Why did Eugenius III launch the Second Crusade? Flashcards
what are 3 reasons why Eugenius III launched the Second Crusade?
- Response to Zengi and the Fall of Edessa 1144
- Response to the Weakness and Division in Outremer
- Maintain Papal Leadership of Crusading
what evidence is there that Eugenius III launched the Second Crusade in response to the Fall of Edessa 1144?
December 1145: The response by the papacy was a call to crusade through a papal bull, Quantum praedecessores; The papal bull made reference to, among other things, the fall of Edessa.
why did Eugenius III want to halt and reverse Muslim advances?
He was concerned about the rise of Zengi and the increasing phenomenon of growing Muslim unity under the concept of Jihad.
why could the Second Crusade have been launched in Response to the Weakness and Division in Outremer?
- Eugenius III aware of the general weakness of the Crusader states in manpower
- Eugenius III aware of the leadership crisis amongst the Christians in the Outremer
what evidence is there that Eugenius III was aware of the general weakness of the Crusader states in manpower?
- he Sought to stimulate a major crusading effort by exhorting western knights with the glorious deeds of their fathers.
- Eugenius sought to define the crusading privileges which participants would earn.
how did Eugenius III seek to stimulate a major crusading effort?
by exhorting western knights with the glorious deeds of their fathers.
what was the leadership crisis amongst the Christians in Outremer that Eugenius III was aware of?
particularly the divisions between Raymond of Antioch and Joscelin II of Edessa; the recent death of Fulk; and the tensions in the Kingdom of Jerusalem due to the youth of Baldwin III and regency of his mother Melisende.
how did Eugenius III help the leadership crisis amongst the Christians in Outremer?
he sought to send outside aid to help them.
why may the papacy have felt it needed to Maintain Papal Leadership of Crusading?
The papacy had not been very active in crusading since the First Crusade.
how involved in crusading had the papacy been since the first crusade?
Had passively agreed to Bohemond’s Crusade, the Venetian Crusade and Damascus Crusade, but played very little direct role.
why had the papacy played very little direct role in crusading since the first crusade?
It had been distracted by the Investiture Dispute until 1123.
why was Eugenius III unable to enter Rome?
due to the opposition of the commune.
why could the fact that Eugenius III was unable to enter Rome have led him to launch the second crusade?
He spent much of his time in France and needed to keep the support of key figures like Louis VII and Bernard of Clairvaux, so he wanted to show that he was still meaningful.
what evidence is there that Eugenius III launched the Second Crusade to Maintain Papal Leadership of Crusading?
- The Loss of Edessa caused such outrage that a Western Christian response seemed likely; it was better to lead that response than allow others to do so.
- The papal pronouncement was issued in December 1145 and then reissued on 1 March 1146 to assert papal control over the movement at a time when King Louis VII was considering leading an expedition/pilgrimage anyway.
