The Crusades: A Brief History of the Medieval Religious Wars

This video will give you a brief, yet detailed history of the Medieval religious wars known as the Crusades, beginning at the first crusade with the people’s crusade led by Peter the Hermit, and working our way to the final official crusade. Want to know why people participated in these holy wars? Want to know why they started in the first place and the effects the wars had after they concluded? Well, we answer all these questions and more! The Crusades were a number of military campaigns organised by the pope and Western European Christians in order to take back land in the Near East, considered holy by Christians, which had fallen under the control of Muslims. To participate in a crusade was considered a sacred act, since the violence which ensued was done in the name of God. Nobles and peasants alike took up arms in order to protect Christian values, and the participants were promised salvation in the afterlife and wealth on earth in return. The crusades were viewed more like a pilg