The First Crusade: 3

The remission of sins promised to the Crusaders (in the source on The First Crusade: 2) is put in the context of Christian charity. The suggestion is that it is more appropriate to go on Crusade for reasons of piety rather than greed. The two further references are to decrees which were intended to control recruitment and secure the marital rights of wives. Europe could not be left without sufficient priests and monks to pray for and look after the spiritual needs of those who had not been able to go on crusade, so bishops and abbots would have needed to monitor carefully those clerics and monks who went. At the same time, wives could only be left behind if it was possible for them to maintain the estates and households of those who had gone away. In other words, the pope was here balancing the need to raise crusaders to try to re-capture the Holy Land with the spiritual needs of those who remained at home, and with the need for there to be adequate protection for the lands and property of those who were going East.

The next source gives insight into the practicalities involved in going on Crusade. From the internal evidence of this source, suggest an answer to each of the following:

• Can you summarise what is being said in the passage?
• Who seems to have written it?
• Why do you think such a careful record was made?
• What does this tell you about the cost of going on crusade and how funds might be raised?