The Crusades: Crescent & the CrossUnderstanding Primary Sources

Background:

The Crusades marked an era of violence, discontent and religious fervor. However, the Christians and the Muslims did not always agree within their own ranks. Many Christians did not like violent massacres and it took the Muslims hundreds of years to unite under Saladin’s reign.

Directions:

Read the following passage written by a Christian chronicler and answer the questions below in well-written paragraphs on a separate sheet of paper.

Christian Chronicler 1159

“For the Knights of the Templ[ar] with the pope’s approval claim for themselves the administration of churches, they occupy them through surrogates, and they whose normal occupation it is to shed human blood in a certain way presume to administer the blood of Christ. Not of course that I would call those – almost alone men – who wage legitimate war ‘men of blood’, since even David was called a man of blood not because he engaged in wars, which were legitimate but on account of Uriah, whose blood he criminally shed. For as is provided by the canons, none of the power of the ecclesiastical sphere may be seen to be ascribed by laymen, even if they are religious men. Above all it would be a sign of true religion if they refrained from the administration of those things which by God’s prohibition it is not permitted for them to touch.

Still it is entirely wicked that, enticed by the love of money, they open churches which were closed by bishops. They travel around to churches, they praise the merits of their own Orders, they bring absolution for crimes and sometimes they preach a new gospel, falsifying the word of God because they preach living not by grace but by a price, by pleasure and not by truth. And in the end, when they convene in their lairs late at night, ‘after speaking of virtue by day they shake their hips in nocturnal folly and exertion’. If one moves in this fashion towards Christ, then the doctrine of the Fathers which teaches that the narrow and steep path heads towards the true life of man is false and vain.”

Questions:1. What is the chronicler saying in his passage above? 2. What does internal strife and disagreement symbolize? What was the status of the Crusades in

1159? Do similarities exist between this passage and the situation at the time?3. Compare and contrast the Christian writing to the internal strife that plagued the Muslims before

Saladin could unite them. Is this internal Christian writing more or less severe than the internal problems of the Muslims. *There can be more than one correct answer, so long as they are supported properly.

4. Do you think the Chronicler’s opinion was passed up the Crusader chain of command or was it just a personal reflection? Explain your reasoning.

5. Does a Jihad or Crusade justify actions that may be ordinarily condemned? Do you agree with the author of this passage that Christian violence is not acceptable?

6. Can you compare this internal crevasse with political problems today? How does the media expose these types of views and question today's leaders? Did public scrutiny exist during the Crusades? Explain.

7. The United States currently faces a staunch enemy in Al Qaeda in the Middle East. Is Al Qaeda’s self-declared Jihad equivalent to the Christian-led Crusades? How has social order and acceptability influenced the way of life in the modern world relative to the 11th and 12th centuries?

Two Sides in a CrusadeUnderstanding Primary Sources

Background:

In 1095, Pope Urban II decided that Europe's kingdoms should help the Byzantine emperor. The Byzantine Empire had faced many invasions. Now the Seljuk Turks were a strong force on the Byzantine borders. Speaking to a group of nobles, Pope Urban II called for all Christians to take up arms and take control of Jerusalem and the Holy Land. The Pope's speech was witnessed and recorded by a nobleman named Fulcher of Chartres. Many European men, women, and children joined the Crusades and fought in the Middle East. In 1099 they took Jerusalem. Wars continued in the region for many years. In 1187, the Muslim leader Saladin prepared to try to take Jerusalem back from the Christians.

Directions:

Read the excerpt from Fulcher of Chartres' report of Pope Urban's speech. Then read Saladin's feelings about Jerusalem. Use the information in the speeches to help you answer the questions on a separate sheet of paper.

Fulcher of Chartres

"Although, O sons of God, you have promised more firmly than ever to keep the peace among yourselves and to preserve the rights of the church, there remains still an important work for you to do. . . . For your brethren who live in the east are in urgent need of your help, and you must hasten to give them the aid which has often been promised them. For, as the most of you have heard, the Turks and Arabs have attacked them and have conquered the territory of Romania [the Byzantine Empire]… They have occupied more and more of the lands of those Christians, and have overcome them in seven battles. They have killed and captured many, and have destroyed the churches and devastated the empire. If you permit them to continue thus for awhile with impurity, the faithful of God will be much more widely attacked by them. On this account I, or rather the Lord, beseech you as Christ's heralds to publish this everywhere and to persuade all people of whatever rank, foot-soldiers and knights, poor and rich, to carry aid promptly to those Christians and to destroy that… race from the lands of our friends. I say this to those who are present, it is meant also for those who are absent. Moreover, Christ commands it. All who die by the way, whether by land or by sea, or in battle against the [Muslims}, shall have immediate remission of sins. This I grant them through the power of God with which I am invested…"

The Words of Saladin

"If God blesses us by enabling us to drive His enemies out of Jerusalem, how fortunate and happy we would be! For Jerusalem has been controlled by the enemy for ninety-one years, during which time God has received nothing from us here in the way of adoration. At the same time, the zeal of the Muslim rulers to deliver it languished. Time passed, and so did many [in different] generations, while the Franks succeeded in rooting themselves strongly there. Now God has reserved the merit of its recovery for one house, the house of the sons of Ayyub [Saladin's family], in order to unite all hearts in appreciation of its members."

Questions:1. What reasons does the Pope give for fighting for Jerusalem? What arguments does he use to

persuade his listeners to go on a Crusade?2. What reasons does Saladin give for retaking Jerusalem? What arguments does he use to inspire his

listeners?3. What are the similarities and differences between the arguments the Pope and Saladin use to

persuade their listeners?4. What impressions do these speeches give you about the Crusades? What ideas do the speeches

give you about the purposes of the people who fought during the Crusades?