Purkis, William J.: Crusading Spirituality in the Holy Land and Iberia, c.1095–c.1187

This thought‐provoking book is one of the more convincing contributions to a slew of recent publications on the ideology of crusading produced by former students of Jonathan Riley‐Smith. In a clearly written and important study, William Purkis identifies the fundamental religious motifs associated with the practice of twelfth‐century crusading and traces their evolution from Pope Urban II's preaching of the First Crusade in 1095 until the eve of the fall of the kingdom of Jerusalem in 1187. Purkis' detailed exploration of the significance of themes such as the symbol of the cross, imitatio Christi , and the vita apostolica enhances our understanding of contemporary interpretations of crusading practice and illuminates the place of the crusades in the broader spiritual fabric of the eleventh and twelfth centuries.