The First Crusade: The Chronicle of Fulcher of Chartres and Other Source Materials

by Edward M. Peters

The First Crusade received its name and shape late. To its contemporaries, the event was a journey and the men who took part in it pilgrims. Only later were those participants dubbed Crusaders--"those signed with the Cross." In fact, many developments wit

Genres: History, Medieval, Nonfiction, Religion, College, War, Middle East

317 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

Reviews

[Wythe Marschall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious. Terrifying. Full of unlikely incidents and anti-heroes.

Anyone who enjoys the brutalia of Cormac McCarthy must eventually approach the rude/awe-filled medieval mind.

Why the Crusade? The "Peace of God," begun by a pointlessly evil hunt of the Jews in Mainz and Cologne, fueled by a distrust of everything Greek, ending in the desecration of the holiest Temple with blood, blood up the ankles of the chroniclers who themselves could not believe their eyes as the defenseless leaped from the high roof...

The Franks had no real leadership (the uber-egoist Ct. Raymond d'Tolouse vs. the Norman pirate Bohemond vs. zee Germans vs. the Turcopoles working for the Greeks vs. the peasants following mad Peter vs. the local Armenians and Syrians who rightly suspected the Franks the same as the Turks). They had only a few thousand men. Their strategy was rarely smarter than "try to win." Their horses died. Many left before they even took Antioch. Yet they won every battle, after however long a fight, and ultimately took Jerusalem.

Andso the Seljuq war-juggernaut was broken (by the deaths of its leading figures, from old age and wine, more than by the Franks), and the Middle East became a four-way Frank-Greek-Fatimid-Seljuq/Abbasid patchwork.

We're still arguing about what it meant. We still don't have peace in the Middle East. (The Ottoman-era sloth was the closest we got in early modernity.) WTF, Crusaders.

WTF.

I'm reading Runciman's First Crusade now. It has more pictures, but even Dr. Run-Dogg can't compete with the chroniclers themselves.

[clarino910 · Rating 2 out of 5]

[only read selections]

[Owen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read most of the work and found it a useful selection of sources on the First Crusade. I read this specifically to glean information about food impacting social relations during the First Crusade and there was ample on that. Nevertheless still enjoyable for the most part although Fulcher of Chartres is not my favorite chroniclers of the First Crusade

[Ainsley]

Read for HST 225

[Ella]

Read for HST 225: The Making of the Medieval World

[Iz Cerciello · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yay Peter the hermit (not really but what an icon)

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great resource for studying the Crusades, with excerpts from Christians, Muslims and Jews who lived through it.

My personal favorite was reading about the Christians who repelled Kerbogha's army at Antioch. From more than one Christian source, you read about how Jesus literally swept down with an army to help them, which frightened the far superior Muslim force and they took flight. A miracle victory for a smaller, starving army of Christians. From the Muslim side, you read about how the army deserted Kerbogha because he treated them badly, and because they did not want him to take Antioch, being that the army was comprised of peoples from other lands who did not want such an overbearing man to have control in the area.

[Mark Blackham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of nearly one hundred historical documents written by medieval sources, including chronicles, church letters, proclamations, and letters from the Crusaders themselves. It is an invaluable resource for anyone investigating this time period, or wanting to explore the medieval European mind. It is good to remember, however, that anyone who could write in those days generally came from the upper classes and much of the content is, of course, heavily biased.

[doowopapocalypse · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great resource for people approaching the history of the crusades. All of the texts inside are brief, and sometimes could do with some context, but it offers an interesting, rarely seen first hand account of life in the crusades.

[Tam]

The book contains a variety of rich sources on the First Crusade. Very useful as introductory material for students in the field of history: how to read and how to interpret?