Pope Urban II launched the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont in France, calling on Western Christians to liberate Jerusalem from Muslim control and aid the Byzantine Empire. The Crusades brought Western and Eastern Christians into prolonged conflict with each other and with the Islamic world, profoundly shaping the religious and political landscape of the Mediterranean. The crusading movement had lasting effects on Christian spirituality, identity, and relations with other faiths.

The Crusades inspired a vast body of epic and lyric poetry, from the Chanson d'Antioche to the medieval crusade songs of the troubadours. The encounter with the Eastern Christian and Islamic worlds introduced new poetic forms and themes into Western literature, influencing the development of the romance epic and the poetry of pilgrimage.