Pierre l'Ermite et la première croisade by Jean Flori (review)

446book reviews Pierre l'Ermite et lu première croisade. By Jean Flori. (Paris: Fayard. 1999. Pp. 647. FF 170.00.) Peter the Hermit does not have quite the centrality in M. Flori's masterly and persuasive study of the First Crusade that its title may at first sight suggest, for what it offers is a comprehensive reconsideration of the history and historiography of the Crusade in its many aspects; an attempt is made to establish and assess Peter's role within the total picture. The foundation of this reappraisal of the Crusade is a thorough and challenging consideration of the primary sources, and especially of the chronicles. A salutary caution is sounded against an undue reliance upon the anonymous Gesta Francorum,which as it stands is not only colored by the concerns of the Norman Bohemond in the first decade of the twelfth century but is also derived from a common source which it shares with Tudebode. It cannot without much qualification be credited with the immediacy to the events of the Crusade which has often been supposed. Like other recent historians, Flori finds valuable material in Tudebode, especially in passages peculiar to this source. But his major reassessment concerns the chronicle of Albert of Aachen. Although Albert did not hear Urban II's preaching or go to the East himself, he was freer than most other chroniclers from attachment to any of the main Crusading leaders or groupings. Moreover, his history gives evidence of his reliability, judgment, and moderation, as well as his access to information. Flori therefore rates him highly as a source. Recent scholarship has made much of the Crusade under its aspect as an armed pilgrimage. While Flori confirms such an interpretation, he convincingly argues that it should also be understood, as Carl Erdmann argued, against the background of established traditions of holy war; unlike Erdmann, however, Flori regards the liberation ofJerusalem as having been from the start the prime objective of the Crusade, not least in Urban's preaching. This is partly because, in the tradition of Paul Alphandéry, Flori lays weight upon the significance of apocalyptic ideas, which for Flori were potent not only in Crusade recruitment but also in shaping the events of the Crusade up to the capture of Jerusalem and the battle of Ascalon which followed it. Such apocalyptic ideas were strongest amongst the popular elements in the Crusade. It is a major achievement of Flori's study thus to provide a reminder of how complex a phenomenon the Crusade was. It is in the light of this reappraisal that he offers his view of Peter the Hermit. The prominence that Albert of Aachen gives him must be taken seriously in view of the reliability with which this source is to be credited; it is confirmed not only by the testimony of Anna Comnena but also by the fact that Peter and his followers were able to set out forJerusalem so early as March 8, 1096. After the disaster to his forces at Civetot, Peter emerges to significance and even prominence at each stage of the Crusade up to the capture of Jerusalem and the battle of Ascalon; he demonstrates the importance of apocalyptic expectations , especially amongst the popular elements. Flori casts convincing doubt upon the story that Peter deserted the Crusading host at Antioch, thus impair- BOOK REVIEWS447 ing his own credibility. Flori's final verdict upon Peter is that he was a visionary rather than a coward, and that he probably had more influence upon the Crusade from beginning to end than recent historians have thought (p. 492). Flori carries conviction in this as in most other aspects of a landmark study of the Crusade that demands the widest attention. H.E.J. COWDREY St. Edmund Hall, Oxford Daibert von Pisa. Zwischen Pisa, Papst und erstem Kreuzzug. By Michael Matzke. [Vorträge und Forschungen, Sonderband 44.] (Sigmaringen: Jan Thorbecke Verlag. 1998. Pp. 255. DM 96 paperback.) Daibert of Pisa (to adopt the spelling of his name that Dr. Matzke shows to be preferable) has had a bad reputation with modern historians of the Crusades, especially with regard to his brief period as patriarch ofJerusalem after its capture...