You show Allain fitz Flaaid (c1024-c1080) First you show Allain as dying After 1080.... what exactly is the timeframe you are working with..."After" can be anything from 1081 to 2022.... and this is an important date. In doing my own research I usually use a 5-10 year span (the average) If this is your intention, then keep in mind that Allain would be deceased by 1090AD and he would have been a maximum of 66 years of age (56 yrs if he died closer to 1080. Also, how did you arrive at the death death of 1080? It would help others if you let us know so we do not reduplicate efforts.
You have Allain listed, by occupation as Seneschal of Dol (effective 1045), a mercenary and a crusader.
As a Seneschal of Dol, he was, in fact, something closer to an Administrator of a large household and all the people employed thereunder. This position was often a royal appointment within a royal ducal. By the time Allain assumed his office of Seneschal I c 1045 (at the approximate age of 21), which is often considered the beginning of the end of the Middle Ages or the end of the High Medieval period to the beginning of the Late Medieval period, this term “Seneschal” was beginning to take on a more specific meaning to that of a royal office in charge of an assigned administration/province (in the new province of West France these were called Seneschalties…in Northern France they were call bailli, or bailiffs…in short, it can be argued these positions were more of a “Governor” of sorts of their assigned province.
With that being said.
A Crusader was a member of the Crusades of the Middle (or Medieval) Ages. There were a total of either (8) of these crusades that were aimed (primarily church sponsored and led) the Muslim Wars of Expansion. The crusader was responsible to check the spread of Islam, retake/reclaim the Holy Land in the Eastern Mediterranean, reclaim and reconquer former Christian territories lost to Islam supporters and conquer pagan believers (and forcefully upon threat of death, “converting” them to Christianity) and the territories in which they lived
The First Crusade, a paid military service, led by Raymond of Saint Gilles began in 1096 and ended in 1099. The total trip from Dol, France to Jerusalem (one way) was 2,071.2 miles…the entire crusade was round trip (4,142.4 miles) and they did this almost entirely on horseback.
Note: Traveling by horse was slow (to say the least). A horse unburdened can travel approximately 10 miles per day…a horse with a burden, either human or other, is diminished to between 5-10 miles per day….One could push their horse to travelling 20 miles per day BUT at the end of that day, one would have killed his horse and, thus, lost his mode of transportation. Further, add into each day, periods of rest for the horse, times to nourish, rest and (jokingly) check WAZE and GOOGLE Maps for direction and most travelers are not getting very far each day…the entire trip from Dol to Jerusalem could take the crusader as much at 18 months each way….with all that said… now add to the burden of the horse the additional weight of the armour of the rider as well as the supplies and weapons they each carried…..how far could you run in one spurt? These are just SOME of the factors a crusader would have encountered; others would be, replacing horses along the way (a physical cost), periods of rest (perhaps several days at a time), physical conflicts with Islam/Pagan “enemies” and the periods of recuperation and healing that would follow, including burying the dead…. And so much more……
A mercenary, contrary, was an individual who fought your battle for a price.. He was a “hired gun”, a “Soldier of Fortune” if you will. This was NOT a paid military service… This was strictly an individual fighting your battles for the highest price available (often at exuberantly high prices). A mercenary fought for HIS personal gain (money, lands, titles, etc) and it was not politically motivated as were the crusaders who often fought to irradicate the unbelieving heretic to Christianity…a very political/church involved movement.
With all the above said ….
Given that you stated in Allain’s profile that he died about 1080 (After 1080), it is a safe bet to assume that Allain was NOT a crusader. Even if Allain at died as late as age 66 (1090) the first crusade began in 1996…long after his assumed death of c1080/After1080….I also do not see any notations as to what brought you to believe Allain fitz Flaaid died around the 1080AD period. Something led you to this date… what was it?
Also, I find it difficult to believe a man of 72 would have had the vitality and strength and vigor to join a Crusade, travel to Jerusalem and back within a three year time period and do the necessary fighting to bring (relatively new…it was only approximately 1000 years old) Christian Religion to the unbelieving pagan and Islamic worlds.
Also, at the time of Allain fitz Flaaid’s death, most burials were within the walls of local churches. Do we know where our ancestor was buried? Your profile mentions Allain died in Dol, St Malo, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France. How do we know this?
If we know he was buried in St. Malo, then we should know a more exact time and place of death rather than sometime “after 1080”……there is a reason your research led you to this date…what is it?
If Allain died in Dol…we should have the same. Dol, if you will recall, is 6km from the English Channel…and, at the same time, is 22km southeast of the town of Saint Malo….they are two completely different towns altogether…..so, from your profile, I’m not sure which town you are saying Allain died, and, thus, is buried in… you have no explanations……. This would tell a lot about his life and validating such claims as found in his profile. It would be nice to find validations for both his occupations and his death/burial.
