Peter the Hermit


Ascetic and preacher. Contemporary historians agree that he was one of the numerous preachers of the Crusades; nothing supports the contention of later chroniclers that he instigated the First Crusade, of which Pope Blessed Urban II was sole initiator. The reason for imputing it to Peter was doubtless to attribute it to the ascetics so popular at that time. The band he led to Constantinople in 1096 was massacred nearby while he was away seeking help for them. Afterward joining Godfrey of Bouillon, his part was obscure, but in spite attempted desertion he was among the envoys to Kerbûga. Returning to Europe, he founded the monastery of Neufmoustier.