Crusades Motivation

The Crusades of the High Middle Ages (a.d. 1050-1300) was a period of conquest or rather, reconquest, of Christian lands taken from Muslims in the early Middle Ages. It is an era romanticized by fervent Christians as the time when Christianity secured its honorable status as the true religion of the world. The affect of the Crusades is still with us today. It sailed from Spain and Portugal to the Americas in the fifthteenth century aboard sailing ships carrying conquistadors who sought new territory and rich resources. They used the shield and sword of Christianity to justify a swift conquest of mass territory and the subjugation of the indigenous peoples; a mentality learned, indeed,

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.

The Crusades were great military missions developed by Christian nations of Europe for the purpose of rescuing the Holy Land of Jerusalem from the hands of the Moslems. Jerusalem was extremely important to the Moslems and Christians at this time. Many religious events happened there, and many landmarks of both religions were located in Jerusalem. There were many Crusades some more significant than others, but in general the Crusades were very important to the spread of Christianity and religious based knowledge. The Crusades are an example of religious rebellion that is timeless and universal throughout the world.

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

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.

The Crusades were a bloody war that the church deemed holy and necessary for salvation of the knights soul. The Crusades are a highly controversial and very dark stain on the Catholic church and Hierarchies past. The war was brought to the church from there Roman allies who they had tense dealings with. The where seeking aid in the fight against the muslim turks. The church decreed there act holy and justified. The people who were under the churches thumb had no objections to the slaughter that their beloved God had suposably justified.

With total autonomy to kill and plunder as they please alongside a godly, miracle-like victory in their first ever attempt in a series of holy wars, the Crusades stand out as a key point in the history of both Christianity and the medieval world as a whole. It is undeniable that religious devotion played a factor in the Crusades; in an era where Europe was a land of chaotic violence, a quick chance to absolve oneself from any sin was immensely appealing. Yet from the wars' very origin to their ways of recruiting and actions on the battlefield, this apparent devotion that is the heart of the Crusades is repetitively contradicted. The holy wars would never have reached the height they did – or

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

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)

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 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 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)

The Crusades were a group of holy wars that were a result of conflict between the Muslims and the Christians from Western Europe. The purpose of the Crusades was to take over the Holy Land (modern day Jerusalem) and to spread their religion. Indeed, it is ironic the Crusades today are considered an icon for churches and symbolize bravery, but in reality the crusades caused the murder of hundreds of men, women, and children throughout their many battles (“Crusades”). The Crusaders were an army of knights sent out by the king to take over the Holy Land from the Muslims. They were ruthless and cared only about achieving their goal and had no thought about who might be harmed in the battles they waged. The Crusaders were ruthless and invaded many villages leaving death and destruction in their wake. The Crusaders were finally defeated by Muslim forces in the ninth crusade (“Headlines in History”). Consequently, the Crusades gave a bad name to the Christian religion. The end of the Crusades slowed the spread of Christianity in Europe. Overall, the Crusades were an infamous act in history that gave Christianity a bad reputation in Medieval

European Christians fought for the Holy Land in a series of Crusades. The motivation for these military expeditions became more selfish as time progressed.

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.