In 1095 the Byzantine Empire was in trouble. Decades of civil war and political intrigue had left it weakened, and it was assailed relentlessly by the Seljuk Turks who had taken large swathes of territory from it. It was at risk of annihilation and so Emperor Alexios I Komnenos called for help from western Christendom. In response, Pope Urban II called for an army to travel to Byzantium and liberate the Holy Land from the Muslims. Tens of thousands of people answered the call and a vast horde or warrior, pilgrims and cap followers arrived in Constantinople in 1096.
By the summer of 1097 the armies of the First Crusade had captured the Seljuk Turk capital of Nicaea and were moving on towards their ultimate goal of Jerusalem. In their way stood the fortress city of Antioch. They could not simply march around the city as this would leave a secure, hostile garrison to their rear, so they set about besieging the city.
Antioch’s defences were formidable. It was surrounded by over three miles of walls that were twenty metres high and two metres thick, studded all along by guard towers. Not only this, but the walls to the south of the city ran up and over the craggy mass of Mount Silpius. The crusaders were unable to seal the passes that ran through the mountain, so the south side of the city remained open and porous, so much so that the citizens of Antioch were still able to take their flocks to graze on the slopes of the mountain.
Whilst the citizens of Antioch therefore continued in relative comfort, well defended with access to food and water, the crusading armies endured a hellish nine months encamped before the city. It was a bitter winter, and the rain poured. There was little food for the army, little fodder for the horses and beasts of burden, and little firewood available with which to cook or keep warm. Every attempt to assault the city failed.
By the spring of 1098 the situation was dire; many were deserting the army, the rest were starving. And then news came that a Muslim army was marching to relieve the city, led by Kerbogha of Mosul. Within weeks the crusaders would be trapped between the walls of Antioch and Kerbogha’s army and they would surely be slaughtered.
But, having been unable to take the city by force, at this crucial time the crusaders were finally able to take it by deception when a man named Firouz, who was in command of a stretch of the city walls, betrayed the city to them. Firouz allowed a force of Christian knights into the city and these men opened the city gates from within and let the rest of the army in which allowed the crusaders to sack the city.
Although they were now in possession of Antioch, the situation for the crusaders was hardly much better. Kerbogha arrived soon after they took the city and the beleaguered and starving crusaders were now under siege themselves. Morale was low.
It was at this moment, in June of 1098, that a little-known preacher named Peter Bartholomew approached Raymond of Toulouse, one of the most senior leaders of the crusade. Peter declared that Saint Andrew had come to him in a series of visions and had revealed to him the location of the Holy Lance – the lance that had pierced Jesus Christ’s side on the cross. Peter announced that the lance was buried somewhere within Antioch.
Raymond believed the preacher, others had their doubts. The spiritual leader of the crusade was Adhemar, Bishop of Le Puy, and he had strong doubts. Peter’s reputation, such as he had one, was that of a man who enjoyed earthly pleasures a little too much for a preacher and, as such, he seemed an odd choice of spokesman for the saint. Adhemar was probably also aware that another object purported to be the Holy Lance was sitting in the imperial treasury in Constantinople.
Whatever the leaders of the crusade thought in private, they were probably all conscious of what a valuable morale booster such a sacred relic could be.
On 14th of June a meteor was seen to fall into the Turkish camp and this was taken to be a propitious omen. The next day Peter Bartholomew led a party of men, including Raymond of Toulouse, to the cathedral of St Peter that stood in the middle of the city. The men lifted the floor of the church and dug all day. Just as it seemed that they were to be disappointed, Peter himself jumped into the trench and miraculously produced a piece of iron.
A cult quickly grew up around the Holy Lance, championed by Raymond of Toulouse. The crusading army was fired with a new zeal and then Saint Andrew appeared once again and advised Peter that the army must fast for five days to purify itself and then launch an attack on the besiegers. If they carried the Holy Lance into battle with them then they could not be defeated.
Fortunately, the saint’s new advice coincided conveniently with the conclusion that some of the other leaders of the crusade had already reached – that their only hope was an audacious sally from the city.
Raymond was ill at the time of the battle, but his chaplain carried the lance into the fray. An epic battle then took place. The crusader army was arrayed in six divisions, one of which was led by Bishop Adhemar himself. They artfully resisted an attempt by the Turkish cavalry to outflank them and, when the Turks set fire to the grassland on which they were fighting, the Christian army simply charged through the flames. Some of the crusaders testified that St George, St Demetrius and St Mercurius rode with them into battle.
It was a stunning victory. Perhaps this was due to the power of the lance, or perhaps it was due to the divisions within the Turkish ranks that were already causing Kerbogha’s army to fragment.
Many in the crusading army expected that, having lifted the siege, they would now make the short march to Jerusalem and complete their holy mission. But instead, there was a prolonged period of inertia. The leaders of the crusade, principally Raymond and Bohemond of Taranto, squabbled over who would keep control of Antioch. Despite having sworn an oath to Emperor Alexios to return all captured land to the empire, Bohemond wanted the city for himself. Raymond would not leave for Jerusalem if Bohemond refused to go as well, and everybody waited to see if Alexios would come to claim the city as was his right.
Then Adhemar died of a fever that was sweeping through the city (probably typhus). He had been an emollient influence on the leaders and without him their divisions only became more entrenched.
Peter Bartholomew, who had always resented Adhemar for his doubts about the lance, now said that Adhemar had come to him in a vision. For doubting the veracity of the relic, Peter said that Adhemar had spent two days in hell. The dead bishop also reportedly said that Bohemond should be given Antioch and everybody else should march to Jerusalem.
This was awkward. Raymond was still the champion of the lance but Peter, its discoverer, was now saying things that went against Raymond’s wishes. Raymond responded by saying that he still believed in the lance but no longer thought Peter’s visions were genuine which had the effect of undermining both Peter and the lance. Speaking out against Adhemar was also a tactical error on Peter’s part. Adhemar had been highly respected and, by drawing attention to the fact that Adhemar had doubted the lance’s veracity, Peter actually fuelled the growing scepticism that was spreading through the army.
Eventually, Raymond moved on from Antioch to continue the mission. The reality of the situation was that Alexios wasn’t coming to claim the city, Bohemond held most of Antioch anyway and was already acting as its de facto governor, and Raymond’s reputation was suffering. His only good option was to lead the crusade onwards.
However, he didn’t lead the armies straight to Jerusalem as many would have expected. Instead, he laid siege to the town of Arqa. This siege did not go well and Arqa proved itself to be another town that the crusaders could not take by force. The army soon started to agitate again to march on Jerusalem, but Raymond refused, insisting that they take Arqa. Peter Bartholomew then preached that Saint Andrew had visited him yet again and commanded that the crusaders assault the town, just as Raymond wished.
For many this was the last straw. This latest vision, that again simply seemed to reflect the will of a powerful man, led to anger and to Peter being openly ridiculed.
Up to this point Peter comes across as a cynical, manipulative character but what happens next suggests that he truly did believe in the power of the Holy Lance. It may be that he was a genuinely credulous man who was easily influenced by news he heard around the crusader camps and this news found its way into his visions. Perhaps he was a simple man who was being manipulated by more powerful men. Whatever the case, in his fury at being ridiculed, Peter demanded that he undergo an ordeal by fire. Therefore, a passageway was created between two walls of burning logs.
On Good Friday 1099, with lance in hand, Peter passed into the flaming passageway entrusting his safety to God and to the power of the relic. He emerged from the other end terribly burned and lingered in agony for another twelve days before he died.
The Holy Lance of Antioch was now thoroughly discredited. Raymond was humiliated for his credulity and this, perhaps, contributed to the fact that he eventually relented, abandoned the siege of Arqa, and marched towards Jerusalem and the ultimate goal of the crusade.
The Honour Bound Trilogy is out now, charting the journey of an Anglo-Saxon warrior from household warrior to a general of the Byzantine Empire on the First Crusade. Buy the first book by clicking on the link below.
