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Geoffrey II, surnamed Jordan, was the lord of Preuilly from 1067 and count of Vendôme from 1085, the son of Geoffrey II of Preuilly and Almodis of Blois.
Bernard Ato IV was the Viscount of Nîmes of the Trencavel family from 1074 to his death. Bernard Ato was the son of Raymond Bernard of Nîmes and Ermengarde of Carcassonne.
Hugh II Bardoul of Broyes, son of Barthelemy de Broyes and Elixabeth de Valois. Seigneur of Broyes, Beaufort, d'Arc-en-Barrois, and Charmentray. Hugh allegedly attacked that lands of his grandfather Raoul after his death in 1074 with the consent of King Philip, although it seems more likely that the attack was carried out by his father or guardian. Hugh joined with the Lombard contingent on the second wave of the First Crusade, dated to late 1100, serving in the army of Stephen of Blois.
Renaud II of Clermont was son of Hugh I, Count of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis and Marguerite de Roucy. Renaud became Count of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis upon his father's death in 1101.
Robert of Bounalbergo, son of Gerard (Girard) of Buanalbergo and his wife whose name is unknown. Gerard was father to Alberada of Buonalbergo, who married Robert Guiscard and mother to Bohemond I of Antioch.
Raymond Pilet (1075–1120), the only child of Bernard I Pilet of Narbonne and his wife, whose name is unknown. Seigneur of Alès. Bernard was the son of Raymond II, Viscount of Narbone from 1066 to 1067. The name “pilet” refers to a fur that the nobility wore over their cuirass and coats-of-arms. Raymond distinguished himself as a combatant during the First Crusade.
The army of Hugh the Great was formed after the Council of Clermont, led by Pope Urban II in November 1095. Hugh, son of Henry I of France, and his wife Anne of Kiev, was Count of Vermandois, de jure uxoris, due to his marriage to Adelaide of Vermandois. In August 1096, Hugh and his small army left France in prima profectione, the first army of the third wave to leave France, and travelled to Bari, Italy, and then crossed the Adriatic Sea to the Byzantine Empire, in an armada commanded by Arnout II, Count of Aarschot. When Hugh entered Constantinople, he carried a Vexillum sancti Petri, a banner given to him by the pope, Hugh being the last such noble to carry the banner.
The army of Godfrey of Bouillon, the duke of Lower Lorraine, in response to the call by Pope Urban II to both liberate Jerusalem from Muslim forces and protect the Byzantine Empire from similar attacks. Godfrey and his army, one of several Frankish forces deployed during the First Crusade, was among the first to arrive in Constantinople. The army was unique in that it included among its warriors the first three kings of Jerusalem, although Godfrey preferred the title Defender of the Holy Sepulchre, Advocatus Sancti Sepulchri, as he believed that the true King of Jerusalem was Christ. This article focuses on the members of the army rather that its exploits which are described in detail in Godfrey’s biography as well as numerous sources listed below.
The first siege of Arsuf, originally Apollonia, took place in 1099, just after the First Crusade. It was carried out by Godfrey of Bouillon after the city failed to pay a previously agreed tribute. The attempt to capture the city failed for want of ships.
The army of Raymond of Saint-Gilles was one of the first to be formed after Pope Urban II called for the First Crusade. Raymond formed a Provençal army and left his County of Toulouse in October 1096, traveling over the land route. He was the only leader of a major army that did not swear an oath of fealty to Byzantine emperor Alexius I Komnenos.
The armies of Bohemond of Taranto, formed in 1097, include a major component of the First Crusade. He is regarded as the real leader of the First Crusade. He formed a second army in 1107 to defend Antioch but instead used it to attack the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos, resulting in the Treaty of Devol, codifying Bohemond’s defeat. Runciman estimates that the first army included 500 cavalry and 3500 infantrymen and other estimates that the second army was at 34,000 personnel strength are likely greatly exaggerated.
Robert II of Flanders' army was formed shortly after that of his kinsman Godfrey of Bouillon, arriving in Constantinople considerably later. His wife Clementia of Burgundy was regent of Flanders in his absence. The known members of the army, mostly Flemish, included the ones listed below, as reported in histories of the First Crusade. 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, Appendix I: Preliminary List of Crusaders. Those references are not shown unless they appear elsewhere in the text of the book. Articles that are hyperlinked to a more detailed article in this encyclopædia rely on the latter for references.
The army of Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy, left for the Holy Land on the First Crusade. Robert was the eldest son of William the Conqueror and brother to William Rufus, king of England. He was reportedly so poor that he often had to stay in bed for lack of clothes. In order to raise money for the crusade he mortgaged his duchy to his brother William II of England. His army joined the contingent of Robert II, Count of Flanders, and Stephen, Count of Blois.
Ilger Bigod was a Norman knight in the army of Bohemond of Taranto and constable of Tancred, Prince of Galilee. He fought with Bohemond's army in the First Crusade, not returning home until after 1099.
The armies of Count Stephen of Blois participated in both the First Crusade of 1096 and the Crusade of 1101. Stephen apparently fled the battlefield at the Siege of Antioch and returned home. He was coerced by his wife, Adela of Normandy, to form another army to return to the Holy Land in 1101, accompanied by Count Stephen I of Burgundy.
The army of William IX on the Crusade of 1101 was formed by William IX “the Troubador,” Duke of Aquitaine, to fight in the minor Crusade of 1101. His army was destroyed by the Turks at Heraclea. Defeated, he reached Antioch with only six companions still alive.
The following is an overview of the armies of First Crusade, including the armies of the European noblemen of the "Princes' Crusade", the Byzantine army, a number of 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.
Baldwinand Arnold(Ernoul) of Beauvais were brothers who participated in the First Crusade, although it is uncertain which army they were associated with. Their stories are recorded in the Chanson d'Antioche.
Corba of Thorigne, Lady of Amboise, daughter of Suplice I, beheaded for no known reason, and daughter-in-law of Fulk IV le Réchin, Count of Anjou. She inherited one of the three chateaux of Amboise.
Geoffrey Burel of Amboise was Lord of Amboise jure uxoris and a knight in the Crusade of 1101, fighting in the army of William IX. Note that this individual is not the same as the Geoffrey Burel who was a commander in the service of Peter the Hermit.
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