It had a distinct ideology that was evident in texts describing, regulating, and promoting crusades. It impacted almost every country in Europe, the western Islamic world, touching many aspects of life, influencing the Church, religious thought, politics, the economy, and society.
The Crusading movement was one of the most important elements and defining attributes of late medieval western culture. Fresco from San Bevignate depicting the Templars battling the Saracens, possibly the battle of Nablus (1242)
