It was the fall of 1096, and Count Raymond’s army was at last ready to depart for the Holy Land. A Holy Mass was held that morning with several priests blessing the knights, warriors, and camp followers as they exited the gates of Toulouse on the first leg of their journey to Constantinople. The armies of the princes of Europe were to rendezvous at the great Byzantine capital, where they would pay homage to Emperor Alexios, resupply their units, and formulate their plans to invade the Turkish-held lands.
At great personal expense, Count Raymond had outfitted his entire army with tunics emblazoned with the cross to signify them as cruce signatus, those who wear the sign of the cross, or Crusaders, as they had begun to be known. At the head of the army, Count Raymond rode out on a great whi
