Gottfried Burel

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Gottfried Burel ( Latin Godefridus Burel , French Godefroi Burel , * in Étampes ; † after October 1096) was a subordinate of the People's Crusade .

The chronicler Albert von Aachen mentions Gottfried in his chronicle about the People's Crusade. According to this, Gottfried was born in the city of Étampes and traveled with the main army of the People's Crusade under Peter of Amiens , which crossed the Kingdom of Hungary in the direction of Constantinople in 1096 . Because of his position among the crusaders, it is likely that Gottfried was a knight .

At the end of June there was an incident with local traders, as a result of which the crusaders under Gottfried's leadership plundered the Hungarian town of Semlin and the Byzantine Belgrade . On July 3rd they reached the Byzantine city ​​of Niš , where the city commander promised to provide them with provisions and to order an escort to Constantinople for them if they immediately moved on peacefully and provided hostages as a pledge for their peacefulness. The crusaders consented to handing over Gottfried as a hostage, among others. After the crusader army had moved on as agreed, he returned safely to the army. After some German crusaders set a mill on fire in a renewed dispute with locals, the city commander of Niš sent his garrison against the crusaders to take some crusaders hostage. The skirmish escalated, and in the ensuing skirmish, the crusaders were routed with devastating losses. Gottfried, Peter von Amiens and a few other commanders escaped the battle and holed up on a mountain. After the Niš garrison withdrew, they occupied the abandoned city of Bela Palanka , where they regrouped their scattered army. On July 12, they met the announced Byzantine escort near Sofia , who treated them benevolently and safely delivered them to Constantinople on August 1. On August 6, they crossed the Bosporus and united with other armies of the People's Crusade that had previously traveled, such as the one under Walter Sans-Avoir .

They reached Nicomedia and began to pillage the surrounding area, where the Crusaders quarreled over their leadership. Peter von Amiens lost his influence, Gottfried Burel took command of the French, while the Germans and Italians elected an Italian named Rainald as their leader. The Germans undertook a raid on Nicaea and were defeated by the Rum Seljuks at Xerigordon in early October 1096 . The other crusaders, however, received a rumor that the Germans had conquered Nicaea, which led to an excited departure in order to still be able to share in the spoils of war. When the truth about the events in Xerigordon reached the Crusaders, the excitement turned into panic. Most of the leaders advocated waiting for reinforcements in the secure fortified camp, but Gottfried, who had the largest following among the masses, prevailed, arguing that they were cowardly if they did not attack the Rum Seljuks immediately . On the morning of October 21st, the entire able-bodied section of the army marched on Nicaea and was promptly caught in a Rum-Seljuk ambush three miles from the camp. Panic broke out immediately and within minutes the crusaders were retreating to the camp. Most of them were killed or enslaved. Gottfried Burel managed to withdraw into an abandoned castle with 3,000 men. The Byzantines eventually lifted the ensuing siege and led the survivors back to Constantinople, where they waited for the arrival of the main army of the First Crusade , which they joined.

Gottfried's future fate is uncertain.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See Albert von Aachen: Chronicon Hierosolymitnum. Book 1, chapter 7
  2. ↑ See Albert von Aachen: Chronicon Hierosolymitnum. Book 1, chapter 7
  3. ↑ See Steven Runciman : History of the Crusades. CH Beck, Munich 1995, ISBN 3406399606 , p. 122.
  4. ↑ See Steven Runciman: History of the Crusades. CH Beck, Munich 1995, ISBN 3406399606 , p. 123.
  5. ↑ See Albert von Aachen: Chronicon Hierosolymitnum. Book 1, chapter 9
  6. ↑ See Albert von Aachen: Chronicon Hierosolymitnum. Book 1, chapter 12
  7. ↑ See Kenneth M. Setton (ed.), Marshall W. Baldwin: A History of the Crusades. The first hundred years. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison 1969, p. 283
  8. ↑ See Albert von Aachen: Chronicon Hierosolymitnum. Book 1, chapter 14

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personal data
SURNAME Gottfried Burel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French crusader
DATE OF BIRTH 11th century
DATE OF DEATH after 1096