The armies of Bohemond of Taranto, formed in 1097, include a major component of the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ru ...

. He is regarded as the real leader of the First Crusade. He formed a second army in 1107 to defend Antioch but instead used it to attack the Byzantine emperor

Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...

, resulting in the Treaty of Devol, codifying Bohemond’s defeat. Runciman estimates that the first army included 500 cavalry and 3500 infantrymen (plus clergy and non-combatants) and other estimates that the second army was at 34,000 personnel strength are likely greatly exaggerated. The known members of the army, mostly French, included the ones listed below, as reported in histories of the First Crusade. Unless otherwise noted, references are to the on-line database of Riley-Smith, et al, and the hyperlinks therein provide details including original sources. The names below are also referenced in the Riley-Smith tome, Appendix I: Preliminary List of Crusaders. Those references are not shown unless they appear elsewhere in the text of the book. Articles that are hyperlinked to a more detailed article in this encyclopædia rely on the latter for references. Participants are from the First Crusade unless otherwise noted.

Bohemond’s Household and Close Family

Bohemond likely travelled with a large contingent of servants, vassals and family members. The known ones include: * Bohemond’s half-sister, likely Matilda, daughter of

Robert Guiscard Robert Guiscard (; Modern ; – 17 July 1085) was a Norman adventurer remembered for the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily. Robert was born into the Hauteville family in Normandy, went on to become count and then duke of Apulia and Calabri ...

and his second wife

Sikelgaita Sikelgaita (also ''Sichelgaita'' or ''Sigelgaita'') (1040 – 16 April 1090) was a Lombard princess, the daughter of Prince Guaimar IV of Salerno and second wife of Duke Robert Guiscard of Apulia. She commanded troops in her own right. Life Sh ...

* Guy, Duke of Amalfi and Sorrento, half-brother of Bohemond * Mala Corona (meaning the badly crowned or ill tonsured), servant of Bohemond * Robert of Buonalbergo, standard-bearer and constable to Bohemond. He returned to the west at some point before 1112 and was murdered in 1121 under unknown circumstances. He was buried at the Abbey of St. Sophia in Benevento. He first joined the Crusades under the Army of Hugh the Great. *

Tancred Tancred or Tankred is a masculine given name of Germanic origin that comes from ''thank-'' (thought) and ''-rath'' (counsel), meaning "well-thought advice". It was used in the High Middle Ages mainly by the Normans (see French Tancrède) and espe ...

, nephew of Bohemond * Ilger Bigod, Constable of Tancred. He commanded 200 knights in the captured Jerusalem and returned with a relic of the hair of Mary, mother of Christ. * Robert Marchisus, brother of Tancred * William Claret, Duke of Apulia, nephew of Bohemond (1107) * William of Normandy, Lord of Tortosa, illegitimate son of Robert Curthose (1107) * Hermann of Cannae, cousin of Bohemond * Rainald of Salerno, son of

William of the Principate William of Hauteville ( 1027 – 1080) was one of the younger sons of Tancred of Hauteville by his second wife Fressenda. He is usually called ''Willermus'' instead of ''Wilelmus'' in Latin annals and so is often called ''Guillerm'' instead of ''Gui ...

, brother of

Richard of Salerno Richard of Salerno ( 1060 – 1114), was a participant in the First Crusade and governor of the County of Edessa from 1104 to 1108. He was the cousin of Richard of Hauteville. Biography Richard was born around 1060, the third son of William of t ...

, and so related to Bohemond.

Clergy

As with all crusader armies, a large number of clergy travelled with the combatants. This included: * The Bishop of Martirano, name unknown, who supported the election of Arnulf of Chocques as patriarch of Jerusalem, but died shortly after the fall of Jerusalem *

Gerard, Archbishop of York Gerard (died 21 May 1108) was Archbishop of York between 1100 and 1108 and Lord Chancellor of England from 1085 until 1092. A Norman, he was a member of the cathedral clergy at Rouen before becoming a royal clerk under King William I of Engla ...

(1107) * Maurice of Bourdin, Bishop of Coimbra (possibly later the Antipope Gregory VIII) (1107) * Ralph of Caen, Chaplin (1107) * Siger, Abbot of St. Peter at Ghent (1107).

Historians

A single known historian travelled with Bohemond: * The author of ''

Gesta Francorum The ''Gesta Francorum'' (Deeds of the Franks), or ''Gesta Francorum et aliorum Hierosolimitanorum'' (Deeds of the Franks and the other pilgrims to Jerusalem), is a Latin chronicle of the First Crusade by an anonymous author connected with Bohemon ...

'', a cleric whose name remains unknown.

Knights and other Soldiers from the First Crusade

The following combatants under Bohemond in the First Crusade include: *

Ralph the Red of Pont-Echanfray Ralph the Red (Ralph le Roux, Raoul II Rufus) of Pont-Echnfrey (1070 – 25 November 1120), son of either Guillaume de Pont-Echanfrey or his brother Raoul I. Ralph was a knight who first served Robert Guiscard and then participated both in the Fir ...

and his wife. Ralph’s wife, sister of

Hugh I of Jaffa Hugh I (died between 1112 and 1118) was the Lord of Le Puiset (as Hugh II) from 1097 and Count of Jaffa from 1106. He was the son of Hugh I of Le Puiset and Alice of Montlhéry.''The Lords of Le Puiset on the Crusades'', John L. La Monte, ''Speculum ...

(see below) died during the Crusade and he later died in the White Ship disaster. * Walchelin II (Guascelin) of Pont-Echanfray, brother of Ralph the Red * Ralph, Count of Beaugency, married to Mathilde, daughter of Hugh the Great, Count of Vermandois * Bertrand of Moncontour, a follower of Ralph of Beaugency * Richard, Lord of Caiazzo and Alife, son of Ranulf I, Count of Caiazzo * Richard, Count of Salerno, a commander at the Battle of Dorylaeum, and also with Bohemond in 1107 * Attropius, sent as an envoy to Constantinople by Tancred * Aubrey of Cagnano, killed during the

siege of Antioch The siege of Antioch took place during the First Crusade in 1097 and 1098, on the crusaders' way to Jerusalem through Syria. Two sieges took place in succession. The first siege, by the crusaders against the city held by the Seljuk Empire, last ...

* Bartholomew Boel of Chartres * Geoffrey of Montescaglioso * Geoffrey of Segre, one of the first to climb the walls of Antioch * Godric of Finchale, Sea Captain (during the

Crusade of 1101 The Crusade of 1101 was a minor crusade of three separate movements, organized in 1100 and 1101 in the successful aftermath of the First Crusade. It is also called the Crusade of the Faint-Hearted due to the number of participants who joined this ...

) * Guarin, sent as a messenger to Constantinople * Herman of Hauteville * Hugh Lo Forcenet (the Mad), who gained a reputation during the capture and defense of Antioch * Humphrey, son of Ralph (origins unknown) * Pagan, a Sergeant, was the first to climb the ladder in Bohemond's covert assault upon Antioch in 1098 * Peter Raymond, Lord of Hautpoul, a leading vassal of Count Raymond of Toulouse * Rainald Porchet * Robert of Anzi, who later joined the

army of Godfrey of Bouillon The army of Godfrey of Bouillon, the duke of Lower Lorraine, in response to the call by Pope Urban II to both liberate Jerusalem from Muslim forces and protect the Byzantine Empire from similar attacks. Godfrey and his army, one of several Frankis ...

after the capture of Antioch * Robert, Lord of Collanges, who donated his estate to the priory of Marcigny-sur-Loire * Robert of Maule, cousin of Hugh of Boissy-sans-Avoir * Robert of Molise, Lord of Limosano, son of Tristan * Robert of Sourdeval, Lord of Torosse * Ruthard, son of Godfrey

Members of the House of Le Puiset (1107)

The

houses of Montlhéry and Le Puiset The Houses of Montlhéry and Le Puiset (referred to as the Montlhéry Clan by Riley-Smith) is the name given by two powerful families, joined in marriage, that played a major role in the 11th and 12th centuries in both the Crusades as well as the ad ...

contributed many knights to the Crusades, including: * Hugh II of Le Puiset (

) and his wife Mabel * Richard of Le Puiset, either a brother of Hugh II (see above) or brother of Hugh’s brother-in-law * Waleran, Lord of Villepreux, son of Hugh I of Le Puiset and Alice de Montlhéry.

Knights and Other Soldiers of the Army of 1107

The known combatants in Bohemond’s army of 1107 include the following: * Robert of Montfort-sur-Risle, constable of

Henry I of England Henry I (c. 1068 – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in ...

, likely the son of

Hugh de Montfort Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

, a proven

Companion of William the Conqueror William the Conqueror had men of diverse standing and origins under his command at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. With these and other men he went on in the five succeeding years to conduct the Harrying of the North and complete the Norman con ...

* Aimery Andrea * Gastinellus of Bourgueil * Geoffrey of Mali * Goldinellus of Curzay * Halldor of Skaldri * Hervey, son of Durand * Hugh of

Boissy-sans-Avoir Boissy-sans-Avoir () is a commune in the Yvelines department in north-central France. It is the burial place of actress Romy Schneider (1938-1982) and her son David (1966-1981). See also *Communes of the Yvelines department An intentional ...

* Humbert, son of Ralph * Josbert of Alboin, nephew of Peter, Abbott of Vigeois * Joscelin of

Lèves Lèves () is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in Northern France. Population International relations Lèves is twinned with the English town of Nailsworth, Gloucestershire. See also *Communes of the Eure-et-Loir department *Bernard J ...

* Josceran of Vitry * Koprisianos * Count Pagan * Philip of Montoro * Ralph Licei * Ralph of Rabaste * Renier of Brun * Robert of Vipont * Count Sarakenos * Simon of Nouâtre * Walter of Montsoreau, accompanied by Godfrey Brossard.

Sources

* Riley-Smith, Jonathan, ''The First Crusaders, 1095-1131'', Cambridge University Press, London, 1997 * Runciman, Steven, ''A History of the Crusades, Volume One: The First Crusade and the Foundation of the Kingdom of Jerusalem'', Cambridge University Press, London, 1951 * Bury, J. B., Editor, ''The Cambridge Medieval History, Volume III: Germany and the Western Empire'', Cambridge University Press, London, 1922 * Prof. J. S. C. Riley-Smith, Prof, Jonathan Phillips, Dr. Alan V. Murray, Dr. Guy Perry, Dr. Nicholas Morton, ''A Database of Crusaders to the Holy Land, 1099-1149''
available on-line
* ''Gesta Francorum et aliorum Hierosolimitanorum'', edited and translated by Rosalind Hill, Oxford, 1967. Latin text with facing-page English translation. * Kostick, Conor, ''The Social Structure of the First Crusade'', Brill, Leiden, 2008 (available o
Google Books
* Riley-Smith, Jonathan, ''The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading'', University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986 (available o
Google Books
* Van Houts, Elizabeth, ''The Normans in Europe'', Manchester University Press, 2000 (available o
Google Books
* Jamison, E. M., ''Some Notes on the Anonymi Gesta Francorum, with Special Reference to the Norman Contingent from South Italy and Sicily in the First Crusad''e, in Studies in French Language and Medieval Literature, University of Manchester, 1939.

References

{{Reflist Armies of the First Crusade