Why did Medieval Christian knights at the end of the 11th century march some 2,500 miles from France (and elsewhere in the Latin West) to Jerusalem and how were they able to conquer and create viable states in the Middle East? John Hamer of Toronto Centre place will look at the historical context of the First Crusade and its logistics and consider how Christian religious practices including the Peace of God, Truce of God, and pilgrimage resulted in indiscriminate massacres. How did the First Crusade succeed and why did the Crusades ultimately fail?