# Deus Vult "Deus Vult" is a Latin phrase meaning "God wills it," originally shouted at the First Crusade in 1095 and later revived online in the mid-2010s as a Crusader-themed catchphrase. The meme spread through Crusader Kings II fans, 4chan's /pol/, and Reddit's /r/The_Donald, pairing medieval knight imagery with mock rallying cries. ## Overview "Deus Vult" is Latin for "God wills it," a medieval Crusader battle cry that resurfaced online in the 2010s as shorthand for Crusader-themed jokes and image macros[1]. The phrase gets stamped on paintings of knights, screenshots from strategy games, and cartoons of armored figures shouting into the void, usually in a mock-serious tone[3]. On 4chan's /pol/ and Reddit's /r/The_Donald, the line carried heavier political baggage, showing up in posts that framed the Crusades as a template for modern fights about immigration and Islamic extremism[4]. Users in those communities often treated it as a Christian counterpoint to "Allahu Akbar," which is part of why the joke drew as much backlash as it did fandom. ## How It Spread Early online use showed up on YouTube in December 2013, when the channel universalbean uploaded a slideshow of Crusader paintings titled "Deus Vult!"[3]. Two years later on October 14, 2015, YouTuber Metaphysical Gnome posted "Ave Maria! Deus Vult," pairing the phrase with footage of Christian soldiers in the Free Syrian Army. Urban Dictionary user speed_kill added an entry defining the phrase on October 21 that same year[5]. The catchphrase went wide in 2016. FunnyJunk user thedankmemer put together a "Deus Vult! Meme Collection" gallery on March 2. On May 6, /r/The_Donald moderator D4rkd3str0yer posted "Meme Magic Friday: Deus Vult Edition," inviting the subreddit to aim Crusader edits at Donald Trump's political opponents[4]. In July, Imgur user TheBigGay uploaded a set of Crusader image macros that reached the front page of /r/dankchristianmemes. By October 3, 2016, the phrase was mainstream enough on Reddit that a user asked /r/OutOfTheLoop for an explanation[4]. An animated web comic from Starbot Dubs released August 22 that year showed a crusader repeating "Deus vult" as a punchline, which is roughly when the joke passed into wider meme rotation. ## How to Use People typically pair the phrase with a Crusader painting, a Crusader Kings II screenshot, or a cartoon of a medieval knight in armor. A common convention is to write it in all caps ("DEUS VULT!") as if being shouted, often as a caption on reaction images or as a comment reply to anything vaguely religious, historical, or combative. The joke often includes a mock-serious tone, treating minor internet arguments as if they were a call for holy war. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Deus Vult? "Deus Vult" is a Latin phrase meaning "God wills it" that became an internet catchphrase in the mid-2010s, typically paired with Crusader imagery and Crusader Kings II references[1]. ### Where did Deus Vult come from? The phrase comes from Pope Urban II's declaration of the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont in 1095, and the modern meme grew out of Crusader Kings II fans posting in-game screenshots starting in 2012[2]. ### What does Deus Vult mean? It translates from Latin as "God wills it," originally the crowd's response to Pope Urban II's call for the First Crusade at Clermont in November 1095[1]. ### How do you use Deus Vult? People typically write it as "DEUS VULT!" over Crusader paintings, Crusader Kings II screenshots, or cartoons of medieval knights, often as a mock rallying cry[3]. ### Is Deus Vult still popular? The meme peaked in 2016 across /r/The_Donald, /r/dankchristianmemes, and 4chan's /pol/, and later settled into occasional use within Crusader Kings and history-meme communities[4]. ## References 1. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Clermont]() 2. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusader_Kings_II]() 3. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdhF4O54YjU]() 4. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/deus-vult]() 5. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Deus%20Vult]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/deus-vult Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library