Fulcher of Chartres wrote an account of the origins of the First Crusade. He was a chaplain who accompanied the crusade and was present at the Council of Clermont (France, 1095) when Pope Urban gave his "most moving sermon." Urban placed his call to crusade squarely in the context of the Gregorian Reform, then expanded the concept of reform to solve problems in the Middle East, e.g., to contain and defend against the Weapons of Mass Destruction that were the Seljuk Turks -- to keep the Turks from further harming Eastern Christians and Holy Places. Or, was Urban's crusade call really about gaining lands, power, money, glory, fame, and/or religious influence etc.?
Robert the Monk also wrote an account, probably the most cited text for crusade origins. Compare Fulcher and Robert: what similarities and/or differences do you see? It might be interesting to compare how our class-books present the crusade versus the online versions. Perhaps most pertinent, compare these crusade sources with these Hadiths on Jihad. Think -- what do you see, or not see (in one place or another)? What does that mean, if anything?
Overall, (according to the sources) was this call to crusade a superstitious product of the European "Dark Ages?" Or, was it the only kind of honorable war (more honorable, e.g., than fighting to protect petroleum prices or unseat "tyrants")? How does the Just War Theory apply? If not, why not? How did Urban relate the concept of warfare to Christianity? Do you agree? Why and/or why not?
Finally, some pictures: So that we have the central, surface fact of the crusaders in place, those who went on crusade vowed to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and to visit the site of Christ's burial and resurrection -- shrine of the Holy Sepulchre (top & bottom). If allowed into this place near Calvary, a crusader's responsibility was over and he or she could return home. The place exists today and still attracts countless modern pilgrims -- a place only a few feet wide, by a few feet deep, by a few feet high, the remains of a 1st-century burial cave. It fits only 3-4 people at a time, 6-7 might sqeeze in. Look. This spot, the holiest to Christians of the day, along with other holy places, comprise the immediate material gain and goal of the crusaders. Defending local Christians from the Turks was the other goal. Of course, there is more under these surface facts (the crusaders did carve out a kingdom in the East and ruled over those people they conquered -- which raises the question of imperialism), but it is good to keep the surface idea of defense in mind also. Most crusaders did.
Questions to keep in mind, distilled from the above, below and from other places -- basically the "usual suspects" often identified with the Crusade. Every one of these suspects has some basis for suspicion. Especially if you disagree, isolate that basis, the historical support it may have: 
of the Crusades
