Sini Kangas, Ph.D (1973), Tampere University, is a Researcher of the Crusades and Christian ideological warfare. She has published many articles on the history of the Crusades and edited monographs, including Authorities in the Middle Ages: Influence, Legitimacy, and Power in Medieval Society (with Mia Korpiola and Tuija Ainonen, Walter deGruyter, 2013).

• AcknowledgementsList of Figures1 Introduction1 What Is Crusading All About?2 Defining Violence3 Sources3.1 Eyewitnesses of the First Crusade: Gesta Francorum, Raymond of Aguilers, Fulcher of Chartres and Other Contemporary Chroniclers3.2 Vernacular Chansons of the Crusades3.3 Legal Sources2 Canonical Theory1 Greco-Roman and Judaic Origins of Just War Theory2 The Question of Legitimate and Illegitimate Violence and the Concept of Crusade2.1 The Canon Law Principles in the Framework of the First Crusade2.2 Parallel Phenomena3 Conclusions3 Military Tradition1 Practice of Warfare2 Laws of War and Homicide2.1 Restriction of Private War2.2 Hostage-Taking and Captivity3 The Great Encounter3.1 Crusader Hero3.2 Vengeance3.3 Knight and Church3.4 The Great Encounter against a Noble Enemy3.5 Categories of Crusader Violence in the Gesta Francorum4 The Cleric in Holy War4.1 Clerics on the First Crusade4.2 Forced Conversion5 Conclusions4 Crusader Belief1 Papal Launch of the First Crusade2 Sin2.1 Cruelty2.2 Avarice2.3 Lasciviousness3 Remedy3.1 A Violent God3.2 Cleansing the Temple4 The Adversary4.1 Guibert of Nogent on Saracens4.2 The Darker Side of the Mirror Image5 Conclusions5 AfterwordAppendix: Timeline of the First CrusadeBibliographyIndex