Were Religious Beliefs the Most Important Reason for Going on Crusades?

Religion was so important in those days. For some, they felt that it was their duty to serve God and fight for His cause. For others it was to get their sins forgiven, because the Pope said that anyone who fought in the Crusades would have their sins forgiven. This was important as such atrocities were committed in the Crusades and this was giving them a ‘get out of jail free card’. It is surprising that only a small proportion of those going to fight in the Crusades fall into this category.

Many of the ordinary soldiers went simply because they were paid to do so, serving as mercenaries, with the attraction of rich plunder to draw them. This was the largest group of people who went to fight.

The great knights of the age could not be seen to be missing out on such a noble cause. The knights have reputations to hold up and the public would call him a disgrace if he did not fight, especially as it involves the major factor of religion.

It was not only the soldiers who went on the Crusades. As you can imagine, a war on such a large scale requires many services. Merchants and tradesmen went with them, looking for trading opportunities, and providing services to the army e.g. armourers or horse traders.

Kings and great barons wanted to gain a reputation as a warrior. This was important was the public felt safer if the king was a strong military leader because it made invasion a lot less likely, especially as Britain is an island.

The younger sons of barons and knights, who stood to inherit little or no land at all, went in search of new lands and fortunes. New lands hold new opportunities and they took advantage of the Crusades to create a family in foreign lands.

Of course, any event of this type collected a group of people with no other reason except plundering and any other dishonest gains that they could obtain. And, any crimes the commit are immediately forgiven by the Pope because this was a religious war.

As you can see from this essay, there many other reasons why people go on the crusades, besides the obvious religion cause. Religion would have been a reason for everyone, but very few people had no hidden motives, or agendas. However strange this seems, this essay proves that religion, all though in a perfect world it would have been, the most important cause for going on crusades.