ANST - FW: Musing on October 30 -- Crusading Rabid

j'lynn yeates jyeates at realtime.net
Wed Nov 1 06:00:23 PST 2000


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- -----Original Message-----
From: Ellsworth Weaver [mailto:astroweaver at yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, October 30, 2000 23:22
To: 2thpix at surfari.net
Subject: Musing on October 30 -- Crusading Rabid


Dear Folk,

October 30 marks the beginning of the end for crusading. The eighth
and
last crusade was begun on this day in 1270. We shall not discuss
"Curtsey Crusades" here.

I know you are going to say "Eighth Crusade! Where did the time go?
What happened?" Well, I thought we could do a quick recap of the
goings
on in Outremere, land beyond the sea, the Holy Land.

First Crusade (1096 - 1099) Within three years the Crusades
recaptured
Jerusalem. The majority of Crusaders then returned to Europe. Too few
Crusaders were left to defend the land they captured and the Muslims,
led by the Turks, recaptured the Holy Land.

Second Crusade (1147 - 1149). This Crusade ended in failure for all
parties concerned. Might as well just forget about it. Never
happened.
Okay?

Third Crusade (1189 - 1192.) This was one of the more celebrated
Crusades because it included King Richard I of England.. King Richard
defeated Saladin, the Muslim leader, in several battles and captured
the city of Acre, which is north of Jerusalem but was not able to
retake Jerusalem itself. He did, however, convince the Muslims to
allow
Christian Pilgrims to enter Jerusalem freely.

Fourth Crusade (1201 - 1204). This was not a Crusade against the
Muslims but a Crusade more for economic and political gain. In fact,
the Crusades never reached the Holy Land as they concentrated mostly
on
Constantinople (Istanbul) and the surrounding area. Arguably a danged
fine Crusade.

Fifth Crusade (1217-1221) Proclaimed by Innocent III when a six-year
truce between the kingdom of Jerusalem and Egypt expired. Andrew II
of
Hungary, John of Brienne (King of Jerusalem), Leopold (Duke of
Austria)
Three indecisive expeditions against Muslims in Palestine (1217);
capture of Damietta in Egypt after protracted siege (May 1218 - Nov
1219), further conquest attempted, but crusaders forced to relinquish
Damietta (Aug 1221) and withdrew.

Sixth Crusade (1228-9) Emperor Frederick II, who first took the Cross
in 1215, married the heiress to the kingdom of Jerusalem in 1225.
Excommunicated by Gregory IX for delaying his departure, he finally
arrived at Acre in Sept 1228. Frederick II Negotiations with
Egyptians
secured Jerusalem and other places, including Bethlehem and Nazareth
(Feb 1229); Frederick crowned King of Jerusalem in Church of Holy
Sepulchre (Mar 1229). Jerusalem was held until recaptured by the
Khorezmian Turks in 1244.

Seventh Crusade (1248-54) Proclaimed by Innocent IV after the fall of
Jerusalem and defeat of the Latin army near Gaza by the Egyptians and
Khorezmians (1244) Louis IX (later St. Louis) of France Capture of
Damietta (June 1249); defeat of Mansurah (Feb 1250); surrender of
crusaders during attempted withdrawal. Damietta relinquished and
large
ransoms paid (May 1250). Louis spent four years in Palestine,
refortifying Acre, Caesarea, Joppa and Sidon, and fruitlessly
attempting to regain Jerusalem by alliances with the Mameluks
(remember
these nifty dudes?) and Mongols.

Eighth Crusade (1270 - 1272) Proclaimed after the Mameluk conquest of
Arsuf, Caesarea, Haifa (1265), Antioch and Joppa (1268). Charles of
Anjou (King of Naples-Sicily), Edward of England, Louis IX of France
Attacked Tunisia in N Africa (July 1270); Louis died in August;
Charles
concluded treaty with Tunis and withdrew; Edward negotiated 11 years'
truce with Mameluks in Palestine. By 1291 the Latins had been driven
from the Holy Land.

This later attempt of St. Louis to break the Mohammedan power at
Tunis
proved also to be a failure. This ended the last serious effort to
send
armed help to recover the Holy Land. Only Cyprus remained as a
Frankish
foothold in the East. The Moslems took Tripoli in 1289 and finally
Acre
in 1291 massacring 60,000 Christians. With the fall of Acre the first
remnant of the Latin power in the East vanished. Henceforth all
Palestine remained under the rule of Islam until our modern era. The
century long epilogue to the first hundred years of crusading fervor
was now over, and the Christian settlements were wiped out. They were
not deeply mourned. Okay, some folks back in sunny Europe missed the
occasional Christmas cards, but it wasn’t like Acre was York or
anything.

What have we learned here? Crusading might start off as a great idea
but eventually folks tire of it? You shouldn’t engage in a war when
you
have a long supply line? Don’t go around to someone else’s ‘hood and
act Billy Badass? How about inoculate your troops early and often?

I have been of late subjected to a plague, the "Spanish Lady." Yes,
that was the nickname for influenza back during and after the War to
End All Wars (WW I). Sorry about the patchiness of the columns. I
hope
to get my health and spirits back soon.

So if you are out there negotiating with Mameluks and Mongols,
signing
non-aggression treaties with infidels, or just sharpening your
scimitars on the bones of your victims and you wish to forward these
missives to others, please do. Remember to keep my name and sig.
attached ‘lest your house be visited by Mameluks.

Feeling much better, gack,
J.  Ellsworth Weaver

SCA – Sir Balthazar of Endor
AS – Polyphemus Theognis
TRV – Sebastian Yeats


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