People.27s Crusade First Crusade

a map of routes of major leaders of crusade, in french



an illustration showing defeat of people s crusade, sébastien mamerot s livre des passages d outre-mer (jean colombe, c. 1472–75, bnf fr. 5594)

the great french nobles , trained armies of knights, however, not first undertake journey towards jerusalem. urban had planned departure of first crusade 15 august 1096, feast of assumption, months before this, number of unexpected armies of peasants , petty nobles set off jerusalem on own, led charismatic priest called peter hermit. peter successful of preachers of urban s message, , developed hysterical enthusiasm among followers, although not official preacher sanctioned urban @ clermont.

a century later legendary figure; william of tyre believed peter had planted idea crusade in urban s mind (which taken fact historians until 19th century). commonly believed peter s followers consisted of massive group of untrained , illiterate peasants did not have idea jerusalem was, indeed there many knights among peasants, including walter sans avoir, lieutenant peter , led separate army.

lacking military discipline, in seemed participants strange land (eastern europe), peter s fledgling army found in trouble despite fact still in christian territory. army led walter fought hungarians on food @ belgrade, otherwise arrived in constantinople unharmed. meanwhile, army led peter, marched separately walter s army, fought hungarians, , may have captured belgrade. @ nish byzantine governor tried supply them, peter had little control on followers , byzantine troops needed quell attacks. peter arrived @ constantinople in august, army joined 1 led walter, had arrived, separate bands of crusaders france, germany, , italy. army of bohemians , saxons did not make past hungary before splitting up.

this unruly mob began attack , pillage outside city in search of supplies , food, prompting alexios hurriedly ferry gathering across bosporus 1 week later. after crossing asia minor, crusaders split , began pillage countryside, wandering seljuq territory around nicaea. greater experience of turks overwhelming; of group of crusaders massacred. italian , german crusaders defeated , killed @ xerigordon @ end of august. meanwhile, walter , peter s followers, who, although part untrained in battle led 50 knights, fought battle against turks @ civetot in october. turkish archers destroyed crusader army, , walter among dead. peter, absent in constantinople @ time, later joined main crusader army, along few survivors of civetot.

attacks on jews in rhineland

at local level, preaching of first crusade ignited violence against jews, historians have deemed first holocaust . @ end of 1095 , beginning of 1096, months before departure of official crusade in august, there attacks on jewish communities in france , germany. in may 1096, emicho of flonheim (sometimes incorrectly known emicho of leiningen) attacked jews @ speyer , worms. other unofficial crusaders swabia, led hartmann of dillingen, along french, english, lotharingian , flemish volunteers, led drogo of nesle , william carpenter, many locals, joined emicho in destruction of jewish community of mainz @ end of may. in mainz, 1 jewish woman killed children rather see them killed; chief rabbi, kalonymus ben meshullam, committed suicide in anticipation of being killed.

emicho s company went on cologne, , others continued on trier, metz, , other cities. peter hermit may have been involved in violence against jews, , army led priest named folkmar attacked jews further east in bohemia. emicho s army continued hungary defeated army of coloman of hungary. followers dispersed; joined main armies, although emicho himself went home.

many of attackers seem have wanted force jews convert, although interested in acquiring money them. physical violence against jews never part of church hierarchy s official policy crusading, , christian bishops, archbishop of cologne, did best protect jews. decade before, bishop of speyer had taken step of providing jews of city walled ghetto protect them christian violence , given chief rabbis control of judicial matters in quarter. nevertheless, took money in return protection. attacks may have originated in belief jews , muslims equally enemies of christ, , enemies fought or converted christianity. godfrey of bouillon rumoured have extorted money jews of cologne , mainz, , many of crusaders wondered why should travel thousands of miles fight non-believers when there non-believers closer home. attacks on jews witnessed ekkehard of aura , albert of aix; among jewish communities, main contemporary witnesses mainz anonymous, eliezer ben nathan, , solomon bar simson.