The First Crusades and Reformation - Assignment Example

In 1094, the Byzantine Emperor got to the conclusion that Byzantium was too weak to take its lost territories by itself and appealed to the Christian states of Western Europe for help. The assistance and the process of gathering the states to deploy the call to help the Byzantine Emperor by the Christians and other Christian states was the beginning of the crusades. The report by the Byzantine to the Pope requesting aid to bring back the lost territories revealed to the Pope that the Orthodox Church and the Eastern Empire were weak. he thought that if he sent assistance he could reunite the churches under his authority. The process of preaching peace and the need for reunion through France was through the crusades (Shepkaru, 4).

After the launch of a crusade by Pope Urban, the armies left and captured Jerusalem and the Muslims were displaced. They captured the lands around Jerusalem. They curved the lands and made small kingdoms for themselves and this just lasted for a while. Most of the European leaders got a strong grid and gained influence over the land to form stable governments. Christians re-founded the humanity of Jesus as the veneration of the artifact became more popular: however, some of the Christians lost their properties, lives, and loved ones (Shepkaru, 14).

Reformations in the religious sectors were caused by the corruption of the church. The Catholic Church involved itself through the leaders in corruption by selling indulgences and nepotism. The questioning of the church traditions by Renaissance Humanism, which challenged the pope over the virtues of salvation, and his take on the same also led to the reformation of Christianity. The influence of the religious reformers who questioned and revoked the sacraments while focused on the purpose of communicating with God also gave proof that more were hidden in the church and compelled people to reform the Catholic Church (Perkins, 3).

The spread of the ideas of the reformers was through the book medium and this linked to the selling of more books and other written documents. The growth in the printing press due to the increased sales of books of philosophy also led to economic growth in the European economy. The movable types of printing press produced cheap books that were easily affordable and the press increased its operations with high sales. Travel books, almanacs, poetry, and chivalry romances were produced in the printing press and the writing of music began. All these were demanded to be translated into other languages. This demanded more books boosting the economy (Ryrie, 34).

The Catholic Church countered reformation by founding seminaries for proper training of priests in the spiritual life and the traditions of the church through theology. The church also reformed religious life by sticking back to the orders of the spiritual foundation. New spiritual movements were also formed which focused on the dedication to the church and also the personal relation with Jesus. The Catholic Church was also involved in political activities to fight and refute the reputation that was torn by the Reformers (Ryrie, 34).