Communicating the Crusading Activity of the Kings of Navarre in the 14th and 15th Centuries

Abstract

The mediaeval historiographical memory of the Crusades in the Kingdom of Navarre is unique precisely because two of its monarchs, the Counts of Champagne—Theobald I and II—actively participated in the Crusader campaigns during 1239–1241 and in 1270, respectively. Despite the importance of the Crusades which, starting from the early twelfth century, also encompassed the connection of this kingdom with Jerusalem’s paradigms of the warrior and religious pilgrimage, it can be asserted that there are scarcely any traces of narrative communication in Navarre about the Crusades, either politically or ideologically. This paper analyses the question of documentation and communication about the Crusades from the study of the chronicles of the Kingdom of Navarre in the Late Middle Ages. The purpose is to identify the characteristics and keys of the texts, dissimilar to the welcoming impact of the Crusades in Hispanic and European political, cultural and religious spheres.

1. Introduction

The mediaeval historiographical memory linked to the Pyrenean Kingdom of Navarre is little known within the peninsular historiographical context and, therefore, in Western Europe. Despite this, the written chronicles, which are not as copious as those of other kingdoms such as Castile, Aragon or Portugal, reflect the interest in integrating a large part of Navarre’s historical identity into the Hispanic and continental framework (Martín Duque 1996). Those who reflected upon and wrote about this historical time addressed various chapters of a complex, rich and versatile past, placing special emphasis on the ideological foundations of power (Miranda García and Vaquero 1996). Within this context, and that of the Late Middle Ages, chronicles of the royal court of Navarre under the Evreux dynasty, which is the subject of this study, do not speak much about the participation of the monarchs of the Champagne dynasty (1234–1274) in the Crusades.

The King of Navarre, Theobald I, Count Palatine of Champagne and Brie, and later his son, Theobald II, collaborated with mixed fortunes in the eastern Mediterranean conflicts. The former took part in the campaigns of Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Ascalon in the famous “Barons’ Crusade”, between 1239 and 1242 (Lower 2005, pp. 158–77). Thirty years later, his son and successor, as a vassal of the French king Louis IX, took part in the 1270 Crusade in Tunisia and died after leading his troops back to the Sicilian port of Trapani (García Arancón 2010, pp. 98–100). The prominence and international influence of these military missions, recorded in the Capeta chronicles and the troubadour songs of the period (Anglés 1970, pp. 100–2), among other sources, contrast markedly with the insufficient attention they may have received in the Hispanic kingdom, removed from the original nobility of their dynasty. The difficulties arising from the political context and the complexity of the control exercised by the Counts of Champagne over their territory straddling the Iberian Peninsula and France were reflected in the absence of a Navarrese chronological repertoire on the events of the war in the Holy Land. In contrast, there is intense chancery activity related to the exercise of power, associated with legal, patrimonial and administrative affairs, since the establishment of the French dynasty in Navarre from 1234 onwards (Ramírez Vaquero 2014).

Taking into account these circumstances, it is worth examining the characteristics of the historiographic accounts of the Crusader campaigns, which interestingly, were not put into writing until the end of the Middle Ages. A first analysis indicates that overseas exploits occupied a secondary place in the chronicles, in accordance with the ”social logic” of the time they were written, far removed from the ideology of the holy war (Spiegel 1990, 1997). Similarly, the authors who conceived and elaborated the texts were influenced by a set of preceding oral sources and traditions that formed a fragmentary historical image of the Mediterranean intervention of the Champagne monarchs. This representation of the past, which conveyed a cultural detachment from one of the most significant undertakings of Western Christendom, seemingly reduced the prominence of the only Hispanic titular kings who actively responded to the papal call to fight in the Holy Land. However, their endeavours would be revisited in the 16th century in the work of the Navarrese physician Diego Ramírez de Avalos de la Piscina, entitled Crónica de los muy excelentes reyes de Navarra (1534), whose fanciful tone and factual inaccuracies go beyond historical rigour, distancing it from the objectives of the present work (Orcástegui Gros 1986, pp. 601–3).

Based on these considerations, and to understand the historiographical memory of the participation of the monarchs of Navarre in the Crusades, this paper addresses the issue in two chapters. Firstly, we address the chronicles in question, highlighting the bases of their ideological discourse and the documentary sources used to construct their accounts, among other things. Secondly, we look at the narrative resources used by the texts as models of knowledge and expression of the past. These representational codes ultimately established and conveyed the historical image and social memory of the motives, development and gains of campaigns sanctioned by the papacy and proclaimed in the name of God, bearing in mind that they were written at a time when the crusading ideology had lost the rhetorical power of the past, both in the Hispanic kingdoms and in the rest of Western Christendom (France 2005, pp. 251–84).

2. The Singularity of the Late Mediaeval Historiography of Navarre

The late mediaeval historiography of Navarre, which is the basis for the current study, is set in a very specific historical and intellectual context, coinciding with the reign of the Evreux dynasty (Ramírez Vaquero 2008, 2011). Three names dominate the narrative between the mid-14th and mid-15th centuries, namely the Augustinian monk and future bishop of Bayonne, Fray García de Eugui († 1409), the royal treasurer, Garci López de Roncesvalles († 1437), and Charles Prince of Viana (1421–1461). Influenced by this trio, who represented the intellectual elite of the kingdom, one finds a meticulous chronicle, created in different circumstances, but largely converging in terms of narrative objectives. These three authors cannot be understood without considering the political agenda underpinning their work, which was based on consolidating the power of the ruling dynasty (Pavón Benito 2014, p. 357).

Before turning to the three late mediaeval Navarrese chronicles, it is worth mentioning the work of the Provençal poet Guillaume de Anelier (c. 1250–1291), author of Guerra de Navarra, probably written before the end of 1277 and relevant because he includes accounts of the Crusader campaigns (Anelier de Tolosa 1995). A native of Toulouse and member of the entourage of the seneschal and future governor of Navarre, Eustace de Beaumarchais, the life of this military man and chronicler is projectedatic. According to his detailed account, he witnessed firsthand, King Louis IX embarking on the last Crusade in the port town of Aigues-Mortes in the summer of 1270, and he was able to enlist in the Tunisian campaign, thus coming into contact with King Theobald II and his retinue. Years later, he took part in the conflict that broke out in Navarre between May and September 1276, known as the War of Navarrería, which is at the heart of his poem. Pamplona saw the arrival of the French governor appointed by Philip III of France and regent to Joanna I, who was the minor queen following the death of the last of the monarchs of the Champagne dynasty, Henry I († 1274). The governor’s presence in Pamplona altered the political landscape of the kingdom, which was already in disarray. All this led to the intervention of the French army, who attacked, plundered and subdued one of the city’s districts, the episcopal core or district of Navarrería, which was a symbol of resistance to the union with France.

Guillaume’s poem, written in the Occitan language, consists of 5118 dodecasyllabic verses, with hemistichs of six syllables, divided into four cantos of unequal length. Although written in lyrical form and using some of the resources of William of Tudela’s Chanson de la Croisade contre les Albigeois, it is significant not only for its rich narrative but also because it includes detailed information about Theobald II’s role in the Tunisian campaign (Anelier de Tolosa 1995, cantos XII–XIV). The manuscript is documented to have appeared early in the 15th century in the possession of Miguel Laceilla, a merchant from the burgh (borough) of San Cernin in Pamplona, who lent it to the chronicler and treasurer Garci López de Roncesvalles to write his work. However, García explicitly states that he did not use it. Nor did Charles of Viana use it for his account of the Crusades of the Counts of Champagne, basing his research instead on the works of Guillaume de Nangis and the seneschal Jean de Joinville (Orcástegui Gros 1978b, p. 54). Perhaps the nature of the narrative of Theobald II’s Crusader episode, as well as the biased perspective of the rest of the work, was the reason for the prince’s decision to discard it as a historical source (Elizalde Armendáriz 1988, p. 390).

Fray García de Eugui († 1408), an Augustinian of Navarrese origin, confessor and advisor to the Evreux monarchs Charles II the Bad and Charles III the Noble, wrote what is considered the first Navarrese chronicle, going beyond the bare structure of the royal annals of preceding centuries (Ubieto Arteta 1964), yet without reaching the level of chronicles of other Hispanic kingdoms (Orcástegui Gros 1978a, pp. 49–50). The chronicle entitled Recuenta de la genealogía de los reyes de Navarra is an appendix to the author’s main work entitled Crónica General de España (f. XIV) and it recounts the history of the kingdom through the family lineage of its sovereigns, beginning with the so-called ”first king” of Pamplona, Iñigo Arista, up to Charles II in 1387. Detaching himself from the biblical genealogical models, he introduced a new approach to Navarrese historiography, which developed throughout the Late Middle Ages and was based on the secularisation of the narrative axis of time. A time far removed from biblical paradigms, starting the narrative with the founders of the dynasty (Aurell 2006, p. 826).

Aengus Ward, who produced a study and critique of the chronicle, points out that it is a complex text that was begun during García’s theological studies in Castile around 1360 and completed around 1390, under the patronage of King Charles III, with the aim of integrating the Navarrese political venture into the Hispanic context. The value of this work is based not only on its historiographical originality, but also on the influence of the Castilian chronicles and the inclusion of a good number of fictional accounts, the origins of which are unknown. These episodes were most probably part of the literary traditions in vogue in the courts, and merit more detailed study (Gómez Redondo 1999, pp. 1285–87). The structure and storyline of the chronicle were determined by the author’s selection of sources for his 13th-century accounts, which were mainly Estoria de Espanna commissioned by Alfonso X the Wise of Castile, De Rebus Hispaniae by Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada, in the version translated and known as Estoria de los Godos, Liber Regum or Book of the Generations (c.1240), Crónica navarro-aragonesa of 1304 and Crónica de los Estados peninsulares, as well as other minor works (Eugui 1999, pp. 93–94).

García de Eugui’s strategy and narrative objectives were revived shortly afterwards by Garci López de Roncesvalles († 1437). The latter, layman and treasurer of Charles III from 1403, was the first to formulate a specific historical text of the kingdom and leave behind the former writing models. The chronicle, commissioned by the king himself, was designed to preface the Registros de Comptos (Records of Accounts) of the royal administration of the year 1404 (Orcástegui Gros 1977, pp. 11–16). His brief history, which covers the origins of the kingdom up to 1403, focused especially on the reigns of Charles II and Charles III, for which he had abundant direct, chronological, archival and oral sources (Orcástegui Gros 1977, pp. 35–41; Alvar and Lucía Megías 2002). Additionally, Garci López’s project was conceived as an intellectual work that recovered the past of a monarchy that was committed to the traditions of the kingdom and that followed the same secularising principle and perspective as the historical accounts of García de Eugui. This approach is evident in the structure of the work. One example is that the text begins and ends by quoting the royal oath of the Navarrese monarchs with the intent of creating a political discourse and showcasing the foundations of royal authority (Miranda García 2021, pp. 638–42). In doing so, he moved away from the style of the most influential of the 14th-century Hispanic chroniclers, Bishop Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada (Jiménez de Rada 1989), as well as from the Castilian Alphonsine historiographic models.

According to Garci López, different sources were used to write his final chapters (chap. 85–87). For example, the narrative before the reign of Theobald I draws on accounts of the Navarrese kings by Jiménez de Rada. Lopez may also have used Historia Ecclesiastica Nova by the Dominican Bartolomeo de Lucca or Ptolomeo de Fiadonibus (c.1236–1327), as well as Crónicas de los Santos Padres los Papas, extracts from the former written by subsequent compilers. He also references Speculum Historiale by Vincent of Beauvais (c.1190–c.1267), in which the last six books recount the history of the Kingdom of France in the 12th and 13th centuries up to the first Crusade of Saint Louis. According to C. Orcástegui, Lopez also had access to writings relating to the history of Navarre, such as two versions of Fuero General de Navarra, Corónicas Navarras, a chronicle lent by Juan de Athaondo and others by the merchant Simón de Echarri, the Song or Poem La Guerra de Navarra by Guilhem de Anelier de Tolouse, documentation from the archives of the kingdom, news and oral traditions, Actas de San Saturnino, Liber Regum and perhaps other historical sources that are difficult to identify.

The work of these early historians would profoundly influence later historiographical literature, as these texts were instrumental in compiling the three-volume chronicle (c. 1454) of Charles Prince of Viana, during the Navarrese civil war (1451–1462). Written in Romance, like the works of García de Eugui and Garci López de Roncesvalles, it goes a step further in terms of discourse strategies, developing the narrative and the social value of literary facts and fiction, framing the historiographical concepts and images of the past with greater depth and perspective. Apart from reviving legends and his fondness for heroic episodes, Charles aimed to provide a history of Navarre in the same style as those already existing in other kingdoms of the peninsula, as well as justify his rights of succession to the throne over his father John II (Orcástegui Gros 1978b, pp. 55–58).

Charles’ compilation process involved the critical use of various sources of Spanish and French origin, as is reflected in the catalogue of his library, which provided him with abundant information that he adapted into an extensive and richly nuanced historical narrative (Miranda Menacho 2022, pp. 280–82). In addition to this wealth of historiographical literature, Charles of Viana, as well as García de Eugui and Garci López de Roncesvalles, must have had access to the Comptos archives given their proximity to the court.

3. Narrative of the Events of the Crusades: A fragmented Navarrese Memory

Compiling the historical narrative of the Crusades was a secondary purpose of writing the Navarrese texts, as the late mediaeval chronicles were primarily designed to reinforce the sovereign status and the political identity of the Evreux lineage. Similarly, as the theoretical study of mediaeval historiography explains, the creativity of those who put the stories into writing was inscribed within a logic that reflected their own way of understanding what happened in the past (Aurell 2006, p. 830). Consequently, this narrative of the court of the Kings of Navarre construed an image of the past, presenting what was most convenient to salvage and convey, with the aim of turning it into the foundations of the present based on the historical genre (Saracino 2017, pp. 82–84). This is evidenced by the characteristics of the narrative discourse, especially in the works of Garci López de Roncesvalles and the Prince of Viana. In terms of the overseas military deployment in the 13th century, the works presented a fragmented selection of events and a cultural distancing from the problematics of the Crusades, based on the author’s interests (Menache 2020, pp. 9–14).

In relation to this cultural distancing, it is worth noting that the Navarrese texts do not convey political and moral criticism against the activities of the crusading troops as did some of the French chronicles, poems and lyrical songs from the middle of the 13th century. Following the failure of the Egyptian undertaking and the captivity of Saint Louis (1248–1254), an intense discourse emerged about the adverse and irreversible situation of the Christian troops against the Saracens. Thus, the polarisation between good and evil, sin and justice emerged as an intellectual background tapestry of difficult political decisions, which the seneschal Jean de Joinville later addressed in his chronicle about the last Crusade. This source would be used in the 15th century to expand on the Prince of Viana’s narrative. In light of these circumstances and contexts, a study of the literary resources regarding the overseas venture becomes essential to understand the basis of the formally elaborated memory in late mediaeval Navarre. This memory forms the foundation of the representation and communication system of the historical discourse of this kingdom.

Throughout this chapter, therefore, it is necessary to identify the compositional elements of the storyline, highlighting which episodes were described, how the protagonists were characterised and what paradigms emerged and were promoted, among other things. The imagery of the Holy Land and Jerusalem no longer had the instrumental force in the political, social and cultural fabric of the late fourteenth and fifteenth centuries that it had enjoyed in previous centuries, thanks mainly to the papal influence and impetus directed not only at secular and diocesan powers, but at the military orders as well (Bonet Donato and Pavón Benito 2021). Let us not forget the important governing activity of the popes during the high mediaeval period, with their documents addressed not only to the monarchy but also to the temple and the hospital in Navarre, aimed at promoting and consolidating the value of the Crusader ideology and the identity of an overseas war, clearly different from the Hispanic Reconquesta (Pavón Benito and Bonet Donato 2018). But it is also worth noting a historical context linked to the Navarrese crown, starting from the late fourteenth century, in which we see the consolidation of monarchical power intent on creating cultural instruments at its service, one of which would be the historical genre.

3.1. The Nature of the First Navarrese Memory of the Crusades (14th Century)

The first of the chroniclers and subject of the present study, García de Eugui, wrote Recuenta de la genealogía de los reyes de Navarra. Compiled around 1390, it recounts the pledge of Theobald I to go and fight in the Holy Land (1230) and take up the cross (1235), in response to the desire and undertaking of Gregory IX. A commitment that the king himself mentions in one of his lyrical songs Chançon de croisade (c. 1239), which highlights the spirit of those who enlisted in the defensa fidei:

Seignor, sachiés: qui or ne s’en ira, en cele terre ou Dex fu mors et vis, et qui la crois d’Outremer ne penra, a paines mais ira en Paradis. Qui a en soi pitié ne remembrance au haut Seignor doit querre sa venjance et deliver s aterre et son país.

(Anglés 1973, p. 30)

Garcia’s historical account is very brief, but it identifies and conveys the core elements of what a Crusade meant, essentially a war in defence of the Church and proclaimed in the name of God, just as the lyrics of the chançon declare. Similarly, the troubadour king is described as the personification of the just king, based on the Book of Kings, a biblical model of men who fulfil the divine will and display Christian virtues as true Christian knights (Sánchez-Prieto Borja 2008, p. 80):

During his father’s lifetime, Theobald, serving God, travelled overseas to help in the Holy Land, and God helped him to conquer towns and castles that he gave to the Christians and did much good for the poor and defenceless knights. He then returned to his homeland and, following the death of his father, inherited the kingdom of Navarre.

(Eugui 1999, p. 392)

Despite having access to the translation of Bishop Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada’s Estoria de los Godos, as well as the Crónica de veinte reyes linked to the collection of chronicles about the court of Alfonso X the Wise (Eugui 1999, pp. 92–93.), García de Eugui barely included any additional relevant information about the military campaign in his narrative. He did not even mention Theobald I’s initial intention to go with one hundred knights (Goñi Gaztambide 1958, p. 171):

This Theobald, driven by the ardour of his faith, came to the aid of the Holy Land with an infinite number of knights, princes and barons, and conquered many lands which he restored to Christian sovereignty; he bore the expenses of all the knights there who had no means of their own, and even those who were not dependent on him, until the expedition was concluded, and through negotiations and coinage freed many knights captured by the Hagarenes.

(Jiménez de Rada 1989, p. 217)

Theobald, glad to place himself at the service of God, gathered a large cavalry and crossed the sea to liberate Jerusalem in the Holy Land. He conquered many lands from the Muslims and handed them to the Christians and assisted many of the poor knights he found who had no means to return. He also freed many of the captive knights and did much good.

(de la Campa 1986, p. 162)

The message of the Navarrese chronicler faithfully conveys what the negotio Christi is and represents, given that his sources recount the conception of the war in Levant. The doctrine of a just war, based on the justification of the conflict with legal arguments and chivalric motivations, is present in this late mediaeval literature, given that the conflict is associated with serving God and the Church, while also manifesting religious virtues such as Christian charity. We cannot ignore the symbolic and spiritual importance of endorsing this service to the needy, characteristic of the ecclesiastical reform in the high mediaeval period and of the cultural framework of an entire era (Vauchez 1975). The participation of Theobald I in the Crusade projected a prestigious image of this man from Champagne onto the international scene, according to a missive addressed to him years later by Guillaume de Chateauneuf, Master of the Order of Saint John (1242–1248), which is preserved in the archives of Navarre. The document, dated 1244, was written to introduce Arnau Polin, the Prior of the Order of the Hospital of France (1239–1248), who was tasked with informing Theobald on certain matters of the Holy Land (García Larragueta 1957, n. 304).

The response to the pope’s plea for help provided the king with guarantees of free passage along the usual routes to the East and facilitated the control and stability of the political situation in Navarre, which was in turmoil during the early days of his sovereignty of the territory (García Arancón 2010, pp. 98–99). The absence of mentions of this exceptional protection offered to Theobald, both as Hispanic king and as Count of Champagne, suggests a certain reticence on the part of the narrator in relation to any papal matter. The Navarrese connection with the curia of a bifurcated papacy, at the time the chronicle was written by García de Eugui (c. 1390), was probably the reason for eliminating any reference to the head of the church, which was crucial to safeguarding the Crusade plans of the 13th century (Goñi Gaztambide 1958, pp. 173–74). King Charles III, who commissioned the accounts of his ancestors, pledged allegiance to the Avignon pontiff between 1390 and 1399, which reflects the intention to avoid any confrontation or controversy that would destabilise his monarchical plans (Ramírez Vaquero 2007, pp. 73–74, 95–106). This revision of the past in favour of present interests clearly demonstrates the functionality of this work aimed at court circles, even at the expense of being fragmentary. Therefore, it demonstrates that it is not designed to make history known, but rather to shape history by selecting events.

A few lines on, just as he does in his account of the Baron’s Crusade, García de Eugui is again very concise regarding Theobald II’s participation in the Eighth Crusade. Perhaps this is because the source of information for his account was no longer Jiménez de Rada, given the Castilian chronicle ends in 1243. He merely records the trip to Tunisia with his father-in-law and his subsequent death, a strategic move to reinforce the dynastic narrative. This brief account of the last of the Crusades could have been copied from Navarrese-Aragonese Chronicle or Chronicle of the Peninsular States of 1304 since the text is almost identical (Ubieto Arteta 1955, pp. 109–10):

King Theobald married the daughter of the king of France and went to the land of the Moors with his father-in-law, the king of France, and died in Tunis, where his father-in-law the king of France was.

(García de Eugui; trans. Eugui 1999, p. 392)

The censorship of the papal protection granted to Theobald I was also extended to the Tunisian war campaign, which undeniably had a great impact on Navarre before and after its development (García Arancón 2010, pp. 216–36). One of the most significant documentary traces of that undertaking overseas is the Libro del Rediezmo, a record of the extraordinary collection of the tithe of all ecclesiastical revenues collected in Navarre (Felones Morrás 1982). The dean of Tudela and the prior of Roncesvalles received from Urban IV two bulls, dated 9 June 1267 and 1 March 1268, so they would collect these economic concessions. Privileges and immunities were also provided to those who participated. The prior of the Dominicans and the guardian of the Franciscans of Pamplona received two other bulls, dated 28 and 29 March 1268, to preach the Crusade in the Kingdom of Navarre and mobilise human and economic resources to support the expedition (Goñi Gaztambide 1958, pp. 216–20). The collections may have taken place throughout 1269, prior to the king’s departure, with royal agents facilitating the efficiency of the process.

All of this, including the reporting of the news of the king’s death, may have left a deep mark on the kingdom and remained in the collective memory from generation to generation, given the importance of the preparations, development and outcome of a campaign in which Navarrese knights and the clergy took part. Among all the documentary records, Libro del Rediezmo mentions the participation of only six religious figures: the abbots of Navascués, Ciga and Peralta, the rector of Garriz and the chaplains of Beorlegui and Arboet (Lower Navarre). From the 16th century, attempts were made by different chroniclers, such as Diego Dávalos de la Piscina or the Jesuit José Moret (17th century), to provide lists of Navarrese notables or armed contingents, yet contemporary documentation does not provide data in this regard (García Arancón 2010, pp. 220–21).

If the Navarrese historical–genealogical account by García de Eugui elevates his work to the category of a manual that projects the mission and political plan of the Navarrese dynasty, the brief text by Garci López de Roncesvalles ratifies and defends it in a much clearer manner. It is striking that the latter avoids any allusion to Theobald I’s campaign in the Holy Land, focussing exclusively on the king’s problematic accession to power and his conflicts with the bishop of Pamplona, in addition to mentioning other stories, such as the King’s fondness for fruit. This fragment is, therefore, enigmatic given that we know he was familiar with the intertwined episodes of his predecessor’s work and that he avoided magnifying the king’s role:

This king built Tiebas Castle, and he was rich, hard and rigorous; he clashed with Pedro Jiménez de Gazólaz, bishop of Pamplona, and with the burgh [borough] that belonged to the bishop; but, in other things, he was brave, cheerful and a good singer-songwriter; and he arranged for good apples and pears to be brought from Champagne because he liked fruit. As a result of his confrontation with the bishop, the latter excommunicated him and imposed an interdict on him in the kingdom that lasted three years, and mass was not celebrated wherever the king ordered…

(Orcástegui Gros 1977, pp. 69–70)

In the case of the episodes involving Theobald II, the singularity of the Navarrese participation is not emphasised either, briefly recounting the trip to Tunisia, perhaps because during it, he fell ill, as did his father-in-law Louis IX, only to die months after the King of France in Sicilia (1270, December 4). His death brought about the dynastic succession of his brother Henry I, giving weight to Garci López’s narrative, who was probably very interested in strengthening the argumentative thread of his work, which relied on the idea of continuity of the Navarrese royal dynasties. So, fragmenting the account of the Navarrese participation in the Eighth Crusade and distancing himself from what he could have learned from Guillaume de Anelier’s account of the Navarrese War in Guerra de Navarra, which was one of his main sources, was in keeping with Garci López’ objectives. The chronicle contains a brief sketch of the undertakings, linked to the political biography of the king:

[Theobald]…husband of Isabella, daughter of Saint Louis of France…, his father-in-law, with whom he went to the land of the Moors in Carthage, in the kingdom of Tunisia, and there he fell ill, and on his return on the island of Sicily, he died in Trapani without [his] family, in the year of the Lord 1270, on December 4, and his remains rest in Provins. He reigned seventeen years and three months

(Orcástegui Gros 1977, p. 71)

3.2. Writing about the Crusades in the 15th Century: Textual and Communicative Renewal

The chronicle of the Prince of Viana, written in the middle of the 15th century, goes into more detail in recounting the Crusader adventures, dedicating three extensive chapters of book III to it, specifically Chapters 2, 4 and 5. In addition, its approach conveys more perspective and documentary rigour, without ignoring the complex political, social and cultural context in which it was written. The dynastic conflict with his father John II Trastámara and the conceptual changes of the time in relation to the purpose of chronicles turned this work “into a real battlefield where political conflicts were decided within the court” thanks to the “redefinition of the role of historiography, which was to be endowed with greater authority, usefulness and direction by integrating it into the functions tied to government” (Bautista Pérez 2015, p. 109). We see similar trends in other chronicles written in Castile or Aragon.

As can be deduced from these statements, the chronicled peninsular activity was progressively transformed as a genre in the fifteenth century, as Robert B. Tate has also expressed in his studies on Spanish historiography in that century. The texts are defined as a source of authority on royal and court matters in a context where not only the political intentionality or the ideological support of the discourses are significant, but also the reception and approval of an audience that has become much larger compared with the previous century. So, persuasive narrative joins historical propaganda, which in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries would lead to a highly erudite humanistic discipline which was to give priority to knowledge of rhetoric and its instrumentalisation in diplomatic circles (Tate 1970, pp. 289–96). It could be argued, therefore, that erudite sensitivity to history would create new narrative styles, designed to be useful for the art of government.

Nothing is as important as the ideological purpose that gives life and substance to the prince’s chronicle to legitimise his succession to the Navarrese throne, which was promoted in Gestae Sanctae Memoriae Ludovici regis Franciae by the Benedictine monk Guillaume de Nangis (1840, pp. 328–30), and La Vida de San Luis by the seneschal Jean de Joinville (2021, pp. 730–38), among other works. Both may have been part of Charles’ personal library, according to the inventory made in Barcelona after his death, which generically includes a copy entitled Cronica regum Franciae in Gallica lingua (Desdevises 2006, pp. 420–21). The remaining historical works he possessed illustrate a high level of knowledge and cultural connections with France, given that he read the French version of Ecclesiastical History by Eusebius of Caesarea, as well as Chronica summorum Pontificium, written by Archbishop Martinus Polonis and known in French as “Lo Papaliste” (Miranda Menacho 2022, p. 282).

The second chapter of Book III contains an extensive account of Theobald I liberating the land of Jerusalem from the hands of the enemies of the faith (August, 1239–September, 1240):

Thus, this king Theobald, wanting to imitate his predecessor kings, and knowing the preaching of the Crusade in the kingdom of France against the Muslim enemies of the faith, left his kingdom of Navarre and went to Paris where the most Christian and holy king, King Saint Louis, was to be found and where, according to the chronicle of the kings of France, he met with the principles of his kingdom to order the war that was to be launched against the Muslims. King Theobald and Peter Mauclerc, Lord of Brittany and Count of Bar, the Count of Montfort and all the elite of the nobility of France who had taken up the cross to go to the Holy Land, moved their followers and set out to free the land of Jerusalem from the hands of the enemies of the faith. Once in the eastern lands, the count of Brittany and many others separated from the retinue without the consent of the commoners or of the king of Navarre, captain of the quest; and taken prisoners by the Muslims were Amaury, count of Montfort, the Count of Bar and Richard of Beaumont and Lancelot of Lille and many others of great standing; and after large sums of coinage were paid in ransom, they returned to France and king Theobald returned to Navarre

(Orcástegui Gros 1978b, p. 167)

As we can see, after underlining the fact that Theobald I belonged to the French feudal network led by King Saint Louis, he designates the name and number of the expeditioners, namely Count Peter of Brittany, Count Henry Bar-le-Duc and Count Amalaric of Monfort. The narrative continues in Palestine, where Theobald was captain of that entourage, being the only one invested with royal authority, recounting the risky action of the Count of Brittany in November. The latter, without the consent of the commoners or of the King of Navarre, attacked a Syrian caravan on the road to Jaffa and provoked disagreements and division among the Crusader armies (Orcástegui Gros 1978b, p. 167). Western failure was imminent, leading to a foiled military initiative in Gaza by Duke Hugo of Burgundy, despite the orders of the King of Navarre, which led to military defeat, the death and capture of a portion of the Crusaders as well as jeopardising the campaign (Lower 2005, pp. 168–69).

Conflict between the sultans of Egypt and Syria obstructed the negotiations, which finally allowed Theobald to recover the enclaves of Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Ascalon (1240) and later release the prisoners (1241). Despite the difficulties, and without going into further details, the treaties established with the Ayyubids proved successful, so it can be affirmed that the return of Theobald accompanied by Peter of Brittany eclipsed the relative success of a complex Crusade operation. There is no record of the presence of any Navarrese in his retinue and if there had been, this would have been recorded in the historical memory of the Navarrese kingdom (García Arancón 2010, p. 100).

F. Miranda notes that the prince’s chronicle likens the crusading endeavour to the Hispanic reconquest tradition (Miranda García 2012, p. 341). This initial reference to emulating the predecessors of the King of Navarre to go against the enemies of the faith implies that the narrator could have focused his arguments on the tradition linked to the neo-Gothic ideal of the reconquest. However, if we analyse in detail the text as a whole, it is clear that the episodes reflect a vision of the war against the Muslims that is very different from the one elaborated in previous peninsular chronicles. The Crusader phenomenon is explicit in three elements entwined in the account, namely the legality of the adventure, given the appeal of the papacy, the personal commitment of the kings and knights who don the cross as pilgrims and ultimately, the armed response and involvement of the Crusaders in the conflict. The weight of the distinctly Hispanic paradigms of war is well known, but Charles hints at the genealogical cult as a literary device when referring to his ancestors. If he used Guillame de Nangis as a source for his account, he did not lose sight of the fact that he was writing for a courtly audience that had to recreate itself in stories and traditions, as he mentions in the opening lines of his well-known prologue (Orcástegui Gros 1978b, p. 75).

Chapter IV in which it states how this king went with his father-in-law, King Saint Louis of France, to Tunis, wanting to imitate his predecessors, the most Christian kings of Navarre.

(Orcástegui Gros 1978b, pp. 171–2)

The long description in Chapter 4 summarises the journey and the military activities in July and August 1270, again taking the Benedictine monk as a source. The events chosen by the compiler refer to the previous taking of the cross by King Louis and Theobald II, the departure of the ships from Aigues-Mortes and the storm in the Gulf of Leon that caused the ordering of four masses that calmed the seas. Then, after anchoring in Sardinia, where he reveals his personal intentions of obtaining the conversion of the emir of Tunisia Al-Montansir and the Muslims in the old lands of St. Augustine, they set sail for the port of Carthage. The initial impossibility of landing was overcome and the city, founded by the mythological queen Dido, was finally conquered thanks to the strategy deployed by the Kings of France and Navarre, who were unable to prevent the subsequent attacks of the Tunisians. The chapter ends by recounting the illness and death of Saint Louis in Tunisia. The next section relates the hostilities and calamities in the month of September due to a lack of supplies, the peace treaty signed with the emir and the return to Trapani captained by Philip III, who had succeeded his father. Theobald died in this city and, according to custom, his body was embalmed, his entrails removed and deposited in the Carmelite convent and his remains taken to Provins (Orcástegui Gros 1978b, pp. 173–74).

Like other testimonies, the chronicle of the Eighth Crusade rewritten by the Prince of Viana focuses on the literary value of the account and the ideals embodied by the protagonists, namely the two monarchs. Thus, a great transformation of historiographical practices takes place, without losing sight of the political and social objectives of a text that gives full meaning to his claims to the throne, in the midst of a civil war with his father. Louis IX’s desire to convert the Saracens, strong leadership in the military actions and praise for the memory of King Theobald, which he received from his contemporaries (García Arancón 2010, pp. 231–32), turned the chapters of the last overseas mission into a hymn to the bravery and Christian virtues of those who confronted the greatest difficulties, but who had a clear purpose, as the Provençal poet Anelier had also previously expressed (Anelier de Tolosa 1995, cantos XII–XIV). By recalling and highlighting almost exclusively virtues such as royal piety, the commissioning of masses, as well as fervour and charity with the aim of restoring faith in the North African lands where Saint Augustine lived, and caring for the most needy, Charles emphasised and transmitted to court circles a message in which he illustrates that lost causes, such as that of Theobald II or his own, bring the past and the present closer together. So, by selecting or rescuing the narrative of the Crusades with rhetorical figures, it was possible to create a Navarrese memory. A true historical account, based on the intellectual cohesion of politics and literature.

4. Conclusions: Political Function and Epic Rhetoric

Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada, one of the most prestigious mediaeval chroniclers in Hispanic historiography and prime authority on the works analysed, conceived history as writing that preserves the memory of past accomplishments, as he affirms in the prologue of his influential work De Rebus Hispania. Chronicles written about the royal court of the Navarrese Evreux dynasty are part of this tradition of the late mediaeval historiographic genre as they take into account the episodes of Navarrese participation in the Crusades led by their monarchs, Theobald I and Theobald II, the Counts of Champagne and Brie. There is no doubt that, in the memory of the Kingdom of Navarre, their activities in the Holy Land and Tunisia, respectively, had an impact not only on the political sphere but also on social and cultural aspects. This overseas intervention was significant at the continental and peninsular level, as was their adaptation as Hispanic monarchs from their accession to the throne from 1234 onwards. These two facets, complementary and contradictory at the same time, shaped the foundations of the arguments the three authors examined. Their interpretation of the past wavered between political function and epic resonance, generating a dramatic tension that reflects the combination of creative techniques, ideological intentions, and handling historical images and emotional references. While García de Eugui and Garci López de Roncesvalles gave priority to the former of these narrative patterns, the Prince of Viana opted for the latter.

Narrative fragmentation was the result of both the ideological functionality of the texts and the historiographical techniques deployed by each author. Generally speaking, the texts of the chronicles were linked primarily to the historical and documentary sources available in the court of Charles III the Noble and his grandson, Charles of Viana, which were varied sources of different origins. Similarly, fictional, lyrical and literary texts about the overseas ventures filtered into court circles, and were, therefore, known to the aristocracy. They all formed a wealth of information selected intentionally to recreate the past in a context in which the Crusade exploits made up a small part of ambitious works. Despite the fact that some exploits and details of the Crusades were excluded, the research carried out reveals that the accounts vividly convey the nature and specifics of the belligerent undertakings in the Mediterranean. Although this informational fragmentation might appear to dilute the discourse of the holy war and the prominence of the Kings of Navarre, also Counts of Champagne, it is important to remember that the chronicles as a whole formed part of a broader political agenda.

The episodes collected genealogically by García de Eugui, an Augustinian friar with theological training, were influenced by the preceding Hispanic historiographic tradition, imbued with the reconquering models. This is evident in references to the nature of the holy war in the campaigns of Theobald I, a king endowed with Christian virtues. But other intentions are also evident in the fact that Theobald II married the daughter of the King of France and went to the land of the Moors with his father-in-law, the King of France, highlighting the feudal and family commitments to Saint Louis. All these details show a complex writing process that conveys the ideal image of the figure of some kings, ancestors of Charles III, as Christian warriors and directly related to the Capet lineage.

The work of Garci Lopez de Roncesvalles is written along the same lines in that he only described the last of the Crusades, contextualised around the ties with France. According to the brief account, Theobald II took Isabella, the daughter of Louis IX, as his wife, accompanied Louis IX to Tunisia and brought back from Paris a silver reliquary with the Holy Thorn and many other relics that his father-in-law had given him. Despite being a 14th-century written memoir, it reveals and communicates three strategic elements of the historical relationship with Paris: family, political and religious–cultural. In the 13th century, Paris appealed to its feudal connections for crusading activities, and at the end of the 14th century, the city was the symbol of the ties to a past history necessary for the present prestige of the Kings of Navarre.

The configuration, communicative value and projection of the historical texts of the Prince of Viana are a turning point, not least because it is a work conceived to claim legitimacy to the throne. At the time of its writing, as pointed out by Robert B. Tate, there was an increase in people attracted by the knowledge of the past and traditions were revived in an attempt to try to understand the origins and development of the kingdoms, their protagonists and their exploits. The literary sensitivity of the time is coupled with a political language that reveals history as a weapon in the hands of the major secular powers, but also generates a cult of the classical heritage models of government and ethical virtues. Moreover, Charles plays a leading role in turning the crusading activities of the Counts of Champagne into an epic undertaking not only to rhetorically extol the exploits or justify the present through the past, but to serve as a political investigation.

In short, it does not matter which episodes the three chroniclers selected. Contrary to appearances, the fragmentation of the accounts turned out to be the perfect technique to transmit and communicate, rigorously and with dramatic force, the essence of a Navarrese narrative of the Crusades to a broad audience.