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Excerpt from The Song of Roland (c. 1100)
Originally written by Anonymous; Translated by Dorothy L. Sayers; Published in 1957

Excerpt from "Ahi! Amours! Com dure departie/Alas, Love, What Hard Leave," (1219)
Originally written by Conon de Béthune; Reprinted in Lyrics of the Troubadours and Trouvères; Edited by Frederick Goldin; Published in 1973

Literature also helped promote the Crusades. However, with so many people unable to read in the Middle Ages, such literature serving the needs of propaganda had to be able to reach more than simply the small educated class. Much of medieval literature was made up of chronicles, or histories, kept by clerks of the church and written in Latin. These histories were not accessible enough or easy enough to...