THE MEDIEVAL WORLD OF WESTERN EUROPE

The paradox lies in the fact that a significant portion of the medieval population was formally unarmed. The concept of warfare was exclusive to a minority of nobles, for whom arming and martial skills were not only a duty but also a costly endeavor. Society was divided between the armed elite known as warriors or ‘milites’, and the unarmed, and consequently defenseless, peasants or ‘rustici’. This distinction meant that the armed minority held sway over nearly every aspect of life, except for matters concerning their relationship with the divine. Ironically, even that influence was present as the clergyiIn other words, the clergy. was predominantly composed of individuals from the same feudal nobility.

The military hierarchy paralleled the social and political hierarchy, and the extent of duties and honors tied to warfare were directly correlated with the size of a noble's feudal estate. Feudal structures, whether they were counties, towns, bishoprics, or significant monasteries, owed their suzerain a type of assistance known as ‘ban’. This entailed providing a predetermined number of armed cavalry and infantry troops upon demand. The term ‘ban’ not only referred to this military obligation but also extended to a range of other feudal privileges. The modern word ‘banal’ is derived from the same origin. The Germanic verb ‘bannan’, related to the Russian word ‘bait’, denoted a command or order, disobedience to which invited punishment.

This scenario bears little resemblance to the professional armies we are familiar with today, resembling the concept of private military companies (PMCs) to a greater degree. The emergence of regular armies occurred towards the end of the Middle Ages, particularly during the latter phases of the Hundred Years’ War2²Hundred Years' WarA series of military conflicts between England and France from 1337 to 1453, arising from the English king's claims to the French throne. and the Italian wars3³Italian WarsA series of wars between France on one side and Spain and the Holy Roman Empire on the other (1494–1559), initially over the possession of the Kingdom of Naples but largely for dominance in Western Europe. Ultimately, France was compelled to cede Italy to Spain.. This signifies that, over the centuries, society regained the ability to wield military force through politics, legal structures, and, to some extent, moral frameworks. What was once a privilege of the nobility transformed into a tool to advance the interests of the state. In a way, this demarcation of warfare into a distinct realm of politics and its subsequent rationalization could be seen as marking the end of the militant Middle Ages. Hence, during the final stage of the Hundred Years' War in the fifteenth century, we start seeing prominent war leaders, military experts known as ‘condottieri’, who operated as principal warlords. These individuals offered their services and enlisted fighters for monetary compensation known as ‘soldo’, from which the word ‘soldier’ in our contemporary lexicon is derived.

It would be a mistake to assume that the alignment of warfare with the state, both ethically and legally, became absolute—at least not until the nineteenth century—within the confines of the Old Order4⁴Old OrderIn European science and journalism, this term is occasionally used to describe the world before the Great French Revolution of 1789.. The resurgence of military science, the emergence of treatises, the establishment of academies, and the formulation of strategies and tactics—all of these developments belong to the era of the New Age. Thus, it becomes clear that trying to understand medieval combat features and the notions of warfare as a mere thousand-year gap between the Roman Antiquity with its legions and the disciplined armies of the New Age is an oversimplification. The evolution of military science and technology demands substantial material resources, centralized and absolutist ambitions, and, at times, even totalitarian power. In contrast, the small, and often fragmented, feudal territories, principalities, and even kingdoms lacked the necessary economic means. For instance, according to the thirteenth-century Livonian Rhyme Chronicle, a mere twenty knights were killed and six more captured during the battle on Lake Chudskoe in 12425⁵Battle on the IceThe skirmish between German knights and the army of Novgorod Prince Alexander Nevsky (1221–1263) is primarily remembered due to Sergei Eisenstein's propagandistic film Alexander Nevsky, filmed just before World War II. Eisenstein portrayed the 1242 battle as a grandiose event, a depiction not substantiated by contemporary sources.. Such a modest arithmetic more closely resembles a confrontation between rival Chicago gangs than the large-scale battles characteristic of the New Age.

When medieval poets sang of military exploits, much of their work, at times splendid and reminiscent of great epics, was a product of the imagination rather than science, a creation of myth rather than a meticulous historical account of the facts like today. However, if one delves into the extensive body of medieval chronicles, letters, and even epic or chivalric romances, the narrative becomes more nuanced. Although the majority of the pre-thirteenth-century chronicles were penned by monks, they still contain glimpses of the practical aspects of organizing military operations—from the procurement of forage and financial resources to the construction of siege weaponry. Behind these written records lies a subtly elusive oral tradition, which, in part, preserved both the military practices of the Romans and, in contrast, those of the Germans, who often found themselves hard-pressed to match the might and training of the Roman legions. Unlike the detailed maps that provide insight into the wars of the Modern Age, no such cartographic legacy remains from the Middle Ages. The notion of conjuring up portolan or pilgrim itineraries to strategicallyiEarly maps, more like diagrams and guides. plan an attack likely didn't even cross anyone's mind until the fifteenth century—at the earliest. However, this absence does not imply that medieval knights were inept in reconnaissance or lacked an understanding of what is now referred to as the ‘theatre of war’.

Explore regions untouched by the industrial surge of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and you'll often encounter an astonishingly intricate network of defensive structures. Unlike the monumental Great Wall of China or the sprawling Roman LimesiBorder fortifications in ancient Rome. that stretched across vast distances, the Western Middle Ages didn't boast such grandeur. Nevertheless, the Lombards, having established their rule over the Apennine Peninsula, secured the Alps with a system known as ‘clausae’, which can be simply translated as ‘garrisons’. While these fortifications didn't shield the Lombards from the Franks, they laid the foundation for the military organization of medieval Europe. When several thousand crusaders established kingdoms and principalities in the Holy Land, they erected numerous castles. Utilizing signal lights atop their donjonsiThe main tower inside the fortress walls., they could transmit warnings of danger from the Persian Gulf to Edessa within a single day.

Only a sizable state possessed the resources necessary to construct and maintain an uninterrupted network of frontier fortifications. This is precisely why extensive fortifications from the Middle Ages are relatively scarce. In the eighth century, King Offa of MerciaiOne of the kingdoms of ancient England. engineered a rampart as a defense against the Welsh Britons, a structure that is partially preserved to this day. A bit later, Charlemagne fortified the Saxon border against the Obotrites. But such structures didn't become the norm. In the medieval era, the distinct notion of a frontier, as we and the Romans understand it, became blurred. However, this doesn't imply that the concept of boundaries was entirely absent. The border regions were referred to as ‘marques’ in the Germanic fashion, and those who governed them, the margraves, evolved into the marquises of more modern times.

Lords constructed castles of varying sizes positioned along routes that troops might traverse. This strategic placement aimed to prevent any incursions by enemy forces in their rear, ensuring that adversaries would be compelled to contend with each castle they encountered. The enemy would have to establish themselves nearby if the castle was prepared to withstand and repel attacks rather than yielding easily. In the later medieval period, the narrow Aosta River Valley, which guided the way from the Padana Plain to Mont Blanc and its passes, was adorned with an intricate array of sturdy small fortifications. Some stood at lower elevations, while others clung to the cliffs. Those structures, looking like eagle's nests, were called ‘rocchi’ in Italian and ‘roches’ in French, signifying ‘cliffs’. Starting from the tenth century, stone castles began to dot the landscapes of many other regions, especially in strategically significant zones and entire historical territories such as Castile, a land of castles that lay along the boundary between the Christian north and the Islamic south of Spain.

How, then, did people in the Middle Ages perceive war, considering that they both engaged in battles and analyzed their military actions? With the decline of the Roman Empire, a state that ostensibly ensured peace and justice for its citizens through perpetual warfare came to an end. However, if we take Tacitus's words to heart, the Germanic peoples also held warfare in high esteem as a noble endeavor. The gradual spread of Germanic influence across Europe blurred the line between civic life and the use of force. Nevertheless, as their kingdoms grew stronger through Christianization and the resurgence of culture, a collective desire emerged within various sections to rein in the unregulated elements and restore order.

The concept of a just war, referred to as ‘bellum iustum’ in Latin, has its origins in both antiquity and medieval theological, juridical, and political literature. Augustine6⁶Aurelius AugustineLate ancient theologian and philosopher (354–430). One of the ‘Church Fathers’, most revered in the Catholic world. Among his significant works are The City of God and Confessions. played a pivotal role in shaping the Christian understanding of wars that are just or unjust. While early patristiciWorks of the Church Fathers are called so from the Latin pater, ‘father’. teachings discouraged Christians from using any means of combat other than prayer, Augustine's perspective on war was more nuanced. He viewed war as an inevitable outcome of the Fall and the subsequent fratricide symbolized in the story of Cain and Abel from Genesis. Those who engage in armed conflict bear a responsibility for it, yet a just cause, or ‘iusta causa’, can legitimize it if the intention is to restore peace, justice, or liberate an oppressed people. Augustine criticized wars driven by a thirst for power. While it might appear that a Christian could resort to arms without moral conflict, a just war was expected to reject unrestrained violence, a phenomenon prevalent during the Middle Ages and in other periods. Religion contrasted controlled force with the chaos of unchecked passions that posed a threat to the order of the world. Occasionally, religious figures might even advocate the complete annihilation of a group, asserting that God would recognize His own as one prelate expressed in the early thirteenth century.

In theory, any Christian was always meant to embrace the role of a peacemaker. Although this noble principle was rarely fully realized, its historical significance remains undeniable. The reflections of Augustine caught the attention of theologians and jurists alike. In the thirteenth century, Thomas Aquinas's7⁷Thomas AquinasThe most authoritative theologian of the Catholic Church (1225–1274). The detailed worldview he developed forms the foundation of Catholic ideology. magnum opus, Summa Theologica, further developed these ideas in an encyclopedic work encompassing various facets of human life. Guillaume Durand, a liturgistiLiturgy–Worship. Liturgists are engaged in interpreting church rituals. from the same period, approached the initially secular initiation rite of knighthood with a more sacred perspective. Notably, he incorporated Augustine's words ‘Be a peaceable warrior’ into the words uttered by priests during this rite.

However, even a cursory acquaintance with the brutalities displayed by Christian knights during the capture of Jerusalem in the summer of 1099 reveals the stark contrast between these high ideals and their actions. For instance, Richard the Lionheart, the crusader king of England, hailed as a near-national hero in medieval England and the son of the enlightened Alienora of Aquitaine, ordered the execution of over 2,000 Muslim prisoners in August 1191, directly in front of Salah ad-Din's army. This was a glaring and brutal betrayal of the principles he should have upheld. Soon after, the process of negotiating a treaty for a mutual exchange of prisoners came to an abrupt halt.

From a particular Christian perspective, every war was seen as a metaphor for a much grander conflict, which was the ongoing battle between good and evil for the soul of each believer. While these priestly visions could be dismissed or taken as literary metaphors, the visceral reality of war couldn't be ignored. The act of ripping a victim's belly open, whether carried out by a cavalryman or an infantryman, was a tangible act rather than a mere metaphor. Nevertheless, understanding the motives behind such actions is just as vital as comprehending the reasons for which they fought and died in the world wars, as it is to understand the motivations behind today's conflicts.

In Steven Spielberg's 1998 film Saving Private Ryan, a Jewish sniper chants psalms as he takes aim through his rifle’s scope. This gesture harkens back to a medieval sensibility, one that any crusader would recognize, as the psalms were often invoked both for war and peace. The resonance of this medieval perspective goes beyond Spielberg’s sniper, and it is crucial to grasp not only the act itself but also the deeper motivations that have historically driven and continue to drive individuals to take up arms.

In the twelfth century, Bernard of Clairvaux, a prominent military leader, delivered a sermon titled ‘Praise of the New Knighthood’. This discourse outlined a distinct code for crusaders, offering a unique perspective on their role. Bernard proclaimed that when Christians engage in combat against infidels, any act of homicide, termed ‘homicidium’, transforms into a justified killing, known as ‘malicidium’. According to Bernard, this transformation occurs because every infidel who takes up arms against Christians is considered a servant of worldly evil. This was no longer a mere metaphor or a linguistic play, but rather a solemn endorsement of killing, articulated by a revered saint wielding both spiritual and literary power.

The Knights TemplariSpiritual-chivalrous order., also known as the Templar brothers in arms, shared a profound bond of faith alongside their commitment to celibacy and purity. Similar to monks, they considered the liturgy, a daily prayer service, as not merely an obligation but a heartfelt devotion to Christ. What set them apart was their unwavering readiness to enter into battle. If a Templar missed mass due to their involvement in a fight, the order's charter mandated them to recite a specific number of the Lord's Prayer as a form of penance.

A unique French manuscript from the third quarter of the twelfth century, now housed in the Château of Chantilly, has remarkably preserved some texts and precise notations of the Templar worship. Thanks to transcriptions by Marcel Pérez and the singing performance by the Organum group, we can now not only gain insight into the spiritual practices of these knights through words, but we can also audibly experience their resonances in a quite substantial reconstructive perspective. One intriguing aspect is the distinct medieval rhythm called ‘tripudium’, used in the chanting of the verses. It wasn't merely a matter of counting beats, as one might do with a hand gesture from the cantor. Instead, it involved a slight movement of the singer. This technique still persists in modern church choir singing. While the purely musical impact might not be fully discernible in a recording, it is critical in stimulating the imagination. One can envision these warriors solemnly chanting by memory, their swaying motions establishing a coherent rhythm, reminiscent perhaps of a march into battle.

Amidst the array of traditional Latin prayers, drawn from the rituals of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the psalms, one breathtaking antiphon preaches: ‘Grant, O Lord, peace in our days; for there is none who will stand for us, except you, our God.’ This antiphoniAntiphonal singing (from Greek ἀντίφωνος)–Choral singing in which two choirs (or two vocal ensembles) alternate. encapsulates a verse from Psalm 121: ‘Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee.’ (Psalm 121:7–9). The antiphon circles back, concluding with a gentle return: ‘Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: They shall prosper who love thee.’ One or two choir singers guided the main theme of the melody, while other basses supported the isson, while harmoniously uniting with the lyrics of this truly Jerusalem psalm. It beseeches peace, not war.