Essay On The First Crusade

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Recommended: Religious motives of the crusades

The First Crusade was an extreme and explosive upheaval of religious elation that reached a state of perfection in a brilliant military achievement. Pope Urban II, in his call to the Crusade at Clermont in late 1095, touched a nerve in western Christendom, unleashing a power that far exceeded his desires outcome and proved difficult to control. Motivation both honorable and selfish prompted multitudes of crusaders to voyage to the east. Regardless of the considerable obstacles, large portions of these military powers succeeded in arriving at the Holy Land; in mid-1099 they broke the walls of jerusalem and in a paroxysm of madness prevailed over the Muslims and gained the Holy City. But in this essay I focus on: why did so many western Europeans joined this movement.

The popularity of the First Crusade is shown by the fact that people from all socio-economic backgrounds responded to the Pope’s call. Poor people joined the First Crusade through movements such as the People‟s Crusade lead by Peter the Hermit. However, people at the top of the social scale such as Godfrey of Bouillon or...

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