Unit: Medieval Europe
Lesson Title: The Crusades (See pages 264-266)
In the early Middle Ages, few people travelled. As
time passed, Europeans learned of other people
and places.
Some of their contacts were peaceful and others were
not. Wars broke out. The most well-known were
called the Crusades.
The Crusades were a long series of wars between
Christians and Muslims in southwest Asia (the Middle
East), mostly fought between 1096-1204.
The Crusades were fought over control of Palestine, called
the “Holy Land” by Christians because it was where
Jesus of Nazareth had lived and died.
For many years, Palestine had been controlled by
Muslims who did not bother visiting Christians.
Then in the 1000s a group of Turkish Muslims took over
the Holy Land. Christians claimed they were attacked
by these Muslims on their pilgrimages and visits.
Then the Turks began raiding the Byzantine Empire.
The Byzantine emperor feared an attack on
Constantinople and asked the Pope for help.
Pope Urban II called on Christians from all over Europe to
retake the Holy Land from the Muslim Turks.
In class reading activity
Read “The Call to Arms” on page 265.
List three reasons why someone would join the Crusades.
Right Side Notebook Activity
Some historians suggest that the reasons for joining
the Crusades, and how fighters were recruited,
were not always noble.
Create a recruiting poster for the First Crusade. The
poster should indentify why someone would be
motivated to join, and include:
• Why you should join;
• Who you will be fighting;
• The goal of the wars;
• Where you will be fighting;
• A picture.
In class reading activity #2
Read “The First Crusade” (page 265-266)
Answer these questions:
1. Who were the first Crusaders? Where and who did
they attack first?
2. Why did they fail to reach the Holy Land?
3. Who reached Jerusalem in 1099?
4. What was the outcome of the First Crusade?
5. What was the impact of the First Crusade on the Holy
Land and Europe?
The nobles and knights who fought in the First
Crusade successfully reached and captured Jerusalem.
What happened in Jerusalem could hardly be called
“Holy War”.
Lesson wrap-up
Estimate the distance traveled by Europeans to get to
Palestine to fight the First Crusade. (See the map on
page 267.)
How would the distance affect the war effort?