The concept of travel, as we understand it today, involving the movement of a person to a distant region, is an original phenomenon of the Middle Ages. The terms “viator” and “peregrinator” are used interchangeably to refer to the traveler, without necessarily describing the reason for their journey. These terms denote those who travel via terrestrial routes from one place to another. We prefer to refer to those who participate in the Crusade as “Peregrini,” or “pilgrims,” or as “Hierosolymitani,” the common name for those who journey to Jerusalem. The direct participants in this expedition refer to themselves as such, as the term “crusade” does not yet exist.
The Limits of Travel in the Middle Ages
In the 11th century, population movements typically involved short-distance journeys: to a neighboring village, a market, or a fair, rarely farther. Even lords and knights did not undertake long journeys when going to war; the military service owed by a vassal to their lord did not exceed forty days per year. Therefore, the Crusade stands in stark contrast to the customs of feudal society at that time. It requires a long journey, a “peregrinatio,” where soldiers, clergy, and non-combatant pilgrims, mostly from poor and peasant backgrounds, must mingle.
Religious or secular army? Although the crusaders serve God, hence their name “Miles Christi” (Soldiers of Christ), there is no supreme commander of the army. Pope Urban II, the religious leader, preaches the Crusade while remaining in the West. The Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos refuses to lead the Crusade, despite being suggested several times by the leaders of the expedition. The true “leaders” of this operation are jointly men of the Church and members of the nobility, whom historians refer to as “chevetaines.”
The Crusade: An International Enterprise
There are two distinct types of armies: the so-called “poor” army on one hand, and the commonly known “Barons'” army on the other. The former are not regular armies but consist of crowds, mostly non-combatants, galvanized by the exhortations of disseminators, and popular preachers, exemplified by the figure of Peter the Hermit. The armies, referred to as “baronial,” are led by secular lords, and landowners, and are composed to a greater extent of combatants.
The main recruitment areas for the early crusaders are found in France, southern Italy, and the southwestern Holy Roman Empire. The Pope personally preached between 1095 and 1096 in the south and west of France, where the participation of nobles and their vassals was most significant. Popular preachers were more successful in the east, in the regions of Swabia and Franconia.
The pope’s speech at Clermont, as reported by William of Tyre, suggests that the pontiff wished for massive participation “from all Christians.” Fulk of Chartres, who participated in the Council, reports that “three hundred and ten bishops or abbots” were present. These men, from different countries, then went on to preach in their respective regions. The speed at which the crusade plan spread in the West appears to be spectacular, and the participation of the people far exceeds that expected by the pope. According to Robert the Monk, this message was known throughout the earth: “Everywhere it was known that the pilgrimage to Jerusalem had been decided in this council.”
Gift and Aid: The Material Conditions of Departure
Embarking on a crusade cannot be done without first gathering the necessary resources for the journey. Expenses for provisions, mounts, and equipment are heavy; many give up everything they own. The call issued by the Church demands a real sacrifice, even if the pope has promised that “the goods of those who depart will remain in the care of the Holy Church; and those who harm it will be excommunicated.”
To assist the most needy, the nobility takes charge of some of their needs. Thus, Raymond of Saint Gilles, the wealthiest of the crusader princes, considers himself obligated to sustain the pilgrims and dedicates significant sums to it. Guillaume of Tyre describes how the feudal relationship evolves according to the uniqueness of the endeavor: the poor decide to pledge their allegiance to one baron or another in exchange for “his help and protection on the way.”
The most destitute also find relief from the Church. These donations are necessary for the survival of the armies. During the skirmish between the Bulgarians and the troops of Peter the Hermit near the city of Nish (northwest of Sofia), the latter lost a wagon loaded with the money that had been given to them in France to help the poorest of the army.
Those who depart have no idea of the time it will take to complete this pilgrimage or of the distance separating them from Jerusalem. In a letter written by Stephen of Blois during the siege of Nicaea in May 1097 to his wife Adela of England, he writes that it will take the army “about five weeks to reach Jerusalem.” Ultimately, it takes more than two years to complete this journey. Foucher of Chartres depicts the departure of a “husband informing his wife of the precise time of his return, assuring her that if he lived, he would see his country and her again in three years.”
The Motivations of the Crusaders
The crusader army is composed of volunteers. The reasons for departure are diverse. Firstly, the vow of crusade can fit into the classical logic that advocates pilgrimage as an expiation for sins. According to the historian Laurauson-Rosaz, “all the lords of the south who took the cross had more or less something to reproach themselves with.” As the historian Jacques Heers rightly said, “It would be too schematic to show the princes pursuing a common goal; taking the cross did not imply submitting to the vow of pilgrimage in the same way or forgetting all political considerations and dreams of conquest.” Princes like Bohemond of Taranto and Baldwin of the Bourg decide to take the cross because their homeland offers them no future while they can carve out kingdoms in the East. When they leave, they take their wives and children with them, proof that they do not intend to return.
For knights, the crusade can appear as a blessing. In the West, the movements of Peace and Truce of God, instituted by the popes, impose “working to make peace in wars and to impose long truces” on the warrior nobility. The crusade is a means of using this violence for a just cause: defending Christians and their heritage. Michel Balard explained how territorial fragmentation, associated with a phenomenon of overpopulation, led to the impoverishment of individuals, especially among the landowning lords: “The Franks inhabit a small and poor territory between sea and mountain, which can barely feed its inhabitants.” He sees this as the cause of internal wars that tore apart the nobles and one of the factors that led to the massive departure of the lesser nobility on the crusade between 1095 and 1096. At a time when violence tends to become obsolete, the crusade gives an opportunity to a declining social category, chivalry, to be useful and thus to exist.
Urban II appealed to the clergy members to regain legitimacy on the international political stage. They are tasked with ensuring the protection of the property and lands of those who leave on crusade by making them inviolable: “Those who harm them will be excommunicated.” It is also up to the bishops and archbishops to choose who is fit or unfit to depart. Robert the Monk, present at the Council of Clermont, gives us more precise information about the status of these religious figures, saying that “neither priests nor clerics, whatever their order, are allowed to leave without the permission of their bishop, for if they were to go without this permission, the journey would be useless to them.” As for fighting, the pope clearly defined at the Council of Clermont that a man of the Church has no right to bear arms. The prelates are there to accompany the laypeople and ensure a spiritual character to the pilgrimage. On the battlefield, the priests play the role of assistance and comfort.
The lesser clergy, composed of monks and priests, allowed the crusaders to maintain a strong connection with their spirituality. They are very numerous; they provide services equivalent to those they usually provide: they say mass, confess, pray, and preach. The prospect of being appointed to higher ecclesiastical positions can also be an explanatory factor for the massive participation of the lower clergy. “A cleric who came on pilgrimage with Duke Godfrey, who was from the same country,” is ordained by him as archbishop of the city of Caesarea. Examples like Peter Bartholomew, who after finding the Holy Lance in Antioch becomes one of the most listened-to men in the army, and Peter the Hermit, who is “after the Lord God, the one they (the people) were grateful to for so energetically undertaking to deliver them,” are also examples of the power that some religious figures were able to acquire during the crusade.
A Land Expedition
For logistical reasons, it is preferable that the various army corps operate separately. The first gathering to take place in front of the city of Nicaea, located across from Constantinople, occurred in the spring of 1097. The first army, commanded by Walter Sans-Avoir, a French knight, arrived on August 1, 1096, and the last, led by Robert, Duke of Normandy, along with the lords of Northern France, only entered Constantinople on May 14, 1097.
Three main routes are distinguished for reaching Constantinople. The first, starting from Northern France or the Holy Roman Empire, depending on where the various armies assemble, crosses Germany and Hungary. The southern route passes through Lombardy, Veneto, and the Balkans, reaching Constantinople by crossing the Byzantine Empire via the Via Egnatia, the ancient Roman road. The last possible route, chosen by other leaders who take the southern route, is the one that crosses the Adriatic to reach Albania. For this, the ports of Bari and Brindisi allow arrival in Durrës (Durazzo) in four days, thus avoiding the long and dangerous route through Dalmatia, chosen by Raymond of Saint Gilles. The journey from this city to Constantinople still requires a month of walking.
The siege of the city of Nicaea began on May 14, 1097, only nine months after the pope’s preaching in Clermont. The Crusade has then completed more than two-thirds of the journey it must finally make before arriving in Jerusalem. The second part of the journey requires twice as much travel time, as the holy city was only captured in July 1099.
The journey undertaken by the Crusaders, whose official departure date is recognized as August 15, 1096—although it should be noted that at that time the popular crusades had already been on the road for several months—ultimately took three years to reach its goal. Out of the tens of thousands of men who undertake it, there are only “a few thousand” left at the siege of Jerusalem, including reinforcements arriving by sea throughout the campaign.
Difficulties and Hazards of the Road
In the 11th century, as throughout the Middle Ages, traveling on foot remained the most convenient way to get around. The journey takes place in stages, and the speed between each stage can vary depending on the terrain, the condition of the roads, the season, the physical condition, and the morale of the army. Jean Verdon, in his statistics, acknowledges based on these variations that an army can travel between ten and thirty kilometers uphill and between thirty and forty kilometers downhill. On flat terrain, it ranges from ten to sixty kilometers per day—this maximum figure applies only to a cavalry troop. Calculating the number of kilometers covered by the Crusaders compared to the number of days marched, it is observed that they covered between thirty and thirty-five kilometers per day.
Opting for the land route in a journey entails facing a series of obstacles. The first natural difficulty is related to the liquid element, which requires resorting to navigation if no bridge or ford is found to cross. The fear of water was widespread in the 11th century. Godfrey of Bouillon prefers to take the route that crosses Central Europe because it does not require, like the one that cuts through Italy to the south, “crossing the sea.” Raymond of Saint Gilles also prefers to avoid taking the sea and takes the route that, from Lombardy, crosses Dalmatia through the Balkans, despite it being well into winter. It takes him forty days to complete this stage, whereas four or five would be enough to cross the Adriatic, indicating his skepticism about the idea of having his army cross the sea.
Other problems encountered by the Crusaders are mountain stages and pass crossings. The unmarked and steep paths, where the roads are often rough, flooded, and muddy as soon as it starts raining, are even more difficult to cross for heavily equipped crusader soldiers. The climate becomes extremely challenging in the countries traversed, especially when the army sets out on the Anatolian plateau route. William of Tyre writes: “People on foot were exhausted and all fell; pregnant women, from the anguish of heat and suffering from thirst, gave birth to their children on the way. In the worst of misery during the day, there were as many as five hundred deaths, men and women alike.”
What also surprises Westerners is the severity of Eastern winters. A letter from Stephen of Blois to his wife Adela expresses his surprise at the severity of the Syrian winter: “It is said that throughout the extent of Syria, one can barely endure the heat of the sun. This is false because their winter is similar to our winters in the West.”
Guides and Support from Local Populations
The inclination to choose routes falls to the leaders of the expedition. These leaders have never set foot in these regions and have logically enlisted the services of guides throughout the pilgrimage. It is noteworthy that the city of Constantinople itself is not so easy to find without external help; thus, Peter the Hermit is “given by the Emperor a good and reliable guide until they arrive in Constantinople.” The Byzantines were indispensable allies to ensure the Crusade’s passage through their empire in its western part, but also through the territories of the Near East that were recently under their jurisdiction. The Armenian kingdoms of Syria and Anatolia, the country that the Seljuks call “Rum,” include all the regions between the Sea of Marmara to the north, the Taurus Mountains to the south, and the Euphrates to the east. This space is a former imperial province where the Byzantines still operated militarily only a few decades before the Crusade’s departure.
Once the Greeks left the Crusaders, they could only rely on the support of local populations, mostly Christians, up to Palestine. The latter have every interest, beyond their religious affiliation, in allying themselves with the Crusaders, who are the only military force capable of resisting the Turks. During an ambush set by Turkish elements on the road to Rohez, it is the Armenian governor of a castle who saves the Normans by welcoming them into his stronghold.
Many guides present themselves to the army to offer their services. These can also be sent by city governors, sometimes even Muslims, who wish to see the Crusaders leave their lands as quickly as possible: “Syrians arrived at the army. The great men called them and urged them to show them the most direct route. They advised them to take the route along the sea for many reasons. The Syrians came forward to lead them; the bailiff of Tripoli (an Arab Muslim) provided them with his people.”
At the siege of Jerusalem, a local man teaches them of a valley where they can find trees large enough to build war machines, even though “it seemed impossible for them to find the trees they needed nearby.” During the same siege, it is once again “locals, inhabitants of Bethlehem,” who show where to find streams, wells, and cisterns, at the very moment when the Christians are experiencing a shortage.
An Army to Feed: Multiform Resupply
The main difficulty that the crusaders face daily is the supply of troops, numbering several tens of thousands. While soldiers know how to resupply in foreign territory, especially by raiding the countryside, non-combatants, the simple pilgrims, depend on
the donations of the populations, the army, and above all, the willingness of the lay leaders of the expedition who take it upon themselves to feed them. In a letter to his wife Adela, Stephen of Blois writes that without the assistance of the barons “and from his own purse,” many poor people would have died of hunger and misery. Despite rivalries among the different barons, the charity they show remains a permanent element and a fundamental factor in the success of the First Crusade.
The second way to resupply is to buy goods from merchants and local populations. The advantage of this practice is that it allows for the establishment of trade relations between the Crusaders and indigenous populations. Throughout the journey, the crusaders can rely on the presence of merchants who supply the army, even when it is under siege. The capture of coastal cities, especially ports in deep waters, is a sure way for the Crusaders to maintain reliable communication routes, allowing merchants to always supply them. The choice of the coastal route after the capture of Antioch until Jerusalem goes in this direction.
Finally, armies may decide to seize, through pillage and raiding, the resources of villages and countryside when they can no longer supply themselves from merchants or when they are in enemy territory. This is also a means of pressure for the crusaders in diplomatic maneuvers. When they are in front of Beirut, they threaten to destroy the orchards if the bailiff of the city does not provide them with the supplies they demand.
In enemy territory, raiding is the only means of meeting the army’s needs. During the sieges of cities, these expeditions become the main occupation of the troops, who exploit an area of several tens of kilometers around the besieged cities. These enterprises are dangerous, and many Crusaders are killed or captured while raiding, to the extent that in Antioch, they find themselves practically locked in their own camp.
The Crusaders do not seem to be masters of logistics. Several times, there is mention of the “waste” they make of their supplies. When they arrive in Antioch, they destroy fruit trees, especially apple trees and fig trees, “in large quantities” to set up their tents. Many cities, like Alexandretta (Iskenderun, in Syria), which the Crusaders razed, are taken only in the hope of finding supplies, not for strategic purposes.
There is never any mention of long periods of abundance within the crusader army. Famine, whether due to the neglect of the Crusaders or as a result of climatic hazards, is regular, and the leaders never manage to prevent or manage it effectively. William of Tyre provides an idea of the costs that foodstuffs can reach during such times: “A man made his meal with two slices of bread. A cow cost three marks of silver, whereas it was initially available for five sous. A lamb or a kid, which previously cost three or four deniers, now costs sold the meat of a horse for eight sous. six sous. The meat of a horse was sold for eight sous. Thus the price of a cow had risen from five to thirty sous, and that of a lamb from four to seventy-two deniers.” The enormity of these figures corroborates with those of Anonymous, who evaluates a donkey at a hundred and twenty sous in deniers.
Despite all these difficulties, the Crusaders accomplished a journey of several thousand kilometers through hostile lands, without knowledge of the climate they would endure, the terrain they had to cross, and without previously receiving the guarantee of having effective support on their rear bases. From this point of view, it can be said that the success of the First Crusade is the result of a formidable improvisation, with the goal of the journey achieved after three years of effort.
