The First Crusade As Reflected in the Earliest Hebrew Narrative

"The First Crusade As Reflected in the Earliest Hebrew Narrative." Recent research into the First Crusade has featured an intensive effort to understand popular crusading mores and thinking. This has meant the search for new sources that allow for circumventing the well-known Latin narratives that are deeply grounded in clerical attitudes and perspectives. While the Hebrew First Crusade narratives have long been known and have been extensively used to portray the anti-Jewish violence that broke out during the spring and summer months of 1096, these narratives have, for a variety of reasons, never been utilized for reconstructing aspects of crusading in general. Recent research into the so-called Mainz Anonymous, the briefest of the three Hebrew First Crusade narratives, has suggested that this account is quite early, composed shortly after the events of 1096, and that its author was committed to describing for his Jewish readers the genesis and development of crusading. Viewed in this way, Mainz Anonymous provides fascinating corroboration for recent findings on popular crusading, including its origins, external trappings, motivations, and rewards.