Latin crusaders wished to serve Pope Urban II and with his call for crusaders many leaped at the opportunity to serve. The Crusades established the ideal of a knight, as a layman, not a monk, doing God’s work as this was the basis for which an essential moral code was to be created. These ideals were represented in the First crusade however in the later crusades the economic problems and the lack of fighters lead to significant changes in the ideals of the crusaders. The sacking of Constantinople was a huge controversy. It lead to the Latin west taking precious relics home and advocating their victory which they believed God had proclaimed to them, however Pope Innocent III debarred their actions and accused them of losing their purity and faith.
The overwhelming majority of Europeans at this time were devout Catholics, who believed that the pope had the power to absolve sins and ensure their passage to heaven which would have been one of the most important reasons for fighting in the crusades. The pope probably wrote this to boost moral and ensure that nobody deserted the Christian army during the battle. Because if the reward for fighting in the crusades was heaven, it can be almost certain that the punishment was going to hell. This would have been characteristic of Catholicism at the time, which was known for threatening damnation as a punishment for doing something that went against its will. In doc.
The Byzantine Empire was in a battle with the Muslims and desperately wanted help. As stated before the main goal of both parties was to have control over the Holy Land of Israel. The Holy Land had significant meaning to both Christians and Muslims because they both believed this land to be at the center of their faith and beliefs. The Muslims viewed the Holy Land as the center of their faith. The Muslims believed that this is where the ascension of the prophet Mohammad who was the prophet for Allah.
There may also have been the idea of taking revenge on those (the Muslims) who had desecrated Christ’s Holy City, and his people, the Christians. Reclaiming Jerusalem was a main religious factor that encouraged people to Crusade. In 1076, it had been captured by the Seljuk Turks, which was a big problem for Christians. Jerusalem was a Holy place of worship for many religions, most especially Christians. At this time, Jerusalem was shown to be the navel of the world: in most medieval maps, Jerusalem is placed at the very centre, the place where there was a connection between god and man.
Instead, they went in order to protect the other people who had the same religious views and to obtain Jerusalem. They did not want to obtain Jerusalem to gain more land but to place Christianity were it originated and to get it back from the Muslims. Thus, wealthy landowners main motivation for going to the crusaders was
What motivated men to join the crusades led by Louis IX? Throughout the Middle Ages the idea of the crusade was employed by both the Church and the secular rulers of Western Christendom as a weapon against the infidels of the Holy Land. Shortly after Pope Urban II proclaimed the First Crusade to a large clerical gathering at Clermont in November 1095, the crusade became a traditional element of both Christian and knightly life. The notion of the crusade as both an act of service to God and as a means of celestial improvement inspired a number of Christian men to join the crusading movement. [1] The loss of the territory of Jerusalem in the summer of 1244 had unravelled the unexpected success of the Sixth Crusade and as a result King Louis IX of France, as a devout Christian, wished to travel to the East to reclaim the lost Christian lands.
The people conquered by charlemegne , after being converted to christianty, were taught through the bible of codes that taught right and wrong. It was nesscary for the church to play a role in this education of the people, because only the clergy were educated. The church also guided charlemagene’s hand as a ruler, for he took on many conquests and missions so this way the Christian relgion could spread throught Europe. Indeed, his desire and passionate to spread his kingdom and government was interwined with his desire to spread the Christian relgion and have the people live according to the word of god. At that beginning of the caroligian dynasty the church was suffering from problems.
The Moors who were a group of Moslems conquered the Iberian Peninsula in 711. Over the next 750 years there would be numerous battles between the Christian and Muslims to gain control; it came to end in 1492 when the last of the Moorish kingdoms were driven from the Iberian Peninsula. This period is known as the Reconquista. The Muslims during the 13th century made a lot of strides in geography, mathematics astronomy and medicine. With the influx of Muslims the European nations became immersed in their philosophies; many people became frightened by the Muslim influence consequently there was a demand to increase the centralization of the Christian Kingdom which helped to unite Europe.
Importance of the Crusades As military campaigns, the Crusades were a failure, but indirectly, and to some extent directly, they affected much of the European history that followed. Numerous important social, cultural, and economic changes took place during and immediately after these famous expeditions. While few of these developments can be flatly labeled as results of the Crusades, almost all were stimulated by the increased interchange between East and West that the Crusades brought about. Trade and Commerce: During and after the Crusades trade between Italy and the ports at the eastern end of the Mediterranean were tremendously increased, and wealth was circulating as never before. By the time European nobility had begun to look upon such imports as Oriental rugs and perfumes as essentials, the growing middle class of merchants and craftsmen was demanding the new foodstuffs, such as cane sugar, rice, garlic, and lemons, and textiles, such as muslin, silk, and satin, from the East, which naturally became less expensive as the shipments increased in size.
Religion was part of the society and life. The high members of the church had more power than normal religious leaders. For example, because people feared hell and that church was getting its power from God, people were afraid to break the laws of the church. The church started collecting taxes and accepting indulgence from the people to forgive their sins. One of the key conflicts in the medieval world was between the Christian West and the Muslim East.