...Assess the reasons why there was a crusade in 1095 The first crusade began in 1095 following the Council of Clermont, although the official crusade forces didn’t leave until 1097. It was at the Council of Clermont that Pope Urban II first talked about the idea of a crusade. He explained that the Byzantine emperor, Alexius, had appealed for help as his land was constantly under attack from Muslim forces. Many people answered the appeal and took part in the crusade, however many embarked for different reasons. Some devout Christians, such as Peter the Hermit, will have taken part due to religious zeal and a desire to help the Christians in the East. Others, such as Baldwin of Boulogne or Bohemond of Taranto may have also desired the chance to gain land and material rewards in the East. Whatever their reasons, over 100,000 people took part in the crusade, final taking Jerusalem in 1099. The factor that sparked the whole idea of a crusade was Emperor Alexius’ appeal to Pope Urban II in 1095. Alexius saw an opportunity to take back some land lost to the Seljuk Turks as the Norman leader, Robert Guiscard, had recently died and the Muslim forces were focusing on internal conflicts. Although Emperor Alexius needed military assistance, his appeal to Pope Urban II focussed more on the suffering of the Christians in the East at the hands of the Muslims as opposed to fighting. He put emphasis on the fact that Christians were being slaughtered and that Muslims and Seljuk Turks had...
Words: 1542 - Pages: 7
...Pius II was elected as Pope at a time when Rome was still recovering from the aftermath of the Great Schism and facing new threats from the Ottoman Empire. Upon his election he promised to address the threats from the Turks, which he did by preaching a Crusade against them. Scarce resources in a city in ruins and decaying Christian identity led Pius to become supportive of an idea he had always argued against – Papal Supremacy. As Pope, this new point of view was meant to provide enough power to influence the split Christian community and spark the crusade he was so fixed on. His commitment to this promise is apparent in his commentaries on the transfer of the sacred head of St. Andrew to Rome. Pius’s depiction of the pompous procession emphasizes the importance of the Papal position, the apostolic succession of clergy men, and Rome’s history as the center of the world, all of which affirmed the Pope’s supremacy over councils and emperors and had the potential of bringing Christians together against the Turks. In order for his preaching of the crusade to be effective, Pope Pius needed to restore the importance of the papacy position, which had been overshadowed by councils since 1418 when the Council of Constance did away the Great Schism. The news about St. Andrew’s head being rescued from Patras before the enemy got a hold of it presented him with an opportunity to do just that. Pius claimed the sacred head belonged at the St. Peter’s citadel with his brother and planned...
Words: 959 - Pages: 4
...key role in wars and death. The Crusades were a series of wars of Christians who wanted the holy land because the Muslims had conquered Jerusalem (Holy Land) and had also conquered many other countries. With this in mind, I believe that religion did play a part in the Crusaders, for instance the “Holy Land” known as Jerusalem. European Christians fought the wars because of religion, poverty, and economic reasons. The reason for the Crusades going into war was because they wanted to recapture the “Holy Land” from the Muslims. Many people didn’t like the fact that Muslims were living where Jesus had walked, lived, and made miracles. In document 1, Runciman states that “Their motives were … genuinely religious …...
Words: 531 - Pages: 3
...Catholic kingdom, religion was very important and organized. First, their religion was the Catholic Christianity, and in the church hierarchy, there were different classes. The highest class was the pope, the second was the bishops, and lastly was the priests. Basically, the pope was considered to be the ruler of the Christian world (Ellis 193). Just how the Catholic religion was organized, so was the feudal system in Western Europe. The feudal systems contained social hierarchy, and the highest class was the king. After the king, the next powerful class was the lords, knights, and then finally the vassals (peasants and serfs)(Ellis 188). Although the conditions of the king’s and lords’ environments were luxuries, the vassals’ environment was really poor. They had to live in a manor, with less food, and hard labor (Ellis 190). The most beneficial advantage for the vassals was to live near the river (Class notes December 17, 2013). The reason is because they can catch fish at sometimes, and have additional food than others. Most of the vassals were serfs (slaves that were bound to the land, and can be sold and bought). Other vassals were peasants (people with rights that got paid for their work) (Ellis 189). This was basically the overall image of Western Europe, before the Crusades. Like the Catholic Kingdoms, the Byzantine Empire had its own history. In around 330, the Byzantium Empire started when the Roman emperor of Constantine, rebuilt the Greek city of Byzantium, and named...
Words: 1481 - Pages: 6
...The First Crusade A mass of men, numbering roughly 100,000, marched out of Europe and toward Jerusalem and were victorious against masses of Islamic armies. In July of 1099AD, Jerusalem would fall out of the hands of the Turks for the first time in centuries, and the First Crusade would also serve to frame the make-up of nobility across Europe and help shape the middle ages altogether. The view of the Crusades, like many major events of history, are often known without being truly understood. In the modern era, the Crusades are seen almost as an afterthought, and used as a tool to rationalize and justify relativism in general. In fact, Islam had spread deep to the west, swallowing Spain and expanding into southern France. Much of Europe was in a state of subtle chaos. The Normans held the British Isles, and what we know as Germany today was in a constant state of resistance against any crown that managed power. Spain was pushing against its Muslim occupiers bit by bit, but its struggles would span centuries before and after all of the major crusades would be undertaken. Each of these, along with other events of the era, put considerable pressure on the ability of the Byzantine Empire to govern its own borders, a task made all the more difficult when compounded by pressures from the Seljuk Turks to east. It could be said then, that the call made by Alexius I Comnenus (or Alexios I Komnenos), the eastern emperor, for help from the Church, was all the more timely...
Words: 1256 - Pages: 6
...The crusades were a series of Wars fought over the Holy Land Jerusalem, between Christian Europe and Muslim Asia. Jerusalem held a high significance to Christians because the Church of the Sepulchre was built upon the hill Christ was crucified on top of. The start of the Crusades was influenced by Pope Claremount in 1095. There were about nine crusades in total, the first four were known as the Principal crusades, and the four remaining, Minor crusades. The Holy crusades had many effects on both Europe and Asia. Before the 11th century most Christians were encouraged and even welcomed by the Muslim people of Jerusalem to journey on pilgrimages to experience Christ. Muslims had an open policy for pilgrims seeing them as a source of revenue. In the 1065 the Turkish took over control of Jerusalem and murdered Christians. The Pope Urban II hired a man named Peter the Hermit, a native monk of France, to spread the word and influence people to stand up and fight against the Infidels controlling Jerusalem and attacking Europe. August 15th 1096 marked the start of the crusades into Asia. The most important Crusades are the first four known as the Principle crusades. 3000 Christians were slaughtered in Jerusalem, prompting the first crusade, known as the People’s Crusade, made up of all kinds of classes of people, men, women, and children. Many preachers’ excited people of Europe, swaying them with their words of “Gods Will” to set out on a march to Jerusalem. The first crusade...
Words: 1423 - Pages: 6
...1 Part 1 of of a monumental documentary on the crusades produced by the History Channel entitled "Crusades: crescent and the cross". This is part one of two. A must watch, and an excellent production! - Hosted by Nahda Media - 2 Not Synced for thousand of years the holy land of the middle east was run with blood. here the scars of battle was between the three of the great religion of the world. but the deepest would was made by the war between christians and muslims began at the close of the 11 century. fought for 200 years for a state a tiny strip of land which was a few hundred miles long. But with the greatest prize Jerusalem. now this holy war is passed as legd. there were those who saw it by their own eyes. great chronicles from two different worlds Christian and Muslim wrote of great deeds, great battles and great warriors. about men who laid down their lives. ¶ 3 Not Synced this was the collision of two great faiths, the clash between the crescent and the cross. 4 Not Synced this was the crusades. 5 Not Synced Of all the cities in the world, Jerusalem has the most troubled past and the most troubling future. 6 Not Synced For the Jews, it is the site of the great temple of Hewet and Solemn. For Muslims, the place where Mohammed ascended to heaven. For Christians,a place where their messiah was crucified. 7 Not Synced After his death, the world of Jesus Christ took root and Jerusalem slowly shed almost 4 centuries of Roman...
Words: 2901 - Pages: 12
...As a student with a keen interest in medieval history, I have always been intrigued by the concept of heresy and how the Roman Catholic Church attempted to rid Christendom of heretics. To be frank all of us, in some form or quantity, have come across heresy in books, popular media, and music. It is a defining term of medieval Europe and the twelfth and thirteenth century see crusades against heretics and the power and means by which the Roman Church aimed to repress the many heretical ideologies that existed. This is both an interesting and extensive topic and throughout this essay I will be focusing on the term ‘Heresy’ itself, why the church sought to repress heretics and lastly how they managed to do the same. In a very general term, heresy can be termed as a disagreement with the Church or the teachings and doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church, and a heretic someone who’s faith, beliefs and practices are in contradiction with that of the Church. Not all heretics believed in the same principle concepts and not all heretical concepts were popular. The Cathars, a heretic group in Languedoc, south of France believed that the world was a creation of the devil and that the sacraments of the Church were not true, but were devilish frauds of an evil church. It is worth noting though that heresy existed in every age, as it is but natural that popular beliefs and ideologies had contradicting and opposing ones, but it was only between the late eleventh and thirteenth century that...
Words: 2003 - Pages: 9
...The crusade notes By: Travis Finney Date: 4-8-13 Decline of Byzantium * Muslim saliqus won an important victory at manzikert in 1071. Byzantium factions then turned on each other in civil war allowing the saliqus almost free rein in Anatolia. * The Byzantium emperor asked Pope Urban 11 to help him against the Muslim’s. Pope Urban 11 * Urban’s speech would help launch the first of several crusades. Reasons for the crusades * The Pope hoped to unite the entire eastern Mediterranean and the divided Christian faith under the banner of the Latin Church. * Italy with large navies supported the crusades for commercial gains and trading routes. * The Byzantine Empire was in severe decline and no longer could act as a butler between the Muslim east and the Catholic west. * Christian pilgrims visiting the holy sites in Jerusalem began experiencing increased harassment and danger. The First Crusade * The word “Crusade” comes from the Spanish Crusade which means “marked with the cross” * The first Crusaders met the Muslim forces and won victories at Nicaea on June 19, 1097 and Anita on June 3, 1098. * By June 7, 1099 after a three year campaign 12,000 of the original 30,000 crusaders reached Jerusalem. * On July 15, the crusaders went over the city walls and unleashed unbridled carnage. Moslem counter attack * Most of all the crusaders returned to Europe after freeing Jerusalem creating a manpower shortage. * Moslem...
Words: 2117 - Pages: 9
...For the second Crusade, the court at Acre decided the crusade should be aimed towards Damascus, in result, breaking the truce the region had with the Latin Kingdom. In return however, King Louis VII and Emperor Conrad the III, would both get to take advantage and use their armies already located in Antioch. But who would lead these armies to Damascus? Each powerful leader/representative at Acre such as Louis, Conrad, Baldwin, and Queen Melisende all had hopes of being the chosen leader. For the Knights Templar however, having one of their leaders be in charge of the crusade would have been more than ideal for this thriving order. Robert de Craon, known to people of the order as Master Robert, was elected leader of the Knights Templar in 1136....
Words: 962 - Pages: 4
...Ages, positive faith and advances resulted. Although the Middle Ages have been known as various names, the labels the Age of Faith, Age of Feudalism, and the Golden Ages best describe the time period. The Age of Faith can be used as a label for the Middle Ages because during the era, Church had a vast influence over the people of Europe. The Church attempted to create a peaceful environment through enforcing the Truce of God. The Truce of God allowed people to handle and carry weapons but not use them to injure anyone during certain days of the year. The Truce of God called for, "every Sunday, Friday, and Saturday, and on fast days of the four seasons... this decree of peace shall be observed... so that no injury shall be done in any way to any one" (Document 5). The Church had so much influence that it controlled when people fought and banned fighting on weekends, feasts, and fasts. The Church also thought about different scenarios and created rules for them such as if a castle was attacked. The attackers must stop fighting unless the victims fought back and caused them to defend themselves. Also in the Middle Ages Pope Urban II's called for a crusade or holy war. The Pope cried out for help against the Turks and Arabs and offered incentive, "All who die by the way, whether by land or sea, or in...
Words: 958 - Pages: 4
...the papacy, this endured up until the 9th century. While there were both positive and negative ramifications of this reality, the biggest is the influence of papal authority and the effect that it had over Christianity. The collapse of the Roman Empire brought order to not only orthodoxy, but also the government. Throughout this essay, it is my desire to touch on these areas. In addition, I will also discuss some of the contributing factors to the dominion of Western Europe and what happened up until the Reformation. The effect of the barbarian invasion and the continuation of Western Civilization during the Middle Ages, is truly a time within history that impacts the church and its association with supremacy. The How And Why Of The Papacy And The Power It Had In understanding the significance of the papacy and the power it had, it only makes sense to begin with a good solid definition of it. “The term pappa, from which the word “pope” is derived, originated in ancient colloquial Greek as an endearing term for “father,’ and was then applied, beginning in the third century, to Eastern patriarchs, bishops, abbots, and eventually parish priests.” [1]. Throughout Rome and the Western part of the Empire, this term “became reserved for the bishop of Rome,” and later became “official in the eleventh century with the reign of Pope Gregory VII.” [2]. Walter Elwell, goes on to explain that the papacy was indeed a succession of the government and the Roman Catholic Church. ...
Words: 1851 - Pages: 8
...PAPER 2 The Rise of the Papacy INTRO In the void left by the collapse of the Roman Empire, the bishop of Rome grew even more in both power and prestige beginning in the sixth century and continuing to the reformation in the ninth century. It is the aim of this paper to explain how and why the papacy in Rome became the center of power of the medieval world, the factors contributing to this dominance over Western Europe, and the positive and negative ramifications of the position becoming so powerful. Through this paper you will discover how papacy was able to fill the vacuum of power left by the fall of an empire. THE HOW AND WHY When the Roman Empire fell services that it previously provided were left untended. Additionally the political structures and authority of the government were left in ruins. This created a massive void in the culture of the empire. While the government collapsed, the Church survived and even thrived, remaining strong throughout the known world, but especially in Rome. Services previously provided by the government were now being delivered at the hands of the Church under the direction of the Bishop of Rome, which would become the position of Pope. Society turned to the Church for education, monasteries took in war-orphans, and peace and mercy were encouraged in matters involving the former empire and its conquerors. While the Roman Empire was falling, the Church was rising and society churned on both under the leadership and...
Words: 1631 - Pages: 7
...Thuy Tran 10/19/15 101-0032 Outline: History of Middle Ages Introduction: Middle Ages began when Western Roman Empire collapsed. Byzantine and Islamic appeared before the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages is the middle period of three traditional division of Western history: early, the high, and the late Middle Ages. Middle Ages is an important part of Western Civilization. It through many different period of time of the Middle Ages helps Western Civilization development economy and political. Each period of Middle Ages affect to how Civilization changes and growth. Western Civilization had more strong and created many intellect men. Also, the last Pagan Europe was converted to Christianity with the Baltic people in the High Middle Ages, bringing them to Western Civilization as well. I. Byzantine and Islamic influence A. Byzantine influence In the textbook Humanities in the Western Tradition, First Edition Marvin Perry, Baruch College, City University of New York, Emeritus J. Wayne Baker, University of Akron Pamela Pfeiffer Hollinger, the University of Akron that discussion Byzantine and Islamic their cultural contribution to Western Civilization. * “The Byzantine and Islam have in common” by contributing writer that almost 700 years Byzantine and Islamic cultural fought the remains of the Roman Empire, but they also hared many cultural political and artistic that shape their societies in many ways. * Advantage: * Byzantine cultural contributions...
Words: 1882 - Pages: 8
...CHAPTER 24 TEST QUESTIONS MULTIPLE CHOICE 1. Luther’s initial stimulus for formulating the Ninety-Five Theses was a. his excommunication from the Roman Catholic church. b. the sale of indulgences. c. his time spent in England during the English Reformation. d. the turmoil caused by having two popes during the Great Schism. e. the influence of John Calvin. 2. The author of the Ninety-Five Theses was a. John Calvin. b. Erasmus. c. Voltaire. d. Martin Luther. e. Henry VIII. 3. The Catholic church dramatically pushed the sale of indulgences in the sixteenth century because of the a. need to match the resurgence of the Byzantine empire. b. threat posed by Islam. c. need for Henry VIII to pay off the national debt. d. expense associated with translating original Greek classics. e. need to raise funds for the construction of St. Peter’s basilica. 4. Which one of the following was not one of Luther’s problems with the Roman Catholic church? a. the selling of indulgences b. pluralism c. absenteeism d. the immense wealth of the Catholic church e. the church’s decision to translate the Bible into vernacular languages 5. Who said, “I cannot and will not recant anything, for it is neither safe nor right to act against one’s conscience. Here I stand. I can do no other.”? a. Martin Luther b. Jesus c. John Calvin d. Sima Qian e. Henry VIII 6. In the centuries following the fall of Rome, the only unifying...
Words: 2581 - Pages: 11
