ABSTRACT
This book examines specific themes that have been of interest to historians of other periods of crusading and this work could contribute to our understanding of the development of crusade mentalities. These themes were: pilgrimage, service, the memory and uses of the past, the dangers associated with crusading, martyrdom and the value of suffering. The book explores crusaders' careers in order to set individuals' experiences and beliefs as crusaders against the backdrop of their lives as a whole. Between the time of the First Crusade and Louis IX's campaigns there had been a proliferation of sources of information from which potential crusaders might have heard about the meaning and value of this activity. Examining such literature alongside model sermons can reveal additional elements within the framework of ideas used to present the possibility of crusading to recruits in the thirteenth century. Such a study would be of value in itself in understanding how the crusade was advertised to potential participants.
