Mittelbare Partizipation am Kreuzzug. Nord- und mitteldeutsche Bildzeugnisse nach dem Fall Jerusalems 1187

Abstract

This article examines the extent to which images made for courts that strongly committed to the Crusade movement represent the participation of men and women in the Crusade. After the fall of Jerusalem in 1187 the Pope had extended the range of possibilities for non-combatants to participate in the Crusade to make a new enterprise more efficient: women were to pray at home, while men went off to fight. This article analyzes two sources of images, the ‘Elisabeth Psalter’ made for the Thuringian Countess Sophie and the murals depicting the legend of the Holy Cross in Braunschweig Cathedral. Both were at one with the Crusade movement. In the Psalter calendar the Emperor Heraclius and the victorious Margareta represented the ideal male and female Crusader, even if Margareta’s conduct was portrayed with greater dignity. Here, the women who carry the Cross so valiantly display the special contribution of women to the recovery of the Holy Land. In the Braunschweig murals, aimed at a wider public, the recovery of the Holy Cross is a central theme. The roles of the sexes are clearly visible in the contrasting portraits of Helena and Heraclius. The cycle further reveals more marked differences in the portrayal of gender and social roles. It was intended to mobilize the court and encourage active commitment to the Crusade.