Podiensis episcopus: Adhémar of Le Puy, was Bishop of Puy-en-Velay (in south central France), and was the delegate of Pope Urban II to the crusade and was closely allied with Count Raymond of Toulouse. He was the spiritual leader of the crusaders, but also a famous warrior, taking part in the Battle of Dorylaeum and the Siege of Antioch.
Balduinus: Baldwin of Boulogne, also called Count of Edessa and Baldwin I of Jerusalem. He was the younger brother of Godfrey of Bouillon. In 1098 he left the main crusader army to establish a crusader state in Edessa (now Urfa, in S.E. Turkey). After the fall of Jerusalem and the death of his brother Godfrey he became king of the crusader kingdom of Jerusalem.
Boamundus: Bohemond of Taranto, also called Bohemond I of Antioch and Bohemond of Hauteville. Bohemond was a famous Italo-Norman warrior, an in some ways the “hero” of the Gesta Francorum. His baptismal name was Mark, but his father, the Norman warrior Robert Guiscard, called him Bohemond after a legendary giant. He was strikingly tall and muscular, experienced in wars against Byzantine and Muslim armies, and leader of the Italo-Norman crusaders. After his success in capturing Antioch he held on the city rather than continuing on to Jerusalem.
Dux Godefridus: Godfrey of Bouillon, also called Duke Godfrey. He was lord of Bouillon (in modern Belgium) and Duke of Lower Lotharingia/Lower Lorraine. He was one of the most important crusader leaders, and after the fall of Jerusalem 1099 became its first crusader ruler, supposedly as “Advocate of the Holy Sepulchre” rather than as king.
Hugo Magnus: Hugh of Vermandois, Count of Vermandois (in what is now Picardy), and the younger brother of King Philip I of France. The name Magnus is supposedly a bad translation of le Maisné, Old French for “The Younger.” In 1098, when the crusaders were besieged in Antioch, Hugh went to Constantinople to ask the Byzantine emperor for help, but failed and returned to France, and was scorned for not fulfilling his vows as a crusader.
Petrus Heremita: Peter the Hermit. He was a priest of Amiens (in France) and an enthusiastic supporter of Pope Urban II’s preaching of a crusade and a leader of the “People’s Crusade,” a disorganized mix of soldiers and civilians responsible for massacres of Jews in the Rhineland (not mentioned in the Gesta Francorum). Many members of the People’s Crusade were killed in 1096 by the Turks at Civetot, but Peter remained with the main body of crusaders until the fall of the Jerusalem, and apparently after that returned to France.
Raimundus, comes de Sancto Egidio: Raymond of Toulouse, also called Raymond of Saint-Gilles (his preferred name). He was Count of Saint-Gilles (in Provence), count of Toulouse (a much more important city), Duke of Narbonne and Margrave of Provence. His second wife was Matilda, daughter of Count Roger of Sicily and a cousin of Bohemond. Raymond was by far the richest of the crusader leaders and his contingent of Provençal soldiers was by far the largest. After the siege of Antioch Raymond was the most important leader of the march south to Jerusalem, and after its capture he was offered the Kingdom of Jerusalem but declined it.
Rotbertus comes Flandrensis: Robert of Flanders, also called Count Robert, Robert of Jerusalem and Robert the Crusader. He was a kinsman of Godfrey of Bouillon and an important leader of the northern French crusaders.
Rotbertus Nortmannus: Robert of Normandy, Duke of Normandy, also called Robert Curthose (“Shortsocks” or “Shortpants”), apparently because he was short. He was the oldest son of William the Conqueror, but inherited the Duchy of Normandy rather than England, which went to his brother William Rufus. He joined in the capture of Jerusalem and was played a prominent role at the subsequent Battle of Ascalon (1099). After returning to Normandy he tried to take the English crown from his brother, but was defeated and spent almost thirty years as a prisoner, and was buried at Gloucester.
Stephanus or Stephanus Carnotensis: Stephen of Blois, Count of Blois and Chartres. He was married to Adela, daughter of William the Conquerer; letters to her describing the crusade survive, but are not mentioned in the Gesta Francorum. He was elected commander-in-chief of the crusaders at Antioch, but abandoned the army when it was about to be attacked, and returned home in disgrace.
Tancredus: Tancred of Hauteville. Tancred was Bohemond’s nephew, and a second Italo-Norman “hero” of the Gesta Francorum. He was an energetic warrior, and was one of the first crusaders to enter Jerusalem when it fell in 1099. He later became regent of Antioch and Prince of Galilee.