Abstract

124 BOOK REVIEWS Although that effort was “ultimately scuppered by the actions of Gregory IX”, Honorius still managed to organise “the only crusade to recover the city of Jerusalem” (p. 209). All true, yet it might also be noted that Frederick only crusaded after the long-threatened excommuni- cation was finally delivered. The third part of the book consists of three separate studies (or “bore-holes”, as they are later termed) on papal authority under Honorius (p. 343). The first is a survey of the arengae of Honorius’s crusade letters, which provide theological justifications for what follows. Although they are usually formulaic and borrowed from previous examples, Smith finds some arengae that are unique to Honorius and copied by his successors. This is followed by a description of the papal legates used for recruitment, peacemaking, and preparation for the crusade. Pelagius, the legate often blamed for the failure of the Fifth Crusade, is largely exonerated here, following the judgements of James Powell and Guy Perry. The last study is a truly innovative analysis of Honorius’s clerical taxation in support of the crusade. Smith finds parallel systems of collection and distribution, both local and regional. Theft, fraud and exemptions complicated matters, Smith