The Crusades

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Synopsis

The conquest of Jerusalem by the Mohammedans,¹ and the insults offered to the most sacred memories of the Christian world, roused such a feeling of shame and indignation throughout Christendom, but especially in Western Europe, that a series of wars, called crusades, from the cross which was worn by all partici-pants as a badge, was undertaken for the purpose of reconquering Palestine. The chief motive power in this movement was at first pure religious enthusiasm, helped on, it may be, by the ample ecclesiastical indulgences and great social exemptions which were granted to all who took the cross; and the idea which precipitated whole nations like a rushing stream towards the Holy Land, no doubt continued to be the principal impulse in many a noble heart. But gradually the restless and adventurous spirit of the age, which, in this fight for the glory of God, found satisfaction for its coarsest cravings without any disturbance of its gross superstition, transformed the religious contest about the Holy Land into a romantic tournament between the Christian knight and the Moslem warrior; and finally political ambition and commercial greed degraded the whole undertaking into a mere means of intrigue, speculation, and fraud. The number of these wars is seven; but there were several minor expeditions, such as the premature rushing-owards under Peter the Hermit, the Children's Crusade, etc., which are not counted, because they miscarried at the very outset.

¹ An inaccurate, offensive and obsolete name for Muslims. It should not be used by modern writers.

Philip Schaff, ed., A Religious Encyclopaedia or Dictionary of Biblical, Historical, Doctrinal, and Practical Theology, 3rd edn, Vol. 1. Toronto, New York & London: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1894. p.576. Footnote mine

Bibliographies

Aziz S. Atiya, ed. The Crusade, History and Bibliography. Bloomington, 1962.

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	Jame A. Brundage, The Crusades: A Documentary Survey. Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 1962. Pbk. ISBN: 0874624231.
	The Crusades (Medieval Sourcebook)
	Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society, 13 Vols. London, 1890-1897.

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