Culture Shock? The Crusades

Objectives Give a mini-lecture typical of a college classroom on the 1 st, 3 rd, and 4 th Crusades. Address the issue of cross-cultural contact, particularly as it pertains to violence. Discuss the difficulties of teaching the Crusades in a 7 th Grade Classroom setting.

Crusade…what is it? “crusade” is a very specific term: –Any of the military expeditions undertaken by European Christians in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims –A holy war undertaken with papal sanction –More recently it, has come to mean other things: a vigorous concerted movement for a cause or against an abuse Some people refer to the War on Terror (and the associtated wars in Iraq and Afghanistan) as a crusade

The First Crusade

1095 Urban II Alexius Comnenus

The First Crusade Peter the Hermit’s Crusade –Also called Paupers’ Crusade, Childrens’ Crusade, Peasants’ Crusade…etc.

The First Crusade The Aftermath The Crusader States

The Third Crusade 1189 Gregory VII Salah ad-Din Frederick I (Barbarossa)

The Third Crusade The Push The Battles –Siege of Acre –Battle of Arsuf –Jaffa

The Third Crusade The Assassins The Baldwin Kings Richard the Lionheart

A Side Trip Back to England… Prince John moves in The Robin Hood legend begins to take shape Richard was the real “bad guy”

Fourth Crusade The Sack of Constantinople

And the Rest of Them Fifth Crusade…1217 –Leopold IV of Austria and Andrew II of Hungary Sixth Crusade…1228 –Gregory IX and HRE Frederick II Seventh Crusade…1245 –Louis IX of France (alias St. Louis) Eighth and Ninth Crusades…1270/1271 –Louis IX and Edward I of England (Longshanks) –The Sicilian Vespers, 1282

Points to Remember The First Crusade was the most successful Each successive Crusade was greeted with less enthusiasm than the last Most popular knowledge of the Crusades comes from the Third Crusade (and largely through the Robin Hood story) Muslims and Christians worked together for a time Some of the most atrocious acts were committed against fellow Christians and Jews, not Muslims.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly The Good –Aristotle comes to Europe (double entry) –Math! –Trade (temporary)

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly The Bad –“National” rivalries –Jerusalem –Final blow to the reconciliation of the Church

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly The Ugly –The Sack of Constantinople –The Spanish Inquisition –The Black Death?

Your Turn What are the challenges you face when teaching the Crusades in your classroom?