A. K. Chidgzey

Where that initial ragged army and their disastrous attempt to get to Jerusalem – to barely get beyond Christian lands – was known as the People’s Crusade, or the Peasant’s Crusade, the real First Crusade (though they didn’t know that it would be the first crusade at that point) is known as the Prince’s Crusade, because it was led by…well…princes.

The rulers and lords of Europe mustered their armies in response to the Pope’s call to crusade and they converged on Constantinople between November 1096 and June 1097. 6 large armies came from France, Lorraine, Flanders, Normandy, Provence, and Italy. This crusading force was led by the pope’s representative, Adhemar, the bishop of Puy-en-Velay, though Count Raymond of Toulouse was the main military and strategic leader. However, there was no single general, because they essentially functioned as separate armies, just with the same goal.  

In Constantinople, they had to pay fealty to Alexius Komnenos, the emperor of the Byzantine Empire, which they did begrudgingly, but they were given everything they needed until it was time to march on. Which they did June 1097, a combined force of approximately 100,000.

The first major battle was at Nicaea, the capital of the Turks, or the Sultanate of Rum, to be more precise. Nicaea had an ancient Christian heritage but was captured by the Turks 16 years earlier.

One good thing that came from the People’s Crusade was that the Seljuk Turks believed these Christian Europeans would be easy to defeat. This was not the case. The People’s Crusade was nowhere near as well trained, commanded, or resourced as the real European force. So the Turks got a little bit complacent. They underestimated the actual Crusader army. So much so that the Sultan, the ruler of the Seljuk Turks, went east to fight in a different battle, assuming the force he left behind could defend the city.

Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemond of Taranto and his nephew Tancred, Raymond of Toulouse, and Robert of Flanders, marched on Antioch, joined by Peter the Hermit, of course, and a small Byzantine force. Under siege from a much larger enemy than expected, the Turks called for the return of the sultan. But the Crusaders defeated the returning Sultan in open battle, who retreated back east, leaving Nicaea to the Crusaders.

Nicaea was next to a lake, so the Turks were able to continue supplying Nicaea. So Alexius had ships wheeled over the land to secure the lake. Secretly, Alexius sent a diplomat to negotiate a surrender from the Turks, without the Crusaders knowledge. The Turks within Nicaea did surrender on the 19^th June, and when the Crusaders learnt of this, they were furious, because they wanted to plunder the city.

Worried about all this pillaging, Alexius instructed his diplomat to get into the city first with a Byzantine army and only let a small number of Crusaders in at a time. Alexius tried to appease the Crusaders with gifts, but they felt they could have had more were they allowed to pillage and plunder. Just like Jesus would have.

Nevertheless, morale was high. This victory filled the Crusaders with a sense of purpose and belief that God was with them. They were excited and believed they would arrive at Jerusalem in 5 weeks.

Their estimates were off. By two years.

The main force left about a month later to march across Asia minor. They did not anticipate just how difficult this would be. Asia minor, modern Turkey, is quite a mountainous and rocky region, and so the main road was quite windy and included difficult climbs. But it was also the middle of summer, and it was hot. There also wasn’t much food or water going around, and there were long stretches of land that were entirely desolate. The quick moving Turks, on their fast cavalry, were able to traverse this land quite easily, but not the Crusaders, in their heavy armour that turned into ovens in the hot sun.

The main and most devasting weapon in the Turkish arsenal were their mounted archers. They were quick and agile, not weighed down with heavy armour and weapons. What they would do is that horsemen would rush to the front, firing as many arrows as they can and then immediately retreat to make space for the next load of horsemen. So it was an almost constant barrage of arrows. And they would come in waves, rushing in for a quick attack and then retreating and then rushing back in. They knew the terrain much better than the Crusaders. So they were devastatingly effective. But they were spread out and not necessarily unified. Whereas the crusaders were many so they managed to push onwards.

The sultan gathered his forces together to set an ambush. They waited for the Crusaders to pass through a valley by the city of Dorylaeum. As the Crusaders marched through, the Turks fell upon them sweeping down the hills. But the Crusaders were well-trained and disciplined and, despite being surrounded and in a difficult defensive position, managed to hold off. They were committed to their holy cause and should they die they would become martyrs. Reinforcements eventually arrived, surprising the Turks, and the tide turned in the crusaders’ favour. The Turks panicked and fled.

The next stretch was skirting the Anatolian dessert and mountains, and it was tough. There was no water and no shade. The Turks had destroyed the wells. The horses started to die, so many of the knights were forced to go on foot. Peter the Hermit had previously been to Jerusalem, prior to the start of the Crusades, so he generally knew the way and helped lead the procession. He also preached regularly, trying to inspire them on, as holy pilgrims protected by God. Supposedly, he had received a vision from Jesus when he was last in Jerusalem, asking him to preach the need for the crusade, so he took on a bit of a mythic status.

Meanwhile, Godfrey’s brother, Baldwin, started arguing with one of the other leaders, Tancred from Italy. Mainly because Tancred wanted to attack the city Tarsus but Baldwin forced him to move on. This caused a conflict between them that they never resolved. So Baldwin thought, “I’m outta here” and took a couple of Armenian cities, and the local people welcomed him. He became the Count of Edessa and married a local aristocratic woman named Arda. But it proved to be a very strategic move, because Baldwin was able to supply the main force with food and defend them from opposing forces from the east.

The main force eventually arrived at Antioch in October, which they then put under siege. This siege was probably the most difficult endeavour of the first crusade, and possibly the most pivotal. Strategically, Antioch was vital. And it took about a year before the city fell to the Crusaders.

It was a heavily fortified city and the Turks within Antioch had more supplies than the Crusaders. Plus the city was so large that the Crusaders were not able to fully encircle it, making it possible for the city to be resupplied. So they could essentially sit pretty and wait for the Crusaders to die from starvation, which they did, in the thousands. The bishop Adhemar believed that this was due to their sin or lack of conviction – because everyone know that it’s not the lack of food or water which causes starvation, but sin. So the women were kicked out of the camp, because of all of the seconds the Crusaders wasted with them instead of praying. And then they spent a lot of time praying. And then many started deserting. Perhaps wondering where all the women went.

Eventually, a Christian within Antioch opened the gates to the Crusaders who cried “God wills it!” as they flooded into the city. The Turkish defenders hid out in the citadel for four days until the Turkish army arrived and put the city under siege. So the Crusaders had managed to take the city but were now the ones being besieged, by the Turks, with some of the Turks still inside the citadel.

And things were not going well for the Crusaders. That is, until someone had a very conveniently timed vision. A priest by the name of Peter Bartholomew received a vision from St. Andrew, Jesus’ brother, who led them to the location of the Holy Lance, supposedly the spear that pierced Christ’s side on the cross. Now Adhemar was suspicious because he had that very same relic back in Constantinople, but he went along with it.

Holy relics is not something I’ve really discussed on this podcast, but is a relatively big part of Medieval Christian spirituality. It would take longer to give them a full, proper treatment, because I don’t want to trivialise them. They’re basically objects that have religious significance and are sometimes understood to have a sort of spiritual power connected to them. They’ve been imbued with a holy or even sacramental blessing. Bones of saints are often venerated. The supposed piece of material that Jesus was buried in, known as the Shroud of Turin, is similarly venerated. Pieces of stone taken from sacred sites, or paintings or statues of Mary or other significant figures occasionally connected to miracles.

Relics are still significant within Catholic and Orthodox traditions, but had much greater significance in the Medieval era. And while I don’t necessarily with the practice, I still think we should treat the practice with respect. I don’t want to call it magic or superstition, even though it kind of does seem like there is a bit of superstition connected to it, to be honest; praying to, or touching, a skeleton is probably not going to do anything. But that’s a modern perspective. For Medieval Christians, relics were extremely significant. And the Holy Lance was imbued with a particularly special power because it had been stained with the actual blood of Jesus.

So this seriously reinvigorated the Crusaders, boosting their morale into the stratosphere. Peter the Hermit preached to them, motivating them and whipping them up into a frenzy. They were outnumbered, stuck within the walls of Antioch, but their opened the gates and rushed at the Turks, their frenzied state terrified their foes, and the Turkish army broke and ran. Leaving all their stuff with the Crusaders, including a whole lot of women.

Chroniclers spoke of how well mannered the Crusaders were, saying, “We did nothing evil to them, but simply speared them through.”

Oh.

I don’t think that’s a euphemism. They actually just went around and stabbed everyone. But that’s actually, comparatively…better than what is to come.

Adhemar had died during the siege, when a plague broke out leaving the Crusading force without a central leader. So after a bit a tussle, Godfrey of Bouillon became the new leader.

But there were fewer horses and depleted supplies, and the Muslim locals refused to give them provisions. A force led by Raymond attacked a smaller city called Ma‘arra in their search for food. They massacred the inhabitants. However, there was not enough food to go around. But…there were fresh bodies. Human bodies. So some of the Crusaders resorted to…cannibalism. The accounts written by the soldiers of this moment are quite disturbing. I’ve not shied away from disturbing stuff in this podcast, but I am in this instance. I’ll just say that there were a lot of creative attempts at making their meals more palatable and I’ll leave it at that.

Despite depleted armies, they saw themselves under the special care of God, so they were still full of hope…and flesh.

They stayed in northern Syria until 1099, living off the land and pillaging. And they marched to Jerusalem, taking theologically significant regions as they went, such as Bethlehem. This final leg was much easier than Antioch, but not without its challenges. Raymond walked the length from Ma‘arra to Jerusalem barefoot and in the garb of a penitent pilgrim. Which just further demonstrates the spiritual significance of their cause.

The locals preferred to work with the Crusaders, rather than fighting them, so the trek wasn’t too bad. And along the way they experienced miracles and saw visions, such as Jesus and Mary. They laid siege to the city of Arqa, but couldn’t get the job done and decided it was too much effort. So they moved on.

They took advantage of local squabbles and division among the Muslims.

Jerusalem was not defended by Turks, but by Egyptians. The Fatimids had conquered Jerusalem around the same time that the Crusaders were in Antioch. These Egyptians entered into negotiation with the Crusaders, offering free passage and good treatment to all Christian pilgrims if the Crusaders did not enter their territory. This was rejected.

In Tripoli, just north of Jerusalem, the ruler promised to convert to Christianity if the Crusaders defeated the Fatimids in Jerusalem. He supplied with them horses and resources.

They reached Jerusalem on the 7^th June and they wept upon seeing the city.

The farms surrounding Jerusalem were destroyed and the wells were poisoned, so the Crusaders struggled to get enough supplies. Again. They were few in number, low on supplies, tired and ragged, and vulnerable to attack. So they couldn’t afford a long siege.

The Crusaders received news of a large army heading their way, and they were defenceless, so they didn’t have much choice but to either retreat or to attack the city.

They stripped timber from their ships to create siege weapons and ladders and then a priest received a vision from Adhemar, who told them to fast and pray, and to march around the city barefoot, like the Battle of Jericho. They did this, led by our good friend Peter the Hermit, before attacking the walls. I’m no military strategist but fasting before a major battle doesn’t seem like the best idea to me, but it nevertheless gave them the morale boost they needed.

The final assault only took a couple of days, because one Crusader managed to climb the walls and get a bit of a foothold inside, allowing other Crusaders to enter. On the 15^th of July 1099 Jerusalem fell under the control of the Crusaders.

The ensuing massacre was particularly heinous, even by 11^th century standards, and shocked the Jews and Muslims. However it was viewed approvingly by the Christians, in apocalyptic terms, who gloried in their victory over the heathens.

The vast majority of the defenders were killed or enslaved, women were raped, and infants were thrown against the walls. Many of the Jews took refuge within the synagogue, so the Crusaders locked them in and set it on fire. Some of the defenders fled to Temple Mount and took refuge in the mosque. The Crusader leader Tancred promised them protection, but then slaughtered them the next day. At the Porch of Solomon, blood covered the floor so deep that people and horses had to wade through it as if they were wading through a river. The Crusaders held a special worship service at the church of the holy sepulchre.

Approx 100,000 Crusaders left for Jerusalem. 14,000 made it. And then only a few hundred stuck around to actually defend it.

Godfrey was made Protector of the Holy Sepulchre, Baldwin became king of Jerusalem, Bohemond became Prince of Antioch, and Raymond became Count of Tripoli, after refusing the crown, claiming that only Jesus could be king of Jerusalem.

What happened to Peter? We don’t really know. He went back to Europe, somewhere, though he might have founded a church in France and lived out his days in peace. There is also a legend that he was the first to use the Rosary.

There’s so much to unpack and explore in this account, and books have been written on the topic.

Personally, I find it fascinating just how spiritual the whole endeavour was. This wasn’t a war or an invasion or anything like that. It was a pilgrimage. It was a divine mandate to return the holy lands to God’s special chosen people, away from the Muslims who the Christians believed were tainting the place. By the end, by the time they actually arrived at Jerusalem, they were running on fumes and obsession, pushed along by a single-minded dedication to their convictions. At no point did the key leaders think it was futile. They didn’t think they were going to accomplish their spiritual goal; they knew it. With every fibre of their being they believed they could not fail.

But the other obvious ethical issue here has to do with violence.

The early Christian movement had been a strictly pacifist movement, refusing to take up arms for the Roman Empire. This pacificism had them branded as weirdos, even traitors. But then following Constantine’s conversion, suddenly Christians were tasked with keeping the empire safe, and so Christians had to grapple with the ethical questions of violence. Theologians like Augustine developed the Just War Theory, that though a terrible thing, violence was sometimes necessary and in fact the righteous thing to do in certain circumstances, such as self-defence, defending others, especially the weak, or to prevent a greater evil. But it was only ever okay as an absolute last resort.

We could debate the ethics of this, but this basically opened the door to quick militarization and the use of military force and violence to force conversions, such as in the case with Charlemagne and the Germanic tribes. But with the rise of the Muslim threat, Christendom armed itself to the teeth. The violence of the crusading forces, ostensibly sent to defend Christendom and to retake Jerusalem in the name of the one true God, would cause ripples that still reverberate today and created centuries of tension and mistrust.

Even by 11^th century standards, the violence of the Crusaders was shocking. And the irony of the fact that they bore the image of the cross, crucesignatus, something that was basically the opposite of violent conquest, seems to have been lost on them.

But surely that wouldn’t be lost on Christians today, right? Surely we wouldn’t glory in violence in the 21^st century?

Ha! If only that was the truth.

I recently saw a preacher on Instagram talk about how he hoped Jerusalem would be invaded, destroyed, and the Al-Asqa mosque with the Dome of Rock pulled down, in order to build the third temple to fulfil some prophecy. His rhetoric was violent and aggressive and the people in the crowd were zealously applauding him. This was very recent and I was expecting them to start chanting, “God wills it!”

Unfortunately, maybe we haven’t learnt all that much from the Crusades.