1066–1485

B EF O R E

The capture of Jerusalem by Muslim Arab

armies from the Christian Byzantine
emperor in 638 CE was a disaster for the
England in the Crusades
Christian world. As Christian monarchs, the kings of England were bound to take the papal calls to crusade seriously.
Over two centuries, scores of English nobles, thousands of ordinary soldiers, and one reigning king
THE FIRST CRUSADE
It was centuries before any serious attempt was took the Cross and embarked for the Holy Land to save it from the advance of Islam.
made to recover Jerusalem. Pilgrims continued to

reach the Holy City. Yet anecdotal accounts of the
restrictions of Muslim authorities on Christian
pilgrims in Palestine, and the effects of the
disastrous defeat in 1071 of the Byzantine
army at Manzikert by the Muslim Seljuk Turks,
reignited efforts to regain the Holy Land.
In 1095, Pope Urban II began to preach a
Crusade – a holy war – to reconquer Jerusalem.
W
ith cries of Deus le Veult
(“God wills it”), the crowds
responded to Pope Urban’s
sermon at Clermont in France in 1095.
Many knights and nobles pledged
themselves to an armed expedition to
seize Jerusalem from its Muslim rulers.
The First Crusade (1096–99) was a
largely French affair, but the closely
interlinked landed and political
interests of the nobility of Normandy
and that of England meant that there
was an English dimension of sorts;
William II’s brother, Robert Curthose,
Duke of Normandy, took part, as
did others, such as Eustace of
Boulogne, who held large estates
in England. A small English
fleet also made its way to the
Levant, and English sailors may have money, William II in turn levied a
been present at the fall of Jerusalem crusading tax of 4 shillings to the hide
on July 15, 1099. on his kingdom, an imposition so
severe that monks were said to have
Paying for the Crusade been forced to melt down sacred
The First Crusade had another impact ornaments to pay for it.
on England, a financial one that was The popularity of crusading as an
to recur during later crusades. Robert idea was undimmed by these financial
Curthose pledged the Duchy of impositions, and the English chronicler
Normandy as surety for Henry of Huntingdon described the
a 10,000-mark preaching of the First Crusade as the
loan his brother
gave him to The Crusade assault on Jerusalem
fund his The capture of the Holy City of Jerusalem on July 15,
crusading 1099 was a great triumph. It was accompanied by the
effort. To massacre of large numbers of its inhabitants, both
raise this Muslim and Christian.

POPE URBAN PREACHING THE CRUSADE

KING OF ENGLAND (1157–99)

RICHARD I (LIONHEART)
Known as “Lionheart” due to his skill as
a warrior, Richard I gained early military
experience while rebelling against his
father Henry II. He spent only three
months in England in 1189, just long
enough to claim the throne after his
father’s death and raise finances for the
Third Crusade. While returning overland
from Palestine, he was seized by Duke
Leopold of Austria and held prisoner
until a large ransom was paid in 1194.
Another brief sojourn in England followed
to restore the damage done by his
brother John, who had seized power in
Richard’s absence, but he then spent the
last five years of his life in France, where
he built Gaillard castle (below) in 1196.

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