Adhemar of Le Puy

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Adhemar of Le Puy

Adhemar (also known as Adémar, Aimar, or Aelarz) de Monteil (died August 1, 1098), one of the principal figures of the First Crusade

First Crusade

The First Crusade was launched in 1095 by Pope Urban II with the primary goal of responding to the appeal from Byzantine Emperor Alexius I. The Emperor requested that western volunteers come to their aid and repel the Seljuk Turks in Anatolia, Modern day Turkey....
, was bishop of Puy-en-Velay from before 1087. At the Council of Clermont

Council of Clermont

The Council of Clermont was a mixed synod of ecclesiastics and laymen of the Catholic Church, which was held on November 27, 1095 at Clermont-Ferrand and triggered the First Crusade....
in 1095, Adhemar showed great zeal for the crusade (there is evidence Urban II had conferred with Adhemar before the council) and having been named apostolic legate and appointed to lead the crusade by Pope Urban II

Pope Urban II

Pope Urban II , born Otho de Lagery , was Pope from March 12, 1088 until his death. He is most known for starting the First Crusade and setting up the modern day Roman Curia, in the manner of a royal court, to help run the Church....
, he accompanied Raymond IV

Raymond IV of Toulouse

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Adhemar (also known as Adémar, Aimar, or Aelarz) de Monteil (died August 1, 1098), one of the principal figures of the First Crusade

First Crusade

Council of Clermont

Pope Urban II

Raymond IV of Toulouse

Raymond IV of Toulouse sometimes called Raymond of St Gilles was Count of Toulouse, Duke of Narbonne, and Margrave of Provence and one of the leaders of the First Crusade....
, Count of Toulouse, to the east. Whilst Raymond and the other leaders often quarrelled with each other over the leadership of the crusade, Adhemar was always recognized as the spiritual leader of the crusade.

Adhemar negotiated with Alexius I Comnenus at Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the empire capital of the Roman Empire , the Byzantine Empire , the Latin Empire , and the Ottoman Empire . Strategically located between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara at the point where Europe meets Asia, Byzantine Constantinople had been the capital of a Christendom empire, successor to ancient ancient Greece...
, reestablished at Nicaea

Iznik

Iznik is a city in Turkey which is known primarily as the site of the First Council of Nicaea and Second Council of Nicaea Councils of Nicaea, the first and seventh Ecumenical councils in the early history of the Christianity church, the Nicene Creed, and as the capital city of the Empire of Nicaea....
some discipline among the crusaders, fought a crucial role at the Battle of Dorylaeum

Battle of Dorylaeum

The Battle of Dorylaeum took place during the First Crusade on July 1, 1097, between the crusaders and the Seljuk Turks, near Dorylaeum in Anatolia....
and was largely responsible for sustaining morale during the siege of Antioch

Siege of Antioch

The Siege of Antioch took place during the First Crusade in 1097 and 1098. The first siege, by the crusaders against the Muslim city, lasted from October 21, 1097, to June 2, 1098....
through various religious rites including fasting and special observances of holy days. After the capture of the city

Antioch

Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the nearer East and was a cradle of gentile hi...
in June, 1098, and the subsequent siege led by Kerbogha

Kerbogha

Kerbogha was Atabeg of Mosul during the First Crusade and was renowned as a soldier. ...
, Adhemar organized a procession through the streets, and had the gates locked so that the Crusaders, many of whom had begun to panic, would be unable to desert the city. He was extremely skeptical of Peter Bartholomew

Peter Bartholomew

Peter Bartholomew was a soldier and mysticism from France who was part of the First Crusade.In December, 1097, during the siege of Antioch, Peter began to have visions, mostly of Saint Andrew....
's discovery in Antioch of the Holy Lance

Holy Lance

The Holy Lance is the name given to the lance that pierced Jesus's side in Gospel of John of the crucifixion of Jesus....
, especially because he knew such a relic already existed in Constantinople; however, he was willing to let the Crusader army believe it was real if it raised their morale.

When Kerbogha was defeated, Adhemar organized a council in an attempt to settle the leadership disputes, but he died on August 1, 1098, probably of typhus

Typhus

Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters. The causative organism is Rickettsia prowazekii, transmitted by the human body louse ....
. The disputes among the higher nobles went unsolved, and the march to Jerusalem

Jerusalem

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and its List of Israeli cities in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if Positions on Jerusalem East Jerusalem is included....
was delayed for months. However, the lower-class foot soldiers continued to think of Adhemar as a leader; some of them claimed to have been visited by his ghost during the siege of Jerusalem

Siege of Jerusalem (1099)

The Siege of Jerusalem took place from June 7 to July 15, 1099 during the First Crusade. The Crusaders stormed and captured the city from Fatimid Egypt....
, and reported that Adhemar instructed them to hold another procession around the walls. This was done, and Jerusalem was taken by the Crusaders in 1099.

External links

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