The Crusaders’ Victory in Jerusalem and its Christological Interpretation in Relation to Jews and Judaism

In 1099 the crusaders conquered Jerusalem. It was the culmination of a long emotional journey that started with Pope Urban II’s call. His call and the propaganda that followed employed the story of Exodus extensively. This biblical topos served several purposes in crusading rhetoric. One such goal was to demonstration that the story of Exodus prefigured the First Crusade. Its secular and religious leaders were compared to Moses and Aaron; its participants to the Children of Israel, led by God. My paper will show that the Christian presentation of the victory in Jerusalem as a prophetic and messianic fulfillment also invigorated the supersessionist stand regarding the fate of Jews and Judaism. Among other Latin sources, my paper relies on the anonymous Account of the Capturing of Jerusalem that was written by a Christian eyewitness shortly after the fall of Jerusalem. To my knowledge, this Latin account has not been translated and its references to Judaism and Jews have not received attention in scholarly works. This account makes an important contribution to our understanding of the cultural setting, not only because of the information it contains, but also because it provides one of the earliest references to Judaism in the context of the First Crusade.