

Most were also not interested in an overseas kingdom.

Lords were forced to sell off or mortgage their lands to gather the necessary funds. Crusading was an enormously expensive operation. We now know that it was the "first sons" of Europe that answered the Pope's call in 1095, as well as in subsequent Crusades. Modern scholarship, assisted by the advent of computer databases, has exploded this myth. The Crusades, therefore, were seen as a safety valve, sending these belligerent men far from Europe where they could carve out lands for themselves at someone else's expense. Historians used to believe that a rise in Europe's population led to a crisis of too many noble "second sons," those who were trained in chivalric warfare but who had no feudal lands to inherit. Their pious platitudes were just a cover for rapacious greed. Myth 2: The Crusaders wore crosses, but they were really only interested in capturing booty and land. At some point what was left of the Christian world would have to defend itself or simply succumb to Islamic conquest. As far as unprovoked aggression goes, it was all on the Muslim side. They continued to press westward toward Constantinople, ultimately passing it and entering Europe itself. And the Muslim empires were not finished yet. Paul planted the seeds of the first Christian communities - these were not the periphery of Christianity but its very core. Palestine, the home of Jesus Christ Egypt, the birthplace of Christian monasticism Asia Minor, where St.

In other words, by the end of the 11th century the forces of Islam had captured two-thirds of the Christian world. After a few centuries of steady conquests, Muslim armies had taken all of North Africa, the Middle East, Asia Minor and most of Spain. From the time of Mohammed, Muslims had sought to conquer the Christian world. Myth 1: The Crusades were wars of unprovoked aggression against a peaceful Muslim world. Madden: The following are some of the most common myths and why they are wrong. Q: What are some common misconceptions about the Crusades the Crusaders?
