Peter the Hermit
Albert of Aix in his "Historia Hierosolymitanae Expeditionis" claims that Peter the Hermit was the true author and originator of the First Crusade. This story later appears in the pages of William of Tyre, which indicates that even a few generations after the crusade, the descendants of the crusaders believed Peter was its originator. This myth was dismissed by modern historians beginning with Heinrich von Sybel."" Various historical sources also recount that during an early visit to Jerusalem sometime before 1096, Jesus appeared to Peter the Hermit in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and bade him preach the crusade. The origins of these legend is a matter of some interest. Von Sybel suggested that in the camp of the paupers (which existed side by side with that of the knights, and grew increasingly large as the crusade took a more and more heavy toll on the purses of the crusaders) some idolization of Peter the Hermit had already begun, parallel to the similar glorification of Godfrey of Bouillon by the Lorrainers.