CRU-26
John Jenkins Designs
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated and often supported directly by the catholic church between the 11th and the 17th century. The Crusades differed from other religious conflicts in that they were considered a penance by the participants that brought forgiveness for confessed sin.
In 1095 Pope Urban II proclaimed the First Crusade at the council of Clermont. He encouraged military support for the Byzantine Emperor against the Seljuk Turks, and an armed pilgrimage to Jerusalem.