INTRODUCTION From 1095 until the end of the Middle Middle Ages Christian warriors from Europe undertook a series of military military campaigns or Crusades designed to take control of the Holy Land the region of Palestine back from the Muslims After centuries of wars of expansion Muslim powers had conquered some two-thirds of the ancient Christian world including including Palestine Syria Egypt and Anatolia Christian Crusading expeditions were also undertaken against Muslims in Spain pagans in eastern Europe and perceived enemies of the church in Christian Europe Crusading decreased rapidly during the sixteenth century with the advent of the Protestant Reformation and the decline of papal authority Many Christians thought that by participating in the Crusades they would atone fully for their sins On the breast of their tunics thousands of knights soldiers merchants and peasants wore a cross of blood-red cloth to show they were going on Crusade Those who returned wore the cross on their backs during the long voyage voyage home The Latin word for cross is crux and from this word comes the words crusade crusade and crusader 4
A Crusader possibly King Henry III of England giving homage This thirteenth-century drawing copied from the Westminster Psalter c 1200 depicts the armor typical of a Crusading knight and emphasizes the importance importance of military service to God and the church that all medieval knights would have felt 5
THE CRUSADES Even though only the First and Third Crusades were successful in reclaiming parts of the Holy Land the Crusades played an important role in the expansion of Europe Historians have written about the excesses of the Crusades for centuries and the Crusades remain today a fascinating yet controversial chapter in the history of Christianity and in world history in general The Crusading movement was the result of a number of important factors By the end of the eleventh century the countries of Europe had become major powers Western Europe was composed of several Loarre Castle located in the province of Huesca in the auton omous community of Aragon in Spain is considered the best-preserved Romanesque fortress in Europe It was built in the eleventh century on a promontory of limestone giving it a great advantage against siege as there was virtually no way to breach the castle from below 6
INTRODUCTION kingdoms loosely describable as feudal Their populations as well as their economies economies had grown dramatically and their governments had become better organized enabling European leaders to raise and command large armies Such in improvements European society provided the necessary necessary foundation upon which to build the Crusading movement movement A thirteenth-century map of Jerusalem with the cities of Gethsemane Jericho Jericho Bethany and Hebron This French miniature is part of Robert the Monk’s History of the First Crusade Historia Hierosolymitana The nature of religious religious belief at the time was another important important factor According to the idea of holy war which took shape in the eleventh century Christian warriors had a duty to do God’s work by fighting for the church The practice of pilgrimage pilgrimage to holy sites and the shrines of saints also influenced influenced the Crusades In the late eleventh century a series 7
