The recruiting effort under cardinal Odo of Châteauroux was difficult, and the Crusade finally began on 12 August 1248 when Louis IX left Paris under the insignia of a pilgrim, the Oriflamme. [160] With him were queen Margaret of Provence and two of Louis' brothers, Charles I of Anjou and Robert I of Artois. Their youngest brother Alphonse of Poitiers departed the next year. They were followed by Hugh IV of Burgundy, Peter Maulcerc, Hugh XI of Lusignan, royal companion and chronicler Jean de Joinville, and an English detachment under William Longespée, grandson of Henry II of England. [161] True Cross, Christian relic, reputedly the wood of the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. Legend relates that the True Cross was found by St. Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, during her pilgrimage to the Holy Land about 326. Miracle of the True Cross at the Bridge of San Lorenzo, oil painting by Gentile Bellini, 1500; in the Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice. (more) Morton, Nicholas (2018). The Field of Blood, The Battle for Aleppo and the Remaking of the Medieval Middle East. Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-09670-1.

The Fourth Crusade is described in the Devastatio Constantinopolitana and works of Geoffrey of Villehardouin, in his chronicle De la Conquête de Constantinople, Robert de Clari and Gunther of Pairis. The view of Byzantium is provided by Niketas Choniates and the Arab perspective is given by Abū Shāma and Abu'l-Fida.The military expeditions undertaken by European Christians in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries to recover the Holy Land from Muslims provided a template for warfare in other areas that also interested the Latin Church. These included the 12th and 13th century conquest of Muslim Al-Andalus by Spanish Christian kingdoms; 12th to 15th century German Northern Crusades expansion into the pagan Baltic region; the suppression of non-conformity, particularly in Languedoc during what has become called the Albigensian Crusade and for the Papacy's temporal advantage in Italy and Germany that are now known as political crusades. In the 13th and 14th centuries there were also unsanctioned, but related popular uprisings to recover Jerusalem known variously as Shepherds' or Children's crusades. [182] Housley, Norman (1992). The Later Crusades, 1274–1580: From Lyons to Alcazar. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-822136-4. The five crosses may symbolize the five nations that played an active role during the Crusades – Great Britain, Spain, France, Germany, and Italy. However, if this is the case, which of these five nations is represented by the central cross? 5. Jerusalem

Barker, Ernest (1911). " Fulk, King of Jerusalem". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. 11. (11th ed.), Cambridge University Press. p. 293. A distinct ideology promoting and regulating crusading is evidenced in surviving texts. The Church defined this in legal and theological terms based on the theory of holy war and the concept of pilgrimage. Theology merged the Old Testament Israelite wars instigated and assisted by God with New Testament Christocentric views. Holy war was based on ancient ideas of just war. The fourth-century theologian Augustine of Hippo had Christianised this, and it eventually became the paradigm of Christian holy war. Theologians widely accepted the justification that holy war against pagans was good, because of their opposition to Christianity. [209] The Holy Land was the patrimony of Christ; its recovery was on behalf of God. The Albigensian Crusade was a defence of the French Church, the Northern Crusades were campaigns conquering lands beloved of Christ's mother Mary for Christianity. [211] Murray, Alan V. (2009). Participants in the Third Crusade. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. A banner with a variation of the Jerusalem cross was used at the proclamation of the Revolution on Mount Pelion Anthimos Gazis in May 1821 in the Greek War of Independence. [11] [ unreliable source?] The Battle of Harran was fought in 1104, pitting the Crusader states of Edessa and Antioch against Jikirmish, who had replaced Kerbogha as atabeg of Mosul, and Sökmen, commander of the Seljuk forces. The ensuing Seljuk victory also resulted in the capture of Baldwin of Bourcq, then count of Edessa and later king of Jerusalem, and his cousin Joscelin of Courtenay. A Turkish adventurer Jawali Saqawa killed Jikirmish in 1106, seizing Mosul and his hostage Baldwin. Separately freed, Joscelin began negotiations with Jawali for Baldwin's release. Expelled from Mosul by Mawdud, Jawali fled with his hostage to the fortress of Qal'at Ja'bar. Jawali, in need of allies against Mawdud, accepted Joscelin's offer, releasing Baldwin in the summer of 1108. [41]

​How to Use the Jerusalem Cross

The Jerusalem cross (also known as "five-fold Cross", or "cross-and-crosslets") is a heraldic cross and Christian cross variant consisting of a large cross potent surrounded by four smaller Greek crosses, one in each quadrant. It was used as the emblem and coat of arms of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from the 1280s.

The Crusade of 1101 was initiated by Paschal II when he learned of the precarious position of the remaining forces in the Holy Land. The host consisted of four separate armies, sometimes regarded as a second wave following the First Crusade. [33] The first army was Lombardy, led by Anselm, archbishop of Milan. They were joined by a force led by Conrad, constable to the German emperor, Henry IV. A second army, the Nivernois, was commanded by William II of Nevers. The third group from northern France was led by Stephen of Blois and Stephen of Burgundy. They were joined by Raymond of Saint-Gilles, now in the service of the emperor. The fourth army was led by William IX of Aquitaine and Welf IV of Bavaria. [34] The Crusaders faced their old enemy Kilij Arslan, and his Seljuk forces first met the Lombard and French contingents in August 1101 at the Battle of Mersivan, with the crusader camp captured. The Nivernois contingent was decimated that same month at Heraclea, with nearly the entire force wiped out, except for the count William and a few of his men. The Aquitainians and Bavarians reached Heraclea in September where again the Crusaders were massacred. The Crusade of 1101 was a total disaster both militarily and politically, showing the Muslims that the Crusaders were not invincible. [35] Establishment of the kingdom Mayer, Hans Eberhard. " Angevins versus Normans: The New Men of King Fulk of Jerusalem." Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Volume 133, No. 1 (1989), pp. 1–25. There are variants to the design, also known as "Jerusalem cross", with either the four crosslets also in the form of Crosses potent, or conversely with the central cross, also in the form of a plain Greek cross. [1] It is not to be confused with the Lorraine cross, which has also been called the "Jerusalem cross". [2] Origins [ edit ] Jerusalem cross on a silver coin of James II of Cyprus (1463-1473) Jerusalem cross of five Greek crosses (late medieval variant) The conventional arms of the Kingdom of Jerusalem [3] Depiction of the Jerusalem cross on a red (rather than silver) shield as the arms of Godfrey of Bouillon in a 14th-century miniature. [4] Godfrey of Bouillon as depicted in a late medieval fresco The flag of Georgia. Another interpretation posits Christ as the central cross and the four corners of the earth are represented by the four crosses. Seen in this light, the design symbolizes the spreading of Christianity to all four corners of the world. 4. Crusading Nations Another common interpretation is that the four crosses represent the four evangelists with Christ being the center cross.After the Siege of Ascalon ended on 22 August 1153 with a Crusader victory, Damascus was taken by Nūr-ad-Din the next year, uniting all of Syria under Zengid rule. In 1156, Baldwin III was forced into a treaty with Nūr-ad-Din, and later entered into an alliance with the Byzantine Empire. On 18 May 1157, Nūr-ad-Din began a siege on the Knights Hospitaller contingent at Banias, with the Grand Master Bertrand de Blanquefort captured. Baldwin III was able to break the siege, only to be ambushed at Jacob's Ford in June. Reinforcements from Antioch and Tripoli were able to relieve the besieged Crusaders, but they were defeated again that month at the Battle of Lake Huleh. In July 1158, the Crusaders were victorious at the Battle of Butaiha Bertrand's captivity lasted until 1159, when emperor Manuel I negotiated an alliance with Nūr-ad-Din against the Seljuks. [86] In the spring of 1147, Eugene III authorized the expansion of his mission into the Iberian peninsula, equating these campaigns against the Moors with the rest of the Second Crusade. The successful Siege of Lisbon, from 1 July to 25 October 1147, was followed by the six-month siege of Tortosa, ending on 30 December 1148 with a defeat for the Moors. [80] In the north, some Germans were reluctant to fight in the Holy Land while the pagan Wends were a more immediate problem. The resulting Wendish Crusade of 1147 was partially successful but failed to convert the pagans to Christianity. [81] BNF Français 22495, fol. 78; the same ms. also has the Jerusalem cross in a silver field ( fol. 36) and in a blue field ( fol. 115). plate 3 (facing p. 16), no. 36: early Saxon sceat: diagonal cross with four dots in the four quadrants, no. 47: cross crosslet superimposed on a diagonal cross;