A Reflection On The Use Of Lament Psalms in the Crusades

License for Cursing and Killing

Lament Psalms were sometimes interpreted as providing religious justification for cursing and killing the perceived enemies of the faith. These psalms were employed to portray the enemies as deserving of divine punishment and to sanction violent actions against them.

Lament in the Psalms is an expression or a cry of sadness, grief, sorrow and despair uttered by the psalmist to God in order to bring their case before God with the conviction that God will act on their behalf (Campbell, 2013: 8). Brueggemaan says that the Psalm of Lament is “a cry of need in a context of crisis when Israel lacks the resources to defend for itself” (Brueggemann, 2009: 13). Similarly, Michael Coogan defines Lament Psalms as “appeals for divine help in distress” (Coogan, 2012: 370). However, in most cases the lament did not stop with only complaining and expressing grief, sorrow and despair but also moved to frustration and anger as we find in the imprecatory Lament Psalms, for example Psalms 12 and 28 (Villanueva, 2008: 133–162).

It is important to bear in mind that although some Lament Psalms occur in the middle of political strife, their situations are completely different from what was described in the history of the Crusades. The psalmists were weak, helpless, and persecuted while the Crusaders were politically strong and held power over their enemies.

One of the Psalms that was frequently used during the Crusades is Psalm 69:9, which states, “For zeal for Your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.” This verse reflects the fervent devotion to the house of God and the willingness to endure reproach and criticism for the sake of defending it.

Another Psalm commonly referenced is Psalm 74, which is a lamentation for the temple of God. This Psalm expresses deep sorrow and anguish over the destruction of the sacred place of worship (G.A. Loud, 2013: 38, 86).

In the context of the Crusades, the utilization of these Psalms was likely intended to foster the zeal of the Crusaders and reinforce their belief in the significance of defending and restoring important Christian holy sites.

Another often cited psalm is Psalm 79. Pope Urban II, the initiator of the first Crusades (1096–1099), testified that he could not let go of the word from Psalm 79:1: “O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance, thy holy temple they have defiled; they have laid Jerusalem in heaps” (Foss, 1998: 35 and Krey, 2007: 34).

In that sermon, he identified the church with the psalm-ist and urged it to lament like the psalmist did in Psalm 79. He interpreted the Psalm literally and applied it to his current situation as a political tool to incite the Crusades.

Used not only in sermons and speeches, in 1213, Pope Innocent III included Psalm 79 in the liturgy of the Mass. As part of the ceremony in the mass, all men and women were to prostrate themselves on the ground, reciting Psalm 79:1 “Oh God, the heathen are come into thy inheritance”—followed by a prayer for liberation of the Holy Land (Riley-Smith, 2008: 43).

The Political Accusation of Unbelief

The accusation of unbelief is a powerful and popular means of silencing political opponents (Zollner, 2009: 43). The developing polemic over power and political control among rival groups led to accusations of unbelief. Those who were accused of unbelief would be liable to punishment with eternal fire in hell. Some went so far as to declare that he who is accused of unbelief would be punished in the hereafter as well as while still alive. Others held that the accused should be punished with death only if he failed to repent (Khadduri and Ramazani, 2001: 27).

During the Crusade, Lament Psalms were utilized to frame non-believers and those of different faiths as adversaries by emphasizing their supposed rejection of the true faith. This served to create a narrative of religious conflict and validate the Crusaders’ mission. In Psalms of Lament, the psalmists accuse their enemies of being those who do not believe in God. Parallel to that, the Crusaders also accused their enemies of unbelief. However, their accusation was politically motivated. They used this political accusation, to attack their enemies and to gain political support from their followers.

The categorization of believers and unbelievers determined the way the Crusaders treat people. The struggle between what is right and what is wrong in their belief soon acquired political and even military ramifications. The division between the believers and the unbelievers forced people to decide what they believed, and their decision determined the fate of their lives. In this case the Crusaders used accusations of unbelief to justify their political violence.

There are several terms that were used by the Crusaders to identify the unbelievers, such as the infidels, the enemies of God, and the hypocrites.

The Infidels or Heathens

In certain Lament Psalms, the psalmists express their complaints about “the unbelievers or heathens” who are depicted as enemies that worship idols (Psalm 135:15), mockers (Psalm 94:4; 115:2), and persecutors (Psalm 10:2, 59:2-4, 79:1-3). They genuinely seek God’s assistance in saving them from the attacks of these heathens, their adversaries. They implore God to unleash punishment and judgment upon the unbelievers.

Likewise, the Crusaders also referred to their enemies as unbelievers or heathens. (Wheatcroft, 2004: 290). Pope Gregory X’s letter addressing the situation in Jerusalem cited Psalm 115:2, which questions the heathens (referring to Muslims), asking, “Where is their god?” This demonstrates the Crusaders’ identification of their enemies as non-believers (Bird et al., 2013: 449).

Furthermore, in addition to Muslims, the Crusaders regarded Jews as infidels due to their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah. The Crusaders accused their Jewish enemies of being responsible for the persecution of Jesus and his followers out of ignorance and, as a result, they considered it justifiable to wage war against them (Heng, 2012: 85).

Bernard of Clairvaux wrote to Pope Eugenius III: “and yet, present circumstances excuse you from fighting the Jews in the militant manner that the church must now combat other infidels and heretics, inasmuch as the time mandated by God for Israel’s forgiveness and redemption has not yet materialized” (Cohen, 1999: 247). Although Bernard of Clairvaux said that the Pope is excused from fighting the Jews due to the present crisis, in that letter, it is important to note that Bernard still categorized Jews as infidels alongside Muslims and heretics.

Moreover, Bernard of Clairvaux also used the Old Testament to support his accusations. He wrote: “if (as in Isaiah 40:6-8) all mortal flesh is like grass, then that carnal people of the Jews was like grass. Has not the grass withered, just as that people, devoid of all fullness of the spirit, has adhered to the dry letter? Has not the flower died, while the vaunting which they used to derive from the law has remained?” (Cohen, 1999: 223). Using Psalm 58:10, Bernard of Clairvaux also declared that killing the pagan gave cause for joy to the believers: “in the pagan’s death, ‘the righteous will rejoice when they see vengeance done’” (Mastnak, 2002: 161).

The Enemies of God

In the Psalms of Lament, the psalmists try to convince God that their enemies are also God’s enemies (McCann, 1993: 45). The psalmists used the idea of the “enemies of God” to force God to move and to get involved in their difficult situation.

The Crusaders also considered their enemies as the enemies of God. The common during the Crusade that echoed within the church is “enemies of God” and calls for vengeance on those “enemies”. However, although they quoted many verses in the Lament Psalms literally, yet they used this term differently. It was not a personal prayer asking God to act on behalf of the persecuted church. On the contrary they were acting as God, executing judgment against the enemies (Peters, 2011: 201).

The term, “enemies of God” even appears in the liturgy of the mass in the first Crusades. During the mass, all people will sing, “Rise up, O God, and your enemies will scatter, and those who hate him will flee from his face” (Ps 68) (Bird et al., 2013: 112).

The leaders of the Crusades often used this term to justify the war and to convince the people that they were fighting the enemies of God and, therefore, they were doing good and right in the eyes of God. One of the famous leaders of the first Crusade, Peter Tudebode reported on the battle near Antioch and said, “Thus we were besieged and oppressed by the other pagans, enemies of God and Blessed Christianity… Consequently, the profane enemies of God held us so closely…” Peter Tudebode clearly equates the enemy of the Church with the enemy of God (Peters, 2011: 201).

While it is obvious that their ultimate enemies were the Muslims who occupied the Holy Land, the Crusaders also considered the Jews to be the enemies of God and the killers of Christ. The Crusaders lashed out at the Jews: “You are the descendants of those who killed our God and hanged him on a tree. He himself said, ‘The day will come when my children will come and will avenge my blood’” (Cohen, 2007: 122).

In his sermon Abbot Peter, the Venerable of Cluny, said that the Jews are even worse than the Muslims or the Saracens. They are the people of God but in reality they are the enemy of God. One of the writers reported that the Crusaders “held Jews, heretics and Muslims, all of whom they called enemies of God, equally detestable” (Cohen, 1999: 427).

The Hypocrites

In Psalm 26:4, the psalmist expresses his refusal to associate with deceitful men and hypocrites. The word ālam used here can be understood as referring to those who are “hidden” or “concealed” in their intentions or character. It signifies individuals who mask their true nature and purposes from others, and in this context, it denotes hypocrites.

The psalmist’s stance reflects a desire to distance himself from individuals who engage in deceit and hypocrisy. This verse highlights the psalmist’s commitment to integrity and his refusal to engage in relationships or activities that involve dishonesty or pretense.

Another characteristic of hypocrites is telling lies, which is a common characteristic of the enemies in the Psalms. Psalm 5:6 speaks about “those who speak falsehood”, also “the man of bloodshed and deceit.” Psalm 31:18 talks about “lying lips” and Psalm 12:3 about “flattering lips”.

The hypocrites also assume that God is not aware of what they are doing. In Psalm 42:10, the psalmist complains about his enemies who mock him all day saying, “Where is your God?”. Psalm 79, in a similar way mentions the foreign nations who mock the people of God and say, “Where is their God?” (v.10). Psalm 115:2 talks about a similar mockery where the nations mock “Where, now, is their God?”.

During Crusades, the people accused as hypocritical were the Jews. Bernard of Clairvaux wrote:

Bernard of Clairvaux also used metaphor of fig trees to describe the hypocrite Jews: “Perhaps denoting the hypocrites, they have the appearance of good figs, but only in their likeness, not their taste” (Cohen, 1999: 226).

Peter the Venerable argued that violence against hypocrites was even more justifiable than the use of force against infidels. He posed the question of whom it would be better to fight: the pagan who does not know God or the Christian who, while confessing Him in words, acts against Him in reality. According to Peter the Venerable, it would be preferable to confront the Christian who knows the truth and is aggressive, rather than the ignorant and blasphemous individual (Riley-Smith, 2008: 16, 17).

To Reinforce Belief

Lament Psalms were employed to strengthen the faith and conviction of the Crusaders. By referencing these psalms, they sought to reaffirm their religious identity and purpose, seeing themselves as defenders of the faith in the face of perceived threats.

Campaigns against the infidels or pagans forced the imposition of a Christian society (Sanmark, 2003: 34). Though the majority view during the Crusades was that non-Christians should not be forced to accept Christian faith or to be baptized, there were people who believed that vengeance and forcible conversion were justified against those who denied Christian faith and government (Riley-Smith, 2009: 10, 11).

In the second Crusade (1147–1149), one of the obvious goals was not to displace infidels but to convert them by the sword (Madden, 2013: 54). Bernard of Clairvaux argued that the heretic must be taken seriously, not only with arms but also with argument in order to convert them into the Christian faith. He said, “faith is to be produced by persuasion, not imposed by force.” He used the illustration of the vine to strengthen his argument that is taken from Cant 2:15: “the little foxes that spoil the vines should be taken, not by force of arms, but by force of argument.” However, if they refused to repent, Bernard of Clairvaux agreed, “that he should be driven away, or even a restraint put upon his liberty, rather than that he should be allowed to spoil the vines” (Sanna, 2011: 27).

The Jews also endured persecution when they were forced to “kiss the sword” of Christ, or be put to death by that sword (Boteach, 1995: 251). However, Bernard of Clairvaux was against the killing of the Jews, he lamented their unbelief and hoped for their repentance, “’Not for their destruction I pray’ (Ps 58:12) and ‘When the fullness of the Gentiles shall have come in, then all Israel will be saved’ [Rom 11:26]’” (McGuire, 2011: 53).

To Emphasize the Sinfulness of the Enemies

During the Crusades, Lament Psalms, such as Psalm 79, were employed to highlight the perceived sins and wickedness of the enemies. By emphasizing these aspects, the Crusaders sought to dehumanize their opponents and morally justify their military actions against them.

Psalm 79, frequently quoted during the Crusades, expresses anger and grief over the loss of Jerusalem and its temple (Brueggemann and Bellinger. Jr, 2014: 344). The psalmist begins by describing the wickedness of the invading enemies who defiled and ruined the sacred temple, causing great despair. The aftermath of this tragedy is portrayed through the depiction of God’s servants’ bodies lying exposed in the open without proper burial, highlighting the cruel nature of the enemies. The shame experienced by God’s people further intensifies their pain, as they are insulted and mocked by their enemies (Rong, 2013: 157).

Verse 7 of the psalm provides a reason for why God should act and punish these enemies, as they have completely devastated Israel. This verse serves to reinforce the moral justification for the Crusaders’ military actions, viewing their opponents as deserving of divine punishment due to their perceived sins and wickedness (DeClaissé-Walford et al., 2014: 628). By invoking Lament Psalms such as Psalm 79, Psalm 74, and Psalm 83, the Crusaders aimed to emphasize the perceived wickedness and atrocities committed by their enemies. These psalms provided a religious and moral framework for the Crusaders to view their opponents as morally inferior and deserving of punishment.

The Crusaders saw parallels between the situations described in the psalms and their own circumstances, particularly when Jerusalem was under the control of the Islamic army. Pope Urban II, in his sermon, referenced the occupation of Jerusalem by the Muslim army and linked it to the events experienced by the psalmist in Psalm 79 (Anderson and Bellenger, 2013: 89). This connection reinforced the Crusaders’ belief that they were engaged in a righteous cause and that their enemies deserved divine retribution (Foss, 1998: 35).

Other Lament Psalms, such as Psalm 74 and Psalm 83, were also commonly used by the Crusaders. These psalms lamented the arrogance and audacity of the enemies, describing the damage they had caused to sacred spaces and the desire to destroy them completely (Chazan, 2000: 64).

By using the imprecations in the Lament Psalms, the Crusaders identified themselves with the psalmist who cried out for help from God. They employed the descriptions of the enemies in the psalms to create a parallel between the psalmist’s situation and their own, reinforcing their conviction that they were defending God from the attack of evil enemies. These psalms served to promote war and convince the Crusaders that their military campaign was a just war.

In sum, the Crusaders utilized Lament Psalms to emphasize the perceived wickedness of their enemies, dehumanize them, and morally justify their own military actions as a response to these perceived threats. These psalms provided a religious and moral framework for the Crusaders, strengthening their conviction in the righteousness of their cause.

To Stimulate the Spirit of Victimhood

During the Crusades, Lament Psalms were utilized to evoke a sense of victimhood among the Crusaders. By identifying themselves as victims of oppression, persecution, or sacrilege, the Crusaders aimed to rally support and empathy for their cause. This manipulation of lament and victimhood has been discussed by Elias Canetti, who noted that a “lamenting pack” can easily transform into a “war pack,” as lamentation in a religious context often legitimizes acts of violence and revenge (Canetti, 1984: 139, 143).

The leaders and victims of the Crusades employed pious speeches that emphasized their suffering and injustice in order to provoke the crowd and gain their support. By framing themselves as victims, they sought to convince others that they cared for their well-being and that they were defending them from the enemies. This tactic appealed to the emotions of the crowd, flattered them, and persuaded them to stand firm in their convictions, even if it meant engaging in war (Canetti, 1984: 52).

While the psalmists in the Lament Psalms saw themselves as victims of unjust persecution, their laments were limited to prayers directed towards God and did not incite political conflicts. However, the Crusaders interpreted these Psalms not only as prayers but also as calls to fight. They failed to recognize that the psalmist in the Psalms was the sole victim, and instead perceived God as a victim who needed to be defended. Consequently, lament in the era of the Crusades easily transformed into a “war pack”.

Various Lament Psalms were quoted by the Crusaders to emphasize their sense of victimhood. Psalm 109:25, expressing the psalmist’s experience of derision and scorn, was frequently cited (Read, 2014: 18, 19). Other Lament Psalms, such as Psalm 137, Psalm 58, and Psalm 42, were used to reinforce the perception of oppression and persecution suffered by the Crusaders. They applied these Psalms to their own circumstances, expressing their despair, horror, and sorrow (McGuire, 2011: 250). The use of these Psalms aimed to further consolidate the sense of victimhood and to legitimize the Crusaders’ cause in the eyes of their supporters.

In summary, the Crusaders strategically employed Lament Psalms to evoke a sense of victimhood among themselves and their supporters. By emphasizing their perceived suffering, they aimed to gain empathy and rally support for their cause. These Lament Psalms were interpreted not only as prayers but also as calls to fight, further justifying their military actions.

To Promote War

The Crusaders used the psalms of lamentation to promote and justify the continuation of the Crusades. The psalmists often depicted God as a warrior and used battlefield imagery in their prayers. While the commands or pleas to fight in the Psalms were originally intended as metaphors within the context of prayers, the Crusaders interpreted them literally in their own political context to support their war efforts. The Crusaders believed that the Crusade was a sacred war fought on behalf of God. The Church even promised the Crusaders great rewards both on earth and in heaven for their participation.

The function of Lament Psalms in promoting war during the Crusades can be observed in the speeches delivered to rally Christians to join the conflict. For example, Bernard of Clairvaux, in one of his influential speeches, called upon Christians to fight using language drawn from the Psalms. He urged them to take up their bucklers as protection in battle, reminiscent of the plea in Psalm 35 where the psalmist asked God to rise up and help with shield and buckler. Bernard sought to convince his audience that the Crusade was a holy war and that God would reward them for their repentance through victories over the infidels (Copeland et al., 2012: 63).

Bernard of Clairvaux also referenced Psalm 58 when praising the Templars, suggesting that Christ found glory in the death of infidels. He quoted verses 10:10, stating, “The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. So that a man shall say, ‘verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is God that judgeth in the earth’” (Morton, 2014: 147).

Psalm 79 was frequently employed by the Crusaders, as it resonated with their situation. In this prayer, the psalmist asked the Lord to exact sevenfold punishment on their neighbors for their abuse. The Crusaders recognized the parallels between the psalmist’s circumstances and their own (Chazan, 2000: 68).

Furthermore, the Crusaders used Psalm 18:37 and 18:42 to depict the boasting of their enemies and their own anticipated victory. They sang Psalm 18:42 as they rode into battle, proclaiming their confidence that they would bring their enemies to nothing, like dust in the streets (G.A. Loud, 2013: 163).

During the Crusades, anti-Jewish sentiments were prevalent among the Crusaders, and they employed slogans derived from Psalm 83:5, such as “Let us take vengeance upon them. Let us wipe them out as a nation; Israel’s name will be mentioned no more,” in their war against the Jews (Chazan, 2000: 63).

Overall, the Crusaders drew upon imprecatory Lament Psalms to promote and justify their ongoing campaigns. They used these Psalms to reinforce the notion of a righteous war fought for God’s cause and to instill religious fervor and determination among their ranks.