Ethiopia's Religions, Part 2

In the first part, we looked at the introduction of Christianity into what became Ethiopia during the 4th century. The Muslim presence in the area is almost as old, having fled there from Arabia very early in the 7th century while it was still the Kingdom of Aksum.

Islam at its start was persecuted in Arabia by the Quraysh, the Arab confederation that controlled Mecca until its eventual takeover. Now-Christian Aksum actually welcomed the asylum-seeking strangers. This event is called the Migration to Abyssinia (the name for the Ethiopian and Eritrean region). Historians of Islam list two parts to this migration, a few years apart. The first was 12 men and four women in 613 or 615CE. One of the women was Ruqayyah, a daughter of Muhammad, whose husband Uthman ibn Affan became the third caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate.

A year after arriving in Aksum, word came that the Quraysh had converted to Islam, so they sailed back east, only to discover in Mecca that the Quraysh had not changed. They returned to Aksum, a group of 83 men and 18 women.

The Quraysh ruler of Mecca considered them fugitives, and sent a messenger to the Negus (ruler) of Aksum, demanding the Muslims be returned to Mecca. The Negus said he needed to hear from the Muslims before he would consider it. The Muslim spokesperson explained to the Negus that they were once a wicked people but a holy prophet rose among them who taught them to give up idolatry and worship the one true god. There was more, and it closely allied with Christian beliefs; the Negus believed their change was inspired by Jesus, and was inclined to let them stay.

Some eventually returned to Mecca in 622 and made the pilgrimage to Medina with Muhammad. But it was clear that Muslims were welcome in Aksum, and their numbers grew until they populated the Dahlak Archipelago in the Red Sea. By the 11th century they had founded the Sultanate of Dahlak. The number of Muslims grew to fill a significant part of eastern Ethiopia, eventually clashing with Emperor of Ethiopia Amda Seyon in the early 14th century, when he managed to conquer all the Muslim-population territories.

The last of the Abrahamic religions in the region is, of course, Judaism. Tomorrow we look at the Beta Israel.

Ethiopia's Religions, Part 1

Ethiopia was a fiercely Christian country in the Middle Ages, long before European colonization brought Christianity to Africa. To be fair, Medieval Ethiopia was home to all three major Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Before Ethiopia, it was the Kingdom of Aksum, in which Semitic polytheism was practiced, reaching the area from South Arabia.

Christianity is said to have begun with Frumentius and his brother Edesius. They were children who accompanied their uncle Meropius on a voyage that stopped at a port on the Red Sea, whereupon the entire crew was slaughtered except for the two young boys, who were taken to Aksum as slaves of the king.

The boys served the king faithfully, gaining position and privilege. The king gave them their freedom just before his death, but his queen asked them to stay at court and help raise the king's young son, Ezana. Frumentius taught Ezana about Christianity, and the two boys encouraged local Christian traders to practice Christianity openly so that people could learn about it.

When Ezana reached his majority, the brothers left for Tyre (their birthplace). Edesius became a priest. Frumentius stopped at Alexandria and asked the patriarch of Alexandria, Athanasius, to send missionaries to Ethiopia. Athanasius believed that Frumentius was the best person for the job, made him a bishop, and sent him back where he established his episcopal see, the first diocese in Ethiopia. This was between 328 and 346CE.

Bishop Frumentius converted King Ezana, with whose help many churches were built.

There was an early controversy when Byzantine Emperor Constantius II asked King Ezana to replace Bishop Frumentius with Theophilos Indus. Theophilos, however, was a proponent of Arian Christianity (to which Constantius was friendly). Most Christians considered Arianism heresy, so the request was turned down.

Frumentius gets credit for translating the New Testament into the local Ge'ez language, and for turning the Ge'ez alphabet from a consonant-only (abjad) version to a syllabic (abugida) version.

Next time we'll look at the almost-equally as old establishing of Islam and Judaism in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia versus Muslims, Part 2

The Emperor of Ethiopia, Amda Seyon I, was surrounded by threats from Muslims who were opposed to Ethiopia's Coptic Christianity. Each side wished to convert the other. Amda's army was able to dominate some of the Muslim territories and install governors in them, but there were others outside his control that wanted to push back against his expansion.

One of these Muslim-controlled territories was Adal to the east, between Ethiopia and the Gulf of Aden. Amda repelled their attacks. His soldiers, feeling the job was done, asked to go home. Amda, however, told them:

Do not repeat in front me what you have just said, for I will not leave so long as the ungodly Muslims make war on me, who am the King of all the Muslims of Ethiopia, and I have confidence in the help of God.

When Jamal ad-Din, whom Amda had recently installed as governor of Ifat (after a rebellion of Muslims there) also asked him to return home and ravage their countryside no more, Amda told him:

While I am attacked by wolves and dogs, by the sons of vipers and children of evil who do not believe in the Son of God, I will never return to my kingdom, and if I leave without going as far as Adal I am no longer the son of my mother; let me no more be called a man, but a woman.

So Amda led his army into Adal, where they were attacked more than once, even during the night. In one attack, an enemy got so close to Amda that from behind the enemy's sword slashed Amda's belt, but Amda spun around and killed his attacker.

Jamal ad-Din, despite being made governor after Amda defeated Jamal's brother's rebellion, allied with Adal's rebellion. Soldiers of Ifat and Adal surrounded the Ethiopian army in the Battle of Das, but Ethiopia prevailed. The Ethiopian army then marched to the capital of Adal where the rulers surrendered. He then went to Ifat and replaced Jamal with another brother, Nasir ad-Din.

Amda spent two years traveling with his army, defeating Muslim rulers and plundering their lands. This event took place around either 1329 or 1332. Amda's reign secured Ethiopian influence over the region for the next two centuries.

How did Christianity come to Ethiopia so early and become so strong? That's a good topic for next time.

Ethiopia versus Muslims, Part 1

Emperor of Ethiopia Amda Seyon (reigned 1314 - 1344) was a Christian whose constant focus was fighting the surrounding Muslims and trying to expand Christianity. This did not sit well with the Muslims. Yesterday's post (see the link above) told how he invaded the Kingdom of Hadiya and defeated its ruler, Amano, who was later killed in battle by Amda.

A prophet/advisor of Amano's escaped Amda's approach and continued to speak out against him and Ethiopia. A chronicle of Amda's reign called The Glorious Victories says:

The false prophet fled to the land of Ifat and lived there propagating his false teaching... And when Sabr ad-Din asked him for council he told him saying: "The kingdom of the Christians has now come to an end; and it has been given to us, for you will reign on in Siyon [i.e. Ethiopia]. Go, ascend [the mountains], and fight the king of the Christians; you will defeat him, and rule him together with his peoples."

This was the same disastrous advice given to Amano. Sabr ad-Din was the brother of Haqq ad-Din, ruler of Ifat who had been killed by Amda after Haqq killed one of Amda's envoys. Sabr, living under Amda's rule since his brother's defeat, confiscated some of the goods traveling with merchants to Ethiopia, causing Amda to say:

You took away the commodities belonging to me obtained in exchange for the large quantity of gold and silver I had entrusted to the merchants... you imprisoned the traders who did business for me.

Sabr's rebellion was a grandiose plan to not just shake off Ethiopia's rule, but to conquer Ethiopia completely. He boasted:

"I wish to be King of all Ethiopia; ... I will destroy their churches...I will nominate governors in all the provinces of Ethiopia,...I will transform the churches into mosques. I will subjugate and convert the King of the Christians to my religion, I will make him a provincial governor, and if he refuses to be converted I will hand him over to one of the shepherds, ... that he may be made a keeper of camels. As for the Queen Jan Mangesha, his wife, I will employ her to grind corn.

Amda Seyon  met the approaching Muslim army and scattered them. Sabr fled and hid. Amda promised not to return to his kingdom until he had found Sabr and dealt with him. The Ethiopians destroyed Ifat's capital, plundered it of anything precious, and killed many men, women, and children.

Sabr ad-Din sent a message to Amda's queen, Jan Mengesha, asking for clemency, but she upheld her husband's vow not to return until Sabr had been found and dealt with. Sabr realized the only way to end the conflict was to surrender himself to Amda. Rather than execute Sabr, Amda had him imprisoned, and then appointed Sabr's brother, Jamal ad-Din, as Amda's governor in Ifat. Jamal urged Amda to stop ravaging Ifat, and let his people rebuild so that they could send their tribute to Amda.

Amda's soldiers also wanted to return home, but Amda had other uprisings to deal with from Muslims to the east. The story of Glorious Victories continues tomorrow.

Amda Seyon I

When Christians and Muslims were burning down each other's houses of worship in Egypt during the reign of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad (lived 1285 - 1341), the emperor of Ethiopia sent him a message: ensure the safety of the Coptic Christians, or else.

The "or else" was serious, and contained two parts. The first part was the threat to send a military legion to conquer Egypt. al-Nasir might not have balked at that: his armies were large and fierce. It was the second part that was the more serious threat: before attacking, they would divert the Nile River and cut off Egypt's greatest source of fresh water and transportation. This bold declaration came from Amda Seyon I, Emperor of Ethiopia from 1314 to 1344. Let's talk about him.

Ge'ez chronicles, the source of much of what we know about Amda Seyon, were written a century later and get some events mixed with other emperors. (Ge'ez is an ancient Semitic language.)

He was part of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, a Christian Church that existed long before European colonization. It was part of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria since the early 300s. The chief doctrine differs from Latin and Eastern Orthodox and others in that it believes in Miaphysitism, in one perfectly unified combination of the human and divine in Christ, not in two separate natures.

Most of Amda's fighting was against Muslims in the southeast in what is now Somalia, enlarging his kingdom and spreading Christianity. In one instance, after invading the Muslim Hadiya Kingdom and exiling its people, he demanded that its ruler, Amano, visit him to pay tribute. A Muslim prophet told Amano not to go and not to be afraid, because if Amda Seyon attacked, Amano would be triumphant. Quite the contrary. The angry Amda Seyon invaded Hadiya, killed many, and took Amano prisoner. Conquering Hadiya hindered the Muslim slave trade and affected Muslim wealth in that part of the world.

After giving Amda's warning to al-Nasir, the messenger on the way back to Ethiopia was captured by Haqq ad-Din I, sultan of Ifat, who was encouraged by al-Nasir to attack Ethiopia. Haqq ad-Din tried to convert the messenger to Islam; he failed, and killed the messenger. Hearing this, Amda Seyon called up his army to attack Ifat. Amada himself with only seven horsemen rode ahead of the army to Ifat and killed many of Haqq ad-Din's soldiers. The army then destroyed Ifat's capital, and Amda took much of its gold and other materials. Haqq ad-Din was killed in battle against Amda Seyon in 1328.

The prophet who had given such bad advice to Amano is credited with continuing to stir up Muslims in the region against the powerful Ethiopian Christian kingdom. This led to Haqq ad-Din's brother and successor deciding it was time to conquer Ethiopia. That is a story for next time.

Al-Nasir Muhammad, Aggressor

Once he was firmly established as Sultan of Egypt in 1310 (after two previous reigns), al-Nasir Muhammad became more aggressive to his neighbors.

For example, a few years after he began his third reign, he launched raids on the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (now Turkey). The attacks from Egypt started by al-Nasir continued even after his reign, resulting in the fall of the Armenian Kingdom in 1375.

He also sent soldiers to enter the Mongol-controlled Baghdad, which was much sought after by several invading armies due to its cultural and educational pre-eminence. al-Nasir had sent his men to close the Baghdad bazaar because of its reputation for drinking and prostitution. The wine found by the soldiers was to be destroyed, and any women found selling their bodies were to be pardoned and told to marry as soon as possible. There were mosques in Baghdad, and al-Nasir's name was added to their prayers.

Back in Egypt, Muslims and Christians were becoming hostile to each other. Some Christian churches had been destroyed in parts of Egypt, and some mosques in Cairo were set on fire. Some Christians were arrested in the act of setting fire to buildings with rags soaked in oil.

The sultan ordered the Christian patriarch to attend him to discuss the matter. The Coptic patriarch (John IX of Alexandria) condemned the burnings. Also, word came from the emperor of Ethiopia, warning al-Nasir that Christian persecutions must stop, or else. Investigations led to the arrest of both Muslims and Christians who damaged each other's buildings.

Egypt's power was growing under al-Nasir. Envoys from Pope John XXII and King Philip VI of France came with gifts and letters, along with requests to treat Christians fairly. Philip asked to be given the city of Jerusalem and areas along the Levantine coast; al-Nasir insulted the French envoys and ordered them out of his kingdom.

The coins from his third reign were inscribed with "The Sultan King an-Nasir triumphant in faith and temporal world, The Greatest Sultan King, The Sultan King triumphant in temporal world and in faith, the one who shares with the Emir of faithfuls."

He had many children by wives and concubines. Eight of his sons became sultans of Egypt, as well as four of his grandsons. On a summer day in 1341, he went to the mosque to pray despite feeling ill and in pain, asking the preacher to give a shorter sermon. After prayers, he went back to his palace. The next day he summoned his princes and military leaders and appointed in their presence his son al-Mansur Abu Bakr as his successor, telling that if any of his descendants proved wrong for the throne, he should be removed. He was pronounced dead on 21 July.

He was a very powerful sultan in the end, and increased Egypt's power in the world, so what could the "or else" threat from Ethiopia have been? Tomorrow we meet Ethiopian Emperor Amda Seyon, who had an interesting trump card over Egypt.

Al-Nasir Muhammad, Third Reign

Al-Nasir Muhammad (1285 - 1341) had three different periods of his life when he was Sultan of Egypt. The first two are laid out here and here. In the first two he was overshadowed by powerful men who were essentially regents due to his youth. The third time around, however, he had gained sufficient maturity (and experience in politics) to run the country himself.

He became sultan for the third time in 1310 at the age of 24, and had a satisfying reign of three decades. Determined to chart his own course and eliminate hindrances, he had his predecessor al-Jashnakir executed, and replaced his earlier vice-sultan Salar with a new man, Baktmar al-Jukondar. (He arrested Salar a year later; Salar died in prison.)

Unfortunately, al-Jukondar was not a loyal vice-sultan, and conspired in 1310 to overthrow al-Nasir and replace him with al-Nasir's nephew, Emir Musa (Musa's father was as-Salih Ali, Al-Nasir's brother). Musa was up for the change, but someone spilled the beans and al-Nasir had al-Jukondar and Musa arrested.

Al-Nasir became more pro-active after that. Emirs who were corrupt or had opposed him in the past found their property taken by the sultan. He appointed a man with a reputation for being tough on corruption as the head of the Court of Justice. Al-Nasir would spend time each Monday allowing the common people to come to him with complaints against officials. He eliminated some additional taxes that had recently been put in place but really just enriched corrupt emirs. He prohibited executions without his permission. He also ordered a comprehensive land survey to re-set the property taxes owed.

He also got rid of the position of vice-sultan. (And built at least one mosque, pictured above.)

He was fortunate during his reign that recent losses weakened the Mongols, and there were no Crusades that invaded Egypt. This gave him years of relative peace from external enemies. In fact, he was the cause of external conflict for other territories. I'll talk about his attempts to expand his kingdom tomorrow.

Al-Nasir Muhammad, Second Reign

Al-Nasir Muhammad survived his first ousting, when the pre-teen was replaced by his advisor Zayn-al-Din Kitbugha. Now a teenager, he was returned in 1299 to the position of Mamluk Sultan of Egypt with Sayf al-Din Salar, an Oirat Mongol, as vice-Sultan and Baibars al-Jashnakir as an advisor.

His youth and their political savvy meant, however, that he was still not in charge except in name. Salar and al-Jashnakir were members of dynasties that were rivals to the Burji Mamluks, to whom Al-Nasir Muhammad belonged. As the Burji Mamluks grew in power, conflicts arose between the groups. There were also external dangers.

Mahmud Ghazan of the Mongol Ilkhanate invaded the Levant in the Eastern Mediterranean. Al-Nasir led an army of 20,000 from Egypt to deal with the invasion. Meanwhile, back in Cairo, there was a conspiracy to bring Kitbugha back to power after killing Salar and al-Jashnakir. The attempt failed, but Salar and al-Jashnakir believed that al-Nasir was behind it.

Al-Nasir and Ghazan encountered each other at the Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar (illustrated), to the detriment of al-Nasir. Although Ghazan's army took heavier casualties than al-Nasir's, al-Nasir retreated in disarray, limping back to Egypt in parts. Al-Nasir actually made Kitbugha a governor and then sent Salar and al-Jashnakir with the army to eliminate Ghazan's army.

Salar and al-Jashnakir clearly had a lot of political power and popular support, and al-Nasir realized he would never have total control as sultan with them around. He tried to have them arrested in 1309, but the attempt failed. He figured his best option was to go to the Levant, make alliances there, and eventually return to Egypt. In his absence, Baibars al-Jashnakir made himself Sultan of Egypt with Salar as his vice-Sultan.

Baibars al-Jashnakir ruled less than one year, ultimately being forced by the people of Egypt to resign and bring back al-Nasir, who was now 24 years old. His third reign began 5 March 1310 and lasted three decades. This time he was better at dealing with rivals, and had the time to make changes to the kingdom. More on that next time.

Al-Nasir Muhammad, First Reign

The current structure referred to as the Tower of David was built by Al-Nasir Muhammad, a Mamluk sultan who lived from 1285 to 1341. He reigned as sultan of Egypt for three separate periods, once for one year, once for 10 years, and finally (after dealing with the hindrances of the first two reigns) for 31 years.

Al-Nasir was born in Cairo, the third son of Sultan Qalawun and a Mongol mother. He was raised in Mongolia, and he acted like a Mongol until he was 29. When he was five years old, his father died and the throne went to Al-Nasir's older brother, Al-Ashraf Khalil.

When Al-Ashraf died (assassinated) in 1293, Al-Nasir was made sultan, but he was only nine years old. His regent and vice-sultan was a man named Zayn-ad-Din Kitbugha, a Mongol in the army of Hulagu Khan. Al-Nasir's vizier, al-Shuja‘i, and Kitbugha did not get along, and their rivalry turned to outright civil war, with each attempting to arrest the other with the help of different sections of the military.

After Kitbugha prevailed, he assembled all the nobles and emirs and told them that Al-Nasir was too young to manage a kingdom that was so prone to civil strife, and they agreed to depose the young sultan and install Kitbugha, who ruled from December 1294 until 7 December 1296. He failed to address shortages of water and food, and gave too much favor to the non-Egyptian Oirats who were led by a son of Hulagu Khan.

Kitbugha fled the opposition, but eventually recognized their replacement, a man named Lajin, who had participated in the assassination of Al-Ashraf Khalil and had been Kitbugha's vice-sultan. Lajin ruled from December 1296 until 16 January 1299, when he was killed by the same emirs who had put him in power.

Al-Nasir, now 14 years old, was chosen to return as Sultan of Egypt, with Sayf al-Din Salar, an Oirat Mongol, as vice-Sultan and Baibars al-Jashnakir as advisor. This time, his reign was a little longer. Once again, however, the problem came from his closest advisors. We'll continue his story tomorrow.

The Tower of David

Yesterday's post mentioned that the first queen of Jerusalem, Melisende, was besieged in the Tower of David by her son, Baldwin III, who objected to the kingdom being divided between them and wanted the whole place to himself.

The original tower—a palace complex, actually—was begun in the 2nd century BCE by the Hasmonean dynasty. King Herod in 37-34BCE expanded it greatly with three large towers, which he named Phasael, Mariamne, and Hippicus (respectively after his deceased brother, his executed wife, and a friend). Josephus wrote that the place was so lavish and grand that “[It] exceeds all my ability to describe it.”

As the largest administrative complex in Jerusalem, it was desirable and useful property. After Herod's death in 6CE, the Romans chose it for their procurators. Pontius Pilate would have lived and worked there. When the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70CE, the towers were left standing and the place was used to house Roman soldiers.

In the 4th century CE, when Christianity became the official religion of Rome, the complex became home to a community of monks. At this time it was not named after David. That was an error that came later.

Byzantine Christians in the 5th century, who believed it was the site of King David's palace, named one of the towers the Tower of David, based on a reference in Solomon's Song of Songs: "Thy neck is like the tower of David built for an armory."

After the Siege of Jerusalem, Muslim rulers took over the citadel in 637. They fortified it sufficiently that it held up to the assault by the First Crusade. It was handed over to the Crusaders, however, once the Muslims inside were granted safe passage. Only a generation after Melisende took refuge there, Saladin recaptured the city of Jerusalem and the citadel in 1187.

The Tower of David was destroyed several times in the roughly 2000 years since a structure was first established on the site. It is now a museum, and its present form is due to the rebuilding by a Mamluk sultan, Al-Nasir Muhammad. Like the destruction and rebuilding of the Tower of David, Al-Nasir also had his ups and downs, becoming Sultan of Egypt, then losing the position, only to regain it, and lose it again, then to regain it, ... but I guess we can wait until next time to see how that happened.

Amalric and Philip

One of the reasons King Amalric of Jerusalem wanted Philip of Milly to be Grand Master of the Templars, especially after the death of Bertrand de Blanchefort, was because Bertrand had refused to join Amalric's military expeditions into Egypt in 1168 and Philip did. Amalric and Philip had a relationship going back before Philip joined the Templars. Let me explain.

When King of Jerusalem Baldwin II died (c.1075 - 21 August 1131), he granted the kingdom to his eldest daughter's (and his son-in-law's, and his infant grandson's) hands. Her name was Melisende, and she is the first female ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. She had a reputation (according to William of Tyre) for wisdom and Christian charity. (The illustration is of her coronation.)

She was married to Fulk of Anjou who, as king by marriage, tried to rule without her involvement. Melisende's cousin Count Hugh of Jaffa led a rebellion to ensure Melisende's pre-eminence, after which she had so much power that she was able to reduce Fulk's ability to do anything without her agreement. When Fulk died (10 November 1143), she and her son Baldwin III ruled. Prior to Fulk's death, however, the couple had another son, Amalric, born in 1136.

Baldwin III (1130 - 10 February 1163) was only a teenager, and Melisende held the reins of the kingdom firmly in her hands, not even allowing him more authority when he came of age in 1145. The High Court decided in 1152 that it was unfair for Baldwin III (who was an heir named by his grandfather, after all) to be left with nothing, therefore the kingdom should be divided between mother and son. Melisende was granted the southern part of the kingdom, including Nablus on the West Bank, Palestine.

This solution actually inspired Baldwin to besiege his mother in the Tower of David to grab the whole kingdom. As his forces advanced on her location, many of her lords deserted her, but not all. Her most loyal, who remained with her, included her son Amalric and Philip of Milly, Lord of Nablus. Fulk had prevented Philip from inheriting his father's title in Nablus; Philip had only come into his own once Melisende took over from Fulk the complete running of the kingdom. 

She agreed to relinquish power; she went to Nablus. Philip was loyal to Melisende, and her son Amalric and Philip had been through some harrowing times together. When Amalric as king invaded Egypt, the Templars under Bertrand refused to join him, but Philip, who had joined the Templars in 1166, personally went with his friend. When Bertrand died, the King of Jerusalem Amalric I ensured that his loyal friend would become head of the Order that now Amalric could call on for military support.

For something different now, what was the Tower of David in which she took refuge? Was it called that originally, or appropriated from a Muslim structure? We can take a look at it tomorrow.

Philip of Milly

After the death of Templar Grand Master Bertrand de Blanchefort, King Amalric I of Jerusalem saw a chance to help himself out. Bertrand had refused to help an assault on Egypt in 1168, concerned about how a previous attempt had failed and not wanting to lose Templar lives needlessly. Amalric saw a chance to influence the next Grand Master and put in place someone who would be more of an ally. He turned to Philip of Milly.

Philip of Milly (c.1120 - 3 April 1171; that's his coat of arms in the illustration) was a baron in the Kingdom of Jerusalem who had inherited his father's estates in Nablus in the West Bank, Palestine. He was around when the Second Crusade arrived, and was at the meeting in Acre when the Crusade (against the advice and votes of local rulers) chose to attack Damascus in 1148, leading to a disastrous defeat for the crusaders.

In 1161, Philip traded his lordship of Nablus for Transjordan, a region east of the Jordan River. This deal was made under King Baldwin III. It was Baldwin's successor, Amalric, who almost certainly influenced the Templars to accept Philip as their new Grand Master. Philip was a good choice for Amalric because they were allies in an earlier venture against Baldwin. Philip was good for the Templars because he had land and revenues from said land that could be donated to the Templars.

Philip joined in 1166 (not yet as Grand Master), bringing with him a large part of Transjordan and granting to the Templars the castle of Ahamant (now Amman, Jordan). Philip himself joined Amalric's new attempt to invade Egypt in 1168, although the rest of the members of the order would not go because of Bertrand's decision. When Bertrand died in 1169, Amalric pressured the Templars to accept Philip as their new leader. Although Bertrand had established policy that a Grand Master needed agreement from the order to go to war, Philip brought the Templars to the next invasion attempt, which failed.

Philip resigned as Grand Master a short time later, in 1171. He went with Amalric to Constantinople as an ambassador, but died before reaching the city.

Why was Amalric so motivated to get Philip elected as Grand Master? What was the connection between them in the affair against Baldwin? That's a good story, and I'll share it next time.

Templars: The Early Days

Formed about 1120 by Hugues de Payens and eight others—including André de Montbard, the uncle of St. Bernard of Clairvaux—the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, aka Templars, had some trouble getting established. They wanted to be a monastic order of knights to provide protection to pilgrims in the Holy Land, which had been opened up to Western European Travel by the Crusades (begun in 1095).

King Baldwin II of Jerusalem had given them space in the palace complex on the Temple Mount, which had most recently been the captured Al-Aqsa Mosque. They had no funds, however, and so André de Montbard turned to his already famous nephew to write an endorsement of the order, after which they started to thrive. André eventually became the Grand Master, but with his death in 1156 the last of the original nine founders was gone. The next Grand Master took a step back and decided it was time for reform.

Bertrand de Blanchefort (c.1109 - 13 January 1169) was a son of Lord Godfrey of Guyenne. Although raised as a warrior and becoming a member of an order of warrior-monks, he wanted to emphasize facets of the Templars other than their status as soldiers. One step was to ask the pope for permission to use the title "Master by Grace of God" in order to stress the religious nature of the order less than the military nature.

He also wrote a set of clear rules for different positions in the order, and created checks and balances against the Grand Master's role, to ensure that future Grand Masters could not make decisions on the order's purpose or goals without the support of the rest of the knights.

In 1157, he was captured after fighting alongside King Baldwin III of Jerusalem in a battle against Nur ad-Din Zangi, ruler of the Syrian province of the Seljuk Empire. He remained a prisoner for three years until the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenos made a peace treaty with Nur ad-Din and had Bertrand released.

Bertrand also fought with Baldwin's successor, Amalric I, in an unsuccessful expedition against Egypt in 1163. Another expedition was planned in 1168, but Bertrand refused to participate, and was involved instead in drawing up a peace treaty with Egypt later. After Bertrand's death, however, Amalric pressured the Templars to elect Philip of Milly as their next Grand Master, a man with whom Amalric already had a relationship. Because of this choice, Amalric gained Templar support for future fighting forays. Who was this next Grand Master? Where did he come from? I'll talk about him next time.

Uncle and Nephew, Part 2

After Bernard of Clairvaux wrote a long statement endorsing the new order at the request of his uncle André de Montbard, the Knights Templar began to thrive. André was seneschal, second-in-command to the Grand Master.

Even when there was no official Crusade, battles in the Holy Land between Christian forces and Muslims still took place. Between the Second and Third Crusades, at the Siege of Ascalon (pictured here; 25 January to 22 August 1153), the Fatimid defenders set fire to a siege tower set up by the Christians. Unfortunately for the defenders, wind was blowing in the wrong direction and directed the flames back against the defenses, causing part of the wall to collapse.

Templars were first to enter the breach, aiding in the capture of Ascalon, the last coastal city in Palestine that was not yet controlled by the Crusaders. In the fighting, the fourth Templar Grand Master, Bernard de Tremelay, was killed. According to William of Tyre, the Templars—who had a "first in and last out" philosophy of battle that was admirable to civilians but looked like grandstanding to other soldiers—rushed in so as not to share spoils with the rest of the army (Templars were still looking for financial support).

André de Montbard was elected the fifth Grand Master. Despite his increased duties to the order and to activities in the Holy Land, he maintained a relationship with his nephew in Burgundy who had helped him out. They wrote several letters to each other over the years.

While the Siege of Ascalon was going on, Bernard was dying (he was in his early 60s then). He wrote to André, asking that the knight visit him:

…I wish even more strongly to see you. I find the same wish in your letters, but also your fears for the land that Our Lord honoured with His presence and consecrated with His blood…

But let us mount above the sun, and may our conversation continue in the heavens. There, my Andre, will be the fruits of your labours, and there your reward…

By the time André received this, Bernard was gone.

Interestingly, Bernard's death was attended by a Templar Grand Master: the third Grand Master of the Templars, Everard des Barres, had given up war, tonsured his head, and joined Clairvaux to live out his remaining years in contemplation, despite André's entreaties to return to the fray alongside his former comrades.

André himself died on 17 January 1156; he was the last of the original nine founders of the Templars. He was replaced by Bertrand de Blanchefort, whose story we will take up tomorrow

Bernard's Endorsement

When André de Montbard's new order of monks/knights intended to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land was suffering due to lack of donations, he turned to the most famous person he knew personally for help: his nephew, Bernard of Clairvaux. Surely Bernard's reputation for saintliness would give the "Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon" a boost.

The lack of donations might have stemmed from two reasons. They were a new order, formed about 1120, and so far largely unknown in Europe (since they were stationed in the Holy Land). Also, there was some confusion about their existence: was it proper for monks to take up arms? Was a "monk-warrior" a justifiable career?

André visited Clairvaux in 1126, entreating Bernard to lend his voice and reputation to the cause. Bernard approved of his uncle's mission, and wrote (some time prior to 1136) the Liber ad milites templi de laude novae militiae (Latin: "Book to the Knights of the Temple, in praise of the new knighthood"). Bernard praised the new spiritual knights because mundane knights were given to secular violence and vanity, adding precious metals and gems to their shields and saddles. These new knights instead would wage:

...a twofold war both against flesh and blood and against a spiritual army of evil in the heavens. ... He is truly a fearless knight and secure on every side, for his soul is protected by the armor of faith just as his body is protected by armor of steel. He is thus doubly armed and need fear neither demons nor men.

Bernard may have strayed from personal knowledge of the new order and imagined a few details, for instance in describing their Jerusalem headquarters:

...adorned with weapons rather than with jewels, and in place of the ancient golden crowns, its walls are hung round about with shields. In place of candlesticks, censers and ewers, this house is well furnished with saddles, bits and lances.

This letter would have helped not only to spread the word of the valuable and laudable service of the new order, but also would have helped boost their morale.

The letter helped, and the group that also came to be called the Knights of the Temple or Knights Templar grew until they became a very powerful force in Europe as well as the Holy Land.

The relationship between uncle and nephew continued, and I'll talk a little more about the two next time.

Uncle and Nephew, Part 1

André de Montbard (5 November c. 1097 – 17 January 1156) was the other child of Count Bernard I de Montbard (1040–1103) of Burgundy and his wife Humberto de Roucy who survived past childhood. His sister was Alèthe de Montbard. Alèthe had several children who survived to adulthood, and after her death in 1107, eventually all of her sons followed her son Bernard to Cìteaux Abbey (a daughter took up Holy Orders elsewhere). Alèthe's husband, too, retired to Cìteaux.

André's career also veered into a Holy Order, but he took a different turn.

The Cistercians whom his nieces and nephews joined prized discipline and austerity as part of piety. Bernard was very influential in promoting this lifestyle, even to the detriment of his health. He ate simply, and not much. Bernard's piety also was comfortable with the idea that killing in the name of Christ was right and proper.

André, meanwhile, needed help. He and eight others had begun a new (holy and militant) Order in 1120 with the support of Baldwin II of Jerusalem. The Order was designed to provide protection to pilgrims coming to the Holy Land, which had opened up tourism after the Crusades. They called themselves Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici, or The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon.

The name was accurate: they were poor: their symbol was two knights riding the same horse. Admirable, but not sustainable. Baldwin had given them a wing of a former mosque now being used as the royal palace, but donations from pilgrims who had already spent a great deal of money to travel could not support the Order.

But André had a link to his nephew, Bernard, whose fame as a holy man was spreading far and wide. He went to Cìteaux to speak to Bernard, asking for his support. Bernard agreed with their mission, and wrote a letter "In Praise of the New Knighthood." This endorsement from the saintly (and eventually an actual saint) Bernard of Clairvaux changed everything. I'll explain tomorrow.

His Mother Was a Saint

Count Bernard I de Montbard (1040–1103) of Burgundy and his wife Humberto de Roucy had several children. Sadly, most of them died very young—not uncommon at the time—but a son and daughter, André and Alèthe, survived past childhood. Originally intending to enter a convent, Alèthe (1070 - 1107) was married at the age of 15 to a Burgundian knight, Tescelin le Roux (c.1070 - 1117).

Alèthe and Tescelin had several children: Guy, Gerard, Bernard, André, Barthélémy, Nivard, and Ombeline. Tescelin's rank was not as high as his wife's, but (perhaps through her father's influence), the couple lived very well, able to give their several children good educations while living at the Château de Fontaine-lès-Dijon. The couple were considered by later chroniclers to be notably virtuous. (The illustration shows them both in a stained glass window made for Mariawald Abbey; the whole picture shows them above their son, St. Bernard of Clairvaux.)

Alèthe built a chapel in 1102 near their castle dedicated to St. Ambrose. Her piety strongly influenced her children. When she died at the age of 37, we are told her son Bernard was deeply affected (as I am sure the whole family was). Bernard made the decision to become a monk. Looking for a proper venue, he chose the Abbey at Cîteaux. Legend says that he had a vision of his mother, dressed in white, telling him that God had great plans for him and that he should persuade his brothers to join him.

Bernard and all his brothers went to Cîteaux. All became saints, Bernard of Clairvaux (named for the monastery he himself founded a few years after entering Cîteaux) becoming one of the most celebrated of them. Their sister, Ombeline, entered Holy Orders in 1132 and became abbess at Jully Les Nonains after Bernard demanded the building (a 10th-century castle) to become a convent linked to Molesme.

Alèthe's body was originally interred in the chapel she had built, and she was already considered a saint by the locals. In 1250 the abbot of Clairvaux had the remains brought to Cîteaux to be entombed next to her son, Bernard. At the end of his life, Tescelin joined Cîteaux.

Alèthe had a brother, Andre, who also followed Bernard into Holy Orders, but his life took a slightly different direction from the contemplative: a familiar life, in fact, for readers of this blog. We'll tell the story of André de Montbard tomorrow.

Bernard Comes and Goes

In 1107, a Burgundian woman from a noble family died. Her name was Alèthe de Montbard, and she had several children, one of whom was named Bernard. Bernard—who had been educated by priests and thought of becoming one—in 1113 led 30 members of his friends and family to Cîteaux Abbey to join the order.

Bernard's dedication and fervor drew even more of his acquaintances and family to join later, including Tescelin de Fontaine, his own father. Cîteaux's membership expanded so rapidly that they outgrew the current abbey.

In 1115, Bernard and 12 monks left to found a new abbey which he named the Claire Vallée, or Clairvaux. Bernard's reputation was so connected to this new abbey that, although he traveled widely, he is now known as Bernard of Clairvaux.

Bernard (seen preaching in the illustration) was as strict a follower of Cistercian austerity as anyone, if not more so: extreme fasting made him often ill. Despite the strictness, followers were drawn to Clairvaux, so many that from Clairvaux there were several new communities founded. Before Bernard died in 1153 there were 60 additional Cistercian abbeys. Not all were founded from scratch: many were converted to Cistercian from Benedictine. (Despite the reputation of the Rule of St. Benedict for austerity, the Cistercians gained a reputation for being more disciplined.)

Bernard was a great motivator and inspiration for the growth of the Cistercian Order, and involved in many other important events, some of which you can read about here.

"Behind every successful man there's a woman." We can account for his religious dedication by looking at his upbringing, and especially the influence of his mother. Tomorrow we'll talk about Alèthe de Montbard, mother of a saint who became a saint herself.

The Road to the Cistercians

After Robert of Molesme returned to Molesme monastery to restore strict adherence to the Benedictine Rule, Alberic of Cîteaux was elected abbot of the abbey at Cîteaux. Alberic was a planner, and considered the physical needs of the abbey.

He first moved it a mile north to be near a better source of water. He then made what some might think a more radical change. Benedictines wore black garments. Alberic abandoned black for undyed wool, giving the monks a much lighter look. For this reason they are sometimes called the White Monks.

He also made agreements with temporal forces. He managed to get a donation of a vineyard from Duke Odo I of Burgundy, as well as materials for building a church. (The illustration is of the current abbey.) Alberic is given credit for getting their new order recognized by Pope Paschal II.

Alberic died on 26 January 1109, and the English monk Stephen Harding (c.1060 - 28 March 1134), one of Robert's original followers, became abbot. Prior to joining Molesme, Stephen had experienced life with both the Camaldolese and Vallombrosians. Stephen knew that it was important to codify the practices of this new order, and he wrote the Carta Caritatis (Charter of Charity), the Cistercian constitution that outlined a life of work, prayer, and austerity.

Stephen gained more land for the abbey, only accepting donations of undeveloped land that the monks would then cultivate. At Cîteaux they followed the strict observance of the Rule of Benedict in regard to the Divine Office, which meant praying every few hours throughout the day and night. Because of the wakefulness demands of the Divine Office, they took on lay brothers for help in working the land to support the abbey.

In 1113, Cîteaux was joined by a charismatic young man in his 20s named Bernard, and the Cistercian Order really started to grow. We'll see his influence tomorrow.

Who Were the Cistercians?

In 1098, some Benedictine monks from the monastery of Molesme in France (Duchy of Burgundy) founded a new abbey at Cîteaux. Molesme was only a quarter-century old, having been founded in 1075 by Robert of Molesme. Robert had been a prior at another abbey, then abbot at Saint-Michel in Tonnerre, but the lax attention to the Benedictine Rule bothered him.

Therefore, when a group of six hermits asked him to lead them in a new community, he founded Molesme. They built an extremely primitive abbey, but a visiting bishop saw their situation and provided them with food and clothing. Word spread of this holy situation, but their membership grew too quickly with too many people who did not want the level of austerity and manual labor Molesme demanded.

Disillusioned with this new abbey, in 1098 Robert of Molesme, an English monk named Stephen Harding, and only the most rigorous members of Molesme followed Robert to Cîteaux where they founded a new Benedictine abbey. They were determined to live in austerity and to support themselves with manual labor, largely agricultural.

Cîteaux will be the birthplace of the Cistercian Order, but I don't wish to neglect Molesme. The monks there realized what they had caused by their laziness, and wished to return to the rigor they had under the inspirational and disciplined Robert of Molesme. They appealed to Pope Urban II to convince Robert to return to Molesme and lead them. In 1099 he returned to Molesme, leading them until his death in 1111.

Meanwhile, at Cîteaux, one of the original hermits that asked Robert to lead them, Alberic of Cîteaux, became abbot. He had been Robert's prior at Molesme and Cîteaux, and was very strict about the Benedictine Rule. It was Alberic who would get the Cistercian Order officially recognized by the pope. For that next step, however, you will have to wait until tomorrow.

Medieval Dyes, Part 2

 

Part 1 covered blue, black, red, yellow, and green. Let's look at some others.

Gray was a humble color, and could be had by using leftover dye from making black. Cistercians and the Friars Minor of the Franciscans wore gray habits.

Pink was easy to make, since madder root used for red or brazilwood could be used in a lesser strength or by soaking the cloth for a shorter duration. Medieval illustrations often show ladies wearing pink dresses, which makes one wonder if pink was considered a feminine color centuries ago. Men also could be painted in pink, but their hosiery, not upper/outer wear. (By the way, the name brazilwood comes from a Portuguese word, pau-brasil, a flowering plant in the Old World. When Portuguese sailors found a related species growing all over the coast of South America, they named the place Terra do Brasil, "land of brazilwood." That's right: the country was named for the plant, not the other way around!)

If you wanted to suggest purity or innocence, you went for white. This was not always a bright white, but linen looked white enough prior to dyeing that it qualified as white. You could also soak linen in lye made from wood ashes, and throw in some lime. Since clothes could get dirty, wearing white was a sign that you afford to not get "down in the dirt" as a farmer. In the 14th century poem Piers Plowman—in which we happened to find the earliest reference to a "Robin Hood"—of all the characters introduced, there are few descriptions of their appearance, except when white clothing is mentioned; it always indicates a person of purity or innocence.*

Brown or russet/orange came in many shades and can be produced by anyone with access to boiling water and walnut shells or bark.

And so we come to purple, the color of royalty; so much so, that the phrase "born to the purple" indicated royalty, and porphyrogenitus was used in Byzantium as a title. Expensive purple candles were reserved for Advent, the "coming of Christ the King." Dressing a king's favorite in purple, as Edward II did for Piers Gaveston, was a clear indication to all the court of the king's favor. A species of sea snail (Murex) was an ancient source of the color, but it took thousands to make 1 gram of purple dye. Its expense made it rare, and its rarity gave it value, and its value made it reserved to the wealthy and ultimately limited to emperors and the highest classes.

There has been lots of research into the history of dyes. Although I do not quote from it, the Innsbruck Manuscript of 1330 (translated here) has instructions on dying. Vassar has a bibliography on works on dyeing. And there are many websites devoted to medieval times that instruct on dyeing the old-fashioned way. For instance, the illustration above is found on one such site.

In the paragraph on gray, I looked for a link to explain the Cistercians, and discovered that I have mentioned them many, many times, but there's no "introduction" to them. Let me correct that next time.

*A little trivia about me: "Clothing Imagery in Piers Plowman" was one of the first papers I ever wrote in grad school in the Medieval Studies program at UConn-Storrs.