The Today Crusaders

Mircea A Tamas We hear from time to time angry curses against the crusaders, passionate diatribes against the crusaders, and vows to annihilate, at all costs, the crusaders. It seems so normal to call the Western armies crusaders that this appellative passes unnoticed, when we should be shoc ed of such a stupendous error. !ven if the use of this e"pression aims at some very specific purposes, and is part of a larger strategy, we must highlight it as a sign of our obscure times and we don#t thin it is superfluous to say a few words about it. The real crusaders are long gone. !verybody nows too well that the crusaders were fighters of $od, so it is at least odd to see other fighters of $od using the word crusader as an insult. %ow profound is the ignorance and the influence of the profane mentality today& As we said, the real crusaders are long gone. 'o Western soldier could be called a crusader. The genuine crusader was a pilgrim oriented to (erusalem, but no )hristian army is interested in this )enter anymore. !ven the Muslims changed their sacred orientation from (erusalem to Mecca. *o intense the profane mentality invaded the +ccident, that no Western )hristian could be called a crusader. 'o Western )hristian would understand the traditional way of life, and no )hristian would fight for this type of life. The modern Westerners are no crusaders, but anti,crusaders. %owever, even though the crusaders# pilgrimage to (erusalem is long gone, we still can witness today a rather active pilgrimage to *antiago of )ompostela, in *pain. -ut *pain changed so much during the .e/on/uista, that its fighters of $od too an apocalyptic dimension. When the Templars came bac to !urope, their first establishments were in *pain. *antiago of )ompostela is located in $alicia, a name reminding us of the )elts. $alicia is not only the part of *pain that first became free from the *aracens# domination, but also a Templar cradle 0the Templar fortress of 1onferrada is part of the )ompostela pilgrimage2 and a house of the %oly $rail. + )ebreiro, at 3,455 feet above sea level, not far away from 1onferrada, is a typical )eltic village 0with )eltic round houses2, where, the legend says, the $rail is preserved. In the 67th century, the church of *anta Maria la .eal was built nearby. It contains a sacred chalice that commemorates a 64 th century !ucharistic miracle. The legend states that the %oly $rail from which )hrist dran wine during the 8ast *upper was hidden in + )ebreiro. A priest who had his doubts about the validity of the story was using the cup for the !ucharist. A massive snowstorm had been raging outside and only a single peasant had climbed the mountain to hear the mass. The priest began to critici9e the man for coming through the storm when suddenly the bread and wine turned to flesh and blood. It is well, nown the )eltic influence upon the $rail legend and also the involvement of the Templars as guardians of the %oly $rail. What is less nown or accepted is the Islamic influence.

The *antiago of )ompostela )athedral contains a sanctuary with a baldachin where *aint (acob#s image is presented on three levels. The bottom level shows *aint (acob the Teacher 0spiritual master2: the middle level shows *aint (acob the 1ilgrim: the top level shows *aint (acob as Matamoros. This last representation, even though it too an apocalyptic dimension, since *aint (acob became a ;al i,Avat<ra, indicated the most e"oteric understanding of the Tradition and ended with a terrible and shameful drama, when the )atholic *paniards destroyed the traditional societies of the newly discovered America. In 676=, (ac/ues de >itry became the bishop of Acre. %e was a type of e"oteric fundamentalist of the holy war, and he was the one who preached the crusade against the )athars. Also, >itry saw the +rders of )hivalry as apocalyptic crusaders. %e based his viewpoint on ?echariah#s te"t@ I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom: and behind him were there red horses, spec led, and white 06, A2, and, of course, on the Apocalypse of (ohn@ And I saw when the 8amb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder B*antiago is the son of thunderC, one of the four beasts saying, )ome and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse@ and he that sat on him had a bow: and a crown was given unto him@ and he went forth con/uering, and to con/uer. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, )ome and see. And there went out another horse that was red@ and power was given to him that sat thereon to ta e peace from the earth, and that they should ill one another@ and there was given unto him a great sword. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, )ome and see. And I beheld, and lo a blac horse: and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny: and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, )ome and see. And I loo ed, and behold a pale horse@ and his name that sat on him was Death, and %ell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to ill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth 0chapter =2. The bishop of Acre assimilated the red horse to the Templars, the white horse to the %ospitaliers, the blac horse to the Teutons and the spec led horse to the other +rders. And he e"plained that the role of the Templars was to defend the )hurch against the *aracens in *yria and the Moors in *pain. This very e"oteric perspective was shared by the famous Al,MansEr. In FG=, when Al, %a am II died, his son, %ish<m, was only eleven years old. -ut he became very powerful and, significantly, based his strength on an army of slaves and nomads. In FA6, %ish<m became Al,MansEr -i 8lah, the victorious in the name of All<h. In those times, the pilgrimage to *antiago of )ompostela could be compared to the pilgrimage to Mecca. Al, MansEr was aware of this, which made )ompostela his target@ in FFG the city was ransac ed, and before setting fire to the basilica, this frightening warrior ordered his soldiers to tear off the doors and the bells. *aint (acob was seen as an apocalyptic night. After the appearance of the venerate patron,saint, *antiago Matamoros, *aint (acob iller of the Moors, with the victorious battle of )laviHo, in AII, the war,cry in *pain became *antiago y cierra, !spana. In 6IF7, the year of the ingdom of $renade#s fall, which puts an end to the Moslem

presence in *pain, )hristopher )olumbus accosted on 1ile of $uanahani, which he bapti9ed *an !l *alvador. And it is with the cry of *antiago that the *panish con/uistadores will give the attac for the con/uest of the 'ew World. The legend also says that *teven, a $ree ,+rthodo" bishop, who was intensely devoted to the apostle *aint (acob, achieved in 65=I the pilgrimage to his sepulcher. +ne day, he heard the villagers calling upon the saint in these terms@ %oly (acob, good night, deliver us from the evil that threatens us. and *teven, outraged, told them@ Jou stupid and ignorant people, you should not call *aint (acob night, but sinnerK %owever, the following night, the apostle appeared to him, dressed as a night@ *teven, he said to him, you ordered that I should be called sinner and not night, therefore I appear to you, so that you doubt not that $od gave me the orders to fight and to be its champion against the *aracens. %owever, the -y9antine bishop#s outrage illustrates a deeper significance of the holy war and of the fighter of $od, a significance well understood by the Templars in the %oly 8and. It is nown today that, in the Middle Ages, the )hristians and the Muslims did not only battle each other and that sometimes confrontation did not mean war. -eyond fight and loathing, there were not only e"ternal contacts and e"changes, but profound spiritual encounters, inspired mainly by the Islamic esotericism. 6 We can simplify and assume three levels, corresponding to the traditional triad Corpus L Anima L Spiritus@ 6. The most e"terior and terrestrial one corresponds to *antiago Matamoros 0Corpus2.7

*ee .enM $uMnon, Influence de la civilisation islamique en Occident , in Aperus sur lsotrisme islamique et le Taosme, $allimard, 1aris, 6FG3, and our wor The Near West. 7 We are well aware of the rich symbolism and implications of *aint (acob#s function as Matamoros, but that would ta e us too far away.

7. The intermediary one corresponds to the )hivalric confrontation and, to some e"tent, to *aint (acob the 1ilgrim 0Anima2.

3. The inner and celestial one corresponds to the spiritual brotherhood between )hristian and Muslim, and to *aint (acob the Teacher and Apostle 0Spiritus2.

As we said, *pain was not only the land of .e/on/uista and of Al,MansEr#s war but also of the Templars and the %oly $rail. Wolfram von !schenbach suggested that 1ar9ival#s saga was found by ;yot in *pain, among Arabic manuscripts, and there are opinions among the Arthurian researchers advancing the idea that the %oly $rail legend found its near origin in the Islamic *pain.3 It is also said that Titurel#s ancestor came from Asia to *pain.
3

We should remember that )hristian .osen reut9 received a similar influence.

!schenbach narrated as well that, $ahmuret#s ways were those that moderation dictated, and no other. -oast he rarely did, great honor he mee ly bore, haughtiness had no part in him. Jet this noble man felt there was no one who wore a crown, neither ing nor emperor nor empress, of whose household he wished to be, e"cept one who had supreme power on earth over all lands. *uch was his heart#s will. %e was told that in -aghdad there was a man so powerful that two,thirds of the earth, or more, was subHect to him. To heathens his name was so great that he was called NThe -aruch,O and such was his power that many ings were vassals to him and subHect were their crowns. The office of -aruch e"ists today, and Hust as )hristian law loo s to .ome, as our faith enHoins, there the heathen order is seen and from -aghdad they ta e their papal rule L deeming this entirely proper L and the -aruch gives them absolution for their sins.I $ahmuret, the emblem of )hristian )hivalry, became the night of The -aruch 0the -lessed one2, the almost 8ord of the World, with the center in -aghdad. In spite of the hierarchy The -aruch L $ahmuret, $ahmuret appears not only as father of the $rail, but also as the one who brings to concordia and unity the +rient and the +ccident. %e battles the blac army of Moors and the white army of )hristians, and marries the blac /ueen -elacane, and, after that, the white /ueen %er9eloide. The blac /ueen is Peirefi9#s mother: the white /ueen is 1ar9ival#s mother. Peirefi9 is Muslim, 1ar9ival )hristian, but Peirefi9 is also blac and white L a subtle symbolism, suggesting also the esoteric Islamic influence. Peirefi9 and 1ar9ival, separated for years, will start a ferocious fight, when they first meet, but at the end they ac nowledge their brotherhood and their only and same father, which e"presses a symbolism we don#t have to translate. And 1ar9ival, the ing of the %oly $rail, will ta e with him to Montsalvage no other night of the .ound Table but his Muslim brother Peirefi9 0he was allowed to bring Hust one companion2. And we can assume that 1ar9ival and Peirefi9 were riding one and the same horse, as it is shown in the Templar seal. Qnfortunately, but unsurprisingly, after the $rail Age, Peirefi9 disappeared and only the Matamoros remained visible. The lac of esotericism in the )hristian society and more and more often in the modern religious Islam, conducted to the great disarray and confrontation of the present days, and many times today the so,called fighter of $od is the school bully. In comparison to the $rail Age, the picture of the modern world is a very different one. The crusaders are long gone and the modern religious men act with enthusiastic and aggressive sancta simplicita to bring disorder and dar ness in as many fields as possible, forcing in the end the coming of the universal *aint (acob with the sword and the white horse, to bring the Mercy of $od, which does not mean that the reward for these modern religious men will be different from the one received by (udah in the )hristian +rthodo" tradition. $od is Merciful in %is .ighteousness.

Wolfram von !schenbach, Parzival, >intage -oo s, 'ew Jor , 6F=6, p. F.