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This article considers the definitions of evil in the twelfth- and early thirteenth-century sources of the crusades. Research material consists of crusader chronicles and vernacular poetry, the so-called first and second crusader cycles and their continuations. The survey begins with a brief account of the historical background of the crusades and turns then into more specific questions of the medieval ideas related to evil and vice in crusading context. In this setting, the concept of sin is crucially important. The discussion concludes with some further remarks on sacred violence as a medieval tool for confronting and resolving the powers of evil.
This article considers the definitions of evil in the twelfth- and early thirteenth-century sources of the crusades. Research material consists of crusader chronicles and vernacular poetry, the so-called first and second crusader cycles and their continuations. The survey begins with a brief account of the historical background of the crusades and turns then into more specific questions of the medieval ideas related to evil and vice in crusading context. In this setting, the concept of sin is crucially important. The discussion concludes with some further remarks on sacred violence as a medieval tool for confronting and resolving the powers of evil.