The crusader was at once pilgrim and soldier, bound by a solemn vow to visit the Holy Land in the ranks of an organised, armed expedition. The Red Cross sewn onto their clothes marked out people who had taken this vow. This vow was a permanent obligation that could be enforced by legal sanctions. It served to keep the ranks of the crusading armies from dwindling once serious obstacles were encountered.
The story of the beginning of the crusade goes like this. Upon the completion of the speech (Urban’s), the local bishop immediately knelt before the throne and begged permission to be the first pilgrim. Urban presented him with a red cross to be sewed onto his clothes as a sign. Hundreds followed straight away and so many that the town merchants ran out of red cloth.
The next day the council granted privileges and protections to those who would take the cross; papal letters confirmed these. The word soon spread across Europe and many knights took the vow.
The crusader was legally protected from foreclosure on debts. Should he die on the pilgrimage, he was assured of complete remission of sins; this includes not having to suffer in purgatory for them. If he survived he would receive glory and praise and hopefully monetary rewards too.
It was a potent tool and it roused thousands. It mobilised for more warriors than Alexius wanted or desired and for a purpose well beyond that of re-conquering the Adriatic. It went even further than that – striking a responsive chord in every level of medieval society, with results that were as surprising as it.
Chivalry in the sense of going on this crusade rested upon this vow; this vow which dignified the soldier, elevated him in his own esteem and raised him almost to the level of a monk in medieval society.
As if in return for this vow the church ordained a special blessing for the knights who went. This was performed in a ceremony called the “Pontificale Romanum”, “Benedicto novi militis.” At first very simple in form this developed into an elaborate ceremony involving swords being blessed, confessions, vigils, fasting, bathing and investiture with a white robe for the purpose of impressing upon the candidate the purity of soul with which he was to enter upon such a noble career. Kneeling, in the presence of the clergy, he pronounced the solemn vow of chivalry, at the same time often renewing the baptismal vow; the one chosen as godfather then struck him lightly on the neck with a sword (the dubbing) in the name of the God and St. George, the patron Saint of Chivalry.
This went to show just how seriously the entirety of Europe took this oath and the fight against the infidel for the regaining of the Holy Land.
M.Holland
