#second crusade

[medievalistsnet]

Templars as Medieval Training Consultants

Discover how the Knights Templar acted as medieval training consultants during the Second Crusade, bringing discipline, tactics, and military innovation to save a faltering crusader army.

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[roehenstart]

Assembly of Crusaders in Ptolemais in 1148. By Charles Alexandre Debacq.

[illustratus]

Saint Bernard preaching the Second Crusade before King Louis VII, his queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Abbot Suger, at Vézelay in Burgundy, 31 March, 1146

by Émile Signol

James Meeker Ludlow describes the scene romantically in his book The Age of the Crusades:

A large platform was erected on a hill outside the city. King and monk stood together, representing the combined will of earth and heaven. The enthusiasm of the assembly of Clermont in 1095, when Peter the Hermit and Urban II launched the first crusade, was matched by the holy fervor inspired by Bernard as he cried, "O ye who listen to me! Hasten to appease the anger of heaven, but no longer implore its goodness by vain complaints. Clothe yourselves in sackcloth, but also cover yourselves with your impenetrable bucklers. The din of arms, the danger, the labors, the fatigues of war, are the penances that God now imposes upon you. Hasten then to expiate your sins by victories over the Infidels, and let the deliverance of the holy places be the reward of your repentance." As in the olden scene, the cry "Deus vult! Deus vult! " rolled over the fields, and was echoed by the voice of the orator: "Cursed be he who does not stain his sword with blood."

[tenth-sentence]

The Second Crusade against non-Christians in Europe and Muslims in the Middle East, the taxes and the debt to finance the crusade, all stoked feelings against Jewish people.

"Normal Women: 900 Years of Making History" - Philippa Gregory

[oldschoolfrp]

The Second Crusade, illustrations by Michael Perry, former Citadel sculptor now of Perry Miniatures:

The Siege of Lisbon -- English Seaman, Norman Knight with painted helmet, Portuguese Knight with leather tasselled shield and painted spear (from “The Second Crusade, Part I″ by Sarah Speight and Michael Perry, Wargames Illustrated 28, December 1989)

The Attack on Damascus -- Frankish Crossbowman, Frankish Spearman, Frankish Knight (from “The Second Crusade, Part II” by Sarah Speight and Michael Perry, Wargames Illustrated 29, January 1990)

[beyond-crusading]

Detail of a miniature of Philip Augustus arriving in Palestine, by Mahiet, Master of the Cambrai Missal, between 1332 and 1350

Source

[nothingbutmortimer]

‘...A moving and surprising monument is tucked away in the Museum of Lorraine in Nancy. When Bernard of Clairvaux, the most powerful and prestigious religious figure of his era, marched down the Rhine in 1146, proclaiming what turned out to be the wholly futile Second Crusade, one of those he swept up with his rhetoric was Hugues de Vaudemont, a nobleman who went as part of Louis VII’s doomed army. We do not know who commissioned the carving or why, but here is a statue showing a gaunt, bearded Hugues on his return six years later, staff in hand and cross around his neck. He is being embraced by his wife, Aigeline of Burgundy, who wears an elaborate cloak and has a braid hanging down to her waist. He is patently at the end of his tether; she shows relief and pride.’

from ‘Lotharingia: A Personal History of Europe’s Lost Country’ by Simon Winder

[bantarleton]

King Louis VII takes refuge on a rock during the battle of Mount Cadmus (8 January 1148). Artwork from CAM 202: 'The Second Crusade 1148' by David Nicolle. Illustrated by Christa Hook

The centre of the French crusader column containing the army’s baggage train, was attacked by a large Turkish force as it crossed the Kazik Beli Pass just south of Mount Cadmus (Honaz Dagi) in south-western Turkey. The Turks seem to have been joined by Byzantine Greek bandits and members of the local peasantry whose homes, crops and flocks had been looted by the hungry crusaders. King Louis VII and his personal retinue of knights and sergeants hurried up from the rearguard to protect the baggage, but soon got into trouble. Louis himself was either thrown from his horse or the animal was shot down by the enemies’ arrows. So the king grasped a tree and hauled himself onto a rock where he was able to fend off his foes until help arrived.

The French eventually got across the pass, but not before they suffered significant losses, particularly amongst their senior men. Louis is shown here on top of the rock, looking down towards a substantial number of Turks plus members of the local peasantry who are trying to attack him. Louis is using his large shield to protect himself from the arrows. The king’s injured horse lies dying nearby. Coming to Louis’ aid are other French crusaders. Meanwhile, some of the Byzantine Greek bandits and Muslim heavy cavalry are clearly more keen on capturing the baggage or booty rather than getting at King Louis. er!