The picture of Europe at the inauguration of the crusades in the eleventh century, with which our volume opened, is very different from that in which we would portray the thirteenth century, when the militant faith had practically ceased its conflict for the possession of the Holy Land. In government, in popular morals, in education, in industrial methods, and in reasonable piety the world had greatly advanced; but as it was difficult to definitely trace the causes of the crusades in the earlier era, so it would be unwise to attribute to their influence all the changes that had taken place during their continuance. When a broad river debouches into a fertile valley it is natural to point to that irrigating current as the cause of the abundant vegetation; yet much of the new life and beauty may be due to other springs on the hillsides and to better conditions of soil and climate. There were certainly at work in society other forces than those which either illustrated or resulted from the military movements. The great law of social evolution wrought steadily, sometimes using, and often in ways aside from, the crusading projects. The spirit of humanity—or, we may more wisely say, the Spirit of God in humanity—is a self-developing power, which must not be overlooked by the student of history. We have already observed the influence of the crusades upon the growth of kingship, especially in France. The French people supplied the majority of the warriors, and their sovereigns were the foremost in leading and supporting the great endeavor. Quite naturally leadership in the field compacted the power of the French throne. The lords who followed the king abroad were less disposed to dispute his authority at home. When the crusades began, as we have seen, the sway of the king was limited to the neighborhood of Paris. During the reign of Louis IX., which witnessed their close, there were ceded to the crown by their feudal lords the section of Toulouse between the Rhone, the sea, and the Pyrenees, Chartres, Blois, Sancerre, Mâcon, Perche, Arles, Forcalquier, Foix, and Cahors, while at the same time England relinquished its claim to Normandy, Anjou, Maine, Touraine, Poitou, and northern Saintonge, thus presenting to the eye almost the present map of France. The various feudal courts, where they still held separate jurisdiction, yielded the right of final appeal to the king before the enforcement of their decisions. Anciently the barons and clergy of France had been accustomed to meet in general assembly for the support of the monarchy. For over a century preceding the first crusade such assemblies had not been held, but when Louis VII. embarked upon the second crusade the great men of all sections resumed these loyal conventions. It may therefore be said that modern France was born amid the throes of the mediæval holy wars. In Germany the case was different. The incessant quarrel of Pope and