The Crusades Essay - 2675 Words

The Crusades â€Å"The Crusades: series of wars by Western European Christians to recapture the Holy Land from the Muslims.† (Encarta â€Å"Crusades†) The Crusades first began in 1096 and ended in the late 13th century. The term Crusade originally meant that the European’s 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 that’s 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. â€Å"They mark the first time Western Christendom undertook a†¦show more content†¦The Byzantine Empire, being as powerful as they were at that time was barely able to hold off the enemy. The Byzantine Empire had felt a force as strong as the Islamic military. Islam threatened them with a different culture and religion, which neither the Vikings nor the Magyars had done. The church became more stabilized and stronger from a reform movement to end the practice where kings installed important clergy, such as bishops, in office. Finally for the first time in many years, the popes were able to bring together European support behind them, a factor that contributed greatly to the popular demand of the first Crusades. Europe’s population was growing, its urban life was beginning to come back, and both import and export trade were gradually increasing. Due to this increase for the better in Europe, including human and economic resources, they could now support the Crusades. â€Å"A growing population and more surplus wealth also meant greater demand for goods from elsewhere. European traders had always looked to the Mediterranean; now they sought greater control of the goods, routes, and profits.† (Encarta, â€Å"Crusades†). That’s why material wants corresponded with religious feelings about the Holy Land and the pope’s newfound ability to gather together and focus a great enterprise. Pope Urban II was the one who declared the crusade. â€Å"In a speech at Clermont in France in November 1095, called for aShow 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 Christianity to some extent. Portions of the third crusade were definite ly 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