Protestants and the Crusades

How did Protestants historically view the Crusades? This topic will be covered in this article. Next week, I will discuss how Roman Catholics historically saw these Medieval movements.
  

                                                             A picture of the Lollards

  John Wycliffe was a late Medieval reformer, who saw himself as a student of Saint Augustine. He faced opposition from within the Roman Church and would be sent into exile for his commitment to his beliefs. Wycliffe's followers were known as the Lollards. Their name etymology is unclear, though some believe it was named after a Franciscan. Their theology was also quite broad, though poverty was a big part of their movement. Some of them were involved in the Peasants Revolt against King Richard II, for which Wycliffe was blamed, though he had never condoned this.
 The Lollards later revolted against King Henry V of England and were subsequently defeated. By the reformation, they seemed to have still existed, however, and they have always been honored as forerunners of the English Reformation.
 In 1394, 10 years after Wycliffe's death, The Lollard Conclusions were written. These documents criticize the Roman Church in several areas, including ''manslaughter'' in the tenth article. The document does not clearly refer to the Medieval Crusades, though it does criticize those who invade Christian lands and conquer them only for land, and for those who kill heathens to give themselves a better name. After a careful reading of this document, in contrast to my previous conclusions, however, I am not convinced that the Lollards were not criticizing the entire crusades movement. It seems more likely that they opposed those who in the crusades man-slaughtered all in their way. Regardless, Wycliffe's influence was beyond them and unto the great Chaucer. 
 Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales is one of the most important works of Medieval Literature, and certainly one of my favorites. Of the traveling pilgrims, we have the knight, from whom we are told The Knight's Tale. Chaucer speaks of this knight having fought in crusades, wars, and many battles, and is likewise praiseworthy of the knight's character. This is all relevant, as we are unclear where Chaucer was theological. He was a student of Wycliffe, and there are strong arguments that he was a Lollard himself. On the theological side of Chaucer, he purposely intended to teach doctrine from his book. Perhaps Chaucer's own desire to teach theology through his writings can be one indicator that he was a Lollard.  Below, I have given a passage from a book to indicate this evidence.

Chaucer is theologically correct when he incorporates the same quote from Saint Paul that he used in ''The Nun's Priest Tale'': All that is written is written for our doctrine'' {X, I, 1083, VII, 3441-3442, Romans 15: 4}. The purpose of all literature is to teach ''doctrine,'' lessons conducive to salvation. Composing such works, Chaucer says was his ''intent.''
 -A Companion to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales by Margaret Hallissy, p. 92.

Of course, one may argue for Chaucer having been a Catholic rather a Lollard. Indeed, I think there are strong arguments to be used on both sides of this debate which I do intend to address here. Assuming that Chaucer may have been Lollard however, is important considering that would make him among the pre-Protestant English writers. 

                                       
                                                            Geoffrey Chaucer in the above pic.


The views of Protestants and the Crusades went on for much longer than Wycliffe and his followers. During the fifteenth century, many pre-Reformation movements helped to change ideas about the church and the world. For example, the Hussite Wars of 1419-1436 were fought between Crusaders and the followers of Jan Huss. The Radical Hussites would be defeated, and for the next century, there would not be major threats to the Roman hierarchy.
 1517 marked an important year of great change for the Medieval/Renaissance West. A German Reformation followed Martin Luther in opposition to what they perceived as the works-based salvation that was taught by Rome.  Luther's position hardened as his life went on and he eventually denounced the papacy as well as the Crusades in his 1529 treatise, On War Against the Turk. His attacks on the Crusades were mostly aimed at the papacy, and the fact that Luther believed just wars should have nothing to do with church clergy. He also believed that Church clergy should only preach the gospel and that it was the greatest of sins to force a person into one's religion. Luther's despise of the pope can above all be seen in the track. Indeed, wrote about the pope being worked than the Turk while wishing the latter's damnation. His views on the Medieval Crusades helped to shape the view of many in the Protestant Reformation after him. 
In England, John Foxe's Voice of the Martyrs was quite notorious for its criticism if not demonizing of the Roman Catholic Church. The book also criticized the Crusades, though it did speak well of Richard the Lionheart.
 Other Protestants, however, pressed on with the concept of ''Holy War''. The Puritans were not at all short of burning witches and killing heretics in the name of God. To them, there was a Holy War against Roman Catholics. Indeed, some have called the conquest of Oliver Cromwell of Ireland to be a Protestant Crusade.
 The Protestant Reformation brought many changes to the Western World of the Middle Ages.: Religiously, theologically, politically, socially, and much more. For many centuries afterward, Medieval Times was seen as a dark ignorant time, full of inquisitions and bloodshed. While the Renaissance wanted to bring about a return to the Classical Golden Age of Rome, the Enlightenment wanted to distance itself entirely from Medieval Times, which it saw as superstitious.  All of this changed with the Romantic era.
  It was during The Romantic era (early nineteenth century), that many writers and poets began to appreciate the Medieval world again. Ballads were popular during this time as they had been in the so-called ''Dark Ages (a term which most historians now reject).'' It is no surprise that one finds such Medieval values of courtship in Jane Austin's novels, and in Sir Walter Scott's writings. Scott himself was a Calvinist Presbyterian elder, who took a generally positive view of the Crusades. He wrote important works of literature that have glorified Medieval life and culture including Ivanhoe and The Talisman.
 During the Modern Age, The Crusades became a subject of hot debate. But that will be discussed in another post.

For more on the English Reformation's view of the crusades see

https://themedievalist.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-crusades-in-english-reformational.html




Further Sources: Holy Warriors: A Modern History of the Crusades by Jonathan Phillips, The Hussite Wars 1419-36 by Stephen Turnball, Crusades edited by Thomas F. Madden, Documents of the Christian Church Fourth Edition by Henry Bettinson and Chris Maunder, England and the Crusades 1095-1588 by Christopher Tyerman, Ireland 1649-1652: Cromwell's Protestant Crusade by Michael McNally, Richard Coeur de Lion: Kingship, Chivalry and War in the Twelfth Century by John Gillingham, English Literature by Benjamin W. Griffith.