History of the Crusades

the Crusades Episode 70 the Fourth Crusade Roman numeral 1.

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Hello again.

Last week we saw the demise of Henri of Champagne

and the crowning of a new king and queen of Jerusalem, Amalric and Isabella.

We also saw the German crusade recapture the cities of Beirut and Sidon, before it collapsed after hearing about the death of the German

Emperor.

To say that the Fourth Crusade was a controversial and notorious event is an understatement.

It has been described by various historians and commentators as infamous, misguided, and a fiasco.

Stephen Runtzman, in his trilogy on the history of the Crusades,

trumped all these comments when he stated, and I quote,

there was never a greater crime against humanity than the fourth crusade, end of quote.

This from a historian writing in the 1950s in Europe was a pretty big call.

More recently in the year 2001 in, Pope John Paul II issued a formal apology for the Fourth Crusade

on behalf of the Catholic Church.

So why was the Fourth Crusade so infamous?

Well, you'll just have to keep listening to find out.

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