History of the Crusades.

the Crusades. episodes.

Episode 12, The First Crusade Roman numeral 8.

Hello again.

When we left the Crusaders last week,

they were in abject misery at the siege of Antioch. They were on the verge of starvation, cold, wet, and unhappy.

They had experienced an earthquake and seen an aurora and a comet, all of which they interpreted as signs of God's Roth.

They were clearly being punished for their sins and they turned to Bishop Adama for guidance.

In a stroke of genius, Bishop Adama ordered the Latin Christians to fast for three days to purify their souls.

This was really a brilliant move.

There was hardly any food available and a growing number of the Crusaders were on the verge of starvation.

The fast preserved what little food there was, and made the Latin Christians feel good about not eating for three days at least.

The Bishop also ordered all the women to be removed from the camps.

Back in the Middle Ages, women were seen by the church as agents of sin,

and if God was displeased, you can be sure the women had something to do with it.

Not only single women, but also married women were ordered away from Antioch.

A new level of discipline was imposed on the Crusaders, and any transgressions such as stealing

were dealt with immediately and harshly. Bishop Adar then used his position as nominal leader of the army and the

Pope's representative to appeal for outside assistance.

The Patriarch of Jerusalem,

that's the head of the Orthodox Church in Jerusalem,

happened to be in Cyprus at this time.

...