Eleanor Of Aquitaine
account seems to add validity to the accounts of Imad al-Din and Baha al-Din with the similarities of the women going out on the battlefield dressed in armor. the Itinerarium peregrinorum et gesta Regis Ricardi.
The translation of the Itinerarium peregrinorum et gesta Regis Ricardi by Helen Nicholson and William Stubbs described women helping fill in ditches to aid in the battle of acre, picking lice from crusaders, and as washerwomen that accompanied the army (Nicholson and Stubbs, 1997). This particular account does not emphasize the role of the women on the battlefield in the same way as Imad al-Din and Baha al-Din or even Peter von Dusbergs, but is does recognize the presence and assistance of the women on the battlefield and the help …show more content…
that they offered in the Crusader camp.
Women of the East
While there is very little literature to be found about the involvement of the women of the East on the home front and the battlefront with the exception of a few famous Muslim women including Shajrat al-Durr, it is important to note that they too would have played a role, however to what extent is unknown to the writer of this essay. Thus, the majority of this essay focused on the role that Christian women played in the crusades.
Great Women of the Crusades Further evidence of the roles that women played can be found in the lives of some of the great women of the crusades. Their lives were instrumental in the Crusades and insight into the roles of the women of the crusades.
Anna Comnena
Anna Comnena was born 1083 as the oldest daughter of the Emperor of Constantinople; as a royal princess, she received an exceptional education that would aid in equipping her for her role as one of the most influential women of the crusades (Shahan, 1907). She married a historian named Nicephorus Bryennius who was working on a historical essay entitled Material For History which detailed the reign of Alexius I (Comnena, 2016). As royalty, Anna was involved in the politics of the day and conspired to remove her brother from power, however her husband disagreed; the plot was found out and Anna “forfeited her property and retired to a convent” (Comnena, 2016). After the death of her husband and while in this convent, Anna completed his work, Material for History, which she retitled Alexiad; her work is still a valuable account of the First Crusade (Comnena, 2016). Due to her position in society, Anna came into contact with many crusaders and thus the Alexiad offers unique insights into the private life of her father Alexius Comnenus, various crusaders, weaponry, military tactics, battles, cruelties of the First Crusade, and politics. Examples of this in her text include “after [the Emperor] grasped his beard for a long time, as a man will when revolving matters of deep import in his mind, he settled on this one point, namely that he too would yield their wish” (Comnena, 1967, p.57), “the Normans behaved most cruelly to all, for they dismembered some of the children and fixed others on wooden spits and roasted them at the fire, and on persons advanced in age they inflicted every kind for torture” (Comnena 1067, p.251), and “the filled the space between the wooden tower and the city tower with all kinds of inflammable material and poured streams of oil on it… to this they applied fire… that enormous fire was seen for thirteen stades round” (Comnena, 1967, p.331). Her insights into the First Crusade are invaluable and the roles that she played as a historian, politician, and threat to the throne have left a considerable mark on history.
Queen Melisende
Melisende was the firstborn daughter of King Baldwin II of Jerusalem and upon his death in 1131, was crowned, along with her husband Fulk and her two year old son Baldwin, co-ruler of Jerusalem (Riley-Smith, 2001, p.120). During the time when her husband Fulk was alive, Melisende, with the support of nobles, was able to maintained the power of a joint ruler (Riley-Smith, 2001, p.120). During this time, the Fulk included Melisende’s consent in all charters one example is one specific letter of many that state “Therefore I …, and my wife, queen Melisende, assessed and granted…” (Delaville, 1882, para. 1). In 1143 Fulk died, leaving Melisende to act as regent for Baldwin who was not yet of age (Riley-Smith, 2001, p.120). During this time Bernard of Claivaux wrote a letter to Melisende and said:
With the king your husband dead and the young king not yet ready to bear the business of the kingdom and to carry out the office of king, the eyes of all look to you and on you alone the whole weight of the kingdom falls (Leclercq and Rochais, 1979 p.354).
In 1144 Zengi laid siege on Edessa, as soon as word arrived to Jerusalem, as William of Tyre records, “the queen, who had charge of the kingdom's government… sent her kinsman, Manasses, the royal constable, Philip of Nablus, and Elinander of Tiberius, together with a great multitude of soldiers with all speed to Edessa” (1962). However, in spite of the army that Melisende sent, the city still fell at the hands of Zengi’s army, and with that loss, the second crusade was triggered (William of Tyre, 1962).
The next year, her son Baldwin came of age, however, she did not relinquish control to him and continued to reign for seven more years during which “mother and son formed their own separate administrations and issued charters in their own names”( Riley-Smith, 2001, p.120). During these seven years, “she evidently governed with sufficient authority to satisfy the leading men of the kingdom, because Baldwin could not gather enough support to displace her until 1152” however, she continued to be an influential presence in Jerusalem (Riley-Smith, 2001, p.120-121).
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine, an incredibly influential and fascinating women of the crusades, was just fifteen year old when,1137, her father, the duke of Aquitaine died leaving behind great riches and recourses to Eleanor and her sister Aelith; a few months later, Eleanor would marry Louis the Younger, the second son of Louis IV of France (Kelly, 1957).
The arrival of the news of the fall of Edessa in 1144 triggered the call for a Second Crusade by St. Bernard in Europe (Kelly, 1957). Eleanor, now Queen, responded by offering “her thousands of vassals from Poitou and Aquitaine”; Eleanor would accompany her husband King Louis and it is also noted that along “with the queen came ‘many other ladies of quality’” (Kelly, 1957, p.45). Nicetas, a historian of the crusade, records on page 404 of his work that “in the army were women dressed as men, mounted on horses and armed with lance and battle axe… at the head of these was one in particular richly dressed with the name of [Eleanor]” however, these women are not believed to have fought in battle (as cited in Nicholson, Kelly, 1957, p.51) . Upon the arrival of Louis and Eleanor, they met up with Raymond of Antioch, Eleanor’s cousin whom she had not seen for ten years, and began discussing plans; the plans of the two men, however, conflicted and a disagreement arose between Louis and Eleanor who happened to prefer her uncle’s plan over her husband’s (Kelly, 1957). Eventually, after enraging her husband who then demanded that she set out for Jerusalem with him, Eleanor gives in and follows his plan over Raymond’s (Kelly, 1957). After this, Eleanor began to make plans to annul her marriage to Louis and in fact, journey home to Europe on separate ships; in 1152 the marriage between Eleanor and Louis is annulled (William of Newburg, n.d.). A marriage between Eleanor and the future king of England Henry takes place not long after, and Eleanor once again brought into power (Kelly, 1957). During the following years of their
marriage, Eleanor bears eight children, one of which would become the famous King Richard the Lionheart (Kelly, 1957). As evidence by a letter from the Archbishop of Rouen, in 1173 Eleanor leads a rebellion against her husband, and incited her “children to rise up against their father” along with her (1173). Unfortunately for Eleanor, this rebellion failed and she was imprisoned until Henry died in 1189 and her son Richard became king and release her from prison (Appleby, 1965). In the years following her release, Eleanor would work to maintain her son’s lands while he was away and would advocate for him specifically for his release when he was captured in 1185, as evidenced by the letter that King Richard sent to Eleanor asking her to work for his release, and specifically asked for her to contact the archbishop of Canterbury (King Richard, 1193). One part of the letter reads: “we are certain that his promotion… will be very necessary to the defense of our kingdom and the hastening of our liberation. So we beg you, dearest mother, with all possible devotion,… you carry this business to its conclusion with all possible speed.” (King Richard, 1193)
When looking at the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine, it is easy to stand in amazement of the power and influence she maintained throughout the course of her life. As one historian noted, Eleanor would occupy center stage in history almost continuously until her death… first as queen of the French through her marriage to the future Louis VII, then through the scandal of divorce and marriage to Henry Plantagenet, future king of England, and later as the mother of three English kings… she would become of the most famous…. of all women in all the Middle Ages (Turner, 2009, p.306).
Shajrat al-Durr
Shajrat al-Durr was a Mamluk and a Turk that was born into slavery, but would later become the “founder of the Mamluk dynasty and commander of the jihad against the Frankish crusaders” (Cosman and Jones, 2009, p.156). She married the Ayyubid ruler of Egypt, Malik al Saleh, who died at the time of the Crusader army attack under the command of King Louis IX of France. Due to her discernment and shrewdness, Shajrat concealed her husband’s death with the help of army commanders long enough to prevent discouragement of the Muslim army during the critical Crusade battle; the result of this decisive move was the successful defeat of the King Louis IX Crusader army (Ahmed, 2016). Maqrīzī recorded this event saying:
The death [of Malik al Saleh] had not yet been publicly announced: the service of the sultan was performed as usual: his officers prepared his table as if he had been alive, and every order was given in his name (Maqrīzī, 1848).
Throughout the rest of her life, Shajrat was able to maintain control the Ayyubid administration. She accomplished this both from holding the power herself formally, or by exercising her control informally by her social connections (Ahmed, 2016).
Conclusion
The time of the crusades was a time of great change for many, in particular women who either uprooted their lives to follow the crusader army to the East, or to stay behind often left by father, husband, or son to care for the tasks that needed done. Regardless of whether women of the crusades left their homes or tended to them, women played an important role in the crusades, as evidenced by the accounts of men and women of that time. As one digs deep into the archives of history, he or she will find that women played many important and significant roles in the crusades including those on the home front in the religious and practical realms, as well as those on the battlefront on the battlefield and in the camp; though often overlooked, these women helped make the crusades possible.
The translation of the Itinerarium peregrinorum et gesta Regis Ricardi by Helen Nicholson and William Stubbs described women helping fill in ditches to aid in the battle of acre, picking lice from crusaders, and as washerwomen that accompanied the army (Nicholson and Stubbs, 1997). This particular account does not emphasize the role of the women on the battlefield in the same way as Imad al-Din and Baha al-Din or even Peter von Dusbergs, but is does recognize the presence and assistance of the women on the battlefield and the help …show more content…
that they offered in the Crusader camp.
Women of the East
While there is very little literature to be found about the involvement of the women of the East on the home front and the battlefront with the exception of a few famous Muslim women including Shajrat al-Durr, it is important to note that they too would have played a role, however to what extent is unknown to the writer of this essay. Thus, the majority of this essay focused on the role that Christian women played in the crusades.
Great Women of the Crusades Further evidence of the roles that women played can be found in the lives of some of the great women of the crusades. Their lives were instrumental in the Crusades and insight into the roles of the women of the crusades.
Anna Comnena
Anna Comnena was born 1083 as the oldest daughter of the Emperor of Constantinople; as a royal princess, she received an exceptional education that would aid in equipping her for her role as one of the most influential women of the crusades (Shahan, 1907). She married a historian named Nicephorus Bryennius who was working on a historical essay entitled Material For History which detailed the reign of Alexius I (Comnena, 2016). As royalty, Anna was involved in the politics of the day and conspired to remove her brother from power, however her husband disagreed; the plot was found out and Anna “forfeited her property and retired to a convent” (Comnena, 2016). After the death of her husband and while in this convent, Anna completed his work, Material for History, which she retitled Alexiad; her work is still a valuable account of the First Crusade (Comnena, 2016). Due to her position in society, Anna came into contact with many crusaders and thus the Alexiad offers unique insights into the private life of her father Alexius Comnenus, various crusaders, weaponry, military tactics, battles, cruelties of the First Crusade, and politics. Examples of this in her text include “after [the Emperor] grasped his beard for a long time, as a man will when revolving matters of deep import in his mind, he settled on this one point, namely that he too would yield their wish” (Comnena, 1967, p.57), “the Normans behaved most cruelly to all, for they dismembered some of the children and fixed others on wooden spits and roasted them at the fire, and on persons advanced in age they inflicted every kind for torture” (Comnena 1067, p.251), and “the filled the space between the wooden tower and the city tower with all kinds of inflammable material and poured streams of oil on it… to this they applied fire… that enormous fire was seen for thirteen stades round” (Comnena, 1967, p.331). Her insights into the First Crusade are invaluable and the roles that she played as a historian, politician, and threat to the throne have left a considerable mark on history.
Queen Melisende
Melisende was the firstborn daughter of King Baldwin II of Jerusalem and upon his death in 1131, was crowned, along with her husband Fulk and her two year old son Baldwin, co-ruler of Jerusalem (Riley-Smith, 2001, p.120). During the time when her husband Fulk was alive, Melisende, with the support of nobles, was able to maintained the power of a joint ruler (Riley-Smith, 2001, p.120). During this time, the Fulk included Melisende’s consent in all charters one example is one specific letter of many that state “Therefore I …, and my wife, queen Melisende, assessed and granted…” (Delaville, 1882, para. 1). In 1143 Fulk died, leaving Melisende to act as regent for Baldwin who was not yet of age (Riley-Smith, 2001, p.120). During this time Bernard of Claivaux wrote a letter to Melisende and said:
With the king your husband dead and the young king not yet ready to bear the business of the kingdom and to carry out the office of king, the eyes of all look to you and on you alone the whole weight of the kingdom falls (Leclercq and Rochais, 1979 p.354).
In 1144 Zengi laid siege on Edessa, as soon as word arrived to Jerusalem, as William of Tyre records, “the queen, who had charge of the kingdom's government… sent her kinsman, Manasses, the royal constable, Philip of Nablus, and Elinander of Tiberius, together with a great multitude of soldiers with all speed to Edessa” (1962). However, in spite of the army that Melisende sent, the city still fell at the hands of Zengi’s army, and with that loss, the second crusade was triggered (William of Tyre, 1962).
The next year, her son Baldwin came of age, however, she did not relinquish control to him and continued to reign for seven more years during which “mother and son formed their own separate administrations and issued charters in their own names”( Riley-Smith, 2001, p.120). During these seven years, “she evidently governed with sufficient authority to satisfy the leading men of the kingdom, because Baldwin could not gather enough support to displace her until 1152” however, she continued to be an influential presence in Jerusalem (Riley-Smith, 2001, p.120-121).
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine, an incredibly influential and fascinating women of the crusades, was just fifteen year old when,1137, her father, the duke of Aquitaine died leaving behind great riches and recourses to Eleanor and her sister Aelith; a few months later, Eleanor would marry Louis the Younger, the second son of Louis IV of France (Kelly, 1957).
The arrival of the news of the fall of Edessa in 1144 triggered the call for a Second Crusade by St. Bernard in Europe (Kelly, 1957). Eleanor, now Queen, responded by offering “her thousands of vassals from Poitou and Aquitaine”; Eleanor would accompany her husband King Louis and it is also noted that along “with the queen came ‘many other ladies of quality’” (Kelly, 1957, p.45). Nicetas, a historian of the crusade, records on page 404 of his work that “in the army were women dressed as men, mounted on horses and armed with lance and battle axe… at the head of these was one in particular richly dressed with the name of [Eleanor]” however, these women are not believed to have fought in battle (as cited in Nicholson, Kelly, 1957, p.51) . Upon the arrival of Louis and Eleanor, they met up with Raymond of Antioch, Eleanor’s cousin whom she had not seen for ten years, and began discussing plans; the plans of the two men, however, conflicted and a disagreement arose between Louis and Eleanor who happened to prefer her uncle’s plan over her husband’s (Kelly, 1957). Eventually, after enraging her husband who then demanded that she set out for Jerusalem with him, Eleanor gives in and follows his plan over Raymond’s (Kelly, 1957). After this, Eleanor began to make plans to annul her marriage to Louis and in fact, journey home to Europe on separate ships; in 1152 the marriage between Eleanor and Louis is annulled (William of Newburg, n.d.). A marriage between Eleanor and the future king of England Henry takes place not long after, and Eleanor once again brought into power (Kelly, 1957). During the following years of their
marriage, Eleanor bears eight children, one of which would become the famous King Richard the Lionheart (Kelly, 1957). As evidence by a letter from the Archbishop of Rouen, in 1173 Eleanor leads a rebellion against her husband, and incited her “children to rise up against their father” along with her (1173). Unfortunately for Eleanor, this rebellion failed and she was imprisoned until Henry died in 1189 and her son Richard became king and release her from prison (Appleby, 1965). In the years following her release, Eleanor would work to maintain her son’s lands while he was away and would advocate for him specifically for his release when he was captured in 1185, as evidenced by the letter that King Richard sent to Eleanor asking her to work for his release, and specifically asked for her to contact the archbishop of Canterbury (King Richard, 1193). One part of the letter reads: “we are certain that his promotion… will be very necessary to the defense of our kingdom and the hastening of our liberation. So we beg you, dearest mother, with all possible devotion,… you carry this business to its conclusion with all possible speed.” (King Richard, 1193)
When looking at the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine, it is easy to stand in amazement of the power and influence she maintained throughout the course of her life. As one historian noted, Eleanor would occupy center stage in history almost continuously until her death… first as queen of the French through her marriage to the future Louis VII, then through the scandal of divorce and marriage to Henry Plantagenet, future king of England, and later as the mother of three English kings… she would become of the most famous…. of all women in all the Middle Ages (Turner, 2009, p.306).
Shajrat al-Durr
Shajrat al-Durr was a Mamluk and a Turk that was born into slavery, but would later become the “founder of the Mamluk dynasty and commander of the jihad against the Frankish crusaders” (Cosman and Jones, 2009, p.156). She married the Ayyubid ruler of Egypt, Malik al Saleh, who died at the time of the Crusader army attack under the command of King Louis IX of France. Due to her discernment and shrewdness, Shajrat concealed her husband’s death with the help of army commanders long enough to prevent discouragement of the Muslim army during the critical Crusade battle; the result of this decisive move was the successful defeat of the King Louis IX Crusader army (Ahmed, 2016). Maqrīzī recorded this event saying:
The death [of Malik al Saleh] had not yet been publicly announced: the service of the sultan was performed as usual: his officers prepared his table as if he had been alive, and every order was given in his name (Maqrīzī, 1848).
Throughout the rest of her life, Shajrat was able to maintain control the Ayyubid administration. She accomplished this both from holding the power herself formally, or by exercising her control informally by her social connections (Ahmed, 2016).
Conclusion
The time of the crusades was a time of great change for many, in particular women who either uprooted their lives to follow the crusader army to the East, or to stay behind often left by father, husband, or son to care for the tasks that needed done. Regardless of whether women of the crusades left their homes or tended to them, women played an important role in the crusades, as evidenced by the accounts of men and women of that time. As one digs deep into the archives of history, he or she will find that women played many important and significant roles in the crusades including those on the home front in the religious and practical realms, as well as those on the battlefront on the battlefield and in the camp; though often overlooked, these women helped make the crusades possible.