Yorkshire and the Crusades to the East, 1095-1291

This thesis analyses and assesses the relationship between Yorkshire and the crusading movement to the East from the call of the First Crusade in 1095 through to 1291, the year which marked the loss of the final Frankish state in the Holy Land. Many previous works have examined regions of England and their contributions and connections to crusading but none have focused on England’s largest county, Yorkshire, and no regional study has focussed on the entire period covered in this thesis. This project examines the recruitment, preparations, and participation of individuals from Yorkshire who took part in crusades and evaluate their contributions to these campaigns. It also looks at how the participation of these crusaders influenced and affected the county of York.
This thesis focuses on participants from all backgrounds and parts of society, including the rich and the poor, the Church and the laity, and male and female crusaders to enable the fullest possible understanding of the county’s relationship with crusading. This thesis takes a chronological approach to allow for each crusade to be discussed in full. This enables the project to highlight changes which occurred and to better show patterns and trends which developed through the period.
The thesis shows that within Yorkshire crusading networks developed which spanned multiple generations and linked different families together. It also demonstrates that participation was linked to social ties rather than through largescale coordinated preaching and was keenly motivated by the presence of an influential member of society, often a member of the royal household, being present on a particular venture. There is also a connection between crusading and reputation which individuals were keen to utilise to their advantage, either by restoring damaged reputations or forging new ones which allowed them to move up the social hierarchy.
The project concludes with a prospographical catalogue of all recorded crusaders who were connected to Yorkshire who headed to the East during the period under investigation. This includes short biographies of the individuals involved to show their links to both Yorkshire and crusading. In turn, the structure allows the findings of this project to be compared to other works of a similar nature to allow for a greater understanding of how both English regions and England as a whole contributed to, and was affected by, the crusading movement.