WHILE the princes who had assumed the cross were pawning their castles and alienating their domains, a multitude, under the influence of an enthusiasm that would brook no delay, insisted on setting forth at once for the Holy Land.
Nor is it wonderful that impatience should have been manifested. It appears that every serf who took the cross, shook off his collar and became a freeman; and the peasant of France must have hailed any opportunity of exchanging a cabin associated in his mind with the cruelty of man, for places associated in his mind with the mercy of God. Religion was to him everything. Princes and nobles had castles, where minstrels and jongleurs ministered to their diversion, where retainers saddled horses and unleashed hounds for their recreation, and where chaplains read romances of chivalry for their amusement. But save the sentiments and hopes which he owed to the church, the peasant had no consolation in his misery; and when told that, by going to a land which the Pope described as "flowing with milk and honey," he would secure pardon without penance in this world, and happiness without purgatory in the next, he naturally became an enthusiast, with the single idea of accomplishing his pilgrimage.
Moreover, the very name of Palestine exercised a magical influence on the men of the eleventh century. At the mention of the Holy Land, their imaginations conjured up the most picturesque scenery: graceful palms rustling in the air; fig-trees overhanging the paths; gardens with jasmines, pomegranates, golden citrons, mantling vines, and odoriferous flowers; a sandy soil, glowing under a blue sky; oriental women veiled in white and grouped around fountains; long caravans of camels bearing priceless merchandise; Saracenic castles; cities of which the names were recorded in that sacred book, which the poorest knew by picture; Sharon, famous for roses without thorns: Lebanon, celebrated for cedars and vines; and Carmel, with its solitary convent, and its thyme-covered summit, haunted by the wild boar and the eagle. Such were the objects picturesquely described by pilgrims, which touched the imagination and excited the curiosity of our ancestors.
The French people were first in motion. No feeling of prudence, indeed, interfered with their ardork Leaving their fields and towns, agricultural serfs and petty traders, displayed eagerness to reach the Holy City. Without considering distance or danger, many of the peasant-pilgrims took their wives and children to share their perils; and if any rational individual interfered with a word of salutary warning, their answer was ready: "Ho who will not take up his cross and come with me," bawled these enthusiasts, "is not worthy of me."
Bat while many aaramed the croat with the idem of securing eternal salvation, numbers did so from motives the reverse of laudable. Many a thief and cnt4hroat, whose life had been a defiance of Qod and man, appeared to take part in this armed pilgrimage; and the most immoral and irreligious characters m Europe decked their shoulders with a badge symbolizing everything pure and holy. Mingled with piona peasants end decent traders, were men who had long defied every law; and, mingling with wives of peasant and trader, were women who had long ale earned all modesty.
From the banks of the Maes and the Moselle, and fiom the provinces of Burgundy and Champagne, the peasant-pilgrims, arrayed in every variety of costume and armed with every variety of weapon, crowded confusedly toward the point of rendezvous. A sight of the camp which they formed, would have daunted the most skilful war-chief. Eighty thousand men of different races, with their wives and daughters, with infants taken from the cradle, and grandsires on the verge of the grave, and a considerable number of sick and dying -- such was the multitude that now demanded to be led to Jerusalem, and raised the shout of "God wills it."
But the task of leading them was clearly one from which Alexander the Great or Julius Csesar might have shrunk. A chief, however, was wanted; and the multitude did not hesitate in their choice. With one voice they nominated Peter the Hermit, and defying the difficulties in prospect, the apostle of the crusade accepted the post of general. Ere long, Peter had reason to rue the day when he was rash enough to make himself responsible for the conduct of an undisciplined host.
A leader having been found, the mob was arranged in two divisions. A knight celebrated as Walter the Penniless was appointed, to lead the van. Peter, under the delusion that he could control men whom he had persuaded to take up arms, assumed without hesitation the command of the main body.
Every arrangement was soon made; and Walter the Penniless, having on the 8th of March, 1096, begun his march, traversed without annoyance the French territories, and the banks of the Rhine. The Germans, though not yet roused to zeal, were the reverse of hostile to the expedition. Some, indeed, said, "These Frenchmen are fools for their pains; but others expressed sympathy with the Christian ardor displayed.
On leaving the German territory, however, Walter had to deal with nations from whom little sympathy could be expected. It was necessary, in fact, to cross a country inhabited by Hungarians and Bulgarians, neither of whom were unlikely to manifest antipathy. Both nations had lately embraced Christianity. But the Hungarians and Bulgarians had none of that zeal which is supposed to animate recent converts, and they appear to have regarded the crusade with indifference, and the crusaders with hatred.
The position of Walter was difficult; but the penniless knight, finding that the Hungarians treated the pilgrims as enemies, exerted himself to prevent retaliation. Success attended his efforts, and his soldiers left the territories of the Hungarians without a blow having been.exchanged.
So far the expedition was characterised by order and decency. It happened however, that the moderation of Walter was not relished; and on entering Bulgaria, the crusaders resolved to set his authority at defiance. Want rendered them desperate, and they broke from restraint. Spreading themselves over the country, they put men to the sword, burned houses, and plundered sheep-folds. No prudential considerations restrained their ferocity.
Such conduct could hardly produce other than disastrous results; and the desperadoes soon found that outrages of the kind were not to be perpetrated with impunity. Now, in fact, began the misfortunes of the crusade. No sooner did rumors of sheep stolen, houses bumed, and men killed, spread over the country, than-a cry for vengeance rose loud and high. Rushing to arms, the Bulgarians fell on the soldiers of the cross, and slaughtered them without mercy. Nothing worthy of the name of resistance appears to have been offered. Some of the crusaders sought refuge in a church, and the others fled fast from their assailants. The Bulgarians hastening to the church, burnecTthe sacred edifice and those who had taken refuge within its walls; while Walter, gathering in the fugitives, secured them by a hasty and skilful march. from the vengeance they had provoked.
After this disaster, Walter pursued his way through the forests of Bulgaria. But famine dogged the steps of his followers. Finding that matters were reaching a dangerous stage, the pilgrim warrior appeared before Nissa, a city on the river Moravia, and implored the governor, in the name of Christianity, to save the soldiers of the cross from dying of hunger. Touched with pity, the governor of Nissa furnished food and raiment; and the crusaders passing quickly through Thrace, arrived, after weeks of fatigue, before the gates of Constantinople.
While Walter the Penniless was leading the van of the pilgrim army toward Constantinople, Peter the Hermit was in motion. Enveloped in his woollen mantle, mounted on his mule, and attended by sixty thousand pedestrians, he passed through Germany. Everything went pleasantly enough; for, the evil passions of the mob being still under restraint, the elements of disturbance had not yet made themselves felt. Men sang psalms; women gossipped about every novelty that presented itself; and children, whenever a town or castle came in sight, asked with curiosity, "Is this Jerusalem?"
But a change was at hand. On reaching Hungary, Peter was informed of the disasters of his vanguard, and, betrayed into a threat of vengeance. Even after this, the Hermit might have reasoned himself into calmness; but unfortunately, on reaching Semlin, he perceived the bodies of several crusaders hanging from the walls. At this sight Peter gave way to frenzy 5 and, a craving for vengeance taking possession of his soul, he resolved to attack the city.
The crusaders were both ready and willing. Indeed, by this time, they wanted something new in the way of excitement, and with gladness received the order to take Scmlin. Seizing their weapons and sounding their trumpets, they rushed to the assault. No savage valor could resist such enthusiasm; and the Bulgarians, giving way, fled in terror. Peter would probably have been satisfied with this triumph; but the fury of the mob once let loose could not be restrained. With clamor and threats they pursued the Bulgarians, sword in hand, and never ceased from the slaughter till four thousand men had fallen.
The bodies of the slain, carried by the river to Belgrade, gave the inhabitants of the Bulgarian capital an idea of the carnage, and the crusaders had soon reason to regret their rashness. While they were at Semlin, and celebrating their victory, an army, assembled by the King of Hungary, suddenly approached the city. Alarm immediately appeared on every face. The crusaders were, in fact, in no condition to encounter a disciplined host; and Peter not unaware of the hopelessness of trying conclusions, gave orders for departure, passed the Moravia, and gained the Bulgarian territories.
% The peasant-pilgrims now found their progress unopposed. Not a Bulgarian was to be seen, cities and villages were alike deserted. This produced serious inconveniences. Neither guides nor provisions were to be obtained; and with no small difficulty Peter and his pedestrians found their way to Nissa.
Nissa was the city where Walter the Penniless had found relief. Such being the case, the inhabitants doubtless considered that from the pauper knight's friends they were entitled to forbearance. The aspect of Peter's army, however, was not such as to inspire confidence, and the Bulgarians, on viewing the motley multitude from their walls, became somewhat apprehensive. But Nissa was strongly fortified, and the crusaders did not entertain the idea of attacking it rashly.
At first, both parties appeared anxious to avoid giving offence. The pilgrims asked for provisions, with an intimation that they intended to pursue their journey. The Bulgarians supplied the provisions with a desire that they should be freed from the presence of their guests. Their intercourse, so far, was amicable; but unluckily, at this point, some of Peter's men imprudently set fire to mills on the river; and at sight of the flames, the citizens of Nissa rushing from the ramparts, fell upon the rear of the pilgrim-army, and after killing every one who came in their way, returned with a host of prisoners and wagon-loads of baggage.
The crusaders beheld the retreat of the Bulgarians with shouts of indignation, and Peter turned back to demand satisfaction. The warlike enthusiasm of the Hermit, however, had cooled since he fled before the king of Hungary; and perhaps he retained sufficient tincture of the soldiership acquired while riding in the ranks of the Count of Bouillon, to know how unfit his undisciplined followers were to encounter men accustomed to war. In any case, he expressed a wish to negotiate, and sent messengers to the Governor of Nissa, demanding restitution of the prisoners and baggage.
Peter's ambassadors proceeded into the city, and had an interview with the Governor. But that functionary ascribed their peaceful demeanor to fear and, though appealed to in the name of Christianity, he gave no hope of redress.
"You perceive we have taken the cross," said the ambassadors," and, as Christians, we appeal to you, holding the same religion."
"Go back to your general," said the Governor, sternly," and tell him that I can recognize in you nothing but enemies."
When the ambassadors returned to their comrades and reported the Governor's answer, the crusadera loudly expressed their indignation. Every ftoe im-medSatery flushed, and every blade glittered in, the sun. In vain Peter remonstrated. The spirit of in* subordination was rampant; and, charging the apostle of the crusade with infidelity to the cause, the exasperated mob brandished their weapons, advanced to the city, and attempted to scale the walls. Hepulsed by the Bulgarians, they redoubled their efforts, and, in spite of the remonstrances of Peter and his knights, mingled confusedly with their foes. For a time, the struggle was savagely maintained on both sides. But at length the crusaders gave way. Their rout was complete; and women, children, and equipages fell into the hands of their conquerors.
After witnessing the dispersion of his army, Peter retired to a hill near Nissa, where he passed the summer night deploring his defeat and digesting his mortification. In the meantime, however, his trumpets were continually sounded, and gradually thousands of the fugitives returned to his standard. With the wreck of his army, Peter marched through Thrace; and, rendered docile by disaster, his followers pursued their way without exposing themselves to further mishaps.
At length, in rags and poverty, the peasant-pilgrims carrying palms in their hands, appeared at Constantinople; and met with a hospitable reception from Alexis Commenus. The Emperor invited Peter to the palace, extolled his zeal, loaded him with presents, and distributed money and provisions among his followers. At the same time, he recommended Peter to defer the holy war till the arrival of the princes and barons who had assumed the cross.
The Emperor had early reason to repent of his advice. No sooner were the crusaders clothed and fed, than they began to cast their eyes wistfully on the wealth of Constantinople. In vain did Peter exert himself to keep their passions in check. The thieves and outlaws who had joined the crusade, now exercised far more influence than the Hermit At length they began to plunder the houses and churches in the suburbs; and Alexis, eager to get rid of such visitors, hastened their departure and furnished vessels to convey them across the Bosphorus.
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From John G. Edgar
The Crusades and the Crusaders, 1860
