Why Everything You Know About the First Crusade Is Wrong

What if everything you learned about the Crusades in school was basically medieval propaganda? In this eye-opening episode, Michael Stevens tears apart the Hollywood myths and church-approved stories to reveal what actually happened when 100,000 Europeans decided to march 2,000 miles to Jerusalem in 1096. 🎯 What You'll Learn: • Why only 15,000 out of 100,000 Crusaders actually made it to Jerusalem (spoiler: it wasn't just the fighting) • How the Pope's original speech was never written down, so every "quote" you know is basically fan fiction • The shocking reality of cannibalism at Ma'arra that horrified even the Crusaders themselves • Why most participants thought this would be a quick road trip, not a years-long nightmare 👤 Perfect for: history buffs who suspect their textbooks left out the messy parts and anyone curious about how stories get sanitized over time. 📍 Chapters: [00:00] Michael Stevens breaks down the biggest Crusade myths [02:15] The Pope's speech that launched 1,000 ships (and wasn't recorded) [04:30] Why 85,000 people never made it past the first year [07:45] The cannibalism incident that shocked medieval Europe [09:30] How distance and ignorance doomed the mission [11:00] What this teaches us about historical narratives today This isn't your high school history class version. Stevens digs into primary sources, medieval chronicles, and archaeological evidence to show how religious fervor, geographical ignorance, and pure human desperation created one of history's most misunderstood events. You'll walk away questioning everything you thought you knew about holy wars and historical truth. 🔔 Never miss an episode: Follow When Rome Burns on your podcast app and turn on notifications. New episodes drop daily, your next favorite insight is one tap away. 🔍 Topics: First Crusade, medieval history, historical myths, European history, religious wars Stream the full show at When Rome Burns -------- Keywords: economic collapse, gold standard, historical failures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices