Editing Peter the Hermit (section)

==Before 1096==
According to [[Anna Komnene|Anna Komnene's]] ''[[Alexiad]]'' (1148),<ref>[[wikisource:The_Alexiad|The Alexiad]], Wikisource. Book X.</ref> Peter attempted a pilgrimage to [[Jerusalem]] before 1096, but was prevented by the [[Seljuk Turks]] from reaching his goal and was reportedly mistreated. This experience caused him to preach inflammatory statements about the Turks to upset Christians. However, doubts remain whether he ever made such a journey.<ref name="EB1911" />

Before the events of the first crusade, Peter the Hermit witnessed scenes that disturbed him during an earlier pilgrimage to [[Jerusalem]]. When he finally reached the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]] "he saw many forbidden and wicked things occurring there… so he sought out the patriarch of the holy church of Jerusalem and asked why gentiles and evil men were able to pollute holy places and steal away offerings from the faithful, using the church as if a stable, beating up Christians, despoiling pilgrims through unjust fees, and inflicting on them many sufferings." The frustrated patriarch threw up his hands in exasperation: "Why do you reprimand me and disturb me in the midst of my fatherly cares? I have but the strength and power of a tiny ant when compared to those proud men. We have to redeem our lives here by regular tribute payments (''[[jizya]]'') or else face death-dealing punishment".<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pr28oAEACAAJ | title=The First Crusade: A Brief History with Documents | isbn=9781457629105 | last1=Rubenstein | first1=Jay Carter | date=26 December 2014 | publisher=Bedford/St. Martin's }}</ref>

Sources differ as to whether he was present at [[Pope Urban II]]'s [[Council of Clermont]] in 1095, where the Pope made his military strategy public. It is certain that he was one of the preachers of the armed pilgrimage in France afterwards, and his own experience may have helped to give fire to the Roman Catholic cause. Tradition in [[Huy]] holds that he was there when the call for war was announced and he began his preaching at once. He soon leapt into fame as an emotional [[Revivalist (person)|revivalist]], and the vast majority of sources and historians agree that thousands of serfs and peasants eagerly took the cross at his bidding, partly because of promises he did make.<ref name=EB1911/>

This part of the [[First Crusade]] was also known as the [[People's Crusade|Crusade of the Paupers]]. Peter organized and guided the paupers as a spiritually purified and holy group of pilgrims who would, supposedly, be protected by the Holy Ghost. Peter did not train his army, nor did he supply weapons or food. Some historians think it possible that the People's Crusade also included well-armed soldiers and nobles.<ref>Riley-Smith, Jonathan, ''The First Crusaders, 1095–1131'', Cambridge University Press, London, 1997</ref> (A list of known participants in Peter's army can be found at The Digital Humanities Institute.<ref>{{Cite web|title=A Database of Crusaders to the Holy Land: Peter the Hermit|url=https://www.dhi.ac.uk/crusaders/search-results/?type=adv&crusade_name_id=&crusade_name_string=&contingent_leader_id=18&contingent_leader_string=Peter+the+Hermit&first_name=&toponymic=&origin_country_id=&origin_country_string=&origin_region_id=&origin_region_string=&title=&gender=&role_id=&role_string=&lay_cleric=&outcome_id=&outcome_string=}}</ref>)