In the 11th century, Pope Urban II called all Europeans to fight in the crusades. The Crusades lasted from 1096- 1291. People wanted to fight for God and the pope to get back the Holy Land. The Seljuk Turks, who were Muslims, inhabited the Holy Land at this time. The Muslims were not treating the Holy Land and God in the way Christians believed they should be treated. The Crusades were caused primarily by religious devotion for the remission of sins, loyalty to the pope, and the earning back of the Holy Land for God. When Pope Urban II offered remission of sins to those who fought in the Crusades, many were quick to sign up to ensure an eternal life in heaven with God. People of this time were scared of not being able to get into heaven because of the sins they might have committed. Remission …show more content…
In the Old Testament, God had set aside the Holy Land as the Promised Land for the Chosen People whom he had saved from bondage in Egypt. The Jews in Egypt were suffering as slaves, just as the Christians of the east were under persecution. In the Chronicles of Fulk of Chartres, it is said that “God does not wish those to suffer want who, carrying their crosses, have vowed to follow Him, nay even unto the end…” God wanted those Christians set free. He does not wish for us to suffer. This was why the Crusades were fought for God. Crusaders fought to win the Holy Land back, but also to free Christians from persecution. Solomon bar Samson said in The Jewish Chronicler, “…set out for the Holy City, which had been desecrated by barbaric nations, there to seek their house of idolatry and banish the Muslims and other denizens of the land.” God’s Holy Land had become inhabited by pagans who weren’t worshipping Him. God wasn’t `receiving adoration in the way He was supposed to be. Loyalty to the pope and remission of sins all go back to God and regaining the Holy Land for