The Peasants’ Crusade began in 1095 after Pope
Urban II called for a Christian army to retake Jerusalem from
the Muslims. Peter the
Hermit and Walter the Penniless were the two preachers who led the
Peasants’ Crusade after hearing Pope Urban II speech. They rallied
the peasants of France to leave their
fields and fight for the Holy
Land
Peter the Hermit had been to
the Holy Land and had seen first
hand the horrific, cruel ways in which the pilgrims were being
treated. He rode on a mule from town to town throughout
France and
Germany. Peter informed
the people of the Turks treatment towards the Christians in the
Holy Land. He begged them to follow
him to the Holy Land to drive out
the Turks. Soon he was
able to gather thousands of people including women and
children. His followers
saw him as almost divine and
even saintly.
In the spring of 1096,
several armies started southeast through Europe, towards the Holy
Land. The armies had several thousand men, women and
children. They were called, crusaders, a name which comes from
a Latin word meaning “cross.” Each wore the emblem of the cross
on their right shoulder. The cross, as you know, stands for the
Christian Church. The Peasants’ Crusade was
disorganized, they knew nothing about fighting, and had no supplies.
Many people had no idea what they were doing or where they were
headed. Their leaders Peter the Hermit and Walter the Penniless had
little control over them. Unfortunately, many of these crusaders
could not wait until they faced the Muslims on the battlefield to
demonstrate their religious zeal. As
they traveled through Europe, they
attacked and plundered many
cities. Jewish communities became the target of their wrath and
thousands were massacred. Fierce fighting occurred along the
way and thousand of the crusaders were killed.
When the crusaders finally got to the Holy Land, they had no weapons and no
experience. They were slaughtered by a powerful Muslim army and many
were enslaved. Only a handful escaped and found their way back to
Constantinople.
Additional
learning resource: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People's_Crusade
BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR THE CURRENT PAGE
Textbooks:World
History - Medieval and Early Modern Times. Evanston:
McDougal Littell, 2006. (150 – 199)Across
the Centuries.
Boston: Houghton Miifflin Company,
1997. (108 – 153)
Internet Websites:
