The Holy Lance

It was under a dark shadow that the lords, knights and barons of the West embarked upon the First Crusade in August 1096. The call of Pope Urban II had been answered by lord and peasant alike, but also fanatic. The mass slaughter of Jews in Germany, and the pillaging of Roman towns by the ‘People’s Crusade’ had left an ugly stain on the Crusade (for this story, please click here), but now the true crusaders were on their way to Jerusalem. It was a road that even in 1096 could be done in a matter of weeks. But it would be four gruelling years before the Holy City appeared on the horizon…

The Crusaders cross the Bosphorus
Artist unknown, painted in the 19th century

Beginning their arduous voyage in August 1096, the four leaders of the crusade marched forth for Constantinople. Raymond, Count of Toulouse, Godfrey of Bouillon, Baron of the Holy Roman Empire, Hugh of Vermandois, brother of King Philip I of France and Bohemond, Prince of Taranto, lead four contingents from across Europe to the Imperial City, as an unprecedented truce between the Christian nations of the West was declared. Tens of thousands across the Christian world flocked to their banners. Class and right of birth was no distinction as knight and peasant marched side by side. Ever wary of a collapse of discipline such as had occurred under the People’s Crusade, the Eastern Roman Emperor Alexius I kept a tight watch on the Christians who now flooded his lands. This time, he had even greater cause for concern. For Bohemond, along with his father, Robert Guiscard, had launched an attack on Roman lands some twenty years earlier, driving the Romans from Southern Italy. The Emperor summoned the leaders of the Crusade to him one by one, ordering them to swear an oath of fealty to him, with a solemn pledge to return the lands they liberated to the Empire. One by one they took the oath, some more grudgingly than others, except the cautious Raymond, who simply promised to do no harm to the Empire. Putting his own demons aside, the hot headed Bohemond swore the oath, knowing the disaster it would spell for the Crusade if they were denied the valuable supplies of the Empire. For a brief time, the crusaders embraced the Romans as their brothers once more, and the Emperor declared his blessing for the Crusade, generously gifting them a plethora of supplies, as well as ordering his own general staff to advise the crusaders on what they were up against from the Turks. So, in 1097, the First Crusade cross the Bosphorus straits, and made landfall in Asia.


Bidding farewell to the comforts of friendly nations, the crusaders now trod in hostile territory. Finding the mauled remnants of Peter the Hermit’s crusade, the Christians were under no illusions of complacency this time. The Sultan of the Great Seljuk Empire, Kilij Arslan, confident after his triumph over the People’s Crusade, left his cities with minimal garrisons as he marched to war in the East, fatally underestimating the new threat. The crusaders stormed across Anatolia to the walls of Nicaea, a once great Roman city, now capital of Arslan’s realm. Hardly could they believe their luck as they saw the enemy’s heartland so scantily defended, and they seized the opportunity, placing it under siege. Arslan, roused by the news his heralds brought, made peace with his foes in the East, and rushed to the aid of his capital. The large lake by Nicaea’s walls made the siege difficult for the crusaders, as they could not cut off the city’s supplies completely. Arslan arrived on the scene, expecting another rabble such as that Peter had lead against him. It was with a terrible shock that he laid eyes upon the mighty crusader force as he reached the crest of the hill before the city. The crusaders, emboldened by their fortunes so far, pounced. The Sultan’s force was badly bloodied, and Arslan fled. The garrison of Nicaea, spirit broken, surrendered to the crusaders on the 19th of June 1097. It was with much reluctance on the part of many that the city was immediately handed over to the Empire, honouring their oath. One crusader rejoiced that Jerusalem was only five weeks march away. Little did they all know that it would be two years before the Holy City lay in reach.

Bohemond storms Antioch
Painting by Gallait

Emboldened by success, the crusaders roared through Anatolia, as city after city fell to Christendom. Arslan lay in wait, desperate for a weakness to open up. On July 1st, at Dorylaeum, a chance came. The Norman contingent, under Bohemond, had ventured ahead of the crusader force in search of food and water. The sun grew strong. A glint in the distance, and a flash of sunlight on metal caught Bohemond’s eye - Turkish scouts. Barely a moment later, the slopes erupted in a storm of thundering hooves as the Sultan struck. The Normans were cut off, but not for nothing was Bohemond so loathed by the Emperor of the Romans. Leaping from his horse he rallied the Normans, turning them to face their foe. Many fell, yet the Normans held firm. Hours of the onslaught passed and Bohemond refused to break. Just then, when death seemed certain, the sign of the Cross appeared on the horizon, signalling the arrival of Raymond, and salvation. The Sultan retreated once more, and Christendom rejoiced, but not for long. The Crusade advanced, but soon it dawned upon the Christians how little there was to forage here. Not one to risk all in battle, the Sultan had devastated the land, burning its fields and laying waste its pastures. Christian morale, that had been so high, began to dwindle, as the burning sun withered them and lack of food weakened them. Supplies from Constantinople began to ebb away. Desperation sank in the crusader lines:


                  “ We did not dare to go outside; we could find absolutely nothing

                     to eat within the land of the Christians, and no one dared to enter

                     the land of the Saracens without a great army ”
                               - THE SUFFERING OF THE CRUSADERS
 

Well might the Christian plight seem hopeless, as they descended into Syria, and the great city of Antioch lay before them. One of the mightiest cities ever built, with fortifications that rendered its defenders all but invincible, high on a mountain, to say the city was a daunting prospect was an understatement if ever there was one. Once a great city in ancient times, prospering under the Eastern Romans, the Turks had seized it fourteen years earlier. Even worse, the Turkish governor of Antioch knew the crusaders were coming. The Christians moved quickly to surround the city, but so vast were her walls that even they did not have enough men to surround it. Though stopping most supplies entering the city, they were unable to stop riders breaking through, racing toward the Turk’s allies for aid. A galling prospect now arose. A beleaguered Christian force now faced one of the mightiest citadels of all time, and the knowledge that enemy may well be reinforced by further armies to their rear. On the 20th of October 1097, the crusaders dug in for a gruelling siege. “Even if all mankind came against it”, Antioch need not fear defeat, one Christian priest travelling with Raymond declared, as the crusaders stared up in horror at the towering walls.

St. Longinus pierces Christ's side
Fresco by Fra Angelico

Days passed in deepest tension. Every effort the crusaders made toward Antioch was fought off by the garrison, halting the Christians before they even reached the impregnable walls. Raising earthworks, to desperately gain respite from the endless barrage of missiles from the walls, the Christians casualties mounted. The arrival of Christian reinforcements from Europe by sea actually worsened their situation, as food was so scarce. Winter set in. Food ran dangerously low for the crusaders, and still no impact on Antioch, and then, on New Year’s Eve 1097, the crusaders’ failure to stop the Antiochian riders came back to haunt them. Duqaq, the fiery spirited ruler of Damascus, whose bloody rebellion two years earlier had thrown Syria into a brutal civil war, had answered the city’s call and marched to their aid. The crusaders fought valiantly, but it was the appalling weather which spared them this time. So heavy was the rain and so biting the cold that Duqaq soon retreated back to Damascus, but the damage was done. Much of the food the crusaders had foraged for was lost. Fodder for the horses reached such a price that even the knights were forced to sell their helmets and breastplates for even one days rations.1098 arrived, and with it news that yet another Islamic force was on its way, under Ridwin of Aleppo. Men and horses were starving to death every day in the Christian camp, and desertion began to have its ruinous effect. Even Peter the Hermit escaped, though he was soon retrieved by the irate commanders. News that Eastern Roman supply ships were on their way fired the morale of the crusaders, as the Christian knights hurled themselves at the fresh threat. Shocked by the size of the crusader force, and the power of their attack, the Aleppans were routed. To the amazement of all, the Crusade was hanging in, just.

Fresh supplies from the Romans brought desperately needed food and raw materials for constructing siege engines – now at last the crusaders could cut off the city. The morale of the Crusade grew, only to be dashed once again when an unnerved scout arrived. The crusaders would have to face not one, not two but three relieving armies. This time, however, the force which marched on them was enormous, as the governor of Mosul, Kerbogha, advanced with the combined forces of the Turks, of Persia and Mesopotamia. Near the entire Islamic world now bore down upon the First Crusade with breakneck speed, determined to grind the crusaders into the desert sands. The leaders of the West held urgent council. Now was the endgame. If Antioch did not fall soon, they would be annihilated when Kerbogha arrived. Bohemond stepped forward. If all present agreed that the city would come under his control, he would ensure Antioch’s fall. Near all the other leaders, driven by desperation, gave in to his wish. Raymond, however, an honourable man, was fired with rage, reminding him that it was the rightful property of the Empire, and that Bohemond had sworn an oath before the Emperor. Alas that honour was outvoted that day. By means of utmost stealth, Bohemond had already opened secret lines of communication with a disgruntled Tower Guard of Antioch, a man by the name of Pirus, who was angered by the seduction of his wife by a Turkish officer. The two men agreed a daring plan. The crusaders would break camp and march away, deceiving the garrison of Antioch that they had turned to engage the Saracen forces on their way, and under cover of darkness creep quietly back. A few select men would sneak up to the tower Pirus guarded, who would then throw a ladder over the side. So, on the night of the 2nd of June 1098, the raid began. A few picked men, wielding Bohemond’s banner, dashed up onto the wall. Initially alarmed at how few they were, Pirus feared. But, overjoyed after six months of toil, the crusaders eagerly beckoned their brethren on. The crusaders stormed through the city, though so mighty was Antioch, even this was not enough to take it once and for all. The Turks still held the highest citadel, far up on the mountain, while the Christians cursed. The food situation in Antioch, they discovered to their horror, was little better than their own.

The Crusaders march before the Holy Lance
British Library Manuscript in the Yates
Thompson Collection

Now trapped in the city between the garrison and the armies of the East, the situation for the crusaders was desperate. Only four days later, Kerbogha arrived and surrounded the city. The besiegers had become the besieged. The Emperor Alexius, hearing reports of their plight, decided that the situation was hopeless, and did not send aid. The crusaders were on their own. Days passed, and hellish perdition descended on the Christians, as famine, disease and thirst felled many every day. But then, when all hope had faded, a priest, Peter Bartholomew by name, in the Christian camp awoke with a start after a stunning vision. Seized with urgency, he made haste to his leaders, eager to share a revelation. A stranger had appeared in his dream. Peter asked the stranger “Who art thou?”. Spake the vision “I am St.Andrew, the apostle. Know, my son, that when thou shalt enter the town, go to the church of St. Peter. There thou wilt find the Lance of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, with which He was wounded as He hung on the arm of the Cross”. Raymond, Bohemond and Godfrey were taken aback. Many could not believe it. The Holy Lance, its location revealed? The actual spear of Longinus, thrust into Christ’s side at the Crucifixion? (It is a common mistake to believe that it was the crucifixion itself that killed Jesus Christ – it was in fact the spear thrust into his side by the Roman soldier Longinus while he was nailed to the Cross). Many crusaders, driven to the brink of madness by hunger, prone to hallucinations, hailed Peter as a new prophet. Bohemond was highly sceptical. One of the holiest of relics in Christendom, here at last? Raymond did believe, however, and urged Peter to follow his vision. On the 14th of June, a meteor was seen in the sky, an omen, but good or bad? Peter climbed the heights to the Cathedral of St. Peter, and thirteen men dug from dawn until dusk under the nave. Then, as night fell, Peter climbed into the pit. All present were utterly struck dumb, as Peter reached down into the dirt and his hand closed around a spear point. It was as though seven months of agony had never happened. The fire of zeal burst through the Christian camp. “Joy beyond measure arose in the whole city”, one eyewitness reported. If there were any doubters, they were silenced now. They bodies battered, but their spirits born anew, the crusaders, spurred on by their faith, turned to face their foes. Deciding to risk everything on one great gamble, the entire crusader force burst out of the gates and charged down upon Kerbogha’s vast array. Riding before them was Adhemar, legate of the Pope, bearing the relic of the Holy Lance. Many crusaders saw visions of St. George, St. Demetrius and St. Maurice riding beside them. A great roar rose from the Christians, and Kerbogha feared. Shocked to see a fully unified Christian force before him, he could not believe his eyes. He had been told they were on the brink of utter collapse. Vast were his forces, yet they hailed from all parts of the Eastern world. Many emirs schemed and plotted against him, rumours that he planned to take over all of Syria upon his victory, and division rippled through his lines. Quaking before the armoured knights now thundering towards them, many turned in terror. The Muslim lines were thrown into anarchy, as the crusader knights slammed into them with irresistible force. The Christians rode to a crushing victory, and the garrison high in Antioch, distraught by what they saw, surrendered. Antioch, the great city, had fallen at last. Finally, the road to Jerusalem was open…

United Kingdom

Eyewitness accounts

The First Crusade: "The Chronicle of Fulcher of Chartres" and Other Source Materials (Middle Ages)
(A very useful collection of eyewitness accounts of the First Crusade)

United States

Eyewitness accounts

The First Crusade: "The Chronicle of Fulcher of Chartres" and Other Source Materials (The Middle Ages Series)
(A very useful collection of eyewitness accounts of the First Crusade) 

The Crusade Grows

Today we return to the grand story of the First Crusade, one of the most grandiose operations in history, unrivalled in scope in all that had gone before it. On the 27th of November 1095, a day which shook the world, the charismatic Pope Urban II had cried out to the powers of Christendom to aid their beleaguered fellow Christians in the East against the rising power of Islam (for the story behind Urban's legendary speech, please click here). The gathered crowd of clergymen, knights and nobles were both stunned and moved. Little did the Pope realise that in that moment he had created an idea, an idea that would mobilise the nations of Europe like never before.

The Crusaders rally to the Crusade
Engraving by Alphonse-Marie-Adolphe de Neuville.

When the Supreme Pontiff had finished speaking, and tears were in the eyes of all men present, one among that crowd rushed forward. His name was Adhemar, and he was also the Bishop of Puy-en-Velay in France. Kneeling before the Pope, he vowed to see God's will be done. Urban II bent down and sewed a cross onto the robes of the Bishop. Adhemar of Puy was the first man to take the cross, and the first crusader. Urban II called to the crowd once more, declaring this man to be his personal representative, as Papal legate, on the Crusade, imploring more to follow his example. Many more followed in Adhemar's wake. Many more indeed. News of the Pope's call spread quickly across the Kingdoms of Europe. Bishops and legates soon appeared in towns and cities across the land, carrying the Pope's message to the people, both lord and peasant alike. "Undertake this journey for the remission of your sins, with the assurance of the imperishable glory of the Kingdom of Heaven!" was a potent message, particularly to the pious, yet beaten down serfs of the feudal medieval world. Tens of thousands answered the Pope's call across Europe,  from all walks of life. Men, women, monks, knights, lords, Princes, Counts, hermits, peasants - all took the cross.

Godfrey of Bouillon leads the First Crusade
Image taken from a 13th Century Illuminated Manuscript.

Soon the sheer scale of the response took the Pope by surprise. Whilst continuing his journey through France, Urban II even had to urge women, monks and the sick to stay behind, so vast were the numbers. Yet the force he unleashed was too great even for the Church to control. Royalty too, soon began to stir. Due to an unusual set of circumstances, the three most powerful monarchs in Europe were unable to personally take the crusade (however, later crusades, famously the Third Crusade, were under the direct leadership of Kings). King Philip I of France had been excommunicated for polygamy by Pope Urban II himself. The Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV had been excommunicated for scheming against the Church. In England, King William the Conqueror had been dead only eight years and the Norman mastery of England still less than thirty years old. The new King William II's hold on the throne therefore needed a strong hand, so he too was unable to go. The Spanish were locked in battle with the Moors, wrestling for control of the Iberian Peninsula, already engaged in an effort to drive Islam from Europe, an effort known as the Reconquista, and so they too were out of the picture. However, in their wake royalty would still attend. After much deliberation, representing the Kingdom of France would be Hugh of Vermandois, brother to the disgraced King. Representing the Holy Roman Empire would be numerous lords and barons of the German King, most important of whom was Godfrey, Lord of Bouillon, who would became a key leader of the Crusade. Representing the Kingdom of England would be Robert, Duke of the Normans and son of King William the Conqueror and brother to King William II. Accompanying him would be Stephen, Count of Blois, son-in-law to the Conqueror (who would also be father to the future King Stephen of England, last of the Norman Kings). From the Norman lands in Southern Italy came Bohemond, the Prince of Taranto and his nephew Tancred. Each man brought with him a sizeable contingent, though overall credit for the First Crusade was to rest largely with the Normans. As the Kingdoms of Europe prepared themselves for the Crusade, Pope Urban II set a date for its departure, August 15th 1096, on the Feast of the Assumption. However, as always there were fanatics. One contingent decided to leave without delay.




Peter the Hermit guides the people to the Holy City
Image taken from a 13th Century Illuminated Manuscript.


Pope Urban II was not the only charismatic man of the cloth at the time of the Crusade. The story too, tells us of a hermit, by the name of Peter, who was a priest of Amiens. Years before, Peter had embarked upon a pilgrimage to the Holy City, but had fallen into the hands of the Turks, who had tortured him, deep in the dungeons of Anatolia. Seizing on the chance offered by the Pope, the hermit showed the marks of his torture before the eyes of the people, crafting powerful words and speech, urging the liberation of the Holy Lands. Preaching to the people of the Low Countries (the future Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg - all vassals of the Holy Roman Empire in 1095), Peter gathered a vast following. Departing early in 1096, leading anything from forty to eighty thousands peasants, knights and nobles, this 'Crusade of the People' marched forth to Constantinople, but not before some stops on the way. Riding a donkey and dressed in simple robes, Peter led the host to the city of Cologne to preach the Crusade. But here this 'rogue crusade' hit its first troubles. Some were impatient and called for an immediate march to Jerusalem. Peter's vision was dashed with a dark new side to the Crusade which manifested early in 1096. An alarming many in Europe saw the Jews as enemies just as much as they did the Saracens. Some questioned why they should travel thousands of miles to fight a foreign foe, when another lay within. This sentiment reached boiling point in the Crusade with a bloody vengeance. Over eight hundred years before the Third Reich, Jews were systematically slaughtered throughout German towns and cities. Thousands were put to the sword, hundreds were locked inside buildings and burned alive. The People's Crusade had run amok. The Holy Roman Emperor, away in Southern Italy, was outraged when the news reached him. The Church universally condemned the anti-Semitism, denouncing all involved.

The People's Crusade in Anatolia
Image taken from a 15th Century
Illuminated Manuscript.

The First Crusade had got off to an appalling start, but things would get worse before they got better. A force loyal to none, the hermit's 'army' continued through Eastern Europe, through Hungary to the borders of the Eastern Roman Empire. The Roman Emperor Alexius Comnenus had a dilemma. If the rogue crusaders attacked his lands he would have to retaliate, yet this would jeopardise the ethos of the Crusade, which was supposed to be aiding him. If they entered Constantinople, who knows what they would do? After pillaging the city of Belgrade, the crusaders entered Roman territory. But Peter's 'army' was little more than a collection of ill-equipped and uneducated vagabonds and thieves than the might of Christendom. Peter accepted the Emperor's offer of an escort through his lands, but his followers were a force of their own. Causing havoc in the city of Nis (in modern Serbia), as many as ten thousand troublemaking crusaders were slain by the Roman garrison, yet still they marched on. Passing through Sofia and reaching Constantinople at last, the Emperor was bemused by what he saw. Hardly any of the crusaders even wore armour, let alone training or organisation. Yet these brigands were to face the might of the Turks? Men who had bested the Roman army itself? Little wonder the Emperor's daughter, Anna, described them as "a host of barbarians 'bursting forth into Asia in a solid mass".  Despair though he did, the Emperor saw a good man at heart in Peter, even if he held little control over his mob. Urging him to await the leaders of the true Crusade, the Emperor begged him to wait. But his followers would have none of it. Reluctantly, the People's Crusade was quickly ferried across the Bosphorus, into the lands of the Turks.

Amongst the rabble were two groups. One, consisting largely of the Germans who had so violently slaughtered the Jews, who urged immediate action, and another more cautious. Impatient, the Germans advanced forth, finding the fortress of Xerigordon unnoccupied. In fact, the country itself seemed empty. Where were the Turks? The fortress did however, have many riches left in it, left for the taking. The Germans charged in and revelled in their luck, short lived though it was. For they had walked straight into the trap laid by Kilij Arslan, Sultan of the Great Seljuk Empire. Quickly sending forth men to surround the fortress, the Turks promptly cut the water supply to the castle. The Germans soon found that gold could not quench their thirst. So they received their justice, as they starved and died of thirst. It is said that some resorted to drinking the blood of their horses, and their own urine, before succumbing in the burning heat. The cautious crusaders had heard nothing from the Germans for some days, until a messenger arrived, telling them that they had in fact taken and looted the city of Nicaea, and plunder was all theirs! Little did the crusaders know that this man was actually a Turkish spy... All order thrown into confusion, the greedy crusaders plowed on to the city, through a narrow gorge. The Sultan once more sprang his trap. Thousands upon thousands of arrows fell upon the crusaders, and thousands fell, unarmoured as they were. Tens of thousands of crusaders were killed or sold into slavery, and barely a few hundred of the great host made it back to Constantinople. One among the survivors however, was an old hermit...

Often passed over in the story of the First Crusade, the People's Crusade is a shocking precursor to the very recent and very real persecutions of the twentieth century. The Crusades had barely begun, and the darkest sides of religious conflict had been illuminated. Though quickly eclipsed by the events of the true First Crusade, the People's Crusade is a story which must be known. It was with a heavily tarnished image that the true crusaders marched to Constantinople in August 1096, a force of Princes, knights and soldiers...

United Kingdom

Eyewitness accounts
The First Crusade: "The Chronicle of Fulcher of Chartres" and Other Source Materials (Middle Ages)
(A very useful collection of eyewitness accounts of the First Crusade - including the People's Crusade)

United States

Eyewitness accounts

The First Crusade: "The Chronicle of Fulcher of Chartres" and Other Source Materials (The Middle Ages Series)
(A very useful collection of eyewitness accounts of the First Crusade - including the People's Crusade)