Peter the Hermit

Peter the Hermit
Peter the Hermit
Article on a man wrongly named by later writers as the instigator of the Crusades. In later life, Peter founded an abbey. He died in 1115

Catholic Encyclopedia. . 2006.

Peter the Hermit
    Peter the Hermit
     Catholic_Encyclopedia Peter the Hermit
    Born at Amiens about 1050; d. at the monastery of Neufmoutier (Liège), in 1115. His life has been embellished by legend, and he has been wrongly credited with initiating the movement which resulted in the First Crusade. While the contemporary historians mentioned him only as one of the numerous preachers of the crusade, the later chroniclers, Albert of Aix-la-Chapelle, and above all William of Tyre, gave him an all-important role. According to Albert of Aix Peter having led during some years the rigorous life of a hermit undertook a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and suffered much at the hands of the Turks. One day when he was asleep in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, Our Lord appeared to him and ordered him to ask for credentials from the Patriarch of Jerusalem and to go to Europe proclaiming the miseries which had befallen the Christian of the Orient. Peter obtained the patriarchal letters and sought Urban II, who, moved by his recital, came to preach the crusade at Clermont ("Histor. Hierosol.", I. 2). According to William of Tyre (I, II), it was of his own accord that Peter went to find the pope. The pilgrimage of Peter is mentioned by Anna Comnena (Alexiad, X, 8), who, born in 1083, could know nothing of this story except through tradition; she relates, however, that he could not get as far as Jerusalem, and that, resolved to undertake a second pilgrimage, he conceived the idea of preaching a crusade in order to be able to go to the Holy Sepulchre attended by goodly company. It is evidently absurd to ascribe the Crusades to such an insignificant cause. Because of the silence of contemporaries and the later contradictory accounts, even the fact of the pilgrimage of Peter is doubtful, while it is impossible to assign to him the role of promoter of the crusade. The merit of this belongs solely to Pope Urban II (see CRUSADES). Writers like Albert of Aix wished to deprive the pope of this honor in order to attribute it to the ascetics so popular at that time in Europe. It is absolutely certain that it was only after the Council of Clermont that Peter commenced to preach the crusade.
    In March, 1096, he led one of the numerous bands going to the East; his enthusiastic eloquence is described by the chroniclers. He arrived with his army at Constantinople 1 August, 1096. After a toilsome march as far as Nicomedia Peter pitched his camp at Civitot, and seeing his army without resources returned to Constantinople to solicit help from the Emperor Alexius. During his absence, the crusaders, commanded by Walter the Penniless, were massacred by the Turks near Nicaea (Oct., 1096). Peter assembled the remnants of his band and in May, 1097, joined the army of Godfrey of Bouillon near Nicomedia. After this he had but an unimportant part. In Jan., 1098, at the siege of Antioch, he even attempted to desert the army, but was prevented by Tancred. In spite of this cowardice he was one of the envoys sent to Kerbûga. On his return to Europe he founded the monastery of Neufmoutier. see CRUSADES.
    D'Oultreman, La vie due Venerable Pierre l'Ermite (Mons, 1612), reprinted (Clermont, 1895), gives the traditional point of view; HAGENMEYER, Peter der Eremite (Leipzig, 1879), Fr. tr., Le vraix et le faux sur Pierre l'Ermite (Paris, 1879); KURTH, Pierre l'Ermite (Liège, 1892); DONNET, Pierre l'Hermite et la famille Lhermite d'Anvers (Antwerp, 1893).
    LOUIS BREHIER
    Transcribed by Veronica Jarski

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIII. — New York: Robert Appleton Company. . 1910.


Catholic encyclopedia.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Peter the Hermit — (died July 8 1115 in Neufmoutier by Huy) was a priest of Amiens and a key figure during the First Crusade.Before 1096According to Anna Comnena, he had attempted to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem before 1096, but was prevented by the Turks from… …   Wikipedia

  • Peter the Hermit — (c. 1050–1115)    Polemicist.    Many legends are told of Peter the Hermit, most of them apocryphal. He was born near Amiens, France, and he lived for much of his life as a hermit. He was inspired by Pope Urban II’s call for a crusade against the …   Who’s Who in Christianity

  • Peter the Hermit of Galatia — Saint Peter the Hermit of Galatia near Antioch, in Syria lived in the early fifth century AD. Peter s life is recorded by Theodoret of Cyrrhus whose own family was touched by the saint s gifts of healing. Saint Peter the Hermit left his home at a …   Wikipedia

  • Peter the Hermit — c1050 1115, French monk: preacher of the first Crusade 1095 99. Also called Peter of Amiens. * * * born с 1050, probably Amiens died July 8, 1115, Huy, Flanders French ascetic and one of the most important preachers of the First Crusade. A… …   Universalium

  • Peter the Hermit —    Popular preacher of the First Crusade (q.v.), who led a multitude of poor people and petty knights to Constantinople (q.v.) in 1096. Alexios I Komnenos (qq.v.) helped transport them to Asia Minor (q.v.), where they were ambushed and defeated… …   Historical dictionary of Byzantium

  • Peter the Hermit — c1050 1115, French monk: preacher of the first Crusade 1095 99. Also called Peter of Amiens …   Useful english dictionary

  • PETER THE HERMIT —    a monk, born in Amiens, of good family, who is credited with having by his preaching kindled the enthusiasm in Europe which led to the first Crusade; he joined it himself as the leader of an untrained rabble, but made a poor figure at the… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Peter the Hermit — Pe′ter the Her′mit n. big c1050–1115, French monk: preacher of the first Crusade 1095–99 Also called Pe′ter of Amiens′ …   From formal English to slang

  • Peter the Hermit — biographical name circa 1050 1115 French preacher of the 1st Crusade …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • PETER THE HERMIT — (1050 1115)    AUGUSTINIAN MONK who played an important role in encouraging the FIRST CRUSADE …   Concise dictionary of Religion

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”