Seventeenth century artist Giambattista Piazzetta depicted Godfrey, Duke of Lotharingia, in a classical mode: his dress, helmet and demeanour – and semi-nakedness- link him to the Greco-Roman epic heroes and gods. But his gesture of pointing to the heavens is specifically Christian, and so is the winged angel who brought God’s decision of making him the leader of the Christian army. Tasso wanted to write a great Christian epic to equal the pagan ones of antiquity, and he did it using many of the classical conventions. Sp Coll Hunterian Cd.2.1., Special Collections, University of Glasgow Library
Who is the hero in this story? He is introduced to us in Canto One (think of a Canto as a chapter in a novel), in accordance with epic etiquette. Godfrey, Duke of Lotharingia (1060-1099) was a historical figure. He was one of the leaders of the First Crusade: he led a large contingent, along with other nobles, most notably his brother Baldwin, Hugh of France, Robert of Normandy, Robert of Flanders (many Roberts, which is perhaps what inspired Walter Scott’s novel on the First Crusade, Count Robert of Paris – but more of that later), and many others, from the Rhineland to Hungary, then through the Balkans to Thrace and Constantinople, where he met with other contingents and more leaders. Uniting outside Constantinople the “pilgrims”, as they called themselves (the terms Crusade and Crusader were invented much later, in the sixteenth century), crossed the Golden Horn, passed on to Anatolia, and from there moved towards Jerusalem, their ultimate destination.
Was Godfrey a hero in history? It depends. He was certainly brave in terms of the values system of his time: an aristocratic warrior who led armies to war, being the first among them to plunge into battle. It would also seem that he was honestly religious in his purpose to liberate the Holy Sepulchre from Muslim rule (which was the Crusaders’ professed aim), rather than motivated solely by ambition and greed, like many others who participated in that enterprise. Perhaps this was the reason why Godfrey was unanimously elected by the other leaders of the First Crusade to become the first King of Jerusalem. It is interesting that Godfrey did not accept the title of King, postulating that there was only one King in Jerusalem and that was Jesus Christ, so he took the humbler title Defender of the Holy Sepulchre instead. But he died within less than a year, and his brother Baldwin, who had no such scruples, became Baldwin I, first official Latin King of Jerusalem. Tasso will play upon this difference of character, offsetting the one brother, the pure Christian hero, against the other, the grasping and worldly lord (not quite a villain though – this type will be reserved for “infidels” only, and to a lesser degree, for Greeks).
In Jerusalem Delivered history is stretched a little to make for a more compelling narrative. The action begins in Canto One, stanza 7, when “the Eternal Father downwards cast his eyes” and sees that the Crusaders are not doing as well as it was hoped. They need a leader, so God who examines all hearts decides that Godfrey is the one. In a scene which has striking similarities to rhapsody α of The Odyssey combined with the Christian story of the Annunciation, God sends Gabriel (the Christian counterpart of Hermes, the winged messenger) down to earth, to apprise Godfrey of his decision. Godfrey summons the leaders and in a rousing speech urges them into action: Jerusalem must be delivered. Peter the Hermit (another historical figure, “who first preached the crusade and led it out”), representing spiritual authority and inspired by God, convinces the assembled nobles to make Godfrey their leader:
“Make one sole head lend them its light and force;
to one sole man sceptre and power bring:
grant him the place and image of a king.”
Thus fact is embellished by fiction in Tasso’s epic. Narrative reality has its own rules in epic poetry: the random and even pointless character of historical facts would be very badly received by an audience that expects a certain unity and determinate structure. Therefore Godfrey the “single charismatic leader” is infinite preferable to “the fragmented, conflicting leadership of reality.” The latter is material for historians; the former is the prerogative of the poet.
First Crusade Fictions 