Crusader

Bearer of the Cross

The Crusader was a Western European knight who took the cross and marched east, sworn by vow to recover or defend Jerusalem and the Holy Land from the eleventh century onward. Driven by a mix of piety, the promise of remission of sins, plunder, and adventure, he often mortgaged his estates to fund the long journey. Encased in mail and bearing a cross upon his surcoat, he carried the wars of faith across the Mediterranean.