Download Why did people go on Crusade?

Why did people go on Crusade?
Source 1: Pope Urban II, speaking in 1095
Most beloved brethren: Urged by necessity, I, Urban, God’s chief bishop over the whole
world, have come into these parts as an ambassador with a divine admonition to you,
the servants of God. If you wish to be the friends of God, gladly do the things which you
know will please Him.
Your brethren who live in the east are in urgent need of your help, and you must hasten
to give them the aid which has often been promised them. For, as the most of you have
heard, the Turks and Arabs have attacked them and have conquered the territory of the
Greek empire as far west as the shore of the Mediterranean. They have occupied more
and more of the lands of those Christians, and have overcome them in seven battles.
They have killed and captured many, and have destroyed the churches and devastated
the empire. If you permit them to continue thus for awhile with impurity, the faithful
of God will be much more widely attacked by them. On this account I, or rather the
Lord, beseech you as Christ's heralds to publish this everywhere and to persuade all
people of whatever rank, foot-soldiers and knights, poor and rich, to carry aid
promptly to those Christians and to destroy that vile race from the lands of our
friends. I say this to those who are present, it meant also for those who are absent.
Moreover, Christ commands it.
‘All who die by the way, whether by land or by sea, or in battle against the pagans,
shall have immediate remission of sins. This I grant them through the power of God
with which I am invested. O what a disgrace if such a despised and base race, which
worships demons, should conquer a people which has the faith of omnipotent God and is
made glorious with the name of Christ!
Questions:
1. Did Pope Urban call his mission a crusade?
2. What did he promise for anyone who died during the crusade?
Task
In your group create a news report to explain the crusade you have been allocated.
You will need a reporter and several people to interview. Use the information on your handout
as a starting point to write your scripts. You could include extra research. You could also bring in
props and costumes.
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Page 1 of 11
Why did people go on Crusade?
Group 1: The People’s Crusade
Background:
Who went on the People’s Crusade?
Who led the People’s Crusade?
The People’s Crusade set off in 1096.
Men, women and children went on the
People’s Crusade. Most of them were
peasants or low-ranking knights.
A French monk called Peter the Hermit led
the Crusade. He rode on a donkey and wore
very simple clothes.
There had been a number of very poor
harvests and many peasants were starving.
Meteors, comets and an eclipse persuaded
some peasants that God was wanting them to
travel on Crusade. They saw it as a way of
escaping famine and they thought God would
bless them for going.
He said that he had a letter from God telling
him to collect an army together.
What happened to the People’s Crusaders?
The end of the People’s Crusade
You could interview:
When they arrived in Byzantium, the
Emperor Alexis did not really know what to
do with them. He quickly put them in ships
and sailed them across to Turkey. He told
them to wait for the rest of the Pope’s army
to catch up.
Peter sailed back to Byzantium to get
supplies. While he was gone, the People’s
Crusaders heard a rumour that a nearby city
had been captured from the Turks. They
marched towards it but it was a trick. They
were ambushed and most of the men were
slaughtered. The Turks did not kill women or
children if they surrendered. Of the 40,000
Crusaders, only 3,000 survived.
It began because the Byzantine leader asked
the Pope for help to fight against the Seljuk
Turks.
While the Pope took his time to organise a
professional army, about 40,000 ordinary
people set off to fight the Turks.
However, 40,000 Crusaders is a lot of people
and they did not want to wait so they
marched on even though Peter said to wait.
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He was helped by a low-ranking knight called
Walter Sans-Avoir.

A peasant, deciding to join the Crusade.

Peter the Hermit (during the Crusade
and after it ended disastrously).

Emperor Alexis (surprised to find such a
large, odd army arrive).

A woman who survived the slaughter.

A Turk explaining how their trick
worked.
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Why did people go on Crusade?
Group 2: The German Crusade of 1096
Background
Who went on this Crusade?
Who led the German Crusade?
In the 11th century, there were significant
communities of Jewish families living in the
Rhineland area of Germany.
Some groups of Crusaders on the way to the
Holy Land began looking for and killing
Jewish people as they travelled through
France and Germany. Some of them
frightened wealthy Jews into giving them
money to help pay for their armour and
food.
Because many groups were involved, there
were many leaders. Peter the Hermit’s
‘People’s Crusade’ took part in attacking
French and German Jews.
They were often quite wealthy because they
were allowed to lend money to people (like a
human credit card!) whereas Christians at
that time were banned from lending money
for profit. If you wanted to borrow money
and you couldn’t borrow it from family, you
had to borrow from a Jewish lender.
The biggest wave of anti-Jewish crusading
took place in 1096 in the Rhineland area of
Germany.
It was a German Count called Count Emicho
who led the biggest Crusade against the
Jews. He led about 10,000 men, women and
children on a Crusade through Germany and
into Hungary.
All sorts of people took part in the German
Crusade: knights and peasants, rich and
poor, French and German.
What happened as a result of the German
Crusade?
Some Jews were offered the chance to save
their lives if they became Christians, and
some did convert. Many did not and
thousands were killed. The worst massacre
took place in Mainz in May 1096 where over
1100 Jews were killed in a very few days.
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The end of the German Crusade
King Coloman of Hungary did not want Count
Emicho and his Crusade to travel through
Hungary. For a while it looked as though
Count Emicho might beat King Coloman’s
troops, but the German Crusaders began to
worry and they fled. Many drowned crossing
a river in a hurry. Some were killed by
Coloman’s troops. Some escaped and went
back home, including Count Emicho.
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You could interview:

A knight who took part in the Crusade
because he wanted to frighten a
wealthy Jew into giving him money.

Count Emicho, who led the Crusade.

King Colomon, anxious about having a
rabble army killing their way through
Hungary.

A Jewish person who survived by
converting to Christianity.
Page 3 of 11
Why did people go on Crusade?
Group 3: The First Crusade
Background
Who went on First Crusade?
Who led the First Crusade?
It began in 1096 because the Byzantine
leader asked the Pope for help to fight
against the Seljuk Turks.
All sorts of people went on the First Crusade,
including knights and peasants.
In total there were four separate armies,
from France, Flanders (Belgium), Germany
and Italy. Each had their own commanders
but the overall commanders were from
France.
Pope Urban II asked Christians in Europe to
join an army to fight.
Many important families sent some of their
young men on the Crusade.
Sometimes it is called ‘The Prince’s
Crusade’.
What happened in the First Crusade?
The end of the First Crusade
The crusader armies marched down to
Constantinople and then they all marched on
into Turkey, through Syria and into the Holy
Land.
Once Jerusalem was conquered, the
Crusaders set up new kingdoms in the Holy
Land. They appointed a King of Jerusalem
and put other kings in charge elsewhere.
They finally captured Jerusalem in 1099. The
people living in Jerusalem were massacred:
killed in their thousands.
Some crusaders stayed behind but most
returned home.
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Some very powerful French knights led the
crusading armies including Godfrey of
Bouillon.
You could interview:

A knight, who has joined the army
because of Pope Urban’s call for help.

Godfrey of Bouillon, a French knight
who was in charge of a big army.

A survivor of the attack on Jerusalem,
describing how many were dead.

The first new King of Jerusalem,
explaining that he was now in charge.
Page 4 of 11
Why did people go on Crusade?
Group 4: The Norwegian Crusade
Background:
Who went on The Norwegian Crusade?
What did the Crusaders do first?
In 1107, the Norwegian King Sigurd decided
to lead an army to the Holy Land, fighting
Muslims wherever they found them.
King Sigurd took 60 ships carrying 5,000
professional soldiers (knights) and their
assistants.
King Sigurd’s army were sailing along the
coastline of Portugal when they came across
a pirate fleet. They beat the pirates, killed
them and added 8 pirate ships to their fleet.
They set off from Norway, spent the winter
in London and then sailed around the coast
of Spain and Portugal to get to the
Mediterranean.
Then they landed at the Muslim fortress of
Sintra in Portugal. They attacked it and
killed every Muslim there. They travelled on
to Lisbon and killed every Muslim who would
not convert.
What happened in the Holy Land?
The end of the Norwegian Crusade
In 1110, they arrived at Jerusalem where
they were welcomed by King Baldwin of
Jerusalem.
King Sigurd decided not to sail back the way
he had come, so he took his army to
Constantinople and they rode and walked
back to Norway across Europe. When they
got to Denmark, the Danish King Niels lent
them boats to get home.
Together they attacked the town of Sidon,
killed its inhabitants and added it to the
Kingdom of Jerusalem.
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You could interview:

A Norwegian knight, explaining what an
adventure he was going on.

The pirate captain, shortly before he
was killed.

A man from Lisbon who converted from
Islam to Christianity to escape death.

King Baldwin, describing what happened
at Sidon.
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Why did people go on Crusade?
Group 5: The Second Crusade
Background:
Who went on the Second Crusade?
Who led the Second Crusade?
In 1145, the city of Edessa, which had been
part of the Christian Crusader Kingdoms, was
defeated by a Muslim army.
It was mainly French and German knights
who went on the Second Crusade but they
were joined by some soldiers from England,
Belgium and Italy.
The Second Crusade was led by King Louis VII
of France and Emperor Conrad III of
Germany.
Pope Eugene II asked Christian soldiers in
Europe to go to Edessa to win it back.
What happened during the Second
Crusade?
The crusading armies reached the Holy Land
in 1148. They attacked Damascus, in Syria,
but they did not succeed in defeating the
Muslim army there.
In total, about 1,300 knights went on the
Second Crusade.
After the Second Crusade
The Muslim Turk armies were strong and
confident after their victory at Damascus.
They began to conquer their way through the
Holy Land and by 1187 they had re-captured
Jerusalem.
Those Crusaders who survived went home.
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You could interview:

Pope Eugene II, explaining why he had
called the Crusade.

An English knight, describing what it
was like fighting alongside a French
crusading army.

A successful Muslim defender of
Damascus.

A Crusader who survived the battle, on
his way home.
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Why did people go on Crusade?
Group 6: The Third Crusade
Background
Who went on the Third Crusade?
What happened at Acre?
In 1187, the Muslim King Saladin captured
Jerusalem back from the Crusader Armies.
English and French knights joined their Kings.
The Third Crusade reached the Holy Land
and attacked the Muslim-controlled city of
Acre.
Henry II of England and Philip II of France
decided to stop fighting each other and join
up to fight Saladin.
A German army was on its way to join them
when their Emperor Frederick Barbarossa
drowned in a river on the way. They turned
back home.
Henry II died but his successor King Richard I
decided to keep going with the plan.
What happened after Acre surrendered?
The end of the Third Crusade
Richard I took all the Muslim soldiers in Acre
as prisoners.
Saladin and Richard fought each other’s
armies over the next few months. First one
side would win a battle and then the other
side would win.
Saladin said he would pay a ransom to get
them back.
Richard agreed but then he killed 2700 in
view of Saladin’s army.
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Eventually they agreed to stop fighting each
other. They divided up the Holy Land and
Richard went home.
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They besieged the city for a month, not
letting anyone or anything in or out, and the
city surrendered.
You could interview:

An English knight on his way with
Richard.

A German knight, sad about the
Emperor’s death.

Saladin, furious about his prisoners
being killed.

Richard I, on his way home after
agreeing to stop fighting.
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Why did people go on Crusade?
Group 7: The Lisbon Crusade
Background:
Who went on the Lisbon Crusade?
Who led the Lisbon Crusade?
A small army of 7000 Portuguese knights
were joined by Crusaders from England, who
were on their way to join the Second
Crusade to the Holy Land.
King Alfonso I of Portugal led the Crusade.
What happened during the Lisbon Crusade?
After the Lisbon Crusade.
You could interview:
King Alfonso organised a siege around the
city. It lasted for 4 months.
The Moorish soldiers (North African Muslims)
were allowed to leave Lisbon and it was
taken over by King Alfonso who made it his
capital city.
Lisbon is a city on the coast of central
th
Portugal. In the 11 century, it was governed
by North African Muslims called ‘Moors. ‘
In 1147, Pope Eugene II called for a Crusade
to get the Moors out of Portugal.
Eventually the people in Lisbon were so
hungry and ill that they surrendered.
Most of the Crusaders decided to stay in
Lisbon, but some went on to the Holy Land.
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Andrew of London, a wealthy knight, and
Simon of Dover were two leaders of the
English Crusaders who joined him.

Pope Eugene II, explaining why he had
called the Crusade.

Andrew of London, looking forward to
an adventure.

King Alfonso of Portugal, entering the
City as the Victor.

A starving person in Lisbon during the
siege.

A Moorish soldier, escaping Lisbon after
the siege.
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Why did people go on Crusade?
Writing frames
1. Presenter
Hello and welcome to ......................................... .
Today we are going to tell you about .........................................................................
The year is ........................ .
This Crusade has started because ............................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
We are now going to hear from our reporter ....................................... who is reporting
from ................................................ .
----------------------------------  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Reporter
Thank you .................................. . I am making this report from ............................
which is in .................................. .
The people on this Crusade are ...............................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
And they are led by ..............................................................................................
Here is an interview I made with him earlier.
----------------------------------  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Crusade Leader
Thank you ................................ . My name is ......................................................
......................................... and I am ...............................................................
.......................................................................................................................
Our plan for this Crusade is .....................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
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Why did people go on Crusade?
4. Presenter
Thank you. We are just getting in news from ................................................................
An eyewitness is going to tell us what is happening.
Over to you ...................................................... .
----------------------------------  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Eyewitness
Thank you. My name is ................................................. and I am an eyewitness because
......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
This is what is happening .......................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
----------------------------------  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Reporter
Six months later I am bringing you this update from ........................................................
When the Crusade finished ....................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
So I think that is a victory for ..................................................... .
Thank you and goodbye.
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Why did people go on Crusade?
Teaching notes
This resource was designed a part of series of lessons on the Crusades.
Objectives


Students to know why Pope Urban called a Crusade
Students to be able explain why different groups of people went on different Crusades.
Starter
Read out message from Pope Urban (Source 1). Students should listen carefully and then jot
down on mini whiteboards or rough paper what they understood.
Main activity
Divide your class into seven groups. Each group represents a different crusade. Explain that
each was motivated by the following call from the church (in bold within Source 1).
‘Persuade all people of whatever rank, foot-soldiers and knights, poor and rich, to
carry aid promptly to those Christians and to destroy that vile race from the lands of
our friends’
Note you could draw out prior learning: the reference to ‘our friends’ is to Alexios I and the
Byzantine Christian Empire.
You should also take care to avoid potential misunderstandings and clarify that there were in
fact a series of different crusades over a period of several hundred years.



Students will make a news report to explain what happened on each crusade.
Each group needs to have a reporter and several different participants
Students can use the writing frames provided to help structure their reports and
interviews.
You could extend this lesson to enable students to collect props and record their films.
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