Pope Urban the Second and why the crusades were started.
Pope Urban the Second
Pope Urban the Second started the crusades in order to recapture the holy land (Jerusalem) and to keep the peace. Pope Urban the Second suspended the 6th commandment (thou shall not kill) in order to make this war possible. Those who participated would not be punished by God. The reason so many people volunteered for the crusade is because in that era it was easy to commit sin with the violence all around. People were afraid of going for a visit in that very warm place down below in the afterlife, the crusades were basically a ticket to heaven to them.
Knights of the crusades.
Tis the black knight!
The knights in the middle ages were not the heroes you would expect; they were actually bloodthirsty scoundrels who in reality raided and killed. Pope Urban the Second thought he could use them effectively to capture Jerusalem as well as get rid of them at the same time by using them as a military force in the crusades.
The origin of the Knights Templar.
The Knights Templar originated as escorts to pilgrims heading to Jerusalem. The roads were so dangerous because of Muslims ambushing and killing pilgrims on the way to the holy land. They even had a saying: "stay and dig a grave and you dig your own" because the roads were so littered with skeletons and no one could bury them in time to get away themselves. The Knights Templar were then formed to protect them and in time became the fighting force in the middle ages.
The first crusades success.
A castle of the crusades.
After the long journey across the scorching hot earth the crusaders cheered as they saw Jerusalem. A monk by the name Fulcher wrote of the attack against the Muslims in Jerusalem. He wrote that the crusaders did not have the materials to build siege machines but once they did, they attacked. Once they got inside the walls, the people inside ran and the crusaders killed whoever they could find. "The streets were ankle deep in blood" said Fulcher. After that the crusaders built castles around the area to show that they were there to stay. Apart from the third crusade this was one of the only successful crusades out of all nine of them.
The effects of the crusades.
A picture of the third crusade
The effects of the crusades were great on Europe even though only the 1st and 3rd were successful. All the gold collected as well as many other treasures they recovered benefited the church with wealth. Literature also told of great stories of knights and their heroism on the crusades, art also portrayed the events of crusades. One primary benefit of the crusades was land gained by Britain and other parts of Europe.
Works Cited
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