A Crusade song is any vernacular

Vernacular

A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...

 lyric poem about the Crusades

Crusades

The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...

. Crusade songs were popular in the High Middle Ages

High Middle Ages

The High Middle Ages was the period of European history around the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries . The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500....

: 106 survive in Occitan, forty in Old French

Old French

Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century...

, thirty in Middle High German

Middle High German

Middle High German , abbreviated MHG , is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. It is preceded by Old High German and followed by Early New High German...

, two in Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

, and one in Old Castilian. The study of the Crusade song, which may be considered a genre

Literary genre

A literary genre is a category of literary composition. Genres may be determined by literary technique, tone, content, or even length. Genre should not be confused with age category, by which literature may be classified as either adult, young-adult, or children's. They also must not be confused...

 of its own, was pioneered by Kurt Lewent. He provided a classification of Crusade songs and distinguished between songs which merely mentioned, in some form, a Crusade from songs which were "Crusade songs".

The Crusade song was not confined to the topic of the Latin East, but could concern the Reconquista

Reconquista

The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...

 in Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, the Albigensian Crusade

Albigensian Crusade

The Albigensian Crusade or Cathar Crusade was a 20-year military campaign initiated by the Catholic Church to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc...

 in Languedoc

Languedoc

Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...

, or the political crusades in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. The first Crusade to be accompanied by songs, none of which survive, was the Crusade of 1101

Crusade of 1101

The Crusade of 1101 was a minor crusade of three separate movements, organized in 1100 and 1101 in the successful aftermath of the First Crusade. It is also called the Crusade of the Faint-Hearted due to the number of participants who joined this crusade after having turned back from the First...

, of which William IX of Aquitaine

William IX of Aquitaine

William IX , called the Troubador, was the Duke of Aquitaine and Gascony and Count of Poitou between 1086 and his death. He was also one of the leaders of the Crusade of 1101...

 wrote, according to Orderic Vitalis

Orderic Vitalis

Orderic Vitalis was an English chronicler of Norman ancestry who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th and 12th century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England. The modern biographer of Henry I of England, C...

. From the Second Crusade

Second Crusade

The Second Crusade was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa the previous year to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crusade by Baldwin of Boulogne in 1098...

 survive one French and ten Occitan songs. The Third

Third Crusade

The Third Crusade , also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin...

 and Fourth Crusade

Fourth Crusade

The Fourth Crusade was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire...

s generated many songs in Occitan, French, and German. Occitan troubadours dealt especially with the Albigensian campaigns in the early thirteenth century, but there decline thereafter left the later Crusades—Fifth

Fifth Crusade

The Fifth Crusade was an attempt to reacquire Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land by first conquering the powerful Ayyubid state in Egypt....

, Sixth

Sixth Crusade

The Sixth Crusade started in 1228 as an attempt to regain Jerusalem. It began seven years after the failure of the Fifth Crusade. It involved very little actual fighting...

, Seventh

Seventh Crusade

The Seventh Crusade was a crusade led by Louis IX of France from 1248 to 1254. Approximately 800,000 bezants were paid in ransom for King Louis who, along with thousands of his troops, was captured and defeated by the Egyptian army led by the Ayyubid Sultan Turanshah supported by the Bahariyya...

, and Eighth

Eighth Crusade

The Eighth Crusade was a crusade launched by Louis IX, King of France, in 1270. The Eighth Crusade is sometimes counted as the Seventh, if the Fifth and Sixth Crusades of Frederick II are counted as a single crusade...

—to be convered primarily by the German Minnesinger and French trouvère

Trouvère

Trouvère , sometimes spelled trouveur , is the Northern French form of the word trobador . It refers to poet-composers who were roughly contemporary with and influenced by the troubadours but who composed their works in the northern dialects of France...

s.

List of Occitan crusading songs

The following list is only of those songs defined as "Kreuzlied" in Lewent, "Das altprovenzalische Kreuzlied" (Berlin: 1905). Other songs may be considered "crusading songs", but there is no definitive list or lengthy, generic treatment of them since Lewent.

Composer	Classification	Incipit Incipit Incipit is a Latin word meaning "it begins". The incipit of a text, such as a poem, song, or book, is the first few words of its opening line. In music, it can also refer to the opening notes of a composition. Before the development of titles, texts were often referred to by their incipits...  (i.e. title)	Date and context
Aimeric de Belenoi Aimeric de Belenoi Aimeric de Belenoi was a Gascon troubadour. At least fifteen of his songs survive and there are seven more which were attributed to him in some medieval manuscripts....	9.10	Consiros com partitz d'amor	Between Battle of Hattin Battle of Hattin The Battle of Hattin took place on Saturday, July 4, 1187, between the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem and the forces of the Ayyubid dynasty....  and January 1188.
Aimeric de Peguillan	10.11	Ara parra qual seran envejos	1213, addressed to William VI of Montferrat to go to Syria.
Bertran de Born Bertran de Born Bertran de Born was a baron from the Limousin in France, and one of the major Occitan troubadours of the twelfth century.-Life and works:...	80.30	Nostre seigner somonis el meteis	Early November/December 1187, or after January 1188, after Battle of Hattin Battle of Hattin The Battle of Hattin took place on Saturday, July 4, 1187, between the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem and the forces of the Ayyubid dynasty....  when Bertran thought Philip I of France Philip I of France Philip I , called the Amorous, was King of France from 1060 to his death. His reign, like that of most of the early Direct Capetians, was extraordinarily long for the time...  had made a crusading vow.
Bertran de Born Bertran de Born Bertran de Born was a baron from the Limousin in France, and one of the major Occitan troubadours of the twelfth century.-Life and works:...	80.40	S'eu fos aissi seigner e poderos
Elias Cairel Elias Cairel Elias Cairel was a troubadour of international fame. Born in Sarlat in the Périgord, he first travelled with the Fourth Crusade and settled down in the Kingdom of Thessalonica at the court of Boniface of Montferrat before moving back to Western Europe, where he sojourned in both Spain...	133.11	Qui saubes dar tant bon conseil denan	Before August 1219, forecasting an easy Crusader victory at Cairo.
Folquet de Marselha Folquet de Marselha Folquet de Marselha, alternatively Folquet de Marseille, Foulques de Toulouse, Fulk of Toulouse came from a Genoese merchant family who lived in Marseille...	155.7	Chantars mi torn' ad afan	November 1194 – 10 July 1195, probably during truce between Richard I of England Richard I of England Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...  and Philip I of France Philip I of France Philip I , called the Amorous, was King of France from 1060 to his death. His reign, like that of most of the early Direct Capetians, was extraordinarily long for the time... , before Battle of Alarcos Battle of Alarcos Battle of Alarcos , was a battle between the Almohads led by Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur and King Alfonso VIII of Castile. It resulted in the defeat of the Castilian forces and their subsequent retreat to Toledo whereas the Almohads conquered back Trujillo, Montánchez and Talavera.-Background:In...  and the German Crusade.
Folquet de Marselha Folquet de Marselha Folquet de Marselha, alternatively Folquet de Marseille, Foulques de Toulouse, Fulk of Toulouse came from a Genoese merchant family who lived in Marseille...	155.15	Oimais no.i conosc razo	After 19 July 1195, date of the Battle of Alarcos Battle of Alarcos Battle of Alarcos , was a battle between the Almohads led by Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur and King Alfonso VIII of Castile. It resulted in the defeat of the Castilian forces and their subsequent retreat to Toledo whereas the Almohads conquered back Trujillo, Montánchez and Talavera.-Background:In... . A song about the Reconquista Reconquista The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus... .
Falquet de Romans Falquet de Romans Falquet de Romans was the most famous troubadour attached to the court of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, where he garnered a high reputation despite the fact that his career began as a jongleur...	156.12	Quan lo dous temps ven e vai la freidors	Before 1228, during Albigensian Crusade Albigensian Crusade The Albigensian Crusade or Cathar Crusade was a 20-year military campaign initiated by the Catholic Church to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc...  and conflict between Empire and Papacy.
Gaucelm Faidit Gaucelm Faidit Gaucelm Faidit was a troubadour, born in Uzerche, in the Limousin, from a family of knights in service of the count of Turenne. He travelled widely in France, Spain, and Hungary...	167.9	Ara nos sia guitz	1203, but probably consisting of parts written at the time of the Third Crusade Third Crusade The Third Crusade , also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin...  and some from the Fourth Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire... .
Gaucelm Faidit Gaucelm Faidit Gaucelm Faidit was a troubadour, born in Uzerche, in the Limousin, from a family of knights in service of the count of Turenne. He travelled widely in France, Spain, and Hungary...	167.14	Cascus hom deu conoisser et entendre	1201.
Gauceran de Saint Leidier or Guillem de Saint Leidier	234.10 or 168.1a	El temps que vei cazer foillas e flors	If by Gauceran, it is probably from before 1267 and contains references to Richard of Cornwall Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall Richard of Cornwall was Count of Poitou , 1st Earl of Cornwall and German King...  and James I of Aragon James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror was the King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276... . If by Guillem, it dates to before 1183.
Gavaudan Gavaudan Gavaudan was a troubadour and hired soldier at the courts of both Raymond V and Raymond VI of Toulouse and later on in Castile. He was from Gévaudan, as his name implies...	174.10	Seignors, per los nostres peccatz	Possibly 1196–97, shortly after the Battle of Alarcos Battle of Alarcos Battle of Alarcos , was a battle between the Almohads led by Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur and King Alfonso VIII of Castile. It resulted in the defeat of the Castilian forces and their subsequent retreat to Toledo whereas the Almohads conquered back Trujillo, Montánchez and Talavera.-Background:In... , but perhaps as late as 1210–12. A song about the Reconquista Reconquista The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus... .
Guilhem Fabre Guilhem Fabre Guilhem or Guillem Fabre was a troubadour and burgher from Narbonne. He may be the same person as the dedicatee of En Guillems Fabres, sap fargar, a eulogistic poem by Bernart d'Auriac...	216.2	Pos dels majors / princeps auzem conten	June 1265 – February 1266.
Guilhem Figueira Guilhem Figueira Guillem or Guilhem Figueira or Figera was a Languedocian jongleur and troubadour from Toulouse active at the court of the Emperor Frederick II in the 1230s. He was a close associate of both Aimery de Pégulhan and Guillem Augier Novella...	217.2	D'un sirventes far	29 September 1127 – 28 June 1228. Gormonda of Monpeslier wrote a response to this sirventes contra Roma.
Guilhem Figueira Guilhem Figueira Guillem or Guilhem Figueira or Figera was a Languedocian jongleur and troubadour from Toulouse active at the court of the Emperor Frederick II in the 1230s. He was a close associate of both Aimery de Pégulhan and Guillem Augier Novella...	217.7	Totz hom qui be comens'e be fenis	1215, after the Emperor Frederick II took the cross on 25 July.
Giraut de Borneil	242.6	A l'onor Deu torn en mon chan	After 21 January 1188 but early in the year, praising Richard I of England Richard I of England Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period... , who is about to embark on Crusade.
Giraut de Borneil	242.41	Jois sia comensamens	After 1187, 1190 suggested.
Guiraut Riquier Guiraut Riquier Guiraut Riquier is among the last of the Provençal troubadours. He is well known because of his great care in writing out his works and keeping them together—the New Grove Encyclopedia considers him an "anthologist" of his own works....	248.48	Karitatz / et amors e fes	1276.
Lanfranc Cigala Lanfranc Cigala Lanfranc Cigala was a Genoese nobleman, knight, judge, and man of letters of the mid thirteenth century. He remains one of the most famous Occitan troubadours of Lombardy. Thirty-two of his poems survive, dealing with Crusading, heresy, papal power, peace in Christendom, and loyalty in love...	282.20	Quan vei far bon fag plazentier	1244–45, to celebrate Louis IX's Louis IX of France Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...  taking of the cross in 1244.
Lanfranc Cigala Lanfranc Cigala Lanfranc Cigala was a Genoese nobleman, knight, judge, and man of letters of the mid thirteenth century. He remains one of the most famous Occitan troubadours of Lombardy. Thirty-two of his poems survive, dealing with Crusading, heresy, papal power, peace in Christendom, and loyalty in love...	282.23	Si mos chanz fos de ioi ni de solatz	November 1246 – Spring 1248, praising Louis IX of France Louis IX of France Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...  for having gone on Crusade.
Lunel de Monteg	289.1	Mal veg trop apparelhar	1326, when Charles IV of France Charles IV of France Charles IV, known as the Fair , was the King of France and of Navarre and Count of Champagne from 1322 to his death: he was the last French king of the senior Capetian lineage....  was vowing a Crusade.
Marcabru Marcabru Marcabru is one of the earliest troubadours whose poems are known. There is no certain information about him; the two vidas attached to his poems tell different stories, and both are evidently built on hints in the poems, not on independent information.According to the brief life in MS...	293.21	Emperaire, per mi mezeis	After the spring of 1148, when some Christian were trapped at Attalia and converted to Islam.
Marcabru Marcabru Marcabru is one of the earliest troubadours whose poems are known. There is no certain information about him; the two vidas attached to his poems tell different stories, and both are evidently built on hints in the poems, not on independent information.According to the brief life in MS...	293.35	Pax in nomine Domini	1149, after the failed Second Crusade Second Crusade The Second Crusade was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa the previous year to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crusade by Baldwin of Boulogne in 1098... , the loss of Tortosa Tortosa -External links:* *** * * *...  to the Almohads, and the death of Baldwin of Marash (1146), but before the death of Raymond of Poitiers. A song about the Reconquista Reconquista The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus... .
Olivier lo Templier Olivier lo Templier Olivier lo Templier was a Knight Templar and troubadour probably from Catalonia. He appears as lo templier En'Olivier in one chansonnier, in which is preserved his only work, Estat aurai lonc temps en pessamen . He may be identical with Ramon Oliver who appears as commander of the Templar house of...	312.1	Estat aurai lonc temps en pessamen	1267–69, about the Crusade of James I of Aragon James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror was the King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276...  and his conquest of Valencia Kingdom of Valencia The Kingdom of Valencia , located in the eastern shore of the Iberian Peninsula, was one of the component realms of the Crown of Aragon. When the Crown of Aragon merged by dynastic union with the Crown of Castile to form the Kingdom of Spain, the Kingdom of Valencia became a component realm of the...  and Majorca Kingdom of Majorca The Kingdom of Majorca was founded by James I of Aragon, also known as James The Conqueror. After the death of his first-born son Alfonso, a will was written in 1262 which created the kingdom in order to cede it to his son James... .
Anonymous, formerly Peire d'Alvergne	323.22	Ab fina joia comensa	After August 1198, when Innocent III Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III was Pope from 8 January 1198 until his death. His birth name was Lotario dei Conti di Segni, sometimes anglicised to Lothar of Segni....  proclaimed the Fourth Crusade Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire... , once thought to be between early 1213 – July 1214, before the Battle of Bouvines Battle of Bouvines The Battle of Bouvines, 27 July 1214, was a conclusive medieval battle ending the twelve year old Angevin-Flanders War that was important to the early development of both the French state by confirming the French crown's sovereignty over the Angevin lands of Brittany and Normandy.Philip Augustus of... .
Pons de Capdolh	375.2	Ar nos sia capdelhs e garentia	Around 1213.
Pons de Capdolh	375.8	En honor del pair'en cui es	Early 1213, refers to the Emperor Otto IV, Frederick I of Sicily, and war between John of England John of England John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...  and Philip II of France Philip II of France Philip II Augustus was the King of France from 1180 until his death. A member of the House of Capet, Philip Augustus was born at Gonesse in the Val-d'Oise, the son of Louis VII and his third wife, Adela of Champagne... .
Pons de Capdolh	375.22	So qu'om plus vol e plus es voluntos	June 1213, refers to the Emperor Otto IV, Frederick I of Sicily, and Peter II of Aragon Peter II of Aragon Peter II the Catholic was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1196 to 1213.He was the son of Alfonso II of Aragon and Sancha of Castile... .
Raimbaut de Vaqueiras Raimbaut de Vaqueiras Raimbaut de Vaqueiras was a Provençal troubadour and, later in his life, knight. His life was spent mainly in Italian courts until 1203, when he joined the Fourth Crusade....	392.3	Ara pot hom conoisser e proar	1201, in celebration of the election of Boniface I of Montferrat at Soissons Soissons Soissons is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France, located on the Aisne River, about northeast of Paris. It is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital of the Suessiones...  to lead the Fourth Crusade Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire... .
Raimbaut de Vaqueiras Raimbaut de Vaqueiras Raimbaut de Vaqueiras was a Provençal troubadour and, later in his life, knight. His life was spent mainly in Italian courts until 1203, when he joined the Fourth Crusade....	392.9a	Conseill don a l'emperador	After May 1204, after conquest of Constantinople and election of Baldwin IX of Flanders as emperor.
Raimon Gaucelm de Beziers	401.1	Ab grans trebalhs et ab grans marrimens	1270, refers to the death of Louis IX of France Louis IX of France Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...  on the Eighth Crusade Eighth Crusade The Eighth Crusade was a crusade launched by Louis IX, King of France, in 1270. The Eighth Crusade is sometimes counted as the Seventh, if the Fifth and Sixth Crusades of Frederick II are counted as a single crusade... .
Raimon Gaucelm de Beziers	401.8	Qui vol aver complida amistansa	1268, urging support for the Eighth Crusade Eighth Crusade The Eighth Crusade was a crusade launched by Louis IX, King of France, in 1270. The Eighth Crusade is sometimes counted as the Seventh, if the Fifth and Sixth Crusades of Frederick II are counted as a single crusade... .
Raimon de Cornet Raimon de Cornet Raimon de Cornet was a fourteenth-century Toulousain priest, friar, grammarian, poet, and troubadour. He was a prolific author of verse; more than forty of his poems survive, most in Occitan but two in Latin. He also wrote letters, a didactic poem , a grammar, and some treatises on computation...	I		1332, after Philip VI of France Philip VI of France Philip VI , known as the Fortunate and of Valois, was the King of France from 1328 to his death. He was also Count of Anjou, Maine, and Valois from 1325 to 1328... took the cross in July.