QUESTIONS FOR SECTIONS, Week 4:

Readings on First Crusade in Geary

Each selection is written from a different cultural perspective,
        describing some of the same events; how do they differ?
What view of the Christian Franks is presented in each account?

Fulcher of Chartres:
        How does Fulcher’s position as chaplain & eyewitness
                affect his account?
        Pope Urban II and Council at Clermont:
                what can you learn about the situation in Europe?
        What is Urban's motivation for calling the Crusade?
               note both internal & external issues

Solomon Bar Simson
        Author: Jew from Mainz, Rhineland city ruled by Bishop
        Terms: Ishmaelites = Moslem Arabs
                        (seen as descendants of Abraham & Hagar)
                   Holy Nation = Jews, Israelites
       What is Christian motivation for these massacres?
       What is Jewish response to Christian attacks?

Ibn Al-Athir: Moslem historian
        Syria = Palestine, the Holy Land
        Note desecration of Dome of the Rock during conquest of
                Jerusalem

Anna Comnena: daughter of Byzantine Emperor Alexius
        Terms: Keltic army = Franks; also called Latins
        Romans = Byzantine Greeks of Constantinople
        What is the role of Peter the Hermit
        What is the Byzantine image of Arabs (Ishmaelites)?
        The Byzantines are Christian, but how do they view the Franks?