ABSTRACT
The gathering of military intelligence during the crusades is an under-researched area. Where it is mentioned at all by the major historians of warfare, the assumption that it took place is not examined in any critical detail. This chapter examines the evidence available in the primary sources for the First Crusade. Bohemond appears to have been the only Western leader who could match Alexios for duplicity, and for awareness of the importance of military intelligence. This is the inference from reading the primary account written by his follower, the author of the Gesta Francorum. At the risk of arguing ex silentio, the Gesta author left Antioch with the main armies and Bohemond remained in Antioch, Frankish scouts and spies are not once more mentioned by him. A hypothesis is that the other leaders did not have the advantage that the systematic use of espionage conferred upon Bohemond.
