The age of the crusades - Essay Example

They wore cloth cross (crux) sewn into their clothes - this is he most obvious background of the word "crusader" . The background of the crusades lie in Western developments earlier in the Middle Ages, as well as the deteriorating situation of the Byzantine Empire. The collapse of the Carolingian Empire in the later 9th century, combined with the relative stabilization of local European borders after the spread of Christianity among Vikings, Slavs and Magyars, meant that there was an large class of warriors who by that time had very little to do but fight among themselves and plunder the peasant population.

The Church tried to interfere into this violence with the Peace and Truce of God movements, forbidding violence against certain people during certain seasons or times of year. This was somewhat successful, but trained warriors always sought an outlet for their violence. Thus, plea for help from the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I in opposing Muslim attacks fell on ready ears. After the numerous attacks of Seljuks, the Byzantine emperor Alexius I called for support, in 1095 Pope Urban II called upon all Christians to wage a war against the Turks.

Crusader armies moved to Jerusalem and destroyed several cities on their way. In 1099, they took Jerusalem and massacred the local population. Eventually, several small Crusader states were created, for instance, the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Also there was another wave of crusaders, which was less successful. 2) Second Crusade (1147-1149) Christians and Muslims co-existed in the Holy Land in peace for a long time, but in 1147 Bernard of Clairvaux called for a new crusade when the town of Edessa was captured and occupied by the Turks.

French and German forces made a foolish attack on Damascus, creating the dangerous situation over the whole crusader state. Invasion was failed, so army of loosers had to come back to their countries. 3) Third Crusade (1189-1192) In 1187, Saladin recaptured Jerusalem. Pope Gregory VIII ordered a new crusade, which was led by several of Europe's most important leaders: Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor. This crusade will be examined in detail in the next chapters of this work.4)Fourth Crusade (1202 -1204) The Fourth Crusade was initiated by Pope Innocent III in 1202, when Muslims intended to capture the Holy Lands through Egypt.

The Venetians gained control of this crusade and moved to Constantinople, where they attempted to place their protg on the throne. As a result, the city was sacked in 1204. The high spirit of the crusade was now dead, and this crusade can be explained as the kind of Papacy's struggle.