II. Peter the Hermit
| pilgrimage | exposure | admittance | enthusiasm |
| resurrection | sanction | earnestly | separated |
| cardinals | council | military | Constantinople |
Peter the Hermit was born in France. He was in turn a soldier, a priest, and a hermit. At length he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. On reaching Jerusalem, he saw with such sadness the wrongs suffered by the Christians that he said in his heart, “I will rescue the tomb of our Lord from the heathen.”
During his stay in the Holy City, he went often to the Church of the Resurrection. One day he beheld in a vision the Lord, who directed him to go forth and do his work. He at once returned to Europe. His plan was to raise a great army and with it drive the Moslems from the Holy Land. But he must first obtain the consent and aid of Pope Urban II.
So he traveled to Rome and was permitted to tell the Pope his plan. What a picture they made! The Pope sat in state clothed in rich robes. His cardinals and attendants were around him. Before him stood the pilgrim, his face tanned with exposure and his clothes all travel-stained, telling of the grievous wrongs suffered by the Christians in Jerusalem. No wonder Pope Urban wept. The Pope gave his sanction to Peter to preach throughout Europe, urging the people to go and rescue the blessed tomb.
Peter the Hermit preaching the Crusade
Peter, light of heart but strong of purpose, started forth in the year 1094. He was clad in a woolen garment over which he wore a coarse brown mantle. His feet and head he left bare. He was a small man, and if you had seen him, you would not have called him fine looking. Still, he was never refused admittance into the presence of prince or king.
The poor loved him for his gentleness, and the rich loaded him with gifts. These, however, he never kept for himself, but gave to those who were in need.
At Clermont, in November, 1095, the Pope held a council of all the cardinals, bishops, and priests who stood high in the Church. He told them what Peter meant to do, asking them to render him aid. So earnestly did he speak, that when he had finished, they all shouted together, “God wills it! God wills it!”
“Then,” said Pope Urban, “let the army of the Lord when it rushes upon its enemies shout that cry, ‘God wills it.’”
He commanded all who should take up arms in the cause to wear on the shoulder a cross, reminding them that Christ had said, “He that does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” This is why the wars were called the Crusades, for the word “crusade” means literally “the taking of the cross.”
A great army was soon assembled and ready to march. All the men were eager and wild with enthusiasm, but most of them had never had any military training. How would they succeed in that long and toilsome journey across sea and land to Palestine?
They soon began to meet with trouble. In their haste, they had not provided nearly enough food for themselves. When that gave out, they began to take whatever they needed from the people along the way. In Hungary they did much harm to towns and farms. This made the inhabitants very angry, and they came out to fight the crusaders. Many of the crusaders were killed and the rest were scattered in flight.
At length Peter was separated from his followers, and wandered for some time alone in the forest. Then, in order to make his whereabouts known to any who might be in the same forest or near, he blew his horn. In answer to his call several companies of his friends soon appeared. So with only a small number of those who at first started out, Peter at length reached Constantinople.
At that time Constantinople was the capital of the Roman Empire in the East and its ruler was the Emperor Alexis. The emperor received the crusaders kindly. Here Peter the Hermit was rejoined by a large force of his followers who had been separated from him during the march.
After leaving Constantinople, the crusaders entered the land of the Turks, through which they must march before reaching the Holy Land. A terrible battle was soon fought with the Moslems, and most of the crusaders perished. Peter now saw that with the few men who were left he could do nothing; he therefore decided to find a place of security among the mountains and wait there until aid should come. There we shall leave him for a time.