The Crusader March to the Levant, 1147 - 1158

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the problems faced by the second crusaders on their march to the Levant during the Second Crusade, and makes an assessment of how far these problems adversely affected the Crusade as a whole. Key issues discussed include the relationship with the Greeks, Crusader lack of knowledge of local conditions, lack of supplies and poor leadership on the part of Louis VII.

From the Paper:

"Odo of Deuil describes an incident where Turks attacked the French army at Adalia, and the non combatants attracted the attention of Louis, who boldly went to defend them. He says of the Turks, 'they thrust and slashed, and the defenceless crowd fled or fell like sheep.' A prominent eastern source, John Kinnamos, also describes the crusader army as being like sheep 'flocks of sheep might vainly be reckoned in entire myriads if they suffered a single lion leaping at them.' The fact that western and eastern sources are agreed on the nature of the army supports the fact that the large numbers of non combatants had an adverse affect on the crusading army and caused considerable problems. This problem was not overcome, as the both the French and German army never managed to be rid of the non combatants. "

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