Throughout the time period from 800 to 1500 there were several dynamic shifts in power between the Church and the nobility of western Europe. These changes would decide if Europe would be controlled by kings and lords, or ruled by the pope. During periods of prosperity in Europe power rested in the hands of the nobility, while during fragile periods of Western Europe, the church exercised more authority, as a result rule by king was better for Europe.
One example of how a European king exercised authority over Europe during a peaceful time of the middle ages was during the reign of Charlemagne. Charlemagne was the most powerful king of Europe during this time period, and ruled for an incredible 47 years. He conquered a huge territory of land within Europe, greatly expanding the Frankish kingdoms tremendously. In addition Charlemagne established an administrative system that divided his massive empire, and supported education even
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The motive behind the first crusade is questionable. However it is true that the pope called for a massive army to attack the holy land and reclaim Jerusalem. The first crusade is a perfect example of papal supremacy and a disorganized Europe. Pope Urban II promised everyone who went on crusade a free passage into heaven, so 60,000 of people decided to to risk their lives and march to Jerusalem. Interestingly the disorganized nature of the crusade reflects a lack of unity amongst Europe. Remarkably the army made its way to the holy land and recaptured Jerusalem. However thousands of people died, and the future crusades were failures.The first crusade was an example of papal power simply because the pope was able to summon thousands of troops across all of Europe for a unified goal. No king had ever been able to do this and that was because under the tenants of feudalism the king was weak and
The Crusades were the first tactical mission by Western Christianity in order to recapture the Muslim conquered Holy Lands. Several people have been accredited with the launch of the crusades including Peter the Hermit however it is now understood that this responsibility rested primarily with Pope Urban II . The main goal of the Crusades was the results of an appeal from Alexius II, who had pleaded for Western Volunteers help with the prevention of any further invasions. The Pope’s actions are viewed as him answering the pleas of help of another in need, fulfilling his Christian right. However, from reading the documents it is apparent that Pope Urban had ulterior motives for encouraging engagement in the war against the Turks. The
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.
Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, was a powerful king who reunited most of Western Europe through his conquests. He was an able administrator and brought about economic reforms to bring prosperity in his kingdom. Charlemagne is famous for his work towards the development of education like building of schools and standardization of curriculum. He ended the Dark Age in Western Europe by initiating the Carolingian Renaissance, a period of cultural enhancement. Charlemagne also took several steps to spread Christianity in his vast empire, paving the way for making it the dominant religion in Europe. Here are the 10 major accomplishments and achievements of Charlemagne, who is called the Father of Europe due to his immense contribution in the development of the continent.
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 crusaders traveled by land and by sea to take back the holy land from the Muslim infidels they tried to set up crusader states to claim more land but they failed. The crusades contributed to the construction of many European castles and missions and gave more power to the church. The crusades also helped contribute to the start of
The main objective of the first crusade was overcome by a secondary objective which later became the reason why we call it the First Crusade. The initial objective was to respond to the Byzantine Emperor who requested western volunteers to help fight against invading Turks. In The reconquest of jerusalem and the holy land soon became the main objective of the Crusade. Pope Urban in 1095 called upon his people telling them to go jerusalem and liberate the church of God out of devotion and not for honor and wealth. Calling the crusade increased the popes standings in a papacy which was struggling at the time due to the investiture controversy. During this time, religion was very important and people took it very seriously. Jerusalem was the
The crusades had a negative impact on Muslims and for instance when the crusades were going on many people died, got severely injured, or lived very rarely ever lived. The crusades were a dark time also left a bad influence, they left Christians hurting and killing one another. The movement destroyed the medieval western Church to sustain criticism towards the military system. One reason is it destroyed the relationship between the churches. Document 6 states that “the 4th crusade was a wasteful and destructive event that resulted in further dividing the christian world.
The First Crusades was a military group that was started by Christians in Europe who wanted to gain back the Holy Land that was being occupied by the Muslims. Pope Urban II preached a sermon at Clermont Ferrand on November 1095. Most histories consider this speech to be the spark the fueled a wave of military campaigns to gain back the Holy Land. This speech was meant to unite the Europeans and to gain back what was taken from them. The holy land was a small area on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. The First Crusades was a very successful military expedition that was driven by religious faith to reclaim Jerusalem and other holy places that fell under Muslim control. driven by religious faith. They wanted to gain back the Holy Land that was once theirs. Arabs and the Muslim Turks otherwise known as the Seljuk Turks were the Muslims that invaded and conquered land rightfully occupied by the Christian’s. Many European men, women, and children joined the Crusades and fought in the Middle East. Pope Urban II granted forgiveness of all sins to those who died in battle thus assuring them ascendancy into heaven. Which gave those who volunteered to fight assurance. Nobles and peasants responded in great numbers to the call and marched across Europe to the capital of the Byzantine empire. Having the support of the Byzantine emperor helped make them a stronger army. The Crusaders took over many of the cities on the Mediterranean coast and built a large number of fortified castles across the Holy Land to protect their newly established territories. Soon after seizing power the Seljuks face a very different challenge to Islamic civilization. It came from Christian Crusaders. Knights from western Europe who were determined to capture portions of the Islamic world that made up the holy land of biblical times. Muslim political division and element of surprise made the first of the Crusaders assaults, between 1096 and 1099, by far the most successful. Much of
Reason 1: This topic helps to identify the various accomplishments done by the crusades. Although the expeditions were not successful, it helped europe as a whole, grow as a country. This can be beneficial to students when they are learning about other aspects of Europe, as the crusades had an impact not only on the Holy Land but on the whole of Medieval Europe. Reason 2: Learning about the crusades makes students understand the quote: ‘’He who fails to learn from history is doomed to repeat it’’.
The land that Charlemagne became leader of was in chaos, and Charlemagne wanted to do what he could to strengthen his realm and bring what was right back to Europe. Soon after becoming the sole leader, Charlemagne started a 30 year military campaign in 772 AD to bring order back into Europe. 28 years later, in the year 800 AD, Charlemagne became the undeniable ruler of Western Europe. Charlemagne then ruled what is now considered France, Switzerland, Belgium, and The Netherlands. He also ruled half of present-day Italy and Germany, as well as parts if Austria and Spain. Charlemagne was able to restore most of the unity in Western Europe by establishing a central government, and helped set the path for modern-day Europe
The age leading up to the first crusade is detailed by many current historians, as well as Pope Urban II, as a time period where inhabitants "rage[d] against [their own] brothers and cut each other [to] pieces" (Peters, Baldric of Dol, 31) for economic and social advancement. In spite of these references, many people today believe that the Pope instigated the crusades for the sole reason of reclaiming Jerusalem. However, other motivations such as supplementary religious factors and the chance for economic, social, and political gain also played major roles. These motivations were not experienced supremely by the Pope; in fact he needed to instill these inspirations in all Christians to evoke their will to fight. The holy land had long
The 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 “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 fourth century, Christianity underwent a transformation when it fused with the Roman state for which warfare was essential. St. Augustine and Pope Urban enabled violence to be an option for Christians and it can be described in this quote, “For the first time in Christian history, violence was defined as a religious act, a source of grace.” After the Pope’s Christian tour, many Christians were ready to destroy everything that stood in their way.
The first crusade lasted from 1096 to 1099. In 1095, the Pope declared war against the Muslims. Then in 1096 troops from France, Germany and Italy fought. The reason for this was to take back the holy land of Jerusalem. The person who was responsible of leading this journey was Duke Godfrey. Duke Godfrey was a very religious man, an example of his religiousness was
Charlemagne was a great ruler and king because he was able to unite Europe through the spread of religion and education. Charlemagne was a model to other world leaders and crusaders. He established a strong feudal system of government that spread the importance of education. He ruled most of Western Europe from 768 to 814. He ruled during the Carolingian Dynasty and was king of the Franks.
People faced the rise and the fall of the Catholic Church during the medieval time. The Popes used to hold the final authority for the church and over the state. Pope Gregory VII asserted the Pope had granted the divine power from God because Saint Peter was the first of getting this