The Crusades, beginning in the 11th century, were attempts by the Western Church to liberate Europe from newly formulated and invading Muslims. Many crusades had emerged over the centuries, including the children's and the peasants' crusades, in an attempt to keep the new religious threat at bay. Many popes, kings, and rulers spent a great deal of money, time, and effort on these wars, but many ended up failing in their original goals. However, in light of these failures, much can be said about the success of these crusades. Is the spread of Christianity also included in these successes? Although the various crusades had many successes and failures, the original crusades failed to spread the message of Jesus and promote Christianity through war events. Before examining the reasoning as to why the spread of Christianity did not occur, it is necessary to examine the original nature of the Crusades and what the original goals were that they sought to achieve. In 1095 Pope Urban II convened a council in Clermont. These meetings, mostly between the French bishops and the Pope, lasted nine days before the Pope gave a speech to the general public. In this speech, the Pope called on the people of the Church to defend the Eastern Church from the invading Muslims, to liberate Jerusalem from them and, in other words, to stop the advance of the Muslims. At the end of this speech, the people agreed almost unanimously, and soon the Pope spread the message throughout France and Germany. Many nobles, together with the people, joined the cause. One possible reason for this widespread acceptance of travel across the empire was the honor of knighthood. Some nobles believed that... middle of paper... Accessed May 1, 2014. http://wwwcbritannicaxcom/EBchecked/topic/144695/Crusades.Galli, Mark. “Bloody pilgrimages”. Christian History, 1993. Accessed May 1, 2014. http://www.christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/bloody-pilgrimage.Madden, Thomas F. “Inventing the Crusades.” First things. May 2009. Accessed May 1, 2014. http://www.firstthings.com/article/2009/05/inventing-the-crusades.Shelly, Bruce L. “How Could Christians Do This?” Christian History, 1993. Accessed May 1, 2014. http://www.christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/how-could-christians-do-this.Tyerman, Christopher. The Crusades: a brief introduction. Oxford, GBR: Oxford University Press, 2006.Wani, Nazar Ul Islam. “The impact of the crusades on Islam and Christianity. ISSN 2, n. 3. (March 2013): 43–46. Accessed May 1, 2014. http://www.ijhssi.org/papers/v2(3)/version-1/F234346.pdf.