THE CRUSADES AS AN EDUCATIONAL MOVEMENT
=Literature.=--_Michaud_, The Crusades; _Stubbs_, Mediaeval and Modern
History; _Mombert_, Great Lives (see Godfrey); _Myers_, Mediaeval and
Modern History; _Guizot_, History of Civilization; _Lord_, Beacon
Lights; _Archer and Kingsford_, The Crusaders; _White_, Eighteen
Christian Centuries; _Andrews_, Institutes of General History;
_Ridpath_, Library of Universal History (article on the Crusades).
Among the most remarkable movements that took place during the Middle
Ages were the crusades. The Saracens had overrun and conquered the Holy
Land, and the Christian nations of the west attempted to recover from
the hands of the infidels the soil made sacred by the life and death of
Christ. For a long time the pilgrims who made journeys to the tomb of
the Savior were undisturbed, as their pilgrimages were a source of
profit to the Saracens. But when the Turks gained possession of
Jerusalem, they began to persecute both the native Christians and those
who came from abroad. Peter the Hermit, who had suffered from these
cruelties at Jerusalem, returned to Europe, and by his crude eloquence
and earnestness stirred the people almost to a frenzy. Obtaining the
sanction of the Pope, he gathered an immense crowd of men, women, and
children, and started for the Holy Land.
They encountered great hardships, many died of hunger, disease, and the
hostility of the people through whose countries they passed, and the
remnant who reached the Bosporus, were totally destroyed by Turkish
soldiers.
The first successful crusade was organized by the feudal lords, who
gathered an army of six hundred thousand men under the leadership of
Godfrey of Bouillon. They had connected with their army one hundred
thousand splendidly mounted men. After untold losses and horrors, which
reduced their forces to sixty thousand men, they succeeded in taking
Jerusalem. They established a Latin kingdom with Godfrey at the head,
and thus accomplished the purpose for which they had set out. This
crusade lasted from 1096 to 1099.
For about fifty years the Latin kingdom held its own; but it was
constantly harassed by the Mohammedans, until it became necessary to
organize a second crusade. The leaders in this were Conrad III. of
Germany and Louis VII. of France. Jealousies soon arose between the
rival leaders, who cared more for personal glory than for the purpose of
the crusade. As a result, only a small portion of the three hundred
thousand soldiers ever reached the Holy Land; and this crusade, which
lasted from 1147 to 1149, resulted in failure.
Forty years later Saladin, a Mohammedan ruler, having captured
Jerusalem, a third crusade was organized. This was led by Richard the
Lion-Hearted of England, Frederick Barbarossa of Germany, and Philip
Augustus of France. Barbarossa went overland, but Richard and Philip,
profiting by past experiences, made the journey by water, thus
accomplishing it with greater ease and fewer losses. The rivalries
between the different nationalities engaged prevented successful
warfare; but a truce was made with the humane Saladin,[43] whereby he
guaranteed protection to the Christians, and thus the crusade came to an
end. This crusade lasted from 1189 to 1192.
Other crusades followed from time to time for several centuries, with
but little advantage gained over the conditions granted by Saladin.
=Results of the Crusades.=--This, in brief, is a historical account of
the crusades.[44] It remains for us to note their educational value.
1. They drew various nations together by one common purpose.
2. They increased the knowledge of the manners, customs, culture,
products, and civilization of the East.
3. They stirred up commerce, especially that of the Mediterranean,
making Venice and Genoa great commercial centers.
4. They broke up the power of feudalism. Lord and vassal together
entered upon enterprises of danger and suffering, which were great
levelers of class distinction. In the enthusiasm of the holy cause, many
feudal lords disposed of all their worldly possessions, and became as
poor as their vassals. This broke up the feudal estates.
5. They widened the horizon of thought, made Europeans more liberal, and
prepared the way for an intellectual and religious revival.
6. They emancipated philosophy from theology. As a result of movements
inaugurated by the crusades, the university of Paris established the
faculty of philosophy separate from that of theology.
7. G. W. Cox says, "By rolling back the tide of Mohammedan conquest from
Constantinople for upward of four centuries they probably saved Europe
from horrors the recital of which might even now make one's ears
tingle."
FOOTNOTES:
[43] See Lessing's "Nathan der Weise."
[44] It would be impossible to give a full historical account of the
crusades in a work of this kind. The reader is referred to any standard
work on that subject.