Did the Emperor Alexius I. Ask for Aid to the Council of Placenza, 1095?

Author(s): D. C. Munro
Source: The American Historical Review, Vol. 27, No. 4 (Jul., 1922), pp. 731-733
Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Historical Association
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 NOTES AND SUGGESTIONS
DID THE EMPEROR ALEXIUS I. ASK FOR AID AT THE COUNCIL OF
PIACENZA, I095?

ACCORDING to Bernoldof St. Blasien,Pope Urban II. summoned

bishops from Italy, Burgundy,France, Alemannia, Bavaria, and
other provincesto the Council of Piacenza held in March, I095.
"Item legatio Constantinopolitani imperatorisad hanc sinodumper-
venit,qui domnumpapam omnesque Christifidelessuppliciterim-
ploravit,ut aliquod auxilium sibi contra paganos pro defensione
sanctae aeclesiae conferrent,quam pagani iam pene in illis partibus
deleverant,qui partesillas usque ad murosConstantinopolitanae civi-
tatis obtinuerant. Ad hoc ergo auxilium domnus papa multos in-
citavit,ut etiam jurejurando promitterent, se illuc Deo annuente
ituros,et eidemimperatori contrapaganos prQposse suo fidelissimum
adiutoriumcollaturos.. . . In hac sinodo quatuor fere milia cleri-
corumet plus quam trigintamilialaicorumfuisseperhibentur." 1
Bernoldbegan his chroniclein I074; he died in IIOO. He prob-
ably was presentat thecouncil,as he says in tellingabout it," Missas
quoque nonnunquamextra aeclesiam satis probabiliter,necessitate
quidemcogente,celebramus."1 At all eventshis bishopwas present,2
and Bernold had a good opportunity to learn what was done at the
council.
Bernold's statementhas been accepted by Gibbon, Rohricht,
Hagenmeyer,Hertzog,Giesebrecht, and manyothers. Sybel asserts
that the appeal of Alexius was "the finalimpulse"' which caused
the First Crusade. Riant, Chalandon,Luchaire,and others,4on the
contrary,have been unwillingto admit that the Emperor Alexius
made an appeal foraid at Piacenza. Their mostimportant argument
for not acceptingBernold'sstatementhas been thathe was the only
contemporary authorwho mentionedthe preachingof the crusadeat
Piacenza. Those who have acceptedBernold'sstatement have known
of no othercontemporary source.5
1 Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores,V. 462.
2 Hagenmeyer,Chron. de Zimmern,p. 5I; also in Archives de l'Orient Latin,
II. 66 and note.
s Gesch. d. Erst. Kreuzzugs, first-ed.,p. 223; second and third ed., p. 182.
4 Cf. Tuthill, " The Appeal of Alexis for Aid in Iog' ", in Universityof
Colorado Studies, vol. IV., no. 3.
5 The Annals of Jumieges (M.G.SS., XXVI. 508) have however sometimes

been cited as confirmatory evidence. The passage reads, "Eodem anno Urbanus
(7.31 )

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732 Notes and Suggestions
But thereis another. In the HistoritaMonaster' Novi Pictahi-
ensis,6 writtenby the monkMartin,we find: " Divino instinctuad-
monitus [Urbanus] gentes Christianorumquepopulos coepit com-
monereatque ad sepulchrumDominilocaque sancta de manu iniquo-
rum auferenda piorum animas coepit invitare: contigit eundem
Papam ejusmodi gratiaad Galliarumregna transitumfacere. Nam
celebrato quadragesimalitemporeconcilio apud Placentiam Italiae
urbemin quo huius sanctipraecinctusprimaverba prolatasuntidem
praedictus venerabilis Papa Alpes transcenditJtilias; perveniens
autemArveniamUrbem,quae alio nomineClarus-Monsdicitur....
Et sic illa verbaquae quasi praeoccupandoin Placentinoconciliopro-
lata sunt,in evidentiamet ostentationem sanctaemilitiae.". .
This statementis veryimportant, as it confirmsBernold's state-
ment that Urban preached the crusade at Piacenza, althoughthe
council had been called " contra schismaticos ". Baldric of Dol's
statementmay also be cited: " Publicae praedicationiscausa, papa
Romanus, Urbanus nomine,venit in Gallias. . . . Sane Placentiae
conciliogeneralicelebrato,praelibatuspontifexpaulo post Arvernis
advenit."7
The probableexplanationof the introduction of this new subject
intothe agenda of the Councilof Piacenza is the appeal of the Em-
peror as recordedby Bernold. Confirmations of his statementare
to be foundin thereferencesto Constantinople and theGreekEmpire
in Urban's speechat Clermontas reportedby Robertthe Monk and
Fulk of Chartres; and in Guibert'sstatementas to the causes of
Urban's action.
Robert reportsthe pope as saying: " Ab Iherosolimorumfinibus
et urbe Constantinopolitana relatiogravis emersitet saepissimejam
papa, qui prius in Italia conciliumtenueratpro exortationeYerosolimitaniitineris,
iterumapud Clarum-montem conciliumtenuitet constituit,ut christianifixiscruci-
bus in vestibus Ierusalem pergerent." The author of this part of the Annals and
the date when it was writtenare not known. Consequentlythis notice has little,
if any, value.
The so-called Epistola Spuria has also been much discussed in this connec-
tion. It is certainlynot genuine in its present form,and its date is uncertain,
so that it can have no value as evidence for Piacenza. Cf. Hagenmeyer,Byzant.
Zeitschrift,VI. i ff.; Chalandon,Alexis I.; Pirenne,in Revue de l'InstructionPub-
lique en Belgique, L. (1907) 2I7-227; see also Kohler, in Revue de l'Orient Latin,
VIII. 564.
6 Watterich,PontificumRomanorum. . . Vitae, I. 598; previouslyprintedin
Martene, Thesaurus Anecd., II. The author was a contemporary(see Bouquet,
XI. ii8, note a). The fragmentof this work stops at Jan., I096. Cf. Molinier,
Sources, no. 1435.
7 Recueil des Historiens des Croisades, Hist. Occid., IV. I2.

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 ofHistory733
Allison:FirstEndowedProfessorship
ad aures nostras pervenit.. . . Regnum Graecorumjam ab eis ita
emutilatum est." 8
Fulk, in his briefsummaryof Urban's speech,also recordsrefer-
ence to the Greek Empire and the need of aid for it. " Necesse est
enim,quatinusconfratribus vestrisin Orientaliplaga conversantibus,
auxilio vestrojam saepe acclamatoindigis,acceleratoitineresuccur-
ratis. Invaseruntenimeos, sicutiplerisquevestrumjam dictumest,
usque mare Mediterraneum, ad illud scilicetquod dicuntBrachium
Sancti Georgii,Turci, gens Persica,qui, apud Romaniae fines,terras
Christianorum magis magisque occupando,lite bellica jam septupli-
cata victos superaverunt,multosoccidendovel captivando,ecclesias
subvertendo,regnumDei vastando."9
Guibertsays: "Is itaque vir eximius [Urbanus], quum ab Alexi
Graecorumprincipemagnishonorareturexeniis [exequiis], et preci-
bus quidem, sed multo propensiusgenerali Christianitatis periculo
pulsaretur. . . .10
Furthercorroborationfor the connectionof the Greek emperor
withthe inceptionof the crusadeis to be foundin the factthatCon-
stantinoplewas made the officialrendezvousforall the bands,and in
the relationsbetweenthe emperorand the Westernleaders,especially
Bohemond. But the accountof these cannotbe compressedinto a
briefnote,intendedmerelyto call attentionto a new itemof evidence
and to indicatehow this supplements, and is supplemented by, other
information."
D. C. MUNRO.

THE FIRST ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIP OF HISTORY AND ITS FIRST

INCUMBENT

ON the I7th of May, I622, at the Convocationof the University

of Oxford,formalannouncement was madeof a giftby William
Camden, Clarenceux
Kingat Arms,establishing
whathasbeenknown
as theCamden(Ancient)HistoryProfessorship.It is probable
that
somefitting
commemorationofthisfoundation
willbe heldat Oxford
nextOctober.
8 Recueil des Historiens des Croisades, III. 727-728.
9 Ibid., III. 323-324.
Ibid., IV. 135.
10
11 The fact that Alexius had frequentlyasked for aid before the Council
of Piacenza is universallyadmitted. ConsequentlyI have not cited any of the
sources which prove this fact, e.g., Ekkehard's statement,"per legationes tamen
frequentissimaset epistolas" (Hagenmeyer, Hierosolymita,p. 8o), which has
often been used in connectionwith the emperor's'appeal at Piacenza, but may
referto the earlier appeals.
AM. HIST. REV., VOL. XXVII.-49.

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