The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the CrusadesPop e Urb an did n't env isi on the Cru sad es as a cha nce for gai n. He
decreed that lands recovered from the Muslims would belong to Alexius
Comnen us and the Byzanti ne Empire. The pope saw the Crusade s as an
actof sacrifice rather than profit.'
Crusading was. in fact, prohibitively expensive. Crusaders sold their
property to raise money for their long journey to the Holy Land, and did
so knowing they might not return.
A typical example of a Crusader was Godfrey of Bouillon, the Duke of
Lo we r Lo rr ai ne , an d on e of th e mo re pr om in en t Eu ro pe an lo rd s
wh o"took the cross" (as joining the Crusade was known). He sold off
manypro pert ies in orde r to fina nce his trip , but he clea rly plann ed to
comehome, rathe r than settl e in the Middle East, becaus e he did not
give uphis title or all his holdings."
Recen t studie s of Crusad ers' docum ents revea l that the vast majori ty
of the m were not "sec ond sons " loo king for a profit and esta tes in the
Midd le East. Most were, like Godfr ey, lords of thei r own esta tes, men
with a great deal to lose," Certainly some Crusaders did very well for
thems elves after the First Crusa de. Fulc her of Chart res write s, "Tho se
who were poor the re. her e God make s ric h.Tho se whoha d Fe wcoi ns,
here posses s countle sspeasant s: and those who had not had a villa, here
by the gift of God, alre ady poss ess a city .' But most who did retu rn to
Europe came.back with nothing material to show for their efforts.
PC Myth: The Crusades were fought to
convert Muslims to Christianity by force
To hear some PC types tell it, the Crusaders swept into the Middle East,
swor ds in hand. and set about killi ng ever y "inf idel " they saw, exce pt
those they forced to convert to Christianity. But this is lurid, politically
motivated fantasy. Glaringly absent from every report about Pope Urban's
address at the Council of Claremont is any command to convert Muslims.
The pope's only preoccupation is to defend Christian pilgrims and recap-