The armies of

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 ...

, 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 The Treaty of Devol ( el, συνθήκη της Δεαβόλεως) was an agreement made in 1108 between Bohemond I of Antioch and Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, in the wake of the First Crusade. It is named after the Byzantine fortress of ...

, 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 * 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 Tortosa (; ) is the capital of the ''Catalonia/Comarques, comarca'' of Baix Ebre, in Catalonia, Spain. Tortosa is located at above sea level, by the Ebro river, protected on its northern side by the mountains of the Cardó Massif, of which Buin ...

, illegitimate son of

Robert Curthose Robert Curthose, or Robert II of Normandy ( 1051 – 3 February 1134, french: Robert Courteheuse / Robert II de Normandie), was the eldest son of William the Conqueror and succeeded his father as Duke of Normandy in 1087, reigning until 1106. ...

(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, 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 Martirano is a village and ''comune'' of the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region of Italy. History Local historians believe that Martirano was built on the ruins of Mamertum, a city of the Roman Empire. Martirano, also known as Marturano ...

, name unknown, who supported the election of

Arnulf of Chocques Arnulf of Chocques (died 1118) was a leading member of the clergy during the First Crusade, being made Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem in 1099 and again from 1112 to 1118. Sometimes referred to as Arnulf of Rœulx, presumably after the village of Rœu ...

as patriarch of Jerusalem, but died shortly after the fall of Jerusalem * Gerard, Archbishop of York (1107) * Maurice of Bourdin,

Bishop of Coimbra The Diocese of Coimbra ( la, Dioecesis Conimbricensis) is a Roman Catholic diocese in Coimbra, Portugal. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Braga. From 1472, the bishop of Coimbra held the Count, comital title of Count of Arganil, being thus ...

(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'', 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, ''Specu ...

(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 (region), Syria. Two sieges took place in succession. The first siege, by the crusaders against the city held by the Sel ...

* 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 Herman may refer to: People * Herman (name), list of people with this name * Saint Herman (disambiguation) * Peter Noone (born 1947), known by the mononym Herman Places in the United States * Herman, Arkansas * Herman, Michigan * Herman, Mi ...

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

Vigeois Vigeois (; oc, Visoas) is a commune in the Corrèze department in central France. Vigeois station has rail connections to Brive-la-Gaillarde, Uzerche and Limoges. Population Notable residents *Henri Cueco, painter. See also *Communes of ...

* 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 The fol ...

* 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