Abstract
This paper will focus on popular legitimacy in regard to William of Tyre’s coverage of the People’s Crusade in the 1090s and the Principality of Antioch from 1130-1143. This paper involves a discussion of Peter the Hermit, Alice of Antioch, Ralph of Domfront, and Raymond of Antioch as depicted in A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea. In his discussion of these political figures, William reveals his understanding of popular legitimacy, namely what makes popular action acceptable and unacceptable. The analysis focuses on how William uses popular action to tailor legitimacy in accordance with his political narrative. This work serves as a reminder that, even in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, common people were not idle in political affairs and made an impression on the minds of key thinkers at the time.
Recommended Citation
Thompson, Nicholas T.. "Princes, Patriarch, and the People: William of Tyre and Popular Legitimacy in the People’s Crusade and the Principality of Antioch, 1095-1143." The Purdue Historian 11, 1 (2023). https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/puhistorian/vol11/iss1/10