The Lasting Effect Of The Crusades Essay free essay sample

, Research Paper The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly The impact of the Crusades of early European history are the topic of muchcontroversy. Through the scrutiny of three different paperss of those events, sentiments of at least three different natures have been formed. One believes that these holy wars were so good for the civilization, while another would take a firm stand that they were asham, a fraud intended to merely beef up the clasp of the pontificate. The other believes thatthey were perchance the greatest shame that organized faith has seen. The first authorship on the topic, The Crusade s Widen Europe s Horizon takesthe side of the campaigns, supporting them as a profitable investing on the portion of theEuropeans. The writer states that Both the Moslems and the Christians learned a greatdeal from each other. His grounds includes many architectural, strategical, economicaland manner thoughts that civilizations exchanged and used during and after the wars. We will write a custom essay sample on The Lasting Effect Of The Crusades Essay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page TheChristian Godheads busying the sanctum land had 200 old ages in which they could construct castlesand unrecorded. These castle employed both manners of the West in add-on to those of the easternByzantine and Arab civilizations. Besides, the celebrated stained-glass Windowss found in westernchurches and cathedrals were originally an Arabic manner, which the occupying Christiansadapted for their ain usage. The find of besieging tactics, illustrated in most novels andmovies as a European invention, were really learned from the Moslems, who usedcross-bows, combustibles, and bearer pigeons for communicating intents. New goodsbrought into the market led to better economical developments. Faster ships were built foreasier transit, and the first international Bankss were invented. These Bankss allowedmerchants to lodge their financess in one metropolis, and so retreat them upon making one ofthe trading metropoliss, Constantinople or Acre. Called Templars, these Bankss allowed for amuch m ore efficient system of trading. Finally, the writer points out the influence on thestyle of the reformers. The usage of aromas became popular, as did the local clothingtrends in add-on to oriental carpets, tapestries, and rugs. Despite the positive viewpointof the papers, the writer does non, nevertheless, seek to deny the negative consequence of theCrusades. He states that From a strictly military point of position, the Crusades must bewritten off as a failure for the West # 8230 ; His logical thinking is a consequence of the fact that after all thechanging of custodies happening over the 200 twelvemonth period, the district reverted to Moslemcontrol for good. He thinks of the Crusades as an investing by the westerners that, in theend, payed off. The 2nd papers examined, Western Civilization, expresses a feeling thatthe campaigns were, merely put, a gag. The writer, William L. Langer, states that all theCrusades accomplished was fring the universe or troublesome knights. In his p osition, theentire event was a complete and arrant failure, chiefly due to the fact that the Crusader sfailed in their mission to change over the holy land to Christian control. He besides denies anyconnection between the enlightenment in Europe and the Crusades. He states thatalthough the Renaissance began during the clip of the Crusades, the development ofwestern Europe did non come from Jerusalem, but from Sicily and Spain. The Crusaders in Jerusalem were largely merchandisers and soldiers and were non truly interested in larning. Alternatively, these soldiers and merchandisers spent their clip worrying about doing a profit.Also, the development of trade between the two civilizations was non a consequence of the Crusades, and had begun over a hundred old ages antecedently. The writer doesn T deny, nevertheless, thehastening of eastern commercial development as a consequence of the Crusades, but claims thatthe cost of directing soldiers to the East in add-on to the expensive gusta tory sensations acquired upon geting at that place outweighed the trade benefits, and ruined many European nobles. Althoughthe victory of the first crusade brought a new sense of pride and faith into the papacy, inthe long run, it hurt the church immensely. Pope s began using the Crusades as an excuseto conquer land or raise taxes, anything to improve their own political standings.Christians were horrified by this twisting of the holy war, and raised a voice in protest.This caused the papacy to lose a great deal of its moral prestige, leading to the overalldecline of Christianity in the west. Despite his negative philosophy about the Crusades, theauthor does admit the connection between them and the development of popular romanticpoetry. On numerous occasions, soldiers returning from the east brought with them storiesof courage, bravery and the sad fate of capture on the part of the crusaders in the form ofsongs. He also admits that the knights did adopt the clothing, living, and architecturalstyles of the east. Basically, he believes that the Crusades were a schem e created by thepapacy to gain popularity, and in the long run riches and a more powerful grip on thepeople. In the third document, Where the Crusades Live On, Anton La Guarda expresseshis feeling that the Crusades were an unnecessary excuse for religious based violence. Heuses examples of mass slaughters. For example, he tells of the fateful day of July 5, 1099,when the Crusaders finally broke through the defenses of Jerusalem. They celebrated byslaughtering all inhabitants of the city. They took pride in this, because killing Moslemsand Jews was considered zealous. The author also professes his concern for the Crusadesbeing a metaphor for glory and bravery as well as romantic ideals. He states that the term Crusade is over and incorrectly used in such contexts as crusades against aids,corruption, and world poverty, in that those are worthwhile causes, whereas theCrusades were not. Also, he talks about the murder of countless Jews as a prelude to theholy war. However, today the chu rches and castles built by the Crusaders serve as greatsources of tourist revenue for the countries they are located in. The author believes theCrusades to be a vast fiasco, based completely on ignorance, greed, and jealousy. Heuses excerpts from writings that include the following: †¦much courage and so little honor, so much devotion and so littleunderstanding†¦ †¦intolerance in the name of god, which is the Sin against the holy ghost. He states that the crusaders left a legacy of enmity(hatred.) Also significant inthe article is the use of a writing by Amin Maalouf, who uses the claims that any actiontaken against the westerners would be considered no more than legitimate vengeance. La Guarda goes on to accuse the widening schism on the Crusades, by stating that theknights sacking Constantinople led to the Moslem control of the Byzantine empire. All inall, La Guarda s view of the Crusades is one of animosity. He thinks of them as a disgraceto Christianity, stating t hat while Christians have so much, Moslems have so little. Heexplains that freedom is a luxury to most Moslems, and even a decent standard of livingseems unattainable. He compares the Crusaders to the Mongols, implying that they weresavages bent on personal gain, not chivalrous soldiers fighting in the name of god. Hisview is that the crusades were an excuse to slaughter countless masses of non-believers,and that the fact that the modern Catholic and entertainment world looks upon them asglorious is a shame. Three documents, with three different views. None are right, none are wrong. Onthe one hand, many things were accomplished by the crusades, on the other, many thingswere destroyed. Depending on one s heritage, on one s upraising, and one s personality,one must come up with his or her own view, because there is no single right and wrong.Too much happened on both sides to make a one sided opinion, and that s what this essayis about.

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