In The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, Brother William of Baskerville must uncover the cause behind a series of strange deaths, with the setting being during the time of the Crusades. The Crusades Through Arab Eyes by Amin Maalouf is dedicated to telling the Crusades through Arabic eyes, and labels the Crusades as an important force that shaped the Islamic world today. In A History of the Crusades by Harry W. Hazard and Kenneth M. Setton, the book gives detailed information as to the impact the Crusades had on society, including Christianity, Islam, and Muslim. The Crusades were a way to try to promote the military might of Christian Europe, and were portrayed as a holy war by many. Even so, it also brought religion and politics into the fold, and through unchecked hatred created an immeasurable amount of suffering. 

The Crusades were a series of wars in the medieval era that essentially pitted Christianity against the entire world. One of the most iconic wars was when Pope Urban II launched an attack against the Muslims in 1095 in order to reclaim the Holy Land. Soldiers fought in the Crusades for various reasons, including spreading Christianity, suppressing heresy, and for political and financial reasons. Ironically enough, many of the crusaders would pillage towns and commit atrocities against whoever they perceived to be enemies, and because of this, the Pope had many soldiers excommunicated. 

Within these armies was a man named Peter the Hermit, who stated that it was their mission to purge God’s enemies in Israel. This included many defenseless Jews, who were already in the process of being slaughtered, whether it was on the streets or in their own homes. Other priests like Volkmar were particularly famous for bringing massacres to Prague and Bravia. At one point, they decided to give their victims a way out; either convert to Christianity, or die. While there were a few bishops who tried in vain to defend the Jews, many others had taken to blessing these massacres. The Muslims, on the other hand, committed the same atrocities. They did whatever they could to secure the Holy Land, even if it meant decapitating the heads of their Christian inhabitants and flinging them across the walls. Eventually, the Crusaders succeeded. They then proceeded to slaughter all the Muslims inside. Raymond of Aguilers had even praised the slaughter, calling it a “just and marvelous judgment of God.”

Many of the atrocities within the Crusades have been seen throughout various cultures. The Crusaders' behavior disgusted both Muslims and Greeks, and as a result, created a boundary between Latin society and Orthodox Christianity and Islam. Former U.S. President Barack Obama called the Crusades an act of Christian violence. Though the Crusades have often been hailed as an act of defense, it was a war that had been turned into a bloodbath, one that marks the symbol of human greed. Even so, the Crusades sparked a renewed interest in medieval literature, and continues to be a significant event in human history for many historians, artists, and writers.