| Paper 115-c | Languages in Contact: The Uses of French, Armenian and Greek in the County of Edessa, 1097-1144
(Language: English)
Alan V. Murray, Institute for Medieval Studies, University of Leeds
Index terms: Crusades, Language and Literature - Comparative, Numismatics, Onomastics |
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| Abstract | Paper -a:
In the end of the 12th and the 13th centuries the kingdoms of Cyprus and Cilician Armenia proved that they had a significant role in the Crusader world. Politically, these states went pass similar process in terms of coronation of their rulers, and their relations with the surrounding world. To be able to survive in the Latin east they sought for support which was not limited to build relations with the West and required continuous effort and diverse political approach. For these kingdoms, having close connections was necessary for the sake of their future existence. So, the nobles of Cyprus and Cilician Armenia needed to keep their close connection via intermarriages which could assist them in the Eastern Mediterranean. These kingdoms maintained arranging royal marriages throughout the 13th and 14th centuries. However, these marriages transformed into cross-cousin marriages and the papacy obliged to involve the process. The papacy involved in the most 'interesting' affairs by appointing a certain ecclesiastical authority to investigate the marriages. What is more 'interesting' than close kin marriages were that in some instances, the papacy ignored the canon law and acted according to political interests by giving marriage dispensations. In this context this paper, by specifically focusing on the kingdoms of Cyprus and Cilician Armenia, discuss intermarriage between the Crusader states by developing a hypothesis that intermarriage between the states blossomed into incestuous acts that sometimes ignored by the highest ecclesiastical authority due to the safety of the Eastern Christendom.
Paper -b:
In a document from 1179, some kerels involving the Templars and the Hospitallers were resolved. Among the complaints were the lootings made by turcopoles of Gibilin on the bedouins of the Temple. The document draws attention to the complex interactions between the Military Orders and the Muslim communities in Syria. Besides the diplomatic activities, the Orders kept Islamic communities under their lordship, presenting themselves as a point of connection with the Muslims. Therefore, we propose to present, in the session Managing the Crusader States, some recent historiographic perspectives about the diversity of contacts between those Orders and the Islamic world.
Paper -c
The Frankish conquerors were only ever a small, ruling minority in the county of Edessa, established in Northern Syria and Upper Mesopotamia. They relied to a large extent on Armenians as administrators and soldiers. Although members of each ethnicity eventually learned the language of the other, it is likely that Greek served as an important means of communication. This paper considers diverse linguistic, sigillographic, and numismatic evidence for interactions between the groups and the relative status of the three languages.
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