Finding Jerusalem

The Commendiato Lamentabilis in Transitu Magni Regis Edwardi is a lengthy eulogy to Edward I of England, composed shortly after his death in 1307 by John of London. John was a clerk in the service of Edward’s widowed consort, Margaret of France. His text was widely copied and distributed about England at the time, and presents a highly complex image of fourteenth-century kingship.

The text consists of a short summary or preface followed by eight lamentations, proffered respectively by the Pope, the kings of Christendom, Queen Margaret, the prelates, earls and barons, clergy, and general laity, each highlighting different aspects of royal virtue. Edward is presented as the greatest of kings, comparable to Arthur and various Biblical figures. His people, the Pope exhorted, should now grieve as Job had grieved over the loss of his sons, Abraham over the death of Sarah, Judah over the death of Josiah, and Christ over Lazarus.

Edward’s deeds in life, so often portrayed as negative or even wicked in modern times, are shown as proof of his greatness. His crusade, the conquest of Wales, the wars against the Scots and the expulsion of the Jews are all celebrated. The Commendiato is a form of propaganda, of course, but we should not fall into the trap of imagining that Edward’s contemporaries thought as we do. So far as they were concerned, his war-mongering and bigotry - as his more extreme critics might put it - were ideal traits in a king.

The dominant theme is Edward’s piety and desire to rescue the Holy Land. His Christian enemies, especially Philip IV of France, are condemned as enemies of holy church and worse than Saracens. Philip had, after all, prevented Edward from liberating Jerusalem. There is some basis for this hyperbole: Edward did genuinely plan to go on crusade again in 1293, but the outbreak of war with France prevented it.

A depiction of Jerusalem

Interestingly, the Commendiato is echoed by another eulogy for Edward, composed in Anglo-Norman. This repeats the charge against Philip and expresses the hope that, even in death, Edward’s spirit might yet find its way to the Holy Land:

“Place à Dieu en Trinité,/Que vostre fiz en pust conquere/Jerusalem la digne cite,/E passer en la seinte tere!”

The sheer length of the Commendiato is unusual for royal eulogies at this time. One comparison is the panegyric for King Wenceslas II of Bohemia (died 1305), who was praised in similar terms. He, too, was a pious king who had aggressively expanded his territory: not for reasons of mere empire-building, but because he loved justice and hated evil-doers. The peculiar emphasis on mercy and clemency, as necessary adjuncts to brutal wars of conquest, may come across as laughable hypocrisy to us. Yet these were the traits and behaviours required of successful kings.

.