The First Crusade
The Crusades, Christendom’s attempts to win back the Holy Land and Jerusalem, began in 1095 with the First Crusade. The Muslims had taken Jerusalem in 1076. Pope Urban incited the Christians of Medieval Europe with the words: “Christians, hasten to help your brothers in the East, for they are being attacked. Arm for the rescue of Jerusalem under your captain Christ. Wear his cross as your badge. If you are killed your sins will be pardoned.” The Crusaders had to follow an overland route to Constantinople, where they gathered in preparation for moving south to Palestine. By 1097, after a brutal journey to reach it, nearly 10,000 people had gathered in Constantinople. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/cru2.htm The Crusaders encountered little resistance for the most part, and reached Jerusalem by June 7, 1099. They began their attack on the 13th, and by the 17th, had Read more…
The Templars and Hospitallers in Wales
The Templars and the Hospitallers made inroads into Wales, though less than in other European countries. In Wales, they are very much associated with the Normans and the Holy Land … not that Welshmen didn’t go on Crusade, because some did, but that the institution didn’t attract much of a following among the native Welsh. “In 1156 the Countess of Warwick gave the Templars the church of Llanmadoc in the Gower, and until the early 1280s they held Templeton in Pembrokeshire – contemporary documents call it “Villa Templar”, “Templars’ village”. William Marshal may have given them the mill they owned outside Pembroke castle, and he may have been the donor who gave them the church of Kemeys Commander on the River Usk. The Templars also owned small parcels of land in Glamorganshire and Gwent. Though founded at the same time Read more…
Kingdom of Heaven (movie review)
Since any movie with swords garners my immediate attention, Kingdom of Heaven was on the top of my list to see when it came out a few years ago. Starring Orlando Bloom, Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis, and Liam Neeson, and directed by Ridley Scott, what could go wrong? Confession: I love this movie. That doesn’t mean it deserves five stars, because it doesn’t. Maybe 4 on a good day, but I still love it. I love the character of Balian (played by Bloom), I’ll watch Jeremy Irons in anything, even slumming in Eragon, and all the medieval crusade material makes my mouth water. That said, the history is terrible, and for the purposes of this blog, that’s what I’m going to talk about. First, the good: The Kingdom of Jerusalem did have a King Baldwin who gained the throne as Read more…
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