Jerusalem as the Travelling City of God: Henry of Albano and the Preaching of the Third Crusade

Abstract

This article examines Henry of Albano’s De peregrinante civitate Dei and its conception of Jerusalem; this conception encompasses crusade and theology building upon the four senses of Scripture and the Corpus Christi. Within this text, the paper focuses on treatise XIII, the so-called “crusading treatise,” discussing the purpose and outlook it develops for the Third Crusade, an event triggered by the loss of both the True Cross and Jerusalem in 1187. However, for a sound analysis of the complex notions surrounding Jerusalem, one has to consider the crusading treatise’s relationship with other parts of the work; these help us to understand better Henry’s reading of the events of 1187. As this endeavour demonstrates, the other parts offer elaboration on, and explanation of, motifs present but not exegetically elucidated in the crusading treatise. This leads to an investigation of eschatological elements in Henry’s work, especially those concerned with heaven’s gates and the fulfilment of prophecy. It then considers how these apocalyptic beliefs might have unfolded on the eve of the crusade, being deeply rooted in the conjunction of the earthly and the heavenly Jerusalem.