These
miniatures were created by Michael J Monaco.
While the First Crusade was being
publicized and organized, a group of common
people (called
the People's Crusade) took up the cause and their
farm implements and went off to fight the battle
themselves. They were not successful. |
The Hospitalers were
a religious order of monks who set up hospitals
and care stations
to take care of sick pilgrims fighting the Crusades.
Eventually they became warriors themselves. |
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Richard the Lionheart was
a great warrior and led the Third Crusade. He
was King of England from 1189 to 1199, but rarely
was in England itself. His
brother, Prince John, held the government for him. |
The Knights Templar was an order of military
and religious monks. They had very strict
rules about their behavior. They began as
protectors of pilgrims but eventually became fierce
warriors in the Crusades. The order began
in 1118 and lasted, officially, until 1312. |
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Templar Knights were easily identified by
their tunics and shields which featured a large
cross in red and white. |
The Knights of the Order of Saint John was
the original or formal name of the Crusaders often
referred to as the Hospitalers. |
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The Teutonic Knights fought in the Crusades.
They were from the Scandinavian areas. |
The Islamic Knights were protectors of
the Islamic areas and kingdoms which were referred
to as the Holy Lands. |
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Islamic fighters were of many different sects,
but some of the mistakes and missteps of Christian
Crusaders unified them into one larger, committed
fighting force. |
The Crusaders were never officially successful
against the combined Islamic forces. |
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One of the most feared leader of the Islamic nations, Saladin,
ruled from 1175-1193. |
The Vikings were widely-feared,
brutal, invaders who terrorized Europe from the
700’s through
the 900’s. Their shallow boats made it possible
for them move swiftly inland using rivers. They
were indiscriminate in their destruction, attacking
fortified castles and peaceful churches as well. |
