352 MUNRO— THE POPES AND THE CRUSADES. 



diplomatic preparations. When he put back on the plea of illness 

 he was excommunicated and his crown placed in jeopardy. He 

 probably regretted frequently and very bitterly his youthful enthus- 

 iasm. The Pope preached a crusade against his Sicilian kingdom ; 

 and this illustrates another means by which the power of the popes 

 was enhanced. They repeatedly preached crusades against their 

 temporal foes and offered to the participants in these wars the same 

 privileges, spiritual and temporal, which were given to those who 

 went on expeditions against the Moslems. These holy wars were 

 sometimes directed against monarchs and other rulers, sometimes 

 against cities, at other times against heretics like the Albigenses, or 

 against the heathen in the north and northeast of Europe. These 

 armies played an important part in the history of the thirteenth 

 century. 



This century also saw the temporary union of almost all Chris- 

 tian lands under the authority of the Pope and this was directly 

 due to the crusades. The capture of Constantinople led to the 

 establishment of a Latin patriarchate there. Bishops of heretical 

 churches in Syria acknowledged the supremacy of the Latin Church. 

 The ruler of Armenia sought to have the title of king bestowed 

 upon him by the Pope and promised in return to bring the Armenian 

 Church under the Pope. For a time there seemed a possibility that 

 there might be one all-inclusive Catholic Church, under the authority 

 of the Pope. 



The crusades also brought to the Church and to the Popes an 

 enormous increase in wealth. Crusaders gave freely to the Church 

 before starting for the East ; they also mortgaged or sold their 

 property to ecclesiastical foundations under conditions very ad- 

 vantageous to the latter. The Orders of the Temple and Hospital 

 received great endowments and became very wealthy. Men who 

 had taken the Cross and were unable to go, purchased exemption 

 from their vow. Taxes for the crusades were frequently collected 

 and handled by the Church. It is not possible to give any estimate 

 of the total amount which the Church received through the crusades, 

 but it was enormous. Consequently the Popes became much more 

 powerful, especially through their control over the appointment of 

 the officials who profited by this wealth. 



