_The Effects of the Council of Clermont--State of France--Motives of the
People for embracing the Crusade--Benefits produced--The Enthusiasm
general--Rapid Progress--The First Bodies of Crusaders begin their
March--Gautier Sans Avoir--His Army--Their Disasters--Reach
Constantinople--Peter the Hermit sets out with an immense Multitude--
Storms Semlin--Defeated at Nissa--His Host dispersed--The Remains
collected--Joins Gautier--Excesses of the Multitude--The Italians and
Germans separate from the French--The Germans exterminated--The French cut
to pieces--Conduct of Alexius._
The immediate effects of the council of Clermont are detailed with so much
animation by Guibert of Nogent, that I shall attempt to trace them nearly
in his own words, merely observing, that previous to his departure from
France, Urban II., having taken every means in his power to secure the
property of the crusaders during their absence, committed the chief
direction of the expedition to Adhemar, Bishop of Puy, in Auvergne.[107]
"As soon as the council of Clermont was concluded," says the historian, "a
great rumour spread through the whole of France, and as soon as fame
brought the news of the orders of the pontiff to any one, he went
instantly to solicit his neighbours and his relations to engage with him
in the _way of God_, for so they designated the purposed expedition.
"The Counts Palatine[108] were already full of the desire to undertake
this journey; and all the knights of an inferior order felt the same zeal.
The poor themselves soon caught the flame so ardently, that no one paused
to think of the smallness of his wealth, or to consider whether he ought
to yield his house and his fields, and his vines; but each one set about
selling his property, at as low a price as if he had been held in some
horrible captivity, and sought to pay his ransom without loss of time.
"At this period, too, there existed a general dearth. The rich even felt
the want of corn; and many, with every thing to buy, had nothing, or next
to nothing, wherewithal to purchase what they needed. The poor tried to
nourish themselves with the wild herbs of the earth; and, as bread was
very dear, sought on all sides food heretofore unknown, to supply the
place of corn. The wealthy and powerful were not exempt; but finding
themselves menaced with the famine which spread around them, and beholding
every day the terrible wants of the poor, they contracted their expenses,
and lived with the most narrow parsimony, lest they should squander the
riches now become so necessary.
"The ever insatiable misers rejoiced in days so favourable to their
covetousness; and casting their eyes upon the bushels of grain which they
had hoarded long before, calculated each day the profits of their avarice.
Thus some struggled with every misery and want, while others revelled in
the hopes of fresh acquisitions. No sooner, however, had Christ inspired,
as I have said, innumerable bodies of people to seek a voluntary exile,
than the money which had been hoarded so long was spread forth in a
moment; and that which was horribly dear while all the world was in
repose, was on a sudden sold for nothing, as soon as every one began to
hasten towards their destined journey. Each man hurried to conclude his
affairs; and, astonishing to relate, we then saw--so sudden was the
diminution in the value of every thing--we then saw seven sheep sold for
five deniers. The dearth of grain, also, was instantly changed into
abundance; and every one, occupied solely in amassing money for his
journey, sold every thing that he could, not according to its real worth,
but according to the value set upon it by the buyer.
"In the mean while, the greater part of those who had not determined upon
the journey, joked and laughed at those who were thus selling their goods
for whatever they could get; and prophesied that their voyage would be
miserable, and their return worse. Such was ever the language one day; but
the next--suddenly seized with the same desire as the rest--those who had
been most forward to mock, abandoned every thing for a few crowns, and set
out with those whom they had laughed at but a day before. Who shall tell
the children and the infirm that, animated with the same spirit, hastened
to the war? Who shall count the old men and the young maids who hurried
forward to the fight?--not with the hope of aiding, but for the crown of
martyrdom to be won amid the swords of the infidels. 'You, warriors,' they
cried, 'you shall vanquish by the spear and brand; but let us, at least,
conquer Christ by our sufferings.' At the same time, one might see a
thousand things springing from the same spirit, which were both
astonishing and laughable: the poor shoeing their oxen, as we shoe horses,
and harnessing them to two-wheeled carts, in which they placed their
scanty provisions and their young children; and proceeding onward, while
the babes, at each town or castle that they saw, demanded eagerly whether
that was Jerusalem."
Such is the picture presented, by an eyewitness, of the state of France
after the first promulgation of the crusade; and a most extraordinary
picture it is. The zeal, the enthusiasm, the fervour of the spirit, the
brutal ignorance and dark barbarity of the people, are the objects that
catch the eye from the mere surface; but underneath may be seen a hundred
fine and latent tints which mingle in the portrait of the age. There may
be found the hope of gain and the expectation of wealth in other lands, as
well as the excitement of devotion; and there also may be traced the
reckless, daring courage of a period when comfort was unknown, and when
security was scarcely less to be expected among the swords of the
Saracens, than in the fields of France and Germany. While the thirst of
adventure, the master-passion of the middle ages, prompted to any change
of scene and circumstances, imagination portrayed the land in view with
all that adventitious splendour which none--of all the many betrayers of
the human mind--so well knows how to bestow as hope.
The same land, when the Jews marched towards it from the wilderness, had
been represented to them as a land flowing with milk and honey,--rich in
all gifts; and doubtless that inducement moved the stubborn Hebrews, as
much as the command of him they had so often disobeyed. Now the very same
prospect was held out to another host of men, as ignorant of what lay
before them as the Jews themselves; and it may be fairly supposed that, in
their case too, imaginary hopes, and all the gay phantasma of ambition,
shared powerfully with religion in leading them onward to the promised
land.
Still zeal, and sympathy, and indignation, and chivalrous feeling, and the
thirst of glory, and the passion for enterprise, and a thousand vague but
great and noble aspirations, mingled in the complicated motive of the
crusade. It increased by contagion; it grew by communion; it spread from
house to house, and from bosom to bosom; it became a universal desire--an
enthusiasm--a passion--a madness.
In the mean while, the crusade was not without producing a sensible
benefit even to Europe. The whole country had previously been desolated by
feuds[109] and pillage, and massacre. Castle waged war with castle: baron
plundered baron; and from field to field, and city to city, the traveller
could scarcely pass without injury or death. No sooner,[110] however, had
the crusade been preached at the council of Clermont, than the universal
peace, which was there commanded, called the _Truce[111] of God_, was
sworn throughout the country, the plunder ceased and the feuds
disappeared. The very fact of the wicked, the infamous, and the
bloodthirsty having embraced the crusade, either from penitence or from
worse motives, was a positive good to Europe. That not alone the
good,[112] the religious, the zealous, or the brave, filled the ranks of
the Cross is admitted on all hands; yet those who had once assumed that
holy sign were obliged, in some degree, to act as if their motives had
been pure, and their very absence was a blessing to the land they left.
Still the crusade went on; and the imagination of the people being once
directed towards a particular object found, even in the phenomena which in
former days would have struck nations with fear and apprehension, signs of
blessing and omens of success. An earthquake itself[113] was held as good
augury; and scarcely a meteor shot across the sky without affording some
theme for hope.
The sign of the Cross was now to be seen on the shoulder of every one; and
being generally cut in red[114] cloth, was a conspicuous and remarkable
object. As these multiplied, the hearts even of the fearful grew strong,
and the contagion of example added to the number every hour. Peter the
Hermit, indefatigable in his calling, though his mind seems day by
day[115] to have become more excited, till enthusiasm grew nearly akin to
madness, gathered a vast concourse of the lower orders, and prepared to
set out by the way of Hungary. But the real and serviceable body of
crusaders was collected from among another class, whose military habits
and chivalrous character were well calculated to effect the great object
proposed.
In France, Hugh, the brother of King Philip, Robert, Count of Flanders,
Stephen, Count of Chartres and Blois, Adhemar, Bishop of Puy, William,
Bishop of Orange, Raimond, Count of Toulouse, and many others of the
highest station, assumed the Cross, and called together all the knights
and retainers that their great names and influence could bring into the
field. Robert, Duke of Normandy, son of William the Conqueror of England,
accompanied by a number of English barons, prepared also for the crusade.
Godfrey of Loraine, and his brothers were added to the number; and
Boemond, Prince of Tarento, the valiant son of Robert Guiscard, cast from
him the large possessions which his sword and that of his father had
conquered, and turned his hopes and expectations towards the east.
The immense multitudes thus assembled are said to have amounted to nearly
six millions of souls;[116] and one of the most astonishing proofs of the
rapidity with which the news of the crusade must have spread, and the
enthusiasm with which it was received, is to be found in the fact, that
the council of Clermont was held in the November of the year 1095, and
that early in the spring of 1096 a large body of the crusaders was in
motion towards Palestine.
The historians of the day are not at all agreed in regard to which was the
multitude that led the way towards the Holy Land. It appears[117] almost
certain, however, that _Gautier sans avoir_, or Walter the Penniless, a
Burgundian gentleman, without fortune, who had assembled a considerable
band of the lower classes under the banner of the Cross, was the first who
set out in compliance with the general vow. He was, according to all
accounts, a complete soldier of fortune, renowned for his poverty even to
a proverb, but by no means, as has been asserted, without military fame.
All[118] the contemporary writers designate him by his cognomen of
poverty; but all at the same time describe him as an illustrious warrior.
Nevertheless, the host that he led was rather an ill-governed crowd of men
on foot than an army; and but eight knights accompanied the leader on his
expedition. The difficulties of the undertaking were incalculable; and the
followers of Walter had provided but little for the necessities of the
way. It showed, however, no small skill in that leader to conduct the
disorderly rabble by which he was followed, so far as he did in safety.
Passing through Germany,[119] he entered into Hungary; where, entangled
among the marshes and passes of that kingdom, his whole followers must
have perished inevitably, had he not met with the greatest kindness and
assistance from the king and people of the country, who, professing the
Christian religion, understood and venerated the motives of the crusade.
Thus the host of Walter swept on till their arrival at Semlin, where some
stragglers were attacked and plundered by a party of Hungarians less
humane than their brethren. The arms and crosses of the crusaders who had
thus been despoiled, were fixed upon the walls of the city as a sort of
trophy; but Walter, though strongly urged by his followers to seek
vengeance for the insult, wisely forbore and passing forward, entered into
Bulgaria. Here the champions of the Cross met with no further aid. The
people regarded them with jealous suspicion; the cities shut their gates
upon them; all commerce was prohibited, and all supplies denied.
Famine now imperiously urged them to violence; and having taken possession
of whatever flocks and herds they could find, the crusaders soon found
themselves attacked by the Bulgarians, by whom considerable numbers were
cut off and destroyed.
Walter himself, with great wisdom[120] and resolution, forced his way
through innumerable difficulties, till he had left behind him the
inhospitable country of the Bulgarians; and at length brought his army,
infinitely wasted by both famine and the sword, to the neighbourhood of
Constantinople. Here he obtained permission to refresh his forces, and
wait the arrival of Peter the Hermit himself, who followed close upon his
steps.
The multitude which had been collected by the Hermit was even of a less
uniform and regular description than that which had followed _Gautier sans
avoir_. Men, women, and children,--all sexes, ages, and professions,--many
and distinct languages--a quantity of baggage and useless encumbrance,
rendered the army of Peter as unwieldy and dangerous an engine as ever was
put in motion. Notwithstanding its bulk and inconsistency, it also
proceeded in safety, and without much reproach, through Germany and
Hungary; but at Semlin, the sight of the crosses and vestments which had
been stripped from[121] the stragglers of Walter's host roused the anger
of the multitude. The town was attacked and taken by assault, with all the
acts of savage ferocity which usually follow such an occurrence; and the
crusaders, without remorse, gave themselves up to every barbarity that
dark and unrestrained passions could suggest.[122]
The news of this event soon reached the king of Hungary; who, calling
together a considerable force, marched to avenge the death and pillage of
his subjects. His approach instantly caused Peter to decamp from Semlin;
but the passage of the Morava was opposed by a tribe of savage Bulgarians:
few boats were to be procured; those that were found were of small
dimensions; and the rafts that could be hastily constructed were but
little manageable in a broad and rapid river. Some of the crusaders thus
perished in the water, some fell by the arrows of the enemy; but the tribe
that opposed the passage being defeated and put to flight, the rest of
Peter's followers were brought over in safety.
The Hermit now, after having sacrificed the prisoners to what was then
considered a just resentment, pursued his way to Nissa, in which town the
Duke of Bulgaria had fortified himself, having abandoned Belgrade at the
approach of the army of the Cross. Finding, however, that Peter did not at
all contemplate taking vengeance for the inhospitality shown to _Gautier
sans avoir_, the duke wisely permitted his subjects to supply the
crusaders with necessaries.
Thus all passed tranquilly under the walls of Nissa, till Peter and his
host had absolutely departed, when some German stragglers, remembering a
controversy of the night before with one of the Bulgarian merchants, set
fire to several mills and houses without the walls of the town.
Enraged at this wanton outrage, the armed people of the city rushed out
upon the aggressors, and, not contented with sacrificing them to their
fury, fell upon the rear of the Hermit's army, glutted their wrath with
the blood of all that opposed them, and carried off the baggage, the
women, the children, and all that part of the multitude whose weakness at
once caused them to linger behind, and left them without defence.
The moment that Peter heard of this event, he turned back; and, with a
degree of calmness and moderation that does high honour to his memory, he
endeavoured to investigate the cause of the disaster, and conciliate by
courtesy and fair words. This negotiation was highly successful; the duke,
appeased with the vengeance he had taken, agreed to return the prisoners
and the baggage, and every thing once more assumed a peaceful aspect; when
suddenly, a body of a thousand imprudent men, fancying that they saw an
opportunity of seizing on the town, passed the stone bridge, and
endeavoured to scale the walls. A general conflict ensued; the
ill-disciplined host of the crusaders was defeated and dispersed, and
Peter himself, obliged to fly alone, took refuge, like the rest, in the
neighbouring forests.
For some time he pursued his way over mountains,[123] and wastes, and
precipices; and it may easily be conceived that his heart--so lately
elated with honour, and command, and gratified enthusiasm--now felt
desolate and crushed, to find the multitude his voice had gathered
dispersed or slain, and himself a wandering fugitive in a foreign land,
without shelter, protection, or defence. At length, it is said, he met by
chance several of his best and most courageous knights at the top of a
mountain, where they had assembled with no more than five hundred men,
which seemed at first all that remained of his vast army.[124] He caused,
however, signals to be made and horns to be sounded in the different parts
of the forest, that any of the scattered crusaders within hearing might be
brought to one spot.
These and other means which were put in practice to call together the
remnants of his army, proved so successful, that before night seven
thousand men were collected, and with this force he hastened to march on
towards Constantinople. As he went, other bands, which had been separated
from him in the confusion of the flight, rejoined him, and the only
difficulty, as the host advanced, was to procure the necessaries of life.
The news of Peter's adventures flew before them, and reached even
Constantinople. Alexius, the emperor, who had not yet learned to fear the
coming of the crusaders, sent deputies to meet the Hermit, and to hasten
his journey; and at Philippopoli the eloquent display of his sufferings,
which Peter addressed to the assembled people, moved their hearts to
compassion and sympathy. The wants of the host were plentifully supplied,
and, after reposing for some days in the friendly city, the whole body,
now again amounting to thirty thousand men, set out for Constantinople,
where they arrived in safety, and joined the troops which Walter the
Penniless had conducted thither previously.
Here they found a considerable number of Lombards and Italians; but these,
also, as well as the troops which they had themselves brought thither were
not only of the lowest, but of the most disorderly classes of the people.
It is no wonder therefore--although Alexius supplied them with money and
provisions, and tried to secure to them the repose and comfort that they
needed in every respect--that these ruffian adventurers should soon begin
to tire of tranquillity and order, and to exercise their old trades of
plunder and excess.[125] They overturned palaces, set fire to the public
buildings, and stripped even the lead off the roofs of the churches, which
they afterward sold to the Greeks from whom they had plundered it.
Horrified by these enormities,[126] the emperor soon found a pretext to
hurry them across the Bosphorus, still giving them the humane caution, to
wait the arrival of stronger forces, before they attempted to quit
Bithynia. Here, however, their barbarous licentiousness soon exceeded all
bounds, and Peter the Hermit himself, having lost command over his
turbulent followers, returned to Constantinople in despair, upon the
pretence of consulting with the emperor on the subject of provisions.[127]
After his departure, the Lombards and Germans separated themselves from
the French and Normans, whose crimes and insolence disgusted even their
barbarous fellows. _Gautier sans avoir_ still continued in command of the
French, who remained where Peter had left them; but the Italians[128] and
Germans chose for their leader one Renault, or Rinaldo, and, marching on,
made themselves masters of a fortress called Exorogorgon, or Xerigord.
Here they were attacked by the sultaun Soliman, who cut to pieces a large
body placed in ambuscade, and then invested the fort, which, being ill
supplied with water, he was well aware must surrender before long.
For eight days the besieged underwent tortures too dreadful to be dwelt
upon, from the most agonizing thirst. At the end of that time, Rinaldo and
his principal companions went over to the Turks, abandoned their religion,
and betrayed their brethren. The castle thus falling into the hands of the
infidels, the Christians that remained were slaughtered without mercy.
The news of this disaster was soon brought to the French camp, and
indignation spread among the crusaders.[129] Some say a desire of
vengeance, some a false report of the fall of Nice, caused the French to
insist upon hurrying forward towards the Turkish territory. Gautier wisely
resisted for some time all the entreaties of his troops, but at length
finding them preparing to march without his consent, he put himself at
their head, and led them towards Nice. Before reaching that place, he was
encountered by the Turkish forces. The battle was fierce, but unequal:
Gautier and his knights fought with desperate courage,[130] but all their
efforts were vain; the Christians were slaughtered in every direction; and
Gautier himself, after having displayed to the last that intrepid valour
for which he was renowned, fell under seven mortal wounds.
Not above three thousand Christians effected their escape to Civitot. Here
again they were attacked by the Turks, who surrounded the fortress with
vast piles of wood, in order to exterminate by fire the few of the
crusaders that remained. The besieged, however, watched their moment, and
while the wind blew towards the Turkish camp, set fire to the wood
themselves, which thus was consumed without injury to them, while many of
their enemies were destroyed by the flames.[131]
In the mean time one of the crusaders had made his way to Constantinople,
and communicated the news of all these disasters to Peter the Hermit. The
unhappy Peter, painfully disappointed, like all those who fix their
enthusiasm on the virtues or the prudence of mankind, was driven almost to
despair, by the folly and unworthiness of those in whom he had placed his
hopes. He nevertheless cast himself at the feet of the emperor
Alexius,[132] and besought him, with tears and supplications, to send some
forces to deliver the few crusaders who had escaped from the scimitar of
the Turks.
The monarch granted his request, and the little garrison of Civitot were
brought in safety to Constantinople. After their arrival, however, Alexius
ordered them to disperse and return to their own country; and with wise
caution bought their arms before he dismissed them;[133] thus at once
supplying them with money for their journey, and depriving them of the
means of plundering and ravaging his dominions as they went. Most of the
historians[134] of that age accuse Alexius of leaguing with the Turks,
even at this period, to destroy the crusaders, or, at least, of triumphing
in the fall of those very men whom he had himself called to his succour.
The conduct of Alexius in this transaction is not very clear, but it is
far from improbable that, fearful of the undisciplined multitude he had
brought into his dominions, horrified by their crimes, and indignant at
their pillage of his subjects, he beheld them fall by their own folly and
the swords of the enemy, without any effort to defend them, or any very
disagreeable feeling at their destruction. And indeed, when we remember
the actions they did commit within the limits of the Greek empire, we can
hardly wonder at the monarch, if he rejoiced at their punishment, or blame
him if he was indifferent to their fate.
Thus ended the great expedition of Peter the Hermit: but several others of
a similar unruly character took place previous to the march of those
troops, whose discipline, valour, and unity of purpose ensured a more
favourable issue to their enterprise. I shall touch but briefly upon these
mad and barbarous attempts, as a period of more interest follows.
The body of crusaders which seems to have succeeded immediately to that
led by Peter the Hermit was composed almost entirely of Germans, collected
together by a priest called Gottschalk.[135] They penetrated into Hungary;
but there, giving way to all manner of excesses, they were followed by
Carloman, the king of that country, with a powerful army, and having been
induced to lay down their arms, that the criminals might be selected and
punished, they were slaughtered indiscriminately by the Hungarians, who
were not a little glad to take vengeance for the blood shed by the army of
Peter at Semlin.
About the same period, immense bands of men and women came forth from
almost every country of Europe, with the symbol of the crusade upon their
shoulders, and the pretence of serving God upon their lips. They joined
together wheresoever they met, and, excited by a foul spirit of fanatical
cruelty, mingled with the most infamous moral depravity, proceeded towards
the south of Germany. They gave themselves up, we are told,[136] to the
pleasures of the table without intermission: men and women, and even
children, it is said, lived in a state of promiscuous debauchery; and,
preceded by a goose and a goat,[137] which, in their mad fanaticism, they
declared to be animated by the divine spirit, they marched onward,
slaughtering the Jews as they went; and proclaiming that the first duty of
Christians was to exterminate the nation which had rejected the Saviour
himself. Several of the German bishops bravely opposed them, and
endeavoured to protect the unhappy Hebrews; but still, vast multitudes
were slain, and many even sought self-destruction rather than encounter
the brutality of the fanatics, or abjure their religion.
Glutted with slaughter, the ungodly herd now turned towards Hungary; but
at Mersburg they were encountered by a large Hungarian force, which
disputed their passage over the Danube, absolutely refusing the road
through that kingdom to any future band of crusaders. The fanatics forced
their way across the river, attacked Mersburg itself with great fury and
perseverance, and succeeded in making a breach in the walls, when suddenly
an unaccountable terror seized them--none knew how or why--they abandoned
the siege, dispersed in dismay, and fled like scattered deer over the
country.
The Hungarians suffered not the opportunity to escape, and pursuing them
on every side, smote them during many days with a merciless fury, that
nothing but their own dreadful cruelties could palliate. The fields were
strewed with dead bodies, the rivers flowed with blood, and the very
waters of the Danube are said to have been hidden by the multitude of
corpses.
Disaster and death had, sooner or later, overtaken each body of the
crusaders that had hitherto, without union or command, set out towards the
Holy Land; but each of these very bands had been composed of the refuse
and dregs of the people. I do not mean by that word _dregs_ the poor, but
I mean the base--I do not mean those who were low in station, or even
ignorant in mind; but I mean those who were infamous in crime, and brutal
in desire. Doubtless, in these expeditions, some fell who were animated by
noble motives or excellent zeal; but such were few compared with those
whose objects were plunder, licentiousness, and vice. The swords of the
Hungarians and the Turks lopped these away; and I cannot find in my heart
to look upon the purification which Europe thus underwent with any thing
like sorrow. The crusade itself was by this means freed from many a base
and unworthy member; and Chivalry, left to act more in its own spirit,
though still participating deeply in the faults and vices of a barbarous
age, brought about a nobler epoch and a brighter event.