The Crusades Essay - 2695 Words

The Crusades: series of wars by Western European Christians to recapture the Holy Land from the Muslims. (Encarta Crusades) The Crusades first began in 1096 and ended in the late 13th century. The term Crusade originally meant that the Europeans would use all their efforts to regain the power from the Muslims. They wanted to retake the city of Jerusalem, which was holy to Christians because thats where the crucifixion of Jesus Christ occurred. Europeans later used it to allocate any military efforts against non-Christians. The Crusaders also created feudal states in the Near East. The Crusades played an important role of European expansion and colonialism. They mark the first time Western Christendom undertook a military initiative†¦show more content†¦The pope was led by his position as the spiritual head of Western Europe, by the weakness of the rulers in Germany (the Holy Roman Empire) or France who could take over the effort, and by a call for help from the Byzantine em peror, Alexius I. These factors were perfect causes, and at the same time, it made sense for the call of a Crusade. The first crusade is said to fall in two parts. Part One: A crusade for the people. And Part Two: a crusade for the princes. In any case, Urbans speech was well known to thousands of people of all classes. It was the perfect time and place for his speech. It is like when things go bad in todays society and someone comes along and says, We should do something about it. Everybody would agree and make an effort to play a role in it. The First Crusade, which began in 1096, was successful. Their main goal was to free Jerusalem and they did it. After the successful crusade it made Western Christian military in the Near East be dominant for almost 200 years. The Crusaders called this area Outremer, French for beyond the seas. The First Crusade was the question of its time. It attracted no European kings or major nobles. It drew mainly lesser barons and their followers. They c ame primarily from the lands of French culture and language, which is why Westerners in Outremer were referred to as Franks.(Krey, 21) The Crusaders faced many obstacles. They had no obvious orShow MoreRelatedThe First Crusade And The Crusade1192 Words   |  5 PagesThe first crusade started in autumn of 1095. Pope Urban II initiated the first crusade by calling upon his Christians to reclaim the city of Jerusalem. The Crusade was also meant to seek revenge on the followers of Islam. The followers were accused of committing crimes against â€Å"Christendom†. Pope Urbans crusade was made possible by the work of St. Augustine on Christian Violence in the past. Many Christians joined the crusade because the Pope promised rewards for the afterlife. After the fourthRead MoreThe Second Crusade And The Third Crusade1896 Words   |  8 Pagesthe facts for what they are. After much discussion and exploration, we figure that the third crusade actually did follow the principles of C hristianity to some extent. Portions of the third crusade were definitely morally wrong and conflicted against the teachings of Christianity, but not all of it fell out of order in which the foundation upon which Christianity was built. At the beginning, the Third Crusade was called under the belief that by reclaiming the Holy Land of Jerusalem, the ChristiansRead MoreThe Children s Crusade : A Crusade Of The Holy Land859 Words   |  4 PagesThe brief campaign of the thirteen-century Children’s crusade was not technically a crusade in the sense that medieval Europeans understood the term and lasted only a few months during the year 1212. It lacked Papal sanction and its participants marched without the customary indulgences granted to those engaged in warfare to defend the Faith. Uncharacteristic as it was, the Children’s Crusade was a revealing chapter in medieval history, as it exemplified the depths of crusading zeal along with theRead MoreThe First Crusade And The Crusades1974 Words   |  8 PagesAs the historian John Riley Smith points out â€Å"The First Crusade was a violent and brutal episode during which the crusaders cut out a swathe of suffering through Europe and Western Asia.† In this description of the First Crusade (1095/6- 1099) Smith makes it difficult for us to see and, or uncover any elements of pilgrimage in the crusaders actions. However, there are many different ways in which the crusades have been described, the historian Christopher Tyerman on the other hand, steers towardsRead MoreThe Crusade Of The Children s Crusade861 Words   |  4 PagesDuring the early 13th century, while the wars against he Albigensians were occurring, crusade preaching became integral aspect of life in parts of Germany and northern France. On top of the already present religious fervor the most of Europe had, these preachings drove people to act on their devoutness to God. The Children’s Crusade, which was a popular religious movement in Europe during 1212, was a movement in which thousands of youth assembled and took crusading vows, their objective was to recoverRead MoreThe Crusades : The First Crusade Essay1995 Words   |  8 Pagesthe Crusades, I only com e out of them with a vague understanding of the situation. So, I sought out to gain a greater understanding through the vision of the question, Was the first crusade a success, and if so, what made it a success? Using The Crusades: A Reader, specifically the writings and documents from pages 33-79, I will make a decision based on specific occurrences and their ultimate goal (CITE SOURCE WITH FULL CITATION).I plan on picking out important aspects of the first crusade andRead MoreThe World Of The Crusades1518 Words   |  7 Pageslearning about the crusades. The people, weapons, food, diseases, and technological advances (or disadvantages since it was the Dark Age) were all taught to us and now it is time to put it to the test. We learned that the crusades affected all three religions that have ties to Jerusalem, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. We watched Kingdom of Heaven, a historical fiction movie based on the crusades. The time of the story that we see is based between the seco nd and third crusade. Although the movieRead MoreImpact of the Crusades642 Words   |  3 Pagesthe Crusades The Crusades were a very important part of history. It has been said that The Crusades are what started the beginning of modernization. Not only were they what started the beginning of modernization, they also had many impacts on Europe. The four major areas of impact on Europe were in the Economic, Political, Social, and Religious parts. Though all the areas were impacted, not all were good impacts. One of the areas that will be focused on is the Economic area. The Crusades wereRead MoreThe First Crusade During The Crusades1721 Words   |  7 Pageshe subject of the crusades is still a very controversial topic that spans across various time periods and has religious, social, and political implications. The first crusade started off as a widespread pilgrimage that ended as a military expedition resulting in the recapture of Jerusalem in 1099. The crusades initiated from a call from help from Alexius for the protection of Constantinople and the recovery of Anatolia. For centuries textbooks have repeated with routine regularity, that the immediateRead MoreCrusades and the Church Essay549 Words   |  3 PagesCrusades and the Church At the time of the Crusades, the official church had become corrupt and politically motivated. It should be noted, too, that crusaders did not take vows to go on crusade. The very term crusade, in English or in any other language, is a much later invention. What we call crusades, contemporaries knew as pilgrimages or even simply journeys. Aside from a tiny elite, people were illiterate and even if they could read, there was no access to a Bible or any scriptural