The Crusades did help quite a bit actually. They reconquered quite a bit of territory and regained a lot of influence. They would have gained far more if they h

The Crusades did help quite a bit actually. They reconquered quite a bit of territory and regained a lot of influence. They would have gained far more if they had not withdrawn from Antioch. The Fourth Crusade was of course a disaster, but the only way it could have been successful was because they had weakened themselves internally so much, and that wasn't because of the crusades.