The Crusades

The Age of Faith also inspired wars of conquest. In 1093, the Byzantine emperor
Alexius Comnenus sent an appeal to Robert, Count of Flanders. The emperor asked
for help against the Muslim Turks. They were threatening to conquer his capital,
Constantinople:

PRIMARY SOURCE
Come then, with all your people and give battle with all your strength, so that all this
treasure shall not fall into the hands of the Turks. . . . Therefore act while there is still
time lest the kingdom of the Christians shall vanish from your sight and, what is more
important, the Holy Sepulchre [the tomb where Jesus was buried] shall vanish. And in
your coming you will find your reward in heaven, and if you do not come, God will
condemn you.
EMPEROR ALEXIUS COMNENUS, quoted in The Dream and the Tomb by Robert Payne

Pope Urban II also read that letter. Shortly after this appeal, he issued a call for Vocabulary
what he termed a “holy war,” a Crusade, to gain control of the Holy Land. Over Holy Land:
the next 300 years, a number of such Crusades were launched. Palestine; the area
where Jesus lived
Goals of the Crusades The Crusades had economic, social, and political goals as and preached
well as religious motives. Muslims controlled Palestine (the Holy Land) and threat-
ened Constantinople. The Byzantine emperor in Constantinople appealed to
Christians to stop Muslim attacks. In addition, the pope wanted to reclaim
▼ The red cross
Palestine and reunite Christendom, which had split into Eastern and Western
on his tunic
identifies this branches in 1054.
knight as a In addition, kings and the Church both saw the Crusades as an oppor-
crusader. tunity to get rid of quarrelsome knights who fought each other. These
knights threatened the peace of the kingdoms, as well as Church property.
Others who participated in the Crusades were younger sons who,
unlike eldest sons, did not stand to inherit their father’s property. They
were looking for land and a position in society, or for adventure.
In the later Crusades, merchants profited by making cash loans to finance
the journey. They also leased their ships for a hefty fee to transport armies
over the Mediterranean Sea. In addition, the merchants of Pisa, Genoa, and
Venice hoped to win control of key trade routes to India, Southeast Asia, and
China from Muslim traders.
The First and Second Crusades Pope Urban’s call brought a tremen-
dous outpouring of religious feeling and support for the Crusade.
According to the pope, those who died on Crusade were assured of a
place in heaven. With red crosses sewn on tunics worn over their armor
and the battle cry of “God wills it!” on their lips, knights and common-
ers were fired by religious zeal and became Crusaders.
By early 1097, three armies of knights and people of all classes had
gathered outside Constantinople. Most of the Crusaders were French, but
Bohemians, Germans, Englishmen, Scots, Italians, and Spaniards came
as well. The Crusaders were ill-prepared for war in this First Crusade.
Many knew nothing of the geography, climate, or culture of the Holy
Land. They had no grand strategy to capture Jerusalem. The nobles
argued among themselves and couldn’t agree on a leader. Finally an army
of 12,000 (less than one-fourth of the original army) approached
Jerusalem. The Crusaders besieged the city for over a month. On July 15,
1099, they captured the city.

382 Chapter 14
 The Crusades, 1096–1204

ENGLAND HOLY
POLAND
ROMAN
el
hann EMPIRE
ish C
Engl Paris Regensburg Christian lands
Vienna Muslim lands
Metz
Kingdoms established
Vezelay by the Crusaders
ATLANTIC FRANCE
HUNGARY First Crusade, 1096–1099
Venice Second Crusade, 1147–1149
OCEAN Clermont
Genoa
Belgrade Third Crusade, 1189–1191
Fourth Crusade, 1202–1204
Marseille BULGARIA
SERBIA Black Sea
Corsica Adrianople
SPAIN Rome
Constantinople
PORTUGAL
Sardinia
40°N KINGDOM
BYZANTINE EMPIRE SELJUK TURKS
Lisbon OF
Medi Edessa
ter
r aSICILY
ne Antioch
a n Crete Cyprus
0 500 Miles Se Tripoli
a
0 1,000 Kilometers Acre
Jerusalem

GEOGRAPHY SKILLBUILDER: Interpreting Maps

40°E
0°

1. Place What Muslim power ruled lands close to the Christian city of Constantinople?
2. Movement Which Crusade did not make it to Jerusalem? Where did this Crusade end?

All in all, the Crusaders had won a narrow strip of land. It stretched about 650
miles from Edessa in the north to Jerusalem in the south. Four feudal Crusader
states were carved out of this territory, each ruled by a European noble.
The Crusaders’ states were extremely vulnerable to Muslim counterattack. In
1144, Edessa was reconquered by the Turks. The Second Crusade was organized to
recapture the city. But its armies straggled home in defeat. In 1187, Europeans
Summarizing were shocked to learn that Jerusalem itself had fallen to a Kurdish warrior and
What, if any- Muslim leader Saladin (SAL•uh•dihn).
thing, had the
The Third Crusade The Third Crusade to recapture Jerusalem was led by three of
Crusaders gained
by the end of the Europe’s most powerful monarchs. They were Philip II (Augustus) of France,
Second Crusade? German emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa), and the English king, Richard the
Lion-Hearted. Philip argued with Richard and went home. Barbarossa drowned on
the journey. So, Richard was left to lead the Crusaders in an attempt to regain the
Holy Land from Saladin. Both Richard and Saladin were brilliant warriors. After
many battles, the two agreed to a truce in 1192. Jerusalem remained under Muslim
control. In return, Saladin promised that unarmed Christian pilgrims could freely
visit the city’s holy places.

The Crusading Spirit Dwindles

In 1204, the Fourth Crusade to capture Jerusalem failed. The knights did not reach
the Holy Land. Instead, they ended up looting the city of Constantinople. In the
1200s, four more Crusades to free the holy land were also unsuccessful. The reli-
gious spirit of the First Crusade faded, and the search for personal gain grew. In
two later Crusades, armies marched not to the Holy Land but to Egypt. The
Crusaders intended to weaken Muslim forces there before going to the Holy Land.
But none of these attempts conquered much land.

The Formation of Western Europe 383

 Richard the Lion-Hearted Saladin
1157–1199 1138–1193
Richard was noted for his good looks, Saladin was the most famous Muslim
charm, courage, grace—and leader of the 1100s. His own people
ruthlessness. When he heard that considered him a most devout man.
Jerusalem had fallen to the Muslims, Even the Christians regarded him as
he was filled with religious zeal. He honest and brave.
joined the Third Crusade, leaving He wished to chase the Crusaders
others to rule England in his place. back into their own territories. He said:
Richard mounted a siege on the city I think that when God grants me
of Acre. Saladin’s army was in the hills victory over the rest of Palestine, I
overlooking the city, but it was not shall divide my territories, make a
strong enough to defeat the Crusaders. will stating my wishes, then set
When finally the city fell, Richard had sail on this sea for their far-off
the Muslim survivors—some 3,000 men, lands and pursue the Franks
women, and children—slaughtered. there, so as to free the earth from
The Muslim army watched helplessly anyone who does not believe in
from the hills. Allah, or die in the attempt.

The Children’s Crusade The Children’s Crusade took place in 1212. In two dif-
ferent movements, thousands of children set out to conquer Jerusalem. One group
in France was led by 12-year-old Stephen of Cloyes. An estimated 30,000 children
under 18 joined him. They were armed only with the belief that God would give
them Jerusalem. On their march south to the Mediterranean, many died from cold
and starvation. The rest drowned at sea or were sold into slavery.
In Germany, Nicholas of Cologne gathered about 20,000 children and young
adults. They began marching toward Rome. Thousands died in the cold and treach-
erous crossing of the Alps. Those who survived the trip to Italy finally did meet the
pope. He told them to go home and wait until they were older. About 2,000 sur-
Making
vived the return trip to Germany. A few boarded a ship for the Holy Land and were Inferences
never heard of again. How does the
A Spanish Crusade In Spain, Muslims (called Moors) controlled most of the Children’s Crusade
illustrate the power
country until the 1100s. The Reconquista (reh•kawn•KEES•tah) was a long effort of the Church?
by the Spanish to drive the Muslims out of Spain. By the late 1400s, the Muslims
held only the tiny kingdom of Granada. In 1492, Granada finally fell to the
Christian army of Ferdinand and Isabella, the Spanish monarchs.
To unify their country under Christianity and to increase their power, Isabella and
Ferdinand made use of the Inquisition. This was a court held by the Church to sup-
press heresy. Heretics were people whose religious beliefs differed from the teach-
ings of the Church. Many Jews and Muslims in Spain converted to Christianity
during the late 1400s. Even so, the inquisitors suspected these Jewish and Muslim
converts of heresy. A person suspected of heresy might be questioned for weeks and
even tortured. Once suspects confessed, they were often burned at the stake. In 1492,
384 Chapter 14
 the monarchs expelled all practicing Jews and
Muslims from Spain.

The Effects of the Crusades

The Crusades are a forceful example of the power
of the Church during the medieval period. The call
to go to the Holy Land encouraged thousands to
leave their homes and travel to faraway lands. For
those who stayed home, especially women, it meant
a chance to manage affairs on the estates or to oper-
ate shops and inns.
European merchants who lived and traded in the
Crusader states expanded trade between Europe
and Southwest Asia. The goods imported from
Southwest Asia included spices, fruits, and cloth.
This trade with the West benefited both Christians
and Muslims.
However, the failure of later Crusades also less-
ened the power of the pope. The Crusades weakened
the feudal nobility and increased the power of kings.
Thousands of knights and other participants lost
their lives and fortunes. The fall of Constantinople
weakened the Byzantine Empire. ▲ This scene
For Muslims, the intolerance and prejudice displayed by Christians in the Holy reveals torture
Land left behind a legacy of bitterness and hatred. This legacy continues to the used in the
Inquisition.
present. For Christians and Jews who remained in the Muslim controlled region
after the fall of the Crusader states, relations with the Muslim leadership worsened.
For Jews in Europe, the Crusades were a time of increased persecution.
The Crusades grew out of religious fervor, feudalism, and chivalry, which came
together with explosive energy. This same energy led to the growth of trade, towns,
and universities in medieval Europe.

SECTION 1 ASSESSMENT

TERMS & NAMES 1. For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.
• simony • Gothic • Urban II • Crusade • Saladin • Richard the Lion-Hearted • Reconquista • Inquisition

USING YOUR NOTES MAIN IDEAS CRITICAL THINKING & WRITING

2. Which of the events of the 3. What were three main causes 6. FORMING AND SUPPORTING OPINIONS Which of the
Age of Faith do you think of the need to reform the following do you think best represents the spirit of the
was most important to the Church? Age of Faith—Church reform, the Crusades, or the Gothic
Church? Explain. 4. Which Crusade was the only cathedrals? Explain.
successful one? 7. MAKING INFERENCES What evidence supports the idea
5. How did the goals of the that the Church functioned like a kingdom?
900 Crusades change over the 8. RECOGNIZING EFFECTS How did the Crusades change the
years? history of Europe? Give reasons for your answer.
1500 9. WRITING ACTIVITY CULTURAL INTERACTION Write a script
about an encounter between a Crusader and a Muslim
defender of Jerusalem.

INTERNET ACTIVITY
Review the information on page 381. Use the Internet to research the INTERNET KEYWORD
Washington National Cathedral. Prepare a multimedia presentation Washington National Cathedral
showing the Gothic characteristics of the Washington National Cathedral.

The Formation of Western Europe 385