First Crusade
First Crusade
The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, which were initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. Their aim was to return the Holy Land—which had been conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate in the 7th century—to Christian rule. By the 11th century, although Jerusalem had then been ruled by Muslims for hundreds of year
"They lashed him with knotted leather cords…He beat his breast in penitence and called on God’s mercy. The wicked Saracens grabbed Rainalt Porcet. They flung him across the table in the shape of a cross, tying him hand and foot. They charred his claves…they seared his veins in his arms and heels too."
"As for Bohemond, that great warrior, he was besieging Amalfi when he heard that an immense army of Frankish crusaders had arrived, going to the Holy Sepulchre and ready to fight the pagans. So he began to make careful inquiries as to the arms they carried, the badge which they wore in Christs pilgrimage and the war-cry which they shouted in battle. He was told, ‘They are well-armed, they wear the badge of Christs cross on their right arm or between their shoulders, and as a war-cry they shout all together “Gods will, Gods will, Gods will!”’"
"In the meantime the mighty Bohemond, during his investment of Amalfi, known as Pont-Scaphard, heard that a great number of Franks had come, and he soon learned how they planned to seize the way to the Holy Sepulchre from the hands of the evil pagans and so free it and give full access to all Christians. Consequently, he asked questions pertinent to crusading; namely, the kinds of arms borne by the Franks, what kind of insignia of Christ they wore, even going so far as to inquire concerning the battle cry used in combat. In order of his questions he received the following replies: “Certainly, the Franks always carry the most suitable weapons for conflicts. They wear the sign of the Cross on either the right shoulder or between them. They shout in unison their battle cry: ‘God wills it; God wills it; God wills it.’”"
