CRUSADES 



1652 



CRUSADES 



traveled by the thousands along the highways 

 leading to Jerusalem. Under the tolerant rule 

 of the Saracen caliphs, these pilgrims were 

 kindly treated, but all this was changed when, 

 in 1071, Jerusalem was captured by the Seljuk 

 Turks, a Tartar tribe fanatical in its loyalty 

 to the faith of Mohammed. 



Then came stories of brutal treatment and 

 persecution, of exorbitant sums charged at the 

 gates of Jerusalem and of unbearable insults 

 to the Christian pilgrims. Western Europe 

 was roused to a high pitch of religious fervor 

 and indignation, and it was determined to 

 wrest the Holy Sepulcher from the hand of the 

 "Infidel." Besides this lofty religious ideal 

 there were other forces arising from the spirit 

 of the age which helped the movement love 

 of adventure, commercial ambition and the 

 desire for military glory. All classes, from king 

 to the lowest man in the realm, had their 

 reasons for joining the forces which quickly 

 prepared to march. Serfs seeking relief from 

 conditions that had become unbearable and 

 criminals fleeing from justice were present in 

 the ranks of the Crusaders. 



The First Crusade (1096-1099). The .First 

 Crusade was inspired by the preaching of Peter 

 the Hermit, who on his return from a pilgrimage 

 to the Holy Land aroused the multitudes every- 

 where by his vivid descriptions of the sufferings 

 of the pilgrims. At the Council of Clermont, held 

 in 1095, it was definitely decided to organize a 

 Crusade, and Pope Urban II, addressing a great 

 throng of clergymen and laymen, so moved them 

 by his eloquence that they cried out as with one 

 voice, "God wills it." This became the great bat- 

 tle cry of the soldiers during the Holy Wars. 



In 1096 the first Crusaders, unorganized and 

 without sufficient supplies, began the march to- 

 ward Palestine. Nearly all of these perished 

 before Constantinople was reached, and the few 

 who succeeded in crossing the Bosporus were 

 cut to pieces in Bithynia by the Turks. Later in 

 the year, however, five well-equipped armies set 

 out for Constantinople by different routes. They 

 were led by Godfrey de Bouillon, Raymond of 

 Toulouse, Robert of Normandy (the brother of 

 William II of England), Robert of Flanders and 

 other heroes. 



Traversing Germany, Hungary and the Byzan- 

 tine Empire, they passed over into Asia Minor, 

 conquered Nicaea in 1097, gained a hard- won 

 victory over the Turks at Dorylaeum, and in 

 June, 1098, stormed the city of Antioch. Just a 

 year later they laid siege to Jerusalem, which 

 they captured after a desperate struggle. God- 

 frey de Bouillon was chosen ruler of the Holy 

 City, and other nobles were left in control of An- 

 tioch and Edessa. These three cities were held 

 by the Christians for nearly fifty years, their 

 defense being aided by the Order of Knights Tem- 

 plar and Knights Hospitalers. 



The Second Crusade (1147-1149). The recap- 



ture of Edessa by the Mohammedans in 1144 

 again aroused the Christians to a holy zeal, and 

 a second Crusade was preached by Saint Bernard 

 of Clairvaux. Early in 1147 two great armies 

 under the German emperor, Conrad III, and the 

 King of France, Louis VII, started for the de- 

 fense of the Cross. The expedition was a total 

 failure, and only a remnant of the great host 

 reached home again. 



The Third Crusade (1189-1191). This was 

 led by Frederick Barbarossa of Germany, Philip 

 Augustus of France and Richard I (the Lion- 

 hearted) of England, and was undertaken after 

 the capture of Jerusalem by Saladin, in 1187. 

 Though Barbarossa was drowned in 1190, soon 

 after reaching Syria, his soldiers fought with the 

 French and English at the siege of Acre, which 

 was captured after twenty-three months. Rival- 

 ries between Richard and the French king caused 

 the latter to withdraw a few weeks later, and 

 Richard, sole leader of the expedition, finally con- 

 cluded a truce of three years and three months 

 with Saladin, by which pilgrims were promised 

 the right to visit the Holy Sepulcher, unmolested, 

 while the seacoast from Tyre to Jaffa was to re- 

 main in the possession of the Crusaders. 



The Fourth Crusade, known as the "false Cru- 

 sade," never reached Palestine. It was under- 

 taken at the suggestion of Pope Innocent III, 

 and among its leaders were Baldwin of Flanders, 

 Boniface of Montferrat, Geoffroy of Villehardouin 

 and Simon de Montfort. The Crusaders assem- 

 bled at Venice in the autumn of 1202, but were 

 diverted from their purpose by the Venetians, 

 who prevailed upon them to storm the city of 

 Zara in Dalmatia. The army spent the winter 

 there, and in 1204 captured and sacked Constan- 

 tinople. In the same year a Latin empire was 

 established at Constantinople, with Baldwin of 

 Flanders as its first emperor. 



The Later Crusades. The first four Holy 

 Wars are the only ones to which all authorities 

 assign the same numbers. The name Fifth Cru- 

 sade (1228-1229) is usually applied to that under- 

 taken by Frederick II, the German emperor, in 

 fulfilment of a vow. Frederick proceeded to the 

 Holy Land and by concluding a treaty with the 

 Mohammedans secured possession of Jerusalem. 

 For making this truce with the infidels he was 

 severely upbraided by Pope Gregory IX. In 1244 

 Jerusalem was retaken by the Mohammedans. 



The Sixth and Seventh Crusades, in 1248-1254 

 and 1270, respectively, were headed by Louis IX 

 of France. He led an army into Egypt, but was 

 soon defeated and captured, and secured his re- 

 lease only after paying a heavy ransom. In 1270 

 he started on the second expedition, but died at 

 Tunis on the way to Palestine. In this Crusade 

 he was associated with Edward Plantagenet 

 (later Edward I of England), who landed an 

 army at Acre in 1271, but accomplished noth- 

 ing. In 1272 Edward returned home, and this 

 year is usually regarded as the end of the Cru- 

 sading period. 



The Children's Crusade. Of several lesser 

 Crusades, the most remarkable is the one under- 

 taken in 1212 by a great army of boys and girls. 

 About 30,000 children, most of them less than 

 twelve years of age, placed themselves under the 

 leadership of Stephen, a French shepherd lad 



