THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS

The catastrophe was regarded as the judgment of God on His
people, and the Christians broke in terror. The military
Orders were almost alone in maintaining discipline, but their
example and the commands of the secular leaders were alike
useless to combat the superstitious fears of the army, which
rushed in wild disorder to Acre. The Templars and
Hospitallers, after continuing the siege for a short time, had
to withdraw owing to lack of support. The Crusaders
regained their courage at Acre. Fresh detachments from the
West had arrived, bringing with them stories of wonderful
manifestations. The tales of miraculous escapes of ships
threatened by all kinds of danger were looked upon as a proof
that God, if He had been displeased with the Christians, had
now forgiven them and was fighting on their side. King
Andrew of Hungary, the commander-in-chief of the Crusade,
resigned the leadership and made way for King John, who
proved himself much more energetic. John did not propose
to continue the fight in Palestine. He agreed with the
military Orders that the Moslem power in Egypt must be
broken as a first step.

William of Chartres, the Master of the Temple at this
time, wrote to the Pope (now Honorius III), defending the
proposal to descend upon Egypt, and explaining that, once
Cairo had been taken, the Crusaders would easily recapture
the Holy City. William had no qualms about the adventure,
for, he tells Honorius, never in recollection have the Moslems
been less formidable, and he expresses the hope that God will
make them grow weaker with each day that passes.

The army wintered at Acre, and in May, 1218, the
Templars, who had the best equipped navy in the Holy Land^
began the voyage to Egypt, The first obj ective was Damietta,
the delta of the Nile, but the belief that the port would
fall before the assault of forty thousand Christians
dissipated. The strong fortress guarding the town
all the efforts of the attackers for ten weeks, and before