By contrast, the crusades in general were roundly criticized in the Byzantine Empire and unanimously condemned in the Islamic world.
As crusaders were held to a higher standard than soldiers in other wars, their defeats were often blamed on their sins, such as greed and sexual promiscuity.
In Roger of Wendover and Matthew of Paris, for example, new taxes were criticized as dangerous precedents, while preachers were accused of extorting funds.
[3] The Annals of Würzburg go so far as to claim that the Second Crusade was inspired by the devil: God allowed the Western church on account of its sins to be cast down.
[4]Around the same time, Isaac de l'Étoile criticized the Knights Templar as a "new monstrosity" and wondered at how plunder and massacre could be committed in the name of Jesus.