Miracles, martyrs and the cult of Henry the crusader in Lisbon.

Abstract. In 1147 a fleet of English, Flemish and German crusaders en route to the Holy Land paused to assist Portuguese troops in an attack on Muslim-held Lisbon. During the subsequent siege a number of visiting crusaders were killed and special cemeteries were established outside the city to receive their remains. Many of their comrades firmly believed that death in combat against the enemies of the faith was a form of martyrdom. This pious hope was bolstered when a number of miracles were reported to have occurred in connection with these supposed martyrs. Over time a cult of crusader 'saints' developed, centred on the monastery of Sao Vicente de Fora. The varied reactions of locals and visitors to the fallen crusaders provides a unique window into what the crusade actually meant to participants and at the same time reveals much about the impact of crusading ideas in Portugal.

Keywords. Crusades; cult; martyrdom; Henry the Crusader

Resumo. Em 1147, uma frota de cruzados com destino a Terra Santa prestou auxilio aos Portugueses para conquistar Lisboa aos mouros. No decurso do cerco resultante varios cruzados estrangeiros foram mortos, sendo estabelecidos cemiterios particulares para receber os seus restos mortais. Muitos dos seus companheiros consideravam a morte no combate pela fe uma forma de martirio, crenca esta reforcada por boatos da ocorrencia de milagres relacionados com os supostos martires. Com o decorrer do tempo desenvolveu-se um culto dos 'santos' cruzados, centrado no mosteiro de Sao Vicente de Fora. As reaccoes variadas dos habitantes e dos visitantes ao local permitem um olhar invulgar sobre o sentido das cruzadas como elas foram vividas pelos proprios participantes, assim como sobre o impacto do ideario das cruzadas em Portugal.

Palavras chave. Cruzadas; culto; martirio; Henrique o Cruzado

The church of Sao Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, founded in the twelfth century as an Augustinian monastery, was completely rebuilt between 1582 and 1629. Long recognized as a centrepiece of the Portuguese cultural patrimony, this imposing structure is both a triumph of the Mannerist architectural style and a testimony to the wealth and power of the Portuguese clergy during the glory days of empire. (1) In a quiet side chapel, just off the central nave, can be found a discrete stone block marking the tomb of a foreign knight known only as 'Henry'. This simple monument identifies Henry as one of the Jerusalem-bound crusaders killed in the summer of 1147 while wresting the city of Lisbon from Muslim control. The capture of Lisbon was the only real Christian success of the Second Crusade and so has become relatively well known. Less widely studied, however, is the remarkable religious cult that subsequently grew up around Henry and his fallen comrades. Death in battle against non-Christians was for the crusaders a highly meritorious act and many of them believed that a series of miraculous events at Henry's grave confirmed his status as a true martyr. Surviving eyewitness accounts, written by Anglo-Norman, Germanic, Flemish and Portuguese authors, provide an unusually nuanced description of the establishment and growing popularity of Sao Vicente de Fora's cult of Henry the crusader. Not only do these accounts reveal the shrine to have been an important point of contact between the fledgling kingdom of Portugal and the wider Latin Christian world, they also offer an intriguing insight into the development of the crusade and the transference of crusading ideology into the Iberian Peninsula.

The Northern Crusaders in Portugal: Frustrated Pilgrims or Holy Warriors?

Early crusaders most commonly spoke of themselves as peregrini--pilgrims--and in doing so reflected an essential ambiguity in the journey they had undertaken. The twelfth-century crusade was an ill-defined concept. (2) Contemporary writers provided only nebulous descriptions of the new form of militant spirituality arising in their midst; nor was there a general consensus, even among the crusaders themselves, about the meaning and purpose of their own actions. To become a crusader was a life-altering decision that might be influenced by personal beliefs, social status, geographical location, or a host of other factors. This certainly seems to have been the case in 1147, for during the four tense months of combat around the walls of Lisbon the attackers revealed a broad range of fears, hopes and preconceptions. Eyewitness accounts emphasize the many, sometimes contradictory, motives of individual participants. Yet just as these accounts highlight the complexities of the crusading impulse, so too they offer a means to separate at least some of its twisted strands. For the development of the cult of crusader martyrs at Sao Vicente de Fora can provide a unique vantage point from which to assess some of the deepest attitudes motivating the crusaders of the twelfth and early thirteenth century.