Crusades
I.
Introduction & Index
Crusades,
series of wars by Western European Christians to
recapture the Holy Land from the Muslims. The Crusades
began in 1095 and ended in the mid- or late 13th
century. The term Crusade was originally applied
solely to European efforts to retake from the Muslims
the city of Jerusalem, which was sacred to Christians
as the site of the crucifixion of Jesus
Christ. It was later used to designate any military
effort by Europeans against non-Christians.
The
Crusaders carved out feudal states in the Near East.
Thus the Crusades are an important early part of
the story of European expansion and colonialism.
They mark the first time Western Christendom undertook
a military initiative far from home, the first time
significant numbers left to carry their culture
and religion abroad.
In
addition to the campaigns in the East, the Crusading
movement includes other wars against Muslims, pagans,
and dissident Christians and the general expansion
of Christian Europe. In a broad sense the Crusades
were an expression of militant Christianity and
European expansion. They combined religious interests
with secular and military enterprises. Christians
learned to live in different cultures, which they
learned and absorbed; they also imposed something
of their own characteristics on these cultures.
The Crusades strongly affected the imagination and
aspirations of people at the time, and to this day
they are among the most famous chapters of medieval
history.
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Contributed
By: Joel T. Rosenthal, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. Professor
of History, State University of New York at Stony
Brook. Editor of Medieval Women and the Sources
of Medieval History. Author of Patriarchy and
Families of Privilege in 15th-Century England
and other books.
"Crusades,"
Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001 http://encarta.msn.com
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