BBC Crusades with Terry Jones "Pilgrims in Arms"

1995 · BBC

Crusades is a 1995 historical documentary series presented by Terry Jones . It looked at The Crusades and occasionally used elements of black comedy . Prominent historical figures are depicted by actors wearing masks and costumes, giving the appearance of living artistic images in the style of their original cultures. Emperor Alexios I , for example, appears as a Byzantine mosaic , while European and Muslim figures are brought to life by actors appearing in the style of medieval European, and near eastern miniatures. At times, production is deliberately anachronistic, such as showing the use of 1930s style newsreels by the Church to drum up mass support for the Crusades. 1. "Pilgrims in Arms" The first episode recounts Byzantine Emperor Alexius 's appeal to Pope Urban II for military aid, with which to fight Muslim Turks. The Pope uses the request to drum up popular support for the creation of a Christian army, with the mission of liberating Jerusalem. European knights, recently converted to Christianity, eagerly join the Crusade. The crusader army is preceded by the People's Crusade , a mass migration incited to go to Jerusalem by Peter the Hermit . Recounted are massacres of Jews in Worms and Cologne The People's Crusade is crushed by Turks after the catastrophic Siege of Xerigordos and the Battle of Civetot . Kilij Arslan I , the Seljuq Sultan, emboldened by the quick end of the People's Crusade, underestimates the crusader army when it appears, and suffers defeat against them. The crusaders, having won this early battle confidently set off for Jerusalem. The episode ends with host Terry Jones on the road, wearing the gear of a Crusader, revealing that despite the crusaders' confidence that they would soon be in Jerusalem, they still had many hardships to overcome.