Causes and Effects of the Crusades

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Causes of the Crusades

Seljuk Turks took over the Holy Land and massacred Christians making pilgrimages

People were very religious and devoted

Knights had belligerent energy

Peter the Hermit preached for a crusade

It was promised that sacrificing one's life in a crusade would absolve one from sin

Knights wanted money, fame, or glory

Constantinople sent out pleas for help

Pope Urban II called for a crusade at the Council of Clermont

Life at home was difficult and people wanted to escape

Knights were adventurous

Effects of the Crusades

Western Europeans were exposed to the rest of the world

Many people died (obviously)

No long term success since the Muslims reconquered the Holy Land

The Church gained more influence

The Church gained more land because knights would sell them or gift them

Feudalism declined because many lords and their successors had died, so the land was surrendered to the king

Towns grew wealthier, especially in Italy, because they produced necessities for crusades

The economy boomed

Western Europeans received influence from the wider world

They developed a taste for foreign goods

Resentment between Christians and Muslims

Fostered an expansionist spirit

Intellectual activity revived

Stopped the Muslim advance into Western Europe

Chivalry

Crusades