The dwindling army of the Second Crusade arrives in Antioch, where a quarrel over military strategy is influenced by rumours of a sex scandal involving the Queen of France. The Crusaders make some very bad decisions, leading to a failed attack and a humiliating retreat. Find out why the Second Crusade was such a dismal…
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The Second Crusade leaves Europe under the command of two kings, fielding the largest number of men in a generation. Eleanor of Aquitaine rides with her husband, King Louis VII of France, while Conrad Hohenstaufen leads forces from the Holy Roman Empire. What follows is not glorious victory, but embarrassment and disaster on an epic…
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The Second Crusade would be a disaster, but why did it happen and how did it get started? The call to arms was preached by a closet dwelling ascetic who happened to be the leading churchman of his generation– none other than Bernard of Clairveaux. In this episode we meet Eleanor of Aquitaine, the queen…
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