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Women in the Crusades

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The role of women in the Crusades is frequently viewed as being limited to domestic or illicit activities. While to some extent this is true, they nevertheless played a significant role, taking part in such activities including armed combat (which was frowned upon by the church), in the battles in the Holy Land. This article focuses on the First Crusades[1] and identifies known participants. It also highlights some of the more famous women of the later crusades.[2] For a discussion of the sociological and religious aspects of the mixing of women with the generally male crusaders, the reader is referred to the referenced documents. Further information can be found in Women of the Crusader States or in the companion article Crusades.

While many women remained home to act as regents for their estates during the crusades, others accompanied their husbands and other family members on their quests, even going so far as to fight in emergency situations when their menfolk fell in battle.[3] It was no surprise that noblewomen would participate in combat in certain situations, their upbringing likely preparing them for this possibility, going so far as to include lessons on riding into battle.[4]

However, it was not only noblewomen who participated in the crusades. Women who were of the common people were also present throughout the venture, performing tasks such as removing lice from soldiers' heads and/or washing clothes. In fact, the washerwoman was the only role for a woman approved by the Catholic Church and permitted during the First Crusade, as long as they were unattractive, for fear that the troops would engage with them in sexual relations. However, this stipulation was typically not obeyed and all types and classes of women took part in the crusades.[3] Every time an army marched, several women would join them as sutlers or servants, as well as prostitutes. Unmentioned in victory, they took the blame for defeat and were purged from the campaign several times throughout the crusades, for relations with them were considered sinful among soldiers who had left their homelands to fight a holy cause and were supposed to be pure in thought and deed.[3] In addition, numerous nuns also accompanied the religious men, namely priests and bishops, that traveled as part of the quests, while others actually took up arms, an anathema to their Muslim foes.

The appearance of women was rare among western chroniclers whose focus was more male-dominated. However, mentions of female crusaders are more commonly found in Muslim accounts of the Crusades, but the truth of these stories are hard to prove as fact as the aggressiveness or unnaturalness of Christian women was often seen as a way for Muslims to demonstrate how ruthless and depraved their foes could be.[5] During the later crusades, many women whose stories remain were from the Middle East region, including one of a Muslim woman who fought the crusaders.[6]

Contemporaneous Historians

The story of women in the Crusades begins with Anna Comnena, the daughter of Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. She wrote a valuable history of the First Crusade,[7] providing a view of the campaign from the Byzantine elite's perspective, although her work has been described as a family panegyric rather than a serious history. She, unfortunately, was exiled to a monastery before the work could be finished.

The challenges faced by women of the crusades can be summarized by writings by Fulcher of Chartres, chaplain of Baldwin I of Jerusalem, who stated:

"Then the Franks, having again consulted together, expelled the women from the army, the married as well as the unmarried, lest perhaps defiled by the sordidness of riotous living should displease the Lord. These women then sought shelter for themselves in neighboring towns."[8]

Fulcher noted that mass hysteria had surrounded the holy quest of the Crusades, richly demonstrated by the belief that even a lowly waterfowl led by a nun [see below], had been blessed by the Holy Spirit and would lead them to Jerusalem.

Nuns of the First Crusade

A large number of nuns are believed to have traveled to the Holy Land during the Crusades, but only three are known from the First Crusade,[9] and for only one of these do we know a name. [Note that Riley-Smith uses the term "anonyma" to refer to a woman of unknown name and this write up does the same.]

  • Anonyma of Cambrai,[10] was the religious leader of a sect traveling with Count Emich of Flonheim, who believed her goose to be filled with the Holy Spirit,[11] even going so far as to allow the spirit-filled animal to direct the sect's course. The sect was not heard of again after the goose died. This story is reported by Fulcher and Albert of Aix. That Gulbert of Nogent suggested that the goose may then have been served as a holiday meal requires no further comment.[12]
  • Anonyma, nun of the monastery of Santa Maria and Correa, Trier, who, as part of the People's Crusade, was taken by the Muslims during the Battle of Civetot that devastated the force of Peter the Hermit, who had returned to Constantinople for supplies. When she was liberated in 1097, she apparently eloped with her Turkish captor. Her name remains a mystery.
  • Americas, a nun of Altejas, who, following Pope Urban's direction, went to her bishop for his blessing, which was granted, to found a hospice for the poor.

Wives of the First Crusaders

According to Riley-Smith, there were seven of the wives of the first Crusaders that accompanied their husbands to the Holy Land. An eighth participated in the 1107 battles of Bohemond of Antioch-Tatanto against the Byzantine Empire (sometimes referred to as a crusade). They were as follows.

Warrior Women of the Crusades

A number of women took the cross and battled the Muslims, some with their husbands, some without; numerous royal women fought as Crusaders, and at least one against them. The six most prominent examples of these warriors are given below, the most famous of which is Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Other Women of the Crusades

The stories of numerous other women who played a role in the Crusades have been documented. Here is a list of those known at this time. All can be referenced from Volume III of Ranchman's "A History of the Crusades."

Regents of the Estates of the Crusaders

While the men of the Crusades died in frequent battles, the women lived in comparative indolence. They lived long lives and acted as regents to their estates and young children. As widows, they held a degree of independence that they had previously lacked, allowing them control over their own property, the opportunity to preside over courts and trade meetings, and fulfilling obligations of military and political service, in direct contravention of European gender norms of the period.[29] As more and more property became concentrated in their hands it became obvious that women constituted one of the main sources of "continuity" in the Frankish Levant.[30]

Furthermore, for many women in the Frankish Levant marriage was a way for them to advance both socially and financially, allowing them to move up in status with their husband when he was alive and then prosper even more by inheriting more land when said husband died.[31] For instance, Agnes of Courtenay, originally a noblewoman of Edessa, remarried multiple times and by the time of her death in 1186 was "... the first lady in the kingdom (of Jerusalem), wife of the Lord of Sidon, dowager lady of Ramla and Lady of Toron in her own right."[32] As a result of these frequent remarriages widowed princesses and countesses carried the substantial estates to their next husbands and became seen as a prize, with various European men leaving their homes for a landed wife in the Levant. According to the courts of Outremer, half to a third of the assets of the deceased went to the widow, while the other portion was held in reserve for his children or heirs.

This system had dramatic consequences for both the Frankish Levant and Europe. In Europe land was mainly transferred through primogeniture during this period, making the power structure itself more fixed, with dowries becoming more money-based in an effort to keep land in the family.[33] In comparison, in Outremer lands, often reverted to the Crown before there was a chance for nobles to establish their own dynasties before they were either killed or died, allowing the Crown to retain a higher degree of control than in Europe.[34]

Here is a partial list of those who stayed behind to manage the estates as their husbands took the cross.[35]

From the First Crusade:

Further reading

  • Komnene, Anna, The Alexiad, translated by E.R.A. Sewter, ed. Peter Frankopan, Penguin, New York, 2009
  • Anna Comnena, Encyclopædia Britannica (11th Edition), Volume II, Cambridge, 1910, pg. 59
  • Durant, Will, The Story of Civilization, Volume IV: The Age of Faith, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1950, pg. 585-613
  • Tyler, Moses V., The Library of Universal History, Volume V: The Later Middle Ages, Union Book Company, New York, 1898, pg 1568-1586
  • Murray, Alan V. The Crusades—An Encyclopedia, ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, 2006, pgs. 1285-1291 (online version)
  • Garland, Lynda, Editor, Byzantine Women: Varieties of Experience, 800-1200, Ashgate Publishing, Farnham, United Kingdom, 2006

References

  1. ^ Riley-Smith, Jonathan (1997). The First Crusaders, 1095-1131. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  2. ^ Kivisto, Lili; et al. (1997). "The Great Crusades: A Woman's Role". University of Michigan.
  3. ^ a b c Santosuosso, Antonio (2004). Barbarians, Marauders, and Infidels. Oxford, UK: Westview Press. p. 268. ISBN 0813391539.
  4. ^ Santosuosso, Antonio (2004). Barbarians, Marauders, and Infidels: The Ways of the Medieval Warefare. Oxford, UK: Westview Press. p. 268. ISBN 0813391539.
  5. ^ Santosuosso, Antonio (2004). Barbarbarians, Marauders, and Infidels. Oxford, UK: Westview Press. pp. 267–268. ISBN 0813391539.
  6. ^ Hodgson, Natasha (2007). Women, Crusading and the Holy Land in Historical Narrative. Boydell.
  7. ^ Anna Comnena: Byzantine Princess (n.d). https://www.britannica.com/biography/Anna-Comnena
  8. ^ Geary, Patrick J., ed. (2003). The First Crusade, Fulcher of Chartres, Readings in Medieval History, 3rd Edition. Ontario: Broadview Press. pp. 407–417.
  9. ^ Riley-Smith, Jonathan (1997). The First Crusaders, 1095-1131. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 107–108.
  10. ^ J. S. C. Riley-Smith; Jonathan Phillips; Alan V. Murray; Guy Perry; Nicholas Morton. "A Database of Crusaders to the Holy Land, 1096-1149".
  11. ^ Cousins, Becky (2010). "The Goose who led a Crusade...well, sort of!".
  12. ^ Levine, Robert (1997). The Deeds of God through the Franks: A Translation of Guibert de Nogent's Gesta Dei per Francos'. Suffolk: Boyden & Brewer Publishing.
  13. ^ Murray, Alan V. (1992). "The Army of Godfrey of Bouillon, 1096–1099" (PDF). Revue Belge de philologie et Histoire. 70 (2).
  14. ^ Murray, Alan V. (1992). "The Army of Godfrey of Bouillon, 1096–1099" (PDF). Revue Belge de philologie et Histoire. 70 (2).
  15. ^ Riley-Smith, Jonathan (1997). The First Crusaders, 1095-1131. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 49.
  16. ^ Runciman, Steven (1951). A History of the Crusades, Volume One. London: Cambridge University Press. pp. 159–160, 319.
  17. ^ Kostick, Conon (2008). The Social Structure of the First Crusade. ISBN 978-9004166653.
  18. ^ Philips, Jonathan (2014). The Crusades, 1004-1204. ISBN 9781317755876.
  19. ^ Robert the Monk (2006). History of the First Crusade: Historia Iherosolimitana. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 9780754658627.
  20. ^ Riley-Smith, Jonathan (1997). The First Crusaders, 1095-1131. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. Various.
  21. ^ Albert of Aachen (2013). History of the Journey to Jerusalem. Volume 2: Books 7-12. The Early History of the Latin States, 1099-1119, edited by Susan B. Edgington. Ashgate Publishing. pp. 180, 181, 184n.
  22. ^ J. S. C. Riley-Smith; Jonathan Phillips; Alan V. Murray; Guy Perry; Nicholas Morton. "A Database of Crusaders to the Holy Land, 1095-1149".
  23. ^ J. S. C. Riley-Smith; Jonathan Phillips; Alan V. Murray; Guy Perry; Nicholas Morton. "A Database of Crusaders to the Holy Land, 1095-1149".
  24. ^ Riley-Smith, Jonathan (1997). The First Crusaders, 1095-1131. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. Multiple citations.
  25. ^ Riley-Smith, Jonathan (1997). The First Crusaders, 1095-1131. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 213.
  26. ^ a b Runciman, Steven (1952). A History of the Crusades, Volume Two. London: Cambridge University Press. pp. Various.
  27. ^ Runciman, Steven (1954). A History of the Crusades, Volume Three. London: Cambridge University Press. pp. Numerous.
  28. ^ Runciman, Steven (1954). A History of the Crusades, Volume Three. London: Cambridge University Press. pp. Various.
  29. ^ Shahar, Shulamith (1983). The Fourth Estate: A History of Women in the Middle Ages. New York: Methuen. p. 130.
  30. ^ Hodgson, Natasha (2007). Women, Crusading and the Holy Land in Historical Narrative. Rochester: Boydell Press. p. 43.
  31. ^ Karras, Ruth Mazo. From Boys to Men: Formulations of Masculinity in Late Medieval Europe.
  32. ^ Edbury, Peter (1985). Crusade and Settlement. Cardiff: University College Press. pp. 197–201.
  33. ^ Livingston, Sally (2012). Marriage, Property and Women's Narratives. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 9.
  34. ^ Karras, Ruth Mazo. From Boys to Men: Formulations of Masculinity in Late Medieval Europe. pp. 33–35.
  35. ^ Barker, Ernest (1910). Crusades, Encyclopædia Britannica (11th Edition), Volume VII. London: Cambridge. p. 535.
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