Crusades Paper
After the Byzantine Emperor, Alexius’, cry for help in regaining control of Jerusalem, the Holy Land, Pope Urban II gave a riveting speech at the Council of Clermont to the people of France. He spoke of a land that was taken from the Christians violently and of infidels destroying their holy city. He described many atrocities Muslims committed against Christians. The Muslims victimized both people of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Byzantines, and people of the west, the Roman Catholics. This description caused people to want to regain the Holy Land, the place Christians believed rightfully belonged to them. Thus, the First Crusade began. But, that was not the only reason people wanted to go on the crusade. In his …show more content…
Most people went on the Crusades because they believed that was what god wanted them to do and that the holy land needed to be regained from the Muslims before they completely destroyed it. At the beginning of the Crusades Pope Urban II caused thousands of people to become ready to fight for the holy land because the Muslims took Jerusalem from the Christians and have defiled it. His speech ended in a deafening roar of “God wills it” from the crowd (Robert the Monk, 333). Similarly, in Count Stephen of Blois’ letter home to his wife and children he frequently references his army as the “army of God” and when telling his wife and children that he and his army conquered Romania he states that it was “for the lord” (Stephen of Blois, 341). This reasoning shows that many people went on the Crusades because that is what they believed God wanted them to do. By following God’s will many people believed their sins would be forgiven and they would gain passage directly to heaven. Another reason why many people went on the crusades was because they believed that the Muslims were destroying Jerusalem, …show more content…
Throughout the Crusades many Crusaders claimed they were doing something “for the lord” when they actually were doing it because they wanted to get money and land. The religious aspect of the Crusades were simply a facade to make the Christians look better. Also, even if they truly were fighting the war because “God wills it” (Robert the Monk, 333) the people they were fighting against did not view it as a holy war and only fought back out of self preservation, not to protect their
After the Byzantine Emperor, Alexius’, cry for help in regaining control of Jerusalem, the Holy Land, Pope Urban II gave a riveting speech at the Council of Clermont to the people of France. He spoke of a land that was taken from the Christians violently and of infidels destroying their holy city. He described many atrocities Muslims committed against Christians. The Muslims victimized both people of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Byzantines, and people of the west, the Roman Catholics. This description caused people to want to regain the Holy Land, the place Christians believed rightfully belonged to them. Thus, the First Crusade began. But, that was not the only reason people wanted to go on the crusade. In his …show more content…
Most people went on the Crusades because they believed that was what god wanted them to do and that the holy land needed to be regained from the Muslims before they completely destroyed it. At the beginning of the Crusades Pope Urban II caused thousands of people to become ready to fight for the holy land because the Muslims took Jerusalem from the Christians and have defiled it. His speech ended in a deafening roar of “God wills it” from the crowd (Robert the Monk, 333). Similarly, in Count Stephen of Blois’ letter home to his wife and children he frequently references his army as the “army of God” and when telling his wife and children that he and his army conquered Romania he states that it was “for the lord” (Stephen of Blois, 341). This reasoning shows that many people went on the Crusades because that is what they believed God wanted them to do. By following God’s will many people believed their sins would be forgiven and they would gain passage directly to heaven. Another reason why many people went on the crusades was because they believed that the Muslims were destroying Jerusalem, …show more content…
Throughout the Crusades many Crusaders claimed they were doing something “for the lord” when they actually were doing it because they wanted to get money and land. The religious aspect of the Crusades were simply a facade to make the Christians look better. Also, even if they truly were fighting the war because “God wills it” (Robert the Monk, 333) the people they were fighting against did not view it as a holy war and only fought back out of self preservation, not to protect their