Church History in Plain Language

by Bruce L. Shelley

Now, in the age of the grand cathedral, crusaders from Western Europe attempted to expel the Muslims from the Holy Land. Historians have attributed numerous motives to the crusaders beyond their religious fervor. Did they seek adventure in these strange foreign lands? Would they find personal gain or spiritual advantage? While few contemporary Christians would defend the idea of the crusades or its most gross offenses, we must not overlook a simple reality. The Christians sought to counter Islam’s remarkable military conquest and preserve their geographic strongholds from being overrun. By the eighth century, one half of all Christians lived under Islamic rule. All the great and colorful figures of this era were caught up in this consuming cause, from Peter the Hermit, who enflamed the First Crusade, to the saintly Louis IX, King of France, who inspired the Sixth and Seventh.