![]() There’s no doubt that there were also ideas of adventure. Often, it’s a way of showing that there is a new reign and that they’re different from their fathers. They take the cross often when they become kings. Certainly, kings and emperors think it will do their ‘PR’ no harm. I think crusaders were also spurred on by the idea of the deeds of their ancestors, the glory that can pertain to their families if they take part in these great expeditions. He preaches all over Europe drawing large crowds, and influences kings to ‘take the cross’: Louis VII, Conrad III. ![]() Take a figure like Bernard of Clairvaux on the Second Crusade. There are many other non-religious motivations, such as the charismatic preaching that we see happening with these crusades. (Now, we know that some of the First Crusaders were very cynical about that.) The Byzantine emperor, Alexius Comnenus, had asked for help from the west because the Byzantines were struggling against the Seljuk Turks at this time. The pope had called for the First Crusade to help the Byzantines in the east. There is another religious motivation: to help fellow Christians.
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