Religious motives

• One religious motive for the start of a crusade was that it was a penitential war. Maltida of Tuscany, along with cannonists, believed this war would attone earlier errors and punishments
• A second reason was the impact of the papal reform movement. This was the promise from the Pope that knights would recieve indulgences. This meant that knights would be given a ticket to heaven, if they accomplished their mission of reaching Jerusalem and taking it. Furthermore, the reform also popularised the idea of Imitato Christi, which allowed knights to live a more simpler life, just like Jesus did
• To strengthen the idea of indulgences, in 1145, Pope Eugenius created plenary indulgences. This concept was used in the 2nd crusade to encourage people to fight for the holy land. If they went on a crusade, all their sins would be forgiven.
• A third reason is the influence of Jerusalem. This where the most spiritual locations are located. This includes: Calvary hill, where Jesus was crucified and The Holy Sepulchre, the tomb where Jesus ressurected from. These were also important location for pilgrims (In 1060s, 7000 german pilgrims went to Jerusalem). Therefore, the idea of a crusade strengthend Jerusalem's validity as a sacred pilgrim
• Another religious motive was the papal support:

  • Pope issued to excommunicate anyone who abandoned their cause on the First Crusade
  • Calixtus II created crusade bulls in the early 1120's, which were letters which started a crusade. The most effective was Pope Eugenius Quantum Praedecessores in 1145
  • Popes set out rules of borrowing money to fund a crusade. Later popes tried to directly generate provisions - Clement III asked the clergy of Canterbury and Genoa for financial support in 1188
• Another motive was through the influence of preachers. They would turn around the country trying to enlist soldiers to fight. One example is Archbishop Baldwin of Canterbury who went on a preaching tour in Wales and supposedly enlisted 3000 recruits
• Techniques used by preachers:

  • Choosing the right day = Urban II arrived at St Gilles on the same day at the feast of its patron, St Gilles
  • Quality of Audience = When Bernard of Clairvaux preached in Vezelay in 1146, he preached in front of the whole French nobility
  • Pious mood = During Urban's visit to Angers in 1096, he ordained a feast and stated that anyone who attended would earn 1/7 of an indulgence