The Crusades and Its Effect on Medieval Art - Research Paper Example

Introduction In the Medieval age, Crusades referred to a holy war that had to be ized by the popeand were carried out against groups that were seen as adversaries of Christianity. The term originated from a cross-made from cloth that was worn as a badge on the outer garment during the Crusade; moreover, Crusading meant going on a holy pilgrimage in pursuit of personal salvation (“The Christian Crusades”). At the start, the only missions that were regarded as Crusades were those to Jerusalem, for example, the Holy Land and territories linked to it. Later on, however, efforts made against Muslims; moreover, Heterics and pagans came to be recognized as Crusades. Historically, seven main Crusades have been recorded with the earliest being in 1095 and the last in 1291 marked by the fall of Acre. These seven Crusades have more recently been referred to as “The Great Crusades”. The Crusades comprised of a volunteer army ranging from peasant to laborers where women were encouraged to participate only by giving money; Moreover, a number of the crusades were named; for example the Albigensian Crusade, Northern or Baltic Crusades and Children’s Crusade (“Crusade Basics”). Impact on Medieval Art The Crusades were unsuccessful considering their initial aim as no lasting conquests over the Holy Land were made. The mutual respect between Muslims and Christians was instead destroyed and replaced by a harsh intolerance (“The Christian Crusades”). Nevertheless, not all was bad; the Crusades played an enormous role in boosting the economy of Europe as trade interactions expanded. The Medieval period was between 300AD, end of the Roman era, and 1400AD, beginning of the Renaissance era (“Introduction to the History of Medieval Art”). The Great Crusades also gave rise to Gothic art thereby ending the Romanesque style; in addition, the Gothic art was so named because of the rulers of France at that time, the Goths. Thick walls, small windows and close-set columns were the main features of Romanesque churches; moreover, the Christian church took on the role of a militant leader in this era thus going out to seize the Holy Land from the Muslims. This conviction is what the furnishings, art and architecture of buildings characterized, particularly the sculptures. However, at the start of 1150, the styles changed, and this gave birth to the period termed by historians as the Gothic period. This change was attributed to a combination of aspects of art, religion and philosophy (“Introduction to the History of Medieval Art”). The major difference between churches built at this time and those built using the Romanesque style is that they featured narrow-pointed arches coming from high pillars. Hence, this architecture gave rise to cathedrals as the structures became bigger in size than they were. This together with the unique design of stained glass was meant to relay an image of Heavenly Jerusalem, a place where human matters were to be forgotten (“Introduction to the History of Medieval Art”). Effect on gathering of new relics and uprising of pilgrimages For assisting and protecting pilgrims to the Holy Land, military orders were established: the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller. They were monastic orders where the members had to take vows of poverty and chastity and in addition, undergo military training (Snell). The Crusade era was characterized by production of sacred relics that included rings, crosses, holy water flasks and terracotta souvenir pilgrim flasks. Some of the artifacts had images that symbolized religious actions such as receiving of blessings. These artifacts were possessed by both the crusaders and the knights that accompanied them, and they went on to improve trade relations across Europe. The relics gathered during this era consisted of not only holy items, but also the remains of holy people and sites (“Art of the Crusades Era”) Through the Crusades period, the expedition from various destinations within Europe was undertaken to the Holy Land. This was considered a pilgrimage initially as it was undertaken as fulfillment of a sacred ritual, although when infidels began to take over the Holy sites it turned into a military mission. This is because the Medieval Christian population believed rescuing the land would be a devout act. This implied that journeys made to Jerusalem and neighboring territories turned into war missions; therefore, the pilgrims became warriors (“Pilgrimage”). The pope or other leaders were seen to promise people exemptions from tax, forgiveness and an alternate to going to jail, as a way of enticing them to go for pilgrimages. In addition, the exquisite designs of cathedrals built in this era encouraged outsiders to go on a pilgrimage in order to view them. There developed a nature of Crusades in the thirteenth century where they were embarked on, not for military expeditions, but for defending the Christian faith and political purposes. The first Crusade came about because of the Byzantine emperor seeking military assistance from Pope Urban, the second; moreover, Komnenos, the Byzantine emperor, intended to prevent the Turks from further penetrating into the city. Therefore, this move was defensive rather than aggressive more so considering that there were no good relations between the Eastern Orthodox Church of the Byzantines and the Roman Church. Although as time went on, this changed turning the sacred quest into a self-interest affair for some of the Kings that came into power. It is difficult to tell the level of corruption that existed as only scanty information exists on the medieval era. The first Crusade was successful making the pope popular, but the consequent Crusades were not successful thereby retarding his popularity and also taking away his power. The following Crusade, under King Louis the seventh, proved a complete failure as it resulted in the loss of one of the Latin Kingdoms. Attempts by Pope Gregory the seventh, in the third Crusade, to revive the mission were not fruitful. The fourth Crusade had a great impact on political and religious aspects as the attack this time was directed at Egypt, which was seen to be significant in gaining control over Jerusalem. Consequently, this meant that land ended up being divided among the wealthy aristocrats that died in battle, and having no heirs, left their riches and land to be divided among the kings; this made the kings powerful (“The Christian Crusades”). General Impact of Crusades Pope Urban the second had a visionary outlook of the Crusades as they became about fighting for territory. He intended to reduce the tension within Europe by directing the warring efforts to deterring the Islam-defending territories. This at least brought about a unified Europe, which cultivated the main aspect of unity in Christianity. Furthermore, the Crusades aided in the flourishing of trade and merging of different styles of architecture and art and in general the European culture (Snell). Notably also, there was the emergence of private castles at the time of King Stephen. However, in the reign of King Henry the second, they were destroyed, subsequently King Henry the fourth came into power and corruption became rife and once again, under King Edward the first, private castles came into being. Gradually, feudalism in Europe was eliminated, as they became one accord. The poor were no longer subjected to harsh working conditions and lifestyles; the rich were encouraged to share their wealth to the raising of armies and supplies for the Crusades (“The Christian Crusades”). Shortcomings of the Church during the Crusade era There were instances of corruption in the Catholic Church during the medieval era where the Church raised funds by selling indulgences, such that it was said to control one’s spiritual wealth. Indulgences referred to one’s willingness as a sinner to repent through working in order to lower the number of years they would have in purgatory. The fundamental idea behind this was that the pope controlled treasury of goodwill that could be given out to the faithful if they were truly willing to repent their sins. Hence, when a Christian was believed to have committed a sin, they were to pay some money to the neighborhood church or undertake charity work in order to work off their years in purgatory. The process involved getting an official letter signed by the pope declaring pardon for one’s sins. This concept became open to abuse, as one would have a number of letters from Church officials that were represented by bankers that computed the proceeds and were at times not genuine. More alarming was that the Church taught that one could be forgiven for their sins or their relatives, dead or alive, not only in the present but also in the future. This encouraged a sense of reckless living, which ultimately made people lose faith in Christianity. Another instance is a clergy who was known for bringing relics to repenting Christians and charging them for it, as it would absolve them of their sins. This was part of the teaching of the importance of pilgrimage where one was meant to go in order to show true atonement for their sins. Therefore, instead of one having to make the trip to the Holy Land, they would simply visit the clergy and get their sins absolved. There were also cases of priests and nuns taking on lovers bringing up the issue of illegitimate children. Through an official document, the illegitimate children could be made legitimate. In addition, the church also received criticism for their opulent living where popes and priests were seen to adorn expensive garments and jewelleries while making their residential areas extravagant. The issue of ignorance also raised questions as priests lacked proper education, which even made them carry out sermon delivery and performance of other religious rituals. Works Cited Snell, Melissa. “Crusades Basics”. About.com. n.d. Web. 16 November 2012 “The Christian Crusades”. The Bible: the Book that Bridges the Millennia. n.d. Web. 16 November 2012 “Art of the Crusades Era”. 1997. n.d. Web. 16 November 2012 “Introduction to the History of Medieval Art”. ArtHistory.net. n.d. Web. 16 November 2012 “Pilgrimage”. Medieval Life and Times. n.d. Web. 16 November 2012 Read More