Crusade Preaching and Mobilization

Timeline

1. 1161–1164Jerusalem · JerusalemDuring the reigns of Baldwin III and his successor Amalric, the Kingdom of Jerusalem faced pressure from the Zengids and Nur ad-Din, repeatedly sending envoys to Western Europe to request military and financial aid. The kingdom's letters and church correspondence became important sources of Crusade propaganda.
2. 1163–1167France and Germany · GermanyAlexander III called on Western knights through papal decrees and councils to fulfill their Crusade vows, and some dioceses levied a Crusade tax to support the Holy Land. However, the papal schism weakened the effectiveness of papal mobilization; German princes could not respond uniformly amid the investiture conflict, and France was distracted by domestic affairs and its Sicilian policy.
3. 1167–1170Western European ports and the eastern front · MediterraneanBy the late 1160s, the West could offer only limited military assistance, and actions such as Amalric's expedition to Egypt failed to secure large-scale Crusade reinforcements. The papal schism, the domestic concerns of each realm's rulers, and the disappointed memories of the second generation of Crusaders made the preaching and mobilization of the 1160s far less effective than the First Crusade, though it sustained the religious-military bond between the Holy Land and the West.