Category: Crusades

Introduction

Despite the Francs’ efforts to justify their violent actions in Jerusalem and the surrounding territories by an exalted desire to free the land of Christ from ungodly people and traitors, the First Crusade was a mere war of aggression. For all intents and purposes, the western warriors attempted to enrich themselves and increase their political weight in the world. The following paper will observe four historical accounts describing the events of those days to prove crusaders’ hypocrisy and uncover their real intentions in the First Crusade.

Different Views of the First Crusade

The four documents of the class readings present a reverse vision of the First Crusade events. The document “O God, Insolent Men” by Rabbi Eliezer b. Nathan demonstrates the position of Jews who were seeking to protect their land against Catholic invaders. They believed it was better to suffer martyrdom than to capitulate in the face of the enemy. Rabbi Eliezer b. Nathan states that crusaders behaved violently against the defenceless people of the land including children, women, and the elderly. According to the document, “they piled together infants and women, young and old” (Rabbi Eliezer b. Nathan 288).

The Jews call the invaders “the evildoers” and blame them for their extreme cruelty and inhumanity. The following quotation from the document under consideration demonstrates the attitude of the Hebrews to the crusaders, “give them, O Lord, what their evil deeds deserve. Give them broken hearts, let Your curse be upon them” (Rabbi Eliezer b. Nathan 289).

Next, “The Alexiad” by Anna Comnena, the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenu, reports about the author’s view of the arriving crusaders. In this document, Anna Comnena tells about her father’s heroism enabling him to save the Byzantine land from the deleterious stay of the crusaders. The author praises Emperor Alexius for his wisdom and shrewdness which he utilized to convince the warriors to leave the Byzantine territory.

In addition, Anna Comnena explains the real motivation behind the actions of the majority of crusaders by stating that they saved “their old grudge against Alexius and sought a good opportunity to avenge the glorious victory which the emperor had won at Larissa” (290). Their other intention was to fight over control of Constantinople as can be seen from the following phrase in the document, “they were all of one mind, and in order to fulfill their dream of taking Constantinople, they adopted a common policy” (Anna Comnena 290).

In the letter to his wife, Count Stephen of Blois tells about the situation in the war against Muslims. The letter is remarkable for the abundance of false claims, exaggerations, and bravado. Stephen of Blois boasts about his leading position in the army and personal achievements in combating the foes of Christ. This letter is a good illustration showing how western warriors saw their mission in Jerusalem. For them, it was an adventure and an opportunity to realize their military potential obtained as a result of a wide experience of conflict participation.

The following quotation from the letter demonstrates the way the author exaggerates on the army achievements and the way he justifies military aggression by religious zeal and loyalty to Christ, “and already at that time, together with all the chosen army of Christ, endowed with great valor by him, we had been continuously advancing for twenty-three weeks toward the home of our Lord Jesus” (Stephen of Blois 294).

Finally, the document “The First Crusade” by Ibn al-Athir renders the Muslims’ response to the actions of the enemy. Contrary to Stephen’s of Blois’s position, this document condemns crusaders in ungodly behavior. Particularly, the document states Muslims act being motivated by their faith while the Franks are cruel murderers battling with innocent people incited by their greed. The following statement from Ibn al-Athir’s account provides more insight on the matter, “I see my people slow to raise the lance against the enemy: I see the Faith resting on feeble pillars” (300).

Grounds for Differences

Conflict of interests accounts for the differences in the given documents. Besides, varying assessment of the events of the Crusade in the given accounts is explained by the consequences of the war for different participants. In this vein, the first account “O God, Insolent Men” written by the person who experienced the deeply negative impact of the Crusade is understandably extremely unfavorable. In this document, crusades appear as cruel invaders who came to capture lands out of their personal greed and enrichment ambitions. Rabbi Eliezer b. Nathan depicts the western warriors as ungodly evildoers deserving god’s punishment.

This evaluation is highly different from the crusaders’ point of view who positioned themselves as soldiers of Christ. A similar tendency is observed in the document “The First Crusade” by Ibn al-Athir. The grounds for this analogy are the casualties that the Muslims appeared to have in the war. Interestingly, the Jews and the Muslims being the eternal enemies, have a common position regarding crusaders. The reason for this congruence is the fact that both nations became the victims of the crusaders’ greed for gain. Anna Comnena’s account of the First Crusade echoes the documents completed by the Hebrews and the Arabs.

This resemblance has similar grounds since the Byzantines saw the Francs as aggressors seeking a reason to initiate the war with their empire. Finally, the account by Stephen of Blois is completely different from the rest of the documents on the score of the author’s personal aims and ambitions. In this document, the Count aims to brag to his wife as well as excuse his aggressive actions by religious zeal.

The veracity of the Accounts

Accounts by Rabbi Eliezer b. Nathan, Ibn al-Athir, and Anna Comnena seem to be more or less trustworthy because these documents reflect different values of their authors. The above-mentioned personalities were motivated by the desire to protect their land from the aggressive invaders. In contrast, the letter by Stephen of Blois demonstrated the author’s intention to excuse his actions. Moreover, authorised historians prove that the western warriors were nothing more than avaricious invaders who wanted to justify their crimes by their faith in Christ (Asbridge 15).

Conclusion

Reflecting on the above-mentioned, the given documents reveal the differences in the way of thinking of the First Crusade participants. While crusaders aimed to present their conquest as a holy war against Christ’s foes, their victims reported ungodly behaviour and cruelty of the invaders. The accounts by Rabbi Eliezer b. Nathan, Ibn al-Athir, and Anna Comnena, all highlight belligerent and truculent character of crusaders’ actions, while the document by Stephen of Blois depicts crusaders as courageous and noble warriors of god who came to liberate the lands of Christ.

Works Cited

Asbridge, Thomas. The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land. New York: Ecco Press, 2011. Print.

Ibn al-Athir. “The First Crusade”. Class reading (13th c.), 295-300. Print.

Rabbi Eliezer b. Nathan. “O God, Insolent Men”. Class reading (early-to-mid-12th c.), 286-289. Print.

Stephen of Blois. “A Westerner in the Holy Land”. Class reading (1098), 293-295. Print.

Anna Comnena. “The Alexiad”. Class reading (c.1148), 290-293. Print.

Crusades have emerged as one of the most active fields of historical study, indicating a growing desire to comprehend and analyze these unusual occurrences. People in Western Europe and the Middle East still recall and fantasize about the Crusades. As areas in the Middle East fell under the control of the imperialist empires of the time, the former gained prominence thanks to the romantic literature of authors like Sir Walter Scott, and the French, in particular, decided to make connections with their making a stand past (Hillenbrand). Whether in a non-military setting, such as a crusade against alcohol, or in reference to the atrocities of the First World War, the adjective came to stand in for a purpose with a moral claim.

A huge cross potent encircled by four smaller Greek crosses, one in each quadrant, makes up the Jerusalem cross, a heraldic cross, and a Christian cross variety. At the declaration of the Revolution in the Greek War of Independence, a banner bearing a variant of the Jerusalem cross was deployed. The Jerusalem cross, which is also used in the emblems of the Custodian of the Sacred Land, leader of the Franciscan missionaries who served at the holy Christian places in Jerusalem and whose service is funded by the Order, serves as the symbol of the papal Order of the Holy Sepulchre.

To summarize, popular images convey messages of the struggle for the right to rule in their region. For the most part, these messages appear in stock images that show a large group of people who seek to prove their worth to the enemy. Images of contracts and contractual relations show the part of crusaders’ indulgence and confidence in their position when going to negotiations, and people defend their views.

Work Cited

Hillenbrand, Carole. The crusades: Islamic perspectives. Routledge, 2018.

Inseparable from human history are the wars between peoples for land, power and other reasons. For a very long time Jewish people were negatively targeted and blamed for all the negative things that happened to humanity. This oppression was based on the lack of knowledge, as well as prejudice that had no real facts to support the accusations. One of the dark chapters in history is the crusades or “Holy War” that took place between 11^th and 13^th centuries. Jewish people were one of many nations towards which the hostility was directed, the reasons being unacceptable and unfair. Unfortunately people did not learn from the mistakes made and such unfair treatment has been going on for many years, continuing in the twentieth century.

The first crusade took place when Pope Urban was elected. He gave a speech that described how Jewish people oppressed Christians and drove them out of the “Holy Land”, which was Jerusalem. This was not true at all, but everyone listened and believed it. His speech was very convincing, as people of all ages and gender wanted to join in the war. Urban told the people that Jerusalem was covered with blood of Christians and that this war would free the land that was rightfully theirs and that it must be taken back in the name of Christ. The crusaders took Jerusalem in the year 1099 and this is when the majority of killings took place. Those who were not murdered were sold into slavery all over Europe (Chazan 157). Out of all the popes in that period of time, Urban was the only who showed such hate towards the Jewish people. He instilled the view that Jews were a danger to others and to the Christian faith, and so they must be exterminated by any means necessary. Originally Jews were left alone but in the course of the crusades the warriors became “blood thirsty” and started the massacre. Publicly any violence was prohibited but the warriors did not obey any laws or rules, thinking of Jews as a race inferior to all others. Many Jewish people were forced to be baptized and those who refused were murdered. During the second crusade there were less Jewish killings as they received protection from numerous leaders and popes. The total of nine major crusades took place, but in between there were many others, which comparably were smaller. In the Jewish records first, second and third crusades are described as most violent, when almost a third of Jewish population was destroyed. During every crusade there were people, who would record everything that was happening in order to pass this information to the future generations. Another unfortunate fact was that not only the warriors and specially trained soldiers murdered Jews, but the simple folk also took up arms in the religious wars and used the opportunity to murder and steal (Eidelberg 79).

During the crusades Jewish people showed a lot of strength both physically and mentally. They greatly relied on their faith and were not afraid to die in its name. Sometimes there were instances when parents killed their children but it was done in a proper manner and ritual. The reason for this was to escape any harm that would be inflicted by the crusaders. Often Jewish people resisted such unfair treatment by taking up arms and fighting for their freedom, but many times they were outnumbered and defeated. The extermination of Jewish people directed by religion, Pope Urban and Christian church has had a deep impact on the Jews. The slaughter greatly weakened economic and social position of Jewish people. The development of the society and intellectual growth were somewhat halted as the wars had a great impact on the community. When the crusades were over, Jews were cleared from European countries like England, Spain, Italy and France. As Jews were driven out of many countries, they were forced to settle in other places becoming scattered all over Europe. The effects of the oppression were great but Jewish community continued their intellectual development, focusing on sciences and trade. They became very effective in money lending and this created a reputation for them that was known “far and wide”. Late in the fifteenth century they started to immigrate to Eastern Europe and were successful in establishing themselves among the nobility. Many took part in the development of industries and were very prosperous. In the time of the crusades Jewish people had many achievements in the intellectual sphere. There was a number of great thinkers as well as poets and other scholars. For example Maimonides was a philosopher who was very influential in his teachings. He was a rationalist and a physician. Yehudah Halevi was another famous man who specialized in poetry. One of the biggest achievements of Jewish people is thought to be Kabbalah, which is a teaching of secret and mystical knowledge (Eidelberg 123).

By examining the history of the world it is evident that Jewish people were constantly oppressed and mistreated. There are very many reasons. One of them is jealousy, as they are considered people of strong faith and unique knowledge. Also many people cannot do with the fact that Jesus Christ was born in the Jerusalem, as if supporting the view that Jewish people were a superior nation. Another reason for great religious hate is the fact that it was Jewish people who crucified Jesus Christ. This was one of the major arguments in organizing the Holy War, with the purpose to have revenge on the people for such a horrific deed. Since this fact was widely known the popes of that time felt the need to protect the Jewish people from any violence. They had documents that would outline fair treatment of the Jews, but very often these law were not abided by, as the popes had no way to control the crusaders. But in reality this fact is greatly misrepresented in the historical documents. Judea was under Roman rule at the time and so it is unclear how it is the Jewish people who are held responsible for killing the “Son of God”. Unfortunately not many people know this or think about it, and when young children are told of this story they believe that it were Jews who crucified Jesus Christ. It has become instilled in the minds of people, since this message had existed for two thousand years. Also people forget that according to the Jewish belief, crucifixion and the resurrection were a part of the great plan that God put in place, and so blame Jews for such a monstrous action. Often Jewish people were seen as the enemy of all others and Christianity, because they did not want to convert and had their own unique belief system. There were false stories that described them as enemies of the Christian religion, possessing evil powers and knowledge. The blaming of these peoples has reached such heights that every time something happened they were blamed for no reason, as being the only ones capable of evil. For example in 1144 AD a local boy was found dead in the woods:

“The town was soon in an uproar, blaming Jews for his death. Rumors soon circulated that Jews had placed a crown of thorns on William, and crucified him—an echo of the long standing indictment that Jews had killed Christ” (Mohl 120).

There were also many myths that falsely accused Jewish people of wanting to take over the world, through their secret organization. This propaganda continues to appear in the anti-Semitic literature, perverting the views of the public and easily influenced minds. Another horrible example of hatred for Jews is the most recent extermination-the holocaust. It shows how a whole nation can believe into something that is completely false. Just as in the ancient times Hitler was the voice of hate that people listened to, and this proves how influential one person’s disturbing beliefs can be. As seen from numerous examples, the hate for Jewish people is often based on a view of one person who has some sort of personal dislike towards them. But it is also clear that this hate has infiltrated human minds during many hundreds of years, based on fear, jealousy and scapegoating. A term Anti-Semitism has a long history of existence. Almost every nation at some point in time expressed hate directed towards the Jewish people. Their culture is very unique and often people are jealous of Jewish faith and closeness to God, which in turn alienates them even more, causing constant oppression. Such treatment started a long time ago, as yearly as the fourth century. The majority of people did not understand the Jewish faith and rituals, fearing the unknown. The traditions that Jews had were not widely known in the rest of the world and people made up stories that would separate and brand them as different in a negative way. In some countries Jews were allowed to practice their religion but a lot of privileges were taken away. This was done with a purpose to eventually convert Jewish people to Christian religion, as they would have no choice but to come to churches and accept the dominant faith. There were even laws that would forbid Jewish people to fix their synagogues, in the hope that they will eventually fall apart. But Jews were very persistent and strong in their beliefs, staying true to their religion and this unique quality of Jewish people and their faith was often the cause of hate. Another source of this hateful treatment, are people who wrote historical documents describing the ancient times when Jesus was crucified (Mohl 124). They would add non-existent guilt to the Jews that perverted the way they were seen by other nations. It is clear that the repetition of this unfair and unsupported view towards Jewish people has reached the modern times, being extremely hard to root out.

There is no denying that for the longest time Jewish people were wrongfully represented in the history writings and stories. It seems that these records would teach people how wrong they were and continue to be, but the case is quite the opposite, leaving it to the future generations to change unfairly instilled views about the Jewish people.

References

Chazan, Robert. European Jewry and the First Crusade, California, United States:University of California Press, 1987. Print.

Eidelberg, Shlomo. The Jews and the Crusaders, New Jersey, United States: University of Wisconsin Press, 1977. Print.

Mohl, Allan. “The Evolution of Anti-Semitism: Historical and Psychological Roots.” Journal of Psychohistory 39.2 (2011): 115-128. Print.

Introduction

The First Crusade which took place between 1096 and 1099 was an expedition of western Christian military personnel to reclaim their holy lands that had been taken by Muslims after conquering Levant. It commenced in 1095 when Pope Urban called people in response to an appeal that had been made by Byzantine Emperor (Gabrieli 41).

He had requested the Western people to assist him in fighting the Turks who were propelling invasions. From this initial goal, there arose another goal of recapturing Jerusalem from the hands of Islam which became the main goal. This essay will focus on First Crusade art and architecture.

The Genesis of the First Crusade

Following the conquest of England by the Normans, England and France became even stronger as compared to the time of Charlemagne. Their kings and queens started laying strategies of conquering the Mediterranean and improving the Roman Empire. They were particularly interested in capturing Jerusalem which was referred to as the city of Jesus Christ (Hillenbrand 54).

The city was under the rule of Islamic Fatimids but Normans wanted to take it from them. In 1095 AD, a famous speech was given by Pope Urban at Clermont, Southern France. In his speech, he made a clarion call for people to get armed and move on to reclaim Jerusalem from the Fatimids. People ranging from small children to adults unanimously agreed hearkened to the call and they all wanted to go and fight.

The enthusiasm was so high that a number of groups started their journey to Jerusalem way before the main group was constituted. They were strongly convicted that once they were in Jerusalem, God would destroy the doors of Jerusalem hence there was no need for them to have weapons or to get involved in any fight.

Some of the people in the groups did not even bother to carry money for themselves. On the way, majority discovered that the journey was not as easy as they had expected and most of them died before they got to their destination. One group deemed the journey to Jerusalem to go and fight the Fatimids as an impossible mission hence they decided to stop In Germany where they started fighting the Jews. Many Jews were robbed of their property by the crusaders and killed for the simple reason that they were not Christians

Styles of Art during First Crusade

During the period of the First Crusade, different styles of art were produced by the Crusaders. During this period, there are two artistic appearances that were most popular. The first one is Romanesque while the other one is Gothic.

The military Crusaders were not actively involved in matters concerning art and most of their artistic impressions were destroyed after the collapse of their kingdoms hence very few survive today. One of the most sterling art styles associated with the Crusaders is the Crusader castles which were admired for their beauty. They came up with Byzantine methods of fortifying their cities with castles which were the largest ever witnessed.

There was a great artistic influence of the Crusaders from the places they captured towards the end of 11^th century. Byzantine Art and the Islamic Art were the most popular art styles found in Crusader states although there were other forms of indigenous art.

The indigenous forms of art were incorporated with the other forms of art that the Crusaders acquired from Europe. Crusader art just like the historical background of the Crusader kingdoms is categorized into two or three periods. The first period was during the first crusade which led to the bloody recapture of Jerusalem and other Northern states.

Art and Architecture during the First Crusade

In the Byzantine Empire, art and architecture started developing as early as the fifth century. First Crusade architecture is characterized by many square based domes, spires, round arches and mosaics which were made of glass. The art and architecture designs started in Constantinople and spread in the Christian world until Constantinople was taken by Turks.

The most outstanding art during the First Crusade is the dome which was used in covering plans for tombs and churches with square and polygon shapes. The placing of a large number of domes in one building is contrasted with Romanesque design which basically involved use of vaulted roofs. There is no clear separation between Byzantine Art and Early Christian art.

Byzantine Concrete and Brickwork

Initially, construction using bricks was used by the Romans but it was adopted by the Byzantines in the First Crusade. The mixture of concrete and brickwork was finished first before being allowed to settle then slabs of marble were added. This use of independent component parts is a style of architecture that was used by the Byzantines. Brickwork was in addition used for decorating external caprices and internal decoration where it covered mosaic and marble decorations.

The Byzantines used a lot of effort in preparing bricks which were used in military and home architecture (Gabrieli 366).The normal bricks made by Byzantines during the First Crusade were similar to those of Romans with similar dimensions and size. The general application of bricks made it necessary for great care to be exercised during the preparation of mortar which comprised of sand and lime.

The decorations in external facades were determined by the patterns of facing bricks. The arrangement of the bricks was not always horizontal but at times it took the form of meander frets. The Byzantines also tried to beautify the exterior parts of bricks that were rough by applying stone bands and other arches used in decoration. The walls of the buildings were covered with sheets of marble in the inside mixed with domes.

Domes

The dome which was mostly used traditionally in the East turned to be an important architecture component among the Byzantines in the First Crusade. This was a combination of construction of domes and the classical columnar art. Different types of domes were put on square compartments in the form of pendetives as opposed to their use in Roman Architecture where they were only used in circular or structures with the shape of a polygon.

Domes were mostly constructed using bricks or light stones like pumice. It is believed that domes among the Byzantines were constructed in the absence of centering or support by using enormous flat bricks. In the lower part of the domes is where windows were placed. The Byzantine churches during the First Crusade were characterized by small domes surrounding a central big dome. This made the vaults and domes clearly seen from the external hence the Byzantine style of art has an exterior which is very close to the interior.

Early Christian art influences

Early Christian art is said to have emerged owing to the importance that was attached to images in the culture of Romans. As Christianity continued to get new members, many Christians new the importance of images from their past cultural inclinations hence they were willing to continue with their culture.

For example, the Romans changed some of their cultural activities such as cremation to inhumation. As a result, Romans started having tombs carved from marble to bury their dead. Those who converted to Christianity wanted the same for their people hence this became a great influence of early Christian art.

Geological factors are also said to have had an indirect influence on early Christian art and architecture. The remains of Roman buildings were a source of materials for early Christian architecture (Madden 25).This had a great influence on both the construction and the decorative aspects. Columns and various features of architecture were converted into the emergent Basilican churches.

Another influence of early Christian art is the religious history. Christianity was the inspiring force behind some of the greatest architectural constructions. The purpose of churches for Christians was to have a place to shelter after making prayers. This led to various places being adopted for worship. Consequently, there was disappearance of pagan temples before churches started being constructed.

Conclusion

The First Crusade is one of the most remarkable historical events which have remained in record for the longest period of time. The Crusaders succeeded in capturing Jerusalem together with other cities located near the Mediterranean coast. They made settlements in their new land and became kings of Jerusalem.

This made the First Crusade a big success for the Europeans and a failure for the Fatimids. Apart from the success of the Crusades, art and architecture are important aspects of the First Crusade. This period was characterized by architectural designs such as domes concrete, brickwork and sculptures.

Works Cited

Gabrieli, Francesco. Arab historians of the Crusades. California: University of California Press, 1984.Print

Hillenbrand, Carole. The Crusades: Islamic perspectives. New York: Routledge, 2000.Print

Madden, Thomas. The new concise history of the Crusades. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005.Print