Stockholm university

The history of the word “crusade”

The word “crusade” has always had different meanings and has served as a political instrument, writes Benjamin Weber in a new article in the digital magazine The Conversation where he untangles the history of the word.

Screenshot from The Conversation

The article “The journey of the word crusade – from holy to oppressive … and back again” is published on 5 March and written by Benjamin Weber, researcher in Medieval History, Department of History, Stockholm University.

He writes: “The word ‘crusade’ has become common in the vocabulary of extremists. Wars in the Middle East are labelled as such by Muslim fundamentalists in order to condemn them. While Christian far-right radicals often use it to describe the driving force behind their killings.”

Read the article published in The Conversation

Read more about the collaboration between Stockholm University and The Conversation and how to pitch an article idea

More articles in The Conversation by researchers at Stockholm University

On this page