The Army of Raymond of Saint-Gilles was one of the first to be formed after Pope Urban II called for the First Crusade. Raymond, better known as Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, formed a Provençal army and left Toulouse in October 1096, traveling over the land route. He was the only leader of a major army that did not swear an oath of fealty to Alexius I, Emperor of Byzantine. The known members of the army, which numbered in the thousands, were almost all French and included the ones listed below, as reported in histories of the First Crusade. Unless otherwise noted, references are to the on-line database of Riley-Smith, et al., and the hyperlinks therein provide details including original sources. The names below are also referenced in the Riley-Smith tome, Appendix I: Preliminary List of Crusaders. Those references are not shown unless they appear elsewhere in the text of previously referenced book. Articles that are hyperlinked to a more detailed article in this encyclopædia rely on the latter for references.
The Commander’s Household
The known members of the Commanders’s household include the following:
The Standard-Bearer of the Commander was Heraclius I, Viscount of Polignac, related to Peter of Fay and was brother to Pons of Fay. He died in the siege of Antioch on 9 July 1098
Raymond of Vigeois, chamberlain to the Commander.
Clergy
The members of the church traveling with the Commander included:
Gouffier I, Lord of Lastours, Hautefort and Tarrason, related to a number of later Crusaders, and apparently brought a tamed lion back from the East
Hugh, Lord of Salagnac
Peter, Viscount of Castillon, sent by the Commander to try and secure Antioch before the arrival of his army
Peter, Lord of Fay-Chapteuil, brother of Pons of Fay-Chapteuil and related to the Standard-Bearer Heraclius I, Viscount of Polignac. He was killed by imperial troops while crossing Byzantine territory.
Pons, Lord of Blazon
Pons II, Lord of Fay-le-Froid, brother of Peter of Fay-Chapteuil and a relative of Heraclius of Polignac. He, like his brother, was killed by imperial troops while crossing Byzantine territory.
Pons, Lord of Mezenc, brother or half-brother of Peter the Bastard
While many thousands of knights and other fighting men joined the army, the following were noted:
Arnold Tudebode and his brother Arvedus Tudebod, both killed at the siege of Antioch. They were brothers of Peter Tudebode the cleric and historian.
Bernard Raymond of Béziers, likely the son of Bertrand II of Provence, the father-in-law of Bernard Ato IV
Farald of Thouars
Brothers Gerald, Raymond and Pons. Little is known about the brothers except that they each donated their part of the tithes pertaining to the castle of Rocha Martina to the abbey of St. Victor of Marseilles.
Isoard of Ganges, who distinguished himself at the siege of Antioch
Isoard I, Count of Die, a comrade of Peter Desiderius and under the command of Raymond Pilet d’d’alas
Peter the Bastard, Lord of Mezenc, brother of First Crusaders Pons, Lord of Mezenc, and Guy and William
Peter Bartholomew, was servant to William Peyre of Cunhla, and was sent as a messenger to the Turkish emir Kerbogha. His vision of the Holy Lance led to his trial by fire. He was pulled from the fire by Raymond Pilet d’Alès, but subsequently died.
Pons the Red, died shortly after returning from the Crusade
