1. Discuss the handling of the crusades. The First Crusade did not happen sooner because of no Navy, no land route to Jerusalem, and no effective spiritual leader. Hungary and the Normans being converted and Pope Urban II as pope solved all three problems. Individuals could not kill, but nations could kill other nations if they were church enemies. Since the Islamic had started the conflict, the church felt justified to fight back. Jesus did not condemn warfare, so they used this as part of their rationale. They went against the Turks because (1) they wanted to get their land back, (2) the Turks had been converted to Islam and they blocked passage to the Holy Land, and (3) the Islamic had kept the church from enjoying the rights and privileges of being in Jerusalem.

The army was made up mostly of poor people because the wealthy could pay someone else to go in their place. There was not any legal obligation to go on the crusades, but there was a moral and social one. Dying in a crusade brought a plenary indulgence (straight to heaven without purgatory), and the rich person would receive the same reward for having sent someone. This led to the idea of spiritual favors for payment. By the time that the original group reached Jerusalem, their number was reduced from 50,000 down to about 12,000. Many had turned back because of the many hardships. Because the Arabs and Turks were not close, the crusaders defeated the Turks without the Arab's help, and then, they defeated the Arabs without the Turk's help. Some crusader remains still exist in the area today. In 1144AD, the Arabs united and won back Odessa.

2. Discuss the Second Crusade (1147-1149AD). The Second Crusade was mostly a failure. Louis and Conrad battled the Arabs separately and both were defeated. Jerusalem fell to the Arabs (Saladin) in 1187AD, so the major accomplishment of the First Crusade had been lost. The Christians had to unite to defeat the united Arabs.

3. Discuss the Third Crusade (1190AD). The Third Crusade was called the crusade of kings. Saladin was the leader of the Arabs and Turks, and he was an Egyptian military genius. He was able to keep the Christians from completely retaking Jerusalem. King Richard I of England was tall, strong, and handsome. He intimidated people, even his ally Philip Augustus of France. Richard was the leader, but he was hot headed, full of himself and pride, and he often made mistakes. Philip, king of France, was afraid of Richard. Richard's father, Henry, had been at war with Philip, but they stopped to unite and retake Jerusalem. When Henry died shortly thereafter, Richard took over, and Philip and he did not trust each other. William II of Sicily died just before the crusade began. Frederick Barnarrossa of the Holy Roman Empire was contending against Richard and Philip, and they were all going against each other to decide who would lead.

Richard was totally committed to the Third Crusade. Frederick was 70 years old, and he had won many victories. While crossing a river into Asia Minor with full armament, he fell off his horse and drowned. Frederick II took his place, and the son pickled his father until they could return home for a formal burial. Jerusalem had fallen to Saladin in 1187AD, and the Christians decided to retake all of Palestine in waves. Philip went first, but Richard was delayed because of sea sickness. Philip built a catapult. Conrad built a catapult and called it "God's Own Sling". The Germans developed the "cat" as a grappling hook for climbing walls. These forces were very competitive. They overthrew Acer to get supplies from their Navy. Philip went home, and he promised Richard, who stayed behind to continue the fight, that he would not try to retake his own land (that Richard had already taken from him). The Third Crusade was ended when Saladin agreed to give the west access to Jerusalem in return for Richard not attacking the city.

4. Discuss the Fourth Crusade (1200-1204AD). In this crusade, there were not any battles against the Arabs, the Turks, or the Egyptians. The west resented the east's reluctance to take part in the crusades. Pope Innocent III called for a crusade because he was upset, too. Some Venetian merchants took the western crusaders to Constantinople, and the western troops plundered the city to pay the merchants. Constantinople was also brought down as a merchant city and later fell to Otto during that conquest. This crusade was Christian against Christian, a first in spiritual warfare, and contributed to the eventual decline of the eastern orthodox church.

5. Discuss the Children's Crusade (1212AD). Two boys, Steven (between age 9 and 12) of France and Nicholas (age 10) of Germany, started this crusade. Many of the children were orphans, but the idea was that God would bless the 30,000 children if they fought in this crusade. They headed for Europe where they were offered passage to Constantinople by the Venetian merchants. However, the merchants took them to Alexandria and Carthage where they were sold into slavery and never heard from again.

6. Discuss the other 13th century crusades and their results. By the end of the 13th century, the Arabs had worn down the crusaders. The primary results of the crusades were (1) many knights did not go back to the feudal system (they went to the cities), (2) the beginning of new learning from the east, (3) a wider split between the east and the west, (4) the decline of feudalism, (5) the Papacy's having gained prestige by having started the crusades, and (6) that the Papacy had profited from plenary indulgences and the property that they inherited from the rich (they owned as much as 30% of all Europe).

				Tom of Bethany

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