Knightly Piety and the Lay Response to the First Crusade: The Limousin and Gascony c.970-c.1130

This is a study of the religious ideas and motivation of the laymen who fought in the First Crusade (1095-1101). Marcus Bull argues that the laity's crusading zeal cannot be understood simply as a reflection of the preoccupations of educated ecclesiastics. His scholarly and sophisticated analysis shows that elements traditionally regarded as central to the crusade's origins—the Peace of God movement and the Spanish Reconquest—were in fact of minimal significance. Through a study of three regions in southwestern France, Bull uncovers the true dynamic of crusade enthusiasm: the beliefs and practices of pious laymen in intimate contact with local religious communities. He shows that the crusade was an expression of everyday, but genuine, piety.