Medieval History Writing and Crusading Ideology by Tuomas M. S. Lehtonen Kurt Villads Jensen , Janne Malkki Katja Ritari (review)

Abstract

552 SEER, 84, 3, JULY 2006 Apart from the comprehensive glossary, MakingMusic in thePolishTatras is accompanied by a CD containing forty-seven music examples, adding a further realistic dimension to the content. Included in these, of particular interestis a vivid recordingof a gravesideensemble performedat the funeral of Stanislawa Styrczula-Masniakin Koscielisko, in which can be heard the sounds of rain and the gravediggershovellingearth into the grave. No concise review can do fulljustice to this remarkablebook, every page of which is filled with factual information, together with musical examples, photographsand illustrations.This is not only a fine ethnomusicologicalstudy but a labour of love in which the author'sdeep affectionfor muzyka Podhala is evident on every page. Department for Continuing Education G. R. SEAMAN University of Oxford Lehtonen, Tuomas M. S. andJensen, Kurt Villads, with Malkki,Janne and Ritari, Katja (eds).Medieval Histo?yWriting and Crusading Ideology. Studia Fennica: Historica, 9. Finnish LiteratureSociety, Helsinki, 2005. 320 pp. Maps. Illustrations.Notes. Bibliography.Indexes. ?31.00 (paperback). THEoriginsof this collection of essayslay in a colloquiumand researchworkshop held in Rome inJanuary of 2001, which had as its firstgoal a study of crusadingideology and, secondly, of bringing together crusadingmovements of the South and North which had traditionallybeen studied in isolation. Jensen's elegant introductionexplainshow crusaderswere identifiedfirstas French (Franci), then those following the French, and finally all those from WesternChristendomwho took crusadingvows. In the formulationof Guibert of Nogent and William of Malmesbury, even the barbarians of the North took the cross;moreover, since William of Malmesburgbelieved that climate determined culture and intelligence, he said that the cold North produced only strong and lusty but brainlesswarriors.The ProtestantReformation and the Enlightenment saw crusading as religious and intellectual bankruptcy,a viewpoint that persistedin scholarship -Jensen says until the I970s,when moraljudgments were supplantedby inquiriesinto what actually happened. However, the 'exclusionists'continued to insist that only expeditions to the Holy Land were crusades, while the 'inclusionists'wanted to discuss Iberia, the Baltic and the later expeditionsas well. Obviously,the contributorsto this book are inclusionists.But they do not conform to Malmesbury'sstereotype. There are twenty-two contributionsto this volume. It is obviously impossibleto dojustice to all, and reviewerswill not agree on which essaysare more stimulating.All are well-written the editorialassistantsshouldbe praisedfor their contributionsin making the essaysuniform and enjoyableto read. Most importantly,each essay has a solid summaryof its most importantideas. The first collection of essays deals with the differing forms of crusading ideology and reactionsto them.Janus M6llerJensen's 'War,Penance and the FirstCrusade'takes on Riley-Smith as to whether the crusadewas a pilgrimage . There is a long historyof callingcrusaderspelligrini, but the point was that REVIEWS 553 thiswasa penitential practice;thereareexamplesof otherwarsdirectedby thepopewithpromises ofremission ofsin,andUrbanIIusedthetermiter, not peregrinatio. The secondgroupof essaysdealwiththe impactof crusading ideologies upon society,especiallythe royalexploitationof the crusadingmovement. HenrikJanson, 'MakingEnemies',challengesthe idea originallyadvanced by Leopoldvon Rankethat therehad been continualwar alongthe Elbe RiverbetweenSaxonsandWends.To theextentthattherewasconflict, itwas usuallyover taxes, not religion.Vivian Etting,'Crusadeand Pilgrimage', defendsthemotivesofrulers,crusaders andpilgrims alike themotivesmay havebeencomplex,buttheywerenot cynical. The last groupof essaysconcernsthe NorthernCrusades.Readerswill probablyread these the most closely,becauseno matterhow much the authorswantto presenta broadunderstanding of the crusading movement, Scandinavians are best qualifiedto write about the Wendishand Baltic crusades. CarstenSelchJensen's'TheEarlyStageof Christianization in Livonia...' dealswith the effortsto divorcemissionfromcrusade,i.e., peacefulversus violentmeansof conversion. Hisanalysis of BishopMeinhard's effortsargues thatthisdichotomy isartificial andmisleading thecrusade beganin II96 as a militaryexpeditionto protectthe missionaries; moreover,therehad been precedents in ii68, II9I and II96. TorbenK. Nielsen,'MissionandSubmission', describes effortsto createa Christianized nativerulingclass.He naturally concentrates on Caupo,thebest documented oftheconverts, buthe concludes thatthenativecultures wereso resistant to changethatthe crusaders resortedto extraordinary violenceand socialengineering in an effortto breakthepagancultures. Colonization was the onlypolicyableto achieveevena superficial Christianization. Barbara BombiandIbenFonnesberg Schmidtattackforcefully theconcept thatthe popesinstigated the crusadesacrossthe Baltic.Quitethe opposite, the popessawthemas distractions; theyreactedto missionary appeals,but GregoryIX wasthefirstto takea leadership role. ThomasLindkvist, 'Crusading IdeasinLateMedievalSweden', looksatthe nationalcrusade theborderwarsagainstNovgorod whileMarn Isoaho, 'TheWarrior in God'sFavour', takestheopposite,Russianview,concentrating on the developingimportanceof AlexandrNevskiias a defenderof Moscow'sinterests. John Lind's'Puzzling Approaches to the Crusading Movementin Recent Scandinavian Historiography' has much to recommendit. He firstnotes thatmostScandinavian scholars havetendedto discountreligious motivesfor crusading; whiletheyhaveconsidered the crusadesto the Holy Landto be authentic religious experiences, thoseto theBalticwereonlyexcusesforplunder and expansion.However,he remindsus that the leadersof the First Crusadealsoquicklygrabbedlandsforthemselves. Second...