Fortune's Wheel: A Podcast History of Our Medieval Story
May 29, 2026 · 43 min · 11 segments
**SEASON 8**: The First Crusade **EPISODE 210:** “Many Wept For Joy” The road from Arqa to Jerusalem was no stroll in the park, and soon the crusaders found themselves humbled at the sight of…
In mid-January 1099, Raymond IV of Toulouse led his roughly 15,000-man army, an army which consisted of mostly his own provincial knights and infantry, but also included many mercenaries and faithful-to-the-cause warriors from Normandy, Southern Italy, Flanders, and Germany.
After more than a year suffering for a city none of them decided to stay in, there was certainly no shortage of bitterness, resentment, and frustration in the men's hearts as they marched away from Bohemond's new prize.
They knew the road ahead was pockmarked with Muslim-controlled towns and cities and ports, so treading carefully was the trick.
They quickly marched into a region controlled by the Munqidh family.
Luckily for Raymond and his army, the Munqidshes were no friends of the Seljuk Turks, as they were an Arab family.
By this point it's worth noting that the records have shown a very real shift in how these Westerners viewed Muslim territories.
One could easily argue that before they reached Cilicia up north, many Latin Christians viewed them all as simply Muslim, sort of a, a one-size-fits-all kind of thing.
They were heading not necessarily into Seljuk Turk territory or Arab territory as far as they were concerned, they were heading into Muslim territory.
But by the time they moved out of Antioch, pretty much everybody had been educated in the regional and cultural differences within said Muslim territory.
They became aware of the tension between Arabs and Seljuks, and what's more, many of these crusaders became aware of further breakdowns in Islam, namely between the Seljuks, who were Sunni, and the Fatimids out of Egypt, who were Shia.
Raymond quickly began pitting all of these people against each other, and what resulted was a network spidering out in front of the marching army of various villages, towns, cities, and ports all showering him with various payments so as not to only appease him, but to curry favor for protection against all of their rival emirs.
Raymond of Aguilers writes, quote, "The Emir of Tripoli offered us 15,000 gold pieces of Saracen money, plus horses, she-mules, many garments, and even more such rewards in succeeding years.
In addition, the lord of Jabala, fearful of another siege, sent our leaders tribute of 5,000 gold pieces, horses, she-mules, and an abundant supply of wine.
Now we were well-provisioned, because many gifts from castles and cities other than Jabala were sent to us." End quote.
Tripoli, Jabala, these were but two, but rest assured Raymond had his tendrils in innumerable places.
But two things occurred in April that would shake the increasingly strong foundation forming beneath Raymond's reputation.
This was more than just a self-proclaimed visionary's injured pride.
At its core, this amounted to a referendum on whether the Holy Lance itself was legit or not.
Which of course, as you probably already put together, is a direct referendum of Raymond of Toulouse's leadership as well.
Well, we know Peter's sad fate, walking through the fire holding the Holy Lance wrapped in a cloth, and while the Holy Lance and cloth were not burned, he doesn't quite make it out in such great shape, dying 12 days later of these injuries.
This was a major hit to Raymond's legitimacy.
The second thing to happen in April of 1099 was twofold.
In mid-January 1099, Raymond IV of Toulouse led his roughly 15,000-man army, an army which consisted of mostly his own provincial knights and infantry, but also included many mercenaries and faithful-to-the-cause warriors from Normandy, Southern Italy, Flanders, and Germany.
After more than a year suffering for a city none of them decided to stay in, there was certainly no shortage of bitterness, resentment, and frustration in the men's hearts as they marched away from Bohemond's new prize.
They knew the road ahead was pockmarked with Muslim-controlled towns and cities and ports, so treading carefully was the trick.
They quickly marched into a region controlled by the Munqidh family.
Luckily for Raymond and his army, the Munqidshes were no friends of the Seljuk Turks, as they were an Arab family.
By this point it's worth noting that the records have shown a very real shift in how these Westerners viewed Muslim territories.
One could easily argue that before they reached Cilicia up north, many Latin Christians viewed them all as simply Muslim, sort of a, a one-size-fits-all kind of thing.
They were heading not necessarily into Seljuk Turk territory or Arab territory as far as they were concerned, they were heading into Muslim territory.
But by the time they moved out of Antioch, pretty much everybody had been educated in the regional and cultural differences within said Muslim territory.
They became aware of the tension between Arabs and Seljuks, and what's more, many of these crusaders became aware of further breakdowns in Islam, namely between the Seljuks, who were Sunni, and the Fatimids out of Egypt, who were Shia.
Raymond quickly began pitting all of these people against each other, and what resulted was a network spidering out in front of the marching army of various villages, towns, cities, and ports all showering him with various payments so as not to only appease him, but to curry favor for protection against all of their rival emirs.
Raymond of Aguilers writes, quote, "The Emir of Tripoli offered us 15,000 gold pieces of Saracen money, plus horses, she-mules, many garments, and even more such rewards in succeeding years.
In addition, the lord of Jabala, fearful of another siege, sent our leaders tribute of 5,000 gold pieces, horses, she-mules, and an abundant supply of wine.
Now we were well-provisioned, because many gifts from castles and cities other than Jabala were sent to us." End quote.
Tripoli, Jabala, these were but two, but rest assured Raymond had his tendrils in innumerable places.
But two things occurred in April that would shake the increasingly strong foundation forming beneath Raymond's reputation.
This was more than just a self-proclaimed visionary's injured pride.
At its core, this amounted to a referendum on whether the Holy Lance itself was legit or not.
Which of course, as you probably already put together, is a direct referendum of Raymond of Toulouse's leadership as well.
Well, we know Peter's sad fate, walking through the fire holding the Holy Lance wrapped in a cloth, and while the Holy Lance and cloth were not burned, he doesn't quite make it out in such great shape, dying 12 days later of these injuries.
This was a major hit to Raymond's legitimacy.
The second thing to happen in April of 1099 was twofold.
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