Religious reasons for going on 1st Crusade

Route to penance and salvation

Promised by Urban in his sermon; an alternative route to penance for Knights who couldn't be monks. e.g. Fulk the Black

'Remission of sins' and 'pilgrimage'

Mentioned in Bernard and Odo's charter

Stephen Count of Blois evidence

Used religious language like 'by God's aid' and referred to the crusaders as 'an army of Christ'

Jerusalem

The target of the Crusade, according to Stephen, Count of Blois

Adhémar of Le Puy

Had been to Jerusalem on pilgrimage before signing up to Crusade

Bohemond of Taranto

Gave possessions to the Church

Raymond of Saint-Gilles

Came to the cathedral in Le Puy to pray to Mary, Jesus' mother and gave a donation to the cathedral

Giselbert's carvings and Doom Paintings

Examples of religious context suggesting the importance of salvation

Knights' salvation route

The Crusade allowed inherently violent knights (for whom monastic life was not an option) a route to salvation while keeping up their bellicose lives

Religious devotion

Suggested by events like enduring the horrors of the siege of Antioch (including cannibalism), walking around Jerusalem walls barefoot, and inspiration from the discovery of the Holy Lance

Churchmen motivation

Surely a prime motivator for people like Bishop Le Puy and other monks whose Urban's letters reveal were going

Anti-Muslim sentiment

Included in Urban's Sermon (and may have been used to increase Papacy's power)

Raymond of Toulouse

Example of a wealthy person who gave lands to the Church of St Giles, an argument against a purely material gain motivation

Bias in accounts (Churchmen)

Accounts of the First Crusade were mostly written by Churchmen (e.g., Robert the Monk), which suggests the religious emphasis may be misleading

Bias in legal charters

Legal charters between monks and crusaders were often written by monks, which suggests the religious emphasis may be misleading

Lack of prior anti-Muslim sentiment

Historically, there appears to be little of this sentiment pre-Crusade; if it was key, why not go to the Reconquista instead of the holy lands

Un-Christian behavior

Crusaders raped and pillaged towns and villages as they went