A Crusade song ( oc, canso de crozada, ca, cançó de croada, german: Kreuzlied) is any
vernacular
A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
lyric poem
Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person.
It is not equivalent to song lyrics, though song lyrics are often in the lyric mode, and it is also ''not'' equi ...
about the
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
. Crusade songs were popular in the
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended ...
: 106 survive in
Occitan Occitan may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain.
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France.
* Occitan language
Occitan (; o ...
, forty in
Old French
Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...
, thirty in
Middle High German
Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. High ...
, two in
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
, and one in
Old Castilian
Old Spanish, also known as Old Castilian ( es, castellano antiguo; osp, romance castellano ), or Medieval Spanish ( es, español medieval), was originally a dialect of Vulgar Latin spoken in the former provinces of the Roman Empire that provided ...
. The study of the Crusade song, which may be considered a
genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
of its own, was pioneered by Kurt Lewent. He provided a classification of Crusade songs and distinguished between songs which merely mentioned, in some form, a Crusade from songs which were "Crusade songs". Since Lewent, scholars have added several classifications and definitions of Crusade songs. Scholars have argued for three different classifications of Crusade songs which include songs of exhortation, love songs, and songs which criticize the Crusading movement.
The Crusade song was not confined to the topic of the
Latin East
The Crusader States, also known as Outremer, were four Catholic realms in the Middle East that lasted from 1098 to 1291. These feudal polities were created by the Latin Catholic leaders of the First Crusade through conquest and political int ...
, but could concern the
Reconquista
The ' (Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid ...
in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, the
Albigensian Crusade
The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade (; 1209–1229) was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crown ...
in
Languedoc
The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France.
Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...
, or the political crusades in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. The first Crusade to be accompanied by songs, none of which survive, was the
Crusade of 1101
The Crusade of 1101 was a minor crusade of three separate movements, organized in 1100 and 1101 in the successful aftermath of the First Crusade. It is also called the Crusade of the Faint-Hearted due to the number of participants who joined this ...
, of which
William IX of Aquitaine
William IX ( oc, Guilhèm de Peitieus; ''Guilhem de Poitou'' french: Guillaume de Poitiers) (22 October 1071 – 10 February 1126), called the Troubadour, was the Duke of Aquitaine and Gascony and Count of Poitou (as William VII) between 1086 and ...
wrote, according to
Orderic Vitalis
Orderic Vitalis ( la, Ordericus Vitalis; 16 February 1075 – ) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England. Modern historia ...
. From the
Second Crusade
The Second Crusade (1145–1149) was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa in 1144 to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crusa ...
survive one French and ten Occitan songs. The
Third
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (d ...
and
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...
s generated many songs in Occitan, French, and German. Occitan
troubadours
A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...
dealt especially with the Albigensian campaigns in the early thirteenth century, but their decline thereafter left the later Crusades—
Fifth,
Sixth,
Seventh
Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven.
Seventh may refer to:
* Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution
* A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts
Film and television
*"The Seventh", a second-season epi ...
, and
Eighth—to be covered primarily by the German ''
Minnesänger
(; "love song") was a tradition of lyric- and song-writing in Germany and Austria that flourished in the Middle High German period. This period of medieval German literature began in the 12th century and continued into the 14th. People who wr ...
'' and French ''
trouvère
''Trouvère'' (, ), sometimes spelled ''trouveur'' (, ), is the Northern French (''langue d'oïl'') form of the ''langue d'oc'' (Occitan) word ''trobador'', the precursor of the modern French word ''troubadour''. ''Trouvère'' refers to poet- ...
s''.
List of Occitan crusading songs
The following list is only of those songs defined as "''Kreuzlied''" in Lewent, "Das altprovenzalische Kreuzlied" (Berlin: 1905). It is important to note that Lewent only lists the Crusade songs that have a call to crusade. For a more complete list, see the new database by Paterson.
List of French crusading songs
The following table is adapted from Smith, ''Age of Joinville'', p. 17, who cites ''Les chansons de croisade'', eds J. Bédier and P. Aubry (Paris, 1909), p. xxxv.
German crusade songs
The following ''Minnesänger'' are known to have composed crusade songs:
*
Walther von der Vogelweide
Walther von der Vogelweide (c. 1170c. 1230) was a Minnesänger who composed and performed love-songs and political songs (" Sprüche") in Middle High German. Walther has been described as the greatest German lyrical poet before Goethe; his hundr ...
: ''
Palästinalied
The ''Palästinalied'' ("Palestine Song") is a crusade song written in the early 13th century by Walther von der Vogelweide, the most celebrated lyric poet of Middle High German literature. It is one of the few songs by Walther for which a melod ...
'', ''Elegy''
*
Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser (; gmh, Tanhûser), often stylized, "The Tannhäuser," was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and 1 ...
: ''Kreuzlied''
*
Friedrich von Hausen
Friedrich von Hausen (Middle High German: Friderich von Hûsen) was a medieval German poet, one of the earliest of the Minnesingers; born sometime between 1150–60; d. 6 May 1190. Life
His name is mentioned frequently in legal documents, for the ...
*
Albrecht von Johansdorf
Albrecht von Johansdorf (c. 1180 – c. 1209) was a Minnesänger and a minor noble in the service of Wolfger of Erla. Documents indicate that his life included the years 1185 to 1209. He may have known Walther von der Vogelweide and is belie ...
*
Heinrich von Rugge
*
Hartmann von Aue
Hartmann von Aue, also known as Hartmann von Ouwe, (born ''c.'' 1160–70, died ''c.'' 1210–20) was a German knight and poet. With his works including ''Erec'', '' Iwein'', ''Gregorius'', and ''Der arme Heinrich'', he introduced the Arthurian ...
*
Freidank Freidank (''Vrîdanc'') was a Middle High German didactic poet of the early 13th century. He is the author of ''Bescheidenheit'' ("practical wisdom, correct judgement, discretion"), a collection of rhyming aphorisms in 53 thematic divisions, extend ...
: ''Akkonsprüche''
*
Neidhart Neidhart is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:
* Christian Neidhart, German football manager
*Jim Neidhart, Canadian professional wrestler
*Natalya Neidhart
Natalie Katherine Neidhart-Wilson (born May 27, 1 ...
Castilian crusade songs
Only one vernacular crusade song is known from the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
. Discovered in the second half of the twentieth century, ''Ay, Jherusalem!'' is a ''
planto
A genre of the troubadours, the or (; "lament") is a funeral lament for "a great personage, a protector, a friend or relative, or a lady."Elisabeth Schulze-Busacker, "Topoi", in F. R. P. Akehurst and Judith M. Davis, eds., ''A Handbook of the T ...
'' or lament in
Castilian.
[Schreiner 2006.] It is recruitment propaganda probably connected either with the
First Council of Lyon
The First Council of Lyon (Lyon I) was the thirteenth ecumenical council, as numbered by the Catholic Church, taking place in 1245.
The First General Council of Lyon was presided over by Pope Innocent IV. Innocent IV, threatened by Holy Roman ...
in 1245
[Franchini 2007.] or the
Second Council of Lyon
:''The First Council of Lyon, the Thirteenth Ecumenical Council, took place in 1245.''
The Second Council of Lyon was the fourteenth ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, convoked on 31 March 1272 and convened in Lyon, Kingdom of Arl ...
in 1274.
[ The anonymous poet laments the plight of the Christians and the cruelty of the Muslims. In form, it consists of stanzas of five lines (two ]dodecasyllable
Dodecasyllable verse ({{Lang-it, dodecasillabo) is a line of verse with twelve syllables. 12 syllable lines are used in a variety of poetic traditions.
Jacob of Serugh (c. 451 – 29 November 521), a Miaphysite Bishop of Batnan da-Srugh, also c ...
s and three hexasyllable {{Unreferenced, date=May 2021
The hexasyllable or hexasyllabic verse is a line of verse with six syllables.
The orphan hexasyllable is a metric specificity of certain French epic poems. This kind of verse in the Garin de Monglane's Song in a 14t ...
s) with the last line always ending in the refrain (''estribillo'') "Iherusalem".[
]
Notes
Bibliography
*
*Cammarota, Maria Grazia
"Tannhäuser's ''Crusade Song'': A Rewriting of Walther's ''Elegy''?"
In M. Buzzoni and M. Bampi (eds.), ''The Garden of Crossing Paths: The Manipulation and Rewriting of Medieval Texts''. Venice: Libreria Editrice Cafoscarina, 2005. pp. 95–118.
*Choin, Victoria. ''The Poets, the Popes, and the Chroniclers: Comparing Crusade Rhetoric in the Songs of the Troubadours and Trouvéres with Crusade Literature, 1145–1291''. Master's thesis. Arizona State University, 2019.
*Dijkstra, Cathrynke (1995). ''La chanson de croisade: étude thématique d'un genre hybride''. Amsterdam: Schiphouwer en Brinkman.
*
* Jordan, W. C. (1998)
« Amen ! » Cinq fois « Amen ! ». Les chansons de la croisade égyptienne de Saint Louis, une source négligée d'opinion royaliste
''Médiévales'' 34: 79–90 .
*Lewent, Kurt (1905). "Das altprovenzalische Kreuzlied." ''Romanische Forschungen'', 21(2):321–448.
*Paterson, Linda M. (2003)
"Lyric allusions to the crusades and the Holy Land."
Colston Symposium.
*Paterson, Linda M. "Occitan Literature and the Holy Land." ''The World of Eleanor of Aquitaine: Literature and Society in Southern France between the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries'', edd. Marcus Bull and Catherine Léglu. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2005. .
*Paterson, Linda (2018). ''Singing the Crusades. French and Occitan Responses to the Crusading Movements, 1137–1336''. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer.
*Routledge, Michael (2001). "Songs". ''The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades'', ed. Jonathan Riley-Smith
Jonathan Simon Christopher Riley-Smith (27 June 1938 – 13 September 2016) was a historian of the Crusades, and, between 1994 and 2005, Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Cambridge. He was a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
Pro ...
. Oxford: Oxford University Press. .
*{{cite encyclopedia , first=Elisabeth , last=Schreiner , title=Spanish and Portuguese Literature , encyclopedia=The Crusades: An Encyclopedia , editor=Alan V. Murray , publisher=ABC-CLIO , year=2006 , volume=4 , pages=1118–1120
*Smith, Caroline. ''Crusading in the Age of Joinville''. Routledge, 2016.
Crusade literature
Medieval music genres