Martin of León: A Spanish crusade preacher

The crusades were quite an exceptional movement: Thousands of Christian believers travelled to the so-called Holy Land despite the burdens and dangers of such a long journey. Crusade scholars demonstrated in multi-facetted ways that religion was the driving force behind these movements. Complementary, preaching was an essential tool in Christian society to instruct and to convey religious content. Preaching was essential to explain audiences the meaning of Jerusalem, to imagine the distant Holy Land, and to create urgency for such a journey. Turning thus to sermons as a source to understand the crusades is a most essential but long-overlooked approach (with some notable exceptions). This project examines a specific case study, the Spanish preacher and Augustinian canon Martin of Len (c.1130-1203), active in the late twelfth century and himself a traveler to the East, most likely as a participant of the Third Crusade (1187-92). This venture is the focus of the project: The year 1187 brought the loss of the relic of the True Cross (believed to be the Cross of Christs crucifixion) and the fall of Jerusalem. These events caused an enormous dynamic throughout Europe unleashing the Third Crusade as well as shaping crusading in the subsequent decades. Martin finds himself in this turmoil and apparently has an earnest interest in instructing audiences for the journey to the East. His hagiographer tells us that he was even in Italy at the time, the epicenter that kicked off the Third Crusade. Martin left us an enormous sermon collection of more than 1300 pages. Such texts were meant as models for actual preaching. This collection betrays an intense interest in elements related to the crusades such as Jerusalem or pagans (the common contemporary denominator for the Muslim opponent). The project investigates the ideas and notions Martin develops in these texts, also keeping an eye on the multiple possible crusades that Martin may have preached, including the home front of the Reconquista as well as several anti- heretical crusades. The investigation of sermons brings into focus exegesis and notions of Salvation History, since the Bible is a fundamental toolbox to construct such texts and to endow elements like Jerusalem with religious meaning. Sermons as a source thus strengthen a recent trend in crusade studies that emphasizes the exegetical and eschatological foundations of the crusades. The examination of this specific case study shall augment our understanding of the notions and expectations that drove participants and of how the crusades were exegetically informed. The analysis of sermons shall develop further our understanding of the mechanics that shaped such mass movements.

The crusades were an exceptional movement: Thousands of Christians traveled to the so-called Holy Land despite all burdens and dangers coming along with such a journey. Modern scholarship demonstrated in multi-facetted ways that religion was therein the driving force: these journeys were understood as pilgrimages and penitential acts. An essential device for teaching such religious contents to broader audiences was preaching - and this already before the advent of the Friars. Such communication was vital in explaining the (spiritual and providential) meaning of Jerusalem, in imagining the distant Holy Land, and hence in creating urgency for such an expedition. Sermons as a source, that is, written models for delivering a sermon, are thus key for studying the crusades - but this transpired only recently in modern scholarship. This project examined the sermon opus of the Augustinian canon Martin of Len (c.1130-1203), active in the late twelfth century and himself a traveler to the East, likely as a participant of the Third Crusade (1187-92). This venture was, therefore, the project's focus: The year 1187 brought both the fall of Jerusalem and the loss of the relic of the True Cross (which was believed to be the cross of Christ's crucifixion). These events engendered a powerful dynamic throughout Europe; they prompted thousands to participate in the Third Crusade, just as they shaped the crusading movement for many decades. Martin finds himself amidst this turmoil; his hagiographer notes that he was even in Italy at the time, the epicenter that kicked off the venture's mobilization. His enormous sermon collection counts more than 1700 pages in the edition, and it betrays an extensive interest in manifold crusade-related subjects such as Jerusalem or the "pagans" (that is, the common contemporary denomination for the Muslims). Importantly, Martin's work also blends the matters of the Holy Land with other subjects and notably other crusade arenas such as combatting heretics in Southern France, but also, for example, with eschatological ideas. The Apocalypse was believed to be imminent, and it would take place in Jerusalem - wherefore the Christians were taught to travel there. Even though all these subjects bear on a clearly historical relevance, the Bible represents the vital linguistic toolbox for endowing an element with meaning, that is, for imagining the distant Holy Land. Examining sermons thus encourages a recent trend in crusade studies that focusses on the crusade movement's exegetical and eschatological dimensions. The project has shown how significantly crusading ideas permeate the sermon texts, here those of Martin of Len, and how these sources can consequently shed new light on the phenomenon. Sermon texts, specifically those devoted to recruiting or preparing crusaders, enhance thus our understanding of the mechanisms that shaped these mass movements.