Pope Innocent III and the secular crusades

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2011 in the subject History of Europe - Middle Ages, Early Modern Age, grade: 74.0%, Durham University, language: English, abstract: Propagated in his papal bull of April 1213, the "e;Vineam domini sabaoth"e;, is Pope Innocent III's essential conception of, and approach to, his duty as Supreme Pontiff: "e;Among all the good things which our heart can desire, there are two in this world which we value above all: that is to promote the recovery of the Holy Land and the reform of the universal church"e;. This bull, summoning the ecclesiastical leaders of Western Christendom to the Fourth Lateran Council, provides an essential background to our examination of "e;crusade"e; during the pontificate of Pope Innocent III. It reflects the crucial foundation by which Innocent directed his efforts, and the efforts of his curia, in the years 1198-1216, whereby crusade and crusading achieved a primacy in the formulation of papal policy (unrivalled up this point in the history of the crusading movement), a primacy which was challenged only, but importantly not surpassed, by "e;the reform of the universal church"e;.