Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-gvh9x Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-21T16:14:42.766Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

3 - The Preparations for the Expedition of Frederick II

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 September 2012

Nicholas Morton
Affiliation:
Swansea University
Get access

Summary

The failure of the Fifth Crusade's Egyptian campaign caused many to demand a scapegoat. According to the evidence of several accounts, the responsibility lay with Frederick II because he had not fulfilled the crusading vow he had made at his coronation. Writers described how the crusaders at Damietta had anticipated his arrival in vain. In his defence, Frederick had offered some support by sending contingents to Egypt under nobles such as Henry of Malta and the duke of Bavaria. Despite these efforts, the simple fact remained that by 1221 the crusade had failed and Frederick's vow lay unfulfilled. In the years that followed, pressure increased upon the emperor, particularly from the papacy, to depart for the East. Herman von Salza contributed to this by travelling twice to visit Frederick, once during the expedition and once shortly afterwards, to acquaint him of events. Perhaps as a consequence of these factors, Frederick renewed his vow at his imperial coronation in 1220 and promised to depart by March 1222. Nevertheless, March 1222 came but Frederick had still not set out. In 1223, further pressure was applied by Herman, Ralph of Merencourt (patriarch of Jerusalem, 1215–1224), John of Brienne (king of Jerusalem, 1210–1225) and other representatives from the Holy Land, who travelled to Italy where they secured an undertaking from Frederick that he would set sail for the east by June 1225. Seemingly to bind Frederick's interests tightly to those of the Holy Land, they reached an agreement with Frederick that he would marry the daughter of John of Brienne.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Print publication year: 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×