I feel like a major part of the Crusades that is often overlooked was the actual journey to get to the Holy Land itself, not just the conflict/fighting that was done once the Crusaders had arrived. I mean, in some Crusades (most notably the First and Second) people would walk by land the entire way from Western Europe to the Holy Land, not being shipped over across the Mediterranean Sea. That's pretty inconceivable. The distance from Paris to Jerusalem, for example, is just over 2000 miles, and that's if you travel as the crow flies, which is impossible because the Mediterranean Sea stands in the way. That is an incredible distance to travel on foot. Imagine walking one marathon a day, every day, for close to three months, and that's about the distance some of these Crusaders had to traverse. Just doing this without any hardships would be an amazing accomplishment-- but then you have to factor in (to the First Crusade) the battles fought along the way to the Holy Land, in such places as Nicaea and Antioch. Undoubtedly there was something strong motivating these Crusaders to march on, whether it be the promise of redemption or riches.
Anyway, all of this got me to thinking about the type of footwear that the Crusaders used on their multi-thousand mile journey, but I really couldn't find that too much on it. I did find that as a result of the Crusades, shoe styles from the Byzantine Empire were brought back to Western Europe, including the characteristically Medieval long-pointed shoes. These were called crackowes or poulaines.
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...not to forget that Crusaders traveling in the Holy Land were often wearing chain mail or other forms of popular European armor that were NOT suited to the arid, hot conditions of the Middle East!
ReplyDelete~C. Erba
I feel one of the biggest motivation was that as soon as "taking on the cross" the crusaders felt they had god on their side. I think they always felt a reassurance that if something happened on the way they would get their spiritual reward. Not only did the crusades but even religious pilgrimages demand a lot of the devotee. People used to leave for religious journeys traveling many miles, knowing that they might not see their family again. I agree spiritual reward provided huge motivation to the crusaders.
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