Holding formation was—and always has been—a first principle of competent military conduct, but in the panic on Mount Cadmus, what poor orders had been given were ignored, and many soldiers had run or fought as they saw fit. That had to change. In taking an oath of fraternity to the Templars, each of Louis’s pilgrim warriors now accepted that it was his sworn duty to obey Gilbert and his deputies: to stand firm or take cover as they were told.
