Philippe de Mezieres
Philippe de Mézières (* around 1327, † May 2, 1405 ) was a French knight , diplomat and writer . With his influential writings, he was one of the last propagandists of the crusade idea in the Middle Ages .
Life
Early career
Philippe was born in the castle of Mézières-en-Santerre in Picardy as the scion of an impoverished family from the lower nobility. He performed his first military service under Luchino Visconti in Lombardy . However, he regretted this soon after, as he said himself, because he considered the Visconti cause to be an unjust war. Then he entered the service of Andreas , Duke of Calabria . When he was murdered in autumn 1345, he joined the (largely unsuccessful) crusade against Smyrna under Humbert II of Viennois .
In the summer of 1346 he was knighted for his bravery after a battle against the Turks near Smyrna . When the French army was disbanded, he made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem , where he became aware of the superiority of the disciplined Saracens over the disorderly armies of the West. Decades later, Mézières claimed that at that time, in a divine revelation, he received the principles for a new Christian knightly order with which it would be possible to liberate the Holy Land.
From Jerusalem he traveled to Cyprus in 1347 to the court of Hugo IV , where he found a kindred spirit in Peter of Lusignan , son of the king and titular count of Tripoli . However, Mézières left the kingdom soon after to resume his career as a soldier of fortune in France and Spain. Around 1354 he served in the battles with the English in Normandy.
As Chancellor Peter I of Cyprus
The accession of Peter of Lusignan to the throne in November 1358 and his recognition as Titular King of Jerusalem prompted Mézières to return to Cyprus. Around 1360 he held the office of chancellor there. At this time Mézières came under the influence of the papal legate Peter Thomas († 1366), whose biographer he would later become, and who was one of the most important proponents of a new crusade. In 1362 Peter I, together with his chancellor and the legate, visited the princes of Western Europe in search of support for this enterprise. After Peter returned to Cyprus, Mézières and Thomas propagated their concerns to the Pope in Avignon and in the cities of northern Italy. Then the two preached the crusade in the German lands. Thomas was elected Latin Patriarch of Constantinople in 1364 , and Mézières accompanied Peter I on the crusade against Alexandria .
After the conquest of Alexandria on October 10, 1365, the city was sacked and there was a terrible massacre among the population. Peter I. Mézières had promised a third of the city's income to found and finance his knightly order, but the crusaders refused to continue the campaign and withdrew, satisfied with the rich booty.
In June 1366, Mézières was sent back to Venice , Avignon and to the princes of Western Europe to seek help against the Ottomans who were threatening the Kingdom of Cyprus. However, his efforts were fruitless, as the cities of Genoa and Venice were more interested in lucrative trade with the Ottomans. Even Pope Urban V now advised peace with Sultan Murad I. Only Count Amadeus VI. from Savoy ventured a limited venture to Constantinople and the Black Sea. Mézières stayed in Avignon for some time to look for candidates for his knightly order and to write the biography of his fatherly friend and teacher Peter Thomas. This represents an important source for the history of the Alexandrian Crusade. The foreword ( Prafacio ) and his Epistola from 1367 to 1368 are the first drafts for his writing Nova religio passionis , which he revised and supplemented in 1386 and 1396. Here he outlined the principles for his new "Order of the Passion". Mézière also traveled to Aragon , Castile and Portugal . In a shipwreck in the Mediterranean, he allegedly had to feed on roots for several days on an abandoned island.
Return to France
Mézières was on his way back to Cyprus when he learned of the murder of Peter I in Nicosia in early 1369 . He then stayed in Venice until he went to Avignon in 1372 to the court of the new Pope Gregory XI. came. Here he tried to introduce the feast of the Praesentatio Beatae Mariae Virginis in the west. In 1373 he was in Paris , where, together with Nicholas of Oresme , he was one of the most trusted advisers to King Charles V of France (although the king had refused to take part in the crusade adventure). Mézières associated there with intellectuals such as the poets Philippe de Vitry and Eustache Deschamps , or the astrologer Tommaso di Pizzano and his daughter Christine , the theologians Jean Gerson and Pierre d'Ailly , and others, and became the tutor of the future King Charles VI. However, he had to abdicate along with the other councilors when the old king died in 1380.
After that, Mézières withdrew to the Cölestiner convention in Paris, but continued to exert some influence on public opinion. The calumnies with which his name was showered by Burgundian historians are probably based on his proximity to Louis of Orleans . After Charles VI. Freed from the tutelage of his uncles, Mézière's influence increased somewhat. During this time he wrote most of his writings. The crusade of 1396 failed to inspire him, and the disaster of the Battle of Nicopolis on September 25, 1396 confirmed his fears.
plant
- Vita sancti Petri Thomae , "The Life of St. Peter Thomas", 1366, Latin (printed: Antwerp 1659).
- Praesentatio beatae Mariae in templo , "The Presentation of the Blessed Mary in the Temple", 1372, Latin translation of a liturgical play from the Greek, with 21 people.
- Nova religio passionis , "The New Passion Order", 1384, contains the "tables of law" of his projected knightly order, was laid out in 30 volumes, but remained unfinished.
- Livre de la vertu du sacrement de mariage et réconfort des dames mariées , “The Book of the Virtue of the Sacrament of Marriage and Consolation of Married Women”, 1384–89, tract.
- Contemplatio hore mortis , "Contemplation on the hour of death" and Soliloquium peccatoris , "Self-talk of a sinner", 1386–87, edifying treatises.
- Le Songe du vieil pèlerin , “The Old Pilgrim's Dream”, 1389, French allegory describing the different customs of Europe and the Middle East. Here he advocates the conclusion of peace between France and England (cf. Hundred Years War ), as well as the continuation of the crusades against the common enemies of Europe. His largely autobiographical Oratio tragedica pursues similar goals.
- Epistre au roi Richart , "Letter to King Richard" from 1395. Here he urges Richard II of England to marry Isabella of Valois .
- Epistre lamentable et consolatoire , "Pathetic and consoling letter" from 1396, in which he once again carries out the principles of his planned knightly order, which should prevent further failures in future crusades.
Some of Mézière's letters were published in the Revue historique (vol. XLIX). The last two letters can be found in Kervyn de Lettenhove's edition of Jean Froissart's Chronicle .
literature
- Mézières, Philippe de . In: Encyclopaedia Britannica . Volume 18, Cambridge University Press, 1911, pp. 350 f.
- Dora M. Bell: Etude sur Le Songe du vieil Pèlerin de Philippe de Mézières (1327-1405). Librairie E. Droz, Geneva 1955, pp. 9-19.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Philippe de Mezieres |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French soldier, diplomat and writer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1327 |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 2, 1405 |