THE STORY OF THE NATIONS
THE CRUSADES
THE STORY OF THE LATIN KINGDOM
OF JERUSALEM
T. A. ARCHER
AND
CHARLES L. KINGSFORD
.- NEVA YORK - J \ "
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
LONDON : T. FISHER UNWIN
■9
eCS
S
Copyright, 1894
BY
G. P. Putnam's Sons
Entered at Stationer^ Hall, London
By T. Fisher Unwin
HISTORY \
Printed and Bound by
Ube fmfcfeerbocfeer press, flew JBorfc
G. P. Putnam's Pons
PREFACE.
The present volume bears the sub-title, "The
Story of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem," in
order to make it clear at the outset that we are
here concerned only with the Crusades which are
Crusades in the proper sense of the word. With
the Fourth Crusade, the Latin Empire of Constanti-
nople, and still more with those developments, or
perversions of the Crusading idea, which led to the
so-called Crusades against the Albigensians and the
Emperor Frederick, we have nothing to do. In
making the story of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem
the main thread of the narrative, stress has intention-
ally been laid on an important if comparatively un-
familiar side of Crusading history. The romance
and glamour of Crusading expeditions has often
caused the practical achievements of Crusaders in the
East to be overlooked, or underrated. Yet it is
through the history of the Kingdom of Jerusalem,
that the true character and importance of the
Crusades can alone be discerned.
A brief explanation of the circumstances under
which this volume has been written appears to be
vii
222333
VI 11 PREFACE.
required. When ill-health made it impossible for
Mr. Archer to contemplate the completion of his own
work, his material was placed in Mr. Kingsford's
hands. The preparation of this material for the
press involved not only much condensation and
re-arrangement of the manuscript, but also the filling
up of some considerable gaps. It would be almost
impossible to satisfactorily divide the responsibility
for a work produced under such circumstances, and
in point of fact there is no single chapter to which both
authors have not in some degree contributed. The
book therefore appears, without further comment,
under their joint names.
The circumstances of the present series forbid that
constant citation of authorities in notes, which might
otherwise be desirable ; but the fact that the narrative
has in the main been compiled from the writings of
contemporary historians, will, it is hoped, have given
it some merit of freshness, even though the conclu-
sions arrived at may often not differ materially from
those of other writers. Whatever claim of originality
is thus put forward for the present volume, is made
in no spirit of detraction from the advantage, which
has in places been derived from freely consulting
previous workers in the same field.
In the matter of chronology the conclusions pro-
pounded by Mr. T. A. Archer in an article in the
English Historical Review for January, 1889, have
now been adopted without further argument. In the
spelling of proper names, those forms which common
use has made familiar have been preserved, whilst
in the case of persons and places which would be
PREFACE.
IX
novel to most readers, the endeavour has been to
give the simplest form consistent with accuracy.
It may, perhaps, be well to observe that the j in
names like Kilij, Javaly, Sinjar is to be pronounced
like/ in judge.
CONTENTS.
Preface
Table of Contents
Descriptive List of Illustrations
PAGE
vii
XI
xix
Introduction . . 1-25
§ 1. The Age of the Pilgrims.
Constantine and Helena, 3 — Chosroes and Heraclius, 4 —
Rise of Mohammedanism, 5 — Arculf and Willibald, 9 —
Charles the Great, 11 — Bernard of St. Michael's Mount,
12.
\ §2. The Eve of the Crusades. '
The year 1000, 13 — P^vival of piety, 15 — Eleventh Cen-
tury Pilgrims, 17— Rise of the Seljuks, 19 — Constantinople
in danger, 21— The Normans, 23 — Gregory VII. and
Robert Guiscard, 25.
II.
Peter the Hermit and Urban the Pope
26-40
Peter at Jerusalem, 27 — The Council of Clermont, 29 —
Urban preaches the Crusade, 31— Signs and Wonders, 33 —
The preaching of Peter, 35 — Walter the Penniless, 37 —
Fate of the pilgrims, 39.
xi
Xll CONTENTS..
III.
PAGB
The First Crusade — The Muster and the
March to Antioch 41-58
Godfrey de Bouillon, 43 — Bohemond, 45 — Raymond of
Toulouse, 47 — Robert of Normandy, 49 — The Crusaders at
Constantinople, 51 — Schemes of Alexius, 53 — Siege of
Nicaea, 55 — Battle of Dorylaeum, 57.
IV.
The First Crusade — The Firstfruits of Con-
quest : Edessa and Antioch . . . 59-76
§ 1. The Conquest of Edessa.
Baldwin at Edessa, 61 — A precarious lordship, 63.
§ 2. The Siege of Antioch.
The City of Antioch, 65— Troubles of the Crusaders, 67—
Bohemond captures Antioch, 69 — Approach of Corbogha,
71 — Invention of the Holy Lance, 73 — Defeat of Cor-
bogha, 75.
The First Crusade — The Capture of the
Holy City . . . . . . . 77-92
Raymond and Bohemond, 79 — The Crusaders at Marra, 81
— Peter Bartholomew, 83 — The Siege of Jerusalem, 85 —
Quarrels and visions, 87 — Procession round Jerusalem, 89 —
Capture of Jerusalem, 91.
VI.
Goderey de Bouillon 93-107
Choosing a king, 93— Quarrel with Raymond, 95— Battle of
Ascalon, 97 — The Christmas Feast, 99 — A hero of Romance,
101— The fates of the Chiefs, 103— The Aquitanian Crusade,
105 — A disastrous expedition, 107.
CONTENTS. Xlll*
VII.
PAGE
The Land and its Organisation . . 109-129
Physical characteristics, in — Edessa and Antioch, 113 —
The County of Tripoli, 115 — The lordships of the Kingdom,
117 — The City of Jerusalem, 121 — The Assize of Jerusalem,
123 — Officers and Courts, 125 — Finance, 127 — The Eccle-
siastical Hierarchy, 129.
VIII.
The Conquest of the Land— Baldwin I. . 130-142
Lack of money and men, 133 — Dangers of the kingdom, 135
— Jaffa and Ramleh, 137 — Tiberias and Montreal, 139 —
Character of Baldwin I., 141.
TX.
The Conquest of the Land — The Franks
in Northern Syria . . . . 143-158
Turkish feuds, 145 — Successes of Tancred, 147 — Maudud
of Mosul, 149 — Borsoki and Borsac, 151 — Roger's victory
at Rugia, 153— Death of Roger, 155 — Tripoli, 157.
X.
The Conquest of the Land— Baldwin TJ, 159-168
Baldwin II. and Il-Ghazi, 161 — Captivity at KUartperc, 163
— Baldwin II. and Antioch, 165 — The taking of Tyre, 167.
XI.
The Military Orders . . . . . 169-187
Gerard the Hospitaller, 171— The Rule of the Temple, 173
— Bernard and the Knights, 174 — The Hospitallers, 175 —
The Knights in the East, 177— Wealth and its abuses, 179 —
The Knights in the West, 181— The Lesser Orders, 183 —
Later fortunes, 185— Elements of strength and weakness,
187.
XIV CONTENTS.
XII.
The Kingdom at its Zenith — Fulk of
Anjou 188-196
Character of Fulk, 189 — Antioch and Tripoli, 191— John
Comnenus and Raymond of Antioch, 193— Hugh II. of
Jaffa, 195 — Capture of Banias, 196.
XIII.
Zangi and the Fall of Edessa . . . 197-206
Despair of the Mohammedans, 199 — Rise of Zangi, 201 —
• Mohammedan Conquests, 203 — Fate of Joscelin II., 205.
XIV.
The Second Crusade 207-221
Bernard of Clairvaux, 209 — Louis and Conrad, 211 — Manuel
and the Crusaders, 215 — Disasters in Asia Minor, 217—
Siege of Damascus, 219 — Miserable termination, 221.
XV.
Loss and Gain 222-237
§ 1. Baldwin III. and Ascalon.
Expedition to Bostra, 223 — Baldwin III. and Melisend,
224 — The Capture of Ascalon, 227 — Theodoric of Flan-
ders, 228 — Manuel at Antioch, 229 — Character of Baldwin
III., 231.
§ 2. The Struggle for Egypt.
Anarchy in Egypt, 233 — Shawir, Shirkuh, and Amalric,
235 — Saladin lord of Egypt, 237.
XVI.
The Rival Kings — Nur-ed-din and Amalric 238-248
Character of Nur-ed-din, 239 — The defender of Islam, 241 —
Death of Nur-ed-din, 243 — Projects of Amalric, 244 — The
Templars and the Assassins, 245 — Character of Amalric,
247.
CONTENTS. XV
XVII.
PAGE
The Rise of Saladin 249-264
A leper king, 250— Raymond II. of Tripoli, 251 — Philip of
Flanders, 253 — Saracen invasions, 255 — A two years' truce,
257 — Siege of Beyrout, 259— Conquest of Aleppo, 261 —
Saladin lord supreme, 263.
XVIII.
The Fall of Jerusalem .... 265-281
Frankish dissensions, 267 — The two parties, 269 — The mar-
riage of Botron, 271 — Coronation of Guy, 273— Battle of
Nazareth, 275— Battle of Hattin, 277— Capture of the Holy
City, 279 — Joy in Islam, 281.
XIX.
The Life of the People .... 282-304
Knightly training, 283 — Knightly accomplishments, 285 —
Knightly amusements, 287 — Intercourse with the Saracens,
291 — Luxury of the nobles, 291 — The country-folk, 292 —
The Italian traders and the towns, 295 — The Pullani or
Syrian Franks, 297 — Pilgrims and Merchants, 299 — Com-
merce with the Far East, 301 — Weakness of the kingdom,
303.
XX.
The Third Crusade — The Gathering of
the Host S^-^S
Princes and preachers, 307 — Frederick Barbarossa, 309 —
March of Frederick, 311 — Richard I. and Philip Augustus,
313— Sicily and Cyprus, 315.
XXI.
The Third Crusade — The Siege of Acre . 316-326
Guy de Lusignan, 317— Siege of Acre, 319 — Christian suc-
cesses, 321 — Famine in the camp, 323 — Arrival of Richard,
325'
XVI CONTENTS.
XXII.
PAGE
The Third Crusade — The Campaigns of
Richard 327-348
French and English, 329 — Departure of Philip, 331 — The
coast march, 333 — Jaffa and Ascalon, 337 — Negotiations
with Saladin, 339 — Conrad of Montferrat, 341 — The capture
of the caravan, 343 — Rescue of Jaffa, 345 — Truce with
Saladin, 347.
XXIII.
Arms, Armour, and Armaments . . . 349-366
Siege operations, 351 — Siege castles, 353 — Defensive armour,
354 — Offensive weapons, 357 — The hawk, the hound, and
the horse, 359 — Castles and fortresses, 361 — Military organi-
sation, 363— Fleets and ships, 365.
XXIV.
The Kingdom of Acre— The Struggle for
Recovery . . . . - . . 367-389
The death of Saladin, 368— The German Crusade, 369—
The Fourth Crusade, 371— John de Brienne, 373 -The Fifth
Crusade, 375 — The Siege of Damietta, 377 — Frederick II.,
379 — Frederick in Palestine, 381 — John of Ibelin and
Richard Filangier, 383— Quarrels of the Ayubites, 385 —
Richard of Cornwall, 387 — The Charismian Invasion, 389.
XXV.
The Crusades of St. Louis and Edward I. 390-407
Flagging enthusiasm, 391 — A saintly king, 393 — The expedi-
tion to Egypt, 395 — Ruin of the French army, 399 — Louis
in Palestine, 401 — Death of St. Louis, 403 — Edward in
Palestine, 405 — Attempted assassination, 407.
CONTENTS. XV11
XXVI.
PAGE
The Kingdom of Acre — Its Decay and
Destruction 408-418
A kingless realm, 409 — Christian jealousies, 411 — The Tar-
tars and Mamluks, 413 — Conquests of Bibars, 414 — The Fall
of Acre, 417
XXVII.
The Close of the Crusades . . . 419-424
Fruitless projects, 420 — The Ottoman Turks, 421 — Rhodes
and Cyprus, 423 — The pilgrim record, 424.
XXVIII.
Conclusion 425-451
Results of the Crusades, 427 — Influence on Politics, 429 —
The Crusades and the Papacy, 431 — The Crusades and the
Reformation, 433 — Social influence, 435 — The Crusades and
Commerce, 437 — Influence on Historical Literature, 441 —
Influence on Geography and Science, 443 — The Crusades
and Romance, 445 — True Character of the Crusades, 447 —
Objects of the Crusades, 449 — The Crusades not fruitless,
45i-
Genealogical Tables ..... 452-456
Index . . 457
DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
i. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre. (See page 121 in
Chapter VII.) . . . . . ... Frontispiece
PAGE
2. Mosque of Omar 7
This building, more properly known as the " Kubbet-es-
Sakhrah" or " Dome of the Rock," almost certainly stands
on the site of the Ancient Temple. It was commenced
by Omar and completed by the Caliph Abd-el-Melek about
686. The Crusaders converted it into a church and called
it the Templum Domini ; much of their work still remains
in the interior — especially a beautiful iron grille between the
pillars of the drum. The Templars may have owed their
name to the Templum Domini, but their home was at the
Aksa Mosque or Templum Salomonis.
3. Effigy of Robert of Normandy 48
This oak-wood effigy is in Gloucester Cathedral. The coat-
of-arms or surcoat, and perhaps the incomplete nature of
the great hauberk, fix its date at the close of the twelfth
or beginning of the thirteenth century.
4. Copper Coins of Alexius . . . . . . .53
On the obverse of (1) is Alexius with a cross in his right
hand and cross-bearing orb in his left ; on the obverse of
(2) Alexius has the sacred labarum or sceptre spear in his
right hand. The reverse of both coins is the same, Christ's
head surrounded with a nimbus. Legend : Obverse, I,
\AAE[£ioc]. 2. 'AAE[£«6c] AU2flO[r?jc] ; reverse, l[rioov]2
X[pioTo]E.
XIX
XX DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
5. Knights at the Time of the First Crusade . . 56
From the seals of Guy de Laval {floruit, 1095) and Raoul,
Count of Vermandois (11 16). These seals illustrate the
brunea or broigne as worn at the time of the First Crusade
(see page 353).
6. Coin of Baldwin I. as Count of Edessa .... 62
A copper coin; weight about 131 grains. The inscription is
BAAAVIN0[2] [K0]MH[2], Baldwin Count. Other coins of
Baldwin I. have a figure on the reverse very much like the
figure on Baldwin II.'. coin, only much ruder.
7. Antioch .64
This view of modern Antioch is taken from the north, and
shows the ancient walls on the hills in the distance.
8. The Walls of Antioch 70
This shows the line of walls on the southern hills ; the towers,
of which there were four hundred and fifty, were eighty feet
high and thirty feet square. The walls are fifty to sixty feet
high and eight feet wide at the top.
9. Mosaic in the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem . 87
The Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem is perhaps the oldest
Christian church in the world. It was built by Constantine or
his mother Helena over the traditional cave in which Christ
was born. The rich mosaics, which adorn the interior, were
put up by Manuel Comnenus in 1169, as the Emperor's own
inscription tells us. His artist was a certain Ephraim, and
the mosaics were already complete, when the Greek, John
Phocas, visited Bethlehem in 1185. The Church at Bethlehem
was the place where Baldwin I., and possibly the later kings
of Jerusalem, were crowned. It became a custom for the
Latin kings of Jerusalem to spend Christmas Eve in this place
waiting for the Christmas morning. The scene here repre-
sented is Christ's entry into Jerusalem.
10. A Siege-Tower (see the description on pages 352-3) . . 89
The tower here represented is moved on rollers, and has a ram
in the lowest story.
11. Tower of David ........ 94
Also called the Castle of the Pisans. The existing tower dates
from the early part of the twelfth century.
DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xxi
PAGE
12. The Tomb of Godfrey de Bouillon . . . . 101
Chateaubriand saw this tomb in 1805-6 ; but the Greeks out of
national jealousy ruined it in 1808, by breaking up the stones
and scattering the fragments broadcast. The tomb of Baldwin
I., which stood close by, seems to have been destroyed at the
same time.
13. The Castle of Tripoii 114
Somewhere in the recesses of this castle there is said to exist
the tomb of the great Crusader, Raymond of S. Gilles, who
died here in 1106. The castle is now turned into barracks for
Turkish soldiers. Though a good deal altered, it still preserves
much of the aspect of a twelfth or thirteenth-century castle both
within and without. In the early years of the present century
the traveller could still see the escutcheons of the old Frankish
counts on the stones. " Tripoli itself," writes a modern
traveller, "is the town of the Crusades far excellence ; it is
still what the knights left it in 1289. Nothing has been
destroyed. Houses, arcades, w ndows, armorial blazons
cut in stone — all bear witness to the two hundred years of
Frankish rule."
14. Frieze in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre . 121
This carving was evidently the work of Western masons. It
was probably brought from France and not executed in Pales-
tine. It is twelfth -century work, representing (1) the raising
of Lazarus, (2) Christ sends His disciples to procure the
ass ; Jesus Himself is seen within the house. Below are two
shepherds. (3) The disciples bring the ass to Christ. (4)
Christ's entry into Jerusalem. (5) The Last Supper.
15. Beyrout with Lebanon in the Distance . . . 131
16. Tower of Ramleh 137
The so-called White Mosque, or Tower of the Forty Martyrs.
This, tower is said to have been built by Arabic workmen from
the plans of a European architect, and is considered to date
from about the year 1270. Tradition says it was the belfry
of the old Christian church ; in this case it may well have
been restored in 13 18, and not as sometimes stated, erected
by Malek-en-Nasr, son of Kalaun.
Xxil DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
17. Coin of Tancred 146
Tancred wears the Mohammedan turban and dress, which
shows how early the Frankish settlers began to feel the in-
fluence of Eastern luxury. On another coin Tancred even
uses the title fiiyag d/ui/pac, "great emir." The legend
is K[vpi]F. BO[ri9ei] TArKPfofy] I[ij«kTm]S X[p«rro]2 NIKA-
[rwp], " O Lord help Tancred : Jesus Christ the Con?
queror."
18. Coin of Roger of Antioch . . . . . .154
A copper coin representing St. George and the dragon.
Legend 6 dyiog (0 a in monogram), TEQP[ytoc]: POTZEP[ou]
nPirK[t]nOS ANTIOK[>iae]. S. George: Roger, prince of
Antioch.
19. Coin of Baldwin II 160
Copper coin of Baldwin as Count of Edessa, weighing about
69 grains. Legend: BAAAOIN02AOYAO[2]2TAT, "Baldwin
slave of the cross. " The ra of orav is written as a monogram.
20. Seal of the Hospitallers 175
21. Seal of the Templars 176
This shows the two knights on one horse. The reverse
probably represents the Mosque of Omar or Templum Domini,
from which the order perhaps drew its name.
22. Ruins of the Castle at Tortosa 179
Built by the Templars about 1183. It has been suggested
that the huge stones, of which the castle is composed, were
drawn from the sepulchral monuments of Phoenician or pre-
historic days, and the ruins of the ancient Aradus on the
site of which Tortosa stands. Tortosa was captured by the
Crusaders in 1099. The Templars abandoned it in 1291 ;
they seized it once more in 1300, but only to lose it again in
1302 or 1303.
23. Seal of Pons, Count of Tripoli, from about 1112
to 1 137 190
24. Seal of Hugh of Jaffa 194
This may be the seal of Hugh II., who was banished by
Fulk, or of his father, Hugh de Puiset, who was of the
noble family of Puiset, near Chartres. The elder Hugh was
DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, xxiii
PAGE
a rebel against Louis VI. in 1112, and afterwards sought his
fortunes in the East, and was made Count of Jaffa by
Baldwin I.
25. Crusaders fighting Saracens 200
This is one of ten pictures in a window formerly behind the
great altar of the church of St. Denys, near Paris ; the
window was destroyed in the Revolution. The character
of the armour and the execution of the work point to the
date as being early in the twelfth century, probably before
1 140, when Suger dedicated the church. The pictures
illustrate the First Crusade : the one given in the text repre-
sents a fight between Kilij Arslan and the Crusaders. They
form a valuable representation of early twelfth-century
arm'our. The Christians are distinguished by a cross on
their conical helmets which have no nasals. The Saracens
have round helmets, and their armour is more often com-
posed of scales than of rings or plates j only the Saracens
have bows.
z6. Seal of Louis VII. . . ... . 209
This represents Louis as Duke of Aquitaine, and shows the
armour in use at the time of the Second Crusade. The great
hauberk is already on its way to completeness, and, as is
sometimes the case in the Bayeux Tapestry, has a coif to
protect the neck and head. The helmet is conical with a
nose piece ; these characteristics appear occasionally till the
very end of the century. Compare, however, the develop-
ment as shown in plates 42, 53, and 56.
27. Statue of Conrad III. in the Cathedral at Bamberg 213
This is a thirteenth-century work, which may possibly repre-
sent not Conrad but Stephen of Hungary. In any case, it is
a good example of civil dress about the year 1250.
28. Cover of Queen Melisend's Psalter .... 225
This twelfth-century psalter, which was probably written "for
Melisend, wife of Fulk, is now in the British Museum, and
may be seen in the show cases. The book is beautifully
written, and illuminated with full-page scenes from the life
of Our Lord, &c. The covers, which may be much
earlier than the manuscript, are carved in ivory, and
\^
XXIV DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
jewelled with small rubies and turquoises. The artist was
probably a Byzantine, and seems to have been called
Herodius. The cover here given represents the six acts of
mercy ; the king may be Fulk himself. The other cover
represents scenes from the life of David.
29. Coin of Manuel Comnenus 229
A besant, the obverse represents S. Theodore, with the
Emperor on his right hand ; the reverse Jesus Christ. Legend
MANOYHA 9E0AQP02 I[j?(tou]2 X[piaro]S.
30. Seal of Hugh of Cesarea . . . ... . 234
Hugh Grener was Lord of Caesarea as early as 1154, and as
late as 11 68 ; he probably died in or before 11 74.
31. Seal of Reginald de Chatillon as Prince of
Antioch 242
Reginald came to Palestine about the time of the Second
Crusade, and was Prince of Antioch from his marriage to
Constance in 11 53 to his captivity in 1161.
32. Seal of Raymond of Tripoli 251
This is probably the seal of Raymond II., Count of Tripoli,
1 1 52-1 187, and protector of the kingdom ; or it may be that
of his father, Raymond I., 1137-1152.
33. Seal of Philip of Flanders 253
This is by no means the most curious of the seals engraved
for Philip. An earlier seal (a.d. 1161), figured in Vrede's
"Sigilla comitum Flandrensium," is remarkable as showing
the lion of Flanders emblazoned on the count's helmet,
shield, and banner, and is perhaps the very first instance of
so lavish a display of the armorial blazonry that was then
coming into fashion. No true armorial bearings can be
shown to have existed before the middle of the twelfth
century (1134-1166), and the true art of heraldry did not
take shape till well into the next century.
34. Ruined Tower of Kerak (the Castle of Reginald
of Chatillon) 263
This tower was built by Payn, the king's butler, about 1 140.
DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. XXV
For the history of Kerak see p. 117. Its importance was so
great that when, in 12 18 El-Kamil offered to surrender the
whole kingdom of Jerusalem in exchange for Damietta, he
expressly excepted Kerak and Montreal from the exchange ;
this exception caused the failure of the negotiations. In the
thirteenth century Kerak was the stronghold of Dawud,
see p. 387.
35. Seal of Balian of Ibelin 278
This may be the seal of Balian the Old, founder of the
house of Ibelin, who died in or before 1 155. More probably
it is that of his son Balian II., the hero of the siege of
Jerusalem, who, through his marriage with Maria Comnena,
widow of Amalric I. , acquired the lordship of Nablus. Balian
II. was a child in 11 55, and could not sign his own name ;
he died in or before 1205. His son, John " the Old," was
the doughty antagonist of Frederick II. ; see pp. 383-4.
36. Ceremony of Knighthood 283
From a thirteenth-century manuscript in the British Museum.
37. Knight: Chessman 286
This is one of the pieces, found in the island of Lewis. The
pieces are large ; the pawns being if to 2§ inches in height,
and the kings 3^ to 4^ inches; they are made of walrus ivory,
and were originally coloured dark red. From the great number
of pieces discovered, it seems probable that the find con-
sisted of a merchant's stock, not of the property of a player.
The costume of the pieces belongs to the Twelfth Century.
38. Frederick II. and his Falconer and Hawks . . 289
From a thirteenth-century manuscript of Frederick's treatise,
" De arte venandi cum avibus," now in the Vatican Library.
It is full of the most beautiful illustrations of hunting and
hawking. The illustration here given represents the Emperor
clad in a Hue mantle with an under robe of a warm brown ;
the falconer kneeling before him has a loose yellow-coloured
robe. Frederick was assisted in the compilation of the book
by his son Manfred.
XXVI DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
39. Haymaking and Harvesting 293
These scenes are from a series contained in a manuscript in
the British Museum (Cotton Julius A vi. ), which was written
about 1050, and is therefore a good authority for agricultural
operations about the time of the First Crusade. The twelve
months are represented. In January the peasants are
ploughing with oxen ; in February pruning trees ; in March
digging and sowing ; in April feasting on the ale-bench ; in
May tending sheep ; in June cutting timber ; in July and
August haymaking and harvesting ; September shows a boar
hunt ; October a hawking scene ; November a bon-fire ;
December corn- threshing.
40. Statue of Frederick 1 311
This represents the contemporary (11 70-1 190) statue of the
Emperor in the cloisters at the church of S. Zeno, near
Reichenhall, in Bavaria.
41. Coin of Guy de Lusignan as King of Cyprus . . 317
This is a denier. Legend Rex Guido de Cipro.
42. Seal of Richard 1 325
The date of this seal is 1 195. It shows the grand hauberk
complete; but as yet there is no " barding " for the horse
and no surcoat or coat-of-arms flowing over the armour.
The "bliaud," worn underneath the mail, may be seen flow- •
ing behind the left leg. Notice the extreme length of the
sword as compared with that of Louis VII., plate 26.
43 and 44. Knights Fighting .... 332 and 335
These illustrations are taken from a late thirteenth-century
manuscript, " Histoire de la commencement du monde
jusques a la naissance de Jesu Crist." They show the full
development of surcoat, barding and closed, helmet ; notice
also the large crests. The manuscript (Reg. 16. G. vi. )
from which these illustrations are taken is now lettered on
on the back, " Les Chroniques de S. Denys " ; it is most
lavishly adorned with beautifully coloured illustrations of
scenes from military and domestic life. These illustrations
DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. XXVU
PAGE
are to be found at the foot of most pages, and in many cases
are crowded with figures. Unfortunately bad colours were
used, and in many places the paint has now peeled off or
worn away. They may have been in better condition when
Shaw made his drawings ; otherwise he has certainly given
his copies a finish which the original barely justifies. On
many pages towards the end of the volume only the outline
of the picture has been sketched ; in other places their out-
lines are only partly filled in with colours.
45 and 46. Military Machines 35°> 35 1
These are modern reconstructions of mangonels or stone
casters, but will show to some extent what the character of
the machines must have been.
47. King and Knight 354
From a manuscript " Manual of Devotion," written in the
early part of the thirteenth, or late in the twelfth, century,
and now in the British Museum (MS., Reg. 2 A. xx.). The
figure of the knight shows clearly the laces which fastened
the armoured hood — or perhaps the movable ventaille —
down to the grand hauberk or tunic. It also seems to show
thigh pieces, distinct both from the hauberk and the greaves,
which cover the fore part of the leg below the knee. The sur-
coat, or coat-of-arms, shows that this drawing can hardly be
earlier than 1200 a.d. — soon after which date this adjunct
begins to appear on seals. The coat-of-arms is said to have
been introduced from the East, where perhaps it served
originally to keep the iron broigne from being heated by
the sun's rays. Saladin's Mamluks seem to have worn yellow
tunics over their armour as early as 1177 — years before we
have any trace of this habit in the West.
48. Kerak des Chevaliers 362
Now called Kalaat-el-Hosn, was a castle of the knights of
S. John and commanded the roads from Emesa and Hamah
to Tripoli and Tortosa. Kalaat-el-Hosn was taken by the
Franks about 1125, and given to the Hospitallers by Count
Raymond I. in 1145. The original castle suffered much from
earthquakes in 1157, 1169, and 1202 ; after the last date it
XXV111 DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
was probably reconstructed as we now see it. The castle is
still much as it was when the Franks left it in 1271 a.d.
49. Seal of James de Vitry 374
He was a Cardinal, and Bishop of Acre from about 121 7
to 1229. James de Vitry was the historian of the Fifth
Crusade, and indeed of the whole kingdom from 1099 to his
own day.
50. Besant of Hugh I. of Cyprus 375
This fine gold coin has the king in his royal robes on the
obverse, and Christ seated on the reverse, with the legend,
"Hvgo Rex Cypri " : I[iforoi/]2 X[oicrro]2. The besants
struck in Cyprus contained only one-sixth part of gold, the
remainder being chiefly silver ; hence from their colour they
were called "white besants." The average weight of a
white besant was 88 grains.
51. Seal of Frederick II., as King of Jerusalem . . 382
52. Seal of Louis IX. of France 393
397
53. The Two William Longswords from their Tombs in
Salisbury Cathedral
William Longsword I., Earl of Salisbury (d. 1226), was son
of Henry II., and perhaps of Fair Rosamond, and was
possibly present at the siege of Damietta ; his tomb affords a
beautiful example of early thirteenth-century armour. The
other effigy is traditionally that ot his son, the William
Longsword mentioned in the text. The two effigies are
much alike, except that <v >e latter has the legs crossed, has
no blazonry on the shield, and has small plates of armour to
protect the elbows and knees. If this is really the tomb of .
William Longsword II., it perhaps affords the earliest known
instance of such plates — the beginnings of plate armour.
54. Fortifications of Sidon 402
This represents the work of Louis IX. in 1250, which was
almost perfect till the English bombardment in 1840.
55. Seal of Philip III. of France 403
He accompanied his father to Tunis in 1270, but left Sicily
DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. XXIX
PAGE
for France the same year, and never fulfilled his promise to
return to the East. This is a splendid example of the
luxurious blazonry now so fully in vogue, with coat-of-arms,
horse barding and vizored helmet all complete.
56. Seal of Edward I. 405
This shows well chain armour and grand hauberk at
their fullest development. Notice the vizored helmet com-
pletely hiding the face, the coat-of-arms worn over the hauberk
and the hor^e barding. Compare the seal of Richard I. in
plate 42.
57. Seal of John de Montfort, Lord of Tyre and Toron 411
He was son of Philip de Montfort, a cousin of the famous
Earl Simon of Leicester, who married the heiress of Toron,
and acquired Tyre after the expulsion of Richard Filangier,
in which he took a prominent part ; he died November 27th,
1283.
58. Acre as it was about 1291 a.d 415
From the manuscript of Marino Sanuto's treatise, " Secreta
Fidelium Crucis," written in 1307 and presented to Pope
John XXII. in September, 1321. The work was intended
to urge upon the Church and princes of Western Europe the
duty of a new Crusade. It was by the Turris Maledicta — >
name of ill-omen — that Khalil forced his entry.
Of the above illustrations numbers I, 2, 11, 13, 16, and 54
are reproduced from Lortet's "La Syrie d'Aujourd'hui " ;
numbers 8, 10, 12, 20. 22, 25, 42, 45, 46, 48, and 58 from
Kugler's "Geschichte der Kreuzziige" ; numbers 3, 27, 36, 40,
51, and 56 from Prutz's " Staatengeschichte des abenlandes im
Mittelalter in Oncken's Allgemeine Geschichte" ; numbers 21,
23, 24, 30-32, 35, 49, and 57 from Sebastian Paoli's " Codice
Diplomatico del sacro militare ordine Gerosolamitano " ;
numbers 6, 17-19, 41, and 50 from Schlumberger's " Numis-
matique de l'orient Latin " ; numbers 4 and 29 from Sabatier's
" Monnaies Byzantines " ; numbers 5, 26, and 55 from Demay's
" Le Costume au Moyen age d'apres les Sceaux " ; and number
33 from Demay's " Inventaire des Sceaux"; numbers 39,
43, 44, and 47 from Shaw's "Dresses and Decorations of the
XXX DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Middle Ages" ; numbers 7 and 15 from Taylor's "La Syrie,
&c. " ; numbers 9 and 14 from Vogue's " Les Eglises de la
Terre Sainte"; 28 is from Bayet's " L'Art Byzantin"; 34
from the Due de Luynes' "Voyage d'exploration a la Mer
Morte"; 37 from " Archaeologia," vol. xxiv. ; 38 from
Seroux d'Agincourt's " Histoire d'Art," iii. pi. lxxiii. ; and
53 from Dodsworth's " Historical Account of Salisbury
Cathedral." The plan of Jerusalem in 1187, on page 119,
is reproduced by permission of the Palestine Exploration
Society, from the "Survey of Western Palestine," vi. 283.
Maps.
The East illustrating the Routes of the First Three
Crusades Tofacepage 1
The Latin Principalities of Syria in the Twelfth
Century 108
Jerusalem in 1 187 . . . • • • . .119
" And I began to talk with the Most High again and said :
" O Lord, that bearest rule, of every wood of the earth,
and of all the trees thereof, thou hast chosen thee one only
vine : And of all the lands of the whole world thou hast chosen
thee one pit ; and of all the flowers thereof one lily ; And of
all the depths of the sea thou hast filled thee one river ; «nd
of all builded cities thou hast hallowed Sion unto thyself;
And among all the multitudes of people thou hast gotten thee
one people : and unto this people, whom thou lovedst, thou
gavest a law that is approved of all." — II. Esdras, c. 5.
THE CRUSADES,
i.
INTRODUCTION.
" Reft of thy sons ; amid thy foes forlorn,
Mourn widowed Queen, forsaken Zion, mourn."
Heber, Palestine',
§ i. The Age of the Pilgrims.
The history of Syria is, to some extent at least, a
synopsis of the history of the world ; and the land
itself is a palimpsest, from which the records of later
civilisations have failed to obliterate entirely those "of
earlier times. Syria, indeed, is marked out by nature
as a meeting-place of the nations. Westward it lc
towards Europe, th.e adopted, if not the origin*!,
home of the Aryan race ; to the east, across the
desert, lies the great river on whose banks grew up
that ancient Akkadian culture, which has bequeathed
us much of our most familiar knowledge. In the
south its inhabitants were brought into contact with
the immemorial civilisation of the Nile ; and in the
2 INTRODUCTION.
north with still more mysterious races, of whom
even modern research has as yet but little to
tell.
No wonder that Syria has been the battlefield of
the dominant powers of the world. Babylonians,
Hittites, Egyptians, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, and
Romans, e^ch in their turn were lords of part, if not
of the whole, of Syria. Yet later this land beheld the
struggle of Heraclius with Chosroes, of Mohammedan
with Byzantine, of Turk with Saracen, and Crusader
with Turk — all phases in the immemorial conflict of
East and West.
But Syria has been something more to the world
than this. Through the enterprise of the Semitic
inhabitants of her coast, the germs of Babylonian
culture were carried to the Aryan races of the West
Then, when her commercial mission was over, she
fell beneath, first the Greek, and afterwards the
Roman, and through their double agency imparted
to the world that spiritual life which had found its
cradle in the uplands of Palestine. So beneath the
shadow of the " Pax Romana " this land became the
centre towards which all nations of the Western
world turned in pious aspiration.
There is no decisive evidence as to the exart date
when the custom of pilgrimages to the Holy Land
first obtained in the Christian Church. To the early
Christians Jerusalem may well. have seemed the city
of the wrath rather than of the love of God. To them
it was rather the scene of the death than of the
resurrection of Christ, and its sacred associations
were perhaps obliterated in horror at its profanation
CONSTANTINB AND HELENA. 3
with heathen worship under the Roman name of
Aelia Capitolina.
But when Christianity found a champion in Con-
stantine the Great, Jerusalem began to raise its head
among the cities of the world. The piety of this
Emperor or his mother, Helena, built churches on the
traditional scenes of Our Lord's birth ^and burial ;
traditional only, since the almost coeval legend of
the Invention of the Cross shows clearly that all
exact knowledge had been lost. Constantine him-
self is credited with the intention of a visit to the
Holy Land, and from this time we can trace the his-
tory of the sacred pilgrimages from century to cen-
tury. That emperor was yet alive when a pilgrim
from Bordeaux made the journey by land to Jerusa-
lem, and left a record which still survives. In the
Holy City he saw the pool of Solomon, the pinnacle
whence Satan tempted Christ to throw Himself, and
the little hill of Golgotha, which was the scene of the
Crucifixion. At other places, too, he notes with care
whatever events in Scripture history had made them
famous. Clearly men were already seeking to
identify the chief scenes of the sacred narrative,
although in their credulity they were ready to accept
whatever absurdities invention might offer ; such, for
instance, as the sycamore tree into whicji Zacchaeus
had climbed.
By the end of the fourth century the practice of
pilgrimages had so much increased as to give rise to
the custom of collecting alms for the relief of the
poor at Jerusalem. It was well, contended St.
Jerome, that men should reverence holy shrines and
4 INTRODUCTION.
relics. That saint himself, when forced to leave
Rome, made his home in the Holy Land, and there
his noble patroness, Paula, came to see him, and visit
in his company Elijah's tower at Sarepta, the house
of Cornelius at Caesarea, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and
Hebron. Paula herself wrote afterwards to her friend
Marcella : " We do not doubt that there are holy men
elsewhere than here, but it is here that the foremost
of the whole world are gathered together. Here are
Gauls and Britons, Persians and Armenians, Indians
and Ethiopians, all dwelling in love and harmony."
In Jerome's time' Je±usalem already possessed so
many sacred places that the stranger could not visit
them in a single day. A hundred and fifty years
later, after the city had been adorned by the splendid
buildings of Justinian, they cannot have been less in
number. 1
Early in the seventh century Jerusalem was plundered
by Chost-oes the Persian, and the Holy Cross carried
off to a strange land, whence it was rescued a few
years later by the victorious armies of the Emperor
Heraclius. But already- a power was rising which
was to overthrow Persian and Roman alike. Even
before Heraclius attained the zenith of his fortunes
the flight of Mohammed from Mecca had marked for
the world of Islam the beginning of a new era. No
language can give an adequate idea of the fervour of
the adherents of the new creed. Mohammed was hardly
1 Amongst those who described the Holy Land during the fifth nnd
sixth centuries we have the famous Kucherius of Lyons (a. D. 450), ao
anonymous " Breviarius de Hierosolyma " (a.d. 530), the monk Theo-
dosius (a.d. 530), and last, Antoninus Martyr (a.d. 570).
RISE OF MOHAMMEDANISM. 5
dead before his followers had conquered Syria and
Egypt, overthrown the Persian monarchy, and
founded an Arab empire. A century later, despite
countless schisms, the new religion ' had made its
influence felt from the banks of the Indus to those of
the Loire. For a moment in 717 it had even seemed
that both the Roman civilisation and Christian faith
must perish from the shores of the Bosphorus. But
a deliverer appeared in the person of Leo the Is-
aurian, who with his successors, if unable to prevent,
could at least take vengeance for, the inroads of the
Mohammedans.
But the early enthusiasm of the new faith soon
began to wax cold, and by the middle of the tenth
century the Mohammedan world was in its turn
tending to dissolution. The provincial governors
rendered a merely nominal allegiance to the Caliph,
whilst the schism of the Sunnites and Shiites had
put on ever new forms, and from a rivalry of faith
had produced a rivalry of temporal power. The vast
body of Sunnites reverenced the orthodox Abbaside
Caliph at Bagdad ; though in Spain a rival dynasty
of Omayyad princes established the Saracen Cali-
phate of Cordova. Yet a third Caliphate of Shiites
has a more important bearing on Crusading history.
Towards the end of the ninth century one Abdallah,
the ^on of Maimun, established a new sect of Moham-
medanism, which absorbed the Ismailians (a division
of the Shiites). His doctrines spread rapidly, and
above all in Northern Africa, where, in 973, his des-
cendant, Moizz-li-dinillah, conquered Egypt, and
became the first of that line of Fatimite Caliphs who
6 INTRODUCTION.
ruled in the valley of the Nile for over two hundred
years. Moizz became master of Syria also, and both
he and his successor, El-Aziz, showed themselves
very friendly to the Christians. Indeed the Ismai-
lians, by the very nature of their creed, which taught
that absolute truth could only be attained by slow
degrees, and lay concealed under many forms of
faith, were bound to display a tolerance strange to
the ages wherein they flourished.
During all these centuries Palestine had lain sub-
ject to the Mohammedan power. It was one of the
first of all the Saracen conquests, achieved in the
time of Omar, the second Caliph, whilst the new faith
was yet in the first flush of its vigour. Yet none the
less, there seems to have been little or no cessation in
the stream of pilgrims from the West. The site of
the Temple was, it is true, covered by a splendid
mosque, but the Holy Sepulchre had been preserved
to the Christians through the forbearance of Omar,
who refused to enter its precincts lest, after his depar-
ture, his infatuated followers should claim posses-
sion of a spot whereon their Caliph's foot had
rested.
Among the first of the pilgrims to the Holy Land
during the time of the Mohammedan domination
was a certain French bishop, Arculf. Arculf told the
story of his travels to Adamman, Columba's successor
at Iona, and by this means it came to the knowledge
of our own historian, Bede. Arculf spent nine
months at Jerusalem ; there he saw not a few novel-
ties that had escaped previous travellers ; the lamps
that, flashing from the glass windows of the Church
iiiiM ifi "Haiiiiiiiiii' 1 i" | i"i'"'" m
8 INTRODUCTION.
of the Ascension on Mount Olivet, shone out through
the night over the hill slopes to the eastern walls of
the city ; the linen cloth which had wrapped the
Saviour in His tomb ; and the lofty column erected
on the spot where the newly-discovered Cross restored
the dead youth to life. Arculf likewise visited
Jericho, and bathed in the milk-white waters of
Jordan. Then he journeyed north, and on his way
saw the locusts on which John the Baptist had fed,
and the three Tabernacles that now crowned the
mountain of the Transfiguration. Afterwards he
visited in turn Damascus and Tyre, Alexandria and
Constantinople, whence he returned by sea to Rome,
and so to his native France.
There are few or no traces of the pilgrimage of our
English ancestors to the Holy Land during the first
centuries after their conversion. For them it would
seem that the nearer splendour of Rome had more
attraction than the remote squalor of Jerusalem. In
one instance, however, the Roman pilgrimage was but
the first stage in the journey of an Englishman to
Jerusalem. St. Willibald was a kinsman of Boniface,
the Apostle of Germany. Educated in the monastery
of Bishop's Waltham, in Hampshire, Willibald as he
grew to manhood was seized with the desire to visit
the Holy Land. Accompanied by his father and
brother, Wanebald, he travelled across France and
into Italy. There his father died at Lucca, and at
Rome Wanebald fell ill of a fever. Willibald then
continued his journey with two comrades, and
reached Palestine by way of Sicily, Ephesus, and
Cyprus. They landed at Tortosa, and so journeyed
ARCULF AND WILLIBALD. 9
to Emesa, where they were thrown into prison as
spies. At length a Spaniard, whose brother was
chamberlain to the Omayyad Caliph, Yazid II., took
pity on them. The master of the ship in which they
had come from Cyprus was brought before Yazid,
who asked whence the strangers came. " From the
land of the sunset," was the reply, " beyond which we
know not of earth but only waters." " If this be so,"
burst out the Caliph, "why punish them? They
have done us no wrong ; set them free." Thus Willi-
bald and his comrades were released, and so went on
to Damascus, and thence to Cana, Mount Tabor, and
Tiberias. Willibald spent a considerable time in
Palestine, and made four separate visits to Jerusalem.
In the Holy City he purchased some of the costly
balm for which Jericho was famous. This balm was
so precious that its export was forbidden ; but Willi-
bald hid his treasure in a vessel partly filled w 7 ith
petroleum, so that when he embarked at Tyre the
strong-smelling oil threw the custom officers off the
scent. From Tyre Willibald went to Constantinople,
and thence, after two years, to Rome. He had been
absent ten years, and now retired for a like period to
Monte Casino, which he only left to join Boniface in
Germany. By Boniface he was consecrated Bishop
of Eichstadt, and after holding that see forty- four
years, died in 786.
Less than half a century later the monk Fidel is
related in the presence of Dicuil the Irishman how
he had sailed up the Nile and visited the pyramids,
standing afar off like mountains,* and longed to
search for the wheels of Pharaoh's chariots in the
10 INTRODUCTION.
Red Sea. Whether or how Fidel is reached Palestine
Dicuil does riot tell.
At the end of the century the great Emperor
Charles, whom legends long after represented as a
Crusader before the Crusades, opened up fresh com-
munications between the East and West. When It's
political ambitions bade fair to involve him in conflict
with the Emperor of the East, he found a useful ally
in the great Abbaside Caliph Hariin-el Rashid. Harun
received the Frank ambassadors with kindness, and sent
their master many presents, including his only ele-
phant, Abulabaz, which Charles had desired to possess.
Beyond all else he is said, by a contemporary writer,
to have granted the great Emperor the Holy Places
at Jerusalem. It is certain that, in the latter years
of Charles's reign, a colony of French monks was
established on Mount Sion. To this community,
Charles himself gave a copy of the Rule of St.
Benedict, and a letter is still preserved, wherein the
monks complain to Charles that they had been
ejected on Christmas Day from the church at
Bethlehem.
The almsgiving of the great Emperor, which ex-
tended to Carthage and Alexandria, did not neglect
Jerusalem. More than fifty years later Bernard of
St. Michael's Mount, was lodged in the Holy City,
"at the hospital of the most glorious Emperor
Charles, wherein are received all Roman -speaking
pilgrims, who come to that place out of religion."
In Bernard's days parts of Southern Italy were subject
to the Caliph of Bagdad, and at Tarentum he found
six Saracen ships crowded with Christian captives, in
CHARLES THE GREAT. II
tended for the slave markets of the East. Thirty days'
sail in one of these ships brought Bernard and his
companions to Alexandria. There they found their
letter of recommendation from the Saracen governor
of Bari useless, and they had to pay thirteen-pence
each for fresh passports. These latter only carried
them to Babylon of Egypt, where a like pay-
ment had to be made before they could proceed
in safety to Jerusalem. In the Holy City Bernard
saw the noble library, which Charles had founded
in the Virgin's Church, hard by the hospital. For
a description of the Holy Sepulchre, he refers his
readers to Bcde ; but he saw or heard of a wonder
concerning which Bede is silent. " We must note
that ' Kyrie Eleeson ' is sung until an angel comes and
lights the lamps above the Sepulchre. From the
flame thus kindled, the patriarch gives a light to the
bishops and the rest of the people, so that each may
have a light to himself in his own home." This is
often but perhaps wrongly said to be the first allusion
to the " Miracle of the Sacred Fire," which fraud or
superstition from that day to this, with hardly a
break, has continued to perpetuate at our Lord's
Tomb on every Resurrection Eve. 1 After visiting
Bethlehem and other places in the neighbourhood,
Bernard went back by way of Rome to his monastery
of St. Michael in Brittany {circa A.D. 870).
From the above narratives it is plain that during
the seventh, eighth, and ninth centuries no insuper-
able obstacles barred the way of pilgrims from the
1 Eusebius mentions one form of this miracle, and thee is a possible
allusion by Gregory of Tours in the sixth century.
12 INTRODUCTION.
West. The old path to the Holy City along the
great roads of the Empire, through Constantinople
and across Asia Minor to Antioch was, it is true,
now closed ; closed it may be from the very days
when the Huns made themselves masters of the
Danube valley. Probably, however, the pilgrims
made their journeys as before ; there was no breach
of custom, but merely a change of route. The
strange concessions which Mohammed made in favour
of the " Peoples of the Book," ensured Christian
pilgrims from any violent persecution. Willibald,
apart from his imprisonment, was not ill-treated at
Emesa, and no doubt in the days of Charles the
Great, the pilgrim's condition would be improved.
Indeed, Bernard found a market-place attached to
the Emperor's hospital at Jerusalem, apparently for
the special use of pilgrims.
But Bernard pays a higher tribute to the good
order and religious moderation which characterised
the Eastern Caliphate in his days. At Beneventum
the Christian folk had murdered their own prince,
and destroyed all Christian law, till Louis, grandson
of Charles the Great, introduced some kind of dis-
cipline. Worse than this, the roads leading to Rome
were so thronged with banditti, that no one could
reach St. Peter's in safety, unless he belonged to a
large and well-armed party. This state of misrule
Bernard contrasts with the peace prevailing in the
Mohammedan lands through which he travelled.
" I will tell you how Christians hold the law of God
in Jerusalem, and in Egypt. Now the Christians
and the pagans have peace one with another, in such
THE YEAR 1000. 1 3
wise that, if on my journey the camel or ass that
bore my little property were to die, and I were
to leave all my chattels there with none to guard
them, while I went to another city, on my return I
should find everything untouched. But if in any
city, or on any bridge or road they find a man
journeying, whether by day or by night, without
some charter and seal from the king or ruler of the
district, he is straightway thrust into prison till he
can give an account of himself whether he be a spy
or not."
This happy state of affairs continued with some
intervals of disturbance till the early years of the
eleventh century.
§ 2. The Eve of the Crusades.
At the end of the tenth century the great kingdoms
of mediaeval Europe were assuming a definite shape.
The sceptre of the Western Franks had passed from
the hands of the degenerate descendants of Charles
to those of Hugh Capet ; from Hugh's accession the
modern kingdom of France may be said to date,
despite the limitations which the great vassal counts
and dukes imposed on their nominal suzerain. In
Spain the Christian kingdoms were growing daily at
the expense of the decaying Caliphate of Cordova.
In other lands the crown of Lombardy already was,
and that of Burgundy soon was to be, annexed to
the German realm. For the kingdom of the Eastern
Franks had now, through the vigour of the three
Ottos, entered on its more distinctively German
phase. Yet further, the German kings had made good
14 INTRODUCTION.
their claim to the imperial title also, and from the
days of Otto I., it was the chief ambition of almost
every German king to be crowned Emperor of the
Romans ; that ambition was destined to be fatal to
German kingship, but in the tenth century it yet
seemed that the union of the imperial and royal offices
would bring strength to both. The papacy, that power
whose enmity was to be the ruin of German king
and Roman emperor alike, was at this period sunk
in the lowest depths of insignificance and vice. From
those depths first the Ottos and then the Henrys
made a brave effort to raise it. But it was not till
the days of Gregory VII. that the Popes learned the
secret of their own strength, or the German kings the
secret of their own weakness. ,
fa **»e fateful year iooo drew near, men's hearts
began lx rh Qrn for fear. To their excited imagi-
nation, the Secui,^ i^cvvu^ of the Lord seemed close
at hand <$ud their foretoMivigs we»*e strengthened by
the y^\r5of misery aiAfev^ the J which brought the
tenth century to a close.- TVvT«S dread is marked
in every aspect of life, and ihe \i&y charters bear
witness to its reality by their solemn opening
" appropinquante termino mundi." The terror passed,
but only to revive thirty years later as the thou-
sandth anniversary of the Crucifixion approached.
When at length the cloud was lifted a spirit of
piety seems to have seized upon all classes. The
Peace of God was already formulated in Southern
France ; but of all the characteristics of the new era
the most remarkable was the zeal for pilgrimages.
No class and no sex was free from this passion.
REVIVAL OF PIETY. I 5
The same enthusiasm seized upon x the mean and the
mighty alike. " At this time," say,s a contemporary
writer, 1 "there began to flow towards the Holy
Sepulchre so great a multitude as, ere this, no man
could have hoped for. First of all went ilie meaner
folk, then men of middle rank, and, lastly, very many
kings and counts, marquises and bishops ; aye, and
a thing that had never happened before, many women
bent their steps in the same direction." Happy
circumstances opened up a long-closed pathway to
the -ardent pilgrims. For ages the land route to
Jerusalem had been practically barred, and would-be
travellers like Willibald or Bernarcl forced to sail
across the Mediterranean to Ephesus or Alexandria.
But about the year 1000 the old route was opened up
once more. The Huns had been converted to Chris-
tianity, and so Ralph Glaber a little later could write
that pilgrims were forsaking the sea route and passing
through Stephen's 1 r Hungary because this
seemed thersafeo. r^- ■• " jr
Of noble eleve ^ry pilgrims a tew call for
special , notice. , ^11 the counts of Anjou none
bore a worse -name than Fulk the Black. At length,
dfter a life of bloodshed and battle, he was moved by
the fear of hell to go as a pilgrim to Jerusalem. He
returned somewhat softened, but once more his con-
1 Ralph Glaber. It is pathetic to read in the mediaeval martyrologies
•the records of the less distinguished wayfarers : May 24, Leger, the deacon
of Auxerre, who died on the way from Jerusalem and had the sea for his
grave ; June 30th, Andrew the knight, and was buried at Jerusalem ;
November 24th, Hictarius of blessed memory, he set out for Jerusalem,
and through God's mercy died on the way. Migne, " Patrologia,"
exxxviii. 1229, 1232, 1252.
l6 INTRODUCTION.
science sent him forth. At Jerusalem, so runs the
story, he had to purchase an entrance for himself
and his comrades ; and to the Holy Sepulchre he was
only admitted on promise of an insult to the cross of
Christ, a hard necessity from which he escaped by a
subterfuge. However he contrived to bite off a bit
of the stone, which he brought home as a precious
relic for his abbey of Beaulieu. Later on Fulk made
a third pilgrimage, and died on his way back at Metz
in 1040. In 1035 Robert the Magnificent left his
duchy of Normandy and his young son the future
conqueror of England, and went on a pilgrimage to
Jerusalem, which he accomplished in safety. But on
his way home he too fell ill and died at Nicaea, where
he was buried in the Virgin's church.
Those princes who could not themselves go on the
pilgrimage displayed their religious feelings by their
habitual piety. Robert I. of France was more of a
priest than a king. Richard II. of Normandy sup-
plied to his namesake, the abbot of Grace Dieu, the
funds which enabled him to go to Jerusalem, and
between this prince and the monks of Mount Sinai a
friendly exchange of gifts was maintained. William
III. of Aquitaine {pb. 1029) won for himself the titles
of " Father of the monks, builder of churches, and lover
of the Roman Church." Every year he made a
pilgrimage to Rome, or if circumstances prevented
this then at least to St. James at Compostella. Duke
William himself never went as far as Jerusalem, but his
trusty councillor William of Angouleme went there
with many nobles and bishops passing through Hun-
gary in the days of King Stephen. He left home on
EL E VE NTH-CENJ UJZY .FILGMMS. 1 7
October 1st, reached Jerusalem in the first week of
March, and by the third week of June was back in
his own city of Angouleme. Other pilgrims of dis-
tinction were Earl Godwin's eldest son Swegen, whose
uneasy conscience sent him to Jerusalem. Ealdred,
Archbishop of York, went to Jerusalem in 1058, in
such state as no other before him, and offered at our
Lord's tomb a golden chalice of wondrous workman-
ship and price. , Six years later Siegfried of Mayence
and three other bishops led a motley crowd of seven
thousand pilgrims to the Holy Land. Their gorgeous
apparel excited the cupidity of the Saracens, and they
fled for refuge to a fort, where they defended them-
selves during three days, but at last offered all their
money in return for their lives, and adm'tted seven-
teen of the Arabs within the walls. The Arab leader
unrolled his turban, and flinging it round Bishop
Herman of Bamberg's neck exclaimed, " Thou and
all thou hast are mine." This was more than the
bishop could bear, and with a sudden blow he laid
his captor prostrate. At this act of episcopal valour
the Christians regained their courage, bound the
Saracens who had entered the fort, and renewed the
contest with those outside. At last the Saracen lord
of Ramleh came to the rescue, and under his guidance
the pilgrims visited Jerusalem in safety. But only
two thousand lived to return to Europe.
We must now return to the course of events in the
internal history of the East itself, and more particu-
larly of Syria during the first three-quarters of the
eleventh century. At the beginning of that era
Jerusalem was subject to the Fatimite Caliph of
4,
1 8 ( INTRODUCTION.
Cairo. El- Hakim, the then Caliph, had succeeded as a
boy of eleven in 996 A.D. ; as he grew to manhood he
seems to have developed a strain of madness, though
it is difficult to trace the exact course of his actions,
as told in the narratives of contemporary Christian
and later Mohammedan writers. Like the other
Fatimites, El-Aziz — El-Hakim's father — had been no
bigot ; but had a Christian for secretary, and a Jew
for governor of Syria. El- Hakim did not share his
liberality ; first he put restrictions on Jews and Chris-
tians, then, according to Ralph Glaber on September
29, 1010, he ordered the destruction of the Holy
Sepulchre itself. 1 Contemporary rumour ascribed
this outrage to the artifices of the Jews, who per-
suaded El- Hakim, that unless he put a stop to the
throngs of pilgrims he would soon find himself with-
out a kingdom. False though the rumour was, it
became the pretext for the widespread persecution
of the Jews in Christian lands. Eastern historians,
however, show that El- Hakim was the impartial op-
pressor of Jew and Christian alike, imposing absurd
but harassing restrictions on the members of either
creed. 2 Later still his madness took a more serious
form, and he allowed himself to be publicly declared
the creator of the universe, until finally he was slain
by order of his sister in 102 1.
It was less than twenty years after the death of El-
1 The destruction does not, however, seem to have been very com-
plete. The Sepulchre was indeed restored by. Hakim himself in the
following year.
2 Such as forbidding them to wear rings on their hands, or to ride on
horses or mules.
RISE OF THE SELJUKS. 19
Hakim, that there appeared a new power in Western
Asia destined to influence fatally the fortunes of
Palestine. In 1038 Masud the Ghaznevid was
defeated by the Seljukian Turks, who thereupon
chose for their sovereign Toghrul Beg, the grandson
of Seljuk, a Turkish chief who had adopted Moham-
medanism and founded a principality in the neigh-
bourhood of Samarcand. Toghrul rapidly extended
his conquests over all Persia, and into regions further
west. The effeminate Abbasides had long possessed
but the shadow of power, and the reality now passed
to Toghrul, who was eventually in 1055 invested with
the dignity of Sultan or vicegerent for the Caliph in
the orthodox Mohammedan world. Toghrul was
succeeded in 1063 by his nephew Alp Arslan, under
whose leadership the Seljuks conquered Armenia,
and defeated the Emperor Romanus Diogenes at
the great battle of Manzikert in August, 107 1. As
the fruit of this victory Alp Arslan acquired the
lordship of Anatolia, and though he himself died
within a year, the power of the Seljuks continued to
progress throughout the twenty years' reign of his
son Malek Shah. After the captivity of Romanus
Diogenes, the Byzantine Empire became the prey
of imperial pretenders, who appealed without scruple
to the aid of Norman and even of Turkish arms.
During this period Asia Minor was so ravaged by
the Turkish hordes, that almost the whole peninsula
was within a few years lost to civilisation. At the
beginning of the reign of Alexius Comnenus in 108 1,
so far had the wave of conquest spread that the
Turkish standards on the battlements of Nicaa
20 INTRODUCTION.
were almost within sight of the Byzantine metro-
polis.
But the power of the Turks was not the only
danger which threatened the empire of Alexius ; the
Normans, under Robert Guiscard, were at the same
time cutting short his dominions on the shores of the
Adriatic. Like his predecessors, Alexius had recourse
to foreign arms for assistance and support. Chief
amongst the mercenary leaders in the reign of
Romanus had been the Norman Ursel, who was
perhaps a far-off kinsman of our own English and
Scottish house of Balliol. At the capital itself the
Emperor maintained the famous Varangian guards,
in whose ranks there served side by side with the
countrymen of their conquerors, many English, who
had fled their native land after the fatal day of
Hastings^ The employment of these mercenaries
familiarised the Eastern emperors with the notion of
deliverance through the prowess of Latin Christen-
dom. Nor were the Latins without some feeling of
sympathy for the affliction of the Eastern Christians.
Pope Sylvester II.'s famous letter of appeal on behalf
of Jerusalem, "the immaculate spouse of God," is
possibly a forgery of the later ' eleventh century.
It is, however, certain that seventy years afterwards
the profound statecraft of Gregory VII. saw clearly
the danger with which the advance of the Turks
threatened all Christendom. In an urgent letter he
called upon all Christian warriors to take up arms
on behalf of Constantinople. But this appeal was
not fruitful in important results, and even if Gregory
entertained any definite plan for uniting the West in
CONSTANTINOPLE IN DANGER. 21
defence of the Eastern Empire, the troubles of his
later years prevented its execution. v/
Alexius I., however, seems to have hoped for some
such aid. A letter purporting to be an appeal from
him to Robert, Count of Flanders, brother-in-law of
William the Conqueror, has been preserved in more
than one form. As regards its actual wording it
may be a forgery, but it certainly dates from
the early years of the twelfth century and, as
Robert had visited Constantinople whilst on a pil-
grimage to Jerusalem, there is nothing improbable
in the appeal. There is a pathetic ring in the Em-
peror's words as preserved in this letter : " From
Jerusalem to the ^Egaean the Turkish hordes have
mastered all : their galleys, sweeping the Black Sea
and Mediterranean, threaten the Imperial city itself,
which, if fall it must, had better fall into the hands of
Latins than of pagans."
The reference to Jerusalem is literally true, for since
the victory of Manzikert, the Turks had conquered
Palestine from the Egyptians. Tutush, brother of
Malek Shah, had established himself at Damascus,
and about 1092 granted Jerusalem to Ortok the
Turk, from whose son Sokman, the Egyptian vizir
El-Afdal captured it in 1096. But before the coming
of the first Crusaders the East had obtained a tem-
porary relief through the death, on the 18th of
November, 1092, of Malek Shah, the noblest of the
Seljukian Sultans, whose empire extended from the
borders of China to the southern frontiers of Pales-
tine. Xhis vast inheritance was disputed for by
Malek's children, and the consequent dissensions,
22 INTRODUCTION.
by weakening the power of the Seljuks, made the
progress of the first Crusaders from Nicaea to Jeru-
salem a comparatively easy task.
Reference has already been made to the definite
shape that the kingdoms of Western Europe had begun
to assume at the opening of the eleventh century.
For four hundred years previously Europe had been
devastated by three great plagues, against which, in
her divided state, she could make no effectual resist-
tance. Yet it was, to no small extent, to the resistance
offered to these three scourges that the feudal Europe
of the Middle Ages owed its shape. Out of resistance
to the Saracens arose the notion of religious war on a
large scale ; out of resistance to the Northmen rose
the sense of national danger, which was ultimately to
produce the sense of national unity ; through resist-
ance to the Hungarian invasion, the great rulers of
the Saxon house made good their claim to the
German kingship and all it brought in its train, the
kingship of Italy, and the Empire of Rome.
But amongst all the incidents which these troubles
gave rise to, there is none of such interest for our
present subject as the settlement of the Normans in
Southern Italy. An eleventh-century legend tells
how forty Norman warriors, returning from a pil-
grimage to Jerusalem, found the Saracens besieging
Salerno. They eagerly offered their aid to Guaymar,
the Lombard prince of the city ; and, when success
crowned their efforts, refused to accept any money
payment for what they had done out of love for God.
Historically speaking, the Normans seem to have
established themselves in Italy towards the beginning
THE NORMANS. 23
of the eleventh century. The Greek emperors were
then striving to recover the land from the Saracens
and Lombards. The confusion was favourable to the
new-comers, who further were aided by Melo, an
Apulian rebel against the Emperor, and under their
leader, Count Ranulf, the Normans fortified them-
selves near Aversa. Some years later the elder sons
of Tancred of Hauteville, of whom the most famous
were Robert Guiscard and Roger, came forward as
chiefs of the new settlement. Robert obtained for
It
himself the title of Duke of Calabria and Apulia,
while Roger conquered Sicily from the Saracens.
The conquerors were, however, eager to find a legal
title for their authority. This they secured when, in
1053, they defeated and took prisoner Pope Leo IX.,
who was soon glad to purchase his release by the
confirmation to the Normans of all their conquests
past or yet to come.
The great and powerful Emperor, Henry III., died
in 1056, leaving a little son — Henry IV. — a boy of six,
whose infancy was to be the source of prolonged
trouble. His subjects found in the weakness of a
divided regency a fit opportunity for revolt, and
hardly had the young king come to manhood when a
yet greater danger appeared without. Gregory VII.
availed himself of the king's weakness for an un-
paralleled assertion of the superiority of the eccle-
siastical over the civil power ; nor did he scruple
to support the rebellious nobles of Germany against
their lord. Henry set up Guibert of Ravenna as an
anti-pope, and when, in 1080, his opponent Rudolf of
Saxony had fallen in battle, entered Italy and expelled
24 INTRODUCTION.
Gregory from Rome. Henry was forced to retire by
the approach of the Normans under Guiscard ; but
Gregory could not recover his city, and died as an
exile at Salerno, leaving the contest to his successors
— in full confidence as to its ultimate issue.
Indeed, despite the sadness of his last days,
Gregory's labours had ensured the consolidation of
the papal power. Popes Zachary and Hadrian I.
had, it is true, played a great part in the days of
Pepin and Charles. Nicholas I. (858-867) also had
compelled Lothair to take back his divorced wife
Teutberga, and established his authority in the
Gallic Church despite the resistance of Hincmar of
Rheims. But the ambition of such pontiffs did no
more than furnish a foundation for the lofty and
wide- spreading pretensions of a later age. The
next century and a half forms the most degraded
epoch in the papal annals, and it was Gregory who
was the true creator of the mediaeval papacy. Only
when Gregory's action had forced on a contest with
the greatest temporal power of the age did the popes
learn to perceive their own strength. It was that
contest which gave to the popes their position as the
spiritual heads of Christendom, and enabled them to
preach with success the Crusade against the Saracen.
Gregory's ally, Robert Guiscard, had meantime
prepared the road in another direction. In 108 1 he
had carried his arms across the sea and was already
master of Durazzo, when the news of Gregory's
disasters compelled him to leave the conduct of the
war to his son Bohemond. He was preparing for a
second expedition against Constantinople itself, when
GREGORY VII. AND ROBERT GUISCARD.
25
death overtook him. He left his duchy to his son
Roger, and his ambitious projects in the East to
Bohemond.
Thus neither Robert nor Gregory lived to take part
in the Holy War, for which they both had consciously
or unconsciously laboured. Tradition, indeed, makes
a simple hermit the prime mover in the first crusade,
and to his history we must now turn.
II.
PETER THE HERMIT AND URBAN THE POPE.
M Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive,
But to be young was very Heaven."
Wordsworth, The Prelude.
THERE is little in the legend of Peter the Hermit
which may not very well be true, and the story as it
stands is more plausible than if we had to assume
that tradition had transferred the credit of the
First Crusade from a pope to a simple hermit. How-
ever, the full tale of Peter's visit first appears in the
" Chanson d'Antioch," and in Albert of Aix, some
forty years after the supposed event. In the more
sober writings of contemporaries, there is no proof
that Peter the Hermit stirred up Urban to his great
achievement, nor indeed that he was present at the
Council of Clermont at all. In Guibert of Nogent
he appears as the apostle of one district of Northern
France ; and, though a contemporary chronicler
seemingly takes him to the borders of Spain, it is
more probable that his preaching and influence were
confined to a very limited area.
To turn, however, to the picturesque narrative of
26
PETER AT JERUSALEM. 2 J
the traditional tale. About the year 1092 Peter the
Hermit, a native of Amiens or its neighbourhood,
went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Here his soul
was stirred by the horrors that he witnessed, in the
pollution of the Holy Places, and the cruel oppression
of the native Christians and of the pilgrims from
distant lands. The Patriarch, when appealed to by
Peter, could only lament his own powerlessness and
his dread of worse in store unless their brothers in
the west should send them aid. At his entreaty Peter
promised to rouse the princes of Europe to a sense of
the sad condition of the Holy City. Before all else
he bound himself to visit the Pope and enlist his
sympathies on the same side.
Then, so runs the story, Peter left the Patriarch's
presence, to spend the night in vigil at our Saviour's
tomb. Weary with watching, at length he fell asleep.
As he slumbered Christ appeared to him in a vision,
and bade him hasten home to accomplish his task.
But first Peter was to obtain from fhe Patriarch
credentials for his mission : " So shalt thou make
known the woes of our people, and rouse the
faithful to the cleansing of the Holy Places ; for
through danger and trial of every kind shall the elect
now enter the gates of Paradise."
At dawn Peter hurried to the Patriarch, and, after
obtaining letters signed with the Holy Cross, went
down to the coast and took ship for Italy. Urban
proved a ready listener, and was easily induced to
promise his aid. After more than one council in
Italy, he crossed the Alps and gathered a great
council at Clermont, where his exhortations stirred
28 PETER THE HERMIT AND URBAN THE POPE.
lords of every degree to bind themselves in a sacred
mutual engagement to redeem the Sepulchre of
Christ from the hands of the Mohammedan. Such
is Albert of Aix's narrative, and despite some taint
of legend it is no doubt true in the main.
Urban II., by birth a native of Rheims, and by
breeding a monk of Cluny, had been advanced by
Gregory VII. to be bishop of Ostia. Finally, in
1088, he became Gregory's second successor in the
papacy and the inheritor of his struggle with the
Emperor Henry. To this German trouble was added
another scandal in France, where King Philip lived in
open adultery with Bertrada de Montfort, the wife of
Fulk Rechin of Anjou. In Lent, 1095, Urban held
synod at Piacenza, where Philip's envoys attended
to make peace for their lord ; but a more remarkable
embassy was that from the Emperor Alexius, plead-
ing for help against the Turks. The church was not
sufficient to hold the crowds that assembled, and
mass was celebrated in the fields, where doubtless the
multitude listened to the impassioned language in
which the Eastern envoys appealed to their brethren
of the West for aid against their pagan foes.
Urban at once displayed his interest in the pro-
posal, and induced many to pledge themselves to
such a holy service. A second council was then con-
vened to meet at Clermont on November 18, 1095.
In the Acts of this council it was declared that —
" whoever shall have set out for Jerusalem, not for
the sake of honour or gain, but to free the Church of
God, may reckon his journey as a penance." The
Acts contain no further allusion to the Crusade, but
THE COUNCIL OF CLERMONT. 20.
more than one contemporary historian has preserved
what purports to be the very speech with which Urban
kindled the hearts of the French warriors. These
versions may be copies of encyclical letters from the
Pope to the Churches of the West, or the compositions
of the historians themselves. But in either case they
represent the aspirations and breathe the spirit which
impelled the first Crusaders to relinquish wife and
child and home for the sake of Christ.
When the strictly ecclesiastical business of the
council was completed, Urban preached to the
assembled multitude, exchanging the language of the
universal Latin Church for the French speech that
had been familiar to him in his youth. To the
French warriors the first truly French Pope could
speak in his own and their mother tongue. He
began by reminding them that they were of God's
elect, set apart by a special providence from all other
nations for the service of the Church. He painted
in vivid colours the sad necessity that had brought
him back to Gallic soil ; he told how the cries from
threatened Constantinople and down-trodden Jeru-
salem had long been ringing in his ears. It would
take two months to traverse the lands, which the
" accursed Persian race " had won from the Empire
of the East. Within all this region the Christians
had been led off to slavery, their homes laid waste,
their churches overthrown. Could his hearers look
on unmoved, when the heathen had entered into
God's heritage ? Antioch, once the city of Peter, was
given over to Mohammedan superstition. Of Jeru-
salem it was a shame even to speak, but there were
30 PETER THE HERMIT AND URBAN THE POPE.
some there who had witnessed with their own eyes
the abominations wrought by the Turks in the very
Sepulchre of Christ. Yet God had not in His mercy
forsaken the land, and still repeated every Easter
His miracle of the Sacred Fire.
Then Urban appealed to the proud knights stand-
ing by, and asked, how they were busying themselves
in these fateful days, shearing their brethren like
sheep, and quarrelling one with another. Yea! the
knighthood of Christ were plundering Christ's fold.
They were changing the deeds of a knight for the
works of night* As they loved their souls let them
go forth boldly, and quitting their mutual slaughter
take up arms for the household of faith. " Christ
Himself will be your leader, as, more valiantly than
did the Israelites of old, you fight for your Jerusalem.
It will be a goodly thing to die in that city, where
Christ died for you. Let not love of any earthly
possession detain you. You dwell in a land narrow
and unfertile. Your numbers overflow, and hence
you devour one another in wars. Let these home
discords cease. Start upon the way to the Holy
Sepulchre ; wrench the land from the accursed race,
and subdue it to yourselves. Thus shall you spoil
your foes of their wealth and return home victorious,
or, purpled with your own blood, receive an everlast-
ing reward. ... It were better to die in warfare
than behold the evils that befall the Holy Places.
Frenchmen recall the valour of Charles the Great
and his son Louis, who destroyed the kingdoms
of the unbelievers, and extended the limits of the
1 In the Latin : " militiam male depravastis in malitiam."
URBAN PREACHES THE CRUSADE. 3 1
Church. Valiant knights, descendants of uncon-
quered sires, remember the vigour of your fore-
fathers, and do not degenerate from your noble
stock."
This challenge to Christendom to forget its private
feuds in one great effort for God and Christ, this
skilful allusion to the glories of the old Frankish race
produced an instantaneous result. As the voice of
the Pope died away there went up one cry from the
assembled host : " DEUS Vult ! Deus Vult ! " (" It
is the will of God ! It is the will of God ! ")
Then, raising his eyes to heaven, and stretching out
his hand for silence, Urban renewed his speech with
words of praise. "This day has been fulfilled in your
midst, the saying of our Lord : ' Where two or three
are gathered together in My name, there am T in the
midst of them.' Had not the Lord been in your midst,
you would not thus have all uttered the same cry.
Wnerefore I tell you it is God who has inspired you
with His voice. So let the Lord's motto be your
battle cry, and when you go forth to meet the enemy
this shall be your watchword: ' Deus Vult! Deus
Vult!"'
" The vast concourse," says one who was himself
present at this moving scene, " flung themselves pros-
trate on the .ground while Gregory, a cardinal, made
confession of sin on their behalf, and begging pardon
for past misdeeds received the apostolic blessing."
Then man after man pressed forward to receive his
commission in the sacred service from the Pope's own
hands. To each class was assigned its special share in
the -glorious work. But the old and feeble were dis-
32 PETER THE HERMIT AND URBAN THE POPE.
suaded from an expedition wherein their presence
was more likely to impede than to assist. No woman
was to venture, unless in the company of husband or
brother. Priests and clerks were not to start without
the leave of their superior, nor any layman without
the blessing of his priest. The rich were to aid in
proportion to their wealth, and even to hire soldiers
for the field. All these elaborate injunctions can
hardly have been given out on one day : it is more
likely that the historian is here speaking proleptically,
for he certainly wrote at a date, when experience had
proved the impossibility of conducting an unarmed
rabble through so vast a space of unknown land. Of
the warnings thus put into Urban's mouth few at
the time could have seen the necessity.
The enthusiasm reached its height when the envoys
of Count Raymond of Toulouse, declared that their
lord, the most powerful prince of Southern France,
had pledged himself to go on the Crusade. Not only
would he conduct a mighty host from his own
domains, but he was willing to give his counsel and
wealth to all intending pilgrims. Moreover, it was
announced that Adhemar, the bishop of Puy, would
go with the lord of Toulouse, and so in their persons
the people of God would find a new Aaron and a new
Moses.
Urban himself was foremost in the work of dis-
tributing the crosses. All who took the cross did
so of their own accord ; there was no compulsion,
but there must be no turning back. The renegade
was to be shunned of all ; he was to be a per-
petual outlaw till waking to the true wisdom he
SIGNS AND WONDERS. 33
undertook once more what he had abandoned so
basely.
At length with the papal blessing all the laymen were
dismissed to their homes. To confirm their good
intentions, the Church promised her protection to the
wives, children, and property of all who undertook the
" Way of God."
The bishops and priests on their part went away to
preach the new gospel each in his own diocese and
parish. As the clergy uttered their exhortations, the
laymen raised their voices in one great cry, doubtless,
the same that had first made itself heard at the council
Clermont : " Dens Vult ! " Soon men began to seek
for signs and wonders. Surely God must have given
some foretoken of all that was to happen.. Far away
from Clermont, Bishop Gilbert of Lisieux, a philoso-
pher, famous for his knowledge of astronomy and
medicine, one of the physicians who had watched by
the death-bed of the Great Conqueror, was looking
out upon the starlit sky. The night was thick with
falling stars, and as Gilbert watched, he expounded
the significance of this marvellous sight to the
servant who shared his vigil : " This prefigures
the transmigration of many people from one realm
to another. Many shall go forth and never return,
until the stars return to their place in the sky,
whence you now see them falling." Later, men
saw the moon turn red and black at her eclipse,
a sure sign of change in high places.' Yet wilder
stories spread abroad, and it was fabled that the Acts
of the Council of Clermont became known within a
few hours to the whole world ; joy leapt up in the
34 PETER THE HERMIT AND URBAN THE POPE.
hearts of Christians, but fear and amazement fell upon
the heathen dwellers in the East ; for such a blast
resounded from the heavenly trumpet that through-
out all lands the enemies of Christ trembled and were
afraid.
Raymond was the only great lord who had pledged
himself to the Crusade at Clermont. But the
enthusiasm was spread broadcast over Western
Europe by the prelates, priests, and laymen as they
returned from the great assembly.
A vivid picture of the intense excitement of the
next few months has been preserved. In the high-
ways and the cross-roads men would talk of nothing
else ; layman and priest alike took up the cry and
urged their fellows to start for Jerusalem. The
intending pilgrim gloried in his resolution, while his
laggard friend took shame to himself for his sloth and
slackness in the cause of God.
The last harvest had been a failure so complete
that many of the rich found themselves in penury,
while the poor were driven to feed on herbs and the
wild roots of the field. Guibert of Nogent draws a
vivid picture of these winter days, when all were sad
with the prospect of approaching famine, save only
the prudent rich man, who had long been storing up
in the years of plenty, so to gather wealth in times of
dearth. " It was a time," writes Guibert, "to gladden
the heart of the miser as he added the price of his
garnered grain to his precious hoard." And now
just when the money-lender was rejoicing in hope of
unexampled profit, his dream was rudely dissipated ;
Urban had spoken and Christendom was roused
THE PREACHING OF PETER. 35
Instead of the expected want, the markets were
glutted ; every one was eager to sell, few cared to
buy. Before the council bread was scarce ; after the
council, though it was full winter, when stock had been
killed off for salting, seven sheep were sold for fivepence.
As usual there was the crowd of greedy self-seekers
only too eager to snatch a profit out of the enthusiasm
of their fellows. " Yet, even these men," says a con-
temporary, " could not all hold out against the pre-
vailing contagion. To-day a man might be seen
chuckling over his friend's madness ; to-morrow he
might be seen acting the same part and selling all he
had for a few trumpery coins."
It was in North-eastern France and on the lowef
Rhine that the popular frenzy first gathered head.
Eight months were to elapse before any of the great
leaders started on the road, for many preparations
had first to be made. But the wilder spirits could not
brook delay, nor were there wanting men to set the
torch to their enthusiasm.
In the long winter months the voice of one
preacher was heard in North-eastern France urging
men to fulfil the commands of .God. This preacher
was Peter the Hermit, and it is with the winter of
1095-6 that his historical career commences. From
town to town he passed along walled round by a
throng of eager devotees. " Never," says Guibert,
" within our memory was any man so honoured." Of,
small stature, dark complexion, thin features, and if
we may trust the evidence of romance, with a long
white beard, he rode upon a mule, whence his
followers plucked the very hairs as precious relics.
36 PETER THE HERMIT AND URBAN THE POPE.
The exhortations of Peter and his fellows produced
a marvellous effect. Guibert saw villages, towns, and
cities emptied of their inhabitants as the preacher
went along. This of course is the language of exag-
geration, though it may possibly bear some relation
to the truth, while Peter was passing through a
district. But the real effect of his exhortations is
to be seen in the expeditions that left France and
Lorraine in the early spring of 1096.
The popular excitement, however, sank to lower
depths than these. Madness, the near kinsman of
enthusiasm and credulity, is often the slave of persecu-
tion. Whilst, on the one hand, crowds were starting
for Jerusalem under the guidance of a mad woman, a
goose, or a goat whom their frenzied imagination took
to be the receptacles of the spirit of God, others made
the movement an excuse for wanton rapine and
murder. In Lorraine it was declared that a man's
first service to God should be the destruction of the
accursed race which had crucified the Lord. At
Cologne the synagogues were destroyed, the Jews
slaughtered, and their houses sacked. At Mayence
the Jewish community vainly purchased the arch-
bishop's protection and sought safety in his house.
Even here they were not secure ; at sunrise a certain
Count Emicho led the rabble against them ; the doors
were broken open, and men, women, and children
massacred without mercy, till in their despair the
victims sought death at each other's hands.
The preaching of Peter the Hermit brought some
fifteen thousand French pilgrims to Cologne about
Easter 1096. Peter wished to stay and exhort
WALTER THE PENNILESS. 37
the Germans also, but the French would not wait,
and set out under the guidance of Walter de Poissi
and his nephew Walter the Penniless. They jour-
neyed through Hungary, where they were kindly
treated by King Caloman, to Semlin on the Danube.
Here the main body passed over to the Bulgarian
city of Belgrade, but a small party remaining
behind to purchase arms were plundered by the
people of Semlin. Walter begged the Bulgarian
chief to supply him with provisions, and on a re-
fusal suffered his followers to pillage as they would.
The Bulgarians then mustered in such force that"
Walter's host was scattered, and many of his fol-
lowers killed. The stragglers, however, forced their
way through the woods in eight days to Nisch,
and there obtaining guides and food, made their
way on to Constantinople, where they remained till
Peter the Hermit and his contingent arrived.
Peter, with the German host which his eloquence
gathered round him at Cologne, seems to have
followed the same route as Walter the Penniless.
Through Germany, Bavaria, and the modern Austria
they passed in peace, some on foot, some floating
down the Danube and other rivers in boats. At
Oedenberg they reached the Hungarian frontier, and
there awaited Caloman's permission to traverse his
dominions. Thence they journeyed in peace and
good order to Semlin. From the walls of that city
they saw the arms of Walter's comrades hung as in
derision. This sight moved them to take vengeance,
the horns blew to arms, the standards were advanced,
a dense rain of arrows was poured in upon the city,
38 PETER THE HERMIT AND URBAN THE POPE.
and the Hungarians were driven from the walls. The
citizens for the most part sought refuge in a lofty
fortress, while the pilgrims occupied the town, in
which they found an abundant supply of food and
horses. After a stay of five days the Crusaders
crossed over to Belgrade, the inhabitants of which
town had fled in terror at the news of Peter's
success. At Nisch the Bulgarian prince Nichita
granted them a market, but, when he heard that
some unruly Germans had fired seven mills on
the river, at once bade his subjects make reprisals.
Peter, who had already started with the main host,
returned at the news, and a general conflict soon
ensued. The Crusaders were scattered, their bag-
gage lost, and Peter's own treasure chest with all
its wealth fell into the hands of the Bulgarian
prince. A few of the fugitives gathered under Peter's
leadership on a neighbouring height, where one by
one the stragglers joined them till seven thousand had
re-assembled. Then they renewed their march, and at
last, on August 30, 1096, they reached Constantinople.
There Peter had an interview with Alexius, who
advised him to wait till the great Crusading armies
should arrive. But certain unruly Lombards set fire
to some buildings near the city, and stripping the lead
from the churches sold it to the Greeks. Annoyed
at such disorder Alexius urged that they should pass
over to Asia. Peter and Walter were accordingly
carried across to Nicomedia, whence they proceeded
to Civitot, a city on the coast. Here the Emperor's
ships supplied them with abundance of food, and,
they stayed in all for two months.
FATE OF THE PILGRIMS. 39
Some of the Germans, however, led by one Reinald,
left their fellows and made an expedition towards
Nicaea. Near that city they seized a deserted fortress,
called Exerogorgo, wherein they were presently
besieged by Kilij Arslan, the Sultan of Rum.
The sufferings of the Christians were intense, for
there was no drinking-water ; in their anguish men
drank the blood of their horses, some sought to pro-
cure a few drops of water by letting down their girdles
into the foul fishponds, others dug pits in the earth,
and endeavoured to obtain relief by covering their
limbs with the moist soil. After eight days Kilij
Arslan captured Exerogorgo, and moved on against
Civitot. Peter was away at Constantinople seeking
aid from the Emperor, and Walter was unable to
control his motley host. The Sultan surprised the
Christians as they lay asleep in their camp out-
side the walls of the town. Walter was slain,
and numbers of his followers ruthlessly massacred ;
three thousand of them, however, found shelter in
a roofless fort close by. The Turks, unable to
effect an entrance, kindled a fire against the walls,
but the flames, so runs the contemporary story,
were driven back by the wind into the faces of the
assailants. In this fort the fugitives maintained
themselves, until Peter persuaded Alexius to send
a body of troops to the rescue, whereupon the
Turks withdrew with their spoil and their captives.
A second host of Germans started for Constanti-
nople under the leadership of a priest named Gots-
chalk. They were well received by Caloman, whose
kindness they requited in the usual way, by plunder
40 PETER THE HERMIT AND URBAN THE POPE.
and drunken disorder. Their conduct so angered the
king that he ordered the' pilgrims to be disarmed, and
then the enraged Hungarians massacred the defence-
less host, till, as it is asserted, the whole plain was
covered with corpses and blood. Folkmar, a priest,
led a mixed host through Bohemia with similar
results. A fifth army under Count Emicho included
some warriors of renown, but met with no happier
fate. They besieged Meseberg, on the Leitha, and
Caloman had prepared for a 'flight into Russia, when
a sudden panic fell upon the invaders. The Hun-
garians took fresh courage and the blood of their
foes soon reddened the rivers. A few of the leaders,
including Count Emicho, escaped into Italy or to
their own homes, but the mass of the pilgrims were
slain or drowned : " Thus is the hand of the Lord
believed to have been against these pilgrims, who
had sinned in His sight, and slain the Jews, rather for
greed of money than for justice of God."
IN.
THE FIRST CRUSADE — THE MUSTER AND THE
MARCH TO ANTIOCH.
*E<nrere vvv fioi Movant 'GXvfjnria ^wjuar' i\ovaai,
oitiveq riyefiovig Aavautv Kai Koipavoi r\aav.
Iliad II.
** Tdl me, now, ye Muses that dwell in the halls of Olympus,
Who were the chiefs of the Greeks? what were their leaders' names?'
No sovereign prince of Western Europe took part
in the first Crusade, nor did any prince of the second
rank start before the summer of 1096. The inter-
vening time was spent in negotiations to-secure a free
passage and plentiful provisions on the way to Con-
stantinople. For there seems to have been no real
thought of proceeding to Jerusalem by sea ; men
shunned the horrors of a Mediterranean voyage, and
the conversion of the Huns had reopened the earlier
track, by which the Bordeaux Pilgrim h id journeyed
to the Holy City. The numbers of the first Crusade,
though perhaps grossly exaggerated, were too great
to admit of a united progress through Central Europe.
The main hosts of the Crusaders accordingly set out
in five distinct bodies, under different leaders and by
4 1
42 THE FIRST CRUSADE.
different routes. The first started in August, 1096,
the last did not join its fellows till they were camped
round Nicaea in the following summer.
First marched the Teutonic host, under Godfrey
of Lorraine, who was now some thirty-five years
old. His father Eustace II. of Boulogne had accom-
panied William on his expedition to England, and
even before then had played a prominent, if not an
honourable, part in English politics. Through his
mother Ida he was, perhaps, descended from Charles
the Great ; and claimed the duchy of Lorraine, which
was confirmed to him while still a youth by the
Emperor Henry IV. His early manhood was spent
in war and politics ; he fought for Henry against
Rudolf and Gregory, and when ill of a fever at
Rome vowed to make a pilgrimage to the Holy
City. Historically speaking before the first Crusade
Godfrey figures as a somewhat turbulent noble of
no particular piety. His grandfather, Godfrey the
Bearded, Duke of Lorraine, had been one of the
sturdiest of the rebels against Henry III. ; even in
an age of violence men stood aghast at the daring
of the man who had burnt the great church of
Verdun to the ground. His grandson too, for all
his later piety, could war upon the Bishop of Verdun
in defence of what he deemed his rights. But in the
next century men loved to think of Godfrey of
Bouillon as marked out from his very infancy for his
high career.
When Godfrey reached Oedenberg, on the borders
of Hungary, he found his further advance stopped ;
for Caloman, angry at the injury already done to
GODFREY DE BOUILLON. 43
his kingdom, would not grant a passage till Godfrey
had paid him a visit of reconciliation. Finally God-
frey's brother Baldwin, with his wife and children,
were given as hostages, and a peaceful compact
made with the King. " So day after day in silence
and peace, with equal measure and just sale, did
the duke and his people pass through the realm of
Hungary."
Shortly after they had crossed the Save, the Greek
Emperor's envoys met the duke, promising to supply
his men with provisions if they would refrain from
plunder. Nor did Alexius fail to keep his promise,
for there was no lack of corn, wine, and oil for the
leaders, while the common folk had full liberty to
buy and sell. But at Philippopolis news came how
Hugh of Vermandois was a captive in Constanti-
nople. At first the duke had no thought of ven-
geance ; but when the envoys, whom he sent to
petition for the count's release, returned with a
blank refusal, Godfrey gave orders tc lay waste the
surrounding country. A second and more friendly
message from Alexius induced him to stay his hand
and advance towards Constantinople. He pitched
his tents outside the city, where he was welcomed
by Hugh and his fellow captives ; but by the advice
of the French residents in Constantinople he refused
the Emperor's invitation to enter the city, and re-
jected all presents, lest they should be poisoned.
Alexius, in return, forbade his people to supply
the Crusaders with food ; nor was it till Baldwin,
brother of Godfrey, took to plundering that the pro-
hibition was withdrawn.
44 THE FIRST CRUSADE.
In the latter part of the eleventh century the coast
of the Bosphorus beyond the Golden Horn to the
Black Sea was bordered for some thirty miles with
the palaces of the Byzantine nobles. Alexius, eager
to have the Crusading host removed as far as pos-
sible from Constantinople itself, persuaded Godfrey
to take up his winter quarters in this favourable
district. To this Godfrey assented, but still refused
the Emperor's solicitations for a personal visit.
When Alexius had resort to actual violence, the
Crusaders returned to their old position before Con-
stantinople, and the Emperor was soon compelled
to come to terms. A peace was patched up, and
after the Emperor's son John had been given as a
hostage, Godfrey visited Alexius in his palace. A
little later, perhaps on the 2ist of January, 1097, by
the Emperor's request, Godfrey led his troops across
to Asia.
Bohemond and his uncle, Count Roger of Sicily,
so runs the contemporary story, were laying siege to
Amalfi, when news came that innumerable Frankish
warriors had started on the way to Jerusalem. Bohe-
mond inquired of the messengers, " What are their
weapons, what their badge, and what their war-cry ? "
"Our weapons," was the enthusiastic reply, "are those
best suited to war ; our badge the cross of Christ
upon our shoulders ; our war-cry 'Deus Vidt ! Deus
VultV" The piety or cupidity of the warlike Nor-
man was aroused at this answer. He tore from his
shoulders his costly cloak, and with his own hands
made of it crosses for all who would follow him in
the new enterprise. His example proved contagious,
BOHEMOND. 45
and nearly all the knights offered their services to
Bohemond, so that Count Roger returned to Sicily
almost alone. With Bohemond went his cousin 1
Tancred, destined in later days to be lord of Antioch,
and to find immortal honour in the great poem of
Tasso.
Bohemond crossed to Durazzo about the end of
Octoberj_aijji two months later had reached Castoria,
where (he spent the Christmas, and then proceeded
on his^ way to Constantinople. He seems to have
been well supplied with provisions on the route, and
l^ept good order on the march. At Rusa, on the 1st
of April, he received an invitation to Constantinople,
and leaving his troops under the care of Tancred,
hurried forward with only a few attendants. Alexius
knew Bohemond's measure, and by the promise of a
princely lordship in the confines of Antioch prevailed
on him to take an oath of fidelity.
The third host marched under Raymond of St.
Gilles, and comprised all the men of the Langue
d'Oc. Those of the Langue d'Oil had gone before,
and under the guidance of Hugh, Count of Ver-
mandois, had been the first of all the Crusaders to
take the field. " Hugh," writes a contemporary, "was
first to cross the sea to Durazzo, where the citizens
took him prisoner, and sent him to the Emperor at
Constantinople." How he was released from his
captivity we have already seen.
Raymond had been merely Count of St. Gilles,
but through the death of his elder brother, while on
a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, had become in 1093 Duke
1 Or nephew, for the genealogy is obscure.
|X
46 THE FIRST CRUSADE.
of Narbonne, Count of Toulouse and Marquis of Pro-
vence. He was older than the other Crusading chiefs,
being now past fifty years of age. In his company
was the Papal legate Bishop Adhemar of Puy, and
under his banners went many noble knights of
Southern F ranee. " It was already winter when
Raymond's men were toiling over the barren moun-
tains of Dalmitia, where for three weeks v/e saw
neither bird nor beast. For almost forty days did
we struggle on through mists so thick that we could
actually feel them, and brush them aside with a
motion of the hand." So writes a contemporary, who
had shared in all the horrors of this painful march.
Raymond, with that careful consideration for the
weak which seems to have marked his character,
did his best to hold at bay the rude natives, who
dogged his rear athirst for the plunder of the sick
and old ; as a deterrent he cut off the noses,
hands, and feet of his captives, blinded them, and
in this plight sent them back to their comrades. At
Scutari Bodin, the King of the Slavs, promised them
an open market. " But this was fancy only ; for we
repented of the peace we had sought for, when the
Slavs once more began to rob and slay in their
wonted manner." At last they reached Durazzo,
" where," writes Raymond's biographer, " we believed
that we were in our own country ; for we believed
that Alexius and his followers were our brothers
and allies." The Imperial friendship proved, how-
ever, but a broken reed ; " right and left did ;he
Emperor's Turks and Comans, his Pincenati and
Bulgarians, lie in wait for us, and this though in
RAYMOND OF TOULOUSE. ■ 47
his letters he spoke to us of peace and brother-
hood." However, despite such experiences and the
consequent warfare, this host at last made its way
to Rodosto, whence Raymond, at Alexius's bidding,
hurried on to Constantinople. Raymond, unlike
Bohemond, Godfrey, and Robert of Flanders, would
take no oath to the Emperor. " Be it far from me,"
were the words of his proud humility, " that I should
take any lord for this way save Christ only, for
whose sake I have come hither. If thou art willing
to take the cross also, and accompany us to Jeru-
salem, I and my men and all that I have will be at
thy disposal."
While at Constantinople Raymond received news
that during his absence the Emperor's troops had
attacked his. men. In his wrath it is said that he
>nvited the other Latin chiefs to join him in the
sack of Constantinople. Bohemond, however, was
staunch to the Emperor, and even gave himself as
a hostage that Alexius would recompense the count
if it should prove true that the Imperial troops had
done him injury. Godfrey, too, refused to bear arms
against a brother Christian, and so Raymond had to
endure his wrong as best he might. Nothing could
induce him to become the Emperor's liegeman, but
at last he swore to do Alexius no harm to his life or
honour, and not to suffer any such wrong to be done
by another. " But when he was called on to do
homage," says Raymond of Agiles, "he made answer
that he would not, even at the peril of his life. For
which reason the Emperor gave him few gifts." Yet
Raymond's oath proved of better worth than that of
EFFIGY OF ROBERT OF NORMAN b
<
ROBERT OF NORMANDY. 49
those who had sworn more. Anna Comnena per-
haps writes by the light of later events, but her
words are very precise, and apparently refer to this
time: "One of the Crusaders, the Count of St. Gilles.
Alexius loved in a special way, because of his wisdom ;
sincerity, and purity of life ; and also because he
knew that he preferred honour and truth above all
things."
The last of the great hosts did not start till Sep-
tember or October, 1096. At its head was the
Conqueror's son, Robert of Normandy, and with
him went his sister's husband, Stephen, Count of
Blois and Cliartres ; his cousin, Robert of Flanders ;
his uncle Odo, the turbulent Bishop of Bayeux, and
a goodly host of warriors from the lands of North-
west France. They passed through Italy, at Lucca
received a blessing from Pope Urban, and so by way
of Rome came to Bari.
Winter was come when Robert of Normandy
reached this town. The prospect of the stormy
Adriatic determined him to spend the winter in
Calabria ; where as head of the Norman race he
might look for lavish hospitality from the children
of those Normans who had conquered Sicily and
South Italy. But Robert of Flanders bade defiance
to the winter storms, crossed the Adriatic, and
appears to have reached Constantinople a little
before Raymond. The great majority of those who
remained behind suffered terribly ; Robert enjoyed
his ease in Italy or Sicily, but his humbler followers
found it hard to support themselves in so unexpected
a delay. " Many," says Fulcher, " of the commoner
5o THE FlkST CRUSADE.
sort became disconsolate, and through fear of want
sold their bows. Then, taking up their pilgrims'
staves once more, they returned meanly to their
homes. So they became vile before God and man,
and the thing was turned to their shame." Of the
prelates, Odo died at Palermo and was buried there.
y/ By the end of March, 1097, Duke Robert and
Count Stephen were ready at Brindisi, and fixed
their departure for Easter Day, the 5th of April. The
sinking of a large vessel laden with four hundred
pilgrims seemed to augur ill for the success of the
expedition. But when more than one of the bodies
thrown upon the beach was found to be marked with
a mysterious cross, the incident was turned to a
happy omen. " However," says Fulcher, " some being
of a less robust faith were greatly perturbed with
fear, and went back home, saying they would no
more venture themselves on the treacherous waters.
The rest of us placing our trust in Almighty God,
launched forth on to the deep amid the blare of
many trumpets, and the breath of a gentle breeze."
Four days later they disembarked near Durazzo,
and thence made their way across Thessaly to
Salonica and Constantinople. Fulcher relates that
" the Emperor would not let us enter the city lest
we should do it harm ; " but the new-comers were
not indiscriminately excluded, and it was doubtless
the tales of his luckier comrades that filled Fulcher
with admiration : u Oh ! how great a city it is ;
how noble and comely ! What wondrously wrought
monasteries and palaces are therein ! What marvels
everywhere in street and square ! Tedious would it
THE CRUSADERS AT CONSTANTINOPLE. y
be to recite its wealth in all precious things, in gold
and silver, in divers shaped cloaks, and saintly relics.
For thither do ships bring at all times all things that
man requires."
So one by one the varied hosts made their way
to Constantinople. The successive arrivals of such
numerous bodies of men, extending over nearly
the whole of a year, may well have excited a feeling
of dismay in the Eastern Emperor and his subjects.
Almost all contemporary writers go further, and
accuse Alexius of an actual • breach of faith ; nor
were their charges entirely devoid of foundation.
Yet so far as the providing of actual supplies was
concerned Alexius seems to have kept his word in
the main. We read how Bohemond's army marched
" through overmuch plenty from villa to villa, from
town to town, and from fortress to fortress ; " at
Philippopolis Duke Godfrey found an abundance of
things necessary for eight days ; and at Salonica
Duke Robert and his comrades pitched their tents
before a city abounding in all good store.
But the hordes of Peter the Hermit and Walter
the Penniless can have known little of discipline, and
even in the more .regularly constituted hosts it was
impossible that the chiefs should maintain strict
authority. It was perhaps still more impossible for
Alexius to have arranged the commissariat without
a flaw, and possibly his authority did not count for
much in cities remote from the capital. "At
Castoria," says Bohemond's chronicler, " the inhabi-
tants would not assent to a market, for they feared
us greatly, deeming us no pilgrims, but a peopb
52 THE FIRST CRUSADE.
desirous to waste their land, and slay them." After-
wards this same host was eager to attack a certain
fortress, for no other reason than that it was full of
all manner of good store. Bohemond refused, as
much, we read, from love of justice as from loyalty
to the Emperor. But even Tancred did not take
so strict a view of what good faith meant.
Mutual distrust soon breeds open discontent, which
is the speedy harbinger of open war. Nor was
Alexius without justifiable suspicions of more than
one Crusading chief; he can never have forgotten
how within the last few years Bohemond and his
father had waged war on the Empire. Byzantine
duplicity was only too ready to suspect Norman
guile ; might not Bohemond, after all, be using the
Crusade as a cloak for his own designs against the
Imperial city? Such at least was the suspicion of.
the Byzantines a few years later, when they could
interpret the events of the eleventh century by those
of the early twelfth. " Some of the Crusaders," writes
Anna Comnena, " were guileless men and women
marching in all simplicity to worship at the tomb
of Christ ; but there were others of a more wicked
kind — to wit, Bohemond and the like: such men had
but one object — to get possession of the Imperial
city." Such plans as these, if they ever existed,
Alexius was bound to resist to the utmost, but his
hopes went much further. He remembered that the
Empire, which he ruled, had once stretched to
Antioch and the Euphrates, nay, even to Jerusalem
itself. Might he not turn the Crusade to his own
advantage, by its aid beat back the invading Turks,
SCHEMES OF ALEXIUS.
53
and recover for the Empire all that Frankish valour
could wrest from Saracen hands ? This was what
Alexius had in view, and it was possibly by his
insistence on this, that he sowed the first seeds of
permanent distrust between himself and his so-called
allies.
In all his actions Alexius had but one aim : he
was resolved to give the Crusading hosts no facilities
for their journey through Asia Minor until the
leaders, one and all, had taken an oath of fealty to
him. They must promise too that whatever con-
quests they might make elsewhere on their own
COINS OF ALEXIUS.
account, everything that had once belonged to the
Empire should revert to it again. Doubtless he
would grant them out in fiefs to the Frankish
warriors, but he must at least be over-lord. Godfrey
was first to take this oath, but it was uncertain
whether the other leaders would consent to follow
his example ; the bargain seemed dishonourable,
and they suspected some hidden trap. But at
length the Emperor won his way. We have seen
how Bohemond was bribed by the promise of a vast
principality, and how Raymond, at first inexorable,
eventually yielded so far as to take the oath in a
modified form. In the end Tancred was the only
\
54 THE FIRST CRUSADE.
Crusader of the first rank who escaped the oath,
and that only for the time. " He came," says his
biographer, " to get himself a kingdom, should he find
himself a yoke ? " So Tancred would not approach
Constantinople, but crossed the Hellespont in dis-
guise, whilst Bohemond had to excuse his con-
duct as best he might. After the fall of Nicaea,
Bohemond brought his kinsman back to Constanti-
nople, and Tancred then took the oath, but refused
all the Emperor's smaller gifts, hoping for a splendid
tent, "turreted like a city, and a load for twenty
camels." This Alexius refused to give him, making
a few wholesome remarks on his covetousness, and
Tancred accordingly returned in dudgeon to Nicaea.
The first exploit of the Crusaders after they were
all mustered in Asia Minor was the siege of Nicaea,
which city they reached on May 6th. The first
attack on the city failed, and then came news that
Kilij Arslan was approaching with an army of
relief. On Saturday morning, May 16th, his troops
were pressing down upon the city, when fortunately
Raymond of St. Gilles and Adhemar of Puy arrived
to join their comrades. It was a glorious day for
the Crusading armies, and their first battle with the
eiiemy resulted in a complete victory. " The Turks
rushed to war, exultingly dragging with them the
ropes, wherewith to bind us captive. But as many
as descended from the hills remained in our hands ;
and our men cutting off their heads flung them into
the city, a thing that wrought great terror amongst
the Turks inside."
After this victory the siege was renewed with fresh
SIEGE OF NICMA. 55
vigour, and when, early in June, Robert of Normandy
and Stephen_o_£„Blois, arrived the whole city was
at length encompassed, except on one side, where
a lake afforded- means to go out and come in. It
was plain that Nicaea would never be taken till this
entry was closed. Envoys were sent to seek aid
from Alexius, and through his assistance vessels
were brought overland from the sea, and launched
upon the lake. It seemed now that the city must
fall ; and all were looking forward with eagerness
to the plunder, which was to repay them for their
labour. But the Turks preferred to fall into the
hands of Alexius, and just when the Christians were
hoping to capture the city the Imperial banners were
seen floating from the walls. Still though Alexius
had thus forestalled his Frankish allies he was lavish
of his gifts! among them. " To our leaders," says
Fulcher, " he gave gold and silver, and raiment ; and
among the foot-soldiers he distributed brass coins
that they call Tartarons." No generosity, however,
could quite satisfy the greed of the disappointed
soldiery. What, they angrily demanded, had become
of the gold and horses of the conquered ? Where
was the hospital that Alexius had promised to build
for the poorer Franks ? So also says Raymond of
Agiles — " Alexius paid the army in such wise that, so
long as ever he lives, the people will curse him, and
declare him a traitor."
The siege of Nicaea thus ended, the Crusaders
started on their way to Antioch on June 29th.
Whether by accident or design they divided into two
parts ; with one went Raymond, Adhemar, Godfrey,
5&
THE FIRST CRUSADE.
and Robert of Flanders ; with the other Bohemond,
Tancred, Hugh the Great, and Robert of Normandy.
At evening on the following day Bohemond found
himself beside a little stream. The heights around
were thronged with thousands of Turks, and a hasty
order was issued to pitch tents. The night passed
in anxious expectation, till hi the early morning of
July 1st, the horn gave the signal to resume the
march. An hour or two later the scouts of the
two armies came to close quarters ; Bohemond
KNIGHTS AT THE TIME OF
FIRST CRUSADE.
ordered a halt, the baggage was stacked, and a mes-
sage sent to call up the other host of the Crusaders.
Then the knights dismounted, and Bohemond bade
them be of good cheer, and keep the foe at bay,
while the footmen guarded the tents.
It was a day of heroic deeds ; " the very women
were a stay to us," writes Bohemond's eulogiser, " for
they carried water for our warriors to drink, and ever
did they strengthen the fighters." At last, hemmed
in by thousands of Turks, Bohemond himself was
BATTLE OF DORYLMUM. 57
losing heart, and his men giving way, when Robert —
mindful, perhaps, how his father turned the day at
Hastings — bared his head to view, and urged his
comrades to stand firm. The battle was resumed
with vigour, and as the other Christian leaders came
up, the Turks were driven back, and fled leaving their
treasures behind them. Victory had been snatched
out of the very jaws of defeat, and well might the
Christian warrior write : " Had not the Lord been
with us in this battle, and sent us speedily another
army, none of our men would have escaped."
Such was the fight at Dorylaeum, the first pitched
battle between the Crusader and the Turk. Fable or
superstitious enthusiasm soon cast a halo round the
fight. "A wondrous miracle is reported to have
taken place," writes Raymond of Agiles, " but we did
not behold it ; for it is said that two knights of won-
derful appearance, and clad in shining armour, went
before our army and pressed the enemy in such wise
as to leave them no chance of fighting." A few years
later men told one another with awe how St. George,
St. Demetrius, and St. Theodore, came forth from
the mountains on white horses, bearing white ban-
ners in their hands, and dealt deadly blows against
the infidels.
From Dorylaeum the Crusaders plodded on over the
rugged table- lands of Asia Minor, through a water-
less and uninhabited region, " whence we scarcely
issued with our lives." Survivors related to Albert
of Aix, the story of their terrible march across the
mountains. Men, women, and horses, perished of
thirst in the heat of the hot July sun. Pregnant
58 THE FIRST CRUSADE.
women dropped down by the way to give birth to
their hapless offspring before their time ; men
marched along with open mouths, hoping thus to cool
their parched throats by even the slightest breath of
air. The hawks and dogs, which accompanied the
chiefs to the war, died in the hands of their at-
tendants. At length a stream was reached ; there
was a general rush to gain the bank ; men and cattle
unable to restrain their desire drank themselves to
death.
Over the rough mountains the Crusaders passed
into the pleasant valleys near Iconium, where the
friendly inhabitants taught them how to carry water
in the skins of the country. At Heraclea now Erkli,
Tancred and Baldwin left the main army, and, by
the famous "gates of Judas," passed into the
Cilician plains. This they did in order to conquer
on their own account, nor were they the only chiefs
who at this time left the army for such a pur-
pose. Raymond, Bohemond, Godfrey, and the two
Roberts, for some unexplained reason, turned north
towards Armenia ; but at length the main host of
the Crusaders, under their command, pitched its tents
before the walls of Antioch on Wednesday, October
21, 1097.
IV.
THE FIRST CRUSADE — THE FIRST FRUITS OF CON-
QUEST : EDESSA AND ANTIOCH.
" The true old times
When every morning brought a noble chance,
And every chance brought out a noble knight."
Tennyson.
§ I. The Conquest of Edessa.
WHEN Tancred entered Cilicia, and pitched his tents
outside the walls of Tarsus, that city, like many other
towns of Asia Minor and Syria, though mainly in-
habited by Christians, was held by a garrison of
Turks. The citizens were eager to obtain Bohe-
mond's protection, and in his absence Tancred was
only too ready to become their lord. The Turks
were on the point of surrendering, when Baldwin's
host appeared on the neighbouring mountains. The
Turks, mistaking this force for allies of their own,
refused to keep their engagement. The new-comers
then joined the Normans in prosecuting the siege, but
Baldwin, jealous of Tancred's success, presently
induced the citizens to transfer their allegiance to
59.
60 THE FIRST CRUSADE.
him. Tancred was too weak to resent such injustice,
and withdrew to Adana, where Welf the Burgundian
gave him a kindly welcome.
A little later the Turks surrendered, and Baldwin,
leaving a garrison at Tarsus, started eastwards in
hfe turn once more. Tancred who was now at
Messis, beheld with indignation his rival come again
to pitch his tents outside the city. Was he always
to yield his conquests to the greed of Baldwin ?
So at their chief's bidding the Norman knights
attacked the new-comers, but only to meet with a
repulse. Next morning each army began to regret
such a violation of their pilgrim's vows, and peace
was restored. Baldwin then went off to seek fresh
adventures in Armenia, whilst Tancred proceeded by
the coast towards Antioch.
Among the cities of Armenia proper, none was
more famous than Edessa, celebrated in Christian
legend for its king Abgar, and for the tombs of the
apostles Thomas and Thaddeus. At this time it was
ruled by an Armenian prince called Thoros, who,
though nominally subject to Alexius, had much diffi-
culty in maintaining himself against the conquering
Turks. Almost all .rmenian lands had fallen
into the possess( he infidels, and it was only
here and there that a remnant of that powerful nation
still maintained themselves in their ancient home.
Others had already commenced that obscure and
mysterious migration, which, before the close of the
next century, was destined to establish a new king-
dom of Armenia on the shores of the Mediterranean.
Such a state of confusion offered not merely
BALDWIN AT EDESSA. 6l
great facilities, but some justification, to Frankish
conquests. Nor were the Franks long before they
availed themselves to the full of their opportunities.
Baldwin was led by the advice of Pakrad, an
Armenian, who had joined the Crusaders at Nicaea,
to seek a field of conquest in Armenia. His fame
reached Thoros at Edessa, and a message soon came
to beg his assistance against the Turks beyond the
Euphrates. Baldwin accepted the invitation with
alacrity ; with eighty knights he crossed the great
river, and was received within the walls of Edessa to
the sound of trumpets. Thoros welcomed him kindly,
but presently, growing jealous of Baldwin's popularity,
refused to pay the promised wage. The twelve
senators, who seem to have formed an aristocratic
curia in Edessa, then begged their governor to fulfil
his bargain, and so retain this illustrious warrior for
service against the Turks. Thoros yie'dcd to their
persuasion and adopted Baldwin as his son ; after
the manner of their race and country, he and his wife
in turn took the count beneath their shirts, and
pressed him to their naked breasts. This curious
ceremony completed, Baldwin started on an un-
successful expedition aj. Balduc, the Turkish
ruler of Samosata. On • 'n he found the
people of Edessa eager to have him for their prince.
Treachery was at work, and on the Sunday and
Monday before Easter, 1098, Thoros and his adherents
were attacked, and the prince imprisoned in his own
citadel. Baldwin seems to have been a party to the
tumult ; but at least he may be credited with a
sincere desire to save his benefactor's life. ITe
62
THE FIRST CRUSADE.
counselled Thoros to abandon all his treasures,
and swore to secure him a safe retreat to Melitene.
But Baldwin's promises were in excess, either of his
powers or his intentions. Once more the people rose
up against their ancient prince. Trembling for his
life, Thoros attempted to let himself down from a
window by a rope. His attempt was detec.ed and
in a moment his corpse, riddled with arrows, was
flung out into the square.
Baldwin was now lord of Edessa, but it was by a
precarious tenure ; for the Turks were close at hand,
and his own troops few in number, whilst he had
COIN OF BALDWIN I.
already learnt how little trust could be reposed in
Armenian fidelity or valour. Yet for all this he held
himself as proudly as if he had an army of Franks at
his back. Balduc sent offers of tribute, and in return
for a talent of gold Samosata was left in Turkish hands.
" But from that day," writes Albert of Aix, " Balduc
became Baldwin's subject, a dweller in his house, and
one among his friendly Gauls."
Baldwin's next conquest was Saruj, a town a few
miles south of Edessa, which was surrendered by its
Armenian ruler and entrusted to Fulchcr of Chartres. 1
1 This was not the historian, but a namesake.
A PRECARIOUS LORDSHIP. 63
He then sought to make his rule more pleasing to
his subjects by taking an Armenian wife ; for his
English wife, Godwera, who accompanied him on the
Crusade, had died a few months previously at Marash.
Baldwin now married a niece of the Armenian prince
Constantine the Rupenian, by which alliance he
strengthened himself both among his new subjects
and against his Turkish foes. Still his position was
very insecure, and he could render no help to the
great army of the Crusaders, and indeed was himself
besieged for forty days by Corbogha, when the Mussul-
man prince was on his way to Antioch. He did,
however, contrive to send large store of provisions to
his brother Godfrey, whilst the Armenian mountains
furnished many of the Crusaders with a refreshing
scene of adventure during the weary months of the
siege of Antioch. Such hospitality was, however, a
great strain on Baldwin's resources, and the consequent
oppression excited a rebellion in Edessa. Although
this movement failed, the renewed extortion for which
it furnished a pretext alienated many of Baldwin's
best friends, and so the position of the Franks in
Edessa was, from the first, one of danger and
difficulty.
§ 2. The Siege of Antioch.
Antioch on the Orontes was by far the most famous
of the sixteen cities founded by Seleucus Nicator in
honour of his father. Within four centuries of its
creation it was the third city of the Roman world,
the central point of all the Hellenic east. Later it
became the seat of one of the four great patriarchates,
THE CITY OF ANTIOCH. 65
and the birth-place of the golden-mouthed preacher <
of the Eastern Church. Justinian surrounded it with
a girdle of enormous walls, which after the earthquakes
and sieges of thirteen centuries, still bid defiance to
the wasting power of time. It was taken by the
Saracens in 635 A.D., recovered under Nicephorus
Phocas in 968, and again lost to the Seljuk Soliman
in 1084.
At the present day Antioch, lost in its gardens and
orchards, occupies but a small portion of its ancient
extent. Now, as of old, the city lies on the south
bank of the Orontes, beyond which there stretches
northwards to the foot of Mount Amanus a wide
and level plain ; on the south the precipitous hills
ploughed with deep ravines run down from the
mountains of Ansarieh to within half a mile of the
river. The modern Antioch is huddled together in
one corner of the narrow space that lies between
these hills and the Orontes ; but in the eleventh
century the southern walls of the city were built along
a ridge of the hills which rise in that quarter to a
height of several hundred feet above the valley, and
are cleft by a deep and narrow ravine, down which a
mountain torrent ran northwards through the city to
the Orontes. On the more westerly half of the range
rose the citadel ; the other portion also was secured
by a castle. The whole circuit of the fortifications
may have enclosed an area of some four square miles.
Within its course were included four gates : on the
west, the Gate of St. George ; near the north-west
angle, a gate which led to a stone bridge over the
Orontes ; on the north-east, the Gate of St. Paul ;
.6^
66 THE FIRST CRUSADE.
and on the south, at the deep ravine, the Iron
Gate. Besides these there were numerous smaller
gates at comparatively short distances apart.
Such was the city that the Crusaders sat down
to besiege in October, 1097. Orders had been issued
that all the predatory bands were to gather together,
but even in their fullest strength the Crusaders
were all* too few for the task before them. Yet
a contemporary, who should have had special
opportunities for knowledge, asserts that the host
consisted of three hundred thousand armed men ;
whilst within the walls there were but two thousand
choice horsemen, five thousand mercenaries, and some
ten thousand footmen. Finding it impossible to
invest efficiently the whole circuit, the Crusaders
directed their first efforts to the north-eastern portion
of the walls. Bohemond pitched his tent furthest
south, on a rock opposite the castle ; a stone's throw
off and nearer the city wall was Tancred. Then came
Duke Robert of Normandy and Robert of Flanders ;
near the Dog gate were stationed Raymond and
Bishop Adhemar ; Godfrey and his fellow Teutons
were posted before a gate which in William of Tyre's
days was still called the Duke's gate.
It was Wednesday, 21st of October, 1097, when
the Crusading army encamped before Antioch. For
fifteen days no Turk dared issue from the city, but
the Armenians and Syrians came out daily to the
camp, pretending friendliness to their fellow
Christians, but in reality seeking intelligence for the
besieged. Presently the Turks began to make sallies
in every direction, whilst their friends in Harenc also
TROUBLES OF THE CRUSADERS. 67
pressed the besiegers hard. As Christmas drew near,
the Crusaders felt the first touches of want: "We
did not venture abroad, nor could we find aught
to eat in the land of the Christians ; for none dared
enter Saracen land without a great host." Bohemond
and Robert of Flanders led out a large force to forage,
but they gained little booty, and the Turks seized the
opportunity to make a sudden sally, wherein they
slew many knights and footmen. From this moment
the Armenians and Syrians ceased to bring provisions
to the Christian camp, and transferred their services
to the besieged.
As the new year advanced on things grew worse and
worse. There was no provender for the horses, and
two solidi would scarcely purchase a man's food for
one day. There were signs in heaven above, and in
the earth beneath ; the earth trembled, and red lights
burnt in the northern sky at night. Terror seized
upon the bravest hearts ; Bohemond declared that he
could not stay to see his men perish. Godfrey was
ill, and so also was Raymond. The leader of Alexius'
Greek auxiliaries urged his Latin colleagues to retire,
and it seemed that there was no hope but to, abandon
the siege. Then came news that a vast host of Turks
was advancing from the east. Bohemond's warlike
spirit was roused, and at his own suggestion he led
out one half of the host to battle, while the other
half remained to keep watch on the city. Starting
late at night, at early dawn he came upon the Turks
encamped on either side of the river. But despite
this advantage the battle at first went against the
Christians, till the reserve under Bohemond's own
68 THE FIRST CRUSADE.
banner restored the day. Then the Turks were
routed, their camp plundered, and Bohemond re-
turned with a hundred heads as a trophy of
his valour. This was on Tuesday, February 9,
1098.
The Crusaders now determined to build a fortress
on the height above Bohemond's camp, hoping thus
to check the constant sallies from the city. Another
castle was to be built on a little hill near the bridge
over the Orontes. During a temporary absence of
Bohemond, the Turkish commandant sent out his
troops across the bridge, and closed the city gates
behind them, bidding them conquer or die. It would
have gone hard with the Christians, but for a valiant
knight, Isuard of Gagia, who with a hundred and fifty
footmen made a desperate onset on the Turks, and
drove them back to the bridge to find that Bohemond
was returned. The narrow causeway was crowded
with horsemen, and the walls of Antioch were thronged
with Christian women eager to behold the destruction
of their Turkish tyrants. " We overcame the enemy,
and flung them into the river, where they received
.everlasting damnation, and rendered up their wretched
souls to Satan. If by chance any strove to climb on
to the piers of the bridge, or to swim ashore, our men
slew them from the bank. Twelve emirs and fifteen
hundred of a meaner sort fell upon that day." On
the morrow the Turks came out and gathered their
dead for burial ; but the Christians broke into the
cemetery, flung the corpses into a ditch, and carried
off the heads as witness to the number of those slain.
Then the besiegers renewed the building of the
BOHEMOND CAPTURES ANTIOCH. 69
castle, and when it was finished entrusted it to Count
Raymond to guard.
During all these months it would seem that Bohe-
mond had been in negotiation with the besieged. He
had further obtained a promise from all the other
chiefs, except Raymond, that he should be lord of
the city when captured. Now, after having arranged
with a certain Emir, Pyrrhus or Firuz, for the betrayal
of the city, Bohemond prevailed upon the chiefs much
against their will to promise Antioch to the man,
who should succeed in taking it.
Once sure of his reward Bohemond revealed his
plan. A night was fixed for the surrender, and on
the preceding day a part of the Christian army
went foraging so as to throw the enemy off their
guard. At midnight a little band gathered below
the Gate of St. George, and there waited for the
signal. At last a messenger came to bid them stay
till the passing of the watch, which every night made
the circuit of the walls lamps in hand. Dawn was
breaking before the wished-for sign was given, and
Bohemond ordered his men to advance. They found
a ladder ready, and sixty men ascended and seized
the three towers of which Pyrrhus had charge. When
Bohemond learnt that the towers were in the hands
of his men, he advanced with the remainder ; in
their exultation the Christians crowded on to the
ladder, which broke beneath their weight. It was a
desperate moment for the few, who were now left
alone upon the walls ; it was still too dark to see
clearly, but at last they felt their way to a gate,
broke it down, and so let in their comrades. As the
WALLS OF ANTIOCH.
APPROACH OF CORBOGHA. JI
morning sun rose, the Christians from their tents
against the eastern walls saw Bohemond's banner
floating on the hill. There was a general rush
forward, the other gates were burst open and the
city won. There was riot everywhere, and forgetful
of their God men gave themselves over to banquets,
and the blandishments of pagan dancers.
Hardly had the Crusaders taken Antioch, when on
June 5th the scouts of Corbogha's army appeared
before the city. He drove the Crusaders before him
within the walls, and even gained possession of the
citadel. From this vantage ground the Turks pressed
the city hard. All day the Christians strove to
bar their progress, and at night rested among
the corpses of their comrades. As Corbogha's hpst
closed round the city on the south, the hearts of
the besieged began to fail. Men turned their thoughts
to flight, and under the cover of darkness let them-
selves down by ropes from the walls. The panic
affected even the noblest ; the , Grantmaisnils — Al-
beric and that Ivo who^e turbulence a few years
later won him an evil fame in English history —
escaped over the hills to the port of St. Simeon, and
put out to sea. Scarcely any event made such an
impression as this cowardly flight : the recreant nob'es
are spoken of with scorn as " rope-dancers/' and as
men who were everywhere called infamous and held
up to shame and execration. But there was one
deserter of still more importance even than these.
Stephen of Chartres, son-in-law to the great Con-
queror, had made his failing health an excuse for
retiring to Alexan Iretta before the fall of Antioch.
72 THE FIRST CRUSADE.
The besieged Christians sent him daily messages for
help, and at last he mustered heart ;o scale a height
whence he could look down upon the innumerable
tents that rilled the plain of Antioch. The sight
was too much for his unwarlike mind ; panic seized
him, and he hurried back to his own camp eager
to escape the coming doom. Departing northwards
he met Alexius, who was marching with a great
army to assist the Crusaders. The Emperor was
only too glad for an excuse, and despite the ex-
postulation of Bohemond's brother Guy, Stephen and
Alexius shortly went back to Constantinople.
Meanwhile the state of Antioch grew daily worse.
* We, who remained," writes Tudebode, " could not
hold up against the arms of those within the castle,
and we built a wall between ourselves and them,
and watched it day and night." Hunger came as
the climax of their ills ; those who had money might
purchase a small goat for sixty shillings, or a horse's
head for three ; the. poorer folk fed on any garbage
they could find, on boiled fig-leaves, or ox-hides
softened in water. Even the greatest nobles were
reduced to beg for the commonest necessities, and
but for his successful mendicancy Robert of Flanders
would have been horseless on the day of the great
battle.
For nearly -a week the fight had raged hotly along
the southern wall, and things were at their very
worst, when the madness or enthusiasm of a poor
Provencal brought hope and ultimate victory. It
was early on Wednesday, June the 9th, as Count Ray-
mond and Adhemar were sadly gazing at the enemy's
INVENTION OF THE HOLY LANCE. 73
stronghold, that one Peter Bartholomew appeared
before them with a strange story. St. Andrew had
revealed to him in a dream the hiding-place of the
very lance, wherewith the Roman soldier had pierced
the side of Christ. He was bidden to reveal this
vision to Raymond and Adhemar, but feared to
approach men so noble. Twice was the vision re-
peated, and twice he failed to obey the apostle's
command. He had even fled from the city, and
set sail for Cyprus, but a storm drove him back to
Mamistra, whence he had now made his way to
Antioch. At first this strange tale received little
credence. " The bishop thought it empty words ;
but the Count believed, and entrusted Peter to the
care of his chaplain Raymond." Such is the account
which Raymond of Agiles gives of the famous legend
of the Invention of the Holy Lance.
Confirmation soon followed, for that night as a
priest named Stephen was watching in St. Mary's
Church, Christ Himself appeared to him, and
promised aid within five days. These visions had
come at the darkest hour of the Crusaders' fortunes ;
it was on the previous night that the Grantmaisnils
had fled, and it was even rumoured that all the great
leaders were meditating flight. In such a strait it is
no wonder that policy or superstition inclined the
Crusaders to look for aid from a supernatural
quarter.
The five days passed, and early on the morning of
the 14th of June, Raymond of Agiles and eleven
others went to the Church of St. Peter. From morn
to eve they dug without reward ; as each withdrew
74 THE FIRST CRUSADE.
In weariness fresh workers took their place. " At
last, seeing that we were fatigued, the young man
who had told us of the lance leapt into the pit, all
ungirt as he was, without shoes and in his shirt. He
adjured us to call upon God to render us the lance
fDr our comfort, and our victory. At last the Lord,
moved by such devotion, showed us the lance. And
I, who have written these things, as soon as ever the
blade appeared above ground, greeted it with a kiss ;
nor can I tell how great joy and exultation then filled
trn city."
By this time Corbogha must have changed the
siege into a blockade. What happened during the
ensuing fortnight we cannot precisely tell. Perhaps
these were the worst days of the famine, during
which the Crusaders hoped against hope for the
coming of Count Stephen, or the Emperor Alexius.
It would, however, seem that the time was partly
spent on fruitless negotiation. The Christians
offered to stake the issue on the valour of six or
three chosen champions from either side ; but this
and other offers were rejected with disdain. So at
length the Crusaders determined on action, and in
the morning of Monday, 28th of June, issued to the
attack. A gentle rain was falling with the dawn of
day, and to their pious feelings it seemed like the
dew of God's blessing.
They marched in six battalions ; first were Hugh
the Great, Godfrey and Robert of Normandy ; fourth
was Adhemar bearing the Holy Lance, and leading
the men of Provence, Count Raymond being left
behind to watch the citadel ; fifth went Tancred and
DEFEAT OF CORBOGHA. 75
the men of Poitou under Gaston de Beam ; last was
Bohemond with the horseless knights. Many bishops
and priests accompanied the army with crosses in
their hands ; whilst others from the city walls called
down God's blessing on the departing host. " As we
marched from the bridge towards the mountains it
was a toilsome journey," writes Raymond of Agiles,
" for the enemy strove to hem us in. Yet though we
of the bishop's squadron were hard pressed in the
fight, thanks to the Lord's Lance none of us were
wounded, no not so much as by an arrow. I, who
speak these things, saw them for myself, since I was
bearing the Lord's Lance. And if any says that
Heraclius, the bishop's standard-bearer, was wounded
in this battle, let him know that Heraclius was
straggling far from our ranks."
Meantime Corbogha dreamt of nothing so little as
an attack. He was sitting in his tent playing at
chess, when news came of the sally of the besieged. A
fugitive Turk, who had escaped from Antioch, assured
Corbogha tint there was no cause for fear ; but as
the bishop's followers came in view, he added, "These
men may be slain, but they will not be put to flight."
In strict truth Corbogha seems to have suffered
the Crusaders to approach, in the hope of draw-
ing them out from the city to battle in the open
plain. He had despatched a force of Turks to
make a circuit and take the Christians in the rear,
warning their commander that a fire would be the
signal th-it the main battle was lost Perceiving
these tactics, and fearing to be surrounded, the
Crusaders organised a seventh squadron of knights,
76 THE FIRST CRUSADE.
taken from the divisions of Godfrey and Robert,
and placed it under the command of a certain Count
Reginald. When the Christians came within range
of the camp, Corbogha's men discharged their bows ;
but a violent wind destroyed the surety of their aim,
so that they fled in panic, and Count Hugh on his
arrival found none to oppose him. Bohemond was,
however, hard pressed, and Hugh and Godfrey
hastened back to give their aid where the real stress
of conflict lay. Many deeds of valour were then
wrought ; but at length the signal of defeat was
raised, and the Turks fled on all sides for the
mountains. In their excitement the Christians
imagined allies of no earthly mould. " For there
came out of the mountains innumerable armies on
white horses, and bearing white banners. And our
men seeing this host, knew not who they were, till they
recognised it for the promised aid of Christ. The
leaders of this host were George, Mercurius, and
Demetrius. These things are worthy of belief, for
many of our men beheld them."
It was a day of glory for the Christian host. A
half-famished and ill-equipped band had routed an
immense army well provided with all warlike stores.
" But the Lord multiplied us, so that in battle we
were more than they. And returning to the city
with great joy, we praised and magnified God, who
gave the victory to His people.'*
THE FIRST CRUSADE — THE CAPTURE OF THE HOLY
CITY.
" Lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mound
against it ; set the camp also against it, and set battering rams against
it round about." — Ezekiel iv. I, 2.
THOUGH Antioch was at last secured, the Crusaders
neglected to hurry on to Jerusalem, the goal of their
ambition. Godfrey had learnt at Rome, fifteen years
before, what dangers attended summer warfare in a
hot climate. He therefore opposed an immediate
advance, which, if undertaken promptly, might have
brought about the fail of the Holy City without a
siege, and the departure was accordingly postponed
till November 1st.
This interval the chiefs devoted to conquest on their
own account ; each great lord offering pay to all who
would enlist under his banner. To these months we
must ascribe the acquisition of most of the fortresses
between Antioch and Edessa, though only a few
scattered incidents of this warfare have been preserved.
Raymond Pilet, a follower of Count Raymond, took
the castle of Tell Mannas, but failed in an attack
1
78 THE FIRST CRUSADE.
on the more important town of Marra. The count
himself captured Albara, and slew all the Saracens
whom he could find, men and women, young and old.
Then he sought out for his conquest a bishop who
might convert it from a house of devils to a temple of
the living God. The chief of Hazart, who was hard
pressed by his lord, Ridhwan, the powerful ruler of
Aleppo, appealed to Godfrey for assistance. When
the proffered alliance had been accepted, the envoys,
to the astonishment of the Christian bystanders,
drew two pigeons from their breast, and despatched
them as messengers of their success to Hazart 1 God-
frey summoned Baldwin from Edessa, and the two
brothers then advanced to Hazart. Ridhwan, who
was already encamped before the town, withdrew
on their approach. Godfrey renew r ed his compact
with the chief of Hazart, and gave his ally a wrought
helmet of gold, a masterpiece of art, wherein his
ancestor, Herebrand of Bouillon, had been wont to
issue forth to battle. After this Godfrey, shunning
the August heat, withdrew to the highlands of
Armenia, where his brother gave him Ravendal and
Tell-basher.
About this time the Christians at Antioch ex-
perienced a grievous loss. On August 1st, Adhemar,
Bishop of Puy, " one dear to God and man, departed
in peace to the Lord." On the night after his burial
in the Church of St. Peter, the bishop appeared in
a dream to Peter Bartholomew, in company with
1 This is the first notice we have of this use of pigeons in Syria,
which later on was a familiar method of intelligence among the Farnk
settlers.
RAY-MOND AND BOHEMOND. 79
Christ and the Apostle Andrew. To Peter, Adhemar
confessed that he had been led down into hell in
punishment for his doubts as to the Holy Lance ; but
after his burial Christ had visited him in the flames,
and brought him up to heaven, whence, Adhemar
said, he now came to assure his former comrades that
he would not forsake them.
In November, the chiefs began to assemble at
Antioch. Bohemond was absent at first, and Count
Raymond took occasion to protest against the be-
stowal of the citadel on the Norman chief to his own
detriment. The other chiefs feared to offend either of
these great lords, and so would make no decision. It
seemed that the quarrel would prevent any further
advance, when Raymond, with characteristic self-
restraint, offered to waive the question for a time.
If Bohemond would join in the march south, the
count would leave the dispute to the judgment of
their peers, always saving the fealty due to the
Emperor. Bohemond agreed, and the two rivals
were formally reconciled, although both thought well
to fortify such parts of the city as they held.
When peace had thus been patched up, the army
set out on its march. On Saturday, November 28th,
Raymond made an unsuccessful attack on Marra,
vv^ich, on Bohemond's arrival next day, was renewed,
but again to no purpose. Raymond, who often
figures as the engineer among the Crusading chiefs,
then built a great wooden castle. 1 The huge machine
overtopped the city walls, and defied all attempts to
1 See the detailed description of these engines in chap, xxiii., and the
illustration on page 89.
80 THE FIRST CRUSADE,
burn or crush it. The defenders of the city were
driven from their posts by showers of stones, the
Crusaders clambered up the walls, and the Saracens
fled in panic. The Crusaders slew without discrimi-
nation, " so that there was no corner without a
Saracen corpse, and one could scarcely ride through
the streets without trampling on the dead bodies"
(Dec. ii, 1098).
The capture of Marra led to a fresh quarrel between
Raymond and Bohemond. The Norman mocked at
the latest revelations of the Count's Provencal
follower, Peter Bartholomew ; he also refused to
surrender his portion of the city unless Raymond
would relinquish his share of Antioch. Raymond
taunted his rival with greed and slackness in the
fight ; he wished to bestow Marra as a military fief
on the Bishop of Albara. A further cause of discord
was soon added. Bohemond urged that the advance
to Jerusalem should be postponed till Easter ;
Christmas was close at hand, Godfrey and many
knights were still absent at Edessa. The army,
however, was in favour of advance, and with one
accord appealed to Raymond to be their leader, if all
the other chiefs should fail. After some hesitation
Raymond agreed, and named a day for the renewal
of the march. Bohemond thereon returned in wrath
to Antioch. In the face of these troubles Godfrey
was summoned from Edessa, and a conference of
the chiefs held. Only a few supported Raymond,
although these few included the two Roberts and
Tancred. But news of the dispute reached those
who were lying sick at Marra, and their indignation
THE CRUSADERS AT MARRA. 8l
took a strange, though practical form. Rising from
their beds they tottered feebly to the walls in eager-
ness to destroy a city over which their chiefs were
quarrelling. Indignation gave them strength to drag
huge stones from their places ; and though the
bishop's officers might stop the work of destruction
for a moment, it was renewed as soon as they had
passed by. " Those who dared not destroy by day
pressed on by night ; hardly a man was too weak to
work at bringing down a wall."
At last the appointed day arrived, and despite all
the opposition, Raymond and his followers marched
out from Marra on January 13, 1099. The fear of the
Christians had gone before them, and the rulers of the
great cities along the Orontes were eager to purchase
peace. In the valley of Desem, where the Crusaders,
spent the Feast of the Purification (February 2nd),
they passed a fortnight of ease and plenty. Then,
having determined to forsake the straight road for
Damascus, they crossed the Great Lebanon, hoping on
the coast to hear news of the ships they had left in
the ports near Antioch, and through this means obtain
supplies from Cyprus. On Monday, February 14th,
Raymond sat down before the stronghold of Arkah,
a fortress situated on a steep and almost inaccessible
hill, and surrounded with a double wall. Here the
Crusaders were detained three months, finding in the
neighbourhood ample scope for the foraging ad-
ventures, so dear to the eleventh-century knight.
Moreover, the besiegers were in no lack of provisions,
for these were brought in abundance by the Greek
and Italian merchants to the seaports close at hand.
7
82 THE FIRST CRUSADE.
Presently there came a rumour that the Caliph of
Bagdad was sending an immense host to raise the siege.
In this peril Raymond appealed to Godfrey and Robert
of Flanders, who were besieging Jebleh or Gibel.
The northern army marched to Arkah only to find
the rumour false. The new-comers openly charged
Raymond with having invented the story, and mur-
mured at his wealth, which they contrasted with their
own poverty. The visions of Peter Bartholomew and
others, which had not abated, were again turned to
ridicule, the chief among the scoffers being Robert
of Normandy's chaplain Arnulf, afterwards Patriarch
of Jerusalem. Peter Bartholomew retorted, " Make
me the biggest fire you can, and I will pass through
its midst with the Lord's Lance in my hand. If it be
the Lord's Lance may I pass through unharmed ; if
not, may I be burned up."
On Good Friday morning, April 8th, forty thousand
Crusaders gathered to see the ordeal. In front of them
were two parallel piles of dead olive branches, fourteen
feet long by four feet high, and only one foot apart.
" When the fires were kindled, I, Raymond, spake
before the whole multitude: 'If God hath spoken to
this man face to face, and if the blessed Andrew
showed him the Lord's Lance as he slept, may he pass
through the fire unharmed ; but if the thing be a lie,
let him be burned up together with the Lance that he
holds.' And all the people answered, ' Amen.' Now
the fire blazed so fiercely that it occupied the space
of twenty cubits, nor could any man approach it."
Then Peter Bartholomew, clad only in his tunic,
knelt before the Bishop of Albara, received the Lance,
PETER BARTHOLOMEW. 8$
and manfully entered the fire. Some fancied that
they saw a bird fluttering over his head, but the great
mass of the people do not appear to have seen anything
miraculous ; though, as Raymond remarks, " There
was a multitude present, and all men cannot see
everything." As Peter issued from the flames he was
greeted with loud cries of " God aid him." Such was
the popular enthusiasm that he would have been torn
to pieces, had not Raymond Pilet forced a way
through the thronging multitude, and carried Peter
off in safety.
Peter died within a few days, and the ordeal,
as might be expected, only served to confirm the
believers and the incredulous each in their own faith.
For while his supporters declared that he passed
through the fire comparatively unhurt, and owed his
wounds to the unruly crowd, his enemies asserted his
death to be due to the effects of the ordeal itself.
Even Raymond of Agiles had to confess that "there
was some sign of burning about him," though qualify-
ing his admission by adding that his wounds were
great.
Easter passed and Arkah was still untaken.
There were two parties among the Crusaders ; some
urged that the host should await the coming of
Alexius, who had promiseJ to join them by mid-
summer, others pointed to the harvest, which was
already ripening in mid-April, and were for pro-
ceeding to Jerusalem with the new crops. The latter
counsels prevailed, and on Friday, May 13th, the
host departed from before Arkah, and marched along
the coast to Caesarea. There they celebrated Whit-
84 THE FIRST CRUSADE.
Sunday, and thence, turning inland, marched to
Ramleh.
At Ramleh the Crusading chiefs held a council of
war. Some advised that they should strike at the
very heart of Mohammedan power, and leaving
Jerusalem on one side, march south for Alexandria
and Babylon ; thus they would conquer a great
kingdom, and Jerusalem would then fall without an
effort. Others asked how a host which numbered
only fifteen hundred knights could conquer vast
nations, if it were too feeble to take the capital of a
province like Jerusalem. Finally, the latter prevailed,
and the march for the Holy City was resumed. Many
eager for present gain hastened to set their banners
on the neighbouring strongholds and homesteads,
others mindful of Peter Bartholomew's advice, refused
to think of such earthly things while nearing the goal
of their desire. " These, to whom the Lord's
command was dearer than lust of gain, advanced
with naked feet, sighing heavily for the disdain that
the others showed for the Lord's command."
It was June 6, 1099, when the Crusaders arrived
before the Holy City. During the course of the few
preceding years, 1 Jerusalem had once more passed
into the hands of the Egyptian Cal'ph, who had been
in negotiation with the Crusaders for more than two
years before. Alexius had pointed out the advantages
to be gained from an alliance with the Egyptian
Caliph, who as head of the Shiites would willingly
co-operate against the unorthodox Turks. During
the siege of Nicaea, the Crusading chiefs had sent an
1 The exact date is obscure ; Arabic writers give 1096.
THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM. 85
embassy to the Caliph, and during that of Antioch
had received one in return. Later when the Caliph
found both Turks and Christians bidding for his
friendship, he had compromised matters by offering
to admit three hundred unarmed pilgrims into
Jerusalem. '" But we laughed this proffer to scorn,
hoping for God's grace, and threatening that unless
he gave us up Jerusalem for nothing, we would lay
claim to Babylon."
The Crusaders were too few to encompass Jeru-
salem entirely ; but so far as possible they distributed
their forces over the whole circuit. Robert of Nor-
mandy camped on the north, by St. Stephen's Church,
and near him was his namesake from Flanders.
Godfrey and Tancred besieged the city from the west.
Count Raymond stationed himself on Mount Sion to
the south. Eastward, by Mount Olivet, the Cru-
saders kept no watch, for the city was impregnable
on that side, where the strong walls of the Temple
enclosure rose abruptly from the deep valley of
Jehoshaphat. 1
After some days of preparation the Crusaders on
June 14th delivered an assault, which almost suc-
ceeded, but they could not secure any permanent
advantage. Then, as the days crept on, hunger and
thirst made their appearance in the besiegers' camp.
The chief water supply was the little fountain of
Siloe, which, bubbling up only every other day, was
but a doubtful blessing ; for as soon as it began to
flow, men and animals crowded to the waterside in
such numbers that they trod one another to death,
1 See the plan. on p. 119.
86 THE FIRST CRUSADE.
and at last the spring was entirely choked with the
corpses of men and animals. Raymond of Agiles
draws a fearful picture of the things he saw : " Near
the fount lay many weak folk, unable to utter a cry
for the dryness of their tongues ; there they remained
with open mouths, and hands stretched out to those
whom they saw had water. Horses, mules, and oxen,
lay rotting where they had fallen, till the stench of
the decaying flesh became abhorrent to the camp."
Afterwards, when water was discovered a few leagues
distant, the Saracens lay in ambush among the moun-
tains to plunder the cattle as they were being driven
to drink.
Food also was running short, when fortunately news
came that nine Christian ships had put in at Jaffa.
With early dawn on Friday, June 17th, Raymond
Pilet started with a band of a hundred knights to
convey the provisions to the camp. The seamen at
Jaffa welcomed the Crusading warriors with a feast,
and they spent the night together in careless glee.
In fancied security they kept no watch, and at dawn
they awoke to find themselves surrounded by their
enemies ; but they contrived to unload their cargo,,
and carry it up to the camp, though the ships fell into
the hands of the Saracens, except for one that had
been cruising outside, and which escaped back to
Laodicea.
The danger of famine was thus averted ; but fresh
trouble arose through the outbreak of the old quarrels
once more. Some grudged Raymond his post on
Mount Sion ; others blamed Tancred because he had
set up his banner over the Church of the Nativity at
QUARRELS AND VISIONS.
8 7
Bethlehem ; others again began to talk of electing
a king for the yet uncaptured city. With the old
quarrels the old visions also began to multiply ;
Adhemar of Puy appeared to Peter the Hermit, and
promised that the city should fall, if the host encom-
MOSAIC IN THE CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY, BETHLEHEM.
passed it barefoot during nine days. The bishop's
brother, Hugo, took up the cry ; a council was called,
and the chiefs, admitting that they had been lax,
agreed to work and pray henceforward with more
vigour and concord. A general reconciliation was
proclaimed ; processions were to make the circuit of
88 THE FIRST CRUSADE.
the walls, and every effort was devoted to the con-
struction of the great engines necessary for the siege.
The lack of wood for this last purpose had been
among the most pressing difficulties of the besiegers ;
Tancred, while prowling about the mountains, had
discovered four choice beams in a cave, but this was
as nothing to the amount required, and there was no
nearer source of supply than the groves at Nablus
some thirty-six miles off. Robert of Flanders super-
intended the work of felling the trees, and protecting
the timber on the road, and so at last two wooden
castles were constructed ; one by Godfrey on the
north, the other by Count Raymond on the south.
While these works were in progress, the other half
of Adhemar's injunctions was not forgotten. It was
probably on Tuesday, July 12th, that the Crusaders
made their grand procession round the city. The
whole army, so far as it was possible, marched slowly
from St. Mary's Church on Mount Sion to St.
Stephen's on the north-east. At their head went the
whitc-stoled priests and bishops barefoot, and cross
in hand, chanting hymns and praying as they went
for the fall of the city. The Saracens clustered on
the walls to see the novel sight, and as the Crusaders
made their first halt near St. Stephen's, mocked them
with derisive shouts and gestures. " Moreover, in
sight of all the Christians, they kept beating the most
holy crucifix, whereon Christ shed His blood for the
redemption of mankind, crying out in the Saracen
tongue : ' Franks, it is the blessed cross.' " On the
Mount of Olives, where a small church marked the
place of Christ's ascension, Arnulf, afterwards Patri-
PROCESSION ROUND JERUSALEM.
89
arch of Jerusalem, preached a sermon, while the
Saracens ran up and down the opposing height,
brandishing their swords in futile anger at the foe.
Thence again the Christians started in procession to
St. Mary's monastery, in the valley of Jehoshaphat,
mmmmj?
A SIEGE TOWER.
and by this route returned at length to Mount Sion.
The Saracens within the city on their part were not
idle ; they had strengthened their walls, and raised
the height of their towers. But the native Christians
in Jerusalem kept the Crusaders informed of all that
90 THE FIRST CRUSADE.
went on. On Wednesday, July 13th, the attack was
commenced on every side, and continued next day,
but without any decided success. On the Friday the
Saracens attempted to fire Godfrey's castle, which,
through the fracture of one of its wheels, was fixed at
a little distance from the walls, unable to advance or tc
withdraw. The defenders further protected the walls
from the assaults of the ram by hanging out sacks
stuffed with straw. But the Saracens were driven from
the walls by continual volleys from the stone-slingers;'
the straw sacks were set ablaze by fire-bearing arrows;
the scaling ladders were placed against the walls ;
the drawbridge lowered from the castle, and Jerusalem
was won. Bernard of St. Valery, a surname after-
wards very glorious in Crusading history, was first to
leap upon the battlements, and as his comrades
followed him the Saracens fled in panic before them
to the Temple of Solomon.
Meanwhile, in the opposite part of the city, Ray-
mond had met with less success. He had built his
castle with the aid of the Genoese sailors who had
lost their ships at Jaffa. After breaking down the
outworks (antemuralia), and filling up the foss {val-
lum), he found the Saracens on the walls had ten
times as many engines as he could bring against
them. It was the ninth day of which Peter had
spoken, and though the Crusaders were not working
as they should have done, this was doubtless due to
the spells of two Saracen witches upon the wall. A
stone silenced their iniquitous incantations, but even
this brought no relief, and at noon the wall was still
unshaken. The chiefs were already meditating the
CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM. gi
withdrawal of the engines, when suddenly the count's
men caught sight of a strange apparition. Far away
on the Mount of Olives stood a knight waving his
shield in triumph. It was a sign that the city had
< been forced from the other side. " Who this knight
was," says Raymond of Agiles, ever ready to believe
in a miracle, "we could never find out." But his
meaning was understood at once, and the Provencal
soldiery returned to the assault with renewed vigour.
Jerusalem had at last been taken, and was to fare
as captured cities only too often did in mediaeval war-
fare. The words of an eye-witness paint the horrors
of the day in general terms without any attempt at
detail — " When our men had taken the city with its
walls and towers, there were things wondrous to be
seen. For some of the enemy, and this is a small
matter, were reft of their heads, while others riddled
through with arrows were forced to leap down from
the towers ; others, after long torture, were burnt in
the flames. In all the streets and squares there were
to be seen piles of heads, and hands, and feet ; and
along the public ways foot and horse alike made
passage over the bodies of the dead." Tancred burst
into the Temple, and tore down the golden hangings
from the walls — seven thousand marks in weight.
He was, perhaps, of a more pitiful turn than most
of his compeers, for he offered to protect such as took
refuge in Solomon's Temple. But even his charity
could only offer a reprieve, and not a full pardon.
Weary with slaughter the Christians at length turned
their thoughts to sacred things, and went in tearful
procession to the Holy Sepulchre But early next
92 THE FIRST CRUSADE.
morning their sterner mood revived ; the rumour
went about that Tancred had been luring the
fugitives to their destruction, and the Crusaders
armed themselves anew to the work of death.
Every one was eager for blood : some stationed
at a distance shot the hapless Saracens with their
arrows ; others scaled the roof of the Temple itself
and massacred both men and women wi h the sword.
Raymond alone seems to have felt an honourable
compassion for the conquered ; he offered life to
those who had taken refuge in the Tower of David,
and on their surrender, suffered them to depart
unharmed to Ascalon.
This terrible slaughter " filled all the city with
dead bodies," and the first work of the conquerors
was to cleanse the streets of the impurity which
might breed a plague. The surviving Saracens
were compelled to carry the dead outside the walls,
where they were " heaped up in mountains," to be
presently destroyed by fire. " Such a slaughter of
pagan folk had never been seen or heard of; none
knows their number save God alone."
/
#
VI.
GODFREY DE BOUILLON.
"He was a very parfite gentil knyght."
Chaucer.
Eight days after the capture of the Holy City,
the Crusaders met to elect a king (July 22nd). Few,
however, of the great chiefs were willing to accept so
barren and laborious an honour. The object of their
expedition accomplished, all were eager to return
home ; so to one after another was the crown offered
in vain. Raymond of St. Gilles, if we may trust his
biographer, refused to bear a king's title in the Holy
City. " Robert of Normandy's refusal," writes an
almost contemporary English chronicler, " aspersed
his nobility with an indelible stain, to which not re-
verence, but sloth or fear impelled him." At last
Godfrey de Bouillon was persuaded to accept the
headship of .the conquered city. But he, too, refused
to wear a crown in the city where our Lord was
crucified, and so does not figure among the kings
of Jerusalem. He contented himself with the modest
93,
QUARREL WITH RAYMOND. 95
title of Baron of the Holy Sepulchre, even after he
had practically become king- of a new realm.
After a temporal head, it was necessary to elect a
spiritual one. There were many claimants for the
office, but finally the choice fell upon Arnulf, chaplain
to Robert of Normandy, According to Raymond of
Agiles, he was as yet only a sub deacon, and a man
of loose life, whose notorious amours were the theme
of popular songs in the Crusading camp. Ralph of
Caen, on the other hand, speaks in no mean terms
of his literary taste. Arnulf had been tutor to the
Conqueror's daughter, Cecilia, and followed Odo of
Bayeux on the Crusade. He was chief of the dis-
believers in the Holy Lance, and narrowly escaped
murder at the hands of the Provencal count's
emissaries ; when the Holy Lance was discredited
he had a golden crucifix made to take its place
as an object of devotion. His influence bad grown
as that of Raymond's followers diminished, and he
had been chosen to preach the sermon on Mount
Olivet on the day of the great procession round
Jerusalem. Such was the man who was first
elected to the Latin Patriarchate in the Holy City.
Immediately after the capture of Jerusalem,
Tancred and Count Eustace started north to secure
Nablus. Meantime at Jerusalem a quarrel broke out
between Godfrey and Raymond, who refused to sur-
render the Tower of David. When Godfrey wrested
the stronghold from the Bishop of Albara, to whom it
had been entrusted, the count indignantly declared that
he would go home at once. But first, in accordance
with the injunctions of Peter Bartholomew, Raymond
96 GODFREY DE BOUILLON.
and his company made a pilgrimage to the Jordan,
There his followers, unable to find a vessel, launched
their lord on a boat of wicker-work ; and then flinging
off his worn-out garb, dressed him in new apparel.
" This," said Raymond of Agiles, " we did in accor-
dance with our instructions, but we know not why
, the man of God bade us act so."
In August, there came news that a great Egyptian
army was mustering at Ascalon. Tancred and
Eustace were called back in haste, while Godfrey
and Robert of Flanders marched out from Jerusalem.
Robert of Normandy and Count Raymond refused
to move without more certain information, but on a
message from Godfrey that, " i( they wished to share
in the battle they must come quickly," they also set
out, leaving Peter the Hermit at Jerusalem to organise
processions and prayers for their success. On the I ith
of August, the united host advanced towards' Ascalon.
The Egyptians never dreamt of danger from so
weak a foe, and rested idly in their tents, since the
soothsayers forbade them to give battle till Saturday,
the 13th of August. The Christians advanced in nine
battalions : on the left fought Duke Godfrey ; on the
sea by the right, Count Raymond ; while in the centre
rode the two Roberts and Tancred. From the
moment when the Crusaders caught si^ht of their
adversaries each standing with his skin of water hung
round his neck, there seems to have been no doubt
as to tha result of the battle. It was rather a
massacre than a conflict ; some threw themselves
into the sea, others buried themselves in the earth,
"not daring to rise up against us, and our men
BATTLE OF ASCALON. 97
cut them down as a man fells animals at the
shambles" (Friday, Aug. 12, 1099).
The honours of the day seem to have belonged to
Robert of Normandy, who slew the standard-bearer
with his own hands. The standard with its golden
apple and silver shaft, he purchased for twenty marks
of silver, and gave to the Holy Sepulchre. The
booty was immense, and when each had taken what
he desired, they returned with joy to the Holy City,
their camels and asses laden with biscuits, flour,
wheat, and all things needful. " Wherefore there was
such plenty that one could buy an ox for eight or ten
coins, a measure of corn for twelve, and a measure of
barley for eight."
Not even the unity forced upon them by the late
danger could entirely reconcile Godfrey and Count
Raymond. The count had accepted from the citizens
of Ascalon the offer of their allegiance ; but the
chiefs declared that the possession of that stronghold
was essential to the royal power. Truly or falsely —
for the story is told in too many ways to be entirely
true or entirely false — Raymond is alleged to have
given back the town to the Egyptians rather than
suffer it to pass into Godfrey's hands. It was with
difficulty that the two leaders were kept from open
warfare through the intervention of Robert of
Flanders.
Many of the leaders now started homewards
through Northern Syria. So great was the terror
produced by the victory of Ascalon that the Egyptian
garrisons at Acre, Tyre, and other towns received (
them kindly. Laodicea which Bohemond, with the
8
gS GODFREY DB BOUILLON.
aid of the Pisans and Genoese, was endeavouring to
secure for himself, was put into the hands of Count
Raymond, who thus obtained some consolation for
his previous disappointments.
Godfrey meanwhile led his whole force against
Arsuf, but after a prolonged and futile siege he was
forced to go into winter quarters, and withdrew to
Jerusalem. His return to the capital was hastened
probably by the arrival of his brother Baldwin and
Bcnemond of Antioch. Fulcher of Chartres, who was
present in attendance on Count Baldwin, has left a
detailed account of this march, which furnishes a
typical example of the perils besetting an eleventh-
century pilgrimage.
The two chiefs started from Balunyas, a little
south of Jebleh, taking with them Bishop Dagobert
of Pisa. Their united companies numbered some
twenty-five thousand, including women and children.
As they passed along the Saracens refused them
food, and since there was no fodder for the horses,
the pilgrims would have fared ill, but that in the
tilled fields there were crops of what the common
folk called " Cannamelles." "These cannamelles are
almost like reeds, and hence their name from canna
(a reed) and mel {honey). Whence as I take it wild
honey draws its name, for that it is cunningly confccted
from these." The hungry people managed to stay
their pangs by sucking these reeds, but they were
of little use as food. During four or five days also
a ceaseless torrent of cold rain was added to their
troubles. Fulcher says that on one day he saw
several men and women, besides very many beasts,
THE CHRISTMAS FEAST. 99
perish through the cold. Only twice in the long
march did the pilgrims secure a market — at Tripoli
and Caesarea. At last, on the day of the winter
solstice, they reached Jerusalem. The Holy Sepul-
chre was visited, and Christmas Eve spent in vigil
at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Even
now, though it was nearly six months after the taking
of Jerusalem, Fulcher was only too conscious of the
offensive odours, from the dead bodies of the Saracens.
On January 1st the pilgrims started on their journey
back ; by the Jordan they cut their palm branches,
and so returned through Tiberias, Banias, Tortosa,
and Laodicea.
A little later Gabriel, the ruler of Melitene, applied
to Bohemond for help against Ibn Danishmend. 1
Bohemond, eager to extend his sway, accepted the
invitation. On the road he fell into an ambuscade
through the careless confidence of his men who,
wearied by the heat, were marching without their
armour. Most of the Franks were cut to pieces, and
Bohemond himself with his cousin Richard were
taken prisoners.
By this time Godfrey had forced Arsuf to sur-
render, and obtained a promise of tribute from the
other cities along the coast, including Ascalon,
Caesarea, and Acre, for " the fear of the most Chris-
tian duke fell upon all the lands of the heathen folk."
1 Mohammed Gumishtakin ibn Danishmend (the son of the learned
man) founded, towards the end of the eleventh century, a great lord-
ship in a district that roughly corresponds with the ancient Cappadocia.
This district lay east of the Seljukian Sultanate of Rum. His father
had been a Turcoman schoolmaster, whence Mohammed obtained his
surname.
100 GODFREY DE BOUILLON.
Even the sheiks of the wild Arabian tribes begged
for peace in order that they might have a market for
their flocks. But neither Christian nor Saracen kept
peace by sea ; and while the merchants of Ascalon
and Jerusalem passed to and fro from one city to the
other, the Saracen warships scoured the Mediter-
ranean, and the Crusading warriors cut off all vessels
that brought up provisions from Alexandria and
Damietta for the Egyptian cities along the coast.
U Godfrey's next task was to fortify Jaffa, a town
that was of extreme importance to the infant king-
dom and for a double reason ; it was practically the
only harbour at which the Crusaders could disembark
reinforcements from the west ; it was also their base
of supply since the Franks could not trust entirely
to an alien race for their provisions. From this labour
Godfrey was called away to assist Tancred, who was
establishing himself near the lake' of Tiberias. As
he returned from this expedition along the coast
towards Jaffa, a deadly sickness fell upon him, due,
so it was declared, to poisoned fruit sent him by the
Emir of Caesarea. At Jaffa he met the Venetian
bishop and doge, who had lately arrived, but was too
feeble to endure the excitement of a prolonged inter-
view. The same night he grew worse, and feeling
unable to bear the bustle of a maritime city, had
himself carried up to Jerusalem. He breathed his
last on July 18, I ioo, and was buried in the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre.
Godfrey's death occurred three days after the anni-
versary of the capture of the Holy City. Under the
later kings the two events were celebrated together, and
A HERO OF ROMANCE.
101
the anniversary of the great duke's death was marked
by the distribution of gifts in accordance with his
will. Godfrey himself is one of the most remarkable
characters to be met with in history. No other ruler,
perhaps, combines so perfectly the religious and active
elements in life. His history was soon surrounded
with tales of wonder, so that he seemed to have been
marked out from his earliest days for his sacred mis-
GODFREY DE BOUILLON'S TOMB IN THE CHURCH OF
THE HOLY SEPULCHRE.
sion. His mother told how long before the First
Crusade he had desired to make his journey to Jeru-
salem, not as a pilgrim, but at the head of an army.
Yet he does not seem to have held the first place
amongst the leaders, and the reason for his election
must be sought in the jealousy between the men of
north and south France. The fierceness of this feel-
ing had everywhere been displayed in the quarrels
between the followers of the Norman and Provencal
/
10* GODFREY DE BOUILLON.
leaders. Some compromise \va^ necessary, and seeing
that the Germans, as Ralph of Caen expressly says,
had " stood outside the quarrel," it is little wonder
that the choice fell on the great leader, whose
engines had made the first breach in the walls of
Jerusalem. Moreover, Godfrey, as a native of the
French and Teutonic borderlands, was unlike most
of the chiefs, familiar with both the French and
German tongues.
Piety had always been a marked feature in God-
frey's character. Either this or his natural humility
made him refuse to wear a golden crown of state
in the city where his Saviour had worn a crown
of thorns. He was fond of religious services, and
even in the turmoil of the capture had ctolen away to
pray at the Holy Sepulchre. Yet there were harder
elements in his character ; he had sternly punished
any lack of discipline among his followers, and shown
himself merciless to his foes. Still his short reign
was so far as possible one of peace, and all the varied
dwellers round Jerusalem mourned for his death.
^ It must have been within a very few years that
Godfrey began to figure in contemporary song.
Later he became the centre of one of the five great
cycles of romantic literature. In the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries the fame of Godfrey and the First
Crusade rivalled the older legends of Arthur and
Charlemagne, and he is named with them as one of
the three Christian heroes who made up the number
of the nine noblest. Slowly the floating mists of
romance gather shape and substance round his name,
not only from the true exploits of his Crusading life,
THE FATES OF THE CHIEFS. 103
but from others in which he had taken no part. Like
the mother of Thomas a. Becket, his mother was
fabled to have been an Eastern princess, and his
grandmother's name was associated with the old-
world legend of the Knight of the Swan. Whatever
its form his legend became one of the chief themes
of mediaeval song. Ballads of the siege of Antioch
cheered the camp fires of the warriors of the Third
Crusade, and men almost forgot the miserable feuds
which wrecked the fair prospects of 1191-2 in think-
ing of the self-denial, the devotion and the chivalrous
valour of the great Crusaders of an earlier age.
Thus in little more than a year from the capture
of the Holy City had the hero of the First Crusade >
passed away. Of the other great chiefs, Raymond,
Bqhemond, Tancred, and Baldwin alone remained in ,
the East. The remainder had hurried home to meet
with more or less tragical fates. Robert of Nor-
mandy reached his duchy just too late to secure the
succession to England on the death of his brother
William. Six years later his defeat at Tenchebrai
consigned him to lifelong captivity, but even so his
name was not forgotten in the Holy Land, where an
illegitimate son of his, William by name, played a
prominent part under Baldwin L Robert of Flanders,
like his cousin and namesake, reached home by way
of Greek territories ; eleven years later he was thrown
from his horse and killed. Hugh the Great, who had
been sent to Constantinople after the fall of Antioch,
shared in the disastrous expedition of 1101 and died
at Tarsus. The recreant Count Stephen of Blois.
driven back to the East by his wife's reproaches,
104 GODFREY DE BOUILLON.
took part in the same expedition, and was slain
in the great battle of Ramleh (1102). This expedi-
tion, which ended so disastrously for the two French
counts, must detain us for a little.
The conquest of Jerusalem kindled a warlike en-
thusiasm in many hearts which had been cold to the
impassioned pleading of Urban and Peter/ Amongst
those who now took up arms was the powerful Duke
William of Aquitaine. Religious feeling had not
restrained him from the endeavour to turn Count
Raymond's absence on the Crusade to his own profit.
He is perhaps the first of all the Crusading chiefs
who undertook the expedition in the frivolous spirit
of the mere adventurer eager for some new thing.
The details of this crusade, or series of crusades, are
difficult to follow; but first of all a large and unruly
horde of Lombards reached Constantinople, and after
some riotous conduct, in the course of which they
broke into the palace and killed one of the Emperor's
pet lions, crossed the Bosphorus. At Nicomedia
they were joined by Conrad the Constable of the
Emperor Henry, and the two Stephens of Blois and
Burgundy.
It was now Whitsuntide, 1101, and the Crusaders,
eager to depart, begged Alexius for a guide. He
offered them Raymond of St. Gilles, who was present
at Constantinople. But when the time for departure
arrived a feud broke out between the two divisions.
Stephen of Blois was for following the old Crusading
track through Iconium to Antioch. The Lombards,
however, were seized with a wild desire to push
across the highlands of Asia Minor to the realm of
THE AQUITANIAN CRUSADE. 105
Chorazan, by which they probably understood Persia
or the region of the Lower Tigris. There they
hoped to rescue Bohemond from captivity or, happier
still, to seize Bagdad itself. Others, among whom
was Ekkehard, our chief authority for this expedi-
tion, took alarm at a reported speech of the Emperor
Alexius, to the effect that he would let the Franks
and the Turks devour one another like dogs ; these
went by sea from one or other of the Greek ports,
and, as Ekkehard says, " Through the Divine mercy,
after six weeks we reached the haven of Jaffa."
Raymond threw in his lot with Count Stephen.
Three weeks' march through a region of plenty
brought them to Ancyra on June 23rd. Here they
entered on a waterless and desert region, and from
this point their steps were dogged by the Turks,
who, shooting from a distance, picked out with their
arrows the stragglers and weak. At last the whole
rearguard, consisting of seven hundred Lombards,
was cut off. Next morning there was a deadly
panic, and only Raymond and the Duke of Bur-
gundy volunteered to take the post of danger. Some
three weeks later, when the Christians were already
near Maresch, not far from Sinope, Raymond was
defeated by the Turks, and on the next day rode
off with his followers, leaving his fellow Crusaders
to fare by themselves. The other leaders, infected
by his example, fled in panic, leaving their goods
and their very wives as a booty to the Turks. u Ah !
what grief was it to see delicate and noble matrons
carried off by impious and horrid men — men whose
heads were shorn behind and before, whose beards
J06 GODFREY DE BOUILLON.
were long and unkempt, and who were like to foul
and unclean spirits in conduct."
The two Stephens, Conrad, and the Bishop of
Milan got back to Constantinople, where Raymond
also presently arrived by sea. The Count of St.
Gilles found a general prejudice against him by
reason of his alleged desertion, but he excused
himself successfully to Alexius on the score of
necessity.
Another expedition, under William, Count of
Nevers, had reached Constantinople from Brindisi,
and marched through Asia Minor in the train of
Raymond and his fellows. Count William, with a
scanty following, at length reached Antioch on foot,
in the autumn of iioi.
Duke William of Aquitaine reached Constantinople
a little later than the rest ; with him came Welf of
Bavaria, the Countess Ida of Austria, and, if we may
credit Albert of Aix, 160,000 pilgrims of either sex.
This expedition fared worse than their predecessors
alike in Europe and in Asia. In the end many thou-
sands were slain or carried off captive by Kilij Arslan.
Welf went wandering over the mountains, and hardly
escaped with his life ; as for the Countess Ida, says
Albert of Aix, whether she was carried off or trod
to pieces under the feet of horses is unknown to this
day ; William fled with a single knight, and found
shelter near Tarsus till Tancred came and escorted
him to Antioch.
The remnants of all these expeditions met at
Antioch in March, 1102. "Of so innumerable a
host of God's people," writes a survivor, " alas !
A DISASTROUS EXPEDITION.
107
alas ! we do not believe one thousand survived ;
and these we saw afterwards at Rhodes, Paphos,
and other ports, hardly more than bones, but only
a few at Jaffa."
ashen
36/ W.of Greenwich 37
Typo. Etching Co. Sc<
THE LATIN PRINCIPALITIES OF SYRIA IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY.
}
VII.
THE LAND AND ITS ORGANISATION.
" A land of settled government,
A land of old and fair renown."
Tennyson.
The capture of Jerusalem and the formal con-
stitution of the kingdom which took its name from
the Holy City were hardly more than the first stage
in the conquest of Palestine. Even at the time
of Godfrey's death the Franks held little besides
Jerusalem itself, together with the communications
with the Byzantine dominions, which they had
established in the course of their march south.
Though Bohemond at Antioch and Baldwin at
Edessa had already secured somewhat more ex-
tended sovereignties, the true period of conquest
covered the reigns of Godfrey's first two successors.
But indeed the whole history of the Frankish rule
in Syria was so chequered, that its curtailment at
the hands of the reviving power of Mohammedanism
had already commenced in one quarter before it
could attain its full extension in another. The death
of Baldwin II. may be said to mark the moment of
greatest extension, when in the words of Abul-
ia
110 THE LAND AND ITS ORGANISATION.
faraj, " all was subject to the Franks, from the
neighbourhood of Mardin to El Arish on the borders
of Egypt." The present is, however, the most con-
venient place for a description of the territory of
the Syrian Franks, always remembering that at no
moment did its actual extent coincide with that
which was theoretically theirs.
In its entirety the Frankish dominion should have
included all the lands that lay between the sea on
the west and the desert on the east. This region,
taken as a whole, is one of well-marked character-
istics, and, despite certain weak points, not ill-suited
for defensive occupation. But, as we shall see, the
Franks never did occupy it fully, and the neglect or
incapacity to do so may without doubt be classed
among the causes which prevented the Frankish prin-
cipalities from maintaining a more permanent exis-
tence.
The extreme length of the Frankish territory from
the Euphrates to the borders of Egypt was some-
what over five hundred miles. Its breadth, except
in the far north, seldom exceeded fifty miles, and
was for the most part much less. This extreme
attenuation left a long frontier open to attack,
and whilst the Mohammedans still held Damascus,
Emesa, Hamah, and Aleppo the danger of attack was
ever present. Otherwise, so long as the Franks re-
tained their hold on Edessa and had Greeks and
Armenians for neighbours in the north-west, the only
serious danger would have proceeded from Egypt, a
source of trouble to which the later Crusaders at least
were keenly alive. \ * %
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS. Ill
Physically speaking, the land consists of four longi-
tudinal zones. The first is the plain country on the
border of the Mediterranean, a region of sandy tracts
alternating with wooded lands. This district, which
extends to a width of some fifteen miles in the south,
gradually narrows to very small dimensions in the
region of the ancient Phoenicia, thus to continue to
the head of the Gulf of Iskanderoun. In the king-
dom proper the district is broken by the height of
Carmel, but immediately to the north, in its turn,
extends eastward over the fertile plain of Esdraelon.
Behind the plain of the coast lies the mountain
country which in Palestine proper consists of an
undulating district of moderate elevation (1,500-
1,800 feet) ; though with some more striking heights,
as those on which the cities of Hebron and Jeru-
salem are situate, the one lying 3,000 feet, the other
some 500 feet less, above the level of the Mediter-
ranean. Behind the Phoenician coast lies the far
loftier range of Lebanon, which is continued in the
mountains of Ansarieh to the neighbourhood of
Antioch. This mountain country rises for the most
part gradually on the west, but on the east fa.lls
by a steep and rugged descent to the depression
which forms the third zone. The valleys of the
Orontes, the Litany, and the Jordan, with the
Wady-el-Arabah, form a long and deep trench ex-
tending in an almost straight line from Antioch to
the Gulf of Elim, and broken only by Hermon and the
highlands to the south of the Dead Sea. This trench
formed the eastern limit of Frankish conquest
except in the extreme north, where the county of
1 12 THE LAND AND ITS ORGANISATION.
Edcssa spread to the Euphrates and beyond, and
in the south, where it comprised the highlands to
the east of the Dead Sea and reached to the Gulf
of Elim. The fourth zone, that bordering on the
desert, included the highlands of Moab and the
Djaulan, together with the range of Anti-Lebanon
and its eastern slopes. For the most part a high
and bleak plateau, it comprises many well-watered
and fertile spots, especially in the more northern
part, where lay the great Mohammedan cities of
Damascus, Emesa, Hamah, and Aleppo.
The Frankish dominions in Syria consisted of four
main divisions — the kingdom of Jer usale m proper,
the county of Tripoli, the principality of Antioch,
and the county of Edessa.
Beginning with the north, we find in Edessa an
extensive but ill-defined territory lying on both sides
of the Euphrates. On the left bank, besides the
proper district of Edessa, it extended northwards to
the neighbourhood of Mardin, and in the south to
the fertile region of Saruj. On the right bank of the
Euphrates its chief territory consisted of the lordship
of Joscelin of Courtenay, whose capital was Turbessel,
now Tell-basher. The principal fiefs of Edessa were.
Hatab or A in tab, and Tulupe, Con's, Ravendal,
Samosata, Bir, and Saruj. The Frankish settlers were
not numerous, and confined themselves, as it would
seem, to the towns and fortresses ; even in Edessa
itself they were but few in number. The mass of
the population consisted of Armenians and Syrians,
and the system of government appears to have re-
mained almost purely Byzantine. Edessa, the capital
ODESSA AND ANTIOCH. I13
is identical with the Rohas of antiquity and the Orfa
of modern times. Built on the banks of the Kara
Tchai, at the foot of a hill called the Top Dagh, r and
dominated by a strong castle, Edessa was at once a
fortress and a great place of commercial transit. To
the Franks it was of supreme importance as com-
manding the best route from Mesopotamia to Syria.
West of the county of Edessa lay the extensive
principality of Antioch. Under the rule of its first
princes Antioch was rapidly developed, till by 11 30,
the moment of its widest extension, it reached on the
north-west far into Cilicia, and even included the
towns of Tarsus, Adana, and Mamistra ; but the con-
quests of John Comnenus in 11 37 confined it within
the river Jihun or Pyramus, and later on it was fur-
ther circumscribed by the growth of the kingdom of
Armenia. North-east it marched with Edessa, and
south east included beyond the Orontes the terri-
tories of Albara, Apamea, and Marra, and, as we
shall see, pressed hard on Aleppo itself. On the
west lay the sea, and south the mountain district of
Tripoli. Within these limits were included a great
number of dependent fiefs, chief of which were Cerep,
Harenc, Hazart, Zerdana, and Marra. On the coast
lay the important ports of Laodicea, and Soudin, or
St. Simeon, at the mouth of the Orontes, which was
the harbour of Antioch. The position of the capital
has already been sufficiently described, 2 and it is^
enough to emphasise here the importance of the
1 In Crusading times this was called the Holy Mountain, from the
numerous monasteries on its slopes.
2 Chapter iv. p. 63-6.
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5
THE COUNTY OF TRIPOLI. 115
principality as the earliest, and perhaps the most
permanent, of all the Frankish colonies^
The county of Tripoli formed a strip of territory
about a hundred miles in length, and extending from
the sea on the west to the Orontes on the east. Its
southern boundary was at the Nahr Ibrahim, a little
to the north of Beyrout, and at the other extremity it
approached to the neighbourhood of Markab. On
the east lay the territory of the Assassins and the
Mussulman principalities of Hamah and Emesa.
Among its fie r s were Arkah, Botron, Jebeil, and Tor-
tosa, and it also included the strong fortresses of Safed
and Kerak or Krak des Chevaliers. The town of Tripoli
in Crusading times consisted of the actual city on
Mount Pilgrim and the more ancient city on a penin-
sula below. In the thirteenth century it was a great
centre of commerce, famous for its schools and for
its silk factories, that gave employment to four
thousand artisans.
Edessa, Antioch, and Tripoli were all theoretically
dependencies of the kingdom of Jerusalem. In
Edessa the royal authority was secured from the day
when its first count became the second king of Jeru-
salem. Antioch was to have been held by Bohemond
as a dependency of the Byzantine Empire ; but the
conduct of Alexius gave the Franks a fair excuse for
disowning his suzerainty. During the disasters which
followed on the death of Roger in 11 19, Baldwin II.
was called in to defend the unguarded principality,
and for some years the king was in fact its governor.
In 1 1 26 the second Bohemond married Baldwin's
daughter, an J on his death a few years later the king,
Il6 THE LAND AND ITS ORGANISATION.
as guardian for his grandchild, received the oaths of
all the vassals high and low. From this time Antioch
may be considered both legally and politically as a
dependency of the kingdom of Jerusalem. Tripoli,
as we shall see, passed into the same position, when
Raymond's son Bertram appealed to Baldwin I. for
aid against William Jordan, and became the king's
man. Henceforward its allegiance hardly wavered,
except when in 1122 Pons for a while refused obedi-
ence to Baldwin II.
The kingdom of Jerusalem properly so called
extended along the coast from the Nahr Ibrahim
to the Wady-el-Arish. The eastern boundary was
formed by the valley of Baccar and the Ghor, or basin
of the Jordan and Dead Sea. But in the north the
fortress of Banias and the land of Soad lay east of
this line, and in the south-east the Franks occupied
the land beyond the Dead Sea, and as far- south as
the Gulf of Elim. The kingdom was divided into
four great baronies and twelve lesser lordships. The
first were : — (1) the county of Jaffa and Ascalon ; (2)
the lordship of Kerak and Montreal ; (3) the princi-
pality of Galilee ; (4) the lordship of Sidon. The
lesser fiefs were Darum, Hebron or St. Abraham,
Arsuf, Caesarea, Nablus, Bessan or Bethshan, Caimont,
Haifa, Toron and Banias, Scandelion, St. George or
Lydda, and Beyrout.
The county of Jaffa and Ascalon stretched over the
plain of Sharon between the sea and the mountains
of Judah, and from the river Leddar to Darum and
the desert of Sin. It included the fortresses of
Ibelin, Blanchegarde, and Mirabel, and the towns of
THE LORDSHIPS OF THE KINGDOM. 11/
Gaza, Lydda, and Ramleh. Jaffa was erected
into a county by Baldwin I. for his kinsman Hugh
de Puiset. After the untimely fate of his son
Hugh II., it passed into the royal hands to be revived
by Baldwin III. for his brother Amalric, who was
already Count of Ascalon. From this time the
double county became an appanage of the royal
house, and so was held by Guy de Lusignan and
Walter de Brienne. The authority of the counts was,
however, much circumscribed by the power of the
great house of Ibelin. Balian the Bearded, founder
of that house, appears in 11 20 as Constable of Jaffa,
and eventually became lord of Ibelin, Ramleh, and
Mirabel. In later days his descendants accumulated
many fiefs both in Jerusalem and Cyprus.
The lordship of Kerak and Montreal took its name
from the two great fortresses in the land beyond the
Dead Sea. Its peculiar importance lay in the fact
that the rich caravans from Egypt to Damascus had
to pass through its territories, and pay it toll. Its
first lord was Roman de Puy, afterwards Fulk gave it
to Payn, uncle of Philip of Nablus. Philip's daugh-
ter conveyed it to Reginald of Chatillon, its last and
most famous lord. This lordship included the mari-
time fortress of Elim or Aila, and was eventually unf.ted
with the lordship of Hebron.
The principality of Galilee besides the district pro-
perly so called included the land of Soad beyond
Jordan, and had Tiberias or Tabarie for its capital.
It contained many important fortresses, such as
Safed, La Feve, Forbelet, and Belvoir, and the
towns of Nazareth and Sepphoris. Tancred was for a
Il8 THE LAND AND ITS ORGANISATION.
short time Prince of Galilee, afterwards it was held by
Hugh of Falkenberg or St Omer, Joscelin of Cour-
tenay before he became Count of Edessa, and William
de Bures. Later it returned to the Falkenberg family,
and in the thirteenth century passed by marriage to
the Ibelins. On its northern borders lay the impor-
tant lordship of Toron, whose rulers for four genera-
tions were called Henfrid, and were long constables
of the kingdom.
The lordship of Sidon was bounded on the north
by the Damour, on the west by the sea, on the east
and south by the Litany. It included the strong-
holds of Beaufort and the Cave of Tyron, with the
towns of Sidon and Sarepta. It was first granted to
Eustace Grener, who was lord of Caesarea. Eustace
married a niece of the Patriarch Arnulf ; of his two
sons, Walter became lord of Caesarea and Gerard of
Sidon.
The immediate royal domain comprised, besides
Jerusalem and its neighbourhood, including Nablus,
the two great cities of Tyre and Acre, the latter of
which became in the thirteenth century the capital of
the Latin colonies in Syria.
Of the city of Jerusalem itself detailed accounts
from the hands of one pilgrim or another during the
Crusading period are not wanting. Chief among
these are the narratives of John of Wurzburg, who
visited Palestine between 1160 and 11 70, and one
Theoderic, who came a few years later. But per-
haps we can for the present purpose take no better
guide than a Norman-French description of the state
of the Holy Places and the city of Jerusalem as they
JERUSALEM.
Asr\*n*
IN 1187 AD. r, r-j
Traditional Names itvlatat
TancrnTs
Cananum. Tower-
life.
Loots Patriarchs
IhrUD
ForuVirffvts X
Stew c, pdel .
Comtrsclmv 7n GuUicaniatv
MONS SION .Natateria/
^ft C » SUoam
***** n O N AgrfJL %»'«*
fonsReg4
**■ Oumdotunr
120 THE LAND AND ITS ORGANISATION.
were on the day that Saladin and the Saracens con-
quered them from the Christians. Mediaeval Jeru-
salem had four chief gates — David's gate on the west,
the Golden gate on the east, and St. Stephen's and
Sion gates on the north and south.. The pilgrim who
had arrived from Jaffa would enter by the first named,
with the Tower of David on his right, and would soon
reach Patriarch Street on the left, where the Patriarch
had his palace, and which also led to the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre and the Hospital of the Knights
of St. John. David Street itself led into* Temple
Street, and so to the Temple enclosure or Haram,
wherein was the Tern plum Domini, together with the
royal palace or Templum Salomonis, and the House
of the Knights Templars. The Temple enclosure lay
upon the eastern wall and the Golden gate opened
directly into it. The northern gate, or St. Stephen's,
was that by which the pilgrims who came up from
Acre entered ; from this gate St. Stephen's Street
ran into the heart of the city. At its southern end,
on the left, were three narrow vaulted ways, the Rue
Couverte, where the Latin merchants sold cloth goods ;
the Rue des Herbes, which was the market for all
vegetables, fruits, and spices ; and the Rue Malcui-
sinat, where the hungry pilgrim could obtain his food.
From this point two streets ran south to the gate
of Mount Sion.
There were in the city of Jerusalem or its vicinity
no less than thirty-seven churches, many of which, as
those of St. Anne, St. Maria Majora, and St. Mary
Magdalen, were built during the Christian occupation.
But churches are far from being the only buildings
THE CITY OF yERU SALEM.
121
of the Crusading period which
have survived. The Tower of
David is the Castle of the
Pisans erected early in the twelfth
century, Tancred's Tower sur-
vives as the Kalat Jalud in the
north-west angle of the present
city, and the Malcuisinat is a
Crusading erection which still
forms the meat bazaar. But the
zeal of the Crusaders devoted
itself above all else to the
glorifying of the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre. The existing
church is mainly their work, and
until the great fire in 1808
stood practically uninjured. They
gathered into one building all
the sacred sites of Golgotha and
the Resurrection, and adorned
the new buildings with rich
mosaics and enamels wrought by
Greek artists. Within the church,
near the Adam Chapel, were the
tombs of the Christian kings
from Godfrey to Baldwin V.,
which were much injured by the
Charismians in 1244, and finally
destroyed by Greek jealousy
after the fire. Both the Tem-
plum Domini and the Templum
Salomonis, or Aksa Mosque,
were also altered and beautified
r3?>~
: %
122 THE LAND AND ITS ORGANISATION.
in Crusading times ; but much of the Christian work
was defaced or destroyed when these buildings were
restored to Mohammedan worship. But in both
some mediaeval Christian work still survives, and
among other remains in the Haram enclosure are
those of the magnificent refectory of the Templars.
The organisation of the kingdom of Jerusalem was
feudalism in its purest form, the great feudatories
duly receiving and observing their rights and obli-
gations. The collection of usages devised for its
governance are known as the Assizes of Jerusalem,
and give us our most perfect picture of an ideal
feudal state. Not that they describe the kingdom as
it ever actually existed, for indeed the Assizes only
began to take their present shape when the thirteenth
century was well advanced, and were the work not of
the kings of Jerusalem, but of the jurisconsults of
Cyprus. Chief among these lawyers were Philip of
Navarre and John of Ibelin, nephew and namesake of
the famous head of that house in the time of Frederic
II. According to the story preserved by John of
Ibelin, Godfrey de Bouillon, by the counsel of the
Patriarch of Jerusalem and of the princes and barons,
appointed wise men to make inquiry of the Crusaders
from the various countries of Europe as to what
usages prevailed in their several lands. The result
of this inquiry was put in writing, and formed the
basis of the " Assizes and usages which Godfrey
ordered to be maintained and used in the kingdom
of Jerusalem, by the which he and his men, and his
people, and all other manner of people going, coming,
and dwelling in his kingdom of Jerusalem were to be
THE ASSIZE OF JERUSALEM. 123
governed and guarded." x Thus there were composed
two codes, one for the nobles and the other for the
bourgeois, which were deposited in a coffer in the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, and from
the place of the keeping called " Lettres du Sepulcre."
The coffer was not to be opened except for the pur-
poses of consulting or modifying the law, and that
only in the presence of nine persons who were care-
fully specified, and of whom the king and patriarch
were two. The laws thus carefully made were after-
wards from time to time modified by Godfrey and his
successors, and especially by Baldwin I. and Amalric I.
On the occasion of the capture of Jerusalem by Sala-
din these two precious volumes were destroyed, and
thus all written record of the legislation perished.
But owing to the circumstance that the knowledge of
the written law r was not a matter of common property,
there had grown up in the courts of the kingdom
a body of usages and customs based upon oral tra-
dition. These usages and customs were carefully
collected by the great jurisconsults of the thirteenth
century, and their writings formed the basis of the
extant Assizes.
There are, however, in the Assizes certain salient
features which may be safely ascribed to Godfrey or
his immediate successors. Such are the prescription
of constant military service — not merely for a fixed
part of each year — and the rules intended to prevent
the concentration of fiefs in a single hand, and to
secure that each fief should be able to render its
requisite service. These ordinances were very essen-
1 Assizes of Jerusalem, i. 22.
124 THE LAND AND ITS ORGANISATION.
tial for the safeguarding of a conquered country, and
though they failed in their purpose, the history of
the kingdom illustrates well their necessity ; their
failure, inevitable though it may have been, was
indeed a main cause of the downfall of the kingdom.
More important, however, in the present connection
than the actual laws, is the system of government
and organisation which was established. At the head
of the kingdom stood the king, whose legal title was
" Rex Latinorum in Hierusalem," King of the Latins
in Jerusalem. Next to him in dignity came the
Seneschal, whose duty was primarily to hold the
king's sceptre on the coronation day, and to see to
the due ordering of the coronation feast. He also
owed services — somewhat like the English custom
— at the four great annual feasts. As a great
officer of justice the seneschal was supreme over all
the bailiffs in the kingdom ; he looked after the
king's rents, and visited the royal castles, with power
to appoint and remove the castellans ; in the king's
absence he presided at muster and foray. Second of
the great officers was the Constable, who held the*
king's horse at the coronation, and, as head of the
royal army, ordered the battle in the king's absence,
and was responsible for the maintenance of military
discipline. The Marshal assisted the constable on
the coronation day, and was more or less subordinate
to him in ordinary times. It was his duty to engage
knights and sergeants for the royal service. The
Chamberlain robed the king on coronation day, and
had to see to the homage of the king's vassals.
Other officers were the Butler, the Forester, and the
OFFICERS AND COURTS. 1^5
Chancellor. The last, in this respect differing from
the early English custom, often retained his post
after he had been rewarded with one of the great
bishoprics. 1
Similar functionaries existed in the great depen-
dencies ; Antioch had its own constable, marshal,
and a special officer called "dux" or duke; whilst
in a charter of Joscelin II. of Edessa, Robert the
Constable, and Hubert the Marshal, appear among
the witnesses. Even the smaller baronies within the
realm of Jerusalem itself had each its own officials,
who, as in the case of Galilee, attested their lord's
charters. Every great baron would have his leaden
seal, and it is perhaps with a touch of shame that
Hugh of Ibelin borrows the seal of his lord Amalric
because he " had no seal " of his own.
For the administration of justice there was at
Jerusalem a High Court, over which the king himself
presided, or in his absence one of the great officers.
This court, intended in the first place to have juris-
diction over the great lords, gradually came to con-
cern itself with all that related to the political and
civil administration of the kingdom, and was, in fact,
the king's Council of State. In the country generally
the administration of law and justice was in the
hands of certain of the lords who had, in technical
language, the right to hold a court, coin money, and
d© justice. The lords themselves presided in their
seignorial courts, where they dealt with criminal
cases in accordance with the customs and laws
observed in the High Court, to which they were
1 The famous Archbishop William of Tyre is an instance.
126 THE LAND AND ITS ORGANISATION.
subordinate. In addition to the High Court there
was also established in Jerusalem and all other
towns where the Frankish settlers were sufficiently
numerous, Courts of the Burgesses. These courts
were presided over by officers called Viscounty and
were concerned with the civil jurisdiction. The
viscount was the representative of the lord ; his
office was often hereditary, and in some cases, as at
Nablus, he was a man of noble family. In addition
to his judicial functions the viscount had charge of
the revenue, and through his assistant, who was
called the " Mathessep," was entrusted with the
police. Other courts were those of the Fonde for
commercial jurisdiction, under a bailiff; of the
Chaine for maritime business, instituted by Amalric
I. ; and the Syrian Court, or Court of the Rei's. No
doubt the courts of the Fonde and the Rei's were
largely governed by local custom, though the Assizes
of the Court of th^ Burgesses were held to be of
force in them. Wherever the Syrians were not
sufficiently numerous to form a community under a
Rei's, the Fonde constituted their special court. This
elaborate organisation with its criminal, civil, and
commercial jurisdiction, formed in its entirety a
system that was superior to anything of the kind
which then existed in the West.
The judicial institutions of the subordinate princi-
palities closely resembled those of the kingdom
proper. The Prince of Antioch had, like the King
of Jerusalem, both his High Court and Court of the
Burgesses. The Assizes of Antioch were, however,
distinct ; they served likewise for the kingdom of
FINANCE. 127
A rmenia, and no doubt also for the county of Tripoli.
Edessa also had, we may assume, a similar body of
law, but its existence as a Frankish state was pro-
bably too short for the growth of an equally elaborate
organisation.
As for the commercial colonies in the cities on the
coast, they had special privileges and their own
civil courts presided over by bailiffs, consuls or
viscounts. But of these it will be more convenient
to speak in a later place. 1
The pressure of warfare made finance a question
of great importance in the Latin colonies of Syria.
Baldwin I. was, as we shall see, much crippled by
lack of money, and again in the last days of the
kingdom its rulers had to seek pecuniary aid from
the West. There was, however, a regularly organised
financial service, called " La Secrete," managed by a
bailiff and a staff of clerks or writers. Chief among
the sources of revenue were the customs ; the Assizes
of Jerusalem specify 1 1 1 articles on which duty was
paid at Acre. Ibn Jubair thus describes a visit to
that city in 1 1 84 : " On our arrival we were taken to
the custom-house. Opposite the door there sat on
a covered bench the clerks of the custom, who are
Christians ; they had ink-pots of ebony, gilded and
handsomely decorated, and wrote in the Arabic lan-
guage, which they spoke well. Their head, who farms
the customs, is called simply their chief, and has to
pay a very heavy sum to the 'government. The
merchants deposited their goods in a store above the
custom-house ; private travellers were allowed to pass
1 See below in chapter xix. pp. 294-6.
128 THE LAND AND ITS ORGANISATION.
after an examination of their baggage. The officials
did their work courteously and without violence or
exaction." In addition to the customs there were
market dues, and tolls on caravans levied by the
various lords. Other sources of revenue were the
monopolies on various industries, such as dyeing,
tanning, brewing ; the tallage paid by the native
Syrians ; a poll-tax on the Mohammedans and Jews.
On special occasions also the royal treasury had
resort to an extraordinary tallage ; such was the
great levy for the defence of the kingdom in 1183, of
which William of Tyre has left a minute account.
One per cent, on movables was to be paid by all
who had property worth a hundred besants ; those
who had less were to pay one besant for hearth-tax ;
the churches, monasteries, barons, and their vassals
were to pay 2 per cent, on their rents. The hearth-
tax fell upon the country-folk, who dwelt in the
casals or villages ; the lord of each casal was to so
apportion the tax that the rich should not escape,
nor the poor be oppressed. Two treasurers were
appointed at Jerusalem and Acre to see that the
money was applied only to defence against invasion,
and not to the petty business of the realm. The
special character of this census was marked by a
proviso that it was not to be taken as a precedent,
and during its operation the ordinary tallages on
churches and towns were to be suspended. We,
however, hear of other extraordinary levies, as for
the equipment of a fleet, and the building of walls
and towers.
As might be expected from the circumstances of
THE ECCLESIASTICAL HIERARCHY. I2<)
their origin, the Latin colonies boasted an ecclesi-
astical organisation not less elaborate than the civil.
One of the first acts of the Crusaders was to establish
Latin bishops in the conquered cities, following for
this purpose the divisions of the ancient Oriental
churches. At the head of the Latin hierarchy were
the two patriarchs of Jerusalem and Antioch. Under
the former were four archbishoprics of which Tyre and
C?esarea were the chief, and nine bishoprics ; under
the latter four archbishoprics and seven bishoprics.
In each patriarchate there were also numerous abbeys
and priories of the Latin rite. In addition to these
the hierarchies of the Armenian, Syrian, and Greek
rites still subsisted. Despite their external divisions
it is noticeable that the Christians were all animated
by a very conciliatory spirit, which at one time pro-
mised to lead to a general reunion. For the rest it is
enough to state that the powers and pretensions of
the clergy were not less remarkable than those exer-
cised or assumed by their Western brethren, and that
from successive donations they acquired vast estates,
not only in Syria, but also in every country of
Western Europe.
VIII.
THE CONQUEST OF THE LAND-
(IIOO-III8.)
BALDWIN I.
" Baldwinus qui parum ab optimo, qui unquam fuerit, milite distaret."
— William of Malmesbury.
The succession to the kingdom was not allowed
to pass undisputed on Godfrey's death. Dagobert of
Pisa, who had supplanted Arnulf in the patriarchate,
and whose ecclesiastical pretensions were of the
loftiest nature, dreamt that in Bohemond he might
find a second Guiscard to defend a second Gregory.
But the Crusaders at Jerusalem refused to recognise
any lord except one of Godfrey's race. They held
the Tower of David against the patriarch, and sum-
moned Baldwin of Edessa to come and take posses-
sion of his rights. Baldwin accepted the offer, and
leaving Edessa to his cousin and namesake, Baldwin
du Bourg, started for Antioch on the 26th of Sep-
tember ; thence, despite the opposition of Dukak
of Damascus, with whom he had to fight a severe
battle in the tortuous passes of Lebanon above Bey-
rout, he made his way to Jerusalem. The magnifi-
cence of his reception in his new capital was only
132 THE CONQUEST OF THE LAND.
marred by the hostility of Dagobert ; there was, how-
ever, no further opposition to his recognition as king.
But king though Baldwin was in name, he had yet
to conquer his kingdom. From the first he had to
contend with two great obstacles, lack of money and
lack of men. The internal history of his reign is
to a large extent the story of how he overcame these
difficulties.
On leaving Edessa Baldwin had only been accom-
panied by two hundred knights and seven hundred
foot, whilst three months later at Jerusalem he could
only muster another hundred knights. The Moham-
medans themselves do not seem to have ever collected
large armies, though they greatly outnumbered the
Christians. Thus at Jaffa in iioi they were eleven
thousand horse and twenty-one thousand foot to two
hundred and forty knights and nine hundred foot,
and at Ramleh twenty thousand against two hun-
dred. " To all," says Fulcher, " it appears to be a
palpable and truly wondrous miracle that we could
live among so many millions, making them our
subjects and tributaries." Had Baldwin been de-
pendent solely on the French and German soldiers
who stayed with him in Palestine, he could not
long have held his own. But aggressive operations
on a large scale were almost uniformly carried
out with the aid of Crusading fleets from Italy, Eng-
land, or Norway. Thus two hundred ships under
Harding the Englishman, 1 Bernhard of Galatia, and
1 We may fairly find in this Harding, or Hardin, the great Bristol
merchant ; the son, may be, of Eadnoth " Staller," and ancestor of the
house of Berkeley.
LACK OF MONEY AND MEN. 133
Hadewerck the Westphalian, saved Baldwin from
the consequences of his rash daring at Jaffa in 1102.
An English and North German fleet helped him at the
siege of Sidon in 1 107, and the fall of that city three
years later was due to the assistance of Sigurd the
Norwegian. More important still were the services
rendered by the Italians. The Genoese helped in the
capture of Caesarea (1101), Tortosa (1102), Acre
(1 104), Tripoli (1 109), and other places. The Pisans
fought for Bohemond at Laodicea, and for Raymond's
successors at Tripoli. The Venetians, who under
their doge had met the dying Godfrey at Jaffa,
were present at the siege of Sidon, and were the
moving force at the conquest of Tyre in the next
reign. All these allies reaped large rewards ; Bald-
win granted the Genoese streets in Jerusalem and
Jaffa, together with their part of Caesarea, Arsuf, and
other towns ; the same king promised his Italian
confederates one street in the towns they helped to
conquer, and a third share of the booty; in 11 24
the Venetians bargained for still higher privileges,
and were promised a street, oven, and bath in every
city whether belonging to king or noble.
In his early years Baldwin must have relied very
largely on the members of his own and Godfrey's
household. The need of supplying these and other
mercenaries with money forced the king, on many
occasions, to injustice and robbery. The easiest way
of procuring funds was by taking tribute of the
unconquered towns. Thus Godfrey had received
tribute from Ascalon, Caesarea, and Arsuf; Baldwin
himself raised the siege of Sidon for money in 1 107.
134 THE CONQUEST OF THE LAND.
However, despite these and other payments, the
king's impecuniosity brought him into serious conflict
with the patriarch. Dagobert's pretensions had
offended even the pious Godfrey, and his hostility
to Baldwin was yet more bitter. It was only after
long bickerings that Dagobert had consented to
anoint the new king, and when a little later Baldwin
demanded that he should furnish forty knights for
the war, the patriarch treated his message with
contempt. The indignant king broke into the pa-
triarch's banqueting-room, and threatened to tear
down the golden ornaments of the Sepulchre if his
demands were not complied with. Dagobert un-
willingly promised thirty knights, but soon after broke
his word and fled to Tancred. Evremar, who then
succeeded to the patriarchate, worked well with the
king for a long time, but eventually lost the royal
favour, and was in his turn supplanted by Gibelin.
Through his want of money Baldwin was frequently
driven to have recourse to promiscuous plunder. In
1 1 08 he made a night attack on the great Egyptian
caravan beyond the Jordan, and carried off thirty-two
camels laden with sugar, honey, and oil to Jerusalem.
On another occasion William, bastard son of Robert
of Normandy, brought a like benefit to the royal
treasury. Worse still, after promising protection to
the men of Tyre as they were carrying their treasures
to Damascus for safety, the king adopted the base
maxim that "truth need not be kept with un-
believers," and robbed them on the way. In 11 13
Baldwin sought to improve his shattered finances
in another manner, by marrying Adela, widow of
DANGERS OF THE KINGDOM. 135
Count Roger of Sicily. Albert of Aix draws a
glowing picture of the state in which she reached
Acre Her vessels were laden with gold and gems,
while her own ship had its mast covered with pure
gold. She brought a thousand skilled warriors to aid
in the royal wars, and not content with helping her
husband, she gave a thousand marks and five hundred
besants to Roger of Antioch. But after three years,
finding herself unable to live with the king, she
returned home.
Baldwin's reign was one of continued activity ;
every year saw him engaged in fresh enterprises, and
exploring fresh fields for conquest. His chief dangers
lay on the south west and north east of his kingdom.
In the former region he had to keep up a perpetual
struggle with Ascalon, whence the Egyptian garrison
sallied out by land or sea on every opportunity.
Even before his coronation Baldwin had been com-
pelled to lead an expedition against the town. In
1101 he had renewed the warfare with the cities of the
coast. Chiefly through the valour of the Genoese
seamen Csesarea was captured with but short delay.
Thence a reported invasion called Baldwin south; it
was not, however, for four months that the Egyptians
took the field near Jaffa with eleven thousand horse
and twenty-one thousand foot. To meet this host
the king could only muster two hundred and forty
knights and nine hundred foot soldiers ; but, says
Fulcher, " having God on our side, we did not fear
to attack them." Three times the Christians were
driven back, but when the king led out his fifth
battalion in person, the Egyptians lost heart and fled
4
136 THE CONQUEST OF THE LAND.
before him. Abbot Gerhard, who this day bore the
Holy Cross, told Ekkehard that the arrows fell
around the king like snow, and everywhere the enemy
melted from his face like wax (September 7, 1101).
Undismayed at their defeat, the Egyptians renewed
the war next year. Baldwin was then at Jaffa,
whence the Aquitanian Crusaders, after spending
Easter at Jerusalem, were on the point of departing.
William of Aquitaine was already gone ; the two
Stephens, however, were still there, and those who
but now were eager to depart, caught gladly at
the chance of striking a last blow against the Saracen.
But, though there were many knights in Jaffa, there
were but few horses ; and, as Baldwin would not
wait to muster his footmen, he had no more than
two hundred knights with him when he marched out
to Ramleh. Despite the numbers of the enemy the
Christians by the fury of their first onset nearly
carried the day, but all to no purpose, for within
one short hour they were in their turn routed or
slain. Baldwin himself, accompanied by four knights,
forced his way out of Ramleh, and after wandering
over the hills came on the second night to ArsCif.
Of his companions only one now remained, and the
watchmen on the walls refused to believe that it was
indeed their king till they had lit a torch, and thus
recognised Baldwin as he stood with head uncovered.
The two Stephens and many other knights were slain
during the battle or after.
After this battle, Ramleh fell into the hands of
the Saracens, and Jaffa was seriously threatened.
Baldwin was in great anxiety, for the loss of that
JAFFA AND RAMLEH.
137
town would have involved the downfall of Jerusalem.
By land he could not journey, but there was less
difficulty by sea. At Arsuf he embarked on May
29th, with a certain English pirate, Godric by name,
in whom we may fairly recognise our own English
saint, Godric of Finchale. With banner displayed,
THE TOWER OF RAMLEH.
he boldly sailed into Jaffa, despite the opposition of
thirty Egyptian galleys that strove to bar his way.
It was a daring exploit that only the urgent necessity
could justify. The Saracens almost at once withdrew
to a little distance from the walls. Reinforcements
gradually arrived from Jerusalem and from Arsuf;
138 THE CONQUEST OF THE LAND.
and when in the early days of July the great fleet,
under Harding the Englishman arrived, Baldwin
could once more take the field, and retrieve the
disaster of Ramleh by a complete victory. Later
in the year, when Tancred and Baldwin of Edessa
had come to his aid, the king even felt strong enough
to make an attack, though with little effect, on
Ascalon itself. Eight years later, Baldwin nearly
secured, by the treachery of the governor, what he
could not obtain by force. The governor was, how-
ever, slain by the townsmen, and Ascalon remained a
constant source of anxiety for many years to come.
The years that followed the battle of Ramleh were
chiefly marked by the capture of Acre and siege of
Sidon. Further north the warfare with Damascus
was waged by deputy rather than in person. When
Tancred was called away to rule Antioch for
Bohemond, Baldwin had conferred the lordships of
Galilee and Tiberias on Hugh of Falkenberg, a
warrior from North-eastern France. This Hugh had
fought with Baldwin at Ramleh and before Jaffa in
1102. In his own lordship he imitated Tancred's
example by a desultory warfare. After a raid in the
summer of 1 107, he had drawn off his booty as far
as Banias, when the Turks came down upon him.
Unarmourcd and heedless of his numerical weakness,
Hugh turned to meet them ; an arrow pierced his
breast, and he breathed his last in the midst of the
foe. This disaster called Baldwin north, and gave the
men of Ascalon a chance, which they were not slow
to take advantage of. The lordship of Tiberias was
now bestowed on Gervase, another French knight
TIBERIAS AND MONTREAL. 1 39
Gervase next year fell into an ambush and was
carried captive to Damascus ; Tughtakin, the atabek,
demanded as the price of his release Acre, Haifa, and
Tiberias. Baldwin, in reply, offered one hundred
thousand besants, but he would give up no Christian
territory, not even to release his mother's son. Ger-
vase was shot to death at Damascus, and then the
king restored his lordship to Tancred. During these
years Tughtakin, though formidable in the north,
had concerned himself little with the warfare in
Southern Palestine; however, it was. his intervention
which saved Sidon in 1 107, and Tyre three years later.
Towards the close of his reign, Baldwin was much
occupied in Arabia. In 1 1 1 5 he built the famous
stronghold of Montreal, or Shobek, beyond the Dead
Sea. In the following year he led two hundred
knights yet further south, being anxious to gaze on
the waters of the Red Sea, which he had not yet seen.
They marched as far as Elim, whose inhabitants put
out to sea in little boats on their approach. Fulcher,
with the curiosity natural to him, eagerly cross-
examined the travellers on their return home, and
gazed in astonishment at the " sea-shells " and little
stones which they brought back with them : " I
questioned them closely, with eager heart, as to the
nature of the Red Sea ; for I had hitherto doubted
whether its waters were fresh or salt, and whether it
was a pool or a lake — with exit and entrance like that
of Galilee."
Baldwin's last years were filled with disasters.
The years 11 14 and 11 15 were marked by great
earthquakes. In 1117 a plague of locusts devastated
140 THE CONQUEST OF THE LAND.
the crops and vines. The following June saw a
blood-red moon change to black ; and in December
there was an aurora borealis, so bright that Fulcher
and his friends saw the surrounding country as clear
as in the day : " We conjectured it to portend the
shedding of much blood in battle, or some other
speedily approaching disaster ; but what is uncertain
we commit with all humility to the Lord's keeping."
A little later, Fulcher knew the true meaning of these
portents ; for next year there died Pope Paschal,
King Baldwin, Adela his wife, the Patriarch Arnulf,
and the Emperor Alexius.
Early in 11 18, Baldwin determined to attack
Egypt, hoping through a bold stroke at the heart of
this wealthy kingdom to force Ascalon to submission.
He plundered the city of El Farema, but could pro-
ceed no further. Some fish caught in the Nile
disagreed with his digestion, and the consequent
illness awoke the trouble from an old wound in his
side. Unable to ride on horseback, his followers
placed him in a litter ; the horns blew the signal
for retreat, and the little army turned slowly back
towards Jerusalem. At El Arish Baldwin died ; his
body was embalmed and carried home to rest in
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre by his brother
Godfrey. It was Palm Sunday when the cavalcade,
as it drew near the Holy City, met the solemn pro-
cession winding down in ancient fashion from the
Mount of Olives to the valley of Jehoshaphat. The
songs of joy were soon turned to the wail of woe, and
Franks, Syrians, and even Saracens, wept for the fate
of ;he great king.
CHARACTER OF BALDWIN I. 141
Baldwin I. was, like Saul, of a very lofty stature ;
a man, brown haired and brown bearded, but with a
somewhat white complexion. His nose was aquiline,
his mouth peculiar, for the teeth in the lower jaw
were drawn back. He was neither over-stout nor
over-broad. His bearing betokened a man of dignity,
and the " chlamys " hanging down from his shoulders
stamped him as a person of importance, even to
strangers. " He looked," says William of Tyre,
" more like a bishop than a layman." His private
life was licentious, though he had the prudence to
keep this fact from the outer world. But he was a
warrior sans peur t if not sans reproche, and was lavish
in his generosity. He was indeed the very type of
the twelfth-century knight-errant : eager after adven-
ture, reckless of his own life, craving for excitement.
His rashness more than once threatened not only
himself, but his kingdom with ruin. He trusted in
himself more than he ought, and lacked the
" modesty " requisite for the prudent king and wise
general. But from the pictorial point of view, no
king in all history stands out in more glowing
colours. We can see him striking down the Saracens
at Ramleh ; stripping off his armour to find it soaked
and clotted with gore ; mounted on his fleet Arab,
" the Gazelle," wandering over the hills by midnight,
and with the dawn standing beneath the walls of
Arsuf ; sailing on to Jaffa in his little vessel, with the
royal banner displayed full in view of the hostile
fleet. No obstacles could daunt his valour. Once,
between Caesarea and Jaffa, he met sixty Saracen
horsemen laden with spoil. Amongst their burden
I42 THE CONQUEST OF THE LAND.
he espied the head of a Christian knight. This sight
scattered all prudence to the winds ; though he had
but two horsemen with him, Baldwin attacked the
Saracens and drove them back to Ascalon. His
favourite sport was hunting, and it was while pursuing
this recreation, in July, 1103, that he received from
some Saracens, who lay in ambush, the wound that
troubled him to his death.
Baldwin had been brought up as a priest, and even
held preferment in the diocese of Cam bray. But his
later life belied the mildness of his youth, and showed
little of the priestly spirit. He can hardly have been
loved by the people of Edessa, and it is a speaking
fact that his biographer and friend, Fulcher, refuses
to say a word as to the means by which he became
ruler of Edessa. But whatever his blemishes, he was
a great warrior, a true knight-errant, with all the
accomplishments and all the stains inseparable from
his calling.
IX.
THE CONQUEST OF THE LAND — THE FRANKS IN
NORTHERN SYRIA.
" Sciebant milites nostros esse probissimos bellatores, et mirabiles de
lanceis percussores." — Fulcher of Chartres.
When Bohemond was taken prisoner by Ibn
Danishmend Tancred left his lordship in Galilee
and went north to rule Antioch for his kinsman
in March, iioi. He acted with a vigour sprung
from the desire to conquer on his own behalf against
the day of Bohemond's release. Laodicea was cap-
tured from the Greeks after a siege of eighteen
months, whilst Mamistra, Adana, and Tarsus were
also recovered from the Emperor, into whose hands
they had once more lapsed.
Alexius can hardly have regarded these proceedings
with equanimity ; and there is therefore less ground
for distrusting the almost contemporary story that he
endeavoured to get Ibn Danishmend's prisoner into
his own hands. Bohemond, hearing of the offer,
secured his own freedom by outbidding his would-be
144 THE CONQUEST OF THE LAND.
purchaser. Thenceforward he was the sworn foe of
the Christian Emperor, and perhaps the half-ally and
tributary of the Turkish lord ; thus there came
about a curious combination in which Bohemond and
Ibn Danishmend were united against Alexius and
Kilij Arslan of Rum.
It was early in 1103 that Bohemond was released.
In the following year he was called to the aid of
Baldwin du Bourg. That noble had received the
county of Edessa when his cousin and namesake was
called to the kingdom of Jerusalem ; Joscelin de
Courtenay, another cousin, at the same time obtained
the second Baldwin's old territory to the west of the
Euphrates. Edessa was as it were an outpost in the
enemy's country, and its fields were exposed to yearly
ravages. In the hope of preventing this constant loss
Baldwin determined to garrison Harran, and accord-
ingly invited Bohemond, Tancred, and Joscelin to join
in an expedition.
The feuds of the Turkish emirs left the Franks to
pursue their conquests near the Euphrates with com-
parative immunity. The contest for the sultanate
had continued till January, 1104, when Malek Shah's
two sons, Barkiyarok and Mohammed, were reconciled
and divided their ruined inheritance. In this time of
confusion each emir had enough to do to hold his
own, and had little time for concerting plans against
the common foe. At Mosul, Corbogha had given
place to Jekermish, while further north Sokman ibn
Ortok " held sway at Hisn Keifa. Further west things
were in much the same state of disorder. Ridhwan,
1 Son of Ortok, to whom Tutush had granted Jerusalem (see p. 21).
TURKISH FEUDS. 145
son of Tutush and nephew of Malek Shah, was prince
of Aleppo, whilst Tughtakin ruled Damascus in the
name of Ridhwan's nephew, son of his brother Dukak ;
Hems or Emesa was under an emir named Janeh
ed-Dauleh. On the coast the Egyptians were
recovering much of their lost ground. In the
absence of any real central power the Franks had
full chance to spread and prosper; and, holding as
it were the balance between the rival parties, were
not slow to realise the strength of their position.
However, on this occasion Sokman and Jekermish
abandoned their feud to rescue Harran. In a des-
perate battle outside that city Baldwin and Joscelin
were taken prisoners, whilst Bohemond and his
nephew fled to Edessa, where the Christians then
chose Tancred for their lord. The battle of Harran
had a disastrous effect on the principality of Antioch ;
the Greeks once more recovered Adana, Mamistra,
and Tarsus, whilst Rid h wan on the south ravaged
Artah and captured Kafer Tab. Bohemond declared
his intention of seeking help across the sea, and
accordingly, towards the end of 1104, left Syria never
to return. Going to France, he married Constance,
daughter of Philip I., and by his promises of rich fiefs
induced many nobles to join him. With a large army
he laid siege to Durazzo in October, 1107. A year
later he was forced to return to Italy, and died in
mi, leaving two sons by his wife Constance. Of
these John, the elder, died young ; the second, Bohe-
mond, survived to receive his father's principality
fifteen years later.
Tancred had been left to rule Antioch with dis-
I46 THE CONQUEST OF THE LAND.
heartened subjects and an exhausted treasury ; by
skilful management he contrived to replenish his own
coffers from those of the wealthy citizens, and by the
example of his self-denial inspired his subjects with
fresh confidence. His first exploit was to recover
Artah and the neighbouring strongholds from
Ridhwan. Thus he became the greatest lord of
Northern Syria ; he was master of Antioch, Tell-
basher, and Edessa, whilst Aleppo itself could hardly
have held out much longer but for the quarrels of the
Franks and the coming of Maudud to Mosul.
Death and dissension worked also for Tancred in
COIN OF TANCRED.
the ranks of his Mohammedan rivals. Ibn Danish-
mend and Sokman ibn Ortok both died in 1 104-5;
whilst, by the decease of Barkiyarok, Mohammed had
become sole Sultan, jekermish at Mosul had lost
the vigour of his youth, and Ridhwan took advantage
of his weakness to form a league against him ; but
the project was frustrated by the craft of Jekermish.
In the meantime Mohammed had conferred Mosul
on one of his own officers, Javaly Secava, who
defeated Jekermish beneath the walls of the city.
The citizens, steadfast to the end, appealed for aid to
Kilij Arslan of Rum. Kilij Arslan relieved Mosul,
SUCCESSES OF TANCRED. I47
but in June or July, 1 107, was, through the treachery
of his allies, defeated by Javaly near the river
Khabur. Javaly then became lord of Mosul, to be
supplanted a year later by the Sultan's brother, Mau-
dud, with whom was soon afterwards associated his
nephew, Masud.
On Maudud's approach Javaly took refuge with
Il-Ghazi, lord of Mardin and brother of Sokman, but
finding little support turned towards the Franks. He
had the means of purchasing their support ready
to hand in Baldwin of Edessa, who had become his
captive on the fall of Jekermish. A bargain was
struck, and Joscelin de Courtenay, who had already
been set free, came back as hostage for his overlord.
Tancred would not surrender Edessa to its old lord,
and Javaly, eager to score every point, released
Joscelin also. Thereon Tancred called Ridhwan of
Aleppo to his aid, and thus, near Tell-basher, a
battle was fought, in which Mohammedan strove with
Mohammedan, Frank with Frank. In the end Tan-
cred was victorious. Javaly, driven from the field,
made his way across the desert to Ispahan ; winding-
sheet in hand he prayed humbly for his life ; Moham-
med forgave him, as he could well afford to do, for
Maudud had by now captured Mosul.
After the battle of Tell-basher Baldwin went back
to Edessa, where he was soon threatened by a new
and more serious danger. Early in mo Maudud
appeared before his walls with an immense host. For
a hundred days he pressed the city hard. King
Baldwin of Jerusalem was appealed to for aid, but
would not leave Palestine till he had taken Beyrout,
14# THE CONQUEST OF THE LAND.
which was on the point of falling. Directly he was
master of the city the king gathered his army and
crossed the Euphrates with eleven thousand men.
With him came Bertram of Tripoli, the Armenian
prince Kogh Vasil, and Tancred, who in such an
emergency crushed down his feelings of hatred and
jealousy. At their approach Maudud retired to
Harran, "knowing that our knights were warriors
of prowess and wondrous smiters with the lance."
A few days sufficed to garrison Edessa, and the
royal army turned its steps homewards, followed
however, by many Armenians who feared to stay in
such an exposed city. At the Euphrates only two
vessels were found wherewith to cross the river.
Whilst some five thousand unarmed Armenians still
remained on the left bank, the Turks suddenly ap-
peared ; what followed was a massacre rather than
a battle. The river ran red with blood, and all the
time the king's troops stood looking on from the
opposite bank, grieving, but unable to lend any aid
to their perishing comrades.
Meantime in Tancred's absence Ridhwan had broken
the truce. Tancred on his return speedily compelled
the emir to purchase peace at the price of twenty
thousand dinars, and in a fresh invasion next year
reduced Aleppo to a state of terror. The clamour of
the unhappy Mohammedans reached the ears of the
Caliph at Bagdad. Fugitives from Aleppo burst into
the Great Mosque at Bagdad, and tore down the iron-
work from the screen of the Caliph himself. About the
same time, so an Arabic writer says, there came an
envoy from Constantinople to Bagdad urging the
MAUDUD OF MOSUL. 149
Caliph to make war against the Franks. The
populace in their fury crowded round the Sultan,
reproaching him for his slackness in the service of
God. "The very infidels," they said, "showed more
zeal for the Holy War than did he."
This disturbance led in 1 1 1 1 .to a great expedition,
which besieged Tell-basher under the command of
Maudud. But dissension and death paralysed his
efforts, whilst Ridhwan, after appealing to him for aid,
shut the gates of Aleppo in his face.
Tancred continued his career of conquest at the
expense of Aleppo. Early in 11 12 he captured a
fortress near that city itself, but died at the close of
the year, on December 12th, whilst warring with the
Armenian Kogh Vasil. Antioch should by right
have gone to the young Bohemond ; but the times
were too troublous for a child of four or five to
hold his own, and Roger FitzRichard, Tancred's
sister's son, succeeded with little opposition.
Maudud, after ravaging the neighbourhood of
Edessa, gathered a great host, and in June, 11 13, laid
siege to Tiberias in Galilee. Baldwin summoned
Roger to his aid, and himself started from Acre.
The Turks drew the king into an ambush, and, ac-
cording to the Arabic account, Baldwin was actually
taken prisoner, but his ignorant captor, in greed for
spoil, suffered his greatest prize to escape. The royal
banner and tent were taken, whilst Baldwin, with
the remnants of his host, took refuge on a neigh-
bouring hill. There he was presently joined by the
reinforcements from Antioch, but for six-and-twenty
days he dared not move. Meanwhile the light
150 THE CONQUEST OF THE LAND.
Turkish horsemen were flying over all the land from
Jerusalem to Acre. At last, when provisions began
to fail, Maudud retired to Damascus (September
iyth), intending to remain there till the spring.
Soon afterwards, as he entered the mosque accom-
panied by Tughtakin, an assassin sprang out and
dealt him several blows. The wounded prince was
carried to the atabek's palace ; recognising that his
end was near, he refused all food, declaring that he
desired to appear before God fasting. " Maudud,"
says a contemporary Christian historian, " was a man
of great wealth and power. He was most famous
among the Turks and subtle in his actions. But he
could not resist the will of God, who, though He
suffered him to scourge us for our sins, decreed that
he should die a mean death, and perish by a feeble
hand."
Rumour ascribed the crime to Tughtakin. Nor
was the charge against the atabek confined to
Mohammedan lands, for Ibn El-Athir had heard from
his father that Baldwin in his indignation wrote to
Tughtakin : " A people that is capable of destroying
its mainstay, and of slaying him in the house of God,
deserves to be cut off from the earth."
Ridhwan of Aleppo died soon after, on December
10th. The eunuch Lulu administered the govern-
ment for ten months in the name of Ridhwan's young
son, Alp Arslan. Then he slew his master, and set
up his brother, Sultan Shah, a child of six, in his
place. Aleppo was during this time in great distress,
and Tughtakin would vouchsafe no aid. " Strange
it was," writes the Arabic historian, " that among so
BORSOKI AND BORSAC. 15I
many princes, none could be found to accept so rich
a possession, and defend it against the Franks. But
the princes wished to prolong the French occupation,
so as to keep themselves in power." At last the
Sultan despatched a vast army under El-Borsoki, the
new governor of Mosul, with whom was associated
Zangi, the future conqueror of Edessa.
Meantime there had been a general reformation
at Antioch. The conscience of its citizens was
awakened not less by the terrible earthquakes, which
towards the close of 1 1 14 shook the whole Levant,
than by the approach of Borsac, lord of Hamadan,
whom Mohammed sent in May, 11 15, at the head of
a fresh army to support El-Borsoki. At the patriarch's
call, with bare feet and streaming eyes, they passed
from church to church in long processions. Roger
further made alliance with the discontented Moham-
medan princes, Tughtakin, who feared to be punished
for Maudud's death, and Il-Ghazi of Mardin, who in
the previous year had failed in his duty to the new ruler
of Mosul. Roger took up his position near Apamea,
and sent for aid to King Baldwin and the Count of
Tripoli. Borsac supinely let his opportunity slide,
and with the arrival of the king and count retired
without fighting.
But when Baldwin had gone home Borsac at once
returned. Roger with his personal followers hurried
out to Rugia. 1 Next morning, as the ranks were
being arrayed, Theodore de Barneville, one of Roger's
1 This place was between Marra and the Orontes, but its exact situa-
tion is uncertain ; probably it is Riha, thirty-seven miles south-east of
Antioch.
152 THE CONQUEST OF THE LAND.
scouts, rode up with a joyful countenance : the enemy
were even then unfolding their tents in the valley of
Sarmit, where the Franks had meant to camp. Roger
bade his warriors quit them like men, and the Bishop
of Jebleh, holding the cross in his hands, assured them
of success. As he spoke the host fell on their knees
and burst out with an unanimous cry, " Holy God,
holy, mighty, and immortal, have mercy upon us ! "
The Turks, in accordance with their usual custom,
had sent on their baggage ahead. Behind came the
troops marching hand in hand, and expecting no ill.
Suddenly there appeared the flash of the white
banners on the horizon, and before there was time to
form their ranks the Christians had burst into the
empty and defenceless camp. Each detachment of
the Turkish army was cut off as it came up, and
Borsac fled from the field to meet a peaceful death
at home.
Roger returned with a vast spoil to Antioch. The
streets were hung with silk and gold and flowers, as
he passed in triumph to render thanks to God in the
Church of St. Peter. " Hail, Champion of the Truth ! "
was the general cry, " May the enemies of God fear
thee, and mayst thou have perpetual peace. Salvation
and victory to thee throughout all ages ! Amen!"
This victory gave the Franks, the predominance in
the northern parts of Syria. " They spread their
arms to the east of Aleppo," says an Arabic historian ;
" they laid waste the province, and attacked Aleppo
itself. That city would have been deserted had its
inhabitants known where to find safety."
During the troubles that ensued on this defeat
ROGER'S VICTORY AT RUG I A. 153
Lulu lost heart, and whilst fleeing from Aleppo was
treacherously slain. The allegiance of Aleppo was
then offered to Il-Ghazi, of Mardin, who, however,
hardly found it worth acceptance. It is strange that
in a time of such confusion and distrust the Franks
did not make themselves masters of the city. Pro-
bably, however, they found more profit in promoting
dissensions among their foes, than in burdening them-
selves with so vast a conquest.
In 1 1 19 Il-Ghazi once more took the field, and
fortress after fortress fell before him with startling
rapidity. Roger of Antioch scorned the sound
advice of the patriarch, to wait for King Baldwin,
and marched out to an ill-omened spot called the
Field of Blood. It was a place deficient both in
food and drink. Worse than this, the camp followers
carried news of his distress to the enemy. Em-
boldened by these tidings the Mohammedans routed
a small force of Christians near the fortress of Cerep. 1
Thereupon Roger sent forward Mauger of Hauteville
with forty knights, and posted others to keep watch
at a distant hill-tower.
Next morning the prince and all his army con-
fessed their sins to the archbishop. This solemn
work completed, Roger divided his gold among the
poor, and then, with something of the true indifference
of a Norman baron, went forth for his usual morning
ride. His falcons and his hounds accompanied him ;
his followers took their hunting spears, and the lads
were sent ahead to rouse the game. So Roger, " as
became a prince," rode over hill and vale to hawk
1 Some authorities identify this place with Athareb.
154 THE CONQUEST OF THE LAND.
and hunt. But some prescience of disaster prevented
him from taking pleasure in the sport. He left his
gay companions and turned his steps towards the
watchmen on the tower. Even as he rode there
galloped up a messenger in headlong haste. " What
news ? " asked the prince. " With mine own eyes
have I seen the enemy swarming over rough places
and plain." " Christ," said the prince — " Christ hath
granted us to suffer for Him."
Roger hastened back to his tent, but as he donned
his armour, and knelt with his host to receive once
more the archbishop's blessing, other messengers
COIN OF ROGER.
arrived. Many of the knights had fallen at their
post ; Mauger was close behind hard pressed by an
intolerable host of the enemy. Hardly had the
Christians formed their ranks when the standards of
the unbelievers began to glimmer between the olive
thickets on the hills. Roger bade his little army not
to fear the enemy because of their multitude ; before-
times they had fought valiantly enough for earthly
gain or glory, let them now fight a§ well for God.
The Franks were victorious in more than one part of
the field ; but they were quite outnumbered, and when
the Turcoples were seized with a sudden panic, the
terror spread to Roger's own band, who likewise
DEATH OF ROGER. 155
dispersed in fear. Then, to crown all, a sudden
north wind blew down from the hills and, scudding
close to the ground, raised a cloud of heated dust to
blind the eyes of the Christians. Roger himself with
a few followers fought desperately till, pierced through
the brain, he fell dead before the Holy Cross — " his
body to the earth, and his soul to heaven " (June 27,
1 1 19).
Had Il-Ghazi marched on Antioch in the first flush
of victory the city must have fallen. But his delays
enabled the patriarch to restore some measure of
confidence, and to keep the city safe till the coming
of the king. Baldwin shortly marched out through
Rugia to Danit, where he pitched his camp. His
heedful wariness foiled an intended night surprise.
The battle which ensued was long and doubtful ; the
Count of Tripoli, who commanded on the right, was
driven back on the king's ranks. Evremar, the Arch-
bishop of Caesarea, was struck by an arrow, but to
the surprise of all only one drop of blood fell from
the wound. This they attributed to the efficacy of
the Holy Cross, which Evremar carried in his hands.
The archbishop turned the sacred relic towards the
foe, and cursed them in its name. The Christians
thereon took fresh courage and, renewing the fight,
were rewarded with victory (August 14, 1 119).
The death of Roger marks a period in the history
of the principality of Antioch. Its fortunes in the
succeeding years are closely bound up with those of
the kingdom of Jerusalem, and will be properly
narrated in the following chapter.
A few words will suffice to describe the course of
I56 THE CONQUEST OF THE LAND.
events in Tripoli during these early years. We find
there a not dissimilar aspect of Frankish progress in
the midst of Mussulman disunion. But the new-
comers had a rival in the Egyptian Caliph, whose
subordinates contrived during the years of confusion
to recover their hold on the Syrian coast. Tyre,
Sidon, Tripoli, and Beyrout all passed into their
hands, and it was from them that Raymond of St.
Gilles and his successors had to win the chief towns
of their future county.
Count Raymond, when he found it impossible to
protect Laodicea from the greed of Bohemond, had
gone to Constantinople to seek the aid of Alexius,
and thus shared in the Aquitanian crusade of 1101,
though he escaped the worst of the evils that befell
his comrades. Afterwards, however, he fell into the
hands of Tancred, from whom he had to purchase his
release by an undertaking to make no conquests
north of Acre. But on Bohemond's restoration Ray-
mond thought himself free to besiege Tripoli. Its
emir, Fakr-el-Molk, called in aid from Damascus and
Emesa. Raymond .had only three hundred warriors
in all, yet he contrived to drive back both of the
hostile forces in panic, and to shut up the men of
Tripoli more closely than before. But as he could
not take the city by storm, he established himself on
the neighbouring height of Mount Pilgrim, and was
still engaged with the siege at his death on Feb-
ruary 28, 1 105. Raymond appears to have been the
noblest of all the early Crusaders ; he alone was
absolutely faithful in his vow to Alexius, and his
conduct is in striking contrast to that of his great
TRIPOLI. 157
colleague. " Having once begun the fight for
Christ," says William of Tyre, "he disdained not to
continue his pilgrimage patiently till death. Al-
though with his illustrious patrimony and power he
might have lived in abundance in his own land, he
chose rather to be an abject in the Lord's service
than to abide in the tents of sinners."
On Raymond's death the siege was continued by
William Jordan, his nephew. Raymond had, how-
ever, left in Mount Pilgrim an infant son, Alfonso.
This child was soon sent to France, where a little
later his elder brother Bertram resigned to him his
father's possessions and started for the East. On his
arrival in Palestine Bertram demanded his father's
possessions from his cousin William. William
denied the claim and appealed to Tancred for aid,
while Bertram sailed south to renew the siege of
Tripoli on his own account. To secure the aid of the
king Bertram offered to do him service. Baldwin
feared that the feuds among the Christians would
ruin their prospects in the north, and hurrying to
Tripoli succeeded in arranging a compromise.
William was to hold Arkah and his present posses-
sions ; Bertram was to have the remainder of his
father's fiefs — if he could obtain them. Tancred, who
had a quarrel of his own with Bertram, was pacified
by receiving Haifa, Tiberias, Nazareth, and the Tcm-
plum Domini.
The united forces now laid siege to Tripoli with
renewed vigour in March, 1 109. Famine was at work
within the walls, and the promised succour from Egypt
was delayed till contrary winds prevented its coming
T58 THE CONQUEST OF THE LAND.
altogether. The Saracens, in despair, accepted
Baldwin's proffer of their lives, but the Genoese
supporters of Bertram, eager for plunder, forced their
way into the city, slaying all they met.
Before Tripoli had fallen Bertram was left without a
rival, for William Jordan had been mysteriously shot
with an arrow while riding at night. Bertram now
became the king's man, and thus Tripoli was made a
fief of the kingdom of Jerusalem.
Bertram died about 11 12, and was succeeded by
his son Pons, who played a not inconsiderable part
till his death in 1 1 37 ; the successor of Pons was
Raymond I., whose son Raymond II. was the
foremost figure among the Syrian nobles in the
events which preceded the Third Crusade.
X.
THE CONQUEST OF THE LAND — BALDWIN II
(HI8-II31.)
" O tempora recordations dignissima."
FULCHER OF CHARTRES.
On the death of Baldwin I. many of the nobles
were in favour of offering the crown to Eustace,
the late king's brother. But Joscelin de Courtenay,
then lord of Tiberias, gave his support to Baldwin du
Bourg, declaring that it was better to accept a good
king who was to be had for the asking, than to wait
the pleasure of a distant ruler, who might prefer the
settled order of his European county to the strain
and anxiety of a perilous kingdom. These words
carried the greater weight because of the speaker's
known enmity for Baldwin, and when the patriarch
adopted the same view the nobles elected Baldwin to
the vacant throne. Some dissentients, however, sent
an invitation to Count Eustace, who received them
but coldly. " Not by me," was his noble answer,
"shall a stumbling block enter into the Lord's
kingdom."
The new king, Baldwin II.. was the son of Hugh,
*59
i6o
THE CONQUEST OE THE LAND.
Count of Rethel, near Rheims. He had accompanied
Godfrey on the First Crusade, but afterwards joined his
namesake in his adventurous conquest of Edessa. He,
however, rejoined the main army, to share in the
sieges of Antioch and Jerusalem. When his cousin
became king he obtained the county of Edessa, and
the story of his life in the next eighteen years has
already been told. He was a man of lofty stature and
comely features. His scanty yellow hair was already
tinged with white ; his beard was thin, though long,
and his complexion ruddy for his age. A skilful
horseman and an experienced military leader, he
COIN OF BALDWIN II.
never made his advanced years an excuse for inaction.
Unlike his predecessor, he was a wary general, care-
ful in organising an expedition, and happy in its
results. Above all else he was truly devout in word
and deed, a godfearing man, whose hands and knees
were hardened with frequent prayer.
The first years of the new reign were devoted to
the defence of Antioch and Edessa. Baldwin's victory
at Danit has already been described. In the follow-
ing year (June, 1 120), Il-Ghazi returned with a host of
Turcomans. These warriors were the moss-troopers
of Oriental warfare, to which they came forth, each
BALDWIN IT. AMD 1L-GHAZI. l6l
with his skin of water, sack of meal, and strips of
dried meat carried on his steed. They fought for the
sake of plunder only, and when Il-Ghazi punished
such conduct, they gradually deserted him. Il-Ghazi,
abandoned by his army, had to purchase a truce,
which was, however, soon broken through the indiscre-
tion of Joscelin de Courtenay, now Count of Edessa.
Matters were further complicated by the revolt of
Soliman, son of Il-Ghazi, and ruler of Aleppo, against
his father. Soliman appealed for aid to Baldwin,
who demanded, as the price of his assistance, the
restoration of Athareb. To this Soliman refused his
consent, and it was in vain that the king urged how
indefensible Athareb was, ringed round with Chris-
tian fortresses like a horse with weak legs, who eats
a whole granary without gaining strength. These
troubles recalled Il-Ghazi, who found himself obliged
to purchase a truce by the cession of Zerdana x and
Athareb (about August, 1121). However, in June,
1 122, despite the truce, he crossed the Euphrates,
with his nephew Balak the Victorious, and laid siege
to Zerdana. Baldwin refused to believe in such
treachery. " I have been faithful," said the chival-
rous king, " to the treaty, and have defended II-
Ghazi's possessions during his absence, and do not
doubt but he will be as loyal on his part" On
discovering his mistake, Baldwin called in Joscelin,
and advanced to the relief of the beleaguered town.
Illness soon forced Il-Ghazi to raise the siege, and
on November 3rd he died, while on his way back to
Mardin.
1 This place was close to Athareb.
1 62 THE CONQUEST OF THE LAND.
Meanwhile a great disaster had befallen the Chris-
tians. Balak having laid siege to Edessa, Joscelin
came to its relief. Balak's troops were so scattered
that he could barely muster four hundred horsemen
to meet the count ; he must have been defeated had
it not been for a recent fall of rain, thanks to which
the heavy Frank knights and their horses stuck in the
miry soil, and were shot down by the Turkish bow-
men. Joscelin and his nephew Waleran were taken
prisoners, and when they refused to purchase their
freedom by the surrender of Edessa were thrown
into prison at Khartpert (September 13, 11 22).
Balak's successes called Baldwin to the Euphrates.
There, on April 18, 1123, the Christians fell into an
ambuscade whilst engaged on a night march for
the relief of Kerker. The Franks were massacred
piteously, and Baldwin was in his turn also
carried off prisoner to Khartpert. Balak then
forced his way into Aleppo, and had proceeded to
besiege Kafer Tab, 1 when news reached him that
Joscelin had escaped from Khartpert.
Joscelin had endeared himself to his Armenian
subjects, who determined to make a desperate effort
to secure their lord's freedom. Fifty men disguised
as merchants, presented themselves one day in
August before the gates of Khartpert. One by one
with their wares they smuggled their way within the
town to the walls of the citadel. There they found
the warder of the gates carelessly playing at chess,
and kept from all suspicion by his antagonist who
1 Or Capharda, east of the Orontes, near Marra ; its exact situation
is uncertain, but Abulfeda says half-way from Marra to Csesarea.
CAPTIVITY AT KHARTPERT. 163
was a friend of the conspirators. Throwing off their
disguise the Armenians drew their knives and slew
the warder ; then seizing 'whatever lances lay at
hand they quickly overpowered the Turkish guards.
So soon as the king and his comrades were released,
they hoisted a Christian flag on the highest battle-
ment But not daring to risk the journey home, they
resolved to hold out in Khartpert till aid should come
from Antioch or Jerusalem. Joscelin volunteered to
carry the news ; with three of his servants, he passed
by night through the surrounding enemy, and sent
back his ring to Baldwin as a token of his success.
After twenty-four hours' wandering they found them-
selves at the Euphrates ; the count could not swim,
so his servants extemporised a raft of bladders, and
thus they gained the other side. Hungry and thirsty,
Joscelin lay down beneath a tree to rest, covering
himself under the bushes. His servants meanwhile
went to look for food, and shortly came back with
an Armenian peasant, of whose simple fare of figs
and raisins the count ate gladly. The peasant knew
his lord at once and greeted him by name ; Joscelin's
alarmed denial could not deceive the faithful peasant,
and at last, assured of the man's loyalty, the count
promised him a piece of gold if he would guide them
to a place of safety. " I seek no reward," was the
generous answer : " before times you gave me bread
to eat, and I am glad to repay you." Then taking
Joscelin to his cottage the peasant explained his plan
for the count's escape ; but first of all wished to kill his
pig for breakfast. " Nay," said Joscelin, " thou art not
wont to eat a pig at a meal, and that would make thy
164 THE CONQUEST OF THE LAND.
neighbours suspicious." Then the count was disguised
in the dress of the peasant's wife, and set upon the
man's ass with his baby in his arms. Thus the
strange company set out for Tell-basher ; but
presently the child began to cry, and so embarrassed
the count that he would have left his comrades had
he not feared to wound his protector's feelings. At
last they reached Tell-basher in safety, and after
rewarding the faithful peasant Joscelin set out for
Jerusalem and Antioch.
Meanwhile Balak had turned back to Khartpert,
and by undermining the rock on which the citadel
was built, forced his way inside. The poorer Franks
and the Armenians were massacred without pity,
whilst Baldwin and Waleran were carried off to
Harran. Joscelin was on his way north once more
when he heard the news ; unable to help his kinsmen
he turned his arms against Aleppo. The count's
successes in this quarter brought Balak back to the
Orontes. Balak reached Aleppo in May, 11 24, and
soon after marched out against the town of Manbij
or Hierapolis. Joscelin, though he could muster but
a small army, went out to meet him. The battle at
first went favourably for the Christians, but Joscelin
was at length compelled to retreat. Balak was,
however, soon afterwards mortally wounded whilst
prosecuting the siege of Manbij. Aleppo then passed
to Hussan-ed-din, son of Il-Ghazi, from whom
Baldwin purchased his release at the price of
Athareb, Zerdana, Kafer Tab, some other towns,
and twenty-four thousand dinars (August 30, 11 24).
Baldwin, however, kept no faith with the infidels,
BALDWIN II. AND ANTIOCH. 165
and attacked Aleppo. The inhabitants appealed for
help to El-Borsoki, Emir of Mosul, who in February
1 125, drove back the Christians nd so became Lord
of Aleppo ; but in June Baldwi in his turn defeated
El-Borsoki. The king, however, calised that 1- was
impossible for one ruler to govern both Antioch and
Jerusalem ; and accordingly he sent for the youthful
Bohemond, who came from Italy to Antioch in the
autumn of 11 26. There the nobles swore fealty to
him in Baldwin's presence, and the king gave him his
second daughter Alice to wife. Bohemond's rule was
short and troubled ; he soon found himself at war with
Joscelin, and Baldwin had to be called in to appease
the quarrel. Some years later Bohemond was sur-
prised and slain at the Meadow of Mantles in Cilicia.
He was a youth of great promise, and bade fair to
be a valiant warrior. At his death the principality
passed to his infant daughter Constance.
Over and above all this warfare in the north, the
reign of Baldwin II. was distinguished by many other
expeditions. The Egyptians harassed him more than
once from Ascalon, and Tughtakin of Damascus was
ever ready to further their efforts by inroads from
the east. Baldwin retaliated by more than one expe-
dition across the Jordan, as in January, 1 126, when
he defeated the atabek with great loss near Marj-as-
Suffar. But the great event of the reign was the
conquest of Tyre during the king's captivity. That
city was ruled by an emir in the name of El-A r dal,
the Egyptian vizir. Being hard pressed by the
Franks, and unaided by their own Caliph, the men
of Tyre appealed to Tughtakin, and offered to take
1 66 THE CONQUEST OF THE LAND.
him for lord if they might dwell under his protection
Tughtakin sent them aid under an emir Masud, but
refused to supplant the Egyptian Caliph. He informed
El-Afdal that he was ready to withdraw his garrison
directly Tyre was strong enough to do without it
But when a little later El-Afdal was murdered, the
Egyptian admiral seized Masud by treachery and
carried him off to Egypt. This conduct alienated
Tughtakin, and the Franks seized the opportunity for
attacking the city.
When Baldwin was taken prisoner by Balak, the
Franks had elected, as guardian for the orphan realm,
Eustace Grener, lord of Caesarea and Sidon. It
happened that in 1123 there came to Jaffa a strong
Venetian fleet under the doge Domenicho Michaeli.
The doge went up to spend Christmas at Jerusalem,
and there agreed with the lords of the land to lend
his aid for an attack on one of the cities of the coast.
Opinion was divided between Ascalon and Tyre, and
it was decided to commit the question to the lot.
The names of the two towns were written on two
strips of parchment, and these were placed on the
altar. Then an " innocent orphan boy " was bidden
to take up one of them at random ; the lot fell upon
Tyre, which city was at once besieged by the com-
bined forces of the Franks and Venetians, under
Eustace and the doge. It was to no purpose that
Tughtakin came up from Damascus, that a fresh fleet
was sent from Egypt, or that the men of Ascalon
strove to call off the besieging host by a foray to the
very walls of Jerusalem. The last were driven back
from the Tower of David ; the Venetians defeated
THE TAKING OF TYRE. l6?
the Egyptian fleet ; while William de Bures and
Pons of Tripoli found the atabek unwilling to abide
their onset. All the available forces of the realm
seem to have been mustered for the siege, and when
it began to flag through lack of military engines, a
skilful Armenian engineer was called up from Antioch.
At last, broken down by hunger and long privation,
the city surrendered ; men told in later days that
only five measures of wheat were found within the
walls. The fall of this city (July 7, 11 24) was a great
blow to Islam ; " let us hope that God will one day
restore it," writes the Arabic historian a century later.
Baldwin II. was an old man, and had no son to
succeed him on the throne. Unwilling to marry his
eldest daughter Melisend to one of his own nobles,
he sought her a bridegroom in Europe. His final
choice was Fulk V., Count of Anjou, who reached
Acre in the spring of 1129. The marriage was cele-
brated before Whitsuntide, and the king's son -in-law
received Tyre and Acre as his wife's dowry. Two
years later Baldwin fell into a fatal sickness ; anxious
for his soul's health, he quitted the luxury of the
royal palace for the patriarch's house hard by the
sepulchre of the Lord. There he put on the garb
of a monk, and so died August 13, 1131. He was
buried with his predecessors before Golgotha, under
Mount Calvary.
With Baldwin II. disappeared the last of the great
heroes of the First Crusade who had remained in
Palestine. His death, too, marks the conclusion of
the first stage in the history of the Syrian Franks.
Despite the disaster of his eighteen months' captivity
1 68 THE CONQUEST OF THE LAND.
Baldwin's reign had been one of prosperity for his
kingdom. The ruler of Jerusalem had acquired ex-
tended influence in the principality of Antioch, while
the great conquest of Tyre had consolidated his own
dominion in the south. The period of conquest was
now at an end, and after a short period of equili-
brium the Christian kingdom entered on a chequered
career of loss and gain, which eventually culminated
in the conquest of the Holy City by Saladin.
XL
THE MILITARY ORDERS.
"Triplex funiculus non facile rumpitur."
James de Vitry.
To the men of the twelfth century there must have
been a marvellous attraction in the tales which every
returning palmer or crusader brought back from
Syria. Adventure was as the very life-breath of
the mediaeval warrior, and in the East if anywhere
he could find it to the full, with the added prospect
of a sure reward, both spiritual and temporal. Did
he perish in the combat, heaven, as St. Bernard told
him, would throw open her halls to receive him ; was
he victor, then the spoils of the vanquished were his.
The humblest man-at-arms might acquire wealth
through the sack of a Saracen stronghold, or the rout
of a Saracen host ; the wandering knight might enter
the bodyguard of Godfrey or Baldwin, and be recom-
pensed with money or a fief; the greater lord could
always hope for conquests on his own account. To
the prospect of gain were added two other incentives ;
the always unsatisfied longing for travel, which then,
as now, prompted the noblest spirits of the age to
169
170 THE MILITARY ORDERS.
seek ideals far away from home, and the feeling of
devotion which urged mediaeval Christians on to
pilgrimages, whether near or distant. These im-
pulses together sufficed to keep up a constant stream
of visitors to Palestine during many years. Some
came, saw, and departed; others however, stayed,
and, whether for good or ill, made their home in the
East.
Thus in the course of thirty years there had been
built up a- new kingdom, and, as it were, a new
nation. So Fulcher of Chartres could write : " God
transforms things according to His will. He has
poured the West into the East ; we who were
westerns are now easterns. We have all forgotten
our native soil, it has grown strange unto us." But
the most promising feature in this new creation was
the rise of military organisations, which might com-
bine and turn to good purpose all those whom restless-
ness of spirit or devotion of soul drew towards the East.
The credit of the conception of an order of knights
sworn to the service of the Cross belongs to Hugh
de Payen, the founder of the Templars. But the
priority of rank must be yielded to the Hospitallers,
who trace their origin to a more ancient institution,
established for a different purpose. According to the
story preserved by William of Tyre, and in part con-
firmed from other sources, the merchants of Amain*
having won the favour of the Egyptian Caliph, ob-
tained permission, as it is said, about the year 1023, to
found a hospital at Jerusalem for poor and sick Latin
pilgrims. The original dedication was to St. John
the Almoner, a humble patron who had afterwards to
GERARD THE HOSPITALLER. 171
give way to St. John the Baptist. At the time of the
First Crusade the master of the hospital was one
Gerard, " during many years the devoted servant of
the poor." Gerard, who is often regarded as the
founder of the hospital, obtained from. Pope Paschal
II., in 1 1 13, a Bull, which, besides granting him the
special protection of the papal see, confirmed to the
hospital all the possessions which it then held as well
in Syria as in Western Europe. Gerard died in 11 18,
and was succeeded by Raymond du Puy, a noble
from Dauphine, who held his office over forty years,
and taking an example from the recently established
order of the Temple, gave his own order a military
organisation.
The Templars, although they were from the first
an order of knights, owed their institution, as did the
Hospitallers, to a charitable purpose. In the early
days of the kingdom a Burgundian knight, Hugh de
Payen by name, made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
Moved to pity by the sufferings of the Christians
through the perpetual attacks of the Saracens, he
joined with eight other knights in devoting them-
selves to the service of protecting the poor pilgrims
on the road to Jerusalem. They took the triple vows
of chastity, obedience, and poverty, after the manner
of regular canons, and obtained from Baldwin II., in
the same year that Gerard the Hospitaller died, the
gift of a residence near the Temple of Solomon at
Jerusalem ; originally designated the poor fellow
soldiers of Christ, they from this circumstance came
to be known as the Knights of the Temple. After
nine years at the Council of Troyes, in January, 1 128,
±72 THE MILITARY ORDERS.
Hugh obtained from Pope Honorius II., through the
influence of Bernard of Clairvaux, a formal Rule,
which the famous abbot himself drew up, or at least
inspired. 1
From a religious point of view the Rule of the
Templars not unnaturally followed that of the Cis-
tercians, but here it is not necessary to concern
ourselves, except with the military organisation
of the order. At its head stood the Master, who,
though he had great power, was far from absolute,
and was obliged even in the field to act by the advice
of his council. Second came the Seneschal, and third
the Marshal, whose special charge was all that con-
cerned the equipment of the order with arms and
steeds. After these came the commanders or pre-
ceptors of the provinces, premier of whom was the
" Commander of the land and kingdom of Jerusalem,"
who was also Grand Treasurer, and had charge of the
port of Acre, where the knights had their chief mari-
time establishment. The commander of the city of
Jerusalem was Hospitaller of the order, and had to
provide for the safe conduct and care of pilgrims.
The other provinces were Tripoli and Antioch in the
East, and France, England, Poitou, Aragon, Portugal,
Apulia, and Hungary in Europe. Last of the great
officers was the Drapier, charged with all that con-
cerned the dress of the members. Subordinate
officials were the commanders of the houses or com-
1 The extant " Regie du Temple " is of later date. It has been
edited more than once, most recently for the Societe de l'Histoire de
France by M. de Curzon. The shorter Latin Rule may more closely
represent S. Bernard's original statutes.
THE RULE OF THE TEMPLE. 1 73
manderies, and the commanders of the knights. The
greater officers had all a more or less extensive house-
hold, and were allowed four horses each ; the ordinary
knights had, as a rule, three horses and one squire.
Other knights there were ad terminum^ who had
»not taken the regular vows, but associated themselves
with the order for a time, as Fulk of Anjou is said to
have done in the early days before he was king or
the order fully constituted. After the knights came
the sergeants, or serving-brothers, amongst whom
were included some inferior officials, as the under-
seneschal and the gonfanonier, whose duty it was to
bear the banner Beauseant. Besides the knights and
sergeants there was a numerous body of light-armed
horsemen called Turcoples, under an officer called the
Turcopolier. These formed the fighting force ; but
there were also chaplains of the order— priests attached
to it for religious duties. The " Rule " contains care-
ful regulations as to the admission of new members,
which could only be done in a chapter ; the aspirant
must not be baseborn, a member of any other re-
ligious order, or hampered by any worldly ties. In
the case of knights he must be of knightly birth, for
a sergeant it was enough that he was free-born. The
original knights had no regular dress, but wore such
motley garb as charity afforded them. Honorius
assigned them a white habit, while later on, in the
time of Eugenius III., they were granted, as a mark
of distinction, a red cross, to be worn on the mantle.
The mantles of the knights alone were white, those of
the sergeants and squires black or brown, but all alike
wore the great red cross.
174 THB MILITARY ORDERS.
St. Bernard, shortly after the foundation of the
order, draws a somewhat fanciful picture of the
knights of Christ. " They live together without
separate property, in one house, under one rule,
careful to preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond
of peace. Never is an idle word, or useless deed, or
immoderate laughter, or a murmur, if it be but whis-
pered, allowed to go unpunished. Draughts and dice
they detest. Hunting they hold in abomination ; and
take no pleasure in the frivolous pastime of hawking.
Soothsayers, jesters, and story-tellers, ribald songs
and stage plays they eschew as insane follies. They
cut close their hair, knowing, as the apostle says, that
* it is a shame for a man to have long hair.' They
never dress gaily, and wash but seldom. Shaggy by
reason of their uncombed hair, they are also begrimed
with dust, and swarthy from the weight of their
armour and the heat of the sun. They strive
earnestly to possess strong and swift horses, but not
garnished with ornaments or decked with trappings,
thinking of battle and victory, not of pomp and show.
Such hath God chosen for His own, who vigilantly
and faithfully guard the Holy Sepulchre, all armed
with the sword, and most learned in the art of war."
A century later James de Vitry, writing in the
light of personal knowledge, says : " When the
Templars are summoned to arms, they inquire not
of the numbers, but of the position of the foe. They
are lions in war, lambs in the house ; to the enemies
of Christ fierce and implacable, but to Christians
kind and gracious. They bear before them to battle
a banner half white, half black ; this they call Beau-
THE HOSPITALLERS. 175
seant, because they are fair and favourable to the
friends of Christ, to his foes drear and black."
The organisation of the Hospitallers, or the Knights
of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, was in its
general features similar to that of the Templars, and
comprised knights, chaplains, and serving brothers,
together with a body of Turcoples. The officers
other than the grand master were styled conventual,
capitular, or honorary bailiffs. The conventual bailiffs
SEAL OF HOSPITALLERS.
were the heads of the fangues, or provinces, of which
in 133 1 there were seven, Provence, Auvergne, France,
Italy, Germany, Aragon, and England. 1 The capitu-
lar bailiffs or grand priors were the heads of the
langue in Europe ; in the English langue there were
1 These conventual bailiffs remained usually at the headquarters of
the order. They were respectively grand commander (or treasurer),
grand marshal, grand hospitaller, grand admiral, grand conservator (in
charge of the commissariat), grand bailiff (chief engineer), grand chan- .
cellor, Turcopolier.
176
THE MILITARY ORDERS.
two grand priors, one for England and one for Ireland
The heads of the houses were called comr.ir.ndcrs 01
preceptors. In their religions life the Hospitallers
followed the rule of St. Augustine ; their mantles
were black with an ei^ht-pointed cross of white.
Hugh de Payen and his original eight companions
had remained alone for nine years in their primitive
poverty, so that, according to a thirteenth-century
tradition, two knights rode upon one horse. But
after their regular constitution on a military basis
both orders grew rapidly in importance, wealth, and
SEAL OF TEMPLARS.
numbers. Mention is made of both in different
campaigns during the reign of Fulk. 1 Both played
a prominent part in the futile siege of Damascus
during the Second Crusade, and in the succeeding
years the two orders were the mainstay of the
kingdom. To their care were entrusted some of the
most important of the frontier fortresses ; thus the
Hospitallers received Gibelin or Beersheba in 11 36,
and the Templars Gaza in 1 149. Templars and
1 The first authentic reference to the Hospitallers as a fighting body
is in a Bull of Innocent II., dated 1130.
THE KNIGHTS IN THE EAST. 177
Hospitallers fought side by side under their masters
Bernard de Tremelay and the aged Raymond du
Puy at Ascalon in 11 53; the Hospitallers were
Amalric's chief support in his Egyptian campaign
in 1 168, and a few years earlier, in 1163, we find
the Templars of Tripoli, under their English pre-
ceptor, Gilbert de Lacy, playing a leading part in
the contest with Nur-ed-din. In the troublous days
that preceded the Third Crusade the masters of the
two orders appear as the leaders of the party that
favoured active warfare with Saladin. During that
Crusade the Templars were foremost among the
supporters of Richard, who, according to a thir-
teenth-century legend, left the Holy Land in
the disguise of a knight and on board a vessel
belonging to their order. The loss of Jerusalem
deprived both Hospitallers and Templars of their
original headquarters. After a short interval both
were established at Acre, where they remained till
the fall of that city a century later marked the end
of Frankish rule in Palestine. During this, the last
century of Crusading history, the defence of such
possessions as yet remained to the Franks in Syria
devolved more and more on the military orders.
Many nobles, finding themselves unable to defend
their fiefs any longer against the foe, sold their estates
to the Templars or Hospitallers, and departed west-
ward.
Great as was the power of the knights, their
numbers and wealth were not incommensurate.
William of Tyre says that in his day the original
nine of the Templars had increased to three hundred,
178 THE MILITARY ORDERS.
which would seem to be a moderate estimate. At
the battle of Hattin, in 11 87, this order lost two hun-
dred and thirty knights, though only a few weeks
previously the marshal and eighty knights had
been slain in the fight with El-Afdal. More than
three hundred Templars fell before Acre in 1191,
and a like number in the battle with the Charismians
some fifty years afterwards. As for the Hospitallers,
in 1 168 they furnished Amalric with five hundred
knights and as many Turcoples for his Egyptian
campaign. The Templars held eighteen fortresses
in Syria, chief of which were Safed, Tortosa, and
Athlit, or Castle Pilgrim. The last was a mag-
nificent structure on the coast near Acre, which was
commenced in 12 18. It comprised a palace for the
master and knights, quarters for their subordinates,
and a splendid church — the whole adorned with such
a wealth of luxury as filled James de Vitry with
amazement ; even in ruins it forms a majestic
memorial of its builders. Of the property of the
Temple in Syria we have, owing to the destruction
of their records, no exact knowledge, but they had
fourteen commanderies besides others in Armenia
and Cyprus. The Hospitallers owned 135 casals or
villages, beside other property. They had twelve
commanderies in Syria, and their fortresses com-
prised the important castles of Markab, Kerak des
Chevaliers, Chastel Rouge, Gibelin, and Belvoir.
Wealth brought in its train the usual abuses.
Even in the days of their first master the Hos-
pitallers were engaged in a serious quarrel with the
Latin ecclesiastics of the East, due to the grasping
WEALTH AND ITS ABUSES.
179
pretensions of the knights. The Templars, on their
part, earned an early reputation for avarice and
arrogance. One story lays the failure of the siege
s(£^.vf^N
RUINS OF THE CASTLE AT TORTOSA.
of Damascus at their door, asserting that they took
money to raise the siege : an act of cupidity which
was miraculously punished by the conversion of the
l8o THE MILITARY ORDERS.
gold into copper in their chests. Their rash assault
at Ascalon five years later was put down to a wish
to secure the best of the spoil for themselves. 1 So
notorious was their arrogance that, when Fulk of
Neuilly bade Richard provide for his three daughters,
it was an easy jest for the king to bestow " Pride " on
the Templars. 2
Great as was the wealth of the two orders in the
East, it was not their main resource. Both had from
an early date received large benefactions in Western
Europe. Hugh de Pay en had visited Henry I. in
Normandy in 1128, when "the king received him
with much worship, and gave him treasure of gold and
silver, and afterwards he sent him to England, where
he was well treated by all good men, and all gave
him treasures." Alfonso I. of Aragon, Raymond
Berengar I. of Provence, and Louis VI. of France
were not less forward. In England the Templars
settled early in the reign of Stephen at the old Temple
outside Holborn bars, whence, in 1185, they removed
to the new and more famous Temple on the Thames.
The church, which was in this year consecrated by
the Patriarch Heraclius, and was completed by 1240,
still survives as the finest monument of the order in
England. The great William Marshal chose it for his
burial-place, and his effigy, with those of two of his
sons, still lies in the Round Church. Stephen gave the
knights Temple Cressing, in Essex, about 11 50, and
his queen Matilda Temple Cowley, near Oxford.
Many other benefactions followed during the twelfth
1 For another example of combined treachery and cupidity, see p. 232.
2 See below, p. 370.
THE KNIGHTS IN THE WEST. l8l
century, and all our English kings were among their
patrons. Henry II. gave them Waterford and Wex-
ford, and John Lundy Island ; whilst Henry III.
regarded them with such favour that he and his
queen at one time chose the Temple Church as their
place of burial. Matthew Paris asserts that the
Templars possessed no less than seven thousand
manors in Christendom.
The Hospitallers, though not nearly so wealthy,
had also great possessions. Even in 11-13 it is clear
that they had considerable property in Western
Europe. Indeed, their chief English house at
Clerkenwell is said to have been founded by Jordan
Briset, who died in 11 10. After they became a
military order they acquired, in the reign of Stephen,
lands at Little Maplestead in Essex, Shandon in
Hertfordshire, and Shengay in Cambridgeshire, as
also at many other places both then and later.
Wherever their estates were of sufficient importance
both orders established houses, or commanderies,
which served the double purpose of homes for the
aged knights and recruiting stations for young aspi-
rants. Great privileges were bestowed on both orders,
and many individual knights rose to positions of
importance. One Templar was almoner to Philip IV-
of France, and another to Henry III. of England.
In Aragon the Templars occupied a position of
unique importance, and more than one of its kings
was entrusted to their care for training. One result
of the peculiar position of the orders in East and
West, combined with their great wealth, was to give
them exceptional opportunities for the commercial
182 THE MILITARY ORDERS.
transactions of exchange — a means of increasing
their wealth and power of which they were not slow
to avail themselves in times of peace.
In addition to the two great orders there grew up
about the time of the Third Crusade another order,
which, from the nationality of its founders, was known
as the Teutonic. In 1128 some German merchants
had founded at Jerusalem a hospital, which subsisted
till the fall of the city sixty years later. During the
siege of Acre in 11 90 the charitable work of this
hospital (the tending of the sick and wounded) was
revived and the active sympathy of many Germans,
who had accompanied Frederick Barbarossa, enlisted
in its favour. About eight years later the order re-
ceived a military constitution as a body of knights, to
whom were afterwards added, in imitation of its more
ancient models, chaplains and serving brothers. In
their military organisation the Teutonic knights fol-
lowed the rule of the Temple, but in their religious life
they adopted, like the Hospitallers, the rule of St.
Augustine. Their mantle was white with a black
cross. Under Herman von Salza, who was Grand
Master from 12 10 to 1239, the order rose rapidly in
wealth and power, and first commenced that work in
East Prussia which afterwards made it great and
famous. The original seat of the order was at Acre,
whence in 1291 they removed to Venice, till a few
years later they became entirely German and devoted
themselves to the work of maintaining the eastern
frontier against the Lithuanians. There they rose
to be a famous and important power, which attracted
to its ranks many seekers after adventure, amongst
THE LESSER ORDERS. 1 83
whom was reckoned for a time Henry, the first of our
Lancastrian kings. The order maintained its inde-
pendence till Albert of Brandenburg, its last Grand
Master, in 1525 converted its lands into a duchy for
himself, and so took an important step towards the
creation of the modern Prussia.
Another little known and obscure order deserves
a passing mention in this place. The Germans were
not alone in their charitable work at Acre, and an
English priest, William, chaplain to Ralph de Diceto,
devoted himself to the work of burying the Christian
dead. Afterwards he built himself a chapel and
bought ground for a cemetery, which he dedicated to
St. Thomas the Martyr. Through the patronage of the
sister of Becket a hospital of St. Thomas the Martyr
of Canterbury at Acre was built in London on the
site of the archbishop's house; and in 1231, when
Peter des Roches was in Palestine, he established
these knights under the rule of the Templars. These
knights of St. Thomas of Acre wore their own mantle
with a cross of red and white, and have the distinc-
tion of being one of the few peculiarly English orders.
They survived in the kingdom of Cyprus till near the
close of the fourteenth century. 1
On the later fortunes of the two greater orders it is
impossible to more than briefly touch. That of the
Templars was no less disastrous and shameful than
that of the Hospitallers was glorious and honourable.
After the fall of Acre the Templars transferred their
head -quarters to Cyprus, whence they made some futile
attempts to gain a footing at Alexandria and Tortosa.
1 Stubbs, " Lectures on Mediaeval History," pp. 182-5.
184 THE MILITARY ORDERS.
But their power excited the fear, and their wealth the
cupidity of a dangerous foe. Internal dissensions gave
Philip IV. of France an opportunity to bring accu-
sations of the most shameful character against the
whole order. After nearly sixty knights had been
burnt in May, 1310, the royal influence or tyranny
prevailed upon Clement V. to decree the suppression
of the order in March, 13 12 ; and two years later
Jacques du Molay, the Grand Master, after a cruel
imprisonment, shared the fate of his subordinates.
The proceedings which thus terminated the existence
of the Temple in France were a precedent for measures
of less severity but like effect in other countries. The
falsehood of the graver charges, immorality of the
grossest kind, is now generally admitted, yet there
seems no doubt that practices of an unseemly nature
prevailed at least in the French provinces. Friendly
intercourse with the Mohammedans had probably
influenced the knights in matters both of belief and
conduct, whilst it is more than probable that some
taint of heresy had penetrated the order through
the admission of Albigensian knights, compelled to
choose between the service of the cross and the
penalty of death.
Like the Templars the Hospitallers had retired to
Cyprus on the fall of Acre ; more fortunate they,
twenty years later, achieved the conquest of Rhodes,
and at the same time, through the downfall of the
rival order, acquired a great accession of wealth. At
Rhodes the knights of St. John were, during over two
centuries, the bulwark of Christendom against the
Turks. When at length that island fell before the
LATER FORTUNES. 185
power of Soliman the Magnificent in 1522, the bounty
of Charles the Fifth gave them a new home and a fresh
career of glory as the knights of Malta. As a military
body the order was long since obsolete, when Ferdi-
nand von Hompesch somewhat tamely surrendered
the island to the French in 1798. Recent years have>
however, witnessed its honourable revival as a charit-
able institution, with a special care for the tending of
the sick and wounded in war, and after a chequered
career the gate of the priory at Clerkenwell has once
more become the home of the English langue.
No. attempt has been made in this chapter to even
sketch the full career of the two great orders. But
indeed the history of the Latin colonies is the history
of the knights of the Hospital and Temple. The
orders constituted the most stable element in the
Angevin kingdom of Jerusalem ; and the later king-
dom, subsequent to the Third Crusade, was dependent
on them for its very existence. The organisation that
was happily devised by Hugh de Payen and
Raymond du Puy was the one best suited for the
circumstances in which the Syrian Franks found
themselves. The climate forbade any hope of success
to a regular system of colonisation ; the races of
Western Europe could not perpetuate their existence
in face of the twofold strain of warfare under an
Eastern sun. The lessened vigour of the race inten-
sified the evils inherent in the feudal system — the
weakness of widows and minors, and the strength of
family feud and faction. From these defects the
knightly orders were exempt; they could provide more
surely that warlike organisation, which the ever-present
l86 THE MILITARY ORDERS.
Saracen and Turk made a necessity ; as corporations,
whose life-blood came in a fresh and constant stream
from the West, they possessed a cohesion and vigour
which were no less essential. With them there was
no question, as with the Frank nobles of Syria, of
private interest or family advantage ; they had no
interest but to justify their existence by preserving
the Holy Land from the Moslem ; unhampered by
personal or worldly ties they were free and eager to
prosecute to the end the sacred enterprise which they
had undertaken.
If it be asked how we are to explain the only
moderate measure of success which they achieved, the
answer is ready to hand. The field was already
occupied by another organisation. The co-existence
of the feudal and hereditary barons of Syria with these
incorporated bodies of new-come adventurers gave
rise to perpetual jealousies. Yet, further, there was
ths weakness natural to the twofold organisation of
the orders themselves. In theory there might be no
antagonism between them, and the Templar might be
ordered in all good faith to rally to the banner of the
Hospital, if in the hour of defeat his own failed him.
But in practice there could not but be a rivalry
between the two, which was fatal to all solidarity of
action. Traces of this rivalry are not wanting in the
earlier period, as when the Templars refused to sup-
port Amalric's Egyptian policy from jealousy at the
prime part which the master of the Hospital had
taken in inspiring it. In the thirteenth century this
feeling of rivalry became more acute, and through the
absence of any controlling power more mischievous.
ELEMENTS OF STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS. 187
The jealousies of the two orders crippled the hands
of Richard of Cornwall in 1240-41, and it was with
difficulty that the earl could keep the peace between
them. In 1243 the Templars broke the truce which
Richard, by the advice of the Hospitallers, had made
with the Sultan, and openly attacking their rivals, laid
siege to them in Acre. Yet, again, after the first
Crusade of St. Louis the ill-feeling became so bitter
that in 1259 another open war led to a pitched battle,
in which the Templars were disastrously defeated.
Mutual rivalry of this sort was not less mischievous
than the ambition and treachery with which both
orders were freely charged by their opponents ; such
accusations are, however, most noteworthy as evidence
of the jealousy with which the knights were regarded
by the native nobles. The success of the knights of
St. John at Rhodes is sufficient proof of what the two
orders might have achieved under happier auspices.
Even as things were it was chiefly due to the military
orders that the Latin kingdom did in any sense so
long survive the conquests of Saladin. Their partial
ill-success notwithstanding, the history of the Knights
of the Temple, and of the Hospital of St. John at
Jerusalem, must always afford some of the most pic-
turesque pages in mediaeval history.
XII.
THE KINGDOM AT ITS ZENITH — FULK OF ANJOU.
(H31-II43.)
" Princeps potens et apud suos felicissimus."
William of Tyre.
Fulk of Anjou, the new king of Jerusalem, belonged
to one of the most powerful families in Western Europe.
His ancestors during two centuries had been capable
warriors and statesmen, the most prominent of all being
that Fulk the Black whose numerous pilgrimages
have been alluded to in a previous chapter. 1 Fulk,
the King of Jerusalem, was great grandson of Fulk
the Black, and son of Fulk IV. by the infamous
Bertrada de Montfort, who forsook her lawful husband
for Philip I. The young Fulk became Count of Anjou
1 109, and had to steer a difficult path through the
thick of the Anglo-French complications. But
actively engaged, though he was in temporal politics,
there was in Fulk a strain of piety, which about 1 1 20
led him to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
1 See chapter i. pp. 15—16.
188
CHARACTER OF FULK. I$9
There he must have been among the very first of
the associates ad terminum of the Templar knights,
to whom on his departure he granted an annual sum
of thirty pounds. But even at home his thoughts
still turned towards the East, and his secret longings
became known to others, so that Louis VI. was led to
advocate his marriage with King Baldwin's daughter.
Baldwin's envoys could hardly have made a better
choice. Fulk was a warrior, a politician, and some-
thing of a saint ; more than this he was akin to many
of the greatest princes of Western Europe. His two
daughters had been married, one to the ill-starred
Atheling William who perished in the White Ship,
the other, Sibyl, to Theodoric Count of Flanders ;
whilst his eldest son Geoffrey became, through his
marriage to the ex-empress Matilda, the father of
our own Henry II.
In personal appearance Fulk was, like David, of
a ruddy countenance, but, adds William of Tyre,
unlike most people of this complexion, affable, kindly,
and compassionate. His chief defect was a weakness
of memory so marked that he could not recollect the
names of his own servants, and would often offend
his familiar friends by asking who they were.
The early years of Fulk's reign were occupied
with the affairs of Antioch, where even in her
father's lifetime Baldwin's daughter Alice had after
her husband's death been intriguing to secure the
principality for herself. Baldwin had forced her to
content herself with Laodicea, but she now resumed
her pretensions with the support of Pons of Tripoli
and Joscelin II. of Edessa. The nobles of Antioch
190
THE KINGDOM AT ITS ZENITH.
appealed to Fulk for help ; whereupon Pons soon came
to terms, and Antioch was placed in charge of Rainald
Mansuer. In February, 1 1 33, Fulk was again called
north to the assistance of Pons, who was besieged by
the Turcomans at Mons Ferrandus. He raised the
siege and defeated the marauders near H arena The
spoils of this victory sufficed to win over those nobles,
who still favoured the pretensions of Alice.
It was, however, necessary to find a settled ruler
SEAL OF PONS, COUNT OF TRIPOLI.
for Antioch, and a husband for its princess, a girl of
six or seven. After due consideration Raymond of
Poitou, younger son of the Crusading Duke William
of Aquitaine, was asked to wed the little heiress,
and undertake the defence of her lands. Raymond
accepted without hesitation, and set out for Syria
forthwith. But he did not dare to travel in his own
name, for fear of Roger King of Sicily, who fancied
that he himself had claims on Antioch ; so he made
his way through Italy disguised as a common
ANTIOCH AND TRIPOLI. igl
traveller walking on foot, or riding on pack-horses.
He reached Syria about March, 1 1 36, but not even
then would his difficulties have been at an end,
but for the craft of the Patriarch Ralph, who
persuaded Alice that Raymond was destined to be
her own husband, and thus secured him a free entry
into Antioch.
In the following year (1137) Pons of Tripoli was
defeated and slain by the Vizir of Damascus. Zangi
seized the opportunity, burst across the Orontes, and
laid siege to Mons Ferrandus. The young Count
Raymond I. appealed for aid to his uncle Fulk.
Antioch was at the same time threatened with an
attack by the Emperor, John Comnenus. Fulk
determined to meet the nearer danger ; but his guides
misled him, and in a narrow and pathless district
of the mountains he was utterly defeated by
Zangi (July, 1137). The young Count was taken
prisoner, whilst Fulk with a few companions was
shut up in Mons Ferrandus. Generously regardless
of his own danger the prince of Antioch hurried
up at the news ; the Count of Edessa followed,
and before long the patriarch appeared with the
Holy Cross. Zangi therefore offered the king a
free exit, if he would surrender the castle, promising
on his part to release the count. Fulk accepted these
terms, and the allies went back to their own lands.
Meantime John Comnenus * had invaded Cilicia
1 John came, of course, to assert his suzerainty over Antioch, and it
may be the rest of Syria. It was on his return from this expedition
that Nicephorus Briennius — Anna Comnena's husband, who figures so
largely in Sir Walter Scott's " Count Robert of Paris," as the lover of
the Countess — died. He was a man of letters as well as a military
I92 THE KINGDOM AT ITS ZENITH.
with a large army ; Tarsus, Adana, Mamistra, and
Anazarba had fallen before him, and now he would
have captured Antioch also, had not Raymond come
to terms and promised to do him fealty. Next spring
the Emperor, the Prince of Antioch, and the Count
of Edessa took the field together. The united armies
laid siege to Caesarea on the Orontes; but as the Latin
princes spent their time in playing at dice instead
of in fighting, John abandoned the war in disgust and
withdrew to Antioch. Entering the city in state he
demanded that the citadel should be placed in his
hands. Joscelin begged leave to consult the people,
and spread the news throughout the city. The angry
citizens flew to arms, and in alarm at the uproar the
Emperor withdrew his demand, and retired to Cilicia.
Four years later in 1 142 John was recalled to Syria by
the news of Zangi's success : he pitched his camp high
among the hills of Amanus, whence he could look down
on Antioch, and sent to demand the surrender of the
city. Raymond by the advice of his council refused ;
if the city fell back into Greek hands, it would soon be
lost to Christendom as had so often happened before.
The approach of winter compelled the Emperor to
retire to Cilicia, whence he sent messengers to Fulk
announcing his intention to visit the Holy City on
a pilgrimage. What might have happened next year
is uncertain ; but fortunately for the Latins a hunt-
ing accident caused John's death in April, 1 143, and
leader of repute, and left a history of his own times unfinished. Anna
took up her pen to complete the work thus broken short. The novel
is, of course, wrong in representing her as reading her history aloud to
Alexius and her husband in 1096-7. She was then probably a child of
ten; certainly she was not over seventeen years of age.
JOHN COMKENUS AND RAYMOND OF ANTIOCH. I93
Manuel his son and successor for the time abandoned
his father's projects in Syria.
A few words will suffice to sketch the later fortunes
of Raymond. Manuel did not long leave him un-
molested, and compelled him somewhat reluctantly
to visit Constantinople and renew his oath of
allegiance. Afterwards Raymond played a promi-
nent part in the Second Crusade, to the failure of
which his folly or vices in some degree contributed.
In June, 1 149, whilst on an expedition for the relief
of Enneb near Hazart, he was induced against his
better judgment to pitch his camp in a marshy spot
shut in by hills. His fears were justified, for the
Turks surrounded the Frankish camp that night
and Raymond himself was slain. Of all the princes
in the East none left a more illustrious name than
he. A Greek legend tells how, when he visited the
Temple at Jerusalem in diguise, his mighty stature
and warlike bearing revealed him to the priests.
Long years after his death an English monk, who
had once served in his army told William of New-
burgh that the Turks dreaded Raymond as equal
to two hundred of their own soldiers. By his death
Antioch was left to the rule of his widow Constance
and her little sop Bohemond III.
Within the strict limits of his own kingdom, the
chief trouble of Fulk's reign was a domestic one.
Hugh II., Count of Jaffa, had married Emelota, the
niece of the Patriarch Arnulf, and widow of Eustace
Grener. He thus became one of the greatest nobles
of the kingdom, whilst his comely person, high birth,
and military vigour left him without a peer in the
194 THE KINGDOM AT ITS ZENITH.
realm. People whispered that he was paying too
much attention to the queen ; others in jealousy-
accused him of harbouring rebellious projects against
the king. At length his own step-son, Walter, Lord
of Caesarea, accused him of high treason in the royal
court. Hugh challenged his accuser to single combat,
but before the day came fled for refuge to Jaffa.
This conduct was taken as a proof of guilt, and the
court condemned him in his absence. Hugh in
indignation took ship for Ascalon, and demanded
SEAL OF HUGH, COUNT OF JAFFA.
help from the Egyptians against his lord. Heartened
by such an alliance the men of Ascalon renewed
their predatory raids, whilst Fulk prepared to besiege
Jaffa, and many of Hugh's vassals, Balian of Ibelin
among them, threw off their allegiance to the count.
However the Patriarch William soon made peace ;
Hugh was to submit to three years' exile, but before
he could leave the kingdom he was stabbed whilst
playing dice outside an inn in Jerusalem (1132 A.D.).
Rumour at once declared that his assailant had been
HUGH II. OF JAFFA. 195
suborned by the king. Fulk to clear himself had the
unhappy wretch ruthlessly tortured but to no pur-
pose. Hugh recovered, and going over-sea died in
Apulia. This was not the only scandal in which
the queen was concerned ; but Fulk was at length
reconciled to her, and lived on such friendly terms
with her as to be accused of uxoriousness.
The course of events on his eastern border in-
creased Fulk's power by making him a patron instead
of an enemy of Damascus. The famous Ismailian
Bahram had so won the favour of Tughtakin, that
the atabek entrusted him with the strong fortress of
Banias or Caesarea Philippi. There he was suc-
ceeded by his adherent Ismail, whilst on Tughtakin's
death an Ismailian vizir became all-powerful at
Damascus under his (Tughtakin's) son Buri. The
heretical vizir, hating his fellow countrymen, offered
to betray Damascus to the Franks ; but the plot was
discovered, the traitor beheaded, and six thousand
of his supporters massacred in Damascus alone
(September, 11 29). Ismail in wrath or terror sur-
rendered Banias to the Franks and took refuge in
Jerusalem. Three years later, when- Fulk was
in the thick of his contest with Hugh of Jaffa,
Shams-el-Muluk, son of Buri, and atabek of Damas-
cus, recovered 'the fortress. But the atabek was a
weak and effeminate ruler, who offended his sub-
jects by offering to surrender the city to Zangi.
The prince's mother then had her son murdered,
and when Zangi appeared before Damascus he was
repulsed by one of Tughtakin's Mamluks called
Anar. Anar became vizir for another of Buri's sons,
I96 THE KINGDOM AT ITS ZENITH.
and when in 11 39 Zangi again pressed Damascus
hard, he turned in despair to the Franks, promising
in m return for their aid to he^ them to recover
Banias. The bribe took, and Zangi, fearing to
meet the double attack, withdrew. Anar then
joined the Franks in besieging Banias in Ma)-,
1 140. Timber was brought from Damascus, and
before long a huge siege castle was erected, so lofty
that in the chronicler's quaint words " the folk of
Banias seemed to fight with angels rather than with
men." The siege was not, however, ended till Anar's
envoys found their way within the walls, and induced
the emir to surrender by the promise of a pension
at Damascus. Banias was restored to its old lord,
Renier Brus, and was made the see of a Latin
bishop.
Fulk died on November 13, 1 143. He had spent
the autumn at Acre, where one day as he rode in the
country his followers started a hare. The king joined
in the sport, seized a lance, and rushed in pursuit.
His horse stumbled, and as Fulk lay on the ground
the heavy saddle struck him on the head. He was
carried back to Acre, where he lingered for three days
and then died. Fulk was buried in the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, on the right hand near
the entrance. His death caused great mourning —
the more so perhaps since his two sons were but
children — Baldwin, aged thirteen, and Amalric, aged
seven.
XIII.
ZANGI AND THE FALL OF EDESSA.
(II3O-II49.)
* A cry that shivered to the tingling stars."
Tennyson.
FULK had been a successful ruler of his little
kingdom, and had well maintained if he had not
indeed extended its power. Yet his reign had
witnessed a slow though momentous change that
was pregnant with disaster for the Franks. One by-
one the Mohammedan lords on the Orontes and
Euphrates had acknowledged the supremacy of the
Viceroy at Mosul, and abandoned their mutual
discords. This unification of the power of the
Mussulmans, which was the first step towards
stemming the tide of Latin conquest, was mainly
the work of one man, Zangi, the atabek of Mosul.
Imad-ed-din Zangi was the son of a favourite
counsellor of Malek Shah, who became lord of
Aleppo, and fell fighting for his master's son.
Zangi was but ten years old at his father's death,
IQ7
ig8 ZANGI AND THE FALL OF ED ESS A.
and fought his first campaigns against the Franks
in the service of Maudud, with whom he was
present at the great battle near Tiberias, when he
rode up to the very gate of the city and struck it
with his lance. Afterwards he entered the service of
Mahmud, who made him his agent at Bagdad and
Irak, and on the death of El-Borsoki promoted him
to be governor of Mosul (i 127 A.D.).
At this time the Mohammedans were in the very
depths of despair. "The Franks," says an Arabic
writer, " were spread far and wide ; their troops were
numerous and their hands extended as if to seize all
Islam. Day after day their raids followed one
another ; through these they did the Mussulmans
much mischief, smiting them with desolation and
ruin. Thus was the happy star of the Mussulmans
darkened, the sky of their puissance cloven in twain,
and the sun of their prosperity dimmed." ..." The
Frankish possessions stretched from Mardin and
Chabakhtan to El-Arish on the Egyptian frontier,
with hardly a break, except for a few strong cities,
such as Aleppo, Emesa, Hamah, and Damascus.
Their incursions were pushed as far as Diar-bekr,
and the district round Amida ; they spared neither
those who believed in the unity of God nor those
who denied it. From Upper Mesopotamia to Nisibis
and Ras Ain they robbed the folk of money and
of goods ; at Harran they weighed down the in-
habitants with scorn and oppression. In their
misery men longed for death. Commerce was
interrupted, and the roads to Damascus save that
which passed by Rakka and the desert left
DESPAIR OF THE MOHAMMEDANS. 1 99
deserted. Even those towns not actually conquered
had to pay tribute in return for their freedom.
Frankish agents visited Damascus itself, passed the
slave markets in review, and set free all Christian
captives from Asia Minor, Armenia, and elsewhere."
It was Zangi's destiny to change all this ; to inspire
his people with courage; to lead them -to their first
successes, and thus to pave the way for his son's
conquest of Egypt, and for his third successor's
conquest of Jerusalem. To Mohammedans of a
later generation it seemed as though Zangi were
God's special servant chosen by Him to accomplish
the protection of His people.
Zangi's first conquests were against his Mo-
hammedan rivals ; for he could not attack the
Franks till he had vindicated the authority of
Mosul over the lands east of the Euphrates. After
establishing himself firmly in Mosul he captured
first Jezirat - ibn - Omar, and then Nisibis and
Sinjar. After this* he determined to secure his
position on the Orontes, and turned his attention
towards Aleppo.
At this time Aleppo was so weak that its inhabi-
tants paid half their revenue to the Franks down to
a mill hardly twenty paces from the town. Zangi
entered on possession of Aleppo in June, 1128, next
year he took Hamah, and in 11 30 began his warfare
with the Franks by the conquest of Athareb, a
frontier fortress which, says Ibn El-Athir, " held the
Mohammedans as it were by the throat." According
to the later legend when King Ballwi 1 heard of the
siege he called his council together. Some thought-
200
ZANGI AND THE FALL OF EDESSA.
less warriors made light of the new danger. One,
however, took a different view. " Was not this the
young warrior who had ridden up to the gate of
Tiberias ? Had we not better scatter his forces before
they grow great ? " These words decided Baldwin
to relieve Athareb. Zangi advanced to meet his
enemy. The issue was never doubtful. " The
FIGHT OF CRUSADERS WITH SARACENS.
swords of God," in Ibn El-Athir's expressive words,
* found their scabbards in the necks of His foes."
Zangi waded through a sea of blood, trampling down
the Franks ; this victory was followed by the capture
of Athareb.
Zangi's successes were not, however, achieved
except in the face of great disadvantages. In 1129
RISE OF ZANGI. 201
he had to contend against a rival Dubais, who
sought to become Emir of Mosul. Two years later
the disputed succession to the sultanate involved
him in a series of conflicts which occupied most of
his time for twelve years to come. In 1 1 33 he was
besieged for three months in Mosul, and it was not
till 1 143 that he finally made his peace with Mah-
mud's brother Masud.
By that time Zangi was the most powerful chief in
Islam. After many failures he had made himself
supreme on the Tigris, whilst as lord of the Orontes,
he was ready to take the field against the Franks.
The course of events soon gave him a favourable
opportunity for the great work which he had so long
contemplated — the recovery of Edessa.
Zangi's greatest opponent had been Joscelin de
Courtenay, Count of Edessa, a kinsman of Baldwin
du Bourg, who had endowed him with the rich fief
of Tell -basher. Afterwards, for some offence, he was
deprived of his lordship, but in 11 18 Baldwin gave
him back his old fief, and made him Count of Edessa
also. From this moment his life was one of restless
activity, his ravages extended southwards to Aleppo
and Manbij ; and eastwards as far as Nisibis,
Amida, and Rakka. His name became a terror in
Mohammedan lands, so that an Arabic writer calls
him, " A Satan among the infidels." After a life of
war and turmoil he lost his life as a warrior should
in warfare. As he lay on his sick-bed he learnt that
the Sultan of Iconium was besieging Cresson. 1 His
1 Now Kecoun in the Taurus, to the east of Marash, and near the
modern Behesnj.
202 ZANGI AND THE FALL OF EDESSA.
son was too cowardly or too sluggish to venture out
against so vast a host, and Joscelin, angered at such
pusillanimity, had himself carried to the war on a
litter. The Sultan retreated at the rumour of his
coming ; the dying count returned thanks to heaven
for having made him a terror to the infidel even in
the gates of death. This was about 1 1 3 1 ; the count
was succeeded by his son, Joscelin II., a warrior of
whom even Christian writers have but little good to
say. Joscelin II. had something of his father's valour,
but was given to wantonness and luxury, and though
capable of vigorous action at times, preferred a life of
ease to one of war. So he abandoned the hardships
of Edessa for the comfort and pleasure of Tell-basher.
The other Latin warriors followed his example, and
Edessa was left to the un warlike Armenians, and
a few Latin merchants. The town was strongly
fortified, but for security its peaceful inhabitants
trusted to ill-paid mercenaries. " Thus," says William
of Tyre, "Joscelin lost the whole region his father
had ruled so well."
The defenceless state of Edessa gave Zangi his
opportunity. After a siege of twenty-eight days, the
town was captured on December 14, 1144. A pro-
miscuous slaughter ensued, which raged till Zangi
gave orders to sheath the sword. But even then he
spared the Armenians only ; all the Frank prisoners
were butchered before Zangi's eyes, and their wives
and children carried into captivity. The citadel
held out for a few days, till want of water forced
it to surrender. A garrison was placed in the
conquered town, and Zangi passed on to capture
MOHAMMEDAN CONQUESTS. 203
the other Frankish towns of Upper Mesopo-
tamia.
Zangi did not live to reap the fruits of his great
conquest. For two years later, in September, 1 146,
as he was besieging Jaber, some of his own Mam-
luks stabbed him while he lay asleep in his tent.
One who was there told the father of Ibn El-Athir
how he entered the tent and found his lord still alive.
" On catching sight of me he fancied I was come to
give the last blow, and lifted his forefinger as if to
beg for mercy. As for me I stopped short, crying
out, ' Oh, my master, who has done this ? ' He had
no strength to answer, and at that very moment he
breathed his last." Of Zangi's three sons, Nur-ed-
din succeeded him at Aleppo, and Sayf-ed-din at
Mosul.
Zangi's conquests paved the way for the future
successes of Nur-ed-din and Saladin. He was the
first Mussulman chief to win any permanent success
against the Franks ; and under his rule the Orontes
valley became united against the invader. The con-
trast between the country as he found it, and as he
left it, cannot be better stated than in the words of
one who himself remembered the misery of the days
before his coming. Ibn El-Athir's father had seen
Mosul in ruins so that a traveller might stand in the
centre of the town without seeing a single oecupied
house ; under Zangi it became one of the most
prosperous of Mohammedan towns. Zangi had
reduced the Ortokid J princes to his rule, established
1 The descendants of Ortok (see p. 21), who had established them-
selves at Hisn Keifa, Mardin, and other places in Upper Mesopotamia.
204 ZANGI AND THE FALL OF EDESSA.
order at Aleppo, and made his authority paramount
at Hamah, Emesa, and even at Damascus. He had
taken many Frankish strongholds ; last of all he had
made the conquest of conquests when he wrested
Edessa, "the eye of Upper Mesopotamia,'' from the
invader. The Franks, who, at his accession, took
tribute from Aleppo, and ravaged as far as Mardin
and Nisibis, were driven back, and forced to act on
the defensive, while prosperity once more began to
smile upon the Mohammedans.
There were many noble features in Zangi's cha-
racter; he was a valiant soldier, an able general,
and a wise statesman ; his worst fault was a
tendency to trickery and falsehood. As a ruler his
subjects marvelled at his care for all matters, great
or small, and the untiring activity, which seemed to
make him know things almost before they happened.
To his subordinates he was a severe disciplinarian :
" There must be but one tyrant in my lands," he used
to say. He was indeed feared with a mortal terror :
once he found a boatman sleeping at his post, the
man awoke from his slumbers to meet the gaze of
the atabek, and the sight so overcame him that he
fell down dead.
The immediate result of Zangi's great conquest
was to rouse the princes of the West to undertake
the Second Crusade. The story of that enterprise will
be told in another place, but the later fortunes of
Count Joscelin and of Edessa form the fitting sequel
to the events just described.
In November, 1146, at the invitation of the
Armenians of Edessa, Count Joscelin made a night
FATE OF JOSCELIN II. 205
attack whilst the. Turkish garrison slept The city-
was taken with little difficulty, but the citadel
held out till Nur-ed-din came to their assistance.
Joscelin then determined on retreat, and the citizens,
rather than face the vengeance of Nur-ed-din,
resolved to share his fortunes. As they filed through
the gates the Turks from the citadel fell upon them
in the rear, whilst Nur-ed-din's army barred all
progress in front. The slaughter was terrible ;
only those Armenians escaped whose bodily vigour
or swift steeds enabled them to keep up with the
Frankish host. Among the slain was Baldwin of
Marash, one of the few Frankish chiefs, who had won
the love of their Armenian subjects ; Joscelin him-
self escaped to Samosata.
Somewhat later, probably towards the end of 1149,
during a fresh attempt on Edessa, Joscelin fell into
the hands of Nur-ed-din's viceroy at Aleppo. Nur-
ed-din had a deadly grudge against the count, who
had sent the armour of Nur-ed-din's squire to
Masud of Iconium, hinting that this gift should
soon be followed by that of the atabek himself.
By Nur-ed-din's orders Joscelin was blinded, and
left to languish in a dungeon at Aleppo, till his
death nine years later.
Joscelin's captivity was speedily followed by the
loss of all that remained of his once prosperous
county. In the expressive words of William of
Tyre, Edessa was ground between the upper and
nether millstone. Masud of Iconium had taken
Marash in September, 1149, and made further
conquests during the next few years. By a bargain
206 ZANGI AND THE FALL OF EDESSA.
more nominal than real, the Franks handed over
their last possessions in Edessa to the Greeks,
Joscelin's wife and children taking refuge at
Antioch. It was not long before the Greeks lost
these acquisitions to Nur-ed-din, and in 1 1 54 that
prince put the crown to his father's work by the
capture of Damascus. Henceforth Aleppo and
Damascus were subject to one lord, and the first
effectual step towards the conquest of the Latin
kingdom was accomplished.
XIV.
THE SECOND CRUSADE.
(II46-II49.)
" Poi seguitai lo 'mperador Currado,
Ed ei mi cinse della sua milizia
Tanto per bene oprar gli vienni a grado."
Dante, Paradiso, xv.
("Then I followed the Emperor Conrad, and he belted me of
his soldiery, so high in his favour did I come by good works.")
The fall of Edessa was a keen reproach to the
princes of the West, who, as Otto of Freisingen com-
plains,- were wasting their strength in internecine
slaughter whilst the very existence of the Holy Land
was threatened by the pagans. The evil tidings
were brought by some Armenian bishops to Pope
Eugenius at Viterbo ; but though, his letters to
Louis VII. and the nobles of France, and his renewal
of the old privileges granted to Crusaders by Urban
II. had their due effect, the eloquence of the great
St. Bernard of Clairvaux was by far the most potent
agent in bringing about the Second Crusade.
208 THE SECOND CRUSADE.
Bernard was now in the very height of his fame,
being about fifty-four years old. He had long taken
a special interest in the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem,
and had corresponded with Queen Melisend. His
uncle was a Knight Templar, and eventually Grand
Master of that order, for which Bernard himself drew
up a code of rules. The third son of a Burgundian
noble, he had devoted himself from boyhood to holy
living and study, stedfastly resisting all the efforts
of his elder brothers to divert his mind to secular
pursuits. More than this, he induced his haughty
brothers one after another to forsake the world, so
that at last the youngest, Nivard, was left alone in
his father's house. His eldest brother, Guido, saw
the lad playing with his comrades, and thinking sadly
of an almost extinct house, bade him remember that
he was now sole heir of their father's lands. " Heaven
for you, and earth for me," cried Nivard, " that is
not a fair division ; " and a little later he too followed
his brothers' example. At twenty-three Bernard
became a monk at Citeaux under Stephen Harding,
who presently made him abbot of the newly founded
monastery of Clairvaux. His fame for sanctity and
learning so increased that when Innocent and
Anacletus were contending for the Papacy it was
Bernard's influence that decided the French pre-
lates in favour of the former claimant. Nor was he
less eminent in the intellectual than in the practical
world ; he refuted the heresies of Abelard and of
Gilbert de la Porree, and reformed the still more
dangerous Henrician apostacy in Southern France.
With his marvellous eloquence, strong practical turn
BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX. 200.
of mind, and religious enthusiasm he was the very
man to be the apostle of a new Crusade.
The weight of Bernard's influence enrolled in the
service of the Cross two princes of the first rank —
Louis VII. of France and Conrad III. of Germany.
Louis was now about twenty-five years old. With
SEAL OF LOUIS VII.
his father, Louis the Fat, the house of Capet had
begun to show some signs of real kingly power, and
by his own recent marriage with Eleanor of Aqui-
taine the young Louis had brought that important
duchy under the direct rule of the French king.
Louis VII., like his great grandson Louis IX., was
210 THE SECOND CRUSADE.
a man of pious disposition. Two considerations of
religion quickened him to undertake the Crusade :
first, his brotherly anxiety to perform the pilgrimage
vowed by his dead brother Philip ; secondly, his
remorse for his sacrilege at Vitry, where, during the
war with Theobald of Champagne, he had set fire
to the church and so caused the death of thirteen
hundred unoffending people.
Conrad III. was the grandson of Henry IV. and
nephew of Henry V. He was in Palestine when his
uncle died in 1125, and on his return found the
throne occupied by Lothair, Duke of Saxony. With
his brother Frederic, Duke of Swabia, he rebelled
against the new king; but after a time a reconcilia-
tion was effected by Bernard of Clairvaux. In 1 138
he succeeded to the throne of Germany ; but his
reign was much troubled by a feud between Leopold
of Austria and Welf of Bavaria ; and at the very
moment when he promised to join in the Second
Crusade he was surrounded by difficulties in Bavaria,
Poland, Hungary, and Lorraine.
In the spring of 1 146 a great council was held at
Vezelay, where Louis took the cross from Bernard's
hands, and as there was no room within the fortress
showed himself to the people, with the cross upon his
breast, from a wooden tower erected in the plain out-
side. Bernard, by his oratory, so moved his hearers,
that he had to tear up his own robes in order to
satisfy their demand for crosses. From Vezelay
Bernard passed into Germany, preaching as he went ;
miracles dogged his steps ; for the blind saw, the
deaf heard, and the lame walked when Bernard
LOUIS AND CONRAD. 211
signed them with the Holy Cross. At Christmas he
came to Spires where the king was holding his mid-
winter council. Conrad had declared that he had no
mind for the Holy War ; but in a sermon on Christ-
mas-day Bernard boldly renewed his call. In another
sermon two days later he pictured the great king
standing before the judgment-seat of Christ, Who
asked : " Oh, man, how have / failed in ought of my
duty towards thee ? " Then as Bernard dwelt on
Conrad's riches and power, the king at last burst
into tears and declared himself ready to do the
Lord's service wherever the Lord should call him.
Hardly had Conrad spoken when the whole con-
course took up the cry of " Praise to God." Bernard
was not the man to lose his opportunity. He signed
the king upon the spot, and taking down a banner
from above the altar, entrusted it to Conrad to carry
in the army of God.
Louis meantime had made great preparations, and
after some negotiations with Roger of Sicily, had
decided to journey by land, much to that prince's dis-
gust. At Whitsuntide, 1 147, the Pope gave the pious
king his pilgrim scrip, and placed in his hands the
famous banner of St. Denys, " under whose protection
the kings of France were always victorious." The
French mustered at Metz, where they were joined by
the English and Normans under Bishop Arnulf of
Lisieux. Louis made an elaborate code for the
governance of his host, as to which Odo of Deuil
remarks, " I will not set it down on paper since it
was not kept."
Conrad, with whom went his nephew Frederick,
2 12 THE SECOND CRUSADE.
the future emperor, had started from Ratisbon with-
out waiting for Louis, at the end of April, 1 147. His
vast army kept little or no military order, and after
entering the Eastern Empire its progress was hardly
more than a drunken rout. Provisions were seized
without payment, and since Conrad could give
no redress the Greeks retaliated by cutting off the
drunken stragglers. Whilst Conrad lay encamped
between Adrianople and the Byzantine capital, a
sudden flood in the river Melas swept away his tents
and drowned thousands of his men. Manuel offered
his sympathy, and anxious to be rid of his unwelcome
guests urged them to cross the Bosphorus without
delay. But Conrad was bent on seeing the wonders
of Constantinople, and urged on for the capital ;
there he encamped in the suburbs, but though the
national jealousy broke into open war he did not
dare to attack so strong a city. After much bickering
the Crusading host at length crossed the Bosphorus,
and Conrad then humbled himself so far as to beg
guides of the Byzantine emperor.
The journey through Asia Minor was one long
disaster. Greek and French writers alike charge
Manuel with treachery ; Nicetas says that he had
ordered chalk to be mingled with the flour supplied
to the Crusaders, and cheated them by the use of
base coin ; now he also stirred up the Turks
against them, whilst his guides first misled and then
abandoned them. The Crusaders found themselves^
with no alternative between famine and death, or
retreat. Slowly and painfully they retraced their
steps, whilst the Turkish hordes pressed close upon
STATUE OF CONRAD III.
214 THE SECOND CRUSADE.
their rear. Odo, as he calls to mind how the swarms
of unarmed pilgrims clogged the progress of the host,
laments that the Pope, when he forbade them to
take dogs or falcons with them, had not ordered the
weak to stay at home, and the hale to exchange their
staves for bows. Conrad was himself wounded twice
by arrows ; and perhaps barely one tenth of his
followers found their way back to Nicaea.
Meanwhile Louis had been following close in
Conrad's footsteps. Odo of Deuil, who was in
Louis' company, complains that " the Germans who
preceded us had disturbed everything, and on this
account the Greeks fled from our army." Everywhere
there were tokens of Greek distrust ; the city gates
were closed, and provisions let down from the walls
by ropes, with baskets into which the purchasers had
to place their price.
Louis, like Conrad, would tarry in Europe to see
Constantinople. Had he been of an adventurous
disposition he might have anticipated the Fourth
Crusade. For Roger of Sicily was at war with j
Manuel, and there were not wanting French nobles j
to counsel immediate war with the Emperor, who was
said to have concluded a twelve years' peace with thei
Turks. "The walls of the city," urged the Bishop of
Langres, " are very weak ; the people are a feeble j
folk ; the Emperor has never scrupled to make war I
upon the Christian princes of Antioch ; were Con- 1
stantinople once fallen there would be Tittle need for
further activity." Louis, however, refused such trea-
cherous advice and made friends with Manuel. The
two princes, says Odo, "became as brothers," and
MANUEL AND THE CRUSADERS. 2I5
Manuel acted as Louis' guide when he visited the
churches of Constantinople.
But when at last the Bosphorus was crossed, diffi-
culties arose. Manuel would furnish no guides till
Louis and his barons did him homage ; the French
king conceded the point, and then started for Nicaea.
Here he heard of Conrad's disaster, and, grieving for
his misfortune as though it were his own, went out to
meet the Emperor. The combined armies agreed to
bear one another company along the coast ; after
a toilsome march they reached Ephesus, where
messengers from Manuel overtook them with the
news that the Turks were gathering to oppose their
progress.
This news determined Conrad to return and winter
at Constantinople. Louis, however, continued his
march, and, after spending Christmas in the valley
of Decervion, pushed on over the snow-covered hills,
and across the swollen stream towards Laodicea.
The passage of the Maeander was triumphantly
forced, and the French marched through Laodicea in
high spirits. But only two days beyond that town
the Crusaders met with their greatest disaster. A
precipitous range of hills, " whose summit appeared
to touch the heavens, whilst the torrent at its base
seemed to descend to hell," barred their way. By a
fatal error the van, under Geoffrey de Rancogne and
Amadeus of Savoy, the king's uncle, instead of halt-
ing on the ridge, descended to pitch their tents on
the southern slope. The Turks, and even Greeks,
who thronged the heights above, sent down a hail
of arrows, which swept the sumpter-horses into the
2l6 THE SECOND CRUSADE.
abyss below. The pass was choked by an unarmed
crowd, which, cut off in front and in the rear, was
mercilessly massacred. Louis, with a noble disregard
for his own life, strove to come to their assistance ;
but not having proposed to cross the pass till next
day, he had only a few nobles with him, and was
hopelessly outnumbered. " I," says Odo, " who, being
a mopk, could do nothing but call upon the Lord,
and urge others to fight, was sent to carry this news
to the camp." Geoffrey in vain endeavoured to
return, whilst Louis, hampered with the crowd of
panic-stricken pilgrims, could do nothing in the
rocky way, where the heavy horses and long lances
of his knights were of no avail. From the safe
security of the hills the Turks still poured down the
deadly storm of stones and trunks of trees. Louis
himself only saved his life by seizing on to the roots
of a tree, and so scaling the summit of a rock. There
he kept his assailants at bay, until, not knowing who
he was, they drew off at dusk to seek an easier prey.
Next morning a doleful spectacle appeared. It
seemed the death-blow of the whole Crusade : " The
flower of France had withered away before it could
ripen into fruit at Damascus." The loss of baggage
reduced many of the rich men to poverty, and the
clamour against Geoffrey de Rancogne rose to such a
height that he would have been hanged had not the
king's uncle shared his fault. Louis did what he
could to reorganise his army, and, resuming the
march, reached Attaleia on February 2nd.
From Attaleia Louis made his way to Antioch
by sea ; before starting he agreed with the Greek
DISASTERS IN ASIA MINOR. 217
governor for the safe conduct of the mass of the
pilgrims by land to Tarsus. Needless to say, the
Greeks betrayed their trust. The very Turks proved
kinder, for, taking pity on the sufferings of the
Crusaders, they gave them bread to eat. " Many of
the Christians forsook their religion and went over to
the Turks. Oh ! kindness, more cruel than Greek
treachery, for giving bread they stole the true faith."
. . . " God," continues Odo, " may pardon the Ger-
man Emperor, through whose counsel we encoun-
tered such misfortune, but how shall He spare the
Greeks, whose cruel craft slew so many in either
army ? "
It was early in March, 1 148, that Louis reached
Antioch, where Raymond, his wife's uncle, welcomed
him kindly, hoping that the French Crusaders would
help him to conquer Aleppo and Csesarea. Louis
was, however, anxious to reach Jerusalem, and
refused the proposal, which was practicable enough,
as well as one of similar tenour from his own cousin,
the other Raymond of Tripoli.
Conrad meantime had reached Acre by sea, and
after a great council had been held it was decided to
march against Damascus. From the place of muster
at Tiberias the host, with the Holy Cross at its head,
marched across Jordan ; first went the barons of
the land under King Baldwin, next the French, and
last the Germans. The mud wall that surrounded
the famous gardens of Damascus offered no bar to
the advance of such an army. But the thick orchards
with their narrow footpaths, and their growth of fruit
and herbage, formed a far better protection to the
2l8 THE SECOND CRUSADE.
city. Everywhere through the length and breadth of
this vast stretch of green and trees the ambushed
Saracens opposed the invaders' progress ; or penned
up in lofty buildings, which here and there rose up
like stone islands out of a sea of green, shot down
their arrows from above. At last, after long fighting,
the woods were cleared, and the Christians, wearied
out with heat and thirst, made for the river, only to
find a fresh army drawn up against them. " Why do
we not advance," cried Conrad from the rear, and
learning the cause, burst through the French battalions
to the van. There, in true Teutonic fashion, he and
his knights leapt off their war-horses, and, closing up
behind their shield-wall, soon swept back the enemy
within the city. * The siege now began in earnest,
and would have been brought to a successful issue,"
says William of Tyre, " had it not been for the greed
of the great princes, who commenced negotiations
with the citizens." At the advice of traitors the
camp was shifted to the south-west, where, so ran the
rumour, the wall was too weak to withstand the
feeblest onset. But here the Crusaders found a more
deadly enemy than strong fortifications ; for in their
new position they were cut off from the river, and
deprived of the orchard fruits ; and through lack of
food and leadership despair fell upon the host, until
men began to talk of retreat. There was jealousy,
likewise, between the Syrian Franks and their Western
allies, and out of this too fertile source of evil Anar,
the Vizir of Damascus, was not slow to reap profit
for himself. He pointed out to the former the folly
of helping their brethren to seize Damascus, the cap-
SIEGE OF DAMASCUS. 2IO.
ture of which would be but the prelude to the seizing
of Jerusalem also. His arguments, supported as they
doubtless were with bribes, brought about the aban-
donment of the siege. A proposal to besiege Ascalon
was also defeated by the jealousy of the Syrian
Franks, and after a while Conrad sailed home in
disgust.
Louis stayed in Palestine till Easter, 1 149, and
then he too went home by sea. Despite his own
misfortunes he never lost his interest in his Eastern
brethren. Time after time the later kings of Jeru-
salem appealed to him for aid. In his latter years he
sent Geoffrey Fulcher, the Templar,' to visit the Holy
Places on his behalf; with one letter Geoffrey sends
home the royal ring with which he had in the king's
name touched each sacred shrine. In 1 1 51, after
news reached France of the death of Raymond of
Antioch, Louis' great minister, Suger, though he had
urgently opposed the king's own Crusade, would
have organised" another on his own account had not
death cut him off in the midst of his plans. Next
year Louis divorced his wife Eleanor, at too long
an interval for us to suppose that his action was in
realify , as alleged , for her misconduct on the Cru-
sade. Yet Eleanor was beyond all doubt in some
degree concerned in the intrigues which led to the
final failure of the expedition. Scandal connected
her name with that of her uncle, Raymond of
Antioch, and though that prince may have only
sought to find through her influence some means for
diverting the Crusading host to his own aggrandise-
ment, his conduct certainly excited the jealousy of
220 THE SECOND CRUSADE.
Louis*. Raymond's disappointment, whether in love
. 6rm war, and Louis' suspicion, were not unimportant
factors in the ruin of the expedition. Other tales of
a more fabulous character make Eleanor ride, like
another Penthesilea, at the head of a band of Amazon
ladies, and represent her as the heroine of amours
with Saladin, then a mere boy of thirteen. >^-~
The miserable termination of the Second Crusade
excited in Western Europe a feeling of humiliation
and wrath, which vented itself on Bernard as the
prime mover in the enterprise. To Bernard himself
the disaster came as the bitterest of blows. " We
have fallen on evil days," he writes, " in which the
Lord, provoked by our sins, has judged the world,
with justice indeed, but not with His wonted mercy.
. . . The sons of the Church have been overthrown
in the desert, slain with the sword, or destroyed by
famine. We promised good things, and behold dis-
order ! The judgments of the Lord are righteous, but
this one is an abyss so deep that I must call him
blessed who is not scandalised therein."
Disastrous as the Second Crusade was for the
fortunes and fame of those who had taken the chief
part in its inception and performance, it was of little
more service to the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem. It
did not materially weaken the Mohammedans, nor
substantially strengthen the Syrian Franks, whilst the
seeds of mutual distrust that were now sown between
the latter and their Western brethren were to continue
to bear bitter fruit. One episode alone serves to brighten
this dark page of history. A North European fleet,
chiefly composed of English, conquered Lisbon from
MISERABLE TERMINATION.
221
the Moors, and thus rendered a lasting service to
Christianity. It is with pardonable pride that our
English chroniclers dwell on the contrast between
this achievement of a humble band of pilgrims, and
the disaster which attended the great and splendid
host, that had gone forth under the leadership of
emperor and king to be swept away like a spider's
web.
%
XV.
LOSS AND GAIN.
(II43-II69.)
" thou sword of the Lord, how long will it be ere thou be quiet?
Put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still. How can it be
quiet, seeing the Lord hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and
against the sea shore? " — Jeremiah xlvii. 6, 7.
§ 1. Baldwin III. and A sea Ion.
On Christmas Day, IJ43, six weeks after his
father's death, the youthful Baldwin III. was crowned
and anointed by the Patriarch of Jerusalem. For
some years the land was ruled by his mother Meli-
send — a woman " well-skilled in all secular matters,
and so far above her sex as to be able to put her
hand to great deeds."
But young as he was Baldwin soon showed signs
of the warlike stock from which he had sprung, and
in the second year of his reign undertook a somewhat
rash and hazardous expedition across the Jordan.
Anar, the Vizir of Damascus, had a quarrel with the
Governor of Bostra in the Hauran, who offered to sur-
render the city to Baldwin. The temptation was too
EXPEDITION TO BOSTRA. 223
great for Latin honesty to resist, and the forces of the
kingdom were mustered at Tiberias. It was in vain
that Anar offered to buy the invaders off, Baldwin
declared that his honour was at stake, and led out his
army to the plain of Medan. Here the Franks were
surrounded at night by the enemy ; retreat was im-
possible, and with the knights at their head the army
slowly made its way to Adhirah or Adratum, 1 the
city of Baldwin d'Etampes. Three days later they
sighted Bostra from afar, but that very night came
the news that Nur-ed-din's troops had been admitted
to the city. There seemed to be no course but to
retreat with what speed they could. Some advised
that the king at least should secure his own safety, and
that of the Holy Cross, by riding off on John Goman's
horse, the fleetest and strongest in the host, but this
Baldwin refused as unworthy of a king.
Morning broke and showed Nur-ed-din issuing
from the city at the head of a huge army, to join the
Turks, who hung on the Christian rear. The retreat
began, but without any fear or precipitancy in the
" iron people " of the Franks. The sick and even the
dead with arms in their nerveless hands were set upon
camels and packhorses to give the appearance of
strength where none existed. At first the Franks
held their own, but when the smoke from the adjoin-
ing thickets that had been fired by the Saracens was
blown in their faces by the wind, their sufferings
became unendurable. " Pray for us," cried the soldiers,
as they raised their blackened faces to the Holy Cross,
which was borne by Robert, Archbishop of Nazareth.
1 The modern Edra ; Bostra is now Bosrah.
224 L °SS AND GAIN.
Robert turned the sacred relic towards the flames, and
as he did so the wind seemed to shift and carry the
smoke back upon the foe. Thus the Franks obtained
a respite, but they had no guide, and the way by
which they were returning was unfamiliar. From this
fresh strait they were again miraculously delivered ;
for there went before them on a white steed an
unknown knight with a red banner in his hands ;
like an angel of the Lord he led them by easy stages
to unsuspected waters, and in three days conducted
them across the waste from the Cave of Roab to
Gadara.
At first Baldwin and his mother ruled conjointly
without any jealousy. But when the young king
was grown to manhood, busy flatterers persuaded him
that such dependence was unworthy. Melisend had
appointed as constable of the kingdom Manasses de
Herges, her father's sister's son. Manasses' haughty
bearing angered the great nobles and the young king,
who accordingly resolved to deprive his mother of all
authority. So at Easter, 1152, Baldwin refused to let
his mother share in the ceremony of his coronation
at Jerusalem, and demanded one half of the kingdom
for himself. After much discussion the king was
assigned Tyre and Acre with the coast, his mother
Jerusalem and Nablus. But this did not content
Baldwin, who soon afterwards expelled Manasses
from the kingdom, seized Nablus, and besieged his
mother in Jerusalem. The citizens opened the gates
to the king, and Melisend, after a few days' resis-
tance in the Tower of David, was forced to capitu-
late. Nablus was restored to her, but from this time
COVER OF QUEEN MELISEND'S PSALTER.
226 LOSS AND GAIN.
she led a retired life till her death on the nth of
-Se^temberj-^H-62.
For fifty years Ascalon had been as an open sore
in the side of the Franks. Now that Baldwin was
master of his kingdom, he determined on a great
effort for its reduction. Four years previously he had
rebuilt Gaza, and put it in the hands of the Templars ;
this fortress, with the previous ones at Gibelin, Ibelin,
and Blanchegarde, ringed Ascalon in upon the south,
the east, and the north.
For so great an enterprise all the forces of the land
were called up, and on the 25th of January, 1 1 53, the
siege was began. Gerard of Sidon was stationed off
the harbour with a fleet to prevent all succour from
Egypt. For six months the town was besieged
without effect, the defenders keeping careful guard,
and by night hanging glazed lamps along the walls
that gave light as in the day, and prevented any
attack under cover of the dark. When Easter brought
its usual complement of pilgrims, Baldwin, by an
arbitrary exercise of his kingly power, called up all,
pilgrims and sailors alike, from the ports, and forbade
any vessels to sail for Europe. The ships themselves
he bought, and of their timbers constructed wooden
castles and the various warlike engines of mediaeval
warfare.
After a time a fleet was sent from Egypt to the
succour of the town. Gerard of Sidon fled in terror
from his post, whilst the townsfolk gathered fresh
courage, and would have burnt the wooden castle
near the eastern gate, had not a sudden wind driven
the flames back upon the city wall. Then was their
THE CAPTURE OF ASCALON. 0,2*]
device turned to their own destruction, for the fire
secured such a hold that it could not be subdued.
At daybreak the sound of a mighty crash roused the
sleeping host to discover that a great part of the wall
had fallen. The Templars, headed by their master,
Bernard de Tremelay, eager to secure the city for
themselves, rushed recklessly into the breach. There
refusing all other help, they were cut off from retreat,
and the master with forty of his knights fell victims to
their greed or to their valour. The citizens then repaired
the breach by a temporary defence, whilst the Chris-
tians turned back to their tents almost ready to
abandon the siege. Baldwin himself was in favour of
retreat, but at last the other party, led by the patri-
arch and Raymond, Master of the Hospitallers,
prevailed. Once more the trumpets sounded to
arms, and after a terrible fight that lasted all day the
Christians were victorious. The men of Ascalon now
sued for terms, and on the 12th of August were
suffered to depart for Egypt with their wives, their
children, and their goods. The Christians, with the
Holy Cross at their head, then entered Ascalon,
which was bestowed on the king's brother,_Amalric,
who from this time appears in charters as the Count
of Ascalon.
Four years later, in 11 57, the arrival of the veteran
Crusader, Theodoric of Flanders, with his wife Sibylla,
the king's half-sister, encouraged Baldwin to an enter-
prise in the north. The moment was propitious, for
Nur-ed-din lay sick, as it seemed, unto death, but the
usual jealousies among the leaders destroyed the
opportunity. Siege was laid to Caesarea on the
228 LOSS AND GAIN.
Orontes, a fortress which Nur-ed-din had lately cap-
tured from its lord a cousin of the famous Saracen
warrior and poet, Ossama, whose autobiography has
been recently and strangely recovered. The Cru-
saders soon forced their way into the town, and
might easily have mastered the citadel had not
quarrels broken out in their ranks. 1 Baldwin, sup-
ported by the great lords, designed the city for
Theodoric of Flanders ; but Reginald of Chatillon,
a French adventurer, whom Constance of Antioch
had taken for her second husband, claimed it as
part of his principality, and declared that whoever
possessed it must do homage to him. This was more
than the proud spirit of the Flemish count could bear :
he had never done homage save to kings. At last,
unable to agree among themselves, they broke up the
siege and returned to Antioch. Early next year the
Crusaders took Harenc, which was entrusted to
Reginald of St. Valery. Theodoric and Baldwin
then went south, and after some further achievements
Theodoric returned home, reaching Arras in August,
1159.
In the previous year Baldwin, desirous to secure
a closer alliance with Constantinople, had sent envoys
to beg a member of the Imperial family for his bride.
Manuel consented, and despatched his niece Theo-
dora, a girl of thirteen, with a splendid dowry of
one hundred thousand besants, not to speak of
bridal gifts worth forty thousand more. Theodora
reached Tyre in September, 11 59, and a few days
1 It is doubtful whether the siege was about Christmas, 1157 or 1 158;
but the latter date seems more probable.
MANUEL AT ANTIOCH.
220,
later was crowned at Jerusalem. Shortly afterwards
Manuel returned the compliment by asking for a
French bride. His envoys rejected Melisend, the
sister of Raymond of Tripoli, in favour of the
superior beauty of Maria of Antioch. The rejec-
tion of his sister so enraged Raymond that he turned
the twelve galleys, which he had prepared for his
sister's escort, into pirate barks, and laid waste the
mainland and islands of the Empire, sparing neither
age nor sex.
In the summer of 1159 Manuel appeared with a
COIN OF MANUEL.
vast army in Cilicia. He came so suddenly that
Thoros, the Armenian prince, could barely escape from
Tarsus to the mountains. Reginald, who had been
scheming with Thoros against the Greeks, presented
himself humbly at Mamistra. Barefooted and bare-
armed, with a rope round his neck, he fell prostrate
before his offended lord, and so " turned the glory of
the Latins into shame." Manuel was pleased to be
reconciled, and proceeded towards Syria. Near
Antioch hi met Baldwin, who also showed due
humility, sitting on a lowly seat beside the Imperial
230 LOSS AND GAIN.
throne. Manuel then entered Antioch in triumph,
Reginald holding his horse's bridle, and Baldwin,
stripped of all regal ornaments, riding at his side.
The presence of so enormous an army alarmed Nur-
ed-din, who promised to release all his Christian
captives. " On these conditions," says the Greek
historian, " the Emperor stayed his hand ; " but the
forbearance was more probably dictated by the news
of a conspiracy at Constantinople.
After Manuel's departure, Nur-ed-din took Marash
and Cresson from Kilij Arslan. Baldwin seized the
opportunity to ravage the territory of Damascus, but
Saladin's father, Ayub, who was governor of the city,
bought him off by a bribe of four thousand besants.
About the same time (November 23, 1161), Reginald
of Antioch fell into an ambuscade near Cresson, and
was carried prisoner to Aleppo. Nur-ed-din then
extended his ravages to Tripoli and Harenc, and was
only checked from going further by the approach of
Baldwin.
Baldwin came to Antioch in the autumn of 1162.
According to the custom of the time, he took some
pills from Barek, the Count of Tripoli's doctor, to
fortify his constitution against the winter. A feverish
dysentery ensued, and getting no better, he proceeded
first to Tripoli, and then to Beyrout, where he died,
February 10, 1 163, in the thirty-third year of his
age. His body was carried to Jerusalem and buried
in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre with his
ancestors. Wherever the corpse was brought, says
William of Tyre, there was mourning such as was
never shown for any prince in history. The very
CHARACTER OF BALDWIN III. 231
dwellers in the hills came down to share in the
funeral procession as it slowly wound on its eight
days' march from Beyrout to Jerusalem. Even the
Saracens sympathised, and Nur-ed-din, when advised
to seize the opportunity for an inroad, refused with
noble scorn : " We ought to pity this people's
.righteous sorrow, for they have lost a prince whose
like is not now left in the world."
Baldwin was, tall of stature and largely built,
comely featured and of a florid complexion, with
prominent eyes, yellowish hair, and a somewhat full
beard. William of Tyre praises him for his attention
to the church services, but admits that before his
marriage he had been licentious. He had many of
the qualities most useful for a ruler. He was affable
to all men, and would jest with his friends in public ;
more than this, he could bear a joke at his own
expense. He was kind-hearted and generous, but
somewhat careless as to how he supplied his pecuniary
needs. He had a quick intellect and a good memory.
His knowledge of the customary law of his realm
astonished his own nobles, who came to him for
advice on legal difficulties. Above all else he was
commode litteratns> by which we may infer that he
knew Latin. What time he could spare from public
business he used to devote to reading. History was
his favourite study ; he delighted to read about the
deeds of ancient kings, and loved to converse with
learned clerks and wise laymen. Both nobles and
people loved him ; for he was patient in hardships,
and a wary leader in war, who never lost his presence
of mind even in the most adverse circumstances.
232 LOSS AND GAIN,
§ 2. The Struggle for Egypt.
The history of Egypt during the twelfth century is
nothing but a record of waning power and bloodshed.
The Caliph was overshadowed by the vizir, whose
authority was tempered by assassination or rebellion.
In 1 154, Abbas, the vizir, and his son, Nasr-ed din,
at the instigation of the poet-statesman Ossama,
murdered their master, and made his infant son
Caliph ; but a speedy retribution came upon them
at the hands of Es-Saleh [Talai], Governor of Upper
Egypt, and Abbas and his son were driven into the
Syrian desert, where the Templars took Nasr-ed-din
prisoner. The captive prince was on the point of
declaring himself a Christian, when his captors, by a
double act of treachery and greed, sold him to his
enemy, Es-Saleh. The new vizir after a short reign
of six years was stabbed by his emirs in 1161 ; and
his son was quickly overthrown by another competitor,
Shawir, the Governor of Said. Shawir found a
dangerous rival in the Arab Dirgham, and was
forced to take refuge with Nur-ed-din. There had
thus been three vizirs in one year.
The relations of the Franks with Egypt at this
time are very obscure ; but there are reasons for
thinking that the Caliph of Cairo paid annual tribute
to Baldwin III. In September, 1163, Amalric made
Dirgham's refusal to continue this payment a pretext
for declaring war. Dirgham, beaten in battle, saved
his land from conquest by letting in the Nile ; and
Amalric, unable to contend with nature, drew back into
Palestine. Next year Shawir obtained from Nur-ed-
ANARCHY IN EGYPT. 233
din an army under Shirkuh the Kurd. Dirgham
hastened to make terms with Amalric, but before the
Franks could come to his aid, Shirkuh was at* Cairo
and his opponent dead.
The presence of Shirkuh soon proved burdensome
to Shawir, who in his turn appealed to Amalric.
The Frankish king readily accepted the invitation,
and besieged Shirkuh at Pelusium in July. After
a three months' siege, the news of Nur-ed-din's
invasion of Northern Syria made Amalric offer
favourable terms, which Shirkuh, ignorant of what
was taking place, accepted.
But Shirkuh, though defeated for the moment,
was too enamoured with the wealth of Egypt to
entirely abandon his designs ; he bided his time
till, in 1 167, his preparations were ready, and he once
more started for the Nile. But Amalric was before
him, and had already compelled Shawir to renew
his submission and increase the tribute, in return for
the promise of protection against his dangerous
foe. To make his position more sure, the king
required that this bargain should be confirmed by
the Caliph, for which purpose he despatched Hugh
of Caesarea and Geoffrey Fulcher, the Templar, as
his ambassadors. Under the guidance of Shawir
the two envoys were introduced to the palace of the
Caliph. As they passed between marble columns,
under golden ceilings, and over floors of rich mosaic,
the rude Frank soldiers marvelled at a display such as
neither Europe nor their own country could produce.
Their astonished eyes gazed on marble fishponds with
pellucid water, birds of strange songs and marvellous
234
LOSS AND GAIN.
plumage, beasts that seemed to belong rather to the
world of art and dreams than that of waking life.
At length, in the presence chamber, a pearl-
embroidered curtain rose, and revealed the Caliph
seated on a golden throne. El-Adid promised all
that the envoys asked, but when desired to pledge
his honour with his hand, hesitated for a moment
before he proffered his gloved hand to Hugh. The
rude knight blurted out : " Truth has no covering ;
princes when they pledge themselves should have no
SEAL OF HUGH OF C4£SAREA.
secret thoughts." The Caliph, with a forced smile,
accepted the challenge and drew off his glove.
After some desultory operations and the arrival of
reinforcements from Palestine, Amalric achieved a
partial success, which compelled Shirkuh to retreat.
The Franks overtook the Turks at Babein. Some of
the emirs were for declining battle, but one turned
the scale by a few stinging words, in which he bade
the cowards stay at home with the women ; Nur-ed-
din had sent them to fight, and fight they must. The
battle which ensued was indecisive ; though Amalric
was victorious in his part of the field, Shirki/%
withdrew in safety towards Alexandria.
SHAWIR, 1HIRKUH, AND AMALRIC. 235
Amalric then determined to lay siege to this
important city, the defence of which had been
entrusted by Shirkuh to his nephew Saladin. Hard
pressed by the Franks without, and in fear of the
unfriendly citizens within, Saladin soon found it
necessary to appeal to his uncle. Shirkuh him-
self had meantime been endeavouring, without
success, to capture Cairo, which was held by Hugh
of Ibelin. He was therefore ready to come to terms,
and an arrangement was made for the surrender of
Alexandria, and the complete evacuation of Egypt
by the invading Saracens (Aug. 4, 1167). After this
success, Amalric returned to Palestine ; his triumph
indeed seemed complete, for a Frankish guard and
agent were established at Cairo, and Shawir had to
pay a yearly tribute of one hundred thousand dinars.
Soon after his return, Amalric married on the 29th
of August, 1 167, as his second wife, Maria, a grand niece
of the Emperor Manuel. 1 The Emperor, by pointing
out to his ally the weakness of Egypt, and its conse-
quent danger from Nur-ed-din, roused him to fresh
thoughts of conquest. Amalric's own greed and
poverty made him lend a ready ear to the temptation,
and before his envoy, William of Tyre, could return
from Constantinople, he had determined on a fresh
invasion. Contemporary rumour alleged that Gerbert
Assallit, master of the Hospital, advised this breach of
the peace, in the hope of benefit to his debt-stricken
order, and despite the opposition of the Templars.
1 His first wife was Agnes, daughter of Joscelin II. of Edessa ; but
ecclesiastical influence compelled the king to divorce her early in his
reign.
236 LOSS AND GAIN.
The campaign began in October, 1168; Pelusium
was stormed and sacked on 3rd of November, and
ten days later Amalric appeared before Cairo ; the
Frankish fleet was brought up the Nile, and the city
would have surrendered had not Amalric loitered
on the march so long. Shawir had, meanwhile,
appealed to Nur-ed-din, and now by false promises
of money to be paid, deluded the avaricious king,
until the approach of Shirkuh in December. Amalric
marched back to meet his new enemy in the desert,
but Shirkuh slipped by unnoticed, leaving the Franks
to return home from their bootless campaign.
The withdrawal of Amalric sealed the fate of
Egypt ; Shawir found his Turkish ally more danger-
ous than his Frank foe ; a futile conspiracy by the
vizir gave Shirkuh a plausible excuse for beheading
the man whom he had come to aid, and establishing
himself in his place. Shirkuh held the position he
had coveted so long for less than three months, and
dying on March 23, 1169, was succeeded by his
nephew the famous Saladin.
Meanwhile Manuel and Amalric had concerted a
joint campaign for the following autumn ; a Greek
fleet was to join with a Latin army in besieging
Damietta. Had the design been accomplished the
city must have fallen ; but the ships were becalmed,
and the consequent delay gave Saladin time to
regarrison Damietta. The siege was however com-
menced, and prosecuted with vigour if with little
success ; the Greek fleet could not force the boom
which blocked the river from v the sea, whilst above
the town the water gave easy access to reinforce-
SALADIN LORD OF EGYPT. 2%]
merits ; thus the numbers inside increased, till the
besiegers were in greater peril than the besieged.
" There crept a murmur through the people, and
almost all were of one mind, that our toil was
wasted, and that it would be safer to return home
than to die by hunger or the sword." So orders
were given to raise the siege, and the one formidable
armament undertaken by the Greeks and Latins in
conjunction came to a disastrous end.
William of Tyre, who was absent that year from
Palestine, says that the king and nobles attributed
their failure to Greek fraud. Whatever the truth of
their complaints, it is certainly clear that mutual
distrust prevented the allies from taking full advan-
tage of their opportunities.
The conquest of Egypt by the lieutenant of Nur-
ed-din was important for Islam, inasmuch as it led
two years later to the suppression of the Fatimite
caliphate, an event which was soon followed by
the death of the hapless prince El-Adid. Yet more
important was the fact that the wealth of the Nile
was now at the disposal of the lord of Aleppo and
Damascus, who from his ports of Damietta and
Alexandria could attack the yearly pilgrim fleets, and
thus as it were sever the main artery of the Christian
kingdom. The full effects of the conquest were not,
however, to be felt as yet, for Saladin was but an
unruly vassal. Still the time was only deferred when
the valleys of the Orontes and Nile would own but
one master in fact and in name. When that day
arrived no human power could well have saved the
kingdom of Jerusalem from its fate.
XVI.
THE RIVAL KINGS — NUR-ED-DIN AND AMALRIC.
(U63-II74.)
" The fierce joy that warriors feel
In foemen worthy of their steel."
Scott.
Zangi'S death had secured a respite for the
kingdom of Jerusalem, through the division of his
dominions, and the not unnatural jealousy of his
sons. Nur-ed-din at Aleppo regarded his elder
brother with a feeling of suspicion, which Sayf-ed-
din's generous conduct with some difficulty dispelled.
On Sayf-ed-din's death in 1149, there was again some
danger of open war between Aleppo and Mosul.
But by the mediation of Jamal-ed-din the Vizir, who
pointed out that whichever was victorious, the real
advantage would rest with the Franks, a compromise
was arranged under which Mosul was left to a third
brother Kutb-ed-din till his death in 1170.
Nur-ed-din's character was marked by craft and
greed, yet he was one of the greatest princes that
ever ruled in Syria. The Christians themselves
CHARACTER OF NUR-ED-DIN. 239
acknowledged his valour and success ; to the Moham-
medans of this century and the next he was a model
of every virtue. " Though so great a persecutor of
Christians," writes William of Tyre, " he was a just
ruler, wise, and religious, so far as the traditions of
his race permitted." It was for his justice above
all that his subjects loved him ; he would take no
unjust tax from his vast dominions, but like any
private man lived of his own ; when his wife com-
plained of her poverty, and slighted a gift of three
shops in Emesa as insignificant, " I have nought else,
for all I have I hold only as treasurer for the faithful,"
was his reply. He once left his game of ball to
appear before the cadi at the suit of a private person,
and when the decision was given in his favour, resigned
his claim in favour of his opponent. His justice
enticed strangers to .his dominions, one of whom,
after his death, having appealed to Saladin in vain,
went in tears to the tomb of Nur-ed-din. The
popular sympathy forced Saladin at last to make
recompense ; the man then wept again, and when
Saladin asked his reason, replied that he wept for a
ruler who could do justice even in the grave.
Though himself a skilful warrior, and like his father
careful of his soldiers' rights Nur-ed-din would permit
no plundering. Yet his followers loved him, and
stood firm in battle, for they knew that if they
perished their master would be true to their children.
When some of his soldiers grumbled at his bounty to
the dervishes, he rebuked them saying, " These men
have a right to live at the public expense ; I am
grateful to them for being content with only a
240 THE RIVAL KINGS.
part of what they might justly claim. So, too s
when an emir slandered a learned doctor from
Khorassan, Nur-ed-din replied, " If you speak ill
of him, I shall punish you severely, even though
you tell the truth. His good qualities are enough to
cover his faults, whereas you and your like have vices
many times greater than your virtues."
Nur-ed-din was a great builder, and provided for
the re-fortification of the chief cities of Syria, especi-
ally after the earthquake of 1 169. He raised mosques
everywhere, and founded hospitals in various towns.
Many years after, Ibn El-Athir, disgusted with his paid
physician sought advice from the hospital at Damas-
cus ; he would have paid for the service done him,
but his gift was refused, with the remark, " Doubtless
you are rich enough to pay, but here no one is too
proud to accept the gifts of Nur-ed-din."
The Mohammedan law as regards food, drink, and
dress was carefully observed by Nur-ed-din, who
unlike previous rulers enforced the same obedience
on his subjects. His court was marked by a strict-
ness of etiquette, which did not suffer any one to sit
in his presence, except Ayub, the father of Saladin.
Very different was that of Saladin, where a visitor
found himself unable to make the Sultan hear through
the babble of so many voices all talking at once ; " At
Nur-ed-din's court," he exclaimed, " Nur-ed-din's sight
alone made us as motionless as if we had a bird
perched on our heads ; in silence we listened when he
spoke, and he in turn lent attention to our speech."
One amusement alone did Nur-ed-din permit him-
self — namely, the game of " ball on horseback," a
THE DEFENDER OF ISLAM. 241
pastime which appealed to him as a rider of unusual
skill. When reproached for this, he replied : " I do
not play to amuse myself, but for needful recreation,
since a soldier cannot always be fighting. Moreover,
while playing at this game, we have our horses ready
against a sudden attack by the foe. Before God this
is my only reason for playing." " Rarely," says Ibn
El-Athir, "has a prince made of his very amusements
an act of high devotion."
There was much of high religious feeling in Nur-
ed-din's character, and this feeling permeated his
whole life of active warfare against the Christian
intruder. When told how his brother had lost an
eye in fighting for the Holy Cause, Nur-ed-din
refused to offer his condolence, " for could my brother
but see what Allah hath in store for him in Paradise,
he would willingly lose his other eye in such a cause."
Nor was Nur-ed-din any more regardful of his own
safety. One day a friend rebukrd him for his care-
lessness, bidding him consider what would become of
Islam should its chief defender fall. " Who," was
Nur-ed-din's noble reply, " who is Mahmud {i.e.,
himself) that you should speak thus of him. Our
country and religion have a defender better than me,
and that defender is God."
In his earlier years Nur-ed-din could venture only
on foraging raids. But gradually his power grew,
and in 11 54, as we have already seen, he captured
Damascus. 1 Good fortune attended him, for Joscelin
of Edessa had already become his prisoner, and a few
years later in 1161 Reginald de Chatillon, prince of
1 See above, p. 206.
242
THE RIVAL KINGS.
Antioch, whilst engaged in a plundering expedition
to the west of the Euphrates, fell into an ambuscade
and was taken prisoner to Aleppo. The young Bohe-
mond then assumed the rule of his principality. Nur-
ed-din conceived that the occasion was favourable for
an attack, and in 1163 invaded the county of Tripoli.
A force of Aquitanian pilgrims recently arrived under
Geoffrey Martel, together with the Templars under
Gilbert de Lacy, and a body of Welshmen under
Robert Mansel, opposed the Turks with such success
SEAL OF REGINALD DE CHATILLON.
that Nur-ed-din himself barely escaped with his life.
In .the following year Nur-ed-din's turn came ; whilst
many Franks were absent in Egypt he laid siege to
Harenc ; Bohemond of Antioch and Raymond of
Tripoli forced him to raise the siege, but in the subse-
quent engagement were defeated and carried prisoners
to Aleppo. It was the news of this disaster that
compelled Amalrfc to concede such favourable terms
to Shirkuh.
There is no need to trace the progress of Nur-ed-
DEATH OF NUR-ED-DIN. 243
din's power during the next few years. But in 1 170
the death of Kutb-ed-din of Mosul gave Nur-ed-din
an opportunity to interfere in that quarter to the
advantage of his own power. Saladin was, however,
already threatening to prove a dangerous rival, and
would lend his nominal lord no aid against the
Franks, lest their subjection should be but the pre-
lude to his own. The danger at last forced Nur-ed-
din to contemplate an invasion of Egypt. In this
strait Saladin's father recommended his son to adopt
a policy of submission, pointing out in private that
humility would avert the intended invasion, and that
destiny meanwhile would run its course. This policy
had its due effect, and Nur-ed-din found sufficient
employment in warfare with the Franks and the
Sultan of Iconium until his death on May 15, 1 174.
The death of Nur-ed-din was followed speedily by
dissensions in Syria. His son and successor, El-Malek
Es-Saleh, was a boy of eleven, whose weakness led his
cousin of Mosul to conquer at his expense. In these
troubles Saladin saw his opportunity ; on Novem-
ber 28, 1 174, he entered Damascus, and a month later,
having captured Emesa and Hamah on his way, laid
siege to Aleppo, from which a threatened invasion
by the Franks soon forced him to withdraw. The
intervention of Sayf-ed-din of Mosul led only to his
own defeat, and almost to the final displacement of
Es-Saleh, who, however, continued to rule over a
diminished territory till his death at the end of 1 181.
We must now return to consider the last years of
the reign of Amalric. Throughout his reign that
prince had felt that his chief hope of support lay in
244 THE RIVAL KINGS.
a close alliance with Constantinople, and his return
from his last Egyptian expedition was shortly fol-
lowed by a visit to the Byzantine capital. Manuel
received him nobly, "as was due to the king of
Jerusalem and the advocate and defender of the
venerable scenes of our Lord's passion and resurrec-
tion." Etiquette forbade even a king to sit in the
Emperor's presence when he received in state, but
after Amalric had entered the royal chamber, cur-
tains fell suddenly and excluded the greater number
of the courtiers. Manuel then rose from his golden
throne, embraced his guest, and set him on a lowly
seat hard by. But though the Emperor lent a ready
ear to his visitor's projects for the easy conquest
of Egypt, and distributed gifts with splendid magni-
ficence, he went no further, and Amalric returned
home a disappointed, if a richer, man.
The events of the previous year had probably
moved Amalric to thus seek the aid of the Emperor.
In June, 1170, a great earthquake had well-nigh
ruined many cities of Northern Syria. Antioch,
Tripoli, and Tyre, as well as the Mohammedan cities
of Hamah, Emesa, and Aleppo, all shared in the
disaster. The earthquakes continued during three
or four months, and imposed upon the warring races
a short period of peace, for " each man was occupied
by his private misfortune, and while harassed by his
own grief, forbore to set troubles for another." In the
following December Saladin took advantage of the
prevalent weakness to attack Darum, a fortress which
was held by the Templars. Amalric hurried up
in time to save the citadel, but not the town.
THE TEMPLARS AND THE ASSASSINS. 245
Saladin, however, managed to slip past him to Gaza,
and there, too, succeeded in sacking the town and
mercilessly slaying the defenceless citizens and
country folk who had congregated for safety. The
citadel was kept safely by its warden, Milo de Planci,
who wickedly refused its shelter to the Christian
fugitives. With this measure of success Saladin was
content to go back to Egypt, whilst Amalric busied
himself with the restoration of his fortresses.
The last days of Amalric were embittered by the
ambition of the Templars. The castles of that order
hemmed in the mountainous territory of the Assas-
sins, from whom the knights exacted a yearly tribute.
In the hope of escaping this impost the chief of the
Assassins offered to turn Christian ; * Amalric readily
1 The name Assassin or Jiashashin means hemp-eaters, and was
applied to the sect from the use of a drug prepared from this plant,
during the initiation of members or to nerve them for any extraordi-
nary effort. The sect owed its origin to a Persian named Hasan ben
Sabeh who, after a life of unprincipled adventure, became an Ismailite,
and for a time settled in Egypt. Eventually in 1090 he established
himself at Alamut south of the Caspian, where his successors main-
tained themselves till overthrown by Hulagu in 1256. Hasan's influ-
ence was political rather than religious ; his teaching enforced a blind
obedience to the grand master's behest, and for nearly two centuries his
followers were the terror of east and west. Early in the twelfth century
the Assassins began to multiply in Syria. By purchase or conquest
they became masters of a ring of fortresses east of Tortosa among the
mountains of Lebanon. Their first prior in Syria died in 1 169, and it
vas his successor Sinan who sent this embassy to Amalric. Sinan
seems to have introduced fresh tenets into his creed ; he threw off the
authority of his nominal lord at Alamut, and in later days is said to have
declared himself an incarnation of the Deity. He died in 1192. Eighty
years later (he Assassins of Syria were reduced to political subjection
by Bibars, but a scanty remnant of the Ismailites still hang round
the ruins of their old fortresses,
246 . THE RIVAL KINGS.
acceded, and promised to recompense the knights out
of his own purse. The Templars, however, distrusted
his goodwill or his power, and at the instigation of
Walter de Maisnil, " an evil man with one eye," slew
the envoys of the Assassins on the borders of Tripoli.
Such a crime enraged the whole kingdom, but Odo
de St. Amand, the Master of the Temple, claimed the
right to punish his knights as he choose, and pro-
tected the murderers. Amalric could not brook such
defiance ; with the assent of his council, he seized the
offenders by force and sent them in chains to Tyre ;
probably he would have pursued the matter further
had it not been for his own sudden death.
When Nur-ed-din died in May, 1174, Amalric, un-
like his great and generous rival, had no compunction
about invading a kingless realm ; he accordingly
laid siege to Banias, but allowed himself to be
bought off by Nur-ed-din's widow, and withdrew to
Tiberias. There he was seized with a dysentery, but
would not take to his bed or suffer himself to be
carried in a litter; on horseback he rode through
Nazareth and Nablus to Jerusalem. His illness
increasing he desired the Greek and Syrian physi-
cians, who were in attendance, to give him a purging
draught, and when they refused had resort to the
more compliant but less skilful Latin doctors. For a
time he seemed to improve, but the disease returned
with fresh violence, and on July II, n 74, Amalric
died in the thirty-eighth year of his age.
Amalric was of middle height, and somewhat
corpulent, but of comely features and a presence
which proclaimed his rank. He had bright eyes and
CHARACTER OF AMALRIC. 247
an aquiline nose, with golden hair and a full beard.
In manner he lacked the gracious affability which
had endeared his brother to all classes of his subjects,
and would rarely enter into familiar conversation.
Neither was he so well educated as Baldwin had been,
but his understanding was quick, and his tenacious
memory made good use of his scanty leisure. History
was his favourite study, and his liberality supplied
William of Tyre with manuscripts for the compila-
tion of his great work on Arabic history, now unfor-
tunately lost. His serious disposition gave him no
taste for plays or dice, though he was passionately
fond of hawking. Though regular in religious
observances he seems to have been something of a
sceptic, and perhaps a disbeliever in the immortality
of the soul. In his private life he was very licentious
and in his public much given to avarice ; this latter
failing he excused on the plea that if a prince
saved he was less likely to rob his subjects, and better
equipped against a sudden emergency ; certainly,
when his realm was in peril, he spared neither his
purse nor person, and even in private matters was
often liberal, as when he subscribed largely to ransom
his cousin Raymond of Tripoli.
With all his faults Amalric had many of the
qualities of a great ruler, and his death at this
moment was a serious blow to the kingdom of Jeru-
salem. So valorous and so politic a king would
doubtless have been able to reap some advantage
from the weakness of the heir of Nur-ed-din, and the
ambitious rivalry of Saladin. Would but the princes
of the West have forgotten their private feuds, and
248 THE RIVAL KINGS.
supported the great but futile expedition that Wil-
liam of Sicily sent against Alexandria this self-same
year; would but the Eastern Franks and the Greeks
have cordially united for once, there is no telling
what successes might have resulted. But there was
now no hand that could unite for one purpose the
scattered forces of Christendom. Armies that might
have shattered the realm so slowly and laboriously
built up by Zangi and Nur-ed-din, were dissipated
in predatory raids and desultory enterprises. The
Sicilian fleet sailed back from Alexandria after a
purposeless siege of a week; Manuel turned his
arms against the Sultan of Rum and met with
signal disaster; the forces contributed by Western
Europe were not the chivalry of two kingdoms,
but the scanty following of an English earl and a
Flemish count. The opportunity was lost and
never returned. The death of Amalric was the
knell of his kingdom.
XVII.
THE RISE OF SALADIN.
(II74-II8S.)
" Solo in parfe vidi '1 Saladiho."
Dante, Inferno, iv. 129.
(" Alme and apart I beheld Saladin.")
The successor of Amalric was his son Baldwin, a
boy of barely thirteen, who through his mother, Agnes
of Edessa, inherited the blood of the house of
Cpurtenay as well as of that of Anjou. His fathe"
had taken the greatest care for his education, and
entrusted him, when only nine years old, to William
of Tyre, as one of a little group of noble youths to
whom the great historian imparted some of that
Western lore with which his owrwnind was so copiously
stored. Baldwin did not fail to do his tutor credit ;
he had a quick apprehension and a retentive memory,
and like both his father and uncle was an eager lover
of history. He was of comely form, much resembling
his father Doin in manner and appearance, and even
in his youth gave promise of rare abilities should he
reach maturer age. But despite the good qualities,
349
250 THE RISE OF SALADIN.
which have made him one of the true hero kings of
history, his friend and tutor could not look on him
without sympathy and tears, for Baldwin was a leper.
He was still a child when the first symptoms of
the fell disease appeared. When playing with his
comrades the lads would test one another's endurance
by running their nails into each other's arms. Baldwin
alone would give no sign of pain ; this indifference,
which was at first taken as a sign of strength of will,
proved to be due to the absence of any power of
feeling in his right hand and arm. Later on he
became a hopeless leper ; and though he was for a
time carried even on warlike expeditions in a litter,
he was at length compelled to renounce his royal
duties and appoint a regent. After a short but heroic
life harassed with continual misfortune he died when
only twenty-three, leaving his kingdom on the verge
of ruin.
The influence which Milo de Planci had possessed
under Amalric pointed to him as the guardian of the
young king. But the great barons could not brook
the rule of a stranger from Champagne, and turned
to Raymond II. of Tripoli as their head. Raymond
was the most powerful and wealthy noble in the realm,
and claimed the guardianship of the king as his next
of kin, and as a debt of gratitude that he owed to
Amalric. The dispute was still unsettled, when the
murder of Milo at Acre in the autumn of 1174
removed the chief obstacle to Raymond's ambition.
Raymond, who was now about thirty years old,
was descended not only from the hero of the First
Crusade, but also, through his mother, from Baldwin
RAYMOND II. OF TRIPOLI.
251
II. His character must be judged by the subsequent
events of his life ; but this much may be remarked,
that he had won the esteem of William of Tyre, who
may almost be said to write as a partisan whenever
the Count of Tripoli is in question. In person
Raymond was slightly built, with sharp visage and
flashi g eyes ; in character he was prudent and
cautious, though he could be vigorous in an emer-
gency. To his own hereditary county he had added
&EAL OF RAYMOND II. OF TRIPOLI.
by his marriage with Eschiva, widow of Walter of
Galilee, the possession of the great stronghold of
Tiberias.
The weakly health of the young king made the
choice of a husband for his elder sister Sibylla one
of the first necessities of the time. The choice fell
on William of Montferrat, a kinsman of Philip
Augustus and Frederick Barbarossa, who was married
to his bride in the autumn o f 1176 . and received with
her the cities of Jaffa and Ascalon. The marriage
252 THE RISE OF SALADIN.
was of short duration, for in the following June
William fell ill and died, leaving his wife with child.
Just after this misfortune the young king's cousin
Phjlip of Flanders arrived at Acre in August, 1177.
With a great show of humility and disinterestedness
he refused the proffer of the guardianship of the
realm. He had come to the Holy Land not to seek
power, but to do the Lord's will. He would obey
any duly constituted regent, as if he were his own
liege lord, or lend his ready aid for an expedition
to Egypt. The value of these professions was too
soon apparent. When Reginald. jde^ChatilLon, who
after a long captivity had been released from his
Saracen gaol, was nominated_a. s the kin g's^-proctor
and general, Philip testily declared that there was
no need of such an officer, and that a man should
be chosen who could bear all the authority for the
proposed expedition, and would be fit to rule
Egypt as its king if successful. When so obviously
selfish a suggestion was rejected, Philip, shifting
his ground, urged that a new husband should be
found for Sibylla. This untimely proposal proved
to spring from one of Philip's followers, the Advocate
of Bethun, who had offered to surrender all his
patrimony to the count, if he could secure Baldwin's
two sisters for the wives of his own sons. Such an
offer was rejected by the council off-hand as dis-
honouring to themselves and the king. But Philip
soon found* a fresh subject for the display of his ill-
humours. Manuel had sent an embassy to urge the
immediate despatch of the Egyptian expedition ;
when Philip's opinion was sought, he pleaded his
PHILIP OF FLANDERS. 2 $3
ignorance as a stranger, but urged that the time of
year was unsuitable. The council regarded these as
but bald excuses, and offered to supply a sufficiency
of all that was needed for the journey. Then Philip
refused point blank : he would not run the risk of
SEAL 0.7 PHILIP OF FLANDERS.
perishing with hunger in Egypt, he had been accus-
tomed to make war in fertile lands : let them choose
some less dangerous quarter, and he would gladly
join them to strike a blow for Christ
There may have been something of prudence in
254 THE RI $ E 0F SALADIN.
these arguments, but it was generally felt that the
count's utterance of them lacked sincerity. To the
council it appeared hard to abandon the expedition
when a Greek fleet actually lay at Acre, but they felt
that there was no choice in the matter. Scarcely had
they made this resolution when Philip declared his
willingness to go to Egypt, or wherever the council
wished. The Greeks were still willing to proceed, if
the count would only take an oath to act honourably
and openly. This natural stipulation did not, how-
ever, commend itself to Philip, and the Greek envoys,
feeling further negotiation to be useless, departed
homewards. Thus through the obstinacy or timidity
— William of Tyre does not scruple to say the bad
faith — of the Flemish count, the Eastern Christians
lost their last opportunity of striking what might
have been a fatal blow at the power of Saladin.
Men suspected that Philip's conduct fracT been
influenced by Bohemond of Antioch in the hope of
aggrandisement to his own power. But if so, the
prince's hope was vain, for though Philip went north
in October, 1177, his aid was no more valuable in
that quarter than elsewhere. The time was oppor-
tune enough, and the Frankish army laid siege to
Harenc with good prospects of success. But the
allurements of gambling and the luxurious pleasures
of Antioch, that lay so close, proved fatal to military
discipline, and the siege was raised with no more to
show than an uncertain bribe. After this inglorious
campaign Philip of Flanders sailed home from
Laodicea at Easter, 1178, "leaving behind him a
memory that was in no wise blessed."
SARACEN INVASIONS. 255
Meantime the withdrawal of so many of its
defenders to the north had left the kingdom open
to the attacks of Saladin on the south. His troops
scoured the country at their will ; Ramleh and Lydda
were sacked and burnt, and for the first time for five-
and-twenty years the Holy City itself was threatened.
The more experienced warriors advised Baldwin not
to risk a battle, but with a few followers he hurried
up to Ascalon. There he was joined by the Templars
from Gaza, but even then he had only 370 knights to
meet a host of six-and-twenty thousand, which in-
cluded a thousand Mamluks in yellow tunics, the
special guard of Saladin's person. Nevertheless, the
Franks went out bravely on November 25th to meet
their foe. According to Saladin's own account the
Christians charged just as he was executing a strategic
movement ; another contemporary Arabic account
says that the Mohammedan host was surprised whilst
watering ; but all writers admit that Baldwin achieved
a glorious victory. The Turks were utterly routed,
and Saladin himself barely escaped upon a swift
camel with scarcely one hundred horsemen.
In the following autumn Baldwin erected a fortress
on the Upper Jordan, which was named Castle Jacob,
from a tradition that its site was the scene of the
patriarch's meeting with Esau. In April, 11 79, after
entrusting his new castle to the Templars, the king
led an expedition into Saracen territory. The army
scattered in all directions in search of plunder, till
Baldwin was left alone with only a few followers in
a rocky gorge. Here he was surprised by the
Saracens, and though Henfrid of Toron brought his
256 THE RISE OF SALADIN.
young lord safe out of danger, it was at the cost of
his own life ; for a few days later his wounds proved
fatal to the gallant constable, whom even Moham-
medans admired for his courage and warlike skill.
In June Saladin retaliated by an invasion of the
kingdom. The Franks mustered to meet him in
force, but the rashness of the Templars under Odo de
St. Amand converted a promising opportunity into a
disastrous defeat. Odo himself and many nobles were
taken prisoners, and two months later Saladin's
victory was crowned by the capture of Castle Jacob.
The double disaster was aggravated by the long-
continued drought, which during five years had
impoverished the territory of the Franks. The
king's sickness, which grew worse yearly, added to
the troubles of the time, and to guard against future
mishaps a fresh husband was now found for Sibylla
in the person of Guy de Lusignan. In the face of
such dangers Baldwin felt it prudent to beg for a
truce ; Saladin welcomed the proposition, and in
1 1 80 peace both by land and sea was established for
two years. Such an agreement was a heavy blow to
Christian pride ; for the first time since the Franks
set foot in Palestine was a treaty drawn up on equal
terms without any special advantage being secured
for the Christians.
There was now peace for a period of two years.
The Franks' were, however, troubled by internal
dissensions. Raymond of Tripoli, though nominally
protector, never entered their land, and Baldwin fell
more and more under the influence of the count's
enemies, and, above all, of his mother and uncle,
A TWO YEARS' TRUCk. 257
Joscelin the Seneschal. An open breach with
Raymond was only prevented through the interven-
tion of those wiser nobles who saw in the count the
most trusty defender of the kingdom.
Meantime the course of events favoured Saladin.
After a brief raid into Tripoli, which was not included
in the truce, he had withdrawn to Egypt, and prepared
to meet the threatened attack from Sicily. About
this time Sayf-ed-din of Mosul and Es-Saleh of Aleppo
both died, and left their dominions to Masud, a
brother of the former. Masud's counsellors urged
him to take advantage of the defenceless state of
Damascus during Saladin's detention in Egypt.
Their advice was rejected by the prince, who would
not break his treaty with Saladin ; but a little later
Masud gave Aleppo to his brother Imad-ed-din
in exchange for Sinjar, a bargain which excited the
alarm of the lord of Egypt.
Other circumstances besides the peril of Damascus
determined Saladin to return to Syria. The danger
to Egypt had passed away with the diversion of the
Sicilian fleet to the Balearic Islands and its subse-
quent destruction. The truce, moreover, was nearly
at an end, and there were not a few causes of dispute
between Baldwin and Saladin. Reginald of Chatillon
had captured some Arab merchants, for which the
Sultan retaliated by the detention of one thousand
five hundred pilgrims, who had been wrecked near
Damietta. Baldwin, despite the warnings of Count
Raymond, made an ill-managed and futile attempt
to intercept Saladin on his way across the desert.
Meanwhile, as Raymond had foreseen, the Syrian
2$8 THE RISE OF SALADIN.
emirs took the opportunity to invade Galilee, and,
as they returned home with their spoil, inflicted a yet
more disastrous blow on the Christians. In the region
of Soad (or " Black Country ") beyond Jordan the
Franks had converted some caves in the face of a
precipitous rock into an almost impregnable fortress.
This stronghold, through the carelessness of its lord,
had been left in charge of unwarlike Syrians. Either
by force or by fraud the Saracens captured its lower
stages, and thus compelled the other portion to sur-
render. According to the Arabic historian, this victory
broke the arm and power of the Franks.
Saladin now led an army across the Jordan, and,
after attacking Beth-Shan without success, went on
towards Belvoir. The Franks had mustered at
Tiberias, and, on advancing to Forbelet, suddenly
found themselves surrounded by the enemy. Old
men declared that they had never seen such a host
of infidels since the Latins first came into Syria.
The Saracens were twenty, thousand men ready for
battle, the Christians had only seven hundred horse-
men. " Saladin and his chiefs/' writes William of
Tyre, " had but one mind, namely, to hem us in, so
that none could escape. Yet by the mercy of God
did our men, bearing themselves bravely, issue the
better from the conflict ; and that though many,
whose names for very shame we will not write,
withdrew themselves from the toils of war." Only
a few Christian knights were slain, but the Saracens
were so disheartened by their losses that they at once
recrossed the Jordan. The Franks then went back to
the fountain of Sepphoris.
SIEGE OF BEYROUT. 259
In August, 1 1 82, on the arrival of his fleet from
Egypt, Saladin crossed the Lebanon and laid siege to
Beyrout. The news of this fresh attack came to the
Franks at Sepphoris, and at the same time they
received intelligence that Saladin's brother, El-Adel
Sayf-ed-din — known to Crusading chroniclers as
Saphadin — had appeared before Darum. Baldwin
had not sufficient forces to meet the double attack.
After taking counsel with his nobles, he decided to
grapple with " the more dangerous disease." No time
was lost, and within seven days thirty well-appointed
galleys were ready at Tyre and Acre. The fleet
reached Beyrout to find the harbour already clear;
for Saladin, after commencing the assault with vigour,
had suddenly changed his mind and ordered a re-
treat. An invitation from the Governor of Harran
had afforded him the opportunity for more important
conquests further east.
For the next few months Saladin was conquering
beyond the Euphrates. He passed the great river
and called the Mohammedan princes to his side ;
Edessa and Nisibis were taken and given to his friends,
while Masud fell back before him on Mosul. News
came that the Franks had been plundering in the
neighbourhood of Damascus. But Saladin would
not turn back : " If the Christians destroy our
villages, we will take their towns." So he rode on
to Mosul. " As he looked upon the city," writes the
Arabic historian, " his heart was filled with fear ; for
he saw how walls and parapets were crowded, so that
there was not one part that had not its warrior."
The Caliph had sent envoys to mediate between the
260 THE RISE OF SALADIN.
combatants. Salad in offered to surrender his late
conquests in return for Aleppo ; but Aleppo was not
Masud's to give. However, Saladin found Mosul too
strong for capture, and after taking Sinjar he turned
west to besiege Aleppo. Imad ed-din had no
means of defence, and soon consented to resign
Aleppo in return for Sinjar, Nisibis, and some other
places. "Thus," says the Arabic writer, "he sold
Aleppo for the vilest price, and gave away a strong-
hold of the greatest importance in exchange for some
little towns and cultivated fields." The people of
Aleppo cried shame upon him, declaring he was only
fit to be a washer of clothes. This conquest (June 12,
1 183) marks the consolidation of Saladin's power ; he
was now beyond all dispute the head power in the
Mohammedan world, and might bend his undivided
energies towards the great work of his life — the ex-
pulsion of the Franks from the Holy City.
Saladin's absence had given Baldwin an opportunity
of attacking Damascus and its neighbourhood. In the
autumn of 1182 one plundering expedition penetrated
to the very suburbs of the city, and on its return re-
captured the mountain fortress in Soad. In December
a great council was held at Caesarea, where it was
decided to make a fifteen days' expedition towards
Bostra. The Franks under the command of Count
Raymond crossed the Jordan at the ford of Jacob,
and plundered the Saracen territory to within a few
miles from Damascus.
And now the news of Saladin's successes began
to make men fear the ruin of the Latin realm.
" For," says William of Tyre, " his departure had
CONQUEST OF ALEPPO. z6l
given us grave matter for thought ; we were
right anxious lest he should return yet stronger
than before." In February, 1183, there was a
great council at Jerusalem ; king and nobles were
alike so poor that they could not perform their
proper duties ; a scheme was therefore devised for
the general taxation of all classes ; the money so
obtained was not to be used for the common needs
of the realm, but. to be stored at Jerusalem and Acre
as a provision against some great emergency. 1 With
the news of the fall of Aleppo, the alarm grew yet
wilder ; the Christians, realising their weakness, began,
to strengthen their fortifications especially round Bey-
rout. Bohemond of Antioch also came to the king
at Acre with an appeal for aid ; he was granted
three hundred horsemen, but soon afterwards made
a truce with Saladin ; about the same time he sold
Tarsus to Rupin of Armenia, as that city was too
distant and costly for defence.
After the conquest of Aleppo, Saladin once more
crossed the Jordan to Beth-Shan (September 29, 1 183).
Baldwin had mustered his forces at Sepphoris, but,
being too ill to lead them in person, entrusted the com-
mand to his brother-in-law, Guy de Lusignan. Saracen
freebooters ravaged the whole region round ; they
forced their way — for the first time — to the Greek
monastery on Mount Tabor, destroyed Forbelet, and
from the hills above Nazareth looked down upon the
city of our Lord's childhood. When the Italian mer-
chants on the coast heard of the invasion they put off
their intended voyage, and hurried up to join the
1 See above, p. 128,
262 THE RISE OF SALADIN.
king's army. Never, so old men said, had Palestine
seen so vast an array of Crusaders ; there were one
thousand three hundred knights and over fifteen
thousand well-armed foot ; among them were great
nobles from Europe : Henry, Duke of Louvain and
Ralf de Maleine * from Aquitaine, together with the
lords of the land, Guy de Lusignan, Reginald de
Chatillon, Baldwin and Balian of Ibelin, Reginald
of Sidon, Walter of Caesarea, and Joscelin de
Courtenay. But this splendid opportunity for
crushing Saladin was lost through internal jealousy ;
the lords of Palestine refused to obey Guy de
Lusignan, whom they despised as a man " unknown
and of little skill in military matters ; " they trumped
up excuses for inaction, and after eight days the
Saracens went back home. A month later Saladin
laid siege to Reginald of Chatillon's strong castle
of Kerak. Reginald had just married his stepson,
Henfrid IV. of Toron, to the king's younger sister, and
the castle was crowded with jesters, minstrels, and
others come to help in the wedding festivities. The
place was, however, too strong to be taken even by
the combined forces of Saladin and his brother El-
Adel, who joined him from Egypt ; so when the
Franks advanced to raise the siege, Saladin withdrew
to Damascus. Next year he made another unsuc-
cessful expedition against Kerak ; on his way back
he burnt Nablus, and set free the Mohammedan
prisoners in Sebaste. This was his last engagement
1 This was probably Ralf de Mauleon, father of the Crusading poet-
warrior, Savary de Mauleon, who played a conspicuous part in English
history under John,
SALADIN LORD SUPREME. 263
for some years in Palestine. In the summer of 1185
he was warring against Mosul ; in the end, after some
negotiations conducted by Baha-ed-din the historian,
RUINED TOWER OF KF.RAK.
Masud of Mosul came to terms with his rival.
Saladin was now lord supreme of all the Moham-
medan princes. He might reckon on being followep
264 THE RISE OF SALADIN.
to war by the various princes of the house of Zangi.
who ruled at Sinjar, Mosul, and Mardin ; perhaps
also by Kilij Arslan of Rum ; certainly by all the
Ayubite princes whom he had established in the
valleys of the Orontes and Nile. Saladin's policy
had led him to keep all the great cities of Egypt and
Syria in the hands of his own family. Thus his
kinsmen, Taki-ed-din, Izz ed-din, and Nasr-ed-din
held Edessa, Baalbec, and Emesa ; his sons, Ez-
Zahir and El-Afdal, were lords of Aleppo and
Damascus, and his brother, El-Adel, ruler of Egypt.
All along the frontier there lay a line of strong
generals or princes ready at any moment for a foray
into Christian lands. The Mohammedans only waited
to exchange their tactics of defence or desultory raids
for one of active warfare, till the lord of Syria
and Egypt, the overlord of Mosul and Rum, should
give the word for a general coalition to drive the
Christian invaders out of Syria.
XVIII.
THE FALL OF JERUSALEM.
(U83-I187.)
" Vae terris ubi rex est puer."
Ecelesiasticus.
THE position of the Christian kingdom was now
one of extreme peril. The king was sick unto death,
and there was no hope for the land save in aid from
abroad, which aid was slow to come. Louis VII.
of France, so long the hope of the Latin East, had
been dead three years, and Philip Augustus, his
son, was hardly of the stuff from which Crusading
heroes were made. Henry of England had more
than enough to occupy him in his home troubles ;
y t for" many years past he had sent annually large
sums of money to the great orders at Jerusalem, there
to be stored against his own intended coming. The
kings of Fiance and England had more than once
talked of a Crusade ; and Frederick the Emperor, after
the conclusion of his papal and Italian disputes in
1 179, had also meditated an expedition to the East
265
266 THE FALL OF JERUSALEM.
But all these things were mere projects ; internal
dissensions, mutual distrust, and perhaps unsteadiness
of religious zeal kept the great European lords at
home.
Meanwhile the kingdom of Jerusalem was in a
state of rapid decay. The young king had appointed
his brother-in-law, Guy de Lusignan, his proctor in
the year 1 183, retaining for his own use only the city
of Jerusalem, and an income of ten thousand besants.
Popular rumour, as represented by William of Tyre,
declared that Guy was totally unequal to his high
office. Certainly the nobles, jealous of an alien's
power, did the new ruler homage with reluctance,
and the majority of them, whether honestly or not,
urged the superior claims of Raymond of Tripoli.
Matters came to 'a climax when the great muster of the
Christians, under Guy's leadership, effected nothing,
and when Guy refused, very illiberally, to entertain
Baldwin's desire to exchange Jerusalem for Tyre.
As a consequence .it was decided in a great council
held at Jerusalem that Baldwin's little nephew, his
sister Sibylla's son by her first husband, William
of Montferrat, should be solemnly anointed king.
The story cannot be better told than in the quaint
words of one who may himself have been present at
the ceremony. " When the matter was thus settled,
the king bade crown the child. So they led him
to the Sepulchre and crowned him. And because the
child was small, they put him into the arms of a
knight to be carried into the Temple of the Lord,
to the end that he might not appear to be of less
stature than the rest This knight was a stalwart
FRANKISH DISSENSIONS. 267
man and tall, having to name Balian d'Ibelin, one of
the barons of the land." The ceremony took place
on the 1st of November, 1183. 1
The revolution which thus transferred the crown to
the infant Baldwin V. seems to have been the work
of the hereditary nobles of the land, and was chiefly
brought about by Baldwin of Ramleh and his brother
Balian of Ibelin. The regency was offered to Ray-
mond of Tripoli, who accepted the office on condi-
tion that he should hold it for ten years. To guard
against suspicion the strongholds were placed in the
charge of the two great orders, while the care of
the young king's person was entrusted to his great
uncle, Joscelin de Courtenay. On the other hand,
Raymond received Beyrout, to indemnify him for
any expenses that he might incur.
Meanwhile Guy de Lusignan held sullenly aloof.
The king further proposed to dissolve his sister's
marriage, and with this intention summoned Guy to
Jerusalem at the beginning of 11 84. The count,
however, withdrew to his own city of Ascalon, and,
together with his wife, refused to obey the royal
summons. Baldwin then came to enforce his orders
in person ; but the gates were barred before him,
and the walls crowded with the citizens, who looked
calmly on whilst the king in vain demanded entrance.
Baldwin had to withdraw to Jaffa, and shortly
aftei wards summoned a great council at Acre;
there the internal dissensions of the kingdom
1 Ernoul, who is here quoted, fixes the coronation in 1184. William
of Tyre as certainly puts it in 1 183. Perhaps there were two corona-
tions, though this is not likely.
268 THE FALL OF JERUSALEM.
became plain. The masters of the Temple and the
Hospital fell on their knees before the king and
begged him to pardon his brother-in-law ; when
their petition was refused they left the court and city
in anger. Guy, on his part, made the breach wider
by plundering some Arabs who were under the royal
protection. From all that follows it would seem that
there were two parties in the state ; on the one side
the native nobles, on the other the aliens ; at the
head of the former was Raymond of Tripoli, chief
of the latter was Guy de Lusignan or Reginald of
Chatillon. Raymond and his party seem to have
believed in the impossibility of active resistance to
the Saracens. It may be that they were only abiding
their time till the coming of a new Crusade should
justify them in taking the offensive once more ; but
so far as the evidence of contemporary writers, both
Christian and Arabic goes, they were actually in
communication with Saladin, and anxious for a truce
which might ensure them their own in safety.
Prominent in this party were Bohemond of Antioch,
Reginald of Sidon, and possibly the two brothers,
Baldwin and Balian of Ibelin.
The party of the aliens was possibly moved by a
more genuine religious enthusiasm. Guy de Lusignan
may perhaps have been influenced by merely selfish
aims ; but selfishness can hardly be predicated of the
masters of the Temple and Hospital, and possibly not
of Heraclius the Patriarch ; family affection may,
however, account for the part played by Joscelin de
Courtenay. The members of the two great orders
had not entered on their Eastern life in search for
THE TWO PARTIES. 269
ease or luxury ; their vows bound them before all
else to fight the pagan, and to extend the boundaries
of the Lord's kingdom ; the very thought of passing
long years without striking a blow for Christ was to
them insupportable ; thus their constant clamour was for
war, and in this they were well supported by Reginald
de Chatillon. The long years of his captivity in a
Saracen prison had made that noble the bitterest of
foes, and he never lost a chance of striking a blow at
Saracen trader or soldier ; his reluctance to hold his
hand whether in peace or war was to lead a few years
later to the ruin of the kingdom.
At that same council of Acre, where the quarrel ot
these two parties had been made so manifest, it was
determined to appeal to the sovereigns of Europe for
help. Heraclius the Patriarch and the two Grand
Masters were entrusted with the mission to the West.
Pope Lucius III. gave them letters to assist their
plea, and they bore the keys of the Holy Sepulchre
together with the royal banner of the kingdom to
Henry II. at Reading. In the spring of 1 185 almost
all the barons and knights of Henry's dominions from
the Cheviots to the Pyrenees took the cross, and the
kings of England and France likewise promised their
support. Yet, nevertheless, the patriarch went home
a disappointed man with only barren promises where
he had looked for material aid.
The character of Heraclius is a curious problem.
He is said to have been a native of Auvergne, and
became Archbishop of Caesarea about 1175 ; on the
death of the Patriarch Amalric in 1180 his was one
of the two names submitted to Baldwin IV. by the
270 THE FALL OF JERUSALEM.
canons of the Holy Sepulchre. His competitor was
none other than the great historian of the Latin
kingdom in the East, William of Tyre. It was
rumoured at the time that William, on hearing of the
canons' choice, offered to relinquish his own claims, if
by so doing he might exclude his rival ; he had read
in ancient chronicles, so he was reported to have said,
that as one Heraclius had been the saviour of the
Holy City, so another one would be its ruin,
the Archbishop of Caesarea, he continued, was the
man to whom this ancient prophecy pointed. The
king, however, under the influence of his sister's
prayers appointed Heraclius. William then appealed
to Rome, whither he went to prosecute his cause in
person ; success was already crowning his efforts,
when he died, as it was whispered, of poison ad-
ministered by his rival's envoys. This was not the
only scandal that attached to Heraclius' name ; he
lived in open immorality, and kept his mistress at
Jerusalem in such state that strangers deemed she
was at least a baron's wife. Much of this is probably
legend, though legend of only a slightly later date;
yet it seems to show in what sort of esteem the
patriarch was popularly held.
Baldwin IV. died in 1185, whilst Heraclius was
still in the West. 1 Raymond secured an immediate
popularity as regent by concluding a four years'
truce with Saladin. There is no telling how long
he might have preserved the kingdom had it not
been that as in the days when the Greek princes
were sieging Troy there was strife among the chiefs.
1 Or possibly late in 1184.
THE MARRIAGE OP BOTRON. 2J1
There is something of an epic ring in the history
of the ruin of the Latin kingdom of the East as we
read it in the pages of the Continuator of William
of Tyre.
Gerard de Rideford, a French knight, came to
Palestine to make his fortune. Doubtless he looked
to win such a prize as that of Reginald of Chatillon,
who gained the hand of the widowed princess of
Antioch, or of Fulk of Anjou, who received a king-
dom with his wife. At last his opportunity came
and he asked for the hand of the heiress of Botron,
a lordship in the county of Tripoli. But Raymond
rejected his petition, and married his ward to a rich
burgher from Pisa, who was said to have bought his
bride- for her weight in gold, Gerard, who had all
a French knight's scorn for an Italian usurer, quitted
Tripoli in wrath. He joined the Templars, and by
1 185 had become Grand Master of the order. But
he still sought an opportunity to avenge the wrong
which rankled in his breast. At last his chance came.
In September, 11 86, the child king died at Acre,
and was carried by the Templars to Jerusalem for
burial. Gerard formed a plot with Count Joscelin, and
they took Heiaclius and Reginald of Chatillon as
their partners ; Sibylla was hastily summoned to
Jerusalem, the city gates were shut, the walls were
manned with troops, and no one was suffered to come
in or go out.
Raymond, suspicious that something was wrong,
had sent a man-at-arms in disguise to discover what
was happening. In the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
the spy heard Reginald bid the assembled people take
272 THE FALL OF JERUSALEM.
Sibylla for their queen, and the multitude with one
voice declare they would have no other ruler than the
daughter of Amalric and the sister of Baldwin. Two
crowns had been brought from the royal treasure
house. One was now placed by the patriarch on the
head of the new queen with these words : " Lady,
you are but a woman, wherefore it behoves that you
have a man to stay you in your rule ; take the crown
you see before you, and give it to him who can best
help you to govern your realm." On this Sibylla
called her husband, and as Guy knelt before her set
the crown on his head, saying, " Sire, take this crown,
for I know not where I could bestow it better." It
was rumoured that as the Grand Master of the
Temple took the new king by the hand he was
heard to say : " This crown is well worth the marriage
of Botron."
If Raymond of Tripoli had harboured any designs
on the crown it was now too late. The utmost he
and the barons assembled with him at Nablus could
do was to set up a king of their own in the person of
Henfrid of Toron, the husband of King Amalric's
second daughter, Isabella or Melisend. Henfrid,
however, fearing the greatness thrust thus suddenly
upon him stole away the same night to Jerusalem.
There he presented himself before Sibylla, who, in
anger at his absence from her coronation, would not
return his greeting. He stood before her, says the
quaint old chronicler, scratching his head like a
shamefaced child, and muttering something about
their wanting to make him king by force. The
queen caught up his words, and understanding their
CORONATION OF GUY. 273
drift, granted him her pardon, and despatched him to
do his homage to the king.
Most of the Frank lords now recognised Guy's
coronation as an accomplished fact, and did homage.
Two alone remained implacable : Baldwin of Ramleh,
who, renouncing his fiefs, fled in defiance to Antioch ;
and Raymond of Tripoli, who remained on his lands,
sullenly nursing his discontent, and if rumour may
be trusted intriguing with Saladin. It was ap-
parently about this time that Reginald of Chatillon,
notwithstanding the truce, swooped down on a
Saracen caravan on its way through his lordship of
Kerak. It boots not to inquire whether Saladin's
sister was one of his captives ; for Saracen writers
fully bear out the words of the Frank chronicler :
" The taking of this caravan was the ruin of Jeru-
salem ; " Saladin forthwith sounded the tocsin for the
Holy War.
By the advice of the Master of the Temple, Guy
now summoned his host to Nazareth, with the
intention of besieging Raymond in Tiberias. The
count on his part seems to have called upon Saladin
for aid, which, if we may trust Ernoul, Saladin was
prepared to give. Civil war was, however, averted
by the prudence of Balian of Ibelin, who pointed
out the danger of forcing Raymond into an alliance
with Saladin, and volunteered his aid to effect a
reconciliation. But Raymond demanded with firm-
ness the repayment of his expenses .as regent, and so
the winter passed away with nothing done.
Easter had come and gone, and Saladin was
mustering his forces. The royal council advised
274 THE FALL OF JERUSALEM.
peace with Raymond ; " for Guy had already lost the
wisest knight in the land, Baldwin of Ramleh ; if
he lost Count Raymond too, he was indeed undone."
Balian was accordingly sent to Tiberias with the two
Grand Masters. On reaching Nablus, Balian stayed
there to transact some business, whilst his companions
rode on to Faba, or La Feve. At evening Balian left
Nablus, and rode as far as Sabat, where he turned
aside, and tarried at the bishop's house till the
warder's horn proclaimed the day. In the morning
after hearing mass, he proceeded on his journey.
This slight delay prevented his being present at the
battle of Nazareth, and perhaps caused the downfall
of the kingdom. On reaching Faba Balian found the
castle and the tents before its walls alike deserted,
whilst the castle gate stood open ; in amazement he
bade his servant Ernoul, to whom we owe our know-
ledge of these eventful years, dismount and enter.
Ernoul went shouting up and down without reply,
till at last he found two sick men in a room ; they
told him that the Grand Masters had arrived the
previous day, but had departed at once on hearing
how a body of Saracens had crossed the Jordan.
According to the romantic story of the Frank
chronicler, El-Afdal had begged Count Raymond to
grant him a day's excursion across the Jordan.
Raymond's position was too delicate for him to
venture on a refusal. He bargained only that El-
Afdal should harm neither town nor house, and
return the same evening. So on the morning of
May 1st, El-Afdal crossed the Jordan to plunder
and to slay. The watchmen from the towers of
BATTLE OF NAZARETH. 2J$
Nazareth saw the valleys filled with the Saracen host,
and roused the city to arms. The news reached the
two Grand Masters at Faba ; with their followers,
and forty royal knights from Nazareth, they rode out
to meet the foes, seven hundred against seven
thousand. The issue was disastrous : the Master of
the Hospital and sixty of his knights were slain,
whilst of the Templars only two besides Gerard de
Rideford escaped.
This was the further news which Balian shortly
heard. He rode in haste to Nazareth, and summoned
all the knights at Nablus to come to its defence ;
next day with the Master of the Temple he went on
to Tiberias. In the presence of such a catastrophe
all private hate was hushed ; Raymond agreed to a
reconciliation and to a meeting with Guy. As soon
as the king saw his late rival approaching he sprang
from his horse to greet him, and when Raymond bent
his knee before him, raised him up and embraced him
warmly. A general muster was then ordered to take
place at the fountain of Sepphoris, midway between
Acre and the Sea of Galilee. In view of the
emergency, the Master of the Temple put at Guy's
disposal the treasure which the King of England had
sent him year by year, and with this money soldiers
were hired who bore King Henry's arms upon their
shield.
In July, when the host was gathered, the Countess
of Tripoli sent word that Saladin was besieging her
in Tiberias, and that she could hold out no longer.
A council was summoned, and Raymond addressing
the king said : " Sire, I would fain give you good
276 THE FALL OF JERUSALEM
advice, if you only trust me ; but I know full well
that none will believe." When bidden to speak
freely, he recommended that Tiberias should be left
to its fate. There was no water on the road, and to
attempt its relief would be to court certain destruc-
tion. * If I lose wife, retainers, and city, so be it ; I
will get them back when I can ; but I had rather see
my city, overthrown than the land lost." This noble
speech carried conviction with it, and at midnight the
council broke up. Then Gerard de Rideford once
more found his opportunity, and coming to the
king's tent urged him to reject the counsel of the
" traitor count." " The king durst not refuse him,
for that he had made him king, and delivered to him
the great treasure of the King of England." The
fatal order to march at dawn proved too well the
truth of Raymond's forecast ; some three miles from
Tiberias, in a rocky and waterless spot, the Christians
were hemmed in by the Saracein ; unable either to
advance or to retreat, they were forced to pitch their
camp. Next day (it was Saturday, July 4, 1187)
found them disheartened and disorganised ; faint
with the heat and with thirst they could offer no
effectual resistance ; by evening their army was
routed, their king a prisoner, and the Holy Cross the
spoil of the infidel.
The principal captives were led to the tent of
Saladin. Among them were Guy, his brother Geof-
frey, and Reginald of Chatillon. By the Sultan's
orders a cooling draught was handed to the king,
who drank and passed the cup to Reginald. " Know,"-
said Saladin, through an interpreter, " that it is you
BATTLE OF HATTIN. 277
and not I who have given him to drink." Then the
Sultan called for a sword, and with his own hand cut
off Reginald's head ; thus he fulfilled -his oath, and
revenged the plunder of his caravan. 1
The great battle of Hattin was the death-blow to
theldngdom of Jerusalem as it had existed in the
days of Baldwin III. and Amalric. At one stroke it
had lost the chief of its leaders and the majority of its
defenders ; Raymond, it was true, escaped from the
battle, but only to die of despair fifteen days later
at .Tyre _; of the other great lords Balian alone was
alive and free. In such a strait the Christians seemed
powerless to resist their victorious foe ; within little
over two months Saladin had secured almost every
stronghold of importance from Beyrout to Ascalon.
A few scattered fortresses, such as Safed and Kerak
by the Dead Sea, held out till next year ; but when
Ascalon had fallen on the 5th of September only two
of the great cities still remained in Christian hands —
Tyre in the north and Jerusalem in the south. The
safety of the former was due to Conrad of Mont-
ferrat, the defence of the Holy City was the work of
Balian of Ibelin and the Patriarch Heraclius.
Balian had escaped from Hattin to Tyre. Thence
he sent to Saladin, begging leave to conduct his wife
and children to Jerusalem ; if that leave was given
he would only stay a single night in the city. Saladin
courteously granted the desireg! permission. The
citizens, however, would not let Balian depart ;
Heraclius also declared that it would be a greater sin
1 A more probable story, however, relates that Reginald was slain
by Saladin's orders, but not by his own hand.
s
278 THE FALL OF JERUSALEM.
to keep such a promise than to break it, — " It will be
great shame to you and your heirs after you if you
leave the city* of Jerusalem in her perilous strait.'
" Then did Balian promise to stay, and all that were
in the city did him homage, and took him to lord."
The peril of the city was in truth extreme ; only two
knights were to be found within the walls, and they
were fugitives from the great battle. In his emer-
gency Balian knighted sixty of the burgesses, and
stripped the silver roofing of the Holy Sepulchre to
SEAL OF BALIAN OF IBELIN.
provide himself with money. From all the district
round the people came flocking into the city, till they
had filled every house, and many were encamped in
the open streets.
At last, on September 20, 1187, Saladin appeared
before the walls. The history of this eventful siege
cannot here be told in detail. Its hero was Balian,
though the French chronicler gives to Heraclius a
meritorious part ; it was the patriarch who, according
to this account, persuaded the warriors to take
thought of the defenceless women and children when
THE CAPTURE OF THE HOLY CITY. 2jg
they proposed to hazard all on one desperate onset
on the foe ; it was Balian, however, whose skill kept
the walls whilst he could, and who at last persuaded
Saladin to accept a ransom of ten dinars for every
man, five for every woman, and one for every child
under seven years of age. It is impossible to recon-
cile the French account of the collection of the ransom
of the poor with the reproaches hurled on the selfish
citizens by the author of the Latin treatise, " De Ex-
pugnatione Terrae Sanctae" — an author who was
actually wounded during the siege. Much legend
has no doubt found its way into the accounts of the
fall of the Holy City even as they have been preserved
for us by contemporary writers ; but there is one
story too characteristic to be altogether omitted.
After every effort had been made to purchase the
relief of the poorer Christians, after a tax had been
levied in every street, and the King of England's
treasures at the Hospital thrown into the common
fund, there yet remained a large number for whom
no ransom could be paid, and who were thus doomed
to perpetual slavery or death. In pity for their sad con-
dition, Saladin's gallant brother El-Adel or Saphadin
went to the Sultan, and, reminding him how the city
had bejn conquered by his help, begged to have a
thousand slaves for his portion of the spoil. Saladin
inquired for what purpose he desired them. " To do
with them as I will," was the reply. They were
accordingly handed over to El-Adel, who promptly
set them free. Then came the patriarch making a
like request, and received seven hundred. After him
Balian of Ibelin was granted five hundred more.
280 THE FALL OF JERUSALEM.
Then said Saladin : " My brother has made his alms;
the patriarch and Balian have made theirs. Now
would I make mine also." Accordingly at his
bidding all the aged folk in the city were liberated :
" This was the alms that Saladin made of poor folk
without number."
So on October 2, 1 187, Jerusalem was once more
in the hands of the Moslem, and the grea'est aim of
Saladin's life was accomplished. It was for this, as
he himself said, that when called to the government
of Egypt at the age of thirty he had relinquished the
use of wine, and all the pleasures of his youthful life.
Forty-three years previously Zangi had turned the
tide of Christian success by capturing Edessa. After
Zangi's death, so ran the story in the East while
Saladin was yet alive, a Mohammedan devotee beheld
the great atabek living at his ease in the very fairest
part of Paradise, and asked him how he came to
occupy so honourable a place. " God," was the reply,
" has pardoned all my sins for the conquest of
Edessa." If this was the reward of Zangi, what
recompense might not the liberator of the Holy City
look forward to at the hands of Allah ? " Jerusalem,"
Saladin once sent word to Richard I., " is as much to
us Mohammedans as it can be to you Christians, and
more. It is the place whence our prophet made his
night ascent to heaven, and it will be the gathering
place of our nation at the Great Judgment." No
wonder, then, that there was joy in Islam when the
Temple was again in Mohammedan hands, and when,
on the following Friday, after the golden cross that
shone above the sacred dome had been taken down,
yOY IN ISLAM.
28l
the prayers of the Faithful once more went up to
Allah from Mount Moriah. " Thus," says the Arabic
historian, Salad in's bosom friend and confidant,
" thus did God suffer the Mussulmans to retake the
town for the anniversary of the nightly journey of
their prophet ; a certain sign that this people is the
only one whose doctrine is agreeable to Him."
XIX.
THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE.
" For manners are not idle, but the fruit
Of loyal nature and of noble mind."
Tennyson, Guinevere.
The political and social life of the Latin kingdom
of Jerusalem was almost the counterpart of the
political and social life of the great kingdoms of
Western Europe. In particular it resembles the
great monarchy which the same French race built up
at almost the same time in our own land, and there
is a curious parallelism between the charters of the
Norman and Angevin kings of England, and those of
the French and Angevin kings of Jerusalem. 1 W ith
the political organisation of the land we have already
dealt, and here we shall concern ourselves with the
social life and habits of the Latin settlers and their
subjects.
To begin at the top of the scale, the life of the
Frankish nobles in Syria no doubt closely resembled
1 In a charter of Hugh of Ibelin we even get the Syrian equivalent
for the formula of the so-called Exeter Domesday, " Die quo Rex
Edwardus vivus fuit et mortuus."
KNIGHTLY TRAINING.
283
that of their Western cousins. Of the life of the
mediaeval knight we can by the combined aid of
history and romance form a fairly adequate idea.
His childish years would be spent in his father's
castle, hunting and hawking with his parents, till
when about twelve years old, he would be sent from
home to be trained in knightly accomplishments at
the court of some great knight or king. Letters, too,
/ I Til
a
"TOll^
t
''£~*
CEREMONY OF KNIGHTHOOD.
were not neglected, for some tincture of Latin and
French was a necessity ; and so we find that William
of Tyre had a sort of school for the instruction of the
king's son, the future Baldwin IV. and his young
companions.
The attainment of manhood was marked by the
conferring of knighthood, for which the ordinary age
seems to have been from twenty to fix e-and -twenty,
though Geoffrey of Anjou and his son, Henry Fitz-
284 THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE.
Empress, were knighted at fifteen and sixteen respec-
tively. To this ceremony there was at an early date
attached a religious significance. In a curious
romance of the thirteenth century Hue de Tabarie is
made to set forth to Saladin all the mysterious
qualities of the rite. The order of knighthood, Hugh
tells his captor, is open to no unbeliever ; to confer it
on such a one were like trying to stifle the stench of a
dunghill with a silken mantle. Still Saladin perseveres
in his desire to receive the honour, submits to the
bath, and is clothed in the white garments of chastity ;
over them is cast a red cloak, typical of the blood to
be shed in defence of Holy Church. Then the Sultan
is shod by his instructor with black shoes, symbolical
of the earth from which he sprang and to which he
must return ; the white belt round the loins, the
gold spurs on the heels, and the sword at the side,
have each their appropriate significance of chastity,
obedience, and justice.
Romance and history also help us to a picture of
the knight's accomplishments. Like Richard of
Normandy he could fence, manage his falcon, chase
the deer, and slay the boar. Like Huon of Bordeaux
he could serve at dinner, break a horse, wield a lance,
and at chess and tables fear no antagonist. Other
graces, too, should he possess ; so Doon of Mayence
was bidden by his father to be courteous in bearing,
attentive to religion, liberal to the poor ; to be modest
in the display of his accomplishments, and not to
pretend to a skill or knowledge which he did not
possess.
For his amusement outdoors, the knight had
KNIGHTLY ACCOMPLISHMENTS. 285
hunting, hawking, and tournaments ; indoors he had
chess, tables, and the jen des dames, but above all else
the minstrel's song. With the Crusaders the favourite
themes of minstrelsy were the " Song of Antioch," and
the achievements of Godfrey. The minstrel was
dependent on the liberality of his hearers, which
sometimes provided but a poor reward ; so the
jougleur in " Huon of Bordeaux " sings : —
" Silence for the song I tell,
For, by God, 'tis chanted well ;
Fair the tale and nobly set,
Still I get no guerdon yet,
Better largesse, good my friends,
Or full soon my story ends,"
and when this appeal fails to produce a due effect,
the minstrel playfully invokes the curses of the fairy
king — Oberon — the semi-hero of his poem : —
" By deity of Oberon the great,
I here declare you excommunicate.
Yea ! every man of you who will not join
Loosing his purse to give my wife a coin."
On the other hand, if the minstrel roused the en-
thusiasm of his hearers he reaped a rich reward. In
the same romance the old minstrel bids Huon "Take
service with me, and thou shalt see folk give me
mantles so many that it will go hard with thee to
carry them all." Even the noblest warriors were not
above practising the art, and Richard I. could bandy
verses with the Duke of Burgundy and the Dauphin
of Vienne. The greatest of the troubadours, like
Bertrand de Born and Pierre Vidal, were friends of
286
THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE.
princes like Richard of England and Alfonso of
Aragon.
Of other indoor recreations tables corresponds
KNIGHT CHESSMAN.
to backgammon, and the jeu des dames to draughts.
But the chief was chess, which figures in grave
historical pages as well as in almost every mediaeval
romance. We find the Crusaders amusing them-
kNtGHTLY AMUSEMENTS. 287
selves with this game during the long siege of
Antioch in 1098, and in the " Chr.nsoii de Roland "
Charlemagne and his paladins are depicted ac whiling
away their leisure beneath the walls of Cordova with
chess and tables. The game itself is of Eastern and
perhaps Indian origin, but may have been known in
the West as early as the ninth century, for tradition
speaks of a set of chessmen — preserved at Paris till
the last century^— as one of the gifts of Harun-
el-Rashid to Charles the Great. Historically, how-
ever, it does not appear till two centuries later, when
it was so popular that Peter Damiani lamented its
prevalence among the clergy ; fifty years later still
it was one of the amusements forbidden to the
Templars. A little treatise on chess problems dates
from the beginning of the fourteenth century, but
mediaeval interest in the game was not purely scien-
tific, for the players had commonly some stake, thus
Charlemagne plays for his kingdom, and Huon of
Bordeaux for his own life and the hand of the
Sultan's daughter. 1
1 Mediaeval chess boards and men were so heavy that an angry playe.
could use them as a weapon of revenge, as did Renaud of Montauban
when he slew Charlemagne's nephew Bertolais. The pawns in a set dis-
covered about 1831 on the Island of Lewis were over two inches high. The
squares were generally gold and silver, the men red and gold. The pieces
had much the same power as now, but the queen could only move one
square, and that diagonally, being thus the weakest piece on the board,
and the bishop only two squares. The queen was often called " fierce "
or " vierge," from the Persian varzin, the bishop "alfil " or the elephant,
and the castle " roccus," all names that point to an Eastern origin.
In elaborate sets the pawns were all different, and bore the names of
farmer, blacksmith, butcher, merchant, physician, innkeeper, warder,
and gamester or ribald. But the commoner sets seem to have been of
con>entional shapes somewhat like those now in use.
288 THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE.
A more distinctly gambling, and therefore per-
haps more popular, game was tables, which was
a favourite' amusement with Baldwin III., and
our own King John, the record of whose losses at
tables to his favourite, Roger de Lacy, is preserved.
Gaming was a great vice during the whole period
and had to be specially forbidden by Louis IX., who
when on his voyage from Egypt to Acre, caught his
brother, the Count of Anjou, playing tables, and
threw the board into the sea ; however, the count
played openly at Acre, and got much credit for
generosity by the bestowal of his gains on the needy
A strange story is that of the exiled Englishman
who in his passion for play lost all to his very shirt at
Acre ; unable to show his face among Christians,
he wandered into the far east and at last took
service with the Tartars as an interpreter, and
was sent by them to negotiate with the princes of
Europe.
The peculiar amusement of the mediaeval knight
was the tournament. Tournaments do not become
prominent in our English chronicles till the reign oi
Henry III., but on the Continent date back much
earlier, and since they were forbidden to the Templars
in their original statutes, must have been common
about 1 1 30; at the end of the century they were
the favourite occupation of the young King Henry,
son of Henry II. Tournaments were also popular in
the East, and the great jousts held in Cyprus in 1231,
to celebrate the knighting of Balian of Ibelin, led
to the war of that year. It was no doubt by the
Crusaders that this sport was introduced to the
29O THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE.
Byzantine Greeks, and won the fancy of the
chivalrous Manuel Comnenus, who at Antioch un-
horsed two Latin warriors with his own hand. A
more primitive amusement was the quintain, which
consisted of a hauberk and shield hung on a post, at
which the players tilted, the proof of skill being to
pierce both shield and armour or even overthrow the
post. On the fondness of the Frankish nobles for the
chase somewhat is said elsewhere. 1 Above all other
sport they delighted in hawking, and a whole chapter
of the Assize of Jerusalem deals with the law relating
to falcons.
' Turning to the more serious business of life we find
one of the first difficulties of the Crusaders was due
to the necessary intercourse with a people of strange
manners and stranger speech. Yet even in the
earliest days of Crusading history we meet with
instances of familiarity with the Arabic tongue. It
was one of the many accomplishments of Tancred,
and the Christian interpreter who was sent to
Corbogha was a knight called Herluin, perhaps a
Norman, who, like Tancred, had learnt the language
in Southern Italy. A generation later the office of
dragoman seems to have been held as a kind of
feudal fief, and under Fulk and Baldwin III., we read
of a William Dragomannus, who owned a house at
Jerusalem. Later still it was customary for Saracen
children to be brought up among Christians, and
Christian children among Saracens. Doubtless this
custom softened the asperity natural to rival creeds
and races, and so the great Christian nobles of
1 See below, pp. 358-9.
INTERCOURSE WITH THE SARACENS. 29I
Palestine became friendly with their Saracen neigh-
bours. Of this familiarity we find abundant examples ;
Hcnfrid of Toron once owed his safety when on a
plundering raid to the friendship of a Saracen emir ;
Hugh of Csesarea could treat with the Caliph of
Cairo in his own tongue. One great lord, possibly
Reginald of Sidon, had so keen an interest in Saracen
literature, that he had a special clerk to interpret it to
him. Reginald of Chatillon again is stated expressly
to have spoken the Saracen tongue, a faculty that he
probably acquired in the long years of his captivity.
But with all the intercourse between the two races
there seems to have been little close acquaintanceship
on either side with the literature or learning of the
other. Among the Christians, however, one name is
pre-eminent for knowledge of all languages, namely,
that of William of Tyre, who wrote his Mohammedan
history — now unfortunately lost — entirely from Arabic
sources as a counterfoil to his history of his own land,
which was compiled from Christian authorities.
It must not, however, be supposed that the Frankish
nobility of Syria was lacking in luxury and culture ;
more probably for their age they were in advance
of their Western cousins. The Latin conquest was
followed by the erection of numerous castles, churches,
and monasteries, many of which, by their solidity
and magnificence, bear witness to the skill of their
builders, and the facility with which they had learnt
from their Byzantine and Saracen contemporaries.
The necessities of the climate and the example of the
natives led to much luxury and splendour. In the
towns where military defence was not of the first
2Cj2 THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE.
importance, the residences of the nobles and even of
the wealthy citizens were built round open court-yards,
cooled by fountains playing in marble basins, and
decorated by the skill of Greek and Arab artists. In
their dress also, the Franks, when not engaged in
warfare, imitated the luxury of their enemies, and
often adopted the flowing robes of the East. So
when in 1 192 Saladin made Henry of Champagne a
present of a tunic and turban, the Christian prince
replied : " You know that we are far from despising
the tunic and turban ; I shall certainly make use of
your presents."
The great nobles of Syria must have depended for
their wealth, very much as did their Western cousins,
on their rural possessions. The country as distin-
guished from the towns was divided into casals or
villages, inhabited by " Syrians," " Bedouins," or, as
they are otherwise styled, rustics, who paid a quar-
ter or a third of the net produce of their harvests
to their lord, with perhaps extra payments of fowls,
eggs, cheese and the like, at the great festivals. As
in England the land was roughly measured into
"plough-lands" (carrucae), or as much as a single
man would plough in a year. The cultivation of the
land was subject to strict rules : the land tilled for
corn one year was used for b^ans or some similar crop
the next ; in some cases the amount of seed to be
used for each plough-land was definitely fixed. The
population of the casals was not very numerous, and
was perhaps stationary or even declining ; there seem
to have been rarely more than twenty men (heads of
families) in a single casal, with a holding of from one
294 THE LIFE 0F THE PEOPLE.
to two and a half plough-lands a-piece. The rustici
were attached to the land, and were sold along with the
estate. 1 They were regarded with a certain amount
of scorn and suspicion by their Frankish lords, who,
whilst admitting that they were "needful for the
land," found them useless for military service except
in small numbers as light-armed archers. Perhaps
they were rightly charged with being but lukewarm
in their attachment to the Franks, and ready to sell
information to the Saracens. There is very little
evidence as to the monetary value of the casals ; but
we know that when Hugh of Ibelin had to raise his
ransom money in 1160, he received seven thousand
besants for several large casals, and when Julian of
Sidon sold some forty casals to the Teutonic knights
about a century later, he received from twenty-three
thousand to twenty-four thousand besants.
Passing away from the great lords and their country
dependents we come to the town population, the
foreign merchants, the Syrian Franks or Pullaui, and
the foreign settlers. The foreign trade was mostly in
the hands of the great Italian cities, and, above all,
of Venice, Genoa, and Pisa. The Genoese made their
appearance at the Port of St. Simeon during the siege
of Antioch in 1098, and by maintaining communica-
tions with Cyprus and the Greek Empire, furnished
the Crusaders with supplies on their march to Jeru-
salem. Baldwin I. promised them one-third of all
the money they helped to earn, and a quarter in every
town they helped to acquire. Bohemond gave them
1 A common formula of sale is " casalia cum omnibus villanis e$
pertinentiis."
THE ITALIAN TRADERS AND THE TOWNS. 295
a footing in Antioch, but they were specially powerful
in the county of Tripoli, where Bertram gave them
one-third of his capital itself. Much, however, of their
first acquisitions were afterwards lost ; but at a later
time they had a quarter at Acre and were very power-
ful in Armenia, where they had their own viscount
and court of justice. The Pisans like the Genoese
appear during the progress of the First Crusade, and
enjoyed the patronage of their compatriot, Dagobert,
who afterwards became Patriarch of Jerusalem. They
were established at Antioch in 1109; in 11 56 the
Pisans in Syria were under a viscount, but we find a
Pisan consul at Antioch in 1170; they had also a
quarter at Acre, and establishments at Jaffa, Tyre,
Tripoli, and Laodicea.
By far the most important of the trading com-
munities was that of the Venetians, who, however,
were later on the scene than their rivals of Genoa
and Pisa. A Venetian fleet appeared at Jaffa in
1 100, and many privileges were granted by Geoffrey
and Baldwin I. But the great triumph of Venice
was the taking of Tyre in 11 24, when they assisted
in the capture of the city with a fleet of one hundred
and thirty vessels under the doge, Domenicho Michaeli.
This achievement was the occasion of their obtaining
special privileges, which gave them the pre-eminence
in the kingdom of Jerusalem itself; they were pro-
mised a yearly pension of three hundred besants, a
payment which later kings, from Fulk onwards, found
it convenient to disallow ; they were also to have a
church, street, bath, and oven, in each of the king's
towns, and in those of his nobles, with the right to
296 THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE.
use their own measures, not only in their private
transactions, but even in sales to other people ; in
purchases they were bound to use the royal measures.
In the principality of Antioch and county of Tripoli
the Venetians obtained but little footing. In 1183
we find the Venetian communities under the rule
of viscounts, but in the next century there appears
an official styled the " Bailiff of Syria," who resided
at Acre or Tyre. In other towns there were consuls,
who were responsible for the good order of the
community.
Amongst other Italian cities the first place belongs
to Amalfi, which had traded with Syria from the
early years of the eleventh century. Of non- Italian
cities Marseilles was alone conspicuous.
There was much commercial rivalry between the
merchants of the various cities, and especially between
those of the three great cities. From the Third
Crusade onwards the dissensions of the Venetians,
Pisans, and Genoese, were the cause of much open
bloodshed, and were no slight factor in determining
the final downfall of the kingdom.
Probably at the head of all the Syrian Franks in
social position stood those who could pride them-
selves on their pure Western blood, and they are
perhaps the " Franci " whom the author of the
" Itinerary of Richard " distinguishes from the
Syrians. But numerically they must have been far
less important than the half-castes, or PidlanL
These latter represent, if we may trust Suger, those
who were born of a Syrian father or mother ; James
de Vitry, on the other hand, defines them as the
THE PULL AN I OR SYRIAN FRANKS. 297
offspring of the early conquerors by the Apulian
wives, for whom they sent over in the first days
of the kingdom ; practically, however, the word
means simply the Eastern Franks. Gradually they
gave themselves up to all the corruptions of the
climate, and became lazy frequenters of the baths,
luxurious, wanton, quarrelsome, and litigious ; they
took up Eastern habits and adopted an effeminate
dress. Their womenkind were subjected to an harem-
like isolation, and hardly allowed to venture out to
church, so that private altars were erected in their
chambers, at which wretched and ignorant chaplains
officiated ; but though only allowed to visit church
once a year, these ladies contrived to go to the public
baths three times a week, and in their seclusion gave
themselves up to all the superstitious practices of the
East.
Lastly come the foreign settlers, who were only too
often the offscouring of the West, evil-livers, who were
glad to escape the consequences of their crimes by
pretended pilgrimages to the East. In Syria they
soon fell back into their old ways, and became brothel
keepers, tavern haunters, and gamblers, " monstrous
men," says James de Vitry, " who fled from the West
to the Holy Land, changing indeed their sky, but
not their mind." Such was the natural fruit of
papal dispensations, and an unbounded belief in the
efficacy of pilgrimages. But as a contrast to these
worthless folk were the industrious and frugal Italian
traders, sober of life, but lavish of words, who main-
tained their own freedom and laws under their own
leaders : " a folk very necessary to the Holy Land,"
29S THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE.
especially in naval affairs, who endured an Eastern
climate better than others because of their modera-
tion in food and drink. Side by side with them were
the wilder Germans, Bretons, Frenchmen, English-
men — extravagant, sensuous, gluttonous, wine-bibbers,
but, for all that, devout in their religion, and much
given to alms and arms.
Thus there was in Syria a strange conglomeration
of races and creeds : " from every quarter of the
ivorld, of every tribe and tongue, from every nation
under heaven, did devout pilgrims flock to the Holy
Land." Jerusalem itself was exempted from all food
taxes by the generosity of Baldwin L, so that the
poorest pilgrims might find abundant provision there.
Jerusalem gloried in the two places of special devo-
tion, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Mount Zion
and the Templum Domini, or Temple of the Lord,
on Mount Moriah. But there was no lack of other
places of devotion. At Hebron was the tomb of the
patriarchs, hardly more than fifteen years before the
fall of Jerusalem there was living at Bethlehem an
old knight, who told Ali of Herat that fifty years
before as a boy he had himself penetrated to the
chamber in the rock and seen the bodies of the great
father of the Hebrew race and his earliest descen-
dants. Nazareth boasted of the House of our Lord ;
Tortosa of the famous Church of our Lady, the first
altar according to Eastern tradition that was ever
reared in her name — to which the pious Joinville
made a pilgrimage ; Tyre of the tomb of Origen ;
Bethlehem of the stall where Christ had lain, and
the cave of St. Jerome ; Antioch of the Cathedral
flirts mo amuhm* .
PILGRIMS AND MERCHANTS. 299
of St. Peter ; Edessa of the tombs of St. Thomas and
St. Thaddeus, and of the renowned sepulchre of the
holy king Abgar.
Nor was religion the only attraction in Palestine ;
the merchants were no less important than the
pilgrims. The harbours from Ascalon to St. Simeon
were thronged with the vessels of every nation of
Europe ; pre-eminent above them all was Acre.
Other towns were the seats of special industries ;
Antioch was famous for its silken cloths ; Tripoli for
its cotton and silk factories ; Beyrout for its iron
works ; Tyre for its glass and pottery, and for its
dye works ; Tiberias for its carpets ; Nablus for its
oil and soap. The land itself produced fruits of all
kinds, which were exported to Italy if not further
west ; so that John of Salisbury relates how at a
banquet in Italy he was regaled with the delicacies
of all lands, from Constantinople and Cairo to Bar-
bary and Tripoli. Chief among these fruits were the
lemon, the bitter orange, and the citron, and, above all,
the sugar-cane, which the early Crusaders found so
refreshing on their weary march to Jerusalem ; less
strange were the figs and cucumbers and melons.
But many of the delicacies which James de Vitry
enumerates must have been brought by caravan
from more distant lands.
From time immemorial the ginger and musk of
China and Thibet had come by way of India and
Ceylon to the ports of the Persian Gulf, thence to
be carried by caravans over Western Asia. From
Bagdad the caravans made their way by the Tigris
and Euphrates to Rakka, Edessa, and. Harran, and
300 THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE.
thence to the great Mohammedan cities of Hamah,
Aleppo, and Damascus, and so to the Christian ports
on the coast. The caravans from Damascus to
Egypt passed through the lordship of Montreal,
and the tolls were so rich a source of revenue that
Baldwin III. specially reserved them when he granted
the lordship to Philip of Nablus. It was the exactions
of ReginaH of Chatillon on these caravans that caused
his feud with Saladin, and so led to the ruin of the
kingdom. Of the trade on the coast Acre was the
centre, and it is astonishing to read the long list
of merchandise that here paid toll to the kings ot
Jerusalem ; in it we find pepper, citron, cloves, lemons,
aloes, sugar, cardamon, the wines of Nazareth and
Sepphoris, and all the manufactured products ot
Christian Syria itself.
It must, however, be remembered that the trade
route of the Euphrates and Syria was subordinate
to that of the Red Sea and Egypt, in so far as
concerns the commerce between India and China
and the nations of Europe. Still the Venetian
Marino Sanuto, writing soon after the fall of Acre,
states that, whilst the heavier goods came by way
of Egypt, the lighter and more costly wares were
brought by caravan to Acre, Antioch, and elsewhere.
It would seem that the land-borne spices were
reckoned to have a rarer relish than those that had
suffered from the long journey by sea, and the
rough handling incidental to frequent transhipments.
It was into the midst of this feudal and military
realm, into the midst of this busy mart of agriculture,
manufacture, and trade ; into this land which was
COMMERCE WITH THE FAR EAST. 30I
the focus of the devotion, the curiosity, the am-
bition, and the greed of every nation from Ireland
to India, and from Norway to North Africa,
that in 11 87 Saladin burst with such appalling
velocity and such fatal effect Like a castle of
cards or a fortress on the sands the whole kingdom
of Jerusalem shuddered, collapsed, and fell ; three
months sufficed to work its ruin from the confines
of Armenia to the borders of Egypt, and from the
Jordan to the Mediterranean ; in the spring it seemed
full of life and vigour, in the autumn it lay prostrate
in utter destruction. The causes of this sudden fall
may here fitly detain us.
William of Tyre, regarding the events of his own
day with the eyes of a priestly if philosophic
historian, would have us attribute the misfortunes
of his land primarily to the sins of its people. The
Latins of the East had forsaken God ; God in His
turn was now forsaking them ; the old fervour was
gone, no longer were the princes of the West ready
to make their whole life a pilgrimage, as had done
Godfrey of Bouillon or Theodoric of Flanders. More
weight is to be laid on the historian's second cause :
the degeneracy of the Frankish race under an Eastern
sun in the midst of Eastern luxury ; even Arabic
writers noted this and tell us that in the latter half
of the twelfth century, the individual Saracen was
far more nearly a match for the individual Christian
than he had been fifty years earlier. Most important
of all is the fact that during this century the valley
of the Orontes passed from the divided rule of a
score of petty lords under the supremacy of one
J02 THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE.
Sultan. When the Sultan further became lord of
Egypt and carried his conquering arms to the
Euphrates and the Tigris, it was evident that the
star of Islam was once more in the ascendant.
The Mohammedans took fresh courage under their
victorious leader, and in their turn embarked on a
holy war against the enemies of their faith.
But there was another cause at work to which
historians have perhaps paid too little attention.
Long and repeated minorities of the kings gave
the opportunity for internecine strife to arise
among the nobles. Even in the narrative of
William of Tyre we can trace signs of two factions,
the one of the nobles, and the other, so to say, of
the king's friends ; it was the same struggle that
led in England many years later to the Barons'
War. The old-established nobility of Syria were
careless of fresh conquests ; their ancestors had
won vast estates, pleasant lands, and boundless
wealth through the expenditure of blood and toil ;
they themselves were of a weaklier brood, and asked
only to be allowed to pluck the grapes that ripened
in the vineyards that their fathers had planted and
tilled and dressed. Hence under such a leader as
Raymond of Tripoli, sick of warfare, sick of toil,
longing for ease and delighting perhaps in the
nobler graces of civilisation — in art and literature
and science — the Syrian nobles were eager only for
a peace that would let them live their pleasant
life as seemed good to them — free from care, free
from danger, free from war. Perhaps Raymond
thought also that under the altered condition of things
WEAKNESS OF THE KINGDOM. 303
— now that Islam was one, and gradually closing
in upon the doomed kingdom — this was the wisest
course to pursue ; better so to speak by the payment
of tribute to preserve what they had, than by open
war to risk the loss of all.
Over against this peace party may be set the party
of the foreigners and the great military orders who,
under the leadership of Reginald of Chatillon, looked
at matters from a very, different point of view.
Perhaps they were eager to carve out new princi-
palities for themselves ; perhaps they longed merely
for the excitement and distinction of war with the
infidel ; or, as is more likely still, they had a truer
insight into the drift of affairs. They saw that for
a little kingdom situated as theirs was— hemmed in
by hostile powers to the north and south and east,
and with all capacity for expansion cut off by the
sea on the west — there was only one sound policy.
The sword must keep what the sword had won ;
not to advance was to recede, not to conquer to
be conquered. Hence their rivalry with Raymond ;
hence Raymond's friendship with Salad in ; hence
Saladin's enmity with Reginald. This feud between
the new men and the old, the strangers and the
foreigners, is but faintly reflected in the pages of
William of Tyre ; for his is as purely a court history
as is that of his contemporary Robert de Monte, who,
dedicating his work to Henry II., barely mentions
the quarrels between the king and Becket. But on
turning from William to his continuator Ernoul, we
see the truth at once ; we feel that we are no longer
reading sober history but a party pamphlet. Glanc-
304
THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE.
ing back in this light at the pages of William of
Tyre, we become dimly conscious that the greatest
of all historians that the world had seen since Tacitus,
who was as great in action as he was great in thought,
is himself but the spokesman of a political party ; an
historian whose presentation of facts, as distinct from
the facts themselves, is little more to be trusted than
would have been a history of North's ministry from
the hands of Burke, or a life of Pitt from the pen of
Fox,
XX.
THE THIRD CRUSADE— THE GATHERING OF THE
HOST.
(U88-II9I.)
1 Say, Muse, their names, then known, who first, who last,
At their great emperor's call as next in worth,
Came singly." Milton, Paradise Lost, i.
THE news of the fall of Jerusalem reached Europe
about the end of October, 1187^ It is hard at this
distance of time to realise the measure of the disaster
in the eyes of the Western world. It was not merely
that the Holy City had fallen ; that all the scenes of
that Bible history which constituted emphatically the
literature of mediaeval Christendom, had passed into
the hand of the infidel. It was all this and something
more ; the little kingdom of Jerusalem was the one
outpost of the Latin Church and Latin culture in
the East ; it was the creation of those heroes of the
First Crusade whose exploits had already become
305
i
306 THE THIRD CRUSADE.
the theme of more than one romance ; it lay on
the verge of that mysterious East with all its wealth
of gold and precious stones and merchandise, towards
which the sword of the twelfth-century knight
turned as instinctively as the prow of the English or
Spanish adventurer four centuries later turned to-
wards the West. If the sword had won much, much
yet remained for it to win ; Aleppo the chief town
of Northern Syria, Damascus the garden of the world,
Alexandria the storehouse of the East — all these and
other prizes fired from time to time the ambitions
of those who aspired to rival the successes of the
two Baldwins, of Raymond and Reginald, or of
Fulk and Guy ; while for those who fell in battle and
lost the prize of temporal power, there was secured
an eternity of happiness in heaven. Thus Palestine
inspired alike the imagination, the enterprise, and
faith of Western Christendom. V
No wonder that both religious enthusiast and
knightly adventurer were stirred to the very utmost at
the tidings of Saladin's victory. Pope Urban III. was
alleged to have died of grief for the loss of the Holy
City. Unfounded though that report was, 1 we know
with what profound emotion the news was received in
the papal court, where the cardinals laid aside their
luxury, and pledged themselves to take the cross and
beg, if need be, their way to Palestine. Nor was the
feeling less profound in the lands beyond the
Alps ; it was not, we may be sure, any peculiar
1 Urban died on October 20, 1187, before the fall of Jerusalem could
have been known in Europe.
PRINCES AND PREACHERS. 307
grief which made Abbot Samson of Bury St.
Edmund's (familiar to. all readers of Carlyle's
" Past and Present ") wear sackcloth next his skin,
and leave off animal food from the time when he
heard that the Holy City was in the hands of the
infidel.
One of the first acts of the new Pope, Gregory
VI II., was to bid the princes of Europe lay aside their
private quarrels and unite for the service of Christ
in a new Crusade. First to take the Cross in Novem-
ber, 1 1 87, was our own Richard, then Count
of Poitou ; two months later, on January 21,
1 1 88, the kings of France and England were recon-
ciled by the Archbishop of Tyre, and both re-
ceived the cross at his hands ; their example was
quickly followed by the Count of Flanders. The
three princes agreed that white, red, and green
crosses should bp the badges of their respective
followers.
Nor was the enthusiasm confined to words ; the
famous Saladin-tax in England, and perhaps in
France also, bound every man, on pain of excom-
munication, to contribute a tithe of his means for the
contemplated expedition ; to all who would pledge
themselves to personal service, special privileges were
offered. In England the Crusade was preached by
Baldwin of Canterbury himself ; in his journey through
Wales tfte^archbishop was accompanied by the famous
Giraldus Cambrensis, who made this the occasion of
his ." Itinerary." The foremost preacher in France
was Berter of Orleans, the echo of whose eloquence
has come down to us in the song which bears his
308 THE THIRD CRUSADE.
name. 1 Many nobles in both countries followed the
example of their kings, but before long the feud
between Henry and Philip broke out again. Time
after time the expedition was postponed,' and it was
nearly three years after the fall of Jerusalem, when
Henry himself was dead, that the chivalry of France
and England were led over sea by their feudal lords
to share in the siege of Acre.
The kings of the Spanish peninsula were too busy
with the infidel at their own gates to go and fight for
the Faith at the other extremity of the Mediter-
ranean. In Italy, however, William of Sicily was
first of the great princes to act ; when the Archbishop
of Tyre, in his black-sailed galley, brought the news
of Hattin, William had forthwith diverted to the re-
lief of the Holy Land the fleet which he had collected
1 The first verse of this song, with its refrain, runs as follows : —
" Juxta threnos Jeremiae
vere syon lugent viae,
quod solemni non sit die
qui sepulcrum visitet,
vel casum resuscitet
hujus prophetiae.
Contra quod propheta scribit,
quod de syon lex exibit
numquid ibi lex peribit,
nee habebit vindicem,
ubi Christus calicem
passionis bibit.
Lignum crucis
signum ducis
sequitur exercitus
quod non cessit
sed prsecessit
in vi sancti spiritus."
FREDERICK BARBAROSSA. 309
for an attack on Constantinople. This armament,
under its great admiral, Margaritus, saved Antioch
from Saladin, helped to preserve Tripoli, strengthened
Conrad at Tyre, and recovered Jaffa. William was
preparing for a fresh expedition when his death, and
the troubles which ensued put an end to the design.
V A yet more potent sovereign had already pledged
himself for the second time to the service of the cross.
Forty years had passed since Frederick Barbarossa
had borne his part in the Second Crusade, and now
as a man of_nearly seventy-he renewed the -promise of
his youth. The troubles of the great Emperor's reign
had come to an end, and it had seemed that he might
now close his life in peace ; but all thoughts of rest were
banished by the news of the fall of Jerusalem, and
Frederick, though last to take the cross, was first to
take the field. Whilst Richard and PhiHp were N.
banded together in treason to their father and fellow-
Crusader, the aged Emperor was already toiling
through Hungary and Bulgaria on his way to the
East. In the previous year his envoys had obtained
from Isaac Comnenus the promise of ample pro-
visions, but the promise of the Greek proved as
worthless as ever. Not, indeed, but what Isaac may
well have looked on this new enterprise with alarm.
Bright, though perhaps misty, visions of a Latin
Empire in the East long floated before the eyes of
Western Europe. William of Sicily had actually been
preparing for such an attempt, and later legend tells
how Richard of England hoped to crown the glory of
his life by the conquest of so rich a prize. In 11 88
the world was full with whispers of a coming change ;
STATUE OF FREDERICK
MARCH OF FREDERICK. 3II
strange prophecies were told to ready ears, and many-
hoped that in Frederick they might find the yellow-
haired king of the West before whom the golden gate
of Constantinople was to open ; might he not also be
destined to fulfil that other prophecy, and drive back
the last remnant of the unconverted Turks beyond
the withered tree.
On May 11, 11 89, Frederick's great army started
from Ratisbon. In Hungary he was received
hospitably, but on entering Bulgaria in July he began
to experience the nature of Greek promises. Markets
were ill provided, and the natives dogged the line of
march to cut off stragglers or in the hope of plunder.
At Philippo^olis on the 24th of August there came
the news that Isaac had made a league with Saladin,
and contrary to all right and custom thrust the Ger-
man ambassadors into prison. Isaac's promises were
clearly valueless, and Frederick accordingly sent word
to his son Henry at home to hire all the ships he
could in Italy, and send them to Constantinople in
readiness for its siege in the following March.
Isaac presently took alarm, released the envoys
and came to terms. The German army then went
into winter quarters at Adrianople ; in February,
1 190, they started once more, and soon after Easter,
which fell this year on the 25th of March, crossed
the Bosphorus and entered Asia. At Laodicea they
reached the dominions of Kilij Arslan, who, by his
envoys had promised Frederick good guidance and
stores of food. It was, however, soon evident that
Kilij Arslan was no more to be trusted than Isaac ;
no food was brought for sale, and as the army toiled
312 THE THIRD CRUSADE.
along the rocky ways that led to Iconium their steps
were dogged by the hostile Turks. When at length,
on the 1 8th of May, the Crusaders appeared before his
city, Kilij Arslan, declaring that it was not he but his
son who was to blame for the past, came to terms and
opened to the Crusaders an abundant market.
From Iconium Frederick passed on towards Cilicia.
Leo, the Prince of Armenia, sent him envoys with
promises of all support and goodwill. But on the
ioth of June while the army was struggling over the
rocky hills that separated Cilicia. from Lycaonia they
were startled by the news of the Emperor's death.
Desirous to avoid the labours of the recognised path
which wound up the rocks above the river Saleph,
Frederick had determined to make a short cut ; with
his attendants he came down to the river side ; the
day was hot, and willing to shorten his journey, and at
the same time cool his heated limbs the Emperor at-
tempted to swim the rapid stream ; the swirl of the
waters sucked him down, and so " he, who had often-
times escaped from greater dangers, came to a pitiful
end." His followers sadly carried his body to Tarsus,
where they buried the intestines with great reverence ;
his bones were taken to Antioch and interred in the
Church of St. Peter.
Thus perished the noblest type of German kingship
— the Kaiser Redbeard, of whom history and legend
have so much to tell. Tradition was soon busy with
his death. Men could not believe that he was gone
away for ever from his own land : like Arthur, he
was but in hiding for a time, and would return in some
hour of supreme necessity to save the empire which
RICHARD I. AND PHILIP AUGUSTUS. 313
he had ruled. The spot which witnessed his destruc-
tion was fabled to have been marked out by fate from
remote antiquity, and a rock near the river's fount
was alleged to bear the ominous words — " Hie
HOMINUM MAXIMUS PERIBIT " (" Here shall perish
the greatest of men ").
After Frederick's death the German host divided
into two. One body went to Tripoli ; the rest, under
the Duke of Swabia, made their way to Antioch,
where they stayed for some time, recruiting them-
selves after their labours, and assisting the prince of
that city in his warfare.
It was not till June, 1190, that Richard and Philip
Augustus were ready to commence their journey. The
two kings met at Vezelay, and proceeded in company
to Marseilles, whence Philip sailed in a Genoese fleet
for Sicily, and landed at Messina on the 16th of
September. Richard had ordered his fleet to meet
him at Marseilles, but the English Crusaders, mindful
of the exploit of their forefathers nearly half a
century before, stopped on the way to help Sancho,
of Portugal, in his warfare with the Moors. It was the
14th of September before they reached Marseilles.
Meanwhile Richard, impatient of delay, had started
in a single galley. Slowly he sailed from port to port
along the western shores of Italy, varying his journey
from time to time by a ride on shore. At last, on
the 23rd of September, he joined his main fleet, and
entered Messina in state and pomp amidst the blare
of trumpets, whilst the Frenchmen and Sicilians on
the beach marvelled at the splendour of his coming.
The two kings stayed on in Sicily for six months.
314 THE THIRD CRUSADE.
The winter was passed in unseemly wrangling ; Tan-
cred, the- new ruler of the island, was an illegitimate
grandson of Roger I. ; he had seized the person
and property of his predecessor's widow, Joanna,
and she, as Richard's sister, naturally turned to. her
brother for protection. An ill-advised quarrel soon
gave Richard a pretext for an attack on Messina ;
" Quicker than priest could chant matins," says
the old chronicler, " did King Richard take trie city."
Such prompt action brought Tancred to his senses
and though Richard did not get the golden table and
chair, which he claimed as part of his sister's dower,
he received what' was perhaps more useful, namely,
forty thousand ounces ofgold.
If the taking of Messina proved Richard's military
prowess, his castle of Matte Griffin, or Check Greek,
showed him as the skilful engineer ; and the great
Christmas feast, when he gave his guests the golden
goblets which they used, displayed his generosity.
Now also, though late, he recognised his sin against
his father, and showed the sincerity of his sorrow by
submitting to public penance. In the presence of all
his prelates he confessed his sin, and " from that hour
once more became a God-fearing man."
On the 30th of March, 1191, Richard's mother,
Eleanor, brought to Messina her son's destined bride,
Berengaria of Navarre. That same day Philip had
sailed for Palestine, but Richard did not start till eleven
days later. The English fleet, which numbered more
than one hundred and eighty vessels, was scattered
by a great storm two days after it set sail. Richard
himself put in at Crete ; but some of his ships were
SICILY AND CYPRUS. 315
wrecked on the coast of Cyprus, and the crews
thrown into prison by order of Isaac Comnenus,
the ruler of the island. A little later the ship
which carried Berengaria and her future sister-in-
law, Joanna, reached Limasol. Somewhat doubtfully
they accepted Isaac's invitation to land next day,
Monday, the 6th of May ; but that same afternoon
the sails of the main fleet appeared on the horizon,
and on the following morning the king himself
arrived. Richard was not the man to suffer tamely
the wrongs which had been done to his followers ;
when Isaac refused redress, the English king de-
termined to use force ; a short campaign of three
weeks sufficed for the conquest of Cyprus, and Isaac
was imprisoned in chains of silver.
At Cyprus Richard married Berengaria, and after
a month's stay in the island sailed, on the 5th of
June, for Palestine, in the company of Guy de Lusig-
nan, who had come to meet him with many of the
great Syrian nobles. On his way Richard encountered
and sank a great Saracen vessel laden with provisions
for Acre, and after two days entered the harbour of
that city in triumph. " For joy at his coming," says
Baha-ed-din, " the Franks broke forth into public re-
joicing, and lit mighty fires in their camps all night
long. And seeing that the King of England was old
in war and wise in council, the hearts of the Mussul-
mans were filled with fear and dread."
XXL
THE THIRD CRUSADE — THE SIEGE OF ACRE.
(U89-II91.)
" Corpses across the threshold ; heroes tall
Dislodging pinnacle and parapet
Upon the tortoise creeping to the wall;
Lances in ambush set."
Tennyson, "A Dream of Fair Women"
We must now turn back to record the fortunes of
the Christians in Palestine during the interval between
the fall of Jerusalem and the arrival of the main host
of the Crusaders under the kings of France and Eng-
land.
Guy de Lusignan had been set free towards the
beginning of July, u-SS^— but not until he had
promised to abandon his claim on the kingdom.
From this engagement he was soon releaser} by the
clergy, who assured him that there was no binding
force in such an oath. Near Tortosa he met his wife,
and with her proceeded to Antioch at the invitation
of Bohemond. The year passed in anxious expec-
tation of succour from Europe. But by the following
316
GUY DE LUSIGNAN. 317
spring Guy had assembled a little army, and feeling
sufficiently strong to take the initiative, marched
southwards to Tyre. Conrad refused him admission
to the city, declaring that God had entrusted it to his
care, and he would keep it ; if the king sought a
resting-place let him find it elsewhere. After four
months' vain delay near Tyre, Guy marched on to
Acre with an army which now numbered seven
hundred knights and nine thousand foot, gathered
from every nation in Christendom. With this little
force he set down to besiege that great and strong
city on the 28th of August, 1 189.
Acre lies on an inlet of the Mediterranean which
COIN OF GUY DE LUSIGNAN.
bears its name ; a tongue of land running south-
wards into the sea serves as a partial protection for
the harbour ; at its extremity rose the famous
"Tower of Flies," 1 which, together with a chain,
helped to guard the harbour ; to the east the city
overlooked a fertile plain. The harbour of Acre was
the best in the kingdom properly so called, if not along
the whole coast of Syria, and the town itself was the
chief emporium of Erankish trade. In recent years it
had been gradually supplanting Jerusalem as the royal
residence, and had become the recognised landing-
1 So called, if we may trust the chroniclers, because it marked the
spot where heathen sacrifices had of old attracted swarms < f flies.
3lS THE THIRD CRUSADE.
place for pilgrims from the West. " Acre," says an
Arab writer, who visited it some five years before this
time, "is the column on which the Frankish towns
in Syria rest. Thither put in the tall ships which
float like mountains over the sea. It is the meeting-
place of crafts and caravans : the place whither
Mussulman and Christian merchants muster from all
sides."
At a little distance from the walls a small hill rises
above the level of the plain ; here Guy pitched his
tent, whence he could look forward over the city for
the sails of his expected friends. But to the east a
less pleasant sight soon met his gaze, as one after
another the Saracen contingents hastened up to hem
in the Christian army between the river Kishon and
the sea ; before long the Christians were themselves
besieged, and their numbers were so few that they
could not prevent the Saracens from passing almost
at their will to and from the town.
The siege had hardly commenced when the first
ships of the autumn passage began to arrive. First
came the Frisians, closely followed by a contingent
from Flanders and England. Then came the hero
of the siege, James of Avesnes, a warrior proud and
turbulent in his own land, but in the eyes of his
fellow Crusaders the model of all chivalric virtues —
in counsel as Nestor, in arms as Achilles, in faith
as Regulus. Other arrivals were Robert of Dreux,
grandson of Louis VI., and his brother Philip of
Beauvais, the warrior prelate of the expedition ; the
Counts of Brienne and Bar, and the Landgrave, Louis
of Thuringia, whose influence induced Conrad of Mont-
SIEGE OF ACRE. 319
ferrat to lend his aid to an enterprise, from which he
had as yet held sullenly aloof. By mid-September
the Christians perhaps numbered nine thousand
horse and thirty thousand foot, and were able to
establish an effectual blockade. Saladin therefore
determined on an attempt to break through their
lines, and in the early dawn of September 14th, a
sudden onset from both the city and the camp proved
successful ; despite their valour, the Christians could
not prevent the passage of the loaded camels into
Acre, nor the escape of one of Saladin's sons from
the beleaguered town.
Three weeks later Guy retaliated by an attack on
the Sultan's camp ; the Saracens gave way before
the charge of the Franks, who were already plunder-
ing Saladin's tent, when a sally from the town
cut off the Christians in the rear, and called Geoffrey
de Lusignan to his brother's aid, from the camp which
he had undertaken to guard. In vain did the Templars
offer a stout resistance to the new attack ; twenty of
their knights were slain, and among them Gerard de
Rideford, the ...Grand Master. Gerard died a hero's
death ; his comrades urged him to seek safety in
retreat ; " God forbid," was his reply, " that men
should say of me to the shame of our order, that to
save my own life I fled away leaving my fellows
dead behind me." Nor was Gerard alone in his
gallantry ; Guy himself, in the true spirit of chivalry,
rescued his enemy _C onrad~lTom the imminent dan ger
of death, whilst James d'Avesnes owed his safety to
the self-sacrifice of one of his knights. In the end
the Christians lost the day, but they gained, never-
320 THE THIRD CRUSADE.
theless, a substantial advantage, for the Saracens
were so exhausted, that Saladin gave orders to fall
back on El Kharruba, about twelve miles south-
east of Acre. 1
The Christians turned this respite to the best use ;
in order at once to secure their own position, and to
complete the blockade, they dug a deep trench out-
side their camp from sea to sea, and strengthened it
with a wall of earth. Night and day they toiled at
the task till all was finished. Young and old, men
and women, all joined in the labour, and the Christian
historian records with enthusiasm, how when one
woman was mortally wounded in the midst of her
labour, she adjured her husband to let her dead
body be flung into the mound, that thus she might
further in death the work for which she had sacrificed
her life.
The winter passed away without any important
result, though the Egyptian fleet succeeded in re-
victualling the town on October 31st, and two months
later drove the Christian vessels to seek shelter at
Tyre. Saladin occupied himself with preparations
for mustering a large army ; Baha-ed-din was sent on
an embassy to summon the lords beyflfck the
Euphrates, and to beg aid of the Caliph^H|oth A
missions proved successful, and in April, 1 ! !^Bhj7
various contingents began to arrive. Meantime
1 This probably refers only to part of Saladin's army. PrevUPy
the main host had been encamped on the hill of A'iadiya, about four
and a half miles south-east of Acre. This retreat was occasioned chiefly
by Saladin's ill-health ; but none the less does the Arabic contemporary
historian — wise after the event — blame the hero of Islam.
CHRISTIAN SUCCESSES. 321
Conrad had brought back the fleet from Tyre, and,
in return for a compact, by which he was to have
Tyre, Sidon, and Beyrout, lent his hearty aid. But
though the Christians could now confine the Saracen
fleet at Acre, they still could not prevent the entry
of provisions from time to time. The siege__was
neverijxekss- prosecuted with vigour from the land
side ; three great towers of wood were constructed,
and fitted with engines ; when manned by five
hundred men a-piece, they were brought to bear on
the walls. Perhaps the town would have fallen save
for the energy of a young charcoal-burner of Damas-
cus ; but by his direction certain ingredients were
mixed together in pots, which on being hurled against
the towers set them ablaze ; thus they were all des-
troyed, and the confusion of the Christians was
increased by an attack from the Saracen camp, which
was maintained during eight days.
After this many of Saladin's best troops were called
away to oppose the Germans near AntiocL This
circumstances perhaps encouraged the Christian
common folk, contrary to the will of their leaders, to
sally out on July 25th against the foes surrounding
them. The wrath of the chiefs was powerless against
the lust for spoil, which stirred the crowd to madness ;
for a moment the suddenness of the attack made it
successful, and the rude host was soon rifling the
tents of El-Adel. But the Saracen soldiery quickly
mustered to arms, and the Franks, who had no
thought except for the plunder, woke up to find their
retreat entirely cut off. Hardly one would have
escaped but for the valour and self-devotion of an
322 THE THIRD CRUSADE.
English clerk, Ralph of Hautrey, Archdeacon of
Colchester. The Christians themselves admitted a
loss of over five thousand men, and Baha-ed-din, who
rode over the plain after the battle, declares that
he had to cross " waves of blood," and that he
could not count the number of the dead.
The next few months were passed in comparative
quiet, but were marked by the coming of the first
large contingents of the French and English hosts ;
the former under Henry of Champagne and Theo-
bald of Blois, the latter under Ranulf Glanville,
Archbishop Baldwin of Canterbury, and his destined
successor, Hubert Walter, then Bishop of Salisbury.
About the same time the Germans arrived from
Tripoli, under Frederick of Swabia ; but of the vast
host which started from Ratisbon, scarcely five
thousand were now left.
Count Henry brought with him ten thousand men,
and he was at once appointed to command the army
in place of James d'Avesnes and the Landgrave, who
had so far held the office by turns. The attack from
the land side still met with but indifferent success,
but at sea the blockade was so strictly maintained,
that famine began to press hard on the besieged.
Saladin, however, maintained his communications
with the town, through the agency of a messenger
named Eissa. This man would creep down to the
shore at dark, carrying in his belt letters and money
for the payment of the troops ; thence plunging into
the waters he would strike out for the harbour, often
diving beneath the very keels of the Crusaders' ships.
At last one of his journeys proved fatal, and a few
FAMINE IN THE CAMP. 323
days later the citizens of Acre found his dead body
on the sand with his belt still untouched. " Never
before," says the Arab historian, quaintly, " had we
seen a man pay a debt after his death."
Provisions grew scarce within the town, but the
state of the Christian camp was scarcely less doleful.
Archbishop Baldwin, writing home, says : " The Lord
is not in the camp ; there is none that doeth good.
The leaders strive one with another, while the lesser
folk starve, and have none to help. The Turks are
persistent in attack, while our knights skulk within
their tents. The strength of Saladin increases daily,
but daily does our army wither away."
Saladin^however, on October 20th, went into winter
quarters at SheTr 'Amr close to El Kharruba ; for
the unhealthiness of the place was proving fatal to
himself and to his troops. His troops began to
murmur at the long campaign, and one by one
many of his chief followers withdrew, till in March,
1 191, the Sultan was left with only a small force. On
the other hand, the stress of winter had prevented the
Franks from watching the harbour with the usual
closeness,~anct~Saladin had contrived to throw a fresh
garrison into the town (Feb. 13th). Moreover famine
was rife in the Christian camp, and during t$e enforced
idleness of winter the soldiery gave way to dicing,
drinking, and even worse. Baldwin took the evil
that he saw around him so much to heart, that he
fell sick, and after a short illness died, thankful for
his speedy delivery from his sojourn in so godless an
army. Conrad had withdrawn to Tyre, and promised
to send provisions thence ; but he either could not
324 THE THIRD CRUSADE.
or would not fulfil his engagement, and at length the
famine grew so severe that the knights slew their
chargers to save themselves irom- death. When it
was known that an animal had been slaughtered, men
flocked together from all parts of the camp to beg
or steal a portion for themselves. Men of noble birth
might be seen going out into the plain and eating
grass like cattle, others ran about the camp like dogs
on the scent for old bones. At last, one Saturday
early in March, a ship arrived with a cargo of grain,
and by the following day the price of a measure of
corn had fallen from a hundred pieces of gold to four.
After this there was an end of the famine, and only
those grieved who, like a certain Pisan, had hoarded
their grain in the hope of an even higher price ;
" But his wickedness did God show by a plain token ;
for it chanced that his house suddenly took fire and
was consumed with all that was in it."
About the end of March, 1191, Saladin renewed
his leaguer of the Christian camp ; but the Besieged
within the city were now hard pressed, and the
Sultan could do no more to help them than to order
an attack on the Christian camp whenever the
Christians made a special effort against the "town.
Philip Augustus arrived on April. 20th, and Richard
on June 8th ; it seemed for the moment that Acre
must fall at once. The machines which the King of
England had constructed in Sicily, including the
huge wooden tower Matte Griffin, were brought to
bear on the walls. But before anything had been
effected, the old feuds broke out afresh ; Guy and
Conrad renewed their quarrel, and the latter departeH
ARRIVAL OF RICHARD.
325
in wrath to Tyre. Next Richard and then Philip
fell sick, and during the illness of the two kings the
Mohammedans were enheartencd by the coming of
fresh forces. Philip soon recovered, and on July 3rd
a great effort to carry the town was made ; though
the assault fell short of complete success, the de-
SEAL OF RICHARD I. (II95-)
fenders were reduced to despair. Richard, though
still unwell, was eager to emulate the deeds of his
rival ; so a few days later he had himself carried to
a shed whence he could direct the efforts of his
engineers ; in his ardour he himself aimed the shots
from the balista, while his miners worked with such
vigour that at length a piece of the wall fell down
with a crash. At last — so the story was told,
326 THE THIRD CRUSADE.
a little later in England — on July 8th, as the
Christians were keeping watch, there shone round
them a sudden light, u for fear of which the guards
became as dead men ; " in the midst of the light
appeared the Virgin, bidding those to whom she
spoke bear her message to the kings ; let them
abandon their efforts against the walls, the city
should be theirs on the fourth day.
Next morning the rulers of the city begged for a
truce, and promised to capitulate if Saladin did not
send immediate help. The Sultan was forced some-
what unwillingly to consent to terms ; Acre was to
be given up together with two hundred knights and
fifteen hundred other Christian captives ; the Holy
Cross was to be restored, and the sum of two hundred
thousand besants paid to the Crusaders. So after a
siege of nearly two years, on Friday, July 12, 1 191,
the Christians once more obtained possession of Acre.
The city and the captives were divided between the
two kings ; Richard took possession of the royal
palace, whilst Philip hung his banner over the house
of the Templars. But even in the hour of victory
the princes quarrelled one with another as to their
respective shares therein. Leopold of Austria — so
the story goes — had set up his banner side by side
with that of the King of England as though arrogat-
ing to himself an equal share in the triumph ; with
Richard's connivance, if not by his command, the
duke's banner was torn down and cast into the ditch.
Leopold, feeling himself unable to revenge this indig-
nity, departed for his own land, bearing in his breast
the seeds of a direful hatred for the English king.
XXII.
THE THIRD CRUSADE— THE CAMPAIGNS OF RICHARD.
(U9I-II92.)
" Yet in this heathen war the fire of God
Fills him : I never saw his like ; there lives
No greater leader. "
Tennyson.
Hardly was Acre taken ; hardly had the two
kings established themselves in their quarters in the
city ; hardly had the papal legate, the Cardinal
Adelard of Verona, and his brother bishops, re-
consecrated the churches which for four years had
been polluted with Mohammedan rites ; hardly had
the Pisan merchants. begun to exercise their former
privileges and renew their former trade, when the
slumbering jealousy of the two kings once more
brought peril on the common enterprise.
Philip Augustus owed no ordinary gratitude to the
late King of England and his sons ; it was the
young Henry who had stood by Philip's side at his
coronation and helped to raise the crown that bore
*oo heavily on the boy-king's head ; it was the elder
328 THE THIRD CRUSADE.
Henry who by his wise statesmanship had preserved
the first years of Philip's reign from rebellion and
civil war ; later, when Richard was at feud with his
father, it was to his alliance that Philip owed the
grand success of 1 189. But the friendliness of the
young princes could not survive Richard's elevation
to the crown ; and with his- father's and his mother's
lands ^.Richard inherited the traditional hostility of
the king at Paris.
Other special grounds of quarrel there were
between Richard and Philip which had not existed
between Henry and Louis. After long dallying,
Richard had repudiated his engagement to Philip's
half-sister Alice ; and though the French king could
stoop to accept compensation in money, he can
hardly have put out of mind the insulting reason
which Richard gave for his refusal. Cjjpidity also
had its share in the quarrel ; the two kings had
sworn to divide all the spoils of their conquests ; but
both had with more or less of reason found occasion
to recede from this engagement. Moreover while
yet in Sicily they had quarrelled openly ; for
Tancred had shown to Richard certain letters
which he professed to have received from Philip, and
which invited his assistance in a treacherous attack
on the English. Philip denied all knowledge of the
letters, but it was only with great difficulty that the
Count of Flanders contrived to effect a seeming
reconciliation.
Nor were personal dissensions the only troubles
with which the two kings had to contend. National
rivalry, which had nearly wrecked the First Crusade,
FRENCH AND ENGLISH. $2Q
was destined to be the ruin of the Third. Richard's
coming to Acre had been hailed as the " coming of
the desired of all nations ; " but the joy was of short
duration, for soon the old jealousies broke out, and
it was found necessary to forbid the two nations even
to fight side by side. " The two kings and peoples,"
says the English chronicler, "did less together than
they would have done separately, and each set but
light store by. the other." So it was agreed that
when the knights of one nation advanced against the
city, the others should remain to keep ward in the
trenches.
But a yet more serious rock of offence lay in the
struggle for the kingship of Jerusalem. Sibylla and
hex. infant children had died in the latter part of 1 190.
Their death encouraged some of the native nobles
to dispute Guy's title once more. According to the
normal rules of the land Henfrid IV. of Toron
should have governed in the name of his wife Isabella,
Sibylla's younger sister. But the great nobles had
never forgiven Henfrid for his refusal to join in their
rebellion four years before ; they therefore sought
another candidate in Conrad of Montferrat^whose
vigour had saved Tyre_for_thc^ Christians, and whose
brother William had been _Sib^lla_'s_ firstjiusband and
the fathe r^of their last accepted king. Conrad was a
man of resource and action, who, both for his birth
and his personal merit, ought to satisfy even the
proud barons of Syria. The one obstacle was
Isabella's previous marriage ; but with the lady's
consent a divorce was procured on the plea that she
had been married to Henfrid against her wish. The
33° THE THIRD CRUSADE.
attitude of Philip and Richard was foreshadowed in
the action of their followers, for Baldwin of Canter-
bury was foremost in opposing the divorce, whilst
the new marriage was celebrated by Philip of
Beauvais, cousin to the king of France.
Guy could not be expected to acquiesce in the loss
of his title and power ; naturally enough he had
sought in Cyprus the aid of his former overlord, King
Richard, who had there promised him his support.
Before the siege of Acre was over the quarrel had
culminated in open violence; Guy's brother Geoffrey
bluntly accused Conrad of treachery, and Conrad
rather than maintain his innocence by gage of battle
withdrew to Tyre; nevertheless, Philip. Augustus
took that noble under his protection, and openly
declared his opposition to the wishes of the King of
England. However, at the end of July, after a formal
trial, a compromise was arranged, under which Guy
retained the title of king, but shared the royal
revenues with Conrad, who was to be hereditary lord
of Tyre, Sidon, and Beyrout ; at Guy's death the
crown was to pass to Conrad and his children by
Isabella.
By this time Philip had already wearied of the
Crusade, and a little later he rejected Richard's pro-
posal that they should both bind themselves to stay
in the land for three years. Soon he went even
further, and begged Richard's sanction for his return,
pleading that his health was bad and that he had
sufficiently performed his oath. The remonstrances
of Richard and of his own followers had no weight with
Philip, who on July 31st set out for Tyre. Before
DEPARTURE OF PHILIP. 33 1
his departure the French king swore neither actively
nor passively to do any wrong to the King of
England's men or lands in Europe. " How faithfully
he kept his oath the whole world knows. For directly
he reached home he stirred up the whole land, and
threw Normandy into confusion. What need for
further words ! Amid the curses of all he departed,
leaving his army at Acre."
Richard waited for Salad in to pay the agreed
ransom ; but August 14th arrived and the Moham-
medans had not completed their engagement. So
on the Eve of the Assumption Richard left Acre and
pitched his tents beyond the eastern trenches ; here
he waited again six days more, till, on the afternoon
of August 20th, the king and his knights advanced
into the plain. Then the captives were brought out
and massacred in full view of their countrymen ; it
was in vain that the Saracens threw themselves upon
the murderers of their kinsfolk, and in all five
thousand prisoners are said to have been thus slain,
the more notable only being preserved for ransom.
The massacre was not, perhaps, so gratuitous and
unwarrantable as would at first sight appear ; Roger
Howden asserts distinctly that Saladin had slain his
Christian captives two days before, an assertion which
the words of Baha-ed-din seem to countenance ;
Richard may also have felt the danger and difficulty
of keeping so many prisoners, and have honestly
doubted the good faith of Saladin as to the stipu-
lated ransom.
On August 23rd Richard started for Ascalon ;
the army marched along the shore, whilst the fleet
THE COAST MARCH. 333
accompanied them at a little distance from the land.
Every evening, when the tents were pitched, the
herald took his stand in the midst of the host, and
thrice cried aloud: "Aid us, Holy Sepulchre!" As
he cried the whole army took up the shout with
tears. " Who would not have wept, seeing that the
mere recital moves all that hear to sorrow ? "
Inland on the low hills to the left Saladin's host
followed and harassed the Crusaders. Despite the
enemy, and the terrible heat, which caused many to
fall dead by the way, the Christians marched on past
Haifa and Caesarea, till on September ist they
reached the Dead River, where the coast became so
bad for marching that Richard struck inland by the
mountain road. On September 3rd a fierce attack
was made on the Templars in the rear ; the arrows
flew so fast that there was not a yard of the army's
march where they did not lie ; Richard himself was
among the wounded. But still the host pressed on,
till on the 6th they rested by the Nahr Falaik, or
River of the Cleft, some sixteen miles from Caesarea.
Here they learnt that Saladin was awaiting their
approach with an army of three hundred thousand
men, three times the estimated number of the
Crusading host. With the early dawn of the 7th of
September the Christians resumed their march in
five divisions. First went the Templars ; then the
Bretons and men of Anjou ; next the Poitevins under
Guy ; fourth came the Normans and English with
the royal banner ; in the rear were the Hospitallers.
The Christian army, marshalled in close array, filled
the whole space between the hills and the sea.
334 THE THIRD CRUSADE.
Richard and the Duke of Burgundy with a band of
chosen knights rode up and down the lines keeping
a wary eye on the order of their troops.
About nine o'clock the battle began with an
attack by Saladin's negro troops and Bedouins — ■
pestilent footmen with bows and round targes ;
in their rear the heavier Turkish troops kept up
an incessant din with their drums and cymbals.
Again and again the Turks rushed down on the
rear of the Christians ; at last the Hospitallers
could bear up no longer, and begged Richard to let
them make but one charge. Richard, however,
would permit no deviation from his plans. The
heavy horses of his cavalry with their armoured
riders were no match for the swift- footed Arab
steeds of the lightly-clad Saracens ; it would be
worse than useless to charge till the enemy was well
within their grasp. When the decisive moment
arrived six trumpets were to give the signal ; then
the footmen were to open wide their ranks, and let
the knights pass through to the attack.
So the Hospitallers endeavoured to still endure
the renewed onset of the foe ; one ko«'ght in despair
invoked the great warrior-saint of the Crusaders, who
perhaps from this period tended to become the patron
saint of England : " Oh, St. George ! Why dost thou
leave us to be destroyed ? Christendom perisheth,
because we strive not against this accursed race."
Then the Grand Master petitioned the king in person,
but Richard still replied : " It must be borne." Most of
the Hospitallers murmured but obeyed ; two knights,
however — the marshal of the order, and Baldwin de
336 THE THIRD CRUSADE.
Carew, " a right good warrior, bo 
