King Phillip of France saw the
crusade as a chance to take land
from his rival (Richard the
Lionheart). He wanted to stop
Richard from gaining any success
Frederick Barbarossa
wanted material glory
and piety
King Richard the Lionheart who was
the feudal lord of Anjou was the
son of Melisende and grandson of
King Fulk so had to continue his
family crusading legacy.
It was also a way to cleanse his
Reputation and sins
He had inherited his fathers throne
(Henry II) in 1182 so had enormous
resources to fight in the crusade with
The gift of Remission of sins. Society in the
West was very violent and the crusade
offered a respectful outlet for this violence
thus saving souls.
Why did the 3rd Crusade Fail?
Bad Luck
William of Sicily died in Nov 1189 - he had promised to
provide crusaders with troops but his succession was
disputed which led to Tancred of Leece confiscating
the troops
Frederick Barbarossa died in June
1190
He had a very large army but
his His troops began returning
home after his death
His authority would have subdued
rivalry between Richard and Phillip
He fought in the second crusade so had
experience that Richard and Phillip didnt
Did not achieve its
spiritual/religious aim of taking Jerusalem
which was the crusades main objective as
stated in the opening lines of Pope
Eugenius' papal bull
Caused Spiritual damage to Christendom -
its failure made many doubt god and his
harsh decision for their sins
HOWEVER
The crusaders allowed the latin states to
survive - They gained lots of land including
Acre, Jaffa, Arsuf and Cyprus
the future path for the
crusade was set-taking egypt
and using it as a means of
taking jerusalem/going by sea
Latin states had a power
vacuum which was resolved
with Henry of Champagne
becoming king
Saladin led a unified Muslim effort. He was an
exceptionally able military and political leader
as well. He refused to engage the crusaders in
open battle again using a scorched earth policy
which wore down the crusaders through a
process of attrition.
It ended with a truce in which Saladin kept
Jerusalem but Christians were allowed to visit
Jerusalem and its holy places unharmed and
without having to pay a tribute