When the First Crusade ended with the conquest of Jerusalem in
1099, jubilant crusaders returned home to Europe bringing with them
stories, sacred relics, and other memorabilia, including banners,
jewelry, and weapons. In the ensuing decades, the memory of the
crusaders' bravery and pious sacrifice was invoked widely among the
noble families of western Christendom. Popes preaching future
crusades would count on these very same families for financing,
leadership, and for the willing warriors who would lay down their
lives on the battlefield. Despite the great risks and financial
hardships associated with crusading, descendants of those who
suffered and died on crusade would continue to take the cross, in
some cases over several generations. Indeed, as Nicholas L. Paul
reveals in To Follow in Their Footsteps, crusading was very much a
family affair.
Scholars of the crusades have long pointed to the importance of
dynastic tradition and ties of kinship in the crusading movement
but have failed to address more fundamental questions about the
operation of these social processes. What is a "family tradition"?
How are such traditions constructed and maintained, and by whom?
How did crusading families confront the loss of their kin in
distant lands? Making creative use of Latin dynastic narratives as
well as vernacular literature, personal possessions and art
objects, and architecture from across western Europe, Paul shows
how traditions of crusading were established and reinforced in the
collective memories of noble families throughout the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries. Even rulers who never fulfilled crusading
vows found their political lives dominated and, in some ways,
directed by the memory of their crusading ancestors. Filled with
unique insights and careful analysis, To Follow in Their Footsteps
reveals the lasting impact of the crusades, beyond the expeditions
themselves, on the formation of dynastic identity and the culture
of the medieval European nobility.
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