Patterns in Human History
Is there a pattern between crusades and sanctions and wars which were fought by religious denomination before 1500? Crusades were famous series of wars amidst the religious denominations sanctioned mostly by the dominant denomination in those years. The different religious denominations, including Christians, Muslims, and Jews trusted in different doctrines, and everyone had a robust conviction that theirs was their appropriate doctrine. They were engaged in the so-termed holy war attempting to secure the holy city and win numerous hearts into the church. The bloodsheds, violent, and ruthless conflicts made Christians emerge as the leading players in the subjugation for the land in Europe, Arab, and some parts of Africa. One of the famous crusades was the eastern Mediterranean crusade that intended to recover the land from Muslims. Crusades were related to the sanctions and wars fought by the religious denominations in the struggle for domination of large pieces of land, biasness, redeeming of sinners, and the threat of Turks to the Greek Constantinople and protection of holy cities.
Before the 1500 AD, there existed a struggle by all churches to acquire a large piece of land within the Mediterranean region[1]. Islam spread in some parts of North Africa and Europe since its initiation in the 7th century from the Middle East. Most of their rulers commenced acquiring control of the North African regions. The Christians commenced retaliating in the 11th century by acquiring the Muslim Territories in Spain and Italy. The kings trusted that they acquired more power through the conquering of several regions and slaying their enemy soldiers. They embraced the knights as they were among the bravest warriors during that time.
Secondly, the biasness individuals had in Europe had towards the Muslim society showed similar patterns with the crusades as they understood very little concerning the Islamic community. Both Jews and Christians did not like the new religion, and they pondered that it was to wipe every good teaching taught by the scripture[2]. This was an ill-advised belief as the Muslims have no such evil plan. Most people comprehended Muslims as foreign and bizarre that could destroy the social pillars of the community, and they vehemently fought it. Individuals were informed of stories about the atrocities that Muslims employed and readily trusted in those stories which were compounded by the weird life accounts of Prophet Mohammed. Popes were also concerned with the expansion of other denominations and wished that Christianity remain the sole religious denominations to ensure that all revenue gathered went to the church. Grounded on these perceptions, the Muslim Society was liable for all evil things that occurred, and each religious denomination fought the Islamic.
The perception that crusades could, to some extent, redeem sinners revealed similar patterns to the sanctions and wars fought by the religious denominations[3]. Medieval Catholics perceived that the righteous actions could absolutely eliminate sins that were associated with sinners, thus saving the souls from hell. Those who were engaged in crusades trusted that their sins were forgiven and assured of going to heaven. This made the crusaders completely enthusiastic in accomplishing this function, particularly when they knew that they had done evils things and wished to wash away their sins.
Geographical locations of the area of worship before 1500 were a key factor that resulted in the emergency of crusaders. For instance, Rome being the church capital; many believers had to visit the area to gain salvation, thus making Rome a pilgrimage destination. Besides the cities of Palestine and Jerusalem remains the cities in which many domination wars were fought in[4]. the Holy Sepulcher church located in Jerusalem was termed as the symbol of Jesus’ ground for burial and the area in which he was crucified. Because of the teachings which the medieval warriors underwent, they were determined to save the city of Jerusalem as they believed that the most important thing was Jerusalem as it was a holy city. In response, the Christians had to fight back to reclaim the holy city of Jerusalem.
Besides, the sanctions and wars because of the issue of crusades were as a result of the preaching’s which were made by POPE urban II. The preaching was made in the church at Clermont-Ferrand, and it resulted in religious violence in Europe, which later resulted in religious conflict between different denominations[5]. The POPE was an eloquent speaker who made a hard speech that urged all believers to fight for their holy cities using any means available. This preaching resulted in military campaigns that lasted for almost two centuries[6]. The campaigns were aimed at fighting against the Muslims. The war eventually came to an end after the Muslims were displaced from the City of Jerusalem, and the crusaders occupied the city. One century later, the crusaders were displaced by well-organized Muslims, thus taking back their land.
The threat of Turks to the Greek Constantinople is another factor that resulted in the sanction and wars between different denominations. The Greek emperor requested support from Rome to fight the fast approaching Turks. The emperor wrote letters to the POPE for assistance. In the letters, the emperor expressed his fears that the Turks will capture the holy places within the region if Rome failed to offer the needed support[7]. Because of this, Christians in Rome had to mobilize and evict the Turks from Greece to safeguard the holy places.
The sanctions and wars among different religious groups were a result of the belief of the crusaders that it was the will of god and enthusiasm to fight and break the restraining chains. This belief was based on the Old Testament teachings, which made the crusaders view that the god of war will provide them with the victory if they stand and fight for him. Their thought was that he never accepted those who were against the expansion of his territories[8]. Because of this, they developed a thought that all individuals who were ready to abandon their normal ways of life and follow him will be compensated with an enteral life[9]. Because of this thought, they were determined to fight and rescue all holy places as it was the will of God. This resulted in religious conflicts as other dominations were ready to stand and fight for the protection of their holy places. According to Throop (2016), crusade represented a preexisting and wide-ranging pattern of thought that linked emotion, religion, and violence, that ultimately provided robust motivating tools which would be used by the individuals who encouraged the crusading movement and were committed to attaining united Christendom[10]. Crusading was seen as an act of vengeance whose robust approach was used among the Christians, including the lay and clerical, and it was responsible for the escalating prominence and its appeal.
By acquiring the knowledge on the patterns between the crusades and the sanctions as well as wars fought by the religious denominations, we get to understand the role of crusades before 1500 AD. This is possible through the way they perceived different denominations. Additionally, knowledge about the pattern between crusades and sanction wars increases our knowledge of how different denominations perceived themselves. This is possible through the arguments of each denomination.
In conclusion, the crusading patterns of around 1500 resulted in massive actions of sanction and wars between different religious dominations. This pattern was a result of various reasons such as the threat of Turks to the Greek Constantinople, protection of holy cities, and the belief that crusading could be used as a way of redeeming sins. Despite that the pattern resulted in the transfer of intellectual knowledge between different factions, the pattern created more bitterness among the parties involved.
Bibliography
Bellitto, Christopher M. Reforming the Church before Modernity: Patterns, Problems, and Approaches. Routledge, 2016.
Grzymala-Busse, Anna. “Beyond War and Contracts: The Medieval and Religious Roots of the European State.” Annual Review of Polgeritical Science 23 (2020).
Murray, Alan V., ed. Crusade and Conversion on the Baltic Frontier 1150–1500. Routledge, 2017.
Reynolds, Burnam W. The prehistory of the Crusades: missionary war and the Baltic Crusades. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016.
Throop, Susanna A. Crusading as an Act of Vengeance, 1095–1216. Routledge, 2016.
[1] Bellitto, Christopher M. Reforming the Church before Modernity: Patterns, Problems, and Approaches. Routledge, 2016.
[2] Bellitto, Christopher M. Reforming the Church before Modernity: Patterns, Problems, and Approaches. Routledge, 2016.
[3] Bellitto, Christopher M. Reforming the Church before Modernity: Patterns, Problems, and Approaches. Routledge, 2016.
[4] Murray, Alan V., ed. Crusade and Conversion on the Baltic Frontier 1150–1500. Routledge, 2017.
[5] Grzymala-Busse, Anna. “Beyond War and Contracts: The Medieval and Religious Roots of the European State.” Annual Review of Political Science 23 (2020).
[6] Bellitto, Christopher M. Reforming the Church before Modernity: Patterns, Problems, and Approaches. Routledge, 2016.
[7] Bellitto, Christopher M. Reforming the Church before Modernity: Patterns, Problems, and Approaches. Routledge, 2016.
[8]. Murray, Alan V., ed. Crusade and Conversion on the Baltic Frontier 1150–1500. Routledge, 2017.
[9] Reynolds, Burnam W. The prehistory of the Crusades: missionary war and the Baltic Crusades. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016.
[10] Throop, Susanna A. Crusading as an Act of Vengeance, 1095–1216. Routledge, 2016.