- 4th crusade - Fulk of Neuilly - A parish
priest addressed his flock and everyone else to renounce vice in the
name of the Holy Spirit. The Papal legate Cardinal Peter Capuano authorized
him on behalf of the Pope to preach a crusade. Told his audiences of
the benefits that accrued to the faithful when they left everything
they possessed and journeyed to the holy land. Passion for the crusade
sprang out of the knowledge of the vice and corruption in Paris and
the provinces. He saw the crusade as an instrument for the cleansing
of the people of their sins and setting them on the road to paradise.
- Peter Capuano - Papal legate during the
time of the 4th crusade authorized master Fulk of Neuilly to preach
the crusade.
- Geoffrey of Villehardouin - one of the
principles chroniclers of the 4th crusade and one of the 2 envoys chosen
by Thibault who were sent to Venice to discuss the cost of transporting
the troops by sea. Villehardoin did most of the talking and was largely
responsible for what followed. The envoys were empowered to make arrangements
that would be binding to Thibault, Louis, and Baldwin. Villeharouin
was also high in the counsels of the leaders of the 4th crusade. And
therefore had much influence in the events.
- Enrico Dandolo - Doge of Venice descended
from an illustrious family. Lost full use of his eyes by an accident
in Constantinople and came to hate the city. Made agreement with Vilehardouin
for the financial arrangement and terms for carrying the troops to Cairo.
It was an extremely high sum and was to be paid in 3 installments.
- Boniface of Monterrat - When Villehardoin
returned to France, he found Thibault dying. A replacement had to be
found to lead the crusade. Boniface was chosen. He had ties to the Holy
land. Eldest brother was William Long Sword who had married Sibylla,
the daughter of King Amaury of Jerusalem and fathered king Baldwin V,
the leper king. Another one of his brothers was Conrad who was one of
the husbands of Queen Isabelle of Jerusalem; he also had close ties
to Constantinople. The Doge of Venice would easily play him.
- Zara - The crusaders did not have the amount
of money agreed upon. Instead of paying the sum the crusaders were required
to capture Zara.
- Zara was a city that had rebelled against Venice and now belonged to
Hungary. Zara was an important seaport 200 miles Southeast of Venice. Zara
was rich and a Christian city. The pope protested against the conquest to
no avail. He excommunicated all that would take part in its capture. Zara
was captured. The Doge had no intentions of attacking Cairo or going to
the holy land. He intended on establishing an empire.
- Prince Alexius Angelus son of the Emperor
Isaac II. He fled Byzantine when his Uncle blinded his father and threw
him in prison. During his exile, he contacted the leaders of the crusade
and ured them to help him regain his fathers throne promising them great
rewards. He offered the crusaders the money they needed to pay off the
Venetians, assume the cost of the conquest of Egypt, provide an army
of 10,000 and pay the maintenance of 500 knights and ensure that the
Orthodox church would submit to Rome. Alexius was used by the Doge and
Marquis to justify conquest of Constantinople and to get the crusaders
to conquer the city by returning the rightful emperor to the throne..
After Constantinople conquest, Isaac was put back on the throne. Isaac
abdicated in favor of his son.
- Alexius Ducas or Murzuphlus had been in
prison and released by Emperor Alexius and made chief steward. He hated
the crusaders and Venetians. Murzuphlus prevailed upon the emperor and
convinced him not to pay the Doge. Since the Emperor Alexious had signed
the covenant with the Doge and put Byzantium in debt to the Crusaders.
Murzuphlus killed the Emperor and retook the city. The Crusaders put
the city under siege, recaptured the city and set about the destruction
of the city. Murzuphlus was captured and killed.
- Consequences of the 4th Crusade - The sack
of the city was so devastating that it sent shock waves all over Europe
and beyond. The libraries of Constantinople contained great collections
of the Golden Age and ancient Greece all or nearly all were destroyed.
The mindless cruelty of the crusaders sought to extract the utmost from
the conquest shocked the west and destroyed all chances of reconciliation
between east and west. It destroyed the buffer between the turks and
west. Weaken the empire. The conquest harmed the whole idea of the crusades
and the crusades reputation was tarnished. It diverted help that was
desperately needed by the kingdom of Jerusalem helping to bring about
its inevitable fall. It made people think differently towards the crusaders
and the crusades lost it enthusiasm. The Capture of Constantinople was
the turning point of the crusade. It ruined the Latin states in the
east.
- The crusades caused the immigration of
Greeks to the east, enriched the west with the plunder of treasures
including the money gained by the sale of relics that ended up in European
churches. It was vital to the renaissance as some Greek books filtered
into the west; Moslem were far more advanced than the west and their
knowledge filtered in, commercial benefits were established for domination
of trade for the west. The Byzantines found it easier to bear the Turks
than Rome. The papacy became absolute which contributed to the reformation,
contributed to the nationalist growth of the west. It destroyed Byzantine
culture and the empire, weaken the east to Mongol invasion and Turks.
- Phillip of Swabia was married to Alexius's
sister and lived in Germany. Alexius came to Phillips court and sent
messages to the crusader leaders urging them to help him regain his
gathers throne (he thought his father dead)
- Isaac II - Emperior of Constantinople at
the time of the 4th crusade who was thrown into prison by his brother
Alexius who then proclaimed himself Emperor.
- Count Baldwin of Flanders and Hainault
took the cross at Bruges. He married the sister of Thibault and was
one of the 3 leaders of the 4th Crusade. He was made emperor of Constantinople
after the final conquest of the city.
- Louis count of Blois assumed responsibility
for leading 4th crusade with Thibault and Baldwin.
- Nur ed Din - son of Zengi leader of the
Moslems during the 2nd crusade After the fall of Edessa. His capital
was Allepo and he was an adversary of Saladin.
- Stephan of Cloyes - had a vision that Christ
had said for him to lead a childrens crusade. He was known as the prophet.
He convinced hundreds of children to go on the crusade. He organized
and lead the crusade of close to 8-10000 children to march from Paris
to Marseilles. A Hugh Ferreus and William of Posqueresoffered to carry
the children on ships to the Holy Land. A few ships were lost the remaining
5 went to the African coast and sold the children into slavery.
- Nicolas of Cologne called for a children's
crusade from Germany to go to the Holy Land.. Nicolas marched his
group over the Alps and ended up in the port of Brindisi. They were
not offered any trip to the holy land. Instead the girls were sold to
brothels and the boys to the slave markets. Both Nicolas and Stephan
believed they could win about Jerusalem with the innocence of the children,
that a miracle would happen because of the appearance of the innocent
- James of Vitry - preached strongly against
evils. He was one of the Chroniclers. He became the Bishop of Acre in
1216 and abandon his see to return to a monastery 12 years later. He
wrote his history of the Crusades. He took part in the crusades against
the Albigenses and went with the armies that invaded Languedoc as well
as the expeditions in the holy land.
- John of Brienne - king of Jerusalem in
1216. Ordered the strengthening of fortifications and the building of
Chastel Pelerin.. Also directed expeditions through the Galilee to test
the enemy's strength. Directed an assault on Damietta where they entered
the city and found the entire population dead from the plague.
- Al Mu' azzam - Sultan of Damascus at about
the same time as John of Brienne.
- John of Joinville - Chronicler who accompanied
Louis the IX on the Crusades from France. Was captured at the battle
of Monsourah and witnessed together with King Louis the IX the assassination
of the Sultan Turanshah on a galley in the river.
- John of Ibelin - Lord of Beirut ruled Cypruis
at the time of Frederick the II who tried to take his Lordship by Force
and wanted the revenues of Cyprus. But did not. His son Balain became
a member of Fredericks staff after being a prisoner.
- Damietta - an Egyptian city situated on
the mouth of the Nile. It was an entry port to Egypt by the crusaders
who believed that the way to re-conquer Jerusalem was through Egypt.
Destroy the power of Egypt and Jerusalem would be free. King Louis was
able to take the city with no effort and the loss of only one man. The
city was the scene of many floods, pestilences, and sandstorms and battles.
- John of Capistrano. Established
communities of Franciscan renewal. Reported to heal by making the Sign
of the Cross over a sick person. Wrote extensively, mainly against the
heresies of the day. After the fall of Constantinople, he preached Crusade
against the Muslim Turks. no one showed up At
age 70 he was commissioned by Pope Callistus II to lead it, and marched
off at the head of 70,000 Christian soldiers. He won the great battle
of Belgrade in the summer of 1456. He died in the field a few months
later, but his army delivered Europe from the Muslems.
- Celestine II succeeded Innocent II, his
Papacy was the absolution of Louis VII of France at the request of that
penitent monarch, and the removal of the interdict under which that
country had lain for three years.
- Simon de Montfort Under the leadership
of Simon de Montfort, the whole province of Languedoc was reduced literally
to ashes.
- Innocent III Crusade against the Albigenses
- In 1208, Innocent III called on France to suppress the
Albigenses in the Languedoc region of southern France.
- The name Albigenses came from the town of Albi, northeast
of Toulouse.
- The Albigenses taught that Christ was a ghost or spirit
whose mission was to teach the doctrine of salvation, as described
in the Gospels. Christ had come to warn mankind that the god of the
Old Testament was really a demon who had created the world. Christ
was a myth or an archetype and denied that the human body was resurrected
after death.
- The Albigenses opposed the "cult of the cross" - the Roman
Catholic Church - and despatched missionaries far and wide to propagate
their creed.
- This Crusade against the Albigenses started a 30-year
war.
- Simon de Montfort led the Crusade.
- The whole province of Languedoc was destroyed. Innocent
III established an Holy Office of the Inquisition and gave "all
the power and authority of canon and civil law" which resulted in
Albigenses were tortured and mutilated.
- Henry VI, Barbarossa's son, as emperor.
Henry invaded all of Italy and ripped Apulia and Sicily from the Normans.
his son was Frederick II
- schism which saw three
rival popes enthroned simultaneously in confusion and conflict. In the
year 1378, the Roman Catholic Church split when the King of France decided
that he did not like the Italian Pope and elected one of his own.
The Great Schism, as it has been called, lasted for about 68 years,
during which time there were two popes claiming authority over the Catholic
Church. Finally between 1414 and 1418, the Council of Constance was
successful in healing the Schism. The deposition of the Avignon Pope
induced the resignation of the Roman Pope. The schism was healed. An
election of a single pope occurred, Pope Martin V, who reigned from
1417-1431
- Mamalukes of Egypt in the 13th and 14th
centuries. They had been brought to Egypt as Turkish mercenaries and
slaves to fight in the Egyptian army, and they subsequently acquired
total military and political power in the country.
|
|
