6.3 Magical and Religious Walls
6.3.2 Religious Protection and Eternal Redemption
I argue throughout this thesis that city walls were used for practical defence, but they were also viewed as religious structures which provided an additional form of protection.
This religious significance is further substantiated by evidence claiming that castles and other sections of fortifications could be gifted to gain eternal redemption.
This religious protection is evident in Ascalon’s Fatimid walls. The city’s glaỗis contains an in situ Arabic inscription stating “Dominion (possession) is Allah’s” (see figures 4.35–
4.38). Moreover, the 1150 inscription commemorates a newly built tower that is blessed through the use of Qur’ānic verses. The Qur’ānic words “assistance from Allah and speedy victory” are used during the Fatimid and Ayyubid periods to invoke the help of Allah in their war against their Christian enemies, thus imbuing the city walls with Allah’s divine protection (see section 4.5.4).
Religious protection can also be seen at Caesarea after King Baldwin I laid siege to the city in 1101. The Church of Saint Lawrence, decorated with apotropaic griffins, was built adjacent to the city walls, possibly to lend the defences the church’s religious protection (see sections 5.6.1 and 5.6.2). The practice of positioning religious buildings near a city’s fortifications can be seen at several sites. Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate has a chapel located within it. ‘Atlit castle had an octagonal chapel situated within its walls and another church was located beside the town’s wall (see figure 5.87). Moreover, Ascalon has the remains of the Maqam al-Khidr, formerly ‘the Green,’ mosque positioned in the centre of the city’s sea wall as well as a Frankish church located south of the city’s Jerusalem Gate (see figures 4.2, 4.14 and 4.17 and section 5.6.2).
Ascalon’s walls may have also provided religious protection during the 1153–1187 occupation not only due to the proximity of the Frankish church but also from its Jerusalem Gate and adjacent towers. William of Tyre describes the towers flanking the gate as “turribus excelsis et solidis” (see section 4.3) (Willelmi Tyrensis Archiepiscopi 1986:
791). The term “excelsis” is generally reserved for pre-eminent and divine associations (Latham and Howlett 1986: 830). William of Tyre’s decision to describe the towers in this manner suggests that the Jerusalem Gate’s towers were seen by medieval contemporaries as being not only “lofty” in a practical sense but also associated with the divine (William of Tyre 1976 II: 219). Thus, the specific use of “excelsis” suggests that Ascalon’s walls provided the city with both physical and religious protection.
Documentary seals from Tyre suggest that the church also recognized the religious
protection of city walls. Seals belonging to the archbishops of Tyre depict the city defences on their reverse much like the seals belonging to the élites of other walled towns such as Caesarea, Jerusalem, Sidon, Arsuf, Jaffa and Ascalon (see sections 5.5.1 and 6.2.1 and figures 5.63–5.68 and 6.1–6.14). Three such seals were collected by Schlumberger et al.
(1943). Archbishop Foucher d’Angoulême (1130–1157) and Archbishop Frédéric de
Laroche (1164–1173) have very similar looking seals with a bust of an archbishop on the obverse and a depiction of the city’s fortifications on the reverse (see figures 6.15 and 6.16) (Schlumberger et al. 1943: 90–91, Plate III n.1 and n.3). One example of the reverse of a seal belonging to the thirteenth century Archbishop Bonacours (Bonaventure) de Gloire (1277–
c.1290) survives. Differing from his predecessor’s twelfth century seals, Bonacours’s seal displays the full circuit of Tyre’s crenellated city walls with the main gate in the centre flanked by two smaller towers (see figure 6.17) (Schlumberger et al. 1943: 91–93, Plate III n.2). I argue that the church chose to use Tyre’s defences not just to demonstrate the city’s military strength through its fortification but also to show a religious association by juxtaposing the archbishop and the defences on each side of the documentary seals thus reinforcing the argument that city walls were viewed as protective religious structures.
Figure 6.15: Foucher d’Angoulême’s seal. Archbishop of Tyre (1130–1157). The marginal inscription reads: + FVCHERIVS ARCHIEPIS (obverse) and + CIVITAS TYRI (reverse)
(Schlumberger et al. 1943: Plate III n.1)
Figure 6.16: Frédéric de Laroche’s seal. Archbishop of Tyre (1164–1173). The marginal inscription reads: + S ã FRED’(er)ICI TIRENSIS ARCHIEP’ (iscop) I ã (obverse) and +
CIVITAS TYRI (reverse) (Schlumberger et al. 1943: Plate III n.3)
Figure 6.17: Reverse of Bonacours (Bonaventure) de Gloire’s seal. Archbishop of Tyre (1277–c.1290). The marginal inscription reads: + TYRVS ã METROPOLIS SYRIE
(Schlumberger et al. 1943: Plate III n.2)
I also argue that King Louis IX’s walls incorporated the remains of the ruined Church of Saint Lawrence, along with its griffins, as well as decorating the city using Gothic sculpture in order to provide Caesarea with religious protection (see section 5.6.3). This protection would have been created through the inclusion of religiously-charged spolia and decorations which are usually associated with ecclesiastical structures.
Over the course of this thesis I have seen that city walls as well as other fortifications play a role in attaining eternal redemption. The Lords and Ladies of Caesarea are recorded as giving gifts of casals, towers, and sections of walls to the Teutonic Knights to attain redemption in the afterlife (see section 5.5.3). This can also be seen with the fortifications as Acre, where Henry of Champagne granted the Teutonic Knights a length of the east wall in 1193 and King Amaury gifted a tower in August 1198 (Pringle 1995: 78, 99). In addition to gifting portions of fortifications, those taking part in their construction could be bestowed with a papal pardon; such was the case for those involved in King Louis IX’s building project at Caesarea (see sections 5.3 and 5.6.3).
Medieval maps depicting the city of Jerusalem serve as further evidence that city walls were viewed as religious structures. Jerusalem’s Frankish era walls followed a somewhat rectilinear shape, similar to the walls standing today. This can be seen through the
surviving foundations of walls and towers located either underneath or near the current wall line (Boas 2001: 43–78) (see figures 6.2 and 6.3). However, several medieval maps depict Jerusalem with circular walls, such as the Hague map (1170) and the Uppsala map (twelfth century) (see figures 6.4 and 6.5). These maps are likely reflecting the influence of the T-O world maps which depict Jerusalem as a circle in the centre of the world (Levy- Rubin 1999: 232, 237 n.2). The Cambrai map (twelfth century) depicts Jerusalem with square walls thus suggesting that the people of the time recognized the square layout of the walls (see figure 6.6). The walls depicted in the Cambrai map are still a far cry from Jerusalem’s actual plan, but it may be that the walls were being described to the artist or that the artist wanted to present a simplified version of the city’s walls.
Figure 6.18: A section of Jerusalem’s main curtain wall, built around 1063, is preserved underneath the sixteenth century walls. The section measures between eleven and sixteen courses high. It is located north of the Jaffa Gate and continues up to the northwest corner
of the Old City (A. Charland) (see Boas 2001: 46 figure 7.1, 48)
Figure 6.19: The ruins of Jerusalem’s southwest tower. The remains measure six courses high and are between 5 m and 5.8 m thick. These foundations are attributed to either the Frankish or Ayyubid periods of occupation (A. Charland) (see Boas 2001: 70–71 figure
7.11)
Figure 6.20: Map of Frankish Jerusalem, 1170; The Hague, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, MS. 76 F5, fol. 1 r (Levy-Rubin 1999: 230 figure 1)
Figure 6.21: Map of Frankish Jerusalem, twelfth century; Uppsala, Universitetsbibliotek, MS. C. 691, fol. F.39 (Levy-Rubin 1999: 234 figure 4)
Figure 6.22: Map of Frankish Jerusalem, twelfth century; Cambrai, Médiathèque municipale, MS. B 466, fol. 1 r (Levy-Rubin 1999: 232 figure 2)
An interesting point to note on the Hague and Uppsala maps is the colour of the city’s walls. They have been painted blue and as such suggest an association with the Virgin Mary. The imagery used in a sermon given on the Assumption of the Virgin by Aelred, abbot of Rievaulx from 1147–1167, demonstrates how castles were seen as an allegory for Mary’s strength. As Aelred says:
Therefore, brothers, let us make ready a certain castle spiritually, so that our Lord might come to us. Indeed I say to you [do it]
boldly, because unless the blessed Mary had prepared this castle within herself, Lord Jesus would not have entered into her womb, nor into her mind, nor would this gospel be read today on her holyday. Therefore let us prepare this castle. Three things make up a castle, so that it might be strong, namely a ditch, a wall and a tower. First the ditch, and after that a wall over the ditch, and then the tower which is stronger and better than the others. The wall and ditch guard each other; because if the ditch were not there, men could by some device get in to undermine the wall; and if the wall were not above the ditch, they could get to the ditch and fill it in. The tower guards everything, because it is taller than everything else. So let us enter our minds, and see how all these things should be brought into being spiritually within ourselves (Aelred of Rievaulx 1844–1864: 195, cols. 303–
304; quoted in Wheatley 2004: 78).
This sermon demonstrates one of the medieval attitudes toward castles. As such, the medieval map’s blue walls can be read as an allegory of Mary’s strength. With this association in mind, Jerusalem’s walls, like Mary’s womb, can be seen as providing religious protection to those who lived and sought refuge within its walls. Therefore, the city walls were considered to perform a devotional function and as such helps corroborate the idea that the city walls served a religious as well as a military purpose.