Suger of Saint-Denis and the ideology of crusade
Suger of Saint-Denis and the ideology of crusade
Chapter three focuses on Abbot Suger of Saint-Denis’ close relationship with the French royal court and his hitherto neglected concerned for a lack of crusading prestige. Virtually none of the vast literature on the abbot has considered his attitude toward the early crusading movement, which, this chapter argues, is long overdue. In particular, this chapter focuses on Suger’s well-known biography of Louis VI, the Gesta Ludovici Grossi, a text that combined Carolingian notions of kingship with the newer crusade ideology to fashion a highly selective narrative of Louis’ reign that, at once, casts doubts on the value of many crusaders and their exploits while also asserting that the French king possessed such virtues. The text, in short, if rife with inconsistency, which has been a difficult point for scholars to reconcile. By setting the text within the context of the crusades, however, the contradictions begin to make more sense. Far from supporting an image of Suger as the quintessential ideologist and progenitor of French royalist propaganda, his attitude towards the crusade instead demonstrates the traditional and flexible way he worked to create a smooth, positive account of the Capetian dynasty as at time of major political and cultural transformation. This image was crucial in the evolution of the Capetian image and power structure, and reinforces the important connection that existed between French kings and the crusading movement, even in the years before they took the cross themselves.
Keywords: Suger, Saint-Denis, Louis VI, Gesta Ludovici, Bohemond
Manchester Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
