Editing Second Crusade (section)

=== Crusaders ===
The German contingent comprised about 20,000 knights; the French contingent had about 700 knights from the king's lands while the nobility raised smaller numbers of knights; and the Kingdom of Jerusalem had about 950 knights and 6,000 infantrymen.{{sfn|Nicolle|2009|p=24}}

The French knights preferred to fight on horseback, while the German knights liked to fight on foot. The [[Byzantine Greeks|Byzantine Greek]] chronicler [[John Kinnamos]] wrote "the French are particularly capable of riding horseback in good order and attacking with the spear, and their cavalry surpasses that of the Germans in speed. The Germans, however, are able to fight on foot better than the French and excel in using the great sword."{{sfn|Nicolle|2009|pp=26–27}}

Conrad III was considered to be a brave knight, though often described as indecisive in moments of crisis.{{sfn|Nicolle|2009|p=17}} Louis VII was a devout Christian with a sensitive side who was often attacked by contemporaries like Bernard of Clairvaux for being more in love with his wife Eleanor than he was interested in war or politics.{{sfn|Nicolle|2009|p=18}}

[[Stephen, King of England]] did not participate in the second crusade due to internal conflicts in his kingdom.{{sfn|Schmieder|O'Doherty|2015|pp=121–138}} Meanwhile, King [[David I of Scotland]] was dissuaded by his subjects from joining the crusade himself.{{sfn|Cowan|Mackay|Macquarrie|1983|p=18}}