Jerusalem and the Cross in the Life and Writings of Ademar of Chabannes

Studies in the History of Christian

Traditions

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VOLUME 181

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Jerusalem and the Cross in the
Life and Writings of Ademar of
Chabannes

By

Daniel F. Callahan

LEIDEN | BOSTON
Cover illustration: St. Cybard and Ademar by Ademar of Chabannes, courtesy of Bibliothque Nationale de
France (Latin 3784, folio 99v).

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Callahan, Daniel F., 1939- author.

Title: Jerusalem and the cross in the life and writings of Ademar of
Chabannes / by Daniel F. Callahan.
Description: Boston : Brill, 2016. | Series: Studies in the history of
Christian traditions, ISSN 1573-5664 ; VOLUME 181 | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016000350 | ISBN 9789004298101 (hardback : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Admar, de Chabannes, 988-1034. |
Benedictines--France--Limousin--Biography. | Monastic and religious
life--France--Limousin--History--Middle Ages, 600-1500. | Limousin
(France)--Church history. | Jerusalem. | Jesus Christ--Crucifixion.
Classification: LCC BX4705.A2544 C35 2016 | DDC 274.4/6603092--dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc
.gov/2016000350

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Contents

Prefacevii
List of Illustrations and Maps ix
Abbreviationsx

1 Background: The Attraction of Jerusalem for Pilgrims in the Tenth and

Eleventh Centuries1

2 Ademar of Chabannes: His Life and Writings18

3 Ademar on the Celebration of the Cross by Constantine, Heraclius,

Charlemagne40

4 Jerusalem Pilgrims from the West Frankish Kingdom in the Tenth and
Early Eleventh Centuries in Ademars Writings70

5 Ademars Alpha Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross89

6 Ademars Omega Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross114

7 Ademars Own Pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1033 andHis Death159

8 Conclusion180

Appendix185
Bibliography188
Index204


Preface

Ademar of Chabannes and I first met in 1965 in David Herlihys seminars on

the Gregorian reform and feudalism. My focus was on the monasteries of
Aquitaine, on which subject I eventually wrote my dissertation. Although
Professor Herlihy emphasized the central importance of monastic cartularies
for understanding the Church in the 10th and 11th centuries, there was no way
I could ignore the works of Ademar, the most prolific writer of this period in
France south of the Loire River, whose many manuscripts are the largest num-
ber we now have from any one individual of the early Middle Ages.
Working on such material was not my expectation when I arrived in Madison
that year. I had expected to continue work begun at Boston College with
Professors John Cox and William Daly, where I did research on the Church in
England in the early and central Middle Ages, with particular attention paid to
the origins and rise of private auricular confession. At Wisconsin my interest
shifted to the Continent and to the Church in the material world. Ademars
many writings proved to be an unexpected find, with many of his manuscrips
not yet edited or translated. It has taken fifty years to produce this study
because of his wide-ranging interests and because his reliability was often in
doubt.
My dissertation on the monasteries of Aquitaine was written primarily from
an alpha perspective, with its focus on the involvement of the Church in the
world and with the accumulation of wealth and property. It failed to give much
attention to the omega or apocalyptic mentality of that period. It was not until
I met in Paris in the early 1980s a young Princeton graduate student, Richard
Landes, who was also working on the writings of Ademar, that I came to appre-
ciate how important this perspective was in the 10th and 11th centuries.
I increasingly came to agree with the intellectual perspective of Alphandry,
Erdmann, and Delaruelle on the complex motivations behind the Crusades,
both omega and alpha. But especially the writings of Ademar convinced me of
the pivotal nature of the 10th and 11th centuries for the changing attitude
toward the material world. These two centuries witnessed a svolta or offer a
cardo, a hinge, a theme I hope to explore to a much greater extent in my para-
chutist study of Jerusalem and the rise of Western civilization as a comple-
ment to the present work, that of a truffle hunter who has not previously
spelled out his perspective.
A special salute is owed to the many individuals who have given much of
their careers to a study of Ademars writings from various angles and perspec-
tives. Especially valuable have been the studies of the art of Ademar, be it
viii Preface

illustrations, such as the writings of Danielle Gaborit-Chopin have examined,

or music, as in the writings of James Grier, or in the essays of Robert Lee Wolff
on Ademar as an historian or the many earlier studies of Ademar as an histo-
rian by Louis Saltet, Leopold Delisle, or Jean Vezin. Also of fundamental assis-
tance through their comments or support have been my many colleagues in
my fifty years in the history department, or interdisciplinary specialists, such
as those in English or foreign languages, and especially Professor Lawrence
Nees from art history, the many members of the Delaware Valley Medieval
Society, and the many medievalists who gather each May at Kalamazoo and
the many medieval graduate students with whom I have worked over many
years who have received their PhD here, such as Michael Frassetto and John
Hosler. Also deserving special mention are the many undergraduates, particu-
larly in the Honors Program, who received reseach grants and whose senior
theses I directed. An excellent example is Matthew Gabriele, who wrote his
senior thesis on Charlemagne as the Last Emperor and subsequently went on
to Berkeley for his PhD and is now a medieval historian at Virginia Tech. Special
thanks also goes to Nicholas Markellos, who read this manuscript and made
helpful suggestions, and especially to Jay Rubenstein, who read the whole book
and made many valuable comments on ways it could be updated and who
especially viewed its apocalyptic perspective as particularly valuable. This is
but a very partial list of those to whom I am indebted for this book. And finally
there is the group who made the greatest contribution to the completion, my
family: my wife, Kari; daughter, Kate; and sons, Matthew and Michael, without
whose patience, kindness, and words of support the book would never have
been completed. Thank you all.


List of Illustrations and Maps

On the cover: St. Cybard and Ademar by Ademar of Chabannes, courtesy of

Bibliothque Nationale de France (Latin 3784, folio 99v)

List of Illustrations

1 Ademars Charlemagne37
2 The Crucifixion38
3 The Deposition of Christ from the Cross39

List of Maps

1 France in the early eleventh century ad108

2 Jerusalem at the time of the crusades109
3 Islam and the two Christendoms about 800 ad110111
4 The Mediterranean world at the time of the first crusade112113


Abbreviations

aa ss Acta Sanctorum
ab Analecta Bollandiana
ad Archiv fr Diplomatik
am Annales de Midi
An Annales
bcths Bulletin du Comit des travaux historiques et scientifiques
bhl Bibliotheca Hagiographica Latina
ble Bulletin de litterature ecclsiastique
bm Bibliothque mridionale
bmgs Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies
bn Bibliothque Nationale
bsaf Bulletin de la Socit des antiquaires de France
bsahl Bulletin de la socit archologique et historique du Limousin
byz Byzantion
ca Cahiers archologiques
cccm Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Mediaevalis
ccm Cahiers de Civilisation Mdivale
ccsl Corpus Christianorum Series Latina
daem Deutsches Archiv fr Erforschung des Mittelalters
def Dictionnaire des glises de France
dma Dictionary of the Middle Ages
eeq East European Quarterly
Fr Francia
H History
H.Ez. Homilies on Ezechiel
hr/rh Historical Reflections/Rflexions Historiques
hsj The Haskins Society Journal
hz Historische Zeitschrift
iemc Institut dtudes du Massif Central
jeh The Journal of Ecclesiastical History
jmh Journal of Medieval History
jts Journal of Theological Studies
ma Le moyen ge
mbmfr Mnchener Beitrge zur Medivistik und Renaissance-Forschung
mgh Monumenta Germaniae Historica
mghe Monumenta Germaniae Historica Epistolae
mghs Monumenta Germaniae Historica Schriften
A bbreviations xi

mghss Monumenta Germaniae Historica Scriptores

mgh SSrerMer. Monumenta Germaniae Historica Scriptores Rerum Merovingicarum
ms Mediaeval Studies
msao Mmoires de la socit des antiquaries de lOuest
na Neues Archiv
nebn Notices et extraits de la Bibliothque Nationale
pg Patrologia Graeca
pl Patrologia Latina
rb Revue bndictine
rbm Revue Belge de Musicologie
rbph Revue belge de philology et dhistoire
reb Revue des Etudes Byzantines
rh Revue historique
rhg Recueil des Historiens des Gaules
rq Rmische Quartalschrift
rqh Revue des questions historiques
rr The Romaine Review
rsci Rivista di Storia della Chiesa in Italia
rsjb Recueils de la Socit Jean Bodin
rsr Recherches de science religieuse
rtam Recherches de thologie ancienne et medieval
San Sandalion
sass  La storiografia altomedievale. Settimane di studio del centro ital-
iano di studi sullalto medioevo
sc Scrittura et Civilta
sci Settimane del Centro italiano di studi sull alto medioevo
Scr Scriptorium
sg Studia Gratiana
shm Sources d Histoire Mdivale
shr Spode House Review
sm Studia Monastica
smrh Studies in Medieval and Renaissance History
Sp Speculum
tg Tijdschrift voor geschiedenis
Tr Traditio
Voss Vossianus
 chapter 1

Background: The Attraction of Jerusalem for

Pilgrims in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries

At this time an innumerable multitude of people from the whole world,

greater than any man before could have hoped to see, began to travel to
the Sepulchre of the Saviour at Jerusalem. First to go were the petty peo-
ple, then those of middling estate, and next the powerful, kings, counts,
marquesses, and bishops; finally, and this was something which had
never happened before, numerous women, noble and poor, undertook
the journey. Many wished to die there before they returned to their own
lands. When some consulted the more watchful of the age as to what
was meant by so many people, in numbers unheard-of in earlier ages,
going to Jerusalem, some replied cautiously enough that it could portend
nothing other than the advent of the accursed Anti-Christ who, accord-
ing to divine testimony, is expected to appear at the end of the world.
Then a way would be opened for all peoples to the east where he would
appear, and all nations would march against him without delay. In fact
then will be fulfilled that prophecy of the Lord, that even the elect will, if
it is possible, fall into temptation. (Matt. 24:24 For there shall arise false
Christs and false prophets and shall show great signs and wonders, inso-
much as to deceive, if possible, even the elect.) We will speak no further
of this matter, but we do not deny that the pious labours of the faithful
will be then rewarded and paid for by the Just Judge.1

1 Rodulfi Glabri, Historiarum Libri Quinque, ed. and trans. John France (Oxford, 1989) in the
Oxford Medieval Texts series, book 4, Chapter 6 (18 and 21), pp. 198201 and 20405, Per idem
tempus ex universo orbe tam innumerabilis multitudo cepit confluere ad sepulchrum
Salvatoris Iherosolimis quantam nullus hominum prius sperare poterat. Primitus enim ordo
inferioris plebis, deinde vero mediocres, post hec permaximi quique reges et comites, mar-
chiones ac presules, ad ultimum vero, quod numquam contigerat, mulieres multe nobiles
cum pauperioribus illuc perrexere. Pluribus enim erat mentis desiderium mori priusquam ad
propria reverterentur. Preterea, dum quidam de sollitioribus, qui eo tempore habebantur,
consulti a pluribus fuissent quid tantus populorum concursus ad Iherosolimam designaret,
olim seculi inauditus preteriti, responsum est a quibusdam satis caute non aliud portendere
quam adventum illius perditi Antichristi, qui circa finem seculi istius, divina testante aucto-
ritate, prestolatur affuturus. Tuncque gentibus universis via orientis plage, unde venturus
est, patefacta, obviam illi cuncte nationes incunctanter sint processure, revera ut illud

koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 6|doi 10.1163/9789004313682_002

2 chapter 1

This passage is one of the most famous from Ralph Glabers Histories and
reflects in a succinct manner his millennial focus on 1000 and 1033, especially
in books 3 and 4 of the work.2 Yet the image also is intended to recall the pro-
nouncement of Isaiah in Chapter 2 of his Old Testament prophecy:

In the days to come the mountain of the Temple of Yahweh shall tower
above the mountains and be lifted higher than the hills. All the nations
will stream to it, peoples without number will come to it, and they will
say: Come, let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the Temple of the
God of Jacob that he may teach us his ways so that we may walk in his
paths; since the Law will go out from Zion, and the oracle of Yahweh from
Jerusalem. He will wield authority over the nations and adjudicate
between many peoples: these will hammer their swords into plowshares,
their spears into sickles. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, there
will be no more training for war.3
isa. 2:24

The text in Isaiah probably shares the same source as Micah 4:14, which is very
similar to that in Isaiah but which concludes in its fourth verse, Each man will
sit under his vine and under his fig tree, with no one to trouble him. The mouth
of Yahweh Sabaoth has spoken it. Much of the fourth chapter of Micah contin-
ues to focus on the last days and the triumph of Yahweh [who will] reign over
them on the mountain of Zion from now and for ever. (See v. 7.) Thus, there is
a scriptural basis for the movement of all nations to Jerusalem in the last days.
But were the growing numbers travelling to Jerusalem in the period between
950 and the end of the 11th century going because they expected the end of the
world to occur at that time? Is there clear evidence that it was expectations of
the Last Days that were then causing the pilgrims from the West to travel to the
Holy Land? Were these visitors expecting to encounter the Antichrist? These
questions have been answered in varying ways over the past few centuries.4

d ominicum adimpleatur presagium, quoniam tunc in temptationem incident, si fieri potest,

etiam electi. Huius hic meta verbi, ceterum non negamus devotum laborem fidelium exinde
premium seu mercedem percipere a iusto Iudice.
2 See John Frances comments on these foci in the introduction to his edition of the work on
pp. xxxvii and lxiii-lxx, particularly the note on p. lxiv, There is no hint in any of this that
Glaber had expected the world to end at either of the millennia.
3 All biblical citations are from A. Jones, ed., The Jerusalem Bible (London, 1966). For a useful
analysis of this passage, see O. Kaiser, Isaiah 112: A Commentary, The Old Testament Library
(Philadelphia, 1972), pp. 2429.
4 See on the expectations of the arrival of the Antichrist c.1000, B. McGinn, Antichrist: Two
Thousand Years of the Human Fascination with Evil (New York, 1994), especially pp. 99109,
Background 3

Many of the Romantics of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, such as
the great writer Jules Michelet, had vividly detailed the horrors of the year
1000, the panic, the suffering, and the mass flight to Jerusalem to await the
end. It was a universal belief in the middle ages, that the world was to end
with the year 1000. He continues on in this first chapter of the fourth book
of his history of France to consider the calamities and terrors of the period
with such statements as: This dreadful hope of the last judgment increased
amidst the calamities that preceded the year 1000, or that closely followed
it. It seemed as if the order of the seasons were inverted, and that the ele-
ments followed new laws.5 When Christ did not return at that time, many
of the followers of this school of thought saw the rise of Western civilization
as the result.6
The scientific historians would have none of this. Their rationalist approach
to history, the product of late 19th-century ideas originating in seminars in
German universities, refuted the depiction of the millennial fears in the writ-
ings of the Romantics, which were essentially a product of their overheated
imaginations.7 Historians like the renowned French scholar Ferdinand Lot

and B. McGinn, Visions of the End: Apocalyptic Traditions in the Middle Ages (New York, 1979),
pp. 8890. See also R. Emmerson, Antichrist in the Middle Ages: A Study of Medieval
Apocalypticism, Art, and Literature (Seattle, 1981), especially pp. 5354. More recently see the
many essays in R. Landes, A. Gow, and D. Van Meter, eds. The Apocalyptic Year 1000: Religious
Expectation and Social Change (Oxford, 2003), and in M. Frassetto, ed., The Year 1000: Religious and
Social Response to the Turning of the First Millennium (New York, 2002). Of much value on this
movement to Jerusalem in this period is S. Schein, Gateway to the Heavenly City: Crusader
Jerusalem and the Catholic West (10991187) (Burlington, Vt., 2005).
5 J. Michelet, The History of France, trans. W.K. Kelly (London, 1844), vol. 1 of 2, pp. 336 and 338.
For a thoughtful, sympathetic reconsideration of Michelet as a historian from an annalist
perspective, see J. Le Goff, Le Moyen Age de Michelet, in J. Le Goff, Pour un autre Moyen Age:
Temps, travail et culture en Occident: 18 essais (Paris, 1977), pp. 1945. His fascination with
death likely played a significant role in drawing this powerful presentation from his pen, as it
would do for later troubled periods of French history. On his preoccupation with death and
decay, see the edition of his journal which its editor and translator, E. Kaplan, entitles Mother
Death, The Journal of Jules Michelet 18151840 (Amherst, Mass., 1984).
6 For a brief recent overview of the importance of the year 1000 for Michelet and other
Romantics, see P. Bernstein, Terror in a.d. 1000? (What Really Happened 1,000 Years Ago),
in The 21st Century, ed. H.D. Claggett (New York, 1999), pp. 311, especially 57.
7 Still of much value on the origins and development of the scientific school of history of
Leopold von Ranke and his German successors is the overview in H.E. Barnes, A History of
Historical Writing (Norman, Okla., 1938), pp. 24553. For more recent evaluations, see
A. Marwick, The Nature of History, 3rd ed. (Chicago, 1989), pp. 3947, and the numerous com-
ments on von Ranke and his school in Q.E. Wang and F.L. Fillafer, eds., The Many Faces of Clio:
Cross-cultural Approaches to Historiography (New York, 2007).
4 chapter 1

wanted to know where the evidence for this picture of terror was found.8 As far
as historians like Lot were concerned, the documentation was flimsy to the
extreme. Yes, the Burgundian chronicler Ralph Glaber offered some material for
this view, but what other data exist?9 Where was the evidence on the fears in the
chronicle of Ademar of Chabannes, Glabers contemporary in the 11th century?10
During the past forty years a growing interest in medieval apocalypticism,
much of it originating in the serious study of this aspect of scripture and in the
pioneering efforts of such historians as Marjorie Reeves, Norman Cohn, Paul
Alexander, Bernard McGinn, and so many others, has resulted in a new appre-
ciation of the medieval mindset, especially during the Benedictine centuries,
and called into question the perspective of a narrow scientific history.11
Particularly valuable on the relationship of the calendar to the apocalyptic
sense of living in the last times has been the work of Richard Landes, especially
his article Lest the Millennium be Fulfilled, in which he traces the changing
calculation for the millennial year 6000.12 Unfortunately, the millennial wave
that grew with the proximity of the year 2000 and resulted in a large number of
popular histories on the terrors of the year 1000, some particularly sensa-
tional, undermined the efforts of serious historians who sought to show the
reality and the degree of the millennial fears occurring in conjunction with
1000 and 1033.13 It is one of the purposes of this book to examine what addi-
tional light the writings and the life of Ademar of Chabannes throw on the
reality of these fears in the early 11th century, especially drawing on his final
manuscripts, much of which material has not yet been published.14

8 See especially F. Lot, Naissance de la France, ed. J. Boussard (Paris, 1970), pp. 66970. See
also F. Lot, Le mythe des terreurs de lan mille, in Recueil des travaux historiques de
Ferdinand Lot, vol. 1 (Paris, 1968), pp. 398414. For Lot on Michelet, pp. 40910.
9 Ibid., p. 404.
10 Ibid., p. 406.
11 In particular, see the writings of Bernard McGinn, Apocalypticism in the Western Tradition,
Variorum Collected Studies Series cs 430 (Aldershot, 1994), and Antichrist.
12 R. Landes, Lest the Millennium Be Fulfilled: Apocalyptic Expectations and the Pattern of
Western Chronography, 100800 c.e., in The Use and Abuse of Eschatology in the Middle
Ages, eds. W. Verbeke, D. Verhelst, and A. Welkenhuysen, Mediaevalia Lovaniensia, series
1, studia 15 (Leuven, 1988), pp. 141211. The many writings of Richard Landes on the impor-
tance of millennial expectations have been invaluable in laying the foundations for this
book. His works are especially important for understanding Western developments in the
10th and 11th centuries, but also on the years before and after this time period.
13 Two recent useful collections of serious historical studies on the year 1000 are Landes,
Gow, and Van Meter, The Apocalyptic Year 1000, and Frassetto, The Year 1000.
14 For what has been published, the place to begin is P. Bourgain and I. Pars, eds., Ademari
Cabannensis Opera Omnia, in the cccm, with the first book, vol. 129 in the series Ademari
Cabannensis Chronicon, eds. R. Landes and G. Pon (Turnhout, 1999).
Background 5

But before examining the material of Ademar it is important to return to

Glabers picture of the pilgrims to Jerusalem in order to ascertain possible
motivations other than millennial fears. His work, like that of Ademar, is filled
with images of pilgrims, figures of prominence and individuals otherwise
unknown to history, who travel to the holy city in increasing numbers in this
time period. It is not necessary to cite millennial fears as an explanation for the
journeys of such personages as Duke Robert i of Normandy, Count Fulk Nerra
of Anjou, or Bishop Ulrich of Orlans, yet the motivation of each merits
consideration.
The pilgrimage of Duke Robert i of Normandy took place in 1035 and was
surprising for many reasons.15 Even though he was accompanied by many lay
and ecclesiastical nobles from the duchy individuals whose expenses he
seems to have paid political conditions there were far from stable, and he left
a seven-year-old illegitimate son, William, albeit the future Conqueror, to be
his successor should he not return.16 One very likely motivation for his pilgrim-
age, which would indeed explain its immediate necessity in his mind, is that
Duke Robert was doing public penance for the murder of his brother Richard,
whom he had killed in order to obtain ducal control of Normandy.17
If Robert of Normandy felt the necessity of undertaking a penitential pil-
grimage, the same could be said of another figure about whom Glaber tells us,
Count Fulk Nerra of Anjou, neighbor and belligerent foe of the Normans.18
Glaber states, When he (Fulk) had shed much blood in many battles in many
places, he was driven by fear of hell to go to our Saviours sepulchre at
Jerusalem.19 On his return from this 1003 pilgrimage, likely his first to Jerusalem,
he decided to build the monastery at Loches, where he would eventually be
buried after his death in 1040.20 As for the motivation for his pilgrimages to

15 Glaber, Historiarum 4.6 (20), pp. 20205. Also see my piece Jerusalem in the Monastic
Imaginations of the Early Eleventh Century, hsj 6 (1994), 11927.
16 On this point, see D.C. Douglas, William the Conqueror (Berkeley, 1966), pp. 3137;
E. Searle, Predatory Kinship and the Creation of Norman Power, 8401066 (Berkeley, 1988),
pp. 15354; and D. Bates, William the Conqueror (London, 1989), pp. 2225.
17 Callahan, Jerusalem in the Monastic Imaginations, p. 119.
18 B. Bachrach, Fulk Nerra, the Neo-Roman Consul, 9871040: A Political Biography of the
Angevin Count (Berkeley, 1993), especially pp. 22728 and 24344. See also his essay The
Pilgrimages of Fulk Nerra, Count of the Angevins, 9871040, in Religion, Culture and
Society in the Early Middle Ages: Studies in Honor of Richard Sullivan, eds. T. Noble and
J. Contreni (Kalamazoo, Mich., 1987), pp. 20517.
19 Glaber, Historiarum 2.4 (5), p. 60. Cum enim circumquaque in diversis preliorum eventi-
bus plurimum humanum fudisset sanguinem, metu gehenne territus, sepulchrum
Salvatoris Hierosolimorum adiit.
20 On the establishment of Loches, see B. Bachrach, Pope Sergius iv and the Foundation of
the Monastery at Beaulieu-ls-Loches, rb 95 (1985), 24065.
6 chapter 1

Jerusalem being essentially penitential, it is likely that this was the case,
although as Bernard Bachrach points out, the reasons for these journeys were
likely quite complex.21
Yet another Jerusalem pilgrim who has a place of prominence in Glabers
Histories and who likely gave the inquisitive historian much information about
the holy city and pilgrimage experiences was Bishop Ulrich of Orlans, head of
that diocese from 1021 to c.1035.22 Glaber says that it was Ulrich who told him
about the miracle of the Holy Fire that was such an important part of the Easter
services in Jerusalem supposedly a miraculous lighting of the New Fire that
was viewed as a miracle by the pilgrims who witnessed it but which in actuality
was a clever stratagem employed by priests of the Holy Sepulcher.23 In the same
chapter Glaber mentions that Bishop Ulrich brought to the Capetian King Robert
ii a piece of the True Cross, which he had received from Emperor Constantine
viii (102528).24 The king had sent the emperor, through the agency of Ulrich on
this trip, a sword with a gold hilt and a golden reliquary with precious gems, gifts
that suggest that the journey was not only a pilgrimage to Jerusalem but a diplo-
matic mission to Constantinople.25 Thus, again, for this pilgrim it is not neces-
sary to posit a millennial or even apocalyptic motivation for the trip.
The desire for the Jerusalem pilgrimage of a certain Lethbald of Autun is
another matter. Clearly this individual went to the Holy Land with the hope, if
not the expectation, that he would die there. Glaber relates his story, given to
him by friends of the pilgrim, immediately after the passage at the beginning
of book 4, Chapter 6, on the stream of pilgrims to Jerusalem in 1033.26 Lethbald,
according to Glaber, went to the Mount of Olives, threw himself on the ground,
extended his arms in the form of a cross, and begged Christ that if this year
were to be his last that he might die in Jerusalem.27 Then Lethbald returned to

21 Bachrach, Pilgrimages of Fulk, especially p. 212.

22 See the introductory notes of John France to the Histories for more on this figure, espe-
cially pp. xxx, xlviii, liii, and lxvi.
23 Glaber, Histories 4.6 (19), pp. 20203. On the miracle of the Holy Fire, see note 2 on those
pages.
24 Ibid.
25 On this mission, see the comments of C. Pfister, tudes sur le rgne de Robert le Pieux
(9961031) (Paris, 1885), p. 353.
26 Glaber, Histories 4.6 (18), pp. 20001. It was this passage that began the present chapter.
27 Ibid., Domine Ihesu, qui propter nos de sede maiestatis tue ad terras descendere digna-
tus es, ut genus humanum salvares, quique ex hoc loco quem oculis intueor carne vestitus
remeasti ad celos veneras, obsecro tuam omnipotentissimam bonitatem ut, si hoc anno
est mea anima ex hoc corpore migratura, non hinc recedam sed in conspectu loci tue
ascensionis fieri contingat.
Background 7

his hostel and passed up the evening meal because he felt tired. Glaber indicates
that he did so with a smiling face (vultu alacris). He cried out in his sleep in
praise of God. Later he awoke, asked to receive the Eucharist as a sacred viati-
cum, and then died. As Glaber indicates, Truly he was free from that vanity
which inspires so many to undertake the journey simply to gain the prestige of
having been to Jerusalem.28
The episode of Lethbald offers many insights into a Western pilgrims mind
c.1033. As Glaber bears witness, surely being able to say in this period especially
that you had made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem would give you added prestige
for not only surviving the ordeal of the journey but especially for having walked
where Christ had walked. Yet as the episode of Lethbald makes clear, there
were individuals who wanted to be near the Mount of Olives for the return of
Christ, something true over many centuries, as evidenced by the many monks
dwelling in the Holy City in general but especially at the time of the millennial
years of 1000 and 1033.29 These points will receive much more attention later in
the book in the examination of Ademars writings and life.
In addition to pilgrims of prominence in Glabers writings, and those con-
sidered in Chapter 4 of this book who are drawn from Ademars works, the
pilgrimages of a number of other individuals of this period offer insight into
the complex motivation for undertaking so hazardous a journey. It was the
opening of a land route through the kingdom of St Stephen of Hungary in
the early 11th century, with the king as a strong supporter of this pilgrimage
and the pilgrims, that greatly encouraged many to undertake the journey who
otherwise might not have done so. Of King Stephen and this land route, Glaber
states,

At that time the Hungarians, who lived along the Danube, together with
their king, were converted to the faith of Christ. This king took the name
of Stephen at his baptism and became a good catholic; the aforemen-
tioned Emperor Henry [ii] gave him his sister in marriage. After that
almost all those from Italy and Gaul who wished to go to the Sepulcher of
the Lord at Jerusalem abandoned the usual route, which was by sea, mak-
ing their way through the country of King Stephen. He made the road safe
for everyone, welcomed as brothers all he saw, and gave them enormous

28 Ibid., Iste procul dubio liber a vanitate, ob quam multi proficiscuntur, ut solummodo
mirabiles habeantur de Iherosolimitano itinere
29 On this subject, J. Sumption, Pilgrimage: An Image of Medieval Religion (Totowa, n.j.,
1975), especially Chapter 8, The Great Age of Pilgrimage; and J. Wilkinson, Jerusalem
Pilgrims Before the Crusades (Warminster, Eng., 1977), particularly pp. 4243.
8 chapter 1

gifts. This action led many people, nobles and commoners, to go to

Jerusalem.30

The examples Glaber offers of specific pilgrims and Jerusalem pilgrimages

being welcomed by King Stephen bear witness to the importance of this open-
ing of a land route, although one must question how many pilgrims from Italy
would travel through Hungary.31
Among the largest and most important groups of Jerusalem pilgrims to use
the overland route was the group led by Abbot Richard of Saint-Vannes.
Ademar of Chabannes in his chronicle indicates that King Stephen gave Abbot
Richard and his many companions a warm welcome.32 Abbot of the promi-
nent monastery of Saint-Vannes in Verdun since 1004 and renowned for his
sanctity, particularly his devotion to the crucified Christ, Richard of Saint-
Vannes very much desired to travel to Jerusalem.33 As H. Dauphin points out in
his extraordinarily rich study of this Benedictine churchman, much of the
motivation for the pilgrimage came from his meditations on the Passion.34
This large pilgrimage, with estimates of as many as 700 in the company, left the
West in autumn 1026, was in Jerusalem for the Eastertide of 1027, and had
returned home by that June.35 The expenses for the members of the pilgrimage

30 Glaber, Histories 3.1 (2), pp. 9697. Ipso igitur tempore Vngrorum gens, que erat circa
Danubium, cum suo rege ad fidem Christi conversa est. Quorum regi, Stephano ex baptis-
mate vocato, decenterque Christianissimo, dedit memoratus imperator Henricus germa-
nam suam in uxorem. Tunc temporis ceperunt pene universi, qui de Italia et Galliis ad
sepulchrum Domini Iherosolimis ire cupiebant, consuetum iter quod erat per fretum
maris omittere, atque per huius regis patriam transitum habere. Ille vero tutissimam
omnibus constituit viam; excipiebat ut fratres quoscumque videbat, dabatque illis
immensa munera. Cuius rei gratia provocata innumerabilis multitudo tam nobilium
quam vulgi Iherosolimam abierunt.
31 See on this point, F. Micheau, Les itinraires maritimes et continentaux des plerinages
vers Jerusalem, Gle ebrei nellalto medioevo, sci 26 (Spoleto, 1980), pp. 79111. See also
Chapter 4 below.
32 Ademar, Chronicon 3.65, p. 184, Stephanus rex Ungriae cum omni honore eum suscepit et
muneribus ditavit.
33 H. Dauphin, Le bienheureux Richard, abb de Saint-Vanne de Verdun (Leuven, 1946),
pp. 5657.
34 Ibid., p. 281.
35 Ademar, Chronicon 3.6566, pp. 18487. Coepit iter agere mensis octobris primo die, et
pervenit in sanctam civitatem prima ebdomada mensis marcii, reversusque est tercia
ebdomada mensis junii ad propria. On the departure from the West, see Dauphin, Le
bienheureux Richard, note C, pp. 30608. On the unreliability of Hugh of Flavigny on the
number who went in Richards pilgrimage, Dauphin, Le bienheureux Richard, p. 285.
Background 9

seem to have been paid by Duke Richard ii of Normandy, who was a great
admirer of Abbot Richard and a major contributor to houses of religious in the
Holy Land.36 The pilgrims passed through Constantinople, where they received
gifts from Emperor Constantine viii and the Patriarch, including several pieces
of the True Cross for Abbot Richard.37
When in the Holy Land, the pilgrimage had arrived in Jerusalem in March 1027
and soon thereafter met its Patriarch.38 The pilgrims then participated in the
liturgical rites of Holy Week in the church of the Holy Sepulcher and witnessed
the miracle of the Holy Fire on Holy Saturday.39 Having received relics from the
Patriarch, possibly including another piece of the True Cross, Richard and his
companions left Jerusalem to visit other holy sites, including the Jordan River
and Bethlehem.40 They then departed from the Holy Land to return to the West.
The reports of pilgrims like Richard of Saint-Vannes and his companions
were not the only descriptions of the Holy Land that were appearing in the
West in this period. There were visitors from the East who knew Jerusalem well
who also whetted the appetite of Westerners for the trip to the tomb of Christ.41
Among such individuals were two Symeons the first is Symeon of Mantua
and the second is Symeon of Trier.
Symeon of Mantua was an Armenian whose very appearance caused those
who met him to recognize that he came from another world and must have
generated much curiosity about the differences.42 This monk, who had been
born in Armenia, had travelled extensively in the East, visiting the tomb of the
Lord in Jerusalem, where, according to his vita, he had performed miracles.
About the year 983 he arrived in Rome during the papacy of Benedict vii
andappeared in the Lateran when the pope was holding a gathering of many

36 Dauphin, Le bienheureux Richard, pp. 26263, especially 263, note 1, citing Hugh of
Flavigny. See also R.L. Wolff, How the News was brought from Byzantium to Angoulme;
or, The Pursuit of a Hare in an Ox Cart, bmgs 4 (1978), 186.
37 Dauphin, Le bienheureux Richard, p. 289, especially note 2, citing Hugh of Flavigny and
the Vita Richardi, chapter 27, p. 528.
38 Ibid., p. 291, notes 1 and 2.
39 Ibid., pp. 29193, especially note 1 on p. 292.
40 Ibid., pp. 29394.
41 For evidence of visitors from the eastern Mediterranean regions to the West in the 10th
and early 11th centuries, see K. Leyser, The Tenth Century in Byzantine-Western
Relationships, Chapter 5 of his Medieval Germany and its Neighbours 9001250 (London,
1982), esp. p. 120ff.
42 For a perceptive precis on this Symeon, see R.W. Southern, The Making of the Middle Ages
(New Haven, 1953), p. 70, and J. Ebersolt, Orient et Occident: Recherches sur les influences
byzantines et orientales en France avant et pendant les croisades, 2nd ed. (Paris, 1954), p. 55.
10 chapter 1

bishops. His strange appearance created quite a stir and even caused one of the
bishops to call him a Manichaean. In response Symeon professed the Nicene
Creed and gained the support of Pope Benedict and the bishops. From there
Symeon would resume his extensive travels in the West by journeying through-
out Italy, where he drew attention to himself by performing miracles and con-
verting Jews. His vita then has him travelling through southern Gaul to the
tomb of St James in Santiago de Compostela in Spain and then on to Britain; to
northern Gaul, where he visited the tomb of St Martin of Tours; and back to
Italy, where he eventually entered the monastery in Mantua. He would die
there in 1016, a man whose presence and knowledge aroused greatly the inter-
est of those he met.
The other Symeon seems to have made an even more telling impression in
the West.43 Symeon of Trier was born in Sicily of a Greek father and a mother
from Calabria sometime in the late 10th century, likely during the 980s. When
he was seven years old, his father brought him to Constantinople, where he
received a solid education. His vita by his disciple Eberwin has him later follow
some of the many pilgrims to the Holy Land via Constantinople. He eventually
became so knowledgeable about the Holy City that he became a guide there
for pilgrims, in which capacity he served for seven years. Symeon next was the
disciple of a hermit on the banks of the Jordan River. He then moved on to
become a monk at the monastery of St Mary in Bethlehem, where he remained
for several years. His spiritual odyssey next brought him to the monastery of
St Catherine at Mount Sinai, and thence after a couple of years to a cliff along
the Red Sea, where he lived as a hermit before returning to Sinai.
The monks of St Catherine later sent him to Normandy to receive a dona-
tion promised by Duke Richard ii, who, as previously seen, was a strong sup-
porter of pilgrims to the East and the places to which they were journeying.44
After a series of harrowing adventures on his travels he arrived in Antioch,
where he met the pilgrimage of Richard of Saint-Vannes. Symeon, after still
more dangerous experiences, would eventually reach Normandy via Rome and
Aquitaine, but he found that Duke Richard had died. Unable to collect the gift
for St Catherines, he went to Verdun to see Richard of Saint-Vannes. He subse-
quently joined the pilgrimage to Jerusalem of Archbishop Poppo of Trier in
1028. On their return to Trier he entered a small cell in the Porta Nigra in the
city walls, where he remained, pursuing an extremely ascetical life one that
made him well known in the region for his sanctity until his death in 1035.45

43 Wolff, How the News was brought, especially pp. 18386.

44 See above, p. for the dukes paying for the great pilgrimage of Richard of Saint-Vannes.
45 Wolff, How the News was brought, pp. 18586, for Symeons death and the church built
in the early 1040s to commemorate this truly extraordinary man. Wolffs long article is
invaluable on this figure, as it is on many aspects of the career of Ademar.
Background 11

The interest of the West in the Holy Land was aroused not only by individu-
als from the East but also by relics from Jerusalem and from the Holy Land via
Constantinople that significantly contributed to this growing awareness.46 The
swelling interest in the humanity of Christ meant that the remains of his close
followers in Jerusalem were also held with increasing regard. One need only
look at the cults of St James at Compostela and Mary Magdalene at Vezelay to
see how the growing popularity of their holy relics reflects this development.47
The rapid growth of the cult of the Virgin Mary also reflects this interest in the
humanity of her son, although relics of the Blessed Virgin were far more diffi-
cult to obtain. Churches and chapels dedicated to her were rising throughout
the West, many with objects brought from Jerusalem.48
The church of the Holy Sepulcher supplied many of the items so highly trea-
sured. Fulk Nerra brought back a piece of the church and a relic of the manger at
Bethlehem, while Bishop Ulrich of Orlans returned from Jerusalem with lamps
from the Holy Sepulcher with oil in them lit by the Holy Fire.49 In addition, if an
object from the church of the Holy Sepulcher was not enough, then a copy of the
church could be made from measurements taken in Jerusalem, as was the case
when Bishop Meinwerk of Paderborn constructed the replica in his see.50
If the relics from the associates of Christ and from the church of his burial
were highly prized, it is not surprising that most precious were the items
directly connected to the crucifix that had been covered with his blood, par-
ticularly the crown of thorns, the nails, and the wood of the Cross. Anatole
Frolows extremely helpful La Relique de la Vraie Croix lists over fifty such relics
received in the West, primarily sent from Jerusalem and Constantinople, in the
period between 950 and 1050.51 These would be added to the many pieces of
the Cross that already were in the West to increase greatly the interest in the
humanity of Christ and the places where he walked on the earth, and in so
doing promote the journey to the Holy City in the late 10th and 11th centuries.

46 See especially A. Bredero, Jerusalem in the West, in his Christendom and Christianity in
the Middle Ages: The Relations between Religion, Church, and Society, trans. R. Bruinsma
(Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1994), pp. 79104.
47 Bredero, Jerusalem in the West, p. 93.
48 A good example is one cited by Jonathan Riley-Smith in The First Crusaders, 10951131
(Cambridge, Eng., 1997), p. 32, when he mentions that Hervey, archdeacon of Orlans, in
the early 1030s established the priory of Notre-Dame de la Fert-Avrain to hold the relics
he had brought back from Jerusalem.
49 Ibid., p. 31.
50 For this point, Bredero, Jerusalem in the West, pp. 9495 on Meinwerks and other such
copies.
51 A. Frolow, La Relique de la Vraie Croix: Recherches sur le dveloppement dun culte (Paris,
1961).
12 chapter 1

Underlying the descriptions of the Holy Land by the returning pilgrims and
magnifying the importance of the sacred relics would be the scriptural con-
text, with its numerous references to Jerusalem, in which all of these actions
and material are set into the flow of sacred history. The rising of the civiliza-
tion of the West was at its core liturgical, in which monasticism was central
and the Bible was unquestionably The Book. As Dom Jean Leclercq pointed
out in his classic The Love of Learning and the Desire for God, the monastic
longing for the heavenly Jerusalem was fed by meditating on the scriptures
and in particular the Psalms, which were recited daily throughout the West in
the Divine Office.52
Psalm 137 would have special meaning for monks of any period, but it did so
especially around the year 1000, when so many pilgrims were journeying to the
Holy Land. The longing of verses 5 and 6, Jerusalem, if I forget you, may my
right hand wither. May I never speak again if I forget you! If I do not count
Jerusalem the greatest of my joys! surely called out to those reciting them. Also
verse 1, Besides the streams of Babylon we sat and wept at the memory of Zion,
would have taken on greater meaning after the destruction of the church of the
Holy Sepulcher in 1009 by al-Hakim, the caliph of Cairo, which was known in
the West in this period as Babylon, so closely associated with the Antichrist.53
The Psalms again and again return to the theme that the Lord dwells in Zion
(e.g. 9:11, 76:2, 74:2, and 135:21), and most particularly in the Temple (e.g. 84:1,
15:1, and 76:2). The Temple is that special place intended for the worship of God
(e.g. 68:29, 116:1719, and 24:1), among so many possible examples. The Jews
would go up to this place, as appears, for example, in Pss. 42:14 and 122:19.54
Yet it is especially Ps. 43:15 that expresses the protective nature of the place
and its occupant most clearly.

Defend me, take up my cause against people who have no pity; from the
treacherous and cunning man rescue me, God. It is you, God, who are my
shelter: why do you abandon me? Why must I walk so mournfully,
oppressed by the enemy? Send out your light and your truth, let these be

52 J. Leclercq, The Love of Learning and the Desire for God, trans. C. Misrahi (New York, 1982),
especially Chapter 4, Devotion to Heaven.
53 On al-Hakim as the Antichrist, see Chapter 6 below.
54 See the comments on Ps. 122 by M. Dahood in The Anchor Bible Psalms iii 101150 (Garden
City, n.y., 1970), p. 203, where he suggests that this psalm was composed by a pilgrim on
his return home while reflecting on the happy memories of the pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
See also F.E. Peters, Jerusalem: The Holy City in the Eyes of Chroniclers, Visitors, Pilgrims,
and Prophets from the Days of Abraham to the Beginnings of Modern Times (Princeton,
1985), p. 18.
Background 13

my guide, to lead me to your holy mountain and to the place where you
live. Then I shall go to the altar of God, to the God of my joy, I shall rejoice,
I shall praise you on the harp, Yahweh, my God. Why so downcast my
soul, why do you sigh within me? Put your hope in God: I shall praise him
yet, my saviour, my God.

Finally, a number of the Psalms focus on the continuing importance of

Jerusalem and its Temple, none more tellingly than Psalms 23 and 27. Psalm 23,
one of the most famous and quoted Psalms, which begins, Yahweh is my shep-
herd, I lack nothing, emphasizes the necessity of remaining close to God and
his reciprocity, concluding in verse 6, Ah, how goodness and kindness pursue
me, every day of my life; my home, the house of Yahweh, as long as I live!
Psalm 27:4 further underlines the central importance of this connection: One
thing I ask of Yahweh, one thing I seek: to live in the house of Yahweh all the
days of my life, to enjoy the sweetness of Yahweh and to consult him in his
Temple. This particular verse surely resonated for the monks of the 10th and
11th centuries as they contemplated the heavenly Jerusalem.55
The central presence of Jerusalem and its Temple as the special place of God
appears throughout the Old Testament, of course. Space does not permit an
extended presentation of this material.56 Yet two aspects merit some consider-
ation: the nature of the presence of Yahweh in that place and the necessity for
His people to journey to that most sacred location to worship.
It was David who conquered Jerusalem and made it the political and reli-
gious center of Israel by bringing the Ark of the Covenant there, c.1000 b.c.57
Receiving from God the plans for the Temple, he was not permitted to build it,
an honor reserved for his son Solomon.58 Jerusalems location, selected by God,
came to be seen as the center of the world, a cosmic mountain that was the
meeting place of heaven and earth.59
To this site the Jews were expected to come each year to worship by offering
a sacrifice at the Temple, and in so doing renew their bond with Yahweh.60

55 Leclercq, Love of Learning, especially pp. 5457.

56 This sense of the presence of Jerusalem and its Temple in the Old Testament and how this
resonated in subsequent centuries is well presented by F.E. Peters in his book on
Jerusalem.
57 2 Kings 57.
58 3 Kings 6.
59 For example, Ezek. 5:5. On this point, see R.L. Wilken, The Land Called Holy: Palestine in
Christian History and Thought (New Haven, 1992), pp. 1114, especially note 26.
60 See e.g. the actions of Josiah in 4 Kings 23; on this point, Wilken, Land Called Holy,
pp.1417.
14 chapter 1

Thus, when the city fell to Nebuchadnezzar in the early 6th century b.c. and
the Temple was destroyed and the Jews were taken in exile to Babylon, their
longing to return was intense.61 Their return to Jerusalem later in the century
resulted in the rebuilding of the Temple and recommitment to Yahweh at the
old site, although the Ark was no longer there.62
Under Herod in the late 1st century b.c. a new Temple arose, a structure that
made Jerusalem one of the most impressive religious centers of the Roman
world. Yet it was precisely the inability of the monotheistic Jews to fit into the
polytheistic Roman order that resulted in the violence of the 1st century a.d.
The Jews could not even be henotheistic, and thus found themselves increas-
ingly ostracized until the attack on Jerusalem and the destruction of the
Temple in 70 a.d. Many of the survivors would go forth into exile to the many
urban centers of the Roman world to become a part of a great dispersion, the
Diaspora, and, as in the days in Babylon, once again long for a return to their
Holy Center.63
Before the Diaspora, Jesus Christ would come to Jerusalem in the early 1st
century a.d. and he would predict its destruction and that of the Temple.64 For
the Christian West of the Middle Ages the city would be virtually synonymous
with Jesus himself, in part because it was the center of his preaching but also
because he, like the Temple, would soon meet his end with his crucifixion by
the Romans and his Jewish opponents. His followers also believed that Jesus as
the alpha of his new religion arose from the dead in Jerusalem, thus making
this place even more sacred.
It would be, moreover, to this city that he was expected to return in the last
days, the omega point for Christianity. The book of Revelation, filled with signs
for when this would occur, became a paramount and concluding work of scrip-
ture, especially in the monastic milieu of the 10th and 11th centuries. It is the
work that portrays the heavenly Jerusalem and thus links the alpha and omega.
The manuscripts of the monastic centuries bear witness to the central impor-
tance of this image and this book for the early Middle Ages.65

61 See especially Jer. 3 or Isa. 52:1, Awake, awake. Clothe yourself in strength, Zion. Put on
your richest clothes, Jerusalem, holy city; since no longer shall there enter you either the
uncircumcised or the unclean.
62 It thus serves as a fulfillment of Zech. 8:39.
63 Jews before the destruction of 70 a.d. would come yearly to worship at the new Temple.
See Wilken, Land Called Holy, pp. 1417.
64 Mark 13:14.
65 See e.g. John Williams, The Illustrated Beatus: A Corpus of the Illustrations on the Apocalypse
(London, 1994), or John Williams, Early Spanish Manuscript Illumination (New York, 1977).
Background 15

St Paul in the New Testament offers many insights into the life of Christ and
the perception of its importance in the 1st century a.d. Jerusalems central
position is evident in the Pauline epistles. It was there at the council of 49 that
Paul was successful in having the teachings of Jesus move out of their exclu-
sively Jewish milieu and into the outsiders world of the Gentiles.66 In the Acts
of the Apostles he details the course of one of his own trips to the Holy City,
a sort of proto-pilgrimage for later Christians.67 It was at Jerusalem,
moreover, that criminal charges were levelled against him, when he called
upon his Roman citizenship and sought Roman justice at the center of the
Empire itself.68 He also considers the Jerusalem to come, the heavenly one,
in Galatians 4.
The Fathers of the church had many important things to say about Jerusalem,
comments that reechoed down through the centuries. In his response to the
Gnostic heretics in the 2nd century Irenaeus of Lyons in his Adversus Haereses
emphasized the central importance of the Incarnation and thus the primary
value of the material world. In this fashion Jerusalem is the center of the king-
dom of God on earth.69 On the other hand, Origen the greatest of the
Christian thinkers of the 3rd century reflecting the growing importance of
Neo-Platonism, emphasized the allegorical sense of Jerusalem, as he does in
general with all scripture. Hence his focus is on the heavenly Jerusalem, the
visio pacis. In so doing there is a kind of polarity established between the
earthly and heavenly Jerusalem, a separation, with Irenaeus and Origen on
each end.70 But like his master, Origen, in emphasizing the heavenly Jerusalem,
Eusebius, the father of church history and the biographer of Constantine, also
sought in the 4th century to present Jerusalem as the earthly place where
Christ walked and was crucified, the place where Helena, Constantines mother,
found the remains of the True Cross and established the foundations for the
new Temple, the church of the Holy Sepulcher.71
Because of his more than forty years of residence as a monk in Palestine,
St Jerome, not surprisingly, was identified with the earthly Jerusalem. Yet,
likeOrigen and Eusebius, in Jeromes writings the Holy City was primarily the

66 Acts 15:121.
67 Acts 20:1638. See below reference to Ademars copy of this passage in ms 1664. Also see
my article Ademar of Chabannes and the Pilgrimage to Jerusalem of 1033, in Medieval
Monks and Their World: Ideas and Realities, Studies in Honor of Richard E. Sullivan, eds.
D. Blanks et al. (Leiden, 2006), pp. 7180, especially 7779.
68 Acts 2528.
69 Wilken, Land Called Holy, pp. 5962.
70 Wilken, Land Called Holy, pp. 6578.
71 Ibid., pp. 7881; Peters, Jerusalem, pp. 13237.
16 chapter 1

eternal Jerusalem of the book of Revelation.72 He even discouraged the pil-

grimage.73 On the other hand, one of his letters describes a visit by himself and
several of his disciples to Jerusalem, where they were deeply moved by the
sight of the Cross and the setting of the last days of Christ, a description that
surely drew many to these holy sites in later centuries.74
As for St Augustine, it is hardly surprising that his master work, The City of
God, emphasizes the eternal Jerusalem. In 20:17 the New Jerusalem descends
from heaven in the context of a new heaven and a new earth.75 Yet even in this
work on the eternal city he specifically cites, with approval, the viewing of a
container of earth brought to North Africa by a pilgrim from Jerusalem as holy
land.76
Eastern Fathers, such as Gregory of Nyssa, and pilgrim reports from early
medieval visitors to the Holy Land, like the 4th-century accounts of the
Bordeaux pilgrim and the nun Egeria, surely influenced some individuals in
the 10th and 11th centuries to undertake the long journey.77 Yet in the liturgical
civilization of those centuries the central role of the liturgy in the life of the
period, especially for churchmen and particularly for monks, undoubtedly was
a more important factor and would have made the presence of Jerusalem an
inescapable reality in their daily lives. The Mass is essentially the commemora-
tion of the Last Supper in Jerusalem and celebrates the Incarnation. The daily
office consists primarily of the Psalms, with their Davidic focus on Jerusalem.
And the liturgical year itself revolves around the life of Christ in the Holy Land.
Thus, there were numerous connections and reminders that would draw the
pilgrims of the West to the Holy City in the 10th and 11th centuries, but were
there any particular areas that seem to have sent forth the largest numbers? As
Jonathan Sumption in his study of medieval pilgrimages points out, a very sub-
stantial percentage of these Western pilgrims came from three regions of the

72 Peters, Jerusalem, p. 137.

73 See Peters, Jerusalem, p. 153, on Jeromes reservations on the growing pilgrimage to
Jerusalem. On opposition to this pilgrimage later in the Middle Ages, see G. Constable,
Opposition to Pilgrimage in the Middle Ages, sg 19 (1976), 12546, and reprinted in
G. Constable, Religious Life and Thought (11th and 12th Centuries), Variorum Reprints CS89
(London,1979), Chapter 4.
74 See Jerome, letter no. 108, 67, as presented in Peters, Jerusalem, p. 152.
75 Augustine first quotes Rev. 20:25 and then considers in depth the meaning of a new
heaven and a new earth.
76 Rev. 22:8, pp. 22627 of the Loeb edition, ed. W. Green (London, 1972). For more on this
material, Wilken, Land Called Holy, p. 125.
77 Wilkinson, Jerusalem Pilgrims, pp. 1620, 3538, and 4043.
Background 17

West Frankish kingdom: Normandy, Burgundy, and Aquitaine.78 As was already

noted, the duke of Normandy sent contributions to the East, in particular to
monastic houses in Jerusalem and on Mount Sinai.79 In addition, both Dukes
Richard ii and Robert i funded pilgrims going to the Holy Land or went them-
selves.80 As for Burgundy, one of the principal forces behind pilgrimage to
Jerusalem was the monastery of Cluny where, for example, Abbot Odilo sup-
ported the pilgrimage.81 With regard to Aquitaine, it is that region to which the
next chapters now turn for a detailed study and particularly to the writings of
Ademar of Chabannes on the subject.

78 Sumption, Pilgrimage, p. 117ff.

79 Ibid., pp. 11718.
80 On this point see my Jerusalem in the Monastic Imaginations, especially pp. 12122.
81 Sumption, Pilgrimage, p. 119. On Odilo, J. Hourlier, Saint Odilon Abb de Cluny (Leuven,
1964), especially p. 94 on his lack of personal desire to go, yet p. 146 on his devotion to the
Cross.
 chapter 2

Ademar of Chabannes: His Life and Writings

Having considered the popularity of pilgrimages in the period, especially those

to Jerusalem, one must now turn to the main subject of the book. Ademar
of Chabannes was born about the year 989 into a distinguished Limousin
family.1 He writes about his ancestry in Chapter 45 of book 3 of his Chronicon.2
Here he traces his pedigree on both his fathers and mothers sides back for
several generations. It is clear that his mother Hildegards family is the more
prestigious, with ties to many prominent figures in the Limousin, including
Count Vulgrinus of Perigord (86686), who was related to Charlemagnes wife
Hildegard.3 Thus one sees the source of the name of Ademars mother and, in
part, his own fascination with the great Charles, a topic of much importance in
Chapters 3 and 6 of this book. The family of his father, Raymond of Chabannes,
may not have been quite so prominent, but it included Bishop Turpio of
Limoges (897943), Abbot Aimo of Saint-Martial of Limoges (93743), and his
two uncles Adalbert and Roger, prominent monks at Saint-Martial. That his
father Raymond was younger than these two monastic uncles surely indicates
how important the Church was for this family, a factor that may explain why
Ademar would enter the monastery of Saint-Cybard of Angoulme at a young
age, even though he does not seem to have had any brothers or sisters to receive
the family lands and carry on the line.4
Why he entered Saint-Cybard rather than Saint-Martial of Limoges, where
two of his uncles were prominent figures, is not clear. The connection between
these two houses, located about seventy-five miles apart, was close because in
the period just before Ademar entered, they shared the same abbot, Guigo, for
a number of years.5 It is possible that the decision was made by the family to
have Ademar enter the smaller house and receive his early training in the
monastic life and letters before joining his uncles at Saint-Martial, a much
more prominent religious and cultural center for all of Aquitaine.

1 In his letter on the apostolicity of St Martial written c.1029, he mentions that he is forty years
old aetate quadragenarius, pl 141:89.
2 Ademar, Chronicon 3.45, pp. 16465. See also Ademars comments on his family in the
Commemoratio, in Chroniques de Saint-Martial de Limoges, ed. H. Dupls-Agier (Paris, 1874),
pp. 36.
3 On this point, R. Landes, Relics, Apocalypse, and the Deceits of History: Ademar of Chabannes,
9891034 (Cambridge, Mass., 1995), p. 78, note 7.
4 Ibid., p. 79.
5 Commemoratio, pp. 56.

koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 6|doi 10.1163/9789004313682_003

Ademar Of Chabannes: His Life And Writings 19

In the last decade of the 10th century the monastery of Saint-Cybard of

Angoulme was enjoying a period of prosperity and renewal, especially after
William iv Taillefer became count near the end of the century. The resting
place of the remains of the 6th-century hermit Eparchius (c.50481) the
house which had existed from shortly after the time of his death had been
destroyed by the Vikings c.863 and then rebuilt shortly thereafter. It then was a
house of canons until the middle of the 10th century, when it became a
Benedictine monastery.6 Its collective charters indicate that it had fairly exten-
sive regional holdings but was certainly not as large, important, or distin-
guished as the great regional center of Saint-Martial of Limoges.7
Saint-Martial owes its name to a mid-3rd-century missionary to the region
who would eventually be recognized as the first bishop of Limoges.8 Pilgrims
during the Merovingian period began to visit his remains. A house of religious
developed, and by the middle of the 9th century it had adopted the Benedictine
rule. The monastery grew in size and importance during the next 150 years, to
the extent that it clearly had become a regional center with over 100 monks,
much property found in various parts of Aquitaine and beyond, and an
extremely rich library and scriptorium.9 The cult of St Martial began to expand
and drew pilgrims from various parts of the West Frankish kingdom, some of
whom stopped as they travelled to Santiago de Compostela in Spain to visit the
remains of St James. The wealth accumulating would result in the building of a
magnificent Romanesque basilica that bore witness to the fame of the house.10
Toward the middle of the first decade of the 11th century Ademar moved
from Saint-Cybard, the house in which he would be professed as a monk and
where he received his early training in letters, to the much more prominent
monastery of his uncles, Saint-Martial, where he seems to have remained for
at least the next decade.11 It would be during these years in Limoges when
he would become what Robert Lee Wolff so aptly called him, the versatile
egotist.12

6 D. Callahan, Benedictine Monasticism in Aquitaine, 9351030, PhD dissertation, The

University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1968, pp. 15152.
7 Cartulaire de labbaye de Saint-Cybard, ed. P. Lefrancq (Angoulme, 1930).
8 See especially Gregory of Tours, Historia Francorum 1.30, mgh SSrerMer. i.i.i.:2223 and
also ibid., Liber in gloria confessorum, chapter 27, mgh SSrerMer. 1.2:31415.
9 An excellent overview of the history and cultural life of Saint-Martial is J. Chailley, Lcole
musicale de Saint-Martial de Limoges jusqua la fin du XIe sicle (Paris, 1960).
10 On this basilica, see M. Duchein, La basilique du Sauveur labbaye de Saint-Martial de
Limoges, bsahl 83 (1951), 284311.
11 For this move and the problems in dating Ademars early monastic career, see Landes,
Relics, Chapter 4, Ademars Youth: Monastic Withdrawal from a Turbulent World.
12 Wolff, How the News was brought, p. 150ff.
20 chapter 2

In the scriptorium at Saint-Cybard he began the arduous task of copying

manuscripts and copied so many there and at Saint-Martial that his collection
of writings is the largest that survives from the hand of any one individual of
this period or before.13 Of great importance are his manuscripts containing
liturgical items, material bearing witness to the extraordinary richness of the
liturgy at Saint-Martial in the 10th and early 11th centuries, but also to Ademars
own contributions to this evolution, especially in the preparation of tropes
that would be incorporated into the traditional liturgical services.14 One of the
best examples of this ability is a hymn to the Tau Cross that he prepared and is
found in bn ms lat. 1121, fols. 197v198r.15 Also, as Robert Lee Wolff pointed out,
Ademar took great pride in his liturgical ability in ms 1121, and so indicated by
writing in one of the margins of this manuscript, Ademarus monachus Sancti
Marcialis.16 Wolff went on to point out that Ademar had written the music to
accompany the verses.17
His musical ability was also quite special and was evident early on at Saint-
Martial.18 It was a skill very much tied to his liturgical interests. Spending many
years at Saint-Martial, one of the centers of musical development in the West
in the 10th and 11th centuries, he, as James Grier points out, achieved profes-
sional competence as a musician skilled in the technology of musical notation,
and intimately familiar with the liturgical repertories practiced at Saint-
Martial.19 His musical skills will clearly shine in his creation of a liturgy for the
new apostle Martial later on, in the 1020s.20

13 On Ademar as a copyist, see Landes, Relics, p. 83ff.

14 See especially the excellent recent work of J. Grier, The Musical World of a Medieval Monk:
Ademar of Chabannes in Eleventh-Century Aquitaine (New York, 2006).
15 D. Callahan, The Tau Cross in the Writings of Ademar of Chabannes, in Frassetto, The
Year 1000, especially p. 66.
16 Wolff, How the News was brought, p. 153.
17 Ibid., and Ademar inserted, Hunc biblum rite notavit.
18 Grier, Musical World, Chapters 1 and 2.
19 J. Grier, The Critical Editing of Music: History, Method and Practice (Cambridge, Eng., 1996),
p. 185. For the liturgy and music at Saint-Martial in this period, also see P. Hooreman,
Saint-Martial de Limoges au temps de lAbb Odolric (10251040): Essai sur une pice
oublie du rpertoire limousin, rbm 3 (1949), 536, and Chailley, Lcole musicale. It is
hardly surprising that at this time of great liturgical change, Ademar was one of the great-
est and most creative masters of troping in all of France.
20 J. Grier, Editing Ademar de Chabannes Liturgy for the Feast of Saint Martial, in Music
Discourse from Classical to Early Modern Times: Editing and Translating Texts, ed. Maria
Rika Maniates, Conference on Editorial Problems, no. 26: 1990 (New York, 1993), pp. 1743.
See also the more recent Grier, Musical World, pp. 10515.
Ademar Of Chabannes: His Life And Writings 21

If Ademars contributions in his manuscripts to the liturgy and music have

attracted the attention of numerous scholars in the past century, so too have
his illustrations in many of those same collections.21 It is the manuscript now
preserved in Leiden that contains the largest number and bears witness most
strongly to his skills as an illustrator and to the importance of Saint-Martial as
a center for manuscript illustration.22 In this work one finds illustrations from
the Psychomachia of Prudentius and the fables of Romulus, works likely copied
from earlier illustrations from late antiquity or the Carolingian period.23 Yet if
the argument of George Beech for the origins of the Bayeux Tapestry at the
monastery of Saumur near Tours is correct, it is very possible, if not likely, that
Ademars illustrations were a basis for what is the most famous body of images
surviving from the Middle Ages.24 In many ways, however, it is the drawings of
important moments in the life of Christ in the same Leiden collection, proba-
bly done in the 1020s at Saint-Cybard and likely later than the classical images,
that most powerfully bear witness to Ademars skills as an illustrator and dem-
onstrate most meaningfully the central importance of the Jerusalem images in
his mind.25
As important as Ademar was as a copyist, liturgist, musician, and illustrator,
he quite rightly is best remembered for his works of history. His historical writ-
ings offer an invaluable, albeit at times faulty, window into some of the princi-
pal developments in the West in the 10th and early 11th centuries. His chronicle,
the Alpha version of which he seems to have begun c.1025, appears principally
to have been triggered by his finding a copy of the Historia Francorum, which
became the basis for the first two books of his work. The third, on develop-
ments in the West, principally in Aquitaine, covers the period from the death
of Charlemagne until the time when Ademar himself was living.26 One must

21 See Wolff, How the News was brought, p. 154, on five of the manuscripts having
illustrations.
22 Leiden, Voss. lat. 8vo 15. On the importance of Saint-Martial for art, see especially
D. Gaborit-Chopin, La dcoration des manuscrits Saint-Martial de Limoges et en Limousin
du IXe au XIIe sicle, Mmoires et Documents publis par la Socit de lcole des
Chartes17 (Paris, 1969), especially pp. 21314. On Ademars contribution, see D. Gaborit-
Chopin, Les dessins dAdmar de Chabannes, bcths, n.s. 3 (1967), 163225.
23 Ibid., Les dessins dAdmar, pp. 16886.
24 G. Beech, Was the Bayeux Tapestry Made in France? The Case for Saint-Florent of Saumur
(New York, 2005), pp. 4957. Of course, the case for the origins is still far from settled.
25 Gaborit-Chopin, Les dessins dAdmar, pp. 192207, and Landes, Relics, pp. 10203 and
11718.
26 Landes, Relics, especially Chapter 6. This book is absolutely basic for all work on Ademar
as historian.
22 chapter 2

approach the work with some caution, although generally it is quite reliable
and confirms what 19th-century scientific historians thought about the truth
of Ademars perceptions, as opposed to the millennial nonsense found in
Glabers Historiarum.27 Subsequently, in the period before 1030 Ademar was to
prepare two more versions, Beta and Gamma, of his chronicle that revised and
incorporated new material, especially that from visitors to Saint-Martial.28
Also, he prepared in the same period a brief history of the abbots of Saint-
Martial, a work that would be continued at that house after Ademars death.29
These writings and Glabers, especially on developments in the West Frankish
kingdom south of the Loire, make them among the most important historical
sources for the period between 950 and 1030.
That from an early stage in his career Ademar was on the road to becoming
a master of many features of the monastic scriptorium should be evident. As
for the spirituality of the young monk, the picture is not nearly so clear. The
one truly striking example occurred around the year 1010 at Saint-Martial, and
he describes it years later in his Chronicon. He wrote,

The above-mentioned monk, who then was staying with his uncle, the
renowned Roger, in the monastery of Saint-Martial, awakened in the mid-
dle of the night and while looking outside at the stars saw high in the
southern sky a great crucifix, as if fixed in the heavens, and the figure of
the Lord, hanging on the Cross, weeping a great river of tears. He who saw
this, astonished, could do nothing other than pour forth tears from his
eyes. He saw both the very cross and the figure of the Crucified One,
wholly the color of fire and much blood, for half a night hour until the
heavens closed. And what he saw he always kept sealed in his heart; and
the Lord is witness that he saw this.30

27 See above, Chapter 1. See also the cautionary words about Ademar as historian in
J. Gillingham, Ademar of Chabannes and the History of Aquitaine in the Reign of Charles
the Bald, in Charles the Bald: Court and Kingdom, 2nd rev. ed., eds. M. Gibson and
J. Nelson (London, 1990), pp. 4151.
28 Landes, Relics, Chapters 7 and 10.
29 Commemoratio abbatum, pp. 127.
30 Chronicon 3.46, pp. 16566. Et supradictus monachus Ademarus, qui tunc cum avunculo
suo inclito Rotgerio Lemovicas degebat in monasterio Sancti Marcialis, experrectus in
tempesta noctis, dum foris astra suspiceret, vidit in austrum in altitudine celi magnum
crucifixum quasi confixum in celo et Domini pendentem figuram in cruce, multo flumine
lacrimarum plorantem. Qui autem haec vidit, attonitus, nichil aliud potuit agere quam
lacrimas ab oculis profundere. Vidit vero tam ipsam crucem quam figuram Crucifixi
colere igneo et nimis sanguineo totam per dimidiam noctis horam, quousque celo sese
Ademar Of Chabannes: His Life And Writings 23

This scene appears in the Chronicon immediately after a description of heav-

enly signs indicating divine punishment and warning (3.46, p. 165) and imme-
diately preceding a description of the forced conversion of some Jews in
Limoges and the presentation of the destruction of the church of the Holy
Sepulcher in Jerusalem in 1009. Hence it would seem to represent Christ weep-
ing over Jerusalem and presented apocalyptic signs bearing witness to the
proximity of the end times.31 Much more will appear on this material later in
this book.32 Ademars vision bears witness to the central importance of the
Cross for him, both from an alpha and an omega perspective, from early in his
monastic life.
As important as this viewing of the Cross in the heavens was as a reflexion
of the spirituality of the young monk, an experience that surely served as a
substantial portion of the foundation for his later pilgrimage to the place of the
Crucifixion, it did not occupy his attention in the 1020s to the degree that his
promotion of the apostolicity of St Martial would. It is his role as the leading
advocate of the apostleship of the first bishop of Limoges that preoccupied
him during the last decade of his life in Aquitaine and for which he gained his
principal renown and ignominy.
Like the vita of so many saints, that of St Martial evolved over a long period
of time. St Martial was the founder of the diocese of Limoges in the middle of
the 3rd century. Gregory of Tours lists him as one of a number of missionaries,
including St Denis, sent to Gaul to spread the Christian message.33 His remains
became the center of a cult during the Merovingian period. Later, in the
Carolingian Empire in the early 9th century, his importance was elevated in a
brief vita, the so-called vita antiquior.34 In this work, in the form of a sermon,
Martial appears as a close disciple of St Peter who sent him in the first century
to Limoges. A new basilica to house his remains was constructed there in the
middle of the 9th century, and the resident community adopted the Benedictine
Rule. Following the Viking turbulence of the last half of the 9th century, the
cult flourished in the 10th and the monastery became one of the most impor-
tant in Aquitaine.

clauderet. Et quod vidit semper in corde celavit, quousque hic scripsit, testisque est
Dominus quod haec vidit. On the underlining, see the introduction to this edition of the
Chronicon.
31 For more on the importance of this imagery for Ademar, Landes, Relics, pp. 8789.
32 See especially Chapter 7.
33 Historia Francorum 1.30, mgh SSrerMer. 1.1.1:2223.
34 See Charles Bellet, Lancienne vie de saint Martial et la prose rythme (Paris, 1897),
pp. 4350. See also for other editions bhl, 2 vols. and supplement (Brussels, 18981911),
item no. 5551.
24 chapter 2

The next stage in the development of the cult occurred in the late 10th or
early 11th century with the appearance of a new vita, known as the Aurelian
vita because it was purportedly written by Martials disciple Aurelian, who also
became his successor as bishop of Limoges.35 The piece was also called the Vita
Prolixior because it replaced the brief Carolingian vita, which some have sug-
gested may have been destroyed by a fire at Saint-Martial c.952.36 Whether or
not this was the case, by the time of the apostolicity campaign of which
Ademar was the leader in the late 1020s, it was presented by the monks of
Saint-Martial as the true account of the life of their patron. In it he appears not
simply as a disciple of St Peter but as a close friend of Christ himself and pres-
ent at a number of important events at the end of his masters life.37 In the
work he will become an apostle through the reception of the Holy Spirit at
Pentecost and will eventually accompany Peter to Rome, and not merely as his
disciple. Following Christs directions, Martial goes from Rome to Gaul and
becomes the principal spreader of the Christian message in that region. This
initial version of the Aurelian vita survives in a number of copies from the 11th
century and will be the one that Ademar and the other leaders in the apostolic-
ity movement will develop even further.38
Ademar states in his Commemoration of the Lives of the Abbots of Saint-
Martial that it was the Abbot Hugh (101925) who initiated the campaign to
celebrate the apostolicity of St Martial.39 No longer was Martial to be called
simply a confessor, as he was in the first version of the Aurelian vita, but hence-
forth an apostle.40 The campaign accompanied the rebuilding of the basilica,
which would be consecrated in November of 1028.
It was a splendid Romanesque church, comparable to a number of others on
the pilgrimage routes to Santiago and Rome in this period, and was intended to
reflect the glory of St Martial and exhibit his comparability to the apostles
Peter and James. The monks of Saint-Martial recognized that if they were to
be competitive and receive donations like the other great apostolic centers,

35 See the edition of this work in L. Surius, ed., De probatis Sanctorum Vitis, 12 vols. (Cologne,
1618), vol. 6, pp. 36574. For more on this vita, bhl, no. 5552. Chapter 5 below will give
much attention to the Aurelian vita.
36 On the likely role of the Pseudo-Abdias in the restructuring of the vita, see p. 254 of my
article The Sermons of Ademar of Chabannes and the Cult of St. Martial of Limoges, rb
86 (1976).
37 Ibid.
38 For a list of some of these manuscripts, ibid., p. 258.
39 Ademar, Commemoratio, pp. 78.
40 On Ademars efforts in this campaign, Callahan, The Sermons of Ademar, pp. 25556.
Ademar Of Chabannes: His Life And Writings 25

they must emphasize the apostolicity of their saint. Moreover, as Ademar

points out in his chronicle, Duke William the Great each year made a pilgrimage
to Rome or Santiago.41 Hence, to bring the duke more fully into its corner and
with him, his principal lieutenants and other powerful Aquitanian figures the
place of Duke Stephen in the Aurelian vita must be enhanced. All of these
elements must be kept in mind when one considers what was at stake for
Saint-Martial at this moment and how far the monks might stretch the truth in
their presentation of the life and works of their patron saint. The revised
Aurelian vita sought to present Martial as even closer to Christ and on a more
equal plane with St Peter, emphasized that his mission was to all of Gaul, and
increased the power of Duke Stephen and made him ruler of all of the Gallic
kingdom.42
In addition, Bishop Jordan who had initially opposed these changes in the
cult of Martial, in part because they would elevate the monastery over
the cathedral chapter of Limoges, and had written a letter of opposition to the
pope protesting the changes seems to have come to understand that as suc-
cessor of an apostle his own position was being dramatically elevated, as he
would now become one of, if not the most important bishop of Gaul and all
the West.43 He would preside over a synod on 3 August 1029 in Limoges that
had been summoned to approve the new status of St Martial, but also to cele-
brate it in an elaborate new Mass and liturgical service.44 It would be a great
triumph for the monks of Saint-Martial and particularly Ademar of Chabannes,
who prepared the revised Aurelian vita and wrote the words and music for the
new liturgy.
Just at this moment of supreme triumph, when the monks of Limoges and
particularly the leader of the campaign seemed to have established the apos-
tolic position of St Martial in the spiritual ordering of the West, an individual
appeared at the gathering who openly challenged these novelties and dealt a
mortal blow to the aspirations of Ademar and his supporters of the changed
position of the saint. In a subsequent description of the event, a piece in the
form of a lengthy letter addressed to such individuals as the German Emperor
Conrad ii and Empress Cunegunda, Pope John xix, Duke William of Aquitaine,

41 Chronicon 3.41, p. 161. Cui a juventute consuetudo fuit ut semper omni anno ad limina
Apostolorum Romam properaret, et quo Romam non properabat anno, ad Sanctum
Jacobum Galliciae recompensaret iter devotum. On William as pilgrim and on the devel-
opment of pilgrimages during this period, see the many excellent collected essays of
E.R. Labande in his Spiritualit et vie littraire de lOccident, XeXIVe s. (London, 1974).
42 Callahan, The Sermons of Ademar, pp. 25863.
43 For the letter of Bishop Jordan, pl 141:115860.
44 See above, note 20.
26 chapter 2

Bishop Jordan of Limoges, and a number of other prominent figures, Ademar

describes the charges and actions of this figure, Benedict, prior of the Lombard
monastery of Chiusa, in a vitriolic fashion.45
Benedict of Chiusa, according to the letter, was the devil disguised as a
monk, an antichrist, a heretic, the personification of evil who sought to destroy
this glorification of a principal saint of the Lord.46 Ademar presents his oppo-
nent as one better educated than the monks of Aquitaine, the nephew of the
abbot of Chiusa, one who possessed many books, had studied for a number of
years in the West Frankish kingdom, and presented himself as far more knowl-
edgeable than these backward people of Aquitaine.47 The reality is that the
Benedict of history is not well known and that the principal source of informa-
tion on him is what Ademar relates.
That it would be a monk of Italy who would blow the whistle is hardly sur-
prising. San Michele della Chiusa, an Alpine monastery on a main road
between Aquitaine and Rome, was visited by many travellers from the north as
they proceeded to the See of Peter. This monastery had a number of priories in
the West Frankish kingdom south of the Loire, including, near Limoges, the
house of Bussires, where Benedict was staying when he was asked by some
canons of the cathedral chapter of Limoges to speak on their behalf against the
changes in the cult of St Martial.48 Also, the connection between Italy and

45 The letter appears in pl 141:89112. On this letter, Wolff, How the News was brought,
pp. 16375, and L. Saltet, Une discussion sur saint Martial entre un Lombard et un
Limousin en 1029, ble 26 (1925), 16186 and 279302.
46 pl 141:90. Here is but a wee portion of Ademars opprobrium for Benedict, ibi a ser-
pente antiquo infelicissime corrumpi se permiserunt draconis veneno, a quodam scilicet
Longobardo haeretico, monachico quidem schismate induto, verum non monacho, sed
diabolo.
47 Ibid., p. 107. Ego, inquit, sum nepos abbatis de Clusa; ipse duxit me per multa loca in
Longobardia et Francia propter grammaticam; ipsi jam constat sapientia mea duo millia
solidis, quos dedit magistris meis. Novem annis jam steti ad grammaticam, et adhuc sum
scholasticus. Sumus novem scholastici, qui simul discimus grammaticam, et sum ego
valde perfectus sapiens. Habeo duas magnas domos plenas libris, et adhuc non omnes eos
legi, sed quotidie meditor in illis. Nullus liber est in tota terra quem ego non habeam.
Postquam exiero de schola, non erit subtus coelum tam sapiens ut ego. Ego ero abbas de
Clusa post mortem avunculi mei, jamque sum electus ab omnibus; et nisi tales conversi
mali monachi fuissent, qui non curant nisi de hypocrisi et de rusticitate, qui mihi hoc
abstulerunt, jam ex multo tempore essem consecratus abbas. etc.
48 C. Lauranson-Rosaz, LAuvergne et ses marges (Velay, Gvaudan) du VIIIe au xie sicle: la fin
du monde antique? (Le Puy-en-Velay, 1987), pp. 291306.
Ademar Of Chabannes: His Life And Writings 27

Aquitaine had been greatly strengthened in the 1020s by the offer of the king-
ship of Italy to Duke William the Great after the death of Henry ii of Germany.49
Yet as with so much of the writings of Ademar of Chabannes, one must be
extremely cautious in accepting the truth of what he says. Yes, clearly the
charges of Benedict were devastating charges that essentially vitiated the cam-
paign and changed dramatically the direction of Ademars life, eventually
putting him on the road to Jerusalem. The letter, however, became an opportu-
nity to spell out specifically what Benedict had said and then attempt to show
that there was authority behind the efforts of the monks of Saint-Martial. To
understand what Ademar was attempting, it is necessary to consider an over-
view of this pivotal piece and then look at its main points.
The letter begins with Ademars return to Angoulme after the meeting of
the churchmen in Limoges on 3 August 1029 and the celebration of the new
liturgy. He had succeeded in restoring Martial to the rank of apostle instead of
having him placed among the confessors, which rank Ademar states was the
result of the carelessness of Aquitanian churchmen.50 Also, at Saint-Cybard
Martial was now accepted as an apostle. Then in September several monks of
the house returned from Bussires, where they had met Benedict of Chiusa,
who had told them of how he had challenged Ademar and his supporters at the
3 August gathering and condemned the lies that they had created about the
apostle Martial.51 Much of the letter is a lengthy diatribe against the charges of
Benedict and in defense of the apostolicity. The two monks of Saint-Cybard were
able to convince their brethren that Ademar was wrong. The letter goes on to
relate an encounter in Angoulme with a monk, Bernard, a physician of
Ravenna and a friend of Benedict. He too castigated Ademar and his novel-
ties.52 Finally, an individual named Salgionis, a monk of Saint-Jean-dAngly,
spoke out against Ademars claims.53
One of the most striking features of the letter is that it relates a series of
charges against Ademar and his claims for the apostolicity of St Martial,
encounters that make the novelties seem weak and to be a series of lies. Where
are the authorities, the books, that support these ideas, is what Benedict wants

49 On the offer of the kingship of Italy, see the few letters of the correspondence of Duke
William preserved in pl 141:82732. For a further consideration, see D. Callahan, William
the Great and the Monasteries of Aquitaine, sm 19.2 (1977), 32142, especially p. 323.
50 pl 141:89. Exsultabam enim vos incongruam inolitam erroris causa ab anterioribus cleri-
cis Aquitaniae negligentiam
51 Ibid., pp. 9092.
52 Ibid., pp. 97107.
53 Ibid., pp. 10912.
28 chapter 2

to know.54 Yet the principal designer of the apostolicity of Martial uses every
opportunity to spell out again and again the tales of the apostolic saint and
push the claims to an ever greater extent. At one point in the letter Ademar
says that if what he claims about Martial is a lie, then let God strike him dead.55
When he does not expire, he claims that this is proof of the rightness of his
argument.56
The bottom line is that Ademar and the monks of Saint-Martial in pushing
the limits had been caught and must face the consequences. Yet as desperate
as the situation seemed, Ademar also used the letter as a means of taking up
the charges of Benedict, who had said that he would personally report these
lies to the pope and to a church council.57 In response, Ademar would use the
next few years to concoct a letter to Pope John xix supporting the apostolicity
of Martial and to prepare an account of the council of Limoges of 1031, over
half of which material will focus on the approval of the apostolicity of Martial.58
But the great lies he was concocting bear clear witness to the desperate situa-
tion in which he found himself and the overwhelming need to present authori-
ties to support the campaign.59
The exaggerations and lies on behalf of the apostolicity of Martial will con-
tinue to grow in number and dimension in these final years of Ademars life in
Aquitaine. It is also true, moreover, from the charge of Benedict as Antichrist
that the beleaguered monk of Saint-Cybard and Saint-Martial would increas-
ingly view these years before 1033 apocalyptically.60 The end times were upon
him, and thus he could not expect the proximity of the Antichrist to result in
anything other than the chaos he was increasingly witnessing. What one finds
in these final manuscripts is a defense of the apostolicity of Martial and
repeated references to the last times, including the copying of a number of
apocalyptic tracts by earlier writers, such as Jerome and Bede.61 Although he

54 Ibid., p. 92. nec in veteribus libris alicubi, vel in laetaniis veteribus eum apostolum
praedicari.
55 Ibid., pp. 10607.
56 For a much more extended treatment of this letter, see the works of Saltet and Wolff cited
in note 46.
57 pl 141:10708.
58 The purported letter of Pope John xix is in pl 141:114950, Jaff no. 4092; for the account
of the Council of Limoges of 1031, Mansi 19:50748 or pl 142:13531400.
59 Even though the overall tone of this letter is of an individual under intense pressure, one
caught in creating a major falsehood, one must also keep in mind that he used Benedicts
charges as a means of defending the changes and creating a program to carry out the
defense, all of which throws much light on the versatility of this egotist.
60 See below, Chapter 6.
61 See below on the contents of ms 1664, pp. 3132.
Ademar Of Chabannes: His Life And Writings 29

was an individual who had been seriously injured in his struggle with the prior
of Chiusa, he still retained the necessary energy and skill to try to turn the
charges of Benedict to his own advantage before the End came.
One of the first pieces he created was the letter from Pope John xix support-
ing Martial as an apostle.62 How he expected this letter to be accepted, a piece
so different in style and format from any other papal letter, is difficult to under-
stand, yet it was deemed authentic by many in subsequent centuries until
Canon Saltet fully revealed it for what it is.63 Addressed to Bishop Jordan of
Limoges and the other bishops of Gaul, it cites with approval the Aurelian vita
and draws extensively from it.64 He goes on to state that those who say that
Martial has nothing in common with the apostles but is with the confessors are
insane.65 The pope declares that he is an apostle by citing at length the revised
Aurelian vita.66 There are more than twelve apostles, including the English
church holding Gregory the Great as one.67 The pope then defines Martial as
an apostle and even dedicates an altar to him in the basilica of St Peter in
Rome.68
In having the pope purportedly write in support of Martial as an apostle,
Ademar responds to one of the charges of his Lombard opponent that such
apostolicity does not have authority supporting it. He also responds to the

62 See above, note 59. The papal letter is found in bn ms lat. 5, ii, fol. 130 in the Bible of
St. Martial and in bn ms lat. 5240.
63 L. Saltet, Une prtendue lettre de Jean xix sur St. Martial fabrique par Admar de
Chabannes, ble 27 (1926), 11739.
64 pl 141:1149. For example, Beatissimus quidem Martialis, sicut in gestis ejus reperimus,
docente Christo in mundo et praecipiente, a Petro apostolorum principe baptizatus est,
tanto sancti Spiritus igne inflammatus ut ex eo derelictis parentibusetc.
65 Ibid. sed insanire videntur
66 Ibid., 114950. There is a lengthy comparison of Martial to Peter as an apostle.
67 Ibid., 1150. Non putant alios apostolos, nisi illos duodecim Anglorum enim Ecclesia
usque hactenus beatissimum Gregorium, quem nos confessorem dicimus, proprium
suum apostolum nominat.
68 Ibid. Nos vero, in firma petra aedificati, hunc de quo loquimur Martialem , utrum inter
confessores, an inter apostolos, Jesus Christus Dei Filius, cui corporaliter adhaesit, et
cujus gloriam vidit et benedictione est usus, annumeret; apostolum nominari posse
definimus, et aeque apostolica officia in divinis mysteriis exhiberi sibi censemus: nec de
illius beatitudine dubitare quemquam posse confidimus, qui sibi respondente nomine
sacris operibus apostolicam dignitatem subtrahere invidiose conatur. Ut autem reveren-
tia et celebritas tanti apostoli in toto terrarum orbe excelsius recolatur, aedificatum et
dedicatum est a nobis in ejus honorem pulcherrimum altare in basilica Sancti Petri apos-
toli Romae ad meridianam templi partem iii Idus Maii, ubi quotidie ipsius sancti memo-
ria devotissime veneratur, et praecipue in die natalitii ejus, quod est pridie Kalenda Julias,
quotannis dulcius recolitur.
30 chapter 2

s econd charge of not having conciliar support by creating what Canon Saltet
rightly viewed as Ademars chef doeuvre, his masterpiece, his account of the
Council of Limoges of 1031, which supposedly recognized Martial as an apostle.69
In this piece, over 50 percent of which concerns the presentation at the council
by many of the leading churchmen of Aquitaine of the case for apostolicity,
Ademar draws extensively from the revised Aurelian vita and creates a great
fugue also intertwining material from his sermons in ms 2469, for which the
account of the Council of Limoges serves as a conclusion and capstone at
the end of this manuscript. Again, at least in his mind, Benedict of Chiusa has
been put in his place and his charges met.
Yet as with the papal letter of John xix one finds in this account of a church
gathering dealing with issues of the moment, including the Peace of God
efforts in Aquitaine, material that cannot be trusted.70 There are references to
earlier councils at Paris, Poitiers, and Bourges that also recognized Martials
apostolicity, none of which can be proven.71 He also refers to the canons of a
council of Bourges that had recently ended which supported the apostolicity,
and also a letter from Archbishop Aimo Bourges, all of which seem to be the
creation of the increasingly demented mind of Ademar.72 One could make the
case that this account of a council of Limoges is presented in apocalyptic ter-
minology that just precedes in sermon 45 of 2469 the supposedly historical
account of the actual Council of Limoges of 1031, that is, created by the mind
of one who is increasingly driven by apocalyptic expectations and a sense of
desperation.73
If the forged letter of Pope John xix and the imaginary account of the
Council of Limoges of 1031 were vital in Ademars mind to the defense of
theapostolicity of Martial, in many ways even more important to him were the
other materials in his final two manuscripts: 2469, which concluded with his
account of the Council of Limoges of 1031, and 1664, with its numerous pieces

69 L. Saltet, Un cas de mythomanie bien document: Admar de Chabannes (9881034),

ble 32 (1931), 14965, and D. Callahan, Admar de Chabannes, Apocalypticism and the
Peace Council of Limoges, rb 101 (1991), 3249.
70 As should be clear by this point, one must always approach the writings of Ademar with
the greatest caution and skepticism. Yet as the third book of Ademars chronicle focuses
on the period around the year 1000, there is much here confirming what Thomas Bisson
and many others have said about a feudal revolution occurring at this time. For Bisson,
see The Feudal Revolution, Past and Present 142 (1994), 642.
71 See the comments of Canon Saltet, ibid., p. 163.
72 On this point, see further in Callahan, Admar de Chabannes, Apocalypticism, p. 36.
73 Ibid., pp. 4345, for a consideration of this material in the overall context of the other
writings in mss 2469 and 1664.
Ademar Of Chabannes: His Life And Writings 31

celebrating the new apostle.74 Each collection approaches the cult of Martial
from both an alpha and an omega perspective and will be considered in detail
in the remaining chapters of this book. Each serves as a commentary on the
revised Aurelian vita, contains numerous polemics against the opponents of
Martials apostolicity, and reflects Ademars growing preoccupation with the
end times.75 Before the detailed consideration, it is useful to have an overview
of these two final manuscripts.
bn ms lat. 2469 contains forty-six sermons, primarily drawing from and
commenting on the revised Aurelian vita and the later development of the
cult. It is highly unlikely that these pieces were intended for oral delivery, but
rather structured the material around prominent feast days in Limoges: the
feast of St Austriclinian (sermons 13, fols. 1v14v), the feast of St Valerie (ser-
mons 47, fols. 14v25v), the commemoration of the dedication of the basilica
of St Peter of Limoges (sermons 811, fols. 25v50v), the commemoration of the
dedication of the cathedral of St Stephen (sermons 1216, fols. 50v60v),
the feast of the seat of St Martial (sermons 1719, fols. 60v64r), the celebration
of the first translation of St Martial (sermons 2023, fols. 64r76r), the celebra-
tion of the second translation of St Martial (sermons 2428, fols. 76r82r), and
celebrations for a variety of feasts of St Martial (sermons 2937, fols. 82r89r)
and for the commemoration of the basilica of the Holy Saviour at Saint-Martial
(sermons 3846, fols. 89r97r). The pieces are on the whole quite chronologi-
cal, the earliest focused on the life of St Martial as presented in the revised
Aurelian vita, with additional Ademar insertions, and then progressing through
the development of his cult until the culmination of the manuscript and, for
Ademar, the high point of the development of the apostolicity campaign the
purported official proclamation at the Council of Limoges of 1031.76
ds ms lat. 1664 is an even greater smorgasbord. In all sorts of ways it not
only reflects Ademars need to give authority to and to celebrate the apostolic-
ity of Martial, but it also makes clear the growing anticipation of the end times
in his writings.77 The first two pieces (fols. 2r37r) are Bedes commentaries on
the Acts of the Apostles and on the book of Revelation. Jeromes commentary
on the book of Daniel occupies fols. 40r58r. Next come several works of
Theodulf of Orlans with numerous insertions by Ademar including the

74 This is the material which will be examined in detail in Chapters 5 and 6.

75 For an earlier consideration of this material, see my article The Sermons of Ademar,
pp.25195.
76 bn ms lat. 2469, fols. 97r-112v.
77 For a very valuable overview of ds ms lat. 1664, see L. Delisle, Notice sur les manuscrits
originaux dAdmar de Chabannes, nebn 35 (1895), 24476.
32 chapter 2

Carolingians tract on baptism (fols. 58r78v). One then finds a variety of items,
including brief conciliar presentations filled with Ademars insertions on
Martial (fols. 78v116r). Finally there is Ademars own version of the Pseudo-
Isidore filled with more Martial insertions (fols. 116r170r). Several pieces at the
end of the manuscript are missing and will be considered in Chapter 7.78
Yet for all the dynamic activity in the last ten years of his life in the cam-
paign to promote and then defend the apostolicity of St Martial, it surely must
have become increasingly clear to Ademar that he and the monks of Saint-
Martial had gone too far in their actions. He had spent so much time and
expended so much effort in presenting this new apostle and close friend of
Jesus Christ that he himself was in his own fashion living in the apostolic
period in the Holy Land. The references to Jerusalem and the Cross in conjunc-
tion with the defense of St Martial abound in these final manuscripts.79 Not
only did the Jerusalem of the 1st century preoccupy his mind, but also evident
throughout these pieces is the heavenly Jerusalem, the eternal or omega City
of God in heaven.80 Thus, one should hardly be surprised that Ademar himself,
now that he had written his defenses, should depart in 1033, the millennial
year, on a pilgrimage to the Holy City.
Jerusalem would become his place of refuge. He would be a pilgrim monk
on the Mount of Olives. It is hardly surprising, then, that one of the final pieces
in ms 1664 is a letter from the pilgrim monks of the Mount of Olives to
Charlemagne and Pope Leo iii, professing orthodoxy and aligning themselves
with the leaders of Western Christendom in defense of orthodoxy, a letter that
it is likely Ademar, in his beleaguered state, wrote himself.81 Here, as did so
many others over the many centuries since Christs ascension, he would await
the Second Coming.
Even if the apocalyptic fears had not been so prominent at this moment in
time, it is very likely that Ademar would have viewed Jerusalem as his sanctu-
ary, his place to escape the turmoil caused by the St Martial fiasco and his
ownsense of failure. As will become very clear in the next chapters, he had
long followed the development of the Jerusalem pilgrimage by his fellow

78 See below in Chapter 6.

79 See below Chapters 5 and 6.
80 One of the most fascinating aspects of these final manuscripts is how the dual focus on
the alpha and the omega overlap and contribute to the strengthening of both poles. This
is a point I am exploring in a book on Jerusalem and the rise of Western civilization in the
10th and 11th centuries.
81 See Chapter 6 and my earlier The Problem of the Filioque and the Letter from the
Pilgrim Monks of the Mount of Olives to Pope Leo iii and Charlemagne: Is the Letter
Another Forgery by Admar of Chabannes, rb 102 (1992), 75134.
Ademar Of Chabannes: His Life And Writings 33

Aquitanians.82 Without question, moreover, his interest was further peaked by

visitors to Saint-Cybard and Saint-Martial from more distant regions who had
been pilgrims to the Holy City. One of the most important of these figures was
St Symeon of Trier.
Symeon appears in Ademars account of the Council of Limoges of 1031 as
one of the two monks from the monastery of Mount Sinai the other was
named Cosmas who had told him on a visit to Angoulme that in the Greek
Church Martial was considered to be one of the seventy-two apostles.83 The
two Eastern churchmen were purportedly horrified to learn that the West
accepted only twelve apostles and made a clear distinction between apostles
and disciples.84 Supposedly they said,

The Greeks have always been wiser than the Latins and the Latin
Scriptures are derived from a Greek source. Martial, whom we call ho
agios Martialios, we truly know to be one of the seventy-two, who with
Peter sought to preach in the West, and whose gesta together with those
of all the seventy-two we have on Mount Sinai in our own language.85

In this fashion did Ademar use these two visitors from the East as supporters of
the apostolicity.
But the Byzantinist Robert Lee Wolff, in a fascinating bit of detective work,
demonstrated that it was likely that while Symeon of Trier was travelling to
Normandy to collect the annual donation of the Norman duke for the monas-
tery of St. Catherine at Mount Sinai, he had an extended stay at Angoulme in the
summer of 1027, and during this stay he had given Ademar much information

82 See below, Chapters 3 and 4.

83 Mansi 19:517. Itaque illos conveni Graecos, sciscitans, utrum orientales Martialem
nossent. Qui alter Simeon, alter nomine Cosmas, consono ore responderunt, dicentes:
Utique Martialem novimus apostolum, unum de septuaginta duobus.
84 Ibid. Et cum diceremus utique haberi, sed illos septuaginta duos a nobis non credi fuisse
apostolos, sed tantum discipulos: illi protinus nos fugientes, et signo crucis se munientes,
coeperunt detestari vocem nostram, dicentes: Discedite procul a nobis, miseri, quia hae-
retici estis, cum non creditis verbis domini, dicentis ad illos: Ite, ecce ego, mitto vos sicut
agnos inter lupos. (Luke 10:3).
85 Ibid. Graeci semper Latinis sapientiores fuerunt, et scripturae Latinorum ex Graecorum
fonte derivatae sunt. Martialem proinde, quem nos dicimus, o agios Martialios, vere sci-
mus esse unum de illis septuaginta duobus, qui cum Petro occidentem petiit ad praedi-
candum: cujus gesta, et omnium septuaginta duorum, in monte Sinai in eliquio nostro
habemus.
34 chapter 2

about the Byzantine world.86 In so doing he likely whetted Ademars appetite

for his own pilgrimage to Jerusalem by answering questions about his experi-
ences there, where he had served as a pilgrims guide for seven years.87 As
Richard Landes has noted, it was fortuitous timing that Symeon should have
appeared at Angoulme when Ademar was working on his chronicle.88
That Ademar could have put testimony to the apostolicity of St Martial on
the lips of Symeon can hardly be surprising. Nor should one wonder that this
much travelled pilgrim from the eastern Mediterranean should be able to sup-
ply some valuable testimony to developments in the Byzantine and Islamic
worlds. Wolff focused on four incidents or passages in the chronicle that would
have required some detailed knowledge of the events that Westerners would
not ordinarily have.89 The first two the murder of Emperor Nicephorus
Phocas in 969 and the defeat of the Bulgars by the forces of Basil ii in the first
decades of the 11th century are not as pertinent to this book as the latter two,
although it might be valuable to know Ademars understanding of a purported
pledge of celibacy and monastic purity by Basil ii should he triumph.90
The third passage almost certainly had to have been told to Ademar by
Symeon because it concerns a miracle on Mount Sinai, the location where he
had been a monk for a number of years. After describing the destruction of the
church of the Holy Sepulcher, also known as the Temple, in Jerusalem in 1009
by the caliph of Egypt al-Hakim whom the chronicle calls Nabuchodonosor
of Babylon, the name for Cairo in the West, and Hakim in so many ways fits the
image of the Antichrist Ademar continues the apocalyptic imagery by insert-
ing the description of a spectacular occurrence at Mount Sinai.91 He writes,

To the monastery of Mount Sinai where there were five hundred and
more monks dwelling under the rule of their abbot, having their own
bishop there, came ten thousand armed Saracens that they might destroy
the monks and tear down their dwellings and their churches. But when
they had approached within a distance of about four miles they saw the
whole mountain burning and smoking and the flames were borne up into

86 Wolff, How the News was brought, pp. 18183.

87 On Symeon of Trier, his background, and his likely influence on Ademar, see Wolff, How
the News was brought, especially pp. 18389, and Callahan, The Problem of the
Filioque, pp. 11011.
88 Landes, Relics, especially p. 158 and pp. 16162.
89 Wolff, How the News was brought, pp. 14250.
90 Ademar, Chronicon 3.22, p. 144, and 3.32, pp. 15455.
91 Ibid., 3.47, pp. 16667.
Ademar Of Chabannes: His Life And Writings 35

the heavens, and the men and everything else there remained unharmed.
When they told this to the King of Babylon, he was moved by repentance
and both he and the people of the Saracens greatly repented the things
they had done against the Christians; then he gave the order and com-
manded that the basilica of the glorious sepulcher be rebuilt. Yet even
though the basilica was begun over again it was no longer either in size or
in beauty like the earlier one which Helena the mother of Constantine
had completed at royal expense.92

He goes on to describe a famine of three years in the lands of the Saracens, and
then the capture and killing of al-Hakim.
This is a passage filled with apocalyptic imagery and foreboding and surely
reflects the mind of one who believed he was living in the last days. The picture
of Sinai alone would be enough to indicate that. It harkens back to the descrip-
tion of Moses on the holy mount in Exodus 19:18, especially verse 18. The
mountain of Sinai was entirely wrapped in smoke, because Yahweh had
descended on it in the form of fire. Like smoke from a furnace the smoke went
up, and the whole mountain shook violently.93 One of the signs of the end
times is a burning mountain.94 Moreover, what precipitated all of this was the
Antichrist Hakim destroying and then rebuilding the Temple, the church of
the Holy Sepulcher.95 Surely such powerful signs could not be ignored by one
so under siege as Ademar.
The fourth passage also concerns turbulence for pilgrims to Jerusalem.
The Normans in southern Italy in 1018 met defeat at the hands of the forces of

92 Ibid. Ad monasterium quoque montis Sinai, ubi quingenti et eo amplius monachi sub
imperioabbatis manebant, habentes ibidem proprium episcopum, [venerunt Sarracenorum
decem milia armatorum], ut monachos perimentes habitacula eorum cum ecclesiis diru-
erent. [Propinquantes autem a quatuor fere milibus, conspiciunt totum montem ardentem et
fumantem, flammasque] in celum ferri, et cuncta ibi posita cum hominibus manere illesa.
Quod cum renunciassent regi Babilonio, penitencia ductus tam ipse quam populus
Sarracenus valde doluerunt de his quae contra Christianos egissent, et data preceptione,
jussit reaedificari basilicam Sepulchri gloriosi. Tamen redincepta basilica, non fuit amp-
lius similis priori nec pulchritudine nec magnitudine quam Helena mater Constantini
regali sumptu perfecerat.
93 The Jerusalem Bible, Exod. 19:18, p. 102.
94 This idea is based on Rev. 8:89, p. 437. The second angel blew his trumpet, and it was as
though a great mountain, all on fire, had been dropped into the sea etc.
95 See most recently D. Callahan, Al-Hkim, Charlemagne, and the Destruction of the
Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem in the Writings of Ademar of Chabannes, in
The Legend of Charlemagne in the Middle Ages: Power, Faith, and Crusade, eds. M. Gabriele
and J. Stuckey (New York, 2008), pp. 4157.
36 chapter 2

Basil ii, some of whom were his Varangian warriors. The captured Normans
were carried off to Constantinople and imprisoned. In addition, the road to
Jerusalem was closed for three years. Pilgrims were seized and also brought
to Constantinople, where they were imprisoned and mistreated.96
If indeed it was Symeon who supplied the information in these passages to
Ademar a strong likelihood, especially if one follows Wolffs argument closely
then it is clear that he helped keep Jerusalem more than alive in Ademars
mind in the late 1020s.97 Yet even if Symeon of Trier had not appeared in
Angoulme in 1027 and discussed Jerusalem with the monk of Saint-Cybard, it
would have been surprising if Ademar had not become a pilgrim to the Holy
Land in 1033, because of the millennial fears of the period, his own personal
problems with the defense of the apostolicity of St Martial, and the steady
stream of pilgrims to Jerusalem at this moment. Chapter 4 will consider
Jerusalem pilgrims in the writings of Ademar, particularly those from Aquitaine
who serve as models and fellow seekers. First, however, consideration will be
given to three Roman emperors who established the foundations for the pil-
grimage to Jerusalem and were so closely identified in the mind of Ademar
with the holy city.

96 Ademar, Chronicon, 3.55, p. 174. Quarto congressu a gente Russorum victi et prostrati sunt
et ad nichilum redacti, et innumeri, ducti Constantinopolim, usque ad exitum vite in
carceribus tribulati sunt. Tunc per triennium interclusa est via Jherosolime; nam propter
iram Nortmannorum quicumque invenirentur peregrini, a Grecis ligati Constantinopolim
ducebantur, et ibi carcerati affligebantur.
97 Richard Landes in a note in his Relics, p. 161, note 63, is surely correct when he calls into
question Wolffs assumption that Symeon represented Ademars only source for the four
Byzantine episodes, but it would seem more than likely that the Eastern monk was the
principal font for the last two because of his detailed knowledge of Mount Sinai,
Constantinople, and the Jerusalem pilgrims.
Ademar Of Chabannes: His Life And Writings 37

Illustration 1 Ademars Charlemagne (Bibliothque Nationale lat. 5943, fol. 5)

38 chapter 2

Illustration 2 The Crucifixion (Leiden University Library, Voss. 8 15, fol. 3v)
Ademar Of Chabannes: His Life And Writings 39

Illustration 3 The Deposition of Christ from the Cross (Leiden University Library, Voss. 8 15,
fol. 2v)
 chapter 3

Ademar on the Celebration of the Cross by

Constantine, Heraclius, Charlemagne

One must first consider the role of the Cross in Ademars writings in explaining
the development of the pilgrimage to Jerusalem in this period. Ademars writ-
ings are some of the most important sources on the many pilgrims going to
Jerusalem in the century immediately before 1033 and clearly reflect his preoc-
cupation with the Holy City. Only the writings of Ralph Glaber are comparable
in value on the subject. The writings provide numerous insights into both
whothe pilgrims were and why they were so drawn to the Holy Land at this
particular time.
Yet it was not only the Jerusalem of the 10th and 11th centuries that held
Ademars interest but also the long history of the Christian attachment to
theHoly City. The chronicle contains much material on the continuing inter-
est in Jerusalem prior to 900, such as that of the Emperors Heraclius and
Charlemagne.1 The sermons also reflect this preoccupation with the continu-
ing central importance of Jerusalem for the Mediterranean world and the
entire West in general over the preceding millennium.2
One must also consider the Cross and its importance for the Emperors
Constantine, Heraclius, and Charlemagne in Ademars writings. One object of
the Holy Land that had kept the connection with Jerusalem alive in the West
inthe period before the awakened interest in the pilgrimage was the True Cross,
pieces of which were treasured in many places in Christendom in the early
Middle Ages.3 The Cross from the time of Constantine became the supreme
symbol of Christianity and the Christian Roman Empire.4 Several feast days
were established in the liturgical calendar to commemorate the central impor-
tance of the Cross in the early Middle Ages.5 Ademars writings have much to say

1 On Heraclius, Ademar, Chronicon 1.41, p. 57; on Charlemagne, 2, p. 74ff.

2 See below, e.g. for the material on Jerusalem from Ademars longest piece in ms 2469 on the
finding of the True Cross by Helena.
3 On the relics of the True Cross, absolutely basic is Frolow, La Relique de la Vraie Croix.
Particularly helpful for the 8th and 9th centuries is C. Chazelle, The Crucified God in the
Carolingian Era: Theology and Art of Christs Passion (Cambridge, Eng., 2001).
4 Ademar emphasizes this fact in his longest sermon in ms 2469, 38v50v. See below.
5 On this point and its importance to Ademar, see Callahan, Tau Cross, pp. 6371.

koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 6|doi 10.1163/9789004313682_004

Ademar on the Celebration of the Cross by Constantine et al. 41

about the relics of the Cross, the imperial connections--in particular with
Constantine, Heraclius, and Charlemagne and these liturgical celebrations.6
In one of his long insertions one which Delisle called un interminable
sermon to a synodal piece of Theodulf of Orlans, the monk of Angoulme,
commenting on the fourth declaration of the Creed, he suffered under Pontius
Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried, refers to the victory of Constantine
at the Milvian Bridge and the role of the Cross in the triumph.7 To commemo-
rate his victory Constantine had the sign of the Cross, the labarum, placed on
the shields of his soldiers. By this sign, Ademar goes on to say, the Christian
army is distinguished from the pagan, a theme going back to Eusebius but also
found in later legends.8
Ademar recognized that it was not just the sign of the Cross that was impor-
tant to Constantine but also the remains of the True Cross itself. This is readily
apparent in the longest and most complex sermon in ms 2469 (38v50v), one
in which the monk of Angoulme must apologize for his longwindedness.9
This piece was purportedly prepared for delivery for the commemoration of
the dedication of the church of St Peter in Limoges, which Martial had conse-
crated and where his remains were first placed and rested for many years.
Running throughout the sermon is the theme of the central importance of the
Cross, which Constantines mother Helena discovered. Whether she actually
did so on a visit to Jerusalem at the behest of her son in the late 320s is a point
still debated.10 As far as the Middle Ages were concerned, there was no ques-
tion that she had done so under divine guidance. And at least for Ademar, as

6 See below in Chapters 5 and 6 for much material demonstrating this point.
7 Delisle, Manuscrits originaux, p. 254. The piece stretches from 70v78v of ds ms lat.
1664.
8 ds ms lat. 1664, 73 r. Per victoriam crucis primus imperator Romanorum Christianus
Constantinus factus est Christianus. Idem constituit in memoriam victoriae suae ut per
totum orbem omnis exercitus Christianorum in armis suis signum crucis haberent quod
in lancei videtis. His enim signis armorum exercitus Christianorum ab exercitum pagano-
rum in bello discernitur.
9 bn ms lat. 2469, 50r. Ne vero iam plusquam necesse est vestra fraternitas longa allocu-
tione praegravetur iam terminandus sermo est.
10 Among the many scholarly works on this topic, particularly helpful are H.A. Drake,
Eusebius on the True Cross, jeh 36 (1985), 122; S. Borgehammar, How the Holy Cross Was
Found (Stockholm, 1991); P.W.L. Walker, Holy City, Holy Places: Christian Attitudes to
Jerusalem and the Holy Land in the Fourth Century (Oxford, 1990); J. Drijvers, Helena
Augusta: The Mother of Constantine the Great and the Legend of Her Finding of the True
Cross (Leiden, 1992); H.A. Pohlsander, Helena: Empress and Saint (Chicago, 1995), and
C.P. Thiede and M. DAncona, The Quest for the True Cross (New York, 2000).
42 chapter 3

one sees in the Chronicle, she was responsible for the building of the church of
the Holy Sepulcher to house the Cross.11 Although the references in the sermon
specifically to the emperors mother are few, it is clear that Ademar is drawing
upon the most popular early medieval version of the discovery of the True
Cross, the so-called Cyriacus legend.12 Because this tale must be kept in mind
when reading this sermon, in order to appreciate some of the images used, a
brief recounting of its essentials is necessary.
According to this tale, which seems to have developed in Jerusalem or the
Holy Land in the 4th and 5th centuries and to have reached the West shortly
thereafter, after Constantines vision of the labarum and subsequent defeat of
his enemies, he was instructed in the Christian faith and baptized.13 He became
actively involved in ecclesiastical affairs and ordered many churches to be
built, including some in Jerusalem. To this end he had his mother Helena go to
the Holy Land to discover the place where the Cross was buried and then to
build a church on the site.
Arriving in Jerusalem with a great army, she summoned 3000 learned Jews
from the Holy City and the surrounding area to inquire about their teachings.14
Not satisfied with what they said, she requested that they select the most
learned for a more intense grilling. One thousand came to her and she charged
them and their fellow Jews with having failed to understand the prophets
about the Messiah. She then demanded to question an even smaller number about
the Messiah. She sought some of the more learned Jews to answer her
questions. Helena charged these Jews with blindness for failing to see Christ as
the Messiah. Once again the audience is dismissed with the demand to find
individuals who could answer her questions.
Greatly troubled, the group discussed the situation among themselves. One
of them, a certain Judas, said that Helena wished to know the location of the
burial site of the Cross. He urged them, however, not to tell her because his
grandfather Zacchaeus on his deathbed had told his son Simon, the father of
Judas, that when the Christians found it they would supplant the Jews as the
rulers of the land. Zacchaeus further stated that Christ would remain forever

11 Ademar, Chronicon 3.47, p. 167. Tamen redincepta basilica, non fuit amplius similis priori
nec pulchritudine nec magnitudine quam Helena mater Constantini regali sumptu
perfecerat.
12 For the Cyriacus legend, Drijvers, Helena Augusta, pt 2, Chapter 8, The Judas Cyriacus
Legend, and Borgehammar, Holy Cross, pp. 14595.
13 On the early evolution, Borgehammar, Holy Cross, pp. 14654; on the baptism of
Constantine, bn ms lat. 2469, 40r.
14 Drijvers, Helena Augusta, p. 166.
Ademar on the Celebration of the Cross by Constantine et al. 43

because he was the son of God. He said that he had not been able to convince
his fellow Jewish leaders of this when they condemned Christ to be crucified.
St Stephen, whom the Jews stoned, and St Paul are also mentioned as like-
minded Jews who became Christians. The Jews then told Judas not to disclose
any of this to Helena.
When these Jews returned to the empress, she remained very combative
and in response to their answers to her questions ordered that they be burned.
In fear, they handed over Judas to answer her questions. After the remaining
Jews had departed, Helena asked Judas where the Cross is to be found. When
Judas claims that he does not know, the empress orders him placed in a dry
well for seven days without food. At the end of that week Judas seeks his release
and promises to reveal to her where the Cross was buried.
Reciting a Hebrew prayer, he asks God to show him the place of the Cross by
making smoke with a sweet odor arise from the precious spot.15 If this be
granted, he promises to have faith in the Christian God. Not surprisingly, his
request is granted and he begins to dig in the place indicated. He found, how-
ever, not one but three crosses. Divine intervention is again needed to deter-
mine the True Cross. He places each of the crosses on the body of a recently
deceased youth. When the True Cross is laid on the body, a miracle occurs and
the cross thus identified.16
At this point Satan appears and complains that although through the first
Judas the world sinned, a second appears who can cast him out of the dead. He
threatens to punish this second Judas through the actions of a ruler, a likely
reference to Julian the Apostate, under whom Judas would indeed become a
martyr.17 Not to be cowed, Judas drives Satan away and is applauded by Helena
for the strength of his faith.
The legend goes on to describe the silver shrine with gold and jewels that
Helena had made for the Cross.18 She also builds a church at the site of Calvary
where the Cross was unearthed.19 Judas is baptized and eventually becomes
the bishop of Jerusalem under the name of Cyriacus.20
Helena also desired that the nails of the Cross be found. Cyriacus prayed
and a great light reveals the nails. Helena has the nails made into a bridle
for Constantine, which fulfills the prophecy of Zechariah (14:20), When

15 Ibid., p. 169.
16 Ibid.
17 Ibid., p. 170, especially note 18 for the reference to Julian.
18 Ibid.
19 Ibid.
20 Ibid.
44 chapter 3

thatday comes, the horse bells will be inscribed with the words, Sacred to
Yahweh21
The legend concludes with the empress persecuting the Jews and expelling
them from Judea.22 Cyriacus received many gifts from her for the church in
Jerusalem. After Helena ordered that the commemoration of the finding of the
Cross take place every year, she was able to depart in peace.23
Several versions of the discovery of the Cross developed in the early Middle
Ages, but the Cyriacus tale was far and away the most popular, as is attested by
the numerous manuscript copies that still exist.24 It also appears in vernacular
copies, such as that of the Elene in Old English.25 The tale is, in addition, incor-
porated into the monastic hours that were so important as a source of sermon
material.26
The work contains a number of features that made it very popular during
the monastic centuries and beyond. First of all was the centrality of
Constantines mother, Helena, as responsible for the discovery of the Cross, as
the builder of the church of the Holy Sepulcher on the spot where the Cross
was found, as responsible for ordering the making of the reliquary to hold the
remains of the Cross, and as responsible for establishing the liturgical feast to
commemorate the finding. Moreover, by doing all of these things and by travel-
ling to Jerusalem herself, she established the foundation for the future pilgrim-
age. Through her piety and generosity she became a model for the many
thousands of future pilgrims who would follow her in later centuries, including
Ademar himself. The fact that she was the mother of the first Christian emperor
was of great importance for developing the imperial connection to the Cross
and the establishment of Christendom. The numerous miracles in the piece
confirm the power of the Cross and Gods blessing on the holy remains and the
place of their discovery.27 For the 10th century and later, the emphasis on
the Cross as the instrument of suffering and redemption by the God-man
appealed to the growing Incarnationalism of the period.28 Related to this
theme of the suffering of Christ on the Cross is that of the persecution of the

21 Ibid., pp. 17071.

22 Ibid.
23 Ibid.
24 Borgehammar, Holy Cross, especially pp. 20813.
25 See e.g. M.C. Bodden, ed., The Old English Finding of the True Cross (Cambridge, Eng.,
1987).
26 Borgehammar, Holy Cross, p. 188ff.
27 Surely the most striking example of divine intervention was the actual discovery of the
site itself.
28 See e.g. in Chapter 3 with regard to Helena, Cum legisset autem intente adventum
humanitatis salvatoris nostri Iesu Christi et crucis eius assumptionem et a mortuis
Ademar on the Celebration of the Cross by Constantine et al. 45

Savior by the Jews. Throughout the Cyriacus account and very definitely in
Ademars sermon the Jews are portrayed in a most derisive way, whether it be
Helena lecturing them on their failure to recognize the Messiah, or Zachaeus
telling his son that the finding of the True Cross will result in the passing of
control of the Holy Land from the Hebrews, or again Helena in the final chap-
ter persecuting the Jews for their actions and driving them from their land.29
This, then, is the piece that underlies Ademars longest sermon in ms 2469.
One can be certain that it is the foundation not only through the many themes
and resonances from the Cyriacus tale but also because of the direct quota-
tions from the piece.30 In Chapter 7 of the legend Judas Cyriacus tells his fellow
Jews that Helena is seeking the True Cross. He knows this because his grandfa-
ther Zachaeus on his deathbed told his son Simon, Behold, son, when there
will be a question about the wood on which those who were before us con-
demned the Messiah, speak openly before you will be punished.31 In the leg-
end Zachaeus goes on to tell his son that the Jews will no longer rule the
kingdom, but that the rule of the Christians will begin. It will be the Crucified
who will reign forever, an appropriate theme in a piece celebrating the gover-
nance of Constantine, the first Christian emperor.
Ademars sermon is not so much interested in the latter point as it is in
focusing on Zachaeus and his position in the early church. Zachaeus is the key
thematic figure in the sermon, which seeks to connect more closely the

resurrectionem, non est se passa, donec et victorem Christi inveniret lignum, ubi domini-
cum et sanctum confixum est corpus. Borgehammar, Holy Cross, pp. 25758.
29 For further consideration of this material, see D. Callahan, Ademar of Chabannes,
Millennial Fears and the Development of Anti-Judaism, jeh 46.1 (1995), 1935; A. Linder,
Ecclesia and Synagoga in the Medieval Myth of Constantine the Great, rbph 54 (1976),
101960, esp. 103540; Borgehammar, Holy Cross, p. 162; Drijvers, Helena Augusta,
pp. 17879, and G. Langmuir, Toward a Definition of Antisemitism (Berkeley, 1990). See also
A.S. Abulafia, Christian-Jewish Relations, 10001300: Jews in the Service of Medieval
Christendom (New York, 2011), and R. Chazan, The Jews and Medieval Christendom, 10001500
(Cambridge, Eng., 2006).
30 Since Zaccheus is the key figure in Ademars sermon, it is the connection between this
figure and his grandson Judas Cyriacus that enables the legend to be the basis for the
sermon.
31 The linkage between Judas and his grandfather Zachaeus is nicely presented in this pas-
sage from the Cyriacus legend, Zacchaeus autem auus meus pronuntiavit patri meo, et
pater meus iterum, cum moreretur, pronuntiavit mihi dicens: `Vide fili, cum quaestio
fuerit ligni, in quo damnaverunt Messiam qui ante nos fuerunt, manifesta illud, antequam
cruciatus fueris. Iam autem amplius Hebraeorum genus non regnabit, sed regnum eorum
erit, qui crucifixum adorant. Ipse autem regnabit in saecula saeculorum. Ipse autem
estChristus filius Dei vivi. Borgehammar, Holy Cross, Chapter 7 of the Inventio Crucis A,
p. 261.
46 chapter 3

Aurelian vita of St Martial with the apostolic period.32 To this end he appears
primarily in the initial folios and in the last ones. It is Zachaeus the publican of
Luke 19, the figure who also is found in the initial chapter of the Aurelian leg-
end.33 In Luke 19:1-10 Zachaeus, a rich man of Jericho, wishes to see Jesus but
cannot because of the crowd. Being short of stature, he finds a sycamore, which
he climbs in order to look at Christ, who, in turn, when he sees this individual,
indicates that he wishes to stop that night at Zachaeuss house. The crowd
murmurs in displeasure that Christ intends to stay at the home of this publi-
can. But Zachaeus, honored that Christ has selected his home, pledges to give
one half of his goods to the poor and restore fourfold the goods of any man he
has wronged.
The Aurelian vita in its first chapter offers some information about the ear-
lier life of this figure.34 He was baptized by St Peter on the order of Christ at the
same time that Martial and his parents, Joseph of Arimathea, and many other
Jews were.35 In this fashion he is still another scriptural figure drawn into the
Aurelian vita to give verisimilitude to the tale.36
The sermon begins with Lukes image (Luke 19:4) of Christ walking through
Jericho and indicating to Zachaeus, who was up in a sycamore tree in order to
see Jesus, that he will stay that night in the home of this prominent publican.37
Ademar uses the image of the desire of Zachaeus as a way of beginning this
piece prepared for the commemoration of the dedication by St Martial of the
church of St Peter. This ardor to see the Lord is comparable to that of those
hearing the sermon preparing to receive the Lord.38
The theme of the ardor of Zachaeus also is used to draw an extended
comparison between the publican and the people of Aquitaine.39 Just as
Zachaeus was instructed by Christ, so are the people of Aquitaine by Martial.
Like Zachaeus before the appearance of Christ, the people of Aquitaine were

32 Cross-reference to Chapter 5.
33 See the Aurelian vita, also called the Vita Prolixior, in Surius, De probatis, vol. 6, pp. 36574,
Chapter 1, p. 365.
34 Ibid.
35 Ibid. Tunc iubente Domino baptizati sunt aPetro apostoloZacheus
36 On the use of figures from scripture in the Aurelian vita, Callahan, The Sermons of
Ademar, pp. 26063.
37 bn ms lat. 2469, 38v.
38 Ibid. Eodem fidei ardore salvatorem nos quoque suscipere satagamus sollempnia sancti-
ficationis domus Dei pro eius honore annua frequentare festinemus.
39 Ibid., 39 r. This comparison is lengthy and includes much on Martial and his bringing of
the Christian faith from Jerusalem. These ideas are further developed in chapter five.
Ademar on the Celebration of the Cross by Constantine et al. 47

lacking in true knowledge until they were instructed by Martial. They were
illumined by the preaching of an apostle.40 He continues the comparison by
saying that the Lord made the people of Aquitaine come down from the tree
and establish churches so that Christ might remain there not only for one day,
but forever.41 The whole province rejoiced when it received the true faith
taught by Martial, the message of Christ, as Zachaeus had in receiving Christ
himself.42
Ademar also compares the generosity of Zachaeus with that of Duke
Stephen of Aquitaine after the duke became a Christian in the 1st century.
Zachaeus had told the Lord that he would give one half of his goods to the poor
and restore fourfold the property of anyone he had defrauded. (Luke 19:8).
Ademar, citing the Aurelian vita, has Stephen giving all of his goods to the
poor.43
Also in these first folios of this sermon Ademar begins the development of
the connection between Zachaeus and the Cross, which will become more
important later in the piece, as it is in the Cyriacus legend.44 Again returning to
the comparison of Zachaeus and Aquitaine, Ademar states that just as it
was the love of the Lord that raised Zachaeus into the sycamore tree, so it was
the Cross of the Nazarene that raised up the province of Aquitaine in the love
ofthe crucified Lord.45 Much of the remainder of the work then goes on to
consider the evangelization of this region and offers many additional Cross
images.46

40 Ibid. Qui naturalis conditionis dignitate speciali amissa dum creaturam pro creatore
adorabant tamen apostolorum praedicatione inluminati suspensae contemplationis alti-
tudine quasi quodammodo iustitiae arborem ascendentes venientem ad se Dominum
intelligere sitiebant ac potius ei famulari atque obsecundari gaudebant.
41 Ibid., 39v. Idcirco reor populum ipsum Aquitaniae Dominus festinum quasi de arbore
contemplationis descendere fecit ut per sui discipuli praedicationem fundatis circum-
quaque ecclesiis Christus in domo Aquitaniae devotae gentilitatis non uno die sed sempi-
terno maneret.
42 Ibid., 39v40r.
43 Ibid., 40r. iste praeclarus vir princeps Galliarum Stephanus adepta iam per Marcialem
verae fidei agnitione ut ita dicam non dimidium sed totum bonorum suorum pauperibus
Domini dare curavit.
44 Ibid., 38vff.
45 Ibid., 40r. Ita concite sursum mirabile affatu erecta est, ita quantocius ad Christum per
arborem crucis sublevata est. Illa sicomorus publicanum in affectu Redemptoris praefere-
bat suspensum at vero crux Nazareni Aquitaniam in amore crucifixi Domini erexerat
praefixam.
46 Cross-reference to Chapter 5.
48 chapter 3

Late in the sermon the Zachaeus imagery returns. Ademar again reminds
his listeners how appropriate it is that Zachaeus be mentioned in conjunction
with the feast commemorating the dedication by St Martial of the church of
St Peter in Limoges.47 Zachaeus, who was baptized by Peter at the same time as
Martial, is the same Zachaeus who sought to see Christ, who was about to go to
Jerusalem.48 It is at this point that he inserts the material from the Cyriacus
legend after he has tied together Luke 19, with Christ about to go to Jerusalem
to his Passion, and the Aurelian vita, with its references to the baptism of
Zachaeus and Joseph of Arimathea, who both in this vita and in the sermon is
referred to as he who will bury the Lord.49 He relates how Zachaeus told Simon,
who disclosed to his son Judas the burial place of the Cross, and how Judas
informed Helena.50
He also addresses the question of whether the Zachaeus of the Aurelian vita
can be the Zachaeus of the Cyriacus legend, the one who hid the Cross that
Helena found afterward.51 Can the Cyriacus legend be reliable, given the long
period that elapsed between the time of Christ and that of Constantine, a period
Ademar indicated would have been nearly 270 years?52 Yet he states that over a
period of 200 or more years it is possible for there to be but three generations
ofa family.53 Moreover, it would even be possible for Stephen the Protomartyr
to be the brother of Judas because God could have given him great age.54

47 bn ms lat. 2469, 48v.

48 Ibid., 48v49r.
49 Ibid., 49r. Quomodo inquiunt fieri potuit ut in extremis mundi finibus Aquitanicus his-
toricus scriberet de Marciale quod non viderat ipse propriis oculis? Narrat quippe eum ibi
baptizatum ubi Zacheus et Ioseph qui postea Dominum sepelivit baptizati sunt. Et certe
ipse historiographus ibi non erat ut videret quod postea scriberet.
50 Ibid., 49v. Fertur autem quod Zacheus filium nomine Simonem, Simon vero Iudam genu-
erit qui Helenae demonstrator crucis fuerit.
51 Ibid. Porro autem nequorundam questio de Zacheo publicano praetereat in discussa si
ut fertur a quibusdam hic iste est Zacheus qui crucem Domini in eo loco ubi eam postea
regina Helena invenit propter devotionem abscondit sciendum est quod hoc non videtur
a laudis misterio vacare quod arborem ascendit ad videndum Dominum.
52 Ibid. At vero si a resurrectione Domini post ducentos et eo amplius annos crux Domini
inventa est nam a resurrectione Domini usque ad imperium Constantini ducenti et sep-
tuaginta fere anni numerantur ipse annorum numerus nequaquam eorum opinioni
repugnare videtur qui Zacheum publicanum aestimant crucis Domini occulatatorem
devotum fuisse.
53 Ibid. Siquidem per ducentos et amplius annos, tres generationes hominum perdurare
possibile est.
54 Ibid. Praeterea quod dicitur Stephanum protomartirem fuisse fratrem illius Iudae qui
locum crucis Domini intimavit Helenae non incredibile videtur cum contigisse potuerit
Ademar on the Celebration of the Cross by Constantine et al. 49

Thewhole idea of God selecting the family of Zachaeus for a special purpose,
and therefore giving them extraordinary gifts, such as longevity, is clearly appar-
ent when Ademar states,

Nor without the divine will perchance it is seen done that who had
climbed the wood of a tree that he might see the Lord hid the wood of the
Cross under the earth in order that also at what time the triumph of
the passion of the Lord might be revealed.55

The sermon also has a significant amount of anti-Judaistic material, although

much of it is not taken directly from the Cyriacus legend.56 Since Judas is only
mentioned in the sermon because of the focus on Zachaeus, the Cyriacus
attacks on the Jews through the exchanges between Helena and the represen-
tatives of the Jewish people are not used. Zachaeus is portrayed as being the
protector of the Cross from the Jews by his hiding of it, and thus worthy of
praise forever.57 The Jews are referred to as wicked (malignantes Iudei), but
the attack is mild in comparison to what has appeared earlier in the piece and
to what appears elsewhere in Ademars writings.58 One reason may be that

Iudam longe postmodum natum et in tempore Helenae consenvisse potueritque divini-

tas longevitatem in colomen tribuere ei per quem revelare dignatus est crucem in gaud-
ium saeculorum. Sed si Stephanus protomartir ex origine erat Zachei nam Zacheus
Israhelita fuit genere Marcialis vero et Stephanus consanguinitate sibi nexi sunt videtur
idcirco Zacheum in ipsis actibus Marcialis commemoratum. On the importance of
St Stephen in the Inventio Crucis, Borgehammar Holy Cross, pp. 14648.
55 Ibid. Nec sine divino nutu fortasse actum videtur, quod qui lignum arboris subierat ut
Dominum videret, lignum etiam crucis sub terra abscondit, ut quandoque dominicae
passionis triumphus revelaretur.
56 This material will be considered in conjunction with the other cross-references in Chapter 5.
Yet as Borgehammar, Holy Cross, on p. 168 points out, the author of the Cyriacus legend
has great respect for Jewish oral tradition, and thus the piece is not wholly anti-Judaistic.
57 bn ms lat. 2469, 49v. Quod si forte ille devotus publicanus in illo tumultu qui a Iudeis in
passione Domini agebatur crucem Domini abscondere curavit ut generationibus futuris
esset in salutem utque passionis Domini teste fieret saeculo praeciosum lignum neve
malignantes Iudei ipsam crucem vel ferro vel igne penitus abolerent non minima laude in
saecula dignus est.
58 See Callahan, Ademar of Chabannes, Millennial Fears, pp. 1935, and more recently
ibid., The Cross, the Jews, and the Destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the
Writings of Ademar of Chabannes, in Christian Attitudes Toward the Jews in the Middle
Ages, ed. M. Frassetto (New York, 2007), pp. 1523. Also in the same collection, M. Frassetto,
Heretics and Jews in the Early Eleventh Century: The Writings of Rodulfus Glaber and
Ademar of Chabannes, pp. 4359.
50 chapter 3

he has emphasized that Martial is a Jew and comes from Jerusalem, although
the distinction made between anti-Judaism (as religion) and antisemitism
(aspeople) is one with which Ademar probably would be content.
Running throughout the sermon are images of Jerusalem. In fact, in many
ways Jerusalem and trips to and from it are the central theme and explain the
preoccupation with Zachaeus and the Cross.59 Again, as throughout much of
mss 2469 and 1664, the defense of the apostolicity of Martial is evident every-
where, and in this case through an association with Christ and other figures
from the New Testament.60 A good example is Jerusalem was the place
selected by Christ for sending forth the faith.61
It is also clear that Zachaeus was selected as an important figure for this
sermon not just because of the Cyriacus legend or his appearance in the
Aurelian vita, but also because the episode of his call by Christ in Luke 19:1-10
immediately precedes the account of Christs entrance into Jerusalem before
the Passion. In this fashion Christ himself becomes a model for his followers
later visits to the Holy City. It is an entrance with Messianic overtones because
his disciples proclaim his kingship as he enters the city (v. 38), and he shortly
will weep over the city as he forecasts its destruction (vv. 4144). As was men-
tioned in Chapter 2, the figure of the weeping Christ is one that clearly moved
Ademar greatly, for in a vision in his youth, which he recounts in the chronicle,
he saw in the heavens Christ weeping on the Cross.62
Another important figure going to Jerusalem in this sermon is St Paul. Paul
the apostle, who was not one of the original twelve, is a missionary whom
Ademar often compares to Martial in seeking to establish the latters aposto-
licity.63 Not only is there the image of Zachaeus seeking Christ as Paul does

59 Only a small portion of the Cross imagery in this sermon has been presented in this chap-
ter. See also Chapters 5 and 6 for additional material from this sermon.
60 For much more on this point, see Chapter 5.
61 bn ms lat. 2469, 39v. Enim vero veniens Dominus ad salvandas gentes in plenitudinis
temporum consummatione nascendi et post passionem a mortuis resurgendi locum
Hierosolim civitatem elegit. Ibi gentilitatem devotam suscipiens futuram praecepit eam
sibi praeparare domum fidei quodammodo quando apostolis in Hierosolim imperavit
dicens: `Euntes docete omnis gentes, baptizantes eas in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus
Sancti, docentes eos servare omnia quaecumque mandavi vobis. (Matthew 28:1920).
62 See above in Chapter 2.
63 bn ms lat. 2469, e.g. fol. 47v. Sed his iam dictis illud dicendum est quia quibus non sufficit
Marcialem apostolum in ordere blasphemantibus eum quasi qui perfectus apostolus non
sit cum non sit unus de xii sed de lxx duobus Paulum etiam apostolum mordent blas-
phemantes eum non esse perfectum apostolum
Ademar on the Celebration of the Cross by Constantine et al. 51

Peter, but also he considers a number of the trips Paul made to Jerusalem, jour-
neys he examines in detail in seeking to date them.64
There is so much more packed into this sermon that warrants further
study.65 Among the trips to Jerusalem that Ademar cites is that of the Queen of
Sheba to see Solomon.66 One would think that a visit of a queen in the Old
Testament would serve as a comparison to Queen Helena, but Ademar does
not develop the comparison. In fact, Helena is barely mentioned in the ser-
mon, which confines the Cyriacus references primarily to Zachaeus.
Constantine appears more often than his mother in the piece in association
with the Cross and Jerusalem.
Another Roman emperor whose association with the Cross was obviously
important to Ademar was Heraclius, emperor in Constantinople from 61041.
Just as for 11th-century pilgrims Constantine and his mother were responsible
for the finding of the Cross, the building of the church of the Holy Sepulcher,
and initiating what would become the feast of the Inventio, so Heraclius is
remembered as the emperor who rescued the Cross from the Persians and
returned it to Jerusalem. This action was commemorated in the feast of the
Restoration of the Cross, the Exaltatio, celebrated on September 14, the third of
the Great Cross feasts of the period.67 Just as the feast of the Inventio would
keep the importance of the Cross at the forefront of the mind of so liturgically
oriented a monk as Ademar, so too would the feast of the Exaltatio.
One of the few insertions that Ademar makes in book 1 of the chronicle
that portion of the work on the history of the Franks before Charlemagne and
drawn from the Liber Historiae Francorum and the continuation by Fredegar
is his description of the rescue of the Cross by Heraclius.68 What makes this

64 Ibid., especially fols. 45r and 48r-v. Cross-reference to Chapter 7, p. 167 ff. for Ademars
citing a pilgrimage of St Paul as a precedent for his own pilgrimage.
65 One example would be the later identification of Zachaeus with Amator of Rocamadour.
66 bn ms lat. 2469, fol. 48r. Sicut regina Saba venit videre Salomonem quem numquam
viderat
67 The feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, celebrated on 14 September, developed in the
West in Rome in the late 7th century. It is quite distinct from the feast of the Finding of
the Cross of 3 May, although it may initially have been combined in the Western Church
with the Exaltatio. The third feast of the Cross is the feast of the Adoration on Good
Friday. For a detailed recent study of the development of the feast of the Exaltation, see L.
Van Tongeren, Exaltation of the Cross: Toward the Origins of the Feast of the Cross and the
Meaning of the Cross in the Early Medieval Liturgy (Leuven, 2001).
68 On the capture of Jerusalem by the Persians in 614 and the destruction of the church of
the Holy Sepulcher and the subsequent rescue and return of the Cross by Heraclius, see
J.F. Haldon, Byzantium in the Seventh Century: The Transformation of a Culture (Cambridge,
Eng., 1990), pp. 4246.
52 chapter 3

addition even more striking is that it is the only one concerning an event out-
side of Gaul, and especially beyond local developments in Aquitaine. Clearly,
to him it was an extraordinarily important action. He states,

Then Heraclius the emperor as victor bore the Cross of the Lord from the
temple of Chosroes that was in Persia into Jerusalem, and the exaltation
of the Holy Cross was then made in that city. At that time the most pious
emperor Heraclius sent gifts to Dagobert and asked that he force to be
baptized all the Jews who were in the whole kingdom, which was done.69

Appearing here are two statements: the first on the rescue of the Cross from
Persia and its exaltation in Jerusalem, and the second on the subsequent action
of Dagobert against the Jews at the behest of Heraclius. Are Ademars asser-
tions historically accurate? As to the first, Heraclius did indeed restore the
Cross to Jerusalem c.630, which did result in the Patriarch leading a ceremony
of exaltation.70 The Persian ruler Chosroes had taken the Cross from Jerusalem
in 614.71 In the East, Heraclius was recalled as being responsible for the rein-
vention of the Cross, and thus another Constantine, as a crusader for his rescue
of the Cross from the Persians, and later as a defender against the first incur-
sions of the Moslems.72 It is likely that Ademar has three images in mind, for
his brief statement breaks down into three parts: an inventio; an adventum, or
entrance into Jerusalem doubly following the model of Christ on his trium-
phant entrance and then his later bearing of the Cross; and an exaltation.73
With regard to the reference to Dagobert and the Jews, Heraclius did persecute

69 Ademar, Chronicon 1.41, p. 57. Tunc Heraclius imperator crucem Domini de fano Cosroe,
quod erat in Perside, victor detulit in Jerusalem, et exaltacio sancte Crucis in sanctam
civitatem tunc facta est. Eo tempore, piissimus imperator Heraclius Dagoberto munera
misit, et rogavit ut baptizare compelleret omnes Judeos qui erant in omni regno ejus;
quod et factum est.
70 See the comments on this occasion by Joshua Prawer in Christian Attitudes Towards
Jerusalem, in The History of Jerusalem: The Early Muslim Period 6381099, eds. J. Prawer
and H. Ben-Shammai (New York, 1996), p. 331. On Heraclius as a penitent pilgrim
returning the Cross, see G. Regan, First Crusader: Byzantiums Holy Wars (New York,
2003), pp. 13134. See also W. Kaegi, Heraclius, Emperor of Byzantium (Cambridge,
Eng., 2003), pp. 20507.
71 Kaegi, op. cit., pp. 78 and 80.
72 This theme resounds most strongly in Regan, First Crusader.
73 See the ever thoughtful comments on an imperial or royal advent by Ernst Kantorowicz
in The Kings Advent and the Enigmatic Panels in the Doors of Santa Sabina, in E.
Kantorowicz, Selected Studies (Locust Valley, n.y., 1965), pp. 3775.
Ademar on the Celebration of the Cross by Constantine et al. 53

the Jews and attempt forcible conversions and Dagobert did also participate in
this activity.74
As for Ademars source or sources of this material, Chavanon in the preface
to his edition of the chronicle stated that Ademars source for this information
is unknown.75 The source for the first part may have been the office for the
feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.76 As for the statement about Heraclius and
Dagobert, the source would seem to have been the chronicle of Fredegar,
which states, So he (Heraclius) sent to the Frankish King Dagobert to request
him to have all the Jews of his kingdom baptized which Dagobert promptly
carried out.77
Whether Dagobert did so act and for how long a period has been a matter of
some dispute.78 It is clear that Heraclius initiated a policy of anti-Judaism. Not
only did he reinstitute in 630 the policy of Hadrian and Constantine prohibit-
ing the Jews from entering Jerusalem or the area around it a punishment
levied by Heraclius for the Jewish support of the Persian takeover of the Holy
City but it is likely that at the same time he mandated the baptism of all Jews
throughout the whole empire.79 This forced conversion seems to have been the
first time that the Roman state so acted against the Jews.80
That it was not only a political punishment but one influenced by the
intense eschatological expectations of the early 630s during the Persian and
Islamic conquests is very likely.81 Some of this fear appeared in Fredegars
chronicle, which has several chapters on the activities of Heraclius. In Chapter 65,

74 Kaegi, Heraclius, pp. 21617.

75 Chronique dAdmar de Chabannes, ed. J. Chavanon (Paris, 1897), p. xv. On ne saurait dire
o Admar a trouv la matire des additions faites par lui aux Gesta regum, aux
Continuations de Frdgaire et aux Annales Laurissenses dans les deux premiers livres et
au dbut du troisime.
76 When one recalls the importance of this feast to Ademar, so evident in his writing a Holy
Cross hymn (cross-reference to Chapter 6), and his strong focus on Jerusalem, it seems a
likely source.
77 Fredegarii Chronicon, The Fourth Book of the Chronicle of Fredegar with its Continuations,
trans. J.M. Wallace-Hadrill (London, 1960), p. 54.
78 See the comments in the notes to the Landes and Pon edition of Ademars chronicle,
p. 206. Also on the unreliability of Fredegar, see the comments of W. Goffart, The Narrators
of Barbarian History (a.d. 550800): Jordanes, Gregory of Tours, Bede, and Paul the Deacon
(Princeton, 1988), p. 426.
79 On his strongly anti-Jewish policies, Kaegi, Heraclius, pp. 21618.
80 See Linder, Ecclesia and Synagoga, pp. 101960, especially 103844, and M. Gil, A History
of Palestine, 6341099, translated from the Hebrew by E. Broido (Cambridge, Eng., 1992),
pp. 89.
81 Linder, Ecclesia and Synagoga, pp. 103944.
54 chapter 3

just before mentioning Dagobert, Fredegar states, Being well-read, he prac-

tised astrology, by which art he discovered, God helping him, that his empire
would be laid waste by circumcised races. So he sent to the Frankish King
Dagobert to request him82 The chapter concludes, Heraclius ordered that
the same should be done throughout all the imperial provinces; for he had no
idea whence this scourge would come upon his empire.83 That it was not cir-
cumcised Jews but the Saracens who would lay waste becomes clear in the
next chapter of Fredegar.84
Yet the question about Dagobert so acting has not been answered and prob-
ably cannot be.85 It is clear, however, that the late 6th and early 7th centuries
witnessed several outbreaks of anti-Judaism in Gaul, and that these were
examples of forced conversions of Jews, such as that practiced by Bishop
Sulpicius of Bourges between 631 and 639.86 These outbreaks, such as that
against the Jews at Clermont in 576, merit much more attention than they have
received, especially in the light of the eschatological fears of the period, which
are reminiscent of the persecution of the Jews in the apocalyptically charged
atmosphere of the 14th century.87
Thus it should not be surprising that Ademar would insert this material on
Heraclius and Dagobert in his chronicle. Not only did it praise the restorer of

82 mgh SSrerMer. 2, Chronicarum Quae Dicuntur Fredegarii Scholastici Liber iv, Chapter 65,
p. 153. Cum esset litteris nimius aeruditus, astralocus effecetur; per quod cernens, a cir-
cumcisis gentibus divino noto emperium esse vastandum, legationem ad Dagobertum
regem Francorum dirigens, petens, ut omnes Iudeos regni sui ad fidem catolecam bapti-
zandum preciperit. On the reliability and legendary nature of this item in Fredegar, see
W. Goffart, The Fredegar Problem Reconsidered, Sp 38 (1963), 20641, and also the
thoughts of M. Gil on Muslim sources on this matter in Gil, A History of Palestine, pp. 910.
83 Fredegar, ibid., Aeraglius per omnes provincias emperiae talem idemque facere decrevit.
Ignorabat, unde haec calametas contra emperium surgerit.
84 Ibid. Agarrini, qui et Saracini, sicut Orosiae liber testatur, gens circumcisa ad latere mon-
tes Caucasi super mare Cypium terram Ercoliae coinomento iam olem consedentes, in
nimia multetudine crevissent, tandem arma sumentis, provincias Aeragliae emperatores
vastandum inruunt, contra quos Aeraglius milites ad resistendum direxit. Etc. And one
must wonder if it was the reference to Heraclius and the stars that drew Ademar to this
material because he was viewed from the perspective of the Pseudo-Methodius. See
Chapter 6 below.
85 J.M. Wallace-Hadrill in his translation of the fourth book of Fredegar, p. 54, especially note
1, indicated that the carrying out of such a policy in Frankish lands lacks confirmation.
86 On this matter see, B. Blumenkranz, Juifs et chrtiens dans le monde occidentale, 4301096
(Paris, 1960), p. 100.
87 Particularly useful on the Merovingian outbreaks are G. de Nie, Roses in January:
A Neglected Dimension in Gregory of Tours Historia Francorum, jmh 5 (1979), 25989,
and Landes, Lest the Millennium Be Fulfilled, pp. 141211.
Ademar on the Celebration of the Cross by Constantine et al. 55

the Cross and celebrate the Exaltation, but it also allowed him to attack the
Jews, who in his mind were responsible for the Crucifixion.88 One final point
on Heraclius needs to be mentioned. Fredegar does not list any gifts from
Heraclius to Dagobert. One must wonder whether Ademar believed these gifts
included relics of the True Cross, which Heraclius did bestow on others.89 The
matter is raised because the next Cross emperor would bestow such relics,
pieces of the True Cross so important to Ademar.
That emperor is Charlemagne, a figure of supremely greater importance to
Ademar than either Constantine or Heraclius, yet like them very much in his
mind associated with the Cross and Jerusalem.90 His chronicle in three books
tracing the history of the Franks from their purported Trojan origins pivots
around the second book, given over in its entirety to the reign of Charlemagne.
The importance of this figure to the chronicler is evident in the additions
Ademar makes to the Royal Annals which, on the whole, book two copies.
Chapter 1 begins with one of the longest additions he makes to this second
book. It consists of a recapitulation of the genealogy of Charlemagne going
back to the purported first Frankish king, Faramund, and emphasizing the
Carolingian tie to the Merovingians through Dagoberts sister Baltilde.91 The
very first sentence bears witness to the power and importance of Charlemagne
in this fashion, We state the family of the most excellent lord King Charles,
whom God loved and exalted and made a great leader beloved by all the
Christian people throughout the whole world.92 Moreover, later in the chapter
he places the rule of Charlemagne in a cosmic perspective by indicating that
5200 years had elapsed from the creation to the incarnation, making the impe-
rial coronation of Charlemagne in 800 the 6000th year.93 He thus becomes the
first emperor of the Franks in the year 6000, the date often assigned by Christian

88 On this point see my two articles Ademar of Chabannes, Millennial Fears, pp. 1935, and
The Cross, the Jews, pp. 1523, and in the same collection Frassetto, Heretics and Jews,
pp. 4359.
89 Frolow, La Relique de la Vraie Croix, p. 191.
90 Cross-reference to Chapter 6 for the material on Charlemagne as the Last Emperor. Also
on Charlemagne, see the recent A. Latowsky, Emperor of the World: Charlemagne and the
Construction of Imperial Authority, 8001229 (Ithaca, n.y., 2013).
91 Ademar, Chronicon 2.1, pp. 7577, with many insertions by Ademar.
92 Ibid., p. 75. Primo rege Francorum dicemus prosapiam domni precelsi regis magni Karoli,
quem Deus amavit et exaltavit et magnum principem et amabilem a cuncto populo chris-
tiano per universum mundum fecit.
93 Ibid., p. 77. Sic enim computantur anni ab origine mundi usque ad incarnationem
Domini secundum septuaginta interpretes and in the original text one finds on p. 78
sunt anni quinque milia ducenti.
56 chapter 3

scholars in the early Middle Ages to the Second Coming.94 He is the beloved of
God, a sacred figure selected to play a central role in human history.95
His sacredness is further underlined by Ademar in a drawing he made of
Charlemagne. It is found in bn ms lat. 5943A and appears at the beginning
of Ademars copy of Einhards Life of Charlemagne. Danielle Gaborit-Chopin
discovered this piece and unequivocally attributes it to Ademar in a lengthy
study of the many drawings from the pen of the monk of Angoulme.96 Rather
than presenting a copy of the likeness of the great Charles from the Carolingian
period, he clearly has drawn the emperor in the likeness of Christ in a work
that is unquestionably the finest in his collection of over 100 drawings that
have survived.97 This identification of Charlemagne with Christ surely is not
surprising during the heart of the Benedictine centuries, which in many ways
was the uncompromisingly christocentric period of Western civilization
roughly, the monastic period from 900 to a.d. 1100.98
This hieratic figure, moreover, was the ruler of a sacred empire following in
the line of Constantine and Heraclius. And it was the Roman Empire whose
Romanness Ademar emphasizes in a lengthy addition he makes to book 2 of the
chronicle. When an argument arose between the advocates of the Gallic chant
and those of the Roman, the matter was brought to the great Charles.99 He ruled
in favor of the Roman because this form went back to Gregory the Great and was
not adulterated.100 He then sought from Pope Hadrian masters of the Roman
form who would teach the Franks, and schools of Roman chant were established
in Gaul. Also, Roman masters of grammar and computation came from Rome
and established schools. Ademar states, Before the Lord Charles, there was no
study of the liberal arts in Gaul. All this, as we know, was a part of the use of
Charles of Roman things to bring a uniformity of observance to his empire.101

94 On this point see Landes, Lest the Millennium Be Fulfilled, pp. 141211.
95 See below, Chapter 6 for much more on the role of Charlemagne in sacred history.
96 Gaborit-Chopin, Les dessins dAdmar, p. 217. See this illustration in the Appendix.
97 The lengthy Gaborit-Chopin article was in many ways breaking new ground and opened
many eyes to Ademars artistic ability, whose drawings may even have served as models
for the Bayeux Tapestry. See Beech, Was the Bayeux Tapestry Made in France? pp. 4960.
98 E. Kantorowicz, The Kings Two Bodies: A Study in Medieval Political Theology (Princeton,
1957), p. 61. On this point see also S. Nichols, Romanesque Signs: Early Medieval Narrative
and Iconography (New Haven, 1983), pp. 61 and 66, especially the latter, where he sees
Charlemagne as one of the christological symbols of the 11th century.
99 Ademar, Chronicon 2.8, pp. 8990.
100 Ibid., p. 89. Et ait domnus rex Karolus: Revertimini vos ad fontem sancti Gregorii, quia
manifeste corrupistis cantilenam ecclesiasticam.
101 Ibid., p. 90. Et domnus rex Karolus iterum a Roma artis grammaticae et computatoriae
magistros secum adduxit in Franciam et ubique studium litterarum expandere jussit.
Ademar on the Celebration of the Cross by Constantine et al. 57

Yet as much as the empire was Roman to Ademar, he also stresses the cen-
trality of Jerusalem for Charles. One way this is evident is the importance of
the anointing rite to the Carolingians, with all its Davidic connections, which
enabled them to replace the Merovingians through the agency of the pope and
St Boniface in the middle of the 8th century.102 Charlemagne is in this fashion
the successor to David. But even more important than the Old Testament roots
is the New Testament presentation of the origins of Christianity. Ademar cop-
ies the Royal Annals material on Charlemagnes interest in Jerusalem.103 At the
center of this interest are the Cross and the church of the Holy Sepulcher.104
A good example of this emphasis is the mention of the appearance in the
year 799 of a monk from Jerusalem who brought from the patriarch of the holy
city a blessing from the relics of the tomb of the Lord.105 This monk remained
at court until early the following year, when he returned to Jerusalem accom-
panied by a legate named Zacharias bearing gifts from Charlemagne.106
Historians have conjectured at great length about whether he was bearing any-
thing else to the patriarch, including the possibility of arranging the imperial
coronation to occur in Jerusalem rather than Rome.107 Whatever the case,
according to the Royal Annals, which Ademar repeats, Zacharias returned that
same year shortly before the imperial coronation in Rome and was accompa-
nied by two monks from the East sent by the patriarch, one from a house on
the Mount of Olives and one from the great monastery of Saint Sabas.108
On the very day they arrived, according to the Annals, Pope Leo had purged
himself of wrongdoing in a great gathering held in the presence of Charles in
the basilica of Saint Peter. The delegation from Jerusalem brought Charles for

Ante ipsum enim domnum regem Karolum in Gallia nullum studium fuerat liberalium
artium.
102 Nichols, Romanesque Signs, p. 68.
103 For example, Ademar, Chronicon 2.15, p. 98.
104 See my The Problem of the Filioque and more recently Al-Hkim, Charlemagne and
Ademar of Chabannes, Charlemagne and the Pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
105 Ademar, Chronicon 2.15, p. 97. Tunc monacus quidem de Hierosolimis veniens, benedic-
tionem de reliquiis sepulchri Domini quam patriarcha miserat domno regi Karolo detulit.
Azan prefectus civitatis quae dicitur Osca, claves urbis per legatum suum cum muneribus
misit.
106 Ibid. Celebravit domnus rex Natale Domini in eodem palatio, et absolutum Hieroso
limitanum monachum reverti fecit, mittens cum eo Zachariam presbyterum de palatio
suo qui donaria ejus per illa loca sancta deferret.
107 See e.g. A. Grabos, Charlemagne, Rome and Jerusalem, rbph 59 (1981), 792809.
108 Ademar, Chronicon 2.15, p. 98. Eodem die Zacarias cum duobus monachis, uno de monte
Oliveti, altero de Sancto Saba, de oriente reversus, Romam venit, quos patriarcha ad
regem misit.
58 chapter 3

thesake of blessing the keys of the Holy Sepulcher and the place of Calvary
and also the keys of the city and of the Mount of Olives with a banner.109 These
visitors would be sent back bearing gifts to the patriarch the following April.110
What all of this actually meant has produced much conjecture during the past
century.111 What is most immediately important is that after the reference to
the appearance of the legates from Jerusalem the text directly goes on to pres-
ent the imperial coronation. Thus, in both the Royal Annals and in Ademars
chronicle Jerusalem and Rome and Charlemagne are totally intermeshed.112
Especially in the context of the chronicle the material is found in the most
important chapter of the middle book of the entire work, emphasizing the piv-
otal importance of Charlemagne in Ademars mind, as well as the emperors
close association with Jerusalem and the tomb of Christ.
There are also several other references to Jerusalem and Charlemagne in the
Royal Annals. In the year 807 Abdella, a legate of the Persian ruler Harun al-
Raschid, arrived at court. With him were several Jerusalem monks named
Georgius and Felix, legates of Patriarch Thomas. According to the Royal Annals
Georgius was the abbot of the house of the Mount of Olives and a relative of
the patriarch, not Felix, as Ademars text seems to indicate.113 The Persian ruler
sent many precious gifts, including silks and extraordinary mechanical time-
pieces. There is no reference to the jurisdiction over the holy sites in Jerusalem
which Einhard declared Harun al-Raschid gave to Charlemagne a claim that

109 Ibid. Qui benedictionis causa claves Sepulchri dominici ac loci Calvariae, claves etiam
civitatis et montis Oliveti cum vexillo detulerunt. Frolow, La Relique de la Vraie Croix,
p. 205, item no. 75, 3, says he brought two relics of the True Cross.
110 Ademar, Chronicon 2.15, p. 98. Quos rex benigne suscipiens, aliquot dies secum detinuit,
et aprili mense remuneratos absolvit, celebravitque Natale Domini Romae.
111 On this material, see M. Gabriele, An Empire of Memory (Oxford, 2011).
112 Grabos, Charlemagne, Rome and Jerusalem, for a valuable consideration of this
interlocking.
113 Annales Regni Francorum 741829, ed. F. Kurze, in Fontes ad Historiam Regni Francorum
Aevi Karolini Illustrandam, 3 vols. (Darmstadt, 195560), vol. 1, pp. 84 and 86. et legatus
regis Persarum nomine Abdella cum monachis de Hierusalem, qui legatione Thomae
patriarchae fungebantur, quorum nomina fuere Georgius et Felix, hic Georgius est abba
in monte Oliveti, et cui patria Germania est, qui etiam proprio vocatur nomine Egilbaldus,
-ad imperatorem pervenerunt munera deferentesImperator legatum et monachos per
aliquantum tempus secum retinens in Italiam direxit atque ibi eos tempus navigationis
expectare iussit. In his Chronicon 2.19, p. 103, Ademar wrote, Tunc Radbertus missus
imperatoris qui de oriente revertebatur defunctus est, et legatus regis Persarum nomine
Abdella, cum monachis de Hierusalem qui legati erant Thomae patriarchae, idest
Georgius et Felix abbas de monte Oliveti, germanus patriarchae, pervenerunt ad impera-
torem munera deferentes que rex Persarum miserat imperatori Karolo
Ademar on the Celebration of the Cross by Constantine et al. 59

has led to a pouring forth of scholarship, especially by those interested in the

roots of the later Crusades.114 It is clear that Charlemagne was much interested
in these holy sites, for they were among the number in the East that Einhard
indicates received alms from the Western emperor.115
The final reference in book 2 concerns the problem of the Filioque, or the
procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son, which had arisen in
Jerusalem and was brought to Charlemagnes attention by a certain monk of
Jerusalem named John.116 The Annals say very little about the issue other than
that a gathering of churchmen took place at Aachen to consider the matter
and that a delegation was then sent to Pope Leo to discuss the matter.117
The question of the Filioque in Jerusalem also appears in one of the last
items in ds ms lat. 1664 in a letter from the pilgrim monks of the Mount of

114 Einhard, Vita Karoli Magni, Chapter 27, ed. G. Waitz, ed., in Fontes ad Historiam Regni, op.
cit., vol. 1, pp. 184 and 186. Cum Aaron rege Persarum, qui excepta India totum poene
tenebat orientem, talem habuit in amicitia concordiam, ut is gratiam eius omnium, qui in
toto orbe terrarum erant, regum ac principum amicitiae praeponeret solumque illum
honore ac munificentia sibi colendum iudicaret. Ac proinde, cum legati eius, quos cum
donariis ad sacratissimum Domini ac salvatoris nostri sepulchrum locumque resurrectio-
nis miserat, ad eum venissent et ei domini sui voluntatem indicassent, non solum quae
petebantur fieri permisit, sed etiam sacrum illum et salutarem locum, ut illius potestati
adscriberetur, concessit; et revertentibus legatis suis adiungens inter vestes et aromata et
ceteras orientalium terrarum opes ingentia illi dona direxit, cum ei ante paucos annos
eum, quem tunc solum habebat, roganti mitteret elefantum. The other sources of the
period do not speak of such land grants to Charlemagne. On this matter, see M. Borgolte,
Der Gesandtenaustausch der Karolinger mit den Abbasiden und mit den Patriarchen von
Jerusalem, Mnchener Beitrge zur Medivistik und Renaissance-Forschung 25 (Munich,
1976).
115 Einhard, ibid, Chapter 27, p. 198. Circa pauperes sustentandos et gratuitam liberalitatem,
quam Greci eleimosinam vocant, devotissimus, ut qui non in patria solum et in suo regno
id facere curaverit, verum trans maria in Syria et Aegyptum atque Africam, Hierosolimis,
Alexandriae atque Cartagini, ubi Christianos in paupertate vivere conpererat, penuriae
illorum conpatiens pecuniam mittere solebat; ob hoc maxime transmarinorum regum/
amicitias expetens, ut Christianis sub eorum dominatu degentibus refrigerium aliquod ac
relevatio proveniret.
116 Ademar, Chronicon 2.22, p. 106. His itaque gestis imperator de Ardenna Aquis reversus,
mense novembri concilium habuit de Spiritu sancto procedente a Patre et Filio. Quam
questionem Johannes quidam monachus Hierosolimis primus commendavit. Cujus
definiendi causa Bernerius episcopus Coloniae, et Asius episcopus Warmantiae, et
Adalardus abbas monasterii Corbeiensis, missi sunt Romam ad Leonem papam. Agitatum
est et in eodem consilio de statu ecclesiarum et conversatione eorum qui in eis Deo servi-
unt. Nec aliquid tamen definitum est, propter rerum ut videbatur magnitudinem.
117 Annales, p. 92.
60 chapter 3

Olives to Pope Leo iii and Charlemagne.118 Here one finds that these monks of
the Mount of Olives are accused of heresy.119 One of their Eastern accusers
states that all Franks are heretics. These Frankish monks in Jerusalem defend
themselves by saying they believe as the church of the Holy Sepulcher believes
that is, the patriarch of Jerusalem but also, of course, the center of the source
of truth itself, how the Roman See believes.120 Again, what the letter is doing is
uniting Jerusalem, Rome, and the leader of the Franks, Charlemagne.121
There is no question that the death and burial of Charlemagne in Aachen
and its linkage to the tomb of the Holy Sepucher in Jerusalem aroused Ademars
imagination. His description of the burial is his most important addition to the
Royal Annals in book 2 of his chronicle and brings to a conclusion the middle
third of that work. It is a description unlike any we have and it is one in which
a relic of the True Cross plays a very important role. The Royal Annals simply
indicated that Charlemagne died in Aachen on 28 January 814 at about the age
of seventy-one, in the forty-seventh year of his reign, the forty-third after the
conquest of Italy and in the fourteenth year of the period when he was called
emperor and Augustus.122
Einhard in his Life of Charlemagne gives considerably more information. He
describes how the body was washed, borne into the church in a solemn man-
ner, and buried with great mourning. Einhard indicates that because
Charlemagne had not indicated where he was to be buried, doubt had arisen
about where the internment should take place. All agreed to the basilica that
Charlemagne had built in Aachen. Here he was interred on the day of his
death. A gilded arch with his image was constructed over the tomb and an
inscription placed there which read,

118 On this letter cross-reference to Chapters 2 and 7. See also Callahan, The Problem of the
Filioque for Ademars likely authorship of this document.
119 mgh, Epistolarum Tomus v, Epistolae Karolini Aevi, vol. 3, ed. E. Dmmler (Berlin, 1899),
p.64, quod Franci, qui sunt in monte Oliveti, haeretici sunt.
120 Ibid., p. 65. Nos autem diximus: Quod sic credimus, quomodo sancta resurrectio Domini
et sedes sancta apostolica Romana.
121 Stephen Nichols in Romanesque Signs examines Ademars preoccupation with Charlemagne
and Jerusalem in Chapter 3, entitled Charlemagne Redivivus, especially pp. 7376.
He considers the role of Ademar in the gradual replacement of Constantine by
Charlemagne as most closely associated with the Holy Sepulcher during the 10th and 11th
centuries, and the connection between the tomb of Christ in the Holy Sepulcher and the
tomb of Charlemagne in Aachen.
122 Annales Regni Francorum, p. 104. Domnus Karolus imperator, dum Aquisgrani hiemaret,
anno aetatis circiter septuagesimo primo, regni autem xlvii subactaeque Italiae xliii, ex
quo vero imperator et augustus appellatus est, anno xiiii, v Kal. Feb. rebus humanis
excessit.
Ademar on the Celebration of the Cross by Constantine et al. 61

Under this marker is found the body of Charles, the great and orthodox
emperor who nobly increased the kingdom of the Franks and ruled it
successfully for forty-seven years. He died at the age of seventy in the year
of the Lord 814, the seventh indiction, on January 28.123

When Ademar wrote his description, he first copied the brief item in the Royal
Annals and then added his own words. Although there are a few echoes from
Einhard, what he set down was most likely principally the product of his own
imagination, but also reflects the growing legend of Charlemagne. He tells us
that Charles was buried in Aachen in the basilica he constructed.

His body was anointed with spices and placed sitting on a golden throne
in a vaulted crypt. He wore a golden sword and held a golden gospel
book in his hands and on his knees. His shoulders were leaning back on
the throne and his head was held properly erect, linked by a golden chain
to a diadem. In the diadem was inserted a piece of the Cross.124

The tomb was filled with precious spices and treasures. He wore imperial robes
and under his crown his face was covered by a cloth. At this point the C version
inserts, The hairshirt which he secretly always wore was placed on his flesh
and over the imperial robes was put the golden pilgrim wallet he used to carry
to Rome.125 All versions continue that the golden scepter and golden shield

123 Einhard, Vita Karoli Magni, Chapter 31, p. 202. Corpus more sollemni lotum et curatum et
maximo totius populi luctu ecclesiae inlatum atque humatum est. Dubitatum est primo,
ubi reponi deberet, eo quod ipse vivus de hoc nihil praecepisset. Tandem omnium animis
sedit nusquam eum honestius tumulari posse quam in ea basilica, quam ipse propter
amorem Dei et domini nostri Jesu Christi et ob honorem sanctae et aeternae virginis,
genetricis eius, proprio sumptu in eodem vico construxit. In hac sepultus est eadem die,
qua defunctus est, arcusque supra tumulum deauratus cum imagine et titulo exstructus.
Titulus ille hoc modo descriptus est: Sub hoc conditorio situm est corpus Karoli Magni
atque orthodoxi imperatoris, qui regnum Francorum nobiliter ampliavit et per annos
xlvii feliciter rexit. Decessit septuagenarius anno Domini dcccxiiii, indictione vii,
v Kal. Febr.
124 Ademar, Chronicon 2.25, p. 111. sepultus Aquis in basilica sanctae Dei Genitricis, quam
ipse construxerat. Corpus ejus aromatizatum et in sede aurea sedens positum est in cur-
vatura sepulchri, ense aureo accinctus et evangelium aureum tenens in manibus et geni-
bus, reclinatis humeris in cathedra et capite honeste erecto, ligato aurea catena ad
diadema. Et in diademate lignum sancta crucis positum est.
125 Ibid. Et repleverunt sepulchrum ejus aromatibus, pigmentis et balsamo et musgo et the-
sauris multis in auro. Vestitum est corpus ejus indumentis imperialibus, et sudario sub
diademate facies ejus operta est. Cilicium ad carnem ejus positum est quod secreto semper
62 chapter 3

that Pope Leo had consecrated were placed in front of him, and then the tomb
was sealed.

No one can say how much groaning there was for him throughout the
land; for also he was mourned by the pagans as if the father of the world.
He truly died in peace, anointed with holy oil and fortified by viaticum in
the 814th year of the incarnation of the Lord.126

There are a number of points in this description that need comment, all
related to the theme of Charlemagne as an alter Christus. Most obviously is the
placing of the relic of the True Cross in Charlemagnes crown. As will appear
in Chapter 6, it may be the most important feature of the account.127 Yet
Ademar also emphasizes the emperors Christ-like humility by mentioning his
hairshirt and his pilgrims wallet, one used by Charlemagne for the journey to
Rome, but one that points toward an imperial pilgrimage to Jerusalem, an idea
already found in the writings of the 10th-century Benedict of Monte Soracte.128
Still another Christus motif is that there was so much mourning for him, even
from the pagans, as if the father of the world129 And finally, as Nichols
points out, Ademar initiates the long tradition of the Christ-like Charlemagne
by using the majestas motif in developing the whole scene.130 It is Christ in
majesty who is the model for Charlemagne in his tomb, where he sits bolt
upright on a golden throne and with a golden gospel book in his hands and on
his knees.131

induebatur, et super vestimentis imperialibus pera peregrinalis aurea posita est quam
Romam portare solitus erat.
126 Ibid. Sceptrum aureum et scutum aureum quod Leo papa consecraverat, ante eum posita
sunt dependentia, et clausum et sigillatum est sepulchrum ejus. Nemo autem referre
potest quantus planctus et *luctus* pro eo fuerit per universam terram, *etiam et inter
paganos* plangebatur quasi pater orbis. Maximus vero planctus inter Christianos fuit, et
precipue per universum regnum ejus. *Oleo sancto autem inunctus ab episcopis, et viatico
sumpto* et omnibus suis dispositis, commendans Deo spiritum suum, *obiit in pace anno
octingentesimo quarto decimo ab incarnatione Domini nostri Jhesu Christi,* qui vivit et reg-
nat solus Deus in secula seculorum.
127 Cross-reference to Chapter 6.
128 Benedict of Monte Soracte, Chronicon, mgh ss 3, Chapter 23, p. 708.
129 See note 126.
130 Nichols, Romanesque Signs, Chapter 3, Charlemagne Redivivus: From History to Historia,
especially pp. 6769 and 7882.
131 To consider this material in broader context, see Gabriele, Empire.
Ademar on the Celebration of the Cross by Constantine et al. 63

It is, moreover, the connection with the Cross that is of fundamental impor-
tance in Ademars conception of Charlemagne.132 This is in substantial part
the case because Charlemagne himself had a great interest in the Cross, evi-
dent not only in his ties with the Holy Land but in his adoption of the insignia
of the Cross in his signing of documents.133 This preoccupation with the Cross
is also found in the works of scholars at his court and in the later Carolingian
period. As Celia Chazelle has admirably demonstrated in her excellent study
The Cross, the Image and the Passion in Carolingian Art and Thought, influential
figures around Charlemagne, such as Alcuin and Theodulf of Orlans, and later
Rhabanus Maurus and John the Scot, in poems, hymns, theological tracts, and
figural illustrations all bear witness to the keen interest in the Cross.134
The Cross plays an important part in the development of the legend of
Charlemagne in the 10th and 11th centuries.135 One work that clearly shows
the vitality of the legend is the Translatio Sanguinis Domini, prepared at
Reichenau toward the middle of the 10th century.136 According to the Translatio,
Charlemagne received from the prefect of Jerusalem a relic of the Cross,
together with several drops of Christs blood.137 Charles with bare feet led a
great procession of pilgrims to Sicily to receive this gift, which he brought back
to Aachen.
Another example of the legendary connection of Charlemagne and the
Cross in the 10th century is found in the Chronicle of Benedict of Monte
Soracte.138 Here one finds the great Charles journeying to Jerusalem, where he
receives from Harun al-Raschid the protectorate over the Holy Sepulcher in a
treaty of peace and friendship. Benedict says that Charlemagne honored the
tomb of Christ by decorating the church of the Holy Sepulcher with gold and
jewels.139
The Cross became the sign of the Frankish empire and is increasingly asso-
ciated with Charlemagne.140 Ademar himself shows this in the C version of the

132 As was evident in Ademars depictions of Constantine and Heraclius, the cross was cen-
tral for each. Yet for the monk of Saint-Cybard the True Cross and Charlemagne are even
more closely connected because of the Last Emperor motif.
133 See a copy of this cross insignia as the sign of the Carolingian Empire, in the Appendix.
134 C. Chazelle, op. cit.
135 Nichols, Romanesque Signs, 72.
136 Translatio Sanguinis Domini, mgh ss 4:44690.
137 Ibid., pp. 44749.
138 See above, note 128.
139 Ibid., p. 710.
140 On this point, see R. Folz, Le souvenir et la lgende de Charlemagne dans lempire germa-
nique mdival (Paris, 1950), especially p. 70.
64 chapter 3

chronicle at the death of Louis the Pious. He states that there were signs of the
death of Louis, just as there were heavenly signs when he first began to rule as
king of Aquitaine during the time of Charlemagne.141 The chronicle indicates
that to announce the time of the new ruler the sign of the Cross was seen in the
heavens in a full moonand now in his last year there is a solar eclipse, which
portends his death.142
For Ademar there is another very important and personal connection
between the Cross and Charlemagne. The principal center in western Aquitaine
for the veneration of the Cross was Charroux, a house that purportedly was
established by Charlemagne and supposedly received from him a relic of the
True Cross sent from Jerusalem.143 As Frolow has made clear, a number of
places claimed to have received relics of the True Cross from Charles the Great,
such as Aachen, Saint-Riquier, Sarlat, Saint-Amand, the cathedral of Sens, and
Reichenau, among others.144 The claims of few of these places seem to have
much validity, which is also the case for Charroux.145
In his chronicle Ademar states in the C version that the piece of the Cross at
Charroux was from the piece that the Patriarch of Jerusalem had sent to
Charlemagne; Charlemagne, in turn, had placed it in the basilica that Count
Roger of Limoges had established there.146 He then goes on to indicate that
thename of Charroux comes from the old dialect of the Gauls and means
theplace of the carts or, being more precise, public vehicles.147 Because of the

141 Ademar, Chronicon 3.16, p. 133. Tunc luctuosa mors Ludovici figurata est in aere: nam si
astra in initio regni ejus leticiam, ita vero iminente morte ejus triste portentum nuntiant.
142 Ibid. Dum enim in Aquitania primo inciperet regnare, vivente adhuc Carolo patre ejus,
apparuit in luna plena signum crucis, in circuitu resplendens, feria quinta prima aurora
incipiente, pridie nonas junii. Eodem anno apparuit corona mirabilis in circuitu solis, domi-
nica die hora quarta iii septembris. Hoc significabatur christianam religionem et adoran-
dum Christi cultum per ipsum imperatorem. Anno vero ultimo imperii sui, eclipsis solis
insolitum fuit vigilia Ascensionis Domini, et stelle vise sunt sicut per noctem diu, quod signifi-
cavit maximam lucernam christianitatis, idest ipsum imperatorem, extingui, et morte ejus
sibi traditum tenebris tribulationum involvi.
143 Frolow, La Relique de la Vraie Croix, no. 75, pp. 198202.
144 Ibid., no. 75, pp. 198210.
145 On Charroux, see L.A. Vigneras, Labbaye de Charroux et la lgende du plerinage de
Charlemagne, rr 32 (1941), 12128.
146 Ademar, Chronicon 3.40, p. 161. Denique hoc crucis lignum de cruce dominica extat quod
Jherosolimorum patriarcha regi Magno Carolo direxerat, et idem imperator in eadem basil-
ica, quam condidit Rotgerius comes Lemovicensis in honore Salvatoris, reposuit.
147 Ibid. Locus autem antiquo sermone Gallorum Carrofus vocitabatur propter carrorum con-
finia, idest veiculorum publicorum, et deinceps pro reverentia crucis Sanctum Carrofum
appellari placuit.
Ademar on the Celebration of the Cross by Constantine et al. 65

reverence for the piece of the Cross placed there, it came to be called Sanctum
Carrofum.148
The Count Roger mentioned by Ademar does indeed seem to have estab-
lished the house in 783.149 He and his wife Euphrasia gave substantial amounts
of land in the Limousin, in Auvergne, in Prigord, and in the neighborhood of
the new house itself in southeastern Poitou as an endowment for their new
foundation.150 Later traditions, especially those from the 11th century, have
Charlemagne meeting a Breton pilgrim from Jerusalem in the forest belonging
to Count Roger and receiving from the pilgrim a piece of the True Cross. He
requests that the count build a monastery and church there to house the relic,
which the nobleman does and gives much land for the new house.151
Subsequently Charlemagne will give to the new house additional items from
Jerusalem sent to him by the Patriarch.152 Later legends will have the great
Charles himself going to the East, receiving pieces of the True Cross and the
foreskin of Christ, and establishing Charroux as the place for housing these
relics.153 Whether the emperor had any significant interest in Charroux is
highly questionable, but during the 11th century it is clear that he was associ-
ated with the foundation of the house and the giving of the relics from
Jerusalem.154 During the course of the 9th century he and his successors Louis
the Pious and Charles the Bald do indeed seem to have granted royal immu-
nity, and probably gifts, to this house.155 It was a house that was held in high
regard by the immediate successors of Charlemagne.156
Ademars chronicle indicates that when the Vikings threatened Charroux
sometime late in the 9th or early in the 10th century the monks brought
theprecious wood of the Cross to Angouleme for protection with various

148 On the legend of the piece of the Cross at Charroux, see A. Remensnyder, Remembering
Kings Past: Monastic Foundation Legends in Medieval Southern France (Ithaca, n.y., 1995),
pp. 17078.
149 A. Debord, La socit laque dans les pays de la Charante XeXIIe s. (Paris, 1984), 28788.
150 Ibid.
151 On this legend, Remensnyder, Remembering Kings Past, p. 53, and Vigneras op. cit.. On the
church at Charroux, R. Crozet, Charroux, in def, iii Sud-Ouest (Paris, 1967), pp. 23941.
152 Vigneras, op. cit.
153 Ibid., pp. 12224.
154 Remensynder, Remembering Kings Past, pp. 17078. See also Ebersolt, Orient et Occident,
p. 47, for a consideration of Charlemagne giving relics, especially from Jerusalem.
155 Debord, La socit laque, p. 93, note 204, and p. 47, note 155, indicating that Louis the
Pious had completed the western part of this monastery, which was previously in the
forest.
156 Ibid.
66 chapter 3

o rnaments of the church.157 They did so in part at least, so it would seem in

Ademars presentation because Count Alduin had recently restored the walls
of the city of Angoulme.158 When the Viking raids ceased and it seemed safe
to bring the relics back to Charroux, Alduin balked and would not allow the
relics of the True Cross to return. Rather, according to Ademar, he adorned
the church of the Savior at Saint-Cybard, where he placed the holy wood.159
Gods displeasure with this action was quickly exhibited, according to Ademar,
for a famine of seven years struck the area and Alduin himself suffered a great
illness during the period. The famine was so severe that cannibalism result-
ed.160 The power of the Cross won out when in the year before his death Alduin
relented and allowed the relic to return to Charroux. He had his son and suc-
cessor William Taillefer, a figure who would play an important role in Ademars
life, return the relic of the True Cross enclosed in a gem-studded golden reli-
quary, which Alduin had had made for the occasion.161
The power exhibited by the relic of the Cross and the fact that it was for a
long period at Saint-Cybard would not be forgotten by the monks of that house,
especially by Ademar.162 In his account in the chronicle he relates that when
Guy of Angoulme and his brother Bishop Alduin returned from a pilgrimage
to Jerusalem the tomb of St Cybard shone, with many miracles occurring.163
Later, Abbot Fulcher of Charroux and his monks had a vision of them bringing

157 Ademar, Chronicon 3.23, p. 144. preciosum lignum crucis ad custodiendum Engolisme
deferrent cum diversis ornamentis ecclesiae.
158 Ibid. Hic [Alduinus] muros civitatis Egolisme restaurare cepit. On Ademars reliability
on this point, see Landes, Relics, pp. 15152.
159 Ibid., 3.23, p. 145. Hac de causa, adhibitis a Francia architectis, jussit *edificare* ecclesiam
in honore Salvatoris foris muros, in capite basilice Sancti Eparchii, ubi sanctum lignum
deputaret, simul et corpus sancti Eparchii ibidem transferret. *Et vocato a Francia
Fredeberto episcopo*, consanguineo suo, *fecit ipsam ecclesiam dedicare in honore
Salvatoris.*
160 Ibid. Alduinus vero comes per multos annos langore corporis multatus est ipse, et in
populo ejus ita fames vehementissima grassata est, ut, quod actenus incompertum fuit,
de vulgo unus alterum ad devorandum exquireret, et multi, alios ferro perimentes, carni-
bus more luporum humanis invicem vescerentur.
161 Ibid. Quibus actus Alduinus necessitatibus, [uno ante mortem suam anno], remisit
Carrofo preciosum lignum per manus filii sui Willelmi cognomine Sectoris Ferri, cum
capsa aurea quam ipse cum gemmis construi imperaverat, ubi contulit Lubeliaco villam,
et mox cessavit plaga.
162 This will become wholly evident with the numerous references to both the alpha and
cross in Chapters 5 and 6.
163 Ademar, Chronicon, 3.40, p. 160. Per idem tempus [998], mortuo Josfredo abbate Sancti
Marcialis, et succedente pro eo Adalbaldo, regularis meriti, et Widone et Alduino episcopo,
Ademar on the Celebration of the Cross by Constantine et al. 67

the relic of the True Cross to the tomb of St Cybard.164 It was so done on the
feast day of St Cybard, 1 July, and a solemn gathering took place in the basilica
of the saint in Angoulme, where the wood of the Cross was proudly received.
Ademar then says that having completed what piety had ordered, the monks
of Charroux, bidding farewell to the monks of Saint-Cybard, returned to their
monastery with the holy wood in glory.165 What is of particular interest here is
the preface to the visit, namely the return to Angoulme of pilgrims from
Jerusalem and a kind of sacred reverberation that warranted a further height-
ening by bringing the wood from Charroux. Not only was the memory of the
connection between Charlemagne and Charroux of the previous century still
alive, but the Jerusalem connection was of central importance, at least to
Ademar. One must also wonder about the timing so shortly after the year 1000,
a period of great thanksgiving.166
And what of Ademar? Did he witness this event and, if so, what impression
did it make? It would seem likely that he did. His presence would have helped
to establish his lifelong interest in the Cross and Jerusalem and helps to explain
his vision of Christ on the Cross a number of years later and his drawing of the
crucifixion.167
The connection between the Cross and Jerusalem and Charroux in Ademars
mind also would have become much more understandable if he had actually
visited Charroux. As is evident, Ademar was not much of a traveller during
most of his life, with the road between Limoges and Angoulme being his prin-
cipal highway. Yet Charroux is only a short distance from Angoulme, less than
65 miles, or slightly further than Limoges from Angoulme.168 Gaborit-Chopin
suggests that it is likely he made such a trip.169 When one reads Ademars

fratre ejus, revertentibus prospere ab Jherosolimis, sepulchrum sancti Eparchii clarere

innumeris coepit miraculis plus solito.
164 Ibid. Et visio manifesta patefacta est Fulcherio abbati Sancti Carrofi et monachis, ut
sanctum lignum Crucis ad tumulum deferrent beati Eparchii.
165 Ibid. Quod conventu sollempni peractum est, et abbate Raginoldo Egolismensi procu-
rante, exceptum est sanctum lignum in basilica Beati Eparchii in die ejus festivitatis, die
primo mensis julii; et adimpletis quae ordinaverat divina pietas, monachi Sancti Carrofi
valedicentes fratribus Egolismensibus, cum sancto ligno gloriose remeant.
166 It is important to note that it was immediately after the material quoted in the three pre-
vious footnotes that Ademar inserted the material cited in footnotes 146 and 147 on
Charlemagne giving a piece of the True Cross to Charroux. It is also important to keep in
mind the proximity to the year 1000 for Ademar.
167 Cross-reference to Chapter 2.
168 See the map of Aquitaine in the Appendix.
169 Gaborit-Chopin, Les dessins dAdmar, p. 165.
68 chapter 3

account of a visit by the monks of Saint-Martial at Charroux on their way to

Saint-Jean dAngly at the time of the discovery of the head of John the
Baptist, and also his account of the solemnities there, a description that reads
like that of an eyewitness, it is difficult not to concur.170
A visit to Charroux would only have confirmed the importance of the con-
nection between the house and Jerusalem. The great basilica of Charroux was
one of the most extraordinary Aquitanian structures of the period. Similar in
appearance to the church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, it seems to have
been one of those churches Glaber had in mind when he referred to the world
putting on a white mantle of churches.171
Ultimately whether Ademar ever saw the church in Charroux, especially
with its great rotunda reminiscent of Jerusalem, is open to question, although
it is very plausible, given his prominence at Saint-Martial and his interest in
new churches, that he attended the dedication of the new church in 1028, likely
in conjunction with the gathering of churchmen for the second peace council
of Charroux.172 Even if he did not, relics from Jerusalem with which he would
be very familiar were readily accessible to him, in the chapel adjoining the
church of Saint-Cybard in Angoulme.173 When William Sector Ferri decided
to leave the world and become a monk at Saint-Cybard in the mid-940s he
donated to the monastery and built a chapel to house relics that were brought
back from pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Ademar indicates in his chronicle that the
count had previously arranged to restore the rule of St Benedict at the house.
He placed a reformed monk, Maynard, in charge and upon his return entered
the house himself.174 In a sense William became the second founder of the
house and one who must surely have been important to future monks of Saint-
Cybard. Moreover, he in this fashion helped to establish the close connection
of the house with Jerusalem. William and so many others from the region in so
journeying set a precedent for the Jerusalem connection for Aquitaine. It is
these Aquitanian pilgrims to Jerusalem of the 10th and 11th centuries who play

170 See especially Ademar, Chronicon 3.56, pp. 17578.

171 Glaber, Historiarum 3.4 (13), p. 117.
172 On this Peace of God Council, see Chapter 2.
173 See Chapter 2.
174 Ademar, Chronicon 3.24, p. 146. Tunc Willelmus Sector ferri et consanguineus ejus,
Bernardus, adgregato conventu nobilium, iterum restituerunt monasticum habitum in
basilica Beati Eparchii, preficientes eidem monasterio Mainardum abbatem. Qui in fronte
basilice Beati Eparchii construxit elegans oratorium in nomine sancte Resurrectionis, et
multa reliquiarum pignora que ab Jherosolimis asportaverat ibi recondidit. On this point,
see Debord, La socit laque, pp. 68 and 95. On the presence of the relic, see also Frolow,
La Relique de la Vraie Croix, no. 202, p. 265.
Ademar on the Celebration of the Cross by Constantine et al. 69

such a prominent role in the chronicle that the next chapter will consider, pil-
grims whose long journeys from the West bear witness to the roles of the
emperors Constantine, Heraclius, and Charlemagne in honoring the True
Cross and elevating the Holy City in the minds and imaginations of the Western
Europeans of this period. Ademars fascination with Jerusalem and the Cross
and their connection with these three emperors merit even more space than
they receive in this book.
 chapter 4

Jerusalem Pilgrims from the West Frankish

Kingdom in the Tenth and Early Eleventh Centuries
in Ademars Writings

Turning from relics of the Cross and models of the church of the Holy Sepulcher
to the actual basilica in Jerusalem and the growing number of pilgrims from the
West to the Holy Land in the 10th and early 11th centuries appearing in Ademars
writings, one finds numerous Aquitanians and others from elsewhere in the
West Frankish kingdom whose example undoubtedly influenced the monk of
Saint-Cybard when he decided to join Glabers cast of hundreds flowing east-
ward c.1033. Many authors have noted the phenomenon. In addition to Glabers
emphasis on the millennial fears which, as appeared in the first chapter, some
modern authors think a significant factor, if not the most important there are
a number of other likely causes.1 Some scholars have noted that the relative
peace in Europe and along the pilgrimage sea routes was a significant factor.2
Others focus on the economic upturn and growing population in Europe dur-
ing this period of renewed growth and expansion, with a concomitant increase
in confidence in earthly achievements, but also, as Richard Southern so aptly
put it, a restlessness.3 Southern noted that it was the Limousin nobleman Hugh
who, according to the Vita of Abbo of Fleury, started the flow of Jerusalem pil-
grims in the middle of the 10th century.4 Still others point to the revitalization
of the church through ecclesiastical reform as an important consideration.5
Tied to the reform factor is the growing importance of the pilgrimage as peni-
tential, especially when one considers Ademars own pilgrimage.6

1 See above, Chapter 1.

2 For example, Sumption, Pilgrimage, p. 115.
3 Southern, Making, especially p. 51, but also more broadly, pp. 5057. Southerns ideas on the
changing spirituality of the central Middle Ages serve as a foundation for this book.
4 Ibid., p. 51. A monastic writer of the early eleventh century (in the vita of Abbo of Fleury by
the monk Haimo in pl 139, col. 398) who watched the growing streams of pilgrims from
France tells us that the movement started in the middle of the tenth century
5 For example, D.C. Douglas, The Norman Achievement, 10501100 (Berkeley, 1969), p. 95, and
especially the early growth of moral reform in Languedoc and Aquitaine in Sumption,
Pilgrimage, p. 117, as seen in the early growth of the Peace of God and the Peace Councils.
6 See Chapter 7 here on Ademars pilgrimage and Sumption, Pilgrimage, Chapter 7, on peniten-
tial pilgrimages. See also P. Sigal, Les Marcheurs de Dieu (Paris, 1974), pp. 1624.

koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 6|doi 10.1163/9789004313682_005

Jerusalem Pilgrims from the West Frankish Kingdom 71

This chapter will consider these factors but also examine what Ademars
writings say about the role of Otto iii in the conversion of Stephen of Hungary
in the opening of the land route, and how this new road of travel and Byzantine
influence, both positive and negative, contributed to the growth in pilgrimage
to Jerusalem. It will also study how the influence of contacts with individuals
and ideas from the eastern Mediterranean aroused the interest of the West, but
will also consider the dangers that had to be met and overcome for example,
the threat of physical punishment from Muslims, such as the caliph of Egypt
al-Hakim. Moreover, one must always keep in mind that these developments
were occurring when for many millennial fears made the visit to Jerusalem
especially meaningful and are being presented by one whose own pilgrimage
bears witness to this perspective.
During the 10th century the majority of Jerusalem pilgrims from the West
Frankish kingdom travelled in small numbers for much of their journey by
boat across the Mediterranean, many from southern Italy to Egypt, often
including stays in Rome, Monte Casino, or Monte Gargano, and departure from
a port such as Bari or Taranto; upon landing, they continued overland to
Jerusalem.7 Others set out from southern Italy across the Adriatic and then
to Jerusalem via the Aegean, Asia Minor, and the east coast of the Mediterranean.8
Conditions, especially in the eastern regions with warfare, had made the pil-
grimage extremely dangerous in the first half of the 10th century, but the num-
bers from the West grew appreciably as the Byzantine mastery of the eastern
Mediterranean developed in the last half with the taking of Crete by Nicephorus
Phocas and the regaining of portions of Syria and Palestine by his successors
John Tzimisces and Basil ii.9
It has long been noted that Ademars chronicle offers important material on
the revitalization of pilgrimage traffic on the Mediterranean to the Holy
Land.10 One of these figures was Abbot Maynard of Saint-Cybard, who, as has

7 On the Mediterranean pilgrimage traffic in this period, still invaluable is Micheau, Les
itinraires maritimes, pp. 79111. See also Prawer, Christian Attitudes, pp. 31148.
8 On this point, see Micheau, Les itinraires maritimes, p. 90, especially for the impor-
tance of Rome and Monte Cassino as stopping points and for the growing number of
monks who went to Jerusalem from Monte Cassino. On the latter development, see the
chronicle of Monte Cassino in mgh ss 7, especially pp. 636, 637, and 642.
9 On the retaking of Crete, see H. Ahrweiler, Byzance et la mer: La marine de guerre, la poli-
tique et les institutions maritimes de Byzance aux VIIeXVe sicles (Paris, 1966), p. 111ff. See
also below, p. 191.
10 For example, Micheau, Les itinraires maritimes, pp. 8991, and in the numerous arti-
cles on pilgrimage by E.R. Labande gathered in Spiritualit et vie littraire de lOccident,
XeXIVe.
72 chapter 4

already been mentioned, brought back relics of the True Cross.11 The chronicle
indicates that late in the century Viscount Guy of Limoges and his brother
Bishop Alduin made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.12 Ademar does not indicate
how they travelled to Jerusalem.
Yet it is clear that in the second decade of the 11th century a land route to the
East opens and the number of pilgrims to the Holy City increases substantially.
Glaber, as was noted in the first chapter, offered considerable information on
this development.13 Ademar also has much to say about the conversion of
Eastern Europe and the opening of the land route. In fact, much of this mate-
rial is included in what is easily the longest insertion he made into his chroni-
cle in the C version. Chapter 31 begins,

At this time with Otto ii dead, his son Otto, third in act and name, gained
the imperial power. Who interested in philosophy and thinking about the
riches of Christ, that he might render a double talent before the tribunal
of the Judge, he sought to convert by the will of God the peoples in the
surrounding areas given over to idols to the worship of God.14

The insertion then has Otto iii selecting Bishop Adalbert to convert the Slavic
peoples, particularly the Poles. He sends Bishop Bruno to the Hungarians and
the Russians. Both suffer martyrdom for their efforts in spreading the Christian
message to the distant provinces. Bruno converted, according to Ademar, the
king of Hungary, Gouz, and then his son, both taking the Christian name of
Stephen. The insertion then records Ottos opening of the tomb of Charlemagne
at Aachen in 1000 and finding the body uncorrupted.15
The central figure in this long passage, the one who gives it unity and the
individual who to Ademar is most important in the conversion of eastern
Europe, is Otto iii. Yet Ademar had said little about the emperor of the year
1000 in earlier versions of the chronicle. Most of the material appears in this
particular chapter. The selection of Gerbert as archbishop of Ravenna and

11 See above, Chapter 1.

12 It is a reference which was then followed by the account of the bringing of the piece of the
True Cross from Charroux to Saint-Cybard, mentioned above on p. 66. It is a good exam-
ple of the associative imagery that occurs so often in Ademars writings.
13 See above, Chapter 1.
14 Chronicon, 3.31, p. 151. Ea tempestate Otone secundo mortuo, Oto filius ejus tercius actu
et nomine imperio potitus est. Qui philosophie intentus et lucra Christi cogitans, ut ante
tribunal Judicis duplicatum redderet talentum, Dei voluntate populos in circuitum ydolis
deditos ad Dei cultum convertere studuit.
15 This insertion is found in an appendix to this book.
Jerusalem Pilgrims from the West Frankish Kingdom 73

then pope as Sylvester ii appears immediately after the insertion.16 He also

mentions the rebellion of the Italian nobleman Crescentius against Otto, his
capture, and his subsequent execution.17 The final reference to this emperor
occurs in Chapter 33 when Ottos death in Capua from poison is briefly recorded.18
The C version also adds that Ottos body was brought to Rome, where it was
buried.19
It is evident that the chronicler did not know a great deal about Otto iii and
seems to have had little interest in him, at least before the long insertion on
Otto and the conversion of Eastern Europe. If Ademar had known about the
emperors Byzantine ties, his close relations with many churchmen, and his
attachment to monasticism and mystical spirituality, surely he would have had
more to say about so fascinating a figure.20 Also, the fact that he erred in having
Otto buried in Rome instead of Aachen, to which his body was brought from
Italy, is surprising when one recalls the importance of Charlemagne and his
burial place for Ademar.21
It is Aachen which serves as the link between Charlemagne and Otto in the
long insertion in C. And it is the tomb of Charles the Great in Aachen which
Ademar depicted in a manuscript, as mentioned in the last chapter that cap-
tured Ademars imagination.22 After the young emperor visited the remains of

16 Chronicon, 3.31, p. 154. Girbertus vero natione Aquitanus, (later inserted ex infimo genere
procreatus), monacus (later inserted a puercia Sancti Geraldi Aureliacensis cenobio),
causa sophiae primo Franciam, deinde Cordobam lustrans, (later inserted cognitus a
rege Ugone, Remis archiepiscopatu donatus est, et iterum) cognitus ab imperatore (later
inserted Otone, archiepiscopus Ravennae factus est, derelicto Remorum archiepisco-
patu). Procedenti tempore, cum Gregorius papa frater imperatoris decessisset, idem
Girbertus ab imperatore papa Romanorum sublimatus est (later inserted obtentu phi-
losophie), mutatumque est nomen ejus pristinum, et vocatus est Silvester.
17 Ibid. Et prefectus Rome, Crescentius, cum contra Otonem imperium Romanum vellet
arripere, tandem coactus in turre, quae vocatur Intercelis, diu evasit, verum expugnata
ipsa turre, captus est insidiis suae conjugis, et patibulo suspensus (later inserted jubente
imperatore), et pro eo planctus magnus (later inserted Rome) factus est.
18 Ibid., 3.33, p. 155. Oto vero imperator haustu veneni, (later inserted in partes Beneventi),
periit sine filiis, et pro eo consanguineus ejus Eenricus imperium suscepit.
19 Ibid. Otonis autem corpus delatum est Romam et ibidem sepultus.
20 And if Ademar had known more about Otto iii, he would have been as interested in this
figure as Edmond-Ren Labande was in an excellent piece, Mirabilia mundi. Essai sur la
personnalit dOtton iii, originally published in two parts in ccm 6 (1963), 297313 and
45576, and subsequently appearing in Labandes collected essays in Spiritualit et vie
littraire de lOccident, XeXIVe s. in Variorum Reprints (London, 1974).
21 See my articles on this point: The Problem of the Filioque, pp. 75134, and more recently
in Al-Hkim, Charlemagne, pp. 4157.
22 See above, Chapter 3.
74 chapter 4

his glorious ancestor, Ademar indicates that Otto had a golden crypt built there
and that many signs and miracles occurred.23 In this fashion does the chroni-
cler present the connection between Otto and his imperial predecessor.24
Clearly, Ademar did not know the extent of Ottos interest in and devotion
to Charlemagne. His lack of understanding of the importance of this bond to
the young emperor is particularly evident when one recalls Ademars own fas-
cination with Charlemagne. The great Carolingians ideals of Renovatio Imperii
Romani and Christocentric kingship, ideals central also to the earlier Ottonians,
were at the heart of Ottos governmental policies, as even the most cursory
study of the actions of the young emperor make evident.25 Yet Ademar passes
these by as if they did not exist.
As for Charlemagne as Ottos model for the Christianization of eastern
Europe, ultimately leading to the opening of the land route for the pilgrims to
Jerusalem, here again there is little indication of the chroniclers awareness of
this, although the placing of the material on Charlemagne and Aachen into
this long insertion on the Christianization of eastern Europe by Otto may indi-
cate some appreciation. That Ademar knew of Charlemagnes campaigns in
Eastern Europe against the Avars and Slavic peoples is clear from the fact that
book 2 of the chronicle contains a substantial amount of material on these
wars.26 Also, one of the principal connective items in the insertion is the dona-
tion of Charlemagnes throne by Otto iii to King Boleslav of Poland.27
Surely in many ways Ademar, although often wrong in details, is correct in
seeing Charlemagne as the model for Ottos policy toward Eastern Europe, albeit
more for the Ottonian emphasis on making this region a part of Charlemagnes
Western Christendom than on the actual organization of the region.28 Still, it
seems likely that the young emperor did envision an Eastern Europe united to
the West and part of a great Christian commonwealth with himself at the head.
It was a dream that perished with the death of Otto in 1002.29

23 See the Appendix and Chronicon 3.31, p. 153. et cripta aurea super illud mirifica est
fabricata, multisque signis et miraculis clarescere cepit.
24 On this point, see below in Chapter 6, and L. Falkenstein, Otto iii und Aachen (Hanover,
1998), pp. 16069.
25 On Otto iii and an Ottonian tradition, K. Grich, Otto iii. Romanus Saxonicus et Italicus:
Kaiserliche Rompolitik und schsische Historiographie (Sigmaringen, 1995).
26 Chronicon, 2, Chapters 4, 913, 15, 18, 23, and 24. On the Avars, 2.9, pp. 8485.
27 See the Appendix.
28 Labande, Mirabilia Mundi, especially pp. 46476.
29 On this point, the still fundamental work of Francis Dvornik, The Making of Central and
Eastern Europe, 2nd ed. (New York, 1974), p. 8.
Jerusalem Pilgrims from the West Frankish Kingdom 75

Even though the dream failed, the actions of Ottos missionaries did open
up the land route to Jerusalem. Of these missionaries it is Adalbert and Bruno
of Querfurt who are most prominent in Ademars insertion.30 Adalbert in par-
ticular was greatly respected by Otto, as is evident in the visit to his tomb in
early 1000 and the gift of his arm by the Polish ruler.31 He is also of special
importance to Ademar, as he was to Otto, for his role in the conversion and
opening up of Eastern Europe.
Some aspects of Ademars material on Adalbert merit special attention for
what they say about the chroniclers view of the conversion of Eastern Europe.
In the insertion one finds the saint demonstrating self-sufficiency when he
goes forth into the forest to find his own wood.32 It would seem that for Ademar,
it is this ability that confirms for Otto that he has the right person to preach in
the wilds of Poland. It is also interesting to note that Ademar has the saint go
to Poland with bare feet, thus foreshadowing Ottos pilgrimage to the tomb in
Gniezno but also the movement of pilgrims through Eastern Europe to
Jerusalem. There is also the specific reference to the feast of St Adalbert on the
ninth kalends of May (nono kalendas Maii), which is 23 April (the text incor-
rectly has it on 24 April), causing one to wonder if Ademar was drawing on
liturgical material for this feast day as his source or whether it might not come
from pilgrims returning from Jerusalem via Eastern Europe, as was the case for
Byzantine developments with Symeon of Trier.33
But there are also highly dubious items or complete errors in the material on
Adalbert, not to mention Ademars lack of knowledge about or reference to
many features of the saints life, such as the degree of his extremely close and
personal relations with Otto, the fact that the Bohemian churchman had him-
self set out on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, or his years at the monastery of Sts
Boniface and Alessio in Rome.34 What he does present in the insertion must
give pause to the accuracy of his source or sources. Ademar calls him the arch-
bishop of Prague, a city which did not gain archdiocesan status until 1344.35
Moreover, he gives much too large a role to Adalbert in the conversion of
Poland, whose ruler Mieszko I was baptized in 966 and who offered his land to

30 The insertion contains the only material on Adalbert in the chronicle.

31 See above.
32 Appendix.
33 Ibid.
34 On Adalberts desire to go to Jerusalem, Dvornik, The Making of Central and Eastern
Europe, pp. 10305.
35 Appendix. Chronicon 3.31, 6, p. 151.
76 chapter 4

the papacy.36 Boleslaw had been baptized before the appearance of Adalbert.
Yet in a way the Bohemian missionary can be seen as the father of the church
in Poland, as he has been traditionally viewed, because it was his martyrdom
that precipitated the gathering at Gniezno in 1000 and the organization of the
diocesan structure of Poland.37 As to the accuracy of the details of the martyr-
dom, it is clear that Ademar was repeating the tales that had developed around
the event and which were probably related to him by pilgrims returning from
Eastern Europe.
Yet no matter how many historical inaccuracies or half-truths Ademar offers
in his insertions on the life and work of St Adalbert, he was correct in showing
the central importance of this saint for the history of Poland. In addition, he
was correct in emphasizing the essential role of this martyr in the great policy
of Otto iii and Sylvester ii of Renovatio Imperii Romani.
Just as Adalbert is one of the great missionaries in developing this policy in
Eastern Europe, so Bruno of Querfurt was another and certainly deserved to be
joined with his fellow martyr in the insertion. Ademar does supply in the long
insertion in C much information on the evangelizing activities of Bruno and
on his martyrdom among the Prussians in seeking to emulate St Adalbert. But
whereas the general outline of Adalberts missionary work in Poland was his-
torically valid, what he offers on Bruno of Querfurt is generally a mishmash of
misinformation.38 Still, he does offer some correct data. He does place some of
his missionary work in Hungary and Russia, although he does not mention that
much of the effort in Hungary was in Black Hungary, not White, and that Russia
is a Hungarian province. And he does emphasize Brunos desire to follow
Adalbert into the land of the Prussians, where he too was martyred.
Yet the number of errors about Bruno and his mission make one wonder
about the nature of Ademars sources on this individual. He begins the parade
of errors by confusing Bruno of Querfurt with another Bruno, the bishop of
Augsburg who was the brother of Emperor Henry ii.39 Ademar has the Russian
people redeem Brunos body from the Prussians rather than from Boleslaw of
Poland, who, as in the case of Adalbert, received the remains.40 Even more

36 On this point, S. Ketrzynski, The Introduction of Christianity and the Early Kings of
Poland, Chapter 2 of Cambridge History of Poland, eds. W.F. Reddaway et al. (Cambridge,
Eng., 1941), vol. 1, pp. 2021. See also V. Meysztowicz, La Pologne dans la Chrtient (Paris,
1966), p. 12.
37 See A. Czajkowski, The Congress of Gniezno in the Year 1000, Sp 24 (1949), 33956.
38 See the Appendix.
39 Ibid.
40 Ibid. As for the reference to a Greek bishop working in Russia after the martyrdom of
Bruno, it is likely that Symeon of Trier was the source of this information, as he was for a
Jerusalem Pilgrims from the West Frankish Kingdom 77

than in the case of the material on Adalbert, one must think that the source of
this information on Bruno would be garbled tales transmitted by pilgrims on
their way back from Jerusalem.
Another error about Bruno of Querfurt in the addition is that it was he who
baptized King Stephen of Hungary and his father, also named Stephen.41
Ademar is correct in stating that Bruno did live for a time at the court of the
younger Stephen. Although he does not specifically mention Brunos role,
Ademar does indicate that it was c.1005 that the Hungarian ruler was able to
convert that section of his lands known as Black Hungary.42 The chroniclers
interest in St Stephen is also found in a reference in the long insertion in C
that Otto iii had given the sister of the future Henry ii, Gisela, to Stephen to
marry.43
A principal reason for this interest in St Stephen and in Eastern Europe in
general would seem to be that it was this ruler who opened up the land route
for pilgrims to Jerusalem, even those from West Frankish lands and from
Italy.44 Not only did he open the route, but he personally welcomed hundreds
of the travellers and supported their efforts in a number of ways.45 Ademar
states with regard to one of the largest of these groups that the king welcomed
Count William of Angoulme and gave him many gifts.46 Other sources from
the period also make clear Stephens interest in the pilgrims. Glaber recounts
the conversion of St Stephen and then adds,

Then almost all from Italy and Gaul who sought to go to the Sepulcher of
the Lord at Jerusalem abandoned the customary route, which was by sea,
and travelled through the country of St. Stephen. He established a very
safe route for everyone; he received as brothers all he saw, and gave them
large numbers of gifts. These actions led many people, nobles and com-
moners, to go to Jerusalem.47

number of items on the Byzantines. See Wolff, How the News was brought, and also
above.
41 Ibid.
42 Chronicon, 3.33, p. 155. Stephanus etiam rex Ungrie, bello appetens Ungriam nigram, tam
vi quam timore et amore ad fidem veritatis totam illam terram convertere meruit.
43 See the Appendix.
44 See below.
45 On St Stephen and the pilgrims, see Wolff, How the News was brought, p. 187, and
Micheau, Les itinraires maritimes, p. 89.
46 Chronicon 3.65, p. 189.
47 Glaber, Historiarum 3.1.2, p. 96. Tunc temporis ceperunt pene universi, qui de Italia et
Galliis ad sepulchrum Domini Iherosolimis ire cupiebant, consuetum iter quod erat per
78 chapter 4

Moreover, it is known that he supported pilgrim hostels not only in Hungary

but also in Ravenna, Rome, Constantinople, and Jerusalem itself.48 He also
moved the royal residence close to the pilgrim road and established a royal
chapel there inspired by Charlemagnes in Aachen.49 Like Charlemagne he is
closely associated with the Cross, the sign of his apostolate.50 Small wonder
then that St Stephen joined Otto iii and Charlemagne as the central figures in
Ademars long insertion.
St Stephen was not solely responsible for the opening of the land route to
Jerusalem. Ademar also notes the Byzantine contributions to the establishing
of the overland connection. Emperor Basil ii played a significant role through
his conquest of the Bulgarians. In Chapter 32 of book 3 of the chronicle, imme-
diately after the material on Otto iii, he states that Basil was so disturbed by
the Bulgarian inroads into Greece that he pledged to put on a monastic habit if
he could defeat them.51 After a very long struggle of fifteen years, he does
achieve success and does then, according to Ademar, spend the rest of his life
wearing a monks robes and abstaining from fleshly pleasures.52
As Robert Wolff noted in his long article on Ademars principal source for his
Byzantine material, the Aquitanian chronicler gets much of the material on
Basils defeat of the Bulgarians correct, although the Byzantine emperor did not
become a monk, even though he was personally ascetic.53 What is not specifi-
cally said in the chronicle, although it is clear from its position in Ademars

fretum maris omittere, atque per huius regis patriam transitum habere. Ille vero tutissi-
mam omnibus constituit viam; excipiebat ut fratres quoscumque videbat, dabatque illis
immensa munera. Cuius rei gratia provocata innumerabilis multitudo tam nobilium
quam vulgi Iherosolimam abierunt.
48 J. Bak, St. Stephen of Hungary (ca. 9751038), dma, vol. 11, p. 479.
49 Ibid.
50 E. Fgedi, Coronation in Medieval Hungary, smrh, n.s. 2 (1980), 167.
51 Chronicon, 3.32, p. 154. Hisdem temporibus rebellantes Bulgari Greciam valde exasper-
averunt, et Basileus imperator super eos nimis irritatus, voto se obligavit Deo monachum
fieri, si Grecis gentem Bulgarorum subderet. On this point, Wolff, How the News was
brought, pp. 14344.
52 Ibid. Et per annos xv cum hoste super eos laborans, duobus magnis preliis victus est. Ad
ultimum regibus Bulgarorum Samuele et Aaron nequaquam publico prelio, sed astucia
greca interfectis, omnem terram eorum obtinuit, et fortissimas civitates et castella confre-
git, Grecorumque presidia contra eas ubique ordinavit, populumque Bulgarorum maxima
ex parte captivavit. Et sicut voto promiserat, habitum monasticum greca figura subter-
indutus in reliquum est omni vitae suae tempore, a voluptate et carnibus abstinens,
et imperiali scemate extrinsecus circumdabatur.
53 Wolff, How the News was brought, p. 144. See also P. Stephenson, The Legend of Basil the
Bulgar-Slayer (Cambridge, Eng., 2003), p. 73.
Jerusalem Pilgrims from the West Frankish Kingdom 79

writings, is that the overland route through Europe for pilgrims to Jerusalem
was in part made safer all the way to Constantinople through the actions of
Basil, still another sacred ruler, like his nephew Otto iii and St Stephen.54
The land route had been further opened up earlier by another Byzantine
ruler Ademar mentions, Nicephorus Phocas, a guardian of the young Basil,
through his conquests of Antioch and other strongholds in Syria in the 960s.
These actions are specifically mentioned in Chapter 22 of book 3 of the chron-
icle, a rare reference to developments in the Byzantine world and one which
seemed of much importance to the Aquitanian chronicler.55 Once again, as
Wolff noted, it is likely Symeon of Trier who gave Ademar this information.56
Stories such as those told by Eastern visitors like Symeon of Trier would, as
did the opening of the land route, further arouse interest in the Holy Land. The
awakening of the West to such experiences was in part due to the flowering of
the Islamic and Byzantine civilizations in the 10th century and the appearance
of individuals from the East with novel ideas and customs, individuals who
would stimulate the Western imagination and create a desire to visit the Holy
City.57 Glaber too has material on these Eastern visitors, including Symeon and
his fellow monks of Mount Sinai who went each year to the ducal court of
Richard ii of Normandy (9961026) to collect the yearly offerings.58 There was
also, as mentioned in the first chapter, the earlier Symeon who came from
Armenia and travelled throughout Italy, Spain, and the West Frankish lands
between c.980 and his death in 1016.59
Ademars writings offer only a few references to these strange and mysteri-
ous visitors. The material on Bruno of Querfurt refers to an Eastern bishop who
wore a beard in the Greek fashion and was successful in converting a substan-
tial part of Russia.60 Ademar also speaks of testimony from Spain, Constantinople,

54 Yet one must be cautious in carrying this adulation too far, as will be clear shortly as
Ademar presents another side of Basil. See below.
55 Chronicon, 3.22, p. 144. Quo tempore Nikeforus imperator, Basilium et Constantinum par-
vulos educans Constantinopoli, Sarracenorum dicionem invasit, et Antiochiam aliasque
fortissimas civitates usque Tripolim expugnans, vi coepit et christianis Grecis restituit.
56 Wolff, How the News was brought, pp. 14243.
57 See above, Chapter 1. On this point, Southern, Making, p. 70. See also Ebersolt, Orient et
Occident, especially Chapter 8, La Route du Saint Spulcre (XeXIe Sicles), and Leyser,
The Tenth Century. On Western attitudes toward the Muslims, J.V. Tolan, Saracens: Islam
in the Medieval Imagination (New York, 2002).
58 Glaber, Historiarum 1.5.21, pp. 3637.
59 See above, pp. 910.
60 Ademar, Chronicon 3.31, p. 153. Post paucos dies, quidam Grecus episcopus in Russiam
venit et medietatem ipsius provinciae, quae adhuc idolis dedita erat, convertit, et morem
grecum in barba crescenda et ceteris exemplis eos suscipere fecit.
80 chapter 4

and other Greeks about affirming the apostolicity of Martial, especially in the
account of the council of Limoges of 1031 in which a certain Greek scholar is
cited.61 In addition, he refers to captive Muslim slaves who served in monaster-
ies in Aquitaine.62 One must wonder about the questioning of such individuals
by inquisitive monks. Yet Ademar does not offer the amount of information
about the Saracen impact on the West that appears in Glaber. The Burgundian
monk reports on the capture of Abbot Maiolus of Cluny in an Alpine pass by
the Saracens, the attacks by the Muslims on southern Italy in the early 10th
century, and the invasion of Spain by North African Muslims in the early 11th
century.63
Neither Ademar nor Glaber has much information about the embassies
being exchanged between the Ottonian court and the Roman imperial court in
Constantinople with their gifts of relics, especially of the True Cross, and works
of art. Neither offers data on the influence of Greek monks on Otto iii or his
own desire to leave the world to pursue a monastic life.64 Nor do they offer
much information about the number of Greek monks found in such Western
houses as Reichenau or Lotharingian monasteries.65
Beyond the focus on missionaries going into Eastern Europe and pilgrims to
Jerusalem beginning to grow in great number, there is little attention in
Ademars writings to any Westerners journeying abroad to learn from the
much more advanced civilizations of the Muslims and the Byzantines. The
principal exception is Gerbert of Aurillac, whom Ademar mentions as travel-
ling to Francia and Cordoba in search of knowledge.66

61 For example, Mansi, Collectio, 19, col. 517. Itaque illos conveni Graecos, sciscitans, utrum
orientales Martialem nossent. Qui alter Simeon, alter nomine Cosmas, consono ore
responderunt, dicentes: Utique Martialem novimus apostolum, unum de septuaginta
duobus. Also col. 511. Nam olim, antequam monachi habitum susciperem, dum
Hierosolymam proficiscens, apud Constantinopolim in basilica sanctae Sophiae, sabbato
pentecostes, solenni interessem officio: memini me audisse, in litaniis Graecis Martialem
inter alios apostolos post duodecim fuisse a Graecis pronunciatum. Also Commemoratio
abbatum, p. 8. Nam et apud Grecos, sapientiores Marcialis apostolus notissimus est.
62 Chronicon 3.52, p. 171.
63 See above. Glaber, Historiarum 1.4.9, pp. 1823, on the capture of Maiolus; 1.5.17, pp. 3233,
on the attacks on southern Italy; and 2.9.18, pp. 8283, on the invasion from Africa.
64 See above.
65 Leyser, The Tenth Century, p. 120. Leyser surely was correct in emphasizing how special
these individuals were in the 10th century, but he may have gone too far when he spoke of
the great number of contacts resulting from the opening of the land route.
66 Chronicon, 31, p. 154. Girbertus vero natione Aquitanus, ex infimo genere procreatus,
monacus a puericia Sancti Geraldi Aureliacensis cenobio, causa sophiae primo Franciam,
deinde Cordobam lustrans
Jerusalem Pilgrims from the West Frankish Kingdom 81

Part of the reason for the lack of attention to promoting these East/West
connections was the Wests fear of mental and spiritual pollution from these
peoples. They represented possible change that in so structured a society
might result in disorder. Ademars writings contain much material on the
appearance of the heretics and what they represented.67
Yet it was not only the spiritual well-being of the West that was threatened
by the growing contacts with the East. Pilgrims journeying overland to the
Holy Land or via the Mediterranean would encounter growing dangers, espe-
cially in the eastern regions. Beyond the obvious difficulties caused by primi-
tive means of transportation, problems with the climate, and obtaining
adequate food and lodgings, new dangers appeared in the early 11th century
from the Fatimid caliph of Egypt, al-Hakim.68
The description of this figure in the chronicle clearly reveals how demonic
he was in Ademars view, and what a threat he posed to pilgrims to the Holy
Land in the early 11th century.

In that very year (1009, although Ademar indicates 1010) the tomb of the
Lord in Jerusalem was smashed by the Jews and Saracens. For Western
Jews and Saracens of Spain had sent letters to the East accusing the
Christians of ordering armies of Franks to attack the Eastern Saracens.
The Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (namely al-Hakim, with Babylon the
name often used for Cairo), whom they called the Admired, aroused to
fury by the persuasion of the pagans carried out a great persecution of
the Christians and made a law that required all Christians by their own
will to become Muslims or either have their goods confiscated or be
killed. Whence it happened that innumerable Christians were converted
to the Saracen law and no one was worthy for death in Christ except the

67 See below for a more extended consideration of the importance of heresy for Ademar. See
also D. Callahan, Ademar of Chabannes and the Bogomils, in Heresy and the Persecuting
Society in the Middle Ages: Essays on the Work of R.I. Moore, ed. M. Frassetto (Leiden, 2006),
pp. 3141. This is a much abbreviated version of a piece that was to have appeared in 1995
in Studies in Medieval and Renaissance History, but unfortunately the journal went out of
print that year. The piece has been published recently in Where Heaven and Earth Meet:
Essays on Medieval Europe in Honor of Daniel F. Callahan, eds. M. Frassetto et al.
(Leiden, 2014), as Heresy and the Antichrist in the Writings of Ademar of Chabannes,
pp. 178226.
68 On al-Hkim, see my recent Al-Hkim, Charlemagne, pp. 4157, and M. Canard, La
destruction de lglise de la Rsurrection par le calife Hakim et lhistoire de la descente du
feu sacr, Byz 35 (1965), 1643. See also P.E. Walker, Al-Hakim, Caliph of Cairo: Al-Hakim
bi-Amr Allah, 9961021 (Cairo, 2009).
82 chapter 4

patriarch of Jerusalem, who was killed by various tortures, and two young
brothers in Egypt who were decapitated and became illustrious through
many miracles. And the church of St. George which to that point could be
violated by none of the Saracens, then was destroyed, with many other
churches of the saints, and with our sins meriting, the basilica of the
tomb of the Lord was destroyed even to the lowest parts. When they
could not at all crush to pieces the stones of the monument, they added
much fire, but as if the hardest substance, it remained immobile and
solid.69

Ademar went on to describe the divine intervention against al-Hakim and his
forces in protecting the church in Bethlehem and the monastery at Mount
Sinai, the latter by making the whole mountain seem to be on fire. A chastened
al-Hakim then ordered the rebuilding of the church of the Holy Sepulcher.70
Yet Gods anger would not be assuaged, and soon this caliph would face a great
famine of three years in his lands and the subsequent anger of the people of
Arabia, who captured and executed him.71

69 Ademar, Chronicon 3.47, pp. 16667. Ipso anno sepulchrum Domini Hierosolimis con-
fractum est a Judeis et SarracenisNam Judei occidentales et Sarraceni Hispanie mise-
runt epistolas in Orientem, accusantes Christianos et mandantes exercitus Francorum
super Sarracenos orientales commotos esse. Tunc Nabuchodonosor Babilonie, quem
vocant Admiratum, concitatus suasu paganorum in iram, afflictionem non parvam in
Christianos exercuit, deditque legem ut quicumque christiani de sua potestate nollent
fieri Sarraceni, aut confiscarentur aut interficerentur. Unde factum est ut innumerabiles
christianorum converterentur ad legem Sarracenam, et nemo pro Christo morte dignus
fuit preter patriarcham Jherosolimorum, qui variis supplicis occisus est, et duos adoles-
centes germanos in Egipto, qui decollati sunt et multis claruerunt miraculis. Nam ecclesia
Sancti Georgii, que actenus a nullo Sarracenorum potuit violari, tunc destructa est cum
aliis multis ecclesiis sanctorum, et peccatis nostris promerentibus, basilica sepulchri
Domini usque ad solum diruta. Lapidem monumenti cum nullatenus possent comminu-
ere, ignem copiosum superadiciunt, sed quasi adamans immobilis mansit et solidus. A
similar description by Ademar of the destruction and later rebuilding appears in
Comemoratio Abbatum Lemovicensium Basilice, pp. 78.
70 Ademar, Chronicon 3.47, p. 167. et data preceptione, jussit reaedificari basilicam
Sepulchri gloriosi.
71 Ibid. Nam gentes Arabiae super terram eorum diffuse sunt, et qui remanserant fame,
gladiis interierunt. Captus est ab eis rex Babilonius, qui se contra Deum erexerat in super-
biam, et vivus, ventro dissecto visceribusque extractis, impiam animam ad baratrum pro-
jecit. Venter ejus, lapidibus oppletus, consutus est, et cadaver, ligato plumbo ad collum, in
mare demersum est.
Jerusalem Pilgrims from the West Frankish Kingdom 83

The picture that Ademar paints of al-Hakim is very similar to what appears
in Glabers history, although the latter blames the Jews to a much greater extent
for arousing the anger of the caliph. Glaber writes,

In the same ninth year after the millennium the church at Jerusalem,
which contained the Sepulcher of Our Lord and Saviour, was destroyed at
the command of the Prince of Cairo. This is known to have begun in the
way I am about to describe. Because of the fame of this monument, great
multitudes of faithful from all over the world were drawn to Jerusalem.
Therefore, the devil, driven by envy, sought to pour out the venom of his
malice upon the practitioners of the true faith by using his accustomed
instruments, the Jews.72

According to Glaber, the Jews of the West sent a messenger to the caliph and
warned him that if he did not destroy the church of the Holy Sepulcher,
Western Christians would occupy his whole realm. The enraged al-Hakim then
sent his troops to Jerusalem and destroyed the Holy Sepulcher.73
Glabers account goes on to state, A little while after the Temple had been
destroyed it became quite clear that the wickedness of the Jews had brought
about the disaster.74 This in turn leads to attacks on Jews throughout the
world, who were then dispersed and wandering (profugi ac vagabundi).
Subsequently,

by divine clemency, the mother of that prince, the Emir of Cairo, a truly
Christian woman called Maria, began with well-dressed square stones to
rebuild the Temple of Christ, which had been destroyed by the command
of her son. Her husband, the father of the fellow we have been writing
about here, was like another Nicodemus for it is said that he was secretly
Christian. Then an incredible multitude of men from all over the world

72 Glaber, Historiarum 3.7.24, pp. 13235. Eo quoque in tempore, id est anno nono post pre-
fatum millesimum, aecclesia, quae apud Hierosolimam sepulchrum continebat Domini
ac Salvatoris nostri, eversa est funditus iussu principis Babilonis. Cuius videlicet ever-
sionis occasio tale quod dicturi sumus cognoscitur exordium habuisse. Cum enim de
toto terrarum orbe ob insigne dominicum memoriale plurima fidelium multitudo
Hierosolimam visitaturi pergerent, rursus coepit invidus diabolus per assuetam sibi
Iudaeorum gentem verae fidei cultoribus venenum suae nequitiae propinare.
73 Ibid., especially p. 134. His vero princeps auditis, protinus furore arreptus, misit
Hierosolimam de suis qui predictum funditus subverterent templum.
74 Ibid., p. 134. Everso igitur, ut diximus, templo, post paululum manifeste claruit quoniam
Iudaeorum nequitia tantum sit nefas patratum.
84 chapter 4

came exultantly to Jerusalem bearing countless gifts for the restoration of

the house of God.75

The actual al-Hakim, although certainly a major danger to travellers to the

Holy Land, as one sees even after the destruction of the Temple when in 1013 he
sent an army of over 20,000 warriors to Palestine, was not precisely the figure
presented by the two Western chroniclers, whose notions were so strongly
shaped by Antichrist expectations.76 He did indeed persecute Christians and
Jews, destroyed churches, and seems to have claimed to be divine.77 Mentally
unstable and having created much fear among his own people, he would disap-
pear outside of Cairo in February 1021. Although his body was never found, his
clothing, pierced by dagger holes, was recovered.78 This extraordinary man
would be viewed by the Druze sect, founded in 1017, as the Mahdi, the last
imam, whose return would signal the final days.79
His destruction of the church of the Holy Sepulcher and attacks on
Christians contributed to the rise of sacred militancy in the West in the early
11th century and resulted in Pope Sergius iv in 1010 summoning a crusade, an
action about which Ademar says nothing. The encyclical of Sergius, still
thought by some to be a forgery, which called for the crusade, makes it clear
that it was the destruction of the Holy Sepulcher by al-Hakim that resulted
in the summons.80 Ademars silence, one still very much open to debate, about
the effort may be the result of the failure of the popes call to draw a significant

75 Ibid., 3.7.25, pp. 13637. divina propitiante clementia, cepit mater ipsius principis,
v idelicet Ammirati Babilonis, mulier christianissima, nomine Maria, reaedificare Christi
templum, iusu eius filii eversum, politis et quadris lapidibus. Nam et vir ipsius, quasi
alter Nichodemus, pater huius scilicet de quo presens est sermo habitus, occulte
Christianus dicitur fuisse. Tunc quoque de universo terrarum orbe incredibilis hominum
multitudo, exultanter Iherosolimam pergentes, domui Dei restaurandae plurima detul-
erunt munera.
76 On the army sent to Palestine, see Gil, History of Palestine, p. 383.
77 Canard, La destruction de lglise, pp. 1643. On this point and on Hakim overall, see
P.E. Walker, Exploring an Islamic Empire: Fatimid History and its Sources (London, 2002).
78 On the death of Hakim, Callahan, Al-Hkim, Charlemagne, p. 44.
79 R. Betts, The Druze (New Haven, 1988), p. 4.
80 The encyclical of Sergius iv is found as an appendix to the article of H.M. Schaller, Zur
Kreuzzugsenzyklika Papst Sergius iv, in Papsttum, Kirche und Recht im Mittelalter:
Festschrift fr Horst Fuhrmann zum 65. Geburtstag, ed. H. Mordek (Tbingen, 1991),
pp. 13553. On the controversial nature of the encyclical of Pope Sergius, see, among others,
H.E.J. Cowdrey, Martyrdom and the First Crusade, in Crusade and Settlement, ed.
P.W. Edbury (Cardiff, 1985), pp. 4656, especially 4950.
Jerusalem Pilgrims from the West Frankish Kingdom 85

response. Yet he also does not comment on the defeat of the Italian cities by a
Muslim fleet in 1011.81
What he does consider is the danger to Jerusalem pilgrims in Italy as a
resultof the struggles between the Norman warriors and the Byzantine forces
of Emperor Basil ii later in that decade.82 The struggles were so bitter that
the pilgrimage route to Jerusalem was closed for three years, c.101820.83
Pilgrims who got caught in the struggle were taken to Constantinople and held
captive.84
One could continue a general examination of the dangers facing the
Jerusalem pilgrims in Ademars writings, such as the physical perils of the
travel, an example of which is found in one of his sermons in which he men-
tions the rescue of a pilgrim from the sea, or the dangers from pirates or even
from ones fellow pilgrims, an example of which would be Count Fulk Nerra of
Anjou, who undertook as many as five penitential pilgrimages to Jerusalem
and about whom Ademar has much to say in his chronicle.85
Yet as dangerous as it was to travel to Jerusalem in the late 10th and early 11th
centuries, those challenges did not deter the many who wished to go forth. As
Glaber makes clear, a substantial number of these pilgrims were from the West
Frankish kingdom.86 Ademar in his chronicle offers several examples of who
these pilgrims were, why they went forth, and how they fared. One of the earli-
est of these pilgrims about whom Ademar reports, as was noted above, was
Abbot Maynard of Saint-Cybard, who returned from Jerusalem c.940 with
relics and placed them in an oratory in the newly constructed basilica in
Angoulme, thus serving as an important figure in connecting Ademar materi-
ally to Jerusalem.87 He also mentions a penitential pilgrimage undertaken by

81 On this attack and the lack of data on it, C. Erdmann, The Origins of the Idea of Crusade,
trans. M. Baldwin and W. Goffart (Princeton, 1977), pp. 11516.
82 Ademar, Chronicon 3.55, pp. 17374.
83 Ibid. Tunc per triennium interclusa est via Jherosolime
84 Ibid. nam propter iram Nortmannorum quicumque invenirentur peregrini, a Grecis
ligati Constantinopolim ducebantur, et ibi carcerati affligebantur. On this material see
Wolff, How the News was brought, pp. 14648, who points out that the Byzantines
employed Varangian mercenaries. See also on this turbulence in Italy, J. France, The
Occasion of the Coming of the Normans to Southern Italy, jmh 17.3 (1991), 185205.
85 On the rescue of the pilgrim from the sea, bn ms lat. 2469, 67v. On Fulk Nerra, Ademar,
Chronicon, e.g. 3.41, p. 162; 3.56, p. 177; 3.64, p. 184, and 3.68, p. 189; and on Fulks pilgrim-
ages to Jerusalem, Bachrach, Pilgrimages of Fulk, pp. 20517.
86 See above in Chapter 1, p. 1.
87 Ademar, Chronicon 3.24, p. 146. See above, p. 68, esp. fn. 174 and pp. 7172.
86 chapter 4

Peter of Dorat to Jerusalem and the death there about the same time, c.1010, of
his own uncle Raymond.88
In his account of the Council of Limoges of 1031, Ademar mentions a pil-
grimage to Jerusalem of Azenarius of Massay, on which journey he purportedly
heard in Constantinople reference to St Martial being held as an apostle.89 One
of the important figures at this council and about whom Ademar comments in
his chronicle, Gauzlin, the archbishop of Bourges, also went on pilgrimage to
Jerusalem.90 These references to Jerusalem pilgrims demonstrate clearly the
rapidly growing interest in Aquitaine to the journey to Jerusalem and particu-
larly reveal Ademars own growing preoccupation with the site.
Although the pilgrims mentioned in the previous two paragraphs appear as
lone individuals in the text, it is likely that most, if not all, travelled to the Holy
Land in groups.91 Ademar does note several large groups from Aquitaine that left
in the period between the late 10th century and 1033. One of these from around the
year 1000 was led by Viscount Guy of Limoges and his brother Bishop Hilduin.92
Another group, conducted by Bishop Ralph of Prigueux, returned in 1010, just
after the destruction of the church of the Holy Sepulcher. Bishop Ralph died
shortly thereafter, possibly from exhaustion caused by the trip and its dangers.93
Yet unquestionably the most detailed account, and surely one of the most
important influences on his own decision to travel to Jerusalem, was that of
the great pilgrimage of Count William of Angoulme with its 700 members in
102627, the largest mass pilgrimage of which we are aware from the West
Frankish kingdom since the opening of the land route to Jerusalem.94 Ademar
specifically mentions in addition to Count William Odo of Bourges, the
lord of Dols; Richard, abbot of Saint-Vannes of Verdun; Richard, abbot of
Saint-Cybard of Angoulme; Gerald Fanesinus, the councillor of the count; the
monk Amalfred, who later would become abbot of Saint-Cybard; and a great
gathering of nobles.95 This list focuses primarily on those from Angoulme and

88 Ibid., 3.45, p. 165. On this point, see M. Bull, Knightly Piety and the Lay Response to the First
Crusade: the Limousin and Gascony, c. 970c. 1130 (Oxford, 1993), p. 208.
89 Mansi, 19, col. 510.
90 Ademar, Chronicon 3.39, p. 160. See also Dauphin, Le bienheureux Richard, p. 278, on the
pilgrimage of Gauzlin.
91 Sumption, Pilgrimage, especially Chapter 8.
92 Ademar, Chronicon 3.40, p. 160. See also Bull, Knightly Piety, p. 208.
93 Ibid., 3.48, p. 171.
94 Ibid., 3.6566, pp. 18487. Much has been written about this pilgrimage. See the note to
3.65, 2 on p. 317 for a listing of some of the most important studies.
95 Ibid., 3.65. Comitati sunt eum Odo Bituricus princeps Dolensis, Ricardus abbas
Verdunensis, Ricardus abbas Sancti Eparchii Egolismensis, et princeps ejus et consiliarius
ejus Giraldus Fanesinus, et Amalfredus postea abbas, et magna caterva nobilium.
Jerusalem Pilgrims from the West Frankish Kingdom 87

the immediately surrounding areas and does not indicate the names of the
hundreds of members of this pilgrimage from elsewhere in the northern por-
tions of the West Frankish kingdom or from the Empire.96
As for the journey itself, Ademar indicates that they began the trip on the
first day of October and arrived in the Holy City in early March.97 He empha-
sizes the warm welcome given to the pilgrims by King Stephen of Hungary,
who presented them with many gifts.98 Yet he says nothing about the stay in
Constantinople or, most surprisingly, about what happened to them in
Jerusalem.99
The pilgrims returned in June to Angoulme, after a brief stop in Limoges,
where they were welcomed in a festive fashion by many monks at Saint-
Martial.100 When the news of their return went forth from Limoges, a great
crowd, including leaders from Prigueux and Saintes, greeted the travellers in
Angoulme. A sacred Te Deum Laudamus was sung in jubilation.101
Not long after the return, Count William became ill. Ademar goes on at
greatlength decribing the prayers for the leader. When it became clear that the
end was near, the count adored and kissed the wood of the True Cross and
thendied.102 Shortly before his death Count William had given a golden cross

96 Dauphin in Chapter 10, pp. 272308, of his study of Richard of Saint-Vanne (Le bienheu-
reux Richard) identifies many of these pilgrims from the regions outside of Aquitaine.
97 Ademar, Chronicon 3.65, p. 184. Coepit iter agere mensis octobris primo die, et pervenit in
sanctam civitatem prima ebdomada mensis marcii
98 Ibid. Stephanus rex Ungriae cum omni honore eum suscepit et muneribus ditavit.
99 On the visit to Constantinople and the period in Jerusalem, see Dauphin, Le bienheureux
Richard, Chapter 10, pp. 28694.
100 Ademar, Chronicon 3.65, p. 184. reversusque est tercia ebdomada mensis junii ad pro-
pria. Divertit per Lemovicam revertens, ubi omnis multitudo monachorum Sancti
Marcialis splendore festivo obviam exeuntes exceperunt eum.
101 Ibid. At ubi rumor adventus ejus Egolismam pervenit, omnes principes non solum
Egolismensium sed etiam Petragoricensium et Sanctonum, omnisque aetas et sexus ad
eum occurrit gaudio perfusa, eum cernere desiderans. Clerus vero monasticus Sancti
Eparchii, in vestibus albis diversisque ornamentis, cum magna multitudine populi et
clericorum sive canonicorum, gaudens processit obviam ei extra civitatem miliario uno,
cum laudibus et antiphonis. Et omnes in excelsum vociferantes: Te Deum laudamus
deduxerunt eum, ut moris est.
102 Ibid., 3.66, pp. 18587. Eodem vero anno correptus est languore corporis idem comes
usque ad mortemIgitur comes ab episcopis et abbatibus penitenciam accipiens,
omniaque sua disponens, et inter filios suos et conjugem suam nominatim, prout sibi
visum est, honorem suum ordinans, reconciliatus et absolutus est, et toto quadragesimae
tempore missas et cultum Dei frequentavit, quousque prima ebdomada majori ante
Pascha oleo sancto et viatico muniretur, et ligno Crucis adorato et deosculato, spiritum in
manibus episcopi Roonis et sacerdotum redderet Deo laudabili fine et memoria.
88 chapter 4

covered with jewels to Saint-Cybard and then was buried there.103 It seems a
fitting conclusion to the life of so important a pilgrim and appears in one of the
concluding chapters of the Chronicon. Would that more material survived! Less
than a decade later Ademar himself would go forth in the steps of the count of
Angoulme.

103 Ibid. Per biduum observatum est corpus ejus a clericis et monachis in basilica sedis Petri
apostoli. [Planctu tota civitas repleta est.] Tunc dominica sancta Osanna cum ramis et
floribus delatum est corpus ad basilicam Beati Eparchii, et ibi sepultum ante altare sancti
DionisiiOptulit supradictus Willelmus pro sepultura sua Sancto Eparchio diversa et pre-
ciosa munera tam in terris quam in silvis, auro et argento multo aliisque rebus. Inter
cetera donaria obtulit crucem auream cum gemmis preciosis pensantem libras vii, can-
delabra argentea Sarrasenisca fabrefacta pensantia libras xv.
 chapter 5

Ademars Alpha Perspective on Jerusalem

and the Cross

Ademars descriptions of so many pilgrims going to Jerusalem in the 10th and

early 11th centuries must be seen in the context of the changing spirituality in
the West in the period, that which one calls the rise of Incarnational Christianity
or the ascent of the alpha pole in bipolar Christianity.1 The next chapter will
consider the growing importance of the omega pole in the same period. So
significant a rise of both poles at the same time is rare in the long history of the
Christian religion and makes the period 9001050 extraordinary, if not wholly
unique.2
Changes in the depiction of the Cross, with the human Christ ever more
suffering, the rapid growth of the cult of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the rise
of liturgical dramas, especially the early Passion plays, are but a few of the
examples one might cite to indicate the growing emphasis on the humanity of
Christ.3 Related to these changes are the warming of the global climate, the
concomitant agricultural revolution, the growth in population, and more con-
tacts with the world beyond the local areas all of which result in a more
positive and hopeful attitude toward daily existence.4 To be sure, these devel-
opments did not occur overnight, but they are a reality that opens the period
of Ademar of Chabannes up to significant religious changes.
During these particular monastic centuries, 9001050, it is not surprising
that the alpha emphasis in the writings of the church Fathers, particularly
Augustine, Jerome, Ambrose, and Gregory the Great, holds a special attrac-
tion.5 Moreover, the incarnational echoes from these patristic giants in later

1 On this point, see Southern, Making, especially Chapter 5, From Epic to Romance.
2 The only comparable earlier period when both spiritual poles were rising so dramatically was
the age between 250 and 400, when the Christian church triumphed in the Roman Empire
during the age of the Church Fathers, but at a time when serious climate change and major
political problems caused many to see themselves as living in the end times.
3 Particularly useful on this material are the studies of Celia Chazelle and Barbara Raw on the
Cross and its depiction.
4 This material will be explored in much detail in my forthcoming book Jerusalem and the Rise
of Western Civilization in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries.
5 As Jean Leclercq noted in his still invaluable The Love of Learning and the Desire for God,
especially p. 122ff, the debt to the Church Fathers on the part of the Benedictine monks dur-
ing the monastic centuries was immense.

koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 6|doi 10.1163/9789004313682_006

90 chapter 5

writers, such as the Venerable Bede and Alcuin and other masters of the
Carolingian Renaissance, greatly influence the alpha perceptions in the 10th
and 11th centuries.6 One need only point to the writings of such figures as
Hroswitha of Gandersheim, Gerbert of Aurillac, and Aelfric of Eynsham.7
In the liturgical writings of these centuries, particularly in the monasteries,
it is hardly surprising that the many references to Jerusalem in the Psalms daily
remind the monks of the site for the origins of Christianity.8 Or that the sacred
histories of the monks, with their large debt to Eusebius and later Bede, brought
the readers constantly back to the alpha roots, a process that had become
extremely powerful at a time when the humanity of Christ was becoming
increasingly prominent.9 In addition, the liturgical calendar celebrated the
lives of many disciples of Christ in the period of apostolic Christianity.
From this perspective it is hardly surprising that the 10th century witnessed
a growing interest in the apostles, even to the extent of creating new ones by
placing in the 1st century the lives of later saints.10 One of the most famous of
these transformations, and surely the most important as far as Ademar of
Chabannes was concerned, was the apostolicity of St Martial of Limoges.11 The
actual Martial seems to have been a missionary sent to Gaul with six others,
including St Denis and St Sernin, in the middle of the 3rd century. Martial
became the bishop of Limoges, where he successfully spread the Christian
message and converted the people of his diocese. He and several of his com-
panions who had travelled with him from the East would eventually be buried
in adjoining sarcophagi. These are the barest bones that Gregory of Tours drew
from an account of the passion of St Sernin of Toulouse.12

6 See above.
7 This is particularly true of Gerbert, whose writings are filled with a growing incarnational
perspective. On Gerbert, see Pierre Rich, Gerbert dAurillac, le pape de lan mil (Paris,
1987).
8 See above, Chapter 1.
9 This was especially true in the life of Ademar, as is so evident in his Chronicon.
10 On this point see H. Fichtenau, Living in the Tenth Century: Mentalities and Social Orders,
trans. P. Geary (Chicago, 1991), examples on p. 12ff., especially pp. 1314 on Martial.
11 See above, Chapter 2, and Callahan, The Sermons of Ademar, p. 252ff.
12 Historia Francorum 1.30, mgh ScrRer Mer I.I.I:2223: Huius tempore [in the reign of
Decius, 24951] septem viri episcopi ordenati ad praedicandum in Galliis missi sunt, sicut
historia passiones sancti martyres Saturnini denarrat. Ait enim: Sub Decio et Grato con-
solibus, sicut fideli recordationem retenitur, primum ac summum Tholosana civitas sanc-
tum Saturninum habere coeperat sacerdotum. Hic ergo missi sunt: Turonicis Catianus
episcopus, Arelatensibus Trophimus episcopus, Narbonae Paulos episcopus, Tolosae
Saturninus episcopus, Parisiacis Dionisius episcopus, Arvernis Stremonius episcopus,
Lemovicinis Martialis est distinatus episcopus. De his vero atque Marcialis, in summa
Ademars Alpha Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 91

By the late 8th or the first half of the 9th century Martial became a figure of
apostolic Christianity. A first vita makes him a disciple of St Peter, who as
bishop of Rome sent Martial to evangelize.13 Martial was one of a number of
bishops sent to Gaul by Peter, the account taking the material of Gregory of
Tours and moving it back to the 1st century from the 3rd century. There is much
on Peter in the vita and his connection to Christ, with Christ sending his dis-
ciples into the world to carry his message, especially Peter and thusly Martial.14
Peter directs Martial in the mission he had received from Christ and has him
take two priests with him to Gaul.15 One of these priests died on the way to
Limoges. Martial then goes back to Rome, where he receives from Peter the
Petrine staff, which he uses to restore life to the dead priest. The vita goes on to
depict Martial defeating the pagans, then offers an account of the conversion
of St Valerie, the fiance of Duke Stephen, and then finally presents the death
and burial of St Martial and some early miracles at his tomb.16
In the middle of the 9th century the religious community that had devel-
oped at the tomb of St Martial adopted the Benedictine Rule and built a new
basilica over his remains.17 Like so many monks of the late 9th century, the
community had to flee from the Vikings.18 When they returned and reestablished

sanctitate viventes, adquisitus eclesiae populos ac fidem Christi per omnibus dilitatam,
felice confessione migrarunt. Et sic tam isti per martyrium quam hii per confessionem
relinquentes terras, in caelestibus pariter sunt coniuncti. In the Liber in gloria confesso-
rum, Chapter 27, mgh ScrMer 1, 2:31415 one also finds: Igitur sanctus Martialis episco-
pus a Romanis missus episcopis, in urbe Lemovicina praedicare exorsus est: eversisque
simulachororum ritibus, repletam iam credulitate Dei urbem, migravit a saeculo. Erant
tunc temporis cum eo duo presbiteri, quos secum ab Oriente adduxit in Galeis. Verum ubi
completi sunt dies eorum, ut et ipsi vocarentur de hoc saeculo, coniunctis sarcofagis in
eadem cripta quam sanctus episcopus sunt sepulti.
13 For an edition of this vita, see Bellet, Lancienne vie. On the mission Peter gave Martial to
evangelize, Bellet, Lancienne vie, pp. 3435. Bellet correctly notes the Carolingian pen-
chant for the cult of St Peter.
14 Ibid. for the emphasis on the connection between Christ and Peter and between Peter
and Martial.
15 Ibid., p. 36.
16 Ibid., p. 38ff.
17 Ademar, Commemoratio in Chroniques de Saint-Martial, 1. Anno dccc xl viii ab
Incarnatione Domini, indictione xi, pridie kalendas aprilis, temporibus regum Lotharii et
Karoli Calvi, nono anno post mortem Ludovici imperatoris, filii Karoli magni imperatoris,
et prelium Fontaneticum, mutatus est canonicalis habitus in monasticum in basilica
Salvatoris mundi et Marcialis, ejus apostoli, Lemovica civitate. On this, see Charles de
Lasteyrie, LAbbaye de Saint-Martial de Limoges (Paris, 1901), Chapter 3, p. 51ff.
18 Lasteyrie, LAbbaye, pp. 5657.
92 chapter 5

themselves, their number increased, and in the 10th century the pilgrimage to
the site grew rapidly.19 It is in this context that a new vita of Martial appeared
by the end of the century, the so-called Aurelian vita, purportedly written by
Martials successor as bishop of Limoges after having been converted by his
predecessor.20
Ademar of Chabannes was one of the first to mention this new vita and
drew extensively from it in his campaign to establish the apostolicity of the
founder of the church of Limoges.21 A number of copies of the vita survived
which do not call Martial an apostle, but rather a confessor.22 The Aurelian vita
greatly increases over the earlier Carolingian vita the importance of Martial in
the apostolic period. In the new work he is not simply a close disciple of St
Peter but an important associate of Christ himself, one who was present at and
even participated in the events of Christs final days.23 In this new life, Martial
at the age of fifteen comes to Jerusalem with his parents to hear Christ preach
and will soon be baptized by St Peter at the behest of Jesus.24 Although he
would become a close associate of Peter, he was initially an immediate disciple
of Christ. He would receive the Holy Spirit with the other disciples at
Pentecost.25 When Peter went to Antioch, Martial accompanied him, a connec-
tion that the earlier vita had emphasized but one which now underlines the
codiscipleship of Martial and Peter. After working for seven years in Antioch,
Peter and Martial set out for Rome accompanied by a number of individuals,
such as Alpinian and Austriclinian, who will eventually accompany Martial to
Limoges.26 The Aurelian vita emphasizes that the Crucified Christ appeared to
Peter in his second year in Rome and told him to send Martial to preach in the
provinces of Gaul.27 This material echoes the introduction, which has Martial
going forth to Limoges from Rome with several disciples.28

19 Ibid., p. 58ff.
20 On the Aurelian vita, Callahan, The Sermons of Ademar, p. 253ff.
21 Ibid., especially note 2.
22 This point is considered in some detail in ibid., pp. 25556.
23 The Aurelian vita, also called the Vita Prolixior, is found in Surius, De probatis, vol. 6, pp.
36574. On this vita, see bhl, no. 5552.
24 Aurelian vita, Chapters 1 and 2, 365.
25 Ibid. Deinde post perceptionem sancti Spiritus, beati apostoli in fide roborati, passim per
regiones dispersi.
26 Ibid., Chapters 24, 36566.
27 Ibid., Chapters 4, 366. apparuit Dominus beato Petro, anno secundo postquam venerat
Romam, et monuit eum ut dirigeret beatum Marcialem ad praedicandum provinciis
Galliarum.
28 Ibid. preface, p. 365. Igitur sanctus Martialis Episcopus a Romanis missus Episcopis, in
urbe Lemovicina praedicare exorsus est. Eversisque simulacrorum ritibus, repleta iam
Ademars Alpha Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 93

Chapters 5 through 11 describe the journey north and the early successes of
Martial in Gaul. They emphasize the continuing connection to Rome by having
Martial return to St Peter for his staff when one of the accompanying disciples
dies and Martial restores him to life with Peters symbol of power.29 In another of
the miracles performed by Martial in this period he restores to life a young man,
related to Nero, with the words, In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ whom the
Jews crucified.30 The reference to the Cross is immediately developed by the
miraculously cured youth, who states, Baptize me, man of God, and sign me
with the sign of faith.31 Martial subsequently baptized thousands more.32
The major conversions occur in Limoges, when Martial baptized 22,000.33 He
had been told by Christ in a vision not to fear going there.34 Among the many
baptized were a wealthy matron named Susanna and her daughter Valerie, the
betrothed of Duke Stephen, the master of Gaul.35 When the duke learns that
Valerie had pledged a vow of virginity on becoming a Christian, and distributed
all her wealth to the poor, he has her beheaded.36 Subsequently the duke will
seek to make amends for the execution and will himself be baptized, aid Martial
in the baptizing of the duchy, establish dioceses, and subsequently be buried
near Martial and Valerie.37 Limoges became the heart of Christianity in Gaul.38
The last chapters treat the death of Martial, which Christ himself announced
to his loyal disciple.39 On the day before his death Martial preached a sermon
in which he emphasized what he had learned directly from Christ.40 Martial
teaches Christs ways of peace and charity and at its end invokes the peace of

credulitate Dei urbe, migravit a saeculo. Erant tunc temporis cum eo duo Presbyteri, quos
secum ab Oriente adduxit in Gallias.
29 Ibid., Chapter 6, p. 366.
30 Ibid., Chapter 8, p. 366. In nomine Domini nostri Iesu Christi, quem Iudaei crucifix-
erunt This reference to the Jews also appears in Chapter 9, p. 367, in a miracle of the
healing of a paralysed man when Martial says, In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ
whom the Jews crucified.
31 Ibid. Baptiza me homo Dei et consigna me signo fidei.
32 These baptisms are also a means of underlining the importance of the cross.
33 Aurelian vita, Chapter 11ff, p. 367ff.
34 Ibid., Chapter 10, p. 367. Commorante autem beato Marciale in eodem loco apparuit ei
dominus in visu, et dixit ei, Ne timeas descendere ad urbem Lemovicum , quia ibi te glo-
rificabo, et semper ero tecum.
35 Ibid. Tunc sanctus Marcialis baptizavit eam (Susanna) cum unica filia sua Valeria, et
orante pro eis Dominum, repletae sunt ambae Spiritu sancto.
36 Ibid., Chapter 12, pp. 36768.
37 Ibid., Chapter 13, p. 368.
38 Ibid., Chapters 1423, pp. 36873.
39 Ibid., Chapter 24, p. 373.
40 Ibid., Chapter 25, pp. 37374.
94 chapter 5

Christ over them.41 The final two chapters contain the death of Martial and an
account of miracles at his tomb, an appropriate conclusion for monks seeking
to publicize the miraculous power of their patron.
Ademar, both in his additions to the Aurelian vita and even more so in his
sermons, develops extensively the apostolicity of Martial and his central
importance for the West.42 The elevation of this saint occurs in a number of
ways. Whereas the Aurelian vita has Christ call the young Martial in the second
batch of apostles, Ademar emphasizes the equality of Martial to the other
apostles, even to the point of making him more important than St Paul.43 Like
all the apostles, Martial was summoned to Jerusalem, the original home of
Christianity, yet his connection to the holy city is only briefly mentioned in the
Aurelian vita, a fact that requires Ademar again and again to celebrate the cen-
tral site of Christianity.44 It was there that St Peter, at the request of Christ,
baptized Martial.45 One of the features of much of Ademars writings was to
establish Peter and Martial on the same plane, another Moses and Aaron, he
calls them.46 As for Martials apostolate, namely all of Gaul, it was not Peter

41 Ibid., Chapter 25, p. 374. Benedicat vos Dominus, et custodiat vos, et misereatur vestri,
convertat vultum suum super vos, et det vobis pacem.
42 Callahan, The Sermons of Ademar, p. 266ff.
43 ms 2469, fol. 94r. Certe si Paulus se asserit apostolum populo unius urbis, id est Chorinti,
quia eis verbum primus praedicavit, quanto magis Marcialis iure apostolus asseritur esse,
qui non soli populo Lemovicensi, non soli uni urbi, sed etiam omni Aquitaniae provintiae
verbum salutis primus praedicaverit.
44 An example of the continuing influence of the apostolic life of Jerusalem on Ademar
appears in ms 2469, fol. 19r. Namque ad instar Hierosolimorum Ecclesiae, quam statuer-
ant ab initio apostoli, beatus Marcialis qui unus erat ex illis Ecclesiam quoque
Lemovicensem in qua sedem sibi elegit, in commune florere in ipso suae praedicationis
initio statuit. Ut sicut in illa fuerant omnia communia, sic in ista dives non superabund-
undaret, pauper non egeret, quatinus ipsa fraternitas communis, filios Ecclesiae multa
baptismatis fecunditate multiplicaret.
45 On the baptism of Martial by Peter, which appears in Chapter 1 of the Aurelian vita, see in
ms 2469, e.g. fols. 71v, 76r, 78r, 79r, and 81r.
46 Martial appears with Peter as codisciples of Christ over thirty times in the sermons, e.g.
ms 2496, fols. 23v, 36v, and 83r. The Moses and Aaron image appears in ms 2469, fol. 80v.
Sic Marcialis non ab hominibus neque per hominem alium quemlibet quam per Petrum
ianitorem caeli, sed a Domino et per Dominum patronus Galliarum factus monarchus
Aquitaniae constitutus est. Petrus quasi alter Moises, Marcialis quasi alter Aaron. Sed illi
unam gentem Hebream, isti duas gentes Italicam et Gallicam liberaverunt. Illi Hebrei,
et isti nihilominus genere Hebrei. Utrique electi a Domino, utrique ad regna diaboli
spolianda a Domino sunt directi. Sed Aaron per Moisen, Marcialis per Petrum a Domino
missus est. Non tamen Aaron sine Moise ductor fuit, Marcialis autem solus sine Petro
longinqui oris gentis principatum et ducatum suscepit.
Ademars Alpha Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 95

who so dictated, but Christ himself.47 Moreover, Duke Stephen of Aquitaine,

who in the Aurelian vita was converted by Martial, has his status elevated to
king of Gaul.48
Throughout his writings, although the actions of Martial in the West are
always central, Ademar constantly returns to the theme of Jerusalem as the
place of origin. It was the mother of all churches from the perspective of apos-
tolic Christianity.49 Like the other apostles, Martial was a member of the chil-
dren of Abraham. It was here he worked closely with Christ and served as the
connection between Christ and Aquitaine.50 Jerusalem is again underlined as
the mother of all churches.
There is, of course, one special church to which Ademar devotes so much
attention: the church of Limoges. Thus, it is not surprising to see how closely
he binds Limoges to Jerusalem. Acting through his close associate Martial,
Christ established a strong apostolic life in Limoges.51 The attention to the
apostolic life of the early church presented in the Aurelian vita gave Ademar
the opportunity to develop this theme at great length in the sermons by com-
paring Limoges and Jerusalem in a favorable way.52 In this fashion Limoges
became for Ademar an extension of the Holy Land.53 The sermons contain
numerous references to Jerusalem, the Temple, and sites associated with Christ

47 In an insertion into the False Decretals in ms 1664, fol. 132v, Ademar succinctly indicates
this power, Manifestum quoque quia Marcialis iubente Domino per legationem Petri
primus Galliam intravit, et ecclesi quae prima in Galliis facta est primatem tunc iure
optinuit. Haec autem fuit ecclesia Lemovicensis, absque dubio prima omnium eccle-
siarum Galliae. In addition, Ademar gives Martial such titles as apostolus Galliae (e.g. ms
2469, fols. 5r and 91v) and summus patriarcha Galliae (e.g. ms 2469, fol. 29r).
48 ms 3785, fol. 186v. Eratque ipse rex et dux gloriosissimus pater Christianorum et ferocis-
simus persecutor paganorum praedicandus ultra omnes reges et duces sui temporis
Not surprisingly, because of Ademars fixation on Jerusalem, he was compared to Solomon
in ms 2469, fols. 18r and 18v.
49 On the centrality of Jerusalem to Ademar, see above, note 44.
50 For example ms 2469, fol. 93r. Nam et Aquitanicam hanc provintiam Marcialis apostolus
Christo sponso praedicatione sua virginem incorruptam Ecclesiam despondit, et pater ei
extitit cum eam in Christo per evangelium genuit Itaque hic Domini Salvatoris carne
discipulus, Occiduae gentilitati primus evangelium et baptismum exhibens, sponsam
Ecclesiam sponso Christo ipsam Aquitaniam consotiabat.
51 On Limoges as the city of God after the baptism performed by Martial, ms 2469, fol. 54v,
civitatem vere Dei, quae pridem iam fuerat civitas et regnum diaboli.
52 For example, in ms 2469, fols. 40v44r, he compares Martials basilica of Saint Peter in
Limoges to Solomons Temple in Jerusalem.
53 This point is developed at much greater length in Callahan, The Sermons of Ademar,
pp.29394.
96 chapter 5

and his disciples in the sacred place of the origins of Christianity.54 He also
compares the Temple to the churches of Limoges, especially likening the burial
site of the remains of St Martial to the Temple with the Ark.55 Going further in
this imagery, like the Jews of the Old Testament the people of Aquitaine are
now the chosen of the Lord, with Martial as a new Moses leading his people
from bondage.56 And just as Martial is the new Moses, so is Duke Stephen like
the leaders of the Jews in establishing this new homeland a figure worthy of
comparison to Solomon.57
Additionally, just as in the Jerusalem of Christ, so in the Limoges of Martial
apostolic peace was the hallmark of the new Christian life.58 The people of
Aquitaine looked to Martial, Christs apostle, to find the peace of the Lord.59
And when Martial died, he left Gaul under Stephen continuing to experience
the Peace of God.60 This peace of the early church became prominent again in
the late 10th and early 11th centuries in Aquitaine in the Peace of God move-
ment, which sought to give protection to the church and its members, and for
which Ademar became a prominent spokesman.61 Here again St Martials
apostolic connections to Christ are emphasized by Ademar to help prevent the
attacks on the church and the churchmen and are an important feature in the
promoting of the cult of this saint.
The elaboration by Ademar on the Aurelian vita would have brought many
aspects of apostolic Christianity to the minds of the Christian worshippers in
Aquitaine in the early 11th century, especially the purported connection

54 Especially strong in this respect is ms lat. 2469, fols. 40v44r.

55 Ibid.
56 Ibid., fol. 31v. In tabernaculis quippe velut hospes cum educeretur per Moisen et Aaron
de terra Aegipti, antequam promissionis terram ingrederetur, habitare Hebreus populus
iussus est. Quae festa in omni generatione omnibus annis mense septimo celebrare soli-
tus est. Aquitana vero natio iam per Marcialem Deo adoptiva promissionis terrae quod
est Ecclesia Dei festa celebrans, pari modo per carnalem scaenophegium aeterni taber-
naculi gaudiorum meminisse videbatur.
57 See above, note 48.
58 For example, ms 2469, fols. 51v and 56v. Also, see the peace theme in ms 1664, fols. 106r,
110r, and 113r.
59 See e.g. ms 2469, fol. 59v, where one finds, O vere beatam illam pacem Ecclesiae, qua
libere et pacife nulloque incurso maligno turbante, populi Aquitaniae recurrerent ad
pastorem.
60 Ibid., fol. 72v. Quippe qui duas Gallias regnum videlicet Stephani perfecte Deo adquisitas
in pace florentes in sua preciosa morte reliquerit.
61 On this point see my article Admar de Chabannes et la paix de Dieu, am 89 (1977),
2143. See also T. Head, The Development of the Peace of God in Aquitaine (9701005),
Sp 74 (1999), 65686.
Ademars Alpha Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 97

between Martial and Christ and between Limoges and Jerusalem. In the prom-
inence of apostolic Christianity, the alpha spirituality is front and center in
these writings and serves to make a vital connection with the spirituality of
Aquitaine of Ademars lifetime. So too is this the case for the prominence of
the Cross in his writings. That the Cross was of special importance to Ademar,
from both an alpha and an omega perspective, is already very evident in this
book and in my earlier articles.62 This is hardly unique to Ademars writings at
a time when the relics of the True Cross seem to have taken on an ever-increasing
importance.63 This growth of interest in the True Cross is also evident in the
increasing popularity of the legend of its finding by St Helena, Constantines
mother, in Jerusalem in the 320s, clearly also related to the growing interest in
the pilgrimage to the Holy City.64
One very important feature of the Cross to Ademar was that it was the
instrument used by Christ to triumph over the forces of evil and bind Satan in
hell.65 What was an instrument of torture becomes one of triumph. The Cross
became the means of overcoming death brought into the world by Satan.66
Ultimately, of course, this triumph was especially important to omega-obsessed
Ademar, for through the instrumentality of the Cross Christ crushes the devil
forever in the final days.67

62 See above, e.g. Chapter 3.

63 See especially the listing of the growth of interest in relics of the True Cross in this period
in Frolow, La Relique de la Vraie Croix.
64 See above, Chapter 3. Ademars interest in Helena and the cross is fully evident in the
longest sermon in ms 2469, stretching from fol. 38v to fol. 50v. On this point see Callahan,
Tau Cross, p. 64.
65 For example, ms 1664, fol. 100r. Ipsum fortissimum Satanan Christus in cruce mortuus in
inferno ligavit.
66 Ibid., fol. 95v. Qui passus est pro salute nostra descendit ad inferna tercia die resurrexit a
mortuis Et cum corpus Christi mortuum esset ac sepultum anima eius cum divinitate
descendit ad inferna ut infernum et mortem destrueret.
67 Ibid., fols. 72v73r. Et sicut quilibet rex victor de hoste suo arma cum quibus hostem vicit
delectatur saepius videre pro signo victoriae suae, ita Dominus signum crucis quae est
victoria eius in gloria sanctae ecclesiae ex altare dignatus est. Per crucem enim omnia
quae sunt in caelo et in terra restaurata sunt; sicut ait propheta, Levabit Dominus signum
in nationibus et congregabat dispersos Israel. [Isa. 11:12] Et item, Dicite in gentibus quia
Dominus regnavit a ligno. [Ps. 96:10, with the exception of a ligno] Nam et in die quando
iudicabit Dominus mundum apparebit signum crucis in caelo in testimonio victoriae
Christi et gloriae sanctae ecclesiae suae. Nam et signa clavorum in manibus et pedibus et
latere Christi, tunc iusti et iniusti cernent et salvati omnes sancti maiores ei gratias refer-
tunt quia cognoscunt se non aliter salvatos nisi per passionem eius.
98 chapter 5

The Cross also became a principal instrument by which Ademar was able to
attack the Jews, the crucifiers of Christ.68 These attacks must also be viewed in
the context of the growing anti-Judaism of the period resulting from the rising
apocalyptic fears in the late 10th and early 11th centuries, and the association in
Ademars mind of the Jews with the Muslims and the heretics as antichrists.69
Ademar had copied the Gospel of Nicodemus, with its references to the Jews
as Christ-killers and Pilates words about the blindness of the Jews.70 He also in
lengthy insertions into Amalarius of Metzs De Diviniis Officiis has the Jews
hurling stones at Christ and insulting him in his passion.71 Nevertheless, it is in
his longest sermon in ms 2649, his piece on Helena and the finding of the True
Cross, that he develops to a great degree the already strongly anti-Judaistic
tone of the piece by many lengthy attacks on the Jews.72 In his chronicle he
presents the Jews even in his own day as mocking the figure of the crucified
Christ in Rome, which in turn resulted, at least according to Ademar, in an
earthquake.73 A number of his sermons continue his attacks on the Jews as

68 On Ademar and the Jews see my articles Ademar of Chabannes, Millennial Fears,
pp. 1935, and The Cross, the Jews, pp. 1523.
69 Ibid.
70 This piece is found in ms 3784, fols. 103114, as part of segment copied by Ademar and
including, with the Gospel of Nicodemus, the description of a miracle accomplished by a
cross which the Jews mocked in Beirut and the Voyage of St Brendan. On this material, see
Landes, Relics, pp. 35051.
71 This material is in an appended chapter to the work of Amalarius, most likely by Ademar,
which is copied in his ms 2400, fols. 1102v. It appears in Amalarii episcopi opera liturgica
Omnia, 3 vols., ed. J.M. Hanssens (Vatican City, 194850), vol. 2, book 4, Chapter 48,
pp. 27394. On the terrors of the future judgment, p. 279, lines 2627; on the throwing of
stones, p. 281, line 34; on the insults, p. 289, line 29.
72 For example, ms 2469, fol. 41v. Qui Noe maledictione filii Cam qui patris turpitudinem
nunciavit populum Iudaicum qui humanitatem Domini derisit in cruce blasphemans et
caput movens praemonstravit. Benedictione autem duorum filiorum Sem et Iafed cre-
dentium et gentibus et Iudeis populos figuravit. Nec in amaritudinem vitis alienae ille per
Cham designatus populus sibi adoptabat clamans, Tolle, tolle, crucifige eum, sanguis eius
super nos et super filios nostros. Other such examples are cited in my article The Cross,
the Jews.
73 Chronicon 3.52, p. 171. His diebus in Parasceve, post crucem adoratam, Roma terre motu
et nimio turbine periclitata est. Et confestim quidam Judeorum de schola grecia intimavit
domno papae quia ea hora deludebat sinagoga Judeorum Cruxifixi figuram. Quod
Benedictus papa sollicite inquirens et comperiens, mox auctores sceleris capitali senten-
tia dampnavit. Quibus decollatis, furor ventorum cessavit.
Ademars Alpha Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 99

the crucifiers of Christ.74 They blaspheme against the Cross.75 And, further
emphasizing the blindness of the Jews, he compares the Cross bearing its divine
burden to the Ark of the Covenant.76 It also permits him to emphasize the con-
nection to Jerusalem of both precious instruments supporting the divine pres-
ence. His attacks on the Jews additionally give him the opportunity to celebrate
thevictory on the Cross as continued in the daily sacrifice on the altar.77
Ademars preoccupation with the Cross and the crucified Jesus is also evi-
dent in the description of the vision he had of the Cross in the heavens c.1010,
with the figure of the Lord hanging from it and weeping a great river of tears.78
He tells us that he saw the Cross in a fiery and blood-red color for a period of
about thirty minutes but did not disclose the vision until he wrote about the
experience in his chronicle. It would seem likely that it was generated by the
destruction of the church of the Holy Sepulcher in 1009 and recalled Christ
bewailing the fall of Jerusalem, predicting the smashing of the Temple and
other signs pointing toward the Last Judgment, as found in Matthew 24.79 In a
set of figures he drew in the Leiden manuscript on moments in the life of
Christ, Ademar also included a depiction of the crucifixion in a setting popular
during the Carolingian period the dying Christ on the Cross with depictions
of Ecclesia and Synogoga on either side of him.80
The symbolic nature of the Cross as indicative of Christs triumph over the
forces of evil was also very important to Ademar, not surprisingly, because of
his keen awareness of the presence of the devils minions in the world in which

74 For example, ms 1664, fol. 91v. Iudei adhuc expectant incarnationem eius venturam ideo
quia propter peccatum quo occiderunt Dominum nostrum excecati sunt et ira Dei est
super illos et pro Christo Antichristo recipient.
75 Ibid., fol. 73r. Et quem admodum multocies Iudei zelantes imagines crucifixi sive ligneas
sive imparieto depictas lanceis vulnerarunt et sanguis et aqua ex eis profluit tamquam
quondam ex latere Domini sic certum est in omni imagine crucifixi virtutem inesse quae
credentes et adorantes salvat insidias daemonum fugat.
76 Ibid. Much of this folio contains an extended comparison between the ark and the cross.
77 This connection between the cross and the Mass appears in a number of the pieces in ms
1664, e.g. on fols. 97v, 102v, and 114v, but especially on 106v, in which the image occupies
much of the folio.
78 See above.
79 On the reaction in the West to the destruction of the church of the Holy Sepulcher, known
as the Temple, see several of my recent pieces, including The Cross, the Jews, pp. 1523
and Al-Hakim, Charlemagne, pp. 4157.
80 On this point, especially for Ademars attack on Synagoga, see Gaborit-Chopin, Les des-
sins dAdmar, pp. 199201. See this drawing in the appendix.
100 chapter 5

he was living.81 Like St Paul one of his heroes and surely the founder of the
cult of the Cross, in a sense its inventor Ademar very much emphasized the
Cross as the symbol of triumphant Christianity.82 One sees this in his elevation
of the Cross as the sign of a militant Christianity, the church militant in the
10th and 11th centuries, and as the vexillum in the struggle with evil.83 The
Cross thus merits adoration, especially on Good Friday, albeit it is he who
hangs on the Cross, and not the wood, that is adored.84 Yet the Cross itself
wasto be honored by being made with precious metals and decorated with
jewels.85 He also mentions many churches and altars dedicated to the sacred
Cross.86
The appearance of the Bogomil or Manichaean, as Ademar calls them
heretics in Aquitaine was one of the most important forces in the emphasis he
placed on the central importance of the Cross as the means by which the
graces of Christ gained by his death and resurrection were transmitted through
the sacraments.87 Four of the sacraments in particular are defended by

81 This awareness is particularly evident in the sermon on Helena and the True Cross on fols.
41r42v of ms 2469 and in a brief piece on the cross on fols. 72v73r of ms 1664.
82 On the central importance of St Paul in this matter, see the seminal piece of Max
Sulzberger, Le symbole de la Croix et les Monogrammes de Jsus chez les premiers
Chrtiens, Byz 2 (1925), 337448.
83 ms 2469, fol. 42v, and 1664, fols. 72v73r.
84 Ibid., ms 1664, fols. 72v73r.
85 See especially ms 1664, fol. 109v. Iussit [namely St. Martial] etiam fieri candelabra ex auro
quinque et thuribulum aureum et crucem auream unam Also ms 2469, fol. 42r.
86 For example, ms 1664, fol. 73r.
87 ms 1664, fol. 75r, in his commentary on the section of the creed on the communion of
saints, Sicut ipse Dominus ait, Qui manducat meam carnem et bibit meum sanguinem,
in me manet et ego in eum. (John 6:57) Quicumque ergo non credit per sanctorum com-
munionem pervenire ad vitam aeternam, totus per omnia haereticus est. Ideo cavete ab
haereticis, qui dicunt nihil prodesse communionem sancti altaris. Et sicut haec sancta
abnegunt, ita baptismum, et crucem, et Ecclesiam abnegunt, quia repleti sunt diabolo et
nuntii sunt Antichristi, et seducere volunt oves Domini usque in damnationem aeternam
sicut ipse sunt damnati. Or, again in 1664, fol. 92r, Ideo quia filius Dei qui secundum
divinitatem incogitabilis est, assumpsit figuram humanam, quando homo factus est, et
propter victoriam quam fecit Dominus per crucem suam, signum crucis circa caput in
omni majestate debet exprimere pictor. The presence of heresy is very evident through-
out the writings of Ademar. See, for example, my long essay, Heresy and the Antichrist in
the Writings of Ademar of Chabannes, recently published in Brills Where Heaven and
Earth Meet: Essays on Medieval Europe in Honor of Daniel F. Callahan (Leiden, 2014), edited
by former students Michael Frassetto, Matthew Gabriele, and John Hosler. Here one finds
my most detailed study of the Bogomil roots of Western heresy of the central Middle
Ages. For a very different view of the origins of Western heresy, see R.I. Moore, The
Formation of a Persecuting Society: Authority and Deviance in Western Europe, 9501250
Ademars Alpha Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 101

Ademar in response to the charges of the heretics against the salvific activity
of the crucified Christ: baptism, confirmation, matrimony, and especially the
Eucharist.
The attacks on baptism and the Cross appear in Ademars first reference in
the Chronicon to the Manichaeans appearing in Aquitaine c.1018.88 Reference
to their denial of baptism also appears in several places in the sermons.89 In an
insertion into the Pseudo-Isidore collection, he refers to ten heretics, undoubt-
edly those of Orlans, and specifically mentions their rejection of baptism.90
The fact that he copied Theodulf of Orlanss tract on baptism in the same
manuscript additionally demonstrates his preoccupation with the topic at this
time.91 That Ademar found it necessary to defend baptism is very much in line
with the comments of others in the West and in the East in the 10th and 11th
centuries against the Bogomils.92
The heretics also attacked confirmation as a sacrament. Again, in his defense
ofthis sacrament Ademar draws on its connection with the Cross. He empha-
sizes that those to be confirmed receive the cross on their foreheads.93 Here,

(Malden, Mass., 2007) and Dominique Barthelemy, Lan mil et la paix de Dieu, La France
chretienne et feodale, 9801060 (Paris, 1999).
88 Chronicon 3.49, p. 170. Pauco post tempore per Aquitaniam exorti sunt manichei, seducen-
tes plebem, negantes baptismum sanctum et crucis virtutem, et quidquid sane doctrine est,
abstinentes a cibis quasi monachi et castitatem simulantes, sed inter se ipsos omnem
luxuriam exercentes; quippe ut nuncii Antichristi, multos a fide exorbitare fecerunt.
89 For example, ms 1664, fols. 72v and 111v.
90 ms 1664, fol. 168r. Quod autem significaverunt consulendo nos episcopi Galliarum quod
decem versis haereticis fieri debuisset sciant nos eos qui in sanctae Trinitatis fide bapti-
zati sunt per impositione manus suscipere. Or in ms 2469, fol. 65r, he asserts that the fruit
of the cross brought baptism.
91 ms 1664, fols. 64v78v. On the origins and importance of Theodulfs tract, see S.A. Keefe,
Carolingian Baptismal Expositions: A Handlist of Tracts and Manuscripts, in Carolingian
Essays: Andrew W. Mellon Lectures in Early Medieval Studies, ed. U.-R. Blumenthal
(Washington, D.C., 1983), pp. 17475, and P. Cramer, Baptism and Change in the Early
Middle Ages, c. 200c. 1150 (Cambridge, Eng., 1993), pp. 15156. See also, H.B. Porter, The
Rites for the Dying in the Early Middle Ages. I: St. Theodulf of Orleans, jts, n.s. 10, pt i
(1959), 4362.
92 See e.g. the accounts on the heretics at Orlans (Lambert, 1st ed., appendix, A, 34445;
rhg, 10, 537 and 539; and John of Fleury, ibid., 498), Arras (pl 1270B, 1271C, 1272B, 127378,
and 1311C1132A), Cosmas (Puech and Vaillant, eds., 69, 81, and 86, and Puechs comments
on 22326), Euthymius of Peribleptos (Ficker ed., 28 and 74) and Euthymius Zigabenes
(pg 130:13111312B-D).
93 ms 1664, fol. 80r. Thau littera ipsum est signum crucis scriptum ab episcopo in frontibus
Christianorum This appears immediately after a quoting of Rev. 14:1 about the Lamb
and the 144,000. See note 94.
102 chapter 5

too, the connection is made between the triumph of Christ on the Cross and
the means of transmitting the reward, in this case the chrism of salvation
applied by the bishop at confirmation in order to gain eternal life.94 A number of
other sources, both Western and Eastern, also mention the Bogomil denial
of the sacraments, so fundamental to the church as a means of conveying the
graces won through the salvific activity of the God-man in the material world.95
As for matrimony, in the earliest reference by Ademar to the appearance of
the heretics in Aquitaine he indicated that they were seducing many people
from truth to error by denying baptism, the sign of the Cross, the Church, the
Redeemer of the world, the honor of the saints, legitimate marriage, and the eat-
ing of meat.96 In the sermons Ademar accused the heretics of condemning the
sacrament of matrimony while at the same time performing all sorts of lascivi-
ous sexual acts in the manner of swine.97 The rejection of marriage by the
Bogomil heretics is found in many sources, both in the East and the West, because
as the Patriarch Theophylact indicated in one of the first sources on these here-
tics, they held that human reproduction is from the rulings of the devil.98
Yet it was especially the Eucharist that Ademar defended against the attacks
of the heretics. Although he did not specifically refer to their denial of this

94 Ibid., fol. 80r. De chrismate signatis dicit Johannes, Vidi supra montem Sion agnum stan-
tem et cum illo cxliiii milia habentes nomen eius et nomen Patris eius scriptum in fron-
tibus suis. (Rev. 14:1) Dum enim episcopus digito quasi in fronte scribit crucem de
chrismate, non solum nomen Filii sed etiam Patris eius et Spiritus Sancti dicit ut in ipsa
cruce quasi scribere videatur in fronte nomen Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti dicens,
Consigno te signo crucis et confirmo te chrismate salutis in nomine Patris et Filii et
Spiritus Sancti ut habeas vitam aeternam.
95 On this point, still especially valuable are Chapters 2 and 3 of M. Lambert, Medieval
Heresy: Popular Movements from Bogomil to Hus (New York, 1976).
96 Chronicon, p. 13. Suadebant negare baptismum, signum sanctae crucis, ecclesiam, et ipsum
redemptorem seculi, honorem sanctorum Dei, coniugia laegitima, aesum carnium, unde et
multos simplices averterunt a fide.
97 ms 1664, fol. 75r. nuptias damnare, occulte tamen scelera turpissima perpetrant, quae
nefas est dicere, et cunctas voluptates corpores more porcorum latenter inter semetipsos
agunt.
98 The amount of information on the attack of matrimony by the heretics both in the West
and the East is lengthy and detailed. The accounts of the heretics at Orlans, Arras, and
Chlons (John of Fleury in rhg, 10, 498; Andrew of Fleury in Vie de Gauzlin, Bautier
and Labory ed., Chapter 56.9.98; on Arras: pl 142:1270B, 1271D, 12991301, 1311D, and 1312C; and
for Chlons: mgh ss 7:226. See also Guibert of Nogent (pl 156:951C). On the Bogomil
rejection of matrimony as a central feature of their beliefs, see the observations of
Patriarch Theophylact (Obolensky, 114, footnote 3), Cosmas (Puech and Vaillant, 77), and
Zigabenes (pg 130:1325-6B-D).
Ademars Alpha Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 103

sacrament in his chronicle, he does so in a number of places in the sermons,

particularly in folios 97r114v in ms 1664 in connection with the Cross. In
these folios containing brief pieces on various aspects of dogma and the Mass
purportedly for delivery at synods, he again and again refers to the connection
between the Cross and the Eucharist, as one sees on folios 97v, 102v, 103r, 103v,
108v, 111r, 114r, and 114v. One of the best examples is found on 103v, where there
is reference to Christ being immolated daily on the altar.99 The sermon goes
on to consider further the connection between the Cross and the Eucharist
with the breaking of the bread.100 The connection is developed further on
108v, when Ademar quotes St Paul from Corinthians on the necessity of con-
suming the body and blood of Christ.101 Or, again, he connects altar and Cross
in folio 111r.102
The Eucharist throughout this portion of the manuscript is presented as
central for transmitting the life Christ gained on the Cross for man. One of the
most succinct presentations of this theme is on folio 97v, when Ademar, as he
does so often, attacks the Jews for the crucifixion.103 The Eucharist in this

99 ms 1664, fol. 103v. Hoc est ipsum Dominum nostrum qui natus est de virgine qui cotidie
in altari immolatur et sine fine regnat in caelo.
100 Ibid. Et sicut ille natus est de virgine et postea immolatus in cruce et postea resurrexit et
in caelum ascendit, ita vere in illa hora super altare est vivus et postea resurgit quando
particulam mittit sacerdos in calicem et ascendit in caelum quando sacerdos comedit et
bibit sacrificium et populo tribuit.
101 Ibid., fol. 108v. Quia in passione Domini eius immolatum est in cruce et sanguis eius
confessus est et ille verus et vivus panis qui de caelo descendit in terram quando natus est
qui etiam angelos ante saecula pascebat in caelo postquam a Judeis crucifixus est, sepul-
tus est et ab inferis hoc est a mortuis tercia die victor surrexit et videntibus discipulis suis
cum maiestate gloriae suae in caelos ascendit. Et quando missam dicitis passionem et
mortem resurrectionem et ascensionem Domini facitis. Sicut ait apostolus in epistola ad
Chorintios, Quotiescumque hanc panem manducabitis et calicem hunc bibitis mortem
Domini adnuntiabitis donec veniat. 1 Cor. 11:2627.
102 Ibid., fol. 111r. Quod altare crucis hoc est passio sancta Christi semper est in conspectu
patris quia ascendens Christus patrem cum humanitate in qua passus est sedet ad dex-
tram Dei patris est semper humanitas eius in qua signa clavorem in cruce apparent in
manibus et pedibus patrem interpellat pro nobis Singuli accipiunt Christum Dominum
et in omnibus singulis totus unus est. Ineffabilis est Deus, ineffabile est sacrificium altaris
quia verum corpus et sanguis eius est.
103 Ibid., fol. 97v. Nam sicut est Dominus passus est in cruce, ita cotidie passus est in altare
et patitur. Sed in cruce ab impiis Judeis, in altari a sanctis et benignis sacerdotibus pas-
sionem suscepit. Quia Judei pro impietate Dominum crucifixerunt ut delerent nomen
eius de terra, sacerdotes pro pietate et oboedientia Dominum immolant, ut maior gloria
Dei appareat in mundo et omnia ecclesia salvetur, sicut ipse Dominus ait, Qui manducat
104 chapter 5

f ashion becomes the means of gaining eternal life but also of defense against
the forces of evil.
Just as with baptism, confirmation, and matrimony, Ademars descriptions
of the heretics attacks on the Eucharist and the Mass are consistent with those of
contemporary descriptions of similar opposition to this sacrament by heretics in
both Western Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. In the West a good exam-
ple of this is found in the description of the activities of the heretics in Prigord
in the early 11th century by a certain Erbertus, who indicated that the Mass was
worthless and the Eucharist ought to be seen as only fragments of blessed
bread.104 Denial of the Eucharist is also mentioned in other accounts of the her-
etics in the West in this period at Orlans and Arras.105 The Bogomils in the East
also denied the efficacy of the sacraments, including the Eucharist.106 All of this
material tends to support the contention of Antoine Dondaine that what we
have is the result of the appearance of the Bogomils in the West and their zeal for
proselytizing.107 In one of his sermons Ademar expressed it in this fashion,

but no one can come to eternal life unless he receives in food and drink
the body and blood of the Lord. We have to speak to you concerning
other things which pertain to the synod and concerning the heretics who
now secretly arise among us, who deny baptism, the Mass, the Cross, the
church, who are the precursors of the Antichrist.108

carnem meam et bibit sanquinem meam, in me manet et ego in eo. John 6:56. For more
on Ademars anti-Judaism, cross-reference and see my jeh article and my piece in the
Frassetto collection Christian Attitudes Toward the Jews in the Middle Ages.
104 The document by Erbertus is found in G. Lobrichon, The Chiaroscuro of Heresy: Early
Eleventh-Century Aquitaine as Seen from Auxerre, in The Peace of God: Social Violence
and Religious Response in France around the Year 1000, eds. T. Head and R. Landes (Ithaca,
N.Y., 1992), pp. 80103, 34748. Missam pro nichilo ducunt, nec communionem debere
percipi nisi solummodo, fracmenta panis benedicti. Lobrichons redating of the work to
the first half of the 11th century contributed greatly to making the case for the Bogomil
roots of the heresy about which Ademar had so much to say. On this point see M. Frassetto,
The Sermons of Ademar of Chabannes and the Letter of Heribert, rb 109 (1999), 32440,
and C. Taylor, The Letter of Heribert of Prigord as a Source for Dualist Heresy in the
Society of Early Eleventh-Century Aquitaine, jmh 26 (2000), 31349.
105 A. Dondaine, Lorigine de lhrsie mdivale, rsci 6 (1952), 6061. On the importance
of this work, Callahan, Ademar of Chabannes and the Bogomils, pp. 3334.
106 D. Obolensky, The Bogomils (Cambridge, Eng., 1948), pp. 12729, and H.C. Puech and
A. Vaillant, eds., Le Trait contre les Bogomils de Cosmas le prtre (Paris, 1945), p. 223ff.
107 Dondaine, Lorigine, pp. 6061.
108 ms 1664, fol. 114v. sed ad vitam aeternam nemo potest pervenire nisi acceperit in aes-
cam et potum corpus et sanguinem Domini. Dicere habemus vobis de aliis rebus quae
Ademars Alpha Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 105

The connection between the Cross and the sacraments was thus of the greatest
importance to Ademar, particularly at a time when to him the forces of dark-
ness were so active in the guise of the heretics. Not surprisingly, moreover, he
holds up the Cross as the sign of faith, the signo Christianitatis, he calls it, the
needed means of defending the church under siege.109 This attack on the part
of the forces of darkness, as Ademar sees them, be they the Manichaean here-
tics or the Jews, included a denial of the efficacy of the Cross.110 In one of his
sermons, he expresses their hatred of the Cross thusly,

The heretics, ministers of the devil, blaspheme that the Cross ought not
to be adored, with the devil speaking in their hearts. They say that God
does not wish to have the Cross of his passion brought to mind, as a thief
taken from a raised gibbet does not wish to see further the pulleys of his
suspension. Thus does the devil speak through his ministers the heretics
who are called Manichaeans since in all places he has the power except
where he sees the sign of the Cross.111

For Ademar the Jews are like these heretics in their attacks on the Cross, with
both groups as the minions of the devil.112 They are the killers of Christ who
blaspheme against the Cross.113 As already noted, in the Chronicon he describes
the Jews of Rome in their synagogue mocking the figure of the crucified Christ

pertinent ad sinodum, et de haereticis qui modo latenter inter nos surgunt, qui negant
baptismum, missam, crucem, ecclesiam qui praecursores Antichristi sunt.
109 Ibid., fol. 107v.
110 In addition to what appears in note 108, see Chronicon 3.49, p. 170. Pauco post tempore per
Aquitaniam exorti sunt manichei, seducentes plebem, negantes baptismum sanctum et cru-
cis virtutem
111 ms 1664, fol. 72v. Observate autem vos ab haereticis diaboli ministris, qui blasphemant
non debere adorari crucem, loquente diabolo in cordibus eorum. Non vult inquiunt Deus
meminisse crucem passionis suae, sicut latro a patibulo suspendu ereptus, non vult ultra
videre trocleas suspensionis suae. Ideo ista loquitur diabolus per ministros suos qui
vocantur Manichei quia in omni loco virtutem habet nisi ubi viderit signum crucis. This
material is found in a long Ademar attachment to Theodulf of Orlans tract on baptism.
112 Ibid., fol. 102v. et ipse diabolus qui Deo contrarius est et ipsi impii homines Iudei,
Sarraceni, pagani, haeretici qui Deo contrarii sunt nichil amplius possunt agere nisi quan-
tum permittit eis voluntas Dei. For a further consideration of this material see p. 29 of my
jeh article.
113 On the Jews as the killers of Christ, ibid., fols. 106v and 114v. As blasphemers against the
cross, ibid., fol. 73r. On this material, see also Frassetto, Heretics and Jews, especially
pp. 5052.
106 chapter 5

which, in turn, caused an earthquake to occur.114 In addition, like Glaber,

Ademar accuses the Jews of being responsible, at least in part, for arousing al-
Hakim in the destruction of the church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem in
1009, the church housing the remains of the True Cross.115
Ademar is not alone in the West in his defense of the Cross against the
attacks of the heretics. Erbertus stated that the heretics in Prigord had a
strong aversion to the Cross or a depiction of the human Christ.116 The heretic
Leutard in northern France, according to Ralph Glaber, in the early 11th cen-
tury, whose actions have so many similarities to the Bogomils, seized and
broke into bits the Cross and image of the Saviour.117 At the synod of Arras in
1025 Bishop Gerard of Cambrai lists the mocking of the veneration of the Cross
and the spurning of the image of Christ on the Cross as among the errors of
heretics and offered a brief but articulate theology of the Cross in its defense.118
At Monforte in northern Italy the close relationship of the Cross and Christ in
this period is underscored by the choice given to the heretics. Either they were
to abandon their evil ways and choose to adore the Cross that had been
set up nearby, or be thrown into the flames of the executioners pyre.119
As with the heretics in the West in the early 11th century, the Eastern
Bogomils in most accounts of their actions showed themselves to be bitter
enemies of the Cross. Cosmas says they viewed it as the enemy of God.120 The
heretics were worse than the demons who feared the Cross because they cut
them down and made tools of them.121 Euthymius of Peribleptos claimed that
the Phundagiagitae, the Bogomils of Asia Minor, rejected the redemptive

114 See above, note 73.

115 Chronicon 3.47, pp. 16667. On this destruction see above and my article in the Gabriele
collection on the legend of Charlemagne.
116 See Lobrichon, The Chiaroscuro, p. 348. Crucem seu vultum domini non adorant, sed et
adorantes prout possunt possunt prohibent, ita ut ante uultum stantes fando dicant
O quam miseri qui te adorant, dicente psalmista. Simulacra gentium, et cetera. (Ps. 113:4;
134:15, Vulg.)
117 Glaber, Historiarum 2.11 (22), 90, arripiensque crucem et Salvatoris imaginem
contrivit.
118 pl 142:130406.
119 mgh ss 8:66. ut si vellent omni perfidia abiecta crucem adorarent, et fidem quam uni-
versus orbis tenet confiterentur, salvi essent; sin autem, vivi flammarum globos assuri
intrarent.
120 Puech and Vaillant, Le Trait, p. 59, but also see the whole section on the cross, pp. 5961.
In addition, p. 55, where the Bogomils are described as the enemies of the cross of Christ.
121 Ibid., p. 58.
Ademars Alpha Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 107

power of the Cross.122 There is also material in the Panoplia Dogmatica of

Euthymius Zigabenes on the Bogomil hatred of the Cross.123
So it was that both in the West and the East the defense of the Cross against
the attacks of the heretics was a central theme in many writings of the 10th and
11th centuries. Ademar in numerous pieces, especially in ms 1664, exhibits
himself as such a defender and demonstrates the close identification in his
mind between the Cross and the humanity of Christ. In one piece he states,
Therefore, since the Son of God who according to his divinity is unknowable
assumed the human figure when he was made a man, and on account of the
victory which the Lord made through his Cross.124
The alpha perspective on Christ, then, is central to the writings of this monk
of Aquitaine and clearly reflects the developing incarnational theology of the
period, an emphasis that is due in part not only to the growing material well-
being of the period but also the need to defend that materiality against the
attacks of the dualist Bogomils. Yet, as will be clear in the next chapter, just as
the incarnational theology spirituality is increasing in importance in the writ-
ings of Ademar of Chabannes, so also is the transcendental spirituality and his
intensifying preoccupation with the proximity of the Antichrist and the Last
Days.

122 Euthymius of Peribleptos, Die Phundagiagiten, ed. G. Flicker (Leipzig, 1908), p. 74.
123 pg 130:130912.
124 ms 1664, fol. 92r. Ideo quia filius Dei qui secundum divinitatem incogitabilis est, assump-
sit figuram humanam, quando homo factus est, et propter victoriam quam fecit Dominus
per crucem suam.
108 chapter 5

Map1 France in the early eleventh century ad (Shepherds Historical Atlas p. 61, 1911)
Ademars Alpha Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 109

Map2 Jerusalem at the time of the crusades (Shepherds Historical Atlas p. 68, 1911)
110 chapter 5

Map3 Islam and the two Christendoms about 800 ad (Shepherds Historical Atlas
pp. 5455, 1911)
Ademars Alpha Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 111
112 chapter 5

Map4 The Mediterranean world at the time of the first crusade (Shepherds Historical Atlas
pp. 6667, 1911)
Ademars Alpha Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 113
 chapter 6

Ademars Omega Perspective on Jerusalem

and the Cross

A sense of the proximity of the heavenly Jerusalem is evident throughout

Ademars manuscripts. As central and important as the earthly Jerusalem is to
him, as was clear in the last chapter, increasingly in the later writings, as he
himself prepares for his pilgrimage to the holy city, the focus on the omega, the
heavenly visio pacis, sharpens until alpha and omega merge at the end of ms
1664 with the letter from the pilgrim monks of the Mount of Olives.1 It is this
manuscript that most completely joins the two Jerusalems.
His writings reflect the living tradition on the heavenly Jerusalem that had
developed during the preceding thousand years based on what was found in
the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament several passages in the
Psalms are particularly meaningful in this respect. Psalm 46:4 states, There is
a river whose streams refresh the city of God, and it sanctifies the dwelling of
the Most High. Psalm 87:13 praises the sacred city in this fashion, Yahweh
loves his city founded on the holy mountain; he prefers the gates of Zion to any
town in Jacob. He has glorious prediction to make of you, city of God. It is a
praise of the earthly Jerusalem elevated on high.
The prophets also extol the heavenly Jerusalem. Isaiah in Chapter 60 praises
the everlasting city in this fashion, verses 1415,

The sons of your oppressors will come to you bowing, at your feet shall
fall all who despised you. They will call you City of Yahweh, Zion of the
Holy One of Israel. Though you have been abandoned and hated and
shunned, I will make you an eternal pride, a joy for ever and ever.

He completes this theme of the eternity of the city later in the chapter thusly,
verses 1920,

No more will the sun give you daylight, nor moonlight shine on you, but
Yahweh will be your everlasting light, your God will be your splendour.
Your sun will set no more nor your moon wane, but Yahweh will be your
everlasting light and your days of mourning will be ended.

1 See below, Chapter 7.

koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 6|doi 10.1163/9789004313682_007

Ademars Omega Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 115

This theme of the eternal city is further developed in several places in the
writings of Ezechiel. The initial verses of Chapter 40 offer a version of
the rebuilding of the city, a moment of hope to one in captivity in Babylon.
Verse 2: In a divine vision he took me away to the land of Israel and put me
down on a very high mountain, on the south of which there seemed to be built
a city. Yet this vision only sets the stage for what appears in Chapter 43, where
in verses 67 one finds,

And I heard someone speaking to me from the Temple while the man
stood beside me. The voice said, Son of man, this is the dais of my throne,
the step on which I rest me feet. I shall live here among the sons of Israel
forever

It is a vision of the eternal Temple. Verse 12 concludes the segment: This is the
charter of the Temple: all the surrounding area on top of the mountain is a
most holy area. Such is the charter of the Temple.
There are other Old Testament references to an eternal home of the Lord,
such as in Baruch 2:16, Look down, Lord, from your holy dwelling place and
give a thought to us, take heed of us and listen, and in numerous verses in the
book of Daniel, the latter to be examined later in this chapter in a consider-
ation of Jeromes comments on the material. These Old Testament words on
the whole are of less importance for the period of the life of Ademar than what
is found in the Pauline letters and the book of Revelation, although the New
Testament material is often inspired by Old Testament images.2
In the letters of Paul the most prominent references to the heavenly Jerusalem
are in the epistles to the Galatians and to the Hebrews. Galatians 4:2127 con-
cerns the offspring of Abraham, Ismael and Isaac, the former the son of a slave
girl and the latter by a free woman, Sara. Ismael, the child of the slave Hagar,
represents the Old Covenant, that of Sinai, or, as St Paul says (vv. 2426),

This can be regarded as an allegory: the women stand for the two cove-
nants. The first who comes from Mount Sinai, and whose children are
slaves, is Hagar since Sinai is in Arabia and she corresponds to the
present Jerusalem, that is a slave like her children. The Jerusalem above,
however, is free and is our mother.

In Hebrews 12:2224 the comparison of Sinai and the New Sion reappears in
this fashion,

2 Ibid.
116 chapter 6

But what you have come to is Mount Zion and the city of the living God,
the heavenly Jerusalem where the millions of angels have gathered for
the festival with the whole Church in which everyone is a first-born son
and a citizen of heaven. You have come to God himself, the supreme
Judge, and been placed with spirits of the saints who have been made
perfect; and to Jesus, the mediator who brings a new covenant and a
blood for purification which pleads more insistently than Abels.

This chapter in Hebrews begins in verse 2 with a reference to Christ in his heav-
enly home,

Let us not lose sight of Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to
perfection: for the sake of the joy which was still in the future, he endured
the Cross, disregarding the shamefulness of it, and from now on has taken
his place at the right of Gods throne.

It is, of course, the book of Revelation where the heavenly Jerusalem is most
manifest in the New Testament. Since Chapters 2022 of this work are consid-
ered in much more detail later in this chapter, there will be here but a brief
reference to pertinent images in Chapters 14 and 1718.3 Chapter 14 presents
the vision of the Lamb in the heavenly Sion with the 144,000 worshipping.4 The
image contains in verse 8 a reference to the fallen Babylon, a depiction that
reappears at much greater length in the work in Chapters 1718, and prepares
for a long meditation on the heavenly Jerusalem in the final chapters.
The scriptural images of the heavenly Jerusalem are developed further in
the writings of the Church Fathers. The writings of Augustine, Jerome, and
Gregory the Great were of particular importance to Ademar and his contem-
poraries, and all of these Fathers have material of importance on the subject.5
None of these patristic works was more important than Augustines The City of
God, which has much material on the subject.
Augustine, with a large debt to Origen and Eusebius, emphasized the eter-
nal nature of the heavenly city, the Jerusalem above.6 In book 20, Chapter 17 of
The City of God, on the unending glory of the Church after the final triumph, he
quotes Revelation 21:25,

3 Ibid.
4 Especially Rev. 14:1.
5 See above, Chapter 5.
6 See Wilken, Land Called Holy, Chapter 4, Heavenly Jerusalem, the Mother of Us All, for
an examination of Origen and Eusebius on the heavenly city, and p. 125 briefly on
Augustine.
Ademars Omega Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 117

And I saw, he says, a great city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God
out of heaven, prepared as a young bride adorned for her husband. And
I heard a great voice from the throne, saying: Behold the tabernacle of God
is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people,
and God himself shall be with them. And he shall wipe away all tears from
their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying,
nor shall there be any pain, for the former things have passed away. And
he who sat upon the throne said: Behold I make all things new.7

As Augustine makes clear later in the chapter, this New Jerusalem will be ush-
ered in by the Last Judgment:

But by the judgement of God, which will be the last judgement, through
his son Jesus Christ, its splendour will appear by Gods grace in such
strength and newness that no traces of age will remain; since even our
bodies will pass from their old decay and mortality into exemption from
decay and death.8

The old dichotomy between the City of God and the city of man, Jerusalem and
Babylon, at the heart of Augustines work, will continue, but after the Last
Judgment it will be the eternal City of God for the saved and the eternal
Babylon, hell, for the damned.9 Jerusalem, as its name indicates, is the city of
peace and order (book 19, Chapters 11 and 13), whereas Babylon, as its towerdem-
onstrates, is a place of confusion, presided over by the devil (book 18, Chapter 41).
In the final books of this work, especially in book 19, Augustine examines in
depth peace as a hallmark of the heavenly city. In the penultimate chapter of the
final book on the beatific vision, there is a reference to the Peace of God which
passeth all understanding (Phil. 4:7).10 The material on the Peace of God would
have special resonance in the late 10th and early 11th centuries in the growth in
southern France of the Peace of God movement, and especially with one whose
writings are a principal source on these developments, that is, the manuscripts
of Ademar of Chabannes as he was about to head to the earthly Jerusalem.11

7 Augustine, The City of God, 7 vols., ed. and trans. W.C. Greene (Cambridge, Mass., 1960),
vol. 6, p. 347.
8 Ibid.
9 For the Jerusalem/Babylon comparison, J. Van Oort, Jerusalem and Babylon: A Study into
Augustines City of God and the Sources of his Doctrine of the Two Cities (Leiden, 1991).
10 The City of God, vol. 7, book 22, Chapter 29, p. 355.
11 On Ademar and the Peace of God, D. Callahan, Admar de Chabannes et la Paix de Dieu,
am 89 (1977), 2143, and ibid., The Peace of God and the Cult of the Saints in Aquitaine
in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries, in Head and Landes, The Peace of God, pp. 16583.
118 chapter 6

If the emphases of The City of God are of great importance for the develop-
ment of the omega perspective in the early Middle Ages, so also is the writing
of another Church Father, St Jerome. His identification with Jerusalem and the
Holy Land helped to make his writings highly esteemed in the monastic collec-
tions of that period, as, of course, was his Vulgate Bible. His biblical commen-
taries were also highly prized, such as that on the book of Daniel, a work
Ademar included in the early portion of ms 1664.12
The book of Daniel contains a large amount of eschatological material. Its
presentation of an everlasting Jerusalem is not as developed or as central to
the work as what is found in the book of Revelation, but as a very late work of
the Old Testament, much composed in the 2nd century b.c., it does share
with the final book of the New Testament a number of connections.13 Verse 13
of Chapter 7 presents a vision of the Son of Man coming on the clouds. I gazed
into the visions of the night. And I saw, coming on the clouds of heaven, one
like the son of man. Jerome presents this as a reference to the ascension of
Christ to heaven and to his return in Judgment.14 The following verse in Daniel
refers to the empire of the Son of Man as not to be destroyed: On him was
conferred sovereignty, glory and kingship, and men of all peoples, nations and
languages became his servants. His sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty
which shall never pass away, nor will his empire ever be destroyed. Jerome
develops this theme of an eternal kingdom in the following fashion in a
response to Porphyry,

he ought to show how he came with the clouds of heaven as the Son of
man and how he brought before the ancient of days and power and king-
dom was given to him and all the people and tribes would serve him and
his power will be everlasting and without end.15

12 See below.
13 In The Anchor Bible edition of the book of Daniel, eds. and trans. L. Hartman and A. Di
Lella (Garden City, N.Y., 1977), one finds on p. 64, Since Daniel 2:1345 and Chs. 712 are
the only portions of the Old Testament that can be described as apocalyptic in the strict
sense
14 St Jerome in his commentary on Daniel (Commentarium in Danielem, Libri iii (iv), Pars i,5
of his Opera Exegetica, vol. 75A, ccsl, ed. F. Glorie (Turnhout, 1964), p. 848, for the refer-
ence to Christ and his death on the Cross.
15 Ibid. Jerome develops this theme of an eternal kingdom in this fashion, docere debet
quomodo cum nubibus caeli veniat quasi filius hominis, et offeratur vetusto dierum, et
detur ei potestas et regnum, et omnes populi et tribus serviant illi et potestas eius aeterna
sit quae nullo fine claudatur.
Ademars Omega Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 119

This idea of the eternal kingdom is continued later in the chapter in verses 18
and27. Verse 18 states, Those who are granted sovereignty are the saints of the
Most High, and the kingdom will be theirs for ever, for ever and ever. And verse 27,

And sovereignty and kingship, and the splendours of all the kingdoms
under heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Most High.
His sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty and every empire will serve and
obey him.

Jerome comments, If this is understood from the Maccabees, it teaches

whocontends such, how their kingdom is forever. It adds, on verse 27, This
concerning the kingdom of Christ which is everlasting.16
The book of Daniel has much material on the apocalyptic figure Antiochus
Epiphanes, especially in Chapter 9, and his attacks on the Jews, particularly the
desecration of the Temple by the placement of a pagan idol in it.17 Jerome goes
on at great length on Antiochus and his placing of a statue of Jupiter in the
Temple, and the subsequent rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple in order
to present Antiochus Epiphanes as a figure of the Antichrist, a connection
upon which he elaborates at even greater length in his commentary on Chapter 11,
particularly as the Antichrist and his connection to Babylon are a way of devel-
oping Jerusalem and Babylon as polar opposites.18
The apocalyptic imagery in Daniel is also of great importance in Chapter 12,
which focuses on Michael the Archangel and when the end times are to occur,
especially the two and a half years when this turbulence is at its height under
the desecrator of the holy people. Then will come (v. 13) the end time and
you will rise for your share at the end of time. Jerome develops this imagery at
great length, particularly in the context of it preceding the heavenly eternal
Jerusalem.19
It should not be surprising that someone about to go to Jerusalem in the
apocalyptic turbulence c.1033 should be drawn to the book of Daniel and the

16 Ibid., p. 849. Si hoc de Machabaeis intellegitur, doceat, qui ista contendit, quomodo reg-
num eorum perpetuum. And adds on v. 27, p. 850, Hoc de Christi imperio quod sempi-
ternum est.
17 See The Anchor Bible edition of the book of Daniel for many valuable comments on the
historical Antiochus Epiphanes.
18 Jeromes commentary on Daniel, Chapter 9, pp. 86089, and Chapter 11, pp. 92035.
19 Ibid., pp. 93545. On the growing importance of the cult of St Michael the Archangel in
the 10th and 11th centuries, see D. Callahan, The Cult of St. Michael the Archangel and
the Terrors of the Year 1000, in Landes, Gow, and Van Meter, The Apocalyptic Year 1000,
pp. 181204.
120 chapter 6

comfort that the imagery of Jerome provides. Moreover, it is not the earthly
Jerusalem that is the principal goal but its eternal successor, the one that
Ademar will ultimately find on his journey.
Just as the thoughts of Jerome on the heavenly Jerusalem were important
for the monastic culture, so too were those of Gregory the Great, whose writ-
ings were influential in so many ways to the development of the Benedictine
ideals in the early Middle Ages. For many he was above all the Doctor of Desire,
with thoughts returning again and again to the theme of the yearning for God
and the heavenly Jerusalem, for the eternal peace found in a union with the
Creator.20 The yearning for Jerusalem is like that found in the Psalms and is
comparable to that Augustine presents in The City of God.21 The latter point is
hardly surprising when one considers how influential the writings of Augustine
were for Gregory.22
Yet in so many ways Gregorys writings reflect the turbulence of his own
times, a world in chaos. Rome in the late 6th century, already hammered by
several barbarian tribes, especially by the Visigoths in 410 and even more by
the Vandals in 455, was but a shard of its former greatness. Then, beginning in
the 540s, the Black Death would strike.23 It should hardly be surprising that
Gregory manifested the yearning for the heavenly Jerusalem or viewed his own
times as close to the Last Days.24 He wrote, improvising on the words of Christ
in Luke 21:2533,

Of these (predicted) things some are already accomplished, others we

expect with terror to come very soon. For we see nation rising against
nation, their distress affecting the lands we see this in our time more
than we read about it in books. You know how frequently we have heard
reports from other parts of the world of countless cities being destroyed

20 Particularly helpful on this material is C. Straw, Gregory the Great: Perfection in Imperfection
(Berkeley, 1988). On the yearning for God, see the examples Straw offers on p. 223, esp.
footnote 82, and on p. 226, footnotes 105 and 106. Also impossible to forget on this subject
is Leclercqs Love of Learning, Chapter 2, St Gregory, Doctor of Desire.
21 See above.
22 See e.g. Straw, Gregory the Great, pp. 910, and in many other places in the book.
23 On the Black Death of the 6th and 7th centuries, see J.-N. Biraben, Les hommes et la peste
en France et dans les pays europens et mditerranens, 2 vols. (Paris, 1975), especially
pp. 748, and more recently L. Little, ed. Plague and the End of Antiquity (Cambridge, Eng.,
2007), particularly the first essay, by L. Little, pp. 332, with its references to Gregory the
Great and the plague.
24 One of the most valuable examinations of Gregorys eschatological perspective is
C. Dagens, La fin des temps et lglise selon S. Grgoire le Grand, rsr 58 (1970), 27388. See
also C. Dagens, Saint Grgoire le Grand. Culture et Exprience chrtiennes (Paris, 1977).
Ademars Omega Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 121

by earthquakes.25 Plagues we suffer without relief; we do not yet clearly

see the signs in the sun, the moon, the stars, but we gather from the
change in the air that these are not far off. As so many of the things
foretold have already occurred, there is no doubt that the few that still
remain will soon follow: for the experience of what has come to pass
gives us certainty about what is to come.26

Ademar borrows liberally from this passage in one of his most apocalyptic ser-
mons in ms 1664.27 Gregorys eschatological perspective would be important
to not only Ademar, but to many monks during succeeding centuries.28
Of equal importance to the monks was Gregorys theme of service to his
fellow man, best seen in his description of himself as the servant of the ser-
vants of God. Diakonia was absolutely central to Gregorys idea of Christian
love.29 In one of his sermons he tied the themes of humility, service, and the
heavenly Jerusalem together in the following fashion, The Church is the tem-
ple of Jerusalem rebuilt in marvelous order, with its members dependent on
each other.30 When one also recalls his praise of St Benedict and the origins of
Benedictine monasticism, found in book 2 of the Dialogues, it is small wonder

25 Cross-reference to Ademars death and the 1034 earthquake in Jerusalem in Chapter 7.

26 Gregory the Great, xl Homiliarum in Evangelia, Liber Primus, Homilia Prima, pl 76:1075
70, col. 1078. Ex quibus profecto omnibus alia jam facta cernimus, alia e proximo ventura
formidamus. Nam gentem super gentem exsurgere, earumque pressuram terris insistere,
plus jam in nostris temporibus cernimus quam in Codicibus legimus. Quod terrae motus
urbes innumeras subruat, ex aliis mundi partibus scitis quam frequenter audivimus.
Pestilentias sine cessatione patimur. Signa vero in sole, et luna, et stellis, adhuc aperto
minime videmus, sed quia et haec non longe sint, ex ipsa jam aeris immutatione colligi-
mus Sed cum multa praenuntiata jam completa sint, dubium non est quin sequantur
etiam pauca quae restant, quia sequentium rerum certitudo est praeteritarum exhibitio.
This text was translated by R. Markus, Gregory the Great and His World (Cambridge, Eng.,
1997), p. 51.
27 Two of the best examples from ms 1664 are found on fols. 114r and 100r. On 114r, one finds
in a lengthy description of the last days, In futuris vero temporibus tanta mala erunt ut
sit secundum quod ait Dominus erit tunc talis tribulatio qualis non fuit ab initio. And
then so much more. On fol. 100r, after a salute to Gregory the Great on fols. 99v and 100r
for his comments on the Psalms, Ademar turns to the last days when erit bellum cum
antiquo hoste in fine mundi mittit Deus unum de principalibus et fortioribus angelis fuit
Michaelem There follows a consideration of the turbulence resulting from the struggle
of Michael and the Antichrist.
28 See Dagens, Saint Grgoire, for an extended consideration of this point.
29 Markus, Gregory the Great, p. 31, who indicates how valuable is P. Meyvaert, Gregory the
Great and the Theme of Authority, shr 3 (1966), 312, on this point.
30 H.Ez. 2.1.5 (ccl 142, 211), cited by Straw, Gregory the Great, p. 251.
122 chapter 6

that the writings of the Doctor of Desire were undoubtedly the most copied of
any Christian Father during the monastic centuries.31
The monasteries that arose in the early Middle Ages also in many ways
reflect this preoccupation with the heavenly Jerusalem. Thoughts of Jerusalem
reecho in the minds of the monks and would have been difficult to escape.32
One way this is evident is in the numbers of monks from all parts of Christendom
going to the earthly Jerusalem as pilgrims.33 Some were determined to remain
in the Holy Land, especially on or near the Mount of Olives, to await the return
of Christ and the descent of the heavenly Jerusalem to the earthly.34 Dozens of
monasteries, nunneries, and churches filled with such expectant individuals
existed on the Mount of Olives during the early Middle Ages.35 In fact, the
Byzantine historian Strategos in his Capture of Jerusalem, describing the Persian
triumph of 614, stated, And the Jerusalem above wept over the Jerusalem
below.36 Ademars final manuscript, ms 1664, demonstrates the continuing
magnetism of the location, for it has near its conclusion a letter from pilgrim
monks in a Frankish monastery on the Mount of Olives to Charlemagne.37 The
appropriateness of such a piece toward the conclusion of his final manuscript,
completed shortly before he left for Jerusalem, is readily evident.
Yet the vast majority of the monks of the West in the early Middle Ages did
not travel to the Holy Land, but rather gradually came to see their own monas-
teries as Jerusalem, where they would dwell while awaiting their own entrance
into the heavenly Jerusalem.38 With their lives centered on the liturgy it would
have been impossible to not be reminded daily of omega and their future heav-
enly home. The liturgical year drew them to focus on their own end, especially
in November with the feast of All Saints. The daily office with its Psalms and

31 Leclercq, Love of Learning, Chapter 2, on the central importance of Gregory the Great to
the Benedictine monks.
32 Ibid., Chapter 4, Devotion to Heaven.
33 One of the best ways of examining this idea is a reading of Wilkinson, Jerusalem Pilgrims,
which records many accounts on this development in the early Middle Ages.
34 Some were following the example of St Jerome residing in the Holy Land; others sought to
die in Jerusalem, as mentioned by Sumption, Pilgrimage, p. 130, or as seen above in
Chapter 1.
35 The establishing of such houses was true from at least the 3rd and 4th centuries. On this
point, Walker, Holy City, Holy Places, especially pp. 18 and 201.
36 Cited by R.L. Wilken, Loving the Jerusalem Below: The Monks of Palestine, in Jerusalem:
Its Sanctity and Centrality to Judaism, Christianity and Islam, ed. L.I. Levine (New York,
1999), p. 249. Also see the material on Strategos and Sophronius in Wilken, Land Called
Holy, pp. 22632.
37 See Chapter 7 below and my article The Problem of the Filioque.
38 A valuable piece on this is Constable, Opposition to Pilgrimage.
Ademars Omega Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 123

the echoes of If I forget thee, oh Jerusalem and numerous other references to

the sacred city would have kept their future home constantly in mind.39 So too
did the many feast days of the saints, with the day of their death as their birth-
day into their eternal home. Small wonder that saints lives were the most
popular literary genre of the monastic centuries.40
Also contributing to this monastic orientation toward the heavenly
Jerusalem was another popular literary genre in the monasteries, sacred or
alphaomega history. Reaching back to Eusebius, the father of Church history,
sacred history served as an additional means of keeping the monks focused on
both the alpha origins of the Christian order and on the omega toward which
they were heading. Yet it was also during the monastic centuries that national
histories developed with the writings of such exemplary figures as Gregory of
Tours on the Franks and the Venerable Bede on Britain. Both also wrote exten-
sively on the heavenly order, such as Gregory in his book The Glory of the
Martyrs and Bede in his many commentaries on scripture.
Of particular importance for the heavenly Jerusalem was Bedes commen-
tary on the book of Revelation, a copy of which Ademar included in an early
portion of MS 1664.41 It was his second copy of this work, the first found on
folios 63v79v in the Leiden manuscript.42 Much in this commentary would
have resonated with a monk about to head to Jerusalem around the year 1033.43
One point of central importance would have been Bedes agreement with his
spiritual mentor, Gregory the Great, on the proximity of the end, although
Ademar in his lone insertion to this copy of the commentary indicated that
we cannot know the time.44 Also of much importance to him, so strong an

39 Ps. 137:5. A few other examples of the more than twenty Psalms that specifically mention
Jerusalem are 87:17, 122:19, 125:2, and 147:120, and these are but a few of the many.
40 See Leclercq, Love of Learning, pp. 199206, on the central importance of hagiography. On
the importance of sacred history, pp. 19098.
41 ms 1664, fols. 17v37r. On Bede and his focus on the Last Days, see the recent P. Darby,
Bede and the End of Time (Burlington, Vt., 2012).
42 On this double copying, see my comments in D. Callahan, Ademar of Chabannes and His
Insertions into Bedes Expositio Actuum Apostolorum, ab 111 (1993), 38991.
43 Particularly valuable are the thoughts of Gerald Bonner in his Jarrow Lecture of 1966
entitled Saint Bede in the Tradition of Western Apocalyptic Commentary, Newcastle
upon Tyne, 1966.
44 Bede wrote of the proximity of the end in his commentary on Rev. 20:2, which states, He
overpowered the dragon, that primeval serpent which is the devil and Satan, and chained
him for a thousand years. Bede comments (pl 93:191C), Mille annos dixit partem, id est,
reliquias mille annorum sexti diei in quo natus est Dominus et passus. Ademar on fol. 33r
in one of his very few insertions into Bedes work adds his thoughts and chides those who
say they know precisely when he will return, concluding in this fashion, Ergo desistant
quidam qui numerando dicunt se nosse Antichristi adventum cum potius putent se scire
124 chapter 6

advocate of the Peace of God movement, would have been Bedes presentation
of the peace of the Heavenly Jerusalem.45 One can also be certain that Bedes
extensive comments on the jewels in the walls of the Heavenly Jerusalem
would have been appreciated by one advocating rich ecclesiastical vestments
and magnificent liturgical vessels.46
The monastic focus on the heavenly Jerusalem remains central during the
two centuries in which Ademar lived, and, if anything, became even more
intense in a number of ways. Developing apocalyptic motifs that had arisen or
had become increasingly pronounced during the Carolingian Renaissance, the
10th century and the first half of the 11th century witnessed a growing preoc-
cupation with the proximity of the end and the descent of the heavenly
Jerusalem.47 Even if one leaves out of consideration the proximity of the year
1000, the violence of the period, with the 10th century referred to as an iron age,
explains why the great Aelfric of Eynsham, a leading thinker of the period,
would refer to himself and his contemporaries as the endmen as they wit-
nessed the violence of the Viking invasions.48
Playing a central role in this growing apocalyptic spirituality in these years
was the monastery of Cluny, founded in 909 by the Duke of Aquitaine with an
influence felt in many of the monasteries throughout the duchy and beyond.
Seeking to preserve the monastic emphasis on the liturgy that Benedict of
Aniane had promoted during the rule of Louis the Pious in the first half of the
9th century, Cluny rapidly became renowned for its extraordinary asceticism
and its conception of Benedictine monasticism.49

quod nesciunt. See my earlier comments in the article Jerusalem in the Monastic
Imaginations, pp. 12526.
45 Associated with the walls of the heavenly Jerusalem is the peace of the new order. Bede
comments on Rev. 21:16, The plan of the city is perfectly square in this fashion, Idcirco
civitas in quadro posita est et ex omni parte aequali dicitur dimensione locata, quia nulla
sinitur inaequalitate notari. Perfectum enim secundum apostolum esse, id est, sapere,
pacem habere, vere est in soliditate quadra subsistere.
46 Bede wrote extensively in cols. 197203 on the jewelled walls as presented in Rev. 21. See
above on Ademars support for ecclesiastical finery.
47 Beyond the writings of Ademar and Glaber, there is much other evidence for the reality of
the millennial fears. How widespread they were will probably never be known. Yet, to
dismiss the fears outright is surprising in the light of recent works, as is evident in the
Landes, Gow, and Van Meter collection on the year 1000, as well as that of Frassetto.
48 See above, Chapter 1.
49 On the special nature of Cluniac monasticism, still very helpful are the essays in N. Hunt,
ed., Cluniac Monasticism in the Central Middle Ages (Hamden, 1971). See also G. de Valous,
Le monachisme clunisien des origines au XVe sicle: vie interieure des monastres et organ-
isation de lordre (Paris, 1970).
Ademars Omega Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 125

The individual whose life and works most clearly reflect the eschatological
emphasis was Clunys second abbot, St Odo.50 With a huge debt to the writings
of Gregory the Great, Odo in his own pieces, especially the Collationes and the
epic poem Occupatio, exhibits this ascetic spirituality.51 In these writings
appear his lengthy meditation on the Lamb of God, especially the image as
presented in the final chapters of the book of Revelation with the emphasis on
the chosen, the 144,000 whom some in this period would see as the followers of
Cluny and its ideals.52
From Cluny would also come late in the 10th century, during the abbacy of
Odilo, a new liturgical feast, that of All Souls, to be celebrated on 2 November.53
It was preceded on 1 November by the commemoration of All Saints, another
relatively new feast day that had been instituted throughout the Carolingian
empire during the rule of Louis the Pious. Both feasts bear witness to the grow-
ing emphasis in the period on reflecting on eternal life, so central to a rising
liturgical civilization.54
The 10th century also witnessed a rapid growth in liturgical chant and the
development of polyphony.55 Much of this celebrated the activity of the saints
in the heavenly Jerusalem, where they intervened for their supporters on
earth.56 Related was the growth of troping, which established the basis for the
rise of liturgical drama. The manuscripts of Saint-Martial bear ample witness
to this activity, including many pieces from the hand of Ademar himself.57

50 A useful introduction to Odo of Cluny and his thought is B. Rosenwein, Rhinoceros Bound:
Cluny in the Tenth Century (Philadelphia, 1982).
51 The Collationes is found in pl 133, cols. 517638. As for the Occupatio, see the edition by
A. Swoboda (Leipzig, 1900). On the latter work, see also C.A. Jones, Monastic Identity and
Sodomitic Danger in the Occupatio by Odo of Cluny, Sp 82 (2007), 153.
52 On this point, see D. Iogna-Prat, Agni immaculati, Recherches sur les sources hagi-
ographiques relatives saint Maeul de Cluny (954994) (Paris, 1988), and also his Les
morts dans la comptabilit cleste des clunisiens de lan mil, in Religion et culture autour
de lan mil, eds. D. Iogna-Prat and J.C. Picard (Paris, 1992), pp. 5569.
53 Hourlier, Saint Odilon, p. 56ff.
54 This point will be considered in much greater detail in my forthcoming book on Jerusalem
and the rise of Western civilization.
55 On the important contribution of Saint-Martial and Ademar in this development, see
Grier, Musical World.
56 Fichtenau, Living in the Tenth Century, Chapter 1, Order as Rank Order, especially
pp. 1215. For related material, see also Remensnyder, Remembering Kings Past. On the
growing importance of an omega mindset in the period, R. Fulton, From Judgment to
Passion: Devotion to Christ and the Virgin Mary, 8001200 (New York, 2005).
57 One could offer many examples. See e.g. D. Bjork with R. Crocker, ed., The Aquitanian
Kyrie Repertory of the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries (Aldershot, 2003).
126 chapter 6

Another constant reminder of the future life for the monks in the period
were the manuscript illustrations of the heavenly Jerusalem, particularly in
such works as the Commentary on the Book of the Apocalypse by the 8th-
century Spaniard Beatus of Liebana.58 These extraordinarily vivid illustrations
spread north from Spain in the course of the period between the 9th and 11th
centuries and were found in many monasteries, with the pilgrimage roads to
Santiago de Compostela facilitating these transfers.59 Additionally prominent
in a number of manuscripts at Saint-Martial prior to 1030 were illustrations of
Christ in majesty ruling in the heavenly Jerusalem or of the Agnus Dei, espe-
cially in bn mss lat. 909, folio 156r, and 1120, folio 41r, both of the latter con-
nected to Ademar.60
In summation for the general background developments for the 10th and
11th centuries, it is necessary to raise again the reality and the prominence of
the millennial fears in order to understand why the heavenly Jerusalem has
such prominence at this moment in time. Enough was stated earlier in the
book to show the great importance of this perspective.61 Here it is but neces-
sary to recall the debate in order to establish an introduction to Ademars own
thoughts on the celestial kingdom and its proximity.62
The large number of pilgrims that Glaber depicts coming to Jerusalem to be
present for the last days and for the descent of the heavenly city surely were
confirmed to Ademar by Symeon of Trier, who visited Angoulme in the late

58 Williams, The Illustrated Beatus, vols. 14 (London, 19942002).

59 On this point, B. Khnel, Geography and Geometry in Jerusalem, in City of the Great
King: Jerusalem from David to the Present, ed. N. Rosovsky (Cambridge, Mass., 1996),
pp. 288332, especially p. 293, where she cites John Williams, It is still surprising, however,
that Christian art took so long until the ninth century to create its own formulas for
designating heavenly Jerusalem. This was the time of the first extant illuminated manu-
scripts of the Apocalypse, close to the writings of the Commentary to the Apocalypse by
Beats of Libana and probably also to the first illuminated manuscrips of it. See also her
valuable work From the Earthly to the Heavenly Jerusalem: Representations of the Holy City
in Christian Art of the First Millennium (Rome, 1987), especially Part 2, Chapter 2, Heavenly
Jerusalem, A Revelation, for a lengthy consideration of the depiction of the heavenly
Jerusalem in Carolingian and Ottonian art and much of the Beatus manuscripts.
60 On the Majestas, Khnel in Part 2, Chapter 2 of From the Earthly to Heavenly Jerusalem.
For the Saint-Martial material, Gaborit-Chopin, La dcoration des manuscrits, pp. 183 and
186.
61 See above.
62 Ibid. A valuable recent study that considers the question of the reality of the millennial
fears is J. Flori, Lislam et la fin des Temps. Linterprtation prophtique des invasions musul-
manes dans la chrtient mdivale (Paris, 2007).
Ademars Omega Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 127

1020s.63 This individual, who had been a pilgrim guide in Jerusalem for seven
years and had also escorted a number of pilgrims all the way from Western
Europe, would have been well aware of these expectations from his discussions
with these travellers. Having also been an ascetic who lived on Mount Sinai
and finished his life in the early 1030s as a hermit walled up in a tower in Triers,
he demonstrated his belief in the proximity of the last days.64
Ademars most extensive depiction of the heavenly Jerusalem appears in
sermon 42, folios 92v93v in ms 2469. It is a piece that is very much drawn
from Chapter 21 of the book of Revelation and has long passages with many
verses from it. The sermon begins with a quotation of Isaiah 61:10 on a bride-
groom wearing a crown and a bride adorned with jewels. Ademar quickly uses
this image as a means of considering Christ as the groom and the Church as the
bride in Chapter 21 of Revelation. The union of the Lamb and the Heavenly
Jerusalem in Chapter 19 of Revelation leads to the images in Chapter 21, such as
what appears in Revelation 21:2 (fol. 92v), I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her
husband. As in this chapter of Revelation, the sermon goes on to describe the
making of all things new, Christ as alpha and omega, and depicts the heavenly
Jerusalem as presented in Revelation 21. He cites St Paul, 1 Corinthians 3:1617,
on the temple where the Spirit of God dwells. Ademar sees the Bride of the
Lamb, the Church, the Holy City, as also being the Temple.65 He then goes on,
as he does so often, to connect the material to St Martial, who brought the good
news from the old Jerusalem. The sermon concludes with a consideration of
the final verses in Chapter 21 and speaks of the eternal union between Christ
and the Church, with its everlasting light.66
An earlier sermon in the same manuscript, number 12, folios 50v53r, a ser-
mon that follows the long piece on the Cross and Helena, develops further the
idea of the Church as the heavenly Jerusalem.67 This discourse commemorates
the dedication of the cathedral church of St Stephen in Limoges and empha-
sizes the connection between this church, consecrated by St Martial, and the
Temple of Solomon, whom Ademar calls rex pacificus, in Jerusalem. The com-
parison is developed to show the similarities between the Hebrew people
going to the Temple and Gods people in Limoges attending their cathedral.

63 See above, Chapter 1.

64 Ibid.
65 ms 2469, fol. 93r. quia ipsa civitas sancta, quod est Ecclesia Catholica, templum et
domus et habitaculum Dei est in quo Deus requiescit.
66 Ibid., fol. 93v. lumen indeficiens.
67 On the sermon on the Cross and St. Helena, see above, Chapter 3.
128 chapter 6

Ademar compares the two holy cities for much of the sermon and conjoins
them in the image of the heavenly Jerusalem.68 He emphasizes that the Church
becomes a caelum novum, citing Isaiah 65:1719.69 He then reties all of this
material to St Martial. In the conclusion he returns to the theme of the eternal
union between Christ as the groom and his bride the Church.70
For Ademar a hallmark of the heavenly Jerusalem is peace, an image that
St Augustine emphasized in The City of God. Central on the visio pacis is a fairly
lengthy piece in ms 1664, folios 103r112v, a consideration of the consecration
of the Mass and some of its prayers. Here again are a number of images from
the book of Revelation, particularly Chapters 2022. He presents such features
as the twenty-four crosses in the Mass as standing for the twenty-four elders
before the throne of God (fol. 103r), the Lamb broken and divided in the hands
of the priest (fol. 103v), and the central importance of the peace of Christ
(fol. 104r). After a long section on Martial and the Roman Church, he refers to
the Peace of God movement and the breaking of vows to observe the Peace.71
He then presents a section on the saints in heaven with whom we form a unity
with the Lord, a cue to begin a long segment on Martial and the Peace of God.
The very next sermon in ms 1664, folios 112v114v, develops the centrality of
the peace to an even greater extent, especially in the context of the Lords
Prayer in the Mass. Here, section by section he focuses on the constitutive ele-
ments of the new order brought by Christ, as in the initial Our Father who art
in heaven, where he points out that God is everywhere, but in a special fashion

68 ms 2469, fol. 51v. His sacrosanctis et veris misteriis ecclesia sinagogam praecessisse con-
spicitur. Haec est enim Hierosolim caelestis civitas Dei viventis in qua multorum milium
angelorum frequentia perstat gaudens obsequi misteriis mediatoris Dei et hominum
Ihesu Christi.
69 Ibid. Ecce ego Dominus creo caelos novos et terram et non erunt memoria priora et non
ascendent super cor sed gaudebitis et exsultabitis usque in sempiternum in his quae ego
creo. Quia ecce ego creo Hierosolim exultationem et populum eius in gaudium. Et
exultabo in Hierosolim et gaudebo in populo meo et non audietur in eo ultra vox fletus et
vox clamoris.
70 Ibid., fol. 53r. Et nuptiali veste circum amicti ad nuptias aeterni sponsi ingredi mereamur
visuri sponsum decoratum corona et sponsam ornatam manilibus suis. Visuri Christum
coronatum in apostolis et martiribus contemplaturi ecclesiam adornatam infinitis grati-
arum donis per ipsum auctorem aeternum ecclesiae sponsum Ihesum Christum
Dominum et Deum nostrum cui est gloria cum Patre et Spiritu Sancto in saecula saeculo-
rum. Amen.
71 ms 1664, fol. 104v. He sees the mass as the true vow and quotes the Psalmist, Et tibi red-
detur votum in Hierosolima (Ps. 65:1), to which he appends hoc est in praesentia
ecclesia.
Ademars Omega Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 129

in heaven, where he is glorified by the angels and the saints. There is his throne,
with the earth as his footstool.72
For the segment Thy kingdom come, Ademar points out that Christ said he
has come to give peace.73 His kingdom is justice and peace and joy and blessed-
ness and glory.74 He goes on to contrast the disciples of Christ on Judgment Day
with the disciples of Satan. There soon follows the comments on the passage
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, which makes clear that those who
do the will of God will enter the kingdom of heaven and enjoy eternal peace.75
The prayer in the Mass after the Lords Prayer, which begins, Deliver us, oh
Lord, from all evils, past, present and to come, truly ignites the millennial agi-
tation in Ademar. He states, Know, brethren, that we already experience very
bad tribulations and now dreadful horrors as you see since everywhere there is
wickedness and pride, the sword, hunger, pestilence, terrors from the sky and
great signs76 He then tells of a bolt of lightning at Angoulme the past
Christmas that killed a churchman. Ademar states that he delivered a eulogy at
the funeral and selected the theme De terrore venturii iuditii in order that all
should do penance for violating or swearing falsely to observe the Peace of God
as stipulated by church councils. He then indicates,

In future times there will be such evil that it would be according to what
the Lord said that then there will be such tribulations as there had not
been since the beginning. From which tribulations no one can be safe
except through the help of the Lord and the intercession of the saints.77

As for the Communion prayer, which begins, Grant of your goodness peace in
our days (Da propitius pacem in diebus nostris), Ademar asks for peace in his

72 Ibid., fol. 113r. sed ideo Deus caelum esse Dei thronus et terra scabellum pedum eius
quia et in caelo et in terra Deus semper praesens est.
73 Ibid. Regnum Dei est ipse filius Dei sicut ipse Iudeis dixit. Regnum Dei intra vos est hoc
est filius Dei ego corporaliter sum intro vos qui veni vos salvare vobis pacem dari.
74 Ibid. Regnum Dei est iustitia et pax et gaudium et beatitudo et gloria.
75 Ibid., fol. 113r and v.
76 Ibid., fol. 113v. Scitote, fratres, quia iam transierunt pessimae tribulationes et modo pes-
simae sunt sicut videtis quia ubique timor, ubique iniquitas et superbia, gladius, fames,
pestilentia, terrores de caelo et signa magna
77 Ibid., fol. 114r. Et ut omnes poenitentiam agerent de pace et conciliis quae violaverant et
se periuraverant. In futuris vero temporibus tanta mala erunt ut sit secundum quod ait
Dominus erit tunc talis tribulatio qualis non fuit initio. A quibus tribulationibus nullus
poterit eripi nisi per adiutorium Domini et intercessione sanctorum. There are echoes of
Adsos material here.
130 chapter 6

days and not in the days which will come after him, when the Antichrist is
expected to come.78 After the Antichrist, peace will return, albeit not the per-
fect peace, which will only come after the Last Judgment.79
The peace theme is central for many more lines in this section. One way
he extends it is through a consideration of the Communion prayer May the
peace of the Lord be always with you (Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum), a
prayer the priest says as he breaks off a piece of the host and blesses it with
the sign of the Cross.80 Reception of the Eucharist will give the communi-
cant the Lord, who is united to the Father in heaven and joins our humanity
with his divinity so that he may be lifted to heaven in the future resurrec-
tion.81 The Eucharist will give the communicant the true and eternal peace
that is Christ.82 Ademar develops the peace theme further by pointing out
that Christians possess the peace of Christ and should manifest that peace as
peace makers.83
He concludes this sermon with its many elements of eternal peace by focus-
ing on the Agnus Dei Communion prayer.

Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on
us. Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

After a lengthy section on Christ as the true Lamb of God, he states that it is
Christ as the one true Lamb of God of whom St John in Revelations 14:1 said,
Vidi super montem Sion agnum stantem, with all the apocalyptic power of

78 Ibid. Quia illi qui post nos erunt similiter orabunt Dominum sibi in diebus pacen dari. Ex
quo autem orationes sacerdotum cessabunt mox bella et tribulationes quae in evangelio
dicuntur per Antichristum venient.
79 Ibid. Et post Antichristum erit aliqua pax et securitas, non ut sit perfecta pax sed ad
comparationem tribulationis quae erit sub Antichristo
80 Ibid.
81 Ibid. Et dum communicamus tunc in nobis ipse Dominus ascendit in caelum ad Patrem
de quo numquam recessit et iungit nostram humanitatem cum sua divinitate ut de terris
ad caelos nos elevet in futura resurrectione.
82 Ibid. Et in hoc loco propter amorem Christi qui est pax aeterna pacem populo per oscu-
lum datis et omnibus populis pacem illam usque ad novissimum dilatat quia Christus ita
est pax nostra aeterna.
83 Ibid. In illa pace omnes concordiam nobis facimus ut pacificisimus et ideo filii Dei
sumus, sicut ipse ait, Beati pacifici quoniam filii Dei vocabantur (Matthew 5:9), sic enim
cum Deo in caelis regnabimus si pacem non falsam sed veram inter nos facimus ante-
quam corpus et sanguinem Domini suscipiamus.
Ademars Omega Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 131

the 144,000.84 This reference, in turn, leads to a consideration of the saints and
their experience of the heavenly peace.
Yet the peace is very much disturbed by the presence of heretics who have
appeared and who deny baptism, the Mass, the Cross, and the Church, and are
precursors of the Antichrist.85 Ademar then indicates that the Catholic leaders
burned many of these individuals.86 He is referring to the public executions
resulting from the charges levelled at the heretics at the Peace of God councils in
the period.87 These gatherings merit further attention from a millennial perspec-
tive, gatherings that occurred in Aquitaine in the period between 970 and 1040.88
One of the earliest of these councils took place at Charroux in the late
980s.89 Here in the presence of a piece of the True Cross, the Peace of God was
proclaimed. The linkage between the Cross and the Peace is also evident in the
sermon just cited. Ademar in his commentary on the Communion prayers con-
siders the connection in this fashion,

When you say, May the peace of the Lord always be with you, so the
body of the Lord is of four elements as a true man, and after his passion
truly he arose as victor through the Cross, so you touch the four sides of
the chalice with the holy pieces through [the sign of] a Cross, and you
send into the chalice the very particles as a sign of the Resurrection of the
Lord when his spirit returned to his own body and he arose from the
enclosed tomb.90

Through the victory of the Cross, Christ allows us to rise on the last day.91

84 Ibid.
85 Ibid., fol. 114v. de haereticis qui modo latenter inter nos surgunt qui negant baptismum,
missam, crucem, ecclesiam qui praecurssores Antichristi sunt. On the heretics, see above
and my article Ademar of Chabannes and the Bogomils, pp. 3141.
86 Ibid. Concremaverunt ex ipsis multos et aliis suppliciis occiderunt Catholici principes
nostri.
87 See above.
88 See my earlier pieces in the Frassetto collection, Heresy and the Persecuting Society, and in
Revue Bndictine 101 (1991), 3249.
89 See above.
90 ms 1664, fol. 114v. Quando autem dicitis, Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum, sicut corpus
Domini fuit de quattuor elementis tamquam verus homo et post passionem vere resur-
rexit victor per crucem, ita quattuor lateras calicis tangitis particula sancta per unam
crucem et mittitis in calicem ipsam particulam in signo resurrectionis Domini quando
anima eius in corpus proprium reversa est et resurrexit clauso sepulchro.
91 Ibid. Et per victoriam crucis suae faciet nos in die novissimo resurgere
132 chapter 6

The connection between the Peace and the Cross is again seen in a refer-
ence Ademar inserted into the Commemoratio abbatum of Saint-Martial, a
reference that resulted from an outbreak of the firesickness, ergotism, in
Aquitaine in the decade before 1000, a sickness which Ademar says resulted in
the deaths of 40,000. The bishops of Aquitaine joined with the abbot of Saint-
Martial, according to the Commemoratio, in 994 for a peace council and a gath-
ering of prayer to try to assuage the heavenly anger. The body of St Martial was
lifted from his tomb and placed on Mons Gaudium.92 In thanksgiving for the
success of the efforts, the tomb of Martial, according to the Commemoratio,
received a golden icon with gems.93 In addition, two crosses made with gold
and gems were placed there, likely a sign to all to keep in mind the proximity
of the Tau Cross and the last days.94
The heavenly Peace, the Peace of God on earth, the Cross on which Christ
suffered and died, and the Tau Cross as a sign of the Last Judgment and eternal
peace are closely interconnected in Ademars mind, as they surely were in the
thoughts of the many attending the peace council at Limoges in 994. Just as
the earthly Jerusalem was so closely identified at this time with the relics of the
True Cross, so the heavenly Jerusalem was with the Cross of the final days. Just
as Ademars thoughts on the alpha Cross merited much consideration, so too
did what he had to say about the omega Cross.
Matthew 24:30 refers to the Tau Cross as the sign of the Son of Man in this
fashion: Then will appear the standard of The Man in heaven, all the tribes of
the earth will then mourn, and they will see The Man coming on the clouds of
heaven, with power and great honor.95 From very early in the history of the

92 On this outbreak of the firesickness, a form of ergotism, which was seen as another sign
of the End, see Commemoratio abbatum, p. 6, and Chronicon 3.35, p. 157. On this outbreak,
see my 1977 article Admar de Chabannes et la paix de Dieu, pp. 2728. The chronicle
and the sermons elaborate on this episode in a number of ways. They list the names of the
churchmen in attendance, including many of the regional bishops. The diabolical power
of the scourge, an invisible fire, invisibili igne, was so great that it necessitated a relic jam-
boree at the gathering, with the bones of many saints from various parts of Aquitaine
present, a bringing of the heavenly Jerusalem to earth to defeat the forces of darkness.
With the triumph of the saints ending the plague, a pact of peace was appropriately con-
firmed by the duke of Aquitaine and other leaders in attendance.
93 Commemoratio abbatum, p. 6. Hic de icona aurea loculum fecit aureum cum gemmis, in
quo vectum est corpus Marcialis.
94 Ibid. Hic duas cruces ex auro et gemmis fecit.
95 The translation is found in The Anchor Bible Matthew, translation and notes by W.F. Albright
and C.S. Mann (New York, 1971), p. 297. See the comments on the apocalyptic importance
of this verse on p. 298 of this edition of Matthew.
Ademars Omega Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 133

Church this sign was interpreted as the sign of the Cross that would appear in
heaven as an indication of the proximity of the end times, when Christ would
return for the Last Judgment and usher in the eternal peace.96 In this fashion
the Tau Cross and peace were closely connected from a very early period.
In numerous places in the sermons Ademar connects the Cross and peace,
as, for example, in ms 1664, folio 97v, in one of the sermon commentaries on
the canon of the Mass. Commenting on Christ and his disciples, he wrote,

And as the Lord greeted his disciples when he said, My peace be with
you, so the priest in church is accustomed to greet his people. Peace be
with you and the Lord be with you is the greeting since the Lord himself
is truly the Peace of the holy Church And so the bishop and all the
priests, that is the priests standing before the altar or before God when
they say, Peace be with you and the Lord be with you greet and bless the
people with hands extended in the sign of the Cross97

As for the sign of the Cross in the heavens, Ademar refers to it in an earlier
sermon in the same manuscript, a piece that begins quoting the writings of
Theodulf of Orlans, particularly his material on the Eucharist in the final
chapter of De Ordine Baptismi, thoughts on the Eucharist upon which Ademar
elaborates but which really serve as the takeoff point for a very discursive piece
on many items of the Christian faith, particularly the Creed.98 On the fourth
point in the Creed, that is, that Christ suffered under Pontius Pilate, was cruci-
fied, died, and was buried, Ademar focuses on the Cross.

And we believe since he was crucified that the Cross is a holy victory for
us against the devil. For the devil fears no arms of wars, only fears the

96 See B. McGinn, The End of the World and the Beginning of Christendom, in Apocalypse
Theory and the Ends of the World, ed. M. Bull (Oxford, 1995), p. 73. Since the second cen-
tury, at least, the sign of the returning Son of Man mentioned in Matthew 24.30 had been
interpreted as the cross (see, e.g., Apocalypse of Peter 1.811).
97 ms 1664, fol. 97v. Et sicut Dominus salutavit discipulos suos quando dicebat pax vobis, ita
in ecclesia sacerdos salutare solet populum. Pax vobiscum et Dominus vobiscum una
salutatio est quia Dominus ipse est vere pax sanctae ecclesiae suaeEt sicut episcopus et
omnes antistites hoc est sacerdotes ante altare vel ante Deum stantes quando dicunt Pax
vobis et Dominus vobiscum salutant et benedicunt populum expansis manibus in crucis
figura
98 For De Ordine Baptismi, pl 105, cols. 22340, with Chapter 18 on pp. 23940. For Ademars
version, ms 1664, fols. 70r78v. On this piece see the comments of Delisle, Manuscrits
originaux, pp. 25056. See also above.
134 chapter 6

sign of the holy Cross and through the sign of the Cross flees from every
place. And therefore since the Lord was crucified and died on the Cross,
we adore the Cross of the Lord and especially on that day on which he
was crucified, that is on his Passion Day, all in the world adore the Cross,
victory, passion and death of the Lord And as any king, victor over his
foe, rejoices in his arms with which he defeated the enemy and sees
them as a sign of his victory, so the Lord has considered special the sign
of the Cross which is his victory in the glory of the holy church from the
altar. For through the Cross all things in heaven and on earth were
restored; as the Prophet said, The Lord will lift his sign among the
nations and will gather the dispersed of Israel. (Isaiah 11:12) And again,
Say to the peoples that the Lord ruled [from the wood]. For on the day
when the Lord will judge the world, the sign of the Cross will appear in
heaven in testimony to the victory of Christ and to the glory of his holy
Church. For also the signs of the nails in the hands, feet and side of
Christ, then the just and unjust see and all the saved will give greater
thanks to him since they know that they would not be otherwise saved
except through his passion.99

Later in the same piece Ademar refers to the Cross being honored through the
production of crosses with precious metals, for example, silver and gold. As we
prostrate before a wooden or golden cross, or of another material, we do not
adore the creature but the Creator whose Cross is seen as a sign and a victory.100

99 ms lat. 1664, fols. 72v73r. Et credimus quia crucifixus est ut crux sancta victoria sit nobis
contra diabolum. Nulla enim arma bellorum diabolus timet solum signum sanctae crucis
formidat et per signum crucis fugator ab omni loco. Et ideo quia Dominus crucifixus est
et in cruce mortuus est, adoramus crucem Domini maximeque in ea die qua crucifixus
est, id est in parasceve, generaliter omnis mundi crucem adorat victoriam et passionem et
mortem Domini Et sicut quilibet rex victor de hoste suo arma cum quibus hostem vicit
delectatur saepius videre pro signo victoriae suae, ita Dominus signum crucis quae est
victoria eius in gloria sanctae ecclesiae ex altare dignatus est. Per crucem enim omnia
quae sunt in caelo et in terra restaurata sunt; sicut ait propheta, Levabit Dominus signum
in nationibus et congregabat dispersos Israel. [Isa. 11:12] Et item, Dicite in gentibus quia
Dominus regnavit a ligno. [Ps. 96:10, with the exception of a ligno.] Nam et in die quando
iudicabit Dominus mundum apparebit signum crucis in caelo in testimonio victoriae
Christi et gloriae sanctae ecclesiae suae. Nam et signa clavorum in manibus et pedibus et
latere Christi, tunc iusti et iniusti cernent et salvati omnes sancti maiores ei gratias refer-
tunt quia cognoscunt se non aliter salvatos nisi per passionem eius.
100 Ibid., fol. 73r. Nos itaque ante crucem ligneam sive auream sive alterius materiae pros-
trati non adoramus creaturam sed creatorem cuius signum et victoriam videtur crux.
Ademars Omega Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 135

He refers to golden crosses as signs of Christs triumph in other writings; the

use of the precious metals to honor Christ is described in particular in ms
2469, folio 41r, with a lengthy defense of such use of gold and silver.101
The golden cross was also linked in Ademars mind with the golden thurible
as it appears in Chapter 5 of Revelations. After the Lamb has opened the book
with the seven seals, the four animals prostrated themselves before him and
with them the twenty-four elders; each one of them was holding a harp and a
golden bowl full of incense made of the prayers of the saints (v. 8). Or, again,
in 8:3,

Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar.
A large quantity of incense was given to him to offer with the prayers of
all the saints on the golden altar that stood in front of the throne.

This activity occurs immediately after the opening of the seventh seal. In a
sermon on the Mass in ms 1664, Ademar has St Martial order the making from
gold of five candelabra, one thurible, and one cross.102 He then goes on to refer
specifically to Revelation and the having of a golden thurible by the altar and
also in the Temple in Jerusalem. He explains the importance of the thurible in
this fashion, since the thurible signifies the body of the Lord which has in
itself the fire of the deity and the odor of his mercy which spreads throughout
the world.103 Later in the same sermon he draws specifically from Chapter 5 of
Revelation and refers to the twenty-four elders and the heavenly city and the
presence of the Lamb of God, who is also the golden thurible.104 He then goes
on to use the image of the cross as the altar.105
The connection between the Cross and the apocalyptic Lamb also appears
in several other sermons in ms 1664. In the sermon on the canon of the Mass
on folios 112v114v, in a lengthy section on the Agnus Dei prayer, Ademar con-
nects the Cross and the Lamb thusly,

101 See above.

102 ms 1664, fol. 109v. Iussit etiam fieri candelabra ex auro quinque et thuribulum aureum
unum et crucem auream unum.
103 Ibid. quia thuribulum significat corpus Domini quod in se habuit ignem deitatis et sua
vitatem misericordiae in odore misericordiae eius quae per totum mundum diffusa est.
104 Ibid., fol. 111r. Sed sicut in caelo non est templum corporale Dominus enim templum illius
civitatis supernaeEt sicut ille angelus qui stetit iuxta aram templi et ipse Dominus
magni consilii angelis et Deus angelorum et ipse et altare templi quia passus est pro nobis
et ipse templum quia ipso est Deus verbum caro factum et ipso thuribulum aureum hoc
est corpus preciosum quod accepit de virgine et ipse est ante thronum patris sui quia etc.
105 Ibid. quod in ara crucis immolatum est.
136 chapter 6

And as there were many carnal lambs offered in the past for the sins of
the people, so the one true Lamb, Christ, concerning whom John said,
I saw on Mount Sion the Lamb standing, (Rev. 14:1) in the New Testament
offered himself to the Father for the sins of the whole world when he
permitted himself to be crucified and lanced that he might free all man-
kind from sin.106

In another piece, entitled De Septiformi Gratia Spiritus Sancti (fols. 78v83r),

there is also much material on the connection between the Cross and the
Lamb. In a section on the sacrament of confirmation, Ademar writes on the
Cross, the Sigma Tau, and the apocalyptic vision in this fashion, Concerning
the signs with the chrism, John said, I saw on Mount Sion the Lamb standing
and with him the 144,000 having his name and the name of his Father written
on their foreheads. (Rev. 14:1).107 He then goes on to consider the Tau and
Jerusalem. Citing Ezekiel 9:4, He [Yahweh]said, Go all through the city, all
through Jerusalem, and mark a cross on the foreheads of all who deplore and
disapprove of all the filth practised in it. Ademar adds to this,

The letter Tau itself is the sign of the Cross written by the bishop on the
foreheads of Christians and no one that has been signed with the chrism
can be killed because he has eternal lifeAnd as that man was ordered to
cross through the middle of Jerusalem that he might sign with a Tau on
the foreheads of men, so must the bishop in his diocese108

In my article The Tau Cross in the Writings of Ademar of Chabannes, I identi-

fied a brief hymn to the Tau Cross a work whose authorship was previously
inquestion as very likely being by Ademar.109 Joseph Szvrffy had earlier

106 Ibid., fol. 114r. Et sicut multi agni carnales in veterites tanto pro peccatis populi offereban-
tur, ita unus verus agnus Christus de quo ait Johannes, Vidi super montem Sion agnum
stantem, in Novo Testamento semetipsum optulit Deo Patri pro peccatis tocius mundi
quando permisit se crucifigi et lanceari ut omne genus humanum per passionem suam
liberaret de peccato. Also, see above.
107 Ibid., fol. 80r. De chrismate signatis dicit Iohannis, Vidi supra montem Sion agnum stan-
tem et cum illo cxliiii or milia habentes nomen eius et nomen patris eius scriptum in
frontibus suis.
108 Ibid. Thau littera ipsum est signum crucis scriptum ab episcopo in frontibus
Christianorum nullus que chrismate signatus poterit occidi quia in aeternum vivuntEt
sicut ille vir transire iussus est per mediam Hierosolim ut signaret thau super frontes viro-
rum, sic episcopus transire sollerter oportet etc.
109 Callahan, Tau Cross, pp. 6371.
Ademars Omega Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 137

noted that in this sequence, entitled alte vox canat dulcis and found in a
manuscript from Saint-Martial,

the Cross is called, perhaps for the first time in a Holy Cross hymn Tau
lit(t)era. (cf. Ezek. 9:4,6) The application of this Old Testament motif is
not surprising since it is found in patristic literature from Tertullian on;
what surprises us is that the hymn-writers were so late in using it.110

The manuscript in which this piece was first found is bn ms lat. 1121, folios
197v198r, a portion of which manuscript is in Ademars hand.111
The hymn, which contains a number of elements, some just presented,
found in Ademars writings, is the following:

May a sweet and pure voice sing loudly with the songs of a churchman
sounding clear through the strife the sonorous hymns of praise of the
Cross of Christ the King, which dedicated to the limbs of Christ nobly
extirpates the cunning tricks of the idler. Adorned with gems this divine
forecourt shines like the stars. The mysteries which it contains, our
crowds cannot mention. But Tau is the letter strengthening fearful hearts.
May there be praise to Christ in all things.112

The piece then concludes with some famous words of Fortunatus on the
Cross,The wood of the Cross supports the sweet weight and bore the dear and

110 J. Szvrffy, Crux Fidelis Prolegomena to a History of the Holy Cross Hymns, Tr 22
(1966), 20.
111 On this material, see R. Crocker, The Repertoire of Proses at Saint Martial of Limoges,
PhD dissertation, Yale University, 1957, in 2 volumes, vol. 2, pp. 14651, especially p. 148.
Margot Fassler has suggested Ademars authorship of the piece in M. Fassler, Gothic Song:
Victorine Sequences and Augustinian Reform in Twelfth-Century Paris (Cambridge, Eng.,
1993), p. 56. James Grier, who has written extensively on the musical works of Ademar, has
identified a number of pieces in this manuscript as being by Ademar. See Grier, Critical
Editing of Music, p. 188, and ibid., Ecce sanctum quem deus elegit Marcialem apostolum:
Admar de Chabannes and the Tropes for the Feast of Saint Martial, in Beyond the Moon:
Festschrift Luther Dittmer, eds. B. Gillingham and P. Merkley, Wissenschaftliche
Abhandlungen 53 (Ottawa, 1990), pp. 2874.
112 The piece is found in Prosarium Lemovicense. Die Prosen der Abtei St. Martial zu Limoges,
ed. G. Dreves, vol. 7 of Analecta Hymnica Medii Aevi (Leipzig, 1889), item 94, p. 107. (1) Alte
vox canat dulcis ac mera (2a) Cleri canentis camoenas clara per stipadia (2b) Crucis
aeterni sonoras regis palinodias (3a) Quae Christi dicta membris exstirpat (3b) Callidas
gerronis pulchre sutelas. (4a) Gemmis ornata lampat haec aula divina ut astra. (4b)
Mysteria, quae continet, nostra non quit fari turba. (5a) Thau litera sed est illa paventia
(5b) Corda roborans; laus Christo sit per omnia.
138 chapter 6

beautiful gold (talenta) of the age.113 That Ademar wrote this piece is very
likely and clearly reflects his preoccupation with the Tau Cross and the heav-
enly Jerusalem.
Many of the images just considered celebrating the Cross appear in the lon-
gest sermon Ademar wrote, that in ms 2469 in which he celebrates St Helenas
discovery of the True Cross.114 He states that it is fitting in churches for crosses
to be decorated with silver and gold and gems, a tradition supposedly first
established by the apostles.115 So would Martial do in Limoges, for through
the victory of Christ the Church was exalted.116 Ademar extends this image of
sacred militancy further by then considering the place of banners with a
Cross.117 It is the banner of a triumphant king.118 Thus the mystery of the
Cross shines by whose victory over the demons the prostrate world was
raised.119 He goes on to consider how the Cross defeats the wickedness of the
dragon and daily puts Satan to flight.120 Hence the celebration of the Cross in
gold, in turn leading Ademar to return to the image of the golden altar and
golden thurible in Revelation.121
The legend of the Last Emperor and its connection with the Tau, or Omega,
Cross in the Last Days grew gradually in the early Middle Ages.122 In the
Pseudo-Methodius, a 7th-century Syrian work well known in the West by the
Carolingian period, the king of the Romans will defend Christendom in the last
days.123 He will be roused as from a drunken stupor like one whom men had

113 Ibid. (6a) Sustinuit pondera crucis lignum dulcia, (6b) Gestavit saeculi cara atque pul-
chra talenta.
114 ms 2469, fols. 38v50v. See above.
115 Ibid., fol. 42r. Cruces siquidem in ecclesia argento et auro ac gemmis decorari constat ab
ipsis apostolis primum fuisse traditum.
116 Ibid. per victoriam Christi ecclesiam exaltatam.
117 Ibid. Nam et ecclesia quotiescumque vexilla in itinere depraecantium precedere ante
crucis signa solent victoriam bellicosam Christi quae per crucem de hoste superbo cele-
brata est oculis nostris reducit.
118 Ibid., fol. 42v. victoriosi regis vexilla
119 Ibid. Tum crucis fulget misterium cuius victoria diabolis prostratus mundus erectus est.
120 Ibid. pugnare contra nequitias draconum
121 Ibid. Nam et in Apocalipsi altare aureum ante thronum et thuribulum aureum in manu
angeli praeciosum Domini corpus intelligitur quo redempti sumus de servitute mortis ad
libertatem vitae.
122 For the importance and development of the Last Emperor motif in the Middle Ages, see
the selections in McGinn, Visions of the End, and P. Alexander, The Byzantine Apocalyptic
Tradition (Berkeley, 1985).
123 McGinn, Visions of the End, pp. 7576.
Ademars Omega Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 139

thought dead and worthless.124 In triumph hell proceed to Jerusalem to await

the appearance of the Antichrist.125

When the Son of Perdition has arisen, the king of the Romans will ascend
Golgotha upon which the wood of the Holy Cross is fixed, in the place
where the Lord underwent death for us. The king will take the crown
from his head and place it on the Cross and stretching out his hands to
heaven will hand over the kingdom of the Christians to God the Father.
The Cross and the crown of the king will be taken up together to heaven.
This is because the Cross on which our Lord Jesus Christ hung for the
common salvation of all will begin to appear before him at his coming
to convict the lack of faith of the unbelievers When the Cross has
beenlifted high to heaven, the king of the Romans will directly give up his
spirit.125

In Adso of Montier-en-Ders piece on the Antichrist, the Mount of Olives, and

not Golgotha, is where the action will occur.126 Adso also makes the Last
Emperor the king of the Franks.127
Yet it was Ademar of Chabannes who was one of the first, if not the very
first, in the West to make Charlemagne the Last Emperor, and he developed
this image in several places in his Chronicon.128 When one recalls the location
of Limoges and Angoulme on the pilgrimage routes to Santiago, it is highly
likely that he was familiar with the legend of Charlemagne developing as the
ancient defender of Christendom.129 He also copied Einhards Life of
Charlemagne, a transcription preceded by his drawing of the emperor very
much resembling Christ in majesty.130 As was mentioned above in Chapter 3,
book 2 of the Chronicon was given over entirely to material on Charlemagne
and his times, albeit primarily a copy of the royal annals.

124 Ibid., p. 75.

125 Ibid., p. 76. After this the king of the Romans will go down and live in Jerusalem for seven
and one-half times, i.e. years
126 Adso, De Antichristo. De ortu et tempore Antichristi, ed. D. Verhelst, cccm 45 (Turnhout,
1976), 26. See McGinns comments, Visions of the End, pp. 8284.
127 As McGinn, Visions of the End, pp. 8384, points out, Adso was the first in the West to
adapt the Byzantine myth and change rex Romanorum et Grecorum to rex Francorum.
128 This is a point I have made in a number of articles, particularly in The Problem of the
Filioque, pp. 75134, especially 11116.
129 On this point, Callahan, Al-Hkim, Charlemagne, pp. 4357, especially 4649.
130 See Gaborit-Chopin, Les dessins dAdmar, pp. 21718, and Callahan, The Problem of
the Filioque, pp. 11116.
140 chapter 6

In the material in the Chronicon, Ademar leaves no doubt that he views

Charlemagne as the Last Emperor about to return in his presentation of the
opening of the tomb by Emperor Otto iii in the year 1000. Presented above in
Chapter 3 was Ademars depiction of Ottos efforts to have the Christian mes-
sage preached throughout Eastern Europe and extend the good news to the
most distant provinces as a way of hastening the return of Christ.131 Thus, it
should hardly be surprising that he would be greatly interested in the emper-
ors opening the tomb of his illustrious ancestor in 1000. The Chronicon states,

In those days Emperor Otto was admonished in a dream to raise the body
of Emperor Charles the Great which was buried at Aachen. But obliter-
ated by age, the precise place where he was resting was unknown. At the
end of a fast of three days he was found in that place which the emperor
had seen in the dream. He was sitting on a golden throne in an arched
crypt within the basilica of Mary, crowned with a crown of gold and gems
and holding a scepter and sword of purest gold. The body itself was
uncorrupted. It was raised and shown to the people. One of the canons of
the same place, Adalbert, a tall man with a large frame, putting on the
crown of Charles as if to measure it, found his own head smaller, the
crown exceeding the circumference of his head. Comparing his own leg
to that of the king, he found it shorter. And his leg was suddenly fractured
by the divine power. Although he lived for forty more years, it always
remained weak. The body of Charles was buried in the right portion of
that basilica behind the altar of St. John the Baptist and a wonderful
golden crypt was built over it. By many signs and miracles it became well
known. Yet there was no solemn feast demanded for him, except in a
common manner for the anniversary of the dead.132

131 See above.

132 Chronicon 3.31, p. 153. Quibus diebus Oto imperator per somnum monitus est ut levaret
corpus Caroli Magni imperatoris, quod Aquis humatus erat; sed, vetustate obliterante,
ignorabatur locus certus ubi quiescebat. Et peracto triduano jejunio, inventus est eo loco
quem per visum cognoverat imperator, sedens in aurea cathedra intra arcuatam spelun-
cam infra basilicam Marie, coronatum corona ex auro et gemmis, tenens sceptrum et
ensem ex auro purissimo, et ipsum corpus incorruptum inventum est. Quod levatum
populis demonstratum est. Quidam vero canonicorum ejusdem loci Adalbertus, cum
enormi et procero corpore esset, coronam Caroli quasi pro mensura capiti suo circumpo-
nens, inventus est strictiori vertice, coronam amplitudine sua vincentem circulum capi-
tis. Crus proprium etiam ad cruris mensuram regis dimetiens, inventus est brevior, et
ipsum ejus crus protinus divina virtute confractum est; qui supervivens annis xl, semper
debilis permansit. Corpus vero Caroli condictum in dextro membro basilicae ipsius, retro
Ademars Omega Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 141

Ademars fascination with Charlemagnes tomb is also evident in a drawing he

made of the chapel and tomb for an earlier version of the chronicle.133 He
inscribes on the tomb, Hic requiescit Karolus imperator, which one might
ordinarily translate as Here lies Emperor Charles. Yet the literal translation of
Here rests the Emperor Charles is undoubtedly what Ademar means. He is
simply resting and awaiting his return shortly to usher in the Last Days.134
Ademars presentation of Charlemagne as the Last Emperor fits nicely into
the perspective of one who saw himself living in the end times. His sleeping
emperor was one who was about to awaken because the proximity of the Last
Days required it. Signs of the end were everywhere. In one of his last sermons,
in which he comments on the prayer of the Mass beginning, Deliver us, O
Lord, from all past, present and future evils, he states, Know, bretheren, that
already have passed very bad tribulations and now are the worst, as you see,
since everywhere there is fear, everywhere there is wickedness and pride, the
sword, hunger, pestilence, terrors from heaven and great signs.135 These great
signs include a severe, freak storm with many bolts of lightning that killed a
fellow churchman in Angoulme on the feast of St Stephen in late December,
probably 1031, a cleric at whose commemorative service Ademar preached a
sermon on the terror venturi iuditii.136 The theme of the terrors of the end also

altare sancti Johannis Baptiste, et cripta aurea super illud mirifica est fabricata, multisque
signis et miraculis clarescere cepit. Non tamen sollempnitas de ipso agitur, nisi communi
more anniversarium defunctorum. This description of Otto opening the tomb is very
much in line with Ademars description of Charlemagnes burial. The idea that this
account in the C version of Ademars chronicle may be a later addition is possible in order
to explain the reference to the canon living forty more years, something Ademar would
not have known because of his own death prior to that. However, as I suggested in my
piece The Problem of the Filioque, in the 1992 rb, on pp. 11415, note 165, another pos-
sibility could be a copyists error in writing the number 40. As Richard Landes also men-
tions in his notes to his edition of the chronicle on p. 284, this lengthy passage is very
much in the mindset of Ademar of Chabannes.
133 On this, D. Gaborit-Chopin, Un dessin de lglise dAix-la-Chapelle par Admar de
Chabannes dans un manuscrit de la Bibliothque Vaticane, ca 14 (1964), 23335. See the
appendix for this drawing.
134 See my comments on this drawing in The Problem of the Filioque, p. 115. What one has
here is much more than a tomb as a reliquary, as Stephen Nichols described it in his valu-
able Romanesque Signs, pp. 7982. Rather, following the key word of requiescit, one has
a figure about to awaken and undertake his duty.
135 ms 1664, fol. 113v. Scitote fratres quia iam transierunt pessimae tribulationes, et modo
pessimae sunt sicut videtis, quia ubique est timor, ubique iniquitas et superbia, gladius,
fames, pestilentia, terrores de caelo et signa magna. Also see above.
136 Ibid., fol. 114r. Cited above also.
142 chapter 6

appears in the lengthy addition Ademar made to De Divinis Officiis of Amalarius

of Metz, in which he comments on Gods use of physical terrors to convert
sinners.137
The tradition of changes in the natural order reflecting the proximity or
presence of the Antichrist was well developed by the 11th century, although, as
Emmerson has pointed out, it lacked a specific sequence of signs.138 The scrip-
tural basis consists of Christs words to the disciples on the signs in the heaven
marking the end of the world and Revelation 20:7, which speaks of the release
of Satan from his prison when the thousand years are completed.139 A few
examples of the many signs reported in this period are Glabers reference to
the appearance of a glowing dragon flying in the heavens in 1003, which he says
terrified almost all the people of Gaul who saw it clearly an indication of the
devil loosed and the references in the letters of Fulbert of Chartres to a rain
of blood falling in France in 1027, another apocalyptic sign causing much trepi-
dation.140 In the writings of many of Ademars contemporaries are numerous
indications of an awareness that these disturbances in the physical order pre-
saged the appearance of the Antichrist and the Last Judgment. This is particu-
larly true in Anglo-Saxon England, as one can readily see in the Blickling
Homilies and the writings of Aelfric and Wulfstan.141
In a number of places in the Histories Glaber indicates how the people of
this period were convinced of the proximity of the end by all of the horrors in
the physical order.142 They were certain that God was punishing them for their
sins and forcing them to do penance before the end. In order to punish the

137 See the attribution of authorship of this material to Ademar as suggested by J.M. Hanssens
in his edition Amalarii Episcopi, vol. 2, pp. 21617. Ademars interests, style of writing, and
neglect of indicating his insertions make his authorship of this section almost a certainty.
The lengthy passage on p. 279 on Gods use of physical terrors to convert sinners con-
cludes, Nec te moveat quod invitatorium estivis diebus ebdomadalibus sine modulatione
antiphonae solet dici, quia terroribus plagarum, terroribus futuri iudicii, aliquando ex
incredulis effecti sunt.
138 Emmerson, Antichrist in the Middle Ages, pp. 8389, especially 84.
139 On the signs of the end, e.g. Matt. 24:331.
140 Glaber, Historiarum 2.8 (15), p. 79; Fulbert of Chartres, The Letters and Poems of Fulbert of
Chartres, ed. and trans. F. Behrends (Oxford, 1976), pp. 22427 and 27377. One of the best
introductions to the apocalyptic fears of this period is J. Fried, Endzeiterwartung um die
Jahrtausendwende, daem 45 (1989), 385473.
141 On this point, Emmerson, Antichrist in the Middle Ages, pp. 15254; J. Godfrey, The Church
in Anglo-Saxon England (Cambridge, Eng., 1962), pp. 34648, and M. McC. Gatch,
Preaching and Theology in Anglo-Saxon England: Aelfric and Wulfstan (Toronto, 1977),
pp. 7778 and 106.
142 Historiarum, France ed., 4.4 (1012), pp. 18793.
Ademars Omega Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 143

sins of men this terrible pestilence raged throughout the world for three years
[prior to 1033]. He later continued, It was believed that the order of the sea-
sons and the elements which had ruled all past ages from the beginning, had
fallen into perpetual chaos, and with it had come the end of mankind.143
The turbulence in the earthly order as a sign of the presence, or near pres-
ence, of the Antichrist is indicated in several places in Ademars chronicle.144
An excellent example appears immediately before the material on the destruc-
tion of the church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem in 1009. Ademar relates
how at that time there occurred signs in the stars, harmful droughts, excessive
rains, serious pestilence, dire famine, many defects or deficiences in the sun
and moon, and the drying up of the Vienne River for three nights at Limoges
for a distance of two miles.145 A scriptural basis, especially in the Book of
Revelation, for each of the occurrences could be listed. The last item, for exam-
ple, is based on Revelation 16:12, which states, The sixth angel emptied his
bowl over the great river Euphrates; all the water dried up so that a way was
made for for the kings of the East to come in. As a passage to set the stage for
the destroyer of the church of the Holy Sepulcher, al-Hakim, whom Ademar
calls Nebuchadnezzar, these words have an obvious meaning.146 Moreover, the
drying up of rivers or streams was included as one of the indications of the end
in a number of lists of the last things.147
Ademar follows this presentation in Chapter 46 of the turbulence in the
natural order with a description of a vision he had. As mentioned previously, a
great crucifix appeared in the southern sky and on it was the corpus of a weep-
ing Christ, an appropriate image bringing to mind Christ weeping over a
Jerusalem about to be destroyed.148 Here he weeps over the destruction by
al-Hakim of the church built where his earthly remains had rested. This vision
also heightens the apocalyptic imagery of the chapter because the appearance
of a Cross in the heavens was expected as a sign of the imminent return of
Christ in judgment.149

143 Ibid., pp. 19093.

144 Ademar, Chronicon 3.4647, pp. 16567. See also 3.58, p. 179, for comets resembling swords,
material preceding a description of the actions of the Manichaean heretics in Orlans,
3.59, p. 180.
145 Ibid., 3.46, pp. 16566.
146 See below.
147 See G.D. Caie, The Judgment Day Theme in Old English Poetry (Copenhagen, 1976), p. 243ff.
and Emmerson, Antichrist in the Middle Ages, p. 47.
148 Chronicon 3.46, pp. 16566. See above.
149 The eschatological tradition of the appearance of the cross before the Last Judgment is
very rich. See e.g. the references in the passage from the Pseudo-Methodius in McGinn,
144 chapter 6

Signs in the heavens and on earth of the approaching end are also found in
one of Ademars sermons in ms 2469. In this piece, set in Limoges shortly after
the dedication of the church of the Holy Saviour, where the remains of
St Martial resided, the apostle of Aquitaine tells St Peter that he was disturbed by
some individuals who had caused trouble at the translation of his remains dur-
ing the dedication. Wishing to show his displeasure and desiring to punish the
culprits, the saint decided to accompany St Peter to Rome. He would forsake
his home, which would find itself without its patron and protector usque ad
quinque annos namely, to the year 1033. Soon, a plague occurred throughout
Aquitaine. Although St Martial eventually relented, he did not do so before the
physical order was much disturbed.150
The turbulence in the world at the approach of the Antichrist will contrast
sharply with the peace after his destruction. In a passage in ms 1664, Ademar
comments on this peace, which will be seen in a tranquility in the physical
order.

And after the Antichrist there will be some peace and security, not a per-
fect peace but in comparison to the tribulation which will be under the
Antichrist it will seem a mitigation of the tribulation, a peace and secu-
rity. And while they will plant and build and eat and drink and marry, as
it occurred in the days of Noah and in the time of Lot, in that security as
a snare, there will suddenly come that final day of judgment on all who
reside on the face of the earth.151

Ademar does not comment on the duration of this period, but it would not
seem to be long.152

Visions of the End, p. 76, and in the Saltnair na Rann, in Caie, The Judgment Day Theme,
p. 243, in which Christ appears with a bloody cross for Judgment.
150 ms 2469, fol. 96v; Delisle, Manuscrits originaux, p. 294. I wish to thank Richard Landes
for reminding me of this episode.
151 ms 1664, fol. 114r. Et post Antichristum erit aliqua pax et securitas, non ut sit perfecta pax,
sed ad comparationem tribulationis quae erit sub Antichristo, illa mitigatio tribulationis
quasi pax et securitas videbitur; et dum plantabunt et aedificabunt, comedent et bibent
et uxores ducent, sicut factum est in diebus Noe et in diebus Loth, in illa securitate
tamquam laqueus repente veniet ille novissimus iuditii dies in omnes qui sedent super
faciem omnis terrae.
152 For an examination of the history of the concept of the period after the destruction of the
Antichrist, see R.E. Lerner, Refreshment of the Saints: The Time after Antichrist as a
Station for Earthly Progress in Medieval Thought, Tr 32 (1976), 97144.
Ademars Omega Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 145

The disturbances in the natural order bearing witness to the proximity of

the Antichrist will be matched by problems in the moral order. This point in
Ademars writings was a common motif in the Antichrist tradition from the
time of its origins in the early Church.153 Among his contemporaries it was
especially important in the sermons of Aelfric and Wulfstan in England and in
Glabers Histories.154
This upsetting of the moral order in Ademars writings is often caused by
individuals who are closely associated with the Antichrist. The material refers
to them as precursors or messengers of the Antichrist, or sometimes simply as
Antichrists. In the chronicle he mentions in several places these nuntii
Antichristi.155 In each instance Ademar refers to them as Manichaeans, a
designation commented on by a number of historians working on the rise of
popular heresy in the Middle Ages who point out that Ademar was one of the
first in the West, if not the very first, to use this designation for the newly
arrived heretics.156
If the apocalyptic element in the appearance of the heretics in the early 11th
century is evident in the chronicle, it appears many times in the sermons. One

153 Emmerson, Antichrist in the Middle Ages, especially pp. 5052.

154 Ibid., pp. 15254. Here Emmerson cites Aelfrics expectation of the great increase in evil in
the last days, which he believed would be soon. As for Wulfstan, he saw the evils of his
own day, e.g. the invasions of the Vikings and the sins of the English people, as signs of the
proximity of the Antichrist. See also Gatch, Preaching and Theology, especially pp. 7778
and 106. On p. 237, Gatch cites Wulfstan from the De Antichristo, And it seems to us that
it is extremely near to that time [when the Antichrist will come] because this world is
continually from day to day the longer the worse. For Glaber and the appearance of sin
and error before the End, see e.g. verses in 3, 9 (40), pp. 167 and 169. A thousand years after
the Lord was born on earth of a Virgin men are become prey to the gravest errorsSaints
are not honored nor the sacred worshipped. The sword, plague and famine [horsemen of
the Apocalypse] rage all about, and the impiety of men uncorrected spares no one. If
Gods great pity did not delay his wrath Hell would engulf them in its frightful mouth. It is
the sad quality of sin that the more one sins the less one fears to sin, and the less one sins
the more terrifying sin appears. Book 4 is filled with sin associated with the period pre-
ceding 1033, the millennium of the Passion, e.g. heresy, evil spirits loosed abroad on earth,
and cannibalism.
155 Ademar, Chronicon 3.49, p. 170, and 3.59, p. 180. One should note that in an earlier version
of the chronicle, published as an appendix to the Chavanon edition of the work, on
pp. 206 and 210 he did not call the heretics messengers of the Antichrist.
156 See e.g. J.B. Russell, Dissent and Reform in the Early Middle Ages (Berkeley, 1965), p. 35;
R.I. Moore, The Origins of European Dissent (London, 1977), pp. 9, 30, 16465, and 244;
Lambert, Medieval Heresy; and B. Stock, The Implications of Literacy, Written Language
and Models of Interpretation in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries (Princeton, 1983), pp. 97
and 116.
146 chapter 6

of the sermons commenting on the events preceding the Last Judgment states
that Satan will be freed, will enter the Antichrist, and with his messengers will
then wreak havoc in Christendom throughout the whole planet.157 Another
piece refers to the apostles at the first council in Jerusalem foreseeing the day
when Satans power would be loosed through the Antichrist and his messen-
gers the heretics, and that true Christianity would be shaken by their false dog-
mas.158 The same sermon later admonishes shunning these nuntii Antichristi,
even if they seem to work miracles.159
The most extraordinary passage in Ademars writings showing his certainty
of the proximity of the Antichrist is found in a sermon in ms 2469 in which he
is comparing the ability of St Martial and Elias the Prophet to revive the
dead.160 Reflecting on the miseries of his own time, he finds that the present is
far worse than the period when Martial first came to Aquitaine because deceit
waxes and truth wanes. Then, quoting Matthew 24:12 on the signs of the end,
he points to the flourishing of wickedness and the cooling of charity. Adulation
gains friends, while truth turns them away. He then cites the famous apocalyp-
tic second chapter of the second epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians on the
appearance of the Antichrist, the son of perdition, who lifts himself above all.
Poverty goes before him, and his followers proliferate without number. Few
support sane doctrine, for almost all turn to fables. Faith is lacking in almost

157 ms 1664, fol. 100r. Ipsum fortissimum Satanan, Christus in cruce mortuus in inferno liga-
vit, et in fine mundi solvetur a Domino ipse Satanas de carcere suo, et relinquetur in sua
virtute. Et per Antichristum in quem intrabit, et per nuntios Antichristi, pene totam
destruet et confundet Christianitatem Domini per universum orbem.
158 Ibid., fol. 71r. Praevidebunt enim per Spiritum Sanctum multas haereses aliquando per
totum orbem pullulandas, quae veram Christianitatem falsis dogmatibus conturbarent.
159 Ibid. Si vero ille hanc fidem in aliquo verbo contradixerit, sciant esse illum de nuntiis
Antichristi, et mox eiciant eum a se nullamque eis humanitatem impendant etiam si
viderint eum miracula facere.
160 ms 2469, fol. 67r. Cum nunc tempus pessimum sit, cum fallacia condensa succrescat,
veritas rarescat, immo ab iniquis terris caelum veritas repetat. Cum nunc abundare iniq-
uitatem, refrigescere caritatem [the last four words are a paraphrase of Mt. 24:12, a chap-
ter presenting Christ describing the signs before the Last Judgment see above] pene
ubique sciamus. Cum adulatio amicos, veritas odium pariat. Cum filii perditionis immi-
net adventus, qui adversabitur et extolletur super omnem quod dicitur Deus aut quod
colitur. (2 Thes. 2:34) Cuius faciem precedet egestas, cuius membra usquam locorum
sine numero pullulant. Cum sit iam tempus quo sanam doctrinam vix pauci sustinent,
cum pene omnes a veritate auditum avertunt, ad fabulas autem convertuntur. Cum fides
in omnibus pene deficiat, infidelitas vero cancer serpat. Cum multi iam sint reprobi circa
fidem, cum ipsi qui in fide stare videntur sint seipsos amantes, cupidi, elati, superbi
invidi, voluptatum amatores magis quam Dei. (2 Tim. 3:24).
Ademars Omega Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 147

everyone and infidelity spreads like a cancer. It is a miserable time, when many
have rejected the true faith and even those who seem to support it are and
here he draws on the list of the characteristics of the heretics of the last days as
listed by Paul in 2 Timothy 3:24 loving themselves, covetous, haughty, proud,
envious, and lovers of pleasure more than of God. This passage helps to explain
his references in the Chronicon and sermons to the heretics appearing in the
West as the nuntii Antichristi.161
It is not only Manichaean heretics, however, who give witness to the grow-
ing activity of the devil, but it is also other ministers of Satan that Ademar
and his contemporaries attack, namely the Jews and Moslems. The Jews were
closely associated in Ademars mind with the appearance of the heretics and
what he perceived to be the growing evils of his time.162 He blamed them for
Christs death on the Cross, although he acknowledges that it was through
them and the Cross that the devil was bound.163 In the Chronicon Ademar

161 See above. The passage also throws light on other references of the late 10th and early 11th
centuries to the appearance of the heretics and the proximity of the Antichrist and Last
Judgment, as at Arras, 1025, when Gerard of Cambrai, referring to the heretics used the
words of St Paul (1 Tim. 4:13), The Spirit has explicitly said that during the last times
there will be some who will desert the faith and choose to listen to deceitful spirits and
doctrines that come from devils; and the cause of this is the lies told by hypocrites whose
consciences are branded as though with a red-hot iron: they will say marriage is forbid-
den, and lay down rules about abstaining from foods which God created to be accepted
with thanksgiving by all who believe and who know the truth. (pl 142:1311). R.I. Moore
noted the appropriateness of this passage in The Origins of European Dissent, pp. 89, but
did not connect it with Ademars fears of the proximity of the Antichrist. See also Glabers
material in Historiarum, France ed., 2.12 (25), p. 93. In the East the Pseudo-Pselluss tract
on demons connects the appearance of the Bogomil heretics to the proximity of the
Antichrist (Gautier, ed., Chapter 6, pp. 14245).
162 See Callahan, Ademar of Chabannes, Millennial Fears, pp. 1935, and ibid., The Cross,
the Jews, pp. 1523.
163 ms 1664, fol. 102v. et ipse creavit caelos et terram et ipse gubernat et cuncta quae in
caelis et terra sunt glorificant et honorant eius sanctum nomen et ipse diabolus qui Deo
contrarius est et ipsi impii homines Judei, Sarraceni, pagani, haeretici qui Deo contrarii
sunt nichil amplius possunt agere nisi quantum permittit eis voluntas DeiNam sicut
tunc de Monte Oliveti descendit quando Judei immolaverunt ipsum agnum Dei in cruce
per invidiam, ita cotidie de altitudine misericordiae suae dignatur descendere, quan-
documque sacerdotes Christianorum ipsum verum agnum Dei immaculatum non per
invidiam sed per benignitatem et oeboedientiam voluntatis eius in altari in sancto immo-
lant etc. Also fol. 97v. Nam sicut est Dominus passus in cruce, ita cotidie passus est in
altare et patitur. Sed in cruce ab impiis Iudeis, in altari a sanctis et benignis sacerdotibus
passionem suscepit. Quia Iudei pro impietate Dominum crucifixerunt ut delerent nomen
eius de terra, sacerdotes pro pietate et oboedientia Dominum immolant, ut maior gloria
148 chapter 6

relates tales of the wickedness of the Jews as they mock the Cross in their syna-
gogues.164 The Jews suffer persecution, according to one of the sermons,
because Gods anger is on them, and for Christ they receive the Antichrist.165
Just as on the whole the depiction of the Jews in Ademars writings is very
negative, so is the picture given of the Moslems. The principal image associ-
ated with them is confusion and error.166 Under the guidance of Satan they are
adamant in their erroneous ways, which, nevertheless, the preaching of the
Catholic faith can correct because it is, as Ademar says, the destruction and
refutation of the Jews, Saracens, pagans, heretics, the Antichrist, the devil, and
all the forces of the inferno.167 Yet essentially the Moslems are deaf to the
Christian message. Their confusion and backwardness in his presentation are
very reminiscent of the depiction of the forces of Islam in The Song of Roland,
where they are a mirror image of the Christian feudal society, but inverted and
evil.168 A telling picture of this inversion is found in a passage in which Ademar
is discussing the kiss of peace in the Christian liturgy. He says that in a Saracen
religious service the analogous action would be the kissing of the anal open-
ing.169 Aron Gurevich nicely puts this action into its proper context in this

Dei appareat in mundo et omnis Ecclesia salvetur, sicut ipse Dominus ait, Qui manducat
carnem meam et bibit sanguinem meam, in me manet et ego in eo. (John 6:57).
164 Chronicon 3.52, p. 171.
165 ms 1664, fol. 91v. Iudei adhuc expectant incarnationem eius venturam, ideo quia propter
peccatum quo occiderunt Dominum nostrum excecati sunt, et ira Dei est super illos, et
pro Christo Antichristum recpient.
166 Ibid., especially the long sermon stretching between 83v and 96r.
167 Ibid., fol. 97r. In capite concilii, primum debetis audire de fide Catholica, quod est princi-
palitas et maior virtus nostra, et tocius Christiani imperii salus, et Iudeorum atque
Sarracenorum et paganorum et Antichristi et diaboli et inferni destructio et confusio.
168 On Western views of Islam, see R.W. Southern, Western Views of Islam (Cambridge, Eng.,
1960); N. Daniel, Islam and the West: The Making of an Image (Edinburgh, 1960); idem., The
Arabs and Medieval Europe, 2nd ed. (New York, 1979); D. Metlitski, The Matter of Araby in
Medieval England (New Haven, 1977); and B.Z. Kedar, Crusade and Mission: European
Approaches toward the Muslims (Princeton, 1984).
169 ms 1664, fol. 91r. Videte quia ipsi Sarraceni pro blasphemia sua in verum Deum recipiunt
in semetipsos dignam mercedem erroris sui. Sua quippe blasphemia tradit illos in repro-
bum sensum, ut faciant ea quae non conveniunt. Et sicut ait apostolus, Exardescunt in
concupiscentiis suis in invicem, absque verecundia masculi in masculos, (Rom. 1:27)
mulieres in mulieres quod turpe est nominare operantes, et cum bestiis abhominationes
faciunt, quia cum inhonore essent, cum a Christianis verum Deum cognovissent, non
sicut Deum glorificaverunt sed cum parati et commixti sunt iumentis insipientibus et
similes facti sunt illis. Et velocius pseudoapostolo suo quem ipsi Bafumetum vocant cre-
diderunt, quam non crederent alicui ex apostolis Christi si ad eos accessisset. Illorum
Ademars Omega Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 149

fashion, inversions of every sort in medieval literature (movement against

the suns course, reading prayers backwards, kissing the anus, etc.) were invari-
ably seen as the interference of evil. This was the way sorcerers, witches, here-
tics and even Satan himself behaved!170
If Ademar sees the growing threat of the aberrant behavior of the heretics,
Jews, and Moslems in this period as a manifestation of the increasing power of
the devil recently unloosed, so too were they signs of the proximity of Satans
chief minion, the Antichrist. But what of the Antichrist himself? What was the
nature of Ademars image and expectation of this figure? There is no detailed
portrait of the Antichrist such as one finds in Adsos work.171 Rather, there are
images very much like what one finds in the latters depiction.
Beyond Adso, Ademars single most important source on this figure may
have been St Jeromes Commentary on the Book of Daniel, a work so fundamen-
tal for the early medieval conception of the Antichrist and a work which he
copied in the early part of ms 1664.172 The marginalia being considered are
attached to Jeromes commentary on Daniel, a work Richard Emmerson has
called the major source for the medieval portrayal of the Antichrist as a
great tyrant.173 Six marginal indicators, saying only antichristo in Ademars
hand, require further attention because they mark some of the principal pas-
sages on the Antichrist in the text and because they supply important norms
for determining who among his contemporaries might be viewed as the
Antichrist or one of the lesser antichrists.174
The first marker, on folio 47r, is attached to Jeromes comments on Daniel 7,
which treats the four beasts, symbols of the great world powers of Babylon,

pseudoapostolus quem porci devoraverunt pro digno mercede erroris sui, sicut ipse
inmundus fuit sicut omnis gens Sarracenorum inmunda semper est et in coeno flagitio-
rum voluntata, illis haec inmundam legem predicavit, quam ipsi observant. Unusquisque
eorum plures uxores simul habet. Et tam turpe sacrificium faciunt, ut numquam permit-
tant Christianis videre ne ipsos derideamus praenimia confusione. Et sicut in verum
Deum qui vera pax est non credunt, ita alter alteri numquam dat osculum pacis. Neque
caelabo vobis quod verum est sed turpissimum, quia in suo sacrificio omnes sacerdotem
suum osculantur non in alia parte membrorum sed retro in fundamento stercoris.
170 A. Gurevich, Medieval Popular Culture: Problems of Belief and Perception, trans. J. Bak and
P. Hollingsworth, tr. (Cambridge, Eng., 1988), p. 48.
171 Adso Dervensis, De ortu et tempore.
172 This tract, together with the preceding commentaries of Bede on the Acts of the Apostles
and the book of Revelation, is found on the first sixty folios of the volume and constitutes
one-third of the entire manuscript. Also see above, Chapter 2, and earlier in this chapter.
173 Emmerson, Antichrist in the Middle Ages, p. 44.
174 The hand and the ink appear to be the same as that found in the commentary itself.
150 chapter 6

Persia, Greece, and Rome. The last beast is a terrifying creature with great iron
teeth and ten horns. Verse 8 states,

As I was gazing at the horns, another horn, a small one, sprouted up

among them; and three of the previous horns were uprooted before it. In
this horn there were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking
arrogantly.175

Jerome in his commentary states that at the end of the world, when the king-
dom of the Romans is to be destroyed there will be ten kings who will divide
the Roman world up among themselves. An eleventh will appear and defeat
three of the ten kings, namely those of Egypt, Africa, and Ethiopia. The seven
remaining kings will then surrender. Jerome states that the triumphant figure
will not be the devil or a demon but, and this is the line next to which Ademar
places his indicator unum de hominibus in quo totus Satanas habiturus est
corporaliter (one from men in whom Satan will wholly dwell).176
Earlier in this portion of the commentary Jerome had identified the last
horn as Antiochus Epiphanes, often viewed in the Middle Ages as the principal
type of the Antichrist.177 This king of Syria between 175 and 163b.c., who plays
so prominent a role in 1 and 2 Maccabees as a persecutor of the Jews and defiler
of the Temple in Jerusalem, is a central figure in Jeromes commentary on
Daniel.178 It is the eleventh chapter of the book of Daniel that contains much
of this material on Antiochus, and, not surprisingly, it is Jeromes comments on
this chapter that serve as the locus classicus for the images of the Antichrist.
Ademars remaining five indicators are placed next to this material and are
central for his concept of the Antichrist.
The first (fol. 53v) is to the commentary for verse 21, There will then arise in
the latters [i.e. Seleucus, brother of Antiochus Epiphanes] place one
[Antiochus] who had been spurned and upon whom the royal insignia had not
been conferred. He will slip in suddenly and seize the kingdom. The marginal
indicator is placed next to Jeromes statement that it is Antiochus who is meant

175 Hartman and Di Lella, The Book of Daniel, pp. 20203.

176 For this passage from Jerome on Daniel, see Commentariorum in Danielem, Libri iii (iv),
p. 844. All future citations are from this volume.
177 Emmerson, Antichrist in the Middle Ages p. 28.
178 Ibid. He states, Jeromes commentary on Daniel, however, is probably the main source of
the popularity of Antiochus as a type of the Antichrist. See also J.N.D. Kelly, Jerome: His
Life, Writings and Controversies (London, 1975), pp. 30002.
Ademars Omega Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 151

and that he is a type of the Antichrist.179 He is also seen as a type of the

Antichrist in his persecution of the Jews and the violation of the Temple.180
The lowly origin of Antiochus also makes him a type of the Antichrist who,
Jerome continues in his commentary on the verse, will at the end of the world
arise from the Jews.181
The second notation for Chapter 11 is to verses 28b30a.

His mind [that of Antiochus] will be set against the holy covenant, as he
passes through and returns home. A year later he will again invade the
south, but the second invasion will not be like the first one. When ships
of the Kittim [Romans] come against him, he will lose heart and retreat.

Ademar again places his margin indicator next to Jeromes text on Antiochus
as a type of the Antichrist in his persecution of the people of God.182 Verses
3135 of Daniel present the desecration of the Temple by Antiochus and his
persecution of the people of Jerusalem. Jerome in his comments on these
verses writes of the desecration of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Antichrist
who seeks to make himself a god there and the suffering he causes to the peo-
ple of God.183
Verses 34 and 35 contain the next noted material. They state,

179 Jerome, pp. 91415. ille interpretatur super persona Antiochi qui cognominatus
Epiphanesnostri autem haec omnia de Antichristo prophetari arbitrantur qui ultimo
tempore futurus estp. 915 cumque multa, quae postea lecturi et exposituri sumus, super
[the ms has sub] Antiochi persona conveniant, typum eum volunt fuisse Antichristi, et
quae in illo ex parte praecesserint, in Antichristo ex toto esse complenda.
180 Ibid. Sicut igitur Salvator habet et Salomonem et ceteros sanctos in typum adventus sui,
sic et Antichristus pessimum regem Antichum, qui sanctos persecutus est templumque
violavit, recte typum sui habuisse credendus est.
181 Ibid., p. 917. quod in fine mundi haec sit facturus Antichristus, qui consurgere habet de
modica gente, id est de populo Judaeorum, et tam humilis erit atque despectus, ut ei non
detur honor regius This is a theme to which Jerome will later return in his comments
on Dan. 11:2526, where he will also say that the Antichrist will come from Babylon.
182 Ibid., p. 920. De Antichristo nullus ambigit quin pugnaturus sit adversus testamentum
sanctum et primum contra regem Aegypti dimicans, Romanorum pro eis auxilio terreatur
[the ms after Aegypti has on fol. 54r dimicatur, et Romanorum auxilio timore eius ter-
reatur]; haec autem sub Antiocho Epiphane in imaginem praecesserunt: ut rex scelera-
tissimus qui persecutus est populum Dei, praefiguret Antichristum qui Christi populum
persecuturus est.
183 Ibid., pp. 92223.
152 chapter 6

When, however, they are tested, they will receive a little help, although
many will join them insincerely. Some of those who act wisely will be
tested to refine, cleanse and purify them, until the time of the final phase,
for there is still the present appointed period.

Jerome takes these words and applies them to the suffering that will occur
under the Antichrist, an agony that will last until the victory that will take
place at the appearance of Christ.184 He indicates that this time of suffering
will be a period of testing and cites 1 Corinthians 11:19, which reads, For there
must be also heresies: that they also who are approved may be manifest among
you. Only after the testing, which will also include confusion over the identity
of the Antichrist, will the real Christ come.185
The picture of the Antichrist becomes more fully fleshed out with Ademars
fourth notation in Chapter 11 (fol. 55r). Verses 40 and 41a read,

In the time of the final phase the king of the south will come to grips with
him. But the king of the north will sweep over him like a whirlwind with
chariots and cavalry and many ships, invading lands and passing through
them like a flood. As he comes into the lovely land, myriads will be tested.

Again, the theme of testing is accentuated. Jerome writes that the passage is
said to refer to Antiochus, but he sees it also applying to the Antichrist, who
will fight against Egypt and defeat Libya and Ethiopia, one horn overcoming
three. Then he will come into Israel and many cities and provinces will fall to
him.186
The last marginal indicator (fol. 55r) is attached to Jeromes commentary on
the final verses, 44 and 45, of this chapter. The book of Daniel states,

184 Ibid., p. 924. The note stands at this text, Sub Antichristo parvum auxilium nostri intellegi
volunt: quia congregati sancti resistent ei ut utentur auxilio parvulo, et postea eruditis
corruent plurimi; et hoc fiet ut, quasi in fornace, conflentur et eligantur et dealbentur
donec veniat tempus praefinitum, quia vera victoria in adventu Christi erit.
185 Ibid. et applicabuntur illis gentilium plurimi non in veritate sed in mendacio pro
idolorum enim cultu eis simulabunt amicitias , et haec facient: Ut qui probati sunt
manifesti fiant (1 Cor. 11:19), tempus enim verae salutis eorum aut auxilii sibi futurum esse
Christum quem falso sperant esse venturum, cum sint recepturi Antichristum.
186 Ibid., p. 929. Nostri autem, ad Antichristum et ista referentes [the last three words are
omitted in the ms] dicunt: quod primum pugnaturus sit contra regem austri, id est
Aegyptum, et postea Libyas et Aethiopas superaturus quae de decem cornibus tria con-
trita cornua supra legimus et, quia venturus sit in terram Israel, et multae ei vel urbes vel
provinciae daturae manus.
Ademars Omega Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 153

But as news from the east and the north alarms him [Antiochus], he will
set out with great fury to completely exterminate many. Yet when he has
pitched his palatial tents between the Sea and the lovely mountain, he
will come to his end, with none to help him.

Jerome explains the Antichrist reference by pointing to the defeat of the

Egyptians, Libyans, and Ethiopians, and to the journey the Antichrist will then
make to Jerusalem, where he will go to the top of the Mount of Olives. It is here,
where Christ ascended into heaven, that he will perish.187 The reference to
Jerusalem, and especially to the Mount of Olives, surely had a very special
importance to Ademar, who was about to set forth for the Holy Land.188
Although there is much additional material on the Antichrist in Chapter 12,
especially on Michael the Archangel and the significance of the 1290 days in
the Antichrist legend, Ademar does not place any more Antichristo markers in
the margins. The six that he does place, however, offer an important indication
of some of the features he thought were important in the depiction of the
Antichrist. To summarize the six points, he saw the Antichrist as a person in
whom Satan would take up residence; as having Antiochus Epiphanes as a
type; as a persecutor of the people of God; as presiding over a time of testing
during which the heretics would be present; as ruling over Egypt; Libya, and
Ethiopia, and attacking Israel; and as finally meeting his end on the Mount of
Olives. Many of these same aspects from Jeromes commentary are evident in
the depictions of the Antichrist in such other 10th- or early 11th-century writers
as Adso of Montierender, Odo of Cluny, Abbo of Fleury, Aelfric, Wulfstan, and
Rodulfus Glaber.189

187 Ibid., p. 933. Nostri [the ms inserts autem] extremum visionis [the ms inserts huius]
capitulum super Antichristo sic exponunt: quod, pugnans contra Aegyptios Libyasque et
Aethiopas, et tria cornua de decem cornibus conterens, auditurus sit de aquilonis et ori-
entis [the ms has orientibus] partibus adversum se bella consurgere; quod, veniens cum
magna multitudine ut conterat et interficiat plurimos, figet tabernaculum suum in
Apedno iuxta Nicopolim, quae prius Emmaus vocabaturdenique, inde se rigens [the ms
has erigens] usque ad montem Oliveti, Hierosolymorum regio ascenditurEt asserunt:
ibi Antichristum esse periturum, unde Dominus ascendit ad caelos. The length of this
material makes complete citation impossible. See pp. 93135 for much additional infor-
mation on the Antichrists last victories and his destruction on the Mount of Olives.
188 The significance of the Mount of Olives to Ademar at that particular time in his life has
been the object of a number of my articles published during the past two decades, as is
evident in the bibliography.
189 On the importance of the contributions of these writers to the Antichrist tradition, see
Emmersons and McGinns studies of the Antichrist.
154 chapter 6

Without question, the most Antichrist-like individual in any of Ademars

writings is the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim (9961021), who in 1009 destroyed the
church of the Holy Sepulcher.190 Most of Chapter 47 of book 3 of the Chronicon
is given over to recounting the wicked deeds of this figure, whom Ademar calls
Nabuchodonosor Babiloniae. The parallels with Jeromes Antichrist in his com-
mentary on Daniel are many and obvious. In this chapter Ademar relates that
Hakim was supposedly persuaded to act against the Christians by letters from
the Jews in the West that said that European armies were about to attack.191 He
sought to forcibly convert Christians to Islamic beliefs and also attacked the
Christian rites. Eventually this rex Babilonius was defeated and captured by the
Arabs. Ademar continues that he who has risen up against God was eviscer-
ated. His stomach was then filled with rocks, and his body, weighted with lead
about the neck, was thrown into the sea.192
The identification of al-Hakim with Nebuchadnezzar is particularly inter-
esting and important. In the Middle Ages, as Penelope Doob has so clearly
demonstrated, Nebuchadnezzar was the type of the devil and sometimes iden-
tified with the Antichrist.193 David Bernstein in his provocative book on the
Bayeux Tapestry shows the importance of the Nebuchadnezzar image in the
depiction of William the Conqueror. Bernstein mentions that the image was
already well known in England, as is evident in Aelfrics identification of this
ruler of Babylon with the devil, and the city itself as a symbol of hell or
confusion.194
Another point that connects Hakim with the Antichrist was that he ruled
from Cairo, which was called Babylon in the medieval West.195 Also, he ruled
an area that from a limited Western perspective might have been seen to

190 See above, Chapter 2. One of the best brief surveys on Hakim and his importance is
M. Canard, Al-Hakim, in The Encyclopedia of Islam, eds. B. Lewis et al. (London, 1971), vol. 3,
pp. 7682. On the destruction of the church of the Holy Sepulcher, idem., La destruction
de lglise, pp. 1643. For longer and more recent works, J. van Ess, Chiliastische
Erwartungen und die Versuchung der Gttlichkeit. Der islamischen Welt im frheren 11.
Jahrhundert (Vienna, 1981) and Betts, The Druze.
191 Chronicon 3.47, p. 166. Compare with similar material in Glaber, Historiarum, France ed.,
3.7 (24), pp. 13237.
192 See the comments of Wolff, How the News was brought, pp. 14446.
193 P. Doob, Nebuchadnezzars Children: Conventions of Madness in Middle English Literature
(New Haven, 1974), p. 63.
194 D. Bernstein, The Mystery of the Bayeux Tapestry (London, 1986), p. 184.
195 The idea that Hakim sprang from Babylon, as would the Antichrist, very much contrib-
uted to the use of Nebuchadnezzar imagery. Jay Rubenstein in his Armies of Heaven: The
First Crusade and the Quest for Apocalypse (New York, 2011), makes a similar point in the
Ademars Omega Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 155

include Egypt, Libya, and Ethiopia, and was attacking Jerusalem, or at least a
portion of the holy city.196 One can make the case that many in the West in the
early 11th century must have seen Hakim as the Antichrist, as is clear in the
Histories of Rodulfus Glaber and in Ademars Chronicon. The last manuscripts
of Ademar, however, do not refer to Hakim, and they indicate that the monk of
Angoulme was still awaiting the Antichrist. From that later perspective al-
Hakim must be viewed as only Antichrist-like, comparable to the heretics, one
of those whom Ademar styled as antichrists. His increasing preoccupation
with the proximity of the end makes an awareness of the presence of anti-
christs readily understandable. A good example is found in one of his longest
sermons in ms 1664, in which he states, See, oh priests of the true God, how
much you ought to be zealous for the Catholic faith against all heretics, anti-
christs and pseudoapostles197 The concept of multiple antichrists, so closely
identified in the early Church and later in the Middle Ages with the last days
and with the presence of heretics, stems in substantial part from 1 John 2:18,
which Ademar quotes in ms 2469, folio 75r, Children, these are the last days;
you were told that an Antichrist must come, and now several have already
appeared; we know from this that these are the last days.198
It is clear from Ademars writings, therefore, that he believed that his own
day was the time of the Antichrist and that the Last Judgment would soon take
place. The appearance of the Bogomil heretics in the West as the messengers
of the Antichrist and the actions of such antichrists as al-Hakim confirmed his
fears. Moreover, heretics were expected because scripture and tradition said
they would appear at this time. Ademar would have agreed with Glabers state-
ment about the heretic Vilgard and the rise of heresy in the late 10th century.

chapter about Ascalon on the apostolic significance of identifying Cairo in Egypt with
Babylon.
196 Compare with the material from Jerome on Daniel as presented above.
197 ms 1664, fol. 90v. Videte, o sacerdotes veri Dei, quantum zelare debetis pro Catholica fide
contra omnes haereticos, antichristos et pseudoapostolos
198 The idea of multiple antichrists was one Ademar used to attack his principal opponent in
the controversy over the apostolicity of St Martial. Benedict of Chiusa became a very per-
sonal antichrist and is so named in a number of places in the manuscripts, especially in
the open letter in support of the new apostle. See e.g. pl 141:90, 93, 94, 97, 103, and 109, and
in ms 2469, fol. 12r. He is also specifically connected with the devil both in appearance
(a scaly dragon-like neck) and as an instrument, as Belitonium, through whose mouth the
devil sounds. His diabolical ties are also evident in ms 2469, fol. 75r, when Ademar charges
that whoever challenges the apostolicity of Martial is in league with the devil. Moreover,
Benedict is called a heretic misrepresenting the Christian order in the open letter in pl
141:103 and 105.
156 chapter 6

All this accords with the prophecy of St. John, who said that the devil would be
freed after a thousand years (Rev. 20:23)199
The intense apocalyptic atmosphere in Ademars writings, especially in the
Berlin manuscript, clearly reflects his sense of the proximity of the heav-
enly Jerusalem and the time when heaven will come down to earth. The
heavenly Jerusalem will replace the earthly, but first must come the Last
Judgment. Ademar presents several descriptions of the Last Judgment in ms
1664. One of the first occurs in the discussion of the segment of the Apostles
Creed that he will come again to judge the living and the dead.200 Here is a
lengthy presentation of Christ in majesty judging those who have already died
and those still alive.201 And it is important to note that the quote from Acts
occurs on the Mount of Olives!
Ademar extends these Last Judgment images in the same sermon in his
comments on the eleventh distinction, the resurrection of the body.202 He
develops these images even further in his presentation of the final distinction,
Life everlasting, in which he considers the New Jerusalem, which will follow
the Last Judgment, and draws on Revelation 21:13, albeit not directly quoting
it. The imagery quite effectively develops the theme of eternal existence.203

199 Glaber, Historiarum, France, ed., 2.12 (23), pp. 9293.

200 ms 1664, fol. 74r.
201 Ibid. In the sixth distinction, Tunc enim ad vocem Filii Dei omnes mortui resurgent et
iudicabantur. Nam vidi ad iuditium pro conditione carnis morientur sed in momento
resurgent, sicut ait apostolus. Ipse Dominus in voce archangeli et in tuba Dei descendet
de caelo et mortui qui in Christo sunt resurgent primi. Deinde nos qui vivimus qui relin-
quimur simul rapiemur cum illis in nubibus obviam Christi in aera. Aliam intelligentiam
cum ista habete. Vivos et mortuos, hoc est iustos et impios iudicabit Christus. Sicut enim
est vivus ad mortuum ac iustius ad impium. Quia iustus Deum habet qui est vera vita,
impius Deum non habet et ideo vitam non habet. Veniet autem Dominus iudicare sicut
duo angeli in hora ascensionis eius dixerunt apostolis, His Ihesus qui assumptus est a
vobis in caelum, sic veniet quemadmodum vidistis eum euntem in caelum. [Acts 1:11]
Ergo nostra credulitas est quia ipse Deus et homo Dei filius sicut cum hominibus conver-
satus est in mundo sicut numquam fuit aliquando sine Patre, ita veniet in gloria maiesta-
tis suae cum angelis et archangelis omnes homines iustos et impios iudicare et reddere
unicuique secundum opera sua.
202 Ibid., fol. 77v. Credimus quia sicut Dominus Ihesus Christus resurrexit tercia die in ea
cruce mortuus est, ita est nos in die iudicii in ipsa carne in qua nunc vivemus movemur et
sumus absque dubio resurgemus
203 Ibid. Ita vita non est longa sed aeternaIlla vita est quam saecula saeculorum cotidie in
gloria patri et in orationum fine commemoratis dicentes per omnia saeculorum amen.
Illa vita est inmortalia saecula saeculorum cuncta saecula sempiterna saecula et saecu-
lum saeculi sicut ait propheta, Iustitia eius manet in saeculum saeculi, hoc est in vita
Ademars Omega Perspective on Jerusalem and the Cross 157

In still another sermon in ms 1664, Ademar returns to the theme of the Last
Judgment in the context of a consideration of the Eucharist. Christ comes at
the end of the world for the Last Judgment.204 And St Martial will be there for
Aquitaine.205
The importance of St Martial at the Last Judgment appears in several other
places in Ademars sermons. The position of the apostles on thrones at the Last
Judgment is found in scripture in Matthew 19:28, Jesus said to him [Peter],
I tell you solemnly, when all is made new and the Son of Man sits on his throne
of glory, you will yourselves sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of
Israel. Also, one reads in Luke 22:29-30, And now I confer a kingdom on you,
just as my Father conferred one on me: you will eat and drink at my table in my
kingdom, and you will sit on thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.206 He
refers in the open letter to Martial at the Last Judgment presenting all of Gaul
to Christ.207 In the sermons in ms 2469, Ademar in one place has Martial sit-
ting in judgment over the resurrected of Aquitaine; in another he presents to
Christ at the Last Judgment the people of Aquitaine as the fruit of his labor;
and in still a third in that collection Martial is remembered as one who rescued
the people of Aquitaine from the snares of the devil and thus will present his
people to Christ at the Last Judgment.208 As for the fact that there were only

sempiterna. (Psalm 111, 9) Pro hac vita aeterna apostoli maxime mortuos resuscitabant ut
gentes quae nesciebant alteram vitam praeter istam dum mortuos revocarivi dissent de
morte absque dubitatione crederent aliam esse vitam in qua animae illorum mortuorum
manebant ad quam de corporibus abierant de qua ad corpora revertebantur.
204 Ibid., fol. 108r. By his resurrection will arise in die ultimo in ipsa carne et sanguine et
ossibus quibus nunc sumus cuius ascensione gloriam aeternam in caelis habebimur.
205 Ibid., fol. 108v. Apostolus Petrus a nobis specialius praedicandus est cuius instinctu et
hortatu et parentela Marcialis talem gratiam a Domino accepit ut vere sit apostolus et in
canonicis scripturis non dicatur si tamen verum eius testimonium quod usque in mundi
finem a gentibus Aquitanicis recitatur et confirmatur.
206 The book of Revelation often mentions the thrones in heaven for the twenty-four elders.
See A. Feuillet, The Twenty-Four Elders of the Apocalypse, in his Johannine Studies
(Staten Island, 1965), pp. 183214.
207 pl 141:106C.
208 ms 2469, fol. 19v. Sic in die ultimo sanctorum multitudo ex Aquitania et Gallia orta,
ibique sepulta, ibique resurrectura, illi palmam gratiae, caput gloriae post Christum ref-
eret, quem primum suae salutis cognovit praedicatorem quemque posteri praedicatores
Aquitaniae et Galliae secuti, et usque in finem secuturi sunt in augmentione filiorum Dei.
Quamcumque enim provintiarum quisque apostolorum primus praedicare coepit, in
regeneratione cum sederit Christus in sede maiestatis suae, super eam provintiam erit,
quia in ea et pro ea remunerationem gloriae et palmam honoris a rege salvatore nostro
Deo percipiet. Later one finds in the same manuscript on fol. 25v, Venerabilis profecto
158 chapter 6

thrones for twelve apostles in the gospel passages, Ademar uses Bedes com-
mentary on Revelation, which explains the twenty-four thrones mentioned in
that work as evidence that there were more than twelve thrones for the apos-
tles in heaven.209 In several places in ms 1664, in addition to the passage cited
on on folio 108v, Martial sits on one of the twenty-four thrones at the Last
Judgment, presiding over Aquitaine and Gaul.210 It should hardly be surprising
that the growing intensity of Ademars apocalyptic perspective would eventu-
ally result in his joining the many pilgrims going to Jerusalem in 1033, where he
would be present for the return of Christ and the Last Judgment, when he
could expect his apostle to be by his side.

haec est domus Dei, inquam, ille Marcialis qui Domini apostolus egregius est tumulariam
cernitur habere sepulturam, expectans ibi regenerationem futuram quando sedebit filius
hominis in sede maiestatis suae, quando qui eum secuti sunt sedebunt super sedes xii,
iudicantes xii tribus Israel. Quando non solum xii tribus Israel, sed etiam omnes gentes
orbis terrarum iudicabuntur, quando non soli xii viri, sed etiam quique perfecti sancti de
mundo iudicabunt. Quando idem discipulus Domini Marcialis, cum ceteris discipulis
Domini Domini gloriosus apparebit, quando in illo eximio apostolorum choro, unus ex
illis ille gloriosus apostolus iudicariam sedem optinebit. Quando ille portans manipulum
suum, Aquitaniam provintiam fructum laborum suorum, in conspectu summi iudicis
praesentabit, offerans oblata Christo super quae principatum adquirit ab illo. And later
still in this manuscript on fol. 36v, one finds, Nam et lex Aquitanis maxime perpetua
constare semper solita est, ut Marciali singuli pro capite suo dent redemptionem, ut aver-
tatur ab eis ira Dei. Quippe cum per eum ipsa regio tirannidem mortis evasit, et liberta-
tem perpetuae vitae invenit, recte a servitute diaboli libera necesse est, post Deum serviat
proprio principi, a quo presentanda est Deo in die iudicii, cuius patrocinio est protegenda
sub umbra alarum misericordiae Christi.
209 For Bedes commentary, pl 93:143. On the twenty-four thrones, also ms 2469, 72r and
33rv.
210 ms 1664, e.g. 71v, 102v, and 111r.
 chapter 7

Ademars Own Pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1033

andHis Death

And so Ademar himself became a pilgrim to Jerusalem in 1033. How he went,

the route taken, when precisely he set forth, and what he encountered on the
journey and in the Holy City are unknown. What we do know from the gener-
ally accurate Bernard Itier in his 13th-century chronicle of Saint-Martial is that
Ademar travelled to Jerusalem and died there in 1034.1 The chronicler then
goes on to describe Ademars apocalyptic vision of Christ on a blood red Cross
in the heavens, a vision Ademar presented in his own chronicle and which thus
connects the manifestation to Ademars pilgrimage.2 Itier may have drawn on
a note inserted later in the 11th century as an addition to Ademars lists of bish-
ops of Limoges in the Leiden manuscript on folio 141v.3

This is the book of our most holy lord Martial of Limoges, from the books
of the grammarian Ademar of good memory. For after he had spent many
years in the service of the Lord and also in the monastic order in the mon-
astery of the same father, he set forth to Jerusalem to the tomb of the Lord
nor did he return from there. He left many books on which he had labored
to his pastor and provider (i.e. Martial) among which this is one.4

That this man who was not a traveller rarely leaving either the monastery of
Saint-Martial or his principal home of Saint-Cybard, as is surely attested by the
large number of manuscripts he wrote in his twenty-five to thirty years in those
houses should decide in 1033 to depart for Jerusalem merits close examination,

1 Dupls-Agier, Chroniques de Saint-Martial, p. 47. Anno gracie mxxxiiii, obiit Ademarus

monachus, qui jussit fieri vitam sancti Marcialis cum litteris aureis, et multos alios libros, et
in Jherusalem migravit ad Christum. (fol. 36r).
2 See above, Chapter 2.
3 Ibid.
4 Leiden, Voss. 8 15, fol. 141v. Hic est liber sanctissimi domini nostri Marcialis Lemovicensis, ex
libris bonae memoriae Ademari grammatici. Nam postquam idem multos annos peregit in
Domini servicio ac simul in monachico ordine in eiusdem patris coenobio, profecturus
Hierusalem ad sepulchrum Domini nec inde reversurus, multos libros in quibus sudaverat
eidem suo pastori ac nutritori reliquit, ex quibus hic est unus. See Landes, Relics, p. 279, note
39, and p. 358, fig.9, for a picture of this note.

koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 6|doi 10.1163/9789004313682_008

160 chapter 7

especially in the light of the apocalyptic fears so manifest in his final writings.
He was one of the many that Ralph Glaber presents as departing for Jerusalem
at this moment. At that time an innumerable multitude of people from the
whole world, greater than any man could have hoped to see, began to travel to
the Sepulchre of the Saviour at Jerusalem.5 One might argue, as so many have,
that Glaber cannot be wholly trusted because he uses the 1033 millennial per-
spective in shaping his fourth chapter, but it is clear that much in the chapter is
accurate reporting and that, even though the flood of pilgrims may not have
been exactly in the year 1033, an increasing number were leaving for the Holy
Land at this time.6 One might say that with the many reports from the returning
pilgrims in Aquitaine or the descriptions of the Holy City by such figures as
Symeon of Trier, it was virtually inevitable that Ademar himself would eventu-
ally go. Moreover, his departure in 1033 should hardly be surprising. Rather, it
would have been surprising if he had not set forth in this millennial year.
It is very clear that the attacks by such figures as Benedict of Chiusa on
Ademars leadership of the campaign for the recognition of the apostolicity of
St Martial likely also prompted Ademars departure. Not only does the depic-
tion of Benedict in the open letter as a scurrilous foe even the Antichrist
bear witness to the growing pressure Ademar was under, but his need to further
defend himself and his patron Martial by concocting additional support, such
as the false papal letter of John xix, surely made Ademars life increasingly
difficult.7
Readily evident throughout the last writings in this state of mental turmoil
is Ademars seeking both in the physical and the moral orders signs of the
apocalyptic return of Christ to the Mount of Olives. As is clear in material pre-
sented earlier in this book, he had no difficulty finding them in each realm, be
they such physical manifestations as the fire sickness or the winter bolt of
lightning that killed a fellow monk in Angoulme in 1032, or, in the moral order,
the appearance of the Manichaean heretics, the Bogomils, who figured so
prominently in his writings as antichrists.8
The final confirming sign in 1033 appeared in the heavens when a solar
eclipse occurred early that summer. Many claimed to see a human head in the

5 Glaber, Histories 4.6.18, pp. 19899. Per idem tempus ex universo orbe tam innumerabilis
multitudo cepit confluere ad sepulchrum Salvatoris Iherosolimis quantam nullus hominum
prius sperare poterat. On this material, see above, Chapter 1.
6 On the accuracy and interests of Glaber, see the introductory notes in the Histories by
J. France, especially pp. xxiixxiii and lxiiilxx.
7 See above, Chapter 2.
8 See above, Chapters 5 and 6.
Ademars Own Pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1033 andHis Death 161

darkened sun, something which Ademar admits he could not distinguish.9

This manifestation is recorded in a marginal note, possibly his last such report
before departure.10 Glaber in his Histories also reports the phenomenon in this
fashion,

In the same year, a thousand after the Lords passion, on Friday, 29 June,
the twenty-eighth day of the lunar month [of June], there occurred a ter-
rible event, an eclipse or obscuring of the sun from the sixth to the eighth
hour. Now the sun itself took on the colour of sapphire, and in its upper
part it looked like the moon in its last quarter. Each saw his neighbour
looking pale as though unto death, everything seemed to be bathed in a
saffron vapour. Then extreme fear and terror gripped the hearts of men,
for they understood that this omen portended some dreadful affliction
which would fall upon mankind.11

For Ademar, as for so many others, the heavens were telling him to travel to
Jerusalem to be present there at the end times.12
Yet, of course, this would only have been a final confirming sign. Ademars
last writings are filled with evidence that Jerusalem and the Cross, be they
earthly or heavenly, were central in his mind and that he was seeking such
signs. One example is an insertion in ms 1664 that he made to Bedes commen-
tary on the book of Revelation. That he had made a number of amendments
earlier in this manuscript to Bedes commentary on the Acts of the Apostles in
support of the apostolicity of Martial is clear evidence of Ademars willingness
to create false authority.13 His insertions into the commentary on Revelation
occur after what Bede had written about Chapter 20:13,

9 Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, ms Vat. lat. 1332, fol. 43v.
10 On this material, see I. dOnofrio, Excerpta isagogarium et categoriarum, cccm 120
(Turnhout, 1995), especially xlviiilvi and lxxxvixcv.
11 Glaber, Histories 4.9.24, pp. 21011. Anno igitur eodem, dominice passionis milesimo, die
tercio kalendarum Iuliarum, sexta feria, luna vicesima octava, facta est eclypsis seu del-
iquium solis ab hora eiusdem diei sexta usque in octavam nimium terribilis. Nam sol ipse
factus est saphirini coloris, gerens in superiori parte speciem lune a sua reilluminatione
quarte. Intuitus hominum in alterutrum velut mortuorum pallor conspiciebatur, res vero
quecumque sub aere croci coloris esse cernebantur. Tunc corda humani generis stupor ac
pavor tenuit inmensus, quoniam illud intuentes intelligebant portendere quiddam fore
superventure cladis humano generi triste.
12 Glaber goes on to comment on the evils in the world presaged by this sign in the heavens,
such as an attempt to kill the pope and sundry other acts of wickedness, this terrible
tendency to evil that ensued.
13 On these insertions, Callahan, Ademar of Chabannes and His Insertions, pp. 385400.
162 chapter 7

1. Then I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding in his hand the
key of the bottomless pit and a great chain. 2. And he seized the dragon,
the ancient serpent, who is the devil and the Satan, and bound him for a
thousand years, 3. and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it
over him, that he should not deceive the nations anymore, till the thou-
sand years were ended. After that he is destined to be loosed for a little
while.14

Bede wrote extensively on these verses and it was into this commentary that
Ademar inserted his material, which clearly bears witness to his fixation on the
last days occurring in 1033. It also should be noted that he did not make such
insertions in his earlier copy of Bede on Revelation, now found in Leiden,
Vossianus Oct. 15, folios 63r-79v. The first, and longest, insertion that Ademar
makes occurs after Bedes comments on verse 2, And he bound him for 1000
years. Bede wrote, It said 1000 years, that is the remaining 1000 years, the sixth
day in which the Lord was born and suffered.15 Ademar then adds, in a script
that at points has become almost illegible,

That is many years, as many as there will be from the birth and the pas-
sion of the Lord up to the birth and the kingdom of the Antichrist, which
number of years is soon. Only he knows the day who to his disciples said,
It is not for you to know the time or moments which the Father has put
in his own power. (Acts 1:7) And again, Concerning that day and hour no
one knows, not the angels in heaven (Matt. 24:36).16

Ademar then writes, in place of the concluding words of the verse but the
Father alone the following, neither the Son, except the Father and the
Holy Spirit who were perfect since there is one God, Father, Son and Holy
Spirit.17 He continues,

14 Revelation, trans. J.M. Ford, in The Anchor Bible (New York, 1975), p. 329.
15 pl 93:191, Mille annos dixit partem, id est, reliquias mille annorum sexti diei in quo natus
est Dominus et passus.
16 ms 1664, 33r. qi (?) multos annos ut (?) quot fuerint a nativitate et passione Domini usque
ad nativitatem et regnum Antichristi que numerum mox(?) annorum(?). Solus diem
novit qui discipulis suis dixit, non vestrum, nosse tempora vel momenta quas Pater
potuit in sua potestate. (Acts 1:7) Et item. De die illa et hora nemo scit negue angeli caelo-
rum (Matt. 24:36).
17 Ibid. neque Filius nisi Pater et Spiritus Sancti perfecto essent quia unius Dei caus (?)
Pater et Filius et Spiritus Sanctus.
Ademars Own Pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1033 andHis Death 163

But therefore he said that he alone knows since he was unwilling to tell
the disciples. For he knows the last day of the Son, but he said he denied
to reveal to any creature the prophecy. The last day is in my heart. It is
right that only the Triune God should know this. Therefore, they should
desist who say by numbering they know the coming of the Antichrist
when rather they ought to say they do not know.18

The second addition Ademar makes to Bedes commentary on these first three
verses of Chapter 20 of Revelation occurs after 20:3, But after these things [i.e.
being bound for 1000 years] he must be released for a little while. Bede wrote,

Then he will be freed, as St. Augustine said, when also it will be a brief
time (for it is read that for three and a half years he will rage with all men
and their own) and such will be with whom he will fight that they cannot
overcome to such force and snares. If, however, he is never released, his
malign power will seem less, the most faithful endurance of the holy city
will prove less and finally it will be seen that the Almighty God will use
him for good rather than his great evil.19

Here Ademar inserts,

However the full number of years, how so many long, from the nativity
and passion of the Lord up to the kingdom of the Antichrist at the end of
time dr [?], as the apostle said, We are those upon whom the ends of the
ages have arrived. (1 Cor. 10:11) And again John, Little children, it is the
last hour. (1 John 2:18), that is the time from the appearance of the Lord
to the kingdom of the Antichrist [1 John 2:18 in its entirety is even more
appropriate as a reflection of Ademars mind. Little children, it is the last
hour, as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many

18 Ibid. Sed ideo dixit noscere se quia noluit discipulis idem manifestare vi scirene (?).
Quod etiam Fili ultimum diem sciat sed reserare cuiquam creaturae renuat ipse prophe-
tam. Dies ultimis in corde meo. Dignum autem est ut hoc idem sola Trinitas Deus noverit.
Ergo desistant quidam qui numerando dicunt se nosse Antichristi adventum cum potius
putent se scire quod nesciunt.
19 Bede, Expositio, pl 93:191. Tunc solvetur, ut sanctus Augustinus ait, quando et breve tem-
pus erit (nam tribus semis annis legitur suorumque viribus saeviturus), et tales erunt cum
quibus belligerandam est, ut vinci tanto eius impetu insidiisque non possint. Si autem
nunquam solveretur, minus appareret ejus maligna potentia, minus sanctae civitatis fide-
lissima patientia probaretur, minus denique prospiceretur quam magno malo ejus tam
bene usus fuerit omnipotens Deus.
164 chapter 7

antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.] And this
time itself is the sixth age of the world.20

Into Bedes comments on the next four verses of Revelation 20 (i.e. 47),
Ademar inserts ten more brief comments on the material again, additions
that reveal his turbulent state of mind. These four verses from Revelation are:

4. Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom judgment
was given; also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their
testimony about Jesus and for the Word of God, and whosoever had not
worshipped the beast nor its images and had not received its mark on
their foreheads or on their hands; and they came to life, and reigned with
the Anointed One for a thousand years. 5. The rest of the dead did not
come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first
resurrection. 6. Blessed and holy is he who shares in the first resurrection;
over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God
and of the Anointed One and they shall reign with him for the thousand
years. 7. And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be
released from his prison.

To Bedes comment on verse 4, Which in those thousand years,21 Ademar

inserts, that is in this time.22 When Bede continues, In which the devil was
bound,23 Ademar adds, from the birth of the Lord up to the birth of the
Antichrist.24 Bede in commenting on the passage Whosoever had not wor-
shipped the beast etc. wrote, We ought to receive from the living and the
dead who either to this point living in that mortal flesh or reigning dead with
Christ, now at which appropriate time, through this whole period which is sig-
nified by 1000 years,25 to which Ademar adds, As you will, it may extend from

20 ms 1664, 33r. Totus autem numerus annorum quamlibet prolixus a nativitate et passione
Domini usque ad regnum Antichristi finis saeculorum dr(?) sicut apostolus ait, Nos
sumus in quos fines saeculorum devenerunt. (1 Cor. 10:11) Et item Johannes, Filioli, novis-
sima hora est (1 John 2:18), id est tempus ab adventu Domini usque ad regnum Antichristi.
Et ipsum tempus sexta est aetas saeculi.
21 Ibid. Quid in istis mille annis
22 Ibid. id est hoc tempore
23 Ibid. quibus diabolus ligatus est
24 Ibid. a nativitate Domini usque ad nativitatem Antichristi
25 Ibid. Simul de vivis et mortuis debemus accipere. Qui sive adhuc in ista mortali carne,
viventes, sive defuncti regnant, jam nunc modo quodam tempori huic congruo, per totum
hoc intervallum quod numero mille significatur annorum.
Ademars Own Pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1033 andHis Death 165

the birth of Christ up to the Antichrist about to be born or the final day of
Judgment.26
The next insertion occurs after Bedes comment on the passage in 20:5 The
rest of the dead did not come to life until the 1000 years were completed. Bede
begins, Whoever,27 to which Ademar adds, through these 1000 years, this is.28
Bede continues, this whole time,29 to which Ademar appends, more widely
extended beyond 1000 years.30 Bede states, to whom the first resurrection is
done, that is of the souls, they do not hear the voice of the Son of God31
The final insertions occur in Bedes commentary on 20:6, And they shall
reign with him for 1000 years, and 20:7, And when the 1000 years are com-
pleted etc. Bede wrote, The Spirit presented, when he wrote this, that the
Church will reign for 1000 years.32 Ademar then inserted, through more fur-
ther than the 1000 years from the birth of Christ.33 Bede continues, up to the
end of the world whence one may doubt. For the perpetual kingdom it is
clear.34 As for the completion of the 1000 years of 20:7, Bede begins, With the
completion,35 to which Ademar immediately adds, 1000 years.36 Bede con-
tinues, he spoke a part from the whole because,37 to which Ademar inserts,
From the nativity of Christ up to the judgment there will be a number of more
than 1000 years known by the Lord alone.38 As for verse 7 with the 1000 years
completed and the loosing of Satan, Bede wrote, Thus he will be loosed,39 at
which Ademar inserts, Satan from his prison. It says that the 1000 years were
wholly consumed.40 Bede continues, Three and one half years of the greatest
struggle would occur. But furthermore this is rightly seen as a trope for the end

26 Ibid. quamlibet prolixum sit temporis a Christo nato usque ad Antichristum nascitu-
rum vel ultimum iudicii diem.
27 Ibid. 33v. Quicunque
28 Ibid. per hos mille annos, hoc est
29 Ibid. toto isto tempore
30 Ibid. prolixiore ultra mille annos
31 Ibid. quo agitur prima resurrectio, id est animarum, non audierunt vocem Filii Dei
32 Ibid. Retulit Spiritus, cum haec scriberet, regnaturam Ecclesiam mille annos, id est
33 Ibid. per plures ultra mille annos a Christi nativitate
34 Ibid. usque ad finem mundi, unde posset dubitari. De perpetuo enim regno manifes-
tum est.
35 Ibid. Consummatos
36 Ibid. mille anni
37 Ibid. dixit a toto partem nam
38 Ibid. de Christi nativitate usque ad iuditium numerus plusquam millenarius annorum
erit soli Domino noto
39 Ibid. Sic solvetur
40 Ibid. Satanas de carcere suo. Consummati mille anni dixit a toto parte
166 chapter 7

of time.41 To which Ademar appends, Though unknown and unending to us,

however to the Lord alone who knows all and before they were made, it is both
known and finite.42
All of these insertions bear witness to Ademars obsession at this point in
his life with the end times. As he makes clear, the exact time for Christs reap-
pearance is known only to God, but that he is about to come is evident in all of
the signs of the last days. The exact moment is not known, but this is the time,
as he said in one of the insertions.
And so he leaves, but not before saying farewell several times in his manu-
scripts. The first appears, fittingly, in St Pauls farewell to his flock in Macedonia
and Asia Minor when he goes to Jerusalem to meet his destiny. That Ademar
should use the Pauline farewell is especially fitting, not only because he would
be following the great apostle to Jerusalem, but even more because of the per-
sonal importance of Paul to Ademar, especially evident in these final writings
but also because St Paul was so significant for his warnings against the
Antichrist, particularly in 2 Thessalonians 2:311.43 Moreover, as he states in
the introduction to these verses, they are to be read at a formal church synod,
the format he uses throughout the latter part of ms 1664.44
The Pauline valediction in Acts 20:1638 clearly resonated with Ademar in a
most powerful fashion, readily evident in the following verse-by-verse com-
mentary. Verse 16 states, Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he
might not be delayed in the province of Asia; for he was in a hurry to be in
Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.45 The reference to Pentecost
should have made Ademar think of his own apostle, St Martial, and his pres-
ence in Jerusalem for the appearance of the Holy Spirit even before St Paul was
on the scene.

41 Ibid. ut supersint anni tres et menses sex novissimi certamini. Sed praeter hunc tro-
pum recte dicitur finitum tempus
42 Ibid. per ignoto et infinito ad huc nobis, soli autem Domino qui novit omnia et ante-
quam fiant, et noto et finito.
43 Emmerson, Antichrist in the Middle Ages, p. 38; McGinn, Antichrist, pp. 4145. On the
Pauline farewell, also see my essay in the memorial collection for Richard Sullivan,
pp. 7180.
44 ms 1664, 124r. Incipit lectio Actuum Apostolorum in sinodo recitanda.
45 Ibid., v. 16. In diebus illis proposuerat Paulus apostolus transnavigare Ephesum, nequa
mora illi fieret in Asia. Festinabat enim, si possibile sibi esset, ut diem Pentecostes faceret
Hierosolimis. The translation for these verses is taken from Johannes Muck, trans. and
ed., revised by W.F. Albright and C.S. Mann, The Anchor Bible: The Acts of the Apostles
(New York, 1967), pp. 198205.
Ademars Own Pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1033 andHis Death 167

Ademar would have especially seen the pertinence of the words that Paul
then uttered to the elders of the church of Ephesus v. 18. You know what my
way of life has been among you always, from the first day I came into the prov-
ince of Asia, 19. serving the Lord in humility, with tears and trials which I suf-
fered from the persecution of the Jews because they also reflect the trials of
his last years in Aquitaine, defending the apostolicity of St Martial and warning
all of the proximity of the Antichrist and of the presence of his minions the
heretics, Muslims, and Jews.46 Paul then continues in verses 20 and 21, I did
not shrink from preaching to you and telling you of all that is good, publicly
and privately, 21. bearing witness both to Jews and to Greeks that they should
turn to God in repentance and believe in our Lord Jesus.47 Again, the parallel
to Ademar is obvious as he sought to correct his heretical opponents, espe-
cially the Manichaean Bogomils.
Verses 2224 would have been particularly resonant.

22. And now, listen carefully: compelled by the Spirit I am about to travel
to Jerusalem, without knowing what will happen to me there, 23. except
this, that in every city the Holy Spirit bears witness to me and says that
chains and tribulations await me. 24. Yet I consider my life not worth
mentioning, if only I may complete my allotted span and the ministry
I received from the Lord Jesus, that is, of bearing witness to the gospel of
Gods grace.48

So too is Ademar about to travel to Jerusalem and unsure what will happen to
him there, albeit he will be awaiting the return of Christ to the Mount of Olives.
He would see himself going forth like Paul in humility at the command of the
Spirit.
It is verse 25, however, that undoubtedly expresses his feelings of the
moment most tellingly. 25. Now listen closely to what I say: I know that you

46 Ibid, vv. 1819. Vos scitis a prima die qua ingressus sum in Asiam, qualiter vobiscum per
omne tempus fuerim, serviens Domino cum omni humilitate et lacrimis et temptationi-
bus, quae mihi acciderunt ex insidiis Judaeorum.
47 Ibid., vv. 2021. Quomodo nichil subtraxerim utilium, quominus adnuntiarem vobis et
docerem vos publice et per domos, testificans Iudeis atque gentilibus in Deum poeniten-
tiam et fidem in Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum.
48 Ibid., vv. 2224. Et nunc ecce alligatus ego in Spiritu, vado in Hierusalem, quae in ea
ventura sint mihi ignorans. Nisi quod Spiritus Sanctus per omnes civitates protestatur
mihi dicens, quoniam vincula et tribulationes me manent. Sed nichil horum vereor neque
facio animam meam precisorem quam me. Dummodo consummem cursum meum et
ministerium quod accepi a Domino Jesu testificari Evangelium gratiae Dei.
168 chapter 7

will not see my face again, you among whom I travelled preaching the
kingdom.49 It is highly likely that Ademar did not expect to return from
Jerusalem. Like so many other pilgrims to the Holy Land at that time, as Glaber
describes, the expectation was to die in Jerusalem witnessing the return of the
Savior and the final days.50 Verses 2628 also bear witness to this feeling of
completion, triumph, and accomplishment.

26. Therefore I declare to you this day that I am free from any mans blood,
27. for I did not shrink from preaching to you the whole will of God. 28.
Look to yourselves and to the whole flock, of which the Holy Spirit has
made you overseers, to guard the church of God, which he has won for
himself by the blood of his own (Son).51

Verses 2930 would also have had special meaning to a warrior against heresy:
29. I know that after my departure savage wolves will force their way in among
you, and they will not spare the flock. 30. Even among you men will arise who
will distort the truth to win over the disciples.52 Having done battle with
Benedict of Chiusa and other opponents of the apostolicity of St Martial and
not having been especially successful in his own defense, he could be certain
that the attacks would continue after his departure. Also, the heretics would
carry on in their mission to convince Ademars contemporaries south of the
Loire of the correctness of their version of Christianity and certainly would not
disappear until, of course, the Last Judgment.
This same idea is made even more forcefully in verse 31: Be on your guard
therefore, remembering that for three years I never ceased, night or day, to
warn each one of you with tears.53 Thus, Paul, who played so important a role
in defining for Ademar the danger of the Antichrist and the three-year period
of his reign, underlines this danger again for an individual who saw Benedict
of Chiusa as a personal Antichrist and the many heretics of his time as

49 Ibid., v. 25. Et nunc ecce ego scio quia amplius non videbitis faciem meam vos omnes, per
quos transivi praedicans regnum Dei.
50 See Chapter 1 above.
51 ms 1664, 124r, vv. 2628. Quapropter contestor vos hodierna die, quia mundus sum a
sanguine omnium. Non enim subterfugi, quominus adnuntiarem omne consilium Dei
vobis. Adtendite vobis, et universo gregi, in quo vos Spiritus Sanctus posuit episcopos
regere ecclesiam Dei, quam adquisivit sanguine suo.
52 Ibid., vv. 2930. Ego scio quoniam intrabunt post discessionem meam lupi rapaces in vos,
non parcentes gregi. Et ex vobis viri loquentes perversa, ut abducant discipulos post se.
53 Ibid., v. 31. Propter quod vigilate memoria retinentes, quoniam per triennium nocte et die
non cessavi, cum lacrimis monens unumquemque vestrum.
Ademars Own Pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1033 andHis Death 169

antichrists.54 They would not disappear immediately when Ademar went to

Jerusalem to await the appearance of Christ. But clearly for him their days were
numbered!
The next four verses would also have had a special meaning for Ademar as
he prepared to leave.

32. Now I commit you to the Lord and to the word of his grace, which is
able to build up and grant the reward of inheritance to all who are sancti-
fied. 33. Of no one have I asked silver, gold, or clothing. 34. You know your-
selves that these hands have earned what was needful for me and for
those who were with me. 35. I have shown you in every way that one
ought to work like this, and so help those who have not the necessary
strength, and that you should remember the words of the Lord Jesus, It is
more blessed to give than to receive. (part of the oral tradition, although
not in the gospels).55

It is particularly verse 33 with which Ademar would have identified, still smart-
ing over Benedict of Chiusas charge that Ademar was promoting the cult of
St Martial to increase donations.56 The overall tone of personal satisfaction
and achievement would also have pleased an individual who was wrapping up
his lifes work and not expecting to return.
The farewell concludes in a manner that would also have pleased Ademar.

36. And when he had said this, he knelt down with them all and prayed.
37. But they all broke into weeping. They embraced Paul and kissed him,
38. distressed most of all by his saying that they would not see his face
again. They went with him to the ship.57

54 See above.
55 ms 1664, 124r, vv. 3235. Et nunc commendo vos Deo, et verbo gratiae ipsius, qui potens
est aedificare, et dare haereditatem in sanctificatis omnibus. Argentum aut aurum, aut
vestem nullius concupivi. Ipsi scitis, quoniam ad ea, quae mihi opus erant, et his, qui
mecum sunt, ministraverunt manus istae. Omnia ostendi vobis, quoniam sic laborantes,
oportet suscipere infirmos, ac meminisse verbi Domini Jesu, quoniam ipse dixit, Beatius
est magis dare quam accipere.
56 See above.
57 ms 1664, 124r, vv. 3638. Et cum haec dixisset, positis genibus suis cum omnibus illis
oravit. Magnus autem fletus factus est omnium, et procumbentes super collum Pauli,
osculabantur eum. Dolentes maxime in verbo, quod dixerat, quoniam amplius faciem
eius non essent visuri, et deducebant eum ad navem.
170 chapter 7

The final verse in particular must have been very meaningful to Ademar, whose
face would not again be seen in Aquitaine. It should hardly be surprising,
therefore, that the Pauline farewell was viewed by Ademar in its entirety as so
appropriate for his last writings.
Ademar also copied Bedes appendix to his commentary on Acts that is,
the names of regions and places found in Acts.58 One should not wonder,
moreover, that someone about to set forth on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem would
be interested in such geographical sites, especially those visited by Paul on his
way to the Holy Land. And when one recalls Ademars insertions into Bedes
commentary on the Apocalypse and the Martial insertions into Bedes com-
mentary on Acts, it is surprising that Ademar did not significantly change such
listings as Jerusalem or the Mount of Olives in this work.59 The only insertions
made and one cannot be certain that they were Ademars handiwork are
etymological additions into some of the place names, insertions possibly
drawn from books 14 and 15 of Isidore of Sevilles Etymologies for example,
after Babylon is immediately found confusio (16r), and after Syria is inter-
pretatur sublimis (17r).
If the Pauline farewell served Ademar well as a departure message to fellow
monks in Aquitaine, another scripture text resonated even more and inspired
him to respond to it in what certainly were among his last writings before
departure. It is a kind of meditation on the concluding verses of the final chap-
ter of Revelation and is a fitting conclusion for one so apocalyptically obsessed
as Ademar, one expecting soon to meet Christ in Jerusalem on the Mount of
Olives. Revelation 22:16:

I, Jesus, have sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches.
I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star. 17.
The Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let him who hears say,
Come.20. He who testifies to these things says, Yes, I am coming
soon. Amen, come, Lord Jesus. 21. May the grace of the Lord be with
everyone.60

Ademar responds to Let him who hears say Come in a prayer now found in
a manuscript in the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections of the
Princeton University Libraries in Garrett ms 115, folio 57v, in the hurried script

58 Ibid., 15v17v.
59 See above.
60 Ford, Revelation, p. 422.
Ademars Own Pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1033 andHis Death 171

of the late Ademar writings, so like what one sees in the Berlin ms 1664.61 The
prayer states:

Come, therefore, invisible Lord, and bless this sacrifice prepared for you.
Come, ineffable one, who blessed Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Come; bless
the holocaust because it was prepared for you. Come, admirable piety,
confirm this work which you did among us. Come; grant your clemency.
Come; confirm your priests. Come, eternal King, come and guard your
kingdom, our sacrifice, our priesthood. Come, Lord ruler, come; remove
the people from error. Come, Lord Saviour of the world, come; save the
sailors; heal the sick. Come, most pious Father, come and recall the cap-
tives, make pilgrims return to their fatherland. Come, who for us placed
your hands on the Cross. Come; guard the penitent. Come, who from the
Cross promised paradise to the thief. Come; preserve your priests and the
integrity of virgins which you guarded from the beginning. Come; free
your servants and handmaids from the snares of our enemies. Come,
Lord, who on the third day arose from the dead. Come and hear the holy
prayers of your saints for us. Come, who ascended to heaven and walked
over the wings of the winds. Come, who aroused Lazarus after three days.
Come and show what hands you heal; cure where there is sickness; recall
what is in doubt and confirm and conserve by perseverance what is
wholein the faith. Come that whenever we take this holocaust, it may be
a renewal for us by you in the kingdom of heaven. Come; we unworthy
invite you to bless this sacrifice. Come; we invite you, oh Lord, that by
your body and blood our hearts may rejoice. Come, oh Lord, that in your
glory by your praise by that prayer our minds may exult with all the
angels, archangels and with your saints. Come, oh Lord, if we are unwor-
thy may the paternal Lord lack anger toward us that we may not die
before you are merciful, we ask through Christ.62

61 On this manuscript, see A. Betg-Brzetz, Note sur un manuscrit dAdhmar de

Chabannes, bsahl 106 (1979), 6064. I wish to express my gratitude to Richard Landes for
calling this manuscript to my attention.
62 Oremus, vere dignum, veni, igitur, domine invisibilis, et benedic sacrificium preparatum
tibi. Veni, ineffabilis, qui benedixisti Abraham, Isaac et Jacob. Veni; benedic olochaustum
quia tibi preparatum est. Veni, admirabilis pietas, confirma hoc opus quod operatus es in
nobis. Veni; larga clementia tua. Veni; confirma sacerdotes tuos. Veni, aeterne rex, veni et
custodi regnum tuum, sacrificium nostrum, sacerdotium nostrum. Veni, domine domina-
tor, veni; corripe gentes ab errore. Veni, domine salvator mundi, veni; salva navigantes;
sana aegrotos. Veni, piissime pater, veni et revoca captivos; reverti fac peregrinos ad
patriam suam. Veni, qui pro nobis manus in cruce posuisti. Veni; custodi penitentes. Veni,
172 chapter 7

This prayer of Ademars can be considered in a number of ways. One is to see

it, especially in its initial lines, as a trope on the offeratory prayer of the Mass,
Come, O Sanctifier, Almighty and Eternal God, and bless this sacrifice pre-
pared for the glory of your holy name.63 Here, one is preparing for the return
of Christ to the altar for the reenactment of his sacrifice, a return which also
prefigures his Second Coming. Again, later in the prayer, the theme of the ser-
vice of the Mass as holocaust, sacrifice, and body and blood reappear, thus
making the Eucharistic element central.
Still another apocalyptic sense is evident in a High Mass in which the offera-
tory prayer takes place immediately before the incensing of the altar, an action
that also occurs in the incensing of the golden altar before the Throne in the
heavenly Jerusalem by the angel with a golden censer at the opening of the
seventh seal (Rev. 8:35).64 Parallels to sacrifices in the Temple of the earthly
Jerusalem in the Old Testament are also evident.65 In this fashion the heavenly
and the earthly Jerusalems are clearly joined, as surely as was the conjunction
in Ademars mind at this moment in time when he thought, or was hoping,
heaven was about to come down to earth.
Another way of viewing Ademars farewell prayer is to see how its material
fits into his final writings, particularly the Berlin manuscript. Just as ms 1664 is
filled with material on heresy in the final days as the products of the Antichrist
and his minions the antichrists, so does Ademar pray that the people be

qui latroni de cruce paradisum promisisti. Veni; conserva sacerdotes tuos et integritatem
virginum quam custodisti ab initio. Veni; libera famulos et famulas tuas de faucibus inimi-
corum nostrorum. Veni, domine, qui tercia die resurrexisti a mortuis. Veni et exaudi ora-
tiones pro nobis sanctas sanctorum tuorum. Veni, qui ad caelos ascendisti super pennas
ventorum ambulasti. Veni, qui Lazarum quam triduanum resuscitasti. Veni et ostende
quas medicas manus; quod infirmum est cura; et quod dubium revoca; et quod integrum
fide perseverantia confirma et conserva. Veni ut quandocumque sumpserimus olochaus-
tum, a te nobis reparetur in regno caelorum. Veni; invitamus te ad hoc sacrificium benedi-
cendum indigni. Veni; invitamus te, domine, ut de corpore et sanguine tuo corda nostra
laetificentur. Veni, domine, ut de tua gloria de tua laude de ista oratione mentes nostrae
exultent cum omnibus angelis et archangelis et sanctis tuis. Veni, domine, et si sumus
indigni, nobis, domine paterno, iras caris, ne moriamur prius quam miserearis, rogamus
per Christum. On this text, see also my article When Heaven Came Down to Earth: The
Family of St. Martial of Limoges and the Terrors of the Year 1000, in Portraits of Medieval
and Renaissance Living: Essays in Memory of David Herlihy, eds. S. Cohn and S. Epstein
(Ann Arbor, 1996), 24558.
63 Veni, Sanctificator omnipotens aeterne Deus: et benedic hoc sacrificium tuo sancto
nomini praeparatum.
64 Rev. 8:35.
65 See in particular Exod. 30 on the central importance of the altar of incense.
Ademars Own Pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1033 andHis Death 173

removed from error (corripe gentes ab errore).66 He asks to preserve what is

whole in the faith (quod integrum fide perseverantia confirma et conserva)
and that he deliver his servants and handmaids from the jaws of our enemies
(libera famulos et famulas tuas de faucibus inimicorum nostrorum). Also, as
in the final writings, he continues his celebration of the Cross in the references
to Christ placing his hands on the Cross for us (qui pro nobis manus in Cruce
posuisti) and from the Cross promising paradise to the thief (qui latroni de
cruce paradisum promisisti).
Still another way of seeing that the prayer is Ademars and is appropriate for
the moment of departure is to examine how it reflects the mind of a neophyte
pilgrim to the Holy Land about to travel a great distance into the unknown. He
asks that sailors be saved (salva navigantes), so appropriate from one who has
heard from returning pilgrims about the dangers of the high seas. In the same
vein is the plea for recalling captives (revoca captivos), especially one recall-
ing the dangers from pirates or Muslim persecuters, such as al-Hakim.67 Since
many pilgrims were going forth as penitents, Ademar asks that they be pro-
tected (custodi penitentes). The one request that seems somewhat out of
place is to have pilgrims return to their homelands (reverti fac peregrinos ad
patriam suam), appropriate for all pilgrims except those about to go to
Jerusalem to meet the returning Christ, unless patriam this time for Ademar
means the heavenly Jerusalem.
Yet the most obvious and likely explanation for the formulation of Ademars
prayer is that he is responding to Christs request in verse 17 of Revelation 22,
The spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let him who hears say, Come. Indeed
let him that is thirsty come Or in the penultimate verse of Revelation, verse 20,
Amen, come, Lord Jesus. To make sure he is heard or to demonstrate clearly
that he is eagerly awaiting the return of Christ, he says Come twenty-nine
times. His intense desire for the Second Coming and his own departure for
Jerusalem surely also include an understanding of the source of the passage in
Revelation, namely Isaiah 2:25, although the whole chapter is filled with
images of the end times.

2. And in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be
prepared, on the top of mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills:
and all nations shall flow unto it. 3. And many people shall go and say:
Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of
the God of Jacob: and he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his

66 See Chapter 6 above.

67 Ibid.
174 chapter 7

paths. For the law shall come forth from Sion: and the word of the Lord
from Jerusalem. 4. And he shall judge the Gentiles and rebuke many
people: and they shall turn their swords into ploughshares and their
spears into sickles. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation: neither
shall they be exercised any more to war. 5. O house of Jacob, come ye: and
let us walk in the light of the Lord.68

His final prayer, then, with its incessant calling of come, is filled with apoca-
lyptic expectation. Thus, it should hardly have been surprising that Ademar
was one of the many swept up in the mass movement to Jerusalem that Glaber
so vividly described.69 Any hesitancy he may have had about the time of
Christs return seems to have disappeared, and so he went forth to await the
Second Coming on the Mount of Olives.70
It seems highly appropriate, therefore, that one of his final pieces, in some
ways the capstone of the apocalyptic collection that is ms 1664, should have
been a letter from the pilgrim monks of the Mount of Olives, the place to which
Christ was about to COME and to which Ademar was travelling. Morever, it is
an epistle that was not written in the 9th century to Pope Leo iii and
Charlemagne but was likely composed by Ademar himself.71
In his article on the manuscripts of Ademar, Leopold Delisle was able to
show that the letter from the pilgrim monks of the Mount of Olives was found
in the missing final six folios of ms 1664, together with a letter of Pope Leo iii
to Charlemagne and a symbol or Creed of orthodoxy, also from Pope Leo. These
three pieces combined seemed to have appeared together first in this manu-
script.72 Dom Bernard Capelle was able to demonstrate that the symbol of Leo
was actually taken from the conclusion of Alcuins De fide sanctae et individuae

68 A very similarly worded passage appears in Mic. 4:15. The final two verses, Mic. 4:45, are
different and read, 4. And every man shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and
there shall be none to make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken.
5. And all people will walk every one in the name of his god: but we will walk in the name
of the Lord our God for ever and ever.
69 See Chapter 1 above.
70 On this hesitancy on when Christ would return, see my piece Jerusalem in the Monastic
Imaginations, esp. pp. 12427.
71 My first consideration of this piece was in my 1992 Revue Bndictine The Problem of the
Filioque. My subsequent studies of Ademar and his writings have only convinced me to
a greater extent that he was the author of the piece.
72 Delisle, Manuscrits originaux, pp. 27276. See also my piece The Problem of the
Filioque, pp. 9293.
Ademars Own Pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1033 andHis Death 175

Trinitatis.73 With the emphasis on orthodoxy in ms 1664, the forgery was thus
likely the work of Ademar, as was the letter from the pilgrim monks. The brief
piece from Pope Leo to Charlemagne mentioning the letter from the pilgrim
monks and the symbol of faith the pope sent them likely put the idea into
Ademars head to replace the missing documents.74 The Royal Annals would
have supplied Ademar with additional information about the Filioque prob-
lem and that Eastern monks would have heard the Filioque in the Creed at
Charlemagnes court.75 But it is the letter from the pilgrim monks that alone
supplies the information on what occurred in Jerusalem over the issue.76
In the letter one finds this appeal to Pope Leo iii from the congregation of
the Mount of Olives, who were charged with being heretics by a certain John, a
monk of the Eastern house of St Sabas.77 The purported writer Leo emphasizes
the great dignity of the pope in the most fulsome terms, such as addressing
him in the introduction as supreme pontiff of the universal apostolic see of
the city of Rome,78 as having an authority exalted by the Lord over all
priests and having a see over all sees of Christians,79 and then as called by
Christ Peter the Rock (Matt. 16:18).80 The writer also emphasizes that he and
his fellow monks of the Mount of Olives are pilgrims and are prostrate in tears,
praying for the pope night and day, for they love no man more.81

73 B. Capelle, Le Pape Lon iii et le Filioque, in 10541954. Lglise et les glises. tudes et
travaux offerts Dom L. Beauduin, (Chevetogne, 1954), vol. 1, pp. 30922. See also my com-
ments in The Problem of the Filioque, pp. 8990.
74 For this papal letter, mgh Epistolarum Tomus V, Karolini Aevi iii, Epistolae selectae pontifi-
cum Romanorum Carolo Magno et Ludowico Pio regnantibus scriptur, 2nd ed., ed.
K. Hampe (Leipzig, 1974), pp. 6667. See my comments in The Problem of the Filioque,
p. 88, especially note 56, in which I point out that the letter concludes in a manner like
that in ten other letters Pope Leo sent to Charlemagne after 800, thus strengthening the
case for the authenticity of this papal document.
75 This material was very familiar to Ademar, as is evident in the first two books of his
Chronicon.
76 One cannot help but wonder if Ademar wishes to join the pilgrim monks of the Mount of
Olives in their profession of orthodoxy as a response to the charges of Benedict of Chiusa.
77 Again, the charges of heresy against the monks of the Mount of Olives and against
Ademar make his interest in this Carolingian development evident.
78 Callahan, The Problem of the Filioque, p. 131. Summo Pontifici et Universali Papae
Sedis Sanctae Apostolicae Urbis Romae
79 Ibid., te dignatus est Dominus exaltare super omnes sacerdotes, et exaltata est sedes
tua super omnes sedes Christianorum
80 Ibid., suo ore dignatus est Christus dicere, Tu es Petrus etc. (Matthew 16:18).
81 Ibid., Benignissime pater, nos, qui sumus hic in sancta civitate Hierusalem peregrini,
ullum hominem super terra non amamus plus quam vos, et in quantum valemus, in istis
176 chapter 7

The monk John says that the monks of the Mount of Olives are heretics and,
in fact, all Franks are heretics.82 The pilgrim monks responded by telling John
to be silent because if he calls them heretics, so he does he thus call the Holy
See.83 The charges are repeated in an encounter between the opponents on
Christmas Day in Bethlehem, where John said that the books that the pilgrim
monks were using were also heretical.84 Leo then tells the pope that the
Western monks would not be intimidated and driven out, because Here we
wish to die.85
Later in Jerusalem, on Calvary at the tomb of the Lord the issue again arises
and is spelled out in greater detail, in particular the way that the Franks were
reciting the Creed into which they are inserting the Filioque, the Holy Spirit
coming from the Father and the Son. The Westerners again strongly align
themselves with the pope in stating that we believe as the Holy Roman Church
does86 The monk John repeats that the Jerusalem monks are heretics,
whereupon Leo states to the audience assembled there that they should not
listen to John because he speaks heresy of the throne of blessed Peter.87 The
letter goes on to say that the monks of the Mount of Olives anathematize all
heresy and all who speak heresy of the Roman apostolic see.88
Leo then reminds the pope that although the monks of the Mount of Olives
are far from Rome, they are still his sheep.89 To you has been given the whole

sanctis locis pro vobis die noctuque Domino fundimus preces, prostrati omnes servi tui
super terram cum lacrimis. Here also is evident the parallel to Ademars seeking papal
support for an orthodox position and his composing a papal letter in defense of the apos-
tolicity of St Martial.
82 Ibid., Franci, qui sunt in Monte Oliveti, haeretici sunt. Et dixit nobis, Quia omnes
Franci haeretici estis.
83 Ibid., Et nos ei dicimus, Frater, sile! Quodsi nos dicis haereticos, de sede sancta apostol-
ica dicis haeresim. One cannot help but note the similarity to the confrontation between
Ademar and Benedict of Chiusa.
84 Ibid., 132. haeretici estis; et libri, quos habetis, haeretici sunt.
85 Ibid., Non enim potuerunt nos foras eicere. Diximus omnes, Hic volumus mori; nam
foras nos non eicietis. These words, of course, were also very appropriate for 1033.
86 Ibid., sic credimus sicut sancta ecclesia Romana
87 Ibid., Unde dicit iste Joannes, inimicus animae suae, propter hunc sermonem, eo quod
haeretici simus. Quos Hierosolymitas rogavimus, dicentes, `Nolite audire hunc hominem,
nec dicatis de nobis haereses. Quodsi nos dicitis haereticos, de throno beati Petri dicitis
haeresim. Et si hoc dicitis, peccatum inducitis super vos.
88 Ibid., Et nos servi vestri anathematizavimus omnem haeresim et omnes qui de sancta
sede apostolica Romana dixerint haeresim.
89 Ibid., Et nunc, domine pater benignissime, cogitare digneris de nobis servis tuis, qui, etsi
de longinquo simus, oves tuae sumus.
Ademars Own Pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1033 andHis Death 177

world, as your sanctity knows; as the Lord said to Peter, If you love me, Peter,
feed my sheep. (John 21:17).90 Leo then reminds the pope that he heard the
Filioque in the Creed in the chapel of Charlemagne, whom he also honors by
calling him Lord Charles, the most pious emperor and your son.91 He refers to
a copy of a homily of Gregory the Great given to the visitors to Aachen by
Charles that refers to the procession.92 He goes on to mention the Rule of St
Benedict given to them by Charles, which also refers to the procession.93 The
letter also states that it is found in the Dialogues of Gregory and in the
Athanasian Creed.94 John continues to reject the Filioque and created further
turmoil in Jerusalem.95
The pilgrim monks next request that the pope examine Eastern and
Western authorities supporting the procession of the Holy Spirit from the
Father and the Son.96 He was also to inform Charlemagne of their problem
and remind him that the visitors from Jerusalem did hear the Filioque in the
royal chapel in Aachen.97 The letter concludes with the hope that the pope
will look favorably upon the requests from the monks of the Mount of Olives
in Jerusalem.98

90 Ibid., Et tibi commissus est omnis mundus, sicut vestra sanctitas scit; sicut ait Dominus
Petro, Si diligis me, Petre, pasce oves meas.
91 Ibid., Benignissime pater, dum essem ego Leo servus vester ad sancta vestigia vestra et ad
pia vestigia domni Karoli piisimi imperatoris filiique vestri, audivimus in capella eius dici
in symbolo fidei Qui ex Patre Filioque procedit.
92 Ibid., pp. 13233. Et in homilia Sancti Gregorii, quam nobis filius vester domnus Karolus
imperator dedit, in parabola octavarum Paschae, ubi dixit, Sed eius missio ipsa processio
est, qui de Patre procedit et Filio.
93 Ibid., 133. Et in regula Sancti Benedicti, quam nobis dedit filius vester domnus Karolus,
quae habet fidem scriptam de sancta et inseparabili Trinitate, dicit, Credo Spiritum
Sanctum Deum verum, ex Patre procedentem et Filio.
94 Ibid., Et in Dialogo, quem nobis vestra sanctitas dare dignata est, similiter dicit. Et in fide
Sancti Athanasii eodem modo dicit.
95 Ibid., Itaque per ipsum Ioannem facta est nobis grandis confusio in sancta civitate, quo-
niam dicit quod Spiritus Sanctus non procedit de Patre et Filio.
96 Ibid., Unde iterum atque iterum, sancte pater, in terram prostrati cum lacrimis postula-
mus et rogamus te per Patrum et Filium et Spiritum Sanctum, qui Trinitas inseparabilis
unus dicitur, ut digneris inquirere tam in Graeco et in Latino de sanctis patribus, qui sym-
bolum composuerunt, istum sermonem, ubi dicitur ex Patre Filioque procedit.
97 Ibid., Et mandare digneris domno Karolo imperatori filio vestro, quod nos istum sermo-
nem in eius capella audivimus, qui ex Patre Filioque procedit.
98 Ibid., Unde et poscimus, benignissime pater, vestram sanctissimam pietatem, ut hos ser-
vos vestros, Ioannem presbyterum, quando Deo gubernante ad sacrosanctam vestram
gravitatem pervenerint, benigne suscipere dignemini, et nobis servis vestris certum man-
datum dirigere.
178 chapter 7

That this letter makes such an appropriate capstone for ms 1664 and more
basically for Ademars career in the scriptorium is evident for a number of rea-
sons, beyond the fact that this master of forgery was concluding with one of his
best. The most obvious is that he was about to become a pilgrim monk to the
Mount of Olives and join those waiting there for the return of Christ. For some-
one who had become so obsessed with the end times, it was a highly fitting
conclusion.
Yet there are other aspects of the letter that make it such a logical capstone.
One of these is the central theme of the defense of orthodoxy and standing
with the papacy in support of the true faith. In many ways ms 1664 is precisely
that, a maintenance of Christian dogma in the face of a world becoming full of
heretics. Here again Ademar identifies with the pilgrim monks of the Mount
of Olives who are called heretics by their opponents because of their support of
the Filioque in the Creed. Again and again in the letter it is the papal authority
that is the guarantee of orthodoxy or truth, just as Ademar has the backing of
the papacy in his campaign to promote the apostolicity of St Martial, even if he
had to forge a papal letter to be on the side of the pope. That the Filioque was
not in the Nicene Creed in the 4th century made it one of those issues in which
papal authority gave it a credibility it otherwise did not have. As the monks of
the Mount of Olives could turn to the pope in support of the Filioque, so could
Ademar in support of the apostolicity and against the changes of Benedict of
Chiusa.
Another way of viewing the letter as a capstone of a manuscript that was
written in defense of Christian truth just when the presence of the Antichrist
and his minions the heretics were increasingly evident and preoccupying
Ademar 1000 years after the death of Christ, is to see it from an apocalyptic
perspective. The pilgrim monks are presented as supporters of orthodoxy,
defenders of the Trinity in Jerusalem, and standing with the Roman pope
against the forces of evil, just as Ademar sees himself doing at a time when the
end is so near. Moreover, the presentation of Charlemagne as a champion of
orthodoxy in the 9th century foretells his role as the Last Emperor in the 11th,
when he must travel to Jerusalem and lay down his crown on the Mount of
Olives.99
Still another capstone feature of the letter of the pilgrim monks is the line
Here we wish to die (Hic volumus mori), which they stated to their oppo-
nents. The monks are living on the Mount of Olives and awaiting the end, just
as Ademar was intending to do when he became a pilgrim monk. He very defi-
nitely was one of those individuals that Jonathan Sumption mentions when he

99 See Chapter 3 above.

Ademars Own Pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1033 andHis Death 179

stated, A desire to die in Jerusalem was in fact expressed by several of those

pilgrims [e.g. Lethbald] of the eleventh century who believed that the end of
the world was imminent.100
And so Ademar left for Jerusalem sometime in 1033 to await the end. What
do we know of the actual pilgrimage and his stay in Jerusalem? The answer
quite simply is almost nothing, other than that he died there in 1034. The 13th-
century historian and librarian of Saint-Martial Bernard Itier records his death
in this fashion, In the year 1034, the monk Ademar died who ordered that the
vita of St. Martial with golden letters and many other books be made and he
travelled to Jerusalem to Christ, an extremely succinct and appropriate
description of the conclusion of the life of Ademar of Chabannes.101 One might
conjecture that he perished in the great earthquake that struck Jerusalem on
5December 1033, destroyed many buildings, and killed hundreds.102 It would,
however, be only a possibility. What is certain, on the other hand, is that this
writer who had given so much thought to Jerusalem and the Cross had likely
attained the desire of so many pilgrims to the Holy Land to die in Jerusalem.

100 Ibid., Chapter 1. And Sumption, Pilgrimage, p. 130. Sumption went on to state on p. 131,
The field of Aceldama, where pilgrims who died in Jerusalem were buried, bore eloquent
witness to the vast number of pilgrims who died far from their homes, happy in the con-
viction that the stains of sin had been washed away.
101 Chronicon Bernardi Iterii Armarii Sancti Martialis, ed. H. Dupls-Agier, Chroniques de
Saint-Martial, p. 47, Anno gracie mxxxiiii, obiit Ademarus monacus, qui jussit fieri vitam
sancti Marcialis cum litteris aureis, et multos alios libros, et in Jherusalem migravit ad
Christum.
102 On the great earthquake and quake-prone Jerusalem, see D. Bahat, The Physical
Infrastructure, in Prawer and Ben-Shammai, The History of Jerusalem, pp. 7374. One can-
not help but marvel at whether Ademar died in this fashion when one recalls the earth-
quakes at Christs death and departure (Matt. 27 and 28).
 chapter 8

Conclusion

The writings and life of Ademar of Chabannes strongly bear witness to the
attraction of Jerusalem in the 11th century. Long before the First Crusade of
1095 this pull was evident in the lives of so many Westerners living in that cen-
tury, and even before it. Jerusalem, the umbilicus of the earth, had become a
great black hole drawing in the heightened alpha and omega spirituality of the
time so many inspired voyagers travelled from their Western abodes into the
unknown.1 Ademar, for so many reasons, was one of them.
That he would go to Jerusalem in 1033 became in the last decade of his life
almost a foregone conclusion. What he and the monks of Saint-Martial were
doing in promoting the apostolicity of their patron saint was not unlike what
was occurring with other saints, especially those located in houses along the
roads to Santiago de Compostella, although the claims for the cult of St Martial
were probably the most extreme for any of these saints.2 Their exaggerated
promotions were open to challenge, which, as we have seen, was accomplished
by Benedict of Chiusa, Ademars personal antichrist.3 So when the crash came,
after seeking to defend further the new apostle with more lying documents,
he hastened to the Holy Land to meet his maker, who was returning to earth. In
some ways his pilgrimage was an escape, but not wholly.
Ademar had lived for so long in Jerusalem in his mind as he extended and
further developed the Aurelian vita in mss 2469 and 1664. The events of the life
of Christ, especially his final days and death on the Cross, were a constant
source of consideration as he placed Martial ever more fully into the apostolic
context. It should hardly be surprising, therefore, that he would wish to view
the earthly Jerusalem and experience the wonder of being where Jesus walked
and preached and was crucified, and to which he was shortly returning.
This preoccupation with the Cross should hardly be surprising. The destruc-
tion of the church of the Holy Sepulcher in 1009, where some of the relics of
the Cross were preserved, particularly disturbed him.4 He celebrates the dis-
covery of the Cross at the site by Constantines mother Helena in the longest

1 Callahan, Jerusalem in the Monastic Imaginations, pp. 11927.

2 Remensnyder, Remembering Kings Past, especially Chapter 2, The Legendary Process, pp.
4286.
3 See above, especially Chapter 2.
4 Ibid., especially Chapter 6.

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Conclusion 181

sermon in the 2469 collection.5 He also had much to say about the connection
of the Cross and the new Constantine, namely Charlemagne. He was particu-
larly interested in Charles the Greats gift of a piece of the Cross to Charroux
and the tiny segment with which Charlemagne was buried in Aachen, cele-
brating the latter in several places.6
If the alpha Cross, the remains of the True Cross, was celebrated in his writ-
ings, so also was the omega Cross, that which will appear in the heavens before
the coming of the Antichrist. Again, it was Charlemagne who was central to
Ademars thoughts on the matter. Charles the Great will rise from his grave in
Aachen, where he has merely been sleeping, and become the Last Emperor,
going to Jerusalem to place the Cross on the Mount of Olives.7 Ademar played
an important role in establishing this connection.8 He also celebrated the red
Cross of the Last Days in a hymn he wrote.9
If these elements were not enough to draw Ademar to Jerusalem, certainly
the recording of so many pilgrims from Aquitaine, including some of his own
relatives, going forth in the century before his own departure would have given
him stimulus. He was very interested in the new land route opened by Stephen
of Hungary in the early 11th century and had much to say in the chronicle about
those pilgrims and developments as a result of Stephens conversion and sup-
port for the pilgrims and the new route.10 The celebration of the pilgrimage by
Count William of Angoulme was particularly striking and surely helped to
establish the foundations for his own trip.
So he went forth as a pilgrim to the Mount of Olives not before, of course,
celebrating his predecessors there in their defense of orthodoxy, just as Ademar
himself in ms 1664 sought to do against the appearance of the minions of the
Antichrist who were everywhere, be they Bogomils, Jews, Muslims, or personal
opponents, such as Benedict of Chiusa. Clearly he was living in the end times
and should go forth to join those awaiting on the Mount of Olives the appear-
ance of Christ, a return which would be very soon. His final days did not tran-
spire precisely as he had hoped they would, but he did indeed meet his end in
Jerusalem in 1034.
What Ademar left behind are his many precious manuscripts, which offer so
many insights into the late 10th and early 11th centuries. The sheer quantity

5 Ibid., Chapter 3.
6 Ibid.
7 Ibid., Chapter 6. See also Gabriele, Empire.
8 Ibid.
9 Ibid., Chapter 6.
10 Ibid., Chapter 4.
182 chapter 8

makes them of immense value, although looking at the past through the
Ademar lens is often viewing the period through a glass darkly. The question
raised at the end of the article on the letter of the pilgrim monks, about the
reliability of the writer, continues to be paramount. It is one thing to stretch
the truth, as he was doing in the apostolicity campaign for St Martial; it is quite
another to create a document to replace one that was missing, as was the case
of the letter from the pilgrim monks sent to Pope Leo iii.11 Moreover, as Canon
Saltet wrote in his evaluation of Ademar and his manuscripts, we have in this
figure a mythomaniac of the first order.12 Surely for the historian to use such
material requires immense caution, if it is to be used at all. It is clear, however,
that the insights offered on this pivotal period by one of its most prolific writ-
ers warrant careful consideration. One subject of great importance and contro-
versy is the reality of the millennial terrors that Glaber considers at such length.
Historians like Ferdinand Lot, in rejecting the emphasis that Michelet and
other Romantics placed on the Terrors of the Year 1000, went too far in their
outright rejections.13 When Lot points out that outside the history of Glaber,
chronicle evidence for such a millennial outpouring to Jerusalem is virtually
nonexistent, he points to the lack of evidence in the chronicle of Ademar.14
Ademar may not have much material on the fears motivating the journey of
pilgrims to Jerusalem in his chronicle, but he most definitely does in his other
writings and through his own pilgrimage.15 That these millennial fears were
real can hardly be doubted, although one might question the degree of fear
outside the monastic milieu.16
The writings also make clear that in Western spirituality both the alpha or
incarnational pole and the omega or eschatological pole were rising in impor-
tance in the period, with the incarnational ultimately becoming dominant
later in the century. The idea of the 11th century as a svolta or pivot is very
much confirmed by these writings.17 One might also use the image of the cardo

11 Ibid., Chapter 7. See the conclusion to that article, pp. 13031, especially the quotation
from M. Bloch, Feudal Society, p. 92.
12 Saltet, Un cas de mythomanie, pp. 14965. See also the many comments in this regard of
Wolff in How the News was brought.
13 See above, Chapter 1.
14 Ibid.
15 See above.
16 In response to recent criticism, this study has sought to make the case that at least for
Ademar, the millennial fears were real and a principal reason for his pilgrimage to
Jerusalem.
17 See C. Violante and J. Fried, eds., Il Secolo xi: Una Svolta, aisi Quaderno 35 (Bologna, 1993).
Conclusion 183

or hinge in seeing the 11th century as the cardinal century.18 If one only focused
on the presentation of the Cross in this context in these writings, it is clearly
evident. Both the suffering of Christ on the Cross, as in Ademars vision, and
the red omega Cross as a sign of the end times are manifest.
A third central development upon which these manuscripts throw much
light is the growing importance of Jerusalem and the origins of the Crusades.19
The more attention that was given to the heavenly Jerusalem, the more impor-
tant became the earthly one, where heaven would come down to earth.
Ademars life and writings demonstrate clearly the growing sense of the
increase of evil in the world as the time of the Antichrist drew nearer. His min-
ions already challenged the champions in the West. The Muslims in particular,
especially al-Hakim, made the journey to Jerusalem increasingly perilous, but
also necessary.
These changes in the spiritual atmosphere of the early 11th century are also
clearly seen in the growing emphasis on sacred militancy. Ademars writings
often reflect the same mentality found in The Song of Roland, with the forces of
light opposing those of darkness, with the Islamic world as an upside-down
version of the Christian one, clearly seen in Ademars depiction of the Muslim
kiss of peace as being on the anus.20 Also, it will be Charlemagne as the Last
Emperor who will defeat these forces of darkness, go forth to Jerusalem, and
usher in the Last Days as he lays down the Cross on the Mount of Olives, the
Cross that will then ascend into the heavens and become the Omega sign.21 In
many ways Ademars writings contribute to and are a reflection of the century-
long formation of what will become the First Crusade.22
The life and writings of Ademar of Chabannes are a definite window into
the dynamic nature of the early 11th century, a period of significant change. It
was a world that was becoming increasingly aware of and interested in what
was occurring beyond local horizons.23 From this perspective one can hardly
be surprised that in such a Christian liturgical society the place of Jerusalem
as the mountain of the house of the Lord would be growing so rapidly in

18 This image is particularly appropriate for a period when the cardinals were becoming so
central to the rise and triumph of the papal monarchy.
19 This is a central focus of my second book, which examines Jerusalem and the rise of
Western civilization in the 10th and 11th centuries.
20 See above, Chapter 6.
21 Ibid.
22 This study owes much to the old but still very valuable study La Chrtient et lide de
Croisade, by P. Alphandry and A. Dupront, revised ed. (Paris, 1995).
23 This theme is one of the many examined in Southern, Making, a work of timeless
importance.
184 chapter 8

rominence, with a presence that was becoming for many paramount. The
p
words of Isaiah 2:24 took on special meaning:

In days to come the mountain of the Lords house shall be established as

the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the
nations shall stream to it. 3. Many peoples shall come and say, Come, let
us go to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that
he may teach us his ways and that we shall walk in his paths. For out of
Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4. He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peo-
ples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into
pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall
they learn war any more.24

Ademar, like so many of his contemporaries, would say come and set forth to
the center of Christendom.25 As for beating their swords into plowshares and
their spears into pruning hooks, that is yet to come.

24 Translation from The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version with the
Apocrypha, 3rd ed., ed. N. Coogan (Oxford, 2001), pp. 98081.
25 See my extended comments on this piece in When Heaven Came down to Earth in the
Herlihy memorial collection, pp. 24558.
Appendix

Material on Otto iii and Eastern Europe inserted into Chronicon 3.31,
pp.15154.

Et enim erant ei duo episcopi reverentissimi, sanctus videlicet Adalbertus

archiepiscopus de civitate Pragra, que est in provincia Bevehem, sanctus etiam
Brunus episcopus de civitate Osburg, quae est in provintia Baioarie, consan-
guineus ejusdem imperatoris. Nam sanctus Adalbertus parvus statura, sanctus
Brunus procero corpore erant. Et quandocumque sanctus Adalbertus in aula
imperatoris interesset, nocte intempesta solus ad silvam abiens, ligna propriis
humeris, pedibus nudis, deferebat, nemine sciente, ad hospitium suum. Que
ligna vendens victum preparabat sibi. Quod cum post multos imperator com-
periens dies, cum pro sancto duceret, die quadam solito locutus cum eo, dixit
jocando: Talis episcopus sicut vos estis debuisset pergere ad predicandum
Sclavorum gentes. Mox episcopus, pedes imperatoris deosculans, ait se hoc
incipere, nec postea imperator eum avertere potuit ab hac intentione. Et
rogante ipso episcopo, ordinatus est pro eo in urbe Pragm archiepiscopus
quem elegerat ipse, et libenter imperator assensit. Et preparatis omnibus
necessariis, pedibus nudis abiit in Pollianam provinciam, ubi nemo Christi
nomen audierat, et predicare cepit evangelium.
Quod exemplum ejus secutus Brunus episcopus, petiit imperatorem ut pro
eo juberet consecrare in sede sua episcopum quem elegerat, nomine
Odolricum. Quo facto, et ipse humiliter abiit in provinciam Ungriam quae dici-
tur Alba Ungria ad differandam alteri Ungrie Nigre, pro eo quod populus est
colore fusco velut Etiopes. Sanctus denique Adalbertus convertit ad fidem
Christi quattuor istas provincias, quae antiquo paganorum errore detineban-
tur, scilicet Pollianam, Sclavaniam, Waredoniam, Cracoviam.
Quas postquam fundavit in fide, abiit in provintiam Pincenatorum, ut eis
predicaret Dominum. Illa gens nimium idolis effera, postquam viii dies ad eos
venerat et Christum eis adnunciare ceperat, nono die reperientes eum orationi
incumbere, missilibusque ferreis confodientes, Christi martirem fecerunt.
Deinde secto capite, corpus ejus in lacum magnum demerserunt, capud autem
bestiis in campum projecerunt. Angelus autem Domini accipiens caput posuit
juxta cadaver in ulteriorem ripam; ibi immobile et intactum et incorruptum
permansit, quousque negociatores navigio per illum locum preterirent. Qui
auferentes sanctum thesaurum, patefecerunt in Sclavaniam. Quo comperto rex
Sclavanie nomine Botesclavus, quem ipse sanctus Adalbertus baptizaverat,
datis magnis muneribus capud et cadaver excepit cum honore, et monasterium

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186 Appendix

in ejus nomine maximum construxit, et multa miracula fieri ceperunt per eun-
dem Christi martirem. Passus est autem sanctus Adalbertus xxiiii die mensis
aprilis, idest viiii kal. mai.
Sanctus autem Brunus convertit ad fidem Ungriam provintiam aliam, que
vocatur Russia. Regem Ungrie baptizavit, qui vocabatur Gouz, et mutato
nomine in baptismo Stephanum vocavit; quem Oto imperator in natali pro-
tomartiris Stephani a baptismate excepit, et regnum ei libere habere permisit,
dans ei licentiam ferre lanceam sacram ubique, sicut ipsi imperatori mos est,
et reliquias ex clavis Domini, et lanceam sancti Mauricii ei concessit in propria
lancea. Rex quoque supradictus filium suum baptizare jussit sancto Bruno,
imponens ei nomen sicut sibi Stephanum. Et ipsi filio ejus Stephano Oto
imperator sororem Eenrici, postea imperatoris, in conjugio dedit.
At vero sanctus Brunus, cum ad Pincenates properavisset et Christum predi-
care cepisset illis, passus est ab eis, sicut passus fuerat sanctus Adalbertus. Nam
Pincenati, diabolico furore sevientes, viscera omnia ventris per exiguum fora-
men lateris ei extraxerunt, et fortissimum Deo martirem perfecerunt. Corpus
ejus Russorum gens magno precio redemit, et in Russia monasterium ejus
nomini construxerunt, magnisque miraculis coruscare cepit. Post paucos dies,
quidam Grecus episcopus in Russiam venit et medietatem ipsius provinciae,
quae adhuc idolis dedita erat, convertit, et morem grecum in barba crescenda
et ceteris exemplis eos suscipere fecit. Odolricus autem, qui sancto Bruno suc-
cesserat, ad Dominum migrans, magnis virtutibus clarere meruit, ideoque
monasterium foris civitatem Osburg ejus nomini construxit item Brunus, suc-
cessor ejus, frater Eenrici imperatoris. Eadem vero urbs apud Romanos vocatur
Valentina, ab imperatoris nomine qui eam condidit primus.
Quibus diebus Oto imperator per somnum monitus est ut levaret corpus
Caroli Magni imperatoris, quod Aquis humatus erat; sed, vetustate obliterante,
ignorabatur locus certus ubi quiescebat. Et peracto triduano jejunio, inventus
est eo loco quem per visum cognoverat imperator, sedens in aurea cathedra
intra arcuatam speluncam infra basilicam Marie, coronatum corona ex auro et
gemmis, tenens sceptrum et ensem ex auro purissimo, et ipsum corpus incor-
ruptum inventum est. Quod levatum populis demonstratum est. Quidam vero
canonicorum ejusdem loci Adalbertus, cum enormi et procero corpore esset,
coronam Caroli quasi pro mensura capiti suo circumponens, inventus est stric-
tiori vertice, coronam amplitudine sua vincentem circulum capitis. Crus pro-
prium etiam ad cruris mensuram regis dimetiens, inventus est brevior, et
ipsum ejus crus protinus divina virtute confractum est; qui supervivens annis
xl, semper debilis permansit. Corpus vero Caroli condictum in dextro mem-
bro basilicae ipsius, retro altare sancti Johannis Baptiste, et cripta aurea super
illud mirifica est fabricata, multisque signis et miraculis clarescere cepit. Non
Appendix 187

tamen sollempnitas de ipso agitur, nisi communi more anniversarium defunc-

torum. Solium ejus aureum imperator Oto direxit regi Botisclavo pro reliquiis
sancti Adalberti martiris. Rex autem Botisclavus, accepto dono, misit impera-
tori brachium de corpore ejusdem sancti, et imperator gaudens illut excepit, et
in honore sancti Adalberti martiris basilicam Aquisgrani construxit mirificam
et ancillarum Dei congregationem ibi disposuit. Aliud quoque monasterium
Romae construxit in honore ipsius martiris.
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Index

Aachen59, 64, 7374, 78, 140141, 177, 181 Bethlehem82

Abbo of Fleury70, 153 Biraben, J. N.120
Abdella58 Bjork, D.125
Adalbert, a canon of Aachen140 Blickling Homilies142
Adalbert of Prague72, 7577 Bloch, M.182
Adalbert and Roger, monks of Saint-Martial Bogomils100102, 104, 106107, 147, 155, 160,
and uncles of Ademar18 167, 181
Adso of Montier-en-Der139, 149, 153 Boleslav, king of Poland74, 76
Aelfric of Eynsham90, 124, 142, 145, 153 Boniface, St.57
H. Ahrweiler71 Boniface and Alessio, Sts., monastery of, in
Aimo, archbishop of Bourges30 Rome75
Aimo, abbot of Saint-Martial18 Bonner, G.123
Alcuin63, 90, 174 Bourgain, P.4
Alduin of Angoulme66, 72 Bourges, Co. of30
Alexander, Paul4, 138 Bruno of Augsburg76
Alphandry, P.183 Bruno of Querfurt72, 7577, 79
Amalarius of Metz98, 142 Bull, M.133
Amalfred of Saint-Cybard86 Bussires2627
St. Ambrose89
Antioch92 Caie, G.144
Antiochus Epiphanes119, 150151, 153 Cairo34, 81, 84
St. Augustine16, 89, 116118, 120, 128, 163 Capelle, Dom B.174
Aurelian24 Charlemagne18, 21, 32, 40, 7274, 78,
Aurelian vita of St. Martial2425, 2931, 50, 139140, 174175, 177178, 181, 183
92, 9496 Charles the Bald65
Austriclinian31 Charroux6465, 6768, 181
Avars74 Charroux, Co. of131
Azenarius of Massay86 Chavanon, J.188
Chazelle, C.63, 89
Babylon3435 Chiusa26
Bachrach, B.56 Chosroes52
Bahat, D.179 Cluny17, 124
Bak, J.149 Cohn, N.4
Basil ii, emperor34, 36, 71, 7879, 85 Cohn, S. 172
Beatus of Liebana126 Commemoratio Abbatum24
Bede28, 31, 90, 123124, 158, 161166 Conrad ii, emperor25
Beech, G.21, 56 Constable, G.122
Ben-Shammai, H.179 Constantine15, 40ff., 180
Behrends, F.142 Constantinople6, 1011, 36, 51, 7880, 8587
Benedict of Chiusa2629, 160, 168169, 178, Cordoba80
180181 Cosmas33, 106
Benedict of Monte Soracte6263 Cowdrey, H. E. J.84
Bernard, a physician of Ravenna27 Crescentius73
Betg-Brzetz, A.171 Crocker, R.125, 137
Index 205

Cunegunde, empress25 Fulbert of Chartres142

Cyriacus legend42, 4748, 5051 Fulcher of Charroux 66
Fulk Nerra 5, 11, 85
Dagens, C.120121 Fulton, R.125
Dagobert5255
Daniel, N.148 Gaborit-Chopin, D. 56, 67, 99,
Darby, P.123 139
Dauphin, H.8 Gabriele, M. 106, 181
Delaruelle, E.194 Gatch, M. McC. 142, 145
Delisle, Leopold41, 144, 174 Gauzlin, archbishop of Bourges 86
Denis, St.90 Georgius and Felix, legates of Thomas,
De Valous, G.124 patriarch of Jerusalem58
Di Lella, A. A.150 Gerard, bishop of Cambrai 106
Dondaine, A. 104 Gerbert of Aurillac72, 76, 80, 90
DOnofrio, I. 161 Gillingham, B. 137
Doob, P.194 Glaber, Ralph48, 40, 68, 72, 7980, 83, 106,
Douglas, D. C. 70 124, 126, 142, 145, 147, 153, 155, 160161,
Dreves, G.137 168, 174, 182
Druze sect84 Gniezno, Poland 7576
Dupls-Agier, H.159 Godfrey, J. 142
Dupront, A.183 Gospel of Nicodemus98
Dvornik, F.74 Gregory of Nyssa 16
Gregory of Tours9091, 123
Ebersolt, J.79 Gregory the Great29, 56, 89, 116, 120, 123,
Egeria16 125, 177
Einhard5861, 139 Grier, J. 20, 125, 137
Emmerson, R.142, 145, 149, 153, 166 Gurevich, A. 148
Epstein, S.172 Guy, viscount of Limoges 72, 86
Erbertus104, 106
Erdmann, C.195 Hadrian53
Euphrasia65 al-Hakim 12, 3435, 71, 8184, 106, 143, 155,
Eusebius of Caesarea90, 116, 123 173, 183
Euthymius of Peribleptos106 Hanssens, J. M. 142
Euthymius Zigabenes107 Hartman, L. F. 150
Harun al-Raschid58, 63
Fanesimus, Girald 86 Head, T.96, 104
Faramund55 Helena, St. 4145, 48, 51, 9798, 127, 138, 180
Fassler, M.137 Henry ii, emperor, 7, 27, 7677
Fichtenau, H.125 Heraclius4041, 5154
Filioque 177178 Herlihy, D.184
Flori, J. 126 Hilduin, bishop 86
Folz, R. 63 Hildegard, mother of Ademar 18
Ford, J. M.170 Hildegard, wife of Charlemagne18
France, J.160 Historia Francorum 21
Frassetto, M. 4, 49, 104105, 124, 131 Hollingsworth, P.149
Fredegar51, 5355 Hourlier, J. 125
Fried, J.142, 182 Hugh of Limousin 70
Frolow, A. 11, 64, 97 Hunt, N. 124
206 Index

Iogna-Prat, D. 125 Monte Gargano71

Isidore of Seville 170
Itier, B. 159, 179
St. Jerome1516, 28, 31, 89, 115116, 118119,
149150, 152153
Jews4344, 46, 4950, 5255, 81, 8384, 96,
9899, 103, 106, 117, 147149, 151, 167, 181
John the Scot63
Jordan, bishop of Limoges2526, 29
Judas Cyriacus4243, 45, 4849
Moore, R. I.145, 147
Moslems 52, 71, 8081, 85, 98, 147149, 167,
173, 181, 183
Mount of Olives5760, 139, 153, 156, 160,
167, 170, 175178, 181, 183
Mount Sinai3335, 79, 82, 127
Nebuchadnezzar34, 143
Nicephorus Phocas34, 71, 79
Nichols, S.62

Kantorowicz, E.52, 56 Odilo of Cluny17, 125

Kedar, B. Z.148 Odo, archbishop of Bourges86
Khnel, B.126 Odo of Cluny125, 153
Origen15, 116
Labande, E. R.,71, 74 Otto ii72
Lambert, M.145 Otto iii7180, 140
Landes, R.4, 21, 34, 104, 124, 144, 159, 171
The Last Emperor178 Paris, Co. of30
Lasteyrie, C. de91 St. Paul5051, 94, 115, 127, 146147, 166169
Leclercq, Dom J.12, 89, 120 Peace of God128129, 131132
Lethbald of Autun6, 179 Peter of Dorat86
Leutard the heretic106 Petrine staff91
Lerner, R. E.144 Phundagiagitae, Bogomils of Asia Minor
Levine, L. I.122 106
Leyser, K.7980 Picard, J. C.125
Limoges, Co. of 103130, 33, 80, 86 Pilgrim monks of the Mount of Olives
Little, L.120 5960, 114
Lobrichon G.104 Poitiers, Co. of30
Lot, F. 4, 182 Pope Benedict vii9
Louis the Pious6465, 125 Pope Hadrian56
Pope John xix25, 2830, 160
Mahdi84 Pope Leo iii32, 57, 59, 62, 174175, 177, 182
Manichaeans100101, 105, 145, 147, 160, 167 Pope Sergius iv84
Maria of Cairo83 Poppo, archbishop of Trier10
Markus, R.121 Prawer, J.179
Maynard, abbot of Saint-Cybard68, 71, 85 Pseudo-Isidore32, 101
Meinwerk, bishop of Paderborn11 Pseudo-Psellus147
McGinn, B.2, 4, 133, 138139, 143, 153, 166
Merkley, P.137 Queen of Sheba51
Metlitski, D.148
Meyvaert, P.121 Ralph, bishop of Perigueux86
Micheau, F.71 Ravenna78
Michael the Archangel119, 121, 153 Raw, B.89
Michelet, J.3, 182 Raymond of Chabannes, Ademars father
Mieszko I, king of Poland75 18
Monte Cassino71 Reeves, M.4
Index 207

Reichenau64, 80 Symeon of Trier910, 3334, 36, 75, 79, 126,

Remensnyder , A. 65, 125, 180 160
Rhabanus Maurus63 Szvrffy, J. 136137
Richard, abbot of Saint-Cybard of
Angoulme86 Taylor, C.104
Richard, abbot of Saint-Vannes of Theodulf of Orleans31, 41, 63, 101
Verdun810, 86 Theophylact, patriarch102
Richard ii, duke of Normandy910, 17, 79 Thomas, patriarch of Jerusalem (at the time
Robert i, duke of Normandy5, 17 of Charlemagne)58
Robert ii, king of France6 Turpio, bishop of Limoges18
Roger of Limoges, count6465
Rosenwein, B.125 Ulrich, bishop of Orlans56, 11
Royal Annals55, 5758, 6061, 175
Russell, J. B.145 Valerie, St.31, 9193
Vezin, J.203
Saint-Amand64 Vikings6566, 91, 124
Saint-Cybard1920 Vilgard155
Saint-Martial1920, 2223 Violante, C.182
Saint-Riquier64 Vita Antiquior 23
Saint-Sabas, monastery57 Vita Prolixior24
Salgionis, monk of Saint-Jean dAngly27 Vulgrinus, count of Perigord18
Saltet, Canon Louis 2930, 182
Santiago de Compostella126, 139 Walker, W. L.122
Sarlat64 Wilken, R. L.116, 122
Saracens 3435, 81 Wilkinson, j.122
Sens64 William, duke of Aquitaine, est. Cluny,
Sernin, St. 90 909124
Simon, son of Zaccheus 42, 45, 48 William of Angouleme, count68, 77, 8687,
Song of Roland 183 181
Southern, R. W., 70, 79, 89, 148 William Taillefer, count of Angouleme19
Stephen, saint and king, son of Gouz 78, William the Conqueror5
72, 7779, 87, 181 William the Great, duke of Aquitaine 25, 27
Stephen, (Gouz), king7172, 7778 Williams, John126
Stephen, duke 25, 47, 91, 93, 9596 Wolff, R. L. 10, 1920, 26, 34, 36, 7879, 182
Stock, B. 145 Wulfstan142, 145, 153
Straw, C. 120121
Sumption, J. 16, 70, 122, 178179 Zachaeus and the legend of the True
Susanna 93 Cross42, 4551
Symeon of Mantua 910, 79 Zacharias57