The unstable sixth Caliph of Egypt, Al-Hakim, ordered the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

At the Council of Piacenza a delegation visited Pope Urban II led by the Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenus to raise the problems he was having fighting the Muslims in the East. Pope Urban removed the excommunication that had been placed on the Emperor by Pope Gregory and promised to help.

Robert of Normandy became under pressure from William Rufus who laid claim to Normandy. William was gaining support from some Norman barons and Robert took the opportunity to leave Normandy to answer Pope Urban II's call for a Crusade. Robert agreed that William could lease Normandy for three years for a sum of 10,000 marks. This money would help him fund the expedition.

Following Pope Urban's speech at Clermont Peter the Hermit, a simple man with a powerful ability to move people by his words, started preaching for Christians to help their fellow Christians in the East. He started to gain a large number of followers eager to go to Jerusalem with promises of absolution and freedom from a life of hunger and depravation. His followers were poor, not prepared for the journey and not armed.

Peter the Hermit's army of ordinary people was large and it needed feeding. One of the more noble members of the army was Walter Sans Avoir, also known as Walter the Penniless. When the army reached Cologne in April Peter decided to halt the army to take advantage of the good supply of food. Walter was impatient and with a small section of the army continued on. They passed through Hungary but at the town of Semlin a dispute broke out when some of his men stole food. When his men were refused food at Belgrade because the harvest had not yet been gathered Walter's army began pillaging the surrounding area. Finally Alexius Comnenus sent supplies and an escort to guard the Crusaders as they marched to Constantinople. The guard ensured that the Crusaders didn't cause any more trouble.

As the army of crusaders moved east they entered many Jewish communities. Many of the Westerners were unable to distinguish the Jews from Muslims and tensions arose. At first the Jews were able to move the army on with bribes but finally violence erupted. First at Speyer, and then in the city of Mainz the crusaders massacred indiscriminately. At Mainz the attackers were led by Count Emich of Leiningen, a German.

At Constantinople the Emperor Alexius welcomed Peter's army but there were too many people and no provision had been made for them. There was a general lack of discipline that resulted in repeated attacks and thefts from surrounding villages. Alexius warned Peter to wait for better trained troops to arrive before moving on but the pressure of the army was so great on Constantinople that they were forced to move before help could arrive.

The People's Crusaders were shipped across the Bosporus to a disused army base at Civetot. From there they attacked the surrounding areas but they had little affect.

Hugh of Vermandios was the first of the barons to reach Constantinople. His army had travelled via Italy and Greece using ships rather than across land like the other barons.

The Turks attacked the People's Crusades in their base at Civetot and ended their Crusade.

In late 1096, Stephen of Blois, his brother-in-law Robert Curthose, duke of Normandy, along with his cousin Robert, count of Flanders set out for the Holy Land. They reached Constantinople in May of 1097 and were warmly welcomed by Emporer Alexis. They then joined the main party of Crusaders and helped capture the city of Nicea.

The Crusaders began their campaign with a siege of the city of Nicaea. The walls of the city were several miles long and as it lay on the eastern shore of a large lake a section of the walls rose out of the water. The Crusaders surrounded the city but were unable to gain entry. Attempts at undermining the walls were unsuccessful. Towards the end of May the Turks attacked the Crusaders and inflicted heavy losses but were beaten back. When it was discovered the the city was getting supplies from across the lake the Emporer Alexius sent a number of boats to prevent any further shipments getting through. This was the final straw for the defenders inside the city and on June 19th moments before the Crusaders launched an attack they surrendered. But they did not surrender to the Crusaders but to the Emperor instead. This infuriated the Crusaders who were expecting a large haul of treasure from the city. Alexius treated the captured Turks well and allowed many to buy their own freedom. But the city was important for the Crusaders as control of it ensured they could not be attacked as they moved further east.

The Crusaders defeated an army led by Kilij Arslan, the Seljuk Sultan of Rum, who wanted revenge for the capture of Nicaea. In the battle many of the Crusaders were killed but the Turks were forced to flee and abandon their tents and treasure after being surprised by the arrival of a second Crusader army. After a couple of days rest the army continued south east but were short of water. At Heraclea a Turkish army was defeated and the Crusaders would the supplies they needed.

In October of 1097 the Crusaders had reached Antioch. The march had been long and difficult and many had died or deserted due to starvation, diseases and the very wet weather. At once they laid siege to the city. The Turks in the city were prepared and waited to be rescued.

At the end of May, after a hard winter where the Crusaders has made no real gains, Stephen of Blois decided to abandon the Crusade and return home. He assumed that the Crusaders would not succeed and his excuse was that he was ill. But the Crusaders did succeed and in June, the city of Antioch fell. By the tiime he had returned to France, news of his desertion had already arrived.

The siege of Antioch was ended not by force but by betrayal. A hand full of Crusaders climbed a ladder into the city and simply opened the gates from the inside. The hoard of the Christian army surged into the city killing anyone or anything in their way. The destruction was brutal and no mercy was shown. As soon as the Crusaders were in the city the situation changed. Outside a Moslem army arrived and in turn besieged the city. Some Crusaders managed to escape over the walls and flee but the majority were trapped without food in the city.

Spurred on by the find of the Spear of Longinus, the spear that was supposed to have pierced Jesus on the cross, the Crusaders emerged from the city of Antioch to face the Moslems. The Moslems were defeated, many being killed and many fleeing. After the batlle the ownership of the city was disputed. Bohemund and Raymond of Toulouse argued over its possession and after several months of debate Raymond accepted Bohemund's right to it. In truth, the city should have been handed over to Emporer Alexius.

After a delay of many months the crusaders under the leadership of Raymond of Toulouse left Antioch and headed south towards Jerusalem.

The Crusader army reached Masyaf, where a treaty was agreed. The Crusaders agreed to continue their march rather than capture or destroy the town.

The Crusaders entered the deserted town of Rafaniye that provided them with much needed supplies. They stayed their for a few days before moving on into the Buqaia valley. On the site of the future Krak de Chevaliers castle, was an old, run-down fort. The locals had moved all of their livestock into the ruins and when the Crusaders approached let them out to create a diversion. In the confusion the locals escaped before the Crusaders took the fort.

Count Raymond sent a small part of his army to attack the port of Tortosa, now called Tartus, on the Syrian coast. The Criusaders lit many fires around the port to make believe their number was greater than it was. Fooled by the deception, the governor of the port, and his garrison, fled by sea leaving the port open for the Crusaders to capture. The port was strategically important and a boost to the Crusaders' success.

A year after their victory at Antioch the remaining Crusaders finally reached Jerusalem, their goal. They camp outside of the city and begin a siege.

The Crusaders capture Jerusalem. When they ended the siege and entered the city they murdered non-Christians including Muslims and Jews and forced many to leave.

The last battle of the First Crusade was fought between the Christians and Muslims at Ascalon. Led by Godfrey of Bouillon, the king of Jerusalem, the heavily out-numbered Christian army used their heavy armour to good affect. The Muslim army consisted mainly of Egyptians intent of driving the Christians out of Jerusalem.

Godfrey of Bouillon died just a year after the crusaders had captured Jerusalem. Agreeing who should succeed Godfrey as ruler of Jerusalem was not easy. The head of the Church in Jerusalem, Dagobert of Pisa, claimed that the Church itself should rule and as he was its representative he should have the job. Godfrey's brother, Baldwin of Edessa, had other ideas and travelled to Jerusalem with an army to claim the throne.

Supported by an army of over a thousand men, Baldwin claimed the throne of Jerusalem. Baldwin of Edessa was Godfrey's brother and he claimed the throne as his heritage. Baldwin was crowned on Christmas Day at Bethlehem.

Accused of desertion and under the threat of excommunication, Stephen of Blois, and several of the other knights who deserted with him returned to the Holy Land to make amends for their actions. But their crusade was to end in disaster with many crusaders killed or captured. Those that did survive made their way to the coast to find ships to take them home.

The crusaders began the siege of the city of Tripoli in the County of Tripoli, now Lebanon. The siege was led by Raymond of Toulouse.

Stephen found himself trapped in the city of Ramleh. He was killed and his fellow Crusaders were either also killed or captured after they attacked the large Moslem army that surrounded them.

King Baldwin I captured the important port of Acre on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean. The port was an important supply route for Jerusalem.

After a siege lasting many years Tripoli fell to the Crusaders. The Banu Ammar Emirs had an important library in the city but it was attacked and all the books were destroyed. The Crusader state of Tripoli was then founded, the last of the Crusader states. Bertrand of Toulouse, the son of Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, became the ruler of the state alongside William-Jordan.

A Papal Bull issued by Pope Paschal II (a formal proclamation issued by the pope) recognised and named the Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem as an independent religious order.

A large earthquake damaged the areas of the Frankish control in the East. Antioch and Edessa were hit by the shocks.

Baldwin II became King of Jerusalem following in his cousin's footsteps.

Baldwin of le Bourg was crowned as King of Jerusalem in Jerusalem on Easter Sunday.

The Knights Templars travelled to the Holy Lands twenty years after Jerusalem was captured by European powers.

Knights Templar order founded in Jerusalem, by Hughes de Payen.

Fulk V of Anjou arranged the marriage of his daughter Matilda to William Adelin, heir to the English crown. Wanting to go on Crusade, Fulk needed to ensure security and a marriage between his family and the English crown would help secure that security.

Muslim forces kill Roger of Antioch and many members of his army at the battle of the Field of Blood.

The Venetian fleet arrived at Ascalon and instantly set about attacking the Egyptian fleet. The Egyptian fleet was totally destroyed or captured.

The Crusaders and Venetians came to an agreement. If the Venetians assisted in the capture of Tyre and Ascalon they could take a third of each city for themselves.

Fulk V married Melisende, the heir to the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Fulk gave up his title of Count of Anjou which passed to his son Geoffrey Plantagenet.

King Baldwin of Jerusalem died and Fulk V, who had married the King's daughter Melisende, became the King of Jerusalem.

The county of Edessa, a Crusader state, was captured by Zengi, ruler of Mosul. This triggered the Second Crusade in 1148.

The first formal Papal Bull of Crusade or 'Bulla cruciata' calling on France to restore the Holy Land to Christendom was issued by Pope Eugenius III, together with 'Quantum praedecessors' which was reissued on the 1st of March 1146.

Pope Eugenius III reissued an amended Bull, a formal proclamation issued by the pope, proclaiming the Second Crusade.

At the Diet of Speyer; the emperor Conrad III took the cross and secured the election of his son Henry as his successor in Germany. He was persuaded to take part in the crusade by the the Abbot of Clairvaux, St. Bernard.

The Pope left Viterbo in January and travelled to France. At the start of April he met the King at Dijon. It was agreed that Abbot Sugar would take care of France while the French King was away and the Pope and Abbot met several times.

The crusaders left Regensburg to march across land to Constantinople.

King Louis VII of France and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine began their Crusade. They declared Abbot Suger regent of France,

The decision was made to attack Damascus. The armies were assembled in Acre. Present were Baldwin, the Patriarch Fulcher, Kings Louis and Conrad, Archbishops of Caesarea and Nazareth, Masters of the Knights Temple and Hospital.

Hostilities between the French and German leaders of the Second Crusade became such a problem that the German Emperor, Conrad III, abandoned the crusade and returned to Constantinople. The Second Crusade ended in failure.

Baldwin, the king of Jerusalem died. He was succeeded by his brother Amalric.

The city of Fustat, now Old Cairo, was the centre of adminstration but when the Crusaders threatened to attack, its vizier, the ruler of the city, gave the order to burn the whole city to teh ground so that it would not fall into the Crusaders' hands.

Archbishop Baldwin preached the Crusade, the spot being marked with a cross that was restored in 1897.

After a short siege Saladin captured the port of Acre from the Christians.

The Christian Army of Jerusalem was beaten by Turkish forces at the Battle of Hattin. Guy of Lusignan was King of Jerusalem at this time. All Knights Templars and Hospitallers who survived the battle were executed afterwards. The Archbishop of Tyre, a man called Josias, was dispatched from the city to Europe to inform the Pope and European leaders of the disaster that had taken place and to ask for help.

Only ten days after the Crusader defeat at Hattin, Conrad of Montferrat arrived with group of Italian knights at the port of Tyre. He had first attempted to land at Acre unaware that the city had fallen to Saladin and once he learnt the truth he turned to Tyre. When he arrived at Tyre he found that it was under siege and on the brink of surrender. Conrad took charge and defied Saladin to attack even though the Muslim leader threatened to kill Conrad's father, the Marquis of Montferrat who he held prisoner. For the moment Saladin decided against an attack.

Jerusalem fell to the Muslims and the al-Asqu mosque was returned to Islam. The Muslims allowed four Christian Priests to hold services in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This was in contrast to the first Crusaders who since they first captured the city in 1099 had treated Jerusalem as theirs alone. The Muslim leader was Al-Malik al-Nasir Salad ed-Din Yusuf also known as Saladin.

When Josias, the Archbishop of Tyre, reached Rome and the Papal Court he informed Pope Urban III of the disaster at Hattin. The Pope was is poor health and the news was too much for him to bare and he died. Gregory VIII was elected as the new Pope but his reign only lasted two months. Gregory died on 17th of December at Pisa.

King Richard took the Cross. Before going on a Crusade a vow was taken and the person was given a piece of cloth in the shape of a cross to be sown onto the surcoat. To go on a Crusade meant a person was granted a plenary indulgence which freed them from the terrors of purgatory and hell if they killed the enemy and gave them the promise of eternal life in heaven.

Saladin turned his attention back to Tyre and offered Conrad gold and the release of his father if the port was surrendered. After Conrad refused to accept the conditions Saladin first ordered an attack by sea. But the crusaders were well prepared and when the Muslim ships entered the harbour a chain was raised behind them and all onboard were killed. With captured Muslim ships, the crusaders were able to drive back any further seaborne attacks.

After failing to take the port by sea, Saladin attempted a land attack, but again the crusaders were too well prepared and came out from their defences and attacked the weary besiegers. Saladin accepted he could not captured Tyre and retreated.

Josias, the Archbishop of Tyre, found King Henry II and Philippe II at Gisors and told them of the defeat at Hattin. Both kings agreed to peace terms and to contribute to a joint Crusade. It was decided to raise a new tax to pay for the endevour. This tax, known as the Saladin Tithe, was imposed on the people of England and France to raise funds for a new Crusade. But the truce between England and France did not last long enough for the planned joint crusade to get underway.

The Order of the Teutonic Knights established at Acre.

In early May 1189, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa garthered his army at Ratisbon (now called Regensburg in Bavaria, Germany). He had ensured that his lands were safe while he was away on crusade and left his eldest son Henry in charge of the country.

William II, the king of Sicily died suddenly in November of 1189. It had been planned that he would take part in the Third Crusade.

Richard was given the pilgrim's scrip (a bag for the journey) and staff by the archbishop of Tours in preparation for his Crusade. These items were traditionally carried by pilgrims.

King Richard I of England and King Philippe II, Augustus of France, met at Vézelay and agreed to divide the spoils of the Crusade equally between themselves. They planned to take different routes, Richard via Marseilles and Philippe via Genoa. Richard had around 100 ships at his disposal, several of which were from the Cinque Ports, others from Shoreham and Southampton and more donated by private persons. Other ships were hired from ports in Normandy. Richard could have had a force of around 8000 men half of which could have had horses.

Richard leaves to begin his crusade.

Richard was in no hurry to reach the Holy Land as he had an issue to resolve in Italy first. William II, the King of Sicily, had recently died. He was married to Richard's sister, Joan, who was bequeathed a large dower, a payment meant to support her if she outlived her husband. William had also bequeathed a large sum of money to Henry II, the king of England. Through force, Tancred of Lecce claimed the throne of Sicily and imprisoned Joan refusing to pay the money to her or the King of England. When Richard arrived in Messina he demanded that his sister should be released and all the money owing should be paid.

The people of Messina, supporting Tancred, shut the gates on Richard and attacked his soldiers. In the harbour French ships turned against Richard as the friendship between Richard and Philippe had broken down because Philippe believed Richard was about to refuse to go through with his marriage to Alais, Philippe's half-sister. This was true as Richard had arranged a marriage to Berengaria of Navarre who was travelling to meet him. Richard's men stormed Messina and captured the town. Richard was lenient on the people of Messina and decided to build a fort overlooking the town. Tancred agreed to pay the money owed, freed Joan from prison and paid Richard a large amount of gold. Friendly relations were restored between Richard and Philippe when Richard agreed to split the gold with the French king.

Richard and Philippe stayed in Sicily over the winter months waiting for the weather to improve before continuing their journeys to the Holy Land.

The King of France set sail for the Holy Land a few days before Richard.

The fleet left Sicily to sail to Rhodes. On route, three ships were separated from the group and landed on Cyprus at the port of Limassol. The governor of Cyprus at the time was Isaac Dacus Comnenus, who had come to power from trickery. He had sided with Saladin, and treated Richard's ships as the enemy.

Philippe Augustus landed in Acre in an attempt to remove Guy of Lusignan as the King of Jerusalem, and replace him with Conrad of Montferrat.

Richard located the three lost ships at Limissol, and promptly attacked Comnenus' troops in the town and drove them out. Comnenus was again attacked outside the town, but escaped, leaving behind his standard, embroidered with gold cloth. This was later presented to the abbey of Bury St. Edmunds.

King Richard I met Guy of Lusignan (King of Jerusalem), Geoffrey (Richard's brother), Bohemund (Prince of Antioch), Raymond (Count of Tripoli), Humphrey of Toron and other knights to discuss the attempt by Philippe II of France to replace Guy of Lusignan with Conrad of Montferrat as the King of Jerusalem.

By the 1st of June, Richard had control of the whole of Cyprus and imposed a 50% tax in return for letting the Cypriots return to a more traditional way of life. Richard of Camville and Robert of Turnham were left in charge of Cyprus.

King Richard I landed at Tyre and quickly moved towards Acre, where he needed to help an army that was besieging the town which was being held by a garrison of Saladin's troops. By July 12th, the town fell to Richard. Richard held Saladin's men hostage in exchange for 200,000 dinars and the release of 1500 of Richard's own troops who were being held by Saladin. When no ransom was paid, Richard publicly executed 2700 of the garrison. It was at this point that Richard angered Leopold of Austria, who was to imprison Richard as he tried to return to Normandy. Leopold's banner was ripped down from alongside Richard's and the French. The banners indicated that the spoils of war should be shared, but Richard was not prepared the share with Leopold, who had not contributed to the fall of Acre.

The Knights Templar hadn't held Cyprus for long before revolts by the local population forced them to sell the island on. They sold it to Guy de Lusignan who became its ruler.

Conrad of Montferrat was killed by two Assassins disguised as monks as he walked home. The Assassins, one of whom had been captured alive and questioned, had been sent by their leader Sinan. The suspected reasons for the murder are varied, some theories suggest Conrad had intercepted a shipment of wealthy goods bound for the Assassin Order while others suggest Saladin had ordered the murder of both Conrad and Richard I. Some also suggest it was Richard himself who had ordered the murder.

Word reached Richard that a Moslem caravan rich with supplies was heading for a well known as the Round Cistern. The caravan was not expecting an attack and the Christian army managed to capture a large amount of rich merchandise, horses and camels.

Richard the Lionheart signed a peace treaty with the Moslem leader Saladin.

After the agreement of a peace treaty Richard left the Middle East and began the voyage back to England.

Richard was shipwrecked while returning home from the middle east.

Saladin died.

Richard was captured by the Emperor of Germany, Henry IV after being shipwrecked on the way home after his Crusade. The Emperor demanded a large ransom to set Richard free.

Richard I returned to England after his Crusade and imprisonment in Germany. John had all his castles in England confiscated and the only title left to him was that of Lord of Ireland.

The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was originally intended to recapture Jerusalem from Muslim control, but the goals of the crusade were controversially changed by Venice in order to gain new territories and ended in the sack of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. It demonstrated how crusading motives could be manipulated for political and financial gain rather than religious purposes.

Venice agreed to supply the ships and supplies for the large number of knights, horses and foot-soldiers needed for the Crusade. It was agreed that the ships would be ready by June and in return Venice would retain half of the conquests that the Crusade resulted in.

The amount of money that Venice required from the Crusaders to set sail could not be met. Venice changed its conditions and demanded the Crusaders first help capture the the city of Zara (now Zadar) on the coast of Croatia. The Crusaders had little choice but accept the new conditions and the fleet set sail. After a siege the city fell to the Crusaders by the end of the month.

Alexius III Angelus, the Byzantine Emporer, arrived in Zara with promises to fund the Crusade if he was given help to attack Constantinople.

A mysterious Crusade supposed to have consisted of children from Germany and possibly France. How young the children were who took part is not known and they may not have been children at all. The Crusaders did not get very far and many of those that took part never came back. They were either killed or sold into slavery.

After the failure of the Fourth Crusade, Pope Innocent III had a Crusade preached across Europe.

Hoping to gain the support of the Pope against the Barons, John took the oath to go on Crusade.

Again Egypt was the destination of this Crusade called for by the Pope and organised by Frederick II, the Holy Roman Emperor. Although Frederick promised to join the Crusade he failed to do so. The Cruaders mainly consisted of Knights from northern Europe. They laid siege to Damietta, a port on the Egyption coast, and captured it. The journey from Damietta to attack Cairo had to be abandoned due to floods and attacks. The Crusaders had to surrender and Damietta was handed back to the Muslims. The Crusade was over and Frederick II was blamed for its failure.

The Sixth Crusade was won with diplomacy by Frederick II, who had married the heiress of Jerusalem in 1225. He went to the East to claim his right to the throne, and taking advantage of internal disputes between the Sultan's family members, concluded the Treaty of Jaffa, which gave Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth back to the Christians.

The Crusade of Theobald of Champagne and the King of Navarre was a French expedition that did little, except obtain concessions from Damascus in Galilee, and Ascalon from Egypt. Richard of Cornwall, the brother of King Henry III, arrived after Theobald had left, but managed to strengthen both concessions in Galilee, and the fortifications at Ascalon.

With the fall of Jerusalem and the crushing defeat of the Christian armies at Gaza, Louis IX of France took the cross and prepared for a Crusade. It took him four years to set sail.

After the Christians were defeated at Gaza in 1244, King Louis IX of France took the cross. He only managed to set sail for Cyprus some four years later, landing at Damietta in June of 1249, Louis had to wait until the Nile floods had reduced before continuing for Cairo. Held up and cut off from Damietta, the French King's camp was struck with disease and most of his men were killed or captured. Louis was taken prisoner and had to pay a ransom to be freed.

Prince Edward, his wife Eleanor, his cousin Henry (son of the King of the Romans) and many knights left for the Holy Land to join the Eighth Crsuade.

King Louis IX of France once again set out on Crusade, not to the east but towards Tunis. Charles, the brother of Louis, influenced the direction as Charles had plans in the East. At Cathage in July, the plague broke out and in August Louis died.

The Crusade of Edward, the future King of England. This was a continuation of the Eighth Crusade but also known as the Nineth Crusade.

Margat, the great Crusader castle, fell to the sultan of Egypt, Qalawun, after a siege of around thirty days. The castle's walls were too strong for the mangonels to destroy and so tunnels were dug underneath a tower at one corner. The tower collapsed and when the defenders realised that more tunnels had been constructed they surrendered. The knights inside the castle were allowed to leave with all possessions.

Henry II became the King of Cyprus after the death of his elder brother John.

The citizens of Acre were concerned with Moslem attacks getting nearer and after the death of Charles of Anjou required a ruler who was nearer. It was recommended to Henry II to travel to teh port.

Henry II, king of Cyprus was crowned King of Jeruslaem at Tyre. He would be the last ruler before its fall in 1291. Shortly after being crowned, Henry returned to Cyprus.

Lucia becomes Princess and Countess of the Crusader state of Tripoli.

The Muslims reclaimed the port of Acre after a siege. Acre was the last refuge for the western crusaders and with the loss of this important port the Crusades had finally come to an end.

After the loss of their territories in the Holy Land in 1291, the Hospitaller knights fled to Cyprus. In 1309 they captured the island of Rhodes located off the south west coast of modern day Turkey and made it their base for over two hundred years.

A lavish banquet was held at Lille, put on by Philip the Good Duke of Burgundy to raise support for a crusade against the Turks who had captured Constantinople. The banquet was so large that it included a landscape with ships, mock villages, castles and churches. It had a pie in which more than twenty musicians palyed. Chariots of gold were moved around by hidden machinery and a horse had been trained to walk backwards. To complete the spectacle a huge Saracen giant and an elephant appeared. On the elephant rode a female figure meant to represent the Holy Church who appealed to the banqueting guests to join the crusade and save her.

Pope Leo X made proposals for a new crusade and sent word to the leading European countries for support. King Henry VIII and Thomas Wolsey were not convinced that it was a good idea.