The First Crusade Essay -- essays research papers

The First Crusade     As the year 1000A.D. was approaching the strength of Christianity inWestern Europe was growing on with its population. The newly reformed andorganized Church began to gain great power. A new Europe was being born withthe Catholic Church as a force in every area of life.     In Christian beliefs, the savior, Jesus Christ was to return to earthand bring judgment on its the great unwashed. Many clergy members along with lay peoplebelieved this would take place in the year 1000A.D. . Knowing this, the peopleof Europe awaited the return of Christ and feared the Wrath of God. Religiouspeople wanted to make up for their sins and avoid the horrors of eternaldamnation. Clergy members were often consulted to figure out what would be asuitable penance. " The Church itself sleek over frequently compel pilgrimages as apenance" (Campbell p.14). A pilgrimage to the Holy Land was not an easy task tosay the least. The road to c apital of Israel was jagged. On the manner to Jerusalem,pilgrims were often murdered by thieves. They were defenseless and often didnot return. Some pilgrims did return from the Holy Land. They came back withtales that planted the seeds for a Crusade.     "The pilgrims that returned from the Holy City of Jerusalem recountedtales, often grossly exaggerated, of the horrible pollution of the sacred placesat the reach of the Turks" (Campbell p23). Other stories of the destruction ofthe Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the burial place of Jesus, by the Turkssurfaced in the early eleventh century. The news of the destruction of theSepulcher was mourned in every Christian country. The nations looked to Romefor a solution to this most serious of Problems.     The Byzantine emperor moth asked for the aid of the Pope to help him with hisTurk problem. To the Pope, it would be a strategic move to aid the Byzantineemperor. The Pope realized that thi s offered the opportunity to re- namethe universal Church and establish the supremacy of Rome. In 1095, at theCouncil of Clermont in southern France, "Urban II challenged Christians to takeup their weapons against the infidels and participate in a holy war and experience the Holy Land" (Spielvogel,p344). Pope Urban II addressed the Frenchtelling them of the horrors im... ...m the clutches of non-Christianrulers. They successfully carried out the wishes of the Pope and , moreimportantly, what they believed to be the " go out of God ." The crusadingknights gained new powers through the conquest along with salvation.Economically, the First Crusade was a success for Western Europe. New ports onthe Mediterranean were in the hands of Western lords, opening new gates fortrade.     On the other hand, the First Crusade could be seen to be a failure inmany ways. transaction with the Byzantine Empire grew far more distant. ThePopes dream of unifying the e astern and western churches could not be achieved.The gruesome display of barbarism on behalf of the Crusaders could to a fault be seenas a failure in morals. It seemed that the Crusaders, for the most part, losttheir way. Their goals switched from religious to materialistic.     The First Crusade was the first installment in a series that lose their" holiness" and become less successful. Militarily, the First Crusade was anutter success. It started a hatred for the West by the Near and Middle Easternpeoples that still is strong today.