Papal Attitudes to Truces and Alliances between Christians and Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula in the Late Twelfth and Early Thirteenth Centuries

Abstract

Pope Celestine III (1191–98) condemned both truces and alliances between Christian and Muslim rulers in the Iberian Peninsula, but Innocent III (1198–1216) was more ready to allow and even encourage truces. Papal action was influenced by various factors. The popes’ interventions were dependent on the receipt of reports and petitions from the Peninsula, and Spanish rulers sought to manipulate the papacy in order to achieve their own ends. The two popes also had different crusading priorities. These matters do not, however, fully explain their differing approach. Innocent was more of a pragmatist than his predecessor, and was possibly also influenced by the views of decretists. Yet a more wide-ranging study, which takes account of varying circumstances, is needed before generalisations can be made about papal attitudes to truces and alliances with non-Christians.