God’s will. More commonly expressed in Latin as Deus Vult, shown in conjunction with a Crusader’s cross. According to the Gesta Francorum, written in 1100, the phrase was first used by Catholic Knights during the first crusade in 1096, a large number of Christian crusaders beared the sign of the cross on their right shoulders or backs and said, in unison, “Deus Vult”, Latin for “if God Wills it.” It continued to be mentioned after the capture of Antioch in 1098.
Robert the Monk, who rewrote the Gesta Francorum in 1120, added his account of Pope Urban II’s Speech at the Council of Claremont in 1095, to which he witnessed, where the pope himself exclaimed it was “the will of god” when asking Christians in the west to come to the aid of their Christian Greek brothers in the Levant and Egypt. At this speech, crowds reportedly shouted the phrase in support of sending Christians to recapture the holy land. After the crusades largely subsided, the phrase mostly appeared in mosaics and liturgical texts, and never saw its way beyond that for centuries afterwards.
The Phrase reemerged in the 19th century with renewed interest, as it became the motto of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, where it is still on their coat of arms to this day. It appeared in a number of novels, operas and paintings, especially in Europe, where it was used by nationalist groups wanting to claim national identity over that of the money empires that ruled at the time. One of the most notable Naval Admirals in U.S. history, Alfred Thayer Mahan, famously stated “Deus Vult, say I! The cry of the Crusaders and of the Puritans, and I have doubts if a man ever uttered a more noble saying!”
The phrase continues to be said by Christian groups well into the present day. Many using it as a statement of their faith. But it continues to be more commonly associated with the crusades and the soldiers of Christ who left their homes in Europe to reclaim the holy land, the city of Jerusalem and the sieges in Byzantine lands inhabited by fellow Christians from the invading armies of Saladin.
Reboot of the original (Circa 2016). Historical writeup coming soon
- 3x2
- Embroidered/Twill
- Hook Backing
- Release: 11/5/2025
