Reasons for the crusades, 1095–1192 — Edexcel A-Level History
Verified courseTeaching note checked against the official specification.
Reasons for the crusades, 1095–1192 explained
Reasons for the crusades, 1095–1192 covers 3 specification points, including The concept of ‘just war’; the impact of the… and Threats to the Byzantine Empire; Alexius I….
Read the full explanation
Open a point below for its explanation and revision guidance.
Religious motives: the concept of ‘just war’; the impact of the papal reform movement on ideas of penance and remission of sins; guarantees of plenary indulgence; the aim of freeing Jerusalem; papal support for the crusades; the influence of preachers, including Bernard of Clairvaux.
Religious motives for the crusades drew on the concept of just war, which held that violence could be morally justified when waged for a righteous cause under legitimate authority. The papal reform movement deepened ideas of penance and remission of sins, making armed pilgrimage a means of satisfying penance. When Urban II launched the First Crusade in 1095, he offered a plenary indulgence, guaranteeing full remission of the temporal punishment due to sin for those who took the cross. A central aim was to free Jerusalem from Muslim control, restoring Christian access to the Holy Sepulchre. Papal support gave the crusades spiritual authority and institutional backing. Preachers such as Bernard of Clairvaux spread enthusiasm, notably for the Second Crusade, by framing the expedition as a devotional act. Together these elements made crusading a powerful religious ideal.
Political motives: threats to the Byzantine Empire; Alexius I Comnenus’s appeal to Urban II; the political ambitions of the papacy; Urban’s political problems in Germany and France; violence and growing disorder in Europe; the Second and Third Crusades and the defence of the crusader states.
Political motives for the crusades included the threats facing the Byzantine Empire from Seljuk Turkish expansion, which prompted Emperor Alexius I Comnenus to appeal to Pope Urban II for military help. The papacy had its own political ambitions, including extending its authority over the Church and asserting leadership in Christendom. Urban II also faced political problems in Germany and France, such as the Investiture Contest with Emperor Henry IV and the need to channel disruptive noble violence. Growing disorder in Europe, often expressed in private warfare, encouraged the Church to redirect fighting towards a holy cause. The Second and Third Crusades were shaped by political needs, especially the defence of the crusader states against Muslim advances. These political factors combined with religious zeal to make crusading attractive to popes, rulers and knights.
The knights and the crusades: the nature of knighthood in the late eleventh century; the development of the concept of chivalry; protecting Christianity and pilgrims; settlement in the crusader states and the acquisition of wealth.
Knighthood in the late eleventh century was a mounted warrior elite bound by ties of lordship and land. Knights served lords in return for fiefs, and their training emphasised martial skill, loyalty and courage. Chivalry developed as a code blending martial prowess with Christian ideals, though its influence was gradual and often imperfect. The Church sought to direct knightly violence towards protecting Christianity and pilgrims, especially after reports of persecution in the Holy Land. Crusading offered spiritual rewards and the chance to settle in the crusader states, where knights could acquire wealth through land, tribute and trade. This combination of religious duty and material opportunity made the crusades attractive to knights.
Your focus
- Define the concept of just war and explain how it was applied to crusading.
- Describe the impact of the papal reform movement on ideas of penance and remission of sins.
- Explain what a plenary indulgence guaranteed and why it motivated crusaders.
Show all 12 objectives
- Analyse the religious aim of freeing Jerusalem and its significance for Christians.
- Evaluate the role of papal support and preachers such as Bernard of Clairvaux in promoting the crusades.
- Describe the threats to the Byzantine Empire and Alexius I’s appeal to Urban II.
- Explain the political ambitions of the papacy and Urban II’s problems in Germany and France.
- Analyse how violence and disorder in Europe contributed to the crusading movement.
- Evaluate the political motives behind the Second and Third Crusades and the defence of the crusader states.
- Students can describe the key features of knighthood in the late eleventh century, including feudal obligations and military training.
- Students can explain how the concept of chivalry developed and its relationship with Christian ideals.
- Students can evaluate the extent to which protecting Christianity and pilgrims, and the prospect of settlement and wealth, motivated knights to join the crusades.
Reasons for the crusades, 1095–1192 flashcards
Card 1 of 6
Just war
Reasons for the crusades, 1095–1192 exam tips
Marking Points
- Explain the concept of just war: legitimate authority, just cause and right intention made warfare morally defensible for Christians.
- Analyse how the papal reform movement changed penance by promoting acts of pilgrimage and holy war as ways to remit sins.
- Describe the plenary indulgence as a guarantee of full remission of the temporal punishment for sin, granted by the papacy to crusaders.
- Assess the aim of freeing Jerusalem as a religious goal, linking it to Christian devotion to the Holy Land and the Holy Sepulchre.
- Evaluate the role of papal support in authorising and promoting crusades, including Urban II’s call at Clermont in 1095.
- Examine the influence of preachers such as Bernard of Clairvaux in recruiting crusaders and sustaining religious enthusiasm.
- Explain the threats to the Byzantine Empire from Seljuk Turkish expansion in Anatolia and the loss of territory after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071.
- Analyse Alexius I Comnenus’s appeal to Urban II for mercenary troops and how it contributed to the calling of the First Crusade.
- Assess the political ambitions of the papacy, including the desire to assert papal authority over secular rulers and to lead a united Christian effort.
- Evaluate Urban II’s political problems in Germany and France, such as the Investiture Contest and the need to manage powerful nobles.
- Explain how violence and growing disorder in Europe, including private warfare, were redirected by the Peace and Truce of God movements and by crusading.
- Examine the political context of the Second and Third Crusades, focusing on the defence of the crusader states and responses to Muslim unification under Zengi, Nur ad-Din and Saladin.
- Describes the nature of late eleventh-century knighthood: mounted warriors, fief-holding, service to lords, and training in arms.
- Explains how chivalry developed as a code combining martial values with Christian ethics, and how it was promoted by the Church and literature.
- Analyses the Church's role in redirecting knightly violence towards the protection of Christianity and pilgrims, including the Peace of God and Truce of God movements.
- Assesses the appeal of settlement in the crusader states and the acquisition of wealth through land grants, lordships, and economic opportunities.
Examiner Tips
- 💡Use precise terms such as just war, penance, remission of sins, plenary indulgence and Holy Sepulchre to show secure knowledge.
- 💡Support each religious motive with a specific example, such as Urban II’s sermon at Clermont or Bernard’s preaching tour for the Second Crusade.
- 💡Link religious motives to the wider question of why people took the cross, showing how belief and papal authority interacted with other factors.
- 💡Avoid listing motives; instead explain how each religious idea persuaded individuals and rulers to participate.
- 💡Use precise names and dates, such as Alexius I Comnenus, Urban II, the Battle of Manzikert (1071), the fall of Edessa (1144) and the Battle of Hattin (1187).
- 💡Explain how political motives interacted with religious ones, rather than treating them as separate lists.
- 💡Support arguments with evidence about the defence of the crusader states, showing how the Second and Third Crusades were responses to specific threats.
- 💡Avoid vague statements about ‘power’; specify which political problems Urban faced and how crusading addressed them.
- 💡Use specific examples, such as the Peace of God movement or the preaching of the First Crusade, to illustrate how the Church tried to control knightly violence.
- 💡When discussing chivalry, refer to contemporary texts like the Song of Roland to show its ideals, but note that practice often fell short.
- 💡Link the nature of knighthood to the reasons for the crusades by explaining how knights' martial skills and desire for land made them receptive to crusading appeals.
Common Mistakes
- Treating the plenary indulgence as automatic forgiveness for any future sin; correct this by explaining it remitted the temporal punishment due for sins already confessed and absolved.
- Assuming that religious motives were the only cause of the crusades; correct this by recognising that political, economic and social factors also played a part.
- Confusing penance with indulgence; correct this by distinguishing the act of penance (contrition and satisfaction) from the Church’s grant of remission from temporal punishment.
- Describing Bernard of Clairvaux as a pope or a military leader; correct this by identifying him as a Cistercian abbot and influential preacher who supported the Second Crusade.
- Treating Alexius I’s appeal as a request for a full crusade; correct this by explaining he sought limited military assistance, not a mass pilgrimage-war.
- Assuming the papacy had no political motives; correct this by recognising Urban II’s aim to strengthen papal authority and heal the schism with the Eastern Church.
- Ignoring the link between internal European disorder and the crusades; correct this by explaining how the Church sought to redirect knightly violence outward.
- Confusing the Second and Third Crusades; correct this by distinguishing their specific political triggers, such as the fall of Edessa in 1144 for the Second and Saladin’s victory at Hattin in 1187 for the Third.
- Assuming chivalry was a fully formed and universally followed code in the late eleventh century; in reality it was evolving and often ignored.
- Overlooking the economic motives for crusading, such as the prospect of land and wealth in the East, and focusing only on religious devotion.
- Confusing the protection of pilgrims with the broader aim of protecting Christianity, or vice versa, without recognising their interconnection in crusade preaching.