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ChapterI
“perfectchevalier”,butalsothewell-knownimageoftheRaubritter.Itisoften
saidthataggressivebehaviourtendedtobedisregardedasbanal,eventhough
duelstothedeathandinstancesofchallengestothe“judgmentofGod”seemto
indicateotherwise.Therighttoprotectingone’shonourandname,andtheright
tovengeance,legallysanctionedevenwhenitwasareactiontoawrongdoing
againstakinsman,indicatethataggressivebehaviourwaslargelytoleratedby
thekinsmen,neighboursandauthorities.
Instancesofaggressionandviolencewereparticularlyevident,andbrutal,
duringfestivals.Mutualphysicalandverbalaggressionwasapartofludicritu-
als,duringwhichtherulesofeverydayweresuspended.Thefestiveperiodal-
lowedthesocialrolestobetransformedandexchanged,andthusfacilitatedthe
settlingofscoresandattackingpeopleperceivedasathreattomoralityandso-
cialorder.MedievalpogromsoftentookplaceintheperiodbeforeEaster.Inthe
13thcenturyinthecitiesofItaly,southernFranceandSpainthereemergedacus-
tomofarranginga“waronJews”onGoodFriday(Nirenberg1996),sothatthe
Jewishcrimeofdeicidewouldnotgounpunished(itwasnot,ofcourse,atrue
battle,asitsoutcome,asinallrituals,wasknownbeforehand).Theexplanation
forthisphenomenonis,naturally,linkedtothereligiousclimateoftheHoly
Week,butinlocalreligiouscommunitiesthiscustomhadalsoanintegrative
function.
Withregardtocrueltyandviolence,religiouswarshadadifferent,moreritu-
alisedcharacter.Itwasduringthecrusadesthatviolenceandaggressioncameto
theforethemostevidently.Accountsoftheirparticipantsindicatethattheywere
assuredoftheholinessofthosewars,andofthedeepsignificanceoftheirevery
episodeandeveryactofaggressionandviolencecommittedintheircourse;the
crusaders’violentbehaviourresultedfromdeepbeliefintheirspecialmission
(Pernoud1995).AcaseinpointistheaccountofthefallofJerusalembyRay-
mondd’Agiles:“Wonderfulsightsweretobeseen.[...]Pilesofheads,hands,
andfeetweretobeseeninthestreetsofthecity.Itwasnecessarytopickone’s
wayoverthebodiesofmenandhorses.[...]intheTempleandporchofSolomon,
menrodeinblooduptotheirkneesandbridlereins.Indeed,itwasajustand
splendidjudgmentofGodthatthisplaceshouldbefilledwiththebloodofthe
unbelievers,sinceithadsufferedsolongfromtheirblasphemies”3.
3Raymondd’Aguiliers,HistoriafrancorumquiceperintJerusalem,inthePolishoriginalofthe
bookquotedafterPernoud1995,pp.23-25,inthetranslatedtextquotedafterAugustC.Krey,The
FirstCrusade:TheAccountsofEyewitnessesandParticipants,(Princeton,1921),pp.257-62,[in:]
MedievalSourcebook,www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/raymond-cde.html,accessed11thJuly
2010(translator’snote).