Did the Virtuosity of the Pen Compensate for the Shortfall of the Sword? Remembering the Eighth Crusade against Tunis (1270)

Abstract

The Eighth Crusade was launched by Saint Louis against Tunis in Summer 1270. For a few months, the French kingdom and its allies posed a serious threat to the Hafsid regime. Even though they ultimately failed to conquer the capital city, they heavily weakened the rule of al-Mustanṣir (r. 1249–77), emptying his coffers and damaging his prestige. In this paper, we first inventoried the points at stake. Then, we identified the rationale behind the expedition, evaluated the balance of the armed forces, and measured the losses and gains for each side. Second, the sources showed how the authors could depict the situation and assess its aftermath, depending on their political agenda. The Hafsid thurifers tended to minimize the sultan’s impotency, while others (e.g., the Mamluks) sometimes harshly criticized it. Third, the courtiers resorted to poetry and satirized “al-Franṣīṣ” for his setback of the Seventh Crusade (1248–1254) which he had led too. They mocked him in famous epigrams that we translated and analyzed. In conclusion, we examined why they concealed the blow. The Literati of the Restoration (ca 1370–1488) strove to portray al-Mustanṣir as a model king for the First Golden Age (until 1277) in a long series of sovereigns that stretched over more than two centuries.