Editing Adhemar of Le Puy

{{short description|11th-century French bishop and crusader}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{ Infobox Christian leader
| type           = bishop
| name           = Adhemar of Le Puy
| image          = Adhémar de Monteil à Antioche.jpeg
| caption        = A mitred Adhémar de Monteil carrying the Holy Lance in one of the battles of the First Crusade
| title          = [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Le Puy-en-Velay|Bishop of Le Puy-en-Velay]]
| church         = [[Catholic Church]]
| see            = [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Le Puy-en-Velay|Diocese of Le Puy-en-Velay]]
| term           = 1082–1098
| predecessor    = [[Stephan de Polignac]]
| successor      = [[Pons de Tournon]]
<!--   Personal details   -->
| birth_date     = 1055
| birth_place    = [[County of Valentinois|Valentinois]], [[Kingdom of France]]
| death_date     = 1 August 1098 (aged 43)
| death_place    = [[Principality of Antioch]]
}}

[[Image:Adhemar of Le Puy.png|thumb|right|200px|19th-century painting on display at [[Versailles, Yvelines|Versailles]] depicting Adhemar of Le Puy (in red to left of [[Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse]]).]] 
'''Adhemar''' (also known as '''Adémar''', '''Aimar''', or '''Aelarz''') '''de Monteil''' (died 1 August 1098) was one of the principal figures of the [[First Crusade]] and was [[bishop of Puy-en-Velay]] from before 1087. He was the chosen representative of [[Pope Urban II]] for the expedition to the Holy Land. Remembered for his martial prowess, he led knights and men into battle and fought beside them, particularly at the [[Battle of Dorylaeum (1097)|Battle of Dorylaeum]] and [[Siege of Antioch]]. Adhemar is said to have carried the [[Holy Lance]] in the Crusaders’ desperate breakout at Antioch on 28 June 1098, in which superior Islamic forces under the atabeg [[Kerbogha]] were routed, securing the city for the Crusaders. He died in 1098 due to illness.

==Life==
Born around 1045 into the family of the [[County of Valentinois|Counts of Valentinois]] and elected [[Bishop of Puy-en-Velay|Bishop of Le Puy]] around 1080, he was an advocate of the [[Gregorian Reform]]. Among his supporters were the future Pope Urban II and [[Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse|Raymond of Saint-Gilles]], Count of Toulouse and the richest, most powerful nobleman in France. He was also said to have gone on pilgrimage to [[Jerusalem]] around 1086. He was the brother of William Hugh of Monteil, who was also a Crusader in the First Crusade.<ref name=":1" /> Adhemar most likely met Pope Urban II, when he visited Puy in August 1095.<ref name=":0" />

At the [[Council of Clermont]] in 1095, Adhemar showed great zeal for the crusade (there is evidence that Urban II had conferred with Adhemar before the council).{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} Adhemar was named [[apostolic legate]] and appointed to lead the crusade by Pope Urban II on 27 November 1095.{{sfn|Peters|1971|p=31}} In part, Adhemar was selected to lead because he had already undertaken a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1086 and 1087.{{sfn|Peters|1971|p=31}} Following the announcement of the Crusade Adhemar spent the next year raising money and recruiting men.<ref name=":0" /> Departing on 15 August 1096,{{sfn|Peters|1971|p=31}} he accompanied Raymond of Toulouse and his [[Army of Raymond of Saint-Gilles|army]] to the east.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} 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 and was widely respected by the majority of the Crusaders.{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}

During the leg of the trip from Durazzo to [[Constantinople]], in the Valley of Pelagonia, Adhemar was set upon by a group of [[Pecheneg]] mercenaries, when he had wandered too far from the majority of the Crusader forces. The Pechenegs beat and robbed Adhemar, but began to fight among themselves over his belongings; Adhemar was saved by Crusader forces who had noticed the disturbance.<ref name=":0" /> Once the army had reached [[Thessaloniki|Thessalonica]], Adhemar decided to stay there for some time, due to sickness, whilst the Crusader forces moved onward. Adhemar eventually was able to rejoin the Crusaders.<ref name=":0" />

Adhemar negotiated with [[Alexius I Comnenus]] at [[Constantinople]], reestablished some discipline among the crusaders at [[İznik|Nicaea]], fought a crucial role at the Battle of Dorylaeum and was largely responsible for sustaining morale during the siege of Antioch through various religious rites including fasting and special observances of holy days. One such time he did this, was after an earthquake during the siege of Antioch, he had the Crusaders fast for three days and had the priests and clergy perform mass and prayers.<ref name=":1" /> Adhemar also ordered the Crusaders to shave and wear a cross in an attempt to stop Crusaders from attacking one another by accident. After the capture of [[Antioch|the city]] in June 1098 and the subsequent siege led by [[Kerbogha]], 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 leave the city. He was extremely skeptical of [[Peter Bartholomew]]'s discovery in Antioch of the [[Holy Lance]], 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. Adhemar was protected by a band of Crusaders led by [[Henry of Esch]] to preserve the (albeit suspect) relic. In June 1098 Adhemar fell prey to sickness and in the following months his condition would deteriorate.<ref name=":0" />

When Kerbogha was defeated, Adhemar organized a council in an attempt to settle the leadership disputes, but died on 1 August 1098,{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} probably of typhus.<ref>Descent into Discord. In Asbridge, Thomas (2004). ''The First Crusade: A New History. '' Oxford University Press. pp. 249-250.</ref> Adhemar was buried in Antioch within the [[Church of Cassian|Basilica of St Peter]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Brundage|first=James A.|date=1959|title=Adhemar of Puy: The Bishop and His Critics|jstor=2853164|journal=Speculum|volume=34|issue=2|pages=201–212|doi=10.2307/2853164}}</ref> The disputes among the higher nobles went unsolved and the march to [[Jerusalem]] was delayed for months. However, the lower-class soldiers continued to think of Adhemar as a leader. Following his death, Adhemar reportedly appeared in several visions of various Crusaders. One of the first was reported by [[Peter Bartholomew]] who stated that Adhemar appeared to him stating that, due to his skepticism of the Holy Lance, he had spent a few days in hell and was only rescued because a candle had been burned in his memory, he had given a gift to the Shrine where the Holy Lance was kept, and due to the prayers of Bohemond.<ref name=":0" /> At the [[siege of Jerusalem (1099)|siege of Jerusalem]], Peter Desiderius claimed that to have received a vision from Adhemar himself. Peter also claimed that, in this vision, Adhemar had instructed him to have the Crusaders fast and lead a procession around the Walls of Jerusalem.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=The social structure of the first Crusade|last=Kostick|first=Conor|date=2008|publisher=Brill|isbn=9789047445029|location=Leiden|oclc=607092233}}</ref> This was done and Jerusalem was taken by the Crusaders in 1099. Later, Stephen of Valence also claimed to have had visions featuring Adhemar in which Adhemar spoke to Stephen of several relics. Adhemar told Stephen great reverence should be given to the cross Adhemar had taken with him on the crusade. He also told Stephen how the Holy Lance should be treated and told Stephen to give Stephen's ring to Count Raymond. He told Stephen that, through this ring, Count Raymond would be able to call upon the power of Mary.<ref name=":1" />

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Adhemar de Monteil|volume=1|page=192}}
*{{cite book|editor-last=Peters|editor-first=Edward|title=The First Crusade|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|location=Philadelphia|isbn=0812210174|year=1971}}
*Murray, Alan V., [https://www.persee.fr/doc/rbph_0035-0818_1992_num_70_2_3824 "The Army of Godfrey of Bouillon, 1096–1099: Structure and Dynamics of a Contingent on the First Crusade" (PDF)], Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire, 1992
*Runciman, Steven, A History of the Crusades, Volume I: The First Crusade and the Foundation of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1951
*Riley-Smith, The First Crusaders, 1095–1131, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1997
*Edgington, Susan, Albert of Aachen: Historia Ierosolimitana, History of the Journey to Jerusalem, Clarendon Press, 2007 ([https://books.google.com/books?id=29ivdUpWBj8C&dq=Turbaisel&pg=PA166 available on Google Books])
* {{cite book|doi=10.1163/ej.9789004166653.i-324|title=The Social Structure of the First Crusade|year=2008|last1=Kostick|first1=Conor|isbn=9789004166653}}
* {{cite journal|doi=10.2307/2853164|jstor=2853164|title=Adhemar of Puy: The Bishop and His Critics|journal=Speculum|volume=34|issue=2|pages=201–212|year=1959|last1=Brundage|first1=James A.}}
* {{cite journal|doi=10.2307/3045830|jstor=3045830|title=A Crusading Fresco Cycle at the Cathedral of le Puy|journal=The Art Bulletin|volume=73|issue=4|pages=561–576|year=1991|last1=Derbes|first1=Anne}}

== External links ==
* Medieval Sourcebook: [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/urban2-5vers.html Speech by Urban II at Council of Clermont, 1095 (Five versions of the Speech)]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puy, Adhemar Of Le}}
[[Category:Christians of the First Crusade]]
[[Category:11th-century French Roman Catholic bishops]]
[[Category:Bishops of Le Puy-en-Velay]]
[[Category:1098 deaths]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:1040s births]]
[[Category:Holy Lance]]