‘O Damietta’: war memory and crusade in thirteenth-century Egypt

Abstract

The Egyptian port city of Damietta was a place which occupied a brief but important position in the crusading imaginary of the thirteenth century. This article examines how this city was used both to communicate particular memories of war experience and to lay down future patterns of remembrance. Processes of eyewitnessing, establishing the wider meaning of war, creating a warrior tradition and affirming the value of location or place were all ways in which war memory was articulated during the crusading period. Through an exploration of crusader encounters with the city of Damietta, this article offers some new insights into the nature and importance of medieval memory and remembrance of war.