The People’s Crusade and the Rhineland Jews

HIST 30049/18/13

People’s Crusade

• What is the People’s or Peasants’ Crusade?

Preaching the Crusade

• Estimated 127,000 recruits• ~10% were knights (less than 1/4th of all

knights)• ~40% support staff• Who are the otherhalf?• Why did so manysign up?

Raising Funds• Knights would require 4-5 years income• Drought• Alienation of patrimony• The Church and readily available cash• Influx of property into the market depresses values• Contested property rights• Why would you sell off your patrimony?

Beyond Urban II’s Call• Peter the Hermit (ca. 1050-1115)• Attempted pilgrimage but turned back by Seljuqs• Possible originator of the Crusades?• Organize paupers into a spiritually pure crusade• Possible connections with the Second Coming of

Christ

Crusading Fervor and the Rhineland Jews

• Count Emich of Flonheim• Visions of Jesus• Fulfill “end of times” prophecies to become the last world emperor• May 3, 1096 – Attacks on Jewish community in Speyer• May 18 – Attacks in Worms (800 killed)• May 25 – Battle against RuthardBishop of Mainz (1,100 killed)• May 29 – Receive protectionmoney from Cologne

Pogroms of 1096• Albert of Aachen• Why did these attacks happen?• How were they justified by the crusaders?• How could they defy the Church while on crusade?• Solomon bar Samson• How did the Jewishcommunities of the Rhinelandrespond?

Illustration from mid-13th centuryFrench Bible showing the execution of Jews.

Anti-Jewish Crusading

• Folkmar and Gottschalk• Priests leading smaller bands of crusaders• Attacking and extorting Jewish communities• Massacred by the King Coloman of Hungary for pillaging

The End of the “Peasants’ Crusade”

• Walter Sans Avoir (lord of Boissy-sans-Avoir)• Meets Italian pilgrims at Constantinople• Aug. 1, 1096 – Peter the Hermit arrives at Constantinople• Aug. 6 – Ferried across the Bosporus by Alexius I Comnenus

The End of the “Peasants’ Crusade”• Kibotos – rallying point• Rainaldo – leader of Italian and German contingent• French raid Nicaea• Rainaldo moves base beyond Nicaea• Sept. 29 – Turks surround Italians and Germans• Surrender and apostasy

The End of the “Peasants’ Crusade”

• Oct. 21 – French crusaders seek vengeance • Ambushed by Turks• Peter the Hermit fine, was in Constantinople

the whole time• What went wrong for the first wave of the

First Crusade?