Why did the 1st crusade start?

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What were the crusades?

They started in 1096 A.D. and continued on and off for several hundred years. The christians began them when thy recaptured the holy land from the muslims and that is jerusalem where jesus was born. The first crusade would bring prestiege and power to the catholic church so that is why the pope started it. He also thought it would help reduce the conflicts taking place in Europe by sending the knights to capture the holy land.

The second crusade was because the crusade states in jerusulem were being attacked constatly by the muslims and need more resources and reinforcments. The crusades to me didn't seem very christian like, I mean to me i don't se christians as people who go and kill people just so they could have the riches of that land not the land itself. The muslims were slefish to because all they wanted that land back for was to reunite their territory so they didn't have other people living in the empire. The third crusade was because the christians wanted the land back they had lost in the second one. They had three leaders and they were all generals. One of the leaders died in jerusulim(which probably a good place to die because it was the "holy" land sooo he). The other two were to stuburn and they didn't get along at all so one of them went back and the other captured the holy land back from the muslims.

What kind of armor did the knights wear?

They wore a shirt made out of interlinked metal rings or metal rings welded together. The shirt must have been very heavy because it was 30 pounds!!!! They had leg protection and gloves called mufflers. The mesh was not a good armor though because it caused blunt trauma when the knights were hit by a sword or something.

The armor was not protective against arrows and crossbow bolts. The tip of the arrow or bolt would break apart the chains and penetrate the knight(ow that would really hurt). The armor was upgraded later on and  was mad into solid plates of metal which would protect arrows and bolts but then a fire arms were invented and the armor could not protect the knight from bullets.

What weapons did a knight use?

A knight use a lot of weapons and all of them were very different. And their armor depended on when he lived, and the type of fighting he did, and how wealthy he was( that would stink if you were a poor knight and didn't have good weapons). During hand-to-hand combat they used swords, axes, clubs, and spears. That would be be fun:).Crossbows, bows, and javelins were used as projectiles through the air. Well, that is until guns were invented.



Catapults and armies broke into castles and towns to take them over. All of the knights carried swords and were very skilled with them. Many of the knights carried daggers which are smaller versions of swords and they used them if their sword was lost or broken they also used them for another stabbing weapon. the cheapest weapon was the club and they used it to batter the enemies which would really hurt.

What is chivalry?

Chivalry is the knights code of honor. Chivalrous knights were brave, loyal, generous, polite, and honest. They had to protect the weak ...how could i put this easier like the widows, children, and women. He had to defend his christian religion. He had to promise to treat ladies with respect, and he often fought tournaments to impress the women he loved( what a show off you know what i mean?). He had to dedicate himself to carry out his good deeds. Everything a knight did was based on trust, loyalty, and generosity.

The knight would pick a women that he dedicated himself in a relationship called "courtly love". Sometimes the women would already be married and sometimes the lady could be the knights lord's wife(I think there might be some trouble going on if that happened). The knight won that women by succeeding in a quest or winning a tournament. Chivalry also had a place on the battlefield. There were rules about surrender, honorable treatment of enemies, and the payment of a ransom.

What was the life of a kinght?

He began his training at age 7(that would really stink because you would loose a lot of your childhood). He went to live as a page with another lord and without his parents(i know i would miss my parents if i were him). Pages ran errands and served meals to the lords. He learned good manners, how to ride a horse, and how to use small weapons... that would be fun well the weapons part. At the age of 14 he became a squire to a knight(pretty much just someone who does all the stuff that the knight doesn't want to well that's what i think of it as).He carries he knight's shield, looked after his horses,helped put on his armor, and learned how to use full sized weapons(again another fun thing well at least the last one). At the age of 21 or earlier if they were very brave they became knights. This was considered the most important ceremony in a young mans life. The knight was given his very own sword.

The knights fought in the crusades later on after they became knights. While knights were not fighting the were either helping widows children and women or were competing in tournaments. They had melee fights where everybody had their melee weapons. They also had joust where they rode horses with long sticks going at each other and tried to knock the other knight off his horse and the one still standing won. To me that would be kinda fun. So, what i am saying is that the knight had to be very brave to do all of this.