Crusade of 1101

The Crusade of 1101 was a minor crusade of three separate movements, organized in 1100 and 1101 in the successful aftermath of the First Crusade. It is also called the Crusade of the Faint-Hearted due to the number of participants who joined this crusade after having turned back from the First Crusade. The Crusade of 1101 arose from a depletion of personnel suffered in battles with the Seljuq Turks in the First Crusade.

Calls for reinforcements from the newly established Kingdom of Jerusalem, and Pope Paschal II, successor to Pope Urban II (who died before learning of the outcome of the crusade that he had called), urged a new expedition. He especially urged those who had taken the crusade vow but had never departed, and those who had turned back while on the march. Some of these people were already scorned at home and faced enormous pressure to return to the east; Adela of Blois, wife of Stephen, Count of Blois, who had fled from the Siege of Antioch in 1098, was so ashamed of her husband that she would not permit him to stay at home. Some too were fleeing from the scorn that they were receiving at home, and as with all crusades, most were leaving oppressive poverty in search of a better life.