Lives on hold: the Dampierre family, captivity and the crusades in thirteenth-century Champagne

Abstract

ABSTRACTCaptured outside Latakia in 1203, the Fourth Crusader Renard II de Dampierre was imprisoned in Aleppo for 30 years. The families of captured crusaders lost contact with their imprisoned sons, husbands and fathers for years, even decades, at a time. Such prolonged absences presented significant challenges, and life was delayed for both the imprisoned and their families. The landholdings of captured crusaders could not be alienated or mortgaged, marriages could not be made, nor could inheritances be divided without their permission. This state of affairs became less feasible the longer imprisonment continued. Eventually titles were apportioned between the rightful heirs, wives remarried and families moved on. Although Renard’s case is often cited as an extreme example, it also furnishes extensive evidence of the impact of captivity on a crusading family, the trials they endured in the prolonged absence of their patriarch and the strategies they used to overcome them.