In many depictions of the crusades kings (and oftentimes other nobles) are depicted wearing crowns on their heads. I was wondering if this was pure symbolism or did they actually wore them while riding or even in a battle?
And on a second note: would the crowns be made of gold or is it more likely that is was painted iron or copper? I was thinking it might be the latter because things could get lost if you're riding through the deserts for months.
It is possible they would have worn a smaller lighter version of the crown for identification purposes. These would have been a small circlet or coronet, usually out of a light metal, most monarchs didn't wear the crown except for ceremonial purposes because they are so heavy, so they preferred to wear whatever was fashionable at the time. And in battle they would have most likely worn armor because the King is important.
There's another good Reddit post on this. Did Kings Wear Crowns all the time?
And to answer more specifically about the Crusades, Godfrey of Bouillon, a Frankish Knight, served as a leader of the Crusades and after the successful siege of Jerusalem, became the First ruler of Jerusalem, though he did not want to be called "King" because he believed the true ruler of Jerusalem was Jesus Christ, and so he refused to wear a crown.^1 In addition, I mentioned previously that Kings would have worn armor into battle.
Hope that helps.