The work, which connects to modern enemy image theory, deals with the representation of Muslim adversaries in the crusade lyrics of the 10th to 12th centuries. Since the phenomenon of the Crusades encompassed not just a single country or language area, but all of Christian Europe, a corpus of 40 crusade songs from the four predominant literatures of the time (medieval Latin, Provençal, Middle High German, and Old French) was created. This corpus allows for the complex structure of stereotypes and prejudices that make up an enemy image to be analyzed in its various forms, within the context of an ideal-typical medieval worldview. Two excursions on particularly prominent invectives further delve into their use in other literary genres. A concluding chapter provides a brief insight into Arabic poetry from the same period.