Crusades

TheSiege of Damascus (1148)as depicted in thePassages d'outremer,c. 1490

TheCrusadeswere a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by theChristianLatin Churchin themedieval period.The best known of these military expeditions are those to theHoly Landin the period between 1095 and 1291 that were intended to conquerJerusalemandits surrounding areafrom Muslim rule. Beginning with theFirst Crusade,which resulted in theconquest of Jerusalem in 1099,dozens of military campaigns were organised, providing a focal point of European history for centuries. Crusading declined rapidly after the 15th century.

In 1095,Pope Urban IIproclaimed the first expedition at theCouncil of Clermont.He encouraged military support forByzantine emperorAlexiosI Komnenosand called for an armed pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Across all social strata in western Europe there was an enthusiastic response. Participants came from all over Europe and had a variety of motivations, including religious salvation, satisfying feudal obligations, opportunities for renown, and economic or political advantage. Later expeditions were conducted by generally more organized armies, sometimes led by a king. All were granted papalindulgences.Initial successes established fourCrusader states:theCounty of Edessa;thePrincipality of Antioch;theKingdom of Jerusalem;and theCounty of Tripoli.A European presence remained in the region in some form until thefall of Acrein 1291. After this, no further large military campaigns were organised.

Other church-sanctioned campaigns includecrusades against Christiansnot obeying papal rulings, against theOttoman Empire,and for political reasons. The struggle between Christians and Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula was proclaimed a crusade in 1123, but eventually became better known as theReconquista,and only ended in 1492 with the fall of theEmirate of Granada.From 1147,campaignsin Northern Europe against pagan tribes were considered crusades. In 1199,Pope Innocent IIIbegan the practice of proclaiming crusades against what the Latin Church consideredhereticChristian communities. Crusades were called against theCatharsinLanguedocand againstBosnia;against theWaldensiansinSavoyand theHussitesinBohemia;and in response to the rise of the Ottoman Empire. Unsanctioned by the church, there were also severalpopular Crusades.

The crusades started as a fight for control over theHoly Land.This is the land now calledIsrael.The Holy Land is very important for the three majormonotheisticreligions:Islam,Judaism,andChristianity.Muslims believe theProphet Mohammedvisited the Holy Land and rose toHeavenfromJerusalem.Christians believeJesuswas born,crucified,andresurrectedin the Holy Land. TheDome of the Rock,theWestern Wall,theTemple Mount,and theMount of Olivesare all located there. So are many other important religious sites.

During theCaliphateof Umar in the7th century,Muslim forces had taken control of Jerusalem,Nazareth,Bethlehem,and other important religious sites. In the crusades, Christian armies tried to re-take control of the Holy Land.

There were many different crusades. The biggest and most important happened between the11th centuryand the13th century.During this time, there were 9 large crusades. They are numbered 1 through 9.

There were also many smaller crusades. These continued through the16th century,until theRenaissanceandReformation.Some crusades were within Europe. For example, theTeutonic Knightsfought in the Prussian Crusade against theLithuanians and Old Prussians, and theAlbigensian Crusadewas in France. There were also crusades inAustriaandScandinavia.

The word "crusade" is related to the word "cross", and means a Christianholywar.

First Crusade

In 1095 the ruler of theByzantine Empire,Alexius I,called for help to defend hisempireagainst theSeljuk Turks.Pope Urban IIasked all Christians to join a war against the Turks. The Pope told Christians that fighting the war wouldrepay Godfor theirsins.He said that anyone who died on a crusade would go straight toheaven.

The Christian soldiers who joined the crusade were called "crusaders". They marched toJerusalem,attacking several cities on their way. In 1099 they won thebattlefor Jerusalem.

As a result of the First Crusades, four crusader states were created. These were theCountyofEdessa,thePrincipalityofAntioch,the County ofTripoliand theKingdomof Jerusalem.

Second Crusade

After about 50 years of peace,Bernard of Clairvauxcalled for a new crusade after the Turks attacked the town of Edessa. French and German armies marched to the Holy Land in 1147, but were defeated. However, on the way, the Crusaders helped thePortuguesecaptureLisbonfromAl-Andalusas part of theReconquista.

Third Crusade

In 1187, afterSaladinrecapturedJerusalem,Pope Gregory VIIIcalled for a new crusade. Three of Europe's kings led this Third Crusade:Philip II of France,Richard I of EnglandandFrederick I, Holy Roman Emperor.

The Third Crusade was partially successful. The Crusaders took back control of Arsuf and Jaffa, two important cities in the Holy Land. However, they did not have enough soldiers to try to recapture Jerusalem. Instead, they made a truce with Saladin that let Christians travel safely through Jerusalem. The Crusaders then re-established the Kingdom of Jerusalem inAcre.

In 1190, Frederick drowned inCilicia.In 1192, Richard left the Holy Land. On his way home, hisship was wrecked,leading him toAustria.There, he wascapturedandransomedby his enemy,Duke Leopold.

Fourth Crusade

Pope Innocent IIIstarted the Fourth Crusade in 1202. His plan was to attack the Holy Land throughEgypt.To do this, he needed afleetofships.TheVenetiansagreed to build ships and train sailors for the crusade. The Venetians then changed the goal of the crusade, and went to the Christian city ofConstantinople,where they tried to place aByzantineexileon the throne. After a series of misunderstandings and outbreaks of violence, the city wassackedin 1204.

Albigensian Crusade

See the main article:Albigensian Crusade

The Albigensian Crusade was started in 1209 to eliminate theCatharsof southernEurope

Children's Crusade

The Children's Crusade is a crusade of 1212. An outburst of the old popular enthusiasm led a gathering of children in France and Germany. A boy, from either France or Germany, said that Jesus had visited him, and told him to peacefully convertMuslimstoChristianity.Following this vision, many children formed bands, and marched toItaly.There, they were put onto ships which eithercapsizedin a storm, or which went toMorocco.Most of the children eitherstarvedto death or were sold intoslavery.

More recent research

In the first movement, Nicholas, ashepherdfrom Germany, led a group across theAlpsand intoItalyin the early spring of 1212. About 7,000 arrived inGenoain late August. However, their plans did not bear fruit when the waters failed to part as promised and the band broke up. Some left for home, others may have gone to Rome, while still others may have travelled down theRhônetoMarseillewhere they were probably sold into slavery. Few returned home and none reached theHoly Land.

The second movement was led by a "shepherd boy"named Stephen de Cloyes near the village ofChâteaudun.In June of that year, the boy said that he had a letter for the king of France from Jesus. He could gather a crowd of over 30,000 and went toSaint-Denis.There he was seen to work miracles. On the orders ofPhilip II,on the advice of theUniversity of Paris,the crowd was sent home, and most of them went. None of the contemporary sources mentions plans of the crowd to go to Jerusalem.

The Children's Crusade,byGustave Doré

Later chroniclers elaborated on these events. Recent research suggests those taking part were not children, at least not the very young. In the early 1200s, bands of wandering poor started cropping up throughoutEurope.These were people displaced byeconomicchanges at the time which forced many poorpeasantsin northernFranceandGermanyto sell their land. These bands were referred to aspueri(Latinfor "boys" ) in a condescending manner, in much the same way that people fromruralareas in theUnited Statesare called "country boys."

In 1212, a young Frenchpuernamed Stephen and a Germanpuernamed Nicholas separately began claiming that they had each had similar visions ofJesus.This resulted in these bands of roving poor being united into a religious protest movement which transformed this forced wandering into a religious journey. Thepuerimarched, following theCross.They associated themselves with Jesus's biblical journey. This, however, was not a prelude to aholy war.

At that time, chronicles were mostly kept by the Catholic Church. They were written inLatin.

Thirty years later, chroniclers read the accounts of these processions and translatedpuerias "children" without understanding the usage. So, the Children's Crusade was born. The resulting story illustrates how ingrained the concept of Crusading was in the people of that time— the chroniclers assumed that the pueri must have been Crusaders. In their innocence, they returned to the foundations of crusading characteristic ofPeter the Hermit,and met the same sort of tragic fate.

According toMatthew Paris,one of the leaders of the Children's Crusade became "Le Maître de Hongrie," the leader of the Shepherds' Crusade in 1251.

Fifth Crusade

During 1213, Pope Gregory IX pushed Frederick II into leading the Fifth Crusade. The Church tried another crusade to retake the Holy Land. A crusading force fromHungary,Austria,andBavariacapturedDamietta,a city inEgypt,in 1219. The crusaders had to surrender, due to losing the battle forCairo.

Sixth Crusade

In 1228,Emperor Frederick IIset sail fromBrindisifor Syria. He did this after the Popeexcommunicatedhim. By talking to the Turks he had success, andJerusalem,Nazareth,andBethlehemwas given to the Crusaders for ten years without fighting. This was the first major crusade not started by the Papacy, a trend that was to continue for the rest of the century. This crusade only lasted for a year, from 1228 to 1229.

Seventh Crusade

TheTemplarsargued withEgyptin 1243. In 1244, Egypt attacked Jerusalem.Louis IX of Francestarted a crusade againstEgyptfrom 1248 to 1254. It was a failure and Louis spent much of the crusade living in the city of Acre. In the midst of this crusade was the firstShepherds' Crusadein 1251.

Eighth Crusade

The Eighth Crusade was organized by Louis IX of France in 1270, to help the Crusader states in Syria.However, the crusade got as far asTunis,where Louis died a month later.

Ninth Crusade

Before he was the king,Edward I of Englandstarted a crusade in 1271. He retired the following year after a truce.

The end of the Crusades

In time, the people went on Crusades for other purposes.The Crusades ended twocenturiesafter they had begun, achieving mixed results.The crusades ended with theMamlukFall of Acrein 1291.(the link is not yet started).

References

Books and texts

• Frederick Russell, "Children's Crusade",Dictionary of the Middle Ages,1989,ISBN0-684-17024-8
• Peter Raedts, "The Children's Crusade of 1212",Journal of Medieval History,3 (1977), summary of the sources, issues and literature.
• Chronica Regiae ColoniensisArchived2011-10-07 at theWayback Machine,a (supposedly) contemporary source for the Children's crusade. From the Internet Medieval Sourcebook.
• The Children's Crusade: Fact or fable?Archived2008-07-20 at theWayback Machine,from The Straight Dope.

Other websites

• Crusade SiegeSiege of a Mohammedan fortification during the crusades
• CrusadesCitizendium