Reconquest In Medieval Spain Summary

Reconquest and Crusade in Medieval Spain by Joseph O’ Callaghan overviews the military activity in the Iberian Peninsula from the later eleventh century through the middle of the thirteenth century. The book is not simply a survey of the Spanish reconquest however. O'Callaghan has a specific focus in writing the book. He demonstrates how the reconquest was pervasive in the lives of those in Medieval Spain, and was evolved by Crusade ideology.

In the first chapter entitled Reconquest, Holy War, and Crusade O’Callaghan tries to define what the terms in the chapter title mean. He sees “Reconquest” as being a perpetual mindset that existed among the Spanish people ever since the invasion of the muslims in 711; the land belonged to Christians

before the arrival of the Muslims, and they believed it should return to past status under the Visigoths. Unlike “reconquest”, he concludes “crusades” have certain characteristics associated with them such as the intervention of the Pope, and promises of indulgences for serving Christ in battle. He asserts the hispanic crusader sought the remission of sins in the same ways as did his Middle Eastern counterparts, and this was taken advantage of by the Christian Kings. They realized the value of said recruiting pitch even if every campaign of reconquest was not necessarily a crusade.
In the following chapters, O’Callaghan offers evidence demonstrating how the notion of “reconquest” in Spain was changed by crusade ideology.

He claims the transformation from reconquest and crusade came about do to the opening of the Iberian Peninsula to French and Papal influences. A big step in this evolution was Pope Alexander II recognizing the sins of those fighting in the Iberian Peninsula would be remitted. This declaration illustrates one of the characteristics of “crusade” in Medieval Spain. The indulgence of sins proved to be a valuable recruiting pitch, as it lured in knights from several French and Italian groups. These knights helped evolve the reconquest with their fanaticism towards Muslims, whom Iberian Christians had grown accustomed to over the centuries. This was expanded on by following Popes like Gregory VII, Urban II, and Paschal II whose liberal usage of papal bulls showcased the equal importance of campaigns in the Middle East to those in Spain. These Pope’s not only continued to grant the remission of sins to crusaders, they also allowed for partial remission to be granted to those who donated money to the campaigns instead of serving in person. This was important as the expenses of the campaigns in Spain were not likely to be covered by booty alone; yet the Christian Kings were able to wage war with help from the papacy. In addition, the papacy allowed various spanish rulers access to “tercias” (one third of tithes used for the upkeep of the

church) to help finance campaigns.
Overall the argument presented by O’Callaghan is well supported.

He uses both Christian and Islamic sources, although admittedly the focus in on Europe and its viewpoint. I do not think this is a bad thing however, as Crusading in general is a european phenomenon. The visuals in the book were somewhat useful. I referred to the genealogical tables in the front of the book often to help keep track of monarchs as O’Callaghan chronologically describes the various military campaigns of the christian kings. I think it could be said O’Callaghan views the papacy as the driving force behind the military campaigns in Spain based on the promises of indulgences and monetary support it offered. I also think territorial greed on the part of the Christian Kings was integral as well. O’Callaghan also mentions this , but I do not think he emphasizes it as much as the religious motivations. As O'Callaghan mentions, the Christian Kings were rivals with each other as well as enemies with the Muslims, and readily allied with Muslims when practical. I think it is possible territorial greed was a bigger factor than perhaps thought of by O'Callaghan. It makes sense to me accepting papal financing and recruits from promised remission of sins would have been done whether Spanish Christian Kings had pure religious intentions or

not.