FEBRUARY 2014
CONTENTS
Features
Music and drugs provided many with a ‘religious’ experience in the postwar era, argues Peter Watson on page 44
22 “It was the biggest error in modern history” Niall Ferguson explains why he thinks that Britain’s involvement in the First World War was a terrible mistake
28 Why Britain was right to go to war in 1914 Six experts o er di erent perspectives on the decision Britain faced in the summer of 1914
30 Amazing numbers from history Charlotte Hodgman discovers some startling statistics from centuries past
39 Medieval vice and villains Bruce Holsinger meets killers, thieves and prostitutes as he explores the sinful streets of 14th-century London
44 D-Day for God? Peter Watson considers the decline of religion and the rise of therapy, drugs and music in the postwar period
51 The real Monuments Men Nigel Pollard tells the story of the Second World War heritage heroes who are now the subject of a Hollywood lm
56 Victorian royal murder The killing of Queen Victoria’s cook in 1865 soured relations between Britain and Prussia, as James Hawes reveals
Every month
7 HISTORY NOW 7 The latest history news
10 Backgrounder: Ukraine 12 Lessons from history 13 Past notes
14 ANNIVERSARIES 18 LETTERS 21 MICHAEL WOOD’S VIEW 63 BOOKS Experts review new releases,
plus Larry Siedentop discusses his latest book Inventing the Individual
75 TV & RADIO 7 5 The pick of February’s programmes
78 History on lm: dangerous ‘toys’
80 OUT & ABOUT 80 History explorer: Alexander
Broadie on the Enlightenment 84 Ten things to do in February 86 Ye olde travel guide: Reykjavik, 1828
91 MISCELLANY 91 Q&A and quiz
94 Get more from BBC History
98 MY HISTORY HERO EdMilibandonRuthFirst
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Medieval crusaders
The looting of Jerusalem after its capture by Christians in 1099 during the First Crusade, shown in an illuminated manuscript from the 15th century
Crusading for God and Gold T
he Canons of the Council of Clermont, the official record of Pope Urban II’s pronouncement of the First Crusade, in November 1095, stated: “Whoever for devotion alone, not to gain honour or money, goes to Jerusalem to liberate the church of God can substitute this journey for all penance.” Compare this with the confident eyewitness assertions of Caffaro of Genoa as he described the division of spoils after the crusader capture of Caesarea in 1101:
The crusades were driven by religious zeal. But, as the writings of a crusader from the merchant city of Genoa reveal, pro t was also a powerful motive. Jonathan Phillips tells his story
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“They first set aside one-fifteenth of the booty in the camp for the galley crews. The remainder they divided among 8,000 men, and gave to each as his share 48 solidi in the coin of Poitou, and two pounds of peppercorns, except for the rewards due to the consuls, the sea-captains, and men of quality, which were substantial. They started their journey back to Genoa on the Eve of St James the Apostle [24 July]; and they arrived back in the month of October 1101 in triumph and covered in glory.”
Here, it seems, substantial profit, fame and participation in the holy war were not at odds. The substantial volume of evidence produced by clerical writers has, rightly, led historians to place religious motivation at the top of the range of factors that drove people to set out to recover Jerusalem from the Muslims in the late 1090s. Other reasons undoubtedly also played a part in drawing people to the cross, namely, the desire for fame; the possibility of financial advantage – although crusading was an astoundingly expensive business; the acquisition of land (most crusaders returned home, however); and patronage.
That said, one important group of early crusaders has tended to receive a very bad press: the reputation of the Italian crusaders is usually one of money-grabbing merchants. Eugene Byrne, an eminent historian of Genoa writing in the 1920s, stated: “It would almost seem to them… [that] the crusade was a matter of indifference except as it affected their material prosperity.”
The Venetians’ prominent part in the sack of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade (1204), coupled with the Italians’ persistent disdain for embargoes on trading in materials of war with Muslims during (especially) the 13th century, produced the simplistic stereotype represented by Byrne above.
The writings of Caffaro of Genoa, however, offer us a chance to reassess this for the early decades of the 12th century, not least because he was an eyewitness and a layman. Unlike
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39 How medieval London became a hotbed of corruption and sin
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Preserving historic treasures from the destruction of war
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