Reconquest and Crusade in Medieval Spain by Joseph O’ Callaghan overviews the military activity in the Iberian Peninsula from the later eleventh century through the middle of the thirteenth century. The book is not simply a survey of the Spanish reconquest however. O'Callaghan has a specific argument which is the focus of the book. While modern historians often focus on campaigns in the Middle East when referring to the crusades; O’Callaghan’s main focus is connecting how the papacy influenced the Spanish Christian Kingdoms from a “reconquest” viewpoint to one of holy war and crusade.
The first chapter entitled Reconquest, Holy War, and Crusade lays out the argument for the rest of the book. He begins by trying to define what the terms in the chapter title mean. He concludes “crusades” have certain characteristics associated with them such as the intervention of the Pope, and promises of indulgences for serving Christ in battle. Whereas he sees “Reconquest” as being a perpetual mindset that existed among the Spanish people ever since the
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invasion of the muslims in 711. It is this pre-existing idea of “reconquest” that became modified by papal promises of remission of sins and french knights which created “holy war” and the crusading ideology. In Chapters two through five, a chronological overview of the resulting military action in the Iberian Peninsula is given.
Each chapter cover a certain period of years starting with 1063 and ending in 1248. In these chapters, O’Callaghan demonstrates how the pre-existing notion of “reconquest” in spain morphed into crusade thanks to french and papal influences . The removal of Muslims from Spain was viewed as of equal importance to Popes as the campaigns in the holy land. This is made evident by expeditions into Spain being the subject of several papal bulls, and crusaders headed into Spain receiving the same indulgences as those going to the Holy Land. In addition, the papacy also gave partial remission to those who contributed money to the campaigns if unable to serve. Furthermore, the papacy helped to finance the Spanish crusades via the concession of some of the “tercias” (one third of the tithes) and other
taxes. Chapters five through eight cover more of the logistics behind these campaigns. More specifically the military organization, finances, and liturgical aspects of the campaigns. Indeed the crusades were monumental efforts, and the logistical feats needed to maintain the war effort were intricate. For example, the expenses of the crusades were not likely to be covered via forage, or booty alone. The Christian Kings waged war with help from papal “tercias”, with the bovaticum (Catalonian tax on livestock), “monetaticum” (a tax levied every seven years in exchange for keeping the royal coinage intact), and from “parias” (tribute paid by muslim vassals). These provided a steady stream of income for the Christian kings. A major concept of the eighth chapter is the similarity in view between the Christians and Muslims in their spiritual outlook during these crusades. Soldiers from both sides believed that God was on their side, confessed and prayed to God before battles, and believed death in battle would render them martyrs. O’Callaghan states this is a characteristic of communities centered on religious beliefs.
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.
“The Conquest of New Spain” is the first hand account of Bernal Diaz (translated by J.M. Cohen) who writes about his personal accounts of the conquest of Mexico by himself and other conquistadors beginning in 1517. Unlike other authors who wrote about their first hand accounts, Diaz offers a more positive outlook of the conquest and the conquistadors motives as they moved through mainland Mexico. The beginning chapters go into detail about the expeditions of some Spanish conquistadors such as Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba, Juan de Grijalva and Hernando Cotes. This book, though, focuses mainly on Diaz’s travels with Hernando Cortes. Bernal Diaz’s uses the idea of the “Just War Theory” as his argument for why the conquests were justifiable
Díaz del Castillo, Bernal. "The True History of the Conquest of New Spain." In Sources of Making of the West, by Katarine J. Lualdi, 269-273. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009.
The English reconquest of Spain was a series of events leading to the Christian regaining the control of the Iberian Peninsula. During the time, the Christian and Islamic cultures had built off of each other, both economically and socially. Ferdinand II and his wife Isabella I where the catholic monarchs that played a key role in the success of the reconquest of the Peninsula. Their marriage was a political alliance between Argon and Castilian nobles as a way for them to unite. While their marriage was not for romance or love, the two did deeply care about each other and made quite the power couple, literally. As a team, Ferdinand and Isabella were able to gain control over Castile and keep fighting until their conquest was over. Ferdinand
Contrary to many commonly held notions about the first crusade, in his book, The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading, Jonathan Riley-Smith sets out to explain how the idea of crusading thought evolved in the first crusade. In his book, Riley-Smith sets out five main arguments to show how these ideas of crusading evolved. Firstly, he argues that Pope Urban’s original message was conventional, secondly that a more positive reaction was drawn from the laity (due to the ideas surrounding Jerusalem), thirdly, that the original message of crusading had changed because of the horrible experiences of the first crusaders, fourth, that due to these experiences the crusaders developed their own concept of what a crusade was, and lastly, that these ideas were refined by (religious) writers and turned into an acceptable form of theology. Riley-Smith makes excellent points about the crusade; however, before one can delve directly into his argument, one must first understand the background surrounding the rise of the first crusade.
The Military Orders, including the Templars and Hospitallers, were created to protect pilgrims on the route to Jerusalem, but grew into ranks of professional soldiers with a great presence in the East, answerable to the Papacy. These orders “grew rapidly and acquired castles at strategic points in the kingdom and northern states. […] They were soon established in Europe as well, they became international organizations, virtually independent, sanctioned and constantly supported by the papacy” (Madden). The Pope possessed, for the first time, a dedicated military force in Europe. These two outcomes indicate the growth of the Church’s power as a result of the First Crusade, and support the proposition that the Papacy intended it as a way for advancing its political and economic position.
Kings often struggled with the Church over power and land, both trying desperately to obtain them, both committing atrocities to hold onto them. Time and time again, the Popes of the postclassical period went to great extremes to secure the Church’s position in the world. Both the Crusades and the Inquisition are examples of this. D...
The Crusades were one of the most prominent events in Western European history; they were not discrete and unimportant pilgrimages, but a continuous stream of marching Western armies (Crusaders) into the Muslim world, terminating in the creation and eventually the fall of the Islamic Kingdoms. The Crusades were a Holy War of Roman Christianity against Islam, but was it really a “holy war” or was it Western Europe fighting for more land and power? Through Pope Urban II and the Roman Catholic Church’s actions, their proposed motivations seem unclear, and even unchristian. Prior to the Crusades, Urban encouraged that Western Europe fight for their religion but throughout the crusades the real motivations shone though; the Crusaders were power hungry, land coveting people who fought with non Christian ideals and Morales.
Among some of the largest conflicts in the world stand the Crusades; a brutal conflict that lasted over 200 years and was debatably one of the largest armed religious conflicts in the history of humankind. Since this is so clearly an event of importance, historians have searched vigorously for the true answer as to why the crusades began. Ultimately, because of accusatory views on both the sides of the Christians and of the Muslims, the two groups grew in such hatred of each other that they began to act in deep discrimination of each other. Moreover, Christian motives seemed to be driven mostly by the capture of Jerusalem, the dark ages of Europe and the common-folks desperation for land, wealth, and a spot in heaven. What seems to be continually
God’s Battalions: The Case for the Crusades by Rodney Stark, will cause readers to question much of what they know about the Crusades, the Crusaders themselves, and the formidable Muslim forces they encountered along the way in liberation of the Holy Land. Stark gives compelling reasons for the Crusades, and argues that readers should not be too quick in following the lead of historians who cast the Crusaders in less than positive light. Stark makes his case supported by evidence that vindicates the valiant struggles of the Crusaders who accomplished the task of keeping Christianity alive through troubled times.
Llorente, Juan Antonio [1967] A critical history of the Inquisition of Spain, from the period of its establishment by Ferdinand V to the reign of Ferdinand VII, composed from the original documents of the Archives of the Supreme Council of the Inquisition and from those of subordinate tribunals of the Holy Office. J. Lilburne Co. Williamstown, MA.
In 1095, Pope Urban II called the first crusade. Happening between 1096 and 1099, the first crusade was both a military expedition and a mass movement of people with the simple goal of reclaiming the Holy Lands taken by the Muslims in their conquests of the Levant. The crusade ended with the capture of Jerusalem in July 1099. However, there has been much debate about whether the First Crusade can be considered an ‘armed pilgrimage’ or whether it has to be considered as a holy war. This view is complicated due to the ways in which the Crusade was presented and how the penitential nature of it changed throughout the course of the Crusade.
In order for the crusades to begin, the Christians needed to gather an army to travel and fight the forces of Muslims. With all the power being held by monarchies at this time, the church needed to be cleaver in order to gain troops to put their lives on the line. To gain the support of these warriors and dedication of men, Pope Urban II (1088-1099) challenged those morals of men by telling them to grab their weapons and join the holy war to recover the land of Jerusalem. It was not the challenge that convinced men to take part in this war. The promise of “immediate remission of sins” attracted the men to stand up for their religion and beliefs while at the same time, promising them a trip to heaven when life comes to an end. With this statement, men instantly prepared for battle which in a very short period of time gave the church power which has been held by the monarchies. Men of rich and poor prepared for battle, some wearing ...
There are various views on the motivation of the crusaders, and many of them can be backed up by historical data. Some of the incentives offered by Pope to the crusaders were: exemption from taxes, freeing prisoners, or offering extraordinary indulgences remitting all punishments due to sin for those who died on the crusade. Crusaders of the upper classes were very often leaving their estates with regents and taking part in the crusades to fight in the name of Christ, acquire riches, fame and land. The crusaders of the lower classes were also fighting in the name of Christ and at the same time very often they were looking for relief from their miserable lives, and wanted to better themselves abroad. The view of the crusades and crusaders differ depending on commentator’...
He claims the transformation from reconquest and crusade came about do to the opening of the Iberian Peninsula to French and Papal influences. A big step in this evolution was Pope Alexander II recognizing the sins of those fighting in the Iberian Peninsula would be remitted. This declaration illustrates one of the characteristics of “crusade” in Medieval Spain. The indulgence of sins proved to be a valuable recruiting pitch, as it lured in knights from several French and Italian groups. These knights helped evolve the reconquest with their fanaticism towards Muslims, whom Iberian Christians had grown accustomed to over the centuries. This was expanded on by following Popes like Gregory VII, Urban II, and Paschal II whose liberal usage of papal bulls showcased the equal importance of campaigns in the Middle East to those in Spain. These Pope’s not only continued to grant the remission of sins to crusaders, they also allowed for partial remission to be granted to those who donated money to the campaigns instead of serving in person. This was important as the expenses of the campaigns in Spain were not likely to be covered by booty alone; yet the Christian Kings were able to wage war with help from the papacy. In addition, the papacy allowed various spanish rulers access to “tercias” (one third of tithes used for the upkeep of the