Crusader forces captured Jerusalem in July 1099 after a brutal siege, massacring much of the city's Muslim and Jewish population. The First Crusade had been launched in 1096 by Pope Urban II, mobilizing European knights and peasants in a religious war to reclaim the Holy Land from Muslim control. This event established Crusader states in the Levant and intensified Christian-Muslim conflict while also facilitating cultural exchange.

The Crusades inspired epic poetry like the Chanson de Roland and numerous chansons de geste celebrating knightly valor and religious zeal. Contact with Islamic cultures exposed Europeans to Arabic poetry, philosophy, and science, influencing troubadour poetry's themes of courtly love. The clash of civilizations produced literature exploring religious difference, from anti-Islamic polemics to more nuanced works acknowledging Islamic civilization's sophistication, shaping European literary imagination of the 'Other.'