The Holy War Crusade of Middle Europe
Christopher Tuiel
History 101-001
Why is the idea of the Holy War in Middle Eastern Europe so important to the people that lived there? The peasants and villagers that lived in those regions didn’t ask for the Holy War, but when it came it was a force to be reckoned with. The Holy War all started with Pope Urban II visit to a council meeting. This paper is going to discuss how the religious meaning of the crusade came to be classified as a Holy War, the religious meaning of the pilgrimage, and the role of the papacy as a religious institution.
To begin with, The Holy War stated with the Urban II visiting the Council of Clermont and discussing how to re-obtain Jerusalem from the Muslim empire. At the end of the 10th century the pope was gathering soldiers together to promote Christianity all throughout western and southern Europe. At first, the campaign for Jerusalem wasn’t even thought of, but it started with the downfall of Constantinople. Many armies wanted to go Near East to capture Jerusalem, but none succeeded. So the papacy came up with an excuse to go by saying the people needed to be converted to Christianity. At first the council said no, but then they thought about it when the Turks captured Jerusalem and decided to re-obtain Jerusalem for the people and the sake of Christianity and for political reasons. Also, social and religious reasons too. Western Europe was ruled by aristocratic countries that wanted nothing but power and money. So when the opportunity to conquer other countries they seized it. They controlled resources by force and inherited land and other things by civil law. European intellectuals and philosophers came up with theology of God is His own people. Medieval Europe and its Byzantium emperor, plus pope Urban II asserted the new papal policy of being in control of his church and state for the next fifty years. He gathered troops in other countries to support the war...