The Crusades The Crusades were a series of military campaigns during the time of Medieval England against the Muslims of the Middle East. In 1076, the Muslims had captured Jerusalem - the most holy of holy places for Christians. Jesus had been born in nearby Bethlehem and Jesus had spent most of his life in Jerusalem. He was crucified on Calvary Hill, also in Jerusalem. There was no more important place on Earth than Jerusalem for a true Christian which is why Christians called Jerusalem the City of God. However, Jerusalem was also extremely important for the Muslims as Muhammad, the founder of the Muslim faith, had been there and there was great joy in the Muslim world when Jerusalem was captured. A beautiful dome - called the Dome of the Rock - was built on the rock where Muhammad was said to have sat and prayed. The rock was so holy that no Muslim was allowed to tread on it or touch it when visiting the Dome. Thus the Christians fought to get Jerusalem back while the Muslims fought to keep Jerusalem. These wars were to last nearly 200 years. The First Crusade: 1096 to 1099 The Second Crusade : 1147 to 1149 The Third Crusade : 1189 to 1192 The Fourth Crusade : 1201 to 1204 The Fifth Crusade : 1217 to 1221 The Sixth Crusade : 1228 to 1229 The Seventh Crusade : 1248 to 1254 The Eighth Crusade : 1270 The First Crusade was the most successful in winning back Jerusalem for the Christians but the capture of Jerusalem did not end the Crusades as the Crusaders wanted to get rid of the Muslims from the whole region and not just Jerusalem. This desire ultimately led to the following eight Crusades and also the Childrens Crusade in 1212 in which over 30,000 children died. While the Crusades on a whole were an utter fail the impact of the crusades was profound, and judgment of the conduct of crusaders has varied widely from laudatory to highly critical. Jonathan Riley-Smith identifies the independent states established, such as theKingdom of Jerusalem and the Crusader States, as the first experiments in Europe Overseas. These ventures reopened the Mediterranean to trade and travel, enabling Genoa and Venice to flourish. The crusades also influenced the attitude of the western Church and people towards warfare. The frequent calling of crusades habituated the clergy to the use of violence. The crusades also sparked debate about the legitimacy of taking lands and possessions from pagans on purely religious grounds that would arise again in the 15th and 16th centuries with the Age of Discovery. Christians and some historians see the crusades as a purely defensive war to win back their holy city. The massacres involved were mainly attributed as being caused by disorder, an epidemic of ergotism and economic distress. Many people were forced to “convert” to Christianity. If they refused, they were put to death. Christs saying, I come not to bring peace, but a sword, was to be verified, and the cross was to be a symbol of bloodshed. Imitating their savor, who carried the cross on his right shoulder, the crusades fixed marks of the cross on upper right shoulders, upper part of the backs, and sometimes the tops on the arms. Its general color was red. The most frenzied crusaders actually cut this symbol into the flesh itself and even on women and children. When the Pope gave a speech promising a remission on any sins for those that joined in it was met with shouts of Dues lo volt (God wills it), which became the battle cry of the crusaders. This was just a small note on the Crusades as there is so much more information involved for each crusades and what took place during each. A good in depth website to look into more information if you are interested is ftarchives.net/foote/crimes/c9.htm The inspiration for my writing this was because of my favorite band and their song Church of Madness which you can listen to here. ~*Shaye*~
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 20:02:57 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015