Quote from james_bond_3rd:
Are you picking on me for not using the plural form "the Crusades?"
Yes, I am. It wasn't simply a dropped-s typo because you began your sentence with was. The crusades, as a movement, are never referred to in the singular in any of the literature. So I find it hard to believe anyone with even minimal immersion in that literature could begin a sentencing with "was the crusade". My point? You invoke the crusades without knowing a damn thing about them.