Miscelánea Comillas (Oct 2018)
Crusade and Church in the Middle Ages
Abstract
This paper aims to provide a quick overview of the meaning and consequences of the Crusade in the Middle Ages, from its beginnings at the end of the 11th century to the confirmation of its failure at the beginning of the 13th century. The triumphalist image that has been projected on this phenomenon has no real basis. By and large, the Crusade did not meet the expectations for which it was created, and very soon showed its limits. In fact, none of the so-called first «five Crusades» had a really positive balance, and following the fifth, the Church began to search for other ways of approaching the infidel.
