Download The Crusades I

DVD Learning Guide
Crusades, Disc I
(year)
®
A Homeschool Learning Network Learning Guide
Format:
Age Levels:
Genre:
Category:
Rating:
Length:
Producer:
Warnings:
DVD
Middle School, High School
Documentary
History, World
NR
100 minutes
The History Channel and the British Broadcasting Company
Some mild violence. Religious satire.
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Summary
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The Crusades is a four part series narrated by, and starring, Terry Jones (of Monty Python fame)
that chronicles the history of this bloody and ill-fated undertaking by the Christian Church to
recapture the Holy Land of Jerusalem. On Disc 1, Pilgrims in Arms and Jerusalem are the first two
chapters. The foundation for what the purpose of the Crusades was and how it affected all of
Europe and eventually the Middle East is covered. Constantinople launched the first of thousands
of political decisions made by the Church to expand Christianity. Pope Urban II, calling for the
faithful to liberate Jerusalem, set into motion a cascading series of events that would forever
change the face of the world. In this journey from Europe to the Holy Land, Terry Jones takes
viewers on a historical and often satirical journey into the Crusades.
Vocabulary (Grades 6-12)
Try the following activities with the vocabulary words to the right. Depending
on the age and ability of your students, they may be able to complete
assignments from multiple grade levels.
6-8:
Write a description or review about this DVD using the vocabulary
words. Above each vocabulary word, write N if it is a noun, V if it is a
verb; ADJ if it is an adjective; ADV if it is an adverb.
6-12: Copy the vocabulary words onto a sheet of paper. What do you think
each word means? Write down what you think the words mean from
your own knowledge. Now, look up each word in a dictionary, and
compare definitions. How close were you? Write each word in a
sentence, or write a paragraph or DVD summary using the words.
9-12: Write down words you hear in the video you don’t understand. Break
the words into parts and see if you can determine the meanings. Look
up the meanings.
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Vocabulary
Battle
Nomadic
Penance
Salvation
Saracen
Crusader
Homage
Knight
Barrier
Drought
War Machine
Cannibalism
Ambush
Siege
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Discussion Questions
Ask students to read through their questions carefully before watching the film, and take notes
during the film. After watching it, ask students to write their answers to the following questions on
a separate piece of paper.
Intermediate
1. Name three important cities and what role they played in the beginnings of the Crusades.
2. Name three people who laid the foundations for the Crusades. What were their roles?
3. How did Gregory use the letter from Alexius to create the idea for the Crusades?
4. How did the Christian Church reconcile the idea that killing was okay for the Crusaders?
5. What promise did the Christian Church make to anyone who followed the call to Crusade?
6. What was the relevance of the “interview” with the goose?
8. Why did the People’s Crusade ultimately fail?
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7. On the way to the Holy Land, what hardships did the pilgrims face?
1. Explain how the Crusades began.
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9. What turned the tides in Antioch? What happened immediately after the Crusaders took the
city?
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2. What were some of the obstacles that faced the organization of the Crusades?
3. How did the Church use psychology to encourage the people to go on Crusade?
4. The bloody battles of the First Crusade often involved the killing of Christians. Why do think
this was allowed to happen?
5. The people who lived on the routes that the Crusaders took benefited from the massive surge
in population. How?
6. In 1066, the Norman armies took England and killed much of the army of Harold of Wessex.
He was then required to do penance. Why did the Crusaders not have to do penance for killing
in the Holy Land?
7. How were Muslim warriors different from the Christian soldiers?
8. Explain how Baldwin was able to take control of Edessa.
9. Did the First Crusade succeed? Why or why not?
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DVD Learning Guide
Lessons & Activities
The Children’s Crusade
Subjects:
Grades:
Style:
Arts, History, Literature
6-12
Visual/Experiential/Kinesthetic
Concepts:
Students will learn about historical events by viewing art works depicting the Crusades.
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Lesson:
One of the most disturbing and perhaps most tragic events during the Crusades was the Children’s
Crusade. It was lead by a 12-year-old boy named Stephen. While little is known about who
Stephen was, there is a lot of information about what happened during the Children’s Crusade. In
this lesson plan, students will discover how the Children’s Crusade happened and why it was
significant.
Have your student read this account of the Children’s Crusade:
http://web.archive.org/web/20060131235125/http://www.sbceo.k12.ca.us/~vms/carlton/children
scrusade.html or
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http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/children.html
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Ask students to make an illustrated story about a child who goes on the Children’s Crusade. Be
sure that they include the name of the place their character is from and how they made the
decision to go.
Use this project to make a stained glass window or mosaic that depicts one of the scenes from
their story.
Stained Glass Window
http://web.archive.org/web/20040114055522/http://westy.jtwn.k12.pa.us/users/mcb/WEB_PAGES/l
essons/stained_glass.html
In this lesson, students will study the relationship between the creation of leaded glass windows
and the sociological and artistic developments of the Middle Ages; they will use skills in
mathematics and geometry to create a design for a stained glass window; and they will create a
paper and cellophane replica of a leaded glass window.
Mosaic Tile Art
http://www.mosaictilearts.com/gallery/index.html
Use this gallery as inspiration. To create a mosaic tile, you would need tile, adhesive, and grout, all
found at a local hardware store.
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Learn More! Books and Online Resources
BOOKS
Dore's Illustrations of the Crusades (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)
Dore, Gustave Dover Pubns; ISBN: 0486295974
A Concise History of the Crusades
Madden, Thomas F. Rowman & Littlefield; ISBN: 0847694291
The Crusades Through Arab Eyes
Maalouf, Amin and Rothschild, Jon. Schocken Books; ISBN: 0805208984
The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades
Riley-Smith, Jonathan, Oxford University Press; ISBN: 0192854283
ONLINE RESOURCES
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The Crusades
http://crusades.boisestate.edu/
This website is a well-guided tour through the first crusades. It is a valuable resource and a good
place to begin any study of the Crusades.
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ORB:The Crusades - A Guide to Online Resources
http://web.archive.org/web/20030604154515/http://orb.rhodes.edu/encyclop/religion/crusades/crus
ade.html
The links on this page were collected to be included in the Online Reference Book for Medieval
Study. Excellent further reading material about the Crusades can be found here. Of considerable
interest is the Crusades Crusading Vows and Privileges section that chronicles some of the
possible motivations for crusading.
Internet Medieval Sourcebook: Selected Sources – The Crusades
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook1k.html
This page offers many links to articles written about the Crusades. The chronology is well done
and the speech by Pope Urban II should be one of the first documents read by anyone studying
the Crusades.
A History of the Knights Templar
http://www.templarhistory.com/
Who were the Knights Templar and what role did they play in the Crusades? This website seeks to
answer these questions. The history of this order is fascinating and is a key point of study in the
history of the Crusades.
The Medieval Crusades
http://www.templarhistory.com/
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This website offers a large base of knowledge to select from. The information is easy to read and
well suited for the Middle School audience.
The Crusades
http://web.archive.org/web/20030206214445/http://crusades.boisestate.edu/contents.html
A wealth of information is stored on the pages of this website. Each Crusade is written about
through a series of articles and historical evaluations.
The Crusader and Ayyubid Period (1099-1250 CE)
http://web.archive.org/web/20070107161012/http://jeru.huji.ac.il/ef1.htm
From the Jerusalem Mosaic. Here you will find information about what the Crusaders ate, what
they wore, and who they were. This site is written simply, yet offers a large amount of good
background information about the Crusaders.
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Crusades: An Encarta Encyclopedia Entry
http://web.archive.org/web/20050306192536/http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/refarticle.asp
x?refid=761561210
An excellent source of information about the crusades and the key people involved in it.
Return to www.mentura.com
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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS ANSWER KEY:
Intermediate
1.
2.
Constantinople, Edessa, Jerusalem, Antioch, Acre.
Pope Urban II (called for the first Crusade), Peter the Hermit (lead the first People’s Crusade), King Alexius (The king from
Constantinople who initially called for help to reclaim Jerusalem)
3. Gregory used the letter from Alexius as a “call to arms”. He intercepted the letter sent to the Pope and used it to create his own
army.
4. The Church decreed that killing Saracens was okay because the race was cursed and against God. That gave the soldiers the
right in God’s eyes to kill them. It was only a sin to kill Christians.
5. The Church promised to forgive all sins for participation in the Crusades. It was called a penitent war. The Church had a very
strong power over the people.
6. It was to illustrate how ridiculous the people were in their beliefs about who to follow. They would follow anyone.
7. The pilgrims faced thirst, hunger, and disease, and because they were poorly armed and starving, they were very vulnerable to
attacks.
8. The people’s crusade was too poorly organized. They had no provisions and did not have the kind of military power that was
needed to defeat an army. This Crusade was a crusade of ideals not an actual military expedition.
9. In Antioch the tide was turned when about 60 knights snuck into the city and opened the gates. Immediately after the city was
taken by the Crusaders, they were besieged by the Turkish army.
Advanced
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
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2.
The Crusades began when an original call for help by the Emperor of Constantinople, Alexius, was taken by Gregory. He used
the letter as a reason to form a Christian army. The call went out from the Church hoping to attract knights. However, in the
beginning, a huge number of ordinary people set out to free the Holy Land from the Turks. Much of the motivation behind the
Crusades was political and served the needs of a few very powerful men.
The organization of the Crusades was a difficult one. No one leader had been placed in charge. The men where supposed to
carry with them all the coins they would ever need. There was not enough food and at times not enough water. The Crusaders
were not prepared for the hostile environments.
The Church “advertised” to the people that they would be forgiven of sins. The Church promised direction from great knights.
Medieval propaganda was used to sway the minds of the people.
By the time that the Crusading armies had reached the Holy Land, they were out of control. No one leader could keep control
over the armies and a kind of mob mentality took over.
The cities on the route of the Crusades were able to trade with the Crusaders. They were able to charge huge sums of money
for their goods because the local cities were the only places to buy supplies and provisions.
In 1066 the Church had not established war as an institution and frowned on violence (although they knew it was necessary).
During the Crusades, the Church asked people to do penance by killing the infidel in the Holy Land. This was a reversal of
ideals set forth by the Church.
Muslims were better educated, had centers of learning, and lived better than the Crusaders. The Crusaders were superstitious
and were mainly illiterate.
Baldwin was able to take Edessa by marrying the king’s daughter. He then encouraged a revolt and became the king himself
after the death of the old king. He became a powerful leader.
The Crusades succeeded in some ways and failed in others. Success came from the establishment of trade routes. The shift in
wealth would not have occurred and Europe may have taken longer to develop new ideas—ideas that were brought back from
the Holy Land and the cities along the way. Christianity did establish a large order of Templar Knights and they were able to
offer protection to many. However, the Crusades failed to take back the Holy Land and ended the life of hundreds of thousands
people who believed they were following the will of God. It is difficult to imagine what may have happened if the Crusades had
never happened. For instance, the jihad may not have been such a central ideal in Islam if the Crusaders had not forced the
Muslims to fight back. Leaders such as Saladin and King Richard the Lionheart would most likely not have arisen as the
legends that they are today without the Crusades as their backdrop.
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