A Look Back at the Crusades

The Crusades had a great impact on my life. It brought both times of excitement

and also many times of sorrow. The Crusades first started in 1095 (Oakes 50) when a

man, Peter the Hermit, went through Europe convincing the people that the Holy Land

was in the wrong hands (Coggins 75). The Turks had invaded and taken over the city of

Jerusalem and the Holy Land (Oakes 53). After taking over our sacred lands, they forbade

all Christians from going on pilgrimages. The people of Europe were very upset. A large

number of great armies were sent into the Holy Land to return the land to us, the

Christian people (McDonald 463). All of this started many years before I was born. I

became a part of the Crusades about forty years ago. I was a young energetic squire

traveling with my father, a knight, and several other knights.

Ban Johnson, Garry Herrman, Thos. Lynch -- World S...

Bryan & Gov. Johnson, Sacramento, Calif. (LOC)

[Portrait of Bunk Johnson and Maude Johnson, Stuyv...

We had traveled into the

Holy Land to search for an ancient Christian relic. Our party was in search of a lost piece

of the Holy Cross. There were nearly thirty people traveling in our party. Of the thirty

approximately ten were knights and an equal number of squires. The rest of the party was

made up of pilgrims traveling along with us in hope of seeing a piece of the cross.

We had traveled over many miles of land and seen numerous battles. There were

many fights going on as our armies fought furiously to gain back control of the Holy

Land (Oakes 53). I had met several knights that had made the trip to Jerusalem. I hoped

that one day I may be able to visit the city. Most of the knights that had visit Jerusalem

had a great hatred for the Moslems (Johnson). It was as if...