The Crusades: Assessment

Historians have learned a great deal about the Crusades from chroniclers like William of Tyre and Ibn al-Qalanisi. Today, reporters and newscasters travel all over the world to report on international events, including conflicts. Reporters and world leaders use social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook to connect with the public. Imagine what we might know had there been access to television, cell phones, and social media in the 13th century. Time to imagine there was social media during the Crusades! Your assignment is to write posts that certain important figures could have written had social media existed. You will write one post for each of the following: Pope Urban II, Peter the Hermit, William of Tyre, Saladin, and Richard the Lionheart. Each post will tell about events of the Crusades from the point of view of each figure. Organize your posts in this chart. As you prepare each post, keep the following points in mind: 5 Posts- You should have a total of five written posts, one for each figure. Use your own words. You will submit the posts in the chart to your instructor.

Accurate Details – Include details about the events and the historical figures involved in each time period. Include dates, if available. Make sure your posts are in chronological order, and note that a person can only write social media posts when alive. (For example, you should not write a post for Pope Urban II that follows the Third Crusade.) Check to make sure your writing is accurate. Others are counting on these leaders for the right information! 2 Maps – Cite specific locations and explain their importance. Use at least two maps from this lesson in the posts. This means two of your posts will have maps. 3-5 Sentences Per Post – The posts should be brief, but thorough enough to provide details about the five important figures and show your understanding of the Crusades. This means you should write between three and five sentences for each post. Use this chart to write your ten posts on the Crusades. Remember to include these features for success on this assignment:

Pope Urban II He called on the people of Europe to lay aside their differences and take up the cross, the symbol of Christianity, to reclaim the Holy Land. Notice the symbolism on Godfrey of Bouillon’s tunic. The word Crusade comes from the French crois, meaning “cross.” 2Peter the Hermit He reportedly tried to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1093 but was captured and turned back by the Turks. When Pope Urban II called up the Crusades, he hastily organized a people’s army and marched east. Although many of his followers perished in an ambush, Peter eventually made it to Jerusalem. There, he gave a sermon before the Crusaders took the city. 3William of Tyre christian cleric and scholar raised in Jerusalem who recorded the events of the early Crusades in The History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea and The History of Jerusalem. He studied at the school in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem as well as in the universities of Paris and Bologna in Europe.

When he returned to the Holy Land in 1165, he became a religious official in the city of Tyre in what is now Lebanon. Later, he served as an advisor and tutor to the Christian lords of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. 4Saladin Saladin succeeded where other Muslim leaders had failed. He united the fragments of Islam in Southwest Asia and North Africa and expelled the Crusaders from Jerusalem. His conduct and cunning earned him fame among Muslims and Christians alike. When his forces took Jerusalem, Saladin forbade the killing of its Christian residents. 5Richard the Lionheart Richard the Lionheart reportedly rode forth with great determination to take back the Holy City. Convinced of the righteousness of his undertaking, he perhaps was not prepared to meet an enemy equally devout and committed. when Richard fell ill during battle, Saladin sent fresh fruits and water to nourish him.