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Medieval Links (With a sample discussion from  Political: The Crusades)

This page provided students with links to all of these areas.

(The links have been removed for this demonstration, and ONE discussion from the TWENTY TWO has been copied below.)

The Crusades (Richard the Lionheart, Pope Urban II, Saladin)

The Crusades were a series of religion-driven military campaigns waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents. Crusades were fought mainly against Muslims, though campaigns were also directed against pagan Slavs, Jews, Russian and Greek Orthodox Christians, Mongols, and political enemies of the popes.  Crusaders took vows and were granted an indulgence for past sins.  What reasons might a crusader have joined the crusades? Be sure to comment on the role of Richard the Lionheart, Pope Urban II and Saladin

AID said

at 10:00 pm on Nov 19, 2008

A crusader may have joined the crusades for multiple reasons. Firstly, almost all peasants in feudalism had been the lowest level of social class since their birth. The crusades offered them a chance to raise their social status. Also, the crusades included the looting of many cities. This was a great way for a poor peasant to earn some money by stealing goods. Pope Urban II had a very important role in the crusades. In the year 1093, the Byzantine emperor Alexius Comnenus wrote a letter appealing for help from Robert, Count of Flanders, against the Muslim Turks, who threatened to conquer his capital, Constantinople. Pope Urban II also read this letter, and responded by issuing a call to what he called "the holy war". He promised that if a crusader was killed in battle, he would be assured a spot in heaven.

AID said

at 10:09 pm on Nov 19, 2008

Richard the Lionheart and Saladin were two brilliant military leaders of the third crusade. Richard, an English king known for his courage and ruthlessness, originally teamed up with two of the most powerful monarchs in Europe; Phillip II (Augustus) of France and the German emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa). However, Phillip argued with Richard and then went back to France. Shortly after this, Barbarossa drowned on the journey to recapture Jerusalem. Saladin was another brilliant warrior, who led the Muslims in defending Jerusalem. After many battles, Richard and Saladin made a truce. Jerusalem stayed under control of the Muslims, but Christians were allowed to visit the city's holy places.

KE said

at 7:20 pm on Nov 24, 2008

I agree with you, AI. One reason for joining the crusades was to gain wealth. Crusader organizations such as the Knights Templar grew extremely wealthy, and accepted all people. This was a good opportunity for peasants to become wealthier. This also helped them get closer to God. Part of daily life for Templar Knights was prayer. They were also said to be as ascetic as monks, and were granted martyrdom on death. These two things would appeal to a lot of people in medieval society, which is why people may have joined the crusades.

LE said

at 6:36 pm on Nov 25, 2008

The entire idea of the Crusades was to regain the holy land. Since the entire social system was based on how much money people had, most people were drawn in by the idea of gaining more land and moving up in class. This was very difficult to do normally because there was social immobility. Besides peasants and serfs, younger sons were also motivated to participate in the Crusades. This is because they did not stand to inherit their father's property.

KE said

at 6:39 pm on Nov 29, 2008

That was not the entire idea. Though a part of the first crusade was to recapture the holy land, that was not all. The first crusade started when Byzantine emperor Alexius Comnenus asked for help to suppress the growing threat of the Turks. Pope Urban II called for Christian knights to aid the Byzantines and capture Jerusalem and other territories. That was the main purpose for the first crusade.

LE said

at 7:17 pm on Dec 1, 2008

KE, you made a good point and I can see that the crusades were not all about regaining the holy land. But it is important to note that these wars of conquest known as the crusades were also inspired greatly by the age of faith. Since Christianity was reviving itself, the church and government now had more confidence that caused them to fight for power. As AI mentioned, Pope Urban II declared a "holy war" or crusade shortly after reading a letter from Emperor Alexius Comnenus who had wrote, "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 vanquish from your sight and, what is more important, the Holy Sepulcher shall vanish," (Comnenus). This letter stimulated Pope Urban's issue of the "holy war". Since the Pope was so strongly in favor of the crusades, many Christians would join. Also, Christians were told that they would automatically go to heaven by fighting in the crusades which was another motive for Christians.

KE said

at 7:33 pm on Dec 1, 2008

Yes, that is entirely true. Faith played the major role in the crusades. My point, however, was to point out that this was not the only factor. Pope Urban II called the crusade to help Byzantium suppress Seljuk Turks and to regain Jerusalem.

SH said

at 7:42 pm on Dec 3, 2008

The Crusades played a major role during this era. It is understood Pope Urban II did order the nobles to conquer the Holy Land again and Richard the Lionheart and Saladin played a key role in military strategy. In modern day culture, we still see many fights over the land in Jerusalem- which brings me to my question: do you think that the wars accomplished what they were after, or do you think that because there is still fighting going on today nothing was completely accomplished? Also, if you had to pinpoint one option, do you think the serfs as a majority engaged in battle for religious reasons or solely because of the economic benefits from fighting?

KE said

at 8:50 pm on Dec 3, 2008

I think that people joined the crusades for religious reasons. All Christian knights who joined were guaranteed a spot in heaven, sort of like tenure with God, and all knights that fell were considered martyrs. In this time, the afterlife meant everything to the average person, so sacrificing your health or even life was a small price to pay to get into heaven.

I think that's a good point. I do not think the wars accomplished what they were after. Not because that territory is still fought over today, but because it is being fought over between Jews and Muslims. The Christians no longer seem to have a say in that land. Not only did the crusades fail, but with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, Israel, a Jewish country, was given control of Jerusalem. So, in the end, the crusades did not accomplish the goal; to capture the Holy Land.

AI said

at 10:00 pm on Nov 19, 2008

A crusader may have joined the crusades for multiple reasons. Firstly, almost all peasants in feudalism had been the lowest level of social class since their birth. The crusades offered them a chance to raise their social status. Also, the crusades included the looting of many cities. This was a great way for a poor peasant to earn some money by stealing goods. Pope Urban II had a very important role in the crusades. In the year 1093, the Byzantine emperor Alexius Comnenus wrote a letter appealing for help from Robert, Count of Flanders,against the Muslim Turks, who threatened to conquer his capital, Constantinople. Pope Urban II also read this letter, and responded by issuing a call to what he called "the holy war". He promised that if a crusader was killed in battle, he would be assured a spot in heaven.

SA said

at 3:07 am on Dec 8, 2008

I think that without a doubt the knights joined for remission of all sins, and a guaranteed spot in heaven. As KE said, all knights that fell were considered martyrs. However, with serfs, I don't think you can say that they either engaged in battle for religious reasons or solely because of the economic benefits, because it was a combination of both. As it was previously said, social mobility was extremely limited, so people that strived to move up on the social ladder would have joined for economic reasons. And, there were the other serfs who desired a spot in heaven over economic benefits, so they would have joined for remission of sins. So I don't think you really can pinpoint one option, just because both reasons were huge contributors to the massive amount of serfs who fought.

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