Essay Questions for Thinking through Sources 10

1. Reflecting on religious world views: It may be difficult for modern Westerners to fully grasp how extensively religion shaped the worldview of people in earlier times. In what ways do these sources reveal such a religiously based outlook on life? How was occupation by armies bearing an alien religion actually experienced?
2. Interacting with other religions: To what extent was the posture of European Crusaders toward Muslims, Jews, and Eastern Christians similar? Do you notice any differences?
3. Considering point of view: Which of the outcomes of the Crusades would have been pleasing to Urban II? Which would have disappointed or appalled him?
4. Conceiving the “other”: To what extent did these sources exhibit any genuine understanding of other people? Did they show any nuance in their portrayal of the “other”? Or given the conditions of the Crusades, is this too much to ask?