The Conviction Of The First Crusade And Solomon Bar Simson

Fulcher of Chartres was a loyal subject of Baldwin I and a priest who was an eyewitness of the First Crusade. He saw the crusade as a holy war aimed at liberating the Holy Land from Muslim rule and spreading Christianity. He thought the crusaders were fighting for a good cause and that their acts were approved by God. Fulcher talked heavily about the crusaders' military campaigns and wars, and his account represents a firm Christian viewpoint.

Solomon Bar Simson, on the other hand, was a Jewish chronicler who saw the First Crusade's events from a Jewish perspective. He saw the crusaders as a violent and tyrannical force responsible for countless Jewish deaths and the cultural annihilation of Jewish communities. In his writings, Simson described

He portrayed the crusaders as nothing more than an invading force sent out by God to condemn the Jews for their misdeeds and put their faith to the ultimate test. He considered the Jews who died in the Crusades to be martyrs who sacrificed themselves for their beliefs and would be repaid in the hereafter. The Jews interpreted the events as a manifestation of "God's wrath." In response, the Jews in Israel attempted to protect themselves by offering bribes to local bishops, but this proved ineffective as many were deceived. Some Jews engaged in religious rituals such as mass prayer, fasting, and self-punishment. However, when the crusaders invaded their cities, many realized that resistance was futile. As a result, the Jews organized a mass self-sacrifice ritual as a way of upholding God's name. Surprisingly, many of them welcomed this fate, as they saw it as a happier outcome than being killed by the sword of the crusaders. For instance, Simson states, “They, too, bound their children in sacrifice, as Abraham did his son Issac, and willingly accepted upon themselves the yoke of fear of Heaven, of the King of Kings, the Blessed Holy One.” This quote emphasizes the drastic efforts taken by certain Jewish parents during the First Crusade to safeguard their children while upholding their faith. In the Bible, Abraham bound his son Isaac in sacrifice, and these parents were eager to do the same for their own children in the name of God. They believed that by sacrificing their children to God, they would be obeying a divine commandment and would be rewarded in the hereafter after sacrificing themselves too. The very final sentence of Simson’s excerpt states “Happy are they and happy is their lot, for all of them are destined for life eternal in the World-to-Come–and may my place be amongst them!” This quote