The Crusades
The Crusades are an unfortunate chapter in Catholic history. The Crusades served different political, social, and religious purposes. Of course, war in the name of religion deeply disagrees with Jesus' message of peace, but at the time, people saw the Crusades as acts of faith and religious duty.
How many Crusades were there?
Much depends upon the historian's definition of what constitutes a Crusade. Although historians disagree on the exact number, most claim there were at least seven, and all agree on four of the major Crusades.
The first Crusade, in the eleventh century, was a reaction to the takeover of Jerusalem by the Turkish Muslims. One important issue was safe travel for pilgrims visiting the Christian holy sites. Afraid that the Muslims would destroy the sites, and believing the Holy Land should be liberated in the name of God, Pope Urban II called for a Crusade. Armies of knights were sent to recover the Holy Land. This became the first in a series of similar campaigns, which were undertaken throughout the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries, usually with little result except misery for everyone involved.
When you look at the progression of the four major Crusades, it's not difficult to see that each one was less noble than the one before. The knights in the First Crusade did manage to enter Jerusalem, a victory that resulted in a massacre of Muslims and Jews. However, the Christians could not hold Jerusalem for long, despite the reinforcements that arrived during the Second Crusade. The Third Crusade, led by Richard the Lion-Hearted, recovered some land, but the knights were more interested in booty than a divine cause. During the Fourth Crusade, the knights sailed to Constantinople and ransacked it — in other words, Christians were fighting Christians!
