Skip to Main Content

Library & Innovation Centre

Banner

Background information

  Crusades
Crusades (krōō′sādz), series of wars undertaken by European Christians between the 11th and 14th cent. to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims.

  Middle Ages - The Crusades
The Crusades were a series of wars during the Middle Ages where the Christians of Europe tried to retake control of Jerusalem and the Holy Land from the Muslims. 

  Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars between Christians and Muslims started primarily to secure control of holy sites considered sacred by both groups. In all, eight major Crusade expeditions occurred between 1096 and 1291.

Technological Changes

 Weapons of War
The article explores the role of innovations and strategy for war during the Crusades. The author reflects on combat between heavily-armored Frank armies against lightly-armored Turkish archers.

  Military Innovations of the Crusades Period
From the First Crusade (1095) to the Fall of the city of Acre in 1291, military action resulted in significant exchanges in technology. Many of these technological innovations learned in the East were brought to Europe in some form.

  Knight
The most significant military figure of the European Middle Ages was the knight. Knighthood emerged as a distinct order in around the year 1000, and the knight came to be defined as a warrior mounted on a horse and dressed in a suit of armor.