Download 15 The Crusades ak (Spring 2017)

Unit 4: The Crusades
A. Crusades
1. Based on the idea of a holy war against the infidel, or unbeliever.
2. Directed against Muslims.
3. Pope Urban II called for the liberation of Jerusalem and the Holy Land of Palestine from the Muslims.
B. Goals of the Crusade
1. The Crusades had economic, social, and political goals as well as religious motives.
a. Muslims had control of Palestine and threatened Constantinople.
b. Offered kings & the Church both an opportunity to rid of quarrelsome knights who fought each
other.
c. Younger sons were seeking land and fame.
d. Merchants made money by funding the Crusades.
C. The First Crusade
1. What started as a minor call for aid quickly turned into a wholesale migration and conquest of territory
outside of Europe.
2. Most of the Crusaders were French, but came from all parts of Europe.
3. The Crusaders were ill-prepared for war and only 12,000 out of 48,000 made it to Jerusalem.
4. The first Crusade was the only crusade—in contrast to the many that followed—to achieve its stated
goal.
D. The Second Crusade
1. The Second Crusade was announced by Pope Eugenius III, and was the first of the crusades to be led by
European kings, namely Louis VII of France and Conrad of III of Germany.
2. The armies of the two kings marched separately across Europe.
3.
Both armies were separately defeated by the Seljuk Turks.
4. The crusade in the east was a failure for the crusaders and a great victory for the Muslims.
5. It would ultimately lead to the fall of Jerusalem to the Muslim leader Saladin in 1187.
E. Third Crusade
1. Three important leaders led their forces into the East.
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2. Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of Germany.
3. Richard I (Richard the Lionhearted) of England.
4. Phillip II (Phillip Augustus) King of France.
5. Lack of leadership and organization led to its failure.
6. Richard negotiated a settlement in which Saladin agreed to allow Christian pilgrims free access to
Jerusalem.
F. Reconquista
1. The Reconquista was the long effort of the Spanish to drive the Muslims out of Spain. (about 1100 –
1500 CE)
2. The Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella used the inquisition, a court to suppress heresy, to unify
their country under Christianity and to increase their power.
G. The Effects of the Crusades
1. Greater economic freedom/activity for those left at home (particularly women)
2. Lessened the power of the Pope
3. Weakened feudal nobility and increased the power of kings (thousands of knights and other participants
lost their lives and fortunes)
4. The fall of Constantinople weakened the Byzantine Empire
5. Led to the growth of trade, towns, and universities in medieval Europe
6. The intolerance and prejudice displayed by Christians left a legacy of bitterness and hatred on the part of
Muslims
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