Feb

24

Concerning the Crusades

February 24, 2007 |

A nice essay written by Fr. Nicholas of Roman Miscellany. Those soldiers (not counting the scoundrels that pillaged the the Byzantines) who gave up so much to go out and fight for the Holy Land have certainly been backhanded in our times. I don’t believe they deserve it.

An excerpt:

The facts speak for themselves – the speed of Islamic expansion, which ensured that the new religion stretched from the Atlantic coast to Central Asia within a century of the founder’s death, is one of the wonders of history. As G. K. Chesterton wrote, ‘when people talk as if the Crusades were nothing more than an aggressive raid against Islam, they seem to forget in the strangest way that Islam itself was only an aggressive raid against the old and ordered civilization in these parts. I do not say it in mere hostility to the religion of Mahomet; I am fully conscious of many values and virtues in it; but certainly it was Islam that was the invasion and Christendom that was the thing invaded.’ Muslim jurists formed the concept of jihad, or holy struggle, which included the aim of conquering the rest of the non-Muslim world.

Another one:

Most crusaders made huge sacrifices in order to travel to the East – mortgaging or selling their lands and leaving loved ones with little hope of return. Yet they followed the dictates of conscience and the call of the Church by believing that Deus lo Vult! (God wills it!). Many saints promoted the cause, including St Bernard, St Francis of Assisi and St Pius V. Unlike many people today who see the Church and ask, ‘What’s in it for me?,’ the crusaders asked, ‘How can I serve the Faith?’ They made the long journey because they believed and yearned for salvation. Even Edward Gibbon admitted this in his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire – ‘I will dare to affirm,’ he wrote, ‘that all were prompted by the spirit of enthusiasm, the belief of merit, the hope of reward, and the assurance of divine aid.’

Linked through from the Roving Medievalist.


Comments

1 Comment so far

  1. Tom on March 3, 2007 8:22 am

    Kevin — I wrote a short historical novel about the First Crusade that you might like. You can find it at Amazon.com. It’s called “Godfrey de Bouillon; Defender of the Holy Sepulchre.”

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

Speak your mind