When Antioch was captured, Crusaders sent notice for Alexius to come to the Levant and take official control of the city. Alexius’ forces, however, turned back on their march to Antioch. During this time the unfortunate death of Adhémar in the summer of 1098 created an important political and religious void for the Crusaders. Urban had sent Adhémar with the Crusaders to insure the stipulations agreed upon by the two Churches were maintained. When Crusaders learned that Alexius’ forces had turned back, the previous religious and political plans were discarded as void.
Alexius’ abandonment and the sudden death of Adhémar left the Crusaders in an unexpected and little prepared for position. Alone in the Levant and confident of their military might, Crusaders acted as an autonomous group which would carry out their own will irrespective of the Byzantines.
Crusaders interpreted Alexius’ actions as the submission of Antioch to the Latins, and immediately sent a petition to Pope Urban. (...) The letter sent by the Crusaders demonstrates how they understood their own actions in the Levant. Their obedience to Adhémar and the restitution of territories back to the Byzantines was done to honor the Pope’s wishes. Without the papal legate and the Byzantine’s betrayal, the work Crusaders were doing took on an entirely new meaning. The views expressed through the Crusaders words and actions placed Rome at the head of the pentarchy of Churches. From their position and for their immediate concerns Rome was to be the administrator of the biblical lands they were conquering. This sudden turn of events forced Crusaders to voice their views towards the Pope and the role he should play among Christians. The need for the Latin’s own clerics also signaled their will to institute a Western religious orthodoxy over the Eastern ‘heretic’ Christians. The crusading campaign was suddenly transformed into a campaign of conquest for Rome and the West."
This blog quotes adapted sections of the dissertation THE LITURGY OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE AND THE TEMPLAR RITE: EDITION AND ANALYSIS OF THE JERUSALEM ORDINAL by Sebastián Ernesto Salvadó, August 2011, Stanford University. Illustration: Portrait of Emperor Alexios I (1048-1118), from a Greek manuscript; source Wikipedia.
Alexius’ abandonment and the sudden death of Adhémar left the Crusaders in an unexpected and little prepared for position. Alone in the Levant and confident of their military might, Crusaders acted as an autonomous group which would carry out their own will irrespective of the Byzantines.
Crusaders interpreted Alexius’ actions as the submission of Antioch to the Latins, and immediately sent a petition to Pope Urban. (...) The letter sent by the Crusaders demonstrates how they understood their own actions in the Levant. Their obedience to Adhémar and the restitution of territories back to the Byzantines was done to honor the Pope’s wishes. Without the papal legate and the Byzantine’s betrayal, the work Crusaders were doing took on an entirely new meaning. The views expressed through the Crusaders words and actions placed Rome at the head of the pentarchy of Churches. From their position and for their immediate concerns Rome was to be the administrator of the biblical lands they were conquering. This sudden turn of events forced Crusaders to voice their views towards the Pope and the role he should play among Christians. The need for the Latin’s own clerics also signaled their will to institute a Western religious orthodoxy over the Eastern ‘heretic’ Christians. The crusading campaign was suddenly transformed into a campaign of conquest for Rome and the West."
This blog quotes adapted sections of the dissertation THE LITURGY OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE AND THE TEMPLAR RITE: EDITION AND ANALYSIS OF THE JERUSALEM ORDINAL by Sebastián Ernesto Salvadó, August 2011, Stanford University. Illustration: Portrait of Emperor Alexios I (1048-1118), from a Greek manuscript; source Wikipedia.
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