croisade

The word comes from French croisade, from Provençal crozada, from Latin crux (cross). The Crusaders — the people later called by that name — did not use the word. They called themselves peregrini (pilgrims) or crucesignati (those signed with the cross). The term croisade emerged in French in the late fifteenth century, centuries after the First Crusade of 1096. The word was applied retroactively. History named the wars; the warriors had other words for what they were doing.

Pope Urban II's call at the Council of Clermont in 1095 launched what would later be called the First Crusade. He promised remission of sins for those who fought to recapture Jerusalem from Muslim control. Thousands responded, sewing crosses to their garments. The cross was the symbol, but the word crusade did not yet exist in any European language. The campaigns were described with various phrases: iter (journey), peregrinatio (pilgrimage), bellum sacrum (holy war).

The word's figurative extension happened quickly. By the sixteenth century, a crusade was any zealous campaign for a cause. Temperance crusades, anti-slavery crusades, moral crusades — the word shed its specifically religious meaning and became a general term for passionate advocacy. In this figurative sense, the word is more common today than in any military context.

The historical Crusades remain a charged topic. In the Middle East, the word carries different weight than in the West. Arabic uses ḥurūb al-ṣalībiyya (wars of the cross-bearers). George W. Bush's use of 'crusade' after September 11, 2001, drew immediate international criticism. The word cannot be neutral because its history is not neutral. A term coined to describe religious warfare cannot be sanitized by metaphorical use.