Robert was the last to take the oath. He had remembered the words perfectly and recited them with meaning, reaffirming a vow that had been intended to persuade his father to be a fair and just king. Had he been a better king, after Ely? Some say he did become a more sympathetic ruler; others say his tyranny never abated. Regardless of that, his firstborn and successor as Duke of Normandy had taken a new oath, affirming everything that the Brotherhood had fought for. Their suffering and death had not been in vain.
We placed our weapons on the tomb, formed ourselves into a circle around it and held hands as Estrith prayed for us.
‘Blessed martyr, protect this small band of sinners and help us to be courageous in everything we do. We will strive to bring honour to your name and live up to the example of those who showed us the way. In the name of God Almighty. Amen.’
And so, our small group of brothers-in-arms had become a true brotherhood. Not only that, we had sanctified our bond in the exact place where Hereward’s brotherhood had been formed. We all felt elated to be able to inherit the legacy of all that had been hoped for at Ely, but we were also daunted that with swearing the oath came so much responsibility — both as brethren and as individuals.
We made haste to Normandy, where Robert had to finance, recruit and prepare a new army for an expedition the like of which had not been attempted since the days of the legions of Rome.
Robert garnered his resources over the first few months of 1096 in concert with many others from as far afield as Germany, Christian Spain and southern Italy to put together the host of avenging Christians that the Pope had called for. We heard the news of each new contingent and listened to the ever more hateful rhetoric with growing anxiety.
Besides Robert of Normandy and Raymond of Toulouse, the men who provided the majority of the Crusade’s money and manpower were some of the richest men in Europe: Godfrey of Bouillon, the second son of Count Eustace of Boulogne, who mortgaged all his estates to pay for his adventure; Count Robert of Flanders who, like Raymond of Toulouse, was driven by religious fanaticism; Stephen, Count of Blois, who was bullied into going by his domineering wife to atone for his many sins; and Baldwin of Boulogne, Godfrey’s brother, who was motivated by simple greed and had every intention of staying in the Holy Land to create his own Christian fiefdom.
The formidable Bohemond of Taranto, the eldest son of Robert Guiscard, also ‘took the cross’ to the Holy Land, as it came to be known — through the practice adopted by the Crusaders of sewing a cross on to their surcoats, or painting it on to their shields. A man who stood a head taller than any of his contemporaries, he was as fierce as he was tall and had spent his life fighting Byzantines and Muslims in southern Italy and the Adriatic.
Bohemond also brought a large group of Norman knights from Calabria, Apulia and Sicily, battle-hardened men used to fighting Arab armies. Among them was another giant, Tancred of Hauteville — only twenty years old and fluent in Arabic, he had already made a reputation for himself as a ferocious warrior.
There was one other leader of the Crusade, whose army of peasants, thieves and vagabonds left Europe long before the knights and professional soldiers. Peter the Hermit, a short, skinny ascetic with long, unkempt hair, was not fond of washing himself or his meagre clothes, walked barefoot, drank only wine and ate only fish. Despite his repulsive appearance and odd habits, he was a remarkable orator who inspired large crowds, which followed him around as if he were a messiah. By May of 1096, his multitude, over 20,000 strong, was on its way to Constantinople. The horde had almost no money, few weapons and little idea where the Holy Land was, but they had a blind faith compelling them to go — men and women, young and old, from all over Europe.
When Peter the Hermit’s followers reached Germany, their anti-Muslim hatred found another, much easier target — the other ‘infidels’, the placid and inconspicuous Jews who had lived at peace in Europe for centuries. Like a contagion, as the Crusaders passed through the towns and cities of central Europe, their fanaticism spread to the local population, inciting them to slaughter their Jewish neighbours and fellow citizens in their thousands.
What we feared would happen had begun, but long before we had expected it. The Jews just happened to get in the way.
Robert’s biggest dilemma in preparing his army was how to pay for it. The sum required was so huge, it would have impoverished his duchy for years.
He called the Brethren together to discuss it.
