The Long Shadow of the First Crusade

The First Crusade unleashed shockwaves felt across all of Christendom. New chapters to a story started in 1099 are still being written.

Charles V of France and Emperor Charles IV feast while  the Siege of Jerusalem  is re-enacted, from the Grandes Chroniques  de France, c.1380. Alain Le Toquin/akg-images.
Charles V of France and Emperor Charles IV feast while  the Siege of Jerusalem is re-enacted, from the Grandes Chroniques  de France, c.1380. Alain Le Toquin/akg-images.

Called by Pope Urban II in Clermont in 1095 with the aim of taking Jerusalem and other Holy sites from Muslim control, the First Crusade culminated in the capture and bloody sacking of the Holy City on 15 July 1099. Fusing fervent devotion with savage military ferocity, the Crusade unleashed shockwaves that were far-reaching. 

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