Middle Ages 5: The Crusades -- Why Did They Happen?

We examine the forces that led the Pope to put forward the far-fetched scheme of mobilizing Christian knights to reclaim Jerusalem in 1095, and briefly consider what lesson the launching of the first Crusade holds for our own world almost 1,000 years later. Become a patron of Historiansplaining in order to hear the lecture on the First Crusade and how it miraculously succeeded in capturing Jerusalem -- https://www.patreon.com/posts/11130531 Or alternatively, make a one-time contribution to hear the entire series of lectures on the Middle Ages: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2004397?view=condensed