In the poem "The Conquest of Orange" by Joan Ferrante, readers get a look at the typical ego stroking; the power of conquering a town, the power of greed, the power of overpowering one man's masculinity and control, and taking a man's woman. These crusaders are not only motivated by the reasons above, they are also motivated by sheer stupidity.
             Count William has conquered the land of Nimes, and even though the town has "well-groomed horses, and strong chain-mail and gilded helmets, sharp, cutting swords and fine buckled shields, and splendid spears fashioned of heavy iron, and bread and wine and salted meat and grain", the land has "no harpers or minstrels, or young ladies to delight our bodies" (58-62). So when Gilbert, a prisoner of three years from the land of Orange, comes to tell of his grief and poverty during the time that he was held captive by the African king and his town, he brags about the place where he was imprisoned. Although it's curious to believe that a prisoner would brag about his place of imprisonment, Gilbert is persuasive enough to make Count William impressed. Gilbert brags about the stunning queen, Lady Orable, and how beautiful the land of Orange is, and just from Gilbert's words, Count William is gullible enough to believe that he is in love without even seeing the woman for himself. He demands that Gilbert, who has just now escaped, go back to the land of Orange with him, along with his nephew Bertrand.
             They get there, and trick the Muslims of Orange into believing that they are from the same country in Africa where the townspeople are. Even after Count William sees how beautiful the land is, he's still stubborn about leaving until he gets a good look at Lady Orable. A woman is his whole drive for being there. The Muslims, on the other hand, find out that he is not the African that they thought he and his two companions are. Now, their moti...