The army of

Hugh the Great Hugh the Great (16 June 956) was the duke of the Franks and count of Paris. Biography Hugh was the son of King Robert I of France and Béatrice of Vermandois.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europ ...

was formed after the

Council of Clermont The Council of Clermont was a mixed synod of ecclesiastics and laymen of the Catholic Church, called by Pope Urban II and held from 17 to 27 November 1095 at Clermont, Auvergne, at the time part of the Duchy of Aquitaine. Pope Urban's spee ...

, led by

Pope Urban II Pope Urban II ( la, Urbanus II; – 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening th ...

in November 1095. Hugh, son of

Henry I of France Henry I (4 May 1008 – 4 August 1060) was King of the Franks from 1031 to 1060. The royal demesne of France reached its smallest size during his reign, and for this reason he is often seen as emblematic of the weakness of the early Capetians. Th ...

, and his wife Anne of Kiev, was Count of Vermandois, de jure uxoris, due to his marriage to Adelaide of Vermandois. In August 1096, Hugh and his small army left France ''in prima profectione'', the first army of the third wave to leave France, and travelled to

Bari, Italy Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

, and then crossed the Adriatic Sea to the Byzantine Empire, in an armada commanded by Arnout II, Count of Aarschot. When Hugh entered Constantinople, he carried a '' Vexillum sancti Petri'', a banner given to him by the pope, Hugh being the last such noble to carry the banner. The known nobles, clergy and knights of Hugh's army include: * Eudes of

Beaugency Beaugency () is a commune in the Loiret department, Centre-Val de Loire, north-central France. It is located on the Loire river, upriver (northeast) from Blois and downriver from Orléans. History 11 March 1152 the council of Beaugency annulled ...

, Hugh's Standard-Bearer and Seneschal * Robert of Buonalbergo, later Constable and Standard-Bearer for

Bohemond of Taranto Bohemond I of Antioch (5 or 7 March 1111), also known as Bohemond of Taranto, was the prince of Taranto from 1089 to 1111 and the prince of Antioch from 1098 to 1111. He was a leader of the First Crusade, leading a contingent of Normans on the qu ...

. Son of Girard (Gerard) of Buanalbergo. *

Raymond Pilet d’Alès Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund (disambiguation), Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic langu ...

* Walker, Lord of Chappes * Everard III of Puiset, Viscount of Chartres * Ralph of La Fontanelle, a vassal of Everard III * Renaud II of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis (later Count) * Miles Louez, a knight *

Stephen of Aumale Stephen of Aumale (–1127) was Count of Aumale from before 1089 to 1127, and Lord of Holderness. Life He was son of Odo, Count of Champagne, and Adelaide of Normandy, countess of Aumale, sister of William the Conqueror.George Edward Cokayne, ''Th ...

, son of

Odo, Count of Champagne }; 1115) was Count of Troyes and of Meaux from 1047 to 1066, then Count of Aumale from 1069 to 1115. He was later also known as the count of Champagne and as Eudes II of Troyes. Biography Odo was the son of Stephen II of Troyes and Meaux, and Adel ...

, and

Adelaide of Normandy Adelaide of Normandy (or Adeliza) ( 1030 – bef. 1090) was the ruling Countess of Aumale in her own right in 1069-1087. She was the sister of William the Conqueror. Life Born 1030, Adelaide was an illegitimate daughter of the Norman duke Rob ...

(sister of

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

) * Walter of Domart-en-Ponthieu (St.-Valery) and his son Bernard * Gerard of Gournay-en-Bray. Gerard's wife Edith was daughter of William de Warenne and

Gundred Gundred or Gundreda (Latin: Gundrada) (died 27 May 1085)G. E. Cokayne, ''The Complete Peerage'', vol. xii/1 (The St. Catherine Press, London, 1953), p. 494 was the Flemish-born wife of an early Norman baron, William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surr ...

. Hugh II, the son of Gerard and Edith participated in the

Second Crusade The Second Crusade (1145–1149) was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa in 1144 to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crusa ...

. * Ruthard, son of Godfrey * Rudolf, Count of Sarrewerden * William, likely son of

Odo the Good Marquis Odo (or Eudes) the Good Marquis (''fl.'' 11th century), sometimes called Odobonus,Evelyn Jamison, "Some Notes on the ''Anonymi Gesta Francorum'', with Special Reference to the Norman Contingent from South Italy and Sicily in the First Crusade", ''S ...

and so nephew of Behemond of Taranto * Conon the Breton of Lamballe, son of Geoffrey I, Count of Lamballe, and grandson of

Odo, Count of Penthièvre Odo of Rennes (Medieval Breton: ''Eudon Pentevr'', Modern Breton: ''Eozen Penteur'', Latin: ''Eudo'', French: ''Eudes/Éon de Penthièvre'') (c. 999–1079), Count of Penthièvre, was the youngest of the three sons of Duke Geoffrey I of Britta ...

Walo II of Chaumont-en-Vexin Walo II (Galon II de Beaumont) (*1060; † 1098) was a viscount of Chaumont-en-Vexin and a constable of King Philip I of France. He was son of Odo (Eudes) de Beaumont, viscount of Chaumont-en-Vexin. He took a part at the First Crusade as part of t ...

* Gerard of Roussillon, son of Gilbert, Count of Roussillon *

Drogo of Nesle Drogo of Nesle, a relative of Ralph, Lord of Soissons, was a knight who joined the army of Emicho, Count of Flonheim. He was one of the knights that survived the violent dispersal of Emicho's People's Crusade army by Hungarian forces during the ...

, formerly in the army of Emicho, Count of Flonheim * William V, Lord of Montpellier. The army of Hugh participated in numerous battles including the

siege of Nicaea The siege of Nicaea was the first major battle of the First Crusade, taking place from 14 May to 19 June 1097. The city was under the control the Seljuk Turks who opted to surrender to the Byzantines in fear of the crusaders breaking into the ci ...

, the Battle of Dorylaeum, and 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 ...

. After Hugh's return to France, many of the knights under his command joined other Crusader armies.

Sources

* Edgington, Susan, A''lbert of Aachen: Historia Ierosolimitana, History of the Journey to Jerusalem'', Clarendon Press, Gloucestershire, 2007 (available o
Google Books
* 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 * A Database of Crusaders to the Holy Land, 1095-1149
Online access
* Fulcher of Chartres, ''A History of the Expedition to Jerusalem, 1095-1127'', trans. Francis Rita Ryan, ed. Harold S. Fink, 1969

References

{{Reflist Armies of the First Crusade