"Kill them all. For God knows His own." Today is the 800th anniversary of the massacre of the inhabitants of the town of Beziers in Languedoc, in the south of France, known by the Romans as Gallia Narbonensis. Beziers was the first town to be sacked in the Albigensian Crusades to extirpate the Christian heresy of Catharism, which flourished in Languedoc. The Albigensian Crusades represented the initial application in Europe of religious warfare sanctioned by the resurgent medieval Papacy, and led directly to the institution of the Inquisition and rise of the Dominican Order.
posted by rdone on Jul 22, 2009 - 37 comments

Constantine's Sword (google video) A former priest's personal journey through the tangled and sometimes violent history between Christians and Jews.
posted by empath on Oct 2, 2008 - 14 comments

Is "Apocalypto" pornography? "I am not a compulsively politically correct type who sees the Maya as the epitome of goodness and light... But in "Apocalypto," no mention is made of the achievements in science and art, the profound spirituality and connection to agricultural cycles, or the engineering feats of Maya cities." Traci Arden
posted by hard rain on Jan 6, 2007 - 129 comments

"A Christian man is weak compared to a Muslim man." Violence and war between Christians, Muslims, and Jews is a long-standing fact of life. Even St. Francis joining the Fifth Crusade as a peacemaker, would not change the course of history. "He was repulsed by the sacrilegious brutality of the Crusaders." Stories of personal persecution abound. However, there are also some small glimmers of hope and understanding that don't get much notice. Although such efforts are just specks in a sandstorm, maybe they are a start.
posted by The Deej on Jan 2, 2007 - 61 comments

If You're a Christian, Muslim or Jew - You are Wrong - A rant over at the Huffington Post.
And let's be clear about this, it IS a rant, and a beaut at that. But it's a sentiment that's run through the head of everyone who isn't a member of the three mentioned groups. No one in the mainstream media says things like this, I wonder why?
The post is made. Let the emphatic agreements, and the vicious denials... begin!
posted by JHarris on Oct 23, 2005 - 259 comments

"In histories of the crusading movement the Second Crusade generally figures briefly as a fiasco..." From the stupendous six volume A History of the Crusades online at the University of Wisconsin.
At Fordham's Internet Medieval Sourcebook, one can see maps of all the early Crusades (as well as taking a Medieval Geography Quiz). Here is a "clickable" map of The First Crusade. Also at Fordham is a fabulous account of the capture of Jerusalem by Saladin in 1187. At the Hanover Historical Texts Project read primary sources, mostly letters, about the Crusades, including this nice letter from Count Stephen to his wife Adele: "Next we conquered for the Lord all Romania." Manchester University has an extensive portal for information about the Crusades; and the Xenophon Group at the Military History Database has a great site giving overviews of all nine Crusades.
Finally, since everyone loves a picture, from the Bibliotheque nationale de France, here are some pictures from illuminated manuscripts. These ones of the sieges of Acre and Tunis are quite nice. Check out the archers!
posted by OmieWise on Sep 21, 2005 - 52 comments

29 May 1453, Constantinople fell to Mehmet II, sultan of the Ottoman Turks. With it fell the last stronghold of Christendom in the East. Founded by Constantine the Great, the Byzantine empire had lasted 1129 years.

During which time it created the Cyrillic alphabet, was sacked by the 4th crusade, precipitated the great schism, and created some of the most beautiful religious art of the ancient world. Sailing to Byzantium?
posted by leotrotsky on Dec 12, 2003 - 22 comments

Who started the crusades? Catholic historian Thomas Madden argues that the crusades "were not the brainchild of an ambitious pope or rapacious knights but a response to more than four centuries of conquests in which Muslims had already captured two-thirds of the old Christian world." Given all the talk about the crusades in the wake of 9-11, an accurate understanding of the history seems important. But is this accurate or just Catholic revisionism?
posted by boltman on Apr 6, 2002 - 21 comments

Ashcroft's Jihad. "Attorney General John D. Ashcroft yesterday cast the government's war on terrorism in religious terms, arguing that the campaign is rooted in faith in God and urging Christians, Jews and Muslims to unite in the effort." So as an agnostic, am I excused from the war?
posted by homunculus on Feb 20, 2002 - 66 comments

Pope John Paul II apologizes for the Sack of Constantinople and other atrocities committed by the Crusaders against the Greek Orthodox as he goes on with his controversial trip to Greece retracing the steps of his namesake.
[I am gonna miss the guy when and if he passes away.]
posted by tamim on May 5, 2001 - 19 comments