Chapter XXXIII: Book VIII: A.d. 1188-1192 (3)

All the Mussulman and Christian princes of Syria were invited to sign the treaty concluded between Richard and Saladin. Among those who were called upon to be guarantees of the peace, neither the prince of Antioch, who had taken little share in the war, nor the chief of the Ismaëlians, the enemy of both Christians and Mussulmans, was forgotten. Guy de Lusignan alone was not named in the treaty. This prince enjoyed a momentary importance from the dissensions 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 Richard 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 pretenders to the crown of Jerusalem, and who, by a singular destiny, had married three kings, without being able to ascend a throne.[354]

The conclusion of the peace was celebrated by tournaments and festivities, in which the Mussulmans and Christians laid aside the fanaticism and hatred which had led them to shed so much blood. Most of the warriors of the West, by the invitation of Saladin, visited the holy places they had been unable to deliver, and then embarked for Europe. At the moment of departure, the French lost the duke of Burgundy, who fell sick and died in the city of Tyre, as he was preparing to leave Palestine.

Thus finished this third crusade, in which all the western powers in arms obtained no greater advantages than the taking of Ptolemaïs 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 Ptolemaïs, 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 vagabonds, 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 with Saladin were better armed and better disciplined than any that preceded them in Palestine; the foot-soldiers employed the cross-bow, which had been neglected or prohibited in the second crusade. Their cuirasses, and their bucklers covered with thick leather, defied the arrows of the Saracens; and on the field of battle, soldiers were often seen bristling with arrows and darts, whom the Arabs compared to porcupines, still keeping their ranks and fighting bravely. The Saracens had likewise made some progress in the art of war, and began to resume the use of the lance, which they did not employ when the first Crusaders arrived in Syria. The Mussulman armies were not confused multitudes; they remained longer under their banners, and fought with less disorder. The Curds and Turks surpassed the Franks in the art of attacking and defending cities and castles. The Mussulmans had, besides, more than one advantage over the Crusaders; they made war upon their own territories and in their own climate; they were under the command of one single leader, who communicated the same spirit to all, and only presented to them one cause to defend.

In this crusade the Franks 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 Saladin, and emirs received at that of Richard. By thus mingling together, Saracens and Christians might make a happy exchange of usages, manners, knowledge, and even virtues.

The Christians, rather more enlightened than during the first crusades, stood in less need of excitement from the visions of fanaticism. The passion for glory was for them almost as powerful a principle as religious enthusiasm. Chivalry also made great progress in this crusade; it was held in such honour, and the title of KNIGHT was so glorious, even in the eyes of the infidels, that Saladin did not disdain to be decorated with it.

The sentiment of honour, and the humanity which is inseparable from it, often dried tears that the disasters of war had caused to flow; tender and virtuous passions associated themselves in the minds of heroes with the austere maxims of religion and the sanguinary images of battle. Amidst the corruption of camps, love, by inspiring the knights and troubadours who had taken the cross with noble and delicate sentiments, preserved them from the seductions of gross debauchery. More than one warrior, animated by the remembrance of beauty, caused his bravery to be greatly admired, whilst fighting against the Saracens. It was in this crusade that the Châtelain de Coucy fell, mortally wounded, by the side of King Richard. In a song, which is still extant, he had bid adieu to France, 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_.[355] A chronicle of the middle ages relates, that after he had received a mortal wound and was about to breathe his last sigh, the faithful Châtelain first confessed himself to the legate of the Pope, and then charged his squire to bear his heart to the lady de Fayel. 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.[356] The troubadours celebrated in their songs the chivalric love of the noble Châtelain, 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 Fayel, 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 themselves 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 might have served as models to Christians. The name of Richard remained 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 ferocity as well as his courage that procured him the surname of Cœur de Lion. Carried away by the inconstancy of his inclinations, he often changed his projects, his affections, and his principles of action; he sometimes braved religion, and very often devoted himself to its service. Sometimes incredulous, as often superstitious; measureless in his hatred as in his friendship, he was extravagant in everything, and only showed himself constant in his love for war. The passions which animated him scarcely ever permitted his ambition to have an aim or a determinate object. His imprudence, his presumption, and the unsteadiness of his plans, made him lose the fruits of his exploits. In a word, the hero of this crusade is more calculated to excite surprise than to create esteem, and appears to belong less to history than to the romances of chivalry.

With less rashness and bravery than Richard, Saladin possessed a more firm character, one far better calculated to carry on a religious war. He paid more attention to the results of his enterprises; more master of himself, he was more fit to command others. When mounting the throne of the Atabeks, Saladin obeyed rather his destiny than his inclinations; but when once firmly seated, he was governed by 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 kingdom or the glory of the prophet was not in question, the son of Ayoub was admired as the most just and mild of Mussulmans. We may add that the stern devotion[357] and ardent fanaticism that made him take up arms against the Christians, only rendered him cruel and barbarous in one single instance. He displayed the virtues of peace amidst the horrors of war. “From the bosom of camps,” says an Oriental poet, “_he covered the nations with the wings of his justice, and poured upon his cities the plenteous showers of his liberality_.” The Mussulmans, always governed by fear,[358] 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 whose power in Asia he had completed the overthrow.[359]

The third crusade, which was so glorious for Saladin, was not entirely without advantages for Europe. Many Crusaders on the way to Palestine, stopped in Spain, and by their victories over the Moors, prepared the deliverance of the kingdoms situated beyond the Pyrenees. A great number of Germans, as in the second crusade, prevailed upon by the solicitations of the pope, made war upon the barbarous inhabitants of the shores of the Baltic, and thus, by useful exploits, extended the limits of the Christian republic in the West. As in this war the greater part of the Crusaders went to Palestine by sea, the art of navigation made a sensible advance; the maritime nations of Europe acquired an accession of prosperity, their fleets became more formidable, and they were able, with glory, to dispute the empire of the sea with the Saracens.

In several states of Europe, commerce, and the spirit of the holy wars contributed to the enfranchisement of the lower classes. Many serfs, upon becoming free, took up arms. It was not one of the least interesting spectacles of this crusade, to see the standards of several cities of France and Germany floating in the Christian army amongst the banners of lords and barons.

This crusade was particularly beneficial to France, from which it banished both civil and foreign wars. By prolonging the absence of the great vassals and the enemies of the kingdom, it weakened their power, and gave Philip Augustus authority to levy imposts, even upon the clergy. It afforded him an opportunity of surrounding his throne with a faithful guard, to keep up regular armies, and prepare, though at a distance,[360] that victory of Bovines which proved so fatal to the enemies of France.

A long captivity awaited Richard on his return to Europe. The vessel in which he embarked was shipwrecked on the coast of Italy, and fearing to pass through France, he took the route of Germany, concealed under the habit of a simple pilgrim. His liberality betrayed the monarch, and as he had enemies everywhere, he was seized by the soldiers of the duke of Austria. Leopold had not sufficient generosity to forget the outrages received from Richard at the siege of Ptolemaïs, and detained him prisoner. It was not known in Europe what had become of King Richard, when a gentleman 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 Richard. From the top of a high tower a voice answered him, and sang the second couplet.[361] 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 Richard in his power, and kept him in chains, as if he had made him a prisoner in the field of battle. The hero of the crusade, who had filled the world with his renown, was cast into a dark dungeon, and remained a long time a victim to the vengeance of his enemies—and they were Christian princes.

He was brought before the German diet, assembled at Worms, where he was accused of all the crimes that hatred and envy could invent. But the spectacle of a king in chains was so affecting, that no one durst condemn Richard, and when he offered his justification, the bishops and nobles melted into tears, and besought Henry to treat him with less injustice and rigour.

Queen Eleanor implored all the powers of Europe for the release of her son. The complaints and tears of a mother touched the heart of Celestine, who had recently ascended the chair of St. Peter. The pope several times demanded the liberty of the king of England, and even excommunicated the duke of Austria and the emperor; but the thunders of the Church had so often been launched against the thrones of Germany, that they no longer inspired fear. Henry braved the anathemas of the Holy See; the captivity of Richard lasted another year; and he only obtained his liberty after engaging to pay a considerable ransom. His kingdom, which he had ruined at his departure for the Holy Land, exhausted itself to hasten his return; and England gave up even her sacred vases to break the chains of her monarch. He was received with enthusiasm by the English; his adventures, which drew tears, obliterated the remembrance of his cruelties, and Europe only recollected his exploits and his misfortunes.

After the truce made with Richard, Saladin retired to Damascus, where he enjoyed his glory but one year. The Orientals celebrate the edifying manner in which he died, distributing his alms or benevolences to Mussulmans and Christians alike. Before he expired he ordered one of his officers to carry his shroud through the streets of his capital, and to cry with a loud voice: “_Behold all that Saladin, who overcame the East, bears away of his conquests._”

Scarcely had he ceased to breathe, when nothing remained but a vain remembrance of his laws and his victories; his death was attended by that which so frequently happens in Oriental monarchies, where nothing is regulated concerning the succession; where victory appears to be the most legitimate title, and where a too numerous offspring await the death of the prince in fear, servitude, and in ignorance of the affairs of the state.

Saladin only left behind him slaves intimidated by his glory and his boundless power, who divided his authority among them, but could not support the weight of it. Twelve of his sons and relatives succeeded him and disputed the sovereignty. Malek-Adel, the brother of the sultan, and companion in his exploits, profited by the inexperience of his nephews, and took possession of Egypt and Mesopotamia. The most powerful of the emirs followed his example, and shared the cities and provinces amongst them. Asia then beheld that empire fall to decay, which, raised for the ruin of the Christians, had, in its growth and progress, twice roused all the nations of the West to arms.

END OF VOL. 1.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Le Corbeau et le Renard.

[2] Anna Comnena, _History of the Emperor Alexius_.

[3] _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_.

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

[5] See, in the Appendix at the end of the volume, a bibliographical, historical, and geographical analysis of “The Itinerary from Bordeaux to Jerusalem,” by M. Walcknaer: this piece throws great light upon ancient geography, and that of the middle ages.

[6] This festival is known under the name of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, and is celebrated on the 14th of September.

[7] The voyage of St. Antony is found in three very ancient manuscripts, which may be consulted in the Imperial Library. It has been printed also in a small volume in 4to. ’See the Appendix.) The relation of the pilgrimage of St. Arculphus, arranged by Adaman in 690, was published by Gretzer of Ingoldstadt, 1619, in 4to., under this title, “De Locis Terræ Sanctæ.” It has since been published by Mabillon.

[8] _Lucida plerumque recepit intervalla._—WILLIAM OF TYRE.

[9] A capitulary of Charlemagne, of the year 810, is conceived in these terms: “De eleemosynâ mittendâ ad Hyerusalem propter ecclesias Dei restaurandas.” _Ob hoc maximè_ ’says Eginard) _transmarinorum regum amicitias expetens, ut Christianis sub eorum dominatu degentibus refugerium aliquod ac relevatio proveniret_.—Vita Caroli Magni, cap. 27, p. 101, edit. of Bredow, 12mo. Helmstadt, 1806.

[10] _Claves sepulcri Domini, claves etiam civitatis et montis cum vexillo detulerunt._—WILLIAM OF TYRE.

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

[12] At the commencement of the ninth century, pilgrims flocked thither quite from the extremities of Europe. Dicuil, who wrote in Ireland in the year 825, gives several details:—_Fidelis frater ... narravit coram me ... quòd adorationis causâ in urbe Jerlm_. ’_Hierusalem_) cle_rici et laïci à Britanniâ usque ad Nilum velificaverunt_.—DICUIL, De Mensurâ Orbis, edit. Walcknaer, p. 17.

[13] _Ibi habetur hospitale, in quo suscipiuntur omnes qui causâ devotionis illum adeunt locum, linguâ loquentes Romanâ, cui adjacet ecclesia in honore Sanctæ Maricæ; nobilissimam habent bibliothecam studio prædicti imperatoris Caroli Magni._—This passage is taken from the Voyage of the monk Bernard to the Holy Land. This monk was a Frenchman by birth; he set out for Palestine in 870 with two other monks, one of whom was of the monastery of St. Innocent, in the country of Benevento, and the other a Spanish monk. ’See an account of this pilgrimage in the Appendix.)

[14] _Alii causâ negotiationis acti, alii causâ devotionis et peregrinationis._—J. DE VITRY. _Quod Latini devotionis gratiâ aut negotiationis advenientes._—SANUTI. _Non defuerunt de occidentalibus multi qui loca sancta, licet in hostium potestate redacta, aut devotionis, aut commerciorum, aut utriusque gratiâ, visitarent aliquoties._—WILLIAM OF TYRE. _Diversarum gentium undique prope innumera multitudo, 15 die Septembris anniversario more, in Hierosolymam convenire solet ad commercia mutuis conditionibus et emptionibus peragenda._—Voyage of St. Arculphus.

[15] There is an excellent dissertation, by M. de Guegnes, upon the commerce of the French in the Levant before the Crusades, in the 37th vol. of the “Mémoires de l’Académie des Inscriptions.”

[16] Mohamed.

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

[18] We owe a great portion of these details to an ancient Armenian manuscript, composed in the twelfth century by Matthew of Edessa, several fragments of which have been translated into French by Messrs. Martin and Chahan de Cirbier. These fragments were printed under the title, “Historical Details of the First Expedition of the Christians into Palestine, under the Emperor Zimisces.” In the Appendix of this history is an interesting letter from Zimisces to the king of Armenia.

[19] The second memoir of the Abbé Guenée upon Palestine may be read here. This estimable scholar speaks of the different dynasties which, at this period, had by turns conquered Jerusalem. We have felt that all these details, though quite in their place in a memoir, would only interrupt the course of our narration, without furnishing the reader with any useful information.

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

[21] _Et ita pro fratribus animam ponens, cum pietate dormitionum accepit optimam, habens positam gratiam._—WILLIAM OF TYRE. The translator of the Latin historian Du Préau thus renders the thought of the original: “Thus, giving up his life for his brothers, exchanged the misery of this world for a happy eternal repose, and received the high reward prepared for all lovers of perfect charity.”

[22] It was pretended that the thousand years of which the Scripture speaks, were about to be accomplished, and that the end of the world was approaching. In an act of donation made by St. Géraud, Baron d’Aurillac, are these words, “_Appropinquante mundi termino_.”

[23] These and the following details have been drawn from the accounts of several pilgrimages, in Mabillon, in the “Recueil des Bollandistes,” and the chronicles of the times.

[24] These mountains, called Monts de Joux ’Montes Jovis), now bear the names of the Great and Little St. Bernard. When St. Bernard founded these two hospitals, the inhabitants of the Alps were still idolaters, and the Saracens had penetrated into Le Valais, where they constantly annoyed the march of the pilgrims.

[25] William, duke of Normandy ’917), Richard I. ’943), and Richard II. sent considerable sums into Syria.—See GLABER, lib. i. cap. 4; DUCHENE, vol. iv.

[26] _Non quærunt mala, sed legem eorum adimplere cupiunt._—GUILLEBARD. The account of the pilgrimage of St. Guillebard ’Villibaldus), drawn up by a nun of Heindenheim, at his relation, is to be found in the “Acta Sanctorum Ord. Sanct. Ben.” sæculi 3, part. 2.

[27] The account of the pilgrimage of Frotmonde, drawn up by an anonymous monk of Redon, is inserted in the “Acta Sanctorum Ordin. Sanct. Ben.” sæculi 4, part. 2.

[28] The aggregated history of the annals and chronicles of Anjou, which describes the pilgrimages of Foulque, relates an incident which appears to deserve to be known, for the full relation of which we refer to the Appendix.

A Latin chronicle, entitled “Gesta. Consulum Andegav. Spicilegium,” tom. x. p. 465, relates the same fact, with more brevity and some circumstantial differences:—

Dixerunt, nullo modo ad sepulcrum optatum pervenire posset nisi super illud et crucem Dominicam mingeret; quod vir prudens licet invitus annuit. Quæsitâ igitur arietis vesicâ, purgatâ atque mundatâ, et optimo vino repletâ, quæ etiam aptè inter ejus femora posita est, et comes discalciatus ad sepulcrum Domini accessit, vinumque super sepulcrum fudit, et sic ad libitum cum sociis omnibus intravit, et fusis multis lacrymis peroravit.

[29] The pilgrimage of Frederick is related by Dom Calmet, vol. i. p. 1072, of the “Civil History of Lorraine.” It is to be found also in the “History of the Bishops of Lorraine,” vol. i. pp. 203—205.

[30] See the Life of St. Helena, in the seventh volume of the month of July, pp. 332, 333, of the Bollandists.

[31] Raoul Glaber bestows great praise on this pilgrim, named Lethal, “who,” says he, “was not one of these who go to Jerusalem to court admiration,—ut _solummodo mirabiles habeantur_.”

[32] This pilgrimage of Litbert, or Liébert, is described in his life, written by Raoul ’Radulfus), his contemporary. See vol. iv. month of June, pp. 595—605, of the Bollandists.

[33] Ingulfus, a Norman monk, who had accompanied the pilgrims who left Normandy, has made the relation of this pilgrimage. The account of Ingulfus has been copied almost literally by Baronius. An account of the same pilgrimage is likewise to be found in the chronicle of Marianus Scotus pp. 429, 430.

[34] It would have been easy for me to have spoken of a great number of other pilgrimages undertaken before the Crusades. An abridgment of the most interesting accounts will be found in the Appendix at the end of this volume.

[35] A picture of the excesses and shameless debaucheries committed by the Turks after the conquest of Asia Minor, may be found in a letter of Alexis, quoted by the Abbé Guibert, lib. i., cap. 4: “Dicit eos quemdam abusione sodomiticâ intervenisse episcopum; matres correptæ in conspectu filiarum multipliciter repetitis diversorum coitibus vexabantur. Filiæ existentiæ terminum præcinere saltando cogebantur,—mox eadem passio ad filias,” &c.

[36] This expedition, which was a true crusade, appears to have been forgotten by all the historians of the crusades.

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

[38] Anna Comnena calls Peter the Hermit _Cucupièttore_, which appears to be taken from the Picard word _kiokio_, little, and from the word Petrus, Peter, little Peter. If we are to believe Oderic-Vital, the hermit had still another name, and was called Peter of Achiris. He is styled in this manner in the chronicle of the counts of Anjou: “Heremita quidam _Petrus Achiriensis_.” William of Tyre informs us that he was a hermit in name and in fact: “_Heremita nomine et effectu_.” Adrian Barland, in his book _De Gestis Ducum Brabantiæ_, expresses himself thus: “Petrus Heremita, Ambianensis, vir nobilis, primâ ætete rei militari deditus, tametsi litteris optimè imbutus, sed corpore deformis ac brevis staturæ,” &c. The life of Peter the Hermit has been written by André Thevet, in his “History of the most Illustrious and Learned Men of their Ages,” and by Father Outtreman, a Jesuit. Several families have pretended to be descended from Peter the Hermit. The most rational and best supported claim is that of the family of Souliers, which still exists in the Limousin.

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

[40] See William Aubert’s “History of the Conquest of Jerusalem.”

[41] We have at command several historians who report the speech of Urban; they are agreed as to the principal points, but differ in the details. The monk Robert, who was present at the council, says: _Hæc et id genus plurima ubi Papa Urbanus urbano sermone peroravit_. Baldric or Boudri expresses himself thus: _His vel hujuscemodi aliis_, &c. Everything leads us to believe that the pope pronounced his discourse in the language of the country. That which renders this opinion more probable, is that Urban was a Frenchman, and that otherwise it was of consequence to make himself well understood by the barons and the knights, who were not acquainted with Latin. If he had not pronounced his discourse in the vulgar tongue, he would not have produced that extraordinary enthusiasm which contemporary history says so much of.

[42] Dieu le veut was pronounced in the language of the times _Dieu li volt_, or _Diex le volt_.

[43] The cross which the faithful wore in this crusade was of cloth, and sometimes even of red-coloured silk. Afterwards they wore crosses of different colours. The cross, a little in relief, was sewed upon the right shoulder of the coat or mantle, or else fastened on the front of the helmet, after having been blessed by the pope or some bishop. The prayers and ceremonies used on this occasion are still to be found in the Romish ritual. On returning from the Holy Land, they removed this mark from the shoulder and placed it on the back, or else wore it at the neck. ’See LE PÈRE MONTFAUCON, DUCANGE, MAILLY, and LE PÈRE D’OUTREMANT.)

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

[45] The archbishop of Dol could not refrain from showing his surprise by words very remarkable for the time: _Excessit tamen medicina modum, quia plus quàm debuit in quibusdàm eundi voluntas surrepsit_.—BALDRIC, Archiep. lib. i.

[46] The Abbé Guibert quotes the example of a monk who made a large incision on his forehead in the form of a cross, and preserved it with prepared juices. He took care to report that an angel had made this incision, which procured for him, during both the voyage and the war, all the help he could desire. He became archbishop of Cæsarea. Foulque, of Chartres, relates that a vessel with Crusaders having been wrecked on the coast of Brundusium, all the shipwrecked bodies appeared with a kind of cross imprinted on their flesh, and on the very part on which it had been worn on their clothes when they were alive.

[47] _Erat eo tempore antequàm gentium fieret tanta profectio, maxima ad invicem hostilitatibus totius Francorum regni facta turbatio; crebra ubique latrocinia, viarum obsessio, passim audiebantur, immo fiebant incendia infinita.—Mox ergo et mirâ et incredibili, ob insperabilitatem, animorum immutatione commoti, signum pontificis præceptione indictum, cruces videlicet, ab episcopis et presbyteris sibi precantur imponi, et sicuti rapidissimi venti impetus solet non magnâ pluviæ undâ restringi, ita illicò contigit ad invicem simultates universarum et bella sopiri, per inditam sibi aspirationem, haud dubium quin Christi._—GUIBERT, Abb. lib. i. ch. 7.

[48] _Tristitia remanentibus, gaudium autem euntibus erat._—FULC. CARNOT.

[49] _Videres mirum quiddam, ipsos infantulos, dum obviam habent quælibet castella vel urbes, si hæc esset Jerusalem, ad quam tenderent, rogitare._—GUIBERT, Abb.

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

[51] St. Stephen had been king of Hungary before Coloman, who reigned at the time of the first crusade.

[52] Among the small number of knights in the army of Peter, were Renaud de Breïs, Gauthier de Breteuil, Fealcher d’Orléans, and Godfrey Burel d’Etampes.

[53] William of Tyre and other Latin historians call this city _Malle Villa_ in the first place because they were ignorant of its proper name, and in the second because it was fatal to the Crusaders. All the French historians who have spoken of the crusades have translated _Malle Villa_ by _Malleville_.—See MARSIGLI, _Danubius Pannonico, Mysicus_.

[54] Consult William of Tyre, or still better, Albert d’Aix, who, of all the historians of the crusades, enlarges most upon these first expeditions.

[55] Amongst this confused multitude were Thomas de Feü, Cleremhault de Vaudeuil, Guillaume Charpentier, Count Herman, &c.

[56] _Fuit et aliud scelus detestabile in hâc congregatione pedestris populi stulti, et vesanæ levitatis, anserem quemdam divino spiritu asserebant afflatum, et capellam non minus eodem repletam, et has sibi duces secundæ viæ fecerant in Jerusalem, quos et nimium venerebantur et bestiali more his intendebant ex totâ animi intentione._—Alb. Aq. lib. i. cap. 31.

[57] The Mersbourg of the Crusaders is now called _Ovar_; in German _Ungarisch-Altenburgh_; in Sclavonic _Stare-Hrady_. It is situated in the marshes that the Leytha forms on its embouchure into the Danube. Its position is such that it is impossible to go from Austria into Hungary on that side without passing by it. ’See Busching, Geog.) The name of Mersbourg, which Albert d’Aix gives to this place, is no longer in use: but that of Altenburgh, which has succeeded it, and which signifies _old city_, indicates sufficiently clearly a more ancient name; and the name of _Moisson_, which other historians of the crusades give to the same place, is still found in the Latin and Hungarian name of the county of Wieselbourg, upon which this city depends; _Mesony wanmgye_, Mesoniensis Comitatus.

[58] There were in the army of Peter the Hermit, says Anna Comnena, ten thousand Normans, who committed horrible excesses in the neighbourhood of Nicea. They chopped children in pieces, stuck others upon spits, and exercised all sorts of cruelties against aged persons. ’See the Alexiad, book x.) We have no need to repeat our caution against the exaggeration of Anna Comnena, who is always pleased with an opportunity of accusing the Crusaders.

[59] 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.

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

[61] 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.

[62] An anonymous historian of the crusades, when speaking of Godfrey, expresses himself thus: _Tantum lenis, ut magis in se monachum quàm militem figuraret_. Guibert further says: _Cujus mira humilitas et monachis jam imitanda modestia_.—See Bongars, p. 548.

[63] Abbot Guibert speaks thus of William, viscount de Melun: _Cum Jerosolymitanum esset agressurus, iter direptis contiguorum sibi peuperum substantiolis, profanum viaticum præparavit_.—Lib. iv. c. 7.

[64] Le Père Maimbourg.

[65] 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 modern, I will repeat what the priests of Egypt said to Solon, ‘_Oh Athenians, you are but children_.’”—Esprit des Lois, liv. xxx. c. 18.

[66] _Eo tempore cum inter regni primates super hâc expeditione res fieret, et colloquium ab eis cum Hugone Magno, sub Philippi regis præsentiâ, Parisiis haberetur, mense Februario, tertio idus ejusdem, luna, eclipsim patiens, ante noctis medium, sanguineo paulatim cœpit colore velari, donec in cruentissimum tota horribiliter est conversa ruborem; et ubi aurora crepusculo naturæ rediit, circa ipsum lunarem circulum insolitus splendor emicuit. Quidam autem æstivi diei vespertinâ irruente horâ, tanta aquilonis plagæ efflagratio apparuit, ut plurimi è domibus suis sese proriperent, quærentes quinam hostes provincias suas adeò grave ambustione vastarent._—Guibert, Abb. lib. i. ch. 17.

[67] Raoul de Caen has written, half in prose and half in verse, the “Gestes de Tancrède.” ’See “Thesaurus Novus Anecdotorum” of D. Martenne, vol. i., or the “Recueil de Muratori,” tom. iii.)

[68] Consult the history of Raymond d’Agiles, chaplain of the count de Thoulouse, for the description of this march of the Crusaders of the south across a country till that time unknown.

[69] 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.”

[70] 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 exceedingly difficult to follow so many different relations.

[71] The Crusaders who followed Raymond are designated by historians _Provençalex_. This comes from the ancient denomination of _Provincia Romana_, or _Provencia Narbonensis_, which comprised Languedoc, Dauphiné, and Provence.

[72] The contemporary historians who have spoken of the crusades, and who have made this enumeration, had doubtless in their minds the numbering which is found in Scripture, which makes the number of the soldiers of Israel amount to six hundred and thirty-three thousand five hundred and fifty. I believe I ought to add some passages from the historians: _Si omnes qui de domibus suis egressi votum jam iter ceperant, simul illuc adessent, procul dubio sexagies centum millia bellatorum adessent_.—Foulcher de Chartres. _Opinionem hominum vincebat numerus, quamvis æstimarentur sexagies centum millia itinerantium._—Malmesbury, book iv.

[73] Such might be the character of the hundred thousand horse; but the five hundred thousand foot by no means merited such a description.—TRANS.

[74] Quis tot principes, tot duces, tot equites, tot pedites, sine rege, sine imperatore dimicante hactenùs audivit, neque siquidem in isto exercitu alter alteri præfuit, 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.

[75] The Armenian history of Matthew of Edessa is among the manuscripts 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 communicate to us, and likewise the translation which M. Cerbeid, Armenian professor at the Imperial Library, has made for the purpose of elucidating some manuscripts.

[76] 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.

[77] 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.

[78] See William of Tyre, lib. iii.

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

(a)See Arrowsmith’s Map of Constantinople and its environs.

[80] _Hâc crudelitate atrocissimæ mortis stupefactæ teneræ puellæ et nobilissimæ, vestibus ornari festinabant, se offerentes Turcis, ut saltem amore honestarum formarum accensi et placati, discant captivarum misereri._—Alb. Aq. lib. iii. cap. 4.

[81] I have made earnest researches to discover by what means the Christian army was provisioned, and I can learn nothing beyond the fact that the Crusaders carried hand-mills with them.

[82] _Tunc autem vere vel rideretis, vel forsitan pietate lachrymaremini, cum multis nostrum jumentis egentes, verveces, capras, sues, canes, de rebus suis orerabant. Equites etiam supra boves cum armis suis interdum scandebant._—Ful. Carn. apud Bougais, p. 589.

[83] The _Isauria trachea_ of the ancients.

[84] _Quamplurimæ namque fœtæ mulieres exsiccatis faucibus, arefactis visceribus ... mediâ plateâ in omnium aspectu fœtus suos enixæ relinquebant; aliæ miseræ juxta fœtus suos in vid communi volutabantur, omnem pudorem et secreta sua oblitæ._—Alb. Aquem. lib. iii. cap. 2.

[85] This remarkable circumstance is taken from the Life of Godfrey, by Jean de Launel, écuyer seigneur de Chantreau, and Du Chaubert.

[86] Consult, for this expedition, Pelloutier, _Histoire des Celtes_.

[87] Now Konieh, in Caramania.

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

[89] This is the Messis of Aboulfeda. See an article upon this city in Mannert, tom. vi. p. 2, p. 101, which is very learned and very well done.

[90] When Baldwin quitted the Christian army, it had arrived at Marrash.

[91] 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.

[92] _Intra lineam interulam, guam nos vocamus comisiam, nudum intrare eum, faciens, sibi adstrinxit; et deinde omnia osculo libata firmavit, idem et mulier post modum fecit._—Guib. Abb. lib. iii. ad finem.

[93] In the first book of the _Jerusalem Delivered_, when the Eternal 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.

[94] 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.

[95] Ancient Antioch is not to be recognised in the straggling village that the Turks call _Antakié_; it is even sufficiently 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.

[96] The name of this Seljoucide prince has been disfigured by the greater part of the Latin historians. Tudebode and the monk Robert call him _Cassianus_; 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, _Bayhistan_; but in other 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.”

[97] Plurimum quoque interest ad disciplinam militiæ, insuescere milites nostros, non solum partâ victoriâ frui, sed si etiam res sit lentior, pati tædium, et quamvis seræ spei exitum exspectare, _nec sicut æstivas aves, instante hyeme, tecta ac recessum circumspicere_.—Accolti, de Bello contra Turcas, lib. ii.

[98] Alearum ludo pariter recreari et occupari cum matronâ quâdam, quæ magnæ erat ingenuitatis et formositatis. Matronam vero vivam, et intactam armis, rapientes traxerunt in urbem, per totam noctem immoderatæ libidinis suæ incesto concubitu eam vexantes, nihilque humanitatis in eam exhibentes.—_Alb. Ag._ lib. iii. p. 46.

[99] 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, Foucher de Chartres, Oderic-Vital, Paul Emile, Bernard Thesaurius, Accolti, Duchat, Mailly, De Guignes, Albufaradge, &c. &c.

[100] The historian of Burgundy, Urbain Plancher, without alleging any reason, and without quoting any authority, treats this event as a fable, although it is attested by William of Tyre, Albert d’Aix, and several other nearly contemporary historians. Mallet says nothing of it in his “History 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 Danicarum” may be consulted for the dissertation in which Langbeck discusses the passages of the ancient historians, and clearly demonstrates the truth of their accounts. This dissertation is entitled, “Infelix Suenonis Danici adversus Turcas.”

[101] 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 of the siege.

[102] Sed non hoc metu præliorum, ut speramus fecerat; sed tantum famie injuriam pati nunquam didicerat.—_Rob. Mon._ lib. iv.

[103] This great faster, says Maimbourg, who by a voluntary austerity which had acquired him such a great reputation of sanctity, made profession to eat neither bread nor meat, could not endure a necessary fast.

[104] Et quis esse poterat aditus voluptatis, ubi erat indesinens suspicio mortis!—_Guib._ lib. vi. cap. 15.

[105] This circumstance is taken from an Armenian manuscript of Matthew of Edessa. It is surprising that the Latin historians have made no mention of it; but they never speak of any means of providing provisions employed by the Crusaders.

[106] A chronicle printed at Paris in 1517, which bears for title, “Grand Voyage d’Outre-Mer,” places the following speech in the mouth of Godfrey: “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.”

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

[108] Sic lubricus ensis super crus dextrum integer exigit, sicque caput integrum cum dextrâ parte corporis immersit gurgite, partemque quæ equo præsidebat 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._

[109] Feruntque in illâ die martyrisati ex nostris militibus seu peditibus plusquam mille, qui in cœlum lætantes 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.

[110] These particulars are related by Abbot Guibert, lib. iv. In this historian will be found most particulars regarding _morals_.

[111] Et si Sarracenum noviter interfectum invenerunt, illius carnes, ac si essent pecudis, avidissimè devorabant.—_Gesta Francorum._

[112] 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 may most probably be said that he had abjured Christianity. If authors are not agreed as to his name, it may be believed that some have called him by his proper name, and that others have designated him by a name which expressed his profession. William of Tyre says that he was born of a family called in Armenian _Beni Zerra_, that is, _the family of the makers of cuirasses_.

[113] Apparuit enim ei Dominus Jesus Christus per visum, et ait; Vade et redde civitatem Christianis.—_Gesta Francorum_, lib. v. cap. 12.

[114] A comet appeared on the very night of the taking of Antioch, June 3, 1098.—See _Robert. Monach._ lib. v. ad finem; _Chronicon Fossæ Novæ_, in _Muratori_, tom. vii.; _Chronica Mailross._ ab anno 733 ad 1270, per diversos auctores in _Rerum Anglicarum Script._ tom. i.; _Annales Waverlienses_, ibid. tom. ii.; _Pingie_, _Cométographie_, tom. i. p. 382.

[115] The anonymous author of a chronicle entitled _Passages d’Outre-Mer_, expresses himself thus, p. 46: “But there was not one among them who did not refuse to mount except Bohemond, whom _Æmiscrius_ 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 Bohemondus fœderis fide fultus, per funem ascendit.—_Bernardus Thesaurius_, cap. 36; _Muratori_, tom. iii.

[116] Sicut aquila provocans pullos suos ad volandum, et super eos volitans.—_Rad. Cair._ tom. iii. p. 66.

[117] 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 Bongars_. All these historians agree in the principal circumstances. The monk Robert, in the recital that he makes of it, expresses his surprise in these words: “Non est lingua carnis quæ satis valeat enarrare, quid Francorum manus valuit persundare.” Foulcher de Chartres, who, according to common opinion, was the first to mount the ladder of ropes, never speaks of himself in his narration, which fact is luite consistent with the spirit of the Christian knights.

[118] 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.

[119] Alii multi, quorum nomina non tenemus, quia delecta de libro vitæ, præsenti operi non sunt inserenda.—_Will. of Tyre_, lib. iv.

[120] 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.