Causes of the 2nd and 3rd crusades

The Papacy (2)

Religious motivations were mostly the same as in the 1st crusade.
The spark- Edessa was taken on Christmas Day 1144 by Zengi leaving 15k dead.
This threatened Jerusalem and shocked Christendom.
QP bull set out indulgences and protected their property.
While indulgences in the first crusade came from penance, in the second they came as thanks from God for fighting for him.
The papacy wanted to maintain the strength and vitality of the Latin states.
The loss of territory would be a blow to the Pope's authority.
The Pope's action was reactionary, instead of preactionary like in the 1st crusade.
Moreover, the Pope's political ambitions were not in Europe.
The third crusade was caused by Saladin's 1187 campaign which captured King Guy and the True cross- Pope Urban III died of shock and Jerusalem fell.
Gregory VIII released AT bull in 1187. It was reissued by Pope Celestine III.

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QP bull set out indulgences and protected their property.
While indulgences in the first crusade came from penance, in the second they came as thanks from God for fighting for him.
Family tradition meant that knights had to uphold the family name.
They had to maintain their prestige and their ancestors' achievements.
Edessa's fall caused the West to realise the threats which were already present in the East.
Chivalry started to emerge- virtuous warfare developed for fighting infidels.
Louis VII was praised for his acts against the Turks in Asia Minor.
Being chivalric was more important than being a good general.
However, these ideas were not fully realised yet.
1120, the Templars were founded as Christian knights, building the idea of holy war.
Land was no longer a motivation, since they owed service to their kings and it was already conquered. They also no longer cared about the Byzantine Empire- this shows thier motivations were not helping thier Christian brothers any more, it was serving thier own leaders.

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Eugenius III's Papal bull, Quantum praedecessores, did not initially have much impact.
It was re-issued and Bernard of Clairvaux went on a preaching tour.
Bernard was the most influential man in Christendom, and he persuaded Kings Louis VII and Conrad III to crusade. Without this, Urban wouldn't have got a response.
Involvement of king led to greater recruitment from their subjects.
Bernard was a Cistercian monk who wanted a return to St Benedict's rules.
Bernard went on a preaching tour of France and Germany.
Riley Smith says Bernard was 'the most powerful crusade propaganda of all time.'
Bernard wanted to link the crusades by protecting Holy Jerusalem.

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The later crusades clarified which sins would be forgiven- all the sins on the journey were included, and you received indulgences for attempting, not succeeding in reaching Jerusalem.
Pope Paschal II threatened to excommunicate first crusaders who abandoned the cause.
Archbishops such as Baldwin of Canterbury set off in Wales in 1188 and recruited 3k.
St Bernard restored 235 cripples to health in a preaching tour.
Later Popes regulated preachers to stop ones like Peter the hermit recruiting the wrong sort of crusader by sending designated legates.
Kings could pay for mercenaries during the second crusade and use feudal ties.
In 1146, Maurice of Glons gave up his rights to a fief to crusade.

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The old rules applied to horsed soldiers, who wanted to be courageous and win.
The new rules applied to aristocrats who wanted to be polite, courteous, loyal and skilled.
Chivalry included fighting for Jesus and faith was part of knightly culture.
Knights often trained in holy orders to protect pilgrims and Christian sites.
Chivalry's potential was realised in the 3rd crusade with King Richard's developments.
Most wanted booty, some wanted to settle but this stopped in later crusades.
Only up to a quarter of knights settled in the holy land (300/1200)
They lost most of thier booty reaching the West so they did not make profits.
Wealth was a deterrent, not inspiring factor.

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From 1170 Saladin had started to invade Outremer
1187, Jerusalem was taken after the Franks were defeated at Hattin.
King Guy and the True Cross were captured- Urban III died from shock
The Christians were forced to leave the city after paying 30k bezants.
Pope Gregory VIII issued Audati Tremenda in 1187 calling for a truce between the English and French for a crusade. Celestine III reissued it three months later.
Many small attempts to crusade had been made, such as Alexander III's attempt to launch a crusade in 1165 to help Bohemond III from Nur Al-Din.

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