The Christian Crusades and Their Effect on the West

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The welting heat, full armor, horse mounted knights with lance and shield in hand, waited on the anticipation of the sound of a horn or wave of a flag to begin the tournament. This would indicate the commencement of the jousting event. A form of personnel combat in order to settle a variety of issues ranging from honor, rank, disputes and or overall prizes to the victor .These events were live, they had men dueling with lances on horseback even hand to hand combat with swords and shields. These were exhilarating events, the sounds, crashes and the echoes of the swords hammering their opponents shields, and the visual impact of the lances hitting there target and knocking there victims off their horses to the ground. These were the times of the high medieval ages, where courage and nobility was felt throughout the air. In addition to these social events, other strict codes of behavior such as Chivalry were hosted. Chivalry demanded the knight be courageous in battle, loyal to his lord & fellow warriors, and reverent towards women. The Catholic Church also brought fourth at the end of the late middle ages, sanctioned military campaigns, called the Crusades. In 1095, Pope Urban II proclaimed the first crusade, with the goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places of Jerusalem; In addition, the Crusades affected the Churches stature, standing, and overall importance throughout Europe, Commerce, and Feudalism.
The Christian crusades had overwhelming impact on the economics, trade and industry and cultural life in the Middle Ages, which kept Europe in turmoil for close to two centuries. Some historians believe that the cost of the crusades cost the lives of several million people (Between 2,000000 to 6,000,000)...

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...ney for their crusading expeditions (www.lordsandladies.com). As the crusades ended, Feudalism also deceased, and eventually phased out.
The Crusades affected every part of the middle Ages from their political system, Intellectual, common law and fealty to there chieftain, in addition it gave rise to heroism, chivalry medieval devotion, this in turn spawned medieval romance, the code for courtly love, poetry and literature. While the first crusade succeeded, by acquiring important cities, and access into Jerusalem, by the fourth crusade it had deteriorated into a contest for personal profit. The goal of the crusades was to obtain access to Jerusalem, one of, or if not the holiest place on our planet. The life that was forfeited during the crusades where staggering, and in vain, the violence still plaques that region, as if the crusades were present today.

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