Soldiers of the Faith

The battles and political scheming that took place during the various medieval crusades have often been described, but little has been written about crusading from the point of view of the acutal participants - those recruits who marched across europe and fought the infidel, as well as those they fought against. What did it feel like to be a crusader? How did the long marches, bad food and lack of medicine affect the average armed pilgrim? Where the original ideals sustained in the face of the perils on the journey? What images of the enemy did each side carry into battle?