Crusades and Medieval Eschatology

[Warren]

Did crusaders and contemporaries of the crusades believe they were fighting to establish the millennial kingdom? Did the church of Rome think the Kingdom of Palestine was a fulfillment of the last times?

 

[johnny]

It's complicated but much of the reason why the crusades were started was drawn from the continual unprovoked attacks on the pilgrims who were visiting the Holy Land perpetrated against them by the Muslim fighters. Many were unorganised bands of thieves and thugs and killing pilgrims was easy money for them.

This is according to this book which is a great read.

https://www.amazon.com/Gods-Battalions-Crusades-Rodney-Stark/dp/0061582603

 

[Warren]

Thanks Johnny. Was there widespread feeling of Christ's immanent return, after the capture of Jerusalem, though?

 

[Semper Fidelis]

https://www.firstthings.com/article/2009/06/inventing-the-crusades

In a nutshell, what most people believe about the Crusades and their motivation is historically inaccurate.

First, it's a bit anachronistic to call it the "Church of Rome" - it was the Western Church at the time.

The author points out that you really cannot understand the motivation of the Crusaders (who pretty much impoverished themselves) without understanding their religious motivations that had as much to do with a view of being a "good Samaritan" to those being mistreated by Muslims as it did with other theological notions. I even find it fascinating how "just war" theory was different at the time and how we tend to be influenced more by pacifistic notions of the use of force that they did not share at the time.

 

[Pergamum]

I studied this once about 10 years ago. Let me find my notes. It seems that some thought they were delivering the "Heavenly City" as a precursor to Christ returning literally (descending upon the Mount of Olives and even making the mount split in two between his feet and a river gushing out), etc.

 

[Tom Hart]

Did crusaders and contemporaries of the crusades believe they were fighting to establish the millennial kingdom? Did the church of Rome think the Kingdom of Palestine was a fulfillment of the last times?

Although I haven't read it, I think that's along the lines of what's argued in this book: https://www.amazon.com/Armies-Heaven-First-Crusade-Apocalypse/dp/0465019293

 

[Philip]

Did crusaders and contemporaries of the crusades believe they were fighting to establish the millennial kingdom?

I would refer you to the accounts of the Council of Clermont for reference as to the theology of the Crusades (Clermont was the council at which the First Crusade was called). You'll notice very little reference to eschatology in the various chroniclers (most of whom were churchmen). Instead, the concerns are more pressing:

1) The liberation of parts of Christendom which had fallen under Islamic control (how much liberation actually happened is another matter).
2) A reunion of Christendom. In 1095, the Great Schism was less than 50 years old and there were still close ties between the Eastern and Western Churches. The Pope hoped that military expeditions might help to ease tensions (again, things worked out rather differently).
3) Alleviating the pastoral problem of warfare between Christian states. The western church was desperately trying to keep Christendom from tearing itself apart through the feudal warfare that was ubiquitous at the time by channeling a significant part of the nobility's bloodlust toward the Islamic world. In this regard, the Crusades had some success, sometimes.

 

[Warren]

Pergamum, if you could find those notes, please pm me!

Thanks everyone for your replies. Philip, Thanks for the contemporary source.

My reason for asking was to search whether many believed a liberated Jerusalem was an eschatological fulfillment of prophecy. I can see ethical and political concerns were more the impetus, but I wanted to know if the rhetoric was at all eschatological.

 

[Pergamum]

The way I fell onto the topic was reading about the monk Peter the Hermit whose sermons motivated people to go on Crusade during the First Crusade. His sermons often contained phrases such as, "The Kingdom of God is at hand..and will come shortly." His themes were eschatological.

Peter the Hermit preached that when Christian armies cleansed the Holy City from the pagan hordes, then Christ would return.

Here is a youtube that seems true to the contents of Peter the Hermit's sermons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4G2tyVersY



Also, research Count Emicho of the Rhoineland who claimed to receive a vision from Christ to conquer the Holy Land and become an eschatological last Emperor.


Themes of the Muslims being Gog and/or Magog are also a feature of some writings. The writings of the German counts call the Muslims "Antichrist" or "The Armies of Antichrist" and Revelation 20 is mentioned several times in their letters.

According to Guibert of Nogent, Pope Urban stated that the Christian armies might even fight Antichrist (as found in the Book of Daniel describes):

“For it is clear that [the] Antichrist is to do battle with not with
Jews, not with Gentiles; but according to the etymology of his
name, He will attack Christians…. According to Daniel and
Jerome, the interpreter of Daniel…. he will sit at Jerusalem in
the Temple of the Lord, as though he were God.”95


Peters, The First Crusade, 35.

If you can get hold of the article, "Crusade Eschatology as Seen by St. Bernard in the Years 1146 to 1148" this is a good read. Ridyard's book on the crusade, found on google books at the link which follows mentions this essay (starting page 11): https://books.google.com/books?id=lLs68e1lSlsC&pg=PA11&lpg=PA11&dq=Peter+the+hermit+eschatology&source=bl&ots=Zet5AX2GUr&sig=5lKHmWNfOO9J4AY5FI8EJ4gCdwg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj-7IrH6bnOAhVQ32MKHeCsAecQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=Peter%20the%20hermit%20eschatology&f=false

Bernard's eschatological sermons to promote the Crusades are also mentioned here: https://books.google.com/books?id=TKCAvDd2JHYC&pg=PA28&lpg=PA28&dq=kahl+crusade+eschatology&source=bl&ots=ngPIeBRMIZ&sig=8w-IkM09yysbwE8vgDRQmhceu4o&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwij3NjE77nOAhUB7GMKHYtjAxQQ6AEIJjAD#v=onepage&q=kahl%20crusade%20eschatology&f=false

And there were also eschatological motivations for the Reconquest in Spain and even Columbus had eschatological reasons for his voyages (beginning page 123 of this link): https://books.google.com/books?id=AT8GF9EciLEC&pg=PA123&lpg=PA123&dq=medieval+eschatology+crusades&source=bl&ots=VqngxNNPCJ&sig=n54A3q2wouwhrEOJiDEyyRAqQV0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjtuM6z6LnOAhUX1WMKHSZBA_IQ6AEIJzAC#v=onepage&q=medieval%20eschatology%20crusades&f=false

Jay Rubenstein covers much of this in his book: Armies of Heaven: The First Crusade and the Quest for Apocalypse linked here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005P1YCIK/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1#navbar

Around the year 1,000 was a time of Millenial expectation. I can't find the documentation (perhaps it was Peter the Hermit), but some seemed to say Christ delayed his coming because the Holy City was in the hands of the Heathen. I'll look for more.

The Gesta Francorum (the Deeds of the Franks) is the earliest chronical of the Crusades I believe and you can read it direct here to see the religious and apocalyptic expectations that went along with the motivations to Crusade: https://www.amazon.com/Deeds-Franks-Other-Jerusalem-Bound-Pilgrims/dp/1442204982

 

[Pergamum]

And I just found this article: https://sites.dartmouth.edu/crusadememory/2016/04/24/apocalypticism-and-the-first-crusade/

the Crusaders to believe that they were playing a part in the End Times.