464 OiUlhies of Europe aji History were constantly falling a prey to every form of disaster — starvation, slavery, disease, and death — in their persistent endeavors to reach the far-away Holy Land. Ihe First Crusade, 1096 Hostilities between the Greeks and the crusaders Section 79. The P^irst Crusade The most conspicuous figures of the long period of the Crusades are not, however, to be found among the lowly fol- lowers of Peter the Hermit, but are the knights, in their long coats of flexible armor. A year after the summons issued at Clermont great armies of fighting men had been collected in the West under distinguished leaders — the Pope speaks of three hundred thousand soldiers. Of the various divisions which were to meet in Constantinople, the following were the most important : the volunteers from Provence under the papal legate and Count Raymond of Toulouse ; inhabitants of Ger- many, particularly of Lorraine, under Godfrey of Bouillon and his brother Baldwin, both destined to be rulers of Jerusalem ; and lastly, an army of French and of the Normans of southern Italy under Bohemond and Tancred.^ The distinguished noblemen who have been mentioned were not actually in command of real armies. ' Each crusader under- took the expedition on his own account and was only obedient to any one's orders so long as he pleased. The knights and men naturally grouped themselves around the more noted lead- ers, but considered themselves free to change chiefs when they pleased. The leaders themselves reserved the right to look out for their own special interests rather than sacrifice themselves to the good of the expedition. Upon the arrival of the crusaders at Constantinople it quickly became clear that they had not much more in common with the " (Greeks " '^ than with the Turks. Emperor Alexius ordered ' For the routes taken by the different crusading armies, see the accompanying map. '^ The people of the Eastern Empire were called Greeks because the Greek language continued to be used in Constantinople.
