Crusades

Introduction:  Today we interview Pope Urban II. 

Question:  Why were there so many knights during the middle of the 11^th century?

Answer:  Well, around that time Europe was still in the Dark Ages.  We had just conquered the Vikings.  During the time when we were at war with the Vikings we needed a lot of military support to fend off the raiders, so we had a lot of left over knights.  Life was hard.  There was economic depression, disease and religious persecution.  The knights turned from honorable to thugs.  They were strong, violent individuals that were hungry for battle, but there was no battle to fight.

Question:  What did you do with the knights when there is no imposing threat?

Answer:  At first lords hired them.  They were rich enough to buy large armies.  Lords would have them attack the peasants and force them to accept the lords’ authority.  Castles were built to subjugate the people in the countryside.   

Question:  How did you control the chaos?

Answer:  The Church placed limits on who, what, and when to attack.  Missionaries would use relics, or religious objects, to instill the importance of the rules.  We would threaten them.  If they disobeyed our rules, the Saints which the relics coincided with would punish them.  We had two main proclamations.  They were “Peace of God” and “Truth of God”.  They basically meant that certain weak individuals should not be attacked by the knights and there were periods where there shouldn’t be any warfare.  They also had to chivalrous, brave and loyal.  The highest honor in knighthood was to save a damsel in distress.  Bishops would try to redevelop the energy of the knights who weapons but lack land. 

Question:  What led to the Crusades?

Answer:  In 1095, Seljuk Turks invaded the holy land; Jerusalem.  It was time to launch a Crusade.  I could picture Jesus’ house being defied and disrespected by the Muslims.  It made me sick and anxious.  The crusades were god’s will.  The first Crusade was the most successful.  In 1099 we captured Jerusalem and massacred the Jewish and Muslim residents.  Over the next 200 years there were 9 Crusades with no permanent conquests.  In 1187, Jerusalem fell to the Muslims.

Question:  What good came of the Crusades if there no permanent conquests?

Answer:  The Crusaders came back to Europe with knowledge, books, medicine, surgery and language.  Also they brought back ancient Greek ideas.  Extraordinary stone castles were built, military supplies lines transformed into merchant roads, roads were rebuilt and tourism boomed.  We finally exited the dark ages. 
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