Ademar (redirected from Adhemar of Le Puy)

Ademar or Adhémar (both: ăd`əmär), d. 1098, French prelate, bishop of Le Puy-en-Velay. At the Council of Clermont (1095), he energetically promoted the First Crusade (see Crusades) and was designated as papal legate on that expedition. He distinguished himself in the sieges of Nicaea and Antioch and carried the Holy Lance (with which Christ's side had been pierced by a Roman soldier) after its discovery, although he at first doubted its authenticity. He died at Antioch, a victim of the plague.