Free Armies of Heaven by Jay Rubenstein

hoping to force Peter to abandon what seemed pointless debate and deliberation.
    Their activity did not pass unnoticed. When Nicetas saw what must have seemed inexplicable movements within Peter’s armies, he ordered a full-fledged assault. The crusaders panicked. Men and women fell into the river and drowned. They were shot down with arrows fired from the ramparts of the city walls. They were cut down or imprisoned. All of their money and supplies, including a wagon full of gold and silver, were captured. Peter himself with only a few companions ran into the woods that surrounded Nish. They wandered without direction on the thickly forested hills. As far as they knew, all of their companions had been killed, their crusade ended in disaster. 8
    Peter himself managed to work his way up a mountain near the city, and by the time he had reached the top, he had gathered together about fifty of his followers, including Godfrey Burel and Walter of Breteuil, both of whom had been offered as hostages to Nicetas. Unsure how many, if any, of their companions, once as numerous as the sands of the sea, had survived, Peter ordered his men to sound trumpets and to make as great a noise as possible. By the time the sun had set, as Albert of Aachen told it, 7,000 pilgrims, dazed and groggy, emerged from the forest. They marched to a nearby deserted town (its citizens had probably left out of fear of what Peter might do to them) and camped outside its walls, living on whatever grains they could scavenge, waiting to see how many more of their companions had escaped and might yet return to them. Miraculously, a full three-quarters of the army found their way to Peter’s camp.
    In the meantime, unknown to Peter, Nicetas had written to the Emperor Alexius II to warn him about the latest Frankish army and to ask for advice. The emperor, who now would have known about Walter’s army as well, took the situation in hand, sending envoys to Peter. They found him near the city of Sophia, a little over one hundred miles from Nish, and brought both a stern message and welcome news. Alexius, they informed
Peter, was displeased because “your army has plundered and created chaos throughout his territory.” Nonetheless, Alexius forgave Peter his trespasses and instructed the governors in all his cities to open their markets to him provided that Peter did not disturb any one place for more than three days, kept the peace, and made his way to Constantinople as quickly as possible. Once more, and for the first time since Zemun, Peter rejoiced at his good fortune. 9
    It was a remarkable achievement. A charismatic hermit, who had embraced poverty and believed that God had sent him a message from heaven, had raised an army of several thousand Christians and had managed to hold it together on a long and dangerous march. That discipline broke down outside of Nish, after more than two months and one thousand miles of marching, is less remarkable than that the apocalyptic doctrine Peter had espoused was powerful enough to keep his followers so focused and organized that most of them safely reached Constantinople.
    Five days after leaving Sophia, Peter stopped at Philippopolis, where Walter’s army had been just ten days earlier. There, Peter, “insignificant in stature but great in voice and in heart,” told crowds of locals about his sufferings and his adventures. Though he undoubtedly needed to speak through an interpreter, many were moved to tears, and listeners lined up to give him and his followers money, food, horses, and mules. No doubt a few listeners pledged themselves to his cause, too. Peter also would have taken a moment to visit the grave of the cross-decorated Walter of Poissy, whom he had recruited just to the north of Paris while traveling with his entourage of beggars and redeemed prostitutes. 10
    Â 
    IN THE MEANTIME, three other armies, organized by preachers and at least one prophet, were closely following