What does this tell us about the Crusades?
The Morgan Crusader Bible gives us insight into the political uses of the crusades for leaders in Western Europe. By choosing to depict scenes of biblical kings and wars but to visually set the events in medieval France, the creators of the Morgan Crusader Bible were making a clear commentary on who were the successors of King David's legacy. King Louis IX wanted to draw comparisons between himself and the first Jewish kings, between his crusade to reclaim the Holy Land and the divinely anointed battles fought by Saul. He was chosen by God to rule France and to wage war against anyone who stood in the way of Christian occupation of Jerusalem.
Through this analysis, we can see that the motivations for the Crusades were not purely religious or purely political. Just as politics and religion were intertwined in western Christian society, so were they intertwined in the excitement to retake the Holy Land. Because western Europeans -- and the French -- were understood as God's chosen people, any action that served western European -- or French -- interests must also serve God's interests.