In parallel to the use of traditional Jewish symbols, a number of twelfth-century popular concepts filtered into the Hebrew narratives. They represent the fusion of old and new images. Three of these motifs are discussed here: (I) the concept of absolute love and devotion, (II) the ideology of chivalry, and (III) the belief in celestial reward for the martyr. Twelfth-century Jews and Christians made extensive use of these concepts, reflecting the nature of their shared milieu. While the Jewish symbols turned the Rhenish heroes into emulators of past protagonists, the examples in this section also depict the Ashkenazic martyrs as defending themselves as Jewish crusaders. It is the presentation of these modified symbols that could have lent support to the authors' claims of unprecedented heroism in 1096.

Although the use of these concepts in a martyrological context was an adaptation of contemporary Christian ideals, such use reveals the internal function martyrdom had within Franco-German Jewry. Together with their old symbols, the martyrs and the narrators utilized these concepts mainly to deliver messages to their fellow Jews, who would judge the martyrs' behavior by the ideals of the period in addition to the ancient principles of their religion. At the same time, these messages addressed the polemical arguments that Christians were making during and after the attacks. Contemporary symbols in the martyrological proclamations made these counterpolemics comprehensible to the Christians as well.