Lecture 31: The Crusades
• As many as seven expeditions going by the name of “Crusades”
moved from the west to the east, from the north to the south,
between the 11th and 14th centuries. We will review only the first
four, because they are religiously and politically the most significant
and set the pattern for the others.The First Crusade
• The First Crusade was summoned by Pope Urban II at the
Council of Clermont on November 27, 1095. He summoned the
Christians of Europe to free Jerusalem and to relieve the besieged
Byzantine Empire.• The pope’s legate Adhemar, bishop of LePuy, was put in charge,
together with Robert of Normandy and Godfrey of Bouillon. The
cause was hugely popular, and knights and peasants alike were
rallied for the expedition.
o The knights were disciplined and kept separate from the
peasants, who had no military training. It is among the peasants
that the Crusade took on the
character of a popular movement.
The so-called “People’s Crusade”
was an offshoot that was led by
the charismatic Peter the Hermit.o Lack of discipline (and ignorance)
also led to the outbreak of anti-
Jewish attacks in both France
and Germany. Such “infidels”
were closer to hand and viewed
as responsible for the death of
Christ. The robbing of Jews and
the killing of many was the first
outbreak of such violence in
centuries and set the pattern for a
tragic history in Europe.The name “Crusade”
derives from the cross
(crux or crosier) that was
worn by soldiers on their
way to Palestine to liberate
the Holy Lands from their
muslim occupiers.© iStockphoto/Thinkstock.