First Crusade: People's Crusade

On October 21, 1096, Sultan Kilidj Arslan of Nicea defeated the People's Crusade at the Battle of Civetot. About 3,000 out of 20,000 Crusaders survived. An excerpt from the article:

"[Pope] Urban carefully considered the request and decided on a plan so far-reaching that it would change the course of history. On August 11, 1095, he sent out letters requesting his bishops to join him at Clermont, France. On Tuesday, November 27, the crowds that had assembled were too large to be housed in the cathedral, where the council was meeting, so the papal throne was set up on a platform outside the east gate of the city.

There are five major versions of Urban’s speech–two of which were recorded by people who were actually there–but there is little similarity between them. Urban basically told of the horrors of life under the ‘base and bastard Turks.’ He described how God’s kingdom had been ‘ground down into the dust.’ Urban declared that Europe was ‘too narrow for your large population’ and urged his audience to take up swords against the Saracens who defiled ‘that land that floweth with milk and honey.’ His audience greeted his proclamation with cries of ‘Dieu le volt‘–‘God wills it.’ Urban turned his eyes heavenward in thanks.

Peter the Hermit–also known as Peter of Amiens because he was born in that French town–had never been within miles of any pope, but that did not prevent him from telling his followers that it was he who had persuaded Urban to preach the crusade. Peter was certainly among the first to preach it, but it is now known that there were many others who were advocating the same thing. It was, nonetheless, Peter who became the de facto leader for many of the Crusaders.

A former soldier, Peter was a short, elderly man whose face was almost as long and sad as that of the donkey he always rode. His garments were filthy. His bare feet had not been washed in years. He ate no meat or fruit, living almost entirely on wine and fish. In 1093, Peter had made a pilgrimage to Palestine, but he was unable to reach the Holy City. One contemporary who knew him, Abbott Guibert of Nogent, stated that he’seemed somehow semi-divine both in his actions and his words.’ Within a short time he had 15,000 followers. His higher-ranking followers, most notably the capable French knight Walter Sansavoir (or Sans-Avoir), or Walter the Penniless, brought thousands of men-at-arms with them. German leaders such as Gottschalk and Orel formed similar armies, but probably on a smaller scale."