When Pope Urban II called the First Crusade to the Holy Land at the Council of Clermont in 1095, he ostensibly did so to protect Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem, and to provide aid to Eastern Christian polities whose territories were threatened by hostile non-Christian groups. The most powerful such Eastern Christian polity was the Byzantine Empire, otherwise known as the Eastern Roman Empire, whose predominantly Greek-speaking population was primarily made up of Greek Orthodox Christians. Other notable Eastern Christian polities which preexisted or neighboured the Latin polities of the Levant were the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia and Kingdom of Georgia. Additional Christian denominations, including Coptic and Nestorian Christians lived alongside other religious groups under the Seljuk Turks (Turkey and Syria), Fatimid Caliphate (Egypt) and Mongol Empire (central Asia). This page explores the intersection between female Eastern Christians and the Crusades.
Eastern Christian polities at the time of the Crusades
Clockwise from top left: Gabagool, 2009. Map of Anatolia and some surrounding regions in AD 1200. Wikimedia Commons. Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anatolia1200.png. [Accessed 02/02/2023.]; Ercwlff, 2020. Georgia under Queen Tamar. World History Encyclopedia. Available at: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/11716/georgia-under-queen-tamar/. [Accessed 02/02/2023]; Hoodinski, 2011. The Byzantine Empire, c.1180. Wikimedia Commons. Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Byzantine_Empire,_c.1180.svg. [Accessed 02/02/2023].
Questions
Look at the following medieval quotes and images which depict Eastern Christian women during the Crusades. After you have done so, consider and discuss the questions.
- What roles and positions are medieval Eastern Christian women depicted as performing? How do these vary?
- How do Eastern Christian women appear to have intersected with the Crusades?
- Who wrote about medieval Eastern Christian women? How do you feel this affected how women were viewed and represented?
- How do representations of medieval Eastern Christian women differ from medieval depictions of Latin Christian women and women of other faiths?
- Are you surprised these depictions of medieval Eastern Christian women? If so, why?
Eastern Christian Women and the Crusades: Quotes and Images
Women and War
“In Sha‘bān this year [16 July-13 August 1162] the Georgians gathered in great numbers, amounting to 30,000 warriors, and entered Islamic territory. They aimed for the city of Dvin in Azerbayjan, which they took and sacked. They killed about 10,000 of the inhabitants and the surrounding peasantry. They enslaved the women and took many captives. They stripped the women and led them away naked and bare footed. They burnt the congregational and the district mosques. When they returned home, the Georgian women condemned what had been done to the Muslim women, saying, ‘You have obliged the Muslims to treat us in the same way as you have treated their women’, and they gave the women clothes.“
Ibn al-Athir (b. 1160, d. 1233). was an Arabic/Kurdish historian and biographer based in Mosul, who accompanied Saladin’s army to Latin territory during the 1180s. His Al-Kāmil fit-Tārīkh (Complete History) is an extensive, multi-volume text describing histories of much of Asia, Africa and Europe. This includes extensive descriptions of the Crusades and Latin settlement in the Levant from the First Crusade (1095-99) until his time of writing in the early 1230s.
– Ibn al-Athir
Ibn al-Athir, 2007. The Chronicle of Ibn al-Athir for the Crusading Period from al-Kamil fi’l-Ta’rikh, Part II, The Years 541–589/1146–1193: The Age of Nur al-Din and Saladin. Ed. and trans. by D. Richards. Ashgate Publishing.
Marriage and Co-existence
“Consider, I pray, and reflect upon how in our time God has transferred the Occident into the Orient. For we who were once Occidentals have been made Orientals. He who was once a Roman or Frank is now a Galilaean or a Palestinian. He who was once from Rheims or Chartres is now a citizen of Tyre or Antioch. We have forgotten the places of our birth; they have already become unknown to many of us, or are at least unmentioned. Some of us already possess homes here and servants received through inheritance. Some have taken wives, not merely from their own people, but Syrians, Armenians, or even Saracens who have obtained the grace of baptism. […] The one and the other mutually use the speech and idioms of different languages. Different languages, made common, have become known to both peoples, and faith unites those whose forebears were strangers.”
Fulcher of Chartres (b. c. 1059, d. 1127) was a Latin priest and chronicler who participated in the First Crusade. After its culmination he settled in the Latin East, where he spent his remaining years. His Gesta Francorum Iherusalem Peregrinantium (History of the Expedition to Jerusalem) concerns the Council of Clermont, First Crusade and early life in the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
– Fulcher of Chartres
Fulcher of Chartres, 1913. Historia Hierosolymitana (1095-1127). Ed. by Heinrich Hagenmeyer. C. Winter.
Coptic Women
Elite Women
Tamar the Great
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Biography
Tamar the Great (b. 1160, d. 1213) was Queen of Georgia from 1184 and the first woman to rule the kingdom in her own right as mepe (‘king’). Tamar’s reign oversaw a period of political and military successes at the expense of the declining Seljuk Turks, and a cultural golden age. As a result, she is an idealised figure in Georgian national memory. Tamar’s son and daughter, George and Rusudan, both followed her as monarchs of Georgia. During her reign, Tamar made peace with Saladin after he retook Jerusalem from the Latins in 1187, in order to protect Georgian lands. She later took advantage of the disruption caused by the Fourth Crusade to Constantinople in 1204, when her forces assisted her nephews, the grandchildren of the deposed Byzantine Emperor Andronikos Komnenos, to capture former Byzantine territory.
Tamar: Queenship
“This Sun of the Suns and this light that is brighter than ordinary light, Tamar, like lightning or the Sun that illuminates others, was elevated to her father’s throne. The crown was brought and the singers raising their voices sang of her victorious coronation and powerful reign; and the appearance of the cross before Constantine on the Mountain of Olives, was recalled… The eminent officials and nobles – Vardanisdze, Saghirisdze and Amanelisdze – placed the sword upon her. And the beating of drums, timbales, and cymbals, and the blowing of trumpets began; and there was exaltation, rejoicing and joy everywhere, and a revival of hope. The armies of all the seven kingdoms bowed before her, and blessed and praised her. Each man took his proper place at the proper time. And the seven times brilliant Tamar was blessed by the One, who for six days called into being all that exists in the world, and rested on the seventh (day).
… Tamar, on her part, prepared the seven pillars of wisdom, erected a temple and a palace of seven virtues for the enlightenment of the seven kingdoms of Georgia. Praising God seven times a day, she seven times cleansed herself, as befits a sage and a King, with the words of Isaiah and David. Solomon says “who pardons seven, gives a part also to the eighth.” Lighting up all the seven kingdoms, seven days a week she forgave the guilty seven and seven times seventy times. She made the earthly sphere like the seven zones of heaven and the celestial bodies – Chronos, Zeus, Aphrodite, Hermes, Apollo and Area; the five senses of understanding she turned into seven, adding the soul and reason.
… It is impossible to list or calculate the many treasures she handed out. She released debtors from their debts, supported orphans and gave widows the right to marry; she made paupers strong and those who were strong, she made rich. Queen Rusudan [Tamar’s aunt] was made her equal, and received towns, lands, villages and palaces for herself and her foster child.“
The Kartlis Tskhovreba (Georgian Chronicles) are a compendium of historical texts concerning medieval and ancient Georgia. They consist of a number of distinct texts by various Georgian authors, written between the ninth to fourteenth centuries.
– Kartlis Tskhovreba
S. Jones and R. Metreveli (eds.), 2014. Kartlis Tskhovreba: A History of Georgia. Artanuji Publishing.
Tamar: On Marriage
“Tamar, like an anvil, cheerfully endured for two and a half years the vices of the Russian, [her first husband, Yuri] and no one besides her could stand it anymore… All that became unbearable for Tamar, and she said to him [Yuri] in front of all the others: “I am taught by the law of God that a man should not leave his first conjugal bed, but you should not patiently stay with a man who does not keep his bed pure… I am unable to straighten the shadow of a crooked tree, and feel no guilt on my side; I must shake off the dust which has stuck to me from you.” With that, she got up and left him. And Queen Rusudan and all the princes banished him.”
– B. Ezosmodzghvari, 2014. The Life of Tamar, the Great Queen of Queens. Trans. by D. Gamq’relidze. Artanuji Publishing. P. 290.
Elite Women: Anna Komnene
Anna Komnene: On her grandmother, Anna Dalassene
“Such was the beginning of Alexius’ reign [of the Byzantine Empire], for to style him ‘Emperor’ at this time would be scarcely correct, as he had handed over the supervision of the Empire to his mother. Another person might yield here to the conventional manner of panegyric, and laud the birthplace of this wonderful mother, and trace her descent from the Dalassenian Hadrians and Charons and then embark on the ocean of her ancestors’ achievements— but as I am writing history, it is not correct to deduce her character from her
Biography
Anna Komnene (1083-1153) was a Byzantine princess. She was the daughter of the Byzantine emperor, Alexiad II, and the sister of John II, who became emperor after their father’s death in 1118. Anna attempted to depose John: this was unsuccessful and resulted in her being banished to a monastery for the remainder of her life. During her retirement Anna wrote the Alexiad, an account of her father’s reign. The Alexiad is an important source of information regarding late 11th and early 12th century Byzantine history, containing information about the Latin armies who arrived in Constantinople enroute to Jerusalem during the First Crusade, and of their relationship with the Byzantines.
descent and ancestors, but from her disposition and virtue, and from those incidents which rightly form the subject of history. To return once again to my grandmother, she was a very great honour, not only to women, but to men too, and was an ornament to the human race. The women’s quarter of the palace had been thoroughly corrupt ever since Monomachus assumed the power of Emperor, and had been disgraced by licentious ‘amours’ right up to my father’s accession. This my grandmother changed for the better, and restored a commendable state of morals. In her days you could have seen wonderful order reigning throughout the palace; for she had stated times for sacred hymns and fixed hours for breakfast and for attending to the election of magistrates, and she herself became a rule and measure for everybody else, and the palace had somewhat the appearance of a holy monastery. Such then was the character of this truly extraordinary and holy woman. In sobriety of conduct she as far outshone the celebrated women of old, as the sun outshines the stars. Again, what words could describe her compassion for the poor and her liberality to the needy? Her home was a refuge, open to any of her kinsfolk who were in want and equally open to strangers too. But above all she honoured priests and monks, and nobody ever saw her at table without some monks. Her character as outwardly manifested was such as to be revered by the angels, and dreaded by the very demons; even a single look from her was intolerable to incontinent men, mere wild pleasure-seekers, whereas to those of sober conduct she was both cheerful and gracious.“
-Anna Komnene (b. 1083. d. 1153). Komnene, A., 2009. The Alexiad. Trans. by E.R.A. Sewter, ed. by P. Frankopan. Penguin.
Anna Komnene: On the First Crusade
“Before he had enjoyed even a short rest, [Alexios] heard a report of the approach of innumerable Frankish armies. Now he dreaded their arrival for he knew their irresistible manner of attack, their unstable and mobile character and all the peculiar natural and concomitant characteristics which the Frank retains throughout; and he also knew that they were always agape for money, and seemed to disregard their truces readily for any reason that cropped up. For he had always heard this reported of them, and found it very true. However, he did not lose heart, but prepared himself in every way so that, when the occasion called, he would be ready for battle. And indeed the actual facts were far greater and more terrible than rumour made them. For the whole of the West and all the barbarian tribes which dwell between the further side of the Adriatic and the pillars of Heracles, had all migrated in a body and were marching into Asia through the intervening Europe, and were making the journey with all their household. The reason of this upheaval was more or less the following. A certain Frank, Peter by name, nicknamed Cucupeter [Peter of the Cowl], had gone to worship at the Holy Sepulchre and after suffering many things at the hands of the Turks and Saracens who were ravaging Asia, he got back to his own country with difficulty. But he was angry at having failed in his object, and wanted to undertake the same journey again. However, he saw that he ought not to make the journey to the Holy Sepulchre alone again, lest worse things befall him, so he worked out a cunning plan. This was to preach in all the Latin countries that “the voice of God bids me announce to all the Counts in France that they should all leave their homes and set out to worship at the Holy Sepulchre, and to endeavour wholeheartedly with hand and mind to deliver Jerusalem from the hand of the Hagarenes.”
-Anna Komnene (b. 1083. d. 1153). Komnene, A., 2009. The Alexiad. Trans. by E.R.A. Sewter, ed. by P. Frankopan. Penguin.
And he really succeeded. For after inspiring the souls of all with this quasi-divine command he contrived to assemble the Franks from all sides, one after the other, with arms, horses and all the other paraphernalia of war. And they were all so zealous and eager that every highroad was full of them. And those Frankish soldiers were accompanied by an unarmed host more numerous than the sand or the stars, carrying palms and crosses on their shoulders; women and children, too, came away from their countries. And the sight of them was like many rivers streaming from all sides, and they were advancing towards us through Dacia generally with all their hosts. Now the coming of these many peoples was preceded by a locust which did not touch the wheat, but made a terrible attack on the vines. This was really a presage as the diviners of the time interpreted it, and meant that this enormous Frankish army would, when it came, refrain from interference in Christian affairs, but fall very heavily upon the barbarian Ishmaelites who were slaves to drunkenness, wine, and Dionysus. For this race is under the sway of Dionysus and Eros, rushes headlong into all kind of sexual intercourse, and is not circumcised either in the flesh or in their passions.”
Elite Women: Euphrosyne of Polotsk
Biography
Saint Euphrosyne of Polotsk (b. 1104, d. 1167) was a princess of Polotsk, a principality which covered much of modern Belarus and parts of Latvia. Euphrosyne was the granddaughter of Vseslav the Sorcerer, the principality’s most famous ruler. In her youth Euphrosyne is said to have refused offers of marriage and ran away to a convent to become a nun without her parents’ knowledge. She initially earned money for the poor by copying books, and went on to found convents, monasteries and churches. Towards the end of her life, she went on a pilgrimage to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, then under the rule of King Amalric.
Image: Euphrosyne of Polotsk. Maksim L., 2017. Eŭfrasińnia Połackaja. Эўфрасіньня Полацкая (1859). Wikimedia Commons. Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:E%C5%ADfrasi%C5%84nia_Po%C5%82ackaja.%D0%AD%D1%9E%D1%84%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%96%D0%BD%D1%8C%D0%BD%D1%8F%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_(1859).jpg. [Accessed 02/02/2023.]
Euphrosyne of Polotsk: Pilgrimage
“When her parents died, a sufficient number of years having passed since she had been a nun, Saint Euphrosine wished to see the holy places of Jerusalem and to venerate the life-giving Sepulchre of Christ, thinking that she would also end her life there and praying assiduously to God to grant her. When the spiritual and secular authorities heard of her intention, they were moved to great regret, and when they came to her home, they begged her with tears not to leave them and her country; but she consoled them with reasonable and strengthening words, as a mother consoles her children. Then her beloved brother, Prince Vetch-slav, came to greet her with the princess, his wife and children, and said to her with tears: My most revered sister and mother! Why do you want to leave us, light of my eyes and director of my soul? And the saint answered: It is not to leave you that I want to go, but to pray for me and for you in the holy places.
Shortly afterwards, she entrusted the cloister to her sister Eudoxia, embraced everyone, and, after having, in a long prayer, put her hope in God, she undertook the projected journey to Jerusalem, and all escorted her with bitter tears for a long space of time. She took with her her other brother David and her relative Eaphrasia. Having arrived first at the city of Constantine, she was received there with honour by the emperor and the patriarch. After venerating the holy churches and many holy relics, she went to Jerusalem. There she worshipped the life-giving Tomb of Christ, hung a golden lamp on it, and made many gifts to the church in Jerusalem and to the patriarch. She also went round all the holy places of Jerusalem, venerating and praying with great compunction; she lived in the so-called Russian convent, next to the Church of the Blessed Virgin.”
-Anonymous
De Khitrowo, B. (ed.), 1895. Pèlerinage en Palestine de l’abbesse Euphrosine, princesse de Polotsk. Revue de l’Orient latin, 3rd vol. Ernest Leroux.
Euphrosyne of Polotsk: Burial
“During her illness, she had an angelic vision which foretold her blessed end and the peace she would enjoy, and the saint’s soul was filled with joy and she praised and thanked God, her Saviour, for this blessing. She sent to the laurel of Saint Sabas to beg the archimandrite and the brotherhood to give her a place to be buried in their convent. They refused, saying: “Our holy father Sabas has ordered us never to bury a woman in his convent; there is the convent of the Holy Virgin of Theodosius where many holy women are buried. There are buried the mother of St. Sabas, and the mother of St. Theodosius, and the mother of the saints Anargyres, Theodosia, and many others; there it is fitting that the pious Euphrosin should also be buried.”
When the saint learned of this, she praised God that her body would rest with the relics of the holy women and sent a messenger to the convent of St. Theodosius. The monks indicated a burial place in the narthex of the church and the saint’s tomb was prepared. She was ill for twenty-four days, and as her end approached, she called for a priest, received the sacrament of the Eucharist, and on the 23rd day of May, while praying, placed her holy soul in the hands of God. She was worthily buried in the convent of Saint Theodosius, in the narthex of the church of the Blessed Virgin.
Her brother David and her relative Euphrasia returned to their country, where they reported the news of Saint Euphrasia’s sad end and dignified burial, and, having wept a great deal, they all decided to celebrate her memory by giving glory to God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, who are loved by all creation, now and in the future, and to the end of time.”
-Anonymous
De Khitrowo, B. (ed.), 1895. Pèlerinage en Palestine de l’abbesse Euphrosine, princesse de Polotsk. Revue de l’Orient latin, 3rd vol. Ernest Leroux.
Elite Women: Makurian Princess
LeGabrie, 2018. Makurian princess (12th century). Wikimedia Commons. Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Makurian_princess_(12th_century).png. [Accessed 26/06/22].
Questions
Now that you have looked at the provided quotes and images depicting Eastern Christian women during the crusades, take another look at and discuss the questions at the top of the page.
Further Reading: Individuals
Anna Komnene
Komnene, A., 2009. The Alexiad. Trans. by E. Sewter. Ed. by P. Frankopan. Penguin.
Tamar of Georgia
Eastmond, A., 1997. Gender and Orientalism in Georgia in the Age of Queen Tamar. Women, Men and Eunuchs: Gender in Byzantium. Ed. by L. James. Routledge.
Morphia of Melitene
Hodgson, N., McCallum, J., Morton, N., and Fuller, A. (Eds), 2020. Religion and Conflict in Medieval and Early Modern Worlds. Routledge.
Further Reading: General Histories
Cuffel, A., 2007. Reorienting Christian “Amazons”: Women Warriors in Medieval Islamic Literature in the Context of the Crusades. Religion, Gender, and Culture in the Pre-Modern World. Palgrave Macmillan.
Garland, L., 1999. Byzantine Empresses: Women and Power in Byzantium, AD 527-1204. Routledge.
Hodgson, N., 2010. Conflict and cohabitation: marriage and diplomacy between Latins and Cilician Armenians, c. 1097–1253. The Crusades and the Near East. Routledge.