he Hermit, nor brutal like Gottschalk the Monk, but
possessed each of these qualities in a milder form; their valour being
tempered by caution, their religious zeal by worldly views, and their
ferocity by the spirit of chivalry. They saw whither led the torrent of
the public will; and it being neither their wish nor their interest to
stem it, they allowed themselves to be carried with it, in the hope
that it would lead them at last to a haven of aggrandizement. Around
them congregated many minor chiefs, the flower of the nobility of
France and Italy, with some few from Germany, England, and Spain. It
was wisely conjectured that armies so numerous would find a difficulty
in procuring provisions if they all journeyed by the same road. They,
therefore, resolved to separate, Godfrey de Bouillon proceeding through
Hungary and Bulgaria, the Count of Toulouse through Lombardy and
Dalmatia, and the other leaders through Apulia to Constantinople, where
the several divisions were to reunite. The forces under these leaders
have been variously estimated. The Princess Anna Comnena talks of them
as having been as numerous as the sands on the sea-shore, or the stars
in the firmament. Fulcher of Chartres is more satisfactory, and
exaggerates less magnificently, when he states, that all the divisions,
when they had sat down before Nice in Bithynia, amounted to one hundred
thousand horsemen, and six hundred thousand men on foot, exclusive of
the priests, women and children. Gibbon is of opinion that this amount
is exaggerated; but thinks the actual numbers did not fall very far
short of the calculation. The Princess Anna afterwards gives the number
of those under Godfrey of Bouillon as eighty thousand foot and horse;
and supposing that each of the other chiefs led an army as numerous,
the total would be near half a million. This must be over rather than
under the mark, as the army of Godfrey of Bouillon was confessedly the
largest when it set out, and suffered less by the way than any other.

The Count of Vermandois was the first who set foot on the Grecian
territory. On his arrival at Durazzo he was received with every mark of
respect and courtesy by the agents of the Emperor, and his followers
were abundantly supplied with provisions. Suddenly however, and without
cause assigned, the Count was arrested by order of the Emperor Alexius,
and conveyed a close prisoner to Constantinople. Various motives have
been assigned by different autho