Tancred+de+Hauteville

This page should be used to create a biography of Tancred and the explain the role which he played on Crusade. It should outline his involvement in the journey to the Holy Land, as well as his actions once he arrived. It should highlight the critical importance of Antioch to his standing within the region. Quotes are an essential part of this page.

__** ESSAY PLAN **__

PLEASE USE QUOTATIONS WHEREVER POSSIBLE

1) Brief introduction to the character and his involvement within the Crusades.

2) Where he came from and his reaction to the Crusade.

3) Relationships with the other princes and Alexius.

4) Leaving the main army at Cilicia and besieging Tarsus. Deprived of the city by Baldwin of Boulogne.

5) Siege of Antioch.

6) Siege of Jerusalem

7) Prince of Galilee.

8) Tancred's role as actinig regent of Antioch and the capture of Laodicea.

9) As leader of Edessa and Antioch he made several conquests in Cilicia and North Syria.

10) Refusal to hand over his conquests to the Emperor or to pay him homage.

Tancred de Hauteville (1076 - 1112), was a Norman Lord from the south of Italy and was one of the first noblemen to take the Cross in 1096 alongside his uncle, Bohemond of Taranto. Their main motivation to go on the Crusades were the unequalled opportunities of acquiring fame, riches, land and power which the Crusade gave them. On the Crusade he saw considerable success and at the fall of Jerusalem he attained the title, Prince of Galilee. Prior to this, he had attempted to take the city of Tarsus in Cilicia, only to be deprived of it after its fall by Baldwin of Boulogne. When his uncle was captured by the Turks, Tancred served as regent of Antioch in his place form 1100 to 1103. during this time he made several important conquests. Once Bohemond returned to Europe on a pemanent basis Tancred was placed in control of the region. Whilst in power he managed to extend his control further into Cilicia and North Syria and refused to give up the cities he had gained to the Emperor Alexius. [ST]

Tancred ruled a region of Hauteville in the south of Italy, he was a minor Norman noble who answered primarily to his uncle Bohemond of Taranto. Tancred was born in 1076 and was the son of Marquess Odo and Emma the daughter of Robert of Guiscard. Tancred wasn't set to inherite any land or wealth from his father so the the thought of thr cruusade appealed to him. Prior to the crusade Tancred had had little military expierence, seeing brief glimpses of battle during the Byzantine wars fighting along side his uncle Bohemond in modern day Greece. Tancred saw the oppurtunity of taking up the cross in 1096 as a legitimate way to increase his wealth, power and rule. This was ther attitude taken by most Norman crusaders they were motivated by self gain in an attempt to gain new territotry without fear of church damnation.

Tancred did not have a particularly good relationship with Alexius and along with Raymond of Toulouse failed to take the oath of fealty to the Emperor Alexius at Antioch. They were the only two crusading lords not to take the oath which gives a good indication as to the way in which Tancred and Alexius viewed each other. Tancred's uncle was Bohemond of Tarranto and therefore the two will have had a good relationship as they were related; when Bohemond was imprisoned by the Turks Tancred served as regent of Antioch and controlled the region permanently when Bohemond returned. Robert, William the conquerer's eldest son, also accompanied Tancred on the expedition. Tancred, as he led a Norman expedition alongside Bohemond, tended to have a good relationship with norman crusaders.

We may appreciate that Tancred and several of his men 'had broken off to see what [they] could gain'. Indeed, it has been suggested on several occassions that the actions of the Crusading parties left much to be desired in the way of proper Crusading Rhetoric; here we can argue that 'Baldwin was careless of the Treaty that he had made at Constantinople'. Although this was taken, to an extent, by force and so Tancred would not have conisdered its restraints in the proper manner, his actions in regards of Tarsus can be determined as motivated by self greed (as he was a ' junior member of a princely family, without any future at home.'). Tancred left the Crusader camp at Heraclea and made straight for the Cicilian Gates. On descending into the plain, he 'repulsed' a garrison and managed to establish contact with the Christians of the city; who 'begged him to take possession of it.' Naturally, the point could be made that Tancred was preventing Muslim order over this Christian population and therefore was acting in the spirit of the faith: the spirit of the Crusade. The Muslims fled upon the arrival of Baldwin's forces and the 'Christians opened the gates to Tancred': possibly depicting their preference in leadership. However, Baldwin 'demanded... transfer to his authority' and in the face of Baldwin's superior forces, Tancred had to withdraw. Of course, we may suggest that Baldwin wanted to 'reap the advantage of being the chief friend of that [Armenian] race.' He had previously struck up a close friendship with Bagrat who had joined his forces - Bagrat being anxious to ensure Baldwin took over the Armenian areas where his family lived. In this sense, we may determine that Baldwin's sense of rightful ownership was derived from this relationship, not by means of local support and thus he himself applied pressures through want to expand and self greed. Tancred withdrew from the area and marched eastward towards Adana [AJ]

By mid-November Tancred had arrived with reinforcements at Antioch to cover those loses in the famine that occurred. The crusaders knew they would have to take the city before Kerbogha arrived if they had any chance of survival. Bohemond secretly established contact with Firouz, an Armenian guard who controlled the Tower of the Two Sisters, and bribed him to open the gates. He then approached the other crusaders and offered to let them in, through Firouz, if they would agree to let him have the city. Raymond was furious and argued that the city should be handed over to Alexius, as they had agreed when they left Constantinople in 1097, Tancred gave into Raymond's demands and agreed to hand over the city to Alexius once they had captured it. [MB]

Tancred played a prominent role in the siege of Jerusalem, leading a savage assault onto the earthly city. He claimed to have been the first crusader to have entered the city on July 15th, however, during the final assault, it was in fact two flemish knights from Tournai who were the first to cross the ciry. They were then followed by Godfrey, his brother Eustace, and Tancred and his men. When the city fell, Tancred gave his banner to a group of citizens who had fled to the roof of the Temple of Solomon. Although this should have secured their safety, the civilians were massacred during the sack of the city, "greatly angering" Tancred. It was after the siege of Jerusalem that he became the Prince of Galilee.

In 1100, Tancred became regent of Antioch when Bohemond was taken prisoner by the Danishmends. He expanded the territory further, capturing land from the Byzantines, although, over the next decade, Alexius attempted, unsuccessfully, to bring him under Byzantine control. In 1104, he also took control of the County of Edessa when Baldwin II was taken captive after the Battle of Harran. After Baldwin's release in 1107, he had to fight Tancred to regain control of the county; Tancred was eventually defeated and returned to Antioch. After Harran, Bohemond returned to Europe to recruit more Crusaders, again leaving his nephew as regent in Antioch. Tancred's victory over Radwan of Aleppo at the Battle of Artah in 1105 allowed the principality to recover some its territories east of the Orontes River.

In 1104 Tancred took control of Edessa when Baldwin 2nd was taken captive by the Seljuk Turks at the battle of Harran. This left Tancred able to become regent of Edessa in his abscence. when he returned however Tancred was reluctant to give it up. He fought Baldwin in 1107 and was then defeated and forced to return to the only remaining city under his control