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Summary Notes for the First Crusade for AQA and OCR
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Taylor’s Notes The First CrusadeThe Situation in Western Europe
Christian Europe was dominated by the Roman Catholic Church with the major countries being England, the Holy
Roman Empire and France
Diet was basic, malnutrition was common, and starvation was all too request combined with an average life expectancy
of 30 years and infant mortality at 50%
Medieval society consisted of a variety of farmers, smallholders in the countryside and merchants in the towns The
many skilled workers, tradesmen and craftsmen, along with the growing class of literate officials and academics in the
new schools and universities, meant that medieval society was very complex
Western Europe had a ‘feudal system’ which meant that Kings could grant warlords land in return for their military
support against invaders; local warlords in turn granted part of this land to soldiers (knights) who were fed by the
peasants who worked the land A sophisticated code of honour and a network of allegiances grew out of this, with the
knights passing the land to their heirs in a hereditary system
The Papacy
After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Rome became the centre of the Christian Church, with its own bishop or
Pope The Papacy wanted monarchs to ask them before making people bishops as bishops were often in influential
positions in Government
The Popes increasingly looked towards England and France for military support and in 800 it was the Pope who
crowned Charlemagne the first Emperor of the Romans, ruling the area that is modern France and western Germany
The relationship between Popes, Kings and emperors was mutually beneficial Rulers were able to claim that their
authority came from God and in return they gave the popes military protection from danger
In the 11th Century, the Papacy wanted to increase its authority due to reforms Pope Urban II brought these ideas of
cleaning up the papacy Urban was a Cluniac
The Situation in the Holy Roman Empire
After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Europe splintered into dozens of small states However, the kingdom of the
Franks emerged as the most powerful, and in 800 their king, Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the Romans by
Pope Leo III
Charlemagne’s empire covered the area that is modern France, Germany, Hungary and Northern Italy In 1840, this
empire was divided up and in 961, the German King Otto I was crowned emperor by the Pope
The Emperor of the Romans remained the premier royal leader of Europe, although the Popes often had stronger links
with the Kings of France
The Situation in Byzantium
The Byzantine Empire grew out of the old Eastern Roman Empire from the 5 th century AD, gradually becoming Greek in
culture This empire was the principal barrier to the Islamic armies that were advancing east but by the later 11 th
Century it was dangerously weakened
In 1054, Rome and Constantinople split in the Great Schism Attempts were made to heal the divide, and Urban’s
crusade of 1095 may have been a part of that effort, but the two Christian Churches remained separate
The capital of the Byzantine Empire was Constantinople It rivalled Rome, becoming a city of fabulous palaces and
streets, and controlling the trade routes between Asia and Europe and the Black Sea and the Mediterranean There
was lots of tension between Constantinople and Rome
In 1071, the Battle of Manzikert resulted in a major defeat of the Byzantine Army by the Seljuk Turks which allowed the
Seljuks to sweep through Asia Minor and came within range of Constantinople
, Taylor’s Notes The First Crusade
The Appeal of Alexius 1095
The Byzantine Empire had long been in control of Jerusalem and other sites holy to Christians but, in the latter decades of the
11th century, they lost them dramatically to the Seljuks The most shocking defeat was at the Battle of Manzikert where they
captured the Byzantine emperor Romanos IV Diogenes, and although he was released for a massive ransom, the emperor also
had to hand over the important cities of Edessa, Hierapolis and Antioch
The defeat astonished Byzantium and there followed a scramble for the throne which even Romanos’ return to Constantinople
did not settle It also meant that many of the Byzantine commanders in Asia Minor left their commands to stake their claim for
the throne in Constantinople
Meanwhile, the Seljuk Turks took full advantage of this military neglect and in 1078 created the Sultanate of Rum with their
capital in Nicaea in the Northwest of Asia Minor which was captured from the Byzantines in 1081 The Seljuks were even more
ambitious and in 1087 they controlled Jerusalem
Several Byzantine emperors came and went, but some stability was achieved during the reign of Alexius However, he couldn’t
stop the Seljuks because he had weakened the military provinces in Asia Minor in fear of rising power, and this potential threat
to himself, of these commanders He had bolstered the garrisons of Constantinople
Alexius appealed to the West in the Spring of 1095 to help kick the Seljuks out of not just the Holy Land but also all those parts of
the Byzantine Empire they had conquered
The Aims of Pope Urban II after Receiving Alexius’ Appeal
Pope Urban II received Alexius appeal in 1095, but it was not the first time the Byzantine Emperor had asked and got papal
help In 1091, the Pope had sent troops to help the Byzantines against the Pecheneg steppe nomads who were invading the
northern Danube area of the Empire
A Crusade would increase the prestige of the papacy, as it led a combined Western army, and consolidate its position in Italy
itself, having experienced serious threats from the Holy Roman Emperors in the previous century which had even forced the
Popes to relocate away from Rome
Urban also hoped to reunite the Western (Catholic) and Eastern (Orthodox) Christian churches, with himself at its head, above
the Patriarch of Constantinople The Churches had been split since the Great Schism in 1054
Pope Urban II also wanted to gain back Christian control of the Holy Land with its unique sites of historical significance to
Christianity, particularly the tomb of Jesus Christ, the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem
The Appeal at Clermont and the Strategies used by Pope Urban II
On 27th November 1095, Pope Urban II called for a Crusade in a speech during the Council of Clermont, France This message
was known as the Indulgence and aimed specifically at knights
There are multiple accounts of the Indulgence and so below are the key parts:
‘Race of the French’ shows Urban directing the speech at the French because he was French, and he thought that they would be
more likely to follow him as a result
‘Has cut down others by pitiable murder and has completely razed the churches of God to the ground or enslaved them to its
own rites’ shows Urban making it seem like the Muslims have committed a crime as well as trying to horrify and shock the
audience – despite what he is saying being a complete fallacy - this therefore shows that Urban has thought through what he is
saying, showing that his agenda was to establish authority over temporal leaders so that the Papacy could control the Crusade
‘What shall I say of the appalling violation of women, of which it is more evil to speak than to keep silent’ shows Urban allowing
people to imagine the proceedings so that people automatically think that the worst is going on
‘If not on you, upon whom above all nations God has bestowed outstanding glory in arms, magnitude of heart, litheness of body
and the strength to humble anyone who resists you to their hairy crown?’ shows Urban making people feel guilty if they don’t
go, almost as though it is a moral obligation
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