Describing the Enemy in the First Crusade: The Rhetoric of Innumerable Hosts
Tomasz Pełech
a:1:{s:5:"en_US";s:37:"Zamek Królewski w Warszawie - Muzeum";} , PolandAbstract
This article explores the rhetorical and ideological function of the motif of innumerable enemy hosts in Latin accounts of the First Crusade. Drawing on eyewitness narratives such as the Gesta Francorum, Peter Tudebode’s Historia de Hierosolymitano itinere, Raymond of Aguilers’s Historia Francorum qui ceperunt Iherusalem, and Fulcher of Chartres’s Historia Hierosolymitana, the study demonstrates that descriptions of the enemy as overwhelmingly numerous were not factual reports but deliberate literary strategies. These hyperbolic portrayals served to frame the Crusaders’ military efforts as miraculous, divinely sanctioned triumphs of the few against the many. The article traces the biblical roots of this motif, focusing particularly on narratives such as the defeat of the Midianites by Gideon (Judges 7–8) and King Asa’s battle against Zerah the Ethiopian (2 Chr 14), and explores its development in medieval Christian exegesis, notably in the works of Gregory the Great and Hrabanus Maurus. The enemy’s multitude is further emphasized through ethnic catalogues, which function to reinforce perceptions of otherness and chaos in contrast to Christian unity and divine favour. The study argues that these narrative patterns reflect a shared topos that shaped medieval perceptions of the Crusades, while also contributing to the formation of a mythologized collective memory in Latin Christendom.
Keywords:
First Crusade, biblical rhetorical framework, Gesta Francorum, Raymond of Aguilers, Peter Tudebode, Fulcher of ChartresReferences
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