Urban legends has nothing to do with facts. They play on events to create an alternate reality that tells a story that better fits our perceptions or prejudices. They play on the crowd mentality.
There are too many to recount. One of them is the "kidney Heist" where unsuspecting travelers wake up in the morning only to discover that a kidney is missing.
Where there are Catholic Urban legends as well.
The first Catholic Urban Legend
The Crusades
Many say that the crusades were an unwarranted European invasion of an innocent Islamic people instigated by Pope Urban II in 1095.
The simple historical fact is that the Crusades announced by Pope Urban II was actually an answer to urgent plea from the Eastern Byzatine emperor for assistance against an Islamic invasion from the Seljuk Turks. The turks had overrun Armenia and threatened Constantinople itself.
The Eastern imperial army had been virtually destroyed at the battle of Manzikert in 1071. In 1095, representatives from the Eastbegged for assistance to ward off the Seljuk Turks and to ensure safe passage would remain to the Holy Land for Western Pilgrims.
The Holy Father agreed and issued a call to rescue eastern Christendom from Islamic invasions.
The crusades were not a Church-ordered attack on innocent people. They were a direct response to the invasion of the Byzantine Empire by the Seljuk Turks.
They were a rescue mission.
No comments:
Post a Comment