Adsum

December 2002

The Crusades

From the book, Great Moments in Catholic History
by Rev. Edward Lodge Curran, Ph.D.

Palestine, at the eastern end of the Mediterranean. has always been an interesting country. It was the Promised Land promised by God to Abraham. In Jerusalem the Temple was built by Solomon.

In the time of Our Lord, Palestine was broken up into Roman provinces. Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea. Herod was tetrarch, or ruler, of Galilee. Philip, the brother of Herod, was tetrarch of Iturea. Lysanias was tetrach of Abilina. The Jews were allowed to practice their religion. They held their own religious courts. They were free to worship in their Temple, but the country belonged to Rome.

The word “crusade” comes from the Latin word for cross, which is “crux.” The Crusaders wore a large cross of cloth on their uniforms. In the eleventh century (1070) a tribe of Turks known as the Seljuk Turks captured Jerusalem on their march towards the West. They were followers of Mohammed. They were enemies of Christianity. It was no longer safe for Christians to go to the Holy Land and visit the places where Our Lord lived and preached and died.

Pope Urban II appealed to the Christian people and rulers of Europe. A great meeting was held at the town of Clermont-Ferrand in France in the month of November, 1095. “God Wills It — God Wills It” shouted the multitude. The first Crusade was on. Peter the Hermit continued the work the Pope had begun.

The first Crusade succeeded in capturing Jerusalem in 1099. For nearly fifty years afterwards the Christians remained in the states of Jerusalem, Tripoli, Antioch and Edessa.

In 1144 the fall of Edessa inspired Saint Bernard to preach the Second Crusade (1145-1147).

There were eight Crusades in all. Whenever the Turks grew strong they defeated the Christians in Palestine. A new Crusade had to go against them.

In the end the Christians were obliged to abandon Palestine. In 1187 Jerusalem was recaptured by the Turks. In 1291 the last Christian towns were taken again by the Turks.

There were so many things to be done at home in Europe that the Christian rulers did not give their full support to the Crusades. Moreover, the Turks were united, while Europe, just as today, was divided. In the end the Crusades were abandoned.

In 1453 the Turks conquered Constantinople; Christians were now forced to fight them in Europe. The dream of taking the Holy Land had to be postponed.

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