Essay About 11Th Century And Large Group Of Christians

The Crusades
Join now to read essay The Crusades
The Crusades
The 11th century brought good things to the Eastern
Mediterranean. There were generally no immense problems to deal with,
as everything was in a very tranquil state. The people who lived
there went with the flow, but what they did not know is that they
would soon be part of a turning point in religious history.
A large group of Christians formed a small military which was
called the Crusaders. They were out to recapture the Holy land from
the Muslims, and dedicated their lives to this. They were identified
by red cloth that was sewn on their garments in the form of a cross.
This indicated that they were the soldiers of Christ. Their name,
“The Crusaders” was derived from the Latin word crux meaning “cross,”
this then in turn was a reference to the biblical ruling that good
Christians always carry a cross.
The Crusaders existence was based on strong religious beliefs
more then any of the other minor reasons they were established. The
Crusaders also resurrected an older tradition of the pilgrimage to the
Holy Land, which was often imposed as a reconciliation of your-self.
They assumed two roles: pilgrims and soliders. Armed pilgrims would
normally not be accepted, but in this case they were, because they
were fighting for the Christian Holy Land. This made the “war”
justifiable in their eyes.
In the 7th century the Muslims took control of Jerusalem, and
in the 11th century they began to hassle and interfere with Christian
pilgrims and teaching in the Jerusalem area. To the Christians
Jerusalem was a heavenly city, the center of their existence and they
did not take lightly to being pushed out. The Popes encouragement,
religious indulgences, and promise of eternal merit provoked thousands
of Christians to enroll in this “holy” military to fight for the
cause.
The Crusades were also a response to the cries of help from the
Byzantine Empire, who was very worried about a gaining threat in the
form of the Seljuk Turks. In 1071 Jerusalem was taken and the
Byzantine army went down at Miniskirt to the Turks. This caused a bad
economic state for the west and the Crusades were a last stab at
extending trade routes and bring the Byzantine Empire to a status that
matched a rich and flourishing Italy.
Late in the year of 1095 Pope Urban announced on Tuesday,
November 27 that he would hold a public session to make an
announcement. This was the beginning of what was to be the First
Crusade. He thought that western Christendom should march to the
rescue of the East. Rich and poor alike should go and they should stop
murdering each other and instead fight a great war for what they
really believe in. They believed it was God’s will and that God would
lead them to victory. During his speech many interruptions took
place. People yelled and rallied behind Pope Urban and other crowd
members. Just after the Pope ended his speech the bishop of Le Puy
dropped to his knees and asked permission to join what was first
called the “Holy Expedition.” The crowd quickly embraced