he Crusades tended to have two major consequences effecting the social,
political and economic life of Europe. The Crusades helped end feudalism
in Western Europe and brought about the conditions that helped create
the Renaissance. The Crusades began the breakdown of feudal society in
Western Europe. Many feudal lords went off to fight and die in the
crusades, leaving their serfs free to go to towns and start new lives.
Monarchs gained new strength when knights left to fight in the crusades
in the Middle East. This increase in the power of the monarch also
helped to end feudalism. Crusaders brought back goods such as spices
and cloths, which increased demand for these goods. Merchants,
particularly in Italy, grew rich from this new trade with the East.
Crusaders also brought back Greek and Roman classical works. The wealth
from trade and new knowledge of from classical Greek and Roman works
sparked the Renaissance in Europe.
