Charismatic Leaders of The First Crusade: The Use of Preaching and Miraculous Events in Motivating the Crusaders to Take "The Holy Land”

Abstract

The first crusade, and the idea of crusading itself, has been understood in many diverse ways throughout the centuries since the events took place. This theses examines the role of preaching and the use of miraculous events during the first crusade in an attempt to understand more about the motivations and experiences of both the leaders and normal soldiers who embarked on the armed pilgrimage. I have examined and analyzed both contemporary chronicles from the crusade itself to understand the events of the campaign from their perspective, as well as sources from Jewish authors and Islamic histories of the events which paint a very different picture of the role preaching and the miraculous played in the crusade. I argue that the belief and disbelief in the miracles reported on the campaign as well as the preaching that surrounded them had an important and necessary impact on the events of the crusade, from its inception to its conclusion. Furthermore, I shed light on events such as the massacre of Jewish communities in the Rhineland which have often been left out of traditional crusade narratives.