Part 24

It may be noted that these letters cannot be separated from the role of the Pope in the Council of Clermont, as they were indeed a continuation of his role as propagator of the Crusades.105 The organised mentality of Urban II It may be noted that the letters sent by the Pope to promote his Crusader enterprise offer us a number of details which do not appear in the speech of Clermont, including his approval of the role of the papal legate Adhemar, Bishop of Le Puy, and the obligation to obey his commands as if they came from the Pope himself. It was also stated that monks and priests were not permitted to go to the East unless they had permission from their bishops, and the abbots of monasteries were also forbidden to go; this was aimed at avoiding rebellion and chaos. We should realize that the extant documentary sources show us the precise, organised mentality of Urban II. Hence we see that he had a comprehensive vision of the Crusader enterprise — at that early stage at least — and he was very keen to advise those who were going to take part in the journey to the east of the necessity of blind obedience to his commands and the commands of their direct supervisors. We also sense that the Pope insisted on the idea of uniting the Christian world. It is as if what was happening to the Christians in the east — according to the biased claims of the Europeans — was a matter of the utmost concern to the inhabitants of Western Europe, and that the help of the Franks and others for the eastern Christians was an important part of their duties as Christians.106 Whatever the case, the natural outcome of the organizing, planning and propaganda role played by the Pope and senior clergy was the commencement of the Crusades. What helped them with this enterprise was choosing the right time for war. Peter the Hermit Peter the Hermit was moved by the speech of Pope Urban II, and he had a powerful impact on people. He rode a donkey, travelling from one city to another. He travelled barefoot, wearing coarse clothing. The historian Robert the Monk said concerning him: This Peter was the pioneer of the Crusades. He superseded the priests and bishops in piety, and refrained from eating bread and meat; rather he lived on fish and did not permit himself more than a little ale and coarse food.107 Despite the rough appearance of Peter the Hermit and his dishevelled state, he had a strange power that stirred the zeal of men and women and attracted the masses to him. He was able to attract nearly fifteen thousand followers among the poor who followed him from one country to another with great fervour, despite the fact that most of them did not know anything about the use of weapons or horsemanship, nor had they ever taken part in battle before. But they were influenced by the impassioned words of Peter the Hermit and his appearance, which made them rush to follow him with overwhelming enthusiasm without thinking of any other possibilities. His fiery speeches were accompanied by weeping, wailing and heaping curses upon the 'infidels', and the promise of the Lord's forgiveness for those who were marching to save the sepulchre of Christ; his imaginative eloquence stirred people's hearts.108 We would like to point out that the preachers who played a role similar to that of Peter the Hermit in propagating and promoting the Crusades numbered in the hundreds and thousands.109 People were moved by these preachers. The historian Balderic, who lived at the time of these events, noted that some of the Christian masses drew the sign of the cross on their chests using branding irons, in an outward show of their zeal and to delude others that this sign had come to them by miraculous means.110 Thus they all began preparing to go to the holy places in Palestine after hearing these words, and most of them sold their possessions in order to equip themselves for the journey, hoping to erase their sins and earn God's approval. Parents were happy to see their children leaving and wives rejoiced when they saw their husbands preparing to set out. This universal zeal was unprecedented and their conviction of the lightness of their cause was strong.111 As great as the joy was of those who left their countries to join the first Crusade, the regret and sorrow of those who did not go out on that campaign was just as great.112 The Muslims are unaware of what is being planned for them The Islamic state at the time of the Umayyads had an intelligence system that was able to penetrate the ranks of their opponents on both the local and international levels. The spies of Mu'awiyah were able to penetrate the Byzantine court. I have discussed this topic in my book about the Umayyad state. When it comes to the Abbasid state, however, we do not see in the Islamic sources any record of any fiery speech delivered by the Abbasid or Fatimid caliphs in reaction to the speech of Urban II, or at least sense that the Muslims were aware of what had occurred at the Council of Clermont and afterwards.