JJ University
Navigate
HomeLibraryPrintArenaAtlasAboutContactSettings
Skip to content
JJ UniversityFree books by James Johnson
Account
Menu
Back to books
Deus Vult cover
History & Civilization +2 more

Deus Vult

A witty, accessible history of the Crusades from the first call to arms through the legendary showdown between Richard the Lionheart and Saladin.

33 min readReading time
13Sections
Start reading

Reading progress can be saved on this device. Account tools are available if you sign in.

Chapters

13 total
  1. 01Prologue
  2. 02Chapter One - The World Before War
  3. 03Chapter Two - The Call to Crusade
  4. 04Chapter Three - The People’s Crusade
  5. 05Chapter Four - The First Crusade (a.k.a. Beginner’s Luck)
  6. 06Chapter Five - Crusader Kingdoms
  7. 07Chapter Six - The Second Crusade (Oops, Never Mind)
  8. 08Chapter Seven - Saladin Rises
  9. 09Chapter Eight - The Third Crusade (Richard vs. Saladin)
  10. 10Chapter Nine - The Fourth Crusade: Whoops, Wrong City
  11. 11Chapter Ten - Children’s Crusade & the Weird Ones
  12. 12Chapter Eleven - The Last Crusades (Slow Fade to Irrelevance)
  13. 13Chapter Twelve - The Ashes of War
Edition notes and short pages
Dedications, notices, acknowledgments, author notes, and short passages from this book.

Deus Vult

Deus Vult
A History of Crusades and Holy Wars
by James Johnson

Dedication

To every kid who shouted Deus Vult before knowing what it meant.
And to every adult who still doesn’t.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS


THANKS TO EVERYONE who ever taught world history without skipping the ugly parts.

Thanks to the madmen, kings, monks, and barefoot lunatics who made this book possible, you were all equally unqualified.

Thanks to the readers, thinkers, and people who read between the swords.

And as always, thanks to the ones who held the line so I could write on it.

(And shoutout to Pope Urban II for kicking the whole thing off with a mic drop. Legend.)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR


JJ IS THE author of over 250 books spanning history, philosophy, psychology, and cultural breakdowns that actually make sense. His style blends clarity with fire, irreverence with precision, and brutal honesty with enough humor to get away with it.

He writes so that people stop pretending they know history and start actually getting it.

When he’s not writing, he’s working, learning, laughing, or rewriting the operating system of reality one book at a time.

This is one of those books.

COPYRIGHT


© 2025 JAMES JOHNSON. All rights reserved.
This book is not affiliated with any religious institution, historical society, crusading order, or modern political movement. This is a work of historical nonfiction written with narrative voice, interpretive commentary, and a healthy dose of satire. Events and characters are real; the commentary is deeply researched but not reverent.

This book contains references to war, religion, death, colonialism, and human stupidity across multiple centuries. Reader discretion advised if you’re allergic to honesty.

All errors are the fault of history. All blame belongs to those who thought God wanted them to pick up a sword.