According to David Nirenberg, a certain identity started to develop across Europe during the Middle Ages. It was an identity that emerged as a force in opposition of the expanding Muslim empire. The conduit of spreading this identity was religion with Christianity as the catalyst spearheading the movement. The narrative that developed behind the idea showed how non-Muslims living in Europe became good Christians by following the teachings of Christianity as interpreted by the Catholic Church leaders at that time.
The triumph of the Turks during the eleventh century galvanized Catholic Church leaders and they called on the non-Muslim population to mobilize. Church leaders demanded that the masses stopped fighting amongst themselves and learn to work together so together they would take back former Christian territories from Muslims. (Rodriguez, 54-55). Church leaders were trying to mold the masses into becoming the good Christian followers. They wanted them to be seen as a peaceful community who were respectful of the Christian religion. To enforce the spirit of being a good Christian, quotes from the bible were used to encourage the people to make the necessary personal sacrifices even if that meant going against the wishes of close relatives because fighting for the Holy Land was most important than all other matters (Rodriguez, 57-58).
During the time of the Crusades, the Catholic Church steadily began to emerge as an institution of considerable influence and power. In creating the newly defined Christian identity, the Church coerced the peasant masses into obeying their teachings. Dutifully, the masses responded when called to the common cause of taking back their lands from the Muslims. Followers were not limited to men, as revealed in the documentary entitled, “The Crusades: Crescent and the Cross,” Christian women were also projected as loyal to their loved ones and many accompanied them on the journey. The Church leaders were quite instrumental in molding the masses and influencing their thinking. The documentary further revealed that Church leaders were not just restricted to religious aspects; they were deeply involved in the political sphere. It was the Church that aligned itself with Kings and Nobles as they all worked to regain lost territories.
The narrative of the new identity that had emerged in Europe really created what a good Christian ought to be. The new Christian masses that emerged during the Crusades were meant to abide by the principles of the Catholic Church in order to be a good Christians and reap the rewards for doing God’s bidding (Rodriguez, 57). It was the Church, having gained significant influence with the Christian Kings that determined what was good moral “Christian” behaviour. It was the relationship between Church and State that inadvertently gave rise to the Catholic Church becoming an authoritative and dominant institution and one that has survived into the twenty-first century.
References
Nirenberg, David. Neighboring Faiths: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism in the Middle Ages and Today. Chicago and London: University Of Chicago Press, 2014.
Rodriguez, Jarbel. Muslim and Christian Contact in the Middle Ages. New York: University of Toronto Press, 2015.
Image: Ambulatory of the Cathedral of Saint-Gatien (Stained-Glass Panel) ca. 1245-1248
Description: King Louis IX of France aka Saint Louis, undertook two crusades to the Holy Land. He acquired relics of Christ’s passion from his cousin, the Lahn emperor of Constantinople Baldwin II, most notably a piece of the True Cross and also the Crown of Thorns. He brought these relics to Paris and installed them in the Sainte-Chapelle, a church that he had built to house them.