The Fifth Crusade and its Aftermath: Crusading in the Southeast of the Holy Roman Empire in the First Decades of the Thirteenth Century

Abstract

The Fifth Crusade was a major event of the crusading movement in the southeast of the Holy Roman Empire, particularly in the eastern Alpine area, comprising the medieval territories of Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, Friuli and Tyrol. The leading princes (the Babenbergs and Andechs-Meranians) and King Andrew II of neighbouring Hungary, with strong kinship ties, featured prominently in the first phase of this crusading enterprise in 1217–18. According to extant sources, the participation from here was the highest of all major crusades (80 confirmed crusaders). The aftermath of the Fifth Crusade and the problem of the unfulfilled crusading vow of Emperor Frederick II also generated a lively activity in the third decade of the thirteenth century. Six major princes from the southeast were actively involved in the diplomacy between the pope and the emperor and were credited with the conclusion of the final agreement at San Germano in 1230. The crusading fervor for the Holy Land rapidly faded after the emperor’s crusade of 1228–29 while new crusade fronts were gradually becoming popular. Prussia as a crusading goal first appears in the sources already in 1244; little-known crusading in Bosnia against the Cathar heresy is also attested, and fervent crusading activity was under way in 1241–42, when the Mongols threatened Austria. The article thus sheds light on crusading in a usually overlooked but nevertheless important area of the medieval Holy Roman Empire.