Victoria ducis pre ceteris enituit. A comparative perspective on the scene wherein Godfrey of Lorraine hews in half his opponent on the Bridge Gate of Antioch

Abstract

This article explores the meanings attached to individual narrative elements of the tales that portray the laudable deed of Godfrey in the Bridge Gate battle (March 6, 1098). The comparative method offers deeper insight into the elaborate stories that chroniclers have told about Godfrey, who hewed in half his formidable opponent with a single blow on the bridge near beleaguered Antioch. Judging by the diversity of narratives concerning Godfrey’s deed in the Bridge Gate battle, the chroniclers sought to place this confrontation in a special dimension and to portray it as a breakthrough moment. This exaltation was also pivotal to characterizing Godfrey, who became the first ruler of the Crusaders’ kingdom after the conquest of Jerusalem.