Assess the reasons why there was a crusade in 1095
The first crusade began in 1095 following the Council of Clermont, although the official crusade forces didn’t leave until 1097. It was at the Council of Clermont that Pope Urban II first talked about the idea of a crusade. He explained that the Byzantine emperor, Alexius, had appealed for help as his land was constantly under attack from Muslim forces. Many people answered the appeal and took part in the crusade, however many embarked for different reasons. Some devout Christians, such as Peter the Hermit, will have taken part due to religious zeal and a desire to help the Christians in the East. Others, such as Baldwin of Boulogne or Bohemond of Taranto may have also desired the chance to gain land and material rewards in the East. Whatever their reasons, over 100,000 people took part in the crusade, final taking Jerusalem in 1099.
The factor that sparked the whole idea of a crusade was Emperor Alexius’ appeal to Pope Urban II in 1095. Alexius saw an opportunity to take back some land lost to the Seljuk Turks as the Norman leader, Robert Guiscard, had recently died and the Muslim forces were focusing on internal conflicts. Although Emperor Alexius needed military assistance, his appeal to Pope Urban II focussed more on the suffering of the Christians in the East at the hands of the Muslims as opposed to fighting. He put emphasis on the fact that Christians were being slaughtered and that Muslims and Seljuk Turks had taken control of the Christian Holy Land. Alexius knew that if his appeal focussed on hardships faced by Christians on a day to day basis, Pope Urban II was more likely to send help.
In my opinion, it is unlikely that there would have been a crusade without Emperor Alexius’ original appeal. This is because without Emperor Alexius’ appeal it is likely that Pope Urban II would not have even considered beginning a crusade.
Furthermore, many crusaders felt that it was their duty to protect their Christian brethren in the East. I think that a prime example would be Peter the Hermit. Although it is likely that one of the main factors that motivated Peter the Hermit to take part in the crusade was religious zeal, it is equally likely that he wanted to help the Eastern Christians. Peter the Hermit was seen as an important religious figure in the crusade, and he began a section of the crusade known as the People’s Crusade. He was a successful leader in the crusade as he persuaded around 20,000 people to join; however it was less successful as many of them were slaughtered in the early stages of the crusade. This shows how many of the crusaders joined as they thought that it was wrong that Muslims and Seljuk Turks were slaughtering their fellow Christians. This also links in with how many may have joined to crusade to prevent Muslim control from spreading to Western Europe.
The influence of Pope Urban II was also a large factor in why there was a crusade. Pope Urban II was a very influential man and a very talented public speaker. At the Council of Clermont in 1095 he persuaded many crusaders to take part by speaking of many motives, for example possible spiritual and economic rewards, that it was every Christian’s godly duty to go on the crusade, and that it could be used as an act of penance or pilgrimage. An approximate transcript of Urban’s speech can be found in many sources, notably the Gesta Francorum and Historia Hierosolymitana.
Furthermore, both the nobles and peasants were obedient to papal instruction. This was because it was thought that you could not get to Heaven without the Catholic Church. Some people in the past had been excommunicated by the Pope, meaning that they had no way of getting to Heaven after they died. People may have feared being excommunicated if they did not take part in the crusade. Also, as the Pope was a religious leader, his followers will have thought that he knew what was best for them, and some may have even thought that he had a direct communication link with God. This will have persuaded Christians to embark on the crusade as they viewed God as the ultimate ruler and lived to obey him.
In conclusion, I don’t think that there would have been a crusade without the influence of Pope Urban II as around 100,000 people went on the crusade, and initially it was him that preached the idea to the people.
Following on from the influence of the Pope and Catholic Church, another motivational factor for taking part in the crusade may have been the importance of Christianity in Medieval Europe and the prospect of spiritual rewards. Christianity became more popular in Europe in around 312AD after the Roman emperor Constantine I converted to Christianity. Christianity gave people the chance to gain the ultimate reward; everlasting life after death. This was reiterated by tympanums. Tympanums were effective as everybody could see them as they entered church. Furthermore, they were designed so that everybody could understand them. They gave information through images, so that people who could not read or write could still receive the message. Tympanums often depicted life after death; a contrasting image of Heaven and Hell. This helped to cement the idea of life after death into the minds of Christians, and will have made them fearful of going to Heaven. When Pope Urban II announced that going on the crusade would grant anybody instant access to Heaven after death, many people will have jumped at the chance. Instant forgiveness of sins will have seemed tempting and many people took part in the crusade as an act of penance.
This leads on to reasons why knights may have taken part in the crusade. Many Christian knights were worried that they would not be granted access to Heaven as their occupation mainly consisted of killing people. A good example is Tancred. He was a very successful knight around the time of the crusade, but was worried as Jesus taught to ‘turn the other cheek’. However, when the opportunity came to kill Muslims as a way to get into Heaven, he and many other knights took the opportunity.
Thirdly, many Christians wished to embark on the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the Holy Land. This was not possibly while Jerusalem was under control of the Muslims. Many crusaders will have gone on the crusade in order to free the Holy Land to make pilgrimages possible again.
Another important factor of the crusade was the prospect of a better life in the East. Many of the crusaders, particularly those taking part in the Peoples’ Crusade, were very poor peasants so would have had almost nothing to their name. The crusade offered them the chance to gain land and money in the East. Taking the belongings of the infidel must have seemed like a good reason to take part in the crusade. However, it wasn’t only incredibly poor peasants who hoped to gain financial stability through taking part in the crusade. Bohemond of Taranto is an example of a slightly richer character going to the crusade with a desire of gaining land or material goods. He had been disinherited by his father, and the majority of his father’s land had gone to his younger step brother after his father’s death. The majestic lands of the East must have seemed like too good an opportunity to miss when it came to gaining land and riches, as majestic cities such as Constantinople set an example of the East to the Christians in the West.
The material wealth of the East didn’t only appeal to peasants; rich noblemen such as Godfrey of Bouillon also gained power and more wealth as a result of the crusade. Noblemen like Baldwin of Boulogne and Godfrey of Bouillon gained the titles of King of Jerusalem and Defender of the Holy Sepulchre, respectfully. Baldwin of Boulogne even sold all of his property before going on the crusade. This shows how people expected the crusade to be a success. It also proves that crusaders presumed that they would be able to gain money in the East and get a better life.
In conclusion, I think that the main cause of the crusade was the importance of Christianity in medieval Europe and the influence it had on the day to day life of Europeans. It was a common belief that when you died you would be judged, which resulted in you going to Heaven or Hell. When Pope Urban II announced that the crusade would be considered as an act of penance, many people saw it as an opportunity to remove their sins and to purify themselves. Notably many knights took part in the crusade as they wanted forgiveness for killing their opponents. Many crusaders also felt it was their Godly duty to go on a crusade, so they would have taken part as they wanted to follow God’s orders. This could also link in with the influence of the Church, as any Christians wanting to go to Heaven will have had to go to Church.