OCallaghan - Reconquest and Crusade in Medieval Spain

Reconquest and Crusade
in Medieval Spain

THE MIDDLE AGES SERIES

Ruth Mazo Karras, Series Editor

Edward Peters, Founding Editor

A complete list of books in the series
is available from the publisher.

Joseph F. OCallaghan

Production of this volume was assisted by a grant from the Program for Cultural Cooperation between Spains Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sports and United States Universities

Copyright 2003 University of Pennsylvania Press

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper

First paperback edition 2004

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3

Published by

University of Pennsylvania Press

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-4011

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

OCallaghan, Joseph F.

Reconquest and crusade in medieval Spain / Joseph F. OCallaghan.

p. cm. (The Middle Ages series)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-8122-3696-3 (cloth : alk. paper)ISBN 0-8122-1889-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. SpainHistory7111516. 2. SpainHistory, Military. 3. Migration, InternalSpainHistory. 4. Land settlementSpainHistory. 5. Crusade bulls. I. Title. II. Series.

DP99 .O33 2002

946'.02dc21

2002028952

For Anne

Her children rise up and call her blessed...
Give her the fruit of her hands,
and let her work praise her in the gates
Proverbs 31: 28, 31

Illustrations

Maps

The epic battle between Islam and Christianity for dominance in the Mediterranean, extending over many centuries, occupies a principal place in the history of medieval Europe. Historians of the Middle Ages, however, have tended to take a narrow view of that conflict by focusing primarily on the crusades directed to the Holy Land in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. This book attempts to redress the balance in part by emphasizing that the clash of arms between Christians and Muslims in the Iberian peninsula from the early eighth century onward, commonly labeled the reconquest, was transformed into a crusade by the papacy during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Successive popes accorded to Christian warriors willing to participate in the peninsular wars against Islam the same crusading benefits offered to those going to the Holy Land. Thus if one wishes to study the history of the crusades one has to take a broader view of the entire Mediterranean to include medieval Spain.

The beginnings of crusading historiography help to explain the limited vision of the crusades that prevailed until recent years. Because generations of French nobles and kings participated in expeditions to liberate Jerusalem, crusading was seen as an integral part of French national history. English and American medievalists, concentrating their attention initially on France and England, were inevitably drawn to the crusades to the Holy Land, but either ignored or mentioned only cursorily the war against Islam in Spain. Spanish historians were themselves responsible for this neglect in that, while they wrote much about the reconquest, they gave scant heed to the fact that the popes were granting remission of sins, the hallmark of crusading bulls, to those exposing their lives in combat against Islam. Jos Goi Gaztambides history of the bull of crusade in Spain, published in 1958, changed the focus entirely through his detailed study of papal documents according crusading indulgences and other privileges to those engaged in the reconquest.

My interest in this project was first awakened when I reviewed Goi Gaztambides book. In 1987, while directing a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute on Medieval Spain: Land of Three Religions, I explored the topic further. I am indebted to the participants in the Institute, my good friends Manuel Gonzlez Jimnez, Angus MacKay, Teofilo Ruiz, and Robert I. Burns, whose perspective on medieval Spain is always helpful. Father Burns also provided me with transcripts of several papal bulls. My students Theresa Earenfight, Donald Kagay, Nina Melechen, James Todesca, and Theresa Vann have always been a source of inspiration for me. Paul Chevedden has also been most helpful.

In writing this book I have attempted to utilize all the sources known to me, although, in comparison to other European countries, the number of Christian and Muslim chronicles is limited. The principal Latin narrative source for the twelfth century is the Chronicle of Alfonso the Emperor, a contemporary account of the reign of Alfonso VII of Len-Castile by an anonymous cleric. For the thirteenth century there are three major narratives for the history of Castile and Len, namely, The Latin Chronicle of the Kings of Castile, probably written by the royal chancellor, Bishop Juan of Osma (d. 1246); the History of the Affairs of Spain by Rodrigo Jimnez de Rada, archbishop of Toledo (d. 1247); and the uncritical Chronicle of the World by Lucas, bishop of Ty (d. 1249). All three works, concluding with the fall of Crdoba in 1236, were written by contemporaries who participated in many of the events they described and who were favorable to the monarchy. For the subsequent years to the fall of Seville in 1248 the vernacular History of Spain undertaken at the direction of Alfonso X provides a detailed narrative.

For the Crown of Aragn the chief narrative sources are the Deeds of the Counts of Barcelona, written by the monks of Ripoll between 1162 and 1276 in its first redaction, and the Chronicle of San Juan de la Pea, composed at the direction of Pedro IV (133687). A unique thirteenth-century source is the Chronicle of Jaime I of Aragn, written in Catalan; though some scholars have questioned its authorship, there is general agreement that it was written or dictated by the king himself and thus reflects his point of view. The Catalan Chronicle of Bernat Desclot dating from the later thirteenth century is generally exact in its relation of earlier events.

Annals from all the Christian kingdoms provide specific dates for many events mentioned in the chronicles.

Official documentation for the Christian kingdoms is ample, especially from the second half of the twelfth century. Besides numerous papal bulls conceding crusading privileges, hundreds of charters of the kings of Castile, Len, Portugal, and Aragn are extant. These documents are particularly helpful because they often were dated during sieges, recorded the capture of castles or towns, or rewarded those assisting in the conquest.

Muslim chronicles include the memoir of Abd Allh, the last Zrid king of Granada (107390), written in exile in Morocco. Ibn ib al-Sal, secretary to the Almohad caliph, wrote an official account of conquests in Spain between 1159 and 1184. In the early thirteenth century al-Marrkush, while residing in Baghdad, wrote a history of the Almohads, drawing upon his memory of his years in Spain. Al-imyars description in alphabetical order of the cities and towns of Islamic Spain frequently includes pertinent historical data. The late thirteenth- or early fourteenth-century account of the Al-moravids and the Almohads by the Moroccan historian Ibn Ab Zar tends at times to hyperbole and is not always trustworthy. Especially valuable is the history of Ibn Idhr, completed in 1306. Drawing on earlier accounts, he provides an abundance of detail and seems quite judicious in his assessment of events. Dating from the late fourteenth century is the work of the great philosopher of history, Ibn Khaldn (d. 1406), whose history of the Berbers includes many references to the peninsula. Finally, one should mention al-Maqqar (d. 1631) whose historical compendium includes many extracts from earlier writers.