How did the Crusades affect the King's power/authority, during and after the Crusades?
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4I think this is more of a History question than a Christianity question. Even then, there may be so many ways that the Crusades can affect the King's power.– Double USep 7, 2013 at 3:59
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I think this is on topic and an interesting question that could be addressed with a high-level overview.– David StrattonSep 7, 2013 at 4:21
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3Which king are you referring to? There were dozens of kings affected by the Crusades..– user5286Sep 7, 2013 at 15:14
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Is this already sufficiently answered, implicitly, by the section on kings in my answer to your other question?– James TSep 27, 2013 at 19:29
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4This question appears to be off-topic because it is about political history, not Christianity.– FlimzyNov 8, 2013 at 15:44
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1 Answer
They helped to break down feudalism by increasing the authority of kings.
- Some nobles died in battle without leaving an heir. Their lands passed to the king.
- Some nobles sold their land in an effort to raise money to pay the special tax levied by the king to offset the cost of the crusades.
- Some nobles gave their serfs a chance to buy their freedom in an effort to raise money they needed to buy armor and weapons
- Some young men who could buy their way out of feudal obligation joined the crusades. Many died. That reduced the work force. If a farm failed, it passed to the king.
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It's worth commenting that forfeiture to the Crown was (is!) a feature of English law. Nov 8, 2013 at 11:15
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Welcome to the site! This next has nothing to do with the quality of your answer, it's just standard to help new visitors avoid misunderstanding the site (as I did at first.) As a new visitor, I'd recommend checking out the following two posts, which are meant to help newcomers "learn the ropes": help page and How we are different than other sites? Nov 8, 2013 at 12:38