Download Chapter 9 - Cloudfront.net

Chapter 9:
Crusades, Military Orders, and the Inquisitions
Part I: The Crusades
No other war in history has captured the imagination of so many
people than that of the Crusades.
The Word Crusade: In the Middle Ages, unlike in modern literature, the word crusade referred specifically to a series of eight
expansive military expeditions that were undertaken by the Christian people between 1096-1270.
The word crusade itself can be traced back to the cross, or crux, which was made of cloth and
worn on the knights outer garments as a badge. The knights received this cross from the pope or
his legates after pronouncing a solemn vow.
The Fall of the Holy Land:
After the birth of Islam, the religion spread quickly throughout the world. Within one hundred years Islamic forces had seized
most of the Christian world; Palestine (the birthplace of Jesus), Egypt (the birthplace of monasticism), and Asia Minor (where St.
Paul preached and planted the seeds of the early Christian community) had all fallen to Muslim forces.
The rise of the Fatimite Muslims in Egypt during the first decades of the eleventh century led to a renewed Christian persecution.
The Seljuk Turks persecuted the Christians in the second half of that century, even in lands that were previously protected by
Byzantium.
The Battle of Manzikert: If there was any one particular battle that led to the two hundred year crusade, this battle was it. As
the Turks continued to move into the East it easily annihilated the Byzantine army and was on the verge of taking Constantinople.
By this time 2/3 of the Christian world had fallen into the hands of the Muslims. Thus, the Eastern Emperor in desperation looked
to the West for assistance.
Although one may think that the West would turn their backs on the East because of the “hurt”
feelings following the Great Schism….quite the opposite was true. The West was still holding out
hope that the Schism would soon be resolved; thus, Pope Urban II held a council in Clermont to
gain support from Westerners to aid the Eastern Christians. They were, after all, still Christians.
The Crusades Begin: Pope Urban II began the crusades when he proclaimed an organized assault in defense of Christian
Europe. The crusades were not a Christian offensive; they were instead Christianity’s desperate attempt to block Muslim
expansion. One has to remember that Islam was born in war and grew the same way. The Muslim thought at this time was that
there were two spheres in the world; the Islam abode; and the war abode.
Christians Realize the Muslim Threat: For Christians in the medieval war, the Muslim threat was not realized until they set
out for the Holy Land to fulfill a pilgrimage. On the way to the Holy land, Christians faced an increase in hardships; they were
robbed, beaten, or killed. Two decades before Pope Urban II, Pope Gregory VII was ready to invade the holy land with 50,000
soldiers, but had to drop his military pursuits to handle the lay investiture controversy.
Thus, as the crusaders began to set out for the East they really had two goals: to fend off the Turkish/Muslim expansion and to
free the Holy Land. The overall objective, however, still remained the same, to reduce the killing of Christians.
Motivation for the Crusades:
2011
E. Radler Rice
Any scholar today would declare that the major motivation for the Crusades
was religion. Religion did not just motivate the soldiers, but both sides of
the conflict.
Perhaps the greatest motivator, however, came from the Christian side.
Long before the crusades it was understood that those who fought
for the good cause of Christianity would be rewarded by God . When the crusades began the pope,
bishops, and other clergy began to offer religious indulgences or the remission
The Church, however, didn’t stop at indulgences to motivate men to join the forces against Islam.
They also offered other incentives such as reduction on taxes, dissolving of debt payments, and the protection of the crusaders’
families.
Preaching the Crusades:
Pope Urban II specifically appealed to sinners to repent their sins by joining the crusades. Yet, the
pope was not alone in his effort in “preaching the crusades”. Blessed Peter the Hermit of
Aimens traveled from city to city calling for a crusade. According to tradition, as Bl. Peter slept
in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jesus appeared to him and ordered him to go to Europe
proclaiming the miseries that had befallen the Christians in Palestine. On his journey, Bl. Peter
was harassed and beaten, thus solidifying the state that most pilgrims had traveled in. Yet, it is
still unclear how much of an impact that Bl. Peter had in encouraging people to join the crusade.
One person who did have a considerable impact on those around him was St. Bernard of Clairvaux. St. Bernard inspired
thousands to join the Second Crusade. What is interesting to note, however, that St. Bernard himself stated that all but a few of the
knights on the crusades were “criminal and sinners, ravishers, and the sacrilegious.” Yet, St. Bernard also stated that the
departures of these criminals not only made the people in the West happy, but it also gave joy to the East to have the extra help in
the fight against Muslim expansion.
The First Crusade (1095-1099):
The first Crusade was a widely popular movement that was solely supported, financially and politically, by the Church. As the
message of Pope Urban began to spread, many Christians became excited about the opportunity to not only stop Islam from
expanding, but at the idea of getting back the lands that they often traveled to during their personal pilgrimages. Hundreds of men
joined together to form armies across Europe and one by one they immediately began to march East; they were determined to
“save” Christianity.
The Jewish Communities:
As the Armies moved eastward some crusaders attacked small local Jewish communities
(Keep in mind that in the medieval era there were quite a few Christian followers
who simply hated the Jews. It was the Jews who “killed” their Christ; thus, it was
the Jews who should be put to death). The plundering of the Jewish communities began
during the First Crusade. The Jewish communities most affected were inin Germany,
France, and England. About 12,000 Jews are said to have perished in the Rhenish cities alone between May and July, 1096.
Not only were the crusaders seeking revenge against the Jews who had killed their Messiah, but, like
many other soldiers and Kings who waged wars in the Middle Ages, the crusaders were also after money.
The Jewish people had a strong hold on the trading between the East and the West as well as the banking
system. As the crusaders moved toward the east, some of them realized that they could get their hands on
the monetary goods if the Jews were out of their way. So in a desperate attempt, the crusaders would first
try to force the Jewish traders and merchants to pay them to leave their town alone/ But many merchants
refused to give up what they had worked for; thus the crusaders killed them and stole the money and
goods anyway.
One may think that the Jewish people would flee; some did. Others, however, decided that they would rather die as martyrs for
their faith. Therefore, before the crusaders could get to their communities, many Jews killed themselves. Their suicide left a final
statement of complete devotion to God; they were choosing to see their maker.
2011
E. Radler Rice
Modern Ideas about the Jews and the Crusades are quite mixed. On the one hand you have the Jewish people who describe the
crusades as a time of great persecution at the hands of the Christians. The Church has apologized on a few occasions stating that
this indeed was the darkest hour in our Church History and that we are continuously working to make sure this never happens
again. In a statement made in March of 2000, Pope John Paul II asked for the forgiveness of past sins of the Church:
" We humbly ask for forgiveness for the part that each of us with his or her behaviors has played in such evils thus contributing to
disrupting the face of the church. At the same time, as we confess our sins let us forgive the faults committed by others towards us"
Other non Catholic Preachers use the crusades as a means to denounce or criticize the Catholic Church. In his book Countdown to
Jerusalem (p. 114) San Antonio Pastor John Hagee stated:
"The Roman Catholic Church, which was supposed to carry the light of the gospel, plunged the world into the Dark
Ages.... The Crusaders were a motley mob of thieves, rapists, robbers, and murderers whose sins had been forgiven by the
pope in advance of the Crusade.... The brutal truth is that the Crusades were military campaigns of the Roman Catholic
Church to gain control of Jerusalem from the Muslims and to punish the Jews as the alleged Christ killers on the road to
and from Jerusalem."
Although Hagee gives somewhat an accurate account of the crusades (yes, there were criminals on the road, yes, Jewish
Communities were destroyed and yes, the goal of the crusades was to take back the Holy Land), he misunderstands the overall
goal of the crusades as well as the use of indulgences. The crusades were NOT a campaign to kill the Jews and it was the PAST
sins that were forgiven by the pope, NOT any future sins committed by the crusaders who fought to save Christianity from the
persecutions at the hands of Islamist extremists.
The First Crusade was considered the best organized. The armies were
divided into four groups and all set out to meet in Constantinople where they
arrived in May of 1097. Once all the armies had reached their destination, the
campaign began. They first successfully took Nicea and Antioch. In 1099
Jerusalem fell; ironically the news of retaking the Holy Land never reached
Pope Urban before he died. Once the Holy Land was won, the Christian forces established new territories that consisted of
counties, fiefs, and principalities based on the medieval feudal system.
Despite the organization, however, ruling over a diverse land proved to be too much for the feudal system. Very few people stayed
in the Holy Land, most of the Westerners who were there were tradesmen, visitors, or crusaders. Thus, the government found it
very difficult to unify so many people under many different cultures. Thus, the Holy Land was lost just two hundred years after
the Christians had won it for the Church.
Successive Crusades:
The popularity and success of the First Crusade inspired the other crusades that span over five centuries. However, the wars that
followed looked more like a mass migration rather than an organized campaign of people into the East.
The Second Crusade:
In 1144 the Turks had reorganized and were able to recapture the city of Edessa. Unlike the first Crusade,
however, it was the King’s who responded. King Louis of France and Emperor Conrad of Germany
joined forces to capture the city of Damascus and establish a defensive front for the Kingdom of
Jerusalem. The two Kings failed miserably after a series of mishaps. Christians back in the West were
convinced that the failure was due to the sins of the western people; thus lay piety movements arose in
order to purify the society so that future battles in the east would be won.
The Third Crusade:
The Third Crusade lasted from 1189-1192. It began with Richard the Lionheart of England
setting out with Emperor Fredrick I, and King Philip of France to defend the Christian
kingdoms against the Turks who had gained strength by unifying under Saladin. In 1187
the Muslim forces captured the relic of the true cross. Thus, the Third Crusade was waged
to recover the relic and return it back to the Christians.
The Fourth Crusade:
2011
E. Radler Rice
The Fourth Crusade originally began with the mission to regain Jerusalem, but instead it resulted in the “sacking” of
Constantinople. The crusaders owed a large debt to Venice, so they sought the help of a Byzantium emperor who would pay off
their debts. However, the preachers of the crusade felt that the people of Constantinople had sided with the Turks, so they marched
into the city and took it for themselves. Many scholars today believe that the “sacking” of the Eastern Orthodox city was the final
“nail in the coffin” for the Great Schism. After the West took the Eastern city there really was no hope for any reconciliation.
Thus, the Fourth Crusade really has become one of the greatest embarrassments in the history of the Church.
The Children’s Crusade:
No other event in the middle ages is quite as horrifying as the marching of thousands of Children in the Children’s Crusade. In
1212 children who were inspired by the crusades began to march together towards the Turks. However, most of the Children
either starved to death or were killed by disease. Those who were “lucky” to have made it to the Holy Land were often captured
and sold into slavery.
Criticism:
Like much of the dark periods of Church history, the first to criticize the crusades
were the religious men and women of the Church. One such critic was St. Francis of
Assisi. In 1219 St. Francis asked the cardinal that was overseeing the 5th crusade to
meet with the Muslim leader in Palestine so that he may convert him. When Francis
arrived in the Holy Land he was captured, beaten, and tortured. The sultan grew curious,
however, when he saw St. Francis and his companion unafraid, unarmed, and dressed as beggars. St. Francis met with the sultan
daily, but it is uncertain if the sultan ever converted. St. Francis proved that there were better means than war to establish dialogue
with the Holy Land.
The following excerpt from http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/FRANCIS.htm gives an even greater description of the role St.
Francis played in retoring peace during the crusades:
“From this chapter Francis sent some of his friars on missions to the infidels in Tunisia, Morocco, and Spain, while he
himself undertook one to the Saracens of Egypt and Syria, embarking with eleven friars from Ancona in June, 1219. At the
city of Damietta on the Nila Delta, which the crusaders were besieging, Francis was deeply shocked at the profligacy, the
cynicism, and the lack of discipline of the soldiers of the cross. When in August the leaders prepared to attack, he
predicted failure and tried to dissuade them from the attempt. The Christians were driven back with the slaughter of six
thousand men, yet they continued the siege, and at last took the city. Meanwhile, a number of the soldiers had pledged
themselves to live by Francis' rule. He also paid several visits to the Saracen leader, Melek-el-Kamil, Sultan of Egypt.
There is a story to the effect that he first went among the enemy with only Brother Illuminato, calling out, "Sultan!
Sultan!" When he was brought before the Sultan and asked his errand, Francis replied boldly, "I am sent by the Most
High God, to show you and your people the way of salvation by announcing to you the truths of the Gospel." Discussion
followed, and other audiences. The Sultan, somewhat moved, invited Francis to stay with him. "If you and your people,"
said Francis, "will accept the word of God, I will with joy stay with you. If you yet waver between Christ and Mohammed,
order a fire kindled and I will go into it with your priests that you may see which is the true faith." The Sultan replied that
he did not think any of his <imams> would dare to enter the fire, and he would not accept Francis' condition for fear of
upsetting the people. He offered him many presents, which Francis refused. Fearing finally that some of his Moslems
might desert to the Christians, he sent Francis, under guard, back to the camp.”
The Outcome of the Crusades:
Although the crusades were not entirely successful they did keep the Turkish/Islamic expansion from Europe for 400 years and
unified Christians under one common cause. The crusades also opened new lands and cultures to the West as well as influence the
development of new intellectual ideas and military technologies. One can conclude that the deaths of the crusaders were not
entirely in vain; Christianity was holding steady and moving forward…unfortunately, however, the darkest hour of the Church had
yet to descend upon its people.
Part II: The Military Orders: The Knights Templar, the Hospitalers, and the Teutonic Knights
2011
E. Radler Rice
Once the Holy Land was recovered, there grew a necessity for Military Orders to protect the Holy site as well as the pilgrims that
traveled there. These orders consisted of a combination of both military and religious life; they emphasized dedication, discipline,
and monastic organization. Like other religious men in monastic orders, these “soldier monks” were bound by vows of poverty,
chastity, and obedience and were devoted to the care and protection of the pilgrims.
The Knights Templar:
The oldest of the military orders were the Knights Templar. This order was founded in
1118 by a group of nine Frenchman who were setting out to protect the pilgrims in the
Holy Land. In 1128, the pope approved the order and St. Bernard wrote a rule for them
based on the Cistercian Rule:
“In this Order, knighthood blossomed forth a new life: warriors, whose sole aim in life it once was to rob, to plunder, and to kill,
have now bound themselves by solemn vow to defend the poor of the Church.”
The Knights Templar were organized into three ranks: aristocratic soldiers, clergy, and lay brothers. They assumed a major role of
keeping the roads safe between Europe and the crusader states.
What the Knights are most well known for, however, were their banking organization.
The knights would often safeguard the money coming in and out of the East, thus making
them one of the most important banking institutions of the age. When the crusade was over,
the knights returned home to their estates and became master bankers who loaned money out
to the popes and kings from their base in Paris.
King Philip of France felt threatened by the knights, however, and set out to destroy the order. He accused the knights
of heresy and pressured Pope Clement IV to suppress it. King Phillip then moved to extract confessions from the
Knights after torturing them.
The Knights Hospitalers:
The Knights of the Hospitalers grew out of a charity devoted to caring for the Sick pilgrims. Dressed in a
black cloak adorned with a white cloak, the knights also served as a medical corps for the injured
crusaders. After the fall of Palestine, the knights retreated to the island of Rhodes and stayed there for two
centuries unto they were oust by the Turks. The knights were then given Malta but were later exiled by
Napoleon. Today, the knights are known as the Knights of Malta and they no longer carry the sword.
The Teutonic Knights:
Crusaders in Germany joined with the members of a German hospital in 1190 to form the Teutonic Knights. The knights modeled
themselves after the Brothers of Hospitalers and maintained a headquarters in Jerusalem.
In 1229 the knights moved their headquarters to Prussia after being invited by the Bishop to aid in the fighting against the Slavs
and Tartars. The knights remained a great power within the Church up until the their grand master converted to the Lutheran
Church.
Part III: The Inquisition
There really is no other way to introduce the inquisition other than to say this indeed was the darkest era within the Catholic
Church. There would be other dark times within the Church, but no other time period ever comes near the terror to Church placed
within a society as it did during the Inquisition…the Dark Ages had indeed arrived.
The first Christian Emperors believed that it was their duty to use their political
and military power to defend the orthodoxy of the Church. Furthermore, these
Emperors believed that their “office” was a divine appointed agent of Heaven. Thus, they believed that their duty was not only to
serve the state, but the Church.
2011
E. Radler Rice
The Church on the other hand was not so quick to embrace the Emperor’s understanding. The Emperors felt that they had a duty
to “go after” heretics and then punish them for their crimes against the Church. The Church, on the other hand, disagreed; it never
felt that it was right to treat heretics with harsh penalties. That view changed, however, during the Middle Ages.
As the Church grew to be the dominant faith in Europe, it became somewhat intermingled with European life. The state often took
Christian morality and used it as the foundation for law and civil authority (FYI: a large number of historians argue that the
American Fathers also did the same). On the economic side of the society, the Church was a major landholder. Thus, the Church’s
own well-being had a major impact on whether or not Europe’s economy would thrive or dissolve.
The Origins of the Inquisition:
The Inquisition began as a response to the heresy of Albigensian. Albigensianism saw the soul as
good and the body as evil. Its followers were attracted to its emphasis on its ostensible fidelity to
the Gospel, expressed in austerity regarding poverty and fasting. Their radical ideology was
driven by their belief in the evil of war, physical pleasure, and event matter itself. In regards to
Christ, the Albigenses believed that Jesus never really took on a human body, nor did He die on
the Cross and His redemption did not achieve the objective of the remission of sin.
At first glance this heresy may not seem too big of a threat that would need something like the Inquisition to stop it. However, as
Father John Hardon describes, this heresy or belief system was quite extreme in it’s handling of how its beliefs were to be
expressed:
“Consistent with their dualism, the Albigenses commended liberation from the body, especially by suicide. Since begetting
children meant to imprison their souls in a body, perpetual chastity was strongly encouraged. Believing in
metempsychosis, or transmigration of souls, they forbade the use of flesh meat and milk or other animal produce.
Rejecting the authority of Church and State, they appealed to the Scriptures, mostly the New Testament because the Old
Law was regarded as mainly a demoniac creation. The taking of oaths, war, and capital punishment were forbidden ”
(http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/Heresies_Heretics/Heresies_Heretics_006.htm).
The Albigensians were also hostile toward the Church and her members; they rejected the Mass, the Sacraments, and the Church’s
hierarchy. They also rejected feudal government and refused, as Father Hardon states, to take oaths and allegiances. Thus, the
Albigensians were unaccountable to any authority, religious or civil.
Because of the extreme measure that the Albigensians were taking to spread their theological views as well as live out their lives
in a way that they saw fit, both Church and Civil authorities viewed them as a threat far beyond their views as being just a small
theological dispute or disagreement.
In 1208 an Albigensian follower killed one of the pope’s legates.
In response, Pope Innocent III called together a crusade to suppress this
heresy once and for all. The crusade, however, was not quick in fulfilling the
pope’s goals. The fighting in France dragged on for over twenty years, but
many of the heresy’s follower were still scattered throughout Europe.
It wasn’t long until the French Kings and the German Emperor also began to take strong measures against this heresy. The ruler
began a campaign to capture the heretics as well as apply capital punishment to them. It wasn’t unusual for a captured heretic to
be put to death on the stake.
Pope Gregory IX, however, grew quite anxious over the use of civil authority in Church matters. Yet, his desire to stay on good
terms with the kings and emperors prohibited him from speaking out against the cruelty that the heretics were treated with.
Instead, Pope Gregory established the Inquisition as a means of detecting and purging the heresy. He then moved to appoint
Franciscans and Dominicans to serve as judges free from any secular interest and influence.
The Inquisitors:
2011
E. Radler Rice
The pope did not establish the inquisition as a tribunal; he simply appointed judges who examined the
doctrinal and moral conduct of suspected individuals. However, these judges work within the context of
the civil system with papal authority.
The Dominicans and Franciscans were chosen to serve as these judges because they had a rigorous and
solid theological training. They were also chosen because, given their lifestyle, they were less likely to be
influenced by the secular society.
The inquisitor himself was required to posses several qualities. He was to be a good judge expressed in the pursuit of protecting
and promoting faith, the salvation of souls, and the suppression of a heresy. Furthermore, he had to restrain himself from using his
anger or passion; but at the same time he was to face hostility fearlessly.
Process for Inquisition:
The procedure for the inquisition was long and quite complex. The entire process began with a month long “grace period”
proclaimed by the inquisitor when he came into a heresy-ridden community or town. This time then allowed the people come
forward, confess their sins to the Inquisitor and then complete a penance. For those who chose to come forward at their own free
will, a mild penance was given.
Those who chose not to confess were tried. The accused would then be asked to swear his innocence on the four Gospels. Should
the person still declared themselves innocent a number of methods were then implored in order to extract a confession from the
defendant.
The first method the judge would use was to remind the accused the punishment for their “crime” in hopes that an explanation of
the punishment would motivate the accused to admit their guilt. Those who still refused would then be subjected to close
confinement etc to try and persuade them.
The trial then would continue on for those who did not confess, however, there needed to be evidence in order to convict the
accused. Thus, witnesses were often sought out to testify against the accused. But if course few wanted to in fear of being accused
themselves. Those who did testify never sought out legal counsel, they only answered the questions asked by the court. False
witnesses were punished without mercy; a procedure that was used throughout all European Courts at the time.
The accused was never allowed to know the names of his accusers, but he was allowed to give a list of his alleged enemies which
aided him in his judgment. He also had the right to appeal to the pope should he find that his punishment or trial was unjust.
Boni viri: This is a group pf laymen, priests, and deacons that were called upon to
serve as expert witnesses in the trial. They were particularly called upon to answer
two questions: the reason the heresy or crime was committed and the punishment
that was needed.
Concilium permanens: a council of judges that assisted the other judges.
The final Verdict in the Inquisition:
The decision was usually pronounced with a solemn ceremony. Once again, perhaps to allow the accused to confess one last time,
the charges were read to him again. The ceremony then began in the morning with the secular officials being sworn in with avow
to the inquisitor. Then the offenses were announced and the punishments was assigned. The announcement began with the minor
punishments and graduated up to the most severe punishments. Those who were found guilty were turned over to the civil
authorities…they were the ones who would see that the punishment was served.
The Inquisition in Spain:
The inquisition in Spain coincided with the capturing of Spain. Thus, the Inquisition was used to unify the
country under a common Christian religion.
The Spanish Inquisition was largely ran by civil authority, however, the Holy See gave the Spanish
Inquisition judicial authority concerning matters of faith.
2011
E. Radler Rice
Overall, The Spanish Inquisition was quite harsher than the papal Inquisition. Many of the methods implored violated the dignity
of the human person.
Yet, despite most modern ideas, it is important to remember that the Spanish acted mostly alone in determining the means of
punishment. Thus, the Church’s greatest fault was not stepping in to stop the inhumanity as well as pulling all authority out of
Spain in regards to matters of the Faith.
Concluding Thoughts:
Today if you were to ask most Catholics about the Inquisition they would state that this period of time is quite an embarrassment
for the Church…non Catholics tend to use the Inquisition as a means to condemn the Church.
The best way to understand the Church’s view today is to take the words of John Paul II from his speech to the International
Symposium on the Inquisition:
“Ladies and Gentlemen! The problem of the Inquisition belongs to a troubled period of the Church’s history, which I have
invited Christians to revisit with an open mind. As I wrote in the Apostolic Letter Tertio millennio adveniente: “Another
painful chapter of history to which the sons and daughters of the Church must return with a spirit of repentance is that of
the acquiescence given, especially in certain centuries, to intolerance and even the use of violence in the service of the
truth” (n. 35).
The question, which involves the cultural context and political ideas of the time, is precisely theological in origin and
presupposes an outlook of faith regarding the essence of the Church and the Gospel requirements that govern her life.
The Church’s Magisterium certainly cannot perform an ethical act, such as asking for forgiveness, without first being
accurately informed about the situation at the time. Nor can it be based on the images of the past spread by public
opinion, since they are often charged with an intense emotionalism that prevents calm, objective analysis. If the
Magisterium does not bear this in mind, it would fail in its fundamental duty of respecting the truth. That is why the first
step is to question historians, who are not asked to make an ethical judgement, which would exceed their sphere of
competence, but to help in the most precise reconstruction possible of the events, customs and mentality of the time, in the
light of the era’s historical context.”
In the end, however, it is important to always remember, even though the Church was in its darkest hour there was light at the end
of the tunnel…the Renaissance was looming on the horizon. Our Church would be redeemed.
Questions to Ponder:
1. What events/people led to the formation of the Crusades?
2. Describe the "sins" of the crusades and Inquisitions. Do you think Pope John Paul II was right in asking for forgiveness?
Why or why not?
3.
Compare and contrast the Spanish Inquisition to the Papal Inquisition.
Notes:
2011
E. Radler Rice
2011
E. Radler Rice