What did bohemond's crusading army consist of?

Answer 1

Bohemond's army was about 10000 strong. Most of the troops would have been part of his earlier army which was besieging Amafli when Bohemond decided to join the crusade. There would have been a small proportion of Knights, around 10%, and most of the other soldiers would have been sergeants, big kite shaped shields and spears with mail armour. The Sicilians at the time used Muslim and Greek mercenary archers, perhaps some of the greeks would have gone on Crusade. Most of the men in this army would have been sicilian but the Knights and the leaders like Bohemond, Tancred and the more minor commanders in the army like Robert Girard would have all been of Norman decent. There would have been some armed pilgrims (peasants) but this tiny minority stop the army being considered a professional one, unlike the force under Peter the Hermit the year before.