April 2027

 The Papacy Age – Did Councils and Synods Help? And What Were the Effects of the Crusades? 

CRUSADES (THE CHURCH'S HOLY WARS) 

"To each crusader the Church offered a plenary indulgence - that is, full remission of all penalties either in purgatory or on earth previously due any sinner. But the prospect of eternal salvation was not the only great reward a Crusade promised. For a peasant the crusade meant a chance of food, new land and Eastern riches." 1 

Numerous historical references record the crusaders wore a large Latin Cross on their outer garments and were known to sing songs of "Christ" as they murdered those who refused to convert to Christianity · 

First Crusade 1095-1099 In November of 1095, Pope Urban II, at the Council of Clermont in southern France, called forth Christian Crusaders to join military ranks in order to take the Holy Land from Muslim control. This marked the beginning of the Crusades. 

From 1096 to 1099 the crusaders brutalized the Jews throughout Europe with a choice of forced Christian baptism or death. On June 7. 1099 the crusaders reached Jerusalem. "The city was captured on July 15 with Godfrey [Frankish knight and crusade leader| entering it through the Jewish quarter, where inhabitants defended themselves alongside their Muslim neighbors, finally seeking refuge in the synagogues, which were set on fire by the attackers. A terrible massacre ensued. The survivors were sold as slaves ... so overall the Jewish community in the Holy Land was greatly diminished. 2 

1 Abba Eban, Heritage: Civilization and the News (New York, Summit Books, 1984), 155. 

· Second Crusade 1147-1148 In 1147 at the loss of Edessa, Pope Eugene I invoked the second major crusade, again ravishing European Jewry. Crusaders were exhorted to avenge themselves on "those who had crucified Jesus” before setting out to fight the Muslims. Though the Second Crusade left a wake of death and tragedy for the Jewish people, it was nowhere near the devastation of the First Crusade. 

· Third Crusade 1189-1192 Being led by Richard I (Richard the Lion-Hearted), England for the first time got involved in the crusades. This was detrimental to the Jews of England, as many Jews were massacred during the crusaders' march through England. One such night (on the Shabbat before Passover) in March 1190, a group of 150 Jews being led by Rabbi Yom Tov were seeking refuge in a castle. On the brink of being overrun by the enemy, Yom Tov led the group to choose suicide rather than Christian conversion and baptism The few who remained alive surrendered to the mob only to be murdered. 

Shamefully, the crusades continued through the 13th century and were a template for future pogroms. 

2 Jewish Virtual Library “The Crusaders 1095 – 1291” [Online] Available: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-crusades