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The four accounts of the first crusade
The four accounts of the first crusade
The four accounts of the first crusade
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Geoffrey of Villehardouin (in French Geoffroi de Villehardouin) (1160–c.1212) was a knight and historian who participated in and chronicled the Fourth Crusade. He was one of the main persons of the Fourth Crusade and his full title was: "Geoffrey of Villehardouin, Marshal of Champagne and of Romania".
He was Marshal of Champagne, and joined the Crusade in 1199 during a tournament held by Count Thibaud III of Champagne. Thibaud named him one of the ambassadors to Venice to procure ships for the voyage, and he helped to elect Boniface of Montferrat as the new leader of the Crusade when Thibaud died.
Although he does not say so specifically in his own account, he probably supported the diversion of the Crusade first to Zara and then to Constantinople.
The crusades were religious wars between Christians and Muslims. Often, the Church would want its crusaders to believe that they were going to fight a holy war for God and getting back the holy lands. In the first primary source, Count Stephen in Blois Letter to His Wife, he letter illustrates the similar perception and approach. In the letter to his wife, Stephen relates occasions that occurred in the attack of Antioch with much enhancement. The letter is romantic and very tedious through its retelling of how the armed force came to recover Cappadocia, Assam, and afterward Antioch from the Turks.
Fulcher of Chartres was educated by the Church in Chartres and he travelled to the East in the entourage of Richard of Normandy and Stephen of Blois. He later followed Baldwin of Boulonge to Edessa when he broke away from the main body of Crusaders to found the first crusader state. He was appointed chaplain to Baldwin in 1097. He was present at the council of Clermont in 1095 and provides us with one of the most reliable sources for Urban II’s speech there.
The First Crusade was called in 1096 by Pope Urban II. The reasons for the First Crusade was to help obtain Jerusalem known as the holy land. During this time period the Muslims were occupying Jerusalem. First Crusade contained peasants and knights’ whose ethnicities consist of Franks, Latin’s, and Celts which were all from the western part of Europe. To get peasants and knights to join Pope Urban II objectives in return of a spiritual reward called “remission of all their sins” which was to be redeemed of any sins the individual has committed. When sins are redeemed Crusaders believed that they will escape the torment of hell. When lords and knights joined the crusade they were known as military elites. Crusaders were known as soldiers of Christ.
In order to establish reasons for Urban’s call for a crusade in 1095, we need to look at many accounts of the time, and find out what was happening in the rest of the Christian world which influenced both what and when he said what he did to launch the first crusade. At the time, religion played a major role in almost everyone’s daily lives, and the belief system of the afterlife was extremely strong. It was true that every Christian had a very vivid sense of sin, and believed that if one committed an act of sin, their afterlife would be spent in hell. They all thought of this afterlife as a reality rather than an idea. It was this belief which would help Pope Urban II recruit more men.
It is amazing how much political and military supremacy the papacy position gained when the Crusades began. The First Crusade (1096-1099) was a military expedition initiated by Pope Urban the II to regain the Holy Lands in Jerusalem from the Muslim conquest. The Pope gave a speech requesting military action against Muslim takeover to the French people of Clermont. The speech eventually propagated to other nations for further recruitment. Urban’s political and military involvement helped regain the Holy Lands and save the Christian Crusaders souls. His famous speech changed the course of history in part because its dissemination was overly successful, and assembled over 40,000 Crusaders to do the will of God. Why was Pope Urban II so victorious in recruiting people for the First Crusade, and why was his influence so important?
Philippe Petit changed numerous peoples’ thoughts about the Twin Towers when he performed his high wire walk between them in 1974. Before Philippe Petit walked the high wire between the Twin Towers in 1974, people weren’t certain how they felt about the construction of the World Trade Center. After Philippe performed, people began to warm up to the idea of the towers. Philippe Petit walked the high wire between the Twin Towers on August 7, 1974. This event prompted Andrew McMahon to write the song “Platform Fire” about this event for his band, Jack’s Mannequin. This song was not a hit for the band; however, fans of Jack’s Mannequin seem to have a special place in their heart for it.
The Albigensian Crusade was a military campaign that was started by Pope Innocent III. This Crusade was started to eliminate Catharism, a Christian dualist movement, in southern France. Pope Innocent III was concerned with the growing influence of Catharism, and saw that it threatened the authority of the Church. He saw the movement of Catharism as something that needed to be eliminated. This Crusade lasted for 20 years and worked effectively. The Albigensian Crusade was a series of many wars. Pope Innocent III was backed up by the Catholic Church and told the people they would be rewarded with getting rid of their sins and a spot saved for them in heaven. Innocent III was the same pope who ordered the fourth crusade in 1204 and was responsible for the slaughter of many. Although Pope Innocent III called the Albigensian Crusade a religious war, it was really caused by this jealousy of the growing Cathar movement.
At the start of the Second Crusade, it had been four decades since the First Crusade had taken place and the stories from the first expedition had become legends. However, these legends soon began to unravel: Edessa, once a Christian held city from the First Crusade, fell to the Muslims under the forces of Zengi. After the fall of the city of Edessa, "the Christian aura of invincibility was shattered" and they were overcome with panic because this was the first time they recognized the invading Muslims as a threat (Madden 50). This fear was precisely what ignited the Second Crusade. Although Pope Eugenius III called upon the Second Crusade, it was technically considered Bernard of Clairvaux’s crusade. Bernard was a French abbot who was appointed to his position by the Pope in order to preach about the crusade. Bernard regarded the Second Crusade "as a means of redemption" and preached across Northern France and Germany in hopes of rallying civilians to stand by his side in the name of Christ (Madden 52).
Most scholars agree that one of the main reasons for the crusades was Pope Urban ii and a quest for political power. His presence as the Pope help cement the Crusading and set it on his path maybe not the path he intended but it was his presence and words that did it. according to P AUL E. C
A main cause of the Crusades was the treatment of Christian pilgrims. They were robbed, beaten, and then sold. The main group of Turks, the Seljuk Turks, were threatening and growing in power. The Byzantine Emperor, Alexus I, began to become worried and sent out an urgent plea to Pope Urban II, in Rome. He requested for Christian knights to help him fight the Turks. Pope Urban II did agree to his appeal although Byzantine Emperors and Roman Popes were longtime rivals. He also did agree with Alexus I, in fearing that the Turks were expanding. Pope Urban encouraged French and German Bishops and Nobles to also take part in this. “ An accused race has violently invaded the lands of those Christians and had depopulated them by pillage and fire.” This is when Pope Urban II called for a crusade to free the Holy Land. Urban did agree to this having some of his own motives in mind. He was hoping his power would grow in ...
The Sixth Crusade was led by Fredrick ll of the Holy Empire. The Sixth Crusade was successful in getitng back Jerusalem in 1228. After the Civil wars in Jerusalem it was vulnerable to Muslim attacks. Jerusalem would never fall under Christan rule.
In 1118 a French Crusader named Hugues de Payens and seven companions appointed themselves protectors of pilgrims in the Holy Land. Jerusalem's King Baldwin II joined the Patriarch of Jerusalem in support of this small band of men dedicated to Christ, providing them a home in the temple adjoining the royal palace. Living on alms, they became known as the Poor Knights of the Temple.
The Third Crusade (King’s Crusade) (1189-1192) was another attempt to capture the Holy Lands, this time led by several European Leaders and the current Holy Roman Emperor. The major Leader were King Richard the Lionheart (Richard I), King Philip II of France, and Frederick Barbarossa, King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor, and several other leaders from the Templars, Teutonic Knights, and The knights Hospitaller, as well as well as other leaders from England, France, Holy Roman Empire and Hungary. They were against the Ayyubids, Zengids, Sultanate of Rûm, Byzantine Empire, Cyprus and the Kingdom of Sicily. The crusaders consisted of approximately 8,000 English, 2,000 French, 2,000 Hungarians and 100,000 Germans; with the number
While the First Crusaders army were preparing to head off to Constantinople, other groups were gathering being led by some very “charismatic preachers”. One such movement would be known as the People’s Crusade, or the Peasant’s Crusade. This crusade was led by a Monk by the name of Peter the Hermit. Peter had heard Pope Urban the II’s sermon and was rallying people around him, namely peasants. Twelfth century historian, Albert of Aachen, gives an account of Peter the Hermit persuading people to join in the crusade. “In every admonition and sermon, with all the persuasion of which he was capable, he urged setting out on the journey as soon as possible”. (Allen, pg. 43) In response to his sermons and admonition many people joined
Four armies of Crusaders were formed from troops of different Western European regions led by Raymond of Saint-Gilles, Godfrey of Bouillon, Hugh of Vermandois and Bohemond of Taranto with his nephew, Tancred. Less than a year after Pope Urban II’s call, these groups departed for Byzantium in August 1096. A less organised band of knights known as the People’s Crusade left before the others under the command of a popular preacher known as Peter the Hermit.