The Tafurs were a group of Christian participants of the First Crusade. Zealots following strict oaths of poverty, they are said to have committed acts of cannibalism during the siege of Antioch.

Background

The Tafurs took their name from a horseless Norman knight, who assumed the organization and armed leadership of peasants gathered by the preaching and spiritual leadership of Peter the Hermit, and so became known as "King Tafur".[1] "Tafur" appears to mean just "beggar" or "vagrant".[2] "King Tafur" took harsh vows of poverty, relinquished his weapons and armour and donned a sack-cloth and a scythe, urging his followers to do the same.[1]

The Tafurs typically wore no shoes and little clothing. They barely lived off roots or herbs, frequently exhibited sores and bruises throughout their bodies, and were kept separated from the rest of the crusaders. They wielded clubs, knives, hatchets etc., but were not allowed to have money or sophisticated weapons, in contrast to the other Christian fighters.[1] But according to their rules, they could keep anything gained through plunder. Indeed they regarded such spoils as validation of God's favour towards their poverty. Hence, they were rapacious and ruthless in the search of spoils.[2]

The Tafurs became infamous for their disregard for danger and their reported acts of cannibalism: as starvation befell the crusader army in Antioch, they showed little hesitation in consuming the bodies of fallen enemies.[1] In result, the Muslims greatly dreaded them, much more so than the rest of the crusaders. When the governor of Antioch appealed to the crusaders' princes to restrain the Tafurs, the princes had to admit to having little sway over them.[1][2] Most of the barons (with the notable exception of Bohemond of Taranto) seem to have held the Tafurs in contempt, and never mention them in "official" accounts sent back to Europe.[1] They are, however, featured in chronicles written from a lower social standpoint, such as Dei gesta per Francos, and in popular epics such as the Chanson d'Antioche.[1][2][3]

The Tafurs accompanied the other crusaders to Jerusalem, and participated in the siege of the city in 1099.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Payne, Robert (1984). The Dream and the Tomb: A History of the Crusades. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-8128-2945-7 – via Google Books.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Cohn, Norman (1970). The Pursuit of the Millennium: Revolutionary Millenarians and Mystical Anarchists of the Middle Ages. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-987840-6 – via Google Books.
  3. ↑ Kostick, Conor (2008). The Social Structure of the First Crusade. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-16665-3 – via Google Books.
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