Their purpose was to ensure the hegemony of church. But had there been no church, I suspect the west would end up an savagely infighting collection of decentralized illiterate iron age tribes that would stand much better chance of being overrun by the forces of Islam from the South or the East between 800 and 1200.
One might speculate that Islam would have been a considerably more liberal force after 1200 had there been no crusades, and Islamic civlization might have taken over the mantle of being the pioneers in the genuine scientific revolution, so the world would suffer no net loss in the long run, but that's speculation.
I have not read A Canticle. But it's on my to read list. Lately I've been lazy and waiting for audio editions of books to become available for listening in lieu of actually reading.
One might speculate that Islam would have been a considerably more liberal force after 1200 had there been no crusades, and Islamic civlization might have taken over the mantle of being the pioneers in the genuine scientific revolution, so the world would suffer no net loss in the long run, but that's speculation.
I have not read A Canticle. But it's on my to read list. Lately I've been lazy and waiting for audio editions of books to become available for listening in lieu of actually reading.