The Crusaders and the Church
By Jake Kohl
The Crusades were a result of Muslim growth and control in the late 11th century. The Crusades “objectives were to check the spread of Islam, to retake control of the Holy Land, to conquer pagan areas, and to recapture formerly Christian territories…”[1] Muslims, who were divided among themselves had previously took Jerusalem and the Holy Land by similar methods of using force. Pope Urban II, “at the Council of Clermont in 1095, responding to a request for support against the Turks from Byzantine Emperor Alexis I, proclaimed the great enterprise, to which those present responded with cries of Deus vult – “God wills it.”’[2] It is interesting that the power of the papacy at that time was so powerful, that blood would be spilled throughout the region. Pope Urban who started the Crusades stated,
I say it to those who
are present. I command that it be said to those who are absent. Christ commands
it. All who go thither and lose their lives, be it on the road or on the sea,
or in the fight against the pagans, will be granted immediate forgiveness for
their sins. This I grant to all who will march, by virtue of the great gift
which God has given me.[3]
The famous historian Edward Gibbon
(1776–89/1996) described the effects of the preaching at Clermont, saying, “A
nerve was touched of exquisite feeling; and the sensation vibrated to the heart
of Europe.”[4]
The rise of the papacy was evident by the power that the Pope influenced
throughout the nations. His speeches provoked a massive turnout of a fierce
campaign that resulted in many lives being lost. “…Urban greatly transformed
the ethos of the Holy Roman Empire with regard to holy war and pilgrimage.[5] In
as little as two months, the crusaders stormed Jerusalem, killing Muslims and
Jews, men, women, and children.[6] Three
years after the Crusade began, it had ended. The first Crusade ended with the
goal being accomplished that Jerusalem was taken back from Muslim control. By
the end of the second crusade, Christians would again, lose control of
Jerusalem to Muslim influence.
The second crusade was launched in
response to the capture (1144) of Edessa and the consequent discomfiture of the
Franks
at the hands of the Turkish Atabeg, ʿImad al-Din Zangi.[7] Urgent
pleas for aid soon reached Europe, and in 1145 Pope Eugenius III
issued a formal Crusade bull, Quantum praedecessores (“How Much Our
Predecessors”).”[8]
“Under the leadership of Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany, an army
of almost two hundred thousand left for the Holy Land. They were repeatedly
defeated by the Turks, and accomplished little.”[9]
This of course would give Muslims the advantage of having power which
eventually led to the retaking of Jerusalem.
The third crusade in
which Europe was already devastated that Jerusalem had fallen to Muslim
control, Pope Gregory VIII called for yet another crusade in which he gained
support from the three most powerful kings of Europe, King Richard I of
England, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of Germany, and King Philip Augustus of
France.[10]
This crusade is also known as the “Kings Crusade” because of the support from
these powerful kings. The third crusade resulted in a five-year truce and safe
passage for all Christians to Jerusalem, leaving Jerusalem in the hands of the
Muslims.[11]
The next two crusades were launched by
Pope Innocent III which caused division between the Catholic Church and the
Eastern Orthodox Church which is still present today.[12]
These two crusades resulted in accomplishing nothing. However, the sixth crusade led by Frederick
II, who was not the pope but the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire which
resulted in the Egyptians attacking Jerusalem and were able to regain control
by 1244.[13]
The next several crusades were all considered failures. The Muslims still
controlled the Holy Land, even after the ninth and final crusade. Holy wars
were declared on Muslims and the same on Christians.
The crusades did not
necessarily advance the cause of Christ but caused much division, chaos, and
bloodshed. “The most obvious consequence of these various episodes was the
increased mistrust and enmity between Christians and Muslims…”[14]
Furthermore, “in Western Europe, the Crusades and the Spanish Reconquista
enhanced the power of the papacy.”[15]
“The age of the Crusades witnessed the development of cities and of an economy
where trade once again became active.”[16] Through
the centuries of war between Christian and Muslim believers, the Crusades were
successful at preventing the spread of Islam and the Muslim population into
Europe; however, Christians failed to gain Muslim territory and control over
the Holy Land.[17]
In conclusion, the Christian worldview
today does not seem to match with those during the times of the crusades. The
popes during that time seized control through wealth with land ownership and an
agenda that was not necessarily biblical, but more in line with greed. The
start of the Crusades by Pope Urban seemed to be self-motivated as we have seen
through the speeches he gave. He took declared himself in a sense to be the
sole voice of Christ and the will of God. He led many down a road that is not
supported biblically, especially when claiming that Christ commands those who
died would be granted immediate forgiveness of their sins. This places
salvation not on faith, but on works.
Bibliography
Christian
Crusades. Religion and Violence: An
Encyclopedia of Faith and Conflict from Antiquity to the Present. Ed.
Jeffrey Ian Ross. Vol. 1.
Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2011.
"Crusades."
Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012.
"Crusade, Second." Chambers
Dictionary of World History. London: Chambers Harrap, 2005. Credo
Reference
Justo L.
González, The Story of Christianity, Volume 1: The Early Church to the Dawn
of the Reformation New York (HarperOne,
2010) Second, revised edition
[1]
"Crusades." Encyclopædia Britannica.
Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia
Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 02 Dec. 2012. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/144695/Crusades>.
[2] Justo L.
González, The Story of Christianity, Volume 1: The Early Church to the Dawn
of the Reformation New York (HarperOne,
2010) Second, revised edition, p 346
[3]
Ibid 345
[4] Religion and Violence: An Encyclopedia of Faith and
Conflict from Antiquity to the Present. Ed.
Jeffrey Ian Ross. Vol. 2. Armonk, NY: M.E.
Sharpe, 2011. p570-575. Word
Count: 3139.
[5]
ibid
[6] Religion and Violence: An Encyclopedia of Faith and
Conflict from Antiquity to the Present. Ed.
Jeffrey Ian Ross. Vol. 1. Armonk, NY: M.E.
Sharpe, 2011. p135-142. Word
Count: 4297.
[7]
"Crusade,
Second." Chambers Dictionary of World
History. London: Chambers Harrap, 2005. Credo
Reference. Web. 02 December 2012.
[8]
"Crusades." Encyclopædia Britannica.
Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia
Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 02 Dec. 2012. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/144695/Crusades>.
[9] Justo L.
González p 350
[10]
"Crusades." Encyclopædia Britannica.
Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia
Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 02 Dec. 2012. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/144695/Crusades>.
[11]
ibid
[12]
ibid
[13]
ibid
[14] Justo L.
González p 352
[15]
Ibid 353
[16]
Ibid 355
[17] Religion and Violence: An Encyclopedia of Faith and
Conflict from Antiquity to the Present. Ed.
Jeffrey Ian Ross. Vol. 1. Armonk, NY: M.E.
Sharpe, 2011. p135-142. Word
Count: 4297.
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