| Foreword |
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9 | (2) |
| Introduction |
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11 | (3) |
| A Brief History of the Crusades |
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14 | (26) |
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The Origins of the Holy Wars |
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40 | (10) |
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The unique circumstances that made the Crusades possible were hundreds of years in the making, the direct result of political turmoil and empire-building in Europe and the Middle East |
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The Feudal System and Church Reform |
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50 | (8) |
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In the eleventh century, European society experienced some important changes that would allow the Crusades to take place. Two of the most significant changes were the expansion of the feudal system and the strengthening of papal authority |
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The Importance of Pope Urban II |
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58 | (5) |
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Pope Urban II played a crucial role in launching the First Crusade and thereby beginning the crusading movement. His personal blend of spirituality, charisma, and practicality helped him to build enormous enthusiasm for the First Crusade throughout Europe |
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The Pilgrimage Origins of the Crusades |
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63 | (10) |
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In many respects, the Crusades were similar to the pilgrimages that Western Europeans made to the Holy Land. Also, one of the crusaders' primary goals was to keep Jerusalem and other sacred sites available to Christian pilgrims |
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73 | (6) |
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The medieval practice of strictly limiting the number of heirs to a family's land helped to avert agricultural disaster, but it also left many young men with few options except to seek their fortune in military campaigns such as the Crusades |
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Why Participants Went on the Crusades |
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A Variety of Reasons for Crusading |
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79 | (6) |
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Crusaders were motivated by a number of factors, both religious and practical. Many people were sincerely inspired by the call to save the Holy Land, but others went for less honorable reasons |
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Taking the Cross: Responsibilities and Rewards |
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85 | (8) |
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The ceremonies surrounding a crusader's vow to fight in the Middle East were fraught with religious symbolism. Crusaders were promised many spiritual rewards in return for their military service |
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93 | (6) |
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The Christian military orders of the Middle East that arose during the Crusades combined religious fervor with military prowess. The Knights Hospitallers and the Knights Templar were powerful forces that commanded respect from both the Muslims and the European kings of Jerusalem |
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Religious Hysteria Led to Participation |
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99 | (10) |
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The Children's Crusade was closely related to other mass movements of religious hysteria during the Middle Ages. Its combination of religious enthusiasm and mob psychology led to a disastrous outcome for many of the participants |
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Social Changes and Cultural Influences of the Crusades |
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Life in the Crusader Kingdoms |
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109 | (10) |
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The crusaders who remained in the Middle East established kingdoms based on those in Europe, but gradually they adopted much of the Eastern way of life |
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Relations Between Eastern and Western Christians |
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119 | (6) |
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Many Eastern Christians lived in the crusader kingdoms. Relations between the Western and the Eastern Christians were usually good, but their cultural and religious differences sometimes created problems |
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The Crusades' Impact on Women and Jews |
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125 | (10) |
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The ruthless military mindset and unyielding Christian fervor of the crusaders often created dangerous situations for European women and Jews |
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135 | (8) |
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The Crusades enabled Italian merchants to greatly expand their trading practices. The Italians established outposts in the crusader kingdoms in order to meet the demand for Middle Eastern goods in Western Europe |
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An Influx of Knowledge from the East |
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143 | (10) |
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Western Europeans benefitted from agricultural, technical, and scientific knowledge that they obtained from the Arabs during the time of the Crusades |
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Were the Crusades a Success? |
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The Crusades Were Successful |
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153 | (4) |
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Charles Lethbridge Kingsford |
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Taken as a whole, the Crusades were a success. If the crusading movement had not taken place, Western Europe would have been invaded and possibly conquered by the Muslims |
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The Crusades Were a Partial Success |
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157 | (4) |
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The Crusades failed in their immediate goals; however, in their long-range impact on Europe, they succeeded in ways that the original crusaders would never have imagined |
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The Crusades Were a Failure |
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161 | (14) |
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Destructive and barbaric, the Crusades represent a tragic episodes in history. Not only did the crusaders fail to achieve their goals, but they caused irrevocable damage to the Byzantines and the Muslims |
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The Legacy of the Crusades |
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The Crusades Led to the Decay of Near Eastern Civilization |
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175 | (8) |
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Primarily because they were weakened during the Crusades, the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic world lost their position of cultural dominance to Western European civilization |
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The Crusades Precipitated the Discovery of the New World |
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183 | (5) |
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Christopher Columbus and other explorers were motivated by the idea of renewing the Crusades. Some hoped to find a western route to the Islamic countries, while others were inspired by a missionary movement that traced its origins to the crusading ideology |
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The Crusades Gave Rise to the Modern Conflict in the Middle East |
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188 | (15) |
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The legacy of the Crusades is reflected in the twentieth-century conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians in the Middle East. European and American reactions to this conflict stem directly from attitudes that formulated during the Crusades |
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| Map: Europe at the Time of the Crusades |
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203 | (1) |
| Appendix: Excerpts from Original Documents Pertaining to the Crusades |
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204 | (31) |
| Discussion Questions |
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235 | (4) |
| Chronology |
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239 | (10) |
| For Further Research |
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249 | (3) |
| Index |
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252 | |
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