On the March

This chapter looks at the liturgy of crusade in an attempt to appreciate the devotional and religious texture that the rites of prayer and intercession brought to the crusading experience. Unlike most of the rest of this book, which is organized around the evidence found in the liturgical volumes themselves, the chapter draws primarily on narrative accounts of crusading, paying particular attention to the role of liturgy, prayer, and ecclesiastical ritual in underwriting the goals and sacrality of the First Crusade and crusading in general. It is clear from the sources themselves that liturgical rituals were more frequently performed in the First Crusade than in other campaigns in a way that suggests that the rites played a heightened role—that is, a more frequent or at least more meaningful role—on the campaign. However, their performances were also strategic, and the way in which the devotional and strategic aspects of liturgical intervention intertwined is central to the quality of crusade as holy war.