Peter the Hermit

Peter the Hermit was a French preacher associated with the popular movement that set out for the Holy Land before the principal armies of the First Crusade.

Peter preached crusading and led groups from the Rhineland and northern France towards Constantinople in 1096. The movement lacked unified command and was largely destroyed by Seljuk forces near Civetot, although Peter survived and later joined the main crusader army.

In Michael Jecks’s Pilgrim’s War, the Hermit’s preaching attracts the fictional families and travellers whose journey forms the novel. Crusader’s War follows survivors into the later campaign, where the promises made at the beginning are tested by siege, hunger and violence.