Medieval Studies Conference Revisits the Crusades
Lorraine K. Stock, Ph.D., of the University of Houston, speaks to students during the 28th Annual Conference of the Center for Medieval Studies.

By Dean Starkman

Was Saladin a merciless savage or a just and wise ruler? Was Richard the Lionheart noble? Demented? Gay?

It depends on which movie you’re watching, according to Lorraine K. Stock, Ph.D., a University of Houston professor of medieval literature who spoke recently at a gathering of medievalist scholars at Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus.

Stock’s lively and provocative talk on Hollywood’s view of the Crusades was a highlight of “Remembering the Crusades: Myth, Image and Identity,” the 28th Annual Conference of the Center for Medieval Studies.

The conference that ran from March 28 to 29 attracted an international array of medievalists who gave presentations on topics ranging from the recondite—a discussion of the meaning and significance of “voussoirs,” the distinctive stone arches in certain medieval French cathedrals—to issues touching on current events, including a talk on arguments among Sunni and Shi’a historians over the memory of Saladin, the great 12th century Muslim military leader.

Organized by the center’s director, Maryanne Kowaleski, Ph.D., the conference featured some of the world’s leading medieval scholars, including Jonathan Riley-Smith, Ph.D., of the University of Cambridge, who spoke on “Aspects of Hospitaller and Templar Memory,” about the famed military and religious order.

Theresa M. Vann, Ph.D., of Hill Museum and Manuscript Library, gave a talk titled, “Our Father Has Won a Great Victory: Dispatches from the Battlefield of Las Navas de Tolosa,” a key 13th century battle between Muslims and Christians in Spain.

Iain Macleod Higgins, Ph.D., of the University of Victoria, gave a talk titled “Crusading against the Anglo-Saracens: Richard Holland’s ‘Buke of the Howlat’ (c. 1450),” a poem by the 15th century Scottish author.

But Stock’s talk certainly was among the most entertaining. Titled “And Now Starring in the Third Crusade: Depictions of Richard I and Saladin in Films and Television Series,” it was interspersed with clips of films depicting the crusades, most recreating the dramatic rivalry between Richard and Saladin. Stock described how 20th century filmmakers and other dramatists viewed the 12th century holy war through the prism of their own times. While the productions occasionally included historically accurate details, Stock said they reveal far more about the periods in which they were made than about the crusades.

“American, British and international filmmakers often reinterpret the medieval crusades as distant mirrors, using [historian and author] Barbara Tuchman’s term, of not only medieval history and myth,” Stock said, “but more importantly, contemporary political events and especially wars, current or just previous to the production of the film or TV series, as well as 20th century issues of sexuality and gender construction.”

The speculation about Richard’s sexuality, for instance, was prompted by the 1922 film Robin Hood, starring Douglas Fairbanks in the title role. It ends with Richard banging on wedding-chamber door of Robin Hood and Maid Marian, “trying to keep them from doing, whatever,” Stock wryly noted, to laughter in the lecture hall.

The 1935 classic, The Crusades, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, reflected America’s isolationist mood during the period and included repeated references to the word “peace.” By contrast, the 1954 epic, King Richard and the Crusades, starring a brown-faced Rex Harrison as Saladin, was among the mid-20th century films that recalled the recently ended world war, she said.

Crusade-based films continued to hue closely to contemporaneous perspectives almost to this day. Saladin, for instance, a 1963 film by Egyptian director Youssef Chahine, shows the holy wars entirely from the Muslim perspective, offering a “wonderful antidote” to the earlier Western-centric depictions, Stock said.

Meanwhile, the dark and brooding Robin and Marian (1976) starring Sean Connery and featuring Richard Harris as a demented King Richard, reflected the post-Vietnam mood of the United States and its dim view of that war’s military leaders.

Particularly striking about Stock’s talk was the sheer volume of dramatic depictions of the Crusades, nearly 20 major films in all. Her favorite? Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven (2005) for its balanced portrayal of Saladin. She recommends the director’s cut

Thanks for this article Libra.

Its wonderful to hear that Lorraine K. Stock recommends the KOH Directors Cut.

I find the Bonus material of the DVD particularly fascinating. The amount of research that goes into a film of this scale is astounding. Obviously an amount of 'artistic licence' is called for when turning history into a movie, by my personal opinion is that the KOH Directors Cut is one of the best.

I have never actually thought about the various films reflecting the periods when they were made and how 'present time' issues affected the way a film was portrayed. Its very, very true and that can be said of many films.

William Monaghan is one of the experts on that particular Crusade (there were three), and while not what I would term the "expert", he captured the period.

The problem with producers/directors and their screen play writers is that if they read history the way it was written, they would find it has all the drama, violence, betrayal, suspense, romance that it needs right there, but there is always a turn to it in the films.

I am thankful Orlando was too young to portray William Wallace. I'd have had a field day with that film.

Now there is a film I have never watched. I can't rightly think why I haven't watched 'Braveheart', I guess it just never appealed to me.

Before I go off topic completely, Braveheart would have been a great film if it had stuck to the real life of William Wallace, but that is truly a film of where Hollywood has gone wrong.

Adding another review to this thread. Quint, from the omnipresent aintitcoolnews, weighs in with his first viewing of the director's cut on DVD as part of his eclectic "Movie a Day" series:

KOH review

Thanks Orlandolad that was really fun to read. Slowly but surely hes going to get the full credit he deserves for his work.

Thanks for finding and posting this review, OrlandoLad!

You are absolutely right, Wicksey! He really deserves it!

You're very welcome for the posting! And yes, I agree that it's nice to see Orlando get his due. There's even some interesting "talk back" in the comments section about his merits in the role (though there are also some who are not, as they say, true believers). One person's point was, just like STAR WARS and THE MATRIX, the hero in KOH is sort of an "everyman" so that the audience can project themselves into the story through them. And I would say Balian, like Luke Skywalker, et al, is indeed, a simple man who, through birthright and circumstance has the mantle of responsibility thrust upon him and rises to the occasion most admirably.

Orlandolad, thanks for posting.

I don't know how he coulc say that the released film is not memorable, but then again I had two things going for me with the film. One was to see Orlando in the film and secondly to see how they were going to depict the Crusades.

While I liked the released version, the director's cut adds depth to not only the characters, but this particular time in history. What changes he doesn't see, that I can't understand at all.

Right from the beginning (spoilers for those who haven't seen the directors cut), is that you get a sense of how self centered and self righteous the priest, who is also his brother is. There is the scene where Liam Neeson and his men come into the village, and by sitting at dinner, he gets information on Balian and his current problems. One gets to see him coming out of jail and his memories of his wife and child whom he has just lost.

I've said it before, but he is one of the few actors I know who can tell his feelings with a simple nod of the head, a look in his eyes or on his face. KOH is that perfect illustration of his fine acting. I've gotten really ticked off at him being accused of being wooden. This was a tumultous time in history perpetrated by the Pope and the invasion of the holy land that did not belong to the Christians but to the people of that region, including the Saracens. If people looked beyond that, they would see they were fighting for their land, heritage and country.

Balian has his own demons to fight and ghosts to banish but he takes his oath of promise seriously, but in having said that, any man of honor from that time period would have.

The Leper King was well respected as was Saladin, who respected not only the Leper King but also Balian, sometimes known too as Baldwin, and while the film early on was filmed in Spain but supposedly set in France, Balian and his family came from northern Italy. Certainly we know he was not really a blacksmith, but his family were gentry, and with the part of them going to Jerusalem, that is erroneous since they were already there.

A few quirks I have with the film is his involvement with Sybilla. The real Balian was never involved ina romantic way with her, but was married to Maria Commena.

When his father is stating he repents of all his sins, but one, no man of that period would ever say or do that. When you are getting last rites, the fear of going to your maker unshriven was something taken quite seriously. Having a child out of wedlock was a sin just as it was to lie with another man's wife, and they would have been confessed.

The battle at the end is a bit Hollywood but effective for those not overly knowledgable in the area of medieval warfare, but the real Balian asked Saladin to let him go into Jerusalem and take out his wife and children. Saladin agreed, but when Balian went in, he turned around and began the fight to defend Jerusalem. It is very tellling to me on a historical sense of the level of respect Saladin had for Balian of Ibelin for when the battle was over, and yes, he lost it, Saladin still allowed Balian to leave with his family, knights and those within the walls with no harm coming to them.

Balian and his family stayed in that region until their deaths, and Balian's squire, Ernoul does a fascinating account in his chronicles. They are not published in a book but are considered a primary source of the period and most universities have a copy of it. Is is one of the first chronicles I read to get a better understanding of this family.

Ive gone on far too long on this with the film and history, but medieval history is something I'm quite passionate about.

:thankyou:,OrlandoLad for posting this link.

This particular quote had me :lol: !

Orlando was magnificent in this film. I agree with Libra that he is able to convey so much through his eyes, facial expression, and body language.

What a stunning write-up, libra! Thank you so much for sharing some of your wealth of knowledge on a subject that is obviously very dear to you. I must confess my thudding ignorance at not even realizing Balian was based on a real person (Guess that's what a public school education will get you! ;))

Fascinating stuff! You've inspired me to learn more!

And again, always happy to share what I stumble upon on the 'net (especially when it elicits such compelling conversation!)

Thanks so much for the link OrlandoLad and also thanks to you Libra for your sharing your knowledge.

I did know that Balian was based on a real person, but know very little about him. It is fascinating to read little things like this from people who are passionate about a particular subject, because so much background information can quite easily go unnoticed in the hype of a film.

I think I can say it for most people that we tend to go through 'phases' with researching various subjects on the films that Orlando has been in and each time we find something new, something that we hadn't learnt the last time the mood hit us. And here we are again finding ourselves learning yet more. Its wonderful.

Me too Lissa! :lol:

Medieval history is one thing among many that I have been passionate about for most of my life. I saw KOH with a friend who wanted to see Bloom, and while I wanted to see it too, my reasons were slightly different especially when the film is of a historical content. I'd be happy to share more at a later date.