The history of the crusades

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THE

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES

BY

Joseph Francois Michaud.

TRANSLATED BY W. ROBSON.

WITH PREFACE AND SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER BY
HAMILTON W. MABIE.

IJ!i THREE VOLUMES.

VOL. I.

NEW YORK :

A. C. ARMSTRONG & SON,
714 Broadway.

OCT 2 4 1949

PREFACE.

The publication of a new edition of this standard
work finds its justification in the wide-spread interest
in historical study and in the importance of the events
which it describes with such fullness and accuracy.
The popular demand for histories of the best class is
unprecedented in the annals of book-making, and is
substantial evidence of a growing taste for the most
important literature. The standard historians have
one after another been published in attractive editions,
and are rapidly filling the libraries of English-speaking
people everywhere. In this remarkable development of
popular interest in historical literature, so striking an
episode as that of the Crusades could not be left with-
out its record, and the story is nowhere told so enter-
tainingly and comprehensively as in the pages of
Michaud. It is a story worthy of careful study, not
only on account of its intrinsic interest, but because of
its significance in that larger history of Europe of which
it forms, in many respects, the most dramatic and pic-
turesque chapter.

There has been of late an immense advance in the
methods of historical investigation, and the contem-
poraneous historian studies the events which he under-
takes to portray from a new standpoint. It would be
difficult to find in any other department of literary
work a wider difference of method and aim than that
which separates Robertson's Charles V. from Free-

IV PREFACE.

man's Norman Conquest of England. The c/ue is no
longer sought in the hands of trained diplomatists, but
in the broad, though less obvious, unfolding of the
popular life. To the most advanced school of his-
torians Eobin Hood is almost as important as Ki chard
I. The historical writer of the last age worked with
a pictorial imagination, weaving his story about the
striking characters and episodes of an age ; the same
writer to-day, with an imagination trained in philosoph-
ical methods, discerns the dimly outlined movement
of national life behind the pageantry of courts, the
struggles of parties, and the rush of events. It is
doubtless this very deepening of historical study and
broadening of historical effect which has made the his-
tory the rival of the romance in popular interest. The
studied narrative of Hume repels in spite of its trust-
worthiness, while Green's portrayal of the national
development against a background of equally trust-
worthy fact charms a host of readers into repeated
perusals.

The epoch of the Crusades is important from the
standpoint of either school. Prescott and Professor
Seeley would each find in it material to his fancy.
Studied with an eye to pictorial effect, what series of
events could be more impressive than that which
chronicles the successive campaigns to capture and
hold Jerusalem ? If chivalry was ever anything more
than an aftergrowth of fancy and sentiment, it was in
the fierce struggles which centered around the Holy
City. The virtues of Feudalism were never more strik-
ingly illustrated than during the brief period in which
a handful of knights held Jerusalem against a circle
of hostile nations. Separated by long and perilous
marches from Europe, hemmed in by enemies whose

PREFACE.

multitude made their own scanty ranks insignificant,
sustained by a courage that nothing could daunt, a
purpose that nothing could defeat, a skill" in arms which
made their skeleton armies a host, they long maintained
the hopeless struggle of a Christian colony against Asia
in arms to destroy it.

Tancred, Godfred de Bouillon, Eichard and Saladin,
are names which haye made knighthood synonymous
with honor, loyalty, and courage. Their personal ex-
ploits, no less than the larger achievements in which
they bore their part, make the age of the Crusades a
field from which literature has been enriched with heroic
characters and dramatic incidents from the days of
Eaoul de Caen and Tasso to the present. These expe-
ditions furnish the most striking episode in European
history, inspired as they were by religious emotion,
prosecuted under the most perilous conditions, dis-
playing in the most effective contrasts the loftiest
and the basest passions of men, and foreordained from
the beginning to a disastrous failure, which hangs over
the narrative as invisibly, but as inevitably, as the doom
which overshadows a Greek tragedy. If they had no
deeper interest than that which attaches to wide and
varied disclosures of character, to vast and varied
achievements, these warlike pilgrimages would be
worthy the most thoughtful study.

The Crusades have, however, a deeper significance
than any isolated personages or events, however pictur-
esque or imposing, ever possess. They brought two
civilizations into conflict, and no events are more im-
portant than those which secure the contact of different
civilizations. In contemporaneous history nothing is
so suggestive of change as the wonderful return of
Western upon Eastern civilization in Egypt, Syria,

P

157

VI PREFACE.

India, and Japan. The contact of Western with East-
ern knowledge and thought in the Crusades was by no
means so fruitful as that which came about through
the conquests of Alexander and, later, of Eome, but
it was not without great results. The Crusades es-
tablished an intercourse between the East and the
West, which if often hostile, has neyertheless kept an
open channel for that interchange of thought and in-
dustry, which in the single department of comparatiye
philology has made possible a marvelous adyance into
an unsuspected region of knowledge. The study of
Sanskrit has opened an epoch in historical and literary
inyestigation, which Professor Eiske declares will be
not less fruitful in the intellectual progress of the
world than was the age of the Renaissance.

The Crusades united for the first time the warring
States of Europe in a common purpose and a common
enterprise. It accustomed the overburdened people to
the thought of a higher authority than that of thf
special tyranny under which they happened to be born,
and so prepared the way for the growth of larger ideas
of authority and citizenship. The power of Feudalism
was measurably weakened by the disasters which over-
took successive expeditions led by the flower of chivalry,
and this result made possible the unfolding of the
monarchical princi23lo which was to play so important a
part in the political development of Europe. In short,
the wide disturbance which tliese successive expeditions
to the East introduced, loosened perceptibly tlie iron
framework of feudal tyranny which held European
society bound and helpless, and by gradual disintegra-
tion prepared the soil for the seeds of popular institu-
tions. H. W. M.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE.

"We are not of those who think that readers are without
curiosity as to the position in life, actions, and fortunes of
4he authors who afford them instruction or pleasure ; the
eagerness with which the birthplaces of men of genius are
sought for and commemorated ; the fondness with which
their most trifling actions are dwelt upon ; and the endless
collections that are made of their conversations and sayings>
prove that this cannot be the case.

In a prefatory memoir, we can scarcely go into so many
details of the life of Michaud, as, perhaps, the subject de-
serves. Michaud was not a mere author, whose history
may be read in his works. He lived at a momentous
period, and was no idle spectator of passing events ; a com-
plete life of Michaud would, indeed, swell to a history of
Prance from 1790 to 1839.

Joseph rran9ois Michaud, born at Albens, in Savoy, on
the 19th of June, in the year 1767, was descended from a
family that traced its nobility beyond the tenth century.
One of his ancestors, Hugh Michaud de Corcelles, was
deservedly distinguished by the emperor Charles Y. The
father of Joseph was obliged to leave his country, in conse-
quence of what is termed by his biographer, a piece of boyish
rashness, but which we prefer relating to any of the warlike
deeds of the abovenamed Hugh. "Whilst on a shooting
party, he sought refreshment in a cottage, and found the
mistress of it in the greatest distress ; for, at the moment of

Vlli BIOGEAPHICAL NOTICE.

his entrance, officers were bearing away hei humble fur-
niture, for the paltry sum of sixty francs. He offered to
pay the amount if they would come with him to his home ;
but they refused, and continued their operations in his pre-
sence. This irritated him to such a degree, that he threat-
ened to make use of his gun ; and, at length, struck one of
them so severe a blow with the stock of it, that the fellow
died immediately. He retired to a place near Bourg, in
Bresse, where he married ; and he afterwards estabUshed
himself as a notary and commissary at Terrier, in that
province. An early death left his widow burdened with a
numerous family, of which Joseph was the eldest. Notwith-
standing this calamity, he received an excellent education at
the college of Bourg, and acquired great credit as a rhe-
torician and a composer of French verses. His studies and
some juvenile travels completed, it became necessary for him
to fix upon a mode of getting a living ; and the narrowness
of his mother's resources confining his efforts to trade, he
went into the house of a bookseller at Lyon, attracted, no
doubt, by the affinity between the bookseller and the man of
letters. He remained here till 1790, when the passage of
the rich, influential, and intellectual Countess Fanny de
Beauharnais through that city, aroused all the provincial
muses to make their offerings to the great lady. Amonp
the poets, Michaud was so successful, that he thought him-
self warranted in following her to Paris, with the view ot
pursuing a literary career under her auspices. Immediately
on his arrival, he laid the contents of his poetical portfolip
before the public, and soon became the associate of Cerisier,
in the Gazette Universelle, and with Esmenard, in the PoA-
tillon de la Guerre. His opinions and early associations led
him towards the Boyalist party, to which the accession oA
his talents was very acceptable. He may be said to have
been faithful to his colours, through all the disasters of thr
unhappy cause he had embraced ; for, in spite of imprison
ment, banishment, and repeated concealments, we find hinik,
in 1799, publishing two satirical pamphlets against Buona-
parte, by the orders of Louis XYIII. One of his escape«
was so well managed^ and so opportunely effected, that we
will offer an account of it to our readers. He had been sent
prisoner to Paris^ walking between two mounted gendarmes,

BIOGKAPHICAL NOTICE. * iX

who were directed not to spare him, and if fatigue relaxed
his speed, they were to refresh him with the flat sides of
their sabres. As he entered Paris in this fbrlorn condition,
he was met by his zealous friend Giguet, whose sorrow only
set his fertile brain to work to devise means for his escape.
As Michaud was, during many days, conducted from his
prison to the Tuileries, to undergo examination, Giguet at
first thought that the best way would be to blow out the
brains of the two gendarmes that escorted him ; but this he
rejected as unworthy of a man of genius. Choosing a point
in Midland's passage that would answer his purpose, he
stopped the party, and aflfecting to know nothing of the
matter, and not to have seen his friend since his arrival in
Paris, was eager in his inquiries as to how his health was,
what he was doing, where he was going, and insisted upon
his breakfasting with him. "No, no," answered Michaud,
" I have a little affair yonder, at the Tuileries, just a few
words of explanation to give — only the business of a minute
or two. — Begin breakfast without me, I shall be back pre-
sently." "That won't do; that won't do; they do not
despatch people so quickly as all that. Perhaps they won't
begin with you ; let us have oiu* breakfast first. I dare say
these gentlemen (pointing to the gendarmes) have not
breakfasted, and will have no objection to a cutlet and a
glass of Bourdeaux wine ! and here's the best house in Paris,
close at hand." The gendarmes, after a little faint hesita-
tion, suffered themselves to be seduced; and prisoner, guards,
and friends were soon comfortably seated at table. They
eat, they drink, they pass bumper toasts, and talk a little
about everything ; but most particularly about Bresse and
the good cheer that was there always to be met with — but
the pullets of Bresse ! never was such eating as the pullets
of Bresse ! The mouths of the gendarmes watered at the
bare description of them. " Parbleu, gentlemen," cried
Giguet, " since you have never partaken of our country pul-
lets, I will undertake to convince you that there are none
such in the eighty-three departments. We have plenty of
time ; you can eat a httle bit more, and appetite comes with

drinking (and he filled the glasses). Waiter, here! a

Bresse pullet ! no tricks, mind ; it must be from Bresse —
Qot from Mans. But, stop ; Michaud, you understand these

K BIOGRAPHICAL IfOT CE

things better than anybody ; have an eye to these fellows .
go down into the kitchen, and see that they don't cheat us.
Good health to you, gentlemen." "Whilst they are drinking,
Michaud rises, and is soon out of the house. Giguet had
the art to keep the guards another half-hour at table, by
saying his friend was only watching the cooking, for a Bresse
pullet was worth nothing if not roasted a la Bresse ; and
when they discovered Michaud was not in the kitchen, he
asserted it must either be a joke, or else he was ill, and gone
home ; and contrived to lead them a long useless search in a
way directly opposite to that which he knew the late prisoner
had taken. Michaud's escape was a happy one; for that very
day, the council had condemned him to death. Poor Giguet's
friendly zeal cost him nearly a month's imprisonment, and
placed his life even in jeopardy.

The career of Buonaparte was so successful, that, at length,
further resistance seemed useless, and Michaud even wrote
complimentary verses on the marriage of Napoleon with
Maria Louisa, and upon the birth of the young king of
Home. But this submission to circumstances was no volun-
tary homage ; he was still at heart faithfully attached to the
Bourbons. For a length of time he resisted the tempting
offers of the emperor, and one of his refusals, for its wit, if
not for its patriotism, almost deserves to be placed by the
side of Andrew Marvel's. Eontaines, Buonaparte's emissary,
said to him : " There must be an end to all resistance ; it is
diminishing every day. Come, do as other men do. Look
at Delille, for instance, he has just accepted a pension of six
thousand francs." "Oh! as to that," replied Michaud,
" he is so frightened, that he would accept a pension of a
hundred thousand francs, if you were to offer it to him."
Posterity, perhaps, may be thauKful that he was driven from
politics to literature. During one of his necessary exiles, he
had written his beautiful poem of "Le Printemps d'un
Proscrit :" h* afterwards became associated with his brother
as a bookseller, and planned and executed the works of
which we will furnish a list. Whatever opinion migm; be
entertained of his talents, it is more than probable that
without his implied submission to Buonaparte, he never
would have obtained that object of the hopes of all French
authors, the immortal fauteuil in the Academy. This honour

BIOGEAPHICAL WOTICEr Xl

he attained in 1818, and, upon tliu publication of his fourth
volume of the "History of the Crusades," had the gratifica-
tion of signing himself " Knight of the Order of St. John
of Jerusalem," and " Knight of the Holy Sepulchre :" titles
bestowed upon him, unasked, by the commanders represent-
ing the order of St. John of Jerusalem in Prance.

He watched with intense anxiety the madly ambitious
career of Buonaparte, and hailed with unfeigned delight the
return of his patrons, the Bourbons. He had no cause to
complain of their ingratitude, and occupied as good a posi-
tion as a literary man could expect, when the escape from
Elba, during a hundred days, disturbed his occupations, and
placed him in considerable danger. He left Paris ; returned
again, and put himself forward for a struggle : but finding
resistance daugerous and useless, he retired to the depart-
ment of the Ain, where he concealed himself till the tempest
had blown over ; his celebrated journal, the Quotidienne, in
the mean time, degenerating into the Feuille du Jour, or
rather, as a wit said, " La Peuille de la veille (last night's
journal) ; for it was only edited by scissors, and contained
nothing but scraps from the Moniteur and other inoffensive
journals." The JS'ain Jaune (yellow dwarf) took unfair ad-
vantage of an enemy, who, he knew, could not answer him,
and bestowed upon Michaud tho- sobriquet of " Grrand Master
of the Order of the Extinguishers," which stuck to him with
the burlike pertinacity of sobriquets, for many years after
the second restoration of the Bourbons. He welcomed this
last event by the publication of a pamphlet entitled " Tho
History of the Eifteen Weeks, or the Last Eeign of Buona-
parte," which had a great sale, twenty-seven editions of it
appearing in a very short period. Having, since his success
as an author, separated from his brother as a bookseller, and
Bold his share in the printing office, he, after 1815, gave
himself up to the prosecution of his great work on the cru-
sades, and even parted with his portion of *' La Bi igraphie
Universelle." His love of politics led him, at this .ime, to
gei returned as deputy for the department of the Ain : but
alas ! he found it a very different thing fcjr a man with a
weak voice, and totally " unaccustomed to public speaking,"
to sit and write uncontrolled and unobserved in his closet, — •
and to be subject to the "retort courteous' of an enemy

Xii BIOGRAPHICAL NOTION.

who watches for your mistakes, corrects your errors, and
mercilessly refutes all your favourite arguments : after the
trial of one sessions, he retired from his deputyship, and
gave up all hopes of fame as an orator.

During the celebrity of his journal, the Quotidienne, he
was made reader to .the king, with a salary of 3,000 francs ;
to which appointment was attached the somewhat strange
stipulation, that he should never be called upon to perform
its duties. After 1819, when a plan was devised of buying
up the influential journals, Michaud and his fellow-proprie-
tors were offered 500,000 francs for theirs, which our author
declined. " Monseigneur," said he to the excellency who
solicited him, " there is but one thing for which I could be
tempted to sell the Quotidienne, and that would be a little
health. If you could give me that, I might allow myself to
be corrupted." The minister, YiUele, returned repeatedly to
the charge, but when, in consequence of the increasing
weakness of his health, the sexagenarian Michaud parted
with the greater part of his shares of the journal, it was
only to pass them over to another self, his friend Laurentie.

Whilst carrying on his great work, he had been surprised
to meet with a vast quantity of matter which he had not
dreamt of when he began it ; and he conceived the idea of
not only reconstructing his h^tory, but of going to the
Holy Land, in search of more information. Although it
was too late for such an attempt, his fame procured him
encouragement ; and the king, Charles X., so far favoured it
as to give him 25,000 francs to defray his expenses. He
set out at the beginning of 1830. "Whatever gratification
he derived from his voyage, it must have been sadly damped
by the news he received from France during that eventftu
year. To complete his griefs, he likewise at this period lost
200,000 francs, the greater part of his fortune, which he
had imprudently placed in unsafe hands. He still, however,
had a moderate competence, and might ha\e passed the re-
mainder of his days in ease, but for that mismanagement to
which the families of literary men are so frequently subject.
On his return from the Holy Land he sojourned for a tima
in Italy, where he was kindly welcomed by his natural
sovereign, Charles Albert. In 1837 he was named membi^r
of the Academic des Inscriptions ; but honours jfrom mon-

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE. XlU

urchs and academies could not put off the fatal hour, and
he died at the elegant village of Passy on the 30th of Sep-
tember, 1839. On this occasion was exhibited an instance
of what our poet calls " the ruling passion, strong in death."
Few authors had reccLv^ed more adulation, and no one could
be more covetous of it. Extraordinary instances are told
of the copious draughts of this intoxicating beverage that
were offered to him, and of the greediness with which he
swallowed them. " Never," says his biographer, " although
he loved to be called the La Fontaine of journalis^n, did he
think of the second fable of the good man." * One of the
most extravagant of his flatterers said to a friend, admitted
for a last interview, — " With all his weakness, not the least
trace of decline of intellect ; still the same facility of expres-
sion, still the same lucidity." — This aroused Michaud, upon
whom the affectionate words of a sincere friend had just
before produced no effect. He started, and sitting upright
in his bed, exclaimed, in a tremulous voice, — " Yes ! yes !

still the same ! still " and he sunk exhausted and dying

on his pillow : these were his last words !

To criticise the works of Michaud properly would require
a volume ; we can therefore only lay before our readers a list
of such as from their merit and celebrity are ever likely to
fall under the eye of English readers. His greatest claim to
the attention of posterity is doubtless the one before us, "The
History of the Crusades," of which his biographer, who is
certainly less of an eulogist than any one we ever saw assume
a similar task, very justly says, — " It may be said, without
exaggeration, that it is one of the most valuable historical
works that our age has produced. To its completion he sacri-
ficed almost every moment of twenty of the best years of his
life." No reader requires to be told that it was a labour of
love. — He was the founder of, and a considerable contributor
to, *' La Biographic Universelle," a work which England may
envy Erance the conception and execution of ; and if to these
we add his beautiful poem of " Le Printemps d'un Proscrit,"
we think we name all that he wrote that would be interesting
at the present day : the other historical works are feeble,
and the political squibs of a journalist after a lapse of half

* Le Corbeau et le Retiard.

XIV EJuailAPKl<,i.L NOTICE.

a conturj, are only acceptable to him who may be writing
the history of the time. In this latter vein we may, how-
ever, suppose him to have excelled ; mixed up from an early
age with politics and journalism ; possessed of a lively ima-
gination and great facility of expression ; constantly in the
world, and deeply interested in its movements ; we can fancy
his vers de societe, of which so much is said, to have beec
piquant and sparkling. We subjoin a specimen, written
upon Buonaparte's expedition to Egypt : —

Que de lauriers tombis dans I'eau,
Et que de fortunes perdues !
Que d'hommes courent au tombeau,
Pour porter Bonaparte aux nues I
Ce heros vaut son pesant d'or ;
En France, personne n'en doute ;
Mais il vaudrait bien plus encore,
S'il valoit tout ce qu'il nous coute.

What laurels in the waters fall,
What fortunes sink no more to rise !
What men lie shrouded in death's pall,
That Bonaparte may gain the skies !
This hero 's worth his weight in gold ;
In France of that there's no one doubts ;
But greater far his worth, if sold
At what he costs — or thereabouts !

As a conversationalist his reputation stands even higher
than that of our Coleridge ; for the stream was quite aa
constant and abundant, and at the same time much more
pellucid. One of our English biographical dictionaries says
he was censor of the press under Louis XVIII,, but this we
believe is not correct ; indeed it was an office scarcely suit-
able for the editor and proprietor of such a journal as the
Quotidienne. He was a member of the Academy and of the
Institute, a knight of St. John of Jerusalem and of the
Holy Sepulchre, and for a short time yq\ resentative of the
department of the Ain. These were his temporary honours
— much more durable and brilliant ones belong to him aa
the author of the work before us.

W. K.

INTEODUCTION.

The history of the middle ages presents no spectacle
more imposing than the Crusades, in which are fo be seen
the nations of Asia and of Europe armed against tjach other,
two religions contenduig for superiority, and diisputing the
empire of the world. After having been several times
threatened by the Mussulmans, and a long time exposed to
their invasions, all at once the West arouses itself, and
appears, according to the expression of a Greek historian,*
to tear itself from its foundation, in order to precipitate
itself upon Asia. AU nations abandon their interests and
their rivalries, and see upon the face of the earth but one
single country worthy of the ambition of conquerors. One
would believe that there no longer exists in the universe any
other city but Jerusalem, or any other habitable spot of
earth but that which contains the tomb of Jesus Christ. All
the roads which lead to the holy city are deluged with blood,
and present nothing but the scattered spoils and wrecks of
empires.

In this general confusion we may contemplate the sub-
limest virtues mixed with all the disorders of the wildest
passions. The Christian soldiers have at the same time to
contend against famine, the influence of climate, and enemies
the most formidable ; in the greatest dangers, in the midst
'>f their successes and their constant discords, nothing can

• Aniia Comnena, History of the Emperor AleuciuM,

SVl IKTEODUCTION.

exhaust either their perseverance or their resignation. After
four years of fatigue, of miseries, and of victories, Jeru-
salem is taken by the Crusaders ; but as their conquests are
not the work of wisdom and prudence, but the fruit of blind
enthusiasm and ill-directed heroism, they create nothing but
a transient power.

The banner of the cross soon passes from the hands of
Godfrey de Bouillon into those of his weak and imbecile
successors. Jerusalem, now a Christian city, is obliged
again to apply for succour to the West. At the voice of
St. Bernard, the Christians take arms. Conducted by an
emperor of Grermany and a king of Erance, they fly to the
defence of the Holy Land ; but they have no longer great
c&ptains among them ; they have none of the magnanimity
or heroic resignation of their fathers. Asia, which beholds
their coming without terror, already presents a new spec-
tacle. The disciples of Mahomet awaken from their apathy ;
they are at once seized with a frenzy equal to that which
had armed their enemies ; they oppose enthusiasm to enthu-
siasm, fanaticism to fanaticism, and in their turn burn with
a desire to shed their blood in a religious war.

The spirit of discord which had destroyed their power is
no longer felt but among the Christians. Luxury and the
manners of the East weaken the courage of the defenders
of the cross, and make them forget the object even of the
holy war. Jerusalem, which had cost the Crusaders so
much blood, falls again into the power of the infidels, and
becomes the conquest of a wise and warlike prince, who had
united under his banner the forces of Sjria and Egypt.

The genius and fortune of Saladin inflict a mortal blow
upon the ill-assured power of the Christians in the East.
In vain an emperor of the West, and two kings celebrated
for their bravery, place themselves at the head of the whole
powers of their states to deliver Palestine ; these new armies
of Crusaders meet everywhere with brave enemies and
invincible barriers, and all their united efforts produce
nothing but illustrious disasters. The kingdom of Jeru-
salem, for whose ruins they contend, is no longer anything
but a vaii> name ; soon even the captivity and the miseries
of the holy city cease to inspire the sentiments of piety and
enthusiasm that they had given birtii to among ilie Christ

IT^'TEODIICTION. XVii

tians. The Crusaders who had taken up arms for ita
deliverance, suffer themselves to be seduced by the wealth
of Greece, and stop short to undertake the conquest of
Constantinople.

From that time the spirit of the Crusaders begins to
change ; whilst a small number of Christians still shed their
blood for the deliverance of the tomb of Jesus Christ, the
princes and the knights are deaf to everything but the
voice of ambition. The popes complete the corruption of
the true spirit of the Crusaders, by urging them on, by
their preaching, against other Christian people, and against
their own personal enemies. The holy wars then degenerate
into civil wars, in which both religion and humanity are
outraged.

These abuses of the crusades, and the dire passions which
had mixed themselves with them, plunge Europe in disorder
and anarchy ; when a pious king undertakes once more to
arm the powers of the West against the infidels, and to
revive among the Crusaders the spirit which had animated
the companions of Godfrey. The two wars directed by this
pious chief, are more unfortunate than all the others. In
the first, the world is presented with the spectacle of a cap-
tive army and a king in fetters ; in the second, that of a
powerful monarch dying in its ashes. Then it is that the
illusion disappears, and Jerusalem ceases to attract all the
attention of the West.

Soon after, the face of Europe is changed ; intelligence
dissipates barbarism ; the crusades no longer excite the same
degree of enthusiasm, and the first effect of the civilization
it begins to spread is to weaken the spirit of the fanaticism
which had given them birth. Some few useless efforts are
at times made to rekindle the fire which had burnt so
fiercely in Europe and Asia. The nations are so completely
recovered from the pious delirium of the Crusades, that
when Germany finds itself menaced by the Mussulmans
who are masters of Constantinople, the banner of the cross
can with difficulty gather an army around it ; and Europe,
which had risen in a mass to attack the infidels in Asia,
opposes but a feeble resistance to them on its own ter-
ritories.

Such is, in a few words, the picture of the events and

XV ill INTEODUCTION.

revolutions which the historian of the crusades has to
describe. A writer who has preceded us by two centuries^
and who calls the history of the Crusades a right royal his-
tory, is surprised at the silence preserved to his time.* " ]
esteem it," says he, " a deplorable thing that such persons
inferior in no way to those who have been so much cele*
brated by the Gi-reeks and the Romans, should have falliu
into such obscurity, that we search in vain to discovei
who they were and what they did ; and they appear to m«
highly culpable, who, possessing learning and the skill to
write, have left these histories neglected." Everybody
ought now to be of this opinion, and regret that our great
writers have not entertained the noble subject of the Cru-
sades. When I undertake to supply the want created by
their silence, I am duly impressed with the difficulty of the
task.

They who, among us, have written ancient history, had
for guides the historians of Rome and Athens. The bril-
liant colours of Livy, of Tacitus, of Thucydides presented
themselves naturally to their pencils ; but I have no models
to follow, and am compelled to make those historians of the
middle ages speak whom our times despise. They have
rarely sustained me in my labour by the charm of their style,
or the elegance of their narrations ; but if they have afforded
me no lessons in the art of writing, they transmit to me at
least events whose interest will make up for the deficiency
of their talent or mine. Perhaps it will be found, in the
perusal of this history, that a period in which everything is
astonishing loses nothing by being presented in a simple and
faithful picture. The unaffected style of our old historians,
in my view, appears to reanimate the persons and the cha-
racters they describe ; and if I have profited by that which
they have taught me, the age in which they lived will not be
ill represented in my pages. It would have been easy for
me to have censured with severity, as has usually been done,
tneir ignorance and their credulity, but I respect in them
the frankness and the candour of the periods of which thjy

* History of the Holy War made by the French and other Christiatig
for the deliverance of Judea and the Holy Sepulchre, composed in Greek
and French, by Yves Duchat, a Trojan. This history is translated almost
literally from the History of Accolti, entitled De Bello Sacro,

INTEODIICTTON. Xlx

are fhe interpreters. "Witliout yielding faith to all thsy
say, I have not disdained the fables they relate to us, and
which were believed by their contemporaries '; for that which
was thought worthy of credit then serves to picture to us
the manners of our ancestors, and forms an essential part of
the history of past ages.

AYe do not now require much sagacity to discover m our
ancient chronicles what is fabulous and what is not. A far
more difficult thing is to reconcile, upon Bome points, the
frequent contradictory assertions of the Latins, the G-reeks,
and the Saracens, and to separate, in the history of the cru-
sades, that which belongs to religious fanaticism, to policy,
or to human passions. I do not pretend to resolve more
skilfully than others these difficult problems, or to elevate
myself above my subject, by offering positive judgments
upon the nations and ages which will present themselves
before me. Without giving myself up to digressions in
which it is always easy to make a display of learning, after
having scrupulously examined the historical monuments
which remain to us, I will tell honestly what I believe to be
the truth, and will leave dissertations to the erudite, and
conjectures to philosophers.

In an age in which some value is set upon an opinion of
the crusades, it will be first asked, if the wars of the Cru-
sades were just. Upon this head we have but little to an-
swer : whilst the Crusaders believed that they were obeying
God himself, by attacking the Saracens in the East, the lat-
ter, who had invaded a part of Asia possessed by Christian
people, who had got possession of Spain, who threatened
Constantinople, the coasts of Italy, and several countries ot
the West, did not reproach their enemies with making an
unjust war, and left to fortune and victory the care of de-
ciding a question almost always useless.

We shall think it of more importance in this history to
examine what was the cause and the nature c f these remote
wars, and what has proved to be their influence on civiliza-*
tion. The crusades were produced by the religious and
military spirit which prevailed in Europe during the middle
ages. The love of arms and religious fervour were two
dominant passions, which, mingling in some way, lent each
other a mutual energy. These two great principles united

XX INTEODTJCTION.

and acting together, gave birth to the holy war ; and car*
ried, among the Crusaders, valour, resignation, and heroism
of character to the highest degree of eminence.

The part which the union of these two principles neces-
sarily had in the undertaking of the holy wars will be plainly
perceived in our narration. It will be much less easy for us
to make all the results of the crusades appreciated. Some
writers have seen nothing in these great expeditions but the
most deplorable excesses, without any advantage to the ages
that succeeded them ; others, on the contrary, maintain that
we owe to them all the benefits of civilization. It is not, at
present, my business to examine these two conflicting opi-
nions. Without believing that the holy wars have done
either all the good or all the harm that is attributed to them,
it must be admitted that they were a source of bitter sorrow
to the generations that saw them or took part in them ; but,
like the ills and tempests of human life, which render man
better, and often assist the progress of his reason, they have
forwarded the experiences of nations ; and it may be said,
that after having for a time seriously agitated and shaken
society, they have, in the end, much strengthened the foun-
dations of it. This opinion, when stripped of all spirit
of exaggeration or system, will, perhaps, appear the most
reasonable ; I, besides, experience some pleasure in adopting
it, from its being consolatory to the age in which we live.
The present generation which has witnessed the outbreak of
so many passions on the political scene, which has passed
through so many calamities, will not see without interest
that Providence sometimes employs great revolutions to
enlighten mankind, and to ensure the future prosperity of
empires.

CONTENTS TO VOL I.

Biographical Notices of the Author .. .. .. Pfl^«vii

Introduction to the History of the Crusades .. xv

BOOK I.— A.D. 300-1095.
riKST CRUSADE.

Early pilgrimages to the Holy Land — Veneration for the Holy Sepul-
chre— Palestine visited by the early Christians — Jerusalem their peaceful
asylum — Profaned by Fire Worshippers — Recaptured by Heraclius —
Spread of the religion of Mahomet — Worship of the Magi annihilated
by Mohammedanism — Empire of Persia torn by intestine wars — Anarchy
of the East — Fanaticism and bravery of the Saracens — Their conquests
— Paganism annihilated by Mohammedanism — Monarchy of the Goths
overturned — Charles Martel — The caliph Omar captures Jerusalem —
Christians persecuted by the Mussulmans — Pilgrimages of Peter the
Hermit, &c. — Haroun-al-Raschid — Charlemagne — Siege of Constanti-
nople— Bagdad — Conquest of the Arabians — St. Bernard — Commerce of
the East— Caliphs of Bagdad — The Fatimites — The Greeks — Antioch —
Zimisces, emperor of the Greeks — Fatimite caliphs capture Jerusalem-
Caliphs of Cairo — William of Tyre — -Persecutions of the Jews — Pilgrims
welcomed everywhere — King Robert — Memphis — Bethlehem — Monas-
teries for the pilgrims — Hospitals at Jerusalem — Mystery of the Re-
demption— Pilgrimages of distinguished persons the forerunner of the
Crusades — The Turks — The Sultan Mamouh — Togrul-Beg — Victorious
career of the Turks — Malek-Scha — Jerusalem captured — Nicea — The
Greeks — The Seldjouc tribes — Eleven emperors of Constantinople
put to death — Death of Zimisces — Military ardour of the Franks —
Michael Ducas — Pope Gregory VII. — Power of the popes — Rome —
Pope Hildebrand — Pope Victor III. incites the Christians to take arms
against the infidels — Conquests of the Genoese and Pisans — Peter the
Hermit — His interviews with the patriarch of Jerusalem and Pope
Urban II. — The crusades instigated by Peter — First determined on at
the council of Clermont, convoked by Urban II. — Enthusiasm in their
fayour pp. 1-60.

XXii CON^TENTS.

BOOK II.— A.D. 1096-1097.

Immense armies collected in various parts of Europe — Peter the
Hermit chosen general of the crusade — Opposed by the Hungarians and
Bulgarians — Semlin — Nissa — The Crusaders reach Constantinople —
Alexius Comnenus — Rapacity and cruelties of the Crusaders — Their
defeat and slaughter — Fresh armies sent from Europe — Their distin-
gxiisheii leaders — They wage war against the Greeks — Alliance of Godfrey
de Bouillon with Alexius of Constantinople — Wretched situation of the
remains of Peter's army in Bithynia — The Turkish power — Kingdom of
Ezeroum — Siege of Nice — Battle of Gorgoni — The Turks defeated by
the Crusaders — Sultan of Nice desolates the country — Antiochetta —
Iconium — Tarsus captured by Baldwin — His conflicts with Tancred—
Capture of Alexandretta and Edessa by the Crusaders — They arrive iu
Mesopotamia pp. 61—125.

BOOK III.— A.D. 1097-1099.

The Crusaders everywhere triumphant — Their sufferings in passing
Mount Taurus — Enter Syria — Damascus — Aleppo — Capture of Chalcis
and Artesia — Siege of Antioch — Sweno, king of Denmark — Barbarous
treatment of the Turks — Ambassadors from Egypt — City of Harem—
The Crusaders relieved by the Pisans and Genoese — -Baldwin, prince of
Edessa — Antioch captured — Quarrel of Godfrey de Bouillon and Bohe-
mond — Kerbogha, sultan of Mossoul — Sultan of Persia sends an im-
mense arpay against the Crusaders — Contests before Antioch — Sufferings
of the Crusaders — Subtle policy of Alexius — Kerbogha besieges Antioch
—Pretended miracles — The sacred lance — Speech of Peter the Hermit to
the Saracen leaders, and Kerbogha's haughty reply — Saracens defeated by
the Crusaders — Instances of heroic bravery — Magnificent encampment
of Kerbogha — The miraculous influence of the holy lance doubted-
Death of Baldwin count of Hainault — Fatal epidemic at Antioch — Death
of Bijshop Puy — Docility of a lion — Geoffrey de la Tour — Foulque and
his widow — Hezas, the emir, allies himself with the Crusaders, and
defeats the sultan of Aleppo — Letters conveyed by pigeons — Miracu-
lous prodigies — Capture of Maarah — Conquests in Syria by the Cru-
saders pp. 126-186.

BOOK IV.— A.D. 1099-1103.

The Crusaders take their departure from Antioch. and march for
Palestine — Siege of Archas — Pons de Balasu — Arnold de Rohes, and
his disbelief in prodigies — Fanatacism of Barthelemi — The holy lance —
Ordeal by fire — Hatred of the Latins towards the Greeks — Caliph of

CONTENTS. xxiii

Cairo — Etrir of Tripoli defeated — Palestine — PhoeniCi* — Plain of Berytui
— Serpents — Ptoleraai's— Emmaus and Bethlehem — Alarm from an eclipse
— The city of Jerusalem — Enthusiasm of the Crusaders on first beholcing
it — Siege of Jerusalem — Indignities heaped upon the Christians — Foun-
tain of Siloe — The Genoese fleet enter the port of Jaffa — Gaston dt
Beam — Mount of Olives — Address of Arnold de Rohes — Speech of Petei
the Hermit to the Crusaders — Tower ofTancred — Machines used at the
siege of Jerusalem — The Saracen magicians — Miraculous appearance ot
St. George — The Crusaders enter Jerusalem by storm — Creton Rheim*
hault — Everard de Puysaie — Mosque of Omar — Slaughter of the Mus-
sulma^is, and pious fervour of the Christians — Destruction of the Jews —
Wealth formd in Jerusalem — Discovery of the " true cross" — Speech ol
the count of Flanders — Prophetic visions — Godfrey elected king of Jeru-
salem— Rejoicings among the Christians, and despair of the Mussulmans
— Elegy of ModhafFer Abyverdy — Afdhal, the Mussulman commander —
Signal defeat of the Saracens at Ascalon — Tasso — Godfrey's quarrel with
Raymond — Siege of Ascalon — Riou de Loheac — Stephen de Salviac—
Peter de Salviac — Death of Gaston de Beam — Peter the Hermit and
many of tiie Christian leaders return to Europe — William IX., count
of Flandeis, sets out for the East — William, count de Nevers, defeated
by the Turks — Eude, duke of Burgundy, slain — Conrad, marshal of
Henry I. >f Germany — Wolf IX., duke of Bavaria — Humbert II., count
of Savoy, departs for the Holy Land — Alexius, emperor of Constan-
tinople, Ojf poses the Crusaders— City of Ancyra captured — The Crusaders
defeated l y the Turks — Capture of Tortosa — Invasions of the Tar-
tars— Ta^jo's "Jerusalem Delivered" — Ordinances of Gaston de
Beam pp. 187-264.

BOOK v.— A.D. 1099-1148.

Kingdom founded by the victories of the Crusaders — State of Palestine
at that p(;riod — Political measures of Godfrey — Tiberias captured by
Tancred — Siege of Arsur — Jerusalem visited by numerous pilgrims and
distinguished Crusaders — Archbishop Daimbert elected patriarch of Jeru-
salem— " Assizes of Jerusalem" — Death of Godfrey — His brother Bald-
win elected king — Carries on successful hostilities against the Infidels of
Palestine, Egypt, &c. — Caesarea and Arsur besieged and captured — City
of Ramla taken by the Saracens — Hospitallers of St. John — Insidious
policy of Alexius — Josselin de Courtenay — Baldwin taken prisoner — •
Bohemond, prince of Antioch, visits Italy, and returns with a large army
against Alexius — His death — Release of Baldwin — Distresses of Antioch
— Quarrels between Baldwin and the patriarch of Jerusalem — The
Genoese and Pisan fleets assist the Crusaders — Siege and capture of
Ptolemais — Armies of Egypt defeated— Tripoli, Biblies, Sarepta, Berytus,
and Sidon, taken by the Crusaders — Sigur, prince of Norway — The
"true cross" — Death ofTancred — The Christians defeated — Palestine
devastated — Death of Baldwin — Baldwin du Bourg elected king of
Jerusalem — Taken prisoner — Eustache Grenier, regent — The Venetians

XXIV CO:S'TENTS.

destroy the fleet of the Saracens, and conquer Tyre- -Release of Baldwin
— Several cities of Egypt captured — The Ismaelians — Zengui, prince of
Mossoul — Dynasty of the Atabecks — Flourishing state of Antioch,
Edessa, Tripoli, &c. — Knights of St. John fvud of the Holy Sepulchre —
The Templars — Death of Baldwin du Bourg — Foulque of Anjou crowned
king of Jerusalem — Raymond of Poictiers appointed governor of Antioch
— The emperor of Constantinople attacks Antioch — Melisende, queen of
Jerusalem — Baldwin III. ascends the throne — Disastrous retreat from
Bosra — The country of Traconite — Conquests of Zengui — Death of Jos-
lelin de Courtenay — Noureddia, son of Zengui, captures Edessa, and
threatens Jerusalem pp. 265-328.

BOOK VI.— A.D. 1142—1148.
SECOND CEUSADE.

Europe aroused to a second crusade by the impending dangers of Jeru-
salem and the Holy Land — The Abbot St. Bernard — Louis VII. of
France — He destroys Vitri, repents, and determines on a crusade against the
infidels — Pope Eugenius III. invokes the assistance of the faithful — Pons,
abbot of Vezelai — Preaching of St. Bernard — State of the Germanic
empire — Conrad III. invokes a general diet at Spires, and engages in the
crusade — Many distinguished personages take the cross — Enthusiasm of
the Germans — Conrad and Louis VII. arrive at Constantinople — Hypo-
critical policy of the emperor, and treachery of the Greeks — Alarm
created by an eclipse of the sun — The Crusaders defeated by the Turks-—
The oriflamme — Fatal blunder of Geoftrey de Ran9on — Reported death
of Louis VII. — Everard des Barres, grand master of the Templars —
Perfidious policy of the Greeks — Sufferings of the Crusaders — Louis VII.
arrives at Antioch with a small portion of his army — Eleanor of Guienne
repudiated by her husband, Louis VII. — He proceeds to the Holy Land
— Conrad arrives at Jerusalem — Baldwin III. urges on the war — The
Crusaders besiege Damascus, and are repulsed — Ayoub, the father of
Saladin — The Sclaves — Crusaders in Spain and Portugal — Suger,
minister of France — Unfortunate results of this crusade — The con-
quests of Noureddin — The deaths of Raymond, Josselin, Suger, and
St. Bernard pp. 329-381,

BOOK VII.— A.D. 1148-1188.

TRIED CETJSADE.

The religion of Mahomet — State of the East at the time of the third
crusade— Dynasties of the Saracens and the Turks almost annihilated—
Caliphs of Bagdad, the chiefs of Islamism — Heroic character of Nour-

CONTENTS. XXV

eddin — Capture of Ascalon by Baldwin III. — Baldwin's death — His
brother Amaury elected his successor — Distracted state of Egypt — War-
like preparations against — Capture of Bilbeis by Baldwin — The Syrians
invade Egypt — Baldwin marries the daughter of the emperor Manuel —
Makes war on Egypt — Deposition and death of the caliph. The Fatimite
dynasty extinguished — Extensive power of Noureddin, the sultan of
Aleppo and Damascus — Saladin, the vizier of Egypt— Death of Nour-
eddin— Empire of the Atabecks declines — Death of Amaury — The vic-
tories of Saladin in Syria — Baldwin IV., king of Jerusalem, — The Mame-
lukes—Guy of Lusignan— Renaud de Chatillon — Raised to the throne of
Antioch — His various military adventures — Rebellion of Guy de Lusig-
nan— Distracted state of Jerusalem — Interview between Henry II. of Eng-
land and Heraclius, patriarch of Constantinople — Philip Augustus, king
of France — Deaths of Baldwin IV. and V. — Guy de Lusignan, the sove-
reign of Jerusalem — Sybilla, daughter of Amaury — The Templars defeated
with great slaughter — Tiberias taken by Saladin — Disastrous defeat of the
Christians — Capture of the "true cross" — Guy de Lusignan and many
distinguished knights taken prisoners or slain — Saladin captures Ptole-
mai's, Ascalon, Gaza, and numerous other cities in Palestine — He takes
possession of Jerusalem — Sufferings of the Christians — The archbishop
of Tyre preaches in support of the holy war — Henry II. of England,
Richard I. and Philip of France determine on renewing the holy war —
Persecution and massacre of the Jews — Archbishop Baldwin preaches
the crusade in England — Frederick Barbarossa engages in the crusade-
Miraculous vision — Contentions between the Greeks and the Latins —
Andronicus of Constantinople dethroned — The Greeks defeated by Bar-
barossa— His victorious career — His death pp. 382—450.

, BOOK VIIL— A.D. 1188-1192.

The conquests of Saladin — Conrad of Montferrat — Srege of Tyre —
Marquis of Montferrat— The " Green Knight"— Siege of Tripoli— Wil-
liam, king of Sicily, engages in the holy war — Admiral Margaritt defends
Tripoli — Capture of Tortosa — Heroic defence of Carac — Release of Guy
de Lusignan — His siege of Ptolemais, and his numerous conflicts with
Saladin — Description of Ptolemais — Karacoush, minister of Saladin —
Conrad, marquis of Tyre, fits out a fleet for the H ly Land — Bravery of
the Mamelukes — Death of Andia de Brienne — Defeat of the Crusaders at
Ptolemais by Saladin — Death of Frederick, duke of Swabia, and of
Sybilla, wife of Guy de Lusignan — Disputes k' out the succession to the
kingdom of Jerusalem — Humphrey de T.'.o/jne — Conrad — Eleanor of
Guienne — Philip of France arrives at lalestino — Cyprus captured by
Richard I. — His marriage to Berengaria of Navarre — Jane, queen of
Sicily — Isaac Comnenus — Disputes respecting the sovereignty of Jeru-
salem— Arrival of Richard I. before the walls of Ptolemaiis — His quarrels
with Philip of France — Conflicts with Saladin — Ptolemais taken by the
Christians — Guy de Chatillon, Josselin de Montmorency, and some of

XXvi CONTENTS.

the bravest nobility of Europe, slain — The Mohammedans — Leopold,
duke of Austria — Philip of France quits Palestine, and returns to
France — Battle of Arsur — ^^Ascalon destroyed by Saladin, and rebuilt by
Richard I. — Richard marches on Jerusalem — Conrad assassinated —
Treaty of peace between Richard and Saladin — Guy de Lusignan obtains
the sovereignty of Cyprus — Palestine ceded to Henry, count of Cham-
pagne— Characters of Richard I. and of Saladin — Leopold of Austria
detains Richard as a prisoner — Death of Saladin — Malek-Adel tak««
possession of .Egypt pp. 451--509.

HISTORY

OF

THE CRUSADES.

BOOK I.

A.D. 300—1095.

Peom the earliest ages of the Church, a custom had been
practised of making pilgrimages to the Holy Land. Judea,
ftdl of religious remembrances, was still the promised land
of the faithful ; the blessings of heaven appeared to be in
store for those who visited Calvary, the tomb of Jesus
Christ, and renewed their baptism in the waters of the
Jordan. Under the reign of Constantino, the ardour for
pilgrimages increased among the faithful ; they flocked from
all the provinces of the empire to worship Jesus Christ upon
his own tomb, and to trace the steps of their Grod in that
city which had but just resumed its name, and which the
piety of an emperor had caused to issue from its ruins. The
Holy Sepulchre presented itself to the eyes of the pilgrims
surrounded by a magnificence which redoubled their vene-
ration. An obscure cavern had become a marble temple,
paved with precious stones and decorated with splendid
colonnades. To the east of the Holy Sepulchre appeared
the church of the Hesurrection, in which they could admire
the riches of Asia, mingled with the arts of Grreece and
E-ome. Constantino celebrated the thirty-first year of his
reign by the inauguration of this church, and thousands of
Christians came, on occasion of this solemnity, to listen to
the panegyric of Christ from the lips of the learned and holj
bishop Eusebius.

2 HISTOET OE THE CKUSADES.

St. Helena, the mother of the emperor, repaired to Jeru-
salem, at a very advanced age, and caused churches and
chapels to be built upon Mount Tabor, in the city of
Nazareth, and in the greater part of the places which Christ
had sanctified by bis presence and his miracles. Erom this
period, pilgrimages to the Holy Land became much more
frequent. The pilgrims, no longer in dread of the persecu-
tions of the Pagans, could now give themselves up, without
fear, to the fervour of their devotion ; the Roman eagles,
ornamented with the cross of Jesus Christ, protected them
on their march ; they everywhere trampled under-foot the
fragments of idols, and they travelled amidst the abodes of
their fellow-Christians.

"WTien the emperor Jub'an, in order to weaken the autho-
rity of the prophecies, undertook to rebuild the temple of
the Jews, numerous were the prodigies related by which
God confounded his designs, and Jerusalem, for that attempt
even, became more dear to the disciples of Jesus Christ,
The Christians did not cease to visit Palestine. St. Jerome,
who, towards the end of the fourth century, had retired to
Bethlehem, informs us in one of his letters that pilgrims
arrived in crowds in Judea, and that around the holy tomb
the praises of the Son of Grod were to be heard, uttered in
many languages. Prom this period, pilgrimages to the
Holy Land were so numerous, that several doctors and
fathers of the Church thought it their duty to point out the
abuses and danger of the practice. They to d Christians
that long voyages might turn them aside frorc the path of
salvation ; that their Grod was not confined to one city ; that
Jesus Christ was everywhere where faith and good works
were to be found ; but such was the blind zeal which then
drew the Christians towards Jerusalem, that the voice of the
holy doctors was scarcely heard.* The counsels of en-
lightened piety were not able to abate the ardour of the
pilgrims, wlio believed they should be wanting in faith and
zeal, if the\ did not adore Jesus Christ in the very places

* See the letter of St. Gregory of Nyssen, translated into Latin and
commented on by Casaubon. St. Augustin, and St. Jerome himself, raised
their voices against the abuses of pilgrimages. (See the first of the
Appendix, in which is an abridgment of the pilgrimage of St. Jeroma
and St. Eusebius of Cremona.'

niSrOET OF THE CRUSADES. 3

^here, according to the expression of St. Jerome, the light
of the gospel first shone from the top of the lioly cross.

As soon as the people of the West became converted to
Christianity, they turned their eyes to the East. From the
depths of Graui, from the forests of Germany, from all tLe
countries of Europe, new Christians were to be seen hasren-
iiig to visit the cradle of the faith tliey had embraced. An
itinerary for the use of pilgrims served tliem as a guide
from the banks of the Rhone and the Dordogne to the shores
of the Jordan, and conducted them, on their return, from
Jarusalem to the principal cities of Italy.*

When the world was ravaged by the Goths, the Huns,
and the Yandals, the pilgrimages to the Holy Land were
not at all interrupted. Pious travellers w^ere protected by
the hospitable virtues of the barbarians, who began to
respect the cross of Christ, and sometimes even followed
the pilgrims to Jerusalem. In these times of trouble and
desolation, a poor pilgrim, who bore his scrip and staff, often
passed through fields of carnage, and travelled without fear
amidst armies which threatened the empires of the East and
the West.

Illustrious families of Home came to seek an asylum at
Jerusalem, and upon the tomb of Jesus Christ. Christians
then found, on the banks of the Jordan, that peace which
seemed to be banished from the rest of the world. This
peace, which lasted several centuries, was not troubled before
the reign of Heraclius. Under this reign, the armies of
Cosroes, king of Persia, invaded ^jrm, Palestine, and Egypt;
the holy city fell into the hands of the worshippers of fire ;
the conquerors bore away into captivity vast numbers of
Christians, and profaned the churches of Jesus Christ. All
the faithful deplored the misfortunes of Jerusalem, and shed
tears when they learned that the king of Persia had carried
off, among the spoils of the vanquished, the cross of the
Saviour, which had been preserved in the church of the
Eesurrection.

* See, in the Appendix at the end of the volume, a hibliographical,
historical, and geograi)hical analysis of " The Itinerary from Bordeaux to
Jerusalem," by M. Walcknaer : this piece throws great light upon
aacient geography, and that of the middle ages.

2*

i HISTORY OE THE CETJSADES.

Heaven, at length, touched by the prayers and afflio
tion of the Christians, blessed the arms of Heraclius, who,
ifter ten years of reverses, triumphed over the enemies of
Christianity and the empire, and brought back to Jerusa-
lem the Christians whose chains he had broken. Then was
to be seen an emperor of tlie East, walking barefooted in
the streets of the holy city, carrying on his shoulders to the
summit of Calvary, the wood of the true cross, which lie
considered the most glorious trophy of his victories. This
imposing ceremony was a festival for the people of Jerusalem
and the Christian church, which, latter still, every year
celebrates the memory of it.* Wlien Heraclius re-entered
Constantinople, he was received as the liberator of the
Cliristians, and the kings of the West sent ambassadors to
congratulate him.

But the joy of the faithful was not of long duration.
Towards tlie beginning of the seventh cenlury there had
arisen, in an obscure corner of Asia, v new religion, opposed
to all others, which preached dominion and war. Mahomet
had promised the conquest of the world to his disciples, who
had issued almost naked from the deserts of Arabia.
By his passionate doctrine he was able to inflame the
imagination of the Arabs, and on the field of battle knew how
to inspire them with his own impetuous courage. His first
successes, which must have greatly exceeded his hopes, were
like so many miracles, increasing the confidence of his par-
tisans, and carrying conviction to the minds of the weak
and wavering. The political state of the East seemed to
ofier no obstacle to the progress of a sect, which, from its
birth, showed itself everywhere with fire and sword. The
worship of the Magi was sinking into contempt ; the Jews
scattered throughout Asia were opposed to the Sabeans, and
divided amongst themselves ; and the Christians, under the
names of Eutychians, Nestorians, Maronites, and Jacobites,
were engaged in heaping, reciprocally, anathemas upon one
another. The empire of Persia, torn by intestine wars, and
attacked by the barbarous races of Tartary, had lost both
its power and splendour; that of the Greeks, weakened

* This festival is known under the name of the Exaltation of the Holj
Cross, and is celebrated on the 14th of September.

HISTOEY or THE CRUSADES. O

both wnthin and witliout, was hastening to its fall ; " every
thing was perishing in the East," says Bossuet. A new
religion, a new empire, sprang up easily in the* midst of ruins.
The armed doctrine of Mahomet invaded, within a very
short period, the three Arabias, a part of Syria, and a large
division of Persia.

After the death of the Prophet of Mecca, his lieutenants
and the companions of his first exploits carried on his great
work. The sight of conquered provinces only increased the
fanaticism and the bravery of the Saracens. They had no
fear of death in the field of battle, for, according to the
w^ords of their prophet, paradise, with all its voliiptuouc
pleasures, awaited those who precipitated themselves upoji
the enemy, and behind them hell opened its abysses. Their
conquests were so much the more rapid, from their uniting,
in their military and religious government, the prompt deci-
sion of despotism with all the passions that are met with in
a republic. Masters of Persia and Syria, they soon took
possession of Egypt ; their victorious battalions flowed on
into Africa, planted the standard of the Prophet upon the
nuns of Carthage, and carried the terror of their arms to
the shores of the Atlantic. Erom India to the Straits of
Cadiz, and from the Caspian Sea to the ocean, language,
manners, religion, everything was changed ; what had
remained of Paganism was annihilated, together with the
worship of the Magi ; Christianity scarcely subsisted, and
Europe itself was threatened with a simdar destruction.
Constantinople, which was the bulwark of the West, saw
before its walls innumerable hordes of Saracens : several
times besieged both by sea and land, the city of Constan-
tino only owed its safety to the Grreek fire, to the assistance
of the Bulgarians, and to the inexperience of the Arabs in
the art of navigation.

During the first age of the Hegira, the conquests of the
Mussulmans were only bounded by the sea which separated
them from Europe ; but when they had constructed vessels,
no nation was safe from their invasion ; they ravaged
the isles of the Mediterranean, the coasts of Italy and
Grreece ; fortune or treason made them masters of Spain,
where they overturned the monarchy of the Goths ; they
toqk advantage of the weakness of the children of Clovis tc

6 llg^TORT OF IHE CEUSADES.

penetrate into tlie southern provinces of Gaul, and were
only stopped in their invasions by the victories of Charles
Martel.

Amidst the first conquests of the Saracens, they had
turned tlieir eyes towards Jerusalem. According to the
faith of tlie Mussulmans, Maliomet had been in the city of
David and Solomon ; it was from Jerusalem that he sei
out to ascend into heaven in his nocturnal voyage. The
Saracens considered Jerusalem as the house of Grod, as the
city of saints and miracles. A short time after the death
of the Prophet, the soldiers of Omar besieged it. The
Christians, animated by despair, swore to defend the city.
The siege lasted four months, each day being marked by
sorties or attacks ; the Saracens approaching the walls
repeating the words of the Koran — " Let us enter into the
holy land which Grod has promised us." After enduring all
the miseries of a long siege, the inhabitants of Jerusalem
at length surrendered to the caliph Omar, who himself
came into Palestine to receive the keys and the submission
of the conquered city.

The Cliristians had the grief of seeing the church of the
Holy Sepulchre profaned by the presence of the chief of the
mfidels. The patriarch Sophronius, who accompanied the
caliph, could not refrain from repeating these words of
Daniel, — " 'J^he abomination of desolation is in the holv
place." Jerusalem was filled with mourning, a gloomy
silence reigned in the churches, and in all the places in
which the hymns of the Christians had so long resounded.
Although Omar had left them the exercise of their worship,
they were obliged to conceal their crosses and their sacred
books. The bell no longer summoned the faithful to prayer;
the pomp of ceremonies was interdicted, and religion
appeared but as a desolate widow. The caliph ordered a
mosque to be erected on the spot whereon the temple
of Solomon had been built. The aspect of this edifice,
consecrated to tlie worship of the infidels, still further
increased the afiliction of the Christians. History relates
that the patriarch Sophronius was mable to support
the sight of so many profanations, and died in despair^
deploring the misfortunes and captivity of the holy city.

In the mean time, tlie presence of Omar, of whose

HISTORY OF THE CRrSADES. 7

moderation tlie East boasts, restrained the jealous fanaticism
of tlie Mussulmans. After his death the faithful had much
more to suffer ; they were driven from their houses, insulted
in their churches ; the tribute which they had to pay to the
new masters of Palestine was increased, and they were for-
bidden to carry arms or to mount on horseback. A leathern
girdle, which tliey were never allowed to be without, was the
badge of their servitude ; the conquerors would not permit
the Christians to s]:)eak the Arab tongue, sacred to the
disciples of the Koran ; and the people who remained
faithful to Jesus Christ had not liberty even to pronounce
the name of the patriarch of Jerusalem without the per-
mission of the Saracens.

All these persecutions could not stop the crowd of
Christians who repaired to Jerusalem ; the sight of the
holy city sustaining their courage as it heightened their
devotion. There were no evils, no outrages, that they could
not support with resignation, when they remembered that
Christ had been loaded with chains, and had died upon the
cross in the places they were about to visit. Among the
faithful of the West who arrived in Asia in the midst of the
early conquests of the Mussulmans, history has preserved
the names of St. Arculphus and St. Antoninus of Piaisance.*
The latter had borne arms with distinction, when he deter-
mined to follow the pilgrims who were setting out for
Jerusalem. He traversed Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. On
his arrival on the banks of the Jordan, Judea had not yet
fallen into the hands of the infidels ; but the fame of their
victories already filled the East, and their armies were
threatening the holy city. Several years after the pilgrimage
of St. Antoninus, Arculplms, accompanied by Peter, a
French hermit, set out from the coast of England in a vessel
bound for Syria. He remained nine months at Jerusalem,
then under the dominion of the enemies of Christ. On
his return to Europe, he related what he had seen in Pales-

* The voyage of St. Antony is found in three very ancient manuscripts,
which may be consulted in the Imperial Library. It has been printed
also in a small volume in 4to. (See the Appendix.) The relation of the
pilgrimage of St. Arculphus, arranged by Adaman in 690, was published
Dy Gretzer of Ingoldstadt, 1619, in 4lo., under this title, " De Locii
Verrse Sanctae." It has since Deen published by Mabillon.

b HISTORY or THE CHUSADES.

fcine, and in all the sacred spots visited by the pilgrims of
the West. The account of his pilgrimage was drawn up by
a Iwlj monk of the Hebrides, for the information and
edification of the faithful.

The Christians of Palestine, however, enjoyed some short
intervals of security during the civil wars of the Mussul-
mans.* If they were not freed from their bondage, they
could at least weep in peace upon the tomb of Christ. The
dynasty of the Ommiades, winch had established the seat of
the Mussulman empire at Damascus, was always odious to the
ever-formidable party of the Alides, and employed itself less
in persecuting the Christians than in preserving its own
precarious power. Merwan II., the last caliph of this
house, was the most cruel towards the disciples of Christ ;
and when he, with all his family, sunk under the power
of his enemies, the Christians and the infidels united in
thanks to heaven for having delivered the East from his
tyramiy.

The Abassides, established in the city of Bagdad, which
they had founded, persecuted and tolerated the Christians
by turns. The Christians, always living between the fear
of persecution and the hope of a transient security, saw at
last the prospect of happier days dawn upon them with the
reign of Haroun al Raschid, the greatest caliph of the race
of Abbas. Under this reign the glory of Charlemagne,
which had reached Asia, protected the churches of the East.f
His pious liberality relieved the indigence of the Christians
of Alexandria, of Carthage, and Jerusalem. The two greatest
princes of their age testified their mutual esteem by frequent
embassies : they sent each other magnificent presents ; and,
in the friendly intercourse of two powerful monarchs, the
East and the West exchanged the richest productions of
fcheir soil and their industry. The presents of Haroun
created a lively surprise in the court of Charlemagne, and

* Lucida plerumque recepit intervalla. — ^\Villiam of Tyre.

f A ca[)itulary of Charlemagne, of the year 810, is conceived in these
terms: *' De eleemosyna mittenda ad Hyerusalem propter ecclesias Dei
restaurandas." Ob hoc maxime (says Eginard) transmarinorum rer/um
amicitias eayetens, ut ChristiMin sub eorum dominatu degentibua
refugeriicm aliquod ac relevatio provernret. — Vita Caroli Magni, cap. 27/
p. 101, edit, of Bredow, 12mo. Helmstadt, 1806.

HISTOET OF THE CRUSADES. 9

j^ave a high idea of the arts and riches of Asia. Tho
tronarch of the Franks took pleasure in showing to tht)
envoys of the cahph the magnificence of the religious cctc-
monies of the Christians. Witnesses, at Aix-la-Chapelle, of
several processions, in which the clergy had exhibited all
their most precious ornaments, the ambassadors, on their
return to Bagdad, reported that they had seen men of gold.

There was no doubt policy in the marks of esteem which
Haroun lavished upon the most powerful of the princes of
the West. He was making war against the emperors of
Constantinople, and might justly fear that they would
interest the bravest among Christian people in their cause.
The popular traditions of Byzantium foretold that the Latins
would some day be the liberators of Glreece ; and in one of
the first sieges of Constantinople by the Saracens, the
report only of the arrival of the Eranks had re-animated,
the courage of the besieged, and carried terror into the
ranks of the Mussulmans. In the time of Haroun, the
name of Jerusalem already exercised so powerful an influence
over the Christians of the West, that it was sufiicient to
rouse their warlike enthusiasm, and raise armies to serve
against the infidels. To take from the Franks every pretext
for a religious war, w^hich might make them embrace the
cause of the Greeks, and draw them into Asia, the caliph
neglected no opportunity of obtaining the friendship of
Charlemagne ; and caused the keys of the holy city and of
the holy sepulchre* to be presented to him. This homage,
rendered to the greatest of the Christian monarchs, was cele-
brated with enthusiasm in contemporary legends, which
afterwards caused it to be believed that this prince had made
the voyage and completed the conquest of Jerusalem.f

Haroun treated the Christians of the Latin Church as his
own subjects ; and the children of the caliph imitated his
moderation. Under their sway, Bagdad was the abode of
the sciences and the arts. The caliph Almamon, says an
Arabian historian, was not ignorant that they who labour

* Claves sepulcri Domini, cloves etiani civitatis et moniis cum vexilU
detulerunt. — William of Tyrf:.

t A relation of this pretended voyage may be found in the old
chronicles. Sanuti and Robert Gaguin have mentioned it, without doubt
from traditions existing in their time.

10 HISTOET or THE CEUSADES.

in the advancement of reason are the elect of God. Intel-
ligence polished the manners of the chiefs of Islamism, and
inspired them with a toleration till that time unkno\\Ti to
Mussulmans. Whilst the Arabians of Africa were pursuing
their conquests towards the West, whilst they took posses-
sion of Sicily, and Home itself saw its suburbs and its
churches of St. Peter and St. Paid invaded and pillaged by
infidels, the servants of Jesus Christ prayed in peace within
the walls of Jerusalem.* The pilgrims of the West, who
arrived there without danger, w^ere received in an hospital,
the foundation of which was attributed to Charlemagne.
Accordmg to the report of the monk Bemard,t who himself
performed the pilgrimage to the Holy Land, about the
middle of the ninth century, the hospital for the pilgrims of
the Latin Chiu'ch was composed of twelve houses or hos-
telries. To this pious establishment were attached fields,
ATJieyards,and a garden, situated in the Valley of Jehoshaphat.
This hospital, like those which the emperor of the West
founded in the north of Europe, had a library always open
to Christians and travellers. Prom the tenth century there
existed in the neighbourhood of the Pountain of Siloe, a
cemetery, in which were interred the pilgrims who died at
Jerusalem. Among the tombs of the faithful dwelt the
servants of God. This place, sa^^s the relation of St.
Antoninus, covered with fruit-trees, dotted with sepulchres
and humble cells, brings together the dead and the living,
and presents at once a cheerful and a melancholy picture.

* At the commencement of the ninth century, pilgrims ficclted thither
quite from the extremities of Europe. Dicuil, who wrote m Ireland in
the year 825, gives several details : — Fide/is f rater. . . . narravii coram
me .... qtwd adorationis causa in urbe Jerlm. [Hierusalern) clerici et
laid a Britannia usque ad Nilum velificaverunt. — Dicuil, De Mensura
Orbis, edit. Walcknaer, p. 17.

t Ibi hahetur hospitale, in quo suscipiuntur omnes qui causa devotionis
ilium adeunt locum, lingua loquentes Romand, cui adjacet ecclesia in
konore SanctcB Marice ; nobilissimam habent hibliothecam studio pradicti
imperatoris Caroli Magni. — This passage is taken from the Voyage of
the monk Bernard to the Holy Land. This monk was a Frenchman by
birth ; he set out for Palestine in 870 with two other monks, one of whom
was of the monastery of St. Innocent, in the country of Benevento, and
the other a Spanish monk. (See an account of this pilgrimage in the
A.ppendix.)

HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES. 11

To the desire of visiting the tomb of Jerusalem was joined
Ihe earnest wish to procure relics, which were then sought
for with eagerness by the devotion of the faithful. All who
retiu-ned from the East made it their glory to bring back to
then* country some precious remains of Cnristian antiquity,
and above all the bones of holy martyrs, which constituted
the ornament and the riches of their churches, and upon
which princes and kings swore to respect truth and justice.
The productions of Asia likewise attracted the attention of
the people of Europe. We read in* Gregory of Tours, that
the wine of Gaza was celebrated in Erance in the reign of
Gontran ;t that the silk and precious stones of the East
added to the splendour of the dresses of the great and the
noble ; and that St. Eloi, at the court of Dagobert, did not
disdain to clothe himself in the rich stuffs of Asia. Com-
merce attracted a great number of Europeans to Egypt,
Syria, and Palestine. The Yenetians, the Genoese, the
Pisans, — the merchants of Amalfi and Marseilles, — had all
stores at Alexandria, in the maritime cities of Phenicia, and
in the city of Jerusalem. Before the church of St. Marie-
la-Latine, says the monk Bernard, already quoted, extended
a large place or square, which was called the Market of the
Eranks. Every year, on the 15th of September, a fair was
opened on Mount Calvary, in which were exchanged the
productions of Europe for those of the East.

Greek and Syrian Christians were estabhshed even in the
city of Bagdad, where they devoted themselves to trade,
exercised the art of medicine, and cultivated the sciences.
They attained by their learning the most considerable em-
ployments, and sometimes even obtained the command of

* Alii causa negotiationis acti, alii causa devotionis et peregrinationis.
•—J. DE ViTRY. Quod Latini devotionis gratia aut negotiationis adve-
nientes. — Sanuti. Non defuerunt de occidentalibus multi qui loca
mncta, licet in hostium potestate redacta, aut devotionis, aui commer-
ciorum, aut utriusgue gratia, visitarent aliquoties. — William jf Tyrk,
Diversarum gentium undique prope innumera multitudo, 15 die Sep*
tembris anniversario more, in Hierosolymam convenire solet ad com-
mercia mutuis conditionibus et emptionibus peragenda. — Voyap-e of St.
Arculphus.

f There is an excellent dissertation, by M. de Guegnes, upon the com-
merce of the French in the Levant before the Crusades, in the 37th vol»
of the " M^moires de 1' Academic des Inscriptions."

IS HISTORY CF THE CRUSiJ>ES.

cities and tlie government of provinces. One of the
ealiplis of the race of AbLas* declared that the disciples ot
Christ were the most worthy to be trusted with the admi-
nistration of Persia. In short, the Christians of Palestine
and the Mussulman provinces, the pilgrims and travellers
who returned from the East, seemed no longer to have any
persecutijns to dread, when all at once new storms broke
out in the East. The children of Haroun soon shared the
fate of the posterity of Charlemagne, and Asia, Hke the
West, was plunged into the horrors of anarchy and ci\'il
war.

As the empire founded by Mahomet had for its principle
the spirit of conquest ; as the state was not defended by any
provident institution ; and as all depended upon the personal
character of the prince, it might easily be perceived that
symptoms of decay began to appear as soon as there
remained nothing else to conquer, and the chiefs ceased
either to make themselves feared or to inspire respect. The
caliphs of Bagdad, rendered effeminate by luxury, and cor-
rupted by long prosperity, abandoned the cares of empire,
buried themselves in their seraglios, and appeared to reserve
to themselves no other right than that of being named in
the public prayers. The Arabians were no longer governed
by that blind zeal, and that ardent fanaticism which they
had brought from the desert. Degenerated, like their chiefs,
they no longer resembled their warlike ancestors, who would
weep at not having been present at a battle. The authority
of the caliphs had lost its true defenders ; and when des-
potism surrounded itself with slaves purchased on the
banks of the Oxus, tliis foreign militia, called in to defend
the throne, ftnly precipitated its fall. New sectaries,
seduced by the example of Mahomet, and persuaded that
the world would obey those who should change its manners
or opinions, added the danger of religious dissensions to
t hat of political troubles. In the midst of the general con-
fiision, the emirs or lieutenants, of whom several governed
vast kmgdoms, no longer offered anythirg beyond a vain
homage to the successor of the Prophet, and refused to send
aim either money or troops. The gigantic empire of the

* Mohamed.

HISTORY or THE CEUSADES. 13

Abassides crumbled away on all sides, and tbe w,)rld,
according to the expression of an Arabian writer, was
within the reach of him who would take possession of it.
The spiritual power was itself divided ; Islamism beheld at
one time five caliphs, each of whom assumed the title of
commander of the faithful, and vicar of Mahomet.

The numerous dynasties which sprung up amidst the
troubles of Asia, shared amongst them the spoils of the
sovereigns of Bagdad ; those which ruled over Persia and
upon the banks of the Tigris, under the pretence of defend-
ing the Mussulman religion, subjected their spiritual chiefs
to the most humiliating subserviency. At the same time
the Eatimites, who pretended to be descended from Aly,
and who had usurped the title of caliph, raised armies, and
launched anathemas against the Abassides ; they had taken
possession of Egypt, and they threatened to invade Syria,
and to march to Bagdad, and dethrone the vicars of the
Prophet.

The Grreeks then appeared to rouse themselves from their
long supineness, and sought to take advantage of the divisions
and the humiliation of the Saracens. Kicephorus Phocas
took the field at the head of a powerful army, and recaptured
Antioch from the Mussulmans. Already the people of Con-
stantinople celebrated his triumphs, and styled him " the
star of the East, the death and the scourge of the infidels.''^
He might, perhaps, have merited these titles, if the Greek
clergy had seconded his efibrts. Nicephorus w^as desirous
of giving to tliis war* a religious character, and to place in the
rank of martyrs all who should fall in prosecuting it. The
prelates of his empire condemned his design as sacrilegious,

* Lebeau, in his " History of the Lower Empire," relates, after con-
temporary historians, an incident which plainly shows what was the spirit
of the Greeks at that time. " A small town of Silicia being invaded by
the Saracens, the cure of the place, named Themal, was saying mass at
the time. At the noise which he hears he descends briskly from the
altar, without taking off his pontificals, arms himself with a hammer
which served for a bell in many eastern churches, goes straight to meet
the enemy, wounds, knocks down, crushes all that he nreets, and puts
the rest to flight. Although he had delivered his town from an invasion
of the Saracens, the cure Themal was censured and suspended by his
bishop. He was so ill treated that he sought refuge with the Saraceu,
»nd embraced the religion of Mahomet."

14 HISTOET or THE CRUSA.JES.

and opposed to liim a canon of St. Basil, the text of wliici.
recommended to him who had killed an enemy to abstain
during three years from a participation in the holy mys-
teries. Deprived of the powerful stimulus of fanaticism,
Nicephorus found among the Greeks more panegyrists than
soldiers, and could not pursue his advantages against the
Saracens, to whom, even in their decline, religion prescribed
resistance and promised victory. His triumphs, w^hich were
celebrated at Constantinople with enthusiasm, were confined
to the taking of Antioch, and only served to create a perse-
cution against the Christians of Palestine. The patriarch of
Jerusalem, accused of keeping up an understanding with the
Greeks, expired at the stake, and several churches of the
holy city were consigned to the flames.

A Greek army, under the command of Temelicus, had
advanced to the gates of Amida, a city situated on the banks
of the Tigris. This army w^as attacked, in the midst of a
hurricane, by the Saracens, who routed it, and made a great
number of prisoners. The Christian soldiers who fall into
the hands of the infidels, heard, in the prisons of Eagdad,
of the death of Nicephorus ; and as Zimisces, his successor,
gave no attention to their deliverance, their chief wrote to
him in these terms : — " You who leave us to perish in an
accursed land, and who do not deem us w^orthy to be buried,
according to Christian usages, in the tombs of our fathers,
we cannot recognize you as the legitimate chief of the holy
Greek empire. If you do not avenge those who fell before
Amida, and those w^ho now sigh in foreign lands, God will
demand a strict account of them of you, at the terrible day
of judgment." When Zimisces received this letter at Con-
stantinople, says an Armenian historian,* he was penetrated
iqc-ith grief, and resolved to avenge the outrage inflicted upon
relig^Lon and the empire. On all sides preparations were set.

* We owe a great portion of these details to an ancient Armenian
manuscript, composed in the twelfth century by Matthew of Edessa,
several fragments cf which have been translated into French by Messrs.
Martin and Chahan de Cirbier. These fragments were printed under the
title, " Historical Details of the First Expeditiou of the Christians into
P.alestine, under the Emperor Zimisces." In th*^ Appendix of thi*
history is an interesting letter from Zimisces to the king of Armenia.

HISTOEY or THE CRUSADES. 16

.n foot for a fresh war against the Saracens. The nations
of the West were no strangers to this enterprize, which
preceded, by more than a year, the first of the Crusades.
Venice, which then enjoyed the commerce of the East,
forbade her people, under pain ©f death, to convey to the
Mussuhnans of Africa and Asia, either iron, wood, or any
species of arms. The Christians of Syria and several
Armenian princes repaired to the standard of Zimisces, who
took the field, and carried war into the territories of tlie
Saracens. So great was the confusion which then prevailed
among the Mussulman powers, and with such rapidity did one
dynasty succeed to another, that history can scarcely distin-
guish what prince,* or what people ruled over Palestine
and Jerusalem. After ha^i.ng defeated the Mussulmans on
the banks of the Tigris, and forced the caliph of Bagdad to
pay a tribute to the successors of Constantino, Zimisces
penetrated, almost without resistance, into Judea, took pos-
session of Cesarea, of Ptolemais, of Tiberias, N^azareth, and
several other- cities of the Holy Laud. He was encamped
upon Tabor when he received a deputation of the inhabitants
of Ramala and Jerusalem, who promised him obedience, and
required of him troops to defend their cities. Zimisces
received their submission and their request favourably, f and
pursued the wreck of the Saracen army, which had sought
refuge in some cities of Phenicia and in the mountains of
Libanus.

After this first campaign, the Holy Land appeared to be
on the eve of being delivered entirely from the yoke of the
infidels, when the emperor died poisoned. His death at

* The second tnemoir of the Abb6 Guenee upon Palestine may be read
here. This estimable scholar speaks of the different dynasties which, at
this period, had by turns conquered Jerusalem. We have felt that all
these details, though quite in their place in a memoir, would only inter-
rupt the course of our narration, without furnishing the reader with any
Mseful information,

f Whilst reading the letter of Zimisces, which gives an account of
these events, we feel astonished that he does not show more eagerness to
see Jerusalem ; but such was the character of the Greeks^ that they set
more value on the acquisition of relics, which were borne m triumph to
Constantinople, than in delivering the holy city and the tomb of Christ.
It is thence apj)arent th;it this expedition was aot at all directed by the
same spirit as the crusades.

16 HISTOST OE THE CEUSADES.

once put a stop to the execution of an enterprize of wLiich
he was the soul and the leader. The Cliristian nations had
scarcely time to rejoice at the delivery of Jerusalem, when
they learnt that the holy city had again fallen into the handa
of the Eatimite caliphs, who, after the death of Zimisces,
had invaded Syria and Palestine.

The caliphs of Cairo, who had taken advantage of the
transient conquests of the Q-reeks to extend their empire,
at first treated the Christians as allies and auxiUaries. In
the hope of enriching their new dominions and repairing
the evils of war, they favoured the commerce of the Euro-
peans, and tolerated the devotion of pilgrimages to the Holy
Land. The markets of the Franks were re-established in
the city of Jerusalem ; the Christians rebuJlt the hospitals
of the pilgrims, and the churches which were falling to
decay. They began to forget the peaceful domination of
the Abassides, and felicitated themselves upon li\'ing under
the laws of the sovereigns of Cairo ; and still greater right
had they to hope that all their troubles were about to be at
an end, when they saw the caliph Hakim, whose mother
was a Christian, ascend the throne. But God, who, according
to the expression of contemporary authors, wished to try
the virtues of the faithful, did not long delay to confound
their hopes and raise new persecutions agamst them.

Hakim, the third of the Eatimite caliphs, signalized his
reign by all the excesses of fanaticism and outrage. Unfixed
in his own projects, and wavering between two religions,
hQ by turns protected and persecuted Christianity. He
respected neither the policy of his predecessors nor the laws
which he himself had established. He changed, on the
morrow, that which he had ordained the preceding day, and
spread disorder and confusion throughout his dominions.
In the extravagance of his mind and the intoxication of
power, he carried his madness so far as to believe himself a
god. The terror which he inspired procured him worship-
pers, and altars were raised to him in the neighbour ood of
Eostat, which he had given up to the flames. Sixteen
thousand of his subjects prostrated themselves before him,
and adored him as sovereign of the livins^ and the dead.

Hakim despised Mahomet, but the Mussulmans were too
numerous in his states to allow him to think of persecuting

HISTORY or THE CELSADES. 17

fcliem. The god trembled for the authority of the prince,
and allowed all his anger to fall upon the Christians, whom
he gave up to the fury of their enemies. The places which
the Christians held in the administration, and the abuses in-
troduced into the mode of levying the imposts, with which
duty they were charged, had drawn upon them the hatred
of all the Mussidmans. When the caliph Hakim had once
given the signal for persecution, he found himself at no loss
for executioners. At first, they who had abused their power
were the objects of pursuit ; the Christian religion became
the next crime, and the most pious among the faithful w^ere
deemed the most guilty. The blood of the Christians flowed
in all the cities of Egypt and Syria, their courage in the
midst of torments only adding to the hatred of their per-
secutors. The complaints which escaped them in their
sufferings, the praj^ers, even, which they addressed to Jesus
Christ to put an end to their evils, were considered as a
revolt, and punished as the most guilty treasons.

It is probable that motives of policy joined with those of
fanaticism in the persecution of the Christians. Grerbert,
archbishop of Ravenna, who had become pope, under the
name of Sylvester II., had witnessed the ills to which the
faithful were subjected in their pilgrimages to Jerusalem.
On his return he excited the nations of the West to take
up arms against the Saracens. In his exhortations, he made
Jerusalem herself speak, made her deplore her misfortunes,
and conjure her Christian children to hasten and break her
chains. The people w^ere deeply moved with the complaints
and groans of Sion. The Pisans, the Grenoese, with Boson,
king of Aries, undertook a maritime expedition against
the Saracens, and made an incursion upon the coasts of
Syria. These hostilities, and the number of the pilgrims,
which increased every day, might well create distrust in the
masters of the East. The Saracens, alarmed by sinister
predictions, and by the imprudent menaces of the Christians,
saw nothing but enemies in the disciples of Christ ; from
that time terror and death guarded the gates of Jerusalem.

It is impossible, says AYilliam of Tyre, to describe all the
species of persecutions to which the Christians were then
exposed. Among the instances of barbarity cited by the
historians, there is one which gave to Tasso the idea of his

i
18 niSTOEY OF THE CRUSADES.

affecting episode of Olindus and Sophronia. One of the
bitterest enemies of the Christians, in order to increase the
hatred of their persecutors, threw, in the night, a dead dog
into one of the principal mosques of the city. The first
who repaired thitlier to morning prayer were seized with
horror at the sight of this profanatio]i, and proclaimed their
anger aloud. Threatening clamoiu*s soon resounded in every
part of the city ; the crowd assembled in a state of tumul-
tuous excitement around the mosque ; the Christians were
at once accused of this act of sacrUege, and all swore to
wash out the outrage to their prophet in the blood of the
perpetrators. All Christians were about to be immolated
to the revenge of the Mussulmans, and already were they
prepared for death, when a young man, whose name history
has not preserved, presented himself in the midst of them.
" The greatest misfortune that could happen," said he,
" would be that the church of Jerusalem shoidd perish.
"When a people is threatened with debtruction, it is just that
a single man should sacrifice himself for the salvation of
all; I here and now offer myself as a \'ictim to die for
you; to you I leave the charge of doing justice to my
memory, and I recommend myself to your prayers." After
pronouncing these words, which dissolved the assembly in
tears, he quitted them, and repaired to the chiefs of the
Mussulmans ; he declared himself alone to be the author of
the crime imputed to the Christians, and invoked upon
himself the death with which his brethren were menaced.
The Mussulmans, without being in the least touched by his
generous devotion, were satisfied with the victim who offered
himself to their vengeance : the sword was no longer sus-
pended over the heads of the Christians, and he who had
immolated himself for their safety, went, accorduig to the
expression of William of Tyre,* to receive in heaven the
reward reserved for those whose vninds burn with a love of
pf^ffect charity.

* Et ita pro fratribus animamponens, cumpietate dormitioriL'n accepit
optimam, habens positam gratlam. — William of Tyre. The translator
of the Latin historian Du Preau thus renders the thought of the original :
— " Thus, giving up his life lor his brothers, exchanged the misery of this
world for a happy eternal repose, and received the high reward pj«p»red
for all lovers of perfect chai-ity."

HISTOEY or THE CEUSADES. 19

Nevertheless, other niisfortunesi awaited the Christiana of
Palestine ; all religious ceremonies were inttTdicted ; the
greater part of the churches were converted into stables ;
that of the Holy Septilchre was completely destroyed. The
Christians, driven from Jerusalem, were scattered throughout
the countries of the East. Old historians relate, tliat the
world took part in the mourning of the holy city, and was
seized with trouble and consternation. Winter, with its
frosts and storms, showed itself in regions where, till that
time, it had been unknown. The Bosphorus and the Nile
bore sheets of ice upon their bosoms. Earthquakes were
felt in Syria and Asia Minor ; and their shocks, which were
repeated during two months, destroyed several large cities.
When the account of the destruction of the holy places
arrived in the West, it drew tears from all true Christians.
We read in the chronicle of the monk Glaber, that Europe
had Hkewise been presented with signs w^hich foreboded
great calamities : a shower of stones had fallen in Burgundy,
and a comet and threatenmg meteors had appeared in the
heavens. The agitation was extreme among all Christian
nations ; nevertheless, they did not take up arms against the
Mussidmans, but the whole of their vengeance fell upon
the Jews, whom all Europe accused of having provoked the
fury of the infidels.

The calamities of the holy city rendered it still more
venerable in the eyes of the faithftd ; persecution redoubled
the pious deliriiun of those who went into Asia to contem-
plate a city covered with ruins, and to behold an empty
sepulchre. It was in Jerusalem, filled with mourning, that
G od most manifestly distributed his blessings and delighted
to point out his will. Impostors constantly took advantage
of this opinion of the Christian people, to mislead the cre-
dulity of the multitude. To gain credit for their words, it
was quite sufficient to exhibit letters which, they said, had
fallen from heaven into J» rusalem. At this period, a pre-
diction, which annoimced* the end of the world and the
approaching coming of Jesus Christ into Palestme, very

* It was pretended that the thousand years of which the Scripture
speaks, were about to be accomplished, and that the end of the world
was appi-oachiug. In an act of donation made by St. Geraud, Baron
d'Aurillac. are these words, " Appropinquante mundi ter iin/o.**

Vol. I.— 3

20 HISTORY OF THE CRl SADES.

mucTi increased the veneration of the people for tlie holy
places. The Christians of the "West arrived in crowds at
Jerusalem, with the design of dying there, or there awaiting
the coming of the sovereign judge. The monk Glaber
informs us, that the affluence of pilgrims surpassed all
tjiat could be expected from the devotion of these remote
times. Eirst were seen on the holy march the poor and the
lower classes, then counts, barons, and princes, all reckoning
as nothing the grandeurs of the earth.

The inconstancy of Hakim had, in a degree, mitigated the
misfortunes of Jerusalem, and he had just granted liberty to
the Christians to rebuild their churches, when he died by
the hand of the assassin. His successor, guided by a wiser
policy, tolerated both pilgrimages and the exercise of the
Christian religion. The church of the Holy Sepulchre was
not entirely rebuilt till thirty years after its destruction ;
but the spectacle of its ruins still inflamed the zeal and the
devotion of the Christians.

In the eleventh century the Latin Church allowed pil-
grimages to suffice instead of canonical penitences ; sinners
were condemned to quit their country for a time, and to lead
a wandering life, after the example of Cain. This mode of
performing penance agreed better with the active and restless
character of the people of the West. It ought to be added,
that the devotion of pilgrimages, whatever may be the
opinion of an enlightened philosophy, has been received,
and even encouraged, in all religions. It belongs, too, to a
sentiment natural to man. If the sight of a land once
inhabited by heroes and sages awakens in us touching and
noble remembrances ; if the soul of the philosopher finds
itself agitated at the sight of the ruins of Palmyra, Babylon,
or Athens ; what lively emotions must not the Christians have
felt on beholding places which Grod had sanctified by his
presence and his blessings ?

The Christians of the West, almost all unhappy in their
own countries, and who often lost the sense of their evils in
long voyages, appeared to be only employed in seeking upon
earth the traces of a consoling and helpful divinity, or of
some holy personage. There existed no province without
its martyr or its apostle, whose support they went to
.mplore; ^ere was no city or secluded spot whicl did act

HISTORY OE THE CRrS.'J)ES. 2

preserve tlie tradition of a miracle, or had not a cliapel open
to pilgri'ns. Tlie most guilty of sinners, or the most fervent
of the faithful, exposed themselves to the greatest perils,
and repaired to the most distant places. Sometimes they
directed their steps to Apiiha and Calahria, they visited
Mount Grargan, celebrated by the apparition of St. Michael,
or Mount Cassin, rendered famous by the miracles of St.
Benedict ; sometimes they traversed the Pyrenees, and, in a
country given up to the Saracens, esteemed themselves happy
in praying before the relics of St. Jago, the patron saint of
Galicia. Some, like King Eobert, went to Rome, and
prostrated themselves on the tombs of the apostles St. Peter
and St. Paul ; others travelled as far as Egypt, where Christ
had passed his infancy, and penetrated to the solitudes of
Scete and Memphis, inhabited by the disciples of Anthony
and Paul.

A great number of pilgrims undertook the voyage to
Palestine ; they entered Jerusalem by the gate of Ephraimj
where they paid a tribate to the Saracens. After having
prepared themselves by fasting and prayer, they presented
themselves in the church of the Holy Sepulchre, covered
with a funeral cloth or robe, which they preserved vtdth care
during the remainder of their lives, and in which they were
buried after their death. They viewed with holy respect
Mount Sion, the Mount of Olives, and the Valley of Jehosha-
phat ; they quitted Jerusalem to visit Bethlehem, where the
Saviour of the world was born; Mount Tabor, rendered
sacred bj the transfiguration ; and all the places memorable
for his nrracles. The pilgrims next bathed in the waters of
the Jordan,* and gathered in the territory of Jericho palms
which they bore back as evidences and relics to the West.

Such were the devotion and spirit of the tenth and
eleventh centiu'ies, that the greater part of the Christians
would have thought themselves wanting in the duties of
religion if they had not performed some pilgrimage. He
who had escaped from a danger, or triumphed over his
enemies, assumed the pilgrim's staff, and took the road to
the holy ylaces ; he who had obtained by his prayers the

* These and the following details have been drawn from the accountg
of several pilgrimages, in Mabillon, in the " Recueil des Bollandistes."
•nd the chronicles of the times.

22 HISTOKT OF THE CEUSADES.

preservation of a fiither or of a son, went to return hia
thanks to heaven far from his domestic hearth, in places
rendered holy by religions traditions. A father often
devoted his child in the cradle to a pilgrimage, and the
first duty of an affectionate and obedient son, when past the
age of childhood, was to accomplish the vow of his parents.
More than once a dream, a vision in the midst of sleep,
imposed upon a Christian the obligation of performing a
pilgrimage. Thus, the idea of these pious journeys mixed
jtself up with all the affections of the heart, and with all
the prejudices of the human mind.

Pilgrims were welcomed everywhere, and in return for
the hospitality they received, they were only asked for their
prayers ; often, indeed, the only treasure they carried with
them. One of them, desirous to embark at Alexandria for
Palestine, presented himself with his scrip and staff on
board a ship, and offered a book of the holy Evangelists m
payment for his passage. Pilgrims, on their route, had no
other defence against the attacks of the wicked but the
cross of Christ, and no other guides but those angels whom
God has told " to watch over Ids children, and to direct them
in all their ways^

The greatest merit in the eyes of the faithful, next to
that of pilgrimage, was to devote themselves to the service
of the pilgrims. Hospitals were built upon the banks of
rivers, upon the heights of mountains, in the midst of cities,
and in desert places, for the reception of these travellers. In
the ninth century, the pilgrims who left Burgimdy to repair
to Italy, were received in a monastery built upon Mount
Cenis. In the following century, two monasteries, in
which were received travellers who had strayed from
their way, occupied the places of the temples of idolatry
on Montes Jovis,* and thence lost the name they had
received from Paganism, and took that of their pious
founder, St. Bernard de Menton. Christians who travelled
to Judea, found on the frontiers of Hungary, and in the

^ These mountains, called Monts de Joux (Montes Jovis), now bear
the names of the Great and Little St. Bernard, When St. Bernard
founded these two hospitals, the inhabitants of tlie Alps were still idola«
ters, and the Saracens had penetrated into Le Valais, where they coa«
BtaT\tly annoyed the march of the pilgrims.

HISTOEY OF THE CRUSADES. 23

provinces of Asia Minor, a great number of asylui^js raised
By charity.

Christians established at Jerusalem went to meet the
pilgrims, and often exposed themselves to a thousand dangers
whilst conducting them on their route. The holy city con*
tained hospit^^s for th( reception of all travellers. In one
of these hospitals the women who performed the pilgrimage
to Palestine, were received by religious females devoted to
the offices of charity. The merchants of Amalfi, Venice,
and Grenoa, the richest among the pilgrims, and several
princes of the West, furnished, by their benevolence, the
means of keeping these houses open for all poor travellers.*
Every year monks from the East came into Europe to collect
the self-imposed tribute of the piety of the Christians. A
pilgrim was a privileged being among the faithful. When
he had completed his journey, he acquired the reputatioji of
particular sanctity, and his departure and his retiu'n "were
celebrated by religious ceremonies. When about to set out,
a priest presented to him his scrip and staff, together ■witli a
gown marked with a cross ; he sprinkled holy Avater over his
vestments, and accompanied him, at the head of a j)roces-
sion, as far as the boundaries of the next parish. On his
return to his country, the pilgrim gave thanks to Grod, and
presented to the priest a palm-branch, to be deposited on
the altar of the chm^ch, as an evidence of his undertaking
being happily terminated.

The poor, in their pilgrimages, found certain resources
against misery ; when coming back to their country, they
received abundant alms. Vanity sometimes induced the
rich to undertake these long voyages, which made the monk
Grlaber say, that r^any Christians went to Jerusalem to make
themselves admired, and to be enabled, on their return, to
relate the wonders they had seen. Many were influenced
by the love of idleness and change, others by curiosity and
an inclination to see various countries. It was by no means
rare to meet with Christians who had spent their lives in
holy pilgrimages, and had visited Jerusalem several times.

Every pilgrim was obliged to carry with him a letter from

* William, duke of Normandy (917), Richard I. (943), and Richard II
Bent considerable sums into Syria. — See Glaber, I'ib. i. cap. 4 ; Dv
CB&NS, vol. iv.

24 HISTOKT or THE CRUSADES.

his prince or his bishop, a precaution which must have pre-
vented many disorders. History does not record a single
act of violence committed by one of the travellers who
absolutely covered the rout-? to the East. A Mussulman
governor, who had seen a vast number of them pass to
Emessa, said : " They have not left their homes with any
bad design; they only seek to fulfil their law."*

Every year, at the period of the festivals of Easter, number-
less troops of pilgrims arrived in Judea to celebrate the
mystery of the liedemptiou, and to behold the miracle of the
sacied fire, which a superstitious multitude believed they saw
descend from heaven upon the lamps of the holy sepulchre.
There existed no crune that might not be expiated by the pil-
grimage to Jerusalem, and acts of devotion at the tomb of
Christ. "We find in the "Acts of the Saints," that, in the time
of Lothaire, this opinion was established among the Eranks.
An old relation, preserved by a monk of E-edon, informs us
that a powerful lord of the duchy of Brttany, named Erot-
monde, the murderer of his uncle and his brother, presented
himself in the habit of a penitent before the king of Erance
and an assembly of bishops. The monarch and the prelates,
as an expiation for the blood he had shed, caused him to be
tightly bound with chains of iron, and ordered him to visit
the holy places, his brow marked with ashes, and his body
clothed in a winding-sheet. Erotmonde, accompanied by
his servants and the accomplices of his crime, set out for
Palestine ; after having for some time sojourned at Jeru-
salem, he crossed the desert, went to the banks of the Nile,
traversed a part of Africa, proceeded as far as Carthage, and
came back to Eome, where Pope Benedict III. advised him
to commence a new pilgrimage, to complete his penance
and obtain an entire remission of his sins. Erotmonde saw
Palestine a second time, penetrated as far as the shores of
the Eed Sea, remained three years on Mount Sinai, and
went into Armenia, to visit the mountain on which the
ark of Noah had rested after the deluge. On his return
to his country he was received as a saint ; he shut himself

* Non qncBrunt mala, sed legem eorum adimplere cvptunt. — Guille-
BARD. The account of the pilgrimage of St. Guillebard (Villibaldus),
drawn up by a nun of Heindenheim, at his relation, is to be found in the
*• Acta Sanctorum Ord. Sanct. Ben." ssecuU 3, part. 2.

HISTOET or THE CRUSADES. 25

Up in the monastery of Eedon,* and died regretted by the
3enobites whom he had edified by the relation of his pil-
grimages.

Many years after the death of Erotmonde, Centius,
prefect of Rome, who had used violence to the Pope in the
church of St. Mary the Grreat, who had dragged him from
the altar, and placed him in a dungeon, needed nothing more
to expiate this sacrilege than to perform the pilgrimage to
the Holy Land. Eoulque-Nerra, count of Anjou, charged
with crimes, and stained with blood, thought to efface all his
cruelties by a voyage to Jerusalem. His brother, whom he
had caused to perish in a dungeon, presented himself
wherever he went, before his eyes ; it appeared to him that
the numerous victims sacrificed to his ambition in unjust
wars issued from their tombs to disturb his sleep, and
reproach him for his barbarity. Pursued everywhere by
these frightful images, Poulque left his states, and repaired
to Palestine, in the gaib of a pilgrim. When he arrived at
Jerusalem, he passed through the streets of the holy city
with a cord aboa.t his neck, beaten with rods by his domes-
tics, repeating in a loud voice these words : " Lord, have
pity on a perjured and fugitive Christian." During his
abode in Palestine,t he bestowed numerous benefactions,
comforted the miseries of the pilgrims, and left everywhere
testimonials of his devotion and charity. He returned to
his duchy, bringing with him a portion of the true cross, and

* The account of tlie pilgrimage of Frotraonde, drawn up by an
anonymous monk of Radon, is inserted in the "Acta Sanctorum Ordin.
Sanct. Ben." sseculi 4, part. 2.

f The aggregated history of the annals and chronicles of Anjou, which
desciibes the pilgrimages of Foulque, relates an incident which appears
to d3serve to be known, for the full relation of which we refer to the
Appendix.

A Latin chronicle, entitled " Gesta. Consulum Andegav. Spicilegium,'*
torn. X. p. 465, relates the same fact, with more brevity and some circum-
stantial differences : —

Dixerunt, nuUo modo ad sepulcrum optatum pervenire posset nisi
super illud et crucem Dominicam mingeret ; quod vir prudens licet
invitus annuit. Quaesita igitur arietis vesic^, purgata atque mundata, et
optimo vino repleta, quae etiam apte inter ejus femora posita est, et
comes discalciatus ad sepulcrum Domini accessit, vinumque super sepul-
crum fudit, et sic ad libitum cum sociis omnibus intravit, et fusts multjg
lacrymis peroravit.

26 HISTOEY or THE CRrSADES.

khe sfcon3 npon wMcli he had knelt when he prayed before
the tomb of Christ.

Foulque, on returning to his dominions, was desirous of
Having always under his ejes an image of the places he had
risited, and caused to be built, near the castle of Loches, a
monastery and a church, which bore the name of the Holy
(Sepulchre. In the midst of the remembrances of his pil-
)ejrimage, he still heard the voice of remorse, and set off a
second time for Jerusalem. He once more edified the
Ohristians of the holy city by the expressions of his repent-
ance and the austerities of his penance. As he was returning
to his duchy, in passing through Italy, he delivered the
Roman state from a brigand Mdio plundered the towns and
villages, and made war upon all merchants and pilgrims.
The pope praised his zeal and his bravery, gave him absolu-
tion for his sins, and permitted him to bear about with him
the rehcs of two Iwly martyrs. When he left Eome, he
was conducted in triumph by the people and the clergy, who
proclaimed him their liberator. On his arrival in Anjou, he
re-established peace in his dominions, which had been in
great confusion during his absence. Eestored to his countrj^
his family, and his subjects, who had forgotten his criielties ;
reconciled with the Church, which declared him its benefactor,
he appeared to have no more crimes to expiate, or wishes to
form for his old age ; but neither the absolution of the pope,
nor the peace of his states, nor the blessings of the people
• — ^nothing could calm his soul, for ever torn with remorse.
He could not escape from the image of his brother, which
pursued him still, and recalled to his mind the crimes with
which he had stained himself. Without cessation he was
before him, pale, disfigured, dragging his chains, and invoking
heaven to take vengeance on the fratricide. Eoulque resolved
to make a third pilgrimage to Jerusalem ; he returned uito
Palestine, watered anew the tomb of Christ with his tears,
and made the holy places resound with his groans. After
having \isited the Holy Land, and recommended his soul to
the prayers of the anchorites charged to receive and console
pilgrims, he quitted Jerusalem to return to his country,
which he was doomed never to see again. He fell sick,
and died at Metz. His body was transpoi'ted to Loches,
and buried in the monastery of the Holy Sepulchre, which

HISTOEY OF THE CEUSaDES. 27

te had caused to be built. His heart was deposited in a
cburcli at Metz, where was shown, for many ages after his
death, a mausoleum, which was called the tomb of Eoulque,
count of Anjou.

At the same period, towards the middle of the eleventh
century, Bobert-le-Erison, count of Flanders, and Beren-
ge? II., count of Barcelona, resolved likewise to expiate
fch i/ir sins by the voyage to the Holy Land. The latter died
in Asia, not being able to support the rigorous penances he
had imposed upon himself. ^Robert came back to his domi-
nions, where his pilgrimage caused him to find grace in the
eyes of the clergy, whom he had wished to plunder. These
two princes had been preceded in their pilgrimage by
Frederick, count cf Yerdun,* Frederick was of the illus-
trious family wliich was one day to reckon among its heroes
Godfrey de Bouillon. On setting out for Asia, he renounced
earthly grandeur, and gave up /his county to the bishop of
Verdim. Eeturned into Europe, he resolved to terminate
his days in a monastery, and died prior of the abbey of St.
"Wast, near Arras.

The weak and timid sex was not deterred by the difficulties
and the perils of a long voyage. Helena, born of a noble
family of Sweden, quitted her country, which was buried in
idolatry, and travelled on foot into the East. When, after
having visited the holy places, she returned to her country,
she was sacrificed to the resentment of her relations and her
compatriots, and gathered, says an old legend, the palm of
martyrdom. t A few of the faithful, touched with her piety,
raised a chapel to her memory in the isle of Zealand, near
a fountain, which is still called the Fountain of St. Helena.
The Christians of the North for a long time went in pilgrimage
to this island, where they contemplated a grotto which
Helena had inhabited before her departure for Jerusalem.

Among the celebrated pilgrims of this age, we observe the
name of Eobert II., duke of Normandy, father of AYilliam
the Conqueror. History accuses him of having caused his

* The pilgrimage of Frederick is related by Dom Calmet, vol. i. p. 1072,
of the *' Civil History of Lorraine." It is to he found also in the '* His-
tory of the Bishops of Lorraine," vol. 1. pp. 203 — 205.

f See the Life of St. Helena, in the seventh volume of the mnath o:f
July, pp. 332, 333, of the Bollandists.

3*

28 HISTORY or 7:he ceusades. ,

brotlier Eicliard to be poisoned. Remorse urged him to
make the pilgrimage to Palestine ; and he set out accom-
panied by a great number of knights and barons, bearing
the scrip and staff, walking barefoot, and clothed in the sack
of penitence. He attached, he said, more value to the pains
he suffered for Christ's sake than to the richest city of his
*^Likedom. On his arrival at Constantinople, he despised
the luxury and the presents of the emperor, and appeared at
court in the guise of the humblest of the pilgrims. Having
fallen sick in Asia Minor, he refused the services of the
Christians of his suite, and caused himself to be carried in a
litter by Saracens. Meeting a pilgrim from Normandy, the
latter asked him if he had any message that he could deliver
for him to his country. " Go and tell my people," said the
duke, " that you have seen a Christian prince being carried
to Paradise by devils." When he arrived at Jerusalem, he
found a crowd of pilgrims, who, not having the means of
paying the tribute to the infidels, awai^^ed the arrival of some
rich lord who might deign, by his charity, to open for them
the gates of the holy city. Robert paid a piece of gold for
each of them, and followed them into Jerusalem amidst the
acclamations of the Christians. During his sojourn here he
caused himself to be remarked for his devotion, and still
more for his charity, which he extended even to the infidels.
As he was returning into Europe, he died at Nicea, in
Bithynia, regarding only the relics he had brought with him
from Palestine, and regretting that he had not finished his
days in the holy city.

The greatest blessing for the pilgrims, and that which
they demanded of Heaven as a reward for their labours and
fatigues, was to die, like Jesus Christ, in the holy city.
When they presented themselves before the holy sepulchre,
they were accustomed to offer up this prayer : — " Thou who
died for us, and wast buried in this holy spot, take pity of
our misery, and withdraw us at once from this valley of
tears." History tells of a Christian, born in the territory
of Autun, who, on his arrival at Jerusalem, sought death in
the excess of his fastings and mortifications. One day he
femained a long time in prayer on the Mount of Ohves, with
his eyes and his hands raised towards heaven, whither Grod
aeemed ":o call him. On his return to the hospital of the

HISTOEY or TUE CEUSADES. 29

pilgrims, lie cried three times, " Glory to tliee, oTi God!'"*
and died suddenly in the sight of his companions, who
envied him his fate, and believed themselves witnesses of a
miracle.

The inclination to acquire holiness bj the journey to
Jerusalem became at length so general, that the troops of
pilgrims alarmed by their numbers the countries through
which they passed, and although they came not as soldiers,
tliey were designated " the armies of the Lardy In tlie
year 1054, Litbert, bishop of Cambrai, set out for the Holy
Land, followed by more than three thousand pilgrims from
the provinces of Picardy and Flanders-f "When he began
his march, the people and the clergy accompanied him three
leagues from the city, and with eyes bathed in tears, im-
plored of Grod the happy return of their bishop and their
brethren. The pilgrims traversed Germany without en-
countering any enemies, but on reaching Bidgaria, they
found none but men who inhabited the forests and subsisted
upon plunder. Many were massacred by these barbarous
people, and some perished with hunger in the midst of the
deserts. Litbert arrived with much difficulty at Laodicea,
embarked with those who followed him, and was cast upon
the coast of Cyprus by a tempest. He had seen the greater
part of his companions perish, and the remainder were
nearly sinking imder their various miseries. Returned to
Laodicea, they learnt that still greater dangers awaited
them on the route to Jerusalem. The bishop of Cambrai
felt his courage abandon him, and believed that Grod himself
was opposed to his pilgrimage. He returned through a
thousand dangers to his diocese, where he built a church in
lionoiu' of the holy sepulchre, which he had never seen.

Ten years after the voyage of Litbert, seven thousand
Christians, among whom were the archbishop of Mayence,
and the bishops of Spires, Cologne, Bamberg, and Utrecht,
set out together from the banks of the E-hine, to repair

* Raoul Glaber bestows great praise on this pilgrim, named Lethal,
'* who," says he, " was not one of those who go to Jerusalem to court
admiration, — ut solummodo mirahiles habeanturJ'

t This pilgrimage of Litbert, or Liebert, is described in his life, written
by Raoul (Radulfus), his contemporary. See vol. iv. month of June,
pp. 595—605, of the Bollandists.

30 HISTORY or THE CEUSADES.

to Palestine. This numerous caravan, wliieli was the
forerunner of the Crusades,* crossed Germany, Hungary,
Bulgaria, and Thrace, and was welcomed at Constantinople
by the emperor Constantine Ducas. After having visited
the churches of Byzantium, and the numerous relics which
were the objects of the veneration of the Greeks, the pilgrims
of tlie West traversed Asia Minor and Syria without danger;
but when they approached Jerusalem, the sight of their
riches aroused the cupidity of the Bedouin Arabs, undisci-
plined hordes, who had neither country nor settled abode,
and who had rendered themselves formidable in the civil
wars of the East. The Arabs attacked the pilgrims of the
West, and compelled them to sustain a siege in an aban-
doned village ; and this was on a Good Friday. On such a
sacred day, the pilgrims even who had arms employed them
with much hesitation and scruple. Enclosed within the
ruins of an old castle, they resisted for a time, but on the
third day fomine compelled them to capitulate. When they
came to the arrangement of the conditions of the peace,
there arose a violent quarrel, w'hich was near leading to the
massacre of all the Christians by the Arabs. The emir of
Bamala, informed by some fugitives, came happily to their
rescue, delivered them from the death with which they were
threatened, and permitted them to continue their journey.
As the report of their combats and their perils had preceded
them, their arrival created a great sensation in Jerusalem.
They were received in triumph by the patriarch, and con-
ducted, to the sound of timbrels and by the light of torches,
to the chiu-ch of the Holy Sepulchre. During their abode
at Jerusalem, tlie misery into which they were fallen excited
the pity of the Christians. They could not visit the banks
of the Jordan, or the places most renowned in Judea, as
these were all now infested by the Arabs and exposed to
their incursions. After having lost more than three thou-
sand of their companions, they returned to Europe, tv.> relate

* Ingulfus, a Norman monk, who had accompanied the pilgrims who
left Normandy, has made the i-elation of this pilgrimage. The account of
Ingulfus has been copied almost literally by Baronius. An account of
the same pilgrimage is likewise to b-e found in the chronicle of Maiianus
Scotus pp. 429 430.

HISTOllT OF THE CEUSADES. 31

tlieir tragical adventures, and the dangers of a pilgrimage to
1;lie Holy Land.*

New perils and the most violent persecutions at thii*
period threatened both the pilgrims of the West and the
Christians of Palestine. Asia was about once again to change
masters, and tremble beneath a fresh tjrsimij. During
several centuries, the rich countries of the East had been
subject to continual invasions from the wild hordes of Tar-
tary. As fast as the victorious tribes became effeminated
by luxury and prosperity, they were replaced by others
retaining all the barbarism of the deserts. The Turks
issuing from countries situated beyond the Oxus, hac
rendered themselves masters of Persia, where the uncal-
culating policy of Mamouh had received and encouraged
their wandering tribes. The son of Mamouh fought a
battle with them, in which he performed prodigies of valour;
"but fortune," says Peristha, "had declared herself unpro-
pitious to his arms ; he looked around durmg the fight, and
except the body which he immediately commanded, his whole
army had devoured the yatlis of flight.''^ Upon the very
theatre of their victory the Turks proceeded to the election
of a king. A large number of arrows were collected into a
bundle. Upon each of these arrows was inscribed the name
of a tribe, of a family, and of a warrior. A child drew three
of the arrows in the presence of the whole army, and chance
assigned the throne to Togrul-Beg, grandson of Seldjouc.
Togrul-Beg, whose ambition equalled his courage, embraced,
together with his soldiers, the faith of Mahomet, and soon
joined to the title of conqueror that of protector of the
Mussulman religion.

The banks of the Tigris and the Euphrates were then
troubled by the revolt of the emirs, who shared the spoils of
the caliphs of Bagdad : the caliph Cayem implored the
assistance of Togrul, and promised the conquest of Asia to
the new master of Persia. Togrul, whom he had named his
temporal vicar, marched at the head of an army, dispersed
the :^ctious and the rebellious, ravaged the provinces, and

* It would have been easy for me to have spoken of a great number oi
other pilgrimages undertaken before the Crusades. An abridgment of
the most inter^^tiag a^^soiAnts will be found in the Appendix at the end of

82 HISTOET OE THE CRUbADES.

entered Bagdad, to prostrate himself at the feet of th«
caliph, who proclaimed the triumph of his liberators anU
their sacred claims to the empire. In the midst of an
imposing ceremony, Togrul was successively clothed with
seven robes of honoiu* : and seven slaves born in the seven
climates of Arabia were presejited to him. Two crowns
were placed upon his head, and, as an emblem of his domi-
nion over the East and the West, they girded him with two
scimitars. Tliis ceremony rendered the usurpation of the
Tiu'ks legitimate in the eyes of the Mussulmans. The
empire which the vicar of Mahomet pointed out to their
ambition was speedily conquered by their arms. Under the
reign of Alp-Arsland, and that of Malek-Scha, the successors
of Togrul, the seven branches of the dynasty of Seldjouc
shared amongst them the largest kingdoms of Asia. Thirty
years had scarcely passed away since the Tartars conquered
Persia, and already their military and pastoral colonies ex-
tended from the Oxus to the Euphrates, and from the Indus
to the Hellespont.

One of the lieutenants of Malek-Scha carried the terror
of his arms to the banks of the Nile, and wrested Syria
from the hands of the Eatimite caliphs. Palestine yielded
to the power of the Turks, and the black flag of the Abassides
floated triumphantly over the walls of Jerusalem. The con-
querors spared neither the Christians nor the children of
Aly, whom the caliph of Bagdad represented to be the
enemies of God. The Egyptian garrison was massacred,
and the mosques and the churches were delivered up to
pillage. The holy city was flooded with the blood of Chris-
tians and Mussulmans.

The possession of Jerusalem in no degree arrested the
barbarous fury of the Turks. As their empire was recent
and ill -established, as they were threatened with the armies
of Cairo, and even with those of the West, their tyranny
became restless, jealous, and violent. The Christians trem-
bled under the hardest and most humiliating subjugation ;
they were despoiled of their property, and reduced to the
most frightful degree of misery. They underwent much
greater evils than they had suffered during the reign of
Hakim.

A great number of those who had quitted their familiea

HISTOET or TITE CRUSADES. 3d

and their country to visit the tomb of Christ, lost their Jves
before they were able to enjoy the felicity of saluting the
holy city ; and they v/ho arrived at Jerusalem after having
escaped a thousand dangers, found themselves exposed to
the insults and cruelties of the new masters of Judea. The
pilgrims of the Latin Church w^ho returned into Europe,
related all that they had suffered in their voyage, and told,
with groans, of the outrages committed upon the religion of
Christ. They had seen the holy sepulchre profaned, and
the ceremonies of the Christians become the sport of the
infidels ; they had seen the patriarchs of Jerusalem and the
venerable guardians of the holy places dragged from their
sanctuary and cast ignominiously into dungeons. These
recitals, exaggerated by repetition, flew from mouth to
mouth, and drew tears from the eyes of the faithful.

Whilst the Turks, under the command of Toutousch and
Ortock, were desolating Syria and Palestine, other tribes of
that nation, led by Soliman, nephew of Malek-Scha, had
penetrated into Asia Minor. They took possession of all
the provinces through which pilgrims were accustomed to
pass on their way to Jerusalem. These countries, in which
the Christian religion had first shone forth, and the greater
part of the Greek cities w^hose names were conspicuous in
the annals of the primitive church, sunk under the yoke of
the infidels. The standard of the prophet floated over the
walls of Edessa, Iconium, Tarsus, and Antioch. Nicea had
become the seat of a Mussulman empire, and the divinity of
Christ was insulted in that city wherein the first oecumenic
council had declared it to be an article of faith. The
modesty of the virgins had been sacrificed to the brutal lust
of the conquerors. Thousands of children had been circum-
cised.* Everywhere the laws of the Koran took place of
those of the Evangelists and of Grreece. The black or white
tents of the Turks covered the plains and the mountains of

* A picture of the excesses and shameless debaucheries committed by
the Turks after the conquest of Asia Minor, may be found in a letter of
Alexis, quoted by the Abbe Guibert, lib. i., cap. 4 : — " Dicit eos quem-
dam abusione sodomitica intervenisse episcopum ; matres correptse in
conspectu filiarum multipliciter repetitis diversorum coitibus vexabantur.
Filiae existentise terminum praecinere saltando cogebantur,--mox eadem
jpassio ad filias," &c.

m HISTORY or THE CKL'SADES.

Bithyiiia and Cappadocia, and their Hocks pastured amoiig
the ruins of tlie monasteries and cliurches.

The Grreeks had never had to contend against more cruel
and terrible enemies than tlie Turks. Whilst the court of
Alp-Arslan and JMalelv-Scha blazed with, magnilicence and
cultivated the knowledge and intelligence of the ancient Per-
sians, the rest of the people remained in a state of barbarism,
and preserved, amidst the conquered nations, all the ferocious
and savage manners of Tartary. The children of Seldjoiic
loved better to abide mider their tents than in the walls of
cities ; they lived upon the milk of their flocks, disdaining
both agriculture and commerce, in the conviction that war
would supply all their wants. For themselves, their home
was every region in which their arms could prevail and
their flocks find rich pastm^es. When they passed from one
country into another, all the members of the same family
marched together ; they took with them all that they loved,
ind all that they possessed. A constantly wandering life,
and frequent quarrels among themselves and with their
neighbours, kept up their military spuit. Every warrior
carried his name inscribed upon his javelin, and swore to
make it respected by his enemies. So eager were the Turks
for battle, that it was quite sufficient if a chief sent his bow
or his arrows among his tribe, to make them all instantly
fly to arms.

The patience with which they supported hunger, thirst,
and fatigue, rendered them invincible. 'No nation of the
East surpassed them in horsemanship, or in skill with the
bow ; nothing could exceed the impetuosity of their attack,
and they were at the same time redoubtable in flight, and
implacable in victory. They were not guided in their expe-
ditions by a desii'e for glory or a sense of honour, but simply
by a love of destruction and pillage.

The re])ort of their invasions had spread among the na-
tions of Caucasus and the Caspian Sea, and new migrations
appeared to arrive every day to strengthen their armies. As
they were docile in war, and turbulent and rebellious in
peace, it was the policy of their chiefs to lead them con-
stantly on to new conquests. Malek-Scha, with a view to
get rid of his lieutenants rather than to reward them, had
given them permission to attempt the conquest of the lands

HISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. 35

of the Greeks and Egyptians. It was an easy matter to
raise armies, to which were promised the spoils of the
enemies of the prophet and his legitimate vicar. All who
had not shared in the booty of preceding w^ars flocked to
tlie standards, and the wealth of Greece soon became the
prey of Turkish horsemen, who had but recently issued from
tlieir deserts with woollen caps and stirrups of wood. 01
all the hordes subject to the dynasty of Seldjouc, the troops
that invaded Syria and Asia Minor were the poorest, the
most wild, and tlie most intrepid.

In the depth of their misery, the Greeks of the conquered
provinces scarcely dared to lift their eyes to the sovereigns
of Byzantium, who had not had the courage to defend them,
and therefore left them no hope that they would assist them
in their troubles. In the midst of revolutions and civil
wars, the Greek empire was hasteniag to its fall. Since
the reign of Ileraclius, Constantinople had seen eleven of
its emperors put to death in their own palace. Six of these
masters of the world had terminated their days in the
obscurity of cloisters ; several had been mutilated, deprived
of sight, and sent into exile ; the purple, stained and degraded
by so many revolutions, decorated only wicked and con-
temptible princes, or men without character or virtue.
Their whole employment was their o^vn personal safety;
and they were compelled to share their power with the
accomplices of their crimes, of whom they lived in a constant
state of dread. They frequently sacrificed cities and pro-
vinces, to purchase from their enemies a few moments of
security, and appeared to have nothmg to ask of fortune
beyond the existence of the empire during their own worth-
less lives.

The Greeks still cherished great names and great remem-
brances, of which they were proud, but which only served
to show their present weakness and degradation. In the
midst of the luxury of Asia and the monuments of Greece
and Eome, they were scarcely less barbarous than other
nations. In their theological disputes they had lost the
true spirit of the Evangelists ; among them everything
was corrupted, even religion. A universal bigotry, says
Montesquieu, depressed tlieir courage and paralyzed the
whole empire. They uegleAttcd the dangers of their coun-

$6 HISTORY OF THE CllUSADES.

try, and became zealots for a relic or for a sect, lu vvar,
superstition pointed out to the Greeks lucky and unl;icky
days, in ayIiIcIi a general ought or ought not to give battle ;
and as religion inspired in them nothing beyond an apathetic
resignation in reverses, they consoled themselves for tho
loss of provinces by accusing their inhabitants of heresy.

Among the Greeks, stratagem and perfidy were decorated
with the name of policy, and received the same encomiums
as valour; they esteemed it as glorious to deceive their
enemies as to conquer them. Their soldiers were followed to
the seat of war by light chariots, which carried their arms; and
they had perfected every machine which could supply the place
of courage in either sieges or battles. Their armies displayed
great military pomp, but were deficient in soldiers. The
only thing they inherited from their ancestors was a turbu-
lent and ' seditious spirit, which mixed itself with their
effeminated manners, and was sure to break out when their
country was threatened with danger. Discord unceasingly
reigned among both the army and the people ; and they
continued madly to dispute the right to an empire wliose
very existence was menaced, and blindly gave up its defence
to barbarians and strangers. In short, the corruption of the
Greeks was so great, that they could neither have endured
a good prince nor good laws. Nicephorus Phocas, who had
formed the project of re-establishing discipline, died assas-
sinated. Zimisces had also paid with his life for his efforts
to rouse the Greeks from their pusillanimous degradation.
When the emperor Bomanus-Diogenes was made prisoner by
the Turks, his misfortunes were the signal for a fresh revolt
against his person. Sent back with honours by the sultan
of Persia, he met with nothing but executioners in an empire
he had endeavoured to defend, and died with misery and
despair in a desert island of the Propontis.

"Whilst the empire of the East approached near to its fall,
and appeared sapped by time and corruption, the institutions
of the West were in their infancy. The empH-e and the
laws of Charlemagne no longer existed. Nations had no
relations with each otlier, and mistaking their political
interests, made wars without considering their consequences
or their dangers, and concluded peace, witnout being at all
aware whether it was advantageous or not. E-oyal authority

HISTOEY or THE CRUSADES. 89

w&s nowhere sufficiently strong to arrest the progress of
anarchy and the abuses of feudalism. At the same time
that Europe was full of soldiers, and covered with stron*
castles, the states themselves were without support against
their enemies, and had not an army to defend them. In the
midst of general confusion, there was no security but in
camps and fortresses, by turns the safeguards and the terror
of the towns and the country. The largest cities held out no
asylum to liberty, and the life of man was reckoned so trifling
an object, that impunity for murder could be purchased with a
few pieces of money. Frequently, to detect crime, the judges
had recourse to water, fire, and iron ; upon the blind and
dumb evidence of the elements, victims were condemned to
death ; it was sword in hand that justice was invoked ; it was
by the sword that the reparation of wrongs and injuries was
to be obtained. No one would then have been understood
who would have spoken of the rights of nature, or the rights
of man ; the language of the barons and the lords comprised
only such words as treated of war ; w^ar was the only science,
the only policy of either princes or states.

Nevertheless, this barbarism of the nations of the West
did not at all resemble that of the Turks, whose religion
and manners repelled every species of civilization or cultiva-
tion, nor that of the Grreeks, who were nothing but a cor-
rupted and degenerated people. Whilst the one exhibited
all the vices of a state almost savage, and the other all the
corruption of decay ; something heroical and generous was
mingled with the barbarous manners of the Franks, which
resembled the passions of youth, and gave promise of a
better future. The Turks were governed by a gross bar-
barism, which made them despise all that was noble or great;
the Greeks were possessed by a learned and polished bar-
barism, which filled them with disdain for heroism or the
military virtues. The Franks M^ere as brave as the Turks,
and set a higher value on glory than any other people. The
principle of ho?iou7% which gave birth to chivalry in Europe,
directed their bravery, and sometimes assumed the guise oi
justice and virtue.

The Christian religion, which the Greeks had reduced to
little formula? and the vain practices of superstition, was,
with them, incapable of inspiring either great designs or

38 HISTOET or THE CnUSADES.

noble tbouglits. Among tlio nations of the West, as tliey
were yet unacquainted with the disputed dogmas of Chris-
tianit}^, it had more empire over their minds, it disposed
then' hearts more to enthusiasm, and formed amongst them,
at once, both saints and heroes.

Although religion might not always preach its doctrines
with success, and its influence was subject to abuse, it
had a tendency to soften the manners -ji the barbarous
people that had invaded Europe ; it aiforded a holy au-
thority to the weak ; it inspired a salLitary fear in the
strong, and frequently corrected the injustice of human
laws.

In the midst of the darkness which covered Europe, the
Cln'istian religion alone preserved the memory of times past,
and kept up some degree of emulation among men. It
preserved, also, for happier days, the language of the royal
people, the only one capable of expressing the grand and
noble ideas of moral virtue, in which the genius of legis-
lation had elevated its most splendid monuments. Whilst
despotism and anarchy pervaded the cities and the kingdoms
of the West, the people invoked religion against tyranny,
and the princes called in its aid against license and revolt.
Often, mid the troubles of states, the title of Christian
inspired more respect, and awakened more enthusiasm than
did the name of citizen in ancient Home. As the Christian
religion had preceded all the then existing institutions, it natu-
rally remained for a long time surrounded by the veneration
and love of the people. Under more than one relation the
nations appeared to recognise no other legislators than the
fathers of the councils, no other code than that of the gospel
and the holy Scriptures. Europe might be considered as a
religious society, wherein the preservation of the faith was
the principal interest, and in which men belonged more to
the church than to the country. In such a state of things
it was easy to inflame the minds of the people, by showing
them that the cause of religion and of Christians stood in
need of defence.

Ten years before the invasion of Asia Minor by the Turks,
Michael Ducas, the successor of Eomanus-Diogenes, had im-
plored the assistance of the pope and the princes of the
West. He had promised to remo\'e all tho barriers which

HISTORY OF THE CEUSABES. 39

separated tHe Grreek from the E,omau Churcli, if the Latins
would take up arms against the infidels. Grregory YII. then
filled the chair of St. Peter, and his talents, his knowledge,
his activity, his boldness, together with the inflexibility of
his character, rendered him capable of the greatest under-
takings. The hope of extending the religion and the empire
of the Holy See into the East, made him receive kindly the
humble supplications of Michael Ducas. He exhorted the
faithfid to take up arms against the Mussulmans, and
engaged to lead them himself into Asia. The misfortunes
of the Christians of the East, said he, in his letters, had
moved him even to feel a contempt for death ; he would
rather expose his life to deliver the holy places, than live to
command the entire universe. Excited by his discourses,
fifty thousand pilgrims agreed to follow Grregory to Con-
stantuiople, and thence to Syria; but he kept not the
promise he had made, and the affairs of Europe, in which
the ambition of the pontiff" was more interested than in
those of Asia, suspended the execution of his projects.

Every day the power of the popes was augmented by the
progress of Christianity, and by the ever-increasing influence
of the Latin clergy. E-ome was become a second time the
capital of the world, and appeared to have resumed, under
the monk Hildebrand, the empire it had enjoyed under the
Caesars. Armed with the two-edged sword of Peter, Grregory
loudly proclaimed that all the kingdoms of the earth were
under the dominion of the Holy See, and that his authority
ought to be as imiversal as the church of which he was the
head. These dangerous pretensions, fostered by the opinions
of his age, engaged him immediately in violent disputes wdth
the emperor of Grermany. He desired also to dictate laws to
France, Spain, Sweden, Poland, and England ; and thinking
of nothing but making himself acknowledged as the great
arbiter of states, he launched his anathemas even against
the throne of Constantinople, which he had undertaken to
defend, and gave no more attention to the deliverance of
Jerusalem.

After the death of Grregory, Victor III., although he
pursued the policy of his predecessor, and had at the same
time to contend against the emperor of Germany and the
party of the anti-pope Guibert, did not neglect the oppor*

40 HISTORY or THE CETISiDES.

jTunity of making war against tlie Mussulmans. Tlie Sara-
cens, inliabitbig Africa,* disturbed the navigatioii of the
Mediterranean, and threatened the coast of Italy. Victor
invited the Christians to take arms, and promised them the
remission of all their sins if they went to fight against the
infidels. The inhabitants of Pisa, Grenoa, and several other
cities, urged by their zeal for religion, and their desire to
defend their commerce, equipped fleets, levied troops, and
made a descent upon the coasts of Africa, where, if we are
to believe the chronicles of the time, they cut in pieces an
army of one hundred thousand Saracens. That we may not
doubt, says Baronius, that God interested himself in the
cause of the Christians, on the very day on which the Italians
triumphed over the enemies of Christ, the news of the
victory was carried miraculously beyond the seas. After
having given up to the flames two cities, ^U-Mahadia and
Sibila,t built within the territories of ancient Carthage, and
forced a king of Mauritania to pay a tribute to the Holy
See, the Grenoese and the Pisans returned to Italy, where the
s J) oils of the conquered were employed in ornamenting the
churches.

The pope Victor, however, died without realizing his
promise of attacking the infidels in Asia. The glory of
delivering Jerusalem belonged to a simple pilgrim, possessed
of no other power than the influence of his character and
his genius. Some assign an obscure origin to Peter the
Hermit ; others say he was descended from a noble family
of Picardy ; but all agree that he had an ignoble and vulgar
exterior. Born with a restless, active spirit, he sought,
m all conditions of life, for an object which he could meet
with in none. The study of letters, bearing arms, celibacy,
marriage, the ecclesiastical state, offered nothing to him that

* This expedition, which was a true crusade, a^ pears to have been
forgotten by all the historians of the crusades.

If Al-Mahadia, the chief of the cities conquered by the Christians,
according to Oriental geographers, was founded in the year 303 of the
Hegira, by Obeidallah, or Abdallah. It was still considerable in the
fifteenth century. Shaw, who saw it in 1730, calls it El-Medea. It is
situated thirty marine leagues south of Tunis. Sibila, which is the other
city conquered in this expedition, and which Shaw takes for the ancient
Turris Annibalis, is two leagues more to the south, on the same coast of
the Mediterranean.

HISTOET or THE CRUSADES. ij

foiild fill his heart or satisfy his ardent mind. Disgusted
with the world and mankind, he retired amongpt the most
austere cenobites. Easting, prayer, meditation, the silence
of solitude, exalted his imagination. In his visions he kept
up an habitual commerce with heaven, and believed himself
the mstrument of its designs, and the depositary of its will.
He possessed the ferv^our of an apostle, with the courage of a
martyr. His zeal gave way to no obstacle, and all that he
desired seemed easy of attainment. When he spoke, the
passions with which he was agitated animated his gestures
and his words, and communicated themselves to his audi-
tors.* Such was the extraordmary man who gave the
signal to the Crusaders, and who, without fortune and
without name, by the ascendancy of his tears and prayers
alone, succeeded in moving the West to precipitate itself in
a mass upon Asia.

The fame of the pilgrimages to the East drew Peter from
his retreat, and he followed into Palestine the crowd of
Christians who went to visit the holy places. The sight of
Jerusalem excited him much more than any of the other
pilgrims, for it created in his ardent mind a thousand con-
flicting sentiments. In the city, which exhibited every-
where marks of the mercy and the anger of Grod, aR objects
inflamed his piety, irritated his devotion and his zeal, and
filled hinpL by turns with respect, terror, and indignation.
After having followed his bretlu-en to Calvary and the tomb
of Christ, he repaired to the patriarch of Jerusalem. The

* Anna Comnena calls Peter the Kermit Cucupiettdre, which appears
to be taken from the Picard word Mokio, little, and from the word Petrus,
Peter, little Peter. If we are to believe Oderic -Vital, the hermit had
still another name, and was called Peter of Achiris. He is styled in this
manner in the chronicle of the counts of Anjou : " Heremita quidam
Petrus Achiriensis." William of Tyre informs us that he was a hermit
in name and in fact ; *^ Heremita nomine et effectu.^' Adrian Barland,
in his book De Gestis Ducum Brabantice, expresses himself thus : —
" Petrus Heremita, Ambianensis, vir nobilis, prima set'te rei militari
deditus, tametsi litteris optime iinbutus, sed corpore deformis ac brevis
stature," &c. The life of Peter the Hermit has been written by Andre
Thevet, in his " History of the most Illustrious and Learned Men of
their Ages," and by Father Outtreman, a Jesuit. Several families have
pretended to be descended from Peter the Hermit. The most rational
and best supported claim is that of the family of Souliers, which still exists
in the Limousin.

1)2 . HISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES.

white hairs of Simeon, his venerable figure, and, above all,
the persecution which he had undergone, bespoke the full
confidence of Peter, and they wept together over the ills oi
the Christians. The hermit, his heart torn, his face bathoQ
in tears, asked if there was no termination to be looked for,
no remedy to be devised, for so many calamities ? " Oh,
most faithful of Christians!" replied the patriarch, "is it
not plam that our iniquities have shut us out from all access
to the mercy of the Lord ? All Asia is in the power of the
Mussulmans, all the East is sunk into a state of slavery ; no
power on earth can assist us." At these words Peter inter-
rupted Simeon, and pointed out to him the hope that the
warriors of the West might one day be the liberators of
Jerusalem. " Yes, Avithout doubt," replied the patriarch,
" when the measure of oiu* afilictions shall be full, when Grod
will be moved by our miseries, he will soften the hearts of
the princes of the West, and will send them to the succour
of the holy city." At these words Peter and Simeon felt
their hearts expand with hope, and embraced each other,
shedding tears of joy. The patriarch resolved to implore,
by his letters, the help of the pope and the princes of
Europe, and the hermit swore to be the interpreter of the
Christians of the East, and to rouse the West to take arms
for their deliverance.

After this interview, the enthusiasm of Peter knew no
bounds ; he was persuaded that Heaven itself called upon
him to avenge its cause. One day, whilst prostrated before
the holy sepulchre, he believed that he heard the voice of
Christ, which said to him, — "Peter, arise ! hasten to proclaim
the tribulations of my people ; it is time that my servants
should receive help, and that the holy places should be deli-
vered." Pull of the spirit of these words, which sounded
unceasingly in his ears, and charged with letters from the
patriarch, he quitted Palestine, crossed the seas, landed on
the coast of Italy, and hastened to cast himself at the feet
of the pope. The chair of St. Peter was then occupied by
"^^rban II., who had been the disciple and confidant of
both Grregory and Victor. Urban embraced with ardcur a
project which had been entertained by his predecessors ; he
received Peter as a prophet, applauded his design, and bade
nim go forth and announce the approaching deliverance of
Jerusalem.

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 43

Peter tlie Hermit traversed Italy, crossed the Alps, -visited
all parts of Erauce, and tlie greatest portion of Europe,
inflaming all hearts with the same zeal that Consumed his
own. He travelled mounted on a mule, with a crucifix in
his hand, his feet bare, his head uncovered, his body girded
with a thick cord, covered with a long frock, and a hermit's
hood of the coarsest stuff. The singularity of his appear-
ance was a spectacle for the people, whilst the austerity of
his manners, his charity, and the moral doctrines that he
preached, caused him to be revered as a saint wherever he
came.

He went from city to city, from province to province,
working upon the courage of some, and upon the piety of
others ; sometimes haranguing from the pulpits of the
chiu'ches, sometimes preaching in the high roads or public
places. His eloquence was animated and impressive, and
filled with those vehement apostrophes which produce such
effects upon an uncultivated multitude. He described the
profanation of the holy places, and the blood of the Chris-
tians shed in torrents in the streets of Jerusalem. He
invoked, by turns, Eleaven, the saints, the angels, whom he
called u])on to bear witness to the truth of what he told
them. He apostrophized Mount Sion, the rock of Calvary,
and the Mount of Olives, which he made to resound with sobs
and groans. When he had exhausted speech in painting the
miseries of the faithful, he showed the spectators the crucifix
which he carried with him ; sometimes strikiag his breast
and wounding his flesh, sometimes shedding torrents of
tears.

The people followed the steps of Peter in crowds. The
preacher of the holy war was received everywhere as a
messenger from Grod. They who could touch his vestments
esteemed themselves happy, and a portion of hair pulled
from the mule he rode was preserved as a holy relic. At
the sound of his voice, differences in families were reconciled,
the poor were comforted, the debauched blushed at their
errors , nothmg was talked of but the virtues of the eloquent
eenobite ; his austerities and his miracles were described,
and his discourses were repeated to those who had not heard
him, and been edified by his j)resence.

He often met, ii his jour^ieys, with Christians from the

Vol. I.— 4

i4. HISTOET OF THE CRUSADES,

East, ^Yllo liad been banished from tbeir coxntrj, and warir
dered over Europe, subsisting on charity. Peter the Hermit
presented them to the people, as Kving evider.ces of the
barbarity of the infidels ; and pc "aiting to the rags with
v.liich they were clothed, he ':;urst into torrents of invectives
against tlieir oppressors and persecutors. At the sight oi
these miserable wretches, the faithful felt, hj turns, the
most dvely emotions of pity, and tlie fury of vengeance ; all
deploring in their hearts the miseries and the disgrace of
flerusalem. The people raised their voices towards heaven,
to entreat Grod to deign to cast a look of pity upon his
beloved city ; some oifering their riches, others their prayers,
but all promising to lay down their lives for the deliverance
of the holy places.

In the midst of this general excitement, Alexius Comnena,
who was threatened by the Turks, sent ambassadors to the
pope, to solicit the assistance of the Latins. Some time
before this embassy he had addressed letters to the princes
of the West, in which he had described to them, in a most
lamentable manner, the conquests of the Turks in Asia
Minor. These savage hordes, in their debauches and in the
intoxication of victory, had outraged both nature and
humanity.* They were now at the gates of Byzantium,
and, without the prompt assistance of all the Christian
states, Constantmople must fall under the most frightful
domination of the Turks. Alexius reminded the princes of

* This letter of Alexius, quoted in extract by the Abbe Guibert, and
tlse whole of it by Robert the Monk. M. Heeren, in his learned Latin
commentary on the Greek historians, doubts its authenticity. The
principal reason he gives for his opinion is, that this letter differs too
strongly from the known character of the Greek emperors. This reason
does not appear to me sufficient ; we know very well that the Greek
emperors affected great haughtiness in their correspondence, but we know
also that they spared no prayers when they were in any danger, oi
wanted assistance : nothing suits better with vanity than servility. Somt
critics cannot believe that Alexius should have spoken in his letters of th«
beautiful women of Greece ; the thing may. however, well be believed
when we recollect that the Turks, who were invading the empire oJ
Byzantium, sought with great eagerness to obtiin Greek women. Mon-
tesquieu remarks it, when speaking of the decline of the empire. It
seems then very natural that Alexius should speak of the beautiful women
of Byzantium, when addressing the Franks, whom the Greeks considered
barbarians, and governed by the same tastes as the Turks.

HI^TORV OF THE CRttSADES. l^

C^yA'is*':.%KXj oi- tlie lioly relics preserved in Constat -jmopie,
r-Dd coaiured tliera to save so sacred an assemblage of
venerated oLjects from the profanation of the infidels. After
having set Ibrth the splendour and the riches of his capital,
l;e exhorted the knights and barons to come and defend
them ; he offered them his treasures as the reward of their
valour, and painted in glov^'ing colours the beauty of the
Greek women, whose love would repay the exploits of his
liberators. Thus, nothing was spared that could flatter the
passions, or arouse the enthusiasm of the warriors of the
West. The invasion of the Turks was, in the eyes of
Alexius, the greatest misfortune that the chief of a Christian
kingdom had to dread ; and to avert such a danger, every-
thing appeared to him just and allowable. He could support
the idea of losing his crown, but not the shame of seeing
his states subjected to the laws of Mahomet : if he was
doomed one day to lose his empire, he could console himself
for that loss, provided Grreece escaped the Mussulman yoke,
and became the prize of the Latins.

In compliance with the prayers of Alexius and the wishes of
the faithful, the sovereign pontiff convoked a council at Plai-
sance, in order there to expose the dangers of the Grreek and
Latin Churches in the East. The preachings of Peter had so
prepared the minds and animated the zeal of the faithful,
that more than two hundred bishops and archbishops, four
thousand ecclesiastics, and thirty thousand of the laity obeyed
the invitation of the Holy See. The council was so numerous
that it was obHged to be held in a plain in the neighbourhood
of the citv.

At this assembly all eyes were turned upon the ambas-
sadors of Alexius ; their presence in the midst of a Latin
council, announced sufficiently plainly the disastrous con-
dition of the East. When they had exhorted the princes
and the warriors to save Constantinople and Jerusalem, Urban
supported their discourse and their prayers with all the
reasons ^ hich the interests of Christianity and the cause of
religion o )uld fnrnish. The council of Plaisance, however,
came to no determination upon the war against the infidels.
The deliverance of the Holy Land was far from bemg the
oidy object of this council : the declarations of the empress
Adelaide, who came to reveal hor own shame, and that of

m HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

her liusbaiid, anatliemas against tlie emperor of German;^
and the ajiti-pope, Guibert, occupied, during several days,
the attention of Urban and the assembled fathers.

It must be added, too, that among the states of Itah^, in
which country this council was held, the spirit of commerce
and liberty began to weaken the enthusiasm of religion. The
greater part of the cities only thought of the advantages
that might accrue to them from the troubles ; some enter-
taining hopes they W'Ould increase their wealth, others
looking to them as a means of securing their independence,
and none yielding so freely as other nations to the influence
of the popes. Whilst the Christian world revered in Urban
the formidable successor of Gregory, the Italians, whose
charity he had frequently implored, were best acquainted
witli liis disgraces and misfortunes : his presence did not in
any degTee warm their zeal, and his decrees were not always
laws for them, who had seen him, from the depths of misery
and in exile, launch his thunders against the thrones of the
West.

The prudent Urban avoided trying to arouse the ardour
of tlie Italians ; he did not think tlieir example at all likely
to lead on other nations. In order to take a decided part
in the civil w^ar, and to interest all Eiu'ope in its success, he
resolved to assemble a second synod, in the bosom of a
warlike nation, which, from the most distant times, had been
accustomed to give impulsion to Europe. The new council
assembled at Clermont, in Auvergne, was neither less
numerous nor respectable than that of Plaisance ; the most
renowned holy men and learned doctors came to honour it
with their presence, and enlighten it with their counsels.
The city of Clermont was scarcely able to contain withiu
its walls all the princes, ambassadors, and prelates who had
repaired to the council; "so that," says an ancient chro-
nicle,* " towards the middle of the month of November, the
cities and villages of the neighbourhood were so filled with
people, that they were compelled to erect tents and pavilions
hi the fields and meadoTNS, although tlie season and the
country were extremely cold."

Before it gave up its attention to the holy war, the council

* See William Aabert's '* History of the Conquest of Jerusalem.'*

HISTOllT OE :KE CTIUSADE3. %1

6t first cousidered the reform of the clergy and ecclesiasticm
discipline ; and it then occupied itself in placing a restraint
upon the license of wars among individuals. ' In these bar-
barous times even simple knights never thought of redressiug
their injuries by any other means than arms. It was not
an uncommon thing to see families, for the slightest causes,
commence a ^^'ar against each other that would last during
several generations : Europe was distracted with troubles
occasioned by these hostilities. In the im^potence of the
laws and the governments, the Church often exerted its
salutary influence to restore tranquillity : several councils
had placed their interdict upon privata wars during four
days of the week, and their decrees had invoked the ven-
geance of Heaven against disturbers of the public peace. The
council of Clermont renewed the truce of God, and threatened
all who refused " to accept peace and justice''' with the
thunders of the Church. One of its decrees placed widows,
orphans, merchants, and labourers under the safeguard of
religion. They declared, as they had already done in other
councils, that the churches should be so many inviolable
sanctuaries, and that crosses, even, placed upon the high
roads should become points of refuge against violence.

H umanity and reason must applaud such salutary decrees ;
but the sovereign pontiff, although he presented himself as
the defender of the sanctity of marriage, did not merit the
same praises when he pronounced in this council an anathema
against Philip I. : but such was then the general infatuation,
that no one was astonished that a king of France should be
excommunicated in the very bosom of his own. kingdom.
The sentence of Urban could not divert attention from an
object that seemed much more imposing, and the excom-
munication of Philip scarcely holds a place in the history of
the council of Clermont. The faithfid, gathered from all the
provinces, had but one single thought ; they spoke of nothing
but the evils the Christians endured in Palestine, and saw
nothing but the war which was about to be declared against
the i]ifidels. Enthusiasm and fanaticism, which always
increase in large assemblies, were carried to their full height.
Urban at length satisfied the impatience of the faithful,
impatience which he, perhaps, had adroitly excited, and
which was the sirest guarantee of success.

48 HISTORY or TKE CRUSADES.

The council lield its tenth sitting in the great sqi.are or
place of Clermont, which was soon hlled by an immense
crowd. Followed by his cardinals, the pope ascended a
species of throne which had been prepared for him ; at his
side was Peter the Hermit, clad in that whimsical and uncouth
garb which had everywhere drawn upon him the attention
and the respect of the multitude. The apostle of the holy
war spolce first of the outrages committed against the religion
of Christ ; he reverted to the profanations and the sacrilege-s
of which he had been a witness ; he pictured the torments
and persecutions which a people, enemies to God and man,
had caused those to suffer who had been led by religion to
visit the holy places. He had seen, he said. Christians
loaded with irons, dragged into slavery, or harnessed to the
yoke, like the vilest animals ; he had seen the oppressors
of Jerusalem sell to the children of Christ permission to
salute the temple of their God, tear from them even the
bread of their misery, and torment their poverty itself to
obtain their tribute ; he had seen the ministers of God
dragged from their sanctuaries, beaten with rods, and con-
demned to an ignominious death. Whilst describing the
misfortimes and degradation of the Christians, the coun-
tenance of Peter was cast down, and exhibited feelings of
consternation and horror ; his voice was choked with sobs :
his lively emotion penetrated every heart.

Urban, who spoke after Peter, represented, as he had
done, the holy places as profaned by the domination of the
infidels. That land, consecrated by the presence of the
Saviour, that moinitain whereon he expiated our sins by his
sufferings, — tliat tomb in which he deigned to be enclosed
as a victim to death, had all become the heritage of the
impious. The altars of false prophets w^ere raised within
those walls which had contained the august assembly of the
apostles. God had no longer a sanctuary in his own city ;
th.e East, the cradle of the Christian religion, now witnessed
nothing but sacrilegious pomps ; impiety had spread its
darkness over all the richest countries of Asia. Antioch,
Ephesus jSTicea, had become Mussulman cities ; the Tiu-ka
had cprried their ravages and their odious dominion evei) U"»
the Straits cf the Hellespont, to the very gates of Consl ",',«•
uinople, and from thence they threatened the ^ie^it^

HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES. iS»

The sovereign pontiff* addressed himself to aJ. the na-
tions that were represented at the council, ai;d particularly
to the French, who formed the majority : — " Nation beloved
by Grod," said he, " it is in your courage that the Chris-
tian church has placed its hope ; it is because I am well
acquainted with your piety and your bravery, that I have
crossed the Alps, and am come to preach the word of
Grod in these countries. You have not forgotten that ilie
J and you inhabit has been invaded by the Saracens, and that
but for the exploits of Charles Martel and Charlemagne,
France would have received the laws of Mahomet. Kecall,
without ceasing, to your minds the danger and the glory of
your fathers ; led by heroes whose names should never die,
they delivered your country, they saved the "West from
shameful slavery. More noble triumphs await you, under
the guidance of the Grod of armies ; you will deliver
Europe and Asia ; you will save the city of Jesus Christ, — ■
that Jerusalem which was chosen by the Lord, and from
whence the law is come to us,"

As Urban proceeded, the sentiments by which he was
animated penetrated to the very souls of liis auditors. When
he spoke of the captivity and the misfortunes of Jerusa-
lem, the whole assembly was dissolved in tears ; when he
described the tyranny and the perfidy of the infidels, the
warriors who listened to him clutched their swords, and
swore in their hearts to avenge the cause of the Chris-
tians. Urban redoubled their enthusiasm by announcing
that God had chosen them to accomplish his designs, and
exhorted them to turn those arms against the Mussulmans
which they now bore in conflict against their brothers. They

* We have at command several historians who report the speech of
Urban ; they are agreed as to the principal points, but differ in the
ietails. The monk Robert, who was present at the council, says : Hcpc
et id genus plurima ubi Papa Urbanus urbano sermone peroravit.
Baldric or Boudri expresses himself thus : His vel hvjuscemodi aliis, &c.
Everything leads us to believe that the pope pronounced his discourse in
the language of the country. That which renders this opinion more pro-
bable, is that Urban was a Frenchman, and that otherwise it was of con-
sequence to make himself well understood by the barons and the knigbrs.
who were not acquainted with Latin. If he had not pronounced Lit
discourse in the vulgar tongue, he would not have produced that extra-
ordinary enthusiasm which contemporary history says so much of.

50 HISTOEY OE THE CEUSADES.

were not now called upon to revenge the injuries of men,
but Liijuries offered to divinity; it was now not the conquest
of a town or a castle tliat was offered to tliem as the reward
of tlieir valour, but the riches of Asia, the possession of a
hnid in which, according to the promises of the Scriptures,
flowed streams of milk and honey.

The pontiff sought to awaken in their minds, by turns,
ambition, the love of glory, religious enthusiasm, and pity
for their Christian brethren. " There scarcely exists," said
he, " a Christian family into which the Mussulmans have
not brought mourning and despair. How Inany Christians
every year leave the West, to find in Asia nothing but
slavery or death ! Bishops have been delivered over to the
executioner ; the virgins of the Lord have been outraged ;
holy places have been despoiled of their ornaments ; the
offerings of piety have become the booty of the enemies of
God ; the children of the faitliful have forgotten in bondage
the faith of their fathers, and bear upon their bodies the
impression of their opprobrium. Witnesses of so many
calamities, the Christians of Jerusalem would long since
have left the holy city, if they had not imposed upon them-
selves the obligation of succouring and consoling pilgrims,
if they had not feared to leave without priests, without altars,
without worshippers, a land where still smokes the blood of
Jesus Christ.

" I will not seek to dry the tears which images so painful
for a Christian, for a minister of religion, for the common
father of the faithful, must draw from you. Let us weep,
my brethren, let us weep over the errors which have armed
the anger of Grod against us : let us weep over the captivity
of the holy city ! But evil be to us, if, in our sterile pity,
we longer leave the heritage of the Lord in the hands of the
impious ! Why should we taste here a moment's repose
whilst the children of Jesus Christ live in the midst of
torments, and the queen of cities groans in chains ?

" Christian warriors, who seek without end for vain pre-
texts for war, rejoice, for you have to-day foimd true ones.
You, who have been so often the terror of your fellow-
citizens, go and fight against the barbarians, go and fight lor
the deliverance oi the holy places ; you who sell for vno pas'
the strength of your arms to the fury of others^ armed w itj

HieTORY 05 THE CEUSAa.ES. ^1

the sword of tlie Macliabees, go and merit an eternal reward.
If YOU triumph over your enemies, the kingdoms of the
East will be your heritage ; if you are conquered, you mL
have the glory of dying in the very same place as J«;sus
Christ, and Grod will not forget that he shall have found you
in his holy ranks. This is the moment to prove that you
are animated by a true courage ; this is the moment in which
you may expiate so many violences committed in the bosom
of peace, so many victories purchased at the expense of
justice and humanity. If you must have blood, bathe your
hands in the blood of the infidels. I speak to you with harsh-
ness, because my ministry obliges me to do so: soldiers of

HELL, BECOME SOLDIERS OF THE LIVING GOD ! When JoSUS

Chi'ist summons you to his defence, let no base aflections
detain you in your homes ; see nothing but the shame and
the evils of the Christians ; listen to nothing but the groans
of Jerusalem, and remember well what the Lord has said to
you : ' He who loves his father and his mother more than me,
is not worthy of me ; whoever will abandon his house, or his
father, or his mother, or his wife, or his children, or his
inheritance, for the sake of my name, shall he recompensed a
hundredfold, and possess life eternal.'' "

At these words the auditors of Urban displayed an
enthusiasm that human eloquence had never before inspired.
The assembly arose in one mass as one man, and answered
him with a unanimous cry, — " It is the ivill of Ood ! It is
the ivill of God !''* " Yes, mthout doubt, it is the will of
God," continued the eloquent Urban ; " you to-day see the
accomplishment of the word of our Saviour, who promised
to be in the midst of the faithful, when assembled in his
name ; it is He who has dictated to you the words that I
have heard. Let them be your war-cry, and let them
announce everywhere the presence of the God of armies."
On finishing these words, the pontifi" exhibited to the assem-
bled Christians, the sign of their redemption. " It is Christ
himself," said he to them, "who issues from his tomb, and
presents to you his cross : it will be the sign raised among
the nations, which is to gather together again the dispersed

* Dieu le veut was pronounced in the language of the times Dieu is
voli, or Diex le volt.

4*

52 HISTORl Ox* THE CRUSADES.

children of Israel. Wear it upon your shoulders and upon
your breasts ; let it shine upon your arms and upon your
standards ; it will be to you the surety of victory or the palra
of martyrdom ; it will uuceasmgly remind you that Christ
died for you, and that it is your duty to die for him."

"When Urban had ceased to speak, loud acclamations
burst from the multitude. Pity, indignation, despair, at the
same time agitated the tumultuous assembly of the faithful:
some shed tears over Jerusalem and the fate of the Chris-
tians ; others swore to exterminate the race of the Mussul-
mans ; but, all at once, at a signal from the sovereign pontiff,
the most profound silence prevailed. Cardinal Grregory,
who afterwards occupied the chair of St. Peter under the
name of Innocent II., pronounced, in a loud voice, a form
of general confession, the assembly all fell upon their knees,
beat their breasts, and received absolution for their sins.

Adhemar de Monteil, bishop of Puy, demanded to be first
allowed to enter into the ivay of God, and took the cross
from the hands of the pope ; several other bishops following
his example. Baymond, count of Thoulouse, excused him-
self by his ambassadors for not being able to be present at
the council of Clermont ; he had already, he said, fought
against the Saracens in Spain, and he promised to go and
fight against them in Asia, followed by the bravest and most
faithful of his warriors. The barons and knights who had
heard the exhortations of Urban, all took a solemn oath to
revenge the cause of Jesus Christ ; they forgot their private
quarrels, and even they who were at actual war had no
longer any enemies than the Mussulmans. All the faithful
promised to respect the decrees of the council, and decorated
their garments with a red cross. Prom that time, all who
engaged to combat the infidels were termed " Bearers of the
Gross,"" ^ and the holy war took the name of Crusade. The

* The cross which the faithful wore in this crusade was of cloth, and
BOmetimes even of red -coloured silk. Afterwards they wore crosses of differ-
ent colours. The cross, a little in relief, was sewed upon the right shoulder
of the coat or mantle, or else fastened on the front "of the helmet, after
having been blessed by the pope or some bishop. The prayers and cere-
monies used on this occasion are still to be found in the Romish rituaL
On returning from the Holy Land, they removed this mark from tha
Bhoulder and placed it on the back, or else wore it at the Heck. (See Le Perb
MoNTFAUcoN, DucANGE, Mailly, and Le Perk d'Outremant.)

HISTOET OE THE JEFSADES. 53

faitlifiil solicited Urban to place himself at tlieir head ; but
the pontiff, who had not yet triumphed over the anti-pope
Gruibert, who was dealing out at the sanie time his
anathemas against the king of Erance and the emperor ol
Grermany, could not quit Europe without compromising the
power and the policy of the Holy See. He refused to be
chief of the crusade, and named the bishop of Puy apostolic
legate with the army of the Christians.

He promised to all who assumed the cross, the entire
remission of their sins. Their persons, their families, their
property, were all placed under the protection of the Church,
au^l of the apostles St. Peter and St. Paul. The council
declared that every violence exercised upon the soldiers of
Christ should be punished by anathema, and recommended
its decrees in favour of the bearers of the cross to the
watchful care of all bishops and priests. It regulated the
discipline and the departure of those who had enrolled
themselves in the holy ranks, and for fear reflection might
deter any from leaving their homes, it threatened with
excommunication all those who did not fulfil their vows.

Pame soon spread everywhere the war that had just been
declared against the infidels. Whe: the bishops returned
to their dioceses, they still continued to bestow their bless-
ings upon the crosses of the crowds of Christians that
required to be led to the conquest of the Holy Land. Urban
went through several provinces of Prance, to finish the work
he had so happily begun. In the cities of Pouen, Tours,
and Mmes he held councils, in which he deplored the fate
of the Christians of the East : everywhere the people and
the great, the nobles and the clergy, obeyed the pressing
exhortations of the pontiff, and promised to take arms
against the Mussulmans.

It might be said that the Prench had no longer any other
country than the Holy Land, and that to it they were bound
Iro sacrifice their ease, their property, and their lives. This
enthusiasm, which had no bounds, was not long in extend-
ing itself to the other Christian nations ; the flame which
consumed Prance was communicated to England, still dis-
turbed by the recent conquest of the Normans ; to Ger-
many, troubled by the anathemas of Grregory and Urban ;
Ir Italy, agitated by its factions ; to Spain even, although it

64 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

liad to combat tlie Saracens on its own territory. Such was
the ascendancy of tlie religion outraged by the infidels, such
was tlie intluence of the example given by the French, that
all Christian nations seemed to forget, at once, the objects of
their ambition or their fears, and furnished, for the crusade,
soldiers that they absolutely required to defend themselves.
The entire West resounded with these words : " He who
will not take up Ms cross and come with me, is not worthy
of me.''''

The devotion for pilgrimages, which had been increasing
during several centuries, became a passion and an imperative
want for most Christians ; every one was eager to march to
J erusalem, and to take part in the crusade, which was, in all
respects, an armed pilgrimage. The situation in which
Europe was then placed, no doubt contributed to increase
the number of pilgrims : " all things were in such disorder,"
says Wdliam of Tyre, "that the world appeared to be
approachitig to its end, and was read)' to foil again into the
confusion of chaos." Everywhere the people, as I have
already said, groaned under a horrible servitude ; a frightful
scarcity of provisions, which had, during several years, deso-
lated Erance and the greater part of the kingdoms of the
"W est, had given birth to all sorts of brigandage and violence ;
and these proving the destruction of agriculture and com-
merce, increased still further the horrors of the famine.
Villages, towns even, became void of inhabitants, and sank
into ruins. The people abandoned a land which no longer
nourished them, or coidd offer them either repose or security:
the standard of the cross appeared to them a certain asylum
against misery and oppression. According to the decrees oi
the councd of Clermont, the Crusaders were freed from all
imposts, and could not be pursued for debts during their
voyage. Ai the name of the cross, the very laws suspended
their menaces, tyranny coidd not seek its victims, nor justice
even the guilty, amidst those whom the Church adopted for
its defenders. The assurance of impunity, the hope of a
better fate, the love of license, and a desire to shake off the
most sacred ties, actuated a vast proportion of the multitude
which flocked to the banners of the crusade.

Many nobles wlio had not at first taken the cross, and
who saw their vassals set o^it, \^ithout having the power to

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 50

■prevent them, determined to follow tliem as miJitaiy chiefs,
in order to preserve some portion of their authority. The
greater part of the counts and barons had no hesitation in
quitting Europe, which the council had declared to be in a
state of peace, as it no longer afforded them an opportunity
of distinguishing themselves by their valour ; they had all
many crimes to expiate; "they were promised," says
Montesquieu, " expiation in the indulgence of their
dominant passion, — they took up, therefore, the cross and
arms."

The clergy themselves set the example. Many of the
bishops, who bore the titles of counts and barons, and who
were accustomed to make war in defence of the rights of
their bishoprics, thought it their duty to arm for the cause
of Jesus Christ. The priests, to give greater weight to
their exhortations, them^elve^ assumed the cross ; a great
number of pastors resolved to follow their flocks to Jeru-
salem ; not a few of them, as we shall see hereafter, having
in their minds the rich bishoprics of Asia, and allowing
themselves to be led by the hope of some day occupying the
most celebrated sees of tlie Eastern church.

In the midst of the anarchy and troubles which had deso-
lated Europe since the reign of Charlemagne, there had
arisen an association of noble knights, who w^andered over
the world in search of adventures ; they had taken an oath
to protect innocence, to fight against infidels, and, by a
singular contrast, called themselves tlie Champions of God
and of Beauty. The religion which had consecrated their
institution and blessed theii* sword, called them to its defence,
and the order of chivalry, which owes a great part of its
splendour and progress to the holy wars, saw its warriors
hasten to range themselves under the banners of the cross.

Ambition was, perhaps, not foreign to the devotion for
the cause of Christ. If religion promised its rewards to
thoso who were going to fight for it, fortune promised them,
likewise, riches and the thrones of the earth. AH who
returned from the East, spoke with enthusiasm of the wonders
they hid seen, and of the rich provinces they had traversed.
It was known that two or three h luidred Norman pilgrims
bad conquerei". Apulia and Sicily from the Saracens. The
4wida occupied by the infidels appeared to be heritages p^'o-

56 H STORY or IHE CllUSADES.

mised to kniglits whose whole wealtli consisted in their birth,
their valour, and their sword.*

We shoidd nevertheless deceive ourselves if we did not
believe that religion was the principle which, acted most
powerfully upon the greater number of the Crusaders. In
ordinary times men foUow tlieir natural inclinations, and
only obey the voice of their own interest ; but in the times
of the Crusades, religious fever was a blind passion, which
spoke louder than all others, lleligion permitted not any
other glory, any other felicity to be seen by its ardent
defenders, but those which she presented to their heated
imagination. Love of country, family ties, the most tender
aftections of the heart, were all sacrificed to the ideas and
the opinions which then possessed the whole of Europe.
Moderation was cowardice, indifference treason, opposition
a sacrilegious interference. The power of the laws was
reckoned as nothing amongst men who believed they were
figliting in the cause of God. Subjects scarcely acknow-
ledged the autliority of princes or lords in anything which
coricemed the holy war ; the master and the slave had no
other title than that of Christian, no other duty to perform
than that of defending his religion, sword in hand.

They whom age or condition appeared to detain in Europe,
and whom the council had exempted from the labours and
perils of the crusade, caused the heaven which called them
to the holy war to speak aloud. f Women and children im-
printed crosses upon their delicate and weak limbs, to show
the will of Grod.;{; Monks deserted the cloisters in which
they had sworn to die, believing themselves led by a divine

* Robert le Frisin, second son of the count of Flanders, not being
allowed a share of the wealth of his house, said to his father, " Give me
men and vessels, and I will go and conquer a state among the Saracens of
Spain."

t The archbishop of Dol could not refrain from showing his surprise
by words very remarkable for the time : Excesait tamen medicina moJMm,
quia plus quam debuit in quibusdam eundi voluntas surrepsit. — IIaldric,
Archiep. lib. i.

X The Abl>e Guibert quotes the example of a monk who made a largj
incision on his forehead in the form of a cross, and preserved it with pre-
pared juices. He took care to report that an angel had made this
incision, which procured for him, during both the voyage and the war,
all the help he could desire. He became archbishop of Csesarea. FoulquCi

HISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. 57

'nspiration ; hermits and anchorites issued from forests and
deserts, and mingled with the crowd of Crusaders. What is
still more difficult to believe, thieves and robbers, quitting
their secret retreats, came to conl'ess their crimes, and pro-
mised, whilst receiving the cross, to go and expiate them in
Palestine,

Europe appeared to be a land of exile, w^hich every one was
eager to quit. Artisans, traders, labourers, abandoned the
occupations by which they subsisted ; barons and lords even
renounced the domains of their fathers. The lands, the
cities, the castles for which they had but of late been at
war, all at once lost their value in the eyes of then' pos-
sessors, and were given up, for small sums, to those whom the
grace of God had not touched, and who were not called to
the happiness of visiting the holy places and conquering the
East.

Contemporary authors relate several miracles which
assisted in heating the minds of tlie multitude. Stars fell
from the firmament ; traces of blood w^ere seen in the
heavens ; cities, armies, and knights decorated with the
cross, were pictured in the clouds. The monk E-obert
asserts that on the very day on which the council of
Clermont determined on the holy war, that decision was
proclaimed beyond the seas. "^ This news," adds he,
"raised the courage of the Christians in the East, and
caused despair among the nations of Arabia." As the most
effective of prodigies, saints and kings of preceding ages
vrere said to have issued from their tombs, and many
Frenchmen declared they had seen the shade of Charle-
magne exhorting the Christians to fight against the Mus-
Bulmans.

We will not relate all the other miracles reported by his-
torians, which were believed in an age in which nothing was
more common than prodigies, in which, according to the
remark of Fleury, the taste for the wonderful prevailed
greatly over that for ^ % true. The readers of this history
wtU find quite enough of extraordinary things in the descrip-

of Chartres, relates that a vessel ] iden with Crusaders having been
wrecked on the coast of Brundusium, all the shipwrecked bodies appeared
with a kind of cross imprinted on their flesh, and on the very part oa
irhich it had been worn on their clothes when they were alive.

68 1IST0KY OE THE CKUSADES.

tion of so many great events, for which the moral world,
and even nature herself seemed to have interrupted their
laws. -What prodigy, in fact, can more astonish the philo-
sopher, than to see Europe, which may he said to have been
agitated to its very foundations, move all at once, and like a
single man, march in arms towards the East ?

The council of Clermont, which was held in the month of
Novi^mber, 1095, had fixed the departure of the Crusaders
for the festival of the Assumption of the following year.
Duriiig the winter nothing was thought of but preparations
for the voyage to the Holy Land ; every other care, every
other labour was suspended in the cities and the plains.
In the midst of the general excitement, the religion, which
animated all liearts, watclied over public order. AU at once
there was no more robbery or brigandage heard of* The
West was silent, to employ an expression from the Scripture,
and Europe enjoyed dui^mg several months a peace that it
had never before known.

They who had taken the cross encouraged each other,
and addressed letters and sent ambassadors to hasten their
departure. The benedictions of the heavens appeared to be
promised to those who should be first ready to march to
Jerusalem. Men even, who at the first had found fault
with the delirium of the crusade, accused themselves of
indifiference for the cause of religion, and showed no less
fervour than those who had given the example. AU were
eager to sell their possessions, but could find no purchasers.
The Crusaders despised everything they could not carry
with them ; the productions of the earth were sold at a low
price, which ah. at once brought back abundance even in the
midst of scarcity.

As soon as the spring appeared, nothiag could restrain

* Erat eo tempore antequam gentium fieret tanta prqfectio, maxima
ad invicem hostilitatibus totius Francorum, regni facta iurhatio ; crebra
ubique latrocinia, viar^im obsessio, passim audiebantur, immo fiebant
incendia infinita. — Mox ergo et mird et incredibili, ob insperabilitate'*^,
animorum immutatione commoti, signum pontificis praceptione indictHm,
cruces videlicet, ab episcopis et presbyteris sibi precantur imponi, ii
sicuii rapidissinii venti impetus solet non magna pluvice undd restr-.', . ,
ita ill'' CO contigit ad invicem simultates universarnm et bella sopir*. ^ ■>,•
iuditam sibi a&virationem, haud dubium quin Christi. — GuiMK&r; .^ ,; \
Ub. i. ch. 7,

HISTORY or THE CRUSADES. 59

fcne impatience of the Crusaders, and they set forward on
theii' march to the places at which they were to assemble.
The greater number went on foot ; some horsemen appeared
amongst the multitude ; a great many travelled in cars ;
fchey were clothed in a variety of manners, and armed, in
the same way, with lances, swords, javelins, iron clubs,
fee. &c. The crowd of Crusaders presented a whimsical and
confused mixture of all ranks and all conditions ; women
appeared in arms in the midst of warriors, prostitution not
being forgotten among the austerities of penitence. Old
age was to be seen with infancy, opulence next to misery ;
the helmet was confounded with the frock, the mitre with
the sword. Around cities, around fortresses, in the plains,
upon the mountains, were raised tents and pavilions ; every-
where was displayed a preparation for war and festivity.
Here was heard the sound of arms or the braying of trum-
pets ; whilst at a short distance the air was filled with psalms
and spiritual songs. From the Tiber to the ocean, and from
the Khine to the other side of the Pyi-enees, nothing was to
be seen but troops of men marked with the cross, who swore
to exterminate tlie Saracens, and were chanting their songs
of conquest beforehand. On all parts resounded the war-
cry of the Crusaders — " It is the will of God ! It is the will
ofGodr

Fathers themselves conducted their children, and made
them swear to conquer or die for Jesus Christ. Warriors
tore themselves from the arms of their wives and from their
families, promising to return victorious. Women or old
men, whose weakness was left without support, accompanied
their sons or their husbands to the nearest city, and there,
not being able to separate themselves from the objects of
their affections, determined to follow them to Jerusalem.
They who remained in Europe envied the fate of the
Crusaders, and could not restrain their tears ; they who
went to seek death in Asia were full of hope and joy.*
Families, whole villages set out for Palestine, and drew into
their ranks all they met with on their passage. They
marched on without forethought, and would not believe that

* TristUia remanentibus, gaudium autem euniibus erat, — FuLa
Carnot.

60 HISTOEY OE THE CltUSMDES.

he who nourishes the sparrow would leave pilgrims clothed
with the holy cross to perish with want. Their ignorance
added to their illusion, and lent an air of enchantment to
everything they saw ; they believed at every moment they
were approaching the end of their pilgrimage. The children
of the villagers, when they saw a city or a castle, asked if
that was Jerusalem?* Many of the great lords, who had
passed their lives in their rustic donjons, knc w very little
more on this head than their vassals ; they too_t vdth them
their hunting and fishing appointments, and marched mth
tlieir falcons on their wrists, preceded by their hounds.
They expected to reach Jerusalem, enjopng themselves on
the road, and to exhibit to Asia the rude luxury of their
castles.

In the midst of the general delirium, no sage caused the
voice of reason to be heard; nobody was then astonished
at that which now creates so much surprise. These scenes
so strange, in which every one was an actor, could only be a
spectacle for posterity.

* Videres tnirum quiddam . ipsos infantulos, dum obviam habeni
qudPlibet castella vel urbes, si hac esset Jerusalem, ad quam ienSereni^
rogitare. — Guibert, Abb.

BOOK 11.

A.D. 1096—1097.

The number of Christians who had taken the cross in the
greater part of the countries of Europe were quite sufficient
to form many large armies. As 'these armies might exhaust
the countries through which they had to pass, the princes
and captains who were to conduct them agreed among them-
selves that they should not all set out at one time, but
should pursue different routes, and meet again at Constan-
tinople.

Whilst they were engaged in preparations for departure,
the multitude who followed Peter the Hermit in his preach-
ings, became impatient to advance before the other Cru-
saders ; and being without a chief, they cast their eyes upon
him whom they considered as an envoy from heaven. They
chose Peter for their general ; the cenobite, deceived by the
excess of his zeal, believed that enthusiasm could alone
answer for all the successes of war, and that it would be
easy to conduct an undisciplined troop which had taken up
arms at the sound of his voice. He yielded to the prayers
of the multitude, and, clothed in his woollen mantle, a hood
over his head, sandals on his feet, and only mounted on the
mule upon which he had traversed Europe, he took upon
himself the command. His troop, which set out from the
banks of the Mouse and Moselle, proceeded towards Grer-
many, and was increased upon the road by a vast number of
pilgrims hastening from Champagne, Burgundy, and other
parts of Prance. Peter soon saw from eighty to i hundred
thousand men luider his standard. These first Crusaders,
dragging in their train women, children, old men, and
numerous sick, began their march upon the faith of the
miraculous promises made them by their general ; in th«
persuasion they were filled with, that Grod himself called
upon them to defend his cause, they hoped that rivers
would open before their battalions, and that manna would
fall from heaven to feed them. The army of Peter tlie
Hermit was divided into two bodies ; tlie ■vanguard marcJ^ed

62 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

under the orders of Walter tlie Penniless,* whose surname,
preserved by history, proves that the chiefs were as miserable
as the soldiers. This vanguard only reckoned eight horse-
men ; all the rest went to the conquest of the East a&king
charity by the way. As long as the Crusaders were upon
the French territory, the charity of the faithful who were
on their route provided for their wants. They warmed the
zeal of the Grermans, amongst whom the crusade had not
been preached. Their troop, which was considered erery-
where as the people of God, met with no enemies on the
banks of the llhine ; but new Amalekites, the Hungarians
and the Bulgarians, awaited them on the shores of the
Morava and the Danube.

The Hungarians, who had issued from Tartary, had a
common origin with the Tuiks, and, like them, had ren-
dered themselves formidable to tlie Christians. In the tentlj
century they had invaded Painionia, and carried the ravages
of war into the richest countries of Europe. Nations ter-
rified at the progress of their arms, considered them as
a scourge which was sent as a forerunner of the end of the
world. Towards the iniddle of the eleventh century they
embraced the Christianity they had persecuted. Once
obedient to the faith of the Gospel, they began to build
cities and cultivate their land ; they felt what it was to have
a country, and ceased to be the terror of their neighbours.
At the period of the first crusade, the Hungarians boasted
of having a saint among their kings,t but, still separated
from the Christian republic by their position, they did not
at all pai'take of the fervour of the Crusaders, and looked on
with indifference at the preparations of Europe for the
ccnqu<3st of Asia.

The Bulgarians, who were descended from the ancient

* William of Tyre tells us that Walter had exchanged his fortune for
the name by which he is known. Latin historians designate him sine
habere, sinepecunid; the old French chronicles call him, se^iz avehor,
senz-aveir ; the English writers term him the penniless. Walter was a
Burgundian gentleman. Some historians say that an uncle of Walter the
Penniless was first named lieutenant to Peter, and that the latter had not
the command till after the death of his uncle, who died just as the
pilgrims entered the territories of the Bulgarians.

t St. Stephen had been king of Hungary before Coloman, who reigned
at the time of the rirst crusade.

HISTORY or THE CEUSADES. 63

people of the Sclaves, had by turns protected and ravaged
thiO empire of Constantinople. Their warriors had killed
Nicephorus in battle, and the skull of an emp(5ror, enchased
in g;o(d, served for a long time as a cup for tlieir chiefs in
the orgies of victory. They were afterwards conquered by
Basil, who put out the eyes of fifteen thousand of his
prisoners, and by this act of barbarity roused the whole
nation against G-reece. At the time of the crusade, Bul-
garia was under the power of the G-reek empire, but it
despised the laws and the power of its masters. The Bul-
garian people spread along the southern banks of the
Danube, in the midst of inaccessible forests, preserved their
savage independeiice, and on!)' recognized the emperors ot
the East when they saw their armies. Although they had
embraced Christianity, the Bulgarians did not consider the
Christians as their brothers ; they neither respected the
laws of nations nor the rights of hospitality, and during the
eleventh century they were the terror of the pilgrims of the
West who journeyed to Jerusalem,

Such were the people whose territories the Crusaders
were about to cross, and among whom want of discipline
must necessarily expose them to the most direful reverses.
AVhen the vanguard entered Hungary, they were only dis-
turbed in their march but by a few insults, which Walter
had the prudence not to avenge ; but the resignation of the
pilgrims could not hold out long against the misery which
every day increased. Want and its attendant evils soon
dispersed all the sentiments of moderation to which reli-
gion had for a moment given birth in the hearts of its
defenders. The governor of Bulgaria not having been able
to furnish provisions, they spread themselves about over the
country, carried off the flocks, burnt the houses, and mas-
sacred several of the inhabitants who opposed their violences.
The irritated Bulgarians ran to arms, and feU upon the
soldiers of Walter loaded with their booty. A hundred and
forty Crusaders perished in the midst of flames, in a church
in which they had taken refuge ; the rest sought safety in
flight. After this defeat, which he did not endeavour to
repair, Walter continued his march through the forests of
Bidgaria, pursued by famine, and dragging along the vsreck
of his army. He presented himself aa a supplicant before

64 HISTORY OF TUE CETJSADES.

tlie governor of Nissa, wlio was touched with the liisery
of the Crusaders, and gave them provisions, arms, and
clothing.

The sokliers of Walter, tried by merited reverses, con-
ducted by a chief who was wantuig in neither skill nor
courage, became again attentive to the voice of religion,
and passed through Thrace witliout committing any dis-
orders. After two months of fatigue and misery, they
arrived under the- walls of Constantinople, where the em-
peror Alexis permitted them to wait for the army of Peter
the Hermit.

This army, which was then passing through Germany,
was about to be treated worse than its vanguard had been.
The cenobite Peter, more enthusiastic than his soldiers,
was more skilful in exciting their zeal than in directing it.
He showed neither the moderation nor the prudence of his
lieutenant, and had no idea how to avoid the dangers which
awaited him on his route. On arriA^ng on the frontiers of
Hungary, he learnt the ill-fortune that his companions had
met with,* and the projects of hostilities formed, as he was
told, against the army of the pilgrims. The bodies of seve-
ral of the Crusaders hung at the gates of Semlin, which the
historians of the crusades call 3IaUevilh,f attracted his
regard and drew forth his indignation. At this sight, he
gave the signal for vengeance and war. The trumpets
sounded, the soldiers seized their arms, and hastened to the
carnage. Terror preceded them into the city. On their
first attack the people took to flight, and sought refuge
upon a hill, one side of which was defended by woods and
rocks, and the other by the Danube. They were pursued
and forced into this last asylum by the furious multitude of
the Crusaders. More than four thousand of tlie inhabitants
^f Semlin fell under the swords of the ronquerors. The

* Among the small number of knights in the army of Peter, were
Renaud de Bre'is, Gauthier de Breteuil, Fealcher d' Orleans, and Godfrey
Burel d'Etampes.

t William of Tyre and other Latin historians call this city Malle Villa
in the first place because they were ignorant of its proper name, and in
the second because it was fatal to the Crusaders. All the French his-
torians who have spoken of the crusades have translated Malle Villa bj
Malleville. — See Marsigli, Danubius Pannonico, Mysictcf.

SISTOEY OF THE CRUSADES 65

Oodies carried down by the river borp tlic tidings of this
horrible victory as far as Belgrade.

At this intelligence the Bulgarians and Hungarians were
seized ■v\'ith grief and indignation, and in all parts flew to
arms. The Crusaders still remained in Semlin, and were
glorifying themselves upon their triumph, when all at once
an army, assembled in haste by Coloman, king of Hungary,
presented itself to tlieir view. Peter had nothing to oppose
to liis enemies but the soldiers whose blind fury he had
liimself excited, and with wliom it was impossible to make
any military disposition. He did not dare to wait for the
army of Coloman, and hastened to cross the Morava.

On gaining the territories of the Bulgarians, the Cru-
saders found the \allages and cities abandoned ; even Bel-
grade, the capital, was without inhabitants ; they had fled
into the forests and mountains. Peter's soldiers, after a
painful march, in want of provisions, and with difficulty
finding guides to conduct them, arrived at last at the gates
of Nissa, a place sufficiently well fortified to be secure from
a first attack. The Bulgarians showing themselves upon
their ramparts, and the Crusaders leaning on their arms,
inspired each other mth a mutual fear. This fear at first
prevented hostilities ; but harmony could not last long
between an army without discipline and a people that had
been irritated by violence.

The pilgrims, after having obtained provisions, had just
set forward on their march, wtieii a quarrel between the
inhabitants and some of the soldiers caused war to break
forth with inveteracy.* A hundred Grerman Crusaders,
whom William of T)Te styles children of Belial, and who
fancied they had cause of complaint against some merchants,
wishing to avenge themselves, set fire to seven mills placed
upon the jVissava. At the sight of this fire, the inhabitants
of Nissa rushed from their ramparts, and falling upon Peter's
rear-guard, massacred all who fell in their way, bore ofi* two
thousand carriages, and made a great number of prisoners.
Peter, who had already quitted the territory of Nissa, warned
pr the disaster of his companions, returned immediately

* Consult "William of Tyre, or still better, Albert d'Aix, who, of all
ttie historians of the crusades, enlarges most upon these first expeditions

66 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

vdth the bulk of his armj. The eyes of the Crusaders^
on approaching the city, were shocked everywhere by be*
holding the most sorrowful spectacle. They recognized
among the dead friends and brothers, and burned to revenge
them.

The cenobite, hoAvever, who feared fresh reverses, had
recourse to negotiations and praj^ers. Deputies were sent
into Nissa, to demand the prisoners and the baggage of his
army, which had been taken by the Bulgarians. These
deputies reminded the governor that they had taken up the
cross, and that they were going to tight in the East for the
cause of Jesus Christ. They appealed to the religion and
humanity of the inhabitants of Nissa, whom they called
their brethren.

The governor, Avho saw nothing in tliese peaceful words
but the language of fear, showed himself inflexible to their
prayers. He sternly sent them back to their general, telling
tliem that the Crusaders had themselves given the signal
for the war, and that he could see in them nothing but
enemies. When this answer was reported to the army of
Peter, every soldier was fired with indignation. In vain the
cenobite endeavoured to calm their spirits and attempt fresh
negotiations ; they accused his fidelity, they suspected his
courage. The most ardent flew to arms ; nothing was heard
but complaints and menaces ; and no Crusader would submit
to any directions but those of his own angry will. Whilst
Peter was conferring with the governor of Nissa, two thou-
sand soldiers approached the ramparts, and endeavoured to
scale them. They were repulsed by the Bidgarians, and
supported by a great number of their companions. The
fight became general, and the fire of carnage blazed on aU
parts around the chiefs, wno were still speaking of conditions
of peace. In vain the hermit had recourse to supplications,
to stop the mad progress of his soldiers, in vain he placed
himself between the combatants ; his voice, so well known
to the Crusaders, was lost in the din of arms. They braved
his authority ; they despised his prayers. His army, which
fought without order and without leaders, was routed and
cut to pieces. The women, the children, rrho followed the
Crusaders, their horses, their camp equipages, the chest of
the army, which contained the numerous offerings of the

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 67

faithful, all became tlie prey of an enemy whcee fury and
vengeance nothing could stop.

The hermit Peter, with the wreck of his troop, tooll
refuge on a hill in the neighbourhood of the city. Ho
passed the night in alarms, deploring his defeat, and the sad
effects of the violences of which he had himself given the
signal and the example among the Hungarians. He had
around him no more than five hundred men. The trumpets
and the clarions were sounded without ceasing, to recall
those who had escaped tlie carnage, and had lost themselves
in their flight.

Whether it was that the Crusaders could find no safety
but under their own standards, or whether they were still
nnndful of their oath, none turned back from the crusade.
On the day following their defeat, seven thousand fugitives
came to rejoin their general. A few days after, Peter
mustered beneath his command thirty thousand combatants.
All the rest had perished in the battle fought under the walls
of Nissa. The army of the Crusaders, reduced to a deplora-
ble condition, sought no opportunity of avenging their
defeat, but marched vdth melancholy steps towards the
frontiers of Thrace. They were without the means either of
subsisting or fighting. They had to fear a fresh defeat if
they encountered the Bulgarians, and all the horrors of
famine if they came to a desert country. Misfortune ren-
dered them more docile, and inspired them with sentiments
of moderation. The pity which their misery excited was
more serviceable to them than the terror which they had
wished to create. When they ceased to be an object of
dread, assistance was afforded them. AVhen they entered
the territories of Thrace, the Creek emperor sent deputies
to complain of their disorders, but at the same time to
announce his clemency. Peter, who dreaded new disasters,
wept with joy when he learnt that he had found favour with
Alexis. Full of confidence and hope, he pursued his marcli,
and the Crusaders, carrying palms in their hands, arrived
wichout further obstacles under the walls of Constantinople.

The Creeks, who entertained no love for the Latins, were
more prodigal and kind in the assistance they afforded them
from finding them less formidable. They secretly applauded
the courage of tlie Bulgarians, and contemplated with com-

VoL. I.— 5

tib HISTORY OE THE CRUSADES.

placency tlie warriors of the West covered A^itli the rags of
indigence. The emperor was desirous of seeing tke extni-
ordinary man who had roused the western world ht liia
eloquence, and Peter was admitted to an audience of Alexis.
In the presence of all lids court, the emperor extolled the
zeal of tlie preacher of the crusade ; and as he had nothing
to fear from the ambition of a hermit, he loaded him with
presents, caused arms, money, and provisions to be distri-
buted among his armij, and advised iiim to defer the com-
mencement of the war to the arrival of the princes and
illustrious captains who had assumed the cross.

This advice was salutary, but the most renowned heroes
of the crusade were not yet ready to leave Europe ; they
were to be preceded by fresh troops of Crusaders, who,
marching without forethought and without discipline in the
steps of the army of Peter, should commit the same excesses,
and be exposed to the same reverses. A priest of the Pala-
tinate had preached the crusade in several provinces of
Germany. At his voice fifteen or twenty thousand men had
taken the oath to fight the infidels, and had assembled in an
armed body. As the preachers of the holy war passed for
men inspired by Grod, the people believed they were obeying
the will of heaven in taking them for chiefs of the crusade.
Grotschalk obtained the same honom* that had been conferred
on Peter the Hermit, and was elected general by the men
he had prevailed upon to take arms. This army arrived
in Hungary towards the end of summer. The harvest, which
was abundant, furnished the Germans with a ready oppor-
tunity of giving themselves up to intemperance. In the
enjoyment of tumultuous scenes of debauchery, they forgot
Constantinople, Jerusalem, and Christ himself, whose worship
and laws they were marching to defend. Pillage, violation,
and murder were everywhere left as the traces of their,^
passage. Coloman assembled troops to chastise their license,
and to recall them to a sense of the maxims Ox* justice and
the laws of hospitality. The soldiers of Gotschalk were full
of courage, and, at first, defended themselves with advantage.
Their resistance even inspired serious alarm among the
Hungarians, who resolved to employ stratagem to reduce
them. The general of Coloman feigned to be desirous of
peace. The chiefs of the Hungarians presented them&elvea

HISTORY OE THE CRUSADES. 69

in the camp of the Crusaders, no longer as enemies, but as
brothers. By dint of protestations and caresses, they per-
suaded them to allow themselves to be disarmed. The
Grermans, slaves of the most brutal passions, but simp'.e and
credulous, yielded to the promises of a Christian people, and
abandoned themselves to a blind confidence, of which they
very shortly became the victims. Scarcely had they laid
down their arms when the chief of the Hungarians gave the
signal for the carnage. The prayers, the tears of the Cru-
saders, the sacred sign w^hich they bore upon their breasts,
could not divert the blows of a perfidious and barbarous
enemy. Their fate was Avorthy of pity, and history might
have shed tears over it if they had themselves respected the
laws of humanity.

We are doubtless the less astonished at the excesses of
the first Crusaders, when we reflect that they belonged to
the lowest class of the people, always blind, and always
ready to abuse names and things the most holy, when not
restrained by laws or leaders. The civil wars, Avhich had so
long disturbed Eui'ope, had greatly increased the number of
vagabonds and adventurers. Germany, more troubled than
the other countries of the West, was filled with men trained
in brigandage, and became the scourge of society. They
almost all enrolled themselves under the banners of the
cross, afid carried with them into a new expedition the spirit
of license and revolt with which they were animated.

There assembled on the banks of the E^hine and the Moselle
a new troop of Crusaders, more seditious, more undisciplined,
even, than those of Peter au d Gotschalk. They had been told
that the crusade procured the forgiveness of all sins ; and
in this persuasion they committed the greatest crimes with
security. Animated by a fanatical pride, they beheved
themselves entitled to despise and ill-treat ail who did not
join in the holy expedition. The war they were about to
wage appeared to them so agreeable to God, and they thought
by it to render such a signal service to the Church, that all
the wealth of the earth would be scarcely sufficient to pay
them, for their devotion. Everything which fell into their
hands appeared a conquest over the infidels, and became the
just reward of their labours.

No captaui durst place himself at the head of this fero*

rO HISTORY OE THE C11U9ADES.

fious troop ;* they wandered on in disorder, and obeyed none
but tbose who partoolv their wild delirium. A priest named
Volkmar, and a Count Emicio, who thought to expiate the
wildness of his youth by the excess of his fanaticism, at-
tracted, by their declamations, the attention and confidence
of the new Crusaders. These two chiefs were astonished
that people should go so far to make war upon the Mussul-
mans, who kept up uuder their own law the tomb of Jesus
Christ, whilst they left in peace a nation which had crucified
its God. To inflame men's passions still more, they took care
to make heaven speak, and to support their opinions by mira-
culous visions. The people, for whom the Jews were every-
where an object of hatred and horror, had already shown
themselves but too ready to persecute them. Commerce,
which they almost alone carried on, had placed in their hands
a great part of the gold then circulating in Europe. The
sight of their wealth necessarily irritated the Crusaders, who
were, for the most part, reduced to implore charity of
the faithful to procure the means for undertaking their
voyage. It is probable, likewise, that the Jews, by their
railleries, insulted the enthusiasm of the Christians for the
crusade.

All these motives, joined to the thirst for pillage, lit up
the fires of persecution. Emicio and Yolkmar gave both
the signal and the example. At their voice a furi(^us mul-
titude spread themselves through the cities of the Rhine
and the Moselle, massacring pitilessly all the Jews that they
met with in their passage. In their despair, a great number
of these victims preferred being their own destroyers, to
awaiting certain death at the hands of their enemies. Several
shut themselves up in their houses, and perished amidst flames
which they themselves had kindled ; some fastened large
stones to their garments, and precipitated themselves and
their treasures into the E-hine or the Moselle. Mothers
stifled their children at the breast, saying that they preferred
sending them thus to the bosom of Abraham, to seeing them
given up to the fury of the Christians. "Women and
old men implored pity to assist them to die ; all these

* Amongst this confused multitude were Thomas de Feii, CleremhauU
de Vaudeuil, Guillaume Charpentier, Count Hermaii, !k,c

HISTORY or THE CRUSADES. 71

wretched creatures calling upon death as earnestly jis other
men a«k for life. In the midst of these scenes of desolation,
history takes pleasure in doing justice to the enlightened
zeal 01 the bishops of Worms, Treves, Mayence, and Spiers,
wlio raised the voice of religion and humanity, and opened
their palaces as so many asylums for the Jews against the
pursuit of murderers and villains.

The soldiers of Emicio prided themselves upon their
exploits, and scenes of carnage filled them with exultation.
As proud as if they had conquered the Saracens, they set
out on their march, loaded with booty, invoking the heaven
they had so cruelly outraged. They were slaves to the most
brutal superstition, and caused themselves to be preceded by
a goat and a goose, to which they attributed something
divine.* These mean animals at the head of the battalions
were as their chiefs, and shared the respect and confidence
of the multitude^ with all those who furnished examples of
the most horrible excesses. All people fled at the approach
of these dreaded champions of the cross. Christians who
met them on their route were forced to applaud their zeal,
whilst trembling for fear of becoming victims to it. This
unrestrained multitude, without being acquainted Avith the
people or the countries through which they had to pass,
ignorant even of the disasters of those who had preceded
them in this perilous career, advanced like a hurricane
towards the plains of Hungary. Mersbourg shut its gates
upon them, and refused them provisions. They were indig-
nant that so little respect should be shown to the soldiers of
Christ, and deemed it their duty to treat the Hungarians as
they had treated the Jews. Mersbourg,t situated on the

* Fuit et aliud scelus detestabiie . tr. hdc congregaiione pedestris
vopuli stulfi, et vesance levitatis, anserem quemdam divino spiritu assere-
bant afflatttm, et capellam non minus eodem repletam, et has sibi duces
secundoe vice fecerant in Jerusalem, quos et nimium vcnerebantur et
bestiali more his intendebant ex totd animi intentione. — Alb. Aq. lib. i.
cap. 31.

t The Mersbourg of the Crusaders is now called Ovar ; in German
Ungarisch-Altenburgh ; in Sclavonic Stare-Hrady. It is situated in tlie
marshes that the Leytha forms on its embouchure into the Danube. Its
position is such that it is impossible to go from Austria into Hungary on
that side without passing by it. (See Busching, Geog.) The name of
Mersbourg, which Albert d'Aix gi^es to this place, is no longer in use;

13 mSTORT OF lUE CRTJSADES.

Lovfha, a river which floAvs into the Danube, was defende'']
Dv marshes. The; Crusaders crossed the river, cut down a
forest, a? id formed a causeway, which conducted them close
under the Avails of the place. After some preparation the
signal was given, the ladders were raised against the ram-
parts, and the general assault was begun. The besieged
opposed a spirited resistance, and showered upon their
enemies a tempest of darts and arrows, with torrents
of boiling oil. The besiegers, encouraging each other,
redoubled their efforts. Victory appeared to be about to
declare for them, when suddenly several ladders yielded to
the weight of t])e assailants, and dragged down with them
in their fall the parapets and the fragments of the towers
that the rams had shaken. The cries of the wounded, and
the rattling of the falling ruins, spread a panic among the
Crusaders. They abandoned the half-destroyed ramparts,
behind which their enemies trembled, and retired in the
greatest disorder.

" Crod himself," says William of Tyre, " spread terror
through their ranks, to punish their crimes, and to accom-
plish that word of the wise man : ' The impious man fliea
without being pursued.' " The inhabitants of Mersbourg,
astonished at their victory, at length quitted the shelter of
their ramparts, and found the plain covered with the fliers,
who had cast away their arms. A vast number of these
furious beings, whom, recently, nothing could resist, allowed
themselves to be slaughtered without resistance. Many
perished, swallowed up in the marshes. The waters of the
Danube and the Leytha were reddened vdth their blood, and
covered with their bodies.

The vanguard of this army met with the same fate among
tlie Bulgarians, whose territories they had gained. In the
cities and the plains, these unworthy Crusaders found every*
■R'here men as ferocious and implacable as themselves, who
appeared — to employ the words of the historians of the times

but that of Altenburgh, which has succeeded it, and which signifies old
city, indicates sufficiently clearly a more ancient name ; and the name of
Moisson, whicli other historians of the crusades give to the same place, is
still found in the Latin and Hungarian name of the county of Wiesel-
bourg, upon which this city depends ; Mesony wanrngytf Mesoniensig
Comitatus.

HISTOEY or THE CEUSADES. 73

—to have been placed upon tlie passage of the pilgrims as
instruments of divine wrath. A very small nimiber escaped
the carnage. Among the few who found safety in flight,
some returned into their own country, where they were
welcomed by the scorn and jeers of their compatriots • the
rest arrived at Constantinople, where the Grreeks learnt the
new disasters of the Latins, with so much the more joy,
from having suifered greatly from the excesses committed by
the army of Peter the Hermit.

This army, united to that of "Walter, had received undei*
its standard an accession of Pisans, Venetians, and Genoese,
and might amount to about a hundred thousand combatants.
The remembrance of their misery caused them for a time to
respect the commands of the emperor and the laws of hos-
pitality ; but abmidance, idleness, and the sight of the riches
of Constantinople, brought back to their camp, license,
insubordination, and a thirst for plunder. Impatient to
receive the signal for war, they pillaged the houses, the
palaces, and even the churches, of the suburbs of Byzantium.
To deliver his capital from these destructive guests, Alexis
furnished them with vessels, and transported them to the
other side of the Bosphorus.

JSTothing could be expected from a band composed of a
coufused mixture of all nations, and the wrecks of several
undisciplined armies. A great number of the Crusaders, on
quitting their country, had thought of nothing but accom-
plishing their vow, and only sighed for the happiness of
beholding Jerusalem ; but these pious dispositions had all
vanished on their route. Wliatever may be the motive that
brings them together, when men are not confined by any
restraint, the most corrupted gain the ascendancy, and bad
examples constitute the law. As soon as the soldiers of
Peter had passed the straits, they considered all they met
their enemies, and the subjects of the Greek emperor suffered
much more than the Turks from their first exploits. In
their blindness, they allied superstition with license, and
under the banners of the cross, committed crimes which
make nature shudder.* But discord soon l)roke out amongst

* There were in the army of Peter the Hermit, says Anna Comnena;
ten thousand Normans, who committed horrible excesses in the neigh-
bourhood of Nicea. They chopped children in pieces, stuck others upoB

74i HISTOET or THE CRUSADES.

them, and retaliated upon them all the evils they had inf *cted
upon Christians.

They had established their camp in the fertile plains which
border the Grulf of jSTicomedia. Every day parties strayed
into the neighbourliood, and returned loaded with booty.
The partition of the spoil excited frequent quarrels among
them. The French, of an assuming and bantering character,
attributed to themselves all the success of this commence-
ment of the war, and treated the Italians and Grermans with
co-ntempt. The latter separated themselves from the army,
and under the conduct of a chief named Mnaldo,* a Ivanced
towards the mountains whicli border upon Nicea. There
they rendered themselves masters of a fort, whose garrison
they massacred, and although their troop was not numerous,
and stood in great want of pro^dsions, they were bold enough
to await the army which was approaching to besiege them.
They were not able to resist even the first attacks of the
Turks, and were almost all put to the sword ; their general,
and some few of his soldiers, only saved their lives by
embracing the faith of Mahomet, and by taking a disgraceful
oath to fight against the Christians.

"Wn^^in the news of this disaster reached the camp of the
Cyusaders, it brought with it agitation and trouble. The
French, who, a few days before, could not endiu'e the Grer-
mans and the Italians, wept over theii* tragical fate, and were
eager to march to avenge them. In vain Walter, who com-
TQanded them, represented to them that the Crusaders whose
OSS they deplored had fallen victims to their own imprudence,
and that their principal duty was to avoid their example ;
nothing coidd restrain the impatience and the blind ardour
of his soldiers. The latter believed that they already saw
the Turks fl^^ng before them, and feared they should not be
able to overtake them. Murmurs rae in the Christian

spits, and exercised all sorts of cruelties against aged persons. (See the
Alexiad, book x.) We have no need to repeat our caution against the
exaggeration of Anna Comnena, who is always pleased with an oppor-
tunity of accusing the Crusaders.

* This Rinaldo, of whom nothing else is known, except that he was an
Italian, is the only personage so called who has any event of importance
in the first crusade attached to his name. Tasso, who has taken most of
his characters from history, has borrowed the person and character of
Rinaldo, in the " Jerusalem Delivered," entirely from nis imagination.

KISTORT OF THE CEUSADES. 75

flltny against a general whom they accused of want of
courage, because he foresaw reverses. From mnrnmrs they
pai^sed to revolt, and the order for departure an'd attack wsls
forced from him by violence. Walter, groaning, followed a
headstrong m altitude, who marched in disorder towards
Wicea, and whom the Turks would soon punish for the
contempt with which they had treated the advice of their
leaders.

The sultan of Nicea, foreseeing their imprudence, had
concealed a part of his army in a forest, and waited for them
with the rest of his troops in a plain at the foot of the
mountain. After a march of some hours, in a country
which was imknown to them, the Christians were unex-
pectedly attacked by the Turks, whom they believed to be
in flight. They formed in haste, and at first defended them-
selves valiantly. But the enemy had the advantages of
position and numbers, and they were soon siu'rounded on all
sides, and completely routed. The carnage was horrible :
AYalter, who was worthy of commanding better soldiers, fell
pierced by seven arrows. "With the exception of three
thousand men, who took refuge in a castle close to the sea,
the whole army perished in a single battle, and there soon
remained no more of them than a confused heap of bones,
piled up in the plains of Nicea, as a deplorable monument
to point out to other Crusaders the road to the Holy Land. •

Such was the fate of that multitude of pilgrims who
threatened Asia, and yet never beheld the places they went
to conquer. By their excesses they had prejudiced the
whole of Greece against the enterprize of the crusades, and
by their manner cf fighting had taught the Turks to despise
the arms of the Christians of the West.

Peter, who had returned to Constantinople before the
battle, and who had long lost all authority among the Cru-
saders, declaimed against their indocility and their pride,
and beheld in them nothing but brigands,* whom Grod had
deemed unworthy to contemplate or adore the tomb of hia

* Instead of acknowledging his fault, says Anna Comnena, he laid it
upon those who had disobeyed his orders and insisted upon doing as they
pleased, calling them robbers and brigands, whom God had deemed
unworthy of seeing and adoring the tomb of his Son. — Alexiad, lib. x«
ch. 8.

5*

76 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

Son. From that time it was quite evident that the apostle
of the holy war possessed no quality to enable him to act as
its chief. Coolness, prudence, inflexible firmness, alone could
conduct a multitude whom so many passions impelled, and
who listened to nothing but enthusiasm. The cenobite
Peter, after having prepared the great events of the crusade
by his eloquence, lost in the crowd of pilgrims, played
nothing but an ordinary part, and was in the end scarcely
to be perceived in a war that was his work.

Europe, mthout doubt, learnt with terror and astonish-
ment the unhappy end of three hundred thousand Crusaders,
whom she had seen depart ; but they who were to follow
were not at all discouraged, and resolved to profit by the
lessons which the disasters of their companions had given
them. The West soon saw on foot armies more regular and
more formidable than those which had been destroyed on
the banks of the Danube, and in the plains of Bithynia.

When describing their march and their exploits, we are
about to trace much nobler pictures. Here the heroic spirit
of chivalry will display itself in all its splendour, and the
brilliant period of the holy war will commence.

The leaders of the Christian armies which now quitted the
West were already celebrated by their valoiu* and their
deeds. At the head of the great captains who commanded
in this crusade, history, as well as poetry, must place
Godfrey de Bouillon,* duke of the Lower Lorraine. He
was of the illustrious race of the counts of Boulogne, and
descended on the female side from Charlemagne. From his
earliest youth he had distinguished himself in the open war
carried on between the Holy See and the emperor of Ger-
many. On the field of battle he had killed Eodolphe de
Ehenfield, duke of Suabia, to whom Gregory had sent the
imperial crown, Wlien the war broke out in Italy for the
cause of the anti-pope Anaclet, Godfrey was the first to
enter the city of liome, besieged and taken by the troops of
Henry. He afterwards repented of having embraced a party

* Godfrey of Bouillon was born at Baysy, a village of Wallon Brabant,
now in the department of La Dyle, two leagues south-east of Nevilles,
and not far from Fleurus Aubert le Mire, and the Baron Leroy, in the
geography of Brabant, report that in their time the remains of the castlf
in. which Godfrey was brought up were to be seen.

HISTORY or THE CEI'SADES; 77

whicli victory itself could not make triumphant, and which
tlie greater part of Christendom considered sacrilegious.
To expiate exploits condemned as useless by the spirit of
his age, he made a vow to go to Jerusalem, not as a simple
pil|;'rim, but as a hberator.

Contemporary history, which has transmitted his portrait
to us, infomis us that he joined the bravery and virtues of a
nero to the simplicity of a cenobite.* His prowess in fight
and his extraordinary strength of body made him the pride
of camps. Prudence and moderation tempered his valour ;
his devotion was sincere and disinterested; and in no
instance during the holy war did he employ his courage or
inflict his vengeance but upon the enemies of Christ. Faith-
ful to his word, liberal, affable, full of humanity, the princes
aiid knights looked upon him as their model, the soldiers as
their father — all were eager to fight under his standard. If
he was not the leader of the crusade, as some writers pre-
tend, he at least obtained that empire which virtue bestows.
Amidst their quarrels and divisions, the princes and barons
constantly appealed to the wisdom of Grodfrey, and in the
dangers of war, his counsels became absolute orders.

At the signal of the duke of Lorraine, the nobility of
.France and the borders of the Rhine were prodigal of their
treasures in preparing for the crusades. AU things service-
able in war mounted to so exorbitant a price, that the pro-
duce of an estate was scarcely sufiicient to defray the eqidp-
ment of a single knight- The women despoiled themselves
of their most precious ornaments to furnish forth their sons
and their husbands for the expedition. Men even, say the
historians, who in other times would have suftered a thousand
deaths rather than give up their hereditary domains, either
sold them for a low price or exchanged them for arms. Gold
and steel appeared to be the only desirable objects in
existence.

Now appeared the stores of riches which had been con-
cealed by fear or avarice. Ingots oi gold, coined pieces,

* An anonymous historian of the crusades, when speaking of Godfrey,
expresses himself thus -. Tantum lenia, ut mayis in se monachum quam
miliiem jigurarct. Gtiibert further says : Cujns mira humilitas et
'tionachu jam inrianda modestia. — See Bongars, p. 548.

78 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

Fays the Abbe Guibert, were to be seen in heaps in tlie
tents of the principal Crusaders, like the most common fruita
in the cottages of villagers.

Many barons, having neither lands nor castles to seD,
implored the charity of the faithful who did not take up the
cross, and might hope to participate in the merits of the
lioly var by assisting ni the equipment of the Crusaders,
Some ruined their vassals ; others, like William, viscoimt de
Melun,* pillaged the burghs and villages to place themselves
in a condition to combat the infidels. Godfrey de Bouillon,
guided by a more enlightened piety, was content with
alienating his domains. We read in Kobert Gaguin that he
permitted the inhabitants of Metz to redeem their city, of
which he was suzerain. He sold the principality of Stenai
to the bishop of Verdun, and ceded his rights over the duchy
of Bouillon to the bishop of Liege for the small sum of four
thousand silver marks and a pound of gold, which makes an
historian of the Crusaders sayt that the secular princes
ruined themselves for the cause of Jesus Christ, whilst the
princes of the Church took advantage of the fervour of the
Christians to enrich themselves.

The duke de Bouillon had gathered under his standard
eighty thousand foot-soldiers and ten thousand horsemen.
He began his march eight months after the council of
Clermont, accompanied by a great number of German and
Prench nobles. He took with him his brother Eustace de
Boulogne, his other brother Baldwin, and his cousin Baldwin
de Bourg. These two last, who were destined one day, like
Godfrey de Bouillon, to become kings of Jerusalem, held
then the rank of simple knights in the Christian army.
They were all less animated by sincere piety than by the
hope of achieving a great fortune in Asia, and quitted with-
out regret the mean possessions that they held in Europe.
Still further were to be remarked in the train of the duke
de Lorraine, Baldwin, count de Haiuaut ; Garnier, count de
Grai; Conon de Montaigu, Dudon de lontz, so celebrated

* Abbot Guibert speaks thus of William, viscount de Melun : Cum
Jerosolymitanum esset agrefssurus, iter direptis contiguorum nbi pou*
perum fiubstantiolis, prnfanum viaticum prceparavit. — Lib. iv. c. 7.

f Le Pere Maimbourg.

HISTOJIY OF THE JKUfciADES.' 79

m the " Jerusalem Delivered;" the two brothers Henri and
Godfrey de Hache, Gerard de Cherisi, Rinaldo and Peter de
Toul, Hugh de St. Paul, and his son Engelran. These
chiefs brought with them a crowd of other knights, less
known, but not less formidable by their valour.

The army commanded by the duke of Lorraine, composed
of soldiers formed by discipline and tried in battle, offered to
the Germans a very different spectacle from the troop of
Peter the Hermit, and re-established the honour of the
Crusaders in all the countries they passed through. They
met with assistance and allies where the first champions of
the cross had found nothing but obstacles and enemies.
Godfrey deplored the fate of those who had preceded him,
without seeking to avenge their cause. The Hungarians
and the Bulgarians, on theii* part, forgot the violences com-
mitted by the soldiers of Peter, Gotschalk, and Emicio ;
they admired the moderation of Godfrey, and offered up
vows for the success of his arms.

Whilst the duke de Lorraine was advancing towards Con-
stantinople, Prance was raising other armies for the holy
war. A few months after the council of Clermont, the nobles
of the kingdom assembled to deliberate upon the affairs of
the crusade. In this assembly, held in the presence of
Philip I., who had just been excommunicated, no one was
opposed to the war preached under the auspices of the Holy
See ; no one even thought of invoking policy either to mode-
rate or direct the passions which agitated Europe. The
cabinets of princes were as much infatuated as the mtdti-
tude, and it may be said that the fortune of Prance took
charge alone of these great events, which, though unfor-
tunate at first, afterwards concurred to raise the monarcliy
which had fallen into ruins under the feeble successors of
Charlemagne.

Towards the middle of the tenth century, the chief of the
third dynasty had consecrated tlie usurpation of the nobles,
and to obtain the title of king, had almost abandoned the
little that remained of the rights of the crown. Phhip I.,
grandson of Hugh Caj^et, found that his dominions extended
but little beyond Paris and Orleans ; the rest of Prance was
governed by the great vassal^, of wliom several surpassed
th*^ ntouarch in power. Eoyalty, the only hope of the

80 HISTORY or THE CHUSADES.

people against the oppressions of the nobles and jhe clei>";:v,
was so feeble, that we are at the present time astonisLf i
tliat it did not fall, so numerous were the difficulties and tl^
enemies that surrounded it on all sides. As the monarcn
was exposed to the censures of the Church, it was an easy
matter to lead his subjects to disobedience, and to legiti-
matize any sort of revolt, by giving it the colour of a sacred
pr:)te:st.

The crusade removed far from Europe all who could have
taken advantage of the unhappy situation in which the
kingdom was placed ; it saved the country from a civil war,
and prevented such sanguinary discords as had broken out
in Germany under the reign of Henry and the pontificate of
Grregory.

Such were the considerations which might present them-
selves to the most enlightened men, and which must strike
us more strongly than they would the contemporaries of
Philip.* It woid-d be difficult to believe that any one of the
counsellors of the king of France perceived, in all their
extent, these salutary results of the crusade, which were
recognized long after, and which have only been properly
appreciated in the age in which we live. On the other hand,
they had no conception that a war in which all the most
dangerous passions should be brought into action would be
accompanied by great misfortunes and calamitous disorders.
Ambition, license, the spirit of enthusiasm, aU so much to
be dreaded by the country, might also bring about the ruin
of armies. Not one of the enemies of Philip, not one cf
those who remained at home, made this reflection. Every-
body, as we have already said, they who were of the party of
the Holy See and they who adhered to royalty, allowed them-
selves to be carried along by the current of events, without

* Nothing is more common than to attribute the cotnbinations of a
jjrofound policy to remote ages. If certain persons are to be believed,
the rren of the eleventh century were sages, and we are barbarians, i
feel it just to report the opinion of Montesquieu on this subject : " To
transport all the ideas of the age in which we live into remote periods is
the most abundant source of error. To those people who wish to render
all ancient ages mod^n, I will repeat what the priests of Egypt said to
Solon, * Oh ithenians . you are but children.' " — Esprit des Lois, liv
XXX. c. 18.

HISTORY or THE CEUSADES.- 8i

either perceiving the causes of them or foreseeing their con-
sequences. The most wise blindly followed that invisible
destiny which orders the world as it pleases, and makes usG
of the passions of men as of an instrument to accompli-sh its
designs.

In a superstitious age the sight of a prodigy or of an
extraordinary phenomenon had more influence over the
minds of men than the oracles of wisdom or reason.* His-
torians uiform us, that whilst the barons were assembled,
the moon, which was in eclipse, appeared of the colour of
blood. When the eclipse was over, its disc was surrounded
by an uivprecedented splendour. Some weeks after, says the
Abbe Gviibert, the northern horizon was seen to be all on
fire, and the terrified people rushed from the houses and
cities, believing that the enemy was advancing, fire and
sword in hand. These phenomena, with several others,
were regarded as signs of the will of God, and presages of
the terrible war about to be made in his name. They every-
where redoubled the enthusiasm for the crusade. Men who
had hitherto remained indifferent now partook of the general
delirium. AH Frenchmen called to the profession of arms,
aiid w^ho had not yet taken the oath to fight against the
infidels, hastened now to take the cross.

The men of the Yermandois marched with the subjects of
Philip under the colours of their count Hugh, a young
prince whose brilliant qualities had been much admired by
the court. Proud of being a brother of the king of Prance
and the first of the Prench knights, he distinguished him-
self by his bravery and the ostentation of his manners. He
displayed invincible courage in the field of battle, but
allowed liimself to be too easily overcome by flattery, and
was wanting in perseverance in reverses. Although fortune

* Eo tempore cum inter regni primates super hdc expeditione res
fieret, et colloquium ah eis cum Hvgone Magna , sub Philippi regis pr es-
sentia, Parisiis haberetur, mense Februario, tertio idus ejusdem, luna,
eclipsim patiens, ante noctis medium, sanguineo patlatim ccepit colore
velari, donee in cruentissimum iota horribiliter est conversa ruborem ; et
ubi aurora crejmsctdo natures rediit, circa ipsum, lunarem circnlum
insolitus splendor emicuit. Quidam autem cestivi diei vespertind irruente
hord, tanta aquilonis plag(B eJjUagratio apparvit, ut plurimi e domibui
suis sese proriperent, qtuerentes quinam hastes provincias iuas adeb gravi
ambusiiont vastareat. — Guibert, Abb. lib. i. eh. 17.

S2 IlISTOllY OF THE CllUSADES.

was not too kind to him, not one of the heroes of the crusade
exhibited more honourable and disinterested intentions. If
be had not merited by liis exploits the surname of Great
which history has given him, he would have obtained it foi
having only listened to his zeal, and for having sought
nothing but glory in a war which offered kingdoms to the
ambition of princes and simple knights.

Itobert, surnamed Courtc-heuse, didie ol Normandy, who
led his vassals to the holy war, was the eldest son of Wil-
liam the Conqueror. He joined to noble qualities some of
the faults the most reprehensible in a prince. He could not,
even in his early youth, endLU*e paternal authority; but, drawn
away more by a desire for independence than by a real
ambition, after having made war against his father for the
sake of reigning in INormandy, he neglected the opportunity
of ascending the throne of England on the death of William.
His levity, his inconstancy, and his weakness, caused him to
be despised both by his subjects and his enemies. His pro-
fusion ruined his people, and reduced him, if we may credit
the monk Oderic Vital, to a condition bordering upon
absolute poverty. The historian I have just quoted relates
a trait, w^hich, although difficult to be believed, at the same
time describes both liobert and the age he lived in. " He
was often compelled to remain in bed for want of clothes,
and frequently was absent from mass because his nudity
prevented him from assisting at it." li; was not an ambition
for conquering kingdoms in Asia, but his inconstant, chivalric
disposition, that made him assume the cross, and take up
arms. The Normans, a wandering and warlike people, who
had made themselves remarkable among all the nations of
Europe for their devotion to pilgrimages, hastened in crowds
to his banner. As Duke Robert had not the means of pro-
viding for the expenses of an army, he pledged Normandy
with his brotlier Williaui E,ufus. William, whom his ago
accused of impiety, and who laughed at the knight errantri
of the Crusaders, seized with joy the opportunity of governing
a proAince which he hoped one day to unite to his kingdom.
He levied taxes upon the clergy, whom he did not like, and
caused the silver plate of the churches to be melted to pay the
Bum of ten thousand silver marks to liobert, who set out for
the Holy Land, Ibllowed b; almost all the nobility of his duchy.

HISTORY OE THE CRUSADES.* g^

Anotlicr Eobert, count of Flanders, placed himself at the
head of the Trisons and the riemings. He was son of
Kobert, surnamed the Frison, who had usurped the prin-
cipality of Flanders from his own nephews, and who, to
expiate his victories, had performed, some time before the
crusade, the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The yoimg Robert
easily found soldiers for his enterprize in a country where
everybody had borne arms during the civil wars, and where
the people were animated by the tales of a great number of
pilgrims returned from the Holy Land. He exhausted the
freasures of his father, to embark in an expedition which
procm-ed him the reputation of a bold knight, together with
the surname of " The Lance and Sworcf'' of the Christians.
Five hundred horsemen sent by Hobert the Frison to the
emperor Alexis had already preceded him to Constantinople.

Stephen, count of Blois and Chartres, had also taken up
the cross. He passed for the richest noble of his times.
The number of his castles was said to be equal to that of
the days of the year. What might be really considered a
phenomenon in the eleventh century, this prince loved and
cultivated letters. He proved to be the soul of the councils
by his eloquence and his intelligence ; but he could not long
together support the fatigues of war, and he sometimes was
but timid in the field of battle.

These four chiefs were accompanied by a crowd of knights
and nobles, among whom history names Hobert of Paris,
Evrard of Prusaic, Achard de Montmerle, Isouard de Muson,
Stephen, count d'Albermarle, Walter de St. Yalery, Eoger
de Barneville, Fergant and Conan, two illustrious Bretons,
Guis de Trusselle, Miles de Braies, Eaoul de Baugency,
Rotrou, son of the count de Perche; Odo, bishop of Bayeux,
imcle of the duke of Normandy ; Baoul de Gader, Tve and
Alberic, sons of Hugh de Grandmenil. The greater part of
the counts and barons took wth them their wives and
children, and all their war equipages. They crossed tlie
Alps, and directed their march towards the cities of Italy,
with the intention of embarking for Greece. They found
in the neighbourhood of Lucca Pope L^rl an, who gave them
his benediction, praised then' zeal, and oftered up prayers
for the success of their enterprize. The count de Verman
doisj after having received the standard of the Church frouj

84 HISTOEY OY THE CRUSADES.

the hands of the sovereign pontiff, repaired to Kome, v^^th
the other princes, to visit the tombs of St. Peter and St.
Paul. The capital of the Christian world was then the
theatre of a civil war. The soldiers of Urban, and ^hose of
the anti-pope Guibert, disputed, arms in hand, for the chiurch
of St. Peter, and by turns carried off the offerings of the
faithfol. Wliatever some modern historians may say, the
Crusaders took no part in the troubles which divided the
eitj of E/Ome ; and what is still more astonishing. Urban did
not call to the defence of his own cause one of the warriors
whom his appeal had induced to take up arms. Eor the rest,
the spectacle which presented itself in the city of St. Peter
must have been a subject of scandal to the greater part of
the French knights. Some, satisfied with having saluted
the tomb of the apostles, and perhaps cured of their holy
enthusiasm by the sight of the violences which profaned the
sanctuarv, abandoned the standard of the cross, and returned
into their own country. Others piu'sued their march towards
ApuHa ; but when they arrived at Bari, the winter beginning
to render the navigation dangerous, they were forced to wait
during several months for a favourable moment to embark.

The passage of the French Crusaders, however, had
awakened the zeal of the Italians. Bohemond, prince of
Tarentum, was the first who resolved to associate himself
with their fortunes, and to partake of the glory of the holy
expedition. He was of the family of those knights who had
founded the kingdom of Naples and Sicily. Fifty years
before the crusade, his father, Kobert Gruiscard (the subtle)
had quitted the castle of Hauteville, in Normandy, with thirty
foot-soldiers and five horsemen. Seconded by some of his
relations and compatriots, who had preceded him into Italy,
lie fought with advantage against the Greeks, the Lombards,
and the Saracens, who disputed Apulia and Calabria with
him. He soon became sufficiently powerful to be by tiu'ns
the enemy and the protector of the popes. He beat the
armies of the emperors of the East and the West, and when
he died he was engaged in the conquest of Greece.

Bohemond had neither less cuiniing nor less talents than
his father, Eobert Guiscard. Contemporary authors, who
'lever fail to describe the physical qualities of their heroes,
iDf>')rm us that his height was so great that it exceeded by a

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 85

cubit tliat of the tallest man in his army ; his eyes wer*
blue, and appeared fiill of passion and haughty pride. Hig
presence, says Anna Comnena, was as astonishing to the
eyes as his reputation was to the mind. When he spoke, liis
hearers believed that eloquence had been his only study ;
when he appeared under arms, he might be supposed to have
done nothing but wield the lance and the sword. Brought
up in the school of the Norman heroes, he concealed the
combinations of policy beneath an exterior of violence ; and
although of a proud and haughty character, he could put up
with an injiu*y when vengeance would not have been profit-
able to him. Everything that could contribute to the success
of his designs appeared to him to be just. He had learnt
from his father to consider every man whose wealth or states
he coveted as his enemy ; he was neither restrained by the
fear of Grod, the opinion of men, nor his own oaths. He
had followed E-obert in the war against the emperor Alexis,
and had distinguished himself in the battles of Durazzo and
Larissa ; but, disinherited by a v^dll, he had nothing at his
father's death but the memory of his exploits, and the
example of his family. He had declared war against his
brother Eoger, and had recently compelled him to cede to
him the principality of Tarentum, when the expedition to
the East began to be talked of in Europe. The deliverance
of the tomb of Christ was not the object that kindled his
zeal, or induced him to assume the cross. As he had sworn
an eternal hatred to the Greek emperors, he smiled at the
idea of traversing their empire at the head of an army ; and,
full of confidence in his own fortunes, he hoped to win a
kingdom before he should arrive at Jerusalem.

The little principality of Tarentum could not supply hiip
with an army ; but in the name of religion, a leader had then,
the power of raising troops in all the states. Enthusiasm
for the crusade soon seconded his projects, and brought a
great number of warriors to hi*s standard.

He had accompanied his brother and his uncle Eoger to
the siege of Amalfi, a flourishing city which refused with
contempt the protection of the new masters of Apulia and
Sicily. Bohemond, who knew well how to speak in proper sea-
son the language of enthusiasm, and to conceal his ambition
beneath the colours of religious fanaticism, preached himself

86 HISTORY OP THE CRUSADES*

the cTusade in tlie army of the besiegers. He went among
the soldiers, tallcinp; of the princes and the great captains
who had taken the cross. He spoke to the most pious war-
riors of the religion which was to be defended, and exalted
before others the glory and fortunes which would crown
their exploits. The army was won over by his discourses,
and the camp soon resounded with the cry of " It is the wi.
of God ! It is the ivill of God f^ Bohemond congratulate c.
himself in secret on the success of his eloquence, and tore
his coat of arms into strips, of which he made crosses, and
ordered his officers to distribute them among the soldiers.
There now only wanted a chief to command the holy expe-
dition, and the new Crusaders came to solicit the prince of
Tarentum to place himself at their head. Bohemond
appeared at first to hesitate ; he refused that which he
ardently desired; and the soldiers assembled around him
redoubled their solicitations. At length he seemed to yield
to their importunities, and obey their will. Instantly the
eagerness and enthusiasm became more animated and more
general. In an incredibly short space of time the whole
army swore to follow him into Palestine. E/Oger was obliged
to raise the siege of Amalfi, and the happy Bohemond gave
himself up entirely to the preparations for his voyage.

A short time after he embarked for the coasts of Greece
with ten thousand horsemen and twenty thousand foot.
Every illustrious knight of Apulia and Sicily followed the
prince of Tarentum. With him marched Richard, prince of
Salerno, and Eandulf, his brother ; Herman de Cani, Eobert
de Hanse, Eobert de Sourdeval, Eobert the son of Tristan,
Boile de Chartres, and Humphrey de Montaigu. All these
warriors were celebrated for their exploits, but no one
amongst them was more worthy to attract the attention of
posterity than the brave Tancred.* Although he belonged
to a family in which ambition was hereditary, he was fired
by no other passion than a desire to 'ight against the infidels.
Piety, glory, and perhaps his friendship for Bohemond alone,
led him into Asia. His contemporaries admired his romantic

* Raoul de Caen has written, half in prose and half in verse, the " Gestes
de Tancrede." (See " Thesaurus Novus Anecdotorum" of D. Marteime,
vol. i., or the ** Recueil de Muratori," torn, iii.)

HISTORY OF THE CEUSADE's. 87

pride and his haughty austerity. lie yielded to no supe-
riority but that of virtue, with the exception of occasional
submission to the power of beauty. A stranger to all the
motives and interests of policy, he acknowledged no other
law but religion and honour, and was always ready to die in
their cause. The annals of chivalry present no model more
accomplished ; poetry and history have united to celebrate
him, and both have heaped upon him the same praises.

The Crusaders from the southern provinces of France had
marched under the command of Adhemar de Monteil and
Kaymond, count de St. Gilles and Thoulouse. Bishop
Adhemar acted as the spiritual chief jf the crusade ; his
title of apostolic legate, and his personal quahties, earned
for him in the holy war the confidence and respect of the
pilgrims. His exhortations and his counsels contributed
greatly to the maintaining of order and discipline. He con-
soled the Crusaders in their reverses, he animated them
amidst dangers : clothed at the same time with the insignia
of a pontiff and the armour of a knight, he exhibited in the
tent a model of the Christian virtues, and in the field often
gave proofs of undaunted valour.

Raymond, who marched with Adhemar, had had the glory
of fighting in Spam by the side of the Cid ; and of con-
quering several times the Moors under Alphonso the Great,
who had bestowed his daughter Elvira upon him in marriage.
His vast possessions on the banks of the E-hone and the
Dordogne, and still more his exploits against the Saracens,
rendered him one of the most remarkable among the great
leaders of the crusade. Age had not extinguished in the
count of Thoulouse either the ardoiu* or the passions of
youth. Hasty and impetuous, of a character haughty and
inflexible, he had less ambition to conquer kingdoms than to
make every tvtU bend beneath his own. Both Greeks and
Saracens have acknowledged his bravery. His subjects and
his companions in arms hated him for his obstinacy and
violence. Unhappy prince, he bade eternal farewell to his
country, which was one day to be the theatre of a terrible
crusade preached against his own family !,

All the nobihty of Gascory, Languedoc, Provence, the
Limousin, and Auvergne, ace /mpanied Baymond and Adl e-
Biar. Contemporary historijius name among the krightsi

88 HISTOHY OF TUE CEUSADES.

and lords who had taken the cross, Heracle, count de I'olig-
nac, Pons de Balazan, Guillaume de Sabran, Eleazar de
Castrie, Eleazar de Montredon, Pierre Bernard de Mon-
tagnac, Eaymoud de Lille, Pierre Eaymond de Hautpool,
Gouflier de Lasiours, Gruillaume Y., lord of Montpellier,
jRoger, count de Foix, Haymond Pelet, Seigneur d'Alais,
Isard, count de Die, Raimbaud, count d' Orange, Gudlaume,
count de Perez, Gruillaume, count de Clermont, Gerard, son of
Guillabert, count de Eoussillon, Gaston, viscount de Beam,
Guillaume Amanjeu d'Albret, Eaymond, viscount de Tu-
renne, Eaymond, viscount de Castillon, Guillaume d'Urgal,
and the count de Portcalquier. After the example of Adhemar,
the bishops of Apt, Lodeve, and Orange, and the archbishop
of Toledo, had taken up the cross, and led a part of their
vassals to the holy war.

Eaymond, count of Thoulouse, followed by his wife Elvira
and his sons, placed himself at the head of a hundred thou-
sand Crusaders, advanced to Lyons, where he crossed the
Ehone, traversed the Alps, Lombardy, and Prioul, and
directed his march towards the territory of the Greek empire,
over the savage mountains and through the equally savage
nations of Dalmatia.*

Alexis, who had implored the assistance of the Latins,
was terrified when he learnt the numbers of his liberators.
The leaders of the crusade were only princes of the second
order, but they drew with them all the forces of the West.
Anna Comnena compares the multitude of the Crusaders to
the sands of the sea or the stars of the heavens, and their
innumerable bands to torrents which unite to form a great
river. t Alexis had learnt to dread Bohemonti on the plains
of Diu-azzo and Larissa. Although he was less acquainted
with the courage and ability of the other Latin princes, he
repented of having imparted to them the secret of his weak-
ness by asking their aid. His alarms, wh'ch were increased

* Consult the history of Raymond d'Agiles, chaplain of the count de
Thoulousfc, for the description of this march of the Qrusaders of the
south across a country till that time unknown.

f An Armenian historian says of the preparations for this crusade,
" The gates of the Latins were opened, and the inhabitants of the West
saw issuing from their countries armies and soldiers numerous as locusts
or the sands of the sea."

HISTORY or THE CRUSADi;S^ 89

by the predictions of astrologers and the opinions spread
among his people, became more serious as the Crusadera
advanced towards his capital.*

Seated on a throne from which he had hurled his master
and benefactor, he could have no faith in \drtue, and was
better aware than another what ambition might dictate. He
had displayed some courage in gaining the piu-ple, but only
governed by dissimulation, — the ordinary policy of the
Greeks and all weak states. If Anna Comnena has made
an accomjlished prince of him, the Latins have represented
him as a perfidious and cruel monarch. Impartial history,
which alike rejects the exaggerations of eulogy or satire,
can see nothing in Alexis but a weak ruler, of a superstitious
character, led away much more by a love of vain splendour
and display than by any passion for glory. He had it in his
power to put himself at the head of the Crusaders, and
reconquer Asia JMinor, by marching with the Latins to
Jerusalem. This great enterprize alarmed his weakness.
His timid prudence made him believe that it would be suffi-
cient to deceive the Crusaders to have nothing to fear from
them, and to receive a vain homage from them in order to
profit by their victories. Everything appeared good and just
to him which woidd assist in extricating him from a position
of which his policy increased the dangers, and which the
unsteadiness of his projects made every day more embar-
rassing. The more earnestly he endeavoured to inspire
confidence, the more suspicious he rendered his good faith
By seeking to inspire fear, he discovered all the alarms which
he himself experienced. As soon as he had notice of the
march of the princes of the crusade, he sent them ambas-
sadors to compliment them, and to penetrate their intentions.
In the meanwhile, he placed troops everywhere to harass
them on their passage.

The count de Yermandois, cast by a tempest on the shores
of Epirus, received the greatest honours from the governor
of Durazzo, and was led a prisoner to Constantinople by the
orders of Alexis. The Greek emperor hoped that the brother

* Nothing can be more diffuse than historians upon the march of the
different princes of the crusade ; each body of the Christian army has ita
particular historian, which is very injurious to perspicuity: it is exceed-
ingly difficult to follow so many different relations.

90 HISTOBY or THE CUTJSADES.

of the king of France would become, in liis hands, a hostage
that might protect him from the enterprizes of the Latins ;
but he only awakened suspicion, and provoked the hatred oi
the leaders of the crusade. Godfrey de Bouillon had arrived
at Philippopoli, when he heard of the captivity of the count
de Vermandois. He sent to the emperor to demand instant
reparation for this outrage ; and as the deputies reported
but an unfavourable answer, he restrained neither his own
indignation nor the fury of his army. The lands through
which they passed were treated as an enemy's country, and
during eight days the fertile plains of Tlu'ace became the
theatre of war. The crowd of Grreeks who fled towards the
capital soon informed the emperor of the terrible vengeance
of the Latins. Alexis, terrified at the fruits of his ouii
policy, implored the pardon of his prisoner, and promised to
restore him his liberty when the Trench should have arrived
at the gates of Constantinople. This promise appeased
Godfrey, who caused the war to cease, and resumed his
march, treating the Greeks everywhere as friends and
allies.

In the meanwhile, Alexis employed every effort to obtain
from tli-e count de Vermandois the oath of obedience and
fidehty, hoping that his submission would lead to that of the
other princes of the crusade, and that he should have less to
fear from then' ambition if he could reckon them in the
number of his vassals. The brother of the king of France,
who, on arri\Tng in the territories of the empire, had \NTitten
letters filled with pride and ostentation, could not resist the
caresses and presents of the emperor, and took all the oaths
that were required of him. On the arrival of Godfrey, he
appeared in the camp of the Crusaders, who rejoiced at his
deliverance, but could not pardon him for having yielded
submission to a foreign monarch. Cries of indignation arose
around him when he endeavoured to persuade Godfrey to
follow his example. The more ^-entle and submissive he'had
shown himself in his captivity, the more strong became the
opposition and resistance to the will of the emperor of his
companions, who had drawn then" swords to avenge the insult
offered to him.

Ahxis refused them provisions, and thought to reduce
then by famine ; but the Latins were accustomed to obtain

niSTOEY OF TILE CEUSADES.' 91

all they wanted by violence and victory. At tlie signal of
their leader, they dispersed themselves over the suirounding
country, pillaged the villages and the palaces near the)
capital, and, by force, brought abundance to their camp, 'I'liia
disorder lasted several days ; but the festival of Cln-istmaa
was approaching, and the epoch of the birth of Christ
revived generous sentiments in the breasts of the Christian
soldiers and the pious Godfrey. Advantage was taken of
these feehngs to bring about peace. The emperor granted
provisions, and the Crusaders sheathed their swords.

But it was impossible for harmony to subsist long between
the Greeks and the Latins. The Latins haughtily boasted
of having come to the rescue of the empire. On all occa-
sions they spoke and acted as masters. The Greeks despised
the barbarous courage of the Latins, and placing all their
glory in the refinement of their manners, believed that they
disgraced the language of Greece when pronouncing tlue
names of the warriors of the West. The rupture which
had for a long time subsisted between the churches of liome
and Constantinople, increased the antipathy which the
difference of manners and customs had given birth to. On
both sides anathemas were launched, and the theologians of
Greece and Italj detested each other more than they detested
the Saracens. The Greeks, who employed themselves in
nothing but vain subtleties, had never been willing to place
in the list of martyrs those who had died fighting against
the infidels. They abhorred the martial character of the
Latin clergy, boasted that they possessed in their capital all
the relics of the East, and could not understand what they
could be going to seek at Jerusalem. On their side, the
Franks could not pardon the subjects of Alexis for not par-
taking in their enthusiasm for the crusade, and reproached
them with a culpable indifference for the cause of God. All
these motives of discord and hatred provoked frequent scenes
of violence, in which the Greeks displayed more perfidy than
courage, and the Latins more valour than moderation.

Throughout all these divisions Alexis constantly sought to
obtain from Godfrey the oath of obedience and fidelity ;
sometimes he employed protestations of friendship, some-
times he threatened to exercise powers that he did not
possess. Godfrey braced his menaces, and placed nc faith in

Vol. L— 6

92 HISTORY Of THE CIIUSADES,

his promises. The imperial and the Latin troops were twice
enlled to arms, and Constantinople, badly defended by its
soldiers, had canse to fear beholding the standard of tho
Crusaders floating over its walls.

The report of tliese serious quarrels conveyed joy to the
heai-t of Boliemond, who had just landed at Durazzo. He
believed the time was come to attack the Greek empire, and
to di\dde the spoils. He sent envoys to Grodfrey, to invite
him to take possession of Byzantium, promising to join him
with all his forces, for the prosecution of this great enter-
|)rize. But Godfrey did not forget that he had taken up
arms for tlie defence of the holy se23ulchre, and rejected the
proposal of Bohemond, reminding him of the oath he had
jaken to fight against the infidels.

This embassy to Bohemond, the object of which could not
be concealed, redoubled the alarm of Alexis, and made him
employ every means to subdue the firmness of Godfrey de
Bouillon. He sent his own son as a hostage to the army of
the Crusaders. From that time all mistrust was dissipated.
The princes of the W est swore to respect the laws of hos-
pitality, and repaired to the palace of Alexis. They found
the emperor surrounded by a splendid court, and entirely
occupied in endeavouring to conceal his weakness under an
exterior of vain magnificence. The chief of the Crusaders,
and the princes and knights who accompanied him, in an
apparel on which shone the martial luxury of the West,
bowed before the throne of the emperor, and bent the knee
to a mute and motionless majesty. After this ceremony,
during which the Greeks and the Latins must have afforded
each other a strange spectacle, Alexis adopted Godfrey for
his son, and placed the empire under the protection of his
arms. The Crusaders engaged to replace the cities they had
taken belonging to the empire in the hands of the emperor,
and to pay him homage for the other conquests they might
snake. Alexis, on his part, promised to aid them by land
and by sea, to furnish them with provisions, and to share
the perils and the glory of their expedition.

Alexis considered this homage of the Latin princes as a
victory. The leaders of the Crusaders returned beneath their
tents, where his gratitude loaded them with presents. Whilst
Godfrey caused it to be proclaimed in his army by SDund of

HISTOKY OE THE CEUSADES. • 93

trun yet, that the most profound respect for the emperor
and the laws of Constantinople should be preserved, Alexis
ordered all his subjects to carry provisions to the Franks,
and to observe the laws of hospitality. The alliance they
had just made appeared to have been sworn to in good faith
jn both sides ; but Alexis could not destroy the prejudices
ihe Grreeks entertained against the Latins, nor could Godfrey
restrain the turbulent multitude of his soldiers. Besides,
the emperor of Byzantium, although he might feel re-assured
as to the intentions of the duke of Lorraine, still dreaded
the arrival of Bohemond, and the union of several large armies
in the neighbourhood of his capital. He engaged Grodfrey
crv pass with his troops over to the Asiatic shore of the Bos-
{^norus, and turned his attention to whatever means his policy
could suggest to abate the pride, and even to diminish the
powers of the other Latin princes who were marching
towards Constantinople.

The prince of Tarentum was advancing through Mace-
donia, now listening to the harangues of the deputies from
Alexis, and now contending with the troops which opposed
his passage. Several provinces and several cities had been
ravaged by the Italian and Norm.an Crusaders, when their
chief received an invitation from the emperor to precede his
army, and come to Constantinople. Alexis made Bohemond
protestations of friendship, in which the latter placed no
faith, but from which he hoped to reap some advantage. He,
on his part, declared his good feeling, and went to meet
Alexis. The emperor received him with a magnificence
proportionate to the fear he entertained of his arrival.
These two princes were equally skilled in the arts of seducing
and deceiving. The greater cause they had to complain of
each other, the warmer were their protestations of friend-
ship. They complimented each other publicly on the'ir
victories, and concealed their suspicions, and perhaps their
contempt, under an exterior of reciprocal admiration. Both
unscrupidous on the subject of o;iths, Alexis promised vast
domains to Bohemond, and the Norman hero swore without
hesitation to be the most faithful of the vassals of the emperor.

Eobert, count of Flanders, the duke of Normandy, and Ste-
phen, count of Chartres and Blo's, as they arrived at Constan-
tinople, rendered their homage in their turn, to the Greek

94 HISTORY OE THE CErSADES.

emperor, and received, as others had done, the reward of
their submission. The count of Thoulouse, who arrived the
last, at iirst answered the messengers of Alexis, that he wa^i
not come into the East to seek a master. The emperor, to
bend the pride of Raymond and his Proven9als, was obliged
to stoop to t]iem.* He flattered by turns their avarice and
their vanity, and took more pains to show them his treasures
than his armies. In states in their decay it is not uncommon
for wealth to be mistaken for power, and the prince believes
he reigns over all hearts as long as he possesses the means
of corrupting them. Ceremonial was, besides, at the court
of Constantinople, the most serious and the most import-
ant of all things ; but whatever value may be attached to
vain formulae, we cannot but be astonished to see warriors
so haughty, who went to conquer empires, on their knees
before a prince who trembled "with the fear of losing his own.
They made him pay dearly for an uncertain and transient
submission, and not unfrequently contempt was apparent
through their outward marks of respect.

During a ceremony in which Alexis received the homage
of several French princes. Count E-obert of Paris advanced
to seat himself by the side of the emperor. Baldwin of
Hainaut pidled him by the arm, and said, " You should
remember, when yC'U are in a foreign country, you ought to
respect its customs." " Truly !" replied Robert, " this is a
pleasant clown who is seated, whilst so many illustrious
captains are standing!" Alexis was desirous of having his
words explained to him, and when the counts were gone, he
retained Robert, and asked him what were his birth and
country. "I am a Frenchman," replied Robert, "and of
the most illustrious rank of nobles. I only know one thing,
and that is, that in my country there is a place near a church
to which all repair who burn with a desire to signalize their
valour. I have often been there without anybody yet having
dared to present h'mself before me." The emperor took
care not to accept this kind of challenge, and endeavoured
to conceal his surprise and vexation by giving some usefu)

* The Crusaders who followed Raymond are designated hy historians
Proven^alex. This comes from the ancient denomination of Provinciik
'Romana, or Provencia Narbonemis, which comprised Languedoc,
Dauphine, and Provence.

niSTOEY or THE CEUSADES. ' 95

advice to tlie daring warrior. " If you waited then," said
he, " without meeting enemies, you are now going where
vou will find enough to satisfy you. But do not put yourself
either at the head or the tail of the army ; remain in the
centre. I have learnt how to fight with the Turks ; and
that is the best place you can choose."

The pohcy of the emperor, however, was not without
effect. The pride of a great number of the counts and
barons was not proof against his caresses and his presents.
There still exists a letter which Stephen of Blois addressed
to Adela his wife, in which he felicitates himself on the
welcome he had received at the court of Byzantium. After
having described all the honoiu*s with which he had been
received, he exclaims, whilst speaking of Alexis, " Truly,
there is not at this time such a man beneath the heavens 1"
Bohemond could not have been less struck with the liberality
of the emperor. At the sight of an apartment filled with
riches, " There is here," said he, " enough to conquer king-
doms with." Alexis immediately ordered these treasures to
be conveyed to the tent of the ambitious Bohemond, who at
first refused them with a kind of modesty, and finished by
accepting them with joy. He went so far as to demand the
title of grand domestic or of general of the empire of the
East. Alexis, who had himself held that dignity, and who
knew that it was the road to the throne, had the coiu-age to
refuse him, and contented himself with promising the office
to the future services of the prince of Tarentum.

Thus the promises of the emperor retained for a short
period the Latin princes under his laws. By his skilfully-distri-
buted favours and flatteries he created a spirit of jealousy
among the leaders of the crusade. E-aymond de St. Grilles
declared himself against Bohemond, whose projects he
revealed to Alexis ; and whilst this prince debased himself
thus before a foreign monarch, the courtiers of Byzantium
repeated with warmth, that he excelled aU the other chiefs
of the crusade, as the sun excels the stars.

The Franks, so dreaded in the field of battle, were power-
less against the skill and address of Alexis, and could not
sustain their advantage amidst the intrigues of a dissolute
court. An abode at Byzantium might become otherwise
dangerous for the Crusaders ; the spectacle of the luxury ol

9f> HISTORY OF THE CRI SADES.

the East, whicli they beheld for the first time, .vas calculated
to corrupt them. The Christian knights, according to the
report of the historians of the times, were never weary of
admiring the palaces, the splendid edifices, the riches, and
perhaps the beautiful Greek women, of whom Alexis had
spoken in his letters addressed to the princes of the West.
Tancred alone, inflexible to all solicitations, would not expose
his virtue to the seductions of Byzantium. He deplored
the weakness of his companions, and, followed by a small
number of knights, hastened to quit Constantinople, without
having taken the oath of fidelity to the emperor.

The departure and resistance of Tancred disturbed the
joy which the success of his policy had given Alexis. He
applauded himself for having softened, by his presents, the
principal leaders of the crusade ; but he did not so entirely
depend upon his means of corruption as to be perfectly free
from apprehension. Every day brought new Crusaders,
whom he must seduce and load with presents ; the very riches
he displayed to them might, in the end, awaken their
ambition, and inspire them with most fatal designs. He
felt by no means secure against their enterprizes until all
the armies of the West were on the other side of the Bos-
phorus. There, without the power of insulting the capital
of the empire, they turned all their attention to their
preparations for the war against the Saracens.

As the Crusaders advanced across the plains of Bithynia,
they saw, seeking refuge in their tents, several soldiers of
Peter's army, who having escaped from the sword of the
Saracens, had lived concealed in the mountarus and forests.
They were clothed in the rags of misery, and with lamenta-
tions and tears related the disasters of the first army of the
Christians. On the east they pointed to the fortress in
which the companions of Sinaldo, pressed by hunger and
thirst, had surrendered to the Turks, who had massacred
thein all. Near to that they showed them the mountains,
at the foot of which had perished Walter and his whole
army. Everywhere the Crusaders encountered the remains
of their brethren ; everj^vhere they found reason to deplore
the imprudence and disasters of the first soldiers of the
cross ; but nothing aftected them so deeply as the sight of
the camp iu which Walter had left the women and the sick,

niSTOEY or THE CRrSADES. • 97

wlieii he was forced by his soldiers to advance to the city of
Nicea. There the Christians had been surprised by the
Mussulmans, at the moment their priests were celebrating
the sacrifice of the mass. Women, children, old men, all
whom weakness or sickness detained in the camp, pursued
to the foot of their altars, had been either borne away into
slavery, or slaughtered by a pitiless enemy. The remem-
brance of so great a calamity stified discord, silenced ambi-
tion, and rekindled zeal for the deliverance of the holy places.
The leaders profited by this terrible lesson, and laid down
usefid regulations for the maintenance of discipline. The
formidable army of the Crusaders advanced in the best order
^through the country of the infidels, and commenced the
war with the first days of the spring.

Although the empire of the Seljoucide Turks, at the period
of the arrival of the Crusaders in Asia, already inclined
towards its fall, it nevertheless presented a formidable
barrier to the warriors of the West. The kingdom of
Ezeroum, or Eoum, extended from the Orontes and the
Euphrates to the neighbourhood of the Bosphorus, and
comprised the richest provinces of Asia Minor. The Turks
were animated by the double enthusiasm of religion and
victory. Abandoning the cares of agriculture and commerce
to the Greelf s, their slaves, they knew no profession but that
of arms, or desired other wealth but the booty obtained from
their enemies. Their present chief was the son of Soliman,
whose victories over the Christians had procured him the
name of tlie Sacred Champion. David, surnamed Kihdge-
Arslan, or the Sword of the Lion, brought up amidst the
troubles of civil war, and for a long time detained a pri-
soner in the fortress of Kora9an by the orders of Malek-
Scha, had ascended the throne of his father, and main-
tained his position by his valour. He possessed a genius
rich in resources, and a character not to be subdued by
reverses. On the approach of the Crusaders, he summoned
his subjects and his allies to his defence. From all the
provinces of Asia Minor, and even from Persia, the bravest
dofenders of Islamism hastened to range themselves beneath
his banner.

Not content with assembling an army, he at first gftro all
his attention to the fortifying of the city of Nice, to whinh

98 HISTORY 01 THE CBUSADES.

the earliest attempts of the Christians would be directed.
This city, the capital of Bithynia, and celebrated by the
holding of two councils, was the seat of the empire of
Koum ; and it was there that the Turks, as in an advanced
post, awaited an opportunity to attack Constantinople, and
precipitate themselves upon Europe. High mountains
defended the approach to it. Towards the west and the
Boutli the Lake of Ascanius bathed its ramparts, and pre-
served to the inhabitants an easy communication with the
sea. Large ditches, filled with water, surrounded the place.
Three hundred and seventy towers of brick or stone protected
the double enclosure of its walls, which were wide enough
for the passage of a chariot. The chosen of the Turkish
warriors composed its garrison, and the sultan of E-oum,
ready to defend it, was encamped upon the neighbouring
mountains, at the head of an army of a hundred thousand
men.

EuU of just confidence in their own strength, and ignorant
of that which could be opposed to them, the Crusaders
advanced towards Nice. Never had the plains of Bithynia
presented a more magnificent or a more terrible spectacle.
The numbers of the Crusaders exceeded the population of
many great cities of the West, and were sufficient to cover
the largest plains. The Turks, from their encampments on
the summits of the mountains, must have beheld, with terror,
an army composed of more than a hundred thousand horse
and five hundred thousand foot,* the picked men of the
warlike nations of Europe, who were come to dispute with
them the possession of Asia.f

* The contemporary historians who have spoken of the crusades, arwl
who have made this enumeration, had doubtless in their minds the num-
bering which is found in Scripture, which makes the number of the
soldiers of Israel amount to six hundred and thirty-three thousand Svfc
hundred and fifty. I believe I ought to add some passages from the
historians : Siomnes qui de domibus suis egressi votum jam iter ceperant,
airnnl illuc adessent, procul dubio se'Kayies centum miilia bellatorurrk
adesisent. — Foulcher de Chartres. Opinionem hominum vincebat numerus,
qumnvis testimarentur sexagies centum miilia itinerantium. — Malmesbury.
book iv.

+ Such might be the character of the hundred thousand horse ; but the
five hundred thousand foot by no means merited such a description.-*

fBANS.

HISTORY OE THE CEUSADES'. ^

When it had been determined to besiege Nice, tbe posts
fv^ere distributed to the various bodies of the Christian army.
The camp of the Crusaders extended over a vast plain, inter-
sected by rivulets which fell from the mountains. Elects
from Greece and Italy transported provisions, and kept the
besiegers in a state of abundance. Foulcher de Chartres
reckons in the camp of the Christians nineteen nations,
diftering in manners and language. Each nation had its
quarters, which they surrounded with walls and palisades,
and as they were without wood or stone for the divisions,
they employed the bones of the Crusaders lying unbiu'ied in
the country round Nice ; " by which,'* Anna Comnena says,
" they at once constructed a tomb for the dead and an abode
for the li^dng." In each quarter they quickly raised magnifi-
cent tents, which served as churches, in which the chiefs and
the soldiers assembled to perform the ceremonies of religion.
Different Mar-cries, drums, the use of which had been intro-
duced into Europe by the Saracens, and sonorous horns,
pierced with several holes, summonded the Crusaders to
their military exercises.

The barons and knights wore a hauberk, or coat of mail, a
sort of tunic, composed of small rings of iron or steel. fVer
the coat of arms of every squire floated a blue, red, green,
or white scarf. Every warrior wore a casque, covered with
silver for the princes, of steel for the knights and nobles,
and of iron for the common men. The knights bore round
or square bucklers, and long shields covered the foot-soldiers.
The arms employed in fight by the Crusaders were the lance,
the sword, a species of knife, a poniard, called misericorde^
the club, the masse d'' armes, with which x warrior could, at a
single blow, strike an enemy to the earth ; the sling, from
which wove thrown stones and balls of lead ; the bow, and
the cross-bow, a murderous weapon, till that time unknown
to the Orientals. The warriors of the West did not then
cover then^selves with that heavy iron armour described by
the historians of the middle ages, which they afterwards
borrowed from the Saracens.

The princes and knights bore upon their shields figures or
signs of different colours, wliicli served as rallying-poiats for
tlieir soldiers. Here might be seen, paijited on the bucklers
and stajidards, leopards and lions ; there, stars, towers,

6*

LK) niSTOEY OF THE CRUSADES.

crosses, Asiatic trees, and European trees. Several caused
to be represented on their shields the birds ol' passage which
they had met with on their route, which bird.s, by changing
their climate annually, presented to the Crusaders a symbol
of their own pilgrimage. These distinctive marks at the
time served to animate their valour in the field of battle, and
w ere destined, at a future day, to be one of the attributes of
rank among the nations of the West.

In the immense crowd of Crusaders, no count, no prince,
deigned to receive orders from any one.* The Christians
presented the image of a republic under arms. This republic,
ill which ever/thing appeared to be in common, recognised
no other law but that of honour, no other tie but that of
religion. So great was their zeal, that chiefs performed the
duties of common men, and the latter required no signal to
rush to victory or encounter death. Tlie priests passed
contmually amongst the ranks, to recall to the Crusaders
the maxims of scriptural morality. Their discourses were
not tlirown away; for, if we may credit contemporary^ authors,
who seldom spare the champions of the cross, the conduct of
the Christians during the siege of Nice offered nothing but
examples of warlike virtue and subjects of edification.

lu the first days of the siege the Christians made several
assaults, in which they uselessly displayed prodigies of
valour. Kilidge-Arslan, who had placed both his family and
his treasures in Nice, animated the garrison by his letters,
and resolved to spare no efforts to succour the besieged.
He called together the chiefs of his army ; he reminded them
of the advantages they had gained over the Christians, and
predicted still more brilliant trophies to their valour. " The
greatest disorder," he told them, "reigned in the Christian
army, and the numbers of their enemies assured them the
victory. They were going to fight for their wives, their
children, and the country which they owed to the conqaests

* Quis tot principes, tot duces, tot equites, tot pedites, sine rege, sine
imperatore dimicante hacteniis audivit, neque siquidem in isto exercitu
nlt^ alteri prsefuit, alius aliis imperavit. — Baldric, ch. 13.

The reader may keep his attention tixed upon this, as the source oi
most of their disasters ; and in all the history of the Crusaders there is no
miracle gruater than thj^tiftii llllim"^u ilUlubit^ted. could achieve anything.

HISTOE"£ or THE CRTJSADES. 101

of tlieir fathers ; the religion of the prophet implored their
help, and the richest booty woidd be the reward of theit
exploits." The Mussulmans, animated by the speeches and
the example of their chief, prepared for battle, and descended
the mountains. Their army, divided into two bodies, attacked
with impetuosity the quarter of G-odfrey de Bouillon and
that of Eaymond de Thoulouse, who had just arrived before
Nice. The Provencals were not able to resist the first
shock, but they rallied soon at the voices of E-aymond and
Adhemar, " Then the two armies," says Matthew of Edessa,*
who speaks of this battle, "joined, mingled, and attacked
each other, with equal fury. Everyw^here glittered casques
and shields ; lances rung against cuirasses ; the air resounded
with piercing cries ; the terrified horses recoiled at the
din of arms and the hissing of arrows ; the earth trembled
beneath the tread of the combatants, and the plain was for
a vast space bristling with javelins." Godfrey, Tancred, and
the two E/oberts, appeared to be everywhere at once, and
carried death and terror into the ranks of the infidels. The
Turks could not long withstand the impetuous valour of the
Crusaders ; they were put to the rout, and pursued by the
conquerors even to the mountains which served them as a
place of refuge.

The sultan, instead of deploring his defeat, only thought
of avenging the disgrace of his arms, and on the very mor-
row, at break of day, led back his troops to the combat. The
Turks attacked the Christians, uttering loud cries. Some-
times they rushed with fury into the ranks of the Crusaders,
sometimes they fought at a distance, pouring- in showers of
arrows. Then they feigned to fl.y, only to return to the
charge with greater fury. This second battle, in which the
Turks showed the courage of despah' seconded by all the
stratagems of war, lasted from morning till night. The
victory, which was for a Ions: time doubtful, cost the Chris-
tians two thousand lives. The Crusaders made a great many

* The Armenian history of Matthew of Edessa is among the manu-
scripts of the Imperial Library, " Ancien Fonds," No. 99. We quote it
from a translation which M. de St. Martin has been so kind as to com-
municate to us, and likewise the translation which M. Cerbeid, Armenian
professor at the Imperial Library, has made for the purpose of elucidating
BOme manuscripts.

102 HISTOKY OF THE CKJSADES.

prisoners ; four thousand Mussulmans fell on the field of
battle ; the heads of a thousand were sent to Alexius ; and
the rest, by the aid of machines, were cast into the city, to
inform the garrison of this fresh defeat of the Turks.

Kilidge-Arslan, despairing to save Nice, retired with the
WTeck of his army, and hastened to gather together in the
provinces new forces, with which to oppose the Christians.
The Crusaders, having no longer to dread the neighbourhood
of an enemy's army, puslied on the siege with vigour.
Sometimes they made approaches by galleries covered by a
double roof of boards and hurdles ; sometimes they dragged
towards the walls towers mounted on a number of M^heels,
constructed with several stages, and loaded with arms and
soldiers. Here the rams beat against the walls with re-
doubled shocks ; at a short distance bahstas vomited, without
ceasing, beams of wood and showers of arrows ; and cata-
])ultas cast into the air combustible matters and enormous
stones, wdiich fell with a crash into the city.

The Christians employed in this siege all the machines*
known to the Romans. The Grreeks were better acquainted
with the construction of them than the Latins, and directed
tlieir operations. It is likewise probable that the Greeks
who were in Nice, and subject to the power of the Mussul-
mans, instructed the latter in the means of defending the
place.

The Christians allowed the besieged no respite, and they
defended themselves with obstinate fury. All the inhabitants
of Nice had taken arms. Their ramparts were covered
with formidable machines, which hurled destruction among
the assailants. Eiery darts, beams, enormous pieces of stone,
launched from the height of the walls, destroyed, day after
day, the labours of the Crusaders. When the Christians
had made a breach in the ramparts, another wall arose from
the bosom of the ruins, and presented a new barrier to the
besiegers.

As the Crusaders attacked without order or precaution,
their imprudence and their rashness were often very fatal to

* The Pisans, the Genoese, ind the greater part of the nations of Italy,
after the Greeks, showed themielves most skilful in the construction oJ
machines for war.

HISTORY or THE CRUSADES' 103

fchem. Some were crushed beneath the fragments of their
own machines ; others fell pierced M'ith poisoned darts ;
sometimes, even, says an historian, the besiegers sported
with tlieir efforts, catching them with iron hands* or hooks,
which, falling upon them, seized them, and lifted them alive
into the city. After having stripped them, the Turks hung
them upon their ramparts, and then launched them, by
means of their machines, stark naked into the camp of tho
Christians.

A Saracen, t whom history describes to us as a giant,
performed during this siege exploits which surpass those
related of fabulous antiquity. He was not less remarkable
for his skill than for the strength of his arm ; he never cast
a javelin in vain, and all whom he hit were sure to sink
beneath the blow. When he had exhausted his arrows, and
could make no more use of his bow, he seized masses of
rock, and rolled them down upon the assailants. One day,
when he was standing on the platform of a tower attacked
by Raymond, he alone defied the efforts of the enemies. At
on 3 time he hurled a shower of stones upon the besiegers ;
then, raising his voice, he defied the bravest of the Chris-
tians to the combat, loading them with the most violent
abuse. All eyes were turned towards him, and a thousand
arrows flew at once from the Christian army to punish his
audacity. Eor a moment all the efforts of the besiegers
were directed against a single man. His body was covered
with wounds and bristling with arrows ; but he defended
himself skilfully, and was still braving the crowd of his
enemies, when Godfrey, attracted by the noise of this general
attack, seized a cross-bow, and taking aim at the redoubt-
able Saracen, shot him through the heart, and his immense
body rolled from the piatform into the ditch.'

This victory, which appears rather to belong to the heroes
of the epopea than to those of history, was celebrated by the
acclamations of the Christian army. The Crusaders, who
gained several other advantages, redoubled their zeal and

* These iron hands were nothing more than the machine called the
razjew by the Romans, which they employed in grap} ling vessels : thet
likewise made use of it in sieges.

f See William of Tyre, lib. iii.

104 niSTOEY OF THE CRUSADES.

fcheir valorous efforts, anl the besieged began to offer a less
animated resistance. As the Saracens received provisions
and reinforcements by the Lake Ascanius, it was resolved
to cut off tl'is last resource. A large number of boats,
furnished by the Greeks, were transported by land, and
launched into the water in the night-time. When day
appeared, the lake was covered with barks, each bearing
filly combatants ; the flags were displayed, and floated over
the waters, and the lake and its shores resounded with the
v^arious war-cries and the noise of" the trumpets and drums.
At this sight the besieged were struck with surprise and
terror ; and the Christians renewed tlieir attacks with greater
success. The soldiers of Raymond had undermined the
foundations of one of the principal towers of Nice. This
tower sank down in the middle of the night, and its fall
was accompanied by so frightful a noise, that both the
Christians and the Mussulmans were aroused from iieir
sleep, and believed that an earthquake had taken place. On
tlie foUowiug day the wife of the sultan, vdth two infant
children, endeavoured to escape by the lake, and fell into
the hands of the Christians. When the news of this reached
the city, it greatly increased the general consternation.
After a siege of seven weeks, the Mussulmans had lost all
hopes of defending Nice, and the Christians were expecting
every day to be able to take it by assault, when the policy
of Alexius intervened to deprive their arms of the honour of
a complete conquest^

This prince, who has been compared to the bird who seeks
his food in tlie tracks of the lion, had advanced as far as
Pelecania. He had sent to the army of the Crusaders a
weak eletachment of Grreek troops, and two generals intrusted
with his confidence, less for the purpose of fighting than to
negotiate, and seize an opportunity to get possession of
Njco by stratagem. One of these officers, named Butu-
initus, having got into the city, created in the inhabitants
n dread of the inexorable vengeance of the Latins, and
advised them to surrender to the emperor oi Constantinople.
His propositions were listened to, and when the Crusaders
were preparing to begin a last assault, the standards of
Alexius all at once appeared upon the ramparts and towers
of Nice

HISTOET OF THE CETJSADES. 105

Tliis siglit created the most lively surprise in the Cliristiau
ftrmy. The greater part of the leaders could not restrain
their indignation, and the soldiers who were preparing for
the assault returned to their tents trembling with rage.
Their fury was increased when they found they were pro-
hibited from entering more than ten at a time into a city
which they had conquered at the price of their blood, and
which contained riches which had been promised to them.
In vain tho Greeks alleged the treaties made with Alexius,
and the services they had rendered the Latins during the
siege ; the murmurs were never silenced for a moment,
except by the largesses of the emperor.

This prince received the greater part of the chiefs at
Pelecania, where he duly praised their bravery and loaded
them with presents. After having taken possession of Nice,
he gained a new victory, perhaps not less flattering to his
vanity ; he at length triumphed over the pride of Tancred,
who took the oath of fidelity and obedience to him. Never-
theless, he did not stifle the suspicions they had conceived of
his perfidy. The liberty to which he restored the wife and
children of the sultan, and the kind manner in which he
treated the Turkish prisoners, gave the Latins good reason
to believe that he sought to conciliate the enemies of the
Christians. Nothing more was necessary to renew former
hatreds, and from this period war was almost declared
between the Greeks and the Crusaders.

A year had passed away since the Crusaders had quitted
the West. After having reposed some time in the neigh-
bourhood of Nice, they prepared to set forward on their
march towards Syria and Palestine. The provinces of Asia
Minor which they were about to cross were still occupied by
the Turks, who were animated by fanaticism and despair,
and who formed less a nation than an army, always ready to
fight and to pass from one place to another. In a country
so long ravaged by war, the roads were scarcely to be seen,
and all communication between cities was stopped. In the
mountains, defiles, torrents, precipices, must constantly
create impediments to the march of a numerous army ; in
the plains, mostly uncultivated and barren, famine, the want
of water, the burning heat of the climate, were inevitable
evds. The Crusaders fimcied they had conquered all tljeir

106 HISTOEY 0? THE CJttSADES.

enemies at Xice, and without taking any precaution, with*
out any other guides than the Greeks, of whom they had sd
much reason to complain, they advanced into a country with
which they were totally unacquainted. They had no idea of
the obstacles they should encounter in their march, and
their ignorance created their security.

They had divided their army into two bodies, which
inarched at some distance the one from the other, across
the mountains of Lesser Phrygia. By marching thus sepa-
rately they could more easily procure provisions ; but they
ran the risk of being surprised by an active and vigilant
enemy. Kilidge-Arslan, twice conquered by the Christians,
had gathered together new forces. At the head of an army,
which the Latin historians say amounted to two hundred
thousand men, he followed the Crusaders, watching for an
opportunity to surprise them, and to make them pay dearly
for the conquest of Nice.

Whilst the main army, commanded by Grodfrey, Raymond,
Adliemar, Hugh the Great, and the count of Inlanders, was
crossing the plain of Doryl.Tum, the other body, which was
commanded by Bohemond, Tancred, and the duke of Nor-
mandy, directed its march to the left. It was following the
banks of a little river, and was advancing into a valley to
which the Latin historians have given the name of Gorgoni
or OzeUis.* Some intimations had been given by the
Greeks that the enemy was nigh, but the Crusaders believed
they had nothing to fear. After a day's march, on the evening
of the 30th of June, they arrived at a place which offered them
abundant pastiu'age, and they resolved to encamp. The
Christian army passed the night in the most prof^iund secu-

* This valley, formed on the north by the mountain in-Eengni, and
watered by a river which runs from west to east, and which is perhaps the
Bathis of the ancients, having the villages of Taochanlu and Gourmen on
the east, and that of Yen-Euglu on the west ;^ this last is but three
marine leagues, or nine miles, from Dorylseum. Albert d'Aix calls this
valley Dogorganhi, which appears to be the Oriental name, from which
the Latin historians have made that of Gorgoni, which paints in some
sort the horrors of this fatal day. Ozellis is apparently the name which
the Greeks gave it. We owe these particulars to the learned inquiries of
Walckenaer.

See Arrowsmith's Map of Constantinople and its fuviroK^.

HISTOET or THE CEUSADES. 107

Hty ; but on the morrow, at daybreak, the scents and clouds
of dust on the heights announced to them the presence of
the enemy. Immediately the camp was roused, and all flew
to arms. Bohemond, thus become the leader of the army in
the midst of peril, hastened to make the necessary dispo-
sitions for receiving the Turks. The camp of the Christians
was defended on one side by the river, and on the other by
a marsh covered with reeds. The prince of Tarentum caused
it to be surrounded with chariots, and with palisade,s made
of the stakes empl )yed in erecting the tents. He next
assigned the posts to the infantry, and placed the women,
the children, and the sick in the centre of them. The
cavalry, divided into three bodies, advanced to the head of
the camp, and prepared to dispute the passage of the river.
One of these bodies was commanded by Tancred, and Wil-
liam his brother, and another by the duke of Normandy and
the count de Chartres. Bohemond, who commanded the
centre, placed himself with his horsemen upon a height,
whence he might observe everything, and follow the order
of the battle.

Scarcely had the prince of Tarentum finished his pre-
parations, when the Saracens, uttering loud cries, descended
from the mountains, and, when within bow-shot, discharged
a shower of arrows upon the Christians. This did very
little harm to the horsemen, who were defended by their
shields and their armour, but it wounded a great many
of the horses, which threw the ranks into disorder. The
archers, the slingers, the crossbow-men, scattered here and
there upon the flanks of the Christian army, were not able
to return to the Turks all the arrows that were launched at
them. The horsemen becoming imxpatient to make use of
the lance and the sword, the most eager of them impru-
dently crossed the river and fell upon the Saracens. But
the latter avoided the melee; as fast as the Crusaders pre-
sented themselves before them, they opened their ranks,
dispersed, rallied at some distance, and darkened the air
with a fresh cloud of arrows. The speed of their horses
seconded them in these evolutions, and secured them from
the pursuit of the Crusadt^s, whom they fought whilst
appearing to fly,

Tiiia manner of fighting was quite in favour of the

108 niSTOET OF THE CRUSADES.

Turks, aiad rendered the disposition the Christian army made
before the battle, entirely useless. Every leader, every
horseman, took counsel only of his own courage, and aban-
doned himself to its dictates. The Christians fought in dis-
oi'der upon ground with which they were quite unacquainted,
and the bravest ran the greatest risks, llohert of Paris,
the same who had seated himself on the imperial throA.e by
the side of Alexius, was mortally w^ounded, after having &den
forty of his companions foil around him. William, the
brother of Tancred, fell pierced with arrows. Tancred him-
self, whose lance was broken, and who had no w^eapon left
but his sword, only owed his safety to Bohemond, who came
to his succoiu*, and extricated him from the hands of the
infidels. Whilst the victory between strength and agility
remained uncertain, new troops of Saracens descended from
the mountains and joined the fight. The sultan of Nice
took advantage of the moment at which the cavalry of the
Crusaders could scarcely resist the shock of the Turkish
armv, to attack their camp. He ordered a body of his
choicest soldiers to draw their swords and follow him. He
crossed the river, and overcame every obstacle that was
placed in his way. In an instant the camp of the Christians
was invaded and filled by the Turks. The Saracens massa-
cred all who came within reach of their swords ; sparing
none but young and beautiful women, whom they destined
for theii* seraglios. If we are to believe Albert of Aix, the
vlaughters and the wives of the barons and knights preferred
on this occasion slavery to death ; for tliey were seen, in the
midst of the timiult, decking themselves in their most beau-
tiful vestments, and presenting themselves thus before the
Saracens, seeking by the display of their charms to soften
the hearts of a pitiless enemy.* In the meanwhile Bohe-
mond, rendered aware of the attack upon the camp, came
promptly to its succour, and forced the sidtan to rejoin the
body of his army. Then the conflict recommenced on the
banks of the river with increased fury. The duke of ]S[or-
mandy, who had remained alone with some of his knights

^ Hdc crudelitate atrocissima mortis stv.pofactce tenerce puelloe et
noh-^i^simcB, vestibns ornari festinabant, se offerenles Turcis, ut saltern
amore honestarum forrnarum accensi et placati, discant capiPi'xrum
Wiit^ari. — Alb. Aq. lib. iii. cap. 4.

HISTORY or THE CRUSADES. * 109

&n the field of battle, snatclied his white peimon embroi
dered with gold from the baud of him wIjo bore it, and
rushed into the thickest of the fight, cryiiig aloud, " It u
tJia will of God! It is tlie will of God!'' He cut down
with his sword all who were in his path ; among the victims
to his valour being one of the principal Turkish emirs.
Tancred, Richard prince of Salerno, Stephen count of Blois,
and other chiefs, followed Robert's example and seconded his
valour. Bohemond, w'ho was pmsuing the sultan of Nice,
met a troop of soldiers who were flying, and stopped them,
saying, " Whither are you flying, Christian soldiers ? Do
you not see that their horses have more speed than curs ?
Pollow me, I will show^ you a safer road than flight I"
Scarcely had he spoken these words, than he rushed with
them mto the midst of the Saracens, and renewed the fight.
In the disorder of the melee, the women, who had been
liberated from the hands of the Saracens, and who were
eager to revenge their outraged modesty, went through the
ranks bearing refreshment to the soldiers, and exhorting
them to redouble their courage to save them from slavery.

But so many generous efforts were nearly proving useless.
The Crusaders were exhausted with fatigue, and could not
long resist an enemy whose force was being constantly
renewed, and who overwheln.ed them with numbers. The
Christian army, surrounded on all sides, was compelled to
retreat fighting and to retire to the camp, into which the
Tm^ks were upon the point of entering with them. It is
impossible to paint the confusion and the despair which
reigned at that moment among the Crusaders. Priests
were seen imploring, by their groans and their prayers, the
assistance of the God of armies ; women filled the air with
lamentations for the dead and the wounded ; whilst soldiers
fell on their knees to the priests to obtain absolution for
their sins. Amid this frightful tumult the voices of the
leaders w^ere but little attended to ; the most intrepid were
covered with w^ounds, burning with thirst and heat, and
could ilght no longer. They despaired of seeing Jerusalem,
and w«3re in momentary expectation of death, when all at
- once a thousand voices proclaimed the approach of Raymond
and Godfrey, who were advancing with the other division
of the Christian army.

110 HISTOBT or THE CEUSADES.

Before tlie commencement of the battle, Bolaemond had
sent messengers to inform them of the attack of the Turks.
On learning tins, the duke of Lorraine, the count de Yer-
mandois, and the count of Flanders, at the head of the mam
body of their army, had directed their march towards the
valley of Grorgoni, followed by Raymond and Adhemar, who
brought up the baggage, at the head of the rear-guard.
When they appeared upon the ridge of the mountains on
the eastern side, the sun was in the midst of his course, and
his light shone full upon their shields, their helmets, and
their naked swords ; the ensigns were displayed ; the noise
of their drums and clarions resounded afar ; and fifty thou-
sand horsemen, fully armed and eager for the fight, advanced
in good order. This splendid sight revived the hopes of the
Crusaders, and cast fear and dread among the infidel ranks.

Scarcely had Godfrey, who, followed by fifty knights, had
preceded his army, mixed with the combatants, when the
sultan sounded a retreat and retired to the heights, where
he hoped the Crusaders would not dare to follow him. The
second body of the Christian army soon arrived on the plain
smoking with the blood of the Christians. The Crusaders,
recognising their brothers and companions stretched^ in the
dust, became impatient to revenge their death, and with
loud cries demanded to be led to the fight. Even the com-
batants who had been fighting from morning, now would not
hear of repose. The Cliristian army immediately formed in
order of battle. Bohemond, Tancred, and Robert of Nor-
mandy, placed themselves on the left ; Grodfrey, the count
of Flanders, and the count of Blois led on the right wing.
Raymond commanded the centre, and the rear-guard, or body
of reserve, was placed under the orders of Adhemar. Before
the leaders gave the word, the priests passed among the
ranka, exhorting the Crusaders to fight manfully, and giving
them their benedictions. The soldiers and the leaders,
drawing their swords, and threatening the enemy, cried with
one voice, ^^ It is the will of God! It is the will of God!^^
and this animating war-cry was repeated by the echoes of
the mountains and the valleys At length the Christian
army advanced, marching full of confidence against the
Turks, for whom the rocks and the hills appeared to be a
BiiTO place of refuge.

HISTORY or THE CRUSADES.* Ill

The Saracens remained motionless on the monntains, and
had apparently exhausted their arrows. The nature of the
ground did not allow them to perform their rapid evolutions
or pursue their usual tactics. Neither were they animated
by the hopes of victory ; but, in an attitude which expressed
fear, they awaited their enemies in silence. The count of
Thoulouse, who attacked them in front, broke through their
ranks at the first charge. Tancred, Grodfrey, Hugh, and the
two Roberts, attacked them on their flanks with the same
advantage. Adhemar, who had gone round the mountains,
directed his attack upon the rear of the enemies, and com-
pleted the disorder. The Saracens found themselves sur-
rounded by a forest of lances, and became only solicitous
to seciu'e safety by escaping over the rocks and through the
woods. A great number of emirs, three thousand officers,
and more than twenty thousand soldiers, lost their lives in
the battle and the flight.

The camp of the enemy, which was at two leagues' dis-
tance, fell into the hands of the Crusaders. The conquerors
there found abundance of provisions, magnificently orna-
mented tents, immense treasures, all sorts of beasts of
burthen, and above all, a great number of camels. The
sight of these animals, which were then unknown in the
West, caused them as much surprise as joy. They mounted
the horses of the Saracens, to pui'sue the remains of the
conquered army. Towards nightfall they retiu*ned to their
camp loaded with booty, preceded by their priests, smging
hymns and canticles of thanksgiving. Both leaders and sol-
diers had covered themselves wdth glory in this great conflict.
"We have named the principal leaders of the army; historians
point out many more, such as Baldwin of Beauvais, Gralon
de Calmon, Graston de Beam, Grerard de Cherisi, all of whom
signalized themselves by exploits, says William of Tyre, the
remembrance of which will never perish.

The day after the victory the Crusaders repaired to the
field of battle for the purpose of burying the dead. They
had lovst four thousand of their companions, and they
paid them the last duties in tears ; the clergy oflered up
their prayers for them, and the army honoured them as
martyrs. Tliey soon, however, passed from funcal cere-
monies to transports of the wildest joy. On strippuig the

112 dlSTORY OF THE CEUSADES.

Saracens, they quarrelled for their blood-stained liabits. In
the excess of tlieir delight, some of the soldiers would Dut
on the armour of their enemies, and clothing themselves in
the flowing robes of the Mussulmans, would seat themselves
in the tents of the conquered, and, with imitative gestures,
ridicule the luxury and customs of Asia. Such as wero
without arms took possession of the swords and crooked
sabres of the Saracens, and the archers filled their quivers
w^ith the arrows which had been shot at them, during the
fight.

The intoxication of victory, however, did not prevent
their doing justice to the bravery of the Turks, who, from
that time, boasted of having a common origin with the
Franks. Contemporary historians, who praise the valour of
the Turks, add, that they only wanted to be Christians to
make them quite comparable to the Crusaders. That which,
otherwise, proves the high idea the Crusaders entertained of
their enemies, is, that they attributed their victory to a
miracle. Two days after the battle, says Albert of Aix,
although no one was pursuing them, the infidels continued
flying, exclaiming as they went, " It is the will of God ! It
is the will of God!''^ After the victory, the Christian army
invoked the names of St. Greorge and St. Demetrius, who
had been seen, as they said, fighting in the ranks of the
Christians. This pious fable w^as accredited among both
the Latins and Grreeks. A long time subsequent to the
victory, the Arm^enians erected a church in the neighbour-
hood of Dorylifium, where the people were accustomed to
assemble on the first Friday of March, and believed that
they saw St. Greorge appear on horseback, lance in hand.

"Whilst the Crusaders were felicitating themselves on
their victory, the sidtan of Nice, who did not dare again to
encounter the Christians in the field, undertook to deso-
late the country which he could not defend. At the head
of the wreck of his army, and ten thousand Arabs who had
joined him, he preceded the march of the Christians, and
laid waste his own provinces. The Tm^ks burnt the harvests,
pillaged the cities, the bourgs, and the houses cf the Chris-
tians, and carried away in their train the wives and children
of the Grreeks, whom they detained as hostages. The banks
of the Meander and the Caister, Cappadocia, Pisidia,

HISTOET OF THE CEUSA.PES*. 113

Isauria, and all the country as far as Mount Taurus, were
given up to pillage, and entirely laid waste.

When the Crusaders resumed their inarch, they deter-
mined not to separate again, as they had done on enterin'g
Phrygia. This resolution certainly rendered them safe from
surprise or hostile attack, but it exposed so numerous an
army to the rislt of perishing by famine and misery in a
country devastated by the Turks.* The Christians, who
marched without forethought, and were never provisioned
for more than a few days, were not long before they felt the
want of food. They found nothing on their route but
deserted fields, and soon had no other subsistence but the
roots of wild plants and the ears of corn which had escaped
the ravages of the Saracens. By far the greater number of
the horses of the army perished for want of water and
forage.

Most of the knights, who were accustomed to look with
contempt on foot-soldiers, were obliged, like them, to march
on foot, and carry their arms, the weight of which was
enough to exhaust them. The Christian army presented a
strange spectacle — knights were seen mounted on asses and
oxen, advancing at the head of their companies ; rams,
goats, pigs, dogs, every animal they could meet with, was
loaded with baggage, which, for the most part, was left
abandoned on the roads.f

The Crusaders then traversed that part of Phrygia which
the ancients called " burning Phrygia." When their army
arrived in the country of Sauria,J they endured all the hor-
rors of thirst, of which the most robust soldiers could not
resist the terrible power. We read in William of Tyre,
that five hundred perished in one day. Historians say that
women were seen giving premature birth to their offspring
in the midst of burning and open fields ; whilst others, in

* I have made earnest researches to discover by what means the CI is-
tian army was provisioned, and I can learn nothing beyond the fact that
the Crusaders carried hand-mills with them.

f Ti'?/" autem vere vel riderefJs, vel J'orsitan pietaie lachrymaremini,
cum multis nostrum jumentis effentes, verveces, capras, tttst, canes, dt
rebus suis overabant. Equites etiam supra boves cum arniis sui$
mterdum scandebaut. — Ful. Carn. apud Bougais, p. 589.

X The laauria trachea of tlje ancients.

114 HISTQilT or THE CRUSADES.

despair, with cliildreii tliey could no longer nourisli, in;plored
death with loud cries, and, in the excess of their agony,
rolled naked on the earth in the sight of the whole army,^
Tlie authors of the time do not forget to mention the falcons
and birds of prey which the knights had brought with them
into Asia, and which almost all perished under the burning
sun. In vain the Crusaders called for a repetition of the
miracles which Grod had formerly wrought for his chosen
people in the desert. The sterile valleys of Pisidia resounded
during several days with their prayers, with their complaints,
and perhaps, likewise, with their blasphemies.

In the midst of these burning countries they at length
made a discovery which saved the army, but which was very
near becoming as fatal to them as the horrors of thirst.

The dogs which had followed the Crusaders had abandoned
their masters, and wandered over the plains and into the
mountains in search of a spring. f One day several of them
were seen returning to the camp with their paws and their
hides covered with moist sand, and it was judged that they
had found water. Several soldiers observed their track, and
discovered a river. The whole army rushed towards it in a
mass. The Crusaders, famishing with heat and thirst, cast
themselves headlong into the water, and quenched the inward
heat without moderation or precaution. More than three
hundred of them died almost immediately, and many fell
seriously ill, and could not continue their march.

At length the Christian army arrived before Antiochetta,
which opened its gates to them. This city, the capital of
Pisidia, was situated in the midst of a territory interspersed
with fields, rivers, and forests. The sight of a smiling and
fertile country invited the Christians to repose for a few
days, and made them soon forget all the evils they had
undergone.

As the fame of their victories and their march had spre: d
throughout the neighbouring countries, the greater part of

* Qucnnpiurtm<B namque fopJa muheres exsiccatis fancibv,^, arefactii

visceribus media plated in omnium asp ectu foetus suos enixce relinque'

bant ; alicB miserce juxta fvetus suos in via commtmi volutabantur, omnem
pudorem et secreta sua oblitoe. — Alb. Aquem. lib. iii. cap. 2.

•f- This reiimrkable circu instance is taken fiom the Life of Godfrey, by
Jean de Launel, ecuyer seigneur de Chantreau, and Du Chaubert.

HISTOKY OF THE CEDSADES- 115

fcKe cities of Asia Minor, some from fear, and others from
aifection to the Christians, sent deputies to offer them
supplies and to swear obedience to them. Thus they
found themselves masters of several countries of whos4>
names or geographical position they were perfectly ignorant.
Most of the Crusaders were far from being aware that
the provinces they had just subdued l.ad seen the pha-
lanx of Alexander and the armies of Rome, or that the
Greeks, the inhabitants of these countries, were descended
from the Grauls, who, in the time of the second Brennus,
had left lUyria and the shores of the Danube, had crossed
the Bosphorus,* pillaged the city of Heraclea, and founded
a colony on the banks of the Halys. Without troubling
themselves with traces of antiquity, the new conquerors
ordered the Christian churches to be rebuilt, and scoured
the country to collect provisions.

During their abode at Antiochetta, the joy of their con-
quests was, for a moment, disturbed by the fear of losing
two of their most renowned chiefs. Raymond, count of
Thoulouse, fell dangerously ill. As his life was despaired
of, they had already laid him upon ashes, and the bishop
of Orange was repeating the litanies of the dead, when a
Saxon count came to announce that Raymond would not die
of this disease, and that the prayers of St. Gilles had obtained
for him a truce with death. These words, says William of
Tyre, restored hope to all the bystanders, and soon Raymond
showed himself to the whole army, which celebrated his cure
as a miracle.

About the same time, Godfrey, who had one day wandered
into a forest, was in great danger from defending a soldier
who was attacked by a bear. He conquered the bear, but
being wounded in the thigh, and the blood flowing copiously,
he was carried in an apparently dying state into the camp of
the Crusaders. The loss of a battle would have spread less
consternation than the sad spectacle which now presented
itself to the eyes of the Christians. All the Crusaders shed
tears, and put up prayers for the life of Godfrey. The
wound did not prove dangerous, but w^eakene I by the loss
of blood, the duke de Bouillon was a length of time before

* Consult, for this expedition, Pelloutier, Histoire des Cetiet.
Vol. L— 7

116 HISTORY or THE CEUSADES

\i9, regained lis strength. The count de Tlionlouse had
likewise a long convalescence, and both were obliged during
several weeks to be borne in a litter in the rear of the army.

Grreater evils threateni^d the Crusaders. Hitherto peace
li^d reigned amongst them, and their union constituted their
strength. All at once, discord broke out amongst some of
the leaders, and was on the point of extending to the whole
army. Tancred and Baldwin, the brother of Godfrey, were
sent out on a scouring party, either to disperse the scattered
bands of Turks, or to protect the Christians, and obtain from
them assistance and provisions. They advanced at first into
Lycaonia as far as the city of Iconium ;* but having met
with no enemy, and finding the country abandoned, they
directed their march towards the sta-coast, through the
mountains of Cilicia. Tancred, who marched first, arrived
without obstacle under the walls of Tarsus, a celebrated city
of antiquity, M'hich takes great pride from having been the
birthplace of St. Paul. The Turks who defended the place
consented to display the flag of the Christians on their walls,
and promised to surrender if they were not speedily relieved.
Tancred, whom the inhabitants, for the most part Christians,
already considered as their deliverer, was encamping without
the walls, when he saw the detachment commanded by
Baldwin approach. The leaders and the soldiers congra-
tulated each other on their reunion, and expressed the
greater joy from having, reciprocally, taken each other for
enemies.

But this harmony was soon troubled by the pretensions
of Baldwin. The brother of Grodfrey was indignant at
seeing the colours of Tancred and Bohemond flying on the
walls of Tarsus. He declared that as his troop was the
more numerous, the city ought to belong to hun. He de-
manded, at least, that the two parties should enter together
into the place, and should share the spoils of the garrison
and the inhabitants. Tancred rejected this proposition with
scorn, and said that he had not tal^en arms for the purpose
of pillaging Christian cities. At these words Baldwin broke
into a rage, and bestowed the grossest abuse upon Tancred,
Bohemond, and the whole race of Norman adventurers,

* Now Konieh, in Caramania.

HISTOET OE THE CEUSAJES. Ill

Ailer long d ibates, it was agreed on both sides, that the
affair should be decided by the inhabitants, and that the city
shoidd belong to whichever they should choose for master.
The assembled people at first appeared inclined towards
Tancred, to whom they thought they owed their deliverance ;
but Baldwin made the Turks and the inhabitants sensible of
the superiority of his numbers, and threatened them with
his anger and his vengeance. The fear which he inspired
decided the suffrages in his favour ; and the flag of Tancred
was cast into the ditches of the town, and replaced by that
of Baldwin.*

Blood was about to flow to avenge this outrage, but the
Italians and Normans, appeased by their chief, listened to
the voice of moderation, and quitted the disputed city to
seek other conquests elsewhere. Baldwin entered in triumph
into the place, of which the fortress and several towers were
still in possession of the Turks. He so much feared that
his new conquest would be disputed, that he refused to open
the gates to three hundred Crusaders whom Bohemond had
sent to the assistance of Tancred, and who demanded an
asylum for the night. These latter, being obliged to pass
the night in the open field, were siu*prised and massacred by
the Turks. The following morning, at the sight of their
brethren stretched lifeless, and stripped of their arms and
vestments, the Christians could not restrain their indigna-
tion. The city of Tarsus resounded with their groans and
complaints. The soldiers of Baldwin flew to arms, they
threatened the Tmrks who still remained in the place, and
vowed vengeance upon their own leader, whom they accused
of the death of their companions. At the first outbreak of
this danger Baldwin was obliged to fly, and take refuge in
one of the towers. A short time after he appeared sur-
rounded by his own people, mom-ning with them the death

* Ancient history presents us with something exceedingly like that
wnich is related here. During the civil wars that divided the Romau
empire under the triumvirate, Cassius and Dolabella disputed the posses-
sion of the town of Tarsus. Some, says Appian, had crowned Cassius,
who had arrived first in the city ; others had crowned Dolabella, who
came after him. Each of the two parties had given a character of public
authority to their proceedings; and in conferring honours, first to one and
then to the other, they each contributed to the misfortunes of a city so
versatile in its likings. — Appian, Hist, of the Civil Wars, b. iv c. 8.

1X8 HISTORY "r THE CRUSADES.

of the Cmsaders, and excused himself by saying, rhat he
hnd bound himself by an oath that none but his o A'n soldiera
should enter the town. Thus speaking, he pointed to several
towers which were still occupied by the Turks. In the midst
«)f the tumult, some Christian women, whose noses and ears
the Turks had cut off, by their presence added to the fury of
the soldiers of Baldwin, and they immediately fell upon the
Turkb who remained in the city, and massacred them all
without pity.

In the midst of these scenes of violence, Baldwin received
an unexpected reinforcement. A fleet was seen approaching
the coast full sail. The soldiers of Baldwin, who expected
to have to deal with more infidels, hastened fully armed to
the shore. As the fleet drew near, they interrogated the
srew of the first ship. The crew replied in the Frank lan-
guage. Soon they learnt that these, whom they had taken
to be Mussulmans, were pirates from the ports of Elanders
and Holland. These corsairs had for ten years cruised in
the Mediterranean, where they had made themselves re-
markable by their exploits, and still more frequently by
their piracies. Upoix hearing of the expedition of the
Christians of the West, they had made sail for Syria and
Palestine. On the invitation of the Crusaders, they joyfully
entered the port of Tarsus. Their chief, Guymer, who was
a Boulonnais, recognised Baldwin, the son of his ancient
master, and promised with his companious to serve under
him. They all took the cross, and with it the oath to share
the glory and the labours of the holy war.

Aided by this new reinforcement, and lea^dng a strong
garrison in the city of Tarsus, Baldwin resumed his march,
following the route of Tancred, and soon came in sigtt of
Malmistra,* of which the Italians had just taken possession.
The latter, on seeing Baldwin, were persuaded that he was
come to dispute their new conquest, and prepared to repulse
force by force. When Tancred endeavoured to appease his
ii Stated soldiers, murmurs arose against him. They accused
him of having forgotten the honour of chivalry, his modera-
tion being in their eyes nothing but a shameful weakness.

* This is the Messis of Aboulfeda. See an article upon this city io
Manr^rt, torn. vi. p. 2, p. 101, which is very learned and very well done

HISTORY or THE CEUSADE^. 119

The effect tliat sucli reproaches must have had upon a spirit
like that of Taucred, may be easily imagined. The monieDt
they suspected his courage, he no longer made an eliort to
restrain his anger, and swore to avenge his wrongs in the
blood of his rival. He himself led the soldiers, and rushed
out of the town at their head to encounter the troops Oi
Baldwin. They at once came to blows. On both sides
courage w^as equal; but the fury of revenge doubled the
efforts of the Italians. The soldiers of Baldwin had the
advantage in numbers. They fought wdth the animosity
peculiar to civil wars ; but at length the troops of Tancred
w^ere forced to give way; they left many of their companions
in the hands of their adversaries and upon the field of battle,
and re-entered the tow^n deploring their defeat in silence.

Night restored calm to their excited spirits. The soldiers
of Tancred had acknowledged the superiority of the Flemings,
and believed, as blood had flowed, they had no longer auy
outrage to avenge, whilst the followers of Baldwin remem-
bered that the men whom they had conquered were Chris-
tians. On the morrow nothing was heard on either side but
the voice of humanity and religion. The two chiefs at the
same time. sent deputies, and in order to avoid an appearance
of asking for peace, both attributed their overtiu-es to the
inspii'ation of Heaven. They swore to forget their quarrels,
and embraced in sight of the soldiers, who reproached them-
selves with the sad effects of their animosity, and longed to
expiate the blood of their brothers by new exploits against
the Turks.

Tancred with his troop departing from Malmistra, passed
in triumph along the coasts of Cilicia, and penetrated as far
as Alexandretta, of which he easily took possession. In
proportion as he made himseU' dreaded by his enemies, he
made himself the more beloved by his companions. When
he rejoined the Christian army covered with glory and loaded
with booty, he heard all around him nothing but praises of
his moderation and valour. The presence of Baldwin, who
had preceded him, on the contrary, only excited murmurs,
as they attributed to him the death of so macf Christian
soldiers. Godfrey loudly blamed the ambition and avarice
of his brother. But caring little for these reproaclies, Bald-
win yielded to his rival, without pain, the suffrages of the

120 HISTORY C£ THE CETJSADES.

army, and preferred a principality to the love and esteem of
the Crusaders ; and fortune soon offered him an opportunity
of realizing his ambitious projects.

During the siege of Nice, an Armenian prince named
Pancratius had come to join the Christian army. In his
youth he had been king of northern Iberia. Driven from
his kingdom by his own subjects, and for a length of time a
prisoner at Constantinople, he had followed the Crusaders in
the hope of re-conquering his states. He had particularly
attached liimself to the fortunes of Baldwin, whose aspiring
character he understood, and whom he hoped to associate in
his designs. He spoke to him continually of the rich pro-
vinces which extended along the two shores of the Euphrates.
These provinces, he said, were inhabited by a great number
of Christians, and the Crusaders had but to present them-
selves there to make themselves masters of them. These
discourses inflamed the ambition of Baldwin, who resolved a
second time to quit the main army of the Christians, and to
go to the banks of the Euphrates, to conquer a country of
such boasted wealth.

He had just lost his wife, Gundechilde, who had accom-
panied him to the .crusade, and who was buried with great
pomp by the Christians. This loss did not stop him in the
execution of his projects. As he was not beloved in the
Christian army, when he was ready to set out no leader was
willing to join him, and several even of his own soldiers
refused to accompany him. He could only take with him
from a thousand to fifteen hundred foot-soldiers, a troop
despised in the army, and two hundred horsemen, seduced
by the hopes of pillage. But nothing could abate his ar-
dour, and as the chiefs of the crusade had decided in a
council that nobody should be allowed to withdraw from the
standard of the army, he set out the day before ihis decision
was published in the camp of the Christians.* At the head
of his little army he advanced into Armenia, finding no
energy able to impede his march. Consternation reigned
among the Turks, and the Christians, everywhere eager tc
throw off" the yoke of the Mussulmans, became pow^erful
auxiliaries to the Crusaders.

* When Baldwin quitted the Christian army, it had arrived at Marrasht

HISTOET OF THE LUUSADESI , 121

Tiirbessel and Ravendel were the first cities that opened
fcheir gates to the fortunate conqueror. This conquest soon
produced a separation between Baldwin and Pancratius, who
both entertained the same projects of ambition ; but this
difference did not at all delay the march of the brother ot
(.Todfrey. The Crusader prince opposed violence to cun-
ning ; he threatened to treat his rival as an enemy, and thus
drove him away from the theatre of his victories, Baldwin
wanted neither guide nor assistance in a country of which
the inhabitants aU flocked out to meet him. As he pursued
his march, fame carried his exploits into the most distant
places ; the intelligence of his conquests preceded him be-
youd the Euphrates, and reached even the city of Edessa.

This city, so celebrated in the times of the primitive
church, was the metropolis of Mesopotamia. As it had
escaped the invasion of the Turks, all the Christians of that
neighbourhood had, with their riches, taken refuge within
its w^alls. A Grreek prince, named Theodore,* deputed by
the emperor of Constantinople, was the governor of it, and
maintained his power by paying tribute to the Baraeens.
The approach and the victories of the Crusaders produced
the most lively sensations in the city of Edessa. The people
and the governor joined in soliciting the aid of Baldwin-
The bishop and twelve of the principal inhabitants were
deputed to meet the Crusader prince. They described to
him the wealth of Mesopotamia, the devotion of their fellow-
citizens to the cause of Jesus Christ, and conjured him to
rescue a Christian city from the domination of the infidels.
Baldwin readily yielded to their prayers, and immediately
prepared to cross the Euphrates.

He had the good fortune to escape th^ T^irks, who were
waitino; for him on his passage, and without drawing a
sword _.e arrived in the territories of Edessa. As he had
placed garrisons in the cities which had fallen into his
power, he had no greater force with him than one hundred
horsemen. As soon as b^ 4rew near to the city, the whole

* None of the Latin )>i§tQrians have given us the name of the governor
of Edessa. The n^me of Theodore is found in the History of Matthew of
Edessa, from wl^ich we iiave taken, according to the translation of
M. Corbied, several curious 4etails, which would be sought for in vain
elsewhere.

122 HISTORY OF THE CEI iADES.

population came out to meet Mm, bearing branches of olivo
and singing hymns. It must have been a curious spectacle
to behold so small a number of warriors, surrounded by an
immense multitude, Avhe implored their support and pro-
claimed them their libeiators. They were welcomed with
so much enthusiasm, that the prince or governor of Edessa,
who was not beloved by the people, took umbrage, and began
to see in them enemies more to be dreaded by him than the
Saracens. In order to attach their chief to himself, and
engage him to support his authority, he offered him great
riches. But the ambitious Baldwin, whether because he
expected to obtain more from the affections of the people
and the fortune of his arms, or that he considered it dis-
graceful to place himself in the pay of a foreign prince,
refused with contempt the offers of the governor of Edessa,
and even threatened to retire and abandon the city. The
inhabitants, who dreaded his departure, assembled in a
tumultuous manner, and implored him with loud cries to
remain among them ; the governor himself made new efforts
to detain the Crusaders, and to interest them in his cause.
As Baldwin had made it pretty clearly understood t*hat he
woidd never defend states that were not his own, the prince
of Edessa, who was old and childless, determined to adopt
him for his son and nominate him his successor. The cere-
mony of the adoption was performed in the presence of the
Crusaders and the inhabitants. According to the custom of
the Orientals,* the Greek prince made Baldwin pass be-
tween his shirt and his naked skin, and kissed him as a sign
of alliance and paternity. The aged wife of the governor
repeated the same ceremony, and from that time Baldwin,
considered as their son and heir, neglected nothing for the
defence of a city which was to belong to him.

An Armenian prince, named Constantino, who governed
a province in the neighboui'hood of Mount Taurrs, had also
come to the assistance of Edessa. Baldwin, seconded by
this useful auxiliary, and followed by his own horsemen and
the troops of Theodore, took the field, in order to attack

* Intra lineam inferulam, quarn nos vocamus comisiam, nudum intran
rum faciens, sibi adstrinxit ; et dehide omnia osculo libata firmavitj
idem et nrnlier post modum fecit. — Guib. Abb. lib. iii. ad finem.

HISTORY OE THE CEUSADE3.. 123

the nearest Turkish cities. He defeated the troops of the
emir Baldoukh in several encounters, and forced them to
retire into the city of Samosata. The Christians approached
the place, pillaged the sub^nhs, and the houses of the neigh-
bourhood, without meeting -with the least resistance ; but as
thej were engaged in dividing their booty, they were attacked
unexpectedly by the infidels and routed. After having lost
two thousand lighting men, they returned to Edessa, where
the news of their defeat spread the greatest consternation.

Misunderstandings soon broke out between Theodore and
Baldwin, who mutually reproached each other with theh^
reverses. The Edessenians, who had declared for the Cru-
sader prince, would not hear of any other master, and were
not long in satisfying liis impatience to reign. They forgot
that Theodore, by his courage and skill, had maintained their
independence in the centre of a country constantly exposed
to the invasions of the Mussuhnans. They accused him of
having burdened his subjects with imposts, to satisfy the
avidity of the Turlis, and with having employed the power
of infidels to oppress a Christian people. They formed, says
Matthew of Edessa, a plot against his life, of which Baldwin
was not ignorant. Warned of the danger which threatened
him, Theodore retired into the citadel, which commanded
the city, and placed no reliance on anything but force to
defend himself against the seditious.

Upon this a most furious tumult was created among the
people. The enraged multitude flew to arms, and pillaged
the houses of the inhabitants who were suspected of being
the partisans of Theodore. They swore to treat him as a
declared enemy. They attacked the citadel, some beating in
the gates, and others scaling the walls. Theodore seeing
that his enemies were masters of one part of the ramparts,
no longer endeavoured to defend himself, but proposed to
capitulate. He agreed to abandon the place, and to renounce
the government of Edessa, requesting permission to retire,
with his family, to the city of MeHtene. This proposition
was accepted with joy ; the peace was signed, and the inha-
bitants of Edessa swore upon the cross and the Evangelists
to respect the conditions of it.

On the following day, whilst the governor was preparing
for his departure, a fresh sedition broke out in the city. The

7*

124 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

fact] 3US repented of having allowed a prince whom they had
BO cruelly outraged, to live. New accusations were brought
against him. It was said that he had only signed the peace
with perfidious intentions. The fury of the people soon
rose above aR bounds, and a thousand voices demanded the
death of Theodore. They penetrated, tumultuously, into the
citadel, seized the aged governor in the midst of his family,
and precipitated him from the heights of the ramparts.
His bleeding body was dragged through the streets by the
multitude, who prided themselves upon having murdered an
old man as much as if they had gained a victory over the
infidels.

Baldwin, who may, at least, be accused of not ha\ing
defended his adoptive father, was soon surrounded by all the
people of Edessa, who offered him the government of the
city. He refused it at first, "but in the end," says an old
historian, " they combated his objections with so many
reasons, that they forced him to consent, and established him
instead of the other." Baldwin was proclaimed liberator
and master of Edessa. Seated on a blood-fctained throne,
and in constant dread of the fickle nature of the people, he
soon inspired his subjects with as much fear as his enemies.
"Whilst the seditious trembled before him, he extended the
limits of his territories. He purchased the city of Samosata
with the treasures of his predecessor, and obtained posses-
sion of several other cities by force of arms. As fortune
favoured him in everything, the loss even, which he had
lately experienced, of his wife, Gundechilde, promoted his
projects of aggrandizement. He espoused the niece of an
Armenian prince, and by that new alliance he extended his
possessions as far as Mount Taurus. All Mesopotamia, with
both shores of the Euphrates, acknowledged his authority,
and Asia then beheld a French knight reigning without dis-
pute over the richest provinces of the ancient kingdom of
Assyria.

Baldwin thought no more of the deliverance of Jerusalem,
but gave all his attention to the defence and aggrandizement
of his states.* Many knights, dazzled by such a rapid for-

* In the first book of the Jerusalem Delivered, when the EtemaJ
turns his eyes on the Crusaders, he sees in Edessa the ambitious Baldwin,
who only aspires to human grandeurs, with which he is solely occupied.

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. * 125

tune, hastened to Edessa, to increase the army and the coui't
of the new monarch. The advantages which resulted to the
Crusaders from the foundation of this new state, have made
their historians forget that they were %he fruit of injustice
and violence. The principality of Edessa served as a check
upon the Turks and tiie Saracens, and was, to the period of
the second crusade, the principal bulwark of the power of
the Christians in the East.

BOOK III.

A.D. 1097—1099.

Th:b great army of the Crusaders had traversed the stateg
of the sultan of Nice and Iconium ; throughout its passage
the mosques were given up to the flames or converted into
churches ; but the Christians had neglected to fortify the
cities of which they had rendered themselves masters, or to
found a military colony in a country wherein the Turks were
always able to rally and re-establish their formidable power.
This fault, which must be attributed to a too great confidence
in victory, became fatal to the Crusaders, who, in the midst
of their triumphs, lost the means of communication with
Europe, and thus deprived themselves of the assistance they
might have received from Greece and the West.

Terror opened to the pilgrims all the passages of Mount
Taurus. Throughout their triumphant march the Christians
had nothing to dread but famine, the heat of the climate,
and the badness of the roads. They had, particularly, much
to suffer in crossing a mountain situated between Coxonand
Marash, which their historians denominate " The Mountain
of tlie JJeviir This mountain was very steep, and offered
only one narrow path, in which the foot-soldiers marched
with difficulty ; the horses, which could not keep their
footing, dragged each other down the abysses ; and the
army lost a great part of its baggage. In the course of this
disastrous march, says an historian who was an eye-witness,
the soldiers gave themselves up to despair, and refused to
proceed. Being encumbered with their arms, they either
sold them at a low price or cast them down the precipices. On
all sides were to be seen warriors wounded by their frequent
falls, and pilgrims exhausted with fatigue, who could not con-
tinue their route, and filled the air and mountains with their
cries and groans. The passage of the Christian army across
this mountain occupied several days ; but when they had at
length passed the chains of Mount Taurus and IMouni;
Amanus, the sight of Syria revived their courage, and made

HTSTOEY or THE CRIISADES. • 127

them quickly forget all their fatigues. That country into
which they were about to enter embraced within its terri-
tories Palestine, the object of all their wishes, prayers, and
labours. In all ages Syria has attracted conquerors, by the
fertility of its soil and its wealth. In the time of David and
Solomon, it already boasted several flourishing cities. At
the period of the Crusades it had undergone a great many
resolutions, but its flelds, though covered wdth celebrated
ruins, still preserved some portion of their fecundity.

The first of the Syrian provinces that presented itself to
the eyes of the Christians was the territory of Antioch.
Towards the east extended the states of the sultans of
A-leppo and Mousoul. Further, at the foot of Mount
Libanus, was seen the principality of Damascus ; on the
coast stood Laodicea, Tripoli, and the cities of Sidon and
Tyre, so celebrated in both sacred and profane antiquity.
All these cities, which scarcely maintained a shadow of their
former splendour, were governed by emirs who had shaken
ofii" the yoke of the sultans of Persia, and reigned as sovereign
princes over the ruins of the empire of Malek-Scha.

The Crusaders advanced as far as the ancient Chalcis,
then called Artesia, of which they made themselves masters.
To arrive before Antioch they had to pass over a bridge
built over the Orontes, and defended by two towers masked
with iron. Nothing could resist the van, commanded by the
duke of Normandy. The Normans soon got possession of
the bridge, and passed the river. Terror seized upon the
Mussulman ranks, and they sought shelter, with the greatest
haste, within the walls of the city. The whole Christian
army, drawn up in battle array, with trumpets sounding
and flags flying, marched towards Antioch and encamped
within a mile of its walls.

The sight of this city, so celebrated in the annals of
Christianity, revived the enthusiasm of the Crusaders. It
was within the walls of Antioch that the disciples of Jesus
Christ first assumed the title of Christians, and the apostle
Peter was named the first pastor of the young church. No
city had contained within its bosom a greater number of
martyrs, saints, and doctors ; no city had beheld more
miracles worked for the faith. During many centuries, the
Caithfid had been accustomed to come into one of its

128 HISTOEY OE THE CEUSADES.

suburbs to pray at the tomb of St. Babylas, wbO; during
the reign of Julian, had silenced the oracles of Apollo. For
a long time Antioch was considered in Christendom as the
eldest daughter of 8ion ; it bore the name of Theopolis (the
city of God), and pilgrims visited it with no less respect
than Jerusalem.

Antioch was as much celebrated in the annals of Rome as
in those of the Church. The magnificence of its edifices and
the residence of several emperors had obtained it the na-me
of the Queen of the East. Its situation, amidst a smilmg
and fertile country, attracted strangers to it at all times.
At two leagues eastward was a lake abounding in fish,
which communicated with the Orontes ; whilst on the south,
were the suburbs and the fountain of Daphne, so renowned
in paganism. Not far from this arose the mountain of
Orontes, covered with gardens and country houses ; on the
north was another mountain, sometimes called the Black
Mountain, on account of its forests, and sometimes the
Water Mountain, on account of its numerous springs. The
river Orontes* flowed at the foot of the ramparts of Antioch
towards the west, and fell into the sea at a distance of three
or four leagues from the city.

Within the walls were four hdls separated by a torrent,
which cast itself into the river. Upon the western hill was
built a very strong citadel, which dominated over the city.
The ramparts of Antioch, whose solidity equalled that of a
rock, were three leagues in extent. " This place," says an
old author, " was an object of terror to those who looked
upon it, for the number of its strong and vast towers, which
amounted to three hundred and sixty." Wide ditches, the
river Orontes and marshes, still further protected the inha-
bitants of Antioch, and cut ofii" an approach to the city.

In spite of all these fortifications of nature and art,t
Antioch had been several times taken. It fell at once into

* At the present day named Aassy (the Rebel), or el Mactoub, the
Reversed, because it flows from south to north, an opposite direction to
that of the other rivers of the same country.

t Ancient Antioch is not to be recognised in the straggling village
that the Turks call Antakie; it is even sufficiently difficult to ascertain its
ancient extent. We may consult the description of it g ven by Pococke
and Drummond, and compare it with that which is said by Raymond
d'Agiles. Albert d'Aix, William of Tj "e, and the ancient historians.

HISTORY or THE CRUSADES., 129

the power of the Saracens, in the first age of the Hegira ;
it was afterwa 'ds retaken by the Grreeks, under Nicep horns
Phocas ; and, fourteen years before, the Turks had rendered
themselves masters of i . At the approach of the Christians,
the greater part of the Saracens of the neighbouring cities
and provinces had sought seciu*ity in Antioch for them-
selves, their wives, and treasures. Baghisian,* or Accien,
grandson of Malek-Scha, who had obtained the sovereignty
of the city, had shut himself up in it, with seven thousand
horse and twenty thousand foot-soldiers.

The siege of Antioch presented many difficulties and
dangers. The chiefs of the Crusaders deliberated upon the
propriety of undertaking it ; and the first who spoke in the
council thought that it would be imprudent to commence a
siege at the beginning of whiter. They did not dread the
arms of the Saracens, but the rains, the tempests, and the
horrors of famine. They advised the Crusaders to await in
the provinces and neighbouring cities the arrival of the aid
promised by Alexius, and the return of spring, by which time
the army would have repaired its losses, and received beneath
its standards fresh reinforcements from the West. This
counsel was listened to with much impatience by the greater
part of the leaders, among whom were conspicuous the
legate Adhemar and the duke of Lorraine. " Ought we
not, at once," said they, "to take advantage of the terror
spread among the enemy ? Is it right to leave them time
to rally and recover from then' alarm ? Is it not well known
that they have implored the succoin* of the caliph of Bagdad
and the sultan of Persia? Every moment of delay may
strengthen the armies of the Mussulmans, and rob the
Christians of the fruits of their victories. You talk of the
arrival of the Grreeks ; but do we stand in need of the Greeks
to attack enemies already many times conquered ? AVas it
necessary to await for new Crusaders from the West, who

* The name of this Seljoucide prince has been disfigured by the greater
part of the Latin historians. Tudebode and the monk Robert call him
Cassianns: Foucher de Chartres, Gratianus ; William of Tyre, Acxiauus;
Albert d'Aix, Darsiantts ; M. de Guignes, and the greater part of the
Orientalists, call him, after Abulfeda, Bayhistan; but in other Oriental
historians he is named Akhy Syran (brother of the black), which is more
conformable to the corrupt name of Accien, which he bears in oux
** History of the Crusades."

IBO HISTOEY OF THE CETJSADES.

would come to share the glories and the ccnqiiests of the
Clii'stian army, without having shared its dangers and its
labours ? As to the rigours of winter, which they appeared
so much to dread, it was an insult to the soldiers of Jesus
Christ to think them incapable of endming cold and ram-
It Avas, in some sort, to compare them to those birds of
passage which fly away and hide themselves in secret places,
when they see the bad season approach.* It was, besides,
impossible to think that a siege could be protracted to any
length with an army full of ardour and courage. The Cru-
saders had only to remember the siege of Nice, the battle
of Dorylaeum, and a thousand other exploits. AVhy should
they be restrained by the fear of want and famine ? Had
they not hitherto found in war all the resources of war ?
They must know that victory had always supplied the wants
of the Crusaders, and that abundance awaited them in that
city of Antioch, which would not be long in opening its
gates to them."

This discourse won over the most ardent and the most
brave. Such as entertained a contrary opinion dreaded to
be accused of timidity, and remained silent. The council
decided that the siege of Antioch should at once be com-
menced ; and on that very day the whole Christian army
advanced under the walls of the city. Bohemond and Tan-
cred took their posts on the east, opposite the gate of St.
Paul ; to the right of the Italians were the Normans, the
Bretons, the Elemings, and the French, commanded by the
two E-oberts ; the count de Vermaudois and the count de
Chartres encamped towards the north, opposite the gate of
the Dog ; the count of Thoulouse, the bisliop of Buy, and
the duke of Lorraine, with the troops they commanded,
occupied the space which extended from the gate of the
Dog to the spot where the Orontes turning towards the west
approaches the walls of Antioch. The Crusaders left open
the southern part, defended by the mountain of Orontes, and
likewise neglected to invest the western side of the city,

* Plurimum quoque interest ad Jisciplinam militise, insuescere milites
nostros, non solum parta victoria frui, sed si etiam res sit lentior, pati
tsedium, et quamvis serse spei exitum exspectare, nee sicut cestivas aves,
instante hyenie, tecta ac recessum circumspicere. — Accolti, de Bello
contra Turcas, lib. ii.

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.* 131

which the river protected, and thus gave the besieged liberty
to make sorties or receive succours.

The Turks had shut themselves up witbin their walls ; not
a soul appeared upon the ramparts, and not the least noise
was heard in th 3 city. The Crusaders fancied that they saw
in this appearance of inaction and this profound silence the
discouragement and terror which had taken possession of
their enemies. Blinded by the hope of an easy conquest, they
took no precautions, and spread themselves about over the
neighbouring country. The abundance of provisions, the
beautiful sky of Syria, the fountain and the shades of
Daphne, and the banks of the Orontes, famous in Pagan
antiquity for the worship of Venus and Adonis, made them
lose sight of the holy war, and spread license and corruption
among the soldiers of Christ.

"Whilst they thus neglected, amongst scenes of intem-
perance and debauchery, the laws of discipline and the
precepts of the Scriptures, they were attacked by the gar-
rison of Antioch, which surprised them, some scarcely
guarding the camp, and the rest scattered about in the
neighbouring country. All whom the hopes of pillage or
the attractions of pleasure had drawn into the villages and
orchards bordering upon the Orontes, met with either slavery
or death. Young Alberon, archdeacon of Metz, and son of
Conrad, count of Lunebourg, paid with his life for the enjoy-
ment of amusements which accorded but very little mth the
austerity of his profession. ' He was surprised by the Turks*
at the moment when, stretched upon the grass, he was
playing at dice with a Syrian courtezan. His head was
struck off with one blow of a sabre. The courtezan was
not killed till she had satisfied the brutal passion of their
conqueror. Their heads, with those of a great number of
Christians, were cast into the camp of the Crusaders, who
now deplored their disorders, and swore to take revenge for
their defeat.

The desire to repair one fault made them commit another.

* Alearum Indo pariter recreari et occupari cum matroua quadam, quae
magnse erat ingenuitatis et formositatis. Matronam vero vivam, et intac-
1am armis, rapientes traxerunt in urbem, per totam noctrm immoderataa
libidinis snaj incesto concubitu eam vexantes, uihilque Kumanitatis iu
earn exhibentes. — Alb. Ag. lib. iii. p. 46.

i32 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

They resolved upon scaling the walls of Antioch, without
having either ladders or machines of war. The signal was
given for a general assault. Vengeance and fanaticism
animated both soldiers and leaders ; but their efforts could
neither shake the walls of the cit}^ nor disturb the security
of the besieged. Their attacks, though renewed several
times and at several points, were always imsuccessful.
Experience, for whose lessons they always paid so dearly, at
length taught them, that if they wished to make themselves
masters of the place, no other means was left them but to
invest it completely, and prevent the arrival of any succoui'
from without.

They established a bridge of boats upon the Orontes, and
passed some troops over towards the western side of the
city. All the means in their power were employed to stop
the sorties of the enemy — sometimes they erected wooden
fortresses near the ramparts, whilst at others they prepared
balistas, which launched large stones upon the besieged. The
Crusaders, in order to close the gate of the Dog upon the
Turks, were obliged to heap up against it enormous beams
and fragments of rock. At the same time they intrenched
their camp, and redoubled their efforts to seciu-e themselves
against surprise on the part of the Saracens.

The Christian army was now solely occupied with the
blockade of the city. Although this determination was
dictated by imperious necessity,^ the slowness of a siege did
not at all agree with the impatience of the warriors of the
West. On their arrival before Antioch, the Christian sol-
diers had dissipated in a few days the provisions of several
months ; they had only thought of fighting the enemy in
the field of battle, and, ever full of confidence in victory,
they had neither sought to protect themselves against the
rigours of winter, nor to prevent the approaches of the
famine with which they were threatened.

The want of pro\isions w^as not long before it was felt.
As soon as winter had set in, they found themselves a prey
to every species of calamity. Torrents of rain fell daily,
and the plains, an abode upon which had rendered the soldiers
of Clnist efteminate, were almost all biu'ied beneath the
waters. The Christian camp, particularly in the valley, was
submerged sevei'al times ; tempests and inundations carried

HISTORY OF THE CRTISADES. 133

away tlie pavilions and tents ; moisture relaxed the bows j
and rust gnawed into both lances and swords. The greater
part of the soldiers were without clothes ; and contagious
diseases carried off both men and animals. Eains, cold,
famine, epidemic diseases, made such ravages, that, according
to the report of William of Tyre, the Crusaders had not
either time or space to bury their dead.*

In the midst of the general distress, Bohemond and
the duke of Normandy were commissioned to go and scour
the country in search of provisions. In the course of
their incursion they defeated several detachments of Sara-
cens, and returned to the camp with a considerable booty.
But the provisions they brought could not be sufficient to
support a large army for any length of time ; every day they
made fresh incursions, and every day were less successful.
All the country of Upper Syria had been ravaged by the
Turks and Christians. The Crusaders who were sent on
these foraging parties often put the infidels to flight; but vic-
tory, which was almost always their only resource in moments
of want, could not bring back abundance to their camp.

To fill up the measure of their miseries, all communication
was stopped with Constantinople ; the fleets of the Pisans
and Genoese no longer coasted the countries occupied by
the Crusaders. The port of St. Simeon, situated at three
leagues from Antioch, saw no vessel now arrive from either
Greece or the West. The Flemish pirates, who had taken
\ip the cross at Tarsus, after possessing themselves of Lao-
dicea, had been surprised by the Greeks, and were detained
prisoners during several weeks. The darkest future lay
before the Christians ; they no longer talked of anything but
of the losses they had sustained, and of the evils with which
they were threatened ; each day the most afflicting intel-
ligence was spread through the army.

It was said that the son of Sweno, king of Denmark,
who had assumed the cross, and was leading fifteen hundred
horsemicn to the holy war, had been surprised by the Turks

* We have taken the details of the siege of Antioch from the followingj
authors: William of Tyre, Albert d'Aix, Baudry, Robert, Tudebode;
Raymond d'Agiles, Guibert, Raoul de Caen, Foucher de Chartres,
Oderic-Vital, Paul Emile, BcM'nard Thesaurius, Accolti, Duchat, Mailly,
De Guignes, Albufaradge, &c. &c.

134 HISTORY or THE CAJSADES.

whilst advancing rapidly across the defiles of Cappadocia
Attacked by an enemy superior in numbers, he had defended
himself during a whole day, without being able to repulse
the infidels, with all the efforts of his courage or the battle-
axes of his warriors. Plorine, daughter of Eudes I., duke of
Burgundy, who accompanied the Danish hero, and to whom
he was to be married after the taking of Jerusalem, had
valiantly fought by his side. Pierced by seven arrows, but
still fighting, she sought with Sweno to open a passage
towards the mountains, when they were overwhelmed by
their enemies. They fell together on the field of battle, after
having seen all their knights and their most faithful servants
perish around them. " Such were the news that came to
the camp of the Christians," says "William of Tyre, "and so
full were they of sadness and grief, that more than ever were
their hearts depressed with the increase of their calamities."*
Each succeeding day famine and disease made greater
ravages. The provisions f brought to the camp by a few
Syrians were at so high a price that the soldiers could not
obtain any ; the multitude filled the camp with lamentations,
and there was not a Crusader who had not to weep for the
death of several of his companions. Desertion was soon
added to the other scourges. The greater part of the Cru-
saders had lost ail hope of taking Antioch, or of ever reaching

* The historian of Burgundy, Urbain Plancher, without alleging any
reason, and without quoting any authority, treats this event as a fable,
although it is attested by William of Tyre, Albert d'Aix, and several other
nearly contemporary historians. Mallet says nothing of it in his " His-
tory of Denmark;" nevertheless Langbeck, in his collection of the Danish
historians, says he has seen a basso-relievo, in bronze, in which the Sweno,
of whom this history speaks, is represented with the attributes of a
Crusader. This basso-relievo was executed by the order of Christian V. \
at the bottom of the portrait of Sweno are several Latin verses which
describe his glorious and tragical death. The " Scriptores Rerum Dani-
carum" may be consulted for the dissertation in which Langbeck dis-
cusses the passages of the ancient historians, and clearly demonstrates the
truth of their accounts. T^iis dissertation is entitled, " Infelix Suenonis
Danici adversus Turcas."

f According to William of Tyre, the bread which sufficed for the daily
*ood of one man cost two sous instead of a denier ; an ox two marks of
silver, instead of five sous ; a kid or a lamb live or six sous, instead of
three or four deniers ; the expense of a horse for a single night arose as
high as eisiht sous, whilst it had only been two or three deniers at the
commencement ot the siege.

HISTORY or THE CRUSADES.- 136

the Holj Larrd. Some sought refuge from misery in Meso-
potamia., now governed bj Baldwin; whilst others repaired
to the cities of Cilicia which had fallen into the hands of the
Christians.

The dukt of Normandy withdrew to Laodicea, and did
not return until he had received three summonses from the
army in the name of religion and of Jesus Christ. Tatius,
the general of Alexius, quitted the camp of the Crusaders
with the troops he commanded, promising to return with
reinforcements and provisions. His departure caused little
regret, and his promises, in which they had no confidence,
did not at all alleviate the despair of the sufferers. This
despair was carried to its height among the defenders of the
cross when they saAv those who ought to have set them an
example of patience and courage desert them. William,
viscount de Mekm, whose extraordinary exploits with the
battle-axe had procured him the name of the Carpenter,
could not Support the miseries of the siege, and deserted the
standard of Christ.* The preacher of the crusade, Peter
the Hermit, whom the Christians, doubtless, blamed for all
the miseries of the siege, was unable to bear their complaints
or share their misfortunes ; and despairing of the success of
the expedition, he fled secretly from the camp.f His deser-
tion caused a great scandal among the pilgrims, " and did
not astonish them less," says Abbot Gruibert, "than if the
stars had fallen from the heavens." Pursued and overtaken
by Tancred, he and William the Carpenter were brought
back disgraced to the camp. The army reproached Peter
with his base desertion, and made him swear upon the Scrip-
tures that he would never again abandon a cause which he
had preached. They threatened with the punishment usually
inflicted upon homicides all who should follow the example
he had given to his companions and brothers.

But in the midst of the corruption which reigned in the
Christian army, virtue itself might have thought of flight,
and have excused desertion. If contemporary accounts are

* Sed non hoc metu praeliorura, ut spe:*amus fecerat ; sed tantum famJe
injuriam pati nunquam didicerat. — Tlob. Mon. iib. iv.

•f* This great faster, says Maimbourg, who by a voluntary austerit;^
which had acquired him such a great reputation of sanctity, made profes*
elon to eat neither bread nor meat, could not endure a uecessai'y I'aat

i86 HlSTOIiT 01 THE CRUSADES.

to be credited, all the vices of the infamous Balyl n pre»
railed among the liberators of Sion. Strange and unheard-of
fj-pectacle ! Beneath the tents of the Crusaders famine and
voluptuousness formed a hideous union; impure love, an
unbounded passion for play, with all the excesses of
debauch, were mingled with images of death.* In their
misfortunes, the greater part of the pilgrims seemed to
disdain the consolations that might have been derived from
piety and virtue.

And yet the bishop of Puy, and the more virtuous portion
of the clergy used every effort to reform the manners of the
Crusaders. They caused the voice of religion to hurl its
thunders against the excesses of libertinism and licentious-
ness. They recalled to their minds all the evils that the
Christian army had suffered, and attributed them entirely to
the vices and debaucheries of the defenders of the cross.
An earthquake which was felt at this time, an aurora borealis,
which was a new phenomenon to great part of the pilgrims,
were pointed out to them as an announcement of the anger
of Heaven. Pasts and prayers were ordered, to avert the
celestial indignation. The Crusaders made processions
round the camp, and hymns of penitence resounded from all
parts. The priests invoked the wrath of the Church against
all who should betray the cause of Christ by their sins. To
add to the terrors which the threats of religion inspired, a
tribunal, composed of the principal leaders of the army and
the clergy, was charged with the pursuit and punishment of
ihe g'Jjlty. Men surprised in a state of intoxication had
their hair cut off; whilst blasphemers, or such as gave them-
selves up to a passion for play, were branded with a hot iron,
A monk accused of adultery, and convicted by the ordeal
of fire, was beaten wdth rods, and led naked through the
camp. As the judges became aware of the guilty, they must
have been terrified at their numbers. The severest punish-
ments coidd not entirely stop the prostitution which had
become almost general. They determined upon shutting
up all the women in a separate camp — an extreme and im-
prudent measure, which confounded vice and virtue, and

* Et quis esse poterat aditus voluptatis, ubi erat indesinens suspicio
mortis ! — Guib. lib. vi. cap. 15.

HISTOET OF THE CEIJSADES.. 1?0

jwoduced crimes more disgraceful than those they desired ta
prevent.

Among all these calamities, the camp of the Crusadera
was filled with Syrian spies, who daily bore into the city
accounts of the plans, the distress, and the despair of the
besiegers. Bohemond, in order to deliver the army, employed
a means of a nature to disgust even barbarians. My pen
refuses to trace such pictures, and I leave William of Tyre,
or rather his old translator, to speak. " Bohemond," saya
he, " commanded that several Turks, whom he held in close
confinement, should be brought before him. These he
caused instantly to be executed by the hands of the officers
of justice, and then ordering a great fire to be lighted, he
had them spitted and roasted, as flesh prepared for the
supper of himself and his troops ; at the same time com-
manding, that if any one made inquiries about what was
going on, that they should be answered in this fashion :
* The princes and riders of the camp have this day decreed
in council, that all Turks or spies that shall henceforward he
found in their camipj, shall he, in this manner, forced to mahe
meat with their own hodies, as toell for the princes as the
whole army^ "

The servants of Bohemond executed exactly the orders
and instructions which he had given them. The strangers
who were in the camp soon flocked to the quarters of the
prince of Tarentum, and when they saw what was going on,
adds our ancient author, were marvellously terrified, fearing
to share the fate of the ^dctims. They made haste to quit
the camp of the Christians, and everywhere on their road
spread an account of that which they had seen. Their story
flew from mouth to mouth, even to the most distant countries :
the inhabitants of Antioch, and all the Mussulmans of the
Syrian cities, were seized with terror, and no more ventured
to approach the camp of the Crusaders. " By these means,"
says the historian we have above quoted, " it ensued from
the cunning and conduct of the seigneur Bohemond, that
the pest of spies was banished from the camp, and the
enterprises of the Christians were not divulged to the
enemy."

The bishop of Puy, at the same time, employed a strata-
gem much more imiocent and conformable with the spirit of

183 HISTORY OF THE CETJSADES.

his ministry and Lis profession. He caused tlie lands in the
neighbourhood of Antioch to be ploughed and sowed, in
order to protect the Christian army from the attacks of
famine, and, at the same time to lead the Sariicens to believe
that nothing could exhaust the perseverance of the besiegers.

In the meanwhile the winter was stealing away ; the con-
tagious diseases committed fewer ravages ; and the princes
and the monasteries of Armenia sent provisions to the
Christians."* The famine began to be less felt. The ameli-
oration in the condition of the pilgrims was attributed to
their penitence and their conversion ; and they returned
thanks to Heaven for having made them better and more
worthy of its protection and mercy.

It was at this period that ambassadors from the caliph of
Egypt arrived in the camp of the Crusaders. In the pre-
sence of the infidels the Christian soldiers endeavoured to
conceal the traces and remembrances of the lengthened
miseries they had undergone. They clothed themselves in
their most precious vestments, and displayed their most
brilliant arms. Knights and barons contended for the glory
of strength and skill in tournaments. Nothing was seen
but dancing and festivity, amidst which abundance and joy
appeared to reign. The Egyptian ambassadors were received
in a magnificent tent, in which were assembled all the prin-
cipal leaders of the army. They did not disguise, in their
address, the extreme aversion that their master had always
entertained for an alliance with the Christians ; but tae
victories which the Crusaders had gained over the Turks,
those eternal enemies of the race of Ali, had led him to
beHeve that Grod himself had sent them into Asia, as the
instruments of his vengeance and justice. The Egyptian
caliph was disposed to ally himself with the victorious
Christians, and was preparing to enter Palestine and Syria.
As he had learnt that the wishes of the Crusaders were
confined to an ardent desire to behold Jerusalem, he pro-
mised to restore the Christian churches, to prot6;t their
worship, and open the gates of the Holy City to all the

* This circumstance is taken from an Armenian manuscript o( Matthew
of Edessa. It is surprising that the Latin historians have madv no men-
tion of it ; but they never speak of any means of providing provisioni
employed by the Crusaders.

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. " 139

pilgrins, upon condition that tliey would re], lir thither
without arms, and would remain there no longer than one
month. If the Crusaders submitted to these conditions,
the caliph promised to become their most generous supporter;
if they declined the blessing of his friendship, the nations
of Egypt and Ethiopia, with all those that inhabit Asia
and Alrica, from the Straits of Grades to the gates of Bagdad,
Vt'ould arise at the voice of the legitimate vicar of the pro-
phet, and would show the warriors of the West the power
of their arms.

This discourse excited violent munnurs in the assembly
of the Christians : one of the chiefs arose to answer it, and
addressing himself to the deputies of the caliph : " The
religion that w6 follow," said he to them, " has inspired us
with the design of re-establishing its empire in the places in
which it was born ; and we stand in no need of the concur-
rence of the powers of the earth to accomplish our vows.
"VYe do not come into Asia to receive laws or benefits from
Mussulmans, nor have we forgotten, besides, the outrages
committed by Egyptians upon the pilgrims of the West ; we
still remember that Christians, under the reign of the caliph
Hakem, w^ere delivered over to executioners, and that their
churches, particularly that of the Holy Sepulchre, were razed
to the ground. Yes, without doubt, we have the intention
of visiting Jerusalem, but we have also taken an oath to
deliver it from the yoke of the infidels. God, who has
honoured it by his sufferings, wills that he shall be there
served by his people. The Christians resolve to be both its
guardians and its masters. Go and tell him who sent you
to make choice of peace or war ; tell him that the Christiana
encamped before Antioch fear neither the nations of Egypt,
nor those of Asia, nor those of Bagdad, and that they only
ally themselves with powers which respect the laws of justice
and the standards of Jesus Christ."

The orator who spoke thus expressed the opinion and
sentiments of the assembly; nevertheless, they did not
entirely reject the alliance with the Egyptians. Deputies
were chosen from the Christian army to acccsnpany the
ambassadors of Cairo on their return, and to bear to the
*aliph the definitive propositions of peace of the Crusaders.

Scarcely had the deputies left the camp of the Christiars,

Vol. I.--8

140 HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES.

wlien the latter obtained a fresli victory over the Turks.
The sultans of Aleppo and Damascus, with the emirs of
Csesarea, Emessa, and Hieropolis, had raised an army of
twenty thousand horse to succour Antioch ; and this army
was already on its march towards the city, when it was sur-
prised and cut to pieces by the prince of Tarentum and the
count de St. Gilles, who had gone out to meet it. The
T'urks lost in this battle two thousand men and one thousand
horses ; and the city of Harem, in which they in vain sought
an asylum after their defeat, fell into the hands of the Chris-
tians. At the moment the ambassadors from Egypt were
about to embark at the port of St. Simeon, the heads and
H])oiL-? of two hundred Mussulmans were brought to them
upon four camels. The conquerors cast two hundred other
h(Mids into the city of Antioch, whose garrison was still in
cxp(!ctation of succour; and they stuck a great number upon
})ik(>,s round the walls. They exhibited thus these horrible
tropliies, to avenge themselves of the insults the Saracens
had, on their ramparts, heaped upon an image of the Virgin
which had fallen into their hands.

But the Crusaders were soon to signalize themselves in a
Hiuch more perilous and murderous battle. A fleet of
Grenoese and Pisans had entered the port of St. Simeon, and
the news of then" arrival causing the greatest joy in the
army, a great number of soldiers left the camp and hastened
towards the port, some to learn news from Europe, and
others to huj the provisions of which they stood so much in
need. As they were returning loaded with provisions, and
for the greater part unarmed, they were unexpectedly
attacked and dispersed by a body of four thousand Tiu-ks,
who laid wait for them on their passage. In vain the prince
of Tarentum, the count de St. Gilles, and Bishop Adhemar,
flew to their aid with their troops ; the Christians could not
resist the shock of the infidels, and retreated in disorder.

The account of this defeat soon spread alarm among the
Crusaders who had remained before the city. Immediately
Godfrev, to whom danger gave supreme authority, ordered
the leaders and soldiers to fly to arms.* Accompanied by

* A chronicle printed at Paris in 1517, which bears for title, *' Grand
T-2yage d'Outre-Mer," places the following speech in the mouth of God*

HISTORY or THE CllTJSADES. • 141

Lis brother Eustace, the two Bobc^rts, and the count de Yer-
mandois, he crossed the Orontes, and hastened to seek the
enemy, still engaged in following up their first advantage.
As soon as he came in presence of the Saracens, he com*
manded the other chiefs to follow his example, and rushed,
sword in hand, into the thickest of the enemy's ranks. The
latter, accustomed to fight at a distance, and principally to
employ' the bow and arrow, could not resist the sword and
lance of the Crusaders. They took to flight, some towards
the mountains, and others towards the city. Accien, who,
from the towers of his palace, had witnessed the victorious
attack of the Crusaders, immediately sent a numerous de-
tachment to renew the fight. He accompanied his soldiers
as far as the gate of the Bridge, which he caused to be shut
after them, telling them it should only be opened to them
when they returned victorious.

This new body of Saracens were soon beaten and dis-
persed ; and there remained no hope to them but to endeavour
to regain the city. But Godfrey, who had foreseen every-
thing, had posted himself upon an eminence between the
fugitives and the gates of Antioch. It was there that the
carnage was renewed ; the Christians were animated by their
\'ictory, and the Saracens by their despair and the cries of
the inhabitants of the city, who were assembled on the ram-
parts. Nothing can paint the frightful tumult of this fresh
conflict. The clashing of arms and the cries of the com-
batants would not permit the soldiers to hear the orders of
-their leaders. They fought man to man, and wiuhout order,
whilst clouds of dust covered the field of battle. Chance
directed the blows of both the conquerors and the con-
quered, and the Saracens, heaped as it were together by
their terror, impeded their own flight. The confusion was
so great that several of the Crusaders were killed by their

frey : — '* Brave seigneurs, my brothers and companions in Jesus Christ ;
if the news we hear be true, that for our sins these cruel dogs have thus
killed these valiant men, and of great consideration, I only perceive two
things, that we shall die with them as good and loyal Christians, assured
of receiving our guerdon from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for
whose service we came liere and have quitted our native lands and our
kindred; or if it should jdease him, that he allow us to take vengeance
and obtain victory over these vile dogs who have thus degraded «nd
weakened Christianity in its valiant men."

142 HISTOEY OF lilE CEUSADjsS.

companions and brothers in arms, A great nimiber of
Saracens fell almost without resistance under the swords of
the Christians, and more than two thousand, who sought
safety in flight, Avere drowned in the Orontes. " The old
men of Antioch," says William of Tyre, " whilst contem-
plating this bloody catastrophe from the height of their
walls, grieved that they had lived so long, whilst the women
who witnessed the death of their children, lamented their
owii fecundity." The canifige continued during the whole
day ; and it was not till night-fall that Accien allowed the
gates to be opened for the reception of the miserable remains
of his troopa still hotly ])ursued by the Crusaders.

The leaders and soldiers of the army had performed pro-
digies of valour. Bohemond, Tancred, Adhemar, Baldwin
du Bourg, and Eustace had appeared everywhere^ leading
their warriors in the paths of danger. The whole army
spoke of the lance-thrusts and marvellous feats of arms of
the count de Yermandois and the two Koberts. The duke
of Normandy sustained a single combat with a leader of
the infidels, who advanced towards him surrounded by his
troop. With one blow of his sword he split his head to
the shoulder, and, as the Saracen fell dead at his feet, ex-
claimed, " I devote thy impure soul to the powers of helV^
Tancred, says Kaoul de Caen, distinguisbed himself amongst
the most intrepid of the knights. In the heat of the melee^
the Christian hero, as modest as h© was brave, made his
squire swear to preserve silence upon the exploits of which
he was a witness.* " Grodfrey, who, in this memorable day,
had displayed the skiH of a great captain, signalized his
bravery and vast strength by actions which both history and
poetry have celebrated. No armour seemed proof against

* Sed est quod stupeam, nee satis valeam stupere : cum homo tarn
pretiosus laudis emptor mox preesentis ora armigeri silentio concluserit
adjurato. — Gest. Tanc. cap. 52 ; Muratori, vol. iii. The historian whom
we have just quoted endeavours to explain the fact which he relates. He
asks himself whether it was from modesty or a religious spirit, or whether
Tancred might fear not to be believed, either upon his own word or that
of his squire, that the Christian hero desired silence to be preserved. In
all these cases the fact appears to him to be a prodigy. He adds that the
squire was faithful to his oath, and that it was not till a long time after-
wards that the feats of Tancred on that day became known. We haY9
Irit to compare this with what old Horace says of his heroes.

HISTORY OF TKE CIU'SADES: 143

his trenchant blade ; lances, helmets, and cuirasses flew^ in
shivers beneath its strokes. A Saracen of surpassing strength
and stature offered him single combat in the midst of the
melee, and with his first blow dashed the shield of Grodfrey
in pieces. Indignant at such audacity, the Christian hero
raised himself iu his stirrups, and rushing on his antagonist,
dealt him so terrible a blow on the shoulder, that he divided
his body into two parts.* The one, say the historians, fell
to the gronind, whilst the other remained on the horse, which
returned t the city, where this spectacle redoubled the con-
sternation of the besieged. In spite of these astonishing
exploits, the Christians sustained a considerable loss. Whilst
celebrating the heroic valour of the Crusaders, contemporary
history is astonished at the multitude of martyrs which the
Saracens sent to heaven, and who, on arriving in the abodes
of the elect, with crowns upon their heads, and palm branches
in their hands, addressed God in these words : " Why have
vou not spared olu' blood which has flowed for you this

day?"t

The infidels passed the night in burying such as had
been killed under the walls of the city. They interred them
near a mosque built on the outer side of the bridge of
the Orontes. After the funeral ceremonies, they returned into
Antioch. As, accordicg to the custom of the Mussulmans,
these bodies had been buried with their arms, their orna-
ments, and their vestments, this plunder held out too strong
a temptation for the gross multitude that followed the army
of the Crusaders. They crossed the Orontes, precipitated
themselves in a crowd upon the graves of the Saracens,
exhumed the dead bodies, and tore off the arms and habili-
ments with which they were covered. They quickly returned

* Sic lubricus ensis super crus dextrum integer exigit, sicque caput
integrum cum dextra parte corporis immersit gurgite, partemque quae
equo praesidebat remisit civitad. — Rob. Mon. Cujus ense trajectus
Turcus duo factus est Turci; ut inferior alter in urbem equitaret, alter
arcitenens in flumiiie nataret. — Rad. Cad,

f Feruntque in ilia die martyrisati ex nostris militibus seu peditibus
plusquam mille, qui in coelum Isetantes ascendebant, atque candidati
ferentes stolam recepti martyrii, glorificantes et magnifieantes Dominuta
Deum nostrum trinum et uiiuin, in quo felicitt/triumphabant ; et dicebant
concordabili voce : Qaare non dtj'endis sanguinem, noitrum, qui hodie pra
tuo nornine effuaus ',st ? — Gesta Fraucorum, lib. xviii cap. 18, p. 13.

144 HISTOET or xHE CRUSADES.

to exhibit in tlie camp the silk stuffs, bucklers, lattces, jave-
lius, and rich swords found in the coifins ; nor did this
spectacle at all disgust the knights and barons. On the dn,y
following the battle, among the spoils of tlie vanquished.
they contemplated with joy tifteon hundred heads separated
from their trunks, which were paraded in triumph through
the army, recalling to them their own victory, and the loss
they had inflicted on the infidels. All these heads were cast
into the Orontes, and, together with the bodies of the Mus-
sidmans drowned in the conflict of the preceding day, carried
the news of the victory to the Grenoese and Pisans disem-
barked at the port of St. Simeon. The Crusaders, w^ho, at
the commencement of the battle, had fled towards the sea
or the mountains, and who had been lamented as dead,
returned to the camp, and joined their brethren in the
thanks offered to heaven for the triumphs of the Christian
army. From this time the chiefs thought of nothing but
taking advantage of the terror with which they had inspired
the Saracens. Masters of the cemetery of the Mussulman;?,
the Crusaders destroyed the mosque which had been built
outside the walls of the city, and employed the stones of the
tombs even in erecting a fortress before the gate of the
bridge, by which the besieged made their sorties. Eay-
mond, who had been accused of w^ant of zeal for the holy
war, caused the fort to be constructed, and charged himseJi
with the defence of this dangerous post. It w^as proposed
to raise another fortress near the first, and as no other of
the leaders presented himself to forward the construction of
it, Tancred offered his services to the Crusaders. But,
generous and loyal knight as he was, he possessed nothing
but his sword and his renown. He asked the necessary
money of his companions, and himself undertook the dangers
of the enterprise. All were eager to second his courageous
devotedness ; the labours which he directed were soon
finished, and from that period the besieged found themselves
completely enclosed within the circle of their walls.

The Crusaders, after having thus finished the blockade of
the place, surprised the Syrians who had been accustomed
to bring provisions into Antioch, and only gave them liberty
and life upon their swearing to supply the Christian army.
Having learnt that Accien had sent a great part of the

HSITORY OF Till CKUSADES.* 145

horses of his garrison into a valley at a few leagues fro:n th(?
city, they repaired thither by circuitous routes, and got pos-
session of this rich booty. Two thousand horses, and as
many mules, were led in triumph into the camp of the
Christians.

As the fleet of the Pisans and Grenoese had brought w^ith
them a great number of labourers and engineers, they were
employed in directing and carrying on the works of the
siege. Machines of war were constructed, and the city of
Antioch was pressed more vigorously, and threatened on all
sides. Whilst despair supplied the place of courage among
the Saracens, the zeal and emulation of the Crusaders were
redoubled. Many whom misery or fear had driven from the
Christian army rejoined their standards, and sought by their
exertions to obliterate the remembrance of their desertion.
The besiegers allowed themselves no repose, and only seemed
to live to fight. The women seconded the valour of the
warriors. Some mingled with them in the ranks, whilst
others bore them food and ammunition to the battle-field.
Children even formed themselves into troops, exercised
themselves in military evolutions, and took up arms against
the Saracens. The inhabitants of Antioch opposed their
children to those of the Christians, and several times these
young combatants came to blows in the presence of the
besiegers and the besieged, who animated them with voice
and gesture, and joined the combat even to support such of
their party as seemed to yield.

There was formed at the same time another military force
still more formidable to the Saracens.* The mendicants
and vagabonds who followed the Christian army were em-
ployed in the labours of the siege, and work ?d under the
orders of a captain, who took the title of " Moi truant, ^^ or
king of the beggars. They received pay from the general
treasury of the Crusaders, and as soon as they were in a
condition to purchase arms and clothes, the king renounced
them as his subjects, and forced them to enter into one of
the troops of the army. This measure, whilst forcing the
vagabonds to abandon a life of dangerous idleness, changed

* These particulars are related by Abbot Guibert, lib. iv. In tKJi
uistorian will be found most particulars regarding morals.

146 HISTORY or THE CRL'SADES.

tliem into useful auxiliaries. As they were accused »f
violating tombs and feeding on human flesh,* they inspii-ed
great terror among the infidels, and the sight of them alone
put to fliglit the defenders of Antioch, who trembled at the
thoughts of falling into their hands. "

Antioch was so closely pressed, and the garrison had so
little means of defence left, that the Crusaders expected
every day to become masters of it. Accien demanded a
truce of them, and promised to surrender if he were not soon
relieved. The Crusaders, ever full of blind confidence, had
the imprudence to accept the proposals of the governor. As
soon as they had concluded a truce with the Saracens, the
leaders of the army, who scarcely ever agreed, except upon
the field of battle, and whom the presence of danger did not
always unite, were upon the point of declaring war against
one another.

Baldwin, prince of Edessa, had sent magnificent presents
to Godfrey, the two Roberts, the count de Yermandois, and
the counts of Blois and of Chartres, but in the distribution
of his favours had, designedly, omitted Bohemond and his
soldiers. JSTothing more was necessary to create division.
Whilst the rest of the army were celebrating the liberality
of Baldwin, the prince of Tarentum and his warriors breathed
nothing but complaints and murmurs.

At this time a richly-ornamented tent, which an Armenian
prince destined for Godfrey, and which, falling into the hands
of Pancracius, was sent to Bohemond, became a fresh sub-
ject of trouble and discord. Godfrey haughtily claimed the
present which had been intended for him, and Bohemond
refused to give it up. On each side they proceeded to inju-
rious terms and threats ; they were even ready to have
recourse to arms, and the blood of the Christians was about
to flow for a miserable quarrel ; but at length the prince of
Tarentum, abandoned by the greater part of the army, and
overcome by the prayers of his friends, gave up the tent to
his rival, consoling himself in his vexation, with the hope
that war would soon put him in possession cf a richer booty.

Wdliam of T\Te, who has transmitted to as this account,

* Et si Sarracenvira noviter interfectum invenerunt, illius carnes, acsi
e^sent pecudis, avidissime devorabant. — Gesta Fraucorum.

HISTOKY OF THE CEUSADES. 147

ia astonislied to see the wise Godfrey claim such a frivolous
object \>'itli so much heat , and in his surprise he compares
the weakness of the hero to the slumbers of the good Homer.
His thought would have been more just if he had compared
the discords and quarrels of the leaders of the crusade to
those which troubled the camp of the Grreeks, and so long
retarded the taking of Troy. Whilst these quarrels engaged
the attention of the whole Christian army, the inhabitanti
of Antioch were introducing reinforcements into the city,
and preparing for a fresh resistance. When they had
received the succours and provisions necessary to defend
themselves and prolong the siege, they broke the truce, and
again began the war, with all the advantages that a peace
too easily granted them had procured.

Antioch, after a siege of seven months, would have
escaped from the hands of the Christians, if stratagem,
policy, and ambition had not effected for them that which
patience and bravery had been unable to achieve. Bohemond,
whose sole motive for undertaking the crusade had been a
desire to improve his fortunes, was constantly on the watch
for an opportunity of realizing his projects. Baldwin's
great success had awakened his jealousy, and haunted him
even in his sleep. He dared to direct his views to the pos-
session of Antioch, and was so far favoured by circumstances,
as to meet with a man who might be able to place this city
in his power. This man, whose name was Phirous, was,
whatever some historians who give him a noble origin may
say, the son of an Armenian, who was by trade a maker of
cuirasses. *= Of a restless and busy character, he was con-
stantly anxious to change and improve his condition, He
had abjured the Christian religion from a spirit of incon-

* Matthew of Edessa does not name the Mussulman who gave up
Antioch to the Christians. Abulfaradge calls him Ruzebach, and says
that he was a Persian by origin. Anna Comnena p,» etends that he was an
Armenian. Most historians call him Pyrrus, or Phirous. William of
Tyre gives him the name of Emir Feir, and Sanuti calls him Hermuferus.
It may most probably be said that he had abjured Christianity. If authors
are not agreed as to his name, it may be believed that some have called
him by his proper name, and that others have designated him by a name
which expressed his profession. William of Tyre says that he was born
of a family called in Armeni 9n Beni Zerra, that is, the Jamil]/ of the maker*
of cuirasses.

i48 HISTORY OE THE CRUSADES.

Btancy, and in the hope of advancing his fortune ; he was
endowed with admirable self-possession, and with audacity
proof against any accident ; and was at all times ready to
perform that for money which could only have been expected
from the most ardent fanaticism. Nothing appeared unjust
or impossible to him that promised to gratijpy his ambition
or his avarice. Being active, adroit, and insinuating, he had
wormed himself into the confidence of Accien, and was
admitted into his council. The prince of Antioch had in-
trusted him with the command of three of the principal
towers of the place. He defended them at first with zeal,
but without any advantage to his fortune, and he grew weary
of a barren fidelity the moment his busy brain suggested
that treason might be more profitable. In the intervals of
the various conflicts he had liad many opportunities of seeing
the prince of Tarentum. These two men divined each other's
character at the first glance, and it was not long before this
sympathy produced mutual confidence. In their first meet-
ings Phirous complained of the outrages he had experienced
from the Mussulmans ; he deeply regretted having abandoned
the religion of Christ, and wept over the persecutions the
Christians had sufiered in Antioch. No more than this was
required to place the prince of Tarentum in possession of
the secret thoughts of Phirous. He commended both his
remorse and his good feeling, and made him the most mag-
nificent promises. Then the renegado opened his heart to
him. They swore an inviolable friendship to each other,
and planned an active correspondence. They met several
times afterwards, but always with the greatest secrecy. At
every interview Bohemond told Phirous that the fate of the
Christians was in his hands, and that it only rested with
himself to merit their gratitude, and receive from them vast
recompenses. On his side, Phirous protested that he was
anxious to serve the Christians, whom he considered as his
brothers, and, in order to assure the prince of Tarentum of
his fidelity, or else to excuse his treason, hv said that Jesus
Christ had appeared to him, and had advised him to give up
Antioch to the Christians.* Bohemond required no such

* Apparuit enim ei Dominus Jesus Christus per visum, et ait ; Vade et
redde civitatem Christianis. — Gesta Francorum, lib. v. cap > 12.

HISTORY or THE CErSADES. ' 119

protestation. He had no difficulty in believing what lie sa
ardently desired, and as soon as he had agreed with Phiroua
upon the means of executing the projects they had so long
meditated, he called an assembly of the principal leaders of
the Christian army. He began by laying before them with
much earnestness both the evils with which the Crusaders
had hitherto been afflicted, and the still greater evils with
which they were threatened. He added, that a powerful
army was advancing to the assistance of Antioch ; that a
retreat could not be effected without disgrace and danger ;
and that there remained no safety for the Christians but in
the capture of the city. It was true, the place was defended
by impregnable ramparts ; but they should recollect that all
victories were not obtained by force of arms or in the field
of battle ; and that such as were won by address were
neither the least important nor the least glorious. They,
then, who could not be conquered must be deceived, and the
enemy must be overcome by a great but skilful enterprise.
Among the inhabitants of Antioch, so diverse in their man-
ners and religions, so opposed in their interests, there must
be some to be found who would be accessible to the bait of
gold, or the allurements of brilliant promises. The question
of a service so important to the Christian army, was of such
magnitude that it was right to promote every kind of under-
taking. The possession of Antioch itself did not appear to
him to be too high a reward for the zeal of him who should
be sufficiently adroit, or sufficiently fortunate, as to throw
open the gates of the city to the Crusaders.

Bohemond Avas careful not to explain himself more clearly,
but his purpose was easily divined by the jealous ambition
of some of the leaders, who perhaps entertained the same
views as himself. E-aymond, particularly, warmly refuted
the artful insinuations of the prince of Tarentum. "We
are all," said he, " brothers and companions, and it would be
unjust, after all have run the same risks, that one alone
should gather the fruits of our joint labours. For myseilf,"
added he, casting a look of anger and contempt upon Bohe-
mond, " I have not traversed so many countries, braved so
many perils, lavished so much blood and treasure, or sacri-
ficed so many of my soldiers, to repay with the price of our
conquests some gross artifice or shameful stratagem worthy

150 HISTORY or TUE CRUSADES.

only of women." These vehement words had all the success to
be expected among warriors accustomed to prevail by force
of arms, and who esteemed no conquest that was not the
reward of valour. The greater number of the leaders
rejected the proposition of tlie prince of Tarentum, and
added their railleries to those of E-aymond. Bohemond,
whom history has surnamed the Ulysses of the Latins, did
all in his power to restrain himself and conceal his vexation.
He went out from the council smiling, persuaded that
necessity would soon bring the Crusaders to his opinion.

As soon as he had regained his tent, he sent emissaries
through all the quarters of the camp to spread secretly the
most alarming intelligence. As he foresaw, consternation
seized the Christians. Some of the l^^aders were sent to
ascertain the truth of the reports prevalent in the camp ;
and soon returned with an account that Kerbogha, sultan of
Mossoul, was advancing towards Antioch with an army of
twc hundred thousand men, collected on the banks of
the Euphrates and the Tigris. This army, which had
threatened the city of Edessa and ravaged Mesopotamia,
was at a distance of oidy seven days' march. At this
recital the fears of the Crusaders were redoubled. Bohe-
mond passed through the ranks, exaggerating the danger,
and affecting to show more depression and terror than all
the rest ; but in his heart he was delighted, and smiled at
the idea of soon seeing all his hopes accomplished. The
leaders again assembled to deliberate upon the means neces-
sary to be taken in such perilous circumstances. Two
opinions divided the council. Some wished that the siege
should be raised, and that they should march to meet the
Saracens ; whilst others were of opinion that the army
should be formed into two bodies, one of which should act
against Kerbogha, whilst the other should remain to guard
the camp. This last opinion appeared likely to prevail,
when Bohemond demanded permission to speak. He had
not much difficulty in making them sensible of the imprac-
ticability of both the plans proposed. If they raised the
siege, they would be placed between the garrison of Antioch
vind a formidable army. If they continued the blockade of
the city, and half of tht army only went to meet Kerbogha,
they wej ^ ulKiost certain of a defeat. " The greatest perils,"

HISTORY or THE CEUSADES. • 151

added the prince of Tarentum, " surround us. Time presses ;
to-morrow, perhaps, it will be too late to act ; by to-morrow
we may have lost the fruits of all our labours and all our
victories ; but no, I cannot think so ; Grod, who has led us
hitherto by the hand, will not allow that we shall have
fought for his cause in vain. He will save the Christian
army, he will conduct us to the tomb of his Son. If you
will accept the proposal I have made to you, to-morrow the
standard of the, cross shall float over the walls of Antioch,
and we will march in triumph to Jerusalem."

When he had finished these words, Bohemond showed
the letters of Phirous, who promised to give up the three
towers which he commanded. Phirous said that he
was ready to perform this promise, but he declared he
would have nothing to do with any one but the prince of
Tarentum. He required, as the price of his services, that
Bohemond should remain master of Antioch. The Itahan
prince added that he had already given considerable sums to
Phirous ; that he alone had obtained his confidence, and
that a reciprocal confidence was the surest guarantee of the
success of so difficult an enterprise. "As for the rest,"
continued he, " if a better means of saving the army can be
found, I am ready to approve of it, and willingly renounce
my share in a conquest upon which the safety of all the
Crusaders depends."

The danger became every day more pressing; it was
shameful to fly, imprudent to fight, and dangerous to tem-
porize. Fear silenced all interests and all rivalry. The
more opposition the leaders had shown at first to the pro-
ject of Bohemond, the more eagerly did they now produce
cogent reasons for adopting it. A divided conquest became no
longer a conquest. To divide or share Antioch might give
birth to a crowd of divisions in the army, and lead to its
ruin. They only gave that which was really not yet their
own ; and they gave it to secure the lives of the Christians.
It were better that one man should profit by the labours ot
all, than that all should perish for opposing tl.e good fortunes
of that one. Moreover, the tak'ng of Antioch was not the
object of the crusade — they had taken up arms to deliver
Jerusalem. Every delay was opposed to that which religion
looked for from its soldiers, to that which the West expected

152 HISTOEY or THE CEDriADES.

from its bra"vest knights. All the leaders, with the exception
of the inflexible Saymond, united in according the princi-
pality of Antioch to Bohemond, and conjured him to hasten
the execution of his project.

Upon leaving the council, the prince of Tarentum sent
information of the vesolution of the leaders to Phirous, who
placed his own son in the prince's hands as a hostage. The
execution of the plan was fixed for the next day. To liiU
the garrison of Antioch in the greatest security, it waa
agreed that the Christian army should quit the camp, and
direct its march at first towards the route by which the
prince of Mossoul was expected to arrive, and that at night-
fall it should meet under the ^\'alls of Ascalon. On the
following day, early in the morning, the troops received
orders to prepare for fcheir de[)artm'e. At some hours before
night the Crusaders issued from their camp, and marched
away, trumpets sounding and standards flying. After a
inarch of a short distance, they retraced their steps, and
returned in silence under the walls of Antioch. At a signal
given by the prince of Tarentum, they halted in a vaUey on
the west, and near to the tower of the Three Sisters, in
which Phirous commanded. It was there that the leaders
revealed to the army the secret of the great expedition which
was to open to them the gates of the city.

The projects of Phirous and Bohemond, however, were
very near failing. At the moment that the Christian army
quitted their camp, and all was prepared for carrying out
the plot, a report of treason all at once was spread through-
out Antioch. The Christians and newly-converted Mussul-
mans were suspected ; the name of Phirous even was whis-
pered, and he was accused of keep'ug up an intelligence
with the Crusaders. He was oblged to appear before
Accien, who interrogated him closely, and fixed his eyes
intently upon him in order to penetrato his thoughts ; but
Phirous dispersed all his suspicions by his firm countenance.
He himself proposed the proper measures to be taken
against the traitors, and ad^dsed his master to change the
commanders of the principal towers. This advice was
approved of, and Accien determined to follow it on the
morrow. In the mean time orders were given to load with
chains and put to death, during the darkness of the mgiiti

IIISTOEY OF THE CRUSADES. . 153

all tlie Christians that should be found in the city. The
renegade was then sent back to his post, loaded with
praises for his carefulness and fidelity. At the approach
of night everything appeared tranquil in Antioch, and
Phirous, escaped from such threatening danger, awaited the
Crusaders in the tower which he had agreed to surrender to
them.

As his brother commanded a tower near his own, Phirous
went to find him, and sought to engage him in the plot.
"Brother," said he to him. "you know that the Crusaders
have quitted their camp, and that they are gone to meet the
army of Kerbogha. Wlien I think of the miseries they
have endured, and on the death which threatens them, I
cannot help feeling a sort of pity for them. You are not
ignorant, likewise, that this night all the Christian inhabi-
tants of Antioch, after having undergone so many outrages,
are going to be massacred by the orders of Accien. I can-
not help pitying them ; I cannot forget that we were born
in the same religion, and that we were formerly brothers."
These words did not produce the effect he expected. " I am
surprised," replied his brother, " that you should pity men
who ought to be objects of horror to us. Before the Chris-
tians appeared under the walls of Antioch, we were loaded
with benefits. Since they have besieged the city, we have
passed oiu' lives in dangers and alarms. May all the evils
they have brought upon us recoil upon them ! As to the
Christians who live amongst us, do you not know that the
greater part of them are traitors, and that they think of
nothing but delivering us up to the sword of oiu' enemies ?"
()n finishing these words, he cast a threatening look upon
Phirous. The renegade saw that he was suspected. He
could not acknowledge a brother in the man who refused to
be his accomplice, and as his only answer, plunged his
dagger into his heart.

At length the decisive moment arrived. The night waa
dark, and a rising storm increased the deptli of the obscurity.
The wind, which rattled among the roofs of the buildings,
and the peals of thunder, prevented the sentinels from hcar-
jig any noise around the ramparts. The heavens seemed
inflamed towards the west, and the sight of a comet which
then appeared in the hori/on, seemed to announce to the

154 HISTOET OF THE CEUSADES.

Buperstitious minds of the Crusaders tlie destined moment
for the ruin and destruction of the infidels.*

They awaited the signal with impatience. The garrison
of Antioeh was plunged in sleep ; Phirous alone watched,
and meditated his conspiracy. A Lombard named Payen^
sent by Bohemond, mounted the tower by a ladder of leather.
Phirous received him, telling him all was ready ; and as an
evidence of his fidelity, pointed to the dead body of his
brother, whom he had just slain. Whilst they were con-
versing, an officer of the garrison came to visit the posts.
He presented himself, with a lantern in his hand, before
the tower Phirous commanded. The latter, without ap-
pearing the least disturbed, made the emissary of Bohemond
conceal himself, and went forward to meet the officer.
After receiving praise for his vigilance, he hastened to send
Pay en back with instructions for the prince of Tarentum.
The Lombard, on his return to the army, related what he
had seen, and, on the part of Phirous, conjured Bohemond
not to lose another moment.

But all at once fear took possession of the soldiers ; at the
moment of execut "on all saw the whole extent of the dan-
ger, and not one ol them put himself forward to mount the
rampart. In vain Grodfrey and the prince of Tarentum em-
ployed by turns promises and threats ; both leaders and
soldiers remained motionless. t Bohemond himself ascended
by a ladder of ropes, m the hope that he should be seconded
by the most brave ; but nobody felt it his duty to follow in
his footsteps. He reached the tower alone, where Phirous
reproached him warmly for his delay. Bohemond hastily

* A comet appeared on the very night of the taking of Antioeh, June 3,
1098. — See Robert. Monach. lib. v. ad finem ; Chronicon Fossa Novae, in
Muratori, torn. vii. ; Chronica Mailross. ab anno 733 ad 1270, per
diversos auctores in Rerum Anglicarum Script, torn. 1. ; Annates Waver
lienses. ibid. torn. ii. ; Pingie, Come tograp hie, torn. i. p. 382.

t The anonymous author of a chronicle entitled Passages d' Outre -
Mer, eji presses him.self thus, p. 46 : — " But there was not one among
them who did not refuse to mount except Bohemond, whom jEmiscriui
received with great joy, and showed hxin his brother lying in his bed, whom

be had ju?,t killed because he would not join the enterprise cunctij

vero, qui cum Bohemondo erant, diffidentibus ad ascensum, solus Bohe-
mondus foederis lide fultus, per funem ascendit. — Bemardns Thesauriiu,
cap. 36 ; Muratori, torn. iii.

HISTORY or THE CRUSADES. 165

descended to Ms soldiers, and repeated to tliem tliat all was
ready to receive them^ His discourse, and still more, his
example, at length reanimated their courage, and sixty of
them commenced the escalade. They ascended by the ladder
of leather, led on by one Foulcher de Chartres, whom the
historian of Tancred compares to an eagle conducting her
young ones, and flying at their head.* Among these sixty
brave men was the count of Flanders, together with several
of the principal chiefs. Yery soon sixty more Crusaders
quickly pressed upon the heels of the first,t and these again
were followed by such numbers and with such precipitation,
that the parapet to which the ladder was fixed tottered, and
at length fell with a loud crash into the ditch. Such as
were nearly attaining tlie summit of the tower fell upon the
lances and swords of their companions who were following
them. Disorder and confusion prevailed among the assail-
ants, nevertheless the leaders of the plot viewed everything
with a tranquil eye. Phirous embraced his new companions
over the bloody corpse of his brother ; he even yielded to
their swords another brother who happened to be with him,
and then surrendered to the Crusaders the three towers
intrusted to his command. Seven other towers soon fell
into their hands, and Phirous loudly summoned the whole
Christian army to his aid. He fixed a new ladder to the
rampart, by which the most impatient ascended, and he
pointed out to others a gate which they might easily burst
open, and by it crowds rushed into the city.

Grodfrey, Baymond, and the duke of Normandy were
soon in the streets of Antioch at the head of their batta-

* Sicut aquila provocans pullos suos ad volandum, et super eos volitans.
— Rad. Cair. torn. iii. p. 66.

t All these details of the siege and he taking of Antioch, which appear
to belong to the epopea, are taken liberally from the ancient historians of
the crusades. See Albert d'Aix, lib. iii. and iv. ; William of Tyre, lib. v.;
Robert the Monk, lib. v. and vi. ; and the authors of the Collection oj
Bongars. All these historians agree in the principal circumstances. The
monk Robert, in the recital that he makes of it, expresses his surprise in
these words : " Non est lingua carnis quse satis valeat enarrare, quid
Francorum manus valuit persundare." Foulcher de Chartres, who,
according to common opinion, was the first to mount the adder of ropes,
never speaks of himself in his narration, which fact is Ui^e consistent
r.iih the spirit of the Christian knights.

166 HISTORY OE THE CRUSaDES.

lions. All the trumpets were sounded, and from the foul
hills the city resounded with the terrible cry of " It is the
will of God! It is the loill of God! " At the first report
of the tumult, the Christians dwelling in Antioch all believed
that their last hour was come, and that the Mussulmans
were about to sacrifice them. The latter, half asleep, poured
out of their houses to ascertain the cause of the noise they
heard, and died without knowing who were the traitors, or
by whose hands they were slain. Some, M^hen aware of the
danger, fled towards the mountain upon which the citadel
was built, whilst others rushed out at the gates of the city.
All who could not fly fell beneath the swords of the con-
querors.

In the midst of this bloody victory, Bohemond did
not neglect taking formal possession of Antioch, and at
dawn his red standard was seen floating over one of the
highest towers of the city. At the sight of this the Cru-
saders who were left in charge of the camp broke into loud
acclamations of joy, and hastened to take a part in this fresh
conquest of the Christians. The slaughter of the Mussul-
mans was continued with unabated fury. The greater part
of the Christians of Antioch, who, during the siege, had
suffered much from the tyranny of the infidels, joined their
liberators, several exhibiting the fetters by which they had
been loaded by the Turks, and thus further provoking the
vindictive spirit of the victorious army. The public places
were covered with dead bodies, and blood flowed in torrents
in the streets. The soldiers penetrated into the houses;
religious emblems pointed out such as were Christians,
sacred hymns indicated their brethren ; but everything that
was not marked with a cross became the object of vengeance,
and all w^ho pronounced not the name of Christ were
massacred without mercy.

In a single night more than six thousand of the inhabi-
tants of Antioch perished. Many of those who had fled
into the neighbouring fields were pursued and brought back
into the city, where they found either slavery or death. In
tlie first moments of the confusion, Accien, seeing that he
was betrayed, and no longer daring to trust any of his
officers, resolved to fly towards Mesopotamia, and go to meet
the army of Kcrboglia. Escaping through one of the gates,

HISTORY OF THE CETJSADES. 157

he proceeded without an escort over mountains and through
forests, till he fell in with some Armenian woodcutters.
These men at once recognised the prince of Antioch, and as
he bore upon his countenance marks of depression and grief,
they judged that the city must be taken. One of them,
drawing near to him, snatched his sword from him, and
plunged it into his body. His head was carried to the new
masters of Antioch, and Phirous had an opportunity of con-
templatmg without fear the features of him who, the day
before, might have sentenced him to death. After having
received great riches as the reward of his treachery, this
renegade embraced the Christianity he had abandoned, and
followed the Crusaders to Jerusalem. Two j^ears after-
wards, his ambition not being satisfied, he returned to the
religion of Mahomet, and died abhorred by both Mussulmans
and Christians, whose cause he had by turns embraced and
betrayed.

When the Christians were tired of slaughter, they pre-
pared to attack the citadel ; but as it was built upon a
mountain, inaccessible on most sides, all tneir eiforts were
useless. They contented themselves with surrounding it
with soldiers and machines of war, m order to confine the
garrison, and then spread themselves throughout the city,
giving way to all the intoxication which their victory inspired.
The pillage of Antioch had yielded them immense riches ;
and although they had found but a small stock of provisions,
they abandoned themselves to the most extravagant excesses
of intemperance and debauchery.

These events passed in the early days of June, 1098 ; the
giege of Antioch had been begun in the month of October
of the preceding year. After this victory, three days passed
quickly away in the midst of rejoicings, but the fourth was
a day of fear and mourning.

A formidable army of Saracens was drawing near to An-
tioch. From the earliest period of the siege, Accien, and the
sultan of jN^ice, whom the Christians had despoiled of his do-
minions, had applied to all the Mussulman powers to procure
assistance against the warriors of the West. The supreme
head of the Seljoucides, the sultan of Persia, had promised
to aid them ; and at his voice all Corassan. says Matthew of
Edessa, Media, Babylon, a part of Asia Minor, and all the

158 HISTORY OP THE CETJSADES.

East, from Damascus and the sea-coast to Jerusalem and
Arabia, had arisen at once to attack the Christians.* Ker-
bogha, sultan of Mossoul, commanded this army of the
Mussulmans. This warrior had fought for a length of time,
at one period for the sultan of Persia (Barkiarok), at others
for the various princes of the family of Malek-Scha, who
contended for the empire. Often defeated, and twice a
prisoner, he had grown old amidst the tumults of civil war.
As full of contempt for the Christians as of confidence in
himself, a true model of the fierce Circassian celebrated by
Tasso, he considered himself the liberator of Asia, and tra-
versed Mesopotamia wdth all the pomp and splendour of a
conqueror. The sultans of Nice, Aleppo, and Damascus,
with the governor of Jerusalem and twenty-eight emirs from
Persia, Palestine, and Syria, marched under his command.
The Mussulman soldiers were animated by a thirst for ven-
geance, and swore by their prophet to exterminate all the
Christians. On the third day after the taking of Antioch,
the army of Kerbogha pitched its tents on the banks of the
Orontes.

The Cliristians were made aware of its arrival by a
detachment ol three hundred horsemen, who came to
reconnoitre the place, and advanced even under the walls.
Inquietude and alarm succeeded immediately to festivity
and rejoicing. They found that they had not stores to sus-
tain a siege ; and several of their leaders were sent with
their troops towards the port of St. Simeon, and into the
neighbouring country, to collect all the provisions they could
find ; but the territory of Antioch had been so completely
ravaged during many months, that they could not procure
anything like enough for the maintenance of a numerous
army. Tlie return of all who had been sent in quest of
provisions completed the terror of the Christians. At the
very moment of their arrival the infidels attacked the ad-
vanced posts of the Crusaders ; and, even in these early
contests, the Christian army had to lament the loss of
several of its bravest warriors. Bohemond was wounded in

* Matthew of Edessa estimates this army at a hundred thousand horse
and three hundred thousand foot. Abulfaradge speaks of *' mille mille "
horse. The Latin historians do not exaggerate so much, but do not at all
agree in their accounts.

HISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. 159

a sortie; in vain Tancred and Godfrey performs v prodigies
of valour ; the Mussulmans forced the ChristiaLs to shut,
themselves up in a place of which the latter had but just
made themselves masters, and in which they were soon
■^•losely besieged in their turn.

Placed between the garrison of the citadel and a besieging
army, the Crusaders found themselves in a most critical
position. To prevent their being relieved by any supplies
by sea, two thousand Mussulmans were sent by Kerbogha
to take possession of the port of St. Simeon, and of all
vessels which brought provisions to the Christian army.
Famine was not long in making its appearance, and soon
exercised cruel ravages among the besieged.

Erom the earliest period of the siege the Crusaders could
scarcely procure the common necessaries of life at theii
weight in gold. A loaf of moderate size sold at a bezant,
an egg was w^orth six Lucquese deniers, whilst a poimd of
silver was given for the head of an ox, a horse, or an ass.
Godfrey bought for fifteen silver marks a half-starved camel,
and gave three marks for a goat, which at other times
would have been rejected by the poorest soldiers of his
army. Surrounded by the vast riches conquered from the
Saracens, the Crusaders were thus condemned to all the
horrors and miseries of famine. After having killed most
of their horses, they were compelled to make war upon
unclean animals. The soldiers and the poor who followed
the army supported themselves on roots and leaves ; some
went so far as to devour the leather of their bucklers and
shoes, whilst the most wretched exhumed the bodies of the
Saracens, and, to support their miserable existence, disputed
with death for his prey. In this frightful distress, discon-
solate mothers could no longer nourish their babes, and
died with famine and despair. Princes and knights, whose
pride and haughtiness had been the most conspicuous, were
brought to the necessity of asking alms. The count of
Manders went begging to the houses and in the streets of
Antioch for the commonest and coarsest orts, and oiten
obtained none. More than one leader sold his arms and aU
his appointments for food to support him a single day. As
long as the duke of Lorraine had any provisions he shared
them with his companions ; but at length he made the sacri-

160 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

fice of his last war-liorse, and found liimse If, as were all the
, other Crusaders, reduced to the most cruel necessities.

Many of the Crusaders endeavoured to fly from a cit;^
w^ich presented to them nothing but the image and the
pil3spect of death ; some fled by sea, through a thousand
gangers, whilst others cast themselves amongst the Mussul-
mans, where they purchased a little bread by the abant on-
ment of Christ and his religion. The soldiers necessarily
lost courage when they saw that count de Melun, who so
often defied death in the field, a second time fly from famine
and misery. His desertion was preceded by that of the
count de Blois, who bore the standard of the Crusaders, and
presided at their councils. He had quitted the army two
days before the taking of Antioch, and when he learned the
arrival of Kerbogha, he, with his troops, immediately
marched towards Constantinople.

Deserters made their escape during the darkness of night.
Sometimes they precipitated themselves into the ditches of
the city, at the risk of their lives ; sometimes they descended
from the ramparts by means of a cord. Every day the
Christians found themselves abandoned by an increasing
number of their companions ; and these desertions added to
their despair. Heaven was invoked against the dastards ;
God was implored that they might, in another life, share the
fate of the traitor Judas. The ignominious epithet of ro^e-
dancers (sauteurs de corde) was attached to their names,
and devoted them to the contempt of their companions.
William of Tyi^e refuses to name the crowd of knights who
then deserted the cause of Jesus Christ, because he considers
them as blotted out from the book of life for ever.* The
wishes of the Christians against those who fled were but too
completely fulfilled ; the greater part perished from want,
and others were killed by the Saracens. Stephen, count of
Chartres, more fortunate than his companions, succeeded in
reaching the camp of Alexius, who was advancing with an
army towards Antioch. To excuse lis desertion, he clid not
fail to paint, in the darkest colours, [ill the misfortunes and
dangers of the Christians, and to make it appear by his

* Alii multi, quorum nomina non tenemus, quia delecta de libro vitW;
prsesenti operi non sunt inserenda. — Will, of Tyre, lib. iv.

HISTOBr OF THE CETJSADES. 161

ftccoimts that Grod had abandoned the cause of the Crusa-
ders. The despair of several Latin pilgrims who followed
the aa-my of the Greeks was so violent, that it urged them
to horrible blasphemies.* They, groaning, asked why the
true G-od had permitted the destruction of his people ? why
he had allowed them, who were going to deliver the tomb of
Ids Son, to fall into the hands of his enemies ? Nothing
was heard among the Latin Crusaders but such strange
speeches, and Guy, the brother of Bohemond, exceeded all
the rest in his despair. In the excess of his grief, he blas-
phemed more than any, and could not understand the mys-
teries of Providence, which betrayed the cause of the Chris-
tians. " O God," cried he, " what is become of thy power ?
If thou art still an all-powerful God, what is become of thy
justice ? Are we not thy children, are we not thy soldiers ?
Who is the father of a family, who is the king who thus
suffers his own to perish when he has the power to save
them ? If you abandon those who fight for you, who will
d.are, henceforward, to range themselves under your sacred
banner?" In their blind grief, all the Crusaders repeated
these impious words. Such was the frenzy of despair
in which sorrow had plunged them, that, according to the
report of contemporary historians, all ceremonies of religion

* These speeches and the complaints of the Crusaders are almost all
translated from contemporary historians. We feel it our duty to report
the text of them here.

O Deus verus, trinus et unus, quam ob rem hsec fieri permisisti }
cur populum sequentem te in manibus inimicorum incidere permisisti .'
et viam tui itineris, tuique sancti sepulchri liberantem tarn cito mori
concessisti ? Frofecto, si hoc verum est, quod nos ab istis nequissimis
audivimus, nobis referentibus, nos et alii Christiani derelinquemus te, nee
te amplius remorabimur, et unus ex nobis non audebit ulterius nomen
tuum invocare. Et fuit is sermo moestissimus valor in tota militia ; ita
quod nullus nostrorum audebat, neque archiepiscopus, neque episcopus,
neque abbas, neque presbyter, neque clericus, neque quisque laicus Christi
invocare nomen per plures dies. Nemo poterat consolari Guidonem. — ■
De Hierosolymitano itinere, Duchene's Collection, tom. iv. p. 799.

The following is the speech which Robert the Monk puts into the mouth
of Guy, the brother of Bohemond : —

O Deus omnipotens, ubi est virtus tua ? Si omnipotens es, cur hsec
fieri eonsensisti ? Nonne erant milites tui et peregrini t Quis unquani
rex aut imperator aut ])otens dominus familiam suam ita perinisit occidi,
Bi ullo modo potuit adjuvare ? Quis erit unquam miles tuus aut pere»
grinus ' \,c. &c. — Robert. Monach. lib. v.

162 HISTOET OF THE CEUSADl.'!.

were suspended, and no priest or layman during many dayi
pronounced the name of Jesus Christ.

The emperor Alexius, who had advanced as far as Philo*
melium, wai so terrified by all he heard, that he did not dare
to continue his march towards Antioch. He thought, says
Anna Comnena, it was rash to attempt to succour a city
whose fortifications had been ruined by a long siege, and
whose only defenders were soldiers reduced to the lowest
state of misery. Alexius further reflected, says the same
historian, upon the indiscretion and the inconstancy of the
Franks, upon their manner of making war without art or
rules, and upon the imprudence with which, after having
conquered their enemies, they allowed themselves to be
surprised by the very same people whom they had con-
quered. He likewise thought of the difficulty he should
have in making his arrival known to the Crusaders, and of
the still greater difficulty of making their leaders agree
wiA him upon the best means to save them. All these
motives appeared reasonable ; but it is easy to believe
that Alexius was not sorry to see a war going on which de-
stroyed at the same time botli Turks and Latins. However it
may be, the resolution which he took of returning to Con-
stantinople threw all the Christians of Phrygia and Bithynia
into the greatest alarm. The report then current was (and
if we may believe Anna Comnena, it was from the insinua-
tions of Alexius) that the Mussulmans were approaching with
numerous armies. They were constantly believed to be
coming, and the soldiers of the emperor themselves laid
waste all the country round Phdomelium, which, they said,
the Saracens were about to invade. Women, children, all
the Christian families followed the army of Alexius, as it
returned to Constantinople. They bade an eternal adieu to
their native country, and deplored the loss of their property
of all kinds. Nothing was heard in the army but lamenta-
tions and groans ; but they who evinced the greatest grief
were the Latins, whose wishes were all centred in Syria, and
who lost all hope of assisting their brethren besieged in the
city of Antioch. *"

When the news of this retreat reached Antioch, it greatly
augmented the depression of tiie Crusaders. JSTot a hope
remained to them; famine carried off every day a great

HISTORY OF THE OEUSADES.. 163

number of soldiers ; tlieir weakened a-rms could scarcely lift
the iance or the sword ; they had neither fetrength to defend
their own lives nor to bury their dead. In the midst of such
frightful misery, not a tear was seen, not a sob was heard ;
the silence was as complete in Antioch as if the city had
been buried in the most profound night, as if not one living
person was left in it. The Crusaders had not even the
courage of despair left. The last feeling of nature, the love
of life, was becoming daily extinct in their hearts ; they
feared to meet each other in the public places, and concealed
themselves in the interior of the houses, which they looked
upon as their tombs.

The towers and the ramparts remained almost without
defence. Bohemond, who had taken the command of the
place, sought in vain by his speeches to raise the courage of
the Crusaders ; in vain the trumpets and the serjeants-at-
arms called them to the combat. Whilst the Mussulmans
shut up in the citadel, and those who besieged the city, every
day renewed their attacks, the Christian warriors remained
immovable in their dwellings. In order to drive them from
their retreats, Bohemond was obliged to give several quarters
of the city up to the flames. E-aoul de Caen deplores, in
pompous verses, the conflagration and the ruia of churches
and palaces, huilt with the cedars of Mount Lehanon, and in
which shone the marhle of Mount Atlas, the crystal of Tyre,
the brass of Cyprus, the lead of Amathontis, and the iron of
England. The barons who could no longer enforce the
obedience of their soldiers, had not strength to offer them an
example. Then they bitterly remembered their families,
their castles, their wealth, all which they had quitted for this
unfortunate war ; they could not comprehend the reverses
of the Christian army, and little was wanting, says William
of Tyre, to make them accuse God of ingratitude, for having
refused so many sacrifices ^i^ade to the glory of his name.

Matthew of Edessa relates that the Christian leaders
offered to give up the city to Kerbogha, upon the single
condition that he would allow them and their soldiers to
return to their own countries, taking with them their bag-
gage. As the Saracen general rejected tlieir proposal,
eeveral of them, actuated by despai«r, formed the project of
abandouing the army, and flying by night towards the coast,
Vol. 1.— 9

164 HISTOEX or THE CEUSADES.

but were prevented by the exliortations of Godfrey and
Bishop Adhemar, who pointed out to them the disgrace
which such a step would briug upon them in the eyes of
both Europe and Asia.

The famine had continued its ravages for more than two
weeks, and the Mussuhnans pressed on the siege with the
grt;ater ardour, from the conviction that they should soon be
masters of the city. Eauaticism and superstition, which
had precipitated the Crusaders into the abyss in which they
were now plunged, alone had the power to re-animate their
courage, and extricate them from such fearful perils. Pro-
phecies, revelations, and miracles became every day the more
frequent subjects of report in the Christian army. St.
Ambrose had appeared to a venerable priest, and had told
him that the Christians, after overcoming all their enemies,
would enter Jerusalem as conquerors, and that Grod would
there reward their exploits and their labours.* A Lombard
ecclesiastic had passed the night in one of the churches of
Antioch, and had there seen Jesus Christ, accompanied by
the Virgin and the prince of the apostles. The Son of Grod,
irritated by the conduct of the Crusaders, rejected their
prayers, and abandoned them to the fate they had too richly
merited ; but the Virgin fell at the knees of her son, and
by her tears and lamentations appeased the anger of the
Saviour. "Arise," then said the Son of God to the priest,
" go and inform my people of the return of my commisera-
tion ; hasten and announce to the Christians, that if they
come back to me, the hour of their dehverance is at hand."

They whom God had thus made the depositaries of his
secrets and his will, offered, in attestation of the truth of
their visions, to precipitate themselves from a lofty tower,
to pass through flames, or to submit their heads to the
executioner; but these proofs were not necessary to persuade
the Crusaders, always ready to believe in prodigies, and who
had become more credulous than ever in the moment of
danger and in the excess of their misfortunes. The ima-

* We have thought it our duty to report all these miraculous visions as
they are found in contemporary historians, because they produced a great
effect upon the mind of the Christians, and that in becoming the origin
and the cause of the greatest events, they are in themselves important
events for history.

HISTORY or TH£ JRTJSADES. 165

gination of both leaders and soldiers was easily led away
by the promises which were made to them iii the name of
Heaven. The hopes of a more prosperous future began to
re-animate their courage. Tancred, as a good and. loyal
knight, swore, that as long as he had sixty companions left,
he A\ould never abandon the project of delivering Jerusalem
Godfrey, Hugh, Baymond, and the two E-oberts took the
same oath. The whole army, after the example of their
leaders, promised to light and to suffer until the day
appointed for the deliverance of the holy places.

In the midst of this reviving enthusiasm, two deserters
came before the Christian army, and related that, when
endeavouring to escape from Antioch, they had been stopped,
the one by his brother, who had been killed in fight, the
other by Jesus Christ himself. The Saviour of mankind
had promised to deliver Antioch. The warrior who had
fallen under the sword of the Saracens had sworn to issue
from the grave with all his companions, equally dead as him-
self, to fight with the Christians. In order to crown all
these heavenly promises, a priest of the diocese of Mar-
seilles, named Peter Barthelemi, came before the council of
the leaders, to reveal an apparition of St. Andrew, which
liad been repeated three times during his sleep. The holy
apostle had said to him : " Gro to the church of my brother
Peter at Antioch. Near the principal altar you will find,
by digging up the earth, the iron head of the lance which
pierced the side of our Redeemer. Within three days tliia
instrument of eternal salvation shall be manifested to his
disciples. This mystical iron, borne at the head of the
army, shall eftect the deliverance of the Christians, and
shall pierce the hearts of the infidels." * Adhemar, Eay-

* The discovery of this lance and the- prodigies that it operated are
related b^- all the historians of the Crusades. The Arabian historian
Aboul-Maja9en agrees, in the principal circumstances, with the Latin
historians. The most credulous oi the latter, and he who gives the
greatest number of details, is Raymond d'Agiles. Albert d'Aix, William
of Tyre, Guibert, and Robert, raise not the least doubt about the authen-
ticity of the lance. Foucher de Chartres, less credulous, says, when
relating the diacoverj, Audi Jraudem et non fraudem. He afterwardc
\dds, whilst speaking of the lance, that it had been concealed in the place
from which it was taken : Invenit lancemn, fallaciter occullaUimforsitan.
The historian Paulus Euiilius, who relults the same fact, accompanies it

160 HISTORY or THE CRUSADES.

moiid, and the other leaders believed, or feigned to believ(i,
in this apparition, an account of which soon spread through-
out the army. The soldiers said among themselves that
notliing was impossible to the Grod of the Christians ; they
further believed that Jesus Christ was interested in their
welfare, and that God ought to perform miracles to save his
disciples and defenders. During three days the Christian
army prepared itself by fasting and prayer for the discovery
of the holy lance.

On the morning of the third day, twelve Crusaders chosen
from amongst the most respected of the clergy and the
knights, repaired to the church of Antioch with a great
number of workmen provided with the necessary instru-
ments. They began by digging up the earth under the
principal altar. The greatest silence prevailed in the
church ; the spectators expecting every instant to see the
glitter of the miraculous lance. The whole army, assembled
round the doors, which they had had the precaution to shut,
awaited Avith impatience the results of the search. The
diggers worked durmg several hours, and had gone to the
depth of twelve feet without any appearance of the lance.
They continued their operations till evening without dis-
covering anything. The impatience of the Christians stiU
increased. In the middle of the night another attempt was
made. Whilst the twelve witnesses were at prayers round
the sides of the hole, Barthelemi precipitated himself into it,
and in a short time re-appeared, holding the sacred iron in
his hands. A cry of joy arose among the spectators, which
was repeated by the soldiers who waited at the doors, and
which soon resounded through all quarters of the city. The
iron on which all the hopes of the Christians w^ere centred, was
exhibited in triumph to the Crusaders, to whom it appeared
a celestial weapon with which Grod himself would disperse

with highly philosophical reflections. Yves Duchat says, on commencing
the relation — "Then there happened a marvellous affair, of which some
have left a written account, which I would not affirm to be entirely true,
nor would I oppugn it as false." Anna Comnena says nothing about
the lance, but speaks of the nails which had been used to nail Christ to
the cross. Albu-faradge commits the same error. In general the
accounts of both the Grt^eks and the Arabians of this war must be read
with much precaution ; they furnish us with very few positive ideas.

HISTOUT or THE CETJSADES/ 167

his enemies. Every mind became excited, and doubts were
no longer entertained of the protection of Heaven. Enthu-
siasm gave new life to the army, and restored strength and
vigour to the Crusaders. All the horrors of famine, and
even tlie numbers of their enemies were forgotten. The
most pusillanimo is thirsted for the blood of the Saracens,
and all demanded with loud cries to be led forth to battle.

The leaders of tlie Christian army who had prepared
the enthusiasm of the soldiers, now employed themselves in
taking advantage of it. They sent deputies to the general
of the Saracens, to offer him either a single combat or a
general battle. Peter the Hermit, who had evinced more
exaltation than any other person, was chosen for this em-
bassy. Although received with contempt in the camp of
the infidels, he delivered himself no less haughtdy or
boldly. " The princes assembled in Antioch," said Peter,
addressing the Saracen leaders, " have sent me to de-
mand justice of you. These provinces, stained with the
blood of martjTTS, have belonged to Christian nations, and as
all Christian people are brothers, we are come into Asia to
avenge the injuries of those who have been persecuted, and
to defend the heritage of Christ and his disciples. Heaven
has allowed the cities of Syria to fall for a time into the
power of infidels, in order to chastise the ofiences of his
people ; but learn that the vengeance of the Most High is
appeased ; learn that the tears and penitence of the Chris-
tians have turned aside the sword of divine justice, and that
the Grod of armies has arisen to fight on our side. Never-
theless we still consent to speak of peace. I conjure you,
in the name of the all-powerful God, to abandon the terri-
tory of Antioch and retiu-n to your own country. The
Christians promise you, by my voice, not to molest you in
your retreat. We will even put up prayers for you that
the true Grod may touch your hearts, and permit you to see
the trutli of our faith. If Heaven deigns to listen to us,
how delightful it will be to us to give you the name of
brethren, and to conclude with you a lasting peace ! But
if you are not willuig to accept either the blessings of peace
or the benefits of the Christian religion, let the fate of
battle at length decide the justice of our cause. As the
Christians will not be taken by surprise, and as they are

IC8 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

not accustomed to steal victories, they offer you the choice
ofcorabat."* When finishing his discourse, Peter fixed his
eyes upon the leader of the Saracens, and said, " Choose
from amongst the bravest of thy army, and let them do
battle with an equal number of the Crusaders ; fight thyself
with one of our Christian princes ; or give the signal for a
general battle.f Whatever may be thy choice, thou shalt
soon learn what thy enemies are, and thou shalt know what
the great God is whom we serve !"

Kerbogha, who knew the situation of the Christians, and
who was not aware of the kind of succour they had received
m their distress, was much surprised at such language. He
remained for some time mute with astonishment and rage,
but at length said, " E-eturn to them who sent you, and tell
them it is the part of the conquered to receive conditions,
and not to dictate them. Miserable vagabonds, extenuated
men, phantoms may terrify women ; but the warriors of
Asia are not intimidated by vain words. The Christians
shall soon learn that the land we tread upon belongs to us.
Nevertheless I am willing to entertain some pity for them,
and if they will acknowledge Mahomet, I may forget that
this city, a prey to famine, is already in my power ; I may
leave it in their hands, and give them arms, clothes, bread,
women, in short, all that they have not ; for the Koran bids
us pardon all who submit to its laws. Bid thy companions
hasten, and on this very day take advantage of my clemency ;
to-morrow they shall only leave Antioch by the sword.
They will then see if their crucified God, who could not
save himself from the cross, can save them from the fate
which is prepared for them."

This speech was loudly applauded by the Saracens, whose
fanaticism it rekindled. Peter wished to reply, but the
sultan of Mossoul, placing his hand upon his sword, com-
manded that these miserable mendicants, who united blind-
ness with insolence, should be driven away. The Christian
deputies retired in haste, and were in danger of losing their

* This speech is reported by most of the Latin historians of the cru-
sades. We have preserved the spirit of it, with the most scrupulous
exactness.

f Anna Comnena speaks of a pretended single combat between thi
tount of Flanders and the general of the Saracens.

HISTORY or THE CRUSADES., 168

lives several times whilst passing through the army of the
infidels. Peter rendered an account of his mission to the
assembled princes and barons ; and all immediately prepared
for battle The heralds-at-arms proceeded through tke
different quarters of the city, and battle was promised for
the next day to the impatient valour of the Crusaders.

The priests and bishops exhorted the Christians "^o render
themselves w^orthy of fighting for the cause of Jesus Christ ;
and the whole army passed the night in prayer and acts of
devotion. Injuries were forgiven, alms were bestowed, and
all the churches were filled with warriors, who humbled
themselves before God, and implored a remission of their
sins. The preceding evening some provisions had been
found, and this unexpected abundance was considered as a
species of miracle. The Crusaders repaired their strength
by a frugal meal ; and towards the end of the night, that
which remained of bread and meal in Antioch served for the
sacrifice of the mass. A hundred thousand warriors ap-
proached the tribunal of penitence, and received, with all
the evidences of piety, the Grod for whom they had taken
up arms.*

At length day appeared ; it w^as the festival of St. Peter
and St. Paul. The gates of Antioch were thrown open, and
the whole Christian army marched out in twelve divisions,
symbolical of the twelve apostles. Hugh the Great, though
weakened by a long illness, appeared in the foremost ranks,
and bore the standard of tlie Church. All the princes,
knights, and barons were at the head of their men-at-arms.
The only one of all the leaders that did not appear in the
ranks was the count de Thoulouse ; detained in Antioch by
the consequences of a wound, he was charged with the duty
of watching the garrison of the citadel, whilst his companions
went to give battle to the arm^ of the Saracens.

Baymond d' Agiles,t one of the historians of the crusade,

* Letanias supplices, ab ecclesia in ecclesiam, explicant ; confessione
peccatorum sincere se mundant, et episcopal! vel sacerdotali consequenter
absolutione promerita, corporis ac sanguinis Domkii Sacramento, plena
fide communicant, &c. — Guibert, lib. vi.

Missse per ecclesias celebratae sunt ; omnesque sancta dominici corporia
communione communicati sunt. — Robert. Mon. lib. vii.

t Vidi ego hsec quae loquor, et dominicam lanceam ibi ferebam.—
Uavm. d'A^ 7e«, p. 155, apud Beng.

170 niSTOEY OE THE CEUSADES.

bore the lioly lance, and directed the attention of tbe soldieri
to it. Adhemar marched by the side of Haymond, an-
nouncing to the Crusaders the help of the celestial legions
which Grod had promised them. A part of the clergy ad-
vanced in procession at the head of the army, singing the
martial psalm, " Let the Lord arise, and let Ms enemies he
dispersed.''^ The bishops and priests who had remained in
Antioch, surrounded by the women and children, from the
top of the ramparts blessed the arms of the Crusaders, pray-
ing the Lord to preserve his people and confound the pride
of his enemies. The banks of the Orontes and the neigh-
bouring mountains appeared to answer to these invocations,
and resounded with the war-cry of the Crusaders, " It is the
will of God! It is the will of God!''^

Amidst this concert of acclamations and prayers, the
Christian army advanced into the plain. To judge only by
the state of misery to which they had been reduced, they
had rather the appearance of a conquered army than of an
army of men marching to victory. A great number of the
Crusaders were without clothes. The greater part of the
knights and barons marched on foot. Some were mounted on
asses and camels, and, what is not an indifferent circumstance
on this day, Grodfrey de Bouillon had been obliged to bor-
row a horse of the count de Thoulouse. In the ranks were
sick and attenuated soldiers, weakened by famine, and march-
ing with difficulty, who were only supported by the hope of
conquering or of dying for the cause of Jesus Christ.

The whole country round Antioch was covered with the
Mussulman battalions. The Saracens had divided their
army into fifteen bodies arranged in echelons. In the midst
of all these, the division of Kerbogha, says the Armenian
historian, appeared like an inaccessible mountain. The Sara-
cen general, who had no expectation of a battle, at first
believed that the Christians were come to implore his
clemency. A black flag flying over the citadel of Antioch,
which was the signal agreed upon to announce the resolution
of the Crusaders, soon informed him that he had not to deal
with supplicants. Two thousand men of his army, who
guarded the passage of the bridge of Antioch, were cut in
pieces by the count de Yermandois. The fugitives carried
terror to the ten/" of their general, who was playing at chess,

niSTOET OF THE CEUSADES. 171

Aroused from his false security, the sultan of Mossoui or-
dered the head of a deserter to be cut off who had announced
to him the speedy surrender of the Christians, and then set
himself seriously to the task of fighting an enemy whose
auxiliaries were fanaticism and despair.

On marching out of Antioch* the Christians advanced
westwards towards the spot where the mountains draw near
to the Orontes. Ranged in order of battle, in a vast space
vs here the mountains formed a semicircle around them and
secured them from surprise, they extended across the plain
a league from the city. Hugh, the two E^oberts, the count
de Belesme, and the count of Hainaut placed themselves at
the head of the left wing ; Godfrey was on the right, sup-
ported by Eustace, Baldwin du Bourg, Tancred, E-inaldo de
Toul, and Erard de Puyset. Adhemar was in the centre,
with Gaston de Beam, the count de Die, E-aimbaut of
Orange, William of Montpellier, and Amanjeu d'Albret.
Bohemond commanded a body of reserve, ready to act upon
all points where the Christians might require assistance.
Kerbogha, who saw the disposition of the Crusaders, ordered
the sultans of Nice, Damascus, and Aleppo, to make the
tour of the mountain and then reascend the Orontes, so as
to place themselves between the Christian army and the
city. He at the same time drew his army up in line of
battle to receive the Christians and repulse their attack.
He placed his troops partly on the heights and partly on the
plain. His right wing was commanded by the emir of
Jerusalem, and his left wing by one of the sons of Accien.
Eor himself he remained upon a high hill, to give his orders
and watch the movements of the two armies.

At the moment of the commencement of the battle, Ker-
bogha was seized with fear, and sent to propose to the

* Pierre Angelli, author of a Latin poem on the first crusade, which
has for title, Syriados Libri XII., describes this battle at great length, and
reports one part of the miraculous circumstances by which it was accom-
panied ; but his recital is too diffuse to excite much interest. The Syriade
begins with the first voyage of Peter the Hermit to Jerusalem, and is
nothing but a copy in verse of the histories of Williaioc of Tyre, Albert
d'Aix, and others. After having described the marcn and. the early
labours of the Crusaders, the Latin poet arrives, towards the end of th«
last canto, at t/ie siege of Jerusalem, to which he only consecrates
hundssd vei'ses.

172 HISTORY OF THE CRTJSADEK.

Christian princes, that in order to spare the effusion oi
blood, they should select some of bheir knights to fight
against an equal number of Saracens. This proposal, which
had been rejected the day before, could not be adopted by
the leaders of an army full of ardour and confident of vie-
t( ry. The Christians entertained no doubt that Heaven
had declared itself in their favour, and this persuasion must
render them invincible. In their enthusiasm, they looked
upon the most natural events as prodigies announcing to
them the triumph of their arms. A globe of fire, which on
the preceding evening had passed across the horizon and
burst over the camp of the Saracens, appeared to them a
sign foretelling their victory. As they left Antioch a light
rain refreshed the burning air of the climate and the season,
and was in their eyes a fresh proof of the favour of Heaven.
A strong wind, which assisted the flight of their javelins
and impeded that of the arrows of the Tiu'ks, was for them
as the wind of heavenly anger raised to disperse the infidels.
Animated by this persuasion, the Christian army showed
the greatest impatience to begin the fight. They marched
towards the enemy in perfect order. A profound silence
reigned over the plain, on all parts of which shone the arms
of the Christians. No sound was heard in their ranks but
the voices of the leaders, the hymns of the priests, and the
exhortations of Adhemar.

All at once the Saracens commenced the attack by dis-
charging a cloud of arrows and then rushing on the Crusa-
ders, uttering barbarous cries. In spite of their impetuous
shock, their right wing was soon repulsed and penetrated by
the Christians. Godfrey met with greater resistance in
their left wing ; lio succeeded, however, in breaking it and
carrying disorder among their ranks. At the moment that
the troops of Kerbogha began to give way, the sultan of
Nice, who had made the tour of the mountain and returned
along the banks of the Orontes, fell with impetuosity upon
the rear of tlie Christian army, and threatened destruction
to the body of reserve commanded by Bohemond. The
Crusaders, who fought on foot, could not resist the first
charge of the Saracen cavalry. Hugh the Great, warned of
the danger of Bohemond, abandoned the pursuit of the fugi-
tives, and hastened to the succour of the body of reserve,

HISTORY OP THE CRUSADES. 173

Theu the battle was renewed with redoubled f ary. Kilidj
Arslan, who had to avenge the shame of several defeats as
well as the loss of his states, fought like a lion at the head
of his troops. A squadron of three thousand Saracen horse,
clothed in steel and armed with clubs, carried disorder and
tert'or throusfh the ranks of the Christians. The standard
of the count de Yermandois was carried away, and retaken,
covered with the blood of Crusaders and infidels. Godfrey
and Tancred, who flew to the assistance of Hugh and Bohe-
mond, signalized their strength and valour by the death of a
great many Mussulmans. The sultan of Nice, whom no
reverse could overcome, firmly withstood the shock of the
Christians. In the heat of the combat, he ordered lighted
flax to be thrown amongst the low bushes and dried grass
which covered the plain. Immediately a blaze arose which
enveloped the Christians in masses of flame and smoke.
Their ranks were for a moment broken ; they could no longer
either see or hear their leaders. The sultan of Nice was
about to gather the fruits of his stratagem, and victory was
on the point of escaping from the hands of the Crusaders.

At this moment, say the historians, a squadron was seen
to descend from the summit of the mountains, preceded by
three horsemen clothed in white and covered with shining
armour. " Behold !" cried Bishop Adhemar,* " the heavenly
succour which was promised to you. Heaven declares for
the Christians ; the holy martyrs Greorge, Demetrius, and
Theodore come to fight for you." Immediately all eyes
were turned towards the celestial legion. A new ardour

* It is surprising that Raoul de Caen, who describes this battle, and in
epic verse too, has related no marvellous circumstance. Raymond d'Agiles
makes no mention of the heavenly legion, but he says : Multiplicavit
insuper adeo Dominus exercitum nostrum, ut qui ante pugnam pauciores
eramus quam hostes, in bello plures eis fuimus. Oderic Vital speaks
thus of the legion which appeared to descend from heaven : Ecce, Deo
gratias, ab ipsis montanis visus est exire exercitus innumerabiiis, albis
equis insidentes, et in manibus Candida vexilla prseferentes. Hoc multi
viderunt Christianorum, et sicut putant, gentilium, et haesitantes, mira-
bantur quidnam esset. Tandem utrique cognoverunt signum de coelo
factum, et duces illius agminis, sanctos martyres Georgium, Demetrium,
et Theodorum sua signa ferentes prsecedere cognoverunt. Sarracenis
multustimor inheesit, et Christianis spes melior crevit. — Od. Vital, lib. ix.
Robert the Monk and Baldric relate the same circumstance and the same
details.

174 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

inspired the Christians, who were persuaded that God him*
self was coming to their aid, and the war-cry " It is the ivill
of Godr^ was heard as at the beginning of the battle. The
women and children who had remained in Antioch, and
were coUocted on the walls, animated the courage of the
Crusaders by their cries and acclamations, whilst the priests
continued to raise their hands towards heaven, and returned
thanks to God by songs of praise and thanksgiving for the
Buccour he had sent to the Christians. Of the Crusaderjij
themselves each man became a hero, and nothing could
stand before their impetuous charge. In a moment the
ranks of the Saracens were everywhere broken, and they
only fought in confusion and disorder. They endeavoured
to rally on the other side of a torrent and upon an elevated
point whence their trumpets and clarions resounded; but
the count de Vermandois attacked them in this last post
and completely routed them. They had now no safety but
in flight, and the banks of the Orontes, the woods, the
plains, the mountains were covered with the fugitives, who
abandoned both their arms and their baggage.

Kerbogha, w^ho had been so certain of victory as to have
announced the defeat of the Christians to the caliph of
Bagdad and the sultan of Persia, fled towards the Euphrates,
escorted by a small body of his most faithful soldiers.
Several of the emirs had taken to flight before the end of
the battle. Tancred and some others, mounted on the
horses of the conquered enemy, pursued tiU night-fall the
sultans of Aleppo and Damascus, the emir of Jerusalem,
and the scattered wreck of the Saracen army. The con-
querors set fire to the intrenchments behind which the
enemy's infantry had sought refuge, and a vast number of
Mussulmans perished in the flames.

According to the account of several contemporary his-
torians, the infidels left a hundred thousand dead on the
field of battle. Pour thousand Crusaders lost their lives on
this glorious day, and were placed among the ranks of the
martyrs.

The Christians found abundance beneath the tents of
their enemies ; fifteen thousand camels and a great number
of horses fell into their hands. As they passed the night
in the camp of the Saracens, they had leisure to admire the

HISTORY OF THE CR-t/SADEB. 176

luxury of the Orientals, aud they examined with the
greatest surprise the tent of the king of Mossoul,* re-
splendent with gold and precious stones, which, divided
into long streets flanked by high towers, resembled a for-
tified city. They employed several days in carrying the
spoils into Antioch. The booty was immense, and every
Crusader, according to the remark of Albert d'Ais, found
himself much richer than he was when he quitted Europe.

The sight of the Saracen camp after the battle proved
plainly that they had displayed much more splendour and
magnificence than true courage. The veteran warriors, the
companions of Malek-Scha, had almost all perished in the
civil wars which had for so many years desolated the empire
of the Seljoucides. The army that came to the succour of
Antioch w^as composed of raw troops, levied in haste, and
reckoned under its standards several rival nations, always
ready to take up arms against each other. f It is the duty
of the historian to admit that the twenty-eight emirs who
accompanied Kerbogha were almost all at variance with one
another, and scarcely acknowledged the authority of a chief.
On the contrary, the greatest union prevailed on this day
among the Christians. The difierent bodies of their army
fought upon one single point, and afibrded each other mutual
support, whereas Kerbogha had divided his forces. In this
battle, but more particularly in the circumstances which
preceded it, the sultan of Mossoul showed more presumption
than skill ; by the slowness of his march he lost the oppor-
tunity of assisting Accien or of surprising the Crusaders.
Afterwards, too certain of victory, he never dreamt of what
despair and fanaticism are able to effect. These two power-
ful principles greatly increased the natural bravery of the
Pranks. The horrible distress to which they had been re-
duced only tended to make them invincible, and in that we
shall find the miracle of the day.

* T''is tent was able to contain more than two thousand persons.
B^hemond sent it into Italy, where it was preserved for a length of time.

"f Gemaleddin, who of all the Oriental historians gives the greatest
ru'^:iber of details upon the taking and the battle of Antioch, reports that
? violent quarrel had broken out between the Turks and the Arabs ; he
fofcii a'ids that the Aral)s liad retired before the battle, and that io tha
r'ourse of it the Turks turned thei' urnis against their allietj.

176 HIST*. BY OF THE CEUSADEB.

When the danger was past, the holy lance which had given
so much confidence to the Crusaders during the battle, no
longer excited their veneration, and lost all its marvellous
influence. As it remamed in the hands of the count oi
Thoulouse and his Provencals, to whom it brought a great
number of oiferings, the other nations were not willing to
leave them the sole advantage of a miracle which augmented
their consideration and their wealth ; and, as we shall soon
see, it was not long before doubts were raised upon the
authenticity of the lance which had effected such wonders,
and the spirit of rivalry did that which reason might have
done in a more enlightened age.

The victory of Antioch appeared to the Saracens to be s-j
extraordinary an event that many of them dbandoned the reU-
gion of their prophet. Those who defended the citadel were so
struck with terror and surprise, that they surrendered to
Kaymond the very day of the battle. Three hundred of
them embraced the faith of the holy Gospel, and many
went among the cities of Syria declaring that the God of the
Christians must be the true God.

After this memorable day the Turks made scarcely any
effort to impede the march of the Christians. This last
triumph of the Franks appeared to them like a decision of
heaven that men ought not to contend against. Most of
the emirs of Syria who had shared the spoils of the sultan
of Persia, considered the invasion of the Christians as a
passing calamity, without thinking of the consequences it
might leave behind, and only sought to take advantage of it
to assure their own domination and independence. The
dynasty of the Seljoucides was every day losing its strength
and its splendour. The vast empire of Togrul, Alp-Arslan,
and Malek-Scha was crumbling away on all sides amidst
civil and foreign wars. This empire, created towards the
middle of the eleventh century, whose sudden increase had
alarmed Constantinople and carried terror even among the
nations of the West, was soon doomed to see other states
elevate themselves upon its ruins ; for, according to the
remark of an historian, it miglit be said that God waa
pleased to show how insignificant the earth is in his eyes?,
by thus causing to pass from hand to hand, like a child'e
toy, a power so monst'\)us as to threaten the univers*?.

FISTOET OF THE CRUSADe's. 17*

The first care of the Crusaders after their victory was tc
put, if we may say so, Jesus Christ in possession of the
countries they had just conquered, by re-establishing hia
worship in Antioch. The capital of Syria had all at once a
new religion, and was inhabited by a new people. A con-
siderable part of the spoils of the Saracens was employed
in repairing and ornamenting the churches which had been
converted into mosques. The Greeks and the Latins min-
gled their vows and their hymns, and prayed together to tho
God of the Christians to conduct them to Jerusalem. The
leaders of the army then joined in addressing a letter to the
princes and nations of the West, in which they made a
relation of their labours and their exploits. Tha.t they
might not trouble the joy that the news of their victories
must create, they took care to conceal the losses they had
sustained ;* but they must have made them apparent by call-
ing new warriors to their aid. They solicited by prayers,
and even by threats, the immediate departure of all who had
assumed the cross, and yet still remained in the West.

The Crusaders sent at the same time an embassy to Con-
stantinople, composed of Hugh, count of Yermandois, and
Baldwin, count of Hainault, The object of this embassy
was to remind the emperor Alexius of the promise he had
made to accompany the Christians with an army to Jeru-
salem. The count of Hainault perished, with all his train,
in Asia Minor. The count of Vermandois, who took a
different route, arrived safely at Constantinople ; but could
obtain nothing from Alexius. Hereupon, whether he was
ashamed of having failed in his mission, or whether he
feared to rejoin aii army in which he could not maintain
the splendour of his rank, he determined to return to
Europe, where his desertion caused him to be compared to
the raven of the ark.f

Some days after the battle of Antioch, the greater part of
the pilgrims entreated the leaders to conduct them towards
tlie Holy City, the principal object of their expedition. The
council of the princes and barons being assembled, tlie

* The leaders of the Crusades declared that the siege and the battle of
Antioch had scarcely cost them ten tliousaiul men.

■f Corvini generis legatus. pnstea non rediit. — Bald. lib. iv.

178 HISTOET OF THE CRUSADES.

opinions were at first divided. Some of the leaders tlxugli*
that they ought to take advantage of the terror which the
victory of .Ajitioch had created in the Saracens. " Both the
East and the West," said they, " have their eyes upon us ;
Christ calls us to the deliverance of his tomh ; the Christians
who still groan in the chains of the infidels implg^e the
assistance of our arms ; we have seen the emir of Jerusalem,
and the soldiers who ought to defend the approach to the
Holy Sepulchre, fly before us ; all the routes are open to us;
let us hasten then to comply with the impatience of the
Crusaders, an impatience which was always so fatal to our
enemies ; let us depart from an abode whose pleasures have
several times corrupted the soldiers of Christ ; let us not
wait till discord shall disturb our peace and rob us of the
fruits of our labours."

This advice seemed to be dictated by wisdom and pru-
dence, but the majority of the leaders were full of bhnd
security ; they could not resolve still to dread enemies they
had so often conquered, and the hopes of extending their
conquests in SjTia made them forget Jerusalem. Specious
reasons were not wanting wherewith to combat the opinions
they had heard. The Christian army was deficient in horses ;
it was exhausted by fatigue, by long miseries, and even by
its own victories. As it was now the height of summer,
though the Crusaders might have no enemies, they had to
dread during a long march the want of water, and the heat
of both the season and the climate. It was well known
that new warriors from the "West were expected in Asia,
and prudence commanded them to wait for them. By the
beginning of winter everything would be prepared for the
conquest of Jerusalem, and the united Crusaders would then
inarch without obstacles or dangers towards Palestine. This
opinion obtained a majority of the suflrages.

The Crusaders had soon cause to repent of their determi-
nation. An epidemic disease made fearful ravages in their
army. Nothing was to be seen in Antioch, says an ancient
chronicle, but buryings and funerals, and death there
reigned, neither more nor less, than in some great battle
or defeat. Most of the women and the poor who followed
the army were the first victims to this calamity. A gr*at
number of Crusaders who came from Germany and otheJ

HISTOET OE THE CEUSADIS.- 179

parts of Europe met witli deatb. immediately on tlieir arrival
at Antioch. W^itliin one month, more than fifty thousand
pilgrims perished by this epidemic* The Christians had to
regret among their leaders Henry d' Asques, E-enaud d' Amer-
bach, and several other knights renowned for their exploits.
In the midst of the general mourning, the bishop of Puy,
who comforted the Crusaders in their misery, himself gave
way under his fatigue and died,t like the leader of the
Hebrews, without having seen the promised land. His re-
mains were buried in the church of St. Peter of Antioch, in
the very spot where the miraculous lance had been disco-
vered. All the pilgrims, whose spiritual father he had been,
honoured his funeral with their presence and their tears.
The leaders, who sincerely regretted him, wrote to the pope
to inform him of the death of his apostolic legate. They at
the same time solicited Urban to come and place himself at
their head, to sanctify the standards of the crusade, and to
promote union and peace in the army of Jesus Christ.

But neither the respect they entertained for the memory
of Adhemar, nor the spectacle of the scourge which was
devouring the Christian army, could close their hearts
against ambition and discord. The count of Thoulouse,
who still maintained his claims to the possession of Antioch,
refused to deliver up to Bohemond the citadel of which he
had become master on the day the Christians had defeated
the army of Kerbogha. These two haughty rivals were
several times on the point of coming to blows, ^Raymond
accusing the new prince of Antioch of having usurped that
which belonged to his companions, whilst Bohemond threat-
ened to bathe his sword, red with the blood of infideli«l, in
blood which he said he had too long spared. One day that
the princes and leaders were assembled in the basilica of the
church of St. Peter, engaged in regulating the affairs of the
crusade, their deliberations were disturbed by the most

* Albert d'Aix says a hundred thousand.

f Tasso makes Adhemar die at the siege of Jerusalem, and makes him
die by the hands of a woman. Some historians attribute the canticle
" Salve Regina" to Bishop Adhemar. The bishops of Puy, his succes-
sors, bear in their coat of arms the sword on one side and thf. pastoral
staff on the other. It is added that th^ canons of the same city wori
every year, at Easter, a cloak in the form of a cuirass.

180 HISTOM OF THE CIIUSADE.9.

violent quarrels. Notwithstanding the sanctity of the place,
Raymond, in the midst of the council, gave way to his pas-
sion and resentment. Ev^en at the foot of the altar of Christ,
Bohemond hesitated not to make false promises in order to
draw the other chiefs to his party, and repeated several
times an oath which he never meant to keep, that of follow-
ing them to Jerusalem.

Every day trouble and disorder increased in the Christian
army, some only thinking of aggrandising the states which
victory had given them, w^hilst others wandered about Syria
in search of cities over which they might unfurl their stan-
dards. Bands were seen dispersed in all parts where thero
was a chance of a rich booty, fighting among themselves for
then* conquests when they were victorious, and a. prey to all
sorts of horrors and miseries w^hen they met with unfore-
seen resistance. The jealousy which prevailed among the
chiefs extended to the soldiers ; the latter quarrelling for the
booty gained from the enem}^, iu the same manner that the
princes and barons contended for the possession of cities
and provinces. Those whom fortune had not favoured com-
plained of their companions, until some lucky chance allowed
them in their turn to take advantage of all the rights of vic-
tory. On all sides the Crusaders accused each other reci-
procally of having enriched themselves by injustice and
violence, although everybody envied the most guilty.

And yet, amidst their conflicts or their misfortunes, the
Christians continued to show the most heroic bravery and
resignation ; they endured hunger, thirst, and fatigue with-
out a complaint, and neither deserts, rivers, precipices, the
heat* of the climate, nor any other obstacle, could stop them
in their incursions. In every kind of peril they sought all
;)pportunities of proving their strength and skill, or of sig-
nalizing their valour. Sometimes in the forests or moun-
tains they encountered savage animals. A Erench knight,
named Gruicher, rendered himself celebrated in the army by
overcoming a lion. Another knight, Gi-eoffrey de la Tour,
gamed great renown by an action w^hich doubtless will
appear incredible. He one day saw in a forest a lion which
a serpent held within its monstrous folds, and which made
the air resound with his roaring. Geoffrey flew to the
assistance of the animal, which appeared to implore his pity,

HISTOET OF THE CRUSADES." 181

and with on 3 blow of his sword killed the serpent, which was
intent upon its prey. If we may believe an old chronicle^
the lion thus delivered attached himself to his liberator as
to a master ; he accompanied him during the war, and when,
after the taking of Jerusalem, the Crusaders embarked to
return into Europe, he was drowned in the sea whilst fol?
lowing the vessel in which Greoffrey was.*

Several Crusaders, whilst waiting for the signal of de-
parture for Jerusalem, went to visit their brethren who had
established themselves in the conquered cities. Many of
them repaired to Baldwin, and joined with him in contending
against the Saracens of Mesopotamia. A knight, named
Foulque, who went with several of his companions to seek
adventures on the banks of the Euphrates, was surprised
and massacred by the Tui-ks. His wife, whom he had taken
with him, was brought before the emir of Hazart or Hezas.
Being of rare beauty, one of the principal officers of the
emir fell in love with her,t and asked her of his master in
marriage, who yielded her to him, and permitted him to
espouse her. This officer, deeply in love with a Christian
woman, avoided all occasions of fighting against the Crusa-
ders, and yet, zealous in the service of his master the ertiir,
made incursions into the territories of the sultan of Aleppo.
Kedowan, wishing to avenge himself, marched with an army
of forty thousand men to attack the city of Hezas. Then
the officer who had married the widow of Eoulque advised
the emir to implore the assistance of the Christians.

* This anecdote, which is here quoted without giving it any more im-
portance than it merits, is related in the Magnum Chronicon Belgicuntf
which is found in the collection of the historians of Germany of Pistorius.
The author says the lion followed Geoffrey like a hare: — Eum sequitur,
fticut lepus ; et quamdiii fuit in terra, nunquam recedens, multa ei com-
moda contulit tam in venationibus quam in hello; qui carnes venaticas
abundanter dabat. Leo vero qusecunque domino suo adversari videbat,
prostemabat, quem, ut dicunt, in navi positum ciim domum rediret,
derelirquere noluit, sed nolentibus eum, ut crudele animal, in navem
recipere nautis, secutus est dominum suum, natando per mare, usque quo
labore deficit.

The same fact is related by le Pere Maimbourg, who adds to his recital
this singular reflection. " Strange instruction of nature, which casts
shame upon men by giving them, as she has done more than once, liont
for masters."

f Albert d'Aixis the only historian who relates this and the following fact*

182 HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES.

The emir proposed an alliance to Godfrey de Bouillon.
Godfrey at first hesitated, but the Mussulman returned to
the charge, and to disperse all the suspicions of the Chris-
tian princes, sent them his son Mahomet as an hostage. The
treaty was then signed, and two pigeons, says a Latin his-
torian, charged with a letter, brought the news to the emir,
at the same time announcing to him the early arrival of the
Christians.* The army of the sultan of Aleppo was beaten
in several encounters by Godfrey, and forced to abandon the
territory of Hezas, that it had begun to pillage. A short
time after this expedition the son of the emir died at
Antioch of the epidemic so fatal to the pilgrims of the West.
Godfrey, according to the custom of the Mussulmans, had
the body of the young prince enveloped in rich purple stuff,
and sent it to his father. The deputies who accompanied
this funeral convoy were ordered to express to the emir the
regrets of Godfrey, and to tell him that their leader had
been as much afflicted by the death of the young prince
Mahomet, as he could have been by that of his brother
Baldwin. The emir of Hezas wept for the death of his son,
and never ceased to be the faithful ally of the Christians.

The leaders of the crusades still thought no more about
setting forward on their march to Jerusalem, and the
autumn advanced without their being engaged in any expe-
dition of importance. In the midst of the idleness of the
camps, a celestial phenomenon offered itself to the eyes of
the Crusaders, and made a lively impression upon the minds

* Some learned writers cannot trace messages by pigeons further back
than the reign of Saladin. It is true that it was in the reigns of Nouradin
and Saladin that regular posts, served by pigeons, were organized ia
Egypt ; but this means of communication was very ancient in the East.
The recital of Albert d'Aix cannot be doubted. The historian speaks of
'he surprise that this sort of messengers produced among the Crusaders;
and as the fact appeared remarkable to him, he has not neglected the
smallest details of it : — Legati sine mora columbas dua?, aves gratas et
domitas, secum allatas eduxerunt e sinu suo, ac charta, ducis responsis
promissisque fidelibus inscripta, caudis illarum filo innodata, e manibua
suis has ad ferenda Iseta nuncia emiserunt. . . .Jam cum chartis sibi com-
missis aves advolaverunt, in solium et mensam ducis Hasart fidelitei
reversse. . . .Princeps autem ex more solito aves domesticaspie suscipiens,
chartas intitulatas a caudis earum solvit, secreta ducis Godfredi perlegit.
We shall see in the fourth book of this history another example of thil
means of communication employed by the Saracens.

HISTOEY OF THE CBUSAJ)ES. 183

of the multitude. The soldiers who guarded the ramparta
of Antioch saw during the night a luminous mass, which
appeared to be fixed in an elevated point of the heavens. It
seemed as if all the stars, according to the expression oi
Albert d'Aix, were united in a space scarcely more extensive
than a garden of three acres. " These stars," says the same
historian, " shed the most brilliant light,* and shone like
coals in a furnace.'''' They appeared for a long time as if
suspended over the city of Antioch ; but the circle which
seemed to contain them being broken, they dispersed in the
air. At the sight of this prodigy, the guards and sentinela
uttered loud cries, and ran to awaken the citizens of Antioch.
All the pilgrims issued from their houses, and found in this
phenomenon a manifest sign of the will of Heaven. Some
believed they saw in the united stars an image of the Sara-
cens, who were assembled at Jerusalem, and who would be
dispersed at the approach of the Christians ; others, equally
full of hope, saw in them the Christian warriors uniting
their victorious forces, and then spreading themselves over
the earth to conquer the cities ravished from the empire of
Christ ; but many of the pilgrims did not abandon them.-
selves to these consolatory illusions. In a city where the
people had much to suffer, and had dwelt during many
months amidst death and its funeral rites, the future natu-
rally presented itself under the most sad and disheartening
colours. All who suffered, and had lost the hope of ever seeing
Jerusalem, saw nothing in the phenomenon presented to
their eyes but an alarming symbol of the multitude of pil-
grims, which was every day diminishing, and which promised
soon to be entirely dispersed, like the luminous clouds which
they had seen in the heavens. " Thmgs, t -wever," says
Albert d'Aix, " turned out much better than was expected ;
Ibr, a short time afterwards, the princes, on their return to
Antioch, took the field, and brought under their dominion
several cities of Upper S3rria."

The most important of their expeditions was the siege
and capture of Maarah, situated between Hamath and
Aleppo. Raymond was the first to sit himself down before

* Globes of fire, or ignited globes, as naturalists call them, might have
produced this appearance.

184 HISTORY OF THE CEIJSADES.

this city, where lie was soon joined by the duke of Nor-
mandy and the count of Elanders and their troops. The
Christians met with the most obstinate resistance from the
besieged during several days. The infidels poured arrows
and stones upon them in clouds, together with floods of an
inflammable matter, which several historians pretend to have
been the Grreek fire. William of Tyre says that they hurled
from the summits of the towers upon the assailants quick
lime and hives filled with bees.* Want of provisions soon
began to be felt, and the Crusaders at length experienced
such distress, tliat many among them subsisted upon the
dead bodies of their enemies.t History ought, however, to
relate with hesitation the extremes to which famine is said
to have carried them, and to throw greit doubt upon the
account of the public sale of human flesh in the camp of
the Christians. J

The Crusaders endured all their misfortunes with patience,
but they could not support the outrages committed by the
inhabitants of Maarah upon the rehgion of Jesus Christ.
The infidels raised crosses upon the ramparts, covered
them with ordure, and heaped all sorts of insults upon them.
Tliis sight so irritated the Christians, that they resolved to
redouble their efforts to get possession of the city. They
constructed machines which shook the walls, whilst the
soldiers mounted to the assault ; and they succeeded, after
a lengthened resistance, in making themselves masters of the

* Lapides, ignem, et plena apibus alvearia, calcem quoque vivam,
quanta poterant jaculabantur instantia, ut eos a muro propellerent. —
Will. Tyr. lib. vii. cap. 9.

t Audivi namque, qui dicerent cibi se coactos inopia ad humanse
carnis edulium transiisse, adultos gentilium cacabo immersisse, pueros
infixisse verubus, et vorasse adustos; vorando seraulati suntferas, torrendo
homines, sed caninos. Hunc ipsum finem membris propriis minabantur,
cum aliena deficerent ; nisi aut captse urbis, aut cereris advenae intercessio
esuiiem lenisset. — Rad. Cadom. cap. 27. We cannot forbear adding to
this quotation the words of Albert d'Aix, who is astonished to see Chris-
tians eat the bodies of Mussulmans, but still more so \t seeing them
devour dogs. Mirabile dictu et auribus horrendum, quod nefas est
dicere, nefas facere. Nam Christiani non solum Turcos «ed Sarracenos
occisos, verum etiam canes arreptos et igni coctos comedere non abhorrue-
runt prse inopia, quam audistis. — Ab. Aq. lib. v. cap. 29.

X This circumstance is related by Mailly, but he does not say upon
Vfhat authority

HISTOET or THE CRUSADES: 185

towers and tlie ramparts. As they were overtaken by nigh.
in the midst of their victory, they did not venture to pene-
trate into the place ; and when, with the break of day, they
spread themselves through the streets, not a sound was to
b'^- heard, — every part of the city was deserted. The army
pillaged the uninhabited houses, but soon discovered, to
their great surprise, that the whole population of Maarah
had taken refuge in subterranean places. A large quantity
of straw, set on fire at the mouths of the caverns in which
the infidels were concealed, soon forced them to issue from
their retreats, and such was the animosity of the conquerors,
that the bewildered and trembling multitude implored their
pity in vain. All the inhabitants of Maarah were either
put to the sword or led into slavery ; the city was completely
razed to the ground, " which so terrified the neighbouring
cities," says an historian, "that of their own free will, and
without force, they surrendered to the Crusaders."

This conquest became the subject of fresh discord. Bohe-
mond, who had come to the siege, was desirous of keeping
a portion of the city, Avhilst Kaymond pretended to reign
over Maarah as its sovereign. The debate grew warm ; the
camp of the Christians was filled with confusion and fac-
tions, and the Crusaders were very near shedding their own
blood to ascertain who should be master of a city which they
had just entirely deprived of inhabitants, and given up to
pillage. " But God, who was the leader of this great enter-
prise," says le Pere Maimbourg, " repaired by the zeal of
the weak and the lowly that which the ])assions of the great
and the wise of this world had destroyed." The soldiers
at length became indignant at the thoughts of shedding, for
miserable quarrels, the blood which they had sworn to de-
dicate to a sacred cause. Whilst they were most loud in
their complaints and murmurs, the report reached them that
Jerusalem had fallen into the hands of the Egyptians : they
had taken advantage of the defeat of the Turks, and of the
unfortunate delay of the Christian army in their invasion of
Palestine. This news redoubled the discontent of the Cru-
saders, and they loudly accused E-aymond and their other
leaders of having betrayed the cause of Q-od. They an-
nounced their intention of choosing fresh leaders, who
should have no other ambition but that of accomplishing

186 HISTOET or THE CEUSADES.

fcheir vows, and would conduct the CkristiaL army to tbd
Holy Land.

The count of St. Grilles and the prince of Anfc och, the lattef
of whom was, perhaps, no stranger to the general movement,
went through the ranks, and addressed the soldiers, the ono
upon the necessity of obedience, the other upon the glory
which awaited them at Jerusalem. The tumult soon became
more violent. The clergy menaced Kaymond with the anger
of Heaven, whilst his soldiers threatened to abandon his stan-
dard. The Proven9als themselves at length refused to obey
the inflexible count of Thoulouse, and the army set seriously
to work to demolish the ramparts of Maarah, the possession
of wliich was the object of contention.

Whilst this was going on, Tancred had, by either force or
address, got possession of the citadel of Antioch, and planted
the standard of Bohemond in place of that of the count of
St. Gilles. ^Raymond, thus left alone, and without any hopes
of realizing his pretensions, was obliged to yield to the
wishes of the arn^y, and appeared to listen to the voice
of Grod. After having set fire to the city of Maarah, he
marched out of it by the light of the flames, barefooted, and
shedding tears of repentance. Followed by the clergy, who
sang the psalms of penitence, he abjured his ambition, and
renewed the oath he had so often made, and so often for*
gotten, of delivering the tomb of Jesus Christ.

BOOK IV.

A.D. 1099—1103.

MoEE tlian six months had passed away since the taking
of Antioch, and several of the leaders of the crusade still
thought nothing of commencing their march to Jerusalem.
As soon as E-aymond gave the signal for departure, his sol-
diers, and the knights who accompanied him, broke into loud
demonstrations of joy and a revived enthusiasm. The count
of Thoulouse was followed by Tancred and the duke of Nor-
mandy, who were both impatient to accomplish their vow
and conquer Palestine. Conducted by these three leaders,
a great part of the Christian army traversed the territories
of Csesarea in Syria, Hamath, and Edessa. Prom all parts
both Christians and Mussulmans came eagerly to meet them,
the former to beg their assistance, the latter to implore their
clemency. Many emirs came to conjure Eaymond to plant
his standard on their cities' walls, to protect them, from
pillage, and render them safe from the enterprises of the
other Crusaders. The pilgrims everywhere on their passage
received provisions and rich tributes without the trouble
and risk of fighting for them. In the course of their tri-
umphant march, the sweetest fruit of their labours and the
terror that their arms inspired was the return of a vast
number of Christian prisoners, whose death they had
mourned, who were sent to them from the neighbouring
cities by the Mussulman chiefs.

They drew near to the sea-coast, and advanced, almost
without obstacle, as far as the vicinity of Archas. This city
was situated at the foot of Libanus, two leagues from the
sea, in a territory covered with olive-trees, and rich with
corn. The count of Thoulouse, either from a desire to
conquer so rich a country, or from being provoked by the
insults and threats of the infidels, resolved to besiege

Vol. I.--10

188 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

Archas.* In order to inflame the courage of his soldiers^
and associate them with him in his project, he promised
them as a reward for their Labours, the pihage of the city
and the dehverance of two hundred Ciiristian prisoners
confined in the citadeL

In the mean time Grodfrey, Eustace, and E^obert, count of
Flanders, had not yet set out from Antioch. They did not
begin their march before the early days of spring. Bohe-
mond accompanied them as far as Laodicea,t and then
returned to his capital, after having promised his compa-
nions to rejoin tliem before Jerusalem. At Laodioea the
Crusaders liberated the Flemish pirates who had taken the
cross at Tarsus, and who, for more than a year, had been
detained prisoners by the Grreeks, the masters of that city.
At the same place the Christian army received a reinforce-
ment of new Crusaders from the ports of Holland and
Flanders, and the British isles. Among these new de-
fenders of the cross was Edgar Atheling, who, after the
death of Harold, had disputed the crown of England with
"William the Conqueror. He came to endeavour to forget
the misfortunes of his country under the banners of the
holy war, and at the same time to seek a refuge from the
tyranny of the conqueror. The English and the new Cru-
saders from other countries were received with great joy
into the ranks of the Christian army, which, however,
piu'sued its march towards Palestine very slowly.

It grieved the greater part of the leaders to be obliged
to traverse such rich provinces without establishing their
domination in them. There was not a city in their route
upon the walls of which one of them had not a strong
secret inclination to plant his standard. These pretensions
gave birth to rivalries which weakened the army, and pre-
vented it from making useful conquests. Haymond still

* Archas is mentioned by Strabo, Ptolemy, Josephus, and the Itine-
rary of Antonine, which latter places this city at sixteen miles from
Tripoli. Pococke (torn. ii. p. 299) and Maundrell (vol. i. p. 41) speak of
a river which still bears this name. Abulfeda speaks of it under the name
of Aarkat. The Itinerary from Bordeaux to Jerusalem also mentions
Archas.

t Laodioea still exists under the name of Lakikieh. It has been long
famous for its trade in tobacco.

HISTORY or THE CRITSADDS. 189

obstinately prosecuted the siege of Arclias, whiel opposed
to him the firmest resistance. Grodfrey went to lay siege
to Gribel or Gibelet,* a maritime city, situated some leagues
from Laodicea. The leaders of the army never consented
to unite their efforts against the Saracens, but sold to the
emirs, by turns, their inaction and their neutrality.

The only expedition in which success cro^oied their bra-
very was the attack of Tortosa.f Raymond, viscount do
Turenne, the viscount de Castellane, the seigneur d'Albret,
and some others of the principal leaders of the Grascons and
Provencals, with a hundred horse and two hundred foot,
presented themselves before this city. The inhabitants
closed their gates, manned their ramparts, and forced the
Christians to retreat. The leader of this expedition, Ray-
mond de Turenne, who had not a sufficient number of troops
to undertake a siege or force a city to surrender, had recourse
to a stratagem, which succeeded. At night he caused to be
lighted in a neighbouring wood such a number of fires, that
the inhabitants of Tortosa were persuaded that the whole
Christian army was come to attack them, and before the
break of day they all fled to the mountains, taking with
them their most valuable effects. On the morrow the
Christians approached the city, the ramparts of which they
found deserted, and entered it without resistance. After
having pillaged the houses, and given up to the flames a city
they could not keep, they returned to the camp loaded with
booty.

The Mussulmans shut up in Archas still held out against
the Christians. Although the army w^as encamped in a
fertile country, they soon began to experience the want of
provisions. The poorest of the pilgrims were reduced, as at
Antioch, to feed upon roots, and dispute with animals the
leaves of the trees and the grass of the fields. The nume-
rous clergy which followed the army sunk into the deepest
distress. Such as coidd light went to ravage the surrounding

* Gibel. This word signifies mountain, in Arabic. Gibel is the
Gabala of Strabo and Pliny ; the Gavala of the table of Peutinger. It
still subsists under its ancient name of Djebil, and the remains of an am-
phitheatre are still to be seen tliere. It is, I believe, the Giblim of the
Bible, whence was embarked the wood of Lebanon sent to Solomon.

f Tortosa is the Antaradus of Ptolemy and the Itinerary of Bordeaux,

190 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

country, and lived on pillage ; but those whom age, sex, oi
infirmities woiild not permit to carry arms, had no hope but
in the charity of the Christian soldiers. The army freely
assisted them, and gave up to them the tenth part of the
booty obtained from the infidels.

A great number of the Crusaders yielded to the fatigues
of the siege, and perished -with misery and disease, whilst
many fell by the hands of the enemy, who defended them-
selves with obstinate valour. Among those whose loss was
most regretted, history has preserved the name of Pons de
Balasu ; he was highly esteemed in the army for his intel-
ligence, and up to his death had written the history of the
crusade, in conjunction with Raymond d'Agiles. The Cru-
saders also gave their tears to the memory of Anselme de
Ribemont, count de Bouchain, whose piety and courage are
much praised in the chronicles of the times. Contemporary
authors relate his death as attended with such wonderful
circumstances as deserve to be preserved, because they affbrd
a strong idea of the spirit which animated the Crusaders.

One day (we follow the relation of Eaymond d'Agiles)
Anselm saw enter into his tent young Angelram, son of the
count de St. Paul, who had been killed at the siege of
Maarah.* " How is it," said he, " that I see you still living
whom I saw dead on the field of battle ?" " Know," replied
Angelram, " that they who fight for Jesus Christ do not die."
" But whence comes that strange splendour with which I see
you surrounded?" Then Angelram pointed out to him in
the heavens a palace of crystal and diamonds. " It is
thence," he added, " that I derive the beauty which surprises
you ; that is my abode, and there is a much more beautiful
one being prepared for you, which you vdll soon inhabit.
Farewell ; we shall meet again to-morrow." At these words,
adds the historian, Angelram returned to heaven. Anselm,
struck with this apparition, the next morning sent for several
ei^clesiastics, and received the sacraments ; and, although in
fu'l health, took leave of his friends, telling them he was

* Raymond d'Agiles, before relating this and several other similar
facts, expresses himself thus : — Quod si quicquam ego prseter credita et
visa studeo referre, vel odio alicujus apposui, apponat mihi Deus omnes
inferni plagas, et deleat me de libro vitae. The same fact is reported in
Raoul de Caen.

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.^ 191

about to quit the world in which they had known him. A
few hours afterwards, the enemy having made a sortie,
Anselm flew, sword in hand, to meet them, and was struck
on the forehead by a stone, which, say the historians, sent
him to the beautiful palace in heaven that was prepared
for him. This marvellous recital, which was credited by the
Crusaders, is not the only one of the kind that history has
collected. It is useless to remind oiir readers that extreme
misery always rendered the Crusaders more superstitious
and credulous. Although the siege of Archas had no reli-
gious aim, and even turned the pilgrims aside from the prin-
cipal object of the holy war, it was not thence less abundant,
according to Raymond d'Agiles, in miracles and prodigies of
all sorts. The belief of the people was frequently supported
by the most enlightened of the leaders, who found it neces-
sary to warm the imaginations of the soldiers to preserve
their authority. Every day fresh parties were formed in the
Christian army, and the most powerful were always those
who circulated a belief in the greatest number of miracles
It was during the siege of Archas that doubts arose among
the pilgrims about the discovery of the lance which had had
such an eftect upon the courage of the Crusaders at the
battle of Antioch, and the camp of the besiegers became ail
at once divided into two great factions, strongly opposed
to each other. Arnold de E-ohes, according to William of
T3n:'e, a man of dissolute manners, but well versed in history
and letters, was the first who dared openly to deny the truth
of the prodigy. This ecclesiastic, who was chaplain to the
duke of Normandy, drew into his party all the Normans and
the Crusaders from the north of Erance ; whilst those of the
south ranged themselves on the side of Barthelemi, who was
attached to the count de St. Gilles. The priest of Mar-
seilles, a simple man, who himself believed that which he
wished others to believe, had a new revelation, and related
in the camp that he had seen Jesus Christ attached to the
cross, cursing the incredulous, and devoting to the death
and punishment of Judas the impious sceptics who dared to
isearch into the mysterious ways of Grod. This apparition,
and the menaces of Christ, highly excited the imagination*
of the Proven9als, who had no less faith, according to Kay-
mond d'Agiles, in the tales of Barthelemi, than in the

192 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

evidence of the saints and apostles. But Arnold was aston
islied that Grod should only reveal himself to a simple priest,
whilst so many virtuous prelates were in the army ; and,
without denying the intervention of the divine power, be
was not willing to admit any other prodigies than those
performed by the valour and heroism of the Christian
soldiers.

As the produce of the offerings made to the depositaries
oi the holy lance were distributed to the poor, the latter,
who were in vast numbers in the army, were not sparing in
murmurs against the chaplain of the duke of Normandy^
and they attributed to his incredulity, and that of his par-
tisans, all the evils that the Crusaders had suffered during
the siege of Archas. Arnold and his party, which increased
every day, on the contrary attributed the misfortunes of the
Christians to their divisions, and to the turbulent spirit of a
set of visionaries. Amongst these debates the Crusaders of
the northern provinces reproached those of the south with
want of bravery in fight, with being less anxious for glory
than pillage, and with passing their time in ornamenting their
horses and mules.* The latter, on their side, did not cease
to reproach the partisans of Arnold with their want of faith,
and their sacrilegious railleries, and, without ceasing, op-
posed new visions to the reasonings of the incredulous. One
had seen St. Mark the evangehst, another the holy Virgin,
and both had attested the veracity of the priest of Mar-
seilles. Bishop Adhemar had appeared to a third, informing
him that he had been kept several days in hell for having
entertained some doubts of the truth of the holy lance.

These recitals only served still more to inflame the minds
of the army, and violence often came to the support of trickery
and credulity. At length Barthelemi, seduced by the im-
portance of the part he was made to play, and perhaps, also,
by the miraculous tales of his partisans, which might
strengthen his own illusions, resolved to terminate all de-
bates by submitting to the ordeal by fire. This resolution
restored calm to the Christian army, and all the pilgrims

* Raoul de Caen, who was not a partisan of the lance, and who cries
out, whilst speaking of this pretended discovery, " O fatmtas rustica !
O rusticitas credula!" does not at all spare the Provencals, and ha%
transmitted to us the reproaches made to ttem in the Christian army.

HISTORY or THE CRUSADES. 193

were convoked to be witnesses of the judgment of God. On
the day fixed (it was Grood Friday), a funeral pile, made of
branches of olive, was erected in the middle of a vast plain.
Most of the Crusaders were assembled, and everything was
prepared for the terrible ordeal. The flames had already
mounted to a height of twenty cubits, when Earth elemi
was seen advancing, accompanied by the priests, who walked
in silence, barefooted, and clotlied in their sacerdotal habits.
Covered by a simple tunic, the priest of Marseilles bore the
holy lance, surrounded with floating streamers. When ho
arrived within a few paces of the pile, one of the principal
of the clergy pronounced in a loud voice the following
words : — " If this man has seen Jesus Christ face to face,
and if the apostle Andrew did reveal the divine lance to
him, may he pass safe and sound through the flames ; but if,
on the contrary, he is guilty of falsehood, may he be burnt,
together with the lance which he bears in his hands." At
these words all the spectators bowed, and answered as with
one voice, " Be the will of God accomplished." Barthelemi
threw himself on his knees, took Heaven to witness the
truth of all that he had said, and, after recommending him-
self to the prayers of the bishops and priests, rushed through
the fimeral pile at a part where an opening of two feet wide
had been made for his passage.

The numerous spectators lost sight of him for a moment,
and many pilgrims, says E,aymond d'Agiles, were beginning
to lament him, when they saw him appear on the side opposite
to that by which he had entered. He was immediately sur-
rounded and pressed upon by an inniunerable crowd, who
cried out " miracle," and were eager to touch his vestments.
But Barthelemi was covered with mortal wounds. He was
carried in a dying state to the tent of the count of Thou-
louse, where he expired a few days after, still protesting his
iimocence and veracity. He was buried beneath the spot
where the funeral pile had been erected. Baymond of St.
Gilles and the Proven9als persisted in regarding him as an
apostle and a martyr. The greater number of the pilgrims
Allowed themselves to be satisfied with the judgment of God*

* Videns quid actum est, populus, calliditate verbos& seductum M
fatetur, errasse poenitet. — Rad. Cad. cap. 109.

194! IIISTOEY OF THE CRUSADES.

and tlie miraculous lance from that time ceased to xiorli
miracles.* In vain the Crusaders from the southern pro-
vinces endeavoured to substitute for it the ring and cross of
of Adhemar ; they attracted neither the devotion nor the
offerings of the pilgrims.

"Wliiist the Crusaders were detamed before the fortress of
Archas, they received an embassy from Alexius. The G-reek
emperor wished to impose upon the Latins, by promising
to foUow them into Palestine with an army, if they would
allow him time to make the necessary preparations. Alexius
in his letters complained of the non-performance of the
treaties by which he was to be made master of the cities of
Syria and Asia Minor that had fallen into the hands of
the Christians ; but he complained without bitterness, and
showed so much circumspection in his reproaches as proved
that he likewise had some wrongs to repair. This embassy
was but ill received in the Christian army. The leaders
accused the Grreeks of the death of the count of Hainault,
and reproached the emperor with his shameful flight during
the siege of Antioch. They despised his complaints, and
gave no faith to his so often broken promises.

The Latins hated Alexius ever since the siege of Nice.
Hatred guided them on this occasion better than the most
clear-sighted policy could have done ; for in the end, if we
are to believe their historians, they learned that the emperor
of Constantinople maintained a secret understanding wita
the caUph of Egypt, and that his design was to retard the
march and the progress of the Christian army.

The caliph of Cairo, who was governed by the same policy
as Alexius, kept up relations with the Crusaders which cir-
cumstances rendered more or less sincere, and which were
subordinate to the fear which their arms inspired. -Although
he neofotiated at the same time with the Christians and the
Turks, he hated the former because they were the enemies
of the prophet, and the latter because they had deprived
him of Syria. His oliject was but to profit by the war, so
as to regain his possessions and extend the limits of his
empire. ¥or several months he had been master of Jeru-

* Accounts of this event may be read in William of Tyre, Robert
d'Aix, and above all in Raymond d'Agiles, who does not omit the least
circumstance.

HISTOEY OF THE CRUSADES. 196

talem, and as he trembled for liis new conquest, lie sent
ambassadors to tbe Christian army. This embassy arrived
in the camp a short time after the departure of the deputies
of Alexius.

It was accompanied by the deputies whom the Christians
had sent into Egypt during the siege of Antioch. On their
arrival at Cairo they had at first been well received by the
caliph ; but as soon as he learned that the Christian army
wa". in a desperate situation, they were thro^\TL into dun-
geons, and only owed their liberation to the triumphant
march of the Christian army, which filled the East with the
fame of its victories. Their unexpected return gave the
greatest delight to their brothers and companions. They
listened with emotion to the account of their captivity, and
loud cries of indignation arose tlnoughout the army against
the caliph of Cairo.

The Egyptian ambassadors did aU in their power to justify
their master and appease the anger of the Christians. They
had brought with them magnificent presents, destined by
the caliph for the principal leaders of the army. They were
ko present to Godfrey of Bouillon forty thousand pieces of
gold, thirty mantles, and several vases of gold and silver ; to
Bohemond they were to offer sixty thousand pieces of gold,
fid'ty purple mantles, several precious vases, rich carpets, and
an Arabian horse whose harness was covered with plates of
gold. Each leader was to receive a present proportioned to
his military reputation, and to the idea that was entertained
of his importance in the Christian army. When the am-
bassadors had distributed the presents of the caliph accor-
ding to his instructions, they demanded permission to speak
in the council of the leaders. They announced that their
master had delivered Jerusalem from the domination of the
Turks, arui that he anxiously desired to maintain peace with
the Christians. After having declared the benevolent and
friendly dispositions of the caliph, and after having repeated
that it was his intention to protect pilgrimages and the
exercise of the Christian religion, they finished by declaring
that the gates of Jerusalem should only be opened to un-
armed Christians. Upon hearing this proposition, wdiich
they had already rejected amidst the miseries of the siege of
Antioch, the leaders of the Christian army could not restraia

10*

196 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

their indignation. As their only answer, they came to the
resolution U hasten their march to\\'arcls the Holy Land,
and threatened the ambassadors of Egypt to carry their
arms even to the banks of the Nile.

The Crusaders were drawing together their troops, which
had so long been dispersed, to march together towards Jeru-
salem, w^hen they were attacked by the emir of Tripoli. A
prompt and bloody defeat was the reward of the temerity of
the Mussulman prince. After having lost a great nun.ber
of his soldiers, he was obliged to purchase peace and the
safety of his capital by the payment of a considerable tribute
to the Crusaders. He furnished them w^ith provisions in
abundance, sent back three hundred Christian prisoners to
the camp, and, to leave no pretext for future hostilities, he
engaged to surrender the places he possessed when their
standards should float over the walls of Jerusalem.

The Crusaders, satisfied with this promise extracted from
fear, had no more enemies to combat, and now only thought
of that one conquest which was to assure them all others.
Kavmond alone did not partake of the new ardtDur of the
Christian army; he was fixed in his determination to remain
before Archas, and only gave up the siege when his soldiers
had a second time threatened to abandon his colours.

The Crusaders commenced their march towards Palestine
at the end of the month of May.* The inhabitants of Phoe-
nicia had finished their harvest. The Christians found pro-
visions everywhere, and admired on their passage the rich
productions of Asia, which they already looked upon as the
reward of their labours. On their left rose the mountains
of Libanus, so often celebrated by the prophets ; between
the mountains and the sea, the fields they traversed were
covered with olive-trees, which grew to the height of elms
and oaks ; in the plains and on the hills were oranges, pome-
granates, and many other sorts of trees unknown in the
"West. Among these new productions one plant, the juice
of which was sweeter than honey, above all attracted the
attention of the pilgrims : this plant was the sugar-cane.

* The picture of the march and the impatience of the Christians is to
be found in Tasso, in the same colours and almost the same circumstancei
fts in the historians.

HISTORY or THE ciiusa:i)es. 197

It was cultivated in several of the provinces of Syria, and
particularly in the territory of Tripoli, where they had
found means of extracting from it the substance which the
inhabitants called zucra* According to Albert d'Aix, this
plant had afforded great assistance to the Christians when
assailed by famine at the sieges of Maarah and Archas,
This plant, now become of such importance in commerce,
had been till this time unknown in the West. The pilgrims
made it known in Europe, and towards the end of the
crusades it w^as transported into Italy and Sicily, whilst the
Saracens introduced it mto the kingdom of Grrenada, whence
the Spaniards afterwards conveyed it to Madeira and the
American colonies. f

"When the pilgrims were all united to continue their
march to Palestine, they must doubtless have been struck
with terror as they contemplated the losses they had ex-
perienced. More than two hundred thousand Crusaders
had been cut off by battles, famine, misery, and disease. A
great number of them, unable to support the fatigues of the
holy pilgrimage, and losing all hope of seeing Palestine, had
returned to the West. Many had taken up their abode in
Antioch, Edessa, and other cities from which they had
driven the inhabitants, and which they were obliged to
defend against the infidels. With all these deductions, the
army which was to achieve the conquest of the Holy Land

* We think it right here to give the account of Albert d'Aix : — Cala-
mellos mellitas per camporum planiciem abundanter repertos, quasvocant
ZOCRA, suxit populus, illarum salubri succo lijetatus et vix ad saturitatem
prse dulcedine expleri hoc gustato valebant. Hoc enim genus herbse
sutnmo labore agricolarum, per singulos excolitur annos. Deinde, tem-
pore messis maturum mortariolis indigense contundunt, succum collatum in
vasis suis reponentes quousque coagulatum indurescat sub specie nivis
vel salis albi. Quern rasum cum pane miscentes aut cum aqua terentes,
pro pulmento sumunt, et supra favum mellis gustantibus dulce ac salubre

videtur His ergo ralamellis melliti saporis populus in obsidione

Albariai, Marrse et Archas, multum horrenda fame vexatus, est refocilla-
tus, — Alb. Aq. lib. v cap. 3.

f Sanuti proposed to plant the sugar-cane in Sicily and Apulia. This
idea was not carried into execution before the end of the fourteenth cen-
tury. The sugar-cane did not pass, as has been said, from Sicily to
America; it was transported to Madeira from the coast of Spain, whither
it had been brought by the Saracens. The sugar-cane is sti2J found in
iome par^s of the kingdom of Gretuidti.

198 HISTORY or THE CllUSADES.

scarcely numbered fifty thousand fighting men under .to
banners.

The leaders, however, did not hesitate to pursue their
enterprise. They who did remain in the ranks had borne
every trial ; they did not drag in their train a useless, em-
barrassing multitude ; and it was much more easy to supply
them with provisions and establish order and discipline
amongst them. Strengthened in some sort by their losses,
they were perhaps more fonnidable than they were at the
siege of Nice. The remembrance of their exploits increased
their confidence and courage, and the terror which their
arms inspired might well make the Saracens believe that
their army was still mnumerable.

Most of the princes whom the war had ruined were in
the pay of the count of Thoulouse. This species of degra-
dation was doubtless painful to their pride ; but as they
approached the holy city it might be said that they lost
some of their indomitable arrogance, and that they forgot
both their pretensions and their quarrels. The most perfect
union now prevailed among the Crusaders. In their impa-
tience to see Jerusalem, neither mountains, defiles, rivers,
nor any other impedimxcnts at all damped their ardour ; the
soldiers would not even consent to take repose, and often,
contrary to the wishes of their leaders, marched during the
night.

The Christian army followed the coasts of the sea, where
they might be provisioned by the Pisan, Grenoese, and
Plemish fleets. A crowd of Christians and pious solitaries
who inhabited the neighbouring mountains, hastened to meet
their brethren of the West, brought them fresh provisions,
and guided tliem on their way. After a painful march over
rocks and along the declivities of precipices, they descended
into the plain of Berytus, and traversed the territory of
Sidon and Tyre.

Whilst they remained three days on the banks of the
river Eleuctera, they were assailed by serpents called tarenta^
whose bite produced death,- attended by violent pain and
unquenchable thirst. The sight of these reptiles, which
they attempted to frighten away by striking stones one
against another, or by the clashing of their bvicklers, filled
the pdgrims with fear and surprise ; but that which must

HISTORY or THE CRtTSADES. 199

have much more astonished them was the strange remedy
for their bite which the inhabitants pointed out to them,
and which without doubt must have seemed to them far more
a subject of scandal than a means of cure.*

The Christians, having still continued to march along the
coast, arrived before the walls of Accon, the ancient Ptole-
mais, at the present day St. Jean d'Acre. The emir who
commanded in this city for the caliph of Egjrpt sent them
provisions, and promised to surrender as soon as they should
become masters of Jerusalem. The Crusaders, who had no
idea of attacking Ptolemais, received with joy the submission
and promises of the Egyptian emir ; but chance soon made
them aware that he had no other intention but that of
gettmg them out of his territories, and raising up enemies
against them in the countries they were about to pass
through. The Christian army, after having quitted the
country of Ptolemais, had advanced between the sea and
Mount Carmel, and were encamped near the port of Csesarea,
when a dove, which had escaped from the talons of a bird of
prey, fell lifeless among the soldiers. The bishop of Apt,
who chanced to pick up this bird, found under its wing a

* I at first thought that these serpents could be only the dipsada, or
fire-serpent. I communicated this opinion to M. Walckenaer, who with
reason had seen nothing in the reptiles of which Albert d'Aix speaks, but
the common gecko of Egypt {Lacerta gecko of Linnseus), which Belon an<?
Hasselquits have found in great numbers in Syria, Judea, and Egypt.
This species is very venomous ; it resembles other species of the same
genus and of the genus stellion, which appear to be harmless, and are
found in France, Italy, Sardinia, and on all the coasts of the Mediter-
ranean Sea, where it is called tarenle, tarenta, tarentula, &c. The opinion
Df M. Walckenaer appears the more reasonable, from the two species of
serpents and vipers to which naturalists have given the name dipsada ,
the one, the Coluber dipsas of Linnseus, which is the dipsada, properly
speaking, being only found in America ; the other, the black viper,
Coluber praster of Linnseus, appears peculiar to Europe, and is more
common in the north than in the south. We may venture to quote the
passage of Albert d'Aix in Latin, which speaks of the remedy advised by
♦he inhabitants of the country against the bite of the tarenta : — Similiter
et aliam edocti sunt mediciuam, ut vir percussus sine mora coiret cum
muhere, cum viro mulier, et sic ab omni tumore veneni liberaretur uter-
(jue. — Alb. Aq. lib. iv. cap. 40. The same historian speaks of another
remedy, which consisted in pressing strongly the place of the bite, to
prevent the communication of the venom with the other parts of tb«
Bystem.

200 HiSTORi or the crusades.

letter written by tlie emir of Ptolemais to the emir of
Csesarea. " The cursed race of the Christians," wrote the
emir, " have just passed through my territories, and will
soon cross yours ; let the chiefs of all the Mussulman cities
be warned of their march, and let them take measures to
crush our enemies." This letter was read in the council of
the princes, and before all the army. The Crusaders, ac-
cording to the account of Raymond d'Agdes, an eye-witness,
broke out into loud expressions of surprise and joy, no
longer doubting that God protected their enterprise, since
he sent the birds of heaven to reveal to them the secrets of
the infidels. Filled with new enthusiasm, they continued
their route, drawing away from the sea, and leaving Anti-
patride and Jaffa on their right. They saluted in the east
the heights of Ephraim, and took possession of Lydda (the
ancient Diospolis), celebrated by the martyrdom of St.
Greorge, and of Ramla, famous for the birth and tomb of
Samuel.

"When arrived at this last-named city, the Christians had
only a march of sixteen miles to be before Jerusalem. The
leaders held a council, in which some of them proposed to
go and attack the infidels in Egypt, instead of undertaking
the siege of the holy city.* " When," said they, "we shall
have conquered the sultan of Egypt, the cities of Alexandria
and Cairo, with Palestuie and most of the kingdoms of the
East, will Ml under our power. If we go straight to Jeru-
salem, we shall want both water and provisions, and we shall
be obliged to raise the siege, without having the power to
undertake anything else." Such of the leaders as did not
agree with this opinion, answered, " That the Christian army
amounted to no more than fifty thousand combatants, and
that it would be madness to begin a march to distant, and,
to them, unknown regions, and where they could look for no
assistance. On aU. sides they must expect dangers and
obstacles ; nowhere should they be free from the dread of

* It is Raymond d'Agiles alone who speaks of this strange deliberation
of the leaders ; if this liistorian had not been present, we could give no
credit to it. — See Raym. d'Agiles, in the Collection of Bongars, p. 173.
Albert d'Aix contents himself with saying that the leaders, after having
traversed the territory of Ptolemai's, deliberated whether they she old not
go to Damascus.

HISTOET OF THE CRUSADES. 201

want of provisions ; but tlie route to Jerusalem was mucli
more easy than tbat to Alexandria or Cairo. The Crusaderg
could pursue no wiser plan than to continue their march,
and prosecute the enterprise they had begun, leaving it tc
Providence to provide for their wants, and protect them
from tliirst and famine."

This latter opinion was adopted, and the army received
the signal for departui-e. The cities which lay in the route
of the Crusaders were all abandoned by the infidels. The
greater part of the pilgrims endeavoured to get in advance
of each other, that they might be the first to obtain pos-
session of the places and castles that were thus left without
inhabitants. The Crusaders, says Eajnnond d'Agiles, had
agreed among themselves, that when one of the leaders had
planted his standard upon a city, or had placed any mark
whatever on the door of a house, he should become the
legitimate possessor of it. This imprudent agreement had
given birth to ambition and covetousness in the soldiers as
well as the barons. Many, in the hope of obtaining rich
possessions, abandoned their colours, wandered about the
country, and spread themselves even as far as the banks of
the Jordan. In the mean time, those to whom, according
to the expression of the historians, nothing was more dear
than the commandments of God, advanced, barefooted, under
the standard of the cross, laDienting the error of their bre-
thren. "When they arrived at Emmaus, a considerable city
in tlie times of the Maccabees, and which was then no more
than a large \Tllage, known under the name of Nicopolis,
some Christians of Bethlehem came to implore their assist-
ance. Touched with their prayers, Tancred set out in the
middle of the night with a detachment of three hundred
men, and planted the flag of the Crusaders upon the walls of
the city, at the same hour in which Christ was born and was
announced to the shepherds of Judea.

During this same night a phenomenon appeared in the
lieaven, which powerfully affected the imagination of the
pilgrims. An eclipse of the moon produced all at once the
most profound darkness, and when she at length re-appeared
ehe was covered with a blood-red veil. Many of the Cru-
saders were seized with terror at this spectacle ; but those
^\\c) were acquainted with the march and movemeuts of the

202 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

stars, says Albert d'Aix, reassured their companions by
telling them that the sight of such a phenomenon announced
the triumph of the Christians and the destruction of the
infidels.

By the break of day, on the 10th of June, 1099, the
Crusaders ascended the heights of Emmaus. All at once
the holy city presented itself to their eyes.* The first who
perceived it exclaimed together, " Jerusalem ! Jerusalem ! "
The rear ranks rushed forward to behold the city that was
the object of all their wishes, and the words, " It is the mil
of God ! It is the will of God ! " were shouted by the whole
army, and resounded over Mount Sion and the Mount of
Olives, which offered themselves to the eager gaze of the
Crusaders. The horsemen dismounted from their horses,
and marched barefooted. Some cast themselves upon their
knees at beholding the holy places, whilst others kissed with
respect the earth honoured by the presence of the Saviour.
In their transports they passed by turns from joy to sad-
ness, and from sadness to joy. At one moment they feli-
citated themselves with touching the last term of their
labours ; and then wept over their sins, over the death of
Christ, and over his profaned tomb ; but all renewed the
oath they had so often made to deliver the holy city from
the sacrilegious yoke of the Mussulmans.

History furnishes very few positive notions of the foun-

* Tasso has spoken of the enthusiasm of the Crusaders at the sight ot
Jerusalem. The historians of the crusades, Albert d'Aix, the author of
the Gesta Francorum, Robert the Monk, Baldric or Baudry, and Wilham
of Tyre, present us with the same picture that Tasso does. We will
content ourselves with quoting here a passage from the " History of
Jerusalem and Hebron," which proves that the sight of that city likewise
awakens the enthusiasm of Mussulmans : " The coup d' ceil of Jerusalem,"
says this history, " is very fine, particularly when seen from the Mount
of Olives. When the pilgrim arrives there, and sees the buildings nearer,
his heart is filled with an inexpressible joy, and he easily forgets all the
fatigues of his voyage." Haliiz, the son of Hadjar, improvised on his
arrival at Jerusalem four verses, of which this is the translation : *' When
we approached the holy city, the Lord show^ed us Jerusalem ; we had
suffered much during our voyage, but we beUeved ourselves then entering
into heaven." We have heard several modern travellers, of different man-
ners, religions, and opinions, say that they all felt a lively emotion at
seeing Jerusalem for the first time. See the beautiful description that
M de Chateaubriand has given of it in his Itinerary.

HISTOET OF THE CErSADSS. 203

dation and origin of Jerusalem. The common opinion is,
that Melchisedec, who is called king of Salem in Scripture,
made his residence there. It was afterwards the capital of the
Jebusees, which procured it the name of the city of Jehus.
It is probable that from the name of Jehus and that of
Salem, which signifies vision, or abode of peace, was formed
the name of Jerusalem,* which it bore 'under the kings of
Judah.

From the highest antiquity Jerusalem yielded in magnifi-
cence to none of the cities of Asia. Jeremiah names it
admiraile city, on account of its beauty ; and David calls it
the most glorious and most illustrious city of the East. From
the nature of its entirely religious legislation, it always
showed an invincible attachment for its laws ; but it was
often a prey to the fanaticism of its enemies as well as that
of its own citizens. . Its foimders, says Tacitus, having fore-
seen that the opposition of their manners to those of other
nations would be a source of war, had given their attention
to its fortifications, and in the early times of the Roman
empire it was one of the strongest places in Asia. After
having undergone a great many revolutions, it was at length
completely destroyed by Titus, and in accordance with the
denunciations of the prophets, presented no more than a
horrible confusion of stones. The emperor Adrian after-
wards destroyed even its ruins, and caused another city to
be built, giving it the name of Aelia, so that there should
remain nothing of the ancient Jerusalem. The Christians,
but more particularly the Jews, were banished from it.
Paganism there exalted its idols, and Jupiter and Yenus liad
altars upon the tomb of Jesus Christ. In the midst of so many
profanations and vicissitudes, the people of the East and the
"West scarcely preserved the memory of the city of David,
wdien Constantino restored it its name, recalled the faithful,
and made it a Christian city. Conquered afterwards by the
Persians, and retaken by the Grreeks, it had fallen a bloody
prey into the hands of the Mussulmans, who disputed the
possession of it, and subjected it by turns to the double
scourge of persecution and war.f

* The name of Solyma was formed from that of Hierosolyma.
t The Mussulmans call Jerusalem El Cods (the holy), Beit-ul'
Mocaddh (the holy house), and scmetimes El Cherif (the noble). A

204 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

At the time of the crusades, Jerusalem formed, as it doea
at present, a square, rather longer than wide, of about a
league in circumference. It extends over four hills ; on
the east the Moriali, upon which the mosque of Omar was
built in the place of the temple of Solomon ; on the south
and west the Acra, which occupied the whole width of the
city ; on the north the JBezetha, or the new city ; and on the
north-west the Golgotlia, or Calvary, which the Greeks con-
sidered to be the centre of the world, and upon which was
built the church of the Resurrection. In the state in which
Jerusalem then was it had lost much of its strength and ex-
tent. Mount Sion no longer arose within its enclosure and
dominated over its walls between the south and west. The
three valleys which surrounded the ramparts had been in
many places filled up by Adrian, and the access to the place
was much less difficidt, particularly on the northern side.
Nevertheless, as Jerusalem under the Saracens had had to
sustain several sieges, and as it was at all times exposed to
fresh attacks, its fortifications had not been neglected. The
Egyptians, who had had possession of it for several months,
took advantage of the tardiness of the Christian army to put
it in a state of defence.

"Wliilst the Crusaders were advancing slowly towards the
city, the lieutenant of the caliph, Iftikhar-Eddaulah, ravaged
the neighbouring plains, burnt the villages, filled up or poi-
soned the cisterns, and surrounded himself with a desert in
which the Christians must find themselves a prey to all kinds
of misery. He caused provisions for a long siege to bo
transported into the place ; he called upon all Mussulmans
to come to the defence of Jerusalem, and employed a great
number of workmen, day and night, to construct machines
of war, to raise the walls, and repair the towers. The gar-
rison of the city amounted to forty thousand men, and
twenty thousand of the inhabitants took up arms.

At the approach of the Christians, some detachments of
^ufidels had come out from Jerusalem to observe the march
and proceedings of the enemy, but were repulsed by Baldwin

description of Jerusalem may be seen in the extracts from the Arabian
history of Jerusalem and Hebron, transkted into French and inserted in
tiie German J ournal, entitled " The Mines of the East."

HISTOET or THE ClIUSADES. 205

du BoLirg and Tancred. The latter had hastened from Beth-
lehem, of whicli he had taken possession. After having pur-
sued the fugitives up to the gates of the holy city, he left
his companions and repaired alone to the Mount of Olives,
from whence he contemplated at leisure the city promised
to the arms and devotion of the pilgrims.* He was dis*
turhed in his pious contemplations by five Mussulmans who
came from the city, and finding him alone attacked him.f
Tancred made no effort to avoid the combat ; three of the
Saracens fell beneath his arm, whilst the other two took to
flight. Without eitlier hastening or retarding his speed,
Tancred rejoined the army, which, in its enthusiasm, was
advancing without order, and descended the heights of
Emmaus,:j; singing these words from Isaiah, " Jerusalem, lift
up tJiine eyes, and behold the liberator who comes to break thy
chains r

On the day after their arrival the Crusaders employed
themselves in regularly laying siege to the place. The duke
of Normandy, the count of Flanders, and Tancred encamped
tov/ards the north, from the gate of Herod to the gate of
Cedar or of St. Stephen. Near to the Flemings, the Nor-
mans, and the Italians, were placed the English, commanded
by Edgar Atheling, and the Bretons, conducted by their
duke, Alain Fergent, the sire de Chateau- Giron, and the
viscount de Dinan. Godfrey, Eustace, and Baldwin du
Bourg established thejr quarters between the west and the
north, around the enclosure of Calvary, from the gate of
Damascus to the gate of Jaffa. The count of Thoulouse
placed his camp to the right of Godfrey between the south
and the west; he had near to him Baimbaud of Orange,
William of Montpellier, and Gaston of Beam. His troops
at first extended to the declivity of Sion, and a few days

* Tasso here makes Tancred contend with Clorinda. The personages
of Clorinda and Herminia are the invention of the poet.

f This fact, which Tasso has mixed with some fictions, is related by
Raoul de Caen, Gesta Tancredi, cap. 112. The same historian adds that
Tancred met upon the Mount of Olives a hermit who was born in Nor-
mandy, and who hal been the enemy of Robert Guiscard and his family.
This hermit welcomed the Italian hero with respect, and showed him the
places around Jerusalem the most venerated by pilgrims.

X See, for this arrival of the Christians, William of Tyre, lib. viL
cap. 25.

206 IIISTORT or THE CRUSADES.

afterwards lie pitched liis tents upon the very summit of the
mountain, at the place where Christ celebrated Easter. Bj
these dispositions the Crusaders left free the sides of the
city which were defended on the south by the valley of
Gihon or Siloe, and towards the east by the \ alley vtf Jeho-
shaphat.*

Every step that the pilgrims took around Jerusalem
brought to their minds some remembrance dear to their
religion. In this territory, so revered by the Christians,
there was not a valley, not a rock which had not a name in
sacred history. All that they saw awakened or warmed
their enthusiasm. They could not withdraw their eyes
from the holy city, or cease to lament over the state of
debasement into which it had fallen. This city, once so
superb, looked as if buried in its own ruins, and they then
might, to employ the expression of Josephus, have asked in
Jerusalem itself where was Jerusalem ? With its square
houses without windows, surmounted by flat terraces, it
appeared to the Crusaders like an enormous mass of stones
heaped up between rocks. They could only perceive here
and there in its bovsom a few cypresses and some clumps of
aloes and terebinthi, among which arose steeples in the
quarter of the Christians, and mosques in that of the
infidels. In the valleys and the fields adjacent to the city,
which ancient traditions describe as covered with gardens
and groves, there struggled into growth a few scattered
olives and thorny shrubs. The sight of these sterile plains,
and of the mountains burnt up by an ardent sun, offered to
the pilgrims nothing but images of mourning, and mingled
a melancholy sadness with their religious sentiments. They
seemed to hear the voices of the prophets which had an-
flounced the servitude and the misfortunes of the city of
Gi)d, and, in the excess of their devotion, they thought
themselves called upon to restore it to its ancient greatness
and splendour.

That which still further inflamed the zeal of the Crusaders

* In comparing the description of the siege ef Jerusalem by the Cru-
saders with tliat of the siege which th^ Romans carried on under Vespasian,
we tind that the quarters of Godfrey were in the same place as those of
Titus, wnen he directed his first attacks against the city. See the History
of Josephus.

HISTORY OF THE CllLSAbES. 207

for the deliverance of the holy city, Avas the arrival among&t
them of a great number of Christians who had come out of
Jerusalem, and being deprived of tlieir property and driven
from their homes, had sought assistance and an asylum
among their brethren from the West. These Christians
described the miseries which the Mussidmans had inflicted
upon all the worshippers of Christ. The women, children,
and old men were detained as hostages, whilst sTch as were
of an age to bear arms were condemned to labours which
surpassed their strength. The head of the principal hos-
pital for pilgrims had, with a great many other Christians,
been cast into prison, and the clnurches had been pillaged to
furnish support for the Mussulman soldiers. The patriarch
Simeon was gone to the isle of Cyprus to implore the
charity of the faithfid, and save his flock, which was me-
naced with destruction if he did not pay the enormous
tribute imposed by the oppressors of the holy city. Every
day new outrages were heaped upon the Christians of Jeru-
salem, and several times the infidels had formed the project
of giving up to the flames and utterly destroying both the
Holy Sepidchre and the church of the Eesurrection.

The Christian fugitives, whilst making these melancholy
recitals to the pilgrims, exhorted them to hasten their attack
upon Jerusalem. In the very first days of the siege, a
solitary, who had fixed his retreat on the Mount of Olives,
came to join his prayers with those of the Christians driven
from Jerusalem, and conjured the Crusaders, in the name
of Christ, whose interpreter he declared himself, at once to
proceed to a general assault. Although destitute of either
ladders or machines of war, the Crusaders yielded to the
counsels of the pious hermit, believing that their cowcage
and their swords were suflicient to destroy the ramparts of
the Saracens. The leaders, who had seen so many prodigies
performed by the valour and enthusiasm of the Christian
soldiers, and who had not forgotten the lengthened miseries
of the siege of Antioch, yielded without difficulty to the
impatience of the army ; besides, the sight of Jerusalem had
exalted the minds of the Crusaders, and disposed even the
least credulous to hope that God himself would second their
bravery by miracles.

At the first signal, the Christian army advanced in f^od

208 HISTORY or THE CRUSADES.

order towards tlie ramparts. Never, say the historians, did
the sokliers of the cross evince so much ardour; some,
joined in close battahons, covered themselves witli their
bucklers, which formed an impenetrable vault over their
heads, and endeavoured with pikes and hammers to destroy
the ^A•all ; whilst others, ranged in long files, remained at
some distance, and plied their slings and cross-bows in driving
the enemy from the ramparts. Oil, boiling pitch, large
stones, and enormous beams were cast upon the front ranks
of the Christians without putting the least stop to their
labours. The outer wall began to fall beneath their strokes,
but the inner wall presented an insuperable obstacle, and
nothing was left to them but escalade. This bold method
was attempted, although only one ladder long enough to
reach the top of the walls could be found. The bravest
mounted, and fought hand to hand with the Saracens, who
were confounded with such rash coiu*age. It is probable
that the Crusaders would have entered Jerusalem that very
day if they had had the necessary instruments and machines;
but so small a number of them could gain the top of the
walls, that they could not maintain themselves there. Bra-
very was useless ; Heaven did not perform the miracles
which the solitary had promised, and the Saracens at length
forced the assailants to retreat.

The Christians returned to their camp deploring their
imprudence and creduhty. This first reverse taught them
that they must not always expect prodigies, and that before
they proceeded further they must construct machines of
war. But it was very difiicult to procure the necessary
wood in a coimtry of barren sands and arid rocks. Several
detachments were sent to search for materials ; and chance
discovered to one of them some large beams, wk'ch Tancred
caused to be transported to the camp. They demolished
the houses, and even the churches in the vicinity of the city
v/hich had not been given up to the flames, and every avail-
able bit of wood that had escaped the ravages of the
Saracens was employed in the construction of machines.

In spite of their discoveries and exertions, the progress of
the siege did not answer to the impatience of the Crusaders,
nor did they appear likely t;. be able to avert the evils that
threatened them. The mo.^t intense heats of the summer

HISTOET or THE CKUSADES. 209

set in at the very time the pilgrims arrived before Jerusalem.
A seorcbing sun and soutliern winds, loaded with the sands
of tlie desert, inflamed the horizon. Plants and animals
eriisbecl ; the torrent of Kedron was dry, and all the cisterns
ad been filled up or poisoned.* Under a sun of fire, and
amidst burning and arid plains, the Christian army soon
became a prey to all the horrors of thirst.

The fountain of Siloe, which only Howled at intervals,
could not suffice for such a multitude. A skinful of fetid
water, brought from a distance of three leagues, cost aa
much as three silver deniers. Overcome by thirst and heat,
the soldiers turned up the soil with their swords, and bury-
ing themselves in the freshly-moved earth, eagerly carried
to their lips every moist clod that presented itself. During
the day they looked anxiously for the night, and at night
longed for the break of day, in the constantly disappointed
hope that the return of either the one or the other would
bring some little freshness, or a few drops of rain. Every
morning they were seen to glue their parched lips to the
marbles covered with dew. During the heat of the day the
most robust languished beneath their tents, seeming not to
have even strength left to implore the assistance of Heaven.
The knights and barons were not at all exempt from the
scourge which devoured the army, and many of them ex-
changed for the water of which they stood in daily need, the
treasures they had won from the infidels. " Pity, on account
of this extreme thirst," says the old translator of William
of Tyre, " was not so much due to the foot-soldiers as the
horsemen ; the foot-soldiers could be contented with a little,
but the horsemen could only supply their horses Tvith drink
at great expense. As to the beasts of burthen," adds the
same historian, " there was no more account taken of them
than of things already dead; they were allowed to stray
away in the fields, where they died for want of water."

In this general misery the women and children dragged
their exhausted bodies across fields and plains, seeking
8ometimes a spring and sometimes shade, neither of which

* An admirable picture is to be found in Tasso of this drought, which
is also described by Robert the Monk, Baldric, Raymond d'Agile;;, Albert
d' Aix, "William of Tyre, and by Gilles or Gilou, in his Latin poem upon ih4
ftrst crusade.

10 HISTORY or THE CBrSADES.

existed. Many "^lio strayed from tlie army fell into the
ambushes of the Saracens, and lost either their lives or their
liberty. When some fortunate pilgrims discovered a spring
or a cistern in a remote or obscure place, they concealed it
from their companions, and prevented their approach to it.
Quarrels of a violent nature broke out on this account daily ;
and not unfrequently the Crusaders drew their swords for
the sake of a little muddy water ; in short, the want of water
was so insupportable an evil, that they hardly noticed the
scarcity of food. The intensity of thirst and the heat of the
climate made them forget the horrors of the famine which
seemed to piu'sue the Christians everywhere.

If the besieged had at this period made a sortie, they
would have easily triumphed over the Crusaders, but the
latter were defended by the remembrance of their exploits ;
and in the distress to which they were now reduced, their
name alone still inspired the Saracens with dread. The Mus-
sulmans likewise might entertain the behef that their enemies
could not long resist the joint calamities of famine and
thirst. The old historians here employ the most pathetic
expressions to paint the frightful misery of the pilgrims.
Abbot Gruibert even goes so far as to say that men never
suffered so many evils to obtain benefits which were not of
this earth. Amidst such calamities, says Raymond d'Agiles,
who was himself at the siege of Jerusalem, many forgot their
God, and thought no longer of either gaining the city, or
obtaining the divine mercy. The remembrance of then" own
country increased their sufferings ; and so great was their
discouragement, that some deserted the standards of the
crusade entirely, and fled to the ports of Palestine and Syria
to wait for an opportunity of returning to Europe.

The leaders clearly saw there was no other remedy for the
evils the army endured but the taking of Jerusalem ; and yet
the labours of the siege went on very slowly, for they had
neither wood enough for the construction of machines, nor
workmen with necessary implements. In addition, a report
was current that a formidable army had left Egypt for the
purpose of relieving the city. The wisest and the bravest
were beginning, in such a critical situation, to despair (€ the
success of the enterprise, when assistance was afforded them
of an une »pected kind.

HISTORY OF TEE CRUSADES. 211

They learned that a Genoese fleet had entered the port of
Jaffa, laden with provisions and ammunition of all sorts.
This news spread the j^-reatest joy through the Christian
i,/my, and a body of throe hundred men, commanded by
Raymond Pelet, set out from the camp to meet the convoy,
which Heaven appeared to have sent the Crusaders in theif
misery. This detachment, after having beaten and dispersed
tlie Saracens they met on their passage, entered the city ol
Jaffa, which, being abandoned by its inhabitants, was occu-
pied by the Genoese. On their arrival, the Crusaders learnt
that the Christian fleet had been surprised and burnt by
that of the infidels, but they had had time to get out the
pro\dsions and a great quantity of instruments for the con-
struction of machines of war. All they had been able to
save was transported to the camp of the Christians. This
convoy arrived under the walls of Jerusalem, followed by a
great number of Genoese engineers and carpenters, whose
presence greatly revived the emulation and courage of the
army.

As they still had not sufiicient wood for the construction
of the machines, a Syrian conducted the duke of Normandy
and the count of Flanders to a mountain situated at a dis-
tance of thirty miles from Jerusalem, between the Valley of
Samaria and the Valley of Sechem. There the Christians
found the forest of which Tasso speaks in the " Jerusalem
Delivered."* The trees of this forest were neither protected
from the axe of the Crusaders by the enchantments of
Ismen nor the arms of the Saracens. Oxen shod with iron
transported them in triumph before Jerusalem.

None of the leaders, except E,aymond of Thoulouse, had

* Maimbourg does not seem to credit the existence of this forest, and
says that it is an invention of Tasso's. He. might have read in William
of Tyre this sentence, which is not at all equivocal : — Casu affuit quidam
fidelis indigena natione Syrus, qui in valles quasdam secretiores, sex aut
scptem a'l urbe distantes milliaribus, quosdam de principibus direxit, ubi
arbores, etsi non ad conceptum opus aptas penitus, tamen ad aliquem
tnodum proceras invenerunt plures. Raoul de Caen is much more
positive and explicit than William of Tyre ; this is the way in which he
expresses himself: — Lucus erat in montibus et montes ad Hyerusalem
remoti ei ; quae modo Neapolis, olim Sebasta, ante Sychar dictus est,
propriores, adhuc ignota nostratibus via, nunc Celebris et ferme peregre
oantium unica. — Rad. Cad. cap. 121.

Vol 1— U

212 HISTORY OF THE CT?^SADE8.

sufficient money to pay for the labours they had com-
manded, but the zeal and charity of the pilgrims came to
their assistance. Many oflbred the remains of the spoil
taken from the enemy ; the knights and barons themselves
became laborious workmen ; and every arm was employed,
and everything in motion throughout the army. The women,
the children, even the sick, shared the toils of the soldiers.
Whilst the more robust were engaged in the construction of
rams, catapultas, and covered galleries, others fetched water
in skins from the fountain of Elpira, on the road to Damas-
cus, or from a rivulet which flowed beyond Bethlehem,
towards the desert of St. John. Some prepared the skins
that were to be stretched over the machines to render them
fire-proof, whilst others traversed the plains and neigh-
bouring mountains to collect branches of the olive, the fig,*
and some other trees of the country, to make hurdles and
faggots.

Although the Christians had still much to suffer from
thirst and the heat of the climate, the hope of soon seeing
the end of their troubles gave them strength to support
them. The preparations for the attack were pressed on with
incredible activity ; every day formidable machines appeared,
threatening the ramparts of the Saracens. The construction
of them was directed by Graston of Beam, of whose skill
and bravery historians make great boast.f Among these
machines were three enormous towers of a new structure,
each of which had three stages, the first for the workmen
who directed the movements of it, and the second and third
for the warriors who were to make the assault. These three
rolling fortresses were higher than the walls of the besieged
city.J At the top was fixed a kind of drawbridge, which

* A sufficiently remarkable circumstance is, that the shrub which grows
most freely in the territory of Jerusalem, and which the Crusaders must
have used, was the rhamnus^ a thorny siH-ub, of which, if we give faith ta
the opinion of Pierre Belon, was formed the crown of thorns of Christ.
Christopher Hasselquoit, it is true, is not of this opinion, and pretends
that the crown of thorns was of the shrub nakba.

•\ Quemdam egregium et magnificum virum, dominum videlicet Gas-
tonem de Bean», operi prefecerunt. — Will. Tyren. lib. viii. cap. 10,
Raymond d'AgiUs and Abbot Guibert speak also of Gaston de Beam.

% The chevaliei le Felart, in his treaty on The Attack of Places, sA
the end of his commentary upon Poiybius, speaks of the tower of Godfrey,

HISTOET OF THE CETJSADES. 21S

could be let down on the ramparts, and present a road by
which to penetrate into the place.

But these powerful means of attack were not the only
ones which were to second the efforts of the Crusaders. The
religious enthusiasm which had already performed so many
prodigies was again to augment their ardour and confidence
in victory. The clergy spread themselves through all the
quarters of the army, exhorting the pilgrims to penitence
and concord. Misery, which almost always engenders com-
plaints and mm'murs, had soured their hearts, and produced
division among the leaders and the soldiers, who at other
times had disputed for cities and treasures, but for whom then
the most common things had become objects of jealousy and
quarrels. The solitary from the Mount of Olives added his
exhortations to those of the clergy, and addressing himself
to the princes and people : " You who are come," said he,
" from the regions of the West to worship the Grod of
armies, love one another as brothers, and sanctify yourselves
by repentance and good works. If you obey the laws of
God, he will, render you masters of the holy city ; if you
resist him, all his anger will fall upon you." The solitary
advised the Crusaders to march roiuid Jerusalem, invoking
the mercy and protection of Heaven.

The pilgrims, persuaded that the gates of the city were
not less hkely to be opened by devotion than bravery, lis-
tened with docility to the exhortations of the solitary, and
were all eager to follow; his counsel, which they regarded as
the language of God himself. After a rigorous fast of three
days, they issued from their quarters armed, and marched
barefooted and bareheaded around the walls of the holy city.
They were preceded by their priests clothed in white, carry-
ing images of the saints, and singing psalms and holy songs.
The ensigns were displayed, and the C3Tnbals and trumpets
sounded afar. It was thus that the Hebrews had formerly
marched round Jericho, whose walls had crumbled away at
the sound of their instruments.

The Crusaders set out from the Valley of Bephraim, which

which he imprcperij calls the tower of Frederick the First of Jerusalem,
He gives a detailed and very exact description of this tower, which is like*
wise well described by contemporary historians.

214 HISTOllt OF THE CEUSADES.

faces Calyary ; they advanced towards the north, and saluted,
on entering into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, the tombs of
Mary, St. Stephen, and the first elect of God. On con-
tinuing their march towards the Mount of Ohves, they con-
templated with much respect the grotto in which Christ
sweated blood, and the spot where the Saviour wept over
Jerusalem. When they arrived at the summit of the moun-
tain, the most imposing spectacle presented itself to their
eyes. Towards the east were the plains of Jericho, the
shores of the Dead Sea and the Jordan ; and to the west
they saw at their feet the holy city and its territory, covered
with sacred ruins. Assembled on the very spot whence
Christ ascended into heaven, and where they stiU sought for
the vestiges of his steps, they listened to the exhortations of
tlie priests and biphops.

Arnold de Hohes, chaplain to the duke of Normandy,
addressed them in a pathetic discourse, conjiu-ing them to
redouble their zeal and perseverance. AVhen terminating
his discourse, he turned towards Jerusalem : " Tou see,"
said he to them, " the heritage of Christ trampled under-
foot by the impious ; here is, at last, the worthy reward of
all your labours ; here are the places in which Grod will
pardon all your sins, and will bless all your victories." At
the voice of the orator, who pointed out to them the church
of the B-esurrection and the rocks of Calvary, ready to
receive them, the defenders of the cross humbled themselves
before Grod, and kept their eyes fixed upon Jerusalem.

As Arnold exhorted them, in the name of Christ, to forget
all injuries, and to love one another, Tancred and E-aymond,
who had had long and serious disputes, embraced each other
in the presence of the whole Christian army. The soldiers
and leaders followed their example. The most rich promised
to comfort the poor by their alms, and to support the
orphans of the bearers of the cross. All forgot their fatal
discords, and swore to remain faithful to the precepts of
evangelical charity.

Whilst the Crusaders were thus giving themselves up to
transports of devotion and piety, the Saracens assembled on
the ramparts of Jerusalem, raised crosses high in the air,
and treated them with all kinds of outrages, at the same
time insulting the ceremonies of the Christians by their

HISTOET OF THE CEUSADES. 215

gestures and their clamours.* "You hear them," said Peter the
Hermit ; " you hear the menaces and the blasphemies against
the true God ; swear to defend Jesus Christ, a prisoner, and
cruciiied a second time by the infidels. Tou see him who
expires afresh upon Calvary for the redemption of your
sins."t At these words the cenobite was interrupted by
the groans and cries of indignation which arose on all parta
against the infidels. " Yes, I swear by your piety," con-
tinued the orator, " I swear by your arms, that the reign of
the impious is near its end. The army of the Lord has
only to appear, and all that vain mass of Mussulmans w^ill
disperse like a shadow. To-day they are full of pride and
insolence, to-morrow they shall l3e frozen with fear, and shall
fall motionless before you, like the guardians of the sepul-
chre, who felt their arms escape from their hands, and fell
dead vdth fright, when an earthquake announced the pre-
sence of a God on that Calvary on which you are going
to mount the breach. Still a few moments, and these
towers, the last bulwark of the infidels, shall be the asylum
of the Christians ; these mosques, which stand upon Chris-
tian ruins, shall serve as temples for the true God, and
Jerusalem shall only henceforward hear the praises of the
Lord."

At these last words of Peter the most lively transports
broke forth among the Christians ; they embraced, shedding
tears, and exhorting each other to support the evils and the
fatigues of which they should so soon receive the glorious
rew^ard. The Christians at length descended the Mount of
OHves to return to their camp, and, taking their route
southward, they saluted on their right the tomb of David, and
passed close to the pool of Siloe, where Christ restored sight
to the man born blind. They perceived, further on, the

* Cruces fixerunt, super quas aut spu'^bant, aut in oculis omnium
mingere non abhorrebant. — Ab. Aq. lib, vi.

t See, for this procession, Baldric, bishop of Dol. lib. iv. ; Accolte^
lib, iv. ; Albert d'Aix, lib, vi. ; William of Tyre, lib. vii. It cannot
be doubted that the leaders caused this procession to be made round
Jerusalem, in order that the sight of so many places should arouse the
enthusiasm of the Crusaders, We must regret that Tasso, who speaks
of this procession, has scarcely said anything of ths places the Christian!
visited ; these details would have furnished poetical beauties, without in
anything departing from the exactitude of history.

216 HISTORY OF rnE cresades.

ruins of the palaces of Judali, and marched along the de-
clivity of Mount Sion, where other remembrances arose
before them to add to their enthusiasm. Towards evening,
the Christian army returned to their quarters, repeating these
words of the prophet : The nations of the West shall fear
the Lord ; and the nations of the East shall see his glory.
"VYhen tliey had regained their camp, the greater part of the
pilgrims passed the night in prayer ; the leaders and the
soldiers confessed their sins at the feet of their priests,
and received their God, whose promises filled them with
confidence and hope.

Whilst these things were passing in the Christian camp,
the most profound silence reigned over the walls of Jerusa-
lem ; nothing was heard but the voices of the men who,
from hour to hour, from the tops of the mosques of the city,
called the Mussulmans to prayer. The infidels came in
crowds to their temples to implore the protection of their
prophet, and swore by the mysterious stone of Jacob to
defend a city which they called the House of God. The
besieged and the besiegers were stimulated by an equal
ardour to fight and to shed their blood, the former to pre-
serve, and the latter to conquer a city which both held
sacred. The hatred which animated them was so violent,
that diu^ing the whole siege no Mussulman deputy came
into the Christian camp, nor did the Christians deign
to summon the garrison to suiTender. Between such
enemies the shock must necessarily be terrible, and the
rictory implacable.

The leaders of the Christian army being assembled to
decide upon the day for attacking the city, it was resolved
to take advantage of the enthusiasm of the pilgrims, which
was at its height, and to press forward the assault, the pre-
parations for which were rapidly going on. As the Saracens
had raised a great number of machines on the sides of the
city most tlu*eatened by the Christians, it was agreed that
they should change the dispositions of the siege, and that
the principal attack should be directed towards the points
where the enemy had made the least preparations for
defence.

During the night Godfrey removed his quarters eastward.
near to the gate of Cedar, and not far from the valley in

HISTORY OP THE CKUSADI^S. 217

wliicli Titiis was encamped when liis soldiers penetrated into
the galleries of the temple. The rolling tower, and the
other machines of war which tbe duke of Lorraine liad
caused to be constructed, were transported with incredible
diffici.dty in face of the walls he intended to attack. Tan-
cred and the two Roberts got readj their machines, between
the gate of Damascus and the angular tower, which waa
afterwards called the tower of Tancred*

When the Saracens, at daybreak, saw these new disposi-
tions, they were seized with astonishment and affright. The
Crusaders might have taken profitable advantage of the
alarm which this change created in the enemy, but upon
steep ground it was difficult to bring the towers up close to
the walls. Kaymond in particular, who was charged with
the attack on the south, found himself separated from the
rampart by a ravine, which it was necessary to have filled
up. He immediately made it known, by a herald-at-arms,
that he would pay a denier to every person who should cast
three stones into it. A crowd of people instantly flew to
second the efforts of his soldiers ; nor could the darts and
arrows, which were hurled like hail fi'om the ramparts, at all
relax the ardour and zeal of the assailants. At length, at
the end of the third day, all was finished, and the leaders
gave the signal for a general attack.

On Thursday, the 14th of July, 1099, as soon as day ap-
peared, the clarions sounded in the camp of the Christians ;
all the Crusaders flew to arms ; all the machines were in
motion at once ; the stone-machines and mangonels vomited
showers of flints, whilst under the cover of tortoises and
galleries, the rams were brought close to the walls. The
archers and cross-bowmen kept up a continual discharge
against the rampart ; whilst the most brave planted their
ladders in places where the wall seemed to offer least resist-

* Raymand d'Agiles says that Godfrey's tower was transplanted by
night a mile from the spot where it had been constructed ; which leads ua
to believe thtit the principal attack was directed near the gate of Cedar,
towards the entrance of the Valley of Jehoshaphat. For the rest, we must
regret that M. de Chateaubriand, who has written a very interesting
dissertation upon the military positions of Tasso, has not thrown light
upon the obscurities of the historians which present themselves in thii
portion of their accounts of the siege.

218 HISTORY OE THE CRUSADES.

ance. On the north, east, and south of the city, the thre«
towers advanced towards the ramparts, amidst the tumult
and shouts of the soldiers and the workmen. Godfrey
appeared on the highest platform of his wooden fortress,
accompanied by his brother Eustace and Baldwin du Bourg,
He animated his people by his example ; and every javelm
that he cast, say the historians of the times, carried death
among the Saracen host. Kaymond, Tancred, the duke of
Normandy, and the count of Flanders fought amidst their
soldiers ; whilst the knights and men-at-arms, animated by
the same zeal as their principal chiefs, flew from place to
place where danger called them.

Nothing coidd equal the impetuosity of the first shock of
the Christians ; but they were everyv^'here met by an obsti-
nate resistance. Arrows, javehns, boiling oil, Grreek fire,
fourteen machines which the besieged had now time to
oppose to those of their enemies, repulsed on all sides the
attacks and the efibrts of the assailants. The infidels
issuing through a breach made in their rampart, attempted
to burn the machines of the besiegers, and carried disorder
among the Christian ranks. Towards the end of the day,
the towers of Godfrey and Tancred could no longer be
moved, whilst that of Eaymond fell to pieces. The combat
had lasted twelve hours, without victory having inclined to
the side of the Crusaders, when night came to put a tem-
porary end to the efforts of both parties. The Christians
returned to their camp trembling with rage and grief; the
leaders, but particularly the two Eoberts, lamenting that
God Jiad not yet thought them worthy of entering into his
holy city, and adoring the tomh of his Son.*

The night was spent anxiously on both sides, each deplor-
ing their losses, and trembling at the idea of others they
were likely to sustain. The Saracens dreaded a surprise ;
the Christians were afraid that the Saracens would burn the
machines they had left under the w ills. The besieged were

* This circumstance is thus related by Abbot Guibert : — Est etiam
mihi non inferiori relatione comperturn, Robertum Normandise comiteaa
Robertumque alterura Flandriarum principera, junctis pariter convenisse
moeroribus, et se cum fletibus uberrimis conclamasse miserrimos, qnos
suae adoratione cruets, et visione, iramo veneratione sepulchri, tantoj>er«
Jesus Dominus judicaret indignos. — Lib. vii. cap. 6,

HISTOKY OE THE CllUSADES. 219

employed without intermission in repairing the breached
made in the walls ; whilst the besiegers were equally active
in putting their machines in a state of service against a
fresh attack. The following day brought a renewal of the
same dangers and the same combats that the preceding one
had witnessed. The chiefs endeavoured by their speeches
to raise the courage of the Crusaders ; whilst the priests
and bishops indefatigably visited the tents of the soldiers,
promising them the assistance of Heaven. The Christian
army, filled with renewed confidence in victory, appeared
under arms, and marched in profound silence towards the
points of attack, whilst the clergy walked ia procession round
the city.

The first shock was impetuous and terrible. The Chris-
tians were indignant at the resistance they had met with the
day before, and fought with fiu'y. The besieged, who had
learnt the approach of an Egyptian army, were animated by
the hope of victory, and their ramparts were protected by
machines of a formidable description. The mutually dis-
charged javelins hissed on all sides ; whilst stones and beams
launched by both Christians and infidels were dashed against
each other in the air with a frightful noise, and fell upon the
assailants. Erom the height of the towers, the Mussulmans
unceasingly hurled lighted torches and fire-pots. The wooden
fortresses of the Christians approached the walls amidst a
conflagration which was increasing on all parts around them.
The infidels directed their attacks particularly against the
tower of Godfrey, upon the summit of which shone a cross
of gold, the sight of which provoked their utmost fury.
The duke of Lorraine saw one of his esquires and many of
his soldiers fall by his side ; but although himself a mark
for all the arrows of the enemy, he fought on amidst the
dead and the wounded, and never ceased to exhort his com-
panions to redouble their courage and ardour. The count
of Thoulouse, who attacked the city on the south side,
brought up all his machines to bear against those of the
Mussulmans : he had to contend against the emir of Jeru-
salem, who animated his people by his words, and appeared
upon the walls surrounded by the elite of the Egyptian sol-
diery. Towards the north, Tancred and tlie two Koberta
stood motionless at the he?d of their battahons, on their

11*

220 HISTORY or THE CRUSADES

rolling fortress, impatient to employ the lance and sword.
Already their rams had, upon several points, shaken the
walls, behind which the Saracens in close ranks presented
themselves as a last rampart against the attacks of the
Christians.

In the midst of the conflict two female magicians appeared
upon the ramparts of the city, calling, as the historians say,
upon the elements and the infernal powers. They could
not, however, themselves avoid the death which they invoked
upon the Christians, and fell dead beneath a shower of arrows
and stones.* Two Egyptian emissaries, sent from Ascalon
to exhort the besieged to persist in their defence, were sur-
prised by the Crusaders as they were endeavouring to enter
the city. One of them fell covered with wounds, and the
other, having revealed the secret of his mission, was, by
means of a machine, hurled upon the ramparts where the
Saracens were fighting. But the combat had now lasted
half the day, witliout affording the Crusaders any hope of
carrying the place. All tlieir machines were on fire, and
they wanted water, but more particularly vinegar,t which
alone will extinguish the species of fire employed by the

* As Tasso often employs magic, we have sought with care for ajl that
relates to this species of the marvellous in the contemporary historians.
That which we have just quoted from William of Tyre, is the only-
instance we have been able to find. Some historians likewise have said
that the mother of Kerboghawas a sorceress, and that she had foretold to
her son the defeat of Antioch. It is in vain to seek for similar incidents
\n the history of the first crusade. We ought to add that magic was
much less in vogue in the twelfth century than in that in which Tasso
lived. The Crusaders were no doubt very superstitious, but their super-
stitions were not attached to little things ; they were struck by the phe-
nomena they saw in the heavens ; they believed in the appearance of
saints, and in revelations made by God himself, but not in magicians.
Ideas of magic came to us a long time afterwards, in the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries. The chroniclers of that period, who speak of anterior
facts, fill their recitals with whimsical and ridiculous fables, such as are
not to be found in more ancient authors. We must not judge of the
middle ages by the chronicles of Robert Gaguin, or by those of Arch-
bishop Turpin, the work of a monk of the twelfth century ; still less by
the romances of the same period.

f We report this circumstance here, in order to give an idea of the fire
which was launched against the Christians. Albert d'ALx expresses him-
self thus : — Qualiter ignis, aqua inextinguibilis solo aceti liquore restingui
valeat, — Alb. Aq. lib. vi. cap. 18.

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES-. 22!i

besieged. In vain the bravest exposed themselves to tha
greatest dangers to prevent the destruction of the wooden
towers and the rams ; tliey fell, buried under the ruins, and
the flames consumed even their bucklers and vestments.
Many of the most intrepid warriors had met with death at
the foot of the ramparts ; a great number of those who were
upon the towers had been disabled ; whilst the rest, covered
with sweat and dust, fatigued by the w^eight of their arms
and the heat, began to lose courage. Ttie Saracens, who
perceived this, uttered loud cries of joy. Among their
blasphemies they reproached the Christians with worshipping
a Grod who was not able to defend them. The assailants
ieplored their fate, and, believing themselves abandoned by
Fesus Christ, remained motionless on the field of battle.

But the combat was destined soon to change its appear-
ance. All at once the Crusaders saw a knight appear upon
the Mount of Olives, waving his buckler, and giving the
Christian army the signal for entering the city.* Grodfre}''
and E,aymond, who perceived him first and at the same time,
cried out aloud that St. Greorge was come to the help of the
Christians ! The tumult of the fight allowed neither reflec-
tion nor examination, the sight of the celestial horseman
fired the besiegers with new ardour ; and they retiu-ned to
the charge. Women, even children and the sick, mingled in
the melee, bringing water, food, and arms, and joined their
efforts to those of the soldiers to move the rolling towers,
the terror of the enemy, nearer the ramparts. f That of
Godfrey, in spite of a terrible discharge of stones, arrows,
and Greek fire, advanced near enough to have its draw-
bridge lowered upon the walls. Flaming darts flew, at the
same time, in showers against the machines of the besieged,
and against the sacks of straw and hay, and bags of wool
which protected the last walls of the city. The wind assisted
the fire, and drove the flames upon the Saracens, who, enve-
loped in masses of flame and smoke, retreated before the lances

* This is repeated by William of Tyre and some other writers,
Raymond d'Agiles very naively says : Quis autera miles ille fuerit cog-
noscere non potuimus. — Raym. d Ag. p. 171, Bongars.

t Matthew of Edessa says that Godfrey used in this assault the sword
of Vespasian, which thus assisted, for the third time, in the destruction ot
Jerusalem No Latin historian mentions it.

222 HISTOEY OF THE CRUSADES.

and swords of the Crusaders. Grodfrey, preceded by the
two brothers Lethalde and Engelbert of Tournai, and fol-
lowed by Baldwin dn Bourg, Eustace, Eeimbault Creton,*
Grunher, Bernard de St. Vallier, and Amenjou d'Albret,
rushes upon the enemy, pursues them, and upon the track
of their footsteps enters Jerusalem. All the brave men
who fought with him on the platform of the tower, followed
their intrepid chief, penetrated with him into the streets,
and massacred all they met in their passage. At the same
time a report was spread in the Christian army that the
holy pontilF Adhemar, and several Crusaders who had fallen
during the siege, had appeared at the head of the assailants,
and had unfurled the standard of the Cross upon the towers
of Jerusalem. Tancred and the two Hoberts, animated by
this account, made fresh eiforts, and at last threw them-
selves into the place, accompanied by Hugh de St. Paul,
Grerard de Koussillon, Louis de Mouson, Conon and Lam-
bert de Montaigu, and Graston de Beam. A crowd of heroes
followed them closely ; some entering by a half-opened
breach ; others scaluig the walls with ladders ; and many

* Oderic Vital attributes to Reirabault Creton of Cambresis the glory
of having first entered Jerusalem. Other historians only name him among
those who followed most closely the steps of the brothers Lethalde and
Engelbert of Tournai. This is the text of Orderic Vital : — Reimboldus
Creton qui primus in expugnatione Jerusalem ingressus est, &c. The
descendants of Reimbolt Creton bore indifferently up to the sixteenth
century the names of Creton and Estourmel. This family preserved as
its device these words, '■'■Vaillant sur la crete;^^ and La Morliere, the
historian of Picardy under Louis XIIL, speaks of them in these terms :
" It adds not a little to the lustre of this family, that it is acknowledged
that they owe the origin of their arms to the first crusade which the
Christians made for the recovery of the Holy Land, bestowed by the hand
of Godfrey of Bouillon, king of Jerusalem, who, to do honour to the
valour of the sieur d'Estourmel, whom he had seen bear himself so
valiantly at the taking of that city, made him a present of a crenated
cross of silver, in which was enchased a piece of the true cross." This
precious reliquary was passed down from generation to generation to the
eldest sons of this house. In the reign of Louis XIIL the marquis
d'Hautefort having espoused the only daughter of Antoine d'Estourmel,
cordon bleu, and first equerry to madame la duchesse d'Orleans, pre-
tended that this piece of the true cross made a part of the inheritance.
This discussion was submitted to the arbitration of the president of
Mesmes, who decided that the cross was to revert to the branch of the
house of Estourmel, which possesses it to this daj.

HISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. 223

leaping from the tops of the wooden towers. The Mussul-
mans fled on alt sides, and Jerusalem resounded with the
cry of victory of the Crusaders, — " It is the will of God ! It
is the will of God / " *

The companions of Godfrey and Tancred beat the gate of
St. Stephen to pieces with axes, and the city was at once
thrown open to the crowd of Crusaders, who pressed for-
w"ard and contended for the honour of dealing the last blow
to the conquered infidels.

Baymond alone still experienced some resistance. "Warned
of the success of the Christians, by the clashing of arms,
and the tumult he heard in the city, he endeavoured stiU
further to animate his soldiers. The latter, impatient to
loin their companions, abandoned their tower and machines,
which they could no longer move. They planted ladders
and swords, by the means of which they mounted the ram-
part, whither they were preceded by the count of Thoulouse,
Kaymond Pelet, the bishop of Bira, the comit de Die, and
William de Sabran. Nothing now could stop their progress ;
they dispersed the Saracens, who with their emir had taken
refuge in the fortress of David,t and soon all the Crusaders
united in Jerusalem embraced, wept for joy, and gave all
their attention to the completion of their victory.

Despair, however, for a moment forced the bravest of the
Saracens to rally, and they charged with impetuosity the

* The details of this assault are repeated by all contemporary historians j
several describe it at length. Foulcher de Chartres, who without doubt
distinguished himself there, is the one who says the least. Anna Com-
nena says that the Christians took Jerusalem in fifteen days, but gives no
details.

t The Oriental authors give no details of the siege of Jerusalem. The
manuscript history of Jerusalem and Hebron, which is in the Imperial
Library, and of which M. Jourdain has been kind enough to translate
several fragments for me, contains nothing but vague notices. The author
contents himself with saying that the siege lasted more than forty days,
and that the Christians killed a great number of Mussulmans. We may
here make a general remark : when the Mussulmans experience reverses,
the Arabian authors are very sparing of details, and satisfy themselves
with telling things in a vague manner, adding, " So God has willed it,
may God curse Ihe Christians y Aboul-Feda gives very few more details
than the rest. He says that the massacre of the Mussulmans lasted
during seven consecutive days, and that seventy thousand persons werf
killed in the mosque of Omar, which is evidently an exaggeration.

224 HISTORY or Tllja CRUSADES.

Christians, who, in the security of victory, were proceeding
to the pillage.* The latter were even beginning to give
way before the enemy they had so recently conquered, when
Everard de Puysaie, of whom Eaoul de Caen has celebrated
the bravery, revived the coiiTage of his companions, placed
himself at their head, and once more spread terror among
the infidels. From that moment tlie Crusaders had no more
enemies to contend with. History has remarked that the
Christians entered Jerusalem on a Friday, at the hour of
three in the afternoon ; exactly the same day and hour at
which Christ expired for the salvation of the human race.
It might have been expected that this memorable epoch
would have awakened sentiments of mercy in their hearts ;
but, irritated by the threats and protracted insults of the
Saracens, incensed by the sufferings they had undergone
during the siege, and by the resistance they had met with
even in the city, they filled with blood and mourning that
Jerusalem which they came to deliver, and which they con-
sidered as their own future country. The carnage soon
became general, for all who escaped from the swords of
Godfrey and Taucred, fell into the hands of the Proven9als,
equally thirsting for blood. The Saracens were massacred
in the streets and in the houses ; Jerusalem contained no
place of refuge for the vanquished. Some sought to escape
death by throwing themselves from the ramparts ; others
flocked in crowds to the palaces, the towers, but particularly
to the mosques, — but nowhere could they escape the pur-
suit of the Christians.

When the Crusaders made themselves masters of the
mosque of Omar, in which the Saracens defended them-
selves for some time, a frightful repetition ensued of the
scenes of carnage which attended the conquest of Titus.
Horse and foot entered the mosque pele-mele with the van-
quished. In the midst of the most horrible tumult nothing
w^as heard but groans, screams, and cries of death ; the con-
querors trampliiig over heaps of bodies in pursuit of all who
endeavoured to escape. Haymond d'Agiles, an ocular wit-
ness, says that 'inder the portico, and in the porch of the
mosque, the blood rose up to tlie knees and the bridles of

* Raoul de Caen, cap. \32 et 133.

HISTOKT or THE CETJSADES. 225

the horses.* To paint the terrible spectacle which was pre-
sented at two periods in the same place, it will suffice to
eay, borrowing the words of the historian Josephus, that the
number of the slain by far surpassed that of the soldiers
who immolated them to their vengeance, and that the moun-
tains near the Jordan in moans reechoed the frightful sounds
that issued from the temple.

The imagination turns with disgust from these horrible
pictures, and can scarcely, am.idst the carnage, contemplate
the touching image of the Christians of Jerusalem, whose
chains the Crusaders had broken. They flocked from all
parts to meet the conquerors ; they shared with them all
the provisions they had been able to steal from the Saracens;
and with them offered up thanks to God for having granted
such a triumph to the arms of the Christians. Peter the
Hermit, who, five years before, had promised to arm the West
for the deliverance of the Christians of Jerusalem, must have
profoundly enjoyed the spectacle of their gratitude and
exultation. Amidst all the Crusaders, they appeared only
to see him ; they recalled his words and his promises ; it was
to him they addressed their songs of praise; it was him they
proclaimed their liberator. They related to him the evils
they had suffered during his absence ; they could scarcely

* We shall content ourselves with repeating here the words of Ray-
mond d'Agiles, Foulcher de Cbartres, and Robert the Monk : — In eodem
tetnplo decern millia decoUati sunt ; pedites nostri usque ad bases cruore
peremptorum tingebantur ; nee foeminis nee parvulis pepercerunt. —
Ful. Caen. ap. Bong. p. 398. Tantum enira ibi humani sanguinis
efFusum est, ut caesorum corpora, unda sanguinis impellente, volverentur
per pavimentum, et brachia sive truncatse manus super cruorem fluita-
bant. — Rob. Mon. lib. 9. In templo et porticu Solomonis equitabatur
in sanguine usque ad genua et usque ad frsenos equorum. — Rapm. d'Ag/,
Bong. p. 179. These words of Raymond d'Agiles are evidently an
hyperbole, and prove that the Latin historians exaggerated things they
ought to have extenuated or concealed. . . . . In a letter written to the
pope, the bishops, and the faithful, by Daimbert, archbishop of Pisa,
Godfrey of Bouillon, and Raymond de St. Gilles, is this remarkable
passage: ** If you desire to know," say they, "what became of the
enemies we found in Jerusalem, know that in the portico of Solomon and
in the temple, our soldiers had the vile blood of the Saracens up to the
knees of their horses." — Si scire desideratis quid de hostibus ibi
repertis ^'actum fuerit, scitote quia in porticu Salomonis, et in templo
nostri equitabant in sanguine foedo Sarracenorum usque ad genua
^quorum. — See Novus T/iesaurf;^ Anecdotorum, torn. i. p, 282.

226 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

believe what wiis passing before them ; and, in their enti./U-
siasm, they expressed astonishment that God should thua
nave employed only a single man to stir up so many nations,
and to effect such prodigies.

The sight of the brethre^n they had delivered, no doubt
recalled to the minds of the pilgrims that they were come
for the purpose of adoring the tomb of Christ ; and the pioua
Godfrey, who had abstained from carnage after the victory,
quitted his companions, and, followed by three attendants,
repaired without arms and barefooted to the church of the
Holy Sepulchre.* The news of this act of devotion was
soon spread through .the Christian army, and immediately
all vengeajice and all fury were at an end ; the Crusaders,
casting away their bloody vestments, made the city resound
wdth their groans and their sobs, and, conducted by the
clergy, marched together, with their feet bare and their
heads uncovered, towards the church of the Resurrection.

When the Christian army was thus assembled on Calvary,
night began to fall ; silence reigned over the public places
and aroimd the ramparts ;t nothing was heard in the holy
city but hymns of penitence and these words of Isaiah,
" Tbu who love Jerusalem, rejoice with her^ The Crusaders
exhibited a devotion so animated and so tender, that it
might have been said, according to the remark of a modern
historian, J that these men who had just taken a city by
assault, and had committed a horrible carnage, had come
forth from a long retirement and a profound meditation
upon our mysteries. These inexplicable contrasts are often
to be observed in the history of the crusades. Some writers
have believed that they found in them a pretext to accuse
the Christian religion itself, whilst others, not les« blind or
passionate, have endeavoured to paUiate the deplorable
excesses of fanaticism ; the impartial historian contents
himself vdth relating them, a.i/i mourns in silence over the
weaknesses of human nature.

* Albert d'Aix names these three attendants Baldric, Adelborde, and
Stabulon.

t Some historians say that the Christians did not go to the Holy
Sepulchre until the day after the conquest. We here adopt the opinion
of Albert d'Aix, which appears U us the most probable.

J Le P. Maimbourg, Histoire des Croisades.

HISTOUY or THE CEUSADES. 227

The pious fervour of the Christians only suspended the
scenes of carnage. The policy of some of the leaders might
make them believe that it was necessary to inspire the
Saracens with as much dread as possible ; they thought,
perhaps also, that if they released the men who had defended
Jerusalem, they should have to fight them over again, and
that it was not prudent for them, in a distant country and
surrounded by enemies, to undertake the charge of prisoners
whose number by far surpassed that of their own soldiers.
The approach of the Egyptian army hkewise was announced,
and the dread of a new danger closed their hearts against
pity. In their council, a sentence of death was decreed
.ugahist all the Mussulmans that remained in the city.*

i^'anaticism but too well seconded this barbarous policy.
All the enemies whom humanity or the fatigue of carnage
had at first spared, and even such as had been saved in
hopes of a rich ransom, were slaughtered. They compelled
the Saracens to cast themselves from the tops of the towers
and the houses ; they made them perish in the midst of
flames ; they dragged them from their subterranean con-
cealments to the public places, and there immolated them
upon heaps of dead. Neither the tears of women nor the
cries of infants, not even the sight of the very place where
Christ had pardoned his executioners, 'lould soften the
hearts of the angry conquerors. The carnage was so great
that, according to the report of Albert d' Aix, bodies were
seen heaped up, not only in the palaces, the temples, and
the streets, but even in the most retired and sohtary places.
Such was the delirium of vengeance and fanaticism, that
these scenes appear not to have been revolting to the eyes
of those woo beheld them. The contemporary historians
describe them without thinking of excusing them, and
amidst recitals of the most disgusting details, never allow
a single expression of horror or pity to escape them.f

* Albert d'Aix gives the sentence which emanated from the council of
the leaders. This sentence is supported by the motives we have pointed
out.

t We have already quoted some of these historians ; others relate
neaily the same details, and with the same sang froid. We will quote no
other but Raymond d'Agiles, who expresses himself thus : — Alii namque
Ulorum, auoD levius erat, obtruucabantur capitibus ; alii autem

t2S HISTOET or TUE CEUSADES.

Tlie few Crusaders who had preserved any feelings ol
humanity had not the power to check the fury of an army
who thought they were avenging outraged rehgion. Three
hundred Saracens, who had taken refuge on the platform of
the mosque of Omar, were immolated on the day after the
conquest, in spite of the prayers of Tancred, who had sent
tliem his standard as a safeguard, and was indignant to find
tliat so little respect was paid to the laws of honour and
chivalry.* The Saracens who had retreated to the fortress
of David were almost the only persons that escaped death.
Kaymond accepted their capitulation, and had the good
fortune and the glory to have it executed ; but this act of
humanity appeared so strange to the greater part of the
Crusaders, that they expressed leps, admiration for the
generosity of the count de St. Gilles than contempt for his
avarice.f

The carnage did not cease until the end of a week. Such
of the Saracens as had been able to elude pursuit during
this period were reserved for the service of the army. The
Oriental and Latin historians agree in stating the number
of the Mussuhnans slain in Jerusalem to have been more
than seventy thousand. The Jews met with no more mercy
than the Saracens. The soldiers set fire to the synagogue
in which they had taken refuge, and all perished in the
flames.

But it began to be feared that the bodies heaped up in
the public places, and the blood which had flooded the
mosques and the streets might give rise to pestilential
diseases, and the leaders gave orders that the streets should
be cleansed, and that a spectacle which, now fury and fana-
ticism were satisfied, must have been odious to them, should
be removed from before their eyes. Some Mussulman pri-
Boners, who had only escaped the sword of the conquerors

sagittati, de turribus saltare cogebantur ; alii vero diutissime torti et
ignious adusti flarameriebantur (sic). Videbantur per vicos et plateas
civitatis aggeres capitum et manuum atque pedum. — Raym. de Ag,
p. 178.

* Tankredus miles gloriosus stiper hac blbi illata injuria, vehementi
Ira succensus est. — Alb. Aq. lib. Y»i. cap. 29.

t Comes Raymundus, avaritia corruptus, Sarracenos milites quos in
turrim David elapsos obsederat, ai^cepta ingenti pecuuia, illaesos abire
permisit. — Alb. Aq. lib. vi. cap. 28

HISTOKI OF THli OEUSADES. 229

to fall into a horrible state of slavery, were ordered to bury
the disfigured bodies of their friends and brothers. " They
wept," says "Robert the Monk,* " and transpoi'ted the car-
cases out of Jerusalem." They were assisted in this melan-
choly duty by the soldiers of Raymond, who, having entered
last into the city, had not had a large share of the plunder,
and sought to increase it by a close search of the bodies of
the Saracens.

The city of Jerusalem soon presented a new spectacle.
In the course of a few days only it had changed its inhabi-
tants, laws, and religion. Before the last assault it had
been agreed, according to the custom of the Crusaders in
their conquests, that every warrior should remain master
and possessor of the house or edifice in which he should
present himself first. A cross, a buckler, or any other
mark placed upon a door, was, for every one of the con-
querors, a good title of possession. This right of property
was respected by every soldier, however greedy of plunder,
and the greatest order soon reigned in a city but recently
given up to all the horrors of war. The victory enriched
the greater part of the Crusaders. The conquerors shared
the provisions and the riches they had found, and such
as had not been fortunate in the pillage had no cause to
complain of their companions. A part of the treasures
was employed in assisting the poor, in supporting orphans,
md in decorating the altars they had freed from the Mus-
sulmans.

Tancred had as his share all the wealth fonnd in the mosque
of Omar. Among these riches were twenty candelabra of
gold, a hundred and twenty of silver, a large lamp,t and
many other ornaments of the same metals. This booty was
so considerable, that it would have been enough, say the
historians, to load six chariots, and employed Tancred two
days in removing it from the mosque. The Italian hero
gave up a portion of this to his soldiers and another to
Grodfrey, to whose service he had attached himself. He
distributed abundance of alms, and placed fifty gold marks

* Robert the Monk expresses himself thus : " Flebant et extrahebant."
•f" Properly speaking, this was a kind of lustre which the Arabians call
tfidour. The Mussulmans have them of so large a size that it is necessarj
\Ai enlarge the doors of tli > mosques by a breach, in order to admit them

230 HISIOEY OF THE CEUSADES.

m tlie hands of the Latin clergy for the reestablishment
and the decoration of the churches.

But the Crusaders soon turned their eyes from the trea-
sures which victory had bestowed upon them to admire a
conquest mucli more precious in their estimation ; this was
the true cross, which had had been borne away from Jeru-
salem by Cosroes and brought back again by Herachus
The Christians shut up in the city had concealed it from
the Saracens during the siege. The sight of it excited the
most lively emotions in the pilgrims. " OftJds thing ^'' saya
an old chronicle, " tlie Christians were as much delighted as
if they had seen the hody of Christ hung thereupon ^ It was
borne in triumph through tlie streets of Jerusalem, and then
replaced in the church of the E-esurrection.

Ten davs after their victory the Crusaders employed
themselves in restoring the throne of David and Solomon,
and in placing upon it a leader who might preserve and
maintain a conquest that the Christians had made at the
expense of so much blood. The council of the princes being
assembled, one of the leaders (liistory names the count of
Flanders) arose in the midst of them, and spoke in these
terms :* " Brothers and companions ; we are met to treat of
an affair of the greatest importance ; never did we stand in
greater need of the counsels of wisdom and the inspirations
of heaven. In ordinary times it is desirable that authority
should be in the hands of the most able ; with how much
greater reason then ought we to seek for the man most
worthy to govern this kingdom, still in a great measure in
the power of the barbarians. Already we are told that the
Egj^tians threaten this city, for which we are about to
choose a master. The greater part of the Christian warriors
are impatient to return to their country, and to abandon to
others the care of defending their conquests. The new
people then who are going to inhabit this land will have in
their neighbourhood no other Christian nations to assist
them in their need or console them in their disgraces.
Their enemies are near them, their allies are beyond the
seas. The king we shall give them ^•ill be their only sup-
port amidst the perils which will surround them. He thee

* See, for this deliberation and this speech, the History of Accolti
IH). iv., and that of Yves Duchat.

HISTOEY OF THE CErSADES. • 231

who is called upon to govern this country must liave all the
qualities necessary to maintain his position with glory ; he
must unite with the bravery natural to the Franks, tem-
perance, good faith, and humanity ; for you know by such
virtues great principalities are acquired and kept as well as
by arms. Let us not forget, brothers and companions, that
our object to-day is not so much to elect a kiag for Jerusa-
lem, as to bestow upon it a faithful guardian. He whom
we shall choose as leader must be as a father to all those
who have quitted their country and their families for the
service of Jesus Christ and the defence of the holy places.
He must make virtue flourish in this land where God him-
self has given the model of it ; he must win the infidels to
the Christian religion, accustom them to our manners, and
teach them to bless our laws. If you elect one who is not
worthy, you will destroy your o^\ti work, and will bring ruin
on the Christian nam.e in this country. I have no need to
recall to your minds the exploits or the labours which have
placed us in possession of this territory ; I will not remind
you of the dearest wishes of our brothers who have remained
in the West. What would be their sorrow, what would be
ours, if, on our return to Europe, we should hear that the
public good had been neglected and betrayed, or religion
abolished in these places where we have restored its altars ?
Many would then not fail to attribute to fortune, and not to
virtue, the great things we have done, whilst the evils which
this kiQgdom would undergo would pass in the eyes of men
as the fruit of our imprudence.

" Do not believe, however, brothers and companions, that I
speak thus because I am ambitious of royalty, and that I am
seeking your favour or suifrages. No ; I have not sufficient
presumption to aspire to such an honour; I take Heaven
and men to witness, that even if you should offer me the
crown, I would not accept it, being resolved to return to
my own country. That which I have said to you is but for
the good and glory of aU. For the rest, I supplicate you to
receive this advice as I give it to you, with affection, frank-
ness, and loyalty, and to elect for king him who by his vir-
tue shall be most capable of preserving and extending this
kingdom, to which are attached both the honour of joul
arns and the cause of Jesus Christ."

2d^ niSTOEY or the crusades.

Scarcely had the count of Elanders ceased speaking, tlian
all the other leaders gave him the warmest praise for his
prudence and good feelings. Most of them even thought of
oiFering him the honour he had declined, for he who in such
circumstances refuses a crown, always appears to be the
most wortiiy of it ; but Itobert had expressed himself with
frankness and good faith ; he longed to return to Europe,
and was satisfied with the honour of bearing tlie title of
"the Son of St. George," which his exploits in the holy war
had obtained for him.

Among the leaders who could be called upon to reign
over Jerusalem, we must place in the first rank Godfrey,
Raymond, the duke of Normandy, and Tancred. The only
object of Tancred was glory in arms, nnd he placed the title
of knight far above that of king. The duke of Normandy,
likewise, had evinced more bravery than ambition ; after
having disdained the kingdom of England, he was not likely
to be anxious to gain that of Jerusalem. If we may believe
an English historian,* he might have obtained the sufirages
v»f his companions ; but he refused the throne of David from
indolence, which so irritated God against him, says the same
author, that nothing afterwards prospered with him during
the remainder of his life. The count of Thoulouse had
taken an oath never to return to Europe, but his companions
dreaded his obstinate and ambitious character ; and although
several authors have said that he refused to ascend the
throne on account of his great age, everything leads us to
believe that the Christians feared to have him for king.

The opinions of the leaders and the army were various
and uncertain. The clergy insisted that a patriarch should
be named before they elected a king ; the princes were not
at all agreed among themselves, and of the body of the
Crusaders, some would have wished to choose him whom

* The English historian Brompton expresses himself thus whilst re-
lating the misfortunes that Robert afterwards experienced : — Sic reddidit
Dominus vicem pro vice duci Roberto, quia cum gloriosum in actibus
Jerosolimitantis eum Dominus redderet, regnum Jerosolimitantum sibi
oblatum renuit, magis eligens quieti et desidiae in Normania deservire
quam regi regum in sancta civitate militare. Damnavit igitur eum Deus
desidia. perenni et carcere sempiterno. — See tte HistoricB Anglican
ScriptortSf torn. i. f 1002.

HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES. ' 233

tliey had followed througli the holy war, whilst others, like
tlie Proven9als, who had no attachment for the count ol
St. Grilles, and were not desirous of remaining in Asia, gave
all their efforts to keep the crown of Jerusalem from the
prince under whose colours they served.

To terminate the debate, it was decided that the choice
should be made by a special council of ten of the most
highly respected men of the army. Prayers, fasts, and alms
were commanded, in order to propitiate Heaven to guido
them in the nomination they were about to make. They
who were called upon to choose the king swore, in the pre-
sence of the whole Christian army, not to listen to any
interest or any private affection, but to decree the crown to
wisdom and virtue. These electors, whose names history
has not preserved, gave the utmost attention to ascertain
the opinion of the army upon the merits of each of the
leaders. William of Tyre relates that they went so far as
even to interrogate the familiar associates and servants of
all who had any pretensions to the crown, and that they
made them take an oath to reveal all they knew of the
manners, characters, and secret propensities of their mas-
ters. The servants of Godfrey of Bouillon gave the most
striking evidence of his mildness and humanity, but above
all of his exemplary devotion.

To add to this honourable testimony, the exploits of the
duke of Lorraine during the holy war were dwelt upon. They
remembered that at the siege of Nice he had killed the most
redoubtable of the Saracens ; that he had split from shoulder
to haunch a giant on the bridge of Antioch, and that in
Asia Minor he had exposed his life to save that of a soldier
who was overpowered by a bear. Many other feats of bravery
were related of him, which in the minds of the Crusaders
placed him above all the other competitors.*

Godfrey was the leader decidedly in possession of the suf-
frages of the majority of the army and the people ; and that
he might not want anything in the expression of their wishes
for his success, revelations were announced that God himseli
declared in his favour. " Many years before the crusade,"
*ay8 Albert d'Aix, " a soldier named Hezelon d© Kintz-

* See Abbot Guibert, lib. vii. cap. 12.

234 HISTOKT OF THE CETISADES.

yeiler, had fallen asleep in a forest, and, being »onveyed in
a dream to the summit of Sinai, he had seen. Godfrey,
covered with glory, and accompanied by two celestial mes-«
sengers, who announced to him that Grod had chosen him,
as he had done Moses, to be the conductor and chief of hia
people." A clerk, Giselbert (a canon of St. Mary, of Aix
la Chapelle), related a vision not less miraculous. The duke
of Lorraine had appeared to him seated upon the throne
even of the sun. The birds of heaven from all climates and
all points of the horizon, flew around him in numberlesa
troops. The recital of this apparition was accompanied by
many other circumstances which we have not space to re*
peat ; but the Crusaders, who were much struck with them
did not fail to see in the throne of the sun a faithful image
of that of Jerusalem, and in the birds of heaven the mul-
titude of pilgrims who would come from all countries to do
honoiu' to the glorious reign of Godfrey.*

These visions, which are despised in an enlightened age,
had great power over the Christian army, and did not
contribute less than the personal merit of the prince of
Bouillon to draw upon him the attention of all. In this
disposition of the general mind, the Crusaders looked with
impatience for the decision of the council which was to give
a king to Jerusalem.

At length the electors, after mature deliberations, and an
anxious inquiry for all necessary information, proclaimed the
name of Godfrey. This nomination caused the most lively
joy throughout the Christian army, and was considered as
an inspiration of heaven. By the authority given to him,
Godfrey became the depositary of the dearest interests of
the Crusaders. Every one among them had in somo sort
confided his own glory to him, by leaving him the care of
watching over and guiding their conquests. They conducted
him in triumph to the church of the Holy Sepulchre, where
he took the oath ^d respect the laws of honour and justice.
He refused the amdem and the insignia of royalty, saying
that he would never accept a crown of gold in a city in
which the Saviour of the world had been crowned with

* Albert d'Aix, who relates these two visions at length, terminates
thus : — Horum somniorum prsesignatione ex Dei ordinatione, populi
Christiani benevolentia, Godefrido in solio regni Jerusalem exaltato.

HISTOET OF THE CErSADES. 235

thorns. He contented himself with the modest title of
defender and baron of the Holy Sepulchre. It has been
pretended that in this he only acted in obedience to the in-
3inuations of the clergy, who were afraid of seeing pride
seated upon a throne over which the spirit of Christ ought
to reign. However this may be, Grodfrey richly merited by
Lis v^irtues the title of king which history has given him,
and which was far more due to him than the name of king-
dom was to the feeble states he had to govern.

As the war had the triumph of religion for its object, the
clergy employed themselves in naming bishops, consecrating
churches, and sending pastors to all the cities that had sub-
mitted to the power of the Christians. Piety and disinter-
estedness ought to have presided in the choice of the ministers
of Christ ; but since the death of the virtuous Adhemar, the
greater part of the Latin ecclesiastics, no longer restrained
by his example, had forgotten the humility and simplicity of
tneir profession. If William of Tyre may be believed, ad-
dress and intrigue openly obtained the suffrages, and the
spirit of the religion which had just given Jerusalem a good
king, could not succeed in bestowing upon it prelates re-
spectable either for their wisdom or their virtues. The
clergy, who had ventured to disturb the election of the king
by their intrigues, carried their pretensions as high as the
sovereignty of the city, and claimed with arrogance the
greatest part in the division of the booty won from the
infidels.* The Greek priests, in spite of their rights, were
sacrificed to the ambition of the Roman clergy, as they had
been in the city of Antioch, The chaplain of the duke of
Normandy caused himself to be proposed as patriarch of
Jerusalem, in the place of Simeon, who had summoned the
warriors from the West. Simeon was still in. the isle of
Cyprus, from whence he had continually sent provisions to
the Crusaders during the siege. He died at the moment in
which the Latin ecclesiastics were quarrelling for his spoils,
and his death came very opportunely to excuse their injus-
tice and ingratitude. Arnold, whose morals were more than
s:"5'ipected, and whose conduct has merited the censure of

* We may see in Raoul de Caen the debates which arose on this sub-
ject, and particularly the accusation directed against Tancred by Arnold
de Rohes, in the name of the Latin clergy.

Vol. 1—12

236 HISTOEY OF THE CEITSADES.

the gra^ est liistorians, was nominated pastor of fhe chuKh
of Jerusalem.

In the meanwhile fame had proclaimed the conquest of
the holy city throughout all the neighbouring countries.
In all the churches founded by the Crusaders in their pas-
sage, thanks were offered up to Grod for a victory which must
necessarily cause the triumph of the worship and the laws of
Christ in the East. The Christians of Antioch, Edessa, and
Tarsus, with those who inhabited Cilicia, Cappadocia, Syria,
and Mesopotamia, came in crowds to Jerusalem, some for thfc
piu'pose of fixing their abode there, others to visit the holy
places.

Whilst the faithful were rejoicing over their conquest, the
Mussulmans gave themselves up to despair. The few who
had escaped from the swords of the Crusaders spread con-
sternation wherever they went. The historians Abul-Ma-
hacam, Elmacin, and Aboul-Eeda have described the desola-
tion which reigned at Bagdad. Zeimeddin,cadhi of Damascus,
tore out his own beard in the presence of the Caliph The
whole divan shed tears whilst listening to the recital of the
misfortunes of Jerusalem. Fasts and prayers were ordered
to mitigate the anger of hea?v^en. The Imans and poets de-
plored in pathetic verses and discourses the fate of the Mus-
sulmans who had become slaves of the Christians. " What
blood," said they, " has not flowed ? What disasters* have
not befallen the true believers ? Women have been obliged

* We here give the translation of some passages of an elegy of the poet
ModhafFer Abyverdy upon the taking of Jerusalem by the Crusaders,
inserted by Aboul-Feda in his Annates, torn. iii. p. 319. This translation
3s by M. Jourdain.

** Our blood is mingled with our tears, and no part of our being itxiois
to us that can be the object of the blows of our enemies.

** O misfortune ! if tears take the place of true arms, when the fires of
war break forth !

** How can the eye close its lids, when catastrophes such as ours would
awaken even those who slept in the most profound repose !

" Your brethren have no other resting-places in Syria but the backs of
their camels and the entrails of vultures !

" The Franks treat them like vile slaves, whilst you allow yourselves to
be drawn carelessly along by the skirt of the robe of effeminacy, as people
would do in perfect security !

** What blood has not flowed ! how many women have been forced by
modcfity to conceal their beauty with their bracelets !

HISTOET OE THE CRUSADES. 287

to fly, concealing their faces ; cliildren have fallen nnder the
swords of the conquerors ; and there remains no other asyluiQ
for our brothers, so lately masters of Syria, but the backs oi
their camels, or the entrails of the vultures."

The caliph of Bagdad, deprived of his authority, had no-
thing to offer but his prayers and tears for the cause of the
Mussulmans. The victories of the Christians had inflicted a
mortal blow upon the dynasty of the Seldjoucides. The sultan
of Persia, retired to the extremity of Cora9an, was occupied
in appeasing civil wars, and scarcely gave a thought to the
emirs of Syria, who had shaken off his authority, and shared
his spoils amongst them. The greater part of the emirs were
quarrelling among themselves for the cities and provinces
threatened by the warriors of the West. The discords which
accompany the fall of empires had everywhere sown trouble
and division among the infidels ; but such was their grief
when they learnt the conquest of Jerusalem by the Chris-
tians, that they united in weeping together over the Outrages
committed upon the religion of Mahomet. The Turks of
Syria, and the inhabitants of Damascus and Bagdad placed
their last hop6 in the caliph of Cairo, whom they had so long
considered an enemj^ to the prophet, and came in crowds to
join the Egyptian army which was advancing towards Ascalon.

At Jerusalem they soon learnt that this army had reached
Gaza, in the ancient country of the Philistuies, Godfrey
immediately caused his brother Eustace and Tancred, who
had quitted the city to go and take possession of Naplouse,
to be informed of this. He pressed the other leaders of the
crusade to unite with him and march to meet the Saracens.
The duke of Norn^andy at first refused to follow him, alleg-
ing that his vo\^ was accomplished ; and the count of
Thoulouse, who had been forced to give up to the king
th; fortress of David, which he pretended belonged to
him b} right of conquest, rejected with haughtiness the
prayers of Godfrey, and treated the news of the approach of
the Saracens as a fable.

** Will the chiefs of the Arabs, the heroes of the Persians, submit to
such degradation ?

'* Ah ! at least, if they do not defend themselfes, from attadihment to
their rehgion, let tliem be animated on account of their own honovr, tnA
by the love of all that is dear to them !"

238 HISTORY or the ceusades.

Tlie refusal of the duke of Normandy and Haymond di i
not prevent Grodfrey from commencing his march, followed
by Tancred, the count of Flanders, and several other leaders.
They learnt on their route that the emir Afdhal, the same
that had taken Jerusalem from the Turks, commanded the
army of the infidels. This general had under his standard
an almost countless multitude of Mussulmans, from the
banks of the Tigris and the Nile, the shores of the Bed Sea,
and the extremities of Ethiopia. A fleet had sailed from the
ports of Alexandria and Damietta, laden with all sorts of pro-
visions, and the machines necessaryfor the siege of Jerusalem.

Afdhal had taken a solemn oath before the caliph to ainii-
hilate for ever the power of the Crusaders in Asia, and to
entirely destroy Calvary, the tomb of Christ, and all the
monuments revered by the Christians.

The march and the intentions of Afdhal soon conveyed
terror to Jerusalem. E-aymond and the duke of Normandy
were again pressed to join the Christian army. Women,
old men, and priests with tears conjured the two princes to
have pity on the holy city they had deUvered. They repre-
sented to them the fatal consequences of their inaction,
which rendered all the labours of the Crusaders useless, and
closed for ever the doors of the East against pilgrims. The
voices of all the nations of the "West, they told them, would
be raised against them, and the blood of the Christians would
be on their heads. At last Bobert and Raymond allowed
themselves to be prevailed upon, and marched with their
troops to join Godfrey. The new patriarch desired to fol-
low them, bearing with him the wood of the true cross, the
sight of which, like that of the holy lance, would redouble
the enthusiasm and the bravery of the Crusaders.

All the Christians in a condition to bear arms quitted
Jerusalem to go and fight the Mussulmans. There only
remained in the holy city the women, the sick, and a part ol
the clergy, who, having Peter the Hermit at their head,
addressed night and day prayers to Heaven to obtain the
triumph of the defenders of the holy places, and the last
defeat of the enemies of Christ.

The Christian army, which had at first assembled at
Eamla, advanced across a sandy country, and encamped on
the banks of the torrent of Sorex, in the plain of Saphoea,

HISTORY or THE CllUSADES. 239

or Serfend, situated between Jaffa and Ascalon. The day
after tke Cliristians arrived on this plain, they perceived at
a distance, towards seven o'clock in the evening, a vast mul-
titude, which they took for the army of the enemy. Two
hundred horsemen, who were sent out to reconnoitre, soon
returned, however, with the agreeable intelligence that the
multitude they had taken for the Egyptian army was nothing
but a drove of oxen and camels. So rich a booty at first
awakened the avidity of the soldiers, but the prudent God-
frey, who saw nothing in this circumstance but a stratagem
of the enemy to throw the Christian army in disorder, for-
bade his soldiers to leave their ranks. The other leaders,
after his example, endeavoured to restrain the men under
their command, and all remained firm beneath their standards.

The Crusaders learned from some prisoners they had made,
that the enemy were encamped at three leagues from them,
and that they were preparing to come and attack the Chris-
tian army. Upon receiving this advice, the leaders made
their dispositions to receive the infidels. The army was
drawn up in nine divisions, and formed a sort of square
battalion, so as to be able at need, to face the enemy at all
points. The Crusaders passed the night under arms. On
the following morning (it was the eve of the Assumption)
the heralds announced by sound of trumpet that they were
about to give battle to the infidels. At break of day the
Crusaders received the benediction of the patriarch of Jeru-
salem. The wood of the true cross was carried through the
ranks, and shown to the soldiers as a certain pledge of vic-
tory. The leaders then gave the signal, all the ensigns were
unfurled, and the army marched to meet the Saracens.

The nearer the Christians approached the army of Egypt,
the more were they filled with confidence and hope. Their
drums, cymbals, hymns, and war-songs animated them to
the fight. They marched towards the enemy, says Albert
d'Aix, as to a joyous feast. An emir of Palestine, who
followed the army as an auxiliary, could not sufiiciently
admire, if we may believe historians, this joy of the soldiers
of the cross at the approach of danger. He came to express
his surprise to the king of Jerusalem, and swore before him
to embrace a religion which could give so much strength and
bravery to its defenders.

240 HISTORY OF TKE CRUSADES.

The Christiaus soon arrived in the plain of Ascalon. This
immense plain is bounded on the east and south by moun-
tains, and extends on the west to tlie sea. On the coast
was situated the city of Ascalon, over which the Mussulman
standards floated. At the extremity of the plain the army
of Egypt was drawn up, with the sea and the mountains
behind it. The Crusaders advanced in two lines ; the count
of Tlioulouse commanded the right wiug, the two E-oberts
and Tancred were placed at the left. Grodfrey commanded
a body of reserve, which was at the same time to keep the
garrison of Ascalon in check and fight with the army of
Egypt.

Whilst the Christian army was thus marching in battle
array, the drove of oxen and camels t^iat they had met on
their route came to their rear, and followed all their move-
ments. The confused noise of these animals, mingled with
the sound of the drums and trumpets, and the clouds of
dust which arose under their steps, caused them to be taken
for squadrons of horse, and the Mussulmans were persuaded
that the Christian army w^as more numerous than their own.
They were d-rawn up in two lines, as the Crusaders were.
The Turks from Syria and Bagdad were on the right ; the
Moors and Egyptians on the left ; the emir Afdhal occupied
the centre with the main body of the Egyptian forces. This
army covered an immense space, and, says Foulcher de
Chartres, like a stag who projects his branching horns, it
extended its wings to envelop the Christians ; but a sudden
terror rendered it motionless.

In vain the emir endeavoured to rouse the courage of his
soldiers. They fancied that millions of Crusaders had
arrived from the West ; they forgot both their oaths and
their threats, and only remembered the fate of the Mussul-
mans immolated after the conquest of Jerusalem.

Before engaging, all the Crusaders, fully armed, fell on
their knees to nnplore the protection of Heaven ; and rising
full of ardour and hope, marched against the Saracens. If
the most truthful historians are to be believed, they had not
more than fifteen thousand foot and five thousand horse.
When they had arrived within bow-shot, the foot-soldiers
made several discharges of javelins, at the same time the
cavalry, increasing theii* speed, precipitated themselves upon

HISTOET OF THE CE USAGES. 241

the enemy's ranks. At this first charge the duko of 'Nov*
mandy, the count of Elanders, and Tancred broke through
the centre of the Egyptians. Duke Eobert, followed by his
bravest knights, penetrated to the place where Afdhal
fought, and got possession of the great standard of the
infideld. The foot-soldiers followed the horse into the
melee, and cast away their bows and javelins to make
use of sword and lance, arms much more terrible to the
Mussulmans.

On all sides the Saracens were thrown into disorder.
Towards the end of the battle Godfrey had had to contend
with a troop of Ethiopians, who bent one knee to the groimd
to laiuich their javelins, and then, springmg up, rushed upon
the Crusaders with long flails armed with balls of u'on. This
redoubtable battalion could not alone resist the lances of the
Christians, and were soon dispersed. An invincible terror
seemed to paralyze the arms of the Mussulmans. Whilst
the king of Jerusalem was pursuing the Ethiopians and
Moors who fled towards the mountains in the vicinity of the
field of battle, the Syrians and the Arabs, who fought in the
left wing, were broken by the count of Thoulouse. Hotly
pressed by the conquerors, a great number of them preci-
pitated themselves into the sea, and perished in the waves ;
others sought an asylum in the city of Ascalon, and such
was their eagerness, and so numerous were they, that two
thousand were crushed to death upon the drawbridge.
Amidst the general rout, Afdhal was on the point of falling
into the hands of the conquerors ; and, leaving his sword
upon the field of battle, had great difficulty in gaining As-
calon. Historians add, that when, from the walls of that
city, he contemplated the destruction of his army, he shed a
torrent of tears. In his despair, he cursed Jerusalem, the
cause of all his evils, and blasphemed Mahomet, whom he
accused of having abandoned his servants and disciples.

This was a day of terror and death for the Mussulmans.
Erom the beginnmg of the battle, the infidels, who had
previously burned with a thirst of vengeance, appeared to
have no purpose but to escape by flight from an enemy who
granted no mercy to the conquered. In their mortal fear,
they let fall their arms, and suffered themselves to b^
slaughtered without olFering the least resistance. Thoii

242 HiSTOKY or the cetjsades.

tenilied crowd stood moticmless on tlie field of battle, and
tlie sword, to employ the expression of a ccntemporary,*
mowed them down like the grass of the field. Some cast
themselves on the ground, and concealed themselves among
lieaps of slain ; whilst others plunged into caverns, or scram-
bled up rocks or trees, where they were shot down with
arrows, like birds. f Afdhal, who did not believe himself to
be in safety in Ascalon, embarked on board a fleet which had
arrived from Egypt. Tow^ards the middle of the contest, all
the Egyptian vessels which were near the shore spread their
sails, and gained tlie open sea. From that moment no hope
of safety remained for the scattered army of these infidels,
who were, as they had said, to deliver the East, and whose
multitude was so great, tliat, according to the expression of
old historians, God alone knew the number of them. J

Such was this battle, whose prodigies poetry has taken
delight in celebrating, but which was, in reality, nothing but
an easy victory for the Christians, in which fanaticism even
had not the least share. On this day the presence of celes-
tial legions did not animate the battalions of the Crusaders,
and the martyrs St. George and St. Demetrius, W'hom they
always believed they saw in great perils, had no occasion to
be present in this fight. The Christians must have learnt
from this rencontre that their new adversaries were much
less to be dreaded than the Turks. The Egyptian army was
composed of many difterent nations, which were divided
among themselves ; the greater part of the Mussulman
troops had been levied in haste, and fought for the first time.
The army of the Crusaders, on the contrary, had beeA proved
by many victories, and their leaders were as skilful as they
were brave. The bold resolution that Godfrey had taken of

* Eos tanquam segetem in transverse gladu secabant. — Bald. lib. iv.

f Subito sagitta transfigebant, et quasi aves volatili telo percussas, ab
ipsis arborum ramis moribundos humi procumbere cogebant. — Alb. Aq.
lib. V. cap. 49.

% Anna Comnena, who speaks of the battle of Ascalon, says that the
Franks were at first conquerors, and that they were afterwarcs attacked
and beaten near Ramla. She mentions Baldwin, who was not then in
Palestine, and did not come thither till after the death of Godfrey, It is
easy to see that she confounds, as often happens with her, tvj •> different
periods, that of the battle of Ascalon and that of the battle of Ramla.
which was fought three years after, iu the reign of Baldwin I.

UISTOEY or IIIE CRUSA.DES. 243

going to meet the enemy, raised the confidence of the sol-
diers, and assisted in creating fear and disorder amimg the
Egyptmns*

if William of Tyre and Eobert the Monk may be believed,
the Christians did not lose a single horseman. They might
have made themselves masters of Ascalon, but want of union
among the leaders prevented their taking due advantage of
their victory.f

After the defeat of the enemy, Eaymond had sent a mes-
senger into the place to summon the garrison to surrender. ;|I
He wished to plant his standard on the walls of the city,
and retain the conquest for himself. On the other hand,
Godfrey claimed the possession of it and maintained that
Ascalon ought to form part of the kingdom of Jerusalem.
The debates became very warm. The count of Thoulouse,
who found all the leaders of the Christian army against him,
listened to nothing but the dictates of his blind anger ; he
recommended the garrison to defend themselves, and set
forward with his troops to return to Jerusalem. Grodfrey,
after the desertion of Raymond, in vain attempted to besiege
the city. The greater part of the Crusaders, impatient to
return to their own country, abandoned his colours ; and,
after making the inhabitants and garrison of Antioch pay

* It is commonly believed that this battle of Ascalon served Tasso as a
model for the great battle which terminates the Jerusalem Delivered. It
is easy to see that the poet had also in view the battle of Antioch, which
was fought at the gates of the city, of which the Christians were the mas-
ters. Raymond could not be present, because he held the citadel of
Antioch in check, still in the power of the enemy. These circumstances,
and several others, are found equally in the battle of the Jerusalem
Delivered and in the historians who have described the battle of Antioch.

"}• There is in the Arabian history of , erusalem and Hebron, a quatrain
tddressed to the count of St. Gilles, upon the defeat of Afdhal-Ben^Bedr-
«l-Djemaly, general of the army of Egypt, before Ascalon : —

Tu as fait triompher par ton epee la religion du Messie,

Dieu nous preserve d'un homme tel que Saint Gilles !

Jamais les hommes n'avaient entendu. rien de pareil a ce qu'il a fait ;

II a mis dans la plus honteuse fuite Afdhul.

We quote this quatrain less for any idea that it contains, than to show
that Raymond enjoyed great fame among the Mussulmans.

X This emissary is called Bohemond by Raymond d'Agiles. It it
believed that it was Phirous who gave up Antioch to the Cliristians, tha:
had taken the name of Bohemond.

i2*

244 HISTOEY OF THE CETJSADES.

him a considerable sum, lie was obliged to follow tbem to
Jernsalem,

The quarrel w^hich was begun between E-aymond and
Godfrey before Ascalon was renewed a few days after before
the city of Arsouf, situated near the sea, twelve miles to the
north of Hamla. The count of St. Grilles, who marched first
with his troops, undertook to besiege this place, but as he
met with an obstinate resistance, he abandoned the siege,
and continued his march, after having warned the garrison
that they had nothing to fear from the king of Jerusalem.
A short time after, Grodfrey having besieged the city, found
the Saracens determined to defend themselves, and as he
learnt that their resistance was the fruit of the counsels of
Raymond, he could not restrain his anger, but resolved to
avenge this affront in the blood of his rival. He marched
with his ensigns displayed, against the count de St. Gilles,
who, on his part, was willing to meet him, and prepared for
the conflict. The Christians were on the point of pro-
ceeding to extremities, when the two E-oberts and Tancred
threw themselves between Raymond and Godfrey, and used
their utmost exertions to appease them. After a long alter-
cation, the two rivals, overcome by the prayers of the other
chiefs, embraced in the presence of their soldiers, who had
taken part in their animosity.

The reconciliation was sincere on both sides. The pious
Godfrey, says Albert d'Aix, conjured his companions to
forget the dissension that had broken out among the Chris-
tian warriors, and implored them, with tears in. his eyes, to
remember that they had together delivered the holy tomb,
that they were all brothers in Christ, and that concord was
still necessary to defend Jerusalem. Wlien the inhabitants
of Arsouf learnt that the leaders of the Christian army were
reconciled, they repented of their resistance, and engaged
to pay a tribute to Godfrey.*

After having received and given hostages as a guarantee
of the treaty, Godfrey, followed by all the other chiefs,
quitted the territory of Arsouf, to retmm to Jerusalem. Tlie
Christian army was loaded with an immense booty. It

* For this quarrel between Godfrey and Raymond, see Albert (t Aw,
lib. yi. cap. 41, 42, and 43.

HISTOET OF THE CETJSIDES.' 241

marclied, followed by tlie droves of cattle it had met on the
banks of the Sorec, and brought back all the riches found
in the camp of the infidels. As they approached Jerusalem^
all the trumpets were sounded, and their victorious flags
were unfurled. A crowd of pilgrims, who came out to meet
them, filled the air with their songs of gladness ; these lively
expressions of joy mingled with the hymns of the priests ;
the echoes, says Eobert the Monk, repeated the sounds of
the warlike instruments and the acclamations of the Chris-
tians, and appeared to offer an application of these words
of Isaiah : " The mountains and the hills shall sing hefore
you the praises of the LordP The Crusaders entered the
holy city in triumph. The great standard and the sword of
the sultan were suspended on the columns of the church of
the Holy Sepulchre. All the pilgrims, assembled in the
very places which the emir Afdhal had sworn utterly to
destroy, returned thanks to Heaven for a victory which
crowned all their labours.

The victory of Ascalon w^as the last of this crusade. At
length, liberated from their vows, after four years of toils
and dangers, the princes of the crusade quitted Jerusalem,
whose sole means of defence now were three hundred
knights, the wisdom of Godfrey, and the sword of Tancred,
who had resolved to end his days in Asia. Some embarked
on the Mediterranean, whilst others marched across Syria
and Asia Minor. They arrived in the West bearing palm
branches in tlieir hands, and singing hymns of triumph on
their way. Their return was considered as a miracle, a sort
of resurrection, and their presence was everywhere looked
upon as a subject of edification and enthusiasm. Most ot
them had been ruined by the holy war ; but they brought
back from the East precious relics, which were in the eyes
of the faithful a veritable treasure.* Their hearers were

* In the genealogical history of several houses of Brittany, is the foU
lowing rather curious passage : " Rion de Loheac acquired in this voyage
beautiful and rich spoils from the enemies of Christianity, the Saracens;
and above all things he was curious to seek for and collect heaps of the
sacred and precious relics which were in those regions, in the number of
which was a part and portion of the true cross upon which our Saviour
Jesus Christ suffered death for the salvation of the human race, and of
the stone of the sepulchre in which the said Saviour was buried. These
relics he intended to bring into his own country ; but being prevented by

246 HISTORY OF THE CEUSADE8.

never tired of listening to the recital of their labours and
exploits. Tears, doubtless, mingled with the transports ot
admiration and joy when they spoke of their numerous com-
panions whom death had swept away in Asia. There wait
not a family that had not to weep a defender of the cross, or
did not glorify itself with having a martyr in heaven. An-
cient chronicles have celebrated the heroic devotion of Ida,
countess of Hainault, who made the voyage to the East, and
braved all dangers in search of her husband. Sent by the
Crusaders to Alexius, the count of Hainault, with all the
persons of his suite, had disappeared, without any one being
able to say what had been their fate. Some said they were
still prisoners among the Turks, others that they were killed.
Ida sought through many countries of Asia, but returned to
Prance without having obtained any tidings of her husband.*
The count of Thoulouse, who had sworn never to return
to the West, went to Constantinople, where the emperor
received him with distinction, and gave him the city of Lao-
dicea. Raymond of Orange determined to share the destiny
of the count of Thoulouse, and finish his days in the East.
Among the knights, companions of Raymond de St. Gilles,
who returned to their own country, we must not forget
' Stephen and Peter de Salviac de Yiel Castel, whom their age
holds up as models of brotherly love. Stephen and Peter
de Salviac were twins, and the tenderest affection united
them from their infancy. Peter assumed the cross at the
council of Clermont, and Stephen, although married, and the
father of several children, determined to follow his brother
into Asia, and share with him the perils of so long a voyage.
In all battles they were seen fighting side by side, and
they together were present at the sieges of Nice, Antioch,

a disease of which he died in the said country of Syria, he sent them to
his brother Gauthier de Loheac, by his squire called Simon de Ludron,
who had accompanied him in this voyage." We might quote many other
similar facts which prove that the Christians of the West set the greatest
value uj on relics brought from the East.

* This circumstance is related in the Chronicle of Hainault {Gisle-
berti Chronica Hannonice ;) — Tacendura non est, says this chronicle,
quod uxor ejus Yda comitissa domini sui occasum ut audivit, sed incerta
si occisus fuerit, vel captus teneretur, Deum et virum suum diligens,
partes illas sum labore magno et gravibus expensis adire :»on dubitavit:
jinde ipsa ^rius de viro suo incerta, incertior rediit. — P. 37.

HISTOET OE THE CRUSADES. 247

tnd Jerusalem. A short time after their return to Le
Quercy, thev both died in the same week, and were buried
in the same tomb. On their tomb may still be read an
epitaph which has transmitted to us the remembrance of
their exploits and of then' touching affection. Graston de
Beam returned with them into Europe ; but some years after,
having re-entered upon his estates, he again took up arnis
against the infidels, and died in Spain, fighting against the
Moors.

Peter the Hermit, on his return to his country, concealed
himself from the eager curiosity of the faithful, and shut
himself up in a monastery he had founded at Huy.* He
lived there in humility and penitence, and was buried among
the cenobites he had edified by his virtues. Eustace, the
brother of Glodfrey and Baldwin, returned to take possession
of the moderate inheritance of the family, and gave no fur-
ther trouble to fame by his exploits. Alain Eergent, duke
of Brittany, and Bobert, count of Elanders, returned to their
states, repau*ed the evils caused by their absence, and died
regretted by their subjects.f

The duke of Normandy was less fortunate than his com-
panions. The sight of the holy places, or the long series of
labours and evils he had endured in the cause of religion,
had had no effect upon his indolent, undecided character.
"On his return from the Holy. Land, he passed through Italy,
where he fell in love with Sibylla, the daughter of the count
of Conversana, and allowed his passion to detain him from

* See the Life of Peter the Hermit, by le P. d'Oultremont. Peter
the Hermit was returning from the Holy Land in 1102, with a nobleman
of the country of Liege, named the count de Montaign, when he was
assailed by a violent tempest, during which he made a vow to build an
abbey. It was in performance of this vow that he founded the abbey
of Neufmontier at Huy, in Le Condrez, on the right bank of the
Meuse, in honour of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Alexander,
bishop of Liege, dedicated it in 1130. Peter died there at an advanced
age, and desired, from humility, to be buried outside the church. It was
not till a hundred and thirty years after his death that the abbot and
the chapter caused his relics to be removed to a coffin covered with marble
before the altar of the twelve apostles, in the year 1242, with a sufficiently
long epitaph, which M Morard, of the Academy of Sciences, read oa
passing through Huy in 1761, wh^ch is reported in the 3rd vol. of the
MSS. of the Library of Lyon, by M. Delandine, p. 481.

t Robert, count of Flanders, was killed by a fall from his hone.

248 HISTOET OF THI CEUSADES.

his ducTiy more than a year. By this delay he lost the
opportunity of ascending the throne of England, to which,
after the death of his brother "William l^ufus, his birth, and
the great renown he had acquired in the crusade, gave him
undoubted right. When at length he returned to Nor-
mandy, he was received with transports of admiration and
joy ; but upon resuming the reins of government, he showed
nothing but weakness ; he gave himself up entirely to de-
bauchery, and surroimded himself by none but dissipated,
greedy courtiers, who drew upon him the hatred of his sub-
j'^cts. His brother, Henry I., who had succeeded William
Kufus, took advantage of the degraded condition of Robert,
and the contempt into which he was fallen, to take posses-
sion of Normandy. At the end of a battle this unfortunate
prince was made prisoner by his brother, who led him in
triumph to England, and caused him to be confined in the
castle of Cardiff, in the province of Griamorgan. The remem-
brance of his exploits in the Holy Land had no effect in
mitigating his misfortunes. After twenty-eight years of
captivity, he died forgotten by his subjects, his allies, and
the ancient companions of his glory.

The return of the Crusaders, and the account of their
conquests, excited great enthusiasm, and renewed the eager-
ness for crusades and pilgrimages among the nations of the
West. They were not now affected by the passion for de-
livering the holy places, but by that of visiting and defending
them. Europe exhibited a second time the scenes which
had followed the council of Clermont ; new discourses were
heard, and fresh miracles related. Cities, lands, and castles
were again offered for sale. He who preferred repose and
his country to the glory of the holy pilgrimage passed for a
very lukewarm Christian ; whilst all who had quittc-d the
standard of the crusade were objects of contempt in the
eyes of the faithful, and were threatened with the thunders
of the Church.

A general cry was raised against the brother of the king
of Erance, who could not be pardoned for having abandoned
the Christian army in a cowardly manner, and returned to
Europe without seeing Jerusalem. Stephen, count of
Chartros and Blois, was not allowed to remain in peace ib
his states and family ; his people were astonished at his

HISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. £49

shameful desertion, and his wife Adela reproached hira with
having shrunk from the duties of rehgion and chivaby.
These unfortunate princes, and all who had deserted the
standards of the holy war, were obliged to quit France, and
again take the route for Asia.

Many of the princes and barons who had not partaken of
the enthusiasm of the first Crusaders, accused themselves of
culpable indiiference, and were drawn into the general move-
ment. Among these latter was William IX,, count of Poic-
tiers, a relation of the emperor of Grermany, and the most
powerful vassal of the king of France. An amiable and
intelligent prince, of not at all a warlike character, he left,
to take up the pilgrim's staff, a voluptuous and gallant coui't,
which he had often delighted with his songs. He took upon
him the cross at Limoges, and set out for the East, accom-
panied by a great number of his vassals, among whom were
a vast many women and young girls.* His example was
followed by "William, count of JSTevers, Orpin, count of
Bourges, and Eude, duke of Burgundy. This last prince,
perhaps, was influenced less by a desire of visiting Jerusalem
than by his anxiety to recover the remains of his daughter
Florine, who had been killed with Sweno in Asia Minor.

In Italy, Albert, count of Blandras, and Anselm, arch-
bishop of Milan, placed themselves at the head of a
countless multitude of pilgrims. Germany witnessed the
departure of Conrad, marshal of the emperor Henry, Wolf
IX., duke of Bavaria, the princess Ida, margravine of Austria;
and a great number of lords and knights.

In this new expedition, as in the first, many of the Cru-
saders were led away by a desire for seeking adventures and
visiting foreign countries. The brilliant success of Baldwin,
Bohemond, and Godfrey aroused the am«bition of the barons
who had remained in Europe. Humbert II., count of

* William IX. is the first troubadour known. He was a valorous and
courteous knight, but a great deceiver of ladies. He bade adieu in a
song to the Limousin, to Poitou, to chivalry, which he had loved so much,
and to mundane vanities, which he describes as coloured habits and
beautiful hose. On his return he sang the fatigues, the dangers, and the
misfortunes of this expedition, in a poem which is lost. His usual gaietj
pervaded it, according to Oderic Vital, in spite of the sadness of the sub
ject. — See the History of the Troubadours, by Millet, torn. i.

250 HISTORY or THE CEU3ADES.

Savoy, who set out for the Holy Land with Hugh the Great,
made a donation to the monks of the Bourget, in order to
obtain by their prayers, a fortunate establishment (consulat)
in his foreign voyage.* Many lords and knights made similar
donations, whilst others fooided monasteries and churches,
setting out with the hope that God would bless their
arms, and enable them to acquire rich principalities in the
East.

The Crusaders assembled in several troops, and crossing
the territories of the Hungarians and Bulgarians, united
under the walls of Constantinople to the amount of two
hundred thousand. These new pilgrims repeated the scenes
of violence which had so seriously alarmed Alexius in the
first expedition. The Greek emperor, faithful to his policy,
opposed force by cunning ; he flattered the vanity or the
avarice of men he could not subdue, and paid very dearly
for the insincere homage of the leaders of the crusade. He
called Eaj^mond to his assistance, who was then in his
government of Laodicea. The presence and the persuasive
discourses of the count of Thoiilouse calmed the perturbed
spirits of the Crusaders for a few days ; and when they set

* Guichenon, in his History of the House of Savoy, expresses himself
thus : " William Paradin relates that this prince (Humbert, second count
of Savoy) went to the Holy Land in the crusade which was determined on
at the council of Clermont, under Godfrey of Bouillon," which the greater
part of the historians have confirmed after him (such as Pingon, Vanderb.
Dogliani, Chiesa, Balderan, Buttel, and Henning). Papyrus Masson has
rejected this, because neither the manuscript chronicle, nor the authors
of the crusades, who name many lords of less consequence, have men-
tioned him. Botero has said nothing of him. " Nevertheless we cannot
doubt this voyage ; for about that time this prince gave the monks of the
Bourget in Savoy a property called Gutin, for the health of his soul, of
that of count Ame, his father, and of his ancestors. This donation, dated
at d'Yenne in Savoy (and not Jena in Thuringia, as is said in the Art of
Verifying Dates), imports that the count bestowed this liberality to
obtain from God a fortunate establishment {consulat) in his voyage
beyond sea. Now this word consulat then signified a principality,
government, or sovereignty. Oderic Vital gives to Roger, count of
Sicily, the title of consul of Sicily." Guichenon adds here many other
examples of the same kind. That which created doubts of the voyage of
Humbert is the silence of the historians of the first crusade, as well as all
the acts of this prince that have been preserved, and which prove that he
was in Europe in the year 1100 ; but all these doubts vauish, when wa
know that he went in the second expedition.

HISTORY 31 THE C11USA.DES. 251

forward on. their marcli to Palestine, he was charged with
conducting them across Asia Minor.

Among this confused mass of pilgrims* was a crowd of
monks, old men, w^omen, and young girls. They were with-
out discipline, and marched without either precaution or
order ; but they had such perfect confidence in their arms,
that they boasted, on leaving Constantinople, that they would
go to Bagdad, and wrest Asia from the hands of the infidels.
Thek" troop was divided into tliree bodies. At the head of
the first were the duke of Burgundy, the count of Chartres,
the archbishop of Milan, the count de Blandras, and Ray-
mond de St. Gilles. " The archbishop of Milan," says
Albert d'Aix, "had brought into Asia an arm of St. Am-
brose, with which he gave his benediction to the Crusaders.
Kaymond carried wdth him the lance that had been found at
Antioch, to which he looked for new miracles."

This first body, advancing towards Paphlagonia, took the
city of Ancyra by assault, and laid siege to the fortress of
Gangras. The garrison made a strong resistance, and forced
the Christians to retire. They were in want of provisions,
and entertained but little hopes of obtaining any in an
enemy's country ; and whilst sinking into despondency
they quite unexpectedly found themselves confronted by a
Turkish army.

Kdidge Arslan, who had retired to Iconium, which became
the capital of his states, after the taking of Nice, had got
together the remains of his army, and recruited his strength.
The sultan of Mossoul, that same Kerbogha who, three years
before, had lost the battle of Antioch, had joined the son of
Soliman, and burned to meet the Christians again.

Although they both had a considerable number of troops,
they contented themselves, at first, with harassing the Cru-
saders in their march. Sometimes the infidels got before
the Christians, and ravaged the coimtry and filled up the
wells and the cisterns ; whilst at others, they laid ambushes
for them, and massacred all who strayed away from the main
body. The Christian army had suffered much in crossing the

* The details of this last expedition are found scattered in the wori<g
of several historians. They who afford the most information are Albert
d'Aix, Oderic Vital, Foulcher de Chartres, Chronicon Uspergensigf
Alberiei Chronicon^ &c. ^p.

262 HISTORY or the crusades.

defiles of PapHagonia ; and fatigue, hunger, and thirst had
greatly weakened the strength of the pilgrims, when the
sultans of Mossoul and Iconium determined upon givdng
them battle on the banks of the Halys.

Eaymond, before the engagement, caused the roiraculous
lance to be carried through the Christian ranks ; whilst the
archbishop of Milan, followed by his clergy, exhibited the
arm of St. Ambrose, and offered up prayers for victory ; but
neither the prayers of the clergy, nor the sight of the holy
lance, nor even the prodigies of valour displayed by the
Crusaders, could secure them a triumph. After a sangui-
nary conflict, they retired to their camp in great disorder.
The Turks, who had met with a determined resistance, did
not at first dare to follow up their victory, and satisfied
themselves with remaining masters of the field of battle, and
plundering the dead. During the night the Crusaders became
aware of the extent of their loss. Raymond and the other
terrified leaders sought safety in flight. As soon as their
absence w^as discovered, terror and despair pervaded the
camp of the Christians ; every one attempted to fly, aban-
doning the baggage, the sick and the wounded. The roads
were soon covered with soldiers, women, and children, who
embarrassed each other in their confusion, and were igno-
rant where they might meet with the enemy, or where they
should look for the Christian army. The Turks, rendered
aware of their victory by the cries and groans which re-
sounded from the neighbourmg mountains, hastened to the
camp of the Crusaders, massacring or making prisoners all
they met. They then hotly pursued the fugitives, slaugh-
tering them without mercy. The darkness of the night
added to the horrors of this scene of carnage. The pilgrims
lost themselves in their confusion, and seemed to seek
the swords they wished to avoid; others stopped ex-
hausted by fatigue, and awaited death as an end of their
calamities.

When day appeared, the country was covered mth the
bloody, plundered bodies of the Christians. Raymond de
St. Grilles, the duke of Burgundy, the count of Chartres,
the count of Blandras, and some other leaders who had fled
by different routes, met at Sinope, where they could scarcely
gather around them a few thousand men, the remains of Wi

HISTOET OP THE CKUSADES. 253

army whicli had counted under its standards more than a
hundred thousand pilgrims.

A second army of Crusaders, led by the count de x^evers
and the count de Bourges, advanced as far as Ancyra, aiid
directed its course towards Heraclea.* This army looked
for traces of that which had preceded it ; but instead of
finding the Christians, they soon met with the victorious
army of the Turks, which came to meet them, attacked them,
and routed them. The count de Nevers with great difficulty
found refuge in Germanicopolis. Taking for guides some
Grreek soldiers, he was pillaged and abandoned by them in a
desert. He went through the greatest dangers for several
days ; and, exhausted with fatigue and covered w4th rags, he
at length arrived at Antioch, whither the news of his defeat
had preceded him.

A third troop, composed, according to the authors of the
time, of more than a hundred and fifty thousand pilgrims,
set out from Constantinople under the orders of the count
of Poictiers, the duke of Bavaria, and Hugh de Yermandois.
They took possession of Philomelium and Samalia, and
marched across devastated provinces towards the city of
Stankon, where they expected to unite themselves with the
army of the count de Nevers. It was before this city that
the pilgrims heard of the disasters and defeat of the Chris-
tian armies that had preceded them. They advanced towards
Heraclea, and were not long in meeting with the army of
Kilidge Arslan, which was waiting for them in an advan-
tageous position. As they had no longer anything to hope
for except from their courage, they did not seek to avoid the
enemy. A rivulet which separated the Christians from the
infidels, w^as the signal and the theatre of battle. The Cru-
eaders, pressed by thirst, rushed towards it in crowds. The
Turks immediately discharged upon them a shower of jave-
lins and arrows. The two armies were soon completely
engaged; but the Christians fighting in a confined and
marshy place, could neither draw up their forces nor make
use of the lance or the sword. Their bravery and theii-
3ffbrts were of no avail against the skilful manoeuvres ot
Kerbogha and Kilidge Arslan. The Turks penetrated thp

* For these various positions, see the Map and the explanatory Memoir.

25^ HISTOllT OF THE CRUSADES.

Christian army every where ; the carnage was horrible j
scarcely a thousand of the Crusaders escaped from either
death or slavery. The margravine of Austria disappeared
amidst the tumult of the battle. Some say that she was
crushed under the feet of the horses ; whilst others assert
that she fell into the hands of the enemy, and went to live
and die in tlie harem of the sultan of Mossoul. The greater
part of the women and young girls that followed the Chris-
tian army met with the same fate. The count of Yer-
mandois, pierced by two arrows, fled across Lycaonia, and
arrived with a feeble escort at the city of Tarsus, where he
died of his wounds.

The duke of Bavaria and the count of Poictiers, after
having wandered a long time in deserts and forests, arrived
almost naked at Antioch, in which city were assembled all
the Crusaders that had escaped after their defeat. The
leaders, by gathering together the wrecks of their troops,
were able to form an army of ten thousand men, with which
they marched to Jerusalem. Whilst coasting the Sea of
Syria, they took the city of Tortosa. w^hich they gave up to
Kaymond, although they had accused him, only a few days
before, of having been the cause of all their disasters.
Upon their arrival in Palestine, they found new enemies to
contend with. The duke of Burgundy* and the count of
Blois were killed in a battle fought near Ramla. Arpin,
count de Berri,t fell alive into the hands of the Saracens,
and died in slavery. The count de Blandras, the count of
Savoy, William, count of Poictiers, the count de Nevers, and
the duke of Bavaria only led a small number of their soldiers
back to Europe. J

* The body of the duke of Burgundy was brought back to France, and
buried at Citeaux. Urban Planchier says in his history, that they ob-
served the anniversary of the death of this prince on the Friday before
Passion Sunday. After the death of her husband, Mahaul, the wife of
Eude, and mother of Florine, retired to the abbey of Fontevrault.

f It has been said that Arpin, on setting out for the crusade, sold the
county of Berri to Philip, king of France, for the sum of 60,000 crowns.
This is the way in which the fact is related in the History of Berri : *' King
Philip redeemed his city of Bourges, which Henry his father had engaged
for 60,000 crowns, from Arpin. Thus Bourges returned to its natural
prince." — Hiatory of Berri, by Chaumeau, p. 97.

X Ancient historians contain many other details concerning this expe-
dition that we have not thought it necessary to notice. Thia expediUox)

HISTORY 01- THE CRUSADES. 255

Suci are tlie principal events of the first crusade, the
commencement and the end of which "were marked by the
greatest disasters, and which deprived Europe of more than
a million of men. When we reflect on the energies dis'
played and the forces employed in this expedition by the
West, we are at first astonished that it did not succeed.

It has often been repeated, when speaking of this holy
war, in which the East beheld an army of six hundred thou-
sand men brought against it, " that Alexander conquered
Asia with thirty thousand men." It is more than probable
that the Greeks who wrote the life of Alexander have dimi-
nished the number of his forces in order to heighten the
splendour of his victories ;* but, be that as it may, it must
be admitted that the expedition of the Macedonian con-
queror did not present the same dangers, or the same obsta-
cles that the Crusaders had to encounter. The armies
which left Greece for Asia had less to sufl^er from change of
climate, or the length and difficulties of the voyage than
those who came from the extremities of the West. The
Macedonians, in their invasion of the East, had scarcely any
nation to contend with but the Persians, an efieminate peo-
ple, previously several times vanquished by the Greeks ;
whilst the Crusaders had to pass through a crowd of un-
known, barbarous hordes, and when arrived in Asia, found,
as enemies, several nations of conquerors.

The Greeks of Alexander's expedition did not go into Asia
to introduce new laws, or change the manners and religion
of the people ; they even adopted something of the costumes
and usages of the Persians, which very much facilitated their
conquests.f In the crusades, on the contrary, we behold two

presents nothing but scenes of carnage and reverses, without glory or
results. We shall be obliged to return to it hereafter.

* Alexander, say the Greek historians, had thirty thousand infantry
and five thousand horse. A single historian, Anaximenes, makes the
Macedonian army amount to forty-eight thousand men.

t The Turks, thirty years before the taking of Jerusalem by the Chris-
tians, had scarcely met with any resistance to their invasions of some of
the richest provinces of Asia, because the Mussulman religion, which
they had recently embraced, was that of the countries against which they
directed their arms. If the Tartars at different epochs have invaded
several countries of the globe, and have maintained themselves in them,
it was because on issuing from their deserts they had almost no religioci,

256 HISTOEY OF THE CKUSADE9.

religions armed one against tlie other, which redoubled the
hatred of the combatants, and forbade all approximation.
As soon as the standard of Mahomet floated over a city, the
Christians fled from it ; whilst the cross of the Christiana
had the same effect npon the Mussidmans. As the greater
part of the Mussulman cities which fell into the hands of
the Christians were deserted, the latter were obliged to
people the provinces they conquered, and exhaust their
armies, to found, in some sort, colonies wherever their arms
triumplied. If it be allowed that no wars are more san-
guinary than religious wars, there are certainly none in
which it is more difficult for a conqueror to extend or preserve
his conquests. This is a very important observation, if we
would appreciate the residts of this crusade.

On all occasions where bravery alone was required, nothing
can be comparable to the exploits of the Crusaders. When
reduced to a small number of combatants, they triumphed no
less over their enemies than when they consisted of vast armies.
Forty thousand Christians obtained possession of Jarusalem,
defended by a garrison of sixty thousand Saracens. There re-
mained scarcely twenty thousand men under their standards,
when they had to contend with all the forces of the East in
the plains of Ascalon. ' If Alexander performed greater
things, and particularly if he conquered a greater number of
nations, it was because he commanded a disciplined army, of
which he was the absolute leader. All his mihtary and
political operations were directed by one same mind and one
same will. It was not thus in the army of the Crusaders,
which was composed of many nations, and held within itself
the fatal germs of license and disorder. The feudal anarchy
with which Europe was then distracted followed the defenders
of the cross into Asia, and that turbulent spirit of the
knights, which constantly led them to have recourse to

and were thus disposed to adopt any advantageous faith they might meet
with in their passage. It will be objected to me that the Arabians, in the
first ages of the Hegira, invaded a great part of Asia and Africa, where
they found other religions than their own long established ; but it may be
answered that these rehgions were sinking to decay. When the Mussul-
mans presented themselves in Europe, where the Chr «tian religion was
better established than in the East, this religion offered an insurmountablo
barrier to their progress.

HISTOET OF THE CRUSADES. 2S\

arms, was precisely that which checked and bounded their
conquests.

When we think of their ever reviving discords, of the
calamities which were the consequences of them, of that
excess of bravery that made them commit so many faults,
of that want of foresight which they almost always evinced
on the eve of great dangers, one thing alone surprises
us, and that is, that they did not entirely fail in their enter-
prise.

Philosophy may, with some justice, oppose its reasonings
to the marvels of this war ; but she will find in it an abun-
dant source of profound and new observations. In it she
will see man with his inexplicable contrasts ; in it she will
meet with the passions, with all that characterizes them, with
all they possess that most plainly exhibits the human heart
and mind. Reason, without doubt, must deplore the dis-
orders, the excesses, and the delirium of the Crusaders ; but
such is human weakness, that we always interest ourselves
in great events wherein man is fully developed.

The imagination of the most indifferent must be struck
with the instances of heroism which the history of the cru-
sades abounds in. If many of the scenes of this great
epoch excite oiu? indignation or our pity, how many of the
events fill us with admiration and surprise ! How many
names, rendered illustrious by this war, are still the pride of
families and nations ! That which is perhaps most posi-
tive in the results of the first crusade, is the glory of our
fathers, — that glory which is also a real good for a country ;
for great remembrances found the existence of nations as
well as families, and are the most noble sources of patriotism.

In remotest antiquity, one of those passions which some-
times act upon a whole people, precipitated Grreece upon
Asia. This war, famous and rich in exploits, inflamed the
imagination of the Greeks, and was for a great length o(
time celebrated in their temples and upon their stage. If
great national remembrances inspire us with the same enthu-
siasm, if we entertain as strong a respect as the ancients for
the memory of our ancestors, the conquest of the Holy Land
must be for us as glorious and memorable an epoch as the
war of Troy was for the people of Greece. These two wars,
however different in their motives, present almost the same

258 niSTOEY OF the CEraADES.

results to the enlightened observer ; both offer gitind lessons
to policy and illustrious models to valour; both founded
new states, new colonies, and established relations between
distant nations. Both had a marked influence upon the
civilization of the ages that followed them : both, in short,
developed great passions and tine characters, and thus
furnished the happiest subjects for the epic muse, who
delights only in celebrating prodigies and wonders.

When comparing these two memorable wars, and the
poetical masterpieces that have celebrated them, we cannot
but think that the subject of the " Jerusalem Delivered" is
more wonderful than that of the " Iliad." We may still
further say, that the heroes of Tasso are more interesting
than those of Homer, and their exploits less fabulous. The
cause which armed the Grreeks was much less important
than that which actuated the Christians. The latter, in
some sort, took up arms for the assistance of misfortune and
oppressed weakness. They went to defend a religion able
to make them sensible of ills that were endured far from
them, and to make them find brothers in regions unknown
to them. This character of sociability is not to be found in
any belief of the ancients.

The Crusaders exhibited another spectacle with which
antiquity was unacquainted — the union of religious humility
with the love of glory. History shows us constantly these
haughty heroes, the terror of Asia and the Mussulmans,
bending their victorious brows to the dust, and marching
from conquest to conquest, covered with the sack of peni-
tence. The priests, who exhorted them in battle, only raised
their courage by reproaching them with their sins. When
the} met with reverses, a thousand voices were raised among
them to accuse their own misconduct ; and when they were
victorious, it was Grod alone that gave them the victory, and
religion forbade their claiming glory from it,*

The historian may be permitted to think that this difier-
ence between the heroes of the " IHad" and those of the

* Daimbert, Godfrey of Bouillon, and Raymond de St. Gilles, when
writing to the pope ancl the faithful of the West, say that the victory of
Dory iseum had filled the pilgrims with pride, and that God, to punish theiUy
opposed Antioch to them, which delayed them nine months.

HISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES- 259

floly war is not sufficiently marked in tliv5 poem of " Jeru-
salem Delivered."* Another reproach may likewise be
addressed to the bard of liinaldo and Godfrey ; the ideas o{
magic and gallantry which he has too freely lavished upon hi*
poem are not in accordance with the truth of history.
Magic, which is nothing but a sort of degenerated super-
stition, and which only deals with small things, was but
little known to the Crusaders. Their superstition, however
gross, had something noble and grand in it, which associated
them sufficiently with the spirit of the epopee, without the
poet having anythmg to alter ; their character and manners
were grave and austere, and exceedingly weR suited to the
dignity of a religious epic. It was not till long after
the first crusade that magic formed any part of the super-
stition of the Franks, or that their warlike manners aban-
doned the prominently epic character which distinguished
them, to adopt the romantic cliaracter which they have pre-
served in all books of chivalry. It appears to us that we
discover in Tasso much more of the manners of the times
in which he lived than of those of the end of the eleventh
century, the period of the events wliich form the subject of
his poem.

But it does not enter into the plan or the object of this
work to carry such observations further.f After having
spoken of the heroic deeds and of all that was wonderful
in the first crusade, I will turn my attention to the imme-
diate eft'ects it produced upon Europe and Asia. We are
sufficiently well acquainted with the evils by which it was
followed ; great disasters are the familiar subjects of history,
but the slow and ahnost insensible progress of the good
that may result from a great revolution, is much less easily
perceived.

The first result of this crusade was to carry terror among

* Tasso himself was of this opinion, as may be seen in an interesting
letter addressed to us by M. Bureau Delaraalle. The admiration which
I entertain for the Poet of the Crusades, makes me exceedingly anxious
that M. Baour Lormian should finish the undertaking he has begun, so
worthy of his rare talent, a translation in verse of the Jerusalem Delivered.

t M. Guinguene, in his Histoire Litter aire d'ltalie, has deigned to
adopt, with some modification, several of these observations, which is th«
most worthy reward of my labours and researches.

Vol. I.— lU

260 HISTORY OE THE CBLSADEa.

the Mussulman nations, and to place it out of their power
to undertake for a length of time any warhke enterprises
against the West. Thanks to the victories of the Crusaders,
the Grreek empire extended its limits, and Constantinople,
which was the road to the West for the Saracens, was ren-
dered safe from their attacks. In this distant expedition
Europe lost the flower of its population, but it was not, as
x^Lsia was, the theatre of a bloody and disastrous war ; of a
war in which nothing was respected, in which provinces and
cities were, by turns, ravaged by the conquerors and the
conquered. Whilst the warriors of Europe were shedding
their blood on the plains of the East, the West remained in
profound peace. Among Christian nations it was then con-
sidered a crime to take up arms for any other cause than
that of Jesus Christ. This opinion contributed greatly to
check the frightful brigandage that had prevailed, and to
increase respect for the truce of God, which was, in the
middle ages, the germ or the sigual of the best institutions.
Whatever were the reverses of the crusades, they were less
deplorable than the civil wars and the scourges of feudal
anarchy that had so long ravaged all the countries of the
West.

This first crusade produced other advantages to Europe.*
The East, by the holy war, was in some sort laid open to the
West, which, before, was but little acquainted with it ; tlie
Mediterranean became more frequented by European vessels,
navigation made some progress, and commerce, particularly
that of the Pisans and Genoese, must have been increased
and enriched by the foundation of the kingdom of Jerusa-
lem. A great part, it is true, of the gold and silver of
Europe was carried into Asia by the Crusaders ; but these
treasures, heaped up and concealed by avarice and fear, had
been long abstracted from circulation ; the gold which was
not carried away by the Crusaders circulated more freely,
and Europe, with a less quantity )f money, appeared all at
once more rich than it had ever been.

We cannot perceive, whatever may have been asserted,
that in the first crusade Europe received any great quantity

* In our general conclusions, we shall often have to quote the works
01 M. Heeren and M. Choiseuil d'Aillecourt upon the influence J)f the
erasades.

HISTOET OF THE .HUSADES. 261

of knowledge from the East. During the eleventh century,
Asia had been the theatre of tlie most sanguinary revolu-
tions. At this period the Saracens, but more particularly
the Turks, cultivated neither the arts nor the sciences. The
Crusaders had no other relation with them but a war of ex-
termination. On another side, the Eranks held the Greeks^
among whom, besides, the arts and sciences were declining,
in too much contempt to borrow any kind of instruction
from them ; nevertheless, as the events of the crusade had
strongly affected the imagination of nations, this great and
imposing spectacle was sufficient to give an impetus to the
human mind in the West. Several writers undertook to
trace the history of this memorable period. Raymond
d'Agiles, E-obert the monk of St. E^emy, Tudebode, Foulcher
de Chartres, Abbot Guibert, Baudry, the bishop of Dol, and
Albert d'Aix were contemporary historians, and most ot
them ocular witnesses of the conquests and exploits they
have described. The histories they have left us are not desti-
tute of merit, and some of them are even better than that
which was written of the same kind among either the Greeks
or the Arabs. These writers were animated in their labours
by the same spirit of piety which governed the heroes of the
cross. This spirit of piety caused them to take up the per -
and persuaded them that they wrote for the cause of Goc
They would have thought themselves wanting in their dut)
as Christians, if they had not employed their abilities in
transmitting the events of the holy war to posterity. In
whatever manner we judge of their motives, we cannot avoid
being convinced that they have rendered great services to
history, and that without them the heroic times of our
annals would have remained without monuments.
' The wonderful portion of the character of this first cru-
sade likewise awakened the epic muse. Baoul de Caen,*
who, in his history, sometimes sounds the epic trumpet in
order worthily to celebrate the " gestes" of Tancred, is not
deficient in either warmth or fancy. The conquest of Jeru-
salem was during- the twelfth century the subject of several
works in verse. A. Limousin knight, Geofirey de la Tour,

* The verse of this writer is much better than his prose, which is ^er^
fticorrect, and sometimes unintelligible.

262 ~ HISTORY or the crusades.

called the prior or abbot of the Yigeois, described very tole-
rably the events of these wars in a large volume all v^^ritten
in his maternal tongue, and in vulgar rhyme, in order that the
people might understand it the better. This poem, written
in verse, whicli was the fruit of the labour of twelve years, is
lost. Many other similar works have doubtless shared the
same fate ; but that which remains suffices to prove that
human intelligence began to expand at the commencement
of the twelfth century.

Before this period, the science of legislation, which is the
first and most important of all, had made but very little
progress. Some cities of Italy and the provinces near the
Pyrenees, where the Groths had encouraged the Roman laws,
alone exhibited glimmerings of civilization. Among the
rules and ordinances that Gaston de Beam laid down before
his departure for the Holy Land, are to be found many points
and particulars which deserve to be preserved by history,
because they exhibit the feeble beginnings of a legislation
which time and fortunate circumstances would perfect.
Peace, says this legislator of the eleventh century, sTiall he
observed at all times towards clerks, monhs, travellers, and
ladies and their suite. — If any one takes refuge in the abode
of a lady, he shall enjoy security of person, on paying all loss
or consequent injury. Let the peasant live in peace ; let his
cattle and agricultural instruments be exempt from seizm^e.*
These benevolent dispositions were inspired by the spirit of
chivalry, which had made some progress in the wars against
the Saracens of Spain ; they were particularly the works of
the councils t which undertook to put a stop to private wars

* Wc have obtained these details from a manuscript history of Beam,
which has been kindly communicated to us by one of our most distin-
guished magistrates, who consecrates his leisure to the cultivation of
letters. This history, remarkable for a wise erudition and sound criti-
cism, is likely to throw a great light upon the remote times of which we
speak.

f All the ordinances of Gaston de Beam are to be found 'o the decrees
of the synod or council held in the diocese of Elne, in Roussillon, the
iCth of May, 1027. These dispositions had for object the Truce of God.
The council decreed that no unarmed clerk or monk should be attacked,
%or any man who was going to church or coming from it, or was walking
with women. At the council of Bourges in 1031, and in several others,
hese regulations were renewed ; labourers, their cattle and mills, wew

HISTORY or THE CEUSADES. 263

and tlie excess of feudal anarchy. The holy wars beyond
the seas finished that which chivalry had begun, they per-
fected chivalry itself. The council of Clermont and the
crusade that followed it only developed and consolidated ai^
which preceding councils, all that the wisest lords an(3
princes, had done for the cause of humanity.

Many of the princes of the crusades, such as the duke o.
Brittany and Eobert count of Flanders, signalized tbeii*
return by establishuig wise regulations. A few salutary in-
stitutions began to displace the violent abuses of feudalism,
and there might be seen, at least in some provinces, what a
regime founded by the sword could exhibit of a moderate
kind in its legislation.

It was in Erance that these changes were most obvious,
because France had taken the greatest part in the crusade.
Many nobles emancipated theii' serfs upon their following
them in this expedition. Giraud and Giraudet Adhemar de
Monthiel, who followed their brother, the bishop of Puy, to
the holy war, to encourage and reward some of their vassals,
by whom they were accompanied, granted them several fiefs
by an act drawn up in the same year as the taking of Jeru-
salem. We might quote many similar acts made during
the crusade and m the first year that followed it. Liberty
awaited in the West the small number that returned from
the holy war, who seemed to acknowledge no other master
but Jesus Christ.

In this crusade the nobility lost some portion of a power
which they had abused, but they had more splendour and were
held in greater honour. The king of France, although for a
long time obnoxious to the censures of the Church, and
although he did not distinguish himself by any great per-
sonal qualities, had a more tranquil and prosperous reign than
his predecessors ; he began to shake ofi" the yoke of the great
vassals of the crown, of whom several were ruined or perished
in the holy war. We have often repeated that the crusade
placed great wealth in the hands of the clergy ; but we must
likewise add, that the clergy composed the most enlightened

placed under the safeguard of religion. — See the Collection of the Councils
by le P. Labbe. It is not useless to remark that these regulations were
at first received in Aquitaine. The council of Clermont caused them to bf
adopted throughout the greater part of Europe.

264 HISTORY or the CRTJSADE3

part of the nation, and that this increase of prospenly was in
the nature of things. After the first crusade, was seen that
which is always to be observed in all nations that are pro-
gressing in civilization. Power had a tendency to centralize
itself in the hands of him who protected liberty. Glory
became the reward of all who were called upon to defend
their country; consideration and riches took a direction to-
wards that class from which intelligence was to be expected.

It is certain that knowledge arose in Europe among the
clergy, and that they alone were able to consecrate in some
way many of the salutary results of the crusades. As long
as the clergy powerfully assisted the progress of civilization,
they preserved their wealth ; as soon as they went beyond
civilization, they lost it. This is the course of things on
earth. As long as institutions are favourable to society,
society reveres them;* when under some relations they are
esteemed less useful, they lose their importance. Without
any necessity for declamation, we must leave the ingratitude
natural to nations to take its course, as we must their in-
constancy, and to time ; which are but too powerful in destroy-
ing instruments which society has employed with some
advantage.

Many cities of Italy had arrived at a certain degree of
civilization before the first crusade ; but this civilization,
bom in the midst of a barbarous age, and spread amongst
some isolated nations divided among themselves, had no
power to attain maturity. For civili2^ation to produce the
salutary effects it is capable of, everything must at the same
time, have a tendency to the same perfection. Knowledge,
laws, morals, power, all must proceed together. This is what
has happened in France ;t therefore must France one day
become the model and centre of civilization in Europe. The
holy wars contributed much to this happy revolution, which
may be seen even in the first crusade.

* I only here speak of the clergy with regard to its knowledge. The
jpinion I express is not only applicable to France, but to all the states of
Europe.

f What a comment upon man's assumption is the history of France
lince this was written ! — Trans.

BOOK V.

A.D. 1099—1148.

I HATE related the disasters, the labours, and the eon-
quests of the first Crusaders ; I now direct my attention to
the kingdom which was founded by their victories, the perila
of which several times summoned the nations of the West
to arms. If the recital of a war fiUed with adventures and
prodigies has excited the curiosity and surprise of my readers,
I trust they will not refuse to follow with me the progress
of that distant kingdom, which was the fruit of so many
exploits and so much glory, which cost so much blood and
so many tears. After having beheld the countless crowds
of pilgrims setting out for the deliverance of the Holy
Land, who will not be astonished to see two or three hun-
dred brave knights, the glorious remains of the Christian
armies, suffice for the defence of the provinces and cities
conquered by the united powers of the West? What
spectacle can create more profound reflection in the minds
of thinking and enlightened men, than that of a new
people, cast, as it were by a tempest, on a foreign shore, in
the midst of a country from which the arms, religion, and
customs of numerous nations are unceasingly employed to
expel them r"

The country in which the Crusaders had just established
themselves, and which the monuments of religion and his-
tory rendered so dear to the nations of the West, constituted
the kingdoms of Judah and Israel of antiquity. When the
llomans carried their arras into this country, its new masters
added to the name which the Jews had giv*.n it that of
Palestine, or the country of the Palestinians. It was
bounded on the south and east by the deserts of Arabia and
Idiimea, on the west by tlie Mediterranean, and on the north
by the mountains Libanus

At the period of the crusades, as at the present time, a
great part of the soil of Palestine, upon which rise the

266 HISTORY or ItlE CRUSA-OES.

barren mouutains of Sion, Hebron, Hebal, and Gelboei,
presented the aspect of a land upon which the curses of
Heaven had fallen. This land, formerly promised to the
elect people of God, had several times changed inhabitants.
All the sects, all the dynasties of the Mussulmans, had dis-
puted the possession of it sword in hand, and revolutions
and wars had left numerous memorable ruins in its capital,
and in the greater part of its provinces. The religious ideas
of the Mussulmans and the Christians seemed alone to give
ijiiportance to the conquest of Judea ; history must, however,
guard against the exaggeration with which certain travellers
have spoken of the sterility of this unfortunate country'.*
Amidst the calamities which, during many ages, desolated
the provinces of Palestine, some traces of its ancient splen-
dour may still be perceived. The shores of the Lake of
Galilee and of the Jordan, some valleys watered by the
Besor, the Amou, and the Jaboc, and the plains contiguous
to the sea which war had not ravaged, still recalled by their
fertility the promises of Scripture. Palestine yet boasted
some flourishing cities, and several of its ports offered a
commodious asylum to the vessels of Asia and Europe.

In the condition of Palestine at that time, if the territory
had been entirely subject to Godfrey, the new king might
have equalled in power the greater part of the Mussulman
princes of Asia ; but the young kingdom of Jerusalem con-
sisted but of the capital and about twenty cities or towns in
its neighbourhood. Several of these cities were separated
by places still occupied by the infidels. A fortress in the
hands of the Christians was near to a fortress over which
floated the standard of Mahomet. In the surroimding
country dwelt Turks, Arabs, and Egyptians, who all united
to make war upon the subjects of Godfrey. The latter were
not free from alarm even in their Cities, which were almost
all badly garrisoned, and found themselves constantly exposed
to the terrors and evils of war. The lands remained uncul-
tivated, and all communications were interrupted. Amidst
so many perils, several of the Latins abandoned the pos-
sessions which victory had bestowed upon them ; and that

* An excellent dissertation on the Holy Land, by the Abbe Guenee,
in Les Memoires de V Academic des Inscriptions, may be consulted with
Advantage.

HISTORY 03f THE CEUSADES. 267

tlie conquered country miglit not be left without inliabitants,
the interest of property, or proprietorship, was called in to
strengthen the wavering love for the new abode. Every
man who had remained a year and a day in a house, or upon
cultivated land, was recognised as the legitimate proprietor
of it. All rights of possession were annulled by an absence
of the same duration.

The first care of Grodfrey was to repel the hostilities of
the Sai»acens, and to extend the frontiers of the kingdom
intrusted to his defence. By his orders Tancred entered
into Galilee, took possession of Tiberias, and several other
cities situated in the neighbourhood of the Lake of Genesa-
reth. As the reward of his labours, he obtained possession
of the country he conquered, which in the end became a
principality.

Tancred, master of a rich province, advanced into the
territories of Damascus, whilst Godfrey, in a fortunate ex-
cursion, imposed tributes upon the emirs of Caesarea, Ptole-
mais, and Ascalon, and brought to submission the Arabs
dwelling on the left shores of the Jordan. He was returning
victorious to Jerusalem, when the city of Asiu*, which had
surrendered after the battle of Ascalon, refused to pay
tribute, and shook off the yoke of the Christians. Godfrey
resolved to lay siege to this rebel city ;* he collected his
troops, marched them towards Asur, and proceeded to attack

* We have been guided principally in the history of Jerusalem, by
the chronicle of Foulcher de Chartres, that of Albert d'Aix, the anony-
mous author of the Gesta Francorum expugnantium Hierusalem, and
the history of William of Tyre. There is nothing in French upon the
kingdom of Jerusalem. Being ignorant of the German language, we
regret our inability to avail ourselves of the second volume of the History
of the Crusades, by M. Walken, to the extent we could have wished.
We may say the same of the history by M. Hacken, and several other
German works upon the establishment of the Christians in the East.

Among the Arabian historians from whom the learned D. Bertheraud
has made extracts, we have consulted — 1. The Mussulman Annals of
Aboulfeda. 2. The History of Tabari, or rather the continuation of that
historian, who is called the Livy of the Arabians. 3. The History of
Jerusalem, by Moudgireddin. 4. The History of Aleppo, by Kemaleddin.
5. The History of the Attabecs, by Ben Latir. The«e historians and
Bome others have furnished us with some points of comparison, and
some document frequently incomplete, generally useless. The Oriental
historians only become an abundant source of information at the epoch of
She reigns of Noureddin and Saladin.

13*

268 HISTOEr OF THE CRUSADES.

the town. Already had the rolling towers approached the
ramparts, the rams had shaken the walls to their founda-
tions, and the city was about to be carried, when the besieged
employed a mode of defence worthy only of barbarians-
Gerard of Avesnes, who had been left with them as an
hostage by Grodfrey, was fastened to the top of a very high
mast which was attached to the very wall against which the
efforts of the besiegers were principally directed. At the
prospect of an inevitable and inglorious death, the unfortunate
Christian knight uttered loud and painful cries, and conjured
his friend Godfrey to save his life by a voluntary retreat.
This cruel spectacle pierced the heart of Godfrey, but did
not shake either his firmness or his courage. As he was
sufficiently near to Gerard of Avesnes to make himself heard
by him, he exhorted him to merit the crown of martyrdom
by his resignation. " It is not in my power to save you,"
said he ; "if my brother Eustace were in your place, I could
not deliver him from death. Die, then, illustrious and brave
knight, with the courage of a Christian hero ; die for the
safety of your brethren, and for the glory of Jesus Christ.'*
These words of Godfrey gave Gerard of Avesnes the
courage to die. He begged his old companions to offer at the
holy sepulchre his horse and his arms, that prayers might be
put up for the health of his soul.* A short time after he
died under a shower of darts and arrows launched by the
hands of the Christians.

The soldiers of Godfrey, on witnessing the death of
Gerard, burned with rage to revenge him, and redoubled
their efforts to render themselves masters of the city. On
their side, the besieged reproached the Christians with their
barbarity, and defended themselves with vigour. The Greek
fire consumed the towers and the machines of the besiegers ;
Godfrey had lost a great number of his soldiers, and de-
spaired of reducing the city, v/hich received succours by sea.
As winter was approaching, he resolved at last to raise the
siege and return to Jerusalem, deeply affected at having
caused the death of Gerard of Avesnes without any advantage
to the cause of the Christians.

Dui'ing the siege of Asur several emirs from the mouu-

* This account is found entire in Albert d'Aix, book vii. chaps. 8, 9,
&c.

HISTORY OF THL CIHISADES. 269

tains of Samaria came to visit Grodfrey. They were struck
with the greatest surprise when they found the king of the
Christians without a guard, without splendour, sleeping on
a straw pallet like the meanest of his soldiers. They were
not less astonished when, at their request, he exhibited
before them his extraordinary strength by cutting olF tho
head of a camel at a single blow with his s "^ord. The emirs,
after having offered presents to Godfrey, returned to theif
own country, and related the wonders they had seen. Their
recitals, which history has not disdained, contributed greatly
to increase the fame of the king of Jerusalem.

When Godfrey reached his capital, he learnt the approach
of a great number of pilgrims, the greater part of whom
were Pisans and Genoese, led by the bishop of Ariana, and
Daimbert, archbishop of Pisa. To the Christians arrived
from the West were added Bohemond, prince of Antioch,
Baldwin, count of Edessa, and Eaymond, count of Thoulouse.
These latter had come to visit the holy places, and to
celebrate the epoch of the birth of Christ at Jerusalem.

Godfrey went out to meet the pilgrims as far as Beth-
lehem, with his knights and the clergy. " After they were
come into the holy city," says an old chronicle, "the king
received them and feasted them magnificently ; and detained
them in Judea during the winter, being much gratified with
the presence of his brother Baldwin." Daimbert, archbishop
of Pisa, had come into Palestine as legate from the Holy See.
By means of presents and promises he got himself to be
named patriarch of Jerusalem, in the place of Arnoul de
liohes. This prelate, brought up in the school of Gre-
gory VII., maintained with warmth the pretensions of the
Holy See, and it was not long before his ambition introduced
trouble among the Clu?istians. In the places even where
Christ had said that his kingdom was not of this world, he
who called himself his vicar desired to reign with Godfrey,
and demanded the sovereignty of a part of Jaffa, and of a
quarter of Jerusalem in which the church of the Hesurrec-
tion was built. After some debates, the pious Godfrey
yielded to the imperious demands of Daimbert ; and such
was then the ascendancy of the Church and the clergy, that
the new king was obliged to consent to a treaty by which
the kingdom should belong to the patriarch, it' Godfrey

270 IIISTOET or THE CETJSADES.

should iie without children. Grodfrey thus ack lowledged
himself the vassal of the sovereign pontiff, and received
from the pope and his legate permission to reign over a
country conquered hy his arms. Bohemond and Baldwin
consented at the same time to receive from the pope the
investiture of their principalities. The prince of Antioch
had refused to render homage to the king of Jerusalem, but
he did not hesitate to acknowledge himself the vassal of a
power which bestowed empires, and was able to send fresh
armies into the East.

In the mean time the wise Grodfrey, after having freed his
territory from the incursions of the Mussuhnans, and carried
the terror of his arms beyond the Jordan, reflected that
idctory was not all that was required to found a state. His
capital had been depopulated by the sword of the Crusaders ;
several other cities, like Jaffa, had lost the greater part of
their inhabitants ; and this new king reckoned among hia
subjects Armenians, Grreeks, Jews, Arabs, renegades from
all religions, and adventurers from all countries. The state
confided to his care was like a place of passage, and had no
other supporters or defenders but travellers and strangers.
It was the rendezvous and the asylum of notorious sinners,
who came thither to mitigate the anger of Grod, and of
criminals, who thus eluded the justice of men. Both of
these were equally dangerous when circumstances awakened
their passions, or when fear and repentance gave way before
new tempta-tions. Godfrey, according to the spirit of feudal
customs and the laws of war, had divided the conquered
lands among the companions of his victories. The new lords
of Jaffa, Tiberias, Bamla, and Naplouse, scarcely acknow-
ledged the authority of a king. The clergy, encouraged by
the patriarch, assumed the tone of masters, and the bishops
exercised a temporal power equal to that of the barons.
Some attributed the conquest of the kingdom to their valour,
others to their prayers ; every one claimed the reward of
either his piety or his labours ; and whilst the greater part
aimed at domination, all insisted upon independence.

Godfrey undertook to rule so many conflicting preten-
sions, and to bring a tumultuous government into some
^gular form. In order that the execution of his project
might have the greater '^'^lemnity, he chose the circumstance

HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES. 271

wliicb liad conducted the Latin princes to Jerusalem. After
liaving accompanied them as far as Jericho, to celebrate with
tliem the festival of the Epiphany, he returned to his capital,
where he assembled the enlightened and pious men of the
cit}:^ of whom he formed the states, or the assizes, of his
kingdom. In this solemn assembly the first care was to
regulate and determine the duties of the barons, the loids,
and the common subjects, towards the king, and the duties
of the kin-P: towards the lords and subjects. The king was
to undertake to maintain the laws, to defend the Church, to
protect widows and orphans, to watch over the safety of both
people and lords, and to lead in war. The lord, who was the
lieutenant of the prince, as regarded his vassals, was to
guarantee them from insult, and to protect their property,
their honour, and their rights. The first duty of the counts
and barons towards the king was to serve him in council and
fight. The first obligation of a subject or a vassal towards
his prince or his lord, was to defend him or avenge him in
every case of outrage, and to protect the honour of his wife,
his daughter, or his sister ; to follow him in all perils, and to
surrender himself as hostage for him, if he fell into the
hands of his enemies.*

The king and his subjects, the great and the small vassals,
mutually engaged their faith to each other. In the feudal
hierarchy, every class had its privileges maintained by
honour. Honour, that grand principle among knights, com-
manded all to repulse an injury inflicted upon a single one,
and thus became, restrained within just limits, the security
of public liberty.

War was the great aifair in a kingdom founded by knights
and barons ; every one capable of bearing arms was reckoned
as something in the state, and protected by the new legisla-
tion ; all the rest, with the exception of the clergy, whose
existence and privileges were held by divine right, were

* The Assizes of Jerusalem, transported into the kingdom 4f Cyprus,
were collected in the thirteenth century, by John d'Ibelin, count of Jaffa
and Ascalon. They were printed by Baumancir, and commented upon
by Thomas de la Thaumasiere. It is to be lamented that the French
publicists, and Montesquieu himself, have studied so superficially this
monument of modern legislation, which is able to throw great light upon
the Listory, laws, and manners of the middle ages.

272 nisTOEi OF the ceusades.

reckoned as a ^tiling, and scarcely merited any attention fr*>ni
the legislators^. The Assizes of Jerusalem did, indeed, deign
to take notice of villains, slaves, peasants or cidtivators, or
captives taken in war ; but they were only considered in the
light of property, of which they wished to assure the enjoy-
Qient to its legitimate possessors. Those who had lost them
could reclaim them as they could a falcon or a hound ; the
value of a falcon and a slave was the same ; a war-horse was
estimated at more than double the value of a peasant or a
captive. The laws did not f^ondescend to notice these un-
happy classes, and left it to religion alone to protect them.

To watch over the execution of the constitutional laws of
the state, and to decide in all disputes, two courts were in-
stituted ; the one presided over by the king, and composed
of the nobles, was to pronounce judgment upon differences
among the great vassals ; the other, presided over by the
viscount of Jerusalem, and formed of the principal inha-
bitants of each city, was to regulate the interests and the
rights of the citizens and the common people. A third
court was instituted, which Avas reserved for Oriental Chris-
tians ; the judges of it were born in Syria, spoke its lan-
guage, and decided according to the laws and usages of the
country. Thus all the citizens of the kingdom were judged
by their peers, and enjoyed the benefits of an institution
which has not been despised in ages much more enlightened.

The Franks, with their warlike character, were certain to
evince disdain for the slow, and often uncertain, forms of
justice ; they adopted, in their legislation made for the East,
the ordeal by iron or fire, which had taken its birth among
the nations of the North. Judicial combat was also ad-
mitted in criminal causes, and sometimes even in civil ones.
Among a warlike people everything must present the image
of war ; every action commenced against a baron or a knight
was, in his eyes, an injury — an affront — that he ought to
repulse sword in hand ; Christian knights were likewise
persuaded that God would not allow innocence to succumb
in an unequal combat, and victory appeared to them at once
the triumph of human law^s and divine justice.

Such dispositions still bespeak the barbarity of the most re-
mote ages; but a great number of other laws attest the wisdom
of the legislators of the Holy Land : their code contained

HISTOET OF THE CHLSADES. 273

every institution that was reasonable in the feudal system.
Palestine was then blessed by the revival of wise laws created
for Europe, but which Europe had forgotten amidst the
anarchy of civil A^ars ; many ameliorations made in feudal
legislation in some of the states of the West, particularly
m the cities of Italy, were consecrated in the new laws of
Jerusalem.

It must be believed that in this circumstance religion
sometimes mingled her useful inspirations with those of
human sagacity ; justice and humanity assumed a more
sacred character in the presence of the holy tomb. As all
the subjects of Godfrey were called upon to defend the cause
of God, the quality of a soldier of Jesus Christ might make
the dignity of man respected. If it be true that the esta-
blishment of the commons, or a second court, was the work
of the Crusaders, we cannot, with truth, assert that these
wars contributed nothing towards the progress of civilization.
The laws which they made, and in which may be plainly seen
the first glimpses of regulated liberty, were a new spectacle
for Asia ; they must likewise have been a subject of surprise
and a means of instruction for Europe itself, where pilgrims
related, on their return, the usages and customs established
by the Franks in the Holy Land. This code of legislation,
the best, or rather the least imperfect that had existed pre-
vious to that time, and which increased or was modified
under other reigns, was deposited with great pomp in the
church of the Resurrection, and took the name of the Assizes
of Jerusalem, or Letters of the Holy Sepulchre.

After this ceremony, which was performed in the presence
of all the pilgrims, the Latin princes then at Jerusalem
returned to their own states ; Baldwin to Edessa, Bohemond
to his principality of Antioch, and Eaymond to Laodicea, of
which he had rendered himself master, and which he governed
in the name of the emperor of Constantinople. Scarcely
had Tancred returned to his principality when he was
attacked by all the forces of the sultan of Damascus. God-
frey, accompanied by his faithful knights and a great number
of pilgrims eager to fight under his command, repaired im-
mediately into Galilee, defeated the Saracens, and pursued
them to the mountains of Libanus.

As he wsis returning frrm this expedition, the emir of

274! HISTORY OE THE CRUSADES.

Csesarea came out to meet liim, aaid presented to liim an
oftering of some of the fruits of Palestine. Godfrey only
accepted a single cedar-apple, and almost directly fell ill.
This malady, which they did not hesitate to attribute to
poison, created the most serious alarm among his followers.
Godfrey with great difficulty reached Jaffa, whence he was
conveyed to his capital, where he died, committing to the
companions of his victories the charge of the glory of reli-
gion and of the kingdom of Jerusalem. His mortal remains
were deposited within the enclosure of Calvary, near to the
tomb of Christ, which he had delivered by his valour. His
death was mourned by the Christians, of whom he was the
father and the support, and by the Mussulmans, who had
often experienced his justice and his clemency. History
may say of him what the holy Scripture says of Judas
Maccabeus : " It was he who increased the glory of his
people, when, like a giant, he put on his arms in the fight,
and his sword was the protection of the whole camp."
Godfrey of Bouillon surpassed all the captains of his age in
his skill in war ; and if he had lived some time longer, would
have merited a name among great kings. In the kingdom
he founded he was constantly held up as a model for princes
as well as warriors. His name still recalls the virtues of
heroic times, and wiU live honoured amongst men as long as
the remembrance of the crusades.

After the death of Godfrey great disputes arose upon the
choice of his successor. The patriarch Daimbert endea-
voured to avail himself of the rights conveyed by the pro-
mises of Godfrey, and claimed the throne of Jerusalem ; but
the barons would submit to no chief but one of their com-
panions in arms. Gamier, count de Gray, took possession
of the Tower of David, and of the other fortresses of Jeru-
salem, in the name of Baldwin, comit of Edessa. The
patriarch invoked the authority of the Church to the assist-
ance of his cause ; and as Count Garnier died suddenly, the
clergy of Jerusalem attributed his death to divine justice,
which the im])ious projects of the barons and knights had
offended. Daind^ert wrote to Bohemond, priuce of Antioch,
and conjured him to come and defend what he called the
rights of the Church and the cause of G. 1. Jerusalem was
filled with agitation and trouble ; but whilst they wera

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 276

tuinultuously deliberating, deputies from Autioch. came to
announce that their prince had been surprised in an expe-
dition against the Turks, and was held prisoner by the
infidels. This news spread consternation and grief among
the Christians, and made them more sensible of the necessity
for calling Baldwin to the throne, with whose valour they
were so well acquainted.

Baldwin,* to whom deputies had been sent, shed tears on
learning the death c Godfrey, but soon consoled himself
with the hope of obtaining a crown. The county of Edessa
had become richer and more extensive than the mean king-
dom of Jerusalem, several cities of which still belonged to
the Saracens ; but such was the active and enterprising
spirit of Baldwin, that the prospect of a kingdom to be
conquered appeared to him preferable to a country of which
he was in peaceful possession. After having given up the
county of Edessa to his cousin Baldwin du Bourg, he began
his march with four hundred horsemen and a thousand foot.
The emirs of Emessa and Damascus, informed of his intended
march, laid wait for him in the narrow and difficult roads
near the coast of the Sea of Phoenicia. Baldwin feigned to
fly before the army of the infidels, and having drawn them
into an open country, routed them, making a great many
prisoners, whom he carried to Jerusalem. f The knights,
the barons, and a portion of the clergy came out to meet
the conqueror. Baldwin made his triumphant entrance into
the city in the midst of the acclamations of the whole Chris-
tian population, who flocked eagerly to see the brother of
Godfrey. But whilst the inhabitants thus manifested their
joy, the patriarch, with some of his partisans, protested
against the election of the new king, and, feigung to believe
that he was in safety nowhere but close to the tomb of
Christ, retired in silence to Mount Sion, as if to seek an
asylum there. Baldwin did not think it worth while to
disturb the retreat of the patriarch, and, satisfied with having

* Dolens aliquantulum de fratris morte et plus gaudens de hsereditate.
-^Fulch. Cam. lib. x. cap. 22.

"t The Christians were in so much danger in this expedition, that
Foulcher de Chartres exclaims in his history, *' I would rather have beep
at Chartres or Orleans," — "Ego quidem vel Carnoti vel Aureliania
mallem esse quam ibi." — Lib. x. cap. 22.

276 HISTOET OF THE CJEUSADES.

obtained the suiFrages of the barons and knights, wifc.hed tc
assfee to himself new titles to the crown, by gaining more
victories over the Saracens. He marched from Jerusalem,
followed by his bravest knights, and presented himself before
Ascalon.

The season being too far advanced to lay regular siege to
the city, he ravaged the enemy's country, penetrated into
the mountains of Engaddi, surprised Segor, and seized a
troop of brigands in a cavern which they had chosen as a
place of retreat. In this campaign, which was little more
than a pilgrimage, the soldiers of Baldwin passed along the
shores of the Dead Sea, the sight of which recalled the
memory of the punishment of Sodom ; they visited the
vaUey famous as the burial-place of the ancestors of Israel,
and that in which it is believed Moses caused a stream
of living water to spring from the side of a barren rock.
The Christian soldiers were never weary of admiring these
places, rendered sacred by scriptural remembrances. The
historian Poulcher de Chartres, who accompanied Baldwin,
displays in his recital the greatest enthusiasm, and tells us
with lively joy, that he watered his horses at the miraculous
fountain of the legislator of the Hebrews.*

The little army of the Christians came back to Jerusalem
loaded with booty. After Baldwin's return, the patriarch
did not venture to say anything more about his pretensions,
and consented to crown the successor of Godfrey with his
own hands. The ceremony was performed with great solem-
nity at Bethlehem, in the presence of the barons, the
bishops, and the principal people of the kingdom.

Tancred was not present at the coronation of the new
king, for the two companions of Godfrey had not forgotten
their ancient quarrel. Tancred had protested against the
election of Baldwin, and refused to pay him homage. Bald-
win, on his part, disputed Tancred' s right to the principality
of Galilee, and summoned him to appear before him as
a CDnttmiacious vassal. The reply of Tancred was laconic,

* " Ubi ego ipse Fulcherius adaquavi meos." — In Bongars, p. 405.
The same historian speaks in the same chapter of the Dead Sea, and of tha
phenomena he had remarked. Foulcher de Chartres seldom neglects an
opportunity of speaking of himself; these words, ** Ego Fulcherius,"
rery frequently appear in his narration.

HISTORY OE THE CKUSaDES. 271

and full of proud contempt for his rival. " I do not know,"
said he, addressing the messengers of Baldwin, "that youl
master is king of Jerusalem." He did not deign to make
any reply to a second summons. At length their mutual
friends employed prayers and entreaties, to which Tancred
reluctantly gave way. The two princes agreed to have an inter-
view between Jerusalem and Jaffa, in which interview Tancred
consented to forget past injuries, but would not renounce a
principality which he held from Grodfrey. The debates
between the prince of Galilee and the king of Jerusalem
were not terminated when messengers arrived from Antioch,
conjuring Tancred to repair immediately to their city, to
govern a state which had been without a head since the cap-
tivity of Bohemond. Tancred yielded to their entreaties,
and immediately set out for Antioch, abandoning to Hugh de
Saint Omer the city of Tiberias and the principality of Galilee.
These differences with Tancred did not impede Baldwin's
wars against the infidels, or his endeavoiu's to extend his
young kingdom. Whilst Persia, Egypt, Syria, and Mesopo-
tamia could bring numberless armies against the Christians,
Baldwin could only muster under his standard a small body
of warriors, to whom were added a few pilgrims from the
"West, the greater part without horses and very badly armed.
His bravery and activity surmounted all obstacles, and car-
ried him through all dangers. Prom the beginning of his
reign, we see with surprise the kingdom of Jerusalem, dis-
turbed in its infancy by discord, and only defended by a few
knights, rise in the midst of formidable enemies, and carry
terror amongst neighbours much more powerful than itself.
The king of Jerusalem took advantage of the arrival of a
Genoese fleet, to punish the rebellion of the inhabitants of
Arsur, and to lay siege to their city both by sea and land.
On the third day the city fell into the hands of the Christians.
A short time after, Baldwin besieged Csesarea, a city bidlt
by Herod in honour of Csesar. The siege was carried on
with vigour ; on the fifteenth day everything was ready for a
general assault, and as soon as the trumpet had jTiven the
first signal, all the soldiers confessed and received aosolution
for their sins. The patriarch, clothed in white vestments,
with a crucifix in his hand, led them to th(3 foot of the ram-
parts ; — the city was soon taken, and the inhabitants put to

278 HISTOET OF THE v EUSADES.

tlie sword. The Christians, particularly the Grenoese, car-
ried away by a thirst for pillage, and still more by ven«
geance and the fury of battle, stained their t itorj by hor-
rible cruelties.* The Mussulmans who escaped from the
massacre of Caesarea, carried terror into the cities of Ptole-
mais and Ascalon, and all the countries still under the domi-
nation of the Egyptians.

The calinh of Egypt, to revenge tbe deatli of his warriors,
assembled an army, which advanced as fcr as the country
round Eamla. Baldwin got together, in haste, a troop of
three hundred knights and a thousand foot-soldiers, and
marched to meet him. When he perceived the standards of
the Egyptian army, ten times more numerous than that of
the Christians, he represented to his soldiers that they were
going to fight for the glory of Christianity ; " if they fell,
beaven would be open to them ; if they triumphed, the fame
of their victory would be spread throughout the Christian
world. There could be no safety in flight ; their home was
beyond the seas ; in the East there was no asylum for the
conquered." After having thus animated his soldiers, Bald-
win divided his troops into six battalions. The two first, on
charging the enemy, were overwhelmed by numbers ; two
others, which followed, shared the same fate. Two bishops,
who were with Baldwin, then advised him to implore the
mercy of Heaven ; and, at their desire, the king of Jerusalem
alighted from his horse, fell on his knees, confessed, and re-
ceived absolution. Springing to his feet, he resumed his
arms, and rushed upon the enemy at the head of his two
remaining battalions. The Christian warriors fought like
lions, animated by tbeir war-cry " Victory or I)eath ! "
Baldwin had attached a white kerchief to the point of his
lance, and thus pointed out the road to carnage. The vic-

* William of Tyre, in his account of the taking of Caesarea, speaks of a
precious vase which fell to the share of the Genoese. " At this time,"
says he, " was found a vase in the shape of a dish, of a bright green
colour, which the Genoese, believing it to be an emerald, were desirous of
having, at the valuation of a large sum of money, to make an offering oi
to their church as an excellent ornament, and which they are accustomed
to exhibit to the great lords who pass through their city." This vasa
found at Caesarea, and preserved at Genoa till the end of the last century,
is now in the Cabinet of Antiques in the Imperial Library at Paris,
[Qy. whether restored to the Genoese in 1815 1 — Trans.J

HISTOEY or THE CRUSADES. 279

torj was for a lengtli of time uncertain ; but at last, says an
historian, the will of Grod was declared in favour of the sol
diers of Christ. The Egyptian army had lost its leader, and
was entirely routed ; five thousand infidels remaining on the
field of battle.

The enemy fled in such complete disorder that they aban*
doned their tents and their baggage. As Baldwin was pur-
suing them, his ear was struck by the plaintive cry of a
woman. He checked his war-horse, and perceived a female
Mussulman in the pains of childbirth. He threw his mantle
to her to cover her, and ordered her to be placed on carpets
laid upon the ground. By his commands, fruits and a skin
of water were brought to this bed of pain, and a female
camel furnished milk for the nourishment of the newly-born
child. The mother was confided to the care of a slave, with
orders to conduct her to her husband. The latter, who held
I distinguished rank among the Mussulmans, shed tears of
,oy on beholding a wife whose death he was lamenting, and
vowed never to forget the generous action of Baldwin.

Conqueror of the Saracens, the king of Jerusalem had
sent back his troops, and was reposing at Jafia, after the
fatigues of the war, when he learnt that the Mussulman
army had rallied, and was in full march to attack the Chris-
tians. Baldwin, whom victory had rendered rash, without
assembling all his troops, went immediately to meet the
enemy, at the head of two hundred knights, and a few pil-
grims lately arrived from the West. Not at all dismayed
by the number of the Saracens, he gave battle ; but, at the
first charge, the Christians were surrounded, and only sought
a glorious death, fighting by the side of their leader. The
king of Jerusalem, obliged to fly, concealed himself among
the long dried grass and bushes which covered the plain..
As the Saracens set fire to these, Baldwin with difiiculi y
escaped being burnt alive ; and, after many perils, was glad
to take refuge in Ramla.

Night checked the pursuit of his enemiea but on the fol-
lowing day, the place which served him as an asylum was
threatened with an immediate siege, and had no means of
defence. Baldwin was a prey to the most distressing anxiety,
when a stranger, who had by some means got into the city,
demanded to speak instantly with the king of Jerusalem. —

280 HISTORY or THE CRUSADES.

""It is gratitude," said he to him, "which brings me here.
Thou hast been generous towards a wife who is most dear to
me — thou hast restored her to me and her fam'Jy, after
having saved her life. I brave a thousand dangers .o acquit
myself of so sacred a debt. The Saracens surround the
city of thy retreat on all sides ; to-morrow it will be taken,
and not one of its inhabitants will escape death. I come to
offer thee means of safety. I am acquainted with a path
which is not guarded ;* hasten then, for time presses. Thou
hast but to follow me ; before the dawn of day thou wilt be
among thy people."

Baldwin hesitated — he shed tears at the idea of what
must be the fate of his companions in misfortune ; but, at
length, he yielded to the generosity of the Mussulman emir,
and, accompanied by a weak escort, they both departed from
the city, in the middle of a stormy night. On gaining the
distance of a few leagues from Ramla, they separated with
tears in their eyes ; the emir rejoined the Mussulman army
and Baldwin succeeded in getting to the city of Arsur.

At break of day the Saracens advanced towards the ram-
parts of Bamla. They quickly gained possession of the
city, and all they met with in the place were massacred.
Some soldiers who escaped the Saracens' swords, carried the
sad news to the neighbouring cities. It was the first defeat
the Christians had experienced since their arrival in Pales-
tine. As it was confidently said that Baldwin had been
slain at the taking of Bamla, this loss added greatly to the
general consternation. The great bell of Jerusalem an-
nounced the approach and invasion of the Saracens. The
priests, the monks, the pilgrims, clothed in sackcloth and
barefooted, went in procession through the streets of the
holy city ; women and children filled the churches, and with
tears in their eyes and uplifted hands implored the mercy of
Heaven. The bravest were beginning to despair of the safety
of the kingdom, when Baldwin suddenly appeared among
Ilia people, says WilUam of Tyre, like the morning star, and
revived their hopes by his presence.

The king of Jerusalem assembled at Jaffa the wreck of his
army; and the Christian cities sent him all their inhabitants

* This singular fact is related by William of Tyre with all its detail*.—
Cha^.x.

HISTORY OF THJG CEUSADES. 284

capable of bearing arms. Several princes and knights,
arrived from the West, like'^\^se joined him. The Christians
mai'ched boldly forth to meet the Mussulmans, the patriarch
of Jerusalem carrying through the ranks the vrood of the
holy cross. The war-cry of the Christian soldiers was : —
" Christ lives, Christ reigns, Christ commands y* The two
arrfties were soon in sight of each other on the plains of
.Taffa, and instantly the trumpets sounded, and gave the
signal of battle. Both sides fought with fury ; the infidels
surrounded the Christians, and pressed them so closely that
they had scarcely room to wield their arms, and victory was
on the point of being determined in favour of the Mussul-
mans, when Baldwin snatching the white flag from the hands
of his squire, and followed by a hundred and sixty knights,
rushed into the very thickest ranks of the enemy. This
act of bravery decided the fate of the battle, and the Chris-
tians regained their courage. The fight lasted during the
whole day, but towards the approach of night, the Mussul-
mans fled in disorder, leaving dead upon the field the emir
of Ascalon and four thousand of their bravest soldiers.

Baldwin, who, some few days before, had been believed to
be dead, reentered Jerusalem in triumph. He gave a great
part of the booty to the hospitallers of St. John, whose
office it was to entertain the poor and all pilgrims ; and, to
employ the expression of an old chronicle, he thus shared
with Grod the spods of the Saracens.

The Christians assembled in the churches rendered thanks
to Grod for the deHverance of the kingdom ; but this last
victory could not dry all the tears which a first reverse had
caused to flow, and funereal hymns were mingled with the
songs of joy. In this campaign perished many of the
princes and knights who had left Europe after the first cr^i-

* We here follow the version of Foulcher de Chartres, who makes use
of the word vivit instead of vincit, which appears to have prevailed after-
wards. The device Christus regnat, vincit, imperat, forms the leejend of
the reverse of all the gold coins struck in France from the time of John to
that of Louis XVI., under the different names of Francs a pied el a cheval,
of Agnelets, or Ecus d'or, or Louis. In the most ancient, the Francs,
the verb vincit is the first : X. P. C. vincit ; X. P. C. regnat ;
X. P. C. imperat; Christ conquers, Christ reigns, and Christ governs ;
which proves that this device or war-cry may be traced l>ack to the tim«
of the crusades

282 HISTORY OF TUE CRUSADES.

sade. Stephen, count of Chartres and Blois, and Stephenj
duke of Burgundy, who had arrived in Palestine ^rlth tlie
remains of an army dispersed by the Turks in Asia Min , r,
were killed under the walls of Kamla. As the Grreeks were
accused of having prepared the ruin of the armies sent to
the assistance of the Latins, murmurs arose in all the Chris-
tian colonies against the emperor Alexius. This prince, con-
stantly in dread of the powers of the West, sent to congra-
tulate the king of Jerusalem on his victories, and exerted
himself to procure the liberty of the Christians who had
fallen into the hands of the Egyptians and Turks. After
having delivered or ransomed some Christian knights, he re-
ceived them at Constantinople, loaded them with presents,
and sent them back to their own country.

But whilst thus breaking the chains of a few captives, he
was equipping fleets and raising armies to attack Antioch,
and obtain possession of the cities on the coast of Syria
which belonged to the Latins. He offered to pay the ran-
som of Bohemond, still a prisoner among the Turks, not for
the purpose of setting him at liberty, but to have him
brought to Constantinople, where he hoped to obtain from
him the renunciation of his principality. Bohemond, who
saw through the projects of Alexius, gained the good- will
of the emir who detained him prisoner, promised him hia
alliance and support, and persuaded him to accept for his
ransom, half the sum offered by the emperor of the Greeks.
After a captivity of four years, he returned to Antioch,
where he employed himself in repulsing the aggressions of
A lexius. The fleets of the Pisans and the Genoese came to
his relief, and several battles, both by sea and land, were
fought vdth various success ; the Latins and the Greeks, by
turns, obtaining the advantage.

Whilst this war was being carried on between Alexius and
Bohemond, the Franks neglected no opportunity of coming
into collision with the infidels. Bohemond, Baldwin du
Bourg, count of Edessa, and his cousin Josselin de Courte-
nay,* master of several cities on the banks of the Euphrates,
united their forces to attack Charan, a flourishing city of
Mesopotamia. The Christians, after a siege of several days,

* See Gibbon for the interesting memoir of this noble family, whose
name so frequently occurs in our own history, and is, I believe, still
extant, in the Courtenays, earls of Devon. — Trans.

HISTOllY OF THE CRUSADES. 283

were on the point of entering the place, when the count o1
Edessa and the prince of Antioch disputed the possession of
it. Whilst the debates kept the best leaders in the Chris-
tian tents, the Saracens of Mossoul and Aleppo came to the
assistance of the city, and gave battle to the besiegers. A
great number of Christians were slain in this conflict ; and
many fell into the hands of the infidels, who, in the intoxi*
cation of victory, insulted both the vanquished and the reli-
gion of Christ. History relates that the railleries of tlie
Mussulmans inspired rage and despair among the army of
the Christians, and that towards the end of the fight, one
knight braved alone the victorious infidels, and rushed among
the enemy's ranks, crying, " Let all who are willing to sup
with me in Paradise, follow me^ This brave knight at first
astonished the Saracens by his daring, but he soon fell,
pierced "with many wounds. The archbishop of Edessa,
Josselin de Courtenay, and Baldwin du Bourg were loaded
with irons, and taken to the prisons of Mossoul. The
prince of Antioch and Tancred were alone able to escape the
pursuit of the Mussulmans, with a small number of their
soldiers. This defeat spread terror among all the Christians
of the East. Bohemond, on his return to his capital, was
menaced at the same time by the Grreeks and the Saracens ;
and, as he had now neither allies nor auxiliaries, and was
destitute ©f both men and money, he determined to go back
into Europe, and to call upon the nations of the West to
assist him.

After having spread abroad a report of his death, he em-
barked at Antioch, and, concealed in a coffin,* passed through
the fleet of tlie Greeks, who rejoiced at his death, and heaped
curses on his memory. Oil arriving in Italy, Bohemond
went to throw himself at the feet of the sovereign pontiff ;
describing the misfortunes he had endured in defence of the
holy religion, and invoking the vengeance of Heaven upon
Alexius, whom he represented as the greatest scourge of the
Christians. The pope welcomed him as a hero and a martyr;
lie praised his exploits, listened to his complaints, intrusted
to him the standard of St. Peter, and permitted him, in the

* ** Anna Comnena adds, that to complete the deceit, he was shut up
with a dead cock ; and wonders how the barbarian could endure the con*
finement and putrefaction." — Notes to Gibbon. — Trans.

Vol. I.— 14

284 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

name of tlie Churcli, to raise in Europe an army to repair
his misfortunes and aveuge the cause of God.

Boliemond next went to Trance, where his adventures and
exploits had made his name familiar to all classt s. He pre-
sented himself at the court of Philip T., who received him
with the greatest honours, and gave him his daughter Con*
stance in marriage. Amidst the festivities of the court,
he was by turns the most brilliant of knights and the moist
ardent of missionaries ; he attracted general admiration
by his skill in the tournaments, and preached war against
the enemies of the Christians. He easily fired hearts already
glowing with a love of military glory ; and a great number
of knights contended for the honour of accompanying him
into the East. He crossed the Pyrenees and raised soldiers
I'n Spain ; he returned into Italy and met everywhere with
the same eagerness to follow him. All preparations being
completed, he embarked at Bari, and sailed towards the ter-
ritories of the Grreek emperor, where his threats and the
fame of his expedition had already spread terror.

The prince of Antioch never ceased to animate by his
speeches the ardour of his numerous companions : to some
he represented the Grreeks as the allies of the Mussulmans
and the enemies of Christ ; to others he spoke of the riches
of Alexius, and promised then the spoils of the empire. He
was on the point of realizing his brilliant hopes, when he
was, all at once, abandoned by that fortune which had
hitherto performed such prodigies in his favour.

The city of Durazzo, of which he had undertaken the
siege, for a long time resisted all his efforts ; disease, in the
meanwhile, ravaging his army. The warriors who had fol-
lowed him in the hopes of pillage, or from a desire to visit
the Holy Land, deserted his standard ; he was forced to make
a disgraceful peace with the emperor he had endeavoured to
dethrone, and came back to die in despair in the little prin-
cipality of Tarentum, which he had abandoned for the con-
quest of the East.

The unfortunate issue of this crusade, which was directed
entirely against the Greeks, became fatal to the Christians
estabhshed in Syria, and deprived them of the succours they
had reason to expect from the West. Tancred, who still
governed Antioch, in the absence and after the death of
Bohemond, was attacked several times by the Saracens

HTSTOET OF THE CRUSAI>I,g. 285

of Aleppo, and only resisted them by display/ in^ p/odigies of
valour. Josselin and Baldmn du Bourg did rjt return to
their states till after five years of captivity, ^nen Baldwin
came back to Edessa, he was so poor that he cuuid not pay
his common domestics ; and an Armenian prince, whose
daughter he had married, was obliged to redeem iJie beard *
of his son-in-law, which he had pledged for the means of
paying his soldiers. The resooi'ces of the government of
Antioch were not less exhausted than those of the county
of Edessa. In the extremes of tlieir misery, Tancred and
Baldwin du Bourg had sevevul disputes ; each, by burns,
called in the Saracens to defend his cause, and everything was
in confusion on the banks of the Euphrates and the Orontes.
JSTeither was Jerusalem free from discord. Baldwin could
not pay his soldiers, and demanded money of the patriarch,
who was the depositary c>f the alms of the faithful. Daim-
bert at first refused to assist the king, who resolved to em-
ploy force to compel him : " Yes," said he to the patriarch, in
a transport of anger, " I will bear aw^ay the treasures of the
chiurch and the holy sepulchre ; I wish to save Jerusalem
and the Christian people ; when I have accomplished that
noble project, I will restore the riches of the all-powerful
God." Daimbert, intimidated by the menaces of Baldwin,
consented to give up a part of his treasures ; but as fast as
the king of Jerusalem experienced new wants, he made fresh
demands, to which the pontiff respoiided by an insulting
refusal. He accused the king of profaning and plundering
the sanctuary ; w^hilst the king, on his part, accused Daim-
bert of betraying the cause of the Christians, and of dissi-
pating in pleasures and festivities the treasures of Jesus
Christ. The quarrels of Baldwin and the patriarch were
renewed every year ; both, in the end, often conveyed their
complaints to the Holy See, which pronounced no decision
likely to conciliate the angry parties. The death of
Daimbert could alone put an end to these discussions, which
spread scandal through the church of Christ, and by weak-

* This may at first appear a singular pledge ; but when wc remember
the great consideration in which beards were and are held in the East, we
are reconciled to the fact. Beckford makes Vathek inflict loss of beard
upon the sages who cannot: decipher the magic characters upon the sabres,
as the greatest possible punishment ; and fbw were better acquainted with
E&stera manners than the master of Font-hill Abbey. — TRANg.

246 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

ening the autliority of the king, were likely to leac to tlw
ruin of the kingdom.

Whilst the patriarch was unceasingly making complaints
against Baldwin, the king seldom made any other reply than
gaining new victories over the infidels ; nothing being able
to divert him froin his purpose of every day aggrandiamg
his dominions. The prosperity and the safety of Jerusalem
appeared closely connected with the conquest of the mari-
time cities of Syria and Palestine ; it being by them alone
that it could receive succour, or establish prompt and easy
communications with the West. The maritime nations of
Europe were interested in seconding, in this instance, the
enterprises of the king of Jerusalem. The navigation of
tlie Mediterranean, and the transporting of pilgrims to the
Holy Land, were to them an inexhaustible source of riches ;
the ports of Syria would offer to them a commodious asylum
for their vessels, and a safe entrepot for their commerce.

Erom the period of the first crusades the Pisans and the
Genoese had constantly sent vessels to the seas of the East ;
and their fleets had aided the Christians in several expedi-
tions against the Mussulmans. A Genoese fleet had just
arrived in the seas of Syria when Baldwin undertook the
siege of Ptolemais. The Genoese were invited to assist in this
conquest ; but as religion was not the principle to bring them
into action, they required, in return for their assistance and
their labour, that they should have a third of the booty;
they likewise stipulated to have a separate church for them-
selves, and a national factory and tribunal in the conquered
city. Ptalemais was besieged by land and sea, and after a
bloody resistance of twenty days, the inhabitants and the
garrison proposed to surrender, and implored the clemency
of the conquerors. The city opened its gates to the Chris-
tians, and the inhabitants prepared to depart, taking with
them whatever they deemed most valuable ; but the Genoese,
at the sight of such a rich booty, paid no respect to the capi-
tulation, and massacred without pity a disarmed and defence-
less people. This barbarous conduct, which Baldwin could
neither repress nor punish, excited the Mussulmans more
than ever against the Christians.

At each fresh conquest of Baldwin's, a new army came
from the banks of the Nile to impede the course of his vic-
tories ; but the Egypti.ms liad for a long time been accii8«

HISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. 26/

tomed to fly before the Pranks, and they were never seconded
in their expeditions by the Mussuhnans of Syria, who were
jealous of their appearance in their territories, A small
number of Christian warriors, who could never have been
taken for an army if they had not performed prodigies, were
sufficient to put to the rout a multitude of soldiers who
made a sortie from the walls of Ascalon. In consequence
of this victory, several places which the Egyptians still held
on the coasts of Syria, fell into the hands of the Christians.

Bertrand, son of Eaymond de St. Gilles, arrived from
Europe with the purpose of attacking the city of Tripoli.
This city, taken at first by the Egyptians before the first
crusade, and fallen again under the power of a Turkish
commander, had, in order to defend itself against the Chris-
tians, once more recognised the authority of the caliph of
Egypt. But this caliph thought more about pimishing tho
rebellion of Tripoli than of providing for its defence. He
had put the principal inhabitants in irons, had levied heavy
tributes, and when the people implored his assistance against
the enemies of Islamism, the caliph sent a vessel to demand
a beautiful slave who was in the city, and whom he destined
for his seraglio. The irritated people, instead of giving u^
the slave he demanded, sent him a piece of wood, saying,
" That he might make something out of that to amuse himself
withy * The inhabitants of Tripoli, then being without
hope, surrendered to the Christians.

Baymond, count de St. Grilles and of Thoulouse, one of
the companions of Godfrey, after having wandered for a long
time about Asia, had died before this place, of which he had
commenced the siege. In memory of his exploits in the
first crusade, the rich territory of Tripoli was created a
county, and became the inheritance of his family.

This territory was celebrated for its productions. Limpid
streams, rushing with impetuosity between the rocks of
Libanus, flowed in many channels to water the numerous
gardens of Tripoli. In the j.\ains, and on the hills adjacent
to the sea, grew in. abundance wheat, the vine, the olive, and
the white mulberry, whose leaves nourish the silkworm,
which had been introduced by Justinian into the richest
provinces of his empire. The city of Tripoli contained

* These details are taken from the Arabian liistorian Novdiry.

2c/S HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES.

inore tlian four thousand workmen, skilful in the manufac-
tures of woollen stuffs, of silk, and of linen. A great part
of these advantages was, no doubt, lost for the conquerors,
who, during the siege ravaged the country round, and on
taking *he city, carried fire and sword throughout the whole
of it.

Tnpoli contained other riches for which the Franks showed
no less disdain than they had evinced for the productions of
industry. A library established in this city, and celebrated
through all the East, contained the monuments* of the an-
cient literature of the Persians, the Arabians, the Egyptians,
and the Greeks. A hundred copyists were there constantly
employed in transcribing manuscripts. The cadi sent into
aU countries men authorized to purchase rare and precious
books. After the taking of the city, a priest, attached to
Count Bernard de St. Gilles,t entered the room in which
were collected a vast number of copies of the Koran, and as
he declared the library of Tripoli contained only the impious
books of Mahomet, it was given up to the flames. Some
eastern authors have bitterly deplored this irreparable loss ;
but not one of our contemporary chronicles has spoken of
it, and their silence plainly shows the profound indifference
with which the Erank soldiers were witnesses of a fire which
consumed a hundred thousand volumes.

Biblies, situated on the smiling and fertile shores of Phoe-
nicia; Sarepta, where St. Jerome saw still in his day the tower
of Isaiah ; and Berytus, famous in the early ages of the
Church for its school of eloquence, shared the fate of Tri-
poli, and became baronies bestowed upon Christian knights.
After these conquests the Pisans, the Genoese, and several

* Sir William d'Avenant elegantly calls books "the monuments of
deceased minds." — Trans.

f Aboulfeda in his account justifies the Genoese for the massacre of the
Mussulmans ; the city being taken by assault, they did not exceed the
usual rights of war. Another Arabian historian, Ebn-Abi-Tai, says that
the Christians exhibited at the taking of Tripoli the same destructive fury
as the Arabs had who burnt the library of Alexandria. The same his-
torian speaks of the incredible number of three millions of volumes. We
have preferred the version of Novairy, who reduces the number of volumes
to a hundred thousand. This author states that the library of Tripoli
was founded by the cadi Aboutaleb Hasen, who had himself composed
several works.

_ HISTORY or THE CEUSADES. 2S3

warriors who had followed Baldwin in his expeditions,
returned into Europe ; and the king of Jerusalem, abandoned
by these useful allies, was obliged to employ the forces which
remained in repulsing the invasions of the Saracens, who
penetrated into Palestine, and even displayed their standards
on Moiuit Sion. He had given up the idea of subduing the
maritime cities which still belonged to the Egyptians, when
Sigur, son of Magnus, king of Norway, arrived in the port
of Jaffa. Sigur was accompanied by ten thousand ISTor-
wegians, who, three years before, had quitted the north of
Europe for the purpose of visiting the Holy Land. Baldwin
went to meet the prince of Norway, and conjured him to
join with him in fighting for the safety and aggrandizement
of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Sigur acceded with joy to
the prayer of the king, and required nothing as a recompense
for his laboijM' but a piece of wood from the true cross.

The patriarch of Jerusalem, in order to give additional
value to that which the prince required, hesitated at first to
grant it, and made with him a treaty at least as solemn as if
it had concerned the possession of a kingdom. When they
had both taken an oath to fulfil the conditions of the treaty,
Sigur, accompanied by his warriors, entered Jerusalem in
triumph. The inhabitants of Jerusalem beheld with surprise,
mingled with their joy, the enormous battle-axes, the light
hair, and lofty stature of the pilgrims from Norway ; the
presence of these redoubtable warriors was the sure presage
of victory. It was resolved in a council to besiege the city
of Sidon ; Baldwin and Bertrand, count of Tripoli, attacked
the ramparts of the place, whilst the fleet of Sigur blockaded
the port, and directed its operations against the side next
the sea. After a siege of six weeks the city surrendered to
the Christians ; the knights of Baldwin and the soldiers of
Sigur performed during the siege prodigies of valour, and
showed, after their victory, the humanity which always
accompanies true bravery. After this conquest Sigur qaitted
Palestine, accompanied by the blessings of the Christian
people. He embarked to return to Norway, carrying with
him a piece of the true cross, a precious memorial of his
pilgrimage, which he caused to be placed in a church oi
Drontheim, where it was for a long time the object of the
veneration of the faithful.

290 HISTORY or THE CEUSADES.

Baldwin, on Ms return to xiis capita'i, learnt with gryei
that Gervais, count of Tiberias, had been surprised by thtf
Turks, and led prisoner, together with Lis most faithful
knights, to the city of Damascus. Mussulman deputie?
came to offer the king of Jerusalem the liberty of Gervais in
ex<;hange for Ptolemais, Jaffa, and some other cities taken
by the Christians ; a refusal, they added, would be followed
by the death of Count Grervais. Baldwin offered to pay a
considerable sum for the liberty of Gervais, whom he Icved
tenderly: "As for the cities you demand," said he to them,
" I would not give them up to you for the sake of my own
brother, nor for that of all the Christian princes together."
On the return of the ambassadors Gervais and his knights
were dragged to an open place in Damascus, and shot to
death by the Saracens with arrows.

The Christians shed tears at the death of Count Gervais,
tut they soon had to weep for a much more painlul loss.
Tancred, who governed the principality of Antioch, died in
an expedition against the infidels. He had raised high in
the East the opinion of the heroic virtues of a French
knight ; never had weakness or misfortune implored his aid
in vain. He gained a great many victories over the Sara-
cens, but never fought for the ends -of ambition. Nothing
could shake his fidelity, nothing appeared impossible to his
valour. He answered the ambassadors of Alexius, who re-
quired him to restore Antioch : " I would not give up the
city which is confided to me even if the warriors who pre-
sented themselves to conquer it had bodies and bore arms of
fire." Whilst he lived, Antioch had nothing to fear from
the invasion of the infidels or the discord of the inhabitants.
His death consigned the colony to disorder and confusion, it
spread mourning through all the Christian states of the
East, and was for them the signal of the greatest reverses.

The kingdom of Jerusalem had hitherto only had to con-
tend against armies drawn from Egypt ; the Turks of Syria,
much more terrible in war than the Egyptians, had never
united their forces to attack the Christians of Jerusalem.*

The sultans of Damascus and Mossoul, with several emira
of Mesopotamia, assembled an army of thirty thousand

* The governor of Mossoul is called by the Latins Maledoctus, Mandalt;
tad by the Arabians Mauduts. Togdequiu was prince of Damascus.

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 291

fighting men, and penetrated through the mountains ol
Libanus into Galilee. During more than three months the
banks of the Jordan and of the Lake of Genesarefchwere devas-
tated by the horrors of war. The king of Jerusalem placed
liimself at the head of his knights to encounter this re-
doubtable enemy, and was defeated by the Saracens on the
plains near Mount Tabor. Eoger of Sicily, who had been
governor of Antioch since the death of Tancred, and the
counts of Tripoli and Edessa, came with their troops to the
assistance of Baldwin. The Christian army, although it
then mustered under its banners eleven thousand combat-
ants, took up its encampment on the mountains, and did not
dare to risk a battle. The Christians, intrenched upon the
heights, beheld their fields ravaged and their cities burnt.
All the banks of the Jordan seemed to be in flames ; for a
vast number of Saracens from Ascalon, Tyre, and other
Mussulman cities, had taken advantage of the reverses of
the Christians to lay waste many of the provinces of Pales-
tine. The country of Sechem was invaded, and the city of
Naplouse delivered up to pillage. Jerusalem, which was
without defenders, shut its gates, and was in momentary
fear of falling again into the power of the infidels.

The Turks, however, dreading the arrival of fresh pilgrims
from the West, abandoned Galilee, and returned to Damas-
cus and Mossoul. But other calamities soon followed those
of war. Clouds of locusts from Arabia finished the devas-
tation of the fields of Palestine, A horrible famine pre-
vailed in the county of Edessa, the principality of Antioch,
and all the Christian states. An earthquake was felt from
Mount Taurus to the deserts of Idumea, by which several
cities of Cilicia were reduced to heaps of ruins. At Samo-
sata, an Armenian prince was swallowed up in his own
palace ; thirteen towers of the walls of Edessa, and the
citadel of Aleppo, fell down with a fearful crash ; the towers
of the highest fortresses covered the earth with their remains,
and the commanders, whether Mussulmans or Christians,
fled with their soldiers to seek safety in deserts and forests.
Antioch sufiered more from the earthquake than any other
city. The tower of the northern gate, many public edifices,
and several churches were completely destroyed.

Great troubles always inspired the Christians with feelingft

14*

292 HISTOKT OF THE CEUSADES.

of penitence. A crowd of men and women rushed to the
church of St. Peter of Antioch, confessed their sins to the
patriarch, and conjured him to appease the anger of Heaven.
The shocks, nevertheless, were renewed during five months ;
the Christians abandoned the cities, and, a prey to terror,
wandered among the mountains, which now were more
thickly inhabited than the greatest cities. The few who
remained in cities constantly formed religious processions,
put on habits of mourning, and totally renounced pleasures
of every kind. In the streets and the churches nothing was
heard but lamentations and prayers ; men swore to forgive
all injuries, and were profuse in their charities. At length
Heaven appeared to be appeased ; the earthquake ceased its
ravages, and the assembled Christians celebrated the mercy
of Grod by a solemn festival.

Scarcely were the Christians delivered from these alarms
than a new tempest threatened Syria and Palestine.* Mau-
doud, prince or governor of Mossoul, had been kiUed by two
Ismaelians, as he was coming out of a mosque. As the
prince of Mossoul was considered the most firm support of
Islamism and the most redoubtable enemy of the Christians,
the caliph and the sultan of Bagdad placed him in the rank
of the martyrs, and resolved to revenge his death. They
accused the Pranks and the sultan of Damascus of the
murder of a Mussulman prince. A nmnerous army set out
from the banks of the Tigris, and advanced towards Syria,
to punish at the same time both the Christian and Mussul-
man infidels. The warriors of Bagdad, united with those ol
Mossoul, penetrated as far as the lands of Aleppo, and
carried destruction and death wherever they went. In
this pressing danger the Saracens of Damascus and Meso-
potamia did not hesitate to form an alliance with the Chris-
tian princes. The king of Jerusalem, the prince of Antioch,
and the count of Tripoli united their troops with those of
the Mussulmans. The Christians were fuU of zeal and
ardour, and were eager for battle, but their new fdlies were
nat mUing to give them the advantage of a victory, as they
mistrusted the soldiers of Christ, and used every efibrt to

* We have avoided mentioning too frequently the sultans and emirs of
Syria, whose names seem the more barbarous as they are correctly
written.

HIbTOET OF THE CRUSADES. 293

avoid a decisive engagement, in which they dreaded the
triumph of their auxiharies as much as that of their foes.
After having ravaged the territory of Aleppo, and the hanks
of the Euphrates and the Orontes, the warriors of Bagdad
returned to their own country without trying their strength
with their formidable adversaries. The Christians in thia
campaign did not illustrate their arms by any very brilliant
exploits, but they kept up the division among the Saracens,
and the discord of their enemies was more serviceable tc
them than a great victory.

The king of Jerusalem, no longer having the Turks of
Bagdad or the Turks estabhshed in Syria to contend with,
turned his attention towards Egypt, whose armies he had so
frequently dispersed.* He collected his chosen warriors,
traversed the desert, carried the terror of his arms to the
banks of the Nile, and surprised and pillaged the city of
Pharamia, situated three days' journey from Cairo. The
success of this expedition gave him room to hope that he
should one day render himself master of a great kingdom,
and he was returning triumphant, and loaded with booty, to
Jerusalem, when he fell sick at El-Arrich, on the confines of
the desert which separates Egypt from Palestine. His life
was soon despaired of, and the companions of his victories,
assembled around him, could not conceal their deep sorrow.
Baldwin endeavoured to console them by his discourses:
"My dear companions," said he to them, "you who have
suft'ered so many evils and braved so many perils, why do
you allow yourselves to be overcome by grief? E-emember
that you are still in the territories of the Saracens, and that
you stand in need of all your customary courage. Consider
that you only lose in me a single man, and that you have
among you several warriors who surpass me in skill. Think
of nothing but of returning victorious to Jerusalem, and of
defending the heritage of Christ. If I have fought a long
time with you, and my many labours give me the right of
addressing a prayer to you, I conjure you not to leave my
bones in a foreign land, but to bury them near to the tomb
of my brother Godfrey."

The king of Jerusalem then caused his servants to b«

* Tabari and Aboul-Feda.

2b4i HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

assem'^ib.' ^ind gave them orders for his sepulture. After
having iif niinated Baldwin dii Bourg as his successor, he
expired, surrounded by his companions, who, though deeply
grieved, endeavoured to conceal their tears, that the Sara-
cens might not learn the great loss the Christians had
experienced.

Baldwin lived and died in the midst of camps. During
his reign, which lasted eighteen years, the inhabitants of
Jerusalem were annually warned of the approach of the
Saracens by the sound of the great bell ; and they scarcely
ever saw the wood of the true cross in the sanctuary, fei
this sacred relic always accompanied the armies to battle,
and its presence not unfrequently was sufficient to give
victory to the Christians.

During the time he occupied the throne of Jerusalem,
the only means Baldwin had of keeping up his necessary
army arose from the tenths of the produce of the cultivated
lands, some taxes upon commerce, the booty obtained from
enemies, and the ransom of prisoners. When peace lasted
some months, or war was unsuccessful, the revenues of the
state were diminished to half their usual amount, and could
not meet the most necessary expenses. The forces of the
kingdom were scarcely sufficient to defend it in the hour ot
danger. Baldwin could never undertake any great enter-
prise except when reinforcements arrived from the West ;
and when pilgrims who bore arms returned to their own
country, he was often obliged to abandon an expedition
which he had begun, and -sometimes foimd himself without
means of resistance, when exposed to the attacks of an
enemy always eager to avenge his defeats.

The brother and successor of Godfrey was often on the
point of losing his kingdom, and only preserved it by pro-
digies of valour. He lost several battles by his rashness
and imprudence ; but his wonderfid activity always extri-
cated him from whatever perils he chanced to fall into.

The historians of the times bestow warm eulogies upon
the brilliant qualities of Baldwin. In the first crusade he
made himself greatly hated for his ambitious and haughty
character ; but as soon as he had obtained w^hat he desired
and ascended a throne, he was at least equally admired for
his generosity and clemency. When he becaiae king of

HISTORY OF THE CHUSADES. 295

Jerusalem, lie followed the example of Grodfrey, and deserved
in his turn to be held up as a model to his successors.

His extreme love for women sometimes drew upon him
the severe censures of the clergy. To expiate his offences,
in accordance with the opinions of the times, he richly en-
dowed churches, particularly that of Bethlehem ; and manj
other religious establishments owe their foundation to him.
Amidst the tumidt of camps, he added several articles to
the code of his predecessor ; but that which did most honour
to his reign, was his constant anxiety to repeople Jerusalem.
He offered an honourable asylum to all the Christians scat-
tered over Arabia, Syria, and Egypt. Christians persecuted
by Mussulmans came to him in crowds, with their wives,
their children, and their wealth. Baldwin distributed
amongst them lands and uninhabited houses, and Jerusalem
began to be flourishing.

The last wishes of Baldwin Were accomplished. The
Christian army, preceded by the mortal remains of its chief,
returned to Jerusalem. Baldwin du Bourg, who came to
the holy city to celebrate the festival of Easter and to T'isit
the brother of Godfrey, arrived on Palm-Sunday at the hour
in which the clergy and the people, according to ancient
custom, go in procession to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. As
he entered by the gate of Ephraim, the funeral train of
Baldwin, accompanied by his warriors in mourning, entered
by the gate of Damascus. At this sight melancholy cries
were mingled with the hymns of the Christians. The
Latins were deeply afflicted, the Syrians wept, and the
Saracens, says Eoulcher de Chartres, who were witnesses of
this mournful spectacle, could not restrain their tears. In
the midst of the sorrowing people, the count of Edessa
accompanied the funereal convoy to the foot of Calvary,
where Baldwin was buried close to Godfrey.

Although the late king had pointed out Baldwin du Bourg
as his successor, the barons and the prelates met to elect a
new prince. Several proposed to offer the crown to Eustace
de Boulogne, the brother of Godfrey. Josselin de Courtenay,
one of the first counts of the kingdom, declared himself in
favour of Baldwin du Bourg. Josselin, on arriving in Asia,
had been welcomed and loaded with favours by the count of
Edessa, who gave him several cities on the Euphrates.

296 HISTOKT OF THE CKTJSADES.

Expelled afterwards ignomiiiiously by his benefactor, wbo
accused Mm of ingratitude, he had taken refuge in the kingt
dom of Jerusalem, in which he had obtained the principality
of Tiberias. Whether he wished to make amends for old
offences, or whether he hoped to obtain fresh benefits, he
represented to the assembled barons, " that Baldwin du
Bourg belonged to the family of the last king ; that his
piety, his wisdom, and courage were known to the entire
East ; and that no country on that side or beyond the sea
could offer a prince more worthy of the confidence and love
of the Christians. The benedictions of the inhabitants of
Edessa pointed him out to the choice of the barons and
knights, and Providence had opportunely sent him to Jeru-
salem to console the Christian people for the loss of Grodfrey
and Baldwin." This discourse united all the suffrages in
favour of Baldwin du Bourg, who was crowned a few days
after, and made over the county of Edessa to Jossehn de
Courtenay.

Scarcely was Baldwin du Bourg seated on the throne of
Jerusalem than he was obliged to fly to the succour of
Antioch, attacked by the Saracens of Damascus and the
Turcomans from the banks of the Euphrates. Hoger of
Sicily, son of Richard, who since the death of Tancred
governed Antioch during the minority of the son of Bohe-
mond, had been killed in a bloody battle. Baldwin, accom-
panied by the count of Tripoli, hastened to the barAs of the
Orontes, attacked the victorious Mussulmans, and dispersed
their army.*

After this victory he returned to Jerusalem, when he
learnt that Josselin de Courtenay had been made prisoner
by the Turks. Baldwin flew to the defence of the county
of Edessa, which was threatened with an invasion, and him-
self fell into the hands of tlie Mussulmans.

Old chronicles have celebrated the intrepid zeal of fifty
Armenians, who swore to deliver two princes so much be-
loved by their subjects, and whose captivity spread desola-
tion amonof the Christians of the East. Their efforts broke
the chains of Josselin, but after having braved a thousand
dangers vtdthout being able to release Baldwin du Bourg,

* See, for an account of this disaster, Kemaleddin and Tabari.

HISTOUT OF THE CETJSADES. 297

they were themselves taken by the infidels. They all dic^d
Amidst tortures, and received from Heaven alone, add the
same chronicles, the reward of their generous devotion.

Josselin, escaped from his prison, repaired to Jerusalem,
where he deposited in the church of the Holy Sepulchre the
chains which he had borne among the Turks, and entreated
prompt assistance for the deliverance of Baldwin. The
mourning kingdom was menaced by the Saracens of Egypt,
who, seeking to take advantage of the captiAdty of Baldwin,
had assembled in the plains of Ascalon for the purpose of
driving the Franks from Palestine. In this pressing danger
the Christians of Jerusalem could pay attention to nothing
but the defence of the kingdom. After the example of the
inhabitants of Nineveh, they first sought to mitigate the
anger of Heaven by penitence and prayer. A rigorous fast
was commanded, during which women withheld the milk of
their breasts from their children in the cradle, and the flocks
even were driven to a distance from their pastures and de-
prived of their ordinary nourishment. War was proclaimed
by the sound of the great bell of Jerusalem. The Christian
army, which consisted of little more than three thousand
combatants, was commanded by Eustache G-renier, count of
Sidon, named regent of the kingdom in the absence of Bald-
win. The patriarch of the holy city bore the true cross at
the head of the army ; he was followed, says Kobert of the
Mount, by Pontius, abbot of Cluni, carrying the lance with
which the side of the Saviour was pierced, and by the bishop
of Bethlehem, who held in his hands a vase, in which the
Christian priests boasted of having preserved the milk of
the Virgin mother of God ! *

The Christians met the army of the Saracens on the plains
of Ascalon. The battle immediately began, and the Franks
were at once surrounded by the Mussulmans, who reckoned
forty thousand men beneath their standards. The defeat of
the Christians appeared certain, when all at once, says the

* The account of this battle, and the preparations for it, are taken from
Robert of the Mount {Robertus de Monte, Appendice ad Sigebertum).
This author speaks of the fast the troops were ordered to underg^o, as had
been done at Nineveh : " Universe pecori pabula negabantur." He also
speaks of the milk of the holy Virgin, carried in a vase; — ** Episcopus
Bethleemides ferens in pyxide lao sanctse Manse virginis."

298 HISTOET OF THE CR-CSAIJES.

liistorian we liave just now quoted, a light like to that of a
thunderbolt darted throufjh the air, and fell upon the army
of the Mussulmans. This light, which the Christians con-
sidered as a miracle from Heaven, became the signal for the
rout of the Saracens. The Mussulman warriors, still more
superstitious than the Christians, were fascinated by a sud-
den terror, and no longer had either courage or strength to
defend themselves. Seven thousand of them fell on the
field of battle, and five thousand perished, swallowed up by
the waves of the sea. The victorious Christians returned to
Jerusalem, singing the praises of the Grod of armies.

The Christian knights thenceforth wept with less bitter-
ness over the captivity of a king without v^hom they had
been able to conquer the army of the Saracens ; but the
army of the Eranks, employed in the defence of cities and
frontiers constantly threatened by the enemy, could not leave
the kingdom to make new conquests ; and the warriors, who
were detained in the Christian cities, after so great a victory,
were deeply afilicted at their inaction, and appeared to place
all their hopes in succours from the West. It was just at
this time that a Venetian fleet arrived off the coast of Syria.

The Venetians, who for several centuries enjoyed the com-
merce of the East, and feared to break their profitable rela-
tions with the Mussulmans of Asia, had taken but very little
interest in the first crusade, or in the events that had fol-
lowed it. They waited the issue of this great enterprise, to
take a part and associate themselves without peril with the
victories of the Christians ; but at length, jealous of the ad-
vantages that the Genoese and the Pisans had obtained in
Syria, they w^ished likewise to have a share in the spoils of
the Mussulmans, and prepared a formidable expedition
against the infidels. Their fleet, whilst crossing the Medi-
terranean, fell in with that of the Grenoese, which was re-
turning from the East ; they attacked it with fury, and
forced it to fly in great disorder. After having stained the
sea with the blood of Christians, the Venetians pursued their
course towards the coasts of Palestine, where they met the
fleet of the Saracens, just issuing from the ports of Egypt*
A violer .; corflict ensued, in which all the Egyptian vessela
were dispersed or destroyed, and covered the waves with
their wrecks.

HISTOKT OE THE CEUSA.DES. 29S

"Wliilst the Venetians were thus destropng the fleet of
the Mussulmans, an army sent by the caliph of Cairo was
beaten by the Christians under the walls of Jaffa. The doge
of Yeniv^e, who commanded the Venetian fleet, entered the
port of Ptolemais, and was conducted in triumph to Jerusa-
lem. "When celebrating the double victory, they resolved to
profit by it, by following it up by an important expedition.
In a council, held in presence of the regent of the kingdom
and the doge of Venice, it was proposed to besiege either
the city of Tyre or the city of Ascalon. As the opinions
were divided, it was resolved to interrogate God, and to fol-
low his will. Two strips of parchment, upon which had
been written the names of Ascalon and Tyre, were deposited
upon the altar of the Holy Sepulchre. In the sight of a
numerous crowd of spectators, a young orphan advanced
towards the altar, took one of the strips, and the chance fell
upon the city of Tyre.

The Venetians, more devoted to the interests of their
commerce and of their nation than to those of a Christian
kingdom, demanded, before beginning the siege of Tyre,
that they should enjoy a church, a street, a common oven,
and a national tribunal in every city in Palestine. They
further demanded other privileges and the possession of a
third of the conquered city. The conquest of Tyre appeared
to be so important, that the regent, the chancellor of the
kingdom, and the great vassals of the crown accepted the
conditions of the Venetians without hesitation : in a deed
which history has preserved,* they engaged not to acknow-
ledge Baldwin du Bourg or any other prince who would
refuse to subscribe to it.

When they had thus, by a treaty, shared the city they
were about to conquer, they began their preparations for
the siege. Towards the commencement of the spring, the
Christian army set out from Jerusalem, and the Venetian
fleet sailed from the port of Ptolemais. The historian of
the kingdom of Jerusalem, who was for a long time arch-
bishop of Tyre, stops here to describe the antique wonders
of his metropolis. In his recital, at once religious and pro-
fane, he invokes by turns the te-stimony of Isaiah and of

* This act is reported in its entirety by William of Tyre.

800 niSTOET OF THE CErSADES.

Virgil ; after having spoken of the king, Hyram, and the
tomb of Origen, he does not disdain to celebrate the
memory of Cadmus, and the country of Dido. The good
archbishop boasts above all of the industry and the com-
merce of Tyre ; of the fertility of its territory, its dyes so
celebrated in all antiquity, that sand which is changed into
transparent vases, and those sugar-canes which, from that
time, were souglit for by every region of the universe. Tyre,
in the time of Baldwin, was no longer that sumptuous city,
whose rich merchants, according to Isaiah, were princes ;
but it was yet considered as the most populous and the most
commercial of all the cities of Syria. It was budt upon a
delightful beach, which mountains sheltered from the blasts
of the north ; it had two large moles, which, like two arms,
stretched out into the waves, to form a port to which no
tempest could find access. Tyre, which had kept the victo-
rious Alexander seven months and a half before its walls,
was defended on one side by a stormy sea and steep rocks,
and on the other by a triple wall surmounted by high
towers.

The doge of Venice, with his fleet, entered the port and
closed up all issue on the side of the sea. The patriarch of
Jerusalem, the regent of the kingdom, and Pontius, count
of Tripoli, commanded the army by land. In the early days
of the siege, the Christians and the Mussulmans fought with
obstinate ardour, and with equal success ; but the divisions
among the infidels soon came in to second the efforts of the
Franks. The caliph of Egypt had yielded half of the place
to the sultan of Damascus, to induce him to defend it
against the Christians. The Turks and the Egyptians were
divided among themselves, and would not fight together.
The Franks profited by these divisions, and every day gained
great advantages. After a siege of some months, the walls
crumbled away before the machines of the Christians ; pro-
visions began to be short in the city, and the infidels were
ready to capitulate, when discord arose to disunite the
Christians in their turn, and was on the point of rendering
useless the prodigies of valour, and the labours of the long
siege.

The land army complained aloud of being obLged to sup-
port alone, both fighting and fatigue ; the knights and their

HISTOTIT OF THE CRrSADES. 301

soldiers threatened to remain as motionless under their tents,
as the Venetians did in their ships. To prevent the effect
of their complaints, the 'doge of Venice came into the camp
of the Christians, with his sailors armed with their oars, and
declared that he was ready to mount the breach. From that
time a generous emulation animated equally the zeal and
courage of the land and sea forces. The Mussulmans, being
without hope of succour, after a siege of five months and a
half, were obliged to surrender. The standards of the king
of Jerusalem and the doge of Venice waved over the walls of
Tyre ; the Christians made their triumphal entry into the
city, whilst the inhabitants, according to the terms of the
capitulation, went out with their wives and children.*

The day on which they received at Jerusalem the news of
the conquest of Tyre, was a festival for the population of the
holy city. To the sound of the bells the Te Deum was sung
on bended knees ; flags were hoisted on the towers and the
ramparts of the city ; branches of olive, and garlands of
flowers were suspended in the streets and public places, and
rich stuffs were hung upon the outsides of the houses, and
upon the doors of the churches. Old men reminded their
neighbours of the splendour of the kingdom of Judah, and
young virgins repeated in chorus the psalms in which the
prophets had celebrated the city of Tyre.

The doge of Venice, on his return to the holy city, was
saluted by the acclamations of the people and the clergy.
The barons and the principal inhabitants did all in their
power to detain him in Palestine ; they even went so far as
to offer him the crown of Baldwin ; some believing that that

* Albert d'Aix finishes his history in the first year of the reign of
Baldwin II., and Foulcher de Chartres terminates his after the siege of
Tyre. We may consult for this reign many passages of Baronius, Robert
of the Mount, Sanuti, and particularly William of Tyre and Bernardus
Thesaurius. We are in possession of the second part of a History of
Jerusalem, the anonymous author of which speaks of the reigns of the
two first Baldwins.

It will be said perhaps that I have borrowed from these different his-
torians too many details ; but I could not resist the desire I had to im-
part to my readers things that have never hitherto been related in the
French language. It is surprising that, notwithstanding Jerusalem was
almost always governed and defended by the Franks, no writer of ouf
nation has spoken of it.

302 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

prince had died among the infidels, others only reoognisinfi
a kinsf when at the head of an army, or on the field ol

army,

battle. The doge refused the crown they offered him ; and,
satisfied with the title of prince of Jerusalem, sailed with his
victorious fleet back to Italy.

Whilst they were offering the throne of Jerusalem to a
foreign prince, the captivity of Baldwin du Bourg was draw-
ing to an end. The emir Balac,* who held him prisoner,
after having conquered in a battle ten thousand Christians
commanded by Josselin, besieged the citadel of a Mussulman
city of Syria, and was preparing to succour the city of Tyre,
when he was wounded by a javelin, and died regretted by
the most ardent disciples of Mahomet. Baldwin was then
enabled to purchase his liberty, and, after a captivity of
eighteen mo^nths, appeared once again among the Christians.
The king of Jerusalem had promised the Saracens a consi-
derable sum as his ransom ; but it was much more easy for
him to fight and conquer his enemies than to fulfil such a
promise. The Mussulmans, besides, by ill-treating the
hostages he had left with them,t furnished him with a pre-
text to attack them. When the infidels demanded of him
the stipulated price of his liberty, he only replied by gaining
victories over them. The Christian knights, who seemed to
have forgotten him, now that they saw him once again in
arms, returned thanks to Heaven for his deliverance, and
came in troops to range themselves under his banners, and
recognised with joy the authority of a prince who appeared
only to have issued from his prison to lead them to new
combats.

The Christian states at that period numbered as enemies
the caliphs of Bagdad and Damascus, the emirs of Mossoul
and Aleppo, and the descendants of Ortoc, who were mas-
ters of several places on the Euphrates.;]: The Egyptians
wore weakened by their numerous defeats, and of all their
ancient conquests on the coasts of Syria, only retained the

* The emir Balac was a prince of the family of Ortoc, who possessed
many places on the Euphrates, reigned in Aleppo and Mesopotamia, and
could set on foot innumerable armies of Turcomans.

f Edma, the daughter of Baldwin, still a child, was violated by tha

Mussulmans, to whom her father had given her as an hostage.

+
+

iiane, Kemaleddin, Tabari, and Aboul-Feda.

HISTORY OF TUE CllUSADES. 803

city of Ascalon. But the garrison of this place, formed of
the wrecks of several conquered armies, still threatened the
territories of the Christians. Although the Egyptians had
lost the cities of Tyre, Tripoli, and Ptolemais, they still con-
tinued masters at sea, and their fleets cruised without obsta-
cle along the coasts of Syria, when the maritime nations ol
Europe did not happen to send succour to the Eranks esta-
blished in Palestine.

The Tiu-ks, accustomed to the military and pastoral life,
did not aspire to the empire of the seas, but they never left
the Christians at rest. They made themselves dreaded, not
so much by their great armies, which were frequently no-
thing but confused and undisciplined multitudes, but by
their continual, harassing incursions. Docile and patient,
they endured hunger, thirst, and fatigue, better than they
would face an enemy. Their knowledge of the country,
their being accustomed to the climate, and the intelligence
they kept up with the inhabitants, gave them, in all their
warlike expeditions, a decided advantage over the Christians.
Their soldiers surpassed the Eranks in the arts of shooting
with, the bow, or hurling a javelin, as well as in horseman-
ship ; and their leaders w^ere practised, and excelled in all
the stratagems of w^ar. Their tactics consisted in wearing
out their enemies, in preparing ambushes for them, or in
drawing them into difficult positions, where they might
triumph without fighting. The endless discord which pre-
vailed among the Mussulman princes of Syria, and the revo-
lutions which daily threatened their power, prevented them
from following up, for any length of time, the same plan of
defence or attack ; but when in the enjoyment of a transient
tranquillity, sometimes excited by a thirst for plunder, or
sometimes animated by the prayers and the counsels of the
caliph of Bagdad, they would burst like a sudden and unex-
pected storm over the territories of Antioch, Edessa, Tripoli,
or the kingdom of Jerusalem. If the Mussulmans expe-
rienced a defeat, they retired with the hope of finding a
more favourable opportunity ; if they were conquerors, they
ravaged the cities and the plains, and returned to their coun-
try, loaded with booty, singing theie words : '' The Koran
rejoices, and the Gospel is in tears.''*

The hopes of booty every year attracted new hordes and

304 HISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES.

tribes, which poured down from Mount Caacasus, Mount
Taurus, from Kora9an and the banks of the Tigris. These
tribes, for the most part wild and barbarous, mingled among
the Mussulmans of Syria and Mesopotamia, and replaced in
armies and cities the hosts which war had swept away.
Among the tribes which had thus established themselves
in Syria, history must not forget that of the assassins or
Ismaelians, whose sect had sprung up, towards the com-
mencement of the eleventh century, in the mountains of
Persia. A short time before the first crusade, they took
possession of a part of Libanus, and founded a colony be-
tween Tripoli and Tortosa, which colony was governed by a
chief whom the Franks called — tJie Old 3fan, or the Lord of
the Jlountain. The chief of the Ismaelians only reigned
over about twenty castles or towns, and scarcely more than
sixty thousand subjects ; but he had converted despotism
into a species of worship, and his authority was without
bounds. His subjects considered that he alone was the de-
positary of the laws of Mahomet, and that all who opposed
his will merited death. The Old Man of the Mountains,
according to the belief of the Ismaelians, could distribute, at
his pleasure, the delights of Paradise to his servants ; that he
who died in an act of obedience to his chief, ascended to
heaven, whither the prophet of Mecca welcomed him, whilst
he who died in his bed went through long probationary pains
in the next world.

The Ismaelians were divided into three classes : the peo-
ple, the soldiers, and the guards. The people lived by the
cultivation of the lands and by commerce ; they were docile,
laborious, sober, and patient : nothing could exceed the skill,
strength, and courage of the soldiers, whose qualities were
particularly valued in the defence or sieges of cities. The
greater part of the Mussulman princes were very desirous
of having them in their pay.

The most distinguished class was that of the guards or
feddis. Nothing was neglected in their education. Prom
their infancy their bodies were strengthened by constant
and violent exercises, and their minds were cultivated by the
study of the arts. They were taught the languages of Asia
and Europe, in order that they might be sent into those
countries to execute the orders of their master. All sortg

HISTOET OF THE CKUSADES. 306

cf means were employed to inflame their imaginations and
heighten their courage ; during their sleep, which was pro-
voked by intoxicating drinks, they were transported into
delicious gardens, and awoke sm'rounded by the seductions
of voluptuousness. It was there that the Old Man of the
Mountains, by showing them the image of the joys of Para-
dise, inspired them with a blind obedience. In the midst of
illusions which fascinated them, their master could order
them to cast themselves from the height of a tower, to pre-
cipitate themselves into flames, or to pierce themselves with
mortal wounds. When the Old Man of the Mountains had
pointed out to them any one he wished to punish, they went,
armed with a poniard, indifferently, to seek him in palaces or
camps, and were impeded by neither obstacles nor dangers.

Princes often intrusted the charge of their revenge to the
chief of the Ismaelians, and looked to him for the death of
their rivals or enemies. Powerful monarchs were his tribu-
taries. The fears which he inspired, and the murders com-
mitted by his orders, heaped up his treasures. Surrounded
by his intrepid soldiery, he sent death into distant regions ;
the terror of his name was spread everywhere, whilst he
himself had nothing to fepi^ from his ene'jiies-

The Ismaelians, as implacable sectarians, entertained a
profound aversion for the Turks of Syria. Many of them
were in the pay of the emirs and the sultans of that na-
tion ; but they sold their services at a very high price, and
often took an active part in the bloody revolutions which
precipitated from thrones the Mussulman dynasties of the
East. They had less hatred for the Christians, because the
latter fought against the Turks ; nay, sometimes they became
useful auxiliaries to the Pranks. When Baldwin du Boiu-g
was liberated, they proposed to deliver up Damascus to him,
a great nimiber of their warriors being in that city ; but the
plot being discovered, they miscarried in their enterprise,
and six thousand Ismaelians were slaughtered by the
Mussulmans.*

* Our learned Orientalists have furnished us with some very useful
and profound works on the Ismaelians ; at their head is M. de Sacy, who
has made us acquainted with the doctrine and many of the usages of this
lingular people. M. Jourdain has on this subject supphed us with a very
interesting memoir.

306 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

The Old Man of the Mountains commanded the death ol
the emir of Mossoul, who had defended the city of Damas-
cus against the Christians. The murder of the Mussulman
emir threw Syria into a state of excitement and trouble ;
but from the bosom of this disorder arose a new and for-
midable power. Zengui, son of Aksancar, one of the most
skilful captains of his age, obtained the principality of
Mossoul, got possession of Emessa and Aleppo, with several
other cities of Syria, and founded the dynasty of the Ata-
becks, or governors of the prince, which was destined to
dominate over the East, and render itself formidable to the
Christians.*

Whilst this new power was rising in Syria, tlie Christian
states of the East were at their highest point of prosperity.
The county of Edessa, which contained a great portion of
the rich provinces of Mesopotamia, had all the Armenian
princes as its allies and auxiliaries. Several cities of Coele-
Syria, Cilicia, and Lower Armenia constituted tlie principality
of Antioch, the most extensive and the most flourishing of
the Christian provinces.

The county of Tripoli comprised several places situated
on the Sea of Phoenicia, from Margath to the river Adonis.
This river, celebrated in both sacred and profane history,
bounded on the north the kingdom of Jerusalem, which,
towards the south, extended on the sea-coast as far as the
gates of Ascalon, and towards the east, to the deserts of
Arabia.

These four states formed a redoubtable confederacy.
Europe beheld with pride these Christian colonies, which
had cost her so much blood ; she was afflicted at their re-
verses, and rejoiced at their progress. The safety of Chris-
tianity appeared identified with their preservation. The
bravest of the Christians were always ready to devote
themselves for the heritage of Christ ; religion offered no
recompense equal to that promised to their valour, and
charity itself became warlike.

.From the bosom of an hospital consecrated to the service
of' pilgrims and the poor, issued heroes armed against the

• See, for the origin and the reign of Zengui, the History of fhi
Aiabecks, by Ben Latir.

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 307

mfidels, — the humanity and the bravery of the knights cf
St. John* were equally conspicuous. Whilst some grew old
in the offices of hospitality, others went forth to combat
with the enemies of their faith. After the example of these
pious knights, several men of gentle birth met near the place
where the temple of Solomon had stood, and took an oath to
protect and defend the pilgrims who repaired to Jerusalem.
Their union gave birth to the order of the Templars, which,
from its origin., was approved of by a council, and owed its
statutes to St. Bernard.

These two orders were governed by the same principle
that had given birth to the crusade, the union of the mihtary
spirit with the religious spirit. Ketired from the world,
they had no other country but Jerusalem, no other family
but that of Jesus Christ. Wealth, evils, and dangers were
all in common amongst them ; one will, one spirit, directed
all their actions and all their thoughts ; all were united in
one house, which appeared to be inhabited but by one man.
They lived in great austerity, and the severer their discipline
became, the stronger appeared the bonds by which it en-
chained their hearts and their wills. Arms formed their
only decoration; precious ornaments were never seen in
their houses or churches ; but lances, bucklers, swords, and
standards taken from the infidels abounded. At the cry of
battle, says St. Bernard,t they armed themselves with faith
within and with steel without; they feared neither the
number nor the fury of the barbarians, they were proud to
conquer, happy to die for Jesus Christ, and believed that
every victory came from Grod.

Beligion had sanctified the perils and the violences of war.
Every monastery of Palestine was a fortress, in which the
din of arms was mingled with the voice of prayer. Humble
cenobites sought glory in fight ; the canons, instituted by
Godfrey to pray near the holy tomb, after the example ol

* The history of the knights of St. John has been written in Italian by
Bosio, and translated into French by Boyssat. The history since written
by the Abbe de Vertot has caused all that preceded it to be forgotten.
The Templars, after their tragical end, had no historian of their exploits
in the Holy Land ; but they have in our days found a very eloquent one in
M. Raynouard.

•f" See Saint Bernard, Exhortatio ad Milites Templi,

Vot. I.— 15

308 HISTORY DF THE CEITSADES.

the Hospitallers and the Templars, had clothed themselves
with the casque and the cuirass, and, under the name of the
Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, distinguished themselves
amongst the soldiers of Christ.

The glory of these military orders was soon spread
throughout the Christian world. Their renown penetrated
even to the isles and the most remote nations of the West.
All who had sins to expiate hastened to the holy city to
share the labours of the Christian warriors. Crowds of men,
who had devastated their own country, came to defend the
kingdom of Jerusalem, and take part in the perils of the
most firm defenders of the faith.

There was not an illustrious family in Europe which did
not send at least one knight to the military orders of Pales-
tine. Princes even enrolled themselves in this holy militia,
and laid aside the insignia of their dignity to assume the
red coat of arms of the Hospitallers, or the white mantle of
the knights of the Temple. In all the nations of the West
castles and cities were bestowed upon them, which offered
an asylum and succour to pilgrims, and became auxiliaries to
the kingdom of Jerusalem. As monks, as soldiers of Christ,
they were remembered in every will, and not unfrequently
became the heirs of monarchs and princes.

The knights of St. John and of the Temple for a length
of time were deserving of the greatest praises ; more happy
and more worthy of the benedictions of posterity would
they have been, if, in the end, they had not allowed them-
v'^elves to be corrupted by their success and their wtiilth ;
and if they had not frequently disturbed the welfare of tho
state of which their bravery was the support ! These two
orders were like a crusade that was unceasmgly renewed,
and preserved emulation in the Christian armies.

The military customs and manners of the Pranks who
were then engaged in Palestine, present an object worthy of
fixing the attention of the historian and the philosopher,
and may serve to explain the rapid rise and the following
decline of the kingdom of Jerusalem. The spirit of ho-
nour which animated the warriors, and permitted them
not to fly, even in an unequal fight, was the most active
principle of their bravery, and with them took the place of
oiscipUne. To abandon a companion in danger, or to retire

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 809

before an enemy, was an action infaraous in tlie sight of Grod
or man. In battle, their close ranks, their lofty stature,
their war-horses, like themselves covered with steel, over-
turned, dispersed, or bore down the numerous battalions of
the Saracens. In spite of the weight of their armour,
nothing could exceed the rapidity with which they passed to
places the most distant. They were to be seen fighting
almost at the same time in Egypt, on the Euphrates, and on
the Orontes ; and only left these their customary theatres
of victory to threaten the principality of Damascus, or some
city of Arabia. In the midst of their exploits they recog-
nised no other law but victory, abandoned and rejoined at
pleasure the standards which led them to the enemy, and
required nothing of their chief but the example of bravery.

As their militia had under its colours warriors of divers
nations, the opposition of characters, the difference of man-
ners and language kept alive amongst them a generous
emulation ; but sometimes, likewise, gave birth to discord.
Very frequently chance, or some unexpected circumstance,
decided an enterprise or the fate of a campaign. When the
Christian knights believed themselves in a condition to fight
an enemy, they went to seek him, without taking the least
pains to conceal their march ; confidence in their strength,
in their arms, and, above all, in the protection of Heaven,
made them neglect the stratagems and the artifices of war,
and even the precautions most necessary to the safety of an
army. Prudence in their chiefs frequently appeared to
them an evidence of timidity or weakness, and many of
their princes paid with their lives or their liberty for the
vain glory of encountering useless perils in the Christian
cause.

The Eranks of Palestine saw scarcely any dangers or
enemies except such as met them in the field of battle.
Several important enterprises, which fortune alone seemed
to direct, were necessary to assure the safety and the
prosperity of the Christian states in Asia. The first of
these enterprises was to xower the power of the caliphs of
Egypt ; the second, to conquer and preserve the maritime
cities of Syria, in order to receive fleets and succom* from
the "West ; the third was to defend the frontiers, and oppose
on all sides a bai'rier against the Tui'ks and Saracens. Each

310 niSTOEY OF THE CKUSADES.

of those great interests, or rather all of these interestB anited,
constantly occupied the Franks established in Asia, without
their having any other policy but that of circumstances, and
without their employing, in order to succeed, any other
means but their swords. It is in this view we must admire
their efforts, and find the bravery, which supplied the place
of everything, wonderful.

Among the illustrious pilgrims who at this time repaired
to Palestine, and took part in the labours of the Christian
knights, history ought not to forget Foulque, count of
Anjou. He was the son of Foulque le B-echin and Ber-
trade de Montfort, who became the wife of Philip I., and
for whose sake the king of Frarce had braved all the
thunders of the Church. Foulque of Anjou could not be
consoled for the death of his wife Eremberge, daughter of
Elie, count of Maine. His grief led him into Palestine,
where he maintained during a year a himdred men-at-arms,
whom he led to battle. He united piety with valour, and
attracted admiration by displaying all the qualities of a good
prince. Baldwin, who had no male offspring, offered him
his daughter Melisende in marriage, and promised to have
him nominated his successor. Foulque accepted the pro-
position with joy, and became son-in-law to the king ol
Jerusalem.

From that time the two princes gave all their attention
to promote the prosperity of the kingdom and to defend it
against the Saracens. Their union served as a model to
Christian princes, and lasted till the death of Baldwin, who,
seeing his last hour approach, ordered himself to be carried
to the spot where Christ had risen again, and died in the
arms of his daughter and his son-in-law, to whom, vdth his
latest breath, he recommended the glory of the Christiana
of the East.

Baldwin had a right mind, a lofty spirit, and unalterable
mildness. Beligion presided over his least actions and
inspired all his thoughts ; but he perhaps had more devotion
than was suited to a prince or a warrior. He was constantly
seen prostrated on the earth, and, if we may believe WiUiam
of Tyre, his hands and knees were hardened by practices of
piety. He passed eighteen years on the throne of Edessa,
and twelve on that of Jerusalem ; he was made prisoner

HISTOET OF THE CRUSADES. 311

iwice, and remained seven years in tlie chains of tlie infidels.
He had neither the faults nor the high qualities of his pre-
decessor. His reign was rendered illustrious by conquests
and victories in which he bore no part ; but he was not the
less regretted by the Christians, who loved to contemplatfe
in him the last of the companions of Godfrey.

Under his reign the public manners began to decline : by
his directions a council was assembled at Naplouse to check
licentiousness, and punish offenders against order and mo-
rality. But the decrees of this council,* deposited in the
churches, only served to prove the existence of disorders
among the Christians, and did not, in any way, stop the pro-
gress of corruption, which rapidly increased under the follow-
ing reigns. Baldwin was more happy in the measures which
he undertook to increase the number of his subjects and enrich
his capital. An edict suppressed all duties upon grain and
vegetables brought into the holy city by the Syrians. Bald-
win, by this means, improved the trade and population of Jeru-
salem, and revived agriculture in the neighbouring provinces.

Foulque, count of Anjou, was crowned king of Jerusalem
after the death of Baldwin. At his accession to the throne,
discord disturbed the Christian states, and even threatened
with speedy ruin the principality of Antioch. The son ol
Bohemond, who had recently assumed the reins of govern-
ment, had been killed in a battle against the Turks of Asia
Minor, and a daughter, whom he had had by Alise, sister of
Melisende, was called to the inheritance of her father's
throne ; but the weakness of her sex and age did not permit
her to make good her claim. Alise, her mother, wished to
get possession of the royal seat, and in the prosecution of
her projects did not scruple to avail herself of the aid
of the Saracens. Another candidate appeared in E-oger,
king of Sicily, who, as a member of the family of Bohemond
and Tancred, had pretensions to the principality of Antioch.
The people, the clergy, and the nobility were divided into
several factions.

* We will relate in full the decrees of the council of Naplouse, which
form a precious monument of the history of these distant tiuies ; but the
greater part of the crimes and offences against which the fathers of this
council raised their voices, do not permit us to give these statutes in
French or English, or present the most curious details of them.

S12 HISTOET OF THE CRUSADES.

The king of Jerusalem, as protector of the confederation
of the Eranks in Asia, determined to re-establish order, and
took the road to Antioch with his barons and the knights of
the Temple and St. John. The count of Tripoli, who had
embraced the party of Alise, undertook to stop the king of
Jerusalem on his passage. The powers of these two princes
met; a battle ensued, and the plains of Phoenicia were
stained wdth the blood of Christians shed in unnatural strife.
Foulque of Anjou, after having routed the troops of the
count of Tripoli, gained the banks of the Orontes, silenced
the contending factions, and re-established peace. To per-
fect his work, he resolved to bestow the daughter of Bohe-
mond on a husband able to defend her rights, who w^ould
merit the confidence of the Christian warriors. Syria pre-
senting to him no prince or knight worthy of his choice, he
turned his eyes towards the princes of Ein-ope, and nominated
[Raymond of Poictiers governor of Antioch, as Baldwin II.
had chosen him himself governor of Jerusalem. Thus
Europe, which had found defenders for the Christian states
of Asia, supplied them also with princes and kings. E-ay-
mond of Poictiers, brother of William, duke of Aquitaine,
^effc Erance with the scrip and staff" of a pilgrim, and came
iivto Syria to espouse the daughter of Baldwin, and reign
with her on the banks of the Orontes.

The troubles of Antioch had revived the pretensions of
tlie emperors of Constantinople. John Comnenus, son
and successor of Alexius, put himself at the head of an
army, took possession of some places in Cilicia, and en-
camped before the walls of Antioch. After several conflicts,
m which victory remained uncertain, negotiations were
opened, which ended in the oath of obedience to the emperor
being taken by Eaymond of Poictiers. The two princes,
united by a treaty, resolved to turn their arms against the
Saracens. Their troops, which they commanded in person,
attacked without success Aleppo and several other cities of
Syria; the want of a good understanding, which accom-
panied the Greeks and Latins at all times, was sure to defeat
their enterprises. The emperor retiu-ned with vexation to
Antioch, of which he endeavoured to make himself master,
but was compelled by a sedition to leave the city hastily. He
iJ*on formed the project of visiting Jerusalem at the head of

HISTOET OF THE CRUSADES. 313

his army, with the intention, if tlie Latins are to be believed,
of obtaining possession of Palestine. Foulque sent ambas-
sadors to inform him that he could only be received in the
holy city in the character of a simple pilgrim ; whereupon
John, who did not dare to complain, sent presents to Foulque
of Anjou, and gave up, without much pain, his idea of a
pilgrimage to Jerusalem. After a campaign, for which he
had drawn out all the strength of the empire, he returned
to his capital, having obtained nothing by his enterprise but
the vain and hollow homage of the prince of Antioch.

Foulque of Anjou, after having re-established peace among
his neighbours, found, on his return, that discord not only
prevailed in his states, but had even made its way into his
own house. Walter, count of Caesarea, accused Hugh,
count of Jaffa, of the crime of treason towards his king.
This latter noble had drawn upon himself the hatred of the
king and the principal people of the kingdom, some say by
his pride and disobedience, and others by his guilty con-
nection with the queen Melisende. When the barons had
heard Walter of Csesarea, they decided that a battle, en
champ clos, should take place between the accused and the
accuser ; and as the count of Jaffa did not appear in the
lists on the day nominated, he was declared guilty.

Hugh was descended from the famous lord of Puyset, who
raised the standard of revolt against the king of France,
and who, conquered in the end by Louis le Grros,* despoiled
of his possessions and banished his country, had taken
refuge in Palestine, where his exploits had secured him the
county of Jaffa, which he had transmitted to his son. Hugh
possessed the turbulent and impetuous character of hia
father, and, like him, could neither pardon an injury nor
submit to an act of authority. On learning that he was
condemned without being heard, he set no bounds to hia
anger, but hastened immediately to Ascalon, to implore the
aid of the infidels against the Christians. The Mussulmans,
highly pleased with the division which had sprimg up among*

* The castle of Puyset, near Orleans, was besieged three times by all
the forces of Louis le Gros ; this castle was at length taken and demo-
lished. Veilly, and all the French historians, having neglected to read
William of Tyre, make the seigneur de Puyset die in the kingdoss oi
Naples. ■ o. -

314 niSTOET OF THE CEUSADES.

their enemies, at once took the field, and ravaged the country
as far as the city of Asur. Hugh, after having contracted a
criminal alliance 'vidth the Saracens, shut himself up in Jaffa,
where he was soon besieged by the king of Jerusalem.

The thirst of vengeance animated both parties ; Poulque
of Anjou had sworn to punish the treason of his vassal ; and
Hugh was equally determined to succeed, or bury himself
under the ruins of Jaffa. Before tlie king's forces com-
menced the attack, the patriarch of Jerusalem interposed
his mediation, and recalled to the minds of the Christian
warriors the precepts of Grospel charity. Hugh at first
rejected all mention of peace with indignation ; but having
been abandoned by his followers, he at last lent an unwilling
ear to the pacific appeals of the patriarch, and consented to
lnj down his arms. The king of Jerusalem sent home his
army, and the count of Jafia agreed to quit the kingdom,
into which he was not to return till after three years of
exile. He was awaiting at Jerusalem the favourable moment
for his departure, when an unexpected circumstance was on
the point of renemng stifled quarrels. " It happened,"
says William of Tyre,* " as the count was playing at dice i:i
the street of the Furriers, before the shop of a merchant
named Alpham, that a soldier, a Breton by nation, having
drawn his sword, fell suddenly upon the said count, who,
being attentive to his game, expected nothing less than such
an attack, and with the first cut, without the least warning,
dealt him such a blow with the said sword on the face as
stretched him upon the ground." At the sight of such a
tragical scene the people gathered round in crowds, anxiously
inquiring the cause of it. The whole city was filled with
rumours of various kinds ; all mourned the fate of the count
of Jaffa, and thought no more of his rebellion. They ditl
not even hesitate to whisper complaints igainst the king,
whom they accused of having himself directed the poniard
of the assassin. The king, however, caused the murderer
to be immediately arrested, and he was tried with the utmost
rigour of the laws. He was ordered to have his Hmbs
broken ; and the king, whilst confirming the sentence, only

* When quoting William of Tyre, I avail myself always of the old
translation, whose nn'if and simple style associates best with the spirit and
manners of the twelfth century.

HlSrOKT OF THE CEUSADES. 315

added that the assassin of the count of Jaffa should not, aa
was usual, have his tongue cut out, in order that he might
name his accomplices. The unhappy wretch expired, de-
claring that no one had induced him to commit the deed,
but that he thought he should serve religion and. his king
by it. Every one was thus left free to form conjectures
according to the feeling that animated him, or the party he
had adopted. The count of Jaffa was not long in recovering
from his wound; at the end of a few months he quitted
Palestine, and went to Sicily, where he died before the time
fixed for the end of his exile.

Queen Melisende entertained a deep resentment at all
which had taken place; by which she proved that she was not
a stranger to the origin of these fatal discords. " From the
day on which the count left the kingdom," says William of
Tyre, " all who had against him been informers to the king,
and brought him into his ill graces, so incurred the indig-
nation of the queen that they were not in too great safety
of their persons, and even the king did not seem to be quite
at his ease among the relations and favourites of the queen."
The anger of the queen, however, yielded to time, and did
not outlive the count of Jaffa. Toulque himself, whether it
was that age had blunted his feelings, or that it appeared
more prudent to him to efface the last traces of an unfor-
tunate affair, repented of having compromised the honour of
the queen, and neglected nothing that coidd make her
forget the excess of his jealousy and the rigours he had
employed.

Amidst these disagreeable events the king of Jerusalem
had reason to congratulate himself at having no invasion
of the Mussulmans to repel. The prince of Mossoul,
Zengui, attacked some Christian fortresses, but he was soon
diverted from his enterprises against the Pranks by the pro-
ject of uniting the principality of Damascus to his states.
The Mussulman prince who reigned at Damascus could find
no other means of resisting Zengui than by calling in the
Christians to his help. The king of Jerusalem, after having
received hostages and considerable sums of money, took the
field at the head of his army, for the purpose of defending a
Mussulman city ; but Zengui, who feared to try his strength
with the Franks, did not venture to attack Damascus.

15*

316 HISTORY or THE CR"DSADES.

According to the conditions of tlie alliance witli the Chris-
tians, the city of Paneas, or Caesarea of Philippi, which had
recently fallen into the hands of the Saracens, was to be
given up to them. The warriors of Damascus and Jerusa-
lem marched together to lay siege to that city, situated at
the foot of Libanus, and near the soui'ces of the Jordan.
For the second time the standards of Christ and Mahomet
were seen floating over one army and one camp. Caesarea
of Philippi capitulated after a siege of a few days, and was
given up to the king of Jerusalem.

This couQuest was the most important event that signal-
ized the latter years of the reign of Poulque of Anjou. The
king of Jerusalem, whilst hunting in the plain of Ptolemais,
fell from his horse, and died of the fall, leaving no one to
succeed him but two children of tender age. He was less
regretted on account of his personal qualities than for the
sad condition in which his death left the kingdom. William
of Tyre, who praises the virtues of Foulque of Anjou,
remarks, with a naivete worthy of these remote times, that
this prince had red hair, and yet he could not be reproached
with any of the faults usually attributed to men of that
colour. He was more than sixty years of age when he
ascended the throne of Jerusalem ; in the last years of his
life his memory was so weakened that he did not know his
own servants, and had not sufficient strength and activity to
be the head of a kingdom surrounded by enemies. He
employed himself more in building fortresses than in col-
lecting armies, and in defending his frontiers than in making
new conquests. Under his reign the military ardour of the
Christians seemed to grow weaker, and was displaced by a
spirit of discord, which brought about calamities much
greater than those of war. At the period of the coronation
of Toulque of Anjou, the Christian states were at the
highest degree of their prosperity ; towards the end of his
reign they showed a tendency to decline.

Baldwin III., thirteen years of age, succeeded his father,
and Queen Melisende became regent of the kingdom. Thus
the reins of government fell from the weak and powerless
hands of an old man into those of a woman and a child.
Parties soon sprung up around the throne ; the clergy, the
knights, the barons, even the people took a dangerous part

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 817

in aifairs of state, and the authority of the prince, which
hitherto had been but that of the general of an army, lost
under the regency of Queen Meli&ende the consideration
and splendour it had derived from victory. The government
insensibly assumed the turbulent form of a republic, and in
the political relations which the Christians held at this
period with the Saracens,* the latter believed that several
chiefs were at the head of the kingdom of Jerusalem.

Baldwin did not wait for the period of his majority to be
crowned king, being scarcely fourteen years old, when, in
the presence of the barons and the clergy, he received the
sword t with which he was to defend religion and justice ; the
ring, the symbol of faith ; the sceptre and the crown, marks
of dignity and power ; and the apple or globe, as an image
of the earth and the kingdom he was called upon to govern.
Young Baldwin already displayed courage above his age ; in
the very first days of his reign he achieved a glorious expe-
dition beyond the Jordan, in which he gained possession of
the Valley of Moses ; but he had not experience enough to
know what enemies he ought to attack or what allies he
ought to defend. On his return from the expedition of the
Jordan he undertook an unjust and unfortunate war, the
presage of a sad future for the kingdom of Jerusalem.

An Armenian, who governed the city of Bosra in the name
of the sultan of Damascus, came to Jerusalem to oifer to
deliver up to the Christians the place which he commanded,
and the barons and principal people were convoked to hear
his proposals. The wiser part of the assembly referred to
the alliance made with the Saracens of Damascus ; the

* In William of Tyre may be seen the letter which the vizir of Damascus
addressed to the Christian princes of Jerusalem.

f The Assizes of Jerusalem speak thus of the coronation of the king : —
Ly met I'anneau au doiiit, qui sinefie foi ; et aspres ly ceint I'espee, qui
sinefie justice, a deffendre foi et sainte esglise ; et aspres la couronne, qui
sinefie la dignite ; et aspres le sceptre, qui sinefie chastier et deffendre ; et
aspres la pomme, qui sinefie la terre du royaume. [Although offering a
translation, I cannot resist giving this very curious piece of old French.—
Trans.]

Tliey put the ring on his finger, as sigtwfying faith ; then they girded
on the sword, which means he must defend justice, faith, and the holy
church ; next the crown, which denotes dignity ; after that the sceptre,
with which he is both to punish and defend ; and at last the apple or globe,
ivbich signifies the kingdom of the earth.

318 HISTOET OF THE CRUSADES.

promises of an unknown soldier appeared to tliem to have
no security, and to inspire no confidence ; they said the
kingdom of Jerusalem did not want for enemies to combat,
or conquests to attempt ; it was their duty to attack the
most formidable, and protect the others as useful auxiliaries.
This advice, which was the most reasonable, was that which
obtained the smallest number of suffrages. Wonders were
related of the country they were about to conquer ; Bosra
was the capital of tipper Arabia, all the riches of that
country appeared already to belong to the Christians, and
all who opposed a conquest so brilliant and so easy were
accused of treason. They deliberated in the midst of
tumult,* and the cries of a misled multitude smothered the
voice of reason and prudence. The council of the barons
and the principal people decided that an expedition, upon
which so many hopes were built, should be undertaken.

The Christian army was soon on its march, and across the
mountains of Libanus. "When it arrived in the territory of
Damascus, its first conflict was with the Saracens gathered
together to oppose its passage. After sustaining several
severe encounters, the Christians succeeded in gaining the
country called Traconite, where they found nothing but plains
burnt up by the ardent rays of the sun. The roads were
difficult, and the locusts having fallen into the wells and
cisterns, had poisoned all the waters. The inhabitants, con-
cealed in subterranean caverns, laid ambushes in all direc-
tions for the Christian army ; whilst the Mussulman archers,
planted upon all the hills and acclivities, left the warriors of
Jerusalem not a moment's repose. The misfortunes of the
army (it is William of Tyre who speaks) increased every
day, and there was poured upon the Christians such a quan-
tity^ and as it were continually, of all sorts of arrows, that
they appeared to descend upon them like hail or heavy rain
upon houses covered tvith slates and tiles, men and beasts
being stucrc all over with them. Nevertheless, the hope of
winning a rich city sustained the courage of the Christian
soldiers, and enabled them to brave all these perils. But

* William of Tyre attributes the determination of the king and the
b*rons to the cries of the populace of Jerusalem ; the same historian
relates this expedition with many details in his sixteenth book, oh. vii. —
xiii.

HISTOKY or THE CfiUSADES. 319

when they arrived within sight of Bosra, it was an-
nounced to them that the wife of the Armenian commandant
had called the garrison to arms, and that she was prepared
to defend the city which her husband had promised to give
up to the king of Jerusalem. This unexpected news at once
spread consternation and discouragement through the Chris-
tian army. The knights and barons, struck with the mis-
fortunes that threatened the Christian soldiers, pressed the
king to abandon his army, and save his person and the cross
of Christ. Young Baldwin rejected the advice of his faithful
barons, and insisted upon sharing all their perils.

As soon as the order for retreat was given, the Mussul-
mans, with loud cries, set out in pursuit of the Christians.
The soldiers of Jerusalem closed their ranks, and marched in
silence, sword in hand, beariug away their wounded and dead.
The Saracens, who could not shake or break through their
enemy, and who, in their pursuit, found no trace of carnage,
believed they were actually fighting against men of iron.
The region which the Christians were traversing was covered
with heath, thistles, and other plants dried by the heat of
the summer. The Saracens set fire to these ; the wind bore
the flames and smoke towards the Christian army, and the
Franks marched over a burning plain, with clouds of smoke,
ashes, and dust floating over and around them. William of
Tyre, in his history, compares them to smiths, to such a
degree were their clothes and their faces blackened by the
fire which devoured the plain. The knights, the soldiers,
and the people who followed the army, gathered in a crowd
around the bishop of Nazareth, who bore the wood of the
true cross, and conjured him with tears to put an end by
his prayers to calamities they were no longer able to bear.

The bishop of Nazareth, touched by their despair, raised
the cross, imploring the mercy of Heaven, — and, at the
moment the direction of the wind was changed. The flames
and the smoke which desolated the Christians were imme-
diately wafted against the Mussulmans. The Franks pur-
sued their march, persuaded that Grod had wrought a miracle
to save them. A knight, whom they had never before seen,
mounted on a white horse, and bearing a red standard,
preceded the Christian army, and conducted it out of
danger. The people and the soldiers took him for an angel

320 HISTORY OE THE CRUSADES.

from heaven, and his miraculous presence re-animated the if
strength and their courage. At length the army of Baldwin,
after having undergone all sorts of misery, returned to
Jerusalem, where the inhabitants rejoiced at its arrival,,
singing these words from the Scriptures, — " Ziet us give
ourselves up to joy, for that people that was dead is resus-
citated; it was lost, and hehold here it is found againP

But whilst the inhabitants of Jerusalem were rejoicing at
the return of their warriors, the Christian states lost one
of their most important places, and experienced an irre-
parable misfortune. Zengui, whom the caliph of Bagdad
and all true Mussulmans considered as the buckler and the
support of Islamism, extended his empire from Mossoul to
the frontiers of Damascus, and was continuing without
intermission the course of his victories and conquests. The
Christians made no effort to stop the progress of so redoubt-
able a power. Zengui, who united M'ith bravery all the
resources of a skilful policy, left them in a deceitful security,
and determined only to awaken them from their long sleep
when he had it in his power to give a mortal blow to their
empire. He knew, by experience, that nothing was more
fatal to the Christians than too long a repose ; the Franks,
who owed everything to their arms, were almost always
weakened by peace, and when not fighting against the
Saracens, generally fell out among themselves.

The kingdom of Jerusalem had two formidable barriers,
the principality of Antioch and the county of Edessa.
Kaymond of Poictiers defended the Orontes from the invasion
of the Saracens, and old Josselin de Courtenay had been for
a long time the terror of the infidels on the banks of the
Euphrates; but he was recently dead. He had fought to his
last breath, and even on his bed of death made his arms and
his br-avery respected.

JoBselin was besieging a castle near Aleppo, when a tower
fell down near him and covered him with its ruins. He was
transported in a dying state to Edessa, and as he lay lan-
guishing on his bed, expecting nothing but death, it was
announced to him that the sultan of Iconium had laid siege
to one of his strong places ; upon which he sent for his son
and commanded him to go instantly and attack the enemy.
Young Josselin hesitated, and represented to his father that

HISTORY or THE CEUSADES. 321

he had not a sufficient number of troops to meet the Turks.
The old warrior, who had never acknowledged the existence
of obstacles, was determined before he died to leave an exam-
ple to his son, and caused himself to be borne in a litter at
the head of his soldiers. As they approached the besieged
city, he was informed that the Turks had retired, whereupon
he ordered his Utter to stop, raised his eyes towards heaven
as if to return thanks for the flight of the Saracens, and
expired surrounded by his faithful warriors.

His mortal remains were transported to Edessa, the inhar-
bitants of which city came out to meet and join the funeral
procession, which presented a most affecting spectacle. Here
were to be seen the mourning soldiers bearing the coffin of
their chief; and there a whole people lamenting the loss of
their support and defender, and celebrating the last victory
of a Christian hero.

Old Josselin died deploring the fate of Edessa, about to
be governed by a weak and pusillanimous prince ; for from
his childhood the son of Courtenay had been addicted to
drunkenness and debauchery. In an age and a country in
which these vices were sufficiently common, the excesses of
young Josselin had frequently scandalized the Christian
warriors. As soon as he was master, he quitted the city of
Edessa, to take up his abode at Turbessel, a delicious retreat
on the banks of the Euphrates. There, entirely abandoned
to his vicious inclinations, he neglected the pay of his troops
and the fortifications of his forts, equally heedless of the
cares of government and the menaces of the Saracens.

Zengui had been for a length of time watching for a
favourable opportunity of surprising the city of Edessa ; as
this conquest would not only flatter his pride and ambition,
but would render him dearer to all the disciples of Mahomet.
In order to retain Josselin in his fancied security, the prince
of Mossoul feigned to make war against the Saracens ; but
at the moment he was supposed to be most busily engaged
in an attack upon several Mussulman castles in the east of
Mesopotamia, he appeared at the head of a formidable army
before the walls of Edessa.* A great number of Curds and

* Kemaleddin, an Arabian historian, and William of Tyre agiee as to
the principal circumstances of this siege.

822 HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES.

rurcomans, wandering and barbarous tribes, had joined his
standard, attracted by the hopes of a rich booty. At the
first signal given by Zengui, the city was surrounded on all
sides ; seven enormous wooden towers were raised higher
than the ramparts ; numbers of formidable machines un-
ceasingly battered the waUs, or hurled into the city stones,
javelins, and inflammable matters ; whilst the foundations of
the towers of the fortifications were being undermined by
the infidels. The walls, which were only supported by
slight, iU-fixed posts, were falling to pieces, and, covering
the earth with their ruins, seemed ready to offer an easy
passage to the Mussulman soldiers.

When on the point to give the signal for destruction, the
fierce Mussulmans stopped, and summoned the city to sur-
render. The sight of the death which threatened them did
not at all w^eaken the courage of the inhabitants, and they
answered that they would all perish sooner than give up a
Christian city to the infidels. They exhorted each other to
merit the crown of martyrdom : " Let us not fear," said they,
" these stones launched against our towers and our houses ;
he who made the firmament, and created legions of angels,
defends us against his enemies, or prepares us an abode in
heaven." Animated by such discourses, the inhabitants of
Edessa exerted themselves to destroy the towers and the
works of the besiegers, the hopes of being succoured re-
doubling their zeal and courage. They expected, says an
Armenian author, assistance from a nation which they called
the valiant, and every day looked to see, from the height of
their walls, the standards of the victorious Franks.

The hoped-for succours were vainly expected. "\i\^en
Josseiin learnt the danger of his capital, he aroused himself
from his sloth, and sent information of it to E-aymond of
Poictiers, and the queen regent of Jerusalem. But tlie
prince of Antioch, who disliked Josseiin, refused to assist
Edessa, and the troops of Jerusalem, although set forward
on their march, could not arrive in time. Josseiin ought to
have devoted himself to repair the consequences of his faults,
but he had not the courage to seek death under the walls of a
city he could not save, and whose defence he had neglected.

On the twenty-eighth day of the siege, several towers feU
dt^wn with a horrible crash ; and Zengui at oi>?e ordered hia

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 823

army to enter the place. To paint the frightful scenes of
this last attack, I must borrow the words of a contemporary
author : — " The moment at which the sun began to shint
above the horizon, appeared like a night illumined by the
fires of the storm. As soon as the ramparts and towers
fell, all the city was filled with terror. Nevertheless the
defenders of Edessa thought not, for a moment, of flight,
but all joined in the cry of the brave, conquer or die.
Some employed themselves in propping up the walls, whilst
others boldly flew to meet the enemy ; the clergy, clothed in
helmet and cuirass, marching at their head. The bishops,
bearing each a cross in his hands, bestowed their benedic-
tions on the people and animated them to the fight."

The enemy advanced uttering frightful cries ; even amidst
the din of a general assault, the voices of the Saracen
heralds-at-arms were heard encouraging the soldiers, and
promising the pillage of the city to the conquerors. Then,
to employ the expression of an Armenian poet, the pusilla-
nimous were seen shedding torrents of tears, whilst the
brave, heedless of the stroke of the sabre, rushed amidst the
ranks of the Mussulmans.

Neither prodigies of valour, nor the last efforts of despal '
could save the city or its inhabitants. A great part of the
Mussulman army was already in the place; and all who
crossed the steps of the conquerors fell beneath the sword.
Most of those who sought safety in the citadel, found death
under its ramparts, and were trampled upon and stifled by
the crowd. The city of Edessa presented, everywhere, the
most lamentable scenes ; some fell whilst flying, and died,
crushed to death by the feet of the horses ; whilst others,
hastening to the succour of their friends and neighbours,
were themselves slaughtered by the barbarians. Neither
the weakness of a timid sex, nor age on the brink of the
tomb ; neither the cries of infants, nor the screams of young
girls who sought safety in the arms, or beneath the garments
of their parents, could abate the rage of the Saracens. They
whom the sword had not yet reached, looked for nothing but
death ; some crept to the churches to await it, and died em-
bracing the altars of Christ ; whilst others, yielding to their
despair, remained motionless in their houses, where they
Were massacred with their families.

S24 HISTOET OF THE CBUSADES.

The citadel soon surrendered ; the soldiers who defended
it only asking their lives ; but, notwithstanding the capitula-
tion, many were put to the sword. A great part of the
priests who had survived the carnage were condemned to
slavery ; an Armenian patriarch was stripped of his vest-
ments, dragged through the streets, and beaten with rods.
Matthew of Edessa, one of the most celebrated historians
of Armenia, fell under the sword of the Mussulmans. Hugh,
a Latin archbishop, having endeavoured to escape, was, with
all his clergy, slaughtered by the infidels. His treasures,
which he carried with him, and which might have been use-
fully employed for the defence of the city, became the prey
of the enemy. Pious historians impute the fall of Edessa
to the avarice of this prelate, and appear to believe that he
was punished in another world for having preferred his gold
to the safety of his fellow-citizens.*

"When the Mussulmans had become masters of the citadel,
their priests ascended the steeples of the churches to pro-
claim these words : " Oh Mahomet ! prophet of heaven, we
have gained a great victory in thy name ; we have destroyed
the people that worshipped stone, and torrents of blood
have been shed to make thy law triumph." After this pro-
cla;mation, the Saracens redoubled their excesses. The
G-azis or conquerors satiated themselves with blood; the
dead bodies were mutilated, and their heads sent to Bagdad;
and even to Khorasan. All who remained alive in the city
of Edessa were treated as a flock of animals, and sold in the
public places. The Christians, loaded vdth chains, after
having lost their property, their country, and their liberty,
had the still further grief of seeing their religion, which was
all they had left to console them in their misfortunes, made a
subject of ridicule by the infidels. The churches were plun-
dered of their ornaments, and the sanctuary became the
scene of the most shocking debaucheries. Many of the

* We have before us in manuscript some historical and geographical
notes upon the city of Edessa, communicated to us by M. J. Chahan de
Cerbied, an Armenian professor. This work is rendered more vahiable
by M. J. Chahan de Cerbied's (its author) being born at Edessa, where
he passed many years. These notes are to be published in a general
picture of Armenia, which will not fail to attract the attention of the
learned.

HISTORY OE THE CEUSADES. 325

faithful whom the horrors of war had spared, could not sup«
port the sight of such profanations, and died with despair. *

Thus a city, whose citadel, ramparts, and position on two
mountains, rendered one of the strongest places in Asia, feW
into the power of the Mussulmans. The traditions of reli-
gion and history carry hack its origin to the highest anti-
quity. Narses, in a pathetic elegy, deplores the faU of this
celebrated city, and makes itself speak of its ancient splen-
dour.f " I was," says she, " as a queen in the midst of her
court ; sixty towns standing around me formed my train ;
my numerous children passed their days in pleasures ; the
fertility of my fields, the freshness of my limpid waters, and
the beauty of my palaces were admired ; my altars, loaded
with treasures, shed their splendour afar, and appeared to he
the abode of angels. I surpassed in magnificence the proud-
est cities of Asia, and I was as a celestial edifice built upon
the bosom of the earth."

The conquest of Edessa exalted the pride of the Saracens.
The caliph of Bagdad ordered that the barbarous destroyer of
the Christians should be named in the public prayers of the

* The greater part of the Arabian historians assert that Zengui sought
to repair the evils his army had caused to the inhabitants of Edessa.
Kemaleddin relates the following anecdote on this subject, which makes
us at the same time acquainted with the Mussulman spirit of history and
manners. We will transcribe the Latin extract from Dom. Berthereau :
— Norredinus ingressus est urbem, diripuit earn, incolas jugo captivitatis
submisit ; illis evacuata fuit urbs, pauci tantiim remanserunt. Ex cap-
tivis unam misit ancillam Norredinus ad Zeineddinum Ali Koudgoucum,
pro rege, patris sui in Mosula inter munera quae ad eum misit ; quam cum
vidisset ilie, statim ilia usus est ; lavit se postea, dixitque suis : Nostisne
quid mihi hac die acciderit ? Dixerunt, non. Dixit : Cum Roham
cepimus, regnante Zengui, inter res raptas in manus meas incidit ancilla
pulchra, ejusque pulchritudo mihi admodiim placuit ; ad eam declinavit
cor meum, statimque jussu Zengui martyris fuit inclamatum : Redde
servos opesque raptas. Metuendus porrb erat et reverendus ; ancillam
reddidi, ei vero semper adhsesit cor meum : nove verb misit mihi dona
Norredinus, quae inter, ancillas misit plures, quas inter eamdem ancillam.
Coitu eam subegi, ne adhuc etiam toUetur. — Kemaleddin, Hist, de Haiep.
p. 62, translation of Dom. Berthereau.

t M. Cerbied has translated this piece into French, which for several
reasons deserves to be known. This poem, in seven cantos, was com-
posed by Narses-le-Beau, the Armenian patriarch of the city of Edessa,
to console his fellow -citizens in their misfortune, and arouse the zeal of
the defenders of the ^hristian religion against the Turks,

326 HISTORY or the crusades.

Fridays, and tliat the whole Mussulman people should offer up
thanks to Heaven for his victories. Zengui left some troops
in the conquered city, and pui'sued the course of his triumphs;
but fortune did not permit him to finish that which he had
begun. He was besieging the castle of Schabar, in Meso-
potamia, when he was assassinated by some slaves whom ill-
treatment had irritated. The news of his death consoled
the Christians for their defeats, and they expressed a joy as
immoderate as if they had beheld the whole power of the
Mussulmans fall at once. But this joy was of very short
duration, for abundance of new enemies and new misfor-
tunes soon followed to overwhelm them.

Josselin, who had taken advantage of the troubles which
ensued upon the death of the prince of Mossoul to retake
the city of Edessa, ill-guarded by the Mussulmans, found
himself unexpectedly besieged by Noureddin, the second son
of Zengui. Noureddin had received, as his share of the
heritage of his father, the principality of Aleppo, and was
eager to signalize his zeal against the Christians. Josselin
and his companions, who had surprised the city of Edessa
amidst the darkness of night, were wanting in machines of
war to besiege and get possession of the citadel. "When the
city was invested by the prince of Aleppo, the Christian
warriors who were placed between the garrison of the for-
tress and the M iissulman army, saw at once the danger of
their position. As in desperate circumstances, a thousand
resolutions are, by turns, formed and rejected ; whilst they
deliberated, the enemy pressed and threatened them. There
soon remained no safety for them in a city which they had
entered as conquerors ; and, after having braved death to
get possession of it, they decided upon facing equal perils to
get out of it. The soldiers of Josselin, consisting of Chris-
tians who had gathered to the city, and of the small number
of inhabitants who had siu*\4ved the massacre of their bre-
thren, had now nothing left but their endeavours to escape
the barbarity of the Mussulmans. They made their prepa-
rations for flight in silence ; the gates were opened in the
middle of the night, and every one bearing away that which
he esteemed most valuable, a weeping crowd pressed along
the streets. Already a great number of these unhappy
fugitives had passed the gates of the ci^^y, headed by the

HISTORY OF THE CBUSADES. 327

warriors commanded by Josselin, and had advanced into thtf
plain where the Saracens were encamped, when the garrison
of the citadel, warned by the tumult, made a sortie^ and
uniting themselves with the soldiers of Noureddin, who
hastened towards the city, gained possession of the gates
by which the Christians were issuing. Many severe con-
flicts were here maintained, of which darkness increased the
horrors. The Christians succeeded in opening themselves
a passage, and spread themselves about in the neighbouring
fields. They who carried arms united in battalions, and en-
deavoured to pass through the camp of the enemy ; whilst
others, separated from the troop of warriors, went on at
hazard, wandered about the plains, and everywhere found
death following their footsteps. Whilst relating the events
of this horrible night, William of Tyre cannot restrain his
tears. " Oh disastrous night ! " cries the historian Aboul-
farage, " dawn of hell, day without pity, day of misfortune
which arose upon the children of a city formerly worthy of
envy!'* In Edessa, out of Edessa, nothing was heard but
cries of death. The warriors who had formed battalions,
after having pierced through the army of the infidels, were
pursued as far as the banks of the Euphrates, and the roaas
were strewed with their remains, their arms, and their bag-
gage. Only a thousand of them succeeded in gaining the
city of Samosata, which received them within its walls, and
deplored their misfortunes, without being able to avenge
them.

History relates that more than thirty thousand Christians
were slaughtered by the soldiers of Zengui and Noureddin.
Sixteen thousand were made prisoners, and dragged out
their lives in misery and slavery. Noureddin in his ven-
geance did not spare either the ramparts or buildings of a
rebel city ; he razed the towers, the citadel, and the churches
of Edessa to the ground. He banished all the Christians
from it, and left nothing but a few mendicants to dwell
amidst the ruins of their country.

Zengui had been considered as a saint, as a warrior
jeloved by Mahomet, for having conquered the city of
Edessa ; the blood-stained expedition of Noureddin rendered
him dear to the Mussulmans, contributed much to the exten-
sion of his renown and hi? power, and already the laans

328 HISTORY OE THE CETIS.IDES.

and the poets promised to his arms the much more glorious
conquest of Jerusalem.

The inhabitants of Jerusalem and other Christian cities
Bhed tears of despair on learning the fall and destruction of
Edessa, sinister presages adding much to the terror which
the news from the banks of the Euphrates inspired them
with. Thunder fell upon the churches of the Holy Sepul-
chre and Mount Sion ; a comet with shining hair was seen
in the heavens, and spread general consternation ; several
other signs appeared, says William of Tyre, contrary to cus-
tom^ and out of time, indicative of future things. As a
crowning misfortune, Kodolphe, chancellor of Jerusalem,
was taken by force to the siege of Tyre, and scandal pre-
vailed in the sanctuary. All the faithful of the East were
persuaded that Heaven had declared itself against them, and
that horrible calamities were about to fal upon the Christian
people.

BOOK VI.

SECOND CRUSADE.

A.D. 1142—1148.

The Christian colonies, threatened by the Mussulmans,
called upon the princes of Europe to assist them. The
bishop of Gaballa in Syria, accompanied by a great number
of priests and knights, repaired to Yiterbo, where the sove-
reign pontiff then resided. The recitals of the Christian
embassy not only caused tears to flow from the eyes of the
chief of the faithful ; the misfortunes of Edessa, and the
impending dangers of Jerusalem excited universal commise-
ration and dread. Cries of alarm were raised throughout
Europe. Eorty-five years had passed away since the deli-
verance of the Holy Sepulchre, yet the minds of men were
not at all changed, and eagerly, as at the first crusade, they
flew to arms. In this instance it was principally the voice
of St. Bernard that excited the nations and kings of Chris-
tendom to range themselves under the banners of the cross.
Born of a noble family of Burgimdy, St. Bernard, whilst yet
m the dawn of manhood, had, with thirty relations and com.-
panions whom his discourses and his example* influenced,
Beciuded himself in the monastery of Citteaux. He was
Bent two years after to Clairvaux, a then unknown retreat,
which he vivified with his presence, and rendered one of the
most celebrated monasteries of Christendom. Many of the
most learned doctors consulted the wisdom of the abbot of

* Godfrey, who was abbot of Clairvaux after St. Bernard, has left us
a life of this saint, in which he does not speak of the crusade ; the reason
of this is that St. Bernard was reproached with the crusade, and that his
panegyrist thence thought proper to pass ove/ this remarkable epoch.
We have several other lives of St. Bernard ; the best and most complete
% that which is printed in La France Liit&aire.

330 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

Clairvaux, and several councils bowed to his decisions. By
the power of his eloquence alone he humbled the anti-popo
Leo, and placed Innocent II. in the chair of St. Peter.
Pope Innocent III. and Abbot Suger were his disciples.
Prelates, princes, and monarchs glorified themselves in fol-
lowing his counsels, believing that Grod spoke by his mouth.

Wlien the ambassadors from the East arrived in Europe,
Louis VII. had just ascended the throne of France. The
reign of this young monarch began under the most happy
auspices. Most of the great vassals who had revolted
against the royal authority had laid down their arms and
renounced their pretensions. By a marriage with the
daughter of William IX., Louis had added the duchy of
Aquitaine to his kingdom. France, in her enlarged con-
dition, had nothing to fear from neighbouring states, and
whilst civil wars were desolating both England and Ger-
many, she flourished in peace under the administration of
Suger.

Peace was not for a moment disturbed but by the unjust
pretensions of the pope and by the intrigues of Thibaut,
count of Champagne, who took advantage of the ascendancy
he had over the clergy to direct the thunders of the Church
against his sovereign. Louis resisted the attempts of the
Holy See vrith firmness, and was determined to punish a
rebellious and dangerous vassal. Urged on by a spirit of
blind revenge, he carried fire and sword through the states
of Thibaut; he besieged Vitri; was himself first in the
assault, and put to the sword every inhabitant to be met
with in the city. A great number of persons of all ages
had taken refuge in a church, hoping tc find the altar a
secure asylum against the anger of a Christian prince ; but
Louis set fire to the church, and thirteen hundred people
perished in the flames. An action so barbarous spread ter-
ror among the nation whom Louis was appointed to render
happy ; when he returned from this expedition to his capi-
tal, the people received him in melancholy silence ; his
ministers allowed him to read their regret in ihe dejection
of their countenances ; and St. Bernard, like another Am-
brosius, boldly compelled him to hear the complaints of
religion and outraged humanity.

Jji an eloquent letter, he represented to the monarch th'3

HISTORY OF THE CRrSADES. 331

country desolated, and pointed to the Churcli despised and
trampled under foot. "I will fight for her," he said, "to
the death ; but instead of bucklers and swords, I wiU em-
ploy the arms which become me — my tears and my prayers
to God.'^ At the voice of the holy abbot, Louis became
sensible of his error ; and the dread of the anger of Heaven
made such a lively impression upon his mind, that he sank
into a deep and alarming depression. He believed he saw
the hand of God ready to strike him; he renounced all
pleasures, and abandoned even the care of his authority, in
order to devote himself to grief and tears. The abbot of
Clairvaux, who had awakened his remorse, was obliged to
calm his spirits and reanimate his courage, by representing
to him the great mercy of God. The king of France re-
covered from his remorseless dejection; but as in the
opinion of his age great crimes could only be absolved by
a voyage to the Holy Land, his earnest desire to expiate
the tragical death of the inhabitants of Yitri made him form
the resolution of going to combat against the infidels.

Louis VII. convoked an assembly at Bourges, at which he
made his project known to the principal nobility and the
clergy. Godfrey, bishop of Lang:res, applauded his zeal,
and in a pathetic discourse deplored the captivity of Edessa,
and the dangers and disasters of the Eastern Christians.
His eloquence moved his auditors ; but the oracle of the
assembly, he who held all hearts in his hand, had not yet
spoken. Whether that he was yet not convinced of the
utility of the crusade, or that he was desirous of giving it
more solemnity, St. Bernard advised the king of France to
consult the Holy See before he undertook anything. Thia
advice was generally approved of. Louis sent ambassadoris
to Home, and resolved to convoke a new assembly as soon
as he should have received the answer of the sovereign
pontiff.

Eugenius III., who then 311ed the chair of St. Peter, had
already in several of his letters solicited the assistance of
the faithful against the Saracens. The Holy See had never
had stronger motives for the preaching of a crusade. A
spuit of sedition and heresy was beginning to insinuate
tself among the people, and even among the clergy of the
West, threatening at the same time the power of the popea

Vol. L— 16

332 HISTOET OP THE CEUSADES.

and the doctrines of the Church. Eugemus had to contend
agamst the troubles excited by Arnold of Bressia; and
nothing was talked of in the capital of the Christian world
but rebuilding the Capitol, and substituting for the pontifical
authority that of the consuls and tribunes of ancient E/ome.
In such a state of things, a great event like that of a crusade
was likely to turn men's minds from dangerous novelties,
and make them rally round the sanctuary. The sovereign
pontiff could not avoid seeing in a holy war the double
advantage of defending Jerusalem against the enterprises of
the Saracens, and the Church and himself against the attacks
of heretics and innovators. Eugenius congratulated the
king of France on his picfus determination, and by his
letters again exhorted all Christians to assume the cross
and take up arms, promising them the same privileges and
the same rewards that Urban II. had granted to the war-
riors of the first crusade. Detained in Italy, where he was
engaged in appeasing the troubles of E-ome, he regretted
not being able, as Urban had done, to cross the Alps, and
reanimate the zeal of the faithful by his presence and his
discourses ; but he confided to St. Bernard the honourable
mission of preaching the crusade in Erance and G-ermany.

After having received the approbation of the Holy See,
Louis convoked a new assembly at Yezelai, a little city of
Burgundy ; and the reputation of St. Bernard and the letters
addressed by the pope to all Christendom, drew to this
assembly a great number of nobles, knights, prelates, and
men of all conditions. On the Palm-Sunday, after having
invoked the Holy Grhost, all who had come to hear the abbot
of Clairvaux repaired to the side of a hill just without the
gates of the city. A large tribune was erected, in which
the king in his royal robes, and St. Bernard in the humble
costume of a cenobite, were saluted by the acclamations of
an immense multitude. The orator of the crusade first read
the letters of the sovereign pontiff*, and then spoke to his
auditors of the taking of Edessa by the Saracens, and of the
desolation of the holy places. He showed them the universe
plunged in terror on learning that God had begun to desert
his beloved land ;* he represented to them the city of Sion aa

* Commota est qxiidem et contremuit terra, quia coepit Deus coeli per-
Aerc terram suam. — St. Bernard, epist. cccxxii.

HISTORY or TUE CRUSADES. 333

imploring theii* succour, Christ as ready to immo'Jate nimself
a second time for them, and the heavenly Jerusalem opening
all its gates to receive the glorious martyrs of the faith.
"You cannot but know," said he to them, "we live in a
period of chastisement and ruin ; the enemy of mankind has
caused the breath of corruption to fly over all regions ; we
behold nothing but unpunished wickedness. The laws of
men or the laws of religion have no longer sufficient power
to check depravity of manners and the triumph of the wicked.
The demon of heresy has taken possession of the chair of
truth, and God has sent forth his malediction upon his sanc-
tuary. Oh, ye who listen to me ! hasten then to appease
the anger of Heaven, but no longer implore his goodness by
vain complaints ; clothe not yourselves in sackcloth, but cover
yourselves with your impenetrable bucklers ; the din of arms,
the dangers, the labours, the fatigues of war are the penances
that God now imposes on you. Hasten then to expiate your
sins by victories over the infidels, and let the deliverance of
the holy places be the reward of your repentance."

These words of the orator excited the greatest enthusiasm
in the assembly of the faithful, and, like Urban at the coun-
cil of Clermont, St. Bernard was interrupted by the repeated
cries of " J^ is the will of God! It is the will of God! ^*
Then raising his voice, as if he had been the interpreter of
the will of Heaven, he promised them, in the name of God,
success to their holy expedition, and thus continued his
discourse : —

" If it w ere announced to you that the enemy had in-
vaded your cities, your castles, and your lands, had ravished
your wives and your daughters, and profaned your temples,
w^hich among you would not fly to arms ? Well, then, all
these calamities, and calamities still greater, have fallen upon
your brethren, upon the family of Jesus Christ, which is
yours. Why do you hesitate to repair so many evils — to
revenge so many outrages ? Will you allow the infidels to
contemplate in peace the ravages they have committed on
Christian people ? Remember that their triumph wdll be a
subject for grief to all ages, and an eternal opprobrium upon
the generation that has endured it. Yes, the livmg God has
charged me to announce to you that he will punish them
who shall not have defended him against his enemies. Fly

334 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

then to arms ; let a holy rage animate you in the fight ; and
let the Christian world resound with these words f the
prophet, ' Cursed he lie who does not stam his sword with
blood ! ' If the Lord calls you to the defence of his heri-
tage, think not that his hand has lost its power.* Could he
not send twelve legions of angels, or breathe one 'vord, and
all his enemies would crumble away into dust ? But God
has considered the sons of men, to open for them the road
to his mercy. His goodness has caused to dawn for you a
day of safety, by calling on you to avenge his glory and his
name. Christian warriors, he who gave his life for you, to-
day demands yours in return. These are combats worthy of
you, combats in which it is glorious to conquer, and advan-
tageous to die. Illustrious knights, generous defenders of
the cross, remember the example of your fathers who con-
quered Jerusalem, and whose names are inscribed in heaven;
abandon then the things that perish to gather eternal palms,
and conquer a kingdom which has no end."

All the barons and knights applauded the eloquence of St.
Bernard, and were persuaded that he had but uttered the
wiU of God. Louis VII., deeply moved by the words he
had heard, cast himself, in the presence of aU the people,
at the feet of St. Bernard and demanded the Cross. Clothed
with this revered sign, he himself addressed the assembly of
the faithful, to exhort them to follow his example. In his
discoiu*se he showed them the impious Philistine casting op-
probrium upon the house of David, and reminded them of the
holy determination which God himself had inspired in him.
He invoked, in the name of the Christians of the East, the aid
of that generous nation of which he was the chief ; of that
nation which would not endure shame when directed at
itself or its allies, and which always carried terror amidst
the enemies of its worship or its glory. At this discourse
the whole auditory was melted in tears. The touching piety
of the monarch persuaded all who had not been convinced
by the eloquence of St. Bernard. The hill upon which this
vast multitude was assembled, resounded for a length of
time with the cries of " It is the will of God ! It is the

* Nunquid potest mittere angelorura plusquam duodecim legiones, aut
certe dicere verbo, et liberabitur terra sua ? — St. Bernard, epist. cccxxii.

HISTOKY OF THE CRUSADES. 335

will of God!'' and ''tie Cross! the Cross!'' Eleanor of
Guienne, who accompanied Lonis, received, as his wife, tlie
sign of the cross from the hands of the abbot of Clairvaux.
Alphonso, count of St. Grilles de Thoulouse, Henry, son of
Thibaut, count of Champagne, Thieri, count of Planders,
William of Nevers, E-enaud, count de Tenniere, Yves, count
de Soissons, "William, count de Panthien, William, count df
Varennes, Archanbaud de Bourbon, Enguerard de Coucy,
Hugh de Lusignan, the count de Dreux, brother of tha
king, his uncle the count de Maurinne, and a crowd of
barons and knights followed the example of Louis and
Eleanor. Several bishops, among whom histor}^ remarks
Simon, bishop of Noyon, Godfrey, bishop of Langres, Alain,
bishop of Arras, and Arnold, bishop of Lisieux, threw them-
selves at the feet of St. Bernard, taking the oath to fight
against the infidels. The crosses which the abbot of Clair-
vaux had brought were not sufiicient for the great number
who claimed them. He tore his vestments to make more,
and several of those who surrounded him, in their turns,
tore their clothes into strips in order to satisfy the impa-
tience of all the faithful whom he had inflamed with a desire
for the holy war.

To preserve the memory of this day, Pons, abbot of Yeze-
lai, founded upon the hill where the knights and barons had
assembled, a church, which he dedicated to the holy cross.*
The tribune, from the top of which St. Bernard had preached
the crusade, remained there a long time the object of the
veneration of the faithful.

After the assembly of Yezelai, the abbot of Clairvaux
continued to preach the crusade in the cities and neighbour-
ing countries. Prance soon resounded with the fame of the
miracles by which God seemed to authorize and consecrate,
in some sort, his mission. He was everywhere considered
as the messenger of Heaven, as another Moses, who was to
conduct the people of God. All the Christians were per-
suaded that the success of the enterprise depended upon St.
Bernard, and in an assembly held at Chartres, in which were
met several barons and princes, illustrious by their exploits,

* The pulp't from which St. Bernard preached the crusade remained in
the church of "^ezelai until t'jie period of the revolution of 1789.

336 HisroET OF the cbusades.

it was resolvea by unanimous consent, to give him the com-
mand of the holy war. The Crusaders, they said, could
never fail to be victorious under the laws of a leader to
whom God appeared to have confided his omnipotence. The
abbot of Clairvaux, who remembered the example of Peter
the hermit, refused the perilous employment with which
they desired to honour him ; he was even so much terri-
fied by the pressing entreaties of the barons and knights,
that he addressed himself to the pope, and conjui*ed the
sovereign pontifi*not to abandon him to the fantasies of men.

The pope answered St. Bernard that he only need arm
himself with the sword of the word of God, and content him-
self with sounding the evangelical trumpet to announce the
war. The abbot of Clairvaux employed himself in nothing
thereafter, but his mission ; and he acquitted himself with
so much zeal, and his preachings produced such an extraor-
dinary, and I will venture to add, so unfortunate an effect,
that they depopulated cities and countries. He wrote to
Pope Eugenius : " The villages and the castles are deserted ;
and there are none left hut widows and orphans, whose hus-
bands and parents are still living ^

While St. Bernard was thus preaching the crusade in the
provinces of Prance, a German monk, named B/odolphe, ex-
horted the people of the E/hine to massacre the Jews, whom
he represented in his vehement discourses as the allies of the
Saracens, and the most dangerous enemies of the Christian
religion. The abbot of Clairvaux fearing the effect of these
preachings, hastened into Germany to impose silence on this
seditious apostle of the holy war. As the German monk
had flattered the passions of the multitude, St. Bernard re-
quired all the ascendancy of his virtue and his fame to com-
bat his doctrines. He ventured to raise his voice in the
midst of an ii-ritated people, and to make them feel that
Christians ought not to persecute Jews, but pray to Heaven
for their conversion ; that it belonged to Christian piety to
pardon the weak, and make war against the exalted and
proud. The preacher of the crusade at length silenced the
turbulent orator, and sent him back to his monastery, re-
minding him that the duty of monks was not to preach, but
to weep ; that they ought to consider cities as prisons, and
solitude as their paradise.

HISTOET or THE CRUSADES. 337

This action of St. Bernard,* which was scarcely observed in
his own barbarous age, and which has been turned into ridi-
cule in ours, does honour to his character, and may excuse
the extravagant zeal he displayed for a disastrous war.
When he arrived in Grermany, the Grermanic empire was be-
ginning to breathe after the long troubles that had followed
the election of Lothaire. Conrad III., clothed with the
purple, had just convoked a general diet at Spires. The
abbot of Clairvaux repaired thither with the intention ot
preaching war against the Mussulmans, and peace among
Christian princes. St. Bernard pressed the emperor, Con-
rad, several times to take up the cross ; he at first exhorted
him in private conferences, and afterwards renewed his
exhortations in sermons preached in public. Conrad could
not make up his mind to take the oath to go and fight
against the infidels in Asia, alleging the recent troubles of
the Grerman empires. St. Bernard replied that the Holy
See had placed him upon the imperial throne, and that the
pope and the Church would support their work. " Whilst
you shall defend his heritage, Grod himself will take care to
defend yours ; he will govern your people, and your reign
will be the object of his love." The more hesitation the
emperor felt, the warmer became the zeal and eloquence of
St. Bernard to persuade him. One day as the orator of the
crusade was saying mass before the princes and lords con-
voked at Spires, all at once he interrupted the service to
preach the war against the infidels. Towards the end of his
discourse, he transported the imagination of his auditors to
the day of judgment, and made them hear the trumpets
which were to call all the nations of the earth before the
tribunal of Grod. Jesus Christ, armed with his cross and
surrounded by his angels, addressing himself to the emperor
of Germany, recalled to him all the benefits with which he
had loaded him, and reproached him with ingratitude. Con-
rad was so much afiected by this vehement apostrophe, that
he interrupted the speaker, and, with tears in his eyes, cried

* The Abbe Velly thus relates the same fact: — "Satisfied with the
character of preacher and thaumaturge (performer of miracles), St. Ber-
nard set out for Germany, where he put to silence another monk, who,
without having the authority of the pope, dared to exhort the Christian
nations to take up arms for the assistance of their brethren in Asia."

838 HISTORY OF THE CllUSADES.

out : " I knoio what I owe to Jesus Christ, and I swiar to go
wherever he shall call we." Then the nobles and the people
who believed they had been witnesses of a miracle, threw
themselves on their knees and returned thanks to God for
his blessings. Conrad received from the hands of the abbot
of Clairvaux the emblem of the Crusaders, together with a
flag which was placed upon the altar, and which Heaven
itself had blessed. A great number of barons and knights
assumed the cross in imitation of Conrad, and the diet which
had been assembled to deliberate upon the interests of the
empire, was occupied entirely with the safety of the Chris-
tian colonies in Asia.

A new diet was convoked in Bavaria, where the letters of
St. Bern?ird determined a great number of bishops and Ger-
man nobles to take the cross. Ladislas, duke of Bohemia,
Odoacer, marquis of Syria, Bernard, count of Carinthia,
Amadeus, duke of Turin, and the marquis de Montferrat
took the oath to go into the East to fight the Saracens.
Among the prelates who enrolled themselves under the ban-
ners of the Cross, history names the bishop of Passau, the
bishop of Ratisbon, and the wise Otho of Frisingen, brother
of the emperor, to whom posterity owes a relation of the
principal events of this war.

The most dear interests, the most tender affections had
no power to detain the knights and princes in their coun-
tries and homes. Frederick, nephew of the em.peror, who
had taken the cross, allowed himself not to be moved by the
tears of his aged father, the duke of Suabia, who died with
grief, in spite of the consolations of St. Bernard. A war-
cry was heard from the lihine to the Danube ; Germany,
although so long agitated by its own troubles, found in all
parts warriors for the holy expedition. Men of all condi-
tions obeyed the voice of the preacher of the holy Avar, and
followed the example of kings and princes : a thing to be
woiidered at, says Otho of Frisingen, thieves and robbers
were seen performing penance, and swearing to shed their
blood for Jesus Christ. "Every reasonable man," adds the
same historian, " a witness of the changes that were ope-
rated in them, plainly perceived the work of God, and was
not the less astonished at it."

The Germans were so easily persuaded, that they came

HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES 339

and listened to the abbot of Clairvaux, who preaclied to them
in a language they did not understand, and returned con-
vinced of the truth and holiness of the discourse. The
sight of a preacher so much reverenced, appeared to bestow
a marvellous sense upon every one of his words. The mira-
cles rhich were attributed to him, and which were performed
sometimes in private, sometimes in public, as Otho of Fri-
singen says, were like a divine language which warmed the
most indifferent, and persuaded the most incredulous. Shep-
herds and labourers abandoned the fields to follow him iuto
towns and cities ; when he arrived in a city, all labours were
suspended. The war against the infidels, and the prodigies
by which Grod promised his protection to the soldiers of the
cross, became the only business of men of aU classes. Some-
times the abbot of Clairvaux assembled the clergy, and
preached reform in their manners ; sometimes he addressed
the people and animated them against the Saracens.

St. Bernard visited all the cities of the Rhine, from Con-
stance to Maestricht ; in each city, say the ancient chroni
cles, he restored sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and
cured the lame and the sick ; they report thirty-six miracles
performed in one day, at each prodigy the multitude crying
out,* " Jesus Christ, have mercy upon us ! all the saints, suc-
cour us!" The disciples who followed the abbot of Clair-
vaux could not help regretting that the tumult which was
constantly raised upon his passage, prevented their seeing
several of his miracles, t Every day an increasing crowd
pressed around him. History relates that he was once on
tlie point of being stifled by the multitude which followed

* These exclamations were pronounced in old German : — Christ uns
gende, die heiligen alle helffen uns.

"t Philip, archdeacon of Liege, afterwards a monk of Clairvaux, has
made a detailed relation of the miracles of St. Bernard, from the first
Sunday in Advent, the first day of December, 1146, to Thursday, the
second day of the following January. In his relations he produces ten
ocular witnesses, whose names he gives. Le Pere Maimbourg, in his
History of the Crusades, does not appear to believe in the authenticity o(
the miracles of St. Bernard ; the author of the Life of Suger, 3 vols, in
12mo., sharply reproves Maimbourg for his incredulity. We do not think
it at all necessary to go into this question ; we believe it to be quite suffi-
cient to know that the contemporaries of St. Bernard had faith in his
miracles, and that this faith made them perform things which simple
reason might call miraculous.

16*

340 HISTOET OF THE CRUSADES.

his steps, and only owed liis safety to tlie emperr r of Ger-
many, who took him in his anns, and drove back the people,
who were impatient to see and touch him whom they re-
garded as the interpreter and messenger of God.

After having set Germany in a blaze with his preaching,
and revived the zeal of the countries of Italy by his pathetic
letters, St. Bernard returned to France, to announce the
success of his mission. His absence had suspended every-
thing, and that multitude of Crusaders, upon whom his elo-
quence had acted so powerfully, appeared to have neither
chief, direction, nor rallying-point whilst he was not in the
midst of them. The king of France and the nobles of the
kingdom, assembled at Etampes, had formed no resolution ;
but the return of St. Bernard restored life to the councils
of the princes and the barons, and made them resume with
new ardour the enterprise of the holy war.

When he made, before the lords and prelates, the recital
of his journey, and of the prodigies God had effected by
his hand; when he spoke of the determination he had
induced the emperor of Germany to form, a determination
which he called the miracle of miracles, all hearts expanded
with enthusiasm, and were filled with hope and joy.

At the same time several ambassadors, appeared in the
assembly of Etampes, to announce that their princes had
determined to enrol themselves under the banners of the
cross ; and letters were read from distant countries, by
which a great number of foreign lords and barons promised
to join the French in their projected expedition against the
Saracens. From that period no doubt was entertained of
the happy results of the crusade ; and the zeal which was
displayed by all the nations of Europe was considered as a
manifest expression of the will of Heaven.

Among the ambassadors who were present at the assembly
of Etampes were some from Boger, king of Apulia and
Sicily, who offered the Crusaders vessels and provisions, and
promised to send his son with them to the Holy Land, if
they determined to go by sea. The Sicilian deputies re-
minded the king of France and his barons of the perfidy of
the Greeks towards the Franks in the first crusade. " Yc a
may," said they, " brave the forces of the most powerful
nations, but nothing can secure you against the artifices and

HISTOET OF THE CETJSADES. 341

machinations of a deceitful and perfidious people." The
assembly deliberated upou the offers of the king of Sicily,
and upon the route it would be most advisable to take ; the
greater part of the barons, full of confidence in their arma
and the protection of God, could not be brought to doubt
the faith of the Greeks. The route by sea seemed to offer
fewer wonders to their curiosity, and fewer perils for th^
exercise of their bravery ; besides, the vessels which Eoget
could furnish would not nearly suffice to transport all whom
religious zeal would lead to join the holy bands. It was
therefore resolved that preference should be given to the
route by land. The historian Odo de Deuil speaks with
deep regret of this resolution, which proved so fatal to the
Crusaders, and about which they had neglected to consult
the Holy Ghost. The Sicilian deputies could not conceal
their sorrow, and returned to their country predicting all
the misfortunes that would ensue.

The assembly of Etampes appeared to act under a much
better influence when it became necessary to choose the
persons who should be intrusted with the government of the
kingdom during the pilgrimage of Louis VII. When the
barons and the prelates had deliberated upon this important
choice, St. Bernard, who was their interpreter, addressed the
king, and, pointing to Abbot Suger and the count de Nevers,
said, " Sire, there are two weapons, and they are enough. ^^
It was necessary that this choice of the assembly should
obtain the approbation of the king and the suffrages of the
people. The abbot of St. Denis had blessed France with a
long peace, and had been the author of the glory of two
reigns. He was opposed to the crusade ; and what perfects
his eulogy, he had preserved his popularity without sharing
in the prevailing opinions. Suger advised the king not to
abandon his subjects, and represented to him that his errors
would be much better repaired by a wise administration of
the kingdom God had placed him over, than by conquests
in the East. He who could dare to give such advice as this,
was more worthy than any other to represent his sovereign ;
but Suger at first refused an employment of which he
plainly saw the burthen and the danger. The assembly
would not make another choice ; and the king himself had
recourse to prayers and tears to induce his Uiinister to taka

34!2 HISTOET OF THE CEUSADES.

Qis place in the government of the kingdom. The pope,
who arrived a short time after in France, orderei Suger to
yield to the wishes of the monarch, the nobles, and the
nation. The sovereign pontiff", in order to facilitate the
honourable task which he imposed upon the abbot of St.
Denis, launched, beforehand, the thunders of the Chijrch
against all who should make any attempts against the regal
authority during the absence of the king.

The count de Nevers, who had likewise been pointed out
by the assembly of the barons and bishops, declined, as the
abbot of St. Denis had done, the dangerous charge which
they offered him. When he was warmly pressed to accept
the government of the kingdom, he declared that he had
made a vow to enter into the order of St. Brimo. Such was
the spirit of the age, that this intention was respected as
the wi.l of Grod; and whilst the assembly congratulated
themselves upon inducing a monk to leave his cloister to
govern a kingdom, they saw without astonishment a prince
take an eternal farewell of the world, and bury himself in a
monastery.

From this time preparations for departure were actively
commenced, and all the provinces of France and Germany
were in motion. The same motives which had armed the
companions of Godfrey in the first expedition, inflamed the
courage of the new Crusaders. The eastern war held out
to their ambition the same hopes and the same advantages,
The greater part of the people were animated by the never-
Torgotten remembrance of the conquest of Jerusalem. The
relations that this conquest had established between Syria
and Europe added still to the zeal and ardour of the soldiers
of the cross ; there was scarcely a family in the West that
did not furnish a defender to the holy places, an inhabitant
to the cities of Palestine. The Christian colonies in the
East were to the Franks as a new country ; warriors who
assumed the cross appeared to be only arming themselves to
defend another France^, which was dear to all Christians, and
which might be called the France of the East.

The example of two monarchs also necessarily influenced
many warriors when ranging themselves under the banners
of the crusade. MaDy of those turbulent nobles, who were
fchen called prcedones, must have had, as well as Louis VIL,

HISTOKT or THE CEUSADES. 343

aumerous guilty violences to expiate. The spirit of cliivalry^
wliieh. was every day making fresh progress, was not a lesa
powerful principle with a nobility purely and entiiely warlike
A great number of "w '.men, attracted by the example oi
Eleanor of Guienne, took up the cross, and armed themselves
with sword and lance. A crowd of knights eagerly followed
them ; and indeed a species of shame seemed attached to all
who did not go to fight the infidels. History relates that
distaffs and spindles were sent to those who would not take
arms, as an appropriate reproach for their cowardice. The
troubadours and trouveres, whose songs were so much liked,
and who employed themselves in singing the victories of
knights over the Saracens, determined to follow into Asia
the heroes and the dames they had celebrated in their verses.
Queen Eleanor and Louis the Young took several trouba-
dours and minstrels with them into the East, to alleviate
the tediousness of a long journey.

And yet the enthusiasm of the Crusaders did not bear
quite the same character as that of the first crusade. The
world was not, in their eyes, filled with those prodigies
which proclaim the especial will of Heaven ; great phe-
nomena of nature did not work upon the imagination of the
pilgrims so vividly. God seemed to have delegated all his
power to a single man, who led the people at his will by his
eloquence and his miracles. Nobody was seen, nobody was
heard, but St. Bernard ; whereas in the time of Peter the
Hermit orators everywhere abounded, and nature seemed
charged by God himself to promote the crusade.

The only extraordinary occurrence of the time was the
peace which prevailed throughout Europe.* As at the
approach of the first crusade, wars between individuals, civil
troubles, and public outrage ceased aU at once. The de-
parture of the Crusaders was accompanied by less disorder
than at the setting out of the first expedition ; they neither

* A German historian speaks thus of this crusade : — Si autem aliter
non, hac tamen ratione, exitum habuit expeditio frequens, purgaretur eo
genere horainum qui rapinis consueverunt victitare ; moestura devotione
qualicunque, omnes id genus homines, pro remedio peccatorum sacraiu
amplexi militiam, in earn nomine dedere volentes expeditionem. — Kraniz,
vi. sax. c. 13 ; De Rejfibtia Hierosolymorum, auctore Christophano
Besoldo, p. 214.

34i4i HISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES.

Bl>owed tlie same imprudence in the choice c£ their leaders,
nc r the same impatience to mar'^^h. Prance and Grermany
had not to suffer the depredations of an undisciplined mul-
titude. The first crusade, some of the armies of which were
commanded by princes and knights, and others by adven-
turers and monks, exhibited all the license and the tumul-
tuous passions that are met with in unsettled republics. In
the second holy war, which was led by two powerful princes,
the more regular forms of a monarchy were preserved. The
smaller vassals gathered around their lords, and the latter
were obedient to the orders of the king of France or the
emperor of Germany. Such good order in the outset of the
holy enterprise appeared to promise certain victory, and
could create no forethought of the disasters which awaited
the Christian armies.

The city of Metz was the rendezvous of the Erench Cru-
saders, and E,atisbon that of the Germans. The roads
which led to these cities were covered with pilgrims, march-
ing under the banners of their lords. A great number of
warriors also repaired to the ports of Manders, England, and
Italy, where fleets were prepared for the transport of pro-
visions and arms, with Crusaders who were impatient to
arrive in Asia.

As the routes to the East were now known, the pilgrims
deceived themselves less with regard to the countries they
had to pass through. The sovereign pontiff had advised the
barons and knights not to take with them either dogs or
birds for sport ; they renounced the luxury of their castles,
and contented themselves with their arms.* They even had
the precaution to take with them things that might be re-
quired in a distant journey ; the Crusaders, but particularly
the Germans, carried all sorts of instruments for throwing
bridges, cutting down forests, and clearing roads.

The greatest difficulty was to find money to defray the
expenses of the holy war. All whom infirmities or particular
circumstances detained in Europe were anxious to assist, by

* The pope had forbidden luxury among the Crusaders ; he expressed
himself thus in a circular : — Nee eant in vestibus pretiosis, et cum canibus
give avibus, aut aliis quae osteutationi potius et lascivise, quam necessariis
videantur usibus deservire, sed in modesto apparatu, et habitu, in quo
poenitentiam potius agere quam inauem affectari gloriam videantur.

HISTOEY OF , HE CKUSADES.' 345

fcheir offerings, tlie enterprise of tbe crusade. According to
the devotion of the times, the greater part of the rich who
died without having seen Jerusalem, left by their will a sura
for the promotion of pilgrimages to the East. All these
pious gifts were, no doubt, considerable, but they could not
suffice for the support of a large army. To porcure the
necessary money Louis VII. had recourse to loans, and levied
imposts, which were regulated and approved of by the
sovereign pontiff. St. Bernard and Peter the Venerable
had exerted themselves with much courage against the per-
secution of the Jews ; but the abbot of Cluny thought they
ought to be punished in that which they held dearest, their
wealth, amassed hy usury, and even hy sacrilege. He advised
the king of Erance to take from the Jews the money neces-
sary for the war against the Saracens. It is probable that
the advice of Peter the Venerable was not disdained, and
that the Jews furnished a considerable part of the expenses
of the crusade. The clergy also, who had so much enriched
themselves by the first crusade, were obliged to advance
considerable sums for this expedition. The monastery of
rieury alone paid three hundred silver marks and a large
sum in gold. In many other abbeys the vases and cliurch
ornaments were sold to purchase arms, and to pay the
expenses of a war undertaken for the glory of Christ.

The lords and barons followed the example of the king of
France. Some pledged or sold their lands, but the greater
part made their vassals furnish means for their pilgrimage.
The hea^^ taxes laid upon the people, and particularly the
spoliation of the churches, excited many complaints, and
began to cool the ardour for the crusade. " There was,"*
says an ancient historian, " neither state, condition, age, nor
sex, which was not forced to contribute to the equipment of
the king and the princes going with him ; whence followed
the discontent of every one, and innumerable maledictions,
as well directed against the king as the troops.'*

* We quote here the words of Belle Forest, which we should not use
if they vrere not translations from contemporary chronicles. We will only-
repeat a single passage, which is taken from the chronicle of Raoul : —
De dioette : V*^ totam Galliam fit descriptio generalis ; non sexus, non
ordo, non dignitas quempiam excusavit, quin auxilium regi conferret ; cujuf
iter multis imprecationibus persequebatur. . . > . .

846 HISTOET OF THE CEUSADES.

Nevertheless Louis YII. prepared for his undertaking
by acts of devotion ; he visited the hospitals, and caused
prayers to be put up in all the churches for the success of
the crusade. When his departure drew near, he went to
St. Denis, to take the famous Oriflamme, which was borne
before the kings of France in battle. The church of St.
Denis was at that time decorated with great magnificence ;
among the historical monuments which were there collected,
the portraits of Godfrey de Bouillon, Tancred, Eaymond de
St.. Gilles, and the battles of Dorylceum, Antioch, and
Ascalon,* traced upon the windows of the choir, must have
attracted the eyes and fixed the attention of Louis and his
companions in arms. The king, prostrated on the tomb of
the holy apostle of Erance, implored his protection and that
of his pious ancestors, whose ashes reposed in the same
place. The pope, who had come to St. Denis, placed anew
the kingdom of France under the safeguard of religion, and
presented to Louis YII. his scrip and staff, as the emblems
of his pilgrimage. After this ceremony Louis set out,
accompanied by Queen Eleanor and a great part of his court.
He wept while he embraced Abbot Suger, who could not
himself restrain his tears. The people, says a modern his-
torian, who crowded his passage, after having followed him
for a long distance with the most vociferous applauses, re-
turned in melancholy silence to their homes as soon as he
was out of sight. He left Metz at the head of a hundred
thousand Crusaders, traversed Germany, and directed his
march towards Constantinople, where he had appointed to
meet the emperor of the West.

The emperor Conrad, after having caused his son Henry
to be crowned, left Katisbon in the beginning of spring. He
was followed by an army so numerous, that, according to the
report of Otho, of Erisingen, the waves were not sufficient
to transport it, nor the fields spacious enough to contain all
its battalions. He had sent ambassadors to announce hi^
coming to Constantinople, and to demand permission to cross
the territories of the Greek empire. Manuel Comnenus re«
turned him a most friendly and flattering answer ; but when

* Montfaucon speaks of these pictures in Les Monuments de la Mo
r»^€hie Francaiae, vol. i.

HISTOBT OF THE CET3ADES. 347

the Germans arrived in Bulgaria and Thrace, they were not
long in perceiving that they must not reckon upon the pro-
mises that had been made them.

At the time of the first crusade, Constantinople was in
great dread of the Turks, which was of service to the
Pranks ; but from that period the capital of the Greeks had
experienced no alarms, and no longer feared the attacks of
the Mussulmans. An opinion likewise had spread through
all the provinces of the empire, that the warriors of the
West entertained the project of taking possession of Con-
stantinople. This report, nrobable in itself, and strength-
ened by the threats of tht Crusaders, was very Kttle calcu-
lated to reestablish peace and harmony between people who
despised each other reciprocally, and, perhaps with equal
reason, exchanged accusations of violations of the faith of
treaties.

Manuel Comnenus, whom Odo de Deuil will not even
name, because, he says, his name is not written in the book
of life, was the grandson of Alexius I., who reigned at the
time of the first crusade. Eaithful to the policy of his an-
cestor, more able, and above all more artful and hj^Docritical
than he, he neglected no means to annoy and ruin the army
of the Germans. In his councils the warriors of the West
were considered as men of iron, whose eyes darted flames,
and who shed torrents of blood with the same indifference
as they would pour out the same quantity of water. At
the same time that he sent them ambassadors, and furnished
them with provisions, Manuel formed an alliance with the
Turks, and fortified his capital. The Germans, in the course
of their march, had often to repulse the perfidious attacks of
the Greeks, and the latter had, more than once, cause to com-
plain of the violence of the Crusaders. A relation of Conrad,
who had remained sick in a monastery at Adrianople, was
slain by the soldiers of Manuel ; Frederick, duke of Suabia,
gave the monastery in which this crime had been committed,
up to tne flames ; and torrents of blood flowed to avenge an
assassination.

Upon approaching Constantinople, the Germans had set
up their tents in a rich valley watered by the river Melaa
All at once a violent storm burst over the neighbouring
mountains ; the river, increased by the torrents, inundated

34(8 HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES.

the plain where the Christian army was celebrating the feast
of the A^ssiimption,* and as if it had conspired with the
Greeks, says a FrencH historian, and as if it imitated their
perfidy and treason, i ; carried away the horses and baggage,
and brou^it desolation into the camp of tlie Crusaders. The
Greeks afforded some succour to the German soldiers, but
they saw with joy, in an event they affected to deplore, a
presage of the defeats which threatened the armies of the
Latins.

Constantinople, on the arrival of Conrad, presented the
novel spectacle of two emperors who had inherited the vrrecks
of the empire of Augustus, and each of whom called himself
the successor of Caesar and Constantino. Their pretensions
created some divisions ; the emperor of the West had a va-
liant army to support his rights ; he of the East did not
dare to insist too openly upon his. He called in perfidy to
his aid, and wounded vanity avenged itself in a manner as
cowardly as it was- cruel.

As soon as the Germans had passed the Bosphorus, they
found themselves exposed to all sorts of treachery. All who
straggled from the army were slain by the soldiers of Com-
nenus ; the gates of all the cities on their route were closed ;
when tliey asked for provisions, they were obliged to put the
money into the baskets w^hich were lowered down from the
walls, and af cer all, they frequently obtained nothing but in-
sult and ridicule. The Greeks mixed lime with the flour
they sold them ; and when the Crusaders had anything for
sale, they w^ere paid in a false coin, which was refused
when they became purchasers. Ambuscades awaited them
throughout their route ; the enemy was aware of their line
of march, and as the height of perfidy, furnished them at
Constantinople with faithless guides, who misled the army
in the defiles of Mount Taurus, and delivered them up, worn
out with fatigue, to famine and despair, or to the swords of
the Mussulmans. The Germans, ill-treated by the Greeks,
did not seek to revenge themselves, although it would have
been easy to have done so, and, according to the ideas of the
age, might have appeared glorious. This is the reason why

* Otto of Frisingen, an eye-witness, describes this misfortune at great
length.

HISTOEY OP THE CRUSADE i. 349

Aiontesquieu says, that the Germans were the best sort of
people in the world. The French, who came after them,,
showed themselves less patient, and were more respected.
The emperor sent the principal lords of his court to tb.e
king of Erance, before whom they prostrated themselves,
and only spoke to him on their knees. French haughtiness
was more surprised than pleased at such homage, and only
answered the flattery of the East by a disdainful silence.
The two monarchs had an interview, in which they recipro-
cated the most tender caresses, and sought to surpass each
other in magnificence. If Manuel on this occasion excelled
his rival in the display of his riches, he showed less sincerity
than Louis in the demonstrations of his friendship, for in
the midst of the banquets which he gave to the Crusaders,
the latter learnt that he preserved a close alliance with the
sultan of Iconium, and that the Turks were fully informed
of the plans of the French kmg.

This treachery irritated the French lords, and when the
emperor required them to render him homage, as the
leaders of the first crusade had done, it was proposed in the
council that the only reply should be to take possession of
Constantinople. " You have heard," said the bishop of
Langres, " that the G-reeks propose to you to recognise their
empire, and submit to tlieir laws : thus then weakness is to
command strength, and cowardice bravery ! What has this
nation done ? What have their ancestors done, that they
should show so much pride ? I will not speak to you of the
snares and the ambushes that they have everywhere planted
in your way ; we have seen the priests of Byzantium ming-
ling ridicule wdth outrage, purify with fire the altars at which
our priests had sacrificed. They ask of us new oaths, which
honour repudiates. Is it not time to revenge treasons, and
repulse insults ? Hitherto the Crusaders have sufiered
more from their perfidious friends than from their open ene-
mies. Constantinople has long been a troublesome barrier
between us and our brothers of the East It is our duty at
last to open a free road to Asia. The Grreeks, you know,
have allowed the sepulchre of Christ, and all the Christian
cities of the East, to fall into the hands of the infidels.
Constantinople, there is no doubt, will soon become a prey
to Turks and barbarians, and by her cowardly weaknccs, Bl.e

350 HISTOEY OF THE CRUSADES.

inll one day open the barriers of tho West. The emperors
of Eyzantium neither know how to defend their own pro-
vinces nor will they suffer others to do it for them. They
have always impeded the generous efforts of the soldiers of
the cross ; even lately, this emperor, who declares himself
your support, has endeavoured to dispute their conquests
with the Latins, and ravish from them the principality of
Antioch. His aim now is to deliver up the Christian armies
to the Saracens. Let us hasten then to prevent our own
ruin by effecting that of these traitors ; let us not leave
behind us a jealous and insolent city, which only seeks the
means of destroying us ; let us cast upon her the evils she
prepares for us. If the Greeks accomplish their perfidious
designs, it is of you the West wiU one day ask back its
armies. Since the war we undertake is holy, is it not just
that we should employ every means to succeed ? Necessity,
country, religion, all order you to do that which I propose
to you. The aqueducts which supply the city with water
are in our power, and offer an easy means of reducing the
inhabitants. The soldiers of Manuel cannot stand against
our battalions ; a part of the w^alls and towers of Byzantium
has crumbled away before our eyes, as by a species of
miracle. It appears that God himself calls us into the
city of Constantino, and he opens its gates to you as he
opened the gates of Edessa, Antioch, and Jerusalem to your
fathers."*

When the bishop of Langres had ceased to speak, several
knights and barons raised their voices in reply. The Chris-
tians, they said, were come into Asia to expiate their own
sins, and not to punish the crimes of the Greeks. They had
taken up arms to defend Jerusalem, and not to destroy Con-
stantinople. It was true they must consider the Greeks as
heretics, but it was not more just for them to massacre them
than to massacre the Jews ; when the Christian warriors
assumed the cross, God did not put into their hands the
sword of justice. In a word, the barons found much more
policy than religion in that which they had heard, and could
not conceive that it was right to undertake an enterprise

* Odo de Deuil gives an account of this deliberation, ard reports the
spc<ech of the bishop of Langres, on whom he bestows the greatest praiso.

HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES. 361

which was not in accordance with the principles oi honour.
Neither had they faith in the misfortunes with which thej
were threatened, and relied upon Providence and their own
valour to enable them to surmount all obstacles. The most
fervent of the pilgrims dreaded any delay in the march of
the Crusaders, and this fear increased their scruples ; at
length the loyalty of the knights, the general pious impa-
tience to behold the sacred places, and perhaps also the pre-
sents and the seductions of Manuel, procured a triumph for
the party advocating moderation.

The emperor was nevertheless alarmed at seeing a body of
warriors, full of confidence and coiu-age, thus deliberate so
near to him on the conquest of his capital. The homage
that the barons and knights paid him did not at all re-assure
him as to their intentions. To hasten their departure, he
caused a report to be spread that the Grermans had gained
great victories over the Turks, and that they had made
themselves masters of Iconium. This succeeded even be-
yond Manuel's hopes.

When the Crusaders, impatient to pursue the Turks, were
leaving Constantinople, they were surprised by an eclipse of
the sun. A superstitious multitude saw in this phenomenon
nothing but a fatal presage, and believed it to be either the
warning of some great calamity, or of some new treachery
on the part of Manuel ; and the fears of the pilgrims were
not long in being reahzed. Scarcely had they entered
Bithynia when they were taught how to appreciate the false
reports and perfidy of the Grreeks. Louis, when encamped
upon the shores of the Lake Ascanius, in the neighbourhood
of Nice, received information of the complete defeat of the
Germans. The sultan of Iconium, on the approach of the
Christians of the West, had assembled all his forces, and at
the same time solicited the aid of the other Mussulman
powers to defend the passages of Asia Minor. Conrad,
whom William of Tyre styles vir simplex, whom le Pere
Maimbourg compares to a victim crowned with flowers that
is being led to slaughter, had advanced, on the faith of some
unknown guides, into the mountains ot Cappadocia. Impa-
tient to be before the French, for whom he was to hava
waited, he marched on in perfect ignorance of the roads, and
^"ithout provisions to feed the multitude which followed him.

352 HISTOET OE THE CIIUSJ.DES.

At a time that he entertained no suspicion of their vicinity,
he was surprised by the Turks, who covered the summits oi
the mountains, and rushed down upon the exhausted and
famished Christians.* The Mussulmans were lightly armed,
and performed their evolutions with the greatest rapidity.
The Grermans could scarcely move under the weight of their
bucklers, corselets, and steel brassets ; every day skirmishes
were fought, in which the Christians had the disadvantage.
Such as were more lightly armed, and bore sheep-skin buck-
lers, sometimes would rush among the enemy and put them
to flight ; but the Turks soon rallied upon the heights, and
darted down again, like birds of prey, upon the terrified
Christians. A crowd of pilgrims, whose arms only consisted
of their scrip and staff, created tlie greatest trouble and con-
fusion in the Christian army. The Mussulmans took advan-
tage of their disorder, and never allowed their enemies a
moment's repose. Despair and terror put an end to all dis-
cipline among the Crusaders ; they no longer obeyed the
orders of their leaders, but every one sought to insure his
own safety by flight. At length the rout became general ;
the country was covered with fugitives, who wandered about
at hazard, and found no asylum against the conquerors.
Some perished with want, others fell beneath the swords of
the Mussulmans ; the women and children were carried oflp
with the baggage, and formed a part of the enemy's booty
Conrad, who had scarcely saved the tenth part of his army,
was himself wounded by two arrows, and only escaped the
pursuit of the Saracens by a kind of miracle.

The news of this disaster threw the French "nto the
greatest consternation. Louis, accompanied by his bravest
warriors, flew to the assistance of Conrad. The two monarchs
embraced in tears. Conrad related the particulars of his
defeat, and complained the more bitterly of the perfidy of
Manuel, from feeling the necessity of excusing his own im-
prudence. The two princes renewed their oath to repair
together to Palestine, but the emperor of Germany did not
keep his word. Whether he was ashamed of being without

* Otto of Frisingen, an ocular witness, gives none of the details of the
rout of the Germans, saying as his excuse that he had nothing agreeable
to relate. The Gesta Ludovici and William of Tyre supply the silence ol
Otto of Frisingen.

HISTORY or THE CEUSADES. 85t

an army, whether he could not endure the hau'^htiness of
the French, or that he dreaded their too just reproaches, he
Bent back the few troops he had left, and returned to Con-
stantinople, where he was very well received, because he waa
no longer to be feared.

The French army, in the mean time, pursued its march,
and, leaving Mount Olympus on its left, and Mount Ida on
its right, passed through ancient Phrygia. The French,
on their passage, passed Pergamus, Ephesus, and several
other celebrated cities, which the Greeks had allowed to go
to ruin. Winter was coming on, and the abundant rains
and melted snows had swollen the rivers till they overflowed
the country, and made the roads impracticable. The inha-
bitants of the mountains, a savage, wild people, fled away at
the approach of the Christians, taking with them their
flocks, and all that they possessed. The inhabitants of the
cities shut their gates against the Crusaders, and refused
provisions to all who had not full value to give in return.
Whilst the French army was crossing Phrygia, Manuel sent
ambassadors to the king of France, to inform him that the
Turks were assembling in all parts for the purpose of im-
peding his march. He offered the Crusaders an asylum in
the cities of the empire ; but this offer, accompanied by
menaces, appeared to be only a snare, and Louis preferred
braving the enmity of the Turks to trusting to the promises
of the Greeks. The Christian army pursuing its march
towards the frontiers of Phrygia, arrived at last at the banks
of the Meander, towards the embouchure of the Lycus.
The Turks, who had destroyed the army of the Germans,
prepared to dispute the passage of the river with the French.
Some were encamped on the mountains, others on the banks ;
the rains had swollen the Meander, and the passage was
difficult and dangerous.

Animated by the speeches and the example of their king,
no obstacle could stop the French. In vain the Turks
showered their arrows upon them, or formed their battle-
array on the banks ; the French army crossed the river,
broke througli the ranks of the barbarians, slauf,/itered
vast numbers of them, and pursued them to the foot of
the moimtains. The two shores of the Meander were
covered with the bodies of the Turks : the historian Nice*

854 RISTOET OF THE CEUSADES.

tas,* who some years after saw their heaped-up bones, could
not help saying, whilst praising the courage of the Franks,
" that if such men did not take Constantinople, their mode-
ration and patience were much to be admired."

After the battle they had fought with the Saracens, some
pilgrims asserted that they had seen a knight, clothed in
white, march at the head of the army, and give the signal for
victory. Odo of Deuil, an ocular witness, speaks of thia
apparition, without giving faith to it, and satisfies himself
with saying that the Christians would not have triumphed
over the Turks without the protection and the will of God.

This .victory gave great confidence to the Crusaders, and
rendered their enemies more cautious. The Turks, whom it
was impossible to pursue far in an unknown country, rallied
again after the battle of the Meander. Less confident in
their strength, and not daring to attack an army that had
conquered them, they watched for a moment in which they
might safely surprise them. The imprudence of a leader
who commanded the French vanguard soon presented to
them this opportunity. On quitting Laodicea, a city
situated on the Lycu«, the Crusaders had directed their
course towards the mountains which separate Phrygia from
Pisidia. These mountains ofiered nothing but narrow pas-
sages, in which they constantly marched between roqjts and
precipices. The French army was divided into two bodies,
commanded every day by new leaders, who receiyed their
orders from the king.

Every evening they laid down in council the route they
were to follow the next day, and appointed the place where
tlie army was to encamp. One day when they had to cross
one of the highest mountains, the order had been given to
the vanguard to encamp on the height-s, and to wait for the
rest of the army, so that they might do«cend into the plain
the next day in order of battle. Geotfrcy de Ran9on, lord
of Taillebourg, this day commanded the ^r.«t body of the
French army, and bore the Oriflamme, or ^oyal standard.

^ Nicetas, in his account, confounds the army of Iht F.ench with that
of the Germans, who did not fight on the banks of tht l^eander ; all
which Louis did he attributes to Conrad. The German hi«\t)rians hava
followed him, and state the victory near the Meander to have been gained
by the sovereign of their own nation.

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 355

He arrived early at the spot where he was to pass the night
which offered no retreat for his soldiers but woods, ravines,
*ind barren rocks. At the foot of the mountain they beheld
an extensive and commodious valley ; the day was jBue, and
the troops were in a condition to march without fatigue
Beveral hours longer. The count de Maurienne, brother of
the king, Queen Eleanor, and all the ladies of her suite, who
had accompanied the vanguard, pressed Greoffrey de Ean9on
to descend into the plain. He had the weakness to comply
with their wishes ; but scarcely had he gained the valley,
when the Turks took possession of the heights he had
passed, and ranged themselves in order of battle.

During this time the rearguard of the army, in which was
the king, advanced full of confidence and security ; on seeing
troops in the woods and on the rocks, they supposed them
to be the Erench, and saluted them with cries of joy They
marched without order, the beasts of burde.l and the chariots
were mingled with the battalions, and the greater part of
the soldiers had left their arms with the baggage. The
Turks, perfectly motionless, waited in silence till the Chris-
tian army should be enclosed in the defiles, and when they
thought themselves sure of victory, they moved forward,
uttering frightfuJ. cries, and, sword in hand, fell upon the
unarmed Christians, who had no time to rally. The disorder
and confusion of the French army cannot be described.
"Above us," says an ocular Avitness, "steep rocks rose up
to the clouds ; beneath us precipices, dug by the torrent,
descended to the infernal regions." The Crusaders were
upon a narrow path, upon which men and horses could
neither advance nor retreat ; they dragged each other down
into the abysses ; whilst rocks, detached from the tops of the
mountains, rolling down with horrible noise, crushed every-
thing in their passage.

The cries of the wounded and the dying mingled with the
confused roar of the torrents, the hissing of the arrows, and
the neighing of the terrified horses. In this frightful tumult
the leaders gave no orders, and the soldiers coidd neither
fight nor fly. The bravest rallied around the king, and
advanced towards the top of the mountain. Thirty of the
principal nobles that accompanied Louis perished by hia
Bide, sellmg their Uvea dearly. The king remained almost

Voi 1—17

HISTOEY OP THE CRUSADES.

alone on the field of battle, and took refuge upon a rockj
whence he braved the attack of the infidels who pursued
him. With his back against a tree, he singly resisted th«
eiforts of several Saracens, who, taking him for a simple
soldier, at length left him, to secure their share of the pil-
lage. Although the night began to fall, the king expected
to be attacked again, when the voices of some Frenchmen
who had escaped the carnage, gave him the agreeable infor-
mation that the Turks had retired. He mounted a stray
horse, and, after a thousand perils, rejoined his vanguard,
where all were lamenting his death.

After this defeat, in which the king had been exposed to
such dangers, the report of his death was not only spread
throughout the East, but reached Europe, where it filled the
Christians, particularly the Erench, with grief and terror.
Wil'iam of Tyre, whilst relating the disastrous defeat of the
Crusaders, exp:.\?sses astonishment that Grod, always full of
mercy, should have allowed so many illustrious warriors
armed in his cause, to perish so miserably. The Crusaders
who formed the vanguard of the army, whilst deploring the
death of their brethren, raised their voices against Geofirey
de 3lan9on, and demanded that the loss of so much blood
shoidd be visited upon him. The king, however, had nob
wafficient firmness to punish an irreparable fault, and only
sb far yielded to the wishes of the barons and the soldiers
as to give them as a leader an old warrior named Gilbert,
whose skill and bravery were the boast of the whole army.
Gilbert shared the command with Evrard des Barres, grand
master of the Templars, who had come, with a great number
of his knights, to meet the Christian army. Under these
two leaders, whom the king himself obeyed, the Crusaders
continued their march, and avenged their defeat several times
upon the Mussulmans.

On their arrival in Pisidia the French had almost every-
where to defend themselves against the perfidy of the Greeks
and the attacks of the Turks ; but winter was even a more
dangerous enemy than these t© the Christian army. Tor-
rents of rain fell every day ; cold and humidity enervated
the powers of the soldiers ; and the greater part of the
horses, being destitute of forage, perished, and only served
to feed the army, which was without provisions. The clothef

HISTORY or THE CBUSADES. 367

of the soldiers hung about them in rags ; the Crusadera
sold or abandoned their arms ; the tents and baggage lay
scattered on the roads, and the army dragged in its train a
crowd of sick, and numbers of poor pilgrims, who made the
air resound with their cries and lamentations. The king of
Erance consoled them by his discourses, and relieved them
by his charitable gifts ; for in the midst of so many reversed
God alone seemed to sustain his coiu*age. " Never," says
Odo of Deuil, " did he pass a single day without hearing
mass, and without invoking the God of the Christians."

At last the Christians arrived before the walls of Attalia,
idtuated on the coast of PamphyHa, at the mouth of the river
Cestius. This city, inhabited by Greeks, was governed in
the name of the emperor of Constantinople. As the inha-
bitants were mistrustful of the intentions of the Christian
army, they refused to open their gates to them, and the
Crusaders were obHged to encamp on the neighbouring
plains, exposed to aU the rigours of the season.

They could neither find provisions for themselves nor
forage for their horses in a barren uncultivated country,
constantly ravaged by the Turks. The Greeks refused to
assist them in their distress, and sold them everything at
its weight in gold. Famine, and the evils which the Chris-
tians had hitherto suffered, became still more insupportable
to them when they lost all hope. Louis YII. having called
a council, the chief men of the army represented to him
that the Crusaders were without horses and without arms,
they were not in a condition to give an enemy battle, nor
could they support the fatigues of a long march. There
remained, they added, no other resource for the Christians
but to abandon themselves to the perils of the sea.* The
king did not agree with their opinion, and wished that they
should only embark the multitude of pilgrims that embar-
rassed the march of the army. "As for us," said he, "we
will redouble our courage, and we will follow the route
which our fathers, wlio conquered Antioch and Jerusalem,
followed. Whilst anything remains to me, I will share it
with my companions ; and when I shall have nothing left,

* The Crusaders had then a march of forty days before them to arrivt
at Antioch by land. They niijjht have reached it in three days by sea.

fi58 HISTORY OP THE CRUSADES.

(s'liich of you will not undergo with me poverty and misery ?*^
The barons, touched with this speech, swore to die with
their king, but were not willing to die without glory. Ani-
mated by the example of Louis, they might triumph over
the Turks, over their misfortunes, and the rigours of winter ;
but they were without defence against famine and the per-
fidy of the Grreeks. They reproached Louis YII. with not
ha\TLng followed the counsels of the bishop of Langres, and
with having pardoned enemies more cruel than the Mussul-
mans, more dangerous than the tempests or rocks of the
ocean.

As at the end of this council, strong murmurs against the
Greeks arose in the Christian army, the governor of Attalia
became fearful of the effects of despair, and came to offer
Louis vessels, in which to embark all the Crusaders. This
proposition was accepted ; but they had to w^ait for the pro-
mised vessels more than five weeks. In so long a delay the
Crusaders consumed aU the resources they had left, and
many died of hunger and misery ; the vessels which at
length arrived in the ports of Attalia, w^ere neither large
enough nor sufficient in number to embark the whole Chris-
tian army. The Crusaders then perceived the abyss of evils
into which they were about to fall; but such was their
resignation, or rather the deplorable state of the army, that
they committed no violence towards the Grreeks, and did not
even threaten a single city which refused to help them.

A crowd of poor pilgrims, among whom were barons and
knights, appeared before the king, and spoke to him in these
terms : — " We have not means wherewith to pay for our
passage, and we cannot foUow you into Syria; we remain
here victims to misery and disease ; when you shall have left
us, we shall be exposed to greater perils ; and being attacked
by the Turks is the least of the misfortunes we have to
dread. E^member that we are Pranks, that we are Chris-
tians ; give us leaders who may console us for your absence,
and assist us to endure the fatigue, the hunger, and the
death which await us." Louis, in order to reassure them,
spoke to them in the most feeling terms, and distributed
considerable sums amongst them. He was as liberal in ^is
assistance, says Odo de Deuil, as if he had lost nothing, or
wanted nothing for himself. He sent for the governor of

HISTORY OF 1 HE CEUSADES. 359

jlttalia, and gave him fifty silver marks to provide for the
sick who remained m the cit j, and to conduct the land array
as far as the coasts of Cilicia.

Louis VII. gave as leaders for aU who could not embark,
Thierri count of Flanders and Archambaud de Bourbon ; he
then went on board the fleet that had been prepared for
him, accompanied by the queen Eleanor, the principal lords
of his court, and all that remained of his cavalry. Whilst
looking at the Crusaders whom he left at Attalia, the king
of France could not refrain from tears ; a multitude of pil-
grims assembled upon the shore, followed with their eyes the
vessel in which he had embarked, putting up vows for his
voyage ; and when they had lost sight of him, they thought
of nothing but theii' own dangers, and sank into the deepest
despondency.

On the day following the departure of Louis YIL, the
pilgrims, who were expecting the escort and the guides that
had been promised them, saw the Turks come upon them,
■'ager for murder and pillage. Archambaud and Thierri for
a moment re-animated the courage of the Crusaders, and
sereral times repulsed the infidels. But the Turks returned
to the charge Avithout ceasing ; every day the Christians
sustained fresh encounters without being able to compel
their enemy to retreat. The Greeks would not consent to
receive them into the city, and there remained to the Cru-
saders no means of safety. Despair stifled in their breasts
even the sentiments of humanity ; every one of these unfor-
tunate wretches became insensible to the fate of his com-
panions, and felt nothing but his own ills, saw nothing but
his own dangers. The soldiers did not endeavour to rally
or to succour each other ; they no longer recognised or fol-
lowed leaders ; the leaders themselves were no longer guided
by the spirit of religion, or governed by the love of glory.
In the midst of the general desolation, Archambaud and
Thierri, only anxious to avoid death, threw themselves on
board a vessel which was going to join the fleet of Louis VII.
The horrible disorder that then reigned anvong the mise-
rable remains of the Christian army and the sick in the city
of 'Attalia, is perfectly beyond description.

Two troops of pilgrims, one of three thousand and the
other of four thousand, resolved to brave all dangers and

860 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

fnarcli towards Cilicia. They had no boats to cross over-
flowing rivers ; they had no arms with which to resist the
Turks, and they almost all perished. Others who followed
them shared the same fate, whilst the sick in the c:ty of
Attalia were ruthlessly massacred. It has been a painful
task for the historian to record even a few details of these
frightful disasters ; and it is in this place we find the words
of the old chronicles so applicable — " God alone knows the
number of the martyrs whose blood flowed beneath the
blade of the Turks, and even under the sword of the
Greeks."

Many Christians, bewildered by despair, believed that the
God who thus left them a prey to so many ills could not be
the true God ;* three thousand of them embraced the faith
of Mahomet and joined the Mussulmans, who took pity on
their wretchedness. The Greeks were soon punished for
their perfidious cruelty ; pestilence uniting its ravages with
those of war, left the city of Attalia almost without inhabi-
tants, a very few weeks after the departure of'Louis YII.

When Louis arrived in the principaKty of Antioch,t he
had lost three-fourths of his army ; but he was not the less
warmly welcomed by Raymond of Poictiers. The French
who accompanied him soon forgot, in the midst of pleasures,
both the dangers of their voyage and the deplorable death
of their companions.

Antioch could then boast of having within its walls the
countess of Thoulouse, the countess of Blois, Sibylla of
Flanders, Maurille countess de Koussy, Talquery duchess
de Bouillon, and several other ladies celebrated for their
birth or their beauty. The fetes which E/aymond gave
them received additional splendour from the presence of
Eleanor of Guienne. This young princess, daughter of
"William IX. and niece of the prince of Antioch, united the
most seducing gifts of mind to the graces of her person-
She had been much admired at Constantinople, and had
folmd no rival in the court of Manuel. She was accused,
and vdth some reason, of being more desirous of admiration
than became a Christian queen. It was neither sincere

* Odo de Deuil is the only writer who speaks of these events ; but his
iccount appears to us full of obscurity in some parts.
t The 19th of March, 1148.

HISTORY OF THE CErSADES. 36\

Eicty nor an inclination to perform penance, that had led
er to make a pilgrimage to Constantinople. The fatigues
and dangers of the journey, the misfortunes of the Cru-
saders, the remembrance of the holy places, always present
to the minds of true pilgrims, had not in the least abated
her too lively taste for pleasures, or her strong inclination
for gallantry.

E-aymond of Poictiers, amidst the fetes given to Queen
Eleanor, did not forget the interests of his principality; he
was anxious to weaken the power of Noureddin, the mo^t
formidable enemy of the Christian colonies, and ardently
desired that the Crusaders would assist him in this enter-
prise. Caresses, prayers, presents, nothing was spared to
engage them to prolong their sojourn in his states. The
prince of Antioch addressed himself at first to the king of
France, and proposed to him, in a council of the barons, to
besiege the cities of Aleppo and Csesarea, in Syria. This
enterprise, which favoured his ambition, offered real advan-
tages to all the Christian states of the East, which were
threatened by the const^ftitly increasing power of Noureddin;
but Louis yiL, who had been only brought into Asia by a
spirit of devotion, answered Raymond that he could engage
himself in no war before he had visited the holy places.

The prince of Antioch did not allow himself to be dis-
couraged by this refusal ; he employed every means to touch
the heart of the queen, and resolved to make love subser-
vient to his designs. William of Tyre, who has left us the
portrait of Raymond, informs us that he was " 7mld and
affable of speech* exJiihiting in his countenance and manner,
I do not know what singular grace and hehaviour of an exceU
lent and magnanimous prince.''^ He undertook to persuade
Queen Eleanor to prolong her stay in the principality of
Antioch. It was then the beginning of spring ; the smiling
banks of the Orontes, the groves of Daphne, and the beau-
tiful skies of Syria, doubtless added their charms to the in-
sinuating speeches of Raymond. The queen, seduced by
the prayers of this prince, infatuated wdth the homage of a
voluptuous and brilliant court, and, if historians may be be-
lieved, too much disposed to pleasures and indulgences un-

* See the translation of William of Tyre, book xiii. ch. 21.

362 HISTOET OF THE CEUSA )ES.

worthy of her, warmly solicited the king to delay his departure
for the holy city. The king, in addition to an austere devotion,
possessed a jealous and suspicious disposition ; the motivea
therefore that made the queen desirous of remaining at An-
tioch strengthened his determination to go to Jerusalem.
The instances of Eleanor filled his mind with suspicions, and
rendered him still more inexorable ; upon which E-aymond,
disappointed in his hopes, was loud in his complaints, and
determined to be revenged. This prince, says William of
Tyre, " was impetuous in his will, and of so choleric a dis^
position, that when he was excited he listened to 7ieither rhyme
nor reason.'*^ He easily communicated his indignation to
the mind of Eleanor, and this princess at once boldly formed
the project of separating herself from Louis VII., and of
dissolving their marriage, under the plea of relationship.
Haymond, on his part, swore to employ force and violence
to detain his niece in his dominions. At length the king of
Erance, outraged both as a husband and a sovereign, resolved
to precipitate his departure, and was obhged to carry off his
own wife, and bear her into his camp by night.

The conduct of the queen must have scandalized both the
infidels and the Christians of the East ; and her example was
likely to produce fatal effects in an army in which there were
a great number of women. Among the crowd of knights,
and even of Mussulmans, who during her abode at Antioch
by turns were favoured by her partiality,* a young Turk is
particularly mentioned, who received costly presents from
her, and for whom she desired to abandon the king of France.
In such affairs, ingeniously remarks Mezerai, " more is fre-
quently said than there is ; hut sometimes also there is more
than is said^ However that may be, Louis VJl. could not
forget his dishonour, and felt obliged some years after to re-
pudiate Eleanor, who married Henry IL, and bestowed the
duchy of Gruienne upon England, which was for Erance one
of the most deplorable consequences of this second crusade.

* Some romancers, and even some historians, have advanced that Eleanor
of Guienne was in love with Saladin, who founded the dynasty of the
Ayoubites. Saladin, the son of Ayoub, was born the same year that
Eleanor married Louis VII., and was scarcely ten years old at the tima
of the second crusade. Her second son, by Henry II. of England*
became the great rival of Saladin in military glory. — ^Trans.

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. S6h

The king and the ba?rons of Jerusalem, who dreaded the
stay of Louis VII. at Antioch, sent deputies to conjure him,
in the name of Jesus Christ, to hasten his march towards
the holy city. The king of Erance yielded to their wishes,
and crossed Syria and Phoenicia without stopping at the
court of the count of Tripoli, who entertained the same pro-
jects as Kaymond of Poictiers. His arrival in the Holy Land
created the greatest enthusiasm, and re-animated the hopes
of the Christians. The people, the princes, and the prelates
of Jerusalem came out to meet him, bearing in their hands
branches of olive, and singing the same words as the Saviour
of the world was saluted with — " Blessed he he iclio comes in
the name of the Lord^ The emperor of Germany, who had
left Eiu-ope at the head of a powerful army, had just reached
Jerusalem in the character of a simple pilgrim. The two
monarchs embraced, wept over their misfortunes, and re-
pairing together to the church of the Hesurrection, adored
the inscrutable decrees of Providence.

Baldwin III., who then reigned at Jerusalem, was a young
prince of great hope ; and being as impatient to extend his
own renowTi as to enlarge his kingdom, he neglected no
means to obtain the confidence of the Crusaders, and urge
on the war against the Saracens. An assembly was con-
voked at Ptolemais, to deliberate upon the operations of this
crusade. The emperor Conrad, the king of France, and the
young king of Jerusalem repaired thither, accompanied by
their barons and their knights. The leaders of the Chris-
tian armies, and the heads of the Church deliberated toge-
ther upon the subject of the holy war in the presence of
Queen Melisinde, the marchioness of Austria, and several
other Q-erman and Prench ladies, who had followed the
Crusaders into Asia. In this brilliant assembly the Chris-
tians were astonished at not seeing the queen, Eleanor of
Guienne, and were thus reminded with regret of the sojourn
at Antioch. The absence of Raymond of Antioch, and the
counts of Edessa and Tripoli, who had not been invited to
the meeting, must necessarily have created sad reflections,
and given birth to presages upon the effects of discord among
the Christians of the East.

The name if the unfortunate Josselin was scarcely men-
tioned in the eo aneil of the princes and barons ; nothing

17*

864 HISTOET OF THE CETTgADES.

was said of Edessa, the loss of which had raised the entire
West to arms, nor of the conquest of Aleppo, which had
been proposed by Eaymond .^f Antioch. From the begin-
ning of the reign of Baldwin, the princes and lords of Pales-
tine had cherished a project for extending their conquests
beyond Libanus, and gaining possession of Damascus, As
the Christians, when they entered into a Mussulman pro-
vince or city, divided amongst them the lands and the
houses of the conquered, the people who dwelt on the bar-
ren mountains of Jiidea, the greater part of the warriors of
Jerusalem, and even the clergy, all appeared to direct their
wishes towards the territory of Damascus, which offered the
rich booty to its captors of pleasant habitations, and fields
covered with golden harvests. The hope of driving the
Mussulmans from a fertile province, and enriching them-
selves with their spoils, made them even forgetful of the re-
doubtable power of Noureddin and the Attabecks. In the
assembly at Ptolemais, it was resolved to commence the war
by the siege of Damascus.

All the troops assembled in Galilee in the beginning of the
spring, and advanced towards the source of the Jordan, com-
manded by the king of France, the emperor of Germany, and
the king of Jerusalem, preceded by the patriarch of the holy
city, bearing the true cross. The Christian army, to which
were attached the knights of the Temple, and of St. John,
in the early days of June set out from Melchisapar, a little
city, memorable for the miraculous conversion of St. Paul,
and crossing the chains of Libanus, encamped near the town
of Dary, from whence they could see the city of Damascus.

Damascus is situated at the foot of the Anti-Libanus,
forty-five leagues from Jerusalem ; hills covered with trees
and verdure arise in the neighbourhood of the city, and in
its territory were several towns which have maintained a
name in history. A river which falls impetuously from the
mountains, rolls over a golden-coloured sand, and separating
into several branches, waters the city, and bears freshness
and fertility to the valley of Ahennefsage, or the valley of
violets, planted with all sorts of fruit-trees. The city of
Damascus was celebrated in the remotest antiquity, having
Been both the rise and fall of the city of Palmyra, whose
ruins are still objects of curiosity and wonder in its nei^h-

HISTORI 01 THE CRTJSADES. 365

liourhood. Ezekiel boasts of its delicious wines, its mime
rous workshops, and its wools of admirable tints ; and severa4
passages of Scripture represent Damascus as the abode of
Toluptuousness and delight. The beauty of its gardens, and
the magnificence of its public edifices, many of which were
built of marble of different colours, were much admired.

Damascus, after being conquered in turn by the Hebrews,
the kings of Assyria, and the successors of Alexander, fell
into the hands of the Eomans. From the age of Augustus
the preaching of St. Paid had filled it with Christians ; but
at the beginning of the Hegira it was attacked and taken
by the lieutenants of Mahomet, and a great part of the
inhabitants, who, after capitulation, endeavoured to seek an
asylum in Constantinople, were pursued and massacred by
the fierce conquerors, in the territories of Tripoli.

Erom this time, Damascus, which formed a government
or a principality, had remained in the power of the Mussul-
mans. At the period of the second crusade, this principality,
attacked by turns by the Franks, the Ortokides, and the
Attabecks, and almost reduced to nothing but its capital,
belonged to a Mussulman prince, who had no less occasion
to defend himself against the ambition of the emirs than
the invasion of foreign enemies. Noureddin, master of
Aleppo and several other cities of Syria, had already made
several attempts to gain possession of Damascus, and had
by no means abandoned the hopes of uniting it to his other
conquests, when the Christians formed the resolution of
besieging it.

The city was defended by high walls on the east and the
south; whilst on the west and the north it had no other de-
fence but its numerous gardens, planted with trees, in all parta
of which were raised palisades, walls of earth, and little towers,
in which they could place archers. The Crusaders, when
ready to begin the siege, resolved in a council to take pos-
session of the gardens first, hoping to find therein water and
abundance of fruits. But the enterprise was not without
great difficulties ; for the orchards, which extended to the
foot of the Anti-Libanus, were like a vast forest, crossed by
narrow paths, in which two rien could scarcely walk abreast.
The infidels had every wheie thrown up intrenchments,
where they could, without duigor to themselves, resist the

366 HISTOEY OP THE CRUSADES.

attacks of the Crusaders. Nothing could, hDwever, damp
the bravery and ardour of the Christian army, which pene-
trated on several sides into the gardens. From the heights
of the little towers, from the interior of the wall enclosures,
and from the bosoms of the bushy trees, clouds of arrows
and javelins were showered upon them. Every step taken
by the Christians in these covered places was marked by a
oombat in which they could scarcely see their enemy. The
infidels, however, attacked without intermission, were, in the
end, obHged to abandon the positions they had occupied and
fortified. The king of Jerusalem marched first at the head
of his army and the knights of St. John and of the Temple ;
after the Christians of the East, advanced the French Cru-
saders, commanded by Louis VII. ; whilst the emperor of
Germany, who had got together the poor remains of his
army, formed the body of reserve, to protect the besiegers
from the surprises of the enemy.

The king of Jerusalem pursued the Mussulmans with
ardour ; his soldiers rushing with him into the midst of tha
enemy's ranks, comparing their leader to David, who, accord-
ing to Josephus, had conquered a king of Damascus. The
Saracens, after an obstinate resistance, united on the banks
of the river which flows under its walls, to drive away with
arrows and stones the crowd of Christians brought thither
by fatigue and heat. The warriors commanded by Baldwin
endeavoured several times to break through the army of the
Mussulmans, but always met with an invincible resistance.
It was then the emperor of Germany signalized his bravery
by a deed of arms worthy of the heroes of the first crusade.
EoUowed by a small number of his people, he passed through
the French army, whom the difiiculties of the situation
almost prevented from fighting, and took his place in the
vanguard of the Crusaders. Nothing could resist the impe-
tuosity of his attack, all who opposed him falling beneath
his arm ; when a Saracen of gigantic stature, and completely
clothed in armour, advanced to meet him, and defy him to
the combat. The emperor at once accepted the challenge,
and flew to meet the Mussulman warrior. At the sight of
this singular combat, the two armies remained motionless,
waiting in fear, tiU one of the champions had defeated the
other, to re-commence the battle. The Saracen warrior waa

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES 367

Boon hurled from his horse, and Conra-d with one blow of his
sword, dealt upon the shoulder of the Mussulman, divided
his body into two parts.* This prodigy of valour an(f
strength redoubled the ardour of the Christians, and spread
terror among the infidels. From this moment the Mussul-
mans began to seek safety withm the waUs of the city, and
left the Crusaders masters of the banks of the river.

Eastern authors speak of the fright of the inhabitants of
Damascus after the victory of the Christians. The Mussul-
mans prostrated themselves f upon ashes during several days;
they exposed in the middle of the great mosque, the Koran
compiled by Omar ; and women and children gathered around
the sacred book to invoke the aid of Mahomet against their
enemies. The besieged already contemplated abandoning
the city ; they placed in the streets, towards the entrance
into the gardens, large posts, chains, and heaps of stones, in
order to retard the march of the besiegers, and thus to afford
them time to fly with their riches and their families by the
north and south gates.

The Christians were so thoroughly persuaded they should
shortly be masters of Damascus, that it became a question
among the leaders, to whom the sovereignty of the city
should be given. The greater part of the barons and lords
who were in the Christian army, courted the favour of the
king of France and the emp<?ror of Germany, and all at
once forgot the siege of the city, in their earnest endeavours
to obtain the government of it Thierri of Alsace, count of
Manders, who had been twice in Palestine before the cru-
sade, and who had given up to his family all his possessions
in Europe, solicited the principality more warmly than the
others, and prevailed over his oppoxients and rivals. This
preference gave birth to jealousy, and infused discouragement
in the army ; as long as the city thev were about to conquer
remained a bait for their ambition, the leaders showed them-

* Percussit eum inter coUum et sinistrum hu«ne*um ictu mirabili ; ita
quod ensis secuit totum pectus cum humeris et descendit obliquando
usque ad latus dextrum, taliter quod pars dexterior ab&'^issH penitus cum
capite cecidit super terram, et tunc omnes Turci, qui ictum t^m formida-
Wlem vitierant stupefacti, statim fug^ remedio nostrorum gladios evase-
runt. — G. C. chap. ii.

t All these details, and some others which were not knoi 'Ti to tne
BUthors of the West, are taken from the Arabian chronicle of Ibufemi,

HISTORY OF THE CErSADIS.

selves full of ardour and courage, but when they were with*
out liope, some remained inactive, whilat others, no lougei
regarding the Christian glory as their own cause, sought
every means to insure the failure of an enterprise from
which they should reap no personal advantage.

The leaders of the besieged took advantage of these feel-
ings to open negotiations with the Crusaders. Their threats,
their promises and presents, succeeded in destroying what
remained of the zeal and enthusiasm of the Christians.
They addressed themselves particularly to the barons of
Syria, and exhorted them to be on their guard against war-
riors come, as they said, from the "West, to take possession
of the Christian cities of Asia. Th^y threatened to deliver
up Damascus to the new master of the East, Noureddin,
whom nothing could resist, and who would soon take pos-
session of the kingdom of Jerusalem. The barons of Syria,
whether deceived by these speeches, or that, in their hearts,
they dreaded the successes of the Franks who had come to
succour them, employed themselves only in retarding the
operations of a siege they had themselves prosecuted with
ardour ; and, abusing the confidence of the Crusaders,
they proposed a plan, which, being adopted too lightly, com-
pleted the ruin of aU the hopes that had been built on this
crusade.

In a council, the barons of Syria proposed to the leaders
to change the mode of attack ; the closeness of the gardens
s,nd the river, said they, prevented the placing of the ma-
chines of war in an advantageous manner ; and the Christian
army, in the position it occupied, might be surprised, and
ran the risk of being surrounded by the enemy without the
power of defending itself. It appeared to them, therefore,
much more certain and safe to assault the city on the south
and east sides.

Most of the chiefs possessed more valour than prudence,
and the confidence which victory inspired made them think
everything possible ; besides, how could they mistrust the
Christians of the East, for whom they had taken up arms,
and who were their brothers ? In addition to this, the fear
of dragging out the siege to a greaj length made them adopt
the advice of the barons of Syria. After having changed
their points of attack, the Christian army, instead of find'ng

HISTOET OF THE CEtJSADES. 36S

easy access to the place, saw nothing before them but towers
and impregnable ramparts. Scarcely had the Christians
seated themselves in their new camp when the city of
Damascus received within its walls a troop of twenty thou-
sand Curds and TLu-comans, determined to defend it. The
besieged, whose courage was raised by the arrival of these
auxiliaries, put on, says an Arabian historian, the buckler of
victory, and made several sorties, in which they gained the
advantage over the Christians. The Crusaders, on their
part, made several assaults upon the city, and were always
repulsed. Encamped upon an arid plain, they were desti-
tute of water ; all the adjacent country had been devastated
by the infidels, and the corn that had escaped the ravages of
war was concealed in caves and subterranean hiding-places,
which they could not discover. The Christian army wanted
provisions ; then discord revived among them ; nothing was
spoken of in the camp but perfidy and treason ; the Chris-
tians of Syria no longer united with the Christians of
Europe in their attacks upon the city ; they were soon in-
formed that the sultans of Aleppo and Mossoul were coming
with a numerous army ; then they despaired of taking the
city, and raised the siege. Thus the Christians, without
having exercised their constancy, or tested their courage,
abandoned, at the end of a few days, an enterprise, the pre-
parations for which had cost so much to Europe, and raised
su(;h expectations in Asia. One of the circumstances of
this siege the most worthy of remark is, that Ayoub, chief
of the dynasty of the Ayoubites, commanded the troops of
Damascus, and that he had with him his son, the young
Saladin, who was destined one day to be so formidable to
the Christians, and render himself master of Jerusalem.
The eldest son of Ayoub having been killed in a sortie, the
inhabitants of Damascus raised a tomb of marble to his
memory, which was to be seen under the ramparts of the
city many centuries after. An old Mussulman priest, who
had passed more than forty years in a neighbouring cavern,
was obliged to quit his retreat, and came into the city which
the Christians were besieging. He regretted his solitude
troubled by the din of war, and became ambitious of gather-
ing the palm of martyrdom. In spite of the representations
of his disciples, he advanced, unarmed, in the front of the

370 HISTORY or THE CEUSADES.

Crusaders, found on the field of battle the death he
desired, and was honoured as a saint by the people of
Damascus.

If we may believe the Arabian historians, the Christian
ecclesiastics who followed the army negler.ted no means of
rekindling the enthusiasm of the soldiers of the cross.
Diu-ing a conflict under the walls of the city, a grey-headed
Christian priest, mounted on a mule, and carrying a cross in
his hands, advanced between the two armies, exhorting the
Crusaders to redouble their bravery and ardour, and pro-
mising them, in the name of Jesus Christ, the conquest of
Damascus. The Mussulmans directed all their arrows at
him ; the Christians pressed around to defend him ; the
combat became fierce and bloody ; the priest fell at length
pierced with many wounds, upon a heap of slain, and the
Crusaders abandoned the field of battle.

The greater part of both Arabian and Latin authors*
describe the siege of Damascus in a contradictory manner,
but all agree in attributing the retreat of the Christians to
treachery. A Mussulman historian asserts that the king of
Jerusalem received considerable sums from the inhabitants
of Damascus, and that he was deceived by the besieged,
who gave him pieces of lead covered with a thin coatmg of
gold.f Some Latin authors attribute the shameful raising
of the siege to the covetousness of the Templars ; others to
Raymond of Antioch, who burned to revenge himself on the
king of France. William of Tyre, whose opinion ought to

* Abulfeda, Abulfarage, and some other Arabian historians speak of
the siege of Damascus ; but it is difficult to reconcile their p-ccount with
that of the Latins. We have taicen some few circumstances from them
that appeared the most probable. The Chronicle of Ibuferat is that which
gives the most circumstantial details.

t The Chronicle of Geuvais attributes the retreat of the Christians to
the perfidy of the Templars : — Cum civitas Christianis reddenda esset,
accesserunt Templarii, dicentes se primam habituros pugnam, ut omnes
deinde in communi vicforiam obtinerent, statuerunt itaque tentoria sua
inter civitatem et exercitum Christianorum, etcum his qui erant in civitate
paganis proditionis pactum inierunt. Cives igitur eorum agnoscentes
cupiditatem, promiserunt eis tres cados plenos bisantis aureis, si eos ab
obsidione liberarent. Delusi itaque Christiani per milites Templi, Damasco
recesserunt. Post modicum verb cum Templarii promissos a viribua
recipissent cados, in eisdem non nummos aureos, sed cupreos inrenerantt
miraculoque qute ascripserunt.

HISTORY OF THE CRIj ?ADES. 871

have great weight, accuses tlie barons cf Syria ;* but sm*ely
all must blame tlie ignorance and incapacity of the other
chiefs of the crusade, who followed advice without examining
it, and proved themselves incapable of remedying an evil
they had not foreseen.

After so unfortunate an attempt, it was natural to despair
of the success of this war. In the council of leaders the
siege of Ascalon was proposed, but men's minds were soured,
and their courage was depressed. The king of France and
the emperor of Germany thought of returning into Europe,
bearing back no other glory than that of having, the one
defended his own life against some soldiers on a rock in
Pamphylia, and the other of having cleft a giant in two
"luider the walls of Damascus. " From that day," says Wil-
liam of Tyre, " the condition and state of the Oriental Latins
began continually to proceed from bad to worse." The Mus-
sulmans learnt no longer to dread the warriors and princes of
the West. Full of confidence in their arms, they who had
only thought of defending themselves, formed the project of
attacking the Franks, and were excited to their enterprise
by the hopes of sharing the spoils of an enemy who had
invaded several of their provinces. Whilst the infidels thus
regained their daring and their pride, and united against
their enemies, discouragement took possession of the Chris-
tians, and the division which prevailed so fatally among
them weakened every day their spirit and their power. " The
Franks who returned into Europe" (we leave William of
Tyre to speak) " could not forget the perfidies of the Oriental
princes, and not only showed themselves more careless and
tardy concerning the affairs of the kingdom of Jerusalem,
but discouraged all those equally who had not been the
voyage with them, so that they who heard speak of thia
crusade never after undertook the road of this peregrination
with so much good- will or so much fervour."

This crusade was much more unfortunate than the first ;
no kind of glory mitigated or set off" the reverses of the
Christians. The leaders committed the same faults that
Godfrey and his companions had committed ; they neglected,
as they had done, to found a colony in Asia Minor, and to

* William of Tyre, b. xvii. chap. 6.

J572 HisTOKY or the crusades.

possess themselves of cities wliich might protect the marcli
of pilgrims into Syria. We admire the patience with which
the J endured the outrages and tlie perfidies of the Grreeks ;
but this moderation, more religious than politic, only led
them to their ruin. We must add that they entertained too
low an opinion of the Turks, and did not take suificient
heed of the means necessary to contend with them. The
Germans, in particular, were so full of confidence, that,
according to the report of Nicetas, they would rather have
thought of taking shovels and pick-axes with them than
swords or lances, believing that they had nothing to do but
to cut themselves a road across Asia Minor. By another
singularity, the Crusaders, in this war, did not employ the
cross-bow, which a council of the Lateran had condemned
as too murderous, and the use of which was interdicted to
the warriors of the West. The infantry was left almost
without arms, and when the Crusaders had lost their cavalry,
tliey had no defence against an enemy.

The Christian armies, as in the first crusade, dragged in
their train a great number of children, women, and old men,
who could do nothing towards victory, and yet always greatly
augmented the disorder and despair consequent upon a
defeat. With this multitude no discipline could be esta-
blished ; nor is it apparent that the leaders made any attempt
to prevent the effects of license. Geofirey de Ilan9on,
whose imprudence caused the destruction of half the French
army, and placed the king of France in the greatest peril,
had no other punishment but his repentance, and thought
he expiated his neglect of duty by prostrating himself at
the tomb of Christ. That which was still more injurious to
discipline was the depravity of manners in the Christian
army, which must be principally attributed to the great
number of women that had taken arms, and mixed in the
ranks of the soldiery. In this crusade there was a troop of
Amazons, commanded by a general whose dress was much
more admired than her courage, and whose gilded boots
procured her the name of " the lady with the legs of gold. ^^

Another cause of the dissoluteness of manners was the
extreme facility with which the most vicious men, even con-
victed malefactors, were admitted among the Crusaders.
St. Bernard, who coutiidered the crusade as a road to heaven,

HI8T0EY OF THE CRUSADES. 373

Bummoned the greatest sinners to take part in it, and re-
joiced at seeing them thus enter into the way of eternal life,
in a council of Bheims, of which the abbot of Clairvaux waa
the oracle, it was decreed that incendiaries should be
punished by serving Grod one year either in Jerusalem or
Spain. The ardent preacher of the holy war did not reflect
that great sinners, enrolled under the banners of the cross,
would be exposed to new temptations, and that dui'ing a
long voyage it would be much more easy for them to corrupt
their companions than to amend their own conduct. Dis-
orders were unhappily tolerated by the leaders, who believed
that Heaven was ever indulgent towards Crusaders, and did
not wish to be more severe than it.

And yet the Christian army, amidst a most frightful state
of morals, presented examples of an austere piety. Sur-
rounded by the dangers of war, and harassed by the fatigues
of a long pilgrimage, the king of France never neglected
the most minute practices of religion. The greater part of
the leaders took him for their model, and when in camp,
paid more attention to religious processions than to military
exercises ; so that many warriors actually placed more con-
fidence in their prayers than in their arms. In general,
through the whole of this crusade, sufficient dependence was
not placed on human m_eans and human prudence, — every-
thing was left to Providence, which seldom protects those
who stray from the ways of reason and wisdom.

The first crusade had two distinctive characters, — piety
and heroism ; the second had scarcely any other principle
but a piety which partook more of the devotion of the
cloister than of a generous enthusiasm. The influence of
the monks who had preached it, and who then meddled very
much in temporal affairs, was but too evident through the
whole of this crusade. The king of France in his misfor*
tunes displayed nothing but the resignation of a martyr, and
in the field of battle was only distinguished by the ardo'-u*
and courage of a soldier. The emperor of G-ermany did not
evince greater ability ; he lost all by his mad presumption,
and from having thought himself able to conquer the Turks
without the assistance of the French. Both were limited
in their views, and were greatly wanting in that energy
which produces great actions. In the expedition which

874 HISTORY OF THE CETJSADES.

tliey directed, there was nothing elevated, everything seemed
to keep down to the level of their character. In a word, this
war developed neither heroic passions nor chivalric qualities.
Camps had no great captains to admire or imitate ; and the
period we have described can boast of only two men of
marked genius, — he who had roused the Western world by
his eloquence, and the wise minister of Louis, who had to
repair in France all the misfortunes of the crusade.

All the energies of this crusade were not directed against
Asia. Several preachers, authorized by the Holy See, had
exhorted the inhabitants of Saxony and Denmark to take up
arms against some nations of the Baltic, still plunged in the
darkness of paganism. This crusade was led by Henry of
Saxony, several other princes, and a great number of bishops
and archbishops. An army, composed of a hunded and fifty
thousand Crusaders, attacked the barbarous and savage
nation of the Sclaves, who unceasingly ravaged the sea-
coasts, and made war upon the Christians. The Christian
warriors wore upon their breasts a red cross, under which
was a round figure, representing and symbolizing the earth,
which ought to be obedient to the laws of Christ. Preachers
of the gospel accompanied their march, and exhorted them
to extend the limits of Christian Europe by their exploits.
The Crusaders cons'igned to the flames several idolatrous
temples, and destroyed the city of Malehon, in which the
pagan priests were accustomed to assemble. In this holy
war the Saxons treated a pagan people exactly as Charle-
magne had treated their own ancestors ; but they were not
able to subdue the Sclaves. After a war of three years, the
Saxon and Danish Crusaders grew weary of pursuing an
enemy defended by the sea, and still further by their despair.
They made proposals of peace ; the Sclaves, on their part,
promised to become converts to Christianity, and to respect
Clu-istian people.* They only made these promises to pacify
their enemies ; and when the latter laid down their arms,
they returned to their idols and resumed their piracies.

* This crusade from the north is ^mentioned by Otto of Frisingen.
Saxo the grammarian gives the most ample details in his thirteenth book.
The reader may likewise consult the Latin History of Germany, by
Kruntz. The History of Denmark ^ by Mallet, does not say a word ol
this war.

HISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. 375

Other Crusaders, to whom Christendom ^aid very little
Rttention, prosecuted a more successful war on the banks ol
the Tagua It was several centuries since Spain had been
invaded bj' the Moors, and still two rival nations disputed
empire ana fought for territory in the names of Mahomet
and Jesus Christ.* Tlie Moors, often conquered by the Cid
and h is companions, had been driven from several provinces,
and when the second crusade set out for the East, the
Spaniards were besieging the city of Lisbon. The Christian
army, small in numbers, was in daily expectation of rein-
forcements, when a fleet which was transporting to the East
a great number of French Crusaders, entered the mouth of
the Tagus. Alphonso, a prince of the house of Burgundy
and grandson of King E-obert, commanded the besieging
arm.y. He visited the Christian warriors, whom Heaven
appeared to have sent to his assistance, and promised, as
the reward of their co-operation, the conquest of a flourishing
kingdom. He exhorted them to join him in combating
those same Saracens whom they were going to seek in Asia
through all the perils of the sea. " The Grod who had sent
them would bless their army ; noble pay and rich possessions
would be the meed of their valour." Nothing more was
necessary to persuade warriors who had made a vow to fight
with the infidels and who were eager for adventures. They
abandoned their vessels and joined the besiegers. The Moors
opposed them with determined pertinacity, but at the end
of four months Lisbon was taken, and the garrison put to
the sword. They afterwards besieged several other cities,
which were wrested from the Saracens ; Portugal submitted
to the power of Alphonso, and he assiuned the title of king.
Amidst these conquests the Crusaders forgot the East, and,
without incurring much danger, they founded a prosperous

* Arnold, a Flemish preacher, on the publication of the second crusade,
exhorted the nations of France and Germany to enrol themselves in this
pious army; he followed the Crusaders who laid siege to Lisbon, under
the command of Arnold count d'Arschot. Arnold sent an account of this
siege to Milo, bishop of Terouane, in a letter published by Dom Martene,
in the first volume of his great collection, upon two manuscripts. The
relation of Arnold, an eye-witness, different from that of Robert of the
Mount, is adopted by Fleury. The historian of Portugal, Manoel de
Faria y Sousa, speaks also of this expedition of the Crusader*.

S76 HISTOEY or THE CEUSADES.

and splendid kingdom, whicli lasted much longer than that
of Jerusalem.

We may judge by these crusades, undertaken at the same
tin^e, against nations of the north and others of the south,
that the principle of holy wars began t»o assume a new cha-
racter ; Crusaders did not fight only for the possession of a
eepidchre, but they took up arms to defend their religion
wherever it might be attacked, and to make it triumphant
among all nations that rejected its laws and refused its
benefits. The diversity of interests which set the Crusaders
in action, necessarily divided their forces, weakened their
enthusiasm, and was sure to be injurious to the success of a
holy war.

France, which then turned anxious looks towards Pales-
tine, no longer demanded of God the deliverance of the holy
places, but the return of a king over whose misfortunes they
had wept. Por a length of time, Suger, who was unable to
sustain the royal authority, had endeavoured to recall his
master by letters full of tenderness and devotion. Their
interview, which proved an affecting spectacle for the Prench,
alarmed the courtiers, who were desirous of awakening sus-
picions of the fidelity of the minister. A kingdom at peace
and a flourishing people were the reply of Suger. The king
pmised his zeal, and bestowed upon him the title of Father
of Ms Country. Suger enjoyed a great advantage, as he
had been the only man of any consequence in Europe who
had opposed the crusade. His wise foresight was everywhere
the subject of praise, whilst aU complaints were directed
against St. Bernard. There was not a family in the king-
dom that was not in mourning ; and the same desolation
reigned throughout Germany. So many widows and orphans
had never been seen, and the glory of martyrdom, promised
to aU whose loss was regretted, had no power to dry their
tears. The abbot of Clairvaux was accused of having sent
Christians to die in the East, as if Europe had been without
sepulchres ; and the partisans of St. Bernard, who had seen
his mission attested by his miracles, not knowing what to
reply, were struck wdth stupor and astonishment. " God, in
these latter days," said they among themselves, "has neither
spared his people nor his name ; the children of the Church
have been given over to death in the desert, or massacred by
the sword, or devoured "bv hunger; the contempt of the

HISTOEY OF THE CRUSADES. 377

Lord has fallen even upon princes ; Grod has left them to
wander in unknown ways, and all sorts of pains and aiSic-
tions have been strewed upon their paths." So many evils
resulting from a holy war, from a war undertaken in the
name of Grod, confounded the Christians who had most
applauded the crusade, and St. Bernard himself was aston-
ished that Q-od had been willing to judge the universe before
the time, and without remembrance of his mercy. " What
a disgrace is it for us," said he in an apology addressed to
the pope, " for us who went everywhere announcing peace
and happiness ! Have we conducted ourselves rashly ?
Have our courses been adopted from fantasy ? Have we
not followed the orders of the head of the Church and those
of the Lord ? Why has not Grod regarded our fasts ? Why
has he appeared to know nothing of our humiUations ? With
what patience is he now listening to the sacrilegious and
blasphemous voices of the nations of Arabia, who accuse
him of having led his people into the desert that they might
perish! All the world knows," added he, " that the judg-
ments of the Lord are just ; but this is so profound an-
abyss, that he may be called happy who is not disgraced by
it." St. Bernard was so thoroughly persuaded that the
unfortunate issue of the crusade would furnish the wicked
with an excuse for insulting the Deity, that he congratulated
himself that so many of the maledictions of men fell upon
him, making him as a buckler to the living Grod. In his
apology, he attributes the want of success in the holy war
to the disorders and crimes of the Christians ; he compares
the Crusaders to the Hebrews, to whom Moses had pro-
mised, in the name of Heaven, a land of blessedness, and
who all perished on their journey, because they had done a
thousand things against God.

St. Bernard might have been answered that he ought to
have foreseen the excesses and disorders of sci undisciplined
multitude, and that the brigands called upon to take up the
cross were not the people of Grod. It appears to us, at the
present time, that the partisans of the abbot of Clairvaux
might have found better reasons for the justification of the
holy war. The second crusade, although unfortunate, pro-
cured several advantages for Europe. The peq.ce which
reigned in the West, caused states to flourish, and repaired,
in some sort, the disasters of a distant war. It was held

378 HISTOET OF THE CEUSADES.

shameful to carry arms in Europe, whilst the Crusaders werd
contending with the Saracens in the East. Religion itsek
watched over Germany, which had been so long troubled by
civil wars. Conrad, a weak monarch without character, who
had lost his army in Asia, was more powerful on his return
from Palestine than he had been before he quitted his domi-
nions. The king of France also found his authority in-
creased, from having been defended during his absence by
the thunders of the Church and the eloquence of St. Ber-
nard.* The crusade gave him a pretext for imposing taxes
upon his people, and placed him at the head of a numerous
army, where he accustomed the great vassals to consider him
as their supreme head.

Still, if it is true that the divorce of Eleanor of Guienne
was one of the consequences of the crusade, it must be ad-
mitted that the evils which resulted from this war were much
greater for the French monarchy than any good it derived
from it. The kingdom which then lost the province of
Aquitaine, which fell into the hands of the English, was
doomed to become the prey of the children that Eleanor had
by her second marriage. A following age saw the descend-
ants of these children crowned kings of France and England
in the church of Notre Dame, at Paris, and the successors
of Louis YII. found themselves almost reduced to seek an
asylum in foreign lands.

Flattery undertook to console Louis the young, for the
reverses he had experienced in Asia, and represented him,
upon several medals,t as the conqueror of the East. He
left Palestine with tlae project of returning thither ; and in

* St. Bernard wrote to the Estates of the kingdom, assembled by Suger,
to repress the ambition of a brother of the king and some great vassals.
He also wrote to the abbot of St. Denis : " Whilst Louis,'' said he in his
letter, " is fighting for a king whose reign is eternal ; whilst in the flower of
his age he exiles himself from his kingdom to serve Him who causes them
to reign that serve him, is it possible there can be men so rash as to create
disorder and troubles in his states, and to attack in his person the Lord
and his Christ V'—Ep. 337.

"j* The legend of one of these medals is conceived in these terms:—
Regi invicto ab oriente reduci,
Frementes Isetitia cives.
In another medal the Meander is represented, and a trophy raised upon
its banks, with this inscription —

Turcis ad ripas Mseandri caesis fugatis.

mSTOEY OF THE CEUSADEs! 379

his journey to Eome, lie promised the pope to place himself
^c the head of a new crusade.

And never did the Christian colonies stand in greatel
need of assistance. From the time the Trench quitted
Palestine not a day passed without some new misfortune
befalling the Christians established in S}T:'ia. A ve""y short
time after the siege of Damascus, Raymond of Poict.ers lost
his life in a battle against the Saracens, and his head was
sent to the caliph of Bagdad. Josselin, after having lost
the city of Edessa, himself fell into the hands of the infidels,
and died in misery and despair in the prisons of Aleppo.
Two emissaries of the Old Man of the Mountain assassi-
nated E-aymond II., count of Tripoli, under the walls of his
capital, which was plunged into trouble and desolation. Two
young Mussulman princes, of the family of Ortok, excited
by their mother, believed that the moment was come to re-
conquer Jerusalem from the Christians. An army which
they had assembled, came and pitched its camp on the
Mount of Olives, and the holy city only owed its safety to
the courage of some knights who induced the people to take
arms. Noureddin had got possession of all the Christian
cities of Mesopotamia, and several places in the principality
of Antioch had opened their gates to hun. Arrived on the
shores of the sea, which he had never before seen, he bathed
in its waves, as if to take possession of it ; and, still accom-
panied by victory, he established the seat of his empire at
Damascus, whence he menaced the city of Jerusalem.

The afflicting news of these occurrences created great sor-
row among the Christians of the West, and the sovereign
pontiff exhorted the faithful once again to take up the cross
and arms ; but neither the danger of the Christians beyond
the sea, nor the exhortations of the pope, could change the
opinion which the French had formed against distant wars.
Louis VII. was obliged to renounce his intention of return-
mg to the Holy Land. At this period a circumstance
occurred which it is very difficult to give credit to. The
abbot Suger, who had so strongly opposed the first expedi-
tion, formed the resolution of succouring Jerusalem ; and
in an assembly held at Chartres, exhorted the princes,
barons, and bishops to enrol themselves under the banners
of the holy war. As he was only answered by the silence of
grief and astonishment, he formed the project of attempting

Vol. L— .3

380 HISTORY OF THE CEUSA.DES.

an enterprise alone in wliicli two monarclis had failed.
Suger, at the age of seventy, resolved to raise an army, to
maintain it at his own expense, and to lead it himself into
Palestine. In accordance with the devotion of the time, he
went to Tours, to visit the tomb of St. Marin, in order to
obtain the protection of Heaven, and already ten thousand
pilgrims had taken up arms, and were preparing to follow
him into Asia, when death came to prevent the execution of
his designs.

In his last moments Suger invoked the assistance and the
prayers of St. Bernard, who sustained his courage, and ex-
horted him not to turn his thoughts from the heavenly Jeru-
salem, in which both of them hoped soon to meet ; but in
spite of the exhortations of his friend, the abbot of St. Denis
regretted, when dying, not having been able to succour the
holy city. St. Bernard was not long before he followed
Suger to the tomb, bearing with him a deep regret at having
preached an unfortunate war.

Trance lost in the same year two men who had greatly
illustrated her, the one by talents and qualities useful to his
country, the other by his eloquence and virtues dear to all
Christians. At a time when general attention was given to
the defence of the privileges of the Church, Suger defended
the interests of royalty and the people ; whilst eloquent
preachers were animating the public zeal for holy wars
which were always accompanied by disasters, the skilful
minister of Louis YII. was preparing France, at a future day,
to gather the salutary fruits of these great events. He was
accused of having gone too deeply into the mundane affairs of
his age ; but politics never banished from his mind the pre*
cepts of the gospel. According to the judgment of his con-
temporaries, he lived at the court like a wise courtier, and
in his cloister like a pious monk.* If there is in the church
of France, wrote St. Bernard to Pope Eu genius, any vase of
price which would embellish the pala^-e of the King of

* We have a life of Suger, written by his secretary . We have in French
a Life of the abbot of St. Denis, in three volumes. L' Academic Fran^aise
in 1778 proposed the Eulogy of Suger as a subject for a prize ; the dis-
course of M. Garrat, which was crowned, contains many very eloquent
passages. We have before us another discourse which was published in
1779, which presents an exaggerated, but very ingenious satire upon tha
life and administration of Suger.

HISTOET OF THE CEUSADES. 381

kings, it is doubtless tlie venerable abbot Suger. As abbot
of St. Denis, he, perhaps, enjoyed more wealth than any
monk ought to possess, since we see he proposed to main-
tain an army, but he always employed his treasures in the
service of his country and the Church, and never had the
state been so rich as under his administration. His whole
life was a long series of prosperity, and of actions worthy of
bemg remembered. He reformed the monks of his order
without incurring tlieir hatred ; he created the happiness of
the people without proving their ingratitude ; and served
kings, and yet obtained their friendship. Eortune favoured
all his undertakings, and that there should be nothing un-
prosperous in his life, and that he might be reproached with
no fault, he died when he was about to conduct an army to
the East.

Suger and St. Bernard, united by religion and friendship,
had a very different destiny ; the first, born in a low condi-
tion, ga\e himself to the disposal of fortune, who carried
him up to the highest dignities ; the second, born in a more
elevated rank, hastened to descend from it, and was nothing
but by his genius. St. Bernard rendered few services to the
state, but he defended rehgion with indefatigable zeal ; and
as church then took precedence of country, he was greater
than the abbot Suger in the eyes of his contemporaries.
Whilst he lived, the eyes of all Europe were fixed upon the
abbot of Clairvaux ; he was as a light placed in the midst of
Christendom, every word he preached had the holy authority
of the religion he taught. He stifled all schisms, silenced
all impostors, and by his labours, merited in his age the title
of the last father of the Church, as richly as the great Bos-
Buet merited it in his.

St. Bernard may be reproached with having too frequently
issued from his retreat, and with not haviQg always been, as
he himself expresses it, the disciple of oaks and beeches.
He had a hand ia most of the political events of his time,
and interfered in all the affairs of the Holy See. Christians
often asked who was the head of the Church ; popes and
princes sometimes murmured against his authority ; but it
must never be forgotten that he unceasingly preached mode-
ration to kings, humanity to the people, and poverty to the
clergy.

BOOK VII.

TIIIED CEUSADE.

A.D. 1148—1188.

We cannot help being convinced, whilst reading this his*
tory, that the religion of Mahomet, thoroughly warlik(i aa
it is in principle, does not endue its disciples with that
obstinate bravery, that boundless devotedness, of which the
Crusaders presented so many examples. The fanaticism of
the Mussulmans required victory to keep up its power or its
violence. Bred in a conviction of blind fatalism, they were
accustomed to consider successes or reverses as simple de-
crees of Heaven ; victorious, they were full of ardour and
confidence ; conquered, they were depressed, and without
shame succumbed to an enemy, whom they believed to be
the instrument of destiny. An ambition for renown seldom
excited their courage, and even in the excesses of their war-
like fervour, the fear of chastisements and punishments kept
their faces towards the enemy more frequently than any
generous love of glory. A chief, whom they themselves
dreaded, was the only captain that could lead them to vic-
tory ; and thus despotism became necessary to their valour.

After the conquest of the Christians, the dynasties of the
Saracens and the Turks were dispersed and almost annihi-
lated ; the Seljoucides themselves had fallen back to the
very extremities of Persia, and the people of Syria scarcely
knew the names of those princes whose ancestors had
reigned over Asia. Everything, even despotism, was de-
stroyed in the East. The ambition of the emirs took advan
tage of the general disorder ; slaves shared the spoils of
their masters ; provinces and cities became so many prin-
cipalities, the uncertain and transient possession of which
was a constant subject of dispute. The necessity for de-
fending the Mussulman religion, whilst threatened by the
Christians, had alone preserved the credit of the caliphs of

HISTORY OF THE CETTSADES. 383

Bagdad. They were still the chiefs of Islamism; their
approJbation seemed necessary for the preservation of the
power of usurpers or conquerors ; but their authority, which
was nothing but a sacred phantom, commanded nothing but

frayers and vain ceremonies, and inspired not the least fear,
n tliis state of degradation their only employment seemed
to be to consecrate the fruit of treachery and violence. It
was not sufficient to bestow cities and employments which
they had no power to refuse ; all whom vid;ory and license
had favoured came to prostrate themselves before the vicars
of the prophet ; and crowds of emirs, viziers, and sultans, to
borrow an Eastern expression, appeared to rise from the
dust of their feet.

The Christians were not sufficiently aware of the state of
Asia, which they might have conquered ; and agreed so ill
among themselves that they could never take advantage of
tlie divisions which prevailed among their enemies. They
seldom had, either in attack or defence, a well-sustained
plan, and their impetuous bravery, directed generally by
chance or passion, could only be compared to the tempest,
whose fury rages or abates at the pleasure of the winds
which reign over the horizon. Fortune, which had oiFered
them such a brilliant opportunity for extending their empire,
became, at last, adverse to them, and from the bosom of the
chaos in which the East was plunged, arose a formidable
power, which was destined to conquer and destroy them.

Noureddin, son of Zengui, who had obtained possession
of Edessa before the second crusade, liad inherited the con-
quests of his father, and added to them by his valour. He
was bred among warriors who had sworn to shed their blood
in the cause of the Prophet, and when he mounted the
throne he revived the austere simplicity of the early caliphs.
Noureddin, says an Arabian poet, united the most noble
heroism with the profoundest humility. When he prayed
in the temple, his subjects believed they saw a sanctuary in
another sanctuary. He encouraged the sciences, cultivated
letters, and, above all, applied himself to the maintenance
of justice throughout his states. His people admired his
clemency and moderation; and the Christians even were
forced to praise his courage and his profane heroism. After
the example of his father Zengui, he made himself the idol
of his soldiers by his liberaHtj ; by taking charge of their

384 niSTOET OF the CErSADES.

families, ke prevented their desire for the possession of
lands, and thus accustomed them to consider the camp as
their home and their country. In the midst of armies
^hich he h?d himself formed, and which respected in him
the avenger of the Prophet, he restrained the ambition of
the emirs, and directed their efforts and their zeal towards
one sole object, the triumph of Islamism. His victories,
his fortune, his religious and political virtues drew upon
him the attention of the entire East, and made the Mussul-
mans believe that the period of their deliverance had arrived.

Baldwin III., who undertook to stop the career of Nou-
reddin, displayed great valour in several battles. The most
important and the most fortunate of bis expeditions was the
taking of Ascalon, in which the Mussulmans always kept
up a formidable garrison. This city, which is situated in a
fertile plain, and which the Mussulmans call the Spouse of
Syria, was succoured by an Egyptian fleet, and for a long
time resisted all the efforts of the Christians. Rivers of
blood flowed before its waUs during several months ; both
Mussulmans and Christians fighting with fury, and neither
gi™g nor receiving quarter. During the siege the knights
of the Temple particularly distinguished themselves by their
valour ; the thirst for booty, far more than the love of glory,
making them brave the greatest perils. The garrison and
the inhabitants, exhausted by fatigue and pinched by famine,
at length opened the gates of the city. Baldwin granted
them a capitulation, permitted them to retire into Egypt
with their families, and caused a Te Deum to be sung in the
great mosque, which he consecrated to St. Paul.

After this victory the king of Jerusalem marched to en-
counter Noureddin, and compelled him to raise the sieges of
both Paneas and Sidon. Baldwin was engaged in assisting
the principality of Antioch, always disturbed by factions,
always threatened by the Mussulmans, when he was poisoned
by a Syrian physician. As soon as he became sensible of
his danger, he set out for Jerusalem, and died in the city of
Berouth. His remaius were transported to the holy city,
the clergy coming out to meet the funeral train. The
people descended from the mountains to join tne procession,
and through the country and in the cities nothing was heard
out lamentations. Noureddin himself, if we are to believe

HISTOET or THE CRUSADES. 385

a Christian historian,* was affected by the sorrow of the
Franks. Some of his emirs advising him to take advantage
of this melancholy occasion to enter Palestine, " God forbid,"
replied he, " that I should disturb the proper grief of a
people who are weeping for the loss of so good a king, or
fix upon such an opportunity to attack a kingdom which I
have no reason to fear." E-emarkable words, which at once
denote two great men, and which further show what a
serious loss the Christians had sustained.

As soon as the fimeral ceremonies of Baldwin III. were
over, warm debates arose upon the choice of a successor.
The greater part of the barons and knights attached to the
memory of Baldwin proposed to call to the throne his
brother Amaury, count of Jaffa and Ascalon. This party
was the most reasonable and the most conformable to the
laws and interests of the kingdom ; but the brother of
Baldwin, by the haughtiness of his deportment, had made
himself many enemies among the people, the clergy, and
the army. He was reproached with an ambition and an
avarice fatal to the interests of the Christians ; and he was
accused of not being restrained by honour, justice, or even
the precepts of religion,t in the execution of his projects.
His partisans extolled his active and enterprising character,
his bravery so often proved, and his great skill in war.
Among the nobles of the kingdom who opposed his succes-
sion, and attributed to him ambitious views much to be
dreaded, were several who themselves nourished aspiring
projects, and allowed themselves to be seduced by the hope
of ascending the throne. The conflicting parties were on
the point of taking np arms to sustain their pretensions
or their hopes, when the grand master of the Hospi-
tallers exhorted the barons and knights to preserve the
peace and the laws of the kingdom by crowning young
Amaury. " The crown," said he to them, " which you
refuse to place upon the head of a Christian prince will soon
be upon that of Noureddin or of the caliph of Egypt. If
this misfortune shoaid happen, you wiU become the slaves

* Robert of the Mount.

t William of Tyre says that he was once much scandalized by a quet*
tion Amaury put to him concerning the next world.

886 HISTORY or the cetjsades.

of tlie iiifidels, and the world will accuse jou of having
opened the gates of the holy city to the Saract is, as the
traitor Judas gave up the Saviour of the world into the
hands of his enemies." This speech, and the sight of the
troops which Amaury had already collected to defend his
rights, disarmed the factions which disturbed the kingdom.
The brother of Baldwin was crowned in the Holy Sepulchre,
and received the oaths of allegiance of those even who had
openly declared themselves opposed to his claims.

As soon as Amaury had ascended the throne, he directed
all his energies towards Egypt, now weakened by the vic-
tories of the Christians. The caliph of Cairo having refused
to pay the tribute due to the conquerors of Ascalon, the
new king of Jerusalem placed himself at the head of hia
army, traversed the desert, carried the terror of his arms to
the banks of the Nile, and only returned to his kingdom
when he had forced the Egyptians to purchase peace. The
state in which Egypt was then placed was likely soon to
recall the Christians thither ; and happy would it have been
for them if the.y had known how to profit by their advan-
tages ; and if their fruitless attempts had not served to
favour the progress of a rival power.

Eg}^t was at that time the theatre of a civil war, occa-
sioned by the ambition of two leaders who disputed the
empire of it. For a length of time the caliphs of Cairo, liko
those of Bagdad, shut up in their seragho, had borne no
resemblance to the warrior from whom they derived their
origin, who had said, whilst pointing to his soldiers and his
sword, " These are my family and my race^ Enervated by
effeminacy and pleasures, they had abandoned the govern-
ment to their slaves, who adored them on their knees, and
imposed laws upon them. They no longer exercised any
real authority but in the mosques, and only preserved the
disgraceful privilege of confirming the usurped power of the
viziers, who corrupted the armies, disturbed the provinces,
and in the field of battle quarrelled with each other for the
rlgl t of reigniag over both people and priace.

Each of the viziers, to secure the triumph of his cause,
called in by turns the arms of the neighbouring powers.
On the arrival of these dangerous auxiliaries, all was in con-
fusion on the banks of the Nile. Blood flowed in all the

HISTOKY OF THE CEUSADES. 387

provinces, sometimes shed by tlie executioners, sometimes by
the soldiers ; Egypt was at once desolated by its enemies, its
allies, and its inhabitants.

Chaver, who, amidst these revolutions, had raised himself
from the humble condition of a slave to the post of vizier,
had been conquered and displaced by Dargan, one of the
principal officers of the Egyptian militia. Obliged to fly
and abandon Egypt, where his rival reigned, he went to seek
an asylum at Damascus, imploring the assistance of Noured-
din, and promising a considerable tribute if that prince
would furnish him with troops to protect his return into
Egypt. The sultan of Damascus yielded to the prayers of
Chaver. To command the army which he resolved to send
into Egypt, he selected Chirkou, the most skilful of his
emirs, who having always shown himself cruel and implaca-
ble in his military expeditions, was likely to be without pity
for the vanquished, and to take all advantage of the miseries
of a civil war, for the benefit of his master. The vizier
Dargan was not long in being warned of the projects of
Chaver and the preparations of Noureddin. To resist the
storm about to burst upon him, he implored the aid of the
Christians of Palestine, and promised to give up his trea-
sures to them if they succeeded in preserving his power.

Whilst the king of Jerusalem, seduced by this promise,
was collecting an army, Chaver, accompanied by the troops
of Noureddin, crossed the desert, and approached the banks
of the Nile. Dargan, who came out to meet him with the
Egyptian army, was conquered by the Syrians, and lost his
life in the battle. The city of Cairo soon opened its gates
to the conqueror. Chaver,* whom the victory had delivered

* Among the Arabian authors who give the greatest number of details
of the conquest of Egypt, the continuator of Tabari deserves remark ;
Chehabeddin, son of Mohammed, the author of the Roudatins (the two
gardens or lives of Noureddin and Salaheddin), is also very explicit upon
this war between the Christians and the Mussulmans. Moudjireddin, in
his History of Jerusalem, says a few words of the conquest of Egypt by
Chirkou. Aboulmahason speaks also of the conquest of Egypt by tha
Turks. When speaking of the influence the Franks exercised at Cairo,
he says they had a particular quarter of the city, and a market which
Chaver had had built for them. Kemaleddin, in his History of Aleppo j
relates these events with his usual clearness. This author agrees with
Tabari. Ibu-elatir, in his History of the Atiabeks, says but a very fe%

18*

S88 HISTOET OE THE CEUSADES.

from his enemy, slied torrents of blood in the capital to in-
sure his triumph, received amid the general consternation
the congratulations of the caliph, and resumed the reins of
government.

It was not long, however, before divisions arose between
the general of Noureddin, who daily placed a more excessive
price on his services, and the vizier, whom Chirkou accused
of perfidy and ingratitude. Chaver desired in vain to send
the Mussulmans back into Syria ; they replied to him only
by threats, and he was on the point of being besieged in
Cairo by his own deliverers. All the Egyptians, particularly
the people of the capital, were seized with trouble and con-
sternation.

In the midst of so pressing a danger, the vizier Chaver
placed his only hope in the Christian warriors, whose ap-
proach he had not long since so much dreaded. He made
the king of Jerusalem the same promises that he had offered
to Noureddin ; and Amaury, who only wanted to enter
Egypt, whatever might be the party that prevailed there, set
out upon his march to defend Chaver with the very same
army he had collected to light against him. When arrived
on the banks of the Nile, he united his troops with those of
the vizi«r, and they sat down before the city of Bilbeis, into
which Chirkou had retired. Noureddin's general resisted
during three months all the attacks of the Christians and
Egyptians ; and when the king of Jerusalem proposed peace
to him, he demanded payment of the expenses of the war.
After some negotiations, in which he displayed great haugh-
tiness, he marched out of Bilbeis still threatening the Chris-
tians, and led back his army to Damascus, loaded with the
spoils of his enemies.

Chirkou had beheld the riches of Egypt, and become
acquainted with the weakness of its government ; the first

words about the conquest of Egypt ; he agrees with the continuator of
Tabari and Kemaleddin. Dzemaleddin, in his History of Egypt, is also
very brief on this important event. Macrizi, in his Kitab-alsolouek
Timaresch Doual Almoulouek (Institution on the Knowledge of the
Dynasties of Kings), only speaks with brevity of these events. Amongst
the Latin authors who have spoken of the conquest of Egypt, we princi-
pally quote William of Tyre, and the Latin history of the latter years of
the kingdom of Jerusalem, which, is met with in the Collection of Bongars,

HISTOEY or THE CEUSADES. 38?

advice he offered to Noureddin, after Ms arrival, therefore,
was to endeavour to unite this rich country t: his own
empire. The sultan of Syria sent ambassadors tf the caliph
of JBagdad, not to ask aid of him, but to give a religious
colour to his enterprise. During several centuries, the
caliphs of Bagdad and Cairo had been divided by an impla-
cable hatred ; each of them boasting of being the vicar of the
Prophet, and considering his rival as the enemy of Grod. In
the mosques of Bagdad, they cursed the caliphs of Egypt
and their sectarians ; in those of Cairo, they devoted to the
mfernal powers, the Abassides and their partisans.

The caliph of Bagdad did not hesitate to comply with the
wishes of Noureddin. Whilst the sultan of Syria was solely
occupied by his endeavours to extend his empire, the vicar
of the Prophet was only ambitious to preside alone over the
Mussulman religion. He commanded the Imans to preach
a war against the Eatimites, and promised the delights of
Paradise to all who should take up arms in the holy expedi-
tion. At the call of the caliph, a great number of faithful
Mussulmans flocked to the standard of Noureddin, and
Chirkou, by the order of the sultan, prepared to return into
Egypt, at the head of a powerful army.

The fame of these preparations spread throughout the
East, particularly m Egypt, where it created the most seri-
ous alarms. Amaury, who had returned to his own states,
received ambassadors from Chaver, soliciting his help and
alliance against the enterprise of Noureddin. The states of
the kingdom of Jerusalem were assembled at Naplouse, and
the king there exposed to them the advantages of another
expedition into Egypt. An impost was levied to carry on a
war from which the greatest hopes were entertained, and the
Christian army soon set out from Gaza to fight vdth the
troops of Noureddin on the banks of the Nile.

In the mean time Chirkou was crossing the desert, where
he encountered the greatest dangers, A violent tempest
surprised him on his march ; all at once the heavens were
darkened, and the earth, which was strewed with the pros-
trate Syrians, became like a stormy sea. Immense waves ot
sand were lifted by the winds, and rising into whirlwinds or
forming moving mountains, scattered, bore away, or swal-
lowed up men and hor^^s. In this tempest the Syrian

890 HISTOEY or THE CRUSADES.

army abandoned its baggage and lost its provisiors and
arms, and when Cliirkou arrived on the banks of the Nile,
he had no means of defence left except ths remembrance of
his former victories. He took great care to conceal the losses
he had experienced, and the wreck of an army dispersed by
a fearful tempest proved sufficient to throw all the cities of
Egypt into consternation.

The vizier Chaver, frightened at the approach of the
Syrians, sent ambassadors to the Christians, to promise them
immense riches, and press them to hasten their march. On
his side, the king of Jerusalem deputed to the caliph of
Egypt, Hugh of CaDsarea, and Foulcher, a knight of the
Temple, to obtain the ratification of the treaty of alliance
with the Egyptians. Amaury's deputies were introduced
into a palace in which no Christian had ever before been
admitted. After having traversed several corridors filled
with Moorish guards, and a vast number of apartments and
courts in which glittered all the splendour of the East, they
arrived in a hall, or rather a sanctuary, where the caliph
awaited them, seated on a throne shining with gold and pre-
cious stones. Chaver, who conducted them, prostrated him-
self at the feet of his master, and supplicated him to accept
the treaty of alliance with the king of Jerusalem. The
prayer of the vizier was an imperious order, and the com-
mander of the faithful, always docile to the will of the lowest
of his slaves, made a sign of approbation, and stretched his
uncovered hand out to the Christian deputies in presence of
the officers of his court, whom so strange a spectacle filled
with grief and surprise.

The army of the Pranks was close to Cairo ; but as the
policy of Amaury was to lengthen the war, in order to pro-
long his stay in Egypt, he neglected opportunities of attacldng
the Syrians with advantage, and gave them time to recruit
their strength. After having left them a long time in repose,
he gave them battle in the isle of Maalle, and forced their
intrenchments, but did not follow up his victory. Chirkou,
in his retreat, endeavoured to reanimate the depressed courage
of the soldiers of Noureddin, the latter not having yet for-
gotten the evils they had encountered in the passage over the
desert. This calamity, still recent, together with the first
Tictory of the Christians, destroyed the confidence they had

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 39-1

in their arms and the protection of the Prophet. One of the
lieutenants of Chirkou, upon witnessing their gloomy rage,
cried out in the midst of the Mussulman army : " You who
fear death or slavery, return into Syria; go and tell ]N oureddin
that to repay him for the benefits with which he has loaded
70U, you abandon Egypt to the infidels, in order to shut
yourselves up in your seraglios with women and children."

These words reanimated the zeal and fanaticism of tho
Syrian warriors. The Franks and the Egyptians who pur-
sued the army of Chirkou, were conquered in a battle, and
forced to abandon in disorder the hills of Baben,* where
they had pitched their tents. The general of Noureddin
took all possible advantage of his victory ; he passed as a
conqueror along the fertile banks of the Nile ; penetrated,
without encountering an obstacle, into lower Egypt ; placed a
garrison in Alexandria ; and returned to lay siege to the city
of Koutz, the capital of the Thebais. The ability with
which Chu-kou had disciplined his army, and planned the
last battle he had fought with his enemies ; his marches and
his counter-marches in the plains and valleys of Egypt, from
the tropic to the sea, announced the progress of the Mus-
sulmans in military tactics, and warned the Christians be-
forehand of the enemy that was destined to put an end to
their victories and conquests.

The Turks defended themselves during several months in
Alexandria, against the seditions of the inhabitants and the
numerous assaults of the Christians. They at length ob-
tained an honourable capitulation, and as tlieir army was
becoming weaker every day by famine and fatigue, they re-
tired a second time to Damascus, after exacting very dear
payment for the transient tranquillity in which they left the
people of Egypt.

A^fter the retreat of the Syrians j the vizier Chaver has-
tened to send back the Christians, whose presence made him
very uneasy. He cDgagcd to pay the king of Jerusalem an
annual tribute of a hundred thousand crowns in gold, and
consented to receive a garrison in Cairo. He loaded the
barons and knights with rich presents, and the soldiers even

* Near the castle of Toura, two Isagues from Cairo, opposite ancient
Memphis.

392 HISTOKT OF T1[E CEUSADES.

had a share in his bounties, proportionate to the fear the
Franks inspired him with. The Christian warriors returned
to Jerusalem, bearing with them riches which dazzled both
people and nobles, and inspired them with other thoughts
than that of defending the heritage of Christ.

As Amaiu-y returned to his capital, the sight of his moun-
tainous and sterile provinces, the poverty of his subjects,
and the narrow limits of his kingdom, made him deeply re-
gret having missed the opportunity of conquering a great
empire. Soon after his return he married a niece of the
emperor Manuel ; but whilst the people and his court gave
themselves up to joy, and put up vows for the prosperity of
his family and his kingdom, one single thought occupied him
night and day, and haunted him even amongst the most sump-
tuous and brilliant festivities. The riches of the caliph of
Cairo, the populousness and fertility of Egypt, its numerous
fleets, and the commodiousness of its ports, presented them-
selves constantly to the mind of Amaury. His first endeavour
w^as to make the marriage he had just contracted subservient
to his projects, and he sent ambassadors to Constantinople,
with instructions to induce Manuel to assist him in the
conquest of Egypt. Manuel approved of the plans of the
king of Jerusalem, and promised to send him fleets and
share with him the glory and perils of a conquest which
must so deeply interest the Christian world. Then Amaury
hesitated no longer to declare his designs, and called toge-
ther the barons and principal people of his kingdom. In
this assembly, in w^hich it was proposed to invade Eg}^t, the
wisest among whom was the grand master of the Templars,
declared loudly and decidedly that the undertaking was
unjust. " The Christians," said they, "ought not to set the
Mussulmans the example of violating treaties. It perhaps
'ifvould not be a difiicult matter to obtain possession of Egypt,
but it would not be so easy to keep it as to conquer it.
Noureddin was the most formidable enemy of the Chiis-
iians ; it was against him they should bring all the united
forces of the kingdom to bear. Egypt must belong to the
power that should remain ruler of Syria, and it was not pru-
dent or wise to endeavour to anticipate the favoiu-s of for-
tune, and send armies into a country of which they should
oxdy open the gates to the son of Zengui, as they had done

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.' S9S

in the instance of Damascus. They would sacrifice Christiat
cities, Jerusalem itself, to the hope of conquering a kingdom.
Noureddin had already taken advantage of the king of Jem»
salem's being engaged on the banks of the Nile, to get pos-
session of several places which belonged to the Christians.
Bohemond prince of Antioch, and Raymond count of Tripoli,
had been made prisoners of war, and groaned in the chains of
the Mussulmans, as victims of an ambition which had seduced
tlie king of Jerusalem far from his kingdom and the Christian
colonies of which he ought to be tlie :3upport and defender.'*

The knights and barons who expressed themselves thus,
added that the sight alone of Egypt would not fail to cor-
rupt the Christian warriors, and enervate the courage and
pub due the patriotism of the inhabitants and defenders of
Palestine. These opinions, however prudent and just, had
no effect upon the king of Jerusalem and the partisans of
the war, among whom was conspicuous the grand master of
the Hospitallers, who had exhausted the riches of his order
by extravagant expenses, and had raised troops for whose
pay he had assigned the treasures of Egypt. The greater
part of the lords and knights, to whom fortune seemed to
be waiting on the banks of the Nile in order to bestow upon
them her favours, suffered themselves to be easily persuaded
to the war, and found it very convenient to consider as an
enemy the sovereign of a country which held out so rich a
booty to them.

Whilst these preparations for the conquest of Egypt were
in agitation in Jerusalem, the same projects occupied the emirs
and the council of Noureddui. Onhis return from the banks of
the Nile, Chirkou had announced to the sultan of Damascus,
" that the government of Cairo wanted both officers and sol-
diers ; and that revolutions, the cupidity of the Franks, and
the presence of the Syrians, had weakened and ruined the
empire of the Fatimites. The Egyptian people," added he,
" accustomed to change masters, were neither attached to the
caliph, whom they did not know, nor to the vizier, who brought
upon them all sorts of calamities. They were ready to sub-
mit to the domination of a prince who should be powerful
enough to protect them against both their enemies and the
scourge of civil wars. The Christians were likewise aware
how feeble this empii "^ was, and it was to be dreaded that

894 HISTORY or THE CRUSADES.

thej would be the first. Such a favourable opportunity
should not be neglected, or a conquest despised which for*
tun3 appeared to offer to the first power that shoald make
its appearance in Egypt."

Thus the king of Jerusalem and the sultan of Damascus
entertained the same views, and both made preparations for
the same conquest. In the churches of the Christians, as in
the mosques of the Mussulmans, prayers were put up for the
success of a war about to be carried on on the banks of tlie
Nile. As each of the two parties sought to give the best
colour to their projects and proceedings, at Damascus it was
asserted that the caliph of Egypt had made an impious
alliance with the disciples of Christ, whilst at Jerusalem it
was asserted that the vizier Chaver, in defiance of treaties,
kept up a perfidious correspondence with Noureddin.

The Christians were the first to violate their treaties.
Amaury set out at the head of a numerous array, and ap-
peared in the character of an enemy before Belbeis, which
place he liad promised to the knights of St. John, as a re-
ward for the ardour and zeal they had shown for his expedi-
tion. This city, situated on the right bank of the Nile,
was besieged, taken by assault, and after being pillaged,
consigned to the flames.

The misfortunes of Belbeis spread consternation through-
out Egypt, and the people, irritated at the account of the
cruelties practised by the Franks, took up arms and drove
the Christian garrison out of Cairo. Chaver assembled
troops in the provinces, fortified the capital, and set fire to
the ancient city of Eostat, which burnt for more than six
weeks. Tlie caliph of Cairo again implored the assistance of
Noureddin, and to excite his pity and prove his distress, he
sent him in a letter the hair of the wotnen of his seraglio.
The sultan of Damascus attended with joy to the prayers of
the caliph of Egypt, and as an army was ready to march, he
gave orders to Chirkou to cross the desert and hasten to tho
banks of the Nile.

Whilst the Syrians were coming to the aid of Egy|)t,
threatened by the Christians, Chaver employed every meana
in his power to stop the king of Jerusalem in his march, and
suspend in his hands the thunderbolt ready to fall upon

HISTOKT or THE CRUSADES. 395

Egypt. Ambassadors were sent to implore the pity of
Amaury, and to give some weight to tlieir prayers, offered
him two millions of crowns of gold. The oifer of so enor-
mous a sum, which Egypt, for so long a time devastated^
could not possibly have furnished, seduced the king of tlie
Christians, who Avas as much influenced by a love of gold as
an ambition for conquests. He allowed himself to be thus
deceived by the Mussulmans, to whom he himself had been
wanting in faith ; and whilst he was waiting for the treasures
they had promised him, the Egyptians restored the fortifi-
cations of their cities, and assembled everywhere in arms.
The Christians looked in vain for the fleets promised by
Manuel, and soon, instead of welcoming auxiliaries, they
learnt that Chirkou had arrived for the third time in Egypt
at the head of a formidable army. Then Amaury opened
his eyes, and set about repairing his error. He flew to
meet the Syrians, and ofl'er them battle ; but their general
avoided the encounter, and united his forces with those of
the Egyptians. The evil was irreparable ; the king of Jeru-
salem could not resist the two united armies, and ashamed
of being deceived by those whom he had himself sought to
deceive, he returned to his kingdom, and was piu'sued to
the verge of the desert by the troops of Noureddin.

Before the enterprise, hopes of success had dazzled the
minds of all; but when it had failed, they, as generally,
perceived the injustice of it. The Christians all became
aware of the e^dls with which Jerusalem was menaced, and
reproaclied Amaury with not being able to preserve peace,
or knowing how to make war. In the mean time Noured-
din's general entered the capital of Egypt in triumph.

Chirkou hoisted his standard on the towers of Cairo, and
Egypt, which thought it had received a liberator into its
bosom, soon found that he was a master. Chaver paid with
Iiis life the evils he had inflicted upon his country ; he was
killed in the camp of Chkkou, and his authority became
the reward of the conqueror. The caliph, who, in order to
save himself, had demanded the head of his first minister
appointed the general of Noureddin as his successor, styling
him in his letters, the victorious prince. It was thus that
the degraded monarch of Egypt jested with his own favours

39G HISTOHY OF THE CRUSADES.

by flattering a man he did not know, and for whose death he
was, most likely, desirous ; an image of blind fortune, wlio
scatters at hazard good and evil, and views her favourites
and her victims with equal indifference.

Some time after, the caliph of Cairo, always invisible in
his palace, was deposed by the orders of JN^oureddin, and
died peaceably without knowing that he had lost his empire.
His treasures served to appease the murmurs of the people
and the soldiery ; the black flag of the Abassides displaced
tlie green standard of the children of Ali, and the name of
the caliph of Bagdad was heard of only in the mosques. The
dynasty of the Fatimites, which reigned more than two
centuries, and for which so much blood had been shed, was
extinguished in a single day, and foimd not even one de-
fender. Erom that time tlie Mussulmans had only one
religion and one cause to defend ; Egypt and Syria obeyed
the same chief, and the ricliest provinces of the East were
united under the powerful hand of jS'oureddin.

The sultan of Aleppo and Damascus had spread the terror
of his arms from the banks of the Euphrates and the Tigris
to the sources of the Nile ; he had every^'here governors
and armies ; and posts of pigeons, which he had estabhshed,
carried at the same time his orders into the principal cities
of Egypt, Syria, and Mesopotamia. The justice of his laws
and his victories over the Christians had created for him
such a reputation for sanctity among the Mussulmans, that
a shower of rain which fell in the midst of a drought, was
considered by tliem as a miracle granted to his prayers.
During the war of Egypt he had taken several fortresses
belonging to the Eranks ; and the destruction of the Chris-
tian colonies was still the aim of all his labours and all his
exploits. Eull of confldence in the protection of Mahomet,
the devout Noureddin employed his leisure in constructing,
with his own hands, a pulpit, which he meant himself to
place in the principal mosque of Jerusalem.

The sultan of Damascus was preparing to commence what
the Mussulmans called a sacred war, and for the success of
which public prayers had been offered up , but this glory
was reserved for a young warrior brought up in armies,
whose name was yet unknown in the East.

HISTOEY OF THE CETJSADES. 397

Saladin,* this young warrior, was sprung from tlie people
wlio inhabit the mountains situated beyond the Tigris. His
father Ayoub, and his uncle Chirkou, after the example ot
the warriors of their nation, who fight for pay under Mus-
sulman powers, had left Curdistan to serve in the troops ol
the sultan of Bagdad. They had both attained high mili-
tary employments ; but Chirkou, a viclent and brutal man,
having run through the body with his sword an officer of
justice, the two brothers were obliged to take to flight, and
came to ofter their services to the Attabeks of Syria, whom
they assisted in their wars against the Christians. The young
Saladin. although he was brought up at the court of Damas-
cus, under the eye of an ambitious father, did not at first
appear to be eager for either fortune or glory. In his youth,
he was fond of dissipation and pleasures, and remained a
long time a stranger to the cares of politics or the dangers
and labours of war. Having followed his uncle Chirkou in
his first expeditions to Egypt, he had distinguished himself
by the defence of Alexandria ; but he sufi^ered so much, that
when Noureddin commanded him to return to the banks of
the Nile, he sought pretexts to avoid obedience. When the
sultan repeated hio orders, Saladin set out, as he himself said
afterwards, with the despair of a man who is led to death.
" Thus it is," says the historian Hamad Eddin, who was for
a long time his secretary, " that men know not what they
refuse or what they desire ; but God, who knows all things,
sports with their designs, which always terminate according
to the views of Providence."

At the death of Chirkou, the caliph of Egypt, who trem-
bled for his power, named Saladin to the post of vizier,
because he thought him the least capable, by his talents or

* Saladin has had many historians. Among the Arabian authors the
most celebrated are Bohaddin, who has written his life ; Omad-el-Cathed,
secretary of the sultan, and author of the Phatah ; Schahab-Eddin, author
of the lives of Noureddin and Saladin, entitled El Reudatains (or the two
gardens). Several particulars relative to the Mussulman hero are to be
met with in Aboulfeda, who was of the family of Ayoub, and in several
other Arabian writers quoted by D. Bcrthert-au. There is a Life of Saladin
in French, by Marin. In the Imperial Library [of France — Trans.] two
manuscript Lives may likewise be consulted, one by the Abbe Renaudot,
and the other by Galland, the translator of the Thousand and One Nights

398 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

reputation, of usurping the supreme authority. The son of
Ayoub deceived both the king and the army, who saw in him
nothing but a young dissipated soldier, without ambition.
But he changed his conduct and reformed his manners ;
hitherto he had appeared fit only for the idleness and the
obscurity of a seraglio ; but, all at once, he came forth a new
man, like one born for empire. His gravity inspired the
respect of the emirs ; his liberality secured him the su3rages
oi* the army ; and the austerity of his devotion rendered him
dear to all true believers. A religious revolution which he
brought about without trouble or the effusion of blood, made
known his prudence and humanity, and showed that fortune
destined him for extraordinary things. The caliph of Bag-
dad felicitated him publicly with having annihilated the sect
of the Fatimites, and made him a present of a vest of
lionour. His name was celebrated by the poets, and mixed
with those of Mahomet and Noureddin in the public prayers.

Saladin, master of Egypt, sent for his father Ayoub, and
wished to associate him with himself in the government.
When Ayoub arrived at Cairo with all his family, he was
compared to Jacob, and Saladin to the patriarch Joseph,
whose name he bore. Aided by the counsels of his father,
Saladin stifled all plots devised against him, and restrained
the ambition and jealousy of the emirs.

In a council in which his son had spoken too openly of his
projects, Ayoub, brought up among the intrigues of the
courts of Asia, exclaimed with vehemence against all traitors,
and swore he woidd cut off the head of even Saladin himself,
if he received orders from the sultan of Damascus to do so.
When left alone with his son, he reproached him witli his
indiscretion and imprudence. " I have spoken against you,'*
added he, " before your rivals and enemies ; but know that if
Noureddin should come to attack you, I would be the first to
take arms ; if he required only the tribute of a sugar-cane from
us, he should not obtain it of me." According to the advice
of Ayoub, Saladin spoke only of his perfect submission to
the commands of his master, and took honour to himself as
being the lowest of the slaves of Noureddin, to whom he
sent deputies and presents ; but he could not destroy all his
suspicions. Noureddin had determined upon going into
Egypt himself, when death surprised him, and delivered

HISTORY or THE CRUSADEa. S.v9

SaladiD from t^ie uneasiness whicli a jealous and vindictive
master naturally inspired.

At the death of ISToureddin, the empire founded by the
Attabeks declined towards its rain. The sultan of the
Attabeks only left a child to succeed him, the emirs already
began to quarrel for the divisions of his power, and Syria
was about to return to the chaos into whicii the fall of the
Seljoucides had plunged it. The Mussulman nations, ter-
rified at the evils before them, eagerly sought the yoke of
Saladin, and recognised with joy for their master a warrior
who was the only person capable of defending their religion
or their dominions. Saladin inherited not only the power of
Noureddin, but was anxious to follow up the projects of his
predecessor, and nothing pleased his ambition more than the
idea of pursuing the war against the Christians.

Amaury, instead of taking advantage of the troubles of
S}Tia, was desirous of resuming his projects against Egypt ;
and requesting the aid of the emperor of Constantinople,
the latter sent him a fleet and some troops. The Christians
laid siege to Damietta ; but the eternal divisions between the
Grreeks and Latins prevented the success of the enterprise.
Amaury, entertaining still the hope of succeeding in his
designs, sent ambassadors into Europe, thinking that the
prospect of the conquest of Egypt would arm the knights
of the West. As the deputies of Amaury returned witliout
obtaining aid, he himself repaired to Constantinople to
solicit fresh succom's. He was received with magnificence ;
and great promises were made him ; but he died without
seeing them realized. Thus King Amaury, during the whole
of his reign, had but one single thought, for which he
exhausted all the resources of his kingdom. The obstiaacy
which he evinced for the execution of an unfortunate pro-
ject, advanced the progress of the Mussulmans, and must
have recalled to the Christians of the West the words which
the prophets repeated to the Hebrews, — " Children of
Israel, direct neither your looks nor your steps towards
Eyyptr

Amaury, at his death, left a distressed kiagdom, and as
the governor of its states a son, thirteen years of age, sick
and covered with leprosy. Raymond, count ot Tripoli, and
"Milo de Plansy, lord of Carac and Montroyal, disputed the

400 niSTOET OF THE CRUSADES.

regency during the minority of young Baldwin, Milo, by
his intrigues, obtained the suffrages of the barons, but was
found, a short time after, pierced with several wounds in-
flicted by a sword, in one of the streets of Ptolemais :
Eaymond succeeded his rival, with whose death all Palestine
accused him.

The father of the count of Tripoli had been killed by the
Ismaelians, and he himself had remained eight years in the
chains of the infidels. The fourth in descent from the
famous count de St. Gilles, he possessed the bravery, the
activity, and the ambition of the hero from whom he drew
his origin ; but with them, that obstinacy of character, which,
in difficult times, irritates the passions and provokes im-
placable hatreds. More impatient to reign over the Chris-
tians than to conquer the infidels, Raymond considered the
right of commanding men as the only reward of the evils he
had suffered ; he demanded with haughtiness the recompense
of his services and his long toils, and conceived that justice
would triumph, and the safety of the kingdom be preserved,
solely by his elevation.

If, amidst the disorders which continually agitated the
Christian states, the new regeat had had sufficient authority
to direct the policy of the Franlts, and make peace or war
at his will, history might justly accuse him of having favoured
the power of Saladin, and of having prepared the downfall
of the kingdom of Jerusalem. After the death of Noured-
din, the son of Ayoub had had to contend with the family
of his old master, the emirs faithful to the dynasty of the
Attabeks, and all who wished to profit by the troubles of
Syria, and erect mdependent states for themselves. Prudence
commanded the Christians to foment the discord which pre-
vailed among the Saracens, and to ally themselves with every
party which was opposed to Saladin. Instead of following
this wholesome policy, and stirring up war in Syria, they
determined upon renewing Amaury's unfortunate attempts
upon Egypt. A Sicilian fleet ha^dng arrived in Palestine,
aidx^d by the Sicilians, the Christians laid siege to Alexan-
dria, where all sorts of miseries combined to destroy their
army. Frequently-repeated reverses conveyed no instruc-
tion to the Eranks of the proper manner to make war with
Saladin. As they were returning from their imprudent and

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 401

unfortunate expedition, the Mussulman governor of the cit}
of Emessa, then besieged by the new sultan of Damascus,
solicited their alliance and support. The Christian warriors,
after having placed a price upon their services which it was
impossible the governor could pay, entered upon a campaigi;'
without an object, threatening those they pretended to
defend, and ravaging at the same time the territories of their
allies and their enemies. Nevertheless, their presence in
Syria, and their transient alliance with the Mussulman
princes, alarmed Saladin, who was making war against the
son of Noureddin, shut up in the city of Aleppo. The
sultan, resolving to keep them at a distance from the theatre
of his conquests, made their leaders brilliant promises and
rich presents, and soon succeeded in obtainmg a truce, of
which he took advantage to strengthen his power and extend
the limits of his empire.

The Eranks returned to Jerusalem, satisfied with having
compelled Saladin to ask for peace. After having impru-
dently consented to a truce, they committed a second fault,
which was to violate the treaty they had just signed, and
that not to undertake an important enterprise, but to make
an incursion into the territories of Damascus. They ravaged
the country, and pillaged the towns and villages that they
found without defence, whilst Saladin continued making use-
ful conquests in Syria, and rendering himself sufficiently
powerful to punish them for the infraction of their engage-
ments.

The sultan of Cairo and Damascus soon assembled a for-
midable army and advanced towards Palestine. The whole
country was in flames through which the Saracens passed ;
at their approach the Christians abandoned the cities and
towns to take refuge in mountains and caverns. Baldwin IV.,
who had recently assumed the reins of government, placed
himself at the head of the Franks ; but fearing to mea-
sure himself with Saladin, he shut himself up in Ascalon,
whence he contemplated with consternation his desolated
provinces.

Everything appeared to presage the approaching fall of
the kingdom, and Saladin was already distributing its cities
among his emirs, when Providence, which at length took
pity on the situation of the Christians, offered them an

402 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

opp-ortunity of repairing their misfortunes. The menaceg
ol Saladin and the sight of the ravages he was committing
exasperated the Christian soldiers. Baldwin led forth his
army from Ascalon, and surprised the Mussulmans in the
very same plains whereon Godfrey and the leaders of the
first crusade gained their celebrated victory over the Egypt-
ians. Saladin could not resist the impetuosity of their
attack, and lost the battle after ha^dng defended himself
valiantly in the midst of his Mamelukes, a new military
force, which he had himself formed, and by which he was
always surrounded in time of danger. Saladin saw all his
army perish in this disastrous battle, which was never effaced
from his memory, and which, as he said in a letter, " made the
star of the family of Ayoub to pale." Mounted on a camel,
and followed by a few officers, Saladin experienced the greatest
dangers in his flight across the desert, and returned almost
alone to Egypt, whence he had so recently set out at the
head of a formidable army.

And yet the Christians did not reap much advantage from
their victory ; they laid siege in vain to the cities of Hemessa
and Harem, whilst Saladin soon got together fresh troops in
Egypt, and returned to threaten the kingdom of Jerusalem.
The victory of Ascalon elated the Christians, and made them
rash ; Saladin, on the contrary, rendered more cautious by
defeat, took advantage of every false step of his enemies,
planned ambuscades, employed all the stratagems of war,
and several times surprised and beat them on the banks of
the Jordan, and in the vicinity of Paneas. Baldwin, who
was very near falling into the hands of the Saracens, col-
lected all the forces that were left in his dominions ; but he
could obtain no advantage over Saladin, and was obliged to
sue for peace, which the state of his kingdom and his own
infirmities rendered every day more necessary.

The leprosy by which he was attacked made alarming pro-
gress ; he lost his sight, and was no longer able to undertake
the cares of government. As he mistrusted most of the
barons and leading men of his kingdom, he offered the
government to PhiUp, count of Elanders, who was come into
Asia to combat the infidels ; but Philip preferred making
war upon the Mussulmans to governing the Christians of
Palestine.

HISTOKY or THE CRUSADES. ^OS

The count of Tripoli was pointed out by the opinion of
both the people and the nobles, as the only person capable
of governing ; but the suffrages of the people only augmented
the suspicions of Baldv/in, who had long dreaded the ambi-
tion of Raymond. Obliged to abandon a throne, the weak
moDarch trembled at the idea of placing on it a man who
might soon make him forgotten ; and he chose in preference
a knight without name or glory, whose only title arose from
his having espoused Sibylla, daughter of King Amaury, and
widow of the marquis of Montferrat, surnamed Long Sword.
Guy of Lusignan did not justify the choice of Baldwin by
his conduct, and disgusted every one by the excess of his
pride. In this state of things, the interests of the Christian
colonies required that the truce made wdth the Mussulmans
should be strictly observed ; but such was then the destiny
of the kingdom of Jerusalem, that nobody had sufficient
power or ascendancy to maintain peace, whilst the meanest
of the barons or knights could, at his will, provoke war.
The rashness and imprudence of one man again brought
down upon Palestine the whole force of Saladin.

Old chronicles have related the romantic adventures and
extraordinary fortune of Benaud de Chatillon. Born at
Chatillon-sur-Indre, of obscure parents, he followed the
army of Louis the Young into Asia, and enrolled himself in
the troops of Raymond of Poictiers, prince of Antioch. Ray-
mond having lost his life in battle, his widow Constance was
solicited to select a new husband, who might be associated
with her in the government. This princess passed by the
most illustrious nobles and knights, for she had remarked
the personal beauty and chivalric bravery of Renaud de
Chatillon, and would accept of no other husband. By this
marriage, which, according to William of Tyre, filled the
Christian barons with surprise, she all at once raised a
young obscure man to the throne of Antioch.

Although Renaud de Chatillon had obtained the love of
Constance, he could not conciliate the confidence and esteem
of his new subjects. A formidable party was formed against
him, at the head of which was the patriarch Amaury.
Renaud, full of vexation and anger, cast into prison all who
were opposed to him. By his orders the patriarch was led to
the top of one of the towers of the citadel, and, with hie bare
Vot. L— 19

4*04 illSTORY or THE CHUSADES.

head rubbed with honey, left, in the heat of summer, during
a whole da} exposed to flies and insects.* Kenaud de Cha-
tillon, after having filled the city of Ascalon with terror and
mourning, was desirous of signalizing his reign by some
warlike enterprise. Become the leader of au army in which
lie had been a soldier, he began by making war against the
emperor of Constantinople, and armed several vessels, with
which he ravaged the isle of Cyprus. The Greek emperor
hastened to avenge the insult, and was soon with an army
encamped within sight of Ascalon. E-enaud not being mas-
ter of a sufficient force Avith which to defend liimself, had
recourse to baseness to disarm the anger of his enemy, and
came, with a cord round his neck, and torn vestments, to lay
his sword at the feet of the emperor, who granted him peace.
When the Greeks had resumed their way to Constantinople,
Eenaud turned his arms against the Saracens. He at once
put to flight the army of Noureddin, who had advanced to-
wards the territory of Antioch ; but, led away by thirst for
booty, he fell into an ambuscade, was made prisoner and
conducted to Aleppo, where the Mussulmans detained him
many years. At last some of his ancient companions suc-
ceeded in breaking his chains, and what is not unworthy of
remark, the produce of the booty made in an incursion on
the territories of Damascus was the price of his liberty.

When Henaud de Chatillon issued from his capti-Adty, his
wife Constance was no longer living, and the son of Ray-
mond, arrived at the age of maturity, governed the princi-
pality of Antioch. Renaud repaired to Jerusalem, where
the remembrance of his exploits and misfortunes, suffered
in the cause of the Christians, secured him a welcome from
the king and the barons. Having, in a second marriage,
espoused the widow of Homfrey de Thourou, he became lord
of Carac, and some castles situated on the confines of Arabia
and Palestine. Renaud led into these cities and fortresses
a great number of Templars, whom he associated with his
fortunes. He had just established himself there, and had
already begun to ravage the frontiers of Arabia, when the

* This was a common punishraent in the East. In the Persian " boat*
^leaih," as described by Plutarch, the criminal was nailed down in a boat|
ica-nag only his head bare ; — thus smeared, exposed, and left t«» 41*.—

TXANS.

HISTOET OF THE CEUSADES. 401

fcruce was concluded with Saladin. Nothing could induce
Renaud de Chatillon to lay do^n his arms ; every day he
made fresh forays in the neighbourhood of Carac, and plun-
dered the caravans of the Mussulman pilgrims on their way
to Mecca. Heedless of the rights of nations or humanity^
he imprisoned women and children, and massacred unarmed
men.

Saladin complained to Baldwin of these infractions of
treaties ; but it was not in the power of the king of Jerusa-
lem to give him the satisfaction he demanded. The sultan,
ii'ritated by the conduct of the Franks, seized fifteen hun-
dred pilgrims, who were cast upon the shores of Egypt by
a tempest, and threatened to detain them unless the Mus-
sulman prisoners were promptly set at liberty. Neither the
demands of Saladin, nor the prayers of Baldwin, nor even
the fate of the Christian captives, had the least effect upon
E-enaud de Chatillon and the Templars, so long accustomed
to sport with all treaties made with the Mussulmans.

Thereupon Saladin again determined upon war, and set
out a third time from the banks of the Nile, to enter Pales-
tine at the head of an army. At the approach of danger,
the Christians united their efforts to stop the progress of
the Saracens. An assembly, formed of all classes of citizens,
ordered a general contribution to be levied, the produce of
which was employed in repairing the fortifications of the
castles and cities, whilst all the barons and knights flew to
arms. But the time was not yet come in w^hich Saladin
should invade the kingdom of Jerusalem. In each of his
expeditions he appeared to try the strength of the Christians,
and when he met with strong resistance, waited patiently
for a more favourable moment. After having ravaged Gali-
lee by his lieutenants, and commenced the siege of Berouth,
he suddenly drew off his forces to go and make war upon
the Attabeks, who were masters of Mossoul and several
cities of Mesopotamia.

The Christians took no other advantage of Viis absence
but to renew their incursions upon the territory of Damas-
cus. E-enaud de Chatillon made several expeditions to the
shores of the E.ed Sea, and even conceived the daring pro-
ject of going to the cities of Metica and Medina, and plun-
dering the Kaaba and the tomb of the Prophet. A troop ot

406 HISTOET OF THE CRUSADES.

intrepid warriors set forward on their march under his
orders ; they surprised the Ei^yptian merchants who were
bearing back the treasiu-es of India, by way ot the E,ed Sea ;
and, preceded by terror, advanced in triumph, into a country
which had never before seen the Christians. Benaud and
his companions had already reached the valley of Rabid,
situated ten leagues from Medina, when they were surprised
and attacked by a Mussulman army, which had been hastily
despatched from Syria. After an obstinate and sanguinary
combat, victory favoured the Saracens. E-enaud escaped tlie
pursuit of tlie conquerors as if by a miracle, and returned
with a small number of his troops to the castle of Carac.
Some of the prisoners were led into Egypt, where the sen-
tence of the cadis condemned them to the death of the
lowest criminals. Others were conveyed to Mecca, where
their blood was shed with that of the victims immolated at
the ceremony of the great Bayram.*

These horrible executions did not satisfy the vengeance of
Saladin. AVhen he heard of the expedition of the Chris-
tians, whicli lie considered a frightful sacrilege, his anger
knew no boiuids, and he swore upon the Koran to revenge
the insult offered to the Mussulman religion. The sultan,
whom the Christians already styled the scourge of God, re-
entered Gralilee with sword and flame, and advanced towards
the castle of Carac, constantly repeating the oath he had
taken of slaying E-enaud with his own hand. The Mussul-
mans would have rendered themselves masters of the castle,
but for the bravery of one knight, who alone maintained the
drawbridge, and by a glorious death deprived Saladin of
this conquest. A Christian army was soon upon the march
to repel this attack of the Saracens. Saladin, despairing for
the present of wreaking his revenge upon E-enaud, laid
waste the lands on the banks of the Jordan, in the very face
of the Christian army, which did not dare to attack him.
After having several times renewed his atten pts upon the
fortress of Carac, and given up to the flames Naplouse,
Sebosto, and several other cities, he at length consented to a
truce, and led back his army into Mesopotamia.

* Schaliabbedin, Tabari, and Vhoulfeda relate this fact at great
length.

HISTOET OF THE C^FSADES. 407

Saladin availed himself of the peace made with the Chris-
tians, to dissipate the troubles which had arisen in his states,
and to pursue his conquests in Syria. At each truce he got
possession of a city or a province ; he extended his domi-
nions, and thus placed under his control countries which
became so many the more enemies for the Christians. The
Franks, on the contrary, when war Avas suspended, gave
themselves madly up to their internal divisions ; peace with
them gave birth to a thousand new factions, and the king-
dom then found in its own bosom enemies much more dan-
gerous than those against whom they had been at war.

The knights and barons, on their return to Jerusalem,
accused Gruy de Lusignan of having neglected the opportu-
nity for conquering Saladin, and reproached him with having
permitted the ravages exercised by the Mussulmans in the
richest provinces of Palestine. Baldwin, who had yielded up
the royal authority with great regret, listened to the com-
plaints of the barons, and hastened to reascend a tottering
throne. He undertook to dissolve the marriage with Sibylla,
and cited Gruy de Lusignan before the patriarch of Jerusa-
lem and the nobles of the kingdom, in order to deprive him
of the counties of Ascalon and Jaffa. As Gruy did not ap-
pear on the day named, Baldwin, although infirm and blind,
repaired to Antioch, and finding the gates shut, struck them
several times with his hand without causing them to be
opened.* This unfortunate prince called upon Heaven to
witness this insult, and returned to Jerusalem, swearing to
revenge himself upon Gruy de Lusignan. On his side, Guy
no longer observed any measures, but took up arms to sus-
tain his revolt. In this emergency, Baldwin could find no
better means of punishing Gruy than to oppose to him a
regent and a new king. By his orders, Baldwin V., who
was five years of age, and born of the first marriage of
Sibylla with the son of the marquis de Montferrat, was
crowned in the church of the Holy Sepidchre, in the pre-
sence of the nobles and the clergy. Raymond, count of
Tripoli, less odious to Baldwin than Gruy, obtained the re-
gency and assumed the reius of government.

The kingdom of Jerusalem, which had proceeded rapidly

* I am inclined to think this was a kind of ceremony — the liege lorcf
Jemanding entrance to the fortress of his vassal. — Trans.

408 HISTORY or THE JUTJSADES.

to decay since the reigii of Baldwin III., became now an
object worthy of pity. The stormy passions, almost alwaya
inseparable from a feudal government, had long since weak-
ened all the springs of authority. The royalty, for whose
remains they were quarrelling, was nothing but a vain name ;
in the midst of the factions by which he was surrounded, a
king of Jerusalem could neither revenge his own iniuriesu,
nor those of the Church or of Christ. Want ot courage
was the only crime he could punish without exciting the
murmurs of the barons, because with them cowards found
no defenders. Amaury had ignominiously hung twelve
Templars, accused of having neglected the defence of a for-
tress ; but he had not the nower to receive an ambassador
sent by the Old Man of the 3Iotmtain, in whom the hope of
freeing himself from a tribute paid to the grand master of
the Templars, had awakened a desire to become a Christian.
"When the ambassador was assasshiated in Jerusalem by a
Templar, Amaury had no authority to bring the murderer
to judgment ; deplorable weakness of a king who possesses
not the first prerogative of royalty, that of maintaining jus-
tice and. causing the rights of nations to be respected !

The kingdom was covered with strong castles, the com-
manders of which barely recognised the authority of the
king. On the summit of every mountain upon which ap-
peared threatening towers, in caverns even, v\rhich had been
transformed into fortresses, baronS commanded as masters,
and made peace or w^ar at their pleasure. The military
orders, the only support of the state, were divided among
themselves, and sometimes shed their blood in quarrels fatal
to the cause of the Christians.

Discord reigned between the clergy and the knights of
the Temple and St. John ; the military orders were not sub-
ject to the jurisdiction of ecclesiastics, and the clergy, accus-
tomed to dictate laws to princes, could not endure the
haughty independence of a few warriors. Led away by the
spirit of discord, the Hospitallers raised edifices in front of the
church of the Resurrection, and often drowned the voices
of* the priests who celebrated t-he praises of God at the foot
of his altars. Some of them even went so far as to pursue
priests with arrow-shots into the very church of the Holy
Sepulchre. As the only vengeance, the priests gathered
together in bundles the arrows that had been shot at them^

HISTOET or THE CEUSADES. 409

ftnd placed them on an elevated spot on the Mount of Olives,
that every one might be acquainted with the sacri'lege.

These quarrels, which were every day renewed, were car-
ried before the tribunal of the Holy See, whose decisions
frequently only inflamed the minds of the disputants the
more. The Chiu"ch of Rome, very far from restoring peace
to the Christians of the East, often cast amongst them fresh
coals of discord. The schisms which troubled the West,
more than once kindled war in the holy places, even upon
the tomb of Christ.

Concord seldom prevailed long between the inhabitants of
Palestine and the European warriors who came into Asia to
combat the infidels. The Syrian barons employed the forces
of their auxiliaries to carry out their own ambitious views ;
and the latter, by their pride and disdain, laid a high price
upon their services. Almost always on the arrival of fresh
pilgrims, a treaty was violated or a truce broken, in order to
make incursions upon the territories of the Saracens ; and
not unfrequently, the Crusaders, without even seeing the
enemy, abandoned Palestine to the perils of a war they had
themselves provoked.

In the cities, particularly the maritime cities, several
nations dwelt togetlier, and disputed precedence and sove-
reignty, sword in hand. All who came to establish them-
selves in the Holy Land, brought with them and preserved
the remembrances and prejudices of their native country.
In the cities of Ascalon, Tyre, or Ptolemais, the inhabitants
were much more interested in the glory and prosperity of
Pisa, Genoa, and Venice, than in the safety of the kingdom
of Jerusalem.

The greater part of the barons and knights displayed
none of the heroic resignation of the early soldiers of the
cross, in supporting fatigues or braving difficulties. Since
the conquest of Egypt had been contemplated, war was only
considered as a means of acquiring wealth ; and the thirst
for booty destroyed the principle of honour, the love of glory,
Mud even all anxiety for the cause of Christ. The question
was no longer what enemy was to be attacked, what ally was
to be defended, but what city or province was to be delivered
up to pillage. Discipline degenerated in the camp ; the
C^liristian warriors still displayed their natural bravery, buT
vhey neither knew how to obey nor to command, and anarch^

410 niSTORT OF THE CRUSADES.

reigned as completely in the army as throughout the kmg«
dom. Many of the leaders abandoned their colours under
the most perilous circumstances, and sold their inaction or
their neutrality. Some, like the Templar Meslier and his
companions, forgetful of their vows, ravaged the Christian
provinces ; whilst others, urged on by ambition or vengeance,
allied themselves with the Saracens, and received in the ser-
vice of the infidels the reward of their disgraceful apostasy.
Keligion, which ought to have been the connecting tie
between the Christians established in the Holy Land, and
which alone could preserve among them sentiments of pa-
triotism,— religion had lost all empire over their minds. War
was still made in its name, but its laws were unpractised and
unacknowledged. The conversion of the Maronites of Liba-
nus, who rejoined tlie Church of Eome in the reign of Bald-
win ly., was celebrated at Jerusalem as a victory gained
over heresy, but it had not the effect of bringing back the
Christians to the spirit of the Scriptures. Pious men who
lived in a corrupted age, groaned under the depravity of
manners which every day made such frightful progress.*
The respectable archbishop of Tyre trembles as he traces the
history of this unhappy period, and fears lest truth should
give to his recitals the colour of satire. " There is," says
he, " scarcely one chaste woman to be found in the city of
Jerusalem." The leaders of the Christian colonies, equally
wdth the heads of the Church, themselves set the example of
licentiousness. The Christians beheld a queen of Jerusalem,
the widow of Baldwin III., keep up a criminal intercourse
with Andronicus, and seek an abode among the Saracens
mth the companion of her debaucheries. t Bohemond,
prince of Antioch, repudiated his wife Erina, to espouse a
courtesan. The patriarch, disgusted with such a scandal, ex-
communicated young Bohemond, and placed an interdict

* Jacques de Vitri does not spare the Christians of the East in ais
History, particularly in the chapters entitled " De corruptione prsElato-
rum ; de regularibus irregulariter viventibus ; de corruptiope Terrae
Sanctae." The satires of Juver.^ would appear moderate by it side of
the pages of this historian, who had been in the Holy Land in the quality
of a legate.

f This was the same Andronicus who afterwaj"ds ascended tKe fcnroTifl
of Constantinople, and became notorious for his cruelties.

HTSTOBT or THE CRUSADES. 41A

rpon his states ; and thus the guilty imours of a Christian
prince produced trouble and desolation throughout a whole
Qation. The sight even of the tomb of Christ was unable
to inspire more holy thoughts. The patriarch Heraclius,
who only owed his elevation to mundane and profane quali-
ties, lavished the treasures due to pilgrims and the poor,
upon infamous prostitutes, and the Christian people were
often astonished to see the notorious Paque de Rivery dis-
play, even in the sanctuary, ornaments purchased with the
alms of the faithful.

A people thus degenerated could not possibly preserve the
kingdom of Christ. The eyes of all were turned towards
the West, and Heraclius, attended by the two grand mas-
ters of the Temple and St. John, was sent into Europe to
solicit the prompt assistance of kings and their warriors.
The king of France, Philip Augustus, received the Christian
deputies with great honours ; but as he had but recently as-
cended the throne, the interests of his kingdom would not
permit him to go in person to the defence of Jerusalem.
Henry II., king of England, appeared to be the last hope of
the Christians ; he had promised the pope to make the pil-
grimage to the Holy Land, as an expiation of the murder of
the archbishop of Canterbury, and Heraclius repaired to his
court, presenting him with the keys and standard of the
Holy Sepulchre, and pressing him to perfonn his promise.
The bad reputation of the patriarch had preceded him into
Europe, and very much weakened the effect of his words ;
he displayed, likewise, neither the meekness nor the charity
of the Scriptures, and only irritated those whom he sought
to persuade or convince. As the English monarch hesitated
to fulfil his promises, alleging his advanced age and the wel-
fare of his dominions, Heraclius loaded him with the most
outrageous reproaches, threatening him with the anger of
Heaven. The aged Henry appearing irritated by this lan-
guage, the patriarch redoubled his insolence and pride.
" You may,'* said he, on terminating his discourse, " treat
me as you treated my brother Thomas, for it is quite indif-
ferent to me whether I die in Syria by the hands of inb'dels,
or perish here by the orders of you who are more wicked
than a Saracen." Henry endeavoured to conceal bis anger,
ind did not dnre to punish the envoy of the Christians ; he

19*

412 HISTOET or THE CEtJSADES.

even treated him with great magnificence, but yet did not
leave England. He contented himself with sending the
Christians of Jerusalem a large sum of money, and exliort-
ing his subjects to arm themselves for the defence of the
Holy Land.

The zeal for crusades began at this time to abate, and
several ambassadors returned to Jerusalem without having
been able to arouse the enthusiasm of the western Chris-
tians, Nations, to be excited to active ardour for holy
wars, required the example of princes or kings. The war-
riors of Europe paid little attention to the exhortations of
the pope and Heraclius. The deputies returned into Pales-
tine without having obtained the assistance they demanded ;
and their appearance produced discouragement and despair
among all the Christians of the East.

The unfortunate king, Baldwin, had entirely lost the
faculties of both mind and body ; and, tormented by his suf-
ferings, he every day drew nearer to Lhe tomb, presenting
but too faithful an image of the weakness and decline of his
kingdom. Whilst the approach of death filled his palace
with mourning, parties contended for a throne which tottered
to its fall, and for a crown which the most wise compared to
the crown of thorns of Christ. When he closed his eyes,
the e\dls increased, and discord submitted to no restraint.
The count of Tripoli wished to retain the reins of govern-
ment as regent ; whilst Sibylla was desirous of bestowing
the sceptre upon her husband. In the midst of these dis-
sensions Baldwin Y ., tlie weak and fragile hope of the king-
dom, died suddenly. All who had aspired to his authority
were accused of his death : unhappy period, in which such
accusations could possibly be well founded, and in which a
whole people could think of reproaching a queen with the
murder of her own son !

Scarcely was Baldwin dead than his mother desired to
reign in his place ; and in order to satisfy the ambition of
herself and Guy de Lusignan, she disdained no artifice and
spared no perfidious promises. Whilst the count of Tripob"
was gathering together at Naplouse the barons and principal
men of the kingdom, the daughter of Amaury, by the advice
of the patriarch and the grand master of the Templars,
announced her intention of separating herself from her

HISTOET OF THE CEUSADES. 413

husband, and choosing a warrior able to defend the kingdom.
When this report had circulated through Jerusalem, Sibylla
ordered the gates of the city to be shut, and repaired to the
church of the Holy Sepulchre. In the presence of the
tomb of Christ, Heraclius took the oath of allegiance to her
in the name of the clergy and the people, pronounced her
divorce with a loud voice, and commanded her in the name
of Heaven to bestow her hand and sceptre upon him she
deemed most worthy of them. At these words Sibylla
placed the crown upon the head of her husband, who was
on his knees before her, saying it was not in the power of
man to separate those whom God had united.

"Whilst a part of the people and some of the barons,
seduced by vain promises, applauded the choice of Sibylla,
the partisans of Haymond were highly indignant at having
been deceived by a woman. The coronation of Gruy de
Lusignan naturally alarmed all who thought that Jerusalem
stood in less need of a king than of a defender. Baldwin
of Kamla, one of the most skilful captains of his times,
despaired of the safety of the kingdom, and retired into
the principality of Antioch, repeating the threats of the
prophets against Jerusalem. Geoffrey de Lusignan, when
he heard of the elevation of his brother, could not forbear
exclaiming : " Well, if tliey have made a king of him, they
would have made a god of me if they had known we."

When that which had taken place at Jerusalem was an-
noimced to the barons assembled at Naplouse, most of them
resolved to abandon Palestine ; but the count of Tripoli
detained them, advising them to name a new king, and
bestow the crown upon Homfrey de Thorou, who had re-
cently married Isabella, the second daughter of Amaury.
He even promised to gain the support of Saladin for this
election, and succeeded in persuading the assembly. Whilst
they were yet deliberating, young Homfrey, terrified at the
burden they mshed to impose upon him, fled away secretly
by night, and hastened to the capital to ask pardon of Queen
Sibylla, protesting that he preferred ease and life to the
throne oi* Jerusalem. Tliis flight disconcerted all measures
and changed all projects. Several barons, not knowing to
what party it woidd be best to ally themselves, went and
took tlie oath to Guy de Lusignan; whilst others, returning

414 HISTOET OF THE CRUSADES,

to their castles, awaited coming events. E/aymond retired
to his county of Tiberias, of which he had obtained the
sovereignty.

The retreat and the murmurs of the enemies of Gruy only
increased his pride. The more he stood in need of mildness
and moderation, the more haughtiness and severity he dis-
played. His disdainful manners drove from him the barons
who had remained faithful to him. Stimulated by the grand
master of the Templars, who was the declared enemy of the
count of Tripoli, he made preparations to besiege the city
of Tiberias ; whilst Raymond, who was determined to defend
himself, carried away by the excess of his anger, implored
the aid of Saladin against the king of Jerusalem.

At the approach of the evils about to fall upon the
kingdom, nothing was heard but complaints and seditious
clamours ; but neither the dangers of the Christian colonies,
nor the aspect of the threatened holy places, could silence
ambition or check revolt. The historian of the kingdom of
Jerusalem here feels the pen fall from his hand, and stops,
terrified at the events which are left for him to describe.

Amidst the general disorder and agitation, the supersti-
tious minds of the Christians beheld nothing in the future
buj; great calamities, and everything seemed to present
sinister presages to their eyes. " The signs which were dis-
played in the heavens," says a contemporary chronicle,
'*' allowed it to be plainly perceived that God held in abomi-
nation that which was going on. Impetuous winds, tem-
pests, and storms arose on aH sides ; the light of the sun
was obscured during several days, and hailstones as large as
the eggs of a goose fell from heaven. The earth, equally
agitated by frequent and horrible earthquakes, gave notice
of coming ruin and destruction, with disasters and defeats
in war which were soon to visit the kingdom. Neither could
the sea confine itself within its bounds and limits, but an-
nounced to us, by its horrible floods or its unusually impe-
tuous waves, the anger of God ready to fall upon us. Eire
was seen blazing in the air like a house in flames ; you would
have sworn that all the elements and architectiu-e of God
were angry, and abhorred the excesses, wickednesses, dis-
Boluteness, and oflfences of the human race."

Such were the presages that struck the greater number of

niSTOIlY or THE C11U5ADES. 4LC

tlie Cliristians ; but thinking men could perceive mucli more
certain signs of the approaching fall of .the kingdom of Jeru-
salem. Mossoul, Ah^ppo, and all the Mussulman cities of
Syria and Mesopotamia, had submitted to the power of Sala-
din. The son of Ayoub had triumphed over the emirs and
tlie scattered family of Noureddin. All the treasures of
Eg}^pt, all the forces of Asia, were in his hands ; there re-
mained only one conquest for him to make, and fortune,
w^iich had levelled all obstacles before him, soon furnished
him with a pretext and an opportunity of giving the last
blow to the power of the Christians.

The truce made with the king of Jerusalem was broken
at the same time by both Christians and Mussulmans.
Kenaud de Chatdlon continued his incursions upon the
territories of the inhdels, and only replied to the complaints
of Saladin by new violations of treaties. A Mussulman
army, which the sultan of Damascus had sent to the assist-
ance of the count of Tripoli, advanced into the country of
Galilee, whither five hundred knights of the Temple and
St. John hastened to defend the Christian territory, and
give battle to the Saracens. They were speeddy over-
whelmed by numbers, and almost all perished on the field of
battle. Old chronicles, whilst celebrating the bravery of
the Christian knights, relate prodigies which we have now
great difficulty in believing. These indomitable heroes,
after having exhausted their arrows, plucked from their own
bodies such as had pierced them, and launched them back
upon the enemy; pressed by fatigue and heat, they drank
their own blood, and revived their strength by the very
means which must weaken it ; at length, after having broken
their lances and swords, they rushed upon their enemies,
fought body to body, rolling in the dust with the Mussulman
warriors, and died threatening their conquerors. Above all
the rest, nothing could equal the heroic valour of Jacques
de Maille, a knight of the Temple. Mounted on a white
horse, he remained alone in the field of battle, and fought
on, surrounded by heaps of slain. Although hemmed in on
all sides, he refused to surrender. The horse wi ich he rode,
worn out with fatigue and exhausted by w^ounds, sunk under
him, and dragged him with him ; but the intrepid knight
arose, lance in hand, covered with blood and dust, and

116 UlSTOEY OF THE CRUSADES.

bristling with arrows, and rushed upon the ranks of th«
Mussulmans, astonished at his audacity ; at length he fell,
covered with wounds, but fighting to the last. The Sara(;ens
took him for St. George, whom the Christians believed they
saw descend from heaven to join their battalions. After his
death the Tiu-kish soldiers, whom an historian calls the
cliildren of Babylon and Sodom, drew near with signs of
respect to his body, slain by a thousand wounds ; they wiped
off the blood, they shared •:he rags of his clothes and the
fragments of his arms, and, in then' brutal excitement,
evinced their admiration by actions that make modesty
blush when speaking of them.*

The grand master of the Templars, with two of his
knights, were all that escaped from tlie carnage. This battle
was fought on the 1st of May, 1187. In the season, says
an ancient chronicle, in which flowers and roses are gathered
in the fields, the Christians of Nazare+^^h found nothing but
the traces of slaughter and the mangled bodies of their
brethren. They buried them in the church of St. Mary,
repeating these prophetic words : " Daughters of Galilee^
put on your garments of mourning ; and you, daughters oj
Sioji, weep over the ills that threaten the kings of Judah.^^
The terror which this sanguinary defeat created for a
moment appeased the discords of the Christians. The king
consented to be reconciled to the count of Tripoli, whilst on
his part Eaymond resolved to forget his private injuries, and
to use every effort to repair the misfortunes he had brought
upon the kingdom. He repaired to Jerusalem, where Gruy
de Lusignan, coming forth to meet him, received him with
marks of sincere affection. The two prmces embraced
before the people, and swore to fight in unison for the
heritage of Christ.

After the rupture of the truce, Saladin employed himself
m getting together a formidable army. Tui'ks, Arabs,
Curds, and Egyptians fiocked to his standard ; he promised
the spoils of the Christians to the Mussulman families that

* The Latin history of the kingdom of Jerusalem contains this curioui
passage : Quidam vero, ut fama ferebat, ardentius CTeteris movebatur, et
abscissis vici genitalibus, ea tanquam in usum gignendi reservare deposuit,
at vel mortua membra, si fieri posset, virtutis tantge suscitarent hseredeoix
•—See tAiC Collection of Bongars, p. 1151.

HISTOEY OE THE CEUSADES. 411

had been driven from Palestine ; lie distributed cities and
provinces beforehand to his faithful emirs, and held out to
all his soldiers the certainty of pillage or a glorious martyr-
dom. The caliph of Bagdad and all the imauns of Egypt,
Syria, and Mesopotamia put up prayers for the triumph of
his arms and the deliverance of Jerusalem. He crossed the
Jordan, and advanced into Galilee at the head of eighty
thousand horse.

In a council held at Jerusalem, Gruy de Lusignan, the
count of Tripoli, and the barons deliberated upon the mea-
sures most proper to be adopted to save the kingdom. The
knights of the three military orders, the troops of the king
and the nobles, the garrisons of cities, with all Christians
able to bear arms, received orders to assemble on the plain
of Sephouri. It was determined to employ in the prosecu-
tion of the war the treasures sent by Henry II., which were
kept in the house of the Temple ; and to associate the
English monarch in the glory of this holy expedition, the
arms of England were represented on the standards of the
Christian army. The wood of the true cross, which had
so often animated the Crusaders in fight, was exhibited to
the people as a last means of safety, and carried in
triumph to the place where the defenders of Jerusalem were
assembled.

An army of fifty thousand fighting men had been collected
on the plain of Sephouri, when the leaders learned that
Saladin had carried the city of Tiberias by assault, and
threatened the citadel, in which were shut up the women
and children of the count of Tripoli. The Christians who
had escaped from the sword of the Saracens, in the utmost
terror, took refuge in the camp of Sephouri, conjuring the
king and the chiefs to put an end to the ravages of the
infidels. The barons assembled in the tent of Gruy, and all
at once exclaimed that it was necessary to march imme-
diately against the enemy. Raymond then arose and de-
manded permission to speak. " I am about," said he, " to
lay before you advice which will surprise you ; but I offer it
with the greater confidence from its being opposed to my
personal interests. M) desolated country, my cities in
ashes, my subjects ready to submit to death or slavery, my
Wife exposed to the insults of the MussLdmaus all implore

418 HISTOllY or THE CRUSADES.

instant succour from me and you; but it is mv duty to
think of tlie safety of tlie Christian cities now left without
garrisons. In this army assembled on the plain of Sephouri
exists the only hope M^hich the Christians of the East have
left. Tou behold here all the soldiers of Christ, all the
defenders of Jerusalem ; if they perish, the infidels have no
other foes to dread. Beware, then, of leading this multitude
of men and horses into a dry and arid country, where the
season, with thirst and hunger, must soon deliver them up
without defence to the enemy. The number even of the
Christian soldiers inspires me with more alarm than confi-
dence. They present nothing but a confused troop of men
got together in haste, and totally unable to support fatigue.
The Mussulman archers are more skilful than our soldiers
in casting javelins, and may harass us on our march, without
our being able to defend ourselves ; the cavalry of Saladin
is more numerous and better trained than ours, and may
attack us with advantage on the plains, across w^hich we
must pass. Abandon, then, I entreat you, Tiberias to the
Mussulmans, and let us save an army which may yet repair
our losses.

"I swear before God and before man, that I would willingly
abandon the county of Tripoli, with all the lands I possess,
to procure the safety of fhe city of Christ. Our only aim
must be to destroy the power of Saladin, and at the same
time to preserve some defenders for the kingdom of Jeru-
salem. If we go to meet the enemy and should be con-
quered, God himself will not be able to save the Christians,
but will allow us to be delivered up to the infidels. If, on
the contrary, the enemy come to ofier themselves to our
arms, all our losses will be repaired, and the evils that will
fall upon me, will become for me a source of gratification,
since I shall have suffered for the cause of Christ and the
safety of his people."

The more generosity there was in this advice, the lesa
sincere it was esteemed. The grand master of the Templars,
blinded by his hatred for Raymond, interrupted him several
times; he reminded the assembly of the alliance of tli3
count of Tripoli with Saladin, and exclaimed aloud that he
could plainly perceive the tvolfs skin under the fleece of the
theejp. "When Haymond invoked the name of Christ, the

IIISTOIIY or THE CEC3ADES. 419

grand master repeated witli bitterness, tliat the name of
Mahomet was better fitted to the mouth of a traitor. The
comit of TripoK made not the least reply to the insulting
words of the grand master, but finished his speech by these
words, uttered with an accent of perfect conviction : " 1
will submit to the 'punishment of death if these things do not
fall out as I have said^

The council of the knights and barons adopted the opinion
of E-aymond ; but when Gruy was left alone in his tent, the
grand master came, to him, and infused into his mind the
blackest suspicions of the conduct and secret designs of the
count of Tripoli. The feeble Lusignan, who had already
issued several contradictory orders, gave the command for
inarching to meet the enemy. For the first time, the king
of Jerusalem was obeyed, and that was for the ruin of th^
Christians.

The undetermined conduct that Lusignan had exhibited,
communicated itself to the other chiefs, and this want of a
fixed purpose spread trouble and confusion throughout the
army. The disheartened soldiers quitted the camp of
Sephouri with reluctance, and saw nothing around them but
presages of an approaching defeat. The Christian army
advanced towards Tiberias, and were marching in silence
across a plain, which modern travellers call the plain of
Batouf, when they perceived the standards of Saladin.

The Mussulman army w^as encamped on the heights of
Loubi, with the Lake of Tiberias in its rear ; it covered the
tops of the hills, and commanded all the defiles through
which the Christians had to pass. The barons and knights
then remembered the advice of Eaymond, but they had lost
tlie opportunity of following it, and the courage of the
Cliristian soldiers alone could repair the errors of their
leaders. The bold and desperate resolution was formed of
cutting themselves a passage through the army of the
enemy, so as to gain the banks of the Jordan. On the 4th
of July, at break of day, the Christians began their march.
From the moment they were in motion, the Mussulman
archers unceasingly poured upon them showers of arrows.
The army of the Franks was bravely enduring, on its march,
the attacks of the Saracen archers, when Saladin descended
into the plain at the head of his cavalry. Then the Chrifl-

420 HISTOET OE THE CKUSADES.

tians were compelled to stop, and fight with the enemy thai
disputed their passage.* The first shock was impetuous and
terrible ; but as the Franks had for many days been short
of both provisions and water, and were oppressed by heat
and thirst, they had less strengt . than coiu'age, and fell
more from lassitude than in conse-quence of their wounds.
The bishops passed through the ranks, and endeavoured to
revive the ardour of the soldiers by the images of reUgion.

The true cross, placed upon an elevated spot, for a
moment reanimated them, and drew around it the most
fervent and the most intrepid. Saladin himself said, in a
letter, that the Christian soldiers fought around the cross
with the greatest bravery, and that they seemed to consider
it the strongest tie that bound them together, and as their
impenetrable buckler.f But the sight of a revered sign,
and the passing ardour which it created, only served to in-
crease the disorder of the fight. All the Mussulman forces
united in one body to attack the Christians. The cavalry of
Saladin poured down upon them several times with irresist-
ible impetuosity, and penetrated through their ranks ; victory
was evidently about to incline to the side of the Saracens,
when night put an end to the conflict. The Franks and
the Saracens both remained on the plain where they had
fought all day, and prepared to renew the battle on the
morrow.

The Saracens were confident of victory. Saladin went
through the ranks of his army, inflaming the courage of the
Mussulman soldiers by his presence and his speeches.
" To-morrow," said he, "is a festival for the true believers,
for it is on Friday that Mussulmans ofier up their prayers,
and that Mahomet listens to the vows that are made to

* Among the Christian historians who have spoken of the battle o
Tiberias, the following may be consulted : Chronica Terra Sanci<s ; the
two continuations of William of Tyre, by Harold and Hugh de Plagon ;
and the Latin history of Jerusalem. Jacques de Vitri, William de New-
bridge, the Chronicle of Gervais, Paule Emile Roger de Hoveden, and
Matthew Paris also give some details of this battle, and of the events by
which it was followed. None of these authors, however, have described
it at sufficient length to give a complete idea of it ; they are not even
always agreed, ami ought to be read with much precaution.

f Saladin adds in his letter that the Franks flew round the cross like
moths round light.

HISTORY or THE CRUSADES. 1:21

him." The Mussulmans replied to their leader by the
loudest acclamations. Saladin then placed archers on the
heights, ordered four hundred charges of arrows to be dis-
tributed, and disposed his troops in such a manner, that the
Christian army should be surrounded from the very com-
mencement of the contest. The Christian soldiers took
advantage of the darkness to rally and close in their ranks ;
but their powers were exhausted. Sometimes they exhorted
each other to brave death ; and at others, raising their hands
towards heaven, implored the All- Powerful to save them.
They then uttered threats against the Saracens, who were
near enough to hear them ; but sad and sinister presenti-
ments appeared to deprive them of all hopes of victory. In
order to conceal their alarms, they made their camp resound
during the whole night with the noise of drums and trumpets.
At last daylight appeared, and was the signal for the entire
ruin of the Christian army. As soon as the [Franks beheld
the whole of the forces of Saladin, and found themselves
surrounded on all sides, they were seized with surprise and
terror. The two armies remained for a considerable time
drawn up in sight of each other, Saladin waiting until the
sun had completely illumined the horizon, to give the signal
for attack. Erom dawn a strong wind had prevailed, which
blew full in the faces of the Christians, and covered them
with clouds of dust. When Saladin gave the fatal word,
the Saracens rushed upon their enemies from all sides, utter-
ing the most terrifying cries. To employ the expressions of
Oriental writers, — " It ivas then that the sons of Paradise
and the children of fire fought out their terrible quarrel ;
the arrows sounded in the air like the noisy flight of hirds ;
the water of swords (sic), ^^e Mood of arrows spouted out
from the hosom of the melee, and covered the earth like the
waters of rain.""* The Christians at first defended them-
selves valiantly, but Saladin having set fire to the dry grass

* The continuator of Tabary speaks with much detail of this battle ;
the author of the Roudatain, in the description which he has given of this
day, shows all the enthusiasm of a Mussulman. We find in these two
histories, and even in Omad (the secretary of Saladin), more words than
things, more Oriental figures than historical circumstances. They may,
however, be profitably consulted by comparing their accounts with those
of the Latiuf •

A22 HISTOET OE THE CEUSADES.

that covered the plain, the flames surroimded their aiTny^
and scorched the feet of both men and horses.

Disorder began to prevail in their ranks, but they fought
bravely still. Swords gleamed through the flames, and the
Christian knights, rushing from masses of smoke and fire,
precipitated themselves, lance in hand, upon their enemies.
In their despair, they endeavoured to pierce through the
battalions of the Saracens, but everywhere met mth an in-
vincible resistance. Again and again they returned to the
charge, and as often were they repulsed. A prey to hunger
and a consuming thirst, they saw nothing around them but
burning rocks and the sparkling swords of their enemies.
The mountain of Ettin arose on their left, and in it they
endeavoured to find an asylum ; but, hotly pursued by the
Saracens, they were cast, some down precipices, and others
into narrow ravines, where their bravery was of no avad.

The knights of the Temple and St. John performed pro-
digies of valour, and fought until the close of day, rallytag
round the wood of the true cross. This sacred standard was
borne by the bishop of Ptolemais, who was killed in the heat
of the battle. The bishop of Lidda, who took it up and en-
deavoured to fly, was stopped, and taken prisoner. A cry
of despair arose from among the Franks when they saw the
sign of their safety ki the hands of the conqueror ; even the
most brave cast away their arms, and without attempting to
fly, rushed upon the swords of the infidels. The field of
battle became nothing but a scene of desolation; and the
Christian warriors who had not been able to save the cross
of Christ, no longer feared either death or slavery. The
king of Jerusalem was made prisoner with his brother
Geofirey, the grand master of the Templars, Kenaud de
Chatdlon, and all the most illustrious knights of Palestine.
Raymond, who commanded the vanguard of the Christian
army, after having fought valiantly, opened for himself a
passage through the Saracens, and fled to Tripoli,* where, a

* Many Christian historians accuse Raymond of having assisted the
cause of Saladin. No Mussulman historian is of this opinion ; indeed
several of them speak of him as the most cruel enemy of the Saracens.
The continuator of Tabary positively says that the count of Tripoli was
opposed to the marching of the Franks towards Tiberias. M. Marin, in
bis History of Saladin, ha& discussed this point of history, and the proof*

HISTORY or TUT CEIJSADES. 422

gliort time afterwards, lie died of despair, accused by the
Mussulmans of having violated treaties, -and by the Chris-
tians of having betrayed both his religion and his country.
Bohemond, prince of Antioch, Henaud of Sidon, the young
count of Tiberias, and a small number of soldiers accom'
panied B/aymond in his flight, and were the only persons
that escaped after this day, so fatal to the kingdom of
Jerusalem.

The Oriental historians whilst describing the victory of the
Saracens, have celebrated the bravery and firmness of the
Frank knights, covered with their cuirasses, made with rings
of steel. These brave warriors at first presented an impe-
netrable wall to the strokes of the Saracens ; but when their
horses sunk, exhausted by fatigue, or wounded by lances or
javelins, Saladin met with very little more resistance, and the
battle became a horrible carnage. An Arabian author, a
secretary and companion of Saladin, who was present at this
terrible conflict, has not been able to refrain from pitying
the disasters of the vanquished. " I saw," says he, " the
hills, the plains, the valleys covered with their dead bodies ;
I saw their colours abandoned and soiled with blood and
dust ; I saw their heads struck ofi", their members dispersed
and their carcasses piled up like stones." After the
battle, the cords of the tents were not sufficient to bind
the prisoners ; the Saracen soldiers drove them in crowds,
like vile herds of cattle. The conquerors divided the cap-
tives amongst them, and the number was so great, that, ac-
cording to an historian, a paii' of shoes was exchanged for
a Christian knight.

that he gives leave no doubt respecting the sincerity of the intentions of
Raymond. Abulfeda, in the short description which he gives of the day
of Hetin, praises the valour of Raymond, and says that he died of the
grief created by the defeat of the Christians. In a letter written in the
name of Saladin by the Cadi Alfdel to the Iman Nassir-Sedin-Illah-
Aboul- Abbas-Ahmed, are these remarkable words: "Not one of the
Christia-nswas able to escape except the count of Tripoli. May God curse
him ; God caused him afterwards to die, and sent him from the kingdom
of death to hell." This letter of Saladin's, which speaks also of the
taking of Jerusalem, has been preserved by Ebu-Khilcan in his Biography.
M. Jourdain had the intention of giving a translation of it ; but the text
presents so many difficulties, from the use of Oriental figures and bad
copying, that he was obliged to be titisfied with making some extracts
from it.

Il24 niSTOET OF THE CRUSADES.

Saladin caused a tent to be erected in his camp, in which
he received Guy de Lusignan, and the principal leaders of
the Christian army, whom victory had placed in his hands.
He treated the king of the Franks with kindness, and ordered
him to be served with a drink cooled in snow. As the kingj
after having drunk, presented the cup to E-enaud de Cha-
tillon, who was next to him, the sidtan stopped him, and
said, " That traitor shall not drink in my presence, for I will
show him no favour." Then addressing himself to Henaud,
he made him the most severe reproaches for his violation of
treaties, and threatened him with death if he did not em-
brace the religion of the prophet he had insulted. Benaud
de Chatillon replied with noble firmness, and braved the
menaces of Saladin, who struck him with his sabre. Some
Mussulman soldiers, at the signal of their master, threw
themselves upon the disarmed prisoner, and the head of a
martyr of the cross fell at the feet o^ the king of Jerusalem.

On the following day the sultan ordered the knights of
the Temple and St. John, who were among the prisoners, to
be brought before him : and, as they were led past his throne,
said, " I will deliver the earth of these two unclean races."
The grand master of the Templars found favour before him,
doubtless because his imprudent counsels had given up the
Christian army to the swords of the Saracens. A great
number of emirs and doctors of the law surrounded the
throne of Saladin, and the sultan perm 'tted each of them to
slay a Christian knight. Some of tK'n refused to shed
blood, and turned their eyes away from so odious a specta-
cle ; but others, arming themselves witli swords, massacred
knights bound with fetters, without pity, whilst Saladin sat
on his throne, applauding the horrible execution. The
knights received the palm of martyrdom with joy ; most of
the prisoners W'ere anxious for death ; and many among
them, although not belougmg to the military orders, cried
aloud that tliey were Hospitallers or Temph.rs, and, as if they
feared they should want executioner?, pressed before each
other, in order to secure the fatal stroke from the hands of
the infidels.

Saladin disgraced his victory by this barbarity ; the fear
with which the Christians inspired him, even after defeat,
made him cruel. He became more humane and generous

HISTORY OF THE CRFSADES. 425

when he felt more assured of his victory and confident of hia
power. Two days were devoted by the Mussulmans to re-
turning thanks to Heaven for the victory with which it had
blessed their arms ; and then Saladin gave his attention to all
the advantages that might be obtained from it. As soon as
he became master of the citadel of Tiberias, he sent the wife
of Raymond to Tripoli ; and was, with his army, very shortly
under the ramparts of Ptolemais. This city, full of mer-
chants, and which, at a later period, sustained the attacks of
the most pow^erful armies of the West, during three years,
did not stand out two days against Saladin. The inhabitants
had liberty to retire with their most valuable property ; and
the churches were converted into mosques, in which thanks
were offered up to Mahomet for the triumphs obtained over
the Christian soldiers.

The terror which preceded his army opened to Saladin t' e
gates of Naplouse, Jericho, E-amla, and a great number of
other cities which were left almost without inhabitants. The
cities of Caesarea, Arsuf, Jaffa, and Berouth shared the fate
of Ptolemais ; the yellow standards of Saladin floated over
their walls. On the sea-coast, the cities of Tyre, Tripoli,
and Ascalon still remained in the hands of the Cln-istians.
Saladin attacked Tyre without success, and determined to
wait for a more favourable opportunity to renew the siege.
A&calon presented itself to him as a conquest of much greater
importance, as it would assure his communication with
Egypt. This city was besieged by the Mussulmans, but it
resisted, at first, with more firmness than Saladin had ex-
pected. "When a breach was effected, the sultan proposed
peace ; but the inhabitants, with whom despair supplied the
place of courage, sent back his messengers without granting
them a hearing. The king of Jerusalem, whom Saladin led
with him in triumph, then entreated the defenders of Asca-
lon not to compromise the safety of their families and the
Christians of the city by a useless defence. After this
appeal, the principal among them came to the tent of the
sultan: "It is not for ourselves," said they, "that we are
come to implore mercy, but for our wives and children. Of
what importance is a perishable life to us ? We look for a
more solid blessing, and that death alone can procure us.
God alone, the master of all events, has alloweu you to

426 nisTOBY or the crfsades.

obtain victories over the unhappy Christians ; hut you sna^l
not enter into Ascalon unless you take pity on our families,
and promise to restore the king of Jerusalem to liberty."

Saladin, touched by the heroism of the inhabitants ol
Ascalon, accepted the conditions proposed. Such devoted-
ness merited the redemption of a prince of nobler character
and more worthy of the love of his subjects than Gruy de
Lusignan. Saladin consented to liberate the captive monarch
at the €'xpiration of a year.

Tha i;:ioment was now come in which Jerusalem was again
fated to fall into the power of the infidels ; and aU Mus-
sulmans earnestly implored Mahomet for this crowning
triumph for the arms of Saladin. After having taken Gaza,
and several fortresses in the neighbourhood, the sultan drew
his army together and marched towards the holy city. A
queen in tears, the children of the warriors slain at the
battle of Tiberias, a few fugitive soldiers, and some pilgrims
recently arrived from the West were the only guardians of
the Holy Sepidchre. A great number of Christian families
which had left the devastated provinces of Palestine, filled
the capital, and, very far from bringing it any assistance,
only served to increase the general trouble and conster-
nation.

"When Saladin drew near to the holy city, he caused the
principal inhabitants to be sent for, and said to them : " I
acknowledge, as well as you, that Jerusalem is the house of
God ; I do not wish to profane its sanctity by the effusion
of blood : abandon its walls and I will bestow upon you a
part of my treasures ; I will give you as much land as you
will be able to cultivate." "We cannot," they replied,
" yield the city in which our God died ; still less can we give
it up to you." Saladin, enraged by their refusal, swore upon
the Koran to lay prostrate the towers and ramparts of
Jerusalem, and to avenge the death of the Mussidmans
slaughtered by the companions and soldiers of Godfrey of
Bouillon.

At the moment in which Saladin was speaking to the
depjuties, an eclipse of the sun all at once left the heavens
in utter darkness, and appeared to be a presage fatal for the
Christians. Nevertheless, the inhabitants, encouraged by
the clergy, prepared to defend the city, and chose as tlieil

HISTOKT OF THE CRUSADES. 427

commander Baleau d' Ibelin, who had been present at the
battle of Tiberias. This old warrior, whose experience and
virtues inspired confidence and respect, immediately set
about repairing the fortifications, and training the new de-
fenders of Jerusalem. As he was deficient in officers, he
created fifty knights from amongst the citizens ; and all the
Christians able to bear arms, placed themselves under his
command, and swore to shed their blood in the cause of
Christ. They had no money to meet the expenses of the
war, but all means of obtaining it seemed legitimate in a
danger that threatened the city of God. They despoiled
the churches, and the people, terrified at the approach of
Saladin, beheld, without scandal, the precious metal which
covered the chapel of the Holy Sepidchre converted into
coin.*

The standards of Saladin were soon seen floating over the
heights of Emails, and the Mussulman army encamped on
the same places on which Grodfrey, Tancred, and the two
Boberts had piteiied their tents when they besieged the holy
city. The besieged at first resisted boldly, and made fre-
quent sorties, in which they bore in one hand a lance or a
sword, and in the other a shovel filled with dust, which they
cast upon the Saracens. A great number of Christians re-
ceived the palm of martyrdom, and ascended, say the his-
torians, to the heavenly Jerusalem — many Mussulmans fell
beneath the swords of their enemies, and went to dwell on
the hanks of the river which waters Paradise.

Saladin, after being encamped for several days on the
western side of the city, directed his operations towards the
north, and caused the ramparts which extended from the
gate of Jehoshaphat to that of St, Stephen, to be undermined.
The bravest of the citizens made a sortie, and endeavoured
to destroy the machines and works of the besiegers, en-
couraging each other by repeating these words of Scripture:

* For the siege of Jerusalem we may consult the continuator of
Tabary, the author of the Roudatains, <x.nA. the letter from Saladin before
mentioned. All the Arabian historians are agreed as to the principal
circumstances. Moujireddin, in his History of Jerusalem, of all the
Arabian writers of this period, gives the fewest particulars of the siege and
capture of the holy city. We need not repeat that the greater part of
these historians are known to us by the Latin extracts of Dom, Bertreau.

Vol. I.— 20

428 HISrORT OF THE CErSADES.

" A. single one of us shall make ten infidels fly, and ten ofu%
shall put to flight ten thousand.''^ They performed prodigies
of valour, but they could not interrupt the progress of the
siege. ^Repulsed by the Saracens, they were forced to return
to the city, whither their appearance brought terror and
discouragement. The towers and ramparts appeared ready
to fall at the first signal for a general assault. Despair then
took entire possession of the inhabitants, who saw no means
of defence within their power but tears and prayers. The
soldiers crowded to the churches instead of flying to arms ;
and not even the promise of a hundred pieces of gold could
keep them on the tottering ramparts for one night. The
clergy made processions through the streets, to invoke the
protection of Heaven. Some struck their breasts with stones,
whilst others tore their bodies with hair-cloth, crying aloud
for mercy ! Nothing was heard in Jerusalem but sobs and
groans; ^'' hut our Jesus Christ^'' says an old chronicle,
''* would not hear them, for the luxury and impurity that were
in the city would not allow either orisons or prayers to
ascend before him^ The despair of the inhabitants inspired
them with the most contradictory projects at the same time;
at one moment they formed the resolution of issuing in a
body from the city, and seeking a glorious death in the
ranks of the infidels ; whilst, the next, they placed their
last hope in the clemency of Saladin.

Amid the general trouble and agitation, the Grreek and
Syrian Christians, with the Melachite Christians, endured
very unwillingly the authority of the Latins, and accused
them of all the misfortunes of the war. A plot for giving
up the city to the Mussulmans was discovered, which re-
doubled the general alarm, and made the principal inhabi-
tants determine upon demanding a capitulation of Saladin.
Accompanied by Baleau d'Ibelin, they went and proposed
to the sultan to give up the place to him upon the con-
ditions he had himself proposed before the siege. But
Saladin remembered that he had sworn- to take the city by
assault, and put the inhabitants to the sword ; and he sent
back the deputies without giving them the least hope.
Baleau d'Ibelin returned several times, renewing his sup-
plications and his prayers, but always found Saladin inexo-
rable. One day, whilst the Cln-istian deputies were earnestly

HISTOET OF THE CEUSADES. 429

imploring him to accept their capitulation, turning towards
the place, and pointing to his standards which floated over
the walls, — " How can you ask me," said he, "to grant con-
ditions to a city which is already taken ? "

Nevertheless, the Saracens were repulsed ; and Baleau,
reanimated by the success the Christians had obtained,
replied to the sultan : " You see that Jerusalem is not
without defenders ; if we can obtain no mercy from you, we
will form a terrible resolution, and the fruits of our despair
shall fill you with terror. These temples and palaces that
you are so anxious to conquer, shall be totally destroyed ; all
the riches which excite the ambition and cupidity of the
Saracens, shall become the prey of the flames. We will
destroy the mosque of Omar ; and the mysterious stone of
Jacob, which is the object of your worship, shall be broken
and pounded into dust, Jerusalem contains five thousand
Mussulman prisoners ; they shall all perish by the sword.
We will, with our own hands, slay our wives and children,
and thus spare them the shame of becoming your slaves.
When the holy city shall be but a heap of ruins — one vast
tomb — we will march out of it, followed by the angry manes
of our friends and kindred ; we will march out armed with
sword and fire ; and no one of us will ascend to Paradise
without having consigned ten Mussulmans to hell. We
shall thus obtain a glorious death, and shall die calling down
upon your head the maledictions of the Grod of Jerusalem."

This spirited speech alarmed Saladin, and he invited the
deputies to come again on the following day. He consulted
with the doctors of the law, who decided that he might
accept the capitulation proposed by the besieged, without
violating his oath. Tlie conditions were signed on the
following day in the tent of the sultan, and thus Jerusalem
again fell into the power of the infidels, after having been
eighty-eight years under the domination of the Christians,
The Latin historians had remarked that the Crusaders entered
the city on a Friday, and at the same hour that Christ had
submitted to death to expiate the crimes of the human, race.
The Saracens retook the city on a Friday, the aimiversary of
the day on which, according to their creed, Mahomet set out
from Jerusalem to ascend into heaven. This circ'\imstance,
which might influence Saladin in his agreement to sign the

430 HISTORY OP iHE CEUSADES.

capitulation, did not fail to add a new splendour to Ida
triumph with the Mussulmans, and caused him to be regarded
as the favourite of the Prophet.

All the warriors who were in Jerusalem when the capitida-
tion was signed, obtained permission to retire to Tyre r
Tripoli. The conqueror granted life to the inhabitants, and
allowed them to purchase their liberty. All Christians, with
the exception of the Greeks and Syrians, received orders to
quit Jerusalem at the expiration of four days. The rate of
ransom was fixed at ten pieces of gold for the men, five for
the women, and two for the children. Such as could not
piu'chase their liberty, remained in slavery.

These conditions had at first been received with joy by
the Christians ; but when they saw the day approach on
which they were to leave Jerusalem, they experienced nothing
but the most bitter grief at quitting the holy places. They
watered the tomb of Christ with their tears, and regretted
that they had not died to defend it ; they visited Calvary
and the cliurches they were never to see again, amidst groans
and sighs ; they embraced each other in the streets, weeping
and lamenting over their fatal dissensions. Such as were
unable to pay their ransom, and would only quit Jerusalem
to become slaves to the Saracens, gave themselves up to all
the excesses of despair. But such, in these deplorable
moments, was their attachment to the religion whose pre-
cepts they had not always followed, that the insults ofiered
to the sacred objects of their worship, afflicted them more
than their own misfortunes.

At length the fatal day* arrived on which the- Christians
were to quit Jerusalem. All the gates were shut except
that of David, by which the people were to go out. Saladin,
seated on an elevated throne, saw all the Christians pass
before him. The patriarch, followed by the clergy, appeared
the first, carrying the sacred vases, the ornaments of the

* Most histcwians say that Saladin granted a delay of forty days to
the inhabitants of Jerusalem. In the position that matters were in,
Saladin could not remain forty days before a captured city ; and what
proves that historians are mistaken in this respect is, that they themselves
say that Saladin took Jerusalem in the beginning of October, and that be
set out on the day of All Saints, which is always the first of Noven.bej^
from Ptolema'is to go to the siege of the city of Tyre.

niSTOEY OE THE CilUSADES. 431

caurch of the Holy Sepulclire, and treasures, of whicli God
aione, says an Arabian author, knew the value. The queen
at Jerusalem, accompanied* by the barons and knights,
came next. Saladin respected her grief, and addressed some
words of kindness to her. The queen was followed by a
great number of women, bearing their children in their arms,
and uttering the most piercing cries. Many of them drew
near to the throne of Saladin, and said to him : " You see
at your feet the wives, the mothers, the daughters of the
warriors you detain prisoners ; we leave for ever our country
which they have defended with glory; they helped to support
our lives ; in losing them, we have lost our last hope ; if you
deign to restore them to us, they will lessen the miseries ot
our exile, and we shall be no longer without help upon earth.'*
Saladin was touched with their prayers, and promised tc
soften the misfortunes of so many bereaved families. He
restored the children to their mothers, and the husbands tc
their wives, who were amongst the unredeemed captives.
Several Christians had abandoned their most valuable goods,
and bore upon their shoulders, some their parents weakened
by age, and others their infirm or sick friends. Saladin was
affected by this spectacle, and rewarded with gifts the virtue
and piety of his enemies ; he took pity upon aU distresses,
and allowed the Hospitallers to remain in the city to tend
pilgi'ims, and assist such as were prevented from leaving
Jemsalem by serious illness.

When the Saracens began the siege, the holy city con-
tained more than a hundred thousand Christians. The
greater part of them were able to purchase their own
liberty; and Baleau d'Ibelin, who was the depositary of the
treasures destined for the defence of the city, employed
them in procuring the freedom of part of the inhabitants.
Malec Adel, brother of the sultan, paid the ransom of two
thousand captives. Saladin followed his example, by break-
ing the chains of a great number of poor and orphans.

* Marin and most historians say that Sibylla was not at Jerusalem
du/inj^; the siege : they are in error. The author of the Roudatains says
positively that that princess came out of Jerusalem with the other captives,
followed by her treasures and her attendants. She asked permission of
Saladin to rejoin her husband, who was then detained a prisoner at
Kuplouse

^2 HISTORY OF THE C-iUSADES.

There only remained in bondage about f( lurteen tbonsand
Christians, amongst whom there were four or five thousand
children of tender age, who were insensible of their mis-
fortunes, but whose fate the Christians the more deplored,
from the certainty that these innocent victims of war would
be brought up in the idolatry of Mahomet.

Many modern writers have compared the generous con-
iuct of Saladinwith the revolting scenes which accompanied
tlie entrance of the first Crusaders into Jerusalem ; but we
must not forget that the Christians offered to capitulate,
whilst the Mussulmans sustained a long siege with lanatieal
obstinacy ; and that the companions of Grodfrey, who were
in an unltnown land, in the midst of hostile nations, carried
the city by assault, after braving numberless perils, and
suffering all kinds of miseries. But we beg to observe that
we do not make this observation to justify the Christians,
or to weaken the praises history owes to Saladin, and which
he even obtained from the people he had conquered.

After having done honour to misfortune and consoled
humanity, Saladin gave his attention to his triumph. He
entered Jerusalem preceded by his victorious standards. A
great number of imauns, doctors of the law, and the ambas-
sadors of many Mussulman princes, formed his train. By
his orders all the churches, except that of the Holy Sepulchre,
were converted into mosques. The sultan caused the walls
and the vestibule of the mosque of Omar to be washed with
rose-water, brought from Damascus, and with his own hands
placed in it the pulpit constructed by Noureddin. On the
first Friday which followed his entrance into Jerusalem, the
people ai) d the army assembled in the principal mosque, and
the chief of the imauns, ascending the pulpit of the Prophet,
returned thanlcs to Grod for the victories of Saladin. " Glory
to Grod," said he, "who has cause^i Islamism to triumph,
and who hab broken the power of the infidels. Praise with
me the Lord, who has restored to us Jerusalem, the dwelling
of Grod, the abode of saints and prophets ; it was from the
bosom of this sacred dwelling that God caused his servant
to travel dm'ing the darkness of night ; it was to facilitate
the conquest of Jerusalem by Joshua that God formerly
arrested the course of the sun ; and it is in this city, at the
end of time, will assemble aU the prophets of the earth."

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 433

After having recapitulated the wonders and rairaeles oi
Jerusalem, the preacher of Islamism addressed himself to
the soldiers of Saladin, and congratulated them with having
braved so many perils, and having shed their blood to
accomplish the will of Mahomet. " The soldiers of the
prophet," added he, " tlie companions of Omar and Abou-
beker, have appointed you places in their lioly bands, and
expect you amongst the elect of Islamism. Witnesses of
yoiu* last triumph, the aDgels on the right hand of the
Eternal have rejoiced ; the hearts of the messengers of God
liave leaped with joy. Praise, then, with me the Lord ; but
yield not to the weaknesses of pride, and do not, above
everything, believe that it was your swords of steel, with
your horses, rapid as the wind, that have triumphed over
the infidels. God is God; God alone is powerful; God
alone has given you the victory ; he orders you not to stop
in a glorious career in which he himself leads you by tlie
hand. The holy war ! the holy war ! that is the most pure
of your adorations, the most noble of your duties. Cut
down aU the branches of impiety ; cause Islamism to triumph
everywhere ; deliver the earth of the nations against which
God is angry."

The chief of the imauns then prayed for the caliph of
Bagdad, and terminated his prayer by naming Saladin. " O
God ! " cried he, " w^atch over the days of thy faithful servant,
who is thy sharp sword, thy resplendent star, the defender
of thy worship, the liberator of thy sacred dwelling. O God !
let thy angels surroimd his empire, and prolong his days for
the glory of thy name !"

Thus Jerusalem had changed its worship on changing its
masters. "Whilst the holy places resounded with the sacri-
legious praises of the prophet, the Christians departed sadly,
plunged in profound grief, and detesting the life which the
Saracens had spared. Repulsed by their brethren of the
East, who accused them of having given up the tomb of
their God to the infidels, they wandered about Syria, without
assistance and without asylum ; many died of grief and
hunger; the city of Tripoli shut its gates against them
Among this distracted multitude, one woman, urged by
despair, cast her infant into the sea, cursing the Christiana
who refused them succour. They who directed their course

434 nisTOEi OF the crusades.

to Egypt were less unfortunate, and touched the hearts of
the Mussulmans ; many embarked for Europe, whither they
came to announce, with lamentations, that Jerusalem was in
the hands of Saladin.

The loss of tlie holy city was generally attributed to the
crimes of its inhabitants. Such was the policy of those
times, that it explained everything by the corruption or the
sanctity of the Christians ; as if crime had not its moments
of good fortune, and virtue its days of calamity. There is
no doubt that the corruption of manners had weakened the
springs of government, and enervated the co«iirage of the
people ; but the never-ending discords of the Cliristians did
not contribute less than their licentiousness and forgetfulness
of scriptural morality, in producing the disasters of Jerusa-
lem. When we reflect, likewise, that this weak kingdom,
surrounded by enemies, was able to support itself, and defer
its ruin for eighty-eight years, we are much less astonished
at its fall than at the length of its duration. The kingdom
of Jerusalem owed its preservation and splendour to the
divisions of the Turks and Saracens, and the numerous sup-
plies it received from Europe ; it fell as soon as it was left
to itself, and its enemies united to attack it.

A.s it was at that time, however, believed that the welfare
of Christianity and the glory even of Grod were attached to
the preservation of Jerusalem, the loss of the holy city
created throughout Europe as much surprise as consterna-
tion. The news of this disaster was first brought into Italy ;
and Pope Urban III., who was then at Eerrara, died of
grief. Christians forgot all the ills of their own country to
weep over Jerusalem ; it even superseded all other afflictions
in private families. Priests carried from city to city images,*
representing the holy sepulchre trampled under the feet of
horses, and Christ cast to the earth by Mahonet. Melan-
choly songs deplored the captivity of the king of Jerusalem
and his knights, the fate of the virgins of the Lord aban-
doned to the insidts of infidels, and the misfortunes of
Christian children brought up in slavery and in the worship
of false prophets.

* This fact, which is not mentioned by our Western authors, is related
fldth many details by Boba ■eddin and Abul-feda.

niSTORT or THE CRUSADES. 435

Superstition, joined with despair, created a belief in the
most sinister prodigies. On the dav Saladin entered into
the holy city, says Eigord, the monlts of ArgenteuiT saw the
moon descend from heaven npon the earth, and then re-ascend
to lieaven. In many churches the crucifixes and images of
the saints shed tears of blood in the presence of the faithful.
A Cln*istian knight had a d.eam, in which he saw an eagle
flpng over an army, holding in his claws seven javelins, and
uttering in an intelligible voice, Evil he to Jerusalem.*

Every one accused himself of having brought down the
vengeance of Heaven by his own offences ; and all the faithful
sought to appease by penitence a God whom they believed to
be irrit;ated. " The Lord," said they among themselves, " has
poured out the floods of his wrath, and the arrows of his
anger are bathed in the blood of his servants. Let our
whole life pass away in mourning, since we have heard a
voice complaining on the mountain of Sion, and the children
of the Lord are scattered." The sacred orators addressed
God himself, and made the churches resound with their
invocations and prayers. "0 powerful God!" cried they,
" thy hand has armed itself for the triumph of thy justice.
Filled ^ith tears, we come to implore thy goodness, in order
that thou mayest remember thy people, and that thy mercies
may exceed our miseries ; deliver not over thy heritage to
shame; and let the angels of peace obtain the fruits of
penitence for Jerusalem."

The Christian world was for a moment changed. Whilst
weeping for the loss of the tomb of Christ, people recalled
the precepts of the holy Scriptures, and became all at once
V)etter. Luxury was banished from cities ; injuries were
forgotten, and alms were given abundantly. Christians slept
upon ashes, clothed themselves in hair-cloth, and expiated
their disorderly lives by fasting and mortification. The
clergy set the example ; the morals of the cloisters were
reformed, and cardinals, condemning themselves to poverty,
promised to repair to the Holy Land, supported on charity
by the way.

These pious reformations did not last long; but men's minda

* These prodigies remind us of those related by the historian Josephus,
in his account of the conquest of Jerusalem.

20*

436 HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES.

were not the less prepared for a new crusade by them, and
all Europe was soon roused by the voice of Gregory A'lll.,
who exhorted the faithful to assume the cross and take up
arms. The first care of the sovereign pontitf was to re-
establish peace among Christian nations ; and with that view
he repaired to Pisa, to endeavour to terminate the angry
disputes that had arisen between the Pisans and the
Grenoese. Gregory died without finishing the Avork he liad
begun, and left the direction of the crusade to his successor,
Clement III., who, immediately after his accession to the
pontifical throne, ordered prayers for the peace of the West
and the deliverance of the land of the pilgrims.

William,* archbishop of Tyre, had quitted the East to
come into Europe to solicit the assistance of the Christian
princes, and was charged by the pope to preach the holy war.
William was more able and more eloquent than Heraclius,
who had preceded him in this mission, and, further, more
worthy by his virtues of being the interpreter of the Chris-
tians, and to speak in the name of Christ. After having
awakened the zeal of the nations of Italy, he repaired to
Erance, and was present at an assembly convoked near
Gisors, by Henry II. of England, and Philip Augustus of
Erance. On the arrival of William, these two kings, who
were at war for the country of Yexin, laid down their arras.
The bravest warriors of Erance and England, united by the
dangers of their brothers of the East, came to the assembly
whose object was the deliverance of the holy places. Wil-
liam was received with enthusiasm, and read with a loud

* Marin, in his History of Saladin, and several others after him, have
pretended that the William who came into Europe to preach the crusade,
was not the author of the History of Jerusalem. This assertion is founded
nn an obscure passage of Hugh de Plagon, and is not at all confirmed by
the testimony of contemporary hi-torians. Matthew Paris, and all the
other authors of the time, give the name of William to the archbishop of
Tyre who came into Europe ; if this William had not been the same as
the historian of this name, would it not have been remarked by contem -
porary chronicles } All these chronicles give us some details of the birth
and life of William, author of the History of Jerusalem ; and if another
William, archbishop of Tyre, came into the West, why have not the
historians of the time made him known, and said something of him ? His
mission was sufficiently important, the see in which he was placed attracted
attention enough, for the second to be mentioned as well as the first, if
there was one.

HISTOEY OF TnE CRUSADES. 437

voice, to the princes and kuights, an account of the taking
of Jerusalem by Saladin. After this reading, which drew
fcears fr^m all the assembly, William exhorted the faithful
to take the cross. " The mountain of Sion," said he, " still
resounds with the words of Ezekiel : 0 children of men^
remember that day in which the king of Bahylon triumphed
over Jerusalem ! In one single day all the evils that the
prophets annoimced fell upon the city of David and Solo-
mon. That city, filic^d by all Christian nations, remains now
alone, or rather is only inhabited by a sacrilegious people.
The queen of nations, the capital of so many provinces, has
])aid the tribute imposed upon slaves. All her gates have
been broken, and her guardians exposed with cattle in the
markets of infidel cities. The Christian states of the East,
which caused the religion of the cross to flourish in Asia,
and formed the bulwark of the West against the invasions
of the Saracens, are reduced to the cities of Tyre, Antioch,
and Tripoli. We have seen, according to the expression of
Isaiah, the Lord extending his hand and its inflictions from
the Euphrates to the torrent of Egypt. The inhabitants of
forty cities have been driven from their homes, despoiled of
their wealth, and are now wandering with their weeping
families among the nations of Asia, without finding a stone
whereon to lay their heads. ^^

After having thus described the misfortunes of the Chris-
tians of the East, William reproached the warriors who
listened to him, with not having come to the aid of their
brethren, and with having allowed the heritage of Christ to
be taken from them. He was astonished that they could
entertain another thought, that they could seek any other
glory than that of delivering the holy places ; and addressing
nimself to the princes and knights: "To meet you here,"
said he, " I have traversed fields of carnage ; nay, within
^ight even of this assembly I have seen preparations for
^ar : what blood is it you have shed, what blood is it you
,ie about to shed again? Why are you armed with these
iwords? Yo '. "re fi.ghting here for the banks of a river,
for the limits of a province, or for a transient renown, whilst
infiaels trample the banks of Siloe, whilst they invade the
kingdom c>f God, and whilst the cross of Christ is dragged
ignominiously through the streets of Bagdad. You shed

138 HISTORY or THE CEUSADES.

torrents of blood for vain treaties, wliilst the v€ ry Gospel,
that solemn treaty between God and men, is being outraged
Have you forgotten the deeds of your fiitliers ? A Chris-
tian kingdom was founded by them in the midst of Mussul-
man nations. A crowd of heroes, a crowd of princes born
in your country, went to defend and govern it. If you have
permitted their work to perish, come at least and deliver
their tombs, which are in the power of the Saracens. Does
your Europe no longer produce such warriors as Godfre^^
Tancred, and their companions ? The prophets and saints
buried at Jerusalem, the churches transformed into mosques,
the very stones of the sepulchres, all cry to you to avenge
the glory of God and the death of your brethren. What !
why, the blood of Naboth, the blood of Abel which arose
towards heaven, found avengers, and shall the blood of
Christ arise in vain against his enemies and his execu-
tioners ?

" The East has beheld base Christians, whom avarice and
fear have rendered the allies of Saladin •, I do not suspect
they will find imitators among you; but remember what
Christ has said : ' lie tvlio is not for me is against me.'* If
you do not defend the cause of God, what cause will you
dare defend ? If the king of heaven and earth find you not
beneath his colours, where are the powers whose standards
you will follow ? Why then are the enemies of God no
longer the enemies of all Christians ? What will be the joy
of the Saracens amidst their impious triumphs, when they
shall be told that the West has no more warriors faithful to
Christ, and that the princes and kings of Europe have learnt
with indifference the disasters and captivity of Jerusalem ?"

These reproaches made in the name of religion affected
the hearts of the princes and knights deeply. Henry II.
and Philip Augustus, to that time implacable enemies, em-
braced each other in tears, and put themselves forward the
first to receive the cross. Richard, duke of Guienne, son
of Henry, Philip, count of Elanders, Hugh, duke of Bur-
gundy, Henry, count of Champagne, Thibaut. coimt of
Blois, E-etrou, count of Perche, the counts of Nevers, de
Bar, Vendome, Soissons, the two brothers Josselin and
Matthew de Montmorency, with a crowd of barons and
knights, together with several bishops of France and En^-

HISTOET OF THE CRUSADES. 439

ifiTii, a^i took the oath to deliver the Holy Land. The
whole asgembly shouted the words " the .Cross ! the Gross !^^
and this war-cry soon resounded through all the provinces.
Tlie spot on which the faithful met was afterwards called the
sacred field, and a church was built upon it to preserve tut)
remembrance of the pious devotion of the Christian knights.
As money was wanting to carry out the holy enterprise, it
Wii% resolved in the council of the princes and bishops that
all who did not take the cross should pay a tenth part of
their revenues and of the value of their property of all kinds.
The terror which the arms of Saladin had inspired, caused
the name of the Saladin tithe to be given to this tax. Ex-
communications were published against all such as refused
to pfiy a debt so sacred. In vain the clergy, of whom Peter
of BTois undertook the defence, alleged the liberty and inde-
pendence of the Church, and pretended they could not be
called on to assist the Crusaders otherwise than by their
prayers ; the ecclesiastics were told that they ought to set
the example, that the clergy was not the Church, and that
the wealth of the Church belonged to Christ. The orders
of the Chartreux, of Citeaux and Fontevrault, with the hos-
pital for lepers, were all that were exempt from a tribute
raised for a cause which was believed to be that of all
Christians.*

In the two first crusades, the greater part of the viUagera
who hgjd taken the cross, had done so to emancipate them-
selves from slavery. Some disorders naturally resulted from
this ; the country was deserted, the lands were uncidtivated ;
in this crusade means were taken to set bounds to the too
forward zeal of the labourers : all serfs who enrolled them-
selves i'»r the holy war, without the permission of their
^ords, were condemned to pay the Saladin tithe, as if they
l^ad not taken the cross, f

Notwithstanding aU this excitement, the peace which had

* For the history of this period, the following authors may be con-
sulted with advantage : — The Acts of Rymer, the historian Rigord, Roger
of Hoveden, Matthew Paris, William of Newbridge, the Chronicle of
Alberic of Trois Fontaines, Otho of St. Blaise, Brompton, the Chronicle
of Gervais, &c.

f "The noblest monument of a conqueror's fame and of the terror
whi>^h he inspired, is the Saladin tenth." — Gibbon. — Trans.

440 HISTOET OF THE crvrsA^DEa.

been ST*^om to by the kings of France and England was not
long held sacred. Eichard, who was duke of Guierne, having
had a quarrel with the count cf Thoulouse, Henry tooS
up arms to assist his son. Philip flew to the defence of his
vassal; and Normandy, Berry, andAuvergne were soon in a
blaze. The two monarchs, urged by the solicitations of the
nobles and bishops, met for a moment in the sacred field in
which they had laid down their arms, but they could not
agree upon the conditions of the peace ; and the elm-tree
under which they held their conferen*ce, was cut down by the
orders of Philip. Negotiations were renewed several tunes
without putting a stop to the war. The king of France re-
quired that Richard should be crowned king of England, in
the lifetime of his father, and that he should espouse Alice,
a French princess, whom Henry detained in prison. The
king of England, jealous of his authority, could not consent
to accept these conditions ; and would neither yield up his
crown nor the sister of Philip, of whom he was enamoured.
Eichard, irritated by his father's refusal, threw himself into
the party of Philip Augustus, and declared openly against
Henry ; on all sides they flew to arms, and the produce of
the Saladin tithe was employed to carry on a sacrilegious
war, which outraged both morality and nature.

This war was not a good augury for that which was about
to be undertaken in Asia : the pope's legate excommunicated
Kichard, and threatened Philip with placing his kingdom
under an interdict. Philip despised the menaces cf the
legate, and told him that the Holy See had no right to med-
dle with the quarrels of princes ; Eichard, still more Yiolent,
drew his sword, and was on the point of cuttinp- do'VTn the
legate. Peace seemed every day to be at a greater distance ;
in vain cries of indignation arose from the people ; in vain
the great vassals refused to take part in a quarrel which in-
terested neither religion nor country. Henry, who consented
to an interview, still haughtily rejected the conditions tnpt
were proposed to him. He resisted for a long time bctj
the prayers of his subjects and the counsels of the bishops j
and the terror only with which the thunder of Heaven, which
fell by his side during the conference, inspired him, could
overcome his obstinacy. He at length accepted Pldiip'a
conditions, but soon repented of his acquiescence ; and

HISTORY OF THE CBUSADES. 44f"j

Bhortly after died of grief, leaving his maledictions to Bicliard,
who had made open war against him, and to his youngest
Bon, who had engagfed in a conspiracy against him.

Ei chard accused himself of the death of his father, and,
pressed by repentance, he remembered the vow he had made
in the sacred field. Now become king of England, he began
seriously his preparations for the holy expedition. He re-
paired to his kingdom, and convoked, near Northampton, an
assembly of the barons and prelates, in which Baldwin, arch-
bishop of Canterbury, preached the crusade. The preacher
of the holy war then went through the provinces of England
to raise the zeal and emulation of the faithful.* Miraculous
adventures attested the sanctity of his mission, and brought
under the banners of the cross the wild and crediilous inha-
bitants of Wales, and several other countries where the mis-
fortunes of Jerusalem had never been heard of.

The enthusiasm of the English for this crusade, mani-
fested itself at first by a violent persecution of the Jews,
great numbers of whom were massacred in the cities of
London and York. A vast many of these unfortunate
people found no means of escape from their persecutors but
in a self-inflicted death. These horrible scenes were renewed
every crusade. When money was required for the holy ex-
pedition, it was perceived that the Jews were the depositaries
of the general wealth ; and the knowledge of the treasures
accumulated in their hands, seemed to lead the people to
remember that it was they who had crucified their God.

Kichard did not take much pains to repress the misguided
multitude, but availed himself of the persecution of the
Jews to increase his own treasm*es. But neither the spoils
of the Jews, nor the produce of the Saladin tithe, for the
non-payment of which the English were threatened with
imprisonment, at all satisfied the king of England. Richard

* There is extant in Latin an account of the journey of Archbishop
Baldwin through the country of Wales, entitled Itinerarium Cambrics^
drawn up by Barry, who accompanied the preacher of the crusade. This
journey is curious, from the singular prodigies and miracles which are
related in it. If this relation may be credited. Archbishop Baldwin
neglected no means to induce the people to take the cross ; he enrolled
one do.y, says Barry, a great number of men who came to him in a state
of nudity, their clothes being secreted by their wives and friends, wha
withod to prevent their going.

442 HISTOET OE THE CEUSADES.

alienated the domains of the crown, and put to sale all the
great dignities of the kingdom ; he would se?l, he said, the
city of London, if he could find a purchaser. He went
afterwards into Normandy, where the "Estates" permitted
him to exhaust that rich province, and gave him full meana
to support a war in which the whole people took so great an
interest.

A great number of warriors assumed the cross in France
and England, and the preparations for the crusade were
finished amidst general fermentation. Many barons and
lords, however, did not annoimce the period of their de-
parture, and delayed, under various pretexts, the pilgrimage
to which they had engaged themselves by oath. The cele-
brated Peter of Blois, addressed a pathetic exhortation to
them, in which he compared them to reapers who put oil
beginning their work until the harvest was finished. The
orator of the holy war represented to them that strong and
courageous men found a country everywhere, and that true
pilgrims ought to resemble the birds of heaven.* He recalled
to their ambition the example of Abraham, who abandoned
his home to elevate himself among the nations, who crossed
the Jordan with a staff* only, and returned followed by two
troops of warriors. This exhortation revived the ardour for
the crusade, which had evidently begun to cool. The mon-
archs of Erance and England had an interview at Nonan-
coiu't, where they agreed to proceed to Palestine by sea.
They made, at the same time, several regulations to secui*e
order and discipline in the armies they were about to lead
into Asia. The laws of religion, and the penalties that they
inflict, did not appear to them sufficient in this case. The
justice of these barbarous ages was charged mththe onerous
task of suppressing the passions and vices of the Crusaders:
whoever gave a blow, was to be plunged three times into the

* The discourse of Peter of Blois, which is printed in his works, has
for title, Tractatus de JerosoJymitand Peregrinatione. After having
quoted several passages from the Bible and Testament to exhort the Cru-
saders to set out, he cites two verses from the tenth chapter of Juvenal,
and two verses from the Fasti of Ovid. He is not satisfied with pre-
senting to the pilgrims the example of Abraham, but points out to them
all the kings and captains of profane antiquity. Peter of Blois does not
spare, in his discourse, the princes and nobles who compelled the clergy
to pay tribute towards the expenses of the holy war.

HISTOET OF THE CErSADES. 443

sea; "he wlio struck with the sword, had his hand cut off;
he who abused another, gave to the person he had offended
as many ounces of silver as 1 e had uttered invectives ; when
a man was convicted of theft, boiling pitch was poured upon
his shaven head, it was then covered with feathers, and he
was abandoned on the nearest shore ; a murderer, bound to
the corpse of his victim, was to be cast into the sea, or buried
alive.

As the presence of women had occasioned many disorders
ill the first crusade, they were forbidden to go to the Holy
Land. Gambling with dice, or other games of chance,
together with profane swearing or blasphemy, were strictly
forbidden among the Crusaders ; and luxury of the table or
in clothes was repressed by a law. The assembly of Nonan-
court made many other regidations, and neglected nothing
likely to bring back the soldiers of Christ to the simplicity
and virtues of the Gospel.

Whenever princes, nobles, or knights set out for the holy
war, they made their wills, as if they were certain never to
return to Europe. When Philip came back to his capital,
he declared his last will, and regulated, for the period of his
absence, the administration of his kingdom, which he con-
fided to Queen Adela, his mother, and his uncle, the Cardinal
de Champagne. After having fulfilled the duties of a king,
he laid down the sceptre, to take, at St. Denis, the staff and
scrip of a pilgrim, and went to Vezelay, where he was to
have another interview vdth Richard. The two kings again
swore an eternal friendship, and both called down the
thunders of the Church upon the head of him who should
break his oaths. They separated full of friendship for each
other ; Bichard hastened to embark at Marseilles, and Philip
at Genoa. An English historian remarks that they were
the only kings of Prance and England that ever fought
together for the same cause ; but this harmony, the work of
extraordinary circumstances, was not likely to exist long
between two princes acted upon by so many motives of
rivalry. Both young, ardent, brave, and magnificent; Philip
the greater king, Kichard the greater captain; both animated
by the same ambition and the same passion for glory.
Desire for renown, much more than piety, drew them to
the Holy Land : botfi haughty and prompt to revenge an in-

444 HISTORY OF TEE CUrgADEa.

jury,tliey acknowledged, in their various liiferences, no otlier
arbitrator or judge but the sword : religion had not sufficient
empire over their minds to humblo their pride, and each
would have thought himself degraded, if he had either de-
manded or accepted peace. To ascertain, at a glance, how
little hope could be founded on the union of these two
princes, it is only necessary to observe, that Philip, on
ascending his throne, had shown himself to be the most
inveterate enemy of England, and that E/ichard was the son
of that Eleanor of Guienne, the first wife of Louis VII.,
who, after the second crusade, had quitted her husband,
threatening Erance with her revenge.

After the conference of Gisors, the archbishop of Tyre
repaired to Germany, to solicit Frederick Barbarossa to take
the cross. This prince had signalized his valour in forty
battles ; a long and fortunate reign had rendered his name
illustrious ; bnt his age recognised no glory as true but that
which was won in Asia.. He wished to deserve the praises
of his pious contemporaries, and took up arms for the
deliverance of the Holy Land ; he was, likewise, doubtless
influenced by the scruples which his quarrels with the pope
had left upon his conscience, and by his desire to perfect
his reconciliation with the Holy See.

A general diet was assembled at Mayence. The nobles
and prelates would not allow Germany to remain indifferent
to a cause which had inflamed the zeal of the other nations
of Europe. Erederick, whose devotion they encouraged,
descended from his throne, amidst general acclamations, and
received the sign of the Crusaders from the hands of the
archbishop of Tyre. His example was followed by his son,
Erederick duke of Swabia ; Leopold duke of Austria, and
Berthold duke of Moravia ; Herman, marquis of Baden, the
count of Nassau, the bishops of Besan^on, Munster, Osna-
burg, and Passau, w^ith a crowd of barons and knights, like-
wise swore to deliver the tomb of Christ.

The war against the infidels was preached in all the
churches. Happy, said the sacred orators, are they who
undertake this holy voyage ; more happy are they who never
return from it. Among the prodigies that appeared to
announce the will of Heaven, ;he miraculous vision of a
virgin of Lewenstein, is particularly mentioned. She had

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 445

learnt tlie conquest of Jerusalem on the very day that the
Saracens had entered the holy city, and rejoiced at thia
lamentable event, saying that it would furnish a means of
salvation for the warriors of the West.*

The multitude of those who presented themselves to re-
ceive the cross was so great, that means were obliged to be
taken to repress their ardour, rrederick, who had followed
his uncle Conrad in the second crusade, was aware of the
disorders and misfortunes that might result from too great
a number of followers. He refused to receive under his
banners any who could not take with them three marks of
silver ; and rejected all such vagabonds and adventurers as
had, in the other expeditions, committed so many excesses,
and dishonoured the cause of the Christians by their
brigandage.

Frederick, before his departure, sent ambassadors to the
emperor of Constantinople, and the sultan of Iconium, to
demand freedom of passage through their states ; and wrote
to Saladin, to declare war, if he did not restore to the Franks
Jerusalem and the other Christian cities that had surrendered
to his arms.f The embassy addressed to Saladin, shows the
spirit of chivalry in which Frederick entered upon this
crusade. That which, without doubt, induced him to
address the sultan of Iconium, was an opinion then spread
through Europe, that the Mussulman prince had evinced a
desire of embracing the Christian religion. ;J; Frederick left
Ratisbon at the head of an army of a hmidred thousand
combatants, and crossed Hungary and Bulgaria, as the first
Crusaders had done. He arrived in the provinces of the
Greek empire before Eichard and Philip had embarked for
Palestine.

Isaac Angelus was then seated on the throne of Constan-
tinople ; this prince had only been brave on one single day,
and his courage procui'ed him an empire. Andronicus, the

* Cantipratensis apud Surium, die Junii, cap. 20. This is likewise
related by Besoldo, I'Je Reyit/us Hyerosolimitanorum, p. 274.

f The It tter written by Frederick to Saladin, and the answer of Saladia
to Frederick, have been preserved by Baronius and Matthew Paris.

X In the works of Peter of Blois is a letter which Alexander III. wrota
to the sultan of Iconium, giving him counsels to direct him in his con-
rersion. The same letter is in many other collections.

446 HISTORY or the crusades.

Nero of tlie Grreeks, having been warned by soothsayers
that he would be dethroned by one of liis subjects, who bore
the name of Isaac, desired to get rid of Isaac Angelus, and
sent one of his officers to conduct him to prison. Isaac,
animated by despair, instead of obeying, threw himself upon
the minister of Andronicus, struck him to the earth, and
running into the public streets, cried out : " I ha/ve killed
the devil ! I have hilled the devil .'" Upon the report of
this eyent spreading through the city, the people assembled
in crowds and proclaimed Isaac emperor. In yain Andronicus
endeavoured to quiet tlie storm ; he was seized by his own
soldiers, and loaded with chains. Dragged through the
streets by an infuriated midtitude, he underwent in one day
more torments than he had inflicted upon his enemies during
all his reign, and Constantinople beheld a populace a hun-
di'ed times more barbarous than all her tyrants.

It was amidst these bloody and disgusting scenes that
Isaac was clothed with the imperial purple. He did not
possess tlie savage character of Andronicus, but he was
entirely incapable of defending the empire against its ene-
mies. Instead of raising armies, he gathered together in
his palace a troop of monks, who kept up his sense of secu-
rity by their prayers, and tiu-ned his attention from the
cares and duties of state by their visions and prophecies.
The mutual hatred of the Greeks and Latins had increased
under his reign and that of Andronicus. The Latins who
inhabited Constantinople were driven from the city, their
houses were given up to the flames, and a great number of
them were put to death. They who escaped the carnage
took refuge in the vessels and galleys, and made sanguinary
reprisals on the islands and shores of the Hellespont. The
monks who surrounded Isaac partook of the blind hatred
entertained by the people for the Christians of the West,
and dreaded their vengeance. They advised the successor
of Andronicus to mistrust the emperor of Grermany, and to
betray him if he could not conquer him.

Faithful to their counsels, Isaac promised to entertain the
G-ermans in his states, and at the same time formed an
alliance with Saladin. He sent orders to his governors to
harass the Crusaders, and even to attack them by open force.
These imprudent hostilities exposed the weakness of the

HISTORY OF THE CHUSADES. 447

Greeks, and were of service to the Germans ; for ^Frederick,
S,fter liaving put the troops of Isaac to- flight, took every
advantage of his victory. Isaac, constantly intoxicated by
the incense of his courtiers, and seduced by the promises of
the monks, only replied to- the victories of Frederick by
letters full of haughtiness and menaces ; he refused to
acknowledge him as emperor, and could see nothing but a
vassal in a prince who was marching in triumph towards his
capital. Whilst his subjects were from all parts Hying before
the Germans, he gave himself in his letters the titles of most
sublime, most powerful emperor, the angel of the whole earth ;
and caused the ambassadors of Frederick to be imprisoned.
The patriarch of Constantinople preached, by his orders, iu
the church of St. Sophia, the murder of the Latins.

Nevertheless, terror at length took possession of the heart
of Isaac, and from that moment this j_>rince altered the tone
of his language, and became the most humble of suppliants.
Prederick was now for him, the most virtuous emperor of the
Germans, and he voluntarily granted Jaim much more than
he had before refused him. After having required hostages,
he himself gave them, and fed during several months an
army he had sworn to destroy. He endured without a
murmur the violences which the Crusaders committed in
their passage, and treated an army that laid waste his pro-
vinces as if they had saved his empire. The emperor of
Germany received magnificent presents, and all the vessels
of the Greek navy were employed in transporting the
Crusaders into Asia.

The Germans embarked at Gallipoli, and crossed the
Hellespont. The sight of the coasts of Asia, and the easy
victories they had obtained over the Greeks, made them
forget the obstacles and dangers of a long ai \ painful
march. They saw nothing in the regions they were about
to traverse but laurels to be gathered and kingdoms to be
destroyed or founded ; but it was not long ere this brilliant
nrospect disappeared. Whilst they remained in the terri-
tories of Isaac, they had to suffer from the perfidy of the
Greeks : and when they arrived among the Turks, they had
frejsh enemies to contend with. The sultan of Iconium, who
had been as liberal of his promises as the emperor of Con-
Bfcantinople, did not prove at aU more faithful to his word,

448 niSTOEY OF tile CEUSADE3.

When the Germans arrived on the banks of the Meander,
near Laodicea, they found the Turks drawn up in order of
battle upon the heights, and ready to surprise them in the
defiles : the latter were, however, puuished for the treachery
of their master, and cut to pieces ; their bodies covered the
passages they had been charged to defend.

The Crusaders, ever persuaded tnat Heaven protected
their arms, attributed this victory to miracles. Several
knights declared, upon oath, that they had seen St. George
and St. Victor,* clothed in white, and armed with lances,
lighting at the head of the Christians ; but the celestial
powers that had thus enabled the Germans to triumph over
the arms of their enemies, did not destroy the obstacles
which impeded the march of their victorious army. The
Crusaders soon felt the want of provisions in a coimtry
ravaged at the same time by the conquerors and the con-
quered. Snow, rain, and the rigours of winter rendered
their march exceedingly painful through a mountainous
region, intersected by torrents that had overflowed their
banks. Hunger and disease destroyed a great number of
the soldiers. To remedy the evils which threatened his
army with entire ruin, Frederick was obliged to attack
Iconium, the very capital in which he had expected to find
peace and all the provisions he stood in need of.

At the first signal the ramparts Avere scaled ; Iconium
was taken by assault, and given up to pillage. The beaten
sultan then fulfilled his promises, and this last victory
restored abundance in the Christian army.

From this time the Germans spread terror in every
country around them. The Armenians solicited their
alliance, and the independent tribes of the Turcomans, on
several occasions, felt the effects of their courage. During
their triumphal march they attracted the admiration of the
natives by their discipline ; and the emirs, charged with
announcing their arrival to Saladin, praised their indomi-
table valour in fight, and their heroic patience in the labours
and fatigues of war.

The leader of this formidable army had conquered several

* The monk Pant, who was himself a Crusader, and Crusius, botli
&tttist this ujirucle.

HISTORY OE THE <JiilJSADE3. 44S

nations, and dictated laws to two empires, without having
yet done anything towards the aim of ins 'enterprise. Afl/ef
having crossed Mount Taurus, near Laurenda, iie had
resumed his march towards Syria at the beginning of
spring, and was proceeding along the banks of the river
Solef.* Attracted by the freshness and limpidity of the
waters, he wished to bathe ; but, seized all at once by a
iriortal coldness, he was dragged out insensible, and suun
lifter died, humbly bowing to the will of God, who wouid
not allow him to behold the land he was going to defend.
His death was more fatal to his army than the loss ol a
great battle ; ail the Germans wept for a chief who haa so
often, led them to victory, and whose name alone was tlie
cerror oi the Saracens. The bones of this unfortunate
monarch were preserved for the purpose of being buried in
that Jerusalem he had sworn to deliver, but in which he
couJd not even obtain a tomb. William, who had been to
preach the crusade in Europe, buried the remains of Prede-
r.ck in the city of Tyre, and pronounced the funeral oration
of the most powerful monarch of the Christians.

After the death of Frederick, grief weakened the courage
of his soldiers ; some deserted the banners of the crusade,
whibt the others listlessly and sadly continued their march
under the orders of Frederick, duke of Swabia, who re-

•^ Most historia:as make Freaerick perish in the river Cydnus, in which
Alexander bathed ; but they have confounded the Cydnus with the Selef,
accoraing to historians of the time. The Cydnus, which is now called
Kara-sou, that is to say, black water, flows from Antitaurus into Lower
Armenia, near anc.ent Diansea ; it enters Cilicia, passes by the city of
Tarsus, and falls into the sea two leagues from that city. Selef, a little
river, has its source in the mountains of Isauria, and bathes the walls of
Seleucia ; the inliabicants cotimonly call it "the water of Selefke."
According to Armenian historians, it was in this river Frederick Barba-
rossa met his death. S. Narses, of Lampron, sent by the Armenians to
compliment the emperor of Germany, says that that prince, bathing in the
river Selef, was carried away by the rapidity of the stream, and that, being
weakened by age, he was not able to contend against it, and was drowned.
(This precious and authentic information is given us by M. Cahan de Cer-
bied, Armenian professor.) The Arabian historian Omad relates that
Frederick Barbarossa was drowned in endeavouring to cross the river on
horseback ; the force of the stream carried him towards a tree, against
which he struck his head. He was dragged out of the water, adds Omad,
and his soul being ready to quit his body, the angel of death took pcs-
esssiou of it, and carried it to hell.

450 HISTOHY OF THE CRUSADES.

minded them of the virtues of his father, but was unable
to lead them to victory. The contests they still had to
maintain against the Saracens, together with hunger, fatigue,
and disease, reduced the army of the Germans to six or
seven hundred horse, and about five thousand foot. This
miserable wreck of a formidable army crossed Syria ; and
the report of their disasters having preceded them, their
arrival must have created more terror than confidence
among the Christians, who were then carrying on the siego
of Ptolemais.

BOOK VIIL

A.D. 1188—1192.

"Whilst the crusade was being preached in Europe,
Saladin was following up the course of his yictories. The
battle of Tiberias and the taking of Jerusalem had created
so general a terror, that the inhabitants of the Holy Land
were persuaded it was useless to endeavour to resist the
army of the Saracens. Amid this consternation, one city
alone defied and checked all the united forces of the new
conqueror of the East. Saladin was exceedingly anxious
for the conquest of Tyre, and had twice collected both his
fleets and his armies to attack it. But the inhabitants had
sworn to die rather than surrender to the Mussulmans ;
which noble determination was the work of Conrad, who
had recently arrived in the city, and appeared to have been
sent by Heaven to save it.

Conrad, son of the marquis of Montferrat, bore a name
renowTied throughout the West, and the fame of his
exploits had preceded him into Asia. In his earliest
youth he had distinguished himself in the war of the Holy
See against the emperor of Grermany. A. passion for glory
and a love of adventure then led him to Constantinople,
where he suppressed a sedition which threatened the imperial
throne, and killed the leader of the rebels on the field of
battle. The sister of Isaac Angelus and the title of Caesar
were the reward of his courage and his services ; but his
restless character would not allow him to enjoy his good
fortune long. Whilst surrounded by peaceful grandeur, he
was roused by the fame of the holy war, and, heedless of the
tenderness of a bride, or the gratitude of an emperor, he
hastened into Palestine. Conrad readied the coast of
Phcenicia a few days after the battle of Tiberias. At the
moment of his arrival, the city of Tyre had named deputies
Vol. I.— 21

A52 HISTOHY OF THE CEUSADES.

to demand a capitulation of Saladin ; but his presence
revived the courage of the besieged, and changed the face
*f everything. He caused himself to be made commander^
he widened the ditches, and repaired the fortifications ; and
the inhabitants of Tyre, attacked by sea and land, becoming
all at once invincible warriors under his orders, weie able tc
contend with the fleets and armies of the Saracens.

The old marquis of Montferrat, the father of Conrad, who
had left his peaceful states to visit the Holy Land, waa
present at the battle of Tiberias. Made prisoner by the
Mussulmans, he languished in the prisons of Damascus,
until his children might be able to deliver him or purchase
his liberty.

Saladin sent for him to his army, and promised the bravo
Conrad to restore his father, and grant him rich possessions
in Syria, if he would open the gates of Tyre to him. lie
threatened at the same time to place the old marquis before the
front rank of the Saracens, and expose him to all the arrows
of the besieged. Conrad haughtily replied that he despised
the gifts of infidels, and that the life of his father was less
dear to him than the cause of the Christians. He added
that nothing should stop his exertions, and that if the
Saracens were so barbarous as to sacrifice an old man who
had surrendered himself upon the word of Saladin, he should
take glory from being descended from a martyr. After this
reply the Saracens renewed their attacks, and the Tyrians
continued to defend themselves bravely. The Hospitallers,
the Templars, and the bravest of the warriors that were still
in Palestine, repaired to Tyre to take part in this gloriou?
defence. Among the Franks who distinguished themselves
by their valour, no one was more remarkable than a Spanisli
gentleman, known in history by the name of The Green
Knight. Alone, say the old chronicles, he repulsed and
dispersed Avhole battalions of the enemy ; he fought several
times in single combat, always overcoming the most intrepid
of the Mussulmans, and creating in Saladin the strongest
admiration for his courage and his feats of arms.

The city did not contain a single citizen that was not an
active combatant ; the children even were so many soldiers,
and the women animated the warriors by their presence and
their applause. On board the ships, under the walls, battlej

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 453

were continually fought ; and the Saracens, on all occasions,
again met with the Christian heroes that had so often
inspired them with fear.

Saladin, despairing of taking Tyre, resolved to raise the
siege, and attack Tripoli ; but was not more successful in
this new enterprise. William, king of Sicily, upon being
informed of the disasters in Palestine, sent assistance to
the Christians. Admiral Margarit, whose talents and vie*
tories had procured for him the surname of King of the Sea
and the New Neptune^ arrived on the coast of Syria witli
fifty galleys, three hundred knights, and five hundred foot-
soidiers. The Sicilian warriors hastened to the defence of
Tripoli, and, commanded by the Green Knight, Avho had so
eminently distinguished himself at the siege of T3''re, forced
Saladin to abandon his undertaking.

The citj^ and country of Tripoli, since the death of Ray-
mond, had belonged to Bohemond, prince of Antioch.
Saladin, exasperated by his double disappointment, laid
waste the banks of the Orontes, and forced Bohemond to
purchase a truce of eight months. The Mussulmans then
took possession of Tortosa and some castles built on the
heights of Libanus. The fortress of Carac, from which had
issued the war so fatal to the Christians, defended itself
during a whole year against a Mussulman army. The be-
sieged, destitute of all succour, and a prey to every kind of
evil and privation, carried resignation and bravery to perfect
heroism. " Before they would surrender," says the conti-
nuator of William of Tyre, " they sold their wives and
children to the Saracens, and there remained not an animal
in the castle of which they could make food." They werj
at length, however, forced to yield to Saladin ; the sultan
granting them their lives and their liberty, and restoring to
them their wives and children, whom a barbarous heroism
had condemned to slavery.

Throughout his conquests, Saladin still kept Gruy de Lu-
sigimn iu chains ; but when he became master of Carac and
the greater part of Palestine, he at length set the unfortunate
king of Jerusalem free, after having made him swear upon
th(i Gospel to renounce his kingdom for ever, and to return
to Europe. This promise, extorted by force, could not be
regarded aa binding in a war in which fanaticism sot at

464 HISTORY or the ceusades.

nouglit tlie power of an oath, on the one side or the other.
Saladin himself never entertained an idea that Guj would
keep his word ; and if he consented to liberate him, it was*
doubtless from the fear that a more able prince would be
chosen in his place, and from the hope that his presence
woidd bring discord among the Christians.

Guy was scarcely released from captivity, when he made
his bishops annul the- oath he had taken, and sought ear-
nestly for an opportunity of reconstructing a throne upon
which fortune had for a moment placed him. He presented
himself in vain before Tyre ; that city had given itself up to
Conrad, and would not acknowledge as king a prince who
had not been able to defend his own states. The king of
Jerusalem wandered for a loug time about his own kingdom,
accompanied by a few faithful attendants, and at length
resolved to undertake some enterprise that should draw
attention, and unite under his banners the warriors who
flocked from all parts of Europe to the assistance of the
Holy Land.

Guy laid siege to Ptolemais, which had surrendered to
Saladin a few days after the battle of Tiberias. This city,
which historians call by turns Acca, Accon, and Acre, was
built at the western extremity of a vast plain. Th« Medi-
terranean bathed its walls ; it attracted, by the commodious-
ness of its port, the navigators of Europe and Asia, and
deserved to reign over the seas with the city of Tyre, which
was situated not far from it. Deep ditches surrounded the
w^alls on the land side ; and, at equal distances, formidable
towers had been built, among which was conspicuous The
Cursed Tower, which dominated over the city and the plain.
A dyke, built of stone, closed the part towards the south,
terminated by a fortress, erected upon an isolated rock in
the midst of the waves.

The plain of Ptolemais is bounded on the north by Mount
Saron, which the Latins called Scala Tyrorum, — the ladders of
the Tyrians ; on the east by the mountains of Galilee ; and
on the south by Mount Carmel, which stretches into the
sea. The plain is intersected towards the city by two hills,
— the Turon, or the Mountain of the Worshipper, and the
Mahameria, or the Hill of the Prophet. Several rivers or
torrents descend from Mount Saron or from the mountains

HISTOEY OF THE CETJbADES. 455

of Galilee, and flow impetuously into the sea at a short
distance from Ptolemais. The most considerable of these
torrents is the Belus, which discharges itself to the south of
the city. In the rainy season it overflows its banks, and
forms around it marshes covered with rushes and reeds. Tlie
other torrents, whose beds in summer present nothing but
an arid sand, overflow in winter like the Belus. During
several montlis of the year a great part of the plain of
Ptolemais is under water ; and when summer comes to dry
the long-flooded fields, the exhalations corrupt the air and
spread around the germs of epidemic diseases.

Nevertheless, the plains of Ptolemais were fertile and
smiling : groves and gardens covered the country near the
city ; some villages arose on the declivities of the mountains,
and houses of pleasure dotted the hills. E^eligious and
profane traditions had bestowed names upon several spots in
the neighbourhood. A little hill reminded travellers of the
tomb of Memnon ; and upon Mount Carmel was pointed out
the retreat of Eli and Pythagoras. Such were the places
that were soon to become the theatre of a sanguinary war,
and see assembled and fighting the armies of Europe and
Asia.

Guy de Lusignan had but nine thousand men when he
laid siege to Ptolemais ; but the whole West was preparing
to fly to the defence of the Holy Land. The army of the
Christians soon became of sufiicient magnitude to excite
serious alarm among the Saracens. French, English, and
Flemish warriors preceded Philip and Eichard, imder the
command of Jacques d' Avesnes, one of the greatest captains
of his time, and the bishop of Beauvais, brother to the count
of Dreux. The Genoese, the Venetians, and the Pisans,
with the greater part of the Crusaders from the provinces of
Italy, arrived in Palestine under the orders of the arch-
bishops of Pisa and Eavenna. The cries of alarm of the
Christians of the East had resounded even to the north of
Europe, where young warriors had taken up arms to combat
the infidels. All the nations of the West furnished Jerusalem
with defenders, and eighty thousand Crusaders attacked the
ramparts of Ptolemais, whilst the powerful monarchs who
had placed themselves at the head of the crusade, were still
engaged in preparations for their departure.

456 nisTORT OF the ckttsades.

Saladin, who had at first despised the Christians, no"W
thought it prudent to gather his powers together to oppose
them. After assembling his army at Damascus, he crossed
A.nti-Libanus, and the mountains of Galilee, and encamped
at a short distance from Ptolemais. He pitched his tents
and pavilions at the extremity of the plain, on the mountains
of Casan, from whence he could overlook all the sea-coast.
On one side his army extended from the river Belus, and on
the other as far as Mahumeria, or the Sill of the Mosque.
The sultan occupied all the elevated posts, and all the
passages by which the Christians could pass out from the
spot upon which they were encamped. Thus the besiegers
were besieged, and the army before the walls of the city saw
the banners of the Mussulmans floating around it.

The Christians made their intrenchments, dug wide
ditches,* and raised towers at proper distances around their
camp, in order to repulse the attacks of Saladin or the gar-
rison of Ptolemais. The Mussulman army had scarcely
pitched its tents when it presented itself in battle array
before the trenches of the Crusaders, and fought with them
several combats, in which victory was doubtful. In one of
these conflicts the sultan penetrated to the city, and after
having ascertained from the top of the towers the position of
the Crusaders, he joined the garrison in a sortie, and sur-
prised, and drove them into their camp. By entering into
Ptolemais, Saladin revived the courage of the inhabitants
and troops ; he arranged measures necessary for the providing
of supplies, he left them some of his chosen warriois, and
gave them for leaders the most intrepid of his emirs,
Melchou, the faithful companion of his victories, asid
Karacoushjt whose capacity and bravery had been often

* The chronicle entitled Historic Hierosolymitana relates all that
r^-^ssed in the kingdom of Jerusalem from 1177 to the siege of Ptolemais
i'i'dusively. The Chronicle of the Holy Land, the two continuators of
"^ illiam of Tyre, Florent and the bishop of Ptolemais, give some parti-
culars of the siege, but much less than the Arabian historians, to whom
we shall often have recourse.

t Karacoush was the first minister of Saladin in Egypt. It was he
who caused the well of Joseph to be dug, built the citadel, and began the
inclosure of Cairo. Karacoush was short and hump-backed. His name
is employed now in Egypt for a sort of Punchinello, who amuses the
people in the streets, in whose mouth are placed abundance of obscenitiea.

HISTORY OF THE CRTJSADJS. 457

tried dur'ng the conquest of Egypt. The sultan then
returned to his camp, prepared to combat afresh the army of
khe Crusaders.

The roads of Galilee were covered with Mussulman
soldiers coming from Damascus ; and as Saladin looked
daily for the arrival of a fleet from Egypt, which would make
him master of the sea, he hoped soon to be able tc triumph
over the Christians, and deliver Ptolemais. A few days
after the victory he had gained, a great number of vessels
appeared upon the sea, directing their course towards the
land. Both armies were filled with hope and joy, the Mus-
sulmans believing them to be a fleet from the ports of
Damietta and Alexandria, whilst the Crusaders confidently
hoped them to be a Christian armament coming to their
aid. The standard of the cross was soon seen floating from
the masts of the vessels, which, whilst it excited the liveliest
joy in the Cnristians, equally depressed the Mussulmans.
Two fleets from western ports entered the E<oad of Ptolemais.
The first bore the Grerinan Crusaders, commanded by the
duke of Grueldres and the landgrave of Thuringia, and the
other the warriors of Eriesland and Denmark, who, after
having fought the Saracens in Spain, came to defend the
kingdom of Jerusalem. Conrad, marquis of Tyre, could not
remain idle while this war was going on ; he armed vessels,
raised troops, and united his forces with those of the
Christian army.

The arrival of the new reinforcements restored the ardour
of the Crusaders. The Christian knights, according to an
Arabian historian,* covered with their long cuirasses of steel,
looked, from a distance, like serpents spread over the plain;
when they flew to arms, they resembled birds of prey, and
in the melee, they were as indomitable lions. In a council,
several emirs proposed to Saladin to retire before an enemy
as numerous, they said, as the sands of the sea, more violent
than tempests, and more impetuous than torrents.

The Christians, encouraged by the reinforcements that

* The Arabian historians Chehabeddin, the author of the Roudaiainif
J>mad of Ispahan, and Bohaddin, give many more particulars of thfl
siege of Ptolemais than the Latin historians. These three Mussalmoa
historians accompanied Saladin in all his expeditions.

458 J31ST0RX OF THE CKrSADES.

continued to urrive daily, resolved to attack Saladin, and
drive him beyond the moimtains. They marched out from
their intrenchments, and drew up in order of battle. Their
army extended from the mouth of the Belus to the hill of
Turon. The Crusaders, full of zeal and ardour, v^^ere com-
manded by many illustrious captains, among whom the
grand master of the Templars, the marquis of Tyre, the
counts of Blois, Bar, and Clermont, with de Brioude, and
Guy and Grauche de Chatillon, were conspicuous. The
clergy even appeared in arms ; the archbishops of Eavenna,
Pisa, Canterbury, Besan9on, Nazareth, and Montreal; the
bishops of Beauvais, Salisbury, Cambrai, Ptolemais, and
Bethlehem, assumed the helmet and cuirass, and led warriors
on to battle. The Christian army presented so redoubtable
an aspect, and appeared so full of confidence, that a Chris-
tian knight cried out, in the height of his enthusiasm :
" Let God remain neuter, and the victory is ours .'"

The king of Jerusalem, who caused the book of the
Evangelists to be borne before him, w-rapped in a covering of
silk, and supported by four knights, commanded the right
wing ; he had under his orders the French and the Hos-
pitallers ; his lines extended to the Belus. The Venetians,
the Lombards, and the Syrians formed the left wiiig, which
was flanked by the sea, and marched under the banners of
Conrad. The centre of the army w^as occupied by the
Grermans, the Pisans, and the English, headed by the land-
grave of Thiu'ingia. The grand master of the Templars,
vdth his knights, and the duke of Gueldres, with his soldiers,
formed the body of reserve ready to hasten wherever danger
or the chances of the day might call them. The guardian-
ship of the camp was intrusted to Gerard d'Avesnes and
Geoffrey de Lusignan.

"Wlien the Christian army was drawn up on the plain, the
Saracens issued from their intrenchments, and prepared to
sustain the shock of the Crusaders. Saladin placed himseli'
with his Mamelukes in the centre ; his nephew Teki-eddia
Omar, one of his most skilful lieutenants, commanded the
right wiug, which extended to the sea at the north-east of
Ptolemais ; the princes of Mossoul and Sandjar commanded
the left WTug, bearing upon the river Belus. By this dia-
positian, Saladin inclosed the Christians between the rivev

HISTOEY OF THE CRUSADES. 459

Belus and the sea, and left them no means of retreat if for*
tune should favour his arms.

The archers and cavalry of the Christians commenced the
conflict. At the first charge they broke the right wing of
the Mussulmans, commanded by the nephew of Sal a din.
The cavalry and infantry of the marquis of Tyre advanced
upon the field of battle, the Saracens giving way before
them as they proceeded. Pursuing the enemy, who fled in
disorder, the Christians ascended the hill of the Mosque,
and planted their standards in the camp of the infidels. The
count of Bar even penetrated to the tent of the sultan^
which was given up to pillage. An Arabian historian,* who
followed the army, says of himself, that upon beholding the
rout of the Mussulmans, he took to flight, and did not stop
till he came to Tiberias. The terror was so great, that
several Saracens fled as far as Damascus. Saladin remained
almost alone upon the field of battle, and was several times
in great danger.f

Followed by a few of his faithful Mamelukes, he en-
deavoured to rally his scattered forces, and at length suc-
ceeded in reviving their courage. No sooner had he the
means of support, than he returned to the fight with cha-
racteristic energy, rushing down upon the Christians, whom
he surprised in all the disorder of victory. The Mussulman
cavalry now charged in their turn, and dispersed the cavalry
of the Eranks. The different bodies of the Christian army
became soon separated from one another, and in vain en-
deavoured to rally in their flight. The grand master of the
Templars then advanced with the reserve, to support the

* This day I was among the holy men, and I was upon the hill with
them., looking at the tight, and watching for what would happen to the
enemy. We had no idea that the battle would reach us ; but when the
enemy became mingled with us, we mounted on our mules, without any
■• «like equipments, and seeing that all the army had turned their backs,
lied away. We reached Tiberias, with others who had taken the same
^Ad. Every one of us had forgotten to either eat or drink. Other
fugitives went as far as Damascus without stopping on ^heir way, con-
stantly pursued by fear. — Chehabeddin.

f The author of the Roudatains says that one thousand Mussulman
horsemen were all that maintained and recovered the battle. Saladin,
ftdds the same author, remained alone upon the field, and angels defenik»J
him.

21*

460 HISTORY OF THE CETJSADE3.

troops that fled, but he met the Mussulman cavah-y in fiiL
career, that crushed everything in their passage. The re-
serve was broken at the first shock ; they returned several
times to the charge, but without being able to stand against
tlie impetuosity of the Saracen horsemen. On ill sides,
^'ictory was escaping from the hands of the Crusaders,
terror pervaded the whole Christian army, and disorder and
confusion reigned everywhere. Whilst the left wing was
put to flight, and the body of reserve was making vam
eftbrts to check the Mussulmans, the right wing and the
centre were attacked not only by the princes of Aleppo,
Mossoul, and Sandjar, with Teki-eddin Omar, but by the
garrison of Ptolemais, which issued from the city in order
of battle.

The Saracens made a most horrible slaughter ; every part
of the Christian army was broken and put to flight, and
utter destruction threatened them if their camp should fall
into the hands of the enemy. The conquerors proceeded at
once to the attack of the intrenchments, but the height of
the walls, the depth of the ditches, and the bravery of
Geoflrey de Lusignan and Jacques d'Avesnes,* stopped the
Mussulman cavalry, and preserved the last asylum of the
Christian army.

During the contest, Saladin appears to have been every-
where at once : after having re-established the battle in his
right wing, he returned to the centre, and thence passed to
the left. Ten times he crossed the lines of the Christians,
and himself directed every charge of his cavalry. The battle
lasted during the whole day ; in the evening, still many
combats were kept up around the camp of the Christians,
and night alone brought repose to the two armies. As the
Mussulmans and Christians had by turns been victors, the
loss was equal on both sides. The Crusaders had to deplore
the death of several of their leaders ; the grand master of
the Templars, covered with wounds, was made prisoner on
1}^$^ field of battle, and led to the camp of the infidels. The
emirs reproached him with having taken up arms against
Saladin, who had generously broken his chains after the

* Our author before mentions Gerard d'Avesnes as left in charge Oi
the camp ; but I am not sufficiently certain there were not two of thn
name to alter the text. — Trans.

niSTORY OF THE CHrSADES. 461

battle of Tiberias. He replied with haughty firmness, and
received the palm of martyrdom. Andre de Brienne was
cast from his horse whilst endeavouring to rally the Cru-
saders. He in vain implored assistance of his companions,
whom fear rendered deaf to pity, and Erard de Brienne,
whilst precipitating his flight, trampled under liis horse's
feet his brother, expiring on the field of battle.

The Latin historians attribute the defeat of the Crusader a
to an unexpected accident,* which threw the combatants into
disorder.f An Arabian horse, which had been taken from
the enemy, escaping in the heat of the battle, was pursued by
some soldiers, and it was believed they were flying before
the Saracens. All at once a rumour prevailed that the
Christian army was conquered and dispersed, and this
news redoubled the tumult, and gave birth to general
terror. Whole battalions, seized with a panic, abandoned
their triumphant banners, and sought safety in a precipitate
flight.

We only report this singular circumstance to show the
spirit of the contemporary chronicles. The fate of the battle
might be much better explained by saying that the Christian
soldiers abandoned the fight for the sake of plunder ; and
that the greater part of the leaders, less skilful than brave,
neither knew how to prevent or repair the reverses to which
an undisciplined army must be exposed.

In the plain of Ptolemais, trod by two hundred thousand
warriors, on the morrow was only to be seen, to employ an
Oriental image, birds of prey and wolves attracted by the
scent of carnage and death. The Christians did not dare
to leave their intrenchments, and victory itself could not
reassure Saladin, who had seen his whole army put to flight.
The most frightful disorder prevailed in the camp of the
Saracens ; the slaves had pillaged it at the commencement
of the battle, and had fled, carrying away the booty that
escaped the hands of the Crusaders. Both the emirs and

* This accident of a loose horse is related by the anonymous author of
the History of Jerusalem (Hisioria Hierosolymitand).

f The Arabian historians say that a horse escaped from a vessel, and
was pursued ; he threw himself among the Mussulmans, who presented
him to Saladin, which was considered an evil presage. — See ChehabeddisCf
the historian of Saladin.

462 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.

soldiers had lost their baggage ; some pursued tne fugitive
slaves, whilst others addressed their complaints to Saladin.
Amidst such confusion and tumult, it was impossible foi
the sultan to follow up the advantage he had gained, and aa
winter was approaching, and the Mussulmans were short of
provisions, he abandoned the plain, and retired to the moun-
tain Karouba.

The Christians, who now remained masters of the plain,
extended their lines over the whole chain of hills that sur-
rounded the city of Ptolemais ; the marquis of Montferrat,
with his troops, the Venetians, the Pisans, and the Crusaders
commanded by the archbishop of ^Ravenna and the bishop of
Pisa, encamped towards the north, and occupied ground
from the sea to the road to Damascus. Near the camp of
Conrad, the Hospitallers pitched their tents, in a valley
which had belonged to them before the taking of Ptolemais
by the Saracens. The Genoese occupied the hill which con-
temporary historians call Mount Musard. The French and
English, who were in front of the Cursed Tower, were placed
in the centre, under the orders of the counts of Dreux,
Blois, and Clermont, and the archbishops of Besan^on and
Canterbury. Close to the camp of the French floated the
banners of the Flemings, commanded by the bishop of Cam-
brai, and Raymond II., viscount de Turenne.

Gruy de Lusignan encamped with his soldiers and knights
upon the hill of Turon, which part of the camp served aa
citadel and head-quarters to the whole army. The king of
Jerusalem had with him the queen Sibylla, his two brothers
Geoffrey and Aimar, Humphrey de Theron, the husband of
the second daughter of Amaury, the patriarch Heraclius,
and the clergy of the holy city. The viscount de Chatel-
lerault, who was of the same country as Guy de Lusignan,
ranged himself under the standard of the king of Jerusalem.
The knights of the Temple, and the troop of Jacques
d'Avesnes, fixed their quarters between the hill of Turon
and the Belus, and guarded the road that led from Ptolemais
to Jerusalem. On the south of the Belus stood the tents
of the Germans, the Danes, and the Prisons : these northern
warriors, commanded by the landgrave of Thuringia and the
duke of Gueldi'es, were placed along the shore of the Eoad

HISTORY OE THE CKUSADES. 463

of Ptolemais, and protected the disembarkation of tlie Clins^
tians who arrived from Europe by sea.

Such was the disposition of the Christian arniy before Ptole-
mais, and this order was preserved during the whole siege.
The Christians dug ditches on the declivities of the hills whose
heights they occupied ; they raised high walls round their
quarters, and their camps were so inclosed, says an Arabian
historian, that the birds could scarcely find entrance. All the
torrents which fell from the neighbouring mountains over-
flowed their banks, and covered the plain with their waters ;
and the Crusaders, having nothing to h&r from surprise by the
army of Saladin, prosecuted the siege without intermission.
Their machines battered the walls night and day, and with
each morning their assaults w^ere renewed. The garrison,
which opposed them with obstinate bravery, could not much
longer defend itself without the aid of the Mussulman army.
Every day pigeons bearing letters under their w'ings, and
divers, who threw themselves into the sea, were sent to warr;
Saladin of the immuient dangers of Ptolemais.

At the approach of spring, several Mussulman princes of
Mesopotamia and Syria came to range themselves and their
troops under the standards of the sultan. Then Saladin
quitted the mountain of Karouba, and his army descending
towards the plain of Ptolemais, defiled in sight of the
Ohristians, with colours spread and drums and trumpets
sounding. The Crusaders had soon fresh contests to main-
tain. The ditches they had dug, to employ the expression
of a Mussulman historian, became their own sepulchres, and
were often filled with their dead bodies. The hopes they
had fondly entertained of getting possession of the city,
vanished at the sight of such formidable enemies. They had
constructed during the winter three rolling towers, similar
to those which Grodfrey of Bouillon had erected at the
taking of Jerusalem. These three towers arose above the
walls of Ptolemais, and threatened the city with destruction.
Whilst the Crusaders were engaged in repelling the attacks
of Saladin, inflamed arrows and pots filled with burning
naphtha were hurled on their machines, that were left unpro-
tected at the foot of the ramparts. All at once the Chris-
tians saw flames arise in the air, and their wooden towere^

i64 HISTOET OF THE CRUSADES.

Be* zed upon by an unextinguisliable fire, were consumed aiid
reduced to ashes before their eyes, as if they had been struck
by the lightning of heaven. So great was the terror spread
among the Crusaders by this conflagration, that the land-
grave of Thuringia quitted the siege and returned to Europe,
believing that God no longer protected the cause of the
Christians.

Saladin followed up his attacks so incessantly, that he left
his enemy no repose. Every time that an assault was
attempted on the city, the noise of drums and trumpets
resounded from the ramparts to warn the Mussulman troops,
who then flew to arms and attacked the camp of the Chris-
tians.

The E-oad of Ptolemais was often covered with vessels from
Europe, and Mussulman vessels from the ports of Egypt and
Syria. Tlie latter brought supplies to the city, and the
former to the Christian army. At a distance might be seen
masts surmounted with the standards of the cross, and
others bearing the banners of Mahomet, which seemed to
mingle and float together. Several times the Franks and
Saracens were spectators of the conflicts between their fleets
laden with arms and provisions, that took place near the
shore. At the sight of a naval combat the warriors of the
cross and of Mahomet struck upon their shields, and
announced by their cries their hopes and their fears. Some-
times even the two armies w^ere so excited as to attack each
other on the plain to assure the victory, or avenge the defeat
of those who had fought upon the waves.

In the battles that took place sometimes on the banks
of the Belus, and sometimes under the walls or {.t the foot
of the hills, the Saracens often prepared ambushes, and did
not disdain to have recourse to all the stratagems of war.
The Christians, on the contrary, placed no confidence in
anything but their valour and their own good swords. A
car, upon which was raised a tower, surmounted by a cross
and a white flag, served them as a rallying-point, and
was their guiding star in battle. When the enemy gave
way, the thirst for booty soon made every man quit the
ranks ; their chiefs, almost always without authority in the
bumult of battle, became no more than simple soldiers in the
melee, and had notliiug to oppose to the enemy but their

HISTOET 01:' rilE CEUSADE3. 465

sword and lance. Saladin, more respected by his troops,
commanded a disciplined army, and often profited by the
disorder and confusion of the Christians to combat them
with advantage and snatch a victory. Every battle began at
sunrise, and the Christians vs^ere generally conquerors up
to the middle of tlie day ; but v^hen even they had invaded
and partly plundered the camp of the Mussulmans, and at
evening returned home loaded with booty, they were almost
sure to find their own camp had been broken into by the
troops of Saladin or the garrison.

After the sultan's descent from the mountain of Karouba,
an Egyptian fleet entered the port of Ptolemais. At the
same time Saladin welcomed to his camp his brother Malec-
Adel, who brought with him troops raised in Egypt. This
double reinforcement revived the courage of the Mussulmans,
but they did not long profit by these advantages, and the
hope of conquering the Christians began to give way to the
most serious alarms. A report was spread throughout the
East that the emparor of Germany had quitted Europe at
the head of a numerous army, and was advancing towards
Syria. Saladin sent troops to meet such a formidable
enemy, and several Mussulman princes quitted the sultan's
army to defend their own states, which were menaced by the
Crusaders coming from the West. Ambassadors were sent
to the caliph of Bagdad, the princes of Africa and Asia, and
to the Mussulman powers of Spain, to engage them to unite
their efl'orts against the enemies of Islamism. Whilst terror
thus took possession of the Saracens, the Crusaders conceived
fresh hopes, and redoubled their efforts to gain possession of
Ptolemais before the arrival of the G-ermans. After several
contests, they resolved to make one last attempt to drive the
Mussulman army beyond the mountains. Marching from
their camp, they presented themselves in order of battle
before the Saracens. The Mussidman historians compare
their multitude to that which will assemble at the last day in
the valley of Jehoshaphat.

At the first signal, the two armies approached, mingled,
and soon appeared nothing but one horrible, contending mass.
Arrows hissed through the air, lances crossed, and the rapid
blows of sabres and swords i;esounded from the bucklers and
steel casques. The Christian kniglits seemed animated with

4bb HISTORY OE THE CJIUSABE .1.

an invincible ardour. The Templars and Hospitallers carried
death wliorever they directed their course ; Syrians and
Franks, foot-soldiers and horsemen, contended for the prize
of valour, and rushed together to meet peril ana jBnd victory
or death. The Mussulman army could not resist their
impetuosity, and at the first charge retired in disorder. The
plains and hills v^ere covered "vvith Saracen warriors, who fled,
throwing away their arms. Victory remained with the
Christians ; but soon the thirst of boot}" led them to abandon
their ranks, and the face of the battle was changed. The
Mussulmans had time to rally, and returned to surprise the
conquerors, who were pillaging the tent and camp of the
sultan. AJl at once the Christians were surrounded on
every side ; and having laid down their arms in their
eagerness for booty, could not defend themselves, but
were seized by a terror like that with which they had
inspired their enemies. The Mussulmans, irritated by their
defeat, immolated to their vengeance every Christian that
fell in their way. Such of the Crusaders as were most
greedy of plunder, lost their lives, together with the spoils
with which they were loaded, and were slaughtered without
defence in the very tents they had invaded. " The enemies
of Grod," says Bohaheddin, " dared to enter into the camp of
the lions of Islamism ; but they experienced the terrible
effects of divine wrath. They fell beneath the sword of the
Mussulmans as leaves fall in autumn, under the gusts of the
tempest. The earth was covered with their bodies, heaped
one upon another, like lopped branches which fill the valleys
and hills in a forest that has been cut down." Another
Arabian historian speaks thus of this bloody battle : — " The
Christians fell under the swords of the conquerors, as the
wicked will fall into the abode of fire at the last day. Nine
ranks of dead covered the ground between the hill and the
sea, and each rank was of a thousand warriors."

Whilst the Christians were being conquered and dispersed,
the garrison of Ptolemais made a sortie ; and, penetrating
into their camp, carried off" a great numb*, r of women and
children that were left without defence. The Crusaders,
whom night saved from destruction, returned to tbeir camp,
deploring their double defeat. ^ The sight of their plun-
dered tents and the losses they had experienced, quite do*

HISTOKY OF THE CRUSADES. 467

pressec tlielr courage ; and the death of Frederick Barba-
rossa, \\ith the disasters of the German arm'y, of which they
were soon informed, a})peared to fill up their cup of wretched-
ness. The despair of the leaders was so great that they
determined to return to Europe, and, in order to seciu-e their
departure, were seeking to obtain a disgraceful peace of
Saladin, when a fleet arrived in the E-oad of Ptolernais, and
landed a great number of French, English, and Italians,
commanded by Henry, count of Champagne.

Once more hope was restored to the Crusaders; the
Christians were again masters of the sea, and might, in
their turn, make Saladin tremble, who had believed he had
nothing more to dread from them. They renewed their
attacks upon the city with spirit. The count of Cham-
pagne, who had restored abundance to the camp, caused to
be constructed, at great expense, rams of a prodigious size,
with two enormous towers composed of wood, steel, iron,
and brass. These machines are said to have cost fifteen
hundred pieces of gold. Whilst these formidable auxiliaries
menaced the ramparts, the Christians mounted several times
to the assault, and were, more than once, on the point of
planting the standard of the cross on the walls of the
infidels.

But the besieged continued to repulse them, and the
Mussulmans shut up in the city supported the horrors of a
long siege with heroic firmness. The emirs Karacoush and
Melchoub were unremitting in their endeavours to keep up
the courage of their soldiers. Vigilant, present everywhere,
sometimes employing force, and as often stratagem, they
allowed no opportunity of surprising the Christians to
escape, or to render their attacks abortive. The Mussul-
inans burnt all the machines of the besiegers, and made
several sorties, in which they drove the Christians to the
security of their camp.

The garrison received daily reinforcements and provisions
by sea ; sometimes barks stole along the shore, and got
into Ptolemais under the favour of night ; at others, vessels
from Berytus, manned by apostate Christians, hoisted the
white flag with a red cross, and thus deceived the vigilance
of the besiegers. The Crusaders, to prevent all communi-
cation by sea, resolved to get possession of the Tower of tho

468 HISTOET OP THE CETJSADES.

Spies, whic'i overlooked and dominated the port of Ptole*
mais. A vessel, upon which was placed a wooden towec
advanced towards the fort they wished to attack, whilst a
bark filled wdth combustible matters, to which fire had been
set, w^as launched into the port among the Mussulman fleet.
Ever)i:hing seemed to promise success to this attempt, when,
all at once, the wind changed, and drove the blazing fire-ship
full upon the wooden tow^er, which w^as rapidly consumed by
the flames. The duke of Austria, who commanded this
perilous expedition, followed by several of the bravest of his
warriors, had mounted the tower of the infidels sword in
liand; but at the sight of the conflagration which was
devouring the vessel he came on, he cast himself into the
sea, covered with his own blood and that of the Saracens,
and gained the shore almost alone.

Whilst the duke of Austria attacked the tower, the army
left their camp to make an assault upon the city. The
besiegers performed prodigies of valour without success, and
were obliged to return in haste to defend their own tents,
undergoing fire and pillage by the army of Saladin.

It was amidst this double defeat that Erederick, duke of
Swabia, arrived under the walls of Ptolemais with five
thousand men, the deplorable remains of a numerous army.
When the Christians in Syria had heard of the preparations
of the G-ermans, their invincible powers were the theme of
every tongue, and the Crusaders before Ptolemais were
animated by the most sanguine expectations ; but when
they arrived, and related the disasters they had undergone,
their presence spread mourning and depression throughout
the army.

Frederick wished to signalize his arrival by an attack
upon the Saracens. "The Christians," say the Arabian
writers, "issued from their camp like ants swarming to
their prey, and covered the valleys and hills." They
attacked the advanced post of the Mussulman army, en-
camped upon the heights of Aiadhiat, not far from the
•nountains of Galilee. Saladin, whom a serious illness pre-
vented from mounting on horseback, caused himself to be
carried to Mount Karouba, from w'hence he could overlook
all that went on, and issue his orders. The Christians
renewed their attacks several times without producing any

HISTORY OF TUE CRUSADES. 46fc

eifect upon their enemies ; and after having fought the whole
day, they renounced the hope of a triumph, ai?d returned to
their camp, where the famine, M'hich was beginning to be
severely felt, allowed them nothing wherewith to recruit
their exhausted strength.

Every leader of this multitude of Crusaders was obligea
to feed the troops that he commanded, and they at no
time were possessed of more than provisions for one week.
When a Christian fleet arrived, they enjoyed abundance ; but
when no vessels appeared for a time, they were destitute of
the commonest necessaries of life. As winter approached,
and the sea became more stormy, want was necessarily
proportionately increased.

When the Crusaders made incursions upon neighbouring
lands to procure provisions, they fought amidst the ambus-
cades of the Saracens. Animated by despair, they several
times attacked the enemy in their intrenchments, but were
always repulsed. At length famine began to make frightful
ravages in the Christian army; a measure of flour, that
weighed two hundred and fifty pounds, was sold for ninety-
six crowns, a sum so exorbitant that not even princes could
pay it. The leaders insisted upon fixing the prices of all
provisions brought to the camp ; the venders then hid them
in the earth, and the scarcity was increased by the very
measures adopted to lessen it.* The Crusaders were obliged
to feed upon their horses ; next they devoiu'ed leather,
harness, and old skins, which were sold for their weight in
gold. Many Christians, driven from their camp by famine,
took refuge in that of Saladin ; some embraced Islamism to
obtain relief in their misery ; whilst others, going on board

* Florentinus, bishop of Ptolemais, relates, that when the famine begaa
to reign among the besiegers, to put a check upon the greediness of thost
•rho sold provisions at too high a price —

Barones constituunt uno prorsiis ore
Ut dentur cibaria precio minora.
Sad error novissimus pejor fit priore
Diim non audent vendere consueto more.
Non enim turn cibaria inveniuntur
Per forum venalia ; sed effodiuntur
Pavimenta, domini recluduntur.
Sic inops et locuples famem patiuntur.

470 HISTORY or THE CRUSADES.

Mussulman vessels, and braving the perils of the sea, went
to pillage the isle of Cyprus and the coasts of Syria.

During the rainy season the waters covered the plnins,
and the Crusaders remained crowded together on the hills.
The carcasses left on the banks of the rivers, or cast into
the torrents, exhaled a pestilential odour, and contagioua
diseases were very soon added to the horrors of famine.
The camp was filled with mourning and funeral rites ; from
two to three iiundred pilgrims were biiried daily. Several
of the most illustrious leaders found in contagion the death
they had so often braved in the field of battle. Frederick,
duke of Swabia, died in his tent, after having escaped all the
perils of war. His unhappy companions in arms gave teara
to his memory, and, despairing of the cause of the Chris-
tians, for which they had sufiJered so much, returned to the
West.

To complete their misfortune, Sibylla, the wife of Guy de
Lusignan, died, with her two children, and her death gave rise
to fresh discord. Isabella, second daughter of Amaury, and
sister to Queen Sibylla, was heir to the throne of Jeru-
salem ; consequently Humphrey de Thoron, the husband of
this princess, immediately asserted her rights. On the
other side, Guy de Lusignan coidd not consent to abandon
his, and maintained that the character of king was indelible ;
no one had the right to deprive him of a crown he had once
worn. Amidst these disputes, Conrad, already master of
Tyre, was all at once seized with the am.bition of reigning
over Jerusalem and Palestine; he succeeded in gaining
the love of Isabella, induced the council of bishops to dis-
solve the marriage of Humphrey, and, although himself
married to the sister of the Emperor Isaac, espoused the
sister and heiress of Baldwin, determined to defend with
the sword the rights which thi» new union gave him.

The Christians, though plunged in such horrible misery,
and at the same time constantly menaced by Saladin, were
entirely engaged by the pretensions of the two rival princes.
Humphrey, who defended his rights very weakly, was in
great dread of the threats of Conrad, and was wise enough
n )t to regret a sceptre which he must win, or a wife who
had abandoned him. He renounced all his claims, and
woidd Kive been happy if his docility had restored iinani-

HISTOET or THE CRUSADES. 471

mifcy ; but there remained still two kings for an invaded, oi
rather a nominal kingdom, and the two factions divided the
army. Some were touched by the misfortunes of Gruy, and
declared themselves his partisans ; whilst others, admiring
the bravery of Conrad, thought the kingdom should fall
to him who was most capable of defending it. Gruy was
reproached with having fostered the power of Saladin ; the
marquis of Tyre, on the contrary, was praised for having
preserved the only two cities that remained in the power of
the Franks : he alone, they added, could furnish tlie Chris-
tians with provisions, and put an end to the famine which
was consuming them.

Not one of the Crusaders was ignorant of this quarrel.
Dissension spread from the leaders to the soldiers ; they
heaped abuse upon each other, and were even ready to cut
the throats of their comrades to determine who should
possess a broken sceptre and the vain title of king. The
bishops at length calmed the fury of these differences, and
persuaded the rivals to refer the matter to the judgment of
Kichard and Philip.

These two princes, who had embarked at Genoa and Mar-
seilles, met at Messina. Sicily was then at war with Ger-
many for the succession of William II. Constance, the h.eir
of William, had married the Emperor Henry YI., and had
charged hhn with the duty of proclaiming her rights, and
defending her inheritance ; but Tancred, natural brother of
Constance, who had obtained the love of the nobility of
Sicily, had usurped the throne of his sister, and maintained
himself upon it, by force of arms, against the efforts of the
Germans.

This prince, not firmly settled on his throne, was much
alarmed at the approach of the Crusaders. He feared in
Philip an ally of the emperor of Germany, and in Hichard,
the brother of Queen Jane, the widow of William, whom he
had ill-treated, and still detained in prison. Being totally
unable to contend with them, he attempted to conciliate
them by hiv submission and attentions : he at first succeeded
with Philip beyond his expectations, but had much more
trouble in appeasing Richard, who, immediately after his
arrival, haughtily demanded tlie liberty of Jane, and took
possession of the two forts which commanded Messina.

472 HISTORY OP THE CETTSADES.

The English soon got embroiled with the subjects of Tan-
cred, and the banners of England were seen floating over the
capital itself. By this act of violence and authority Richard
gave great umbrage to Philip, whose vassal he was. The king
gave orders that Richard's standards should be removed;
and the impetuous Coeur de Lion was forced to comply,
though trembling with rage. This submission, although it
was accompanied with menaces, seemed to appease Philip,
and put an end to the quarrel ; but from that time Richard
became friendly with Tancred, who endeavoured to create
suspicions of the loyalty of the king of France, and to secure
peace to himself, sowed disseiision among the Crusaders.

The tvA'O kings by turns accused each other of breach of
faith and pertidy, and the Erench and English took part in
the hatred of their monarchs. Among these divisions,
Philip pressed Richard to espouse the princess Alice, who
had been promised to him in marriage ; but the face of cir-
cumstances had changed, and the king of England refused
with contempt a sister of the king of Erance, whom he had
himself earnestly sought, and for whom he had made war
against his own father.

Eleanor of Gruienne, who had only ceased to be queen of
the Erench to become their implacable enemy, had for a long
time endeavoured to dissuade Richard from this marriage.
In order to complete her work, and create an eternal division
between the two kings, she brought wdth her into Sicily,
Berengaria, the daughter of Don Sancho of Navarre, with
tlie Wew of marrying her to the king of England. The re-
port of her arrival augmented the suspicions of Philip, and
was a fresh soiu-ce of complaints on his part. War was
upon the point of breaking out, but some wise and pious
men succeeded in soothing these angry spirits ; the two kings
formed a new alliance bound by new oaths, and discord was
for a moment quelled. But a frici^dship which required to
be sworn to so often, and a peace which every day demanded
a fresh treaty, were very little to be relied on.

Richard, who had just been making war upon Christians,
all at once became a prey to repentance and penitence ; ke
assembled the bishops that had accompanied him in a chapel,
presented himself before them in his shirt, confessed hia
sins, and listened to their reproofs with the docility of the

HISTORY or THE CErSADES. 473

humblest of the faithful. Some time after this Yzhimsisa
ceremony, his mind* being naturally incline'd to superstinei^
he took a fancy to hear Abbot Joachim, who lived in ro
tirement in the mountains of Calabria, and passed for <'
prophet.

In a voyage to Jerusalem, this solitary had, it was said,
received from Jesus Christ the faculty of explaining the
Apocalypse, and to read in it, as in a faithful history, all that
was to take place on earth. On the invitation of the king
of England, he quitted his retreat, and repaired to Messina,
preceded by the fame of his visions and miracles. The
austerity of his morals, the singularity of his behaviour, with
the mystical obscurity of his discourses, at once procured
him the confidence and veneration of the Crusaders. He
was questioned upon the issue of the war they were about
to make in Palestine ; and he predicted that Jerusalem
would be delivered seven years after its conquest by Saladin.
" Wliy, then," said Bichard, "are we come so soon?"
" Your arrival," replied Joachim, "is very necessary; Grod
will give you the victory over his enemies, and will render
your name celebrated above all the princes of the earth."

This speech, which did not at all flatter the passions or
impatience of the Crusaders, could only minister to the self-
love of Richard. Philip was very little affected by a predic-
tion which was afterwards also falsified by the event ; and
was only the more anxious to encounter Saladin, the re-
doubtable conqueror, in whom Joachim saw one of the seven
heads of the Apocalypse. As soon as spring rendered the
sea navigable, Philip embarked for Palestine. He waa
received there as an angel of the Lord, and his presence
reanimated the valour and hopes of the Christians, who had
during two years unsuccessfully besieged Ptolemais. The
French fixed their quarters within bow-shot of the enemy,
and, as soon as they had pitched their tents, proceeded to the
assault. They might have rendered themselves masters of
the cit)^; but Philip, inspired by a chivalric spirit, rather
than by a wise policy, was desirous that Hichard should be

* Fleury relates this fact in his Ecclesiastical History, after the English
historian Roger Hoveden. The same Roger speaks of the predictions
and visions of Abbot Joachim, who finished by incurring the censure of
the Holy 'See. ' " ' "

474i HISTORY or the crusades.

present at this first conquest. This generous consideration
proved fatal to the enterprises of the Christians, and gave
time to the Saracens to receive reinforcements.

Saladin had passed the winter on the mountain oi
Karouba, and fatigue, frequent combats, want, and disease
had greatly reduced his army. He himself likewise was
weakened by a complaint which the physicians could n|t
cure, and which, on many occasions, prevented him from
accompanying his warriors to the field of battle. When he
heard of the arrival of the two powerful Christian monarchs,
he once more, by his ambassadors, called upon the Mussul-
man nations for assistance. In all the mosques prayers were
put up for the triumph of his arms and the deliverance of
Islamism ; and in every Mussulman city the Imauns ex-
horted the true believers to hasten to the war.

" Numberless legions of Christians," said they, " are come
from countries situated beyond Constantinople, to bear away
from us conquests that gave such joy to the Koran, and to
dispute with us a land upon v/hich the companions of Omar
planted the standard of the Prophet. Spare neither your
lives nor your treasures to oppose them. Tour marches
against the infidels, your perils, your wounds, aU, even to
the passage of the torrent, is written in the book of Grod.
Thirst, hunger, fatigue, death itself will become for you
treasures in heaven, and will open to you the gardens and
delicious bowers of Paradise. In whatever place you may
be, death must overtake you ; neither your mansions nor
your lofty towers can defend you against his darts. Some
among you have said, Let us not go to seek for battles diu-ing
the heats of summer, or the rigours of winter ; but hell will
be more terrible than the rigours of winter or the heats of
summer. Gro, then, and bravely fight your enemies in a war
undertaken for religion. Victory or i^aradise awaits you ;
fear God more than the infidels ; it is Saladin who calls you
to his banners ; and Saladin is the friend of the Prophet, as
the Prophet is the friend of God. If you do not obey,
your families will be driven from Syria, and God will plant
in your places other nations better than you. Jerusalem,
the sister of Medina and Mecca, will fall again into the
power of idolaters, who give a son, a companion, an equal to
the Most High, and wish to extinguish the knowledge oi

HISTOET or THE CBrSADES. 475

Goci. Arm yourselves then with the buckler of victory ;
disperse the children of fire, the sons of hell, whom the sea
has vomited upon your shores, and rememher these words of
the Koran : ' He who shall abandon his dwelling to defend
the holy religion, shall meet with abundance and a great num-
ber of companions.^ "

Ajiimated by such discourses, the Mussulmans flew to
arms, and from all parts flocked to the cai:ap of Saladin,
whom they looked upon as the arm of victory, and the
beloved son of the Prophet.

Whilst this was going on Eichard was retarded in his
march by interests quite foreign to the crusade. At the
moment that his rival was waiting for him to take a city
from the Saracens, and was willing to share even glory with
him, he made himself master of a kingdom, and kept it for
himself.

On leaving the port of Messina, the English fleet was dis-
persed by a violent tempest ; three vessels were wrecked
upon the coast of Cyprus, and the unfortunate crews, who
escaped, were ill-treated by the inhabitants and cast into
prison. A ship, on board of which were Berengaria of
Navarre, and Jane, queen of Sicily, upon presenting itself
before Limisso, was forbidden to enter the port. A short
time after, Richard arrived with his fleet, which he had suc-
ceeded in getting together again, and himself met with an
insolent refusal. Isaac, of the family of Comnenus, who,
during the troubles of Constantinople, had got possession of
the isle of Cyprus, and governed it with the ostentatious
title of emperor, dared to threaten the king of England.

His menaces became the signal for war ; and both sidea
were eager for the conflict. Isaac could not resist the first
shock of the English ; his troops were beaten and dispersed ;
his cities opened their gates to the conqueror, and the em-
peror of Cyprus himself fell into the hands of Eichard, who,
to insult his vanity and avarice, caused him to be bound
with chains of silver. The king of England, after having
delivered the inhabitants of Cyprus from a master whom
tbey called a tyrant, made them repay this service with the
hair of their property, and took possession of the islaiidj
which was erected into a kingdom, and remained nearly
three hundred years under the domination of the Latins.

Vol. L— 22

476 HISTOET OF THE CRUSADES.

It was on this island, in the bosom of victory, and in tli«
vicinity of the ancient Amathus, that Eichard colebrate(J
his marriage with Berengaria of Navarre. He then set out
for Palestine, dragging after him Isaac, loaded with chains,
and the daughter of that unfortunate prince, in whom, it is
said, the new queen found a dangerous rival.

The Franks celebrated the arrival of E-ichard with feva
dejoie, lighted up throughout the camp. When the English
had united their forces witli those of the Christian army,
Ptolemais saw beneath its walls all that Europe could boast
of as illustrious captains and valiant warriors. The tents of
the Eranks covered a vast plain, and their army presented
a most majestic and terrible aspect. A spectator, on be-
holding on the coast of the sea the towers of Ptolemais,
and the camp of the Christians, in which they had built
houses and traced streets, traversed unceasingly by an im-
mense crowd, might have supposed he saw two rival cities
which were at war with each other. Each nation had its
leader and its separate quarter, and so many languages were
spoken by the Crusaders, that the Mussulmans could not
find interpreters enough to enable them to understand all
the prisoners. In this confused multitude, each people had
a different character, different manners, and different arms ;
but, at the signal for battle, all were animated by the same
zeal and the same ardour ; the presence of the two monarchs
had re-established discipline, and Ptolemais could not have
prolonged its resistance, if discord, that eternal enemy of
the Christians, had not entered their camp with Eichard.

The debates relative to the succession to the throne of
Jerusalem were renewed on the arrival o.' the EngUsh.
Philip declared for Conrad, which was quite enough to de-
termine Eichard to give his voice for Guy de Lusignan.
The Christian army was filled with troubles, and again
divided into two factions : on one side were the French, the
Grermans, the Templars, and the Q-enoese ; on the other, the
English, the Pisans, and the knights of the Hospital. The
two parties, ready to break into open war, no longer united
their efforts or their arms against the Saracens ; whenever
the king of France, at the head of his warriors, proceeded
to the assault, the king of England remained in his tent in

HISTORY OF THE CE. SADES. 477

a state of sullen repose.* The besieged had never more
than one of the monarchs to contend with at once, and the
Christian army, after it had received such powerful auxi-
liaries, became much less redoubtable to the Saracens.

Amidst the disputes which divided the Crusaders, both
kings fell dangerously ill, and their hatred and suspicion
were so great, that each accused the other of having made
an attempt upon his life. As Saladin sent them refresh-
ments and physicians, and as they addressed frequent
messages to him, each party reproached the monarch w'ho
was opposed to him with keeping up an impious under-
standing with the Saracens.

The perils of the army, however, with the glory of religion
and the interests of the crusade, for a moment stifled the
voice of faction, and induced the Crusaders to unite against
the common enemy. After long debates, it was decided
that Guy de Lusignan should retain the title of king during
his life, and that Conrad and his descendants should succeed
to the kingdom of Jerusalem. It w^as at the same time
agreed that when one of the two monarchs should attack
the city, the other should watch over the safety of the camp,
and keep the army of Saladin in check. This agreement
re-established harmony ; and the Christian warriors, who had
been upon the point of taking arms against each other, now
only contended for the glory of conquering the infidels.

The siege was resumed with fresh ardour, but the Mussul-
mans had employed the time w^asted by the Christians in
vain disputes, in strengthening the city. When the besiegers
appeared before the walls, they met with a resistance en-
tirely unexpected, whilst the army of Saladin continued
indefatigable and unceasing in its attacks. At the earliest
break of day, the drums and trumpets constantly soimded
the signal for battle, both from the walls of Ptolemais and

* Could not the reader imagine these kings were playing the siege of
Troy, and that Richard was the sulky Achilles ? There is a strong re-
serablance in the constitution of the forces before Troy and the independent
Qations, baronies, and counties of the Crusaders — thence the dissensions,
delays, and disasters of both. History becomes the test of poetry, and
Homer shines forth not only the great poet, but the veracious historian
i:id clear-sightfcd philosopher. — Trans.

478 HISTOEY OF THE CRUSADES.

the camp of tlie sultan. Saladin animated his troops by hia
presence ; whilst his brother. Malec-Adel, offered an example
of bravery to the emirs. Many great battles were fought at
the foot of the hills on which the Christians were encamped,
and twice the Crusaders gave a general assault ; but on
both occasions were obliged to return hastily to their tents,
to defend them against Saladin.

In one of these attacks, a Christian knight singly defended
one of the gates of the camp against a host of Saracens.
Tlie Arabian writers compare this knight to a demon
animated by all the fires of hell. An enormous cuirass*
entirely covered him ; arrows, stones, lance-thrusts, made no
impression on him ; all who approached him were slain, and
he alone, though stuck all over with javelins and surrounded
by enemies, appeared to have nothing to fear. No weapons
or force being able to prevail, the Greek fire was at length
employed, which being poured upon his head, devoured by
flames, he perished like one of the enormous machines that
the besieged had burnt under the walls of the city.

Every day the Crusaders redoubled their efforts, and by
turns repulsed the army of Saladin, or made assaults upon
Ptolemais. In one of these assaults, they filled up a part
of the ditches of the city with the carcasses of their dead
horses and the bodies of their companions who had fallen
beneath the swords of the enemy, or been swept away by
disease. The Saracens raised up these horrid masses heaped
up under their walls, and cast them back again in fragments
upon the banks of the ditches, where the sword and lance
were for ever immolating fresh victims. Neither the spec-
tacle of death, nor obstacles, nor fatigue affected the Chris-
tians. When their wooden towers and their battering-rams
were reduced to ashes, they dug into the earth, and by sub-
terranean ways advanced under the foundations of the ram-
parts. Every day they employed some fresh means or some
new machine to subdue the place. An Arabian historian
relates that they raised near their camp a hill of earth of a
prodigious height, and that by constantly throwing the earth
up before them, they brought this mountain close to the

* I would fain translate this word shield or buckler : but as I caimot
find the word cuirasse ever used for one of these, am obliged to loilojy
say original. — Trans.

HlSTOllY OF THE CEUSADES. 479

(^ity. It had advanced witliin half a bow-shot, when the
Mussulmans issued from tlieir gates, and precipitated them-
selves in front of this enormous mass, which grew nearer
;ind nearer, and already threatened their walls. Armed with
swords, pickaxes, and shovels, thej attacked the troops em-
ployed ill forwarding it, using every effort to remove it back
towards the plain ; but were only able to arrest its progress
by digging vast and deep ditches in its passage.

Among all the Christian warriors, the French distinguished
themselves greatly, and directed their efforts principally
against the Cursed Tower, which was erected at the eastern
side of the city. A great part of the walls began to fall,
and must soon offer a passage to the besieging army. War,
famine, and disease had weakened the garrison ; the city
had not soldiers enough left to defend the ramparts and
move about the machines employed against those of the
Christians. The place not only stood in need of provisions,
but of warlike munitions and Greek fire. The warriors who
had gone through so much, began to feel discouragement,
and the people loudly murmured against Saladin and the
emirs. In this extremity, the commander of the garrison
came and proposed a capitulation to Philip Augustus, who
swore by the G-od of the Christians that he would not spare
a single inhabitant of Ptolemafe, if the Mussulmans did not
restore all the cities that had fallen into their power since
the battle of Tiberias.

The chief of the emirs, irritated by the refusal of Philip,
letired, saying that he and his companions would rather
bury themselves beneath the ruins of the city, than listen to
such terms, and that they would defend Ptolemais as a lion
defends his blood-stained lair. On his return into the place,
the commander of the Saracens communicated his com^agCp
or rather his despair, to every heart. When the Christians
resumed their assaults, they were repulsed wi^h a vigour
that astonished them. " The tumultuous wafes of the
Franks," says an Arabian author, " rolled towards the place
with the rapidity of a torrent ; they mounted the half-ruined
walls as wild goats ascend the steepest rocks, whilst the
Saracens precipitated themselves upon the besief^ers like
stones detached from the summits of mountains."

In one genera^ assault, a Florentine knight of the family

480 HISTORY OF THE CllUSADES.

of Bonaguisi, followed by some of liis men, fought nis wi.y
into one of the towers of the infidels, and got possession of
the Mussulman banner that floated from it. Overpowered
by numbers, and forced to retreat, he returned to the camp,
bearing the flag he had carried off" from the Saracens. In
the same assault, Alberic Clement, the first marshal of
Prance of whori history makes mention, scaled the ram-
parts, and, sword in hand, penetrated into the city, where
he found a glorious death. Stephen, count of Blois, and
Beveral knights were burnt by the Greek fire, the boiling
oil, the melted lead, and heated sand which the besieged
poured down upon all who approached the walls.

The obstinate ardour of the Mussulmans was sustained
during several days ; but as they received no succour, many
emirs, at length despairing of the safety of Ptolemais,
threw themselves, by night, into a bark, to seek an
asylum in the camp of Saladin, preferring to encounter the
anger of the sultan, to perishing by the sword of the Chris-
tians. This desertion, and the contemplation of their ruined
towers, filled the Mussulmans with terror. Whilst pigeons
and divers constantly announced to Saladin the horrible dis-
tresses of the besieged, the latter came to the resolution of
leaving the city by night, and braving every peril to join the
Saracen army. But their project being discovered by the
Christians, they blocked up and guarded every passage by
which the enemy could possibly escape. The emirs, the
soldiers, and the inhabitants then became convinced that
they had no hope but in the mercy of Philip Augustus, and
promised, if he would grant them liberty and life, to cause
to be given up to the Christians sixteen hundred prisoners,
and the wood of the true cross. By the capitulation they
engaged to pay two hundred thousand pieces of gold to the
leaders of the Christian army, and the garrison, with the
entire population of Ptolemais, were to remain in the power
of the conquerors till the execution of the treaty.

A Mussidman soldier was sent from the city to announce
to Saladin that the garrison was forced to capitulate. The
sultan, who was preparing to make a last effort to save the
pliice, learnt the news with deep regret. He assembled his
council, to know if they approved of the capitulation ; but

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 481

scarcely were the principal emirs met in his tent, when they
beheld the standards of the crusaders floating over tlie wails
and towers of Ptoiemais.

Such was the conclusion of this famous siege, which lasted
nearly three years, and in which the crusaders shed more
blood and exhibited more bravery than ought to have sufficed
for the subjugation of the whole of Asia. More than a
hundred skirmishes and nine great battles were fought
before the walls of the city ; several flourishing armies came
to recruit armies nearly annihilated, and were in their turn
replaced by fresh armies. The bravest nobility of Europe
perished in this siege, swept away by the sword or disease.
Among the illustrious victims of this war, history points out
Philip, count of Flanders, Guy de Chatillon, Bernard do
St. Vallery, Yautrier de Mory, Raoul de Fougeres, Eudes de
Gronesse, Kenaud de Maguy, Geoffroi d'Aumale, viscount de
Chatellerault, Josselin de Montmorency, and Raoul de
Marie ; the archbishops of Besan9on and Canterbury ; with
many other ecclesiastics and knights whose piety and exploits
were the admiration of Europe.*

In this war both parties were animated by religion ;
each side boasted of its miracles, its saints, and its pro-
phets. Bishops and imauns equally promised the soldiers
remission of their sins and the crown of martyrdom. "Whilst
the king of Jerusalem caused the book of the Evangelists to
be borne before him, Saladiii would often pause on the
field of battle to offer up a prayer or read a chapter from the
Koran.t The Franks and the Saracens mutually accused
each other of ignorance of the true God and of outraging
him by their ceremonies. The Christians rushed upon their
enemies crying, " It is the will of God ! It is the will of
GodV* and the Saracens answered by their war-cry, ^' Islam!
Islam !^*

Fanaticism ifrequently augmented the fiiry of slaughter.

* Either the English took less part in the crusades than we generally
imagine, or a French historian does not mete thein due honour ; the
archbishop of Canterbury is the only name clearly English in this list. I
ghall have occasion to recur to this subject. — Trans.

f Saladin had a copy of the Koran, compiled by Omar, always carried
with his army.

482 HISTOEY Ox THE CRUSAEES.

The Mussulmans from the height of their towers insulted
the religious ceremonies of the Christians.* They raised
crosses on their ramparts, beat them with rods, covered them
with dust, mud, and filth, aud broke them into a thousand
pieces before the eyes of the besiegers. At this spectacle
the Christians swore to avenge their outraged worship, and
menaced the Saracens with the destruction of every Maho-
medan pulpit. In the heat of this religious animosity, the
Mussulmans often massacred disarmed captives ; and in more
than one battle they burnt theirf Christian prisoners in the
very field of conflict. The crusaders but too closely imitated
the barbarity of their enemies ; funeral piles, lighted up by
fanatical rage, were often extinguished in rivers of blood.

The Mussulman and Christian warriors provoked each
other during single combats, and were as lavish of abuse
as the heroes of Homer. Heroines often appeared in tlie
melee, and disputed the prize of strength and courage with
the bravest of the Saracens. |* Children came from the city
to fight with the children of tlie Christians in the presence
of the two armies.

But sometimes the furies of war gave place to the
amenities of peace, and Franlvs and Saracens would for a
moment forget tlie hatred that had led them to take up
arms. During the course of the siege several tournaments
were held in the plain of Ptolemais, to which the Mussulmans
were invited. The cliampions of the two parties harangued
each other before entering the lists ; the conqueror was
borne in triimiph, and the conquered ransomed like a pri-

* Florentinus, bishop of Ptolemais, describes with horror the impiety
of the Turks ; —

Milites aspiceres super muros stantes
Turcos, sanctam manibus crucem elevantes
Cum flagellis asperis earn verberantes,
Et cum impropriis nobis minitantes.
+ ** One of our people," says Omad, " having been made prisoner, was
burnt, and the flames accompanied him to his place of everlasting repose ;
we took a Christian, we burnt him, and the flames that devoured him
mingled with the fires of hell." — See the MS. of Dom Berthereau.

J A combat of children is related by Omad of Ispahan ; and the same
author speaks of the Christian heroines who mingled in the fight. He
adds, that the young women fought, and the old women animated theno
by theii' cri«s.

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 483

soner of war. In these warlike festivities, whicli brought the
two nations together, the Eranks often danced to the sound
of Arabian instruments, and their minstrels afterwards
played or sang to the dancing of the Saracens.

Most of the Mussulman emirs, after the example of
Saladin, affected an austere simplicity in their vestments and
manners. An Arabian author compares the sultan, in hia
court, surrounded by his sons and brothers, to the star ot
night, which sheds a sombre light amidst the other stars.
The principal leaders of the crusade did not entertain the
same love of simplicity, but endeavoured to excel each other
in splendour and magnificence. As in the first crusade, the
princes and barons were followed into Asia by their hunting
and fishing appointments, and the luxuries of their palaces
and castles. When Philip Augustus arrived before Ptole-
mais, all eyes were for a moment turned upon the falcons he
had brought with him. One of these having escaped from
the hands of his keeper, perched upon the ramparts of the
city, and the whole Christian army was excited by endeavours
to recapture the fugitive bird. As it was caught by the
Mussulmans, and carried to Saladin, Philip sent an ambas-
sador to the sultan to recover it, offering a siun of gold that
would have been quite sufficient for the ransom of many
Christian warriors.

The misery which so often visited the Crusaders, did not
at all prevent a great number of them from indulging in
excesses of license and debauchery. All the vices of Europe
and Asia were met together on one spot. If an Arabian
author may be believed, at the very moment in which the
Eranks were a prey to famine and contagious diseases,
a troop of three hundred women from Cyprus and the neigh-
bouring islands arrived in the camp. These three hundred
women, whose presence in the Christian army was a scandal
in Vhe eyes of the Saracens, prostituted themselves among
the soldiers of the cross, and stood in no need of employing
the enchantments of the Armida of Tasso to corrupt them.

JSevcrtheless, the clergy were unremitting in their exhor-
tations to the pilgrims to lead them back to the morals of
the Grospel. Churches, surmounted by wooden steeples,
were erected in the camp, in which the faithful were every
day called together. Not unfrequently the Saracens took

22*

484 HISTOUT O? THE CRUSADES.

advantage of the moment at which tlie soldiers left their in-
trenchments unp^uarded to attend mass, and made flying but
annoying incursions. Amidst general corruption, the siege of
Ptolemais presented many subjects of edification. In the
camp, or in the field of battle, chai'ity hovered constantly
around the Christian soldier, to soothe his misery, to watch his
sick pallet, or dress his wounds. During the siege the warriors
from the North were in the greatest distress, and could gain
little assistance from other nations. Some pilgrims from
Lubeck and Bremen came to their aid, formed tents of the
sails of their vessels to shelter their poor countrymen, and
ministered to their wants and tended their diseases. Porty
German nobles took part in this generous enterprise, and
their association was the origin of the hospitable and military
order of the Teutonic knights.

When the Crusaders entered Ptolemais, they shared the
sovereignty of it amongst them, each nation taking possession
of one of the quarters of the city, which had soon as many
masters as it had had enemies. Tlie king of Jerusalem was
the only leader that obtained nothing in the division of the
first reconquered place of his kingdom.

The capitulation remained unexecuted ; Saladin, under
various pretexts, deferring the completion of the conditions.
Kichard, irritated by a delay which appeared to him a breach
of faith, revenged himself upon the prisoners that were in
his hands. Without pity for disarmed enemies, or for the
Christians he exposed to sanguinary reprisals, he massacred
five thousand Mussulmans before the city they had so vali-
antly defended, and within sight of Saladin, who shared the
disgrace of this barbarity by thus abandoning liis bravest and
most faithftd warriors.

This action, which excited the regret of the whole Chris-
tian army, sufficiently exposed the character of Richard, and
showed what was to be dreaded from his violence ; a barba-
rous and implacable enemy could not become a generous
rival. On the day of the surrender of Ptolemais, he
committed a gross outrage upon Leopold, duke of Austria,
by ordering the standard of that prince, which had been
planted on one of the towers, to be cast into the ditch.

Leopold dissembled his resentment, but swore to avenge
this insult whenever he should find an opportunity.

HISTORY OF THE CRrSADES. 485

Richard , for ever carried away by his violent and imperioua
character, desired to command as a master, and alone dictate-
laws for the whole army of the Crusaders. He endeavoured
to corrupt the troops of Philip by largesses ; he set a price
apon infidelity and treason ; and Philip, fearing to compro-
mise the dignity of a king and the interests of the crusade by
punishing the outrages and perfidy of his rival, resolved to
return to Prance, where fortune ofiered him more than one
opportunity of usefully revenging himself upon the king of
England.

Philip quitted Palestine, leaving in the army ten thousand
foot and five hundred horse, under the command of the duke
of Burgundy. On his arrival at Tyre, from which port he
embarked, he received a solemn embassy from Saladin, who
sent him magnificent presents, and complimented him as
the most powerful monarch of the West. He soon arrived
in Italy, where the holy pontiff" praised his devotion, and
bestowed upon him the palms of pilgrimage. Welcomed
on his return to his kingdom by the benedictions of his
people, he carried back the sacred oriflamme to the church
of St. Denis, and returned thanks, to the apostles of Prance
for having protected his life and the glory of his arms amidst
the greatest perils.

When Phi]ip left Palestine, Hichard remained at the head
of an arm.y of a hundred thousand Crusaders. After having
repaired the walls of Ptolemais, and allowed his soldiers
some little repose, he passed the Belus, crossed Mount
Carmel, and marched towards Caesarea. A fleet from Ptole-
mais kept close to the shore, and transported the provisions,
machines of war, and baggage of the Christian army. Sala-
din, whom Arabian writers often compare to a lioness that
has lost her young, upon receiving intelligence of the march
of the Crusaders, gathered together his aroy, and set out in
pursuit of them ; sometimes getting in advance and attack-
ing their van, at others harassing their flanks, and seizing
every soldier that ventured to stray from the main body.
Although Caesarea was only twelve leagues from Ptolemais,
the Crusaders could not accomplish the distance iu less
than six days. All the Christians, who were unable to
keep up with the army, and fell into the power of Saladin,
were put to death by his orders, and their bodies left upon

486 HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES.

the shore, as an expiation of the massacre of the garrison of
Ptolemais.

Eichard, who found that perils and obstacles mnltiplied in
his route, desired an interview with Malek-Adel, and pro-
posed to make peace, if the Mussulmans would restore the
city of Jerusalem to the Christians. Malek-Adel replied that
the last of the soldiers of Saladin would perish, rather than
renounce conquests made in the name of Islamism. Kichard,
irritated by this refusal, swore that he would obtain by vic-
tory tliat which he could not obtain from Saladin, and gave
orders for the army to pursue their march.*

The Crusaders advanced towards the city of Arsur, march-
ing over a long but narrow plain, intersected by torrents,
ravines, and marshes, and covered in many places with
fragments of rocks, marine plants, and reeds. They had
the sea on their right, and on the left rose the steep moun-
tains of Naplouse, defended by the inhabitants of the country
and the troops of Saladin. At every passage of a torrent,
at every dune or hillock of sand, at every village, a fresh
contest had to be sustained, whilst the Mussulman archers,
placed upon the heights, annoyed them unceasingly with
their arrows. Hichard's army marched in order of battle ;
the cavalry being placed in the centre ; whilst the foot,
closing their ranks, presented an impenetrable wall to the
enemy, and braved their constantly renewed attacks.

The army of the sultan got in advance of the Crusaders,
and laid waste everything in their way ; exhausting their
efforts and ingenuity to retard, or entirely stop their march.
Across the plain of Arsur flowed a torrent which cast itself
into the sea near the ramparts of the city; and not far
from this torrent, a wood of oaks, which historians call the

* The march and the contests of the Christians and the Mussulmans
are described in fullest detail by Omad-al-Kabel, secretary to Saladin, in
his book entitled the Pheta ; and by Schahabeddin, author of the Rouda-
tain. These two historians almost always make the Mussulmans triumph.
*• We have," say they, " animated the tongues of lances and swords to
gpeak to the Christians, and to hear their words. Then God rendered
sweet to us all that was bitter, and by his goodness drew near to us all
that was at a distance." We shall not follow these two historians, nor
even Bohaddin, through the combats of the Mussulmans and Christians,
combats in which the latter are, by their account, always conquered, and
yet always continue to advance into their enemy's country.

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 487

forest of Sarun, and wMch is believed to be the forest cele-
brated by Tasso, extended along the declivities of the moun-
tains of Naplouse : it was upon this spot Saladin awaited
the Crusaders to offer them a decisive battle.

A part of his army covered the heights, whilst the
remainder encamped upon the banks of the torrent of
Arsur. The Christians soon arrived in face of their eneinj ,
and di'cw up in order of battle. The Danes, Flemings, and
Tuscans, commanded by Jacques d'Avesnes, formed the van.
JRichard marched in the centre, at the head of the English,
Normans, G-ascons, the Syrian troops, and those of the
count of Champagne : the rear-guard was composed of
French and Germans, under the orders of the duke of Bur-
gundy and Leopold of Austria. Whilst the archers were
showering their arrows from a distance, Saladin passed
through the ranks, and roused the courage of his soldiers,
who replied to him with cries of Allah ac bar! — God is
powerful.* Profound silence prevailed in the Christian
army; the black cuirasses of the Crusaders seeming to
darken the horizon, whilst sixty thousand swords gleamed
out from amidst clouds of dust. All at once the Christian
infantry opened their ranks, and the cavalry rushed forward
towards the enemy, drawn up on the banks of the torrent
of Arsur. Jacques d'Avesnes, who commanded them, pene-
trated twice into the closely-pressed ranks of the Saracens,
and twice was compelled to retreat in disorder. At the third
charge his leg was severed by the stroke of a sabre, but he still
pursued the infidels, when the arm with which he fought
was struck off at a blow. The Christian hero fell amidst
the enemy, calhng aloud upon E-ichard, and conjuring him
to avenge his death.

* Omad says that the Mussulmans surrounded the army of their enemy
as the eyelashes surround the eye. The Mussulman authors speak highly
of Jacques d'Avesnes. All the historians of Saladin do not agree as to
his defeat, and say that Richard got possession of Jaffa after being con-
quered. Aboul-feda is more honest; Tabary agrees also that the Mus-
sulmans were put to flight ; the same historian adds to his faithful accoun
the following remarkable circumstance: — "Near the Mussulman army
vvas a thick wood, into which they retreated. The Franks believed that
this retreat was a stratagem, and did not dare to pursue their enemies,
whom they might have destroyed if they had followed up their victory '
For these authors, see the Latin extracts of Dom Berthereau.

488 HISTOET OF THE CRUSADES.

The king Df England advanced with the main body,
sweeping away the crowd of Saracens that opposed liis
passage, and pursuing them to the other side of the torrent ;
but whilst he yielded to his ardour, and advanced before the
Christian army, the chosen troops of the Mussulmans de-
scended from the mountains of Naplouse, and poured down
upon the rear of the Christians. Hichard was forced to
retrace his steps to support the French and Germans, who
were beginning to give way. The plain in which the battle
was fought, could scarcely contain all the combatants. The
Christians and Mussulmans closed, and attacked each other
man to man ; the foot fought pellmell with the horse,
exhorting each other to brave death. The cries of rage,
despair, and agony were mingled with the clashing of
swords, lances, and shields. The two armies, confounded
and mixed together, became nothing but one horrible spec-
tacle. If we believe the somewhat improbable account of
an English historian,* Richard and Saladin met in the
melee, and ruslied upon each other sword in hand, and the
two armies instantly became motionless, leaving to their
great leaders the honour of deciding the fate of the battle.
This singular circumstance, which poet^-y might envy his-
tory, is not mentioned by Arabian writers. t The battle
lasted almost during the whole day. Towards evening the
Mussulmans were broken on all sides, and retreated in
disorder into the forest of Saron, whither the fear of an
ambuscade prevented the Christians from pursuing them,
and destroying the wreck of their army.

The battle of Arsur was one of the most celebrated of
this war ; in it the Mussulmans lost a great number of their
bravest emirs, and particularly regretted a chief of Saladin's
Mamelukes, whose heroic courage is highly celebrated by
their historians. No Saracen warrior was more prompt to

* Arabian historians say nothing of the single combat between Richard
and Saladin. English historians alone mention it.

t I cannot attach much consequence to the silence of the Arabian
writers on this subject, neither can I think, with our author, such a ren-
contre so improbable in such a melee. The principal argument against it
is, that Saladin survived the battle. Richard was at least twelve years
younger than Saladin, and in the full vigour of a large, powerful frame,
whilst Saladia was weakened by toil and diseiise. — Trans.

HISTORY 01 THE CRUSADES. 489

meet danger, and lie was always the first to ily to the
assistance of his companions, though he himself needed aid
from no man. His horse being slain, this brave emir was
encumbered with the weight of his iron armour, and received
several mortal wounds. Many Mussulman soldiers hastened
to his relief; hut he was already amongst the inhabitants of
heaven !

The Christians wept for the death of Jacques d'Avesnes,
who had so often shown them the path to victory. In this
glorious day the loss of the Crusaders was much less than
that of the Mussulmans ; their leaders and soldiers displayed
a degree of skill that they had never evinced before. The
Saracen cavalry, superior to that of the Crusaders, had not
room to perform their usual evolutions with advantage in so
confined a field. They attacked the Christians several times
with great impetuosity, but the Crusaders withstood them
with immovable firmness, and constantly rallied around
their great standard, which floated from the summit of a
rolling tower. A remarkable circumstance of this battle is,
that it was principally gained by the infantry, a force which,
although held in contempt in the first crusade, had learnt
to be redoubtable under the walls of Ptolemais.

E/ichard, who had conquered the Saracens, was not wise
enough to profit by their defeat ; instead of pursuing the
enemy, or marching straight to Jerusalem, he led his army
to Jafia, the ramparts of which Saladin had demolished,
and which the Mussulmans had abandoned. He occupied
himself with repairing the fortifications, and sent for the
Queen Berengaria, Jane, the widow of the king of Sicily, and
the daughter of Isaac. Surrounded by a brilliant court, he
forgot, in the intoxication of pleasure and festivities, the
conquest of Jerusalem, for which he had come into Asia.
During this fatal repose, he was on the point of losing with
his life and liberty the fruit of all his victories. Being one
day hunting in the forest of Saron, overcome by heat or
fatigue, he alighted from his horse and fell asleep under
a tree. All at once he was aroused by the cries of those
who accompanied him, — a troop of Saracens was close upon
them ! He sprang upon his horse, and prepared to defend
himself ; but was near sinking beneath the force of numbers;
when a knight of Ms suite, named William Fourcelet^ cried

490 HISTOEl OP THE CEUSADIS.

out in the Arabic tongue, ^^ I am the Icing ; spare my life.'' •
At these words, this generous warrior was surrounded by
"ihe Mussulmans, who made him prisoner and conducted him
to Saladin. The king of England, thus saved by the heroism
of a French knight, escaped the pursuit of the enemy, and
returned to Jaffa, where his army learnt with terror the
danger they had been in of losing their leader.

Richard formed the project of besieging Ascalon ; and
Saladin being doubtful of his power to defend that city,
resolved to destrov it. In vain the inhabitants came to
implore his pity ; in the space of a few days the strongest
and most flourishing city of Syria was consumed by fire, and
remained nothing but a heap of ruins.

The demolition of Ascalon excited great sorrow among
the Mussulmans ; and the king of England, who had enter-
tained hopes of rendering himself master of the place, was as
much afflicted as if he had lost one of his conquests. This
city, which had cost the Christians and Mussulmans so
much blood, opened at once to the Crusaders the gates
of Palestine and Egypt. Richard undertook to rebuild the
ramparts that the Mussulmans had destroyed, and led his
army into the plain, covered by the ruins of Ascalon.

It was a curious spectacle to behold thirty thousand
warriors from the West employed in rebuilding the walls of
a city of Syria. The Crusaders, as the Hebrews have been
described to us whilst erecting the temple of Jerusalem, were
obhged to work with the sword in one hand and the tools of
masonry in the other. Saladin might have disturbed their
labours ; but he preferred giving his army a little repose, and
recruiting its numbers ; persuaded that the divisions that
existed among his enemies would soon work to his advantage.
The Christian army obeyed Richard very unwillingly.
Leopold of Austria, accused by the king of England of
remaining idle with his Germans, contented himself with
replying that he tvas neither a carpenter nor a mason. The
greater part of the knights who were thus employed in
moving stones and digging ditches, were exceedingly indig-
nant, and said aloud that tliey did not come into Asia to
rebuild Ascalon, but to conquer Jerusalem.

* This gallant act of devotedness of William de Pourcelet, a Proven^*'
tieman, is related by both the Latin and Oriental historians.

HISTORY OE THE CEUSADES. 491

Whilst Ihe Christian army was in this dissatisfied state^
khe marquis of Tyre, who had been ill-trjsated by Eichard,
courted the alliance of tlie sultan, and promised to restore
Ptolemais to him, if the Mussulmans would agree to protect
him against his enemies. The king of England, warned of
this perfidious negotiation, became only anxious to defeat
the projects of Conrad, and liimself made propositions to
Saladin. He renewed the promise he had made to Malek-
Adel to return into Europe if Jerusalem and the wood of the
true cross were restored to the Christians. " Jerusalem,"
replied Saladin, " never belonged to you ; we cannot without
a crime abandon it to you, for in it were accomplished the
mysteries of our religion." As to the wood of the true cross,
Saladin considered it as an object of scandal, as an insult to
divinity. He had refused to give it up to the king of
G-eorgia or the emperor of Constantinople, both of whom had
ofiered him considerable sums for it. " AU the advantages
to be procured by peace," said he, " cannot bring me to
restore this disgraceful monument of their idolatry to the
Christians."

E/ichard, who really considered the restitution of the true
cross of very little importance, did not reiterate his demand ;
but as he was desirous of peace, he made other proposals, in
which he adroitly interested the ambition of Malek-Adel, the
brother of the sultan. The widow of William of Sicily, the
sister of E/ichard, was offered in marriage to the Mussulman
prince ; under the auspices of Saladin and Eichard, they
might reign together over Mussidmans and Christians, and
govern the kingdom of Jerusalem. The liistorian Omad was
charged by Malek-Adel with the task of communicating this
proposition to Saladin, who appeared to adopt it without
repugnance.* Tlie project of this singular union created
great surprise among the imauns and doctors of the law ; and

* This negotiation is related by the principal Arabian historians. Bo-
kaeddin and the author of the Phatah. Although Christian writers have
not spoken of it. it would be difficult to cast doubt upon, or weaken the
evidence of Arabian authors, who were ocular witnesses, and were them-
selves mixed up with the affair. It is this negotiation that gave Madame
Cottin the idea of her romance of Mathilda, or the Crusades: a work
full of eloquent pictures and heroic sentiments, drawn from the history
•f chivalry.

492 HISTORY OF TKE C11USADE$.

the Christian bishops, wlien they were informed of it,
pxpressed the strongest indignation, and threatened both
Jane and Ricliard with tli*^ thunders of the Church.

The execution of this plan appeared impossible in the
midst of a religious war : and everything leads us to believe
that Saladin only affected to give it attention that he might
gain time to fortify Jerusalem, which the Christians stiU
aemanded of him. Skilful workmen from Aleppo were, by
his orders, employed in widcinng the ditches and repairing
the walls. Among the Mussulman workmen were two
thousand Christian prisoners, condemned to rebuild the
fortresses occupied by the infidels. Saladin encouraged the
labours by his presence and his example, animating the zeal
of the people and soldiers by frequently reminding them of
the victories of the Mussulmans, and of the massacre of their
brethren slaughtered before Ptolemais.

The conquest of the holy city was the object of the war, —
the great reward promised to the labours of the crusaders ;
and they at length earnestly pressed Kichard to march
towards Jerusalem. He was obliged to yield to their impa-
tience, and led them as far as Bethonopolis,* situated
between Ascalon and the capital of Palestine. At the
approach of the Pranks, Saladin ordered all the country
through which their army must pass to be laid waste. By
the commands of the sultan the ramparts of Kamla and
Lidda, with the fortress of Nitro, were demolished. All the
routes which led to Jerusalem were guarded by Mussulman
cavalry, who unceasingly harassed the Christians, and pre-
vented their receiving provisions from Ptolemais or otliei;
maritime cities.

In proportion vdth their approximation to Jerusalem, the*
enthusiasm and ardour of the Crusaders increased; but
Kichard and most of the leaders did not at all partake of tho
impatience of the soldiers. The Christian army was only
one day's march from the sea-coast, and yet want of pro-
visions began to be sensibly felt. If in the plains of Ptole-

♦ M. Paultre, in his manuscript history of the states of Syria, belierei
that this city, so named by the historians of the crusade, is the city of
Eleutheropolis, situated nine or ten leagues east of Ascalon, on the road
to Jerusalem, in a valley crossed by the torrent of Ascalon, seven leaguei
west of Jerusalem, and six of Ramla.

HISTOIiY OF THE CEUSADES. 493

mais, wtere tlie Crusaders could look for provisions to the
Mediterranean, they had experienced all the horrors of
famine, what miseries had they not reason to exi)ect under
the walls of Jerusalem ? Mussulman troops were encamped
in the plains of Jericho and Hebron, and in the country of
jSaplouse, and had the power at all times to throw succour
into Jerusalem, if that city were besieged by the Christians.
"Whiter, besides, was beginning to create a dread of conta-
gious diseases ; the leaders of the army were divided among
themselves, and even the sight of danger could scarcely bring
them to act in concert. AH these circumstances produced
doubt and irresolution in the minds of Richard and the most
prudent of the barons and knights.

E/ichard entertained hopes that Saladin would come and
oifer him battle, and that a victory would at once throw open
the gates of Jerusalem to him ; but the sultan, who had
proved the strength and bravery of the Christians at Arsur,
was not willing to expose his conquests to the hazard of a
battle. E-ichard, on his part, dreaded the perils and fatigues
of a protracted siege, and suddenly led back his army to the
plains of Ascalon.

The multitude of the Crusaders, who were ignorant of or
did not appreciate the motives of the king of England, only
obeyed him with murmurs, and most of the leaders, declared
enemies of Eichard, mingled their complaints with those of
the soldiers. (Several dissatisfied Crusaders deserted the
standards which no longer pointed out to them the road to
Jerusalem.

Whilst the arm^y was marching despondingly back to the
plains of Ascalon, the Grenoese and Pisans, continually at
variance, broke into open war within the walls of Ptolemais.
Conrad took part with the Grenoese, whilst the king of
England as eagerly defended the Pisans, and terminated
this civil war by forcing Conrad and the Grenoese to retreat
to the city of Tyre.

Amidst these sanguinary disputes, Coni'ad, who had an
ambassador at the couj-t of Saladin, unable longer to endure
tlie authority of Eichard, entered into an alhance with the
Mussulmaus. Saladin, by treaty, abandoned to the marquia
of Tyre all the cities the latter might take from the Chris-
tiana, and promised to aid him m his conquests, only re^

494 HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES.

serving the booty for the Mussulman soldiers. This treaty,
dictated by hatred to E-ichard, was the signal for the deatk
of Conrad; a very short time afterwards the marquis ot
Tyre perished by an unknown hand.

English authors assert that Conrad had had quarrels with
the cliief of tlie Ismaelians, and that he was assassinated by
the orders of this redoubtable enemy. Two young slaves left
the voluptuous gardens, in which their master had brought
them up, to execute his vengeance. They arrived at Tyre,
and, in order to conceal their purpose the better, received
baptism. They engaged themselves in the service of Conrad,
and remained six months about his person, apparently only
occupied in offering up prayers to the God of the Christians.
One day, as the marquis was coming from dining with the
bishop of Beauvais, the two Ismaelians attacked him, and
wounded him mortally. Whilst the people congregated
tumultuously, one of the assassins fled into a neighbouring
church, into which, likewise, the bleeding marquis was
borne. The Ismaelian, w^ho had concealed himself, suddenly
rushed through the crowd, and again falling upon Conrad,
struck him repeatedly with his dagger, till he was quite
dead. The two assassins were seized, and both died amidst
tortures, without uttering a single groan, or naming the
person who had employed them to take away the life of the
marquis of Tyre.*

The continaator of Tabary says that Saladin had offered
the Old Man of the Mouni ains ten thousand pieces of gold
if he would cause the marquis of Tyre and the king of
England to be assassinated; but the prince of the moun-
tain, adds the same historian, did not think proper to deliver
Saladin enth-ely from his war with the Franks, and only
performed half of that w^hich had been required of him.
The Christians did not attribute the death of Conrad to
Saladin, but many among them accused E-ichard of it. A
short time after the murder, a letter was published, in Trhicb
the lord of the mountain avowed himself to be the author
of the assassination ; but this letter bore no character of
authenticity about it. The savage lord of the mountain

* The assassination of Conrad is thus related in the continuator oi
Tabary.— See the MS. of D. Berthereau.

HISTOET or THE CEUSADES. 4i9J

could not write, and could have no interest in making the
apology of a Christian prince.* The king ol England him-
Belf strengthened the public suspicions by taking possession
of Tyre, and giving the widow of Conrad in marriage to his
nephew, the count of Champagne. However it may be,
this accusation, which was accredited among the Christians^
announced plainly the idea they entertained of the character
of Richard. The account of the death of Conrad soon
reached Europe, and Philip Augustus, dreading the same
fate, no longer appeared in public without being surrounded
by a guard. The court of Erance accused Richard of the
blackest attempts ; but it is probable that Philip, on this
occasion, showed more fear than he really felt, in order to
render his rival the more odious, and to arm against him the
hatred of the pope, and the indignation of all the princes of
Christendom.

After the death of Conrad, Richard had no rivals to sus-
pect, or enemies to fight with among the Christians ; the
opinion even that was entertained of his character, only
served to augment his authority, by creating a dread of his
hatred or vengeance. He took advantage of a moment, in
which Saladin disbanded part of his army, to get possession
of the castle of Darcum, built upon the confines of Pales-
tine, towards Egypt. He undertook several other enter-
prises, which spread terror and surprise among the Sara-
cens ; and, all at once, to satisfy the wishes of the Crusaders,
marched towards Jerusalem, in which city Saladin had shut
himself up with all the troops he could gather together. At
the approach of the Christians, the sultan convoked his
emirs, and made them swear, on the stone of Jacob, to be
buried beneath the ruins of the city rather than yield it up
to the soldiers of Richard.

The Christian army encamped at the foot of the moun-
tains of Judea, all the passes of which were guarded by the
troops of Saladin and the Saracen peasants of JSTaplouse and
Hebron, As Richard drew near to Jerusalem, his aversion

* Our author's argument is very weak here. Gibbon says : — ** I can-
not believe that a soldier so free and fearless in the use of his lance as
Richard, would have descended to whet a dagger against his raliant
brother Conrad de Montferrat." — Decline and Fall ^ vol. viii. p. 'i26,— >
Trans.

496 HISTORY OF THE CEUSADjsS.

to the idea of allowing tlie duke of Austria and tlie duke of
Burgundy to share in such a glorious conquest increased ;
whilst they were not at all willing to assist the king of
England in an ente.-])rise that would so much augment his
pride and renown. Every time that he proposed to proceed
against tlie holy city, the zeal of the leaders of the army
appeared to cool ;* and when Eichard sought to defer the
conquest, most of them endeavoured to arouse the enthu-
siasm of the Crusaders, and repeated the oath they had
taken to deliver the tomb of Christ. Thus the proximity to
Jerusalem, which ought to have united the Christians more
firmly, only served to increase their divisions, and spread
trouble, disorder, and discouragement through the whole
army.

The Christians were but a few leagues from -Jerusalem,
and the council assembled to determine what steps must be
"taken. Many of the leaders thought that they ought at
once to besiege the city, and spoke of the consternation
of the Mussulmans. The soldiers of Saladin, said they,
had not forgotten the evils of Ptolemais, and trembled at
the idea of again shutting themselves within the ramparts
of a city. Fugitives from Jerusalem had informed them that
the presence even of Saladin could not keep up the spirits of
the soldiers, and that all the inhabitants, seized with terror,
were upon the point of flying to Damascus.

They who maintained an opposite opinion, among whom
was E-ichard, thought that the reports spread regarding the
disposition of the Mussulmans were but a snare of Saladin's,
by which he hoped to lure the Crusaders into places in
which he could destroy them without fighting. "'At the
moment in which we are speaking," said they, " the Mus-

* It is difficult to follow the accounts of several historians at thia
period, who affirm that Richard was not willing to take Jerusalem. M>
Paultre, a distinguished officer who made the campaign of 1799, has fur-
nished us with all the means of understanding the old chronicles, and to
appreciate their testimony. Historians, from ignorance of the country,
are often deceived with respect to military events. The situation of
places and a knowledge of the country are often the best commentaries
we can have upon the old historians of the crusades. M. Paultre has
himself related part of the events which we repeat ; and his account,
which he has kindly confided to us, has given us useful informatior, whidii
wiil throw light upon this part of our liistory.

fllSTOKY OF THE CEUSADES. 497

Bulman cavalry surround the plain on which our army ii
encamped. It is difficult and dangerous, to advance acrosa
the mountains of Judea. The roads, bordered by precipices,
are, in many places, cut througli the solid rock, and are
dominated by steep heights, from which ill-armed peasants
will be sufficient to crush, or at least to stop the columns of
the Christians. How are we to transport through such
narrow passes our baggage, our machines, or our munitions
of war ? If our bravery should succeed in surmounting all
these difficulties, will it be easy to keep up our communi-
cations with the coast ? If we are conquered, how shall
we make our retreat, pursued by the army of Saladin ?"

Opinions continued to be divided : the king of England
wished to retreat to Ascalon ; whilst the dri.kes of Aiistria
and Burgundy warmly maintained that they ought to march
towards Jerusalem. Twenty-four knights were selected to
determine upon the course that was to be adopted, and the
Christian army awaited their decision with an impatience
mingled with fear. After having deliberated for some time,
the twenty-four knights concluded that the army could not
pursue its march without danger, and that the most
prudent plan would be to retreat towards the sea-coast.
Kichard, after having given the order for retreat, whether
he was sincerely afBhcted, or whether he wished to regain
the confidence and esteem of the Crusaders, turned towards
Jerusalem with his eyes filled with tears, and covering his
face with his buckler, declared himself unworthy to behold a
city that he could not conquer.

The Crusaders once more turned their backs upon Jeru-
salem, which they had sworn so often and so solemnly to
deliver, the soldiers totally unable to comprehend the policy
or intentions of their leaders. E-ichard, who had led the
Christian army towards the holy city, might at least be
accused of want of determination of purpose.* The un-
certainty of his plans completed the destruction of the
confidence which his skill and great military talents had
created ; and the despair of the Crusaders put an end to
the fear of a chief they no longer loved. Discord broke out
with fresh fury ; such as remained partisans of Eichard,

* Gibbon's conclusion is very different. He says, "The laurels of Richarc
Wore blisted by the prudence or envy of his companions." — ^TaANS.

il98 HISTORY OP THE CEUSADES.

reproached his enemies with misleading the spirit of fche
army ; but all parties muijiially accused each other of favour-
ing the cause of the infidels. As is generally the case in
unsuccessful wars, perfidy and treachery were the subjects
most current among the Crusaders.

The most violent complaints were uttered against Bichard,
who replied to his enemies in a strain of high-minded bra-
very, worthy of an Amadis or a Eoland. At the head of a
weak detacliment, he took a convoy of seven thousand
camels on the way to Jerusalem ; on another occasion, going
on board a vessel with a few knights, he landed at Jaffa,
where the banners of Saladin floated over the towers and
ramparts ; he pursued the conquerors sword in hand, and
forced them to abandon their temporary conquest. A few
days after, the king of England, with a troop of his chosen
knights, attacked a body of seven thousand Mussulman
horse ; he rushed in amongst them, and mth a stroke of his
sabre struck dead at his feet the leader of the Saracens, who
all appeared stupified and motionless with surprise and fear.

But all these perils and all this glory were lost for the
cause of the Christians. E-ichard became every day more
odious to his associates ; the duke of Burgundy with the
Trench retired discontented to Ptolemais ; the Grermans,
commanded by the duke of Austria, quitted Palestine, and
Richard remained alone with the Enghsh.* Hitherto the
king of England, as he himself told the ambassadors of
Saladin, had taken but little interest in the deliverance of
the holy places, and had only performed such prodigies
of valour to increase his fame in the Christian world. A
desire to efface the glory of Pliilip, much more than a zeal for
religion, governed him in his contests with the Saracens ; he
underwent the labours of the holy war in the nope that his
exploits in Palestine would assist him in triumphing over his

* The historian Bohaedclin relates that Richard, in an interview with
Aboubeke:, the ambassador of Saladin, said — *' That he only sought for
a pretext to return to Europe ; that he took little interest in the affairs of
Palestine ; that the Christians could not stand against the Mussulman
power when deprived of his support; that a very small force would be
sufficient to take the few places they still possessed ; that the sultan need
not be difficult, as the peace would only be simulated, and would serve
to remove the only obstacle to the conquests of that prince." — See Lift
<if Saladin, by Marin.

HISTORY or THE CEUSADES. 4&S

''ivals aud enemies beyond the seas ; but as he began to feai
Doing left without an army, and dreaded the enterprises
of Philip, and the plots of his brother John, against his
European states, he determined to resume his negotiations
with Saladin. The various thoughts tliat harassed his
mind, the shame of not havuig conquered Jerusalem, the
foar of losing his own kingdom, made him adopt and reject
resolutions of the most opposite nature. At one time he
determined upon returning to Europe without making peace ,
at all — first he supplicated, tlien he menaced Saladin, and
endeavoured to frighten him, by spreading a report that the
pope was about to arrive in Palestine with an army of two
hundred thousand Crusaders.

Winter had not yet passed away, and the passage of the
Mediterranean was not without danger, "The sea is stormy,"
wroie he one day to Saladin, " but I will brave its tempests,
and return to Europe if you are disposed to make peace.
But if you still desire war, I will brave all its perils, and wUl
lay siege to Jerusalem." Saladin was encamped in the
vicinity of Ramla, and called his emirs together to deliberate
upon the proposals of Hichard. " Up to this period," said
be, " we have fought mth glory, and the cause of Islamism
has triumphed by our arms. I fear that death may surprise
me during a peace, and may prevent my terminating the
good, work we have begun. Since Grod gives us victory, he
commands us to continue the war, and we ought to obey his
vdll.*' Most of the emirs applauded the courage and firm-
ness of Saladin, but they represented to him, " that the cities
were without defence, and the provinces were devastated;
the i'atigues of war had weakened the Mussulman army ; the
hors(>s wanted forage, and provisions for the soldiers were
dear(3r than gold." " If we reduce the Franks to despair,"
added they, " they may still overcome us, and wrest all our
victories from our hands. It is wise to observe the maxim
of the Koran, which orders us to grant peace to our enemies
when they ask it. Peace will give us time to fortify our
cities, to recruit our forces, and resume the war with advan-
tage ; when the Franks, always faithless in treaties, wil!
ofler us fresh pretexts for attacking them."

Saladin plainly perceived by this speech of his emirs, that
the greater part of the Saracen warriors were beginning tc

Vol. I.— 23

500 HISTORY or THE CllUSADES.

lose the ardour and zeal they had evinced for the cause uf
Islamism. The sultan was abandoned by several of his
auxiliaries, and dreaded the appearance of division in
his own empire. The armies were close to each other,
and the dust which arose from the two camps, says au
Arabian author, mingled in the air and formed but on(3
cloud. Neither the Christians nor the Mussulmans showed
the least impatience to go beyond the boundaries of their
ramparts and ditches, and both being equally tired of the
war, it became the interest of the two leaders to make
peace. The disposition of the minds of the combatants,
with the impossibility of pursuing any warHke enterprises,
at length led to the adoption of a truce for three years and
eight months.*

It was determined that Jerusalem should be open to the
devotion of the Christians, and that they should hold all the
seacoast from Jaffa to Tyre. The Saracens and the Chris-
tians had both claims upon Ascalon, wliich was considered
as the key to Egypt, and which the Axuzis called the spouse
of Syria. To terminate these disputes, it was agreed that
this city should be again demolished. It is not unworthy
of remark, that not a word was said about the true cross,
which had been the subject of the first negotiations, and for
which E-ichard had sent several ambassadors to Saladin. The
principal leaders of the two armies swore, on the one side
upon the Koran, and on the other upon the Grospel, to
observe the conditions of the treaty. Royal majesty assumed
something more imposing and august than even the sanctity
of an oath, for the sultan and the king of England contented
themselves with giving their word and touching the hands
of the ambassadors.

All the Mussulman and Christian princes of Syria were
invited to sign the treaty concluded between Kichard and
Saladin. Among those w^ho were called upon to be guaran-
tees of the peace, neither the prince of Antioch, who had
taken little share in the war, nor the chief of the Ismaelians,
the enemy of both Christians and Mussulmans, was forgot-

* The Latin historians say that the truce was for three years, three
months, three weeks, and three days. We prefer the version of the Oriental
writers, who say that the truce was for three years and eight months.
Omad, whose account we adopt, declares he wrote the treaty with his owi
hand.

HISTOET or THE CRUSADES. 50!

len. Guy de Lusignan alone was not named in the treaty.
This prince enjoyed a momentary importance from the dis-
sensions he had given birth to, and sunk into oblivion aa
BOon as fresh subjects of discord arose among the Crusaders.
Despoiled of his kingdom, he obtained that of Cyprus, a far
more real possession, but for vrhich he was obliged to pay
the Templars, to whom E-ichard had sold it. Palestine was
ceded to Henry, count of Champagne, the new husband of
that Isabella who appeared to be promised to all the pre-
tenders to the crown of Jerusalem, and who, by a singular
destiny, had married three kings, without being able to
ascend a throne.

The conclusion of the peace was celebrated by tourna-
ments and festivities, in which the Mussulmans and Christians
laid aside the fanaticism and hatred which had led them to
shed so much blood. Most of the warriors of the West, by
the invitation of Saladin, visited the holy places they had been
unable to deliver, and then embarked for Europe. At the
moment of departure, the French lost the duke of Burgundy,
who fell sick and died in the city of Tyre, as he was pre-
paring to leave Palestine.

Thus. finished this third crusade, in which all the western
powers in arms obtained no greater advantages than the
taking of Ptolemais and the demolition of Ascalon ; in it
Grermany lost, without glory, one of the greatest of its
emperors and the finest of its armies. If we may believe
Arabian authors, six hundred thousand Crusaders appeared
before Ptolemais, and scarcely one hundred thousand of
these warriors saw their native country again. Europe had
the greater reason to deplore the losses of this war, from the
fact of her armies having been so much better composed tha^;
in preceding expeditions ; criminals, adventurers, and vaga-
bonds, had been strictly excluded from the ranks. All that
the West coiild boast of the most noble and illustrious of its
warriors had taken up arms.

The Crusaders that contended with Saladin were better
armed and better disciplined than any that preceded them in
Palestine ; the foot-soldiers employed the cross-bow, which
had been neglected or prohibited in the second crusade

* Gibbon says, — " A personal interview with Richard was declined by
Saladin, who alleged their mutual ignorance of each other's language."—
Vol viii. p. 429.— Trans.

502 HISTORY OF THE CETJSADES.

Their cuirasses, and tlieir bucklers covered with thick leather,
defied the arrows of the Saracens ; and on the field of Vattle,
soldiers were often seen bristling with arrows and darts»
whom the Arabs compared to porcupines, still keeping their
ranks and fighting bravely. The Saracens had likewise made
some progress in the art of war, and began to resume the use
of the lance, whch they did not employ when the first Cru-
saders arrived in Syria. The Mussulman armies were not
confused multitudes; they remained longer under their
banners, and fought with less disorder. The Curds and
Turks surpassed the Franks in the art of attacking and
defending cities and castles. The Mussulmans had, besides,
more than one advantage over the Crusaders ; they made
war upon their own territories and in their own climate ; they
were under the command of one single leader, who communi-
cated the s*me spirit to all, and only presented to them one
cause to defend.

In this crusade the Pranks appeared to be more polished
than they had been till that time. Great monarchs making
war against each other without ceasing to give evidences of
mutual esteem and generous feeling, was a new spectacle for
the world. Subjects followed the example of their princes,
and lost beneath the tent much of their barbarism. The
Crusaders were sometimes admitted to the table of Saladiu,
and emirs received at that of E-ichard- By thus mingling
together, Saracens and Christians might make a happy
exchange of usages, manners, knowledge, and even virtues.

The Christians, rather more enlightened than during the
first crusades, stood in less need of excitement from the
visions of fanaticism. The passion for glory was for them
almost as powerful a principle as religious enthusiasm.
Chivalry also made great progress in this crusade ; it waa
held in such honour, and the title of knight was so glorious,
even in the eyes of the infidels, that Saladin did not disdain
to be decorated with it.

The sentiment of honour, and the humanity which is
inseparable from it, often dried tears that the disasters of
war had caused to flow ; tender and virtuous passions associ-
ated themselves in the minds of heroes with the austere
maxims of religion and the sanguinary images of battle.
Amidst the corruption of camps, love, by inspiring the

HTSTORT OF THE CEIISADES. 503

knights and troubadours who had taken the cross with noble
and delicate sentiments, preserved them from the seductions
of gross debauchery. More than one warrior, animated by
the remembrance of beauty, caused his bravery to be greatly
admired, whilst fighting against the Saracens. It was in thia
crusade that the Chatelain de Coucy fell, mortally wounded,
by the side of King Bichard. In a song, which is still
extant, he had bid adieu to Erance, saying that he went to
the Holy Land to obtain three things of inestimable value ta
a knight, — Paradise, glory, and the love of his mistress* A
chronicle of the middle ages relates, that after he had
received a mortal wound and was about to breathe his last
sigh, the faithful Chatelain first confessed himself to the
legate of the Pope, and then charged his squire to bear his
heart to the lady de Tayel. The last commands of Coucy,
and the horrible banquet that a cruel husband caused to be
served up to the victim of his jealousy, show at once what
chivalry could inspire of the most touching kind, and that
which the manners of the twelfth century could exhibit of
the most barbarous. f The troubadours celebrated in their
songs the chivalric love of the noble Chatelain, and the
despair of the beautiful De Yergy, when she learnt she had
eaten the heart of her faithful knight. If we may believe
old chronicles, the lord de Fay el, pursued by remorse and the
opinion of his contemporaries, was obliged to go to the Holy
Land, to expiate his crime and the death of his unfortunate
wife.

In this crusade, in which so many knights rendered them-

* L'amour de sa mie. — Trans.

f The adventures of the Chatelain de Coucy and the lady de Fay el are
related in an old chronicle quoted by the President Faucher. There
exists in the Imperial Library a manuscript copy of this chronicle, which
appears to have been written towards the beginning of the thirteenth
century, a short time after the third crusade. M. Roquefort, whose
authority is of great weight in all which concerns the middle ages, does
not appear to adopt the account of the chronicle quoted in his article
" Coucy" of La Biographie Universelle, and is of the opinion of Father
Papon, who attributes the adventure of the Chatelain to the troubadour
Cabestan. We may object to M. Roquefort, that the adventure of
Cabestan is not the same as that of Coucy, and that one may be true
without rendering the other doubtful. We find in the works of Belief
a dissertation which has not been refuted, which proves the truth, if notP^
tome details, of the principal facts related in the chronicle we have quotea.

504l HISTORY or THE CRUSADES.

selves illustrious, two men acquired an immortal glory, one
by a useless bravery, and qualities more brilliant than solid,
the otlier by real successes and virtues that might have
served as models to Christians. The name of Eichard re-
mained during a century the terror of the East, and tie
Saracens and Turks celebrated him in their proverbs a long
time after the crusades. He cultivated letters, and merited
a place among the troubadours ; but the arts did not at all
soften his character ; it was his ferocity as well as his courage
that procured him the surname of Cceur de Lion. Carried
awBy by the inconstancy of his inclinations, he often changed
his projects, his affections, and his principles of action ; he
sometimes braved religion, and very often devoted himself to
its service. Sometimes incredulous, as often superstitious ;
measureless in his hatred as in his friendship, he was extra-
vagant in everything, and only showed himself constant in
his love for war. The passions which animated him scarcely
ever permitted his ambition to have an aim or a determinate
object. His imprudence, his presumption, and the unsteadi-
ness of his plans, made him lose the fruits of his exploits.
In a word, the hero of this crusade is more calculated to
excite surprise than to create esteem, and appears to belong
less to history than to the romances of chivalry.

With less rashness and bravery than Richard, Saladin
possessed a more firm character, one far better calculated
to carry on a religious war. He paid more attention to the
results of his enterprises ; more master of himself, he was
more fit to command others. When mounting the throne
of the Atabeks, Saladin obeyed rather his destiny than his
inclinations ; but when once firmly seated, he was governed
by 3nly two passions, — that of reigning, and that of securiug
the triumph of the Koran. On all other subjects he was
moderate, and when a kingdom or the glory of the prophet
was not in question, the son of Ayoub was admired as the
most just and mild of Mussulmans. We may add that the
stern devotion* and ardent fanaticism that made him take
up arms against the Christians, only rendered him cruel and

* Saladin had but little indulgence in religious matters. The Abbe
Renaudot, in his manuscript history, relates that he caused a philosopher
to be strangled T^ho ventured to preach new doctrines in the city of
Aleppo.

HISTOEY or THE CEUSADES. 605

barbarous in one single instance. He displayed tlie virtues
of peace amidst the horrors of war. * Prom the bosom of
camps," says an Oriental poet, " Ae covered^ the nations with,
the wings of his justice, and poured upon his cities the plen-
teous showers of his liberality T The Mussulmans, always
governed by fear,* were astonished that a sovereign could
inspire them with so much love, and follo\^ed him with joy
to battle. His generosity, his clemency, and particularly
his respect for an oath, were often the subjects of admiration
to the Christians, whom he rendered so miserable by hia
victories, and of whose power in Asia he had completed the
overthrow.f

* To know the character and virtues of Saladin, it is sufficient to quote
tne discourse he addressed to his son El-daher, to whom he had confided
the government of a province : — ** My son," said he, " you are about to
reign over states that I have bestowed upon you. My infirmities give me
reason to fear that I may never see you again ; I recommend you, then,
my son, as my last command, to love and honour God, who is the source of
all good, and to observe the precepts of his law ; for your welfare depends
upon it. Spare human blood, for fear it should fall again upon your own
head ; for blood once shed never sleeps. Endeavour to gain the hearts of
your subjects ; administer justice, and be as careful of their interests as
of your own. You will have to render an account to God of this trust
which I confide to you in his name. Show respect and condescension for
the emirs, the imauns, the caliphs, and all persons placed in authority. It
is only by mildness and clemency that I have attained the elevated posi-
tion in which you behold me. We are all mortal, O my son ! entertain
then no malice, no hatred against any one. Be careful, above all things,
to offend nobody ; men only forget injuries when they have revenged
them, whilst God grants us pardon for our errors for a simple repentance ;
for he is beneficent and merciful." This speech of Saladin to his son has
been transmitted to us by Bohaeddin, who heard it delivered. — See th«
JJfe of Saladin, by Marin, book xiii.

t Although, happily, the time is gone by in which an English writei
would break a lance in defence of the entire character of Richard, much
as I admire the general reflections and spirit of my author, I cannot but
think he has scarcely done him justice. His faults are always thrown into
high relief, whilst his good qualities, — for he had some, — are either shaded
or entirely concealed. In the disputes which his position naturally drew
him into, his antagonists are always made to be in the right, Richard in
the wrong. Not a single act is recorded before Ptolemais, and yet Richard
had five thousand prisoners ; most authors say three thousand, but the
larger number is assumed, for the sake of the massacre. The more
eminent the exploits of Richard, in an army constituted like that of the
Crusaders, the greater were sure to be the envy and hatred of his fellow-
lea^js. Richard is no worse than other heroes of the sword, froir

506 HISTORY OF THE CEIJSADES.

The third crusade, whicli was so glorious for SaUdiii, was
not entirely without advantages for Europe. Many Cru-
paders on the way to Palestine, stopped in Spain, and by
their victories over the Moors, prepared the deliverance of
the kingdoms situated beyond the Pyrenees. A great
number of Germans, as in the second crusade, prevailed
upon by the solicitations of the pope, made war upon the
barbarous inhabitants of the shores of the Baltic, and thus,
by useful exploits, extended the limits of the Christian re-
public in the "West. As in this war the greater part of the
Crusaders went to Palestine by sea, the art of navigation
made a sensible advance ; the maritime nations of Europe
acquired an accession of prosperity, their fleets became more
formidable, and they were able, with glory, to dispute the
empire of the sea with the Saracens.

In several states of Europe, commerce, and the spirit of
the holy wars contributed to the enfranchisement of the
lower classes. Many serfs, upon becoming free, took up
arms. It was not one of the least interesting spectacles of
this crusade, to see the standards of several cities of Prance
and Germany floating in the Christian army amongst the
banners of lords and barons.

This crusade was particularly beneficial to Prance, from
which it banished both civil and foreign wars. By prolonging
the absence of the great vassals and the enemies of the
kingdom, it weakened their power, and gave Philip Augustus
authority to levy imposts, even upon the clergy. It afforded
him an opportunity of surrounding his throne with a faithful
guard, to keep up regular armies, and prepare, though at a
distance,* that victory of Bovines which proved so fatal to
the enemies of Prance.

A long captivity awaited E,ichard on his return to Europe.
The ves-sel in which he embarked was shipwrecked on the
coast of Italy, and fearing to pass through Prance, he took

Achilles downward. I greatly fear it is his successful-rivialry with the
more astute French monarch that is the cause of this bias. \Against the
comparison with Saladin I say nothing — Saladin was a greater man than
Richard. — Trans.

* This crusade terminated in 1192 ; the battle of Bovines was fougiit
ic 1214. — Tra^ns.

HISTOET or THE CEUSADES. 507

fche route of Germany, concealed under the habit of a simple
pilgrim. ]Iis liberality betrayed the monarch, and as he
had enemies everywhere, he was seized hj the soldiers ,>^
the duke of Austria. Leopold had not sufficient generosity
to forget the outrages received from Richard at the siege ct
Ptolemais, and detained him prisoner. It was not known
in Europe what had become of King E-ichard, when a gentle-
man of Arras, named Blondel, set out in search of his
master, and traversed Germany in the dress and with the
lyre of a minstrel. On his arrival before a castle, in which,
it was said, languished an illustrious captive, Blondel began
to sing the first couplet of a song which he had composed
in conjunction with Kichard. From the top of a high tower
a voice answered him, and sang the second couplet.* Then
the faithful troubadour returned into England to announce
that he had discovered the prison of the king. The duke of
Austria, terrified at this discovery, did not dare to detain
longer his redoubtable captive in his own hands, and gave
him up to the emperor of Germany. Henry VI., who had
likewise insults to revenge, was rejoiced to get Kichard in
his power, and kept him in chains, as if he had made him a
prisoner in the field of battle. The hero of the crusade,
who had filled the world with his renown, was cast into a
dark dungeon, and remained a long time a victim to the
vengeance of his enemies — and they were Christian princes.
He was brought before the German diet, assembled at
Worms, where he was accused of all the crimes that hatred
and envy could invent. But the spectacle of a king in
chains was so affecting, that no one durst condemn Bichard,

* Our author has given an extract from the interesting manuscript
which has furnished him with this account ; but it is so long, the French
is so old, and the story so well known, I have thought best to omit it — a
translation would spoil it. It is remarkable that the manuscript chronicle
makes Richard see Blondel, and sing yirst — our author reverses this : —
Ensi com il estoit en cette pensee, li rois regarde et vie Blondel, et pensa
comment li se feroit a lui connoistre, et li souvint d'une canchon que ils
avoient fait entre aus deux que nus ne savoit fois que il roi. Si com-
mencha haut et clerement a canter le premier vier, car il cantoit trea
bien. There appear to me discrepancies in the language of this manu-
script chronicle, which make the date of it, the thirteenth century, very
epocryi hal.'— Trans.

23*

508 HisxoET or the crusades.

and wiien "he offered his justification, the hishops and noblei
aielted into tears, and besought Henry to tre-at him with
less injustice and rigour.

Queen Eleanor implored all the powers of Europe for the
release of her son. The complaints and tears of a mother
touched the heart of Celestine, who had recently ascended
the chair of St. Peter. The pope several times demanded
the liberty of the king of England, and even excommuni-
cated the duke of Austria and the emperor ; but the thunders
of the Church had so often been launched against the
thrones of Grermany, that they no longer inspired fear,
Henry braved the anathemas of the Holy 8ee ; the captivity
of E-ichard lasted another year ; and he only obtained his
liberty after engaging to pay a considerable ransom. His
kingdom, which he had ruined at his departure for the Holy
Land, exhausted itself to hasten his return ; and England
gave up even her sacred vases to break the chains of her
monarch. He was received with enthusia<3m by the English ;
his adventures, which drew tears, obliterated the remem-
brance of his cruelties, and Europe only recollected his
exploits and his misfortunes.

After the truce made with Eichard, Saladin retired to
Damascus, where he enjoyed his glory but one year. The
Orientals celebrate the edifying manner in which he died,
distributing his alms or benevolences to Mussulmans and
Christians alike. Before he expired he ordered one of his
officers to carry his shroud through the streets of his capital,
and to cry with a loud voice : " Behold all that Saladin^
who overcame the East, hears away of his conquests.^''

Scarcely had he ceased to breathe, when nothing remained
but a vain remembrance of his laws and his victories ; his
death was attended by that which so frequently happens in
Oriental monarchies, where nothing is regulated concerning
the succession ; where victory appears to be the most legiti-
mate title, and where a too numerous offspring await the
death of the prince in fear, servitude, and in ignorance oi
the affairs of the state.

Saladin only left behind him slaves intimidated by hia
glory and his boundless power, who divided his authority
among them, but could not support the weight of it

HISTOKY or THE CllUSABES. 609

Twelve of his sons and relatives succeeded him and dis*
puted the sovereignty. Malek-Adel, the brother of the
sultan, and companion in his exploits, profited bj tha inex-
perience of his nephews, and took possession of Egypt and
Mesopotamia. The most powerful of the emirs followed
his example, and shared the cities and provinces amongst
them. Asia then beheld that empire fall to decay, whichj
raised for the ruin of the Christians, had, in its growth anc
jHTogress, twice roused all the nations of the West to amw

mm 13^ 1f(SSt*%

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