What Drove the Crusaders?
The Crusades present us with one of the greatest paradoxes in history.
Why would Christianity, a peace-loving religion, condone aggression in the name of God? The reason cannot be ascribed to the teachings in the Bible. Jesus rejected violence on any grounds, instructing his followers to love their enemies and to renounce aggression in favour of turning the other cheek. When Rome was sacked by Gothic barbarians in AD 410, Saint Augustine of Hippo, perhaps the most influential of all the Christian theologians, encouraged Christians to find solace in the City of God, a spiritual city that had no earthly presence, rather than to seek revenge.
Before the Crusades, the only truly Christian escape from the violent world of medieval Europe was by joining a monastery or becoming a cleric. For those that didn’t want to do that the best way of earning forgiveness for sins was to go on pilgrimage.
What was essential to igniting the Crusades was the promise of a general remission of sins earned through the hardship of crusading, termed remissio peccatorum. Known as a papal indulgence, it was immensely attractive. It’s important to remember that fear of eternal damnation was real in the minds of men and women in the Middle Ages. Many nobles had killed brothers or dispossessed people of property unfairly and feared divine punishment.
In tody's podcast episode, I want to explore the complex and conflicting forces within medieval feudal society where spirituality and the material world were closely intertwined, and how they led to the Crusades.
Enjoy!
NEW BOOK: THE INHERITORS OF ROME
The final book in my series on the Fall of the Roman Empire, The Inheritors of Rome, is now out in eBook and print on Amazon. I tells the story of what happened after Rome fell - from Charlemagne's empire to the Arab Caliphates. And how they were all inheritors of Rome. The audiobook will be out next year.
Thank you again for your continued interest and support.
Have a great weekend!
Nick
PS I'd be delighted if you wanted to forward this email to a friend who might be interested.
Nick Holmes, c/o Puttenham Press Ltd, Unit 121195, PO Box 6945, London, W1A 6US
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