People's Crusade in the context of "Rhineland massacres"

The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first and most successful of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, which were initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. Their aim was to return the Holy Land—which had been conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate in the 7th century—to Christian rule. By the 11th century, although Jerusalem had then been ruled by Muslims for hundreds of years, the practices of the Seljuk rulers in the region began to threaten local Christian populations, pilgrimages from the West and the Byzantine Empire itself. The earliest impetus for the First Crusade came in 1095 when Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos sent ambassadors to the Council of Piacenza to request military support in the empire's conflict with the Seljuk-led Turks. This was followed later in the year by the Council of Clermont, at which Pope Urban II gave a speech supporting the Byzantine request and urging faithful Christians to undertake an armed pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

This call was met with an enthusiastic popular response across all social classes in western Europe. Thousands of predominantly poor Christians, led by the French priest Peter the Hermit, were the first to respond. What has become known as the People's Crusade passed through Germany and indulged in wide-ranging anti-Jewish activities, including the Rhineland massacres. On leaving Byzantine-controlled territory in Anatolia, they were annihilated in a Turkish ambush led by the Seljuk Kilij Arslan I at the Battle of Civetot in October 1096.

Peter the Hermit (c. 1050 – 8 July 1115 or 1131), also known as Little Peter, Peter of Amiens (French: Pierre d'Amiens) or Peter of Achères (French: Pierre d'Achères), was a Roman Catholic priest of Amiens and a key figure during the military expedition from France to Jerusalem in 1096 known as the People's Crusade. Amongst Jews he is best remembered for the massacres of Jews that occurred under his leadership and the precedent they set for subsequent Crusades. He has sometimes been called "Blessed" Peter the Hermit, although he has not been beatified in the Catholic Church.

After leading his followers through Europe, Peter’s armies were almost entirely annihilated by the Seljuk Turks, forcing him to winter in Constantinople and join up with the Prince’s Crusade. After that, he continued to have a leadership role in varying degrees of significance as the Crusaders invaded the Levant and took Jerusalem.

The Battle of Civetot was fought between the forces of the People's Crusade and of the Seljuk Turks of Anatolia on 21 October 1096. The battle brought an end to the People's Crusade; some of the survivors joined the First Crusade.

The popular crusades were several movements "animated by crusading enthusiasm" but unsanctioned by the Church. They contrast with the "official crusades" authorised by the Papacy. While the latter consisted of professional armies led by apostolic legates, the popular crusades were generally disorganized and consisted of peasants, artisans and only the occasional knight. The term "popular crusade" is a modern scholarly convention. The distinction between the "hierarchical" (or official) and the popular impulse in crusading was first made by historian Leopold von Ranke in the nineteenth century.

These events demonstrate the power of crusading ideas and the engagement of non-noble believers with the great events of Latin Christendom. All crusades that were not preached officially were illicit and unaccompanied by papal representation. But it was not until the 1320s that the papacy criticised a popular crusade. The objectives were traditional, such as regaining Jerusalem or liberating the captive King Louis IX of France. Victories in the Smyrniote crusade of 1344 aroused mass enthusiasm in Tuscany and Lombardy. Those who took part in popular crusades perceived themselves as authentic crusaders, evident in the use of pilgrimage and crusade emblems, including the cross.

The following is an overview of the Christian forces of the First Crusade, including the armies of the European noblemen of the "Princes' Crusade", the Byzantine army, independent Crusaders, as well as the People's Crusade and the subsequent Crusade of 1101 and other European campaigns prior to the Second Crusade beginning in 1147. The total strength of the armies of the Princes' Crusade is estimated at 40,000, including 4,500 nobles. It has been estimated that no more than 20% were non-combatants and a cavalry-to-infantry ratio of about 1:7, for rough estimates of just below 5,000 cavalry and 30,000 infantry at the beginning of the expedition.

Unless otherwise noted, references are to the on-line database of Riley-Smith, et al., and the hyperlinks therein provide details including original sources. The names below are also referenced in the Riley-Smith tome.

Walter Sans Avoir (in French Gautier Sans-Avoir; died 21 October 1096) was the lord of Boissy-sans-Avoir in the Île-de-France. His name is often mistranslated as Walter the Penniless. While the words in his name do literally mean "Walter without having", the name actually derives from that of his demesne (and, ultimately, the motto of his family), Sans avoir Peur ("Fearless"). As lieutenant to Peter the Hermit, he co-led the People's Crusade at the beginning of the First Crusade.

Emicho was a count in the Rhineland in the late 11th century. He is also commonly referred to as Emicho of Leiningen or Emich of Flonheim, and not to be confused with Bishop Emicho of Leiningen. In 1096, he was the leader of the Rhineland massacres (sometimes referred to as the "German Crusade of 1096") which were a series of mass murders of Jews that took place during the People's Crusade.