Duces Christi : A thematic analysis of the non-combat aspects of military leadership in the First Crusade

Abstract

Historical military research of the medieval period has concentrated heavily upon the battles and technology of the age. The aim of this study is to identify some of the principal combat support aspects of military leadership that were key to the success of the First Crusade in the period between the sermon at Clermont in 1096 and the victory at Aschelon in 1100. A focus has been made on those primary sources written both by pilgrims themselves and their contemporaries in the years immediately after the campaign’s conclusion. It concentrates on three non-combat themes of the First Crusade as a military campaign; Intelligence Gathering, Logistics and Psychology in the confines of conflict. These aspects of military leadership were utilised by the commanders of the crusade in order to overcome the many challenges that presented themselves to them away from the fighting. Without studying these facets, it becomes more difficult to gain a fuller picture of the events of the First Crusade, its success and perhaps as a highlight to why other campaigns of the medieval age and beyond have concluded in the ways that they have. This study has identified a number of previously unknown methods that have been used in warfare during the period as well as suggesting potential agents and agencies overlooked in previous studies. As a holistic study it has considered topics that encompass more than the participants and their battles, looking towards the use of and impact of non-combat aspects upon the pilgrims as they walked to the spiritual centre of their then known world.