The Crusades and the Inquisition

In modern times, when people outside of the Faith wish to attack Christianity, both the Crusades and the Inquisition are favored targets. And indeed, it is hard to defend the excesses committed in either the Crusades or the Inquisition. However (as we shall see), the case against the Crusades is perhaps less staunch than the case against the Inquisition. This book provides a brief history of these two (in)famous institutions of the church. Part One examines the Crusades, which lasted from 1095 when the First Crusade was announced by Pope Urban II in Clermont, France, to 1291 when the last Crusader stronghold in the Holy Lands fell at Acre. Along the way we'll meet some of the famous personages of the Crusades, including Peter the Hermit, Godfrey of Bouillon, Bernard of Clairvaux, Richard the Lionheart, Saladin, Frederick II, and St. Louis. What a remarkable twist in history that the two greatest warriors of the Middle Ages - Richard the Lionheart and Saladin - were alive at the same time, and fought against each other on several occasions. Part Two of this book discusses the Inquisition - or, actually, the three Inquisitions, including the Papal Inquisition, which was formed to fight against the Cathars in Southern France, the Spanish Inquisition, which ultimately ejected most Jews and Moslems from Spain, and the reconstituted Papal Inquisition, formed in the 16th century to combat the "heresy" of Protestantism.