Everyone who filled the field in Clermont on that crisp day in late November made the vow to save Byzantium and restore Jerusalem to Christian rule. But how, in a time where there was no such thing as TV, computers, internet or printing press, and no advocacy for mass literacy, did Urban’s cry for Holy War travel so far so fast?

The people went home and told those who had not heard Urban’s speech and related to them what their beloved Pope had just commanded them to do. Hence, Urban’s message was spread via word of mouth. Bishops returned to their dioceses and passed on the message; monks traveled from monastery to monastery bearing the news from their Pope; the great Counts and Dukes of Europe urged their vassals and lesser nobles to take up the cross. However, there was one man who would help Urban spread the message even farther and faster: Peter the Hermit.

There is very little known about Peter’s background, so there is some historical debate as to whether he was born into nobility or poverty. According to Barbara Hutton, a scholar of the past, Peter once served as a soldier under Eustace de Bouillon, father of Godfrey de Bouillon. Peter married a lady of rank, but did not love her, so he chose to live his life in solidarity confinement as a means to end the marriage. Daniel Goodsell, on the other hand, suggested that Peter came from a humble family.

Regardless of Peter’s background, he possessed enough passion, imagination, reverence and charisma to move mountains. “He was small in stature and his external appearance contemptible,” William of Tyre wrote. Peter the Hermit wore a woolen tunic that had no sleeves and a coarse brown tunic overtop; he lived only on fish and wine, and traveled from village to village on top of a mule. However, “greater valor ruled in his slight frame. For he was sharp witted, his glance was bright and captivating, and he spoke with ease and eloquence.”

Historians of an earlier age believed that it was Peter the Hermit who prompted and inspired Pope Urban to initiate the First Crusade. Historians of today, though, have disregarded this belief, choosing instead to believe that it was Pope Urban who was the sole initiator of the First Crusade. Even though Urban was the perpetrator of this momentous historical event, Peter the Hermit’s involvement in the preaching of the Holy War should not be undermined.

Peter the Hermit made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem before Emperor Alexius Comnenus appealed to Robert of Flanders and Pope Urban for military aid. Peter was appalled by the heavy poll tax he had to pay to enter the Holy Land. He was even more horrified by the desolation and misery of the Christians living in Islamic Jerusalem, so much that he took it as a sign from heaven: to avenge the Eastern Christians and take back the Holy City. Peter immediately sought out Patriarch Simeon and implored him to write to the pope and to other sovereigns in Europe.

Simeon’s response to Peter’s plea was this: “Oh, pious palmer (poll tax payer), we are punished for our sins! Asia is in bondage to the Infidels; no earthly power can save us.”

“Say not so, holy father,” Peter cried, standing at his fullest height with his head held high. “Jerusalem shall be liberated before long by western warriors! As a penance for my sins, I will traverse the whole continent of Europe; and the princes and nobles of the West shall hear from my lips the state of the Holy Sepulcher. I will urge them to rescue the grave of our Lord,” Peter said, his voice quivering with emotion.

Simeon stared at Peter, wide-eyed, completely taken aback by the Hermit’s passionate care of the Eastern Christians. The conditions of the Christian people living under Islamic rule was nothing new to Simeon. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher was desecrated the moment the Muslims conquered Jerusalem in the year of 638. Growing up, Simeon had witnessed the poverty and persecution his good Christian people suffered. What little power he held, he used to aid his impoverished flock, and he housed many pilgrims. But even that wasn’t enough to relieve their suffering.

Tears filled Simeon’s eyes when he thought about his people, and of Peter’s words. They touched him deeply. Seldom had he heard another Christian man express such determination to help his brethren; a western pilgrim at that.

Simeon reached over and embraced Peter. “God will look down on our afflictions! He will soften the hearts of the princes of Europe towards us! He will send them to the rescue of this Holy City.”

With Simeon’s blessing, Peter the Hermit set out on the long journey back to Europe. He traveled to the coast, then sailed to Italy.

Click here to read part 2.

Sources Used:

Hutton, Barbara. Heroes of the Crusades. Griffith and Farran; London, 1869.

Munro, Dana C. ed. Urban and the Crusaders. The Department of History of the University of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, 1901.