Peter the Hermit shows the crusaders the way to Jerusalem. French illumination (about 1270)

Peter the Hermit (died 1131) was a priest of Amiens, and a leader of the First Crusade. According to Anna Comnena, he attempted to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem before 1096, but was prevented by the Turks from reaching his destination. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1021x318, 122 KB) Pierre lErmite Roman du Chevalier du Cygne Illuminated manuscript, parchment about 1270 BnF, Arsenal (Ms 3139 fol. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1021x318, 122 KB) Pierre lErmite Roman du Chevalier du Cygne Illuminated manuscript, parchment about 1270 BnF, Arsenal (Ms 3139 fol. ... Events May 9 - Tintern Abbey is founded. ... The cathedral in Amiens Location within France Amiens is a city and commune in the north of France, 120 km north of Paris. ... The First Crusade was launched in 1095 by Pope Urban II to regain control of the sacred city of Jerusalem and the Christian Holy Land from Muslims. ... Anna Comnena (December 1, 1083 - 1153) was a daughter of the Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus, and is the first known female historian. ... Jerusalem and the Old City. ... Events Bernhard becomes Bishop of Brandenburg First documented teaching at the University of Oxford Beginning of the Peoples Crusade, the German Crusade, and the First Crusade Vital I Michele is Doge of Venice Peter I, King of Aragon, conquers Huesca Phayao, now a province of Thailand, is founded as...

It is uncertain whether he was present at Pope Urban II's great sermon at the Council of Clermont in 1095; but it is certain that he was one of the preachers of the crusade in France after that sermon, and his own experience may have helped to give fire to his eloquence. He soon leapt into fame as an emotional revivalist preacher; and thousands of peasants eagerly took the cross at his bidding. The "People's Crusade" (crusade of the paupers), which forms the first act in the First Crusade, was his work; and he himself led one of the five sections of the peoples crusade to Constantinople, starting from Cologne in April, and arriving at Constantinople at the end of July 1096. The Eastern Roman Emperor Alexius I Comnenus was less than pleased with their arrival. Urban II, né Otho of Lagery (or Otto or Odo) (1042 - July 29, 1099), was a pope from 1088 to July 29, 1099. ... Pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont, given a Late Gothic setting in this painting of c 1490 The Council of Clermont was a mixed synod of ecclesiastics and laymen of the Roman Catholic Church, which was held in November 1095 and triggered the First Crusade. ... Events The county of Portugal is established for the second time. ... This article is about the medieval Crusades . ... The Peoples Crusade is part of the First Crusade and lasted roughly six months from April 1096 to October. ... The First Crusade was launched in 1095 by Pope Urban II to regain control of the sacred city of Jerusalem and the Christian Holy Land from Muslims. ... Map of Constantinople. ... Cologne skyline at night with river Rhine in the foreground and famous Cologne Cathedral on the right. ... Events Bernhard becomes Bishop of Brandenburg First documented teaching at the University of Oxford Beginning of the Peoples Crusade, the German Crusade, and the First Crusade Vital I Michele is Doge of Venice Peter I, King of Aragon, conquers Huesca Phayao, now a province of Thailand, is founded as... This is a list of Byzantine Emperors. ... Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus Alexius I (1048–August 15, 1118), Byzantine emperor (1081–1118), was the third son of John Comnenus, the nephew of Isaac I Comnenus (emperor 1057–1059). ...

Peter joined the only other section which had succeeded in reaching Constantinople--that of Walter the Penniless; and with the joint forces, which had made themselves a nuisance by pilfering, he crossed to the Asiatic shore in the beginning of August. In spite of his warnings, the pauperes began hostilities against the Turks; and Peter returned to Constantinople, either in despair at their recklessness, or in the hope of procuring supplies. Walter the Penniless (in French Fr. ...

Peter the Hermit preaching the First Crusade, as depicted in the 1851 Illustrated London Reading Book

In his absence the army was cut to pieces by the Turks; and he was left in Constantinople without any followers, during the winter of 1096-1097, to wait for the coming of the princes. He joined himself to their ranks in May 1097, with a little following which he seems to have collected, and marched with them through Asia Minor to Jerusalem. But he played a very subordinate part in the history of the First Crusade. Peter the Hermit -Project Gutenberg eBook 11921 This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Peter the Hermit -Project Gutenberg eBook 11921 This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... 1851 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Events Edgar I deposes Donald III to become king of Scotland. ... Anatolia (Greek: ανατολη anatole, rising of the sun or East; compare Orient and Levant, by popular etymology Turkish Anadolu to ana mother and dolu filled), also called by the Latin name of Asia Minor, is a region of Southwest Asia which corresponds today to the Asian portion of Turkey. ... Jerusalem and the Old City. ...

He appears, in the beginning of 1098, as attempting to escape from the privations of the siege of Antioch--showing himself, as Guibert of Nogent says, a "fallen star." In the middle of the year he was sent by the princes to invite Kerbogha to settle all differences by a duel; and in 1099 he appears as treasurer of the alms at the siege of Arqa (March), and as leader of the supplicatory processions in Jerusalem which preceded the Battle of Ascalon (August). At the end of the year he went to Latakia, and sailed thence for the West. From this time he disappears; but Albert of Aix records that he died in 1131, as prior of a church of the Holy Sepulchre which he had founded in France. Events First Crusade: end of the siege of Antioch. ... The Siege of Antioch took place during the First Crusade in 1097 and 1098. ... Guibert (1053-1124), of Nogent, historian and theologian, was born of noble parents at Clermont-en-Beauvoisis, and dedicated from infancy to the church. ... Kerbogha was Atabeg of Mosul during the First Crusade and was renowned as a soldier. ... 1099 also refers to a United States tax form used for--among other things--independent contractors. ... Arqa (originally Irqata, Arkite in the Bible) is a village near Miniara in the Akkar district of northern Lebanon, 22 km northeast of Tripoli, near the coast. ... The Battle of Ascalon took place on August 12, 1099, and is often considered the last action of the First Crusade. ... Roundabout in Latakia Latakia (Arabic: اللاذقية Al-Ladhiqiyah, Greek:Λαοδικεία) is the principal port city of Syria. ... Albert of Aix-la-Chapelle (floruit circa AD 1100), historian of the first crusade, was born during the later part of the 11th century, and afterwards became canon and custos of the church of Aix-la-Chapelle. ... Events May 9 - Tintern Abbey is founded. ...

Legend has made Peter the Hermit the author and originator of the First Crusade. It has told how, in an early visit to Jerusalem, before 1096, Jesus appeared to him in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and bade him preach the crusade. The legend is without any basis in fact, though it appears in the pages of William of Tyre. Its origin is, however, a matter of some interest. Von Sybel, in his Geschichte des ersten Kreuzzuges, suggests that in the camp of the pauperes (which existed side by side with that of the knights, and grew increasingly large as the crusade told more and more heavily in its progress on the purses of the crusaders) some idolization of Peter the Hermit had already begun, during the first crusade, parallel to the similar glorification of Godfrey by the Lorrainers. Jesus, also known as Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus Christ, is the central figure of Christianity, most of the adherents of which worship him as the Messiah, son of God, and God incarnate. ... Main Entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, called Church of the Resurrection (Anastasis) by Eastern Christians, is a Christian church now within the walled Old City of Jerusalem. ... William of Tyre (c. ... Heinrich von Sybel (December 2, 1817 - August 1, 1895), German historian, sprang from a Protestant family which had long been established at Soest, in Westphalia. ... Godfrey of Bouillon (c. ... Lorraine coat of arms Lorraine (French: Lorraine; German: Lothringen) is a historical area in present-day northeast France. ...

In this idolization Peter naturally became the instigator of the crusade, just as Godfrey became the founder of the kingdom of Jerusalem and the legislator of the assizes. This version of Peter's career seems as old as the Chanson des chétifs, a poem which Raymond of Antioch caused to be composed in honour of the Hermit and his followers soon after 1130. It also appears in the pages of Albert of Aix who wrote somewhere about 1130; and from Albert it was borrowed by William of Tyre. The whole legend of Peter is an excellent instance of the legendary amplification of the First Crusade--an amplification which, beginning during the crusade itself, in the "idolizations" of the different camps (idola castrorum, if one may pervert Bacon), soon developed into a regular saga. This saga found its most piquant beginning in the Hermit's vision at Jerusalem, and there it accordingly began--alike in Albert, followed by William of Tyre and in the Chanson des chétifs, followed by the later Chanson d'Antioche. Raymond of Poitiers (c. ... Events February 13 - Innocent II is elected pope An antipope schism occurs when Roger II of Sicily supports Anacletus II as pope instead of Innocent II. Innocent flees to France and Anacletus crowns Roger King. ... Sir Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Albans, KC (22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher, statesman, spy, freemason and essayist. ... The Chanson dAntioche is a chanson de geste in 9000 lines of poetry in stanzas called laisses, composed about 1180 for a courtly French audience. ...

The original authorities for the story of Peter the Hermit are, for the authentic Peter, Anna Comnena and the Gesta Francorum; for the legendary Peter, Albert of Aix. The whole career of the Hermit has been thoroughly and excellently discussed by H Hagenmeyer, Peter der Heremite (Leipzig, 1879). The so-called Gesta Francorum (The Deeds of the Franks, in full De Gesta Francorum et aliorum Hierosolimitanorum) is a Latin chronicle of the First Crusade (1096-1099) by an anonymous author. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain.