Paper Topic:
The Purpose of the Crusades 1096AD TO 1270 AD
The Purpose of the Crusades from 1096 AD to 1270 AD The Crusades are considered as an integral part of World History . They were crucial events for Islam and Christendom alike . What are the Crusades all about ? Why did they occur ? What was its purpose ? This research aims to discuss the definition , origin and most importantly , the purpose of the Crusades Definition of Crusade The Crusades are military excursions with a religious objective , as these are sanctioned by the Pope and the Church (Sloan , 2000 Crusades-Battles ' 2008 . Originally , the word Crusade
' meant all missions accomplished on the promise of saving the Christian territories from Muslim occupation (Bryhier , 1908 . However , during the medieval times , the word had acquired a blanket definition , as it came to include all wars against enemies of Christendom (Bryhier , 1908 . All the Crusades occurred between the eleventh and the thirteenth centuries A .D ( Crusades-Battles ' 2008
According to Sloan (2000 , the term crusade ' was derived from the Portuguese word cruzado , which means mark with a cross ' Other sources , on the other hand , state that the word meant cloth cross (Bryhier , 1908 Crusades-Battles ' 2008 . As the definition implies the symbol for the Crusades was the Christian cross ( Crusades-Battles ' 2008 , and it was secured on the garment worn by the Crusaders (Bryhier , 1908 Sloan , 2000
Origin of Crusades
The Crusades were the result of a rebirth of religious fervor in tenth century Europe (Sloan , 2000 . theless , this was not the only reason , as the people who were involved with the Crusades joined because of personal interests as well (Sloan , 2000 . The Crusades were also called holy wars ' as they provided a venue for the papacy to wage a legitimate war against the foes of Christianity (Sloan , 2000
The Crusades also gave the religious an opportunity to obtain salvation by means of pilgrimage (Sloan , 2000 . Four centuries prior , similar pilgrimages have occurred because of the ongoing feud between the Muslims and the Christians (Sloan , 2000 . The destinations of the said pilgrimages include the areas where both religions meet , examples of which are Sicily , Italy , Asia Minor and Spain (Sloan , 2000 . Jerusalem is another pilgrim destination (Sloan , 2000
In a way , the Crusades were extremely helpful to the papacy , and it is not only because of the Pope 's objective of taking back lands from the hands of Muslims . The Crusades also served to translate the belligerent tendencies of the Christians into a productive endeavor (Sloan , 2000 The Crusades enjoyed popularity and intense support from the Christians simply because they were a manifestation of a divine license to fight other men in the name of salvation (Sloan , 2000 . Meanwhile , the efforts of the Crusaders helped the Church spread the influence of Christianity all over the world (Sloan , 2000
The Crusades began in the eleventh century , and stemmed from the existing issues of morality and politics of Western Christendom (Bryhier , 1908 . The year 1095 marked the 30th anniversary of William the Conqueror 's success in the unification of England ( The Church and...
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