5.5 Analysis: The Lords’ and Ladies’ Walls
5.5.3 Monumental Symbols of Seigneurial Power and Control
More than the iconographic representation of Caesarea’s walls, Lady Julianne also used the physical walls as monumental symbols of her seigneurial power and control. Lady Julianne exerted her power and control by donating sections of the monumental
fortifications to the Teutonic Order but retained the right to use these defences should the need arise (see section 2.3). Below is a critique of the Tabulae Ordinis Theutonici, a text which documents this transaction, followed by a discussion of the donation.
The Tabulae Ordinis Theutonici, transcribed by Strehlke (1869), provides information on the early history of the Order of the Teutonic Knights. The Order began as a field hospital during the siege of Acre in 1190 and became a permanent hospital during the Third Crusade in 1191. It gradually turned into a military-religious Order monopolized by the knightly class (Mayer 1975: 9). The Tabulae is a collection of the Order’s possession as well as generalia, specifically papal charters which granted specific rights that could be claimed wherever the Order had establishments or possessions in the Christian world (Mayer 1975: 11).
Strehlke’s (1869) edition, unlike earlier editions by Hennes (1845–1861) and Duellius (1727), which are based on the provincial archives of the Order, is based on the Cartulary of the Order of the Teutonic Knights. The Cartulary was the earliest attempt to assemble
the archive material into one codex. It was initiated in the early 1240s and was likely complete by the late 1260s (Mayer 1975: 11). Strehlke divided the Tabulae into seven parts, the first of which concerns us here. Part I contains a list of possessions and donations of the Teutonic Order in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem and some parts of the
Mediterranean (Mayer 1975: 67). This section was most likely transcribed at the seat of the Master in Italy, in 1243. It was written in a bookhand by a single scribe with some later additions by another scribe (Mayer 1975: 28, 67, 70–71, 78).
The Tabulae states that in February of 1206, Lady Julianne, with the consent of her husband and her son, Gautier III, donated the Tower of Mallart (turrem Mallart) and another smaller tower (parvam turrem) on the east side of Caesarea’s walls, as well as houses and a garden located next to the eastern part of the city’s wall (murorum civitatis), to the Teutonic Order (Boas 2006: 63; Pringle 1995: 89; Rửhricht 1893: 216 n.810; Strehlke 1869: 32–33 n.40, 123 n.128). This property was granted to the Teutonic Knights but Lady Julianne reserved seigneurial control over these defences: “they must hand over [the towers] to the lord of Caesarea if they should be necessary against his enemies; but once peace has been established between them, the…brothers shall have the towers (turres) back again” (Strehlke 1869: 32–33 n.40; quoted in Pringle 1995: 100). Lady Julianne first demonstrates her seigneurial power through her ability to gift the towers which she presumably paid to have built and then retains ultimate control over them should the need arise.
This dynamic is not a singular event in Frankish history. The Teutonic Order was granted substantial sections of Acre’s city wall from 1192 onwards. Henry of Champagne granted the Order a length of the east wall up to Saint Nicholas’ Gate in 1193 and King Amaury gifted the tower over Saint Nicholas’ Gate to the Order in August 1198. As the scribe in the Tabulae recounts:
[the] brothers shall have nothing in the gate (porta) that is under the tower (turre), through which one comes into and goes out from the town (villa), and may not erect anything de novo in the area about the tower (turris), and shall not be able to give the same tower (turrem) to anyone, nor sell it nor transfer it; and if their strong religious order should be changed to another [e.g. the Templars], they shall resign the said tower (turrem) to me or to my successors as lords of the kingdom. Moreover, if on account
of war with our enemies or for any other reason that may befall the said tower (turris) should be necessary to me or my successors as lords of the kingdom, if we so wish the tower (turre) shall be given back to us (Strehlke 1869: 28–29, n.35; quoted in Pringle 1995: 99).
While there is a clear trend of Frankish élites donating buildings there are also records of élites selling (as opposed to donating) lands and smaller casals. So then why gift sections of a wall and not sell it? I argue the reasoning is twofold: firstly, to maintain ultimate control over vital defences; and secondly, to maintain good standing with the religious military orders both for diplomatic reasons and to buy redemption for the afterlife. Two examples of this intangible contract include: Hugh’s gift of land and revenues to the church of Santa Maria Latina to save his father and grandfather’s souls; and Julianne’s gift of land and casals to the Hospitallers for the salvation of her parents’ souls (see section 5.5.1 above). These terms may not have been explicitly stated when giving the gifts to the Teutonic Order but I believe that this motive played a part.
Conversely, why would the Order wish to receive these defences? Perhaps they wished to gain prestige through owning such monumental defences since their association would communicate the Order’s power. I believe, like with the lords and ladies, the Order also wished to buy redemption for their souls. I argue that the towers were considered by medieval contemporaries to be a type of fortified ecclesiastical structure. As discussed below in section 5.6.3 (and above in section 5.3), those involved in the refortification of Caesarea’s fortifications, including King Louis IX, would be pardoned by Rome. Thus, those involved in the construction or upkeep of these structures may have earned their redemption in the next life.
Therefore, through the historical as well as the sigillographic evidence presented above, Caesarea’s monumental walls were used as both symbolic and literal manifestations of seigneurial power and control throughout its Frankish biography. Eustace, Hugh and Gautier II’s seals focussed on strong military walls, a necessary symbol considering the imminent Ayyubid threat. While Lady Julianne’s seal represents either the memories of the past or a hope for the future and the ability to deliver this hope. Moreover, Lady Julianne exerts her seigneurial power, and attempts to redeem her soul, by gifting
magically charged towers to the Teutonic Order. The magical function of the city walls is further explored in the following analytical section.