Dear Jessalynn,
I confess to an interest in this myself, now you mention it, since it
could be useful background material to my (intermittent!) work on
army chaplains in a later period. The following references may be
helpful to you.
I looked at E. Hallam (ed.), *Chronicles of the Crusades* (London,
1989) and found a reference to Roger of Calabria's conquest of Sicily
to reclaim it from the Muslims in the 1060s. The chronicler
of the campaign (a monk named Geoffrey of Malaterra) tells us that
Roger's army was victorious at Cerami in 1063: the two armies faced
each other for three days; on the morning of the fourth, Roger's men
made their confessions, received priestly absolution [but where did
the priests come from?] and went into battle.
Also, in L. & J. Riley-Smith, *The Crusades: Ideas and Reality, 1095-
1274* (London, 1981) it is recorded (p.161) that a code of conduct
drawn up in 1147 required weekly confession and Holy Communion every
Sunday, as well as a priest in every ship. In this respect, it may
be worth looking at Gordon Taylor's *The Sea Chaplains* (Oxford [but
not OUP], 1977).
Regards.
Mark Harris
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Mark Harris
S-mail: Finance Division, University of London, Room 255, Senate
House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Tel: 0171-636 8000 x 3488
Fax: 0171-637 0692
"The reason of a thing is not to bee inquired after till you are
sure the thing it selfe bee soe. Wee comonly are att *What's
the reason of it?* before wee are sure of the thing."
John Selden (1584-1654), _Table Talk_
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