Oh, Book ! what is it in tliis world of yours That makes it fatal to be wed to you? Oh ! why With cypres-s branches have you wreathed your bowers And made your best interpreter a sigh? CRUSADERS IN SIGHT OF JKRUSAI.EM. Page 155. PROCTOR'S HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES COMPRISING THE RISE, PROGRESS AND RESULTS VARIOUS EXTRAORDINARY EUROPEAN EXPEDITIONS FOR THE RECOVERY OF THE HOLY LAND FROM THE SARACENS AND TURKS. BY MAJOR GEORGE PROCTOR. OP THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY, SANDHURST, ENGLAND. WITH 1BO ILLUSTRATIONS, PHILADELPHIA : JOHN E. POTTER & COMPANY, 617 SAKSOM STREET. COPYRIGHT JOHN E. POTTER & COMPANY AT the present time, when a misunderstanding concerning the Holy Places at Jerusalem has given rise to a war involving four of the great Powers of Europe, the mind naturally reverts to the period when nearly all the military power of Europe made a descent on Palestine for the recovery of them from the possession of the infidels. It would seem that the interest in these places is still alive; and the history of the Holy Wars of Palestine during a considerable portion of the Middle Ages, may be supposed to form an attractive theme for the general reader. Under this impression Major Proctor's excellent "History 3 2064822 4 .PREFACE. of the Crusades" has been carefully revised, some additions made, a series of illustrative engravings, executed by first-rate artists, introduced, and the edition is now respectfully sub- mitted to the public. The editor, in the performance of his duty, has been struck with the masterly, clear, and lucid method in which the author has executed the work a work of considerable difficulty, when we consider the long period and the multiplicity of important events embraced in the history; nor has the editor been less impressed w'th the vigorous style, and the happy power of giv- ing vividness, colour and thrilling interest to the events which he narrates, so conspicuous in Major Proctor's history. No other historian of the Crusades has succeeded in comprising so complete and entertaining a narrative in so reasonable a compass. AMERICAN EDITOB CHAPTER I. f ty first teak SECTION I. Causes of the Crusades Page 17 SECTION II. Preaching of the First Crusade 41 SECTION III. Peter the Hermit. The Crusade undertaken by the People. 55 SECTION IV. The Crusade undertaken by Rings and Nobles 65 CONTENTS. SECTION V. The First Crusaders at Constantinople ................................ Page 79 SECTION VI. The Siege of Nice ................................................................. 90 SECTION VII. Defeat of the Turks. Seizure of Edessa .................................... 105 SECTION VIII. Seige and Capture of Antioch by the Crusaders .......................... 119 SECTION IX. Pefence of Antioch by the Crusaders ........................................ 130 SECTION X. Seige and Capture of Jerusalem by the Crusaders ....................... 153 CHAPTER II. fasate. SECTION I. State of the Latin Kingdom ............................. . ...................... 176 SECTION II Origin of the Orders of Religious Chivalry ............... .. ............... 194 SECTION III. Pall of Edessa. Preaching of the Second Crusade ...................... 205 SECTION IV. Louis VII. and Conrad III. in Palestine .................................... 214 CONTENTS. CHAPTER III. twtitt. SECTION I. The Rise cf Saladin .............. . ......................................... Page 22* SECTION II. Battle of Tiberias, and Fall of Jerusalem .................... . ........ ,,, 238 SECTION III. The Germans undertake the Crusade ........................................ 248 SECTION IV. Richard Cosur de Lion in Palestine ............................... .;. ...... 257 CHAPTER IV. f fa Jtarrtjf SECTION I. The French, Germans, and Italians unite in the Crusade 285 SECTION II. Affairs of the Eastern Empire ,. 298 SECTION III. Expedition against Constantinople , .' 311 SECTION IV. Second Siege of Constantinople 827 CONTENTS. i CHAPTER V. 3W |our SECTION I. History of the Latin Empire of the East Page 342 SECTION II. The Fifth Crusade... ..361 SECTION III. fhe Sixth Crusade 380 SECTION IV. The Seventh Crusade 401 SECTION V. The Eighth Crusade 428 CHAPTER VI. Consequences of the Crusades .. 453 CRUSADERS in sight of Jerusalem FRONTISPIECE. The Holy Sepulchre TITLE Head-piece to Preface PAGE 3 Head-piece to Contents 5 Head-piece to Illustrations 9 Pope Urban II. preaching the First Crusade, at the Council of Cler- mont 13 Head-piece to Chapter 1 17 Ornamental Letter 17 A Norman Knight 21 The Normans conquering Sicily 22 Charlemagne 26 Mohammed 30 Early Career of Mohammed 31 ftregory VII 86 3 10 ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGI Robert Guiscard ordering his ships to be burned.., 38 Tail-piece 40 Peter the Hermit 41 Ornamental Letter 41 Peter the Hermit and the Patriarch of Jerusalem 42 Peter the Hermit preaching the First Crusade 45 Norman Armour 55 Ornamental Letter 55 Peter the Hermit leading the First Crusaders .. 58 Tail-piece..., 64 Armour 65 Henry IV 68 Godfrey of Bouillon 69 Siege of Rome 71 Robert of Normandy and his Father /2- A Crusader 79 Ornamental Letter 79 x\ . The Emperor Alexius 90 Regalia 96 Ornamental Letter..... . 96 Tail-piece 104 Head-piece 105 Ornamental Letter 105 ,A Turkish Encampment 11C Baldwin seizes Edessa 116 Tail-piece 117 ILLUSTRATIONS. 11 PACK Antioch 118 Ornamental Letter 118 Karallissar 124 Capture of Antioch by the Crusaders 125 Robert of Normandy slaying the Turk.. 129 Head-piece 130 Ornamental Letter '130 Bishop Adhemar blessing the Crusaders 141 Tail-piece 152 Jerusalem 153 Ornamental Letter 153 Mount Sion 157 Godfrey of Bouillon 161 Capture of Jerusalem 164 Godfrey of Bouillon elected King of Jerusalem 172 Tail-piece 175 Ascalon 176 Ornamental Letter 176 Tancred 181 Funeral of Baldwin I., King of Jerusalem 188 Ruins of Tyre 190 Tail-piece , '193 Institution of the Order of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem 194 Armour 194 Ornamental Letter 195 12 ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGl Grand-Master of the Knights of Malta 198 Grand-Marshal of the Knights of Malta 199 Malta 201 Knights Templars 203 Head-piece... 205 Ornamental Letter 205 Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine 211 St. Bernard preaching the Second Crusade 211 Tail-piece 213 Head-piece 214 Ornamental Letter 214 Conrad III... 217 Passage of the Meander 218 Louis VII. defending himself against the Turks 219 Damascus 221 Tail-piece 223 Arab Encampment 224 Ornamental Letter.. 224 Noureddin marching on Antioch 228 Shiracouch 231 Saladin 236 Tail-piece 237 Head-piece 238 Ornamental Letter 238 Mecca...., 240 Tail-piece 247 ILLUSTRATIONS. 13 PAGl Head-piece 248 Ornamental Letter 248 Frederic Barbarossa 252 Head-piece... 257 Ornamental Letter 257 Richard Coeur De Lion. -. 260 Rhodes 262 Siege of Acre 264 Movable Towers 265 Capitulation of Acre 266 Tower and Battering-ram 266 Richard Coeur de Lion at Antioch 267 Richard I. at Azotus 272 Hebron 275 Richard Coeur de Lion at Jaffa 280 General View of Jerusalem 284 Head-piece 285 Ornamental Letter 285 Henry VI., Emperor of Germany 287 Place of St. Mark's, Venice 293 Street in Constantinople 298 Ornamental Letter 298 Isaac Angelus 304 Tail-piece 310 Dandolo, Doge of Venice 311 Ornamental Letter v 311 14 ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGl Theodore Lascaris , 327 Ornamental Letter 32< Desecration of the Churches 334 Tower of St. Mark's, Venice 335 Ceremony of raising an elected King on a buckler 337 Tail-piece, Gethsemene 341 Baldwin I., Emperor of .the East 342 Ornamental Letter 342 . Baldwin II 354 Head-piece 361 Ornamental Letter 361 William Longespee, Earl of Salisbury 364 i Capture of Damietta by the Crusaders 367 Emperor Frederic II . 372 Head-piece 3SO Ornamental Letter 380 Richard, Earl of Cornwall 382 Frederic II <. 385 Zingis Khan 391 Tail-piece 400 View on the Nile 401 Ornamental Letter 401 Blanche of Castile 403 Ilaco, King of Norway 404 Ships of the 13th Century 405 St. Louis in captivity 416 ILLUSTRATIONS. 15 PAGB St. Louis entering Ptolemais 419 Tail-piece 427 Head-piece 423 Ornamental Letter 428 Death of St. Louis 431 Edward I. of England 432 Attempt to assassinate Edward , 435 Funeral of Robert Guiscard 452 Head-piece 453 Ornamental Le:ter 453 Tail-piece 464 HISTOEY OF THE CRUSADES. CHAPTER I. first &r FROM A.D. 1095 TO A.D. 1099. SECTION I. CAUSES OF THE CRUSADES. > HE terra CRUSADE is derived from the French word Cr&isade, and is employed to designate that series of extraordinary expeditions undertaken by the Western nations of Europe, during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, for the recovery of the Holy Land from the Saracens and Turks. The space of time consumed in these strange enterprises 18 THE FIRST CRUSADE. extends over nearly, if not quite, two hundred years, and in whatever light we contemplate them, they con- stitute one of the. most interesting chapters that is to be found in the annals of mankind. Nothing like them had been seen before in either the ancient or the modern world, and nothing like them has been seen since ; and it is the object of the present volume to investigate the causes which led to them, to de- scribe the incidents by which they were accompanied, and to estimate the consequences that followed from them. The predisposing circumstances which led to those famous enterprises, and thereby impressed such singu- lar features on the history of the period, are to be* sought rather in the general aspect and feelings of society during the ages immediately antecedent, than in the occurrence of any particular events. Amid the lawless violence which preceded and attended the settlement of the feudal system, the voice of religion could seldom be heard above the perpetual din of armed rapine; and her influence, instead of being habitually exercised over the consciences of men, was felt only with startling remorse in some brief interval of sickness or calamity. Then, the rude and super- stitious warrior, with the same untempered energy of " passion, was prepared to rush at once from the perpe- tration of atrocious crime to seek its atonement in exercises of the severest penance. Equally among churchmen and laity, the devotional spirit of the CAUSES OF THE CRUSADES. 19 times, such as it was, knew no other mode of recon- cilement with offended Heaven, than in these acts of mortification. But, if many sought to expiate their guilt in the passive austerities of the cloister, it was more congenial to the restless and enterprising charac- ter which marked the Northern mind, to embrace the encounter with fatigue and peril, as the surest test and the most acceptable tribute of repentant faith. The Romish clergy, therefore, probably only indulged instead of creating a popular inclination, when, in the eighth and ninth centuries, they began to commute the more ancient penances enjoined by the canons of the church, for pilgrimages to Rome, to the shrines of various saints, and above all to Jerusalem. The desire of visiting the places where celebrated events have occurred, seems, indeed, a curiosity too deeply implanted in our nature to belong to any particular time or condition of man ; but the associations con- nected with the hallowed scene of human redemption were calculated to sanctify this feeling with peculiar interest, and had rendered journeys to Jerusalem not uncommon in some of the earliest ages of Christianity. When this practice was communicated to the Gothic nations, the love of pilgrimages gradually became almost a universal passion ; and though its objects were deformed -by the grossness of superstition, and its course much diverted to Rome itself, and to those Bhrines in different countries at which pretended mi- racles were wrought, especially that of St. James at 20 THE FIRST CRUSADE. Compostella, in Spain, the stream of mistaken yet sincere devotion continued to set steadily toward the shores of Palestine. But the impulse which, above all others, had a tend- ency to increase the ardour for pilgrimages, arose from a growing belief, early in the tenth century, that the end of the world was at hand. It was imagined that the thousand years mentioned in the Apocalypse would speedily be fulfilled ; that the reign of Anti- christ approached ; and that the terrors of the last judgment would immediately follow.* In proportion as this erroneous interpretation of sacred prophecy gained wider credence, the Western World became violently agitated with fearful forebodings of the destruction which awaited the earth ; every delusive form of propitiation for sin, in penance and pilgri- mage, was eagerly embraced ; and, as it was concluded that to visit the scenes of redemption was both a meritorious and a preservative act, multitudes annu- ally flocked to Jerusalem, to revive and recover those hopes of salvation which withered under the remem- brance of habitual guilt. When an expedient so qui- eting to the consciences of men in a state of society * 6%ron.Guil.Godelli, (in RecucifclcsITiytoriensFran^aia, vol. x. ; ) p 262. De Vic et de Vaisette, Hist, de Lanyncdoc, vol. ii. p. 86-117, &o. As Robertson has remarked, (Hist, of Charges V., vol. i. note 13,) even many of the charters of the tenth century have for prearr ble, "Appropinquante mundi tcrmino," &c , (seeing that the end of tho world is at hand.) CAUSES OF THE CRUSADES. 21 A Norman Knight. equally fruitful of crime and superstition, had once been discovered, inducements were not wanting for its repetition ; and the custom surpassed and survived its original impulse and occasion. Throughout the tenth and eleventh centuries, the passion for pilgrim- ages was ever on the increase ; and it is recorded of a single company which visited the Holy Sepulchre, about the middle of the latter age, that its numbers were no fewer than seven thousand persons.* * Tngulfus, JTistoria, p. 903, 904 22 THE FIRST CRUSADE. The Normans conquering Sicily. Foremost among the devotees, as among the war- riors of the times, were the Normans. That singular and high-spirited people, in every respect the most remarkable of the barbarian races, had no sooner be- come converts to Christianity, than they strangely infused into their religious profession the same wild and enthusiastic temper, the same ardour for adven- turous enterprise, which had distinguished their pagan career. The conquest of Southern Italy, which ori- ginated entirely in the casual return of their pilgrims from the Holy Land through that theatre of Saracen warfare,* is, in itself, a striking memorial both of their addiction to such religious journeyings, and of the * Leo Ostiensis, Chron. Man. Cassin, lib. ii. c. 37. Giannone, Is- toria di Napoli, vol. ii. p. 7. CAUSES OF THE CRUSADES, 23 equal readiness for either devout or martial achieve- ment by which they were animated. Traversing Italy in the route between their own land and the Mediterranean ports which communicated with Pales- line, in small but well-armed bands, the Norman pil- grims were prepared alike, either to crave hospitality in the blessed name of the Cross, or to force their way at the point of the lance. Their victorious establish- ment in Italy tended to increase their intercourse with the East; their daring assaults upon the Byzantine empire, though foreign to our present subject, attest their undiminished thirst of enterprise ; and we shall find the sons of the Norman conquerors of the Sicilies and England figuring among the chief promoters and warriors of the First Crusade. Such a union of religious and martial ardour, how- ever, was by no means confined to the Normans ; and the eleventh century was marked, throughout Western Europe, by the general expansion of a spirit, of which the organized result may be numbered among the most active and powerful causes of the crusades. This was the institution of CHIVALRY. The rude origin of a state of manners so extraordinary in itself, and so restricted -to the descendants of the great Northern race,* is obviously to be found in those ceremonies * The want of all resemblance to the spirit of chivalry in the man- ners and sentiments of classical antiquity is so obvious, that it might geem a work of supererogation to insist on the fact; if an accom- plished morlern writer (Hallam, Middle Ayes, vol. Hi. p. 482) had 24 THE FIRST CRUSADE. which, among their ancestors in the German forests, attended the assumption of arms by the youthful not, in rather an elaborate passage, cited the Achilles of Homer as a beautiful portraiture of the chivalric character " in its most general form." On this position it may, in the first place, be remarked as singular, that Mr. Hallam should number "a calm indifference to the cause in which he was engaged" among the qualities of the Homeric hero, as suggesting a parallel with the knightly character; of which, enthusiastic and loyal devotion in enterprise formed the peculiar attri- butes. In the next place, the resentment of Achilles for the loss of Briseis merely as his captured property, is utterly repugnant to that principle of respectful idolatry for the fair, which every true knight cherished as an indispensable article in his creed of love and honour. In fact, the most irreconcilable distinction between the manners of the classical and Gothic ages rests, as we have before had occasion to remark, on the totally opposite estimation of woman. Finally, his conduct of Achilles, both in suffering the inferior herd of Greeks to strike the corpse of Hector, and id dragging the lifeless body of the noble and fallen antagonist at his chariot wheels, would have been held utterly abhorrent from chivalric ideas of courtesy; and Mr. Hallam, a few pages farther on, has quoted a passage from a chro- nicler of the thirteeeth century, which denounces the act of insulting the dead body of an enemy as the lowest depth of infamy. Thus-, altogether, to say nothing of the absence of that dedication of the sword to the cause of Heaven, which, mistaken as it was, gave a religious impression to the knightly character, the portraiture of Achilles is completely destitute of those qiialities of loyalty, devoted- ness to woman, and courtesy to enemies, which Mr. Hallam himself justly specifies as virtues essential to chivalry. That lofty energy of the soul which is inspired by contempt of death and thirst for glory, and displayed in daring and magnanimous achievement, con- stitutes, indeed, the vital essence of heroism under every form of society ; but into this lifespring of action, common to the Grecian and the Gothic warrior, it was the singular peculiarity of the chival- ric spirit to infuse the triple incentive and sentiment of religious, Bocial, and amatory obligation ; and, instead of sustaining the parallel CAUSES OP THE CRUSADES.. 25 warrior.* In subsequent ages the same forms of mar- tial investiture, with little addition or variation, were preserved among the conquerors of the Roman empire, and perpetuated in every kingdom which they had founded. In the Lombard annals ; in a recorded act, as well as occasionally in the capitularies of Charle- magne ; and in the chronicles of the Anglo-Saxon era, are to be found sufficient evidence^ of a common prac- tice in the ceremonial investiture of knighthood. We may here overleap the chain of circumstances which, in later connection with feudal and social obligations, imparted to the spirit of chivalry, which in the outset was only essentially martial, its more graceful virtues of loyalty and honour, courtesy and benevolence, generosity to enemies, protection to the feeble and the oppressed, and respectful tenderness to woman. To trace the growth of these beautiful attributes of chi- valry, as a moral and social system, belongs not to our present inquiry ; and it will suffice to notice in thin place that admixture of religious ideas and duties with a military institution, which converted it into a ready engine of superstitious excitement, and singularly suggested, the Homeric representation, abounding as it does in native sublimity of conception, might, with more propriety, be selected for a sufficient example of the contrast between the heroic character in the two great romantic ages of the ancient and modern world. * Tacitus, De Moribus Germanorum, c. 13. { Paulus Diaconus, De Gestis Langobard, c. 23, 24. Vita L- doviri Pii, ad Ann. 791. Malmsbury. lib. ii. c. 2. 26 THE FIRST CRUSADE. Charlemagne. disposed the public mind of Europe for any enterprise of fanatical warfare. The exact epoch at which chivalry acquired a reli- gious character, it is neither easy, nor is it material, to ascertain. In the age of Charlemagne, and in his empire at least, the form" of knightly investiture was certainly unattended by any vows or ecclesiastical CAUSES OF THE CRUSADES. 27 ceremonies.* But, in the eleventh century, it had be- come common to invoke the aid of religion in the in- auguration of the knight ; his sword was laid on the altar, blessed, and even sometimes girded to his side, by the priest ; and his solemn vow dedicated its use to the service of Heaven, in the special defence of the church, as well as the general protection of the weak and the oppressed. The more complete conversion of the whole process of investiture into a religioua ceremonial; the previous vigils, confession, prayer, and receipt of the sacrament ; the bath and the robe of white linen, as emblems of purification ; all those preparations;, in short, by which the entrance into the knightly career, was designedly assimilated to that into the monastic profession, formed the growth of rather later times.f But there is abundant proof of the suc- cess of the church, before the Crusades, in infusing some religious principle into the martial spirit of chivalry .J For this, justice has scarcely been extended to the motives of the Romish clergy by different classes of writers, who, whether from indignation at the real corruptions of that church, or from hostility to the cause of Christianity itself, can discover only unmin- gled evil in the ecclesiastical policy of the Middle Ages. But, apart from the lower and more interested purpose, in itself surely not unjustifiable, of converting tho * Vita. Ludov. Pii, ubi suprd. j" Du Cange, Glossarium in vv. Arma, Miles, &c. J Du Oange, in v. Miles. Muratori, Anfiq. Med. ^Evi. Diss. liii 28 THE FIRST CRUSADE. martial temper of lawless communities into a means of defence for the church, the clergy of the eleventh century appear to have laboured with a zeal and sin- cerity above suspicion, in mitigating a spirit which they could not subdue. Their efforts to soften the ferocity and harmonize the feelings of the times by their reprobation of private wars and judicial com- bats, are deserving of all praise ;* and there seems no reason to doubt that, in covering the ceremonies of chivalry with the sanction of religion, their policy was originally animated by a principle equally praise- worthy. In the same knightly vows which they de- manded or registered at the altar, engagements to ab- stain from secret perfidy and open wrong, to shield the oppressed, and to do justice to all Christian men, were at least mingled with the obligation of fidelity and protection to the church itself. The ultimate ex- tension of these pledges into the imaginary duty of warring to the utterance against all infidels, was, in- deed, as incompatible with the generally peaceful de- signs of the clergy, as it was repugnant to every genu- ine precept of the gospel. But, in a period so turbulent that even the ordinary social virtues could be no bet- ter exercised and protected than at the sword's point, a warlike and ignorant race passed, by an easy and obvious transition, into the monstrous error of believ- ing that the sincerity of their faith and the cause of * Gibbon, Decline and FaU, &c. vol. xi. p. 41. CAUSES Or THE CRUSADES. 29 divine truth were to be proven and upheld by the pame carnal weapon. This doctrine was too congenial both to the fierce manners and superstitious feelings of the laity to need the suggestions of the ecclesiastical order for its ex- citement ; and it may well be questioned whether the clergy directed or merely shared or obeyed the impulse of the times. They who can see nothing in the pil- grimizing and crusading madness of the tenth and eleventh centuries but the influence of a crafty sys- tem of ecclesiastical policy, attribute to the clergy a far greater superiority of intellect over the spirit of their age than they apparently possessed, only to fix the deeper stigma upon the abuse of their power. It is not only more probable in itself, but more consiet- e\it with historical evidence, to conclude that they were fervently imbued with the fanaticism which they are accused of having coolly excited : a vast number of prelates and inferior ecclesiastics shared in the toils and dangers of pilgrimages and Crusades; and the sincerity of the preachers and the warriors of those expeditions must, in general, be tried by the same standard of mistaken enthusiasm. In every sense, indeed, it was the union of religious and martial prin- ciples, first effected in the chivalric institutions, which prepared and prolonged the fanatical madness of Europe ; the profession of arms became hallowed by its presumed dedication to the service of Heaven ; and we may, therefore, enlarge on the definition of a cele- THE FIRST CBQSADE. Mohammed. brated writer, in pronouncing chivalry to have been at once both a principal cause and an enduring conse- quence of the Crusades.* Suchj then, through the united influence of martial and superstitious feelings, were the circumstances which predisposed the nations of Western Europe for any enterprise of fanatical warfare. The immediate occasion of the Crusades must be related in retrospect to the fall of Jerusalem, and the affairs of both the Byzantine and Mohammedan empires. During a long interval of above four centuries, between its cap- ture by Omar, and by the Seljukian Turks,f Jerusa- * Gibbon, Decline and Fall, &c. vol. xi. p. 41. f Jerusalem was captured by the Caliph Omar, A. r. 637, and by CAUSES OF THE CRCSADES. 31 Early career of Mohammed. lera had shared the vicissitudes of Saracen revolution , and the treatment both of its Christian inhabitants, and of the pilgrims who thronged to its sacred places, was variously affected by the temper of its Mussulman lords. After the fierce spirit of intolerance, which animated the Saracens in their early career of prose- lyting conquest, had subsided, and during the more tranquil period of the Khalifate, no obstacle was op- posed either to the exercise of worship by residents, or to the resort of devout strangers. The spot which logrul Beg, the grandson of Seljuk, a Turkoman chieftain, whence the name Seljukian, A. D. 1076. QO THE FIRST CRUSADE. tradition had assigned to the Holy Sepulchre, together with the Church of the Resurrection originally built by Constantine the Great,* were left in possession of the Christians ; and, satisfied with the exaction of a small tribute from every inhabitant and pilgrim, the Saracen governors even encouraged the periodical increase of population which swelled their revenues. The reign .of Haroun Al Raschid was especially marked as a pe- riod of undisturbed communication between the Latin world and Jerusalem; and the transmission of the keys of the city to Charlemagne by that Khalif, though assuredly not designed as a surrender of its sovereign- ty, was an elegant expression of esteem for the empe- ror of the Western Christians, and a pledge of secure access for his subjects.f When, in the tenth century, Jerusalem fell under the dominion of the Fatimite Khalifs of Egypt, the resort of pilgrims to Jerusalem was equally protected by the first two princes of that dynasty, who were not insensible to the benefits of the commercial intercourse of the same fleets which conveyed these devout pas- sengers. But when the frenzy of Hakem, the third Fatimite Khalif, instigated him to destroy, or, at least, greatly to injure, the Church of the Resurrection and the Rock of the Sepulchre, the horrors of a perse- * Euseluus, in Vita Constantin. lib. iii. c. 25. f Eginharti Vita Caroli Magni, p. 80, 81. Willermufl Tyrensia Archiepiscopus, {Gesta Dei per Francos,") p. 630. CAUSES OP THE CRUSADES. 33 cution which he at the same time inflicted on the Christians of Jerusalem, interrupted, the devotional visits of their Western brethren ; and the report of his sacrilegious tyranny first excited that indignation of the Latin world at the possession and profanation of the Holy Sepulchre by infidels, which afterward burst into action with an energy so tremendous. Before the institutions of chivalry were sufficiently matured to feed this kindling spirit, the death of Hakem, and the return of his successors to a more tolerant policy, again opened the shores of Palestine to the devotion of Europe ; the Church of the Resurrection rose from its ruins ; the Holy Sepulchre was repaired ; and the custom of pilgrimage, stimulated by its temporary repression, was renewed with tenfold ardour. An im- mense tide of population flowed from every Western country toward Jerusalem ; and, in the language of a contemporary chronicler, the innumerable multitude of pilgrims comprehended the lowest and middle orders of the people, counts, princes, and dignified prelates, and even women, as well of noble as of poorer condi- tion.* During the remaining period of the Fatimite do- minion in Palestine, these pious visitants continued tc experience from the Mussulman tyrants of the land, in the alternations of policy and caprice, just sufficient protection to encourage their concourse, with abundant * Glaber, lib. iv. in Recueil des Hist. Fran$ais, vol. x p. 50. 8 34 THE FIRST CRUSADE. injuries to exasperate that desire of vengeance which they communicated to the whole Western world. Pre- cisely when this feeling, nourished by the general dis- positions in the social state of Europe to which we have referred, had acquired full strength, it was forced into impetuous action by one of those sudden and vio- lent vicissitudes of revolution, to which Asia, in every age of her history, has been subject. In their rapid career of conquest, the Seljukian Turks, in an uncer- tain year toward the close of the eleventh century, became the masters of Palestine.* Those recent and fierce converts to Islamism, appearing as the cham- pions of the Abassidan Khalifs of Bagdad, were ani- mated with equal hatred against the Fatiinite posses- sors and the Christian tributaries of Palestine; and their entrance into Jerusalem was marked by an in- discriminate massacre. The fanatical cruelty of a race of barbarians, with the sanguinary precepts of the Koran freshly engrafted on their native ferocity, was untempered, like that of the more civilized Saracens, by any motives of toleration ; the Christian clergy in Jerusalem were frequently tortured and imprisoned in mere wanton fury, or for the sake of the ransom which their sufferings wrung from their brethren ; and the Latin pilgrims, who, in defiance of danger, were still urged by pious impulses to visit the Holy Land, were exposed in their journey through it, and in their de- * Willermus Tyr. p. 633. CAUSES OF THE CRUSADES. 85 votions at the Sepulchre, to every variety of insult and spoliation from the savage and greedy Turks. The reports which they circulated on their return, both of the afflictions of the church of Jerusalem and of their own endured wrongs, agitated all Christendom with an universal sentiment of mingled horror, shame, and vengeance, at the profanation of the holy placoa of Jerusalem, the imaginary disgrace of suffering the scenes of human redemption to remain in the hands of sacrilegious infidels, and the conviction that the punishment of their impious atrocities was a duty enjoined equally by religion and by honour.* While these feelings were shared with deep sin- cerity alike by the great body of the clergy and laity vf Western Europe, .events had arisen in the state of the Byzantine empire, which gave the papal see an immediate motive of political interest in directing the strong impulse of the age to a religious war. When the victorious career of the Seljukian Turks, under Alp Arslan,f began to threaten the safety of Constantino- ple itself, the Emperor Michael VII., in the extremity of his distress and terror, grasped at a faint hope of succour by addressing himself to the ruler of the Latin church. Through a mission to Pope Gregory * Willerinus Tyr. p. 634. f Alp Arslan, "the valiant lion," was the nephew and successoi of Togrul Beg, as chief of the Seljukian Turks. He defeated the Greek Emperor, Diogenes Romanus, in 1071, and was slain by an assassin in ] 072. 86 THE FIRST CRUSADE. Gregory VII. VII., he exposed the common danger of Christendom from the new growth of the Mohammedan power, declared his reverence for the papal authority, and implored its exercise for his aid among the princes of the West. Such an application, which seemed to promise the submission of the Greek church to the papacy, opened views of aggrandizement, too congenial to the towering ambition and adventurous spirit of Gregory to TDC received with indifference; and he strenuously exhorted the sovereigns of Europe, by encyclical epistles, to arm against the infidels. In these letters the principal recommendation was the union of the two churches of Christendom for a gene- ^al armament against the Turks ; but in a single pas- CAUSES OF THE CRUSADES. 37 sage announcing that fifty thousand warriors had already declared their willingness to be led to the redemption of the Holy Sepulchre, is first* plainly shadowed out the great subsequent design of the Cru- sades."}* The proposal of Gregory VII. was not yet, however, directed with sufficient singleness of purpose to the shores of Palestine to inflame the kindling enthusiasm of the West ; and the opportunity of maturing his dar- ing project was reserved for his successor and imitator, Urban II. A renewal of the supplication which had been addressed to Gregory was produced by the increas- ing distress of the Eastern empire ; and the subsequent connection of its affairs with the first crusade requires that we should here briefly trace the thread of the Byzantine annals from the accession of Alexius Comne- nus. That prince, at the outset of his reign, found his dominions assailed simultaneously on opposite extremi- ties by the arms of the Normans of Italy and the Sel- jukian Turks. The invasion of Greece by Robert Guiscard, the first Norman Duke of Calabria, with the magnificent design of conquering the Eastern empire, demanded the earliest care of Alexius; and, though * It is usual to infer that the first design of a crusade was con- tained in an encyclical letter of Pope Sylvester II. at the com- mencement of the eleventh century. But the object of his epistle (Recueil des Hist. Fran^ais, vol. x. p. 425) does not appear to have gone beyond the obtaining of some pecuniary succour from Christen- dom for the distressed church of Jerusalem. f Epistote Greg. VII. lib. i. ii. &c. (in Labbe", Concilia) rol. x.) Robert Guiscard ordering his ships to be burned. tc his resistance was gallant and vigorous, his defeat by the Norman in the great battle of Durazzo, shook the tottering fabric of Byzantine power to its centre. Ill this war Robert Guiscard ordered his ships to be burned on the hostile shores of Illyria, to prevent his soldiers from having any hopes of retreat ; and this, too, in the face of an almost innumerable host of the Eastern empire gathered together for the defence of Durazzo. The distraction of an Italian war arrested Guiscard in the subjugation of Greece, and, perhaps, saved Constan- tinople from his assaults:* but his enterprise had fa- voured the progress of the Turks in the eastern pro- vinces of the empire ; and Alexius was compelled to purchase their forbearance by the formal cession of * Anna Commena, Alexius, lib. iii.-v. &c. Galfridus Malaterra, Hist, (in Muratori, Scrip. Rcr. Ital. vol. v.) lib. iii. c. 24-39. CAUSES OF THE CRUSADES. 39 Asia Minor. The establishment in that wealthy re- gion, of the subordinate Seljukian kingdom of Roum, or of the Romans a title in itself insulting to the proud pretensions and fallen majesty of the successors of Constantine contracted the eastern frontiers of their empire to the shores of the Bosphorus and the Hellespont. The residence of Solyman, the Sultan of Roum, was fixed at Nice in Bythynia, within a hundred miles of Constantinople ; and the Turkish outposts were separated only by the strait from the imperial capital. A hollow pacification did not pre- vent Solymon from meditating the passage of that channel ; and his preparation of a naval armament filled Alexius with reasonable alarm for the safety of the European remnant of his dominions.* Following the example of Michael VII., he addressed the most earnest entreaties for succour to the Pope and the temporal princes of Western Christendom.f The inde- pendent partitions of the Seljukian conquests on the death of Malek Shah, and the decline of the Turkish power through intestine dissensions, relieved the pressure on the Byzantine empire ; and Alexius was enabled even to recover some portion of Asia Minor from the successor of Solyman ; but his envoys were * For the history of the Turkish conquest of Asia Minor, &c., vide De Guignes, vol. i. p. 244, vol. ii. p. 1-12. Also the original ac- e< unt of William of Tyre, lib. i. c. 9, 10. f Guibcrt Abbat Hist. HierosoL p. 475, 476. (Gala Dei pet Frxncos.) 40 THE FIRST CRUSADE. yet resident at the Papal Court, when, by an instru- ment apparently far more powerless, that spark was struck into the enthusiasm of Europe which threw ita combustible elements into one general conflagration of religious warfare. PREACHING OF THE FIRST CRUSADE. 41 Peter the Hermit. SECTION n. PREACHING OF THE FIRST CRUSADE. HE name and story of the ex- traordinary individual who lit up this unquenchable flame of fanaticism, must be fa- miliar to every reader. Peter the Hermit was a poor gentle- man of Picardy, who, after following in arms his feudal lord, Eustace de Bouillon, and vainly attempting to improve his fortunes by an alliance with a lady of noble family, had, in some moment either 42 THE FIRST CRUSADE. Peter the Hermit and the Patriarch, of Jerusalem. of disappointed ambition or of awakened remorse for deeper guilt, escaped, from a profitless service and a distasteful marriage, to the refuge of the cloister. But the resistless fervour of spirit, which afterward produced .effects so memorable, led him shortly to de- sert the monastic profession for a life of absolute soli- tude ; and to the character of an anchorite he next euperadded that of a pilgrim to the Holy Land. The scenes which he witnessed, the sufferings which he endured, in this expedition, were of a nature to con- firm the mental distemper which had been nourished in his cell. At Jerusalem his indignation was ex- cited by the cruelties of the Turks to the Christian residents <*nd pilgrims : his piety was shocked at the profanations with which the Holy Sepulchre was in- PREACHING OF THE FIRST CRUSADE. 43 suited by those barbarian infidels. He fancied him- self inspired by Heaven to effect its deliverance from their hands ; and, in a conversation with the Patriarch of Jerusalem, he declared his purpose to rouse the princes and people of the West to avenge the disgrace of Christendom.* He possessed many qualities which, notwithstanding an unpromising exterior, peculiarly fitted him for the task to which he thoroughly devoted himself. He was inspired with the genuine spirit of enthusiasm : regardless of bodily privation and fa- tigue, steadfast in purpose, ardent in imagination, and, above all, animated by that admixture of pious inten- tions with personal vanity, which has deluded the fanatic of every age. When he first emerged from obscurity, and burst upon the world as the preacher of a religious war, he is described as emaciated by self-inflicted austerities and wayfaring toil; diminu- tive in stature ; mean in appearance ; and clad in those coarse weeds of a solitary, from whence he derived his surname of the Hermit. But his eye beamed with fire and intelligence ; he was fluent in speech; and the vehement sincerity of his feelings supplied him with the only eloquence which would have been intelligible to the popular passions of his times.f * Willermuo Tyr. lib. i. c. 11. Guibert Abbat. p. 482. { Willermus Tyr. p. 637. The archbishop's lively portraiture of the fanatic has often been quoted : Erat autem hie idem 'staturd pusillus, et quantum ad exterwrem hominem^ersonee contemptabilit. THE FIRST CRUSADE. / Having obtained from the Patriarch of Jerusalem /ers of credence and supplication for the cause which he had undertaken, Peter, on his return to Europe, repaired at once to the Papal Court, and found in Urban II. an astonished but ready listener to his magnanimous project. The pope recognised, and, perhaps, sincerely credited, the Divine authority of his mission ; but the views of Gregory VII. were not forgotten by his successor ; and motives of ambi- tion, sufficiently strong to induce his assent, must have been suggested by the embassy of Alexius, and the desire of extending the authority of the Papal See over the churches of the East. The probability that schemes of mere worldly policy were at least mingled with the religious impressions of Urban II. is increased by the assertion of a well-informed writer of his times,* that he had -recourse to a temperate counsellor, who had in his own person proved the weakness of the Byzantine empire. This was Boemond, natural son of Robert Guiscard, who had attended his father in his daring invasion of Greece, and whose ambitious spirit was now impatiently restrained within the narrow limits of a Neapolitan fief. The Norman prince, Sed major -in exiyuo reynabat corpore virtus. Vivacis enim ingemi crat, et oculum habcns prrspicacem ; gratumque, et sponte fluens e\ non deerat eloquium. (This man was little in stature and contempt- ible in appearance ; but there reigned within that slight body a very courageous spirit. He possessed a lively genius, and had a quick, clear eye ; nor was he wanting in agreeable and ready eloquence.) * Mahnsbury, p. 407 PREACHING OF THE FIRST CRUSADE. 45 whose selfish and wily character strikingly developed itself in the subsequent events of the Crusade, was little influenced by the devotional fervour of the age ; and, if his advice determined Urban to direct the enthusiasm of Europe to the shores of Palestine, >we may readily believe the chronicler that it was founded more upon political than religious considerations.* However this may have been, the Hermit of Picardy quitted the Papal Court strengthened by the approba- tion and the promises of the spiritual chief of Christen- dom ; and, travelling over Italy and France, he every- where proclaimed the sacred duty of delivering the sepulchre of Christ from the hands of the infidels. Unless we bear in mind the prodigious influence of those superstitious and martial feelings which together absorbed the passions of a fierce and ignorant age, it is difficult to conceive the recorded effects of the Her- mit's preaching ; and language has been exhausted in describing, after contemporary authorities, the innu- merable crowds of all ranks which thronged cities and hamlets, churches and highways, at his voice ; the tears, the sighs, the indignation excited in these mul- titudes by his picture of the wrongs of their Christian brethren, and the sacrilegious defilement of the Holy Sepulchre ; the shame and remorse which followed his reproaches at the guilty supineness that had aban- * Pandul. Pisanus, Vita Urbanii II. (in Script. Rerum Ital. vol Hi.) p. 352. Willermus Tyr. p. 638. Malmsbury, uli suprd 46 THE FIRST CRUSADE. domed the blessed scenes of redemption to the insults of infidels ; the eager reception of his injunctions to every sinner to seek reconcilement with Heaven by devotion to its cause ; and the rapture which his de- nunciations of vengeance against the Saracen enemies of God awakened in the stern hearts of congregated warriors. The fanatical austerity of the preacher, which was proclaimed in his withered form, his squalid attire, and his abstemious diet ; the voluntary poverty which distributed to the indigent the arms vainly de- signed for its own relief; the rude eloquence of speech and gesture, which flowed from impassioned sincerity, were all in deep unison with the religious sentiments of his hearers : the appeal to arms roused, with irre- sistible strength, that double excitement of devotion and valour which animated, as with a blended and in- separable principle, the Christian chivalry of Europe.* The pope had dismissed the Hermit with the as- surance that he would strenuously support his great design ; and the enthusiasm which Peter had awakened by his preaching was restrained from bursting into action, only by eager expectation of the fulfilment of the pledge. At Piacenza, Urban first convoked the prelates of Italy and the neighbouring regions; four thousand inferior clergy, and thirty thousand lay per- sons, are computed to have flocked to the scene; * Willermus Tyr. p. 638. Guibert, p. 482. Fulcherius Carno- tensis, (Gesta Dei per Francos,} p. 381. PREACHING OF THE FIRST CRUSADE. 47 [A. D. 1095, March;] and, the legates of the Eastern Emperor having been admitted into the assembly to expose the dangers which menaced their country and nil Christendom from the progress of the Turks, and to implore the aid of the nations of the West against the infidels, it was resolved to promote the demand, and to mature the design of a- holy war, by the au- thority of a more general Council.* Urban was di- rected, in his choice of a place for its assemblage, by the partialities of birth, by the predominant martial and religious spirit of his native country, France, and by the special invitation of Raymond, Count of Thoulouse. Clermont, the capital of Auvergne, was appointed for the seat of the Council, at which the pope in person presided, and an immense multitude of clergy and laity of all ranks, from France, Italy, and Germany, gave their attendance. [Nov. 1095.] During the first week after the opening of the Council, its deliberations were chiefly engaged in the enactment of some general pro- visions for the improvement of morals and the repres- sion of private war; but, on the ninth morrow of the session, the pope himself ascended an elevated pulpit in the open air, and preached the sacred duty of re- deeming the sepulchre of Christ from the infidels, and the certain propitiation for sin by devotion to this meritorious service. His fervent exhortations were addressed to a multitude already deeply imbued with f P. Pisan. Vita Urban, p. 353. Labb, Concilia, vol. x. p. 499, &o. 48 THE FIRST CRUSADE. fanatical purpose ; his inference of a divine command for the holy war was interrupted by one universal and tumultuous cry of " It is the will of God ;" and the slightly varied acclamations of Deus vult, Dieux el volt, and Deus lo volt, expressed the common enthusiasm of the clergy and the people, while it marks the pure retention of the Latin tongue in the familiar speech of ecclesiastics, and the popular corruptions which it had undergone into the two great northern and proven^al dialects of France. At the instant when their cries resounded throughout the vast assembly, the figura- tive injunction of Scripture to the sinner, to take up the cross of Christ, suggested to Urban the idea that all who embraced the sacred enterprise should bear on their shoulder or breast that symbol of salvation. The proposal was eagerly adopted ; the Bishop of Puy first solicited the pope to affix the holy sign in red cloth* on his shoulder ; and the example being imme- diately followed, the cross became the invariable badge of the profession, while it gave an enduring title to the warfare of the Croisse or Crusader. The first temporal prince who assumed the cross was the Count of Thoulouse; and his offers, through his ambassa- * It has been observed by Gibbon, aAer Du Cange, that although in the first Crusade red was the general colour of the cross, different hues were subsequently adopted as national distinctions : red by the French, green by the Flemings, and white by the English. Yet the -ed cross of St. George was early our national emblem, and still proudly floats on that banner which " a thousand years has braved the battle and the breeze." PREACHING OF THE FIRST CRUSADE. 49 dors, to devote his powerful resources, as well as his person, to the cause, were hailed with admiration. Before the Council broke up, Ad hem ar, the Bishop of Puy, was invested by Urban with full authority as papal legate for the conduct of the expedition ; and the following spring was appointed for the period of its departure to the East.* The decision of the Council of Clermont was wel- comed throughout the Latin world with joyful assent; and Europe echoed with the clang of warlike prepara- tion for the sacred enterprise. France, Italy, ana Germany were inspired with a common ardour; the same spirit was communicated to the British Islands, and penetrated the remoter region of Scandinavia ;f and, if Spain did not equally respond to the call, it was only because the Christian chivalry of Castile and Arragon were already occupied on a nearer theatre of religious hostility, in the long contest with their Sara- * Willermup Tyr. p. 639-641. Guibert, p. 478-480 Fulcher. p, 382. Baldricus Arch, (also in Gesta Dei,) p. 79-88. Labbe", Concilia, vol. x. { Malmsbury whimsically involves his picture of the universal ex- tent of the crusading ardour, in an allusion to national habits : " The Welshman forsook his hunting ; the Scot his companionship with vermin; the Dane his carouse; and the Norwegian his raw fish," p. 416. Among the distinguished personages who joined the first (jrusade from our own island, were Stephen, the English Norman Karl of Albemarle, Odo, Bishop of Bayeux and Earl of Kent, (Dug dale, Baronage, vol. i. p. 23, 61,) and perhaps (L! Art de Verifier les Dates, vol. i. p. 842) a son of Malcolm Ceanmore, King of Scot- land. 4 50 THE FIRST CRUSADE. cen enemies.* In every country, and among all ranks and conditions of men, the master passions of fanatical and martial zeal were fed by various impulses of ac- tion. The chief inducement, beyond doubt, was a canon of the Council of Clermont, by which the per- formance of the crusading vow was accepted as a full equivalent for all ecclesiastical penances. This decree is memorable in itself as having first suggested, or at least rapidly extended, the idea of granting plenary indulgences : the sale of which for money was after- ward converted, by the cupidity of the popes, into so profitable an expedient for replenishing their coffers, and became the most scandalous practical corruption of the Romish Church.f To the feudal nobility and their followers, the com- mutation of penances for a military enterprise was peculiarly grateful. The anathemas of the church * The sacred and meritorious character of the warfare against the Spanish Saracens had been already recognised by the popes. In the conquest of Toledo, (A. D. 1085,) Alfonzo VI. had been assisted by many foreign knights ; and, when pressed in the following year by the African Saracens, he was succoured by the chivalry of France. J.t has even been contended (Mailly, Esprit des Croisades, vol. ii. p. 91) that their auxiliary expedition should be numbered as the first of the Crusades ; and there is no doubt that is was considered as a holy war, and must have familiarized the French nobles with the idea of such enterprises though its memory has been eclipsed by the superior importance of the subsequent design for the redemption of the Sepulchre. f Labbe, Concilia, vol. x. p. 507. Mosheim, Eccles. Hist Cent, xii I* 2. c. 3. Muratori, Antiq. Med. ^Evi. Diss. Ixviii. PREACHING OF THE FIRST CRUSADE. 51 against private wars, the enforcement of the truce of God, and the prohibition to bear arms, or to mount on horseback, which the clergy often employed as a form of penance, were all grievous to an order in whom the love of arms and rapine struggled with the terrors of superstition. An injunction to religious warfare, which relieved their fears, while it promised free in- dulgence to their favourite pursuits, was gladly em- braced as the very easiest mode of reconciling their usual course of life with expiation for its disorders ; and so admirable, in the judgment of the age, ap- peared this discovery of a mode of atoning for its prevalent crimes by their very repetition, that a chro- nicler emphatically eulogizes it as a new kind of salva- tion.* Nor were there wanting the worldly incentives of avarice, ambition, and renown, still further to ani- mate the mistaken sense of religious duty. The exaggerated tales of pilgrims and traders were filled with pictures of oriental wealth ; the subjugation of Asia seemed an easy and glorious achievemnt; and the chivalry of Europe already shared in imagination the countless treasures and fertile provinces of the gorgeous East.f By the remaining classes of society, the same min- gled influence of spiritual and temporal motives was equally felt. While numbers of the clergy sincerely * "Novum salutis genus " Guibert, p. 471; (a new kind of sal- vation.) f Idem, p. 554, 555. 52 THE FIRST CRUSADE. shared the general fanaticism, the conquest of Asia opened prospects of wealthy establishments to the higher order of ecclesiastics ; the monks found at least a meritorious occasion of escape from the irksome restraint of the cloister, and the peasantry from feudal bondage to the soil. Under the pretence of a holy purpose which it was decreed sinful to prevent, debt- ors were protected both from the present demands of their creditors and the accumulation of interest during their absence ; criminals were permitted to elude the pursuit of justice; and offenders of every degree, under the special safeguard which the church threw over the performance of their vows, were enabled to defy the vengeance of the secular law.* Lastly, even the speculations of an infant commerce assisted the general excitement; and the merchants of Italy, in particular, engaged with avidity in enterprises from which, in effect, they alone, by the establishment and extension of a lucrative maritime trade, derived any solid and durable advantage. Yet all these were but the secondary motives of that one mighty impulse, under which all the ordi- nary considerations of life, all the ties which bind men to home and country, to kindred and possessions, were alike disregarded. To obtain funds for so dis- tant and expensive an enterprise, princes and high nobles mortgaged, or even alienated their vast do- * See Du Gauge, in v. Crucis Privilegium, and the authorities there cited. PREACHING OF THE FIRST CRUSADE. 55 mains ; warriors of inferior rank either wholly aban- doned their feudal estates and obligations, or pre- pared to follow their lords in voluntary service ; lands were everywhere converted into money ; horses, arms, and means of transport were collected at exorbitant prices; and valuable property of all kinds was reck- lessly sacrificed on the most inadequate terms to colder or craftier dealers. Yet, even among such, the irresistible force of example often prevailed ; the awakening conviction of duty, the thirst of glory, or the dread of reproach, was gradually imparted to every bosom not wholly insensible to religion and honour; and the prudent or designing purchaser in one hour, was himself the deluded seller in the next. Nor was the contagion of fanatical adventure confined to the chivalric order. Not only ecclesiastics deserted their benefices, and monastic recluses their cells, but mechanics and rustics forsook their occupations, and exchanged their implements of industry for weapons of offence ; and women of all ranks, with an aban- donment of the more timid and becoming virtues of their sex, which produced equal misery and scandal, either left their husbands behind them, or, with their children, swelled and encumbered the unwieldy masses of helpless pilgrims.* Moreover, the superstitious * G-uibert, p. 481. Albertus Aquensis, {Gesta Dei per Francos,} p. 185. Guibert has a passage which too curiously illustrates the madness of the prevalent fanaticism to be passed without notice in thb place. Deluded rustics yoked their oxen, shod like horses, to 54 THE FIRST CRUSADE. confidence of atonement for past crimes, and the ex- pectation of license for future enormities, equally attracted the vilest portion of mankind. Robbers, murderers, and other criminals of the deepest dye, professed their design to wash out their guilt in the blood of the enemies of God.* The aggregate of the immense multitudes who thus assumed the cross could scarcely be accurately computed, in an age so unfa- vourable for collecting the details of statistical calcu- lation. By one chronicler it is vaguely estimated at six millions of persons ; f by a less credulous contem- porary it is denied that all the kingdoms of the West could supply so vast a host ; J but even the exaggera- tion proves that the original design of enthusiasm would have totally depopulated Europe; and, after making every deduction for the influence of delay, returning reason, and 4he accidents of life, in cooling the first burst of fanatical fervour, the numbers which actually fulfilled their purpose justify the assertion that whole nations rather than the mere armies of Western Christendom, were precipitated upon Moham- medan Asia. carts, in which they placed their families and goods to perform the sacred journey ; and it was plank joco aptissimum (very amusing) to bear the children inquiring, as they approached any city, whethei tiat were Jerusalem, p. 482. * Wilermus Tyr. p. 641. Albertus Aquensis, ubi suprd. f Fulcherius Carnot. p. 386. J Guibert, p. 556. CRUSADES BY THE PEOPLE. 55 Norman Armour. SECTION m PETER THE HERMIT THE CRUSADES UNDERTAKEN BY THE PEOPLE. *?=*._ ONG before the season, the end of spring,* fixed by the Pope for the depart- ure of the Crusaders had expired, the impatience of the ruder mul- titudes of people grew too vio- lent for restraint. [A. D. 1096, March.] Soon after the com- mencement of the new year, an immense concourse of pilgrims, chiefly of the lowest orders, had thronged * And not the " Feast of the Assumption in August," as Gibbon has stated. See the interesting version of the speech of Urban, in the Council of Clermont, as given by William of Malmsbury. The first detachment under Godfrey, Duke of Lorraine, set out by way of Hungary in March, 1096 56 THE FIRST CRUSADE. around Peter the Hermit on the western frontiers of France, and urged him, as the original preacher of the sacred enterprise, to assume its conduct. Ap- parently unconscious of his utter unfitness for com- mand, the fanatic rashly accepted the perilous charge; and, under his guidance, the accumulating torrent began to sweep over Germany.* Its immense tide overflowed the ordinary channels of communi- * Before we accompany the disorderly march of the mob which thus commenced the First Crusade, it behooves us to specify our principal guides throughout the expedition. These are the original authorities contained in the great collection of Bongarsius, which he printed at Hanover, in two folio volumes, in 1611, under the general title of Gesta Dei per Francos; a designation which Jortin pithily proposed to change into Gesta Diaboli, &c. The actual eye- witnesses of the First Crusade, whose relations are to be found in the* collection of Bongarsius, were, 1. Robert the Monk, (Hist. Hierosolymitanaf) 2. Raymond de Agiles, chaplain to the Count of Thoulouse, during the Crusade, (Hist. Francorum ;) and 3. Fulcher, also a chaplain, who accompanied the Count of Chartrcs, and afterward attached him- self to Baldwin, brother of the great Godfrey, and second king of Jerusalem, (Gesta Peregrinantium Francorum); 4. next in the order of testimony Ls the" work of an archbishop, Baldric, (Hist. Hieroso- lym.,} who assisted at the Council of Clermont, and whose relation, although he did not himself accompany the expedition, is declared tc have been revised by an abbot who did so ; 5. Albert of Aix, (Hist. Hierosol. Expeditionis ;) and 6. Guibert, (the title of whose Chronicle, Gesta Dei per Francos, it was that Bongarsius adopted for the whole collection,) were contemporaries, and the latter was a keen observer and lively narrator; 7. and lastly, William, Archbishop of Tyre, already so often quoted, whose history, although he was not contem- porary with the First Crusade, is, perhaps from the materials of in- formation to which he had access, and the judgment with which he compiled them, the most valuable document in the whole collec- tion. CRUSADES BY THE PEOPLE. 57 cation; and devastation marked its course. The roads were obstructed by the multitude of passengers ; the country through which they moved was oppressed by their excesses; the means of subsistence were ex- hausted by their wants; and Peter was compelled to exhort them to separate into smaller masses. Under the commaud of Gualtier, or Walter, a Burgundian knight, whose poverty procured for him the surname of Sans-Avoir, or the Pennyless, and who accepted tho office of lieutenant to the Hermit, a body of twenty "thousand pilgrims preceded the march of the main host through Hungary and Bulgaria toward Con- stantinople. The wretched quality of the adven- turers who composed this advanced guard is suf- ficiently indicated by the fact that there were only eight horsemen in the whole number, and their con- duct was as reckless as their condition was deplorable. Through Hungary, they were indebted for a safe though toilsome passage, to the friendly disposition of its king, Carloman, and Christian people ; but, on their entrance into the still wilder regions of Bulgaria, which were governed by a lieutenant of the Byzantine empire, they encountered every possible obstacle, both from the treacherous policy of the imperial officers, who forbade the supply of their necessities, and from the ferocious temper of the natives. Hunger com- pelled the crusaders to resort to violence; the Bul- garians flew to arms, and the route of Walter and his followers was tracked in blood and flames. But in 58 THE FIRST CRUSADE. every day's march, the natives cut off hundreds of the miserable rabble; and the destruction of the whole host, before it reached the southern confines of Bul- garia, was so complete, that only Walter and a few survivors succeeded, by a flight through the forests, in reaching the Court of Constantinople.* The second division of the crusading mob, under Peter the Hermit himself, amounting to forty thou- sand men, women, and children, followed on the traces of the first body. Aided by the good offices of the Hungarian king, their march through his country was abundantly supplied, and tranquilly pursued, until they reached Malleville, the modern Zemlin, on its southern confines, where the triumphant exhibi- tion on the walls of the spoils of some of their precur- sors who had been slain in an affray with the inhabit- ants, roused them to a furious vengeance. The ram- parts of the city were scaled ; thousands of its people were slaughtered, and for several days the survivors were exposed to all the horrors of violation and rapine. The approach of Carloman with a large army to punish their perfidious ingratitude, accele- rated the departure of the crusaders ; and their hasty and disorderly passage of the Save exposed them to a heavy loss from the attacks of the savage hordes, who awaited their landing on the Bulgarian bank of that *Fulcher, p. 384. Albert. Aquensis, p. 185, GuiUrt, p 432 Willermus Tyr. p. 642. CRUSADES BY THE PEOPLE. 59 river. Though they finally repelled these new ene- mies, they found- Bulgaria a wasted solitude. The natives had retreated to their fastnesses and strong- holds ; the fortified towns were closed against them ; and the purchase of provisions for their march, under the walls of these places, was the only intercourse which the imperial officers would permit the inhabit- ants to hold with them. Their excesses again pro- voked a more open and fatal hostility. Enraged at some outrages, the people of Nissa pursued and mas- sacred their rear-guard ; the efforts of Peter could not dissuade the whole host from returning to avenge this quarrel ; and, in an ineffectual attempt to renew the same scenes as at Zemlin, the assailants were repulsed from the walls with immense slaughter. The triumph- ant garrison and inhabitants issued forth upon them ; a general and total rout ensued ; and, in the onset, the sally, and the pursuit, above ten thousand of the cru- Baders perished. Their camp was abandoned and plun- dered ; and despoiled of their baggage, of their money, and of their arms, the wretched herd of fugitives continued its journey toward Constantinople.* When they had ceased to be fonnidable, their helpless misery extorted some compassion; Alexius interposed his protection, and their remains at length reached his capital, where they were reunited to Wal- * Albert. Aquensis, p. 186-188. Guibert, p. 484. Willennus Tyr. p. 643-645. Peter and his horde of banditti reached the neigh- bourhood of Constantinople in August, 1096. 60 THE FIRST CRUSADE. ter and the survivors of the first division. But they were no sooner refreshed, than they repaid their hos- pitable benefactor by new acts of insolence, licentious- ness, and pillage ; and Alexius gladly acceded to their desire to be transported across the Bosphorus. Under the conduct of Peter and his lieutenant Walter, they were landed in Asia Minor; but here, neither the exhortations of the Hermit could restrain their out- rages against the religion and property of the subjects of Alexius, nor the advice of the emperor himself to await the arrival of the more disciplined chivalry of Europe, prevent their headlong advance. Peter, find- ing himself totally unable to control them, used a decent pretext for escaping back to Constantinople; out Walter, whose more martial spirit was really asso- ciated with qualities for command deserving of a bet- ter fate, was compelled to yield to their clamorous demand to be led against the infidels. Despite of his prudential warnings, they divided their forces to plun- der the Turkish provinces, and reunited only on a report artfully circulated by the Sultan of Roum, that Nice, his capital, had fallen into the hands of an ad- vanced body of their associates. Allured by the pros- pect of sharing in its spoils, they blindly rushed into the heart of a hostile country; but when they de- scended into the plain of Nice, instead of being wel- comed by the sight of the Christian banners on its walls, they found themselves surrounded by the Turk- ish cavalry. In the first onset, Walter fell bravely, CRUSADE BY THE PEOPLE. 61 covered with wounds, while vainly discharging, by intelligence and example, the twofold duties of the leader and the warrior. The disorderly multitude of his followers was immediately overwhelmed and slaugh- tered ; a remnant, no more than three thousand, escaped the general destruction by flight to the near- est Byzantine fortress ; and a huge mound, into which the savage victors piled the bones of the slain, formed an ominous monument of disaster for succeeding hosts of crusaders.* The disorders and destruction of these first two divisions of the crusading rabble were, indeed, but a prelude to more atrocious scenes of guilt, and more enormous waste of human life. Stimulated by the example of Peter, a German monk, named Godeschal, preached the Crusade through the villages of his native land with so much effect, that he allured about fifteen thousand of the peasantry to follow him to the East. This third division took the same route as the two preceding ; but, on their arrival in Hungary, they ex- perienced a far different reception from its sovereign, who was justly exasperated at the outrages with which his hospitality had been repaid. At first he prudently supplied them with the means of accele- rating their passage through his kingdom ; but their march was attended with an aggravated repetition of * Albert, p. 189-193. Baldricus Archiepiscopus, p. 89. Gui- bert, p. 485. Willcrmus Tyr. p. 645-647. Anna Comnena, p. 226, 227 62 THE FIRST CRUSADE. the worst crimes which had been perpetrated by the followers of the Hermit; the whole population of Hungary rose in arms against them, and Carloman was at length provoked to deliver them over to the vengeance of his subjects. For this purpose he had recourse to a cruel act of perfidy, which deeply sul- lied the merit of his earlier forbearance. Before the walls of Belgrade, his promise of forgiveness and pro- tection induced them to lay down their arms; and this act of submission was immediately followed by their ruthless massacre.* But the numbers, the gross superstition, the licen- tious wickedness, and the miserable extirpation of these fanatical hordes, all sink into insignificance before the features displayed in the composition and conduct of the fourth and last division of the rabble of Europe. From France, from the Rhenish Pro- vinces and Flanders, and from the British Islands, there gathered on the eastern confines of Germany one huge mass of the vile refuse of all these nations, amounting to no less than two hundred thousand per- sons. Some bands of nobles, with their mounted fol- lowers, were not ashamed to accompany their march, and share their prey ; but their leaders are undistin- guishable ; and the most authentic contemporary records of their proceedings compel us to repeat the incredible assertion that their motions were guided * Albert, p. 194. Willermus Tyr. p. 648. CRUSADE BY THE PEOPLE. 63 by a goat and a goose, which were believed to be di- vinely inspired. If we impatiently dismiss a circum- stance so revolting to every pious mind, and so de- grading to the pride of human intellect, we find their actions as detestable as their superstition was blind and unholy. The unhappy Jews in the episcopal cities of the Rhine and Moselle were the first victims of their ferocity. Under the protection of the eccle- siastical lords of these commercial places, colonies of that outcast race had long enjoyed toleration and accumulated wealth. Their riches tempted the cu- pidity of fanatics, who professed a zeal for the pure religion of the gospel, only that they might violate its most sacred precepts of mercy and love. Under the pretence of commencing their holy war by extir- pating the enemies of God in Europe, they sought the blood and spoils of a helpless and unoffending people. To the honour of the Romish Church, the Bishops of Mayence, Spires, and other cities, courage- ously endeavoured to shield the Jews from their fury and rapine ; but their humane efforts were only par- tially successful, and thousands were either barbar- ously massacred, or, to escape the outrages and dis- appoint the cupidity of their enemies, cast themselves, their women and children, and their precious effects*, into the waters or the flames. Sated with murder and spoliation, the ruffian host pursued its march from the Rhine to the Danube ; and the continued in- dulgence of its brutal sensuality attested that it 64 THE FIRST CRUSADE. needed not the impulse of fanaticism for the commis- sion of every atrocity. But it was at length over- taken by the vengeance of God and man. In the hour of danger, the unruly and wicked multitude proved as dastardly against an armed enemy as it had been ferocious toward the defenceless Jews. It ef- fected the passages of the Danube only to encounter a tremendous defeat from the Hungarian army which had collected for the national defence ; some sudden and inexplicable panic produced a general flight, and unresisted slaughter; and so dreadful was the carnage, that the course of the Danube was choked with the bodies, and its* waters dyed with the blood of the slain. The contemporary chronicler, who was appa- rently best informed of their execrable crimes and well-merited fate, asserts that very few of the im- mense crusading multitude escaped death from the swords of the Hungarians or the rapid current of the river; and it is certain that, whatever remnant sur: vived, saved their lives- only by flight and dispersion.* * Albert. Aqueusis, p. 195, 196. Fulcber. p. 386. Willennua Tyr. p. 649, 650. CRUSADE BY KINGS AND NOBLES. 65 SECTION IV. THE CRUSADE UNDERTAKEN BY KINGS AND NOBLES. BEFORE twelve months had expired since the spirit of crusading was roused into action by the Council of Clermont, and before a single advantage had been gained over the infidels, the fanatical enthusiasm of Europe had already cost the lives, at the lowest com- putation, of two hundred and fifty thousand of its people.* But such were the stupid ignorance and headlong folly which misguided these wretched multi- tudes, and still more, so dark and grovelling was their superstition, so cruel and demoniacal their fanaticism, and so flagitious their licentiousness, that all pity for their fate is lost in the disgust and horror with whicii we recoil from the contemplation of brutality and * Mills, History of the Crusades, vol. i. p. 81. 6 66 THE FIRST CRUSADE. guilt. The picture is relieved by no exhibition ol dignified purpose or heroic achievement; the myriads who had perished in Hungary, in Bulgaria, and m Asia Minor, were animated by none of the loftier sen- timents of the age ; they were composed chiefly of the coarser rabble of every country; and in their de- struction we behold only the offscouring of the popu- lar ferment of Europe. But, while the first disasters of the Crusade were sweeping this mass of corruption from the surface of society, the genuine spirit of reli- gious and martial enthusiasm was more slowly and powerfully evolved. With maturer preparation, and with steadier resolve than the half-armed and irregu- lar rabble, the mailed and organized chivalry of Eu- rope was arraying itself for the mighty contest ; and a far different, a splendid and interesting spectacle, opens to our view. In the characters, the motives, and the conduct of the princely and noble leaders who achieved the design of the first Crusade, we are no longer presented with the revolting sameness of a mere brutal ferocity. Their zeal, although mingled with superstition, and not unstained by cruelty, was also elevated by the generous pursuit of martial fame, their resolves were inspired by the twofold incentive of spiritual duty and temporal honour ; and their fa- naticism was regulated by foresight and prudence. In entering on their purpose, they had, indeed, been more or less infected with the general madness of the age ; but, in the guidance of the holy war, many of them CRUSADE BY KINGS AND NOBLES. 67 proved themselves as politic in counsel, as skilful ip expedients, and as patient and constant under difficul- ties, as they were adventurous in danger and courage- ous in combat. The wildness of their enterprise is condemned by our calmer reason ; the justice of their cause may be impeached on every true principle of divine and human law ; but, from the magnanimous devotion of their spirit, and the fearless heroism of their exploits, it is impossible to withhold our sym- pathy and admiration. It has been deemed worthy of remark, that none of the principal sovereigns of Europe engaged in the first Crusade; but their absence was determined by the accidents of individual character and position. Pope Urban II. declined the personal command of the ex- pedition, on the plea of his engrossing functions in the general government of the church, and his duty of re- pressing the schism created by the Antipope Clement; or, perhaps, on the more reasonable excuse of his age and infirmities;* but he deputed his spiritual autho- rity to his legate Adhemar, the Bishop of Puy. The Einperor Henry IV., the personal enemy of Urban, and protector of the antipope, of course refused tc recognise the authority by which the Crusade was preached. Philip I. of France was absorbed in sen- sual indulgence ; and to renew the excommunication * Bitti Sacri Hist, (by an anonymous chronicler, in Mabillon, Mn*. Ital. vol. i.) p. 135. 68 THE FIRST CRUSADE. Henry IV. already passed upon him was one of the acts of Urban at the very Council of Clermont. The crafty and irreligious character of William II. of England (Rufus) also led him rather to minister to his brother's reck- less enthusiasm, by purchasing the mortgage of Duke Robert's Norman dominions, than to join himself in the holy war. But the cause rejected by these monarchs was eagerly embraced by the most dis- tinguished feudal princes of the second order : by Godfrey of Bouillou, Duke of the Lower Lorraine or Brabant, with his two brothers, Eustace and Baldwin, and a kinsman also of the latter name; Hugh, styled the Great Count of Yermandois, and Robert, Duke of Normandy, brothers of the French and English kings; Robert, Stephen, and Raymond, Counts of Flanders, CRUSADE BF KINGS AND NOBLES. 69 Godfrey of Bouillon. Chartres, and Thoulouse; and the Norman Boemond, son of the Guiscard, Prince of Tarento, with his cousin Tancred, whom history and romance have equally delighted to exhibit as the brightest examplar of knightly virtue. In dignity and character, however, in the conduct and the results of the Crusade, the highest place of honour must be conceded to the Duke of Brabant. Godfrey of Bouillon was descended through females from Charlemagne; and ranked, alike by his great possessions and personal qualities, among the most powerful feudatories of the German Empire. His reputation for wisdom in counsel and prowess in arms was deservedly high ; and, during the war between the empire and papacy, in which he adhered to Henry IV., he had specially distinguished himself, both at 70 THE FIRST CRUSADE. the battle of Merseburg and at the siege of Rome. His political importance was increased by the position of his states on the frontiers of France and Germany ; and his consequent familiarity with the popular dialects of both countries, as well as his acquisition of the Latin, the customary language of the church, facilitated his intercourse, and promoted his personal influence, among the nations of Europe. But the severe integrity of his character disdained the selfish exercise of these advantages; and, amid the gross and violent disorders of the times, his life was regu- lated by the strictest principles of morality and re- ligion. His manners were gentle, pure, and benig- nant; his conduct was just and disinterested; and his piety, though mistaken, was sincere and fervent. These virtues might have qualified him rather for the cloister than the camp, if they had not been asso- ciated with energies capable of the loftiest designs : with a head to conceive and a hand to execute the most arduous enterprises which his conscience ap- proved; with resolution, tempered by reflection and judgment, which no difficulties could shake; and with valour, calmed only by moderation, which no perils could deter. Since the siege of Rome his frame had been consumed by a slow fever; his illness dic- tated the renewal of an early purpose of performing the pilgrimage to Jerusalem : and he no sooner heard of the projected Crusade, than, as if inspired with new life, he suddenly shook off disease from his limbs, and CRUSADE BY KINGS AND NOBLES. 71 Siege of Rome. sprang with renovated health and youth from a sick- couch to engage in so glorious and meritorious a work.* The transcendent/ merits and accomplishments which adorned the principal hero of the first Crusade have demanded an especial portraiture : the few fea- tures in the characters of the remaining leaders, which varied their general resemblance in devout zeal and warlike excellence, may be more briefly sketched. In Hugh of France these qualities, though supported by other attributes not unworthy of his royal birth, were destitute of the religious humility and modesi demeanour of Godfrey; and the great Count of Ve * Malmsbury, p 44*. Ouibert, p. 485. Willermus Tyr. p. 651 72 THE FIRST CRUSADE. Robert of Normandy and his Father, mandois was remarkable chiefly for an arrogant and haughty deportment.f Robert of Normandy was generous and merciful, eloquent in debate, and well skilled in military expedients; but profuse in ex- pense, dissolute in morals, and equally rash and unsteady in resolve. His rashness and insubordi- nation had nearly made him a parricide, as he had unhorsed his own father, William the Conqueror, in battle, and had only been prevented from putting him to death, by his father's exclaiming and making him- self known. Although, therefore, his conduct during f Anna Comnena, p. 227 Robertas Monachus, p. 34. Guibert, p. 485. CRUSADE BY KINGS AND NOBLES. 73 the Crusade was thought in some measure to atone for the irregularities of his earlier life, arid his ex- ploits often attracted the general admiration, his instability of mind prevented his maintaining the respect of his more illustrious compeers.* His name- sake of Flanders resembled him in headlong .valour, without sharing any portion even of his abortive talents. The Count of Chartres, one of the wealthiest and most potent feudal princes of France, was also deemed the most learned in all the literate and prac? tical knowledge of the age, experienced and wise in his suggestions, clear and persuasive in discourse. These intellectual acquirements peculiarly fitted him for directing the general design of the war; and he was accordingly chosen to preside in the council of its leaders. In the field, the superiority of his tactical skill was equally recognised; but he was deficient in vigorous enterprise; and in the eyes of the fiery champions of the Cross, his fame was tainted by the questionable quality of his valour. The veteran and sagacious Count of Thoulouse,f whose youth had been habitually exercised in arms * A well-known instance of Robert's careless spirit was the above- mentioned mortgage of his duchy to his brother William for five years, at the inadequate price of ten thousand marks, to equip him- self for the Crusade. Chron. Sax. p. 204. Will. Gcmeticensis, p. 673. { The history of this prince is very obscure. His original title was Count of St. Gilles in Languedoc ; whence Anna Comnena cor- rupted his name into Sangeles, and under that appellation exagge- 74 THE FIRST CRUSADE. against his Saracen neighbours in Spain, had brought from that warfare a deadly hatred of the Mussulman name, and was more fiercely animated than the other crusading princes by the spirit of religious intolerance. His master passion was umitigated fanaticism; and the devotion of his old age, the abandonment of his extensive dominions, and the appropriation of his great riches to the service of the Crusade, might have protected his motives from the suspicion of worldly ambition and avarice, if their sincerity had not been attended by a cold and selfish nature, a proud and vindictive temper, which denied him the friendship of his noble confederates, and alienated the affections of his own native followers. To the purely fanatical zeal which predominated in the character of the Pro- venal prince, may be opposed the unscrupulous am- bition and deep hypocrisy of the Norman Boemond, the Ulysses of the war. To him alone, perhaps, of all the movers and warriors of the Crusade, may be attributed a systematic design of rendering the popu- lar enthusiasm of Europe subservient to views of mere personal interest. If his versatile and unprincipled genius enabled him to feel or to feign* some share in rates his rank, as if he had been the principal personage of the Cru- sade. In what manner he had acquired the extensive fiefs of Thou- .ouse and Provence, and arrogated the title of Duke of Narbonne, which he also bore, seems undetermined. L'Art de Verifier lea Dates, vol. ii. p. 289-294, &c. * Boemond pretended to receive with surprise and admiration the news of the design of Urban, which it is more than probable that ha CRUSADES BY KINGS AND PEOPLE. 75 the prevalent sentiment of his time, the whole re- corded tenor of his conduct betrays the settled and absorbing pursuit of temporal aggrandizement. Fa- miliar with all the arts of dissimulation, and no less rapacious than perfidious, he exhibits, among the heroes of the holy war, the singular spectacle of a cool and crafty politician. His vices were odiously contrasted with the generous qualities of his youthful cousin Tancred,* whose frank and courteous bearing, no less than his love of glory and high-minded disdain of wrong and perfidy, rendered him the mirror of European chivalry .f had secretly prompted. At the siege of Amalfi, he embraced the Crusade in an apparent transport of zeal : excited the faqatical ardour of his confederates and followers by an eloquent harangue; and, while their enthusiasm was at its height, rent his own robe into pieces in the shape of crosses for the soldiery. This curious and characteristic anecdote is told by Guibert, p. 485. * Tancred was the son of Matilda, sister of Robert the Guiscard, and therefore the cousin of Boemond, (Radulphus Cadomensis, de Gestis Tancredi, c. 1,) and not either his brother or nephew, as some of the writers in the Gesta Dei, less correctly informed than the biographer of the hero, and Gibbon and Muratori after them sup- posed. The father of Tancred was an Italian marquess, Odo. Ralph of Caen was the personal friend and companion of Tancred in Pales- tine after the Crusade. f " piu bel di maniere e di sembianti piu eccelso ed intrepido di core/'^&c. La Gerusal. Liberata. can. i. 45. But the poet has here only echoed the praises which the qualities of Tancred extorted even from the Greek princes, never unwilling to detract from the virtues of a Latin, above all a Norman name. Anna Comnena, p. 277. 76 THE FIRST CRUSADE. Such were the leaders under whom the warlike array of the Western nations was marshalled for the First Crusade. Their confederate powers were col- lected, according to the local convenience or pre- ference of the chieftains, into four great divisions. The first body, composed of the nobility of the Rhenish provinces and the more northern parts of Germany, ranged themselves under the standard of Godfrey of Bouillon. That prince was accompanied by the two Baldwins, and many other powerful feudal lords, whose forces numbered no less than ten thousand cavalry and eighty thousand foot. In the second division, under the Counts of Vermandois and Chartres, the two Roberts, and Eustace, Count of Boulogne, (brother of Godfrey,) were assembled the chivalry of Central and Northern France, the British Isles, Normandy, and Flanders ;* and their formidable muster can be estimated only loosely from the asser- tion of a contemporary, ^that the number of lesser barons alone exceeded that of the Grecian warriors at the siege of Troy.f The third host, in the order of departure, was composed of Southern Italians under Boemond and Tancred, and formed an array of ten thousand horse and twenty thousand foot. The last * For " neither surely," says old Fuller, " did the Irishmen's feet stick in their bogs." (Hist, of Holy War, lib. i. c. 13.) So also Bings Tasso : " Questi dall' alte selve irsuti manda La divisa dal mondo ultima Irlanda." f Guibert, j 48. CRUSADE BY KINGS AND NOBLES. 7? division, which assembled under the Count of Thou- louse in the South of France, was originally formed chiefly of his own vassals and native confederates of Languedoc, Gascony, and Aries, comprehended under the general appellation of Proven9als;* with a small admixture of the Christian knighthood of the Pyre- CJ * / nean regions of Spain: but in his route through Lombardy, his army was swollen by so great num- bers of Northern Italians, that the combined host which marched under his banners amounted to one hundred thousand persons of all arms and conditions. Besides several feudal chieftains of distinction, Ray- mond was accompanied by three prelates of high rank : the papal Legate Adhemar of Puy, the Arch, bishop of Toledo, and the Bishop of Orange.f Of all the principal leaders of the Crusade, the preparations of Godfrey of Bouillon were earliest completed ; and his march from the banks of the Moselle was conducted with admirable prudence and order by the same route which had proved so disas- trous to the preceding rabble. When he reached the northern frontiers of Hungary, he demanded of its king by his envoys an explanation of the circum- stances which had provoked their destruction. The reply of Carloman exposed the crimes by which the vengeance of his people had been roused ; and his just and amicable representations compelled the up- * Raymond des Agiles, p. 144. | Willermus Tyr. p. 660. 78 THE FIRST CRUSADE. right judgment of Godfrey to admit that the wicked ness of the crusading mob had merited its fate. He accepted a friendly invitation from the Hungarian king; treated with him for a safe passage through his dominions with supplies of provisions on equitable terms; and left his own brother Baldwin and his family as hostages for the good faith and forbearance which he enforced on all his followers. The noble sincerity of Godfrey won the confidence of the Hunga- rian monarch, and disarmed the suspicion and hos- tility of his people. Carloman himself attended the movements of the crusaders with a numerous cavalry, both to observe their behaviour and to protect their march ; the whole of his kingdom was traversed without a single act of offence on either side; and, when the Latin host had passed its southern confines, the hostages were courteously dismissed with a friendly adieu. When the crusaders entered the Byzantine provinces, their virtuous and able leader etill succeeded in maintaining the same strict disci- pline ; the Emperor Alexius assisted and rewarded his efforts by liberally supplying the wants of his army in its toilsome passage through the desolate forests of Bulgaria ; and the first division of the Eu- ropean chivalry peaceably accomplished its entrance into the fertile plains of Thrace.* * Albert, p. 198, 199. Willermus Tyr. p. 652 CRUSADERS AT CONSTANTINOPLE. 79 SECTION V. THE FIRST CRUSADERS AT CONSTANTINOPLE. UT for the friendly succour of the Byzantine monarch, it is acknowledged that the host of Godfrey must have perished in their route through provinces imperfectly cultivated, and al- ready exhausted by the feuds of their barbarous natives. The alacrity with which Alexius at first facilitated the approach of his Latin allies, was succeeded by indications of a more du- 80 THE FIRST CRUSADE. bious policy; and, in the report of their chroniclers, the conduct of the emperor is branded with the re- proach of deliberate perfidy and systematic hostility. In weighing the justice of these charges, some reduc- tion from their truth must be made for the bigoted prejudice of the Latins against a schismatic monarch and nation; and a still larger share of extenuation for the suspicious conduct of the emperor may be claimed for the difficulties and peril of his position. Instead of the reasonable aid which he had solicited from the pope and the temporal sovereigns of the West, he found his dominions overwhelmed, and his throne shaken from its foundations, by the deluge of European fanaticism. His hospitable reception of the first disorderly masses of pilgrims had been re- quited by the ravage of his territories and the spolia- tion of his subjects : the very numbers and formida- ble array of the better-disciplined chivalry of Europe might alone have justified a prudent apprehension of their power and disposition, which their fierce prompti- tude in resenting was by no means calculated to allay. Of the personal characters and real designs of most of their leaders he was utterly ignorant ; and their alliance in the same enterprise with his ancient and dangerous enemy, Boemond, was at least an ominous conjuncture. The plea of delivering the Holy Sepul- chre from the hands of the Turks, might easily cover a design of subjugating the whole Eastern world to the spiritual dominion of the Latin Church ; the same CRUSADERS AT CONSTANTINOPLE. 81 pretext of fanatical zeal might be readily employed against the infidel Mohammedans and heretical Greeks; and to the confident valour and the en- vious cupidity of the Western warriors, thus ani- mated by religious hatred and temporal ambition, the rich spoils of Constantinople* and its provinces might offer a more accessible and tempting prey than the distant relief of Jerusalem and plunder of Syria. Moreover, the recent distraction and rapid decay of the Seljukian power had terminated the alarm with which Alexius formerly anticipated the entire ruin of his empire ; and the subsiding of the Turkish ener- gies had removed the immediate danger which -in- duced him to implore the approach, and might have * Of the astonishment and envy with which the splendour of Con- stantinople struck the rude Latins, we may form a lively idea from the burst of admiration which the remembrance of its magnificence recalls to the mind of one of their chroniclers, the chaplain and companion of the Count of Chartres : "0 quanta civitas nobilia et decora ! quot monasteria quotque palatia in eft, opere miro fabrefacta ! quot etiam plateis vel in vicis opera, ad spectandum mirabilia ! Tae- dium est quidem magnum recitare quanta sit ibi opulentia bonorum omnium, auri et argenti," &c. Fulcherius, p. 386. (Oh ! what a fine and noble city is this ! How many palaces and monasteries, constructed with admirable skill, it contains ! how many works of art, wonderful to behold, are to be found in its streets and shops ! It would be, indeed, a tedious matter to tell how great is its riches in all kinds of goods, of both gold and silver.) The emotions ex- cited by the contemplation of such wealth, however innocent in the breast of the good chaplain, were likely to prompt dangerous wishes and designs to the bold and unscrupulous imaginations of fierce and rapacious warriors. 82 THE FIRST CRUSADE. reconciled him to the presence of auxiliaries, in Greek estimation scarcely more civilized, and only less to be dreaded, than the Mohammedan enemy. Under these critical circumstances, for the double purpose of averting the ruin with which he was me- naced, and of obtaining the advantages which he might yet hope to extract from the oppressive aid of the West- ern nations, the emperor appears to have had recourse to the timid and tortuous policy habitual in the Byzan- tine court. While he welcomed the approach of the army of Godfrey, his fleets in the Adriatic were pre- pared to dispute the passage of the French and Nor- man crusaders from the Italian to the Grecian ports. That second grand division of the European chivalry, led by Hugh of Vermandois, the two Roberts, and the Count of Chartres, had traversed France and Italy for the purpose of embarkation. At Lucca, where these chiefs, prostrating themselves at the feet of the pope, piously received his benediction, Urban II. com- mitted the standard of St. Peter into the hands of the great Count of France ; * and here the arrogance of that prince furnished Alexius with a first occasion of offence. Twenty-four knights, in armour gorgeously inlaid with gold, were despatched by Hugh to Du- razzo, with a haughty intimation to Alexius himself of the approach, and a command to the imperial lieu- tenant to make royal preparation for the arrival of * Fulcherius, p. 384. Robertas Monachus, p. 35. CRUSADERS AT CONSTANTINOPLE. 83 the brrther of the King of Kings, and standard-bearei of the pope.* The terms of the letter and the mes- sage were resented as an insult ; and the Governor of Durazzo, instead of offering the desired reception, sta- tioned his navy to -prevent the egress of the great count and his followers from the Italian harbours. The Duke of Normandy, and the Counts of Flanders and Chartres, with their followers, after consuming the autumn in luxurious pleasure, resolved to defer their departure from Italy until the return of spring ; but Hugh, regardless alike of the dangers of a wintry passage and the ambiguous disposition of the Greeks, impatiently put to sea. His fleet was dispersed in a storm ; his own vessel was wrecked on the hostile shore ; and, in lieu of the magnificent descent which he had announced, he entered Durazzo as a suppliant, and found himself a captive. He was, indeed, treated with outward demonstrations of respect ; but his per- son was for some time detained, until the commands of Alexius were received for his removal to Constan- tinople.f When the intelligence of the captivity of the Count of Vermandois reached the camp of Godfrey in * Anna Cornnena, p. 228. Du Cange, with the true complacent vanity of a Frenchman, has amused himself by proving (Dissert, tut Joinville, xxvii., and note ad Alexiad. p. 352) that the title of King of Kings thus arrogated by Hugh for his brother, was conceded through the respect of Europe during the Middle Ages par excellence to the monarchs of France. f Anna Comnena, p. 228, 229. 84 THE FIRST CRUSADE. Thrace, it roused the violent anger of the crusaders ; and, after an ineffectual demand for his release, the Duke of Brabant was compelled to gratify the eager desire which was felt by his followers to punish the imperial perfidy with the ravage of the fine province in which they were quartered. This severe retalia- tion speedily produced the submission of Alexius. He had already soothed the captivity, and seduced the pride and vanity of the French prince, by his pompous reception at the imperial court; and Hugh was induced to despatch two of his own attendants to Godfrey with the assurance that, on the duke's arrival at Constantinople, he would find their master not a captive, but a guest. This message produced a cessa- tion of hostilities ; but the awakened suspicions of the crusaders prepared them to fly to arms on the slight- est provocation ; the Greeks were equally distrustful ; and the mutual contempt and hatred of two races, so dissimilar in manners and spirit, inflamed every mis- understanding. On the near approach of Godfrey and his host to the Byzantine capital, the refusal of the duke and his fellow-chieftains to trust their persons unattended with the imperial walls, provoked Alexius to forbid all intercourse between his subjects and the crusaders. The Latin 'camp was immediately strait- ened for provisions ; and Godfrey was again compelled to indulge the rapine of his followers, and the empe- ror to arrest the sufferings of his people by concilia- tory measures. A third and more dangerous quarrel CRUSADERS AT CONSTANTINOPLE. 85 was produced by the belief of the crusaders in a per- fidious design of the emperor to blockade and starve them in their camp, which was enclosed by the waters of the Bosphorus, the Black Sea, and the river Bar- byses. To anticipate this suspected treachery, the troops of Godfrey possessed themselves, by an impe- tuous attack, of the bridge of the Blachernae, the only outlet and key of their communication with Constan- tinople and the open country. The hostile seizure of this important post disappointed the intentions of the Greeks ; or it more probably excited their apprehen- sion against the ulterior purpose of the crusaders themselves. The imperial troops issued from the gates of Constantinople to dispute the passage of the bridge ; after a bloody conflict, they were repulsed and pursued to the city ; and the crusaders, inflamed with success and resentment, even attempted a head- long assault upon the walls. But the ramparts of Constantinople were strong and lofty ; the Latins were unprovided with any battering engines ; and the Greek archers, securely directing an unerring aim, galled them with an incessant flight of arrows. An indecisive contest was maintained until the close of day; but at nightfall the assailants, after setting fire to the suburbs, withdrew from the walls.* To a state of hostility so inconclusive in its objects, * Albertus Aqucnsis, p. 200-202. Baldricus Arch. p. 91. lermus Tyr. p. 653, 654. Anna Cornnena, p. 232-234. 86 THE FIRST CRUSADE. and injurious to both parties, a stop was now put by the meditation of the Count of Vermandois. If Alexius had ever really meditated the destruction of the crusaders, experience had shewn the fruitlessness of his efforts; and his desire of an accommodation might be increased by the approach of Boemond and his army. Renouncing, therefore, his earlier designs, or more probably only shifting the jealous expedients of a policy which had prompted him in self-defence to restrict, not to ruin the dreaded power of the cru- saders, he proposed to their chiefs, as a condition of his friendship, that they should take an oath of fealty to himself, and swear either to restore to the empire, or to hold in feudal dependence,* such of its ancient provinces as they might recover from the infidels. Upon these terms, he engaged vigorously to support the Crusade with the imperial forces and wealth ; and he had prepared the way for their acceptance by inducing the brother of the French king to offer an influential precedent. * Anna Comnena, p. 235. The very circumstance of this proposal being made, is a proof, which perhaps deserves more attention than it has usually attracted, that the idea of the feudal relation, whensoever received, was at this epoch familiar to the Eastern emperor. It is gtill more observahle that the ceremonies with which the Latin princes subsequently took the oaths of fealty to Alexius were also strictly feudal ; and though their ready adoption on this occasion in the Byzantine court need not shake our belief in the exclusively barbarian and not Roman origin and existence of the system from which they were borrowed, yet the whole fact is curious, CRUSADERS AT CONSTANTIOPLE. 87 So overcome was that vain and inconsistent prince by the blandishments and presents of Alexius, that he not only stooped to the performance of the desired homage himself, but undertook to obtain the same submission from his confederates. The proposal was at first received in the Latin camp with the indig- nation natural to the free and fiery spirit of high-born warriors, who spurned the idea of all allegiance or subjection to a foreign lord. . Godfrey himself re- proached the baseness of Hugh in having consented to a degradation alike unworthy of his haughty pre- tensions and real dignity, of his ostentatious bearing and royal birth. But the Count of Vermandois ex- cused his own compliance, and enforced its propriety on Godfrey, by arguments best adapted to the dis- interested principles of that single-minded and pious prince : such as the paramount obligation of their sacred vows; the difficulty of reducing Alexius to more becoming terms; the impossibility of prosecut- ing the holy enterprise without the imperial aid ; the probable ruin of the cause by delay and wasting hos- tility; and the very sinfulness of a contest with a Christian people. The reason of Godfrey was no sooner convinced, than all sentiments of worldly pride and honour yielded to the humbler dictates of religious duty; and no subsequent persuasions, with which he was addressed by the messengers of Boe- mond and the Count of Thoulouse, to await their arrival, and chastise in arms the insulting demand of 88 THE FIRST CRUSADE. Alexius, could shake the sincerity of his purpose. He declared his resolution to take the required oaths of fealty ; and the example of his self-denial secured the acquiescence of his compeers. To remove their lingering suspicions of treachery, Alexius delivered his son as a hostage for their safe return ; and Godfrey and his principal companions, repairing to Constanti- nople, prostrated themselves in homage before the imperial throne. Their humiliation was relieved by a reception of studied honour; and in return for the vows of fidelity which he repeated on his knees with clasped hands, Alexius distinguished the virtue and dignity of Godfrey by the ceremonies of filial adop- tion, and investiture .in imperial robes.* But these, empty recognitions faintly concealed the real triumph of Greek pride and policy; and it was no fanciful degradation which converted the brave and chivalric princes and nobles of Western Europe into the vassals and liegemen of a Byzantine despot.f * Anna Comnena, p. 335, 238. Albert, p. 203. Willermus Tyr. p. 656, 657. } That the humiliation was keenly felt may be inferred from the sullen brevity with which the Latin chroniclers dismiss the transac- tion ; but the daughter of Alexius has related an anecdote, which more plainly marks the struggling emotions of the proud warriors, while it amusingly illustrates the manners of Western Europe. Dur- ing the ceremony of performing homage, a private French baron, conjectured by Du Cange, with great probability, to have been Robert of Paris, was so little disposed to repress his disgust at the pride of the Greek despot, and the compliance to which religious or political motives had induced the more responsible leaders of the Cru CRUSADERS AT CONSTANTINOPLE. 89 After this ceremony, Alexius urged his adopted son, and his new dependants, to exchange theii threatening position near his capital for more eligible and abundant quarters on the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus; and their passage of that strait was ap- parently hastened, through his dread of their being reinforced, while still under the walls of Constanti- nople, by the other divisions of the crusading host. Before the departure of Godfrey, the Count of Flanders and his followers had already reached the Byzantine capital from Italy ; and their arrival was speedily succeeded, at short intervals, by that of the Duke of Normandy, the Count of Chartres, and the Bade to submit, that he audaciously seated himself beside Alexius on the imperial throne. When the brother of Duke Godfrey attempted to reprove him for this rude disrespect, he coolly retorted his con- tempt; and the emperor was so astonished by his insolence, that he could only demand through an interpreter his name and condition. "I am a Frenchman," was the reply, " and of noble birth ; and I care only to know that in the neighbourhood from which I come there is a church, whither they who design to prove their valour repair to pray until an adversary be found to answer their defiance. There have I often worshipped, without finding that man who dared to accept my challenge." Alexius, because he well knew, says his daughter, the fierce spirit of the Latins, dissembled his resentment, or rather vented it in an ironical caution, that if the Frenchman still desired to maintain the same boast with safety, in his crusading warfare, he would do well to keep beyond reach of the Turkish arrows, by remaining in the centre of the Christian host. His taunt and his advice were thrown away ; and his daughter betrays some satisfaction in proceeding to record that the insolent barbarian fell in the foremost ranks of the Crusaders at the battle of Dorylaurn Anna Comnena, ubi suprd,. 90 THE FIRST CRUSADE. The Emperor Alexius. residue of the great army which had origin all}- issembled under Hugh of Vermandois. By the dext< rous application of flatteries* and bribes, each of these potent chiefs was persuaded in his turn to perform the same homage as his precursors,f and was then hurried off to join them on the Asiatic * Even the politic Count of Chartres was deluded by the arts of Alexius, who contrived to make each of the Latin princes in turn believe himself preferred to all his confederates. There is extant a curious and apparently authentic epistle from Stephen to his countess, in which he unconsciously shows how completely he was duped by the wily Greek. The emperor had inquired how many were his children j spoken much of the love he bore toward him and his unknown house ; pretended that the count must send for one of his sons to be educated at the Byzantine court ; and bade him reckon on bos' imperial favour to provide for the youth : in all which the wise count religiously confided. Mabillon, Mus. Ital. vol. i 237. f Baldric, p. 92. Albert, p. 204. Willermus Tyr. p. 658-660. CRUSADERS AT CONSTANTINOPLE. 91 shore. The embarkation from the Apulian ports of the third grand division, under Boemond and Tan- cred ; their passage of the Adriatic into Greece ; and their march through that country, were all regulated by those able leaders with higher martial conduct and discipline. Large bodies of the imperial troops, with dubious intentions, hovered over their route, and sometimes even attempted to obstruct their passage, and cut off their detachments; but the skilful dis- positions of Boemond frustrated their attempts; and the impetuous valour of Tancred more than once punished the secret perfidy or open aggression of a pusillanimous enemy. The whole march to the vicinity of Constantinople was triumphantly com- pleted; and here Boemond, being met by Godfrey himself with persuasions to satisfy the imperial de- mand of fealty, left his army in charge of his gallant kinsman, and with a small train proceeded to the capital of Alexius.* The belief of that monarch's duplicity in his re- ception of the other Latin princes is increased by the equal cordiality with which he welcomed this hateful enemy. He alluded to Boemond's earlier invasion of his empire only to extol the valour which he had dis- played in that enterprise, and to express his own eatisfaction at the pacific union which now effaced every feeling of enmity. With as consummate hypo- * Robertas Monachus, p. 36, 37. Baldricus Archiepiscoptu?, p. 92, Guibert, p. 488. Willerinus Tyr. p. 658. 92 THE FIRST CRUSADE. crisy, Boemond on his part professed his self-reproach at the injustice of his former hostility, and his desire to prove his gratitude for so gracious an oblivion of injuries. But Alexius, as well aware of his ambitious and greedy character as of his habitual faithlessness, designed to secure his allegiance by the only motives of selfish interest which could be binding on a nature so sordid. After causing him to be lodged and en- tertained in the most magnificent style in one of the imperial palaces, the cunning monarch ordered the door of a chamber filled with heaps of gold and jewels to be left, as if accidently, open when he passed. The Norman was ravished with deRght and envy as he gazed at the glittering hoards; and his ruling im- pulses were betrayed in the involuntary exclamation, that, to the possessor of such treasures, the conquest of a kingdom might be an easy achievement. He was immediately informed that the gift of the em- peror made them his own ; and, after a slight hesita- tion, his avarice swallowed the bait. His perform- ance of homage to Alexius was succeeded by dreams of ambition, which perhaps aspired to the imperial throne itself; and his expressions of devotion to its service were accompanied by a proposal that he should be invested with the office of Great Domestic of the East, or General of the Byzantine armies in Asia. A present compliance with this audacious de- mand, whhh shocked the pride, and might well startle the suspicions of Alexius, was prudently CRUSADEtfS AT CONSTANTINOPLE. 93 avoided with hollow assurances that the highest dig- nities of the empire should be the reward of future services ; and the baffled or sanguine adventurer was persuaded to join the Asiatic camp of his confede- rates. The opposite conduct of his high-minded relative had meanwhile excited equal alarm. Dis- daining, on his arrival at Constantinople, to imitate the baseness of Boemond, Tancred had quitted the capital unobserved, and crossed the Bosphorus in dis- guise. By this flight he had only designed to escape the degradation of owning himself the vassal of a foreign prince; but the suspicion and resentment of the emperor were not allayed until Boemond unscru- pulously pledged himself by oath for the homage and allegiance of his cousin.* The arrival of the last army of crusaders under the Count of Thoulouse, exhausted the artifices of the imperial policy. After traversing Northern Italy, that skilful and veteran commander had led his forces into the Byzantine provinces, through the wild passes of Dalmatia. His march, though distressed by the noxious climate and rugged obstacles of that moun- tainous region, and successively harassed by the sa- vage Dalmatians, and by the no less hostile Greeks, had been prosecuted with so much energy and vigi- lance, that his host, after exercising a passing ven- * Baldric, p. 92-94. Albertis Aquensis, p. 204. Guibert, p. 491. Willennus Tyr. p. 659. Anna Comnena, p. 238-241. RaduJphus Cadomensis, de Gestis Tancredi, p. 289, 290. 94 THE FIRST CRUSADE. geance on their treacherous assailants, reached the shores of the Bosphorus in unimpaired strength and discipline ; and the news of his formidable approach at the head of one hundred thousand Provengals and Italians, revived the liveliest apprehensions in the imperial court. At some distance from Constanti- nople, the army was met by messengers both from Alexius and from Godfrey and his associates, with a united request to the Count of Thoulouse to repair to the capital. Raymond complied with the invitation ; but, on his arrival, neither the arts of the emperor, nor the solicitations of his confederates, could induce him to kneel before the imperial throne. Once more is the emperor accused, on his failure in this negotia- tion, of having directed a treacherous surprise of the Provencal camp ; and, whatever was its origin, a fu- rious collision ensued between the troops of Raymond and of Alexius. The Greeks were defeated with sig- nal carnage; and, in the first suggestions of ven- geance, the Count of Thoulouse was with difficulty restrained from vowing war to the utterance against so perfidious a race. He repelled with contempt the menaces both of Alexius and of Boemond, w r ho now ostentatiously avowing himself the most faithful champion of the empire, proclaimed his resolution to turn his arms in its succour even against his recusant confederate. To the milder expostulations of God- frey, the aged count so far yielded as to tender an oath thit he would abstain from all enterprises against CRUSADERS AT CONSTANTINOPLE. 95 the life and dignity of Alexius ; but beyond this con- cession his cold" and stubborn pride was equally im- penetrable to threats and entreaties. He declared that he had quitted his native dominions to devote the residue of his life to the service of God alone, not to submit himself to any earthly master ; and Alexius, either awed into personal respect by the firmness of his spirit, or desirous of conciliating so powerful a chief, suddenly changed his whole demeanour, loaded him with assiduous attentions, and treated him with such real or affected confidence as to impart his secret hatred and suspicion of Boemond. The old Provencal prince listened with pleasure to these complaints of a rival whose interference had already irritated his jea- lous and vindictive temper; and his heated passions unguarding the usual wariness of his politic judg- ment, made him an easy dupe to the superior craft of the wily Greek. Alexius so completely gained the ascendency over his mind, that he lingered at Con- stantinople after the departure of the other chief- tains; and the Count of Thoulouse, who had been loudest in his denunciations against the perfidy of the Byzantine court, was among the last to quit its se- ductive hospitalities for the Asiatic camp of the cru- saders.* * Raymond de Agiles, p. 140, 141. Robert, p. 38. Guibert, p. 490. Willenms Tyr. p. 660-662. Anna Comnena, p. 241. 96 THE FIRST CRUSADE. SECTION VI. THE SIEGE OF NICE. EFORE the arrival of the Provencal forces, all the other great divisions of the crusading levies had already com- pleted their junction on the plains of Asia Minor; and their wants rather than their strength had been increased by the wretched remnants of the preceding mob, who, with Peter the Hermit himself, had, in recovered confidence, found their way from various places of refuge to the general muster. The enormous numbers of the congregated hosts of Christendom can be estimated with little hope of precision ; either from the tumid metaphors of the Grecian Princes, who has described their deso- lating course, or from the positive assertions of the THE SIEGE OF NICE. 97 Latin writers, whose ignorance of military affairs might easily mislead their computations, and whose astonishment at the view of so prodigious an array was sure to be vented in exaggeration. If we were to credit some of our usual authorities, six or seven hundred thousand warriors were present in arms; besides an innumerable multitude of ecclesiastics, women, and children.* But the report of the same party in other places,f and every evidence of reason and probability, are alike inconsistent with this con- clusion ; -it may be suspected that the leaders of the war were themselves unable to ascertain the real numbers of a disorderly herd of irregular infantry ; and we can rely with safety only on the statement of the most judicious chronicler of the Crusade, that the mailed cavalry, which, according to the rude tactics of the Middle Ages, formed the nerve of armies, amounted to one hundred thousand men.J This su- perb body of heavy horse was composed of the flower of the European chivalry : knights, esquires, and their attendant men-at-arms, completely equipped with the helmet and shield, the coat and boots of chain and scale-armour, the lance and the sword, the battle-axe and the ponderous mace of iron. The crowd of foot- men fought principally with the long and cross bow, and were used indifferently as occasion required for archers, * Fulcher. p. 387. Willermus Tyr. p. 664. | Willermus Tyr. p. 693, &c. j Guibcrt, p. 491. 7 98 THE FIRST CRUSADE. scouts, and pioneers ; but their half-armed and motley condition formed a miserable contrast to the splendour of the chivalric array, which glittered in the blazonry of embroidered and ermined surcoats, shields and head- pieces inlaid with gems and gold, and banners and pennons distinguishing the princely and noble rank of chieftains and knights.* From their first camp on the Asiatic shores of .the Bosphorus, the advance of the Christian hosts, in bold disregard of minor objects of attack, was immediately directed against Nice, the capital of the Sultan of Roum,f situated in a fertile plain on the direct route to Jerusalem. Resting on the waters of the lake Ascanius, the defensive capabilities of that city had been sedulously improved by art. It was surrounded by a double wall of stupendous height and thickness, provided with a deep ditch, and flanked at intervals by no less than three hundred and seventy towers ; its garrison was numerous and brave ; and the Sultan Solyman, (or Kilidge Arslan,)J who had retired to * Albert. Aquensis, p. 103, 212, 241, 392, &c. This writer fondly dwells on the splendid array of the crusading hosts, and affords us more information than any of the other chroniclers on the arma- ment, composition, &c. of the troops. { Kouni, a corruption of Roma, (Rome,) was the name given to the Mussulman kingdom, founded in Asia Minor by the Seljoukian Turks, about the year 1074, and of which Nicaea, or Nice, the chief city of Bythinia, was the capital. It was against this city, where the first General Council of the Church was assembled under Con- stantine, A. D. 325, that the crusading army now marched. | De Guignos, vol. i. 245. . THE SIEGE OF NICE. 99 the neighbouring mountains with his Turkish cavalry, preserving his communication with the place by the lake, might with equal facility reinforce its defenders, and harass the quarters of the besiegers. Nothing deterred by these difficulties, the crusaders, on their arrival before the city, undertook the siege with an energy suitable to the obstinacy which was anticipated in the defence. Notwithstanding their numbers, the immense circumference of the walls prevented a com- plete investment; but each independent leader, suc- cessively encamping on the first quarter which he found unoccupied, from thence directed and prosecuted his attacks. Contrary to the impressions which later historians have sometimes given, that a chief author- ity over the crusading hosts was conceded to Duke Godfrey, it is here observable that no traces of such a recognition of supremacy can be discovered in the narrative of contemporary chroniclers. The general plan of operations was sometimes debated and deter- mined in a council of princes; but the details and choice of execution were abandoned to the uncontrol- lable will of the different chieftains and their respec- tive followers, who were alike too proud of personal rank, and too jealous of national distinctions, to brook any submission to a foreign command. But the same feelings which were repugnant to all subordination and unity of action, in a great degree supplied their want with a generous emulation of glory ; and, in the leaguer of Nice, the Latin princes contended with 100 THE FIRST CRUSADE. rival valour and industry who should be foremost in urging his approaches to the walls. On the northern side were encamped Duke Godfrey and his Rhenish and German division ; eastward extended the quarters of the Counts of Vermandois and Chartres and the two Roberts, with the French, Norman, English, and Flemish crusaders ; on the same front, the Provencal and Italian host of the Count of Thoulouse took up a continued alignement ; and, toward the south, the city was enclosed by the troops of Boemond and Tancred. Two thousand men who had attended the march of the crusaders, under Taticius, as imperial lieutenant, were the only Byzantine forces in the confederate camp.* From their respective quarters, each of these divi- sions pushed forward its attacks, with all the mecha- nical expedients which the Middle Ages had im- perfectly preserved out of the martial science of clas- sical antiquity. Among the principal machines of the besiegers were lofty wooden towers of several stories, termed beJfredi,-\~ or belfroi-s, which were moved for- ward on rollers or wheels ; protected against confla- gration by coverings of boiled hides; filled with archers to dislodge the defenders from the ramparts ; and supplied with drawbidges, which, on a nearer approach, being let down upon the walls, afforded a * Robert. Mon. p. 39, 40. Albert. Aquensis, p. 204, 205. Wil- lermus Tyr. p. 666. Anna Conmena, p. 247. "| Du Cange v. Bdfredus. THE SIEGE OF NICE. 101 passage for the knights and their followers to rush to the assault. ! The advance of these belfrois was some- time preceded, the road levelled, and the ditch of a fortress filled up, by means of a movable gallery or shed of similar materials, but lower structure, called indifferently a fox or cat,* or chat-chateil when sur- mounted also by a tower. Under cover of these gal- leries, the walls could either be undermined by the slow operation of the sap, or breached by the violent blows of the battering-ram. Balistic engines of va- rious sizes and denominations for hurling masses of rock, beams of timber, stones, and darts, composed the ordinary artillery both of the assailants and besieged ; and the most effectual means of defence were afforded by the use of the Greek fire in destroying the hostile machines.f The mechanical operations of the crusaders were for a while arrested by the gallant efforts of the Sul- tan of Roum, who, descending from the mountains which overhang the plain of Nice with a swarm of fifty thousand horse, endeavoured by a sudden and impetuous attack, with the assistance of the garrison, to overpower the Eastern camp of the Christians. But his hope of surprising their quarters was frustrated by the capture of the messengers who were intrusted to convey his purpose to the city; he everywhere en- * Idem, vv. Catus, Vulpes, &c. f Muratori, Antiq. Mod. jEvi, Diss. xxvi. 102 THE FIRST CRUSADE. countered a determined resistance and a bloody re- pulse ; and his first experience of the valour of the Western Christians compelled him to abandon Nice to its fate. The defence of the city was not the less resolutely maintained ; and the attempts of the be- siegers to breach the walls were repeatedly foiled, their projectile engines disabled, and their towers and galleries crushed by fragments of rock, or burned by the Greek fire. Some weeks had already been con- sumed in fruitless labour and slaughter, when the position of the city on the lake Ascanius suggested to the besiegers a more successful expedient. At their desire, Alexius caused a number of small vessels to be prepared in his arsenals, transported over land, and launched upon the lake. This flotilla, manned by seamen and archers in the imperial pay, insured the command of the lake, alarmed the city on that side with desultory attacks, and intercepting all its com- munication by water with the exterior country, com- pleted the investment of the place.* Meanwhile the besiegers continued their works with renewed spirit. The veteran Count of Thoulouse, whose approaches had been conducted with most skill and pertinacity, at length succeeded, by the science of a Lombard engineer, in attaching with safety a chat- chateil, or castellated gallery, to one of the towers of * Albert, p. 205, 206. Willermus Tyr. p. 667. Anna Com nena, p. 245. THE SIEGE OF NICE. 103 the city, which had been injured in a former siege, and was bent forward from its base. The miners of the besiegers propped the superincumbent mass with strong timbers while they loosened the foundations ; and the supports being then fired, the whole fell with a tremendous crash, and left a yawning breach. But, instead of seizing the first moment of consternation by which the garrison were paralyzed, the Provencals imprudently delayed the assault until the following morning; and an artful Greek contrived in the inter- val to rob them of the fruits of success. The wife and sister of the Sultan, whom he had left in the city until this moment, endeavoured on the first alarm to escape over the lake ; they were captured by the im- perial . flotilla ; and Butomite, its commander, imme- diately offered, not only their honourable release, but protection to the people of Nice against the fury of the Latins, if the city were surrendered to his master. The now despairing inhabitants accepted his terms ; the troops of the flotilla disembarking were admitted into the city ; and when the crusaders, with returning day, were prepared to mount the breach of the fallen tower, the first spectacle which they beheld was the imperial banner floating on its walls. [20th June, 1097.] In their wounded pride and disappointed cupidity at being thus cheated of the honour and spoils of victory, the first impulse of the crusaders was to continue the assault. But a prudential con- sideration of the ulterior objects of the war induced 104 THE FIRST CRUS'ADE. their princes to stifle their own emotions of disgust at the artifice of Alexius or his lieutenant, and to ap- pease the louder resentment of their followers ; and, after a few days of repose, the whole crusading host, breaking up from the camp before Nice, pursued the destined route toward Jerusalem.* * Fulcher. Carnot. p. 387. Raymond de Agiles, p. 142. Bal- dric. Arch. p. 97. Albert, p. 206-208. Guibert, p. 491-493. Willcrmua Tyr. 668-672. Anna Comnena p. 246-250. DEFEAT OF THE TURKS. 105 SECTION vn. DEFEAT OF THE TURKS SEIZURE OF EDESSA. their passage through Asia Minor, a march of five hundred miles was still to be accomplished before the crusaders could touch the confines of Syria ; and the Sultan of Roum, whose spirit had only been roused to increased energy by the loss of his capital and the danger of his kingdom, was already prepared to offer a formidable resistance to their progress. His ap- peal, both to his own subjects and to the independent chieftains of his kindred race, for assistance in repel- 106 THE FIRST CRUSADE. ling these new invaders, who so unexpectedly menaced their faith and their nation with a common destruc- tion, had been eagerly answered. From all sides the Turkish hordes flocked to his standard ; and so innu- merable was the force which he collected, that by some of the Latin writers it is supposed to have exceeded three hundred thousand horse; With this immense cloud of cavalry, during the first few days' advance of the crusaders from Nice, w r hile their strength was fresh and their array undivided, he merely hovered on their flanks ; but his forbearance ceased when the con- venience or the necessities 'of their march induced them to separate into two distinct columns on different routes. In one division were now Duke Godfrey and the Counts of Vermandois and Thoulouse; in the other, Boemond and Tancred, the Duke of Normandy, and the Counts of Flanders and Chartres.* Before the latter and less numerous of the two co- lumns had reached Dorylaeum the modern Eskische- ker about fifty miles from Nice, it was suddenly enveloped, while reposing in a valley, by the Turkish swarms. The first astonishment of the surprise, the unearthly yells, and the furious onset of the barba- rians, struck dismay and disorder into the Christian ranks ; and the fate of the day was held in suspense only by the gallant example, the desperate efforts, and * Albert. Aquensis, p 215. Willermus Tyr. p. 672. Anna Comnena, p. 251. DEFEAT OF THE TURKS. 107 the personal prowess of the three leaders of Norman Mood, Boemondj Tancred, and Duke Robert. While the lightly armed and active cavalry of the Asiatics easily evaded a close encounter with, the heavy array of the Europeans, their clouds of arrows slew the unbarded horses, and pierced every opening in the body armour of the Christian warriors. Overwhelmed with the dense confusion of the field, oppressed by the ponderous weight of their own equipment, and fainting under the intense heat and burning thirst of the climate, the weary and despairing crusaders with difficulty sustained an equal conflict. To regain some degree of order, their leaders could only cover a retreat and draw off their exhausted squadrons; and the Turks, flushed with success, penetrated into their camp and commenced an indiscriminate massacre of the aged and infirm pilgrims, the women and the children. In this extremity, the skilful and valorous conduct of Boemond, never elsewhere so nobly contrasted with the baser qualities of his character, saved the whole crusading host from destruction. In the first alani he had, with cool foresight, despatched notice of the danger to the other division under Godfrey and the Count of Thoulouse; and now reanimating his con- federates and followers to rescue or revenge the help- less victims whose shrieks pierced their ears, he rushed again at their head toward the camp, and fell with resistless impetuosity upon the triumphant and 108 THE FIRST CRUSADE. sanguinary barbarians. The Duke of Normandy bravely supported his charge ; the inspiring shout of Deus vult" which had first been heard at the Coun- cil of Clermont, was now the war-cry which rang again through the Christian squadrons; and the fight was renewed with all the courage which a sense of religious duty could add to the stern resolves of vengeance and despair. But the Crusaders were still encountered with equal resolution and superior force* and the tide of Turkish victory was arrested at this juncture only by the opportune approach of Duke Godfrey and the Count of Vermandois, who, at the first summons, had urged their cavalry, forty thou- sand strong, at the utmost speed to the succour of their confederates. The junction of this formidable reinforcement, in fresh, firm, and ardent array, in- fused new life into the sinking energy of their brethren, and in the same proportion depressed the confident spirit of the Turks. The quivers of the infidels were already emptied ; the length of the struggle had worn down their activity; and in the close combat which they could no longer escape, their inferiority to the warriors of the West in bodily strength and martial equipment was signally dis- played. The supple dexterity of the Asiatic was now feebly opposed to the ponderous strokes of the European arm; the curved scimitar and light javelin could neither parry nor return with effect the deadly thrust of the long pointed sword and gigantic lance ; DEFEAT OF THE TURKS. 109 and ill a direct charge, the weight and compactness of the Latin chivalry overpowered the loose order and desultory tactics of the Turkish hordes. While the infidel host bent and wavered before the determined assault of the Christians, the last division of the Crusaders arrived on the field; and Count Raymond directing his ProvenQals on the flank or rear of the disordered enemy, completed their terror and ruin. [4th July, 1097.] They broke and fled in every direction, were pursued until the close of day with unremitting slaughter, and were compelled to abandon their camp to the possession of the con- querors Of the crusaders, four thousand had fallen ; but they were for the most part of humble condition ; and the number included persons of both sexes who were -massacred when the infidels first burst into the Christian camp. Among the Turkish host, in the battle and the pursuit, thirty thousand had been slain ; and no less than three thousand of these were chieftains or warriors of distinction, whose rank was proclaimed by the value of the spoils found on their bodies. The pillage of the Asiatic camp offered a still richer reward to the victors, in immense quantities of goltl and silver, arms and apparel, war-horses, camels, and other beasts of burden.* By the general confession of the Latins themselves, the Turks had displayed a valour and warlike skill * Robertas Monachus, p. 41, 42. Quibert, p. 493, 494. Wilier- mus Tyr. p. 674. lladulphus Caduinensis, p. 293/294. 110 THE FIRST CRUSADE. A Turkish Encampment. which excited their astonishment and deserved their admiration; and the surprise produced by the unex- pected discovery of these qualities in an Asiatic nation is evinced in the assertion, that they alone of all Eastern people were worthy of contending in arms with the Christian chivalry, and of sharing with the warriors of the West a common superiority in martial virtues over the despicable Greeks. The conduct of the Sultan of Rouin, after the battle of Dorylseum, afforded a more unequivocal testimony of the respect and fear with which the prowess of the Crusaders had impressed the infidels themselves. Abandoning all DEFEAT OF THE TURKS. Ill further hope of successful resistance to the conquerors Solyman hastily evacuated his kingdom with the wreck of his army, every where ravaging the land in his flight; and the crusaders were left without oppa si tion to continue their advance through a desolated and deserted country. Their march over the wasted plains of Asia Minor skirted the base of the great mountain range which stretches across that celebrated region from the sea of Marmora to the Syrian gates ; and their route may be traced on the modern map by the cities of Kara Hissar, Aksheer, Konich, and Ereckli. The horrors which attended the passage of so un- wieldy a host, undisciplined and unprovisioned by any of the arrangements which are familiar to the military science and economy of our own times, admit but of imperfect description, and may only faintly be ima- gined. The towns had been swept of their inhabitants and stores, the cultivated districts converted into a scathed and hungry solitude; and the more natural deserts which frequently intervened were parched \vith sand and destitute of water. Of the poorer and worse provided _among the crusaders, hundreds died on every day's march, of want and fatigue, of raging thirst or its fatal gratification ; war-horses, baggage-animals, and hounds and hawks the indispensable incurnbrances of a chivalric camp perished alike from a scarcity of water; and of the splendid cavalry of the princes, nobles, and their followers, which on the field of Nice DEFEAT OF THE TURKS. 113 had mustered one hundred thousand lances, nearly thirty thousand were dismounted before their arrival under the walls of Antioch. In a word, so completely exhausted and disorganized was the whole host before its approach to the Syrian frontiers that, in the tre- mendous pass of Mount Taurus, even a small band of resolute men might have successfullv maintained the O / steep and narrow defile against the armed but feebled multitudes who, staggering under the oppression of toil, heat, and intolerable thirst, slowly wound in a length- ened and disorderly train through the mountain chain which here bars the southern route. But the panic- stricken Turks, in the precipitation of their flight, neg- lected the opportunity of defence; the crusading host was suffered, unassailed, to complete the most toilsome and dangerous portion of their march; and every na- tural obstacle of the country and the climate being gra- dually surmounted, their straggling divisions were safely reunited in the same encampment on the Syrian soil.* While the main army of the crusaders prepared to penetrate through the Tauridian pass, two bodies of their cavalry had been separately detached in advince under Tancred, and Baldwin, the bro- ther of Duke Godfrey, to explore the neighbouring regions, and make a diversion against the Turkish power. After both had wandered in some uncertainty among the mountains, the division of Tancred first * Albert, p. 215. Guibert, p. 495. Fulcher. Carnot. p. 389. BaV dricus Ar;h. p. 99. Willcrmus Tyr. p. 675. 8 114 THE FIRST CRUSADE. succeeded in effecting a passage, and continued its southern descent into the coasts of Cilicia. The young chieftains had already arrived before Tarsus, and granted a capitulation to the Turkish garrison, when the troops of Baldwin, who had reached the game vicinity by another route, unexpectedly made their appearance ; and the jealous artifice of their leader succeeded, by opening an intrigue with the infidel and Christian inhabitants, in obtaining pos- session of the city. The generous Italian, repressing his indignation, abandoned the place to his rival ; and, turning eastward, pursued a new course of enterprise with so much rapidity, that several important towns submitted to his arms. But his forbearing temper was outraged beyond endurance when he learned that, after his departure from Tarsus, the selfish refusal of Baldwin to receive a party of his followers within the protection of the walls, had exposed them to be mas- sacred by the retreating infidels; and the Rhenish chieftain, leaving a garrison in Tarsus, no sooner came up with his division than Tancred, yielding to the natural impulse of resentment which he shared with his enraged soldiers, led them to a furious assault upon the forces of their treacherous confederate. After a bloody encounter, the Italians were repulsed by a superiority of numbers ; but feelings of mutual compunction at so irreligious a fued between brethren of the cross having succeeded to their first emotions of auger, an accommodation was effected ; and the DEFEAT OF THE TURKS. 115 two detachments together rejoined the grand armj before it reached the Syrian frontier.* This quarrel of Baldwin and Tancred had one im- portant consequence. The guilt of the original ag- gression lay so clearly with the former, that, when the circumstances of his conduct became known in the crusading camp, he justly incurred the execrations ot the whole host; and respect for the virtues of his brother Godfrey alone saved him from condign punish- ment. A consciousness of the aversion in which he was held by his confederates, did not tend to lessen his selfish disregard for the general interests of the Crusade; and he gladly availed himself of the first advantageous opening to separate from the main army, and pursue an independent career of ambition. He learned that the Christian cities of Armenia and Mesopotamia endured with impatience the Mussulman yoke ; that the Turkish garrisons were few and feeble; and that the inhabitants were ripe for revolt against their oppression. At the instance of a fugitive Arme- nian noble, and at the head of only two hundred of his own lances, and a more considerable body of in- fantry, he quitted the crusading camp, boldly directed his march eastward, and victoriously overran the whole country as far as the Euphrates. Encouraged by the sight of the banners of the cross, the Christian population everywhere rose in arms, opened the gates * Albert. Aquensis,.p. 214-219. Radulphus Cadomensis, p, 297- 301. Willermus Tyr. p. 677-680. 116 THE FIRST CRUSADE. of their cities on his approach, and assisted him in expelling the common infidel enemy. After a slight and ineffectual opposition, the Turkish Emirs either fled or submitted to his arms ; the fame of his suc- cessful exploits soon spread beyond the Euphrates; and the people of Edessa, the most considerable city of Mesopotamia, who, though still governed by a na- tive prince, had long groaned under the exactions of Turkish tribute, obliged their aged duke to implore his aid in delivering them from the infidels. Baldwin eagerly accepted the invitation ; he was received with enthusiasm by the Edessenes; and, though his dis- posable Latin forces were now reduced to eighty horse and a small band of foot, he was so vigorously aided by these new allies, that he found no difficulty in establishing the independence of their state. The means by which he next possessed himself of its go- vernment are variously related ; but, under their most favourable construction, the event* may justify the darkest suspicions of his guilty ambition. Excited by the dread that their deliverer would forsake them, the people of Edessa first compelled their duke to adopt* him as his son and successor ; and the old prince was then murdered in a popular insurrection. * For the particulars of the singular ceremony by which this adop- tion was declared, we are indebted to the lively narrative of Guibert In full assembly of the people, Baldwin was first made to enter in a state of nudity under the same shirt with bis new father, who then folded him to his breast and gave him the fifiul kiss. lie was next obliged to submit to precisely the same forms of adoption by the SEIZURE OF EDESSA. - 117 If Baldwin was really innocent of his death, he pro- fited not the less by the catastrophe. He received the ducal crown on the following day ; and thus be- came the founder of the first Latin principality in the East. Under his able and vigorous government, his new subjects soon discovered that they had chosen a severe and absolute master, as well as a formidable champion ; but he at least completed their emancipa- tion from the hated tyranny of the infidels ; extended the limits of their state by his conquests from the Turks of the intermediate territory between their city and Antioch ; and rendered the PRINCIPALITY OP EDESSA, by its position beyond the Euphrates, for above fifty years, one of the most important outworks of the Christian power in the East.* wife of the Duke of Edessa. Guibert, p. 496. It is supposed that the Emperor Alexius, in honouring the homage of Godfrey with the filial relation, had also received him between the shirt and the skin. But see Du Cange, Diss. sur Joinville, xxii. * Fulcherius Carnotensis, p. 389, 390. Albert Aquensis, p. 220- 222. Guibert, p.' 496, 497. Willermus Tyr. p. 682, 683. 118 THE FIRST CRUSADE. SECTION vm. SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF ANTIOCH BY THE CRUSADERS HILE Baldwin was engaged in establishing his power on the banks of the Euphrates, the main host of the Crusaders had ad- vanced to Antioch, and under- taken the siege of that ancient capital of Syria. The city, which still presented the appearance of pristine grandeur, and contained a numerous Christian population, was possessed by Baghasian, a prince of Seljukian lineage ; whose power was maintained by a_ Turkish garrison of about ten thousand horse, and twice as many infantry, and CAPTURE OF ANTIOCH. 119 whose courage and energy were worthy of his station. After some brave but ineffectual efforts to impede the approach of the invaders, he retired within the walls; and the iron gates of the bridge over the Orontes, which commanded the access to the city from the north, having been forced by the advanced guard of the crusaders under the Duke of Normandy, their whole host passed the, river, and overspread the ad- jacent plain. At this epoch, Antioch, occupying an irregular site of precipice and valley, was embraced within a circumference of about four miles, by a strong wall, which, wherever the natural obstacles of the ground did not afford a sufficient defence, rose to the height of sixty feet. Part of the circuit was covered by the river and a morass which received the torrents from the neighbouring hills, and the re- mainder by a deep and wide ditch. The formidable aspect of these works at first dispirited the leaders of the Crusade; the lateness of the season for the summer and autumn had been already consumed in the passage of Asia Minor was unfavourable for the commencement of an arduous siege; and a proposal to defer the enterprise until the return of spring was only rejected in their council through the energetic remonstrances of the Count of Thoulouse against the dangers of delay and inaction.* * Albert, p. 225, 226. Radulph. Cad. p. 303. Raymond des Agiles, p. 142. Baldric. Arch. p. 101. Guibert, p. 498. Wilier- mua Tyr. p. 684-689. 120 THE FIRST CRUSADE. As soon as the exhortations of that prince reno- vated the ardour of his confederates, the city was in- vested, and operations against, it were commenced : but, of the five gates in its circumference, three only were blockaded ; and by some unexplained negligence or necessity, the communication of the garrison with the exterior country through the other two was left open. From these the resolute and active Baghasian harassed the rear of the besiegers with perpetual sallies, frequently cut off their supplies, and burned the materials which we,re with difficulty collected for their operations. The want of all warlike stores for the siege, the consequent tardiness of the approaches, and the unskilful attempts to which the crusaders were reduced, all betray the extent of their obliga- tions at the preceding siege of Nice to the aid of Alexius and his Greek engines and artificers. Their few battering and projectile machines were now used without effect ; and the single movable tower, which they were enabled to construct with assistance from gome Italian vessels lately arrived on the coast, was no sooner advanced to the walls, than the Turks, suddenly issuing from one of the uninvested gates, set it on fire and reduced it to ashes. While this and other partial successes raised the courage of the gar- rison, and their intercourse with the country secured the constant renewal of their supplies, the besiegers themselves were beginning to suffer the most grievous distresses from want and disease. At first they had CAPTURE OF ANTIOCH. 121 found abundant food in the fertile district which was commanded by their camp ; and their whole host had rioted in plenty : but the improvident waste and wanton destruction, both of provisions and forage, speedily exhausted the means of support in the vicinity; and when the approach of winter increased the difficulty and expense of transporting distant sup- plies, the more indigent of the crusading multitude fell a prey to all the horrors of famine. Even the rich were glad to purchase the most disgusting fare at exorbitant prices; and their horses were either starved or killed for food in so great numbers, that of the seventy thousand cavalry with which they com- menced the siege, before its third month was com- pleted not more than two thousand remained. The ravages of hunger were, as usual, followed by those of pestilence. The plain of Antioch was deluged with the wintry rains; and the putrifying effect of moisture in an Asiatic climate upon the filthy con- dition of the Christian camp, produced a contagious disease, which swept off thousands of its squalid population.* From this scene of accumulated misery, numbers of warriors of inferior rank fled to the establishments of Baldwin in Mesopotamia, and to the delivered * Robertus Monachus, p. 45, 46. Albert, p. 227-233. Radulph Cad. p. 304, 305. Raymond dcs Agiles, p. 143-14S Baldric. Arch. p. 101. Fulchcr. Carnot. p. 390. Guibert, p. 490, 500. Willermus Tyr. p. 690-693. 122 THE FIRST CRUSADE. Christian towns in Cilicia; but the shame of their desertion was exceeded by that of some of the leaders themselves. The Duke of Normandy having with- drawn to the coast, required .several citations and a threat of excommunication to induce his return ; and the Count of Chartres, at a later period, under the ex- cuse of illness, confirmed the suspicion of his coward, ice by retiring from the camp with his division to Alexandretta. But the sacred cause was still more deeply disgraced by the flight of the valiant Viscount of Melun ;* together with the great fanatic Peter the Hermit, who, after exciting the warriors of Europe to devote themselves to the imaginary service of Heaven, was foremost in attempting to abscond from the pri- vations of the enterprise. The dangerous effect of this example was prevented by the activity of Tan- cred, who intercepted the escape both of the Hermit and his companion ; and their desertion was only pardoned in the council of the indignant princes, upon their swearing never to abandon the holy ex- pedition. The retreat of Taticius, the imperial lieutenant, with the small body of Greek auxiliaries which he commanded, was permitted with mingled emotions of hope and contempt. He could scarcely obtain full credit for the assertion that his motive * This worthy was surnamed the Carpenter ; not because he followed that mechanical occupation ; but, as the chroniclers are careful to tell us, by reason of the weighty strokes with which his battle-uxe hammered the heads of his antagonists. Robert, p. 47 Gnibert, p. 501. CAPTURE OF ANTIOCH. 123 was to impress Alexius, by his personal influence, with the necessity of forwarding immediate supplies of provisions for the Syrian wttr, though he oifered the pledge of his oath that he would himself return with the convoys ; but if the princes were not deluded by this shallow pretext, they prudently dissembled their suspicions, and dismissed him in peace.* With the return of spring the sufferings of the crusaders were in some degree mitigated by the arrival on the coast of supplies from Europe ; but the activity of the Turks in harassing their convoys was undiminished ; and the continued freedom of in- tercourse between the garrison of Antioch and their Syrian confederates, perpetually exposed the besiegers to desultory attacks in front and rear. On one occasion, early in February, an army of twenty thou- sand men, under the three emirs of Aleppo, Coosarea, and Ems, was intercepted in an attempt to enter the city, and defeated with signal slaughter by Count Raymond and Boemond. But, in the following month, the same crusading leaders, while escorting a * Robert, p. 47, 48. Raymond, p. 146. Baldric, p. 103 Guibert, p. 501, 502. Willerinus Tyr. p. 694. Anna Comnena, p. 252. The Grecian princess, indeed, refers the flight of Taticius to the arts of Boemond, who fearing interruption on the part of the imperial lieutenant in his scheme for acquiring the sovereignty of Antioch, terrified him into a belief that the Latin princes designed to massacre him and his troops on some suspicion that Alexius had betrayed them to the Turks. But all the Latin writers agnx iq giving the account copied in the text. 124 THE FIRST CRUSADE. supply of provisions and military stores from the coast, were suddenly assailed and routed by an am- buscade of the infidels. Godfrey, who had lately risen from a sick couch, was compelled to fly to their succour with the remains of the Latin chivalry; and the ever-enterprising Baghasian, seizing the occasion of this absence of the best troops of the crusaders from the beleaguer, made an impetuous sally from the walls, and forced the Christian lines. The bravery and conduct of the Duke of Brabant were never more vigorously displayed than on this occasion. He re- traced his march to the camp with so great celerity, and posted his forces with so much ability, as to intercept the retreat of Baghasian ; and a furious con- flict ensued under the walls of Antioch. The infidels fought with desperation, but their courage was une- qually opposed to the heroic spirit and sinewy force of the Christian knighthood, animated by the indi- vidual prowess of its leaders; among whom the two dukes, Godfrey, and Robert of Normandy, and the gallant Tancred, are recorded to have performed the most incredible feats of corporeal strength and valour.* * Thus, we are gravely informed how Godfrey, with a single blow of his falchion, clave a Turk in twain from shoulder to hip. The upper half of the miscreant fell into the Orontes ; the legs kept their scat, and were borne by their good steed into the city. Nor was this the oiJy feat of the hero. At one stroke of his sword, he slit an infidel down from the top of the head to the saddle, and even cut tluough both that and the back-bone of the horse. Again, after the capture of Jerusalem, he satisfied the incredulity of a noble Saraccu, CAPTURE OF ANTIOCH. 125 Of the infidels, a son of Baghasian, many other emirs, and two thousand warriors of inferior degree, fell in this sanguinary flight; of the Christians, not more than half that number were slain ; and encouraged by their victory, they formed and successfully accom- plished the design of barring the egress of the gar- rison from the two gates which had hitherto been left unblockaded, by the construction of a fortified mound or" intrenchment opposite to each. Tancred and the Count of Thoulouse severally undertook the ho- nourable duty of guarding the new posts; the gar- rison of Antioch was thenceforth effectually confined within the walls; the supplies of provisions which their brethren had hitherto introduced by these gates were cut off and diverted to the refreshment of the Latins; and the whole surrounding country being who had heard of his prowess, by sweeping of the head of a camel 'with his sword in a trice. The unbeliever still ascribing more virtue to the temper of the blade than to the strength of the arm which wielded it, Godfrey to convince him, borrowed his own weapon, and with that, in like manner, decapitated a second camel. These stories are not related by some one obscure fabler only, but are avouched, the first two with minute particularity, by the monk Robert, (p. 50,) and by Ralph of Caen, (p. 404 ;) and all confirmed by so dignified an authority as the Archbishop of Tyre, (p. 701, 770.) And Malmsbury, who made a careful collection of the feats of Godfrey, adds to the number (p. 448) the slaying of a lion in single combat near Antioch. The chroniclers are eager in ascribing to Godfrey as great a superiority in bodily strength as in intellectual virtues over the other chieftains of the war. But of some of these leaders, exploits scarcely less astounding are recorded. The Duke f Normandy, for instance, cut through the head and shoulders of a 126 THE FIRST CRUSADE. now in unmolested possession of the besiegers, abun- dance again reigned in their camp.* Still, little or no impression had been made upon the defences of the city ; seven months had already been ineffectually consumed in the siege; and the council of princes was disturbed by intelligence that the Sul- tan of Persia was collecting a large army for the relief of the garrison. At this dangerous crisis, the alliance of an apostate and a traitor served the cause of the cru- saders m'ore beneficially than their arms. Among the Christian population of Antioch, was a man of noble birth, but unprincipled and sordid character, named Phirouz, who, abjuring his religion, had been received into the Turkish ranks, and intrusted with the com- mand of three towers. Stimulated by avarice or dis- affection from the service which he had embraced, he opened a secret correspondence with Boemond ; and consented, on the promise of a large reward, to betray his post to the besiegers. The Norman made the use of this opening, which was to be expected from his selfish and intriguing spirit. He declared to the council of his compeers his possession of a plan for the surprise of the place ; but, before he would reveal its nature, claimed the principality of Antioch for Turk at a blow ; and Ralph of Caen was prevented from detailing the stupendous deeds of Tancred only by the silence which the nioJesty of that hero had imposed on his esquire. * Robert, p. 49-53. Raymond, p. 147. Baldric. 104-107. Albert, p. 237-243. Guibert, p. 503-506. Willermus Tyr. p. 695-703. CAPTURE OF ANTIOCH. 127 himself as the just recompense of his successful merit The ungenerous preference of his own interest to the common cause of the Crusade, which was apparent through this reservation, disgusted , those among his confederates who were actuated by loftier motives of conduct ;* but it especially excited less dignified and splenetic feelings in the breast of the Count of Thou- louse, who entertained views similar to his own, and regarded his pretensions with the hatred of a rival. His stipulation was, therefore, at first indignantly re- jected ; but the increasing urgency of the danger with which the army was menaced by the approach of the * Even the good Godfrey himself, usually so ready to sacrifice his own interests and feelings to the advancement of the sacred cause, could not escape a collision with the selfish meanness of Boemond ; nor was his own magnanimity always proof against the sense of a petty injury. -This is amusingly shown in a story related by Albert of Aix> (p. 242.) A superb Turkish pavilion, which the Prince of Edessa had captured and sent as a present to his brother Godfrey, was intercepted by an Armenian chieftain, and despatched a's his own gift to Boemond. Godfrey, accompanied by his friend, the Count of Flanders, paid an angry visit to the quarters of Boemond to de- mand the restitution of the tent. The covetous Norman refused compliance; and Godfrey complained to the council of princes. Boemond was at last compelled to deliver up the disputed property j but not before, as Mr. Mills has pithily observed, (Hist, of the Cru- sades, vol. i. 189,) a "piece of silk excited the passions of thou- sands of men who had despised all worldly regards, and had left Europe in order to die in Asia." The whole scene may recall to the reader's mind some of the squabbles of the Homeric heroes ; but the impatience of Godfrey in endangering the harmony of the camp for BO frivolous a cause, is at variance with the dignified forbearance of his general conduct. 128 THE FIRST CRUSADE. Turkish succours, and the necessity of either ac- quiring possession of the city or of suspending the siege before their arrival, prevailed over the reluc- tance of the council to comply with the extortionate demand. The Count of Thoulouse was compelled by his brother chieftains to stifle his jealousy and aban- don his opposition ; and Boemond received the solemn pledge of all the princes that, if Antioch were gained by his means, he should be invested with its sove- reignty.* Upon this promise, the crafty Norman disclosed his project, and prepared its accomplishment. In the dead of night, he led his own troops to the base of the towers, where Phirouz held his watch ; by the traitoi and some associates of his plot, rope-ladders were lowered ; and the future Prince of Antioch, to encou- rage his wavering followers, was himself the first man who ascended the walls. The escalade was effected in safety ; the Turkish guards of several neighbouring towers were slain before they could give the alarm ; and the gates of the city were opened to the whole crusading host. A horrid and indiscriminate slaugh- ter of the infidel garrison and the Christian inhabit- ants ensued ; until the crusaders had exhausted the first burst of savage fury, roused by the remembrance of their own sufferings in the siege, and the obstinacy * Robert, p. 54. Albert, p. 241. Radulph. p. 308, 309. Bal- dric, p. 108, 109. Guibert, p. 5C9, 510. Willermus Tyr. p. 704- 707. CAPTURE OF ANTIOCH. 120 of the lengthened defence. [3d of June, 1098.] The remains of the Christian population were then pn> tected from further outrage ; but the massacre of the Turks was still pursued with relentless vengeance; and the fugitives who escaped beyond the walls were immediately intercepted and slaughtered by the Latin detachments and Syrian Christians who held the sur- rounding plains. Such was the fate of the gallant ve- teran Baghasian himself; but numbers of the garrison effected their retreat into the citadel ; and, closing its gates before the victors bethought themselves of completing their success, the refugees there despe- rately maintained a protracted resistance.* * Robert, p. 55. Albert, p. 245-247. Eadulph. p. 308, 309. Baldric. 109-112. Guibert, p. 511. Willerm Tyr. p, 708-712. Robert of Normandy slaying the Turk. 9 130 THE FIRST CRUSADE. SECTION IX. DEFENCE OF ANTIOCH BY THE CRUSADERS. HE divided state of the Moham- medan world had hitherto -fa- voured the progress of the Cru- sade. The dismemberment of the dominions of Malek Shah had fatally weakened the gene- ral power of the Turkish Em- pire. The monarchs of Persia remained the nominal chiefs of the Seljukian race ; but the Sultan of Roum had been unassisted in his struggle to arrest the invasion of the Latins by any succour from that kindred dynasty; the numerous emirs of Syria, Armenia, and Mesopotamia were disunited DEFENCE OF ANTIOCH. 131 among themselves, and agreed only in the effort to throw off their dependence on the court of Ispahan ; and the Fatimite or Ommiadan princes of Egypt were the natural enemies of the whole Turkish nation, as the disciples, protectors, and tyrants of their fallen rivals, the Abassidan Khalifs of Bagdad. Before the arrival of the crusaders in Asia, the Khalif of Egypt, availing himself of the distractions of the Seljukian Empire to recover the ancient possessions of his house, had already despatched an army into Palestine, and succeeded in wresting Jerusalem itself and other places from their Turkish conquerors.* When, therefore, the strange rumour reached Cairo of the Christian invasion of Asia, the overthrow of the Sultan of Bourn, and the advance of the crusading myriads into Syria, the khalif endeavoured, by sending an, embassy to their camp before Antioch, to discover their further designs, to ascertain their force, and, perhaps, to culti- vate their alliance against a common enemy. It is not improbable that the news of their previous suc- cesses, as tending to precipitate the fall of the Turkish power, was grateful to the Egyptian Prince ; and fie is said, by one authority, to have encouraged their prosecution of the siege of Antioch, and even to have offered his co-operation. His envoys also expressed his readiness to admit the Christian pilgrims to wor- ship in peace at Jerusalem ; but this proposal was * De Guigncs, vol. i. 249. 132 THE FIRST CRUSADE. haughtily rejected by the leaders of the Crusade, who replied that the Holy Sepulchre was the lawful heri- tage of Christendom alone, and declared their resolu- tion, by the divine aid, to recover and preserve it from further profanation by infidels of whatever race. So bold and unreserved an avowal of their hostile pur- pose was not calculated to secure the friendship or to allay the jealousy of the khalif. The negotiations which he had opened were not, indeed, broken off, and he accepted an embassy from v the crusaders ; but his conduct in the vicissitudes of the .siege alternately betrayed his enmity and his fears. When he heard of the destruction with which the besiegers were threatened by famine and pestilence, he imprisoned their envoys: when their princes despatched the heads of the slaughtered Turkish emirs to Cairo as the trophies of victory, he released the ambassadors and loaded them with presents for the principal lead- ers of the Crusade.* The report of the danger of Antioch was received with other emotions by the Sultan of Persia ; and the alarming progress of the Christian arms had the effect of exciting the Turkish states into a transient union' against the invaders. From the banks of the Eu- phrates and the Tigris, twenty-eight powerful emirs with their swarms of cavalry obeyed the summons of the sultan to range themselves under the standard * Robert, p. 49-52. Albert, p. 236-237. Raymond, p. 146, WUlermus Tyr. p. 696. DEFENCE OF ANTIOCH. 133 of their prophet, and to avenge the cause of theii faith and nation. The supreme command was as- signed to Kerboga, Prince of Mosul on the Tigris, as the lieutenant of the Persian monarch ; he was joined by Kilidge Arslan, the Sultan of Roum, with the remains of his forces ; and the whole host, which some of the Latin writers are contented to describe as in- numerable,* is estimated by others at two, three, or even four hundred thousand cavalry.-}* The first ope- rations of this overwhelming multitude were directed against the new Christian Principality beyond the Euphrates; but the undaunted heroism with which Baldwin defended his capital, delayed their advance until the fall of Antioch ; and the startling intelli- gence of that disastrous event roused Kerboga to break up from the unsuccessful siege of Edessa, and hasten his march to the relief of the Syrian citadel.J On the approach of his host toward Antioch, the leaders of the Crusade withdrew their diminished forces within the defences of the city; and the Turk- ish cavalry, filling all the surrounding plains, re- inforced the garrison of the citadel, enclosed the Latins in their position, and cut off all their com- munications with the sea-coast and exterior country. * Robert, p. 56. Fulcher. p. 392. Guibert, p. 512. Wilier- mus Tyr. p. 714. f Albert, p. 242, and Radulphus, p. 319, give the lowest and highest estimate in the text. J Albert, p. 243. Baldric, p 112. Guibert, p. 502, 134 THE FIRST CRUSADE. By these measures, the crusaders, now besieged in their turn, were immediately subjected to a second and far more grievous famine than that which they had endured in the preceding winter. A repetition of the same narrative of distress, with many aggra- vated horrors, would be equally revolting and pro- fitless; and the reader will gladly be spared the shocking and loathsome details of misery which re- duced a famishing host to satiate the cravings of hunger with leaves and weeds, with the hides of animals, and the old leather of belts and harness, to devour greedily the vilest offal of slaughter-houses and sewers, and even to prey upon human flesh. For five and twenty days, the ravening and perishing multitudes suffered every frightful extremity of want which language may paint, or imagination conceive ; the princely, the noble, and the fair were exposed to privations only less horrid in their intensity than those of the inferior herd of soldiery and camp followers : and the whole host was stricken with one universal sentiment of weakness and despondency. Desertions again became numerous ; and the fugitives, wrio, letting themselves down by ropes at night from the walls, were fortunate enough to escape the cime- ters of the Turks, spread their dismal tale of the impending ruin of the crusading cause throughout the few Christian establishments on the sea-coasts and in the interior, in which they could find refuge. Among these apostates to their vows were many persons of DEFENCE OF ANTIOCH. 135 distinction, including that Lord of Melun, "William the Carpenter, who had lately so publicly renewed his devotional oaths; and the numerous companions of his shame are consigned to indignant oblivion by one historian, only under the conviction that their un- worthy names were eternally blotted from the Book of Life.* The conduct of the fugitives was, indeed, calculated to extinguish the faint gleam of hope which the cru- saders might have felt in the knowledge that the Byzantine emperor was now on his march with a large army through Asia Minor to support their ope- rations, and claim the paramount sovereignty of their conquests. The pusillanimous Count of Chartres, who had hitherto lingered at Alexandretta, was so terrified by the wretched aspect and more deplorable report of the deserters who had reached his quarters, that he immediately continued his retreat ; and meet- ing Alexius in Phrygia, communicated the panic to that monarch. Though the emperor had been joined, in addition to his own forces, by numerous squadrons of fresh crusaders from Europe, who were still eager to advance to the relief of their confederates at Antioch, the suggestions of his selfish policy, or the baser influence of fear, made him resolve not to risk his resources or the safety of his person for the deliver- * Robert, p. 57-59. Albert, p. 248-251. Kaymond, p. 153. Baldric, p. 113-117. Guibert; p. 512-517. Willermus Tyr. p. 714-717. 136 THE FIRST CRUSADE. ance of his Latin allies; and, abandoning them tc their fate, in despite of the remonstrances and re- proaches of their countrymen in his camp, he enforced a general retreat upon Constantinople.* The evil tidings of his retrogade movement were not slow in reaching the crusaders at Antioch ; and the first burst of fury at his treacherous or cowardly desertion of his engagements was succeeded by a general apathy of hopeless resignation or sullen despair. Neither the dread of the enemy, nor the threat of punishment, could rouse the soldiery to the requisite exertions for the common defence; they shut themselves up in gloomy expectation of death; and in one quarter of Antioch it was necessary to fire the houses over their heads before they could be driven out to man the ramparts.f Amid this prostration of mental and corporeal energies, which levelled the proud distinctions of spirit between the gallant chivalry and the meaner multitude of the crusading host, the names of five only of the leaders of the war deserved the honour- able record of its chroniclers, by their unshaken con- stancy and courage: Godfrey of Bouillon, Raymond of Thoulouse, the Papal Legate Adhemar of Puy, Boemond and Tancred. The fortitude of Godfrey was sustained by the purest strength of a religious * Robert, p. 60. Albert, p. 253. Baldric, p. 119 Anna Com. nena, p. 255-257. Willermus Tyr. p. 718-720. f Albert, p. 253. Guibert, p. 517. Willermua Tyr. p. 720. DEFENCE OF ANTIOCH. 137 mind; that of the count and bishop might be inspired by the fiercer confidence of fanatical zeal ; the vault- ing ambition and cupidity of Boemond were inex- tinguishable save with life ; and in the generous soul of Tancred, the love of glory still shone through the darkest adversity with a steady and unfading light. But the example, the exhortations, and the valorous resolves of these master-spirits of their cause, would have proved alike ineffectual to reanimate the hopes and efforts of their desponding confederates and fol- lowers, if they had not invoked the all-powerful aid of superstition. When every prospect of earthly succour had vanished, it required the belief of a special interposition of Heaven in their behalf to re- kindle the expiring fanaticism of the multitude ; and the character of the Count of Thoulouse, as well as his share in promoting the popular delusion, may in- differently justify the presumption that he was the original mover, or the willing dupe of a pretended revelation. In the Provengal division of the crusaders, was a priest of Marseilles, Peter Barthelemy by name, who, presenting himself before the council of princes, de- clared how St. Andrew had shown him in a vision, that the steel head of the very lance which had pierced the side of the crucified Redeemer might bo found buried beneath the high altar in the Church of St. Peter at Antioch ; that the .Count of Thoulouse was appointed to bear the sacred weapon against 138 THE FIRST CRUSADE. infidel enemy ; and that its mystic presence in the battle should penetrate the hearts of the unbelievers, and insure a complete victory to the people of God. The minds of the crusaders had been prepared for the reception of this tale, and, perhaps, the expedient itself had been suggested by rumours of several pre- vious apparitions of the saints both to clerical and lay individuals in the army, all leading to the expectation that some visible act of Almighty favour for their deliverance was at hand. If the Count of Thoulouse was not privy to the original imposture, he, at least, eagerly lent his countenance to its success ; the policy or conviction of the other chiefs gladly accepted the tale; and Raymond himself, with his chaplain and ten select companions, were appointed to search for the sacred relic. Two days' of solemn preparation were spent by the whole army in religious exercises ; and early on the third the princes, attended by the clergy and lay multitude, went in procession to the Church of St. Peter. The doors were closed against the im- patient crowd : and relays of workmen dug until nightfall to the depth of twelve feet under the high altar, without discovering the promised instrument of victory. But, as soon as the increasing darkness favoured the deception, Peter Barthelemy himself descended into the pit, and, after a plausible delay, exclaimed that he had found the precious object of their search. The steel head of a lance was ther brought up from the excavation, and reverently DEFENCE OF ANTIOCH. 139 played in a web of cloth of gold to the enraptured gaze of the multitude. All previous incredulity was drowned in a general burst of superstitious enthusi- asm ; and the devout and firm assurance of approach- ing victory succeeded with wonderful rapidity to the abject despair with which the starving host had pre- viously been overwhelmed.* The first measure by which the leaders of the Cru- sade showed the sincerity of their renovated hopes, affords a curious picture of fanatical confidence. It was charitably resolved to offer the infidels one op- portunity of escape from the destruction to which they were otherwise doomed, in the alternative of withdrawing altogether from the sacred land of Syria, or declaring their conversion to the Christian faith. The ambassador selected to convey these proposals to the camp of Kerboga was Peter the Hermit ; and the astonishment, rage, and contempt which their nature provoked, were, if possible, increased by the arrogant deportment and language of the fanatic. The ebulli- tion of furious indignation which prompted the reply of the Emir will excite less of our surprise than the forbearance which enabled a Turkish barbarian to- respect the character of an ambassador, and to dismiss in safety the bearer of a message so insulting to his pride and faith. The defiance of the Christians was * Robert, p. 60-62. Albert, p. 253, -254. Raymond, p. 150. 151. Radulphus, p. 316, 317. Baldric, p. 119. Fulcher. p. 391- 393. Guibert, p. 517-520. Willermus Tyr. p. 721. 140 THE FIRST CRUSADE. hurled back upon them ; and the Hermit was fiercely admonished that there remained for them the choice only between submission to the law of Mohammed, or servitude and death.* On this reply, the crusaders entertained no furthei doubt that the vengeance of Heaven had delivered the whole obstinate host of the infidels into their hands. But the Latin chieftains, with that admixture of politic wisdom which generally tempered their fanaticism, spared no exertion to excite the religious ardour, and refresh the physical strength of their fol- lowers for the approaching combat. The horses of their cavalry, now reduced from seventy thousand to no more than two hundred in number, were carefully fed on the last remains of their provender ; the lead- ers and soldiery freely shared with each other their last meal ; their rusted arms were whetted anew with grim desperation ; and the whole army betook them- selves to prayer, made confession of their sins, and received the absolution of the sacrament. Thus nerved in body and mind, the host was arrayed, in honour of the apostolic number, in twelve divisions ; the dawn of the festival of St. Peter and St. Paul was chosen for the reopening of the gates of Antioch ; and, preceded by a body of the clergy chanting a psalm, the army issued from t4ie city and formed in order of battle on the plain. * Robert, p. 62. Guibert, p. 520. Willoniius Tyr. [ 722. DEFENCE OF ANTIOCH. 141 Adhemar, the Bishop of Puy, headed the fourth division, the most honourable, because it carried the holy lance. He walked at its head, clothed in the robes of a pontiff, and surrounded by the symbols of religion and war. The venerable prelate, pausing before the bridge of the Orontes, addressed a pathetic discourse to the soldiers of the cross, blessing them, and promised the succour and recompense of Heaven. All the army shouted their approbation and assent. It is singular that the Count of Thoulouse, the des- tined bearer of the holy lance, was left within the walls with a detachment of the Provengals to watch the citadel ; but his place was supplied by the martial Legate who, in complete armour, bore aloft the sacred weapon at the head of one division; and accompanied its display to the eyes of the whole host with the thrilling exhortation to fight that day as became the chosen champions of Heaven. Of the other eleven divisions, one, the vanguard, was led by the Count of Vermandois, as bearer of the papal standard; nine respectively by Godfrey, the two Roberts, Tancred, and the other chieftains of renown ; and the reserve was intrusted to Boemond. The distress and consequent weakness of the Chris- tians had been so well known in the Turkish camp, ihat Kerboga, notwithstanding their late haughty em- bassy, w^as lulled into a delusive security that their necessities must compel them to a speedy submission; and he was so little prepared for their assault, thai 142 THE FIRST CRUSADE. the foremost corps of his army was cut to pieces before the main body could hasten to support it. But as soon as the Turks recovered from their consternation, they fell impetuously upon the advancing line of Christians ; and the brave Sultan of Nice, wheeling round his flank, gained the rear of the reserve under Boemond, and began to inflict a bloody vengeance for the rout of Dorylseum. Thus enveloped in a cloud of Tartar cavalry, the extrication of the crusading army from imminent peril is, as usual, marvellously referred to the personal prowess of its chiefs; and eulogies of their valour supply the place of more intelligible details. In the confused pictures of the chroniclers, and perhaps in the disorderly tactics of the age, it is a hopeless attempt to follow the fluctuating tide of battle, or discern the real causes of victory. Yet, with every allowance for stupendous deeds of heroism in the Europeans, and enormous exaggeration in the reported numbers of the Asiatics, for the desperation of one army and the surprise of the other, the asto- nishing issue of the struggle can only be explained by the supposition of some gross misconduct or fatal dis- sension among the Moslem leaders. If we are to believe the narrative of their own chroniclers, two hundred Latin 'horsemen, supported by the unwieldy array of dismounted knights and men-at-arms, charged, routed, and put to flight the myriads of Turkish cavalry ; the pursuit was as sanguinary as the combat had been obstinate; and the whole immense host, DEFENCE OF ANTIOOH. 143 which had been permitted for twenty-five days to hold the crusaders besieged in famine and despair within the walls of Antioch, was suddenly destroyed or dissipated in a single morning. While the victory yet hung in suspense, the fanatical ardour of the crusaders was assisted by a new accident or stratagem. Several figures of horsemen in bright armour became visible on the adjacent hills; and the papal legate pointing them out as the holy martyrs St. George, St. Maurice, and St. Theodore, bade the army, with a loud voice, behold the promised succour of Heaven. Responsive shouts of " It is the will of God," burst from the cru- sading ranks ; and the last triumphant charge was in- spired by the imaginary presence and aid of these ce- lestial champions.* * Robert, p. 63-66. Albert, p. 254-258. Raymond, p. 154, 155. Baldric, p. 120-122. Fulcher. p. 393-395. Guibert, p. 520-523, Willermus Tyr. p. 723-726. A belief in the reality of the apparition and aid of the three celes- tial warriors seems to have been universal among the crusaders. But their credulity with regard to the discovery of the holy lance was less general or lasting. The archbishops JBaldric and William of Tyre, indeed, with several of the other chroniclers, betray no distrust of the genuineness both of the vision and the relic; but political jealousy overcame the superstition, and sharpened the intellect of some of the princes and their adherents; and while Kaymond des Agiles, the chaplain of the Count of Thoulouse, is loud in maintaining the authen- ticity of a miracle of which his patron was the appointed instrument, "Ralph of Caen, in the opposite interest of Tancred and Boemond, boldly exposes the fraud. Fulk of Chartres also evinces more than one suspicion of the imposture. The sequel of the history is curious After the victory .of Antioch, the efforts of the Count of Thoulouse 144 THE FIRST CRUSADE. 4 The defeat and dispersion of the host of Kerboga was immediately followed by the capitulation of the citadel of Antioch. By the recovered command of the surrounding territory, the crusaders were enabled for a time to relieve their wants with plentiful supplies of provisions; and the captured horses of the Turks served to remount the cavalry of the victors. The general joy was interrupted only by the obstinate ambition and quarrelsome temper of the Count of Thoulouse, who, still prosecuting his rivalry against the stipulated claims of Boemond to the sovereignty of Antioch, availed himself of the absence of that prince, and the duty with which he had been intrusted of watching the citadel, to hoist his own standard on the walls. He was again compelled by the other confederate chieftains to forego his pretensions ; and Boemond was formally installed in his new princi- pality: but the rankling jealousy of the Provencal continued not the less to disturb the harmony of the common cause, and to embarrass the ulterior operations and his Provencals to perpetuate a delusion which conferred a sort of spiritual superiority upon the chosen guardians of the sacred lance, provoked the envious rivalry of Boemond and his friends to proclaim their disbelief. The example of their skepticism shook the faith of the whole army; and to maintain the truth of the revelation, Peter Barthelemy, as its original publisher, was rashly induced to appeal to the judgment of Heaven by the fiery ordeal. Two burning piles being prepared with a narrow path between them, the wretched im- postor, or fanatic, rushed through the flames, and was so dreadfully burned on his passage that he expired on the next day. DEFENCE OF ANTIOCH. 145 of the Crusade. In the council of princes, discord, desertion, and the selfish pursuit of private interests, now succeeded to the unity of purpose, which was originally produced by devotional feelings, and had been supported by the pressure of imminent danger. The resentment which the crusaders cherished toward the Greek Emperor for his failure of succour in their hour of need, was vented in an embassy of remonstrance and reproach ; and the great Count of Vermandois being selected for this mission, took advantage of the opportunity, on his arrival at Constantinople, to escape the further perils and privations of the Crusade by returning to France.* Baldwin and Boemond were wholly engrossed in securing the establishment and extension of their new states of Edessa and Antioch : the envious ambition of the Count of Thoulouse led him to imitate their example by undertaking the abortive conquest of some Syrian towns ; the death of the papal legate, Adhemar, shortly deprived the cru- sading cause of one of its most popular and zealous supporters, and most skilful and politic counsellors; and even the pious Godfrey himself suffered his ardour for the deliverance of the Holy Sepulchre to be sus- * It is a remarkable proof of the disgrace which, in the chivalric ideas of the age, attended such an abandonment of the crusading vow, that both the- Counts of Vermandois and Chartres found in their high rank no exemption from contempt and obloquy ; and to re- deem their fame they were compelled to undertake a second expedi- tion to Palestine, in which, as we shall hereafter observe, they were both slain. 10 146 THE FIRST CRUSADE. pended by the temptation of gratifying his troops with the more accessible spoils of adjacent districts.* The delays thus generated by disunion and di- versity of objects among the leaders of the Crusade were not without some plausible pretexts : such as the necessity of reposing and refreshing the army after the fatigues and distresses of the siege at KM Antioch; the difficulty of advancing to Jerusalem -through the intervening desert during the drought of a Syrian summer; and the prudence of consolidating the dominion which had already been won, that the arduous conquest of the Holy City itself might be the more surely effected. But the losses and calamities which flowed from division and inaction, far out- weighed any attendant advantages. Numbers of the bravest knights and best soldiers were seduced from the general service of the Crusade by the prospect of a profitable establishment in the new Christian States; many gallant lives were consumed in the profitless or unsuccessful assaults of detached corps upon the Turkish garrisons ; and the usual improvidence of the crusaders occasioned a third famine and consequent pestilence, the combined effects of which were so ter- rific that no fewer than one hundred thousand persons are declared to have perished.* *Albert. p. 260-263. Baldric, p. 122, 123. Fulcher. p. 394, 395. Guibert, p. 525. Willermus Tyr. p. 729-732. j- The practices to which the multitude were driven by hunger are almost too horrible for belief ; yet the evidence afforded by chroniclers contemporary with, and many of them eye-witnesses to the circum- DEFENCE OF ANTIOCH. 147 The ravages of this plague were assisted by the previous excesses in which the whole host had in- dulged since the victory of Antioch ; and in the pages of their chroniclers charges of universal intem- perance and debauchery are intermingled with the dreadful picture of their distress. Nor can the feel- ing be condemned as an irrational superstition which ascribed the calamities of the crusaders to the anger of offended Heaven ; for, of all the miseries which they endured throughout the war, the greater portion were only the faithful consequences of their crimes; and the union of fanaticism and profligacy in men who believed themselves the chosen champions of a sacred cause is among the most sacred objects of contempla- tion in the spirit of the times. At the outset of their enterprise, while the sense of pious duty was fresh and stances, so unanimously attests the prevalence of cannibalism through- out the first Crusade, as to make it impossible to doubt the fact. This loathsome indulgence of hunger was sometimes associated with that of an avarice almost equally disgusting. We are told that the Turks on the eve of battle were used to swallow their money, and that the human savages into whose hands they fell often ripped open the bodies of the slain, or of murdered captives, to search for gold, and afterward devoured their flesh. The cannibalism of the Crusaders was not confined to one season of distress, but had become fumiliar to the rabble of the camp, and reached its height during the third famine of Antioch, when in their desultory attacks upon the Turkish garrisons, they regularly ate the dead bodies of the infidels, and even of their own slain companions. See Robert, p. 69, 70 ; Radulphus, p. 315. Baldric, p. 125, and Albert, p. 267, 268 : the first three of whom record these brutalities with horror, and the last with indifference. 148 I'HE FIRST CRUSADE. uncorrupted, the morals of the crusaders were com- paratively pure; and, during the siege of Nice, the same authorities which are loudest in reprobating the subsequent disorders of the host, bear testimony to tho prevalence of virtue and decorum in their camp. The leaders of the war, in general, presented an edifying spectacle of humility and fraternal concord; the obedient soldiery, emulating their example, were sober, chaste, and vigilant; and from the proudest chieftain to the lowest warrior, all shared alike with undistinguishable zeal and devotion in the labours, privations, watches, and perils of the siege. These sentiments of mutual charity and forbearance did not, indeed, extend to their common enemies; for their fanaticism was fierce and cruel; and mercy to the heathen was an article excluded from their mistaken creed. But among themselves they dwelt in Chris- tian brotherhood, and their conduct was such as became warriors who had devoted their lives to the service of God, and patiently expected the crown of martyrdom which they as firmly believed would be the reward of the slain.* But both the license and the sufferings of the march through Asia Minor first tended to relax the bonds of this voluntary discipline ; and the previous self-denial ot all ranks degenerated, under the hardening effects of want and danger, into rapacious and selfish brutality. The transition from * See particularly the two Archbishops, Baldric, p. 95 ; and Wil- liam of Tyre, p. 667-072, &c. DEFENCE OF ANTIOCH. 149 scarcity to luxurious abundance on the Arrival of the army before Antioch ; the enervating influence of the Syrian climate ; the absence of any unity of command or disciplined restraints over a host composed of va- rious and independent nations ; and the temptations offered by a rich and fertile district to the riotous in- dulgence of every sensual passion ; all assisted in pro- ducing a general corruption of morals. Among great masses of men, the alliance of misery and vice is pro- verbial ; and the subsequent calamities of famine and pestilence gave a frightful completion to the public iniquity. In the hourly contemplation of death, and in the extremity of despair, the multitude, so far from being awed into virtue, became utterly deaf to the voice of religion and conscience ; every divine and human law was disregarded and violated; the reli- gious exhortations of the clergy,* and the authority of the princes, were equally despised; and the most licentious and enormous crimes were openly perpe- trated. The only hold which their spiritual and tem- poral rulers could exercise over the minds of the multitude was through their gross and extravagant * As long as ecclesiastical discipline was preserved by the author- ity of the Legate Adhemar, whose virtues are extolled by all the chroniclers, and whose death, in the third pestilence of Antioch, waa lamented by the whole army, the clergy set an edifying example of pious resignation and morality; but the Archbishop of Tyre acknow- ledges (p. 763) that, after the loss of their spiritual chief, their con- duct in general relaxed into indifference and dissoluteness, and that they became, with some bright exceptions, as vicious as the people. 150 THj.E FIRST CRUSADE. superstition ; and if pretended revelation were success- fully employed to animate the fanatical courage of the soldiery, or served to excite a transient ebullition of remorse,* denunciations of the heavenly wrath al- ways failed to correct the public depravity, and truth and imposture were equally powerless in effecting any permanent reformation of manners in the crusading camp.f * Among other things, a monk was assured in a vision that the anger of God was specially kindled against the crusaders, because Paynim women were the partners of their amours ; and the fair infi- dels were accordingly for a time sent away from the camp. The good Adhemar went further on another occasion : he considered that he was procuring an acceptable 'sacrifice to Heaven by obliging the warriors to separate not only from the paramours, but from their wives ; and all the women, virtuous as well as vicious, were confined in a remote quarter of the camp. Albert, p. 234. Willermus, Tyr. p. 695. f The dissoluteness of the crusading army before Antioch would surpass belief were it not confirmed by unquestionable testimony. Gibbon has dwelt upon it in his own peculiar way, (xi. 68,) and haa transferred to a foot-note an allusion to the " tragic and scandalous fate of an archdeacon of royal birth, who was slain by the Turks as he reposed in an orchard playing at dice with a Syrian concubine." The unfortunate ecclesiastic, who thus suffered himself to be seduced from his vow, and who paid with his life the penalty of his folly, was Alberon, Archdeacon of Metz, son of Conrad, Count of Lunenbourg, and a relation of the Emperor of Germany. The story is told by Albertus Aquensis, i. e. Albert of Aix, in Provence, a canon of the church, and who, though not a crusader himself, derived his informa- tion from trustworthy sources. He calls the fair partner of Alboron matroua, whence we may infer that she was a married woman, and a person of condition. According to him, her fate was' horrible See upon this subject generally, Mailly, L' Esprit Des Croisades } iv. 1 01 ; and Michaud, History of the Crusades, i. 131. DEFENCE OF ANTIOCH. 151 Amidst all the demoralization of the multitude, no decay of fanatical zeal in pursuing the great ultimate object of the war is justly chargeable upon them. They, indeed, were ever clamorous against the delays which the caution, the declining ardour, or the private views of their leaders, opposed to their impatience. After the first burst of enthusiasm had expended itself in the sieges of Nice and Antioch, the latter, with the exception, perhaps, of the single-minded Godfrey, the gallant and disinterested Tancred, and a few congenial spirits, evinced more desire to indulge their love of pleasure and rapine, their mutual enmities and per- sonal ambition, than to complete the purpose of the Crusade. But the people discovered and regarded their selfishness with indignation and disgust ; and the soldiery and pilgrims who had survived the third famine and pestilence of Antioch, were loud in their demands to be led without further loss of time to the conquest of Jerusalem. The popular discontent at the continued procrastination of the enterprise was shortly displayed in a temper which it was no longer safe to provoke. The ramparts of the city of Marra, which, together with the Albara on the Orontes, the Count of Thoulouse had captured and intended to retain, were razed to the ground by his own troops, that the place might not, like the possession of Antioch itself, be rendered an object of contention to the chiefs, and of delay to the army. Raymond, finding his prize untenable, was compelled to yield to the wishes of his 152 THE FIRST CRUSADE. Provencal followers, and declared his readiness to lead them to the deliverance of the Holy Sepulchre ; the same tardy resolution was embraced by the other princes ; and not until eight months had expired since the final reduction of Antioch, were the cru- sading forces once more concentrated, and put in combined motion toward Jerusalem.* * Robert. Mon. x p. 69, 70. Albert, p. 267, 268. Raymond des Agiles, p. 160-164. Baldric, p. 125, 126. Guibert. p. 525-527. Willermus Tjr. p. 731-736. CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM. 153 Jerusalem. SECTION X. SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM BY THE CRUSADERS. & F the immense host, perhaps seven hundred thousand men, which had originally formed the siege of Nice, [A. D. 1099,] so enormous had been the losses by the sword and the climate, by famine and pestilence, deser- tion and conquest, that the total force which advanced from An- tioch amounted to only fifteen hundred cavalry and twenty 154 THE FIRST CRUSADE. thousand foot soldiers, with about an equal number of unarmed pilgrims and camp followers. But this rem- nant of the myriads who had assumed the cross was composed of veteran and devoted warriors, and led by those renowned chieftains and champions of the sa- cred war, whose zeal and constancy had triumphantly surmounted the fiery trials of peril and temptation : Godfrey of Bouillon, the two Roberts of Normandy and of Flanders, Raymond of Thoulouse, and Tan- cred. Boemond, pleading the cares of his new prin- cipality, did not accompany their march fai beyond its confines ; but he freely rendered his contributions and support to the success of the common cause ; and his confederates, whatever contempt and indignation they might feel at this personal abandonment of his vows, received his excuses and accepted his aid. From Antioch to Jaffa, a distance of about three hun- dred miles, the crusaders, for the convenience of sup- plying their wants from the Italian vessels which traded on the coast, chose their route along the sea- shore. Their advance was easy and unopposed ; for the Turkish Emirs of Gabala, Tortosa, Tripoli, Beri- tus, Tyre, Sidon, Acre, and other intervening places, despairing of successful resistance, either fled from their strongholds, or, deprecating assault, by submis- sion purchased the forbearance of the invaders with large contributions of money and provisions. At Jaffa, turning from the coast, the exulting host struck into the interior of the country, and directed their CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM. 155 march upon Jerusalem itself. "With devout and awful curiosity, the rude warriors of Europe now traversed a region filled with places which hourly recalled some sacred association; the clergy succes- sively directed the religious attention of their more ignorant brethren to the memorable scenes of Ramula, Bethlehem, and Emmaus ; and at length the holy city burst upon their enraptured gaze. In that glo- rious sight, the long-cherished object, promise, and reward of their hopes, every toil was forgotten, every Buffering repaid. The single mighty passion of a host suddenly broke forth in joyful exclamations and em- braces; and these first gladsome emotions, which filled every heart with pious thanksgivings, were as quickly succeeded by feelings of deep humiliation and self-abasement. The proud noble, the fierce soldier, and the lowly pilgrim, confessed their common un- worthiness even to look upon the scene which had witnessed the sufferings of the Redeemer of mankind ; and the whole armed multitude, as with one impulse, sinking on their knees, prostrated themselves, and poured out their tears over the consecrated soil.* But the deliverance of the Holy City and Sepul- chre from infidel bondage and profanation still re- mained to be achieved. By the admixture of truth with imposture, the Mussulmans themselves had been * Robert, p. 71. Albert, p. 269-274. Raymond des Agiles, p. 165-173. Baldric, p. 127-131. Radulphus Cad. p. 317-319 Willermus Tyr. p. 736-745. 156 THE FIRST CRUSADE. taught to revere Jerusalem as inferior in sanctity only to Mecca and Medina;* and every motive of religion, honour, and policy, forbade the Khalif of Egypt to yield to the Christians that ancient pos- session which his arms had recently recovered from the Turks. Finding, therefore, his repeated offers of alliance and peaceful admission into Jerusalem as unarmed pilgrims contemptuously spurned by the haughty warriors of the West, he had prepared for the vigorous defence of the city. No less than forty thousand of the best troops of Egypt, under Istakar, his most distinguished and favourite lieutenant, were assigned for its regular garrison ; and this force was swollen by twenty thousand Mussulman citizens and peasantry of the surrounding district, who, on the approach of the Christian invaders, took refuge within the walls. It was abundantly supplied with provi- sions ; and its ancient fortifications, which increased the natural strength of the site, had been diligently restored or repaired. As Mount Sion was no longer embraced within their circuit, the city, including the hills of Acra, Moria, Bezetha, and Golgotha, pre- sented the form of a parallelogram ; but, on the southern and eastern faces, the craggy precipices equally defied assault and obstructed any sally ; and * D'Hcrbclot, BlblloiJieque Orientate v. Al Cods, p. 269. AJ ds, or the Holy, was the Arabic designation of Jerusalem. CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM. 157 Mount Sion. the^wo remaining sides presented the only accessible points of operation. Before these fronts the besiegers impatiently pitched their camp. The Count of Thoulouse chose his station from Mount Sion along the western side ; Eustace of Boulogne extended his troops from the conclusion of the Provencal lines toward the north, until he adjoined the quarters of his brother. Duke Godfrey, whose standard was planted on the north- western angle at the foot of Mount Calvary ; and the two Roberts and Tancred continued the blockade from that point to the verge of the Eastern precipices. In 158 THE FIRST CRUSADE. the first confidence of their fanatical valour, the cru- saders, fully expecting the miraculous aid of Heaven, rushed, on the fifth morning after the investment, to a furious assault of the walls of Jerusalem, without battering engines, without scaling ladders, without any of the ordinary applications of the besieging art. The astonishing impetuosity of their rash onset, de- spite of every probability and obstacle, had nearly delivered the city into their hands. Disregarding the superior numbers, the safe position, and the deadly missiles of the garrison, they burst through the barbi- can, or lower outward gate, and even penetrated to the foot of the main rampart. But here they were arrested, less by any efforts of the panic-stricken infi- dels, than by the mere inaccessible height of the bul- warks and the absence of all means of escalade. The Mussulmans, perceiving the inability of the assailants to approach them, recovered their courage; hurled down every destructive variety of projectiles on the heads of the exposed and devoted Christians; and finally beat them back with slaughter and confusion to their camp. The leaders of the Crusade, awakened from their fanatical delusion by this repulse, now prepared to pro- secute the siege by the rules of art. They resolved to construct the usual machines for breaching or over- towering the walls; but the immediate vicinity of Jerusalem afforded no timber sufficiently large for these works ; and the surrounding country was ex- CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM. 159 plored for materials. It was only at the distance of thirty miles that, in the grove of Sichem,* trees could be found of suitable dimensions ; and, under the di- rection of the indefatigable Tancred, the^e being felled were transported by the painful but zealous labour of the soldiery to the camp. Competent artificers were yet wanting, when the fortunate arrival of some Ge- noese galleys at Jaffa supplied this deficiency. So general a superiority in mechanical skill had the commercial people of Italy attained over the igno- rance of the times, that the whole Latin host were dependent on the fortuitous services of these mariners. The crews were landed at Jaffa ; an escort of troops was despatched to bring them up from the coast ; and, as soon as they reached the carnp, they undertook the construction of three great movable towers, with pro- per engines for throwing missiles, undermining the ramparts, and battering or scaling the walls. The army awaited the completion of their labours in anx- ious suspense ; for now again were the sufferings of their former sieges repeated under a new variety of horror. The country round Jerusalem was destitute of water; the rocky soil yielded few springs; the * A city of Canaan, and subsequently of Samaria, and the burial- place of the patriarch Jacob, frequently mentioned in Scripture. It was situated on Mount Ephraim, where afterward stood the Flavia Neapolis of Herod, now the Nablous of the Arabs. It was one of the cities of refuge appointed by Joshua, (xx. 7,) and was the enchanted grove of the poet Tasso. (Gerusal. Liberata. canto xii.) 160 THE FIRST CRUSADE. fountains and reservoirs had been destroyed by the infidels ; and the streams of Siloe and Kedron were dried up by the intense heats of summer. The be- siegers were agonized by thirst ; a scanty supply of water could be procured only at a distance of several miles ; and the poorer multitude, who could not pay for its transport in gold, were obliged to wander in quest of the springs, at the hazard of being cut off by the fleet Mussulman hordes which scoured the whole country. Numbers, by abstaining from food, endea- voured to lessen the intolerable thirst which consumed them ; and so extreme was the distress, that many gasping wretches were fain to lick up the dews of night from the rocks, and to excavate holes in the earth that they might but press their lips against the moister soil.* For forty days, amid this horrid drought, had the siege endured, before the readiness of their engines of assault enabled the crusaders to put a triumphant con- summation to their labours. When the lofty mova- ble towers, each of three stories, were completed, two, respectively manned and worked by the troops of Godfrey and Raymond, were slowly moved forward toward the walls. The former leader chose his point of attack where the rampart had least elevation, and the great depth of the ditch had rendered the garrison negligent of its defence. Three days were laboriously * These expressive proofs of the height of the people's sufferings are given by Robert the Monk, p. 75. CAPTURE OF JERUSAIEM. Godfrey of Bouillon. consumed in filling up this fosse ; and the tower was then successfully rolled over the new level. Mean- while the Provengals had been less skilful or fortu- nate ; for their tower was repeatedly damaged by the besieged with projectiles and fire. But several ap- proaches were prepared against different fronts of the main ramparts of the place with battering and mining engines ; and the eager warriors only awaited the sig- nal of final attack. On the eve of the day appointed for a general assault of the city, the whole host, in full armament, and preceded by the clergy, made a religious procession round the walls to invoke the 11 112 TEE FIRST CRUSADE. divine aid. Instead of banners, crucifixes were borne aloft at the head of the troops ; every instrument of martial music was hushed ; and the only sounds to which the army moved were sacred chants of psalm- ody. Ascending the Mounts of Olives and of Zion, the crusaders halted on each of those holy places, and knelt in prayer; and when these solemn rites had elevated the devotional and warlike enthusiam of the soldiery to the highest pitch of excitement, the spec- tacle which was presented from the walls still further inflamed their fanatical feelings with a deadly thirst of revenge against the infidels. The garrison, dis- playing crucifixes on the ramparts, derided those re- vered emblems of salvation, and covered them with filth ; arid the crusaders with shouts of fury vowed to wash out these impious insults in the blood of the perpetrators. Thus animated by every incentive of natural va- lour, religious hope, and fanatical vengeance, the cru- sading host advanced on the following dawn to the assault of Jerusalem. While showers of arrows and stones from the archers and balistic engines were di- rected against the defenders on the ramparts to cover the principal operations, the battering and mining machines and huge movable towers all the stages of the latter filled with chosen bodies of knights dnd men-at-arms were impelled toward the walls. But the onset was received by the Moslems with a courage guided by skill, and sustained by confi- CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM. dence or despair. From behind the defences, their incessant flights of missiles replied with murder- ous effect upon the more exposed bodies of the Latin archers ; masses of rock were successfully hurled upon the machines of the besiegers ; and the dreadful Greek fire was .poured in liquid streams against the movable towers. During the day the struggle raged without intermission, and the event still hung in tremendous expense. But, at even, the slaughter among the cru- saders far exceeded that of the infidels ; the great tower of Count Raymond had been partially burned and disabled ; many of the other engine's of assault had been destroyed; and the besiegers were reluc- tantly compelled to desist for the night from further efforts. Yet their heroic spirit was undismayed, their confidence unabated, their labour indefatigable. Though the ProvenQal tower had been arrested in its advance, that of Duke Godfrey was undanraged, and had been brought into threatening contiguity to the rampart ; and on other fronts of attack the walls of the city were shaken, and already imperfectly breached in several places, by the violent strokes of the battering-rams and the more insidious use of the sap. At daylight, the assault and defence were re- newed increased with fury ; at noon, the desperate conflict was still balanced in appalling indecision; but, at the third hour of the evening, the barbican having been beaten down, the tower of Godfrey was forced sufficiently near to the inner rampart to enable 164 THE FIRST CRUSADE. Capture of Jerusalem. the iron-nerved chivalry of Europe to close hand to hand for the mastery, with the less vigorous warriors of the East. In that moment, so critical for the sus- pended cause of Christendom and Islam, the spirit and strength of the Mussulman defenders of Jerusa- lem, despite of their superior numbers and securer footing, quailed before the personal prowess of the champions of the cross. The frail drawbridge of the tower was let down upon the solid rampart ; two bro- thers, Letoldus and Englebert, of Toum-iy, in Flan- ders, were the first and second of the crusading war- CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM. 165 riors who sprang upon the battlements ; and Godfrey of Bouillon, himself the third, planted his banner on the walls.* His victorious example was followed with irresistible energy ; in quick succession the Duke of Normandy, the Count of Flanders, and Tancred, burst through the gate of St. Stephen into the city ; and at every breach in the works a passage was im- petuously forced by their emulous associates and fol- lowers. Meanwhile, the Count of Thoulouse, dis- daining to enter the place in the train of his more successful confederates, gallantly inspired his Proven- c,als to carry the rampart in their front by escalade ; the defenders, appalled by the defeat of their bre- thren, wavered and fled ; and, in all quarters, the ensign of the cross floated over the towers of Jeru- salem. Abandoning all further hope, the fleeing multitude of the Moslems thronged to die under the sacred domes of their Mosques. The victors pursued them with a relentless fury, which consigned men, women, and children to indiscriminate slaughter. The pas- sive and unresisting despair with which the helpless and miserable crowds awaited their fate, neither awakened the pity nor satiated the bloody vengeance * The author of L' Esprit des Croisades arranges the series of the successful assailants somewhat differently, viz. thus : Godfrey, Eu- stace, Baldwin de Burgh, Bernard de St. Valier, De Guicher, and De Raimbauil Croton. These took the lead in the order in which they are named, followed closely by D'Amanjeu d'Albret, and Leo- told- and Englcbert of Tournay; iv. 420. 166 THE FIRST CRUSADE. of their savage destroyers. The outrages which the Infidels had formerly inflicted on the Christian pil- grims, and the insults with which they had recently derided the cross, were sternly remembered and fear- fully avenged; the very sight of the sacred places which they had profaned with their false worship served to heighten the fanatical rage of the conquer- ors against the fugitives who sought shelter in those edifices ; and it was the boast of the Latin princes, in a public letter which they addressed to the pope,* that, in the splendid mosque erected by the Khalif Omar on the site of the Temple of Solomon,f they rode up to their horses' knees in the blood of the Infidels. In that principal sanctuary alone, ten thou- sand persons were massacred ; every minor retreat in the city was explored with equally fierce diligence by the swords of the crusaders; and the horrid computa- tion of the total carnage on the battlements, through- out the streets, and in the churches and houses, has been variously extended to an incredible number of both sexes and all ages.J * Martenne, Thesaurus Novus, vol. i. p. 281. j" D'Anville, Diss. sur VAncienne Jerusalem, p. 4253. J By the Mussulman writers (De Guiges, vol. ii. p. 99, and Abul- feda, apucl Reiske, vol. iii. p. 319), the numbers massacred are stated as high as seventy or even one hundred thousand souls : but these were traditional estimates long after the event; and the last probably exceeds the amount of the whole population of Jerusalem at the period. William of Tyre, who alone of the Latin chroniclers attempts a precise enumeration, gives twenty thousand as the numbei CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM. 167 These dreadful scenes of fanatical cruelty, from which reason and humanity equally revolt, were fol- lowed by a sudden transition of passion,^ as strangely but less painfully characteristic of the times; and, the events of the single day on which Jerusalem was stormed, forcibly exemplify the unnatural union of those motives of martial achievement, ferocious in- tolerance, and fervent piety, which produced the Cru- sade. The mailed warriors who had sworn and ac- complished the deliverance of the Holy Sepulchre in arms, hastened, as humble and repentant pilgrims, to complete their vows of adoration, at that hallowed monument of redemption. Duke Godfrey, after him- self staining the example of heroic courage with merciless slaughter, threw aside his reeking sword, washed his bloody hands, exchanged his armour for a white linen tunic, and, with bare head and feet, re- paired in pious humiliation to the Church of the Sepulchre. The same religious impulse was quickly communicated to his fellow-warriors; the inhuman fanaticism which had so lately steeled their hearts against every softer emotion, was all at once relaxed into a flood of contrite and tearful devotion ; and the whole host in turn, discarding their arms and purify- ing their persons from the signs of recent slaughter, moved in procession to the Hill of Calvary, and in mingled penitence for their sins, and thanksgiving for of victims in the first massacre, of whom one half fell in the Mosque of Omar. 168 THE FIRST CRUSADE. their victor}', wept over the tomb of the Saviour of the world. After these religious exercises, a loose was given to the general joy both of the Latin con- querors and the native Christians, who had either been retained in the city during the siege, or ha*d gathered in the crusading quarters. Among the latter was the Patriarch of Jerusalem; who, after seeking a retreat from the Mussulman tyranny in Cyprus, had lately arrived in the camp. He in- structed his flock to honour, in the person of Peter the Hermit, the faithful missionary whose indignation and piety had been moved by the spectacle of their bondage to the Infidels, and whose holy zeal had roused the nations of the Western World to under- take their deliverance. The grateful multitudes pros- trated themselves before the poor Solitary of Amiens, as a revered and chosen servant of God; and, if the sincerity of the fanatic, who, to perform this service, had twice traversed Europe and Asia, may be mea- sured by his indefatigable labours in the imaginary cause of Heaven, the spiritual triumph which re- warded his success must have surpassed the most ex- quisite enjoyment of temporal ambition.* Among the conscious offences which humbled the * It is singular that, after his reception of this public homage, the name of the Hermit occurs not again in any contemporary or authentic record ; and history has altogether forgotten to notice the subsequent fate of the man who had moved the population of Europo from its foundations. CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM. 169 souls of the crusaders in contrition and prayer before the altar of the Sepulchre, they were so far from numbering their cruelties to the Infidels, that they deemed the late work of slaughter a meritorious offer- ing to the God of Mercies. To every pious and en- lightened mind there can be few subjects of contem- plation more offensive arid painful than this alliance of a devotion, which, though mistaken, was sincere, with 'so ferocious and dark a superstition. Scenes of bloodshed similar to those which had preceded, also followed the interval of worship; and, on the morning after the capture of Jerusalem, the crusaders delibe- rately renewed the massacre of the Infidel garrison and inhabitants. The Jews of the city were burned alive in their synagogues; the Mussulman captives who had been spared by the lassitude, and the fugitives who had eluded the first search of the victors, were now dragged from their prisons and hiding-places, and remorselessly butchered. All even women, children, and infants at the breast shared the same fate, except a few wretched Mussul- mans, who owed their escape from the general daughter, not to the humanity, but to the covetous- ness of the Count of Thoulouse, who rescued them for sale as slaves, and incurred the censure of the army by preferring the indulgence of his avarice to that of his fanaticism. With the rest of the crusaders, the former passion was only second to their cruelty; and the work of pillage proceeded simultaneously with 170 THE FIRST CRUSADE. that of bloodshed. By previous agreement, the rich plunder of the mosques, which abounded with lampa and vases of gold and silver, was dedicated to the service of the church and the relief of the poor; but each house became the property of the first warrior who burst its door, and suspended his shield from its walls.* The infidel inhabitants of Jerusalem had been ex- tirpated ; and the law of conquest supplied a new and Christian population. When the victorious soldiery had divided the possession of the Holy City, her streets were cleansed from the horrid pollution of recent slaughter by the labour of some Mussulman slaves; the churches and mosques were delivered up to the clergy and dedicated afresh, or now first con- verted to the purposes of Christian worship; and, tenanted by the various population of her martial citizens from every Western nation, Jerusalem pre- sented the novel aspect of an European settlement. After the occupation of the city, the earliest care of the leaders of* the Crusade was given to the duty of *In the Mosque of Omar, no fewer than seventy massive lamps of gold and silver were found by Tancred, and surrendered to the pre- scribed uses of religion and charity ; but not, if we may believe Malmsbury, (p. 443,) before the costliness of the prize had seduced the hero, in a moment of unwonted frailty, to forget the usual purity of his virtue. He attempted to secrete the spoils for his private profit, until he was driven, either by the reproaches of his own con- science, or dread of public censure, to make restitution of his booty to the Ecciesi .stical Treasury. CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM. 171 securing their conquest. The establishment of a feudal kingdom in Palestine was obviously suggested by the familiar example of the same form of polity im the Western monarchies, and by the necessity of organizing a martial system of tenures for the de- fence of the Christian state and the protection of the Holy Sepulchre. On the eighth day, therefore, after tfye capture of the city, the princely and noble chief- tains of the crusading host assembled to confer, by their free voices, the feudal sovereignty of Jerusalem, with its future dependencies, upon one of their body. The accidents of war had diminished the number of those great leaders of the European chivalry who, by their hereditary rank, the strong array of their re- tainers, or the influence of personal character, were entitled to aspire to this honour. Boemond and Baldwin were already seated in the principalities of Antioch and Edessa, and had withdrawn themselves from immediate participation in the crowning glories of the Holy "War; the grea Count of Vermandois and the Count of Chartres had, with deeper reproach, altogether deserted the sacred expedition ; and al- though, in chivalric fame, Tancred was at least their equal, the princes of sovereign rank who remained with the army were four only in number; the two Roberts, of Normandy and of Flanders, the Count of Thoulouse, and the Duke of Brabant. Of these princes, if we may believe our Anglo-Norman writers, the crown of Jerusalem was offered first to the brave 172 THE FIRST CRUSADE. but prodigal son of the Conqueror, and declined by his modest distrust of his own merits, by his less praiseworthy indolence, or by his preference of his European Duchy. If, on the other hand, we credit the Provengal chroniclers of the Crusade, the same proffer and refusal of the regal dignity must be ascribed to the Count of Thoulouse.* But the tale of Robert's election is entirely discredited by the silence of every immediate chronicler of the Crusade ; and the grasp- ing ambition and selfish cupidity ever displayed by the Count of Thoulouse, both before and after the fall of Jerusalem, are not only incompatable with the dis- interestedness imputed to him by his adherents, but are expressly stated by a better authority]- to have occasioned the rejection of his claims. Between Robert of Flanders and his friend the Duke of Bra- bant, if there existed any rivalry in pretension, there was at least no equality of merit ; and, in opposition to the intrigues of the wily and jealous Provengal, the general voice of the assembly proclaimed Godfrey of Bouillon as the most deserving, both by his prowess and piety, among all the princely champions of the Cross, to receive the crown of Jerusalem and the guardianship of the Holy Sepulchre. The spirit of Godfrey was too magnanimous to shrink from the perilous ^nd unquiet charge which intrusted to him * Raymond des Agiles, p. 179. Albert. Aquensis, p. 283. Qui pert, p. 537. fWillermusTyr.763. CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM. 173 rather the sword of the crusader than the sceptre of a feudal king. [July 23, 1090.] He was immedi- ately conducted in solemn procession to the church of the Sepulchre, and there inaugurated in his new office; but, with the pious humility which distin- guished his character, hie refused to have a regal diadem placed on his brows in that city, wherein his Saviour had worn a crown of thorns; and modestly declining the name with the decoration of a king, he would accept no prouder title than that of Advocate or Defender of the tomb of Christ.* The estimation in which Godfrey was held by the army, may be known from the universal lamentation which prevailed when he met with a disaster in Asia Minor. When alone in the dense part of a forest, the duke heard the cries of a poor pilgrim, who had been attacked by a bear, while cutting wood. Godfrey hastened to his relief, when the bear quitted his vic- tim to attack his new enemy. He seized the duke by the cloak and dragged him to the ground. His sword being entangled between his legs, Godfrey wounded himself severely in the thigh in attempting to draw it. He continued the fight, however, till the jnoise brought others to the spot. A knight, named Hase- quin, despatched the bear \vith his sword, and the * The title of Advocate or Defender of a church or monastery was familiar to the age of Godfrey : when, under that term, it was cus- tomary for ecclesiastical bodies to purchase the protection of some prince or powerful noble. But see Du Cenge v. Advocatus. 174 THE FIRST CRUSADE. almost exhausted duke was borne to the camp, where the loss of a battle would scarcely have spread more consternation than the unhappy spectacle he afforded to the eyes of the Christians. From the election of Godfrey of Bouillon may be dated the foundation of the LATIN KINGDOM OF JERU- SELEM.* By that event, stability was given to the recent conquests of the crusaders; and Jerusalem, which, after a possession of more than four hundred and fifty years since its surrender to Omar, had been wrested out of the hands of the disciples of Moham- med, was converted into the capital of a Christian state. After the worthy choice of a sovereign to de- fend and govern their conquests, it remained for the crusaders only to secure their maintenance and exten- sion by regulating the martial, civil, and ecclesiastical institutions of the new kingdom. The religious zeal * Rofcertus Mon. p. 74-77. Albertus Aquensis, p. 275-289. Baldricus Arch. p. 132-134. Raymond des Agiles, p. 175-178. Radulphus Cad. p. 320-324. Fulchrius. ' Carnot, p. 396-400. Guibert, p. 533-537. Willermus Tyr. p. 746-763, &c. These references embrace the original authorities for all the details given in the text of the siege and capture of Jerusalem. But, throughout the above narrative, the present compilation is also largely indebted to the labours of our modern English historians of the same events : to the LVIIIth chapter of Gibbon, which, though not exempt from some errors of fact and more obliquities of sentiment, offers a masterly sketch of the spirit and transactions of the First Crusade; and to the more recent and ample \vork of Mr. Mills, who {History of the Crusades, vol. i. c. 1-6) has industriously exhausted the stores of the Latin chroniclers, and executed his design with equal truth and ability. CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM. 175 and the prudential policy of the conquerors were to be exercised in providing for its defence ; but their vows were already accomplished; and the great de- sign of the FIRST CRUSADE had been concluded in the triumphant recovery of the Holy Sepulchre. 17J3 THE SECOND CRUSADE. Ascalon. CHAPTER SECTION I. STATE OF THE LATIN KINGDOM. ITHIN a short month after his elec- tion to fill the throne of Jerusalem, the pious and gallant Godfrey of Bou- illon was summoned into the field to sustain that arduous office of defender of the Holy Sepulchre, which his modesty had pre- ferred to the regal title. The Khalif of Egypt, roused to equal indignation and alarm by the intelligence of the fall of Jerusalem, had immediately despatched a STATE OF THE LATIN KINGDOM. 177 great army into Palestine; and the influence of a common religion and cause attracted numerous hordea of Turks and Saracens to the Fatimite standard. The usual exaggeration of the Latin chroniclers has swollen the infidel host into countless myriads: their more authentic record of the Christian force shows that the bands of the crusaders had already dwindled, since the capture of the Holy City, to five thousand horse and fifteen thousand foot-soldiers. But the champions of the cross, however inferior in numbers, were flushed with recent victory, and animated by the unconquera- ble energy of religious and martial enthusiasm. The armies met at Ascalon ; [August 12, 1099 :] and the organized and mail-clad chivalry of Europe once more triumphed over the disorderly multitudes of Egypt, Syria, and Arabia. The Fatimites fled at the first charge of Godfrey and Tancred ; and the only resist- ance which the crusaders encountered was from a band of five thousand black Africans ; who, after the discharge of a galling flight of arrows from an am- bush, astonished the Latins by a novel mode of close combat with balls of Iron fastened to leathern thongs, which they swung with terrific effect. But, after the first moment of surprise, the desperate courage and rude weapons of these barbarians were vainly opposed to the sharp lances and physical weight of the Chris- tian gens-d'armerie ; and their destruction or flight completed the easy and merciless victory of the cm eaders. Of the infidel host, the incredible numbers 12 178 THE SECOND CRUSADE. of thirty thousand in the battle, and sixty thousand in the pursuit, are Declared to have been slaughtered : while of the Latins scarcely a man had been killed. An immense booty, the spoils of the Egyptian camp, fell into the hands of the victors ; and the standard and sword of the khalif, being alone reserved from the division of the plunder, were piously suspended by Godfrey over the altar of the Sepulchre at Jeru- salem.* The victory of Ascalon was the last combined ex- ploit of the heroes of the first Crusade. Having ac- complished their vow, and bidden a farewell to their magnanimous leader, most of the surviving princes and chieftakis of the holy war departed for Europe. Boemond was established at Antioch, and Baldwin at Edessa; but of all his compeers, Godfrey could in- duce only the devoted Tancred to share his fortunes ; and no more than three hundred knights, and as many thousand foot soldiers, remained for the defence of Palestine. But the terror of the Christian arms proved, for a season at least, a sufficient protection to the new state ; the Mussulmans were easily expelled from the shores of Lake Genesareth ; and the emirs of Ascalon, Caesarea, and Acre, hastened to deprecate the hostility of the crusading king by submission and tribute. The remainder of Godfrey's brief reign was disturbed only by the intrigues of Daimbert, Arch- * Albertus Aquensis, p. 290-294. Willermus Tyr. p. 763-773. STATE OP THE LATIN KINGDOM. 179 bishop of Pisa, who had been appointed by Pope Pas- cal II.* to succeed Adhemar of Puy as legate of the holy see, and had now been invested with the patri- archate of Jerusalem. As chief, in this double capa- city, of the Latin church in the East, Daimbert auda- ciously claimed the disposal of those acquisitions which the heroes of the Crusade had carved out with their own good swords ; and both Godfrey and Boe- inond condescended to receive from his hands, as vas- sals of the church, the feudal investure of the states of Jerusalem and Antioch. But even this submission did not satisfy the pride and cupidity of Daimbert; he claimed the entire possession of Jerusalem and Jaffa ; and Godfrey, who shrank with superstitious horror from the idea of a contest with the church, was glad to compound with the demand of the rapa- cious prelate,f by the surrender of the whole of the * According to the vulgar belief, Pope Urban II. died of joy on learning the conquest of Jerusalem; but, as Mr. Mills has observed, (Hist, of the Crusades, vol. i. 268,) the decease of that pontiff oc- curred only fifteen days after the capture of the city, and therefore too soon to have been produced by the receipt of the glad intelli- gence in Italy. f Even the Archbishop of Tyre, despite of the zeal for the su- premacy of the church which he may be supposed naturally to have felt, is disgusted by the audacious pretension of the patriarch, and relates the tale with indignant candour. Willermus Tyr. p. 771. The truth is, however, that besides the intense and disinterested de- votion of Godfrey to the church, and which was one of the charac- teristics of the age, he could not dispense with the aid of the Pisans and Genoese, who were wholly under the control of Daimbert, not 180 THE SECOND CRUSADE. latter city, and a portion, including the sepulchre itself, of the sacred capital. The patriarch further extorted the monstrous condition, that the unreserved dominion of all Jerusalem should escheat to his see, in case Godfrey died without issue. [July 11, A. D. 1100.] That event occurred too shortly for the hap- piness of a people whom the good prince governed with paternal benevolence; and to the sorrow not only of the Christian inhabitants of Palestine, but even of their Mussulman tributaries, he breathed his last at the early age of forty years, five days pre- ceding the first anniversary of his reign.* On the death of Godfrey, the barons of the Latin kingdom of Palestine indignantly refused to ratify the promised cession which the patriarch demanded ; and it was resolved that the unimpaired rights of the crown over Jerusalem should . be bestowed with its temporal sovereignty. Tancred desired that the election should fall on his relative Boemond, Prince of Antioch; but that prince had, at this critical junc- ture, been made prisoner by an Armenian chieftain, .whose territories he had unjustly invaded; and a general feeling that some preference was due to the claims of the house of Bouillon, decided the choice of venture upon a quarrel with the Holy See, whose emissary the pa- triarch was. He had no alternative, but to act as he did act, or to bandon his newly acquired kingdom. * Albert, p. 294-299. Guibert. p. 537-554. Will. Tyr. p. 773- 775. STATE JF THE LATIN KINGDOM. 181 Tancred.. the barons in .favour of Baldwin, Prince of Edessa. Resigning his principality to his relative and name- sake, Baldwin du Bourg, the brother of Godfrey, hastened to the Holy City; and, after some fruitless opposition, the patriarch solemnly crowned the new King of Jerusalem in the church of Bethlehem. The memory of the wrongs which he had sustained from Baldwin, inspired Tancred with a more excusable and lasting repugnance to his pretensions ; and refusing to Swear allegiance to an enemy, the Italian chieftain 182 THE SECOND CRUSADE. retired from Jerusalem to Antioch, of which he assumed the regency during the captivity of Boe- mond. But an accommodation was effected by the good offices of the barons; and the king and the re- gent of Antioch were left at leisure to provide for the security of their states against the common Mussul- man enemy.* The character of Baldwin rose with his elevation ; and, on the throne of Jerusalem, he, who during the Crusade had disgusted his compeers by a selfish and treacherous ambition, displayed a dis- interested and magnanimous devotion to his regal duties, which won the respect and love of his people, and proved him no unworthy successor of his brother. During a reign of eighteen years, he not only sus- tained with zeal and ability the arduous office of defending the Latin state from the assaults of the Infidels, but extended its limits and increased its security. In these efforts he was much assisted by the re- mains of several armaments from Europe, which may be regarded as a supplement to the first Crusade. The spirit which had animated that enterprise still burned with undiminished intensity; and, in the course of a few years, Hugh of Vermandois, and Stephen of Chartres the same leaders who had re- tired with little honour from their first expedition the Dukes of Aquitaine and of Bavaria, the Counts of * Albert, p. 300-308. Will. Tyr. p. 775, 776. STATE OF THE LATIN KINGDOM. 183 Burgundy, of Vendome, of Nevers, and of Parma, and of other princes, severally conducted into Asia whole armies of French, Gascon, Flemish, German, and Italian crusaders, whose aggregate has been computed by a modern writer at the astonishing number of little less than half a million of men.* These suc- cessive hosts took the same route, and encountered the same sufferings and disasters, from the dubious faith of the Byzantine court, the incessant attacks of the Turks, and the triple scourge of the sword, famine, and pestilence, which had swept off the myriads of their precursors.-)- But a very small proportion of those who had reached the Bosphorus, survived the horrors of the passage through Asia Minor : yet the remnant which entered Syria still fed the Christian cause in Palestine with a constant supply of veteran warriors; and by their aid, and more especially by * Mills. Hist, of Crusades, vol. i. 290, note. | Both the Counts of Vermandois and of Chartres, who found themselves compelled by the public contempt of a chivalrous age to return to Palestine, perished in the attempt to redeem the fame which they had lost by the former abandonment of their crusading vows. The great Count of Vermandois died at Tarsus of wounds received in battle with the Turks of Cilicia; and the Count of Chartres only survived his second march into Palestine to be taken prisoner and murdered in the frontier warfare by the Egyptian Mus- Bulmans. He had been driven to engage in the supplementary Cru- sade by the high-spirited reproaches of his Countess Adela, daughter of the Norman conqueror, who had sworn to allow him no peace until he should repair his dishonour. He was father to Stephen, the English usurper. Orderic Vital, p. 790-793. Will. Tyr. 781-787. Albert, p. 815-325. Anna Comneua, lib. ix. p. 331. 184 THE SECOND CRUSADE. that of some maritime expeditions from the European shores, many Mussulman invasions were repelled, and many conquests achieved. In the third year of his reign, Baldwin I.,* after reducing Azotus, was enabled to form the siege of Acre; and by the opportune arrival of an armament of seventy Genoese galleys, filled with crusaders, in the following spring, that valuable conquest was completed after a protracted resistance. [A. D. 1104.] Beritus and Sarepta were also reduced and converted into Christian lordships; and Sidon became the next object of assault. With an interval of four years, two fleets of Scandinavian *In the preceding year, the King of Jerusalem had narrowly escaped captivity or death, through a rash assault which he ventured upon the Egyptian invaders of Palestine with a vanguard of only a few hundred horse. His followers were overwhelmed by superiot numbers, and almost all cut to pieces ; and it was on this occasion that the Count of Chartres was taken and murdered. The story of Baldwin's escape presents one of the few gleams of generous senti- ment which relieve the dark picture of a fanatical and savage war- fare. Upon some former occasion, Baldwin had captured a noble Saracen woman, whose flight was arrested by the pangs of childbirth, and, after humanely rendering her every attention, had released her and her infant in safety. The husband was serving in the Mussulman ranks, when Baldwin, after the slaughter of his followers, with difficulty reached a castle, whither the victors immediately pursued him. The place was surrounded, and the capture of the King would have been inevitable, if the grateful Emir had not secretly approached the walla at midnight, announced his design of delivering the preserver of his wife and child, and, at the hazard of his own life, conveyed him in safety from the castle, which Baldwin had scarcely quitted when it was stormed, and the whole garrison put to the sword. Will. Tyr. p. 787, 788. For the details of this romantic incident, see Michaud, yol. i. 279. STATE OF THE LATIN KINGDOM. 185 crusaders, who had performed the long voyage from the Baltic through the Straits of Gibralter to the Syrian shores, [A. D. 1115;] co-operated with the Christian forces of Palestine in the siege of that city; and although the first attempt was repulsed, the second proved successful.* All these acquisitions were incorporated into the kingdom of Jerusalem. But a more important exten- sion of the Christian territories in Syria had mean- while been effected, and added to the number of dis- tant principalities. The veteran Count of Thoulouse prevailed upon some of the French princes whom, in the supplemental Crusade, he had guided with the remains of their forces through Asia Minor, to subju- gate Tortosa, on the coast of Syria, for his -benefit. The nucleus of a new state was thus formed, which Raymond employed his Provengal troops in extend- ing ; but he died before -he could accomplish the re- duction of the city of Tripoli, the object of his ambi- tion, and the destined capital of his Oriental domi- nions. Some years afterward, that conquest was ef- fected for his eldest son Bertrand, by the King of Jerusalem, seconded by all the Latin princes of the East, and a Pisan and Genoese fleet. Tripoli, with its surrounding district and dependencies, was then erected by Baldwin into a county for the house of Thoulouse ; [A. D. 1109 ;] and this new state, which, * Albert, p. 345-365. Will. Tyr. p. 791-805. 186 THE SECOND CRUSADB. although feudally subject to the crown of Jerusalem, partook in extent and dignity rather of the charac- ter of a sovereign principality than of a mere fief, contributed much by its position between the territo- ries of Antioch and Palestine to secure and cement the communication and strength of the Christian power.* But the affairs of Antioch were perpetually embroiled by the restless ambition of its prince. During his captivity in Armenia, the government of that state was ably administered by Tancred; but, after obtaining his release, Boemond by his refusal to acknowledge the feudal superiority of the Eastern Emperor Alexius, involved himself in a new war, in which he was assisted by the Pisans. The Byzantine arms prevailing by land, Boemond sailed to Europe to plot a diversion against the Grecian territories of his ancient enemy ; and, having succeeded by his martial reputation in assembling a large army of crusaders in France and Italy, he landed at Durazzo. Alexius was then glad to conclude an accommodation with him; and the crusading forces pursuing the usual route through the Byzantine territories to Palestine, the Prince of Antioch returned to Italy, where he died in the following year. After his decease, the noble minded Tancred continued to rule the Syrian prin- cipality, until his chivalrous career was appropriately terminated by a mortal wound which he had received * Will. Tyr. p. 791-796. STATE OF THE LATIN KINGDOM. 187 in battle ; and, after some uninteresting revolutions in the government of Antioch, the eldest son of Boe- mond, who bore his name, finally arrived in Asia, and successfully claimed the principality as his inheritance.* Meanwhile, the isolated state of Edessa, surrounded on all sides by Armenian and Turkish enemies, was only preserved from destruction by the heroic valour of its count, Baldwin du Bourg, and his relative, Jos- celyn de Courtenay, a member of a noble French house, which was rendered more illustrious by his exploits in the East than by the subsequent alliance of a collateral branch with the royal blood of France, and a succession of three emperors to the Latin throne of Constantinople^ * Radulphus Cad. p. 327-330. Fulcher. p. 419, 420. Albert, p. 340-354. Will. Tyr. p. 792-807. Anna Cpmnena, lib. xiv. p. 329-419. f The adventure and vicissitudes of fortune which Joscelyn de Courtenay underwent in the East, as well as his chivalrous deeds, might form the groundwork of a tale of romance. He had ori- ginally accompanied the Count of Chartres from Europe in the sup- plementary Crusade, and settled at Edessa with his relation Baldwin, together with whom he was taken prisoner in a defeat which the crusaders sustained from the Emir of Aleppo. After five years' cap- tivity, the friends were released by the stratagem of some Armenian partizans, who, entering the fortress in which they were confined, in the disguise of monks and traders, surprised and slew the Turkish garrison. Baldwin then bestowed a portion of the Edessine territo- ries in sovereignty upon Courtenay. But, upon some jealousy, Jos- celyn was treacherously lured to Edessa by his benefactor, put to the torture, and compelled to resign his domains. Indignant at this treatment, Courtenay withdrew to Jerusalem, where his services against the infidels were rewarded by Baldwin I. with the Tiberiad 188 THE SECOND CRUSADE. By the death of his kinsman, Baldwin I., the Count of Edessa was called to receive the crown of Jerusalem. On the junction of new bands of crusaders from Eu- rope, Baldwin I. had been encouraged to revenge the incessant attacks of the Fatimite khalifs of Egypt, by an invasion of that country; and his career of victory on this expedition was cut short only by the hand of death.* Leaving no issue, he, with his last breath, recommended his cousin Baldwin du Bourg for his successor; [A. D. 1118;] and, after the retreat of the crusading host into Palestine, which was the immediate consequence of the dejection pro- duced by his death, the Latin prelate and barons were induced, by respect for his memory, and the claims of consanguinity, as well as by the advice of Joscelyn de Courtenay, to confirm his choice. Bald- for a fief. Notwithstanding the wrongs by which his patron had cancelled former benefits, Joscelyn generously promoted his elevation to the throne of Jerusalem, and received the county of Edessa from his gratitude. Baldwin a second time falling into the hands of the infidels, after he had become king, Joscelyn obtained his liberation among the consequences of the fall of Tyre. The death of the hero at an advanced age was a worthy termination of his exploits. Being unable to sit on horseback, he was carried in a litter to the field ; the Mussulmans fled at the very report of his presence ; and he died giving thanks to Heaven that the mere fame of his ancient prowess sufficed to scatter the enemies of God. Will. Tyr. p. 853. * At El-Arish, supposed to be the ancient Rbinocorura, a frontier town of Syria and Egypt, in the year 1118, on his return from an expedition against the Soldan of Egypt. On his death-bed he re- quested that his body might be deposited beside that of his brother Godfrey at Jerusalem. STATE OF THE KINGDOM. 189 win du Bourg was therefore elected without opposition to fill the vacant throne, and immediately recompensed the services of Courtenay by resigning to him the pos- session of the county of Edessa. The principal event in the reign of Baldwin II. was the reduction of Tyre. The Doge of Venice, Ordelafo Falieri, who had led the navy of his republic on a martial pilgrimage ^o the coast of Palestine, was induced, after bargaining for the possession and sovereignty of one third of that city,* to co-operate in the undertaking ; and by a siege of five months the difficult conquest was achieved. [A. D. 1124.] Tyre was erected into an archbishopric under the patriarchate of Jerusalem ; and by the cap- ture of a city, which, though fallen from its ancient grandeur, was still the most opulent port on the Sy- rian coast, and had formed the last strong-hold of the Mussulmans in Palestine, the Latin power may be * All the maritime republics of Italy, with their characteristic mercantile cupidity, extorted great commercial advantages as the price of their services to the crusaders. At Acre, the Genoese obtained a street and many privileges in return for the aid of their fleet in the siege, (Will. Tyr. p. 791 ;) the Pisans, by treaty with Tancred, were rewarded in like manner for their services to the state of Antioch, with the property of a street both in that capital and in Laodicea, (Muratori, Antiq. Ital. Med. jEvi, Diss. 30 ;) the Venetians, in ad- dition to their settlement at Tyre, received by stipulation a church and street at Jerusalem ; and throughout the Christian possessions in Palestine and Syria generally, the three republics contended, often with bloodshed, for the right of establishing places of exchange, and enjoying the common or exclusive privileges of trade. Sabellicus, Hist. Venct. dec. i. lib. vi. Marini, Storia Civ. e Polit. del. Com* mercio de' Vcnezidni, vol. iii. lib. i. cap 4-6, &c. 190 THE SECOND CRUSADE. Ruins of Tyre, said to have attained its greatest consolidation and security.* When the kingdom of Jerusalem had thus acquired its utmost extent, it embraced all the country of Pa- lestine between the sea-coast and the deserts of Ara- bia, from the city of Beritus on the north to the fron- tiers of Egypt on the south : forming a territory about sixty league's in length and thirty in breadth; and exclusive of the county of Tripoli, which stretched * Albert, p. 365-377. Fulcher. p. 423-440. Will. Tyr. p. 805- 846, passim. STATE OF THE LATIN KINGDOM. 191 northward from Beritus to the borders of the Anti- ochan principality. The whole territory, both of the kingdom and county, was occupied by the warriors of the cross, upon the strictest principles of a feudal set- tlement, with all the subdivisions and conditions of tenure which belonged to that martial polity. Its adoption was suggested* not more by every feeling and custom of the age which the conquerors had * The institution of the feudal code of Jerusalem dates from the first year of the Latin conquest, and its compilation was directed by Godfrey de Bouillon himself; who, with the advice of the patriarch and barons, appointed several commissioners among the crusaders most learned in the feudal statutes and customs of Europe to frame a body of similar laws for the new kingdom. Their digest was so- lemnly accepted in a general assembly of prelates and barons ; and, under the title of the Assises de Jerusalem, became thenceforth the recognized code of the Latin state. The original instrument, which was deposited in the Holy Sepulchre, and revised and considerably enlarged by the legislation of succeeding reigns, is said to have been lost at the capture of Jerusalem by Saladin ; but, during the last agony of the expiring state, the provisions of the code, which had been preserved by traditionary and customary authority, were again collected in a written form, A. D. 1250, by Jean d'Ibelin, Count of Jafik, one of the four great barons of the kingdom ; and a second and final revision was prepared in Cyprus, A. D. 1369, by sixteen commissioners, for the use of the Latin kingdom in that island. From a MS. of this Cypriot version, in the Vatican library, was pub- lished at Paris, A. D. 1690, by Thaumassiere, the edition of the Assist de Jerusalem, to which we are indebted for our acquaintance with this " precious monument," as a great writer has justly termed it, "of feudal jurisprudence." But for the history of the code, see Assises. de Jerusalem apud Thaumassiere, Preface. Consult also Gibbon, xi. 91-98 for a summary, and L'Esprit des Croisades, IT. 484. 192 THE SECOND CRUSADE. brought with them from Europe, than by the obvious necessity of such a state of perpetual preparation fof the public defence against the incessant assaults of their infidel enemies ; and it is almost needless to repeat, that, under no other form of settlement, pro- bably, could the Latin conquests have been preserved by the scanty array of their resident defenders in so unremitting a warfare with the myriads of Turkish and Egyptian Mussulmans. At its highest computation, indeed, the feudal force of the kingdom of Jerusalem would appear very inadequate to its protection. 3?he four great fiefs of Jaffa, Galilee, Csesarea, and Tripoli, with the royal cities of Jerusalem, Tyre, Acre, and Naplousa, and the other lordships in chief of inferior extent, which composed the whole kingdom, owed and could furnish the services of no more than two thou- sand five hundred knights or mounted men-at-arms ; and their followers, with the contingent of the eccle- siastical and commercial communities, all of which were bound to render aid to the king on lower feudal tenures than the knights' fees, constituted a militia, for the greater part, probably, of archers on foot, not exceeding twelve thousand in number.* It may be * Gibbon (ch. Iviii.) has fallen into an error in estimating the number of knights' fees in the whole kingdom of Jerusalem, exclu- eive of Tripoli, as six hundred and sixty-six, and appears to have ecufounded the contingent of the four royal cities, which alone, ac- cording to the Assises, furnished that number, with the total knightly array of the realm. He cites Sanutus, indeed, (Seereta Fidelium STATE OF THE LATIN KINGDOM. 193 inferred that the whole population of martial colonists from Europe could scarcely supply even this provi- sion, scanty as it was, for the public defence ; and the policy or the domestic wants of the conquerors encou- raged the settlement in Palestine of the native Chris- tians of Syria and Armenia, and even of Mussulman tributaries for the cultivation of the soil and the sup- ply of mechanical labour. From the commingling of blood between the crusaders and all these people in the enfeebling climate of the East, was produced a spurious and effeminate race, contemptuously desig- nated by the writers of their age as Pullani, or Pou- lains, who had so utterly degenerated from the valour of their European fathers, as to fill the land without contributing to the strength of the state.* Crucis, lib. iii.) as stating the number of knights' fees in each of the great baronies of Jaffa, Galilee, and Caesarea, at one hundred oiily, but the very superior authority of the rfssises rates them expressly at five hundred each. Assises, c. 324331. * Vide Du Caage, Gloss, v. Pullani. It ' 194 THE SECOND CRUSADE. SECTION H. ORIGIN OF THE ORDERS OF RELIGIOUS CHIVALRY. HE feudal army of the kingdom of Jerusalem, and the casual reinforcement of new crusaders from Europe, formed not the only defences of Palestine. The union of fanatical and martial ardour gave birth to two famous orders of religious chivalry, which were specially enrolled under- the banners of the Cross; and the Christian cause in the East was long sustained by the emulous valour, though not unfrequently injured by the less worthy rivalry, of the Knights of the hospital of St. John and of the Temple of Solomon. The origin of both these re- markable institutions, which rose to celebrity by ORDERS OF RELIGIOUS CHIVALRY. 195 martial achievement, may be traced to purposes simply of pious and practical benevolence. Long before the era of the Crusades, some Italian merchants purchased a license from the Mussulman rulers of Jerusalem to found in that city an hospital, together with a chapel, which they dedicated to St. John the Eleemosynary a canonized patriarch of Alexandria for the relief and wayfaring entertainment of sick and poor pilgrims. By the alms of the wealthier Chris- tian visitants of the Sepulchre, and by charitable con- tributions which the merchants of Amalfi zealously collected in Italy, and as religiously transmitted to Jerusalem, the establishment was supported ; and its duties were performed by a few Benedictine monks, with the aid of such lay brethren among the European pilgrims as were induced to extend their penitential vows to a protracted residence in the Holy Land.* Perhaps through the habitual respect of the Mohammedan mind for charitable foundations, the Hospital of St. John might escape, but certainly it was suffered to outlive, the storms of Egyptian and Turkish persecution; and when Jerusalem fell into the hands of the crusaders, the house was joyfully opened for the reception and cure of the wounded warriors. The pious Godfrey arid his companions were edified by the active and self-denying benevo- lence of the brethren of the hospital, who not only de- *Will.Tyr.p.934, 935. 196 THE SECOND CRUSADE. voted themselves to the care of the suffering, but were contented with the coarsest fare, while their patients were supplied with bread of the purest flour. By the grateful munificence of Godfrey himself, the hospital was endowed with an estate in Brabant, its first foreign possessions ; many of the -crusaders, from religious motives, embraced its charitable service; and the society speedily acquired so much respect and importance, that the lay-members, separating from the monks of the Chapel of St. John the Almo- ner, formed themselves into a distinct community, assumed a religious habit, a long black mantle with a white cross of eight points on the left breast and placed their hospital under the higher patronage of St. John the Baptist. [A. D. 1113.] By the patriarch of Jerusalem, their triple monastic vows of obedience, chastity, and poverty, were accepted; and a bull of Pope Paschal II. confirmed the institution, received the fraternity under the special protection of the Holy See, and invested it with many valuable privi- leges.* The next transition of the Order to a military cha- racter is less accurately recorded; but the change may be referred in general terms to the reign of Bald- win II.: since the services in arms of its brethren under that prince are acknowledged in a papal bull.f * See the Statutes of the Order in Vertot, Hist, des Chevaliers de St. Jean de Jerusalem. Appendix. f Ibid. ORDERS OF RELIGIOUS CHIVALRY. 197 In fact, the constant jeopardy- in which the Latin State was placed by the assaults of the Infidels, ad- mitted, as we have seen, of no exemption to any com- munity in the kingdom, whether lay or ecclesiastical, from actively contributing to the public defence ; and the martial habits and feelings of the crusaders of knightly rank who had enrolled themselves in the fraternity of the Hospital, would naturally suggest the honourable preference of a personal to a deputed service. The revenues of the Order, by the increase of its endowments, were already far more than suf- ficient to supply the charitable uses of the Hospital; and it was magnanimously resolved to devote the surplus to the defence of the state. 'The former soldiers of the Cross resumed their military, without discarding their religious garb and profession; the union of chivalric and religious sentiment, however discordant in modern ideas, was equally congenial to the spirit of the age, and proper to the great cause of the Crusades; and thenceforth the banner and the battle-cry of the knights of St. John were seen and heard foremost and loudest in every encounter with the Paynim enemy. The government of the Order was vested in the grand-master' and general council of the knights, all of whom were required to be of noble birth ; a distinct body of regular clergy was provided for the offices of religion ; and a third and inferior class of sergeants, or serving brethren, both swelled the martial array of the knightly fraternity, and dis- 198 THE SECOND CRUSADE. Grand-Master of the Knights of Malta. charged the civil duties of the hospital.* The re- nown which the order acquired in the fields of Pales- tine soon attracted the nobility from all parts of Europe to its standard ; admiration of both its pious and chivalric purposes multiplied, throughout the West, endowments of land and donations of money; * Vertot ubi suprd. ORDERS OF RELIGIOUS CHIVALRY. 199 Grand-Marshal of the Knightt of Malta. and the rents of nineteen thousand farms, adminis- tered by preceptories or commanderies, as the prin- cipal houses were termed, which the knights esta- blished in every Christian country, supplied a per- petual revenue to their hospital in Palestine, and served to maintain its regular military force.* * Matthew Paris, Hist. Major, p. 544. 200 THE SECOND CRUSADE. When the Christians were driven from Palestine, the knights of St. John settled on the island of Cyprus, whence they were soon driven by the Turks. They then went to the Island of Rhodes. [1310.] From thence they were driven to Malta, which was given to them by Charles V. in 1530. Their position on this island has been retained to the present day, and they bear the name of Knights of Malta. The institution of the Order of the Temple of Solo- mon was of later date than the adoption of a military character by the friars of St. John; [A. D. 1118 ;] and the Templars in their pristine state of humility and poverty owed more obligations to the Hospitallers, by whom they were originally fed and clothed, than their successors, in the days of their pride and power, cared to acknowledge or strove to repay. The ori- ginal design of their association differed from that of the Hospital, in having united from the outset the martial with a charitable profession. Even after the conquest of the Holy Land by the crusaders, the roads to Jerusalem from the ports and northern frontiers oT Palestine continued to be infested by bands of Turks, who indulged at once their thirst of plunder and their hatred of the Christian name, by the robbery and murder of the numerous defenceless pilgrims from Europe. The dangers which beset these poor votaries to the shrine of the Holy Sepulchre 202 THE SECOND CRUSADE, from the cruelty of the Infidels, roused the pious com. passion and chivalric indignation of Geoffrey de St. Aldemar, Hugh de Payens, and other French knights in Palestine, who bound themselves mutually by oath to devote their lives to the relief and safe conduct of all pilgrims. As their association partook of a re- ligious character, they followed the example of the fraternity of the Hospital by assuming the monastic vows and garb; and when Baldwin I. marked his ap- probation of their purpose by assigning them part of his own palace for a residence at Jerusalem, the title which they adopted of the poor soldiery of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, was suggested by the con- tiguity of their quarters to the site of that sacred edifice. The maintenance which they at first received from the charity of the Hospital of St. John was soon more independently provided by the respect which was won for their order throughout Christendom through the grateful report of the pilgrims; with the increase of ^their means and numbers they aspired to extend their humbler service of guarding the roads of Palestine to the more glorious adventure of offensive warfare against the Infidels; and, thenceforth, in wealth, privileges, and power, and in heroic enter- prise, the history of their rise differs little from that of the Hospitallers. The constitution of the two orders was similar; and the number of preceptories and estates possessed by the Templars in every king- 204 THE SECOND CRUSADE. dom of Europe,* were immense sources of influence and opulence, second only in degree to those of the elder fraternity.^ But in honourable estimation and martial renown, no superiority could with justice be claimed by either order; and admission into the ranks of both _was sought with equal avidity by the flower of the European chivalry. In externals, the knights of the Temple were distinguished from their rivals by their use of a long white cloak or mantle, with a straight red cross on the left breast. The banner and seal of the order in the maturity of its splendour also bore a cross gules in a field argent : for its earlier and well-known device, presenting the singular emblem of two men on one horse, although intended by the pious humility of its founders to com- memorate the original poverty of v the brotherhood, was not long permitted to survive the condition which it had expressed.! * In England, both orders early acquired large possessions. The principal preceptory of each was established in London : that of the Hospitallers at Clerkcuwell, and of the Templars in Holborn, whence it was removed into Fleet Street. Stow, lib. iv. 62. Dudgale, Origines Jurid. c. 57. f Both Hospitallers and Templars were prohibited from possessing any private property; but their vow of poverty, by a convenient interpretation, was only personal, and did not extend to their enjoy> ing in common the enormous wealth of their orders. t For the rise of the Order of Templars, see passim, the twelfth book of William of Tyre. Also Knyghton, p. 2382, Brompton, p. 1008, and Matt. Paris (Hist. Minor.') p. 419, &c. FALL OF EDESSA. 205 SECTION FALL OF EDESSA. THE PREACHING OF THE SECOND CRUSADE. URING the reign of Bald- 1, win II. the safety and ex- ij, tension of the kingdom of Palestine were largely in- | debted to the prowess of the knights of the Hospital and Temple; and before the decease of that mo- narch, the two orders had become the most powerful champions of the Latin 206 THE SECOND CRUSADE. power. As Baldwin II. had no sons, he obtained the consent of his nobles and prelates to nominate, as his successor, Foulques, Count of Anjou, whom he had married to his eldest daughter Melisinda. [A. D.*1131.] In his youth, Foulques had visited Palestine as a cru- sader, at the head of one hundred knights and men-at- arms, and had left so favourable an opinion of his chi- valric qualities on the mind of Baldwin that, nine years afterward, when he had become a widower, the king invited him from France to receive the hand of the princess. Dazzled by the prospect of a royal alliance and a matrimonial crown, the Count aban- doned his extensive French fiefs to his son;* and on his arrival in the Holy Land, his nuptials with Me- lisinda were solemnized, and he was immediately acknowledged as the heir to the throne. The death of Baldwin, which shortly ensued, gave him the undis- * That son was Geoffrey Plantagenet, the husband of the Empress Matilda, and father "of Henry II. It is strange that William of Tyre, the eulogist of Foulques, should represent him as sixty years of age when he arrived in Palestine for the second time to celebrate his nuptials with Melisinda; for the learned Benedictine authors of Ij 'Art de verifier les Dates (Article, Comtes d' Anjou) prove that he was born only A. D. 1092; and his reign in Palestine commenced A. D. 1131. His family had long been famous for their passion of making pilgrimages to the Holy Land; and one of them, who travelled thither before the era of the Crusades, having bound hia servants by oath to do whatsoever he should require, compelled them publiily to scourge his naked back before the altar of the Sepulchre, while in penitential cries he implored the pardon of Heaven for hia gins. Malnisbury, p. 307 FALL OF EDESSA. 207 puted possession of the crown; and, during a reign of thirteen years, Foulques, without performing any bril- liant achievement, sufficiently emulated the courage and virtues of his predecessors in the defence and government of the kingdom. His decease left the state in the hands of his widow Melisinda, and their son Baldwin III., then only thirteen years old, who were crowned together; and it was soon after the martial sceptre of the house of Bouillon had thus de- volved upon a woman and a minor, [A. D. 1144,] that the Christian power in the East received the first dis- astrous shock from the Mussulman arms. Since the death of Joscelyn de Courtenay, the defence of the principality of Edessa had been feebly sustained by his son, who inherited neither his valour nor ability. But its safety was more fatally compromised by the selfish indifference or still more criminal treachery of the princes of Antioch, who coolly witnessed the dan- ger of a state which, by its position beyond the Euphrates, formed the great advanced post of the Latin settlements in Syria; and which, therefore, every motive of honour and policy should have im. polled them to succour. Profiting by the disunion of the Christians, Zenghi, the Turkish Emir of Mosul or Aleppo, whose martial activity and skill had already rendered his power formidable during the life of Joscelyn de Courtenay, suddenly entered the State of Edessa with an overwhelming force ; laid siege to its capita] ; and, before the levies of the kingdom of 208 THE SECOND CRUSADE. Jerusalem could march to its relief, took the city by storm.* The intelligence of the fall of Edessa startled the Christian residents in Palestine from lethargic indif- ference to an alarming discovery of the renovation of the Turkish power on that frontier; [A. D. 1145 ;] and the first burst of shame and consternation excited among the guardians of the Holy Land by the dis- graceful loss and impending danger, was naturally fol- lowed by earnest solicitations for succour from Europe. Throughout every country of Western Christendom, the appeal was received with a general enthusiasm little inferior to that which, half a century before, had stimulated the great design of the first Crusade. The martial and religious feelings of Europe were provoked to indignation by the report of the triumph of the infidels; and this universal spirit was already* pre- pared for a second mighty effort of fanaticism, when it was roused into action by the master mind of the age. [1146.] The report of the calamity which had befallen, and of the increasing perils which threat- ened, the Christian cause in Palestine, affected his ardent temper with powerful emptions of religious zeal ; and his resolution to preach a new Crusade was supported by the private friendship and the public wishes of Pope Eugenius III., as well as by the re- f Will. Tyr. p. 844-893. For the exploits of Zenghi, sec also De Quignes, Hitf. Gin. des fluns, vol. ii. lib. xiii., and the Arabic writers therein abridged. FALL OP EDESSA. 209 spect and influence which his virtues and talents had deservedly acquired throughout Europe. Not less than the distinguished part which he had already filled in ecclesiastical affairs, do the nobility of his birth, the uniform sanctity of his life, and the really great attainments of his genius and learning, place him at an immeasurable height of personal dig- nity above the obscure and ignorant fanatic who had first lighted up the flame which he now rekindled. But St. Bernard could only emulate the successful mission, though he might slight the memory,* of the Hermit Peter; the impassioned oratory of the pro- found theologian could hot produce more astonishing results than the rude eloquence of the Solitary of Amiens ; and, in the relation of its effects, the preach- ing of the second Crusade forms but a copy of that of the first. Louis VII. of France, by his firmness in repressing the rebellious feuds of his turbulent vassals, had se- curely established the royal authority ; and the tran- quil condition of his kingdom left him at liberty to gratify, in a foreign and sacred enterprise, the thir,t of glorious adventure natural to a young and success- * IH one of his extant epistles, St. Bernard speaks contemptu- ously of his predecessor the Hermit, as vir quidam, Pctrus nomine, cujus 'et vos, (rii fallor^) ssepe mentionem audistis, &c.; (a certain man, by name Peter, of whom, if I mistake not, ye have often heard men- tion made ;) and attributes to his misconduct the destruction of the people in the first Crusade. Opera Sancti Bcrnardi, Ep. 363. Ed Mabillon, Venet. A. D. 1750. 14 210 THE SECOND CRUSADE. ful monarch. But even the strong desire of chival- rous achievement was secondary in the mind of this religious prince to motives of piety, however mis- taken ; and feelings of deeply cherished remorse for his involuntary share in the horrible catastrophe at Vitry, and of less reasonable compunction for a long disregard of the papal anathemas, powerfully impelled Louis to offer that atonement, which a false supersti- tion deemed most acceptable to Heaven, by embarking in the great warfare against the infidel assailants of the Holy Land. When, therefore, St. Bernard an- nounced his mission, it was eagerly promoted by the French king ; and, in the great assembly of his nobles and people which he convoked at Vezelay, the same spectacle was repeated, which had been witnessed at the Council of Clermont before the first Crusade. From the innumerable multitudes which filled the plain and covered the neighbouring heights of Vezelay to their summit, cries of " The cross, the cross ! it is the will of God !" rent the air and interrupted the vehement appeal of the preacher ; and, before the assembly broke up, Louis himself, with his queen, the too famous Eleanor of Aquitaine, and a host of the nobility, and knighthood of his realm, had been signed with the sacred emblem of their vows. From France, St. Bernard with indefatigable zeal proceeded into Germany; [March 31, 1146;] and his course from the Rhine to the Danube, and from the recesses of the Swiss mountains to the plains of Northern Italy, was FALL OF EDESSA. 211 Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. everywhere signalized by the same successful exertions of his fervid zeal and impetuous eloquence. At his soul-stirring exhortations, the great feudatory princes of Bavaria, Bohemia, Carinthia, Piedmont, and Styria, with a crowd of inferior chieftains, assumed the cross ; and the conversion of the Emperor Conrad III., aftei some struggle between the sense of political interest and of religious duty, completed the triumph of the pious orator.* * Odo de D'agolo, (apud Bouquet, Recueil des Hist. Francois,) vol. xii. 91-93. Otto Frisingensis, (apud Muratori, Script. Rer. Ital.') vol vi. c. .37. These two writers, the first a Frenchman, and the latter a German, who himself accompanied the emperor Conrad to Palestine, form together with the anonymous author of the 212 THE SECOND CRUSADE. The personal motives of St. Bernard were disinte- rested, pure, and elevated ; his zeal was equally free from all alloy of gross fanaticism, selfish ambition, or worldly vanity ; and its mistaken direction was the only error which he shared with the most virtuous and devout of his contemporaries. But the intrinsic greatness of his mind is not the less perceptible through this fatal delusion ; and in nothing is his superiority to the spirit of the age in which he lived more conspicuous, than in the wisdom and humanity which tempered his enthusiasm. The first of these qualities was signally -displayed in his refusal to ac- cept the command of the intended expedition to the Holy Land, as a station which he felt and confessed his own unfitness to fill from want of martial expe- rience and bodily health. His humane exertions to avert from the Jews in France a repetition of the hor- rid persecution which their fathers had suffered from the fanaticism of the first crusaders, attest his libe- rality, and were extended to the protection of that unhappy people, with earnest and consistent benevo- lence, in Germany and other countries. He sternly silenced, by the exertion of his delegated authority from the pope, the preaching of a fanatical German monk, who had endeavoured to provoke a general massacre df the Jews; and his injunctions in circular Gesia Ludovici Regis VII. (in Duchesne, vol. iv.) our chief con- temporary authorities for the transactions of their respective country- men in the second Crusade. FALL OF EDESSA. 213 letters to the crusaders to abstain equally from the murder and spoliation of an unoffending people, breathe the genuine Christian precepts of mercy and justice. The doctrines thus inculcated, indeed, were so new to his age, that fully to appreciate the virtu- ous and truly pious efforts of St. Bernard in his labour of charity, they must be contrasted with the mon- strous opinion then prevalent among all orders of society, that to shed the blood and despoil the wealth of infidels was an allowable vengeance, and even a positive duty, against the enemies of God. The prac- tical application of this inhuman and impious belief to the plunder and slaughter of a rich, usurious, and defenceless race, offered too tempting a prey to the cupidity of the bigoted populace and the yet more malignant instigation of numerous debtors, to be wholly averted even by the eloquent and powerful denunciations of the preacher whose voice had awakened all Europe to arms. Notwithstanding the anathemas of St. Bernard, the Jews were in many places robbed and murdered ; and in Germany espe- cially they were saved from extermination only by the imperial protection.* * Pfeffel, Hist. d'Allemagne, vol. i. 309. 214 THE SECOND CRUSADE. SECTION IV. LOUIS VII. AND CONRAD III. IN PALESTINE. HE presence of Louis V1L and of the Emperor Conrad III. the first great monarchs of the West who had as- sumed the cross seemed to invest the great enterprise in which they had engaged with a dignity superior even to that of the former Cru- sade. The armies which the two sovereigns prepared to lead to the relief of Palestine comprised the na- tional chivalry of France and Germany, with nume- rous auxiliaries from England* and Italy ; and, if the * The recent cessation of the civil wars of Stephen's reign in- duced many of the English nobility to assume the cross, and among LOUIS VII. AND CONRAD III. 215 statements of contemporary writers may be credited, these united forces equalled in number the prodigious hosts of the first holy war. The emperor and the king were each at the head of seventy thousand mailed cavalry; their heavily armed infantry exceeded two hundred and fifty thousand ; and the clergy, other defenceless pilgrims, camp-followers, women, and chil- dren, might swell the aggregate of the crusading mul- titudes to nearly a million of souls.* From Ratisbon and Mayence, their places of rendezvous, both the German and French armies successively pursued the same route through Hungary and Bulgaria to Con- stantinople, which had been traversed by their prede- cessors in the first Crusade. Manuel Comnenus, grandson of Alexius, was now on the Byzantine throne ; but the timid and treacherous policy of that court was unchangeable ; and, in the apparent friend- ship and secret hostility with which the Greek empe- ror alternately assisted and harassed the march of the crusaders, he faithfully copied the example of his ancestor. He engaged by treaty that they should be received hospitably, and supplied with provisions upon equitable terms; yet, in the bread which hia them Roger de Mowbray and William de Warenne. Ricardus Ha- gulst. p. 275, 276. Huntingdon, p. 394, also says that multi de yente Anglorum, (many Englishmen,) accompanied the French host; and his account is curiously confirmed by the Byzantine chronicler Cinnamus, p. 29. * Will. Tyr. p. 902. Cinnamus, p. 31, and the authorities cited in Du Cange, (ad Cinnamum.) 216 THE SECOND CRUSADE. subjects sold to them, poisonous ingredients were fre- quently mingled ; base coin was issued expressly from the imperial mint to defraud the strangers in the interchange of trade ; the sick whom the crusading hosts were obliged to leave behind on their march were often murdered; their stragglers were cut off; the bridges on their route were broken down ; their columns were galled, with flights of arrows from am- bush in every forest; and all the impediments of a desultory though unavowed warfare were cowardly opposed to their progress. When, therefore, the Ger- man army thus harassed arrived before the walls of Constantinople, Conrad, though he abstained from hos- tile retaliation, indignantly refused an interview with the Greek emperor, and, crossing the Bosphorus, pur- sued his march through Asia Minor. But the French king, on his arrival at the Byzantine capital, accepted the apologies and entertainment of Manuel, and suf- fered himself to be beguiled by the blandishments of his perfidious host, until he was roused from inaction by the appalling intelligence of the destruction of the German army.* In the march through Asia Minor, the Emperor Conrad was betrayed by his Greek guides into the hands of the Sultan of Iconium, who had assembled immense hordes of Turcomans to oppose his passage. While purposely misled into the most dangerous * Will. Tyr. p. 901-903. Cinnamus, p. 30-32. LOUIS VII. AND CONRAD III. 217 Conrad III. mountain passes of'Lycaonia, the Germans were sud- denly attacked on all sides; and the heavily armed cavalry were unable either to reach their more lightly equipped assailants on the heights, or to pro- tect the defenceless crowd of footmen from the Turkish arrows. By a desperate effort Conrad suc- ceeded, indeed, with a portion of his horse, in cutting a retreat through the Mussulman hordes : but he was compelled to abandon the infantry and unarmed t pilgrims to their fate ; and nine-tenths of the whole German host are computed to have been destroyed by the shafts and cimeters of the infidels, or to have perished of hunger and thirst in this calamitous ex- pedition. When Conrad, with the remnant of his followers, had effected his retreat to Nice, where the French king, after crossing the Bosphorus, had esta- 218 THE SECOND CRUSADE. Wished his camp, no doubt was left of the fou treachery of Manuel, who had not only delayed the advance of Louis by false reports of the success of his Germajn confederates, but was also found to have maintained an intelligence with the Sultan of Iconium. As the Greek emperor is charged with this guilt, not merely by the Latin writers, but on the contemporary testimony of one of his own subjects,* some praise is due to the magnanimous or prudent forbearance which induced the crusading monarchs to sacrifice every natural impulse of vengeance, to the fulfilment of the sacred objects of their enterprise. Now advancing in concert through Asia Minor, but turning aside from the former route of the crusaders, to the sea-coast of Lydia, Conrad and Louis reached Ephesus with their forces; but there the destitution of equipments for a longer march, to which his Germans had been re- duced by their defeat, obliged Conrad to transport them by sea to Palestine; and the French army alone resumed its route by land. On the banks of the Meander, Louis and his chivalry encountered and overthrew the Turkish hosts with so tremendous a slaughter, that piles of Mussulman bones in the next age still whitened the scene of destruction. But the confidence inspired by this victory served only to lure on the negligent crusader's to their ruin. In their continued march, the vanguard had already passed * Nicetas, p. 33. LOUIS VII. AND CONRAD III. 219 HI Hl'a Louis VII. defending himself against the Turks. the mountains between Pisidia and Phrygia, when the rereward commanded by Louis in person, while en- tangled in the defiles, was suddenly assailed by innu- merable swarms of Turks, who, covering the sur- rounding precipices, from thence, with fragments of rock, crushed and hurled whole squadrons of the French gens-d'armerie into the yawning gulfs below. The surprise was so complete and dreadful, that the whole rearguard was routed and destroyed before order could be restored; and the king himself, after performing prodigies of valour, was saved only, under favour of the darkness, by climbing a tree, and with difficulty escaped, almost unattended, to the carnp of the vanguard. After this disaster, the hope of pene 220 THE SECOND CRUSADE. trating into Syria by land was abandoned ; the sea- coast was again sought; and the army reached the port of Attalia in Pamphylia. There, after incurring new horrors and losses from famine and disease, the king sucee'eded in procuring some Greek vessels to transport his bands of nobles and knights to Antioch : but he was relunctantly compelled, by the want of sufficient shipping, to abandon the v inferior crowd of infantry and pilgrims on the shore. After his de- parture, the guard which he had left for their pro- tection, proved insufficient to resist the incessant attacks of the Turks; the people of Attalia not only shut the gates of the city against them, but mas- sacred the defenceless sick and wounded; and the whole wretched multitude perished, either by the swords of the infidels, or the more unnatural cruelty of the perfidious Greeks.* When the German emperor and the French king had at last reached the shores of Palestine by sea, even the shattered remnants of their hosts supplied so considerable a reinforcement to the Christian power in Palestine, that in a general council at Acre, whither the two monarchs repaired to meet the king of Jeru- salem and his barons, it was resolved to undertake some enterprise worthy of the imperial and royal dig nity. But though the recovery of the principality of Edessa had formed the original design of the Crusade,, * Will. Tyr p. 903-006. Gesta Ludovici, p. 395 400 Nicetas, n 83-37. LOUIS VII. AND CONRAD VII. 223 that object was now either abandoned from conviction of the difficulties attending so distant an expedition; or postponed to more pressing considerations of imme- diate danger or local interest. The vicinity of Damascus rendered the continued possession of that important place by the infidels more perilous to the safety of the Latin kingdom than the loss of the remoter city of Edessa; and the three sovereigns of 222 THE SECOND CRUSADE. Germany, France, and Jerusalem, led their national shivalry and the Knights of St. John and the Temple, to the siege of that great stronghold of the Turkish power in Syria. But Damascus was strongly for- tified and skilfully defended; the valour of the Chris- tians was misdirected by ignorance, or paralyzed by discord and treason; and, after a miserable failure, variously attributed to all these causes, the crusading army withdrew from the walls, and retreated in shame and dishonour to Jerusalem. Thence, in de- spair of the efficacy of further exertions, Conrad and Louis, with an interval of a year between their several departures, both returned to Europe with the broken array of the chivalry ; and the Christian cause in Palestine was again deserted, save by the scanty bands but enduring courage of its habitual defenders.* Such was the abortive issue of the second Crusade. The mightiest efforts of the congregated force of Eu- rope had been exhausted in Asia Minor; [A. D. 1149;] and the presence of the greatest monarchs of Christen- dom in Palestine had served only to expose the weak- ness of their vaunted power to the eyes of the tri- umphant infidels. The sacrifice of the myriads of their followers had absolutely failed to achieve a sin- gle advantage for the cause in which two great armies had perished ; and, after the fruitless hopes of succour which had been excited by their approach, and, disap- * Will. Tyr. p. 906-914. Gesta Ludovid, p. 410-409. Otto Frig. . 40-47, &c. LOUIS VII. AND CONRAD III. 223 pointed by their failure, the guardians of the Holy Sepulchre were abandoned to sustain the tempest of Mussulman warfare with diminished confidence and increasing danger. Meanwhile, from the distant banks of the Euphrates, the gathering power which had already swept away the Christian bulwark of Edessa, and was destined eventually to overwhelm the Latin kingdom of Palestine, was continually enlarged with portentous vigour. Before the death of Zenghi, the victorious Emir or Atabec of Aleppo, his dominions had already swelled into a considerable empire ; and, by its still further extension under his son, the great Noureddin, who added the sovereignty of Damascus to that of Aleppo, and consolidated the Mussulman power in Syria under a single ruler, the frontiers of the Latin states became completely enveloped by th conquests of this formidable enemy. 224 THE THIRD CRUSADE. An Arab Encampment. CHAPTER HI. & ft ft i r & r u s a b e. SECTION I. THE RISE OF SALADIN. OTWITHSTANDllf'3 the failure of the seco? id Crusade, and the increi s- , ing poAver ot the Turl s, Baldwin III., support ,-d by the feudal array of Lis kingdom, and the knights of the military orders, continued throughout the remainder of his reign to uphold the Christian RISE OF SALADIN. . 225 valise in Palestine with courage and energy. In order to protect the northern frontiers of the Latin states from the designs of Noureddin, the king stationed himself ut Antioch ; and, though unable to save the remnant of the Edessene territory, he succeeded in rescuing the Christian garrisons and inhabitants under a safe escort from the impending horrors of Turkish slavery. Being recalled from Antioch to repel a new invasion, in which the troops of Noureddin from Da- mascus had penetrated to the gates of Jerusalem, he came up with the infidels, who had already been com- pelled to retreat by the bravery of the military Or- ders ; and inflicted on them, near Jericho, so total a defeat that the whole Turkish host was either slaugh- tered or drowned in the waters of the Jordan. On the southern frontiers of Palestine, the arms of the Christian prince were subsequently still more success- ful against the Egyptian Mussulmans ; and his reduc- tion of the important city of Ascalon, after an obstinate siege, added a new possession and bulwark to the king- dom of Jerusalem. [A. D. 1153.] By these exploits, and by the generous spirit with which he devoted his last years to the active defence of his people, Baldwin re- deemed the reproach of some irregularities of personal conduct which had clouded his youth ; without any high degree of ability, his character was graced by many noble and chivalric qualities;* and he died respected * Will. Tyr. p 915-954. De Guignes, lib. xiii. 15 226 THE THIRD CRUSADE. even by his infidel enemies, and deeply lamented by his own subjects. As he left no children, he was succeeded by his brother Almeric, whose equal medi- ocrity of talent was unrelieved by the same virtues, and whose temper presented an unpleasing contrast of avarice and overweening ambition. [A. D. 1162.] By these passions, the new king, disregarding the pressure of nearer and more imminent danger from the power of Noureddin, was tempted to engage in repeated projects for the distant conquest of Egypt, which, as fruitlessly exhausting the strength of the Christian kingdom, may be numbered among the accelerating causes of its downfall. Obeying the usual vicissitudes of the Saracer dynasties, the Fatimite Khalifs of Egypt had for many generations sunken into abject slavery to their own vizirs; and at the period before us, the supreme authority in the seraglio of Cairo was disputed be- tween two powerful rivals, Shawer and Dargham. The latter prevailing, Shawer fled to the court of Noureddin; and that prince, glad of any occasion for extending his influence, openly protected the fugitive. and despatched a body of troops under Shiracouch, the most famous of his Turcoman generals, into Egypt, tc reinstate him in the vizirship. The expedition was successful; Dargham was slain in battle; but Shawer, in nominally recovering his power over the helpless Khalif of Egypt, found that he was only himself a slave to the lieutenant of Noureddin. To rid himself RISE OF SALADIN. 227 of this new yoke, the Egyptian vizir had recourse to the king of Jerusalem ; arid Almeric, who had already engaged in hostilities to exact a tribute from Egypt, eagerly received his overtures. The power of Nou- reddin was far superior to that of the Frankish monarch: but the proximity of Palestine to Egypt enabled the Christian forces to reach Cairo by a direct march from their own frontiers; while from Damascus the interposition of the Latin states would oblige the Turkish cavalry to make a long circuit over the burn- ing deserts of Arabia. This advantage of situation made it easy for the king of Jerusalem, on the invi- tation of Shawer, to march an army into Egypt, and to besiege Shiracouch in Pelusium, before Noureddin was able to succour his lieutenant. After a long and gallant defence, the Turkish general was compelled to capitulate: but Noureddin meanwhile had made a formidable diversion by pouring his troops into the territory of Antioch; and Almeric, thus prevented from reaping the fruits of his victory, returned by rapid marches to the defence of the Latin state. At his approach, Noureddin made an artful demonstration of retiring: but his retreat was only the prelude to a sudden attack upon the exulting and negligent forces of Almeric ; and the Christians, before they could re- cover from their surprise, were routed near Artesia with immense loss. [A. D. 1163.] After this ominous event, the severest defeat in the open field which the Christian forces in Palestine had sustained since their RISE OF SALADIN. 229 conquest of Jerusalem, Noureddin was at leisure to resume his designs upon Egypt; and the veteran Shiracouch was ordered to lead a second and more f numerous army into that country. But Almeric, stimulated by ambition and avarice, had made such vigorous efforts to repair the disaster of Artesia, that he again appeared on the Egyptian frontiers with a chosen body of the Christian chivalry, before Shira- couch had reached the banks of the Nile. The Turk- ish army was exhausted bj a calamitous march across the desert; the Christian knights were fresh and vigorous, and their valour and energy, though feebly supported by their Egyptian allies, triumphed over the superior military skill of Shiracouch. After a campaign in which the ability of the Turkish general was admirably displayed, he was a second time obliged to conclude a capitulation with Almeric and the Vizir Shawer, by which he engaged to evacuate Egypt; [A. D. 1167;] and both the Christian and Turkish armies returned to their own states.* The cupidity of the king of Jerusalem was, how- ever, after so successful an expedition, more than ever attracted by the wealth and defenceless condition of Egypt; and obtaining, through a family alliance which he had at tin's epoch concluded with the Greek emperor, M.anuel Comnenus, the promised aid of the Bj'zantine navy, he resolved to attempt the total sub- * Will. Tyr. p. 955-974. De Guignes, lib. xiii. 230 THE THIRD CRUSADE. jugation of the country which he had protected from the Turks. A pretence for this aggression was found or framed on the report of a secret negotiation be- tween the Vizir Shawer and Noureddin ; and Almeric, drawing together one of the most numerous and best appointed armies which had ever been assembled under the Christian banners in Palestine, suddenly crossed ,the Egyptian frontiers, attacked Pelusium, sacked that city with horrible cruelty, and from thence advanced to the gates of Cairo. But his per- fidy and the ferocious conduct of his followers roused the unwarlike Egyptians to desperation; and while the people of Cairo prepared for a vigorous defence, and implored the distant aid of their ancient Turkish enemies for their deliverance, the Vizir Shawer baited the avarice of the king of Jerusalem by the gift of an hundred thousand pieces of gold, and the promise of nine times that amount as the price of peace. The greedy Almeric suffered himself to be amused by these negotiations, until Shiracouch with a large army appeared on the frontiers, and the crafty vizir, then throwing off the mask, joined the Turks with his troops, and recommenced hostilities. The Christian army was now unable to cope with the united forces of the Egyptian and Syrian Moslems ; the Greek em- peror had failed in, rendering the promised co-opera- tion of his navy; and the king of Jerusalem closed his iniquitous scheme of conquest by a disgraceful re- treat into Palestine. But the Egyptian vizir imme- RISE OP SALADIN. 231 Shiracouch. diately fell a victim to his own tortuous policy. For, now jealous of the influence which the victorious Turk had acquired over the feeble mind of the Khalif, he conspired against the life of so dangerous a rival; and Shiracouch, anticipating his treachery, caused him to be seized and put to death, and himself to be invested with the dignity of vizir*. * Will. Tyr. p. 974-980 232 THE THIRD CRUSADE. The new ruler of Egypt survived his elevation only two months ; and his death prepared the rise of his nephew, the famous Sallah-u-deen or Saladin. This scourge of the Christian fortunes in Palestine had attended his uncle in all his expeditions into Egypt ; and in the second of those campaigns had particularly distinguished himself by a skilful and resolute, though unsuccessful, defence of Alexandria. But the .politi- cal genius and ambition of the young Curdish chief- tain had remained concealed from the world, and, per- haps, from himself, in the pursuit of licentious plea- sures ; and, on the death of Shiracouch, when the haughty pretensions of elder leaders to the vizirship alarmed the jealousy of the feeble Khalif of Egypt, the apparent weakness of 'Saladiu induced that sove- reign to nominate him to the vacant dignity. If the disgust and disaffection of the disappointed emirs at first rendered Saladin the powerless servant of the khalif, his skilful use of the royal treasures soon pur- chased for him the return, and won the affections of his former rivals ; and the new vizir, from the minis- ter, easily became the master of the khalif, and the real lord of Egypt. A single bold measure, favoured by the mortal illness of the Khalif Adhed, was now sufficient to complete the Turkish conquest of that country. One of the followers of Saladin, taking pos- session of the principal pulpit of Cairo, substituted the name of the Khalif of Bagdad for that of the Egyptian sovereign in the public prayers, as the true RISE OF SALADIN. 235 commander of the faithful; the people, from indiffer- ence or fear, silently acquiesced in the change ; an(? the green emblems of the sect of AH were everywhere displaced by the black ensigns of the Abassidan tenets. The natural death of Adhed, who expired in ignorance of the event, in a few days completed this great politi- cal and religious revolution, by which the Fatimite dynasty of Egypt was extinguished, and that country, after a schism of two centuries, was restored to the orthodox communion of Islamism. The Abassidan Khalif of Bagdad, whose dignity as the spiritual chief of that faith was still revered, and whose nominal functions of temporal sovereignty were dictated by his Turkish masters, was made to sanctify the usurpation of Saladin, as the vizir of the Sultan of Damascus in Egypt ; and, as long as Noureddin lived, the youthful conqueror was overawed by his power, and, though not without some symptoms of impatience, affected a duteous submission to his will. But, when the death of the sultan* released him from the necessity of fur- * The character of Noureddin is among the brightest in Moham- medan history ; for political ability and valour were the least of his great qualities. A Mussulman writer declares that the catalogue af his virtues would fill a volume; and among these, his justice, cle- mency, and piety extorted a still stronger testimony even from hia Christian foes, who had sufficient reason to fear and detest so powerful Rnd deadly an enemy. Thus William of Tyre, after numbering him among the bitterest persecutors of the Christian name and faith, adds, princeps tumen Justus, vafer, providus, et semndum cjentis svse tra.' ditiones rcligiosus. (Nevertheless he was a just, crafty, and far-see- ing prince, and religious according to the traditions of his race.) A 234 THE THIRD CRUSADE. ther dissimulation, Saladin threw off. the mask ; gra- dually extended his influence and dominion over Syria and parts of Arabia and Armenia ; and deposing the young and helpless sons of Noureddin, finally united the Mussulman states from the Nile to the Tigris under his single empire.* [A. D. 1173.] By every motive of religion and policy, the new and puissant lord of Syria and Egypt was urged to Attempt the expulsion of the detested enemies of his faith from the intervening territory of Palestine ; but he was long obliged to suspend his ultimate designs against the Christians, by the more immediate neces- sity of consolidating his dominion over his Mussulman opponents. Meanwhile, the Latin kingdom, through its intestine disorders, was fast falling into a state of weakness, which promised to deliver it an easy prey to so vigorous an assailant. On the death of Almeric, which shortly followed that of Noureddin, the crown trait of the frugal and rigid integrity with which he abstained from applying the public treasures to his domestic uses, has often been repeated from the pages of D'Herbelot. To some expensive request from the best beloved of his wives, this absolute lord of the gorgeoua East would only reply, " Alas ! I fear God, and am no more than the treasurer of his people. Their wealth I cannot appropriate ; but three shops in the city of Hems are yet my own, and those you may take, for those alone can I give." BtLliotlibque, Orientale, Art. Noureddin. * Will. Tyr. p. 980-995. Bib. Orient. Art. Salaheddin. Also Bohadin, Vita Saladini, (Schultens,) p. 1-10. Abulfeda, (in Ex- cerpt Schultens,) p. 1-13. De Guignes, lib. xiii. (vol. ii. p. 201 211) RISE OF SALADIN. 235 of Jerusalem devolved on his son, Baldwin IV.; but this prince was afflicted with leprosy, and felt himself so unequal to the toils of government, that he com- mitted the regency of the kingdom to his sister Sybilla and her second husband Guy de Lusignan. [A. D. 1173,] a French knight,* to whom she had given her hand after the death of her first lord, a Count of Montferrat. But Lusignan was destitute both of talent and courage ; his despicable character and unmerited elevation provoked the scorn and in- sulted the pride of the barons of Palestine ; their dis- affection was fomented by the intrigues of Raymond II., Count of Tripoli, a man himself capable of every perfidy; and the whole kingdom was distracted by the selfish conflict of factions. To terminate their struggle, the royal leper was at length compelled to make a new settlement of his realm, by which, abdi- cating the crown in favour of his infant nephew, Bald- win V., the son of Sybilla by her first husband, he sommitted the person of his young successor to the * Lusignan was a native, or at least a subject, o'f the French do- mains of Henry II. of England, who banished him for the treacherous murder of the Earl of Salisbury, on which he assumed the cross, the usual resource of malefactors, and came to seek his fortune in Pales- tine. So contemptible was the estimation in which he was held even by his own kindred, that when his brother heard of his subsequent elevation to the throne of Jerusalem, he ironically exclaimed, "Surely, sin^e the barons of Palestine have made him a king, they would have made me a god if they had known me." Hoveden, p. 514. 236 THE THIRD CRUSADE. Saladin. protection of his relative, Joscelyn de Courtenay, titu- lar Count of Edessa,* the custody of the fortresses of Palestine to the two military orders, and the general regency of the kingdom to the treacherous Count of Tripoli. Baldwin IV. survived this disposition only three years ; his own decease was quickly followed by the suspicious death of his nephew ; and Sybilla, sup- ported by the patriarch and the grand-master of the Templars, who hated Raymond of Tripoli, obtained * This Joscelyn de Courtenay was the grandson of the hero, and the last of the three counts of Edessa, who bore the same name After the loss of the Edessene territory, and the marringe of his sister with Almeric, the royal favour had invested him with exten- sive fiefs in the kingdom of Palestine; but, leaving no son, the male line of the Asiatic branch of the Courteuays became extinct on hia death. Lignagcs d' Outremer, c. xvi. RISE OF SALADIN. 237 the joint coronation of her worthless husband and herself as king and queen of Jerusalem. The proud and contemptuous refusal of many of the barons to acknowledge Lusignan for their sovereign produced a civil war, in which the Count of Tripoli, under pre- tence of supporting the rival claims of Isabella, sister of Sybilla, to a share in the succession, allied himself with Saladin ; and these disorders were scarcely ap- peased by the address of Sybilla and the submission of most of the insurgent nobles, when the fatal tem- pest of Mussulman war burst upon the disunited and devoted state.* * Will. Tyr. p. 995, ad Jin. Plagon, (continuator of William of Tyre, in Martenne, Vet Scriptorum Coll. vol. v.,) p. 583-590. Bernardus Thesaurarius, (apud Muratori Scrip. Rer. Ital. vol. vii.,) c. 140-147. Alexandria. 238 THE THIRD CRUSADE. SECTION n. BATTLE OF TIBERIAS AND FALL OF JERUSALEM. S long as Saladin was occupied in establishing his authority over Egypt and Syria, the peace of the Latin kingdom had not been much disturbed by the incursions of the infidels ; and some indecisive hostilities had been terminated bv a truce. BATTLE OF TIBERIAS. 239 Bui just at the crisis when the Turkish conqueror was prepared to attempt the work of destruction which he had probably long meditated, the Christians themselves were the first to disturb the hollow pacification, which might alone have deferred the hour of .their ruin ; and a just occasion of war Was afforded by the aggressions of a predatory baron, Reginald de Chatillon,* [A. D. 1186,] who surprised a frontier castle belonging to the Mussulmans on the borders of the Arabian desert, intercepted and plundered their caravans between Egypt and Mecca, and insolently defied the vengeance of the sultan. Saladin demanded redress of the King of Jerusalem for these outrageous violations of the existing peace ; but the government of Lusignan was either too feeble or too corrupt to punish the law- less marauder; and, on a refusal of justice, Saladin invaded Palestine at the head of eighty thousand Turcoman horse and foot. The siege of the castle of *'The history of this man constitutes in itself a romance ; and its details would be considered incredible if narrated by any modern writer of fiction. He was of obscure birth, and a native of Chatil- lon-sur-Indre, and, following Louis the Young into Asia, was at- tached to the troop of Raymond of Poictiers, Prince of Antioch. Ou the death of Raymond, he was selected by his widow, Constance, as her husband, and thus became Prince of Antioch. This choice filled the Western barons with disgust, and, as his after conduct showed, did no credit to the discrimination 'of the lady. On the death of Con- stance, he married the widow of Humphrey of Touron, Lord of Ca- rac; and, possessing no quality of a knight but personal courage, he became in that capacity something like a licensed bandit. His fate is told above. See Michaud. i. 403 240 THE THIRD CRUSADE. Mecca. Tiberias was the first signal operation of the Mussul- man host ; and, for the relief of so important a fort- ress, the whole strength of the Christian states was hastily collected. But, including the array of the military orders, the King of Jerusalem could now as- semble under his standard no more than twelve hun- dred knights and twenty thousand foot ; and the dis- proportion of his numerical force was aggravated by his own incapacity and cowardice, as well as by the discord and treason* which prevailed in his camp. * By some of the Latin writers, the destruction of the Christian army is ascribed to the treason of the Count of Tripoli, the enemy both of Lusignan and of the Grand-Master of the Temple. Mr. Mills (Hist, of the Crusades, vol. i. note L) considers the previous BATTLE OF TIBERIAS. 241 On the plain of Tiberias the hostile armies drew out for a conflict, of which the event was to decide the fate of the Christian kingdom. Few intelligible particulars are related of the sanguinary battle which followed ; [A, D. 1187;] but those few attest the superior skill of Saladin, who, in the first day's encounter, drove his opponents into a situation destitute of water; by set- ting fire during the night to some neighbouring woods, increased their intolerable sufferings from the drought and heat of a Syrian summer's night; and on the following morning overwhelmed and massacred their exhausted and fainting host. Not only was the slaughter of the cavaliers and soldiery exterminating, but all the principal leaders of the Christian host were the victims or prizes of this fatal field : the grand- master of the Hospitallers was mortally wounded and died in his flight ; and the chief of the rival order of the Temple, together with the Marquis of Mont- ferrat, Reginald of Chatillon, the worthless Lusignan himself, and many of his nobles and knights, became the captives of Saladin. The scene which ensued is too characteristic of manners to be omitted in this favourable mention of the Count by William of Tyre, and the silence of Ralph Coggeshal, whose chronicle is contained in the fifth volume of Martenne, and who was in Palestine at the time of the battle of Tiberias, as a satisfactory refutation of the charge. But the earlier alliance of the Count of Tripoli with Saladin (Bernardus Thesaur. c. 140) is undisputed; and his sacrifice of the Christian cause to party or personal hatred on that occasion, is surely sufficient to war- rant the worst inference from his subsequent conduct. 16 242 TIIE THIRD CRUSADE. place. When the trembling Lusignan, and Chatillon, the guilty provoker of the war, were conducted to the lent of the conqueror, Saladin generously reassured the craven king of his safety by the proffer of a cup of iced water, the Eastern pledge of hospitality. Lu- signan wished to pass the cup to Chatillon; but the sultan sternly declared that the impious marauder, who had so often insulted the prophet of Islam, must now either acknowledge his law, or die the death which his crimes had merited. With more virtue than his life had promised, Chatillon spurned the con- dition of apostasy ; and a blow from the cimeter of the ferocious sultan himself, was the immediate signal for his murder. With less excusable cruelty, while he spared his other noble prisoners, Saladin, in his fa- natical hatred of the religious orders, or his dread of their prowess, offered the same alternative of apostasy or death to the knights of St. John and of the Temple who had fallen into his hands. To a man, these de- voted champions of the cross, two hundred and thirty in number, proved the sincerity of their faith ; and the victory of the Moslems was stained by the cold- blooded murder of the whole body.* The disastrous effects of the battle of Tiberias were immediately felt throughout the Latin kingdom : * Bernardus Thesaur. c. 147-151. Contin. Will. Tyr. p. 590-600. Jacobus a Vitriaco, Hist. Hierosol. p. 1117, 1118, (in Gestis Dei per Francos.} Hoveden, p. 636-637. D'Herbelot, Art. Salaheddin, (vol. iii. p. 176, 177, &c.) Bohadin, p. 40-68. Abulfeda, p. 32. CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM. 243 foi ill the principal fortresses had been drained of their garrisons to swell the ranks of the army; and Tiberias itself, Coesarea, Acre, Jaffa, and Beritug, rapidly fell before the arms of the conqueror. Tyre was alone preserved through the heroic efforts to which the citizens were inspired by the firmness of a young cavalier, son to the captive Marquis of Mont- ferrat. But Saladin would not suffer any secondary object to arrest his great design upon the Christian capital ; and turning aside from the walls of Tyre, he marched to the siege of the Holy City. Jerusalem was already crowded with fugitives from every quarter of Palestine; but the number of warriors within its gates was small, and their commander was a timid woman. Queen Sybilla, herself distracted w ; th sorrow and apprehension, was more solicitious for her own safety and that of her captive consort than for the public defence; and dismay and discord reigned within the place. The first summons of Saladin for its surrender was, indeed, rejected; but when the siege was formed, the resistance was feeble or ineffectual; and in fourteen days, the Turks, despite of the sallies and efforts of the gar- rison, had advanced their works and engines to the r oot of the rampart, and undermined the walls. A desire to capitulate was then expressed ; but Saladin, in his fury at the refusal to accept his proffered terms, had sworn to execute a dreadful vengeance upon the Christians for the Moslem blood which their 244 THE THIRD CRUSADE. ancestors had shed at the capture of the city in the first Crusade. He now, therefore, received the pro- posal of a capitulation with bitter contempt ; and he only listened to the suggestions of mercy, when his burst of passion was spent, and the suppliant Chris- tians left him to dictate the terms of surrender. He then consented to spare the lives of the inhabitants, and promised a safe-conduct for the queen, her nobles, and soldiery, to Tyre, but declared that the remaining population of Jerusalem should become slaves, unless they were ransomed at the rate of ten crowns of gold for each man, half that sum for each woman, and a single piece for every child. As soon as these terms had been accepted by the submission of the vanquished, Saladin exhibited traits of a generous humanity which might have been little anticipated from the cruelty with which he had re- cently stained the victory of Tiberias; and his con- duct at Jerusalem well merits the eulogy of an enemy, that he was in nothing but in name a bar- barian. He not only performed his promises with a religious fidelity, but exceeded their fulfilment by a full measure of benevolence. When the weeping female train of the queen issued from the gates of Je- rusalem, his spirit melted even unto tears at the spec- tacle of their misery : he advanced to meet the mourners ; attempted to console the princess with the courteous sympathy of a warrior of chivalry ; released the husbands and children of all her train without CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM. 245 ransom; and even dismissed them laden with pre- sents. Nor did his generosity end here : for he ac- cepted a price very much beneath the stipulated sum for the freedom of the Christian poor ; and even libe- rated so many of his other captives gratuitously, that the total number who remained in bondage did not much exceed ten thousand, out of a .population which is said to have amounted to one hundred thousand. These better feelings of his nature achieved a more difficult triumph over even the fanaticism which was usually his master passion : for learning the humane attentions which the knights of the Hospital bestowed upon the sick, he allowed several brethren of an order which he detested and found ever in arms against him, to remain in the city a sufficient time for the .accomplishment of their pious and charitable offices.* When the queen and her train had been safely dis- missed, the magnanimous victor made his entry into Jerusalem in triumphant and splendid procession. The great Mosque of Omar, on the site of Solomon's Temple, which had been converted into a Christian church, was immediately consecrated anew to the worship oT Islam, after its pavement and walls had been washed with Damascene rose-water; the golden * Bernadus, c. 151-167. Co'nt.Will. Tyr. p. 601-613. Hoveden, p. 637-645. D'Herbelot, uli suprd. Bohadin, p. 68-75. Abulfeda, p. 39-43 246 THE THIRD CRUSADE. cross which surmounted the dome of the Church of the Sepulchre was taken down, and for two days dragged through the streets; and after a possession by the Christians of eighty-eight years, Jerusalem was again defiled by the religion and empire of the votaries of Mohammed. Nazareth, Bethlehem, Asca- lon, Sidon, quickly followed the fate of the capital: the principality of Antioch was only spared on the ignominious condition of tribute to the Sultan; and of all the possessions of the Christians in Palestine, the seaport of Tyre was almost the only place of im- portance which was saved from the wreck of their fortunes. But to that city all the Christian garrisons * which capitulated had been permitted to retire : the whole remaining strength of the Latin chivalry of Palestine was contained within its walls: and when the Turkish army a second time appeared before the place, it was again so bravely defended under the guidance of Conrad of Montferrat, that the conqueror of Jerusalem was compelled to retire from a fruitless siege. The grateful people resolved to bestow the sovereignty of their city upon their brave leader ; and when Guy of Lusignan, having obtained liis libe- ration, attempted to enter the place, they refused to admit him within the walls, or to acknowledge further allegiance to the man on whose incapacity and cowardice they laid the ruin of the Christian cause. Lusignan, indeed, had only obtained his re- lease by a solemn renunciation of his crown to CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM. 24' Saladin ; 'and the sultan, satisfied with this vain con- firmation to the title of conquest, had returned to enjoy his glory at Damascus; when he was roused from a brief season of repose by the alarming report that the nations of Europe, burning with ardour to avenge the shame of the Christian defeat, and the loss of the Sepulchre of Christ, were again about to precipitate themselves upon the shores of Palestine.* * Bernardus, c. 167-177. Coggeshal, p. 811, 812. Hist. RierosoL (in Gestis Dei, &o.) p. 1150-1169 248 THE THIRD CRUSADE. SECTION THE GERMANS UNDERTAKE THE CRUSADE. HE news of the fall of Jeru- salem had filled all Western Christendom with horror and grief. By the superstitious piety of the age, the apathetic indifference which had per- mitted the hallowed scenes of human redemption again to be profaned with the triumph of the enemies of God, was deeply felt as an offence, which merited and would provoke the wrathful judgments of Heaven. GERMANS UNDERTAKE THE CRUSADE. 249 But after the first shock of the intelligence, the gene- ral consternation and despair were at once succeeded by a burst of enthusiasm, equally congenial to the fanatical and martial state of society. All the prin- cipal sovereigns of Europe,* except those of Spain, who found sufficient exercise for their zeal against the Mussulman power in that peninsula immediately vowed to lead their national forces to the recovery of Jerusalem: but even their earnest preparations were too tardy for the popular impatience; and myriads of their subjects, thronging from every country to the ports of the Mediterranean, took shipping at their private charge, and hastened to the shores of Pales- tine. The chief means of transport, were, as usual, supplied by the maritime republics of Italy; but numerous bands of pilgrims, embarking from the ports * Henry II. of England and Philippe-Auguste of France met and received the Cross together near Gisors ; and the English king ap- pears to have been earnest in his intention of undertaking the Crusade, until prevented by the second rebellion of his sons. At a great council which he assembled at Gidington, in Northamptonshire, it was agreed that a tenth of all rents and movables should be levied from the clergy and laity of the realm for the service of the expe- dition; and by this means the king obtained seventy thousand pounds from his Christian subjects; while he extorted the enormous Bum, for those days, of sixty thousand more from the Jews in his dominions, at the rate of a fourth of all their possessions. Gervase, p. 1529. Hoveden, p. 644. This tax of one-tenth, under the name of the Saladin tithe, was imposed by general consent throughout Europe; and though originally proposed to last only for one year, was perpetuated, by the cupidity of the Papal See, into a claim upon the tenth of all ecclesiastical benefices. 250 THE THIRD CRUSADE. of the Baltic, the North Seas, and the British Chan- nel, from thence accomplished the whole maritime passage to the Asiatic coast.* By the arrival at Tyre, in quick succession, of all these crusaders, led by many noblemen and pielates of distinction, the imbecile king of Jerusalem soon found himself at the head of a numerous army; and when he was encouraged or impelled by the renovated strength and ardent zeal of his followers to advance from Tyre and lay siege to Acre, the numbers of the Christian host before the walls of that important city rapidly swelled to one hundred thousand men. [A. D. 1189.]. The danger of a fortress which, by it position between the sea and the great central valley of Palestine, may be regarded as the maritime key of the whole country, roused Saladin from his inaction ; and while the strength of the fortifications and the valour of a numerous Mussulman garrison, defied all the efforts of the crusaders, the Sultan himself, arriv- ing in the adjacent plain at the head of a mighty host, enveloped their beleaguers, and harassed them with perpetual though desultory assaults. The Chris- tians, in their turn, were reduced to the necessity of standing on the defensive; their camp was diligently fortified; and such was the strength and complete- ness of the works with which they surrounded it, that * Bernardus Thesaur. c. 177, 178. Benedictus Abbas Petrober- gensis, p. 495, 496. Hoveden, p. 636-640. Hist. Bierosol. p. 1170. GERMANS UNDERTAKE THE CRUSADE. 251 in the hyperbolical language of the East, the Mussul- mans declared not even a bird could penetrate the lines. By sea the contest was maintained with equal obstinacy ; for the naval forces of the combatants were so nicely balanced, that, by each successive rein- forcement, either party was enabled to relieve the gar- rison of Acre, or to refresh the wants of the besiegers. The latter, indeed, suffered so dreadfully from famine, disease, and the incessant vicissitudes of combat, that above three hundred thousand crusaders are com- puted to have perished before the walls and in the plain of Acre ; and the losses of the Mussulmans from the same causes were probably inferior only in de- gree. But, on both sides, this frightful consumption of human life was continually fed by new arrivals; and during nearly two years the strength of Christen- dom and Islam was concentrated and exhausted in an indecisive conflict before the single city of Acre.* Meanwhile, the great monarchs of the West were gathering their national powers for the third Crusade. Foremost in preparation, as in dignity among them, was the Emperor Frederic Barbarossa, in whom age had no power either to quench the thirst of glory or to chill the fire of religious enthusiasm. But the chival- rous devotion of Frederic was regulated by those pru- dential qualities of a great commander, which had been * Bernardus Thesaur, c. 179. Hist. Hierosol. p. 1170-1172. Bohadin, (in vita Sdladin), p. 180. Vinesauf, nli infra, p. 4?7 252 THE THIRD CRUSADE. Frederic Barbarossa. matured in forty years of warfare; and while he boldly resolved to take the same route through the East of Europe and Asia Minor, which had been found so disastrous to former hosts of crusaders, his provident and skilful arrangements showed how atten- tively he had studied the tremendous lessons of theii GERMANS UNDERTAKE THE CRUSADE. 253 failure. No individual was permitted to join in the sacred enterprise who was unable to furnish the means of his own support for a whole year ; and the march from the confines of Germany to the shores of the Hellespont was conducted with the strictest regularity and discipline. The numbers and composition of the host were worthy of the imperial name and power. Besides his own son, the Duke of Swabia, Frederic was attended by the dukes of Austria and Moravia, by above sixty other princes and great lords of the empire, and by fifteen thousand knights, the flower of the Teutonic chivalry. Their mounted attendants swelled the total array of cavalry to sixty thousand; and the infantry, exclusive of unarmed pilgrims, num- bered one hundred thousand men. Throughout their passage over the Greek dominions, the German host encountered a repetition of precisely the same course of treacherous hostility, under the hollow semblance of amity, which the Byzantine court and people had pursued in the previous Crusades ; but the vengeance of his troops was generally restrained by the mag- nanimous or prudent forbearance of Frederic ; and though he resented the perfidy of the reigning Empe- ror of the East, Isaac Angelus, by refusing to visit Constantinople as a guest, he peaceably transported his formidable host across the Hellespont. The sut> sequent passage through Asia Minor was a yet severer trial of Frederic's patience and ability ; but his genius surmounted every obstacle of climate and warfare; 254 THE THIRD CRUSADE. and the march of the imperial army was effected with far superior order, success, and reputation, to that of any preceding host of crusaders. The sufferings of n route through burning and waterless deserts admitted, indeed, of little mitigation ; and thousands of the Ger mans sank under fatigue, agonizing thirst, and the per petual assaults of the Turcoman hordes, which hung upon their flanks and rear. But the firmness of the Teutonic array repulsed every attack, and prevented any general disaster; and Frederic not only defeated the Sultan of Iconium, but stormed his capital and compelled him to sue for peace. Having thus over- borne all opposition, the aged hero pursued his way in unmolested and triumphant ardour, until he lost his life in the little Cilician stream of the Calycadnus, either by a fall from his horse, or by imprudently bathing in the icy waters of that mountain torrent. [A. D. 1190.] The consequences of this event proved how largely his followers had been indebted for their success to the greatness of his personal qualities. The infidels, recovering from the terror inspired by his name and actions, immediately renewed their hostili- ties on the report of his death ; and thenceforth the German army was incessantly harassed by attacks, and nearly disorganized by famine, sickness, and the efforts of the enemy. Thus, although Frederic's son. the Duke of Swabia, who succeeded to the command, was neither deficient in courage nor ability, so dread- ful were the losses of the crusaders that before they GERMANS UNDERTAKE THE CRUSADE 255 reached the Syrian confines, their numbers were re- duced to one-tenth of their original force. Then array was still, however, sufficiently formidable, on their arrival at Antioch, to deliver that principality from the oppression of Saladin, whose troops retired at their approach; and from thence the gallant Duke of Swabia, with unbroken spirit, led the remains of the German army to reinforce the crusaders before Acre ; but it was only to perish himself of disease, with some thousands of his devoted and way-worn followers, under the walls of that city.* The arrival of the German chivalry before Acre was followed by the memorable institution of a mar- tial order of religious knighthood, which, emulating the design of the fraternities of St. John and of the Temple, and surviving the original object of its crea- tion for the defence of Palestine, was fated to perform no inconsiderable part in the subsequent history of Northern Europe. Above half a century before the loss of Jerusalem, a German crusader and his lady had founded hospitals in that capital for poor pilgrims of both sexes of their nation ; and, when subsequent endowments had enriched these houses, the male bre- thren were moved by the example of the two great orders, to devote themselves to military as well as charitable services. But their efforts had obtained * Hist. Hierosol. p, 11561163. Godfridi Monachi Annales, p. 348-356. Tageno, p. 407-416. (Both in the second volume of Struye's edition of the Rerum German Scriptores of Freher.) 256 THE T111RD CRUSADE. little distinction, and their fraternity was dissolved by the expulsion of the Christians from Jerusalem. Its purposes were now recalled to the national attention by the private charity of some individuals among the German army, who supplied the want of regular hos- pitals, by opening their tents before Acre for the re- ception of their sick and wounded countrymen ; and a number of knights joining their benevolent associa- tion, the Duke of Swabia seized the occasion to incor- porate them, for the national honour, into a regular order of religious chivalry, in avowed imitation of those of the Hospital and Temple. A papal au- thority approved the design, invested the new order with the same privileges as its elder co-fraterni- ties, and ordained the rule of St. Augustin for its government. A white mantle with a black cross was appointed for the garb of the brotherhood, who were divided into three classes of noble cavaliers, priests and sergeants, all exclusively of German race ; and thenceforth, under the title of the Teutonic Knights of St. Mary of Jerusalem, the order worthily aspired to an equality in duties and honour with the two great martial fraternities of Palestine.* * Jacobus a Vit. p. 1083. RICHARD CCEUR DE LION. SECTION n. EICHARD CCEUR DE LION IN PALESTINE HILE the German army was still thread- ing its toil- some march through the deserts and mountain passes of i Asia Minor, r the sove- - reigns of France and 258 THE THIRD CRUSADE. England had availed themselves of the maritime position and resources of their states to escape the same dangers and fatigues by a naval passage to the Syrian shores. Both Philippe-Auguste and Richard Coeur de Lion were in the full pride of youthful am- bition, impatient for chivalric distinction, and actuated far more by the thirst of glory than by the religious spirit of the age. Interchanging vows of eternal friendship, which were as passionately broken in the first moment of jealous excitement, they had agreed to combine their forces for the sacred expedition ; and on the plain of Vezelay in France, they reviewed a gallant and well-equipped host, which amounted to one hundred thousand men of both nations, and of all arms. Conducting their march in concert as far as Lyons, the two monarchs separated at that city, after naming the port of Messina in Sicily as the place of reunion for their combined armaments : Philippe leading the French forces to embark at Genoa; and Richard proceeding to Marseilles with his army, there to expect the arrival of his fleet* from England." * Before his departure from Normandy, Richard promulgated a code of regulations for the government of hia fleet, which, as illus- trative of the rude principles of marine jurisprudence adopted in that age, would be worthy of a place in our naval history. A murderer was to be tied to the corpse of his victim and cast with it into the sea ; or if the crime were committed on shore, to be buried in the same grave with the dead body. A simple blow was to be punished by the immersion of the offender thrice in the sea ; but if blood were drawn, by the less of his right hand : abusive language by a fine. A RICHARD C(ETTR DE LIQW. 259 But his impatience would brook no delay; and find' ing that his own navy had not reached that port, he immediately hired a few vessels for the conveyance of his suite, sailed for the Italian coast, and after rashly exposing himself to several dangerous adven- tures,* crossed into Sicily. Meanwhile the English fleet, after touching at Lisbon on its way, and success- fully assisting in the defence of Santarem against a Mussulman army, reached the Mediterranean in safety, received the land forces on board at Marseilles, and entered the port of Messina some days before the arrival either of Philippe or Richard himself.f In Sicily both monarchs wintered with their forces; and here several circumstances arose to foment into hatred those feelings of ambitious rivalry which naturally sprang from their conflicting pride and pre- tensions. Against Tancred, the reigning king of thief was to have his head shaved, tarred and feathered ; and in that state to be set on shore at the first opportunity. Hoveden, p. 666. * On one occasion, when travelling in Southern Italy with a single attendant, he entered a cottage to seize a falcon which he heard was detained there: for it seems that no "base churl" might without offence possess a bird trained for the exclusive sport of the chivalrio order. The peasants presumed to resist his violence ; and in the broil, as he struck one of them, who had drawn a dagger upon him, with the flat of his sword, the weapon broke ; and he was compelled to defend himself with stones until he effected his retreat to a neigh- bouring monastery. Hoveden, p. 672. f Hoveden, p. 664673. Galfridi a Vinesauf, Itinerarium Regit Anglorum Richardi, &c. in Terram. Hierosol. (apud Gale. Scrip* tures Hist. Anglican, vol. ii.) p. 247-308. 260 THE THIRD CRUSADE. Richard Caeur de Lion, Sicily, Richard had several causes of resentment for the detention in prison of his sister Joan, relict of William II., the late sovereign of the island, and a refusal either to restore her dower, or to pay legacies which her husband had bequeathed to the English crown. To enforce redress for these injuries, Richard had recourse to very violent proceedings : seized a castle, on his sister's release, for her residence, took military possession of other posts, and allowed his troops to commit many excesses. While the French RICHARD COZUR DE LION. 261 king was interposing as a mediator, the citizens of Messina were provoked to attack the English, and after a bloody engagement, in which the latter pre vailed, Richard allowed them to sack the city, and planted his banners on its walls. Philippe was justly offended at an outrage, which in effect, as he resided in Messina, left him a prisoner in the hands of an ally who was also his vassal j and Richard was at last induced to appease him by withdrawing his troops. The submission of Tancred to all the de- mands of the English monarch restored the general peace ; and Richard generously sent Philippe twenty thousand ounces of gold, as the moiety of the sum which he compelled the Sicilian prince to pay in satisfaction of his claims. He also loaded both English and French knights with presents; and on Christmas day feasted the whole chivalry of the two nations, and dismissed every individual with some largess apportioned to his rank. His prodigal dissi- pation, by such means, of the treasures which had been wrung from his subjects before his departure on the Crusade, exalted his popularity in both armies far above that of his more provident or less wealthy rival ; and formed an additional source of jealousy to Philippe. A new ground of quarrel between the two monarchs was soon created by the intelligence that Richard, disregarding his engagement to marry Alice or Adelia, sister of Philippe, was about to espouse the Princess Berengaria, daughter of Sancho, king of 262 THE THIRD CRUSADE. Navarre, who, in effect, soon after arrived in Sicily, escorted by the queen-mother, Eleanor of England. After much dispute, Philippe at last consented to release Richard from his contract upon his promise to pay ten thousand marks, and to restore Alice with the castles which had been assigned as her dower.* Their feuds being thus terminated by a hollow re- conciliation, Philippe, on the return of spring, was the first to depart with his forces from the Sicilian shores, and arrived without accident at the Christian camp before Acre ; but Richard was less fortunate 01 prudent. Off the coast of Crete, his fleet was dis- persed by a storm ; and at Rhodes his fiery temper was roused by intelligence that two of his vessels, which had been wrecked on the shores of Cyprus, were * Hoveden, p. 673-688. Vinesauf, p. 308-316. RICHARD CCEUR DE LION. 263 plundered, and the crews detained in captivity. To revenge this injury he sailed for Cyprus ; and, having in vain demanded reparation of Isaac, a prince of Comnenian race, who had revolted against the Byzan tine throne and seized the government of the island, the English monarch disembarked his troops, took Lymesol, the tyrant's capital, by storm, and, being assisted by the defection of the islanders, compelled him to surrender at discretion. The English prince made an ungenerous use of his victory ; for he threw the fallen usurper into chains, which, with a mockery of respect, were forged of silver ; grievously taxed the Cypriots, who had welcomed him as their deliverer; and asserted the title of conquest to the lordship of their island. After celebrating at Lymesol his nup- tials with Berengaria, which had been deferred in Sicily on account of the season of Lent, Richard finally sailed for Acre. The numbers of his land forces have not been recorded ; but the magnitude of the whole armament may be estimated by the enumeration of his fleet, which consisted of fifty galleys of war, thir- teen large store-vessels, and above one hundred other transports filled with horses and men. On the short voyage from Cyprus to the Syrian shore, the English navy intercepted an enormous troop-ship of Saladin, having on board, according to the Latin chroniclers, for the reinforcement of the garrison of Acre, the in- credible number of fifteen hundred men, and well sup- plied with stores of the Greek fire. The great bulk 264 THE THIRD CRUSADE. and lofty sides of this vessel long defied the attacks of the light galleys of the Christians; but she was at length carried by boarding ; her hull being either scut- tled, during the conflict, by the desperation of her own crew, or pierced by the beaks of the English gal- leys, she sank with all her stores ; and every soul of the infidels, except thirty-five, was either massacred or drowned.* A few days afterward Rich- ard disembarked his army be- fore Acre ; and his arrival was greeted in the Christian camp with enthusiastic rejoicings. Notwithstanding the previous junction of the King of France and his forces, the operations of the long-protracted siege had continued to languish ; but the English monarch had no sooner landed his battering engines than, despite of an illness un- je of Acre. .) asserts that the murderers, who were taken and put to the torture, confessed that they were employed by the King of England; but both Yinesau-f (p. 377) and Hoveden (p. _7 17) agree in reporting the declaration of the Hassassins, that they had killed Conrad in revenge for an injury which he had offered to their chief; and this version of the tale has great internal proba- bility. Richard, in fact, since his reconciliation ^ had nothing to gain by the crime ; and Conrad himself so little ospected him as, on his death-bed, to desire his widow to commit the fortress of Tyre to the keeping of the English prince. No conclusion, either of the innocence or guilt of Richard, is fairly to be drawn from the excul- patory letter from the chief of the Hassasstns, an evident forgery subsequently produced at Lis trial before the Imperial German Diet Foedera, vol. i. 71. f For these political transactions during the third Crusade, sea chiefly Vinesauf, p. 324, 377, 392. RICHARD CCEUR DE LION. 283 means by which the factions of Palestine had aggra- vated the disasters of the Christian cause. But the Christians in Palestine were indebted for their safety, after the third Crusade, far less to any union among themselves than to the death of their formidable enemy. Saladin* only survived his treaty with Richard a few months ; and on his decease the great empire which he had consolidated was almost immediately dissolved. In its division, three of hia numerous sons erected distinct thrones at Cairo, Da- mascus, and Aleppo ; but most of his veteran soldiery preferred to range themselves under the standard of his brother Saphadin ; and at their head that prince carved out for himself, at the expense of his nephews, a 1 considerable sovereignty in Syria. [A. D. 1193.] * The really great qualities of Saladin have sometimes been too absolutely lauded; for, as Mr. Mills has well observed, (Ilist. of Crusades, vol. ii. 82,) his character was but a "compound of dig- nity anoT baseness." He had established his throne over the Mos- lems by treachery and bloodshed ; and his first successes against the Christians had been stained by atrocious cruelty. But his govern- ment of his own people, after his power was secure, was mild and equitable; as a Mussulman, in his latter years, he was eminently pious, just, and charitable ; and we have seen that, even toward ene- mies, he was sometimes capable of the most magnanimous and gene- rous conduct. He is, perhaps, the brightest exemplar in history of an Asiatic hero ; and his virtues, like the dark traits which ob- scured them, exhibit the genuine lineaments of his clime and race. THE FOURTH CRUSADE. 285 CHAPTER IV. tfrnsafc*. SECTION I. THE FRENCH, GERMANS, AND ITALIANS UNITE IN THE CRUSADE. T this stage of the narra- tive considerable difficulty is felt by the historian in ar- ranging chronologically the series of events that crowd so rapidly upon him, and it must be understood that 286 THE FOURTH CRUSADE. the opening sentences of this chapter relate to inci- dents that preceded by years what it is customary to call the FOURTH CRUSADE. At the expiration of the three years' truce which the English king had negotiated, the dissensions of the infidels revived in the Christians the fond hope of reconquering Jerusalem ; and at the instigation of the military orders, a new Crusade* was proclaimed by Pope Celestin III. Throughout France and Eng- land, from whatever causes, the appeal was heard with indifference ; but in Germany the design was promoted by some momentary schemes of ambition which the emperor the execrable Henry VI. ap- pears to have cherished of aggran'dizing himself in the East; and, supported by his influence, the preaching of the clergy in that country was so successful, that the Cross was enthusiastically taken by many princes and prelates of the empire, and by vast numbers of nobles and persons of inferior rank. Thus composed, three great armaments, all from Germany, succes- sively reached the port of Acre, and raised the most * As the exhortation of the pope to the nations of Europe to en- gage in this design was general, some writers have dignified the abortive result with the title of the Fourth Crusade ; and numbered the subsequent expedition, which was directed against the Byzantine Empire, as the Fifth of Nine. But the more usual, which seems also the more convenient division, restricts the term of distinct Cru- sades to Seven, or at most Eight,~great efforts, which were either produced by some signal occasion, such as the loss of Edessa or Je- rusalem, or else productive of some considerable event. FRENCH. GERMANS, AND ITALIANS. 287 Henry VI. Ejnperor of Germany. confident anticipations among the Latins in the East of a decisive triumph over their infidel enemies. But the Mussulmans both of Egypt and Syria, forgetting their civil feuds in the common danger of their re- ligion and empire, rallied around the standard of Saphadin; and though the combined chivalry of Germany and Palestine gained some victories in the field, these successes were always either marred by their dissensions, or counterbalanced by the elastic spirit of Turkish hostility, which started into new arid vigorous action, as often as misconduct or exhaustion relaxed the efforts of the Christians. By the death of the emperor, the German princes and prelates were recalled through political interests to Europe; and at their departure they left the Latin possessions in Palestine only slightly enlarged by their aid. The 288 THE FOURTH CRUSADE. general superiority, however, which their arms had asserted over the Mussulman power was useful in sus- taining the dignity and safety of the Christian state ; and though the nominal capital of the kingdom was still unrecovered, the German victories had given security to the throne of Henry of Champagne, whose real sovereignty extended over great part of the sea- coast of Syria. To these considerable fragments of the Latin monarchy of Palestine. Cyprus was soon after added, on the death of Henry, by the union of his queen, thus widowed for the third time, with Almeric of Lusignan, the successor of Guy in the sove- reignty of that island; and on the solemnization of this marriage at Acre, Almeric and Isabella assumed, in 1197, the joint title of King and Queen of Jeru- salem and Cyprus.* The exhortations of Pope Celestin III. had failed to reanimate the religious zeal of the chivalry of France : but a fresh impulse was given to their fanaticism when Innocent III., three years afterward, ascended the papal throne. The convenient precedent of the Saladin tithe might suggest to that celebrated Pontiff a tempting occasion for again taxing the clergy of Europe under the pretext of a new Crusade ; but per- haps the single motive of filling the papal coffers by * For all these transactions in Palestine, see Bernardus Thesaur p. 813-818. Chron. Sdavorum, lib. iv. v. vi. (in Freher, Rerum Script. German, vol. ii.) Cont. Will. Tyr, lib. ii. Abulfeda, lib. iv &c. FRENCH, GERMANS, AND ITALIANS. 289 this disgraceful expedient lias been too confidently attributed to Innocent, in whom the ambitious desire of extending the spiritual and temporal dominion of the Holy See was at least as strong as any mere cu- pidity of gold. But whatever were his objects, he entered on the design of again arming Europe against the infidels with all the energy which distinguished his character. He wrote himself to the sovereigns of Christendom, exhorting them severally either to take the cross in person, or at least to contribute their forces and treasures to the sacred enterprise; and his legates were despatched throughout the kingdoms of the West to levy on all ecclesiastical bodies the fortieth part of their revenues, and to obtain the pecuniary subscription and personal services of the laity by the promises of indulgences and pardon for their sins. So productive were these efforts, that the free offerings of the princes and people exceeded the total amount imposed on the clergy; but the most powerful auxiliary of the papal design was a fanatical priest named Foulques, of Neuilly, near Paris, who professed to atone for a life of sin by dedicating its remains to the service of heaven; and who, without the rude originality of the Hermit Peter, or the learn- ing and dignified virtues of St. Bernard, yet with a success little inferior to that of either, by the vehe- mence of his exhortations, and by his pretended reve- lations of the divine will, now kindled the flame 10 290 THE FOURTH CRUSADE. of religious enthusiasm throughout Flanders and France.* When the fame of his preaching and his miracles had already prepared the public mind of those coun- tries for the sacred enterprise, the martial and fana- tical zeal of the French nobility was roused into action by the example which was offered to them at a great tournament in Champagne. There Thibaut, the youthful count of that province, and his cousin Louis, Earl of Blois, both of them nephews, by a common relationship, to the monarchs of France and England, and the former brother to the late King Henry of Jerusalem, resolved to exchange the martial sports for the sterner duties of chivalry, and solemnly devoted themselves and their fortunes to the service of the cross [1200.] Their spirit was enthusiastically caught bj the assembled knighthood ; their vows were embraced on the spot by Simon de Montfort, Lord of Mante, and a numerous band of the noblest chevaliers of France ; and, when intelligence of the inspiring design reached * Foulques did not live to contemplate the full consequences of his preaching. He died before the crusading armament sailed from Venice. Du Cange on Villehardouin, No. xxxvii. His denun- ciations were of the usual kind, and such as custom had made familiar to the ears of that generation; and his oratory is described by contemporaries as plain, but impressive. Addressing Coeur de Lion, he said, " You have three daughters to dispose of in marriage, Avarice, Pride, and Luxury." " Well," replied Richard, " I give my pride to the Templars, my avarice to the monks of Citeaux, and my luxury to the bishops." Rigord, Hisotriographer to Philippe Auguste. FRENCH, GERMANS, AND ITALIANS. 291 the court of Baldwin, Count of Flanders, brother-in- law of Thibaut, that prince, with a great body of Flemish knights, hastened to enrol himself in the holy cause. Meanwhile, in Italy and in Germany, the papal exhortations and promises of spiritual rewards had not been without their desired effect. In the former country, Boniface, Marquis of Montferrat, bro- ther of the murdered Conrad of Tyre, and in the lat- ter, the Bishop of Halberstadt, both seconded by great numbers of knightly and plebeian warriors, assumed the cross ; and the King of Hungary, with his subjects, sealed the sincerity of their faith by the same test.* The French nobles did not suffer the ardour of their followers to cool by inaction. To forward the enter- prise and arrange its details, the three Counts of Champagne, Blois, and Flanders, with their principal associates, met twice in deliberation at Soissons and at Compeigne ; and the result of their councils was a resolution to avoid the disasters which the fatal expe- rience of former Crusades had shown were the inevi- table attendants of a land expedition to Palestine, and to imitate the maritime passage of Philippe-Au- guste and Richard Plantagenet. But, as the barons of the inland province of Champagne could not com- mand the same means of naval transport as those sovereigns, they determined upon attempting to pur- * Vita Innocent. III. (apud Muratori, Script. Rer. Ital. vol. iii.) p. 506526. Histoire de la Prise de Constantinople, par Geoffroj de Villehardouin, Ed. du- Cange, paragraph No. i. 292 THE FOURTH CRUSADE. chase the aid of one of the maritime republics of Italy, who, throughout the Crusades, had been wont to hire out their services both as the common carriers and allies of the Western pilgrims. Among these states, Venice had already attained a preponderance of power and resources; and to that city, with full powers to negotiate on their behalf, the French barons despatched six chosen deputies, and in the number Geoffrey de Villehardouin, marshal of Champagne, to whose pen or dictation we are indebted for a simple and expressive narration of the whole Crusade. The ducal crown of Venice was at this time worn by Enrico Dandolo, who, at the extraordinary age of ninety-three years, and in almost total blindness, still preserved the vigorous talents, the active heroism, and the ambitious or patriotic spirit of his youth. He received the noble envoys with honour ; and, after the purport of their embassy had been regularly sub- mitted to the councils of the state, invited them to meet the assembled citizens in the Place of St. Mark. There, before a multitude of more than ten thousand persons, the haughty barons of France threw them- selves upon their knees to implore the assistance of the commercial republicans in recovering the Sepul- chre of Christ. Their tears* and eloquence pre- * These doughty champions of chivalry were, as Gibbon has ob- served, by habit great weepers. Mult plorant, & 3., is the phrase of Villehardouin on almost every occasion of excitement. This name, which afterward became so conspicuous in the annals of the East, ^r : =set : 294 THE FOURTH CRUSADE. vailei ; the price of the desired aid had been left by the envoys to the assessment of the doge and his immediate council ; and for the sum of eighty-five thousand silver marks less than 200,000 of our modern English money, and therefore not an unrea- sonable demand the republic engaged to transport four thousand five hundred knights, nine thousand esquires and men-at-arms, with their horses and equip- ments, and twenty thousand foot-soldiers, to any part of the coasts of the East which the service of God might require, to provision them for nine months, and to escort and aid them with a fleet of fifty galleys ; but only on condition that the money should be paid before embarkation, and that whatever conquests might be made should be equally divided between the barons and the Venetian state.* On the return of the envoys to France, these terms received a joyful approval from their associates; but several untoward circumstances arose to obstruct the performance of the treaty. The young Count of Champagne, the ardent promoter and destined chief of the enterprise, was already stretched on a death- took its rise from a village, or castle, in the diocese of Troye, between Bar and Arcy. The elder branch of the family, to which the mar- shal belonged, expired in 1400, and the younger, which acquired the principality of Achaia, merged in the family of Savoy. Michaud, ii. 46. * Andreae Danduli, Chron. Venet. (in Script. Rer. Ital. vol. xii.) p. 320323, in which the original treaty is given. Villehardouin, tfo. xiii. xiv. FRENCH, GERMANS, AND ITALIAI-TS. .9-5 bed ; and on his decease some time was lost before the mutual jealousy of the French barons, which prevented their electing one of their own body to succeed him, was reconciled by the choice of a foreign leader in the person of the Marquis of Montferrat. Many of the nobles and their 'followers had, meanwhile, in incon- stancy or impatience, wholly deserted their engage- ments, or found their own passage to Acre: so that when at length, nearly two years after the tourna- ment in Champagne, the Marquis Boniface mustered the French, Italian, and Flemish confederates at Venice, their numbers fell short of expectation, not- withstanding the junction of some German crusaders; and they were utterly unable to subscribe the stipu- lated cost of the enterprise. [1202.] Though the Marquis and the Counts of Blois and Flanders made a generous sacrifice of all their valuables, above thirty thousand marks were yet wanting to complete the full payment; and as the republic, with true mer- cantile caution, refused to permit the sailing of the fleet until the whole amount of the deficiency should be lodged in her treasury, the enterprise must have been abandoned, if the Doge had not suggested an equivalent. He proposed that, upon condition of the crusaders assisting in the reduction of the strong city of Zara, on the Dalmatian coast, which had revolted from the republic, their payment of the remaining sum should be postponed until the conclusion of the Holy War; and despite of his years and infirmities, 296 THE FOURTH CRUSADE. he engaged, on their assent, himself to take the Cross, and to lead the naval forces of his republic.* The confederate barons gladly acceded to this ex- pedient, when another obstacle was opposed to its adoption, which had nearly frustrated the whole en- terprise : the" people of Zara had placed themselves under the sovereignty of the King of Hungary; and the pope, through his legate, positively forbade the crusaders to turn their arms against the subjects of a prince who had himself taken the Cross. But the Venetians, who entertained little reverence for the authority of the Holy See, succeeded in persuading their more scrupulous allies to disregard the prohi- bition of Innocent ; the desire of honourably discharg- ing their obligations prevailed with the French barons over their fear of the papal displeasure; and, although the Marquis of Montferrat, their leader, abstained from accompanying them, they sailed to Zara with their followers in the Venetian fleet, which was com- manded by the venerable doge, as he had promised, in person. Zara was deemed in that age one of the strongest cities in Europe : but the inhabitants, after a siege of only five days, were terrified or compelled into a surrender; and though their lives were spared, * Notwithstanding the expression of Villehardouin, that the vene- rable Doge had lost his sight by a wound,. it maybe doubted whether he was totally blind ; for the statement of his descendant and chroni- cler, much more probable in itself, is only that he was visti debilit, Danduli, Chron. p. 322. FRENCH, GERMANS, AND ITALIANS. 297 the city was pillaged with great cruelty, and both ita houses and defences razed to the ground. In his first burst of indignation at their disobedience, Inno- cent excommunicated both the crusaders and Vene- tians ; and when the French barons sent a deputation of their number to Rome to express their penitence, he assured them of pardon for their sins, only upon condition of their making restoration of their booty to the people of Zara, and withdrawing from all alliance with the more stubborn republicans, who still set his spiritual censures at defiance. The fanatic De Mont- fort, alone, whose subsequent share in the Crusade against the Albigenses has given a horrible celebrity to his name, showed full obedience to the papal man- date by wholly abandoning his associates; but the rest of the French nobles and their troops continued to winter with the Venetians at Zara, where, after its surrender, the Marquis of Montferrat joined them; and it was during this season of repose that an en- tirely new destination was given to the combined armament.* * Danduli, Chron. ubi suprd; Vita Innocent. III. p. 529-53L Villeliardouin, No. xx. liv. 298 THE FOURTH CRUSADE. Street in Constantinople. SECTION m. AFFAIRS OF THE EASTERN EMPIRE. explain the occasion of a change of purpose in the crusaders, which produced one of the most singular and memorable enterprises in his- tory, it is now necessary to revert to the state of the Byzantine em- pire; the annals of which, during the thirteenth cen- tury, have been purposely reserved for a brief and THE EASTERN EMPIRE. 299 rapid notice in this place. Our retrospect will ascend to the reign of the first Alexius: the crisis of whose fortunes was involved and has been described in the transactions of the earliest Crusade. Following closely on the triumphant career of the Latins through the Lesser Asia, Alexius richly gathered the fruits of victories, which they were impatient to abandon for the ulterior objects of their great enter- prise; arid, as the Turkish forces were successively withdrawn from the shores of the Propontis and .^Egean sea to the defence of the interior, the emperor restored to the Byzantine dominion the whole circuit of the sea-coast from Nice to Tarsus, or from the Bosphorus to the Syrian gates. Even in the interior of Asia Minor, the Sultan of Nice, after the loss of that capital, had been compelled to remove the seat of his throne from thence to Iconiurn, above three hun- dred miles from Constantinople; and, amid the ex- haustion of the Turkish power in its struggle with the crusading invaders, Alexius, by policy and arms, so diligently improved his advantage, that, before his decease, the Greek Empire, which, at the outset of his reign, was straitened and shaken on all sides by hostile pressure, and seemed to rock to its founda- tions, had not only assumed an aspect of renovated strength, but expanded with offensive force against its former assailants.* * Anna Comnena, Alexiad, lib. ix.-xiv. 300 THE FOURTH CRUSADE. In the succeeding reign of his son John, termed iu derision the handsome, or Calo Johannes, a prince more honourably distinguished both for his pacific virtues and warlike qualities, [1118,] internal concord and happiness were preserved by a mild and vigorous administration ; while the dignity of the empire was asserted, and its security increased, by twenty-five years of victorious contest with the Turks. From the Latin princes of Syria, the Greek emperor won equal respect by the powerful assistance which, in the interval between the first and second Crusades, he rendered them in repelling the infidels, and by the vigour with which he obliged Raymond, the reigning Prince of Antioch, to do homage to him for his pos- sessions. Manuel, the second surviving son of John, who was preferred in the succession to an elder bro- ther both by parental and popular favour, inherited his father's martial spirit with his throne ; but did not emulate the worth of his private life and civil govern- ment. [1143.] During an active reign of thirty- seven years, the ambition of Manuel, rather than the necessity of his position, involved his empire in con- tinual wars, not only with the Turks and Hungarians, its natural enemies on the Asiatic and European fron- tiers, but also with the ancient foes of his house, the Normans of the two Sicilies. In the hostilities, in- deed, which kindled anew the quarrel of the pre- ceding century, Manuel was not the first aggressor. Reviving the magnificent design of Robert Guiscard THE EASTERN EMPIRE. 301 for the subjugation of the Byzantine empire, Roger, King of Sicily, upon pretext of some slight shown to his ambassadors at Constantinople, despatched a great armament into the Ionian and jEgean seas ; and the Normans, disembarking from their ships, reduced Corfu and other islands, and overran the continent of Greece. Manuel was at the time absent from his capital ; but his return and revengeful activity soon terminated the triumph of the invaders. With the powerful co-operation of the Venetians, his navy outnumbered that of the Normans, and swept the seas of their galleys ; his troops, which he led in person, overpowered the garrisons which they had left in Greece ; and a single campaign sufficed to clear the empire of its audacious assailants. It was then that the ambitious hopes of Manuel rose with his success; and the glorious issue of a just a,nd de- fensive war suggested dreams of aggrandizement, which embraced the sovereignty of Italy, and the reunion on his brows of the imperial crowns of the East and West.* With the plea of punishing the Norman invaders of his states, a Byzantine army, under the command of Palseologus, a leader of noble birth and approved valour, was landed upon the shores of southern Italy; and favoured by the declining health and death of * Johannis Cinnami Historia, lib. ii. iii. Nicetaa Choniates, in Manuel Comnen. lib. i. iii. ad. c. 6. (Both in Scriptor Byzant?) 302 THE FOURTH CRUSADE. the Sicilian king, and by the affection of the people for the ancient community of "language and faith which had bound them to the Greek empire, the whole of Apulia and Calabria was rapidly reannexed to the Byzantine dominion. From this epoch, throughout the subsequent contests between the Western emperor, Frederic Barbarossa, on the one side, and the papacy and Lombard republics on the other, the intrigues, the blandishments, and the gold of Manuel, were unsparingly employed to extend his influence in Italy, and to promote his visionary scheme of wresting the sovereignty of the whole Peninsula from the German usurper of the Roman title. To the pope he threw out the lure of terminating the schism of the Latin and Greek churches ; to the Lombard cities he was prodigal both of money and promises; but the intrinsic weakness of the Greek empire was unequal to the prosecution of his ambi- tious design ; its weight was severely felt in the balance of Italian politics ; and when the pope and the Lombard republics had terminated their great struggle with Barbarossa, the subsidies and the nego- tiations of Manuel were alike disregarded. In South- ern Italy fortune was equally capricious to the Eastern empire ; the death of his brave lieutenant Palseologus was followed by the loss of his" transient conquests ; and, in a truce concluded with William the Bad, the successor of Roger on the Sicilian throne, in which that prince acknowledged himself the vassal of the THE EASTERN EMPIRE. 303 Byzantine throne, the dignity and pretensions of Manuel were only saved by his abandonment of the Italian soil. [1156.] In other quarters the warlike reign of Manuel was signalized by victories both over the Hungarians and Turks, though in his last years its splendour was clouded by a severe defeat which he sustained from the infidels in the Pisidian mountains. To his own subjects, even his more successful wars were productive of heavy burdens; his private life was licentious, and his political character was stained, as we have seen, with the reproach of pretended friendship and treacherous hostility to the Latins in the Second Crusade.* With the death of Manuel ended the greatness of the Comnenian race. His infant son and successor, Alexius II., was oppressed by a perfidious guardian and daring usurper of his own blood, Andronicus, himself a grandson of the first Alexius, who, after de- posing and murdering his imperial ward, himself ter- minated a tyrannical and bloody reign of less than three years by an ignominious and cruel death. The popular insurrection in which he fell was headed by Isaac Angelus, another member, by descent in the female line, of the Comnenian family. The leader or tool of the insurgents was raised to the throne, and under his feeble reign of ten years, the empire crumbled into ruir, A revolt of the Bulgarians was *Cinnamus, lib. iv>-vi. Nieetas, adfn. Manud, 304 THE FOURTH CRUSADE. Isaac Angelus. provoked by his tyranny in seizing their flocks and herds to supply the wasteful pomp of his nuptials : and his tame acquiescence in their assertion of inde- pendence severed their country from the Byzantine crown, after a possession of nearly two centuries, and established the second kingdom of Bulgaria under a race of their ancient princes. The inglorious and indolent reign of Isaac was frequently, and perhaps justly, threatened by abortive conspiracies; but his Worst and successful enemy was his own ungrateful THE EASTERN EMPIRE. 305 brother Alexius, whom he had redeemed from a Turk- ish prison, and who repaid the obligation by sur- prising his security, depriving him of his eyes, con- signing him to a dungeon, and seating himself on his throne. The son of the deposed prince, who was named also Alexius, a boy only twelve years of age, was spared by the pity or contempt of his uncle ; and he had subsequently contrived to escape into Italy, when the news of the assembly of a great crusading armament at Venice, inspired his youthful hopes that its leaders might be induced, by adequate offers, to defer the ultimate object of their enterprise for a season, and to direct their powerful arms to the re- storation *of his father. The entreaties of the young prince for their aid were supported at Venice by am- bassadors from his protector, the Duke of Swabia, who had married his sister: but it was at Zara, dur- ing the inaction of winter, that the friends of Alexius were permitted more successfully to negotiate a treaty with the Latin barons and Venetian republic, which was eventually to deliver the imperial inheritance of his house into the detested hands of foreign and bar- barous spoilers.* To induce the Venetians to accept the overtures of the young Greek prince, there were not wanting many motives both of passion and policy. The * Nicetas, in Adron. Comnen., in Isaac Angel., in Alex. Angel., ad lib in. &c. 20 306 THE FOURTH CRUSADE. alliance between their state and the Emperor Manuel Comnenus in the last age, had been converted, by hia protection of Ancona, the commercial rival of the re- public, into deadly enmity ; in revenge for a general confiscation of the property of the Venetians in his ports, to which Manuel was provoked by their inso- lence, their fleets had ravaged the Byzantine islands and coasts; and though the emperor, by a final sub- mission to their demands, had appeased the haughty republic, the hatred of the people of Constantinople, during the license of subsequent revolutions, had re- peatedly exposed the Venetian merchants in that capital to spoliation and massacre.* The arms of the republic, or the dread of her vengeance, generally, indeed, obtained indemnification for these outrages; but repeated broils cherished mutual national anti- pathy; and when the Pisans availed themselves of the temper of the Greeks to supplant the Venetians in their commercial relations with the empire, the ex- asperation of the latter people had reached its height. By assisting young Alexius, their republic would therefore both revenge her wrongs and regain her commercial advantages in the East. The politic Dandolo was not slow to anticipate the benefits which would accrue to his country from such an alliance; and he eagerly employed all his influence * Cinnamus, lib. vi. c. 10. Nicetas, in ManueC. lib. ii. c. *5; tn AlfX. Man. Filio, c. 11 ; in Isaac, lib. ii. c. 10. THE EASTERN EMPIRE. 307 with the confederate barons to engage them in the design.* For its adoption even as a means of advancing the ultimate object of the Crusade, some plausible argu- ments might be adduced. As the possession of Egypt was supposed to form the principal support of the Turkish arms in Palestine, the original design of the crusaders had been to attack the infidels at that source of their power. But it was now contended by the Venetians, that any loss of time in deferring the projected invasion of Egypt would be richly repaid to the profit of the Crusade, by the advantages likely to arise from the command of the Byzantine resources, which young Alexius offered as the price of his father's restoration. The proposals, indeed, of the imperial exile, were of the most tempting nature; for he engaged not only to pay two hundred thousand marks among the crusaders as soon as his parent should be re-established on the' throne; but also to put an end to the schism of the Greek and Latin churches by submitting his empire to the spiritual dominion of the Roman See ; and either to combine personally with the crusaders, at the head of the Byzantine forces, in the subsequent expedition against Egypt, or in default of his own presence, to send ten thousand men at his charge for one year, and to * Nicetas, in Alex. lib. iii. c. '9, expressly accuses the Doge and Venetians as the instigators of the French crusaders. 308 THE FOURTH CRUSADE. maintain five hundred knights during his life for the defence of Palestine.* These promised benefits to the cause of the church and the Crusade might at first have a powerful influence in winning assent even among the more devout leaders of the war; but it must be doubted whether the motives of their subse- quent conduct were equally pure and disinterested; and since the diversion of their arms against Zara had familiarized the minds of the crusading host to the postponement of their vows, it may be suspected that the successful siege and sack of that city had but awakened their appetite for a more splendid achieve- ment and a richer booty. The influence of such feelings is detected in their second and more deliberate contempt of the prohi- bition, which Innocent III. now fulminated against their design. The Byzantine usurper, anticipating the proposal of young Alexius, had, by a solemn em- bassy to Rome, offered to place the religious affairs of his empire under the government of the Latin papacy, and requested the presence of a legate from Rome; and the ambitious Innocent, hoping thus t6 secure the submission of the -Greek Church, as the price of keeping the reigning tyrant on the Byzantine throne, promised him protection against his ene- mies. The pontiff", therefore, proceeded positively to * Villehardouin, No. xlvi. Ckron. Danduli, lib. x. c. 3. THE EASTERN EMPIRE. 309 interdict the crusaders from espousing the cause of the imperial exile, or arrogating to themselves any authority for the redress of wrongs among Christians, or the suppression of schism, for which it was the province of the Holy See alone to provide. But, by the Venetians, the commands of the pope were immediately treated with such open disregard, that the cardinal legates, whom he had despatched* to Zara to enforce them, hopelessly quitted the place and sailed direct for Palestine; and their example was followed by a number of barons and other crusaders, including many most renowned for their devout and warlike spirit, who conscientiously dreaded to incur the papal censures, by turning their arms against the Eastern Empire; while not a few disguised, under the same pretext, their secret dread to engage in an enterprise so perilous and dis- proportioned to the assembled force of the con- federates. Since, indeed, submission to the papal authority was identified with every pious sentiment of the age, it is impossible not to conclude that, in the ininds of the remaining leaders and soldiery, the temptations of glorious or gainful adventure had triumphed over religious considerations; and chiefly through the personal persuasions, as it is said, of the Venetian Doge, the proposals of young Alexius, de- spite of the impending thunders of the Vatican, were 310 THE FOURTH CRUSADE. finally accepted by the marquis of Montferrat, the Counts of Flanders, Blois, and St. Paul, with eight other great French barons, and the majority of their followers.* * Villehardouin, No. xlv. xlvii. lii. Vita Innocent III. p. 533 Ejusdem Epistolse, No. Ixvii &c. EXPEDITION AGAIXST CO X ST A X TI XOPLE. 311 Dandolo, Duge of Venice. SECTION m. EXPEDITION AGAINST CONSTANTINOPLE. HOWEVER apparently inadequate foi the conquest of an ancient empire, the armament wherewith the Doge of Venice and the confederate barons now sailed for Constantinople, was of its kind the most complete and formidable which the world had yet witnessed. The fleet was composed of fifty great galleys of war, one hundred and twenty flat-bottomed horse-transports, called palanders or 312 THE FOURTH CRUSADE. huissiers* two hundred and forty vessels filled with troops and warlike engines, and seventy store-ships laden with provisions. On board this navy of nearly five hundred sail of which the enumeration conveys BO magnificent an idea of the wealth and po\Ver of the great republic there were embarked, under the con- federate barons of the Crusade, six thousand cavalry, composed of two thousand knights with their esquires and sergeants, or mounted attendants, and ten thou- sand foot: besides the Venetian sea and land forces, of which the numbers might be loosely estimated at twenty thousand more.f Although the Byzantine usurper was early apprized of the destination and force of this hostile armament, he made not a single effort to oppose its course; the crusaders were per- mitted successively, during a tardy navigation, to re- fresh themselves and their horses, and to replenish their provisions on the coasts and islands of Greece; and they finally approached the port of Constanti- * The origin of the former term for such a description of naval transport has been lost ; the latter is derived from the huis, or door in the side of the vessel, which was let down as a drawbridge for the purpose of shipping and landing the horses. Du Cange, on Ville- hardouin, No. xiv. j" According to Sanuto, Vite de Duchi de Venezia, (in Script. Rer. Ital. vol. xxii.) p. 528, the land forces of the republic in the expedi- tion were four hundred and fifty cavalry and eight thousand foot But after the first siege of Constantinople, Villehardouin (No. clii.) estimates the total combined army of French and Venetians at onlj twenty thousand men. EXPEDITION AGAINST CONSTANTINOPLE. 313 nople itself without having encountered an enemy. The Byzantine navy, which, it is said, had but lately numbered sixteen hundred vessels of war, might have sufficed to harass, and even to destroy, on its passage, an armament, so encumbered with horses and stores: but the Greek admiral, Michael Struphnos, brother-in- law of the usurper, had, in the baseness of his avarice, broken up the hulls of the shipping, that he might sell, for his private profit, the masts, rigging, and iron work ; and the port of Constantinople now contained only twenty galleys. The shores of the Propontia might have furnished abundant timber for the con- struction of a new navy : but the eunuchs of the palace, to whom the charge of the imperial forests was in- trusted for the purpose of the chase, would not suffer a tree to be felled for the public defence. To this and every other object of patriotism, the whole nation in- deed was alike insensible : for the unwarlike and de- generate Greeks, as a race in whom the despotism of centuries had extinguished every spark of generous shame, beheld in cowering apathy the approach of a detested enemy; and without favouring the cause of the younger Alexius, the people both of the capital and provinces were equally indifferent to the danger of the tyrant who filled their throne.* If that usurper himself, or his adherents, had been * Villehardouin. No. Ivi. Ivii. Rhamnusius, De Bello Constanti- nopoHtanOj &c. lib. i. p. 33. Nicetas, (in Alexio), lib. iii. c. 9. 314 THE FOURTH CRUSADE. capable of exerting even the passive courage of a de- fence,^the natural strength and resources of the capital might have defied the efforts of assailants, whom the able-bodied inhabitants outnumbered at the lowest estimate as ten tp one. When the Venetian navy arrived before the walls of Constantinople, and the gorgeous city, which the admiration of the crusaders deemed well worthy of being the mistress and queen of the world, burst in all her magnitude and splendour upon their astonished gaze, there was no heart so stout, is the simple and emphatic confession of the noble companion and chronicler of the adventure, but recoiled with dread at the spectacle of her massive ramparts and gigantic towers; for never surely had so great an enterprise been essayed.* But with the awe which the bravest might not feel ashamed to confess, was not the less mingled a magnanimous spirit which rose with the danger; and each warrior, looking upon his arms, reflected with unshaken resolution that the hour was at hand in which these must serve the need, and would suffice to insure the event, of glorious achievement. As a strong wind swept the armament past the walls of the majestic capital toward the op- posite shore, the fleet was there brought to anchor; * Et sachiez que line ot si hardi cuite cceur nefremist, et ce mefut mcrveil, car oneques si grande affaire ne fat enterpris (and know that no one was so bold that his heart did not tremble; and no wonder, for never was so great an enterprise undertaken.) Villehar- douin, No. Ixvi. EXPEDITION AGAINST CONSTANTINOPLE. 315 and the chivalry disembarking, took possession of the Asiatic suburb of Chrysopolis, the modern Scutari, and during nine days reposed in an imperial palace and gardens. This interval of inaction was marked by some negotiations, in which the Byzantine usurper offered to expedite their march through Asia Minor against the infidels, but menaced them with de- struction if their purpose was hostile to his state ; while the Doge and barons sternly replied, that they had entered the empire in the cause of Heaven to avenge the wrongs which he had committed, and boldly admonished him that if he hoped for mercy he must descend from the throne which he had unjustly seized.* After this declaration, they prepared to cross the Bosphorus to the European shore, the whole body of the chivalry being divided into six corps or battles, two composed of Flemish knights with their attendant archers under Count Baldwin and his brother, three of French crusaders led respectively by the Counts of Blois and St. Paul, and the Lord of Montmorency, and the sixth or reserve of Italians and Germans under the marquis of Montferrat. The knights and ser- geants embarked in the palanders, with their horses ready saddled and caparisoned; the Venetian galleys took them in tow; and, in this order, they stood across the strait toward the European suburb of * Villehardouin, No. Iviii.-lxxxi. 316 THE FOURTH CRUSADE. Galata, which commands the entrance of the port The Greek cavalry were drawn out on the beach ir far superior force to oppose their landing: but when the knights, as soon as the water reached only to their girdle, leaped from the vessels, lance in hand, the enemy immediately fled ; and the horses being brought on shore, the cavaliers mounted, pursued the flying squadrons, and captured the imperial camp without striking a blow. On the following morning, after a faint sally by the Greeks, the assailants en- tered the town of Galata with the fugitives; the chain which from thence secured the mouth of the harbour was broken ; and the whole Venetian fleet entering the port of Constantinople in triumph, the remains of the imperial navy either fell into their hands, or were driven on shore and burned.* Though the port was thus captured, the gigantic works, by which the city itself was completely en- closed and separated from the suburbs, might still bid defiance to the efforts of the crusaders: but their courage and confidence were unbounded. Though their numbers were insufficient to observe more than a single front of the walls, they determined to com- mence a regular siege; and this magnanimous reso- lution presents the singular and amazing example of the investment of the largest and strongest capital in the world by a few thousand men. The perils and * Villehardouin, No. Ixxxii. Nicetas, (in Alexio,} lib. Hi. c. 10. EXPEDITION AGAINST CONSTANTINOPLE. 317 the hardihood of this extraordinary enterprise were enhanced by the privations under which it was prose cuted. Of flour and salt provisions, the confederates had a supply but for three weeks left; clouds of Greek cavalry confined their few foragers to the camp; and their only fresh meat was obtained by the slaughter of their own horses. Delay was therefore far more to be dreaded than x the resistance of the enemy ; and the preparatory operations of the siege were urged with superhuman exertions. The possession of the har- bour determined the point of attack ; and against the walls on that side two hundred and fifty great pro- jectile and battering engines were planted. When by incredible labour the ditch had been filled up, and some impression made upon the defences, the French and Venetians agreed to attempt a simultaneous assault : the former from their approaches against the land faces; the latter from their galleys upon the fronts which overlooked the port. Standing upon the raised deck of his vessel, with the gonfalon, or great banner of St. Mark, floating over his head, the venerable Doge himself led the naval attack; and such was the ardour excited by his presence, his voice, and his example, that the line of galleys was boldly rowed to the beach under the walls; by ladders from the foot of the ramparts, and by draw- bridges let down upon their battlements from the masts of the loftier vessels, the defences were sur- mounted ; and the banner of the republic was planted 318 THE TOURTH CRUSADE. on one of the twenty-five towers which were earned by the assailants. But meanwhile the attack on the land side had oeen less successful; every gallant effort of the French chivalry to scale the walls through the imper- fect breaches had been repulsed by the assistance of some Pisan colonists and the valour of the Varangian, or Anglo-Saxon and Danish guards, ever the firmest support of the Byzantine thrctae;* and the numerous cavalry of the Greeks, pouring from the gates, threatened to surround and overwhelm the scanty array of the exhausted crusaders. The Doge learn- ing their danger, after setting fire to the quarter of the city which he had entered, and which was thus reduced to ashes, drew off his triumphant forces to the succour of his fainting allies; and the pusillani- mous Greeks, without daring a closer or prolonged encounter, disgracefully retired within the shelter of their walls. The confederates passed the succeeding night in eager rather than anxious suspense : but such * On the subject of the Anglo-Saxon emigrations which filled the ranks of the Varangian guards of the Byzantine throne, there is some difference of opinion. Du Cange, indeed, (Notes on Villehardouin, No. Ixxxix. &c.,) labours to prove that these Varangians came from ihe northern continent of Europe only : but the words of Villehar- douin are explicit, Anglois et Danois. It is not probable that a French knight could have confounded their race ; and his statement is in agreement with the fact, that impatience of the Norman tyranny had, ever since the epoch of the Conquest, driven multitudes of the bolder spirits among the oppressed English to seek a more honourable existence in foreign countries. EXPEDITION AGAINST CONSTANTINOPLE. 319 Was the terror with which the usurper Alexius was seized at the balanced success of the conflict, that, under cover of the darkness, he basely fled from his capital with a part of the imperial treasures. On the discovery of his absence, the trembling nobles of the palace drew his blind and captive brother Isaac from the dungeon to the throne; and,, when morning dawned, the leaders of the crusaders were astonished by an embassy from the restored emperor, announcing the revolution, desiring the presence of his son, and inviting them also to receive his grateful acknow- ledgments.* The first proceeding of the confederates, on the re- ceipt of this message, was to depute two barons and two Venetians to wait upon the emperor with their felicitations, and with a less welcome demand for the fulfilment of the engagements which his son had con- tracted in his name. While he admitted that their services were entitled to the highest recompense which was his to bestow, Isaac heard with consterna- tion the extent of the conditions which he was re- quired to ratify: the payment of two hundred thou- sand marks of silver, the employment of the imperial forces in the service of the Crusade, and the sub- mission of the Greek Church to the spiritual authority of the pope. But the immediate subscription of the * Villehardouin, No. Ixxxii.-xcix. Danduli, Chron. p. 321, 322. Nicetas, (in Alexio), lib. iii. ad Jin. Vitse Innocent. III. c. 91, p 533, 534. 320 THE FOURTH CRUSADE. . emperor to these onerous terms was peremptorily insisted upon, and, however reluctantly, obtained. On the return of the envoys to the camp, young Alexius was permitted to make his triumphant entry into the city, attended by the Latin chiefs; and the joint coronation of the aged emperor and his son, which was joyfully celebrated, seemed to announce a peaceful conclusion to the recent struggle. This fal- lacious promise of concord between two nations so mutually obnoxious as the Latins and Greeks, was of short duration. To satisfy the rapacious demands of their deliverers, the emperors, in the low state of the Byzantine treasury, were compelled to make many grievous exactions from their subjects : the warlike Franks cared not to conceal their insolent disdain for a pusillanimous people : and, above all, the veneration of the Greeks for the peculiar forms and doctrines of their faith the only symptoms of virtuous feeling which, discernible as it is throughout the long annals of their degradation, may command some share of our respect was outraged by the undisguised design of subjugating their church to the papal yoke. From the very altar of the Cathedral of St. Sophia, the Patriarch of Constantinople was compelled, at the dic- tation of the crusaders, to proclaim the spiritual supremacy of the Roman Pontiff; and the people were required to subject their consciences to the doc- trines and discipline of a church which they had ever been taught to regard with horror as schismatic and EXPEDITION AGAINST CONSTANTINOPLE. 321 heretical. By these measures, their political and re- ligious antipathy was extended to the young emperor, as the ally and creature of the detested foreigners ; and the conduct 'of Alexius himself did not tend to win the favour, or to command the respect, of hia offended subjects. While the boisterous orgies and rude freedoms, which marked the social intercourse of the Western Nations, shocked the superior refine- ment or ceremonial pride of the Greeks, the young emperor, regardless alike of the difference in national manners, and of his own dignity, continued to visit the quarters, and to share in the debaucheries and gaming of the Franks. In one of these' carousals, he suffered the diadem to be snatched in sportive or con- temptuous familiarity from his head, and exchanged for the coarse woollen cap of some low reveller; and the contempt, as well as the aversion of his subjects, was not unjustly provoked against the unfeeling or thoughtless boy, who could thus basely, in the eyes of insolent barbarians, sully the lustre and dishonour the majesty of his imperial crown.* Through all these causes, Alexius soon found that he had become so odious to his countrymen as to render the continued presence of his Latin allies in- dispensable to the security of his throne; and he endeavoured, by the promise of further rewards, to * Nicetas, in Isaacum et Alexw Angelas, c. 1-3. Villehardouin, No. xcix.-ci. 21 322 THE FOURTH CRUSADE. \ induce them to postpone their departure, and the prosecution of their crusading vows, until the follow- ing spring. He found them little loth to accede to his terms. On the first restoration of Isaac, indeed, the Latin barons had given some signs of pursuing the original purpose of their confederacy, had sent a defiance to the Sultan of Egypt, and had deprecated the anger of the pope at their repeated disobedience by entreaties for pardon, and by assurances that thenceforth their arms should be devoted exclusively to the sacred service of Palestine. The Venetians also had condescended to solicit a reconciliation with the Holy See ; and Innocent was so well satisfied with the prospect of bringing the Greek Church under his dominion, and so rejoiced to recognise the slightest symptoms of penitence in those stubborn republicans, that he extended absolution to them, as well as to their more submissive baronial confederates. But, in truth, both the Doge and his noble allies were by this time almost equally ready to disregard the papal dis- pleasure and the objects of the Crusade for their per- sonal profit; and Alexius seems to have experienced little difficulty in purchasing their continued services until the spring, as soon as he had quieted their con- sciences by repeating the condition, that he would then accompany them to Egypt with the recruited forces of his empire.* Vita Innocent. III. p. 534. Villehardouin, No. ci.-ciii. EXPEDITION AGAINST CONSTANTINOPLE. 323 To occupy the interval, and enforce the recognition of his disputed authority over the imperial territories, the Marquis of Montferrat, with a body of the con- federate chivalry, successfully conducted the young prince in an expedition through the Thracian pro- vinces; but, during this absence, the hatred of the people of the capital was fatally aggravated by the misconduct of the Latins. Though, for the pre- vention of feuds, a separate quarter had been assigned to the strangers in the suburb of Galata or Pera, some Flemings and Venetians, during a visit to the city, attacked a commercial colony of Mussulmans, which had long enjoyed the protection of the Byzantine em- perors. The infidels, though surprised, defended themselves bravely: the Greek inhabitants assisted them, while some Latin residents aided the aggres- sors ; and, during the conflict, the latter set fire to a building, from whence the flames spread with such frightful rapidity, that, before they could be extin- guished, a third part of the magnificent city was re- duced to ashes. During eight days, the conflagration raged over above a league in extent from the port to the Propontis: immense quantities of merchandise and other valuable property were destroyed, and thousands of families were reduced to beggary. The Latin chiefs expressed their vain sorrow for a calamity which, as produced by the unbridled license of their followers, it should rather have been their care to pre- vent; but the suffering and exasperated Greeks were 824 THE FOURTH CRUSADE. little disposed to credit their sincerity. Moreover, ai some of the Italian settlers in the capital had insti- gated or shared the outrage, the vengeance of the suf- ferers was specially directed against the ingratitude of these foreigners who had long been naturalized among them ; and to the number of fifteen thousand persons, the whole body were compelled to abandon their dwellings, and to consult their safety by flight to the suburban quarters of the crusaders.* From this epoch, the national animosity of the Greeks and Latins mutually increased to a deadly height ; and, when the young emperor returned to his capital, he found the rupture incurable, and his own position such, that he was scarcely permitted to choose between the party of his subjects and that of his allies. By the Greeks, he was more than ever abhorred as the tool of their oppressors ; by the Latin chiefs, without consideration for the difficulties which oppressed his government, his hesitation in fulfilling the pecuniary conditions of the alliance was resented with suspicion and menaces. Not deigning to admit the public distresses which the late conflagration had grievously aggravated, as any excuse for delay in the collection and payment of their promised reward, the confederate leaders suddenly adopted the most violent counsels; and an embassy was sent, in the name of * Nicetas in Isaac, et Alex, p 272-274. Villehardouin, No. ovii.-cvii. EXPEDITION AGAINST CONSTANTINOPLE. 325 the Doge of Venice, and of the barons of the army, tc defy the two emperors in their own palace. After fearlessly delivering their haughty message, the en- voys mounted their horses, and returned to the quarters of the confederates; and hostilities, to which the two emperors were the only reluctant parties, as they were also the first victims, immediately com- menced on both sides.* Such was the unhappy condition of the nation and the times, that the only man among the Greeks who had courage and ability to undertake the defence of his country, was placed in the odious light of a traitor and an usurper. Alexius Angelus Ducas, surnamed Mourzouflej from his shaggy eyebrows, a prince allied by blood to the imperial house, had been the chief in- strument in urging the vacillating young emperor to resist the haughty demands of the Latins ; and in the war of skirmishes which now ensued, his personal valour and energy were invidiously contrasted with the weakness or reluctance of his sovereign. The seditious populace of Constantinople demanded the deposition of Isaac and his son, whom they stig- matized as the secret friends of the invaders; and after the prudence of several members of the nobility had induced them to decline the proffered dignity of the purple, a young patrician, named Nicholas Cana- bus, was tempted by his vanity to accept the Byzan- * Villehardouin, No. cix.-cxii. Nicetas, ubi suprd. 326 THE FOURTH CRUSADE. tine crown. But the valour of Ducas had meanwhile gained the suffrages of the Varangian guards; the imperial puppet of the hour was displaced without re- sistance; Isaac and his son were persuaded to seek safety in flight, and were betrayed into a dungeon, in which the former soon expired with grief and terror; and the more deserving patriot or successful conspi- rator was unanimously called to the throne. [A. D. 1204.] From the hour in which Ducas assumed the insignia of empire, a new impulse was given to the Byzantine counsels: the walls of the capital were guarded with active discipline; many sallies Were at least boldly directed; two attempts, frustrated only by the intre- pidity and skill of the Venetian sailors, were made to burn the Latin fleet; and if it had been possible to nerve the hearts of the Greeks in the national cause, its ruin might yet have been averted by the spirit of their leader. But in every encounter before the walls and in the adjacent country, Ducas was deserted by the cowardice of his new subjects; he found it neces- sary to negotiate with the invaders; and when they insisted on the restoration of the deposed emperor, he attempted to remove that obstacle to an accommo- dation, since Isaac was already dead, by the murder of his remaining prisoner Alexius.* * Villehardouin, No. cxiii.-cxix. Vita Innocent. III. p. 534, 535 Nieetas, in Isaac, ct Alex. c. 4, 5, in Mourzuflum, c. 1. SECOND SIEGE OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 327 Theodore Lascaris. SECTION IV. SECOND SIEGE OF CONSTANTINOPLE JIEN the intelligence of this event reached the camp, of the crusaders, the causes of 'resentment which had sepa- rated them from the young ally and companion of their voyage, were forgotten in coin- 328 THE FOURTH CRUSADE. miseration and horror at his untimely and cruel fate. They passionately swore to revenge his death upon a perfidious usurper and nation ;* and the crime of Ducas served only to exasperate the enmity, while it inflamed the ambition of these formidable assailants. Conceiving themselves now released from all obliga- tions of forbearance toward a race so inhuman and treacherous as the Greeks, and easily adopting the convenient doctrine that it was a religious duty to punish their murder of a prince by the conquest and dismemberment of his empire, the Doge and confede- rate barons proceeded to sign a treaty of partition by which, in the hardy confidence of valour, and un- daunted by the disparity of their force to the perilous magnitude of the enterprise, they anticipated the re- * suit of their astonishing achievements. It was agreed that, after liquidating, out of the booty to be captured, the pecuniary claims of Venice for the expenses of the armament, the remainder should be equally shared between the troops of the crusaders and the republic; that the existence of the empire should be preserved, and one of the confederate barons raised to its throne, but with only a fourth of its present territories for the support of his title; and that, of the remaining three- * Yet if Nicetas (p. 280) may be credited, in preference to tha Latin authorities who do not notice such a transaction, the crusading barons, by the advice of the Doge of Venice, were still willing to have granted peace to the usurper for fifty thousand pounds bat mutual distrust broke off the negotiation. SECOND SIEGE OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 329 fourths, one moiety should be surrendered in full sovereignty to Venice, and the other divided into imperial fiefs among the nobles of the Crusade.* The winter had been consumed in desultory con- flicts or in necessary preparation; but, with the re* turn of spring, the confederates having completed the arrangement of their daring project, proceeded to put it into execution. To prevent a repetition of the failure in the last attack upon the walls from the separation of their forces, it was determined that the assault of the capital should be attempted from the port alone ; and the Venetian fleet being distributed into six divisions, to correspond with the former arrangement of the chivalry into as many battles, one body of knights embarked in the palanders of each squadron with their horses and followers. In this order the whole armament crossed the harbour, and assaulted the same line of defences, against which the Venetians had before successfully exerted their efforts. But, though the depth of water permitted the vessels to approach near enough to the walls for the combatants on the ramparts and on the drawbridges and rope- ladders, which were let down from the upper works of the galleys, to fight hand to hand; the insecure footing of the assailants on these frail and floating machines, and the firm vantage-ground and superior * Epistola Balduini, in Vita Innocent. III. p. 526. Danduli, Chronicon, (in notis,} p. 826. 330 THE FOURTH CRUSADE. numbeis of the besieged, rendered the combat so unequal, that the former, after astonishing feats of valour, were finally repulsed at every point. In- structed but not intimidated by this failure, the Venetians now undertook to supply their allies with the means of approaching the walls in steadier array ; the large vessels were strongly lashed together in pairs, to increase their stability and impulsive force; and three days having been spent in preparation and refreshment, the assault was again given with resist- less vigour and happier fortune. From sunrise to noon, the slow advance of the heavy line of vessels was retarded by volleys of missiles which were showered from the walls; [April 12;] the recent success of the Greeks had animated their spirit into a courageous resistance; and the issue of the conflict still hung in dangerous suspense : when a strong breeze, suddenly springing up from the north, all at once drove the double galleys with propitious violence against the walls. The names of the two linked vessels the Pilgrim and Paradise having on -board the martial Bishops of Soissons and Troyes, which first touched the walls, were repeated with loud shouts as an omen of divine aid; the panic-stricken Greeks fled from their posts; four towers, with a long line of rampart, were escaladed and carried ; and three gates being burst open, the knights led their horses on shore from the palanders, mounted, and swept thrdugh the streets of Constantinople in battle array. In the SECOND SIEGE OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 331 mazes of a vast capital, indeed, their cavalry might have been useless, their feeble numbers might have been lost and overpowered; in the hands of a brave people, every house might have been defended, every church and palace and massive building converted into an impregnable fortress. So conscious were the victors of their danger, that they immediately began to fortify the first quarters which they had seized ; passe^ the night under arms ; and setting fire to the streets in their front, produced a new conflagration, which in a few hours consumed another portion of the city equal in extent, according to the confession of their chronicler, to any three towns in France. But these precautions" were needless against an enemy whom neither patriotism nor despair, neither the ruin of their country and fortunes, nor the violence with which the licentious passions of a ferocious soldiery menaced their own lives and the honour of their women, could rouse to one generous or manly effort. The Emperor Ducas, finding it impossible to animate his craven subjects with any portion of his own spirit, abandoned them to their fate, and retired from the city with his family. After his flight, the brave efforts of two other illustrious Greeks, Theodore Ducas and Theodore Lascaris the latter of whom was destined subsequently to re-establish and sustain the fortunes of his country proved for the time equally ineffectual ; a suppliant train bearing crosses and images sought the quarters, to implore the mercy 332 THE FOURTH CRUSADE. Desecration of the Churches. of the crusaders for the fallen capital ; and when morning dawned, the Latin chiefs, who had antici- pated that the reduction of the whole city would still cost them at least the labour of a month, found them- selves masters of the Eastern empire.* But while they gladly accepted the submission, they were deaf to the abject prayers of the Greeks. Con- stantinople was abandoned to a general pillage, dur- ing which the miserable inhabitants witnessed and endured every extremity of horror. Yet even the brutal "and licentious soldiery were surpassed in * Villehardouin, No. cxx.-cxxx. Epistola Baldwin i in Vita In- nocent. III. p. 535, 536. Nicetas, in Murznflv.m c. 2. SECOND SIEGE OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 333 cruelty by the Latin residents who had been re- cently expelled from the city, and chiefly by whose revengeful malice two thousand of the unresisting Greeks were wantonly murdered in cold blood. Insult and sacrilege were added to rapine and debauchery ; the churches and national worship of the Greeks were denied and profaned; and by the followers of a cru- sading army was strangely enacted at Constantinople the same impious scene, which another European capital was to exhibit to modern times, of enthroning a painted strumpet in a Christian cathedral.* The worst vices were freely perpetrated by the rabble of the camp and Latin suburbs; but attempts were made to control the privilege of rapine for the general bene- fit of the victors; on pain of excommunication and death, all individuals were commanded to bring their booty to appointed stations for a public division ; and though some incurred the penalty of disobedience, and many more successfully secreted their spoils, the quantities of treasure which were collected exceeded the most greedy or sanguine expectation. After satisfying the claims of the Venetians, the value of the share which fell to the French crusaders is esti- mated, by their chronicler, at four or five hundred thousand marks, besides ten thousand horses; and * This " Goddess of Reason" of the thirteenth century was seated on the throne to represent the office and person of the patriarch, while drunken revellers in ribaldrous songs and dances mocked the chants and ceremonies of the Greek worship. Nicetas, p. 303. 334 TIIE FOURTH CRUSADE. another eye-witness declares that, by the division of the booty, the poorest of the host were rendered wealthy.* But the gain of the adventurers, however enormous, bore a small proportion to the destruction and waste of property by which their victory was attended. It would be vain to estimate the wealth of ages which had been consumed in three conflagrations, or spoiled in the wantonness of a sack. But every scholar and lover of the arts must deplore the irreparable loss of those relics of the literature and sculpture of classical antiquity, which perished in the fall of Constanti- nople. Her libraries, still containing many precious remains of the best ages of Greece and Rome, which- have not been preserved to our times, were now abandoned to the flames by the ignorant indiffeience of the barbarian conquerors ; but their malevolence or cupidity was more actively exercised in the destruc- tion of those beauteous monuments of which Constan- tine had robbed the ancient seiit of empire to enrich his new capital. In the furious violence of conquest, or in mere wanton love of destruction, the statues of marble were mutilated or thrown down from their pedestals: but those of bronze were melted, with insensible and sordid avarice, to afford a base coin for the payment of the soldiery. This barbarous abuse * Villehardouin, No. cxxx.-cxxxv. Vita Innocent. Ill p. 536-538. Nicetas, in Murzuflum, ad Jin. SECOND SIEGE OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 335 Tower of St. Mark's, Venice. of the right of conquest was probably the work of the rude barons ,of France : for the more refined Vene- tians, with better taste, if not with less injustice, con- verted a portion of their spoil into a national trophy ; nd removed to St. Mark's Elace in, their capital those four celebrated horses* of bronze which, at the distance * Before St. Mark still glow his steeds of brass, Their gilded collars glittering in the s.un ; But is not Doria's menace come to pass ? Are they not hridlcd 336 THE FOURTH CRUSADE. of six centuries, still present the most striking memo- rial of the glory and ruin of the once mighty re- public. After the division of their booty, the leaders of the confederate host assembled to consummate the more important work of partitioning an empire. For the preliminary business of nominating one of their number to fill the spoliated throne of the Csesars, six persons of each nation, French and Venetian, were appointed under one of the provisions of the existing treaty ; and this council now balanced the claims of the Marquis of Montferrat, hitherto the chosen leader of the Crusade, and of the Count of Flanders: for though the superior merits of the Doge to either were generously suggested by the French electors, his own countrymen, with the patriotic jealousy of republican freedom, declared the imperial dignity incompatible with the office of the first magistrate of their com- monwealth. The final choice of the council fell upon the Count of Flanders, determined, perhaps, by his descent from Charlemagne, his alliance by blood to the King of France, and the anticipated repugnance of the French barons to obey an Italian sovereign As > soon as this decision of the electors was an- nounced, Baldwin was raised upon a buckler, accord- ing to the Byzantine custom, by his brother barons and knights, borne on their shoulders to the church of St. Sophia, invested with the purple, and exhibited to the Greeks as their new emperor. His rival, and SECOND SIEGE OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 337 Ceremony of raising an elected King on a Buckler. now his vassal, the Marquis of Montferrat, was con- soled by the possession of Macedonia and great part of proper Greece, with the regal title ; and the remain- ing barons shared, by lot or precedence of rank, the various provinces of the empire in Europe and Asia, which remained at their choice, after the stipulated appropriation of three-eighths of the whole to the Ve- netian republic. Besides that proportion of the capi- tal itself, Venice thus obtained the sovereignty of Crete, of most of the islands in the Ionian and 338 THE FOURTH CRUSADE. seas, and of a long chain of maritime ports on the continent from the capes of the Adriatic to the Bos- phorus. While the republic, in virtue of this par- tition, arrogated to her venerable Doge and his suc- cessors the proud and accurate title of lords of one- fourth and one-eighth of the empire of Romania, to the new sovereign of Constantinople had been reserved in immediate sovereignty only one-fourth of the Byzan- tine dominions; and on all sides the narrow and inadequate limits of his throne were surrounded by vassals, who only nominally acknowledged, and by enemies who wholly denied the legality of his reign.* The eagerness of the Latin adventurers to occupy their several allotments of the territorial spoil, dis- covered the total insufficiency of their divided strength to secure the work of conquest, which they had so daringly achieved. The dispersion of the French barons, each attended by no more than a few score of lances, over the vast provinces of the empire, betrayed to the subjugated nation the weakness of their conquerors, while the impolitic contempt by which the Greeks of all ranks found themselves ex- cluded from employments and honours in the Latin court, increased their impatience to escape from a yoke, which they still wanted^ courage or concert to break. By degrees, therefore, from the capital and * Villehardouin, No. cxxxvi.-cxl. Danduli Chron. lib. x. c. 3. Du Cange, Hist, de Constantinople sous leg Empereurs Franfais, lib 1. SECOND SIEGE OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 339 its neighbouring provinces on the European shores, the noblest born and the bravest of the Greeks with- drew into less accessible quarters of the dismembered empire to range themselves under the standards of native leaders. In Europe, for a moment after the fall of Constantinople, the imperial title was still arro- gated by the two fugitive usurpers, the elder Alexius Angelus and Ducas Mourzoufle; and between them an apparent reconciliation was effected. During his short reign, Ducas had endeavoured to strengthen his pretensions to the imperial dignity by seizing the hand of a daughter of Alexius ; and being now driven out of Adrianople on the advance of the Latins, he obtained, through the tender of allegiance to his father-in-law, a promise of such protection as his camp could afford. But he had no sooner placed himself in the power of Alexius, than ,that tyrant, even more perfidious than impotent, caused him to be deprived of his eyes and thrust from the camp. In this sight- less and horrid condition, as he was endeavouring to escape across the Hellespont into Asia, Mourzoufle was arrested by the Latins; brought to trial for his own worst crime, the murder of young Alexius; and con demned to be cast, alive and headlong, from the lofty summit of the Theodosian pillar at Constantinople upon the marble pavement beneath.* The execution of this dreadful sentence on him was soon followed by v * Villehardouin, No. clxi.-clxv. Nicetas, in Balduin, p. 393 340 THE FOURTH CRUSADE. the captivity of his betrayer Alexius, who was sur- prised by Boniface of Montferrat, and transported to an Italian dungeon. By the fate of these two usurp- ers, the principal support of the national cause of the Greeks devolved upon a young hero, who might main- tain, in right of his wife, the hereditary claims, while he spurned the base qualities of the Angeli; and in whom the valour of Ducas was unsullied by the guilt of treason and murder. This was Theodore Lascaris, who had also married a daughter of Alexius Angelus ; and whose gallant devotion to his country had already been signalized in the two sieges of Constantinople. Retiring, after the fall of the capital, across the Bos- phorus into the recesses of Bithynia, and being joined by the most generous and congenial spirits of his nation, he there organized a resistance against the Latin adventurers, which not only prevented them from ever gaining a secure establishment in the Asiatic provinces of the empire, but prepared their expulsion from their European conquests. But the fate both of the Latin and Greek dynasties, which for sixty years were to dispute the sceptre of the Eastern empire, will reclaim our attention hereafter; and the connection of the History of the Crusades with the revolutions of Constantinople closes at the period before us. In the division and enjoyment of a conquered empire, the confederate barons who had embraced the service of the Cross now seemed as completely to have SECOND SIEGE OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 341 forgotten the original object of their expedition, as if it had never been undertaken for the deliverance of the Holy Sepulchre ; and the vain trophies of a vic- tory, not over Paynim but Christian enemies the gates and chain- of the harbour of Constantinople sent by the new emperor of the East to Palestine,* were the only fruits of the Fourth Crusade which ever reached the Syrian shores. * Nicetas, in Ealduin, p. 383. Gethiemaiu. 342 THE LAST FOUR CRUSADES. Baldwin I., Emperor of the East. CHAPTER V. ast jf0r SECTION I HISTORY OF THE LATIN EMPIRE OF THE EAST. ROM the first hour of its establish- ment, the LATIN EMPIRE OF THE EAST was foredoomed to a hope- less condition of weakness and decay. The appropriation of three-eighths of the conquered provinces to the Venetian repub- lic; the division of an equal LATIN EMPIRE OF THE EAST. 343 portion among feudal chieftains, who acknowledged only a nominal supremacy in the imperial possessor of the remaining fourth; the escape of the bravest of the Greeks into Epirus and Asia, and the common and deep detestation with which the whole race of their subjugated countrymen regarded the govern- ment of the Western barbarians and the supremacy of a heretical church, all conspired to promote the rapid dissolution of that splendid but unreal fabric of conquest, which a few thousand adventurers had suddenly founded amid the ruins of the Byzantine throne. The mutual jealousies and dissensions of the con- querors would alone have been fatal to the stability of their dominion; and the contempt in which they held the pusillanimous character of the Greeks, blinded them to the imprudence of outraging the national feel- ings of an acute and subtle people, who eagerly watched every symptom of their weakness and dis- union, and silently awaited the season of reaction and revenge. So insensible were the Latins to the insecurity and danger of their position, that, only a few months after the conquest of Constantinople, as if no better occupation could be found against the common enemy, their two principal potentates, the emperor Baldwin and Boniface of Montferrat, the new king of Macedonia, engaged in an open civil war, which was terminated with difficulty by the intervention of the 344 THE LAST FOUR CRUSADES. Doge of Venice, and of the sovereign peers of the dis- membered empire.* This quarrel was scarcely composed when the titular reign of Baldwin was suddenly disturbed by a more formidable opponent, [A. D. 1204,] whose hos- tility was provoked by the Latin pride, and assisted by Greek disaffection. This was Calo Johannes, or Joannice, king of Bulgaria, the ancient enemy of the Greek empire, who, on its subversion, had welcomed the Latins as natural allies, and invited their friend- ship by a congratulatory embassy. But Baldwin, who pretended to have succeeded to all the rights of the deposed dynasty, repulsed the Bulgarian envoys with disdain ; treated their master as a revolted rebel against the Byzantine throne; and instead of accept- ing his alliance, demanded his allegiance. Joannice smothered this insult only until his emissaries had prepared the Greek provincials of Thrace to become the ready instruments of his vengeance. An exten- sive conspiracy wa"s quickly and secretly organized; and the signal for its explosion was the departure from Constantinople of Henry, the brother of Baldwin, with the flower of the Latin chivalry, to attempt the reduction of the Asiatic provinces. Throughout Thrace, the Greek population rose simultaneously and _ r _. * Geoffrey de Villehardouin, Histoire de la Prise de Constanti- nople, Ed. Du Cange, fol. Paris, 1657. Paragraphs No. cxl.-clx. Du Cange, Histoire de Constantinople sous les Empereur& Francois, (in codem loco,') lib. i LATIN EMPIRE OF THE EAST. 345 Buddenly against their oppressors; the Latins in the open country, unarmed and surprised, were everywhere mer- cilessly slaughtered ; [A. D. 1205 ;] the feeble garrison? of the towns, for the most part, were either overpow- ered by the first shock of the revolt and massacred, or escaped in dismay by a gathering retreat upon the capital; and the loss of Adrianople, the second city of the empire, where the Venetians had established their chief post, and whence their forces were driven in disorder by the insurgent populace, completed the sum of disaster. To aggravate its effects, Joannice himself, at the head of his Bulgarians, and of a yet more fierce and savage horde of Comans,* or Turco- man auxiliaries, poured into Thrace, and discovered * In the Memoirs of Joinville (Johnes's Translation, p. 204) is a curious passage illustrative of a custom of this wild horde of the Comans. Louis IX. of France was joined in Palestine by " a most noble knight" of Constantinople, who informed the king that, when the Comans had once concluded an alliance with the Latins, their chief had insisted on the contracting parties "being blooded, and drinking alternately of each other's blood in sign of brotherhood." Joinville adds that, when this Byzantine knight and his companions took service with the French, they required the like pledge of him- self and his countrymen ; " and our blood being mixed with wine, was drunk by each party as constituting us all brothers of the same blood." The mention of this barbarous rite, thus borrowed by the Latins from the pagan Comans, furnishes the indefatigable Du Cange. with an occasion to discuss the whole subject of brotherly adoption in arms. Diss. xxi. The Comans were a Tartar, or Tur- coman horde, who encamped in the 12th and 13th centuries on the verge of Moldavia. They were mostly pagans, but some were Mo- hammedans, and the whole tribe was converted to Christianity in 1370 by Loiiis, King of Hungary. , 346 THE LAST FOUR CRUSADES. to the Latins the extent of the combination against them. At this perilous juncture, Baldwin and his gallant compeers, who had rallied the broken remains of their chivalry round the capital, evinced the same high and . dauntless spirit, and the same untempered disdain of all prudential considerations, which had already achieved and endangered the possession of an empire. Instead of awaiting the arrival of Henry of Flanders and his more numerous bands, who had been recalled from the Asiatic war on the first alarm, the emperor resolved to take the field at the head of his scanty array, and to advance for the immediate recovery of Adrianople from the insurgents. The march was accomplished, and that city had already been in- vested, when the Latin chivalry was enveloped in a plain by a cloud of Bulgarian and Turcoman horse, who, according to their usual mode of combat, fled before every charge ; lured their enemies into a pre- cipitate and disorderly pursuit; and when the heavily armed French cavaliers had utterly exhausted their own strength and that of their steeds, turned sud- denly upon them, surrounded, and cut them to pieces. The Count of Blois, whose rash contempt of a salutary caution had involved the Latin army in their destruc- tion, paid the penalty of his presumption, and was slain on the spot; the emperor Baldwin, whose im- petuosity had been carried away by the example, fell alive into the hands of a cruel enemy; and the rem- LATIN EMPIRE OF THE EAST. 347 nant of the Latin host was saved from destruction only by the presence of mind, the skill, and the patient courage of the aged Doge of Venice and of the Marshal Villehardouin, the historian of the war.* While the venerable Dandolo assumed the general direction of a retreat, his noble compeer rallied a rear- guard, and at its head firmly sustained the furious assaults of the pursuers ^ and in such order was safely accomplished an arduous march of three days, from the walls of Adrianople to the shores of the Helles- pont. There, the exhausted forces of , the Latins were met by the troops under Henry of Flanders, who had landed from the Asiatic coast; whose junction re- stored the balance of strength ; and whose arrival, if it had been awaited before the late expedition, might have averted its disastrous issue. In the first igno- rance of the Latins of the fate of their captive em- peror, the regency of his dominions was intrusted to his brother Henry ; but, after the lapse of a year, the king of Bulgaria, who had formerly obtained the papal friendship and patronage by professing his con- version to the Latin church, replied to the solicita- tions of Innocent III. for the release of Baldwin, that his imperial prisoner had expired in his dungeon. The manner of his death was never ascertained ; but the fact (although twenty years later it was strongly * Villehardouin, No. clxv.-cxciii. . Nicetae Acominati Choniatee, JJtstoria, (in Script. Byzant.}, p. 383-416. Du Cange, Hist, Con- ttant. lib. i. adjinem. 348 THE LAST FOUR CRUSADES. brought into doubt) was firmly believed by his East- ern subjects; and after an affectionate delay, until all" hope of his existence had been lost, his brother Henry consented to assume the imperial title.* In the brief and calamitous annals of the Latin Empire of the East, the reign of the virtuous and pru- dent Henry presents the sole interval of comparative prosperity. By the death of his original compeers in the Fourth Crusade, he was gradually left to sustain with his single energy the arduous duties of defending the Latin States against the hostility, both of the Bul- garians in Europe, and of the Greek refugees of Asia. The King of Macedonia, after a zealous and gallant co-operation against the common enemy, which was cemented by a family alliance with the emperor, was slain in an unfortunate skirmish by the Bulgarian troops; the valiant marshal and faithful historian, Geoffroy of Villehardouin did not long survive him ; and the decease of both had been preceded by that of * Villehardouin, Nicetas, Du Gauge, ubi suprd ad fin, Gesta Innocentii III. (in Muratori, Script. Rer. Ital. vol. iii.) c. 109. The balance of evidence is certainly on the whole against the identity with the captive emperor, of the claimant who appeared in Flanders about twenty years afterward, but his story was not improbable, and scarcely justifies the confidence with which Gibbon (ch. Ixi. notes 29, 30) has pronounced it an imposture, chiefly, perhaps, for the purpose of ridiculing the "fables which Were believed by the monks of St Alban's." He was hanged as an impostor in the great square of Lisle, by order of Jane, Countess of Flanders, the" daughter of the lost Baldwin. LATIN EMPIRE OF THE EAST. 349 the brave old Doge.* But, though deprived of these pillars of the Latin glory and fortune, Henry, by his courage and wisdom, nobly upheld and repaired the shattered edifice of dominion. By rescinding the im- politic exclusion of his Greek subjects from the public service, he conciliated their affections; and his judi- cious measures were assisted by the treacherous cruelty and tyranny with which the Bulgarian king repaid the Byzantine provincials for their seasonable revolt and alliance. That barbarian had already commenced a project for the depopulation of Thrace, and for the forcible withdrawal of the inhabitants beyond the Danube, when his measures were arrested by the approach of Henry; who, moved by the en- treaties of the Greeks, hastened to the deliverance of the repentant rebels at the head of only a few hun- dred knights and their attendants. The inhabitants, on his approach, welcomed him with open arms ; Bul- garian hosts of immense numerical superiority were repeatedly .defeated by the skill of Henry and the well-directed valour of the Latin chivalry ; and Joan- nice was ignominiously expelled from the Thracian * Dandolo was buried in the Church of St. Sophia at Constanti- nople, and his mausoleum existed till the destruction of the Greek empire; but it was demolished when that church was converted into a Turkish mosque. A Venetian painter, who worked for several years at the court of Mohammed II., obtained from the Sultan, on his return to his own country, the cuirass, the helmet, the spurs, and the cloak of the Doge, which he presented to the family of that illua trious man. Michaud, ii. 172. 350 THE LAST FOUR CRUSADES. provinces. The murder of the Bulgarian tyrant by his own subjects shortly afterward relieved the Latin empire from his hostility; and his successor gladly accepted an honourable peace from his con- queror. The moderation of Henry induced him to seize the first opportunity of concluding with the Greek sovereigns of Nice and Epirus similar pacifications; [A. D. 1216 ;] which defined the limits of their respect- ive states, and enabled him to close in tranquil glory a reign of ten years, which was too short for the hap- piness of his subjects.* The mention of the Greek empire of Nice may momentarily divert our attention to the Asiatic shores of the Bbsphorus. [A. D. 1204.] When Theodore Lascaris withdrew from servitude at the capture of Constantinople, to sustain the cause of personal and national freedom in the fastnesses of Bithynia, his authority was acknowledged by only three cities and two thousand armed followers; but his service was soon embraced by all his fugitive countrymen from the capital, who shared his disdain of a foreign yoke ; and his martial efforts were favoured by the calami- ties of the Bulgarian war, which compelled the Latins to withdraw their forces from the prosecution of their Asiatic conquests. On the twofold claim of his own * Villehardouin, No. cxcii. ad Jin. Gesta Innocent. Ill c. 106, 107. Du Cange, Hist. Constant, lib. ii. c. 1-22 LATIN EMPIRE OF THE EAST. 351 merit, and of his union with the daughter of Alexius Angelus, the right of Lascaris to the imperial dignity was universally acknowledged by his adherents ; and establishing the seat of his government at Nice, he made that city the capital of a state, which he quickly extended by his arms from the Hellespont to the Meander. His reign of eighteen years was termi- nated by death in the meridian of his age; but his place was filled by a noble Greek of congenial virtue, John Ducas Vataces, who had married his daughter, and succeeded to his throne; [A. n. 1222;] and whose glorious career of thirty-three years was not more dis- tinguished by his success in arms, than by the virtues of his domestic administration.* While the native dominion of the Greeks was re- viving under these two heroes, the Latin empire had become a prey, after the death of Henry, to all the disorders of a feeble government. By the decease of the last of the two Flemish princes who had worn the crown of Constantinople, the male line of their house was extinct : the daughter of Baldwin had succeeded to the possession of his European state; Henry had left no issue, and the feudatories of the Byzantine state offered his throne to Peter de Courtenay, [A. D. 1217,] a French baron who had married his sister, and whose regal pedigree has been illustrated by a * Gibbon, ch. Ixii., whom, for the Annals of the Greek Empire of Nice, we shall be contented to abridge. 352 THE LAST FOUR CRUSADES. great historian.* Peter accepted the tempting but fatal honour, incautiously traversed the dangerous passes of Greece with a train of French knights, and, being entrapped into a perfidious truce with the despot of Epirus, the second of a race of Comnenian princes who had established an obscure independence on the ruins of the Greek empire, was thrown into a dungeon, in which he ended his life. [A. D. 1219.] Meanwhile the wife of Courtenay, lolanta, the new Latin Empress of the East, had reached Constanti- nople by sea; and during the short residue of her life, the government was administered in her name as regent for her captive or deceased lord.f On her death, and the refusal of her eldest son to abandon his French fief, Robert, his next brother, was summoned to ascend the Eastern throne, [A. D. 1221,] and his arrival at Constantinople was followed by his coronation. The chivalrous qualities of the House of Courtenay, which had been signalized in Europe and in Palestine, were ill sustained by Robert. He proved himself at once pusillanimous, indolent, and licentious ; and, during his reign of seven years, the Latin empire, shaken on either side by the rude assaults of the Greeks of Nice and Epirus, rocked to its foundations. So corrupt was the spirit of the * Gibbon, xi. 287. The English branch of this ancient family is represented by the Courtenays, Earls of Devon, f Du Cange, Hist. Constant lib. ii. c. 22, adjin. LATIN EMPIRE OF THE EAST. 353 French adventurers who sought erhployment in the East, that the Greek Emperor Vataces found no diffi- culty in enlisting whole bodies of them into hia service against their countrymen. With such aid, his arms were everywhere successful; the fleets which he equipped commanded the seas, and reduced several of the islands on the coast of Asia Minor; and, in a disastrous attempt to check his victorious career, most of the hardy veterans of the Fourth Cru- sade, who had survived tJhe storms of the Bulgarian and Grecian wars, were numbered with the slain. A disgraceful feud in the Byzantine palace finally drove Robert from a throne which he wanted courage to defend against either foreign or domestic enemies. To revenge his seduction of the affianced bride of a Burgundian gentleman, the infuriated lover burst with a band of his friends into the imperial retreat, barbarously mutilated the beauty of his fair mistress, cast the mother, who had pandered to her falsehood, into the Hellespont, and openly braved the power of her paramour. When Robert demanded the assist- ance of his barons to punish this unpardonable out- rage upon the laws of humanity and the majesty of the purple, they justified the act, and made common cause with the criminal; and the craven prince, to- impotent to enforce retribution for the cruel offence and affront which he had provoked, abandoned his throne, and appealed to the judgment of the Papal Court. [A. D. 1228.] But the pope was unwilling to 23 354 THE LAST FOUR CRUSADES. Baldwin II. commit his authority to the hazard of so profitless a quarrel; and the imperial exile was hurried by grief or pride to a premature grave.* As Robert died without issue, the succession to his crown devolved upon his younger brother, Baldwin II., who was born at Constantinople shortly after the arrival of the Empress lolanta and the capture of her husband, and who was still a minor. But, as the * Du Cange, Hist. Constant, lib. iii. c. 1-12. LATIN EMPIRE OF THE EAST. 355 necessities of the state demanded a defender of ma- turer years, the barons of the empire oifered a share of the imperial dignity to a valiant nobleman of Cham- pagne, John de Brienne, who had already, as we shall hereafter observe, been raised by his merit to the titular crown of Jerusalem, and had resigned that visionary diadem, with the hand of his eldest daughter, to Frederic II., Emperor of the West. Al- though this regal adventurer was already far ad- vanced in life, he accepted the proposal of the Byzan- tine barons that he should ascend the imperial throne of Constantinople, upon condition of marrying his second daughter to his young colleague and destined successor, Baldwin II. During nine years, the aged hero nobly sustained the arduous duties of his station against the increasing resources and energies of the empire of Nice; but Vataces had now permanently re-established the Greek standard in Europe, and had recovered the greater portion of the ancient possessions of his nation in Thrace; the Latin territories were gradually circumscribed within the environs of the capital ; the alliance of the Greek emperor with the King of Bulgaria threatened total ruin to the falling state ; and the last exploit of John de Brienne was the repulse of their combined army and navy of one hundred thousand men and three hundred galleys from the walls of Constantinople.* [A. D. 1237.] * Du Cange, Hist. Constant, lib. iii. c. 13, ad Jin. 356 THE LAST FOUR CBtJSADES. The strength of the capital and the prowess of John de Brienne had deferred for twenty-four years the total extinction of the Latin empire ; but the sceptre of all its territories was already held by the Greek conqueror. During his active and glorious career, Vataces had compelled the Comnenian sovereign of Epirus to resign the imperial title; and, reuniting Western Greece to the Eastern Provinces, he had consolidated his dominion over the whole expanse of country, from the Euxine to the Adriatic, and from the Danube to the Mediterranean. In a brief reign of only four years, his son and successor, Theodore Lascaris II., carried his victorious arms into the re- cesses of Bulgaria, [A. D. 1255,] and reduced that wild kingdom within its natural limits, and into its ancient submission to the Eastern Empire. The infancy of his son John made way for the rise of another hero of noble Greek family, Michael Palaeologus. [A. D. 1259.] On the death of the second Theodore Lasca- ris, the guardianship of the infant emperor was wrested by a conspiracy from the hands of an un- popular favourite of the last reign, and obtained by Palaeologus, whose martial reputation and post of con- stable of the French mercenaries gave him the com- mand, and had secured him the affections, of the im- perial troops. The new regent soon aspired to a higher dignity, to which his pretensions were founded not only on his personal merit, but on the superior right of hereditary descent over the reigning dynasty, LATIN EMPIRE OF THE EAST. 357 since his mother was a daughter of the last Alexius, arid an elder sister of the princess whom Theodore Lascaris had espoused. In the usual progress of euch usurpation as the Eastern Empire had often witnessed, Palaeologus was first declared the guardian, next the colleague, of his young sovereign; and, finally, he was crowned as sole emperor, and John Lascaris was condemned to an empty title of honour and a harmless obscurity. The personal claims and the public services of PalaBologus might extenuate his conduct in thus seizing the sceptre; but the guilt of his usurpation was subsequently deepened by an act of unpardonable cruelty toward his unfortunate pupil; and in order that Lascaris might be for ever incapaci- tated from reigning, he was deprived of his eyesight by command of his jealous oppressor.* It was in the second year of the reign of the vigorous usurper, that the success of a desultory and almost an accidental enterprise terminated the feeble existence of the Latin Empire of the East. Since the death of John de Brienne, his son-in-law and colleague Baldwin II., upon whom the sole sovereignty de- volved, had proved himself utterly incapable of de- fending his throne ; and had spent a lesser portion of his nominal reign of twenty-five years in the Eastern capital, than in traversing Western Europe with vain supplications for pecuniary and military aid, and in * Gibbon, ubi suprd., ch. Ixii. 358 THE LAST FOUR CRUSADES. exposing to public scorn his necessities and his weak- ness.* As the catastrophe of his inglorious fortunes approached, he slumbered in his palace, neither con scious of the imminence of his danger, nor prepared for one generous effort of despair. The repulse of an attack by Palaeologus in person upon the suburbs of Constantinople, in the preceding year, might indeed have awakened him to the designs of that active and ambitious enemy. But such was the blind security of his government, that the squadron of galleys which the Venetians maintained in their Byzantine colony was suffered to carry away the flower of the French chivalry on a rash maritime expedition into the Euxine, at the very juncture when a body of the Greek troops was hovering about the gates of the capital. The com- mander of this hostile force was Alexius Strategopulus, the favourite lieutenant of the Emperor Michael, upon whom that prince had bestowed the title of Caesar, and who now amply justified the confidence of his sove- reign. By his knowledge of the weakness of the Latin garrison, and of the disposition of the inhabi- * His two mendicant visits to England are noticed by the Monk of St. Alban's, p. 396, 637. In the first, he was first repelled with insult for presuming to land without permission, and afterward, on explanation, received and dismissed by Henry III. with a charitable collection of some seven hundred marks. In the second, he is con- temptuously numbered by our uncourtly monk' as pauper, profugus, inglorious, &c. (a beggar, a vagabond, and a craven,) among the herd of princely beggars who were attracted to England, by the weak partiality of Henry III. for foreigners, to prey upon his liberality. LATIN EMPIRE OF THE EAST 359 tants, he was encouraged to attempt the surprise of Constantinople. He was assisted by the concert or the favour of the native Greek population; by the hatred which the Genoese settlers bore to their Venetian rivals; by the cowardice of Baldwin; and by the general terror of the Latins. His troops were secretly admitted into the heart of the city, before their, presence was discovered; at the first alarm Baldwin, escaping from his palace, 5 * sought safety on board the returning squadron from the Euxine, which arrived only in time to protect his flight to Italy; and the Greeks of Constantinople joyfully hailed the de- liverance of their capital from a subjection of fifty- seven years to the Latin yoke.* [A. D. 1261.] The Emperor Michael Palaeologus hastened to make his triumphant entry into the ancient and re- covered seat of the empire of his nation ; and the remainder of his reign was laboriously occupied in securing his dominion against the vengeance or am- bition of the Latin Powers. From his fugitive rival Baldwin, in person, he had, indeed, little to dread ; and that craven prince closed his worthless life in an indigent exile. But his empty offers had meanwhile seduced tho cupidity of Charles of Anjou, king of the Sicilies, to bestow a daughter upon his son Philip as the heir to. the titular diadem of the East, and to un- dertake the recon quest and partition of the Greek * Du Cange, Hist. Constant, lib. iv. v. ad c. 33. 360 THE LAST FOUR CRUSADES. Empire. The mingled prudence and good fortune of PalaBologus defeated this design. His measures to conciliate the papacy by an acknowledgment of its spiritual supremacy, and a union of the Greek and Latin churches, belong to ecclesiastical history, as does also his success in averting a formidable invasion of his dominions by the French chivalry under Charles of Anjou, through the subsidies with which he supported the revolt of Sicily against that prince. The domestic reign of Palseologus was disturbed by a cruel persecution of his reluctant subjects, to enforce their submission to the papal authority ; which, as his own insincerity in that cause was notorious, rendered his hypocritical policy the more atrocious. [A. D. 1282.] On his death, after a memorable reign of twenty-three years, of which the last nine had been shared by his son Andronicus, the dissolution of the hollow union of the two churches was indignantly demanded by the unanimous voice of the Greek clergy and people, and proclaimed by the willing or constrained assent of the surviving emperor. Of that prince, the long and inglorious reign, succeeding to a period of compara- tive vigour, may be said to open a new period of de- cline in the Byzantine annals, which will hereafter lead us to survey the last agrny and tall if the Greek Empire.* * Du Cange, Hist. Const, lib. v. c. 34 ; r d c. 1 * " * tt !, ch. Ixii. THE FIFTH CRUSADE. 361 SECTION H. THE FIFTH CRUSADE. MEANWHILE, having pursued to its catastrophe that great and singular episode in the history of the Crusades which was produced by the diver- sion of the Latin arms to the siege of Constantinople, we may here with propriety re- sume our general narrative of the progress of those Chris- tian efforts for the recovery of the Holy Sepulchre, which had been interrupted by the 362 THE LAST FOUR CRUSADES. conquest of the Byzantine Empire [A. D. 1204.] While the cupidity and ambition of the leaders of the Fourth Crusade seduced them to employ in that enter- prise the forces which Pope Innocent III. had designed for the relief of Palestine, the state of the Moham- medan Empire justified his reproach, that their dis- obedience had ruined the fairest occasion of re-esta- blishing the Christian fortunes in that country. By continued dissensions among the princes of the house of Saladin and the emirs who struggled for inde- pendence, the Mussulman power in Syria was re- duced to its lowest ebb ; and a dreadful famine and consequent pestilence in Egypt would effectually have paralyzed all opposition from that dangerous quarter to the success of the crusading arms. The hopes ex- cited for the Christian cause by the division and weakness of its enemies, were completely lost in the diversion of the Fourth Crusade against the Eastern Empire; and a truce for six years with Saphadin wa? the only advantage derived by the Latins on the Syrian coast from the distresses and alarm of the infi- dels. During this interval of repose, the titular crown of Jerusalem devolved, by the death of Almeric and his queen Isabella, upon Mary, her daughter by a prior marriage with Conrad of Tyre; and the clergy and barons of Palestine delegating to Philippe-Auguste of France the choice of a husband for the young heir- ess, that monarch named John, son of the Count de Brienne, as an accomplished and distinguished knight THE FIFTH CRUSADE.' 3G3 who was worthy of sharing, and capable of defending, her throne. [A. D. 1210.] Having accepted the proffered honour, John de Brienne arrived in Pales- tine, and received the hand of Mary with the royal title.* Soon after this event, on the expiration of the truce with Saphadin, the peace of Palestine was broken, less by the ambition of the Mussulman prince, than by a rash refusal to renew the treaty with him, which had apparently been dictated in the Christian councils by the anticipation of powerful aid from France. But the new King of Jerusalem brought with him from Europe only a slender train of three hundred knights; though his personal prowess in the fields of Palestine sustained his previous reputation, his most strenuous efforts to withstand the progress of the infidels were ineffectual; and he was reduced to address to Pope Innocent IIT. a pressing solicitation for succour, as the only means of saving from destruction the poor re- mains of the Latin kingdom. Although Innocent had already engaged in an object of nearer and deeper interest to the papal supremacy the extirpation of the alleged heresy of the Albigenses he was not un- moved by the danger of the Christian cause in Pales- tine; and he immediately and earnestly answered the appeal of John de Brienne by proclaiming throughout * Abulfeda, lib. iv. p. 182-194. Contin. Will Tyr. (in Martenne Vet. Scrip. Coll. vol. v.) p. 646-668. 364 THE LAST FOUR CRUSADES William Lonyespee, Earl of Salisbury. Europe a new Crusade to the East. He not only de- spatched a circular letter to all the princes of Chris- tendom, in which they were urged, by the usual arguments, to embark in the sacred enterprise, but he instructed his legates and the clergy in every country of the West to add their spiritual exhortations to the laity in the same cause. To give the greater unity and solemnity to the design, a general council of the church the fourth of Lateran was at the same time convened;* and by that assembly, in which * Contin. Will. Tyr. p. 668-680. Matthew Paris, (Ed. Watte, 1684,) j. 228, 229. Labbe, Concilia, vol. ii. p. 119-233. THE FIFTH CRUSADE. 365 all the principal monarchs of Christendom were re< presented by their envoys, the Design of arming Europe anew against the Eastern infidels was zealously adopted. The FIFTH CRUSADE, the result of this resolution, was divided in the sequel into three maritime expe- ditions : [A. D. 1216 ;] the first consisting principally of Hungarians under their king, Andrew; the second composed of Germans, Italians, French, and English nobles and their followers; and the third led by the Emperor Frederic II. in person. Of each of these enterprises, none of which were attended with many novel or interesting features, the events may be briefly distinguished and dismissed. Though the King of Hungary was attended by the flower of a nation which, before its conversion to Christianity, had been the scourge and terror of Western Europe, the arms of that monarch, even aided by the junction of nume- rous German crusaders under the Dukes of Austria and Bavaria, performed nothing worthy of notice: and after a single campaign in Palestine, in which the Mussulman territories were ineffectually ravaged, the fickle Andrew deserted the cause, and returned with his forces to Europe. His defection did not prevent the Duke of Austria, with the German cru- saders, from remaining, in concert with the King of Jerusalem, his barons, and the knights of the three religious orders, for the defence of Palestine; and, in the following year, the constancy of these 366 THE LAST FOUR CRUSADES. faithful champions of the Cross was rewarded by the arrival of numerous reinforcements from Ger many.* This accession of strength .gave a new energy and direction to the Christian councils; and it was re- solved to change the scene of warfare from the narrow limits of the Syrian shore to the coast of Egypt. Several motives impelled the crusaders to this reso- lution; the wealth' of the latter country, which tempted their greediness of spoil; the dispiriting im- pression of repeated failures in direct assaults upon the Mussulman power from the Christian garrisons of Palestine ; and a conviction which calamitous expe- rience alone had forced upon so rude an age of war- fare, but which a j uster appreciation of the principles of martial science will confirm that, in a military sense, Egypt, by its position and resources, is the key of Syria. By the conquest of Egypt, therefore, it was believed that the true seat of the Mussulman powerf must be overthrown, and the recovery of Jerusalem effected ; and the situation of Damietta, at the mouth * Cont. Will. Tyr. p. 680, 681. Abulfeda, p. 260-263. Jacobus a Vitriaco, Hist. Hierosol. (in Gestis Dei per Francos,} p. 11291131. Bernardus Thesaur. (apud Muratoria, Scrip. Rer. Ital. vol. ii) p. 820- 822. Matthew Paris, p. 244, 245. Godefridus Monachus, Annalc* (apud Freher Marguard, Rer. German. Scriptores, vol. i. Ed. Tertia, 1718,) p. 384-387. f Matthew Paris ascribes the design of carrying the war mtn the Hofcpitallers.) THE SEVENTH. CRUSADE. 425 was raised by the suffrages of his fellow-soldiers to the throne of that kingdom; [A. D.1263;]. and had now commenced an enterprising reign of seventeen years, which proved nearly fatal to the remains of the Chris- tian power in Palestine. No sooner had he consoli- dated his authority in Egypt, than he carried his arms, kito Syria, reduced the Mussulman states in that country into subjection, and poured the united forces of the infidels into the Christian territories. In the open field, the numbers of the invaders rendered all resistance to their ravages hopeless ; but the few and scanty garrisons of the Latins made a gallant and desperate defence; the military orders gave many a noble example of heroism ; and, by that singular ad- mixture of religious constancy with every fierce and unholy passion which distinguished their times and their associations, the same men who had so lately etained their swords with the blood of their Christian brethren, now vied with each other only in the gene- rous devotion of their lives to the common cause, and in the inflexible preference of martyrdom to apostacy. [A. D. 1265.] Upon one occasion, the last of ninety Hospitallers who had defended Azotus, died in the breach ; on another, the prior of the Templars with his companions, who had been reduced to extremity, and surrendered Saphoury on a capitulation which Bibars treacherously violated, were offered the alter- native of a cruel death or instant conversion to Islam- ism, [A. D. 1266,] and unanimously sealed the, sin- 426 THE LAST FOUR CRUSADES. oerity of their faith with their blood. But all the heroic efforts of the two orders failed to arrest the progress of the infidels, or to awaken the timely sympathy and succour of Europe. In the course of a few years, not only the inland castles of the two orders, but Csesarea, Laodicea, Jaffa, and many mari- time fortresses successively fell before the Mameluke arms; and the capture of Antioch, and the extinction of its Latin principality, which throughout the vicissi- tudes of the Crusades had hitherto preserved an obscure and uninteresting existence, completed the triumph of Bondocdar. The fall of Antioch, which was basely surren- dered without resistance, was attended by the massacre of ten or even forty thousand Christians; above one hundred thousand more were sold into slavery; [A. D. 1268;] and the once proud capi- tal of Syria was abandoned to desolation and soli- tude.* Acre was preserved from the same fate only through the succour of the King of Cyprus, and the destruction of the Egyptian navy by the elements; * " Eo anno," says Rishanger, the continuator of the Chronicle of St. Allan's, "Soldanus Babyloniae vastata Armenia, Antiocham, unam de famosioribus orbis civitatibus abstulit Christianis, et tarn viris quam mulieribus interemptis, fa solitudinem ipsam reduxit." (In that year the Sultan of Babylonia, having laid waste Armenia, took Antioch, one of the most famous citi< s on the globe, from the Christians, and both the men and women being slain, he reduced it to a solitude.) p. 857. It may, however, be doubted whether its lotal depopulation is to be understood literally. THE SEVENTH CRUSADE. 427 and at this juncture the fall of that last Chris- tian bulwark on the Syrian coast was suspended for twenty years by an expiring effort of the crusading epirit* * Sanutus, Secret. Fidel. Cntcis, lib. iii. pars. xii. c. 6, ad part xiv . 3. De Guignes, Hist.Gen. des Huns, &c., lib. x^L, passim. 428 THE LAST FOUR CRUSADES. SECTION V. THE EIGHTH CRUSADE. HE appalling intelligence of the dreadful catastrophe which had extinguished the Christian State of Antioch, roused the Papal Court from a long and selfish apathy to the affairs of the East; and the unabated zeal with which Louis IX. of France had already contemplated a re- newal of his pious ser rices on the imaginary cause of Heaven, was now quickened by the approbation of Clement IV. THE EIGHTH CRUSADE. 429 The piety of Louis was sincere and ardent, and in another age it would, doubtless, have taken a more rational direction, but in the thirteenth century it was the mere embodiment of a passion for the de- livery of the Holy Sepulchre, which neither his past experience nor his sufferings, great as the latter had been, could eradicate; and after thirteen years spent at home in the wise and temperate exercise of his regal functions, he resolved again to devote his men- tal energies and his material resources to the organi- zation of a new Crusade. Three years were consumed in preparations for this final effort to recover Pales- tine, and on the 4th of July, 1270, he set sail with his fleet from the port of Aigues-Mortes, and in a few days reached the roadstead of Cagliari in. Sardinia, where he anchored, and called a council of war of his barons and counts to deliberate on the course it was most proper to pursue; when it was determined by a majority, and in obedience to the king's secret wishes, to attempt the reduction of Tunis, the king of which country and his people Louis hoped to convert to Christianity. The circumstances which led to this extraordinary resolution are but imperfectly known, though they may probably be as safely referred to the intensely devotional temperament of the monarch, as to the interested representations of his brother, Charles of Anjou, King of Naples and Sicily, whose subjects were molested by the piratical practices of the Moors ; but however this may be. the desire to visit Tunis, 430 THE LAST FOUR CRUSADES. and to reclaim its inhabitants had taken so deep a hold on the mind of Louis, that he was heard to say, before he left France, that he would willingly spend the rest of his life in a dungeon, away from the light of the sun, if, by such a sacrifice, he could accomplish this cherished object.* Many of his wisest advisers tried to turn him from this fatal determination, but in vain; and the good but mistaken king landed his army on the Tunisian territory on the 24th of July, and encamped it on the site of the ancient Carthage. The Moors did not oppose its debarkation, but on the approach of the fleet fled in dismay, and the Saracenic prince, for whose special benefit this detour had been made, treated the Frankish monarch as an enemy, and threatened, at the head of a hundred thousand men, to drive him into the sea. No encounter, how- ever, took place between the hostile troops, for, beside that Louis avoided one as incompatible with the spiritual design of his mission, the Moors had no ' wish to measure swords with the Christian chivalry ; but they harassed the Christian army by desultory attacks on outposts and stragglers, and by intercept- ing their supplies; and these distractions, aided by the heat of the climate, the want of water, and the neces- sity of feeding on salted provisions under an African sky, caused a pestilence to break out in the crusading camp, which, in a few short weeks, nearly decimated * Michaud, iii. p. 35. THE EIGHTH CRUSADE. 431 the hapless army. Night and day the Frankish soldiers were under arms, but the enemy was fugi- tive, and when sought was nowhere to be found. Meanwhile death sped his way through the ranks, Fatigue, famine, and disease did their work but too surely. The dead were so numerous that it was found impossible to bury them. The ditches of the camp were filled with carcasses thrown in by the heap. The stench emitted corrupted the air, and de- spair and misery overwhelmed the unhappy cru- saders. The Count de Vendome, the Count de la Marche, Gaultier, de Nemours, the Lords de Mont- morency, de Pienne, de Bressac, and many others of the highest condition, fell before the fatal epidemic; and when the Duke de Nevers, the king's son, who had been born at Damietta during the captivity of his father, died, the hero and the monarch yielded to the man and the father, and he wept bitterly. At length the king himself fell ill; the rude medical art of the age did its best for him, but in vain the hand of fate was on Louis of France and he expired tran- quilly in his camp, on the shores of the ancient Numidia, on the afternoon of the 25th of August, J270. Let us now return to the progress of the Eighth and last. Crusade. In the defence of a land and a cause which, during two centuries, had continually exercised the valour, and prodigally wasted the blood of the chivalry of Christendom, the last successful exploits of heroism 432 THE LAST FOUR CRUSADES. Edward I. of England. were reserved for an English prince, the descendant of those illustrious houses of Normandy and Planta- genet, whose prowess had so often been signalized on the same ensanguined field. Prince Edward, the future monarch of England, accompanied by his faith- ful consort Eleanor, and attended by his kinsman Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster, four other earls, four barons, and a gallant but slender train of knights and soldiers, which did not exceed one thou- sand men, had joined the French army in Africa be- fore the death of Louis IX. ; and the abandonment of the Crusade by their allies, which followed that event, might have absolved the small English force from the* prosecution of their vows. But their valiant and THE EIGHTH CRUSADE. 433 magnanimous leader swore, that though every other follower should desert him, he would still proceed to Palestine, attended only by his groom ;* his spirit was emulated by every English heart ; and after refresh- ing their strength during the winter in Sicily, he sailed in the spring with his gallant band to Acre.f The arrival of Edward in that port once more re- kindled the hopes of the desponding Latins ; and the long memory of the prowess of Coeur de Lion had still retained sufficient influence in the East to appal the spirit of the Moslems at the intelligence, that another hero of the lion-hearted race approached to uphold the banner of the Cross. The Sultan Bondocdar, who had carried his ravages to the gates of Acre, imme- diately retired in discouragement at the report. J The broken remains of the Latin chivalry of Palestine eagerly gathered around the standard of Plantagenet ; and though the total force which the Christian State * "Juravit solito Juramento per sanguinem Domini, inquiensj Quamvis omnes commilitiones et patriotae mei me deserant, ego tainen, Fowino custode palufridi mei, (sic enim vocabatur curator equi sui,) intrabo Tholomaidam." (He swore by his usual oath, the blood of the Lord, saying: "Although all my fellow-soldiers and compatriots desert me, yet I, with Fowin, the keeper of my palfrey^ will enter Tolamais.") Rishanger, Contin., Matt. Paris, p. 859. f Rishanger, p. 858, 859. Matt. Westminster, (Ed. Francofurti, A. D. 1601,) p. 400. Chronica de Maflros, (apud Gale et Fell, vol. iii.,) p. 241. Chronicon Thomge Wikes, p. 94. Chronica Walteri Hemingford, p. 590. (Both in Gale, vol ii.) J Both Rishanger and Matthew of Westminster (iibi. sntpra) de clare that, but for the opportune arrival of Edward, Acre was to Lay* been surrendered to the sultan within four days. 28 434 THE LAST FOUR CRUSADES. could muster, including his English followers, did not exceed seven thousand men, Edward boldly mar- shalled this scanty army for offensive hostilities against the infidels. Advancing from Acre, his achievements justified the general expectation both of his enterprising courage and of his military skill. His first exploit, the surprise and defeat of a large body of the Mussulman forces in the field, was suc- ceeded by the assault of Nazareth ; and in the dread- ful slaughter which preceded and followed the capture of that city, he equally emulated the chivalric valour and the fanatical cruelty of the earlier champions of the Cross.* But the reduction of Nazareth closed his brief career of victory ; his English followers fell rapid victims to the Syrian climate, and the hero himself was already stretched on a sick couch, when he nar- rowly escaped death from the poisoned dagger of an assassin. Whether the villian was the mere hired emissary of a Mussulman emir, or one of the few sur- vivors of that fanatical sect of the mountain chief, which the Moguls were supposed to have extirpated,f * In his first surprise of the infidels, Edward " invenit Sarracenos efc uxores eorum cum parvulis suis in lecto : quos onines," coolly con- tinues the chronicler of Melrose, " ut hostes Christianse fidei occidit in ore gladii," (he found the Saracens with their wives and little ones in bed all of whom, as enemies of the Christian faith, he slew with the point of the sword.) P. 242. f The destruction of the Syrian assassins by the Tartars is noticed by Matt. Paris, p. 821, (ad an. 1257.) "Circulo ejusdem anni, Tartar! detestabilea Assassinos detestabiliores, &c., destruxerunt," THE EIGHTH CRUSADE. 435 Attempt to assassinate Edward. is uncertain; but he easily obtained a private audience of Edward under pretence of a confidential mission ; and, while the prince was reading his cre- dentials, he drew a hidden poniard, and aimed a blow at his intended victim. The attack was so unex- pected, that Edward received several wounds before he recovered from the surprise, when, vigorously struggling with the assassin, he felled him to the floor, and instantly despatched him with his own (In the course of this year the detestable Tartars destroyed the more detestable assassins.) In the first part of a tedious Dissertation on tho Assassins, by M. Falconet, read before the French Academy of In- scriptions, and of which a translation is printed in Johnes's Joinville, (vol. ii. p. 287328,) an'atteinpt is made to prove that Paris was in enjr; that it was only the assassins of Persia, a kindred and more numerous sect, which the Tartars destroyed ; and that those of Syria, according to Abulfeda, were extirpated by the Mamelukes aboul A. D. 1280. 430 THE LAST FOUR CRUSADES. dagger. As the weapon had been poisoned, the life, of the prince was for some time in imminent danger; but a leech in his service undertook to cut away the infected flesh from his wounds, and the operation was successful.* After his own restoration to health, the wasting effects of disease among his followers ; the total inade- quacy of his remaining force to any further enterprise of importance; the failure of other Christian princes to despatch their promised succours to his aid; and intelligence from England of his father's dangerous illness and anxiety for his return :f all conspired in inducing Edward to listen to overtures for peace, which were extorted from the Sultan of Egypt, not less by the experience of his prowess than by some new troubles which had broken out in the Mussulman * Rishanger, p. 859, 860. Matt. West. p. 401. Chron. de Mailros, (which suddenly breaks off in the midst of its tale of the attempt to assassinate Edward,) p. 241, ad fin. Wikes, p. 96-98. Henring- ford, p. 590-592. Not one of these writers, who were contemporary, or nearly so, with the event, knew any thing of that beautiful fiction, the creation of a much later age, which ascribes the recovery of Edward to tlie affectionate devotion of his consort Eleanor in sucking the venom from his wounds. Hemingford, whose account is very circum- stantial, and has principally been followed in the text, notices the presence of Eleanor, the demand of the leech that she should be re- moved from the chamber of her lord before the operation was per- formed for his cure, and the gentle violence which was necessary to withdraw her from the scene. P. 591. f The letter from Henry III., pressing his son's return, may be een in Rymer, (Ed. by royal command, 1816,) vol. i. p. 487. THE EIGHTH CRUSADE. 437 States. The mutual necessities of the sultan and of the English prince, therefore, produced the conclusion of a truce between the infidels and the Christians in Palestine for ten years; and after a residence of four- teen months in the Holy Land, and the accomplish- ment of a seasonable treaty, which had alone arrested the progress of the Mameluke arms and prolonged, for another brief period, the precarious existence of the Latin State, Edward bade adieu to the Syrian shores, and sailed, with his few surviving followers, for his native land.* [A. D. 1272.] After the departure of the English prince, and while the remaining Christian possessions on the coast of Palestine were left in the peace which he had won, some last abortive efforts were used to interest Europe in their preservation. Pope Gregory X., who was re- siding in Palestine when he was surprised with the news of his elevation to the tiara, [A. D. 1274,] and who had been a sorrowing witness to the helpless con- dition of the Latin State, made an earnest endeavour, immediately after his arrival in Europe, to arouse the sovereigns and nations of Christendom to the prepa- T ration of a new Crusade. But the solitary example, given by one pontiff, of a deep sincerity in the cause, only served to prove the utter extinction of the cru- sading spirit. Notwithstanding his labours, seconded by the authority of 'a general council of the church * Matt. West, p. 402. Wikes, p. 99. Hcmingford, p. 592. 438 THE LAS'* FOUR CRUSADES. which he assembled at Lyon, he could only obtain hollow promises of devotion to the service of the Cross from those princes who desired to perpetuate his favour, and who, after his death, evaded the fulfil- ment of their reluctant vows. Meanwhile, however, the Christians in Palestine, during eight years, were permitted, by the good faith or distraction of the Mus- sulman councils, to enjoy unmolested a peaceful re- spite of their fate ; and that interval was filled only by the struggle of royal pretensions in the expiring Latin kingdom. Since the death of the Emperor Frederic II., the baseless throne of Jerusalem had found a claimant in Hugh de Lusignan, King of Cyprus, who, as lineally descended from Alice, daughter of Queen Isabella, was, in fact, the next heir, after failure of issue by the marriage of Frederic and lolanta de Brienne. His claims were opposed by the partisans of Charles of Anjou, King of the Sicilies; that wholesale speculator in diadems, who, not con- tented with the iniquitous acquisition of his Italian, realms, and the splendid dream of dismembering the Greek Empire," extended his grasp to the ideal crown of Palestine. He rested his claim upon the double pretensions of a papal title to all the forfeited dignities of the imperial house of Hohenstauffen, and of a bar- gain with Mary of Antioch; whose rights, although she was descended only from a younger sister of Alice, he had eagerly purchased. But the prior title of the bouse of Cyprus was more generally recognised in THE EIGHTH CRUSADE. 439 Palestine; the coronation of Hugh had been cele- brated at Tyre; and the last idle pageant of regal state in Palestine was exhibited by the race of Lu- signan.* At length the final storm of Mussulman war broke upon the phantom king and his subjects. It waa twice provoked by the aggressions of the Latins them- selves, in plundering the peaceable Moslem traders, who resorted, on the faith of treaties, to the Christian marts on the Syrian coast. After a vain attempt to obtain redress for the first of these violations of inter- national law, Keladun, the reigning sultan of Egypt and Syria, revenged the infraction of the existing ten years' truce by a renewal of hostilities with over- whelming force ; yearly repeated his ravages of the Christian territory ; and at length, tearing the city and county of Tripoli the last surviving great fief of the Latin kingdom from its dilapidated crown, dic- tated the terms of peace to its powerless sovereign. [A. D. 1289.] The example of this punishment, and * Mr. Hallam, following Giannone, has fallen into some inaccuracy, on no very important matter, indeed, in stating (Middle Ages, vol. i. p. 371, 8vo. ed.) Mary of Antioch to have been the legitimate heiress of Jerusalem in 1272, while the royal line of Cyprus, descended from Alice, eldest sister of her mother, Melesinda, had, of course, a better title. Until that race should be extinct, the house of Anjou could only rest their pretensions on the lapsed rights of Frederic II. ; but these had expired with his posterity; -and, in short, as observed by Mr. Mills, (Crusades, vol. ii, p. 269,) "the House of Anjou had nc justcr claim to the throne of Jerusalem, than they had to the throne of the Two Sicilies." 440 THE LAST FOUR CRUSADES. the authority of a feeble government, were insufficient to prevent a repetition, two years later, on the part of the lawless inhabitants of Acre, of similar outrages upon the property and persons of the Mussulman merchants ; and the Sultan Khatil, the son of Ke- ladun, was provoked, by a new denial of justice, to utter and enforce a tremendous vow of extermination against the perfidious Franks. At the liead of an im- mense army of two hundred thousand men, the Ma- meluke prince entered Palestine, swept the weaker Christian garrisons before him, and encamped under the towers of Acre. [A. D. 1291.] That city, which, since the fall of Jerusalem; had been for a century the capital of the Latin kingdom, was now become the last refuge of the Christian population of Palestine. Its defences were strong, its inhabitants numerous; but any state of society more vicious, disorderly, and helpless than its condition, can scarcely be imagined. Within its walls were crowded a promiscuous multi- tude, of every European nation, all equally disclaim- ing obedience to a general government, and enjoying impunity for every crime under the nominal jurisdic- tion of independent tribunals. Of these there were no less than seventeen ; in which the papal legate, the king of Jerusalem, the despoiled great feudatories of his realm, the three military orders, the colonies of the maritime Italian republics, and the representatives of the princes of the West, all arrogated sovereign rights, id all abused them by the venal protection of of- THE EIGHTH CRUSADE. 44"" fenders. When, therefore, the devoted city was in- vested by the infidels, we need not wonder that, amid the common danger, her councils were without concert, and that, with an immense population, the vast circuit of her walls was inadequately manned. All the wretched inhabitants who could find such opportunites of escape, thronged on board the numerous vessels in the harbour, which set sail for Europe; and the last defence of Acre was abandoned to about twelve thou- sand men, for the most part the soldiery of the three military orders.* From that gallant chivalry, the Moslems encoun- tered a resistance worthy of its ancient renown and of the extremity of the cause for which its triple fra- ternity had sworn to die. But the whole force of the Mameluke empire, in its yet youthful vigour, had been collected for their destruction. During thirty-three days, the beseigers incessantly plied a long train of balistic and battering engines of ljuge dimensions and prodigious power against the defences of the city; various parts of its double wall were beaten down or undermined; and at length the fall of a principal work, of which the fatal importance is expressed in the original relations of the siege by its title of " the Cursed Tower," opened a yawning breach into the heart of the place. At this awful "crisis, the recreant Lusignan, who wore the titular crown of Jerusalem, * De Guignes, lib. xxi. Sanutus, lib. iii., pars, xiii., c. 20. Gio ranai Villani, (in Script. Rer. ItaL, vol. xiii ,) lib. vii. c. 144. 442 THE LAST FOUR CRUSADES. basely abandoned his duty, and proved himself desti- tute of the only qualities which might have conferred lustre upon his ideal dignity. Secretly withdrawing in the night from his post, he seized a few vessels in the port, and sailed away with his followers to Cyprus. Even his cowardly flight could not shake the con- stancy of the Teutonic knights whom he had deserted in the Cursed Tower, and who continued to guard its ruins. But, with the following dawn, their post was attacked by the infidels in immense force; several times were the assailants repulsed with dreadful car- nage, and as often were the slain replaced by fresh bands of the 'Moslems. At length, after most of the German cavaliers had fallen in the breach, the infidels, in overpowering numbers, forced a passage over their lifeless bodies ; a torrent of assailants pouring into the place swept its few surviving defenders before them ; and Acre was irretrievably lost. Bursting through the city, the savage victors pursued to the strand the unarmed and fleeing population, who had .wildly sought a means of escape, which was denied not less by the fury of the elements than by the want of suf- ficient shipping. By the relentless cruelty of their pursuers, the sands and the waves were dyed with the blood of the fugitives ; all who survived -the first hor- rid massacre were doomed to a hopeless slavery ; and the last catastrophe of the Crusades cost life or liberty lo sixty thousand Christians. Even in the fatal hour in which Acre fell, the he- THE EIGHTH CRUSADE. 443 roes of the Hospital and Temple preserved and dis- played their unconquerable spirit. Led by then grand-master, the knights of St. John sallied from the devoted city, carried havoc into the heart of the in fidel leaguer, and when, overpowered by numbers, all but seven of their order, with a few followers, had been left on the field, this gallant remnant fought their way to the coast, and effected an embarkation. Meanwhile, for three days after the fall of the city, the Templars continued to defend their monastic for- tress within its walls. Their valiant grand-master, Pierre de Beaujeu, whose military skill and personal heroism had been conspicuous throughout the siege, was killed by a poisoned arrow ; but the obstinate re- sistance of his brethren obtained from the sultan the promise of a free and honourable retreat. When the Red Cross-Knights issued from their fortress on the faith of this assurance, they were assailed by the law- less insults of the Mussulman hosts ; they impatiently renewed the contest ; and most of their number were slain on the spot. The few who escaped forced a pas- sage with their swords through the Mameluke lines, fled into the interior country, and even there resumed the war, until they were ultimately driven again to the coast, and effected their escape by sea to Cyprus. Theirs was the last effort for the defence of Palestine ; the Christian population of the few maritime towns which had yet been retained fled to Cyprus, or sub- mitted their necks, without a struggle, to the Moslem 444 THE LAST FOUR CRUSADES. yoke; and, after a bloody contest of two hundred years, the possession of the Holy Land was FINALLY abandoned to the enemies of the Cross.* The fall of Acre closes the annals of the Crusades. But the mere loss of that last possession of the Latins on the Syrian shore would not have put a term to the hopes and efforts of Christendom for the recovery of the Holy Sepulchre, if the spirit itself which prompted every preceding enterprise for the same object had not already expired. A century earlier, the capture of Jerusalem by Saladin had sufficed to fill all Europe with grief and horror, and had impressed the three greatest monarchs of the age with the conviction that the demands of religion and honour rendered it equally imperative upon them personally to revenge the dis- grace of Christendom, and to chastise the insolence of the enemies of God. At a still later epoch, even the fall of a remote dependency of the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem had awakened the most intense anxiety and alarm in Europe for the safety of the Holy Se- pulchre ; and the catastrophe of Edessa had attracted the sovereigns and national chivalry of France and Germany to the plains of Asia. At every cry for succour from the Christians in Palestine, until the fatal issue of the Fifth Crusade, myriads of warlike and fanatical volunteers, of the noblest as well the meanest blood of Europe, had eagerly responded to * Sanutus, lib. iii pars. xii. c. 21-23. De Guignes arid G. Villani, THE EIGHTH CRUSADE. 445 the call; and their devotion to the cause was much more frequently chilled and diverted from its support by the tortuous and sordid policy of the papal see, than by any lack of sincerity or change of purpose in" themselves. Yet, after the fall of Acre, no exhorta- tions which succeeding pontiffs strenuously repeated for fifty years, could rouse the princes and people of the West to any earnest design for the revival of the Crusades.* Nor was it that Europe had become less martial or restless in the fourteenth than it had been in the twelfth century. Warfare still constituted the only serious occupation of her princes and nobles its pursuit the only path of honourable distinction, its image almost their only pastime; and the flame of chivalry which we have elsewhere characterized, after a great writer, as at once a cause and conse- quence of the Crusades never burned so brightly as in the age which immediately succeeded the extinction of those enterprises. The cessation of the Crusades was assuredly, then, not produced by any abatement of the love of arms, or of the thirst of glory in the chivalry of Europe. But the union with these martial qualities of that fanatical enthusiasm which inspired the Christian * An enumeration of these abortive efforts of the popes to rekindle the enthusiasm of Europe would be superfluous in this place, but may be found in Mr. Mill's History of tlie Onisades, vol. ii. ch. vii- a work to which we take this last occasion of expressing our great obligations. 446 THE LAST FOUR CRUSADES. warriors of the eleventh century, had been slowly dis- solved ; and the abandonment of Palestine to the un- disturbed possession of the Moslems is clearly to be traced to the gradual but total exhaustion in the European mind of the same superstitious phrensy which, pervading every rank of society, had wrought such stupendous efforts for the possession of the Holy Land. The long duration of this wild passion, indeed, is far more astonishing than its final decay ; and, in- stead of being a subject of surprise that it at length expired, it may rather provoke our wonder that so strange an enthusiasm should so tenaciously have sur- vived all experience of disappointment and calamity. In the thirteenth century, however a full generation before the fall of Acre we begin clearly to discern the decline of the crusading spirit in the evidence both of historical and poetical literature ; and when the pious follower of St. Louis, and faithful chronicler of his deeds, refused to accompany him in his second ex- pedition,* when the religious obligation of wresting * " The King of France and the King of Navarre pressed me strongly to put on the Cross, and undertake a pilgrimage with them ; but I replied, that when I was before beyond sea, on the service of God, the officers of the King of France had so grievously oppressed my people that they were in a state of poverty, insomuch that we should have great difficulty to recover ourselves; and that I saw clearly, were I to undertake another Croisade, it would be the total ruin of my people. I have heard many say since, that those who had advised him A x> this Croisade had been guilty of a great crime, and had sinned deadly." Joinville, (Johnes's Edition,) vol. i. p 241 THE EIGHTH CRUSADE. 447 the sepulchre of Christ from the hands of the infidels became the subject of bold and jocular denial in a popular poem,* we may feel assured that the noble and the minstrel already spoke the altered sentiments of their times. The causes to which this extinction of fanatical zeal in Europe may be referred are obvious, and have often been exposed. Among them, the most immediate was, assuredly, a growing conviction of the hopelessness of success. After the signal and tremendous failure of the Fifth Crusade in Egypt, it may be doubted whether any mighty armament could ever again have been directed to the same scene, if the personal cha- racter and influential example of St. Louis, rather than the spontaneous ardour of his nobles, had not produced his two calamitous expeditions. In the in- termediate enterprise of the Emperor Frederic II., his tardy if not reluctant 'voyage to the Holy Land, as well as the whole tenor of his conduct respecting the affairs of his Eastern kingdom, was evidently induced * In the Fabliaux of Le Grand d'Aussy, (vol. ii. p. 163,) trans- lated in the kindred work of Way, (vol. ii. p. 227,) is preserved a very curious specimen by Rutuboeuf, a French rhymer of the age of St. Louis, in which a crusader and non-crusader are made to discuss the duty of assuming the Cross. Throughout this dialogue, under pre- text of rebuking the levity of the non-crusader, it is evident that, the sly minstrel intended to ridicule the expiring folly of his times; nor would it be easy, in more serious terms, to offer a better exposure of the practical evils which the Crusades had inflicted upon their vo- taries, than is presented in this lively satire. 448 THE LAST FOUR CRUSADES. much more by political than religious considerations; and the efforts of our two English princes, Richard of Cornwall, and his nephew Edward, if inspired by a more generous motive of glory or devotion, were un- sustained examples of individual heroism, which served only to prove that their spirit was no longer supported by the popular enthusiasm and hopes of their age. None of those leaders were followed by the immense and various array of the Western nations, which had thronged around the consecrated banners of their precursors in the first five Crusades ; the defence of Palestine itself was abandoned almost entirely to the military orders ; and perhaps it was only the institution of those martial and religious fraternities, and the revolutions and consequent weak- ness of the Mohammedan States, which protracted the struggle through the last seventy years of its duration. But, beyond all question, the primary cause which both defeated the object of the Crusades, and awakened Christendom from its long dream of fa- natical madness, was the conduct of the papal see. Sincere'as Pope Urban II. and some of his successors undoubtedly were in the promotion of these under- takings, the temptation of diverting the general en- thusiasm to the profit of its own spiritual and tem- poral power soon became too strong to be resisted by the selfish ambition "and cupidity of the court of Rome. Accordingly, the service of the Cross became THE EIGHTH CRUSADE. 449 the frequent pretence for pecuniary exactions to fill the papal coffers ;* next, crusaders were allowed and even encouraged to commute their vows for money ; and, finally, the same spiritual indulgences, or pardons for sin, which had been the great inducement to persons of all ranks to engage in the earlier Crusades,f were openly and shamelessly sold. Moreover, by an easy enlargement of the crusading principle, the sacred duty and merit of combating the infidel foes of God was first extended to the extirpation of heresy among Christians by the sword ; and this doctrine re- quired to be stretched but a point further, to reach all the temporal enemies of the church, or, in other words? every political opponent of the reigning pontiff. Innocent III. was the first of the popes who applied the religious enthusiasm of Europe to this double object of taxation and persecution. The Crusade which he directed against the Albigenses, was the earliest diversion of the martial fanaticism of the Middle Ages from its original object;" and the in- dulgences which he lavished upon all who assumed * Sufficient examples of this fact, in the case of England, have already been cited in the present chapter from Matthew Paris, p. 339, 4(31, 463, &c. ; nor can it be doubted that the same conduct wa. pursued in other parts of Europe. f The premise of spiritual indulgences and pardons is expressly mentioned by Villchardouin as among the primary motives of the warriors who engaged in the Fourth Crusade. Et mult sen croisi- erent, porcr, que li pardons ere si c/ran. Par. No. 1. (And many took the Cross because that the pardons were so great.) 29 450 THE LAST FOUR CRUSADES. the Cross in that atrocious warfare, were more ex tensive than any which had been promised for the de- liverance of the Holy Sepulchre. The conduct of In- nocent in converting the Saladine tithe, which had heen first levied by general and voluntary consent throughout Europe, into a compulsory tax upon the clergy, was, indeed, more legitimate in its purpose. But though, as we formerly observed, that loftiness of spirit which characterized that celebrated pontiff may redeem his memory from any suspicion of mean or sordid motives,, the example which he thus set had very important results under his successors, not only in disgusting the ecclesiastical orders with the prosecu tion of holy wars, which were made the pretext of plundering their revenues, but also in - encouraging that spirit of resistance to the papal exactions which may be numbered among the remote causes of the Reformation.* It can scarcely be necessary, in this place, to remind the reader of the more flagrant abuses of the cru- sading principle which were so frequently committed by the successors of Innocertt III. During a period of forty years, every war in which they pursued their * This is evidently the opinion of a writer of great research and celebrity, though he shrinks from stating it broadly : Peut-on en con- clure que les Croisades soient la cause de la guerre des Hussites et de la Reformation de Luther ? (May we not then conclude that the Crusades were the cause of the war of the Hussites, and of the Reformation of Luther ?) Heeren, Essai sur I' Influence des Croi* tades, Paris. 1808, p. 176. THE EIGHTH CRUSADE. 451 unrelenting hostility against the imperial house of Hohenstaufferi, from the first excommunication of Frederic II. until the fall of his grandson Conradin, was audaciously invested with the title of a Crusade, and its supporters were rewarded with the same privi- leges as the Christian warriors in Palestine. One of these pontiffs, Clement IV., during the contest be- tween Charles of Anjou and Manfred for the crown of the Sicilies, even prevented large bodies of cru- saders from proceeding to the Holy Land, by inviting them, with the promise of equal indulgences, to ex- change the perilous fulfilment of their vows in the IJast, for the lighter service of attacking his political enemy in Italy. It would be a waste of words to enlarge upon the serious injury sustained by the Christian cause in Palestine through these abuses, or to describe the ridicule and scandal which were thrown upon the crusading principle itself, by its prostitution to pur- poses too grossly temporal long to delude even the blindest superstition. Nor were the shameless ex- pedients less palpable by which the papal court and its agents, in the same age, frequently impeded the religious enterprises, and disappointed the zeal of, ' society, in order to embezzle the immense sums which were collected for the ostensible service of the Cross. Of the extent of these frauds we have cited abundant evidence, even from the monastic annalists of our own country ; and their effects could not fail to extinguish 452 THE LAST FOUR CRUSADES. in disgust the last fitful gleams of the ciusading fanaticism, since such fruitless exactions fell less severely on the poor and ignorant commonalty, than on those ecclesiastical and noble orders who, by their riches and intelligence, were more interested, and better qualified to" expose and resent the dishonest artifices of the papal policy.* * The popular belief, which held that pilgrimages to various shrines of Europe were scarcely less efficacious than the more arduous journey to the Holy Land, has sometimes been numbered among the causes of the decline of the crusading spirit ; but it seema to have been rather a consequence of the impossibility of visiting Je- rusalem. At least, the institution of the sacred festival of the jubilee by which Pope Boniface VIII. drew an immense concourse o,f pil- grims to Rome, in the last year of the thirteenth century, to receive a general pardon for their sins, must be regarded only as a profitable expedient consequent upon the loss of the holy places in the East, which had previously attracted the stream of devotion. CONSEQUENCES OF THE CRUSADES. 453 CHAPTER VI. HE causes which produced and ex- tinguished the Crusades are so evident, as to have led most inquirers to a com- mon conclusion on their nature and operations; but, in their estimate of the consequences of these memorable expeditions upon the political, moral, and religious aspect of society, scarcely two historians of eminence are agreed. 454 CONSEQUENCES OF THE CRUSADES. If we are to believe one celebrated writer, the most sanguinary and destructive wars which fanaticism ever produced, were the sources of unmingled good;* if we are to adopt the judgment of another, yet more dis- tinguished, the principle and effects of the Crusades were analogous in their baneful tendency, and equally injurious in their influence upon knowledge and civili- zation.f According to a third reasoner, those enter- prises enormously augmented the. papal power, and aggravated the prevailing superstitions ;J by a fourth they are numbered, with some hesitation, indeed, among the beneficial causes of the great reformation of religion. 1 1 Again, though the first writer to whom we have here alluded thought he could discern in these wild expeditions the earliest gleams of light, which tended to dispel barbarism and ignorance, and was led to discover in them the dawn of all social im- provement in Europe, the ablest historian of the Cru- sades in our own times has denied almost all per- manence to their effects.^ And lastly, while a disci- ple of the blind school of fatalism has seen in the con- * Robertson, History of Charles V. &c. y Introduction, sec. 1. f Gibbon, Decline and Fall, &c., ch. Ixi. | Mosheira, Eccles. History, Cent. xi. p. i. c. 1. sec. 8. || Heeren, Essai sur I Influence des Croisades, p. 139-176. 1 Mills, ^History of the Crusades, vol. ii. c. 8. Such seems also to be the opinion of Mr. Hallara ; although it is to be gathered less from expressed reasoning than from the absence of much reference to the effects of the Crusades, in his View of the Progress of Society during the Middle Ages. CONSEQUENCES OF THE CRUSADES. 455 * flict of Europe and Asia only some fortuitous advan- tages,* the eloquent champion of a religious philo sophy of history has, with a far happier spirit of reverential inquiry, been contented to trace the bene- ficial designs of Omnipotence through the mingled evil and good of this, like every other, convulsion of the political and moral world.f The value of these various and conflicting opinions may perhaps best be ascertained by a distinct, though, within our narrow limits, necessarily a brief exami- nation of the forms in which the Crusades were likely to act upon the condition of Europe; in their influ- ence upon religion, upon international power, upon internal government, upon commerce and learning, and lastly upon social morals and civilization in general. I. With respect to religion, when we consider that the Crusades were the sources, of a vast increase of power and wealth, and consequently of luxury and corruption, in the Romish Church; when we re- member that the detestable establishment of the In quisition, and the scandalous traffic of indulgences foi sin at least originated in the perversion of the crusad- ing enthusiasin; it is impossible to deny the conclu- sion, that the immediate effects of that fanatical spirit were extremely pernicious. And it is probably the superficial view of these temporary evils which has * Heider, Outlines of a Philosophy of the History of Man, quoted in f Miller, PKilo&ophy of Modern History, vol. iii. lect. xxiv. 456 CONSEQUENCES OF THE CRUSADES. misled many writers who, in natural and well-founded disgust at the cruelty and impurity with which they stained the holiness of Christianity, have overlooked the salutary reaction which they necessitated. Such inquirers, in fact, in passing an unqualified judgment on the mischievous results of the Crusades, have not distinguished between the proximate and ultimate consequences of those enterprises. For if, as they un- doubtedly did, the corruptions of the Church of Rome produced the reformation of religion, the very evils engendered by the Crusades, in nurturing and matur- ing the intolerable growth of ecclesiastical abuses, must have essentially hastened the season of their correction. II. The consequences of the Crusades, in affecting the distribution of international power, is a question which admits of less doubt. The opinion, once enter- tained, that those expeditions were instrumental in arresting the progress of the Mohammedan arms, seems universally exploded ; nor can it be proved that they ultimately produced the least change in the ex- ternal disposition of any of the European states, except the maritime Italian republics. We have seen, indeed, that applications from the, Greek Empire to the pope and the western potentates, for succour against' the Seljukian Turks, preceded the First Cru- sade ; and it is true that Alexius Comnenus profited * Hallam, Middle Ages. CONSEQUENCES OF THE CRUSADES. 457 by the successes of the Latins, to recover a con siderable part of Asia Minor from the infidels. But, before the crusaders traversed that region, the Selju- kian power had already obeyed the usual fate of Asiatic dynasties, in internal decay and partition; 51 nd the real peril of Constantinople from the Turks in that age was already past, when her emperor was oppressed by the arrival of allies scarcely less danger- ous. The temporary advantages which the Greek Emperor extracted from the victorious passage of Godfrey of Bouillon and his compeers were never re- newed; and we may agree with a judicious historian,* that whatever obligations might be due to the first crusaders from the Eastern Empire, were cancelled ly their descendants one hundred years afterwards, wh(n the fourth in number of those expeditions was turned to the subjugation of Constantinople itself. Certain it is, that the Byzantine Empire never recovered fror, i the shock and dismemberment which attended tlit Latin conquest; and the silent revival and growth of the new Turkish power in the mountains of Asia Minor, which finally overthrew the Greek Empire and planted the banner of the Crescent on the towers of Constantinople, were in no degree connected with, and could not be retarded by, the contest of the cru- saders with the Sultans of Damascus and Cairo for the possession of the Syrian shore. In Western Europe * Hallain, Middle Ages, vol. ii. p. 182. 458 CONSEQUENCES OF TUE CKUSADES. itself, the Crusades left absolutely no consequences in the political connection of the Latin kingdoms; and we have only to compare their extent at the close of the llth and of the 13th centuries, to assure ourselves that neither the fate of a single dynasty, nor the boundaries and relative strength of nations, had at all been affected by the vicissitudes of the fanatical con- test in which they had shared. III. The influence of that contest on the internal government and constitution of the feudal kingdoms of Europe is a distinct and 'more difficult problem. Among the benefits, in these respects, which had been attributed to the Crusades, are the firmer establish- ment of regal authority, the depression of the feudal aristocracy, the gradual deliverance of the rural popu- lation from predial servitude, and the growth of mu- nicipal freedom. The era of the Crusades was as- suredly one of active and rapid improvement in social order and civilization; but, so far as opposite changes are discernible in the feudal kingdoms at the close of the Crusades, such results can scarcely, upon any sound principle of reasoning, be referred to a single and common cause in the influences of those enter- prises. Now, the same period witnessed the triumph of the crown over feudalism in France, the foundation of constitutional freedom upon the ruins of royal tyranny in England, and the completion of the aris- tocratic and municipal privileges of Germany. In the first of these countries, it has been proved, that of all CONSEQUENCES OF THE CRUSADES. 459 the great and arriere fiefs, the annexation of which to ihe crown consolidated the royal power during the Crusades, not one lapsed by the extinction of a feudal house in those wars, and only one, the county of Bourg^s, appears clearly to have been acquired by purchase from a chieftain who had taken the Cross.* In England, on the contrary, if the Crusades had any effect upon the regal authority, it was injurious. The sale of the royal domains by Richard I. to defray the cost of his expedition to Palestine, tended, indeed, to throw the crown, by the dimunition of its revenues, into dependence upon the aristocracy; but the cir- cumstances which favoured the struggle of that body against his successors the mingled tyranny and pu- sillanimity of John, and the total incapacity of his feeble son were altogether foreign to the present subject of inquiry. In Germany, it is needless to re- mind the reader, that the fall of the house of Hohen- stauffen, and the consequent extinction of the imperial authority, were as totally unconnected with the result of the Crusades. In a word, how is a belief in the general depression of the feudal aristocracy, through their share in those costly and distant enterprises, to be reconciled with their triumph, in the same ages, over the royal and imperial power in England and in Germany ? * Heeren, Etsai sur V Influence, des Croisades, p. 181-185; Mills, History of Ow Crusades, vol. ii. pp. 351-354 ; and the authorities there cited. 460 CONSEQUENCES OF T1IE CRUSADES. Equally difficult would it be to show any percept ible amelioration in the condition of the peasantry of Europe through the influence of the Crusades; for, at the close of the 15th century, the chains of feudal tyranny remained unbroken ; the mass of the rural population was still in bondage to the soil, and, in the following age, the frightful insurrections of the populace in France and England reveal the con- tinuance of that wretched state of servitude which goaded their order to desperation.* There is, there- fore, neither a shadow of evidence, nor even a proba- bility, to warrant the hypothesis, that the condition of the serfs of the feudal system w r as improved by the events of the Crusades-; scarcely any contemporary though accidental changes, in this respect, can be traced in the same period; and the relaxation of predial servitude must be referred altogether to later ages. There is, however, more reason to conclude, though * It is singular that Gibbon, while denying in general all beneficial consequences to the Crusades, and contending that they checked rather than forwarded the maturity of Europe, should number them " among the causes which undermined the Gothic edifice" of Feu- dalism ; and assert that the poverty of the barons, whose estates were dissipated in these expeditions, extorted from them " those charters of freedom which unlocked the fetters of the slave, and secured the farm of the peasant." Of such manumission there is no evidence whatever. It is no less singular that the great historian, in adopting this fanciful theory, should have overlooked, or at least omitted, all consideration of the real and positive benefits which accrued to commerce from the Crusades. CONSEQUENCES OF THE CRUSADES. 461 rather from general deductions than special proofs, that the growth of municipal independence was at least favoured by the Crusades. Not that even thia assertion is to be received without great qualifica- tion ; for the liberties of the inland cities of Northern Italy arose before the commencement of those enter- prises, and were lost before their conclusion ;* in Germany, also many towns on the Rhine had already, in the llth century, obtained important privileges from Henry IV., in reward for their fidelity to that emperor, during his disastrous contest with the papacy ;f and in our own country, the chartered rights of cities flowed exclusively from the crown under circumstances which bear no imaginable rela- tion to crusading incidents. But, throughout the continent north of the Alps, and in Germany espe- cially, during the 12th and loth centuries, there ap- pears so remarkable an advance in the liberties and consequent prosperity of numerous towns, that it is natural to attribute some share in the successful struggle of their inhabitants against aristocratic op- pression to the frequent absence of the most active and enterprising of their feudal seigneurs and neigh- bours in the holy wars ; and still more to the com- * "At the latter end of the 13th century, there were almost aa many princes in the north of Italy, as there had been free cities in the preceding age." Hallam, Middle Ages, vol. i. p. 407. f Heeren, Sur V Influence des Croisades, p. 247, 248, with the authorities there quoted. 462 CONSEQUENCES OF THE CRUSADES. mercial impulse which was excited by those enter- prises. IV. If on any point, indeed, we may safely dissent from the conclusions of those historians who have Been no beneficial results in the Crusades, it will be in remarking the obvious effect of the Latin expe- ditions to the East, in enlarging the commerce of Europe. The rapid extension of the trade of the maritime Italian republics is clearly referable to their share in the Crusades, not only in the mere transport of warriors and pilgrims for hire, but in the warlike naval co-operation which won for them numerous lucrative establishments in the Levant. Thence they drew and poured into Europe the rich products of the East, and' accumulated a commerce which, though not previously altogether unattempted, had acquired little activity until the commencement of the Crusades. Nor were its benefits by any means confined to Italy, or even to the shores of the Mediterranean; for, by inland communication, they were spread among the free cities of Germany, and, through the Straits of Gibraltar, to those English and Flemish ports, which formed the only entrepots for the mer- chandise of the Italian republics, and of the Hanse Towns of the North. It is not, therefore, too strong an assertion, that the Crusades were more instru- mental in the dissemination of commerce throughout Europe, than any other circumstances, until the dis- CONSEQUENCES OF THE CRUSADES. 4C3 covcry of the New World, and the accomplishment of a maritime passage to India. V. But no kindred influence of the Crusades can be traced in the diffusion of lettc-red knowledge. If, in- deed, those enterprises had enriched the Western World with the precious stores of the ancient Greek literature, the result would more than have com- pensated for the political injuries which the crusaders inflicted upon the worthless and tottering edifice of Byzantine power. But the spirit of the ignorant Latins was still too barbarous to profit by a collision with the more cultivated, though perverted, intellect of the Greeks; the mutual hatred and contempt of the two races disdained all communion ; and so far were the literary treasures of Constantinople from awaken- ing the curiosity of her French captors, that the de- struction of many of the Greek classics, still extant in the 13th century, is notoriously ascribable to the three calamitous conflagrations which attended the Latin conquest of the Eastern capital.* Nor, even, was any knowledge of the language of Greece imported into the West by the crusaders; and the true restorers of Greek learning in the Latin world were Petrarca and Boccaccio, whose exertions, in the next century after the Crusades, were aided by circumstances upon which those wars could have left no control. Nor * See the authenticated catalogue of these losses in Heeren, pp. 413, 114. 464 CONSEQUENCES OF THE CRUSADES. can any part of the^ illumination for which Europe was indebted in the Middle Ages to the letters and science of the Arabians, be more correctly ascribed to the occupation of Palestine by the Franks. For the intellectual splendour of the eastern khalifate was extinct before the First Crusade; the rays of light diffused from' that source had long previously pene- trated into the West through Spain and Italy; many Latin translations of the Arabic writers had been pre- pared in those countries; and Toledo, Salerno, and Cassino were flourishing schools for the transmuted philosophy and learning of the Mohammedans.* Lastly, if the Crusades had exercised any decided influence on letters, we might expect to find its traces in the native and romantic poetry of the West, of which the darling theme was most congenial to the chivalric spirit of such enterprises. Apart, however, from the general and connecting link of chivalry, the subjects even of Trouveur and Troubadour contem- porary song do not much abound with references to the adventures of Paynim war. Some oriental colour- ing was, no doubt, transfused through the strains of the numerous minstrels who followed their lords to Palestine; but it is a singular fact, that, except in two, which relate the deeds of Godfrey of Bouillon and Richard Coeur de Lion, the Crusades do not form the subject of the romances of chivalry.^ It has * Mills, Crusades, vol. ii. pp. 360-364. f Idem, vol. ii. p. 367, and Dunlop, History of Fiction, vol. ii. p 140 CONSEQUENCES OP THE CRUSADES. 465 been acutely remarked, that those expeditions were, perhaps, too recent, and too much matters of real lite, to admit the decorations of fiction;* but neither do they appear to have engrossed more attention, as sub- jects of authentic narrative, than the other political events of the times; nor to have particularly quick- ened that fervour of historical composition which is usually awakened by great events, and tends by its excitement to stimulate the intellect of an age. In this respect, notwithstanding the natural interest and richness of their materials, and the spirit-stirring cha- racter of their details, the Crusades did not elicit any striking improvement; and though there is no lack of chroniclers of the Holy Wars, they are scarcely more numerous, or of higher merit, than the contem- porary national annalists of the same ages. VI. That the new blending of so many masses of men of various climes and manners in a common cause the commingling, as it were, for the first time, of the great family of nations and the general habit of foreign and distant travel must altogether have given a mighty impulse to society, and dispelled many clouds 'of ignorance, in which the previous stagnation of intercourse had thickly shrouded the countries of the West can hardly, we think, be doubted by any inquirer whose judgment has not been misled to the maintenance of some preconceived and favourite * Dunlop, ubi suprd. 466 CONSEQUENCES OF THE CKUSADES. theory. But, it has been triumphantly asked,* if some benefits were thus necessarily communicated to Europe, what were they? Specific proof may, in this epirit, be vainly demanded of a general consequence, which, from its very nature, admits of none. Yet no man has denied the striking and steady progress of civilization after the llth century; and our historian of the Middle Ages, in his view of society, has even marked the close of that century which is identical with the commencement of the Crusades, as the point which separates the extreme darkness of barbarism in Europe, from the dawn of a progressive renovation.* If the Crusades, by the stimulus which they gave to the commercial and general communion of nations, were not the principal causes of this nascent improve- ment during the 12th and 13th centuries, what other attributes, peculiar to the times, can be pointed out, which may be believed to have exercised so strong and universal an influence, as those enterprises with all their attendant circumstances? It has been said that the Crusades were altogether pernicious to morality, and that the absurd and cruel principles of superstition and fanaticism which they fostered were equally detrimental to religion. But here again is rodm for a caution against the confounding of proxi- mate and ultimate consequences. As the dissolute, as well as the pious, enlisted under the banner of the * Berington, Literary History of the Middle Ayes, p. 2ti9. f Hallain, Mi'ldlt Ayes; vol. iii. 372. CONSEQUENCES OF THE CRUSADES. 467 Cross, the habits of the worst portions of society were not likely to be improved by the license of crusading camps; but the myriads, who perished amid their ex- cesses in the East, at least relieved their native lands of the burden and curse of their presence. The stern (spirit of religious persecution, encouraged by an ex- terminating warfare against infidels, is the darkest feature in the operation of the Crusades upon the feel- ings and happiness of their times. The justice of the principles upon which those enterprises were either originally undertaken or subsequently perverted, is utterly indefensible upon all the laws of God and man ; nor were there, perhaps, ever any human contests, in themselves more thoroughly misguided and iniquitous than those holy wars. But in their fruits when time had purified the soil in which the wild and bitter stock of superstition was planted, they became very salutary to mankind. The union of a religious with a martial spirit, however incongruous in its origin, has tended, more than any other combination of senti- ment, to humanize not only warfare itself, but the ordinary relations of civilized life ; and, as the insti- tutions of chivalry were matured and perpetuated by the Crusades, we owe to those enterprises the cultiva- tion of all the moral qualities, of personal honour and fidelity to obligations, of courtesy to the one sex and respectful tenderness to the other, which have de- scended upon the modern gentleman, and survive tc dignify and adorn the intercourse of polished society. 168 CONSEQUENCES OF THE CRUSADES. In conclusion, then, we may venture to affirm, of the influence and consequences of the Crusades, that v upon the state of religion, they were at first per- nicious, but ultimately beneficial; that, upon the dis- tribution of national power in the European system, they were, altogether, or nearly, immaterial; that upon the internal government and constitution of the feudal kingdoms, they are no otherwise discernible than in favouring the growth of municipal freedom; that, in the diffusion of commerce, they were most important and valuable, but in that of learning absolutely null; that, in the commingling of nations, they must have given a strong and general impulse to the progress of civilization; and, finally, that, at least by the promotion of chivalric sentiment, they were an obvious, though indirect and distant means of amelio- rating the social morals and manners of Europe. CHRONOLOGY OF THE CRUSADES. THE predisposing causes of those famous enterprises are generally attributed to the impulsive influence of religion upon the barbaric mind, the institution of chi- valry, the union of martial and superstitious feelings, and the influence of fanatical enthusiasm. But the proximate causes are seen in the persecuting frenzy of Hakem, the third Fatimite khalif, and in the fanatical cruelties of Seljukian Turks. The re- ports of returned pilgrims respecting the insulting and savage cruelty of the latter, as well as the destruction of the Church of the Resurrection by the former, excited general indignation ; but it was not till the return of Peter Gautier, an officer of Amiens, who had renounced his profession in order to undertake a pilgrimage, that any proposal was made for attempting the expulsion of the infidels from the Holy Land. Peter (the Hermit) laid before Pope Urban II. a project he had formed for xpelling the infidels from Palestine; which, being backed by the complaints of the Greek emperor, Alexis, and the urgent appeals of Peter, the pope was induced to espouse the projected enterprise; accordingly he recommended to all Chrisiian princes, first at the Council of Placentia, and afterward at that of Clermont, the duty of zealously engaging in this holy war. At the latter council the pope obtained from the ambassadors present a commission for Peter Gautier to proceed forthwith in the prosecution of his chivalric design. The ensuing spring (1096) was appointed frr the departure of the first army. The Crusades Abortive Expeditions. 1096 Peter the Hermit, issues from the western frontiers of France, lead- ing an immense concourse of the lowest orders. The rabble multitude is divided : The first division, of 20,000, is led by Walter, the Pennyless, through Hungary. In Bulgaria they are all destroyed, except Walter and a few who escape to Constantinople. The second division, of 40,000 un- der Peter the Hermit, advance into Hungary. They destroy Malleville (Zemlin) and slaughter its inhabitants. Carloman, King of Hungary inarches against them. The Bulgarians cut them off by thousand?. At Nissa they are routed with great slaughter; their camp is despoiled and their baggage plun- dered, Ac. The remnant arrive at Constanti- nople in great distress ; they pass into Asia Minor. 1096 They are nearly all cut off by tho Turks in the plain of Nice ; only 3000 escape. Fall of Walter, the Pennyless. Ihird division, of 15,000, from Germany, under Gondenschal, a German monk. Their atrocious wickedness in Hun- gary ends in their ruthless mas- sacre at Belgrade. Fourth division, of 200,000, com- posed of one huge mass of the vile refuse of France, Flanders, the Rhenish Provinces, and England. They are guided by two "divinely inspired" animals a goat and a goose. Massacre of Jews at Mayence and Spires, and other places in Ger- many. The Crusaders overthrown in Hun- gary. [" So dreadful the carnage that the course of the Danube was choked with the bodies, and its waters dyed with the blood of the. slain." " Before twelve months had expired since th 4*59 470 CHRONOLOGY OF THE CRUSADES. spirit of crusading was roused into action by the Council ol Clermont, and before a single advantage had been gained over the infidels, the fanatical en- thusiasm of Europe had already cost the lives, at the lowest com- putation, of 2oO,000 of its people. But while the first disasters of the Crusade were sweeping this mass of corruption from the sur- face of society, the genuine spi- rit of religious and martial en- thusiasm was more slowly and powerfully evolved. With ma- turer preparation, and with stea- dier resolve, than the half-armed and irregular rabble, the mailed and organized chivalry of Europe was arraying itself for the mighty contest; and a far different, a splendid and interesting spec- tacle opens to our view." Proc- tor.] THE FIRST CRUSADE. Though not undertaken by any of the crowned heads of Europe, was eagerly embraced by the most distinguished feudal princes of the second order, viz. : Godfrey of Bouillon, with his two brothers, Eustace and Baldwin, and a kinsman also named Bald- win ; Hugh, Count of Verman- dois, and Robert of Normandy, brothers of the French and Eng- lish Kings; Robert of Flanders, Stephen of Chartres, and Ray- mond of Thoulouse the first temporal prince who assumed the crown ; Boemond, son of Robert Guiscard, Prince of Ta- ronto, and his cousin Tailored. Order of Departure. The first division, under Godfrey consisted of the nobility of the Rhenish provinces and the North of Germany. Godfrey receives assistance from Carloman of Hungary and the Emperor Alexius : he peaceably arrives with his army on the fer- tile plains of Thrace. The second division, under the Counts of Vermandois and Char- tres, embraced the chivalry of Central and Northern France, the British Isles, Normandy, and Flanders. Their passage from Italy is op- posi d by the Emperor Alexius, and Hugh is made prisoner at Durazzo. 1096 Thrace ravaged by the Crusaders, under Godfrey, in retaliation fur the opposition offered Hugh of Vermandois, by the Emperor Alexius. The third division, under Boemond and Tancred, composed of South- ern ItAlians 10,000 horse, and 20,000 foot The fourth division, under the Count of Thoulouse, includes his own vassals and native confede- rates, comprehended under the general appellation of Provencals. 1097 Godfrey at open war with Alexius: seizure of the bridge of Blacher- na; ; attack upon Constantinople. Hugh of Vermandois mediates. Messages from Boemond and the Count of Thoulotise, requesting Godfrey to defer negotiations till they should arrive. Godfrey submits ; hence an Accommodation between the wily Alexis and the crusading princes: the latter swears fealty, the former delivers his son as hostage. Approach of the third division to the Byzantine capital. Boemond at first refuses to do ho- mage to Alexius, but afterward submits. The fourth division next ap- proaches its leader, Raymond, sternly refuses homage to Alexius whom he menaces. Alexius craftily gains the ascen- dency over the mind of the aged, though stern, Raymond. Muster of the several divisions in the plain of Asia Minor; numbers estimated including 100,000 mailed cavalry, and a prodigious number of priests, women, and children at about 700,000. Siege of Nice, June 20 ; it falls into the hands of the Greeks bj stratagem. Battle of Dorylaeum in July; ulti- mate victory of the Crusaders. Evacuation of Asia Minor by the Sultan of Rouui. Triumphant entry of the crusading hosts into Syria. Battle between Taucred and Bald- win. Baldwin separates from the main body and proceeds eastward, victoriously overman iE,g th-> CHRONOLOGY OF THE CRUSADES. whole country as far as the Eu- phrates. L097 The Crusaders lay siege to Antioch. Famine and pestilence in the Chris-' tian camp ; desertion of great numbers to Baldwin in Mesopo- tamia, Ac. ; cowardice of the Duke of Normandy, Count of Chartres, the Viscount of Mcluu, and Peter the Hermit. 1098 The Latin principality of Edessa founded by Baldwin. fiiege of Antioch renewed ; the Turks defeated, through the treachery of Phirouz ; city sur- prised and captured; the Turk- ish garrison escape within the citadel. The Sultan of Persia unites the Turks against the Christian in- vaders : twenty-eight emirs lead a force of from 3000 to 4000 ca- valry to relieve the garrison in the Citadel of Antioch. Blockade of the Crusaders in the city. Second famine ; horrible distress, attended by cannibalism, and vice of every kind. Alexius abandons their relief. The despairing Crusaders are called into action by superstition and the imposture of a priest. Great battle of Antioch ; the Turks routed with terrible slaughter. Foundation of the Latin princi- pality of Antioch ; Boemond its ruler. Disunion among the crusading princes. Third famine and pestilence in Antioch, which sweep off 100,000 persons cannibalism again re- sorted to. -099 The Crusaders, now numbering only 1500 cavalry and 20,000 infantry, and an equal number of unarmed camp followers, f the Fourth Crusade. [In the division and enjoyment of a conquered empire, the confede rated barons seemed to have for- gotten the original object of their expedition ; and the vain trophies of a victory, not over Paynim, but Christian enemies the gatei and chain of the harbour of Con- stantinople sent by the new Emperor of the East to Palestine, were the only fruits of the fourth Crusade, which ever reached the Syrian shores.] 1204 Truce with Saphidin for six years. [" The cupidity of the leaders of the fourth Crusade occasioned the loss of the fairest opportunity of re-establishing the Christian fortunes in Palestine. The dis- sensions of the Mussulman princes, and the ravages of dreadful famine, and consequent pestilence in Egypt, would have effectually paralyzed all oppo- sition from that dangerous quar- ter to the success of the crusad ing arms. But the hopes ex- cited for the Christian cause were completely lost in the di- version of the fourth Crusade against the Eastern Empire. 1210 John de Drienne, King of Jeru- salem. Saphidin applies for a prolongation of the truce, which the Latins refuse. 1211 The Mussulman arms are success- ful against the Latins, who ara in great straits. 1213 Appeal of John De Brienne to tho pope for succour against the in- fidels. 1214 The pope decrees another Crusade. 1215 The 4th Lateran council zealously adopt THE FIFTH CRUSADE by Sea. 1217 First expedition, the Hungarian Crusaders under their King An- drew. Second expedition; Germans, Ita- lians, French, English, under Duke of Austria. 1217 Abortive campaign of King Andrew. The Turks expel the Saracens front Jerusalem. 1218. Return of Andrew of Hungary. Numerous accessions from Ger- many. 478 CHRONOLOGY OF THE CRUSADES. A. D. 1218 1219 1220 1221 1224 1125 1228 1229 1230 The Crusaders invade Egypt Siege and capture of Daniietta. Two of the sons of Saphidin, Cora- dinug, and Camel, offer the ces- sion of Jerusalem, on condition that the Crusaders evacuate Egypt This most acceptable offer rejected, through the cupidity of the papal legate. Disastrous condition of the Crusa- ders near Cairo; the legate sues for peace. Peace purchased by the surrender of Damietta to the Sultan of Cairo. Disgraceful return of the Crusaders from Egypt to Acre. Embassy of Herman de Saltza, Grand-Master of the Teutonic knight?, to the Emperor Frede- ric, offering him the hand of lolanta, daughter and heiress of John de Brienne, King of Jeru- salem. Marriage of the Emperor Frederic and lolanta ; her doweY consist- ing of the transfer of the sove- reign rights of her father to Frederic. Frederic promises to lead an army into Palestine, for its reconquest, within two years. Frederic (emperor) arrives in Pa- lestine with a reinforcement in 28 galleys. Difficulties oft Frederic, arising from the iniquitous persecution of the pope. Negotiations with the Sultan Cora- dinus ; peace concluded for ten years : free access to Jerusalem granted to the Christians; with possession of Bethlehem, Naza- reth, Ac. Frederic crowns himself in Jeru- salem ; the patriarch having re- fused to perform the ceremony. Return of Frederic to Germany; and End of the F!fih Crutaile. Death of the Empress lolanta in giving birth to a son. Civil war ; struggle for the crown between the partisans of Frederic, and those of Alice, widow of Hugh de Lusignan. Reconciliation effected by the me- diation of Pope Gregory IX. Renewal of hostilities between the Emirs of Syria and the Latins. Several thousand pilgrims slaugh- tered. 1230 Sanguinary defeat of the Knights Templars, by the Emir of Aleppo. 12.32 Another Crusade projected by the Council of Spoletto : the Domi- nicans and Franciscans are au- thorized to preach it Appropriation of the moneys col- lected for the Crusade, by the pope and his agonts. 1235 Armenia seized by the Mogols. 1236 The Christians expelled from Je- rusalem by the Sultan of Egypt. 1237 Martial and religious enthusiasm excited throughout Europe. The nobles of France and England take the Cross. THE SIXTH CRVSADE two expeditions. 1238 I. Expedition of the French Cru- saders under Thibaud, Count of Champagne, Duke of Burgundy, Ac. Defeat of the Crusaders at Gaza; Count de Bar slain, Armory de Montfort, and many nobles an(? knights taken captive. Retreat of the King of Navarre upon Acre. The French leaders, Ac. return home. II. Expedition of Richard. Earl of Cornwall, who lands at Acre, ac- companied by the flower of the English chivalry. His arrival strikes the Mussulmans with terror, and inspires the Christians with confidence. Richard demands the restoration of the prisoners taken at the battle of Gaza. He marches upon Jaffa ; but The Sultans of Egypt and Damas- cus hasten to negotiate for peace. 1240 Jerusalem restored to the Chris- tians. Restoration of 600 Christian prison- ers. Return of Richard. Earl of Corn- wall. End of the Sirth Crimade. 1241 The fortifications of Jerusalem re- built by the Knights Templars. The ravages of the Moguls in Asia Minor drive several tribes into Syria for settlements. One of these tribes The Kharizuiian horde, (20,000 cavalry,) under Barbacan, enter Palestine, being guided by an Egyptian emir. 1242 Jerusalem captured by Barbacan, $nd finally lost to the Christian*. CHRONOLOGY OF THE CK17SADES. 479 A. D. 1242 1243 124) 1245 1247 1248 1249 Indiscriminate massacre of the in- habitants; pillage of the city; general ruin. The Knights Templars unite with the Moslems of Damascus, Alep- po, 'Ems, against the Egyptians and Khammians. Terrible defeat of the Christian chivalry and their Moslem allies. Fall of Tiberias, Ascalon, Ac. Palestine overrun by the Khariz- ruians. The Christian chivalry confined to Acre. Disunion between the Kharismians and Egyptians ; the former ex- pelled from Palestine. Holy Sepulchre in the hands of infidels. THE SEVENTH CUIISADE. The now Crusade was resolved upon at the Council of Lyons; temporal wars to be suspended for four years. Crusade embraced in England and France. Cyprus the rendezvous of the French Crusaders ; here they spend 8 months. Louis sails for Egypt with 1800 vessels, and 50,000 men. [In imitation of the plan of the fifth Crusade, Egypt, as the principal seat of the Moslem power, was again selected for the theatre of operations.] A storm disperses the fleet ; only 700 knights, under the king, make the port. Panic of the Mussulmans; they evacuate Damietta' to the French. Arrival of those dispersed by the storm, with a body of English nobles under William Long- sword. March of the French toward Cairo. Rnshness of the Count d'Artois at Mansora ; himself, William Longsword, and a host ,' knights slain. Death of Nedjmeddin, Sultan of Egypt. Louis defeats the Moslems at Man- sora. Crusaders in distress ; famine and pestilence make frightful ravages among them. 1250 Total rout of the Crusivders at Man- sora^and capture of Louis; de- struction of at least 30,000 Chris- ' 1269 liana. A. D. 1250 1253 1254 1255 1257 1260 1263 1265 1266 12(57 1268 Revolution in Egypt; Louis in danger. Surrender of Damietta to the Turks, April 5, in exchange foi the king and nobles. The king proceeds to Acre ; but most of his nobles return home. [During four years, the treasures which Louis was enabled to raise were lavishly expended ia refortifying Jaffa, Caesnrea, Si- don, and Acre.] Dissensions among the Moslem emirs of Syria and Egypt; hence the hopes of the Christians re- rive. Renewal of hostilities; the Moslem hordes approach Acre, but soon retire: The news of the death of the queen-mother of France haswjia the Departure of Louis for Europe. End of the Seventh Crusnde. Commercial and political rivalry of the Venetian States the cause of troubles in Palestine. Disunion between the several orders. Sanguinary battles between the Templars and Knights Hospital- lers ; complete and merciless de- struction of the former. Preparations of the Templars in Europe for inflicting a desperate vengeance upon the Hospitallers. Approach of the Mamelukes; oc- cupation of Damascus and Aleppo. Mameluke invasions, under Bon- docdar. Desperate and unequal battles be- tween the now united orders and the Mamelukes. Loss of Azotus ; Latins put to the sword. Surrender of Saphoury; Bondocdar (or Bibars) treacherously violates his treaty, and murders all hia prisoners. Loss of Caesarea, Laodicea, and Jjiffa. Fall of Antioch before Bibars of Egypt : massacre of 40,000 (?) Christians; 100,000 are sold as slaves. Antioch abandoned to desolation and ruin. Acre is alone in the hands of the Christians. Another Crusade is proposed and eagerly adopted in Europe. 480 CHRONOLOGY OF 1HE CRUSADES. THE EIGHTH AND LAST CRUSADE, 1270 Undertaken by Louis IX., but di- verted to Africa. (See France.) Prince Edward of England sepa- rates from the French before Tunis, and proceeds to Sicily. 1271 From Sicily he departs for Pales- tine at the head of about 1000 Englishmen. Edward arrives in Palestine in May. The report of his arrival strikes Bondocdar with terror: he re- tires from before Acre. Edward, with only 9000 men, marches against the infidels, and routs them with slaughter. Assault on Nazareth ; capture of the city, and dreadful slaughter of the Moslems. Edward's army fall victims to dis- ease. Edward is himself taken 01. Narrow escape from assassination ; Edward kills the assassin, (a Mussulman.) [None of the writers contemporary with this event knew any thing of that beautiful fiction the creation of a much later age which ascribes the recovery of Edward to the affectionate de- votion of his consort, Eleanor, in sucking the venom from his wounds.] Truce for ten years offered by the Sultan of Egypt; accepted by Edward. 1272 Edward and his wife Eleanor re- turn hoire. End of tha Eiyhtf: Cruiade. A. D. 1274 1276 1280 1289 1290 1391 Pope Gregory X. endeavours to ra vive the crusading spirit ia Europe. The Latins twice plunder the peaceable Moslem traders; sa- tisfaction for which Keladun, Sultan of Egypt, vainly de- mands. Invasion of Palestine by the Mame- lukes, who renew their ravages every year. Dismemberment of the county of Tripoli from the Latin kingdom, by the Mamelukes. Tyro and Sidon destroyed by the Turks, so that they might not afford protection any longer to the Christians. Further outrages on Mussulman merchants by the inhabitants of Acre. Sultan Khatil demands reparation : denied. Khatil, having vowed to extermi- nate the faithless Franks, leads an army of 200,000 men against Acre. Fall of Acre, the last Christian pos- session in Palestine. End of the War of the Cniaadat. [" The cessation of the Crusades was not produced by any abate- ment of the love of arms, or of the thirst of glory, in the chi- valry of Europe. But the union with these martial qualities of that fanatical enthusiasm which inspired the Christian warrior* of the eleventh century, had been slowly, and almost Uo- roughly dissolved."] TU IV*, UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY A 000 041 022 5