#32 "The Medieval Army, The First Crusade, Military Musicians"

Command and Conquer: The Medieval Warrior
by By Ken Mondschein
The army of The Black Prince, Edwaed of Wales, before the Battle of Poitiers in 1356 was more than 7,000 strong, yet the British soldiers were expected to go into the fields in an organized fashion and vanquish the French. How the met these challenges is a function of the society from which they came.

Military Musicians: A Gift from the East
by Bruce P. Gleason
When European mercenaries were called in to recover the Holy Land during the Crusades, on more than one occasion they were met by Muslim warriors being led into battle by kettledrummers riding on Ute backs of camels. Coupling the eastern mounted kettledrum tradition with the revived Roman practice of utilizing horse mounted horn players as signalers in battle, the following centuries saw the spread of mounted musicians on horseback through much of the world.

For Life and Limb: The First Crusade
by Jack L. Lepa
In 1095, at the Council of Clermont, Pope Urban I called on all of Christendom to take up arms against infidels. The Pope used every possible argument to entice the French knights to take up the cross and fight. He also offered his listeners the possibility of territorial conquests in Palestinecand promised Papal protection for the property and family of any Crusader and complete forgiveness for their sinscwhich explains much of the appeal of the First Crusade.