Driven by religious fervor, the People's Crusade moved through Europe and into Anatolia, often suffering due to poor organization and logistics. A curious historical footnote involves the 'goose' that some of the crusaders believed was divinely inspired and followed as a guide through the Rhineland. This mass migration led to the siege of Jerusalem and altered the geopolitical landscape of the Levant for centuries.

The Crusades provided a wealth of material for epic poetry, influencing works from Tasso's 'Jerusalem Delivered' to various medieval chansons de geste. The imagery of animals as divine messengers or omens of war became a staple in the high-medieval literary tradition of the troubadours and epic poets.