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I hope you enjoyed the programs. Hello, from the 12th century the Pope's approved a series of

crusades on the Baltic lands, principally pressure and regions now covered by Lithuania,

Latvia, Poland and Estonia. The Tionic Order later, the Tionic Order led the fight to convert

so-called Pagans to Christianity and if they refuse it was no sin to kill them. Over the next

hundred years the Tionic Knights run their own state based in Prussia. Many German speakers settled

the lands claimed for Christendom. They built ports on the newly secured Baltic Sea which through

the Hanciatically transformed trade in Northern Europe. Those rarely peace out of the crusades

and the changes in who lived in the region and how they lived have had great significance for

the history of Europe. With me to discuss the Baltic crusades are Alex Brukowski, Associate Professor

of Archaeology at the University of Reading, Nora Berand, Rita in European history at the Faculty

of History at the University of Cambridge and Martin Palmer, Director of the International

Consultancy on Religion, Education and Culture. Martin Palmer, what were the priorities of the Christian

Church in Rome at the start of this period? Let's say the first half of the 12th century.

Well it was to embody Christendom and to in a sense say this is the Europe is now the land of

Christ, it is his domain and the Pope is his appointed representative and the therefore both

secular and religious authority should reside within the papacy. And this was out of a coming out

of a period where it was quite dubious whether Christianity would actually make it to the 12th

century. You had the Vikings and the Northern invasions of pagan communities that devastated

Christianity in England, Scotland, Ireland across the northern parts of France and Spain

and you also had the Muslim rise coming up from North Africa, the conquest of Spain,

...