THE FALL OF THE HOLY CITY
people whom Saladin had not called in to his aid by prayer,
or pay, or right of dominion, and all in the hope of utterly
sweeping the race of Christians from the face of the earth.
But in vainj for, thanks to God, he was not strong enough to
achieve his wish. And the best flower of all the youth of
Christendom—a soldiery tried in war—had flowed thither
and, like the finest grain shaken from the ears, was united
there from the furthest ends of the earth. If anyone had
broken and exterminated this host without a doubt there
would have been no one left in the world able to offer
resistance." (Itinerary, Archer's translation.)
After this success, Richard marched to Jaffa, which the
Moslems had evacuated leaving the fortifications in ruin.
Not until December did the Crusading army leave the port
to advance on Jerusalem. The tidings that an attempt was
to be made to regain the Holy City aroused tremendous
enthusiasm, and men flocked from everywhere to serve under
Richard in so glorious a venture. The heavy rains made the
advance very slow, but the Crusaders struggled on as far as
Beit Nuba. There, however, the order was given to retreat.
Richard had been anxious to press forward, but the Templars
and the Hospitallers and most of the great nobles opposed
him. Even if the Christians took Jerusalem—and that
seemed highly improbable—how could it be defended, since
the Crusaders would return to Europe as soon as they had
fulfilled their vow and seen the holy places? The military
Orders and the lords were more anxious to recapture their
possessions elsewhere than to see Jerusalem recovered, and
Richard was advised first to break Saladin's hold in other
parts of the country before seeking to win the Holy City.
The English king reluctantly agreed to retreat to Ascalon,
which was reached at the beginning of 1192 after a terrible,
journey. Here again the Moslems had destroyed the walls,
and the Christians spent the rest of the winter in restoration.
Quarrels had been almost constant and they reached their