The Emotional Rhetoric of Crusader Spirituality in the Narratives of the First Crusade

Spencer, Stephen J. (2014) The Emotional Rhetoric of Crusader Spirituality in the Narratives of the First Crusade. Nottingham Medieval Studies, 58. pp. 57-86.

Abstract

Over thirty years ago, Jonathan Riley-Smith demonstrated how crusading was preached and conceived as an act of Christian charity, encompassing both the love of God and love of neighbour. By analysing representations of fear and weeping in the Latin narratives of the First Crusade, this article argues that a broader spectrum of emotions and emotional displays functioned as markers of crusader spirituality. It firstly suggests that, rather than fearing death, the ideal miles Christi discernible in the sources unreservedly placed his hope in God and, in several of the texts, unflinchingly accepted martyrdom in imitation of Christ. It then explores depictions of weeping as an expression of crusader piety, focusing specifically on tears shed over Jerusalem.

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