Why the Crusades Were Calledkingdom of the Greeks is now dismembered by them and has
been deprived of territory so vast in extent that it could betra-
verse din two mont hs' time .... This roya l city , howe ver, situ-
at ed at th e cen ter of the ear th , is now hel d cap tiv e by th e
enemies of Christ and is subjected, by those who do not know
God, to the wors hip the hea the n. She see ks, the ref ore , and
desire s to be libera ted and ceases not to implore you to come
to her aid. From you especially she asks succor, because as we
have already said, God has conferred upon you above all other
nations great glory in arms."The pope's call invoked the Muslim destruction of the Church of the
Holy Sepulcher: "Let the holy sepulcher of our Lord and Saviour,
which is possessed by unclean nations, especially arouse you, and the
holy placeswhic h are now trea ted with igno miny and irre vere ntly
poll uted withthe filth of the unclean.'
The Crusades came together as pilgrimages: Christians from Europe
made their way to the Holy Land for religious purposes, with theintention
to de fe nd th ems el ves if th ei r wa y wa s bl oc ked and th ey we re
at ta cke d. Ma ny to ok re li gi ou s vo ws. Pa rt ic ul ar ly at th e ou ts et ,
ma ny so ldiers left for the Holy Land—and most of the parti cipant s in
this "PeoplesCrusade" were unceremoniously massacred by the Turks in
Western Asia Minor in August1096.
PCMyth: The Crusade s were
fought byWesterners greedy for gain
Of course , not ever y Crusa der's moti ves were pure. More than once ,
many
fell from the high ideals of Christian pilgrims, But the PC dogma that the
Crusades were unprovoked, imperialist actions against a peaceful, indigenous
. Mu sl im po pu la ti on is si mp ly hi st or ic al ly in ac cu ra te an d re fl ec ts
di staste for Western civilization rather thangenuinehistorical research.