Iuvenes and the First Crusade (1096–99): Knights in Search of Glory?

The epitome of the medieval warrior, the hero of the chanson, the glorious competitor in the sports of the tournament, was the iuvenis: a knight not necessarily 'young' in age, but rather, young in his career. When the early medieval historians of the First Crusade (1096–1099) are read with regard to their use of this term, it becomes clear that they saw a distinct grouping of iuvenes as being present on the crusade. These knights, despite a certain recklessness and indiscipline, were portrayed as playing an important military role in the Christian army.