Medieval Academy of America

Medieval Academy of America The Clergy, the Poor, and the Non-combatants on the First Crusade Author(s): Walter Porges Source: Speculum, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Jan., 1946), pp. 1-23 Published by: Medieval Academy of America Stable URL: . Accessed: 08/01/2015 12:52 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .

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SPEC-t u LUlVlI

A JOURNAL OF MEDIAEVAL STUDIES

VOL. XXI

JANUARY, 1946

No. 1

THE CLERGY, THE POOR, AND THE NONCOMBATANTS ON THE FIRST CRUSADE1

BY WALTER PORGES

WHEN Pope Urban preachedthe FirstCrusade at Clermont,he did nothave in mind a purelymilitaryexpedition.Ever since the time of Constantine,large numbersofpious or adventurouspilgrimsofboth sexeshad made theirway to theHoly Land. Althoughinterruptednowand again by the convulsionsperiodically shakingtheLevant, in the tenth and eleventhcenturiesthe pilgrimages continuedto flourishT. he pilgrimstravelledmostlyin small groups,and apparentlydid notbear arms,evenforself-defenseb;ut duringthefirsthalfofthe eleventhcentury,the small pilgrimbands were supplementedby largerenterprises,numberingseveralhundredto severalthousandparticipantsT. he great Germanpilgrimageof1064-1065includedfromsevento twelvethousandpersons - the equivalentofa respectablemedievalarmy.2

The pope could not escape the influenceofthisvigoroustraditionT. he petty feudalwars ofwesternEurope could not offerhim a model forhis stupendous undertakingT. he pilgrimagewas the onlylarge-scale,long-distanceexpedition withwhichhe was familiar;moreover,he knewthe powerofthe pilgrimideal. ThereforeUrbancombinedthe idea ofthe Palestinepilgrimagewiththatofthe holywar.He implementedhisplansfortherecoveryoftheHoly Land-notby an appeal limitedto the chivalryofEurope, but by stirringup the latentpilgrim enthusiasmwhichpervadedall classes,raisingit to an unprecedentedpitch,and directingit intonew,morewarlikechannels.By armingthepilgrimagethepope createdthe crusade.

The termperegrinust,heverbperegrinarniowservedto designatethecrusader, as well as the pilgrim,and describehis activity.The crusadersin the main followedthe land routethroughHungaryand Bulgaria,and downthe Balkans to the GoldenHorn,preferredby pilgrimssincethe conversionoftheMagyars.

1 I wishto expressheremygratitudeto ProfessorEinar Joransonof theUniversityof Chicagofor his generousaid and encouragemenitn thepreparationofthisessay.

2 Einar Joranson',The GreatGermanPilgrimageof 1064-1065,'TheCru8adesand OtherHistorical E"says Presentedto Dana C. Munro,ed. L. J. Paetow (New York, 1928), pp. 39-40; J. C. Pletz, 'EleventhCenturyPilgrimagesfromWesternEuropeto theHoly Land' (UnpublishedA.M. dissertation,DepartmentofHistory,Universityof Chicago,1938), pp. 11-15.

1

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2

The FirstCrusade

Ofthosewhotookthe alternatepath throughItaly,manyidentifiedthemselves even morecloselywithpilgrimtradition.Some, when theyhad worshippedat St. Peter's,consideredtheirvows fulfilledo; thers,desertedby theirleadersin Calabria, 'tookup theirpilgrimstavesagain,and ignominiouslryeturnedhome.'3 The faithfulw, hopersistedto theend,had as theirrewardtheplenaryindulgence, theusual goal ofpious pilgrims.

Urban's dependenceupon the pilgrimmovementhad its disadvantages.The crusade had beforeit a desperatelydifficulmt ilitarytask, and efficiencydemandeda carefulselectionofrecruitsB. ut thenewmovementwascaughtbetwixt and between:rootedin the pilgrimaget, he crusade attractedlargenumbersof noncombatants,such as had always gone on pilgrimages;while as a military expeditionthe crusade foundit inexpedientor even dangerousto admit very many of them.

Urban was aware of the contradictionA. lthoughhe foundthe inclusionof noncombatantsimplicitin his crusade conception,and his appeal took their participationforgranted,he took pains,neverthelesst,o limittheirnumberand supervisetheirselection.4The pope laid downthe rulethat all personswereto consulttheirlocal clergybeforegoingon crusade. In addition,he emphasized the need forfightingmen,and formen wealthyenoughto bear the cost ofthe journey,and discouragedtheparticipationoftheaged and sick.But hepermitted womento go,ifproperlyescorted,and reservedan especiallyimportantplace for theclergy.Urbanalso invitedthepoor;not,however,as noncombatantsb,ut as potentialfighterst,o be equippedand maintainedby thecharityofthewealthier crusaders.In thisrespectthepope's expectationsweredeceived.Beforethecampaign was halfover,the poor had been reducedto a noncombatantor at best semi-combatanctondition.

Unfortunatelyt,hepilgrimtraditionr, einforcebdythedeep enthusiasmroused by itinerantpreachers,overwhelmedUrban's attemptsto limitparticipationin the crusade. More than five prematureexpeditions,collectivelytermedthe peasants' crusade,did not sufficeto drawoffthe excess of unarmedand unfit. Some oftheseexpeditionswerereasonablywell-armedand well-disciplineda,nd failedlargelybecause theywerepremature.5Others,however,werebelated pilgrimexcursionsb, estviewedaAhalf-waystagesbetweentheunarmedpilgrimage and the crusadeproper.Fired by a new and unrestrainedzeal, theyattracteda strangemixtureofpriestsand laymen,women,children,and thosewontto prey uponthem,falseprophetsand simple-mindebdelievers.Many oftheparticipants wereunarmed,and expectedto overcometheSaracensby thedirectintervention ofGod, ratherthanby theuse ofearthlyweapons.Most ofthemlefttheirbones on theplainsofHungaryand Bulgaria,orwereslaughteredby theTurkson the thresholdofAsia Minor.

3Fulcherof Chartres,GestaFrancorumJerusalemexpugnantiumx,,7. iii, v, ed. H. Hagenmeyer (Heidelberg,1913),pp. 166, 168.

4 For an analysisofUrban's speechwithcompletesourcereferencess,ee D. C. Munro,'The Speech ofPope Urban II at Clermont,1095,'A.H.R., xi (1906), 231-242.

6 F. Duncalf,'The Peasants' Crusade,'ibid.,xxvi (1921), 440-453.

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The FirstCrusade

3

Neverthelesst, hereweremorethan enoughnoncombatantsleftoverto swell theranksofthemainarmy.Urban'sadmonitionswentunheeded.The aged and sick trudgedalong, seekingthe earthlyJerusalem;campfollowerasnd harlots trailedas everin the wake ofthe army.No informationexiststo justifyeven a roughestimateoftheactualnumberofnoncombatantsT. he chroniclersw, hoestimate the size of the armyin veryroundnumbers,scarcelyhonorany but the fightingmenwithmorethanpassingmention,6whileall the descriptionsofthe armybeforeit reachedNicaea seem vitiatedby confusionwiththe peasants' crusade.But some informationmay be gleanedfromFulcherof Chartres'eyewitnessaccountofthesituationat Nicaea: 'Then out ofmanyarmies,one army was therecreated,whichthose who were skilledin reckoningestimatedat six hundredthousandmen fitforcombat,of whom one hundredthousandwere armed withcuirassesand helmets,not countingthe unarmed,that is, clerics, monks,women,and children.'7There are pictorialnumbers;but ifonlyabout one-sixthofthe armywas equipped withcuirassesand helmets,a largepart of theremaindermusthave been half-armedpoor.The formofthe statementalso suggeststhatthenumberofnoncombatantws as high.

If such was the conditionof the armyat Nicaea, it did not longremainunaltered.Thereaftertherelativenumberofcombatantsfellsteadily,and that of the noncombatantssteadilyincreased.Battles and skirmishestook a constant toll of fightingmen. Chronicillness reduced many to noncombatantstatus. Exhaustionoffunds,necessitatingthe sale ofarmsand armor,mightreducea knightto a foot-soldiero,ra foot-soldietro an unarmedpauper.8That thegreater partoftheinvalidand destitutesoldiersneverreturnedto fullfightinegfficiency is made plain by thefactthatfromthe defeatof Ierbogha untilthecaptureof

Jerusalem(June,1098to July,1099),theperiodofthegreatestmilitarysupremacy everenjoyedby the Christianarmy,the crusaderswere sadly deficientin armedstrengtha,nd theunarmedhostgreatlyoutnumberedthefightersT. hus, inJanuary,1099,whenthecountofToulouse wishedto lead someofthepooron a plunderingraid to obtain food,his intimatesobjected,saying,'In the army [i.e.,in Raymond'scontingentt]hereare scarcelythreehundredknightsa,nd no greatnumberof otherarmedmen.... '9 Those opposingthe diversionof the crusade to Egypt urgedin protest:'There are hardlyfifteenhundredknights in the army,and no greatnumberofarmedfoot-soldiers.... 'IOAlbertremarks thatthe crusadersmarchedon Jerusalemalong the coast, insteadofby way of Damascus, because the Turks werefeweralong the seashore,and onlytwenty thousandmen out ofan armyoffiftythousandwerefitto fight.'A1 fterthe fall ofJerusalemR, aymondnumbersthefightinmg enat notmorethantwelvethousand knightsand nine thousandfoot.'2

6 Hagenmeyersummarizestheirestimates(op. cit.,p. 183. nn. 11-12).

7 Op. cit., I, 10, iv-v (Hagenmeyeprp, . 183-185).

8 AlbertofAix,LiberChristianaexpeditionisiv,, 54,in Recueildeshistoriendsescroisadesh, istoriens

occidentaux(hereaftercitedas RHO), iv, 427B-E; La Chansond'Antiochee,d. P. Paris (2 vols,Paris,

1848), ii, 152,218-214.

9 RaymondofAgiles,HistoriaFrancorumqui ceperunJt erusalemc,h. 14, RHO, III, 271J.

10 Ibid., ch. 19, p. 292C.

1-Albert,v, 41, loc. cit.,p. 460A.

12Ch. 21, loc.cit.,p. 304A.

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4.

The First Crusade

The noncombatants,too, sufferedseriouslosses all along the way; but their numbersweresWelledbya steadyinfluxfromthedwindlingranksofthefighters. In addition,the sturdypoor,in thebeginningofsomemilitaryvalue,earlysank intosucha miserablecondition,thatmostofthemwerenotcalled uponto fight exceptin greatemergenciesa,nd constituteda standingburdenupon the army. Thus,bythetimethesiegeofAntiochwas wellunderway,thenoncombatants thesick,crippled,and destitute,thewomen,childrena,nd clergy- had captured and maintainedan absoluteand overwhelmingmajority.

The formintowhichUrban cast the crusade,the inclusionofthe clergyand other noncombatants,is evidence not only of his dependenceupon pilgrim tradition,but of his beliefthat the Holy Land was not be be won by forceof armsalone; thatthepoweroftheWordwas greaterthanthepoweroftheSword; that the righteousnessof the crusadingarmy was a sure protection.As the spiritualheirofGregoryVII, how could thepope have thoughtotherwise?The main strengthofthepapacy was moral.Whateverthepope undertookh, e could not dependupon earthlyarmsalone; and howeverdisinterestedhis motives,he could not allow his project to become entirelysecularized. ThereforeUrban plannedthecrusadeas an essentiallyChristianundertakingi,n whichtheclergy wereto play an importantpart fromstartto finishT. he formalpurposeofthe crusadewas religious- to freethe Eastern Church.The crusaderswerecalled by the clergyto take the cross;theyconsultedtheirparishpriestsbeforetaking the irrevocablevow;13theylooked forwardto a spiritualreward,the papal indulgence;and theywereled, in so faras the crusadehad a singleleader,by the papal legate,Adhemar,bishopofPuy.

The clergynotonlyconceivedandplanned,1b4uthelpedtoorganizetheexpedition. While Urban touredFrance,papal lettersand legates travelledswiftlyto England,Normandy,and Flanders,to Genoa and Bologna,exhortingc,ommanding,and persuading.Whenearlyin 1096thesquabblesofWilliamRufuswithhis brotherRobertofNormandythreatenedtopreventlarge-scaleNormanparticipation,Urban senthis legate'5to negotiatea peace. As a resultofhis intervention, Robert mortgagedNormandyto William forten thousand silvermarks,and joined thecrusadetogetherwithmanyofhisvassals. Later in the same yearthe pope sent the bishopsofOrangeand Grenobleto preachthe crusadeat Genoa, and bringtheformidableGenoesesea-powerintothewar.1T6heirmissionwas successful,and a Genoesesupplyfleetgave thecrusaderssubstantialaid at Antioch and Jerusalem.

Once upon the march,the crusadersmaintainedconstantliaison with the westernclergy,regardingthem as theirsupportersand propagandistson the

13Robertthe Monk, HistoriaIherosolimitanac,h. 2, RHO, iII, 729F. 14F. Duncalf,'The Pope's Plan fortheFirstCrusade,' MunroEssays, pp. 44-56. 15 Gerento,abbot ofSt Benignede Dijon. See Hugh ofFlavigny,Chroniconi,n MonumentaGermaniae Historica,Scriptoresv,iiI, 474-475; cf.C. W. David, RobertCurthoseD, uke ofNormandy(Cambridge,1920),pp. 90-91. 16September,1096. H. Hagenmeyer,Chronologidee la premierecroisade,1094-1100 (Paris, 1902), no. 71.

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