born 0441; 1050, probably Amiens
died July 8, 1115, Huy, Flanders
French ascetic and one of the most important preachers of the First Crusade .
A charismatic ascetic, he preached widely in Europe in support of the First Crusade and led his enthusiastic followers to Constantinople in 1096. They advanced to Nicomedia, but Peter was unable to maintain discipline; he returned to Constantinople to ask for help from Alexius I , and in his absence his army was annihilated by the Turks. Peter reached Jerusalem in 1099 and afterwards returned to France, where he became prior of an Augustinian monastery.