What caused the crusades is a long debated and multifaceted issue, with much contention among scholars. The cause for the crusades is not an easy or simple answer, with various explanations being offered by historians from monetary to colonial motivations (Riley-Smith, ETEP p.18-19). Although it is certain there was more than one motivation for the crusades and not every crusader went for the exact same reasons, religion is brought up as a motivation in overwhelming frequency in the contemporary writings. Religion, or more specifically the crusades as a way to fulfil one’s duty as a Christian and protect the faith, was the primary motivator for the crusaders, as shown by their own writings and words. Even from the onset of the crusades, religion …show more content…
Urban II established this at the end of his speech, telling westerners that they gain “remission of their sins” in return for going on crusade (ETEP p. 5). Abbot Martin of Paris too reiterates that all who go on crusade would be compensated through the cleansing of their sins (ETEP p. 6). This promise of personal salvation for the crusaders was very persuasive, and also led to the crusaders seeing the recapture of the Holy Land as their own personal duty to God. Pope Innocent III appeals to this feeling of personal responsibility, but in the opposite way, that if one did not go on crusade they were not fulfilling their responsibilities to God as proper Christians (ETEP p. 8). This motivation, that to go on crusade was for religious salvation and personal duty, is certainly reflected in the writings of the crusaders themselves. One crusader, Ingelbald, in his will mentions his motivations for going on crusade out right, he was doing it to secure his place in heaven (ETEP p. 8). Ingelbald as well as other crusaders like Gaufred refer to crusading as a pilgrimage, which is illustrative of the use of crusading as a way of personal penance (ETEP p.9). Stephen of Neublens too speaks of going on crusade as a way to fulfill a debt to God, and a way to expunge his sins (ETEP p. 9). When looking at the contemporary sources, especially the words of the crusaders themselves, it is apparent that they went on crusade for their own personal religious
During the Peasants Crusade there was noble men and church officials such as monks who took the vow, however there was also many commoners including women and children. They all viewed their role as a sacred expedition in the name of God to save their fellow Christians from the enemies of the religion (Muslims in Jerusalem) but there were also many other motives that differed between the classes. Everyone involved in the Crusade seem to see themselves as the elite regardless of social class since joining the expedition and that the towns they pass on their way to Jerusalem owe them something. For example, when Walter, one of the Crusader leaders, tries to buy supplies from a Bulgarian town and is refused he takes deep offense and starts to
The Crusades were caused primarily by religious devotions because of how members united. According to Document 2 “ all these members of Christ, so different in speech, origin, and nationality.” This
Another reason why the Crusades were of a religious origin was because people believed they would become religiously and financially stable if they became a Crusader. Religion played a huge role in the Crusades, even down to the outfits they wore. On the garments the Crusaders adorned was a big, red cross. They believed that with this mark, they were divinely imprinted and that it would remind them to mortify the flesh of others and triumph over the enemies of God. (Lunger, 81-82)
I. Introduction Thesis Statement:The crusade came about when trying to retrieve christian territory with doing so they promoted and gained people by saying they needed to regain the name of god. II. Regaining of Christianity A. Started a Military promoting group which was made to regain the name of god.
During this essay, I will be discussing the Crusades and what led the European Christians to participate, what goals they were trying to achieve by participating.
Many times when someone thinks about a crusade, they often think about the military expeditions that lead Europeans to want to regain back the Holy Land throughout many centuries. The start of the crusades began when the Christians wanted to earn the right to the Holy Land from the Muslims starting in the eleventh century. In addition, Pope Urban II wanted to unite the Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians which led him to issue an official crusade. This lead to bloody battles between the Christians and the Muslims and still has lasting impacts on our world today especially in the Middle East. The Crusades were unjustifiable in their actions because the Christians had no reason to start a war with the Muslims, they only caused damage to other civilization, and influenced more problems for today's generations.
The Crusades did not happen extemporaneously. An upsurge of newly converted nomadic Muslims, called the Turks came together challenged the vulnerable Byzantine Empire. Unable to cease further development of the Turks, Pope Urban II, leader of the Roman Catholic Church, hoped to raise an army to free the Holy Land, overtaken by the Muslim Turks. The Pope got the attention of many leaders, including, bishops, abbots, lords and kings. The decision to raise an army and crusade to Jerusalem was agreed. A Holy war was launched. (Acrobatiq, 2014)
Religious factors in the first crusade were significant and can be argued as a reason for the campaign’s success. However, it is more down to a combination of different factors to why it was so successful, when compared to the later more unsuccessful Crusades. The time of the First Crusade, medieval Europe was a place of hardship, with frequent famine and plagues with many wanting to escape the idea of normal life. With the start of the First Crusade many responded with extreme enthusiasm and it really highlighted the religious hysteria in Europe at the time. What was to follow was a campaign built upon the foundations of Christianity, which would lead to the persecution of another religion and the deaths of thousands of Muslims, Jews and Christians alike. Religious factors are the reason for the success of the Crusade and can be seen to be the reasons for continuous successes throughout the campaign.
Even though the crusaders had many reasons to crusade, the religious situation of medieval Europe and the importance of the Turk conquered lands confirm the foremost motive of the Crusades was religion. While the pillaging committed by the crusaders could be interpreted as an economic cause for the Crusades, the Us versus Them mentality
Another aspect that contributes to the statement that the crusades were not motivated by religious factors is that the crusaders wanted more land. Many Crusaders wanted to govern their own piece of land in a new area, so they decided to fight being guaranteed a piece of land; in this era land equaled money, the more land you had, the wealthier you were—religion didn’t get you very far. By having a new plot of land, in a new area the Crusaders would be able to rise above their social status and experience a newfound wealth that would be next to impossible back in their homeland. Through this, we can see the prime motivation of the Western European’s commencement of the crusades was their aspiration for land. Even Pope Urban II, an example and leader for all the people, wanted to fight just to get the Holy Land back. So if the prime example for the people, a leader that everyone looked up to was demonstrating greed and voracity then it would only be natural for his people to follow. Not only did Pope Urban II and officials express tremendous amounts of self-indulgence, but they very well knew what was going on beforehand; the selection mentions that they worked to “prepare” the people for a crusade by changing conditions within their society and economy. The changing of economic aspects portray that the Crusaders were unhappy with their current state of wealth and the easiest way to fix that was to
The Crusades hold a place in the canon of Western history as valiant wars against the infidel in the East, motivated by an unparalleled pious zeal. Whilst revisions to this history have considered more mundane and ordinary motives, such as a want for land or an attempt to reinforce the Peace of God movement, there is something to be said of the religious motivations of the crusaders. The words ‘conquest’ and ‘conversion’ seem ideologically charged – with conquest being what is done by temporal rulers to physical land and people, and conversion being what is done to the spiritual self, by someone who does not have anything material to gain from the action. However, it can be argued that these lines can be blurred; I wish to present the case of conquest being religiously charged, and the idea that any subsequent conversion is of little importance. By examining the geographical targets of various crusaders, I will conclude that they were more interested in conquest than conversion: but this was not necessarily for earthly reasons alone.
The Crusades: A Short History, written by British Historian Jonathan Riley-Smith, offers a broad overview of this part of the medieval era, but he also explores how historians have attempted to explain these events in modern terms. Riley-Smith also makes sure to note all major contributors to the Crusade movement and their personalities. Numerous scholars have wondered whether this was a political or religious mission. This helps to spark the question of why people would leave their homes and their families to risk their lives invading a land that was thousands of miles away for religious reasons. In his book, Riley-Smith makes this era come alive for the modern reader. He does
In 1095, Pope Urban II called for an army to go to the Holy Land, Jerusalem. This was what was later known as the ‘First Crusade’. A crusade is a religious war or a war mainly motivated by religion. The first crusade consisted of 10’s of thousands of European Christians on a medieval military expedition to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims. This doesn’t mean that the first crusade was just motivated by religion. Throughout this essay, I will be suggesting the main reasons of why people went on crusades and which different people went for specific reasons and why.
Going against modern day religious beliefs, in 1095AD the Christians went to war to claim the holy city of Jerusalem, massacring the Muslims in a bloody attempt to worship their God. Pope Urban II’s speech at Clermont inspired by claims made by the Byzantium Emperor encouraged the Christians to partake in the First Crusade in an attempt to liberate Jerusalem. The religious and economic factors were the most relevant to cause this crusade, with some influence from desired political gain and little from social factors unrelated to religion. The immediate consequences were positive for the Christians and negative for the Muslims, but the First Crusade launched an ongoing conflict between the Christians and Muslims which had positive and negative consequences for both sides. There are a number of relevant modern sources which examine the causes and consequences of the First Crusade, but, while there are many medieval sources, they do not explicitly discuss the causes and consequences of the war. In order to fully comprehend the First Crusade, it is necessary to analyse the religious, economic, and political factors, as well as the short-term, long-term, and modern consequences.
Crusades were in part an outlet for an intense religious piety