History Extension notes
Phillips (2002)
Bull (1999)
Tyerman (2006)
Religion
‘God’s favour dictated much of their lives, and explained both natural and man-made events’
Eternal damnation – ‘A prime concern for the medieval man was to avoid the terrors of the afterlife’ – ‘torments of hell so violently depicted’
Pilgrimage was extremely popular – saints used as intermediaries
Need to atone for one’s sins – emphasised by reform of the papacy
Stereotypes of Islam and Muslims as ‘idolatrous polytheists’
Perception of Crusades as contest between faiths fuelled by religious fanaticism – bound up by modern sensibilities about religious discrimination with resonances to political conflicts – rejected perception
Idea of Pilgrimage – ‘The crusade was proposed as a devotional act of pilgrimage, and therein lay its attraction’
Fear of Hell - ‘No aspect of human conduct and social interaction was immune from the taint of sinfulness’ as means of maintaining social cohesion
Sensitivity to communal pressure – religious guilt embedded into society
The Old Testament – stories of war against God’s enemies, fed the ‘world view’ of Crusaders that it was okay to fight for God and use Violence in God’s name
‘Peace of God’ and ‘Truce of God’ movements defined knight as champion of Christian peace – protect church – amend sins and alleviate God’s punishment for violence – these provided justification for knights who were ‘forbidden to pursue their profession (violence) within Christendom’
Violence
‘The violence of the crusading age cannot, and should not, be denied, yet this must be seen in the context of Western European society of the time’
Localized warfare was a perpetual danger
‘Violence was endemic and in itself, unremarkable’
‘Brutality was so common if often became ritualistic’
Validation by the state of mind, the ends sought, competence of the individual
Representation of Violence – excessive and exaggerated – historian bias in protection of own faiths
Only acceptable towards
Bull (1999)
Tyerman (2006)
Religion
‘God’s favour dictated much of their lives, and explained both natural and man-made events’
Eternal damnation – ‘A prime concern for the medieval man was to avoid the terrors of the afterlife’ – ‘torments of hell so violently depicted’
Pilgrimage was extremely popular – saints used as intermediaries
Need to atone for one’s sins – emphasised by reform of the papacy
Stereotypes of Islam and Muslims as ‘idolatrous polytheists’
Perception of Crusades as contest between faiths fuelled by religious fanaticism – bound up by modern sensibilities about religious discrimination with resonances to political conflicts – rejected perception
Idea of Pilgrimage – ‘The crusade was proposed as a devotional act of pilgrimage, and therein lay its attraction’
Fear of Hell - ‘No aspect of human conduct and social interaction was immune from the taint of sinfulness’ as means of maintaining social cohesion
Sensitivity to communal pressure – religious guilt embedded into society
The Old Testament – stories of war against God’s enemies, fed the ‘world view’ of Crusaders that it was okay to fight for God and use Violence in God’s name
‘Peace of God’ and ‘Truce of God’ movements defined knight as champion of Christian peace – protect church – amend sins and alleviate God’s punishment for violence – these provided justification for knights who were ‘forbidden to pursue their profession (violence) within Christendom’
Violence
‘The violence of the crusading age cannot, and should not, be denied, yet this must be seen in the context of Western European society of the time’
Localized warfare was a perpetual danger
‘Violence was endemic and in itself, unremarkable’
‘Brutality was so common if often became ritualistic’
Validation by the state of mind, the ends sought, competence of the individual
Representation of Violence – excessive and exaggerated – historian bias in protection of own faiths
Only acceptable towards