Army of Hugh the Great on the First Crusade
The army of Hugh the Great was formed after the Council of Clermont, led by Pope Urban II in November 1095. Hugh, son of Henry I of France, and his wife Anne of Kiev, was Count of Vermandois, de jure uxoris, due to his marriage to Adelaide of Vermandois. In August 1096, Hugh and his small army left France "in prima profectione", the first army of the third wave to leave France, and travelled to Bari, Italy, and then crossed the Adriatic Sea to the Byzantine Empire, in an armada commanded  by Arnout II, Count of Aarschot. When Hugh entered Constantinople, he carried a "Vexillum sancti Petri", a banner given to him by the pope, Hugh being the last such noble to carry the banner. The known nobles, clergy and knights of Hugh's army include: The army of Hugh participated in numerous battles including the siege of Nicaea, the Battle of Dorylaeum, and the siege of Antioch. After Hugh's return to France, many of the knights under his command joined other Crusader armies.