nine others then pay a hurried visit to the Monastery of St. Catherine and return to Jerusalem 6 without going further into Egypt, so that there is no parallel in his work to the excellent report which Lannoy submitted to Duke Philippe on the state of that country. La Broquiere's mission, indeed, seems to have been confined to Muslim territories in the Near East other than Egypt; and this he executed with an observant eye. He gives a full description of Jaffa, 'Akka, $ur, Beirut, Damascus and Aleppo, and he describes the land routes which connect 1 Schefer, op. cit., x. 'Pour induyre et attraire les cueurs des nobles hommes qui desirent veoil' du monde, par commandement et ordonnance de treshault, ... Philippe, &c.'. . i ib., 2; 'affin que si aucun roy ou prince crestien voulloit entreprendre la conqueste de Iherusalem et y mener gro9se armee par terre. ou auIcun noble homme y voulsist dIer ou revenir, qu'il peust s