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The History of the Crusades

CRUSADE-(Fr. croisade, It. crociata, from ML. cruciata, crusade, from cruciare, to mark with the cross, from Lat. crux, cross). A war undertaken for a religious purpose.; specifically one of the wars waged by the Christians for the recovery of the Holy Land. Towards the close of the eleventh century, when the Byzantine Empire was in great danger of being conquered by the Seljukian Turks, the Emperor Alexis Comnenus appealed for help. At the Council of Clermont, in November, 1095, Pope Urban II made his memorable speech, in which he exhorted his hearers to bear aid to the Eastern Empire and to reconquer Jerusalem. His fiery eloquence evoked an enthusiastic response; for he appealed to all the motives which were then influential to the spirit of religious enthusiasm, to the love of fighting and adventure, and to the desire, in many, of bettering their fortunes. After the conclusion of Urban's speech many pressed forward to take the Crusader's vow and the cross, which was the symbol of this vow and gave its name to the movement. The agitation spread rapidly to all the countries of western Europe and embraced all ranks of society. The nobles made deliberate preparations for an expedition which was expected to last three years; but the common people, among whom Peter the Hermit (q.v.) and others had been busily preaching the Crusade, were too impatient, and many of them too poor, to wait. In the spring of 1096 thousands of men, women, and children started in different bands under the leadership of Walter the Penniless, Peter, and others. They marched from Cologne and the Rhineland, across Germany, through Hungary, along the Danube, and southward to Constantinople. Later bands were very disorderly; their course was marked by persecution of the Jews, robbery, and plunder, and many of them were slaughtered by the infuriated inhabitants of the countries through which they passed. Those who reached Constantinople were received graciously by the Emperor. Their disorderly conduct, however, caused him to transport them to Asia Minor, where almost all were slain by the Turks. The march of these disorderly bands is generally styled the Peasants' Crusade.

The First Crusade, 1096-99. In the summer and fall of 1096 the real armies, led by the nobles, began their march. Among the leaders were Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemond, Prince of Tarentum, Robert of Normandy, Robert of Flanders, and Raymond, Count of Toulouse, who was the latest of all to start. They proceeded by different routes to Constantinople, where they were delayed by the Emperor, who was alarmed by their numbers and lack of discipline, but wished to make use of their strength. An agreement was finally made, by which almost all of the leaders were induced to become his vassals, but in the campaign which followed neither party kept its promises, and the long negotiations resulted only in a mutual feeling of antagonism, which proved disastrous to the Christian cause. All of the Crusaders met at the siege of Nicæa, in May, 1097, when the army may have numbered 100,000, besides the women and noncombatants. Six millions were said to have taken the cross, but undoubtedly the number was greatly exaggerated; many, besides, who had taken the vow had turned back or were dead. Nicæa was taken, the Sultan of Iconium was defeated at Dorylæum, and in a few months the Crusaders accomplished the arduous march to Antioch, which was captured after a siege lasting from Oct. 21, 1097, to June 2, 1098. In the meantime Baldwin, brother of Godfrey, had taken possession of Edessa for himself, and Bohemond now established himself as Prince of Antioch. The leaders became so intent on making conquests for their own profit that the advance to Jerusalem was delayed for months. Finally, on June 7, 1099, the remnants of the army, about 20,000 in number, reached Jerusalem. After a siege of five weeks the city was captured, by reckless daring, on July 15. The Crusaders vented their wrath in an indiscriminate massacre, in which neither youth nor age was spared, and men and women were slaughtered in the holy places. The leaders wrote home exultingly, " In Solomon's Porch and in his temple our men rode in the blood of the Saracens up to the knees of their horses." Godfrey was elected "Baron and Defender of the Holy Sepulchre," and after the battle of Ascalon, in which the Egyptian army was defeated with great slaughter, almost all of the Crusaders returned home, leaving Godfrey with a small band of followers to defend Jerusalem. Bohemond held Antioch with his Norman followers. Baldwin was in the distant Edessa. A large part of Asia Minor was restored to the Greek Emperor. The news of the victories gained by the Crusaders set into motion three great armies from France, Germany, and Italy (1101-02), but, owing to their own excesses and folly, they fell an easy prey to the Mussulmans in Asia Minor.

The Second Crusade, 1147-49. In 1144 Edessa was captured by the Mohammedans. The news of its loss aroused great alarm in the West, and a new Crusade was initiated. in which special privileges were offered to all participants. Bernard of Clairvaux was the great preacher of this movement. Conrad III of Germany and Louis VII of France took the cross and led great armies to the relief of the Holy Land, Conrad and Frederick Barbarossa starting from Ratisbon, in April, 1147. The march was very disorderly, and when the Crusaders entered the Byzantine Empire they came to blows with the Greeks. After much trouble the Bosporus was crossed, and the army advanced into Asia Minor, led by Greek guides. The guides proved unsatisfactory. the troops were harassed by the Turks, and finally, threatened with famine and death, they retreated, closely pursued by the enemy, only a very few getting back to Nicæa. Louis had better fortune: his army was more orderly. and he was well received by the Greek Emperor, although, when the French King crossed to Asia Minor, the Emperor refused to furnish guides until Louis and his barons had taken the oath of homage. Near Nicea they met the German fugitives, with whom they joined forces and marched along the coast. Conrad soon turned back and spent the winter in Constantinople, but Louis went on, and, after meeting with a terrible defeat, in which the loss was very great, he and his knights went by ships to Antioch, while the common peoplc were left behind to be slaughtered. From Antioch Louis proceeded to Jerusalem, where he was joined by Conrad. Together they planned the renewal of hostilities on a grand scale, but their schemes miscarried, and the kings went home in disgust.

The Third Crusade„ 1189-91. The capture of Jerusalem by Saladin, in 1187, caused Frederick Barbarossa, Philip Augustus of France, and Richard the Lion-Hearted of England to take the cross. Frederick was drowned soon after he reached Syria. Richard and Philip captured Acre after a long siege; but the two kings quarreled so bitterly that Philip went home soon after the capture. Richard, thwarted at every turn by Saladin (q.v.), was compelled to make a truce without accomplishing anything more.

The Fourth Crusade, 1201-04. Innocent III (q.v.) made every effort to bring about a new Crusade. A great number of Latin nobles and knights were induced to take the cross, and the enthusiasm of the people was unbounded. Among the leaders in this Crusade were Baldwin of Flanders, Boniface of Montferrat, Geoffroy de Villehardouin, Louis of Blois, and Simon de Montfort. Arrangements were made with Venice that the Republic should supply the vessels and provisions for the journey; but, when the Crusaders reached Venice, they could not raise the amount agreed upon for payment. After a long delay they made a new bargain with Venice by undertaking to capture for her the city of Zara, in Dalmatia, The common soldiers were kept in ignorance of the infamous plan until it was too late for effectual protest. Zara was sacked, and the army spent the winter there. In the meantime a new plot was hatched by which, under pretense of reinstating the rightful Byzantine Emperor, Isaac Angelus, the Crusade was diverted to Constantinople. Isaac Angelus was restored to his throne, but, as he was not able to fulfill the conditions to which he had been compelled to agree, the Crusaders turned against him. Constantinople was captured a second time and sacked (1204). Much of the city was burned, precious works of art were destroyed, and enormous quantities of booty were secured. The Crusaders and the Venetians divided their conquests, and the Latin Empire (q.v.) was established.

The last three Crusades effected little permanent good for the Christian cause. The Fifth Crusade took place in 1228-29. The German Emperor, Frederick II (q.v.), who had taken the vow, went to the Holy Land and, by a treaty with the Mohammedan powers, secured Jerusalem. In 1244 the Holy City fell into the hands of the Kharesmians. The Sixth Crusade (1248-54) was led by Louis IX of France (St. Louis). He invaded Egypt and, although at first successful, was soon defeated, captured, and compelled to pay an enormous ransom. He then went to the Holy Land, rebuilt some fortresses, but accomplished little of importance. In 1270 he started on the Seventh Crusade, but was induced to turn aside to Tunis, where he died. Edward Plantagenet associated himself with Louis IX in that Crusade. He abandoned the Holy Land in 1272, and this year is generally considered to mark the end of the Crusades.

In addition to the seven principal Crusades, there were countless other expeditions. In some of these large armies took part, as in the Crusade of 1101, of which mention has been made; the German Crusade of 1197; the Children's Crusade (q.v.) in 1212: and the Crusade of John of Brienne and Andrew II of Hungary in l217-21, which achieved the conquest of Damietta, in Egypt, in 1219. The last is often called the Fifth Crusade, and in fact the first four Crusades are the only ones to which the same numbers are assigned by unanimous consent. In addition, almost every year, from 1100 to 1270, small bands of Crusaders went to the Holy Land, and after 1270 many attempts were made to reconquer Jerusalem. There were also Crusades in the West against the Moors in Spain and against the heathen Prussians. (See TEUTONIC KNIGHTS) Besides these Crusades against pagans many Crusades were preached against the Albigenses (q.v.), the Hohenstaufen (q.v.), and other opponents of the popes, the name being used for all kinds of expeditions in which the Church was interested.

The Results of the Crusades. The Crusades were of very great importance in the history o£ Europe in that they accelerated many movements which without them would probably have advanced much more gradually. They contributed to the growth of the great Italian seaports by establishing closer commercial communications between Europe and the East; they enriched the Church and increased its powers, and they helped to develop the strength of the French monarchy by killing off large numbers of the turbulent nobility, or removing them to a more grateful field of activity in Asia and Africa. For Europe at large the most important results were these: 1. They checked the advance of the Mohammedans for a considerable period of time; for, by carrying the war into the enemy's country, they prevented his advance into Europe. It is true that too much stress may be laid on this fact, for the Crusades undoubtedly weakened the Byzantine Empire and made it an easier prey for the Turks in the fifteenth century; but in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the Crusading states in the East served as outposts to guard against the invasion of Europe. 2. The Crusades enriched Europe greatly by promoting the growth of commerce. In order to transfer the Crusading armies and to supply their various needs, large ships had to be built. These brought back to the West the products of the Orient. In Asia and Africa the Crusaders acquired new tastes and desires, which had to be gratified by a more extensive commerce-witness the remarkable growth in the use of sugar and spices in the twelfth century. Money, which previously had bean hoarded, was put into circulation to equip the crusading hosts. All of these causes led to a remarkable growth in wealth and prosperity, which benefited especially the inhabitants of the cities in western Europe. This is regarded by many as the most important result of the Crusades. 3. The Crusades caused a broadening of the intellectual horizon and originated a tendency towards skepticism. "On its Oriental Studienreisen young Europe studied industriously and with great results." The constant contact for two centuries with the more advanced Byzantine and Arabic culture taught the Crusaders many lessons in civilization. The admiration which they learned to feel for hereties and Mohammedans dispelled many of their prejudices. Some Crusaders became Mohammedans, others became freethinkers. There was a rapid spread of heresies. "The roots of the Renaissance are to be found in the civilization of the Crusades." There have been three periods of great advance in the history of Europe-the Crusades, the Reformation, and the French Revolution; and of these three the Crusades were not the least important and influential.