The Crusades And Imperialism In The High Middle Ages

Throughout history, one can find examples of a nation trying to expand its borders and grow stronger, wealthier, and more influential, but during the High Middle Ages the Catholic Church takes on a mission to take back the Holy Land from Muslim Control. The Crusades are a special event that only occur during the High Middle Ages, and in no other era of history does one find the Catholic Church put together a military campaign to take control another land. While some historians look back upon the Crusades as a purely religious expedition, others consider them to be the conquest of new lands in order to grow in power and wealth. Imperialism within the Middle Ages can be seen as both similar to other ages in history and different because the reasoning …show more content…
In the Gesta Francorum, one historian writes, “After this our men rushed round the whole city, seizing gold and silver, horses and mules, and houses full of all sorts of goods, and they all came rejoicing and weeping from excess of gladness to worship at the Sepulcher of our Savior Jesus, and there they fulfilled their vows to him.” Even with the worship of the sacred places and objects in the Holy Land, the Crusaders still went throughout the city and took whatever they pleased. Along with this fact, the Crusaders continued killing many of the Muslims who were there even after they took the city, and the historian almost paints it as a merciless killing of many people. He writes, “Next morning, they went cautiously up on the Temple roof and attacked the Saracens, both men and women, cutting off their heads with drawn swords. Some of the Saracens threw themselves down headlong from the temple…” With this description, the Crusades begin to sound more and more like a quest for power than one for a religious …show more content…
One of the most well-known military conquests during this time, the Crusades, is an example of this. The Crusades are different from many other wars throughout history due to the fact of the Catholic Church calling them on religious grounds, and for religious reasons, but they are also similar because of the way the Crusaders conducted themselves while on the Crusades. While many historians argue whether the Crusades were called for religious reasons or for the Church to increase its power and wealth, both of these aspects seem to support both