The Rite for Taking the Cross in the Twelfth Century

The liturgical ceremony for the taking of the crusading cross did not develop until well into the twelfth century. Texts which reveal how the cross was bestowed are relatively rare from the period 1095 to 1200. It was not until the thirteenth century that pontificals commonly contained such a ceremony. It is not clear why the rite for taking the cross took so long to develop, but two twelfth-century Italian pontificals from the Graz University library shed some light on how the liturgical ceremony evolved on the continent.