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7 - The friars and the redemption of crusade vows

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 October 2009

Christoph T. Maier
Affiliation:
Universität Zürich
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Summary

The crusade vow differed from most other religious vows in two principal ways. Firstly, it was accompanied by the promise of a plenary indulgence, and, secondly, its execution was not merely an individual act of devotion and penitence, but it was also part of a collective effort in the context of the negotium crucis. By taking the vow, the crucesignatus made a promise not only to God, but also to his fellow Christians. The redemption of a crusade vow was technically a form of vow commutation substituting an adequate penitential exercise in lieu of crusading, in this case the payment of a certain amount of money in aid of the crusade. This was primarily intended for those who sincerely wished to go on crusade but were physically incapable of doing so because of illness, old age, poverty, or other serious impediment. Since, by virtue of his vow, the crusader had taken on an obligation of service to the whole of Christian society, the only way to commute his vow was to support the business of the cross in some other way, either by joining a different crusade or by making a financial payment for the benefit of the crusade. The commutation to other forms of purely individual penance was not possible. This particular situation was dealt with by reserving the powers to redeem (or commute) a crusade vow, unlike that of other vows, to the pope and his appointed agents alone. The ‘natural’ rate for the redemption of a crusade vow was the donation of enough money to finance a substitute crusader of equal status.

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Preaching the Crusades
Mendicant Friars and the Cross in the Thirteenth Century
, pp. 135 - 160
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1994

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