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To Die for God: Martyrs' Heaven in Hebrew and Latin Crusade NarrativesAuthor(s): Shmuel ShepkaruSource: Speculum, Vol. 77, No. 2 (Apr., 2002), pp. 311-341Published by: Medieval Academy of AmericaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3301324Accessed: 18/12/2009 09:41

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To Die for God: Martyrs' Heaven in Hebrew and Latin Crusade Narratives

By Shmuel Shepkaru

A unique window onto the socioreligious life of twelfth-century Franco-German (Ashkenazic) Jews is provided by three contemporary Hebrew accounts that de- scribe the crusaders' massacres of Jews during the spring and summer of 1096.1 By answering Pope Urban's call at Clermont to join the First Crusade, the faithful left Europe, not only to redeem the Christian holy places in the East, but also to follow Jesus on the path of self-sacrifice for personal salvation. This Christian pursuit of salvation in paradise unexpectedly forced European Jews to preserve their own faith by choosing death over conversion. All Jewish victims who had maintained their religious identity by dying voluntarily for the "sanctification of the Divine Name" (qiddush haShem) became martyrs. Following the legal (ha-

I would like to thank Speculum's anonymous readers for their careful reading of this article. They have made important suggestions in a most constructive fashion, which only strengthen the thesis of this article.

1 The three Hebrew documents were first published in a critical edition by Adolf Neubauer and Moritz Stern in Hebrdische Berichte iiber die Judenverfolgungen wdhrend der Kreuzziige (Berlin, 1892). They were reprinted in Abraham Habermann, Sefer Gezerot Ashkenaz ve-Zarfat (Jerusalem, 1971). For discussions of these twelfth-century sources and early scholarly works see Anna Sapir Abulafia, "The Interrelationship between the Hebrew Chronicles of the First Crusade," Journal of Semitic Studies 27 (1982), 221-39. A few English translations are available: see Shlomo Eidelberg, ed. and trans., The Jews and the Crusaders: The Hebrew Chronicles of the First and Second Crusades (Madison, Wis., 1977), and the translation of two of the three-the report attributed to Solomon bar Samson and the Mainz Anonymous-in Robert Chazan, European Jewry and the First Crusade (Berke- ley, Calif., 1987). (All Hebrew and Latin translations and italics below are mine, unless otherwise indicated. The reader is advised to keep in mind that, in addition to their standard technical use, italics indicate parallel usage of symbols and language in the Hebrew and Latin accounts. Note, too, that all references to talmudic tractates are to the Babylonian Talmud.) See also Chazan, European Jewry, pp. 40-49; "The Hebrew Crusade Chronicles," Revue des etudes juives 133 (1974), 235-54; "The He- brew First-Crusade Chronicles: Further Reflections," AJS Review 3 (1978), 79-98; "The Facticity of Medieval Narrative: A Case Study of the Hebrew First Crusade Narratives," AJS Review 16 (1992), 31-56; and more recently his God, Humanity and History: The Hebrew First Crusade Narratives

(Berkeley, Calif., 2000), esp. pp. 19-110. See also Jonathan Riley-Smith, "The First Crusade and the Persecution of the Jews," in Persecution and Toleration, ed. W. J. Sheils, Studies in Church History 21

(Oxford, 1984), pp. 51-72; Ivan G. Marcus, "From Politics to Martyrdom: Shifting Paradigms in the Hebrew Narratives of the 1096 Crusading Riots," Prooftext 2 (1982), 40-52; idem, "History, Story and Collective Memory: Narrative in Early Ashkenazic Culture," in The Midrashic Imagination: Jew- ish Exegesis, Thought, and History, ed. Michael Fishbane (Albany, N.Y., 1993), pp. 255-79; Gerson D. Cohen, "The Hebrew Crusade Chronicles and the Ashkenazic Tradition," in Minhah le-Nahum: Biblical and Other Studies in Honor of Nahum M. Sarna, ed. Michael Fishbane and Marc Brettler (Sheffield, 1993), pp. 36-53; Jeremy Cohen, "The Persecution of 1096: The Sociocultural Context of the Narratives of Martyrdom" [Hebrew], Zion 59 (1994), 169-208; and idem, "The Hebrew Crusade Chronicles in Their Christian Cultural Context," in Juden und Christen zur Zeit der Kreuzziige, ed. Alfred Haverkamp, Vortrage und Forschungen 47 (Sigmaringen, 1999), pp. 87-106.

Speculum 77 (2002) 311

lakhic) requirement, Ashkenazic martyrs publicly expressed their unconditional devotion to God when forced to passively protect their religious identity with their own lives.2

This devotion, however, did not go unnoticed in the three Hebrew accounts. A dominant theme in these accounts is the heavenly reward that awaited martyrs. Although Jews had exercised the option of martyrdom in past conflicts, a com- parison with earlier Jewish martyrological texts reveals the unique contribution of these twelfth-century Hebrew narratives to Jewish celestial imagery.3 As I will show, the depictions in the Hebrew sources display a strong affinity to contem- porary Latin sources. While medieval Christian martyrologists could always turn to the early passion literature for inspiration of heavenly depictions, no such elab- orate facilitator existed for the Jewish narrators of the First Crusade. The mar- tyrological parallels that are to be discussed here and the lack of similar represen- tations in early Jewish martyrological texts indicate that the Hebrew accounts pertaining to the First Crusade embraced crusaders' images, which were them- selves found also in earlier hagiographies and passions.

This is not to say that the images under discussion are utterly idiosyncratic in relation to early Jewish texts. Both medieval Jewish and Christian depictions often rely on early shared symbols and metaphors, making the nature of their relation- ship somewhat ambiguous. The features that make the Jewish imagery novel are its martyrological application, symbolic interpretation, and frequent utilization by medieval Jewish martyrologists.4

Both twelfth-century Christians and Jews considered the martyr's recompense in heaven to be the ultimate boon that the faithful could receive from the Divine. As such, open admissions of borrowing "positive" images from the "erroneous other" are, at best, rare. One way of proving such adoptions of images may be achieved by examining the exactitude of literary parallelism. In the case of mar- tyrdom, this literary parallelism displays an Ashkenazic awareness of the Christian imagery of heaven, which was added to the concept of qiddush haShem. As a result, a new detailed system of celestial reward for the Jewish martyr emerged from the bloody conflict of 1096. This literary symmetry, I believe, is mainly the result of the direct violent encounter of crusaders and Jews.

Studying the relationship between Jews and Christians in the Latin West, Ivan Marcus has described Christian influence on Jews as "inward acculturation," which traveled mainly through the process of "social polemics." As Marcus ex- plains, "Ashkenazic inward acculturation involves the complementary processes of preservation and transformation: Ashkenazic Jews continued to observe ancient Jewish traditions yet reshaped them in light of a contemporary Christian context

2 On rabbinic definition and usage of the term qiddush haShem see E. Grunewald, "Qiddush ha- Shem, an Examination of a Term" (Hebrew), Molad 24 (1968), 476-84, and S. Safrai, "Qiddush ha- Shem in the Teachings of the Tannaim" (Hebrew), Zion 43 (1979), 28-42.

3 Shmuel Shepkaru, "From After Death to Afterlife: Martyrdom and Its Recompense," AJS Review 24/1 (1999), 1-44.

4 Adding the Muslim dimension would have gone beyond the limits of this article. It is my hunch that the possibility of Islamic influence on twelfth-century Ashkenazic Jews is very unlikely, although an investigation of the Islamic imagery and its relation to Christianity and Judaism would be most useful.

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in a polemical fashion. The medieval Christian environment contributed to the process of Jewish self-definition. Jews drew on an earlier Jewish legacy, but at the same time they selectively absorbed parts of the Christian culture in order to negate them symbolically."5 This article will attempt to unravel the functions of these parallel images with respect to martyrs' heaven. Approaching these images as "social polemics" will answer more specifically why such representations came to play their role particularly in twelfth-century Ashkenazic accounts of qiddush haShem. Since the focus is on imagery, the intention here is not to confirm or confront the historical authenticity or accuracy of the martyrdoms these images cloak. Both Hebrew and Latin sources combine the realms of history and theology to commemorate events and consecrate the dead (this is even more so with respect to the Hebrew sources). The accounts clarify how and why so many lost their lives in the terrestrial arena and still "continued to live" thereafter in the celestial realm.

IN CAELUM TRIUMPHANTES

Following early visions such as that of the Shepherd of Hermas (circa 150), who envisioned crowned martyrs in the company of angels and living with the Son of God,6 and the visions of St. Perpetua, descriptions of heaven flourished in Chris- tian antiquity. The postpatristic Christian heaven is well defined, confined only by the limits of its authors' imaginations. Hagiography, as well as mystical experi- ences, served as its foundation.7 During this period Tertullian's ideas that "The sole key to unlock Paradise is your own life's blood" and that martyrs are, "as-

5 Ivan G. Marcus, Rituals of Childhood: Jewish Acculturation in Medieval Europe (New Haven, Conn., 1996), p. 104; see pp. 11-12 for his definition of "acculturation" and p. 10 for "everyday interactions of ordinary Jews and Christians who lived in the same small towns and villages." Relevant to this article is Marcus's analysis of Ashkenazic inward acculturation. His study, however, provides a general model, which he applies to all premodern Jewish subcultures, not only that of Ashkenaz.

6 Le Pasteur, ed. and trans. Robert Joly, Sources Chretiennes 53 (Paris, 1958), pp. 220-23; Jeffrey Burton Russell, A History of Heaven: The Singing Silence (Princeton, N.J., 1997), p. 57. According to Bynum's interpretation, the reference is a metaphor for resurrection: Caroline Walker Bynum, The Resurrection of the Body in Western Christianity, 200-1336, Lectures on the History of Religions, n.s., 15 (New York, 1995), p. 23. See also The Vision of Paul: "I looked at it [the door of heaven] and saw that it was a golden gate and that there were two golden pillars before it and two golden tables above the pillars full of the letters" (New Testament Apocrypha, ed. Wilhelm Schneemelcher, Eng. translation ed. R. McL. Wilson, rev. ed. [Cambridge, Eng., 1991], 2:771-77); and Russell, A History of Heaven, p. 59.

7 Dryhthelm's vision is among the more famous examples. In his vision of hell and heaven "a man of shining countenance and wearing bright robes" guided him through a very pleasant plain, clearer than the brightness of the daylight or the rays of the noontime sun. "In this meadow there were innumerable bands of men in white robes, and many companies of happy people sat around; as he led me through the midst of the troops of joyful inhabitants ... I saw in front of us a much more gracious light than before; and amidst it I heard the sweetest sound of people singing": Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People, ed. and trans. Bertram Colgrave and R. A. B. Mynors (Oxford, 1969), pp. 488-95.

suredly, efficacious in the sight of Christ" were revived.8 No wonder, then, that the liturgical words "may the martyrs welcome you when you arrive, and may they guide you to the holy city of Jerusalem" became popular at the end of the first millennium.9 Martyrs welcome martyrs, for they were believed to be segre- gated from other righteous in heaven.

On various occasions, therefore, believers were advised not to delay their en- trance into the celestial city. To encourage fighting and sacrifices, Gerold of Avranches promoted the reward of heaven. He recollected for his followers "tales of combats of holy knights from the Old Testament and from recent Christian stories for [his people] to imitate. He told them vivid stories of the conflict of Demetrius and George, of Theodor and Sebastian, of Duke Maurice and his com- panions, who won through martyrdom the crown in heaven."10 For Gerold of Avranches the heavenly crown could be achieved by all through the sacrifice of martyrdom.

Such promises could have made any believer hopeful. But martyrs were not thought to be like other believers. Their uniqueness is demonstrated by the special and specific heavenly location that was reserved for them. In the late tenth century, Hrotsvit crowned her martyred protagonist, Pelagius, the "soldier of the Heavenly King ... [who] [fllew swiftly as victor through the stars to heaven." He was "seated above the stars, at the right hand of the father," where he received the palm for his "laudable death."1 Placing the martyr's body at "the right hand of the father" follows the description of Jesus' standing at the right hand of the Father in heaven after his bodily rising.12 The imitatio mortis Christi thus begins on earth but ends in a special location in heaven.13

Hierarchy further modified this location. By the mid-eleventh century, heavenly hierarchy was well established, and martyrs constituted an indispensable group in it. Heavenly orders may vary, but the hierarchical concept had become a com- ponent of medieval thinking by the seventh century. Barontius's soul, for instance,

8 Tertullian, "To Scapula," in Apologetical Works, trans. Rudolph Arbesmann et al., Fathers of the Church 10 (New York, 1950), p. 130; and "On Purity," trans. William P. Le Saint, in Ancient Christian Writers: The Works of the Fathers in Translation (London, 1959), p. 125. Seeing the "Son of Man" is mentioned in Matt. 24.30 and 25.31.

9 Damien Sicard, La liturgie de la mort dans l'eglise latine des origines a la reforme carolingienne, Liturgiewissenschaftliche Quellen und Forschungen 63 (Miinster in Westfallen, 1978), pp. 215-20; Colleen McDannel and Bernhard Lang, Heaven: A History (New Haven, Conn., 1988), p. 74 n. 8. See also Frederick Paxton, Christianizing Death: The Creation of a Ritual Process in Early Medieval Europe (Ithaca, N.Y., 1990).

10 Orderic Vitalis, Historia ecclesiastica, ed. and trans. Marjorie Chibnall, 6 vols. (Oxford, 1968- 80), 3:216-17; Historia peregrinorum, in Recueil des historiens des croisades: Historiens occidentaux, 5 vols. in 7 (Paris, 1844-95; cited as RHC Oc. below), 3:215.

n Elizabeth Alvilda Petroff, Medieval Women's Visionary Literature (New York, 1986), p. 121. 12 Mark 14.61-62, "I am; and you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of Power";

Mark 16.19, "Jesus was taken up into Heaven and was enthroned at the right hand of God"; Matt. 26.61-64, "But I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."

13 As in Hrotsvit's praises for "Christ enthroned on high," the Song of Roland promised martyrs they would "sit on high in Paradise eternal": La chanson de Roland, ed. Frederick Whitehead, 2nd ed. (Oxford, 1946), p. 34, lines 1127-38, trans. Dorothy L. Sayers (Harmondsworth, Eng., 1957).

314 Martyrs' Heaven

enters the gates of paradise, where he meets the souls of fellow monks; at the second gate, souls of children; at the third, chanting angels, saints, and a "mul- titude of martyrs."14

The idea of heavenly hierarchy enabled martyrs to be with each other and to glimpse the Divine. Known as the visio Dei (beatific vision), it constituted the culmination of martyrs' bliss in heaven. Already in the early eleventh century, Odilo's hagiography of Maiol bestowed upon the abbot of Cluny the "reward of the heavenly beatitudes." Maiol ardently desired to participate in the heavenly banquet and stand with the blessed ones who enjoy the "vision of the Lord."15

Anselm of Canterbury, who advocated martyrdom, mentions the beatific vision in his Monologion.16 In language typical of the period,17 Anselm writes: "Every man is supposed to strive for this same good by loving and desiring it with all his heart, all his soul, and all his mind."18 Anselm adds that in heaven God's lover "shall then see [the Supreme Beatitude] face to face."19 Seeing God face to face became the ultimate goal of the righteous.

Especially after Pope Urban's call for the crusade in 1095, heaven's gates ap- peared more welcoming to all in the minds of the populace. The pontiff presented to them "wars that contain the glorious reward of martyrdom."20 Faithful to his Cluniac education, however, Pope Urban leaves heaven a mystery and the crusade a restricted endeavor. His followers, in contrast, expected martyrdom to be more than "gloriosum martyrii munus"21 and its reward more than an image of the

14 J. A. MacCulloch, Medieval Faith and Fable (London, 1932), p. 189 n. 16. The notion of seven heavens appeared in Babylonian and Greek astronomical works before being adapted by Christianity. Thereafter it surfaced in the Secrets of Enoch (first or second century C.E.): Russell, A History of Heaven, pp. 35-36. The notion of seven heavenly divisions is mentioned also in the Christian version of The Ascension of Isaiah. In his spiritual ascent Isaiah discovers the structure of heaven. Regarding angelic singing in heaven, an angel reveals: "It is for the praise of him who is in the seventh heaven, for him who rests in eternity among his saints, and for his Beloved." The prophet sees in the seventh heaven angels and the righteous "Stripped of the garment of the flesh": The Ascension of Isaiah, in New Testament Apocrypha, ed. Schneemelcher, 2:653-56; see also Russell, A History of Heaven, p. 61. Divisions of heaven can also be found in The Vision of Paul: Russell, A History of Heaven, pp. 58-59.

15 PL 142:943-62. 16 Anselm, Monologion 74, in Jasper Hopkins, trans., A New Interpretive Translation of St. Anselm's

Monologion and Proslogion (Minneapolis, 1986), pp. 199-201 and 203. 17 Peter Tudebode, Historia de Hierosolymitano itinere, ed. John Hugh Hill and Laurita L. Hill,

Documents Relatifs a l'Histoire des Croisades 12 (Paris, 1977), p. 69, for example, clearly relying on Matt. 22.37.

18 This statement is reminiscent of a view expressed by R. Akiva (B. Berakhot 61b), which will be echoed repeatedly in the Hebrew narratives of 1096. It is not necessary to assume that Anselm relied on Akiva's statement about divine love, for he could have been quoting from Matt. 22.37, Luke 10.27, or Mark 12.30. This is one more example that illustrates the difficult task of tracing cultural influences.

19 Obviously in the spirit of John 3.2, "We shall see him as he is," and Augustine's City of God 22.30, "There we shall rest and see, see and love, love and praise [God]": PL 41:802-4. See also n. 8 above.

20 Guibert of Nogent, RHC Oc., 4:137-40. An important study is provided by H. E. J. Cowdrey, "Martyrdom and the First Crusade," in Crusade and Settlement, ed. Peter W. Edbury (Cardiff, 1985), pp. 46-56; see also his "Pope Urban II's Preaching of the First Crusade," History 55 (1970), 177-88.

21 Guibert of Nogent, RHC Oc., 4:137-40.

Martyrs' Heaven 315

earthly Jerusalem,22 which they might never live to see. Urban's mentioning of heavenly rewards with the examples of early crowned martyrs provided merely an initial model that his followers could elaborate into full-blown images of heaven.23

Descriptions of the early stages of the crusade generally attribute to the martyrs' blissfulness only a few individual elements of heaven that were taken from earlier Christian imagery. As the march eastward became deadlier, these distinct char- acteristics come together in more detail to provide a fuller picture of martyrs' heaven in subsequent reports. The stories dedicated to an anonymous knight and to Rainald Porchet, whom we shall meet later, provide good illustrations that display the culmination of this process.

Latin sources of the First Crusade and those that followed frequently charac- terize individual images of heaven as the motivation for vigorous fighting unto death, even when death in the name of Christ was not voluntary.24 From the canonical viewpoint that emphasized the voluntary aspect of martyrdom, victims who succumbed to superior forces involuntarily could hardly be considered martyrs deserving of reward. Perhaps for this reason, the authors of the Latin reports made only general references to heaven or, at best, included only certain generic elements of heaven in stories that did not meet the canonical requirements for martyrdom per se. Yet the rhetoric in the crusaders' self-representations con- sidered all the casualties of "Jesus' army" martyrs. And by attributing to these casualties the belief in imminent heavenly recompense, all casualties could be de- picted as overjoyed martyrs.

Tales circulating among believers asserted that even crusaders who might not live to see Jerusalem recaptured25 would earn through death on their way to the city a special place in the heavenly Jerusalem. They are to be paid, according to Urban, "with the same shilling, whether at the first or the eleventh hour."26 Fulcher of Chartres applied this view to the drowning catastrophe at Brindisi. Some of the four hundred bodies floated in the port with crosses imprinted on their backs. "By such a miracle, those dead had already by God's mercy obtained the peace of everlasting life. . . ." Fulcher found these crusaders worthy of eternal life because the imprinted crosses indicated that their deaths, although not voluntary, occurred in imitation of Christ. Crosses were also found, according to Raymond of Aguilers, on the right shoulders of six or seven Christians killed by the Saracens. By asso- ciating the crusade with the imitatio mortis Christi, both Fulcher and Raymond were able to reward all casualties regardless of motivation.27

22 Baldric of Dol, RHC Oc., 4:12-16. 23 His exemplars are apostles, Stephen the crowned martyr, and John the Baptist: Baldric of Dol,

RHC Oc., 4:12-16. 24 Fulcher of Chartres, Historia Hierosolymitana, ed. Heinrich Hagenmeyer (Heidelberg, 1913),

prol. 3. 25 "Be sure that to die on the way is of equal value to" death in Jerusalem, according to Baldric of

Dol's version of Urban's speech: RHC Oc., 4:12-16. 26 Baldric of Dol, RHC Oc., 4:12-16. 27 Fulcher of Chartres, 1.8.3; Raymond of Aguilers, Historia Francorum qui ceperunt Iherusalem,

in Le "Liber" de Raymond d'Aguilers, ed. John Hugh Hill and Laurita L. Hill, Documents Relatifs a l'Histoire des Croisades 9 (Paris, 1969), p. 102.

316 Martyrs' Heaven

Fulcher of Chartres thus affirmed that "even if the assassin's sword had not failed, many would have voluntarily completed a martyr's course through the requisite agony" endured while taking part in a crusade.28 The Gesta Francorum holds that Anselm of Ribemont, William the Picard, and many others who per- ished in the course of fighting were martyred. It also tells how many suffered martyrdom and "gave up their souls to God with joy and gladness." This included also the poor who could not afford food and so "starved to death for the Name of Christ." In heaven they continued to exhibit their combative characteristics, uttering "in one voice (una uoce dicentes), 'Avenge, 0 Lord, our blood which was shed for thee.' "29 Clearly, the reward after death that crusaders were promised throughout the campaign caused the elation they experienced at death. Although reward did not motivate them to give up their lives, the author ignores the dis- tinction between historical and theological reasoning for their departure. This, however, did not prevent him from asserting that all triumphed in heaven in order to beseech God to avenge crusaders' blood.

Vengeance is a powerful aspect of the evolving Christian doctrine of reward. Casualties as holy human sacrifices could beseech the Divine to bring heavenly retribution against the enemy that had shed their blood. After all, Urban's call referred to the journey to Jerusalem as "the right kind of sacrifice (recta obla- tio),30 a call that was answered "with one accord" by those who promised "to follow in the footsteps of Christ."31 Robert the Monk explicitly applied this notion to his version of Pope Urban's speech. Urban is said to have promised revenge on the enemy and reward for the crusader who "shall offer himself to him as a holy living sacrifice, acceptable to God."32

What made all crusaders potential martyrs, therefore, was the pontiff's associ- ation of any death on the way to Jerusalem with self-sacrifice. Since such deaths qualified as martyrdom, all crusaders could earn through self-sacrifices the reward of the martyrs' heaven. At the same time, the act of imitatio mortis Christi ben- efited, not only the dead, but also the living. While Jesus shed his blood to redeem humanity, the crusaders' sacrificial blood was expected to bring divine retribution upon the enemy that shed theirs.

By the significant metaphor of human sacrifices, the Gesta Francorum's account of "a certain priest" further alludes to this twofold benefit of martyrdom as a

28 Fulcher of Chartres, 1.16.4. 29 Gesta Francorum et aliorum Hierosolimitanorum, ed. and trans. Rosalind Hill (London, 1962),

p. 17, "Vindica Domine sanguinem nostrum, qui pro te effusus est." This recalls Rev. 6.9-10: "The souls of those who had been slaughtered for God's word ... [g]ave a great cry: 'How long, sovereign Lord, holy and true, must it be before thou wilt vindicate us and avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth?'"

30 See Urban's letter to the monks of the congregation of Vallombrosa, ed. Robert Somerville, The Councils of Urban II, 1: Decreta Claromontensia, Annuarium Historiae Conciliorum, Supplementum, 1 (Amsterdam, 1972), p. 74. See also Louise and Jonathan Riley-Smith, The Crusades: Idea and Reality, 1095-1274, Documents of Medieval History 4 (London, 1981), pp. 39-40. In Baldric of Dol's version of Urban's speech at Clermont crusaders should offer themselves "to [God] as a living sacrifice": RHC Oc., 4:12-16.

31 Gesta Francorum, p. 2. 32 The response, according to Robert, was overwhelming. They all cried in one voice, "It is God's

will": RHC Oc., 3:727-30.

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sacrifice directed to heaven. At Civitote the Turks killed surprised crusaders who were sound asleep. A fully awake priest was attacked while celebrating Mass, so "they martyred him at once upon the altar."33 The killing on the altar or the oblatio at the moment of celebrating Mass thus exemplifies pure sacrifice dedi- cated to God on behalf of crusaders. It is this association with the reenactment of the imitatio mortis Christi that instantly made crusaders worthy of heavenly re- ward.

As the number of crusader casualties increased, so did the heavenly population of martyrs. According to the Gesta Francorum, casualties at Nicaea "were the first to suffer felicitous martyrdom for the Name of our Lord Jesus," because they refused to renounce God and submitted to death as live targets for Turkish bow- men.34 For the enthusiastic believer, martyrdom earned instant personal gratifi- cation, whether after fatal blows or prolonged suffering. Life in the other world was believed to succeed such noble acts. Offering themselves voluntarily, these crusaders, who "were put up" to be killed, are depicted as willingly performing the ritualistic act of imitating Jesus' sacrifice. As such they believed themselves to be the beneficiaries of their imitatio, living with Jesus in heaven.

In a letter to the abbot of Monte Cassino after the battle of Antioch in June 1098, Emperor Alexius made it clear that the dead continued living in their ce- lestial "Eternal Tabernacle"35: "A multitude of knights and foot soldiers have gone to the Eternal Tabernacle (ad aeterna tabernacula). Some perished; others were killed. Blessed, indeed, are they, since in good intention they completed their end. Besides, we ought not at all consider them as dead, but as living and transported to eternal and incorruptible life (sed ut uiuos et in uitam aeternam atque incor- ruptibilem transmigratos)."36 Tragedy on earth turned into a celebration in heaven. All those who died received the glorious crown of martyrdom.37 Celestial dwelling is every martyr's immediate recompense ("mercedem habeatis in cae- lum"), a notion Alexius had already employed in an epistle he sent Robert I of Flanders around 1088.38

For the more generous Raymond of Aguilers the living martyrs deserved more than just a tabernacle in heaven. He disclosed that the recently fallen knight En- gelrand of Saint Pol revealed himself to Anselm of Ribemont, before Anselm's final battle, in order to foretell his death. The deceased Engelrand credited his exceptional physical beauty to his beautiful home in heaven, which Anselm could observe and which compared with none. Engelrand confirmed to the astonished Anselm his upcoming demise and comforted him with the important assertion

33 Gesta Francorum, p. 4, "quem statim super altare martirizauerunt." I have altered Hill's trans- lation from "they killed him" to "they martyred him." Also reported in Peter Tudebode, p. 36: " Unum quoque presbyterum celebrantem missam super altare invenerunt eumque statim martyrizaverunt."

34 Gesta Francorum, p. 4; Peter Tudebode, pp. 35-36. 35 The emperor, or at least this medieval notion, was probably influenced by Ps. 15.1: "Lord, who

shall sojourn in thy tabernacle? ..." As we shall see, Psalms is clearly the source in the Hebrew accounts.

36 "Epistula II. Alexii I. Komneni ad Oderisim I. de Marsis abbatem Casinensem," in Heinrich Hagenmeyer, Die Kreuzzugsbriefe aus den Jahren 1088-1100 (Innsbruck, 1901), p. 153.

37 Hagenmeyer, Die Kreuzzugsbriefe, p. 176. 38 Hagenmeyer, Die Kreuzzugsbriefe, p. 136.

318 Martyrs' Heaven

that those who fall in the service of Christ never die. He also revealed to Anselm that a much more splendid mansion was in preparation for him in heaven.39 In heaven the martyred crusaders were believed to dwell in palaces or chambers surrounded by unimaginable magnificence and brilliance,40 where they were dressed in white ("candidati")41 and were wined and dined.42 While appearing before Peter Bartholomew, Raymond of Aguilers narrates, Peter the Apostle re- vealed to him the reason for their bodily appearance and the transformation that awaits martyrs in heaven: "'We chose this habit for our appearance so that you may recognize the great profits for God's devoted servant. In this state and garb, just as you see us, we came to God, and behold us now.' After saying these things Peter and Andrew became brighter and more beautiful."43

Besides a lavish life in heaven and a dazzling physiognomy, three further in- ducements are said to have driven crusaders to strive for paradise. A good reason for finding joy in martyrdom was the belief in reunion with relatives, friends, and brothers in arms.44 Arnulf of Chocques's version of Anselm's vision included in the dazzling palace individuals beautiful beyond recognition. One of them iden- tified himself and the rest as former crusaders, now crowned martyrs.45 The de- ceased Adhemar appeared to Peter Bartholomew in Raymond's chapel to give instructions about the election of his replacement. Inter alia, he advised the cru- saders not to mourn for his death, because he is "far more useful in death than in life.... I and all departed brothers shall live with them, and I shall appear and offer better counsel than I did in life."46

39 Raymond of Aguilers, pp. 108-9. 40 Raymond of Aguilers, pp. 108-9. 41 Gesta Francorum, p. 40. The term candidati also means "radiant," which is, as I shall show, not

an impossible reading. The Gesta uses "alba" and "albos" to denote the color white, p. 69. Already in Rev. 7.14-17, those who passed through great ordeals "washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."

42 According to the eleventh-century archbishop of Mainz, Heriger, the cook, was none other than St. Peter: The Cambridge Songs: A Goliard's Song Book of the XIth Century, ed. Karl Breul (Cam- bridge, Eng., 1915), p. 59; MacCulloch, Medieval Faith, p. 200.

43 Raymond of Aguilers, p. 96, See also p. 69: "duo viri astiterunt in veste clarissima" ("two men clad in brilliant clothes"), and p. 118: "clericus ante me albis vestibus indutus" ("a clerk before me dressed in white garments").

44 According to Cyprian's On Morality 26 (third century), Christians embrace death so that they "may see our [heavenly] fatherland, that we may hail our relatives. A great number of those who are dear to us are expecting us there. A dense and abundant crowd of parents, brothers, and sons are longing for us" (quoted by Augustine in The Predestination of the Saints, PL 44:931). In Saturus's vision, the would-be martyrs joined their martyred friends and put on white robes: The Passion of S. Perpetua, trans. J. Armitage Robinson (Cambridge, Eng., 1891), pp. 66-82.

45 See again Raymond of Aguilers, pp. 108-9; Ralph of Caen, Gesta Tancredi, RHC Oc., 3:680- 81; Historia peregrinorum, RHC Oc., 3:215. Jonathan Riley-Smith suggests the man to be the knight Enguerrand of Saint Pol: The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading (Philadelphia, 1986), p. 118.

46 Raymond of Aguilers, p. 85. "I shall be more useful in death than in life" is reminiscent of Paul's dilemma in his letter to the Christians at Philippi: "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If it is to be life in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell" (Phil. 1.21-22). Paul put off his martyrdom to continue his leadership as the announcer of the Gospel, despite his yearning to be with Christ. Adhemar affirms his usefulness as a form of his leadership from above. For the play on words Christos and Chrestos (useful) see C. Muller, Commentatio de locis quibusdam Epistolae Pauli ad Philippenses (Hamburg, 1843), p. 17; Alberto Giglioli, "Mihi enim

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Second, martyrdom earned crusaders an exclusive place in the divine ranking with saints and past heroes in whose footsteps they followed. Among them we find Abraham the Patriarch (discussed below, in a wider context), Sts. George and Michael, and the Maccabees, who were seen as the perfect combatant martyrs. The Franks' altruism equaled the Maccabees' for Fulcher of Chartres. Descriptions of the crusaders' death, modeled in part after the early passions, portrayed them as perishing in the same painful ways as the Maccabean martyrs. In similar ways "many thousands met the death of a blessed martyr."47 The pilgrim Caffaro be- lieved that angels received those who perished in Antioch in 1097 and sited them in heaven with the Maccabees.48 St. Nicholas and the departed Bishop Adhemar revealed themselves to the priest Peter Desiderius, informing him that Adhemar now resided in the heavenly hosts of his saintly companion.49

The strongest motivation, however, is the offer to all Christians to be next to (or in) God and enjoy the vision of him. Prayers were offered that God would allow all Christians-all bishops, clerks, and monks "who are leading devout lives, and all the laity-to sit down at the right hand of God (ut ille uos ad dexteram Dei considere faciat). "50 Martyrdom thus offered both the religious and the laity heavenly seats. As already seen, these seats are located at the right hand of God. The crusaders' epic, La chanson d'Antioche, makes this notion the prom- ise of Jesus himself. Not only will crusaders regain the land and free the country; "they will serve me as if I had begat them; they will be my children, that I promise; their heritage will be in celestial Paradise; with me today you, too, will soon be crowned."51 For Fulcher of Chartres, many who "burned with zeal for God chose to sacrifice this life, endeavoring to die a blessed death and thus enjoy rest with Christ."52 The knight Arvedus Tudebodus relished the same fate: "he left the world, living now in Christ."53 The militant ambience required the benevolent believers, not only to provide a dwelling place for the spirit of Christ in them, but also to inhabit themselves in Christ. Through dying for God, martyrs could gain eternal life in him.

During the crusades these three incentives were no trivial prizes. Voluntary

vivere Christus est: Congeturra al texto de Phil. 1, 21," Revista biblica 16 (1968), 305-15; followed by Arthur J. Droge and James D. Tabor, A Noble Death: Suicide and Martyrdom among Christians and Jews in Antiquity (San Francisco, 1991), pp. 119-21.

47 Fulcher of Chartres, prol. 3-4; also in Guibert of Nogent's version of Urban's speech, and in Raymond of Aguilers, p. 53.

48 "De liberatione civitatum liber," in Annali genovesi di Caffaro e de' suoi continuatori, 1: 1099- 1293, ed. L. T. Belgrano (Rome, 1890), p. 103.

49 After spending time in hell, for hesitating to believe in the lance. Raymond of Aguilers, pp. 116- 17: "Ego sum in uno choro cum beato Nicholao. ..."

50 "Letter of Daimbert of Pisa, Godfrey of Bouillon, and Raymond of Saint Gilles, from the Land of Israel to the Pope," in Hagenmeyer, Die Kreuzzugsbriefe, p. 173.

51 "Ausi me serviront com ses aie engenres, II ierent tot mi fil, g'iere lor avoues, En paradis celestre sera lor iretes, Tu soies hui cest jor avoec moi corones": La chanson d'Antioche, ed. Suzanne Duparc- Quioc, 1 (Paris, 1976), 9.179-82; see also L'echelle des morts in vol. 2 (Paris, 1978), pp. 184-88.

52 Fulcher of Chartres, 2.27.10, "multi itaque in hac nostra peregrinatione zelo Dei efferventes et vitam suam breviari optantes, beato fine defungi et cum Christo frui quiete studuerunt."

53 Peter Tudebode, p. 97.

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death for Christianity was a choice of imprisoned crusaders who rejected Islam.54 The three mentioned reasons for martyrdom come into play in the story of Rainald Porchet and his polemical dialogue with Emir Yaghi Siyan. The captured hero preferred the company of martyred friends and biblical protagonists over the com- panionship of Muslims. Being in the sight of God constituted Rainald's ultimate goal, made possible by the mediation of Abraham in heaven. Abraham, however, is not just a member of the celestial upper echelon; he is the martyrs' heavenly gathering place, although the example of Lazarus in Luke 16.22 shows that ini- tially Abraham's bosom was not reserved only for martyrs.55 Emir Yaghi Siyan is said to have employed tactics of persuasion, offering Rainald not only life, but even a better one. Rainald instead preferred a celestial resting place "in the bosom of Abraham." In response to the emir's offer, Rainald replied: "'Give me time so I can consider it.' And the emir with pleasure conceded. Then Rainald with clasped hands prostrated himself in prayer toward the East; humbly he beseeched God to come to his aid and that his soul be received with dignity in the bosom of Abraham (suamque animam in sinu Abrahe dignanter suscipiat)." As a result Rainald was beheaded, and thus, "the angels immediately received his soul with joy and singing of Psalms in the sight of God, from whose love he had undertaken martyrdom (pro cuius amore martyrium suscepit). "56 Like Lazarus, who was immediately carried away by the angels into Abraham's bosom, Rainald achieved his heavenly rewards instantly. As seen, Urban himself is said to have authorized this belief, making it possible for the crusaders to "retain now and forever . . . the glorious reward of martyrdom."57 Two elements are clearly intended to be emphasized in the story: the voluntary nature of Rainald's behavior and his being motivated by heavenly rewards, in comparison with which the profane incentives offered by Yaghi Siyan pale.58

Self-designed martyrdom for the purpose of being with friends and angels around the Divine in paradise surfaces also in Fulcher of Chartres's account. Bor- rowing elements from Jesus' own final hour, he narrates how a zealous knight, stirred by a pagan's blasphemous provocation, invited his fellow crusaders at

54 Gesta Francorum p. 4: "Those who would not renounce God were killed." See also Peter Tude- bode, p. 35.

55 In Luke 16.22, Lazarus "died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom." Since Lazarus is not a martyr, Abraham's bosom indicates a special interim situation for the righteous, who escape the physical suffering in which others, like the rich man, await the resurrection.

56 "Their voices resounded in heaven to God for whose love their flesh and bones were cremated; and so they all entered martyrdom on this day, wearing in heaven their white stoles before the Lord (portantes in celum candidas stolas ante Dominum), for whom they had so loyally suffered in the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ": Peter Tudebode, pp. 79-81. The Gesta Francorum omits the dialogue between Rainald and the emir, pp. 3-4.

57 See n. 20 above. 58 Although he did not die a martyr's death, the same terminology indicates the reward of Adhemar,

bishop of Le Puy, "who by God's will fell mortally ill and by God's nod, resting in peace, fell asleep in the Lord, that is, in the bosom of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, on the feast of St. Peter in Chains (in Abrahe videlicet sinu et Isaac et Iacob, in sancti Petri a Vinculis Sollempnitate). His most happy soul rejoiced with the angels": Peter Tudebode, p. 116.

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Antioch to join him in paradise. The knight initiated his voluntary death with a declaration at an imaginary dining table. Trying to convince others to follow, he called from his horse: "If any of you wishes to sup in paradise, let him now come and eat with me, for I am about to go there." The battle scene turned into his "last supper," transporting him to a world of joy in the companionship of angels around God. "Therefore heaven and those in it celebrate.... For he was near one who heard him and rewarded him with the gift which he had arranged, an eternal dwelling."59 The knight "died joyfully," glorified in heaven while still lying on the ground. His "last supper" on earth, therefore, was only a foretaste of what awaited him in heaven. Martyrs' recompense is their superior heavenly status in the company of saints, relatives, and brothers in arms around the visible God.

This heavenly order is perhaps best recapitulated by Raymond of Aguilers in his story of Peter Bartholomew's encounter with Jesus, Peter, Andrew, and the other apostles. The "Lord himself" is said to have revealed martyrs' recompense in a hierarchical heaven:

Do you see my five wounds? Like these, you [i.e., the crusaders] are placed in five orders. The first order is of those who fear not swords or any kind of torment. Those in this order resemble me. I came into Jerusalem, fearing not swords and lances, clubs and sticks, and last, not even the cross. They died for me as I died for them. I am in them and they are in me. Together in fact we dwell one in the other. Upon their death they are seated on God's right, the place where I sat after my resurrection and ascension into heaven [Matt. 26.64]. The second order is of those who are assistants of the former, and so they are a rear guard as well as protection in case of retreat. They resemble the apostles, I may say, who followed and shared food with me. The third order is of those who minister to the former, providing them with such things as stones and javelins. They remind me of those who watched me hanging on the cross suffering my passion, while they beat their breasts proclaiming the injustice against me.60

Crusaders sacrificed themselves for Jesus and Jerusalem, like Jesus who had sac- rificed himself for them in Jerusalem. They were able to complete their astonishing self-immolations because Jesus' spirit had dwelled in their temporal bodies. There- after, Jesus and they would become one celestial body on God's right. The divine place that was initially reserved for Jesus alone was now shared with crusaders. Martyrs thus are at the top of the divine hierarchy, surpassing even the apostles.

Employment of such images culminated in the visions of twelfth- and thirteenth- century mystics. Their visions are too numerous to be included in this article. Suffice it here to stress their major relevant characteristics. Visions praised the beauty and splendor of heaven, offered to its dwellers according to their merit and

59 "... si quis vestrum in Paradiso cenare desiderat, nunc mecum veniat et mecum prandeat. [I]am iam enim abibo.... [P]ropterea laetamini caeli et qui habitatis in eis.... [P]rope autem erat qui eum audiebat et donativum ei pensabat et sedem perennem parabat": Fulcher of Chartres, Historia Hiero- solymitana 2.27.11-13.

60 Raymond of Aguilers, pp. 113-14. The fourth and fifth ranks are of those who did not take up the cross and displayed cowardice. Raymond focuses here on the benefits of death for the crusaders and thus provides no detail on the fate of the former.

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rank ("secundum ordinem suum").61 Not only the relics of martyrs radiate "as happens when the sun is reflected on a bright mirror,"62 but also the martyrs themselves shine in heaven.63 In the hierarchy of heaven, which obviously reflects the interpretation of medieval life, "the citizens of heaven" receive their special garments, now including silk and white shoes, thrones and palaces based on their merit in life.64

A divine voice assured the German mystic Elisabeth of Schonau (c. 1157) that "those who have toiled the most, they will be the most splendid in my sight." Thereafter the hierarchy of heaven was revealed to Elisabeth. At this point, the message of the divine voice reads like a standard medieval mystical text: "In your vision you have seen what seemed to be three figures in a single essence, seated on a divine throne, sharing a single substance and power. And in the center of the throne and around it you beheld the mysteries of God, God's holy ministers re- joicing and uttering benedictions in perfect praise of the Lord. Seeing, you saw in that same vision that I speak of, on the right of that same throne, the renowned queen of heaven crowned with the purest gold and cloaked in bright colors. On the left you saw the holy rood, your redemption, and twenty-four elders seated and falling to worship before the throne of Him who lives forever. And you saw also the holy apostles, the martyrs, the confessors and the virgins, monks and widows...."65 The divine voice tells her that "it is proper and necessary to reveal such visions," which are sent in order "to confirm the faith of Christendom."66 Similarly, Mechthild of Magdeburg included in her vision multiple heavens and "nine choirs." In the second heaven, the three uppermost levels, "in the choir of the cherubim," are reserved for the martyrs, the apostles, and holy women, "who are all crowned and robed in festal garments."67 In these descriptions, once more, the reward of sitting with one's relatives and the martyrs' golden seats paled into relative insignificance beside the bliss of the visio Dei.

OLAM HA-BA AND GAN EDEN

In contrast to the early Christian depictions of martyrs in paradise, their Jewish contemporaries are far less explicit. Rather than strictly indicating a place, the

61 An anonymous description of Gerardesca's contemplation in Acta sanctorum, ed. J. Carnandet (Paris, 1866), 7:168; discussion in McDannell and Lang, Heaven, pp. 74-77.

62 Gregory of Nyssa, Ascetical Works, trans. Virginia Woods Callahan, Fathers of the Church 58 (Washington, D.C., 1967). Petroff, Visionary Literature, p. 79.

63 Christina of Markyate, for instance, has her heroine, St. Theodora, also called Christina, see the dead Roger in his heavenly chapel "shining brilliantly": Petroff, Visionary Literature, p. 150. Note also the cross "much brighter than the sun" emanating from Jesus' head in a priest's vision at Antioch: Raymond of Aguilers, p. 73.

64 Hildegard of Bingen, Scivias 3.3, in Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Mediaeualis, 43:371; McDannell and Lang, Heaven, p. 78 n. 14.

65 Quoted from Petroff, Visionary Literature, p. 165, and see bibliography there. 66 Petroff, Visionary Literature, p. 165. The visions of Perpetua include a similar but embryonic

depiction of martyrs in the divine "garden." 67 The Revelations of Mechthild of Magdeburg (1210-1297), or The Flowing Light of the Godhead,

trans. L. Menzies (London, 1953), 3.1, esp. pp. 64-66.

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world to come (Olam ha-Ba) in the Talmud (the body of exegetical material on Jewish law) frequently denotes a future time in which the righteous or Israel reigns supreme.68 Talmudic discourse associates the world to come with the eschatolog- ical drama and the Messianic era-which is also the time of the dead's physical resurrection. Commentary on this miraculous existence often locates the world to come within the terrestrial realm and featuring terrestrial bounty: "In the world to come a person will bring a single grape in a wagon or a ship, store it in the corner of his house, and draw from it enough wine to fill a large flagon, and its stalk will be used as fuel under the pot. There will not be a grape which will not yield thirty measures of wine" (B. Ketubot lllb; also B. Shabbat 30b and B. Ta'anit 64a). Such descriptions suggest that the world to come is lived on earth. Leviticus Rabba 36.2 also affirms the terrestrial location of Olam ha-Ba.69

According to the second-century rabbinic exegesis Sifre Deuteronomy 356.148b, even Moses could not tell what goodness the righteous would receive in the world to come.70 In the world to come there appears to be a reversal of roles according to R. Joseph, the son of R. Joshua b. Levi, who envisioned such an order while in a coma. On top are the students of the Torah, esteemed there as here. Because of the importance of Torah study in the world to come (B. Bera- khot 64a, B. Megillah 28b), the scholastic abilities of talmudic martyrs position them above all others in R. Joseph's vision. His vision, however, appears to allude to a new earthly social order (B. Pesahim 50a). By the ninth century, works such as Tanhuma and Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer still viewed the world to come as a post- historic phase in the eschatological worldly drama.71

Another reference to the place of happiness at the end of days is to Gan Eden, a name that recalls the primordial existence described in Gen. 2.8 and 3.23-24 and that is synonymous with complete delight. Talmudic discussions regarding the geographic location of Gan Eden (B. Erubin 19a, B. Tamid 32b, B. Baba Bathra 75b and 84a) allude to its temporal and Messianic nature. Missing in these de- scriptions of Gan Eden are specific references to martyrs. The midrash Eleh Ezkerah about ten martyred rabbis makes inconsistent allusions to a "second world" (olam sheni). It also refers to the "academy on high" (yeshivah shel

68 This discussion by no means exhausts this complex talmudic subject. A good summary is provided by Abraham Cohen, Everyman's Talmud (New York, 1995), pp. 346-89; and Simcha Paull Raphael, Jewish Views of the Afterlife (Northvale, N.J., 1994), pp. 121-30.

69 But on the other hand, "In the world to come there is no eating or drinking, no procreation or commerce, no jealousy or enmity or rivalry-but the righteous sit with crowns on their heads and enjoy the radiance of the Shekhinah" (B. Berakhot 17a).

70 From Sifre Deuteronomy 34.74b, "when thou walkest, it [i.e., the Torah] shall talk with you," we understand that the world to come connotes physical resurrection: Sifre: A Tannaitic Commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, trans. Reuven Hammer, Yale Judaica Series 24 (New Haven, Conn., 1986). B. Berakhot 17a promised the righteous that they would "sit with crowns on their heads and enjoy the radiance of the Shekhinah (the presence of God)," but this does not necessarily mean in heaven. Compare Matt. 22.30. The Christian mystics examined in this paper also believed that God's presence can be experienced in this life.

71 Tanhuma, Reeh 4: Midrash Tanhuma, trans. John T. Townsend (Hoboken, N.J., 1989). Pirkei de- Rabbi Eliezer, chap. 24 on Deut. 32.39: trans. Gerald Friedlander, 4th ed. (New York, 1981). But hints of a somewhat different world to come appear in Tanhuma, Vayikra 8.

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ma'alah). While this academy appears as the destiny of every righteous scholar of the Torah, there is no indication that martyrdom itself guarantees a place in it. No references to an afterlife follow the executions of most of the rabbis in the story, including that of R. Eleazar ben Shammua, who described the academy on high. All the midrash says is that his "soul has departed in purity." In fact, only the names of R. Akiva and R. Shimon ben Gamliel are mentioned in relation to the academy on high, but only Akiva's activity as an expounder of the Torah in the yeshivah is described. That martyrdom did not secure or carry a reward after death is clear from the answer of the ascetic R. Hanina to his disciples. Although held as one of the most pious rabbis of his generation, even he could not know "in which way I am about to walk" after his execution. Nor does the story provide information about his posthumous fate. The only benefits ascribed to his death are the avoidance of transgression and maintenance of purity.72

In sharp contrast, the Hebrew sources that succeeded the First Crusade provide detailed descriptions of a heavenly world to come (Olam ha-Ba) or paradise (Gan Eden), the final resting place of the martyr. After graphically describing the brutal massacres by the crusaders, the Hebrew sources elevate their martyrs to the serene realm of the world to come. No more an obscure talmudic phrase, the martyrs' world to come represents a vibrant heavenly dwelling place, which martyrdom alone could unlock. Those who gave up their lives in defense of their conviction gained the bliss of the world to come "in n brief moment."73 Strikingly similar to Emperor Alexius's statement in his letter to the abbot of Monte Cassino ("we ought not at all consider them as dead, but as living and transported to eternal and incorruptible life"), a contemporary liturgical poem by a certain R. Abraham admonished: "We ought not question [the destiny of] the dead (redumim),74 for they have been destined and bonded for everlasting life."75

Like the Latin sources, the Hebrew accounts popularize the living society of heaven. Regardless of status or erudition, martyrs' reward came automatically; "Everyone who has been killed and slaughtered and died for the sanctification of his Name is destined to the world to come."76 "Everyone" meant everyone: men

72 Midrash Eleh Ezkerah, in Bet ha-Midrash, ed. Adolf Jellinek (Jerusalem, 1967), 2.71; 2.68, 72; 2.72; 2.67, 68; 2.71. Note that no description of heaven follows the executions of the rabbinic martyrs in the Talmud or of the seven sons in Second Maccabees. See again Shepkaru, "From After Death to Afterlife." Many thanks to Ivan G. Marcus for his suggestion that I consider the references to the "academy on high" and for his remarks on Abraham's bosom in tractate Semahot 8 and on Saul Lieberman's article, cited in n. 104 below. As Marcus has suggested to me, some Christian motifs had already been internalized before 1096 and, as my article demonstrates, were intensified and reinforced thereafter.

73 Gezerot, p. 55; Eidelberg, p. 65; Chazan, p. 291 (see above, n. 1). 74 Redumim, literally "the sleeping ones," indicating their interim situation between slaughter and

return to life. Once again, this notion nicely concurs with the phrase "Abraham's bosom." Recall that Adhemar "fell asleep in the Lord (obdormivit in Domino), that is, in the bosom of Abraham," above, n. 58.

75 Gezerot, p. 62. 76 Gezerot, p. 31; Eidelberg, p. 31; Chazan, p. 254.

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of all ranks, rabbis and laymen, women and children,77 slaves and maidens, in- cluding converts.78

Through their sacrifices they all attained the heavenly world to come, where they were said to go on living.79 Even after undergoing painful death, martyrs still "remain alive, our souls in Gan Eden, in the great luminous speculum eternally."80 As in the polemical speeches attributed to martyred crusaders who made rewards and vengeance their goals, David the gabbai (i.e., a synagogue leader) had ex- pressed similar aims before the crusaders fell upon him in Mainz. He tells the crusaders his belief "in an everlasting living God, who dwells in the highest of heaven. In him have I trusted to this very day and so I shall do until my soul departs. I know the truth. If you kill me, my soul will be placed in Gan Eden, in the light of life." At the same time he promised his enemies that "you will descend to 'the nethermost pit (Ps. 55.24; B. Berakhot 28b)' to 'everlasting abhorrence (Dan. 12.3).' In Gehenna you are condemned with your deity... ."81 The language and the notion are biblical. But, as seen, Christian martyrs are said to have echoed the same condemnations.82

As in the Latin accounts, both materialistic and spiritual elements provided reasons for confidence with respect to the world to come. Martyrdom offered life in a heavenly world full of all the riches of this world, "a world full of bounty."83 Biblical verses embellish this popular medieval connection between martyrs' com- pensation and voluntary death: "'How abundant is the good that you have in store for those who fear you, that you do for those who take refuge in you (Ps. 31.20).' They shall forever exult. 'Light is sown for the righteous, radiance for the upright (Ps. 97.11).' These saintly ones desired to sanctify the revered and awe- some Name with joy and cheer.... "84 "Those who take refuge in you" indeed echoes the theme of imitatio Christi. But despite such overtones, the Jewish author assigned his actors rewards because of their desire to be sacrificed for God, while the Latin sources ascribed rewards to crusaders for their wish to be sacrificed like God.

Although the Hebrew sources speak collectively of the generation of 1096 as

77 Moses ben R. Helbo "called to his sons and said to them: 'My sons, Helbo and Simon. At this moment Gehenna and Gan Eden are open. Into which of them do you wish to enter now?' They answered and said to him: 'We wish to enter Gan Eden.'" Thereafter, they were believed to exist "in the light of life": Gezerot, p. 35; Eidelberg, p. 37; Chazan, p. 260. In respect to women in paradise, the Hebrew accounts of the First Crusade seem to be innovative as well. Women almost find themselves on an equal footing in paradise. Chava Weissler attributes women's appearance in paradise to a later period: "Women in Paradise," Tikkun 2/2 (1987), 43-46. Descriptions of women in heaven in the First Crusade accounts deserve more attention.

78 See below, p. 329. 79 As seen, a repeated motif in these sources. For example, "Those killed for the unification of his

holy Name, the Most High, are destined for the world to come, and their souls in Gan Eden, bound in the bond of life": Gezerot, p. 40; Eidelberg, p. 44; Chazan, p. 268.

80 Gezerot, p. 31; Eidelberg, p. 31; Chazan, pp. 253-54. 81 Gezerot, p. 36; Eidelberg, p. 38; Chazan, p. 262. 82 Although relying on Jewish sources, such declarations in the Latin accounts represent the general

attitude of the period toward the "impious opponent." See n. 29 above. 83 Gezerot, p. 55; Eidelberg, p. 65; Chazan, p. 291. 84 Gezerot, p. 52; Eidelberg, p. 61; Chazan, p. 287.

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the generation that "had been chosen to be his portion,"85 they emphasize their protagonists' personal heavenly reward. These martyrs' "materialistic" rewards draw on general imagery and expressions found already in nonmartyrological legal and midrashic material. In 1096 these images were applied to reward martyrs individually with luxury suitable for Europe's monarchs.86 A golden throne awaits them in heavenly palaces. On each head a golden crown with precious stones and pearls is placed;87 golden necklaces adorn their necks.88 In the heavenly palace each newcomer is dressed in the eight vestments of clouds of glory, "crowned with two crowns, one of precious stones and pearls and one of fine gold."89 Each of the medieval martyrs is told in heaven: "Go eat your bread happily."90

In addition to this personal extravagance, martyrdom precedes rewards that only heaven could make possible. In particular, three more types of reward appear to be of great importance in the sources. Often, these interrelated rewards surface as the martyrs' motivation for their altruistic acts. They are the same three in- ducements as in Latin descriptions, although the theological reasoning differs.

Joining deceased friends and family appears to be of great importance to the martyrs. Martyrdom, the narratives counseled, reunites loved ones in heaven, where they continue to live harmonious lives. Entire communities in fact will reunite in the heavenly world to come. After surviving the massacre in Mainz by conversion, Isaac the son of David, the parnas (i.e., a community leader), slaugh- tered his children and burned himself to repent for his betrayal. Driven by his guilty conscience, he hoped that because of his offerings, "maybe he will do ac- cording to his benevolence and I shall still join my comrades and come with them to their circle, to the great light."91 A certain convert asked Rabbi Moses the Cohen: "What will be my fate if I slaughter myself for the unity of his great Name?" His answer could not have been more comforting: "You shall sit with us in our circle."92 Through voluntary death the convert was believed to obtain his final social and religious recognition, which also made him an equal in the parallel community of Jewish martyrs in heaven.93 Joining the victims in heaven was also the aspiration of the author of the report. In reassuring his readers that all martyrs "are destined for the life of the world to come," he himself hoped to have his portion with them.94

Another reason for elation was the unification with biblical, Maccabean, tal-

85 Gezerot, p. 25; Eidelberg, p. 22; Chazan, p. 244. 86 Again, this is not to say that such images cannot be found in early Jewish texts. But they are used

in the medieval texts to convey the rewards of martyrdom and to correspond with the symbols and writing style of the period.

87 Gezerot, pp. 48-49; Eidelberg, pp. 56-57; Chazan, pp. 281-82. 88 Gezerot, p. 87. 89 Gezerot, p. 74; Eidelberg, p. 82. 90 Gezerot, p. 82. 91 Gezerot, pp. 37-38; Eidelberg, pp. 40-41; Chazan, p. 263. See also below, n. 109. 92 Gezerot, p. 50; Eidelberg, p. 58; Chazan, p. 283. 93 Reminiscent of Augustine's views on martyrdom: "I have in mind those unbaptized persons who

died confessing the name of Christ. They receive the forgiveness of their sins as completely as if they had been cleansed by the water of baptism. . . . 'He who loses his life for my sake will find it (Matt. 16.25)'": The City of God 8.7.

94 Gezerot, p. 32; Eidelberg, p. 33; Chazan, p. 257.

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mudic, and more recent martyrs and heroes. Isaac the son of David desired to reach the circle of his friends in heaven, but his heroism earned him more, in the author's view: "His soul is hidden in the portion of the saintly in Gan Eden."95 The Jews of Mainz are said to have promised that each martyr "will sit in the circle of the righteous, R. Akiva and his associates, 'the pillars of the universe,'96 who were killed [by the Romans] for his Name." Others are said to have joined the three biblical models Hanania, Michael, and Azaria.97 After failing to drown themselves in the Rhine in order to prevent forced conversion, R. Shmuel the bridegroom and Yehiel the saintly are said to have declared: "Better for us to die here for his exalted Name and we shall stroll with the saintly ones in Gan Eden.... ."98 Through voluntary death it was believed they would "come this day among the saintly and be in their circle."99 As in the Latin narratives, Jewish martyrs were believed to receive their rewards instantly.

Abraham the Patriarch represents another important dweller in the world to come. Abraham, however, is not only a dweller but also the heavenly dwelling place. As in Peter Tudebode's story about Rainald, Abraham's bosom denotes the martyrs' immediate reward in heaven. After watching the mass self-killing of three hundred Cologne Jews, the young Sarit attempted to escape the horrifying scene. Her fiance's father, Judah ben R. Abraham, would not let fear stand in the way of her religious loyalty. Despite her initial reluctance to join the mass sacrifices, her place in heaven was unquestionable. Reenacting in fact the Akedah story (the binding of Isaac), her father-in-law, "[s]eized her and held her outside the window and kissed her on the mouth and raised his voice in weeping along with the lass. ... The pious Judah said to her: 'My daughter, come and lie in the bosom of Abraham our ancestor, for in one moment you shall acquire your future and shall enter the circle (mehitzah) of the saintly and pious.' He took her and placed her in the bosom of his son Abraham, her betrothed, and cut her with his sharp sword into two pieces. Thereafter he slaughtered his son as well."100 The fate of Judah ben R. Abraham remains unclear. The concluding Psalm of David (15.1), "Lord, who shall dwell in thy tabernacle?" may suggest that heaven was also Judah's reward. "Tabernacle," it should be recalled, indicated heavenly reward for the living martyrs in Emperor Alexius's epistle to the abbot of Monte Cassino.101 Psalms were also the songs that martyrs like Rainald heard upon entering heaven. What is clear is that both Peter Tudebode and the author of this account utilized the Psalm of David to ornament their stories about their martyrs in the "bosom of Abraham."102

95 Gezerot, pp. 37-38; Eidelberg, pp. 40-41; Chazan, p. 264. 96 Referring to the martyred rabbis in the Talmud, later transformed into the story of the Ten Mar-

tyrs. See Solomon Zeitlin, "The Legend of the Ten Martyrs and Its Apocalyptic Origins," Jewish Quarterly Review 36 (1945-46), 1-16.

97 Gezerot, pp. 31 and 39; Eidelberg, pp. 31 and 43; Chazan, p. 254. 98 Gezerot, p. 45; Eidelberg, p. 51; Chazan, p. 276. 99 Echoing Akiva, Gezerot, p. 51; Eidelberg, p. 60; Chazan, p. 285. 100 Gezerot, p. 47; Eidelberg, p. 54; Chazan, p. 279. 101 Above, n. 36. 102 In his Hebrew article, "Vengeance and Damnation, Blood and Defamation: From Jewish Mar-

tyrdom to Blood Libel Accusations," Zion 58 (1993), 44 n. 149, Israel Jacob Yuval points to the

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To be sure, Abraham's imagery is not just a convenient play on words. In the story of R. Meshullam ben R. Isaac of Worms and his wife Zipporah, Abraham's bosom serves as the final heavenly resting place of their sacrificed son, Isaac. God himself "will take him as his portion and place him (ve-yoshivo) in the bosom of Abraham."103 The phrase "in the bosom of Abraham" appears to blend in almost naturally with biblical motifs such as Zipporah's old age, her delivery of Isaac late in life (like Sarah), the binding of their only son, and the father who "took in his hand the knife with which to slaughter his son" (Gen. 22). Given the importance of the Akedah in Judaism, Abraham's role in the Hebrew texts is not surprising. The Jewish preference, however, for Abraham's bosom as the martyrs' resting place in heaven over other Jewish variations illustrates how the phrase from Luke 16.22 played a similar role in the Latin crusade narratives and in contemporary Hebrew narratives. While how the phrase came to be adopted deserves its own study, the exact wording combined with the same martyrological function of the phrase in both sets of sources exhibits a high level of acculturation.104

Abraham represents also a more specific heavenly locality for the aforesaid Rabbi Moses the Cohen. Replying to the inquiry of an anonymous convert to Judaism, the rabbi assured him that through voluntary death: "You shall sit with us in our circle, for you shall be a true convert and you shall sit with the rest of the saintly true converts in their circle. You shall be with Abraham our father who was the first of the converts." Immediately upon hearing this answer, the convert slaughtered himself.105

phrase "Abraham's bosom" in the Gesta Treverorum, MGH SS 8:190. See also idem, "Christliche Symbolike und judische Martyrologie zur Zeit der Kreuzziige," in Juden und Christen zur Zeit der Kreuzziige (above, n. 1), p. 88 n. 8. Rainald's story, with its reference to Abraham's bosom, is more relevant to the phenomenon of parallel symbolism, since the Gesta Treverorum attributes the phrase to Jewish martyrs' declarations ("Iudaei qui ibi habitabant ... dicentes . . ."). Rainald's story, in contrast, presents the phrase as part of his speech and hope, with no connection to Jews. The crusaders' belief in everlasting life was reinforced by reports of Bishop Adhemar of Le Puy's posthumous visita- tions.

103 Gezerot, p. 96; Eidelberg, pp. 103-4; Chazan, p. 230. 104 Variations appear in some Hebrew sources. In Fourth Maccabees 7.19, 13.17, and 16.25, the

seven sons, according to the author, "knew too well that those who died for the sake of God live with God as do Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the patriarchs." The martyrs themselves are said to have uttered similar statements: "When we have died in such fashion, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will receive us and all the patriarchs will praise us": The Third and Fourth Books of Maccabees, ed. and trans. Moses Hadas (New York, 1953). In Pesikta Rabbati 43 the mother says to her young son: "O my son, do you wish that in the time-to-come all your brothers be in the bosom of Abraham?" The phrase "the time-to-come" is missing in the Nushat Ha-Garaz edition, while M. Friedmann's edition (Vienna, 1880), based on the editio princeps, has: "while you are in the bosom of Esau." In general, as Rivka Ulmer notes in her synoptic edition, Pesiqta Rabbati, 1 (Atlanta, 1977), p. xxxvii, the Warsaw 1893 edition and the Friedmann edition are inadequate. Moreover, she writes: "Friedmann frequently emended the text based upon his own conjecture." See also Shepkaru, "From After Death to Afterlife," pp. 20-21. The late tractate Semahot (Mourning) has "in the bosom of the righteous" when describing the dialogue between Rabban Simeon and Rabbi Ishmael before their execution: trans. D. Zlotnick (New Haven, Conn., 1966), 8.8, p. 59, and see the discussion by Saul Lieberman, "The Martyrs of Caesarea," Annuaire de l'Institut de philologie et d'histoire orientales et slaves 7 (1939-44), 417 n. 5 and 443-45. See also n. 72 above. "The Bosom of Abraham" is the topic of an article of mine in progress. For the role of the Akedah in Jewish martyrology see Shalom Spiegel's classic work, The Last Trial: The Akedah, trans. Judah Goldin (New York, 1967; repr. Woodstock, Vt., 1993).

105 Gezerot, p. 50; Eidelberg, p. 58; Chazan, p. 283.

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As shown below, Rabbi Moses the Cohen's answer suggests that more than one circle of saints existed in heaven, establishing a certain heavenly hierarchy, marked by locations. The sitting on golden thrones in circles or sections points to a co- ordinated setting, designed to enable martyrs to achieve their highest individual reward- "seeing God." As in the Latin narratives, it is this goal that serves as the martyrs' third and most significant motivation for self-sacrifice. Metaphorical bib- lical verses, now understood literally, assisted in establishing this notion of a direct divine vision based on merit. Divine hierarchy surfaces in abundant references to heavenly circles and divisions. By employing biblical verses, the following passage makes heavenly hierarchy evident. Not only does this hierarchy place the martyrs above all others in heaven, it also enables them to participate in the supreme bliss-the divine vision. Zadikkim (righteous) are divided into seven sections in heaven and are seated on God's right.106 Martyrs who stood the test like Abraham the Patriarch, "shall be of that section (kat), preferable to him more than the other. They are destined to stand and sit in the shadow of the Holy One, blessed be he, standing on his right, as is said: 'From his right [hand] a fiery law (Deut. 33.2).' Regarding them that verse states: 'In your presence is bounteous (sova) joy, de- lights are ever in your right [hand] (Ps. 16.11).' Read not 'bounteous' (sova) but 'seven' (sheva).107 These are the seven sections of the saintly ones, each [section] ranks above the other, whose faces are comparable to the sun and the moon.... 'Light is sown for the righteous, radiance for the upright (Ps. 97.11).' These saintly ones desired to sanctify the revered and awesome Name with joy and cheer. . . ."108

Finally, the imagery of heaven in relation to voluntary death is well exemplified by the story of an anonymous leader and his followers in Xanten. Enjoying the divine vision constitutes the optimal fulfillment in this imagery. The congregation has assembled for their last Sabbath meal. Christian and Jewish symbols are at work. The meal becomes the would-be martyrs' last supper; the table is trans- formed into an imaginary altar, the grace after meals into their sacrificial bene- diction; the Xanten community turns into the morning burnt offering. To be sure, the employment of these symbols was not accidental. Whether expressed by the anonymous leader or added by the narrator to embellish an actual event, it was done with the talmudic tractate Berakhot 5b in mind. It reveals that "not everyone has the merit of two tables," symbolizing this world (Olam ha-Zeh) and the world to come (Olam ha-Ba). But "whoever says the benediction [in the grace after meals] over a full cup of wine will be granted a boundless inheritance and will be worthy to inherit two worlds, this world and the world to come" (B. Berakhot 51a). The difference between Xanten's narrative and B. Berakhot, however, is

106 In Jewish sources the image of seven heavens appears in the tenth-century legends about R. Joshua b. Levi's journey to heaven. A similar legend is found in B. Ketubot 77b, where no such similar divisions are mentioned. Moreover, martyrs are completely out of the picture. Seven concealed palaces in heaven, guarded by angels, are mentioned in Heikhalot Rabbati, Bet ha-Midrash 3.94, ed. Adolf Jellinek (Jerusalem, 1967). Normally, no humans are allowed in these palaces: Gershom Scholem, Kabbalah (New York, 1987), pp. 16-17. See also E. Wolfson, Through a Speculum That Shines: Vision and Imagination in Medieval Jewish Mysticism (Princeton, N.J., 1994).

107 See Midrash Leviticus Rabba, chap. 30; Eidelberg, p. 156 n. 189. 108 Gezerot, p. 52; Eidelberg, p. 61; Chazan, p. 286. In Eliezar bar Nathan's poem, martyrs come

into the king's chambers, into the seven sections, where seats are reserved for them: Gezerot, p. 88.

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critical. While the Talmud alludes to a world to come lived on earth, the passage below refers to the heavenly Gan Eden. The association of voluntary death with the burnt offering points to the heavenly direction the martyrs of Xanten are about to take:

The pious and loyal one, the priest higher than his brothers, said to the congregation seated around his table: "Let us recite the grace to the living God, to our Father in heaven, for the table is set before us instead of the altar. Now let us rise up and ascend to the house of God and do the will of our Creator swiftly, for the enemy has come upon us today. Let each man slaughter on the Sabbath his son, daughter, and brother and give upon us this day a blessing .... We ourselves shall offer the sacrifice of God, as the 'whole burnt offering' [1 Sam. 7.9] to the Most High One, on the altar of the Lord. We shall exist in a world that is entirely light, in Gan Eden, in the shining speculum, and we shall see him eye to eye (ve nire'hu 'a 'yin be a 'yin), in his actual glory and greatness. ... We shall be seated there among 'the pillars of the universe' and shall dine in the company of the saintly in Gan Eden. We shall be in the company of R. Akiva and associates. We shall sit on a golden throne, under the Tree of Life, and each one of us shall point at him with his finger and say: 'Behold this is our God whom we hoped for. Let us cheer and gladden in his salvation' [Isa. 25.9; B. Ta'anit 31a]. There we shall observe our Sabbaths, for here, in this world of darkness, we cannot rest and observe it properly. "109

The audience's reaction to the ardent speech of the anonymous leader who is transformed into "the priest higher than his brothers" is reminiscent in concept and language of the well-known reaction to the sermon of a more famous Chris- tian priest higher than his brothers. As in the reports of Urban's address at Cler- mont, "They [the Jews at Xanten] all replied loudly, with one mouth and one heart: 'Amen, so be it and so is his will.' "110 Thereafter, continues the account, "They themselves became like the daily offering of the morning.... They all came happy and rejoicing before the exalted and sublime God. With regard to such as them it is said: 'Like a groom coming forth from the chamber, like a hero eager to run his course' [Ps. 19.6]. So did they rejoice to run and enter into the innermost

109 Gezerot, pp. 48-49; Eidelberg, pp. 56-57; Chazan, pp. 281-82. These ritualistic homicides went beyond and even against, as many rabbis and scholars have argued, the legalistic (halakhic) require- ments of qiddush haShem. Generally speaking, the halakhah describes qiddush haShem as a passive act. When coerced by the oppressor to choose between life and death, Jews are required to let the oppressor destroy them rather than transgress. In some cases the requirement to give up life passively is applicable only when one is forced to transgress in public, i.e., in the presence of ten Jews, but not in private. (See also the articles cited in n. 2 above.) These acts of ritualistic homicides during the crusades were usually performed to escape forced baptism. Although the exact numbers are unknown, they represent an extreme and highly controversial form of martyrdom. For example, Da 'at Zekanim me-Ba'alei ha-Tosafot, to Gen. 9.5, s.v. ve-akh, ed. I. J. Nufiez-Vaes (Livorno, 1783), strongly con- demned such acts to the point of calling them murder.

110 The Gesta Francorum mentions the arrival of the pontiff with his delegation, including the priests ("presbiteris"), p. 1. In reaction to Urban's speech and "the great reward" he had offered them for their suffering, "They all with one accord said they would follow in the footsteps of Christ," p. 2. "God wills it" was the crusaders' battle cry. At the battle of Antioch, for instance, "The Franks altogether shouted in a loud voice: 'God wills it, God wills it'" ("tunc alta voce omnes simul Franci exclamaverunt: 'Deus hoc vult, Deus hoc vult' ": Fulcher of Chartres, 1.17.5; Gesta Francorum, p. 7, "'Deus uult, Deus uult, Deus uult!' una uoce conclamant").

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chamber of Gan Eden. Pertaining to them the prophet prophesied: 'No eye has seen [0] God except you who acts for him who waits for him' [Isa. 64.3; B. Berakhot 34b]."111

Although drawing on obscure talmudic descriptions of the messianic era,'12 the ending of this medieval version reveals an essential departure from the Talmud. First, the function of Isa. 64.3 is completely antithetical to that in B. Berakhot 34b, where the verse stresses that the world to come is a conundrum known only to God. The verse also distinguishes between the unknown Eden and what may appear to be a terrestrial garden. Second, the passage here ascribes heavenly re- ward to martyrs in return for their altruism. Finally, "we shall see him eye to eye" is another addition of the twelfth-century Jewish author.'13 Isa. 64.3 is used to stress the point that martyrs' ultimate reward is their direct vision of the Divine. In the medieval syntax this verse could easily be read, "No eye has seen God, except you . .. ," that is, the martyrs. The language is the language of the Bible and the Talmud. The images, however, are taken from the world of the twelfth century. The salvation of the martyr and the triumph of the messiah that follow the last supper motif,"4 a "pontiff's" motivation speech, both terrestrial and ce- lestial hierarchies, and seeing God face to face are themes that had also marked the Latin narratives of the period.

Other themes in the exchange between the Jews of Xanten and their leader further echo Pope Urban's speech. Although a priest (Cohen) often leads the grace after meals, it is likely that in the interest of creating a Jewish version of the pope's speech, the author reveals only later the name of this "priest higher than his broth- ers." His name was Rabbi Moses, "a priest of the Most High God." It is the priest who confirms the dual benefit of martyrdom: salvation for the martyrs and dam- nation for their enemies. This confirmation is reminiscent of Pope Urban's promise (in Robert the Monk's version) that martyrs who spill their blood in imitating their Lord will bring both salvation and damnation. Departing from the grace after meals, Rabbi Moses added in the spirit of the period: "May the Merciful One avenge, in the lifetime of those who will survive us and before their very eyes, thy servant's blood that is spilt and that will yet be spilt."15

To be sure, other Latin literary narratives inspired the story of Xanten. Although the Hebrew depiction recalls the priest's sacrificial duties in the Temple, the rabbi's call for sacrifices "on the altar of the Lord" also echoes the story of the anonymous Christian priest whom the Muslims killed "upon the altar" at the moment of celebrating Mass. And finally the association of martyrdom with the last supper,

11 Gezerot, pp. 48-49; Eidelberg, pp. 56-57; Chazan, pp. 281-82. Staying close to the medieval text, I have deliberately left Isa. 64.3 unchanged and unpunctuated.

112 Regarding B. Ta'anit 31a, Raphael's comment is worth mentioning. This passage does not make "reference to the dead in any way": Jewish Views (above, n. 68), p. 151. It could be thus another description of the end of days.

J13 In contrast, B. Berakhot 10a: "As the Holy One, blessed be he, sees but cannot be seen." See also the midrash to Ps. 103.1 (217a): "The Holy One, blessed be he, sees the works of his hands but they cannot see him." This is, of course, one of the talmudic opinions.

114 For messianic expectation and revenge as the conclusion of the story, see specially Gezerot, p. 50; Eidelberg, p. 58; Chazan, p. 283.

1 1 Gezerot, p. 49; Eidelberg, p. 57; Chazan, p. 282. For Robert the Monk, see above, n. 32.

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which is continued in heaven, is the central theme in the voluntary self-sacrifice of the anonymous knight.116 The heavenly world in the story of Xanten well dem- onstrates how old and new, Christian and Jewish, came to play an identical role in the world of twelfth-century Ashkenazic Jews in Christendom.

A century later, such parallel notions constituted an integral part of the Jewish literature of heaven. The mystical work Masekhet (also known as Seder) Gan Eden117 divides heaven into realms around God.118 In the center the text places "the realm of the ten martyred by the Romans." This realm displays all the special qualities of the ten rabbinic martyrs executed by the Romans. Another version in the thirteenth-century anthology Yalkut Shimoni also divides paradise into sec- tions. The first section is inhabited by the ten rabbis martyred by the Romans (haruge malchut), R. Akiva and his companions; the second division belongs to those drowned in the sea, alluding to the four hundred youths who drowned themselves rather than let the Romans use them for immoral purposes (B. Gittin 57b), also mentioned in the Hebrew accounts of the First Crusade as a source of inspiration for their drowned heroes. "In their midst sits the Holy One, blessed be he." Interesting to note, the first-century R. Yohannan ben Zakkai and his disciples, who are believed to be the forerunners of rabbinic Judaism, occupy only the third realm. Like the martyred crusaders who were placed above the apostles, medieval Jewish martyrs could outclass even famous rabbinic figures.

Martyrs dominate also the heaven of Immanuel ben Solomon of Rome (c. 1265- 1330) in his work Hell and Heaven, which is reminiscent of Dante's Divine Com- edy.119 In heaven, Daniel shows Immanuel ten unique sections. These sections, Daniel explains to Immanuel, are the sections of the Ten Royal Martyrs (haruge malchut), who stand directly before God and give him no rest until he hastens the final redemption of Israel. As these nonmartyrological texts demonstrate, First Crusade martyrological imagery had become a coherent, integral part of heaven in both Jewish and Christian commentaries by the thirteenth century.

CONCLUSION

The sources presented here exhibit several important parallels. Following upon the style of early hagiography, both mystical and historical Latin writings of the

116 Above, n. 59. 117 Gershom Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (New York, 1954), p. 183. 118 Jellinek, Bet ha-Midrash (above, n. 106), 2.52-53; Judah David Eisenstein, Otsar Midrashim, 2

vols. (New York, 1915), 1:83-84; Louis Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews (1909-38; repr. Phila- delphia, 1967-69), 1:19-20. Sifre Deuteronomy (above, n. 70) alludes to seven divisions for the righteous in Gan Eden. They are Presence, Courts, House, Tabernacle, Holy Hill, Hill of the Lord, and Holy Place (10.67a). But note again, the righteous themselves are not classified, and that is fol- lowed in the midrash to Ps. 11.7 (51a). Sections were added to this midrash as late as the thirteenth century. Given the historical background, the adaptation of the idea from Sifre Deuteronomy is not surprising. More generally, B. Shabbat 152a relates, "Each righteous person will be assigned a dwelling in accordance with the honor due to him." Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai found himself in his dream on Mount Sinai and heard a divine voice inviting him and his disciples into the third class. No reference, however, is made to a celestial location: B. Hagigah 14b. The place appears to be the world to come, but its nature is unknown. This is according to the statement that the mysteries of the Torah will be revealed to scholars in the world to come: B. Hagigah 14a.

119 Immanuel Ha-Romi, Ha-Tophet V'Ha-Eden, ed. Dov Yardin, in Mahbarot Immanuel Ha-Romi (Jerusalem, 1954), 2:511-54.

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crusading era place a great deal of emphasis on voluntary suffering, personal sacrifices, and recompense. Although twelfth-century Jews and Christians turned to martyrdom for different reasons, divine recompense is strikingly correlated in Jewish and Christian depictions. Heaven compensated martyrs with basic neces- sities as well as material objects dear to medieval aristocracy.

Whether Jewish or Christian, heaven accommodates multidimensional dwelling places. The higher levels denote the loci martyrii. As in the Latin descriptions, the Jewish martyrs join relatives and friends in the upper levels of heaven, where they all form a society of saints. Both sources consider the apex of the heavenly reward sitting with past heroes and martyrs on God's right hand in order to behold him.

Celestial reward circulated around the Divine. As is central to Christian depic- tions, the twelfth-century Hebrew sources relating the events of 1096 place their martyrs in circles or divisions in order to enable each martyr to focus on God and to receive the ultimate reward individually. While Christian martyrs were expected to join the main circle of the apostles, all Jewish martyrs were destined to adjoin the upper section of R. Akiva and his martyred colleagues. The Jews of 1096, it is worth mentioning, earned their bliss, not according to "honor" stemming from rabbinic erudition (B. Shabbat 152a), but rather according to the merit that at- tached to them as a result of their voluntary, heroic responses to the attempts to convert them by force.

According to the Jewish and Christian graphic reports, specific privileges in ethereal realms motivated "voluntary death" en masse, even when in reality it was not elective. By so presenting their histories, both sets of authors turned gruesome realities into glorious opportunities. The increasing need to rationalize calamities accelerated the use of heavenly imagery in Hebrew and Latin sources.

A number of factors contributed to the adoption and adaptation of these images by the Jewish narrators. The early Christian images of martyrdom and recompense in heaven decorated Europe's churches, cathedrals, and martyrs' shrines. Euro- pean art and iconography made these images visible and tangible.120 Being hard to miss, these physical portrayals abundantly affected the psyche and mentality, not only of Christians, but of Jews as well.

Another possible method of transmission was provided by "peaceful polemics," as, for example, in the polemic between Gilbert Crispin and a Jewish merchant from Mainz, just three years prior to the First Crusade. Even if Crispin's report of this dispute to Anselm of Canterbury is a fiction of his imagination, it still demonstrates the important role polemic played in transmitting ideas such as mar- tyrs seeing God eye to eye (recall Anselm's Monologion). In fact, Gilbert's suc- cessful persuasion of his challenger that the verse "God was seen [already] on earth and conversed with men" is supported by Hebrew texts (Bar. 3.36-38) allegedly caused the anonymous Jew to convert. Not, however, before he argued that "from that very quotation of yours it can be established that the Christians should be confounded, for they, too [like idolaters], adore images and rejoice in

120 The imagery of Abraham's bosom in medieval art is discussed in Jero6me Baschet, "Medieval Abraham: Between Fleshly Patriarch and Divine Father," Modern Language Notes 108 (1993), 738- 58. For biblical motifs in medieval art see Daniel H. Weiss, "Biblical History and Medieval Histori- ography: Rationalizing Strategies in Crusader Art," Modern Language Notes 108 (1993), 710-37.

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their idols. For you figure God Himself as a wretch hanging on the beam of the cross transfixed with nails-a horrible sight, and yet you adore it, and round the cross you figure a sun having half the form of a boy and frightened, I know not why, and a moon flying with half the shape of a girl, sad, and showing only the half of her disc; but sometimes you paint God sitting on a lofty throne and making signs with an outstretched hand, and around him as if for greater dignity an eagle and a man, a calf, and a lion."l12 Often medieval art depicts righteous souls in heaven as children. According to Gibert, the anonymous Jew failed to comprehend the meaning of a suffering boy and a sad girl in the shape of a moon and a sun around Jesus. A few decades later, the Hebrew narratives described how their martyrs' "faces are comparable to the sun and the moon" in paradise. This anon- ymous Jew was allegedly won over after the promising meaning of these symbols was revealed to him. This dispute suggests that Jewish-Christian polemics pro- vided yet another direct vehicle of transmission for these symbols and their inter- pretation, in addition to the role of art imagery.122

Unlike this amicable dispute, however, the intensive verbal exchanges between the Jews and crusaders (who destroyed them by the sword) or Jews and their Christian neighbors (who attempted to save them by baptismal water) provided the main route of transmission for these images in 1096. As the sources demon- strate time and again, salvation and damnation constituted the core of these vio- lent and direct polemics between crusaders and Jews. The theological reasoning behind the polemics predominates in a variety of sources. Paradoxically, in order to refute the crusaders' polemical arguments, the anonymous Jew first adapted the very same Christian themes they were disputing.

As the literary parallels demonstrate, during the crusades, Jews and Christians viewed the act of dying for God as the ultimate proof of absolute religious com- mitment. By the use of heavenly rewards, violent tragedies were made to seem worthy and rational. Yet voluntary death and its celestial reward were not meant to be a universal investment. Descriptions of martyrdom thus reveal their offensive side. Not only do martyrological accounts praise their protagonists, but they are also designed to keep others of "false" convictions from becoming heroes. Ex- pressions such as "in one voice" they showed their readiness to accept "God's will" since he was "testing the generation" demonstrate a monopolistic nature. The Divine chose only one side in the conflict, and only those on that side could acquire paradise. This view finds explicit expressions in a number of works, both Jewish and Christian.

In his attempt to discourage the Donatists' fascination with death, Augustine

121 Anselm, Opera, 1744 ed., 5.2.255; translation in Joseph Jacobs, The Jews of Angevin England: Documents and Records (London, 1893), p. 11. See also R. W. Southern, Saint Anselm and His Biographer: A Study of Monastic Life and Thought, 1059-c.1130 (Cambridge, Eng., 1963), pp. 88- 91, esp. pp. 89 n. 2 and 91 n. 2.

122 For more on debates and polemics see David Berger, The Jewish-Christian Debate in the High Middle Ages, Judaica, Texts and Translations, 4 (Philadelphia, 1979); idem, "Gilbert Crispin, Alan of Lille, and Jacob ben Reuben: A Study in the Transmission of Medieval Polemic," Speculum 49 (1974), 34-47; idem, "Mission to the Jews and Jewish-Christian Cultural Contacts in the Polemical Literature of the High Middle Ages," American Historical Review 91 (1986), 576-91; and Daniel J. Lasker, Jewish Philosophical Polemics against Christianity in the Middle Ages (New York, 1977).

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had already established that "it is not the penalty that makes true martyrs, but the cause."123 Although not dependent on Augustine directly, the same axiom seems to have guided the medieval witnesses and reporters of violent events.124 Not only veneration of martyred coreligionists was at issue, but also the rejection of others' service, since such unique courage to overcome the instinct to live was attributed to divine inspiration. Both Jewish and Christian authors elevated their martyred heroes to heaven, while overwhelming hell with the martyrs' assailants. As in our day, medieval self-destruction reflected a matter of self-definition.

Albert of Aix, who mentioned the voluntary deaths of the Rhineland Jews,125 viewed the crusade as a form of martyrdom, whose celestial rewards were to be reserved to Christians.126 Peter the Hermit already had received this message and envisioned the opening of paradise's gates for the would-be sufferers during his pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1094.127 For Guibert of Nogent, the crusade offered sinners "a new way of gaining salvation" and an effective way of expiating all offenses by "shedding their blood."'12 In his opinion it was without precedent that secular princes exposed their bodies to suffering merely for spiritual reward.129 Similarly, Pope Urban argued, according to Baldric of Dol, that since Jesus shed his blood for Christians, the opportunity was now theirs to offer themselves to him as "a living sacrifice."130 According to Robert the Monk, these ideologies could be summarized in a word: martyrium. Crusades constituted a martyrium, offered solely to Christians.131

Fulcher of Chartres echoed the same view in a more elaborate fashion. To begin with, he "believed that the elect were tried by the Lord and by such torment were purified of their sins." Then, focusing on the war against the Muslims, he offers three reasons for "the cost of suffering" and the many martyrdoms on the expe- dition: the destruction of "the pagans" and the salvation of the Christians and of those who willingly join them. "In truth," he writes, "he has permitted the Chris- tians to be slain for the augmentation of their souls. But those of the Turks pre- destined to salvation it pleased God to have baptized by our priests."132 In con- trast, those who perished as "unbelievers," Peter Tudebode emphasizes, without dimming his admiration of the Turks, "met death in soul and body," implying

123 "Martyres veros non facit poena sed causa": Augustine, Epistolae 89.2, PL 28:310. 124 To emphasize Jesus' free will, Anselm quotes John 6.44: "no one comes to me unless the Father

draws him." Thus, he argued, only a person who pays satisfaction for sins "will be elevated to the

Heavenly City": Cur Deus homo? in Anselm of Canterbury, ed. and trans. Jasper Hopkins and Herbert Richardson, 4 vols. (Toronto, 1975-76), 3:54-86.

125 Albert of Aix, RHC Oc., 4:272 and 291-95. 126 Defeat is like martyrdom: RHC Oc., 4:288-291, 373-76, and 399. Cowdrey observes that

"violent death" indicates martyrdom in Albert's account, "restricting its use to Christians": "Martyr- dom and the First Crusade" (above, n. 20), p. 50.

127 According to Albert, RHC Oc., 4:273. 128 Guibert of Nogent, RHC Oc., 4:124 and 179; Riley-Smith, The First Crusade, p. 114. 129 Guibert of Nogent, RHC Oc., 4:225; Riley-Smith, The First Crusade, p. 61. 130 Historia Hierosolimitana, RHC Oc., 4:12-16. 131 Historia Hierosolimitana, RHC Oc., 3:734. 132 Fulcher of Chartres, 1.16.4-5: ". . . Christianos quidem ab ipsis Turcis permittit occidi ad sal-

vationis augmentum, Turcos autem ad animarum suarum detrimentum, quorum quosdam iam saluti praedestinatos placuit Deo tunc a sacerdotibus baptizari."

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that they have no hope even in death.133 Only because of their belief in Christ's reigning in heaven does he view the Franks alone as the true knights, even though no one could have found "more skilled, courageous, and clever warriors than those Turks [who] claim to be of Frankish descent."134 Muslims' preference for death over conversion to Christianity earned them respect in Peter's eyes,135 but voluntary death could not bestow on them a place in Abraham's bosom.

That only Christians are rewarded by voluntary death is made clear in Raymond of Aguilers. He summarized this view in a sentence attributed to the dead crusader Engelrand: "Those who die in the service of Christ never die."136

More elaboration is found in Bernard of Clairvaux. In his opinion, God offered Christians the Second Crusade as their last chance for repentance. Salvation could be achieved only through readiness to embrace martyrdom. Evocative of the He- brew sources' association of tragedy with a divine test, Bernard rhetorically asked: "Can he not send more than twelve legions of angels137 or just say the word and so free his land? Of course he can if he wishes so; but I tell you the Lord your God is testing you (TENTAT VOS DOMINUS DEUS VESTER).... Contem- plate now with what mastery he plans your salvation.... A cause in which to win is glorious and for which to die is but gain (ET MORI LUCRUM).138 . .. The material itself is a buy of little value; but if it is placed [i.e., the cross] on a devout shoulder, it is undoubtedly worth no less than the kingdom of God (regnum Dei)." He calls his generation a well-off generation, "which has come upon that appro- priate year of the Lord, a very jubilee (et vere iubileus)." Thus no other nation may enter the realms of heaven and enjoy its benefits.139

The benefits of martyrdom are more explicit in Bernard's letter to the Templars. A martyr's death for God becomes superior even to victory and successful life. "For if those are blessed who die in the Lord, how much more blessed are those who die for the Lord?" Martyrs who die in battle, that is, Christian martyrs, "are joined to the Lord." Conversely, Bernard emphasizes, while the bodies of Chris- tians die without the soul, the nonbeliever's soul dies as well.140 And again in his Letter 363, "he who dies (i.e., without sacrificing his life to God) remains in death (MANET IN MORTE)."141

Adopting the same theological line a hundred years later, Thomas Aquinas made a more explicit statement. In his view, only "the Jews and Turks . . . and certain heretics known as the Chiliasts" could ridiculously fancy the attainment of a cor-

133 Peter Tudebode, p. 55. 134 Peter Tudebode, p. 37. 135 Peter Tudebode, p. 92. 136 "Equidem non moriuntur illi, qui in Christi servicio vitam finiunt," p. 109. 137 Obviously relying on Matt. 26.52-53: "Do you think I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will

at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?" 138 Echoing Paul, Phil. 1.21. Capital letters appear in the edition (see next note). 139 Sancti Bernardi Opera, ed. Jean Leclercq et al., 8 vols. (Rome, 1957-77), Letter 363, 8:313-15. 140 "Quam beati moriuntur martyres in proelio! Gaude, fortis athleta, si vivis et vincis in Domino;

sed magis exsulta et gloriare, si moreris et iungeris Domino.... Nam si Beati QUI IN DOMINO MORIUNTUR, non multo magis qui pro Domino moriuntur?" "De laude novae militiae Templi liber," Opera, 3:215.

141 Letter 363, Opera, 8:316.

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poreal heaven, although he saw no contradiction in trusting his corporeal saints in heaven to "see one another and rejoice in God, at their fellowship."142

To Aquinas's contemporary Humbert of Romans, the crusades offered "salva- tion to mankind on the cross." In repeating the views found in early crusading propaganda, he reveals not only a Christian attempt to monopolize heaven but also the urge to colonize it instead of the earthly Jerusalem. Although he wrote toward the end of the crusading era, it is worthwhile quoting him. His theological rationalization well summarizes the mentalite of the First Crusade: "The aim of Christianity is not to fill the earth, but to fill heaven. Why should one worry if the number of Christians is lessened in the world by death endured for God? By this kind of death people make their way to heaven who perhaps would never reach it by another road. "143

Although such works did not always mention Jews explicitly, the crusaders' violent acts and polemical declarations during the events of 1096 demonstrated to Jews what their role was to be. From the Jewish viewpoint, at least the verbal theological assaults could be repelled by assigning similar theological importance and function to celestial rewards. The authors of the Hebrew sources could not let Christian polemics monopolize heaven and exclude the Jews killed by those who believed that they alone would reach it. The Christian attempt to ban others from their martyrs' heaven in order to confirm their rivals' theological defeat propelled the Hebrew narratives to include the very same celestial rewards Jews and non-Christians in general were not supposed to reach according to Christian dogma. Moreover, because of the monopolistic view that the crusaders advanced, the Hebrew sources on 1096 reserved celestial compensation to their "elected people." From the Jewish viewpoint, too, the crusade drew them into a divine test. It took place in order "to announce to all and in the retinue of high [heaven] their love [for him]."144 Through martyrdom, thus, "the saintly are destined to greatness in the world to come more than any other nation."145

To be sure, the authors of the Hebrew sources were fully aware of the Christian attempt to monopolize heaven. In parallel to Guibert's opinion of the secular princes' motivation, the Mainz Anonymous states that belief in paradise motivated European princes to take up the cross. The source attributes the following to the crusaders' leaders: "Why do we sit thus? Let us also go with them [i.e., the popular bands], for every man who sets forth on this journey ... will be absolved and assured paradise." 146 Both Guibert and the Mainz Anonymous stress that the theo-

142 Thomas Aquinas, The "Summa theologica" of St. Thomas Aquinas, trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province, 22 vols. (London and New York, 1912-27), part 3, q. 81, art. 4 (20:194), and part 1 of part 2, q. 4, art. 8 (6:68). See also McDannell and Lang, Heaven, p. 92 with notes.

143 Humbert of Romans, Opus tripartitum, ed. Edward Brown, in Fasciculus rerum expetendarum et fugiendarum, 2 vols. (London, 1690), 2:193; Riley-Smith, The Crusaders, p. 257.

144 Gezerot, p. 45; Eidelberg, p. 56; Chazan, p. 281. 145 Gezerot, p. 52; Eidelberg, p. 61; Chazan, p. 287. 146 Gezerot, p. 94; Chazan, p. 226. Robert Chazan makes the same observation in "The First Crusade

as Reflected in the Earliest Hebrew Narrative," Viator 29 (1998), 30, and in "Jerusalem as Christian Symbol during the First Crusade: Jewish Awareness and Response," in Jerusalem: Its Sanctity and Centrality to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, ed. Lee I. Levine (New York, 1999), pp. 382-92, esp. pp. 382-83 and 387.

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logical concept of reward in heaven influenced even well-to-do secular aristocrats. Regarding the Second Crusade, Eleazar bar Yudah wrote that "more than ten thousand [Christians] marked themselves with symbols of defilement [i.e., with the insignia of the cross], only to kill themselves and gather plunder."147

The Spaniard Yudah ha-Levi (c. 1075-1141) provided a wider perspective from afar. In his polemical Kuzari (The Book of the Khazar) he writes, "Christians and Muslims fight with one another, each of them serving his God with pure intention ... committing murders, believing that this is a most pious work which brings them nearer to God. They fight with the belief that Paradise and eternal bliss will be their reward."148

No wonder that ha-Levi's Ashkenazic contemporary and eyewitness of crusad- ing activity Ephraim of Bonn (1133-c. 1196) was conscious of the widespread sharing of martyrological ideas. Although he acknowledged that "God suffers distress for the [shed] blood of the wicked," including Edom and Ishmael (i.e., Christians and Muslims), his analogy of the dove reserved martyrdom to Jewish victims: "For Israel has been compared to the dove as it is written: 'Thine eyes are as the dove' (Song of Songs 1.15). What is [special about] this dove? Whereas all other birds quiver when being slaughtered, the dove does not, but rather stretches out its neck, so none offers his soul for the Blessed Holy One except Israel, as it is written: 'For Thy sake are we killed all the day, etc.' (Ps. 44.23)."149

The news from the East about Christian heroism, achieved through casualties and defeat, drove Ephraim to make the analogy of the dove. Ephraim's view is close in concept to the views expressed by Albert, Guibert, and Bernard-who claimed martyrdom as a Christian enterprise-as well as to Peter Tudebode's comparison between Frankish and Turkish casualties. For Ephraim, Jewish victims should always be seen as martyrs; non-Jews were arbitrary casualties. Israel will be rewarded in the future world because it willingly and honorably undertakes death for the Divine; other nations stumble upon their death, only to perish in humiliation without cause or reward.150

We may further pinpoint the source that triggered Ephraim's analogy. Ephraim mentions with gratitude the warnings that Bernard of Clairvaux issued against the killing of Jews.151 Bernard's warnings immediately follow his above-mentioned description of martyrdom as a distinctive Christian virtue with distinctive Chris- tian benefits. More specifically, his theological view of Jews follows the admoni- tion that failure to seize the divine opportunity and imitate Christ even in death results in everlasting death. According to Bernard's Letter 363, crusaders should not attack and force Jews to convert because "we are told by the Apostle that

147 Gezerot, p. 163. 148 Judah ha-Levi, The Kuzari, trans. Hartwig Hirschfeld (New York, 1964), 1.2, p. 39. 149 Gezerot, p. 122; Eidelberg, p. 132. 150 R. Moses ben Eleazar makes a similar analogy. Jewish martyrs are like the dove. The "dove's

throat is like a heap of cut grain (amir)," perhaps referring to Jer. 9.21, "as a handful of cut grain (amir) after the harvestman."

151 See David Berger, "The Attitude of St. Bernard of Clairvaux toward the Jews," Proceedings of the American Academy of Jewish Research 40 (1972), 89-108; and Jeremy Cohen, "Witnesses of Our Redemption: The Jews in the Crusading Theology of Bernard of Clairvaux," in Medieval Studies in Honour of Avrom Saltman (Ramat-Gan, 1955), pp. 67-81.

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when the time is ripe all Israel shall be saved. But those who die before [converting to Christianity] will remain in death." The rewards of sacrifice in the name of Christ and eternal damnation for Israel appear tightly connected.

Though Ephraim welcomed Bernard's protection in "his later epistles" (363 and 365),152 he could not accept his theology of martyrdom and his argument that all others "remain in death." Ephraim did not speak directly against Bernard. But through the analogy of the dove, he rejected Bernard's view of heavenly rewards for Christian martyrs, rewards that Bernard and his contemporaries claimed were reserved to them. Ephraim did so by following the style, method, and symbolism found in the Hebrew narratives of the First Crusade.

Ephraim's analogy, the Mainz Anonymous, and Guibert's identical observations regarding the secular magnates' motivation for taking up the cross demonstrate that Latin writings provided another vehicle for these images. Which of these writings and sermons were read by Jews-as Ephraim's familiarity with Bernard's "later epistles" suggests-or heard by them in public readings of sermons or letters and reports from the East is not always discernible.153 It is clear, however, that although written documents may be seen as another important source of influence on Jewish celestial imagery, the Jewish desire to verbally refute the crusaders' theological arguments that preceded and accompanied their deadly assaults con- stituted the main reason for absorbing the new images of heaven.

The Hebrew accounts of the First Crusade, then, paved their martyrs' way into heaven. In reaction to the Christian monopolistic view of heaven, these Jewish accounts consciously adopted this system of martyrs' rewards from their Christian environment, incorporating it into their own martyrological tradition through biblical, midrashic, and talmudic language. Such a stylistic combination served Jews as a means of rationalization and as a reaction to the crusading propaganda and violent discourse advanced by crusaders. Against this background, all of the writers mentioned made room in paradise only for their own martyrs, while flood- ing hell with the martyrs' adversaries.

Modern historians often view the acts of qiddush haShem and martyrium during the crusades as a contest between members of the two faiths. Whose behavior would prove to be more heroic and astonishing? Whose martyrdom is more dig- nifying and deserving? Simply put, each side proclaimed: our devotion outshines yours. While in historical perspective this modern psychological evaluation is cor- rect, the actors in the numerous bloody dramas had their own immediate outlook. Since there was only one true "living God," one genuine creed, one elected nation,

152 Gezerot, p. 116; Eidelberg, p. 122. Eidelberg also suggests Letter 363 as the possible source for Ephraim's analogy, p. 172 n. 11. As we see here, it is not only possible, but also plausible. A Hebrew document on events at Blois paraphrases an "epistle from the chiefs of Paris" and the king's written edict of protection: Gezerot, p. 145.

153 Otto of Freising also refers to the circulation of Bernard's letters in Cologne, Mainz, Worms, Speyer, and Strasbourg. More generally, he mentions Bernard's letters to the people of Gaul and Ger- many in which he reminds them not to kill the Jews so "the enormity of their crimes" would be known throughout the world: The Deeds of Frederick Barbarossa, trans. Charles Christopher Mierow, Rec- ords of Civilization, Sources and Studies, 49 (New York, 1953), pp. 74-75. In addition to letters, Ephraim includes hearsay: "we heard" the crusaders' propaganda and "our hearts melted," or Bernard "then preached as it is their wont."

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one lawful trial, and one ethnic paradise, only one group could produce martyrs worthy of celestial recompense. All "others" were destined to damnation or, at best, were viewed as casualties, but not martyrs. The Divine elected one side only to stand the privileged "trial of the generation," while the "enemy" continued living in its error. Through these "trials and errors," a complex Jewish paradise emerged in the Middle Ages.

By the twelfth century the Christian images of martyrs' heaven that were adopted and adapted by the Hebrew narratives of the First Crusade became com- monplace in the emotional experiences and expressions of both communities. In their efforts to claim heaven exclusively for their martyrs, Jews and Christians intensely accentuated the merit of their own protagonists in a unique heavenly postmortem existence. Despite their efforts, or more accurately because of these efforts, their martyrs' heavenly worlds never looked so much alike.

Shmuel Shepkaru is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Oklahoma, Nor- man, OK 73019 (e-mail: Shmuel.Shepkaru-l @ou.edu).

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