crusades Essay -- essays research papers fc

Crusading, much like Imperialism in the 20th century, was all about expansion. During the middle ages however, it was more than about the expansion of religion rather then power, or at least thats the way it was preached. Crusading by definition is a holy war authorized by the pope, who proclaimed it in the name of god of Christ. It was believed to be Christs own enterprise, legitimized by his personal mandatary (1). This essay examines the background of the crusades to offer a better understanding as to why they occurred. It also examines the effects that the crusades had on the man. It is easy to look at the crusades as a violent meaningless act, but one must understand the type of setting this movement occurred during. This was a time when if you took part in the crusades, you were seen as a warrior of god, recruited by the pope. Any man who fought in the name of god would be rewarded in heaven. Popular belief in the 10th and 11th centuries was that the more you did for god, the less accountable you were for youre past sins. The more deeds you did, the better your credit in the Treasury of God (2). The Treasury of God is a summarization of the good deed outweighing the bad deed principle of the time. Acts of violence in the name of god are far less common in the world today. But, as seen with September 11th, jihad or holy war is still occurring. This essay gives a basic timeline and underlying principles behind the crusading missions. Justification for these acts remains unreadable and is simply opinion based.To understand the effects of crusading one must be familiar with the background in which it took place. The major conflict that initiated the crusading endeavors occurred when the Seljuk Turks aggressively took Syria and Palestine. Turkish Muslims also invaded the Byzantine Empire and subjected all classes of people to their rule, even Christians. At the same time, Popes of the 11th century were trying to extend their religious power beyond its or iginal borders. They did this by forcing religion upon certain groups such as heretics, pagans, and most all non-Christians. When Pope Urban seen the action of the Muslims he then thought it was his business to Christianize those people. These facts combined started the First crusade in 1095 (3). At a personal level however, crusading could be unde... ...land Toronto Longman 2002), 175.9. Nicholson, 134.10.Phillips, 347.11. Jonathan Phillips, The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople (London Jonathan Cape, 2004), 202. 12. Nicholson, 120. 13. Nicholson, 147.14. Yvonne, Friedman, Encounter amidst Enemies captivity and Ransom in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem (Leiden Boston Brill, 2002), 340. 15. Nicholson, 166. BibliographyAsbridge, Thomas. The First Crusade A New History New York Toronto Oxford University Press, 2004.Friedman, Yvonne. Encounter amongst Enemies captivity and Ransom in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Leiden Boston Brill, 2002. Nicholson, Helen. The Crusades . Westport, Conn Greenwood Press, 2004.Phillips, Jonathan. The Crusades 1095-1197. Harlow, England Toronto Longman 2002.Phillips, Jonathan. The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople. London Jonathan Cape, 2004.Slack, Corliss. A Historical dictionary of the Crusades. Lanham, Md Scarecrow Press, 2003.