Apocalypse Then: The First Crusade

A Conversation with Jay Rubenstein

How did the First Crusade happen? What could have suddenly caused tens of thousands of knights, commoners and even nuns at the end of the 11th century to leave their normal lives behind and trek thousands of miles across hostile territory in an unprecedented vicious and bloody quest to wrest Jerusalem from its occupying powers?

Jay Rubenstein thinks it was the Apocalypse: the crusaders’ sincere belief that the end of the world was approaching and their opportunity to participate in the last stage of the divine plan.

We met Professor Rubenstein at the University of Tennessee to discuss his views on apocalyptic motivations, his book, Armies of Heaven, and the medieval mind.