Peter the Hermit
Peter the Hermit (also: Peter von Amiens or Petrus von Amiens , French Pierre l'Ermite , * around 1050 near Amiens ; † July 8, 1115 in Neufmoutier near Huy ) was a French preacher at the time of the First Crusade . He had already started a pilgrimage to Jerusalem before 1095, i.e. before Pope Urban II called for the liberation of Jerusalem on November 27, 1095 , but had been intercepted, abused and sent back by the Seljuks in Asia Minor .
“His contemporaries knew him as“ Little Peter ”- chtou or kiokio in the dialect of Picardy - but later the hermit robe that he usually wore gave him the name“ Peter the Hermit ”, under which he was better known in history is known. ” Anna Komnena calls him“ Koukoupetros ”, Wilhelm von Tire says“ he was known as a hermit, both in terms of facts and name, ” Guibert von Nogent calls him“ a certain Peter the Hermit ”who“ like a hermit lived dressed like a monk ”, and Albert von Aachen writes:“ Peter by name, formerly a hermit ”.
Illustration from William of Tire : Histoire d'Outremer
After the Pope's call, Peter became the initiator and leader of the so-called People's Crusade , in which thousands of enthusiastic but militarily inexperienced adventurers took part. He preached in Berry , in the area around Orléans , in Champagne and Lorraine and then moved via Aachen to Cologne , where he arrived on April 12, 1096, Holy Saturday. There were soon thousands of followers in his wake and an estimated 15,000 by the time he reached Cologne.
On Easter Tuesday, part of the procession started under the leadership of Walter Sans-Avoir , Peter and another part followed at the end of Easter week around April 20 (for details see: People's Crusade ), the rest remained under the direction of Peter's followers Gottschalk and Volkmar as well as Count Emich von Leiningen first of all back (for details see: German Crusade ).
It is a widespread misconception that Peter and his group are responsible for the pogroms of the Jews , to which hundreds of people fell victim in May 1096 in Speyer and above all in Worms and Mainz ( Gezerot Tatnu ); Walter and Peter traveled up the Rhine and Main without incident, then down the Danube to the Balkans . Instead, Count Emicho , whose group moved up the Rhine from Cologne a little later, is responsible for the pogroms .
Peter reached Niš in early July , Sofia in mid-July and Constantinople in early August . On August 3, he crossed the Bosporus and invaded Seljuk territory. Here, the military incapacity of all involved took revenge when it came to a confrontation with the Seljuks on October 21 and the train was completely wiped out.
Peter, who had previously traveled back to Constantinople to provide refreshments and thus escaped the massacre, now joined the descending Norman and French knights of the First Crusade. With these he also reached Jerusalem, but no longer played a leading role.
After the end of the crusade he returned to France and founded the Neufmoutier monastery near Huy, where he died on July 8, 1115.
literature
- Björn Heymer: PETER von Amiens (Peter the Hermit). In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 7, Bautz, Herzberg 1994, ISBN 3-88309-048-4 , Sp. 330-331.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Steven Runciman , History of the Crusades, Book 2, Chapter 3
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Peter the Hermit |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Peter of Amiens; Peter the Hermit; Pierre l'Ermite |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French preacher at the time of the First Crusade |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1050 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | at Amiens |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 8, 1115 |
| Place of death | Neufmoutier near Huy |