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First Crusade

1095–1099 CE

The First Crusade began after Pope Urban II called for armed pilgrimage to aid eastern Christians and recover Jerusalem. Armies from western Europe crossed Anatolia, fought through hardship and rivalries, and eventually captured Antioch and Jerusalem. The campaign resulted in crusader principalities and kingdoms in the Levant.

The First Crusade matters because it turned crusading from a call to arms into a lasting political reality. Its successes were accompanied by massacre, religious fervour, hunger, fear, and brutal siege warfare. It reshaped relations between Latin Christians, Byzantines, Muslims, Jews, and eastern Christian communities.

Cecelia Holland’s Jerusalem and many crusade novels use the First Crusade for its mixture of pilgrimage, violence, faith, and opportunism. The campaign also provides background for Robyn Young-style military and religious fiction, even when later crusades are the main focus.

Related people for First Crusade

Adhemar of Le Puyc. 1045–1098 Bohemond I of Antiochc. 1054–1111 Godfrey of Bouillonc. 1060–1100 Kerboghad. 1102 Peter the Hermitc. 1050–1115 Raymond IV, Count of Toulousec. 1041–1105 Robert Curthose1054–1134 Urban IIc. 1035–1099

Series

Series about First Crusade (3 series)

A River of Blood Duology in Order

by Adam Williams 2 books 4.6(28)

A River of Blood Duology follows Samuel, a Jewish physician and investigator, and his English apprentice Gregory through Egypt and Palestine in 1099. A River of Blood begins with poisoned-looking waters and ritualised murders in Fatimid Cairo; A Sea of Tears continues the investigation as the companions travel…

The Holy Wars in Order

by Michael Jecks 2 books 4.3(218)

The Holy Wars series follows a mixed company of pilgrims who leave France after the crusading preaching of 1096. Odo treats the expedition as proof of his religious authority, while his brother Fulk, Sybille, Jeanne and Guillemette confront the journey for different reasons, including duty, escape, survival and…

The First Crusade in Order

by Richard Foreman 3 books 4.2(1,275)

The First Crusade trilogy follows the fictional English knight Edward Kemp from the struggle to enter Antioch through the crusaders’ own encirclement and the final assault on Jerusalem. Bohemond of Taranto repeatedly employs Kemp as an intelligence agent, allowing the novels to move between siege lines, rival princely…

Books

15 Best Novels About the First Crusade