THE FIRST CRUSADE Epochs of Modern History: The Crusades G.W. Cox 1097-1097 A.D. A.D. 1096, Departure of the first rabble of Crusaders under Peter the Hermit and Walter the Penniless. LITTLE more than half the time allowed for the gathering of the crusaders had passed away, when a crowd of some sixty thousand men and … Continue reading The Crusades (Chapter 3)