The Holy Lance of Antioch

All hope for the First Crusade seemed lost, but then buy some miracle, the Crusaders won a resounding victory over their Muslim foe at Antioch. But how could the fortunes of the desperate and helpless change so dramatically? In this post, we will explore the story of the miraculous find of a hidden relic, the Holy Lance of Antioch whose power inspired the First Crusaders to victory against all odds.

The Siege of Antioch October 1097 – June 1098

The First Crusaders departed for the Holy Land from August 1096. They crossed the Bosphorus and made their way through the most hostile lands imaginable. They arrived at the walls of Antioch on 20th October 1097 and found a well fortified city. The Crusaders besieged the city for 9 months. It was a long and brutal seige not only for the inhabitants of Antioch but for the Crusaders as well. A shortage of food saw as many as one in five Crusaders die from starvation. Depserate times called for desperate measures, the besiegers ate anything they could find, their horses, dogs, even the seeds of grain they found in manure. Finally in June 1098, Bohemond of Taranto soon to be ruler of the city, convinced an Antiochene to betray his own people and show the Crusaders a way into the city.

Bohemond had convinced him of his friendship and promised this man great rewards of he would permit the army to enter the city. Climbing a ladder, a contingent of Bohemond’s entered the city and then opened a gate to allow the rest of the army to enter the city. Once within the walls, the Crusaders, frustrated by such a long and hard siege beagn to take retribution on the unfortunate Muslim citizens of Antioch. The annonymous author of the Gesta Francorum writes:

“All the squares of the city were already everywhere full of the corpses of the dead, so that no one could endure it there for the excessive stench. No one could go along a street of the city except over the bodies of the dead.”¹

The Besiegers Become the Besieged

The Crusaders took all of the city except for the all important citadel from where attacks were launched against the Crusaders within the city walls. Soon, the besiegers became the besieged. Kerbogha, the regent of Mosul arrived with a great army and the Crusaders found themselves surrounded. Kerbogha encircled Antioch intending to starve his enemies:

“…the crowds of non-combatants and ordinary people were forced to devour their leather shoes because of the pressure of hunger. Some, indeed, filled their wretched bellies with roots of stinging nettles and other sorts of woodland plants…”.²

The Crusaders were desperate, they could not hope to achieve anything but suicide by engaging with Kerbogha and so they waited for a miracle.

Peter Bartholemew

That miracle was delivered in the form of a vision received by a lowly monk, Peter Bartholomew, a womaiser and a drunkard in the contingent of Raymond of St Giles. Peter claimed to have received a series of visions ove the course of several months, These became more intense once within Antioch itself.

According to the account of Raymond of Aguilers, chaplain to Raymond of St Giles, Peter was visited by St Andrew and Christ himself in a dream who ordered him to go to Adhemar of Le Puy, the Papal Legate and Raymond of St Giles, one of the secular leaders of the expedition, with information relating to the whereabouts of the Holy Lance. The Holy Lance, or Spear of Destiny was used to pierce Christ’s side by the Roman soldier Longinus while Jesus suffered on the Cross.

In the vision, St Andrew led Peter Bartholomew to St Peter’s Church in Antioch and indicated that the Holy Lance lay there buried. Peter was instructed to tell Raymond of St Giles to arrange for twelve men to accompany Peter and to dig in the spot where St Andrew showed the Holy Lance to be. The Saint assured Peter that ‘whoever shall bear this lance in battle shall never be overcome by an enemy‘.³ It was to Raymond of St Giles whom Christ wished to bequeathed this mighty weapon to. Initially, Peter was afraid to approach Adhemar and Raymond being of a lowly status eyt after he was reprimanded by his supernatural visitors, he felt compelled to deliver this important message.

The Discovery of the Holy Lance of Antioch 15th June 1098

With nothing to loose, Raymond of St Giles ordered a digging party in the location indicated by Peter. After a day’s digging and still no lance, all hope seemed lost. Then, on 15th June, Peter of Bartholemew dug frantically and raised the Lance from the ground. The author bore witness to the discovery:

“And I, who have written this, kissed it when the point alone had as yet appeared above ground.”⁴

Although Raymond of St Giles believed in the authenticity of this relic, as did his chaplain, our eye-witness, Raymond d’Aguilers, others were a little more sceptical. Some were leaders of the expedition and included men of notes such as Bohemond of Taranto and Adhemar of Le Puy himself. Adhemar’s reservations may have originated in Peter’s lowly status, but they may also stem from the well-known existence of a Holy Lance housed at Constantinople. Indeed Adhemar may have even seen this relic when he travelled through Constantinople in 1097 as part of the Crusade. This relic, it was claimed, had been acquired by Constantine’s mother, Helena in the 4th century.

Claims of vision and supernatural occurrences were becoming the norm and had been reported since the Battle of Dorylaeum the previous year.⁵ When recording the epiosde of the discovery of the Holy Lance, Raymond d’ Aguilers noted a vision experienced by a priest named Stephen who was visited by Christ himself whilst praying in a church within the city walls. Christ had chastised the Crusaders for their sinfulness.⁶ The Crusade was something novel and these miraculous interventions were taken as a sign of God’s approval of the mission.

Although some held doubts regarding the authenticity of the Holy Lance, they held their tongues for the time-being. Bohemond even testified to the relic’s authenticity as co-author to a letter address to Pope Urban II in September 1098 when reflecting upon events. For the discovery of the relic greatly renewed morale within the Crusader ranks and emboldened them. As the letter from the leaders of the expedition to Pope Urban states:

“We were so comforted and strengthened by [the Lance’s] discovery and by so many other divine revelations that some of us who had been discouraged and fearful beforehand, then became courageous and resolute to fight, and encouraged each other.”⁷

The Defeat of Kerbogha 28th June 1098

Now in possession of a most sacred relic, the Crusaders were spured on to confront the forces of Kerbogha on 28th June 1098. Although severely outnumbered, many held faith in the power of the relic and the assurance of victory to the one who possessed it. The Cruaders formed ranks outside the city walls and Raymond of St Giles handed the Lance to Adhemar to hold as Raymond himself was reportedly too ill to fight. Adehmar offered the Lance to several leaders of the expedition, all of whom refused to hold it for they longed to fight the enemy.⁸ Once outside the city walls, the Crusaders’ ranks were swelled by a celestial army:

“There came out from the mountains, also, countless armies with white horses, whose standards were all white. And so, when our leaders saw this army, they were entirely ignorant as to what it was, and who they were, until they recognized the aid of Christ, whose leaders were St George, Mercurius and Demetrius. This is to be believed, for many of our men saw it.“⁹

This story of the appearance of St George at such a pivotal moment in the expedition became a central aspect of the First Crusade narrative and can be found in other accounts. Against all the odds, the First Crusaders were the victors and slaughtered Kerbogha’s forces and turned the survivors to flight.

Visions of Adhemar of Le Puy

On 1st August 1098 following an illness, Adhemar died and was buried in St Peter’s, Antioch, the very place where the Holy Lance had been discovered some weeks earlier. Adhemar had doubted the validity of the Lance and the claims made by Peter of Saintly visitations. Once he had passed, the new leader of the doubters was Arnulf of Choques, another clerical leader of the expedition. Peter told Arnulf that he had been visited by Adhemar three days after his death, he claimed Adhemar told him:

“…because I hesitated to believe in the Lord’s Lance, when, I, of all people, should have accepted it, I was led into hell.”¹⁰

Yet once he had atoned for this sin, Adhemar was received into heaven. Peter’s visions were becoming more dramatic however and ultimately attracting more criticism and doubt.

Trial by Fire 8th April 1099

The senior clergy questionned Peter and he asked to undergo the ordeal of fire. In essence Peter was to walk in between two planks of wood that had been set alight. Raymond d’Aguiler reports that on 8th April 1099:

“... the Bishop handed him the Lance, and Peter genuflected, made the sign of the Cross, walked into the flaming pile bravely and undaunted, briefly lingered in its midst, and finally by God’s grace emerged from the flames.“¹¹

Raymond undeterred in his support for Peter reported the sighting of a celestial priest entering the flames before Peter, seemingly in an effort to assist the bearer of the Lance. Other reports included a bird circling Peter’s head before plunging into the flames. These descriptions add to the supernatural and miraculous nature of the epsiode. Peter would have emerged from the flames unharmed, according to Raymond d’Aguilers but for the crowds who:

“…seized him, I say, and pulled him along ` the ground. Almost everyone from the mob pushed and shoved, thinking Peter was nearby and hoping to touch him or snatch a piece of his clothing. The mob made three or four gashes on his legs in the tussle, and cracked his backbone.“¹²

Our eyewitness is careful to note that the crowds and not the flames caused these injuries to Peter. 12 days later, Peter lay gravely ill. Raymond d’Aguilers recalled the event:

“Peter Bartholomew, debilitated by illness resulting from his crushing blows and wounds, called the Count and other leaders to him and told them: “Death comes near, and I am well aware that in the presence of God I shall be judged for all my evil deeds, words, or thoughts. In God’s sight and your presence I bear witness to Him now that I fabricated nothing concerning all the things I reported to you as coming from God and the apostles. Without doubt, you will see the fulfillment of my words if you faithfully serve God.” After this Peter, on the hour set by God, died peacefully and was buried on the spot where he crossed through the fire with the Holy Lance.“¹³

Divisions over Authenticity

Although some did still hold that the relic was authentic, Peter’s death for many confirmed their suspicions, that Peter was a fraud and so was the relic. Nevertheless, the tale of the discovery of the Holy Lance of Antioch and Peter’s visions form a staple part of many First Crusade narratives.

The division over the authenticity of the Holy Lance of Antioch proves that not all bought into religious fanaticism. That many on the expedition questionned the miracles presented to them and accessed the validity of claims of visionaries and of the miraculous. Not all blindly followed religious fanatics such as Peter Bartholemew and Peter the Hermit. The debate over the authenticty over the Lance caused deep rifts between the Crusade leaders.

Raymond of St Giles remained the strongest supporter of the authenticty of the Lance, he had even decalred that Peter was a Saint and was reportedly furious at Arnulf of Choques for questionning the validity of the Lance. He sent some of his Provenceal men to hunt down Arnulf who in turn was forced to seek the protection of Robert of Normandy and Robert of Flanders.¹⁴ The episode of the Holy Lance of Antioch fed into divisions which had already existed between the Crusade leaders and these rifts would surface once more when the First Crusaders reached Jerusalem.

Footnotes

1. ‘The Fall of Antioch: The Gesta Version’, in E. Peters (ed.), The First Crusade: The Chronicle of Fulcher of Chartres and Other Source Materials, (1998), p. 205. ↩︎
2. S.B. Edgington (ed. and trans.), Albert of Aachen’s History of the Journey to Jerusalem, (2013), p. 158. ↩︎
3. ‘The Discover of the Holy Lance: The Version of Raymond d’Aguilers’, in E. Peters (ed.) The First Crusade : The Chronicle of Fulcher of Chartres and Other Source Materials, (1998), p. 215. ↩︎
4. ‘The Discovery of the Holy Lance: The Version of Raymond d’Aguilers’, in E. Peters (ed.) The First Crusade : The Chronicle of Fulcher of Chartres and Other Source Materials, (1998), p. 220. ↩︎
5. T. Asbridge, ‘The Holy Lance of Antioch: Power, Devotion and Memory on the First Crusade‘, Reading Medieval Studies vol. 33, (2007), pp. 5-6. ↩︎
6. ‘The Discover of the Holy Lance: The Version of Raymond d’Aguilers’, in E. Peters (ed.) The First Crusade : The Chronicle of Fulcher of Chartres and Other Source Materials, (1998), p. 219. ↩︎
7. T. Asbridge, The Holy Lance of Antioch: Power, Devotion and Memory on the First Crusade‘, Reading Medieval Studies vol. 33, (2007), p. 10. ↩︎
8. C. Sweetenham, (ed. and trans.)The Chanson D’Antioche An Old-French Account of the First Crusade, (2011), pp. 285-286. ↩︎
9. ‘The Defeat of Kerbogha: The Gesta Version’, in E. Peters (ed.) The First Crusade : The Chronicle of Fulcher of Chartres and Other Source Materials, (1998), p. 223 ↩︎
10. J. Hugh Hill and L.L. Hill (trans.) Raymond d’Aguilers, Historia Francorum qui ceperunt Iherusalem (1968), p. 97. ↩︎
11. Ibid, p. 101. ↩︎
12. Ibid, p. 102. ↩︎
13. Ibid, p. 108. ↩︎
14. B.S. Bachrach , and D.S. Bachrach (ed. and trans.) The Gesta Tancredi of Ralph of Caen : A History of the Normans on the First Crusade, (2016), pp. 126-127. ↩︎