First Crusade - 1096 - 1099
A brief description and outline of the Cause of the Crusades is as follows:
- The massacre of 3000 Christian Pilgrims in Jerusalem prompted First Crusade
- Religious Conviction of crusaders
- The Instinct to Fight
- The Preaching of Peter the Hermit
- The Threat of the Turks
- The Council of Clermont led by Pope Urban II - "It is the will of God"
Leaders of First Crusade
The leaders of First Crusade included some of the most distinguished representatives of European knighthood. Count Raymond of Toulouse headed a band of volunteers from Provence in southern France. Godfrey of Bouillon and his brother Baldwin commanded a force of French and Germans from the Rhinelands. Normandy sent Robert, William the Conqueror's eldest son. The Normans from Italy and Sicily were led by Bohemond, a son of Robert Guiscard, and his nephew Tancred.
