1147-1149 AD
The Second Crusade was launched in response to the fall of the Crusader county of Edessa to Muslim forces in 1144. St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the great Cistercian abbot, preached the crusade with extraordinary fervor, and two of Europe's greatest monarchsβLouis VII of France and Conrad III of Germanyβpersonally led the armies eastward.
Despite the impressive leadership, the Second Crusade was a disaster. The armies marched through hostile territory, suffered from heat and supply shortages, and were defeated in separate engagements against the Seljuk Turks. The attempt to capture Damascus in 1148 ended in humiliating failure, and the Crusaders returned home empty-handed.
The failure of the Second Crusade shook European confidence in the crusading movement and led to soul-searching within the Church. St. Bernard himself wrote a treatise on the failure, attributing it to the sins of the Crusaders. Key Sources: St. Bernard of Clairvaux, In Punctum Confessio; Odo of Deuil, De Profectione Ludovici VII; Fulcher of Chartres