5 - The Papacy and the Naval Leagues

Summary

We grant to those faithful who proceed with the flotilla or in another fashion in support of the Christians in the regions of Romania against the unbelievers [i.e. the Turks] […] that [same] forgiveness of their sins which is granted to those who cross over in aid of the Holy Land, and as a reward for the just, we promise them an increase in their eternal salvation.

Pope Clement VI, letter decreeing crusade measures in support of the naval league against the Turks, 30 September 1343.

Throughout this discussion of the naval leagues and their strategies, a fundamental question in understanding how they fit into the wider crusading movement needs to be addressed. Contrary to what is commonly thought, the leagues were not papal-led operations from the outset, neither were they always associated with a general crusade to the Holy Land; instead they were initiated by the resident Latin powers of the eastern Mediterranean, largely independent of papal control and with minimal influence from the great powers of western Europe. As a result only some of the participants in these campaigns received the rewards usually associated with a crusade. To understand how the leagues – and crusading against the Turks in general – fitted into wider crusade thinking, it is first necessary to analyse their connection with other papal crusade initiatives. Once this has been undertaken the implementation of crusading mechanisms in the Aegean theatre will be analysed, with specific attention given to the indulgences granted for the leagues and other campaigns against the Turks.

The Leagues in the Context of Papal Crusading Strategy

John XXII and the First Naval League

By the time of the election of John XXII in 1316, the Latin powers in the Aegean had already formed their own initiatives against the Turks. These soon evolved into the concept of a naval league which was adopted by the Venetian government in the mid 1320s. The Venetians set about recruiting other powers to the league and in the sketchy records of the negotiations that followed evidence emerges of formal attempts to bring the papacy into the coalition.