A reconstruction of society characterized the Mid

Church and a spirit of religious faith dominated the Middle Ages. Ever since the reign of Charlemagne, the church had acquired enormous landholdings throughout Europe and had become a wealthy, powerful institution within the feudal system. As the only organization of the Christian faith in Western Europe, its power spread far beyond matters of faith. The church, whose roots went back to the days of the Roman Empire, was the center for art, philosophy, history, legal teachings, and all other education: "the church was not only a state it was the state; it was not only a society, it was the society--the human societas perfecta" (Southern 22). Consequently, the church as an institution held tremendous power over the lives of most medieval Europeans, who were an extremely religious people.

Religion played an all-encompassing role in the lives of the common people because of their dependence on agriculture. So much of their livelihood involved the weather, the whims of nature, and other phenomena (epidemics, fires, etc.) that they could not comprehend. The people believed t

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ous appeal based on the suffering of Christians in the Holy Land and the abuse of the sacred places in Jerusalem. The Pope urged the people to launch huge armies from western Europe that would recover Jerusalem and destroy the Islamic presence. The Pope gave his assurance that Crusaders would go to Heaven if they died fighting the Muslim infidels and also promised forgiveness of sins for those who joined the Crusades: "never before had a holy war been proclaimed by a pope on Christ's behalf, the participants in which were treated as pilgrims, took vows and enjoyed indulgences. The war preached at Clermon really was the First Crusade" (Riley-Smith 30). Thus the seeds of the Crusades were sown on French soil. Pope Urban's appeal to the masses worked because he astutely worded his call to arms not in terms of giving aid to Alexis, but based on liberating Jerusalem, the city of the Holy Sepulcher, from the hands of the Turks. News of the Turks' conquest over the Byzantines had already raised alarm among the French. The Muslims were a militant religion, whose aim of expanding Islam around the globe was often accomplished by holy war: "circumstances induced the Prophet's heirs to employ the armies of tribesmen at their disposa
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Roman Empire, Europe Christians, Holy Land, Holy Sepulcher, French Muslims, Martin Luther, Pope Urban's, Middle Ages, Crusade Villagers, Catholic Church, middle ages, holy war, holy land, papal monarchy, catholic church, eleventh century, pope urban, roman empire, western europe, city holy sepulcher, dc heath, ad 1547 ad, 800 ad 1547, jerusalem city holy, church middle ages,
Approximate Word count = 2201
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)