The Crusades were the religious campaigns that were carried out during the medieval period in the Eastern Mediterranean. These wars were carried out with the intention of recovering the Holy Land from Muslim rule and were sanctioned by the Church.
The Crusades contributed to the spread of Renaissance ideas throughout Europe in various ways, for example:
- The Crusades allowed for the development of various Italian city-states. These city-states, such as Venice and Genoa, would become particularly important during the Renaissance as they were centers of art and culture. Moreover, they were important stops in the trade routes to and from the East, allowing for the arrival of new information to Europe.
- The Crusades were the source of inspiration for medieval romance, philosophy and literature. This art would in turn become the basis for the development of new ideas during the Renaissance.