A o J UTH 1 ^ ERN J 1 1 3 ONAL 1 4 ==== n ■ 1 ARY 1 1 FAC 1 1 ILITY 3 "'* -• itm* .Ci^ ■^.-t -T ^4r* r^r -*f *!»'• 5 »^■ U.*-!^ ^^--1^ ■'N*'^ * ^^- ^: 1^ *^ '(**• DR. K.M. KHANTAMOUR ARMENIAN COLLECTION ^ ^ '^ ^ •a^.f:Sf-:.rmTn University of California Library/ Los Angeles .^S^ CV.;v <". ^^ '•.«i:: *'«^> - 4r ^«: c ^;;^ -<:■ c -<«: '<*.'/ *■ *:>^^Tai^gi .4C_ ^ ^^ri'i -• '^^ c <£-£<: ^iCl r z^ t aSOA BKjaWlia ^T TSill TUMI Df TMiE filfSlDSilBl THE HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES BY JOSEPH FRAIS^COIS MICHAUD TRANSLATED FROM THE FREN C.H BY W. ROBSON IN THKEE VOLUMES VOL. I REDFIELD 34 BEEKMAN STREET, NEW YORK Fc-Jrtb Edition.] 18 5 5. Annex Q PREFACE. "When we consider the European reputation this work has so long enjoyed, we find it more difficult to discover the cause of its having been hitherto withheld from the vast body of English readers, than we do to ofier reasons for the present publication. Mutual difi'usion of knowledge among nations must keep pace with the facilities and extension of intercourse so suddenly and wonderfully created by science ; and we confidently look to the period when no such work as this can be confined to the mere scholars of countries foreign to that in which it was written. It is in vain to say that Erench is so generally understood in England as to render translations from that language unnecessary ; a long experi- ence has taught us that this is not true. AYe have no faith in a universal acquaintance with a difiicult language, all the niceties of which must be understood before it can be appre- ciated or enjoj^ed. AVith a pretty extensive well-educated circle of friends, we do not know, and never did know, six English persons, male or female, who could translate La Eontaine's Eables with ease and spirit. Although Erench is taught at every respectable middle-class scliool, it is comparatively neglected by some of the highest ; it is soon forgotten by the pupils of the former, and cultivated prin- IV PKEFACE. cipally orally by those of the latter ; and we may safely assert that out of the millions who are now readers, very few would have the courage to attack so large a work as this in the original language, which they know they cannot master without dictionary and grammar. AYhere there is one who would take it up with the double purpose of practising Prench and studying history, there are hundreds who, as a relaxation from political, commercial, or industrial pursuits, vrould be satisfied with being amusingly instructed by read- ing it at ease and at leisure in their own language. As ideas are the principal objects of books, all good works should be translated. And we unhesitatingly claim a place among these for that which we are about to lay before the public. It were superfluous to speak of the advantages derived from the science to which it belongs ; and there can be no doubt that the Crusades form one of the most important sections of human history ; not only instructive, but extraordinary ; supplying abimdance of edifying matter to the statesman, the philosopher, the poet, the novelist, and the citizen. If it be true that no page of history should be considered as a blank to the statesman, which leaf of her vast volume can he turn with much more promise of instruction ? He will behold men, of powerful and ambitious minds, seizing upon the worst passions of various ages, — superstition, cupidity, and cruelty, — and wielding the energies of incredible multi- tudes, in endeavours to work out their own ends and views. Many an invaluable lesson may he gather from the want of foresight, prudence, knowledge, and unanimity dis- played in these astonishing enterprises ; wliilst the causes of numerous effects now in operation may be plainly traced to these eventftd periods. But to none will this great field present so rich a harvest as to the philosopher. He will see all the feelings and PEEFACE. passions of man in undisguised, full play, from the noblest aspirations of true religion and pure honour, to the most degraded abasements of superstition, hypocrisy, and sen- suality. He will contemplate some exalted characters, like that of Tancred, the mirror of knighthood, able equally to support success and disasters — never forgetful of mercy in the hour of victory, or abandoned by Christian resignation in the deepest misery ; sincere in religion, unblemished in honour, and, though valiant as their own good swords, yet overflowing with kindliest charities. But of these he will find but few ; for, generally, he will easily trace the wicked- ness of the ends desired in the means employed to obtain them. And yet he will close the book with the pious and cheering reflection, that however horrible in plan and exe- cution the Crusades may appear to us, there is no doubt that, as regards the whole of the Creator's great scheme, they considerably advanced the happiness of mankind. The European world never stood in greater need of having its scum removed than at the periods of the Crusades, particu- larly the first ; and if, as vfQ shudder at the catastrophe of Lisbon, we hope that the added welfare of the globe was at least commensurate with the calamity, so, when we remember that six millions of human beings lost their lives by sword fire, disease, famine, and shipwreck in these disastrous wars, . we trust and believe that the advantages we derive from them may be equal to the sacrifice. For the poet and the novelist the Crusades are rich sources of wealth ; for imagination can scarcely soar above the characters and scenes, nor can fiction exceed the won- ders of the events. But to no class will the great lesson of the Crusades be more profitable than to the citizens of our own country and times. Gibbon says : " Some deep reasoners have suspe6ted that the whole enterprise, from the synod of Placentia, was n PEEFACE. contriyed and executed by the policy of Eome. The suspi- cion is not founded either in nature or in facts. The suc- cessors of St. Peter appear to haye followed, rather than guided, the impulse of manners and prejudices ; -w-ithout much foresight of the seasons, or cultiyation of tlie soil, they gathered the ripe and spontaneous fruits, without much toU. or danger." " Now, with all due respect for the great historian, we cannot agree with this ; and we feel assured that most of the readers of this history will come to the conclu- sion that the popes and other ambitious, wily, and greedy churchmen were the prime movers and general supporters of the Crusades ; and that entirely for the sake of keeping up, by means of fanatical, superstitious outbreaks, their influence oyer men's minds. Peter the Hermit might sug- gest the idea to the pope ; but what could the humble ceno- bite haye done without the sanction of the Holy See ? and the eagerness with wliich the pontiff laid hold of the scheme proyes what great advantages he hoped to derive from it. The most ambitious, the most talented, and the most un- scnipulous popes were always the greatest instigators of the crusades. Can we assert that Innocent III. followed the spirit of his age, when he set such bloodhoimds as Simon de Montfort on to gorge themselves ^vith slaughter in the most civilized Christian cities of Europe, and to devastate the most smiling and luxuriant plains of the world ? The crusade against the Albigeois was executed under the same influence that so earnestly promoted and preached fresh expeditions to the Holy Land ; but the beautiful country of Langnedoc presented a richer harvest, and much less danger in reaping it, than the exhausted and burning plains of Syria ; and the work was, in comparison, not half so thoroughly performed in the East as in the West. PREFACE . VU Kotwithstanding its glories, the fii'st Crusade was so dis- astrous that if it had not been for such men as St. Bernard, Foulke of Neuilly, and Innocent III,, no other crusades would have ever taken place. The popes and the fanatics they employed were obliged to be constantly stirring the fire to keep it burning. And what was the nature of the fuel they threw on ? — To the superstitious they promised Paradise ; to the ambitious and covetous, dominions and wealth ; ta. the vicious and volupt-uous, indulgences ; to the criminal, pardon; and to all, impunity! Can any one believe that Bernard, one of the best scholars of his age, the rival of Abelard, was the dupe of his own knavery, or performed it for nothing ? Power, with many minds, is like money with others ; they must have it, however detestable the means employed to gain it. Some of the immediate dis- ciples of St. Bernard, with the utmost simplicity, express their regret that the crowds that surrounded him were so dense, they could not see him perform his miracles, they only heard of them. No one can believe that this shrewd man imposed upon himself by the tricks with which he deluded the multitude, or practised his jugglery gratuitously ! By his preaching he became one of the greatest men of his time ; and by his legerdemain he became a saint. The popes and their satellites availed themselves of the worst parts of the superstitions of the periods at which they lived ; they mingled them with the passions of cupidity and false glory, and employed their victims, as the Crusaders may safely be called, to their own aggrandisement. Of the advantages, in the shape of influence, the popes gained by wars called holy, there need be no question ; and when we find such zealous preachers as Foulke of Neuilly and Cardinal de Cour9on, more than suspected of appropri- ating to themselves the treasures offered to the cause of viil PEEFACE. Obrist, -we may justly suppose that the underlings partook of solid, tangible gold as largely as their leaders did of power and glory. jVIr. Macaulay, in his " Essay on Ranke's History of the Popes," although he has scarcely touched on the Asiatic crusades, has, with his wonted elegance, gone into questions closely allied Avith these volumes. "We have sometimes thought that Mr. Macaulay was like Burke, more splendid than convincing ; and we cannot help entertaining a hope that a perusal of this work will weaken the effects of one of his prominent positions, and diminish the faith in his pro- phecy of the perpetuity of the prosperity of the Eoman Catholic religion . He says, " It is impossible to deny that the policy of the Church of Eome is the very masterpiece of human wisdom." Unless we sink to the admission that the cunning of the serpent is the highest of wisdom, and join that tribe of Indians that worship the principle of evil, we, never- theless, do deny it, and that most earnestly. There is nothing large, nothing exalting, nothing ennobling in the policy of Eome, to entitle it to the character of the highest wisdom. The popes have been influenced by as many various passions as so many other men ; and if they employed every art to gain honour to the papal tin-one, it was only the better to obtain their own ends. Some were inflamed by ambition, some by wealth, many by the hopes of enriching their families, and many by the worst of passions and most desradins: of vices — there is nothinoj like a continuous course of wisdom in this. Mr. Macaulay says in the very next paragraph, " Among the contrivances which have been de- vised for deceiving and oppressing mankind, it occupies the highest place." Is this the character of wisdom ? "Wisdom is an attri- bute of the Deity ! it is above geniiis, above knowledge ; PEEFACE. ix because it combines with goodness to employ both these. To term successful cunning wisdom, and foretell its per- petual success, is to cast virtue prostrate at the feet of vice, and to destroy for ever every holy human aspiration. "It is not, and it cannot come to good" — Hamlet's is a sounder creed than Mr. Macaulay's. — If we look for the real benefits derived by the human race from the Crusades, we shall find that not one of them Avas con- templated by the chm'chmen who planned and promoted these expeditions ; whilst, of the advantages they aimed at, except some wealth to the general church, most were never attained, and the rest quickly crumbled into ruin. "Wliere then is the Avisdom of this boasted policy ? The miraculous regenerations of papal power were the effects of circumstances rather than of profound wisdom. ]Mr. Macaulay has given a highly- coloured picture of the order of the Jesuits and their founder, attributing too much, as we think, to Loyola — wiser and cooler heads than his perfected the schemes of the fanatic. We could, " if it were our hint," say much more on this head ; but we must conclude by showing that it was this part of Mr. Macaulay's essay that led us into this apparent digression. When our readers see in the text and appendix the very interesting documents concerning the institution of the Assassins, under the Old Man of the Mountain, we think they must be struck, as we were, with the wonderful analogy between this sect and the Society of Jesus. The same careful physical selection in their tools ; the same elaborate, imaginative education ; the same abnega- tion of self; the same blind and perfect obedience; the same unscrupulousness as to means ; the same devotedness to one aim, — the power of the Old Man or the General ; — these really almost lead us to believe they had one common source, and that the Spaniard was a pupil of the Syrian. I* X PEEFACE. This will certainly not be the least instnictive portion of our work. 'We have several histories of the Crusades, in dispraise of which we shall say nothing, only claiming for Michaud's the rank which is generally accorded to it, of the most com- plete. Of OUT own part of the labour, we will only presume to say that we have honestly endeavoured to make the trans- lation faithful, and to convey to the English reader as close an idea of the style of the original as the nature of the two languages will permit. W. E. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE. "We are not of those who tlimk that readers are without curiosity as to the position in life, actions, and fortunes of the authors who afford them instruction or pleasure ; the eagerness with which the birthplaces of men of genius are sought for and commemorated ; the fondness with which their most trifling actions are dwelt upon ; and the endless collections that are made of their conversations and sayings, prove that this cannot be the case. In a prefatory memoir, we can scarcely go into so many details of the life of Michaud, as, perhaps, the subject de- serves. Michaud was not a mere author, whose history may be read in his works. He lived at a momentous period, and was no idle spectator of passing events ; a com- plete life of Michaud would, indeed, swell to a history of Trance from 1790 to 1839. Joseph Fran9ois Michaud, born at Albens, m Savoy, on the 19th of June, in the year 1767, was descended from a family that traced its nobility beyond the tenth century. One "of his ancestors, Hugh Michaud de Corcelles, was deservedly distinguished by the emperor Charles Y. The father of Joseph was obliged to leave his country, in conse- quence of what is termed by his biographer, a piece of boyish rashness, but which we prefer relating to any of the warlike deeds of the abovenamed Hugh. AYhilst on a shooting party, he sought refreshment in a cottage, and found the mistress of it in the greatest distress ; for, at the moment of Xl BIOGEAPHICAL NOTICE. Lis entrance, officers were bearinor aM'av her liumble far- niture, for the paltry sum of sixty francs. He offered to pay the amount if they would come with him to his home ; but they refused, and continued their operations in his pre- sence. This irritated him to such a degree, that he threat- ened to make use of his gun ; and, at length, struck one of them so severe a blow with the stock of it, that the fellow died immediately. He retired to a place near Bourg, in Bresse, where he married ; and he afterwards established himself as a notary and commissary at Terrier, in that province. An early death left his widow burdened with a numerous family, of which Joseph was the eldest. Xotwith- standing this calamity, he received an excellent education at the college of Bourg, and acquired great credit as a rhe- torician and a composer of French verses. His studies and some juvenile travels completed, it became necessary for him to fix upon a mode of getting a living ; and the Ilarro^^"ne33 of his mother's resources confining his efforts to trade, he went into the house of a bookseller at Lyon, attracted, no doubt, by the affinity between the bookseller and the man of letters. He remained here till 1790, when the passage of the rich, influential, and intellectual Countess Fanny de Beauharnais through that city, aroused all the provincial muses to make their ofleriugs to the great lady. Among the poets, Michaud was so successful, that he thought him- self warranted in following her to Paris, ^vith the view of pursuing a literary career under her auspices. Immediately on his arrival, he laid the contents of his poetical portfolio before the public, and soon became the associate of Cerisier, in the Gazette UniverseUe. and with Esmenard, in the Po5- tiUon de la Guerre. His opinions and early associations led him towards the Eoyalist party, to which the accession of his talents was veiy acceptable. He may be said to have been faithful to his colours, throu£:h all the disasters of the ujihappy cause he had embraced ; for, in spite of imprison- ment, banishment, and repeated concealments, we find him, in 1799, publishing two satirical pamphlets against Buona- parte, by the orders of Louis XYIII. One of his escapes was so well managed, and so opportunely effected, that we will offer an account of it to our readers. He had been sent prisoner to Paris, walking between two mounted gendarmes, BIOGllAPlllCAL ISOTICE. XIU who were directed not to spare him, aud if fatigue relaxed his speed, they were to refresh him with the flat sides of their sabres. As he entered Paris in this forlorn condition, he was met by his zealous friend, Giguet, whose sorrow only set his fertile brain to work to devise means for his escape. As Michaud was, diu"ing many days, conducted from his- prison to the Tuileries, to undergo examination, Giguet at first thought that the best way would be to blow out the brains of the two gendarmes that escorted him ; but this he rejected as unworthy of a man of genius. Choosing a point in Michaud' s passage that would answer his purpose, he stopped the party, and aftecting to know nothing of the matter, and not to have seen his friend since his arrival in Paris, was eager in his inquiries as to how his health was, what he was doing, where he was going, and insisted upon his breakfasting with him. "No, no," answered Michaud, "I have a little afiair yonder, at the Tuderies, just a few words of explanation to give — only the business of a minute or two. — Begin breakfast without me, I shall be back pre- sently." " That won't do ; that won't do ; they do not despatch people so quickly as all that. Perhaps they won't begin with you ; let us have our breakfast first. I dare say these gentlemen (pointing to the gendarmes) have not breakfasted, and will have no objection to a cutlet and a glass of Bourdeaux wine ! and here's the best house in Paris, close at hand." The gendarmes, after a little faint hesita- tion, sufiered themselves to be seduced; and prisoner, guards, and friends were soon comfortably seated at table. They eat, they drink, they pass bumper toasts, and talk a little about everything ; but most particularly about Bresse and the good cheer that was there always to be met with — but the pullets of Bresse ! never was such eating as the pullets of Bresse ! The mouths of the gendarmes watered at the bare description of them. " Parbleu, gentlemen," cried Giguet, " since you have never partaken of our country pul- lets, I will undertake to convince you that there are none such in the eighty-three departments. We have plenty of time ; you can eat a little bit more, and appetite comes with drinking (and he filled the glasses) . Waiter, here ! a Bresse pullet ! no tricks, mind ; it must be from Bresse — • not from Mans. But, stop ; Michaud, you understand these X17 EIO GRAPHICAL NOTICE thinors better tlian anvbodv : liave an eve to these fellows : go down into the kitchen, and see that they don't cheat ns. Good health to you, gentlemen." Whilst they are drinking, ISIichaud rises, and is soon. out of the house. Giguet had the art to keep the guards another half-hour at table, by sa^Tng his friend was only watching the cooking, for a Bresse piillet was worth nothing if not roasted a la Bresse ; and when thev discovered Michaud was not in the kitchen, he asserted it must either be a joke, or else he was ill, and gone home; and contrived to lead tliem a long useless search in a way dii'ectly opposite to that which he knew the late prisoner had taken. Michaud' s escape was a happy one; for that very day, the council had condemned him to death. Poor Giguet' s friendly zeal cost him nearly a month's imprisonment, and placed his life even in jeopardy. The career of Buonaparte was so successful, that, at length, further resistance seemed useless, and Michaud even wrote complimentary verses on the marriage of Napoleon with Maria Louisa, and upon the birth of the young king of Rome. But this submission to circumstances was no,volun- tarv homas:^; he was still at heart faithfullv attached to the Bourbons. For a length of time he resisted the tempting offers of the emperor, and one of his refusals, for its wit, if not for its patriotism, almost deserves to be placed by the side of Andrew Marvel's. Fontaines, Buonaparte's emissary, said to him : " There must be an end to all resistance ; it is diminishing every day. Come, do as other men do. Look at Delille, for instance, he has just accepted a pension of six thousand francs." "Oh! as to that," replied Michaud, " he is so frightened, that he would accept a pension of a hundred thousand francs, if vou were to offer it to him." Posterity, perhaps, may be thankful that he was di*iven from politics to literature. During one of his necessary exiles, he had written his beautiful poem of " Le Printemps d'un Proscrit :" he afterwards became associated with his brother as a bookseller, and planned and executed the works of which we will furnish a list. T^'hatever opinion might be entertained of his talents, it is more than probable that without his implied submission to Buonaparte, he never would have obtained that object of the hopes of all French authors, the immortal fauteuil in the Academy. This honour BIOGEAPHICAL NOTICE. XV he attained in 1818, and, upon the publication of his fourth volume of the "History of the Crusades," had the gratifica- tion of signing himself " Knight of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem," and " Knight of the Holy Sepulchre :" titles bestowed upon him, unasked, by the commanders represent- ing the order of St. John of Jerusalem in France. He watched with intense anxiety the madly ambitious career of Buonaparte, and hailed with unfeigned delight the return of his patrons, the Bourbons. He had no cause to complain of their ingratitude, and occupied as good a posi- tion as a literary man could expect, when the escape from Elba, during a hundred days, disturbed his occupations, and placed him in considerable danger. He left Paris ; returned again, and put himself forward for a struggle : but finding resistance dangerous and useless, he retired to the depart- ment of the Am, where he concealed himself till the tempest had blown over ; his celebrated journal, the Quotidienne, in the mean time, degenerating into the Feuille du Jour, or rather, as a wit said, " La Eeuille de la veille (last night's journal) ; for it was only edited by scissors, and contained nothing but scraps from the Moniteur and other inoffensive journals." The JVain Jaune (yellow dwarf) took unfair ad- vantage of an enemy, who, he knew, could not answer him, and bestowed upon JMichaud the sobriquet of " G-rand Master of the Order of the Extinguishers," which stuck to him with the burlike pertinacity of sobriquets, for many years after the second restoration of the Bourbons. He welcomed this last event by the publication of a pamphlet entitled " The History of the Eifteen Weeks, or the Last Eeign of Buona- parte," which had a great sale, twenty-seven editions of it appearing in a very short period. Having, since his success as an author, separated from his brother as a bookseller, and sold his share in the printing office, he, after 1815, gave himself -up to the prosecution of his great work on the cru- sades, and even parted with his portion of " La Biographie Universelle." His love of politics led him, at this time, to get returned as deputy for the department of the Ain : but alas ! he found it a very different thing for a man with a weak voice, and totally " unaccustomed to public speaking," to sit and write uncontrolled and imobserved in his closet, — and to be subject to the "retort courteous" of an enemy XVI 3310 GRAPHICAL ^'OTICE. who watches for your mistakes, corrects your errors, and mercilessly refutes all your favourite arguments : after the trial of one sessions, he retired from his deputyship, and gave up all hopes of fame as an orator. During the celebrity of his journal, the Quotidienne, he was made reader to the king, with a salary of 3,000 francs ; to which appointment was attached the somewhat strange stipulation, that he should never be called upon to perform its duties. After 1819, when a plan was devised of buying up the influential joiu-nals, Michaud and his fellow-proprie- tors were ofiered 500,000 francs for theirs, which our author declined. " Monseigneur," said he to the excellency who soKcited him, " there is but one thing for which I could be tempted to sell the Quotidienne, and that would be a little health. If you could give me that, I might allow myself to be corrupted." The minister, Yillele, returned repeatedly to the charge, but when, in consequence of the increasing weakness of his health, the sexagenarian Michaud parted with the greater part of his shares of the journal, it was • only to pass them over to another self, his friend Laurentie. Whilst carrying on his great work, he had been surprised to meet with a vast quantity of matter which he had not dreamt of when he began it ; and he conceived the idea of not only reconstructing his history, but of going to the Holy Land, in search of more information. Although it was too late for such an attempt, his fame procured him encouragement ; and the king, Charles X., so far favoured it as to give him 25,000 francs to defray his expenses. He set out at the beginning of 1830. Whatever gratification he derived from his voyage, it must have been sadly damped by the news he received from France during that eventful year. To complete his griefs, he likewise at this period lost 200,000 francs, the greater part of his fortune, which he had imprudently placed in unsafe hands. He still, however, had a moderate competence, and might have passed the re- mainder of his days in ease, but for that mismanagement to which the families of literary men are so frequently subject. On his return from the Holy Land he sojourned for a time in Italy, where he was kindly welcomed by his natural sovereign, Charles Albert. In 1837 he was named member of the Academie des Inscriptions ; but honours from mon- BIOGKAPHICAL KOTICE. XVll arclis and academies could not put off the fatal liour, and he died at the elegant village of Passy on the 30th of Sep- tember, 1839. On this occasion was exhibited an instance of what our poet calls " the ruling passion, strong in death." Eew authors had reccLved more adulation, and no one could be more covetous of it. Extraordinary instances are told of the copious draughts of this intoxicating beverage that were offered to him, and of the greediness with which he swallowed them. " J^ever," says his biographer, " although he loved to be called the La Fontaine of journalism, did he think of the second fable of the good man." * One of the most extravagant of his flatterers said to a friend, admitted for a last interview, — " With all his weakness, not the least trace of decline of intellect ; still the same facility of expres- sion, still the same lucidity." — This aroused Michaud, upon whom the affectionate words of a sincere friend had just before produced no effect. He started, and sitting upright in his bed, exclaimed, in a tremulous voice, — " Yes ! yes ! still the same ! still " and he sunk exhausted and dying on his pillow : these were his last words ! To criticise the works of Michaud properly would require a volume ; we can therefore only lay before our readers a list of such as from their merit and celebrity are ever likely to fall under the eye of English readers. His greatest claim to the attention of posterity is doubtless the one before us, "The History of the Crusades," of which his biographer, who is certainly less of an eulogist than any one we ever saw assume a similar task, very justly says, — " It may be said, without exaggeration, that it is one of the most valuable historical works that our age has produced. To its completion he sacri- ficed almost every moment of twenty of the best years of his life." No reader requires to be told that it was a labour of love. — He was the founder of, and a considerable contributor to, *' La Biographic XJniverselle," a work which England may envy Erance the conception and execution of ; and if to these we add his beautiful poem of " Le Printemps d'un Proscrit," we think we name all that he wrote that would be interesting at the present day : the other historical works are feeble, and the political squibs of a journalist after a lapse of half * Le Corbeau et le Renard. XVm BIOGEAPHICAL ^'OTICE. a century, are only acceptable to him who may be writing the history of the time. In this latter vein we may, how- ever, suppose him to have excelled ; mixed up from an early age with politics and journalism ; possessed of a lively ima- gination and great facility of expression ; constantly in the world, and deeply interested in its movements ; we can fancy his vers de societe, of vvhich so much is said, to have been piquant and sparkling. AYe subjoin a specimen, written upon Buonaparte's expedition to Egypt ; — Que de lauriers tombes dans I'eau, Et que de fortunes perdues ! Que d'hommes coutent au torabeau, Pour porter Bonaparte aux nues ! Ce heros vaut son pesant d'or ; En France, personne n'en doute ; Mais il vaudrait bien plus encore, S'il valoit tout ce qu'il nous coute. What laurels in the waters fall, What fortunes sink no more to rise ! What men lie shrouded in death's pall, That Bonaparte may gain the skies ! This hero 's worth his weight in gold ; In France of that there's no one doubts ; But greater far his worth, if sold At what he costs — or thereabouts ! As a conversationalist his reputation stands even higher than that of our Coleridge ; for the stream was quite as constant and abundant, and at the same time much more pellucid. One of our English biographical dictionaries says he was censor of the press under Louis XVIIL, but this we believe is not correct ; indeed it was an office scarcely suit- able for the editor and proprietor of such a journal as the Quotidienne. He was a member of the Academy and of the Institute, a knight of St. John of Jerusalem and of the Holy Sepulchre, and for a short time representative of the department of the Ain. These were his temporary honours — much more durable and brilliant ones belong to him as the author of the work before us. INTEODUCTION. The history of the middle ages presents no spectacle more imposing than the Crusades, in which are to be seen the nations of Asia and of Europe armed against each other, two religions contending for superiority, and disputing the empire of the world. After having been several times threatened by the Mussulmans, and a long time exposed to their invasions, all at once the West arouses itself, and appears, according to the expression of a Greek historian,* to tear itself from its foundation, in order to precipitate itself upon Asia. All nations abandon their interests and their rivalries, and see upon the face of the earth but one single country vrorthy of the ambition of conquerors. One would believe that there no longer exists in the universe any other city but Jerusalem, or any other habitable spot of earth but that which contains the tomb of Jesus Christ. All the roads which lead to the holy city are deluged with blood, and present nothing but the scattered spoils and wrecks of empires. In this general confusion we may contemplate the sub- limest virtues mixed with all the disorders of the wildest passions. The Christian soldiers have at the same time to contend against famine, the influence of climate, and enemies the most formidable ; in the greatest dangers, in the midst of their successes and their constant discords, nothing can * Anna Comnena, History nf the Emperor Alexius, XX rs'TEODrcTioy. exhaust eitlier their perseverance or their resignation. After four years of fatigue, of miseries, and of victories, Jeru- salem is taken by the Crusaders ; but as their conquests are not the work of wisdom and prudence, but the fruit of blind enthusiasm and ill-directed heroism, they create nothing but a transient power. The banner of the cross soon passes from the hands of Godfrey de Bouillon into those of his weak and imbecile successors. Jerusalem, now a Christian city, is obHged again to apply for succour to the West. At the voice of St. Bernard, the Christians take arms. Conducted by an emperor of Grermany and a king of France, they fly to the defence of the Holy Land ; but they have no longer great captains among them ; they have none of the magnanimity or heroic resignation of their fathers. Asia, which beholds their coming without terror, already presents a new spec- tacle. The disciples of Mahomet awaken from their apathy ; they are at once seized with a frenzy equal to that which had armed their enemies ; they oppose enthusiasm to enthu- siasm, fanaticism to fanaticism, and in their turn burn with a desire to shed their blood in a religious war. The spirit of discord which had destroyed their power is no longer felt but among the Cln-istians. Luxury and the manners of the East weaken the courage of the defenders of the cross, and make them forget the object even of the holv war. Jerusalem, which had cost the Cioisaders so much blood, falls again into the power of the infidels, and becomes the conquest of a wise and warlike piince, who had united under his banner the forces of Syria and Egypt. The genius and fortune of Saladin inflict a mortal blow upon the iU-assured power of the Christians in the East. In vain an emperor of the "West, and two kings celebrated for their bravery, place themselves at the head of the whole powers of their states to deliver Palestine ; these new armies of Crusaders meet everywhere with brave enemies and invincible barriers, and all their united eflbrts produce nothing but illustrious disasters. The kingdom of Jeru- salem, for whose ruius they contend, is no longer anything but a vain name ; soon even the captivity and the miseries of the holy city cease to inspire the sentiments of piety and enthusiasm that they had given birth to among the Chris- INTllODUCTIO]!?. XXI tians. The Crusaders who had taken up arms for its deliverance, suffer themselves to be seduced bj the wealth of G-reece, and stop short to undertake the conquest of Constantinople. From that time the spirit of the Crusaders begins to change ; whilst a small number of Christians still shed their blood for the deliverance of the tomb of Jesus Christ, the princes and the knights are deaf to everything but the voice of ambition. The popes complete the corruption of the true spirit of the Crusaders, by urging them on, by their preaching, against other Christian people, and against their own personal enemies. The holy wars then degenerate into civil wars, in which both religion and humanity are outraged. These abuses of the crusades, and the dire passions which had mixed themselves with them, plunge Europe in disorder and anarchy ; when a pious king undertakes once more to arm the powers of the AVest against the infidels, and to revive among the Crusaders the spirit which had animated the companions of Godfrey. The two wars directed by this pious chief, are more unfortunate than all the others. In the first, the world is presented with the spectacle of a cap- tive army and a king in fetters ; in the second, that of a powerful monarch dying in its ashes. Then it is that the illusion disappears, and Jerusalem ceases to attract all the attention of the West. Soon after, the face of Europe is changed ; intelligence dissipates barbarism ; the crusades no longer excite the same degree of enthusiasm, and the first eftect of the civilization it begins to spread is to weaken the spirit of the fanaticism which had given them birth. Some few useless efforts are at times made to rekindle the fire which had burnt so fiercely in Europe and Asia. The nations are so completely recovered from the pious delirium of the Crusades, that when Germany finds itself menaced by the Mussulmans who are masters of Constantinople, the banner of the cross can with difficulty gather an army around it ; and Europe, which had risen in a mass to attack the infidels in Asia, opposes but a feeble resistance to them on its own ter- ritories. Such is, in a few words, the picture of the events and Xiii INTEODUCTION. revolutions which the historian of the crusades has to describe. A writer who has preceded us by two centuries^ and who calls the history of the Crusades a right royal his- tory, is surprised at the silence preserved to his time.* " ] esteem it," says he, "a deplorable thing that such persons inferior in no* way to those who have been so much cele- brated by the Greeks and the Eomans, should have falleu into sucii obscurity, that we search in vain to discovej who they were and* what they did ; and they appear to m« highly culpable, who, possessing learning and the skill to write* have left these histories neglected." Everybody ought now to be of this opinion, and regret that our great writers have not entertained the noble subject of the Cioi- sades. AYhen I undertake to supply the want created by their silence, I am duly impressed with the difficulty of the task. They who, among us, have written ancient history, had for guides the historians of Eome and Athens. The bril- liant colours of Livy, of Tacitus, of Thucydides presented themselves naturally to their pencils ; but I have no models to follow, and am compelled to make those historians of the middle ages speak whom our times despise. They have rai-elv sustained me in mv labour bv the charm of their stvle, or the elesance of their narrations ; but if thev have afforded me no lessons in the art of writing:, thev transmit to me at CI? ' » least events whose interest will make up for the deficiency of their talent or mine. Perhaps it will be found, in the perusal of this history, that a period in which everything is astonishing loses nothing by being presented in a simple and faithful picture. The unaffected style of our old historians, in my view, appears to reanimate the persons and the cha- racters they describe ; and if I have profited by that which thev have taught me, the ao:e in which thev lived will not be ill represented in my pages. It would have been easy for me to have censured with severity, as has usually been done, their ignorance and their credulity, but I respect in them the frankness and the candour of the periods of which they * History of the Holy War made by the French and other Christians for the deliverance of Judea and the Holy Sepulchre, composed in Greek and French, by Yves Duchat, a Trojan. This history is translated almost literally from the History of Accolti, entitled De Bello Sacro. IKTRODUCTIOIS". XXlll are the interpreters. AYithout yielding faith to all they say, I have not disdained the fables they relate to ns, and which were believed by their contemporaries ; for that which was thought worthy of credit then serves to picture to us the manners of our ancestors, and forms an essential part of tlie history of past ages. We do not now require much sagacity to discover in our ancient chronicles what is fabulous and what is not. A far more difficult thing is to reconcile, upon some points, the frequent contradictory assertions of the Latins, the Greeks, and the Saracens, and to separate, in the history of the cru- sades, that which belongs to religious fanaticism, to policy, or to human passions. I do not pretend to resolve more skilfully than others these difficult problems, or to elevate myself above my subject, by ottering positive judgments upon the nations and ages which will present themselves before me. Without giving myself up to digressions in Avhich it is always easy to make a display of learning, after having scrupulously examined the historical monuments which remain to us, I will tell honestly what I believe to be the truth, and will leave dissertations to the erudite, and conjectures to philosophers. In an age in which some value is set upon an opinion of the crusades, it will be first asked, if the wars of the Cru- sades were just. Upon this head we have but little to an- swer : whilst the Crusaders believed that they were obeying God himself, by attacking the Saracens in the East, the lat- ter, who had invaded a part of Asia possessed by Christian people, who had got possession of Spain, who threatened Constantinople, the coasts of Italy, and several countries ot the West, did not reproach their enemies with making an unjust war, and left to fortune and victory the care of de- ciding a question almost always useless. We shall think it of more importance in this history to examine what was the cause and the nature of these remote wars, and what has proved to be their influence on civiliza- tion. The crusades were produced by the religious and military spirit which prevailed in Europe diuing the middle ages. The love of arms and religious fervour were two dominant passions, which, mingling in some way, lent each other a mutual energy. These two great principles united XXIV LNTEODUCTION. and acting together, gave birth to the holy war ; and car- ried, among the Crusaders, valour, resignation, and heroism of character to the highest degree of eminence. The part which the union of these two principles neces- sarily had in the undertaking of the holy wars will be plainly perceived in our narration. It will be much less easy for us to make all the results of the crusades appreciated. Some writers have seen nothing in these great expeditions but the most deplorable excesses, without any advantage to the ages that succeeded them ; others, on the contrary, maintain that we owe to thein all the benefits of civilization. It is not, at present, my business to examine these two conflicting opi- nions. Without believing that the holy wars have done either all the good or all the harm that is attributed to them, it must be admitted that they were a source of bitter sorrow to the generations that saw them or took part in them ; but, like the ills and tempests of human life, which render man better, and often assist the progress of his reason, they have forwarded the experiences of nations ; and it may be said, that after having for a time seriously agitated and shaken society, they have, in the end, much strengthened the foun- dations of it. This opinion, when stripped of all spirit of exaggeration or system, will, perhaps, appear the most reasonable ; I, besides, experience some pleasure in adopting it, from its being consolatory to the age in which we live. The present generation which has witnessed the outbreak of so many passions on the political scene, which has passed through so many calamities, will not see without interest that Providence sometimes employs great revolutions to enlighten mankind, and to ensure the future prosperity of empires. CONTENTS TO VOL. I. Biographical Notices of the Author . . . . . . Page xi Introduction to the History of the Crusades .. xix BOOK I.— A.D. 300-1095. FIKST CRUSADE. Early pilgrimages to the Holy Land — Veneration for the Holy Sepul- chre — Palestine visited by the early Christians — Jerusalem their peaceful asylum — Profaned by Fire Worshippers — Recaptured by Heraclius — Spread of the religion of Maiiomet — Worship of the Magi annihilated by Mohammedanism — Empire of Persia torn by intestine wars — Anarchy of the East — Fanaticism and bravery of the Saracens — Their conquests —Paganism annihilated by Mohammedanism — Monarchy of the Goths overturned — Charles Martel — The caliph Omar captures Jerusalem — Christians persecuted by the Mussulmans — Pilgrimages of Peter the Hermit, &c. — Haroun-al-Raschid — Charlemagne — Siege of Constanti- nople — Bagdad — Conquest of the Arabians — St. Bernard — Commerce of the East— Caliphs of Bagdad — The Fatimites — The Greeks — Antioch — Zimisces, emperor of the Greeks — Fatimite caliphs capture Jerusalem — Caliphs of Cairo — William of Tyre — Persecutions of the Jews — Pilgrims welcomed everywhere — King Robert — Memphis— Bethlehem — Monas- teries for the pilgrims — Hospitals at Jerusalem — Mystery of the Re- demption — Pilgrimages of distinguished persons the forerunner of the Crusades — The Turks — The Sultan Mamouh — Togrul-Beg — Victorious career of the Turks — Malek-Scha — Jerusalem captured — Nicea — The Greeks — The Seldjouc tribes — Eleven emperors of Constantinople put to death — Death of Zimisces — Military ardour of the Franks — Michael Ducas — Pope Gregory VII. — Power of the popes — Rome — Pope Hildebrand — Pope Victor III. incites the Christians to take arms against the infidels — Conquests of the Genoese and Pisans — Peter the Hermit — His interviews with the patriarch of Jerusalem and Pope Urban II. — The crusades instigated by Peter — First determined on at the council of Clermont, convoked by Urban II. — Enthusiasm in their favour pp. 1-60. Vol. I.— 2 XXVI CONTENTS. BOOK II.— A.D. 109G-1097. Immense armies collected in various parts of Europe— Peter the Hermit chosen general of the crusade — Opposed by the Hungarians and Bulgarians — Semlin — Nissa — The Crusaders reach Constantinople — Alexius Comnenus — Rapacity and crut-lties of the Crusaders — Their defeat and slaughter — Fresli armies sent from Europe — Their distin- guished leaders — They wage war against the Greeks — Alliance of Godfrey de Bouillon with Alexius of Constantinople — Wretched situation of the remains of Peter's army in Bithynia — The Turkish power — Kingdom of Ezeroum — Siege of Nice — Battle of Gorgoni— The Turks defeated by the Crusaders — Sultan of Nice desolates the country — Antiochetta — Iconium — Tarsus captured by Baldwin — His conflicts with Tancred — Capture of Alexandretta and Edessa by the Crusaders— They arrive in Mesopotamia pp. 61-125. BOOK III.— A.D. 1097-1099. The Crusaders everywhere triumphant — Their sufferings in passing Mount Taurus — Enter Syria — Damascus — Aleppo — Capture of Chalcis and Artesia — Siege of Antioch — Sweno, king of Denmark — Barbarous treatment of the Turks — Ambassadors from Egypt — City of Harem — The Crusaders relieved by the Pisans and Genoese — Baldwin, prince of Edessa — Antioch captured — Quarrel of Godfrey de Bouillon and Bohe- mond — Kerbogha, sultan of Mossoul — Sultan of Persia sends an im- mense army against the Crusaders — Contests before Antioch — Sufferings of the Crusaders — Subtle poUcy of Alexius — Kerbogha besieges Antioch — Pretended miracles — The sacred lance — Speech of Peter the Hermit to the Saracen leaders, and Kerbogha's haughty reply — Saracens defeated by the Crusaders — Instances of heroic bravery — Magnificent encampment of Kerbogha — The miraculous influence of the holy lance doubted — Death of Baldwin count of Hainault — Fatal epidemic at Antioch — Death of Bishop Puy — Docility of a lion — Geoffrey de la Tour — Foulque and his widow — Hezas, the emir, allies himself with the Crusaders, and defeats the sultan of Aleppo — Letters conveyed by pigeons — Miracu- lous prodigies — Capture of Maarah — Conquests in Syria by the Cru- saders pp. 126-186. BOOK IV.— A.D. 1099-1103. The Crusaders take their departure from Antioch, and march for Palestine — Siege of Archas — Pons de Balasu — Arnold de Rohes, and his disbelief in prodigies — Fanatacism of Barthelemi — The holy lance — Ordeal by fire — Hatred of the Latins towards the Greeks — Caliph of CONTENTS. xxvi; Cairo — Emir of Tripoli defeated — Palestine — Phoenicia — Plain of Berytu* — Serpents — Ptolemais — Emmaus and Bethlehem — Alarm from an eclipse — The city of Jerusalem — Enthusiasm of the Crusaders on first beholding it — Siege of Jerusalem — Indignities heaped upon the Christians — Foun- tain of Siloe — The Genoese fleet enter the port of Jaffa — Gaston de Beam — Mount of Olives — Address of Arnold de Rohes — Speech of Pete} the Hermit to the Crusaders — Tower of Tancred— Machines used at the siege of Jerusalem — The Saracen magicians — Miraculous appearance oi St. George — The Crusaders enter Jerusalem by storm — Creton Rheim- hault — Everard de Puysaie — Mosque of Omar — Slaughter of the Mus- sulmans, and pious fervour of the Christians — Destruction of the Jews — Wealth found in Jerusalem — Discovery of the " true cross" — Speech ol the count of Flanders — Prophetic visions — Godfrey elected king of Jeru- salem — Rejoicings among the Christians, and despair of the Mussulmans — Elegy of ModhafFer Abyverdy — Afdhal, the Muj^sulman commander — Signal defeat of the Saracens at Ascalon — Tasso — Godfrey's quarrel with Raymond — Siege of Ascalon — Riou de Loheac — Stephen de Salviac — Peter de Salviac — Death of Gaston de Beam — Peter the Hermit and many of the Christian leaders return to Europe — William IX., count of Flanders, sets out for the East — William, count de Nevers, defeated by the Turks — Eude, duke of Burgundy, slain — Conrad, marshal of Henry I. of Germany — Wolf IX., duke of Bavaria — Humbert II., count of Savoy, departs for the Holy Land — Alexius, emperor of Constan- tinople, opposes the Crusaders — City of Ancyra captured — The Crusaders defeated by the Turks — Capture of Tortosa — Invasions of the Tar- tars — Tasso's "Jerusalem Delivered" — Ordinances of Gaston de Beam pp. 187-264. BOOK v.— A.D. 1099-1148. Kingdom founded by the victories of the Crusaders — State of Palestine at that period — Political measures of Godfrey — Tiberias captured by Tancred — Siege of Arsur — Jerusalem visited by numerous pilgrims and distinguished Crusaders — Archbishop Daimbert elected patriarch of Jeru- salem — " Assizes of Jerusalem" — Death of Godfrey — His brother Bald- win elected king— Carries on successful hostilities against the Infidels of Palestine, Egypt, &c. — Csesarea and Arsur besieged and captured — City of Ramla taken by the Saracens — Hospitallers of St. John — Insidious poUcy of Alexius — Josselin de Courtenay — Baldwin taken prisoner — Bohemond, prince of Antioch, visits Italy, and returns with a large army against Alexius — His death — Release of Baldwin — Distresses of Antioch — Quarrels between Baldwin and the patriarch of Jerusalem — The Genoese and Pisan fleets assist the Crusaders — Siege and capture of Ptolemais — Armies of Egypt defeated— Tripoli, Biblies, Sarepta, Berytus, and Sidon, taken by the Crusaders — Sigur, prince of Norway — The " tme cross" — Death of Tancred — The Christians defeated — Palestine devastated — Death of Baldwin — Baldwin du Bourg elected king of Jerusalem — Taken prisoner — Eustache Grenier, regent — The Venetians xxvm co^'TE^'Ts. destroy the fleet of the Saracens, and conquer Tyre-- -Release of Baldwin — Several cities of Egypt captured — The I^maelians — Zengui, prince of Mossoul — Dynasty of the Atabecks — Flourishing state of Antioch, Edessa, Tripoli, Sic. — Knights of St. John and of the Holy Sepulchre — The Templars — Death of Baldwin du Bourg — Foulque of Anjou crowned king of Jerusalem — Raymond of Poiciers appointed governor of Antioch — The emperor of Constantinople attacks Antioch — Melisende, queen of Jerusalem — Baldwin III. ascends the throne — Disastrous retreat from Bosra — The country of Traconite— Conquests of Zengui — Death of Jos- selin de Courtenay — Noureddin, son of Zengui, captures Edessa, and threatens Jerusalem pp. 265-328. BOOK VI.— A.D. 1142—1148. SECOND CRUSADE. Europe aroused to a second crusade by the impending dangers of Jeru- salem and the Holy Land — The Abbot St. Bernard — Louis VIL of France — He destroys Vitri, repents, and determines on a crusade against the infidels — Pope Eugenius 111. invokes the assistance of the faithful — Pons, abbot of Vezelai — Preaching of St. Bernard — State of the Germanic empire — Conrad 111. invokes a general diet at Spires, and engages in the crusade — Many distinguished personages take the cross — Enthusiausm of the Germans — Conrad and Louis VII. arrive at Constantinople — Hypo- critical policy of the emperor, and treachery of the Greeks — Alarm created by an eclipse of the sun — The Crusaders defeated by the Turks — The oriflamme — Fatal blunder of Geoffrey de Ran^on — Reported death of Louis VII. — Everard des Banes, grand master of the Templars — Perfidious policy of the Greeks — Sufferings of the Crusaders — Louis VII. arrives at Antioch with a small portion of his army — Eleanor of Guienne repudiated by her husband, Louis VII. — He proceeds to the Holy Land — Conrad arrives at Jerusalem — Baldwin III. urges on the war — The Crusaders besiege Damciscus, and are repulsed — Ayoub, the father of Saladin — The Sclaves — Crusaders in Spain and Portugal — Sugar, minister of France — Unfortunate results of this crusade — The con- quests of Noureddin — The deaths of Raymond, Josselin, Suger, and St. Bernard pp. 329-381. BOOK VII.— A.D. 1148-1188. TniED CEUS.VDE. The religion of Mahomet — State of the East at the time of the third crusade — Dynasties of the Saracens and the Turks almost annihilated — Caliphs of Bagdad, the chiefs of Islamism — Heroic character of Nour- COISTTEKTS. XIIX eddin — Capture of Asoalan by Baldwin III. — Baldwin's death — His brother Amaury elected Ins sa^othing could be expected from a band composed of a confused mixture of all nations, and the wrecks of several undisciplined armies. A great number of the Crusaders, on quitting their country, had thought of nothing but accom- plishing their vow, and only sighed for the happiness of beholding Jerusalem ; but these pious dispositions had all vanished on their route. "WTiatever may be the motive that brings them together, when men are not confined by any restraint, the most corrupted gain the ascendancy, and bad examples constitute the law. As soon as the soldiers of Peter had passed the straits, they considered all they met their enemies, and the subjects of the Greek emperor suffered much more than the Turks from their first exploits. In their blindness, they allied superstition with license, and under the banners of the cross, committed crimes which make nature shudder.* But discord soon broke out amongst * There were in the army of Peter the Hermit, says Anna Comnena, ten thousand Normans, who committed horrible excesses in the neigh- bourhood of Nicea. They chopped children in pieces, stuck others upon 74 IIISTOBT OF THE CBrSADES. them, and retaliated upon tliem all the evils they had inflicted upon Christians. They had established their camp in the fertile plains which border the Gulf of Xicomedia. Every day parties strayed into the neighbourhood, and returned loaded -with booty. The partition of the spoil excited frequent quarrels among them. The French, of an assuming and bantering character, attributed to themselves all the success of this commence- ment of the war, and treated the Itahans and G-ermans with contempt. The latter separated themselves from the army, and under the conduct of a chief named Rinaldo,* advanced towards the mountains which border upon Nicea. There they rendered themselves masters of a fort, whose garrison they massacred, and although their troop was not numerous, and stood in great want of provisions, they were bold enough to await the army which was approaching to besiege them. They were not able to resist even the first attacks of the Turks, and were almost all put to the sword ; their general, and some few of his soldiers, onlv saved their lives by embracing the faith of Mahomet, and by taking a disgraceful oath to fi2:ht ai3^ainst the Christians. "WTien the news of this disaster reached the camp of the Crusaders, it brought with it agitation and trouble. The French, who, a few days before, could not endure the Ger- mans and the Italians.wept over their tragical fate, and were eager to march to avenge them. In vain Walter, who com- •nanded them, represented to them that the Crusaders whose OSS they deplored had fallen ■sictims to their own imprudence, and that their principal duty was to avoid their example ; nothing could restrain the impatience and the blind ardour of his soldiers. The latter beheved that they already saw the Turks flying before them, and feared they should not be able to overtake them. Murmurs arose in the Christian spits, and exercised all sorts of cruelties against aged persons. (See the Alexiad, book i.) We have no need to repeat our caution against the exaggeration of Anna Coranena, who is always pleaised with an oppor- tunity of accusing the Crusaders. * This Rinaldo, of whom nothing else is known, except that he was an Italian, is the only personage so called who has any event of importance in the first crusade attached to his name. Tasso, who has taken most of his characters from history, has borrowed the person and character of Rinaldo, in the " Jerusalem Delivered," entirely from his imagination. HISTOET OF THE CEI'SADES. 75 army against a general wliom they accused of want of coiu'ao;e, because he foresaw reverses. From murmurs they passed to revolt, and the order for departure and attack was forced from him by violence. AValter, groaning, followed a headstrong multitude, who marched in disorder towards jSTicea, and whom the Tui^ks would soon punish for the contempt ^vith which they had treated the advice of their leaders. The sultan of Nicea, foreseeing their imprudence, had concealed a part of his army in a forest, and waited for them with the rest of his troops in a plain at the foot of the mountain. After a march of some hours, in a country which was unloiown to them, the Christians were unex- pectedly attacked by the Turks, whom they beheved to be in Hight. They formed in haste, and at first defended them- selves vahantly. But the enemy had the advantages of position and numbers, and they were soon surrounded on all sides, and completely routed. The carnage was horrible ; Walter, who was worthy of commanding better soldiers, fell pierced by seven arrows. With the exception of three thousand men, who took refuge in a castle close to the sea, the whole army perished in a single battle, and there soon remained no more of them than a confused heap of bones, piled up in the plains of Xieea, as a deplorable monmnent to poiut out to other Crusaders the road to the Holy Land. Such was the fate of that multitude of pilgiims who threatened Asia, and yet never beheld the places they went to conquer. By their excesses they had prejudiced the whole of Grreece against the enterprize of the crusades, and by their manner of fighting had taught the Turks to despise the arms of the Christians of the West. Peter, who had i^turned to Constantinople before the battle, and who had long lost all authority among the Cru- saders, declaimed against their indocihty and their pride, and beheld in them nothing but brigands,* whom Grod had deemed unworthy to contemplate or adore the tomb of hia * Instead of acknowledging his fault, says Anna Comneua, he laid it upon those who had disobeyed his orders and insisted upon doing as they pleased, calling them robbers and brigands, whom God had deemed unworthy of seeing and adoring the tomb of his Son. — Alexiad, lib. x. ch. 8. 76 IIISTOKY OF THE CEUSADES. Son. From tliat time it was quite eA'ident that tLe apostle of the holy war possessed no quality to enable him to act as its chief. * Coolness, prudence, inflexible firmness, alone could conduct a multitude whom so many passions impelled, and who listened to nothing but enthusiasm. The cenobite Peter, after having prepared the great events of the crusade by his eloquence, lost in the crowd of pilgrims, played nothing but an ordinary part, and was in the end scarcely to be perceived in a war that was his work. Em^ope, without doubt, learnt with terror and astonish- ment the unhappy end of three hundred thousand Crusaders, whom she had seen depart ; but they who were to follow were not at all discouraged, and resolved to profit by the lessons which the disasters of their companions had given them. The West soon saw on foot armies more regular and more formidable than those which had been destroyed on the banks of the Danube, and in the plains of Bithynia. AYhen describing their march and their exploits, we are about to trace much nobler pictures. Here the heroic spirit of chivalry will display itself in all its splendour, and the brilliant period of the holy war \nl\ commence. The leaders of the Christian armies which now quitted the West were ah-eady celebrated by their valour and their deeds. At the head of the great captains who commanded in this crusade, history, as well as poetry, must place Godfrev de BouiUon,* duke of the Lower Lorraine. He was of the illustrious race of the counts of Boulogne, and descended on the female side from Charlemagne. From his earliest youth he had distinguished himself in the open war carried on between the Holy See and the emperor of Ger- many. On the field of battle he had killed Eodolphe de !Rhenfield, duke of Suabia, to whom Gregory had sent the imperial crown. ^AHien the war* broke out in Italy for the cause of the anti-pope Anaclet, Godfrey was the fiLrst to enter the city of Eome, besieged and taken by the troops of Henry. He afterwards repented of ha^ing embraced a party * Godfrey of Bouillon was born at Baysy, a village of Wallon Brabant, now in the department of La Dyle, two leagues south-east of Nevilles, and not far from Fleurus. Aubert le Mire, and the Baron Leroy, in the geography of Brabant, report that in their time the remains of the castle in which Godfrey was brought up were to be seen. IIISTOllT or THE CRUSADES. 77 which Adctory itself could not make triumphant, and which the greater part of Christendom considered sacrilegious. To expiate exploits condemned as useless by the spirit of his age, he made a vow to go to Jerusalem, not as a simple pilgrim, but as a liberator. Contemporary historj^, which has transmitted his portrait to us, infonns us that he joined the bravery and virtues of a hero to the simplicity of a cenobite.* His prowess in fight and his extraordinary strength of body made him the pride of camps. Prudence and moderation tempered his valour ; his devotion was sincere and disinterested; and in no instance during the holy war did he employ his courage or inflict his vengeance but upon the enemies of Christ. Faith- ful to his word, Hkeral, affable, full of humanity, the princes and knights looked upon him as their model, the soldiers as their father — all were eager to fight under his standard. If he was not the leader of the crusade, as some writers pre- tend, he at least obtained that empire which virtue bestows. Amidst their quarrels and divisions, the princes and barons constantly appealed to the wisdom of Godfrey, and in the dangers of war, his counsels became absolute orders. At the signal of the duke of Lorraine, the nobility of Prance and the borders of the E;hine were prodigal of their treasures in preparing for the crusades. All things service- able in war mounted to so exorbitant a price, that the pro- duce of an estate was scarcely sufiicient to defray the equip- ment of a single knight. The women despoiled themselves of their most precious ornaments to furnish forth their sons and their husbands for the expedition. Men even, say the historians, who in other times would have suffered a thousand deaths rather than give up their hereditary domains, either sold them for a low price or exchanged them for arms. Gold and steel appeared to be the only desirable objects in existence. Now appeared the stores of riches w^hich had been con- cealed by fear or avarice. Ingots of gold, coined pieces, * An anonymous historian of the crusades, when speaking of Godfrey, expresses himself thus : Tantum lems, nt magis in se monachum quam militem figuraret. Guibert further says : Cujus mira humilitas et monachis jam imitmida modestia. — See Bongars, p. 548. 78 nisTOEY or the ceusades. savs tiie Abbe Guibert, were to be seen in beaps in tbe tents of the principal Crusaders, lUie the most common finiita in tbe cottages of villagers. Manv barons, having neither lands nor castles to sell, implored the charity of the faithful vrho did not take up the cross, and might hope to participate in the merits of the holv "war by assisting in the equipment of the Crusaders. Some ruined their vassals ; others, like AVilliam, viscount de ]Melun,* pillaged the burghs and villages to place themselves in a condition to combat the infidels. Godfrev de Bouillon, guided by a more enlightened piety, was content with alienating his domains. AVe read in Eobert G-aguin that he permitted the inhabitants of Metz to redeem their city, of which he was sttzerain. He sold the principality of Stenai to the bishop of Verdun, and ceded his rights over the duchy of Bouillon to the bishop of Liege for the small sum of four thousand silver marks and a pound of gold, which makes an historian of the Crusaders sayf that the secular princes ruined themselves for the cause of Jesus Christ, whilst the princes of the Chm-ch took advantage of the fervour of the Chrisrians to enrich themselves. The duke de Bouillon had gathered under his standard eio:hts' thousand foot-soldiers and ten thousand horsemen. He began his march eight months after the council of Clermont, accompanied by a great number of German and Trench nobles. He took with him his brother Eustace de Boulogne, his other brother Baldwin, and his coiLsin Baldwin de Bourof. These two last, who were destined one dav. hke Godfrey de Bouillon, to become kings of Jerusalem, held then the rank of simple knights in the Christian army. Thev were all less animated bv sincere pietv than bv the nope of achieving a great iortune in Asia, and quitted with- out regret the mean possessions that they held in Europe. vStill fiuther were to be remarked in the train of the duke de Lorraine, Baldwin, count de Hainaut ; Garnier, count de Grai ; Conon de Montaigu, Dudon de Contz, so celebrated * Abbot Guibert speaks thus of William, viscount de Melun : Cum Jerosolymitayium esset agressurus, iter direptis contiguomyn sibi pau- perum substantiolis. profanum riaiicum praparavit. — Lib. W. c. 7. t Le Pere Maimbourg. HISTOHY OF THE ClirSADES. 79 in tte " Jerusalem Delivered ;" the two brothers Henri and Godfrey de Haehe, G-erard de Cherisi, Einaldo and Peter de Toul, Hugh de St. Paul, and his son Engelran. These chiefs brought with them a, crowd of other knights, less known, but not less formidable by their valour. The army commanded by the duke of Lorraine, composed of soldiers formed by discipline and tiied in battle, offered to the Germans a very different spectacle from the troop of Peter the Hermit, and re-established the honour of the Crusaders in all the countries they passed through. They met with assistance and allies where the first champions of the cross had found nothing but obstacles and enemies. Godfrey deplored the fate of those who had preceded him, without seeking to avenge their cause. The Hungarians and the Bulgarians, on their part, forgot the violences com- mitted by the soldiers of Peter, Gotschalk, and Emicio ; they admired the moderation of Godfrey, and offered up vows for the success of his arms. Whilst the duke de Lorraine was advancing towards Con- stantinople, Prance was raising other armies for the holy war. A few months after the council of Clermont, the nobles of the kingdom assembled to deUberate upon the affairs of the crusade. In this assembly, held in the presence of Philip I., who had just been excommimicated, no one was opposed to the war preached under the auspices of the Holy See ; no one even thought of invoking policy either to mode- rate or direct the passions which agitated Europe. The cabinets of princes were as much infatuated as the multi- tude, and it may be said that the fortune of Prance took charge alone of these great events, w*hich, though unfor- tunate at first, afterwards concurred to raise the monarchy which had fallen into ruins under the feeble successors of Charlemagne. Towards the middle of the tenth century, the chief of the third dpiasty had consecrated the usurpation of the nobles, and to obtain the title of king, had almost abandoned the little that remained of the rights of the crown. Philip L, grandson of Hugh Capet, found that his dominions extended but little beyond Paris and Orleans ; the rest of Prance was governed by the great vassals, of whom several siu-passed the monarch in power. Eoyalty, the only hope of the 80 HISTORY or THE CETJSADES. people against the oppressions of the nobles and the clergy, was so feeble, that we are at the present time astonished that it did not fall, so numerous were the difficulties and the enemies that surrounded it on all sides. As the monarch was exposed to the censures of the Church, it was an easy matter to lead his subjects to disobedience, and to legiti- matize any sort of revolt, by gi^Tug it the colour of a sacred pretext. The crusade removed far from Europe all who could have taken advantage of the unhappy situation in which the kingdom was placed ; it saved the country from a ci^'il war, and prevented such sanguinary discords as had broken out in Germany under the reign of Henry and the pontificate of G-regory. Such were the considerations which might present them- selves to the most enlightened men, and which must strike us more strongly than they would the contemporaries of Philip.* It would be difficult to believe that any one of the counsellors of the king of France perceived, in all their extent, these salutary results of the crusade, which were recognized long after, and which have only been properly appreciated in the age in which we live. On the other hand, they had no conception that a war in which all the most dangerous passions should be brought into action would be accompanied by great misfortunes and calamitous disorders. Ambition, license, the spirit of enthusiasm, all so much to be dreaded by the country', might also bring about the ruin of armies. Xot one of the enemies of Philip, not one of those who remained at home, made this reflection. Every- body, as we have already said, they who were of the party of the Holv See and thev who adhered to rovalty, allowed them- selves to be carried along by the current of events, without * Nothing is more common than to attribute the combinations of a profound policy to remote ages. If certain persons are to be believed, the men of the eleventh century were sages, and we are barbarians. I feel it just to report the opinion of Montesquieu on this subject : "To transport all the ideas of the age in which we live into remote periods is the most abundant source of error. To those people who wish to render all ancient ages modem, I will repeat what the priests of Egypt said to Solon, ' Oh Athenians ! you are but children.* " — Esprit des Lois, liv. XXX. c. 18. « HISTOllY OF THE CRUSADES. 81 either perceiving the causes of them or foreseeing their con- sequences. The most wise blindly followed that invisible destiny which orders the world as it pleases, and makes use of the passions of men as of an instrument to accomplish its designs. In a superstitious age the sight of a prodigy or of an extraordinary phenomenon had more influence over the minds of men than the oracles of wisdom or reason.* His- torians inform us, that whilst the barons were assembled, the moon, which was in eclipse, appeared of the colour of blood. AVhen the eclipse was over, its disc was surrounded by an unprecedented splendour. Some weeks after, says the Abbe Guibert, the northern horizon was seen to be all on fire, and the terrified people rushed from the houses and cities, believing that the enemy was advancing, fire and sword in hand. These phenomena, with several others, were regarded as signs of the will of God, and presages of the terrible war about to be made in his name. They everj^- where redoubled the enthusiasm for the crusade. Men who had hitherto remained indifferent now partook of the general delirium. All Frenchmen called to the profession of arms, and who had not yet taken the oath to fight against the infidels, hastened now to take the cross. The men of the Yermandois marched with the subjects of Philip under the colours of their count Hugh, a young prince whose brilliant qualities had been much admired by the coui't. Proud of being a brother of the king of Prance and the first of the Prench knights, he distinguished him- self by his bravery and the ostentation of his manners. He displayed invincible courage in the field of battle, but allowed himself to be too easily overcome by flattery, and was wanting in perseverance in reverses. Although fortune * Eo tempore cuyn inter regni primates super Tide expeditione res fieret, et colloquium ah eis cum Hugone Magna, sub Philippi regis pra- sentid, Parisiis haberetur, mense Februario, tertio idus ejusdem, tuna, ecHpsim patiens, ante noctis medium, sanguineo paulatim coepif colore velari, donee in cruentissimum iota horribiliter est converse ruborem ; et ubi aurora crcpvsculo naturce redid, circa ipsum lunarem circulum iusolitus splendor emicuit. Quidam autem cestivi diei vespertind irruente hord, tanta aquilonis plagce efflagratio apparuit, ut plurimi e domibus suis sese proriperent, qucerentes quinam hostes provincias suas adeo gravt ambusti'jiie vastarent. — Guibert, Abb. lib. i. ch. 17. 82 nisTOEX or the ceusades. ■^vas not too kind to him, not one of the heroes of the crusade exhibited more honourable and disinterested intentions. If he had not merited bv his exploits the surname of Great. which history has given him, he would have obtained it for ha^'ing only listened to his zeal, and for ha^'ing sought uothinof but glorv in a war which offered kingdoms to the ambition of princes and simple knights. Eobert, siunamed Courte-hev.se, duke of Xormandy, who led his vassals to the holy war, was the eldest son of Wil- liam the Conqueror. He joined to noble quahties some of the faults the most reprehensible in a piince. He could not, even in his early youth, endiu'e paternal authority; but, dra^vn away more by a desii'e for independence than by a real ambition, after having made war against his father for the sake of reigning in Xonnandy, he neglected the opportunity of ascending the throne of England on the death of AYilliam. His levitA', his inconstancv, and his wealoiess, caused him to be despised both by his subjects and his enemies. His pro- fusion ruined his people, and reduced him, if we may credit the monk Oderic A^ital, to a condition bordering upon absolute poverty. The historian I have just quoted relates a trait, which, although diilicult to be believed, at the same time describes both Kobert and the age he lived in. " He was often compelled to remain in bed for want of clothes, and frequently was absent from mass because his nudity prevented him fr'om assisting at it." It was not an ambition for conquering kingdoms in Asia, but liis inconstant, chivalric dispositioD, that made him assiune the cross, and take up arms. The Xormans, a wandering and warlike people, who had made themselves remarkable among: all the nations of Europe for their devotion to pilgrimages, hastened in crowds to his banner. As Duke Eobert had not the means of pro- viding for the expenses of an army, he pledged Xormandy with his brother "William Eufus. AYiUiam, v»hom his age accused of impiety, and M'ho laughed at the knight errantry of the Crusaders, seized with joy the opportunity of governing a proAince which he hoped one day to unite to his kingdom. He le^-ied taxes upon the clergy, whom he did not like, and caused the silver plate of the churches to be melted to pay the sum of ten thousand silver marks to Eobert, who set out for the Holy Land, followed by ahnost all the nobihty of his duchy. HISTOEY OP THE CETJSADES. 83 Another Eobert, coimt of Flanders, placed himself at the head of the Prisons and the Flemings. He was son of Kobert, sui'named the Frison, ^Yho had usurped the prin- cipality of Flanders from his own nephews, and who, to expiate his victories, had performed, some time before the crusade, the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The yoimg liobert easily found soldiers for his enterprize hi a coimtry where everybody had borne arms during the ci\dl wars, and where the people were animated by the tales of a great number of pilgrims returned from the Holy Land. He exhausted the treasures of his father, to embark in an expedition which procured him the reputation of a bold knight, together with the surname of " The Lance and SwonV of the Ch^nstians. Five hundred horsemen sent by Eobert the Frison to the emperor iUexis had already preceded him to Constantinople. Stephen, count of Blois and Chartres, had also taken up the cross. He passed for the richest noble of his times. The number of his castles was said to be equal to that of tlie days of the year. AVliat might be really considered a phenomenon in the eleventh century, this prince loved and cultivated letters. He proved to be the soul of the councils by his eloquence and his intelligence ; but he could not long together support the fatigues of war, and he sometimes was but timid in the field of battle. These four chiefs were accompanied by a crowd of knights and nobles, among whom history names Eobert of Paris, Evrard of Prusaie, Achard de Montmerle, Isouard de INIuson, Stephen, count d'Albermarle, Walter de St. Valery, Eoger de Barneville, Fergant and Conan, two illustrious Bretons, Guis de Trusselle, Miles de Braie.s, Eaoul de Baugency, Eotrou, son of the count dePerche; Odo, bishop of Bayeux, uncle of the duke of Normandy ; Eaoul de Gader, Tve and Alberic, sons of Hugh de Grandmenil. The greater part of the counts and barons took with them their wives and children, and all their war equipages. They crossed the Alps, and directed their march towards the cities of Italy, with the intention of embarking for Greece. They found in the neighboiuhood of Lucca Pope Urban, who gave them his benediction, praised then' zeal, and offered up prayers for the success of their enterprize. The count de Verman- dois, after having received the standard of the Church from 84 niSTOEY OF THE CRUSADES. the hands of the sovereign pontiff, repaired to Itoine, with the other princes, to visit the tombs of St. Peter and St. Paul. The capital of the Christian world was then the theatre of a civil war. The soldiers of Urban, and those of the anti-pope Gruibert, disputed, arms in hand, for the church of St. Peter, and by turns carried off the offerings of the faithfid. "WTiatever some modem historians may say, the Crusaders took no part in the troubles which divided the city of Rome ; and what is still more astonishing. Urban did not call to the defence of his own cause one of the warriors whom his appeal had induced to take up arms. Por the rest, the spectacle which presented itself in the city of St. Peter must have been a subject of scandal to the greater part of the Prench knights. Some, satisfied with having saluted the tomb of the apostles, and perhaps cured of their holy enthusiasm by the sight of the violences which profaned the sanctuary, abandoned the standard of the cross, and returned into their own country. Others pursued their march towards Apulia ; but when they arrived at Pari, the winter beginning to render the navigation dangerous, they were forced to wait duiing several months for a lavoui'able moment to embark. The passage of the Prench Crusaders, however, had awakened the zeal of the Italians. Bohemond, prince of Tarentiim, was the first who resolved to associate himself with their fortunes, and to partake of the glory of the holy expedition. He was of the family of those knights who had founded the kingdom of Xaples and Sicily. Pifty years before the crusade, his father, Pobert Gruiscard (the subtle) had quitted the castle of Hauteville, in jSTormandy, with thirty foot-soldiers and five horsemen. Seconded by some of his relations and compatriots, who had preceded him into Italy, he fought ^^ith advantage against the G-reeks, the Lombards, and the Saracens, who disputed Apulia and Calabria with him. He soon became sufficiently powerful to be by turns the enemy and the protector of the popes. He beat the armies of the emperors of the East and the "West, and when he died he was engaged in the conquest of G-reece. Boliemond had neither less cunning nor less talents than his father, Pobert Guiscard. Contemporary authors, who never fail to describe the physical qualities of their heroes, inform us that his height was so great that it exceeded by a HISTORY or THE CKIJSADES. 85 cubit that of the tallest man in his army ; his eyes were blue, and appeared full of passion and haughty pride. His presence, says Anna Comnena, was as astonishing to the eyes as his reputation was to the mind. When he spoke, his hearers believed that eloquence had been his only study ; when he appeared under arms, he might be supposed to have done nothiug but wield tlie lance and the sword. Brought up in the school of the Norman heroes, he concealed the combiuations of policy beneath an exterior of violence ; and although of a proud and haughty character, he could put up Avith an injury when vengeance would not have been profit- able to him. Everything that could contribute to the success of his designs appeared to him to be just. He had learnt from his father to consider every man whose wealth or states he coveted as his enemy ; he was neither restrained by the fear of God, the opinion of men, nor his own oaths. He liad followed Bobert in the Avar against the emperor Alexis, and had distinguished himself in the battles of Durazzo and Larissa ; but, disinherited by a will, he had nothing at his father's death but the memory of his exploits, and the example of his family. He had declared war against his brother Boger, and had recently compelled him to cede to him the principality of Tarentum, when the expedition to the East began to be talked of in Europe. The deliverance of the tomb of Christ was not the object that kindled his zeal, or induced him to assume the cross. As he had sworn an eternal hatred to the Greek emperors, he smiled at the idea of traversing their empne at the head of an army ; and, fidl of confidence in his own fortunes, he hoped to win a kingdom before he should arrive at Jerusalem. The little principality of Tarentum coidd not supply him with an army ; but in the name of religion, a leader had then the power of raising troops in all the states. Enthusiasm for the crusade soon seconded his projects, and brought a great number of warriors to his standard. He had accompanied his brother and his uncle Eoger to the siege of Amalfi, a flourishing city which refused with contempt the protection of the new masters of Apulia and Sicily. Bohemond, who knew well how to speak in proper sea- son the language of enthusiasm, and to conceal his ambition beneath the coloiu's of religious fanaticism, preached himself 86 HISTOKT or THE CETJSADES. the crusade in the army of the besiegers. He vrent among the soldiers, talking of the princes and the great captains who had taken the cross. He spoke to the most pious "war- riors of the religion wliich was to be defended, and exalted before others the glory and fortunes Avhich would crown their exploits. The army was won oyer by his discourses, and the camp soon resounded with the cry of " It is the idll of God ! It is the will of God !" Bohemond congratulated himself in secret on the success of his eloquence, and tore his coat of arms into strips, of which he made crosses, and ordered his officers to distribute them among the soldiers. Tliere now only wanted a chief to command the holy expe- dition, and the new Crusaders came to solicit the prince of Tarentura to place himself at their head. Bohemond appeared at first to hesitate ; he refused that which he ardently desired; and the soldiers assembled around him redoubled their solicitations. At length he seemed to yield to their importimities, and obey their will. Instantly the eagerness and enthusiasm became more animated and more general. In an incredibly short space of time the whole army swore to follow him into Palestine. Eoger was obliged to raise the siege of Amalfi, and the happy Bohemond gaye himself up entirely to the preparations for his yoyage. A short time after he embarked for the coasts of Greece with ten thousand horsemen and twenty thousand foot. Every illustrious knight of Apuha and Sicily followed the ])rince of Tarentum. ^"ith him marched Eichard, prince of Salerno, and Eandulf, his brother ; Herman de Cani, Eobert de Hanse, Eobert de Soiu-deval, Eobert the son of Tristan, Bode de Chartres, and Humphrey de ^Nlontaigu. AH these warriors were celebrated for their exploits, but no one amongst them was more worthy to attract the attention of • posterity' than the braye Tancred.* Although he belonged to a family in which ambition was hereditary, he was fired by no other passion than a desire to fight against the infidels. Piety, glor}'. and perhaps his fiiendship for Bohemond alone, led him into Asia. His contemporaries admired his romantic * Raoiil de Caen has written, half in prose and half inverse, the "Gestes de Tancrede." (See " Thesaurus Novus Anecdotorum" of D. Martenne, vol. i., or the " Recueil de Muratori," torn, ill.) HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 87 pride and liis haughty austerity. He jdelded to no supe- riority but that of virtue, with the exception of occasional submission to the power of beauty. A stranger to all the motives and interests of policy, he acknowledged no other law but religion and honour, and was always ready to die in their cause. The annals of chivalry present no model more accomplished ; poetry and history have united to celebrate him, and both have heaped upon him the same praises. The Crusaders from the southern provinces of France had marched under the command of Adhemar de Monteil and Kaymond, count de St. Gilles and Thoulouse. Bishop Adhemar acted as the spiritual chief of the crusade ; his title of apostolic legate, and his personal qualities, earned for him in the holy war the confidence and respect of the pilgrims. His exhortations and his counsels contributed greatly to the maintaining of order and discipline. He con- soled the Crusaders in their reverses, he animated them amidst dangers ; clothed at the same time Avith the insignia of a pontiff and the armour of a knight, he exhibited in the tent a model of the Christian virtues, and in the field often gave proofs of undaunted valour. Kaymond, who marched with Adhemar, had had the glory of fighting in Spain by the side of the Cid ; and of con- quering several times the Moors under Alphonso the G-reat, who had bestowed his daughter Elvira upon him in marriage. His vast possessions on the banks of the Rhone and the Dordogne, and still more his exploits against the Saracens, rendered him one of the most remarkable among the great leaders of the crusade. Age had not extinguished in the count of Thoulouse either the ardour or the passions of youth. Hasty and impetuous, of a character haughty and inflexible, he had less ambition to conquer kingdoms than to make every will bend beneath his own. Both Greeks and Saracens have acknowledged his bravery. His subjects and his companions in arms hated him for his obstinacy and \'iolence. Unhappy prince, he bade eternal farewell to his country, which was one day to be the theatre of a terrible crusade preached against his own family ! All the nobility of Gascony, Languedoc, Provence, the Limousin, and Auvergne, accompanied E-aymond and Adhe- mar. Contemporary historians name among the knights 88 HISTORY or THE CRrSADES. and lords who bad taken tlie cross, Heracle, coimt de I'olig- nac, Pons de Balazan, Guillaunie de Sabran, Eleazar de Castrie, Eleazar de Montredon, Pierre Bernard de Mon- taonac, PaATnond de Lille. Pierre Ea^nnond de Hautpool, Gouffier de Lastours, Guillaume V., lord of Montpellier, Eoo-er, count de Foix, Eaymond Pelet, Seigneur d'Alais, Isard, count de Die, Eaimbaud, count d' Orange, Guillaume, count de Perez, Guillaume, coimt de Clermont, Gerard, son of Guillabert, count de Eoussillon, Gaston, A^scount de Beam, Guillaume Amanjeu d'Albret, Ea^^nond, \'iscount de Tu- renne, Ea^^nond. ^-iscount de Castillon, Guillaume d'Urgal, and tbe count de Fortcalquier. After the example of Adbemar, tbe bishops of Apt, Lodeve, and Orange, and the archbishop of Toledo, had taken up the cross, and led a part of their vassals to the holy war. Eavmond, count of Thoulouse, followed bv his wife Eh-ira and his sons, placed himself at the head of a himdred thou- sand Crusaders, advanced to Lyous, where he crossed the Ehone, traversed the Alps, Lombardy, and Frioul, and directed his march towards the territory of the Greek empire, over the savage mountains and tlirough the equally savage nations of Dalmatia.* Alexis, who had implored the assistance of the Latins, was terrified when he learnt the numbers of his Hberators. The leaders of the crusade were only princes of the second order, but thev drew with them all the forces of the "W^est. Ajana Comnena compares the multitude of the Crusaders to the sands of the sea or the stars of the heavens, and their innumerable bands to torrents which unite to form a great river.f Alexis had learnt to dread Bohemorwi on the plains of Durazzo and Larissa. Although he was less acquainted with the courage and ability of the other Latin princes, he repented of ha^Hng imparted to them the secret of his "sreak- ness by asking their aid. His alarms, which were increased * Consult tbe history of Raymond d'Agiles, chaplain of the count de Thoulouse, for the description of this march of the Qrusaders of the south across a country till that time unknown. t An Armenian historian says of the preparations for this crusade, " The gates of the Latins were opened, and the inhabitants of the West saw issuing from their countries armies and soldiers numerous as locusts or the sands of the sea." HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 89 by the predictions of astrologers and the opinions spread among his people, became more serious as the Crusaders advanced to^Yards liis capital.* Seated on a throne from which he had hurled his master and benefactor, he could liave no faith ui virtue, and was better aware than another what ambition might dictate. He had displayed some courage in gaining the purple, but only governed by dissimulation, — the ordinary policy of the Grreeks and all weak states. If Anna Comnena has made an accomplished prince of him, the Latins have represented him as a perfidious and cruel monarch. Impartial history, which alike rejects the exaggerations of eulogy or satire, can see nothing in Alexis but a weak ruler, of a superstitious character, led away much more by a love of vain splendour and display than by any passion for glory. He had it in his power to put himself at the head of the Crusaders, and reconquer Asia Minor, by marchiug with the Latins to Jerusalem. This great enterprize alarmed his weakness. His timid prudence made him believe that it would be suffi- cient to deceive the Crusaders to have nothing to fear from them, and to receive a vain homage from them in order to profit by their victories. Everything appeared good and just to him which would assist in extricating him from a position of which his policy increased the dangers, and which the unsteadiness of his projects made every day more embar- rassing. The more earnestly he endeavoured to inspire confidence, the more suspicious he rendered his good faith By seeking to inspire fear, he discovered all the alarms which he himself experienced. As soon as he had notice of the march of the princes of the crusade, he sent them ambas- sadors to compliment them, and to penetrate their intentions. In the meanwhile, he placed troops everywhere to harass them on their passage. The count de A^ermandois, cast by a tempest on the shores of Epirus, received the greatest honours from the governor of Durazzo, and was led a prisoner to Constantinople by the orders of Alexis. The Greek emperor hoped that the brother * Nothing can be more diffuse than historians upon the march of the different princes of the crusade ; each body of the Christian army has its particular historian, which is very injurious to perspicuity: it is exceed- ingly difficult to follow so many different relations. 90 HISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. of the king of France would become, in his hands, a hostage that might protect him from the enterprizes of the Latins ; but he only awakened suspicion, and provoked the hatred of the leaders of the crusade. Godfrey de Bouillon had arrived at Philippopoh, when he heard of the captivity of the count de Yermandois. He sent to the emperor to demand instant reparation for this outrage ; and as the deputies reported but an unfavourable answer, he restrained neither his own indignation nor the fary of his army. The lands through which they passed were treated as an enemy's country, and during eight days the fertile plains of Thrace became the theatre of war. The crowd of Greeks who fled towards the capital soon informed the emperor of the terrible vengeance of the Latins. Alexis, terrified at the fruits of his own policy, implored the pardon of his prisoner, and promised to restore him his liberty when the French should have arrived at the gates of Constantinople. This promise appeased Godfrey, who caused the war to cease, and resmned his march, treating the Greeks everywhere as friends and allies. In the meanwhile, Alexis employed every effort to obtain from the count de Yermandois the oath of obedience and fidelity, hoping that his submission would lead to that of the other princes of the crusade, and that he should have less to fear from their ambition if he could reckon them in the number of his vassals. The brother of the king of France, who, on an'i^-ing in the ten-itories of the empire, had written letters filled ^-ith pride and ostentation, could not resist the caresses and presents of the emperor, and took all the oaths that were requii-ed of him. On the arrival of Godfrey, he appeared in the camp of the Crusaders, who rejoiced at his deliverance, but coidd not pardon him for ha\4ng yielded submission to a foreign monarch. Cries of indignation arose aroimd him when he endeavoured to persuade Godfrey to foUow his example. The more gentle and submissive he'had shown himself in his captrrity, the more strong became the opposition and resistance to the wiU of the emperor of his companions, who had di^a^vn their swords to avenge the insult offered to him. Alexis refused them provisions, and thought to reduce them by famine ; but the Latins were accustomed to obtain HISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. 91 all they wanted by violence and Tictory. At tlie signal of their leader, they dispersed themselves over the surrounding country, pillaged the villages and the palaces near the capital, and, by force, brought abundance to their camp. This disorder lasted several davs ; but the festival of Christmas vras approaching, and the epoch of the birth of Christ revived generous sentiments in the breasts of the Christian soldiers and the pious Godfrey. Advantage was taken of these feelings to bring about peace. The emperor granted provisions, and the Crusaders sheathed their swords. But it was impossible for harmony to subsist long between the Grreeks and the Latins. The Latins haughtily boasted of having come to the rescue of the empire. On all occa- sions they spoke and acted as masters. The Greeks despised the barbarous courage of the Latins, and placing all their glory in the refinement of their manners, believed that they disgraced the language of Greece when pronouncing the names of the warriors of the "West. The rupture which had for a long time subsisted between the churches of Eome and Constantinople, increased the antipathy which the difference of manners and customs had given birth to. On both sides anathemas were launched, and the theologians of Greece and Italy detested each other more than they detested the Saracens. The Greeks, who employed themselves in nothing but vain subtleties, had never been willing to place in the list of martyrs those who had died fighting against the infidels. They abhorred the martial character of the Latin clergy, boasted that they possessed in their capital all the relics of the East, and could not understand what they could be going to seek at Jerusalem. On their side, the Franks could not pardon the subjects of Alexis for not par- taking in their enthusiasm for the crusade, and reproached them with a culpable indifierence for the cause of God. All these motives of discord and hatred provoked frequent scenes of violence, in which the Greeks displayed more perfidy than courage, and the Latins more valour than moderation. Throughout all these divisions Alexis constantly sought to obtain from Godfrey the oath of obedience and fidelity; sometimes he employed protestations of friendship, some- times he threatened to exercise powers that he did not possess. Godfrey braved his menaces, and placed no faith iu Vol. L— 6 92 HISTOEY OF THE CiiL SADES. his promises. The imperial and the Latin troops were twice called to arms, and Constantinople, badly defended by its soldiers, had cause to fear beholding the standard of the Crusaders floating over its walls. The report of these serious quarrels conveyed joy to the heart of Bohemond, who had just landed at Diu-azzo. He believed the time was come to attack the Greek empire, and to divide the spoils. He sent envoys to Grodfrey, to invite him to take possession of Byzantium, promising to join him with all his forces, for the prosecution of this great enter- prize. But Grodfrey did not forget that he had taken up arms for the defence of the holy sepulchre, and rejected the proposal of Bohemond, reminding him of the oath he had taken to fight against the infidels. This embass}" to Bohemond, the object of which could not be concealed, redoubled the alarm of Alexis, and made him employ every means to subdue the firmness of Godfrey de Bouillon. He sent his own son as a hostage to the army of the Crusaders. From that time all mistrust was dissipated. The princes of the West swore to respect the laws of hos- pitaHty, and repaired to the palace of Alexis. They found the emperor surrounded by a splendid court, and entirely occupied in. endeavouring to conceal his weakness under an exterior of vain magnificence. The chief of the Crusaders, and the princes and knights who accompanied him, in an apparel on which shone the martial luxur}'' of the West, bowed before the throne of the emperor, and bent the knee to a mute and motionless majesty. After this ceremony, during which the Greeks and the Latins must have afforded each other a strange spectacle, Alexis adopted Godfrey for his son, and placed the empire under the protection of his arms. The Crusaders engaged to replace the cities they had taken belonging to the empire in the hands of the emperor, and to pay him homage for the other conquests they might make. Alexis, on his part, promised to aid them by land and by sea, to fiumish them with provisions, and to share the perils and the glory of their expedition. Alexis considered this homage of the Latin princes as a victory. The leaders of the Crusaders returned beneath their tents, where his gratitude loaded them with presents. Whilst Godfrey caused it to be proclaimed in his army by sound of HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 93 trumpet, tliat tlie most profound respect for the emperor and the laws of Constantinople should be preserved, Alexis ordered all his subjects to carry provisions to the Franks, and to observe the laws of hospitality. The alliance they had just made appeared to have been sworn to in good faith on both sides ; but Alexis could not destroy the prejudices the Grreeks entertained against the Latins, nor could Godfrey restrain the turbulent multitude of his soldiers. Besides, the emperor of Byzantium, although he might feel re-assured as to the intentions of the duke of Lorraine, still dreaded the arrival of Bohemond, and the union of several large armies in the neighboiu-hood of his capital. He engaged Grodfrey to pass with his troops over to the Asiatic shore of the Bos- phorus, and turned his attention to whatever means his policy could suggest to abate the pride, and even to diminish the powers of the other Latin princes who were marching towards Constantinople. The prince of Tarentum was advancing through Mace- donia, now listening to the harangues of the deputies from Alexis, and now contending with the troops which opposed his passage. Several provinces and several cities had been ravaged by the Italian and Norman Crusaders, when their chief received an invitation from the emperor to precede his army, and come to Constantinople. Alexis made Bohemond protestations of friendship, in which the latter placed no faith, but from which he hoped to reap some advantage. He, on his part, declared his good feeling, and went to meet Alexis. The emperor received him with a magnificence proportionate to the fear he entertained of his arrival. These two princes were equally skilled in the arts of seducing and deceiving. The greater cause they had to complain of each other, the warmer were their protestations of friend- ship. They complimented each other publicly on their victories, and concealed their suspicions, and perhaps their contempt, under an exterior of reciprocal admiration. Both luiscrupulous on the subject of oaths, Alexis promised vast domains to Bohemond, and the Norman hero swore without hesitation to be the most faithful of the vassals of the emperor. Eobert, coimt of Flanders, the duke of Normandy, and Ste- phen, count of Chartres and Blois, as they arrived at Constan- tinople, rendered their homage, in their turn, to the Grreek 94 HISTOKY or THE CEUSADES. emperor, and received, as others had done, the reward of their submission. The count of Thoulouse, who arrived the last, at first answered the messengers of Alexis, that he was not come into the East to seek a master. The emperor, to bend the pride of Eavmond and his Provencals, was obliged to stoop to them.* He flattered by timis their avarice and their vanity, and took more pains to show them his treasures than his armies. In states in their decay it is not uncommon for wealth to be mistaken for power, and the prince believes he reigns over all hearts as long as he possesses the means of coiTupting them. Ceremonial was, besides, at the court of Constantinople, the most serious and the most import- ant of aU thing's : but whatever value mav be attached to vain formula, we cannot but be astonished to see warriors so haughty, who went to conquer empires, on their knees before a prince who trembled vrith. the fear of losing his own. Thev made him pay dearly for an uncertain and transient submission, and not unfrequently contempt was apparent through their outward marks of respect. During a ceremony in which Alexis received the homage of several French princes, Count Eobert of Paris advanced to seat himself by the side of the emperor. BaldAvin of Hainaut pulled him by the arm, and said, " You shoidd remember, when you are in a foreign country, you ought to respect its customs." "Truly!" replied Eobert, "this is a pleasant cIo^ti who is seated, whilst so many illustrious captains are standing!" Alexis was desirous of ha^'ing his words explained to him, and when the counts were gone, he retained Eobert, and asked him what were his birth and countrv. '• I am a Prenchman," replied Eobert, '• and of the most illustrious rank of nobles. I only know one thing, and that is, that in my country there is a place near a church to which all repair who bum with a desire to signalize their valour. I have often been there without anvbodv vet having dared to present himself before me." The emperor took care not to accept this kind of challenge, and endeavoured to conceal his sui^^rise and vexation by giving some useful ♦ The Crusaders who followed Raymond are designated by historians Provencalex. This comes from the ancient denomination of Protincia Romana, or Provencia Narhojiensis, which comprised Languedoc, Dauphine, and Proveace. IlISTOKY or THE CllUSADES. 95 advice to tlie daring warrior. "If joii waited then," said he, " without meeting enemies, you are now going where you ■v^'ill find enough to satisfy you. But do not put yourself either at the head or the tail of the army ; remain in the centre. I have learnt how to fight with the Tiu'ks ; and that is the best place you can choose." The "pohcy of the emperor, however, was not without efifect. The pride of a great number of the counts and barons was not proof against his caresses and his presents. There stiU exists a letter which Stephen of Blois addressed to Adela his wife, in which he felicitates himself on the welcome he had received at the court of Byzantium. After having described all the honours with which he had been received, he exclaims, whilst speaking of Alexis, " Truly, there is not at this time such a man beneath the heavens !" Bohemond could not have been less struck with the liberality of the emperor. At the sight of an apartment filled with riches, "There is here," said he, " enough to conquer king- doms with." Alexis immediately ordered these treasures to be conveyed to the tent of the ambitious Bohemond, who at first refused them with a kind of modesty, and finished by accepting them with joy. He went so far as to demand the title of grand domestic or of general of the empire of the East. Alexis, who had himself held that dignity, and who knew that it was the road to the throne, had the coiu-age to refuse him, and contented himself with promising the office to the future services of the prince of Tarentum. Thus the promises of the emperor retained for a short period the Latin princes under his laws. By his skilfully-distri- buted favours and flatteries he created a spirit of jealousy among the leaders of the crusade, ^Raymond de St. Grilles declared himself against Bohemond, whose projects he revealed to Alexis ; and whilst this prince debased himself thus before a foreign monarch, the courtiers of Byzantium repeated with warmth, that he excelled all the other chiefs of the crusade, as the sun excels the stars. The Franks, so dreaded in the field of battle, were power- less against the skill and address of Alexis, and could not sustain their advantage amidst the intrigues of a dissolute court. An abode at Byzantium might become otherv\'ise dangerous for the Crusaders ; the spectacle of the luxury of 96 HISTORY or THE CRUSADES. tlie East, whicli tliey beheld for the first time, vras calculated to corrupt them. The Christian knights, according to the report of the historians of the times, were never vreary of acbiiiring the palaces, the splendid edifices, the riches, and perhaps the heautitiil Greek women, of whom Alexis had spoken in liis letters addressed to the princes of the AYest. Tancred alone, inflexible to all solicitations, would not expose his ^irtue to the seductions of Byzantium. He deplored the weakness of his companions, and, followed by a smaU number of knights, hastened to quit Constantinople, without ha^-ing taken the oath of fidelity to the emperor. The departure and resistance of Tancred disturbed the joy which the success of his policy had given Alexis. He applauded himself for ha^'ing softened, by his presents, the principal leaders of the crusade ; but he did not so entirely depend upon his means of corruption as to be perfectly free ii-om apprehension. Every day brought new Crusaders, whom he must seduce and load with presents ; the xery riches he displayed to them might, in the end, awaken their ambition, and inspire them with most fatal designs. He felt by no means secure against their enter]^)rizes until all the annies of the AVest were on the other side of the Bos- phorus. There, "without the power of insulting the capital of the empire, they turned all their attention to their preparations for the war against the Saracens. -:\-S the Crusaders advanced across the plains of Bithynia, they saw, seeking refuge in their tents, several soldiers of Peter's army, who having escaped from the sword of the Saracens, had lived concealed in the mountains and forests. They were clothed in the rags of niiser\', and with lamenta- tions and tears related the disasters of the first army of the Christians. On the east they pointed to the fortress in which the companions of Einaldo, pressed by hunger and thirst, had surrendered to the Turks, who had massacred them all. Xear to that they showed them the mountains, * - - _ at the foot of which had perished "Walter and his whole army. Everywhere the Crusaders encountered the remains of their brethren ; evers-where they found reason to deplore the imprudence and disasters of the first soldiers of the cross ; but nothing aflected them so deeply as the sight of the camp in wliich Walter had left the women and the sick, HISTORY or TUE CRUSADES. 97 wheu he was forced by his soldiers to advance to the city of Nicea. There the Christians had been surprised by the Mussulmans, at the moment their priests were celebrating the sacrifice of the mass. Yv^omen, children, old men, all whom weakness or sickness detained in the camp, pursued to the foot of their altars, had been either borne away into slavery, or slaughtered by a pitiless enemy. The remem- brance of so great a calamity stifled discord, silenced ambi- tion, and rekindled zeal for the deliverance of the holy places. The leaders profited by this terrible lesson, and laid down useful regulations for the maintenance of discipline. The formidable armv of the Crusaders advanced in the best order through the country of the infidels, and commenced the war with the first days of the spring. Although the empire of the Seljoucide Tiu-ks, at the period of the arrival of the Crusaders in Asia, ah'eady inclined towards its fall, it nevertheless presented a formidable barrier to the warriors of the AYest. The kingdom of Ezeroum, or Eoum, extended from the Orontes and the Euphrates to the neighbourhood of the Bosphorus, and comprised the richest provinces of Asia Minor. The Turks were animated by the double enthusiasm of religion and victory. Abandoning the cares of agricultiu-e and commerce to the Greeks, their slaves, they knew no profession but that of arms, or desired other wealth but the booty obtained from their enemies. Their present chief was the son of Soliman, whose victories over the Christians had procured him the name of the Sacred Champion. David, surnamed Kilidge- Arslan, or the Sicot^d of the Lion., brought up amidst the troubles of civil war, and for a long time detained a pri- soner in the fortress of Kora^an by the orders of Malek- Scha, had ascended the throne of his father, and main- tained his position by his valour. He possessed a genius rich in resources, and a character not to be subdued by reverses. On the approach of the Crusaders, he summoned his subjects and his allies to his defence. From all the provinces of Asia Minor, and even from Persia, the bravest defenders of Islamism hastened to range themselves beneath his banner. Not content with assembling an army, he at first gave all his attention to the fortifying of the city of Nice, to which 98 HISTOJBY OS THE Cri.USADES. the earliest attempts of the Christians would be directed. This city, the capital of Bithviiia, and celebrated by the holding of two councils, was the seat of the empire of Eoum ; and it was there that the Turks, as in an advanced post, awaited an opportunity to attack Constantinople, and precipitate themselves upon Eiu'ope. High mountains defended the approach to it. Towards the west and the south the Lake of Ascanius bathed its ramparts, and pre- served to the inhabitants an easy communication with the sea. Large ditches, filled with water, surrounded the place. Tlu'ee hundred and seventy towers of brick or stone protected the double enclosure of its walls, which were wide enough for the passage of a chariot. The chosen of the Turkish warriors composed its garrison, and the sultan of Eoum, ready to defend it, was encamped upon the neighbouring mountains, at the head of an army of a hundred thousand men. Pull of just confidence in their own strength, and ignorant of that which could be opposed to them, the Crusaders advanced towards Xice. Xever had the plains of Bithynia presented a more magniiicent or a more terrible spectacle. The numbers of the Crusaders exceeded the population of many great cities of the "West, and were sufficient to cover the largest plains. The Turks, from then* encampments on the summits of the mountains, must have beheld, "^dth terror, an army composed of more than a hundred thousand horse and five hundred thousand foot,* the picked men of the warlike nations of Europe, who were come to dispute with them the possession of Asia.f * The contemporary historians who have spoken of the crusades, and who have made this enumeration, had doubtless in their minds the num- bering which is found in Scripture, which makes the number of the soldiers of Israel amount to six hundred and thirty-three thousand five huudred and fifty. I believe I ought to add some passages from the historians : Siomries qui de domibus mis egressi votv.m jam iter ceperani, simul illuc adessent, procid dubio sexagies centum millia bellatorum adessent. — Foulcher de Chartres. Opinioneyn hominum vincebat numerus, guamvis cestimarentur sejcagies centum millia itinerantium. — Malmesbury, book iv. t Such might be the character of the hundred thousand horse ; but the five hundred thousand foot by no means merited such a description. — Trans. niSTOEY OF THE CIIUSA.DES. 99 Wlien it had been determined to besiege Nice, tbe posts were distributed to the various bodies of the Christian army. The camp of the Crusaders extended over a vast plain, inter- sected by ri\'ulets Avhich fell from the mountains. Fleets from Greece and Italy transported provisions, and kept the besiegers in a state of abundance, roulcher de Chartres reckons in the camp of the Christians nineteen nations, differing in manners and language. Each nation had its quarters, which they surrounded with walls and palisades, and as they were without wood or stone for the di\dsions, they employed the bones of the Crusaders lying unbiu'ied in the country round Nice ; " by which," Anna Comnena says, " they at once constructed a tomb for the dead and an abode for the living." In each quarter they quickly raised magnifi- cent tents, which served as churches, in which the chiefs and the soldiers assembled to perform the ceremonies of religion. Different war-cries, drums, the use of which had been intro- duced into Europe by the Saracens, and sonorous horns, pierced with several holes, summonded the Crusaders to their military exercises. The barons and knights wore a hauberk^ or coat of mail, a sort of tunic, composed of smaU. rings of iron or steel. Over the coat of arms of every squire floated a blue, red, green, or white scarf. Every warrior wore a ' casque, covered with silver for the princes, of steel for the knights and nobles, and of iron for the common men. The knights bore round or square bucklers, and long shields covered the foot-soldiers. The arms employed in fight by the Crusaders were the lance, the sword, a species of knife, a poniard, called misericorde, the club, the masse cVarmes, with which a warrior could, at a single blow, strike an enemy to the earth ; the sling, from which were thrown stones and balls of lead ; the bow, and the cross-bow, a miu-derous weapon, till that time "unknown to the Orientals. The warriors of the "West did not then cover themselves with that heavy iron armour described by the historians of the middle ages, which they afterwards borrowed from the Saracens. The princes and knights bore upon their shields figures or signs of different colours, which served as rallying-points for their soldiers. Here might be seen, painted on the bucklers and standards, leopards and lions; there, stars, towers, 6* 100 UISTOEY OF TJIE CRUSADES. crosses, Asiatic trees, and European trees. Several caused to be represented on their shields the birds of passage which they had met A^dth on their route, which birds, by changing their climate annually, presented to the Crusaders a symbol of their o^tl pilgrimage. These distinctive marks at the time served to animate their valour in the field of battle, and were destined, at a future day, to be one of the attributes of rank among the nations of the West. In the immense crowd of Crusaders, no count, no prince, deigned to receive orders from any one.* The Christians presented the image of a republic under arms. This republic, in which everything appeared to be in common, recognised no other law but that of honour, no other tie but that of religion. So great was their zeal, that chiefs performed the duties of common m^en, and the latter required no signal to rush to victory or encounter death. The priests passed continually amongst the ranks, to recall to the Crusaders the maxims of scriptural morality. Their discourses were not thrown away; for, if we may credit contemporary authors, who seldom spare the champions of the cross, the conduct of the Christians during the siege of Nice offered nothing but examples of warlike virtue and subjects of edification. In the first days of the siege the Christians made several assaidts, in Avhich they uselessly displayed prodigies of valoiu*. Kilidge-Arslan, who had placed both his family and his treasures in Nice, animated the garrison by his letters, and resolved to spare no efforts to succour the besieged. He called together the chiefs of his army ; he reminded them of the advantages they had gained over the Christians, and predicted still more brilliant trophies to their valour. " The greatest disorder," he told them, "reigned in the Christian army, and the numbers of their enemies assured them the victory. They were going to fight for their wives, their children, and the country which they owed to the conquests * Quis tot principes, tot duces, tot equites, tot pedites, sine rege, sine imperatore dimicante hacteniis audivit, neque siquidem in isto exercitu alter alteri prsefuit, alius aliis imperavit. — Baldric, ch. 13. The reader may keep his attention fixed upon this, as the source of most of their disasters ; and in all the history of the Crusaders there is no miracle greater than that an army so constituted could achieve anything. IIISTOIIT or THE CRUSADES. 101 of their fathers ; the religion of the prophet implored their help, and the richest booty would be the reward of their exploits." The Mussulmans, animated by the speeches and the example of their chief, prepared for battle, and descended the mountains. Their army, divided into two bodies, attacked with impetuosity the quarter of Godfrey de Bouillon and that of Eaymond de Thoulouse, who had just arrived before Nice. The Provencals were not able to resist the first shock, but they rallied soon at the voices of Eapnond and Adhemar. " Then the two armies," says Matthew of Edessa,* who speaks of this battle, "joined, mingled, and attacked each other, with equal fury. Everywhere glittered casques and shields ; lances rung against cuirasses ; the air resounded with piercing cries ; the terrified horses recoiled at the din of arms and the hissing of arrows ; the earth trembled beneath the tread of the combatants, and the plain was for a vast space bristling with javelins." Godfrey, Tancred, and the two E/oberts, appeared to be everywhere at once, and carried death and terror into the ranks of the infidels. The Turks could not long withstand the impetuous valour of the Crusaders ; they were put to the rout, and pursued by the conquerors even to the mountains which served them as a place of refuge. The sultan, instead of deploring his defeat, only thought of avenging the disgrace of his arms, and on the very mor- row, at break of day, led back his troops to the combat. The Turks attacked the Christians, uttering loud cries. Some- times they rushed with fury into the ranks of the Crusaders, sometimes they fought at a distance, pouring in showers of arrows. Then they feigned to fly, only to return to the charge with greater fury. This second battle, in which the Turks showed the courage of despair seconded by all the stratagems of war, lasted from morning till night. The victory, which was for a long time doubtful, cost the Chris- tians two thousand lives. The Crusaders made a great many * The Armenian history of Matthew of Edessa is among the manu- scripts of the Imperial Library, " Ancien Fonds," No. 99. We quote it from a translation which M. de St. Martin has been so kind as to com- municate to us, and likewise the translation which M. Cerbeid, Armenian professor at the Imperial Library, has made for the purpose of elucidating some manuscripts. 102 HISTOKY or THE CRUSJJDES. prisoners ; four thousand Mussulmans fell on the field of battle ; the heads of a thousand were sent to Alexius ; and the rest, by the aid of machines, were cast into the city, to inform the garrison of this fresh defeat of the Turks. Kilidge-Arslan, despairing to save Nice, retired with the wreck of his army, and hastened to gather together in the provinces new forces, with which to oppose the Christians. The Crusaders, ha^-ing no longer to dread the neighbourhood of an enemy's army, pushed on the siege with Tigour. Sometimes they made approaches by galleries covered by a double roof of boards and hurdles ; sometimes thev dra2:s:ed towards the walls towers mounted on a number of wheels, constructed with several stages, and loaded ^vith arms and soldiers. Here the rams beat against the walls with re- doubled shocks ; at a short distance balistas vomited, without ceasing, beams of wood and showers of arrows ; and cata- pultas cast into the air combustible matters and enormous stones, which fell with a crash into the citv. The Christians employed in this siege all the machines* known to the Eomans. The Greeks were better acquainted with the construction of them than the Latins, and directed their operations. It is likewise probable that the Greeks who were in Xice, and subject to the power of the Mussul- mans, instructed the latter in the means of defending the place. The Christians allowed the besieged no respite, and they defended themselves with obstinate ftiry. All the inhabitants of Xice had taken arms. Their ramparts were covered with formidable machines, which hurled destruction among the assailants. Fiery darts, beams, enormous pieces of stone, launched from the height of the walls, destroyed, day after day, the labours of the Crusaders. ^WTien the Christians had made a breach in the ramparts, another wall arose from the bosom of the ruins, and presented a new barrier to the besiegers. As the Crusaders attacked without order or precaution, their imprudence and their rashness were often very fatal to * The Pisans, the Genoese, and the greater part of the nations of Italy, after the Greeks, showed themselves most skilful in the construction of machines for war. HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES. 103 them. Some were crushed "beneath the fragments of their own machines ; others fell pierced with poisoned darts ; sometimes, even, savs an historian, the besiegers sported with their efforts, catching them with iron hands,*- or hooks, which, falling upon them, seized them, and lifted them ahve into the city. After having stripped them, the Turks hung them upon their ramparts, and then launched them, by means of their machines, stark naked into the camp of the Christians. A Saracen, t whom history describes to us as a giant, performed during this siege exploits which surpass those related of fabulous antiquity. He was not less remarkable for his skill than for the strength of his arm ; he never cast a javelin in vain, and all whom he hit were sure to sink beneath the blow. AVhen he had exhausted his arrows, and could make no more use of his bow, he seized masses of rock, and rolled them down upon the assailants. One day, when he was standing on the platform of a tower attacked by Raymond, he alone defied the efforts of tlie enemies. At one time he hurled a shower of stones upon the besiegers ; then, raising his voice, he defied the bravest of the Chris- tians to the combat, loading them with the most violent abuse. All eyes were turned towards him, and a thousand arrows flew at once from the Christian army to punish his audacity. For a moment all the efforts of the besiegers • were directed against a single man. His body was covered with wounds and bristling with arrows ; but he defended himself skilfully, and was still braving the crowd of his enemies, when Godfrey, attracted by the noise of this general • attack, seized a cross-bow, and taking aim at the redoubt- able Saracen, shot him through the heart, and his immense body rolled from the platform into the ditch. This victory, which appears rather to belong to the heroes , of the epopea than to those of history, was celebrated by the acclamations of the Christian army. The Crusaders, who gained several other advantages, redoubled their zeal and * These iron hands were nothing more than the machine called the raven by the Romans, which they employed in grappling vessels : they likewise made use of it in sieges. t See William of Tyre, lib. iii. 104 niSTOET OF THE CEUSJJ^ES. tlieir valorous efforts, and the besieged "began to offer a less animated resistance. As the Saracens received provisions and reinforcements bv the Lake Ascanius, it was resolved to cut off this last resource. A large number of boats, furnished bv the Greeks, were transported bj land, and launched into the water in the night-time. AVhen day appeared, the lake was covered with barks, each bearing fifty combatants ; the flags were displayed, and floated over the waters, and the lake and its shores resounded with the various war-cries and the noise of the trumpets and drums. At this sight the besieged were struck vrith. surprise and terror ; and the Christians renewed theii' attacks with greater success. The soldiers of Eavmond had undermined the * foundations of one of the principal towers of Nice. This tower sank down in the middle of the night, and its fall was accompanied by so frightful a noise, that both the Christians and the ^Mussulmans were aroused from their sleep, and believed that an earthquake had taken place. On the followino: dav the wife of the sultan, with two infant children, endeavoured to escape by the lake, and fell into the hands of the Christians. AVhen the news of this reached the city, it greatly increased the general consternation. After a siege of seven weeks, the Mussulmans had lost all hopes of defending Xice, and the Christians were expecting every day to be able to take it by assault, when the policy of Alexius intervened to deprive their arms of the honour of a complete conquest^ This prince, who has been compared to the bird who seeks his food in the tracks of the lion, had advanced as far as Pelecania. He had sent to the army of the Crusaders a weak detachment of Greek troops, and two generals intrusted with his confidence, less for the purpose of fighting than to negotiate, and seize an opportunity to get possession of !Xice bv stratao^em. One of these ofilcers. named Butu- mitus, ha\'ing got into the city, created in the inhabitants a dread of the inexorable vengeance of the Latins, and advised them to surrender to the emperor of Constantinople. His propositions were listened to, and when the Crusaders were preparing to begin a last assault, the standards of Alexius all at once appeared upon the ramparts and towers of Nice UTSTOllY or THE CRUSADES. 105 This sight created the most lively surprise in the Christian army. The greater part of the leaders could not restrain their indignation, and the soldiers who were preparing for the assault returned to their tents trembling with rage. Their fury was increased when they found they were pro- hibited from entering more than ten at a time into a city which they had conquered at the price of their blood, and which contained riches which had been promised to them. In vain the Greeks alleged the treaties made with Alexius, and the services they had rendered the Latins during the siege ; the murmurs were never silenced for a moment, except by the largesses of the emperor. This prince received the greater part of the chiefs at Pelecania, where he duly praised their bravery and loaded them with presents. After having taken possession of Nice, he gained a new victory, perhaps not less flattering to his vanity ; he at length triumphed over the pride of Tancred, who took the oath of fidelity and obedience to him. JSTever- theless, he did not stifle the suspicions they had conceived of his perfidy. The liberty to which he restored the wife and children of the sultan, and the kind manner in w^hich he treated the Turkish prisoners, gave the Latins good reason to believe that he sought to conciliate the enemies of the Christians. Nothing more was necessary to renew former hatreds, and from this period war was almost declared between the Greeks and the Crusaders. A year had passed away since the Crusaders had quitted the West. After having reposed some time in the neigh- bourhood of Nice, they prepared to set forward on their march towards Syria and Palestine. The provinces of Asia Minor Avhich they were about to cross were still occupied by the Turks, who were animated by fanaticism and despair, and who formed less a nation than an army, always ready to fight and to pass from one place to another. In a country so long ravaged by war, the roads were scarcely to be seen, and all communication between cities was stopped. In the mountains, defiles, torrents, precipices, must constantly create impediments to the march of a numerous army ; in the plains, mostly uncultivated and barren, famine, the want of water, the burning heat of the climate, were inevitable evils. The Crusaders fancied they had conquered all their 106 HISTOSY or TKE CHL'SADES. enemies at Xice, and ^tliout taking any precaution, with- out any other guides than the Greeks, of Trhom they had so much reason to comnlain, they adyanced into a country with which they were totally unacquainted. They had no idea of the obstacles they should encoimter in their march, and their ignorance created their security. They had dJAided their army into two bodies, which marched at some distance the one from the other, across the mountains of Lesser Phrygia. By marching thus sepa- rately they could more easily procure proyisions ; but they ran the risk of being surprised by an actiye and yigilant enemy. Kilidge-Arslan, twice conquered by the Christians, had slathered to2:ether new forces. At the head of an army, which the Latin historians say amounted to two hundred thousand men, he followed the Crusaders, watching for an opportunity to surprise them, and to make them pay dearly for the conquest of Xice. ^Tiilst the main army, commanded by G-odfrey, Eaymond, Adhemar, Hugh the Great, and the count of Flanders, was crossino^ the plain of Dorylaeum, the other body, which was commanded by Bohemond, Tancred. and the duke of Xor- mandy, directed its march to the left. It was following the banks of a little riyer, and was adyancing into a yaUey to which the Latin historians haye giyen the name of Gorgoni or Ozellis.* Some intimations had been giyen by the Greeks that the enemy was niorh, but the Crusaders belieyed they had nothing to fear. After a day's march, on the eyening of the 30th of Jime, they arriyed at a place which offered them abundant pasturage, and they resolyed to encamp. The Christian army passed the night in the most profound secu- * This valley, formed on the north bv the mountain in-Eengni, and •watered by a river which runs from west to east, and which is perhaps the Bathis of the ancients, having the villages of Taochanlu and Gourmen on the eeist, and that of Yen-Euglu on the west ;* this last is but three marine leagues, or nine miles, from Dorylseum. Albert d'Aix calls this valley Dogorganhi, which appears to be the Oriental name, from which the Latin historians have made that of Gorgoni, which paints in some sort the horrors of this fatal day. Ozelli? is apparently the name which the Greeks gave it. "SVe owe these particulars to the learned inquiries of Walckeuaer. See Arrowsmith's Map of Constantinople and its environs. HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 107 rity ; but on the morrow, at daybreak, the scouts and clouds of dust on the heights announced to them the presence of the enemy. Immediately the camp was roused, and all flew to arms. Bohemond, thus become the leader of the army in the midst of peril, hastened to make the necessary dispo- sitions for receiving the Tiu-ks. The camp of the Christians was defended on one side by the river, and on the other by a marsh covered with reeds. The prince of Tarentum caused it to be surrounded with chariots, and with pahsades made of the stakes employed in erecting the tents. He next assigned the posts to the infantry, and placed the women, the children, and the sick in the centre of them. The cavalry, divided into three bodies, advanced to the head of the camp, and prepared to dispute the passage of the river. One of these bodies was commanded by Tancred, and Wil- liam his brother, and another by the duke of Normandy and the count de Chartres. Bohemond, who commanded the centre, placed himself with his horsemen upon a height, whence he might observe everything, and follow the order of the battle. Scarcely had the prince of Tarentum finished his pre- parations, when the Saracens, uttering loud cries, descended from the mountains, and, when within bow-shot, discharged a shower of arrows upon the Christians. This did very little harm to the horsemen, who were defended by their shields and their armour, but it wounded a great many of the horses, which threw the ranks into disorder. The archers, the sliugers, the crossbow-men, scattered here and there upon the flanks of the Christian army, were not able to return to the Turks all the arrows that were launched at them. The horsemen becoming impatient to make use of the lance and the SAvord, the most eager of them impru- dently crossed the river and fell upon the Saracens. But the latter avoided the melee; as fast as the Crusaders pre- sented themselves before them, they opened their ranks, dispersed, rallied at some distance, and darkened the air with a fresh cloud of arrows. The speed of their horses seconded them in these evolutions, and secured them from the pursuit of the Crusaders, whom they fought whilst appearing to fly. This mamier of fighting was quite in favour of the lOS mSTOKY OF THE CEUSADES. Turks, and rendered tlie disposition the Christian army made before the battle, entirely useless. Every leader, eyery horseman, took counsel only of his o^^ii coui'age, and aban- doned himself to its dictates. The Christians fought in dis- order upon ground with which they were quite unacquainted, and the bravest ran the greatest risks. Eobert of Paris, the same who had seated himself on the imperial throne by the side of Alexius, was mortally wounded, after having seen forty of his companions fall around him. AVilliam, the brother of Tancred. fell pierced with arrows. Tancred him- self, whose lance was broken, and who had no weapon left but his sword, onlv owed his safety to Bohemond, who came to his succour, and extricated him from the hands of the infidels. Whilst the victory between strength and agility remained uncertain, new troops of Saracens descended from the mountains and joined the fight. The sultan of Xice took advantaofe of the moment at which the cavalry of the Crusaders could scarcely resist the shock of the Turkish army, to attack their camp. He ordered a body of his choicest soldiers to draw their swords and follow him. He crossed the river, and overcame every obstacle that was placed in his way. In an instant the camp of the Christians was invaded and filed by the Turks. The Saracens massa- cred aU who came within reach of their swords ; sparing none but younor and beautiful women, whom thev destined for their seraglios. H we are to believe Albert of Aix, the daughters and the wives of the barons and knights preferred on this occasion slavery to death ; for they were seen, in the midst of the tumult, decking: themselves in their most beau- tifid vestments, and presenting themselves thus before the Saracens, seeking by the display of their charms to soften the hearts of a pitiless enemy.* In the meanwhile Bohe- mond, rendered aware of the attack upon the camp, came promptly to its succour, and forced the sultan to rejoin the body of his army. Then the confiict recommenced on the banks of the river with increased fury. The duke of Xor- mandy, who had remained alone with some of his knights * Hdc crudelitate atrocissimcE mortis stitpefactce tenercE puellce et nobilissimce, vesiibus ornari festinabant, se offerentes Turcis, ut saltern amore honestarum formarum accensi et placati, discant captivarum misereri. — Alb. Aq. lib. iii. cap. 4. IIISTOIIY or TUE CllUSADES. 109 on the field of battle, snatclied his white pennon embroi- dered with gold from the hand of him wlio bore it, and rushed into the thickest of the fight, crying nloud, " It is the will of God I It is the tvill of God)'' He cut down Avith his sword all who were in his path ; among the victims to his valour being one of the principal Turkish emirs. Tancred, Eichard prince of Salerno, Stephen count of Blois, and other chiefs, followed Eobert's example and seconded his valour. Bohemond, who was pursuing the sultan of Nice, met a troop of soldiers who were flying, and stopped them, saying, " Whither are you flying, Christian soldiers ? Do you not see that their horses have more speed than ours ? I'ollow me, I will show you a safer road than flight!" Scarcely had he spoken these words, than he rushed with them into the midst of the Saracens, and renewed the fight. In the disorder of the melee, the women, who had been liberated from the hands of the Saracens, and who were eager to revenge their outraged modesty, went through the ranks bearing refreshment to the soldiers, and exhorting them to redouble their courage to save tliem from slavery. But so many generous efforts were nearly proving useless. The Crusaders were exhausted with fatigue, and could not long resist an enemy whose force was being constantly renewed, and who overwhelmed them with numbers. The Christian army, surrounded on all sides, w^as compelled to retreat fighting and to retire to the camp, into which the Turks were upon the point of entering with them. It is im.possible to paint the confusion and the despair which reigned at that moment among the Crusaders. Priests were seen imploring, by their groans and their prayers, the assistance of the God of armies ; women filled the air wdth lamentations for the dead and the wounded ; whilst soldiers fell on their knees to the priests to obtain absolution for their sins. Amid this frightful tumult the voices of the leaders were but little attended to ; the most intrepid were covered with wounds, burning with thirst and heat, and coidd fight no longer. They despaired of seeing Jerusalem, and were in momentary expectation of death, when all at once a thousand voices proclaimed the approach of Eaymond and Grodfrey, who were advancing with the other division of the Christian army. 110 HISTORY OF THE CSUSAHES. Before the commencement of the "battle, Boliemond had sent messengers to inform them of the attack of the Turks. On learning this, the duke of Lorraine, the count de Yer- mandois, and the count of Flanders, at the head of the mam body of their army, had directed their march towards the valley of Grorgoni, followed by Eaymond and Adhemar, who brought up the baggage, at the head of the rear-guard. "When they appeared upon the ridge of the mountains on the eastern side, the sun was in the midst of his course, and his light shone full upon their shields, their helmets, and their naked swords ; the ensigns were displayed ; the noise of their drums and clarions resounded afar ; and fifty thou- sand horsemen, fully armed and eager for the fight, advanced in good order. This splendid sight revived the hopes of the Crusaders, and cast fear and dread among the infidel ranks. Scarcely had Godfrey, who, followed by fifty knights, had preceded his army, mixed with the combatants, when the sultan sounded a retreat and retired to the heights, where he hoped the Crusaders would not dare to follow him. The second body of the Christian army soon arrived on the plain smoking with the blood of the Christians. The Crusaders, recognising their brothers and companions stretched in the dust, became impatient to revenge their death, and with loud cries demanded to be led to the fight. Even the com- batants who had been fighting from morning, now would not hear of repose. The Clu'istian army immediately formed in order of battle. Bohemond, Tancred, and Robert of Xor- mandy, placed themselves on the left ; Grodfrey, the count of Flanders, and the count of Blois led on the right wing. Raymond commanded the centre, and the rear-guard, or body of reserve, was placed under the orders of Adhemar. Before the leaders gave the word, the priests passed among the ranks, exhorting the Crusaders to fight manfully, and gi\dng them their benedictions. The soldiers and the leaders, drawing their swords, and threatening the enemy, cried with one voice, " Jif is the will of God! It is the tcill of God!^' and this animating war-cry was repeated by the echoes of the mountains and the valleys. At length the Christian army advanced, marching full of confidence against the Turks, for whom the rocks and the hills appeared to be a sure place of refuge. HISTORY OE THE CRUSADES. IH The Saracens remained motionless on tlie mountains, and had apparently exhausted their arrows. The nature of the ground did not allow them to perform their rapid evolutions or pursue their usual tactics. JN^either were they animated by the hopes of victory ; but, in an attitude which expressed fear, they awaited their enemies in silence. The count of Thoulouse, who attacked them in front, broke through their ranks at the first charge. Tancred, Godfrey, Hugh, and the two Roberts, attacked them on their flanks with the same advantage. Adhemar, who had gone round the mountaias, directed his attack upon the rear of the enemies, and com- pleted the disorder. The Saracens found themselves sur- rounded by a forest of lances, and became only solicitous to secure safety by escaping over the rocks and through the woods. A great number of emu's, three thousand officers, and more than twenty thousand soldiers, lost their lives in the battle and the flight. The camp of the enemy, which was at two leagues' dis- tance, fell into the hands of the Crusaders. The conquerors there found abundance of pro\dsions, magnificently orna- mented tents, immense treasiu'es, all sorts of beasts of biu'then, and above all, a gi'eat number of camels. The sight of these animals, which were then unknown in the AYest, caused them as much siu'prise as joy. They mounted the horses of the Saracens, to pursue the remains of the conquered army. Towards nightfall they returned to their camp loaded with booty, preceded by their priests, singuig hymns and canticles of thanksgiving. Both leaders and sol- diers had covered themselves with glory in this great conflict. 'We have named the principal leaders of the army; historians point out many more, such as Baldwin of Beauvais, Gralon de Calmon, Graston de Beam, Gerard de Cherisi, all of whom signalized themselves by exploits, says AVilliam of Tyre, the remembrance of which t\t11 never perish. The day after the victory the Crusaders repaired to the field of battle for the purpose of burying the dead. They had lost fom^ thousand of their companions, and they paid them the last duties in tears ; the clergy offered up their prayers for them, and the army honoured them as martyrs. They soon, however, passed from funeral cere- monies to transports of the wildest joy. On stripping the 112 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. Saracens, they quarrelled for their blood-stained habits. In the excess of their delight, some of the soldiers would put on the armour of their enemies, and clothing themselves in the flowing robes of the Mussulmans, would seat themselves in the tents of the conquered, and, with imitative gestures, ridicule the luxury and customs of Asia. Such as were without arms took possession of the swords and crooked sabres of the Saracens, and the archers filled their quivers with the arrows which had been shot at them during the fight. The intoxication of victory, however, did not prevent their doing justice to the bravery of the Turks, who, from that time, boasted of having a common origin with the Franks. Contemporary historians, who praise the valour of the Turks, add, that they only wanted to be Christians to make them quite comparable to the Crusaders. That which, otherwise, proves the high idea the Crusaders entertained of their enemies, is, that they attributed their victory to a miracle. Two days after the battle, says Albert of Aix, although no one was pursuing them, the infidels continued flying, exclaiming as they went, " It is the icill of God ! It is the tvill of QodV'^ After the victory, the Christian army invoked the names of St. George and St. Demetrius, who had been seen, as they said, fighting in the ranks of the Christians. This pious fable was accredited among both the Latins and Grreeks. A long time subsequent to the victory, the Armenians erected a church in the neighbour- hood of Dorylaeum, where the people were accustomed to assemble on the first Friday of March, and believed that they saw St. Greorge appear on horseback, lance in hand. Whilst the Crusaders were felicitating themselves on their victory, the sultan of jS'ice, who did not dare again to encounter the Christians in the field, undertook to deso- late the country which he coidd not defend. At the head of the wreck of his army, and ten thousand Arabs who had joined him, he preceded the march of the Christians, and laid waste his own provinces. The Turks burnt the harvests, pillaged the cities, the boiirgs, and the houses of the Chris- tians, and carried away in their train the ^^dves and children of the Greeks, whom they detained as hostages. The banks of the Meander and the Ca'ister, Cappadocia, Pisidia, HISTOEY OF THE CllUSADES. 113 Isaiiria, and all the country as far as Mount Taurus, were given up to pillage, and entirely laid waste. "When the Crusaders resumed their march, they deter- mined not to separate again, as they had done on entering Phrygia. This resolution certainly rendered them safe from surprise or hostile attack, but it exposed so numerous an army to the risk of perishing b}^ famine and misery in a country devastated bv the Turks.* The Christians, who marched without forethought, and were never provisioned for more than a few days, were not long before they felt the want of food. They found nothing on their route but deserted fields, and soon had no other subsistence but the roots of wild plants and the ears of corn which had escaped the ravages of the Saracens. By far the greater number of the horses of the army perished for want of water and forage. Most of the knights, who were accustomed to look with contempt on foot-soldiers, were obliged, like them, to march on foot, and carry their arms, the weight of which was enough to exhaust them. The Christian army presented a strange spectacle — knights were seen mounted on asses and oxen, advancing at the head of their companies ; rams, goats, pigs, dogs, every anim^al they could meet with, was loaded with baggage, which, for the most part, was left abandoned on the roads.f The Crusaders then traversed that part of Phrygia which the ancients called "burning Phrygia." AVhen their army arrived in the country of Sauria,;]: they endured all the hor- rors of thirst, of which the most robust soldiers could not resist the terrible power. We read in William of Tyre, that five hundred perished in one day. Historians say that women were seen giving premature birth to their ofl:spring in the midst of burning and open fields ; whilst others, in * I have madp earnest researches to discover by vv^hat means the Chris- tian army was provisioned, and I can learn nothing beyond the fact that the Crusaders carried hand-mills with them. t Tunc autem vcre vel riderefis, vel forsiian pietate lachrymaremini, cum miiltis riostrum jumentis egentes, verveces, capras, sues, canes, de rebus stiis onerabant. Equites etiam supra boves cum amis suis interdum scandebant. — Ful. Cam. apud Bougais, p. 589. t The Isauria trachea of the ancients. 11^ niSTOET or THE CEUSADES. despair, wi'th cliildreii tlier could no longer nourisli, implored death ^itli loud cries, and, in the excess of their agony, rolled naked on the earth in the sight of the whole armj.* The authors of the time do not forget to mention the falcons and birds of prev which the knights had brought with them into Asia, and which almost all perished under the burning sun. In vain the Crusaders called for a repetition of the miracles which Grod had formerly wrought for his chosen people in the desert. The sterile valleys of Pisidia resounded during several days with their prayers, with their complaints, and perhaps, likewise, with their blasphemies. In the midst of these burning countries they at length made a discovery which saved the army, but which was veiy near becoming as fatal to them as the horrors of thirst. The dogs which had followed the Crusaders had abandoned their masters, and wandered over the plains and into the mountains in search of a spring. t One day several of them were seen returning to the camp with their paws and their hides covered with moist sand, and it was judged that they had foimd water. Several soldiers obsen^ed their track, and discovered a river. The whole army rushed towards it in a mass. The Crusaders, famishing with heat and thirst, cast themselves headlong into the water, and quenched the inward heat without moderation or precaution. More than three hundred of them died almost immediately, and many fell seriously ill, and could not continue their march. At lencjth the Christian armv arrived before Antiochetta, which opened its gates to them. This city, the capital of Pisidia, was situated in the midst of a territory interspersed with fields, rivers, and forests. The sight of a smiling and fertile country invited the Cliristians to repose for a few days, and made them soon forget all the evils they had undergone. As the fame of their victories and their march had sprerd throughout the neighbouring countries, the greater part of * QuamplurimcB namque fcEtae mtdieres exsiccatis faucibus, arefactis visceribus media plated in omnium aspectu fcetus siios enixm relinque- bant ; alicp mlsercE juxta foetus suos in via cornmuni volutabantur, omnem pudorem et secreta aua oblita. — Alb. Aquem. lib. iii. cap. 2. t This remarkable circumstance is taken from the Life of Godfrey, by Jean de Launel, ecuyer seigneur de Cbantreau, and Du Chaubert. HISTORY OF THE CETJSADES- 115 the cities of Asia Minor, some from fear, and others from affection to the Christians, sent deputies to offer them supplies and to swear obedience to them. Thus they found themselves masters of several countries of whose names or geographical position they were perfectly ignorant. Most of the Crusaders were far from being aware that the provinces they had just subdued had seen the pha- lanx of Alexander* and the armies of Rome, or that the G-reeks, the inhabitants of these countries, were descended from the Grauls, who, in the time of the second Brennus, had left Illyria and the shores of the Danube, had crossed the Bosphorus,* pillaged the city of Heraclea, and founded a colony on the banks of the Halys. Without troubling themselves with traces of antiquity, the new conquerors ordered the Christian churches to be rebuilt, and scoured the country to collect provisions. During their abode at Antiochetta, the joy of their con- quests was, for a moment, disturbed by the fear of losing two of their most renowned chiefs. Eaymond, count of Thoulouse, fell dangerously ill. As his life was despaired of, they had already laid him upon ashes, and the bishop of Orange was repeating the litanies of the dead, when a Saxon count came to announce that Raymond would not die of this disease, and that the prayers of St. Grilles had obtained for him a truce loitJi death. These words, says AVilliam of Tyre, restored hope to all the bystanders, and soon Eajnnond showed himself to the whole army, which celebrated his cure as a miracle. About the same time, Godfrey, who had one day wandered into a forest, was in great danger from defending a soldier who was attacked by a bear. He conquered the bear, but being wounded in the thigh, and the blood flowing copiously, he was carried in an apparently dying state into the camp of the Crusaders. The loss of a battle would have spread less consternation than the sad spectacle which now presented itself to the eyes of the Christians. All the Crusaders shed tears, and put up prayers for the life of Godfrey. The wound did not prove dangerous, but weakened by the loss of blood, the duke de Bouillon was a length of time before * Consult, for this expedition, Pelloutier, Histoire des Celtes, Vol. I.— 7 116 HISTOllY OF THE CEUSADES. lie regained Ha strength. The count de Thoulouse had likewise a long convalescence, and both were obliged during several weeks to be borne in a litter in the rear of the army. Greater evils threatened the Crusaders. Hitherto peace had reigned amongst them, and their union constituted their strength. All at once, discord broke out amongst some of the leaders, and was on the point of extending to the whole armv. Tancred and Baldwin, the brother of Grodfrey, were sent out on a scouring party, either to disperse the scattered bands of Turks, or to protect the Christians, and obtain from them assistance and pro\'isions. They advanced at first into Lvcaonia as far as the city of Iconium ;* but ha\ing met Avith no enemy, and finding the country* abandoned, they directed their march towards the sea-coast, through the mountains of Cilicia. Tancred, who marched first, arrived without obstacle under the walls of Tarsus, a celebrated city of antiquity, which takes great pride from having been the birthplace of St. Paul. The Turks who defended the place consented to display the flag of the Christians on their walls, and promised to surrender if they were not speedily relieved. Tancred, whom the inhabitants, for the most part Christians, alreadv considered as their deliverer, was encamping without the walls, when he saw the detachment commanded by Baldwin approach. The leaders and the soldiers congra- tulated each other on their reunion, and expressed the greater joy from having, reciprocally, taken each other for enemies. But this harmony was soon troubled by the pretensions of Baldwin. The brother of G-odfrey was indignant at seeinf the colours of Tancred and Bohemond flying on the walls of Tarsus. He declared that as his troop was the more numerous, the city ought to belong to him. He de- manded, at least, that the two parties should enter together into the place, and should share the spoils of the garrison and the inhabitants. Tancred rejected this proposition with scorn, and said that he had not taken arms for the purpose of pillaging Christian cities. At these words Baldwin broke into a rage, and bestowed the grossest abuse upon Tancred, Bohemond, and the whole race of Xorman adventurers. * Now Konieh, in Caramania. HISTOET OF THE CRUSADES. 117 After long debates, it was agreed on both sides, that the affair should be decided by the inhabitants, and that the city- should belong to "whichever they should choose for master. The assembled people at first appeared inclined towards Tancred, to whom they thought they owed their deliverance; but Baldwin made the Tui-ks and the inhabitants sensible of the superiority of his numbers, and threatened them vdth his anger and his vengeance. The fear which he inspired decided the suffrages in his favom- ; and the flag of Tancred was cast into the ditches of the town, and replaced by that of Baldwin.* Blood was about to flow to avenge this outrage, but the Italians and Normans, appeased by their chief, listened to the voice of moderation, and quitted the disputed city to seek other conquests elsewhere. Baldwin entered in triumph into the place, of which the fortress and several towers were still in possession of the Turks. He so much feared that his new conquest would be disputed, that he refused to open the gates to three hundred Crusaders whom Bohemond had sent to the assistance of Tancred, and who demanded an asylum for the night. These latter, being obliged to pass the night in the open field, were siu-prised and massacred by the Tiu-ks. The following morning, at the sight of their brethren stretched lifeless, and stripped of their arms and vestments, the Christians could not restrain their indigna- tion. The city of Tarsus resounded with their groans and complaints. The soldiers of Baldwin flew to arms, they threatened the Turks who still remained in the place, and vowed vengeance upon their own leader, whom they accused of the death of their companions. At the first outbreak of this danger Baldwin was obliged to fly, and take refuge in one of the towers. A short time after he appeared sur- rounded by his own people, mourning with them the death * Ancient history presents us with something exceedingly like that which is rel-ited here. During the civil wars that divided the Roman empire under the triumvirate, Cassius and Dolabella disputed the posses- sion of the town of Tarsus. Some, says Appian, had crowned Cassius, who had arrived first in the city; others had crowned Uolabella, who came after him. Each of the two parties had given a character of public authority to their proceedings; and in conferring honours, first to one and then to the other, they each contributed to the misfortunes of a city so versatile in its likings. — Appian, Hist, of the Civil Wars, b. iv. c. 8. 118 HISTORY OF THE CErSADES. of the Crusaders, and excused himself by sajdng, that he had bound hhnself by an oath that none but his o\Yn soldiers should enter the town. Thus speaking, he pointed to several towers which were still occupied by the Turks. In the midst of the timiidt, some Christian women, whose noses and ears the Turks had cut off, by their presence added to the fury of the soldiers of Baldwin, and they immediately fell upon the Tui'ks who remained in the city, and massacred them all \\'ithout pity. In the midst uf these scenes of violence, Baldwin received an unexpected reinforcement. A fleet was seen approaching the coast full sail. The soldiers of Baldwin, who expected to have to deal with more infidels, hastened fullv armed to the shore. As the fleet drew near, they interrogated the crew of the first ship. The crew replied in the Frank lan- guage. Soon they learnt that these, whom they had taken to be Mussulmans, were pirates from the ports of Flanders and Holland. These corsairs had for ten years cruised in the Mediterranean, where thev had made themselves re- markable by their exploits, and still more frequently by their pii^acies. Upon hearing of the expedition of the Christians of the West, they had made sail for Syria and Palestine. On the imitation of the Crusaders, they joA'fully entered the port of Tarsus. Their chief, Guymer, who was a Boulonnais, recognised Baldwin, the son of his ancient master, and promised with his companions to serve under him. Thev all took the cross, and with it the oath to share the glory and the labours of the holy war. Aided by this new reinforcement, and lea^'ing a strong garrison in the city of Tarsus, Baldwin resumed his march, follo^ving the route of Tancred, and soon came in sight of Malmistra,* of which the Italians liad just taken possession. The latter, on seeing Baldwin, were persuaded that he was come to dispute their new conquest, and prepared to repulse force by force. AYhen Tancred endeavom^ed to appease his irritated soldiers, murmiu-s arose against him. They accused him of having forgotten the honour of chivalry, his modera- tion beinof in their eves nothino: but a shameful weakness. * This is the Me»sis of Abouifeda. See an article upon this city in Mannert, torn. vi. p. 2, p. 101, which is very learned and very well done. niSTORY or THE CUUSABES. 119 The effect that such reproaches must have had upon a spirit like that of Taucred, may be easily imagined. The moment they suspected his coui^age, he no longer made an ettort to restrain his anger, and swore to avenge his wrongs in the blood of his rival. He himself led the soldiers, and rushed out of the town at their head to encounter the troops of Baldwin. They at once came to blows. On both sides courage was equal; but the fury of revenge doubled the efforts of the Italians. The soldiers of Baldwin had the advantage in numbers. They fought with the animosity peculiar to ci\al wars ; but at length the troops of Tancred were forced to give way ; they left many of their companions in the hands of their adversaries and upon the field of battle, and re-entered the town deploring their defeat in silence. jN'ight restored calm to their excited spirits. The soldiers of Tancred had acknowledged the superiority of the Flemings, and believed, as blood had flowed, they had no longer any outrage to avenfre, whilst the followers of Baldwin remem- bered that the men whom they had conquered were Chris- tians. On the morrow nothing was heard on either side but the voice of humanity and religion. The two chiefs at the same time sent deputies, and in order to avoid an appearance of asking for peace, both attributed their overtiuTs to the inspiration of Heaven. They swore to forget their quarrels, and embraced in sight of the soldiers, who reproached them- selves with the sad effects of their animosity, and longed to expiate the blood of their brothers by new exploits against the Turks. Tancred with his troop departing from Malmistra, passed in triumph along the coasts of Cilicia, and penetrated as far as Alexandretta, of which he easily took possession. In proportion as he made himself dreaded by his enemies, he made himself the more beloved by his companions. When he rejoined the Christian army covered with glory and loaded with booty, he heard all around him nothing but praises of his moderation and valour, The presence of Baldwin, who had preceded him, on the contrary, oidy excited murmurs, as they attributed to him the death of so many Christian soldiers. Grodfrey loudly blamed the ambition and avarice of his brother. But caring little for these reproaches, Bald- win yielded to his rival, without pain, the suflrages of the •■-? 120 HISTORY OF THE CfiUSADES. army, and preferred a principality to the love and esteem of the Crusaders ; and fortune soon offered him an opportunity of realizing his ambitious projects. ( During the siege of ]S^ice, an Armenian prince named ^j^Ht4iXPanciatius had come to join the ChiTifian army. In his youth lie had been king of northern Iberia. Driven from his kingdom by his own subjects, and for a length of time a prisoner at Constantinople, he had followed the Crusaders in the hope of re-concpiering his states. He had particularly attached himself to the fortunes of Baldwin, whose aspiring character he understood, and whom he hoped to associate in his designs. He spoke to him continually of the rich pro- vinces which extended along the two shores of the Euphrates.^ These provinces, he said, were inhabited by a great number of Christians, and the Crusaders had but to present them- selves there to make themselves masters of them. These discourses inflamed the ambition of Baldwin, who resolved a second time to qiut the main army of the Christians, and to go to the banks of the Euphrates, to conquer a coiuitry of such boasted wealth. He had just lost his wife, Gimdechilde, who had accom- panied him to the crusade, and who was buried with great pomp by the Christians. This loss did not stop him in the execution of his projects. As he was not beloved in the Christian army, when he was ready to set out no leader was willing to join him, and several even of his own soldiers refused to accompany him. He could only take with him from a thousand to fifteen hundred foot-soldiers, a troop despised in the army, and two hundred horsemen, seduced by the hopes of pillage. But nothing coidd abate his ar- dour, and as the chiefs of the crusade had decided in a council that nobody should be allowed to withdraw from the standard of the armv, he set out the dav before this decision was published in the camp of the Christians.* At the head of his little army he advanced into Armenia, finding no enemy able to impede his march. Consternation reigned among the Turks, and the Cln^istians, everj^where eager to throw off the yoke of the Mussulmans, became powerful auxiliaries to the Crusaders. > * When Baldwin quitted the Christian army, it had arrived at Marrash. irisTOiiY or THE crju^ADES. 121 Turbessel and Eavendel were tlie first cities that opeued tlieir gates to the fortuiiate conqueror. This conquest soon produced a separation between Baldwin and Pancratius, who both entertained the same projects of ambition ; but this ditference did not at all delay the march of the brother of Grodfrey. The Crusader prince opposed violence to cun- ning ; he threatened to treat his rival as an enemy, and thus drove him away from tlie theatre of his victories. Baldwin wanted neither guide nor assistance in a country of which the inhabitants all flocked out to meet him. As he pursued his march, fame carried his exploits into the most distant places ; the intelligence of his conquests preceded him be- yond the Euphrates, and reached even the city of Edessa. This city, so celebrated in the times of the primitive church, was the metropolis of Mesopotamia. As it had escaped the invasion of the Turks, all the Christians of that neighbourhood had, with their riches, taken refuge within its waUs. A G-reek prince, named Theodore,* deputed by the emperor of Constantinople, was the governor of it, and maintained his power by paying tribute to the Saracens. The approach and the victories of the Crusaders produced the most lively sensations in the city of Edessa, The people and the governor joined in soliciting the aid of Baldwin. The bishop and twelve of the principal inhabitants were deputed to meet the Crusader prince. They described to him the Avealth of Mesopotamia, the devotion of their fellow- citizens to the cause of Jesus Christ, and conjured him to rescue a Christian city from the domination of the infidels. Baldwin readily yielded to their prayers, and immediately prepared to cross the Euphrates. He had the good fortune to escape the Turks, who were waiting for him on his passage, and without drawing a sword he arrived in the territories of Edessa. As he had placed garrisons in the cities which had fallen into his power, he had no greater force with him than one hundred horsemen. As soon as he drew near to the city, the whole * None of the Latin historians have given us the name of the governor of Edessa. The name of Theodore is found in the History of Matthew of Edessa, from which we have taken, according to the translation of M. Corbied, several curious details, which would be sought for in vain elsewhere. 122 HISTOKY or TKE CEUS.U)£S. population came out to meet him, bearing branches of olive and singing hymns. It must have been a curious spectacle to behold so small a number of warriors, surrounded by an immense multitude, who implored their support and pro- claimed them their hberators. They were welcomed with^ so much enthusiasm, that the prince or governor of Edessa, who was not beloved by the people, took umbrage, and began to see in them enemies more to be dreaded by him than the Saracens. In order to attach their chief to himself, and engage him to support his authority, he offered him great riches. But the ambitious Baldwin, whether because he expected to obtain more from the affections of the people and the fortune of his arms, or that he considered it dis- graceful to place himself in the pay of a foreign prince, refused with contempt the offers of the governor of Edessa, and even threatened to retire and abandon the city. The inhabitants, who di*eaded his departure, assembled in a tumultuous manner, and implored him Avith loud cries to remain amonsf them : the orovernor himself made new efforts to detain the Crusaders, and to iaterest them in his cause. As Baldwin had made it pretty clearly understood that he woidd never defend states that were not his own, the prince of Edessa, who was old and childless, determined to adopt him for his son and nominate him Ms successor. The cere- mony of the adoption was performed in the presence of the Ci-usaders and the hihabitants. According to the custom of the Orientals,* the Greek prince made Baldwin pass be- tween his shirt and his naked skin, and kissed liim as a sign of alliance and paternity. The aged wife of the governor repeated the same ceremony, and from that time Baldwin, considered as then' son and heir, neglected nothing for the defence of a cit}' which was to belong to him. An Armenian prince, named Constantine, who governed a province in the neighbourhood of Mount Taurus, had also come to the assistance of Edessa. Baldwin, seconded by this useful auxiliarv. and followed by his own horsemen and the troops of Theodore, took the field, in order to attack /• /. * Intra lineam interulam, quam nos rocamus cotnisiatn, nudum intrare eum faciens, sibi adstrhijcit ; et deinde omnia osculo libata firmavit ; idem et mulier post modum fecit. — Guib. Abb. lib. iii. ad finem. V HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 125 tune, hastened to Edessa, to increase the army and the court of the new monarch. The advantages which resulted to the Crusaders from the foundation of this new state, have made their historians forget that they were the fruit of injustice and Aaolence. The principaHty of Edessa served as a check upon the Turks and the Saracens, and was, to the period of the second crusade, the principal bidwark of the power of the Christians in the East. \lil^ BOOK III. A.D. 1097—1099. The great army of the Crusaders had traversed the states of the sultan of !Xice and Iconium ; throughout its passage the mosques were given up to the flames or converted into churches : but the Christians had neglected to fortify the cities of which they had-rendered themselves masters, or to found a military colony in a country wherein the Turks were always able to rally and re-establish their fonnidable power. This fault, which must be attributed to a too great confidence in victory, became fatal to the Crusaders, who, in the midst of their tiiumphs, lost the means of communication -sNith Europe, and thus deprived themselves of the assistance they might have received from Greece and the "U^est. TeiTor opened to the pilgrims aU the passages of Mount Taurus. Throughout their triumphant march the Christians had nothing to dread but famine, the heat of the climate, and the badness of the roads. They had, particularly, much to suffer in crossins: a momitain situated between Coxon and Marash, which their historians denominate '* The Mountain of the Devil.'" This mountain Avas very steep, and offered only one narrow path, in which the foot-soldiers marched with difficulty; the horses, which could not keep their footinfj, draiTojed each other down the abvsses ; and the army lost a great part of its baggage. In the course of this disastrous march, savs an historian who was an eve-witness, the soldiers gave themselves up to despair, and refused to proceed. Being encimibered Vidth their arms, they either sold them at a low price or cast them down the precipices. On all sides were to be seen waniors wounded by their frequent falls, and pilgrims exhausted with fatigue, who could not con- tinue their route, and filled the air and mountains with their cries and groans. The passage of the Christian army across this mountain occupied several days ; but when they had at length passed the chains of Mount Taurus and Mount Amanus, the sight of Syria revived their courage, and made HISTORY OF TUE CIUJSADE3. 123 the nearest Turkish cities. lie defeated the troops of the emir Baidoukh in several encounters, and forced them to retire into the city of Samosata. The Christians approached the place, pillaged the subiu-bs, and the houses of the neigh- bourhood, without meeting with the least resistance ; but as they were engaged in dividing their booty, they were attacked unexpectedly by the infidels and routed. After having lost two thousand lighting men, they returned to Edessa, where the news of their defeat spread the greatest consternation. Misunderstandings soon broke out between Theodore and Baldwin, who mutually reproached each other with their reverses. The Edessenians, who had declared for the Cru- sader prince, would not hear of any other master, and were not long in satisfying his impatience to reign. They forgot that Theodore^ by his courage and skill, had maintained their independence in the centre of a country constantly exposed to the invasions of the Mussulmans. They accused him of having burdened his subjects with imposts, to satisfy the avidity of the Turks, and wdth having employed the power of infidels to oppress a Christian people. They formed, says Matthew of Edessa, a plot against his life, of which Baldwin w^as not ignorant. Warned of the danger which threatened him, Theodore retired into the citadel, which commanded the city, and placed no reliance on anything but force to defend himself against the seditious. Upon this a most furious tumult w'as created among the people. The enraged midtitude flew to arms, and pillaged the houses of the inhabitants who were suspected of being the partisans of Theodore. They swore to treat him as a declared enemy. They attacked the citadel, some beating in the gates, and others scaling the walls. Theodore seeing that his enemies were masters of one part of the ramparts, no longer endeavoured to defend himself, but proposed to capitulate. He agreed to abandon the place, and to renounce the government of Edessa, requesting permission to retire, with his family, to the city of Melitene. This proposition was accepted with joy ; the peace was signed, and the inha- bitants of Edessa swore upon the cross and the Evangelists to respect the conditions of it. On the following day, whilst the governor was preparing for his departure, a fresh sedition broke out in the city. The 7* 124 HISTORY or TUE CfiUSADES. factious repented of ha-ving allowed a prince whom they had so cruellv outraged, to live. Xew accusations were brought against him. It was said that he had only signed the peace Avith perfidious intentions. The furv of the people soon rose above all bounds, and a thousand voices demanded the death of Theodore. They penetrated, tumultuously, into the citadel, seized the aged governor in the midst of his family, and precipitated him from the heights of the ramparts. His bleeding^ body was dragged thi'ough the streets by the multitude, who prided themselves upon ha^-ing murdered an old man as much as if they had gained a -^-ictory over the infidels. Bald^vin, who may, at least, be accused of not having defended his adoptive father, was soon surrounded by all the people of Edessa, who ofiered hun the government of the cit}-. He refused it at fii'st, "but in the end," says an old historian, " they combated his objections with so many reasons, that they forced him to consent, and estabhshed him instead of the other." BaldAvin was proclaimed hberator and master of Edessa. Seated on a blood-^^^tained throne, and in constant di-ead of the fickle nature of the people, he soon inspired his subjects with as much fear as his enemies. "Wliilst the seditious trembled before hun, he extended the limits of his territories. He puiThased the city of Samosata with the treasures of his predecessor, and obtaiQed posses- sion of several other cities by force of arms. As fortune favoured him ia everything, the loss even, which he had lately experienced, of his wife, Gundechilde, promoted his projects of aggi-andizement. He espoused the niece of an Ai-menian prince, and by that new alliance he extended his possessions as far as ]\Iount Taurus. All Mesopotamia, with both shores of the Euphrates, acknowledged his authority, and Asia then beheld a French knight reigning without dis- pute over the richest provinces of the ancient kingdom of Assyria. Baldwin thought no more of the dehverance of Jerusalem, but gave all his attention to the defence and aggrandizement of his states.* 3Iany knights, dazzled by such a rapid for- * In the first book of the Jerusalem Delivered, when the Eternai turns his eyes on the Crusaders, he sees in Edessa the ambitious Baldwin, who only aspires to human grandeurs, with which he is solely occupied. niSTORY OF THE CEUSADES. 129 the power of the Saracens, in the first age of the Hegira ; it was afterwards retaken by the Greeks, under Nicephorus Phocas ; and, fourteen years before, the Turks had rendered themselves masters of it. At the approach of the Christians, the greater part of the Saracens of the neighbouring cities and provinces had sought security in Antioch for them- selves, their ^^dves, and treasures. Baghisian,* or Accien, grandson of Malek-Scha, who had obtained the sovereignty of the city, had shut himself up in it, with seven thousand horse and twenty thousand foot-soldiers. The siege of Antioch presented many difficulties and dangers. The chiefs of the Crusaders deliberated upon the propriety of imdertaking it ; and the first who spoke in the council thought that it would be imprudent to commence a siege at the beginning of wiater. They did not dread the arms of the Saracens, but the rains, the tempests, and the horrors of famine. Thev advised the Crusaders to await in the provinces and neighboui'ing cities the arrival of the aid promised by Alexius, and the return of spring, by which time the army would have repaired its losses, and received beneath its standards fresh reinforcements from the AYest. This counsel was listened to ^ith much impatience by the greater part of the leaders, among whom were conspicuous the legate Adhemar and the duke of Lorraine. " Ought we not, at once," said they, "to take advantage of the terror spread among the enemy ? Is it right to leave them time to rally and recover from their alarm ? Is it not well kno\vn that they have implored the succour of the caliph of Bagdad and the sultan of Persia ? Every moment of delay may strengthen the armies of the Mussulmans, and rob the Christians of the fruits of their victories. You talk of the arrival of the Greeks ; but do we stand in need of the Greeks to attack enemies already many times conquered ? Was it necessary to await for new Crusaders from the West, who * The name of this Seljoucide prince has been disfigured by the greater part of the Latin historians. Tudebode and the monk Robert call him Cassianns; Foucher de Chartres, Gratianus ; William of Tyre, Acxianus; Albert d'Aix, Darsianus : M. de Guignes, and the greater part of the Orientalists, call him, after Abulfeda, Baghistan; but in oiher Oriental historians he is named Akby Syran (brother of the black), which is more conformable to the corrupt name of Accien, which he bears in our " History of the Crusades." 130 IIISTOEY or THE CRUSADES. Tvould come to share tlie glories and the conquests of the Christian army, ^^ithout having shared its dangers and its labours r As to the rigours of winter, which they appeared so much to di-ead, it was an insult to the soldiers of Jesus Christ to think them incapable of endiu-ing cold and rain. It was, in some sort, to compare them to those birds of passage which fly away and hide themselves in secret places, when they see the bad season approach.* It was, besides, impossible to think that a siege could be protracted to any length with an army full of ardour and courage. The Cru- saders had only to remember the siege of ]S'ice, the battle of Dorylfeum, and a thousand other exploits. AVhy should they be restrained by the fear of want and famine r Had they not hitherto found in war all the resources of war ? Thev must know that victory had always suppUed the wants of the Crusaders, and that abundance awaited them in that city of Antioch, which would not be long in opening its gates to them." This discourse won over the most ardent and the most brave. Such as entertained a contrary opinion dreaded to be accused of timidity, and remained silent. The council decided that the siege of Antioch should at once be com- menced : and on that verv day the whole Cliristian army advanced under the walls of the city. Bohemond and Tan- cred took their posts on the east, opposite the gate of St. Paul ; to the right of the Italians were the Xormans, the Bretons, the Flemings, and the French, commanded by the two Eoberts ; the count de Yermandois and the count de Chartres encamped towards the north, opposite the gate of the Dog ; the count of Thoulouse, the bishop of Puy, and the duke of Lorraine, ^vith the troops they commanded, occupied the space which extended from the gate of the Dog to the spot where the Orontes turning towards the west approaches the walls of Antioch. The Crusaders left open the southern part, defended by the mountain of Orontes, and likewise neglected to invest the western side of the city, * Plurimum quoque interest ad disciplinam militiae, insuescere milites nostros, non solum parta victoria frui, sed si etiam res sit lentior, pati tadium, et quamvis serae spei exitum eispectare, nee »tcut eestivas aveSy instante hyeme, tecta ae recessum circumspicere . — Accolti, de Bello contra Turcas, lib. ii. HISTOEY or THE CRUSADES. 127 them quickly forget all their fatigues. That country into which they were about to enter embraced within its terri- tories Palestine, the object of all their wishes, prayers, and labours. In all ages Syria has attracted conquerors, by the fertility of its soil and its wealth. In the time of David and Solomon, it already boasted sevei-al flourishing cities. At the period of the Crusades it had undergone a great many re^'olutions, but its fields, though covered with celebrated ruins, still preserved some portion of their fecundity. The first of the Syrian provinces that presented itself to the eyes of the Christians was the territory of Antioch. Towards the east extended the states of the sultans of Aleppo and Mousoul. Further, at the foot of Mount Libanus, was seen the principality of Damascus ; on the coast stood Laodicea, Tripoli, and the cities of Sidon and Tyre, so celebrated in both sacred and profane antiquity. All these cities, which scarcely maintained a shadow of their former splendour, were governed by emirs who had shaken off the yoke of the sultans of Persia, and reigned as sovereign princes over the ruins of the empire of Malek-Scha. The Crusaders advanced as far as the ancient Chalcis, then called Artesia, of which they made themselves masters. To arrive before Antioch they had to pass over a bridge built over the Orontes, and defended by two towers masked with iron. JS^othing could resist the van, commanded by the duke of JNTormandy. The Normans soon got possession of the bridge, and passed the river. Terror seized upon the Mussulman ranks, and they sought shelter, with the greatest haste, within the walls of the city. The whole Christian army, drawn up in battle array, with trumpets sounding and flags flying, marched towards Antioch and encamped within a mile of its walls. The sight of this city, so celebrated in the annals of Christianity, revived the enthusiasm of the Crusaders. It was within the walls of xlntioch that the disciples of Jesus Christ first assumed the title of Christians, and the apostle Peter was named the first pastor of the young church. No city had contained within its bosom a greater number of martyrs, saints, and doctors ; no city had beheld more miracles worked for the faith. During many centuries, the faithful had been accustomed to come into one of its 128 niSTOEY OF THE CErsAD£S. subui'bs to pray at the tomb of St. Babvlas, who, during the reign of Julian, had silenced the oracles of Apollo. For a long time Antioch was considered in Christendom as the eldest daughter of Sion ; it bore the name of Theopolis (the city of God), and pilgrims visited it with no less respect than Jerusalem. Antioch was as much celebrated in the annals of Rome as in those of the Church. The magnificence of its edifices and the residence of several emperors had obtained it the name of the Queen of the East. Its situation, amidst a smiling and fertile country, attracted strangers to it at all times. At two leagues eastward was a lake abounding in fish, which communicated with the Orontes ; whilst on the south, were the submbs and the fountain of Daphne, so renowned in paganism. Kot far from this arose the mountain of Orontes, covered with gardens and country houses ; on the north was another mountain, sometimes called the Black Mountain, on account of its forests, and sometimes the Water Mountain, on accoimt of its numerous springs. The river Orontes* flowed at the foot of the ramparts of Antioch towards the west, and fell into the sea at a distance of tlu'ee or four leagues from the city. Within the walls were four hills separated by a torrent, which cast itself into the river. Upon the western hill was built a very strong citadel, which dominated over the city. The ramparts of Antioch, whose sohdity equalled that of a rock, were three leagues in extent. " This place," says an old author, " was an object of terror to those who looked upon it, for the number of its strong and vast towers, which amounted to three hundred and sixtv." Wide ditches, the river Orontes and marshes, still further protected the inha- bitants of Antioch, and cut off an approach to the city. In spite of all these fortifications of nature and art,t Antioch had been several times taken. It fell at once into * At the present day named Aassy (the Rebel), or el Macloub, the Reversed, because it flows from south to north, an opposite direction to that of the other rivers of the same country. t Ancient Antioch is not to be recognised in the straggling village that the Turks call Antakie; it is even suflBciently difficult to ascertain its ancient extent. We may consult the description of it given by Pococke and Drummond, and compare it with that which is said by Raymond d' Agiles, Albert d'Aix, William of Tyre, and the ancient historians. HISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. 131 tvhicli the river protected, and thus gave the besieged liberty to make sorties or receive succours. The Tui'ks had shut themselves up within their walls ; not a soul appeared upon the ramparts, and not the least noise ■was heard in the citv. The Crusaders fancied that they saw in this appearance of inaction and this profound silence the discouragement and terror which had taken possession of their enemies. Eliuded by the hope of an easy conquest, they took no precautions, and spread themselves about over the neighboimng country. The abundance of ^orovisions, the beautifid sky of Syria, the fountain and the shades of Daphne, and the banks of the Orontes, famous in Pagan antiquity for the worship of Venus aud Adonis, made them lose sight of the holy war, and spread license and corruption among the soldiers of Christ. AVhilst they thus neglected, amongst scenes of intem- perance and debauchery, the laws of disciplme and the precepts of the Scriptures, they were attacked by the gar- rison of Antioch, which surprised them, some scarcely guarding the camp, and the rest scattered about in the neighbouring country. All Avhom the hopes of pillage or the attractions of pleasure had di^awn into the villages and orchards bordering upon the Orontes, met with either slavery or death. Young Alberon, archdeacon of Metz, and son of Coiu-ad, comit of Lunebourg, paid with his life for the enjoy- ment of amusements which accorded but very little with the austerit}^ of his profession. He was surprised by the Turks* at the moment when, stretched upon the grass, he was playing at dice with a Syrian courtezan. His head was struck off with one blow of a sabre. The courtezan was not killed till she had satisfied the brutal passion of their conqueror. Their heads, with those of a great number of Christians, were cast into the camp of the Crusaders, who now deplored their disorders, and swore to take revenge for their defeat. The desire to repair one fault made them commit another. * Alearum ludo pariter recreari et occupari cum matrona quadam, quae magnae erat ingenuitatis et formositatis. jNIatronam vero vivara, et intac- tam armis, rapientes traxerunt in urbem, per totam noctem immoderatse libidinis suce incesto concubitu earn vexantes, nihilque humanitatis in earn exhibentes. — Alb. Aq. lib. iii. p. 46. 132 HISTOEY or THE CEUSJLDES. Thev resolved upon scaling tlie walls of Aiitioch, without ha\T.'ng either ladders or machines of war. The signal was triveu for a general assault. Vengeance and fanaticiism animated both soldiers and leaders ; but their eftbrts could neither shake the walls of the city, nor disturb the security of the besieged. Their attacks, though renewed several times and at several points, were always unsuccessful. Experience, for whose lessons they always paid so dearly, at length taught them, that if they wished to make themselves masters of the place, no other means was left them but to invest it completely, and prevent the arrival of any succour from without. Thev established a bridge of boats upon the Orontes, and passed some troops over towards the western side of the citv. All the means in their power were employed to stoj) the sorties of the enemy — sometimes they erected wooden fortresses near the ramparts, whilst at others they prepared baUstas, which launched large stones upon the besieged. The Crusaders, in order to close the gate of the Dog upon the Tui'ks, were obliged to heap up against it enormous beams and fragments of rock. At the same time they intrenched their camp, and redoubled their efforts to secui'e themselves against siu'prise on the part of the Saracens. The Christian army was now solely occupied with the blockade of the citv. Although this determination was dictated by imperious necessity, the slowness of a siege did not at all agree -with the impatience of the warriors of the "West. On their arrival before Antioch, the Chi-istian sol- diers had dissipated in a few days the provisions of several months : thev had onlv thought of fighting the enemv in the field of battle, and, ever full of confidence in victory, thev had neither sought to protect themselves against the rigours of ^^^.nter, nor to prevent the approaches of the famine with which they were threatened. The want of provisions was not long before it was felt. As soon as winter had set in, they found tliemselves a prey to every species of calamity. Ton-ents of rain fell daily, and the plains, an abode upon which had rendered the soldiers of Christ efieminate, were almost all buried beneath the waters. The Christian camp, particularly in the vaUey, was submerged several times ; tempests and inundations carried IIISTOIIY OF THE CEUSADES. 133 away tlie pavilions and tents ; moisture relaxed the bows ; and rust gnawed into both lances and swords. The greater part of the soldiers Avere without clothes ; and contagious diseases carried off both men and animals. Eains, cold, famine, epidemic diseases, made such ravages, that, according to the report of William of Tyre, the Crusaders had not either time or space to bury their dead.* In the midst of the general distress, Bohemond and the duke of Normandy were commissioned to go and scour the country in search of provisions. In the course of their incursion they defeated several detachments of Sara- cens, and returned to the camp Avith a considerable booty. But the provisions they brought could not be sufficient to support a large army for any length of time ; every da}^ they made fresh incursions, and every day were less successful. All the country of Upper Syria had been ravaged by the Turks and Christians. The Crusaders Avho were sent on these foraging parties often put the infidels to flight; but vic- tory, which was almost always their only resource in moments of want, could not bring back abundance to their camp. To fill up the measure of their miseries, all communication was stopped with Constantinople ; the fleets of the Pisans and Genoese no longer coasted the countries occupied by the Crusaders. The port of St. Simeon, situated at three leagues from Antioch, saw no vessel now arrive from either Greece or the West. The Flemish pirates, who had taken up the cross at -Tarsus, after possessing themselves of Lao- dicea, had been surprised by the Greeks, and Avere detained prisoners during several Aveeks. The darkest future lay before the Christians ; they no longer talked of anything but of the losses they had sustained, and of the evils with Avhich they Avere threatened ; each day the most afflicting intel- ligence was spread through the array. It Avas said that the son of Savcuo, king of Denmark, Avho had assumed the cross, and was leading fifteen hundred horsemen to the holy Avar, had been surprised by the Turks * We have taken the details of the siege of Antioch from the following authors : William of Tyre, Albert d'Aix, Baudry, Robert, Tudebode, Raymond d'Agiles, Guibert, Raoul de Caen, Foiicher de Chartres, Oderic-Vital, Paul Emile, Bernard Thesaurius, Accolti, Duchat, Mailly, De Guignes, Albufaradge, &c. &c. 134 UISTOET OF THE CltUSADES. whilst advancing rapidly across the defiles of Cappadocia. Attacked bv an enemy superior in numbers, he had defended himself during a whole day, ^vithout being able to repulse the infidels, ^Yith all the eftorts of his corn-age or the battle- axes of his warriors. Tlorine, daughter of Eudes I., duke of Biu'gundy, who accompanied the Danish hero, and to whom he was to be married after the taking of Jerusalem, had valiantly fought by his side. Pierced by seven arrows, but still fighting, she sought with Sweno to open a passage towards the mountains, when they were overwhelmed by their enemies. They fell together on the field of battle, after having seen all their kniofhts and their most faithful servants perish around them. " Such were the news that came to the camp of the Christians," says AYilliam of T}Te, "and so full were they of sadness and grief, that more than ever were their hearts depressed with the increase of their calamities." * Each succeeding day famine and disease made greater ravages. The provisions t brought to the camp by a few S^Tians were at so high a price that the soldiers could not obtain any ; the multitude filled the camp with lamentations, and there was not a Crusader who had not to weep for the death of several of his companions. Desertion was soon added to the other scourges. The greater part of the Cru- saders had lost all hope of taking Antioch, or of ever reaching * The historian of Burgundy, Urbain Plancher, without alleging any reason, and without quoting any authority, treats thjs event as a fahle, although it is attested by William of Tyre, Albert d'Aix, and several other nearly contemporary historians. Mallet says nothing of it in his " His- tory of Denmark;" nevertheless Langbeck, in his collection of the Danish historians, says he has seen a basso-relievo, in bronze, in which the Sweno, of whom this history speaks, is represented with the attributes of a Crusader. This basso-relievo was executed by the order of Christian V. ; at the bottom of the portrait of Sweno are several Latin verses which describe his glorious and tragical death. The " Scriptores Rerum Dani- carum" may be consulted for the dissertation in which Langbeck dis- cusses the passages of the ancient historians, and clearly demonstrates the truth of their accounts. This dissertation is entitled, " Infelix Suenonis Danici adversus Turcas." t According to William of Tyre, the bread which sufficed for the daily food of one man cost two sous instead of a denier ; an ox two marks of silver, instead of five sous ; a kid or a lamb five or six sous, instead of three or four deniers ; the expense of a horse for a single night arose as high as eight sous, whilst it had only been two or three deniers at the commencement ot the siege. HISTORY OF THE CErSADES. 135 the Holy Land. Some sought refuge from misery in Meso- potamia, now governed by Baldwin ; whilst others repaired to the cities of Cilicia which had fallen into the hands of the Christians. The duke of Normandy withdrew to Laodicea, and did not return until he had received three summonses from the army in the name of religion and of Jesus Clu-ist. Tatius, the general of Alexius, quitted the camp of the Crusaders with the troops he commanded, promising to return with reinforcements and provisions. His departure caused little regret, and his promises, in which they had no confidence, did not at all alle\date the despair of the sufferers. This despair was carried to its height among the defenders of the cross Avhen thev saw those who ouofht to have set them an example of patience and courage desert them. William, viscount de Melun, whose extraordinary exploits with the battle-axe had procured him the name of the Carpenter, could not support the miseries of the siege, and deserted the standard of Christ,* Tlie preacher of the crusade, Peter the Hermit, whom the Christians, doubtless, blamed for all the miseries of the siege, was unable to bear their complaints or share their misfortunes ; and despairing of the success of the expedition, he fled secretly from the camp.f His deser- tion caused a great scandal among the pilgrims, " and did not astonish them less," says Abbot Gruibert, "than if the stars had fallen from the heavens." Pursued and overtaken by Tancred, he and William the Carpenter were brought back disgraced to the camp. The army reproached Peter with his base desertion, and made him sM'ear upon the Scrip- tures that he would never again abandon a cause which he had preached. They threatened with the punishment usually inflicted upon homicides all M'ho should follow the example he had given to his companions and brothers. But in the midst of the corruption which reigned in the Christian army, ^drtue itself might have thought of flight, and have excused desertion. If contemporary accounts are * Sed non hoc metu prseliorum, ut speramus, fecerat ; sed tantum famis injuriam pati nunquam didicerat. — Rob. Mon. lib. iv. •f This great faster, says IMaimbourg, who by a voluntary austerity which had acquired him such a great reputation of sanctity, made profes- sion to eat neither bread nor meat, could not endure a necessary fast. 136 HlSTOltT OF THE CRUSADES. to be credited, all the vices of the infamous Babylon pre- vailed among the liberators of Sion. Strange and unheard-of spectacle ! Beneath the tents of the Crusaders famine and voluptuousness formed a hideous union; impure love, an unbounded passion for play, with all the excesses of debauch, were mingled with images of death.* In their misfortunes, the greater part of the pilgrims seemed to disdain the consolations that might have been derived from piety and virtue. And yet the bishop of Buy, and the more -virtuous portion of the clergy used every effort to reform the manners of the Crusaders. They caused the voice of religion to hurl its thunders asjainst the excesses of libertinism and licentious- ness. They recalled to their minds all the evils that the Christian army had suffered, and attributed them entirely to the vices and debaucheries of the defenders of the cross. An earthquake which was felt at this time, an aurora borealis, which was a new phenomenon to great part of the pilgrim.s, were pointed out to them as an announcement of the anger of Heaven. Fasts and prayers were ordered, to avert tlie celestial indignation. The Crusaders made processions round the camp, and hymns of penitence resounded from all parts: The priests invoked the wrath of the Church against all who should betray the cause of Christ by their sins. To add to the terrors which the threats of religion inspired, a tribunal, composed of the principal leaders of the army and the clergy, was charged with the pursuit and punishment of the guilty. Men surprised in a state of intoxication had their hair cut off; whilst blasphemers, or such as gave them- selves up to a passion for play, were branded with a hot iron. A monk accused of adultery, and convicted by the ordeal of fire, was beaten with rods, and led naked through the camp. As the judges became aware of the guilty, they must have been terrified at their numbers. The severest punish- ments coidd not entirely stop the prostitution whicli had become almost general. They determined upon shutting up all the women in a separate camp — an extreme and im- prudent measure, which confounded vice and virtue, and * Et quis esse poterat aditus voluptatis, ubi erat indesinens suspicio mortis ! — Guib. lib. vi. cap. 15. HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 137 produced crimes more disgraceful than those they desired to prevent. Among all these calamities, the camp of the Crusaders was filled with Syrian spies, who daily bore into the city accounts of the plans, the distress, and the despair of the besiegers. Bohemond, in order to deliver the army, employed a means of a nature to disgust CA^en barbarians. My pen refuses to trace such pictures, and I leave William of T}Te, or rather his old translator, to speak. " Bohemond," says he, " commanded that several Turks, M'hom he held in close confinement, should be brought before him. These he caused instantly to be executed by the hands of the officers of justice, and then ordering a great fire to be lighted, he had them spitted and roasted, as flesh prepared for the supper of himself and his troops ; at the same time com- manding, that if any one made inquiries about what was going on, that they should be answered in this fashion: ' The princes and rulers of the camp have this day decreed in council, that all Turks or spies that shall henceforward he found in their camp, shall he, in this maimer, forced to make meat icith their oivn bodies, as ivell for the princes as the tvhole army.^ " The servants of Bohemond executed exactly the orders and instructions which he had given them. The strangers who were in the camp soon flocked to the quarters of the prince of Tarentum, and when they saw what was going on, adds our ancient author, ivere marvellously terrified, fearing to share the fate of the victims. They made haste to quit the camp of the Christians, and everywhere on their road spread an account of that which they had seen. Their story flew from mouth to mouth, even to tlie most distant countries : the inhabitants of Antioch, and all the Mussulmans of the Syrian cities, were seized with terror, and no more ventured to approach the camp of the Crusaders. " By these means," says the historian we have above quoted, " it ensued from the cunning and conduct of the seigneiir Bohemond, that the pest of spies was banished from the camp, and the enterprises of the Christians were not divulged to the enemy." The bishop of Buy, at the same time, employed a strata- gem much more innocent and conformable with the spirit of 138 HISTOET OF THE CEL'SADES. liis ministiy and his profession. He caused tlae lands in the neighbourhood of Antioch to be ploughed and sowed, in order to protect the Cln^stian armv from the attacks of famine, and, at the same time to lead the Saracens to believe that nothing could exhaust the perseverance of the besiegers. In the meanwhile the winter was stealing away ; the con- tagious diseases committed fewer ravages ; and the princes and the monasteries of Armenia sent pro^'isions to the Christians.* The famine began to be less felt. The ameh- oration in the condition of the pilgrims was attributed to their penitence and their conversion ; and they returned thanks to Heaven for ha^■ino; made them better and more worthy of its protection and mercy. It was at this period that ambassadors from the caliph of Egvpt arrived in the camp of the Crusaders. In the pre- sence of the infidels the Christian soldiers endeavoured to conceal the traces and remembrances of the lengthened miseries thev had undersrone. Thev clothed themselves in their most precious vestments, and displayed their most brilhant arms. Knights and barons contended for the glory of strength and skill in tournaments. Xothing was seen but dancing and festivity, amidst which abundance and joy appeared to reign. The Egyptian ambassadors were received in a magnificent tent, in which were assembled all the prin- cipal leaders of the army. They did not disguise, in their address, the extreme aversion that their master had always entertained for an alliauce "«"ith the Christians ; but the victories which the Crusaders had gained over the Turks, those eternal enemies of the race of Ali, had led him to beheve that God himself had sent them into Asia, as the instruments of his vengeance and justice. The Eg\'prian caliph was disposed to ally himself with the rietorious Christians, and was preparing to enter Palestine and Svria. As he had learnt that the wishes of the Crusaders were confined to an ardent desire to behold Jerusalem, he pro- mised to restore the Christian churches, to protect their worship, and open the gates of the Holy City to all the * This circumstance is taken from an Armenian manuscript of Matthew of Edessa. It is surprising that the Latin historians have made no men- tion of it ; but they never speak of any means of providing provisions employed by the Crusaders. HISTOET OF THE CEUSADES. 139 pilgrims, upon condition that they would repair thither without arms, and Avould remain there no longer than one month.' If the Crusaders submitted to these conditions, the caliph promised to become their most generous supporter; if they declined the blessing of his friendship, the nations of Eg)^t and Ethiopia, with aU those that inhabit Asia and Alrica, from the Straits of Grades to the gates of Bagdad, would arise at the voice of the legitimate vicar of the pro- phet, and would show the warriors of the West the power of their arms. This discourse excited violent murmurs in the assembly of the Christians ; one of the chiefs arose to answer it, and addressing hunself to the deputies of the caliph : " The religion that we follow," said he to them, " has inspired us "with the design of re-establishing its empire in the places in which it was born ; and we stand in no need of the concur- rence of the powers of the earth to accomplish our vows. We do not come into Asia to receive laws or benefits from Mussulmans, nor have we forgotten, besides, the outrages committed by Egyptians upon the pilgrims of the West ; we still remember that Christians, imder the reign of the caliph Hakem, were delivered over to executioners, and that their churches, particularly that of the Holy Sepulchre, were razed to the ground. Yes, without doubt, we have the intention of visiting Jerusalem, but we have also taken an oath to deliver it from the yoke of the infidels. Grod, who has honoured it by his sufferings, wills that he shall be there served by his people. The Christians resolve to be both its guardians and its masters. Go and tell him who sent you to make choice of peace or war ; tell him that the Christians encamped before Antioch fear neither the nations of Egypt, nor those of Asia, nor those of Bagdad, and that they only ally themselves with powers which respect the laws of justice and the standards of Jesus Christ." The orator who spoke thus expressed the opinion and sentiments of the assembly: nevertheless, they did not entirely reject the alliance with the Egyptians. Deputies were chosen from the Christian army to accompany the ambassadors of Cairo on their return, and to bear to the caliph the definitive propositions of peace of the Crusaders. Scarcely had the deputies left the camp of the Christians, Vol. I.— 8 140 HISTOET OF THE CEUSADES. -when the latter obtained a fresh victor}^ over the Turks. The sultans of Aleppo and Damascus, ^-ith the emirs of Csesarea, Emessa, and Hieropolis, had raised an army of twenty thousand horse to succour Antioch ; and this army was already on its march towards the city, when it was sur- prised and' cut to pieces by the prince of Tarentum and the count de St. Gilles, who had gone out to meet it. The Turks lost in this battle two thousand men and one thousand horses ; and the city of Harem, in which they in yain sought an asylum after their defeat, fell into the hands of the Chris- tians.* At the moment the ambassadors from Egypt were about to embark at the port of St. Simeon, the heads and spoils of two hundred Mussulmans were brought to them upon four camels. The conquerors cast two hundred other heads into the cit^' of Antioch, whose garrison was still in eypectation of succour ; and they stuck a great number upon pikes round the walls. They exhibited thus these horrible trophies, to ayenge themselyes of the insults the Saracens had, on their ramparts, heaped upon an image of the Virgin which had fallen into their hands. But the Crusaders were soon to signalize themselyes in a much more perilous and murderous battle. A fleet of Genoese and Pisans had entered the port of St. Simeon, and the news of their arriyal causing the greatest joy in the army, a great number of soldiers left the camp and hastened towards the port, some to learn news from Europe, and others to buy the proyisions of which they stood so much in need. As they were returning loaded with proyisions, and for the greater part luiarmed, they were unexpectedly attacked and dispersed by a body of foiu' thousand Turks, who laid wait for them on their passage. In yain the prince of Tarentum, the count de St. Gilles, and Bishop Adhemar, flew to their aid with their troops ; the Christians could not resist the shock of the infidels, and retreated in disorder. The account of this defeat soon spread alarm among the Crusaders who had remained before the city. Immediately Godfrey, to whom danger gaye supreme authority, ordered the leaders and soldiers to fly to arms.* Accompanied by * A chronicle printed at Paris in 1517, which bears for title, " Grand Voyage d'Outre-Mer," places the following speech in the mouth of God- HISTORY or THE CEUSADES. 141 his brother Eustace, the two Eoberts, and the count de Yer- mandois, he crossed the Orontes, and hastened to seek the enemy, still engaged in following up their first advantage. As soon as he came in presence of the Saracens, he com- manded the other chiefs to follow his example, and rushed, sword in hand, into the thickest of the enemy's ranks. The latter, accustomed to fight at a distance, and principally to employ the bow and arrow, could not resist the sword and lance of the Crusaders. They took to flight, some towards the mountains, and others towards the city. Accien, w^ho, from the towers of his palace, had witnessed the victorious attack of the Crusaders, immediately sent a numerous de- tachment to renew the fight. He accompanied his soldiers as far as the gate of the Bridge, which he caused to be shut after them, telling them it should only be opened to them when they returned victorious. This new body of Saracens were soon beaten and dis- persed ; and there remained no hope to them but to endeavour to regain the city. But Godfrey, who had foreseen every- thing, had posted himself upon an eminence between the fugitives and the gates of Antioch. It was there that the carnage was renewed ; the Christians were animated by their victory, and the Saracens by their despair and the cries of the inhabitants of the city, who were assembled on the ram- parts. JSTothing can paint the frightful tumult of this fresh conflict. The clashing of arms and the cries of the com- batants would not permit the soldiers to hear the orders of their leaders. They fought man to man, and without order, whilst clouds of dust covered the field of battle. Chance directed the blows of both the conquerors and the con- quered, and the Saracens, heaped as it were together by their terror, impeded their own flight. The confusion was so great that several of the Crusaders were killed by their frey : — " Brave seigneurs, my brothers and companions in Jesus Christ ; if the news we hear be true, that for our sins these cruel dogs have thus killed these valiant men, and of great consideration, I only perceive two things, that we shall die with them as good and loyal Christians, assured of receiving our guerdon from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for whose service we came here and have quitted our native lands and our kindred; or if it should please him, that he allow us to take vengeance and obtain victory over these vile dogs who have thus degraded and weakened Christianity in its valiant men." 142 UISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. companions and brothers in arms. A great number of Saracens fell almost ^Yitbout resistance under the swords of the Christians, and more than two thousand, who sought safety in flight, were drowned in the Orontes. " The old men of Antioch," says William of Tyre, " whilst contem- plating this bloody catastrophe from the height of their walls, grieyed that the}'' had liyed so long, whilst the women who "^T-tnessed the death of their children, lamented their own fecundity." The carnage continued during the whole day ; and it was not till night-fall that Accien allowed the gates to be opened for the reception of the miserable remains of his troops, still hotly pursued by the Crusaders. The leaders and soldiers of the army had performed pro- digies of yalour. Bohemond, Tancred, Adhemar, Bald^yin du Bourg, and Eustace had appeared eyerywhere, leading their warriors in the paths of danger. The whole army spoke of the lance-thrusts and maryellous feats of arms of the count de Yermandois and the two [Roberts. The duke of jS^ormandy sustained a single combat witb a leader of the infidels, who adyanced towards him surrounded by his troop. With one blow of his sword he split his head to the shoulder, and, as the Saracen fell dead at his feet, ex- claimed, "J devote thy impure soul to the poicers of hell.'' ^ Tancred, says Eaoul de Caen, distinguished himself amongst the most intrepid of the knights. In the heat of the melee ^ the Christian hero, as modest as he was braye, made his squire swear to preserve silence upon the exploits of which he was a witness.* " Godfrey, who, in this memorable day, had displayed the skill of a great captain, signaHzed his brayery and yast strength by actions which both history and poetry haye celebrated. No armour seemed proof against * Sed est quod stupeam, nee satis valeam stupere : cum homo tarn pretiosus laudis emptor mox prsesentis ya armigeri silentio concluserit adjurato. — Gest. Tunc. cap. 52 ; Muratori, vol. id. Tlie historian whom we have just quoted endeavours to explain the fact which he relates. He asks himself whether it was from modesty or a religious spirit, or whether Tancred might fear not to be believed, either upon his own word or that of his squire, that the Christian hero desired silence to be preserved. In all these cases the fact appears to him to be a prodigy. He adds that the squire was faithful to his oath, and that it was not till a long time after- wards that the feats of Tancred on that day became known. We have but to compare this with what old Horace says of his heroes. HISTORY or TIIJS CRUSADES. 143 bis trenchant blade ; lances, helmets, and cuirasses flew in shivers beneath its strokes. A Saracen of surpassing strength and stature offered him single combat in the midst of the melee, and with his first blow dashed the shield of Grodfrey in pieces. Indignant at such audacity, the Christian hero raised himself in his stirrups, and rushing on his antagonist, dealt him so terrible a blow on the shoulder, that he divided his body into two parts.* The one, say the historians, fell to the ground, whilst the other remained on the horse, which returned to the city, where this spectacle redoubled the con- sternation of the besieged. In spite of these astonishing exploits, the Christians sustained a considerable loss. Whilst celebrating the heroic valour of the Crusaders, contemporary history is astonished at the multitude of martyrs which the Saracens sent to heaven, and who, on arriving in the abodes of the elect, Avith crowns upon their heads, and palm branches in their hands, addressed God in these words : " Why have you not spared our blood which has flowed for you this *day?"t The infidels passed the night in burpng such as had been killed under the walls of the city. They interred them near a mosque built on the outer side of the bridge of the Orontes. After the funeral ceremonies, they returned into Antioch. As, according to the custom of the Mussulmans, these bodies had been buried with their arms, their orna- ments, and their vestments, this plunder held out too strong a temptation for the gross multitude that followed the army of the Crusaders. They crossed the Orontes, precipitated themselves in a crowd upon the graves of the Saracens, exhumed the dead bodies, and tore off the arms and habili- ments with which they were covered. They quickly retiu*ned * Sic lubricus ensis super crus dextrum integer exigit, sicque caput integrum cum dextra parte corporis iramersit gurgite, partemque quae equo prsesidebat remisit civitati. — Rob. Mon. Cujus ense trajectus Turcus duo factus est Turci; ut inferior alter in urbem equitaret, alter arcitenens in flumine nataret. — Rad. Cad. ■f* Feruntque in ilia die martyrisati ex nostris militibus seu peditibus plusquam mille, qui in coelum loetantes ascendebant, atque candidati ferentes stolam recepti martyrii, glorificantes et magnificantes Dominum Deum nostrum trinum et unum, in quo feliciter triumphabant ; et dicebant concordabili voce : Quare non defendis sanguinem nostrum, qui hodie pro tuo nomine effusus est ? — Gesta Francorum, lib. xviii. cap. 18, p. 13. I4i4i HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES. to exhibit in tlie camp tlie silk stuffs, bucklers, lances, jave- lins, and rich swords found in the coffins ; nor did this spectacle at all disgust the knights and barons. On the day follo\ving the battle, among the spoils of the vanquislied, they contemplated with joy fifteen hundi-ed heads separated from their trunks, which were paraded in triumph through the armv, recalling to them their own victory, and the loss thev had inflicted on the infidels. All these heads were cast into the Orontes, and, together with the bodies of the Mus- sulmans di'owned in the conflict of the preceding day, carried the news of the victory to the Genoese and Pisans disem- barked at the port of 8t. Simeon. The Crusaders, who, at the commencement of the battle, had fled towards the sea or the mountains, and who had been lamented as dead, retiuTied to the camp, and joined their brethren in the thanks offered to heaven for the triumphs of the . Christian army. From this time the cliiefs thought of nothing but taking advantage of the teiTor with which they had inspired the Saracens. Masters of the cemeterv of the Mussulmans, the Crusaders destroyed the mosque which had been built outside the walls of the city, and employed the stones of the tombs even in erecting a fortress before the gate of the brido-e, bv which the besieored made their sorties. Exiv- mond, who had been accused of want of zeal for the holy war, caused the fort to be constructed, and charged himself with the defence of this dangerous post. It was proposed to raise another fortress near the first, and as no other of the leaders presented himself to forward the construction of it, Tancred oflered his services to the Crusaders. But, generous and loyal knight as he was, he possessed nothing but his sword and his renown. He asked the necessary money of his companions, and himself undertook the dangers of the enterprise. All were eager to second his courageous devotedness ; the labours which he directed were soon finished, and from that period the besieged foimd themselves completely enclosed within the circle of their walls. The Crusaders, after having thus finished the blockade of the place, sm'prised the Syrians who had been accustomed to bring provisions into Antioch, and only gave them libei-ty and life upon their swearing to supply the Christian army. Having learnt that Accien had sent a great part of the USITORY OF THE CRUSADES. 145 horses of his garrison into a valley at a few leagues from the city, they repaired thither by circuitous routes, and got pos- session of this rich booty. Two thousand horses, and as many mules, were led in triumph into the camp of the Christians. As the fleet of the Pisans and Grenoese had brought with them a great number of labourers and engineers, they were employed in directing and carrying on the works of the siege. Machines of war were constructed, and the city of Antioch was pressed more vigorously, and threatened on all sides. AVhilst despair supplied the place of courage among the Saracens, the zeal and emulation of the Crusaders were redoubled. Many whom misery or fear had driven from the Christian army rejoined their standards, and sought by their exertions to obliterate the remembrance of their desertion. The besiegers allowed themselves no repose, and only seemed to live to fight. The women seconded the valour of the warriors. Some mingled with them in the ranks, whilst others bore them food and ammunition to the battle-field. Children even formed themselves into troops, exercised themselves in military evolutions, and took up arms against the Saracens. The inhabitants of Antioch opposed their children to those of the Christians, and several times these 5'oung combatants came to blows in the presence of the besiegers and the besieged, who animated them with voice and gesture, and joined the combat even to support such of their party as seemed to yield. There was formed at the same time another military force still more formidable to the Saracens.* The mendicants and vagabonds who followed the Christian army were em- ployed in the labours of the siege, and worked under the orders of a captain, who took the title of " Hoi truant,^'' or king of the beggars. They received pay from the general treasury of the Crusaders, and as soon as they were in a condition to purchase arms and clothes, the king renounced them as his subjects, and forced them to enter into one of the troops of the army. This measure, whilst forcing the vagabonds to abandon a life of dangerous idleness, changed * These particulars are related by Abbot Guibert, lib. iv. In this hifctorian will be found most particulars regarding morals. 146 HISTORY or THE CIIUSJlDES. them into useful auxiliaries. As they were accused of violating tombs and feeding on human flesh,* they inspired great terror among the iniidels, and the sight of them alone put to flight the defenders of Antioch, who trembled at the thoughts of falling into their hands. Antioch was so closely pressed, and the garrison had so little means of defence left, that the Crusaders expected every day to become masters of it. Accien demanded a truce of them, and promised to surrender if he were not soon relieved. The Crusaders, ever full of blind confidence, had the imprudence to accept the proposals of the governor. As soon as they had concluded a truce with the Saracens, the leaders of the army, wlio scarcely ever agreed, except upon the field of battle, and whom the presence of danger did not always unite, were upon the point of declaring war against one another. Baldwin, prince of Edessa, had sent magnificent presents to Godfrey, the two Eoberts, the count de Yermandois, and the counts of Blois and of Chartres, but in the distribution of his favours had, designedly, omitted Bohemond and his soldiers. I^othing more was necessary to create division. Whilst the rest of the army were celebrating the liberality of Baldwin, the prince of Tarentum and his warriors breathed nothing but complaints and murmurs. At this time a richly-ornamented tent, which an Armenian prince destined for Godfrey, and which, falling into the hands of Pancracius, was sent to Bohemond, became a fresh sub- ject of trouble and discord. Godfrey haughtily claimed the present which had been intended for him, and Bohemond refused to give it up. On each side they proceeded to inju- rious terms and threats ; they were even ready to have recourse to arms, and the blood of the Christians was about to flow for a miserable quarrel ; but at length the prince of Tarentum, abandoned by the greater part of the army, and overcome by the prayers of his friends, gave up the tent to his rival, consoling himself in his vexation, with the hope that war would soon put him in possession of a richer booty. William of Tyre, who has transmitted to us this account, * Rt si Sarracenum noviter interfectum invenerunt, illius carnes, ac si essent pecudis, avidissime devorabant. — Gesta Francorum. HISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. 147 is astonished to see the wise Godfrey claim such a frivolous object with so much heat ; and in his surprise he compares the weakness of the hero to the slumbers of the good Homer. His thought would have been more just if he had compared the discords and quarrels of the leaders of the crusade to those which troubled the camp of the Greeks, and so long retarded the taking of Troj. Wliilst these quarrels engaged the attention of the whole Christian armv, the inhabitants of Antioch were introducing reinforcements into the city, and preparing for a fresh resistance. When they had received the succours and provisions necessary to defend themselves and prolong the siege, they broke the truce, and again began the war, with all the advantages that a peace too easily granted them had procured. Antioch, after a siege of seven months, would have escaped from the hands of the Christians, if stratagem, policy, and ambition had not effected for tkem that which patience and bravery had been iniable to achieve. Bohemond, whose sole motive for undertaking the crusade had been a desire to improve his fortunes, was constantly on the watch for an opportunity of realizing his projects. Baldwin's great success had awakened his jealousy, and haunted him even in his sleep. He dared to direct his views to the pos- session of xlntioch, and was so far favoured by circumstances, as to meet with a man who might be able to place this city in his power. This man, whose name was Phirous, was, whatever some historians who give him a noble origin may say, the son of an Armenian, who was by trade a maker of cuirasses.* Of a restless and busy character, he was con- stantly anxious to change and improve his condition. He had abjured the Christian religion from a spirit of incon- * Matthew of Edessa does not name the Mussulman who gave up Antioch to the Christians. Abulfaradge calls him Ruzebach, and says that he was a Persian by origin. Anna Comnena pretends that he was an Armenian. Most historians call him Pyrrus, or Phirous. William of Tyre gives him the name of Emir Feir, and Sanuti calls him Hermuferus. It mav most probably be said that he had abjured Christianity. If authors are not agreed as to his name, it may be believed that some have called him by his proper name, and that others have designated him by a name which expressed his profession. WiUiam of Tyre says that he was bora of a family called in Armenian Beni Zerra, that is, the family of the makert of cuirasses, 8* 148 HISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. stancY, and in tlie hope of advancing his fortune ; he was endowed with admirable self-possession, and with audacity proof against any accident : and was at all times ready to perform that for money which could only have been expected from the most ardent fanaticism. Xothing appeared unjust or impossible to him that promised to gratify his ambition or his avarice. Being active, adroit, and insinuating, he had wormed himself into the confideuce of Accien, and was admitted into his council. The prince of Antioch had in- trusted him with the command of three of the principal towers of the place. He defended them at first with zeal, but without any advantage to his fortune, and he grew weary of a barren fideht^' the moment his busy brain suggested that treason might be more profitable. In the intervals of the various conflicts he had had many opportunities of seeing the prince of Tarentum. These two men divined each other's character at the fii'st glance, and it was not long before this spnpathy proouced mutual confidence. In their first meet- ings Phirous complained of the outrages he had experienced from the Mussulmans ; he deeply regretted having abandoned the religion of Christ, and wept over the persecutions the Christians had suflered in Antioch. Xo more than this was required to place the prince of Tarentum in possession of the secret thoughts of Phirous. He commended both his remorse and his good feeling, and made him the most mag- nificent promises. Then the renegado opened his heart to him. They swore an inriolable friendship to each other, and planned an active correspondence. They met several times afterwards, but always with the greatest secrecy. At everv interview Bohemond told Phirous that the fate of the Christians was in his hands, and that it only rested with himself to merit their gratitude, and receive from them vast recompenses. On his side, Phirous protested that he was anxious to serve the Christians, whom he considered as his brothers, and, in order to assure the prince of Tarentum of his fidelity, or else to excuse his treason, he said that Jesus Christ had appeared to hitn, and had advised him to give up Antioch to the Cliristians.* Bohemond required no such * Apparuit enim ei Dominus Jesus Christus per visxim, et ait ; Vade et redde civitatem Christianis. — Gesta Franconim, lib. v. cap. 12. HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 149 protestation. He had no difficulty in believing what he so ardently desired, and as soon as he had agreed with Phirous upon the means of executing the projects they had so long meditated, he called an assembly of the principal leaders of the Christian army. He began by laying before them with much earnestness both the evils with which the Crusaders had hitherto been afflicted, and the still greater evils with which they were threatened. He added, that a powerful army was advancing to the assistance of Antioch ; that a retreat could not be effected v^ithout disgrace and danger ; and that there remained no safety for the Christians but in the capture of the city. It was true, the place was defended by impregnable ramparts ; but they should recollect that aU victories were not obtained by force of arms or in the field of battle ; and that such as were won by address were neither the least important nor the least glorious. They, then, who could not be conquered must be deceived, and the enemy must be overcome by a great but skilful enterprise. Among the inhabitants of Antioch, so diverse in their man- ners and religions, so opposed in their interests, there must be some to be found who would be accessible to the bait of gold, or the allurements of brilliant promises. The question of a ser\ice so important to the Christian army, was of such magnitude that it was right to promote every kind of under- taking. The possession of Antioch itself did not appear to him to be too high a reward for the zeal of him who should be sufficiently adroit, or sufficiently fortunate, as to throw open the gates of the city to the Crusaders. Bohemond was careful not to explain himself more clearly, but his purpose was easily divined by the jealous ambition of some of the leaders, who perhaps entertained the same views as himself. E-aymond, particidarly, warmly refuted the artful insinuations of the prince of Tarentum. " We are all," said he, " brothers and companions, and it would be unjust, after all have run the same risks, that one alone should gather the fruits of our joint labours. For myself," added he, casting a look of anger and contempt upon Bohe- mond, •' I have not traversed so many countries, braved so many perils, lavished so much blood and treasure, or sacri- ficed so many of my soldiers, to repay with the price of our COlKJuests some gross artifice or shameful stratagem worthy J.50 HISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. only of women." These vebement words had all the success to be expected among warriors accustomed to prevail by force of arms, and who esteemed no conquest that was not the reward of yalom\ The greater number of the leaders rejected the proposition of the prince of Tarentum, and added their railleries to those of Eaymond. Bohemond, whom history has surnamed the Ulysses of the Latins, did- all in his power to restrain himself and conceal his vexation. He went out from the council smiling, persuaded that necessity would soon bring the Crusaders to his opinion. As soon as he had regained his tent, he sent emissaries through all the quarters of the camp to spread secretly the most alarming intelligence. As he foresaw, consternation seized the Christians. Some of the leaders were sent to ascertain the truth of the reports prevalent in the camp ; and soon returned with an accoimt that Kerbogha, sultan of Mossoul, was advancing towards Antioch with an army of two hundred thousand men, collected on the banks of the Euphrates and the Tigris. This army, which had threatened the city of Edessa and ravaged Mesopotamia, was at a distance of only seven days' march. At this recital the fears of the Crusaders were redoubled. Bohe- mond passed through the ranks, exaggerating the danger, and affecting to show more depression and terror than all the rest ; but in his heart he was dehghted, and smiled at the idea of soon seeing all his hopes accomplished. The leaders again assembled to deliberate upon the means neces- sary to be taken in such perilous circumstances. Two opijiions di^-ided the council. Some T^ished that the siege should be raised, and that they should march to meet the Saracens ; whilst others were of opinion that the army should be formed into two bodies, one of which should act against Kerbogha, whilst the other should remain to guard the camp. This last opinion appeared likely to prevail, when Bohemond demanded permission to speak. He had not much difficulty in making them sensible of the imprac- ticability of both the plans proposed. If they raised the siege, they would be placed between the garrison of Antioch and a formidable army. If they continued the blockade of the city, and half of the army only went to meet Kerbogha, they were almost certain of a defeat. " The greatest penis," IIISTORT OF TilE CRUSADES. 151 added the prince of Tarentmii, " surround us. Time presses ; to-morrow, perhaps, it will be too late to act ; by to-morrow we may have lost the fruits of all our labours and all our victories ; but no, I cannot think so ; God, who has led us hitherto by the hand, will not allow that we shall have fought for his cause in vain. He ivlll save the Christian army, he ivill conduct us to the tomb of his Son. If you will accept the proposal I have made to you, to-morrow the standard of the cross shall float over the walls of Antioch, and we will march in triumph to Jerusalem." When he had finished these words, Bohemond showed the letters of Phirous, who promised to give up the three towers which he commanded. Phirous said that he was ready to perform this promise, but he declared he would have nothing to do with any one but the prince of Tarentum. He required, as the price of his services, that Bohemond should remain master of Antioch. The Itahan prince added that he had already given considerable sums to Phirous ; that he alone had obtained his confidence, and that a reciprocal confidence was the surest guarantee of the success of so difiicult an enterprise. "As for the rest," continued he, " if a better means of saving the army can be found, I am ready to approve of it, and wiUingly renoimce my share in a conquest upon which the safety of all the Crusaders depends." The danger became every day more pressing; it was shameful to fly, imprudent to fight, and dangerous to tem- porize, Fear silenced all interests and all rivalry. The more opposition the leaders had shown at first to the pro- ject of Bohemond, the more eagerly did they now produce cogent reasons for adopting it. A divided conquest became no longer a conquest. To divide or share Antioch might give birth to a crowd of divisions in the armv, and lead to its ruin. They only gave that which was really not yet their own ; and they gave it to secure the lives of the Christians. It were better that one man should profit by the labours of all, than that all should perish for opposing the good fortunes of that one. Moreover, the taking of Antioch was not the object of the crusade — they had taken up arms to dehver Jerusalem. Every delay was opposed to that which religion looked for from its soldiers, to that which the AVest expected 152 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. from its bra\'est knights. All the leaders, with the exception of the inflexible Eaymond, united in according the princi- pality of Antioch to Bohemond, and conjured him to hasten the execution of his project. Upon leaving the council, the prince of Tarentum sent information of the resolution of the leaders to Phirous, who placed his own son in the prince's hands as a hostage. The execution of the plan was fixed for the next • day. To lull the garrison of Antioch in the greatest security, it was agreed that the Christian army should quit the camp, and direct its march at first towards the route by which the prince of Mossoul was expected to arrive, and that at night- fall it should meet under the walls of Ascalon. On the following day, early in the morning, the troops received orders to prepare for their departure. At some hours before night the Crusaders issued from their camp, and marched away, trumpets sounding and standards flying. After a march of a short distance, they retraced their steps, and returned in silence under the walls of Antioch. At a signal given by the prince of Tarentum, they halted in a valley on the west, and near to the tower of the Three Sisters, in which Phirous commanded- It was there that the leaders revealed to the army the secret of the great expedition which was to open to them the gates of the city. The projects of Phirous and Bohemond, however, were very near fadriig. At the moment that the Christian army quitted their camp, and aU was prepared for carrying out the plot, a report of treason all at once was spread through- out Antioch. The Christians and newly-converted Mussul- mans were suspected ; the name of Phirous even was whis- pered, and he was accused of keeping up an intelligence \vith the Crusaders. He was obliged to appear before Accien, who interrogated him closely, and fixed his eyes intently upon him in order to penetrate his thoughts ; but Phirous dispersed all his suspicions by his firm countenance. He himself proposed the proper measures to be taken against the traitors, and adrised his master to change the commanders of the principal towers. This advice was approved of, and Accien determined to foUow it on the morrow. In the mean time orders were given to load "with chains and put to death, during the darkness of the night, HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 153 all the Christians that should be found in the city. The renegade was then sent back to his post, loaded with praises for his carefulness and fidelity. At the approach of night everything appeared tranquil in Antioch, and Phirous, escaped from such threatening danger, awaited the Crusaders in the tower which he had agreed to surrender to them. As his brother commanded a tower near his own, Phirous went to find him, and sought to engage him in the plot. "Brother," said he to him, "you know that the Crusaders have quitted their camp, and that they are gone to meet the army of Kerbogha. When I think of the miseries they have endured, and on the death which threatens them, I cannot help feeling a sort of pity for them. Tou are not ignorant, likewise, that this night all the Christian inhabi- tants of Antioch, after having undergone so many outrages, are going to be massacred by the orders of Accien. I can- not help pitying them ; I cannot forget that we were born in the same religion, and that we were formerly brothers." These words did not produce the effect he expected. " I am surprised," replied his brother, " that you should pity men who ought to be objects of horror to us. Before the Chris- tians appeared under the walls of Antioch, we were loaded with benefits. Since they have besieged the city, we have passed our lives in dangers and alarms. May all the evils they have brought upon us recoil upon them ! As to the Christians who live amongst us, do you not know that the greater part of them are traitors, and that they think of nothing but delivering us up to the sword of our enemies ?" On finishing these words, he cast a threatening look upon Phirous. The renegade saw that he was suspected. He could not acknowledge a brother in the man who refused to be his accomplice, and as his only answer, plunged his dagger into his heart. At length the decisive moment arrived. The night was dark, and a rising storm increased the depth of the obscurity. The ^-ind, which rattled among the roofs of the buildings, and the peals of thunder, prevented the sentinels from hear- ing any noise around the ramparts. The heavens seemed inflamed towards the west, and the sight of a comet which then appeared in the horizon, seemed to announce to the 154 HISTOEY OF THE CSUSADEa. euperstitious minds of the Crusaders the destined moment for the ruin and destruction of the infidels.* They awaited the signal ^^ith impatience. The garrison of Antioch was plunged in sleep ; Phirous alone watched, and meditated his conspiracy. A Lombard named Payen, sent by Bohemond, mounted the tower by a ladder of leather. Phirous received him, telling him all was ready ; and as an evidence of his fi.dehty, pointed to the dead body of his brother, whom he had just slain. T^Tiilst they were con- versing, an officer of the garrison came to visit the posts. He presented himself, with a lantern in his hand, before the tower Phirous commanded. The latter, without ap- pearing the least disturbed, made the emissary of Bohemond conceal himself, and went forward to meet the officer. After recei^ing praise for his ^'igilance, he hastened to send Payen back with instructions for the prince of Tarentum. The Lombard, on his return to the army, related what he had seen, and, on the part of Phirous, conjured Bohemond not to lose another moment. But all at once fear took possession of the soldiers ; at the moment of execution all saw the whole extent of the dan- ger, and not one of them put himself forvvard to mount the rampart. In vain Grodfrey and the prince of Tarentum em- ployed by turns promises and threats ; both leaders and soldiers remained motionless. t Bohemond himself ascended by a ladder of ropes, in the hope that he should be seconded bv the most brave ; but nobody felt it his duty to follow in his footsteps. He reached the tower alone, where Phirous reproached him warmly for his delay. Bohemond hastily * A comet appeared on the very night of the taking of Antioch, June 3, 1098. — See Robert. Monach. lib. v. ad finem ; Chronicon Fossa Notes, in Muratori, torn. vii. ; Chronica Mailross. ab anno 733 ad 1270, per diversos auctores in Rerum Anglicarum Script, torn. i. ; Annales Waver- lienses, ibid. torn. ii. ; Pingie, Cometoyraphie, tom. i. p. 382. f The anonymous author of a chronicle entitled Passages d'Ouire- Mer, expresses hiraself thus, p. 46 : — " But there was not one among them who did not refuse to mount except Bohemond, whom jEmiscrius received with great joy, and showed him his brother lying in his bed, whom he had just killed because he would not join the enterprise cunctis vero, qui cum Bohemondo erant. diffidentibus ad ascensum, solus Bohe- mondus foederis fide fultus, per funem ascendit. — Bemardtis TAesaurius, cap. 36 ; Muratori, tom. iii. HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 155 descended to his soldiers, and repeated to them that all was ready to receive them. His discourse, and still more, his example, at length reanimated their courage, and sixty of them commenced the escalade. They ascended by the ladder of leather, led on by one Foulcher de Chartres, whom the historian of Tancred compares to an eagle conducting her ycuDg ones, and flying at their head.* Amoug these sixty brave men was the count of Flanders, together with several of the principal chiefs. A^ery soon sixty more Crusaders quickly pressed upon the heels of the first,t and these again were followed by such numbers and v»ith such precipitation, that the parapet to which the ladder was fixed tottered, and at length fell with a loud crash into the ditch. Such as were nearly attaining the summit of the tower fell upon the lances and swords of their companions who were following them. Disorder and confusion prevailed among the assail- ants, nevertheless the leaders of the plot viewed everj^thing with a tranquil eye. Phirous embraced his new companions over the bloody corpse of his brother ; he even yielded to their swords another brother who happened to be with him, and then surrendered to the Crusaders the three towers intrusted to his command. Seven other towers soon fell into their hands, and Phirous loudly summoned the whole Christian army to his aid. He fixed a new ladder to the rampart, by which the most impatient ascended, and he pointed out to others a gate which they might easily burst open, and by it crowds rushed into the city. Godfrey, Raymond, and tlie duke of Normandy were soon in the streets of Antioch at the head of their batta- * Sicut aquila provocans pullos suos advolandura, et super eos volitans. — Rad. Cair. torn. iii. p. 66. t All these details of the siege and the taking of Antioch, which appear to belong to the epopea, are taken literally from the ancient historians of the crusades. See Albert d'Aix, lib. iii. and iv. ; William of Tyre, lib. v.; Robert the Monk, lib. v. and vi. ; and the authors of the Collection of Bonyars. All these historians agree in the principal circumstances. The monk Robert, in the recital that he makes of it, expresses his surprise in these words : " Non est lingua carnis quee satis valeat enarrare, quid Francoriim manus valuit persundare." Foulcher de Chartres, who, according to common opinion, was the first to mount the adder of ropes, never speaks of himself in his narration, which fact is uite consistent with the spirit of the Christian knights. 156 IIISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. lions. All the trumpets were sounded, and from tlie four hills the city resounded with tlie terrible cry of " It is the iciJl of God ! It is the icill of God ! " At the first report of the tumult, the Christians dwelling in Antioch all believed that their last hour was come, and that the Mussulmans were about to sacrifice them. The latter, half asleep, poured out of their houses to ascertain the cause of the noise they heard, and died without knowing who were the traitors, or by whose hands they were slain. Some, when aware of the danger, fled towards the mountain upon which the citadel Avas built, whilst others rushed out at the gates of the city. All who could not flv fell beneath the swords of the con- querors. In the midst of this bloodv victorv, Bohemond did not neglect taking formal possession of Antioch, and at dawn his red standard was seen floating over one of the highest towers of the city. At the sight of this the Cru- saders who were left in charge of the camp broke into loud acclamations of joy, and hastened to take a part in this fresh conquest of the Christians. The slaughter of the Mussul- mans was continued vdih unabated fury. The greater part of the Christians of Antioch, who, during the siege, had suflered much from the tyranny of the infidels, joined their liberators, several exhibiting the fetters by which they had been loaded by the Turks, and thus further provoking the Adndictive spirit of the A'ictorious army. The public places were covered with dead bodies, and blood flowed in torrents in the streets. The soldiers penetrated into the houses ; religious emblems pointed out such as were Christians, sacred hj'mns indicated their brethren ; but everything that was not marked with a cross became the object of vengeance, and all who pronounced not the name of Christ were massacred A^dthout mercy. In a single night more than six thousand of the inhabi- tants of Antioch perished. Many of those who had fled into the neighbouring fields were pursued and brought back into the city, where they found either slavery or death. In the first moments of the confusion, Accien, seeing that he was betrayed, and no longer daring to trust any of his officers, resolved to fly towards Mesopotamia, and go to meet the army of Kerbogha. .Escaping through one of the gates, HISTOIIY OF THE CEUSADES. 157 he proceeded without an escort over mountains and through forests, till he fell in with some Armenian woodcutters. These men at once recognised the prince of Antioch, and as he bore upon his countenance marks of depression and grief, they judged that the city must be taken. One of them, drawing near to him, snatched his sword from him, and plunged it into his body. His head was carried to the new masters of Antioch, and Phirous had an opportunity of con- templating without fear the features of him who, the day before, might have sentenced him to death. After having received great riches as the reward of his treachery, this renegade embraced the Christianity he had abandoned, and followed the Crusaders to Jerusalem. Two years after- wards, his ambition not being satisfied, he returned to the religion of Mahomet, and died abhorred by both Mussulmans and Christians, whose cause lie had by turns embraced and betrayed. Wiaen the Christians were tired of slaughter, they pre- pared to attack the citadel ; but as it was built upon a mountain, inaccessible on most sides, all tneir efforts were useless. They contented themselves with surrounding it with soldiers and machines of war, in order to confine the garrison, and then spread themselves throughout the city, giving way to all the intoxication which their victory inspired. The pillage of Antioch had yielded them immense riches ; and although they had found but a small stock of provisions, they abandoned themselves to the most extravagant excesses of intemperance and debauchery. These events passed in the early days of June, 1098 ; the siege of Antioch had been begun in the month of October of the preceding year. After this victory, three days passed quickly av/ay in the midst of rejoicings, but the fourth was a day of fear and mourning. A formidable army of Saracens was drawing near to An- tioch. From the earliest period of the siege, Accien, and the sultan of Nice, whom the Christians had despoiled of his do- minions, had applied to all the Mussulman powers to procure assistance against the warriors of the AVest. The supreme head of the Seljoucides, the sultan of Persia, had promised to aid them ; and at his voice all Corassan, says Matthew of Edessa, Media, Babylon, a part of Asia Minor, and all the 158 msTOEY or the ceusades. East, from Damascus and the sea-coast to Jerusalem and Arabia, had arisen at once to attack the Christians.* Ker- hoo-ha, sultan of Mossoul, commanded this army of the ^lussulmans. This warrior had fought for a length of time, at one period for the sultan of Persia (Barkiarok), at others for the various princes of the family of Malek-Scha, who contended for the empire. Often defeated, and twice a prisoner, he had grown old amidst the tumults of ci\'il war. As full of contempt for the Christians as of confidence in himself, a true model of the fierce Circassian celebrated by Tasso, he considered himself the liberator of Asia, and tra- versed Mesopotamia with all the pomp and splendour of a conqueror. The sultans of Xice, Aleppo, and Damascus, with the sovernor of Jerusalem and twentv-eis^ht emirs from Persia, Palestine, and Syria, marched under his command. The Mussulman soldiers were animated by a thirst for ven- geance, and swore by their prophet to exterminate all the Christians. On the third day after the taking of Antioch, the army of Kerbogha pitched its tents on the banks of the Orontes. The Christians were made aware of its arrival by a detachment ot three hundred horsemen, who came to reconnoitre the place, and advanced even under the walls. Inquietude and alarm succeeded immediately to festivity and rejoicing. They found that they had not stores to sus- tain a sie2:e : and several of their leaders were sent with their troops towards the port of St. Simeon, and into the neighbouring country, to collect all the provisions they could find ; but the territory of Antioch had been so completely ravaged during many months, that they could not procure anything like enough for the maintenance of a numerous army. The return of all who had been sent in quest of provisions completed the terror of the Christians. At the verv moment of their arrival the infidels attacked the ad- vanced posts of the Crusaders ; and, even in these early contests, the Christian armv had to lament the loss of several of its bravest warriors. Bohemond was wounded in * Matthew of Edessa estimates this army at a hundred thousand horse and three hundred thousand foot. Abulfaradge speaks of " mille mille " horse. The Latin historians do not exaggerate so much, but do not at all agree in their accounts. HISTOUT OF THE CETJSADES. 159 a sortie ; in vain Tancred and Grodfrey performed prodigiea of valour ; the Mussulmans forced the Christians to shut themselves up in a place of which the latter had but just made themselves masters, and in which they were soon closely besieged in their turn. Placed between the garrison of the citadel and a besieging army, the Crusaders found themselves in a most critical position. To prevent their being relieved by any supplies by sea, two thousand Mussulmans were sent by Kerbogha to take possession of the port of St. Simeon, and of all vessels which brought provisions to the Christian army. Famine was not long in making its appearance, and soon exercised cruel ravages among the besieged. From the earliest period of the siege the Crusaders could scarcely procure the common necessaries of life at theii weight in gold. A loaf of moderate size sold at a bezant, an egg was worth six Lucquese deniers, whilst a pound of silver was given for the head of an ox, a horse, or an ass. Grodfrey bought for fifteen silver marks a half-starved camel, and gave three marks for a goat, which at other times would have been rejected by the poorest soldiers of his army. Surrounded by the vast riches conquered from the Saracens, the Crusaders w^ere thus condemned to all the horrors and miseries of famine. After having killed most of their horses, they were compelled to make war upon unclean animals. The soldiers and the poor who followed the army supported themselves on roots and leaves ; some went so far as to devour the leather of their bucklers and shoes, whilst the most wretched exhumed the bodies of the Saracens, and, to support their miserable existence, disputed with death for his prey. In this frightful distress, discon- solate mothers could no longer nourish their babes, and died with famine and despair. Princes and knights, whose pride and haughtiness had been the most conspicuous, were brought to the necessity of asking alms. The count of Planders went begging to the houses and in the streets of Antioch for the commonest and coarsest orts, and often obtained none. More than one leader sold his arms and all his appointments for food to support him a single day. As long as the duke of Lorraine had any provisions he shared them with his companions ; but at length he made the sacri- 160 HISTOET OF THE CRUSADES. fice of his last war-horse, and found himself, as were all the other Crusaders, reduced to the most cruel necessities. Many of the Crusaders endeavoured to fly from a city which presented to them nothing but the image and the prospect of death; some fled by sea, through a thousand dangers, whilst others cast themselves amongst the Mussul- mans, where they purchased a little bread by the abandon- ment of Christ and his religion. The soldiers necessarily lost courao^e when they saw that coimt de Melun, who so often defied death in the field, a second time fly from famine and misery. His desertion was preceded by that of the count de Blois, who bore the standard of the Crusaders, and presided at their councils. He had quitted the army two days before the taking of Antioch, and when he learned the arrival of Kerbogha, he, with his troops, immediately marched towards Constantinople. Deserters made their escape during the darkness of night. Sometimes they precipitated themselves into the ditches of the city, at the risk of their lives ; sometimes they descended from the rampart's by means of a cord. Every day the Christians found themselves abandoned by an increasing number of their companions ; and these desertions added to their despair. Heaven was invoked against the dastards ; Grod was implored that they might, in another life, share the fate of the traitor Judas. The ignominious epithet of rope- dancers (sauteurs de corde) was attached to their names, and devoted them to the contempt of their companions. "William of T}*re refuses to name the crowd of knights who then desei-ted the cause of Jesus Christ, because he considers them as blotted out from the book of life for eA'er.* The wishes of the Christiims against those who fled were but too completely fulfilled ; the greater part perished from want, and others were killed by the Saracens. Stephen, count of Chartres, more fortunate than his companions, succeeded in reaching the camp of Alexius, who was advancing with an army towards Antioch. To excuse his desertion, he did not fail to paint, in the darkest colours, all the misfortunes and dangers of the Christians, and to make it appear by his * Alii raulti, quorum nomina non tenemus, quia delecta de libro vitae, praesenti operi non sunt inserenda. — Will, of Tyre, lib. iv. HISTORr OF THE CRUSADES. 161 accounts that God had abandoned the cause of the Crusa- ders. The despair of several Latin pilgrims who followed the army of the Gi-reeks was so violent, that it urged them to horrible blasphemies.* They, groaning, asked why the true Grod had permitted the destruction of his people ? why he had allowed them, who were going to deliver the tomb of his Son, to fall into the hands of his enemies ? Nothing was heard among the Latin Crusaders but such strange speeches, and Gruy, the brother of Bohemond, exceeded all the rest in his despair. In the excess of his grief, he blas- phemed more than any, and could not understand the mys- teries of Providence, which betrayed the cause of the Cliris- tians. " O God," cried he, " what is become of thy power ? If thou art still an all-powerful God, what is become of thy justice ? Are we not thy, children, are we not thy soldiers ? "Who is the father of a family, who is the king who thus suffers his own to perish when he has the power to save them ? If you abandon those who fight for you, who will dare, henceforward, to range themselves under your sacred banner?" In their blind grief, all the Crusaders repeated these impious words. Such was the frenzy of despair in which sorrow had plunged them, that, according to the report of contemporary historians, all ceremonies of religion * These speeches and the complaints of the Crusaders are almost all translated from contemporary historians. We feel it our duty to report the text of them here. O Deus verus, trinus et unus, quam ob rem hsec fieri permisisti ? cur populum sequentem te in manibus inimicorum incidere permisisti ? et viam tui itineris, tuique sancti sepulchri liberantem tam cito mori concessisti ? Irofecto, si hoc verum est, quod nos ab istis nequissimis audivimus, nobis referentibus, nos et alii Christiani derelinquemus te, nee te amplius remorabimur, et unus ex noljis non audebit ulterius nomen tuum invocare. Et fuit is sermo moestissimus valor in tota militia; ita quod nuUus nostrorum audebat, neque archiepiscopus, neque e])iscopus, neque abbas, neque presbyter, neque dericus, neque quisque laicus Christ! invocare nomen per plures dies. Nemo poterat consolari Guidonem. — De Hierosohjmitano itinere, Dnc?tene's Collection, torn. iv. p. 799. The following is the speecii which Robert the Monk puts into the mouth of Guy, the brother of Bohemond : — O Deus omnipotens, ubi est virtus tua ? Si omnipntens es, cur haec fieri consensisti .' Nonne ei ant milites tui et peregrini ? Qais unquani rex aut imperator aut potens dominus familiam suam ita peruiisit occidi, si uUo modo potuit adjuvare ? Quis erit unquam miles tuus aut pere- grinus i &c. &c. — Robert. Monach. lib. v. 162 HISTOET or THE CETJSADES. Tvere suspended, and no priest or layman during many days pronounced the name of Jesus Christ. The emperor Alexius, who had advanced as far as Philo- melium, was so terrified hy all he heard, that he did not dare to continue his march towards Antioch. He thought, says Anna Comnena, it was rash to attempt to succour a city whose fortifications had been ruined by a long siege, and whose only defenders were soldiers reduced to the lowest state of misery. Alexius further reflected, says the same historian, upon the indiscretion and the inconstancy of the Franks, upon their manner of making war Avithout art or rules, and upon the imprudence with which, after having conquered their enemies, they allowed themselves to be surprised by the very same people whom they had con- quered. He likewise thought of .the difficulty he should have in making his arrival known to the Crusaders, and of the still greater difficulty of making their leaders agree wii:h him upon the best means to save them. All these motives appeared reasonable ; but it is easy to believe that Alexius was not sorry to see a war going on which de- stroyed at the same time both Turks and Latins. However it may be, the resolution which he took of returning to Con- stantinople threw all the Christians of Phrj'gia and Bithynia into the greatest alarm. The report then current was (and if we may believe Anna Comnena, it was from the insinua- tions of Alexius) that the Mussulmans were approaching -with numerous armies. They were constantly believed to be coming, and the soldiers of the emperor themselves laid waste all the country round Philomelium, which, they said, the Saracens were about to invade. Women, children, all the Christian families followed the arniy of Alexius, as it returned to Constantinople. They bade an eternal adieu to their native country, and deplored the loss of their property of all kinds. Nothing was heard in the army but lamenta- tions and groans ; but they who evinced the greatest grief were the Latins, whose wishes. were all centred in Syria, and who lost all hope of assisting their brethren besieged in the city of Antioch. When the news of this retreat reached Antioch, it greatly augmented the depression of the Crusaders. jS'ot a hope remained to them; famine carried off every day a great HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 163 number of soldiers ; their weakened arms could scarcely liffc tlie lance or the sword ; they had neither strength to defend their own lives nor to bury their dead. In the midst of such frightful misery, not a tear was seen, not a sob was heard ; the silence was as complete in Antioch as if the city had been buried in the most profound night, as if not one liying person was left in it. The Crusaders had not even the courage of despair left. The last feeling of nature, the love of life, was becomiDg daily extinct in their hearts ; they feared to meet each other in the public places, and concealed themselves in the interior of the houses, which they looked upon as their tombs. The towers and the ramparts remained almost without defence. Bohemond, who had taken the command of the place, sought in vain by his speeches to raise the courage of the Crusaders ; in vain the trumpets and the serjeants-at- arms called them to the combat. Whilst the Mussulmans shut up in the citadel, and those who besieged the city, every day renewed their attacks, the Christian warriors remained immovable in their dwellings. In order to drive them from their retreats, Bohemond was obliged to give several quarters of the city up to the flames. Baoul de Caen deplores, in pompous verses, the conflagration and the ruiu of churches and palaces, huilt tvith the cedars of Mount Lebanon, and in which shone the marble of Mount Atlas, the crystal of Tyre, the brass of Cyprus, the lead of Amathontis, and the iron of England. The barons who could no longer enforce the obedience of their soldiers, had not strength to ofi'er them an example. Then they bitterly remembered their families, their castles, their wealth, all which they had quitted for this unfortunate war ; they could not comprehend the reverses of the Christian army, and little was wanting, says William of Tyre, to make them accuse God of ingratitude, for having refused so many sacrifices made to the glory of his name. Matthew of Edessa relates that the Christian leaders offered to give up the city to Kerbogha, upon the single condition that he would allow them and their soldiers to return to their own countries, taking with them their bag- gage. As the Saracen general rejected their proposal, several of them, actuated by despair, formed the project of abandoning the army, and flying by night towards the coast, Vol. I.— 9 164! UISTOBY or THE CEUSADES. "but were prevented by the exhortations of Godfrey and Bishop Adbemar, who pointed out to them the disgrace which such a step would bring upon them in the eyes of both Europe and Asia. The famine had continued its ravages for more than two weeks, and the ^Mussulmans pressed on the siege with the greater ardour, from the conviction that they should soon be masters of the city. Fanaticism and superstition, which had precipitated the Crusaders into the abyss in which they were now plunged, alone had the power to re-animate their courage, and extricate them from such fearful perils. Pro- phecies, revelations, and miracles became every day the more frequent subjects of report in the Christian army. St. Ambrose had appeared to a venerable priest, and had told him that the Christians, after overcoming all their enemies, would enter Jerusalem as conquerors, and that Grod would there reward their exploits and their labours.* A Lombard ecclesiastic had passed the night in one of the churches of Antioch, and had there seen Jesus Christ, accompanied by the Virgin and the prince of the apostles. The Son of Grod, irritated by the conduct of the Crusaders, rejected their prayers, and abandoned them to the fate they had too richly merited ; but the Yii'gin fell at the knees of her son, and by her tears and lamentations appeased the anger of the Saviour. "Arise," then said the Son of God to the priest, " go and inform my people of the return of my commisera- tion ; hasten and annoiuice to the Christians, that if they come back to me, the houi* of their deliverance is at hand." They whom God had thus made the depositaries of his secrets and his will, oftered, in attestation of the truth of theii' ^'isions, to precipitate themselves from a lofty tower, to pass through flames, or to submit their heads to the executioner; but these proofs were not necessary to persuade the Crusaders, always ready to believe in prodigies, and who had become more credulous than ever in the moment of danger and in the excess of their misfortunes. The ima- * We have thought it our duty to report all these criiraculous visions as they are found in contemporary historians, because they produced a great effect upon the mind of the Christians, and that in becoming the origin and the cause of the greatest events, they are in themselves important events for histor}'. HISTOBT or THE CETJSADES. 165 gination of both leaders and soldiers was easily led away by the promises which were made to them in the name of Heaven. The hopes of a more prosperous future began to re-animate their courage. Tancred, as a good and loyal knight, swore, that as long as he had sixty companions left, he would never abandon the project of delivering Jerusalem. Grodfrey, Hugli, Kaymond, and the two Roberts took the same oath. The whole army, after the example of their leaders, promised to fight and to suffer until the day appointed for the deliverance of the holy places. In the midst of this reviving enthusiasm, two deserters came before the Christian army, and related that, when endeavouring to escape from Antioch, they had been stopped, the one by his brother, who had been killed in fight, the other by Jesus Christ himself. The Saviour of mankind had promised to deliver Antioch. The warrior who had fallen under the sword of the Saracens had sworn to issue from the grave with all his companions, equally dead as him- self, to fight with the Christians. In order to crown all these heavenly promises, a priest of the diocese of Mar- seilles, named Peter Barthelemi, came before the council of the leaders, to reveal an apparition of St. Andrew, which had been repeated three times during his sleep. The holy apostle had said to him : " Gro to the church of my brother Peter at Antioch. Near the principal altar you will find, by digging up the earth, the iron head of the lance which pierced the side of our Eedeemer. "Within three days this instrument of eternal salvation shall be manifested to his disciples. This mystical iron, borne at the head of the army, shall efiect the deliverance of the Christians, and shall pierce the hearts of the infidels." * Adhemar, E-ay- * The discovery of this lance and the prodigies that it operated are related by all the historians of the Crusades. The Arabian historian Aboul-Maha^en agrees, in the principal circumstances, with the Latin historians. The most credulous of the latter, and he who gives the greatest number of details, is Raymond d'Agiles. Albert d'Aix, William of Tyre, Guibert, and Robert, raise not the least doubt about the authen- ticity of the lance. Foucher de Chartres, less credulous, says, when relating the discovery, Audi fraudem et non fraudem. He afterwards adds, whilst speaking of the lance, that it had been concealed in the place from which it was taken : Invenit lanceam, fallaciter occultatam forsitan. The historian Paulus Emilias, who relates the same fact, accompanies it 166 HISTOKT OF THE CEUSADES. mond, and the other leaders believed, or feigned to believe, in this apparition, an account of which soon spread through- out the army. The soldiers said among themselves that nothing was impossible to the Grod of the Christians ; they further believed that Jesus Christ was interested in their welfare, and that Grod ought to perform miracles to save his disciples and defenders. During three days the Christian armv prepared itself by fasting and prayer for the discovery of the holy lance. On the morning of the third day, twelve Crusaders chosen from amongst the most respected of the clergy and the knights, repaired to the church of Antioch with a great number of workmen pro'S'ided with the necessary instru- ments. They began by digging up the earth under the principal altar. The greatest silence prevailed in the church ; the spectators expecting every instant to see the glitter of the miraculous lance. The whole army, assembled round the doors, which they had had the precaution to shut, awaited with impatience the results of the search. The diggers worked during several hours, and had gone to the depth of twelve feet without any appearance of the lance. They continued their operations till evening without dis- covering anything. The impatience of the Christians still increased. In the middle of the night another attempt was made. Whilst the tvv-elve witnesses were at prayers round the sides of the hole, Barthelemi precipitated himself into it, and in a short time re-appeared, holding the sacred iron in his hands. A cry of joy arose among the spectators, which was repeated by the soldiers who waited, at the doors, and which soon resounded through all quarters of the city. The iron on which all the hopes of the Christians were centred, was exhibited in triumph to the Crusaders, to whom it appeared a celestial weapon with which God himself would disperse with highly philosophical reflections. Yves Duchat says, on commencing the relation — " Then there happened a marvellous affair, of which some have left a written account, which I would not affirm to be entirely true, nor would I oppugn it as false." Anna Conmena says nothing about the lance, but speaks of the nails which had been used to nail Christ to the cross. Albu-faradge commits the same error. In general the accounts of both the Greeks and the Arabians of this war must be read with much precaution ; they furnish us with very few positive ideas. HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 167 his enemies. Every mind became excited, and doubts were no longer entertained of the protection of Heaven. Enthu- siasm gave new life to the army, and restored strength and vigour to the Crusaders. All the horrors of famine, and even tVie numbers of their enemies were forgotten. The most pusillanimous thirsted for the blood of the Saracens, and all demanded with loud cries to be led forth to battle. The leaders of the Christian army who had prepared the enthusiasm of the soldiers, now employed themselves in taking advantage of it. They sent deputies to the general of the Saracens, to offer him either a single combat or a general battle. Peter the Hermit, who had evinced more exaltation than any other person, was chosen for this em- bassy. Although received with contempt in the camp of the infidels, he delivered himself no less haughtily or boldly. " The princes assembled in Antioch," said Peter, addressing the Saracen leaders, " have sent me to de- mand justice of you. These provinces, stained with the blood of martyrs, have belonged to Christian nations, and as all Christian people are brothers, we are come into Asia to avenge the injuries of those who have been persecuted, and to defend the heritage of Christ and his disciples. Heaven has allowed the cities of Syria to fall for a time into the power of infidels, in order to chastise the offences of his people ; but learn that the vengeance of the Most High is appeased ; learn that the tears and penitence of the Chris- tians have turned aside the sword of divine justice, and that the God of armies has arisen to fight on our side. Never- theless we still consent to speak of peace. I conjure you, in the name of the all-powerful Grod, to abandon the terri- tory of Antioch and retiu-n to your own country. The Christians promise you, by my voice, not to molest you in your retreat. We will even put up prayers for you that the true Grod may touch your hearts, and permit you to see the truth of our faith. If Heaven deigns to listen to us, how delightful it will be to us to give you the name of brethren, and to conclude Avith you a lasting peace ! But if you are not willing to accept either the blessings of peace or the benefits of the Christian religion, let the fate of battle at length decide the justice of our cause. As the Christians will not be taken by surprise, and as they are 168 HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES. not accustomed to steal \'ictories, thev offer you the clioice of combat."* AVheii finishing his discourse, Peter fixed his eyes upon the leader of the Saracens, and said, " Choose from amongst the brayest of thy army, and let them do battle with an equal number of the Crusaders ; fight thyself v.ith one of our Christian princes ; or give the signal for a general battle. f Whatever may be thy choice, thou shalt soon learn what thy enemies are, and thou shalt know what tlie jrreat God is whom we serve !" Iverbogha, who knew the situation of the Christians, and who was not aware of tlie kind of succour they had received in their distress, was much surprised at such language. He remained for some time mute with astonishment and rage, but at length said, " Return to them who sent you, and tell them it is the part of the conquered to receive conditions, and not to dictate them. Miserable vagabonds, extenuated men, phantoms may terrify women ; but tlie warriors of Asia are not intimidated by vain words. The Christians shall soon learn that the land we tread upon belongs to us. Nevertheless I am willing to entertain some pity for them, and if they will acknowledge Mahomet, I may forget that this city, a prey to famine, is already in my power ; I may leave it in their hands, and give them arms, clothes, bread, women, in sliort, all tliat they have not ; for tlie Koran bids us pardon all who submit to its laws. Bid thy companions hasten, and on this very day take advantage of my clemency ; to-morrow they shall only leave Antioch by the sword. They will then see if their crucified God, who could not save himself from the cross, can save them from the fate which is prepared for them." This speech was loudly applauded by the Saracens, whose fanaticism it rekindled. Peter wished to renlv, but the sultan of Mossoul, placing his hand upon his sword, com- manded that these miserable mendicants, who united blind- ness with insolence, should be driven away. The Christian deputies retired in haste, and were in danger of losing their * This speech is reported by most of the Larin historians of the cru- sades. We have preserved the spirit of it, with the most scrupulous exactness. t Anna Cornnena speaks of a pretended single combat between the count of Flanders and the general of the Saracens. IIISTOKY OF THE CRUSADES. 169 lives several times whilst passing through the army of the infidels. Peter rendei-ed an account of his mission to the assembled princes and barons ; and all immediately prepared for battle, Tlie heralds-at-arms proceeded through the different quarters of the city, and battle "vvas promised for the next day to the impatient valour of the Crusaders. The priests and bishops exhorted the Christians to render themselves worthy of fighting for the cause of Jesus Christ ; and the whole army passed the night in prayer and acts of devotion. Injuries were forgiven, alms were bestov/ed, and all the churches were filled with warriors, who humbled themselves before God, and implored a remission of their sins. The preceding evening some provisions had been found, and this unexpected abundance was considered as a species of miracle. The Crusaders repaired their strength by a frugal meal ; and towards the end of the night, that which remained of bread and meal in Antioch served for the sacrifice of the mass. A hundi-ed thousand warriors ap- proached the tribunal of penitence, and received, with all the evidences of piety, the God for whom they had taken up arms.* At length day appeared ; it was the festival of St. Peter and St. Paul. The gates of Antioch were thrown open, and the whole Christian army marched out in twelve divisions, symbolical of the twelve apostles. Hugh the Great, though weakened by a long illness, appeared in the foremost ranks, and bore the standard of the Church. All the princes, knights, and barons were at the head of their men-at-arms. The only one of all the leaders that did not appear in the ranks was the count de Thoulouse ; detained in Antioch by the consequences of a woimd, he was charged with the duty of watching the garrison of the citadel, whilst his companions went to give battle to the army of the Saracens. Eaymond d' Agiles,t one of the historians of the crusade, * Letanias siipplices, ab ecclesia in ecclesiara, explicant ; confessione peccatorutB sinceri se mundant, et episcopal! vel sacerdotali consequenter absolutione promerita, corporis ac sanguinis Domini sacramento, plena fide communicant, &c. — Gitibert, lib. vi. Missae per ecclesias celebratse sunt ; omnesqiie sancta doniinici corporis communione communicati sunt. — Robert. Mon. lib. vii. t Vidi ego heec quae loquor, et dominicam lanceam ibi ferebam. — Rayni. d' Affiles, p. 155, apud Beng. 170 nisTOEY or the ceitsades. bore the holy lance, and directed the attention of the soldiers to it. Adhemar marched by the side of Eaymond, an- nouncing to the Crusaders the help of the celestial legions which Grod had promised them. A part of the clergy ad- vanced in procession at the head of the army, singing the martial psalm, " Let the Lord arise, and let his enemies be dispersed.'' The bishops and priests who had remained in Antioch, surrounded by the women and children, from the top of the ramparts blessed the arms of the Crusaders, prav- ino- the Lord to preserve his people and confound the pride of his enemies. The banks of the Orontes and the neigh- bouring mountains appeared to answer to these invocations, and resounded with the war-crv of the Crusaders, " It is the will of God! It is the will of God!'' Amidst this concert of acclamations and prayers, the Christian army advanced into the plain. To judge only by the state of misery to which they had been reduced, they had rather the appearance of a conquered army than of an army of men marchins: to "V'ictorv. A oreat number of the Crusaders were without clothes. The greater part of the kniorhts and barons marched on foot. Some were mounted on asses and camels, and, what is not an indiiferent circumstance on this dav, Godfrey de Boudlon had been oblio:ed to bor- row a horse of the count de Thoulouse. In the ranks were sick and attenuated soldiers, weakened by famine, and march- ing with difficulty, who were only supported by the hope of conquering or of dying for the cause of Jesus Christ. The whole country- round Antioch was covered with the Mussulman battalions. The Saracens had divided their army into fifteen bodies arranged in echelons. In the midst of all these, the division of Kerbogha, says the Armenian historian, appeared like an inaccessible mountain. The Sara- cen general, who had no expectation of a battle, at first believed that the Clu-istians were come to implore his clemency. A black flag flying over the citadel of Antioch, which was the signal agreed upon to announce the resolution of the Crusaders, soon informed him that he had not to deal with supplicants. Two thousand men of his army, who guarded the passage of the bridge of Antioch, were cut in pieces by the coimt de Vermandois. The fugitives carried terror to the tent of their general, who was playing at chess. HISTOET OF THE CEUSADES. 171 Aroused from his false security, the sultan of Mossoul or- dered the head of a deserter to be cut off who had announced to him the speedy surrender of the Christians, and then set himself seriously to the task of fighting an enemy whose auxiliaries were fanaticism and despair. On marching out of Antioch* the Christians advanced westwards towards the spot where the mountains draw near to the Orontes. Ranged in order of battle, in a vast space where the mountains formed a semicircle around them and secured them from surprise, they extended across the plain a league from the city. Hugh, the two E-oberts. the count de Belesme, and the count of Hainaut placed themselves at the head of the left wing ; Grodfrey was on the right, sup- ported by Eustace, Baldwin du Bourg, Tancred, Einaldo de Toul, and Erard de Puyset. Adhemar was in the centre, with Graston de Beam, the count de Die, Eaimbaut of Orange, "William of Montpellier, and Amanjeu d'Albret. Bohemond commanded a body of reserve, ready to act upon all points wdiere the Christians might require assistance. Kerbogha, who saw the disposition of the Crusaders, ordered the sultans of Nice, Damascus, and Aleppo, to make the tour of the mountain and then reascend the Orontes, so as to place themselves between the Christian army and the city. He at the same time drew his army up in line of battle to receive the Christians and repulse their attack. He placed his troops partly on the heights and partly on the plain. His right wing was commanded by the emir of Jerusalem, and his left wing by one of the sons of Accien. For himself he remained upon a high hill, to give his orders and watch the movements of the two armies. At the moment of the commencement of the battle, Ker- bogha was seized with fear, and sent to propose to the * Pierre Angelli, author of a Latin poem o-n the first crusade, which has for title, Syriados Libri XII., describes this battle at great length, and reports one part of the miraculous circumstances by which it was accom- panied ; but his recital is too diffuse to excite much interest. The Syriade begins with the first voyage of Peter the Hermit to Jerusalem, and is nothing but a copy in verse of the histories of William of Tyre, Albert d'Aix, and others. After having described the march and the early labours of the Crusaders, the Latin poet arrives, towards the end of the last canto, at the siege of Jerusalem, to which he only consecrates a hundred verses. 172 UISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. Christian princes, that in order to spare the effusion of blood, they should select some of their knights to fight against an equal number of Saracens. This proposal, which had been rejected the day before, could not be adopted by the leaders of an armv full of ardour and confident of vie- tory. The Christians entertained no doubt that Heaven had declared itself in their favour, and this persuasion must render them invincible. In their 'enthusiasm, they looked upon the most natui-al events as prodigies announcing to them the triumph of their arms. A globe of fire, which on the preceding evening had passed across the horizon and burst over the camp of the Saracens, appeared to them a sign foretelling their Adctory. As they left Antioch a light rain refreshed the burning air of the climate and the season, and was in their eyes a fresh proof of the favour of Heaven. A strong ^vind, which assisted the flight of their javelins and impeded that of the arrows of the Turks, was for them as the wind of heavenly anger raised to disperse the infidels. Animated by this persuasion, the Christian army showed the greatest impatience to begin the fight. They marched towards the enemy in perfect order. A profound silence reissued over the plain, on all parts of which shone the arms of the Clu-istians. 2s o sound was heard in their ranks but the voices of the leaders, the hymns of the priests, and the exhortations of Adhemar. All at once the Saracens commenced the attack by dis- charging a cloud of arrows and then rushing on the Crusa- ders, uttering barbarous cries. In spite of their impetuous shock, their right wing was soon repulsed and penetrated by the Christians. Godfrey met '>rith greater resistance in then left wing ; he succeeded, however, in breaking it and carrving disorder amons: their ranks. At the moment that the troops of Kerbogha began to give way, the sultan of Kice, who had made the tour of the mountain and returned along the banks of the Orontes, fell with impetuosity upon the rear of the Christian army, and threatened destruction to the bodv of reserve commanded bv Bohemond. The Crusaders, who fought on foot, could not resist the first charge of the Saracen cavalry. Hugh the Great, warned of the danger of Bohemond, abandoned the pursuit of the fugi- tives, and hastened to the succour of the body of reserve. HISTOltY OF THE CRUSADES. 173 Then tlie battle was renewed with redoubled fury. Kilidj Arslan, who had to avenge the shame of several defeats as well as the loss of his states, fought like a lion at the head of his troops. A squadron of three thousand Saracen horse, clothed in steel and armed with clubs, carried disorder and terror through the ranks of the Christians. The standard of the count de Vermandois was carried away, and retaken, covered vrith the blood of Crusaders and infidels. Godfrey and Tancred, who flew to the assistance of Hugh and Bohe- mond, signalized their strength and valour by the death of a great many Mussulmans. The sultan of JNTice, whom no reverse could overcome, firmly withstood the shock of the Christians. In the heat of the combat, he ordered lighted flax to be thrown amongst the low bushes and dried grass which covered the plain. Immediately a blaze arose which enveloped the Christians in masses of flame and smoke. Their ranks were for a moment broken ; they could no longer either see or hear their leaders. The sultan of jSTice was about to gather the fruits of his stratagem, and victory was on the point of escaping from the hands of the Crusaders. At this moment, say the historians, a squadron was seen to descend from the summit of the mountains, preceded by three horsemen clothed in white and covered with shinins: armour. " Behold !" cried Bishop Adhemar,* " the heavenly succour which was promised to you. Heaven declares for the Cliristians ; the holy martyrs Greorge, Demetrius, and Theodore come to fight for you." Immediately all eyes Avere turned towards the celestial legion. A new ardour * It is surprising that Raonl de Caen, who describes this battle, and in epic verse too, lias related no marvellous circumstance. Raymond d'Agiles makes no mention of the heavenly legion, but he says : Multiplicavit insuper adeo Dominus exercitum nostrum, ut qui ante pugnam pauciores eraraus quam hostes, in bello plures eis fuimus. Oderic Vital speaks thus of the legion which appeared to descend froln heaven : Ecce, Deo gratias, ab ipsis montanis visus est exire exercitus innumerabiiis, albis equis insidentes, et in manibus Candida vexilla praeferentes. Hoc multi viderunt Christianorum, et sicut putant, gentilium, et haesitantes, mira- bantur quidnam esset. Tandem utrique cognoverunt signum de coelo factum, et duces illius agminis, sanctos martyres Georgium, Demetrium, et Theodorum sua signa ferentes prsecedere cognoverunt. Sarracenis multustimor inhaesit, et Christianis spes meliorcrevit. — Od. Vital, lib. ix. Robert the Monk and Baldric relate the same circumstance and the same details. 174 HISTOET or THE CHL'SADES. inspired the Christians, who were persuaded that God hini- sell" was coming to their aid, and the war-ciy " It is the will of God r' was heard as at the beginning of the battle. The "vsomen and children who had remained in Antioch, and were collected on the walls, animated the courage of the Crusaders by their cries and acclamations, whilst the priests continued to raise their hands towards heaven, and returned thanks to God by songs of praise and thanksgiving for the succour he had sent to the Christians. Of the Crusaders themselves each man became a hero, and nothing could stand before their impetuous charge. In a moment the ranks of the Saracens were evervwhere broken, and they only fought in confusion and disorder. They endeavoured to rally on the other side of a torrent and upon an elevated point whence their trumpets and clarions resounded; but the count de Yermandois attacked them in this last post and completely routed them. They had now no safety but in flight, and the banks of the Orontes, the woods, the plains, the mountains were covered with the fugitives, who abandoned both their arms and their hass^se. Kerbogha, who had been so certain of victory as to have announced the defeat of the Christians to the caliph of Bagdad and the sultan of Persia, fled towards the Euphrates, escorted bv a small bodv of his most faithful soldiers. Several of the emirs had taken to flight before the end of the battle. Tancred and some others, mounted on the horses of the conquered enemy, pui'sued till night-fall the sultans of Aleppo and Damascus, the emir of Jerusalem, and the scattered wreck of the Saracen army. The con- querors set fire to the intrenchments behind which the enemv's infantrv had sous^ht refuo^e, and a vast number of Mussulmans perished iq the flames. According to the account of several contemporary his- torians, the infidels left a hundred thousand dead on the field of battle. Pour thousand Crusaders lost their lives on this glorious day, and were placed among the ranks of the martyrs. The Christians found abundance beneath the tents of their enemies ; fifteen thousand camels and a great number pf horses fell into their hands. As they passed the night in the camp of the Saracens, they had leisure to admire the HISTOEY OF TUE CRUSADES. 175 luxury of the Orientals, and they examined with the greatest surprise the tent of the king of Mossoul,* re- splendent with gold and precious stones, which, divided into long streets flanked by high towers, resembled a for- tified city. They employed several days in carrying the spoils into Antioch. The booty was immense, and every Crusader, according to the remark of Albert d'Aix, found himself much richer than he was when he quitted Europe. The sight of the Saracen camp after the battle proved plainly that they had displayed much more splendour and magnificence than true courage. The veteran warriors, the companions of Malek-Scha, had almost all perished in the civil wars which had for so many years desolated the empire of the Seljoucides. The army that came to the succour of Antioch was composed of raw troops, levied in haste, and reckoned under its standards several rival nations, always ready to take up arms against each other. f It is the duty of the historian to admit that the twenty-eight emirs who accompanied Kerbogha were almost all at variance with one another, and scarcely acknowledged the authority of a chief. On the contrary, the greatest union prevailed on this day among: the Christians. The different bodies of their army fought upon one single point, and afforded each other mutual support, whereas Kerbogha had divided his forces. In this battle, but more particularly in the circumstances whicli preceded it, the sultan of Mossoul showed more presumption than skill ; by the slowness of his march he lost the oppor- tunity of assisting Accien or of surprising the Crusaders. Afterwards, too certain of victory, he never dreamt of what despair and fanaticism are able to effect. These two power- ful principles greatly increased the natural bravery of the Franks. The horrible distress to which they had been re- duced only tended to make them invincible, and in that we shall find the miracle of the day. * This tent was able to contain more than two thousand persons. Bohemond sent it into Italy, where it was preserved for a length of time. f Gemaleddin, who of all the Oriental historians gives the greatest number of details upon the taking and the battle of Antioch, reports that a violent quarrel had broken out between the Turks and the Arabs ; he even adds that the Arabs had retired before the battle, and that in the course of it the Turks turned theii* arms against their allies. 176 HISTORY OF THE CUV r.ADi-:.-^. When the danger was past, the holy hmce which had ijjlveu so much confidence to the Crusaders dui'ing the battle, no longer excited their veneration, and lost all its marvellous influence. As it remained in the hands of the count of Thoulouse and his Proven9als, to whom it brought a great number of oflerinsis, the other nations were not wiliino: to leave them the sole advantage of a miracle which augmented their consideration and their wealth ; and, as we shall soon see, it was not long before doubts were raised upon the authenticitv of the lance which had effected such wonders, and the spii^it of rivalry did that which reason might have done in a more enli2:htened age. The -victory of Antioch appeared to the Saracens to be so extraordinary an event that many of them abandoned the reh- gion of their prophet. Those who defended the citadel were so struck with terror and surprise, that they surrendered to Raymond the very day of the battle. Three hundred of them embraced the faith of the holy Grospel, and many went among the cities of Svria declaring that the God of the Christians must be the true Grod. After this memorable day the Turks made scarcely any eflbrt to impede the march of the Christians. This last triumph of the Franks appeared to them like a decision of heaven that men ought not to contend against. Most of the emirs of Svria who had shared the spoils of the sultan of Persia, considered the invasion of the Christians as a passing calamity, ^\^.thout thinking of the consequences it niicjht leave behind, and onlv sousfht to take advantacje of it to assure their ovra domination and independence. The dvnasty of the Seljoucides was every day losing its strength and its splendour. The vast empire of Togi'ul, Alp-Arslan, and Malek-Scha was crumbKno^ awav on all sides amidst ci^il and foreign wars. This empire, created towards the middle of the eleventh centurv, whose sudden increase had alarmed Constantinople and carried terror even among the nations of the West, was soon doomed to see other states elevate themselves upon its ruins ; for, according to the remark of an historian, it might be said that God was pleased to show how insignificant the earth is in his eyes, by thus causing to pass from hand to hand, like a child's toy, a power so monstrous as to tlu-eaten the universe. HISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. 177 The first care of the Crusaders after their \*ictory was to put, if ^^'e may say so, Jesus Christ iu possession of the countries they had just conquered, by re-establishing his worship in Antioch. The capital of Syria had all at once a new religion, and was inhabited by a new people. A con- siderable part of the spoils of the Saracens was employed in repairing and ornamenting the churches which had been converted into mosques. The Greeks and the Latins min- gled their vows and their hymns, and prayed together to tho Grod of the Christians to conduct them to Jerusalem. The leaders of the army then joined in addressing a letter to the princes and nations of the West, in which they made a relation of their labours and then" exploits. That they might not trouble the joy that the news of their victories must create, they took care to conceal the losses they had sustained ;* but they must have made thom apparent by call- ing new warriors to their aid. They solicited by prayers, and even by threats, the immediate departure of all who had assumed the cross, and yet still remained in the "West. The Crusaders sent at the same time an embassy to Con- stantinople, composed of Hugh, count of Yermandois, and Baldwin, count of Hainault. The object of this embassy was to remind the emperor Alexius of the promise he had made to accompany tlie Christians with an army to Jeru- salem. The coimt of Hainault perished, with all his train, in Asia Minor. The count of Vermandois, who took a different route, arrived safely at Constantinople ; but could obtain nothing from Alexius. Hereupon, whether he was ashamed of having failed in his mission, or whether he feared to rejoin an army in which he could not maintain the splendour of his rank, he determined to return to Europe, where his desertion caused him to be compared to the raven of the ark.f Some days after the battle of Antioch, the greater part of the pilgrims entreated the leaders to conduct them towards the Holy City, the pruicipal object of their expedition. The council of the princes and barons being assembled, the * The leaders of the Crusades declared that the siege and the battle of Antioch had scarcely cost them tea thousand men. •f- Corvini generis legatus, postea non rediit. — Bald. lib. iv. 178 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. opinions Trere at first divided. Some of the leaders thought that thev ought to take advantage of the terror which the \ictory of Antioch had created in the Saracens. " Both the East and the AVest," said they, " have their eves upon us ; Christ calls us to the deliverance of his tomb ; the Christians who still gi'oan in the chains of the infidels implore the assistance of oiu? arms ; we have seen the emir of Jerusalem, and the soldiers who ought to defend the approach to the Holy Sepulchre, fly before us ; all the routes are open to us ; let us hasten then to comply with the impatience of the Cnisaders, an impatience which was always so fatal to otK^ enemies ; let us depart from an abode whose pleasures have several times corrupted the soldiers of Christ ; let us not wait till discord shall disturb our peace and rob us of the fruits of our labours." This ad"\'ice seemed to be dictated by wisdom and pru- dence, but the majonty of the leaders were full of blind security ; they could not resolve stiU to di-ead enemies they had so often conquered, and the hopes of extending their conquests in Syria made them forget Jerusalem. Specious reasons were not wanting wherewith to combat the opinions they had heard. The Christian army was deficient in horses; it was exhausted by fatigue, by long miseries, and even by its own victories. As it was now the height of summer, though the Crusaders might have no enemies, they had to dread during a long march the want of water, and the heat of both the season and the climate. It was well known that new wariiors from the "West were expected in Asia, and prudence commanded them to wait for them. By the beginning of winter everything would be prepared for the conquest of Jerusalem, and the united Crusaders would then march without obstacles or dangers towards Palestine. This opinion obtained a majority of the sufirages. The Crusaders had soon cause to repent of their determi- nation. An epidemic disease made fearfid ravages in their armv. Xothinir was to be seen in Antioch, savs an ancient chronicle, but buryings and funerals, and death there reigned, neither more nor less, than in some gi-eat battle or defeat. Most of the women and the poor who followed the army were the first victims to this calamity. A great number of Crusaders who came from Grermany and other HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES. 179 parts of Europe met with death immediately on their arrival at Antioch. Within one month, more than fifty thousand pilgrims perished by this epidemic* The Christians had to regret among their leaders Henry d'Asques, Eenaud d'Amer- bach, and several other knights renowned for their exploits. In the midst of the general mourning, the bishop of Puy, who comforted the Crusaders in their misery, himself gave way under his fatigue and died,t lihe the leader of the Hebrews, without having seen the promised land. His re- mains were buried in the church of St. Peter of Antioch, in the very spot where the miraculous lance had been disco- vered. All the pilgrims, whose spiritual father he had been, honoured his funeral with their presence and their tears. The leaders, who sincerely regretted him, wrote to the pope to inform him of the death of his apostolic legate. They at the same time solicited Urban to come and place himself at their head, to sanctify the standards of the crusade, and to promote union and peace in the army of Jesus Christ. But neither the respect they entertained for the memory of Adhemar, nor the spectacle of the scourge which was devourins: the Christian armv, could close their hearts against ambition and discord. The count of Thoulouse, who still maintained his claims to the possession of Antioch, refused to deliver up to Bohemond the citadel of which ho had become master on the day the Christians had defeated the army of Kerbogha. These two haughty rivals were several times on the point of coming to blows, Eaymond accusing the new prince of Antioch of ha\T.ng usurped that which belonged to his companions, whilst Bohemond threat- ened to bathe his sword, red with the blood of infidels, in blood which he said he had too long spared. One day that the princes and leaders were assembled in the basilica of the church of St. Peter, engaged in regulating the affairs of the crusade, their deliberations were disturbed by the most * Albert d'Aix &ays a hundred thousand. ^ f Tasso makes Adhemar die at the siege of Jerusalem, and makes him die by the hands of a woman. Some historians attribute the canticle " Salve Regina " to Bishop Adhemar. The bishops of Pily, his succes- sors, bear in their coat of arms the sword on one side and the pastoral staff on the other. It is added that the canons of the same city wore every year, at Easter, a cloak in the form of a cuirass. ISO IIISTOET OF THE CRUSADES. violent quarrels. IS'otwitlistanding the sanctity of the place, Eavmond, in the midst of the council, gave way to his pas- sion and resentment. Even at the foot of the altar of Christ, Bohemond hesitated not to make false promises in order to draw the other chiefs to his party, and repeated several times an oath which he never meant to keep, that of follow- ing them to Jerusalem. Every day trouble and disorder increased in the Christian armv, some only thinking of aggrandising the states which victorv had given them, whilst others wandered about S>Tia in search of cities over which they might unfurl their stan- dards. Bands were seen dispersed in all parts where there was a chance of a rich booty, fighting among themselves for their conquests when they Avere victorious, and a prey to all sorts of horrors and miseries when they met with unfore- seen resistance. The jealousy which prevailed among the chiefs extended to the soldiers : the latter quarrelling for the bootv gained from the enemy, in the same manner that the princes and barons contended for the possession of cities and proA-inces. Those whom fortune had not favoured com- plained of their companions, until some lucky chance allowed tliem in their turn to take advantage of all the rights of vic- torv. On all sides the Crusaders accused each other reci- procallv of ha^-ing enriched themselves by injustice and violence, althou2:h evervbodv envied the most eruiltv. And yet, amidst their conflicts or their misfortunes, the Christians continued to show the most heroic bravery and resignation ; they endured hunger, thirst, and fatigue with- out a complaint, and neither destTts, rivers, precipices, the heat of the climate, nor any other obstacle, could stop them in their incursions. In every kind of peril they sought all opportunities of proving their strength and skill, or of sig- naliziuir their valour. Sometimes in the forests or moun- tains they encountered savage animals. A French knight, named Gruicher. rendered himself celebrated in the armv bv overcomii^ a lion. Another knight, Geoffrey de la Tour, gained great renown by an action which doubtless will appear incredible. He one day saw in a forest a lion which a serpent held within its monstrous folds, and which made the air resound with his roaring. G-eoffrev flew to the assistance of the animal, which appeared to implore his pity, HISTOEY OF THE CRUSADES. 181 and witli one LIoay of his sAvord killed the serpent, "which was intent upon its prey. If Ave may believe an old chronicle, the lion thus delivered attached himself to his liberator as to a master ; he accompanied him during tlie war, and when, after the taking of Jerusalem, the Crusaders embarked to return into Europe, he was drowned in the sea whilst fol- lowing the vessel in which Greoftrey was.* Several Crusaders, .whilst waiting for the signal of de- ])arture for Jerusalem, went to visit their brethren who had established themselves in the conquered cities. Many of them repaired to Baldwin, and joined with him in contending against the Saracens of Meso}X)tamia. A knight, named Foulqiie, who went with several of his companions to seek adventures on the banks of the Euphrates, was surprised and massacred by the Turks. His wife, whom he had taken with Ijim, was brought before the emir of Hazart or Hezas. Being of rare beauty, one of the principal officers of the emir fell in love with her,t and asked her of his master in marriage, who yielded her to him, and permitted him to espouse her. This officer, deeply in love with a Christian woman, avoided all occasions of fighting against the Crusa- ders, and yet, zealous in the service of his master the emir, made incursions into the territories of the sultan of Aleppo. 1-iedowan, wishing to avenge himself, marched with an army of forty thousand men to attack the cit}^ of Hezas. Then the officer wlio had married the widow of Eoulque advised the emir to implore the assistance of the Christians. * This anecdote, which is here quoted without giving it any more im- portance tlian it merits, is related in the Magnum Chronicon Belgicum, which is found in the collection of the historians of Germany of Pistorius. Tl'e author says the lion followed Geoffrey like a hare : — Eum sequitur, sicut lepus ; et quamdiu fuit in terra, nunquam recedens, multa ei com- mocla contulit tam in venationibus quam in hello ; qui carnes venaticas abundanter dabat. Leo verb qusecunque domino suo adversari videbat, l)rosternabar, quern, ut dicunt, in navi positum ciim domum rediret, derelinquere noluit, sed nolentibus eum, ut crudele animal, in navem recipere nautis, secutus est doniinum suum, natando per mare, usque quo labore deficit. Tiie same fact is related by le Pere Maimbourg, who adds to his recital this singular reflection. " Strange instruction of nature, which casts shame U])on men by giving them, as she has done more than once, lions for masters." t Albert d' Aixis the only historian who relates this and the following facts. 182 HISTOEY or THE CEUS.U)ES. Tlie emir proposed an alliance to Godfrey de Bouillon. Godfrey at first hesitated, but the Mussulman returned to the charge, and to disperse all the suspicions of the Chris- tian princes, sent them his son Mahomet as an hostage. The treaty ^as then signed, and two pigeons, says a Latin his- torian, charged \\"ith a letter, brought the news to the emir, at the same time announcins^ to him the early arriyal of the Clmstians.* The army of the sultan of Aleppo was beaten in seyeral encounters by Godfrey, and forced to abandon the territory of Hezas, that it had begun to pillage. A short time after this expedition the son of the emir died at Antioch of the epidemic so fatal to the pilgrims of the West. Godfrey, according to the custom of the Mussulmans, had the body of the young prince enyeloped in rich purple stuff, and sent it to his father. The deputies who accompanied this funeral conyoy were ordered to express to the emir the regrets of Godfrey, and to tell him that their leader had been as much afflicted by the death of the young prince Mahomet, as he could haye been by that of his brother Baldwin. The emir of Hezas wept for the death of his son, and neyer ceased to be the faithful ally of the Christians. The leaders of the crusades s'till thought no more about setting forward on their march to Jerusalem, and the autumn adyanced without their being engaged in any expe- dition of importance. In the midst of the idleness of the camps, a celestial phenomenon offered itself to the eyes of the Crusaders, and made a liyely impression upon the minds * Some learned writers cannot trace messages by pigeons further back than the reign of Saladia. It is true that it was in the reigns of Nouradin and Saladin that regular posts, served by pigeons, were organized iu Egypt ; but this means of communication was very ancient in the East. ^ The recital of Albert d' Aix cannot be doubted. The historian speaks of the surprise that this sort of messengers produce-d among the Crusaders; and as the fact appeared remarkable to him, he has not neglected the smallest details of it : — Legati sine mora columbas duas, aves gratas et domitas, secum allatas eduxerunt e sinu suo, ac charta, ducis responsis proniissisque fidelibus in^cripta, caudis illarum filo innodata, e manibus suis has ad ferenda lee'a nuucia emiserunt. . . .Jam cum chartis sibi com- missis aves ailvolaverunt, in solium et mensara duels Hasart fideliter revers88. . . .Piinrei's autem ex more solito aves doir.esticaspie suscipiens, chartas intitulatas a caudis earum solvit, secreta ducis Godfredi perlegit. \S'e shall see in the fourth book of this history another example of this means of communication employed by the Saracens. HISTORY or THE CEtJSADES. 183 of the multitude. The soldiers who guarded the ramparts of Antioch saw during the night a luminous mass, which appeared to be fixed in an elevated point of the heavens. It seemed as if all the stars, according to the expression of Albert d'Aix, Avere united in a space scarcely more extensive than a garden of three acres. " These stars," says the same historian, " shed the most brilliant light,* and shone like coals in a furnace y They appeared for a long time as if suspended over the city of Antioch ; but the circle which seemed to contain them being broken, they dispersed in the air. At the sight of this prodigy, the guards and sentinels uttered loud cries, and ran to awaken the citizens of Antioch. All the pilgrims issued from their houses, and found in this phenomenon a manifest sign of the will of Heaven. Some believed they saw in the united stars an image of the Sara- cens, who were assembled at Jerusalem, and who would be dispersed at the approach of the Christians ; others, equally full of hope, saw in them the Christian warriors uniting their victorious forces, and then spreading themselves over the earth to conquer the cities ravished from the empire of Christ ; but many of the pilgrims did not abandon them- selves to these consolatory illusions. In a city where the people had much to suffer, and had dwelt during many months amidst death and its funeral rites, the future natu- rally presented itself under the most sad and disheartening colours. All who suffered, and had lost the hope of ever seeing Jerusalem, saw nothing in the phenomenon presented to their eyes but an alarming symbol of the multitude of pil- grims, which was every day diminishing, and which promised soon to be entirely dispersed, like the luminous clouds which they had seen in the heavens. " Things, however," says Albert d'Aix, " turned out much better than was expected ; for, a short time afterwards, the princes, on their return to Antioch, took the field, and brought under their dominion several cities of Upper Syria." The most important of their expeditions was the siege and capture of Maarah, situated between Hamath and Aleppo. Raymond was the first to sit himself down before * Globes of fire, or ignited globes, as naturalists call them, might have produced this appearance. 184 HISTOET or THE CEUSADES. this cit\', where he was soou joined by the duke of Kor- mandv and the count of Flanders and their troops. The Christians met with the most obstinate resistance from the besies:ed during several days. The infidels poured arrows and stones upon them m clouds, together with floods of an inflammable matter, which several historians pretend to have been the Greek fii-e. "VTiiliam of Tyre says that they hurled from the summits of the towers upon the assailants quick lime and hives filled with bees.* Want of provisions soon began to be felt, and the Crusaders at length experienced such distress, that many among them subsisted upon the dead bodies of their enemies.t Historv ousjht, however, to relate with hesitation the extremes to which famine is said to have carried them, and to throw great doubt upon the account of the public sale of human flesh in the camp of the Christians.;]: The Crusaders endured all their misfortunes with patience, but thev could not support the outrages committed by the inhabitants of Maarah upon the religion of Jesus Christ. The infidels raised crosses upon the ramparts, covered them with ordure, and heaped all sorts of insults upon them. Tliis sis:ht so irritated the Christians, that thev resolved to redouble their eftbrts to get possession of the city. They constructed machines which shook the walls, whilst the soldiers moimted to the assault ; and they succeeded, after a lengthened resistance, in making themselves masters of the * Lapides. iCTiem, et plena apibus alvearia, cclcem quoque vivam, quanti poterant jaculabantur instantia, ut eos a muro propellereiit. — Will. Tyr. lib. vi'i. cap. 9. t Audivi namque. qui dicereut cibi se coactos inopia ad humante carnis edulium transiisse, adultos gentiliutn cacabo immersisse, pueros iufixisse verubus, et vorasse adu^ice, Antioch, a disease of which he died in the said country of Syria, he sent them to his brother Gauthier de Loheac, by bis squire called Simon de Ludron, who had accompanied him in this voyage." "We might quote many other similar facts which prove that the Christians of the West set the greatest vaJue upon reUcs brought from the East. * This circumstance is related in the Chronicle of Hainault (Gisle- herti Chronica Haniionice ;) — Tacendum non est, says this chronicle, quod uxor ejus Yda comitissa doraini sui occasum ut audivit, sed incerta si occisus fuerit, vel captus teneretur, Deum et virum suum dUigens, partes illas eum labore magno et gravibus expensis adire non dubitavit : unde ipsa prius de viro suo incerta, incertior rediit. — P. 37. UlSTOKY OjT the CRUSADES. 247 and Jerusalem. A sliort time after their return to Le Quercy, they both died in the same week, and were buried in the same tomb. On their tomb may still be read an epitaph which has transmitted to us the remembrance of their exploits and of their touching affection. Graston de Beam returned with them into Ein-ope ; but some years after, having re-entered upon his estates, he again took up arms against the infidels, and -died in Spain, fighting against the Moors. Peter the Hermit, on his return to his country, concealed himself from the eager ciu-iosity of the faithfid, and shut himself up in a monastery he had founded at Huy.* He lived there, in humility and penitence, and was buried among the cenobites he had edified by his vii'tues. Eustace, the brother of Godfrey and Baldwin, returned to take possession of the moderate inheritance of the family, and gave no fur- ther trouble to fame by his exploits. Alain Eergent, duke of Brittany, and Eobert, coimt of Elanders, returned to their states, repaired the evils caused by their absence, and died regretted by their subjects.f The duke of ISTormandy was less fortunate than his com- panions. The sight of the holy places, or the long series of labours and evils he had endured in the cause of religion, had had no effect upon his indolent, undecided character. On his return from the Holy Land, he passed through Italy, where he fell in love with Sibylla, the daughter of the count of Conversana, and allowed his passion to detain him from * See the Life of Peter the Hermit, by le P. d'Oultremont. Peter the Hermit was returning from the Holy Land in 1102, with a nobleman of the country of Liege, named the count de Montaign, when he was assailed by a violent tempest, during which he made a vow to build an abbey. It was in performance of this vow that he founded the abhey of Neufmontier at Huy, in Le Condrez, on the right bank of the Meuse, in honour of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Alexander, bishop of Liege, dedicated it in 1130. Peter died there at an advanced age, and desired, from humility, to be buried outside the church. It was not till a hundred and thirty years after his death that the abbot and the chapter caused his relics to be removed to a coffin covered with marble before the altar of the twelve apostles, in the year 1242, with a sufficiently long epitaph, which M Morard, of the Academy of Sciences, read on passing through Huy in 1761, which is reported in the 3rd vol. of the MSS. of the Library of Lyon, by M. Delandine, p. 481. f Robert, count of Flanders, was killed by a fall from his horse. 24:8 niSTOEX OF THE CRUSADES. his duchy more than a year. By this delay he lost the opportunity of ascending the throne of England, to which, after the death of his brother AYilliam Eufus, his birth, and the great reno\^'n he had acquired in the crusade, gave him undoubted right. AYhen at length he returned to Isov- mandy, he was received with transports of admiration and joy ; but upon resuming the reins of government, he showed nothing but weakness ; he gave himself up entirely to de- •bauchery, and surrounded himself by none but dissipated, greedy courtiers, who drew upon him the hatred of his sub- jects. His brother, Henry I., who had succeeded William liufus, took advantage of the degraded condition of Eobert, and the contempt into which he was fallen, to take posses- sion of Xormandy. At the end of a battle this finfortunate prince was made prisoner by his brother, who led him in triumph to England, and caused him to be confined in the castle of Carditf, in the province of Grlamorgan. The remem- brance of his exploits in the Holy Land had no effect in mitigating his misfortunes. After twenty-eight years of captivity, he died forgotten by his subjects, his allies, and the ancient companions of his glor^'. The return of the Crusaders, and the account of their conquests, excited great enthusiasm, and renewed the eager- ness for crusades and pilgrimages among the nations of the West. They were not now affected by the passion for de- livering the holy places, but by that of visiting and defending them. Europe exhibited a second time the scenes which had followed the council of Clermont ; new discourses were heard, and fresh miracles related. Cities, lands, and castles M'ere again offered for sale. He who preferred repose and his country to the glory of the holy pilgrimage passed for a very lukewarm Christian ; whilst all who had quitted the standard of the crusade were objects of contempt in the eves of the faithful, and were threatened with the thunders of the Church, A general cry was raised against the brother of the king of France, who could not be pardoned for ha\'ing abandoned the Christian armv in a cowardly manner, and retuimed to Europe A^-ithout seeing Jerusalem. Stephen, count of Chartres and Blois, was not allowed to remain in peace in his states and family ; his people were astonished at his HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 24i9 shameful desertion, and his wife Adela reproached him with having shrunk from the duties of religion and chivalry. These unfortunate princes, and all who had deserted the standards of the holy vrar, were obliged to quit Prance, and again take the route for Asia. Many of the princes and barons who had not partaken of the enthusiasm of the first Crusaders, accused themselves of culpable indifference, and were drawTi into the general move- ment. Among these latter was William IX., count of Poic- tiers, a relation of the emperor of Germany, and the most powerful vassal of the king of Prance. An amiable and intelligent prince, of not at all a warlike character, he left, to take up the pilgrim's staff, a voluptuous and gallant court, which he had often delighted with his songs. He took upon him the cross at Limoges, and set out for the East, accom- panied by a great number of his vassals, among whom were a vast many women and youug girls. ^ His example was followed by William, count of Nevers, Orpin, count of ♦ Bourges, and Eude, duke of Burgundy. This last prince, perhaps, was influenced less by a desire of visitmg Jerusalem than by his anxiety to recover the remains of his daughter Plorine, who had been killed with Sweno in Asia Minor. In Italy, Albert, count of Blandras, and Anselm, arch- bishop of Milan, placed themselves at the head of a countless multitude of pilgrims. Germany witnessed the departure of Conrad, marshal of the emperor Henry, "VYolf IX., duke of Bavaria, the princess Ida, margravine of Austria; and a great number of lords and knights. In this new expedition, as in the first, many of the Cru- saders were led away by a desire for seeking adventures and visiting foreign countries. The brilliant success of Bald\vin, Bohemond, and Godfrey aroused the ambition of the barons who had remained in Europe. Humbert II., count of * William IX. is the first troubadour known. He was a valorous and courteous knight, but a great deceiver of ladies. He bade adieu in a song to the Limousin, to Poitou, to chivalry, which he had loved so much, and to mundane vanities, which he describes as coloured habits and beautiful hose. On his return he sang the fatigues, the dangers, and the misfortunes of this expedition, in a poem which is lost. His usual gaiety pervaded it, according to Oderic Vital, in spite of the sadness of the sub ject. — See the History of the Troubadours, by Millet, torn. 1. 250 HISTORY Of tilt: CPlVSADES. Savoy, who set out for the Holv Land with Hugh the Great, made a donation to the monks of the Bourget, in order to obtain by theii- prayers, a fortimate establishment {consulat) in his foreisTi Tovacre.* Mauv lords andkniirhts made similar donations, whilst others founded monasteries and churches, setting out with the hope that God would bless their arras, and enable them to acquire rich principalities in the East. The Crusaders assembled in several troops, and crossing the territories of the Hungarians and Budorarians, united under the walls of Constantinople to the amount of two hundred thousand. These new pilgrims repeated the scenes of 'violence which had so seriously alarmed Alexius in the first expedition. The Greek emperor, faithful to his poKcy, opposed force by cimning ; he flattered the vanity or the avarice of men he coidd not subdue, and paid veiy dearly for the insincere homage of the leaders of the crusade. He called Eaymond to liis assistance, who was then in his government of Laodicea. The presence and the persuasive discoiu*se3 of the count of Thoulouse calmed the perturbed spirits of the Crusaders for a few days ; and when they set * Guichenon, in his History of the House of Savoy, expresses himself thus : " William Paradin relates that this prince (Humbert, second count of Savoy) went to the Holv Land in the crusade which was determined on at the council of Clermont, under Godfrey of Bouillon," which the greater part of the historians have confirmed after him (such as Pingon, Vanderb. Dogliani, Chieja, Balderan, Buttel, and Henning). Papyrus Ma* son has rejected this, because neither the manuscript chronicle, nor the authors of the crusades, who name many lords of less consequence, have men- tioned him. Botero has said nothing of him. " Nevertheless we cannot doubt this voyage ; for about that time this prince save the monks of the Bourget in Suvoy a property called Gutin. for the health of his soul, of that of count Ame. his father, and of his ancestors. This donation, dated at d'Yenne in Savoy (and not Jena in Thuringia, as is said in the Art of Verifying Dates), imports that the count bestowed this liberality to obtain from God a fortunate establishment (consulat) in his voyage beyond sea. Now this word consulat then signified a principality, government, or sovereignty. Oderic Vital gives to Roger, count of Sicily, the title of consul of Sicily." Guichenon adds here many other exam])!es of the same kind. That which created doubts of the voyage of Humbert is the silence of the historians of the first crusade, as we.l as all the acts of this prince that have been preserved, and which prove that he was in Europe in the year 1100 ; but all these doubts vanish, when we know that he went in the second expedition. HISTOIIT or THE CKUSA.DES. 251 forward on their marcli to Palestine, he was charged with conducting them across Asia Minor. Among this confused mass of pilgrims* was a crowd of monks, old men, women, and young girls. They were with- out discipline, and marched without either precaution or order ; but they had such perfect confidence in their arms, that they boasted, on leaving Constantinople, that they would go to Bagdad, and wrest Asia from the hands of the infidels. Their troop was divided into three bodies. At the head of the first were the duke of Burgundy, the count of Chartres, the archbishop of jNIilan, the count de Blandras, and Ray- mond de St. Gilles. " The archbishop of Milan," says Albert d'Aix, " had brought into Asia an arm of St. Am- brose, with which he gave his benediction to the Crusaders. Kaymond carried with him the lance that had been found at Antioch, to which he looked for new miracles." This first body, advancing towards Paphlagonia, took the city of Ancyra by assault, and laid siege to the fortress of G-angras. The garrison made a strong resistance, and forced the Christians to retire. They were in want of provisions, and entertained but little hopes of obtaining any in an enemy's country ; and Avhilst sinking into despondency they quite unexpectedly found themselves confronted by a Turkish army. Kilidge Arslan, who had retired to Iconium, wdiich became the capital of his states, after the taking of Nice, had got together the remains of his army, and recruited his strength. The sultan of Mossoul, that same Kerbogha who, three years before, had lost the battle of Antioch, had joined the son of Soliman, and burned to meet the Christians again. Although they both had a considerable number of troops, they contented themselves, at first, with harassiug the Cru- saders in their march. Sometimes the infidels got before the Christians, and ravaged the country and filled up the wells and the cisterns ; whilst at others, they laid ambushes for them, and massacred all who strayed away from the main body. The Christian army had suffered much in crossing the * The details of this last expedition are found scattered in the works of several historians. They who afford the most information are Albert d'Aix, Oderic Vital, Foulcher de Chartres, Chronicon Uspergensis, Alberici Chronicon, &c. &c. 252 HISTOIIT OF THE CBUSADES. defiles of Paphlagonia ; and fatigue, hunger, and thirst had greatly weakened the strength of the pilgrims, when the sultans of Mossoul and Icouium determined upon giving them battle on the banks of the Halys. Eavmoud, before the eno:a2:ement, caused the miraculous lance to be carried through the Christian ranks ; whilst the archbishop of Milan, followed by his clergy, exhibited the arm of St. Ambrose, and oftered up prayers for victory ; but neither the prayers of the clergy, nor the sight of the holy lance, nor even the prodigies of valour displayed by the Crusaders, could secure them a triumph. After a sangui- nary conflict, they retired to their camp in great disorder. The Tui'ks, who had met with a determined resistance, did not at first dare to follow up their victory, and satisfied themselves with remaining masters of the field of battle, and plundering the dead. During the night the Crusaders became aware of the extent of their loss. Raymond and the other terrified leaders sought safety in flight. As soon as their absence was discovered, terror and despair pervaded the camp of the Christians ; every one attempted to fly, aban- doning the baggage, the sick and the wounded. The roads were soon covered with soldiers, women, and children, who embarrassed each other in their confusion, and were igno- rant where they might meet vdth the enemy, or where they should look for the Christian army. The Turks, rendered aware of their victory by the cries and groans which re- sounded from the neighbouring mountains, hastened to the camp of the Crusaders, massacring or making prisoners all they met. They then hotly pursued the fugitives, slaugh- terino: them without mercy. The darkness of the night added to the horrors of this scene of carnage. The pilgrims lost themselves in their confusion, and seemed to se^ the swords they wished to avoid; others stopped ex- hausted by fatigue, and awaited death as an end of their calamities. When day appeared, the country was covered with the bloody, plundered bodies of the Christians. Eaymond de St. Gilles, the duke of Burgundy, the count of Chartres, the count of Biandras, and some other leaders who had fled by difi*erent routes, met at Sinope, where they could scarcely gather around them a few thousand men, the remains of au HISTORY or THE CUUSADES. 253 amiy "whicli had counted under its standards more than a hundred thousand pilgrims. A second army of Crusaders, led by the count de Nevers and the count de Bourges, advanced as far as Ancyra, and directed its course towards Heraclea.* This army looked for traces of that which had preceded it ; but instead of finding the Christians, they soon met with the victorious anny of the Turks, which came to meet them, attacked them, and routed them. The count de Nevers with great difficulty found refuge in Germanicopolis. Taking for guides some Grreek soldiers, he was pillaged and abandoned by them in a desert. He v\'ent through the greatest dangers for several days ; and, exhausted with fatigue and covered with rags, he at length arrived at Antioch, whither the news of his defeat had preceded him. A third troop, composed, according to the authors of the time, of more than a hundred and hfty thousand pilgrims, set out from Constantinople under the orders of the count of Poictiers, the duke of Bavaria, and Hugh de Vermandois. They took possession of Philomelium and Samalia, and marched across devastated provinces towards the city of Stankon, where they expected to unite themselves with the army of the count de Nevers. It was before this city that the pilgrims heard of the disasters and defeat of the Chris- tian armies that had preceded them. They advanced towards Heraclea, and were not long in meeting with the army of Kilidge Arslan, which was waiting for them in an advan- tageous position. As they had no longer anything to hope for except from their courage, they did not seek to avoid the enemy. A rividet which separated the Christians from the infidels, was the signal and the theatre of battle. The Cru- saders, pressed by thirst, rushed towards it in crowds. The Turks immediately discharged upon them a shower of jave- lins and arrows. The two armies were soon completely engaged; but the Christians fighting in a confined and marshy place, could neither draw up their forces nor make use of the lance or the sword. Their bravery and their efforts were of no avail against the sldlful manoeuvres of Kerbogha and Kilidge Arslan. The Turks penetrated the * For these various positions, see the Map and the explanatory Memoir. 254 HISTOET or THE CHUSADES. Christian armv eyery where ; the carnage was horrible ; scarcely a thousand of the Crusaders escaped from either death or slavery. The margravine of Austria disappeared amidst the tumult of the battle. Some say that she was crushed under the feet of the horses ; whilst others assert that she fell iuto the hands of the enemy, and went to live and die in the harem of the sultan of Mossoul. The greater part of the women and young girls that followed the Chris- tian army met with the same fate. The count of Yer- mandois, pierced by two arrows, fled across Lycaonia, and arrived with a feeble escort at the city of Tarsus, Avhere he died of his wounds. The duke of Bavaria and the count of Poictiers, after having wandered a long time in deserts and forests, arrived almost naked at Antioch, in which city were assembled all the Crusaders that had escaped after their defeat. The leaders, by gathering together the wrecks of their troops, were able to form an army of ten thousand men, with which they marched to Jerusalem. Whilst coasting the Sea of Syria, they took the city of Tortosa, which they gave up to Ea^Tnond, although they had accused him., only a few days before, of having been the cause of all their disasters. Upon their arrival in Palestine, they found new enemies to contend with. The duke of Burgundy* and the count of Blois were killed in a battle fought near Eamla. Arpin, coimt de Berri,t fell ali^e into the hands of the Saracens, and died in slavery. The count de Blandras, the count of Savoy, "William, count of Poictiers, the count de Xevers, and the duke of Bavaria only led a small number of their soldiers back to Europe. :|: * The body of the duke of Burgundy was brought back to France, and buried at Citeaux. Urban Planchier says in his history, that they ob- served the anniversary of the death of this prince on the Friday before Passion Sunday. After the death of her husband, ■Slahaul, the wife of Eude, and mother of Floiine, retired to the abbey of Fontevrault. + It has been said ti^at Arpin, on setting out for the crusade, sold the county of Beiri to Philip, king of France, for the sum of 60,000 crowns. This is the way in which the fact is related in the Hintori/ of Berri : " King Piiilip redeemed his city of Bourges, which Henry his father had engaged for 60.000 Ciowns, froin Arpin. Thus Bourges returned to its natural prince." — History of Berri, by Chaumeau, p. 97. X Ancient historians contain many other details concerning this expe- dition that we have not thought it necessary to notice. This expedition HISTORY OF THE CFvUSADES. 255 Such are tlie principal events of tlie first crusade, the commencement and the end of which were marked by the greatest disasters, and which deprived Europe of more than a milUon of men. When we reflect on the energies dis- played and the forces employed in this expedition hy the West, we are at first astonished that it did not succeed. It has often been repeated, when speaking of this holy war, in which the East beheld an army of six hundred thou- sand men brought against it, " that Alexander conquered Asia Avith thirty thousand men." It is more than probable that the Grreeks who wrote the life of Alexander have dimi- nished the number of his forces in order to heighten the splendour of his victories ;* but, be that as it may, it must be admitted that the expedition of the Macedonian con- queror did not present the same dangers, or the same obsta- cles that the Crusaders had to encounter. The armies which left Greece for Asia had less to suffer from change of climate, or the length and difficulties of the voyage than those who came from the extremities of the West. The Macedonians, in their invasion of the East, had scarcely any nation to contend with but the Persians, an efieminate peo- ple, previously several times vanquished by the Greeks ; whilst the Crusaders had to pass through a crowd of un- known, barbarous hordes, and when arrived in Asia, foimd, as enemies, several nations of conquerors. The Greeks of Alexander's expedition did not go into Asia to introduce new laws, or change the manners and religion of the people ; they even adopted something of the costumes and usages of the Persians, which very much facilitated their conquests. t In the crusades, on the contrary, Ave behold two presents nothing but scenes of carnage and reverses, without glory or results. We shall be obliged to return to it hereafter. * Alexander, say the Greek historians, had thirtj'^ thousand infantry and five thousand horse. A single historian, Anaximenes, makes the Macedonian army amount to forty-eight thousand men. t The Turks, thirty years before the taking of Jerusalem by the Chris- tians, had scarcely met with any resistance to their invasions of some of the richest provinces of Asia, because the Mussulman religion, which they had recently embraced, was that of the countries against which they directed their arms. If the Tartars at different epochs have invaded several countries of the globe, and have maintained themselves in them, it was because on issuing from their deserts they had almost no religic i, 26Q HisTOEY or tue chusades. religions armed one against the other, which redoubled tlie hatred of the combatants, and forbade all approximatioD. As soon as the standard of Mahomet floated over a city, the Christians fled from it ; whilst the cross of the Christians had the same effect upon the Mussulmans. As the greater part of the jMussulman cities which fell into the hands of the Christians were deserted, the latter were obliged to people the provinces thev conquered, and exhaust their armies, to found, in some sort, colonies wherever their arms triumplied. If it be allowed that no wars are more san- guinaiy than religious wars, there are certainly none in which it is more difficult for a conqueror to extend or preserve his conquests. This is a very important observation, if we would appreciate the results of this crusade. On all occasions where bravery alone was required, nothing can be comparable to the exploits of the Crusaders. When reduced to a small number of combatants, they triumphed no less over their enemies than when they consisted of vast armies. Forty thousand Christians obtained possession of Jerusalem, defended by a garrison of sixty thousand Saracens. There re- mained scarcely twenty thousand men under their standards, when they had to contend with all the forces of the East in the plains of Ascalon. If Alexander performed greater things, and particularly if he conquered a greater number of nations, it was because he commanded a disciplined army, of which he was the absolute leader. All his military and political operations were directed by one same mind and one same will. It was not thus in the army of the Crusaders, which was composed of many nations, and held within itself the fatal germs of license and disorder. The feudal anarchy Avith which Europe was then distracted followed the defenders of the cross into Asia, and that turbident spirit of the knights, which constantly led them to have recoiu'se to and were thus disposed to adopt any advantageous faith they might meet with in their passage. It will be objected to me that the Arabians, in the first ages of the Hegira, invaded a great part of Asia and Africa, where they found orher religions than their own long established ; but it may be answered that these religions were sinking to decay. When the Mussul- mans presented themst-lves in Europe, where the Christian religion was better established than in the East, this religion offered an insurmountable barrier to their progress. HISTOIIT or TUE CEUSADES. 267 arms, was precisely that which checked and bounded their conquests. When we think of their ever reviving discords, of the calamities which were the consequences of thein, of that excess of bravery that made them commit so many faults, of that want of foresight which they almost always evinced on the eve of great dangers, one thmg alone surprises us, and that is, that they did not entirely fail in their enter- prise. Philosophy may, with some justice, oppose its reasonings to the marvels of this war ; but she will tind in it an abun- dant source of profound and new observations. In it she will see man with his inexplicable contrasts ; in it she will meet with the passions, with all that characterizes them, with all they possess that most plainly exhibits the hmnan heart and mind. Reason, without doubt, must deplore the dis- orders, the excesses, and the delirium of the Crusaders ; but such is human weakness, that we always interest ourselves in great events wherein man is fully developed. The imagination of the most indifferent must be struck w4th the instances of heroism which the history of the cru- sades aboimds in. If many of the scenes of this great epoch excite our indignation or ou.r pity, how many of the events fill us with admiration and surprise ! How many names, rendered illustrious by this war, are still the pride of families and nations ! That which is perhaps most posi- tive in the results of the first crusade, is the glory of our fathers, — that glory which is also a real good for a country ; for great remembrances found the existence of nations as well as families, and are the most noble sources of patriotism. In remotest antiquity, one of those passions which some- times act upon a wliole people, precipitated Greece upon Asia. This war, famous and rich in exploits, inflamed the imagination of the Grreeks, and was for a great length of time celebrated in their temples and upon their stage. If great national remembrances inspire us with the same enthu- siasm, if we entertain as strong a respect as the ancients for the memory of our ancestors, the conquest of the Holy Land must be for us as glorious and memorable an epoch as the war of Troy was for the people of Greece. These two wars, however cUfierent in their motives, present almost the same 258 HISTOET OF THE CHUSADES. results to the enliglitened observer ; botli offer grand lessons to policy and illustrious models to valour ; both founded new states, new colonies, and established relations between distant nations. Both had a marked influence upon the ci^Tlization of the ages that followed them : both, in short, developed great passions and fine characters, and thus furnished the happiest subjects for the epic muse, who dehgfhts only in celebrating prodigies and wonders. AVhen comparing these two memorable wars, and the poetical masterpieces that have celebrated them, we cannot but think that the subiect of the *' Jerusalem Delivered" is more wonderful than that of the '' Iliad." "We may still further say, that the heroes of Tasso are more interesting than those of Homer, and their exploits less fabulous. The cause which armed the Greeks was much less important than that which actuated the Christians. The latter, in some sort, took up arms for the assistance of misfortune and oppressed weakness. They went to defend a reUgion able to make them sensible of ills that were endured far from them, and to make them find brothers in regions uukuov>TL to them. This character of sociability is not to be foimd in any belief of the ancients. The Crusaders exhibited another spectacle with which antiquity was unacquainted — the union of religious humility with the love of glory. History shows us constantly these haughty heroes, the terror of Asia and the Mussulmans, bending their %'ictorious brows to the dust, and marching from conquest to conquest, covered with the sack of peni- tence. The priests, who exhorted them in battle, only raised their com-age by reproaching them with their sins. When they met vrith reverses, a thousand voices were raised among them to accuse their own misconduct ; and when they were victorious, it was God alone that gave them the victory, and religion forbade their claiming glory from it.* The historian may be permitted to think that this differ- ence between the heroes of the '' Hiad" and those of the * Daimbert, Godfrey of Bouillon, and Raymond de St. Gilles, when writing to the pope and the faithful of the We>t. say that the victory of Dorylreum had filled the pilgrims with pride, and that God, to punish them, opposed Antioch to them, which delayed them nine months. HISTORY OF THE CSUSADES. 259 holy war is not sufficiently marked in tlie poem of " Jeru- salem Delivered."* Another reproach may likewise be addressed to the bard of Einaldo and Godfrey ; the ideas of magic and gallantry which he has too freely lavished upon his poem are not in accordance v.ith the truth of history. Magic, which is nothing but a sort of degenerated super- stition, and which only deals with small things, was but little known to the Crusaders. Their superstition, however gross, had something noble and grand in it, which associated them sufficiently with the spirit of the epopee, T^ithout the poet having anything to alter ; their character and manners were grave and austere, and exceedingly well suited to the dignity of a rehgious epic. It was not till long after the first crusade that magic formed any part of the super- stition of the Franks, or that their warlike manners aban- doned the prominently epic character which distinguished them, to adopt the romantic character which they have pre- served in all books of chivalry. It appears to us that we discover in Tasso much more of the manners of the times in which he hved than of those of the end of the eleventh century, the period of the events which form the subject of his poem. But it does not enter into the plan or the object of this work to carry such observations further.f After ha\ing spoken of the heroic deeds and of all that was wonderful in the first crusade, I will turn my attention to the imme- diate effects it produced upon Europe and Asia. We are sufficiently well acquainted with the evils by which it was followed ; great disasters are the familiar subjects of history, but the slow and almost insensible progress of the good that may result from a great revolution, is much less easily perceived. The first result of this crusade was to carry terror among * Tasso himself was of this opinion, as may be seen in an interesting letter addressed to us by M. Bureau Delamalle. The admiration which I entertain for the Poet of the Crusades, makes me exceedingly anxious that M. Baour Lormian should finish the undertaking he has begun, so worthy of his rare talent, a translation in verse of the Jerusalem Delivered. •f" M. Guinguene, in his Histoire Litteraire d'lialie, has deigned to adopt, with some modification, several of these observations, which is the most worthy reward of my labours and researches. Vol. I.— 13 2G0 nrsTORY of the crusades. tlie Mussulman nations, and to place it out of their po^ver to undertake for a length of time any warlike enterprises against the West. Thanks to the yictories of the Crusaders, the Greek empire extended its limits, and Constantinople, which was the road to the West for the tSaracens, was ren- dered safe from their attacks. In this distant expedition Eiu-ope lost the flower of its population, but it was not, as Asia was. the theatre of a bloodv and disastrous war ; of a war in which nothing was respected, in which provinces and cities were, by turns, ravaged by the conquerors and the conquered. Whilst the warriors of Europe were shedding their blood on the plains of the East, the West remained in profound peace. Among Christian nations it was then con- sidered a crime to take up arms for any other cause than that of Jesus Christ. This opinion contributed greatly to check the frightful brigandage that had prevailed, and to increase respect for the truce of God, which was, in the middle ao:es. the crerm or the simal of the best institutions. AVhatever were the reverses of the crusades, they were less deplorable than the civil wars and the scourges of feudal anarchv that had so Ions; ravas:ed all the countries of the West. This first crusade produced other advantages to Europe.* The East, by the holy war, was in some sort laid open to the West, which, before, was but little acquainted ^ith it ; the IMediterranean became more frequented by European vessels, navigation made some progress, and commerce, particularly that of the Pisans and Grenoese, must have been increased and enriched bv the foundation of the kinojdom of Jerusa- lem. A great part, it is true, of the gold and silver of Em'ope was carried into Asia by the Crusaders ; but these treasures, heaped up and concealed by avarice and fear, had been long abstracted from circulation ; the gold which was not carried awav bv the Crusaders circulated more freelv, and Europe, with a less quantity of money, appeared all at once more rich than it had ever been. We cannot perceive, whatever may have been asserted, tliat in the first crusade Europe received any great quantity * Iq our general conclusions, we shall often have to quote the works of M. Heeren and M. Choiseuil d'Aillecourt upon the influence of the crusades. HISTORY or THE CRUSADES. 261 of kno'^\-ledge from the East. During the eleventh century, Asia had been the theatre of the most sanguinary revolu- tions. At this period the Saracens, but more particularly the Turks, cultivated neither the arts nor the sciences. The Crusaders had no other relation T\'ith them but a war of ex- termination. On another side, the Franks held the Greeks, among whom, besides, the arts and sciences were declining, in too much contempt to borrow any kind of instruction from them ; nevertheless, as the events of the crusade had strongly affected the imagination of nations, this great and imposing spectacle was sufficient to give an impetus to the human mind in the "West. Several writers undertook to trace the history of this memorable period. Raymond d'Agiles, Robert the monk of St. Eemy, Tudebode, Foulcher de Chartres, Abbot Guibert, Baudry, the bishop of Dol, and Albert d'Aix were contemporary historians, and most of them ocidar witnesses of the conquests and exploits they have described. The histories they have left us are not desti- tute of merit, and some of them are even better than that which was written of the same kind among either the Greeks or the Arabs. These writers were animated in their labours by the same spirit of piety which governed the heroes of the cross. This spirit of piety caused them to take up the pen, and persuaded them that they wrote for the cause of God. They would have thought themselves wanting in their duty as Christians, if they had not employed their abilities in transmitting the events of the holy war to posterity. In whatever manner we judge of their motives, we cannot avoid being convinced that they have rendered great services to history, and that without them the heroic times of our annals would have remained without monuments. The wonderful portion of the character of this first cru- sade likewise awakened the epic muse. Eaoul de Caen,* who, in his history, sometimes sounds the epic trumpet in order worthily to celebrate the "gestes" of Tancred, is not deficient in either warmth or fancy. The conquest of Jeru- salem was during the twelfth century the subject of several works in verse. A Limousin knight, Geoffrey de la Tour, * The verse of this writer is much better than his prose, which is very incorrect, and sometimes unintelligible. 262 HISTORY OF THE CEL'SADES. called tlie prior or abbot of the Yigeois, described very tole- rably the events of these wars in a large volume all written in his maternal tongue, and in vidgar rhyme, in order that the people might imderstand it tlie better. This poem, written in verse, which was the fruit of the labour of twelve years, is lost. Many other similar works have doubtless shared the same fate ; but that which remains suffices to prove that human intelligence began to expard at the commencement of the twelfth century. Before this period, the science of legislation, wliicli is the first and most important of aD, had made but very little progress. Some cities of Italy and the pro"s*inces near the Pyrenees, where the Groths had encouraged the Eoman laws, alone exhibited glimmerings of ciA^ilization. Among the rules and ordinances that Gaston de Beam laid down before his departure for the Holy Land, are to be found many points and particulars which deserve to be preserv^ed by history, because they exhibit the feeble beginnings of a legislation which time and fortunate circumstances would perfect. Peace, savs this legislator of the eleventh centurv, shall be observed at all times towards clerJcs, monks, travellers, and ladies and their suite. — If ani/ one takes refuge in the abode of a lady, he shall enjoy security of person, on 'paying all loss or consequent injury. Let the peasant live in peace ; let his cattle and agricultural instruments be exempt from seizure.* These benevolent dispositions were inspired by the spirit of chivalry, which had made some progress in the wars against the Saracens of Spain ; they were particularly the works of the councils t which undertook to put a stop to private wars * yTe have obtained these details from a manuscript history of Beam, which has been kindly communicated to us by one of our most distin- guished magistrates, who consecrates his leisure to the cultivation of letters. This history, remarkable for a wise erudition and sound criti- cism, is likely to throw a great light upon the remote times of which we speak. f All the ordinances of Gaston de Beam are to be found in the decrees of the sjTiod or council held in the diocese of Elne, in Roussillon, the 16th of May, 1027. These dispositions had for object the Truce of God. The council decreed that no unarmed clerk or monk should be attacked, nor any man who was going to church or coming from it, or was walking with women. At the council of Bourges in 1031, and in several others, hese regulations were renewed ; labourers, their cattle and mills, were HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 263 and the excess of feudal anarchy. The holy wars beyond the seas finished that which chivalry had begun, they per- fected chivalry itself. The council of Clermont and the crusade that followed it only developed and consohdated all which preceding councils, all that the wisest lords and princes, had done for the cause of humanity. Many of the princes of the crusades, such as the duke of Brittany and Robert count of Flanders, signalized their return by establishing wise regulations. A few salutary in- stitutions began to displace the violent abuses of feudalism, and there might be seen, at least in some provinces, what a regime founded by the sword could exhibit of a moderate kind in its legislation. It was in France that these changes were most obvious, because France had taken the greatest part in the crusade. jNIany nobles emancipated their serfs upon their following them in this expedition. Giraud and Griraudet Adhemar de ]Monthiel, who followed their brother, the bishop of Puy, to the holy war, to encourage and reward some of their vassals, by whom they were accompanied, granted them several fiefs by an act drawn up in the same year as the taking of Jeru- salem. We might quote many similar acts made during the crusade and in the first year that followed it. Liberty awaited in the West the small number that returned from the holy war, who seemed to acknowledge no other master but Jesus Christ. In this crusade the nobility lost some portion of a power which they had abused, but they had more splendour and were held in greater honour. The king of France, although for a long time obnoxious to the censures of the Church, and although he did not distinguish himself by any great per- sonal quaUties, had a more tranquil and prosperous reign than his predecessors; he began to shake ofi" the yoke of the great vassals of the crown, of whom several were ruined or perished in the holy war. "We have often repeated that the crusade placed great wealth in the hands of the clergy ; but we must likewise add, that the clergy composed the most enlightened placed under the safeguard of i-eligion. — Seethe Collection of the Councils by le P. Labbe. It is not useless to remark that these regulations were at first received in Aquitaine. The council of Clermont caused them to 1^ adopted throughout the greater part of Europe. 264 KISTOIIY OF THE carsADL3 part of the nation, and that tliis increase of prosperity was in the nature of things. After the fii'st crusade, was seen that which is always to be observed in all nations that are pro- gressing in civilization. Power had a tendency to centralize itself in the hands of him who protected Kberty. Glory became the reward of all who were called upon to defend their country; consideration and riches took a direction to- wards that class from which intelligence was to be expected. It is certain that knowledge arose in Europe among the clergy, and that they alone were able to consecrate in some wav manv of the salutary' results of the crusades. As long as the clergy powerfidly assisted the progress of civihzation, they preserved their wealth ; as soon as they went beyond civilization, thev lost it. This is the course of thino^s on earth. As lontr as institutions are favourable to societr, society reveres them;* when under some relations they are esteemed less useful, they lose their importance. "Without anv necessitv for declamation, we must leave the inoratitude natural to nations to take its course, as we must their in- constancy, and to time ; which are but too powerful in destroy- ing instruments which societ}' has employed with some advantage. Many cities of Italv had arrived at a certain dej^ree of civilization before the first crusade ; but this civilization, born in the midst of a barbarous age, and spread amongst some isolated nations divided among themselves, had no power to attain maturitA'. For civilization to produce the salutary effects it is capable of, everything must at the same time, have a tendency to the same perfection. EJnowledge, laws, morals, power, all must proceed together. This is what has happened in France ;t therefore must France one day become the model and centre of ci\Tlization in Europe. The holy wars contributed much to this happy revolution, which may be seen even in the first crusade. * I only here speak of the clergy with regard to its knowledge. The opinion I express is not only applicable to France, but to all the states of Europe. t What a comment upon man's assumption is the history of France since this was written I — Trans. BOOK V. A.D. 1099—1148. > I HAVE related the disasters, the labours, and the con- quests of the first Crusaders ; I now direct my attention to the kingdom which was founded by their victories, the perils of which several times summoned the nations of the AVest to arms. If the recital of a war filled with adventures and prodigies has excited the curiosity and surprise of my readers, I trust they will not refuse to follow with me tlie progress of that distant kingdom, which was the fruit of so many exploits and so much glory, which cost so much blood and so many tears. After having beheld the countless crowds of pilgrims setting out for the deliverance of the Holy Land, who will not be astonished to see two or three hun- dred brave knights, the glorious remains of the Christian armies, suffice for the defence of the pro"\T.nces and cities conquered by the united powers of the West ? "What spectacle can create more profound reflection in the minds of thinking and enlightened men, tlian that of a new people, cast, as it were by a tempest, on a foreign shore, in the midst of a country from Avhich the arms, religion, and customs of numerous nations are unceasingly employed to expel them ? The country in which the Crusaders had just established themselves, and which the monuments of religion and his- tory rendered so dear to the nations of the AVest, constituted the kingdoms of Judah and Israel of antiquity. When the Uomans carried their arms into this country, its new masters added to the name which the Jews had given it that of Palestine, or the country of the Palestinians. It was bounded on the south and east by the deserts of Arabia and Idumea, on the west by the Mediterranean, and on the north by the mountains Libanus, At the period of tlie crusades, as at the present time, a great part of the soil of Palestine, upon which rise the 266 HISTOEY OF THE CRUSADES. barren mountains of Sion, Hebron, Hebal, and Gelboei, presented the aspect of a land upon which the curses of Heaven had fallen. This land, formerly promised to the elect people of God, had several times changed inhabitants. All the sects, all the dvnasties of the Mussulmans, had dis- puted the possession of it sword in hand, and revolutions and wars had left numerous memorable ruins in its capital, and in the greater part of its provinces. The religious ideas of the Mussulmans and the Christians seemed alone to give importance to the conquest of Judea ; history must, however, guard against the exaggeration ^4th which certain travellers have spoken of the sterility of this unfortunate country.* Amidst the calamities which, during many ages, desolated the pro^'inces of Palestine, some traces of its ancient splen- dour may still be perceived. The shores of the Lake of G-alilee and of the Jordan, some valleys watered by the Besor, the Arnou, and the Jaboc, and the plains contiguous to the sea which war had not ravaged, still recalled by their fertility the promises of Scripture. Palestine yet boasted some flourishing cities, and several of its ports offered a commodious asylum to the vessels of Asia and Europe. In the condition of Palestine at that time, if the territory had been entirely subject to Godfrey, the new king might have equalled in power the greater part of the Mussulman princes of Asia ; but the young kingdom of Jerusalem con- sisted but of the capital and about twenty cities or towns in its neighbourhood. Several of these cities were separated by places still occupied by the infidels. A fortress in the hands of the Christians was near to a fortress over which floated the standard of Mahomet. In the surroimding country dwelt Turks, Arabs, and Egvptians, who all united to make war upon the subjects of Godfrey. The latter were not free from alarm even in their cities, which were almost all badly garrisoned, and found themselves constantly exposed to the terrors and evils of war. The lands remained uncul- tivated, and all communications were interrupted. Amidst so many perils, several of the Latins abandoned the pos- sessions which rictoiy had bestowed upon them ; and that * An excellent dissertation on the Holy Land, by the Abbe Guenee, in Les Memoires de V Academic des Itiscriptions, may be consulted with advantage. HISTORY 0¥ THE CEXJSADES. 267 the conquered country might not be left without inhabitants, the interest of propert)^, or proprietorship, was called in to strentjtlien the waverino- love for the new abode. Everv man who liad remained a year and a day in a house, or upon cultivated land, was recognised as the legitimate proprietor of it. All rights of possession were annulled by an absence of the same duration. The first care of Grodfrey was to repel the hostilities of the Saracens, and to extend the frontiers of the kingdom intrusted to his defence. By his orders Tancred entered into G-alilee, took possession of Tiberias, and several other cities situated in the neighbourhood of the Lake of Grenesa- reth. As the reward of his labours, he obtained possession of the country he conquered, which in the end became a principahty. Tancred, master of a rich province, advanced into the territories of Damascus, whilst Godfrey, in a fortunate ex- cursion, imposed tributes upon the emirs of Caesarea, Ptole- mais, and Ascalon, and brought to submission the Arabs dwelling on the left shores of the Jordan. He was returning victorious to Jerusalem, when the city of Asur, which had surrendered after the battle of Ascalon, refused to pay tribute, and shook off the yoke of the Christians. Grodfrey resolved to lay, siege to this rebel city ;* he collected his troops, marched them towards Asur, and proceeded to attack * We have been guided principally in the history of Jerusalem, by the chronicle of Fouloher de Chartres, that of Albert d'Aix, the anony- mous author of the Gesta Francormn expugnanlinm Hiervsalem, and the history of William of Tyre. There is iiotiiinjz; in French upon the kingdom of Jerusalem. Being ignorant of the German language, we regret our inability to avail ourselves of the second volume of the History of the Crusades, by M. Walken, to the extent we could have wished. We may say the same of the history by M. Hacken, and several other German works upon the estal)lishment of the Christians in the East. Among the Arabian liistorians from whom the learned D. Bertheraud has made extracts, we have consulted — 1, IVie Musstdmaa Annalu of Aboulfeda. 2. The History of Tabari, or rather the continuation of that historian, who is called the Livy of the Arabians. 3. The History of Jerusalem, by Moudgiredclin. 4. The History of Aleppo, by Kemaleddin. 5. The History of the Attabecs, by Ben Latir. Thu^e historians and some others have furnished us wiili some points of comparison, and some document frequently incomplete, generally useless. The Oriental historians only become an abundant source of information at the epoch of the reigns of Noureddin and Saladin. 1.3* 268 HISTORY OF the crusades. tlie town. Already had the rolling towers approached the ramparts, the rams had shaken the walls to their founda- tions, and the city was about to be carried, when the besieged employed a mode of defence worthy only of barbarians. Gerard of Avesnes, who had been left with them as an hostage by Godfrey, was fastened to the top of a very high mast which was attached to the very wall against which the efforts of the besiegers were principally directed. At the prospect of an inevitable and inglorious death, the unfortunate Christian knight uttered loud and painful cries, and conjured his friend Godfrey to save his life by a voluntary retreat. This cruel spectacle pierced the heart of Godfrey, but did not shake either his firmness or his- courage. As he was sufficiently near to Gerard of Avesnes to make himself heard by him, he exhorted him to merit the cro^vn of martyrdom bV his resignation. " It is not in my power to save you," said he ; " if mv brother Eustace were in your place, I could not dehver him from death. Die, then, illustrious and brave knight, with the courage of a Christian hero ; die for the safety of your brethren, and for the glory of Jesus Christ." These words of Godfrey gave Gerard of Avesnes the courage to die. He begged his old companions to offer at the holv sepulchre his horse and his arms, that prayers might be put up for the health of his soul.* A short time after he died under a shower of darts and arrows launched by the hands of the Christians. The soldiers of Godfrey, on witnessing the death of Gerard, burned with rage to revenge him, and redoubled their efforts to render themselves masters of the city. On their side, the besieged reproached the Christians with their barbarity, and defended themselves with vigour. The Greek fire consumed the towers and the machines of the besiegers ; Godfrey had lost a great number of his soldiers, and de- spah'ed of reducing the city, which received succours by sea. As winter was approaching, he resolved at last to raise the siege and return to Jerusalem, deeply affected at having caused the death of Gerard of Avesnes without any advantage to the cause of the Christians. During the siege of Asur several emirs from the moun- * This account is found entire in Albert d^Aix, book vii. chaps. 8, 9, &c. HISTORY OF TJIE CllUSAULS. 269 tains of Samaria came to visit Grodfrey. They were struck with the greatest surprise when they tbund the king of the Christians without a guard, Avithout splendour, sleeping on a straw pallet like the meanest of his soldiers. They were not less astonished when, at their request, he exhibited before them his extraordinary strength by cutting off the head of a camel at a single blow with his sword. The emirs, after having offered presents to Godfrey, returned to their own country, and related the wonders they had seen. Their recitals, which history has not disdained, contributed greatly to increase the fame of the king of Jerusalem. When Godfrey reached his capital, he learnt the approach of a great number of pilgrims, the greater part of whom were Pisans and Genoese, led by the bishop of Ariana, and Daimbert, archbishop of Pisa. To the Christians arrived from the AV^est were added Bohemond, prince of Antioch, Baldwin, count of Edessa, and liaymond, count of Thoulouse. These latter had come to visit the holy places, and to celebrate the epoch of the birth of Christ at Jerusalem. Godfrey went out to meet the pilgrims as far as Beth- lehem, with his knights and the clergy. " After they were come into the holy city," says an old chronicle, "the king received them and feasted them magnificently ; and detained them in Judea during the winter, being much gratified with the presence of his brother Baldwin." Daimbert, archbishop of Pisa, had come into Palestine as legate from the Holy See. By means of presents and promises he got himself to be named patriarch of Jerusalem, in the place of Arnoul de Kohes. This prelate, brought up in the school of Gre- gory VII., maintained with warmth the pretensions of the Holy See, and it was not long before his ambition introduced trouble among the Christians. In the places even where Christ had said that his kingdom was not of this world, he who called himself his vicar desired to reign with Godfrey, an d demanded the sovereignty of a part of Jaffa, and of a quarter of Jerusalem in which the church of the E,esiu'rec- tion was built. After some debates, the pious Godfrey yielded to the imperious demands of Daimbert ; and such was then the ascendancy of the Church and the clergy, that the new king was obliged to consent to a treaty by which the kingdom shoidd belong to the patriarch, if Godfrey '«■ 270 niSTOET OF TUE CRUSADES. should die without children. G-odfrey thus ackno\fledged himself the vassal of the sovereign pontiff, and received from the pope and his legate permission to reign over a country conquered by his arms, Bohemond and Bald\vin consented at the same time to receive from the pope the investiture of their principalities. The prince of Antioch had refused to render homage to the king of Jerusalem, but he did not hesitate to acknowledge himself the vassal of a power which bestowed empires, and was able to send fresh armies into the East. In the mean time the wise Godfrey, after having freed his territory from the incursions of the Mussulmans, and carried the terror of his arms beyond the Jordan, reflected that victory was not all that was required to found a state. His capital had been depopulated by the sword of the Crusaders ; several other cities, like Jaffa, had lost the greater part of their inhabitants ; and this new king reckoned among his subjects Armenians, G-reeks, Jews, Arabs, renegades from all religions, and adventurers from all countries. The state confided to his care was like a place of passage, and had no other supporters or defenders but travellers and strangers. It was the rendezvous and the asylum of notorious sinners, who came thither to mitigate the anger of God, and of criminals, who thus eluded the justice of men. Both of these were equally dangerous when circumstances awakened their passions, or when fear and repentance gave way before new temptations. Godfrey, according to the spirit of feudal customs and the laws of war, had divided the conquered lands among the companions of his victories. The new lords of Jaffa, Tiberias, Bamla, and Xaplouse, scarcely acknow- ledged the authority of a king. The clergy, encouraged by the patriarch, assumed the tone of masters, and the bishops exercised a temporal power equal to that of the barons. Some attributed the conquest of the kingdom to their valour, others to their prayers ; every one claimed the reward of either his piety or his labours ; and whilst the greater part aimed at domination, all insisted upon independence. Godfrey undertook to rule so many conflicting preten- sions, and to bring a tumultuous government into some regular form. In order that the execution of his project might have the greater solemnity, he chose the circumstance HISTORY OF THE CIU'SADES. 271 vrhicli had conducted the Latin princes to Jerusalem. After ha-sdng accompanied them as far as Jericho, to celebrate with them the festival of the Epiphany, he returned to his capital, where he assembled the enlightened and pious men of the city, of whom he formed the states, or the assizes, of his kingdom. In this solemn assembly the first care was to regulate and determine the duties of the barons, the lords, and the common subjects, towards the king, and the duties of the king towards the lords and subjects. The king was to undertake to maintain the laws, to defend the Church, to protect widows and orphans, to watch over the safety of both people and lords, and to lead in war. The lord, who was the lieutenant of the prince, as regarded his vassals, was to guarantee them from insult, and to protect their property, their honour, and their rights. The first duty of the counts and barons towards the king was to serve him in council and fight. The first obligation of a subject or a vassal towards his prince or his lord, was to defend him or avenge him in every case of outrage, and to protect the honour of his wife, his daughter, or his sister ; to follow him in all perils, and to surrender himself as hostage for him, if he fell into the hands of his enemies.* The king and his subjects, the great and the small vassals, mutually engaged their faith to each other. In the feudal hierarchy, every class had its privileges maintained by honour. Honour, that grand principle among knights, com- manded all to repulse an injury inflicted upon a single one, and thus became, restrained within just limits, the secui'ity of public liberty. AVar was the great affair in a kingdom founded by knights and barons ; every one capable of bearing arms was reckoned as something in the state, and protected by the new legisla- tion ; all the rest, with the exception of the clergy, whose existence and privileges were held by divine right, were * The Assizes of Jerusalem, transported into the kingdom of Cypru.^, were collected in the thirteenth century, by John d'Ibelin, count of Jaffa and Ascalon. They were printed by Baumancir, and commented upon by Thomas de la Thauraasiere. It is to be lamented that the French publicists, and Montesquieu himself, have studied so superticially this monument of modern legislation, which is able to throw great light upon the history, laws, and manners of the middle ages. 272 IIISTOET OF THE CRUSADES. reckoned as nothing, and scarcely merited any attention from the legislators. The Assizes of Jerusalem did, indeed, deign to take notice of villains, slaves, peasants or cultivators, or captives taken in war ; but they Mere only considered in the light of property, of which they wished to assure the enjoy- ment to its legitimate possessors. Those who had lost them could reclaim them as thev coidd a falcon or a hound : the value of a falcon and a slave was the same ; a war-horse was estimated at more than double the value of a peasant or a captive. The laws did not condescend to notice these un- happy classes, and left it to religion alone to protect them. To watch over the execution of the constitutional laws of the state, and to decide in all disputes, two courts were in- stituted ; the one presided over by the king, and composed of the nobles, was to pronounce judgment upon differences among the great vassals ; the other, presided over by the \-iscount of Jerusalem, and formed of the principal inha- bitants of each city, was to regulate the interests and the rights of the citizens and the common people. A third- court was instituted, which was reserved for Oriental Chris- tians ; the judges of it were bom in Syria, spoke its lan- guage, and decided according to the laws and usages of the coimtry. Thus all the citizens of the kingdom were judged bv their peers, and enjoyed the benefits of an institution which has not been despised in ages much more enlightened. The Franks, with their warlike character, were certain to evince disdain for the slow, and often uncertain, forms of justice ; they adopted, in their legislation made for the East, the ordeal bv iron or fiire, which had taken its birth among the nations of the North. Judicial combat was also ad- mitted in criminal causes, and sometimes even in ci^-il ones. Among a warlike people everything must present the image of war ; every action commenced against a baron or a knight was, in his eyes, an injmw — an afli'ont — that he ought to repulse sword in hand ; Christian knights were likewise persuaded that God would not allow innocence to succumb in an unequal combat, and ^'ictory appeared to them at once the triumph of human laws and divine justice. Such dispositions still bespeak the barbarity of the most re- mote a£es: but a sfreat number of other laws attest the wisdom of the legislators of the Holv Land : their code contamed HISTORY or TUE CRUSADES. 273 every institution that was reasonable in the feudal system. Palestine was then blessed by the revival of wise laws created for Europe, but wliich Europe had forgotten amidst the anarchy of civil wars ; many ameliorations made in feudal legislation in some of the states of the West, particularly m the cities of Italv, were consecrated in the new laws of Jerusalem. It miist be believed that in this circumstance religion sometimes mingled her usefid inspirations with those of human sagacity ; justice and humanity assumed a more sacred character in the presence of the holy tomb. As all the subjects of Grodfrey were called upon to defend the cause of God, the quality of a soldier of Jesus Christ might make the dignity of man respected. If it be true that the esta- blishment of the commons, or a second court, was the work of the Crusaders, we cannot, with truth, assert that these wars contributed nothing towards the progress of civilization. The laws which they made, and in which may be plainly seen the first glimpses of regulated liberty, were a new spectacle for Asia ; they must likewise have been a subject of surprise and a means of instruction for Europe itself, where pilgrims related, on their return, the usages and customs established by the Pranks in the Holy Land. This code of legislation, the best, or rather the least imperfect that had existed pre- vious to that time, and which increased or was modified under other reigns, was deposited with great pomp in the church of the Resurrection, and took the name of the Assizes of Jerusalem, or Letters of the Holy Sepulchre. After this ceremony, which was performed in the presence of all the pilgrims, the Latin princes then at Jerusalem returned to their own states ; Baldwin to Edessa, Bohemond to his principality of Antioch, and Raymond to Laodicea, of which he had rendered himself master, and which he governed in the name of the emperor of Constantinople. Scarcely had Tancred returned to his principality when he was attacked by all tlie forces of the sultan of Damascus. God- frey, accompanied by his faithful knights and a great number of pilgrims eager to fight under his command, repaired im- mediately into Galilee, defeated the Saracens, and pursued them to the mountains of Libanus. As he was returning from this expedition, the emir of 274 nisTOET OF the crusades. C^esarea came out to meet liim, and presented to liim an offering of some of the fruits of Palestine. Godfrey only accepted a single cedar-apple, and almost dii-ectly fell ill. This maladv, which they did not hesitate to attribute to poison, created the most serious alarm among his followers. Godfrev with great difficulty reached Jaffa, whence he was conveyed to liis capital, where he died, committing to the companions of his ^ictories the charge of the glory of reli- gion and of the kingdom of Jerusalem. His mortal remains were deposited within the enclosure of Calvary, near to the tomb of Christ, which he had delivered by his valour. His death was mourned by the Christians, of whom he was the father and the support, and by the Mussulmans, who had often experienced his justice and his clemency. History mav sav of him what the holy Scripture says of Judas Maccabeus : " It was" he who increased the glory of his people, when, like a giant, he put on his arms in the fight, and his sword was the protection of the whole camp." Godfrev of Bouillon surpassed all the captains of his age in his skill in war ; and if he had lived some time longer, would have merited a name among great kings. In the kingdom he founded he was constantly held up as a model for princes as well as warriors. His name still recalls the vii-tues of heroic times, and will live honoiu-ed amongst men as long as the remembrance of the crusades. After the death of Godfrey great disputes arose upon the choice of his successor. The patriarch Daimbert endea- voured to avail himself of the rights conveyed by the pro- mises of Godfrey, and claimed the throne of Jerusalem ; but the barons would submit to no chief but one of their com- panions in arms. Garnier, count de Gray, took possession of the Tower of David, and of the other fortresses of Jeru- salem, in the name of Baldwin, count of Edessa. The patnarch invoked the authority of the Church to the assist- ance of his cause ; and as Coimt Garnier died suddenly, the clers^v of Jerusalem attributed his death to divine justice, which the impious projects of the barons and Imights had offended. Daimbert wrote to Bohemond, prince of Antioch, and conjured him to come and defend what he called the ricrhts of the Church and the cause of God. Jerusalem was filled with agitation and trouble; but whilst they were HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 275 tumultuously deliberating, deputies from Antioch came to announce that their prince had been surprised in an expe- dition against the Turks, and was held prisoner by the infidels. This ne^YS spread consternation and grief among the Christians, and made them more sensible of the necessity for calling Baldwin to the throne, Avith whose valour they were so well acquainted. Baldwin,* to whom deputies had been sent, shed tears on learning: the death of Godfrey, but soon consoled himself with the hope of obtaining a crown. The county of Edessa had become richer and more extensive than the mean king- dom of Jerusalem, several cities of which still belonged to the Saracens ; but such was the active and enterprising spirit of Baldwin, that the prospect of a kingdom to be conquered appeared to him preferable to a country of which he was in peacefid possession. After having given up the county of Edessa to his cousin Baldwin du Bourg, he began his march with four hundred horsemen and a thousand foot. The emirs of Emessa and Damascus, informed of his intended march, laid wait for him in the narrow and difficult roads near the coast of the Sea of Phoenicia. Baldwin feigned to fly before the army of the infidels, and having drawn them into an open country, routed them, making a great many prisoners, whom he carried to Jerusalem. f The knights, the barons, and a portion of the clergy came out to meet the conqueror. Baldwin made his triumphant entrance into the city in the midst of the acclamations of the whole Chris- tian population, who flocked eagerly to see the brother of Godfrey. But whilst the inhabitants thus manifested their joy, the patriarch, with some of his partisans, protested against the election of the new king, and, feigning to believe that he was in safety nowhere but close to the tomb of Christ, retired in silence to Mount Sion, as if to seek an asylum there. Baldwin did not think it worth while to disturb the retreat of the patriarch, and, satisfied with having * Dolens aliquantulum de fratris morte et plus gaudens de hsereditate. — Fulch. Cam. lib. x. cap. 22. t The Christians were in so much danger in this expedition, that Fouh'her de Chartres exclaims in his history, " I would rather have been at Chartres or Orleans," — "Ego quidem vel Carnoti vel Aureliania mallem esse quam ibi."— Lib. x. cap. 22. 276 HISTOEY OF THE CKUSJlDES. obtained the suffrages of tlie barons and knights, ^vished to assiure to himself new titles to the CTO^vn, by gaining more \-ictorie3 over the Saracens. He marched from Jerusalem, followed by his bravest knights, and presented himself before Asealon. The season beins; too far advanced to lav resrular siesre to the citv. he ravas:ed the enemv's country*, penetrated into the mountains of Engaddi, surprised Segor, and seized a troop of brigands in a cavern which they had chosen as a place of retreat. In this campaign, which was little more than a pilgrimage, the soldiers of Baldwin passed along the shores of the Dead Sea. the sight of which recalled the memory of the punishment of Sodom; they ^-isited the valley famous as the burial-place of the ancestors of Israel, and that in which it is believed Moses caused a stream of li^ing water to spring from the side of a barren rock. The Christian soldiers were never wearv of admirino: these places, rendered sacred by scriptural remembrances. The historian Poidcher de Chartres, who accompanied Baldwin, displays in his recital the greatest enthusiasm, and tells us with livelv iov. that he watered his horses at the miraculous fountain of the legislator ot the Hebrews.* The little anny of the Christians came back to Jerusalem loaded with boot^'. After Baldwin's return, the patriarch did not venture to say anything more about his pretensions, and consented to crown the successor of Godfrey with his own hands. The ceremony was performed with great solem- nity at Bethlehem, in the presence of the barons, the bishops, and the principal people of the kingdom. Tancred was not present at the coronation of the new king, for the two companions of Godfrey had not forgotten their ancient quarrel. Tancred had protested against the elecrion of Baldwin, and refused to pay him homage. Bald- win, on his part, disputed Tancred' s right to the principahty of Galilee, and summoned him to appear before him as a contumacious vassal. The reply of Tancred was laconic, * " Ubi ego ipse Fulcherius adaquavi meos." — In Bongarg, p. 405. The same historian speaks in the same chapter of the Dead Sea, and of the phenomena he had remarked. Foulcher de Chartres seldom neglects an opportunity of speakincf of himself; these words, " Ego Fulcherius," very frequently appear in his narration. HISTORY or THE CllUSAHES. 277 and full of proud contempt for liis rival. " I do not know," said he, addressing the messengers of Baldwin, " that your master is king of Jerusalem." He did not deign to make any reply to a second summons. At length their mutual friends employed prayers and entreaties, to which Tancred reluctantly gave way. The two princes agreed to have an inter- view between Jerusalem and Jaffa, in which interview Tancred consented to forget past injuries, but would not renounce a principality which he held from Grodfrey. The debates between the prince of Galilee and the king of Jerusalem were not terminated when messengers arrived from xA.ntioch, conjuring Tancred to repair immediately to tlieir city, to govern a state which had been without a head since the cap- tivity of Bohemond. Tancred yielded to their entreaties, and immediately set out for Antioch, abandoning to Hugli de Saint Omer the city of Tiberias and the principality of Galilee. These differences with Tancred did not impede Baldwin's wars against the infidels, or his endeavours to extend his young kingdom. AVhilst Persia, Egypt, Syria, and Mesopo- tamia coidd bring numberless armies against the Christians, Baldwin could only muster under his standard a small body of warriors, to whom were added a few pilgrims from the "West, the greater part without horses and very badly armed. His bravery and activity surmounted all obstacles, and car- ried him through all dangers. From the beginning of his reign, we see with surprise the kingdom of Jerusalem, dis- turbed in its infancy by discord, and only defended by a few knights, rise in the midst of formidable enemies, and carry terror amongst neighbours much more powerful than itself. The king of Jerusalem took advantage of the arrival of a Genoese fleet, to punish the rebellion of the inhabitants of Arsur, and to lay siege to their city both by sea and land. On the third day the city fell into the hands of the Christians. A short time after, Baldwin besieged Caesarea, a city built by Herod in honour of Ca?sar. The siege was carried on with vigour ; on the fifteenth day everything was ready for a general assault, and as soon as* the trumpet had given the first signal, all the soldiers confessed and received absolution for their sins. ^ The patriarch, clothed in white vestments, with a crucifix in his hand, led them to the foot of the ram- parts ; — the city was soon taken, and the inhabitants put to 278 HISIOKT OF THE CRUSADES. the sword. The Christians, particularly the Genoese, car- ried away by a thirst for pillage, and still more by ven- geance and the fury of battle, stained their victory by hor- rible cruelties.* The Mussulmans who escaped from the massacre of Csesarea, carried terror into the cities of Ptole- mais and Ascalon, and all the countries still under the domi- nation of the Egyptians. The cahph of Eg^pt, to revenge the death of his warriors, assembled an army, which advanced as far as the country round Eamla. Baldwin got together, in haste, a troop of three hundred knights and a thousand foot-soldiers, and marched to meet him. "When he perceived the standards of the Eg\'ptian army, ten times more numerous than that of the Christians, he represented to his soldiers that they were going to fight for the glory of Christianity ; " if they fell, heaven would be open to them ; if they triumphed, the fame of their -v-ictory would be spread throughout the Clu-istian world. There could be no safety in flight ; their home was beyond the seas ; in the East there was no asyluni for the conquered." After having thus animated his soldiers, Bald- win divided his troops into six battalions. The t^'o first, on chargino; the enemy, were overwhelmed by numbers ; two others, which followed, shared the same fate. Two bishops, who were with Bald^^'in, then advised him to implore the mercv of Heaven : and. at their desire, the kins^ of Jerusalem ahghted Irom his horse, fell on his knees, confessed, and re- ceived absolution. Springing to his feet, he resumed his arms, and rushed upon the enemy at the head of his two remaining battalions. The Christian warriors fought hke lions, animated by their war-cry " Victo?y or Death !^^ Baldwin had attached a white kerchief to the point of his lance, and thus pointed out the road to carnage. The \ic- * "William of Tyre, in his account of the taking of Caesarea, speaks of a precious vase which fell to the share of the Genries-e. " At this time," says he, " was found a vase in the shape of a di^h, of a bright green colour, which the Genoese, beUeving it to be an emerald, were desirous of haviiie, at the valuation of a large sum of money, to make an offering of to their church as an excellent ornament, and which they are accu:«tomed to exhibit to the great lords who pass through their city." Tnis vase found at Csesarea. and preserved at Genoa till the end of the last century, is now in the Cabinet of Antiques in the Innperial Library at Paris. [Qy. whether restored to the Genoese in 1815 ? — Trans.] HISTOKr or THE CRUSADES. 279 tory was for a length of time uncertain ; but at last, says an historian, the will of God was declared in favoiu' of the sol- diers of Christ. The Egyptian army liad lost its leader, and was entirely routed ; five thousand infidels remaining on the field of battle. The enemy fled in such complete disorder that they aban- doned their tents and their baggage. As Baldwin was pur- suing them, his ear was struck by tlie plaintive cry of a woman. He checked his war-horse, and perceived a female Mussulman in the pains of childbirth. He threw his mantle to her to cover her, and ordered her to be placed on carpets laid upon the ground. By his commands, fruits and a skin of water were brought to this bed of pain, and a female camel furnished milk for the nourishment of the newlv-born child. The mother was confided to the care of a slave, with orders to conduct her to her husband. The latter, who held a distinguished rank among the Mussulmans, shed tears of joy on beholding a wife whose death he was lamenting, and vowed never to forget the generous action of Baldwin. Conqueror of the Saracens, the king of Jerusalem had sent back his troops, and was reposmg at Jaffa, after the fatigues of the war, when he learnt that the Mussulman army had rallied, and was in fidl march to attack the Chris- tians. Baldwin, whom victory had rendered rash, without assembling all his troops, went immediately to meet the enemy, at the head of two hundred knights, and a few pil- grims lately arrived from the AYest. IS'ot at all dismayed by the number of the Saracens, he gave battle ; but, at the first charge, the Christians were surrounded, and only sought a glorious death, fighting by the side of their leader. The king of Jerusalem, obliged to fly, concealed himself among the long dried grass and bushes which covered the plain. As the Saracens set fire to these, Baldwin with difficulty escaped being biu-nt ahve ; and, after many perils, was glad to take refuge in Eamla. Night checked the pursuit of his enemies, but on the fol- lowing day, the place which served him as an asylum was threatened with an immediate siege, and had no "means of defence. Baldwin was a prey to the most distressing anxiety, when a stranger, who had by some means got into the cit'y, demanded to speak instantly with the king of Jerusalem.— 280 HISTORY or THE CRUSADES. " It is gratitude," said he to him, " which brings me here. Thou hast been generous towards a wife who is most dear to me — thou hast restored her to me and her family, after having saved her life. I brave a thousand dangers to acquit rnvseli' of so sacred a debt. The Saracens surround the city of thy retreat on all sides ; to-morrow it will be taken, and not one of its inhabitants will escape death. I come to offer thee means of safety. I am acquainted with a path which is not guarded ;* hasten then, for time presses. Thou hast but to follow me ; before the da^^^l of day thou wilt be among thy people." Baldwin hesitated — he shed tears at the idea of what must be the fate of his companions in misfortune ; but, at length, he yielded to the generosity of the Mussulman emir, and, accompanied by a weak escort, they both departed from the city, in the middle of a stormy night. On gaining the distance of a few leagues from Eamla, they separated with tears in their eyes ; the emir rejoined the Mussulman army, and Baldwin succeeded in getting to the city of Arsur. At break of day the Saracens advanced towards the ram- parts of Eamla. They quickly gained possession of the citj% and all they met with in the place were massacred. Some soldiers who escaped the Saracens' swords, carried the sad news to the neighbourino: cities. It was the first defeat the Christians had experienced since their arrival in Pales- tine. As it was confidently said that Baldwin had been slain at the taking of Eamla, this loss added greatly to the general consternation. The great bell of Jerusalem an- nounced the approach and invasion of the Saracens. The priests, the monks, the pilgrims, clothed in sackcloth and barefooted, went in procession through the streets of the holy city ; women and children filled the churches^ and with tears in their eyes and uplifted hands implored the mercy of Heaven. The bravest were beginning to despah' of the safety of the kingdom, when Bald\A'in suddenly appeared among his people, says "William of Tyre, like the morning star, and revived their hopes by his presence. The king of Jerusalem assembled at Jaffa the wreck of his armv: and the Christian cities sent him all their inhabitants * This singular fact is related by William of Tyre with all its details. — Chap. X. HISTORY OF THE CEUSAHES. 281 capaWe of bearing arms. Several princes and knights, arrived from the West, likewise joined him. The Christians marched boldly forth to meet tlie Mussulmans, the patriarch of Jerusalem carrying through the ranks the wood of the holy cross. The war-cry of the Christian soldiers was : — ^'■Christ lives, Christ reigns, Christ commands.''''* The two armies were soon in sight of each other on the plains of Jaffa, and instantly the trumpets sounded, and gave the signal of battle. Both sides fought with fury ; the infidels surrounded the Christians, and pressed them so closely that they had scarcely room to wield their arms, and victory was on the point of being determined in favour of the Mussul- mans, when Baldwin snatching the white flag from the hands of his squire, and followed by a hundred and sixtv knights, rushed into the very thickest ranks of the enemy. This act of bravery decided the fate of the battle, and the Chris- tians regained their courage. The fight lasted during the whole day, but towards the approach of night, the Mussul- mans fled in disorder, leaving dead upon the field the emir of Ascalon and four thousand of their bravest soldiers. Baldwin, who, some few days before, had been believed to be dead, reentered Jerusalem in triumph. He gave a great part of the booty to the hospitallers of St, John, whose office it was to entertain the poor and all pilgrims ; and, to employ the expression of an old chronicle, he thus shared with Grod the spoils of the Saracens. The Christians assembled in the churches rendered thanks to Grod for the deliverance of the kingdom ; but this last victory could not dry all the tears which a first reverse had caused to flow, and funereal hymns were mingled with the songs of joy. In this campaign perished many of the princes and knights who had lefb Europe after the first cru- * We here follow the version of Foulcher de Chartres, who makes use of the word vivit instead of vincit, which appears to have prevailed after- wards. The device Chrislus regnat, vincit, irnj}erat, forms the leijend of the reverse of all the gold coins struck in France from the time of John to that of Louis XVI., under the different names of Francs a pied el a cheval, of Agnelets, or Ecus d'or, or Louis. In the most ancient, the Francs, the verb vincit is the first: X. P. C. vincit; X. P. C. regnat ; X. P. C. imperat; Christ conquers, Christ reigns, and Christ governs ; which proves that this device or war-cry may be traced back to the time of the crusades. 282 niSTOEY OF TUE CCUSADrS. sade. Stephen, count of Chartres and Blois, and Stephen, dulve of Burgundy, who had arrived in Palestine ^vith the remains of an army dispersed by the Turks in Asia Minor, were killed imder the walls of Eamla. As the Grreeks were accused of having prepared the ruin of the armies sent to the assistance of the Latins, murmurs arose in all the Chris- tian colonies against the emperor Alexius. This prince, con- stantly in dread of the powers of the "West, sent to congra- tulate the king of Jerusalem on his victories, and exerted himself to procure the liberty of the Christians Avho had fallen into the hands of the Egyptians and Turks. After haring delivered or ransomed some Christian knights, he re- ceived them at Constantinople, loaded them with presents, and sent them back to their own country. But whilst thus breaking the chains of a few captives, he was equipping fleets and raising amiies to attack Antioch, and obtain possession of the cities on the coast of Syria which belonged to the Latins. He offered to pay the ran- som of Bohemond, still a prisoner among the Tiu-ks, not for the purpose of setting him at liberty, but to have him brought to Constantinople, where he hoped to obtain from him the renunciation of his principality. Bohemond, who saw through the projects of Alexius, gained the good- will of the emir who detained him prisoner, promised him his alliance and support, and persiuided him to accept for his ransom, half the sum offered by the emperor of the Greeks. After a captirity of four years, he returned to Antioch, where he employed himself in repulsing the aggi'essions of Alexius. The fleets of the Pisans and the Grenoese came to his relief, and several battles, both bv sea and land, were fought with various success ; the Latins and the Greeks, by turns, obtaining the advantage. T\nbilst this war was being carried on between Alexius and Bohemond, the Franks neglected no opportunity of coming into collision witli the infidels. Bohemond, Baldwin du Bourg, count of Edessa, and his cousin Josselin de Courte- nay,* master of several cities on the banks of the Euphrates, united their forces to attack Charan, a flourishing cit>^ of Mesopotamia. The Christians, after a siege of several days, * See Gibbon for the interesting memoir of this noble family, whose name so frequently occurs in our own history, and is, I believe, still extant, in the Courtenays, earls of Devon. — Trans. HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 283 were on the point of entering tlie place, when the count of Edessa and the prince of Antioch disputed the possession of it. Whilst the debates kept the best leaders in the Chris- tian tents, the Saracens of Mossoul and Aleppo came to the assistance of the city, and gave battle to the besiegers. A great number of Christians were slain in this conflict ; and many fell into the hands of the infidels, who, in the intoxi- cation of victory, insulted both the vanquished and the reli- gion of Christ. History relates that the railleries of the Mussulmans inspired rage and despair among the army of the Christians, and that towards the end of the fight, one knight braved alone the victorious infidels, and rushed among the enemy's ranks, crying, " Let all zvho are willing to sup with me in Paradise, follow me^ This brave knight at first astonished the Saracens by his daring, but he soon fell, pierced with many wounds. The archbishop of Edessa, Josselin de Courtenay, and Baldwin du Bourg were loaded with irons, and taken to the prisons of Mossoul. The prince of Antioch and Tancred were alone able to escape the pursuit of the Mussulmans, with a small number of their soldiers. This defeat spread terror among all the Christians of the East. Bohemond, on his return to his capital, was menaced at the same time by the Grreeks and the Saracens ; and, as he had now neither allies nor auxiliaries, and was destitute of both men and money, he determined to go back into Europe, and to call upon the nations of the West to assist him. After having spread abroad a report of his death, he em- barked at Antioch, and, concealed in a coffin,* passed through the fleet of the G-reeks, who rejoiced at his death, and heaped curses on his memory. On arriving in Italy, Bohemond went to throw himself at the feet of the sovereign pontiff" ; describing the misfortunes he had endured in defence of the holy religion, and invoking the vengeance of Heaven upon Alexius, whom he represented as the greatest scourge of the Christians. The pope welcomed him as a hero and a martyr; he praised his exploits, listened to his complaints, intrusted to him the standard of St. Peter, and permitted him, in the * ** Anna Comnena adds, that to complete the deceit, he was shut up with a dead cock ; and wonders how the barbarian could endure the con- finement and putrefaction." — Notes to Gibbon. — Trans. Vol. I.— 14 284 HISTOET OF THE CEUSADES. name of tlie Church, to raise in Europe an army to repair his misfortimes and avenge the cause of Grod. Bohemond next went to France, where his adventures and exploits had made his name familiar to all classes. He pre- sented himself at the court of Philip I., who received him with the orreatest honours, and s^ave him his daus^hter Con- stance in marriage. Amidst the festi\"ities of the court, he was by turns the most brilliant of knights and the most ardent of missionaries ; he attracted general admiration by his skill in the tournaments, and preached war against the enemies of the Christians. He easily fired hearts already glowing "uith a love of military' glory ; and a great number of knights contended for the honour of accompam*ing him into the East. He crossed the Pvrenees and raised soldiers in Spain ; he returned into Italy and met every^vhere with the same eagerness to follow him. All preparations being completed, he embarked at Bari, and sailed towards the ter- ritories of the Greek emperor, where his threats and the fame of his expedition had already spread terror. The prince of Antioch never ceased to animate by his speeches the ardour of his numerous companions : to some he represented the G-reeks as the allies of the ^Mussulmans and the enemies of Christ ; to others he spoke of the riches of Alexius, and promised them the spoils of the empire. He was on the point of realizing his brilliant hopes, when he was, all at once, abandoned bv that fortune which had hitherto performed such prodigies in his favour. The city of Durazzo, of which he had undertaken the siege, for a long time resisted all his eiforts ; disease, in the meanwhile, ravaging his army. The warriors who had fol- lowed him in the hopes of pillage, or from a desire to visit the Holy Land, deserted his standard ; he was forced to make a disgi'aceful peace with the emperor he had endeavoured to dethrone, and came back to die in despair in the little prin- cipality of Tarentum, which he had abandoned for the con- quest of the East. The unfortunate issue of this crusade, which was directed entirelv as^ainst the Greeks, became fatal to the Christians estabhshed ia Svria, and deprived them of the succours they had reason to expect from the West. Tancred, who still governed Antioch, in the absence and after the death of ^-T^o^iiond, was attacked several times by the Saracens HISTOET OF THE CRUSADE3. 285 of Aleppo, and only resisted them by displaying prodigies of valour. Josselin and Baldwin da Bourg did not return to their states till after five years of captivity. AVhen Baldwin came back to Edessa, he was so poor that he coidd not pay his common domestics ; and an Armenian prince, whose daughter he had married, was obliged to redeem the beard * of his son-in-law, which he had pledged for the means of paying his soldiers. The resources of the government of Antioch were not less exhausted than those of the county of Edessa. In the extremes of their misery, Tancred and Baldwin du Bourg had several disputes ; each, by turns, called in the Saracens to defend his cause, and everything was in confusion on the banks of the Euphrates and the Orontes. Neither was Jerusalem free from discord. Baldvrin could not pay his soldiers, and demanded money of the patriarch, who was the depositary of the alms of the faithful. Daim- bert at first refused to assist the king, who resolved to em- ploy force to compel him : " Yes," said he to the patriarch, in a transport of anger, " I will bear away the treasures of the church and the holy sepulchre ; I wish to save Jerusalem and the Christian people ; when I have accomplished that noble project, I will restore the riches of the all-powerful Grod." Daimbert, intimidated by the menaces of Baldwin, consented to give up a part of his treasures ; but as fast as the king of Jerusalem experienced new wants, he made fresh demands, to which the pontifi* responded by an insulting refusal. He accused the king of profaning and plundering the sanctuary ; whilst the king, on his part, accused Daim- bert of betraying the cause of the Christians, and of dissi- pating in pleasures and festivities the treasures of Jesus Christ. The quarrels of Baldwin and the patriarch were renewed every year ; both, in the end, often conveyed their complaints to the Holy See, w-hich pronounced no decision likely to conciliate the angry parties. The death of Daimbert could alone put an end to these discussions, which spread scandal through the church of Christ, and by weak- * This may at first appear a singular pledge ; but when wc remember the great consideration in which beards were and are held in the East, we are reconciled to the fact. Beckford makes Vathek inflict loss of beard upon the sages who cannot decipher the magic characters upon the sabres, as the greatest possible punishment ; and ffew were better acquainted with Eastern manners than the master of Font-hill Abbey. — Trans. 286 HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES. enins: the aathoritv of the kiDc:, -were likely to lead to tlie ruin of the kingdom. "Wliilst the patriarch was unceasingly making complaints against Baldwin, the king seldom made anv other reply than gaining new Adctories over the infidels ; nothing being able to divert him from his pui'pose of ever}' day aggrandizing his dominions. The prosperity and the safety of Jerusalem appeared closely connected with the conquest of the mari- time cities of S\'ria and Palestine ; it beins: bv them alone that it could receive succour, or establish prompt and easy communications with the ^^est. The maritime nations of Europe were interested in seconding, in this instance, the enterprises of the king of Jerusalem. The navigation of the Mediterranean, and the transporting of pilgrims to the Holv Land, were to them an inexhaustible source of riches ; the ports of Syria would offer to them a commodious asylum for their vessels, and a safe entrepot for their commerce. From the period of the first crusades the Pisans and the Grenoese had constantly sent vessels to the seas of the East ; and their fleets had aided the Christians in several expedi- tions against the Mussulmans, A Genoese fleet had just arrived in the seas of Syria when Baldwin undertook the siege of Ptolemais. The Genoese were invited to assist in this conquest ; but as religion was not the principle to bring them into action, they required, in return for their assistance and theii' labour, that they should have a third of the booty ; they likewise stipulated to have a separate church for them- selves, and a national factory and tribunal in the conquered city. Ptolemais was besieged bv land and sea, and after a bloodv resistance of twentv davs, the inhabitants and the garrison proposed to surrender, and nnplored the clemency of the conquerors. The city opened its gates to the Chris- tians, and the inhabitants prepared to depart, taking with them whatever they deemed most valuable ; but the Genoese, at the sight of such a rich booty, paid no respect to the capi- tulation, and massacred without pity a disarmed and defence- less people. This barbarous conduct, which Baldwin could neither repress nor pimish, excited the Mussulmans more than ever against the Christians. At each fresh conquest of Baldwin's, a new army' came from the banks of the Nile to impede the course of his vic- tories *, but the Eg^-ptians had for a long time been accus- niSTOHY OF TKE CRUSADES. 287 tomed to fly before tlie Pranks, and they were never seconded in their expeditions by the Mussulmans of Syria, who were jealous of their appearance in their territories. A small number of Christian warriors, who could never have been taken for an army if they had not performed prodigies, were suiBcient to put to the rout a multitude of soldiers who made a sortie from the walls of Ascalon. In consequence of this victory, several places which the Egyptians still held on the coasts of Syria, fell into the hands of the Christians. Bertrand, son of Raymond de St. Gilles, arrived from Europe with the purpose of attacking the city of Tripoli. This city, taken at first by the Egyptians before the first crusade, and fallen again under the power of a Turkish commander, had, in order to defend itself against the Chris- tians, once more recognised the authority of the caliph of Egypt. But tins caliph thought more about punishing the rebellion of Tripoli than of providing for its defence. He liad put the principal inhabitants in irons, had levied heavy tributes, and when the people implored his assistance against the enemies of Islamism, the caliph sent a vessel to demand a beautiful slave who was in the city, and whom he destined for his seraglio. The irritated people, instead of giving up the slave he demanded, sent him a piece of wood, saying, " T'liat lie might make something out of that to amuse himself idthy * The inhabitants of Tripoli, -then being without hope, surrendered to the Christians. llaymond, count de St. Grilles and of Thoulouse, one of the companions of Grodfrey, after having wandered for a long time about Asia, had died before this place, of which he had commenced the siege. In memory of his exploits in the first crusade, the rich territory of Tripoli was created a county, and became the inheritance of his family. This territory was celebrated for its productions. Limpid streams, rushing with impetuosity between the rocks of Libanus, flowed in many chaimels to water the numerous gardens of Tripoli. In the plains, and on the hills adjacent to the sea, grew in abundance wheat, the vine, the olive, and the white mulberry, whose leaves nourish the silkworm, which had been introduced by Justinian into the richest provinces of his empire. The city of Tripoli contained * These details are taken from the Arabian historian Novdiry. 288 niSTOEY OF the crusades. more t lian four thousand workmen, skilful in tlie manufac- tures of woollen stuffs, of silk, and of linen. A great part of these advantages was, no doubt, lost for the conquerors, who, during the siege ravaged the country round, and on taking the citv, carried fire and sword throughout the whole of it. Tripoli contained other riches for which the Franks showed no less disdain than they had e^*inced for the productions of industry. A library established in this citv, and celebrated throuo^h all the East, contained the monuments* of the an- cient literature of the Persians, the Arabians, the Eg^'ptians, and the Greeks. A hundred copyists were there constantly employed in transcribing manuscripts. The cadi sent into all countries men authorized to purchase rare and precious books. After the taking of the city, a priest, attached to Count Bernard de St. Gilles,t entered the room in which were collected a vast number of copies of the Koran, and as he declared the library of Tripoli contained only the impious books of ]\[ahomet, it was given up to the flames. Some eastern authors have bitterly deplored this irreparable loss ; but not one of our contem.porary chronicles has spoken of it, and their silence plainly shows the profound indifference v^-ith which the Erank soldiers were witnesses of a fire which consumed a hundi'ed thousand volumes. Biblies, situated on the smiling and fertile shores of Phoe- nicia; Sarepta, where St. Jerome saw still in his day the tower of Isaiah ; and Berytus, famous in the early ages of the Chm'ch for its scliool of eloquence, shared the fate of Tri- poli, and became baronies bestowed upon Christian knights. After these conquests the Pisans, the Genoese, and several * Sir William d'Avenant elegantly calls books "the monuraents of deceased minds." — Trans. f Aboulteda in his account justifies the Genoese for the massncre of the Mussulmans ; the city being taken by assault, they did not exc ed the usual rights of war. Another Arabian historian, Ebn-Abi-Tai, says that the Christians exhibited at the taking of Tripoli the same destructive fury as the Arabs had uho burnt the library of Alexandria. Tlie same his- torian speaks of the incredible number of three millions of voluanes. We have preferred the version of NovaVry, who reduces the numb'irof vohimes to a hundred thousand. This author states that the library of Tripoli •was founded by the cadi Aboutaleb Hasen, who had himself composed several works. HTSTORT OF THE CRUSADES. 289 warriors who had followed Baldwin in his expeditions, returned into Europe ; and the king of Jerusalem, abandoned by these useful allies, was obliged to employ the forces which remained in repulsing the invasions of the Saracens, who pe]ietrated into Palestine, and even displayed their standards on Mount Sion. He had given up the idea of subduing the maritime cities which still belonged to the Egyptians, when Sigur, son of Magnus, king of Norway, arrived in the port of Jaila. Sigur was accompanied by ten thousand Nor- wegians, who, three years before, had quitted the north of Europe for the purpose of visiting the Holy Land. Baldwin went to meet the prince of Norway, and conjured him to join with him in fighting for the safety and aggrandizement of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Sigur acceded with joy to the prayer of the king, and requued nothing as a recompense for his labour but a piece of wood from the true cross. The patriarch of Jerusalem, in order to give additional value to that Avhich the prince required, hesitated at first to grant it, and made Vvith him a treaty at least as solemn as if it had concerned the possession of a kingdom. When they had both taken an oath to fulfil the conditions of the treaty, Sigur, accompanied by his warriors, entered Jerusalem in triumph. The inhabitants of Jerusalem beheld with smprise, mingled with their joy, the, enormous battle-axes, the light hair, and lofty stature of the pilgrims from Norway ; the presence of these redoubtable Avarriors was the sure presage of Adctory. It was resolved in a council to besiege the city of Sidon ; Baldwin and Bertrand, count of Tripoli, attacked the ramparts of the place, whilst the fleet of Sigur blockaded the port, and directed its operations against the side next the sea. After a siege of six weeks the citv surrendered to the Christians ; the knights of Baldwin and the soldiers of Sigiu" performed during the siege prodigies of valour, and showed, after their victory, the humanity which always accompanies true bravery. After this conquest Sigur quitted Palestine, accompanied by the blessings of the Christian people. He embarked to return to Norway, carrying wdth him a piece of the true cross, a precious memorial of his pilgrimage, which he caused to be placed in a church of Drontheim, where it was for a long time the object of the veneration of the faithful. 290 niSTOET OF THE CfiUSADES. Baldwin, on his return to Lis capital, learnt with grief that Grervais, count of Tiberias, had been surprised by the Turks, and led prisoner, together with his most faithful knights, to the city of Damascus. Mussulman deputies came to offer the king of Jerusalem the liberty of Gervais in exchange for Ptolema'is, Jaffa, and some other cities taken by the Christians ; a refusal, they added, would be followed by the death of Count Gervais. Baldwin offered to pay a considerable sum for the liberty of Gervais, whom he loved tenderly : " As for the cities you demand," said he to them, '" I would not give them up to you for the sake of my own. brother, nor for that of all the Christian princes together." On the return of the ambassadors Gervais and his knights were dragged to an open place in Damascus, and shot to death by the Saracens with arrows. The Christians shed tears at the death of Count Gervais, but they soon had to weep for a much more painful loss. Tancred, who governed the principality of Antioch, died in an expedition agamst the infidels. He had raised high in the East the opinion of the heroic virtues of a French knight ; never had weakness or misfortune implored his aid in vain. He gained a great many victories over the Sara- cens, but never fought for the ends of ambition. Nothing could shake his fidelity, nothing appeared impossible to his valour. He answered the ambassadors of Alexius, who re- quii'ed him to restore Antioch : ** I would not give up the city which is confided to me even if the warriors who pre- sented themselves to conquer it had bodies and bore arms of fire." "Whilst he lived, Antioch had nothing to fear from the invasion of the infidels or the discord of the inhabitants. His death consigned the colony to disorder and confusion, it spread mourning through all the Christian states of the East, and was for them the signal of the greatest reverses. The kingdom of Jerusalem had hitherto only had to con- tend against armies drawn from Egypt ; the Turks of Syria, much more terrible in war than the Egyptians, had never united their forces to attack the Christians of Jerusalem.* The sultans of Damascus and Mossoul, with several emirs of Mesopotamia, assembled an army of thirty thousand * The governor of Mossoul is called by the Latins Maledoctus, Mandult, and by the Arabians Mauduts. Togdequin was prince of Damascus. HISTORY OF THE CEITSADES. 291 fighting men, and penetrated tlirougli the mountains of Libanus into Galilee. During more than three months the banks of the Jordan and of the Lake of Genesarethwere devas- tated by the horrors of war. The king of Jerusalem placed himself at the head of his knights to encounter this re- doubtable enemy, and was defeated by the Saracens on the plains near Mount Tabor. Roger of Sicily, who had been governor of Antioch since the death of Tancred, and the counts of Tripoli and Edessa, came with their troops to the assistance of Baldwin. The Christian army, although it then mustered under its banners eleven thousand combat- ants, took up its encampment on the mountains, and did not dare to risk a battle. The Christians, intrenched upon the heights, beheld their fields ravaged and their cities burnt. All the banks of the Jordan seemed to be in flames ; for a vast number of Saracens from Ascalon, T}Te, and other Mussulman cities, had taken advantage of the reverses of the Christians to lay waste many of the provinces of Pales- tine. The country of Sechem was invaded, and the city of JSTaplouse delivered up to pillage. Jerusalem, which was without defenders, shut its gates, and was in momentary fear of falling again into the power of the infidels. The Turks, however, dreading the arrival of fresh pilgrims from the West, abandoned Galilee, and returned to Damas- cus and Mossoul. But other calamities soon followed those of war. Clouds of locusts from Arabia finished the devas- tation of the fields of Palestine. A horrible famine pre- vailed in the county of Edessa, the principality of Antioch, and all the Christian states. An earthquake was felt from Mount Taurus to the deserts of Idumea, by which several cities of Cilicia were reduced to heaps of ruins. At Samo- sata, an Armenian prince was swallowed up in his own palace ; thirteen towers of the walls of Edessa, and the citadel of Aleppo, fell down with a fearfid crash ; the towers of the highest fortresses covered the earth with their remains, and the commanders, whether Mussulmans or Christians, fled with their soldiers to seek safety in deserts and forests. Antioch suffered more from the earthquake than any other city. The tower of the uorthern gate, many public edifices, and several churches were completely destroyed. Gr^at troubles always inspired the Christians with feelings 14* 292 UlSTOHY OF TUE CRUSADES. of penitence. A crowd of men and women rushed to the cburch of St. Peter of Antioch, confessed their sins to the patriarch, and conjured him to appease the anger of Heaven. The shocks, nevertheless, were rencAved during five months ; the Christians abandoned the cities, and, a prev to terror, "wandered among the mountains, which now were more thicklv inhabited than the greatest cities. The few who remained in cities constantly formed religious processions, put on habits of mourning, and totallv renounced pleasures of every kind. In the streets and the churches nothing was heard but lamentations and prayers ; men swore to forgive all injui'ies, and were profuse in their charities. At length Heaven appeared to be appeased ; the earthquake ceased its ravages, and tlie assembled Christians celebrated the mercy of God by a solemn festival. Scarcely were the Christians delivered from these alarms than a new tempest threatened Syria and Palestine.* Mau- doud, nrince or governor of Mossoul, had been killed by two Ismaelians, as he was comin": out of a mosque. As the prince of !^^ossoul was consicfered the most firm support of Islamism and the most redoubtable enemv of the Christians, the caliph and the sultan of Bagdad placed him in the rank of the mart^TS. and resolved to reven£:e his death. Thev accused the Franks and tlie sultan of Damascus of the miu'der of a Mussuhnan prince. A numerous army set out from the banks of the Tigris, and advanced towards Svria, to punish at the same time both the Christian and [Mussul- man infidels. The warriors of Bagdad, united with those of Mossoul. penetrated as far as the lands of Aleppo, and carried destruction and death wherever they went. In this pressing danger the Saracens of Damascus and Meso- potamia did not hesitate to form an alliance vdih the Chris- tian princes. The king of Jerusalem, the prince of Antioch, and the count of Tripoli united their ti'oops with those of the Mussulmans. The Christians were full of zeal and ardour, and were eager for battle, but their new allies were not willins^ to crive them the advantasre of a victorv, as thev mistrusted the soldiers of Clirist, and used everv effort to * We have avoided mentioning too frequently the sultans and emirs of Syria, whose names seem the more barbarous as they are correctly written. HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 293 avoid a decisive engagement, in whicli tliey dreaded tlie triumpli of their auxiliaries as much as that of their foes. After having ravaged the territory of Aleppo, and the banks of the Euphrates and the Orontes, the warriors of Bagdad returned to their own country "udthout trying their strength with their formidable adversaries. The Christians in this campaign did not illustrate their arms by any very brilliant exploits, but they kept up the division among the Saracens, and the discord of their enemies was more serviceable to them than a great \"ictory. The king of Jerusalem, no longer ha"sdng the Turks of Bagdad or the Turks established in Syria to contend with, turned his attention towards Egypt, whose armies he had so frequently dispersed.* He collected his chosen warriors, traversed the desert, carried the terror of his arms to the banks of the Nile, and surprised and pillaged the city of Pharamia, situated three days' journey from Cairo. The success of this expedition gave him room to hope that he should one day render himself master of a great kingdom, and he was returning triumphant, and loaded with booty, to Jerusalem, when he fell sick at El-Arrich, on the confines of the desert which separates Egypt from Palestine. His life was soon despaired of, and the companions of his victories, assembled around him, could not conceal their deep sorrow. Baldwin endeavoured to console them by his discourses : "My dear companions," said he to them, "you who have suffered so many evils and braved so many perils, why do you allow yourselves to be overcome by grief? Remember that you are still in the territories of the Saracens, and that you stand in need of all your customary courage. Consider that you only lose in me a single man, and that you have among you several warriors who surpass me in skill. Think of nothing but of returning victorious to Jerusalem, and of defending the heritage of Christ. If I have fought a long time with you, and my many labours give me the right of addressing a prayer to you, I conjure you not to leave my bones in a foreign land, but to bury them near to the tomb of my brother Godfrey." The king of Jerusalem then caused his servants to be * Tabari and Aboul-Feda. 294 HISTOET OF THE CEUSADES. assembled, and gave them orders for liis sepulture. After having nominated Baldwin du Bourg as his successor, he expired, siuToimded by his companions, who, though deeplj grieved, endeavoured to conceal their tears, that the Sara- cens might not learn the great loss the Christians had experienced. Baldwin lived and died in the midst of camps. During his reign, which lasted eigliteen years, the inhabitants of Jerusalem were annually warned of the approach of the Saracens by the sound of the great bell ; and they scarcely ever saw the wood of the trae cross in the sanctuary, for this sacred relic always accompanied the armies to battle, and its presence not unfrequently was sufB.cient to give victory to the Christians. During the time he occupied the throne of Jerusalem, the only means Baldwin had of keeping up his necessary army arose from the tenths of the produce of the cultivated lands, some taxes upon commerce, the booty obtained from enemies, and the ransom of prisoners. When peace lasted some months, or war was unsuccessful, the revenues of the state were diminished to half their usual amount, and could not meet the most necessary expenses. The forces of the kins^dom were scarcelv sufficient to defend it in the hour ot danger. Baldwin could never undertake any great enter- prise except when reinforcements arrived from the West ; and when pilgrims who bore arms returned to their own country, he was often obliged to abandon an expedition which he had begun, and sometimes found himself without means of resistance, when exposed to the attacks of an enemv alwavs eao:er to avensre his defeats. The brother and successor of Godfrey was often on the point of losing his kingdom, and only preserved it by pro- digies of valoiu". He lost several battles by his rashness and imprudence ; but his wonderful activity always extri- cated him from whatever perils he chanced to fall into. The historians of the times bestow warm eulogies upon the briUiant qualities of Baldwin. In the first crusade he made himself greatly hated for liis ambitious and haughty character ; but as soon as he had obtained what he desired and ascended a throne, he was at least equally admired for his generosity and clemency. "When he became king of niSTORT or THE CKUSADES. 295 Jerusalem, he followed the example of Godfrey, and deserved in his turn to be held up as a model to his successors. His extreme love for women sometimes drew upon him the severe censures of the clergy. To expiate his offences, in accordance with the opinions of the times, he richly en- dowed churches, particularly that of Bethlehem ; and many other religious establishments owe their foundation to him. Amidst the tumult of camps, he added several articles to the code of his predecessor ; but that which did most honour to his reign, was his constant anxiet}^ to repeople Jerusalem. He offered an honourable asylum to all the Christians scat- tered over Arabia, Syria, and Egypt. Christians persecuted by Mussulmans came to him in crowds, with then* wives, their children, and their wealth. Baldwin distributed amongst them lands and uninhabited houses, and Jerusalem began to be flourishing. The last wishes of Baldwin were accomplished. The Christian army, preceded by the mortal remains of its chief, returned to Jerusalem. Baldwin du Bourg, who came to the holy city to celebrate the festival of Easter and to visit the brother of Godfrey, arrived on Palm -Sunday at the hour in which the clergy and tlie people, according to ancient custom, go in procession to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. As he entered by the gate of Ephraim, the funeral train of Baldwin, accompanied by his warriors in mourning, entered by the gate of Damascus. At this sight melancholy cries were mingled with the hymns of the Christians. The Latins were deeply afflicted, the Syrians wept, and the Saracens, says Eoulcher de Chartres, who were witnesses of this moiu-nful spectacle, coidd not restrain their tears. In the midst of the sorrowing people, the count of Edessa accompanied the funereal convoy to the foot of Calvary, where Baldwin was buried close to Godfrey. Although the late king had pointed out Baldwm du Bourg as his successor, the barons and the prelates met to elect a new prince. Several proposed to offer the crown to Eustace de Boulogne, the brother of Godfrey. Josselin de Courtenay, one of the first counts of the kingdom, declared himself in favour of Baldwin du Bourg. Josselin, on arriving in Asia, had been welcomed and loaded with favours by the count of Edessa, who gave him several cities on the Euphrates. 296 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. Expelled afterwards ignominiously by his benefactor, who accused him of ingratitude, he had taken refuge in the king- dom of Jerusalem, in which he had obtained the principality of Tiberias. AVhether he wished to make amends for old offences, or whether he hoped to obtain fresh benefits, he represented to the assembled barons, " that Baldwin du Bourg belonged to the family of the last king ; that his piety, his wisdom, and courage were known to the entire East ; and that no country on that side or beyond the sea could offer a prince miore worthy of the confidence and love of the Christians. The benedictions of the inhabitants of Edessa pointed him out to the choice of the barons and knights, and Pro\^dence had opportunely sent him to Jeru- salem to console the Christian people for the loss of Grodfrey and Baldwin." This discoui'se united all the suffrages in favour of Baldwin du Bourg, who was crowned a few days after, and made over the county of Edessa to Josselin de Courtenay. Scarcely was BaldAAin du Bourg seated on the throne of Jerusalem than he was obliged to fly to the succour of Antioch, attacked by the Saracens of Damascus and the Tmcomans from the banks of the Euphrates. Boger of Sicily, son of llichard, who since the death of Tancred governed Antioch during the minority of the son' of Bohe- mond, had been killed in a bloody battle. Baldwin, accom- panied by the count of Tripoli, hastened to the banks of the Orontes, attacked the victorious Mussulmans, and dispersed their army.* After this victory he returned to Jerusalem, when he learnt that Josselin de Courtenay had been made prisoner by the Turks. Baldwin flew to the defence of the county of Edessa, which was threatened \\-ith an invasion, and him- self fell into the hands of the Mussulmans. Old chronicles have celebrated the intrepid zeal of fifty Armenians, who swore to deliver two princes so much be- loved by their subjects, and whose captivity spread desola- tion among the Christians of the East. Their eftbrts broke the chains of Josselin, but after having braved a thousand dangers \Nithout being able to release Baldwin du Boui'g, * See, for an account of this disaster, Kemaleddin and Tabari. mSTOET OF THE CRUSADES. 297 they were themselves taken by the infidels. They all died amidst tortures, and received from Heaven alone, add the same chronicles, the reward of their generous devotion. Josselin, escaped from his prison, repaired to Jerusalem, where he deposited in the chui^ch of the Holy Sepulchre the chains which he had borne among the Turks, and entreated prompt assistance for the deliverance of Baldwin, The mourning kingdom was menaced by the Saracens of Egypt, who, seeking to talie advantage of the captivity of Baldwin, had assembled in the plains of Ascalon for the purpose of driving the Franks from Palestine. In this pressing danger the Christians of Jerusalem could pay attention to nothing but the defence of the kingdom. After the example of the inhabitants of Nineveh, they first sought to mitigate the anger of Heaven by penitence and prayer. A rigorous fast was commanded, during which women withheld the milk of their breasts from their children in the cradle, and the flocks even were driven to a distance from their pastures and de- prived of their ordinary nourishment. War was proclaimed by the sound of the great bell of Jerusalem. The Christian army, which consisted of little more than three thousand combatants, was commanded by Eustache Glrenier, count of Sidon, named regent of the kingdom in the absence of Bald- win. The patriarch of the holy city bore the true cross at the head of the army ; he was followed, says Robert of the Mount, by Pontius, abbot of Cluni, carrying the lance with which the side of the Saviour was pierced, and by the bishop of Bethlehem, who held in his hands a vase, in which the Christian priests boasted of having preserved the milk of the Virgin mother of Grod !* The Christians met the army of the Saracens on the plains of Ascalon. The battle immediately began, and the Pranks were at once surrounded by the Mussulmans, who reckoned forty thousand men beneath their standards. The defeat of the Christians appeared certain, when all at once, says the * The account of this battle, and the preparations for it, are taken from Robert of the Monnt {Robortus de Monte, Appendice ad Sigebertum). This author speaks of the fast the troops were ordered to undergo, as had been done at Nineveh : " Universo pecori pabula negabantur." He also speaks of the milk of the holy Virgin, carried in a vase: — " Episcopus Bethleemides ferens in pyxide lac:; sanctte Marise virginis." 298 nisTOET OF the ceusades, liistorian we liave just now quoted, a light Kke to that of a thunderbolt darted tlirough the air, and fell upon the army of the Mussuhnans. This light, which the Christians con- sidered as a miracle from Heaven, became the signal for the rout of the Saracens. The Mussulman warriors, still more superstitious than the Christians, were fascinated by a sud- den terror, and no longer had either courage or strength to defend themselves. Seven thousand of them fell on the field of battle, and five thousand perished, swallowed up by the waves of the sea. The victorious Christians returned to Jerusalem, singing the praises of the Grod of armies. The Christian knights thenceforth wept vdth. less bitter- ness over the capti\-ity of a king without whom they had been able to conquer the army of the Saracens ; but the army of the Franks, employed in the defence of cities and frontiers constantlv thi-eatened bv the enemv, could not leave the kingdom to make new conquests ; and the warriors, who were detained in the Christian cities, after so great a victory, were deeply afiiicted at their inaction, and appeared to place all their hopes in succours from the AYest. It was just at this time that a Venetian fleet arrived ofi" the coast of S}Tia. The Venetians, who for several centuries enjoyed the com- merce of the East, and feared to break their profitable rela- tions with the Mussuhnans of Asia, had taken but very little interest in the first crusade, or in the events that had fol- lowed it. They waited the issue of this great enterprise, to take a part and associate themselves without peril with the victories of the Christians ; but at length, jealous of the ad- vantages that the Grenoese and the Pisans had obtained in Svi'ia. they wished likewise to have a share in the spoils of the Mussulmans, and prepared a formidable expedition against the infidels. Their fleet, whilst crossing the Medi- terranean, fell in with that of the Grenoese, which was re- tuminof from the East : thev attacked it with furv, and forced it to fly in great disorder. After having stained the sea with the blood of Christians, the Venetians pursued their course towards the coasts of Palestine, where thev met the f.eet of the Saracens, just issuing from the ports of Egypt. A violent conflict ensued, in which aU the Egyptian vessels were dispersed or destroyed, and covered the waves with their wrecks. HISTORY OF THE CKrSA.DES. 299 "Whilst tlie Venetians were tlius destroying tlie fleet of the Mussulmans, an army sent by the caliph of Cairo was beaten by the Christians under the walls of Jaffa. The doge of Venice, who commanded the Venetian fleet, entered the port of Ptolemais, and was conducted in triumph to Jerusa- lem. When celebrating the double victory, they resolved to ■profit by it, by following it up by an important expedition. In a council, held in presence of the regent of tlie kingdom and the doge of Venice, it was proposed to besiege either the city of Tyre or the city of Ascalon. As the opinions were divided, it was resolved to interrogate God, and to fol- low his will. Two strips of parchment, upon which had been written the names of Ascalon and Tyre, were deposited upon the altar of the Holy Sepulchre. In the siglit of a numerous crowd of spectators, a young orphan advanced towards the altar, took one of the strips, and the chance fell upon the city of Tyre. The Venetians, more devoted to the interests of their commerce and of their nation than to those of a Christian kingdom, demanded, before beginning the siege of Tyre, that they should enjoy a church, a street, a common oven, and a national tribunal in every city in Palestine. They further demanded other privileges and the possession of a third of the conquered city. The conquest of Tyre appeared to be so important, that the regent, the chancellor of the kingdom, and the great vassals of the crown accepted the conditions of the Venetians without hesitation : in a deed which history has preserved,* they engaged not to acknow- ledge Baldwin du Bourg or any other prince who would refuse to subscribe to it. When they had thus, by a treaty, shared the city they were about to conquer, they began their preparations for the siege. Towards the commencement of the spring, the Christian army set out from Jerusalem, and the Venetian fleet sailed from the port of Ptolemais. The historian of the kingdom of Jerusalem, who was for a long time arch- bishop of Tyre, stops here to describe the antique wonders of his metropolis. In his recital, at once religious and pro- fane, he invokes by turns the testimony of Isaiah and of * This act is reported in its entirety by William of Tyre. 300 HISTOET OF THE CRTJSADES. A'irgii; after having spoken of the king, Hyram, and the tomb of Origen, he does not disdain to celebrate the memory of Cadmus, and the country of Dido. The good archbishop boasts above all of the industry and the com- merce of Tyre ; of the fertility of its territory, its dyes so celebrated in all antiquity, that sand which is changed into transparent vases, and those sugar-canes which, from that time, were souo^ht for bv every reHon of the universe. Tvre, in the time of Baldwin, was no longer that sumptuous city, whose rich merchants, according to Isaiah, were princes ; but it was yet considered as the most populous and the most commercial of all the cities of Sj^ia. It was built upon a deliffhtfal beach, which mountains sheltered from the blasts of the north ; it had two large moles, which, like two arms, stretched out into the waves, to form a port to which no tempest could find access. Tyre, which had kept the victo- rious Alexander seven months and a half before its walls, was defended on one side by a stormy sea and steep rocks, and on the other by a triple wall surmounted by high towers. The doge of A^enice, with his fleet, entered the port and closed up all issue on the side of the sea. The patriarch of Jerusalem, the regent of the kingdom, and Pontius, count of Tripoli, commanded the army by land. In the early days of the siege, the Christians and the Mussulmans fought with obstinate ardour, and with equal success ; but the divisions among the infidels soon came in to second the efforts of the Franks. The caliph of Egypt had yielded half of the place to the sultan of Damascus, to induce him to defend it against the Christians. The Turks and the Eg;s^tians were divided among themselves, and would not fight together. The Eranks profited by these divisions, and every day gained great advantages. After a siege of some months, the walla crumbled away before the machines of the Christians ; pro- \dsions began to be short in the citv, and the infidels were ready to capitidate, when discord arose to disunite the Christians in their turn, and was on the point of rendering useless the prodigies of valour, and the labours of the long siege. The land army complained aloud of being obliged to sup- port alone, both fighting and fatigue ; the knights and their niSTOJlT OF THE CP.rSADES. 801 soldiers tlireatened to remain as motionless under their tents. *as the A^enetians did in their ships. To prevent the effect of their complaints, the doge of Venice came into the camp of the Christians, with his sailors armed with their oars, and declared that he was ready to mount the breach. From that time a generous emulation animated equally the zeal and courao;e of the land and sea forces. The Mussulmans, beinfi: without hope of succonr, after a siege of five months and a half, were oblis^ed to surrender. The standards of the kinir of .Jerusalem and the doge of Venice waved over the walls of Tyre ; the Christians made their triumphal entry into the city, whilst the inhabitants, according to the terms of the capitulation, Avent out with their wives and children.* The day on which they received at Jerusalem the news of the conquest of Tyre, was a festival for the population of the holy city. To the sound of the bells the Te JDeum was sung on bended knees ; Hags were hoisted on the towers and the ramparts of the city ; branches of olive, and garlands of flowers were suspended in the streets and public places, and rich stuffs were hung upon the outsides of the houses, and upon the doors of the churches. Old men reminded their neighboiu-s of the splendour of the kingdom of Judah, and young Airgins repeated in chorus the psalms in which the prophets had celebrated the city of T>Te. The doge of Venice, on his return to the holy city, was saluted by the acclamations of the people and the clergy. The barons and the principal inhabitants did all in their power to detain him in Palestine ; they even went so far as to offer him the crown of Baldwin ; some believing that that * Albert d'Aix finishes his history in the first year of the reign of Baldwin II., and Foulcher de Chartres terminates his after the siege of Tyre. We may consult for this reign many passages of Baroniu!^, Robert of the Mount, Sanuti, and particularly William of Tyre and Bernardus Thesaurius. We are in possession of the second part of a History of Jerusalem, the anonymous author of which speaks of the reigns of the two first Baldwins. . It will be said perhaps that I have borrowed from these different his- torians too many details ; but I could not resist the desire I had to im- part to my read'ers things that have never hitherto been related in the French language. It is surprising that, notwithstanding Jerusalem was almost always governed and defended by the Franks, no writer of our nation has spoken of it. 302 niSTOET OF THE CEUSADES. prince had died among the infidels, others only recognising a kins: when at the head of an army, or on the field of battle. The doge refused the crown they oflered him ; and, satisfied with the title of prince of Jerusalem, sailed with his victorious fleet back to Italy. AVhilst they were oflerinor the throne of Jerusalem to q, foreign prince, the captivity of Baldwin du Bourg was draw- ing to an end. The emir Balac,* who held him prisoner, after ha^'iug conquered in a battle ten thousand Christians commanded by Josselin, besieged the citadel of a Mussulman city of S\Tia, and was preparing to succour the city of Tyre, when he was wounded by a javelin, and died regretted by the most ardent disciples of Mahomet. Baldwin was then enabled to purchase his liberty, and, after a captivity of eighteen months, appeared once again among the Christians. The king of Jerusalem had promised the Saracens a consi- derable sum as his ransom ; but it was much more easy for him to fight and conquer his enemies than to fulfil such a promise. The Mussulmans, besides, by ill-treating the hostages he had left with them,t furnished him with a pre- text to attack them. Allien the infidels demanded of him tlie stipulated price of his liberty, he only replied by gaining victories over them. The Christian knights, who seemed to have forgotten him, now that they saw him once again in arms, returned thanks to Heaven for his deliverance, and came in troops to range themselves under his baimers, and recognised with joy the authority of a prince who appeared only to have issued from his prison to lead them to new combats. The Christian states at that period numbered as enemies the caliphs of Bagdad and Damascus, the emirs of Mossoul and Aleppo, and the descendants of Ortoc, who were mas- ters of several places on the Euphrates. ;]: The Egyptians were weakened by their numerous defeats, and of all their ancient conquests on the coasts of S\Tia, only retained the * The emir Balac was a prince of the family of Ortoc, who possessed many places on the Euphrates, reigned in Aleppo and ^lesopotamia, and could set on toot innumerable armies of Turcomans. t Edma, the daughter of Baldwin, still a child, was violated by the Mussulmans, to whom her father had given her as an hostage. % See, as well for the incursion of the Turks as of those of the Chris- tians, Kemaleddin, Tabari, and Aboul-Feda. HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 303 city of Ascalon. But the garrison of this place, formed of the wrecks of several conquered armies, still threatened the territories of the Christians. Although the Egyptians had lost the cities of Tyre, Tripoli, and Ptolemais, they still con- tinued masters at sea, and their fleets cruised Mathout obsta- cle along the coasts of Syria, when the maritime nations of Europe did not happen to send succour to the Franks esta- blished in Palestine. The Turks, accustomed to the military and pastoral life, did not aspire to the empire of the seas, but they never left the Christians at rest. They made themselves dreaded, not so much by their great armies, which were frequently no- thmg but confused and undisciplined multitudes, but by their continual, harassing incursions. Docile and patient, they endmed hunger, thirst, and fatigue, better than they would face an enemy. Their knowledge of the country, their being accustomed to the climate, and the intelligence they kept up with the inhabitants, gave them, in all their warlike expeditions, a decided advantage over the Christians. Their soldiers surpassed the Franks in the arts of shooting with the bow, or hurling a javelin, as well as in horseman- ship ; and their leaders were practised, and excelled in all the stratagems of war. Their tactics consisted in wearing out their enemies, in preparing ambushes for them, or in drawing them into difiicult positions, where they might triumph without fighting. The endless discord which pre- vailed among the Mussulman princes of Syria, and the revo- lutions which daily threatened their power, prevented them from following up, for any length of time, the same plan of defence or attack ; but when in the enjoyment of a transient tranquillity, sometimes excited by a thirst for plunder, or sometimes animated by the prayers and the counsels of the caliph of Bagdad, they would burst like a sudden and unex- pected storm over the territories of Antioch, Edessa, Tripoli, or the kingdom of Jerusalem. If the Mussulmans expe- rienced a defeat, they retired with the hope of finding a more favourable opportunity ; if they were conquerors, they ravaged the cities and the plains, and returned to their coun- try, loaded with booty, singing these words : " Tlie Koran o'ejoices, and the Gospel is in tears.'''' The hopes of booty every year attracted new hordes and 304 HISTOET OF THE CErSADES. tribes, Vnieh poured do^vu from Moimt Caucasus, Mount Taurus, from Koracan aud tlie banks of the Tio^ris. These tribes, for the most part ^ild and barbarous, mingled among the Mussulmans of Syria and Mesopotamia, and replaced in armies and cities the hosts which war had swept awar. Among the tribes which had thus estabhshed themselves in Svria, history' must not forget that of the assassins or Ismaelians, whose sect had sprung up, towards the com- mencement of the eleventh century, in the mountains of Persia. A short time before the first crusade, they took possession of a part of Libanus, and founded a colony be- tween Tripoli and Tortosa, which colony was governed by a chief whom the Franks called — tJie Old ALan, or the Lord of the Mountain. The chief of the Ismaelians only reigned over about twenty castles or to^^iis, and scarcely more than sixty thousand subjects : but he had converted despotism into a species of worship, and his autliority was without bounds. His subjects considered that he alone was the de- positaiy of the laws of Mahomet, and that aR who opposed his will merited death. The Old Man of the Mountains, according to the belief of the Ismaelians. coidd distribute, at his pleasure, the dehghts of Paradise to his servants ; that he who died in an act of obedience to his chief, ascended to heaven, whither the prophet of Mecca welcomed him, whilst he who died in his bed went tlu-ough long probationary pains in the next world. The Ismaelians were divided into three classes : the peo- ple, the soldiers, and the guards. The people lived by the cultivation of the lands and by commerce ; they were docile, laborious, sober, and patient : nothing could exceed the skill, strength, and courage of the soldiers, whose qualities were particularly valued in the defence or sieges of cities. The greater part of the Mussulman princes were very desirous of having them in their pay. The most distinguished class was that of the guards or feda'ls. Xothing was neglected in their education. Prom their infancy their bodies were strengthened by constant and violent exercises, and their minds were cultivated by the study of the arts. They were taught the languages of Asia and Europe, in order that they might be sent into those countries to execute the orders of their master. All sorts HISTOllY or THE CRUSADES. 305 of means were employed to inflame their imaginations and heighten their courage ; during their sleep, which was pro- voked by intoxicating drinks, they wore transported into delicious gardens, and awoke surrounded by the seductions of voluptuousness. It was there that the Old Man of the Mountains, by showing them the image of the joys of Para- dise, inspired them with a blind obedience. In the midst of illusions which fascinated them, their n^aster could order them to cast themselves from the height of a tower, to pre- cipitate themselves into flames, or to pierce themselves with mortal wounds. When the Old Man of the Mountains had pointed out to them any one he wished to punish, they went, armed with a poniard, indifterently, to seek him in palaces or camps, and were impeded by neither obstacles nor dangers. Princes often intrusted the charge of their revenge to the chief of the Ismaelians, and looked to him for the death of their rivals or enemies. Powerful monarchs were his tribu- taries. The fears which he inspired, and the murders com- mitted by his orders, heaped up his treasures. Surrounded by his intrepid soldiery, he sent death into distant regions ; the terror of his name was spread everywhere, whilst he himself had nothing to fear from his enemies. * The Ismaelians, as implacable sectarians, entertained a profound aversion for the Turks of Syria. Many of them were in the pay of the emirs and the sultans of that na- tion ; but they sold their services at a very high price, and often took an active part in the bloody revolutions which precipitated from thrones the Mussulman dynasties of the East. They had less hatred for the Christians, because the latter fought against the Turks ; nay, sometimes they became useful auxiliaries to the Pranks. When Baldwin du Bourg was liberated, they proposed to deliver up Damascus to him, a great number of their Avarriors being in that city ; but the plot being discovered, they miscarried in their enterprise, and six thousand Ismaelians were slaughtered by the Mussulmans.* * Our learned Orientalists have furnished us with some very useful and profound works on the Ismaehans ; at their head is M. de Sacy, who has made us acquainted with the doctrine and many of the usages of this singular people. M. Jourdain has on this subject supplied us with a very interesting memoir. 306 niSTOKT OF THE CEUSADES. The Old Man of tlie Mountaius commanded the death of the emir of Mossoul, who had defended the city of Damas- cus against the Christians. The murder of the Mussulman emir threw S^-ria into a state of excitement and trouble : but from the bosom of this disorder arose a new and for- midable power. Zengui, son of Aksancar, one of the most skilful captains of his age, obtained the principality of Mossoul, got possession of Emessa and Aleppo, with several other cities of Svria, and founded the dynasty of the Ata- becks, or governors of the prince, which was destined to dominate oyer the East, and render itself formidable to the Christians.* Whilst this new power was rising in S}Tia, the Christian states of the East were at their highest point of prosperity. The county of Edessa, which contained a great portion of the rich provinces of Mesopotamia, had all the Armenian princes as its allies and auxiliaries. Several cities of Coele- syria, Cilicia, and Lower Armenia constituted the principality of Antioch, the most extensive and the most flourishing of the Christian provinces. The coimty of Tripoli comprised several places situated on the Sea of Phoenicia, from Margath to the river Adonis. This river, celebrated in both sacred and profane history, bounded on the north the kingdom of Jerusalem, which, towards the south, extended on the sea-coast as far as the gates of Ascalon, and towards the east, to the deserts of ^Vrabia. These four states formed a redoubtable confederacy. Europe beheld with pride these Christian colonies, which had cost her so much blood ; she was afflicted at their re- verses, and rejoiced at their progress. The safety of Chris- tianity appeared identified with their preservation. The bravest of the Christians were alwavs ready to devote themselves for the heritage of Cln-ist ; religion offered no recompense equal to that promised to their valour, and charit)' itself became warlike. Erom the bosom of an hospital consecrated to the service of pilgi-ims and the poor, issued heroes armed against the • See, for the origin and the reign of Zengui, the History of the Atabecks, by Ben Latir. HISTORY OF THE CEIJSADES. 307 infidels, — the humanity and the bravery of the knights cf St. John* were equally conspicuous. Whilst some grew old in the offices of hospitality, others went forth to combat with the enemies of their faith. After the example of these pious knights, several men of gentle birth met near the place where the temple of Solomon had stood, and took an oath to protect and defend the pilgrims who repaired to Jerusalem. Their union gave birth to the order of the Templars, which, from its origin, was approved of by a council, and owed its statutes to St. Bernard. These two orders were governed by the same principle that had given birth to the crusade, the union of the military spirit with the religious spirit. E-etired from the world, they had no other country but Jerusalem, no other family but that of Jesus Christ. AYealth, evils, and dangers were all in common amongst them ; one will, one spirit, directed all their actions and aR their thoughts ; all were imited in one house, which appeared to be inhabited but by one man. They lived in great austerity, and the severer their discipline became, the stronger appeared the bonds by which it en- chained their hearts and their wills. Arms formed their only decoration ; precious ornaments were never seen in their houses or churches ; but lances, bucklers, swords, and standards taken from the infidels abounded. At the cry of battle, says St. Bernard,t they armed themselves with faith within and with steel without ; they feared neither the number nor the fury of the barbarians, they were proud to conquer, happy to die for Jesus Christ, and believed that every victory came from Grod. ^Religion had sanctified the perils and the violences of war. Every monastery of Palestine was a fortress, in which the din of arms was mingled with the voice of prayer. Humble cenobites sought glory in fight ; the canons, instituted by Grodfrey to pray near the holy tomb, after the example of * The history of the knights of St. John has been written in Italian by Bosio, and translated into French by Boyssat. The history since written by the Abbe de Vertot has caused all that preceded it to be forgotten. The Templars, after their tragical end, had no historian of their exploits in the Holy Land ; but they have in our days found a very eloquent one in M. Raynouard. f See Saint Bernard, Exhortatio ad Milites Templi. Vol. I.— 15 308 HISTORY or THE CRUSADES. the Hospitallers and the Templars, had clothed themselves with the casque and the cuirass, and, under the name of the Elnights of the Holy Sepulchre, distinguished themselves amongst the soldiers of Christ. The glory of these military orders ^Yas soon spread throughout the Christian world. Their renown penetrated even to the isles and the most remote nations of the West. All who had sins to expiate hastened to the holy city to share the labours of the Christian warriors. Crowds of men, who had devastated their own country, came to defend the kingdom of Jerusalem, and take part in the perils of the most firm defenders of the faith. There was not an illustrious family in Europe which did not send at least one knight to the military orders of Pales- tine. Princes even enrolled themselves in this holy militia, and laid aside the insignia of their dignity to assume the red coat of arms of the Hospitallers, or the white mantle of the knights of the Temple. In aU the nations of the "West castles and cities were bestowed upon them, which ofiered an asylum and succour to pilgrmis, and became auxiliaries to the kingdom of Jerusalem. As monks, as soldiers of Christ, they were remembered in every will, and not unfrequently became the heirs of monarchs and princes. The knights of St. John and of the Temple for a length of time were deserving of the greatest praises ; more happy and more worthy of the benedictions of posterity would they have been, if, in the end, they had not allowed them- selves to be corrupted by their success and their wealth ; and if they had not frequently disturbed the welfare of the state of which their bravery was the support ! These two orders were like a crusade that was unceasingly renewed, and preserved emulation in the Christian armies. The military customs and manners of the Franks who were then engaged in Palestine, present an object worthy of fixing the attention of the historian and the philosopher, and may serve to explain the rapid rise and the following decline of the kingdom of Jerusalem. The spirit of ho- nour which animated the warriors, and permitted them not to fly, even in an unequal fight, was the most active principle" of their bravery, and with them took the place of discipline. To abandon a companion in danger, or to retire IIISTOBT OF THE CSIJSADES. 309 before an enemy, was an action infamous in the sight of Grod or man. In battle, their close ranks, their lofty stature, their war-horses, like themselves covered with steel, over- turned, dispersed, or bore down the numerous battalions of the Saracens. In spite of the weight of their armour, nothing could exceed the rapidity with which they passed to places the most distant. They were to be seen fighting almost at the same time in Egypt, on the Euphrates, and on the Orontes ; and only left these their customary theatres of victory to threaten the principaHty of Damascus, or some city of Arabia. In the midst of their exploits they recog- nised no other law but victory, abandoned and rejoined at pleasure the standards which led them to the enemy, and required nothing of their chief but the example of bravery. As their mihtia had under its colours warriors of divers nations, the opposition of characters, the difiJerence of man- ners and language kept alive amongst them a generous emulation ; but sometimes, likewise, gave birth to discord. Very frequently chance, or some unexpected cu-cumstance, decided an enterprise or the fate of a campaign. When the Christian knights believed themselves in a condition to fight an enemy, they went to seek him, without taking the least pains to conceal their march ; confidence in their strength, in their arms, and, above aU, in the protection of Heaven, made them neglect the stratagems and the artifices of war, and even the precautions most necessary to the safety of an army. Prudence in their chiefs frequently appeared to them an evidence of timidity or weakness, and many of their princes paid with their lives or their liberty for the vain glory of encountering useless perils in the Christian cause. The Pranks of Palestine saw scarcely any dangers or enemies except such as met them in the field of battle. Several important enterprises, which fortune alone seemed to direct, were necessary to assure the safety and the prosperity of the Christian states in Asia. The first of these enterprises was to lower the power of the caliphs of Egypt ; the second, to conquer and preserve the maritime cities of Syria, in order to receive fleets and succour from the West ; the third was to defend the frontiers, and oppose on aU sides a barrier against the Tui'ks and Saracens. Each 310 niSTOHY OF THE CErSADE3. of these great interests, or rather all of these interests united, constantly occupied the Franks established in Asia, without their having any other policy but that of circumstances, and without their employing, in order to succeed, any other means but their swords. It is in this view we must admire their efforts, and find the bravery, which supplied the place of everything, wonderful. Among the illustrious pilgrims who at this time repaired to Palestine, and took part in the labours of the Christian knights, histor}' ought not to forget Foulque, count of Anjou. He was the son of Foulque le Eechin and Ber- trade de Montfort, who became the wife of Philip I., and for whose sake the king of Prance had braved all the thunders of the Church. Poulque of Anjou could not be consoled for the death of his wife Eremberge, daughter of Elie, count of Maine. His grief led him into Palestine, where he maintained during a year a hundred men-at-arms, whom he led to battle. He united piety with valour, and attracted admiration by displacing all the qualities of a good prince. Baldwin, who had no male offspring, oflfered him his daughter Melisende in marriage, and promised to have him nominated his successor. Poulque accepted the pro- position with joy, and became son-in-law to the king of Jerusalem. Prom that time the two princes gave all their attention to promote the prosperity of the kingdom and to defend it against the Saracens. Their union served as a model to Christian princes, and lasted till the death of Baldwin, who, seeing his last hour approach, ordered himself to be carried to the spot where Christ had risen again, and died in the arms of his daughter and his son-in-law, to whom, with his latest breath, he recommended the glory of the Christians of the East. Baldwin had a right mind, a lofty spirit, and unalterable mildness. Eehgion presided over his least actions and inspired all his thoughts ; but he perhaps had more devotion than was suited to a prince or a warrior. He was constantly seen prostrated on the earth, and, if we may believe Wilham of Tyre, his hands and knees were hardened by practices of piety. He passed eighteen years on the throne of Edessa, and twelve on that of Jerusalem; he was made prisoner HISTORY or THE CRUSADES. 311 twice, and remained seven years in the cTiains of the infidels. He had neither the faults nor the high qualities of his pre- decessor. His reign was rendered illustrious by conquests and victories in which he bore no part ; but he was not the less regretted by the Christians, who loved to contemplate in him the last of the companions of Godfrey. Under his reign the public manners began to decline : by his directions a council was assembled at Naplouse to check licentiousness, and punish offenders against order and mo- rality. But the decrees of this council,* deposited in the churches, only served to prove the existence of disorders among the Christians, and did not, in any way, stop the pro- gress of corruption, which rapidly increased under the follow- ing reigns. Baldwin was more happy in the measures which he undertook to increase the number of his subjects and enrich his capital. An edict suppressed all duties upon grain and vegetables brought into the holy city by the Syrians. Bald- win, by this means, improved the trade and popiilation of Jeru- salem, and revived agriculture in the neighbouring provinces. Foulque, count of Anjou, was crowned king of Jerusalem after the death of Baldwin. At his accession to the throne, discord disturbed the Christian states, and even threatened with speedy ruin the principality of Antioch. The son of Bohemond, who had recently assumed the reins of govern- ment, had been killed in a battle against the Turks of Asia Minor, and a daughter, whom he had had by Alise, sister of Melisende, was called to the inheritance of her father's throne ; but the weakness of her sex and age did not permit her to make good her claim. AHse, her mother, wished to get possession of the royal seat, and in the prosecution of her projects did not scruple to avail herself of the aid of the Saracens. Another candidate appeared in E-oger, king of Sicily, who, as a member of the family of Bohemond and Tancred, had pretensions to the principality of Antioch. The people, the clergy, and the nobility were divided into several factions. * We will relate in full the decrees of the council of Naplouse, which form a precious monument of the history of these distant times ; but the greater part of the crimes and offences against which the fathers of this council raised their voices, do not. permit us to give these statutes in French or English, or present the most curious details of them. 312 niSTOET or the ceusades. The king of Jerusalem, as protector of the confederation of the Franks in Asia, determined to re-establish order, and took the road to Antioch Tvith his barons and the knights of the Temple and St. John. The count of Tripoli, who had embraced the party of Alise, undertook to stop the king of Jerusalem on his passage. The powers of these two princes met ; a battle ensued, and the plains of Phoenicia were stained ^vith the blood of Christians shed in unnatural strife. Foulque of Anjou, after having routed the troops of the count of Tripoli, gained the banks of the Orontes, silenced the contending factions, and re-estabhshed, peace. To per- fect his work, he resolved to bestow the daughter of Bohe- mond on a husband able to defend her rights, who would merit the confidence of the Christian warriors. S}Tia pre- senting to him no prince or knight worthy of his choice, he turned his eyes towards the princes of Europe, and nominated Eavmond of Poictiers governor of Antioch, as Baldwin II. had chosen him himself governor of Jerusalem. Thus Europe, which had found defenders for the Christian states of Asia, supplied them also with princes and kings. Eay- mond of Poictiers, brother of TTilliam, duke of Aquitaine, left France with the scrip and staff of a pilgrim, and came into Svria to espouse the daughter of Baldwin, and reign ■u-ith her on the banks of the Orontes. The troubles of Antioch had re-sdved the pretensions of the emperors of Constantinople. John Comnenus, son and successor of Alexius, put himself at the head of an army, took possession of some places in Cilicia, and en- camped before the walls of Antioch. After several conflicts, in which victory remained uncertain, neirotiations were opened, which ended in the oath of obedience to the emperor being taken by Baymond of Poictiers. The two princes, united bv a treatv, resolved to turn their arms ao:ainst the Saracens. Their troops, which they commanded in person, attacked without success Aleppo and several other cities of Svi'ia : the want of a e:ood understandinir. which accom- panied the G-reeks and Latins at all times, was sure to defeat their enterprises. The emperor returned with vexation to Antioch, of which he endeavoured to make himself master, but was compelled by a sedition to leave the city hastily. He i^on formed the project of ^-isiting Jerusalem at the head of HISTORY OF THE CETJSADE3. 813 Ms army, witli tlie intention, if the Latins are to be believed, of obtaining possession of Palestine. Foulque sent ambas- sadors to inform him that be could only be received in the holy city in the character of a simple pilgrim ; whereupon John, who did not dare to complain, sent presents to Foulque of Anjou, and gave up, without much pain, his idea of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. After a campaign, for w^hich he had drawn out all the strength of the empire, he returned to his capital, having obtained nothing by his enterprise but the vain and hollow homage of the prince of Antioch. Foulque of Anjou, after having re-established peace among his neighbours, found, on his return, that discord not only prevailed in his states, but had even made its way into his own house. Walter, count of Csesarea, accused Hugh, count of Jaffa, of the crime of treason towards his king. This latter noble had drawn upon himself the hatred of the king and the principal people of the kingdom, some say by his pride and disobedience, and others by his guilty con- nection with the queen Melisende. When the barons had heard Walter of Caesarea, they decided that a battle, en cliamp clos, should take place between the accused and the accuser ; and as the count of Jaffa did not appear in the lists on the day nominated, he was declared guilty. Hugh was descended from the famous lord of Puyset, who raised the standard of revolt against the king of Pranp§, and who, conquered in the end by Louis le Grros,* despoiled of his possessions and banished his countr}^ had taken refuge in Palestine, where his exploits had secured him the county of Jaffa, which he had transmitted to his son. Hugh possessed the turbulent and impetuous character of his father, and, like him, could neither pardon an injury nor submit to an act of authority. On learning that he was condemned without being heard, he set no bounds to his anger, but hastened immediately to Ascalon, to implore the aid of the infidels against the Christians. The Mussulmans, highly pleased with the division which had sprung up among * The castle of Puyset, near Orleans, was besieged three times by all the forces of Louis le Gros ; this castle was at length taken and demo- lished. Veilly, and all the French historians, having neglected to read William of Tyre, make the seigneur de Puyset die in the kingdom of Naples. 314 HISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. their enemies, at once took tlie field, and ravaged tlie country as far as the city of Asur. Hugh, after ha\TQg contracted a criminal alliance ^^ith the Saracens, shut himself up in Jaffa, ^vhere he was soon besieo^ed by the kins: of Jerusalem. The thirst of vengeance animated both parties ; Foulque of Anjou had sworn to punish the treason of his vassal ; and Hugh was equally determined to succeed, or bury himself under the ruins of Jaffa. Before the king's forces com- menced the attack, the patriarch of Jerusalem interposed his mediation, and recalled to the minds of the Christian warriors the precepts of Grospel charity. Hugh at first rejected all mention of peace with indignation ; but having been abandoned bv his followers, he at last lent an unwillino^ ear to the pacific appeals of the patriarch, and consented to lav down his arms. The kins: of Jerusalem sent home his army, and the count of Jafia agreed to quit the kingdom, into which he was not to return till after three years of exile. He was awaiting at Jerusalem the favoiu-able moment for liis departure, when an unexpected circumstance was on the point of renewing stifled quarrels. " It happened," says "W^illiam of Tvre,* *'' as the count was playing at dice in the sti-eet of the Turners, before the shop of a merchant named Alpham, that a soldier, a Breton by nation, having drawn his sword, fell suddenly upon the said count, who, being attentive to his game, expected nothing less than such an attack, and with the first cut, without the least warning, dealt him such a blow with the said sword on the face as stretched him upon the ground." At the sight of such a ti-agical scene the people gathered round in crowds, anxiously iuquiring the cause of it. The whole city was filled with rumours of various kinds ; aU mourned the fate of the count of Jaffa, and thought no more of his rebellion. They did not even hesitate to whisper complaints against the king, whom they accused of having himself directed the poniard of the assassin. The king, however, caused the murderer to be immediately aiTCsted, and he was tried with the utmost rigour of the laws. He was ordered to have his limbs broken ; and the king, whilst confirming the sentence, only * TVhen quoting William of Tyre, I avail myself always of the old translation, whose nai/and simple style associates best with the spirit and manners of the twelfth century. niSTOET OF THE CEUSADES. 815 added tliat the assassin of the count of Jaffa should not, as was usual, have his tongue cut out, in order that he might name his accomplices. The unhappy wretch expired, de- claring that no one had induced him to commit the deed, but that he thought he should serve religion and his king bj it. Every one was thus left free to form conjectures according to the feeling that animated him, or the party he had adopted. The count of Jaffa was not long in recovering from his wound; at the end of a few months he quitted Palestine, and went to Sicily, where he died before the time fixed for the end of his exile. Queen Melisende entertained a deep resentment at all which had taken place ; by which she proved that she was not a stranger to the origin of these fatal discords. " From the day on which the count left the kingdom," says "William of Tyre, " all who had against him been informers to the king, and brought him into his ill graces, so incurred the indig- nation of the queen that they were not in too great safety of their persons, and even the king did not seem to be quite at his ease among the relations and favourites of the queen." The anger of the queen, however, yielded to time, and did not outlive the count of Jaffa. Foulque himself, whether it was that age had blunted his feelings, or that it appeared more prudent to him to efface the last traces of an unfor- tunate affair, repented of having compromised the honour of the queen, and neglected nothing that could make her forget the excess of his jealousy and the rigours he had employed. Amidst these disagreeable events the king of Jerusalem had reason to congratulate himself at having no invasion of the Mussulmans to repel. The prince of Mossoul, Zengui, attacked some Christian fortresses, but he was soon diverted from his enterprises against the Franks by the pro- ject of uniting the principality of Damascus to his states. The Mussulman prince who reigned at Damascus could find no other means of resisting Zengui than by calling in the Christians to his help. The king of Jerusalem, after having received hostages and considerable sums of money, took the field at the head of his army, for the purpose of defending a Mussulman city ; but Zengui, who feared to try his strength with the Franks, did not venture to attack Damascus. 15* 316 nisTOEY or the ceusades. According to the conditious of the alliance vrith. the Chris- tians, the citv of Paneas, or Ca?sarea of Philippi, -^hich had recentlv fallen, into the hands of the Saracens, was to -be given lip to them. The warriors of Damascus and Jerusa- lem marched together to lav siege to that city, situated at the foot of Libanus, and near the sources of the Jordan. For the second time the standards of Christ and Mahomet were seen floating over one army and one camp. Caesarea of Phihppi capitulated after a siege of a few days, and was given up to the king of Jerusalem. This conquest was the most important event that signal- ized the latter years of the reign of Foulque of Anjou. The king of Jerusalem, whilst hunting in the plain of Ptolemais, fell fi'om his horse, and died of the fall, leaving no one to succeed him but two children of tender age. He was less regretted on account of his personal quahties than for the sad condition in which his death left the kingdom. "William of Tvre, who praises the ^irtue3 of Foulque of Anjou, remai'ks. with a naivete worthv of these remote times, that this prince had red hau-, and yet he could not be reproached with any of the faults usually attributed to men of that colour. He was more than sixty years of age when he ascended the throne of Jerusalem ; in the last vears of his life his memoiy was so weakened that he did not know his own servants, and had not sufficient strenofth and activitv to be the head of a kincjdom surrounded bv enemies. He emploved himself more in building fortresses than in col- lecting armies, and in defending his frontiers than in making new conquests. Under his reign the military ardour of the Christians seemed to grow weaker, and was displaced by a spirit of discord, which brought about calamities much greater than those of war. At the period of the coronation of Foulque of Anjou, the Christian states were at the highest degree of their prosperity ; towards the end of his reign thev showed a tendencv to decline. Baldwin III., thirteen years of age, succeeded his father, and Queen Melisende became regent of the kingdom. Thus the reins of government fell from the weak and powerless hands of an old man into those of a woman and a child. Parties soon sprung up around the throne ; the clergy, the knights, the barons, even the people took a dangerous part HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES. 317 in affairs of state, and tlie autliority of the prince, which hitherto had been but that of the general of an armj, lost under the regency of Queen Melisende the consideration and splendour it had derived from victory. The government insensibly assumed the turbulent form of a republic, and in the political relations which the Christians held at this period with the Saracens,* the latter believed that several chiefs were at the head of the kingdom of Jerusalem. Baldwin did not wait for the period of his majority to be crowned king, being scarcely fourteen years old, when, in the presence of the barons and the clergy, he received the sword t with which he was to defend religion and justice ; the ring, the symbol of faith ; the sceptre and the crown, marks of dignity and power ; and the apple or globe, as an image of the earth and the kingdom he was called upon to govern. Young Baldwin already displayed courage above his age ; in the very first days of his reign he achieved a glorious expe- dition beyond the Jordan, in which he gained possession of the Valley of Moses ; but he had not experience enough to know what enemies he ought to attack or what allies he ought to defend. On his return from the expedition of the Jordan he undertook an unjust and unfortunate war, the presage of a sad future for the kingdom of Jerusalem. An Armenian, who governed the city of Bosra in the name of the sultan of Damascus, came to Jerusalem to offer to deliver up to the Christians the place which he commanded, and the barons and principal people were convoked to hear his proposals. The wiser part of the assembly referred to the aUiance made wdth the Saracens of Damascus ; the * In William of Tyre may be seen the letter which the vizir of Damascus addressed to the Christian princes of Jerusalem. t The Assizes of Jerusalem speak thus of the coronation of the king : — Ly met I'anneau au doi«t, qui sinefie foi ; et aspres ly ceint I'espee, qui sinefie justice, a deffendre foi et sainte esglise ; et aspres la couronne, qui sinefie la dignite ; et aspres le sceptre, qui sinefie chastier et deffendre ; et aspres la pomme, qui sinefie la terre du royaume. [Although oftering a translation, I cannot resist giving this very curious piece of old French. — Trans.] They put the ring on his finger, as signifying faith ; then they girded on the sword, which means he must defend justice, faith, and the holy church; next the crown, which denotes dignity; after that the sceptre, with which he is both to punish and defend ; and at last the apple or globe, which signifies the kingdom of the earth. 318 HISTOEY or THE CKUSADES. promises of an -iiiLknown soldier appeared to them to have no security, and to inspire no confidence ; they said the kin^^dom of Jerusalem did not want for enemies to combat, or conquests to attempt ; it was their duty to attack the most formidable, and protect the others as useful auxiliaries. This advice, which was the most reasonable, was that which obtained the smallest number of suffrages. Wonders were related of the country they were about to conquer ; Bosra was the capital of Upper Arabia, all the riches of that countr}^ appeared abeady to belong to the Christians, and all who opposed a conquest so brilliant and so easy were accused of treason. They deliberated in the midst of tumult,* and the cries of a misled multitude smothered the voice of reason and prudence. The coimcil of the barons and the principal people decided that an expedition, upon which so many hopes were built, should be undertaken. The Christian army was soon on its march, and across the mountains of Libanus. When it arrived in the territory of Damascus, its first conflict was with the Saracens gathered together to oppose its passage. After sustaining several severe encounters, the Christians succeeded in gaining the country called Traconite, where they found nothing but plains burnt up by the ardent rays of the sun. The roads were difficult, and the locusts ha^ing fallen into the wells and cisterns, had poisoned all the waters. The inhabitants, con- cealed in subterranean caverns, laid ambushes in all direc- tions for the Christian army ; whilst the Mussulman archers, planted upon all the hills and acchvities, left the warriors of Jerusalem not a moment's repose. The misfortunes of the army (it is William of Tyre who speaks) increased every day, and there wa^ poured upon the Christians such a quan- tity, and as it were continually, of all sorts of arrows, that they appeared to descend upon them Wee hail or heavy rain upon houses covered icith slates and tiles, men and beasts heing stucTc all ot'er icith them. Nevertheless, the hope of winning a rich city sustained the courage of the Christian soldiers, and enabled them to brave all these perils. But * "William of Tyre attributes the determination of the king and the barons to the cries of the populace of Jerusalem ; the same historian relates this expedition with many details in his sixteenth book, ch. vii. — xiii. HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 319 ■when they arrived within sight of Bosra, it was an- nounced to them that the wife of the Armenian commandant had called the garrison to arms, and that she was prepared to defend the city which her husband had promised to give up to the king of Jerusalem. This unexpected news at once sj)read consternation and discouragement through the Chris- tian army. The knights and barons, struck with the mis- fortunes that threatened the Christian soldiers, pressed the king to abandon his army, and save his person and the cross of Christ. Young Baldwin rejected the advice of his faithful barons, and insisted upon sharing all their perils. As soon as the order for retreat was given, the Mussul- mans, with loud cries, set out in pursuit of the Christians. The soldiers of Jerusalem closed their ranks, and marched in silence, sword in hand, bearing away their wounded and dead. The Saracens, who could not shake or break through their enemy, and who, in their pursuit, found no trace of carnage, believed they were actually JBghting against men of iron. The region which the Christians were traversing was covered with heath, thistles, and other plants dried hj the heat of the summer. The Saracens set fire to these ; the wind bore the flames and smoke towards the Christian army, and the Franks marched over a burning plain, with clouds of smoke, ashes, and dust floating over and aroimd them. William of Tyre, in his history, compares them to smiths, to such a degree were their clothes and their faces blackened by the fire which devoui'ed the plain. The knights, the soldiers, and the people who followed the army, gathered in a crowd around the bishop of Nazareth, who bore the wood of the true cross, and conjured him with tears to put an end by his prayers to calamities they were no longer able to bear. The bishop of Nazareth, touched by their despair, raised the cross, imploring the mercy of Heaven, — and, at the moment the direction of the wind was changed. The flames and the smoke which desolated the Christians were imme- diately wafted against the Mussulmans. The Eranks pur- sued their march, persuaded that God had wrought a miracle to save them. A knight, whom they had never before seen, mounted on a white horse, and bearing a red standard, preceded the Christian army, and conducted it out of danger. The people and the soldiers took him for an angel S20 KDROET OF THE CBrSJLDBS. £rom heaven, and his miraculous presence re-animated their stzcngth and. their courage. At length the army of Baldwin, after haTing undergone sSL sorts of misery, returned to Jerusalem, where the inhabitants rejoiced at its arrival, singing iheae words from the Scriptures, — " I/et u^ give amrtelce^ wp to joy, for tliM peopJ-e thai u-a-s dead is resivs- cxtated; it wa^ lost, and behold h^re it is fouiid againr But whilst the inhabitants of Jerusalem were rejoicing at tiie return of their warriors, the Christian states lost one of tlieir most important places, and experienced an irre- parable misfortune. Zengui, whom the caliph of Bagdad and all true Mussulmans considered as the buckler and the support of Islamism, extended his empire from Mossoul to Hie fiontiers of Damascus, and was continuing without intermission the course of his victories and conquests. The Christians made no effort to stop the progress of so redoubt- able a poww. Zengui, who united -vvith bravery all the Feaomoes of a skilful policy, left them in a deceitftil security, and determined only to awaken them from their long sleep when he had it in his power to give a mortal blow to their empire. He knew, by experience, that nothing was more £ital to the Christians than too long a repose ; the Franks, who owed ereiything to their arms, were almost always weakened by peace, and when not fighting against the Saracens, generally fell out among themselves. The kingdom of Jerusalem had two formidable barriers, tbe prindpaUty of Antioch and the county of Edessa. Saymondof Poictiers defended the Orontes from the invasion of the Saracens, and old Josselia de Courtenay had been for a long time the tearrM* of the infidels on the banks of the ^Ei^hrates; but he was recently dead. He had fought to his last breath, and even on his bed of death made his arms and his bravet^' respected. Josselin was besieging a castle near Aleppo, when a tower fell down neso* him and covCTed him with its ruins. He was txanspoorted in a dving state to Edessa, and as he lay lan- gnishing on his bed, expecting nothing but death, it was announced to him that the sultan of Iconium had laid siege to one of his strong places ; upon which he sent for his son and commanded him to go instantly and attack the enemy. Young Josaelin hesitated, and represented to his father that I HI5T0EY or THE CEUSADES. 321 he tad not a gtifficient number of troops to meet tte Turks. The old warrior, who had never acknowledged the existence of obstacles, was determined before he died to leave an exam- ple to his son, and caused himself to be borne in a litttr at the head of his soldiers. As they approached the besieged citj, he was informed that the Turks had retired, whereupon he ordered his litter to stop, raised his eves towards heaven as if to return thanks for the flight of the Saracens, and expired surrounded by his faithful warriors. His mortal remains were transported to Edessa, the inha- bitants of which citT came out to meet and join the funeral procession, which presented a most affecting spectacle. Here were to be seen the mourning soldiers baring the coffin of their chief; and there a whole people lamenting the loss of their support and defender, and celebrating the last victory of a Christian hero. Old Josselin died deploring the fate of Edessa, about to be governed by a weak and pusillanimous prince : for from his childhood the son of Courtenay had been addicted to drunkenness and debaucherv. In an asre and a countrv in which these vices were sufficiently common, the excesses of young Josselin had frequently scandalized the Christian "w^uriors. As soon as he was master, he quitted the citv of Edessa, to take up his abode at TurbesseL a delicious retreat on the banks of the Euphrates. There, entirelv abandoned to his vicious inclinations, he neglected the pav of his troops and the fortifications of his forts, equally heedless of the cares of government and the menaces of the Saracens. Zengui had been for a length of time watching for a favourable opportunity of surprising the citv of Edessa ; as this conquest would not only flatter his pride and ambition, but would render him dearer to all the disciples of Mahomet. In order to retain Josselin in his £incied securitv, the prince of Mossoul feigned to make war against the Saracens ; but at the moment he was supposed to be most busiiv engaged in an attack upon several Mussulman castles in the east of Mesopotamia, he appeared at the head of a formidable army before the walls of Edessa.* A great number of Cnrds and * Kemaleddin, an Arabian historian, and William of Tyre agree as to the priadpal drcamsianoes oi tlus sieige. 322 nisTOET OF the cbusades. Turcomans, wandering and barbarous tribes, bad joined bis standard, attracted by tbe bopes of a ricb booty. At tbe lii'st signal given by Zengui, the city was suiTounded on all sides ; seven enormous wooden towers were raised higher than the rampai^ts ; numbers of formidable machines un- ceasinglv battered the walls, or hurled into the city stones, iavelins. and inflammable matters ; whilst the foundations of the towers of the fortifications were being undermined by the infidels. The walls, which were only supported by slight, ill-fixed posts, were falling to pieces, and, covering the earth with their ruins, seemed ready to offer an easy passage to the Mussulman soldiers. AVhen on the point to give the signal for destruction, the fierce Mussulmans stopped, and summoned the city to sur- render. The sight of the death which threatened them did not at all weaken the courage of the inhabitants, and they answered that they would all perish sooner than give up a Christian city to the iofidels. They exhorted each other to merit the cro^vn of martyrdom : " Let us not fear," said they, " these stones launched agaiast our towers and our houses ; he who made the firmament, and created legions of angels, defends us agaiast his enemies, or prepares us an abode in heaven." Animated by such discourses, the inhabitants of Edessa exerted themselves to destroy the towers and the works of the besiegers, the hopes of beiug succoured re- doubliag their zeal and courage. They expected, says an Armenian author, assistance from a nation which they called the valiant, and every day looked to see, from the height of their walls, the standards of the victorious Franks. The hoped-for succoui's were vainly expected. "When Josselin learnt the danger of his capital, he aroused himself from his sloth, and sent information of it to Ea}TQond of Poictiers, and the queen regent of Jerusalem. But the prince of Antioch, who disliked Josselin, refused to assist Edessa, and the troops of Jerusalem, although set forward on their march, could not arrive in time. Josselin ought to have devoted himself to repair the consequences of his faults, but he had not the courage to seek death under the walls of a city he could not save, and whose defence he had neglected. On the twenty-eighth day of the siege, several towers feU dcwn with a horrible crash ; and Zengui at once ordered his > HISTOEY OF THE CRUSADES. 323 anny to enter the place. To paint the frightful scenes of this last attack, I must borrow tiie words of a contemporary- author : — " The moment at which the sun began to shine above the horizon, appeared like a night illumined by the fires of the storm. As soon as the ramparts and towers fell, all the city was filled with terror. Nevertheless the defenders of Edessa thought not, for a moment, of flight, but all joined in the cry of the brave, conquer or die. Some employed themselves in propping up the walls, whilst others boldly flew to meet the enemy ; the clergy, clothed in helmet and cuirass, marching at their head. The bishops, bearing each a cross in his hands, bestowed their benedic- tions on the people and animated them to the fight." The enemy advanced uttering frightful cries ; even amidst the din of a general assault, the voices of the Saracen heralds-at-arms were heard encouraging the soldiers, and promising the pillage of the city to the conquerors. Then, to employ the expression of an Armenian poet, the pusilla- nimous were seen shedding torrents of tears, whilst the brave, heedless of the stroke of the sabre, rushed amidst the ranks of the Mussulmans. Neither prodigies of valour, nor the last efibrts of despair could save the city or its inhabitants. A great part of the Mussulman army was already in the place ; and all who crossed the steps of the conquerors fell beneath the sword. Most of those who sought safety in the citadel, found death under its ramparts, and were trampled upon and stifled by the crowd. The city of Edessa presented, everywhere, the most lamentable scenes ; some fell whilst flying, and died, crushed to death by the feet of the horses ; whilst others, hastening to the succour of their friends and neighbours, were themselves slaughtered by the barbarians. Neither the weakness of a timid sex, nor age on the brink of the tomb ; neither the cries of infants, nor the screams of young girls who sought safety in the arms, or beneath the garments of their parents, coidd abate the rage of the Saracens. They whom the sword had not yet reached, looked for nothing but death ; some crept to the churches to await it, and died em- bracing the altars of Christ ; whilst others, yielding to their despair, remained motionless in their houses, where they were massacred with their families. 324 HISTOET OF THE CEUSADES. The citadel soon surrendered ; the soldiers who defended it only asking their lives ; but, notwithstanding the capitula- tion, many were put to the sword. A great part of the priests who had survived the carnage were condemned to slaverv ; an Armenian patriarch was stripped of his vest- ments, dragged through the streets, and beaten with rods. Matthew of Edessa, one of the most celebrated historians of Armenia, fell under the sword of the Mussulmans. Hugh, a Latin archbishop, ha^'ing endeavoured to escape, was, with aU his clergy, slaughtered by the infidels. His treasures, which he carried with him, and which might have been use- fiillv employed for the defence of the city, became the prey of the enemy. Pious historians impute the fall of Edessa to the avarice of this prelate, and appear to beheve that he was punished in another world for having preferred his gold to the safety of his fellow- citizens.* "WTien the Mussulmans had become masters of the citadel, their priests ascended the steeples of the churches to pro- claim these words : '' Oh Mahomet ! prophet of heaven, we have gained a sreat victorv in thv name : we have destroved the people that worshipped stone, and torrents of blood have been shed to make thy law triumph." After this pro- clamation, the Saracens redoubled their excesses. The Gazis or conquerors satiated themselves with blood ; the dead bodies were mutilated, and their heads sent to Bagdad; and even to Ivhorasan. All who remained ahve in the city of Edessa were treated as a flock of animals, and sold in the pubhc places. The Christians, loaded "with chains, after having lost their propeiiy, their country, and their liberty, had the still further grief of seeing their religion, which was aU they had left to console them in their misfortunes, made a subject of ridicule by the infidels. The churches were plun- dered of their ornaments, and the sanctuarv became the scene of the most shocking debaucheries. Many of the * We have before us in manuscript some historical and geographical notes upon the city of Edessa, communicated to us by M. J. Chaban de Cerbied, an Armenian professor. This work is rendered more valuable bv M. J. Chahan de Cerbied's (its author) being born at Edessa, where he passed many years. These notes are to be published in a general picture of Armenia, which will not fail to attract the atteation of the learned. HISTOET OF THE CRUSADES. 325 faithful whom the horrors of war had spared, could not sup- port the sight of such profanations, and died with despair. * Thus a city, whose citadel, ramparts, and position on two mountains, rendered one of the strongest places in Asia, fell into the power of the Mussulmans. The traditions of reli- gion and history carry back its origin to the highest anti- quity. Narses, in a path^ic elegy, deplores the faU of this celebrated city, and makes itself speak of its ancient splen- dour.t " I was," says she, " as a queen in the midst of her court ; sixty towns standing around me formed my train ; my numerous children passed their days in pleasures ; the fertility of my fields, the freshness of my limpid waters, and the beauty of my palaces were admired ; my altars, loaded with treasures, shed their splendour afar, and appeared to be the abode of angels. I surpassed in magnificence the proud- est cities of Asia, and I was as a celestial edifice built upon the bosom of the earth." The conquest of Edessa exalted the pride of the Saracens. The caliph of Bagdad ordered that the barbarous destroyer of the Christians should be named in the public prayers of the * The greater part of the Arabian historians assert that Zengui sought to repair the evils his army had caused to the inhabitants of Edessa. Keinaleddin relates the following anecdote on this subject, which makes us at the same time acquainted with the Mussulman spirit of history and manners. We will transcribe the Latin extract from Dom. Berthereau : — Norredinus ingressus est urbem, diripuit earn, incolas jugo captivitatis submisit ; illis evacuata fuit urbs, pauci tantum remanserunt. Ex cap- tivis unam misit ancillam Norredinus ad Zeineddinum Ali Koudgoucum, pro rege, patris sui in Mosula inter muneraquse ad eum misit ; quamcum vidisset ille, statim ilia usus est ; lavit se postea, dixitque suis : Nostisne quid mihi hac die accident ? Dixerunt, non. Dixit : Cum Roham cepimus, regnante Zengui, inter res raptas in manus meas incidit ancilla pulchra, ejusque pulchritudo mihi admodiim placuit ; ad earn declinavit cor meum, statimque jussu Zengui martyris fuit inclamatum : Redde servos opesque raptas. Metuendus porro erat et reverendus ; ancillam reddidi, ei vero semper adhaesit cor meum : nove vero misit mihi dona Norredinus, quae inter, ancillas misit plures, quas inter eamdem ancillam. Coitu earn subegi, ne adhuc etiam toUetur. — Kemaleddin, Hist, de Halep. p. 62, translation of Dom. Berthereau. t M. Cerbied has translated this piece into French, which for several reasons deserves to be known. This poem, in seven cantos, was com- posed by Narses-le-Beau, the Armenian patriarch of the city of Edessa, to console his fellow-citizens in their misfortune, and arouse the zeal of the defenders of the Christian religion against the Turks. 326 HisTOEY or the ceusades. Fridays, and that the whole ^lussulinan people should offer up thanks to Heaven for his ^-ictories. Zengui left some troops in the conquered city, and pursued the course of his triiunphs ; but fortune did not permit him to finish that which he had beo-un. He was besieo:ino: the castle of Schabar, in Meso- potamia, when he was assassinated by some slaves whom ill- treatment had irritated. The news of his death consoled the Clu-istians for their defeats, alid they expressed a joy as immoderate as if they had beheld the whole power of the ^Mussulmans fall at once. But this joy was of very short duration, for abundance of new enemies and new misfor- tunes soon followed to overwhelm them. Josselin, who had taken advantage of the troubles which ensued upon the death of the prince of Mossoul to retake the citv of Edessa, ill-guarded by tlie Mussidmans, found himself unexpectedly besieged by Xoureddin, the second son of Zengui. Xoureddin had received, as his share of the O ... heritage of his father, the principality of Aleppo, and was easfer to signalize his zeal against the Christians. Josselin and his companions, who had surprised the city of Edessa amidst the darkness of night, were wanting in machines of war to besiege and get possession of the citadel. ~\Vhen the citv was invested by the prince of Aleppo, the Christian warriors who were placed between the garrison of the for- tress and the ^Jussulman army, saw at once the danger of their position. As in desperate circumstances, a thousand resolutions are, by turns, formed and rejected ; whilst they deliberated, the enemy pressed and tlu'eatened them.- There soon remained no safety for them in a citv which they had entered as conquerors ; and, after ha\'ing braved death to get possession of it, they decided upon facing equal perils to get out of it. The soldiers of Josselin, consisting of Chris- tians who had gathered to the city, and of the small number of inliabitants who had survived the massacre of their bre- thren, had now nothing left but their endeavours to escape tlie barbarity of the Mussulmans. They made their prepa- rations for flight in silence ; the gates were opened in the middle of the night, and eveiw one bearing away that which he esteemed most valuable, a weeping crowd pressed along the streets. Already a great number of these unhappy fugitives had passed the gates of the city, headed by the HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES. 327 warriors commanded by Josselin, and had advanced into the plain where the Saracens were encamped, when the garrison of the citadel, warned by the tumult, made a sortie, and uniting themselves with the soldiers of Noureddin, who hastened towards the city, gained possession of the gates by which the Christians were issuing. Many severe con- flicts were here maintained, of which darkness increased the horrors. The Christians succeeded in opening themselves a passage, and spread themselves about in the neighbouring fields. They who carried arms united in battalions, and en- deavoured to pass through the camp of the enemy ; whilst others, separated from the troop of warriors, went on at hazard, wandered about the plains, and everywhere found death following their footsteps. Whilst relating the events of this horrible night, William of Tyre cannot restrain his tears. " Oh disastrous night ! " cries the historian Aboul- farage, " da^-n of hell, day without pity, day of misfortune which arose upon the children of a city formerly worthy of envy! " In Edessa, out of Edessa, nothing was heard but cries of death. The warriors who had formed battalions, after having pierced through the army of the infidels, were pursued as far as the banks of the Euphrates, and the roads were strewed with their remains, their arms, and their bag- gage. Only a thousand of them succeeded in gaining the city of Samosata, which received them within its walls, and deplored their misfortunes, without being able to avenge them. History relates that more than thirty thousand Christians were slaughtered by the soldiers of Zengui and Noureddin. Sixteen thousand were made prisoners, and dragged out their lives in misery and slavery. Noureddin in his ven- geance did not spare either the ramparts or buildings of a rebel city ; he razed the towers, the citadel, and the churches of Edessa to the ground. He banished all the Christians from it, and left nothing but a few mendicants to dwell amidst the ruins of their country. Zengiii had been considered as a saint, as a warrior beloved by Mahomet, for having conquered the city of Edessa ; the blood-stained expedition of Noureddin rendered him dear to the Mussulmans, contributed much to the exten- sion of his renown and his power, and already the Imans 328 HISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. and the poets promised to his arms the much more glorious conquest of Jerusalem. The inhabitants of Jerusalem and other Christian cities shed tears of despair on learning the fall and destruction of Edessa, sinister presages adding much to the terror which the news from the banks of the Euphrates inspired them ^vith. Thunder fell upon the churches of the Holy Sepul- chre and Mount Sion ; a comet with shining hair was seen in the heavens, and spread general consternation ; several other signs appeared, says William of Tyre, contrary to cus- tom, and out of time, indicative of future things. As a c^o^vning misfortune, Eodolphe, chancellor of Jerusalem, was taken by force to the siege of Tyre, and scandal pre- vailed in the sanctuary. All the faithful of the East were persuaded that Heaven had declared itself against them, and that horrible calamities were about to fall upon the Christian people. BOOK VL SECOND CRUSADE. A.D. 1142—1148. The Christian colonies, threatened by the Mussuhnans, called upon the princes of Europe to assist them. The bishop of Gaballa in Syria, accompanied by a great number of priests and knights, repaired to Yiterbo, where the sove- reign pontiff then resided. The recitals of the Christian embassy not only caused tears to flow from the eyes of the chief of the faithful ; the misfortunes of Edessa, and the impending dangers of Jerusalem excited universal commise- ration and dread. Cries of alarm were raised throughout Europe. Eorty-five years had passed away since the deli- verance of the Holy Sepulchre, yet the minds of men were not at all changed, and eagerly, as at the first crusade, they flew to arms. In this instance it was principally the voice of St. Bernard that excited the nations and kings of Chris- tendom to range themselves under the banners of the cross. Born of a noble family of Burgundy, St. Bernard, whilst yet in the dawn of manhood, had, with thirty relations and com- panions whom his discourses and his example* influenced, secluded himself in the monastery of Citteaux. He was sent two years after to Clairvaux, a then unknown retreat, which he Advified with his presence, and rendered one of the most celebrated monasteries of Christendom. Many of the most learned doctors consulted the wisdom of the abbot of * Godfrey, who was abbot of Clairvaux after St. Bernard, has left us a life of this saint, in which he does not speak of the crusade ; the reason of this is that St. Bernard was reproached with the crusade, and that his panegj'rist thence thouf^ht proper to pass over this remarkable epoch. We have several other lives of St. Bernard ; the best and most complete is that which is printed in La France Litteraire. 330 HISTOET OF THE CEUSADES. Clairvaux, and several councils bowed to his decisions. By the power of his eloquence alone he humbled the anti-pope Leo, and placed Innocent II. in the chair of St. Peter. Pope Innocent III. and Abbot Suger were his disciples. Prelates, princes, and monarchs glorified themselves in fol- lowing his counsels, believing that God spoke by his mouth. "When the ambassadors from the East arrived in Europe, Louis YII. had just ascended the throne of France. The reign of this young monarch begau under the most happy auspices. Most of the great vassals who had revolted against the roval authority had laid down their arms and renounced their pretensions. By a marriage with the dau2:hter of AVilliam IX., Louis had added the duchy of Aquitaine to his kingdom. France, in her enlarged con- dition, had nothing to fear from neighbouring states, and whilst civil wars were desolating both England and Grer- many, she flourished in peace under the administration of Suger. Peace was not for a moment disturbed but by the unjust pretensions of the pope and bv the intrigues of Thibaut, count of Champagne, who took advantage of the ascendancy he had over the clergy to direct the thunders of the Church against his sovereign. Louis resisted the attempts of the Holy See ^vith firmness, and was determined to punish a rebellious and dangerous vassal. Urged on by a spirit of blind revenge, he carried fire and sword through the states of Thibaut ; he besieged A'itri ; was himself first in the assault, and put to the sword every inhabitant to be met with in the city. A great number of persons of all ages had taken refuge in a church, hoping to find the altar a secure asylum against the anger of a Christian prince ; but Louis set fire to the church, and thirteen hundred people perished in the flames. An action so barbarous spread ter- ror among the nation whom Louis was appointed to render happv ; when he returned from this expedition to his capi- tal, the people received him in melancholy silence ; his ministers allowed him to read their regret in the dejection of their countenances ; and St. Bernard, like another Am- brosius, boldly compelled him to hear the complaints of religion and outraged humanity. In an eloquent letter, he represented to the monarch the HISTOKY OF THE CRTTSADES. 331 country desolated, and pointed to the Church despised and trampled under foot. "I will fight for her," he said, "to the death ; but instead of bucklers and swords, I will em- ploy the arms which become me — my tears and my sprayers to Gody At the voice of the holy abbot, Louis became sensible of his error ; and the dread of the anger of Heaven made such a lively impression upon his mind, that he sank into a deep and alarming depression. He believed he saw the hand of God ready to strike him; he renounced all pleasures, and abandoned even the care of his authority, in order to devote himself to grief and tears. The abbot of Clairvaux, who had awakened his remorse, was obliged to calm his spirits and reanimate his courage, by representing to him the great mercy of Grod. The king of Prance re- covered from his remorseless dejection ; but as in the opinion of his age great crimes could only be absolved by a voyage to the Holy Land, his earnest desire to expiate the tragical death of the inhabitants of Yitri made him form the resolution of going to combat against the infidels. Louis YII. convoked an assembly at Bourges, at which he made his project known to the principal nobility and the clergy. Grodfrey, bishop of Langres, applauded his zeal, and in a pathetic discourse deplored the captivity of Edessa, and the dangers and disasters of the Eastern Christians. His eloquence moved his auditors-; but the oracle of the assembly, he who held all hearts in his hand, had not yet spoken. Whether that he was yet not convinced of the utility of the crusade, or that he was desirous of giving it more solemnity, St. Bernard advised the king of Erance to consult the Holy See before he undertook anj^thing. This advice was generally approved of. Louis sent ambassadors to Rome, and resolved to convoke a new assembly as soon as he should have received the answer of the sovereign pontiff. Eugenius III., who then filled the chair of St. Peter, had already in several of his letters solicited the assistance of the faithful against the Saracens. The Holy See had never had stronger motives for the preaching of a crusade. A spirit of sedition and heresy was beginning to insinuate itself among the people, and even among the clergy of the West, threatening at the same time the power of the popea Vol. L— 16 332 HISTOET OF THE CEUSADES. and the doctrines of the Church. Eugenius had to contend against the troubles excited by Arnold of Bressia; and nothing was talked of in the capital of the Christian world but rebuilding the Capitol, and substituting for the pontifical authoritv that of the consuls and tribunes of ancient Eome. In such a state of things, a great event like that of a crusade was hkelv to turn men's minds from dansrerous novelties, and make them rallv round the sanctuarv. The sovereiom pontiif could not avoid seeing in a holy war the double advantage of defending Jerusalem against the enterprises of the Saracens, and the Chui'ch and himself against the attacks of heretics and innovators. Eugenius congratulated the king of Prance on his pious determination, and bj his letters again exhorted all Christians to assume the cross and take up arms, promising them the same privileges and the same rewards that Urban II. had granted to the war- riors of the first crusade. Detained in Italy, where he was engaged m appeasmg the troubles of Eome, he regretted not being able, as Urban had done, to cross the Alps, and reanimate the zeal of the faitliful by his presence and his discourses ; but he confided to St. Bernard the honourable mission of preaching the crusade in France and G-ermany. After having received the approbation of the Holy See, Louis convoked a new assembly at Yezelai, a little city of Burgundy ; and the reputation of St. Bernard and the letters addressed by the pope to all Christendom, drew to this assembly a great number of nobles, knights, prelates, and men of all conditions. On the Palm-Sunday, after having invoked the Holy Grhost, all who had come to hear the abbot of Clairvaux repaired to the side of a hill just without the gates of the city. A large tribune was erected, in which the king in his royal robes, and St. Bernard in the humble costume of a cenobite, were saluted bv the acclamations of an immense multitude. The orator of the crusade first read • the letters of the sovereign pontift', and then spoke to his auditors of the taking of Edessa by the Saracens, and of the desolation of the holy places. He showed them the universe plunged in terror on learning that God had begun to desert his beloved land ;* he represented to them the city of Sion as * Commota est quidem et contremuit terra, quia coepit Deus coeli per- dere terram suam. — St. Bernard, epist, cccxxii. HISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. 333 imploring their succour, Christ as ready to immoLkte himself a second time for them, and the heavenly Jerusalem opening all its gates to receive the glorious martyrs of the faith. "You cannot but know," said he to them, "we live in a period of chastisement and ruin ; the enemy of mankind has caused the breath of corruption to fly over all regions ; we behold nothing but unpunished wickedness. The laws of men or the laws of religion have no longer sufficient power to check depravity of manners and the triumph of the wicked. The demon of heresy has taken possession of the chair of truth, and God has sent forth his malediction upon his sanc- tuary. Oh, ye who listen to me ! hasten then to appease the anger of Heaven, but no longer implore his goodness by vain complaints ; clothe not yourselves in sackcloth, but cover yourselves with your impenetrable bucklers ; the din of arms, the dangers, the labours, the fatigues of war are the penances that Grod now imposes on you. Hasten then to expiate your sins by victories over the infidels, and let the deliverance of the holy places be the reward of your repentance." These words of the orator excited the greatest enthusiasm in the assembly of the faithful, and, like Urban at the coun- cil of Clermont, St. Bernard was interrupted by the repeated cries of ^^ It is the will of God! It is the will of God V Then raising his voice, as if he had been the interpreter of the will of Heaven, he promised them, in the name of Grod, success to their holy expedition, and thus continued his discourse : — " If it were announced to you that the enemy had in- vaded your cities, your castles, and your lands, had ravished your wives and your daughters, and profaned your temples, which among you would not fly to arms ? AVell, then, all these calamities, and calamities still greater, have fallen upon your brethren, upon the family of Jesus Christ, which is yours. Why do you hesitate to repair so many evils — to revenge so many outrages ? Will you allow the infidels to contemplate in peace the ravages they have committed on Christian people ? Eemember that their triumph will be a subject for grief to all ages, and an eternal opprobrium upon the generation that has endured it. Yes, the living Grod has charged me to announce to you that he will punish them who shall not have defended him against his enemies. Fly 334 nisTOKY or the ceusaues. then to arms ; let a liolr rage animate you in the fight ; and let the Christian world resound with these words of the prophet, ' Cursed he Tie who does 'not stain his sword tvith hlood ! ' If the Lord calls jou to the defence of his heri- tage, think not that his hand has lost its power.* Could he not send twelve legions of angels, or breathe one word, and all his enemies would crumble away into dust ? But God has considered the sons of men, to open for them the road to his mercy. His goodness has caused to dawn for you a day of safety, by calling on you to avenge his glory and his name. Christian wamors, he who gave his life for you, to- day demands yours in return. These are combats worthy of you, combats in which it is glorious to conquer, and advan- tageous to die. Illustrious knights, generous defenders of the cross, remember the example of your fathers who con- quered Jerusalem, and whose names are inscribed in heaven; abandon then the things that perish to gather eternal palms, and conquer a kingdom which has no end." All the barons and knights applauded the eloquence of St. Bernard, and were persuaded that he had but uttered the will of Grod. Louis YII., deeply moved by the words he had heard, cast himself, in the presence of all the people, at the feet of St. Bernard and demanded the Cross. Clothed with this revered sign, he himself addressed the assembly of the faithful, to exhort them to follow his example. In his discourse he showed them the impious Philistine casting op- probrium upon the house of Da\'id, and reminded them of the holy determination which God himself had inspired in him. He invoked, in the name of the Christians of the East, the aid of that generous nation of which he was the chief ; of that nation which would not endure shame when directed at itself or its allies, and which always carried terror amidst the enemies of its worship or its glory. At this discourse the whole auditory was melted in tears. The touching piety of the monarch persuaded all who had not been convinced by the eloquence of St. Bernard. The hill upon which this vast multitude was assembled, resounded for a length of time with the cries of ^^ It is the will of God! It is the * Nunquid potest mittere angelorura plusquam duodecim legiones, aut certe dicere verbo, et liberabitur terra sua .'* — St. Bernard, epist. cccxxii. HISTOIir OF THE CHUSADES. 335 loillof God!'' and ''the Cross! tlie Cross!'' Eleanor of Guienne, who accompanied Louis, received, as his wife, the sign of the cross from the hands of the abbot of Clairvaux. Alphonso, count of St. Gilles de Thoulouse, Henry, son of Thibaut, count of Champagne, Thieri, count of Elanders, William of Nevers, Kenaud, count de Tenniere, Yves, count de Soissons, William, count de Panthien, William, count de Varennes, Archanbaud de Bourbon, Enguerard de Coucy, Hugh de Lusignan, the count de Dreux, brother of the king, his uncle the count de Maurinne, and a crowd of barons and knights followed the example of Louis and Eleanor. Several bishops, among whom history remarks Simon, bishop of ISToyon, Grodfrey, bishop of Langres, Alain, bishop of Arras, and Arnold, bishop of Lisieux, threw them- selves at the feet of St. Bernard, taking the oath to fight against the infidels. The crosses which the abbot of Clair- vaux had brought were not sufiicient for the great number who claimed them. He tore his vestments to make more, and several of those who surrounded him, in their turns, tore their clothes into strips in order to satisfy the impa- tience of all the faithful whom he had inflamed with a desire for the holy war. To preserve the memory of this day. Pons, abbot of Veze- lai, founded upon the hill where the knights and barons had assembled, a church, which he dedicated to the holy cross.f The tribune, from the top of which St. Bernard had preached the crusade, remained there a long time the object of the veneration of the faithful. After the assembly of Yezelai, the abbot of Clairvaux continued to preach the crusade in the cities and neighbour- ing countries. Prance soon resounded with the fame of the miracles by which Grod seemed to authorize and consecrate, in some sort, his mission. He was everywhere considered as the messenger of Heaven, as another Moses, who was to conduct the people of Grod. All the Christians were per- suaded that the success of the enterprise depended upon St. Bernard, and in an assembly held at Chartres, in which were met several barons and princes, illustrious by their exploits, * The pulpit from which St. Bernard preached the crusade remained in the church of Vezelai until the period of the revolution of 1789. 336 nisroET of the csrsADEs. it ^vas resolved by unanimous consent, to give him the com- mand of the holy war. The Crusaders, they said, could never fail to be victorious under the laws of a leader to whom God appeared to have coniided his omnipotence. The abbot of Clairvaux, who remembered the example of Peter the hei-mit, refused the perilous employment with which thev desired to honour him ; he was even so much terri- fied by the pressing entreaties of the barons and knights, that he addressed himself to the pope, and conjured the sovereign pontiff not to abandon him to the fantasies of men. The pope answered St. Bernard that he only need arm himself with the sword of the word of God, and content him- self with sounding the evangelical trumpet to announce the war. The abbot of Clairvaux employed himself in nothing thereafter, but his mission ; and he acquitted himself with so much zeal, and his preachings produced such an extraor- dinary, and I will venture to add, so unfortunate an effect, that they depopulated cities and countries. He wrote to Pope Eugenius : " The villages and the castles are deserted ; and there are none left hut widows and orphans, ivhose hus- bands and parents are still living.''^ "While St. Bernard was thus preaching the crusade in the pro"vinces of Prance, a German monk, named Eodolphe, ex- horted the people of the Ehine to massacre the Jews, whom he represented in his vehement discourses as the allies of the Saracens, and the most dangerous enemies of the Christian religion. The abbot of Clairvaux fearing the effect of these preachings, hastened into Germany to impose silence on this seditious apostle of the holy war. As the German monk had flattered the passions of the multitude, St. Bernard re- quired all the ascendancy of liis virtue and his fame to com- bat his doctrines. He ventured to raise his voice in the midst of an -irritated people, and to make them feel that Christians ought not to persecute Jews, but pray to Heaven for their con\'ersion ; that it belonged to Christian piety to pardon the weak, and make war against the exalted and proud. The preacher of the crusade at length silenced the turbulent orator, and sent him back to his monastery, re- minding him that the duty of monks was not to preach, but to weep ; that they ought to consider cities as jy^^i^ons, and solitude as their paradise. HISTOET OF THE CRUSADES. 337 This action of St. Bernard,* wMch was scarcely observed in his own barbarous age, and which has been turned into ridi- cule in ours, does honour to his character, and may excuse the extravagant zeal he displayed for a disastrous war. AVhen he arrived in Grermany, the Grermanic empire was be- ginning to breathe after the long troubles that had followed the election of Lothaii'e. Conrad III., clothed with the purple, had just convoked a general diet at Spires. The abbot of Clairvaux repaired thither with the intention of preaching war against the Mussulmans, and peace among Christian princes. St. Bernard pressed the emperor, Con- rad, several times to take up the cross ; he at first exhorted him in private conferences, and afterwards renewed his exhortations in sermons preached in public. Conrad could not make up his mind to take the oath to go and fight against the infidels in Asia, alleging the recent troubles of the Grerman empires. St. Bernard replied that the Holy See liad placed him upon the imperial throne, and that the pope and the Church would support their work. " Whilst you shall defend his heritage, God himself will take care to defend yours ; he will govern your people, and your reign will be the object of his love." The more hesitation the emperor felt, the warmer became the zeal and eloquence of St. Bernard to persuade him. One day as the orator of the crusade was saying mass before the princes and lords con- voked at Spires, all at once he interrupted the service to preach the war against the infidels. Towards the end of his discourse, he transported the imagination of his auditors to the day of judgment, and made them hear the trumpets which were to call all the nations of the earth before the tribunal of Grod. Jesus Christ, armed with his cross and surrounded by his angels, addressing himself to the emperor of Grermany, recalled to him all the benefits with which he had loaded him, and reproached him with ingratitude. Con- rad was so much aflected by this vehement apostrophe, that he interrupted the speaker, and, with tears in his eyes, cried * The Abbe Velly thus relates the same fact: — "Satisfied mth the character of preacher and thaumaturge (performer of miracles), St. Ber- nard set out for Germany, where he put to silence another monk, who, without having the authority of the pope, dared to exhort the Christian nations to take up arms for the assistance of their brethren in Asia." 338 HiSTOET or the ceusades. out : " I Jcnoio icliat I owe to Jesus Christ, and I swear to go icherever he shall call me'"' Then the nobles and the people who believed thev had been witnesses of a miracle, threw themselves on their knees and returned thanks to God for his blessings. Conrad received from the hands of the abbot of Clairvaux the emblem of the Crusaders, together with a flag which was placed upon the altar, and which Heaven itself had blessed. A great number of barons and knights assumed the cross in imitation of Conrad, and the diet which had been assembled to deHberate upon the interests of the empire, was occupied entirely with the safety of the Chris- tian colonies in Asia. A new diet was convoked in Bavaria, where the letters of St. Bernard determined a great number of bishops and Ger- man nobles to take the cross. Ladislas, duke of Bohemia, Odoacer, marquis of Svria, Bernard, count of Carinthia, Amadeus, duke of Tiu-in, and the marquis de Montferrat took the oath to go into the East to fight the Saracens. Among the prelates who enrolled themselves under the ban- ners of the Cross, history names the bishop of Passau, the bishop of Eatisbon, and the ^ise Otho of Frisingen, brother of the emperor, to whom posterity owes a relation of the principal events of this war. The most dear interests, the most tender affections had no power to detain the knights and princes in their coun- tries and homes. Frederick, nephew of the emperor, who had taken the cross, allowed himself not to be moved by the teai's of his aged father, the duke of Suabia, who died Tvitli grief, in spite of the consolations of St. Bernard. A war- crv was heard from the Bhine to the Danube ; Germanv, althoug:h so lon^ asdtated bv its o\nti troubles, found in all parts warriors for the holy expedition. Men of all condi- tions obeyed the voice of the preacher of the holy war, and followed the example of kings and princes : a thing to be wondered at, says Otho of Frisingen, thieves and robbers were seen performing penance, and swearing to shed their blood for Jesus Cluist. "Everv reasonable man," adds the same historian, '•' a witness of the changes that were ope- rated in them, plainly perceived the work of God, and was not the less astonished at it." The Germans were so easily persuaded, that they came HISTOET OF THE CEUSADES. 339 and listened to the abbot of Clairvaux, wlio preached to them in a language they did not understand, and returned con- vinced of the truth and holiness of the discourse. The sight of a preacher so much reverenced, appeared to bestovv^ a marvellous sense upon every one of his "words. The mira- cles which were attributed to him, and which were performed sometimes in private, sometimes in public, as Otho of Fri- singen says, were like a divine language which warmed the most indifferent, and persuaded the most iacredulous. Shep- herds and labourers abandoned the fields to follow him into towns and cities ; when he arrived in a city, all laboiu-s were suspended. The war against the infidels,, and the prodigies by which God promised his protection to the soldiers of the cross, became the only business of men of all classes. Some- times the abbot of Clairvaux assembled the clergy, and preached reform in their manners ; sometimes he addressed the people and animated them against the Saracens. St. Bernard Adsited all the cities of the Rhine, from Con- stance to Maestricht ; in each city, say the ancient chroni- cles, he restored sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and cured the lame and the sick ; they report thirty-six miracles performed in one day, at each prodigy the multitude crying out,* " Jesus Christ, have mercy upon us ! all the saints, suc- cour us!" The disciples who followed the abbot of Clair- vaux could not help regretting that the tumult which was constantly raised upon his passage, prevented their seeing several of his miracles. t Every day an increasing crowd pressed around him. History relates that he was once on the point of being stifled by the multitude w^hich followed * These exclamations were pronounced in old German : — Christ uns gende, die heiligen alle helffen uns. t Philip, archdeacon of Liege, afterwards a monk of Clairvaux, has made a detailed relation of the miracles of St. Bernard, from the first Sunday in Advent, the first day of December, 1146, to Thursday, the second day of the following January. In his relations he produces ten ocular witnesses, whose names he gives. Le Pere Maimbourg, in his History of the Crusades, does not appear to believe in the authenticity of the miracles of St. Bernard ; the author of the Life of Suger, 3 vols, in 12mo., sharply reproves Maimbourg for his incredulity. We do not think it at all necessary to go into this question ; we believe it to be quite suffi- cient to know that the contemporaries of St. Bernard had faith in his miracles, and that this faith made them perform things which simple reason might call miraculous. 16* 340 HISTOET OF THE CETJSADES. Ms steps, and only owed liis safety to the emperor of Ger- many, Avho took him in his arms, and drove back the people, who were impatient to see and touch him whom they re- garded as the interpreter and messenger of God. After having set German}^ in a blaze ^vith his preaching, and revived the zeal of the countries of Italy by his pathetic letters, St. Bernard returned to Trance, to announce the success of his mission. His absence had suspended every- thing, and that multitude of Crusaders, upon whom his elo- quence had acted so powerfully, appeared to have neither chief, direction, nor rallying-point whilst he was not in the midst of them. The king of France and the nobles of the kingdom, assembled at Etampes, had formed no resolution ; but the return of St. Bernard restored life to the councils of the princes and the barons, and made them resume with new ardour the enterprise of the holy war. When he made, before the lords and prelates, the recital of his journey, and of the prodigies God had effected by his hand; when he spoke of the determination he had induced the emperor of Germany to form, a determination which he called the miracle of miracles, all hearts expanded with enthusiasm, and were filled with hope and joy. At the same time several ambassadors appeared in the assembly of Etampes, to announce that their princes had determined to enrol themselves under the banners of the cross ; and letters were read from distant countries, by which a great number of foreign lords and barons promised to join the Erench in their projected expedition against the Saracens. Erom that period no doubt was entertained of the happy results of the crusade ; and the zeal which was displayed by all the nations of Europe was considered as a manifest expression of the will of Heaven. Among the ambassadors who were present at the assembly of Etampes were some from Roger, king of Apulia and Sicily, who offered the Crusaders vessels and provisions, and promised to send his son with them to the Holy Land, if they determined to go by sea. The Sicilian deputies re- minded the king of France and his barons of the perfidy of the Greeks towards the Franks in the first crusade. " Tou may," said they, "brave the forces of the most powerful nations, but nothing can secure you against the artifices and HISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. 341 macHnations of a deceitful and perfidious people." The assembly deliberated upon the offers of the king of Sicily, and upon the route it would be most advisable to take ; the greater part of the barons, full of confidence in their arms and the protection of Grod, could not be brought to doubt the faith of the Greeks. The route by sea seemed to offer fewer wonders to their curiosity, and fewer perils for the exercise of their bravery ; besides, the vessels which Eoger could furnish would not nearly suffice to transport aU whom religious zeal would lead to join the holy bands. It was therefore resolved that preference should be given to the route by land. The historian Odo de Deuil speaks with deep regret of this resolution, which proved so fatal to the Crusaders, and about which they had neglected to consult the Holy Ghost. The Sicilian deputies could not conceal their sorrow^ and returned to their country predicting all the misfortunes that would ensue. The assembly of Etampes appeared to act under a much better influence when it became necessary to choose the persons who should be intrusted with the government of the kingdom during the pilgrimage of Louis A^II. When the barons and the prelates had deliberated upon this important choice, St. Bernard, who was their interpreter, addressed the king, and, pointing to Abbot Suger and the count de Nevers, said, " Sire, tliere are two weapons, and they are enough.'*^ It was necessary that this choice of the assembly should obtain the approbation of the king and the suffrages of the people. The abbot of St. Denis had blessed France with a loug peace, and had been the author of the glory of two reigns. He was opposed to the crusade ; and what perfects his eulogy, he had preserved his popularity without sharing in the prevailing opinions. Suger advised the king not to abandon his subjects, and represented to him that his errors would be much better repaired by a wise administration of the kingdom God had placed him over, than by conquests ill the East. He who could dare to give such advice as this, was more worthy than any other to represent his sovereign ; but Suger at first refused an employment of which he plainly saw the burthen and the danger. The assembly would not make another choice ; and the king himself had recourse to prayers and tears to induce his minister to take 342 HISTORY or the cnrsADEs. Lis place in the government of the kingdom. The pope, who arrived a short time after in France, ordered Suger to ^ield to the wishes of the monarch, the nobles, and the nation. The sovereign pontiff, in order to facilitate the honom-able task which he imposed upon the abbot of St. Denis, launched, beforehand, the thunders of the Church against all who should make anv attempts against the regal authority during the absence of the king. The count de Xevers, who had likewise been pointed out by the assembly of the barons and bishops, declmed, as the abbot of St. Denis had done, the dangerous charge which they offered him. When he was warmly pressed to accept the government of the kingdom, he declared that he had made a vow to enter into the order of St. Bruno. Such was the spirit of the age, that this intention was respected as the will of Grod ; and whilst the assembly congratulated themselves upon inducing a monk to leave his cloister to govern a kingdom, thev saw without astonishment a prince take an eternal farewell of the world, and bury himself in a monastery. From this time preparations for departure were actively commenced, and all the pro\'inces of France and Germany were in motion. The same motives which had armed the companions of Godfrey in the first expedition, inflamed the courage of the new Crusaders. The eastern war held out to their ambition the same hopes and the same advantages. The greater part of the people were animated by the never- forgotten remembrance of the conquest of Jerusalem. The relations that this conquest had established between Syria and Emope added still to the zeal and ardour of the soldiers of the cross ; there was scarcelv a family in the West that did not furnish a defender to the holy places, an inhabitant to the cities of Palestine. The Christian colonies in the East were to the Franks as a new country ; warriors who assumed the cross appeared to be only arming themselves to defend another France, which was dear to all Christians, and which might be called the France of the East. The example of two monarchs also necessarily influenced many warriors when rang-ino: themselves under the banners of the crusade. Many of those turbulent nobles, who were then called prcedojies, must have had, as well as Louis YII., HISTOET OF THE CEUSADES. 343 numerous guilty violences to expiate. The spirit of chivalry, which was every day making fresh progress, was not a less powerful principle with a nobility purely and entiiely warhke. A great number of women, attracted by tlie example of Eleanor of Guienne, took up the cross, and armed themselves with sword and lance. A crowd of knights eagerly followed them ; and indeed a species of shame seemed attached to all who did not go to fight the infidels. History relates that distaffs and spindles were sent to those who would not take arms, as an appropriate reproach for their cowardice. The troubadours and trouveres, whose songs were so much liked, and who employed themselves in singing the victories of knights over the Saracens, determined to follow into Asia the heroes and the dames they had celebrated in their verses. Queen Eleanor and Louis the Young took several trouba- dours and minstrels with them into the East, to alleviate the tediousness of a long journey. And yet the enthusiasm of the Crusaders did not bear quite the same character as that of the first crusade. The world was not, in their eyes, filled with those prodigies which proclaim the especial will of Heaven ; great phe- nomena of nature did not work upon the imagination of the pilgrims so vividly. God seemed to have delegated all his power to a single man, who led the people at his will by his eloquence and his miracles. Nobody was seen, nobody was heard, but St. Bernard ; whereas in the time of Peter the Hermit orators everywhere abounded, and nature seemed charged by God himself to promote the crusade. The only extraordinary occurrence of the time was the peace w^hich prevailed throughout Em-ope.* As at the approach of the first crusade, wars between indi\'iduals, civil troubles, and public outrage ceased all at once. The de- parture of the Crusaders was accompanied by less disorder than at the setting out of the first expedition ; they neither * A German historian speaks thus of this crusade : — Si autem aliter non, hac tamen ratione, exitum habuit expeditio frequens, purgaretur eo genera hominum qui rapinis consueverunt victitare ; moestum devotione qualicunque, omnes id genus homines, pro remedio peccatorum sacram amplexi militiam, in earn nomine dedere volentes expeditionem. — Krantz, vi. sax. c. 13 ; De Regibus Hierosoli/morum, auctore Christophano Besoldo, p. 214. 34ri HISTOfiT OF THE CEUSADES. showed tlie same imprudence in the choice of their leaders, nor the same impatience to march. France and G-ermany had not to suffer the depredations of an undisciplined mul- titude. The first crusade, some of the armies of which were commanded by princes and knights, and others bv adven- turers and monks, exhibited all the Hcense and the tumul- tuous passions that are met with in unsettled repubhcs. In the second holy war, which was led by two powerful princes, the more regrdar forms of a monarchy were preserved. The smaller vassals gathered around their lords, and the hitter were obedient to the orders of the king of France or the emperor of G-ermany. Such good order in the outset of the holy enterprise appeared to promise certain victory, and could create no forethought of the disasters which awaited the Christian armies. The city of Metz was the rendezvous of the French Cru- saders, and Eatisbon that of the G-ermans. The roads which led to these cities were covered with pilgrims, march- ing under the banners of their lords. A great number of warriors also repaired to the ports of Flanders, England, and Italy, where fleets were prepared for the transport of pro- visions and arms, with Crusaders who were impatient to arrive in Asia. As the routes to the East were now known, the pilgrims deceived themselves less with regard to the countries they had to pass through. The sovereign pontiff had advised the barons and knights not to take with them either dogfs or birds for sport ; they renounced the luxury of their castles, and contented themselves with their arms.* They even had the precaution to take with them things that might be re- quired in a distant journey ; the Crusaders, but particularly the Germans, carried all sorts of instruments for throwing bridges, cutting down forests, and clearing roads. The greatest difficulty was to fixid money to defi^ay the expenses of the holy war. All whom infirmities or particular circumstances detained in Europe were anxious to assist, by * The pope had forbidden luxury amoag the Crusaders ; he expressed himself thus ia a circular : — Xec eant in restibus pretiosis, et cum canibus fcive avibtts. aut aliis quae ostentationi potius et lasciviae, quam necessariis videantur usibus deservire, sed in modesto apparatu, et habitu, in quo poeniteatiam potiu3 agere quam inanem affectari gloriam videantur. HISTORY OF THE CKUSADES. 345 their offerings, tlie enterprise of tbe crusade. According to the devotion of the times, the greater part of the rich who died without having seen Jerusalem, left by their will a sum for the promotion of pilgrimages to the East. All these pious gifts were, no doubt, considerable, but they could not suffice for the support of a large army. To porcure the necessary money Louis YII. had recourse to loans, and levied imposts, which were regulated and approved of by the sovereign pontiff. St. Bernard and Peter the Venerable had exerted themselves with much courage against the per- secution of the Jews ; but the abbot of Cluny thought they ought to be punished in that which they held dearest, their wealth, amassed hy usury, and even hy sacrilege. He advised the king of France to take from the Jews the money neces- sary for the war against the Saracens. It is probable that the advice of Peter the Venerable was not disdained, and that the Jews furnished a considerable part of the expenses of the crusade. The clergy also, who had so much enriched themselves by the first crusade, w-ere obliged to advance considerable sums for tliis expedition. The monastery of Pleury alone paid three hundred silver marks and a large sum in gold. In many other abbeys the vases and church ornaments were sold to purchase arms, and to pay the expenses of a war undertaken for the glory of Christ. The lords and barons followed the example of the king of Prance. Some pledged or sold their lands, but the greater part made their vassals furnish means for their pilgrimage. The hea"sy taxes laid upon the people, and particularly the spoliation of the churches, excited many complaints, and began to cool the ardour for the crusade. " There was,"* says an ancient historian, " neither state, condition, age, nor sex, Avhich was not forced to contribute to the equipment of the king and the princes going with him ; whence followed the discontent of every one, and innumerable maledictions, as well directed against the king as the troops." * We quote here the words of Belle Forest, which we should not use if they were not translations from contemporary chronicles. We will only repeat a single passage, which is taken from the chronicle of Raoul : — De dicette : Per totam Galliam fit descriptio generalis ; non sexus, non ordo, non dignitas quempiam excusavit, quin auxilium regi conferret ; cujus iter multis imprecationibus persequebatur. 346 histout of the ckusades. Nevertheless Louis YII. prepared for his undertaking by acts of devotion ; he visited the hospitals, and caused prayers to be put up in all the churches for the success of the crusade. "When his departure drew near, he went to St. Denis, to take the famous Oriflamme, which was borne before the kings of France in battle. The church of St. Denis was at that time decorated with great magnificence ; amono' the historical monuments which were there collected, the portraits of Grodfrey de Bouillon, Tancred, Eavmond de St, Gilles, and the battles of Dorylseum, Antioch, and Ascalon,* traced upon the windows of the choir, must have attracted the eyes and fixed the attention of Louis and his companions in arms. The king, prostrated on the tomb of the holv apostle of France, implored his protection and that of his pious ancestors, whose ashes reposed in the same place. The pope, who had come to St. Denis, placed anew the kingdom of France imder the safeguard of rehgion, and presented to Louis YII. his scrip and stafi", as the emblems of his pilgrimage. After this ceremony Louis set out, accompanied by Queen Eleanor and a great part of his court. He wept while he embraced Abbot Suger, who could not himself restrain his tears. The people, says a modem his- torian, who crowded his passage, after having followed him for a long distance with the most vociferous applauses, re- turned in melancholy silence to their homes as soon as he was out of sight. He left Metz at the head of a hundred thousand Crusaders, traversed Grermany, and directed his march towards Constantinople, where he had appointed to meet the emperor of the West. The emperor Conrad, after having caused his son Henry to be crowned, left Eatisbon in the beginning of spring. He was followed by an army so numerous, that, according to the report of Otho, of Frisingen, the waves were not sufficient to transport it, nor the fields spacious enough to contain all its battaHons. He had sent ambassadors to announce his coming to Constantinople, and to demand permission to cross the territories of the Grreek empire. Manuel Comnenus re- turned him a most friendly and flattering answer ; but when * Montfaucon speaks of these pictures in Les Monuments de la Mo- narchie Francaise, vol. i. HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES. 347 the Germans arrived in Bulgaria and Thrace, they were not long in perceiving that they must not reckon upon the pro- mises that had been made them. At the time of the first crusade, Constantinople was in great dread of the Turks, which was of service to the Franks ; but from that period the capital of the Greeks had experienced no alarms, and no longer feared the attacks of the Mussulmans. An opinion likewise had spread through all the provinces of the empire, that the warriors of the AYest entertained the project of taking possession of Con- stantinople. This report, probable in itself, and strength- ened by the threats of the Crusaders, was very little calcu- lated to reestablish peace and harmony between people who despised each other reciprocally, and, perhaps with equal reason, exchanged accusations of violations of the faith of treaties. Manuel Comnenus, whom Odo de DeuH will not even name, because, he says, his name is not written in the book of life, was the grandson of Alexius I., who reigned at the time of the first crusade. Paithful to the policy of his an- cestor, more able, and above all more artful and hypocritical than he, he neglected no means to annoy and ruin the army of the Germans. In his councils the warriors of the West were considered as men of iron, whose eyes darted flames, and who shed torrents of blood with the same indifference as they would pour out the same quantity of water. At the same time that he sent them ambassadors, and furnished them with provisions, Manuel formed an alliance with the Turks, and fortified his capital. The Germans, in the course of their march, had often to repulse the perfidious attacks of the Greeks, and the latter had, more than once, cause to com- plain of the violence of the Crusaders. A relation of Conrad, who had remained siciv in a monastery at Adrianople, was slain by the soldiers of Manuel ; Frederick, duke of Suabia, gave the monastery in which this crime had been committed, up to the flames ; and torrents of blood flowed to avenge an assassination, . . Upon approaching Constantinople, the Germans had set up their tents in a rich valley watered by the river Melas. All at once a violent storm burst over the neighbouring mountains ; the river, increased by the torrents, inundated 348 HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES. the plain where the Christian army was celebrating the feast of the Assumption,* and as if it had conspired -with the Greeks, says a French historian, and as if it imitated their perfidy and treason, it carried away the horses and baggage, and brought desolation into the camp of the Crusaders. The Gre>?ks afforded some succour to the German soldiers, but they saw with joy, in an event they affected to deplore, a presage of the defeats which threatened the armies of the Latins. Constantinople, on the arrival of Conrad, presented the novel spectacle of two emperors who had inherited the wrecks of the empire of Augustus, and each of whom called himself the successor of Caesar and Constantine. Their pretensions created some divisions ; the emperor of the West had a va- liant army to support his rights ; he of the East did not dare to insist too openly upon his. He called in perfidy to bis aid, and wounded vanity avenged itself in a manner as cowardly as it was cruel. As soon as the Germans had passed the Bosphorus, they foimd themselves exposed to all sorts of treachery. All who straggled from the army were slain by the soldiers of Com- uenus ; the gates of all the cities on their route were closed ; when they asked for provisions, they were obliged to put the money into the baskets which were lowered down from the walls, and af cer all, they frequently obtained nothing but in- sult and ridicule. The Greeks mixed lime with the flour they sold them ; and when the Crusaders had anytliing for sale, they were paid in a false coin, which was refused when they became purcliasers. Ambuscades awaited them throughout their route ; the enemy was aware of their line of march, and as the height of perfidy, furnished them at Constantinople with faithless guides, who misled the army in the defiles of Mount Taurus, and deKvered them up, Avorn out with fatigue, to famine and despair, or to the swords of the Mussulmans. The Germans, ill-treated by the Greeks, did not seek to revenge themselves, although it would have been easy to have done so, and, according to the ideas of the age, might have appeared glorious. This is the reason why * Otto of Frisingen, an eye-witness, describes this misfortune at great length. HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 349 Montesquieu says, that the Germans were the lest sort of people in the ivorlcl. The French, who came after them, showed themselves less patient, and were more respected. The emperor sent the principal lords of his court to the king of Erance, before whom they prostrated themselves, and only spoke to him on their knees. French haughtiness was more surprised than pleased at such homage, and only answered the flattery of the East by a disdainful silence. The two monarchs had an interview, in which they recipro- cated the most tender caresses, and sought to sui'pass each other in magnificence. If Manuel on this occasion excelled his rival in the display of his riches, he showed less sincerity than Louis in the demonstrations of his friendship, for in the midst of the banquets which he gave to the Crusaders, the latter learnt that he preserved a close alliance with the sultan of Iconium, and that the Turks were fully informed of the plans of the French king. This treachery irritated the Erencb lords, and when the emperor required them to render him homage, as the leaders of the first crusade had done, it was proposed in the council that the only reply should be to take possession of Constantinople. " You have heard," said the bishop of Langres, " that the Grreeks propose to you to recognise their empire, and submit to their laws : thus then weakness is to command strength, and cowardice bravery ! What has this nation done ? What have their ancestors done, that they should show so much pride ? I will not speak to you of the snares and the ambushes that they have everywhere planted in your way ; we have seen the priests of Byzantium ming- ling ridicule with outrage, purify Mdth fire the altars at which our priests had sacrificed. They ask of us new oaths, which lionour repudiates. Is it not time to revenge treasons, and repulse insults ? Hitherto the Crusaders have sufiered more from their perfidious friends than from their open ene- mies. Constantinople has long been a troublesome barrier between us and our brothers of the East. It is our duty at last to open a free road to Asia. The G-reeks, you know, have allowed the sepulchre of Christ, and all the Christian cities of the East, to fall into the hands of the infidels. Constantinople, there is no doubt, will soon become a prey to Turks and barbarians, and by her cowardly weakness, she 350 HISTOET OF THE CEUSADES. \nll one day open the barriers of tho "West. The emperors of Bvzantimn neither know how to defend their own pro- ATQces nor will they suffer others to do it for them. They haye always impeded the generous efforts of the soldiers of the cross ; eyen lately, this emperor, who declares himself your support, has endeayoured to dispute their conquests ^ith the Latins, and rayish from them the principality of Antioch. His aim now is to dehver up the Christian armies to the Saracens, Let us hasten then to preyent our own ruin by effecting that of these traitors ; let us not leaye behind us a jealous and insolent city, which only seeks the means of destroying us ; let us cast upon lier the eyils she prepares for us. K the G-reeks accomplish their perfidious designs, it is of you the ~V\^est will one day ask back its armies. Since the war we undertake is holy, is it not just that we shoidd employ eyery means to succeed ? Necessity, country, religion, all order you to do that which I propose to you. The aqueducts which supply the city with water are in our power, and offer an easy means of reducing the inhabitants. The soldiers of Manuel cannot stand against our battalions ; a part of the walls and towers of Byzantium has crumbled away before our eyes, as by a species of miracle. It appears that God himself calls us into the city of Constantine, and he opens its gates to you as he opened the gates of Edessa, Antioch, and Jerusalem to your fathers."* T^^hen the bishop of Langres had ceased to speak, seyeral knights and barons raised their yoices in reply. The Chris- tians, they said, were come into Asia to expiate their own sins, and not to punish the crimes of the Greeks, They had taken up arms to defend Jei'usalem, and not to destroy Con- stantinople, It was true they must consider the Greeks as heretics, but it was not more just for them to massacre them than to massacre the Jews ; when the Christian wamors assumed the cross, God did not put into their hands the sword of justice. In a word, the barons found much more policy than religion in that which they had heard, and coidd not conceive that it was right to undertake an enterprise * Odo de Deuil gives an account of this deliberation, and reports the speech of the bishop of Langres, on whom he bestows the greatest praise. HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES. 351 which was not in accordance with the principles of honour. Neither had they faith in the misfortunes with which they were threatened, and relied upon Providence and their own valour to enable them to siu-mount all obstacles. The most fervent of the pilgrims dreaded any delay in the march of the Crusaders, and this fear increased their scruples ; at length the loyalty of the knights, the general pious impa- tience to behold the sacred places, and perhaps also the pre- sents and the seductions of Manuel, procured a triumph for the party advocating moderation. The emperor was nevertheless alarmed at seeing a body of warriors, full of confidence and courage, thus deliberate so near to him on the conquest of his capital. The homage that the barons and knights paid him did not at all re-assure him as to their intentions. To hasten their departure, he caused a report to be spread that the Grermans had gained great victories over the Turks, and that they had made themselves masters of Iconium. This succeeded even be- yond Manuel's hopes. "When the Crusaders, impatient to pursue the Turks, were leaving Constantinople, they were surprised by an eclipse of the sun. A superstitious multitude saw in this phenomenon nothing but a fatal presage, and believed it to be either the warning of some great calamitj^, or of some new treachery on the part of Manuel ; and the fears of the pilgrims were not long in being realized. Scarcely had they entered Bithynia when they were taught how to appreciate the false reports and perfidy of the Grreeks. Louis, when encamped upon the shores of the Lake Ascanius, in the neighbourhood of Nice, received information of the complete defeat of the G-ermans. The sultan of Iconium, on the approach of the Christians of the West, had assembled all his forces, and at the same time solicited the aid of the other Mussulman powers to defend the passages of Asia Minor. Conrad, whom William of Tyre styles vir simplex, whom le Pere Maimbourg compares to a victim crowned with flowers that is being led to slaughter, had advanced, on the faith of some unknown guides, into the mountains ot Cappadocia. Impa- tient to be before the French, for whom he was to have waited, he marched on in perfect ignorance of the roads, and without provisions to feed the multitude which followed him. 352 HISTOBY OF THE CEUSADES. At a time that he entertained no suspicion of their vicinity, he was surprised bv the Turks, who covered the summits of the mountains, and rushed down upon the exhausted and famished Christians.* The Mussulmans were lightly armed, and performed their evolutions with the greatest rapidity. The Gi-ermans could scarcely move under the weight of their bucklers, corselets, and steel brassets ; every day skirmishes were fought, in which the Christians had the disadvantage. Such as were more lightly armed, and bore sheep-skin buck- lers, sometimes would rush among the enemy and put them to flight ; but the Turks soon rallied upon the heights, and darted down again, like birds of prey, upon the terrified Christians. A crowd of pilgrims, whose arms only consisted of their scrip and staif, created the greatest trouble and con- fusion in the Christian army. The Mussulmans took advan- tajre of their disorder, and never allowed their enemies a moment*s repose. Despair and terror put an end to all dis- cipline among the Crusaders ; they no longer obeyed the orders of their leaders, but every one sought to insure his own safety by flight. At length the rout became general ; the country was covered with fugitives, who wandered about at hazard, and found no asylum against the conquerors. Some perished with want, others fell beneath the swords of the Mussulmans ; the women and children were carried ofl" with the baggage, and formed a part of the enemy's booty. Conrad, who had scarcely saved the tenth part of his army, was himself wounded by two arrows, and only escaped the pursuit of the Saracens by a kind of miracle. The news of this disaster threw the French into the greatest consternation. Louis, accompanied by his bravest warriors, flew to the assistance of Conrad. The two monarchs embraced in tears. Conrad related the particulars of his defeat, and complained the more bitterly of the perfidy of Manuel, from feeling the necessity of excusing his own im- prudence. The two princes renewed their oath to repair together to Palestine, but the emperor of G-ermauy did not keep his word. AYhether he was ashamed of being without * Otto of Frisingen, an ocular witness, gives none of the details of the rout of the Germans, saying as his excuse that he had nothing agreeable to relate. The Gesta Ludovici and William of Tyre supply the silence of Otto of Frisingen. HISTORY OE THE CSUSADES. 353 an army, whether he could not endure the haughtiness of the Trench, or that he dreaded their too just reproaches, he sent back the few troops he had left, and returned to Con- stantinople, where he was very well received, because he was no longer to be feared. The French army, in the mean time, pursued its march, and, leaving Mount Olympus on its left, and Mount Ida on its right, passed through ancient Phrygia. The French, on their passage, passed Pergamus, Ephesus, and several other celebrated cities, which the Grreeks had allowed to go to ruin. Winter was coming on, and the abundant rains and melted snows had swollen the rivers till they overflowed the country, and made the roads impracticable. The inha- bitants of the mountains, a savage, wild people, fled away at the approach of the Christians, taking with them their flocks, and all that they possessed. The inhabitants of the cities shut their gates against the Crusaders, and refused provisions to all who had not full value to give in return. Whilst the French army was crossing Phrygia, Manuel sent ambassadors to the king of France, to inform him that the Turks were assembling in all parts for the purpose of im- peding his march. He ofifered the Crusaders an asylum in the cities of the empire ; but this ofier, accompanied by menaces, appeared to be only a snare, and Louis preferred braving the enmity of the Turks to trusting to the promises of the Grreeks. The Christian army pursuing its march towards the frontiers of Phrygia, arrived at last at the banks of the Meander, towards the embouchure of the Lycus. The Tiu'ks, who had destroyed the army of the Grermans, prepared to dispute the passage of the river with the French. Some were encamped on the mountains, others on the banks ; the rains had swollen the Meander, and the passage was dif&cult and dangerous. Animated by the speeches and the example of their king, no obstacle could stop the French. In vain the Turks showered their arroAvs upon them, or formed their battle- array on the banks ; the French army crossed the river, broke through the ranks of the barbarians, slaughtered vast numbers of them, and pursued them to the foot of the mountains. The two shores of the Meander were covered with the bodies of the Turks ; the historian Nice- 354 HISTORY OF THE CETJSAHES. tas,* who some rears after saw their heaped-up hones, could not help saying, whilst praising the courage of the Franks, " that if such men did not take Constantinople, their mode- ration and patience were much to be admired." After the battle they had fought with the Saracens, some pilgrims asserted that they had seen a knight, clothed in white, march at the head of the army, and give the signal for victory . Odo of Deuil, an ocular '^\-itness, speaks of this apparition, without gi'^'ing faith to it, and satisfies himself with saying that the Christians would not have triumphed over the Turks without the protection and the will of God. This victory gave great confidence to the Crusaders, and rendered their enemies more cautious. The Turks, whom it was impossible to pursue far in an unknown country, rallied again after the battle of the Meander. Less confident in their strength, and not daring to attack an army that had conquered them, they watched for a moment in which they might safely surprise them. The imprudence of a leader who commanded the French vanguard soon presented to them this opportunity. On quitting Laodicea, a city situated on the Lvcus, the Crusaders had directed their course towards the mountains which separate Phrygia from Pisidia. These mountains ofiered nothing but narrow pas- sages, in which they constantly marched between rocks and precipices. The French army was divided into two bodies, commanded every day by new leaders, who received their orders from the king. Every evening they laid down in council the route they were to foUow the next day, and appointed the place where the army was to encamp. One day when they had to cross one of the highest mountains, the order had been given to the vanguard to encamp on the heights, and to wait for the rest of the army, so that they might descend into the plain the next day in order of battle. Geoffrey de Ean9on, lord of Taillebours:, this dav commanded the first bodv of the French army, and bore the Oriflamme, or royal standard. * Nicetas, in his account, confounds the army of the French with that of the Germans, who did not fight on the banks of the Meander ; all which Louis did he attributes to Conrad. The German historians have followed him, and state the victory near the Meander to have been gjiined by the sovereign of their own nation. HISTOEY or THE CEUSADES. 355 He arrived early at tlie spot where lie was to pass the night, which offered no retreat for his soldiers but woods, ravines, and barren rocks. At the foot of the mountain they beheld an extensive and commodious valley ; the day was fine, and the troops were in a condition to march without fatigue several hours longer. The comit de JMaurienne, brother of the king, Queen Eleanor, and all the ladies of her suite, who had accompanied the vanguard, pressed Greoffrey de Ean9on to descend into the plain. He had the weakness to comply with their wishes ; but scarcely had he gained the valley, when the Turks took possession of the heights he had passed, and ranged themselves in order of battle. During this time the rearguard of the army, in which was the king, advanced full of confidence and security ; on seeing troops in the woods and on the rocks, they supposed them to be the French, and saluted them with cries of joy. They marched without order, the beasts of bui'den and the chariots were mingled with the battalions, and the greater part of the soldiers had left their arms with the baggage. The Turks, perfectly motionless, waited in silence till the Chris- tian army should be enclosed in the defiles, and when they thought themselves sure of victory, they moved forward, uttering frightful cries, and, sword in hand, fell upon the unarmed Christians, who had no time to rally. The disorder and confusion of the Trench army cannot be described. "Above us," says an ocular witness, "steep rocks rose up to the clouds ; beneath us precipices, dug by the torrent, descended to the infernal regions." The Crusaders were upon a narrow path, upon which men and horses coidd neither advance nor retreat ; they dragged each other down into the abysses ; whilst rocks, detached from the tops of the mountains, rolling do\Mi with horrible noise, crushed every- thing in their passage. The cries of the wounded and the d^dng mingled with the confused roar of the torrents, the hissing of the arrows, and the neighing of the terrified horses. In this frightful tumult the leaders gave no orders, and the soldiers could neither fight nor fly. The bravest rallied around the king, and advanced towards the top of the mountain. Thirty of the principal nobles that accompanied Louis perished by his side, selling their lives dearly. The king remained almost Vol. I.— 17 356 niSTOKT OF tue ceusades. alone on the field of battle, and took refuge upon a rock, whence he braved the attack of the infidels who piursued him. "U^ith his back against a tree, he singly resisted the efl'orts of several Saracens, who, taking him for a simple soldier, at length left liim, to secure their share of the pil- lage. Although the night began to fall, the king expected to be attacked again, when the voices of some Prenchmen who had escaped the carnage, gave him the agreeable infor- mation that the Turks had retired. He mounted a stray horse, and, after a thousand perils, rejoined liis vanguard, where all were lamenting his death. After tliis defeat, in which the king had been exposed to such dangers, the report of his death was not only spread throughout the East, but reached Europe, where it filled the Christians, particularly the French, with grief and terror. "William of T^'re, whilst relating the disastrous defeat of the Crusaders, expresses astonishment that God, always full of mercv, should have allowed so manv illustrious warriors armed in his cause, to perish so miserably. The Crusaders who formed the vanguard of the army, whilst deploring the death of their brethren, raised their voices against Geoffrey de Eancon, and demanded that the loss of so much blood shotild be visited tipon him. The king, however, had no'; sufficient firmness to punish an irreparable fault, and only so far yielded to tlie wishes of the barons and the soldiers as to give them as a leader an old warrior named Gilbert, whose skill and bravery were the boast of the whole army. Gilbert shared the command with Evrard des Barres, grand master of the Templars, who had come, with a great number of his knights, to meet the Christian armv. Under these two leaders, whom the king himsell obeyed, the Cinisaders continued their march, and avenged their defeat several times upon the Mussulmans. On their arrival in Pisidia the French had almost every- where to defend themselves against the perfidy of the Greeks and the attacks of the Turks ; but winter was even a more dangerous enerav than these to the Christian armv. Tor- rents of rain fell everv dav : cold and humiditv enervated the powers of the soldiers ; and the greater part of the horses, being destitute of forage, perished, and only served to feed the anny, which was without provisions. The clothes HISTOEY or THE CRUSADES. 357 of the soldiers hung about them in rags ; the Crusaders sold or abandoned their amis ; the tents and baggage lay scattered on the roads, and the army dragged in its train a crowd of sick, and numbers of poor pilgrims, who made the air resound with their cries and lamentations. The king of Prance consoled them by his discoui'ses, and relieved them by his charitable gifts ; for in the midst of so many reverses God alone seemed to sustain his courage. " Never," says Odo of Deuil, " did he pass a single day without hearing mass, and without invoking the God of the Christians." At last the Christians arrived before the walls of xA.ttalia, situated on the coast of Pamphylia, at the mouth of the river Cestius. This city, inhabited by Greeks, was governed in the name of the emperor of Constantinople. As the inha- bitants were mistrustful of the intentions of the Christian army, they refused to open their gates to them, and the Crusaders were obliged to encamp on the neighbouring plains, exposed to all the rigours of the season. They could neither find provisions for themselves nor forage for their horses in a barren uncultivated country, constantly ravaged by the Turks. The Greeks refused to assist them in their distress, and sold them everything at its weight in gold. Famine, and the evils which the Chris- tians had hitherto suffered, became still more insupportable to them when they lost all hope. Louis YII. having called a council, the chief men of the army represented to him that the Crusaders were without horses and without arms, they were not in a condition to give an enemy battle, nor could they support the fatigues of a long march. There remained, they added, no other resource for the Christians but to abandon themselves to the perils of the sea.* The king did not agree with their opinion, and wished that they should only embark the multitude of pilgrims that embar- rassed the march of the army. "As for us," said he, "avo will redouble our courage, and we will follow the route which our fathers, who cong^uered Antioch and Jerusalem, followed. Whilst anything remains to me, I will share it with my companions ; and when I shall have nothing left, * The Crusaders had then a march of forty days before them to arrive at Antioch by land. They might have reached it in three days by sea. 358 HISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. Avliicli of you will not undergo ^vith me poverty and misery ?'* The barons, touched v^ith this speech, swore to die with their king, but were not willing to die without glory. Ani- mated by the example of Louis, they might triumph over the Turks, over their misfortunes, and the rigours of winter ; but they were without defence against famine and the per- fidy of the Grreeks. They reproached Louis YII. with not having followed the counsels of the bishop of Langres, and with having pardoned enemies more cruel than the Mussul- mans, more dangerous than the tempests or rocks of the ocean. As at the end of this council, strong murmurs against the Greeks arose in the Christian army, the governor of Attalia became fearful of the effects of despair, and came to offer Louis vessels, in which to embark all the Crusaders. This proposition was accepted ; but they had to wait for the pro- mised vessels more than five weeks. In so long a delay the Crusaders consumed all the resoiu'ces they had left, and many died of hunger and misery ; the vessels which at length arrived in the ports of Attalia, were neither large enough nor suflicient in number to embark the whole Chris- tian armv. The Crusaders then perceived the abyss of evils into which they were about to fall; but such was their resignation, or rather the deplorable state of the army, that they committed no -v-iolence towards the Grreeks, and did not even threaten a single city which refused to help them. A crowd of poor pilgrims, among whom were barons and knights, appeared before the king, and spoke to him in these terms : — " We have not means wherewith to pay for our passage, and we cannot follow you into Syria ; we remain here victims to misery and disease ; when you shall have left us, we shall be exposed to greater perils ; and being attacked by the Turks is the least of the misfortunes we have to dread. Hemember that we are Franks, that we are Chris- tians ; give us leaders who may console us for your absence, and assist us to endure the fatigue, the hunger, and the death which await us." Louis, in order to reassure them, spoke to them in the most feelmg terms, and distributed considerable sums amongst them. He was as liberal in his assistance, says Odo de Deud, as if he had lost nothing, or wanted nothing for himself. He sent for the governor of HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 359 Attalia, and gave liim fifty silver marks to provide for the siek who remained in the city, and to conduct the land army as far as th.e coasts of Cilicia. Louis yil. gave as leaders for all who could not embark, Thierri count of Flanders and Archambaud de Bourbon ; he then went on board the fleet that had been prepared for him, accompanied by the queen Eleanor, the principal lords of his court, and all that remained of his cavalry. "Whilst looking at the Crusaders whom he left at Attalia, the king of France could not refrain from tears ; a multitude of pil- grims assembled upon the shore, followed with their eyes the vessel in which he had embarked, putting up vows for his voyage ; and when they had lost sight of him, they thought of nothing but their own dangers, and sank into the deepest despondency. On the day following the departure of Louis YIL, the pilgrims, who were expecting the escort and the guides that had been promised them, saw the Turks come upon them, eager for murder and pillage. Archambaud and Thierri for a moment re-animated the courage of the Crusaders, and several times repulsed the infidels. But the Turks returned to the charge without ceasing ; every day the Christians sustained fresh encounters without being able to compel their enemy to retreat. The G-reeks would not consent to receive them into the city, and there remained to the Cru- saders no means of safety. Despair stifled in their breasts even the sentiments of humanity ; every one of these unfor- tunate wretches became insensible to the fate of his com- panions, and felt nothing but his own ills, saw nothing but his own dangers. The soldiers did not endeavour to rally or to succour each other ; they no longer recognised or fol- lowed leaders ; the leaders themselves were no longer guided by the spirit of religion, or governed by the love of glory. In the midst of the general desolation, Archambaud and Thierri, only anxious to avoid death, threw themselves on board a vessel which was going to join the fleet of Louis VII. The horrible disorder that then reigned among the mise- rable remains of the Christian army and the sick in the city of Attalia, is perfectly beyond description. Two troops of pilgrims, one of three thousand and the other of four thousand, resolved to brave all dangers and 860 HISTOET OF THE CErSAI>ES. marcli towards Cilicia. Tliej had no boats to cross over- fiowing rivers ; they had uo arms with which to resist the Turks, and they ahnost all perished. Others who followed them shared the same fate, whilst the sick in the city of Attalia were ruthlessly massacred. It has been a painful task for the historian to record even a few details of these frigiitful disasters ; and it is in this place we find the words of the old chronicles so applicable — " Grod alone knows the number of the mart^-rs whose blood flowed beneath the blade of the Turks, and even under the sword of the Greeks." Many Christians, bewildered by despair, believed that the God who thus left them a prey to so many ills could not be the true God ;* three thousand of them embraced the faith of Mahomet and joined the Mussulmans, who took pity on their wretchedness. The Greeks were soon punished for their perfidious cruelty ; pestilence uniting its ravages with those of war, left the city of Attalia almost without inhabi- tants, a very few weeks after the departure of "Louis YII. "^""hen Louis arrived in the principality of Aiitioch,t he had lost tliree-fourths of his armv ; but he was not the less warmly welcomed by Ea^Tuond of Poictiers. The French who accompanied him soon forgot, in the midst of pleasures, both the dangers of their voyage and the deplorable death of their companions. Antioch could then boast of haATng within its walls the countess of Thoulouse, the countess of Blois, Sibylla of TTanders, Maurille countess de Eoussy, Talquery duchess de Bouillon, and several other ladies celebrated for their birth or their beauty. The fetes which Eaymond gave them received additional splendour from the presence of Eleanor of Guienne. This young princess, daughter of "William IX. and niece of the prince of Antioch, united the most seducing gifts of mind to the graces of her person. She had been much admired at Constantinople, and had found no rival in the court of Manuel. She was accused, and with some reason, of being more desirous of admiration than became a Christian queen. It was neither sincere * Odo de Deuil is the only writer who speaks of these events ; but his account appears to us full of obscurity in some parts. t The 19th of March, 1U8. niSTOur OF tue crusades. 361 piety nor an inclination to perform penance, that had led her to make a pilgrimage to Constantinople. The fatigues and dangers of the journey, the misfortunes of the Cru- saders, the remembrance of the holy places, always present to the minds of true pilgrims, had not in the least abated her too lively taste for pleasures, or her strong inclination for gallantry. liaymond of Poictiers, amidst the fetes given to Queen Eleanor, did not forget the interests of his principality; he was anxious to weaken the power of jS'oureddin, the most formidable enemy of the Christian colonies, and ardently desired that the Crusaders would assist him in this enter- prise. Caresses, prayers, presents, nothing w^as spared to engage them to prolong their sojourn in his states. The prince of Antioch addressed himself at first to the king of France, and proposed to him, in a council of the barons, to besiege the cities of Aleppo and Caesarea, in Syria. This enterprise, which favoured his ambition, oifered real advaii- tages to all the Christian states of the East, which were threatened by the constantly increasing power of Noureddin; but Louis VIL, who had been only brought into Asia by a spirit of devotion, answered Eaymond that he could engage himself in no war before he had visited the lioly places. The prince of Antioch did not allow himself to be dis- couraged by this refusal ; he employed every means to touch the heart of the queen, and resolved to make love subser- vient to his designs. William of Tyre, who has left us the portrait of Eaymond, informs us that he was '''■mild and afftible of speech,^ exliihitinf/ in Ids countenance and manner, I do not know loliat sinc/ular grace and hehaviour of an excel- lent and magnanimous prince ^ He undertook to persuade Queen Eleanor to prolong her stay in the principality of Antioch. It was then the beginning of spring ; the smiling banks of the Orontes, the groves of Daphne, and the beau- tiful skies of Syria, doubtless added their charms to the in- sinuating speeches of Eaymond. The queen, seduced by the prayers of this prince, infatuated with the homage of a voluptuous and brilliant court, and, if historians may be be- lieved, too much disposed to pleasures and indulgences un- * See the translation of William of Tyre, book xiii. ch. 21. 362 HISTORY OF THE CETJSADES. worthy of lier, warmly solicited the king to delay his departure for the holy city. The king, iu addition to an austere devotion, possessed a jealous and suspicious disposition ; the motives therefore that made the queen desirous of remaining at An- tioch strengthened his determuiation to go to Jerusalem. The instances of Eleanor filled his mind with suspicions, and rendered him still more inexorable ; upon which Raymond, disappouited in his hopes, was loud in his complaints, and determined to be revenged. This prince, says AVilliam of Tyre, " icas impetuous in his iciU, and of so choleric a dis- position, that iL'hen he was excited he listened to neither rhyme nor reason.^' He easily communicated his indignation to the mind of Eleanor, and this princess at once boldly formed the project of separating herself from Louis YIL, and of dissolving their marriage, under the plea of relationship. Ea^Tnond, on his part, swore to employ force and violence to detain, his niece in his dominions. At length the king of Erance, outraged both as a husband and a sovereign, resolved to precipitate his departui'e, and was obliged to carry off his own wife, and bear her into his camp by night. The conduct of the queen must have scandalized both the infidels and the Christians of the East ; and her example was likely to produce fatal effects in an army in which there were a great number of women. Among the crowd of knights, and even of Mussulmans, who during her abode at Antioch by turns were favoirred by her partiaUty,* a young Turk is particularly mentioned, who received costly presents from her, and for whom she desired to abandon the king of France. In such affairs, ingeniously remarks Mezerai, " more is fre- quently said than there is ; hut sometimes also there is more than is said." However that may be, Louis ATI. could not forcret his dishonour, and felt oblio:ed some years after to re- pudiate Eleanor, who married Henry II., and bestowed the duchy of Gruienne upon England, which was for Erance one of the most deplorable consequences of this second crusade. * Some romancers, and even some historians, have advanced that Eleanor of Guieune was in love with Saladin, who founded the dynasty of the Ayoubites. Saladin, the son of Ayoub, was born the same year that Eleanor married Louis YII., and was scarcely ten years old at the time of the second crusade. Her second son, by Henry II. of England, became the great rival of Saladin in military glory. — Trans. HISTOEY OF THE CETJSADES. 363 The king and the barons of Jerusalem, who dreaded the stay of Louis VII. at Autioch, sent deputies to conjure him, in the name of Jesus Christ, to hasten his march towards the holy city. The king of France yielded to their wishes, and crossed Syria and Phoenicia without stopping at the court of the count of Tripoli, who entertained the same pro- jects as Raymond of Poictiers. His arrival in the Holy Land created the greatest enthusiasm, and re-animated the hopes of the Christians. The people, the princes, and the prelates of Jerusalem came out to meet him, bearing in their hands branches of olive, and singing the same words as the Saviour of the world was saluted with — " Blessed he lie loJio comes in the name of the Lord^ The emperor of Grermany, who had left Europe at the head of a powerful army, had just reached Jerusalem in the character of a simple pilgrim. The two monarchs embraced, wept over their misfortunes, and re- pairing together to the church of the Hesurrection, adored the inscrutable decrees of Providence. Baldwin III., who then reigned at Jerusalem, was a young prince of great hope ; and being as impatient to extend his own renowTi as to enlarge his kingdom, he neglected no means to obtain the confidence of the Crusaders, and urge on the war against the Saracens. An assembly was con- voked at Ptolemais, to deliberate upon the operations of this crusade. The emperor Conrad, the king of Prance, and the young king of Jerusalem repaired thither, accompanied by their barons and their knights. The leaders of the Chris- tian armies, and the heads of the Church deliberated to2:e- ther upon the subject of the holy war in the presence of Queen Melisinde, the marchioness of Austria, and several other Grerman and French ladies, who had followed the Crusaders into Asia. In this brilliant assembly the Chris- tians were astonished at not seeing the queen, Eleanor of Guienne, and were thus reminded with regret of the sojourn at Antioch. The absence of Raymond of Antioch, and the counts of Edessa and Tripoli, who had not been invited to the meeting, must necessarily have created sad reflections, and given bii'th to presages upon the effects of discord among the Christians of the East. The name of the unfortunate Josselin was scarcely men^ tioned in the council of the princes and barons ; nothing 17* 364 niSTORY OF the ceusades. was said of Edessa, the loss of wliicli had raised the entire "West to arms, nor of the conquest of Aleppo, which had been proposed bv Eaymond of Antioch. From the begin- ning of the reign of Baldwin, the princes and lords of Pales- tine had cherished a project for extending their conquests beyond Libanus, and gaining possession of Damascus. As the Christians, when they entered into a Mussulman pro- vince or city, divided amongst them the lands and the houses of the conquered, the people who dwelt on the bar- ren mountains of Judea, the greater part of the warriors of Jerusalem, and even the clergy, all appeared to direct their wishes towards the territory of Damascus, which offered the rich booty to its captors of pleasant habitations, and fields covered with golden harvests. The hope of driving the Mussulmans from a fertile province, and enriching them- selves with their spoils, made them even forgetful of the re- doubtable power of Xoiireddin and the Attabecks. In the assembly at Ptolemais, it was resolved to commence the war by the siege of Damascus. All the troops assembled in Gralilee in the beginning of the spring, and advanced towards the source of the Jordan, com- manded by the king of France, the emperor of Germany, and the king of Jerusalem, preceded by the patriarch of the holy city, bearing the true cross. The Christian army, to which were attached the knights of the Temple, and of St. John, in the early days of June set out from Melchisapar, a little city, memorable for the miraculous conversion of St. Paul, and crossing the chains of Libanus, encamped near the town of Dary, from whence they could see the city of Damascus. Damascus is situated at the foot of the Anti-Libanus, fortv-five leagues from Jerusalem ; hills covered "with trees and verdure arise in the neio-hbourhood of the citv, and in its territory were several towns which have maintained a name in history. A river which falls impetuously from the mountains, rolls over a golden-coloured sand, and separating into several branches, waters the city, and bears freshness and fertility to the valley of Ahennefsage, or the valley of violets, planted with all sorts of fruit-trees. The city of Damascus was celebrated in the remotest antiquity, having seen both the rise and fall of the city of Palmyra, whose ruins are still objects of curiosity and wonder in its neigh- HISTORY OF TKE CEUSADES. 365 bourbood. Ezekiel boasts of its delicious wines, its nume- rous workshops, and its wools of admirable tints ; and several passages of Scripture represent Damascus as the abode of voluptuousness and delight. The beauty of its gardens, and the magnificence of its public edifices, many of which were built of marble of difierent colours, were much admired. Damascus, after being conquered in turn by the Hebrews, the kings of Assyria, and the successors of Alexander, fell into the hands of the Romans. From the age of Augustus the preaching of St. Paul had filled it with Christians ; but at the beginning of the Hegira it was attacked and taken by the lieutenants of Mahomet, and a great part of the inhabitants, who, after capitulation, endeavoured to seek an asylum in Constantinople, were pursued and massacred by the fi.erce conquerors, in the territories of Tripoli. From this time, Damascus, which formed a government or a principality, had remained in the power of the Mussid- mans. At the period of the second crusade, this principality, attacked by turns by the Franks, the Ortokides, and the Attabecks, and almost reduced to nothing but its capital, belonged to a Mussulman prince, who had no less occasion to defend himself against the ambition of the emirs than the invasion of foreign enemies. Noureddin, master of Aleppo and several other cities of Syria, had already made several attempts to gain possession of Damascus, and had by no means abandoned the hopes of uniting it to his other conquests, when the Christians formed the resolution of besieging it. The city was defended by high walls on the east and the south; whilst on the west and the north it had no other de- fence but its numerous gardens, planted with trees, in all parts of which were raised palisades, walls of earth, and little towers, in which they could place archers. The Crusaders, when ready to begin the siege, resolved in a coimcil to take pos- session of the gardens first, hoping to find therein water and abundance of fruits. But the enterprise was not Avithout great difficulties ; for the orchards, which extended to the foot of the Anti-Libanus, were like a vast forest, crossed by narrow paths, ni which two men coiild scarcely walk abreast. The infidels had everywhere thro^vn up intrenchments, where they could, without danger to themselves, resist the 866 nisTOEY OF the crusades. attacks of the Crusaders. !N"otliing could, however, damp the braverv and ardour of the Christian army, which pene- trated on several sides into the gardens. From the heights of the little towers, from the interior of the wall enclosures, and from the bosoms of the bushv trees, clouds of arrows and javelins were showered upon them. Every step taken by the Christians in these covered places was marked by a combat in which they could scarcely see their enemy. The infidels, however, attacked without intermission, were, in the end, obHged to abandon the positions they had occupied and fortified. The king of Jerusalem marched first at the head of his army and the knights of St. Jolni and of the Temple ; after the Christians of the East, advanced the Erench Cru- saders, commanded by Louis YII. ; whilst the emperor of Grermany, who had got together the poor remains of his army, formed the body of reserve, to protect the besiegers from the surprises of the enemy. The king of Jerusalem pursued the Mussulmans with ardour ; his soldiers rushing vrith. him into the midst of the enemy's ranks, comparing their leader to David, who, accord- ing to Josephus, had conquered a king of Damascus. The Saracens, after an obstinate resistance, united on the banks of the river which flows under its walls, to drive away with arrows and stones the crowd of Christians brought thither bv faticrue and heat. The warriors commanded bv Baldwin endeavoured several times to break through the army of the Mussulmans, but always met with an invincible resistance. It was then the emperor of Germany signahzed his bravery by a deed of arms worthy of the heroes of the first crusade. Followed by a small number of his people, he passed through the Erench army, whom the difficulties of the situation almost prevented from fighting, and took his place in the vanguai'd of the Crusaders. Nothing could resist the impe- tuosity of his attack, all who opposed him falling beneath his arm ; when a Saracen of gigantic stature, and completely clothed in armour, advanced to meet him, and defy him to the combat. The emperor at once accepted the challenge, and flew to meet the Mussulman warrior. At the sight of this singular combat, the two armies remained motionless, waiting in fear, till one of the champions had defeated the other, to re-commence the battle. The Saracen warrior was HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 367 soon liurled from his horse, and Conrad with one hlow of his sword, dealt npon the shoulder of the Mussulman, divided his body into two parts.* This prodigy of valour and strength redoubled the ardour of the Christians, and spread terror among the infidels. From this moment the Mussul- mans began to seek safety within the walls of the city, and left the Crusaders masters of tlie banks of the river. Eastern authors speak of the fright of the inhabitants of Damascus after the victory of the Christians. The Mussul- mans prostrated themselves t upon ashes during several days; they exposed in the middle of the great mosque, the Koran compiled by Omar ; and women and children gathered around the sacred book to invoke the aid of Mahomet against their enemies. The besieged already contemplated abandoning the city ; they placed in the streets, towards the entrance into the gardens, large posts, chains, and heaps of stones, in order to retard the march of the besiegers, and thus to afford them time to fly with their riches and their families by the north and south gates. The Christians were so thoroughly persuaded they should shortly be masters of Damascus, that it became a question among the leaders, to whom the sovereignty of the city should be given. The greater part of the barons and lords who were in the Christian army, courted the favour of the king of France and the emperor of Germany, and all at once forgot the siege of the city, in their earnest endeavours to obtain the government of it. Thierri of Alsace, count of Flanders, who had been twice in Palestine before the cru- sade, and who had given up to his family all his possessions in Europe, solicited the principality more warmly than the others, and prevailed over his opponents and rivals. This preference gave birth to jealousy, and infused discouragement in the army ; as long as the city they were about to conquer remained a bait for their ambition, the leaders showed them- * Percussit eum inter coUura et sinistrum humerura ictu mirabili ; ita quod ensis secuit totutn pectus cum humeris et descendit obliquando usque ad latus dextrum, taliter quod pars dexteiior abscissa penitiis cum capita cecidit super terram, et tunc oranes Turci, qui ictum tarn formida- biiem viderant stupefacti, statim fug4 remedio nostrorum gladios evase- runt. — G. C. chap. ii. ■f" All these details, and some others which were not known to the authors of the West, are taken from the Arabian chronicle of Ibnferat. 368 nisTOET OF the ceusades. selves full of ardour and courage, but ^YbeIl tbey were with- out hope, some remained inactive, whilst others, no longer regardiug the Christian glory as their own cause, sought every means to. insure the failure of an enterprise from which they should reap no personal advantage. The leaders of the besieged took advantage of these feel- ings to open negotiations with the Crusaders. Their threats, their promises and presents, succeeded in destroying what remained of the zeal and enthusiasm of the Christians. They addressed themselves particularly to the barons of Syria, and exhorted them to be on their guard against war- riors come, as they said, from the West, to take possession of the Christian cities of Asia. They threatened to deliver up Damascus to the new master of the East, Xoureddin, whom nothing could resist, and who would soon take pos- session of the kinofdom of Jerusalem. The barons of Svria, whether deceived by these speeches, or that, in theu* hearts, they dreaded the successes of the Franks who had come to succour them, employed themselves only in retarding the operarions of a siege they had. themselves prosecuted with ardour ; and, abusing the confidence of the Crusaders, they proposed a plan, which, being adopted too hghtly, com- pleted the ruin of all the hopes that had been bmlt on this crusade. In a council, the barons of S^Tia proposed to the leaders to change the mode of attack ; the closeness of the gardens and the river, said they, prevented the placing of the ma- chines of war in an advantas:eous manner : and the Christian armv, in the position it occupied, might be surprised, and ran the risk of beius: surrounded bv the enemv ^^ithout the power of defending itself. It appeared to them, therefore, much more certaui and safe to assault the city on the south and east sides. Most of the chiefs possessed more valour than prudence, and the confidence which victory inspired made them think everything possible : besides, how could they mistrust the Christians of the East, for whom they had taken up arms, and who were then.' brothers ? In addition to this, the fear of dragguig out the siege to a gi-eat length made them adopt the advice of the barons of Syria. After having changed their points of attack, the Christian army, instead of finding HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 369 easy access to the place, saw nothing before them but towers and impregnable ramparts. Scarcely had the Christians seated themselves in their new camp when the city of Damascus received vrithin its walls a troop of twenty thou- sand Curds and Turcomans, determined to defend it. The besieged, whose courage was raised by the arrival of these auxiliaries, put on, says an Arabian historian, the buckler of victory, and made several sorties, in which they gained the advantage over the Cin-istians. The Crusaders, on their part, made several assaults upon the city, and were always repulsed. Encamped upon an arid plain, they were desti- tute of water ; all the adjacent country had been devastated by the infidels, and the corn that had escaped the ravages of war was concealed in caves and subterranean hiding-places, which they could not discover. The Christian army wanted pro^dsions ; then discord revived among them ; nothing was spoken of in the camp but perfidy and treason ; the Chris- tians of Syria no longer united with the Christians of Europe in their attacks upon the city ; they were j?(.)Ou iii- formed that the sultans of Aleppo and Mossoul were coming with a numerous army ; then they despaired of taking the city, and raised the siege. Thus the Christians, without having exercised their constancy, or tested their courage, abandoned, at the end of a few days, an enterprise, the pre- parations for which had cost so much to Europe, and raised such expectations in Asia. One of the circumstances of this siege the most Avorthy of remark is, that Ayoub, chief of the dynasty of the Ayoubites, commanded the troops of Damascus, and that he had with him his son, the young Saladin, who was destined one day to be so formidable to the Christians, and render himself master of Jerusalem. Tlie eldest son of Ayoub having been killed in a sortie, the inhabitants of Damascus raised a tomb of marble to his memory, which was to be seen under the ramparts of the city many centuries after. An old Mussulman priest, who had passed more than forty years in a neighbouring cavern, was obliged to quit his retreat, and came into the city which the Christians were besieging. He regretted his solitude troubled by the din of war, and became ambitious of gather- ing the palm of martyrdom. In spite of the representations of his disciples, he advanced, unarmed, in the front of the 370 HISTOEY or THE CEVSADES. Crusaders, found on the field of battle the death he desired, and was honoured as a saint hj the people of Damascus. If we mav believe the Arabian historians, the Christian ecclesiastics who followed the army nes^lected no means of rekindling the enthusiasm of the soldiers of the cross. Dui-iug a conflict under the walls of the city, a grey-headed Christian priest, mounted on a mule, and carrying a cross in his hands, advanced between the two armies, exhorting the Crusaders to redouble their braver}' and ardour, and pro- mising them, in the name of Jesus Christ, the conquest of Damascus. The Mussulmans directed all their arrows at him ; the Christians pressed around to defend him ; the combat became fierce and bloody ; the priest fell at length pierced with many wounds, upon a heap of slain, and the Crusaders abandoned the field of battle. The greater part of both Arabian and Latin authors* describe the siege of Damascus in a contradictory manner, but all aojree in attributino: the retreat of the Christians to DO treachery. A Mussulman historian asserts that the king of Jerusalem received considerable sums from the inhabitants of Damascus, and that he was deceived by the besieged, who gave him pieces of lead covered with a thin coating of gold.f Some Latin authors attribute the shameful raising of the siege to the covetousness of the Templars ; others to ^Raymond of Antioch, who burned to revenge himself on the king of France, ^"illiam of Tvre, whose opinion ought to * Abulfeda, Abulfarage, and some other Arabian historians speak of tlie siege of Damascus ; but it is difficiilt to reconcile their account with that of the Latins. We have taken some few circumstances from them that appeared the most probable. The Chronicle of Ibuferat is that which gives the most circumstantial details. f The Chronicle of Geuvais attributes the retreat of the Christians to the pertidy of the Templars : — Cum civitas Christianis reddenda esset, accesserunt Templarii. dicentes se primam habituros pugnam, ut omnes deinde in communi victoriam obtinerent, statuerunt itaque tentoria sua inter civitatera et exercitum Christianorum, et cum his qui erant in civitate paganis proditionis pactum inierunt. Cives igitur eorum agnoscentes cupiditafem, promi^erunt eis tres cados plenos hisantis aureis, si eos ab obsidione liberarent. Delusi itaque Christiani per milites Temph, Damasco recesserunt. Post modicum vero cum Templarii promissos a viribua recipissent cados, in eisdem non nummos aureos, sed cunreos invenerant, miraculoque quae ascripserunt. HTSTOET OF THE CRUSADES. 371 have great weight, accuses the barons of S}Tia;* but surely all must blame the ignorance and incapacity of the other chiefs of the crusade, who followed advice without examining it, and proved themselves incapable of remedying an evil they had not foreseen. After so unfortunate an attempt, it was natural to despair of the success of this war. In the council of leaders the siege of Ascalon was proposed, but men's minds were soured, and their courage v»as depressed. The king of France and the emperor of Germany thought of returning into Europe, bearing back no other glory than that of having, the one defended his o\^ti life against some soldiers on a rock in Pamphylia, and the other of having cleft a giant in two under the walls of Damascus. " From that day," says Wil- liam of Tyre, " the condition and state of the Oriental Latins began continually to proceed from bad to worse." The Mus- sulmans learnt no longer to dread the warriors and princes of the West. Full of confidence in their arms, they who had only thought of defending themselves, formed the project of attacking the Franks, and were excited to their enterprise by the hopes of sharing the spoils of an enemy who had invaded several of their provinces. Whilst the infidels thus regained their daring and their pride, and united against their enemies, discouragement took possession of the Chris- tians, and the division which prevailed so fataUy among them weakened every day their spirit and their power. " The Franks who returned into Europe" (we leave William of T}Te to speak) " could not forget the perfidies of the Oriental princes, and not only showed themselves more careless and tardy concerning the aftairs of the kingdom of Jerusalem, but discouraged all those equally who had not been the voyage with them, so that they who heard speak of this crusade never after undertook the road of this peregrination with so much good-will or so much fervour." This crusade was much more unfortunate than the first ; no kind of glory mitigated or set oft' the reverses of the Christians. The leaders committed the same faults that Godfrey and his companions had committed ; they neglected, as they had done, to found a colony in Asia Minor, and to * William of Tj/re, b. xvii. chap. 6. 372 HisTOBT or the ceusadzs. posaeflB themselves of cities which might protect the march of pilgrims into Syria. "We admire the patience with which they endured the outrages and the perfidies of the Greeks ; but this moderation, more rehgious than poUtic, only led them to their ruin. We must add that they entertained too low an opioion of the Turks, and did not take sufficient heed of the means necessary to contend with them. The Grermans, in particular, were so fuU of confidence, that, according to the report of !Xicetas, they would rather have thought of taking shovels and pick-axes with them than swords or lances, believing that they had nothing to do but to cut themselves a road across Asia ]Minor. By another singularity, the Crusaders, in this war, did not employ the cross-bow* which a council of the Lateran had condemned as too miurderous, and the use of which was interdicted to the warriors of the West. The infantry was left almost without arms, and when the Crusaders had lost their cavalry, thev had no defence against an enemy. The Christian armies, as in the first crusade, dragged in their traiu a great number of cliildren. women, and old men, who could do nothing: towards victorv. and vet alwavs oreatlv augmented the disorder and despair consequent upon a defeat. With this multitude no discipline could be esta- blished ; nor is it apparent that the leaders made any attempt to prevent the etfects of Hcense. Geofii^ey de Eancon, whose imprudence caused the destruction of half the French armT. and placed the king of France in the greatest peril, had no other punishment but his repentance, and thought he expiated his neglect of duty by prostrating himself at the tomb of Christ. That which was still more injurious to discipline was the depravity- of manners in the Christian army, which must be principally attributed to the gi'eat number of women that had taken arms, and mixed in. the raiil:f= of the soldiery. La. this crusade there was a troop of A--:. OS, commanded by a general whose dress was much : : : e admired than her courage, and whose gilded boots r rd her the name of " tlie lady with the legs of gold.'' ^ Another cause of the dissoluteness of manners was the extreme facility with which the most vicious men, even con- vi r- 1 malefactors, were admitted amone the Crusaders, be. Bernard, who considered the crusade as a road to heaven, HISTOEY OF THE CSUSADES. 373 summoned the greatest sinners to take part in it, and re- joiced at seeing them thus enter into the way of eternal Kfe. In a council of liheims, of which the abbot of Clam'aux was the oracle, it was decreed that incendiaries should be punished by serving Grod one year either in Jerusalem or JSpain. The ardent preacher of the holy war did not reflect that great sinners, enrolled under the banners of the cross, woidd be exposed to new temptations, and that during a long voyage it would be much more easy for them to corrupt their companions than to amend their own conduct. Dis- orders were unhappily tolerated by the leaders, who beHeved that Heaven was ever indulgent towards Crusaders, and did not wish to be more severe than it. And yet the Christian army, amidst a most frightful state of morals, presented examples of an austere piety. Sur- rounded by the dangers of war, and harassed by the fatigues of a long pilgrimage, the king of France never neglected the most minute practices of rehgion. The greater part of the leaders took him for their model, and when in camp, paid more attention to religious processions than to mihtary exercises ; so that many warriors actually placed more con- fidence in then' prayers than in their arms. In general, through the whole of this crusade, sufficient dependence was not placed on human means and human prudence, — every- thing was left to Pro\'idence, which seldom protects those who stray from the ways of reason and wisdom. The first crusade had two distinctive characters, — piety and heroism ; the second had scarcely any other principle but a piety which parrook more of the devotion of the cloister than of a generous enthusiasm. The influence of the monks who had preached it, and who then meddled very much in temporal affairs, was but too evident through the whole of this crusade. The king of France in his misfor- tunes displayed nothing but the resignation of a martyr, and in the field of battle was only distinguished by the ardour and courage of a soldier. The emperor of G-ermany did not evince greater ability ; he lost all by his mad presumption, and from having thought himself able to conquer the Turks without the assistance of the Frencli. Both were Kmited in their views, and were greatly wanting in that energv which produces great actioas. In the expedition which 374 HISTOET OF THE CEIJSADES. they directed, there was notMng elevated, everything seemed to keep down to the level of their character. In a word, this war developed neither heroic passions nor chivalric qualities. Camps had no great captains to admire or imitate ; and the period we have described can boast of only two men of marked genius, — he who had roused the Western world by liis eloquence, and the wise minister of Louis, who had to repair in France all the misfortunes of the crusade. All the energies of this crusade were not directed against Asia. Several preachers, authorized by the Holy See, had exhorted the inhabitants of Saxony and Denmark to take up arms against some nations of the Baltic, still plunged in the darkness of paganism. This crusade was led by Henry of Saxony, several other princes, and a great number of bishops and archbishops. An army, composed of a hunded and fifty thousand Crusaders, attacked the barbarous and savage nation of the Sclaves, who unceasingly ravaged the sea- coasts, and made war upon the Christians. The Christian warriors wore upon their breasts a red cross, under which was a round figure, representing and symbolizing the earth, which ought to be obedient to the laws of Christ. Preachers of the gospel accompanied their march, and exhorted them to extend the limits of Christian Eiurope by their exploits. The Crusaders consigned to the flames several idolatrous temples, and destroyed the city of Malehon, in which the pagan priests were accustomed to assemble. In this holy war the Saxons treated a pagan people exactly as Charle- magne had treated their own ancestors ; but they were not able to subdue the Sclaves. After a war of three years, the Saxon and Danish Crusaders grew M'eary of pursuing an enemy defended by the sea, and still further by their despair. They made proposals of peace ; the Sclaves, on their part, promised to become converts to Clmstianity, and to respect Christian people.* They only made these promises to pacify their enemies ; and when the latter laid down their arms, they retiurned to their idols and resumed their pii-acies. * This crusade from the north is mentioned by Otto of Frisingen. Saxo the grammarian gives the most ample details in his thirteenth book. The reader may likewise consult the Latin History of Germany, by Kruntz. The History of Denmark, by Mallet, does not say a word of this war. HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 375 Other Crusaders, to whom Christendom paid very little attention, prosecuted a more successful war on the banks of the Tagus. It was several centuries since Spain had been invaded by the Moors, and still two rival nations disputed empire and fought for territory in the names of Maliomet and Jesus Christ.* The Moors, often conquered by the Cid and his companions, had been driven from several provinces, and when the second crusade set out for the East, the Spaniards were besieging the city of Lisbon. The Christian army, small in numbers, was in daily expectation of rein- forcements, when a fleet which was transporting to the East a great number of French Crusaders, entered the mouth of the Tagus. Alphonso, a prince of the house of Burgundy and grandson of King Kobert, commanded the besieging army. He visited the Christian warriors, whom Heaven appeared to have sent to his assistance, and promised, as the reward of their co-operation, the conquest of a flourishing kingdom. He exhorted them to join him in combating those same Saracens whom they were going to seek in Asia through all the perils of the sea. " The Grod who had sent them would bless their army ; noble pay and rich possessions would be the meed of their valour." Nothing more was necessary to persuade warriors who had made a vow to fight with the infidels and who were eager for adventures. They abandoned their vessels and joined the besiegers. The Moors opposed them with determined pertinacity, but at the end of four months Lisbon was taken, and the garrison put to the sword. They afterwards besieged several other cities, which were wrested from the Saracens ; Portugal submitted to the power of Alphonso, and he assumed the title of king. Amidst these conquests the Crusaders forgot the East, and, without incurring much danger, they founded a prosperous * Arnold, a Flemish preacher, on the publication of the second crusade, exhorted the nations of France and Germany to enrol themselves in this pious army; he followed the Crusaders who laid siege to Lisbon, under the command of Arnold count d'Arschot. Arnold sent an account of this siege to Milo, bishop of Terouane, in a letter published by Dom Martene, in the first volume of his great collection, upon two manuscripts. The relation of Arnold, an eye-witness, different from that of Robert of the Mount, is adopted by Fleury. The historian of Portugal, Manoel de Faria y Sousa, speaks also of this expedition of the Crusaders. 376 HisTOET or the ceusades. and splendid kingdom, whicli lasted mucli longer tlian that cf Jerusalem. We may judge by these crusades, undertaken at tlie same time, against nations of the north and others of the south, that the principle of holy wars began to assume a new cha- racter ; Crusaders did not light only for the possession of a sepulchre, but they took up arms to defend their religion AvhereTer it might be attacked, and to make it triumphant among all nations that rejected its laws and refused its benefits. The diversity of interests which set the Crusaders in action, necessarily divided their forces, weakened their enthusiasm, and was sure to be injurious to the success of a holy war. France, which then turned anxious looks towards Pales- tine, no longer demanded of God the deliverance of the holy places, but the return of a king over whose misfortunes they had wept. For a length of time, Suger, who was unable to sustain the royal authority, had endeavoured to recall his master by letters full of tenderness and devotion. Their internew, which proved an affecting spectacle for the French, alarmed the courtiers, who were desii-ous of awakening sus- picions of the fidehty of the minister. A kingdom at peace and a flourisliing people were the reply of Suger. The king praised his zeal, and bestowed upon him the title of Father of his Coimtiy. Suger enjoyed a great advantage, as he had been the only man of any consequence in Europe who had opposed the crusade. His wise foresight was everywhere the subject of praise, whilst all complaints were directed ao^ainst St. Bernard. There was not a familv in the king- dom that was not in mourning ; and the same desolation reigned throughout Germany. So many widows and orphans had never been seen, and the glory of mart^Tdom, promised to all whose loss was regretted, had no power to dry their tears. The abbot of Clairvaux was accused of having sent Christians to die in the East, as if Em-ope had been lis-ithout sepulchres ; and the partisans of St. Bernard, who had seen his mission attested by his miracles, not knowing what to replv, were struck ^ith stupor and astonishment. '' God, in these latter days," said they among themselves, "has neither spared his people nor his name ; the children of the Church have been given over to death in the desert, or massacred by the sword, or devom'ed "by hunger ; the contempt of the HISTOET OF THE CRUSADES. 377 Lord lias fallen even upon princes ; Grod liaa left them to wander in unkno^Yn ways, and all sorts of pains and afflic- tions have been strevred upon their paths." So many evils resulting from a holy war, from a war undertaken in the name of Grod, confounded the Christians who had most applauded the crusade, and St, Bernard himself was aston- ished that God had been willing to judge the universe before the time, and without remembrance of his mercy. " What a disgrace is it for us," said he in an apology addressed to the pope, " for us who went everywhere announcing peace and happiness ! Have we conducted oiu-selves rashly ? Have our courses been adopted from fantasy ? Have we not followed the orders of the head of the Church and those of the Lord ? AVhy has not Grod regarded our fasts ? Why has he appeared to know nothing of our humiliations ? With what patience is he now listening to the sacrilegious and blasphemous voices of the nations of Arabia, who accuse him of having led his people into the desert that they might perish! All the world knows," added he, " that the judg- ments of the Lord are just ; but this is so profound an abyss, that he may be called happy who is not disgraced by it." St. Bernard was so thoroughly persuaded that the unfortunate issue of the crusade would furnish the wicked with an excuse for iusulting the Heity, that he congratulated himself that so many of the maledictions of men fell upon him, making him as a buckler to the living Grod. In liis apology, he attributes the want of success in the holy war to the disorders and crimes of the Christians ; he compares the Crusaders to the Hebrews, to whom Moses had pro- mised, in the name of Heaven, a land of blessedness, and who all perished on their journey, because they had done a thousand things against Grod. St. Bernard might have been answered that he ought to have foreseen the excesses and disorders of an undisciplined multitude, and that the brigands called upon to take up the cross were not the people of Grod. It appears to us, at the present time, that the partisans of the abbot of Clairvaux might have found better reasons for the justification of the holy war. The second crusade, although unfortunate, pro- cured several advantages for Europe. The peace which reigned in the West, caused states to flomish, and repaired, in some sort, the disasters of a distant war. It was held 378 HISTOET OF THE CETJSADES. shameful to cslitj arms in Europe, whilst the Crusaders were contending with the Saracens in the East. Eeligion itself watched over Grermany, which had heen so long troubled by c.i\il wars. Conrad, a weak monarch without character, who had lost his army in Asia, was more powerful on his return from Palestine than he had been before he quitted his domi- nions. The king of France also found his authority in- creased, from ha\ing been defended during his absence by the thunders of the Church and the eloquence of St. Ber- nard.* The crusade gave him a pretext for imposing taxes upon his people, and placed him at the head of a numerous army, where he accustomed the great vassals to consider him as their supreme head. Stni, if it is true that the divorce of Eleanor of Gruienne was one of the consequences of the crusade, it must be ad- mitted that the evils which resulted from this war were much greater for the French monarchy than any good it derived from it. The kingdom which then lost the province of Aquitaine, which fell into the hands of the EngHsh, was doomed to become the 'pvey of the children that Eleanor had by her second marriage. A following age saw the descend- ants of these children crowned kings of France and England in the church of Xotre Dame, at Paris, and the successors of Louis TIL found themselves almost reduced to seek an asvlum in foreign lands. Flattery imdertook to console Louis the young, for the reverses he had experienced in Asia, and represented him, upon several medals,t as the conqueror of the East. He left Palestine with the project of returning thither ; and in * St. Bernard wrote to the Estate? of the kingdom, assembled by Suger, to repress the ambition of a brother of the king and some great vassals. He also wrote to the abbot of St. Denis : " Whilst Louis,*' said he in his letter, " is fighting for a king whose reign is eternal ; whilst in the flower of his age he exiles himself from his kingdom to serve Him who causes them to reign that serve him, is it possible there can be men so rash as to create disorder and troubles in his states, and to attack in his person the Lord and his Christ V'—Ep. 337. f The legend of one of these medals is conceived in these terms : — Regi invicto ab oriente reduci, Frementes laetitia cives. In another medal the Meander is represented, and a trophy raised upon its banks, with this inscription — Turcis ad ripas Mseandri caesis fugatis. KISTORT OF TKE CRUSADES. 379 his journey to Eome, lie promised tlie pope to place himself at the head of a new crusade. And never did the Christian colonies stand in greater need of assistance. From the time the French quitted Palestine not a day passed without some new misfortune befalling the Christians established in S}Tia. A very short time after the siege of Damascus, Raymond of Poictiers lost his life in a battle against the Saracens, and his head was sent to the caliph of Bagdad. Josseliu, after having lost the city of Edessa, himself fell into the hands of the inhdels, and died in misery and despair in the prisons of Aleppo. Two emissaries of the Old Man of the jNIountain assassi- nated Eaymond 11. , count of Tripoli, under the walls of his capital, which was plunged into trouble and desolation. Two young Mussulman princes, of the family of Ortok, excited by theii' mother, believed that the moment was come to re- conquer Jerusalem from the Christians. An army which they had assembled, came and pitched its camp on the Mount of Olives, and the holy city only owed its safety to the courage of some knights who induced the people to take arms. Noureddin had got possession of all the Christian cities of Mesopotamia, and several places in the principality of Antioch had opened their gates to him. Arrived on the shores of the sea, which he had never before seen, he bathed in its waves, as if to take possession of it ; and, still accom- panied by victory, he established the seat of his empire at Damascus, whence he menaced the city of Jerusalem. The afflicting news of these occurrences created great sor- row among the Christians of the "West, and the sovereign pontiff exhorted the faithful once again to take up the cross and arms ; but neither the danger of the Christians beyond the sea, nor the exhortations of the pope, could change the opinion which the French had formed against distant wars. Louis YII. was obliged to renounce his intention of retiu-n- ing to the Holy Land. At this period a circumstance occurred which it is very difficult to give credit to. The abbot Suger, who had so strongly opposed the first expedi- tion, formed the resolution of succouring Jerusalem ; and in an assembly held at Chartres, exhorted the princes, barons, and bishops to enrol themselves under the banners of the holy war. As he was only answered by the silence of grief and astonishment, he formed the project of attempting Vol. L— 18 3S0 HISTORY OF THE cnrsA.DES. an enterprise alone in wluch two monarclis had failed. Suger. at the age of seventy, resolved to raise an army, to maintain it at his own expense, and to lead it himself into Palestine. In accordance with the devotion of the time, he went to Tours, to 'dsit the tomb of St. ]Martin, in order to obtain the protection of Heaven, and already ten thousand pilgrims had taken up arms, and were preparing to follow him into Asia, when death came to prevent the execution of his designs. In his last moments Suger invoked the assistance and the prayers of St. Bernard, who sustained his courage, and ex- horted hioi not to tiu-n his thouc]rhts from the heavenly Jeru- salem, in which both of them hoped soon to meet ; but iu spite of the exhortations of his friend, the abbot of St. Denis regretted, when d^-ing, not ha\'ing been able to succour the holy city. St. Bernard was not lonor before he followed Suger to the tomb, bearing with hun a deep regret at having preached an unfortunate war. France lost in the same year two men who had greatly illustrated her, the one by talents and qualities useful to his country, the other by his eloquence and virtues dear to aU Christians, At a time when general attention was given to the defence of the pri^'ileges of the CTiurch. Suger defended the interests of royalty and the people ; whilst eloquent preachers were animating the public zeal for holy wars which were always accompanied by disasters, the skilful minister of Louis YII. Avas preparing France, at a future day, to gather the salutary- fruits of these great events. He was accused of having gone too deeply into the mundane affairs of his age ; but politics never banished from his mind the pre- cepts of the gospel. According to the judgment of his con- temporaries, he lived at the court like a wise courtier, and in his cloister like a pious monk.* If there is in the church of France, wrote St. Bernard to Pope Eugenius, any vase of price which would embellish the palace of the King of * We have a life of Suger, written hy his secretary. We have in French a Life of the abbot of St. Denis, in three volumes. L'Academie Fran^aise in 1778 proposed the Eulogy of Suger as a subject for a prize ; the dis- course of M. Garrat, which was crowned, contains many very eloquent passages. We have before us another discourse which was published in 1779, which presents an exaggerated, but very ingenious satire upon the "'' "nd administration of Suger. HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 381 kings, it is doubtless tlie venerable abbot Suger. As abbot of St. Denis, he, perhaps, enjoyed more wealth than any monk ought to possess, since we see he proposed to main- tain an army, but he always employed his treasiu'es in the service of his country and the Churc^i, and never had the state been so rich as under his administration. His whole life was a long series of prosperity, and of actions worthy of being remembered. He reformed the monks of his order without incurring their hatred ; he created the happiness of the people without proving their ingratitude ; and served kings, and yet obtained their friendship. Tortune favoured all his undertakings, and that there should be nothing un- prosperous in his life, and that he might be reproached with no fault, he died Avhen he was about to conduct an army to the East. Sager and St. Bernard, united by religion and friendship, had a very different destiny ; the first, born in a low condi- tion, gave himself to the disposal of fortune, who carried him up to the highest dignities ; the second, born in a more elevated rank, hastened to descend from it, and was nothing but by his genius. St. Bernard rendered few services to the state, but he defended rehgion with indefatigable zeal ; and as church then took precedence of country, he was greater than the abbot Suger in the eyes of his contemporaries. "Whilst he lived, the eyes of all Europe were fixed upon the abbot of Clairvaux ; he was as a light placed in the midst of Christendom, every word he preached had the holy authority of the religion he taught. He stifled all schisms, silenced all impostors, and by his labours, merited in his age the title of the last father of the Church, as richly as the great Bos- suet merited it in his. St. Bernard may be reproached with having too frequently issued from his retreat, and with not having always been, as he himself expresses it, the disciple of oaks and beeches. He had a hand in most of the political events of his time, and interfered in all the afiairs of the Holy See. Christians often asked who was the head of the Church ; popes and princes sometimes murmured against his authority ; but it must never be forgotten that he unceasingly preached mode- ration to kings, humanity to the people, and poverty to the clergy. BOOK VII. THIED CEUSADE. A.D. 1148—1188. "VVe cannot help being conyinced, whilst reading this his- tory, that the religion of Mahomet, thoroughly warlike as it is in principle, does not endue its disciples ^vith that obstinate bravery, that boundless devotedness, of which the Crusaders presented so many examples. The fanaticism of the Mussulmans required victory to keep up its power or its violence. Bred in a conviction of blind fatalism, they were accustomed to consider successes or reverses as simple de- crees of Heaven ; victorious, they were ftdl of ardoui' and confidence ; conquered, they were depressed, and without shame succumbed to an enemy, whom they believed to be the instrument of destiny. An ambition for renown seldom excited their courage, and even in the excesses of their war- like fervour, the fear of chastisements and punishments kept their faces towards the enemy more frequently than any generous love of glory. A chief, whom they themselves dreaded, was the only captain that could lead them to vic- tory ; and thus despotism became necessary' to their valom\ After the conquest of the Christians, the dynasties of the Saracens and the Turks were dispersed and almost annihi- lated ; the Seljoucides themselves had fallen back to the very extremities of Persia, and the people of S\Tia scarcely knew the names of those princes whose ancestors had reigned over Asia. Everything, even despotism, was de- stroyed in the East. The ambition of the emirs took advan- tage of the general disorder ; slaves shared the spoils of their masters ; provdnces and cities became so many prm- cipahties, the uncertain and transient possession of Avhich was a constant subject of dispute. The necessity for de- fending the Mussuhnan religion, whilst threatened bv the Christians, had alone preserved the credit of the rnbnhs of HISTORY OF TKE CRUSADES. 383 Bagdad. Tliev were still the chiefs of Islamism ; their approbation seemed necessary for the preservation of the power of usurpers or conquerors ; but their authority, which was nothing but a sacred phantom, commanded nothing but ? ravers and vain ceremonies, and inspired not the least fear, n this state of degradation their only employment seemed to be to consecrate the fruit of treachery and \dolence. It was not sufficient to bestow cities and employments which they had no power to refuse ; all whom vi(?cory and license had favoured came to prostrate themselves before the vicars of the prophet ; and crowds of emirs, viziers, and sultans, to borrow an Eastern expression, appeared to rise from the dust of their feet. The Christians were not sufficiently aware of the state of Asia, which they might have conquered ; aud agreed so ill among themselves that they could never take advantage of the divisions which prevailed among their enemies. They seldom had, either in attack or defence, a well-sustained ])lan, and their impetuous bravery, directed generally by chance or passion, could only be compared to the tempest, whose fury rages or abates at the pleasure of the winds which reign over the horizon. Fortime, which had offered them such a brilliant opportunity for extending their empire, became, at last, adverse to them, and from the bosom of the chaos in "v^hich the East was plunged, arose a formidable power, which was destined to conquer and destroy them. JN'oureddin, son of Zengui, who had obtained possession of Edessa before the second crusade, had inherited the con- quests of his father, and added to them by his valour. He was bred among warriors who had sworn to shed their blood in the cause of the Prophet, and when he mounted the throne he revived the austere simplicity of the early caliphs. Koureddin, says an Arabian poet, united the most noble heroism with the profoundest humility. When he prayed in the temple, his subjects believed they saw a sanctuary in another sanctuar}^ He encouraged the sciences, cultivated letters, and, above all, applied himself to the maintenance of justice throughout his states. His people admired his clemency and moderation ; and the Christians ^ven were forced to praise his courage and his profane heroism. After the example of his father Zengui, he made himself the idol of his soldiers by his liberahty ; by taking charge of their 384 niSTOET OF the CErSADES. families, he prevented tlieir desire for the possession of lands, and thus accustomed them to consider the camp as their home and their country. In the midst of armies , which he had liiraself formed, and ^Yhich respected in him the avenger of the Prophet, he restrained the ambition of the emirs, and directed their efforts and their zeal towards one sole object, the triumph of Islamism, His victories, his fortune, his religious and political virtues drew upon him the attention of the entire East, and made the Mussul- mans believe that the period of their deliverance had arrived. Baldwin III., who undertook to stop the career of ]^ou- reddin, displayed great valour in several battles. The most important and the most fortunate of his expeditions was the taking of i\scaloii, in which the Mussulmans always kept up a formidable garrison. This city, which is situated in a fertile plain, and which the Mussulmans call tlie Spouse of Syria, was succoured by an Eg}^tian fleet, and for a long time resisted all the efforts of the Christians. Hivers of blood flowed before its walls diu-ing several months ; both Mussulmans and Christians fighting with fury, and neither giving nor receiving quarter. During the siege the knights of the Temple particularly distinguished themselves by their valour ; the thirst for booty, far more than the love of glory, making them brave the greatest perils. The garrison and the inhabitants, exhausted by fatigue and pinched by famine, at length opened the gates of the city. Baldwin granted them a capitidatioii, permitted them to retire into Egypt with their families, and caused a Te Deum to be sung in the great mosque, which he consecrated to St. Paul. After this victorv the king of Jerusalem marched to en- counter Xoureddin, and compelled him to raise the sieges of both Paneas and Sidon. Baldwin was en2:aQ:ed in assistinix the principality of Antioch, always disturbed by fiictions, always threatened by the Mussulmans, when he was poisoned by a Syrian physician. As soon as he became sensible of his danger, he set out for Jerusalem, and died in the city of Berouth. His remains were transported to the holy city, the clergy coming out to meet the funeral train. The people descended from the mountains to join the procession, and through the country, and in the cities nothing was heard but lamentations. Xoureddin himself, if we are to believe HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 385 a Christian historian,* was affected by the sorrow of the Franks. Some of his emirs advising him to take advantage of this melancholy occasion to enter Palestine, " Grod forbid," replied he, " that I should disturb the proper grief of a people who are weeping for the loss of so good a king, or lix upon such an opportunity to attack a kingdom which I have no reason to fear." Hemarkable vrords, which at once denote two great men, and which further shovv' what a serious loss the Christians had sustained. As soon as the funeral ceremonies of Baldwin III. were over, warm debates arose upon the choice of a successor. The greater part of the barons and knights attached to the memory of Baldwin proposed to call to the throne his brother Amaury, count of Jaft'a and Ascalon. This party was the most reasonable and the most conformable to the laws and interests of the kiugdom ; but the brother of Bakb\vin, by tlie haughtiness of his deportment, had made himself many enemies among the people, the clergy, and the army, lie was reproached with an ambition and an avarice fatal to the interests of the Christians ; and he was accused of not being restrained by honour, justice, or even the precepts of religion,t in the execution of his projects. His partisans extolled his active and enterprisiug character, his bravery so often proved, and his great skill in war. Among the nobles of the kingdom who opposed his succes- sion, and attributed to him ambitious views much to be dreaded, were several who themselves nourished aspiring projects, and allowed themselves to be seduced by the hope of ascending the throne. The conflicting parties were on the point of taking up arms to sustain their pretensions or their hopes, when the grand master of the Hospi- tallers exhorted the barons and knights to preserve the peace and the laws of the kiugdom by crowning young Amaury. " The cro^\'n," said he to them, " which you refuse to place upon the head of a Christian prince will soon be upon that of JVoureddin or of the caliph of Egypt. It this misfortune should happen, you will become the slaves * Robert of the Mount. ^ t William of Tyre says that he was once much scandalized by a ques- tion Amaury put to him concerning the next woild. 380 HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES. of the infidek, and the world will accuse you of having opened the gates of the holy city to the Saracens, as the traitor Judas gave up the Saviour of the world into the hands of his enemies." This speech, and the sight of the troops which Amaurv had already collected to defend his rio-hts, disarmed the factions which disturbed the kingdom. The brother of Baldwin was crowned in the Holy Sepulchre, and received the oaths of allegiance of those even who had openly declared themselves opposed to his claims. Assoon as Amaury had ascended the throne, he directed all his energies towards Eg\'pt, now weakened by the vic- tories of the Christians. The caliph of Cairo having refused to pay the tribute due to the conquerors of Ascalon, the new king of Jerusalem placed himself at the head of his army, traversed the desert, carried the terror of his arms to the banks of the Xile, and only returned to his kingdom when he had forced the Eg^-ptians to puix-hase peace. The state in which Egypt was then placed was likely soon to recall the Christian's thither ; and happy would it have been for them if they had known how to profit by their advan- tages ; and if their fruitless attempts had not served to favoiu* the progress of a rival power. Eg^-pt was at that time the theatre of a civil war, occa- sioned by the ambition of two leaders who disputed the empire of it. Eor a length of time the caliphs of Cairo, like those of Bagdad, shut up in their seraglio, had borne no resemblance to the warrior from whom they derived their origin, who had said, whilst pointing to his soldiers and his sword, " These are my family and my race.'^ Eners'ated by effeminacy and pleasures, they had abandoned the govern- ment to their slaves, who adored them on their knees, and imposed laws upon them. They no longer exercised any real authority but in the mosques, and only preserved the disgraceful privilege of confirming the usurped power of the viziers, who corrupted the armies, disturbed the provinces, and in the field of battle quarrelled with each other for the right of reigning over both people and prince. Each of the viziers, to secm-e the triumph of his cause, called in by turns the arms of the neighboiu-ing powers. On the arrival of these dangerous auxiliaries, all was in con- fusion on the banks of the Xile. Blood flowed in all the HISTOEY or THE CRUSADES. 387 provinces, sometimes slied by the executioners, sometimes by the soldiers ; Egypt Avas at once desolated by its enemies, its allies, and its inhabitants. Chaver, ^vho, amidst these revolutions, had raised himself from the humble condition of a slave to the post of vizier, had been conquered and displaced by Dargan, one of the principal officers of the Egyptian mihtia. Obliged to fly and abandon Egypt, where his rival reigned, he went to seek an asylum at Damascus, imploring the assistance of Noured- din, and promisiug a considerable tribute if that prince would furnish him with troops to protect his return into Egypt. The sultan of Damascus yielded to the prayers of Chaver. To command the army which he resolved to send into Eg;v'pt, he selected Chirkou, the most skilful of his emirs, who having always shown himself cruel and implaca- ble in his military expeditions, was likely to be without pity for the vanquished, and to take all advantage of the miseries of a civil war, for the benefit of his master. The vizier Dargan was not long in being warned of the projects of Chaver and the preparations of Noureddin. To resist the storm about to burst upon him, he implored the aid of the Christians of Palestine, and promised to give up his trea- sures to them if they succeeded in preserving his power. AVliilst the king of Jerusalem, seduced by this promise, was collecting an army, Chaver, accompanied by the troops of jN'oureddin, crossed the desert, and approached the banks of the Nile. Dargan, who came out to meet him with the Egyptian army, was conquered by the Syrians, and lost his life in the battle. The city of Cairo soon opened its gates to the conqueror. Chaver,* whom the victory had delivered * Among the Arabian authors who give the greatest number of details of the conquest of Egypt, the continuator of Tabari deserves remark ; Chehabeddin, son of Mohammed, the author of the Roudatins (the two gardens or lives of Noureddin and Salaheddin), is also very explicit upon this war between the Christians and the Mussulmans. Moudjireddin, in his History of Jerusalem, says a few words of the conquest of Egypt by Chirkou. Aboulmahason speaks also of the conquest of Egypt by the Turks. When speaking of the influence the Franks exercised at Cairo, he says they had a particular quarter of the city, and a market which Chaver had had built for them. Kemaleddin, in his History of Aleppo, relates these events with his usual clearness. This author agrees with Tabari. Ibu-elatir, in his History of the Attabeks, says but a very few 18* 388 UlSTOST OF THE CRUSADES. from "his enemy, shed torrents of blood in the capital to in- sure his triumph, received amid the general consternation the congratulations of the caliph, and resumed the reins of government. It was not long, however, before di\-isions arose between the general of Noureddin, who daily placed a more excessive price on his services, and the vizier, whom Chirkou accused of perfidv and ingratitude. Chaver desired in vain to send the Mussulmans back into Syria ; they replied to him only bv threats, and he was on the point of being besieged in Cairo by his own deliverers. All the Egyptians, particularly the people of the capital, were seized with trouble and con- sternation. In the midst of so pressing a danger, the vizier Chaver placed his only hope in the Christian warriors, whose ap- proach he had not long since so much dreaded. He made the king of Jerusalem the same promises that he had offered to Noureddiu ; and Amaury, who only wanted to enter Egvpt, whatever might be the party that prevailed there, set out upon his march to defend Chaver with the very same army he had collected to fight against him. "When arrived on the banks of the Xile, he united his troops ^ith those of the \-izier, and thev sat down before the city of Bilbeis, into which Chirkou had retired. Xoureddin's general resisted during three months all the attacks of the Christians and Egvptians ; and when the king of Jerusalem proposed peace to him, he demanded payment of the expenses of the war. After some negotiations, in which he displayed great haugh- tiness, he marched out of Bilbeis still threatening the Chris- tians, and led back his army to Damascus, loaded with the spoils of his enemies. Chirkou had beheld the riches of Egypt, and become acquainted with the weakness of its government ; the first words about the conquest of Egypt ; he agrees with the continuator of Tabari and Keraaleddin. Dzeraaleddin, in his History of Egypt, is also very brief on this important event. Macrizi, in his Kitab-alsoloueJc Timaresch Doiial Almoulouek (Institution on the Knowledge of the Dynasties of Kings), only speaks with brevity of these events. Amongst the Latin authors who have spoken of the conquest of Egypt, we princi- pally quote William of Tyre, and the Latin history of the latter years of the kingdom of Jerusalem, which is met with in the Collection of Bongars. IITSTORT OF THE CRUSADES. 389 advice he offered to iN oureddiu, after his arrival, therefore, v,as to endeavour to unite this rich country to his own empire. The sultan of Syria sent ambassadors to the caliph of Bagdad, not to ask aid of him, but to give a religious colour to his enterprise. During several centuries, the caliphs of Bagdad and Cairo had been divided by an impla- cable hatred ; each of them boasting of being the vicar of the Prophet, and considering his rival as the enemy of God. In the mosques of Bagdad, they cursed the caliphs of Egypt and their sectarians ; in those of Cairo, they devoted to the infernal powers, the Abassides and their partisans. The caliph of Bagdad did not hesitate to comply with the wishes of Koureddin. AVhilst the sultan of Syria was solely occupied by his endeavours to extend his empire, the ^dcar of the Prophet was only ambitious to preside alone over the Mussulman religion. He commanded the Imans to preach a war against the Fatimites, and promised the delights of Paradise to all who shoidd take up arms in the holy expedi- tion. At the call of the caliph, a great number of faithful Mussulmans flocked to the standard of Xoureddin, and Chirkou, by the order of the sultan, prepared to return into Egypt, at the head of a powerful army. The fame of these preparations spread throughout the East, particularly in Egypt, where it created the most seri- ous alarms. Amauiy, who had returned to his own states, received ambassadors from Chaver, soliciting his help and aUiance against the enterprise of Noureddin. The states of the kingdom of Jerusalem were assembled at Kaplouse, and the king there exposed to them the advantages of another expedition into Egypt. An impost was levied to carry on a war from w'hich the greatest hopes were entertained, and the Christian armv soon set out from Graza to fight with the troops of Xoureddin on the banks of the Nile. In the mean time Chu'kou was crossinix the desert, where he encountered the greatest dangers. A \dolent tempest surprised him on his march ; all at once the heavens were darkened, and the earth, which was strewed with the pros- trate Syrians, became like a stormy sea. Immense waves of sand were lifted by the winds, and rising into whirlwinds or forming moving moimtains, scattered, bore away, or swal- lowed up men and horses. In this tempest the Syrian ByO nisTOEY or the CErsADES. army abandoned its baggage and lost its provisions and arms, and when Chirkou arrived on tlie banks of the Xile, lie had no means of defence left except the remembrance of his former victories. He took great care to conceal the losses he had experienced, and the wTeck of an army dispersed bv a fearful tempest proved sufficient to throw all the cities of Egypt into consternation. The vizier Chaver, frightened at the approach of the Syrians, sent ambassadors to the Christians, to promise them immense riches, and press them to hasten their march. On his side, the king of Jerusalem deputed to the caliph of Egypt, Hugh of Csesarea, and Foulcher, a knight of the Temple, to obtain the ratification of the treaty of alliance with the Egyptians. Amam-y's deputies were introduced into a palace in which no Christian had ever before been admitted. After haA-ing traversed several corridors filled with Moorish guards, and a vast number of apartments and courts in which glittered all the splendour of the East, they arrived in a hall, or rather a sanctuary, where the caliph awaited them, seated on a throne shining with gold and pre- cious stones. Chaver, who conducted them, prostrated him- self at the feet of his master, and supplicated him to accept the treaty of alliance with the kino^ of Jerusalem. The prayer of the vizier was an imperious order, and the com- mander of the faitliful, always docile to the will of the lowest of his slaves, made a sign of approbation, and stretched his uncovered hand out to the Christian deputies in presence of the officers of his court, whom so strange a spectacle filled with grief and surprise. The army of the Franks was close to Cairo ; but as the policy of Amaiuy was to lengthen the war, in order to pro- long his stay in Egypt, he neglected opportunities of attacking the Syrians with advantagfe, and graye them time to recruit their strength. After having: left them a long time in repose, he gave them battle in the isle of Maalle, and forced their intrenchments, but did not follow up his -victory. Chii'kou, in his retreat, endeavoured to reanimate the depressed courage of the soldiers of Xoui-eddin, the latter not haviag yet for- gotten the evils they had encountered in the passage over the desert. This calamity, still recent, together with the first victory of the Christians, destroyed the confidence thev had HISTORY or TUE CliUSADES. 391 in their arms and tlie protection of tlie Prophet. One of the lieutenants of Chirkou, upon \Yitnessing their gloomy rage, cried out in the midst of the Mussulman army : " Toa who fear death or slavery, return into Syria; go and tell jSToureddin that to repay him for the benefits with which he has loaded you, you abandon Egypt to the infidels, in order to shut yourselves up in your seraglios with women and children," These words reanimated the zeal and fanaticism of the Syrian warriors. The Franks and the Egyptians who pur- sued the army of Chirkou, were conquered in a battle, and forced to abandon in disorder the hills of Baben,* where they had pitched their tents. The general of Noureddin took all possible advantage of his victory ; he passed as a conqueror along the fertile banks of the Nile ; penetrated, without encountering an obstacle, into lower Egypt ; placed a garrison in Alexandria ; and returned to lay siege to the city of Koutz, the capital of the Thebais. The ability with Avhich Chirkou had disciplined his army, and planned the last battle he had fought with his enemies ; his marches and his counter-marches in the plains and valleys of Egypt, from the tropic to the sea, announced the progress of the Mus- sulmans in military tactics, and w^arned the Christians be- forehand of the enemy that was destined to put an end to their victories and conquests. The Turks defended themselves during several months in Alexandria, against the seditions of the inhabitants and the numerous assaults of the Christians. They at length ob- tained an honourable capitulation, and as tlieir army Avas becoming weaker every day by famine and fatigue, they re- tired a second time to Damascus, after exacting very dear payment for the transient tranquillity in which they left the people of Egypt. A^fter the retreat of the Syrians, the vizier Chaver has- tened to send back the Christians, whose presence made him very uneasy. Tie engaged to pay the king of Jerusalem an annual tribute of a hundred thousand crowns in gold, and consented to receive a garrison in Cairo. He loaded the barons and knights with rich presents, and the soldiers even * Near the castle of Toura, two leagvxes from Cairo, opposite ancient Memphis. 392 UISTOUT OF THE CRUSADES. bad a sliare in liis bounties, proportionate to the fear tbe Franks inspired bim with. The Christian warriors returned to Jerusalem, bearing with them riches which dazzled both people and nobles, and inspii^ed them witli other thoughts than that of defending the heritage of Chi'ist. As Amaury returned to his capital, the sight of his moun- tainous and 'sterile provinces, the poverty of his subjects, and the narrow limits of his kingdom, made him deeply re- gret having missed the opportunity of conquering a great empire. Soon after his return he married a niece of the emperor flannel ; but whilst the people and his court gave themselves up to joy, and put up vows for the prosperity of his familv and his kingdom, one single thought occupied him night and day, and haunted him even amongst the most sump- tuous and brilliant festi\ities. The riches of the caliph of Cairo, the populousness and fertility of Egypt, its numerous fleets, and the commodiousness of its ports, presented them- selves constantly to the mind of Amaury. His first endeavour was to make the marriage he had just contracted subservient to his projects, and he sent ambassadors to Constantinople, with instructions to induce Manuel to assist him in the conquest of Egypt. Manuel approved of the plans of the king of Jerusalem, and promised to send him fleets and share with him the glory and perils of a conquest which must so deeply interest the Christian world. Then Amaury hesitated no longer to declare his designs, and called toge- ther the barons and principal people of his kingdom. In this assembly, in which it was proposed to invade Egypt, the wisest, among whom was the grand master of the Templars, declared loudly and decidedly that the undertaking was unjust. '• The Christians," said they, ''ought not to set the Mussuhnans the example of violating treaties. It perhaps would not be a difficult matter to obtain possession of Egypt, but it would not be so easy to keep it as to conquer it. Xoureddin was the most formidable enemy of the Chris- tians : it was asrainst him they should bring all the imited forces of the kingdom to bear. Egypt must belong to the power that should remain ruler of Svria, and it was not pru- dent or wise to endeavour to anticipate the favoiu-s of for- tune, and send armies into a country of which they should only open the gates to the son of Zengui, as they had done HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES. 893 in tlie instance of Damascus. They would sacrifice Christian cities, Jerusalem itself, to the hope of conquering a kingdom. Noureddin had alread}^ taken ad\^antage of the king of Jeru- salem's being engaged on the banks of the Mle, to get pos- session of several places Avhich belonged to the Christians. Bohemond prince of Antioch, ani Raymond count of Tripoli, had been made prisoners of war, and groaned in the chains of the Mussulmans, as victims of an ambition which had seduced the king of Jerusalem far from his Idngdom and the Christian colonies of which he ought to be the support and defender." The knights and barons who expressed themselves thus, added that the sight alone of Egypt would not fail to cor- rupt the Christian warriors, and enervate the courage and jsubdue the patriotism of the inhabitants and defenders of Palestine. These opinions, however prudent and just, had no effect upon the king of Jerusalem and the partisans of the war, among whom was conspicuous the grand master of the Hospitallers, who had exhausted the riches of his order by extravagant expenses, and had raised troops for whose pay he had assigned the treasures of Egypt. The greater part of the lords and knights, to whom fortune seemed to be waiting on the banks of the Nile in order to bestow upon them her favours, suffered themselves to be easily persuaded to the war, and found it very convenient to consider as an enemy the sovereign of a country which held out so rich a booty to them. AVhilst these preparations for the conquest of Egypt were in agitation in Jerusalem, the same projects occupied the emirs and the council of jSToureddin. Onhis return from the banks of the Nile, Chirkou had announced to the sultan of Damascus, " that the government of Cairo wanted both officers and sol- diers ; and that revolutions, the cupidity of the Pranks, and the presence of the Syrians, had weakened and ruined the empire of the Patimites. The Egyptian people," added he, " accustomed to change masters, Mere neither attached to the caliph, whom they did not know, nor to the vizier, who brought upon them all sorts of calamities. They were ready to sub- mit to the domination of a prince who should be powerful enough to protect them against both their enemies and the scourge of ci\Tl wars. The Christians were likewise aware how feeble this empire was, and it was to be dreaded that 39^ niSTOHY OF THE CHrSADES. they would "be the first. Sucli a f\ivoiira"ble opportunity should not be neglected, or a conquest despised "which for- tune appeared to oifer to the first power that should make its appearance in Egypt." Thus the kins: of Jerusalem and the sultan of Damascus entertained the same \'iews, and both made preparations for the same conquest. In the chiu'ches of the Christians, as in the mosques of the Mussulmans, prayers were put up for the success of a war about to be carried on on the banks of the ^ile. As each of the two parties sought to give the best colour to their projects and proceedings, at Damascus it was asserted that the caliph of Esypt had made an impious alliance with the disciples of Christ, whilst at Jerusalem it was asserted that the ^-izier Chaver, in defiance of treaties, kept up a perfidious correspondence with Xom-eddin. The Chi^istians were the first to violate theii' treaties. Amaury set out at the head of a numerous army, and ap- peared in the character of an enemy before Belbeis, which place he had promised to the knights of St. John, as a re- ward for the ardour and zeal they had shown for his expedi- tion. This city, situated on the right bank of the Nile, was besieged, taken by assault, and after being pillaged, consigned to the flames. The misfortunes of Belbeis spread consternation through- out Egypt, and the people, imtated at the account of the cruelties practised by the Pranks, took up arms and drove the Christian garrison out of Cairo. Chaver assembled troops in the pro^^.nces, fortified the capital, and set fire to the ancient city of Eostat, which burnt for more than six weeks. The caliph of Cairo again implored the assistance of Xoureddin, and to excite his pity and prove his distress, he sent him in a letter the hair of the women of his seraglio. The sultan of Damascus attended with joy to the prayers of the caliph of Egypt, and as an army was ready to march, he gave orders to Chirkou to cross the aesert and hasten to the banks of the Xile. ^Vhilst the Syrians were coming to the aid of Egypt, thi'eatened bv the Christians. Chaver emploved even' means in his power to stop the king of Jerusalem in his march, and suspend in his hands the thunderbolt ready to fall upoo IIISTOET OF THE CRUSADES. 395 Egypt. Ambassadors were sent to implore the pity of Amaury, and to give some \Yeight to their prayers, offered him two millions of crowns of gold. The offer of so enor- mous a sum, which Egypt, for so long a time devastated, could not possibly have furnished, seduced the king of the Christians, who was as much inlluenced by a love of gold as an ambition for conquests. He allowed himself to be thus deceived by the Mussulmans, to whom he himself had been wanting in faith ; and whilst he was waiting for the treasures they had promised him, the Egyptians restored the fortifi- cations of their cities, and assembled everywhere in arms. The Christians looked in vain for the fleets promised by Manuel, and soon, instead of welcoming auxiliaries, they learnt that Chirkou had arrived for the third time in Egypt at the head of a fonnidable army. Then Amaury opened his eyes, and set about repairing his error. He flew to meet the Syrians, and ofler them battle ; but their general avoided the encounter, and united his forces Avith those of the Egyptians. Tlie evil was irreparable ; the king of Jeru- salem could not resist the two united armies, and ashamed of being deceived by those whom he had himself sought to deceive, he retui'ned to his kingdom, and was pursued to the verge of the desert by the troops of JN^oureddiu. Before the enterprise, hopes of success had dazzled the minds of all; but when it had failed, they, as generally, perceived the injustice of it. The Christians all became aware of the evils with which Jerusalem was menaced, and reproached Amaury with not being able to preserve peace, or knowing how to make war. In the mean time Noured- din's general entered the capital of Egypt in triumph. Chirkou hoisted his standard on the towers of Cairo, and Egypt, which thought it had received a liberator into its bosom, soon found that he was a master. Chaver paid with his life the evils he had inflicted upon his country ; he was killed in the camp of Chirkou, and his authority became the reward of the conqueror. The caliph, who, in order to save himself, had demanded the head of his first minister, appointed the general of Noureddin as his successor, styling him in his letters, the victorious i^ince. It was thus that the degraded monarch of Egypt jested with his own favours 890 HISTOET OF THE CEUSADES. by flattering a man he did not know, and for whose death he was, most likely, desirous ; an image of blind fortune, who scatters at hazard good and evil, and views her favourites and her m-tims with equal indiiference. Some time after, the caliph of Cairo, always invisible in his palace, was deposed by the orders of Xoureddin, and died peaceably without kno^^ing that he had lost his empire. His treasiu-es served to appease the murmurs of the people and the soldiery ; the black flag of the Abassides displaced the green standard of the children of Ali, and the name of the caliph of Bagdad was heard of only in the mosques. The dvnasty of the Fatimites, which reigned more than two centuries, and for which so much blood had been shed, was extiugfuished in a sinorle dav, and found not even one de- fender. From that time the Mussulmans had onl_y one religion and one cause to defend ; Egypt and Syria obeyed the same chief, and the richest provinces of the East were imited under the powerful hand of jS'oureddin. The sultan of Aleppo and Damascus had spread, the terror of his arms from the banks of the Euphrates and the IHgris to the soiu'ces of the Xile ; he had everywhere governors and armies ; and posts of pigeons, which he had established, carried at the same time his orders into the principal cities of Egypt, Syria, and Mesopotamia. The justice of his laws and his victories over the Christians had created for him such a reputation for sanctitj^ among the Mussulmans, that a shower of rain which fell in the midst of a drought, was considered by them as a miracle granted to his prayers. Dui^ing the war of Egypt he had taken several fortresses belono-ins: to the Franks : and the destruction of the Chris- tian colonies was still the aim of all his labours and all his exploits. Full of confidence in the protection of Mahomet, the devout Xoureddin employed his leisure in constructing, with his own hands, a pulpit, which he meant himself to place in the principal mosque of Jerusalem. The sultan of Damascus was preparing to commence what the Mussulmans called a sacred war, and for the success of which public prayers had been ofi"ered up ; but this glory was reserved for a young ^^arrior brought up in armies, whose name was yet unkno^vn in the East. HISTORY OF TUE CRUSADES. 397 Saladin,* this young warrior, was sprung from the people who inhabit the mountains situated beyond the Tio^ris. His father Ayoub, and his uncle Chirkou, after the example of the warriors of their nation, M'ho fight for pay under JMus- sulman powers, had left Curdistan to serve in the troops of the sultan of Bagdad. They had both attained high mili- tary employments ; but Chirkou, a violent and brutal man, having run through the body with his sword an officer of justice, the two brothers were obliged to take to flight, and came to offer their services to the Attabeks of Syria, whom they assisted in their wars against the Christians. The young Saladin, although he was brought up at the court of Damas- cus, under the eye of an ambitious father, did not at first appear to be eager for either fortune or glory. In his youth he was fond of dissipation and pleasures, and remained a long time a stranger to the cares of politics or the dangers and labours of war. Having followed his uncle Chirkou in his first expeditions to Egypt, he had distinguished himself by the defence of Alexandria ; but he suffered so much, that when JN^oureddin commanded him to return to the banks of the Nile, he sought pretexts to avoid obedience. When the sultan repeated his orders, Saladin set out, as he himself said afterwards, with the despair of a man who is led to death. " Thus it is," says the historian Hamad Eddin, who was for a long time his secretary, " that men know not what they refuse or what they desire ; but God, who knows all things, sports with their designs, which always terminate according to the views of Providence." At the death of Chirkou, the caliph of Egypt, who trem- bled for his power, named Saladin to the post of vizier, because he thought him the least capable, by his talents or * Saladin has had many historians. Among the Arabian authors the most celebrated are Bohaddin, who has written his hfe ; Omad-el-Cathed, secretary of the sultan, and author of the Phatah ; Schahab-Eddin, author of the hves of Noureddin and Saladin, entitled El Revdatahis (or the two gardens). Several particulars relative to the Mussulman hero are to be met with in Aboulfeda, who was of the family of Ayoub, and in several other Arabian writers quoted by D. Bf rthereau. There is a Life of Saladin in French, by Marin. In the Imperial Library [of France — Trans.] two manuscript Lives may likewise be consulted, one by the Abbe Renaudot, and the other by Galland, the translator of the Thousand and One Nights, 398 HISTOKT OF THE CRUSADES. reputation, of usurping the supreme authority. The son of Avoub deceived both the king and the army, who saw in him nothing but a young dissipated soldier, without ambition. Eut he changed his conduct and reformed his manners ; liitherto he had appeared fit only for the idleness and the obsciu'ity of a seraglio ; but, all at once, he came forth a new man, like one born for empire. His gra^-ity inspired the respect of the emirs ; his liberality secured hun the sutfrages of the army : and the austerity oi' his devotion rendered him dear to all true believers. A religious revolution Avhich he brought about without trouble or the effusion of blood, made known his prudence and humanity, and showed that fortune destined him for extraordinary things. The caliph of Bag- dad felicitated him publicly ^yith having annihilated the sect of the Fatimites, and made him a present of a vest of honoiu'. His name was celebrated by the poets, and mLxed with those of Mahomet and Xoui-eddin in the pubhc prayers. Saladin, master of Egypt, sent for his father Ayoub, and Avished to associate him vdih himself in the government. When Ayoub arrived at Cairo with all his family, he was compared to Jacob, and Saladin to the patriarch Joseph, whose name he bore. Aided by the counsels of his father, Saladin stilled all plots de\dsed against him, and restrained the ambition and jealousy of the emirs. In a council in which his son had spoken too openly of his projects, Ayoub, brought up among the intrigues of the comets of Asia, exclaimed ^dth vehemence against all traitors, and swore he would cut olf the head of even Saladin himself, if he received orders from the sultan of Damascus to do so. "WTien left alone with his son, he reproached him with his indiscretion and imprudence. " I have spoken against you," added he, " before your rivals and enemies ; but know that if Noureddin should come to attack you, I would be the first to take arms ; if he required only the tribute of a sugar-cane from us, he should not obtain it of me." According to the advice of Ayoub, Saladin spoke only of his perfect submission to the commands of his master, and took honour to himself as being the lowest of the slaves of jS"oureddin, to whom he sent deputies and presents ; but he could not destroy all his suspicions. Xoureddin had determined upon going into Egypt himself, when death surprised liim, and delivered HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 399 Saladiii from the uneasiness which a jealous and vindictive master naturally inspired. At the death of Noureddiu, the empire founded b_y the Attabeks declined towards its rain. The sultan of the Attabeks only left a child to succeed him, the emirs abeady began to quarrel for the divisions of his power, and Syria was about to return to the chaos into which the fall of the Seljoucides had plunged it. The Mussulman nations, ter- rified at the evils before them, eagerly sought the yoke of Saladin, and recognised with joy for their master a warrior who was the only person capable of defending their religion or their dominions. Saladin inherited not only the power of JNToiu-eddin, but was anxious to follow up the projects of his predecessor, and nothing pleased his ambition more than the idea of pursuing the war against the Christians. Amaury, instead of taking advantage of the troubles of Syria, was desirous of resuming his projects against Egypt ; and requesting the aid of the emperor of Constantinople, the latter sent him a fleet and some troops. The Christians laid siege to Damietta ; but the eternal divisions between the G-reeks and Latins prevented the success of the enterprise. Amaiury, entertaining still the hope of succeeding in his designs, sent ambassadors into Europe, thinking that the prospect of the conquest of Egypt would arm the knights of the West. As the deputies of Amaury returned without obtaining aid, he himself repaired to Constantinople to solicit fresh succours. He was received with magnificence ; and great promises were made him ; but he died wdthout seeino: them realized. Thus King Amaurv, during the whole of his reign, had but one single thought, for which he exhausted all the resources of his kingdom. The obstinacy which he evinced for the execution of an unfortunate pro- ject, advanced the progress of the Mussulmans, and must have recalled to the Christians of the West the words which the prophets repeated to the Hebrews, — " Children of Israel, direct neither your looks nor your steps towards JEgyptr Amauiy, at his death, left a distressed kingdom, and as the governor of its states a son, thii'teen years of age, sick and covered with leprosy. Ba^nnond, count of Tripoli, and Milo de Plansy, lord of Carac and Montroyal, disputed the 400 HISTOKT OF THE CEUSADES. reofencv durins: the minoritr of Youn^ Baldwiu. MlIo, by liis intrigues, obtained the suffrages of the barons, but was found, a short time after, pierced with several wounds in- flicted by a sword, in one of the streets of Ptolemais : Eavmond succeeded his rival, with whose death all Palestine accused him. The father of the count of Tripoli had been killed by the Ismaehans. and he himself had remained eio:ht vears in the chains of the infidels. The fourth in descent from the famous count de St. Gilles, he possessed the bravery, the activitv, and the ambition of the hero from whom he drew his origin ; but with them, that obstinacv of character, which, in difficult times, irritates the passions and provokes im- placable hatreds. More impatient to reign over the Chris- tians than to conquer the infidels, Uaymond considered the right of commaDding men as the onlv reward of the evils he had suffered ; he demanded with haughtiness the recompense of his services and his long toils, and conceived that justice would triumph, and the safety of the kingdom be preserved, solely by his elevation. If, amidst the disorders which continually agitated the Christian states, the new regent had had sufficient authority to direct the policy of the Franks, and make peace or war at his will, history might justly accuse him of having favoured the power of Saladin, and of having prepared the downfall of the kingdom of Jerusalem. After the death of iS^oiu'ed- din, the son of Avoub had had to contend with the family -^ ft ft of his old master, the emirs faithfid to the d^Tiasty of the ' ft' ••' Attabeks, and aU who wished to profit by the troubles of Svria, and erect independent states for themselves. Prudence commanded the Christians to foment the discord which pre- vailed among the Saracens, and to ally themselves with even- party which was opposed to Saladin. Instead of following this wholesome policy, and stiiTing up war in S^Tia, they determined upon renewmg Amaury's unfortunate attempts upon Egypt. A Sicihan fleet having arrived in Palestine, aided by the Sicilians, the Christians laid siege to Alexan- ft •' o dria, where aR sorts of miseries combined to destroy their army. Prequently-repeated reverses conveyed no instruc- tion to the Pranks of the proper manner to make war with Saladin. As they were returning from their imprudent and niSTOIir OF TUE CKUSADES. 401 unfortunate expedition, the Mussulman governor of the city of Emessa, then besieged by the new sultan of Damascus, solicited their alliance and support. The Christian warriors, after having placed a price upon their services which it was impossible the governor could pay, entered upon a campaign without an object, threatening those they pretended to defend, and ravaging at the same time the territories of their allies and their enemies. Nevertheless, their presence in Syria, and their transient alliance with the Mussulman princes, alarmed Saladin, who was making war against the son of Noureddin, shut up in the city of Aleppo. The sidtan, resolving to keep them at a distance from the theatre of his conquests, made their leaders brilliant promises and rich presents, and soon succeeded in obtaining a truce, of which he took advantage to strengthen his power and extend the limits of his empu-e. The Pranks returned to Jerusalem, satisfied with having compelled Saladin to ask for peace. After having impru- dently consented to a truce, they committed n second fault, which was to violate the treaty they had just signed, and that not to imdertake an important enterprise, but to make an incursion into the territories of Damascus. They rai^aged the country, and pillaged the towns and villages that they found without defence, whilst Saladin continued making use- ful conquests in Syria, and rendering himself sufficiently powerful to punish them for the infraction of their engage- ments. The sultan of Cairo and Damascus soon assembled a for- midable army and advanced towards Palestine. The whole country was in flames through which the Saracens passed ; at their approach the Christians abandoned the cities and towns to take refuge in mountains and caverns. Baldwin IV., who had recently assumed the reins of government, placed himself at the head of the Franks ; but fearing to mea- sure himself with Saladin, he shut himself up in Ascalon, whence he contemplated with consternation his desolated provinces. Everything appeared to presage the approaching fall of the kingdom, and Saladin was already distributing its cities among his emirs, when. Providence, which at length took pity on the situation of the Christians, offered them an 4:02 IIISTOEY OF THE CETJSADEg. opportunity of repairing their misfortunes. The menaces ot Saladin and the sight of the ravages he was committing exasperated the Christian soldiers. Baldwin led forth his army from Ascalon, and surprised the Mussulmans in the very same plains whereon Godfrey and the leaders of the first crusade gained their celebrated \T.ctory over the Egypt- ians. Saladin could not resist the impetuosity of their attack, and lost the battle after having defended himself valiantly in the midst of his Mamelukes, a new military force, which he had himself formed, and by which he was always surrounded in time of danger. Saladin saw all his army perish in this disastrous battle, which was never effaced from his memory, and which, as he said in a letter, " made the star of the family of Ayoub to pale." Mounted on a camel, and followed by a few officers, Saladin experienced the greatest daugers in his flijiht across the desert, and returned almost alone to Egypt, whence he had so recently set out at the head of a formidable army. And yet the Christians did not reap much advantage from then victory ; they laid siege in vain to the cities of Hemessa and Harem, whilst Saladin soon got together fresh troops in 'Egvpt, and returned to threaten the kingdom of Jerusalem. The \'ictory of Ascalon elated the Christians, and made them rash ; Saladin, on the contrary, rendered more cautious by defeat, took advantage of every false step of his enemies, planned ambuscades, employed all the stratagems of war, and several times surprised and beat them on the banks of the Jordan, and in the vicinity of Paneas. Baldwin, who was very near falling into the hands of the Saracens, col- lected all the forces that were left in his dominions ; but he could obtain no advantage over Saladin, and was obhged to sue for peace, which the state of his kingdom and his own infirmities rendered every day more necessary. The leprosy by which he was attacked made alarming pro- gress ; he lost his sight, and was no longer able to undertake the cares of government. As he mistrusted most of the barons and leading men of his kingdom, he offered the government to Philip, count of Elanders, who was come into Asia to combat the infidels ; but Philip preferred making war upon the Mussulmans to governing the Christians of Palestine. HISTOET OF THE CEUSADES. 403 The count of Tripoli was pointed out by the opinion of both the people and the nobles, as the only person capable of governing ; but the suffrages of the people only augmented the suspicions of Baldwin, who had long dreaded the ambi- tion of Raymond. Obliged to abandon a throne, the weak monarch trembled at the idea of placing on it a man who might soon make him forgotten ; and he chose in preference a knight without name or glory, whose only title arose from his having espoused Sibylla, daughter of King Amaury, and widow of the marquis of Montferrat, surnamed Long Sword. Guy of Lusignan did not justify the choice of Baldwin by his conduct, and disgusted every one by the excess of his pride. In this state of things, the interests of the Christian colonies required that the truce made with the Mussulmans should be strictly observed ; but such was then the destiny of the kingdom of Jerusalem, that nobody had sufficient power or ascendancy to maintain peace, whilst the meanest of the barons or knights could, at his w^ill, provoke war. The rashness and imprudence of one man again brought dow^n upon Palestine the whole force of Saladin. Old chronicles have related the romantic adventures and extraordinarv fortune of Eenaud de Chatillon. Born at Chatillon-sur-Indre, of obscure parents, he followed the army of Louis the Young into Asia, and enrolled himself in the troops of Raymond of Poictiers, prince of Antioch. Ray- mond having lost his life in battle, his widow Constance was solicited to select a new husband, who might be associated with her in the government. This princess passed by the most illustrious nobles and knights, for she had remarked the personal beauty and chivalric bravery of Renaud de Chatillon, and would accept of no other husband. By this marriage, w^hich, according to "William of Tyre, filled the Christian barons with surprise, she all at once raised a young obscure man to the throne of Antioch. Although Renaud de Chatillon had obtained the love of Constance, he could not conciHate the confidence and esteem of his new subjects. A formidable party was formed against him, at the head of which was the patriarch Amaury. Renaud, full of vexation and anger, cast into prison all who were opposed to him. By his orders the patriarch was led to the top of one of the towers of the citadel, and, with his bare Vol. L— 19 404 iiisTOiiY or TILE ciirsjLDEa. head rubbed vrith houey, left, in the heat of summer, during a whole day exposed to flies and insects.* Eenaud de Cha- tillon, after ha^ing tilled the city of Ascalon with terror and mourning, was desirous of signalizing his reign by some warlike enterprise. Become the leader of an army in which he had been a soldier, he began by making war against the emperor of Constantinople, and armed several vessels, with which he ravaged the isle of C}~prus. The Greek emperor hastened to avenge the insult, and was soon with an army encamped within sight of Ascalon. Eenaud not being mas- ter of a sufficient force with which to defend himself, had recourse to baseness to disarm the anger of his enemy, and came, with a cord round his neck, and torn vestments, to lay his sword at the feet of the emperor, who granted him peace. TV^hen the Greeks had resumed their way to Constantinople, Henaud tamed his arms against the Saracens. He at once put to flight the army of Xoureddin, who had advanced to- wards the territor}' of Antioch ; but, led away by thirst for booty, he fell into an ambuscade, was made prisoner and conducted to Aleppo, where the Mussulmans detained him many years. At last some of his ancient companions suc- ceeded in breaking his chains, and what is not unworthy of remark, the produce of the booty made in an incursion on the territories of Damascus was the price of his liberty. When Henaud de Chatillon issued from his captivity, his wife Constance was no longer hving, and the son of Eay- mond, arrived at tlie age of maturity, governed the pruici- pality of Antioch, Eenaud repaired to Jerusalem, where the remembrance of his exploits and misfortunes, suffered in the cause of the Christians, secured him a welcome from the king and the barons. Having, m a second marriage, espoused the widow of Homfrey de Thourou, he became lord of Carac, and some castles situated on the confixies of Arabia and Palestine. Eenaud led into these cities and fortresses a great number of Templars, whom he associated with his fortunes. He had just established himself there, and had already begun to ravage the frontiers of Arabia, when the * This was a common punishment in the East. In the Persian " boai- death,^' as described by Plutarch, the criminal was nailed down in a boat, leaving only his head bare ; — thus smeared, exposed, and left t« AW. — Trajis. HISTORY OF TUE CKUSADES. 405 truce was concluded T^-ith Saladin. Kotliiug could induce Henaud de Chatillon to lay down liis arms ; every day he made fresh forays in the neighbourhood of Carac, and plun- dered the caravans of the Mussulman pilgrims on their vraj to Mecca. Heedless of the rights of nations or humanity, he imprisoned women and children, and massacred unarmed men. Saladin complained to Baldwin of these infractions of treaties ; but it was not in the power of the king of Jerusa- lem to give him the satisfaction he demanded. The sultan, irritated by the conduct of the Franks, seized fifteen hun- dred pilgrims, who were cast upon the shores of Egypt by a tempest, and threatened to detain them unless the Mus- sulman prisoners were promptly set at liberty. Neither the demands of Saladin, nor the prayers of Baldwin, nor even the fate of the Christian captives, had the least effect upon Eenaud de Chatillon and the Templars, so long accustomed to sport with all treaties made with the Mussulmans. Thereupon Saladin again determined upon war, and set out a third time from the banks of the Nile, to enter Pales- tine at the head of an army. At the approach of danger, the Christians united their efforts to stop the progress of the Saracens. An assembly, formed of all classes of citizens, ordered a general contribution to be levied, the produce of which was employed in repairing the fortifications of the castles and cities, whilst all the barons and knights flew to arms. But the time was not yet come in which Saladin should invade the kingdom of Jerusalem. In each of his expeditions he appeared to try the strength of the Christians, and when he met with strong resistance, waited patiently for a more favourable moment. After having ravaged Gali- lee by his lieutenants, and commenced the siege of Berouth, he suddenly drew off his forces to go and make war upon the Attabeks, who were masters of Mossoul and several cities of Mesopotamia. The Christians took no other advantage of his absence but to renew their incursions upon the territory of Damas- cus. Eenaud de Chatillon made several expeditions to the shores of the Bed Sea, and even conceived the daring pro- ject of going to the cities of Mecca and Medina, and plun- dering the Kaaba and the tomb of the Prophet. A troop of 406 HISTOET OF THE CRUSADES. intrepid warriors set foi-ward on their marcli under his orders ; they surprised the Egyptian merchants who were bearing back the treasures of India, by way ot the Bed Sea ; and, preceded by terror, advanced in triumph, into a country which had never before seen the Christians. Eenaud and his companions had already reached the valley of Kabid, situated ten leagues from Medina, when they were surprised and attacked by a Mussulman army, which had been hastily despatched from Syria. After an obstinate and sanguinary combat, victory favoured the Saracens. Eenaud escaped the pursuit of the conquerors as if by a miracle, and returned with a small number of his troops to the castle of Carac. Some of the prisoners were led into Egypt, where the sen- tence of the cadis condemned them to the death of the lowest criminals. Others were conveyed to Mecca, where their blood was shed with that of the Aictims immolated at the ceremony of the great Ba^-ram.* These horrible executions did not satisfy the vengeance of Saladin. AVhen he heard of the expedition of the Chris- tians, which he considered a frightful sacrilege, his anger knew no bounds, and he swore upon the Koran to revenge the insult offered to the Mussulman religion. The sultan, whom the Christians already styled the scourge of God, re- entered Galilee \^-ith sword and flame, and advanced towards the castle of Carac, constantly repeating the oath he had taken of slaying Eenaud with his own hand. The Mussul- mans would have rendered themselves masters of the castle, but for the bravery of one knight, who alone maintained the drawbridge, and by a glorious death deprived Saladin of this conquest. A Christian army was soon upon the march to repel this attack of the Saracens. Saladin, despairing for the present of wreaking his revenge upon Eenaud, laid waste the lands on the banks of the Jordan, in the very face of the Christian army, which did not dare to attack him. After having several times renewed his attempts upon the fortress of Carac, and given up to the flames Naplouse, Sebosto, and several other cities, he at length consented to a truce, and led back his army into Mesopotamia. * Schahabbedin, Tabari, and Aboulfeda relate this fact at great length. HISTORY or THE CRUSADES. 407 Saladin availed himself of the peace made with the Chris- tians, to dissipate tlie troubles ^Yhich had arisen in his states, and to pursue his conquests in Syria. At each truce he got possession of a city or a province ; he extended his domi- nions, and thus placed under his control countries which became so many the more enemies for the Christians. The Franks, on the contrary, when war was suspended, gave themselves madly up to their internal divisions ; peace with them gave birth to a thousand new factions, and the king- dom then found in its own bosom enemies much more dan- gerous than those against whom they had been at war. The knights and barons, on their retin-n to Jerusalem, accused Gruy de Lusignan of having neglected the opportu- nity for conquering Saladin, and reproached him with having permitted the ravages exercised by the Mussulmans in the richest provinces of Palestine. Baldwin, who had yielded up the royal authority with great regret, listened to the com- plaints of the barons, and hastened to reascend a tottering throne. He undertook to dissolve the marriage with Sibylla, and cited Gruy de Lusignan before the patriarch of Jerusa- lem and the nobles of the kingdom, in order to deprive him of the counties of Ascalon and Jaffa. As Gruy did not ap- pear on the day named, Baldwin, although infirm and blind, repaired to Antioch, and finding the gates shut, struck them several times with his hand without causing them to be opened.* This unfortunate prince caUed upon Heaven to witness this insult, and returned to Jerusalem, swearing to revenge himself upon Gruy de Lusignan. On his side, Guy no longer observed any measures, but took up arms to sus- tain his revolt. In this emergency, Baldwin could find no better means of punishing Gruy than to oppose to him a regent and a new king. By his orders, Baldwin Y., who was five years of age, and born of the first marriage of Sibylla with the son of the marquis de Montferrat, was crowned in the church of the Holy Sepulchre, in the pre- sence of the nobles and the clergy. Eaymond, count of Tripoli, less odious to Baldwin than Gruy, obtained the re- gency and assumed the reins of government. The kii^gdom of Jerusalem, which had proceeded rapidly * I am inclined to think this was a kind of ceremony — the liege lord demanding entrance to the fortress of his vassal. — Trans. 408 nisTOEY or the ceusades. to decay since the reisri of Bald^vin III., became now an object worthy of pity. The stormy passions, almost always inseparable from a feudal government, had long since weak- ened all the springs of authority. The royalty, for whose remains thev were quarrellmg, was nothing but a vain name ; in the mJdst of the factions by which he was surrounded, a king of Jerusalem coidd neither revenge his o^ti injuries, nor those of the Church or of Christ. Want of courage was the only crime he could punish without exciting the murmurs of the barons, because with them cowards found no defenders. Amaury had ignominiously hung twelve Templars, accused of having neglected the defence of a for- tress : but he had not the nower to receive an ambassador sent by the Old Man of the Jlountain, in whom the hope of freeing Inmself from a tribute paid to the grand master of the Templars, had awakened a desire to become a Christian. AVhen the ambassador was assassinated in Jerusalem bv a * Tem.plar, Amaury liad no autliority to bring the murderer to judgment ; deplorable weakness of a king who possesses not the first prerogative of royalty, that of maintaining jus- tice and causing the rights of nations to be respected ! The kingdom was covered A^-ith strong castles, the com- manders of which barely recognised the authority of the king. On the summit of every mountain upon which ap- peared threatening towers, in caverns even, Avhich had been transformed into fortresses, barons commanded as masters, and made peace or war at their pleasure. The military orders, the only support of the state, were divided among themselves, and sometimes shed their blood in quarrels fatal to the cause of the Christians. Discord reigned between the clergy' and the knights of the Temple and St. John ; the military orders were not sub- ject to the jurisdiction of ecclesiastics, and the clerg}', accus- tomed to dictate laws to princes, could not endure the hauijhtv independence of a few warriors. Led awav bv the spirit of discord, the Hospitallers raised edifices in front of the church of the Resurrection, and often drowned the voices of* the priests who celebrated the praises of G-od at the foot of his altars. Som.e of them even ^ent so far as to pureue priests with arrow-shots into the' very church of the Holy Sepidchre. As the only vengeance, the priests gatliered together in bundles the arrov>s that had been shot at them. HISTORY OE THE CRUSADES. 409 and placed them on an elevated spot on the Mount of Olives, that every one might be acquainted with the sacrilege. These quarrels, which were every day renewed, were car- ried before the tribunal of the Holy See, whose decisions frequently only inflamed the minds of the disputants the more. The Church of Home, very far from restoring peace to the Christians of the East, often cast amongst them fresh coals of discord. The schisms which troubled the A¥est, more than once kindled war in the holy places, even upon the tomb of Christ. Concord seldom prevailed long between the inhabitants of Palestine and the European warriors who came into Asia to combat the infidels. The Syrian barons employed the forces of their auxiliaries to carry out their own ambitious views ; and the latter, by their pride and disdain, laid a high price upon their services. Almost always on the arrival of fresh pilgrims, a treaty was violated or a truce broken, in order to make incursions upon the territories of the Saracens ; and not unfrequently, the Crusaders, without even seeing the enemy, abandoned Palestine to the perils of a war they had themselves provoked. In the cities, particularly the maritime cities, several nations dwelt together, and disputed precedence and sove- reignty, sword in hand. All who came to establish them- selves in the Holy Land, brought with them and preserved the remembrances and prejudices of their native country. In the cities of Ascalon, Tyre, or Ptolemais, the inhabitants were much more interested in the glory and prosperity of Pisa, Grenoa, and Venice, than in the safety of the kingdom of Jerusalem. The greater part of the barons and knights displayed none of the heroic resignation of the early soldiers of the cross, in supporting fatigues or braving difficidties. Since the conquest of Egypt had been contemplated, war was only considered as a means of acquiring wealth ; and the thirst for booty destroyed the principle of honour, the love of glory, and even all anxiety for the cause of Christ. The question was no longer what enemy was to be attacked, what ally was to be defended, but what city or province was to be delivered up to pillage. Discipline degenerated in the camp ; the Christian warriors still displayed their natural bravery, but they neither knew how to obey nor to command, and anarchy 410 HISTOEY or THE CEUSADES. reigned as completely in the amiy as througliout the king- dom. Many of the leaders abandoned their colours under the most perilous circumstances, and sold their inaction or their neutrality. Some, like the Templar Meslier and his companions, forgetful of their vows, ravaged the Christian provinces ; whilst others, urged on by ambition or vengeance, allied themselves with the Saracens, and received in the ser- vice of the infidels the reward of their disgraceful apostasy. Heligion, which ought to have been the connecting tie between the Christians established in the Holy Land, and which alone could preserve among them sentiments of pa- ti'iotism, — religion had lost all empire over their minds. AYar was still made in its name, but its laws were impractised and unacknowledged. The conversion of the Maronites of Liba- nus, who rejoined the Church of Eome in the reign of Bald- win TV., was celebrated at Jerusalem as a victory gained over heresy, but it had- not the effect of bringing back the Christians to the spirit of the Scriptures. Pious men who lived in a con'upted age, groaned under the depra^-ity of manners which every day made such frightful progress.* The respectable archbishop of Tp-e trembles as he traces the history' of this unhappy period, and fears lest truth should give to his recitals the colour of satire. " There is," says he, " scarcely one chaste woman to be found in the city of Jerusalem." The leaders of the Christian colonies, equally vrith the heads of the Church, themselves set the example of licentiousness. The Christians beheld a queen of Jerusalem, the widow of Baldwin III., keep up a criminal intercourse with Andronicus, and seek an abode among the Saracens "uith the companion of her debaucheries.f Bohemond, prince of Antioch, repudiated his wife Erina, to espouse a courtesan. The patriarch, disgusted with such a scandal, ex- communicated young Bohemond, and placed an interdict * Jacques de Vitri does not spare the Christians of the East in his History, particularly in the chapters entitled " De corruptione prselato- rum ; de regTilaribus irregtdariter viventibus ; de corruptione Terrse Sanctae." The satires of Juvenal would appear moderate by the side of the pages of this historian, who had been in the Holy Land in the quality of a legate. t This was the sanae Andronicus who afterwards ascended the throne of Constantinople, and became notorious for his cruelties. HISTOEY OE THE CRUSADES. 411 upon his states ; and tlius the guilty amours of a Christian prince produced trouble and desolation throughout a whole nation. The sight even of the tomb of Christ was unable to inspire more holy thoughts. The patriarch Heraclius, who only owed his elevation to mundane and profane quali- ties, lavished the treasures due to pilgrims and the poor, upon infamous prostitutes, and the Christian people were often astonished to see the notorious Paque de Rivery dis- play, even in the sanctuary, ornaments purchased with the alms of the faithful. A people thus degenerated could not possibly preserve the kingdom of Christ. Tlie eyes of all were turned towards the West, and Heraclius, attended by the two grand mas- ters of the Temple and St. John, was sent into Europe to solicit the prompt assistance of kings and their warriors. The king of France, Philip Augustus, received the Christian deputies with great honoLu-s ; but as he had but recently as- cended the throne, the interests of his kingdom would not permit him to go in person to the defence of Jerusalem. Henry II., king of England, appeared to be the last hope of the Christians ; he had promised the pope to make the pil- gi'image to the Holy Land, as an expiation of the murder of the archbishop of Canterbury, and Heraclius repaired to his court, presenting him with the keys and standard of the Holy Sepulchre, and pressing him to perform his promise. The bad reputation of the patriarch had preceded him into Europe, and very much weakened the effect of his words ; he displayed, likewise, neither the meekness nor the charity of the Scriptmes, and only irritated those whom he sought to persuade or convince. As the English monarch hesitated to fulfil his promises, alleging his advanced age and the wel- fare of his dominions, Heraclius loaded him with the most outrageous reproaches, threatening him with the anger of Heaven. The aged Henry appearing irritated by this lan- guage, the patriarch redoubled his insolence and pride. "You may," said he, on terminating his discourse, "treat me as you treated my brother Thomas, for it is quite indif- ferent to me whether I die in Syria by the hands of infidels, or perish here by the orders of you who are more wicked than a Saracen." Henry endeavoured to conceal his anger, and did not dare to punish the envoy of the Christians ; he 19* 412 iriSTOHY OF TUE CRrSADES. even treated liim with great magnificence, "but yet did not leave England. He contented himself with sending the Christians of Jerusalem a large sum of money, and exhort- ino- his subjects to arm themselves for the defence of the Holy Land. The zeal for crusades began at this time to abate, and several ambassadors retiu'ned to Jerusalem without having been able to arouse the enthusiasm of the western Chris- tians. iSTations, to be excited to active ardour for holy wars, required the example of princes or kings. The war- riors of Europe paid little attention to the exhortations of the pope and Heraclius. The deputies returned into Pales- tine without having obtained the assistance they demanded ; and their appearance produced discouragement and despair among all the Christians of the East. The unfortunate king, Baldwin, had entirely lost the faculties of both mind and body ; and, tormented by his suf- ferings, he every day drew nearer to the tomb, presenting but too faithful an image of the weakness and decline of his kingdom. Whilst the approach of death filled his palace with mourning, parties contended for a throne which tottered to its fall, and for a crown which the most wise compared to the crown of thorns of Christ. AVhen he closed his eyes, the e\'ils increased, and discord submitted to no restraint. The count of Tripoli wished to retain the reins of govern- ment as regent ; whilst Sibylla was desirous of bestowing the sceptre upon her husband. In the midst of these dis- sensions Baldwin Y., the weak and fragile hope of the king- dom, died suddenly. All who had aspired to his authority were accused of his death : unhappy period, in which such accusations could possibly be well founded, and in which a whole people could think of reproaching a queen with the murder of her own son ! Scarcely was Baldwin dead than his mother desired to reign in his place ; and in order to satisfy the ambition of herself and Guy de Lusignan, she disdained no artifice and spared no perfidious promises. Whilst the count of Tripoli was gathering together at jS'aplouse the barons and principal men of the kingdom, the daughter of Amaury, by the advice of the patriarch and the grand master of the Templars, announced her intention of separating herself from her HISTORY OF THE CKUS_ides. 413 husband, aud clioosing a ^Ya^rior able to defend the kingdom. AVben this report had circulated through Jerusalem, Sibylla ordered the gates of the city to be shut, and repaired to the church of the Holy Sepulchre. In the presence of the tomb of Christ, Heraclius took the oath of allegiance to her in the name of the clergy and the people, pronounced her divorce with a loud voice, and commanded her in the name of Heaven to bestow her hand and sceptre upon him she deemed most worthy of them. At these words Sibylla placed the crown upon the head of her husband, who was on his knees before her, saying it was not in the power of man to separate those whom God had united. Whilst a part of the people and some of the barons, seduced by vain promises, applauded the choice of Sibylla, the partisans of Kaymond were highly indignant at having been deceived by a woman. The coronation of Gruy de Lusignan naturally alarmed all who thought that Jerusalem stood in less need of a king than of a defender. Baldwin of Eamla, one of the most skilful captains of his times, despaired of the safety of the kingdom, and retired into the principality of Antioch, repeating the threats of the prophets against Jerusalem. Geoftrey de Lusignan, when he heard of the elevation of his brother, could not forbear exclaiming : " Well, if they have made a king of him, they would have made a god of me if they had Jcnown Twe." When that which had taken place at Jerusalem was an- nounced to the barons assembled at Naplouse, most of them I'esolved to abandon Palestine ; but the count of Tripoli detained them, advising them to name a new king, and bestow the crown upon Homfrey de Thorou, who had re- cently married Isabella, the second daughter of Amaury. He even promised to gain the support of Saladin for this election, and succeeded in persuading the assembly. Whilst they were yet deliberating, young Homfrey, terrified at the burden they wished to impose upon him, iled away secretly by night, and hastened to the capital to ask pardon of Queen Sibylla, protesting that he preferred ease and life to the throne of Jerusalem. This ilight disconcerted all measures and changed all projects. Several barons, not knowing to what party it would be best to ally themselves, went and took the oath to Guy de Lusignan ; whilst others, returning 414 HISTOEY OF TUE CiiUSADES. to their castles, awaited coming events. Eaymond retired to his county of Tiberias, of which he had obtained the sovereignty. The retreat and the murmnrs of the enemies of Gruv only increased his pride. The more he stood in need- of mildness and moderation, the more haucrhtiness and severitr he dis- plaved. His disdainful manners drove from him the barons who had remained faithful to him. Stimulated by the grand master of the Templars, who was the declared enemy of the count of Tripoh, he made preparations to besiege the city of Tiberias ; whilst Eaymond, who was determined to defend himself, carried away by the excess of his anger, implored the aid of Saladin against the king of Jerusalem. At the approach of the e^ils about to fall upon the kingdom, nothing was heard but complaints and seditious clamours ; but neither the dangers of the Christian colonies, nor the aspect of the threatened holy places, could silence ambition or check revolt. The historian of the kingdom of Jerusalem here feels the pen fall from his hand, and stops, terrified at the events which are left for him to describe. Amidst the general disorder and agitation, the supersti- tious minds of the Chiistians beheld nothing in the future but great calamities, and ever^'thing seemed to present sinister presages to their eyes. " The signs which were dis- played in the heavens," says a contemporary chronicle, " allowed it to be plainly perceived that God held in abomi- nation that which was going on. Impetuous winds, tem- pests, and storms arose on all sides ; the Hght of the sun was obscured daring several days, and hailstones as large as the eggs of a goose fell from heaven. The earth, equally agitated by frequent and horrible earthquakes, gave notice of coming ruin and destruction, with disasters and defeats in war which were soon to visit the kingdom. Neither could the sea confine itself within its boimds and limits, but an- nounced to us, by its horrible floods or its unusually impe- tuous "uaves, the anger of God ready to fall upon us. Fire was seen blazing in the air like a house in flames ; you would have sworn that all the elements and architecture of God were angr^', and abhorred the excesses, wickednesses, dis- soluteness, and ofiences of the human race." Such were the presages that struck the greater number of HISTOJIY OE THE CIJUSADES. 415 the Christians ; but thinking men could perceive much more certain signs of the approaching fall of the kingdom of Jeru- salem. Mossoul, Aleppo, and all the Mussulman cities of Sp'ia and Mesopotamia, had submitted to the power of Sala- din. The son of Ayoub had triumphed over the emirs and the scattered family of Noureddin. All the treasures of Egypt, all the forces of Asia, were in liis hands ; there re- mained only one conquest for him to make, and fortune, which had levelled all obstacles before him, soon furnished him with a pretext and an opportunity of giving the last blow to the power of the Christians. The truce made with the king of Jerusalem was broken at the same time by both Christians and Mussulmans. Eenaud de Chatillon continued his incursions upon the territories of the infidels, and only replied to the complaints of Saladin by new violations of treaties. A Mussulman army, which the sultan of Damascus had sent to the assist- ance of the count of Tripoli, advanced into the country of Galilee, whither five hundred knights of the Temple and St. John hastened to defend the Christian territory, and give battle to the Saracens. They were speedily over- whelmed by numbers, and almost all perished on the field of battle. Old chronicles, whilst celebrating the bravery of the Christian knights, relate prodigies which we have now great difficulty in believing. These indomitable heroes, after having exhausted their arrows, plucked from their own bodies such as had pierced tViem, and launched them back upon the enemy ; pressed by fatigue and heat, they drank their own blood, and revived their strength by the very means which must weaken it ; at length, after having broken their lances and swords, they rushed upon their enemies, fought body to body, rolling in the dust with the Mussulman warriors, and died threatening their conquerors. Above all the rest, nothing could equal the heroic valour of Jacques de Maille, a knight of the Temple. IMounted on a white horse, he remained alone in the field of battle, and fought on, surrounded by heaps of slain. Although hemmed in on all sides, he refused to surrender. The horse which he rode, worn out with fatigue and exhausted by wounds, sunk under him, and dragged him Avith him ; but the intrepid knight arose, lance in hand, covered with blood and dust, and 416 insTOiiY or the ceusades. bristling with arro^^'s, and rushed upon the ranks of the Mussulmans, astonished at liis audacity ; at length he fell, covered with wounds, but fightmg to the last. The Saracens took him for St. George, whom the Christians believed they saw descend from heaven to join their battalions. After his death the Turkish soldiers, whom an historian calls the children of JBahylon and Sodom, drew near with signs of respect to his body, slain by a thousand wounds ; they wiped off the blood, they shared the rags of his clothes and the fragments of his arms, and, in their brutal excitement, evinced their admiration by actions that make modesty blush when speaking of them.* The grand master of the Templars, with two of his knights, were all that escaped from the carnage. This battle was fought on the 1st of May, 1187. In the season, says an ancient chronicle, in which flowers and roses are gathered in the fields, the Christians of iS^azareth found nothing but the traces of slaughter and the mangled bodies of their brethren. They buried them in the church of St. Mary, repeating these prophetic words : " Daughters of Galilee, put on your garments of mourning ; and you, daughters of Sion, iceep over the ills that threaten the kings of Judah^^ The terror which this sanguinary defeat created for a moment appeased the discords of the Christians. The king consented to be reconciled to the count of Tripoli, whilst on his part Eaymond resolved to forget hi^, private injuries, and to use every eftbrt to repair the misforiainea he had brought upon the kingdom. He repaired to Jerusalem, where Guy de Lusignan, coming forth to meet him, received him with marks of sincere affection. The two princes embraced before the people, and swore to fight in ujiison for the heritage of Christ. After the rupture of the truce, Saladin employed himself in getting together a formidable army. Turks, Arabs, Curds, and Egyptians flocked to his standard ; he promised the spoils of the Christians to the Mussulman families that * The Latin history of the kingdom of Jerusalem contains this curious passage : Quidam verb, ut fama ferebat, ardentiiis cseteris movebatur, et abscissis viri genitalibus, ea tanquam in usutn gignendi reservare deposuitj ut vel mortua membra, si fieri posset, virtutis tantae suscitarent hseredem. -—See the Collection of Bongars, p. 1151. HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES. 417 had been driven from Palestine ; he distributed cities and provinces beforehand to his faithful emirs, and held out to all his soldiers the certainty of pillage or a glorious martyr- dom. The caliph of Bagdad and all the imauns of Egypt, Syria, and Mesopotamia put up prayers for the triumph of his arms and the deliverance of Jerusalem. He crossed the Jordan, and advanced into Galilee at the head of eighty thousand horse. lu a council held at Jerusalem, Gruy de Lusignan, the count of Tripoli, and the barons deliberated upon the mea- sures most proper to be adopted to save the kingdom. The kniglits of the three military orders, the troops of the king and the nobles, the garrisons of cities, with all Christians able to bear arms, received orders to assemble on the plain of Sephouri. It was determined to employ in the prosecu- tion of the war the treasures sent by Henry II., which were kept in the house of the Temple ; and to associate the English monarch in the glory of this holy expedition, the arms of England were represented on the standards of the Christian army. The wood of the true cross, which had so often animated the Crusaders in fight, was exhibited to the people as a last means of safety, and carried in triumph to the place where the defenders of Jerusalem were assembled. An army of fifty thousand fighting men had been collected on the plain of Sephouri, when the leaders learned that Saladin had carried the city of Tiberias by assault, and threatened the citadel, in which were shut up the women and children of the count of Tripoli. The Christians who had escaped from the sword of the Saracens, in the utmost terror, took refuge in the camp of Sephouri, conjuring the king and the chiefs to put an end to the ravages of the infidels. The barons assembled in the tent of Guy, and all at once exclaimed that it was necessary to march imme- diately against the enemy. Raymond then arose and de- manded permission to speak. "I am about," said he, "to lay before you advice which will surprise you ; but I offer it with the greater confidence from its being opposed to my personal interests. My desolated country, my cities in ashes, my subjects ready to submit to death or slavery, my Avife exposed to the insults of the Mussulmans all implore 418 HISTOET OF THE CEUSADES. instant yuccour from me and you; but it is my duty to think of the safety of the Christian cities now left without gaffisons. In this army assembled on the plain of Sephouri exists the only hope which the Christians of the East have left. You behold here all the soldiers of Christ, all the defenders of Jerusalem ; if they perish, the infidels have no other foes to dread. Beware, then, of leading this multitude of men and horses into a drv and arid country, where the season, with thii'st and hunger, must soon deliver them up without defence to the enemy. The number even of the Christian soldiers inspires me with more alarm than confi- dence. They present nothing but a confused troop of men got together in haste, and totally unable to support fatigue. The Mussulman archers are more skilful than our soldiers in casting javelins, and may harass us on our march, without our being able to defend ourselves ; the cavalry of Saladin is more numerous and better trained than ours, and may attack us with advantage on the plains, across which we must pass. Abandon, then, I entreat you, Tiberias to the Mussulmans, and let us save an army which may yet repair our losses. "I swear before God and before man, that I would willingly abandon the county of Tripoli, with all the lands I possess, to procure the safety of the citv of Christ. Our only aim must be to destroy tlie power of Saladin, and at the same time to preserve some defenders for the kingdom of Jeru- salem. If we go to meet the enemy and should be con- quered, Grod liimself will not be able to save the Christians, but will allow us to be delivered up to the infidels. If, on the contrary, the enemy come to offer themselves to our arms, all our losses will be repaii'ed, and the evils that will fall upon me, will become for me a source of gratification, since I shall have suffered for the cause of Christ and the safety of his people." The more generosity there was in this advice, the less sincere it was esteemed. The grand master of the Templars, blinded by his hatred for Eavmond, interrupted him several times ; he reminded the assembly of the alliance of the count of Tripoli with Saladin, and exclaimed aloud that he could plainly perceive tlie wolfs skin iindei' the fleece of the shee^, AYhen Eaymond invoked the name of Christ, the HISTORY or THE CRUSADES. 419 grand master repeated witli bitterness, tliat the name of Mahomet was better fitted to the mouth of a traitor. The eoiuit of Tripoli made not the least reply to the insulting words of the grand master, but finished his speech by these words, uttered with an accent of perfect conviction : " I ivill suhmit to the punishment of death if these tilings do not fall out as I have said.'' The council of the knights and barons adopted the opinion of liaymond ; but when G uy was left alone in his tent, the grand master came to him, and infused into his mind tlie blackest suspicions of the conduct and secret designs of tlie count of Tripoli. The feeble Lusignan, who liad already issued several contradictory orders, gave the command for marching to meet the enemy. For the first time, the king of Jerusalem was obeyed, and that was for the ruin of the Christians. The undetermined conduct that Lusignan had exhibited, communicated itself to the other chiefs, and this want of a fixed purpose spread trouble and confusion throughout the arm}^ The disheartened soldiers quitted the camp of Sephouri with reluctance, and saw nothing around them but presages of an approaching defeat. The Christian army advanced towards Tiberias, and were marching in silence across a plain, which modern travellers call the plain of Batouf, when they perceived the standards of Saladin. The Mussulman army was encamped on the heights of Loubi, with the Lake of Tiberias in its rear ; it covered the tops of the hills, and commanded ail the defdes tlirough which the Christians had to pass. The barons and knights then remembered the advice of Eaymond, but they had lost the opportunity of following it, and the courage of the Christian soldiers alone coidd repair the errors of their leaders. The bold and desperate resolution was formed of cutting themselves a passage through the army of the enemy, so as to gain the banks of the Jordan. On the 4th of July, at break of day, the Christians began tlieir march. From the moment they were in motion, the Mussulman archers unceasingly poured upon them showers of arrows. The army of the Franks was bravely enduring, on its march, the attacks of the Saracen archers, wlien Saladin descended into the plain at the head of his cavalry. Then the Chria- 420 HISTOET OF THE CEUSADES. tians Tvere compelled to stop, and fight with the enemv that disputed their passage.* The first shock was impetuous and terrible ; but as the Franks had for many days been short of both provisions and water, and were oppressed by heat and thirst, they had less strength than courage, and fell more from lassitude than in consequence of their wounds. The bishops passed through the ranks, and endeavoured to revive the ardour of the soldiers by the images of religion. The true cross, placed upon an elevated spot, for a moment reanimated them, and drew around it the most fervent and the most intrepid. Saladin himself said, in a letter, that the Christian soldiers fought around the cross with the gi^atest bravery, and that they seemed to consider it the strongest tie that bound them together, and as their impenetrable buckler. t But the sight of a revered sign, and the passing ardour which it created, only served to in- crease the disorder of the fiijht. All the Mussulman forces united in one body to attack the Christians, The cavalry of 8aladin poured down upon them several times with irresist- ible impetuosity, and penetrated through their ranks ; victory was evidently about to incline to the side of the Saracens, when night put an end to the conflict. The Franks and the Saracens both remained on the plain where they had fought all day, and prepared to renew the battle on the morrow. The Saracens were confident of victory. Saladin went through the ranks of his army, inflaming the courage of the Mussulman soldiers by his presence and his speeches. " To-morrow," said he, "is a festival for the true believers, for it is on Friday that Mussulmans otfer up their prayers, and that Mahomet listens to the vows that are made to * Among the Christian historians who have spoken of the battle of Tiberias, the following may be consulted : Chronica Ten'CB Sanctts ; the two continuations of WiiHam of Tyre, by Harold and Hugh de Plagon ; and the Latin history of Jerusalem. Jacques de Vitri, William de Xew- bridi^e, the Chronicle of Gervais, Paiile Emile Roger de Hoveden, and Matthew Paris also give some details of this battle, and of the events by vrhich it was followed. None of these authors, however, have described it at sufficient length to give a complete idea of it ; they are not even always agreed, and ought to be read with much precaution. t Saladin adds in his letter that the Franks flew round the cross like muths round light. HISTOET OF THE CRUSADES. 421 liim." The Mussulmans replied to their leader by the loudest acclamations. Saladin then placed archers on the heights, ordered four hundred charges of arrows to be dis- tributed, and disposed his troops in such a manner, that the Christian army should be surrounded from the very com- mencement of the contest. The Christian soldiers took advantage of the darkness to rally and close in their ranks ; but their powers were exhausted. Sometimes they exhorted each other to brave death ; and at others, raising their hands towards heaven, implored the All-Powerful to save them. They then uttered threats against the Saracens, ^^ho were near enough to hear them ; but sad and sinister presenti- ments appeared to deprive them of all hopes of victory. In order to conceal their alarms, they made their camp resound during the whole night with the noise of drums and trumpets. At last daylight appeared, and was tlie signal for the entire ruin of the Christian army. As soon as the Franks beheld the whole of the forces of Saladin, and found themselves surrounded on all sides, they were seized with surprise and terror. The two armies remained for a considerable time drawn up in sight of each other, Saladin waiting until the sun had completely illumined the horizon, to give the signal for attack. From dawn a strong wind had prevailed, which blew full in the faces of the Christians, and covered them with clouds of dust. "When Saladin gave the fatal word, the Saracens rushed upon their enemies from all sides, utter- ing the most terrifying cries. To employ the expressions of Oriental writers, — " It icas then that the sons of JPm^adise and the children of fire foncjht out their terrihle quarrel; the arrows sounded in the air like the noisy fiight of birds ; the ivater of swords (^ic), the Hood of arrows spouted out from the hosom of the melee, and covered the earth like the ivater s of rain^* The Christians at first defended them- selves vahantly, but Saladin having set fire to the dry grass * The continuator of Tabary speaks -with much detail of tliis battle ; the author of the Roudatain, in the description which he has given of this day, shows all the enthusiasm of a Mu^snlman. We find in these two histories, and even in Omad (the secretary of Saladm), more words than things, more ( 'liental figures than historical circumstances. They may, however, be profitably consulted by comparing their accounts with those of the Latins, 422 nisTOEY OF the ceusades. that coTered the plain, the flames surrounded their army, and scorched the feet of both men and horses. Disorder began to prevail in their ranks, but they fought bravely still. Swords gleamed through the flames, and the Christian knights, rushing from masses of smoke and fire, precipitated themselves, lance in hand, upon their enemies. In their despair, they endeavoured to pierce through the battalions of the Saracens, but ever^-where met ^^'ith an in- vincible resistance. Again and again they retiu-ned to the charge, and as often were they repulsed. A prey to hunger and a consuming thirst, they saw nothing around them but burning rocks and the sparkling swords of their enemies. The mountain of Ettin arose on their left, and in it they endeavoured to find an asylum ; but, hotly pursued by the Saracens, they were cast, some down precipices, and others into narrow ra\-ines, where their bravery was of no avail. The knights of the Temple and St. John performed pro- digies of valour, and fought imtil the close of dav, rallvinfr round the wood of the true cross. This sacred standard was borne by the bishop of Ptolemais, M'ho was killed in the heat of the battle. The bishop of Lidda, who took it up and en- deavoured to fly, was stopped, and taken prisoner. A cry of despair arose from among the Franlis when they saw the sign of their safety in the hands of the conqueror ; even the most brave cast away their arms, and without attempting to fly, rushed upon the swords of the infidels. The field of battle became nothing but a scene of desolation; and the Christian warriors who had not been able to save the cross of Christ, no longer feared either death or slavery. The king of Jerusalem was made prisoner with his brother Geoftrey, the grand master of the Templars, Eenaud de Chatillon, and all the most illustrious knights of Palestine. Ea^-mond, who commanded the vanguard of the Christian army, after ha^-ing fought valiantly, opened for himself a passage through the Saracens, and fled to Tripoli,* where, a * Many Christian historians accuse Raymond of having assisted the cause of Saladin. No Mussulman historian is of this opinion ; indeed several of them speak of him as the most cruel enemy of the Saracens. The continuator of Tabary positively says that the count of Tripoli was opposed to the marching of the Franks towards Tiberias. M. Marin, in his History of Saladin, has discussed this point of history, and the proofs histohy or the crusades. 423 sliorfc time afterwards, lie died of despair, accused by the Mussulmaus of having violated treaties, and by the Chris- tians of having betrayed both his religion and his country. Bohemond, prince of Antioch, Henaud of Sidon, the young count of Tiberias, and a small number of soldiers accom- panied [Raymond in his flight, and were the only persons that escaped after this day, so fatal to the kingdom of Jerusalem. The Oriental historians whilst describing the victory of the Saracens, have celebrated the bravery and firmness of the Frank knights, covered with their cuirasses, made with rings of steel. These brave warriors at first presented an impe- netrable wall to the strokes of the Saracens ; but when their horses sunk, exhausted by fatigue, or wounded by lances or javelins, Saladin met with very little more resistance, and the battle became a horrible carnage. An Arabian author, a secretary and companion of Saladin, who was present at this terrible conflict, has not been able to refrain from pitying the disasters of the vanquished. " I saw," says he, " the hills, the plains, the valleys covered with their dead bodies ; I saw their colours abandoned and soiled with blood and dust ; I saw their heads struck off*, their members dispersed and their carcasses piled up Hke stones." After the battle, the cords of the tents were not sufficient to bind the prisoners ; the Saracen soldiers drove them in crowds, like vile herds of cattle. The conquerors divided the cap- tives amongst them, and the number was so great, that, ac- cording to an historian, a pair of shoes was exchanged for a Christian knight. that he gives leave no doubt respecting the sincerity of the intentions of Raymond. Abulfeda, in the short description which he gives of the day of Hetin, praises the valour of Raymond, and says that he died of the grief created by the defeat of the Christians. In a letter written in the name of Saladin by the Cadi Alfdel to the Iman Nassir-Sedin-Illah- Aboul-Abbas-Ahmed, are these remarkable words: "Not one of the Christians was able to escape except the count of Tripoli. May God curse him ; God caused him afterwards to die, and sent him from the kingdom of death to hell." This letter of Saladin's, which speaks also of the taking of Jerusalem, has been preserved by Ebu-Khilcan in his Biography. M. Jourdain had the intention of giving a translation of it ; but the text presents so many difficulties, from the use of Oriental figures and bad copying, that he was obliged to be satisfied with making some extracts from it. 424 HISTORY or the ceusades. Saladin caused a tent to be erected in his camp, in wliicli he received Gruy de Lusignan, and the principal leaders of the Christian annv, whom -v-ictoiy had placed in his hands. He treated the king of the Franks with kindness, and ordered him to be serA-ed with a drink cooled in snow. As the king, after having dinink, presented the cup to Eenaud de Cha- tnion, who was next to him, the sultan stopped him, and said. '' That traitor shall not drink in my presence, for I will show him no favour." Then addressing himself to Eenaud, he made him the most severe reproaches for his violation of treaties, and threatened him with death if he did not em- brace the rehgion of the prophet he had insulted. Eenaud de Chatillon replied with noble fii-mness, and braved the menaces of Saladin, who struck him with his sabre. Some Mussulman soldiers, at the signal of their master, threw themselves upon the disarmed prisoner, and the head of a maitvr of the cross fell at the feet of the king of Jerusalem. On the following day the sultan ordered the knights of the Temple and St. John, who were among the prisoners, to be brought before him : and, as they were led past his throne, said, " I wiU deUver the earth of these two unclean races." The grand master of the Templars found favoiu* before him, doubtless because his imprudent counsels had given up the Christian army to the swords of the Saracens. A great number of emirs and doctors of the law sun-ounded the throne of Saladin, and the sultan permitted each of them to slav a Christian knight. Some of them refused to shed blo'od, and turned their eyes away from so odious a specta- cle ; but others, arming themselves with swords, massacred kniahts bcund with fetters, without pity, whilst Saladin sat on his throne, applauding the horrible execution. The knights received the palm of' martyrdom with joy ; most of the prisoners were anxious for death ; and many among them, although not beloniring: to the military- orders, cried aloud that they were Hospitallers or Templars, and, as if they feared thev should want executioners, pressed before each other, in order to secure the fatal stroke from the hands of the infidels. Saladin disor&ced his Wctorv bv this barbarity- ; the fear with which the Christians inspired him, even after defeat, made him cruel. He became more Inunane and generou.=3 HISTOET or THE CRUSADES. 425 when lie felt more assured of his victory and confident of his power. Two days were devoted by the Mussulmans to re- turning thanks to Heaven for the victory with which it had blessed their arms ; and then Saladin gave his attention to all the advantages that might be obtained from it. As soon as he became master of the citadel of Tiberias, he sent the wife of Raymond to Tripoli ; and was, with his army, very shortly under the ramparts of Ptolemais. This city, full of mer- chants, and which, at a later period, sustained the attacks of the most powerful armies of the Yf est, during three years, did not stand out two days against Saladin. The inhabitants had liberty to retire with their most valuable property ; and the churches were converted into mosques, in which thanks were offered up to I\Laliomet for the triumphs obtained over the Christian soldiers. The terror which preceded his arm}' opened to Saladin t e gates of Naplouse, Jericho, Eamla, and a great number of other cities which were left almost without inhabitants. The cities of Csesarea, Arsuf, Jaffa, and Berouth shared the fate of Ptolemais ; the yeUow standards of Saladin floated over their walls. On the sea-coast, the cities of Tyre, Tripoli, and Ascalon still remained in the hands of the Christians. Saladin attacked Tyre without success, and determined to wait for a more favourable opportunity to renew the siege. Ascalon presented itself to him as a conquest of much greater importance, as it would assure his communication with Egypt. This city was besieged by the Mussulmans, but it resisted, at first, with more firmness than Saladin had ex- pected. AYhen a breach was effected, the sultan proposed peace ; but the inhabitants, with whom despair supplied the place of courage, sent back his messengers without granting them a hearing. The king of Jerusalem, whom Saladin led with him in triumph, then entreated the defenders of Asca- lon not to compromise the safety of their families and the Cliristians of the city by a useless defence. After this appeal, the principal among them came to the tent of the sultan: "It is not for ourselves," said they, " that we are coriie to implore mercy, but for our wives and children. Of what importance is a perishable life to us r AVe look for a more solid blessing, and that death alone can procure us. Q-od alone, th'e master of all events, has allowed you to 42G UISTORY OF THE CEUSADES. obtain ^•ictones over the unhappy Christians ; but you shall not enter into Ascalon unless you take pity on our families, and promise to restore the king of Jerusalem to liberty." Saladin, touched by the heroism of the inhabitants of Ascalon, accepted the conditions proposed. Such devoted- ness merited the redemption of a prince of nobler character and more worthy of the love of his subjects than Gruy de Lusignan. Saladin consented to liberate the captive monarch at the expiration of a year. The moment was now come in which Jerusalem was again fated to fall into the power of the infidels ; and all Mus- sulmans earnestly implored Mahomet for this crowning triumph for the arms of Saladin. After having taken Gaza, and several fortresses in the neighbourhood, the sultan drew his army together and marched towards the holy city. A queen in tears, the children of the wan-iors slain at the battle of Tiberias, a few fugitive soldiers, and some pilgrims recently arrived from the West were the only guardians of the Holy Sepulchre. A gi'eat number of Christian families which had left the devastated proAinces of Palestine, filled the capital, and, very far from bringing it any assistance, only served to increase the general trouble and conster- nation. AVhen Saladin drew near to the holv city, he caused the principal inhabitants to be sent for, and said to them : " I acknowledge, as well as you, that Jerusalem is the house of God ; I do not wish to profane its sanctity by the effusion of blood : abandon its walls and I will bestow upon you a part of my treasm-es ; I will give you as much land as you win be able to cultivate." "'\\'e cannot," they replied, " yield the city in which our God died ; still less can we give it up to you." Saladin, enraged by their refusal, swore upon the Koran to lay prostrate the towers and ramparts of Jerusalem, and to avenge the death of the ^Mussulmans slaughtered by the companions and soldiers of Godfrey of Bouillon. At the moment in which Saladin was speaking to the deputies, an eclipse of the sun all at once left the heavens in utter darkness, and appeared to be a presage fatal for the Christians. iSTevertheless, the inhabitants, encouraged by the clerg}', prepared to defend the city, and chose as their HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES. 427 commander Ealeau d' Ibelin, who laad been present at the battle of Tiberias. This old warrior, whose experience and virtues inspired confidence and respect, immediately set about repairing the fortifications, and training the new de- fenders of Jerusalem. As he was deficient in officers, he created fifty knights froui amongst the citizens ; and all the Christians able to bear arms, placed themselves under his command, and swore to shed their blood in the cause of Christ. They had no money to meet the expenses of the war, but all means of obtaining it seemed legitimate in a danger that threatened the city of God. They despoiled the churches, and the people, terrified at the approach of Saladin, beheld, without scandal, the precious metal which covered the chapel of the Holy Sepulchre converted into coin.* The standards of Saladin were soon seen floating over the heights of Emails, and the Mussulman army encamped on the same places on which Godfrey, Tancred, and the two Roberts had pitched their tents when they besieged the holy city. The besieged at first resisted boldly, and made fre- quent sorties, in which they bore in one hand a lance or a sword, and in the other a shovel filled with dust, which they cast upon the Saracens. A great number of Christians re- ceived the palm of martyrdom, and ascended, say the his- torians, to the heavenly Jerusalem — many Mussulmans fell beneath the swords of their enemies, and went to dwell on the hanhs of the river ivJiicJi waters Paradise. Saladin, after being encamped for several days on the western side of the city, directed his operations towards the north, and caused the ramparts which extended from the gate of Jehoshaphat to that of St. Stephen to be undermined. The bravest of the citizens made a sortie, and endeavoui'ed to destroy the machines and works of the besiegers, en- couraging each other by repeating these words of Scripture : * For the siege of Jerusalem we may consult the continuator of Tabary, the author of the Roudalains, and the letter from Saladin before mentioned. All the Arabian historians are agreed as to the principal circumstances. Moujireddin, in his History of Jerusalem, of all the Arabian writers of this period, gives the fewest particulars of the siege and capture of the holy city. We need not repeat that the greater part of these historians are known to us by the Latin extracts of Dom. Bertreau. Vol. I.— 20 428 HJSTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. "^ single one of us shall make ten inJideJs fiy^ and ten of us sliall put to flight ten thousand'^ They performed prodigies of valour, but they could not interrupt the progress of the siege. Ivepulsedby the Saracens, they were forced to return to the citv, whither their appearance brought terror and discouragement. The towers and ramparts appeared ready to fall at the first signal for a general assault. Despair then took entire possession of the inhabitants, who saw no means of defence \vithin their power but tears and prayers. The soldiers crowded to the churches instead of flying to arms ; and not even the promise of a hundred pieces of gold could keep them on the tottering ramparts for one night. The clergy made processions through the streets, to invoke the protection of Heaven. Some struck their breasts with stones, whilst others tore their bodies with hair-cloth, cryiug aloud for mercy ! 2s othing was heard in Jerusalem but sobs and groans; '''hut our Jesus Christ j'^ says an old chronicle, " would not hear them, for the luxury and impurity that icere in the city v:ould not allow either orisons or prayers to ascend before him.'' The despair of the inhabitants inspired them with the most contradictoiy projects at the same time; at one moment thev formed the resolution of issuins: in a body from the city, and seeking a glorious death in the ranks of tlie infidels ; whilst, the next, they placed their last hope in the clemency of Saladin. Amid the general trouble and agitation, the Greek and S}Tian Christians, with the Melachite Christians, endured verv unwillino:lv the authoritv of the Latins, and accused them of aU the misfortunes of the war. A plot for giving up the city to the Mussulmans was discovered, which re- doubled the general alarm, and made the principal inhabi- tants determine upon demanding a capitulation of Saladin. Accompanied by Baleau d'Ibelin, they went and proposed to the sultan to give up the place to him upon the con- ditions he had himself proposed before the siege. But Saladin remembered that he had sworn to take the citv by assault, and put the inhabitants to the sword ; and he sent back the deputies without giving them the least hope. Baleau d'Ibelin retiurned several times, renewing his sup- plications and his prayers, but always found Saladin inexo- rable. One day, whilst the Christian deputies were earnestly HISTOET OF THE CRUSADES. 429 imploring him to accept their capitulation, turning towards the place, and pointing to his standards which floated over the walls, — "How can you ask me," said he, "to grant con- ditions to a city Avhich is already taken ? " Nevertheless, the Saracens were repulsed ; and Baleau, reanimated by the success the Christians had obtained, replied to the sidtan : " You see that Jerusalem is not without defenders ; if we can obtain no mercy from you, we will form a terrible resolution, and the fruits of our despair shall All you Avith terror. These temples and palaces that you are so anxious to conquer, shall be totally destroyed ; all the riches which excite the ambition and cupidity of the Saracens, shall become the prey of the flames. We will destroy the mosque of Omar ; and the mysterious stone of Jacob, which is the object of your worship, shall be broken and pounded into dust. Jerusalem contains five thousand Mussulman prisoners ; they shall all perish by the sword. We will, with our own hands, slay our wives and children, and thus spare them the shame of becoming your slaves. When the holy city shall be but a heap of ruins — one vast tomb — we will march out of it, followed by the angTy manes of our friends and kindred ; we will march out armed with sword and fire ; and no one of us will ascend to Paradise without having consigned ten Mussulmans to hell. We shall thus obtain a glorious death, and shall die calling down upon your head the maledictions of the Grod of Jerusalem." This spirited speech alarmed Saladin, and he invited the deputies to come again on the following day. He consulted with the doctors of the law, who decided that he might accept the capitulation proposed by the besieged, without violating his oath. The conditions were signed on the following day in the tent of the sultan, and thus Jerusalem again fell into the power of the infidels, after having been eighty-eight years under the domination of the Christians, The Latin historians- had remarked that the Crusaders entered the city on a Friday, and at the same hour that Christ had submitted to death to expiate the crimes of the human race. The Saracens retook the city on a Friday, the anniversary of the day on which, according to their creed, Mahomet set out from Jerusalem to ascend into heaven. This circumstance, which might influence Saladin in his agreement to sign the 430 HISTORY OF THE CErSADES. capitulation, did not f\iil to add a new splendour to his triumph with the Mussulmans, and caused him to be regarded as the favourite of the Prophet. All the warriors who were in Jerusalem when the capitula- tion was signed, obtained permission to retire to Tvre or Tripoh. The conqueror granted life to the inhabitants, and allowed them to purchase then' liberty. All Christians, with the exception of the Greeks and Syrians, received orders to quit Jerusalem at the expu-ation of four days. The rate of ransom was fixed at ten pieces of gold for the men, five for the women, and two for the chddren. Such as could not purcliase their liberty, remained in slavery. These conditions had at first been received "with joy by the Christians ; but when they saw the day approach on which they were to leave Jerusalem, they experienced nothing but the most bitter grief at quittins: the holy places. They watered the tomb of Christ with their tears, and regretted that thev had not died to defend it : thev visited Calvary and the churches they were never to see again, amidst groans and sighs ; they embraced each other in the streets, weeping and lamenting over their fatal dissensions. Such as were unable to pay their ransom, and would only quit Jerusalem to become shives to the Saracens, gave themselves up to all the excesses of despair. But such, in. these deplorable moments, was their attachment to the religion whose pre- cepts they had not always followed, that the insults offered to the sacred objects of their worship, afflicted them more than their own misfortunes. At lenofth the fatal dav* arrived on which the Christians were to quit Jerusalem. All the gates were shut except that of David, by which the people were to go out. Saladin, seated on an elevated throne, saw all the Chi-istians pass before him. The patriarch, followed by the clergy, appeared the first, carrving the sacred vases, the ornaments of the * Most historians say that Saladin granted a delay of forty days to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. In the position that matters were in, Saladin could not remain forty days before a captured city ; and what proves that historians are mistaken in this respect is, that they themselves say that Saladin took Jerusalem in the beginning of October, and that he set out on the day of AH Saints, which is always the first of November, from Ptolemais to go to the siege of the city of Tyre. HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES. 431 cliurcli of the Holy Sepulchre, and treasures, of which God alone, says an Arabian author, knew the value. The queen of Jerusalem, accompanied* by the barons and knights, came next. Saladin respected her grief, and addressed some words of kindness to her. The queen was follo^A"ed by a great number of women, bearing their children in their arms, and uttering the most piercing cries. Many of them drew near to the throne of Saladin, and said to him : " You see at your feet the wives, the mothers, the daughters of the warriors you detain prisoners ; we leave for ever our country which they have defended with glory; they helped to support our lives ; in losing them, we have lost our last hope ; if you deign to restore them to us, they will lessen the miseries of our exile, and we shall be no longer without help upon earth." Saladin was touched with their prayers, and promised to sofceii the misfortunes of so many bereaved families. He restored the children to their mothers, and the husbands to their wives, who were amongst the unredeemed captives. Several Christians had abandoned their most valuable goods, and bore upon their shoulders, some their parents weakened by age, and others their infirm or sick friends. Saladin was affected by this spectacle, and rewarded with gifts the virtue and piety of his enemies ; he took pity upon all distresses, and allowed the Hospitallers to remain in the city to tend pilgrims, and assist such as were prevented from leaving Jerusalem by serious illness. When the Saracens began the siege, the holy city con- tained more than a hundred thousand Christians. The greater part of them were able to purchase their own. liberty; and Baleau d'Ibelin, who was the depositary of the treasures destined for the defence of the city, employed them in procuring the freedom of part of the inhabitants. Malec Adel, brother of the sultan, paid the ransom of two thousand captives. Saladin followed his example, by break- ing the chains of a great number of poor and orphans. * Marin and most historians say that Sibylla was not at Jerusalem during the siege : they are in error. The author of the Roudatains says positively that that princess came out of Jerusalem with the other captives, followed by her treasures and her attendants. She asked permission of Sidadin to rejoin her husband, who was then detained a prisoner at Naplouse 432 nisTORT OF the ceusades. There only remained in bondage about fourteen thousand Christians, amongst ^Yhom there were four or five thousand children of tender age, who Avere insensible of their mis- fortunes, but whose fate the Christians the more deplored, from the certainty that these innocent victims of war would be brought up in the idolatry of jMahomet. Many modern writers have compared the generous con- duct of Saladin with the revolting scenes which accompanied the entrance of the first Crusaders into Jerusalem ; but we must not forget that the Christians offered to capitulate, whilst the Mussulmans sustained a long siege with fanatical obstinacy ; and that the companions of Grodfrey, who were in an unknown land, in the midst of hostile nations, carried the city by assault, after bra\TJig numberless perils, and suffering all kinds of miseries. But we beg to observe that we do not make this observation to justify the Christians, or to weaken the praises history owes to Saladin, and which he even obtained from the people he had conquered. After having done honoiu* to misfortune and consoled humanity, Saladin gave his attention to his triumph. He entered Jerusalem preceded by his victorious standards. A great number of imauns, doctors of the law, and the ambas- sadors of many Mussidman princes, formed his train. By his orders all the churches, except that of the Holy Sepidchre, were converted into mosques. The sultan caused the walls and the vestibule of the mosque of Omar to be wasliedwith rose-water, brought from Damascus, and with his own hands placed in it the pulpit constructed by Noureddin. On the first Fridav which followed his entrance into Jerusalem, the people and the army assembled in the principal mosque, and the chief of the imauns, ascending the pulpit of the Prophet, returned thanks to God for the victories of Saladin. " Glory to God," said he, "who has caused Islamism to triumph, and who has broken the power of the infidels. Praise with me the Lord, Avho has restored to us Jerusalem, the dwelling of God, the abode of saints and prophets ; it was from the bosom of this sacred dwelling that God caused his servant to travel during the darkness of night ; it was to facilitate the conquest of Jerusalem by Joshua that God formerly arrested the course of the sun ; and it is in this city, at the end of time, will assem^ble all the prophets of the earth." HISTOET OP THE CRUSADES. 433 After having recapitulated tlie wonders and miracles of Jerusalem, the preacher of Islamism addressed himself to the soldiers of Saladin, and congratulated them with having braved so many perils, and having shed their blood to accomplish the will of Mahomet. " The soldiers of the prophet," added he, " the companions of Omar and Abou- beker, have appointed you places in their holy bands, and expect you amongst the elect of Islamism. AVitnesses of your last triumph, the angels on the right hand of the Eternal have rejoiced ; the hearts of the messengers of God have leaped with jo}'. Praise, then, with me the Lord ; but yield not to the weaknesses of pride, and do not, above everything, believe that it was your swords of steel, with your horses, rapid as the wind, that have triumphed over the infidels. God is God; God alone is powerfid ; God alone has given you the victory ; he orders you not to stop in a glorious career in which he himself leads you by the hand. The lioh/ war ! the holy war ! that is the most pure of your adorations, tlie most noble of your duties. Cut down all the branches of impiety ; cause Islamism to triumph everywhere ; deliver the earth of the nations against which God is angry." The chief of tlie imauus then prayed for the caliph of Bagdad, and terminated his prayer by naming Saladin. " O God ! " cried he, " watch over the days of thy faithfid servant, who is thy sharp sword, thy resplendent star, the defender of thy worship, the liberator of thy sacred dwelling. O God ! let thy angels surround liis empire, and prolong his days for the glory of thy name !" Thus Jerusalem had changed its worship on changing its masters. Whilst the holy places resounded with the sacri- legious praises of the prophet, the Christians departed sadly, plunged in profound grief, and detesting the life which the Saracens had spared. Hepulsed by their brethren of the East, who accused them of having given up the tomb of their God to the infidels, they wandered about SjTia, without assistance and without asylum ; many died of grief and hunger ; the city of Tripoli shut its gates against them. Among this distracted multitude, one woman, urged by despair, cast her infant into the sea, cursing the Christians who refused them succour. They who directed their course 43i insTOKT or the ceusades. to Egypt were less unfortunate, and touched the hearts of the Mussulmans ; many embarked for Europe, whither they came to announce, with lamentations, that Jerusalem was in the hands of Saladin. The loss of the holy city was generally attributed to the crimes of its inhabitants. Such was the policy of those times, that it explained everything by the corruption or the sanctity of the Christians ; as if crime had not its moments of good fortune, and ^-irtue its days of calamity. There is no doubt that the corruption of manners had weakened the springs of government, and enervated the courage of the people ; but the never-ending discords of the Christians did not contribute less than their licentiousness and forgetfulness of scriptural morality, in producing the disasters of Jerusa- lem. AYhen we reflect, likewise, that this weak kingdom, surrounded by enemies, was able to support itself, and defer its ruin for eiofhtv-eisrht vears, we are much less astonished at its fall than at the leno^th of its duration. The kino:dom of Jerusalem owed its preservation and splendour to the divisions of the Turks and Saracens, and the numerous sup- plies it received from Europe ; it fell as soon as it was left to itself, and its enemies united to attack it. As it was at that time, however, believed that the welfare of Christianity and the glory even of God were attached to the preservation of Jerusalem, the loss of the holy city created throughout Europe as much surprise as consterna- tion. The news of this disaster was first brought into Italv ; and Pope Urban III., who was then at Eerrara, died of grief. Christians forgot all the ills of their own countrv to weep over Jerusalem ; it even superseded all other afflictions in private families. Priests carried from city to city images,* representing the holy sepulchre trampled under the feet of horses, and Christ cast to the earth by Mahomet. Melan- choly songs deplored the capti^-it^* of the king of Jerusalem and his knights, the fate of the virgins of the Lord aban- doned to the insults of infidels, and the misfortunes of Christian children brought up in slavery and in the worship of fake prophets. * This fact, which is not mentioned by our Western authors, is related with many details by "Boha-eddin and Abul-feda. . HISTOEY or THE CRUSADES. 435 Superstition, joined with despair, created a belief in the most sinister prodigies. On the day Saladin entered into the holy city, says Rigord, the monks' of Argenteuil saw the moon descend from heaven upon the earth, and then re- ascend to lieayen. In many churches the crucifixes and images of the saints shed tears of blood in the presence of the faithful. A Christian knight had a dream, in which he saw an eagle flying over an army, holding in his claws seven javelins, and uttering in an intelligible voice. Evil he to Jerusalem* Every one accused himself of having brought down the vengeance of Heaven by his own offences ; and all the faithfid sought to appease by penitence a God whom they believed to be irritated. " The Lord," said they among themselves, " has poured out the floods of his WTath, and the arrows of his anger are batlied in the blood of his servants. Let our A^hole life pass away in mourning, since we have heard a voice complaining on the mountain of Sion, and the children of the Lord are scattered." The sacred orators addressed God himself, and made the churches resound with their invocations and prayers. "O powerful God!" cried they, " thy hand has armed itself for the triumph of thy justice! Filled with tears, we come to implore thy goodness,"^ in order that thou mayest remember thy people, and that thy mercies may exceed our miseries ; deliver not over thy heritage to shame; and let the angels of peace obtain the fruits of penitence for Jerusalem." The Christian world was for a moment changed. Whilst weeping for the loss of the tomb of Christ, people recalled the precepts of the holy Scriptures, and became all at once better. Luxury was banished from cities ; injuries were forgotten, and alms were given abundantly. Christians slept upon ashes, clothed themselves in hair-cloth, and expiated their disorderly lives by fasting and mortification. The clergy set the example ; the morals of the cloisters were reformed, and cardinals, condemning themselves to poverty, promised to repair to the Holy Land, supported on charity by the way. These pious reformations did not last long; but men's minds * These prodigies remind us of those related by the historian Josephus, in his account of the conquest of Jerusalem. 20 436 msTOEY OF the cetjsades. v\-ere not the less prepared for a new cnisade by tliera, and all Europe was soon roused by the voice of Gregory YIII,, who exhorted the faithful to assume the cross and take up arms. The first care of the sovereign pontiff was to re- establish peace among Christian nations ; and with that view he repaired to Pisa, to endeavour to terminate the angry disputes that had arisen between the Pisans and the Grenoese. Gresrorv died without finishinsr the work he had begun, and left the direction of the crusade to his successor, Clement III., who, immediately after his accession to the pontifical throne, ordered prayers for the peace of the AVest and the deliverance of the land of the pilgrims. "William.* archbishop of Tvre, had quitted the East to come into Europe to solicit the assistance of the Christian princes, and was charged by the pope to preach the holy war. AYilliam was more able and more eloquent than Heraclius, who had preceded him in this mission, and, further, more worthy by his virtues of being the interpreter of the Chris- tians, and to speak in the name of Christ. After ha^'ing awakened the zeal of the nations of Italy, he repaired to Prance, and \\a.s present at an assembly convoked near Gisors, by Henry II. of Eno;land, and Philip Augustus of Prance. On the arrival of William, these two kings, who were at war for the country of Yexin, laid down their arms. The bravest warriors of France and England, tinited by the dangers of their brothers of the East, came to the assembly whose object was the deliverance of the holy places. Wil- liam was received with enthusiasm, and read with a loud * Marin, in Lis History of Saladin, and several others after him, have pretended that the William who came into Europe to preach the crusade, was not the author of the Hiatory of Jerusalem. This assertion is founded on an obscure passage of Hugh de Plagon, and is not at all confirmed by the testimony of contemporary hi-torians. Matthew Paris, and all the other authors of the time, give the name of \Villiam to the archbishop of Tyre who came into Europe ; if this William had not been the same as the historian of this name, would it not have been remarked by contem- porary chronicles .' AH these chronicles give us some details of the birth and life of William, author of the History of Jerusalem ; and if another William, archbi.-hop of Tyre, came into the West, why have not the historians of the time made him known, and said something of him .■' His mission was sufficiently important, the see in which he was placed attracted attention enough, fjr the second to be mentioned as well as the first, if tliere was one. HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 437 voice, to the princes and kniglits, an account of the taking of Jerusalem by Saladin. After this reading, which drew tears from all the assembly, William exhorted the faithful to take the cross. " The mountain of Sion," said he, " still resounds with the words of Ezekiel : O children of men, remember that day in which the king of Babylon triumphed over Jerusalem ! In one single day all the evils that the prophets announced fell upon the city of David and Solo- mon. That city, filled by all Christian nations, remains now alone, or rather is only inhabited by a sacrilegious people. The queen of nations, the capital of so many provinces, has paid the tribute imposed upon slaves. All her gates have been broken, and her guardians exposed with cattle in the markets of infidel cities. The Christian states of the East, which caused the religion of the cross to flourish in Asia, and formed the bulwark of the West against the invasions of the Saracens, are reduced to the cities of Tyre, Antioch, and Tripoli. We have seen, according to the expression of Isaiah, the Lord extending his hand and its inflictions from the Euphrates to the torrent of Egypt. The inhabitants of forty cities have been driven from their homes, despoiled of their wealth, and are now wandering with their weeping families among the nations of Asia, without finding a stone whereon to lay their heads.''' After having thus described the misfortunes of the Chris- tians of the East, William reproached the warriors who listened to him, with not having come to the aid of their brethren, and with having allowed the heritage of Christ to be taken from them. He was astonished that they coidd entertain another thought, that they could seek any other glory than that of delivering the holy places ; and addressing himself to the princes and knights : "To meet you here," said he, " I have traversed fields of carnage ; nay, within sight even of this assembly I have seen preparations for war : what blood is it you have shed, what blood is it you are about to shed again ? AVhy are you armed with these swords ? You are fighting here for the banks of a river, for the limits of a province, or for a transient renown, whilst infidels trample the banks of Siloe, whilst they invade the kingdom of Grod, and whilst the cross of Christ is dragged ignominiously through the streets of Bagdad. You shed 438 HISTORY or the CliUSADES, torrents of blood for Tain treaties, whilst the very Grospel, that solemn treaty between God and men, is being outraged ! Have vou forgotten the deeds of your fathers ? A Chiis- tian kingdom was founded by them in the midst of Mussul- inan nations. A crowd of heroes, a crowd of princes born in vour countrv, went to defend and govern it. K you have permitted tlieir work to perish, come at least and deliver their tombs, which are in the power of the Saracens. Does vour Europe no longer produce such warriors as Grodfi^y, Tancred. and their companions ? The prophets and saints buried at Jerusalem, the churches transformed into mosques, the very stones of the sepulchres, all cry to you to avenge the glory of God and the death of your brethren. VThaX ! whv^the blood of Xaboth, the blood of Abel which arose towards heaven, foimd avengers, and shall the blood of Christ arise in vaia against his enemies and his execu- tioners ? " The East has beheld base Cliristians, whom avarice and fear have rendered the allies of Saladin ; I do not suspect thev will find imitators among you; but remember what Christ has said : ' He iclw is not for me is against me.' If you do not defend the cause of God, what cause will you dare defend ? If the kins: of heaven and earth find vou not beneath his colours, where are the powers whose standards you will follow r "WTiy then are the enemies of God no lono^er the enemies of all Christians ? ^Tiat will be the joy of the Saracens amidst their impious triumphs, when they shall be told that the AVest has no more warriors faithful to Christ, and that the princes and kings of Europe have learnt with iudifierence the disasters and captivity of Jerusalem r" These reproaches made in the name of religion afiected the hearts of the princes and knights deeply. Henry II. and Pliilip Augustus, to that time implacable enemies, em- braced each other in tears, and put themselves forward the first to receive the cross. Eichard, duke of Guienne, son of Henry, Philip, count of Flanders, Hugh, duke of Bur- gundy, Henr}', count of Champagne, Thibaut, count of Blois, Eetrou, count of Perche, the counts of Xevers, de Bar, Tendome. Soissons, the two brothers Josselin and Matthew de ^Montmorency, "svith a crowd of barons and knights, together with several bishops of Prance and Eng- niSTOET OF THE CllUSADES. 439 land, all took the oath to deliver the Holy Land. The whole assembly shouted the words " the Cross ! tlie Cross V and this war-cry soon resounded through all the proA-inces. The spot on which the Mthful met was afterwards called the sacred Jield, and a church was built upon it to preserve the remembrance of the pious devotion of the Christian knights. As money was wanting to carry out the holy enterprise, it was resolved in the council of the princes and bishops that all who did not take the cross should pay a tenth part of their revenues and of the value of their property of all kinds. The terror which the arms of Saladin had inspired, caused the name of the Saladin tithe to be given to this tax. Ex- communications were published agamst all such as refused to pay a debt so sacred. In vain the clergy, of whom Peter of Blois undertook the defence, alleged the'liberty and inde- pendence of the Church, and pretended they could not be called on to assist the Crusaders otherwise* than by their prayers ; the ecclesiastics were told that they ought to set the example, that the clergy was not the Church, and that the wealth of the Church iDelonged to Christ. The orders of the Chartreux, of Citeaux and Fontevi-ault, with the hos- pital for lepers, were all that were exempt from a tribute raised for a cause which was believed to be that of all Christians.* In the two first crusades, the greater part of the villagers who had taken the cross, had done so to emancipate them- selves from slavery. Some disorders naturally resulted from this ; the country was deserted, the lands were uncultivated ; in this crusade means were taken to set bounds to the too forward zeal of the labourers : all serfs who em-olled them- selves for the holy war, without the permission of their lords, were condemned to pay the Saladin tithe, as if they had not taken the cross. f JN"otwithstanding all this excitement, the peace which had * For the history of this period, the following authors may be con- sulted with advantage: — The Acts of Ryraer, the historian Riijord, Roger of Hoveden, Matthew Paris, William of Newbridge, the Chronicle of Alberic of Trois Fontaines, Otho of St. Blaise, Brompton, the Chronicle of Gervais, &c. t "The noblest monument of a conqueror's fame and of the terror which he inspired, is the Saladin tenth." — Gibbon, — Trans. 440 HISTOEY OF THE CRUSA.DES. been s-^om to by the kings of France and England was not long held sacred. Eicbard, ^vno was duke of Guienne, ha^'ing had a quarrel ^mh the count of Thoulouse, Henry took up arms to assist his son. Philip flew to the defence of his vassal ; and Xormandy, Berr}', and Auvergne were soon in a blaze. The two monarchs, urged by the solicitations of the nobles and bishops, met for a moment in the sacred field in which they had laid down their arms, but they could not agree upon the conditions of the peace ; and the elm-tree imder which they held their confereil'ce, was cut do^ii by the orders of Philip. Negotiations were renewed several tmies without putting a stop to the war. The king of Prance re- quired that Eichard should be cro^Tied king of England, in the lifetime of his father, and that he shoidd espouse Alice, a Prench princess, whom Henry detained in prison. The king of England, jealous of his authority, could not consent to accept these conditions ; and woidd neither yield up his crown nor the sister of Philip, of whom he was enamoured. Eichard, irritated by his father's refusal, threw himself into the party of Philip Augustus, and declared openly against Henry ; on all sides they flew to arms, and the produce of the Saladin tithe was employed to carry on a sacrilegious war, which outrao;ed both moralitv and nature. This war was not a good augury for that which was about to be undertaken in Asia : the pope's legate excommunicated Eichard, and threatened Philip with placing his kingdom under an interdict. Philip despised the menaces of the legate, and told him that the Holy See had no right to med- dle with the quarrels of princes ; Eichard, still more violent, drew his sword, and was on the point of cutting down the legate. Peace seemed every day to be at a greater distance ; in vain cries of indignation arose from the people ; in vain the great vassals refused to take part in a quarrel which in- terested neither religion nor country. Henry, who consented to an interview, stiU haughtily rejected the conditions that were proposed to him. He resisted for a long time both the prayers of his subjects and the counsels of the bishops ; and the terror only \vith which the thunder of Heaven, which feh by his side during the conference, inspii'cd him, could overcome his obstinacy. He at length accepted Philip's conditions, but soon repented of his acquiescence ; and HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 441 shortly after died of grief, leaving his maledictions to !Richard, who had made open war against him, and to his youngest son, who had engaged in a conspirac}'' against him. Hichard accused himself of the death of his father, and, pressed by repentance, he remembered the vow he had made in the sacred field. Now become king of England, he began seriously his preparations for the holy expedition. He re- paired to his kingdom, and convoked, near Northampton, an assembly of the barons and prelates, in which Baldwin, arch- bishop of Canterbury, preached the crusade. The preacher of the holy war then Avent through the provmces of England to raise the zeal and emulation of the faithful.* Miraculous adventures attested the sanctity of his mission, and brought under the banners of the cross the wild and credulous inha- bitants of Wales, and several other countries where the mis- fortunes of Jerusalem had never been heard of. The enthusiasm of the English for this crusade, mani- fested itself at first by a violent persecution of the Jews, great Qumbers of whom were massacred in the cities of London and York. A vast many of these unfortunate people found no means of escape from their persecutors but in a self-inflicted death. These horrible scenes were renewed every crusade. AYhen money was required for the holy ex- pedition, it was perceived that the Jews were the depositaries of the general wealth ; and the knowledge of the treasures accumulated in their hands, seemed to lead the people to remember that it was they who had crucified their Grod. E-ichard did not take much pains to repress the misguided multitude, but availed himself of the persecution of the Jews to increase his own treasures. But neither the spoils of the Jews, nor the produce of the Saladin tithe, for the non-payment of which the English were threatened with imprisonment, at all satisfied the king of England. Richard * There is extant in Latin an account of the journey of Archbishop Baldwin through the country of Wales, entitled Itinerarium Cambrice, drawn up by Barry, who accompanied the preacher of the crusade. This journey is curious, from the singular prodigies and miracles which are related in it. If this relation may be credited, Archbishop Baldwin neglected no means to induce the people to take the cross ; he enrolled one day, says Barry, a great number of men who came to him in a state of nudity, their clothes being secreted by their wives and friends, who wishad to prevent their going. 442 HISTOSY OF THE CRUSADES. alienated the domains of the cro\m, and put to sale all the great di2:nities of the kingdom ; lie would sell, he said, the city of Loudon, if he coidd fijid a purchaser. He went afterwards into Xorraandy, where the ''Estates" permitted him to exhaust that rich province, and gave him full means to support a war in which the whole people took so great an interest. A great number of warriors assumed the cross in France and England, and the preparations for the crusade were finished amidst general fermentation. Many barons and lords, however, did not announce the period of their de- parture, and delayed, under various pretexts, the pilgrimage to which they had engaged themselves bv oath. The cele- brated Peter of Blois, addressed a pathetic exhortation to them, in which he compared them to reapers who put off beginning their work until the harvest was finished. The orator of the holy war represented to them that strong and courageous men found a countiy everywhere, and that true pilgrims ought to resemble the birds of heaven.* He recalled to their ambition the example of Abraham, who abandoned liis home to elevate himself among the nations, who crossed the Jordan with a staff only, and retiu-ned followed bv two * • troops of warriors. This exhortation revived the ardour for the crusade, which had evidently begim to cool. The mon- archs of Prance and England had an interview at Xonan- court, where they agreed to proceed to Palestine by sea. They made, at the same time, several regulations to secure order and discipline in the armies they were about to lead into Asia. The laws of religion, and the penalties that they inflict, did not appear to them suflicient in this case. The justice of these barbarous ages was charged ^-ith the onerous task of suppressing the passions and Wees of the Crusaders: whoever gave a blow, was to be plunged three times into the * The discourse of Feter of Blois, -nrhich is printed in his works, has for title, Tractatiis de Jerosolymitand Peregrinaiione. After having quoted several passages from the Bible and Testament to exhort the Cru- saders to set out. he cites two verses from the tenth chapter of Juvenal, and two verses from the Fasti of Ovid. He is not satisfied with pre- senting to the pilgrims the example of Abraham, but points out to them all the kings and captains of profane antiquity. Peter of Blois does not spare, in his discourse, the princes and nobles who compelled the clergy to pay tribute towards the expenses of the holy war. HISTOET or THE CKUSADES. 443 sea ; lie wto struck T\'itli the sword, had his hand cut off ; he who abused another, gave to the person he had offended as many ounces of silver as he had uttered invectives ; when a man was convicted of theft, boiling pitch was poiu-ed upon his shaven head, it was then covered with feathers, and he was abandoned on the nearest shore ; a muixlerer, bound to the corpse of his victim, was to be cast into the sea, or buried alive. As the presence of women had occasioned many disorders in the first crusade, they were forbidden to go to the Holy Land. Gambling M-ith dice, or other games of chance, together with profane swearing or blasphemy, were strictly Ibrbidden among the Crusaders ; and luxury of the table or in clothes was repressed by a law. The assembly of ISTonan- court made many other regulations, and neglected nothing likely to bring back the soldiers of Christ to the simplicity and wtues of the Gospel. Whenever princes, nobles, or knights set out for the holy war, they made their wills, as if they were certain never to return to Europe. AVhen Philip came back to his capital, he declared his last will, and regulated, for the period of his absence, the administration of his kingdom, which he con- fided to Queen Adela, his mother, and his uncle, the Cardinal de Champagne. After having fulfilled the duties of a king, he laid down the sceptre, to take, at St. Denis, the staff and scrip of a pilgrim,, and went to Yezelay, where he was to have another interview with Eichard. The two kings again swore an eternal friendship, and both called down the thunders of the Church upon the head of him who should break his oaths. They separated full of friendship for each other ; Eichard hastened to embark at Marseilles, and Philip at Genoa. An English historian remarks that thev were the only kings of Prance and England that ever fought together for the same cause ; but this harmony, the work of extraordinary circumstances, was not likely to exist long between two princes acted upon by so many motives of rivalry. Both young, ardent, brave, and magnificent; Philip the greater king, Eichard the greater captain; both animated by the same ambition and the same passion for glory. Desire for renown, much more than piety, drew them to the Holy Land : both haughty and prompt to revenge an in- 444 HISTORY OF THE CBUSADES. JLirv', they acknowledged, in their various differences, no other arbitrator or judge but the sword : rehgion had not sufficient empire over their minds to humble their pride, and each would have thou2:ht himself des^raded, if he had either de- manded or accepted peace. To ascertain, at a glance, how little hope could be founded on the union of these two princes, it is only necessary to observe, that Philip, on ascending his throne, had shown himself to be the most inveterate enemy of England, and that Eichard was the son of that Eleanor of Guienne, the first wife of Louis YII., Avho, after the second crusade, had quitted her husband, threatening Erance with her revenge. After the conference of Grisors, the archbishop of Tyre repaired to Germany, to solicit Frederick Barbarossa to take the cross. This prince had signalized his valour in forty battles ; a long and fortunate reign had rendered his name illustrious ; but his age recognised no glory as true but that which was won in Asia. He wished to deserve the praises of his pious contemporaries, and took up arms for the deliverance of the Holy Land ; he was, likewise, doubtless influenced by the scruples which his quarrels with the pope had left upon his conscience, and by his desire to perfect liis reconciliation with the Holy See. A oreneral diet was assembled at Mavence. The nobles and prelates would not allow Germany to remain indifferent to a cause which had inflamed the zeal of the other nations of Eui'ope. Frederick, whose devotion they encom*aged, descended from his throne, amidst general acclamations, and received the sign of the Crusaders from the hands of the archbishop of Tyre. His example was followed by his son, Frederick duke of Swabia ; Leopold duke of Austria, and Berthold duke of Moravia ; Herman, marquis of Baden, the count of Nassau, the bishops of Besan9on, Munster, Osna- burg, and Passau, with a crowd of barons and knights, like- "wise swore to deliver the tomb of Christ. The war against the infidels was preached in all the churches. Happy, said the sacred orators, are they who undertake this holy voyage ; more happy are they who never return from it. Among the prodigies that appeared to announce the will of Heaven, the miraculous vision of a virgin of Lewenstein, is particularly mentioned. She had HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 445 learnt the conquest of Jerusalem on the very day that the Saracens had entered the lioly city, and rejoiced at this lamentable event, saying tliat it would furnish a means of salvation for the warriors of the AVest.* The multitude of those who presented themselves to re- ceive the cross was so great, that means were obliged to be taken to repress their ardour. Prederick, who had followed liis uncle Conrad in the second crusade, was aware of the disorders and misfortunes that might result from too great a number of followers. He refused to receive under his banners any who coidd not take with them three marks of silver ; and rejected all such vagabonds and adventurers as had, in the other expeditious, committed so many excesses, and dislionoured the cause of the Christians by their brigandage. iVedericli, before his departure, sent ambassadors to the emperor of Constantinople, and the sultan of Iconium, to demand freedom of passage through their states ; and wrote to Saladin, to declare war, if he did not restore to the Franks Jerusalem and the other Christian cities that had surrendered to his arms.f The embassy addressed to Saladin, shows the spirit of chivahy in which Frederick entered upon this crusade. That which, without doubt, induced him to address the sultan of Iconium, was an opinion then spread through Europe, that the IMussulman prince had evinced a desire of embracing the Christian religion.;]; Frederick left Eatisbon at the head of an army of a hundred thousand combatants, and crossed Hungary and Bulgaria, as the first Crusaders had done. He arrived in the provinces of the Greek empire before Kichard and Philip had embarked for Palestine. Isaac Angelus was then seated on the throne of Constan- tinople ; this prince had only been brave on one single day, and his coiu-age procured him an empire. Andronicus, the * Canfipratensis apud Suriimi, die Junii, cap 20. This is likewise related by Besoldo, De JlegiOvs Hyerosolimitanorum, p. 274. t Tiie letter written by Frederick to Saladin, and the answer of Saladin to Frederick, have been preserved by Baronius and Matthew Paris. X In the w.orks of Peter of Blois is a letter which Alexander III. wrote to the sultan of Iconium, giving him counsels to direct him in his con- rersion. The same letter is in many other collections. 446 HISTORY or the crusades. IseTO of the Greeks, having been warned by soothsayers that he would be dethroned by one of his subjects, who bore the name of Isaac, desired to get rid of Isaac Angelus, and sent one of his officers to conduct him to prison. Isaac, animated by despair, instead of obeying, threw himself upon tlie minister of Andronicus, struck liim to the earth, and running into the pubhc streets, cried out : " J have killed the devil! I have killed the devil!'' Upon the report of this event spreading through the city, the people assembled in crowds and proclaimed Isaac emperor. In vain Andronicus endeavoured to quiet the storm ; he was seized by his ovntl soldiers, and loaded with chains. Dragged through the streets by an infuriated multitude, he underwent in one day more torments than he had inflicted upon his enemies during all his reign, and Constantinople beheld a populace a hun- dred times more barbarous than all her tyrants. It was amidst these bloody and disgusting scenes that Isaac was clothed with the imperial purple. He did not possess the savage character of Andronicus, but he was entirely incapable of defending the empire against its ene- mies. Instead of raising armies, he gathered together in his palace a troop of monks, who kept up his sense of secu- rity by their prayers, and turned his attention from the cares and duties of state by their visions and prophecies. The mutual hatred of the Greeks and Latins had increased under his reign and that of Andronicus. The Latins who inhabited Constantinople were driven from the city, their houses were given up to the flames, and a great number of them were put to death. They who escaped the carnage took refuge in the vessels and galleys, and made sanguinary reprisals on the islands and shores of the Hellespont, The monks who surrounded Isaac partook of the blind hatred % entertained by the people for the Christians of the AYest, and dreaded their vensreance. Thev adnsed the successor of Andronicus to mistrust the emperor of Germany, and to betm}' him if he could not conquer him. Faithful to their counsels, Isaac promised to entertaru the Germans in his states, and at the same time formed an alliance ^^-ith Saladin. He sent orders to liis governors to harass the Crusaders, and even to attack them by open force. These imprudent hostilities exposed the weakness of the HISTOET OF THE CHUSAEES. 447 Greeks, and were of service to the Germans ; for Frederick, after having put the troops of Isaac to flight, took every advantage of his victory. Isaac, constantly intoxicated by the incense of his courtiers, and seduced by the promises of the monks, only replied to the victories of Frederick by letters full of haughtiness and menaces ; he refused to acknowledge him as emperor, and could see nothing but a vassal in a prince Avho was marching in triumph towards his capital. Whilst his subjects were from ail parts Hying before the Germans, he gave himself in his letters the titles of onost suhlime, most powerful emperor, the angel of the ivhole earth ; and caused the ambassadors of Frederick to be imprisoned. The patriarch of Constantinople preached, by his orders, in the church of St. Sophia, the mm-der of the Latins. Nevertheless, terror at length took possession of the heart of Isaac, and from that moment this prince altered the tone of his language, and became the most humble of suppKants. Frederick was now for him, the most virtuous emperor of the Germans, and he voluntarily granted him much more than he had before refused him. After having required hostages, he himself gave them, and fed during several months an army he had sworn to destroy. He endured without a murmur the violences which the Crusaders committed in their passage,- and treated an army that laid waste his pro- vinces as if they had saved his empire. The emperor of Germany received magnificent presents, and all the vessels of the Greek navy were employed in transporting the Crusaders into Asia. The Germans embarked at GaUipoli, and crossed the Hellespont. The sight, of the coasts of Asia, and the easy victories they had obtained over the Greeks, made them forget the obstacles and dangers of a long and painful march. They saw nothing in the regions they were about to traverse but laurels to be gathered and kingdoms to be destroyed or founded ; but it was not long ere this brilliant prospect disappeared. "Whilst they remained in the terri- tories of Isaac, they had to suffer from the perfidy of the Greeks ; and when they arrived among the Turks, they had fresh enemies to contend with. The sultan of Iconium, who had been as liberal of his promises as the emperor of Con- stantinople, did not prove at aU more faithful to his word. 448 UISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. "\\"hen the Germans arrived on the banks of the Meander, near Laodicea, they found the Turks dra-wTi up in order of battle upon the heights, and ready to surprise them in the defiles : the latter vrere, however, punished for the treachery of their master, and cut to pieces ; theii* bodies covered the passages they had been charged to defend. The Crusaders, ever persuaded that Heaven protected their arms, attributed this victory to miracles. Several knights declared, upon oath, that they had seen St. George and St. Victor,* clothed in white, and armed with lances, fighting at the head of the Christians ; but the celestial powers that had thus enabled the Germans to triumph over the arms of their enemies, did not destroy the obstacles which impeded the march of their victorious army. The Crusaders soon felt the want of provisions in a country ravaged at the same time by the conquerors and the con- quered. Snow, raiai, and the rigours of winter rendered their march exceedingly painful through a mountainous region, intersected by torrents that had overflowed their banks. Hunger and disease destroyed a great number of the soldiers. To remedy the evils which threatened his army with entire ruin, Frederick was obliged to attack Iconium, the very capital in which he had expected to find peace and all the provisions he stood in need of. At the first signal the ramparts were scaled ; Iconium was taken by assault, and given up to pillage. The beaten sultan then fulfilled his promises, and this last victory restored abundance in the Christian armv. From this time t!ie Germans spread teiTor in every countrv around them. The Armenians solicited their alliance, and the independent tribes of the Turcomans, on several occasions, felt the eflects of their courage. During their triumphal march they attracted the admiration of. the natives by their discipline ; and the emirs, charged with announcing their arrival to Saladin, praised their indomi- table valour in fight, and their heroic patience in the labours and fatigues of war. The leader of this formidable army had conquered several * The monk Pant, who was himself a Crusader, and Crasius, both attest this miracle. HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 449 nations, and dictated laws to two empires, without having yet done anything towards the aim of liis enterprise. After having crossed Mount Taurus, near Laureuda, he had resumed his march towards Syria at the beginning of spring, and was proceeding along the banks of the river Selef.* Attracted by the freshness and limpidity of the waters, he wished to bathe ; but, seized all at once by a mortal coldness, he was dragged out insensible, and soon after died, humbly bowing to the will of God, who would not allow him to behold the land he was going to defend. His death was more fatal to his army than the loss of a great battle ; all the Germans wept for a chief who had so often led them to victory, and whose name alone was the terror of the Saracens. The bones of this unfortunate monarch were preserved for the purpose of being buried in that Jerusalem he had sworn to deliver, but in which he could not even obtain a tomb. William, who had been to preach the crusade in Europe, buried the remains of Frede- rick in the city of Tyre, and pronounced the funeral oration of the most powerful monarch of the Christians. After the death of Erederick, grief weakened the courage of his soldiers ; some deserted the banners of the crusade, whilst the others listlessly and sadly continued their march under the orders of Frederick, duke of Swabia, who re- * Most historians make Frederick perish in the river Cydnus, in which Alexander bathed; but they have confounded the Cydnus with the Selef, according to historians of the time. The Cydnus, which is now called Kara-sou, that is to say, black loater, flows from Antitaurus into Lower Armenia, near ancient Diansea ; it enters Cilicia, pas>es by the city of Tarsus, and falls into the sea two leagues from that city. Selef, a little river, has its source in the mountains of Isauria, and bathes the walls of Seleucia ; the inhabitants commonly call it "the water of Selefke." According to Afmenian historians, it was in this river Frederick Barba- rossa met his death. S. Narses, of Lampron, sent by the Armenians to compliment the emperor of Germany, says that that prince, bathing in the river Selef, was carried away by the rapidity of the stream, and that, being weakened by age, he was not able to contend against it, and was drowned. (This precious and authentic information is giver us by M. Cahan de Cer- bied, Armenian professor.) The Arabian historian Omad relates that Frederick Barbarossa was drowned in endeavouring to cross the river on horseback ; the force of the stream carried him towards a tree, against which he struck his liead. He was dragged out of the water, adds Omad, and his soul being ready to quit his body, the angel of death took pos- session of it, and carried it to hell. 450 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. minded them of the yiii:ues of his father, but was unable to lead them to A-ictorv. The contests they still had to maintain against the Saracens, together with hunger, fatigue, and disease, reduced the armj of the Germans to six or seven hundred horse, and about five thousand foot. This miserable wreck of a formidable army crossed Syria; and the report of their disasters having preceded them, their arrival must have created more terror than confidence among the Christians, who were then carrying on the siege of Ptolemais. BOOK VIII. A.D. 1188—1192. Whilst the crusade was being preached in Europe, Saladin was following up the course of his victories. The battle of Tiberias and the taking of Jerusalem had created so general a terror, that the inhabitants of the Holy Land were persuaded it was useless to endeavour to resist the army of the Saracens. Amid this consternation, one city alone defied and checked all the united forces of the new conqueror of the East. Saladin was exceedingly anxious for the conquest of Tyre, and had twice collected both his fleets and his armies to attack it. But the inhabitants had sworn to die rather than surrender to the Mussulmans ; which noble determination was the work of Conrad, who had recently arrived in the city, and appeared to have been sent by Heaven to save it. Conrad, son of the marquis of Montferrat, bore a name renowned throughout the West, and the fame of his exploits had preceded him into Asia. In his earliest youth he had distinguished himself in the war of the Holy See against the emperor of G^erman3^ A. passion for glory and a love of adventure then led him to Constantinople, where he suppressed a sedition which threatened the imperial throne, and killed the leader of the rebels on the field of battle. The sister of Isaac Angelus and the title of Caesar were the reward of his courage and his services ; but his restless character would not allow him to enjoy his good fortune long. Whilst surrounded by peaceful grandeur, he was roused by the fame of the holy war, and, heedless of the tenderness of a bride, or the gratitude of an emperor, he hastened into Palestine. Conrad reached the coast of Phoenicia a few days after the battle of Tiberias. At the moment of his arrival, the city of Tyre had named deputies Vol. T.— 21 452 HISTORY or tue crusades. to demand a capitulation of Saladin ; but his presence revived the courage of the besieged, and changed the face of everything. He caused himself to be made commander, he widened the ditches, and repaired the fortifications ; and the inhabitants of Tvre, attacked by t^ea and land, becoming all at once invincible warriors under his orders, were able to contend with the fleets and armies of the Saracens. The old marquis of Montlerrat, the father of Conrad, who had left his peaceful states to visit the Holj Land, was present at the battle of Tiberias. Made prisoner by the Mussulmans, he languished in the prisons of Damascus, until his children might be able to deliver him or purchase his liberty. ISaladin sent for him to his army, and promised the brave Conrad to restore his father, and grant him rich possessions in Syria, if he woidd open the gates of Tyre to him. fie threatened at the same time to place the old marquis before the front rank of the Saracens, and expose him to all the ai-rov. s of the besieged. Conrad haughtily replied that he despised the gifts of infidels, and that the life of his father was k^s dear to him than the cause of the Christians. He added that nothing shoidd stop his exertions, and that if th.e Saracens were so barbarous as to sacrifice an old man w Ijo had surrendered himself tipon the word of Saladin, he should take glory from being descended from a martyr. After thi,s reply the Saracens renewed their attacks, and the Tyrians continued to defend themselves bravely. The Hospitallers, the Templars, and the bravest of the warriors that were still in Palestine, repaired to Tyre to take part in this glorious defence. Among the Franks who distinguished themselves by their valour, no one was more remarkable than a Spanish gentleman, known in history by the name of Tlw Green Kniglit. Alone, say the old chronicles, he repulsed and dispersed whole battalions of the enemy ; he fought several times in single combat, always overcoming the most intrepid of the Mussulmans, and creating in Saladin the strongest admiration for his courage and his feats of aiTQs. The city did not contain a single citizen that was not an active combatant ; the children even were so many soldiers, and the women animated the warriors by their presence and theii' applause. On board the ships, tmder the walls, battles HISTOE,!' OF THE CRUSADE3. 453 vvere contiuuallj fouglit ; and tbe Saracens, on all occasions, asrain met witli the Christian heroes that had so often inspired them with fear. kSaladin, despairing of taking Tyre, resolved to raise the siege, and attack Tripoli ; but was not more successful in this new enterprise. AVilliam, king of Sicily, upon being informed of the disasters in Palestine, sent assistance to tlie Ohristians. Admiral Margarit, whose talents and vic- tories liad procured for him the surname of King of the Sea and the Kew Neptune^ arrived on the coast of Syria with fifty galleys, three hundred knights, and five hundred foot- soldiers. The Sicilian warriors hastened to the defence of Tripoli, and, commanded by the Green Knight, who had so eminently distinguished himself at the siege of Tyre, forced Saladin to abandon his undertaking. The city and country of Tripoli, since the death of Eay- inond, had belonged to Bohemond, prince of Antioch. Saladin, exasperated by his double disappoiutment, laid waste the banks of the Orontes, and forced Bohemond to purchase a truce of eight months. The ]Mussulraans then took possession of Tortosa and some castles built on the heights of Libanus. The fortress of Carac, from which had issued the war so fatal to the Christians, defended itself during a whole year against a Mussulman army. The be- sieged, destitute of all succour, and a prey to every kind of evil and privation, carried resignation and bravery to perfect heroism. " Before they would surrender," says the conti- nuator of AVilliam of Tvre, " thev sold their wives and children to the Saracens, and there remained not an animal in the castle of which they could make food." They were at length, however, forc3d to yield to Saladin ; tiie sidtan granting them their lives and their liberty, and restoring to them their wives and children, vrhom a barbarous heroism had condemned to slavery. Throughout his conqui-sts, Saladin still kept Gruy de Lu- si«rnan in chains : but when he became master of Carac and the greater part of Palestine, he at lengtli set the unfortunate king of Jerusalem free, after having made him swear upon the Grospel to renounce his kingdom for ever, and to return to Europe. This promise, extorted by force, could not be regarded as binding in a war in which fanaticism set at 454! HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES. nouglit the power of an oath, on the one side or the other. Saladin himself never entertained an idea that Guy would keep his word ; and if he consented to liberate him, it was doubtless from the fear that a more able prince would be chosen in his place, and from the hope that his presence would bring discord among the Christians. Guy was scarcely released from captivity, when he made his bishops annul the oath he had taken, and sought ear- nestly for an opportunity of reconstructing a throne upon which fortune had for a moment placed him. He presented himself in vain before Tyre ; that city had given itself up to Conrad, and would not ackiiowledge as king a prince who had not been able to defend his own states. The king of Jerusalem wandered for a long time about his own kingdom, accompanied by a few faithful attendants, and at length resolved to undertake some enterprise that should draw attention, and unite under his banners the warriors who flocked from all parts of Europe to the assistance of the Holy Land. Guy laid siege to Ptolemais, which had surrendered to Saladin a few days after the battle of Tiberias. This city, which historians call by turns Acca, Accon, and Acre, was built at the western extremity of a vast plain. The Medi- terranean bathed its walls ; it attracted, by the commodious- ness of its port, the navigators of Europe and Asia, and deserved to reign over the seas with the city of Tyre, which was situated not far from it. Deep ditches surrounded the walls on the land side ; and, at equal distances, formidable towers had been built, among which was conspicuous The Cursed Tower, which dominated over the city and the plain. A dyke, built of stone, closed the part towards the south, terminated by a fortress, erected upon an isolated rock in the midst of the waves. The plain of Ptolema'is is boimded on the north by Mount Saron, which the Latins called Scala Tyrorum, — the ladders of the T^-rians ; on the east by the mountains of Galilee ; and on the south by Mount Carmel, which stretches into the sea. The plain is intersected towards the city by two hills, — the Turon, or the Mountain of the Worshipper, and the Mahameria, or the Hill of the Prophet. Several rivers or torrents descend from Mount Saron or from the mountains HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 455 of Gralilee, and flow impetuously into the sea at a short distance from Ptolemais. The most considerable of these torrents is the Belus, which discharges itself to the south of the city. In the rainy season it overflows its banks, and forms around it marshes covered with rushes and reeds. The other torrents, whose beds in summer present nothing but an arid sand, overflow in winter like the Belus. Duriuo- several months of the year a great part of the plain of Ptolemais is imder water ; and when summer comes to dry the long-flooded fields, the exhalations corrupt the air and spread around the germs of epidemic diseases. T^evertheless, the plains of Ptolemais were fertile and smiling : groves and gardens covered the country near the city ; some villages arose on the declivities of the mountains, and houses of pleasure dotted the hills. Religious and profane traditions had bestowed names upon several spots in the neighbourhood. A little hill reminded travellers of the tomb of Memnon ; and upon Mount Carmel was pointed out the retreat of Eli and Pythagoras, Such were the places that were soon to become the theatre of a sanguinary war, and see assembled and fighting the armies of Europe and Asia. Guy de Lusignan had but nine thousand men when he laid siege to Ptolemais ; but the whole West was preparing to fly to the defence of the Holy Land. The army of the Christians soon became of sufiicient magnitude to excite serious alarm among the Saracens. Erench, English, and Elemish warriors preceded Philip and E-ichard, luider the command of Jacques d' Avesnes, one of the greatest captains of his time, and the bishop of Beauvais, brother to the count of Dreux. The Grenoese, the Venetians, and the Pisans, with the greater part of the Crusaders from the provinces of Italy, arrived in Palestine under the orders of the arch- bishops of Pisa and Eavenna. The cries of alarm of the Christians of the East had resounded even to the north of Europe, where young warriors had taken up arms to combat the infidels. All the nations of the West furnished Jerusalem with defenders, and eighty thousand Crusaders attacked the ramparts of Ptolemais, whilst the powerful monarchs who had placed themselves at the head of the crusade, were still engaged in preparations for their departure. 456 HISTOET OF THE CEU3ADES. vSaladiii, who had at first despised the Christians, now thought it prudent to gather his powers together to oppose tliem. After assemhhng his army at Damascus, he crossed Anti-Libanus, and the mountains of GaUlee, and encamped at a short distance from Ptolemais. He pitched his tents and pavilions at the extremity of the plain, on the mountains of Casan, from whence he could overlook all the sea-coast. On one side his army extended from the river Belus, and on the other as far as Jiahumeria, or the Sill of the ATosqiie. The sultan occupied all the elevated posts, and all the passages by which the Christians could pass out from the spot upon which they were encamped. Thus the besiegers were besieged, and the army before the walls of the city saw the banners of the Mussulmans floating around it. The Christians made their intrenchments, dug wide ditches,* and raised towers at proper distances around their camp, in order to repulse the attacks of Saladin or the gar- rison of Ptolemais. The Mussulman army had scarcely pitched its tents when it presented itself in battle array before tlie trenches of the Crusaders, and fought with them several combats, in which victory was doubtful. In one of these conflicts the sultan penetrated to the city, and after haA^ing ascertained from the top of the towers the position of the Crusaders, he joined the garrison in a sortie, and sur- prised, and drove them into their camp. By entering into Ptolemais, Saladin revived the courage of the inhabitants and troops ; he arranged measures necessary for the providing of supplies, he left them some of his chosen warriors, and gave them for leaders the most intrepid of his emirs, ^Uelchou, the faithful companion of his victories, and Karacoush,t whose capacity and bravery had been often * The chronicle entitled Historia Hierosolymitana relates all th;xt passed in the kingdom of Jerusalem from 1177 to the siege of Ptoleniciis inclusively. The Chronicle of the Holy Land, the two continviators of William of Tyre, Florent and the bishop of Ptolemais, give some parti- culars of the siege, but much less than the Arabian historian>, to whom we shall often have recourse. t Karacoush was the first minister of Saladin in Egvpt. It was he who caused the well of Joseph to be dug, built the citadel, and began the inclosure of Cairo. Karacoush was short and hump-backed. His name is employed now in Egypt for a sort of Punchinello, who amuses the people in the streets, in whose mouth are placed abundance of obscenities. HISTORY or THE CEUSADES. 457 tried during the conquest of Egypt. The sultan then returned to his camp, prepared to combat afresh the army of the Crusaders. The roads of Galilee were covered with Mussulman soldiers coming from Damascus ; and as Saladin looked daily for the arrival of a fleet I'rom Egypt, which would make him master of the sea, he hoped soon to be able to triumph over the Christians, and deliver Ptolemais. A few days after the victory he had gained, a great number of vessels appeared upon the sea, directing their course towards the land. Both armies Avere filled with hope and joy, the Mus- sulmans believing them to be a fleet from the ports of Damietta and Alexandria, whilst the Crusaders confidently hoped them to be a Christian armament coming to their aid. The standard of the cross was soon seen floating from the masts of the vessels, which, whilst it excited the liveliest joy in the Christians, equally depressed the Mussulmans. Two fleets from western ports entered the Bead of Ptolemais. The first bore the German Crusaders, commanded by the duke of Gueldres and the landgrave of Thuringia, and the other the warriors of Eriesland and Denmark, who, after having fought the Saracens in Spain, came to defend the kingdom of Jerusalem. Conrad, marquis of Tyre, could not I'emain idle while this war was going on ; he armed vessels, raised troops, and united his forces with those of the Christian army. The arrival of the new reinforcements restored the ardour of the Crusaders. The Christian knights, according to an Arabian historian,* covered wdth their long cuirasses of steel, looked, from a distance, like serpents spread over the plain; when they flew to arms, they resembled birds of prey, and in the melee, they were as indomitable lions. In a council, several emirs proposed to Saladin to retire before an enemy as numerous, they said, as the sands of the sea, more \T.olent than tempests, and more impetuous than torrents. The Christians, encoiu*aged by the reinforcements that * The Arabian historians Chehabeddin, the author of the Roudatains, Omad of Ispahan, and Bohaddin, give many more particulars of the siege of Ptolemais than the Latin historians. These three Mussulmaa historians ace >inpanied Saladin in all his expeditions. 458 HISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. continued to arrive daily, resolved to attack Saladin, and drive him beyond the mountains. They marched out from their intrenchments, and di'ew up in order of battle. Their army extended from the moutli of the Belus to the hill of Turon. The Crusaders, full of zeal and ardour, were com- manded by many illustrious captains, among vrhom the grand master of the Templars, the marquis of Tyre, the counts of Blois, Bar, and Clermont, ^^■ith de Brioude, and Guy and Gauche de Chatillon, were conspicuous. The clerg)' even appeared in arms ; the archbishops of Eavenna, Pisa, Canterbiu*y, Besancon, Nazareth, and Montreal; the bishops of Beauvais, Salisbury, Cambrai, Ptolemais, and Bethlehem, assumed the helmet and cuii'ass, and led warriors on to battle. The Christian army presented so redoubtable an aspect, and appeared so full of confidence, that a Chris- tian knight cried out, in the height of his enthusiasm: " Let God remain neuter, and the victory is ours /" The king of Jerusalem, who caused the book of the Evangelists to be borne before him, wrapped in a covering of silk, and supported by four knights, commanded the right wing ; he had under his orders the French and the Hos- pitallers ; his lines extended to the Belus. The Venetians, the Lombards, and the Syrians formed the left wing, which was flanked bv the sea, and marched under the banners of Conrad. The centre of the army was occupied by the Germans, the Pisans, and the English, headed by the land- grave of Thuringia. The grand master of the Templars, with his knights, and the duke of Gueldres, with his soldiers, formed the body of reserve ready to hasten wherever danger or the chances of the day might call them. The guardian- ship of the camp was intrusted to Gerard d'Avesnes and Geofirev de Lusio:nan. AYhen the Christian army was drawn up on the plain, the Saracens issued from their intrenchments, and prepared to sustain the shock of the Crusaders. Saladin placed himself vrith. his Mamelukes in the centre : his nephew Teki-eddin Omar, one of his most skilful lieutenants, commanded the right wing, which extended to the sea at the north-east of Ptolemais ; the princes of Mossoui and Sandjar commanded the left wing, bearing upon the river Belus. By this dis- position, Saladin inclosed the Christians between the river HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 459 Belus and the sea, and left tliem no means of retreat if for- tune should favour his arms. The archers and cavalry of the Christians commenced the conflict. At the first clmrge they broke the right "vving of the Mussulmans, commanded by the nephew of Saladin. The cavalry and infantry of the marquis of Tyre advanced upon the field of battle, the Saracens giving way before them as they proceeded. Pursuing the enemy, who fled in disorder, the Christians ascended the hill of the Mosque, and planted theii' standards in the camp of the infidels. The count of Bar even penetrated to the tent of the sultan, which was given up to pillage. An Arabian historian,* who followed the army, says of himself, that upon beholding the rout of the Mussulmans, he took to flight, and did not stop till he came to Tiberias. The terror was so great, that several Saracens fled as far as Damascus. Saladin remained almost alone upon the field of battle, and was several times in great danger.f Followed by a few of his faithful IMamelukes, he en- deavoured to rally his scattered forces, and at length suc- ceeded in reviving their courage. No sooner had he the means of support, than he returned to the fight with cha- racteristic energy, rushing down upon the Christians, whom he surprised in all the disorder of victory. The Mussulman cavalry now charged in their turn, and dispersed the cavalry of the Franks. The different bodies of the Christian army- became soon separated from one another, and in vain en- deavoured to rally in their flight. The grand master of the Templars then advanced with the reserve, to support the * This (lay I was among the holy men, and I was upon the hill with them, looking at the tight, and watching for what would happen to the enemy. We had no idea that the battle would reach us ; but when the enemy became mingled with us, we mounted on our mules, without any warlike equipments, and seeing that all the army had turned their backs, we fled away. We reached Tiberias, with others who had taken the same road. Every one of us had forgotten to either eat or drink. Other fugitives went as far as Damascus without stopping on their way, con- stantly pursued by fear. — Chehaheddin. t The author of the Roudatains says that one thousand Mussulman horsemen were all that maintained and recovered the battle. Saladin, adds the same author, remained alone upon the field, and angels defended him. 21* 460 liisTony of the ceusades. troops that fled, but lie met tlie ^lussulman cavalry in full career, that crushed evervthing in their passage. The re- sen-e was broken at the first shock ; they returned several times to the charge, but ^vithout being able tp stand against the impetuosity of the Saracen horsemen. On all sides, victory was escaping from the hands of the Crusaders, terror pervaded the whole Christian army, and disorder and confusion reisrued everywhere. TThilst the left wlug' was put to flight, and the body of reserve was makmg vam efibrts to check the Mussulmans, the right wing and the centre were attacked not only by the princes of Aleppo, Mossoul, and Sandjar, with Teki-eddin Omar, but by tlie garrison of Ptolemais, which issued frora the city in order of battle. The Saracens made a most hon-ible slaughter ; every part of the Christian army was broken and put to flight, and ntter destruction threatened them if then* camp should fall into the hands of the enemy. The conquerors proceeded at once to the attack of the iutrenchments, but the height of the walls, the depth of the ditches, and the bravery of Geoflrey de Liisignan and Jacques d'Avesnes,* stopped the Mussubnan cavalry, and preserved the last asylum of the Christian army. During the contest, Saladin appears to have been every- where at once : after having re-established the battle in his right wing, he returned to the centre, and thence passed to the left. Ten times he crossed the lines of the Christians, and himself directed every charsre of his cavalry. The battle lasted duriug the whole day ; in the evening, still many combats were kept np around the camp of the Christians, and night aloue brought repose to the two annies. As the Mussulmans and Christians had by turns been victors, the loss was equal on both sides. The Crusaders had to deplore the death of several of their leaders ; the grand master of the Templars, covered with wounds, was made prisoner on the field of battle, and led to the camp of the infidels. The emirs reproached him with ha\'ing taken up arms against Saladin, who had generously broken his chains after the * Our author before mentions Gerard d'Avesnes as left in charge of the camp ; but T am not sufficiently certain there were not two of tha name to alter the text. — Trans. HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 461 battle of Tiberias. He replied with haughty firmness, and received the palm of martyrdom. Andre de Brienne \Yas cast from his horse whilst' endeavouring to rally the Cru- saders He in vain implored assistance of his compamons, whom fear rendered deaf to pity, and Erard de Brienne, whilst precipitating his flight, trampled under his horse s feet his brother, expiring on the field of battle. The Latin historians attribute the defeat of the Crusaders to an unexpected accident,* which threw the combatants into disorder.t An Arabian horse, which had been taken from the enemy, escaping in the heat of the battle, was pursued by some soMiers, and it was believed they were flying belore the Saracens. All at once a rumour prevailed that the Christian army was conquered and dispersed, and this news redoubled the tumult, and gave birth to general terror. T^Tiole battaUons, seized with a panic, abandoned their triumphant banners, and sought safety m a precipitate flight. X -u ^1, We only report this singular circumstance to show ttie spirit of the contemporary chronicles. The fate of the battle micrht be much better explained by saying that the Christian soldiers abandoned the fight for the sake of plunder ; and that the greater part of the leaders, less skilful than brave, neither knew how to prevent or repair the reverses to which an undisciplined armv must be exposed. In the plain of Ptolemais, trod by two hundred thousand warriors, on the morrow was only to be seen, to employ an Oriental image, birds of prey and wolves attracted by the scent of carnage and death. The Christians did not dare to leave their intrenehments, and victory itself could not reassure Saladin, who had seen his whole army put to flight. The most frightful disorder prevailed m the camp oi the Saracens ; the slaves had pillaged it at the commencement of the battle, and had fled, carrying away the booty that escaped the hands of the Crusaders. Both the emu^s and * This accident of a loose horse is related by the anonymous author of the History of Jerusalem {Historia Hierosolymitana). t The Arabian historians say that a horse escaped from a vessel, and was pursued ; he threw himself among the Mussulmans, who presented him to Saladin, which was considered an evil presage.— See Chehabeddim, the historian of Saladin. 462 uisTOiir of the ckusades. soldiers had lost their baggage ; some pursued the fugitive slaves, whilst others addressed their complaints to Saladin. Amidst such confusion and tumult, it was impossible for the sultan to follow up the advantage he had gained,, and as winter was approaching, and the Mussulmans were short of provisions, he abandoned the plain, and retned to the moun- tain Karouba. The Christians, who now remained masters of the plain, extended their lines over the whole chain of hills that sur- rounded the city of Ptolemais ; the marquis of Montferrat, with his troops, the Venetians, the Pisans, and the Crusaders commanded by the archbishop of Eavenna and the bishop of Pisa, encamped towards the north, and occupied ground from the sea to the road to Damascus. Xear the camp of Conrad, the Hospitallers pitched their tents, in a valley which had belonged to them before the taking of Ptolemais by the Saracens. The Genoese occupied the hill which con- temporary historians call Mount IMusard. The French and English, who were in front of the Cursed Tower, were placed in the centre, imder the orders of the counts of Dreux, Blois, and Clermont, and the archbishops of Besan9on and Canterbury. Close to the camp of the French floated the banners of the Flemings, commanded by the bishop of Cam- brai, and Pavmond II., viscount de Turenne. Gruy de Lusignan encamped with his soldiers and knights upon the hill of Turon, which part of the camp served as citadel and head-quarters to the whole army. The king of Jerusalem had with him the queen Sibylla, his two brothers G-eoffrey and Aimar, Humphrey de Theron, the husband of the second daughter of Amaury, the patriarch Heraclius, and the clergv of the holv city. The viscount de Chatel- lerault, who was of the same country as Guy de Lusignan, ranged himself imder the standard of the king of Jerusalem. The knights of the Temple, and the troop of Jacques d'Avesnes, fixed their quarters between the hill of Turon and the Belus, and guarded the road that led from Ptolemais to Jerusalem. On the south of the Belus stood the tents of the Germans, the Danes, and the Prisons : these northern warriors, commanded by the landgrave of Thuringia and the duke of Gueldi'es, were placed along the shore of the Eoad HISTORY OF TUE CEUSADES. 463 of Ptolemais, and protected the disembarkation of the Chris- tians who arrived from Europe by aea. Such was the disposition of the Christian anny belore Ptole- niais, and this order was preserved during the whole siege. The Christians dug ditches on the dechvities of the hills whose heights they occupied ; they raised high walls round their quarters, and their camps were so inclosed, says an Arabian historian, that the birds could scarcely find entrance. _ All the torrents which fell from the neighbouring mountains over- flowed their banks, and covered the plain with their waters ; and the Crusaders, having nothing to fear from surprise by the army of Saladin, prosecuted the siege without intermission. Their machines battered the walls night and day, and with each morning their assaults were renewed. The garrison, which opposed them with obstinate bravery, could not much longer defend itself without the aid of the IMussulman army. Every day pigeons bearing letters under their wings, and divers, who threw themselves into the sea, were sent to warn Saladin of the imminent dangers of Ptolemais. At the approach of spring, several Mussulman princes of Mesopotamia and Svria came to range themselves and then- troops under the standards of the sultan. Then Saladm quitted the mountain of Karouba, and his army descending towards the plain of Ptolemais, defiled m sight ot the Christians, with colours spread and drums and trumpets sounding. The Crusaders had soon fresh contests to main- tain. The ditches they had dug,, to employ the expression of a Mussulman historian, became their own sepulchres, and were often fiUed with their dead bodies. The hopes they had fondly entertained of getting possession of the city, vanished at the sight of such formidable enemies. They had constructed during the winter three rolling towers, similar to those which Godfrev of Bouillon had erected at the takino- of Jerusalem, these three towers arose above the walls°of Ptolemais, and threatened the city with destruction. Whilst the Crusaders were engaged in repelling the attacks of Saladin, inflamed arrows and pots filled with burning naphtha were hiu4ed on their machines, that were left unpro- tected at the foot of the ramparts. All at once the Chris- tians saw flames arise in the air, and their wooden towers, 464 niSTOEY or the crusades. seized upon by au unextinguishable fire, were consumed and reduced to ashes before their eyes, as if they liad been struck by the lightning of heaA'en. So gi'eat was the t€rror spread among the Crusaders by this conflagration, that the land- gi'ave of Thuringia quitted the siege and returned to Europe, belie\'ing that God no longer protected the cause of the Christians. Saladin followed up his attacks so incessantly, that he left his enemv no repose. Every time that an assault was attempted on the city, the noise of drums and trumpets resounded from the ramparts to warn the Mussulman troops, who then flew to arms and attacked the camp of the Chns- tians. The Eoad of Ptolema'is was often covered with vessels from Eui'ope, and Mussulman vessels from the ports of Egypt and Sp'ia. The latter brought supplies to the city^ and the former to the Christian army. At a distance might be seen masts sui'mounted with the standards of the cross, and others bearing the banners of Mahomet, which seemed to mingle and float together. Several times the Franks and Saracens were spectators of the conflicts between their fleets laden with arms and provisions, that took place near the shore. At the sight of a naval combat the warriors of the cross and of Mahomet struck upon their shields, and announced by their cries their hopes and their fears. Some- times even the two armies were so excited as to attack each other on the plain to assure the victory, or avenge the defeat of those who had fought upon the waves. In the battles that took place sometimes on the banks of the Belus, and sometimes under the walls or at the foot of the hills, the Saracens often prepared ambushes, and did nqt disdain to have recourse to all the stratagems of war. The Christians, on the contrary, placed no confidence in anything but theii* valour and their own good swords. A car. upon which was raised a tower, surmounted by a cross and a white flag, served them as a rallying-point, and was their guiding star in battle. AMien the enemy gave way, the thirst for booty soon made every man quit the ranks ; their chiefs, almost always -u-ithout authority in the tumult of battle, became no more than simple soldiers in the meUe, and had nothing to oppose to the enemy but their HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES. 4)65 Bword and lance. Saladin, more respected by his troops, commanded a disciplined army, and often profited by the disorder and confusion of the Christians to combat them 'with advantage and snatch a victor}-. Every battle began at sunrise, and the Christians were generally conquerors up to the middle of the dav : but when even thev had invaded and partly plundered tbe camp of the Mussulmans, and at evening returned home loaded with booty, they were almost sure to find their o^^m camp had been broken into by the troops of Saladin or the garrison. Alter the sultan's descent from the mountain of Karouba, an Egyptian fleet entered the port of Ptolemais. At the same time Saladin welcomed to his camp his brother Malec- Adel, who brought with him troops raised in Egvpt. This double reinforcement revived the courage of the Mussulmans, but they did not long profit by these advantages, and the hope of conquering the Christians began to give way to the most serious alarms. A report was spread throughout the East that t^e emperor of G-ermany had quitted Europe at the head of a numerous army, and was advancing towards Syria. Saladin sent troops to meet such a formidable enemy, and several Mussulman princes quitted the sultan's armv to defend their own states, which were menaced bv the Crusaders coming from the AVest. Ambassadors were sent to the caliph of Bagdad, the princes of Africa and Asia, and to the Mussulman powers of Spain, to engage them to unite their eflbrts against the enemies of Islamism. AMiilst terror thus took possession of the Saracens, the Crusaders conceived fresh hopes, and redoubled their eiforts to gain possession of Ptolemais before the arrival of the Germans. After several contests, they resolved to make one last attempt to drive the Mussulman armv bevond the mountains. Mai'chins: from their camp, they presented themselves in order of battle before the Saracens. The Mussulman historians compare their multitude to that which ^viU assemble at the last dav in the valley of Jehoshaphat. At the first signal, the two armies approached, mingled, and soon appeared nothing but one horrible, contending mass. Arrows hissed tlirough the air, lances crossed, and the rapid blows of sabres and swords resounded from the bucklers and steel casques. The Christian knights seemed animated with 466 HISTORY OF THE Cia'SADES. an invincible ardoui'. The Templars and Hospitallers carried death wherever they directed their course ; S>Tians and Franks, foot-soldiers and horsemen, contended for the prize of valour, and rushed together to meet peril and find ^'ictorT or death. The ^Mussulman armv could not resist their • impetuosity', and at the first charge retired in disorder. The plains and hills were covered with Saracen warriors, who fled, throwins: awav their arms. Victory remained with the Chi'istians : but soon the thii^st of bootv led them to abandon their ranks, and the face of the battle was changed. The Mussulmans had time to rally, and returned to surprise the conquerors, who were pillaging the tent and camp of the sultan. All at once the Christians were surrounded on every side ; and havino; laid down their arms in their eagerness for booty, could not defend themselves, but were seized by a terror like that \s"ith which they had inspired their enemies. The Mussulmans, irritated by their defeat, immolated to their vengeance every Christian that fell in their way. Such of the Crusaders a§ were most gi'eedy of plimder, lost their lives, together with the spoils vrith which thev were loaded, and were slauo;htered without defence in the very tents they had invaded. " The enemies of God," says Bohaheddin, " dared to enter into the camp of the lions of Islamism ; but they experienced the terrible effects of divine ^^Tath. They fell beneath the sword of the Mussulmans as leaves fall in autumn, under the gusts of the tempest. The earth was covered with their bodies, heaped one upon another, like lopped branches which fill the valleys and hills in a forest that has been cut down." Another Arabian historian speaks thus of tliis bloody battle : — '" The Christians ftll under the swords of the conquerors, as the wicked will fall into the abode of fire at the last day. Nine ranks of dead covered the ground between the hill and the sea, and each rank was of a thousand warriors." AVhilst the Chrisrians were being conquered and dispersed, the garrison of Ptolema'is made a sortie ; and, penetrating into their camp, carried oft' a great number of women and children that were left xs-ithout defence. The Crusaders, whom night saved from destrucrion, returned to their camp, deploring their double defeat. The sight of their plun- dered tents and the losses they had experienced, qidte de- niSTORT OF THE CRUSADES. 467 presseo their courage ; and the death of Frederick Barba- rossa, with the disasters of the German army, of ^Yhich they ^\"ere soon informed, appeared to fill up their cup of wretched- ness. The despair of the leaders was so great that they determined to return to Europe, and, in order to secure their departure, were seeking to obtain a disgraceful peace of Saladin, wlien a fleet arrived in the Eoad of Ptolemais, and landed a great number of Prench, English, and Italians, commanded by Henry, count of Champagne. Once more hope was restored to the Crusaders ; the Christians were again masters of the sea, and might, in their turn, make Saladin tremble, who had believed he had nothing more to dread from them. They renewed their attacks upon tlie city with spirit. The count of Cham- pagne, who had restored abundance to the camp, caused to be constructed, at great expense, rams of a prodigious size, with two enormous towers composed of wood, steel, iron, and brass. These machines are said to have cost fifteen hundred pieces of gold. Whilst these formidable auxiliaries menaced the ramparts, the Christians mounted several times to the assault, and were, more than once, on the point of planting the standard of the cross on the walls of the infidels. But the besieged contiiuied to repulse them, and the Mussulmans shut up in the city supported the horrors of a long siege with heroic firmness. The emirs Karacoush and Melchoub were unremitting in their endeavours to keep up the courage of their soldiers. Vigilant, present everywhere, sometimes employing force, and as often stratagem, they allowed no opportunity of surprising the Christians to escape, or to render their attacks abortive. The Mussul- mans burnt all the machines of the besiegers, and made several sorties, in which they drove the Christians to the security of their camp. The garrison received daily reinforcements and provisions by sea; sometimes barks stole along the shore, and got into Ptolemais under tlie favour of night ; at others, vessels from Berytus, manned by apostate Christians, hoisted the white flag with a red cross, and thus deceived the vigilance of the besiegers. The Crusaders, to prevent all communi- cation by sea, resolved to get possession of the Tower of the 4G8 KISTOEY OE THE CKrSAJ)ZS. Spies, wliicli overlooked and dominated tlie port of Ptoie- mais. A vessel, upon which was placed a wooden tower, advanced towards the fort thev wished to attack, whilst a bark tilled with combustible matters, to which fire had been set. was laimched into the port among the ^lussulmau fleet. Evervthing seemed to promise success to this attempt, when, all at once, the wind changed, and drove the blazing fire-ship full upon the wooden tower, which was rapidly consumed by the flames. The duke of Austria, who commanded this perilous expedition, followed by several of the bravest of his warriors, had mounted the tower of the infidels sword in liand ; but at the sight of the conflagration which was devourins: the vessel he came on, he cast himself into the sea, covered with his own blood and that of the Saracens, and 2:ained the shore almost alone. • "Whilst the duke of Austria attacked the tower, the army left their camp to make an assault upon the city. The besiegers performed prodigies of valour without success, and were obliged to return in haste to defend their own tents, underscoing fire and pillage by the army of Saladin. It was amidst this double defeat that Frederick, duke of Swabia, arrived under the walls of Ptolemais with five thousand men, the deplorable remains of a numerous army. When the Christians in Syria had heard of the preparations of the Grermans, their invincible powers were the theme of ever\' tonsfue, and the Crusaders before Ptolemais were animated by the most sangidne expectations ; but when they arrived, and related the disasters they had undergone, their presence spread mourning and depression throughout the army. Frederick wished to sisTialize his arrival bv an attack upon the Saracens. " The Christians," say the Arabian writers, " issued from their camp like ants swarming to their prey, and covered the valleys and hills." They attacked the advanced post of the Mussulman army, en- camped upon the heights of Aiadhiat, not far from the mountains of Galilee. Saladin, whom a serious illness pre- vented from mounting on horseback, caused himself to be carried to Mount Karouba, from whence he could overlook all that went on, and issue his orders. The Christians renewed their attacks several times without producing any HISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. 469 effect upon their enemies ; and after having- fought the whole day, they renounced the hope of a triumph, and returned to their camp, \Yhere the famine, which was beginnmg to be severely felt, allowed them nothing wherewith to recruit their exhausted strength. Every leader of this multitude of Crusaders was obliged to feed the troops that he commanded, and they at no thne were possessed of more than provisions for one week. "When a Christian fleet arrived, they enjoyed abundance ; but when no vessels appeared for a time, they were destitute of the commonest necessaries of life. As winter approached, and the sea became more stormy, \\ant was necessarily proportionately increased. "When the Crusaders made incursions upon neighbouring lands to procure provisions, they fought amidst the ambus- cades of the Saracens. Animated by despair, they several times attacked the enemy in their intrenchments, but were always repulsed. At length famine began to make frightful ravages in the Cliristian army ; a measure of flour, that weighed two hundi'ed and fifty pounds, was sold for ninety- six crowns, a sum so exorbitant that not even princes could pay it. The leaders insisted upon fixing the prices of all provisions brought to the camp ; the venders then hid them in the earth, and the scarcity was increased by the very measures adopted to lessen it.* The Crusaders v/ere obliged to feed upon their horses ; next they devoured leather, harness, and old skins, which were sold for their weight in gold. Many Christians, driven from their camp by famine, took refuge in that of Saladin ; some embraced Islamism to obtain relief in their misery ; whilst others, going on board * Florentinus, bishop of Ptolemais, relates, that when the famine began to reign among the besiegers, to put a check upon the greediness of those who sold provisions at too high a price — Barones constituunt uno prorsus ore Ut deiitur cibaria precio minore. Sed enornovissimus pejor fit priore Dum non audent vendere coiisueto more. Non enim tiim cibaria inveniuntur Per forum venalia ; sed effodiuntur Paviraenta, domini recluduntur. Sic inops et locuples famem patiuntur. 470 HISTOET or THE CEUSADES. ^Mussulman vessels, and braving the perils of the sea, went to pillage the isle of Cyprus and the coasts of S}Tia. Durins; the rainy season the waters covered the plains, and the Crusaders remained crowded together on the hills. The carcasses left on the banks of the rivers, or cast into the torrents, exhaled a pestilential odour, and contagious diseases Avere verv soon added to the horrors of famine. The camp was filled with mourning and funeral rites ; from two to three hundred pilgrims were buried daily. Several of the most illustrious leaders found in contasdon the death thev had so often braved in the field of battle. Frederick, duke of Swabia, died in his tent, after haATug escaped aU the perils of war. His unhappy companions in arms gave tears to his memory, and, despairing of the cause of the Chris- tians, for wliich thev had suffered so much, returned to the "\^>st. To complete their misfortune, Sibylla, the wife of Gruy de Lusignan, died, with her two children, and her death gave rise to fresh discord. Isabella, second dauo;hter of Amaurv, and sister to Queen Sibylla, was heir to the throne of Jeru- salem ; consequently Humphrey de Thoron, the husband of this princess, immediately asserted her rights. On the other side, Guv de Lusisfuan could not consent to abandon his, and maintained that the character of king was indelible ; no one had the right to deprive him of a crown he had once worn. Amidst these disputes, Conrad, already master of Tvre, was all at once seized ^ith the ambition of reisTiins: over Jerusalem and Palestine ; he succeeded in gaining the love of Isabella, induced the council of bishops to dis- solve the marriage of Humphrey, and, although himself married to the sister of the Emperor Isaac, espoused the sister and heiress of Baldwin, determined to defend with the sword the rights which this new union gave him. The Christians, though plunged in such horrible misery, and at the same time coustantlv menaced bv Saladin, were entirely engaged by the pretensions of the two rival princes. Humphrey, who defended his rights very weakly, was in great dread of the threats of Coni-ad, and was wise enough 31 't to regret a sceptre which he must win, or a wife who had abandoned him. He renounced all his claims, and would have been happy if liis docility had restored unaui- HISTORY or TnE CRUSADES. 471 mity ; but there remained still two kings for an invaded, or rather a nominal kingdom, and the two factions divided the army. Some were touched by the misfortunes of Guy, and declared themselves his partisans; whilst others, admiring the bravery of Conrad, thought the kingdom shoidd fall to him who was most capable of defending it. Guy was reproached with having fostered the power of Saladin ; the marquis of T3're, on the contrary, was praised for having preserved the only two cities that remained in the power of the Franks : he alone, they added, could fiu^nish the Chris- tians with provisions, and put an end to the famine which was consuming them. Not one of the Crusaders was ignorant of this quarrel. Dissension spread from the leaders to the soldiers ; they heaped abuse upon each other, and were even ready to cut the throats of their comrades to determine who should possess a broken sceptre and the vain title of king. The bishops at length calmed the fury of these differences, and persuaded therivals to refer the matter to the judgment of Bichard and Philip. These two princes, who had embarked at Genoa and Mar- seilles, met at Messina. Sicily was then at war with Ger- many for the succession of William II. Constance, the heir of William, had married the Emperor Henry VI., and had charged him with the duty of proclaiming her rights, and defending her inheritance ; but Tancred, natural brother of Constance, who had obtained the love of the nobility of Sicily, had usurped the throne of his sister, and maintained himself upon it, by force of arms, against the efforts of the Germans. This prince, not firmly settled on his throne, was much alarmed at the approach of the Crusaders. He feared in Pliilip an ally of the emperor of Germany, and in Eichard, the brother of Queen Jane, the widow of William, whom he had ill-treated, and still detained in prison. Being totally unable to contend with tliem, he attempted to conciliate them by his submission and attentions : he at first succeeded with Philip beyond his expectations, but had much more trouble in appeasing Kichard, who, immediately after his arrival, haughtily demanded the liberty of Jane, and took possession of the two forts which commanded Messina. 472 uiSTOET or the ceusades. The English soon got embroiled with the subjects of Tan- cred, and the banners of England were seen floating over the capital itself. By this act of violence and authority Hichard gave great umbrage to Philip, whose vassal he was. The king gave orders that Eichard's standards should be removed; and the impetuous Coeur de Lion was forced to comply, though trembUng with rage. This submission, although it was accompanied with menaces, seemed to appease Philip, and put an end to the quarrel ; but from that time Eichard became friendly with Tancred, Avho endeavoured to create suspicions of the loyalty of the king of France, and to secure peace to himself, sowed dissension among the Crusaders. The two kinjrs bv turns accused each other of breach of faith and perfidy, and the Erench and EngUsh took part m the hatred of their monarchs. Among these divisions, Phihp pressed Eichard to espouse the princess Alice, who had been promised to him in marriage; but' the face of cir- cumstances had changed, and the king of England refused with contempt a sister of the king of Erance, whom he had himself earnestly sought, and for whom he had made war against his own father. Eleanor of Guienne, who had only ceased to be queen of the Erench to become their implacable enemy, had for a long time endeavoured to dissuade Eichard from this marriage. In order to complete her work, and create an eternal di^ision betvN'een the two kings, she brought with her into Sicily, Eerengaria, the -daughter of Don Sancho of Xavarre, with the view of marrying her to the king of England. The re- port of her arrival augmented the suspicions of Phihp, and was a fresh source of complaints on his part, ^"ar was upon the point of breaking out, but some wise and pious men succeeded in soothing these angrj' spirits ; the two kings formed a new aUiance boimd bv new oaths, and discord was for a moment quelled. But a friendship which required to be sworn to so often, and a peace which every day demanded a fresh treatv, were verv little to be relied on. Eichard, who had just been making war upon Christians, all at once became a prey to repentance and penitence ; he assembled the bishops that had accompanied him in a chapel, presented himself before them in his shirt, confessed his sins, and listened to their reproofs with the docihtj of the HISTOEY OF TRE CEUSADES. 473 humblest of the faitlifiil. Some time after this whimsical ceremony, his mind* being naturall}^ inclined to superstition, he took a fancy to hear Abbot Joachim, \Yho lived in re- tirement in the mountains of Calabria, and passed for a prophet. In a voyage to Jerusalem, this solitary had, it was said, received from Jesus Christ the faculty of explaining the Apocalypse, and to read in it, as in a faithful history, all that was to take place on earth. On the invitation of the king of England, he quitted his retreat, and repaired to Messina, preceded by the fame of his visions and miracles. The austerity of his morals, the singularity of his behaviour, with the mystical obscurity of his discourses, at once procured him the confidence and veneration of the Crusaders. He was questioned upon the issue of the war they were about to make in Palestine ; and he predicted that Jerusalem would be delivered seven years after its conquest by Saladin. "Why, then," said Bichard, "are we come so soon?" " Tour arrival," replied Joachim, "is very necessary; Grod will give you the victory over his enemies, and will render your name celebrated above all the princes of the earth." This speech, which did not at all flatter the passions or impatience of the Crusaders, could only minister to the self- love of Eichard. Philip was very little aflected by a predic- tion which was afterwards also falsified by the event ; and was only the more anxious to encounter Saladin, the re- doubtable conqueror, in whom Joachim saw one of the seven heads of the Apocalypse. As soon as spring rendered the sea navigable, Philip embarked for Palestine. He was received there as an angel of the Lord, and his presence reanimated the valour and hopes of the Christians, who had during two years unsuccessfully besieged Ptolemais. The French fixed their quarters within bow-shot of the enemy, and, as soon as they had pitched their tents, proceeded to the assault. Thev might have rendered themselves masters of the city ; but Philip, inspired by a cliivalric spirit, rather than by a wise policy, was desirous that Ilichard should be * Fleury relates this fact in his Ecclesiastical History, after the English historian Roger Hoveden. The same Roger speaks of the predictions and visions of Abbot Joachim, who finished by incurring the censore of the Holy See. 474 HISTORY OP THE CRUSADES. present at this first conquest. This generous consideration proved fatal to the enterprises of the Christians, and gave time to the Saracens to receive reinforcements. Saladin had passed the winter on the mountain of Karouba, and fatigue, frequent combats, "want, and disease had greatly reduced his army. He himself likewise was weakened by a complaint which the physicians could not cure, and which, on many occasions, prevented him from accompanving his warriors to the field of battle. When he heard of the arrival of the two powerful Christian monarchs, he once more, by his ambassadors, called upon the Mussul- man nations for assistance. In aU the mosques prayers were put up for the triumph of his arms and the deHverance of Islamism ; and in every Mussulman city the Imauns ex- horted the true believers to hasten to the war. " Numberless legions of Christians," said they, " are come from countries situated beyond Constantinople, to bear away from us conquests that gave such joy to the Koran, and to dispute with us a laud upon which the companions of Omar planted the standard of the Prophet. Spare neither your lives nor your treasures to oppose them. Your marches against the infidels, your perils, your wounds, all, even to the passage of the torrent, is written in the book of God. Thirst, hunger, fatigue, death itself will become for you treasures in heaven, and will open to you the gardens and delicious bowers of Paradise. In whatever place you may be, death must overtake vou; neither vour mansions nor your lofty towers can defend you against his darts. Some among you have said, Let us not go to seek for battles dui'ing the heats of summer, or the rigours of winter ; but heU will be more terrible than the rigours of winter or the heats of summer. Go, then, and bravely fight your enemies in a war undertaken for religion. Victory or Paradise awaits you ; fear God more than the infidels ; it is Saladin who calls vou to his baiuiers ; and Saladin is the friend ol the Prophet, as the Prophet is the friend of God. If you do not obey, your families will be driven from S\Tia, and God will plant in your places other nations better than you. J erusalem, the sister of Medina and ISIecca, "^-ill fiiU again into the power of idolaters, who give a so]i, a companion, an equal to the Most High, and wish to extinguish the knowledge of niSTOET or THE CEUSADES. 475 Grod. Arm yourselves then with the buckler of victory ; disperse the children of fire, the sons of hell, whom the sea has vomited upon your shores, and remember these words of the Koran : ' lie who shall abandon his dwelling to defend the holy religion, shall meet with abundance and a great num- ber of companions.'' " ■Animated by such discourses, the Mussulmans flew to arms, and from all parts flocked to the camp of Saladin, whom they looked upon as the arm of victory, and the beloved son of the Prophet. "WTiilst this was going on Eichard was retarded in his march by interests quite foreign to the crusade. At the moment that his rival was waiting for him to take a city from the Saracens, and was willing to share even glory with him, he made himself master of a kingdom, and kept it for himself. On leaving the port of Messina, the English fleet was dis- persed by a \iolent tempest ; three vessels were wrecked upon the coast of Cyprus, and the unfortunate crews, who escaped, were ill-treated by the inhabitants and cast into prison. A ship, on board of which were Berengaria of Navarre, and Jane, queen of Sicily, upon presenting itself before Limisso, was forbidden to enter the port. A short time after, Eichard arrived with his fleet, which he had suc- ceeded in getting together again, and himself met with an insolent refusal. Isaac, of the family of Comnenus, who, during the troubles of Constantinople, had got possession of the isle of Cyprus, and governed it with the ostentatious title of emperor, dared to threaten the king of England. His menaces became the signal for war ; and both sides were eager for the conflict. Isaac could not resist the first shock of the English ; his troops were beaten and dispersed ; his cities opened their gates to the conqueror, and the em- peror of Cyprus himself fell iuto the hands of Eichard, who, to insult his vanity and avarice, caused him to be bound with chains of silver. The king of England, after having delivered the inhabitants of Cyprus from a master whom they called a tjnrant, made them repay this service with the half of their property, and took possession of the island, which was erected into a kingdom, and remained nearly three hundred years under the domination of the Latins. Vol. I.— 22 476 HISTOKY OF THE CKUSADES. It was on tliis island, in the bosom of victory, and in the \dcinity of the ancient Amathus, that Eichard celebrated his marriage ^Yith Berengaria of Navarre. He then set out for Palestine, dragging after him Isaac, loaded with chains, and the daughter of that unfortunate prince, in whom, it is said, the new queen found a dangerous rival. The Franks celebrated the arrival of Eichard with feux dejoie, lighted up throughout the camp. When the English had united their forces with those of the Christian army, Ptolemais saw beneath its walls all that Europe could boast of as illustrious captains and valiant warriors. The tents of the Eranks covered a vast plain, and their army presented a most majestic and terrible aspect. A spectator, on be- holding on the coast of the sea the towers of Ptolemais, and the camp of the Christians, in which they had built houses and traced streets, traversed unceasingly by an im- mense crowd, might have supposed he saw two rival cities which were at war with each other. Each nation had its leader and its separate quarter, and so many languages were fc^poken by the Crusaders, that the Mussulmans could not find interpreters enough to enable them to understand all the prisoners. In this confused multitude, each people had a different character, different manners, and different arms ; but, at the signal for battle, all were animated by the same zeal and the same ardour ; the presence of the two monarchs had re-established discipline, and Ptolemais could not have prolonged its resistance, if discord, that eternal enemy of the Christians, had not entered their camp with Eichard. The debates relative to the succession to the throne (^i Jerusalem were renewed on the arrival of the English. Philip declared for Conrad, which was quite enough to de- termine Eichard to give his voice for Gruy de Lusignan. The Christian army was filled with troubles, and again dirided into two factions : on one side were the Erench, the Grermans, the Templars, and the Genoese ; on the other, the English, the Pisans, and the knights of the Hospital. The two parties, ready to break into open war, no longer united their efforts or their arms against the Saracens ; whenever the king of Erance, at the head of his warriors, proceeded to the assault, the king of England remained in his tent in HISTOKY OF THE CRUSADES. 477 a state of sullen repose.* The besieged had never more than one of the monarchs to contend with at once, and the Christian army, after it had received such powerful auxi- liaries, became much less redoubtable to the Saracens. Amidst the disputes which divided the Crusaders, both kings fell dangerously ill, and their hatred and suspicion were so great, that each accused the other of having made an attempt upon his life. As Saladin sent them refresh- ments and physicians, and as they addressed frequent messages to him, each party reproached the monarch who was opposed to him with keeping up an impious under- standing with the Saracens. The perils of the army, however, with the glory of religion and the interests of the crusade, for a moment stifled the voice of faction, and induced the Crusaders to unite against the common enemy. After long debates, it was decided that Guy de Lusignan should retain the title of king during his life, and that Conrad and his descendants should succeed to the kingdom of Jerusalem. It was at the same time agreed that when one of the two monarchs should attack the city, the other should watch over the safety of the camp, and keep the army of Saladin in check. This agreement re-established harmony ; and the Christian warriors, who had been upon the point of taking arms against each other, now only contended for the glory of conquering the infidels. The siege was resumed with fresh ardour, but the Mussul- mans had employed the time wasted by the Christians in vain disputes, in strengthening the city. When the besiegers appeared before the walls, they met with a resistance en- tirely unexpected, whilst the army of Saladin continued indefatigable and unceasing in its attacks. At the earliest break of day, the drums and trumpets constantly sounded the signal for battle, both from the walls of Ptolemais and * Could not the reader imagine these kings were playing the siege of Troy, and that Richard was the sulky Achilles ? There is a strong re- semblance in the constitution of the forces before Troy and the independent nations, baronies, and counties of the Crusaders — thence the dis^sensions, delays, and disasters of both. History becomes the test of poetry, and Homer shines forth not only the great poet, but the veracious historian and clear-sighted philosopher. — Trans. 478 nisTOEY OF the crusaces. the camp of the sultan, SaLidin animated his troops "by his presence ; whilst his brother, Malec-Adel, offered an example of bravery to the emirs. Many great battles were fought at the foot of the hills on which the Christians were encamped, and twice the Crusaders gave a general assault ; but on both occasions were obliged to return hastily to their tents, to defend them against Saladin. In one of these attacks, a Christian knight singly defended one of the gates of the camp against a host of Saracens. The Arabian writers compare this knight to a demon animated by all the fires of hell. An enormous cuirass* entirely covered him ; arrows, stones, lance-thrusts, made no impression on him ; all who approached him were slain, and he alone, though stuck all over with javelins and surrounded by -enemies, appeared to have nothing to fear. Ko weapons or force being able to prevail, the Greek fire was at length employed, which being poured upon his head, devoured by flames, he perished like one of the enormous machines that the besieged had burnt under the walls of the city. Every day the Crusaders redoubled their efforts, and by turns repulsed the army of Saladin, or made assaults upon Ptolemais. In one of these assaidts, they filled up a part of the ditches of the city witli the carcasses of their dead horses and the bodies of their companions who had fallen beneath the swords of the enemy, or been swept away by disease. The Saracens raised up these horrid masses heaped up under their walls, and cast them back again in fragments upon the banks of the ditches, where the sword and lance were for ever immolating fresh victims. Neither the spec- tacle of death, nor obstacles, nor fatigue aftected the Chris- tians. When their wooden towers and their battering-rams were reduced to ashes, they dug into the earth, and by sub- terranean ways advanced under the foundations of the ram- parts. Every day they employed some fresh means or some new machine to subdue the place. An Arabian historian relates that they raised near their camp a hill of earth of a prodigious height, and that by constantly throwing the earth up before them, they brought this mountain close to the * I would fain translate this word shield or buckler ; but as I cannot find the word cuirasse ever used for one of these, am obliged to follow my original. — Trans. niSTOllY OF THE CRUSADES. 479 city. It liad advanced wifchin half a bow-shot, when the Mussulmans issued from their gates, and precipitated them- selves in front of this enormous mass, which grew nearer and nearer, and already threatened their walls. Armed with swords, pickaxes, and 'shovels, they attacked the troops em- ployed in forwarding it, using every effort to remove it back towards the plain ; but were only able to arrest its progress by dio-ging vast and deep ditches in its passage. Among all the Christian warriors, the French distinguished themselves greatly, and directed their efforts principally against the Cursed Tower, which was erected at the eastern sfde of the city. A great part of the walls began to tall, and must soon offer a passage to the besieging army. AVar, famine, and disease had weakened the garrison ; the city had not soldiers enough left to defend the ramparts and move about the machines employed against those of the Christians. The place not only stood in need of provisions, but of warlike munitions and Greek fire. The warriors who had gone through so much, began to feel discouragement, and the people loudly murmured against Saladin and the emirs. In this extremity, the commander of the garrison came and proposed a capitulation to Philip Augustus, who swore by the God of the Christians that he would not spare a sinc^le inhabitant of Pfcolemais, if the Mussulmans did not restore all the cities that had fallen into their power since the battle of Tiberias. -, ' ^ -ni -t The chief of the emirs, irritated by the relusal ot I'lniip, retired, saying that he and his companions would rather bury themselv'es beneath the ruins of the city, than listen to such terms, and that they would defend Ptolemais as a lion defends his blood-stained lair. On his return into the place, the commander of the Saracens communicated his courage, or rather his despair, to every heart. When the Christians resumed their assaults, they were repulsed with a vigour that astonished them. " The tumultuous waves of the Franks," says an Arabian author, " rolled towards the place with the rapidity of a torrent ; they mounted the half-rumed walls as wild goats ascend the steepest rocks, whilst the Saracens precipitated themselves upon the besiegers like stones detached from the summits of mountains." In one general assault, a Florentine knight of the family 480 HISTOEY OF THE CKUSADES. of Bonaguisi, followed by some of his men, fought lils way into one of the towers of the infidels, and got possession of the Mussulman banner that floated from it. Overpowered by numbers, and forced to retreat, he returned to the camp, bearing the flag he had carried ofl" from the Saracens. ]n the same assault, Alberic Clement, the first marshal of France of whom history makes mention, scaled the ram- parts, and, sword in hand, penetrated into the city, where he found a glorious death. Stephen, count of Blois, and several knights were burnt by the Greek fire, the boihng oil, the melted lead, and heated sand which the besieged poured down upon all who approached the walls. The obstinate ardour of the Mussulmans was sustained during sevei-al days ; but as they received no succour, many emirs, at length despairing of the safety of Ptolemais, threw themselves, by night, into a bark, to seek an asylum in the camp of Saladin, preferring to encounter the anger of the sultan, to perishing by the sword of the Chris- tians. This desertion, and the contemplation of their ruined towers, filled the Mussulmans with terror. AV^hilst pigeons and divers constantlv announced to Saladin the horrible dis- tresses of the besieged, the latter came to the resolution of leaving the city by night, and braving every peril to join the Saracen army. But their project being discovered by the Christians, they blocked up and guarded every passage by which the enemy could possibly escape. The emirs, the soldiers, and the inhabitants then became con\dnced that they had no hope but in the mercy of Philip Augustus, and promised, if he would grant them liberty and life, to cause to be given np to the Christians sixteen hundred prisoners, and the wood of the true cross. By the capitulation they engaged to pay two hundred thousand pieces of gold to the leaders of the Christian army, and the garrison, with th3 entire population of Ptolemais, were to remain in the power of the conquerors till the execution of the treaty. A Mussulman soldier was sent from the city to announce to Saladin that the garrison was forced to capitidate. The sultan, who was preparing to make a last eftbrt to save the place, learnt the news with deep regret. He assembled his council, to know if they approved of the capitulation ; but EISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 481 scarcely were the principal emirs met in his tent, when they beheld the standards of the crusaders floating over the walls and towers of Ptolemais. Such was the conclusion of this famous siege, which lasted nearly three years, and in which the crusaders shed more blood and exhibited more bravery than ought to have sufficed lor the subjugation of the whole of Asia. More than a himdred skirmishes and nine great battles were fought before the walls of the city ; several floiu'ishing armies came to recruit armies nearly annihilated, and were in their tui'n replaced by fresh armies. The bravest nobility of Europe perished in this siege, swept away by the sword or disease. Among the illustrious victims of this war, history points out Philip, count of Elanders, Gruy de Chatillon, Bernard de St. Yallery, Yautrier de Mory, Raoul de Fougeres, Eudes de Gonesse, Eenaud de Maguy, Geoffroi d'Aumale, viscount de Chatellerault, Josselin de Montmorency, and Eaoul de Marie ; the archbishops of Besan^on and Canterbury ; with many other ecclesiastics and knights whose piety and exploits were the admiration of Europe.* In this war both parties were anunated by religion ; each side boasted of its miracles, its saints, and its pro- phets. Bishops and imauus equally promised the soldiers remission of their sins and the crown of martjTdom. Whilst the king of Jerusalem caused the book of the Evangelists to be borne before him, Saladin would often pause on the iield of battle to offer up a prayer or read a chapter from the Koran. t The Eranks and the Saracens mutually accused each other of ignorance of the true God and of outraging him by their ceremonies. The Christians rushed upon their enemies crying, ^' It is the will of God ! It is the icill of God!'''' and the Saracens answered by their war-cry, '• Islam! Islam!'''' Eanaticism frequently augmented the fury of slaughter. * Either the English took less part in the crusades than we generally imagine, or a French historian does not mete thein due honour ; the archbishop of Canterbury is the only name clearly English in this list. I shall have occasion to recur to this subject. — Trans. f Saladin had a copy of the Koran, compiled by Omar, always carried with his army. 482 HISTOEY OF TUE cet:s.u)es. The Mussulmans from the height of their towers insulted the religious ceremonies of the Christians.* They raised crosses on their ramparts, beat them with rods, covered them with dust, mud, and filth, and broke them into ^ thousand pieces before the eves of the besiegers. At this spectacle the Christians swore to avenge their outraged worship, and menaced the Saracens with the destruction of ever)' Maho- medan pulpit. In the heat of this rehgious animosity, the Mussulmans often massacred disarmed captives ; and in more than one battle they burnt theirf Christian prisoners in the very field of conflict. The crusaders but too closely imitated the barbarity of their enemies ; funeral piles, lighted up by fanatical rage, were often extinguished in rivers of blood. The Mussulman and Christian warriors provoked each other durinof siusjle combats, and were as lavish of abuse as the heroes of Homer. Heroiues often appeared in tlie melee, and disputed the prize of strength and courage with the bravest of the Saracens. J Children came from the city to fight with the children of the Christians in the presence of the two armies. But sometimes the furies of war gave place to the amenities of peace, and Franks and Saracens would for a moment forget the hatred that liad led them to take up arms. During the course of the siege several tournaments were held in the plain of Ptolemais, to which the Mussulmans were invited. The champions of the two parties harangued each other before entering the lists ; the conqueror was bonie in triumph, and the conquered ransomed like a pri- * Florentinus, bishop of Ptolemais, describes with horror the impiety of the Turks :— Milites aspiceres super mures stantes Turcos, sanctam manibus crucena elerantes Cum flagellis asperis eam verberantes, Et cum impropriis nobis minitantes. f " One of our people," says Omad, " having been made prisoner, was burnt, and the flames accompanied him to his place of everlasting repose ; we took a Christian, we burnt him, and the flames that devoured him mingled with the fires of hell." — See the MS. of Dom Berthereau. X A combat of children is related by Omad of Ispahan ; and the same author speaks of the Christian heroines who mingled in the fight. He adds, that the young women fought, and the old women animated them by their cries. HISTORY OF THE CEUSAI>ES. 483 soner of war. In these warlike festivities, wliicli brought the two nations together, the Franks often danced to the sound of Arabian instruments, and their minstrels afterwards played or sang to the dancing of the Saracens. Most of the Mussulman emirs, after the example of Saladin, affected an austere simplicity in their vestments and manners. An Arabian author compares the sultan, in his court, surrounded by his sons and brothers, to the star ot night, which sheds a sombre light amidst the other stars. The principal leaders of the crusade did not entertain the same love of simplicity, but endeavoured to excel each other in splendour and magnificence. As in the first crusade, the princes and barons were followed into Asia by their hunting and fishing appointments, and the luxuries of their palaces and castles. When Philip Augustus arrived before Ptole- mais, all eyes were for a moment turned upon the falcons he had brought with him. One of these having escaped from the hands of his keeper, perched upon the ramparts of the city, and the whole Christian army was excited by endeavours to recapture the fugitive bird. As it was caught by the Mussulmans, and carried to Saladin, Philip sent an ambas- sador to the sultan to recover it, ofiering a sum of gold that would have been quite snfficient for the ransom of many Christian warriors. The misery which so often visited the Crusaders, did not at all prevent a great number of them from indulging in excesses of license and debauchery. All the vices of Europe and Asia were met together on one spot. If an Arabian author may be believed, at the very moment in which the Franks were a prey to famine and contagious diseases, a troop of three hundred women from Cyprus and the neigh- bouring islands arrived in the camp. These three hundred women, whose presence in the Christian army was a scandal in the eyes of the Saracens, prostituted themselves among the soldiers of the cross, and stood in no need of employing the enchantments of the Armida of Tasso to corrupt them. Nevertheless, the clergy were uni-emitting in their exhor- tations to the pilgrims to lead them back to the morals of the Gospel. Churches, suj^mounted by wooden steeples, were erected in the camp, in which the faithful were every day called together. Not unfrequently the Saracens took 22* 484 HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. advantage of the moment at which the soldiers left their in- trenchments unofuarded to attend mass, and made living but anuopng incui'sions. Amidst general corruption, the siege of Ptolemais presented manv subjects of edification. In the camp, or in the field of battle, charity hovered constantly around the Christian soldier, to soothe his misery, to watch his sick pallet, or dress his wounds. During the siege the warriors from the North were in the greatest distress, and could gain little assistance from other nations. Some pilgrims from Lubeck and Bremen came to their aid, formed tents of the sails of their vessels to shelter their poor countrymen, and ministered to their wants and tended their diseases. Forty German nobles took part in this generous enterprise, and their association was the origin of the hospitable and military order of the Teutonic knights. When the Crusaders entered Ptolemais, they shared the sovereignty of it amongst them, each nation taking possession of one of the quarters of the city, which had soon as many masters as it had had enemies. The king of Jerusalem was the only leader that obtained nothins: in the division of the first reconquered place of his kingdom. The capitulation remained luiexecuted ; Saladin, under various pretexts, deferring the completion of the conditions. Pichard, irritated by a delay which appeared to him a breach of faith, revenged himself upon the prisoners that were in his hands. AVithout pity for disarmed enemies, or for the Christians he exposed to sanguinary reprisals, he massacred five thousand Mussulmans before the city they had so vali- antly defended, and within si»ht of Saladin, who shared the disgrace of this barbarity by thus abandoning his bravest and most faithful warriors. This action, which excited the regret of the whole Chris- tian army, suflS^ciently exposed the character of Eichard, and showed what was to be dreaded from his violence ; a barba- rous and implacable enemy could not become a generous rival. On the day of the surrender of Ptolemais, he committed a gross outrage upon Leopold, duke of Austria, by ordering the standard of that prince, which had been planted on one of the towers, to be cast into the ditch. Leopold dissembled his resentment, but swore to avenge this insult whenever he should find an opportunity. HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 485 Richard, for ever carried away by his violent and imperious character, desired to command as a master, and alone dictate laws for the whole army of the Crusaders. He endeavoured to corrupt the troops of Philip by largesses ; he set a price upon infidelity and treason ; and Philip, fearing to compro- mise the dignity of a king and the interests of the crusade by punishing the outrages and perfidy of his rival, resolved to return to Prance, where fortune offered him more than one opportunity of usefully revenging himself upon the king of Ens^land. Philip quitted Palestine, leaving in the army ten thousand foot and five hundred horse, under the command of the duke of Burgundy. On his arrival at Tyre, from which port he embarked, he received a solemn embassy from Saladin, who sent him magnificent presents, and complimented him as the most powerful monarch of the West. He soon arrived in Italy, where the holy pontiff' praised his devotion, and bestowed upon him the palms of pilgrimage. AVelcomed on his return to his kingdom by the benedictions of his people, he carried back the sacred oriflamme to the church of St. Denis, and returned thanks to the apostles of Prance for having protected his life and the glory of his arms amidst the greatest perils. When Philip left Palestine, Eichard remained at the head of an army of a hundred thousand Crusaders. After having repaired the walls of Ptolemais, and allowed his soldiers some little repose, he passed the Belus, crossed Moiuit Carmel, and marched towards Csesarea. A fleet from Ptole- mais kept close to the shore, and transported the provisions, machines of war, and baggage of the Christian army. Sala- din, whom Arabian writers often compare to a lioness that has lost her young, upon receiving intelligence of the march of the Crusaders, gathered together his army, and set out in pursuit of them ; sometimes getting in advance and attack- ing their van, at others harassing their flanks, and seizing every soldier that ventured to stray from the main body. Although Caesarea was only twelve leagues from Ptolemais, the Crusaders could not accomplish the distance in less than six days. All the Christians, who were unable to keep up with the army, and fell into the power of Saladin, were put to death by his orders, and their bodies left upon 4S6 HISTORY or TUE CEUSADES. the sliore, as an expiation of tlie massacre of tlie garrison of Ptolemais. Eichard, 'vnIio found that perils and obstacles multiplied in his route, desired an interview with Malek-Adel, and pro- posed to make peace, if the Mussulmans would restore the city of Jemsalem to the Christians. Malek-Adel replied that the last of the soldiers of Saladin would perish^ rather than renounce conquests made in the name of Islamism. Eichard, irritated bv this refusal, swore that he would obtain by vic- tory that which he could not obtain from Saladin, and gave orders for the army to pursue their march.* The Crusaders advanced towards the city of Arsur, march- ing over a long but narrow plain, intersected by torrents, ravines, and marshes, and covered in many places with fragments of rocks, marine plants, and reeds. They had the sea on their right, and on the left rose the steep moun- tains of Xaplouse, defended by the inhabitants of the country and the troops of Saladin. At every passage of a torrent, at every dune or hillock of sand, at every villao;e, a fresh contest had to be sustained, whilst the Mussulman archers, placed upon the heights, annoyed them unceasingly with their arrows. Eichard's army marched in order of battle; the cavalry being placed in the centime ; whilst the foot, closing their ranks, presented an impenetrable wall to the enemy, and braved their constantly renewed attacks. The army of the sultan got in advance of the Crusaders, and laid waste evervtliino: in their wav ; exhausting their efforts and ingenuibt" to retard, or entii'ely stop their march. Across the plain of Arsur flowed a toiTent which cast itself into the sea near the ramparts of the city ; and not far from this torrent, a wood of oaks, which historians call the * The march and the contests of the Christians and the Mussvilmans are described in fullest detail by Omad-al-Kabel, secretary to Saladin, in his book entitled the Pheta ; and by Schahabeddin, author of the RouiJa- tain. These two historians almost always make the Mussulmans triumph. " We have," say they, '• animated tbe tongues of lances and swords to speak to the Christians, and to hear their words. Then God rendered sweet to us all that was bitter, and by his goodness drew near to us all that was at a distance." We shall not follow these two historians, nor even Bohaddin, through the combats of the Mussulmans and Christians, combats in -which the latter are, by their account, always conquered, and yet always continue to advance into their enemy's country. niSTOEY OF THE CKUSADE3. 487 forest of Sarun, and which is believed to be the forest cele- brated by Tasso, extended along the declivities of the moun- tains of Naplouse : it was upon this spot Saladin awaited the Crusaders to offer them a decisive battle. A part of his army covered the heights, whilst the remainder encamped upon the banks of the torrent of Arsur. The Christians soon arrived in face of their enemy, and di'ew up in order of battle. The Danes, Flemings, and Tuscans, commanded by Jacques d' Avesnes, formed the van. Richard marched in the centre, at the head of the English, Normans, Gascons, the S^T-ian troops, and those of the count of Champagne: the rear-guard Avas composed of French and Germans, under the orders of the duke of Bur- gundy and Leopold of Austria. Whilst the archers were showering their arrows from a distance, Saladin passed through the ranks, and roused the courage of his soldiers, who replied to him with cries of Allah ac bar! — God is powerful.* Profound silence prevailed in the Christian army ; the black cuirasses of the Crusaders seeming to darken the horizon, whilst sixty thousand swords gleamed out from amidst clouds of dust. All at once the Christian infantry opened their ranks, and the cavalry rushed forward towards the enemy, drawn up on the banks of the torrent of Arsur. Jacques d' Avesnes, who commanded them, pene- trated twice into the closely-pressed ranks of the Saracens, and twice was compelled to retreat in disorder. At the third charge his leg was severed by the stroke of a sabre, but he still pursued the infidels, when the arm with which he fought was struck off at a blow. The Christian hero fell amidst the enemy, calling aloud upon Eichard, and conjuring him to avenge his death. * Omad says that the Mussulmans surrounded the army of their enemy as the eyelashes sunv^nd the eye. The Mussulman authors speak highly of Jacques d' Avesnes. All the historians of Saladin do not agree as to his defeat, and say that Richard got possession of Jaffa after being con- quered. Aboul-feda is more honest; Tabary agrees also that the Mus- sulmans were put to flight ; the same historian adds to his faithful account the following remarkable circumstance: — "Near the Mussulman army was a thick wood, into which they retreated. The Franks believed that this retreat was a stratagem, and did not dare to pursue their enemies, whom they might have destroyed if they had followed up their victory." For these authors, see the Latin extracts of Dom -Bc-rthereau. 488 IIISTOET OF THE CRUS.IDES. The king of England advanced witli the main body, sweeping away the crowd of Saracens that opposed his passage, and pursuing them to the other side of the torrent ; but whilst he yielded to his ardour, and advanced before the Christian army, the chosen troops of the Mussulmans de- scended from the mountains of Naplouse, and poured down upon the rear of the Christians. Eichard was forced to retrace his steps to support the French and Germans, who were beginning to give way. The plain in which the battle was fought, could scarcelv contain all the combatants. The Christians and Mussulmans closed, and attacked each other man to man ; the foot fought pellmell with the horse, exhorting each other to brave death. The cries of rage, despaii', and agony were mingled with the clashing of swords, lances, and shields. The two armies, confounded and mixed together, became nothing but one horrible spec- tacle. If we believe the somewhat improbable account of an English historian,* Hichard and Saladin met in the vielee, and rushed upon each other sword in hand, and the two armies instantly became motionless, leaving to their great leaders the honour of deciding the fate of the battle. This singular circumstance, which poetry might envy his- tory, is not mentioned by Arabian writers.f The battle lasted almost during the whole day. Towards evening the Mussulmans were broken on all sides, and retreated in disorder into the forest of Saron, whither the fear of an ambuscade prevented the Christians from pursuing them, and destro^'ing the wreck of their army. The battle of Arsur was one of the most celebrated of this war ; in it the ^lussulmans lost a great number of their bravest emirs, and particularly regretted a chief of Saladin' s Mamelukes, whose heroic courage is highly celebrated by their historians. Xo Saracen warrior was more prompt to * Arabian historians say nothing of the single combat between Richard and Saladin. English historians alone mention it. t I cannot attach much consequence to the silence of the Arabian, writers on this subject, neither can 1 think, with our author, such a ren- contre so improballe in such a melee. The principal argument against it is, that Saladin survived the battle. Richard was at least twelve years younger than Saladin, and in the full vigour of a large, powerful frame, whilst Saladin was weakened by toil and disease. — Trans. HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. 489 meet danger, and he was always the first to fly to the assistance of his companions, though he himself needed aid from no man. His horse being slain, this brave emir was encumbered with the weight of his iron armour, and received several mortal wounds. Many Mussulman soldiers hastened to his relief; hut he was already amongst the inliahitants of heaven ! The Christians wept for the death of Jacques d'Avesnes, who had so often shown them the path to victory. In this glorious day the loss of the Crusaders was much less than that of the Mussulmans ; their leaders and soldiers displayed a degree of skill that they had never evinced before. The Saracen cavalry, superior to that of the Crusaders, had not room to perform their usual evolutions with advantage in so confined a field. They attacked the Christians several times with great impetuosity, but the Crusaders withstood them with immovable firmness, and constantly rallied around their great standard, which floated from the summit of a rolling tower. A remarkable circumstance of this battle is, that it was principally gained by the infantry, a force which, although held in contempt in the first crusade, had learnt to be redoubtable under the walls of Ptolemais. Bichard, who had conquered the Saracens, was not wise enough to profit by theii' defeat ; instead of pursuing the enemy, or marching straight to Jerusalem, he led his army to Jaffa, the ramparts of which Saladin had demolished, and which the Mussulmans had abandoned. He occupied himself with repairing the fortifications, and sent for the Queen Berengaria, Jane, the widow of the king of Sicily, and the daughter of Isaac. Surrounded by a brilliant court, he forgot, in the intoxication of pleasure and festivities, the conquest of Jerusalem, for which he had come into Asia. During this fatal repose, he was on the point of losing with his life and liberty the fruit of all his victories. Being one day hunting in the forest of Saron, overcome by heat or fatigue, he alighted from his horse and fell asleep under a tree. All at once he was aroused by the cries of those who accompanied him, — a troop of Saracens was close upon them ! He sprang upon his horse, and prepared to defend himself ; but was near sinking beneath the force of numbers, when a knight of his suite, named William Fourcelet, cried 4i90 iiisTortY or the ceusades. out in tlie Arabic tongue, '■^ I am the Icing ; spare my lifer* At these words, this generous warrior was surrounded by the Mussidmaus, who made him prisoner and conducted him to Saladin. The king of'Eugland, thus saved by the heroism of a French knight, escaped the pursuit of the enemy, and returned to Jaffa, where his army learnt with terror the danger they had been in of losing their leader. Eichard formed the project of besieging Ascalon ; and Saladin being doubtful of his power to defend that city, resolved to destroy it. In vain the inhabitants came to implore his pity ; in the space of a few days the strongest and most flourishing city of Syria was consumed by fire, and remained nothing but a heap of ruins. The demolition of Ascalon excited gi'eat sorrow among the Mussulmans ; and the king of England, who had enter- tained hopes of rendering himself master of the place, was as much afflicted as if he had lost one of liis conquests. This city, which had cost the Cln-istians and Mussulmans so much blood, opened at once to the Crusaders the gates of Palestine and Egypt. Eichard undertook to rebuild the ramparts that the Mussulmans had destroyed, and led his army into the plain, covered by the ruins of Ascalon. It was a curious spectacle to behold thirty thousand warriors from the ^V^est employed in rebuilding the walls of a city of Syria. The Crusaders, as the Hebrews have been described to us whilst erecting the temple of Jerusalem, were obliged to work with the sword in one hand and the tools of masonrv in the other. Saladin migrht have distui'bed their labours : but he preferred giving his army a little repose, and recruiting its numbers ; persuaded that the divisions that existed among his enemies would soon work to his advantage. The Christian army obeyed Eichard very unwillingly. Leopold of Austria, accused by the king of England of remaining idle with his Grermans, contented himself with repUing tliat lie was neither a carpenter nor a mason. The greater part of the knights who were thus employed in moving stones and digging ditches, were exceedingly indig- nant, and said aloud that they did not come into Asia to rebuild Ascalon, but to conquer Jerusalem. * This gallant act of devotedness of William de Pourcelet, a Proven^a) gentleman, is related by both the Latin and Oriental historians. HISTOST OF TKE CEUSADES. ' 491 "Whilst the Christian armj Avas in this dissatisfied state, the marquis of Tyre, who had been ill-treated by Eichard, courted the alliance of the sultan, and promised to restore Ptolemais to him, if the Mussubnans would agree to protect him against his enemies. The king of England, warned of this perfidious negotiation, became only anxious to defeat the projects of Com-ad, and himself made propositions to Saladin. He renewed the promise he had made to Malek- Adel to return into Europe if Jerusalem and the wood of the true cross were restored to the Christians. " Jerusalem," replied Saladin, '" never belonged to you ; we cannot without a crime abandon it to you, for in it were accomplished the mysteries of our religion," As to the wood of the true cross, Saladin considered it as an obiect of scandal, as an insult to divinity. He had refused to give it up to the king of Georgia or the emperor of Constantinople, both of whom had offered him considerable sums for it. " All the advantages' to be procured by peace," said he, " cannot bring me to restore this disgracel'ul monument of their idolatrj^ to the Christians." Eichard, who really considered the restitution of the true cross of very little importance, did not reiterate his demand ; but as he was desirous of peace, he made other proposals, in which he adroitly interested the ambition of Malek-Adel, the brother of the sultan. The widow of AVilliam of Sicily, the sister of Richard, was offered in marriage to the Mussulman prince ; under the auspices of Saladin and Eichard, they mio-ht reign together over Mussulmans and Christians, and govern the kingdom of Jerusalem. The historian Omad was charged by Malek-Adel with the task of communicating this proposition to Saladin, who appeared to adopt it without repugnance.* The project of this singular union created great surprise among the imauns and doctors of the law ; and * This negotiation is related by the principal Arabian historians, Bo- haeddin and the author of the Phatah. Although Christian writers have not spoken of it, it would be diffic;ult to cast doubt upon, or weaken the evidence of Arabian authors, w^ho were ocular witnesses, and were them- selves mixed up with the affair. It is this negotiation that gave Madame Cottin the idea of her romance of Mathilda, or the Crusades; a work full of eloquent pictures and heroic sentiments, drawn from the history of chivalry. 492 HISTOET OF THE CSrSADES. the Christian bishops, ^-hen they were informed of it, expressed the strongest indignation, and threatened both Jane and Eichard ^^"ith the thunders of the Church. The execution of this plan appeared impossible in the midst of a religious war ; and everything leads us to believe that Saladin only affected to give it attention that he might gain time to fortify Jerusalem, which the Christians still demanded of him. Skilful workmen from Aleppo were, by his orders, employed in widening the ditches and repairing the walls. Among the Mussulman workmen were two thousand Christian prisoners, condemned to rebuild the fortresses occupied by the infidels. Saladin encouraged the labours by his presence and his example, animating the zeal of the people and soldiers by frequently reminding them of the ^'ictories of the Mussulmans, andof the massacre of their brethren slaughtered before Ptolemais. The conquest of the holy city was the object of the war, — the great reward promised to the labonrs of the crusaders ; and they at leugth earnestly pressed Eichard to march towards Jerusalem. He was obliged to yield to their impa- tience, and led them as far as Bethonopolis,* situated between Ascalon and the capital of Palestine. At the approach of the Franks, Saladin ordered all the country through which their army must pass to be laid waste. By the commands of the sultan the ramparts of Eamla and Lidda, with the fortress of Xitro, were demolished. All the routes which led to Jerusalem were sruarded by Mussidman cavalry, who unceasingly harassed the Christians, and pre- vented their receiving provisions from Ptolemais or other maritime cities. In proportion with their approximation to Jerusalem, the enthusiasm and ardour of the Crusaders increased ; but Eichard and most of the leaders did not at all partake of the impatience of the soldiers. The Christian army was only one day's march from the sea-coast, and yet want of pro- visions began to be sensibly felt. If in the plains of Ptole- • M. Paultre, in his manuscript history of the states of Syria, believes that this city, so named by the historians of the crusade, is the citv of Eleutberopolis, situated nine or ten leases east of Ascalon, on the road to Jerusalem, in a valley crossed by the torrent of Ascalon, seven leagues west of Jerusalem, and sLt of Rair.la. IIISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. 493 mais, where the Crusaders could look for provisions to the Mediterranean, they had experienced all the horrors of famine, what miseries had they not reason to expect under the walls of Jerusalem ? Mussulman troops were encamped in the plains of Jericho and Hebron, and in the country of jSaplouse, and had the power at all times to throw succour into Jerusalem, if that city were besieged by the Christians. Winter, besides, was beginning to create a dread of conta- gious diseases ; the leaders of the army were divided among themselves, and even the sight of danger could scarcely bring them to act in concert. All these circumstances produced doubt and irresolution in the minds of Kichard and the most prudent of the barons and knights. Hichard entertained hopes that Saladin would come and offer him battle, and that a victory would at once throw open the gates of Jerusalem to him ; but the sultan, who had proved the strength and bravery of the Christians at Arsur, was not willing to expose his conquests to the hazard of a battle. E-ichard, on his part, dreaded the perils and fatigues of a protracted siege, and suddenly led back his army to the plains of Ascalou. The multitude of the Crusaders, who were ignorant of or did not appreciate the motives of the king of England, only obeyed him with murmurs, and most of the leaders, declared enemies of E-ichard, mingled their complaints with those of the soldiers. Several dissatisfied Crusaders deserted the standards which no longer pointed out to them the road to Jerusalem. Whilst the army was marching despondingly back to the plains of Ascalon, the Genoese and Pisans, continually at variance, broke into open war within the walls of Ptolemais. Conrad took part with the Grenoese, whilst the king of England as eagerly defended the Pisans, and terminated tliis civil war by forcing Conrad and the Grenoese to retreat to the city of Tyre. Amidst these sanguinary disputes, Conrad, who had an ambassador at the court of Saladin, unable longer to endure the authority of liichard, entered into an alliance with the Mussulmans. Saladin, by treaty, abandoned to the marquis of Tyre all the cities the latter might take from the Chris- tians, and promised to aid him in his conquests, only re- 494 niSTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. servine: the "bootv for the Mussulman soldiers. This treaty, dictated bv hatred to Eichard, was the signal for the death of Conrad; a very short time afterwards the marquis of Tyre perished by an unknowTi hand. English authors assert that Conrad had had quarrels with the chief of the IsmaeHans, and that he was assassinated by the orders of this redoubtable enemv. Two youusj slaves left the voluptuous gardens, in which their master had brought them up, to execute his vengeance. They arrived at T^Te, and, in order to conceal their purpose the better, received baotism. Thev engaged tliemselves in the serm-e of Conrad, and remained six months- about his person, apparently only occupied in offering up prayers to the God of the Christians. One day, as the marquis was coming from dining with the bishop of Beauvais, the two Ismaelians attacked him, and "wounded him mortally. ^Iiilst the people congregated tumultuously, one of the assassins fled into a neighboiunng church, into which, likewise, the bleeding marquis was borne. The Ismaeiian, who had concealed himself, suddenly rushed through the crowd, and again falling upon Conrad, struck him repeatedly with his dagger, till he was quite dead. The two assassins were seized, and both died amidst tortures, without uttering a single gi'oan, or naming the person who had employed them to take away the life of the marquis of Tyre.* The continuator of Tabarv savs that Saladin had offered the Old Man of the Mountains ten thousand pieces of gold if he would cause the marquis of Tyre and the king of England to be assassinated ; but the prince of the moun- taui, adds the same historian, did not think proper to deliver Saladin entirely from his war with the Franks, and only performed half of that which had been required of him. The Christians did not attribute the death of Conrad to Saladm, but many among them accused Eichard of it. A short time after the murder, a letter was published, in which the lord of the mountain avowed himsell' to be the author of the assassination ; but this letter bore no character of authenticitv about it. The savage lord of the mountain * The assassination of Conrad is thus related in the continuator of Tahary. — See the MS. of D. Berthereau. HISTORY OF TUE CETJSADES. 495 coiild not write, and could have no interest in making the apology of a Christian prince.* The king of England him- self strengthened the public suspicions by taking possession of Tyre, and giving the widow of Conrad in marriage to his nephew, the count of Champagne. However it may be, this accusation, which was accredited among the Christians, announced plainly the idea they entertained of the character of Eichard. The account of the death of Conrad soon reached Europe, and Philip Augustus, dreading the same fate, no longer appeared in public without being surrounded by a guard. The court of France accused Eichard of the blackest attempts ; but it is probable that Philip, on this occasion, showed more fear than he really felt, in order to render his rival the more odious, and to arm against him the hatred of the pope, and the indignation of all the princes of Christendom. After the death of Conrad, Eichard had no rivals to sus- pect, or enemies to fight with among the Christians ; the opinion even that was entertained of his character, only served to augment his authority, by creating a dread of his hatred or vengeance. He took advantage of a moment, in which Saladin disbanded part of his army, to get possession of the castle of Darcum, built upon the confines of Pales- tine, towards Egypt. He undertook several other enter- prises, which spread terror and surprise among the Sara- cens ; and, all at once, to satisfy the wishes of the Crusaders, marched towards Jerusalem, in which city Saladin had shut himself up with all the troops he could gather together. At the approach of the Christians, the sidtan convoked his emirs, and made them swear, on the stone of Jacob, to be buried beneath the ruins of the city rather than yield it up to the soldiers of Eichard. The Christian army encamped at the foot of the moun- tains of Judea, all the passes of which were guarded by the troops of Saladin and the Saracen peasants of Naplouse and Hebron. As Eichard di^ew near to Jerusalem, his aversion * Our author's argument is very weak here. Gibbon says :— " I can- not believe that a soldier so free and fearless in the use of his lance as Richard, would have descended to whet a dagger against his valiant brother Conrad de Montferrat. "—Z>edme and Fall, vol. viii. p. 426.— Trans. 496 uisTOEY or the crusjjjes. to the idea of allowing the duke of Austria and the duke of Bui'Ofundy to share in such a glorious conquest increased ; whilst ther were not at all willinor to assist the kiasr of England in an enterprise that would so much augment his pride and renown. Erery time that he proposed to proceed against the holy city, the zeal of the leaders of the army appeared to cool;* and when Eichard sought to defer the conquest, most of them endeavoured to arouse the enthu- siasm of the Crusaders, and repeated the oath they had taken to deliver the tomb of Christ. Thus the proximity to Jerusalem, which ought to have united the Christians more firmly, only served to increase their di^'isions, and spread trouble, disorder, and discouragement through the whole armv. The Christians were but a few leagues from Jerusalem, and the council assembled to determine what steps must be taken. Manv of the leaders thouorht that thev ouiiht at once to besiege the city, and spoke of the consternation of the Mussulmans. The soldiers of Saladin, said they, had not forgotten the evils of Ptolema'is, and trembled at the idea of again shutting themselves within the ramparts of a citv. Eusdtives from Jerusalem had informed them that the presence even of Saladin could not keep up the spirits of the soldiers, and that all the inhabitants, seized with terror, were upon the point of fiying to Damascus. They who maintained an opposite opinion, among whom was Eichard, thought that the reports spread regarding the disposition of the Mussulmans were but a snare of Saladin's, by which he hoped to lure the Crusaders into places in which he could destrov them without fi2:htino:. "At the moment in which we are speaking," said they, "the Mus- * It is difficult to follow the accounts of several historians at this period, who affirm that Richard was not willing to take Jerusalem. M. Paultre, a distinguished officer who made ihe campaign of 1799, has fur- nished us with all the means of understanding the old chronicles, and to appreciate their testimony. Historians, from ignorance of the country, are often deceived with resjiect to military events. The situation of places and a knowledge of tlie country are often the best commentaries we can have upon the old historians of the crusades. M. Paultre has MmseLf related part of the events which we repeat ; and his account, which he hais kindly confided to us, has giren us useful information, which will throw light upon this part of onr history. HISTOIIY OF THE CEUSADES. 497 sulmau cavalry surround the plain on wliich our army is encamped. It is difficult and dangerous to advance across the mountains of Judea. The roads, bordered bj precipices, are, in many places, cut through the solid rock, and are dominated by steep heights, from -which ill-armed peasants will be sufficient to crush, or at least to stop the columns of the Christians. How are we to transport through such narrow passes our baggage, our machines, or our munitions of war ? If our bravery should succeed in surmounting all these difficulties, will it be easy to keep up our communi- cations with the coast ? If we are conquered, how shall we make our retreat, pursued by the army of Saladin ?" Opinions continued to be divided : the king of England wished to retreat to Ascalon ; whilst the dukes of Austria and Burgundy warmly maintained that they ought to march towards Jerusalem. Twenty-four knights were selected to determine upon the course that was to be adopted, and the Christian army awaited their decision ^vith an impatience mingled with fear. After having deliberated for some time, the twenty-four knights concluded that the army could not pursue its march without danger, and that the most prudent plan would be to retreat towards the sea-coast. Eichard, after having given the order for retreat, whether he was sincerely afflicted, or whether he wished to regain the confidence and esteem of the Crusaders, turned towards Jerusalem with his eyes filled with tears, and covering his face with his buckler, declared himself unworthy to behold a city that he could not conquer. The Crusaders once more turned their backs upon Jeru- salem, which they had sworn so ofteii and so solemnly to deliver, the soldiers totally unable to comprehend the policy or intentions of their leaders. E-ichard, Avho had led the Christian army towards the holy city, might at least be accused of want of determination of purpose.* The un- certainty of his plans completed the destruction of the confidence which his skill and great military talents had created; and tlie despair of the Crusaders put an end to the fear of a chief they no longer loved. Discord broke out with fresh fury ; such as remained partisans of Eichard, * Gibbon's conclusion is very different. He says, "The laurels of Richard were bUsted by the prudence or enry of his companions." — Trans. 498 nisTOKT OF the chusades. reproached his enemies "with misleading the spirit of the army ; but all parties mutually accused each other of favour- ing the cause of the infidels. As is generally the case in unsuccessful wars, perfidy and treachery were the subjects most current among the Crusaders. The most violent complaints were uttered against Richard, who replied to his enemies in a strain of high-minded bra- very, worthy of an Amadis or a Roland. At the head of a weak detachment, he took a convoy of seven thousand camels on the way to Jerusalem ; on another occasion, going on board a vessel with a few knights, he landed at Jafia, where the banners of Saladin floated over the towers and ramparts ; he pursued the conquerors sword in hand, and forced them to abandon their temporaiy conquest. A few days after, the king of England, with a troop of his chosen knights, attacked a body of seven thousand Mussulman horse ; he rushed in amongst them, and with a stroke of his sabre struck dead at his feet the leader of the Saracens, who all appeared stupified and motionless witli surprise and fear. But all these perils and all this glory were lost for the cause of the Cliristians. Richard became every day more odious to his associates ; the duke of Burgundy with the French retired discontented to Ptolema'is ; the Grennans, commanded by the duke of Austria, quitted Palestine, and Richard remained alone with the English.* Hitherto the king of England, as he himself told the ambassadors of Saladin, had taken but little interest in the deliverance of the holy places, and had only performed such prodigies of valour to increase his fame in the Christian world. A desire to eflace the glory of Philip, much more than a zeal for religion, governed him in his contests with the Saracens ; he underwent the labours of the holy war in the hope that his exploits in Palestine would assist him in triumphing over his * The historian Bohaeddin rebates that Richard, in an interview with Aboubeker, the ambassador of Saladin, said — " That he only sought for a pretext to return to Europe ; that he took little interest in the affairs of Palestine ; that the Christians could not stand against the Mussulman power when deprived of his support; that a very small force would be sufficient to take the few places they still possessed ; that the sultan need not be difficult, as the peace would only be simulated, and would serve to remove the only obstacle to the conquests of that prince." — See Life of Saladin, by Marin. HISTORY OP THE CEUSADES. 499 rivals and enemies beyond tlie seas ; but as lie began to fear being left without an army, and dreaded the enterprises of Phdip, and the plots of his brother John, against his Eiu-opean states, he determined to resume his negotiations \Yith Saladin. The various thou2:hts that harassed his mind, the shame of not having couquered Jerusalem, the fear of losing his own kingdom, made him adopt and reject resolutions of the most opposite nature. At one time he determined upon returning to Europe without making peace at all — first lie supplicated, then he menaced Saladin, and endeavoured to frighten him, by spreading a report that the pope was about to arrive in Palestine with an army of two hundred thousand Crusaders. Winter had not yet passed away, and the passage of the Mediterranean was not without danger. "The sea is stormy," wrote he one day to Saladin, " but I will brave its tempests, and return to Europe if you are disposed to make peace. But if you stdl desire war, I will brave all its perils, and will lay siege to Jerusalem." Saladin was encamped in the vicinity of Hamla, and called his emirs together to deliberate upon the proposals of Kichard. "Up to this period," said he, " we have fought with glory, and the cause of Islamism has triumphed by our arms. I fear that death may surprise me during a peace, and may prevent my terminating the good work we have begun. Since Grod gives us victory, he commands us to continue the war, and we ought to obey his ■\^tLi." Most of the emirs applauded the courage and firm- ness of Saladin, but they represented to him, " that the cities were without defence, and the provinces were devastated; the fatigues of war had weakened the Mussulman army ; the horses wanted forage, and provisions for the soldiers were dearer than gold." "If we reduce the Franks to despair," added they, " they may still overcome us, and wrest all our victories from our hands. It is wise to observe the maxim of the Koran, which orders us to grant peace to our enemies when they ask it. Peace will give us time to fortify our cities, to recruit our forces, and resume the war with advan- tage ; when the Pranks, always faithless in treaties, will offer us fresh pretexts for attacking them." Saladin plainly perceived by this speech of his emirs, that the greater part of the Saracen warriors were beginning to Vol. I.— 23 500 UISTORY OE THE CEUSADES. lose the ardour and zeal they had evinced for the cause of Islamism. The sultau was abandoned by sereral of his auxiliaries, and dreaded the appearance of division in his own empire. The armies were close to each other, and the dust which arose from the two camps, says an Arabian author, mingled in the air and formed but one cloud. Keither the Christians nor the Mussulmans showed the least impatience to go beyond the boundaries of their ramparts and ditches, and both being equally tired of the war, it became the interest of the two leaders to make peace. The disposition of the minds of the combatants, with the impossibility of pursuing any warlike enterprises, at length led to the adoption of a truce for three years and eight months.* It was determined that Jerusalem should be open to the devotion of the Christians, and that they should hold all the seacoast from Jaffa to Tyre. The Saracens and the Chris- tians had both claims upon Ascalon, which M'as considered as the key to Egypt, and which the Arabs called the spouse of Syria. To terminate these disputes, it was agreed that this city should be again demolished. It is not unwortliy of remark, tliat not a word was said about the true cross, which had been the subject of the first negotiations, and for which Eichard had sent several ambassadors to Saladin. The principal leaders of the two armies swore, on the one side upon the Koran, and on the other upon the Gospel, to observe the conditions of the treaty. Eoyal majesty assumed something more imposing and august than even the sanctity of an oath, for the sultan and the king of England contented themselves with givmg their word and touching the hands of the ambassadors. All the Mussulman and Christian princes of Syria were in\'ited to sign the treaty concluded between Eichard and Saladin. Among those who were called upon to be guaran- tees of the peace, neither the prince of Antioch, who had taken little share in the war, nor the chief of the Ismaelians, the enemy of both Christians and Mussuhnans, was forgot- * The Latin historians say that the truce was for three years, three months, three weeks, and three days. We prefer the version of the Oriental writers, who say that the truce was for three years and eight months. Omad, whose account we adopt, declares he wrote the treaty with his own hand. HISTOllY OF THE CRUSADES. 501 tcD. Gruy de Lusignan alone was not named in tlie treaty. This prince enjoyed a momentary importance from tlie dis- sensions he had given birth to, and sunk into oblivion as soon as fresh subjects of discord arose among the Crusaders. Despoiled of his kingdom, he obtained that of Cyprus, a far more real possession, but for which he was obliged to pay the Templars, to whom Eichard had sold it. Palestine was ceded to Henry, count of Champagne, the new husband of that Isabella who appeared to be promised to all the pre- tenders to the crown of Jerusalem, and who, by a singular destiny, had married three kings, without being able to ascend a throne. The conclusion of the peace was celebrated by tourna- ments and festivities, inwhicli the Mussulmans and Christians laid aside the fanaticism and hatred which had led them to shed so much blood. Most of the warriors of the West, by the invitation of Saladin, visited the holy places they had been unable to deliver, and then embarked for Europe. At the moment of departure, the French lost the duke of Burgundy, who fell sick and died in the city of Tyre, as he was pre- paring to leave Palestine. Thus. finished this third crusade, in which all the western powers in arms obtained no greater advantages than the taking of Ptolemais and the demolition of Ascalon ; in it Germany lost, without glory, one of the greatest of its emperors and the finest of its armies. If we may believe Arabian authors, six hundred thousand Crusaders appeared before Ptolemais, and scarcely one hundred thousand of these warriors saw their native country again. Europe had the greater reason to deplore the losses of this war, from the fact of her armies having been so much better composed than in preceding expeditions ; criminals, adventurers, and vaga- bonds, had been strictly excluded from the ranks. All that the West could boast of the most noble and illustrious of its warriors had taken up arms. The Crusaders that contended mth Saladin were better armed and better disciplined than any that preceded them in Palestine ; the foot-soldiers employed the cross-bow, which had been neglected or prohibited in the second crusade. * Gibbon says, — " A personal interview with Richard was declined by Saladin, who alleged their mutual ignorance of each other's language." — Vol. viii. p. 429. —Trans. 502 HiSTonr or the CErsADEs. Their cuirasses, and tlieir bucklers covered with thick leather, defied the arrows of the Saracens ; and on the field of battle, soldiers were often seen bristling M^ith arrows and darts, whom the Arabs compared to porcupines, still keeping their ranks and fighting bravely. The Saracens had likewise made some progress in the art of war, and began to resume the use of the lance, whch they did not employ when the first Cru- saders arrived in Svria. The Mussulman armies were not confused multitudes ; they remained longer under their banners, and fought with less disorder. The Curds and Turks surpassed the i'ranks in the art of attacking and defending cities and castles. The Mussulmans had, besides, more than one advantage over the Crusaders ; they made war upon their own territories and in their own climate ; they were under the command of one single leader, who communi- cated the same spirit to all, and only presented to them one cause to defend. In this crusade the Pranks appeared to be more polished than they had been till that time. Great monarchs making war against each other without ceasing to give evidences of mutual esteem and generous feeling, was a new spectacle for the world. Subjects followed the example of their princes, and lost beneath the tent much of their barbarism. The Crusaders were sometimes admitted to the table of Saladiu, and emirs received at that of Eichard. By thus mingling together, Saracens and Chi'istians might make a happy exchange of usages, manners, knowledge, and even virtues. The Christians, rather more enlightened than during the first crusades, stood in less need of excitement from the visions of fanaticism. The passion for glory was for them almost as powerful a principle as religious entliusiasm. Chivalry also made great progress in this crusade ; it was held in such honour, and the title of k^'ight was so glorious, even in the eves of the infidels, that Saladin did not disdain to be decorated with it. The sentiment of honour, and the humanity which is inseparable from it, often dried tears that the disasters of war had caused to flow ; tender and ATrtuous passions associ- ated themselves in the minds of heroes with the austere maxims of religion and the sanguinary images of battle. Amidst the comiption of camps, love, by inspiring the HTSTOET OF THE CEUSADES. 603 kniglits and troubadours who had taken the cross with noble and delicate sentiments, preserved them from the seductions of gross debauchery. More than one warrior, animated by the remembrance of beauty, caused his bravery to be greatly admired, whilst fighting against the Saracens. It was in this crusade that the Chatelain de Coucy fell, mortally wounded, by the side of King Eichaed. In a song, which is still extant, he had bid adieu to Prance, saying that he went to the Holy Land to obtain three things of inestimable value to a knight, — Paradise, glory^ and the love of his mistress* A chronicle of the middle ages relates, that after he had received a mortal wound and was about to breathe his last siirh, the faithful Chatelain first confessed himself to the legate of the Pope, and then charged his squire to bear his heart to the lady de Payel. The last commands of Coucy, and the horrible banquet that a cruel husband caused to be served up to the victim of his jealousy, show at once what chivalry could inspire of the most touching kind, and that which the manners of the twelfth century could exhibit of the most barbarous. f The troubadours celebrated in their songs the chivalric love of the noble Chatelain, and the despair of the beautiful De Vergy, when she learnt she had eaten the heart of her faithful knight. If we may believe old chronicles, the lord de Payel, pursued by remorse and the opinion of his contemporaries, was obliged to go to the Holy Land, to expiate his crime and the death of his unfortunate wife. In this crusade, in which so many knights rendered them- * L'amour de sa mie. — Trans. t The adventures of the Chatelain de Coucy and the lady de Fay el are related in an old chronicle quoted by the President Faucher. There exists in the Imperial Library a manuscript copy of this chronicle, which appears to have been written towards the beginning of the thirteenth century, a short time after the third crusade. M. Roquefort, whose authority is of great weight in all which concerns the middle ages, does not appear to adopt the account of the chronicle quoted in his article ♦' Coucy" of La Biograpfde Universelle, and is of the opinion of Father Papon, who attributes the adventure of the Chatelain to the troubadour Cabestan. We may object to M. Roquefort, that the adventure of Cabestan is not the same as that of Coucy, and that one may be true without rendering the other doubtful. We find in the works of Belloy a dissertation which has not been refuted, which proves the truth, if not of some details, of the principal facts related in the chronicle we have quoted. 50^ msTOiir or tile ceusades. selves illustrious, two men acquired an immortal glory, one by a useless bravery, and qualities more brilliant than solid, the other by real successes and virtues that mi^^ht have served as models to Christians. The name of Eichard re- mained during a century the terror of the East, and the Saracens and Turks celebrated him in their proverbs a long time after the crusades. He cultivated letters, and merited a place among the troubadours ; but the arts did not at all soften his character ; it was his ferocitv as well as his courag^e that procured him the surname of Cceur de Lion. Carried awav bv the inconstancy of his inclinations, he often chancjed his projects, his affections, and his principles of action ; he sometimes braved religion, and very often devoted himself to its service. Sometimes hicredLdous, as often superstitious ; measureless in his hatred as in his friendship, he was extra- vao^ant in evervthiuEf, and only showed himself constant in his love for war. The passions which animated him scarcely ever permitted his ambition to have an aim or a determinate object. His imprudence, his presumption, and the unsteadi- ness of his plans, made him lose the fruits of his exploits. In a word, the hero of this crusade is more calculated to excite surprise than to create esteem, and appears to belong less to history than to the romances of chivalry. AYith less rasliness and bravery than Eichard, Saladin possessed a more firm character, one far better calculated to carry on a religious war. He paid more attention to the results of his enterprises ; more master of himself, he was more fit to command others. AVhen mountinc: the throne of the Atabeks, Saladin obeyed rather his destiny than his inclinations ; but when once firmly seated, he was governed by only two passions, — that of reigning, and that of securing the triumph of the Koran. On all other subjects he was moderate, and when a kiugdom or the glory of the prophet was not in question, the son of Ayoub was admired as the most just and mild of Mussulmans. We may add that the stern devotion* and ardent fanaticism that made him take up arms against the Christians, only rendered him cruel and * Saladin had but little indulgence in religious matters. The Abbe Renaudot, in his manuscript history, relates that he caused a philosopher to be strangled who ventured to preach new doctrines in the city of Aleppo. IIISTOEY OF THE CEUSADES. 505 btirbarous in one single instance. He displayed the virtues of peace amidst the horrors of war. " From the bosom of camps," says an Oriental poet, " lie covered the nations tvith the wings of his justice, and poured upon his cities the plen- teous showers of his liherality.'''' The Mussulmans, always governed by fear,* were astonished that a sovereign could inspire them with so much love, and followed him with joy to battle. His generosity, his clemency, and particularly his respect for an oath, were often the subjects of admiration to the Christians, whom he rendered so miserable by his victories, and of Avhose power in Asia he had completed the overthrow. t * To know the character and virtues of Saladin, it is sufficient to quote the discourse he addressed to his son El-daher, to whom he had confided the government of a province : — " My son," said he, " you are about to reign over states that I have bestowed upon you. My infirmities give me reason to fear that I may never see you again; I recommend you, then, my son, as my last command, to love and honour God, who is the source of all good, and to observe the precepts of his law ; for your welfare depends upon it. Spare human blood, for fear it should fall again upon your own head ; for blood once shed never sleeps. Endeavour to gain the hearts of your subjects ; administer justice, and be as careful of their interests as of your own. You will have to render an account to God of this trust which I confide to you in his name. Show respect and condescension for the emirs, the imauns, the caliphs, and all persons placed in authority. It is only by mildness and clemency that I have attained the elevated posi- tion in which you behold me. We are all mortal, O my son 1 entertain then no malice, no hatred against any one. Be careful, above all things, to offend nobody ; men only forget injuries when they have revenged them, whilst God grants us pardon for our errors for a simple repentance ; for he is beneficent and merciful." This speech of Saladin to his son has been transmitted to us by Bohaeddin, who heard it delivered. — See the Life of Saladin, by Marin, book xiii. t Although, happily, the time is gone by in which an English writer would break a lance in defence of the entire character of Richard, much as I admire the general reflections and spirit of ray author, I cannot but think he has scarcely done him justice. His faults are always thrown into high relief, whilst his good qualities, — for he had some, — are either shaded or entirely concealed. la the disputes which his position naturally drew him into, his antagonists are always made to be in the right, Richard in the wrono-. Not a single act is recorded before Ptolemais, and yet Richard had five thousand prisoners ; most authors say three thousand, but the larger number is assumed, for the sake of the massacre. The more eminent the exploits of Richard, in an army constituted like that of the Crusaders, the greater were sure to be the envy and hatred of his fellow- leaders. Richard is no worse than other heroes of the sword, from 506 nisTOEY or the crusades. The third crusade, -which was so glorious for Saladin, was not entirelv -uithout advantages for Europe. Manv Cru- saders on the way to Palestine, stopped in Spain, and by their rictories over the Moors, prepared the deliverance of the kingdoms situated beyond the Pyrenees. A great number of Germans, as in the second crusade, prevailed upon by the solicitations of the pope, made war upon the barbarous inhabitants of the shores of the Baltic, and thus, by useful exploits, extended the limits of the Christian re- public in the AVest. As in this war the greater part of the Crusaders went to Palestine bv sea, the art of navig^ation made a sensible advance ; the maritime nations of Europe acquired an accession of prosperity, their fleets became more formidable, and they were able, with glory, to dispute the empire of the sea with the Saracens. In several states of Europe, commerce, and the spirit of the holy wars contributed to the enfranchisement of the lower classes. Many serfs, upon becoming free, took up arms. It was not one of the least interesting spectacles of this crusade, to see the standards of several cities of Erance and Germany floating in the Christian army amongst the banners of lords and barons. This crusade was particularly beneficial to Erance, from which it banished both civil and foreign wars. By prolonging the absence of the great vassals and the enemies of the kkigdom, it weakened their power, and gave Philip Augustus authority to levy imposts, even upon the clergy. It afforded him an opportunity of surrounding his throne with a faithful guard, to keep up regular armies, and prepare, though at a distance,* that victory of Bovines which proved so fatal to the enemies of Erance. A long captirity awaited Eichard on his return to Europe. The vessel in which he embarked was shipwrecked on the coast of Italy, and fearing to pass through Erance, he took Achilles downward. I greatly fear it is his successful rivalry with the more astute French monarch that is the cause of this bias. Against the comparison with Saladin I say nothing — Saladin was a greater man than Richard. — Trans. * This crusade terminated in 1192 ; the battle of Bovines was fought in 1214.— Trans. HISTOKY or THE CKUSADES. 507 the route of Germany, concealed under the hahit of a simple pilgrim. His liberality betrayed the monarch, and as he had enemies everyAvhere, he was seized bv the soldiers of the duke of Austria. Leopold had. not sutiicient generosity to forget the outrages received from Eichard at the siege of Ptolemais, and detained him prisoner. It was not known in Europe what had become of King Eichard, when a gentle- man of Arras, named Blondel, set out in search of his master, and traversed Germany in the dress and with the lyre of a minstrel. On his arrival before a castle, in which, it was said, languished an illustrious captive, Blondel began to sing the first couplet of a song which he had composed in conjunction with Eichard. Erom the top of a high tower a voice answered him, and sang the second couplet.* Then the faithful troubadour returned into England to announce that he had discovered the prison of the king. The duke of Austria, terrified at this discovery, did not dare to detain longer his redoubtable captive in his own hands, and gave him up to the emperor of Germany. Henry VI., who had likewise insults to revenge, was rejoiced to get Eichard in his power, and kept him in chains, as if he had made him a prisoner in the field of battle. The hero of the crusade, who had filled the world with his renown, Avas cast iuto a dark dungeon, and rem.ained a long time a victim to the vengeance of his enemies — and they were Christian princes. He was brought before the German diet, assembled at Worms, where he was accused of all the crimes that hatred and envy could invent. But the spectacle of a king in chains was so affecting, that no one durst condemn Eichard, * Our author bas given an extract from the interesting manuscript which has furnished him with this account ; but it is so hjng, the French is so old, and the story so well known, I have thought best to omit it — a translation would spoil it. It is remarkable that the manuscript chronicle makes Richard see Blondel, and sing Jirs-t — our author reverses this : — Ensi com il estoit en cctte pensee, li rois regarde et vie Blondel, et pensa comment li se feroit a lui connoistre, et li souvint d'une canchon que ils avoient fait entre aus deux que nus ne savoit fois que il roi. Si com- mencha haut et clerement a canter le premier vier, car il cantoit tres bien. There appear to me discrepancies in the language of this manu- script chronicle, which make the date of it, the thirteenth century, very apocryphal. — Trans. 23* 50S msTOET or the ceusades. and when "he offered bis justification, the bishops and nobles melted into tears, and besougbt Henry to treat bim with less injustice and rigour. Queen Eleanor implored all tbe powers of Europe for the release of ber son. Tbe complaints and tears of a mother touched tbe beart of Celestine, who bad recently ascended tlie cbair of St. Peter. Tbe pope several times demanded tbe bberty of tbe king of England, and even excommuni- cated tbe duke of Austria and tbe emperor ; but tbe thunders of the Cburcb bad so often been launched against tbe tbrones of Germanv, tbat they no longer inspired fear, Hem-^- braved tbe anathemas of tbe Holy kSee ; tbe capti\-ity of Eicbard lasted another vear ; and be ouly obtained his liberty after engaging to pay a considerable ransom. His kingdom, which be had ruined at his departure for tbe Holy Land, exhausted itself to hasten bis return ; and England gave up even her sacred vases to break tbe chains of her monarch. He was received with enthusiasm by tbe English ; his adventures, which di-ew tears, obbt crated the remem- brance of his cruelties, and Europe only recollected his exploits and his misfortunes. After the truce made %vith Eicbard, Saladin retired to Damascus, where he enjoyed his glory but one year. Tbe Orientals celebrate tbe edifying manner in which he died, distributing: his alms or benevolences to Mussulmans and Christians alike. Before he expired he ordered one of bis officers to carry his shroud through tbe streets of his capital, and to cry with a loud voice : '• Behold all that Saladin, v:ho overcame the East, hears aivay of his conquests^ Scarcely had he ceased to breathe, when nothing remained but a vain remembrance of bis laws and bis victories ; his death was attended by tbat which so frequently happens in Oriental monarchies, where nothing is regulated concerning tbe succession ; where victory appears to be tbe most legiti- mate title, and where a too numerous offspring await the death of the prince in fear, servitude, and in ignorance of tbe affairs of tbe state. Saladin only left behind bim slaves intimidated by his glory and bis boundless power, who divided bis authority among them, but could not support the weight of it. HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES. 509 Twelve of bis sons and relatives succeeded him and dis- puted the sovereignty. Malek-Adel, the brother of the sultan, and companion in bis exploits, profited by the inex- perience of his nephews, and took possession of Eg^-pt and Mesopotamia. The most powerful of the emirs followed bis example, and shared the cities and provinces amongst them. Asia then beheld that empii-e fall to decay, which, raised for the ruin of the Chi^istians, bad, in its growth and progress, twice roused all the nations of the AYest to arms. EITD OE VOL. I. >:> University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 305 De Neve Drive - Parking Lot 17 • Box 951388 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90095-1388 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. If^AY Q J ^nnY i^WT •% ''>Kr# ',1^ '^ ^^¥^ "f^ i#: T^^l »Vv ^^ ^,^* » ■.- ■• -- 1^. ir;;^' h