An Attempt To Date
the Crusades
G.D.O'Bradovich III
August 21, 2015
The Oxford English Dictionary has been referenced and, unlike previous dating attempts, citations after the year 1800 are utilized.
Part the First
Forms:
α. 15 croisad, croysade, ( croissard), 15–17 croisade, (16 crossiade);
β. 16 croisada, (croy-), cruysado, ( crossado), 16–17 croisado, croy-;
γ. 16–17 crusada, cruz-, 15–17 crusado,cruz-; δ. 17– crusade.
We note that "crusade" the spelling only recently (in the 18th century) became standardized in English.
Etymology: = modern French croisade (= Old French croisee ), Provençal crozada , Spanish cruzada , Italian crociata , medieval Latin cruciata (cruzata ), being in the various languages the feminine noun of action formed on past participle of cruciāre , crociare , cruzar , croiser to crossv., lit. a being crossed, a crossing or marking with the cross, a taking the cross: compare the early French croisement .
The earliest and only Middle English equivalents were croiserie n. (13th–15th cent.), and croisee n. (15–17th cent.), from the corresponding Old French words.
In 16th cent. French, croisée was displaced by croisade , with the new ending -ade suffix, adapted from the -ada of Provençal and Spanish.
This croisade appeared in English c1575, and continued to be the leading form till c1760 (see Johnson's Dict.). About 1600, the Spanish cruzada made its appearance under the forms crusada and crusado...; a blending of this with croisade produced two hybrid forms, viz. croisado (-ada ), with French stem and Spanish ending, frequent from c1611 to 1725, and crusade , with Spanish stem and French ending, mentioned by Johnson, 1755, only as a by-form of croisade , but used by Goldsmith and Gibbon, and now universal.
From 15th to 17th cents. occasional attempts to adopt the medieval Latin and other Romanic forms, as cruciat , -ada ,-ade , cruceat , were made: see cruciade n. a. Hist.
A military expedition undertaken by the Christians of Europe in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims.
α.
1577 W. Harrison Descr. Eng. (1878) iii. iv. ii. 29 At such time as Baldwine archbishop of Canturburie preached the Croisad there.
1616 R. Betts tr. King James VI & I Remonstr. Right of Kings 161 Al such..as vndertooke the Croisade, became the Popes meere vassals.
1753 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 1 Jan. (1932) (modernized text) V. 1991 His [sc.Voltaire's] history of the Croisades.
1769 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. iv. 416 The knight errantry of a croisade against the Saracens.
β.
1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. ix. xx. 734/1 A Croisado heere against the Turkes.
1655 J. Howell 4th Vol. Familiar Lett. xix. 50 A Croisada to the Holy Land.
1748 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 20 Sept. (1932) (modernized text) IV. 1222 This gave rise to the Croisadoes, and carried such swarms of people from Europe to the..Holy Land.
γ.
1631 J. Weever Anc. Funerall Monuments 793 To preach the Crusado.
a1678 A. Marvell Britannia & Raleigh in State Poems (1689) 12 Her true Crusada shall at last pull down The Turkish crescent and the Persian sun.
1765 H. Walpole Castle of Otranto (1834) v. 249 Until his return from the crusado.
δ.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (ed. 6) Croisado or Crusade.
c1750 W. Shenstone Ruin'd Abbey 118 Here the cowl'd zealots..Urg'd the crusade.
1755–73 Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. Crusade, Crusado: see Croisade.
1781 Gibbon Decline & Fall III. lxi. 546 The principle of the crusades was a savage fanaticism.
1841 W. Spalding Italy & Ital. Islands II. 318 A single campaign of the first crusade, that of 1099.
1856 R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits xiii. 216 The power of the religious sentiment..inspired the crusades.
b. transf. Any war instigated and blessed by the Church for alleged religious ends, a ‘holy war’; applied esp. to expeditions undertaken under papal sanction against infidels or heretics.
1603 J. Florio tr. Montaigne Ess. ii. xxvii. 403 George Sechell..who vnder the title of a Croysada, wrought so many mischiefs.
1624 R. Montagu Gagg for New Gospell? xiii. 95 Vrban the eight, that now Popeth it, may proclaime a Croisado if hee will.
1681 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Reformation: 2nd Pt. 122 Afterwards croisades came in use; against such princes as were deposed by popes.
1875 W. Stubbs Constit. Hist. III. xviii. 106 Commander of a crusade against the Hussites.
2. fig. An aggressive movement or enterprise against some public evil, or some institution or class of persons considered as evil.
1786 T. Jefferson Writings (1859) II. 8 Preach, my dear Sir, a crusade against ignorance.
1839 T. De Quincey Lake Reminisc. in Tait's Edinb. Mag. Feb. 102/2 This new crusade against the evils of the world.
1854 H. H. Milman Hist. Lat. Christianity III. vii. i. 114 Dunstan's life was a crusade..against the married clergy.
1893 N.E.D. at Crusade, Mod. The Temperance crusade.
†3. A papal bull or commission authorizing a crusade, or expedition against infidels or heretics.
1588 (title) , The Holy Bull and Crusado of Rome, first published by the Holy Father, Gregory the XIII.
1643 W. Prynne Soveraigne Power Parl. App 64 They concluded to crave ayd from all Christian Princes, and a Crossado from the Pope against the Moores.
a1677 I. Barrow Treat. Pope's Supremacy (1680) 31 To summon and commissionate Souldiers by Croisade, &c. to fight against Infidels, or persecute Infidels.
1724 T. Richers tr. Hist. Royal Geneal. Spain 247 The Pope, willing to help the King to sustain this War, sent him the Croisade, by which Means he raised 300,000 Ducats.
1771 O. Goldsmith Hist. Eng. I. 317 The pope published a crusade against the deposed monarch.
Part the Second
The citations in chronological order with select commentary.
1577 (1878) ...Baldwine ... preached the Croisad there.
Baldwin was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1185 to 1190. We note that this citation was not found published until 1878. This documentation is 700 years after the event and 300 years after the document was written.
1588 The Holy Bull and Crusado of Rome, first published by the Holy Father, Gregory the XIII.
Although the OED informs us that the crusades are dated to at least the 11th century, the first reference is not until the 16th century. This discrepancy of five centuries is not addressed by the editors.
1603 George Sechell..who vnder the title of a Croysada...
1611 A Croisado heere against the Turkes.
1616 ..as vndertooke the Croisade, became...
1624 Vrban the eight... may proclaime a Croisado if hee will.
1631 To preach the Crusado.
1643 ..., and a Crossado from the Pope against the Moores.
1655 A Croisada to the Holy Land.
1677a (1680) ... by Croisade, &c. to fight against Infidels...
1678a (1689) Her true Crusada shall at last pull ...
1681 Afterwards croisades ... against such princes ...
As the OED previously noted, the spelling of "crusade" is not standardized in the 17th century.
1706 Croisado or Crusade.
1724 The Pope...sent him the Croisade, by which Means...
1748 (1932) (modernized text) This gave rise to the Croisadoes, ...
1750c Here the cowl'd zealots..Urg'd the crusade.
1753 (1932) (modernized text) His [sc.Voltaire's] history of the Croisades.
1755–73 Crusade, Crusado: see Croisade.
1765 (1834) Until his return from the crusado.
1769 The knight errantry of a croisade against the Saracens.
1771 The pope published a crusade against the deposed monarch.
1781 The principle of the crusades was a savage fanaticism.
1786 (1859) Preach, my dear Sir, a crusade against ignorance.
By the end of the 18th century, the spelling "crusade" becomes the standard.
1839 This new crusade against the ...
1841 A single campaign of the first crusade, that of 1099.
1854 Dunstan's life was a crusade...
1856 The power of the religious sentiment..inspired the crusades.
1875 Commander of a crusade against the Hussites.
1893 The Temperance crusade.
Part the Third
We are amused that in the 17th century two forms of the word are being introduced into English, one with a "French stem and Spanish ending" and the second word with a "Spanish stem and French ending."
Besides our schadenfreude towards the adoption of current foreign words to describe events in ancient times and yonder places, we realize that words are not borrowed or created without reason or cause. Therefore, we conclude that although the "Crusade" against Constantinople did result in its sacking in the year 1204, and the ancestors of the English knew the "crusade" was proclaimed against the Holy City, the English did not know it was a "Crusade" as we currently understand the word.
Part the First
Forms:
α. 15 croisad, croysade, ( croissard), 15–17 croisade, (16 crossiade);
β. 16 croisada, (croy-), cruysado, ( crossado), 16–17 croisado, croy-;
γ. 16–17 crusada, cruz-, 15–17 crusado,cruz-; δ. 17– crusade.
We note that "crusade" the spelling only recently (in the 18th century) became standardized in English.
Etymology: = modern French croisade (= Old French croisee ), Provençal crozada , Spanish cruzada , Italian crociata , medieval Latin cruciata (cruzata ), being in the various languages the feminine noun of action formed on past participle of cruciāre , crociare , cruzar , croiser to crossv., lit. a being crossed, a crossing or marking with the cross, a taking the cross: compare the early French croisement .
The earliest and only Middle English equivalents were croiserie n. (13th–15th cent.), and croisee n. (15–17th cent.), from the corresponding Old French words.
In 16th cent. French, croisée was displaced by croisade , with the new ending -ade suffix, adapted from the -ada of Provençal and Spanish.
This croisade appeared in English c1575, and continued to be the leading form till c1760 (see Johnson's Dict.). About 1600, the Spanish cruzada made its appearance under the forms crusada and crusado...; a blending of this with croisade produced two hybrid forms, viz. croisado (-ada ), with French stem and Spanish ending, frequent from c1611 to 1725, and crusade , with Spanish stem and French ending, mentioned by Johnson, 1755, only as a by-form of croisade , but used by Goldsmith and Gibbon, and now universal.
From 15th to 17th cents. occasional attempts to adopt the medieval Latin and other Romanic forms, as cruciat , -ada ,-ade , cruceat , were made: see cruciade n. a. Hist.
A military expedition undertaken by the Christians of Europe in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims.
α.
1577 W. Harrison Descr. Eng. (1878) iii. iv. ii. 29 At such time as Baldwine archbishop of Canturburie preached the Croisad there.
1616 R. Betts tr. King James VI & I Remonstr. Right of Kings 161 Al such..as vndertooke the Croisade, became the Popes meere vassals.
1753 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 1 Jan. (1932) (modernized text) V. 1991 His [sc.Voltaire's] history of the Croisades.
1769 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. iv. 416 The knight errantry of a croisade against the Saracens.
β.
1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. ix. xx. 734/1 A Croisado heere against the Turkes.
1655 J. Howell 4th Vol. Familiar Lett. xix. 50 A Croisada to the Holy Land.
1748 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 20 Sept. (1932) (modernized text) IV. 1222 This gave rise to the Croisadoes, and carried such swarms of people from Europe to the..Holy Land.
γ.
1631 J. Weever Anc. Funerall Monuments 793 To preach the Crusado.
a1678 A. Marvell Britannia & Raleigh in State Poems (1689) 12 Her true Crusada shall at last pull down The Turkish crescent and the Persian sun.
1765 H. Walpole Castle of Otranto (1834) v. 249 Until his return from the crusado.
δ.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (ed. 6) Croisado or Crusade.
c1750 W. Shenstone Ruin'd Abbey 118 Here the cowl'd zealots..Urg'd the crusade.
1755–73 Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. Crusade, Crusado: see Croisade.
1781 Gibbon Decline & Fall III. lxi. 546 The principle of the crusades was a savage fanaticism.
1841 W. Spalding Italy & Ital. Islands II. 318 A single campaign of the first crusade, that of 1099.
1856 R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits xiii. 216 The power of the religious sentiment..inspired the crusades.
b. transf. Any war instigated and blessed by the Church for alleged religious ends, a ‘holy war’; applied esp. to expeditions undertaken under papal sanction against infidels or heretics.
1603 J. Florio tr. Montaigne Ess. ii. xxvii. 403 George Sechell..who vnder the title of a Croysada, wrought so many mischiefs.
1624 R. Montagu Gagg for New Gospell? xiii. 95 Vrban the eight, that now Popeth it, may proclaime a Croisado if hee will.
1681 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Reformation: 2nd Pt. 122 Afterwards croisades came in use; against such princes as were deposed by popes.
1875 W. Stubbs Constit. Hist. III. xviii. 106 Commander of a crusade against the Hussites.
2. fig. An aggressive movement or enterprise against some public evil, or some institution or class of persons considered as evil.
1786 T. Jefferson Writings (1859) II. 8 Preach, my dear Sir, a crusade against ignorance.
1839 T. De Quincey Lake Reminisc. in Tait's Edinb. Mag. Feb. 102/2 This new crusade against the evils of the world.
1854 H. H. Milman Hist. Lat. Christianity III. vii. i. 114 Dunstan's life was a crusade..against the married clergy.
1893 N.E.D. at Crusade, Mod. The Temperance crusade.
†3. A papal bull or commission authorizing a crusade, or expedition against infidels or heretics.
1588 (title) , The Holy Bull and Crusado of Rome, first published by the Holy Father, Gregory the XIII.
1643 W. Prynne Soveraigne Power Parl. App 64 They concluded to crave ayd from all Christian Princes, and a Crossado from the Pope against the Moores.
a1677 I. Barrow Treat. Pope's Supremacy (1680) 31 To summon and commissionate Souldiers by Croisade, &c. to fight against Infidels, or persecute Infidels.
1724 T. Richers tr. Hist. Royal Geneal. Spain 247 The Pope, willing to help the King to sustain this War, sent him the Croisade, by which Means he raised 300,000 Ducats.
1771 O. Goldsmith Hist. Eng. I. 317 The pope published a crusade against the deposed monarch.
Part the Second
The citations in chronological order with select commentary.
1577 (1878) ...Baldwine ... preached the Croisad there.
Baldwin was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1185 to 1190. We note that this citation was not found published until 1878. This documentation is 700 years after the event and 300 years after the document was written.
1588 The Holy Bull and Crusado of Rome, first published by the Holy Father, Gregory the XIII.
Although the OED informs us that the crusades are dated to at least the 11th century, the first reference is not until the 16th century. This discrepancy of five centuries is not addressed by the editors.
1603 George Sechell..who vnder the title of a Croysada...
1611 A Croisado heere against the Turkes.
1616 ..as vndertooke the Croisade, became...
1624 Vrban the eight... may proclaime a Croisado if hee will.
1631 To preach the Crusado.
1643 ..., and a Crossado from the Pope against the Moores.
1655 A Croisada to the Holy Land.
1677a (1680) ... by Croisade, &c. to fight against Infidels...
1678a (1689) Her true Crusada shall at last pull ...
1681 Afterwards croisades ... against such princes ...
As the OED previously noted, the spelling of "crusade" is not standardized in the 17th century.
1706 Croisado or Crusade.
1724 The Pope...sent him the Croisade, by which Means...
1748 (1932) (modernized text) This gave rise to the Croisadoes, ...
1750c Here the cowl'd zealots..Urg'd the crusade.
1753 (1932) (modernized text) His [sc.Voltaire's] history of the Croisades.
1755–73 Crusade, Crusado: see Croisade.
1765 (1834) Until his return from the crusado.
1769 The knight errantry of a croisade against the Saracens.
1771 The pope published a crusade against the deposed monarch.
1781 The principle of the crusades was a savage fanaticism.
1786 (1859) Preach, my dear Sir, a crusade against ignorance.
By the end of the 18th century, the spelling "crusade" becomes the standard.
1839 This new crusade against the ...
1841 A single campaign of the first crusade, that of 1099.
1854 Dunstan's life was a crusade...
1856 The power of the religious sentiment..inspired the crusades.
1875 Commander of a crusade against the Hussites.
1893 The Temperance crusade.
Part the Third
We are amused that in the 17th century two forms of the word are being introduced into English, one with a "French stem and Spanish ending" and the second word with a "Spanish stem and French ending."
Besides our schadenfreude towards the adoption of current foreign words to describe events in ancient times and yonder places, we realize that words are not borrowed or created without reason or cause. Therefore, we conclude that although the "Crusade" against Constantinople did result in its sacking in the year 1204, and the ancestors of the English knew the "crusade" was proclaimed against the Holy City, the English did not know it was a "Crusade" as we currently understand the word.