THE HISTORY OF THE CRUSADE; OR, THE EXPEDITIONS OF THE Christian Princes FOR THE CONQUEST OF THE Holy Land. Written Originally in FRENCH, By the Famed MOUNSIEUR MAIMBOURG. Englished by JOHN NALSON, L L. D. LONDON, Printed by R. H. for Thomas Dring, at the Corner of Chancery-Lane next Fleetstreet. MDCLXXXV. TO THE Right Honourable HENRY, Earl of CLARENDON, Lord Privy Seal. My Lord, I Am very sensible in what manner I expose myself, in adventuring to present your Lordship this Translation; since not only myself, but the whole World knows, that your early Loyalty, and Banishment for the Royal Cause, by your Retreat in France, have made you an absolute Master of that Language, from whence it is borrowed: So that I could not but foresee, That consequently your Lordship is best able to distinguish, not only my own, but those Imperfections, which of necessity must attend Copies, when compared with their Originals; there being in all Languages some Graces and Beauties of their Native Idiom, so peculiar to them, as are difficultly to be supplied, or tolerably Imitated by any other. But, My Lord, your Noble Character is too well known, to permit me to despair of Pardon; and since your Lordship is so publicly remarkable, for your admirable Industry in Cultivating your Mind with all manner of Gentile Reading, it gives me hopes, that your Lordship will not be displeased to see those generous Inclinations cherished in others; and some Assistances and Invitations given to such, whose Education hath not made them acquainted with Foreign Languages, whereby they may receive, in the familiar Dress of their Native Country, the advantage of what hath been written by Curious Pens of other Nations. However, My Lord, Gratitude, the only thing wherein I can be Liberal, as it obliges me to celebrate your Lordship's Name, as having received those Favours from your Lordship, for which I must acknowledge myself under such Obligations, as lying nearest my Heart, will be forward to be upon my Lips; so it is impossible for me not to lay hold, even with some precipitation, upon the least Occasions, wherein I may, in any measure, Express, what I do not only Esteem so much a Duty, but also so great a Pleasure to do myself the Honour of telling the whole World, that I am, My Lord, Your Lordship's most obliged, and most humble Servant, JOHN NALSON. Ely, March 12th. 1684/5. TO THE READER. IT is I think, if it be a mistake, such a one as is common to the greatest part of Mankind, to have that Opinion of their Sentiments, especially those of Pleasure, to believe, that what they find divertive and agreeable to themselves, must be so likewise to others, what ever Inconveniences this may render men liable to in other matters, I am not either curious to know, or at present to inquire, since I am assured that we are obliged to this Humour, for the Communication of many admirable things, in History especially, which afford us both Pleasure and Advantage; this being one of those sorts of Treasures, which few People delight themselves with hoarding up; but there being a certain pleasure in pleasing others, they are generally willing to be very bountiful in what may enrich others without impoverishing themselves. I must ingenuously confess, that it was this little Wheel, that gave me this Motion, and having some hours liberty, I could not be contented with diverting myself, but must needs endeavour to propagate the pleasure I found in this History of Monsieur Maimbourgs, that others might share with me in it. I am very sensible that many Persons of good Judgement have declared themselves against all kind of Translations, except those of the Sacred Writings, and some against those too, as disadvantageous to Learning, and especially to Industry, and endeavours to attain the knowledge of Languages. Now for my own particular, as I am satisfied that there are very few, who addict themselves to the more difficult Studies of Learning or Languages, but such, who either out of necessity, and upon the prospect of their future advancement by such attainments, as qualify them for the great Imploys of Church or State; or such, whose natural Curiosity and Inclinations lead them to these researches, or will ever bend their Minds to the attainment of Languages; so I am confident that neither the natural desires and thirst of the one, nor the excited and necessary endeavours of the other, will ever be abated by Translations, or satisfied, but with the Originals; nor will they ever sit down by the Streams, who can with ease and pleasure draw Learning from its Fountains. Now there are a third sort of People, who neither are compelled by necessity, nor inclined by Nature to give themselves any great trouble in point of Learning; who yet, by Translations of Learning into their own Language, may receive mighty Improvements in their Knowledge, Manners, Conduct, and Understandings, and who may be thereby rendered very serviceable in their several Stations to their Prince and Country, agreeable in Conversation, and may likewise avoid the temptations of bestowing their spare hours upon such Entertainments, to which, for want of Judgement, Experience, and more Innocent Diversions, Nature, too much inclined to Vice and Folly, may be apt to tempt them, and there can be no doubt but many Persons of great Natural Parts and Ingenuity, who have fallen under the misfortune of the Want of such good Education as they might have had, as does but too frequently happen to young Gentlemen, whom either the Flattery of their Masters, Tutors, and Governors; the fond Indulgence of Parents and Guardians, or the neglect of both, betrays into so great a want of Learning, as hardly to understand truly their own Native Language; these, I say when they come to see, and as I have known many of them deplore their condition, would want all manner of assistance, to cultivate and improve themselves, which they might have by having Learning brought to them in an easy and familiar Language. Nor am I, if I could, to make an Invidious Catalogue of many Worthy Men, who by these little and inconsiderable helps have made such attainments in necessary Knowledge, as have rendered them very serviceable to the World in Employs both Civil and Military, especially the last. And indeed of all men living, the Martialists have generally the least Inclination to Learning, though they can scarcely be good Soldiers without it; For to them History is what the Seaman's Charts are in Navigation. There they see the Reasons of all those great Events of former Ages, the occasions of the loss and gaining of Battles, winning and losing of Towns and Countries, Provinces and Kingdoms; there they have a view of the many Stratagems of War, divers of which upon occasion suggest new ones to the Invention of the Ingenious; there they have the Spurs of Emulation in seeing the Heroic Actions of gallant men; sometimes their own Ancestors, whose Glory may excite their Imitation, and whose Virtues may encourage them, whose Honours and Rewards may move them for the Service of their Prince and Country, to mount by the same Steps of Conduct, Bravery and Resolution, to the top of Honour and Glory; and possibly had young Alexander never read the Stories of Achilles in his own Language, in the admirable Poem of Homer, he had never obtained either the Conquest he did, or the Immortal Surname of the Great, but had confined his Ambition, which afterwards one World could not suffice, together with his Knowledge, within the narrow limits of his Macedon. And certainly as nothing can be more delightful to the Genius of a Soldier, than the representation of great Actions, Battles, Sieges, honourable Retreats, admirable Stratagems, and regular Conducts, brave Performances, and the happy Successes of the Ancient Hero's, so nothing can be more pleasant in the time of Peace, or more serviceable to them in the time of War, than History, which so long as it is vailed under such Languages as are strangers to them, is like Treasure in the Mine, for which no man is the Richer or the better. Nor is it of less advantage to the Statesman, who will there find those admirable Maxims and Instructions, of which he may most successfully serve himself to his own Honour, and the advantage of those by whom he is employed. We in England, who have many Persons, who are in some degree or other to be employed in the Administration of Public Affairs; such as are Justices of the Peace, especially in Corporations and Burroughs, and such as serve for the Representatives of those Places in the lower House of Parliament, have reason to endeavour by all means to give them the opportunities of improving their Understandings in such ways and measures as they are capable of, and as will make them capable of discharging those Trusts to their own Reputation, the satisfaction of the King, and the advantage of their Country. For though many times it happens that the Gentlemen of the Long Robe, and others, who have opportunities of Learning fill those Charges; yet it is not entailed upon them, and very frequently Persons, to whom it is no disparagement that they are not Scholars, their Education having been to Trades and Mysteries necessary for the public good of the Community, are chosen to those Offices and Trusts. Now where men act in any public Capacity, especially in our Parliaments, whose good or ill Conduct never fails to have a like influence upon the whole Nation, it is of great advantage to have them in some measure acquainted with what is their own Interest, and that of those whom they represent. There is nothing that gives them a better or clearer Prospect in this matter than the Histories of former Ages, both in their own and Foreign Countries, by which they will be informed of the great necessity of their Duty in Order to their own Happiness. There they will see how happy those Princes and People have been, who have had the good Fortune to live in good Understanding one with the other, and what fatal and dreadful Revolutions have happened upon Discords and Disunions; and because men are not apt to flatter the Ashes of the Dead, we see impartially the Defects and Failings of past Ages, we discover the Secret Springs of those Disorders, which Popular, Ambitious, or Revengeful men have made use of in Councils, to raise Seditions and Rebellions against their Sovereigns, which whilst they lived, some would not, others durst not discover, and, which they themselves do always most studiously endeavour to conceal. And these Remarks in History are like Light Houses, Buoys and Beacons to Posterity, to show them a dangerous Shoar, and to give them notice to stand aloof, and where they observe the same Practices, to fear the same Intentions, and avoid the like Mischiefs and Dangers. And herein, as I cannot but applaud the Ingenuity and Industry of the French Nation, so I cannot but judge their procedure in this particular worthy of our Notice. We are reputed in the World very fond of imitating those People even to ridiculous extravagancy in Modes, Habits, and Dresses of the Body; and it were not amiss if we could be persuaded to follow their Examples and Fashion in cultivating and adorning of our Minds. It is the general and known observation, that as that Language within this fifty Years hath extended it farther than in five hundred before, so the French are most extraordinarily improved in all manner of Knowledge, and Learning, which may be of Public Use and Advantage. Nor can this be attributed to any other Cause, but the industrious care and diligence of the Learned and Ingenious Persons of that Nation, who have with indefatigable application endeavoured to bring all the Learning of the World into their own Country, by making all the Writings of the Greeks, Latins, Italians, and several other Nations, who have been Famous in any sort, Denizens of France, and ●aching them to speak, some hundred Years since their Death, a Language to which they were Strangers whilst they lived. Learning is the glorious Light of the Universe, a Light which shows us not only how to guide our steps for the present, and the future, but leads us back into the darker times of Antiquity, and like the Perpetual Lamps so much admired, shows us the Beauties and the Lineaments of Dead Ages, even in their Tombs; and certainly they must be very envious, who would deny the World this Light, and confine these Perpetual Lamps of Light and Knowledge still within the Urns and the Tombs of the Dead, or bury them in Closets and Libraries, where they appear to very few. For my own particular, I must declare myself against such a miserable Covetousness, which impoverishes a great many, without enriching the Misers, who like Evil-Spirits sit watching that Treasure, which they neither can make use of themselves, nor will permit others to possess, who would; and I could wish that all manner of gentile and ingenuous Learning, (for I do not speak of that which is Sacred, which ought not to be prostituted or made so cheap, as to encourage idleness, or detract from the Majesty of the Schools, or of Theology) were as common as the Air we breath, or the Beams of that glorious Luminary, which bestows his pleasing Influences upon all the World. The Author of this History is the Ingenious Monsieur Maimbourg, a Writer of great Fame and Integrity, a Person of a solid Judgement, and every way a good Historian; and, which I admire most in him, notwithstanding his Education and Profession, a man that hath the least of that foolish Bigotry, which never fails to render any Profession of Religion ridiculous. He is a great Assertor of the Liberties of the Gallican Church, and the Prerogatives of Princes against the pretended Supremacy of Popes, and the Usurpations of those, who stile themselves the Successors of St. Peter, upon the Temporal Power of Princes; and to me it is a mighty wonder to find a Romanist and a Jesuit speak so freely and so plain; and I doubt not, did not he, as well as many others of that Religion, labour under the hard prepossessions of Education, and the disadvantages of prejudice, but they might be easily induced to throw off the Manacles, which Innovation hath laid upon them, and be persuaded to see, how much the Church of England hath done towards restoring the Catholic Religion to its Primitive Antiquity, by disburthening it of the foolish Principles and superstitious Practices, with which succeeding Ages have with more Zeal than Prudence, overloaden Religion: But this is not any part of my present Province, all that I have to say is to recommend this Historical Collection to the Reader; who, if he will but first please with a favourable Pen to correct the following Errors of the Press, which by reason of my distance from it, was not in my power to remedy, he will I hope receive the same pleasure, and possibly more advantage in reading it, than I have done in taking care to present it to him. THE Author's Epistle TO THE FRENCH KING. To the King. SIR, THE Great Men, whom I have the Honour to present to your Majesty, are the Hero's of these Famous Crusades, who have seven several times armed all Europe, for the Conquest of the Holy Land. And possibly it may not be displeasing to your Majesty, to see the most valiant Princes of their times, and above all the Princes of your August, Consanguinity, whom the Glory which they have acquired by a thousand Gallant Actions, hath rendered Immortal. It is true, that their Arms have not had all that happy Success, which they seemed to promise; and that those of so many Barbarous Nations, who united against them, have at last remained Victorious. But, Sir, after that which all the Earth hath seen with astonishment in this last Champaign, one may say, That there hath not been for this four hundred years and upwards, above one single Hero, who is to be found in the Person of your Majesty, who hath been able to achieve so great and Glorious an enterprise, and to triumph so gloriously over so many Enemies. And in truth all the Forces of the Emperor, the King of Spain, the greatest part of the Circles of the Empire, and all those of the Hollanders, both by Sea and Land, are something more formidable than those of the Egyptians, the Arabians, the Persians, and the Turks, and nevertheless your Majesty Commanding either yourself in Person, or causing your Orders to be executed by your Lieutenants, hath vanquished and dissipated them all; you only, without the assistance of your Allies, who seemed as if they had taken Arms, only to be, with more Pomp and Ceremony, the spectators of your Victories. This Wonder, Sir, is the most surprising effect of a consummated Prudence, and an Heroic Courage, accompanied with a Fortune always invincible, which may justly acquire you the most Glorious Surnames of your Predecessors, which your Majesty hath long since Merited by the Conquests of the preceding Campaigns, and by so many Royal Actions, as have in all things rendered the incomparable greatness of your Soul most eminently conspicuous to the whole Earth. After this can it be doubted, but that if Lewis the Great had reigned in the Ages of these Crusades, or if the Age of the Crusades had been retarded, till the Reign of Lewis the Great, we should have seen at this Day, the Empire of Jesus Christ reestablished in the Holy Land, without having any need of the other Christian Princes to mingle their Arms with his, otherwise than to celebrate his Triumphs? As for myself, who have been always obliged to your Majesty, by an inviolable Tie, both of my Duty and my Choice, and who have the Honour to be particularly your Creature, by the effects of your Royal Bounty, I am confident to say, that I should make more noise than all the rest, in such an agreeable Concert. I hope also that I shall give some proofs to posterity, that I have the Idea of your Majesty, so imprinted in my Heart and Soul, that I shall always borrow some Lines from it, whether it be in the painting of my Hero's, who can never appear so great, as when they come to be observed to have the good Fortune to resemble your Majesty, or in recounting their admirable Actions, in such places as they seem to imitate, though much short of them, the Greatness of yours. This Testimony, Sir, of my Zeal for your majesty's Glory, is no more than Truth, for so great a King; and tho' possibly it may be too little for so good a Master, yet since, in the condition wherein the Divine Providence hath placed me, it is all that I can do, to let the whole World understand, with how much Ardour, Submission and Veneration, I am, SIR, Your majesty's most Humble, most Obedient, and most Faithful Servant and Subject, Lewis Maimbourg. An Advertisement of the Author's to the Reader. AFTER what I have said to the Reader in my Advertisements to the History of Arianism, and that of the Iconoclasts, I have not much to add, but only to inform him, that having drawn from the ancient Authors, French, Italians, Germans, and English, almost all that I have written in this History, I have not believed that I was obliged to cite the Modern Historians, who have said something of these Crusades, and who doubtless have drawn them from the same Fountains which I have done. I have done the same thing in all my other Histories, as where I recount the admirable Actions of St. Athanasius, St. Basil, St. Gregory Nazianzen, St. John chrysostom, and several other Famous Saints. I have not produced for my Vouchers, Simeon Metaphrastes, Lipomannus, Surius, Ribadeneira, or the other Writers or Collectors, who have given us the Lives of the Saints, and much less the new Legend makers. For in those places where we agree, it is not of them that I have made use, but of the Ancients from whom they have borrowed what they have Written, as well as I: and in other places where I am obliged to contradict them, as I am persuaded that they are mistaken, I could not speak of them, but to refute their Errors. But that being neither agreeable to my Humour, nor to my Duty in the Quality of an Historian, and which would render me rather a Critic than an Historian. I have not troubled myself, or the Reader, with what I believe is not by ingenious Persons expected from me. A Second Advertisement. WHAT I have to add to my first Advertisement, is only for the satisfaction of those, who possibly may imagine, that the Portraicts and Characters which are to be seen in my Histories, are rather like those of Romances, the Designs of a Luxuriant Fancy, than of a Modest Truth, or at least that like Paintings, they are done with the utmost advantage, and not without Flattery. But it will not be very difficult for me, to destroy an Imagination so little conformable to reason, and I have nothing to do, but to desire the Reader to remove his prejudice, by looking into the Authors, whom I have cited in the Margins, over against these Portraicts, and there they shall find the Originals from which I have honestly copied them. They may also observe as well as I, that I have not contented myself with one Author, but have drawn them from divers put together, the Shape, the Colour, the Complexion, the Mind, the Hair, the Beard, the Eyes, the Nose, the Mouth, and the Lineaments, as well as the manners of such whom I have undertaken to paint, and to show them to the Reader, such as good Historians have represented them, herein following the Examples of Plutarch, Suetonius, Sallust, and a hundred other Famous Writers, Greeks and Latins. Eusebius, Nicephorus, Victor, St. Ambrose, St. Gregory Nazianzen, Ammianus Marcellinus, Jornandus, and Paul the Deacon, have furnished me in the History of Arianism, with the Portraicts of my Hero's, Romans, Goths, and Vandals. Theophanes, Cedrenus, Zonaras, Michael Glycas, Eginhardus, Anastasius, the Library keeper, Paul the Deacon, Marcardus Freherus, El-Macim, and the Oriental Chronicle, have made me acquainted with the Greeks, the French and Saracens, whose Pictures I show in the History of the Iconoclasts. Robert the Monk, the Abbot of Nogent, the Abbot Sugerius, Otho Frisingensis, Otho de St. Blaise, the old French and English Historians, William of Tyre, Nicetas, the Abbot of Vrsperg, Cuspinian, and several others, are the Authors, from whose Works I have furnished myself, to represent to the Life the Illustrious Men of my Crusades, to which I have added nothing more than the manner of expressing their thoughts in my own Words. And it would have been very easy for me to verify this, by citing the very Words of the Authors, from whom I draw my Portraicts, as in the third and fourth Tome, I have placed in the Margin those of St. Anthonine, and of two or three others, who have given us the Picture of Frederick the Second. But I have nevertheless declined it, being unwilling to make the Margin swell bigger than the Book itself. If these Writers say nothing of the lineaments of the Face, or the rest of the Person of those of whom I writ, I take care to say nothing, and content myself with describing the qualities of the Soul, the Mind and the Heart, witness the Portraicts of Luitprandus, the Emperor's Nicephorus, Michael the stammering, Leo the Armenian, and Isaac Angelus. But when they give me Instructions, as do many Famous Historians, whom I give for my warranties, I cannot conceal this knowledge from my Readers, and if posterity hold themselves obliged to every one of these Historians in particular, for having given every one of them some particular stroke of these extraordinary Men, who have made such a Figure in the World, I am not without hopes, but it may be very well pleasing to them, that I have taken care to Collect and Unite all these scattered Draughts, to compose those just Portraicts, which they may with pleasure see in my Works. For it hath ever been and ever will be, that Mankind will have the Curiosity to know those Persons, who are reported to have done so many great and admirable things. And for this reason it is, that at this time more than ever, there is such curious search made for Ancient Medals, which make up the fairest part of the Cabinets, even of Kings and Princes; there being a great pleasure to see the Faces of those Persons, of whose Fortune and Actions we read in History. And as there hath been lately a Medal of the King made with such perfection, that nothing can be added to it, it will hereafter be sought for, with as much Passion by the Curious, as are those of the Ancient Caesar's. For most certainly in reading all the surprising Wonders, which the History of his Reign, written by an able hand, must publish, though far short of what they are in reality, one must be touched with a mighty desire to see that August Face, wherein the incomparable greatness of his Soul, and all the Royal Virtues are so well expressed, by that Heroic Air and those admirable traces of Majesty, which will not suffer any that see them to hesitate one Moment, but that they must acknowledge him to be the greatest and most admirable of all Monarches. After this I hope that all reasonable Persons will be satisfied with my Conduct, which will encourage me to pursue, in my following History of the Crusades, the Characters of those Popes, Emperors, Princes, Kings, and Great Men, who are to appear upon the Theatre of the following History. ERRATA. PAge 3. l. 47. r. Salguc. ib. l. 54. r. Abutalip. p. 4. l. 42. for Lords r. Letters. p. 7. l. 22. for Lies r. Letters. ib. l. 44. f. Seventh r. Seven. p. 9 l. 44. f. Persecution r. Prosecution. ib. 54. f. Christian r. Chieftain. p. 12. l. 24. f. renounced r. renewed. p. 14. l. 11. r. Thiery. p. 15. l. 51. f. many r. Manly. p. 22. l. 34. r. Cybotus. Civitot. THE CONTENTS. PART I. BOOK I. THE greatness of the Subject of the ensuing Hictory. The newness, and advantage of it. The Original of the Turks, and their Conquest in Asia from the Saracens. The Conference of Peter the Hermit with the Patriarch of Jerusalem. The Description of the Hermit. His Negotiation with Pope Urban the Second, and his Preaching the Crusade. The Relation of the Council of Placentia, that of the Council of Clermond. The horrible Disorders occasioned by the little Wars between private persons which were tolerated in those times, and which were regulated by the Canon of the Peace and the Truce. Aymar de Monteil, Bishop of Pavia, Legate of the Pope for the Crusade. The prodigious number of those who took upon them the Cross, and the disorders that ensued. The Names of the Princes of the Crusade. An Account of Duke Godfrey, and his Character. He sends Peter the Hermit before him. A Description of the Conduct and manner of living of this Solitary. He divides his Army into two Bodies. The Disorder and the Ruin of the first under Gautier Monyless. The greater Disorder and ill Fortune of the Second commanded by Peter himself. The Defeat of two other Armies of Crusades conducted by a Priest Godescalc and Count Emico, their overthrow by the Hungarians. The Conference of Peter the Hermit with the Emperor Alexis. The Character, Conduct, and secret designs of that Prince, and the reasons of his perfidiousness. The passage of the Hermit's Army into Asia, and the continuance of their disorders. The Italians and Germans, separate from the French. The first overthrown by young Solyman Sultan of Nice. The first Battle of Nice where the other part are overthrown also by Solyman. The Voyage of Godfrey of Bullen, and the Princes that accompanied him. The Voyage of Hugh the Great, and the Princes that followed him, his Character, Conduct, and Imprisonment by the Greek Emperor. The War of Godfrey against Alexis. The Extremity to which the Emperor is reduced, and the Treaty concluded between him and the Princes. The Relation of the Conquests and Settlement of the Normans in Italy. The Voyage of Bohemond Prince of Tarentum, and the Princes that went along with him. The Voyage of Raymond de Tholose, of Aymar de Monteil Bishop of Pavia, and the other Princes and Lords, which accompanied them. The Character of that Earl, his Conference with the Emperor, and the Treachery of that Prince. The Voyage of Robert Duke of Normandy, his Character, and Treaty with the Emperor. Page 1. BOOK II. The Description of the City of Nice in Bythinia, and the Siege thereof by the Princes of the Crusade. The Second and third Battle of Nice, where the young Solyman was beaten. The taking of that City, and the Treachery of the Greek Emperor. The March of the Christian Army. One part thereof surprised by Solyman. The Battle of the Gorgonian Valley. The Progress of the Christian Army in the lesser Asia. The great danger of Duke Godfrey and his Combat with a monstrous Bear. The difference and little Civil dissension between Baldwin and Tancred. Baldwin makes himself Master of the Principality of Edessa. The entrance of the Christian Army into Syria. The Description of the Famous City of Antioch. It is besieged by the Princes. The Relation of this famous Siege. The Combat at the Bridge of Antioch. The marvellous Actions of Duke Godfrey. The Approach of Corbagath with a prodigious Army to relieve the City. The Relation of the taking of Antioch by Bohemond by Intelligence in the City with one Pyrrhus. The Christian Army at the same time besieged by Corbagath. A Relation of the discovery of the top of a Spear, which was believed to be that which pierced our Saviour's side. The memorable Battle of Antioch, where the whole power of the Turks and Saracens in Asia was defeated by the Christians. The death of Aymar de Monteil Bishop of Pavia. The quarrel between Count Raymond and the Prince of Tarentum. The taking of Marra. A strange Relation of the gratitude of a Lyon. The Siege of Arcas. The odd Story of Anselm de Ribemond, Earl of Bouchain and the deceased Engelram, Son to the Earl of St. Paul. The taking of Torlosa by a stratagem by the Viscount de Turenne. The Sultan of Egypt takes Jerusalem from the Turks, breaks his League with the Princes of the Crusade. The Ambassadors of Alexis slighted. The advantageous composition with the Emir of Tripoli. The March of the Christian Army to Jerusalem. Lidda, Rama, Nicopolis and Bethlehem taken by the Christians. The extraordinary expressions of their Devotion upon the first discovery of the Holy City. p. 33. BOOK III. The Present State of Jerusalem when the Christian Princes Besieged it. The Destribution of their Quarters. The ill Success of an Assault given against the Rules of War, by the Advice of a Hermit, who pretended a Revelation for it. The Description of Duke Godfrey's Engines. The solemn Procession of the Besiegers about the City. The Second General Assault for three days together. Two Magicians who were Conjuring upon the Walls, have their Brains beaten out with a Stone from Duke Godfrey's wooden Castle. The Artifice of Godfrey to drive the Enemies from the Walls. He is the first that by the Bridge of his Castle mounts the Walls. Jerusalem taken. The fearful Slaughter of the Saracens. By Godfrey's Example the whole Army return solemn Thanks to God at the Holy Sepulchre. An Assembly of the Princes to choose a King and a Patriarch. The Speech of Robert, Duke of Normandy upon this Subject. Godfrey of Bullen chosen and proclaimed King of Jerusalem. The memorable Battle of Ascalon against the Sultan of Egypt, and the Victory of the Christians, which concluded this first Crusade. The return of the Crusades. The Conquests of Godfrey of Bullen, and his Death. An Abridgement of the History of the Kingdom of Jerusalem till the time of the Second Crusade. The Reign of Baldwin the First. The flourishing Estate of the Christians in the East, till his Death. The Reign of Balwin the Second. The Relation of the founding the Military Orders of the Knights Hospitallers. The Captivity of King Baldwin. His deliverance. His Victories and Death. He is succeeded by his Son-in-Law Fowk d'Anjou. The Prosperity of his Reign. His Death, and the Regency of Queen Melisintha, during the Minority of Baldwin the Third. The Occasion of the second Expedition of the Crusades. The Relation of the two Josselins de Courtenay, Earls of Edessa. The taking of that City by Sanguine, Sultan if Aleppo, and afterwards by Noradin his Son. The Character of that Prince, and his Conquests over the Christians. Applications made to Lewis the young King of France. His Character, and what moved him to undertake the Crusade. He consults St. Bernard concerning it. The Character of that Saint, and the Order he received from Pope Eugenius the Third to preach the Crusade. The General Assemblies of Bourges, Vezelay, and Chartress, for the Crusade. It is published by Saint Bernard in France and Germany. The Emperor and King take up the Cross. The Abbot Sugere declared Regent in France. His Character and advice concerning the expedition. The Voyage of the Emperor. The Description of the Tempest which almost ruined his Army upon the Banks of the River Melas. The Fleet of the Crusades takes Lisbon from the Saracens. The Original of the Kings of Portugal. The Character and Perfidy of the Greek Emperor Manuel. His underhand Treating with the Turks. The miserable Overthrow of the Emperor's Army. The Voyage of King Lewis to Constantinople, and his reception. The Advice of the Bishop of Langress, who Counsels the King to take Constantinople; his Speech upon that Subject; the reason that his Advice was not followed; the Treacheries of Manuel thereupon. The King's Voyage into Asia. His Interview with the Emperor Conrade, and the Return of that Prince to Constantinople. The Description of the River Meander, and the famous passage of the King of France with his Army over it. p. 68 PART II. BOOK I. The Rereguard of the King's Army Defeated in the Mountains of Laodicea for want of observing the King's Orders. The Description of that Combat. A most Heroic Action of the King in an extreme Danger of his Life. His March, and admirable Conduct to Attalia. The new Perfidy of the Greeks in Betraying the Royal Army. The Arrival of the King at Antioch, and his Difference with Prince Raymond. The Conquenty March to Jerusalem, where he is met by the Emperor Conrade. The Council at Ptolemais, where the Siege of Damascus is resolved. The Description of the City of Damascus. The manner of the March of the Christian Army towards that City. The Young King Baldwin makes the first Attack, his Character, and extraordinary Valour in the Attack against the Gardens and Suburbs of Damascus. The great Combat upon the Bank of the River. A brave Action of the Emperor Conrade. An Account of the Siege of Damascus and the Treachery of the Syrians, which occasioned the ill Success of that Enterprise. The Return of the Emperor and the King. The Murmurs against St. Bernard, and his Apology. The Conquest of Noradin after the raising of the Siege. The Death of King Baldwin and his Elegy. His Brother Amauri Succeeds him. The History of that Prince's Life, who by his Avarice loseth the Opportunity of conquering all Egypt. The History of Syracon, who seizes upon the Kingdom of Egypt, and leaves it to his Nephew Saladin. The Elegy and first Conquest of that Prince. The Death of Amauri, and the Troubles and Divisions which it caused in the Realm. The Conquests of Saladin thereupon. The Reign of Baldwin the Leprous. The Ambassage to the Princes of the West, to desire their Help against Saladin. The Negotiation of the Ambassadors with the Pope and Emperor, in France, and England with Henry the Second. The Artifices of that King to elude this Ambassage. A famous Care of Conscience proposed in the Parliament at London upon this great Affair. The reasons on one side and the other. The best opinion rejected by the Bishops as False. The Displeasure of the Patriarch Heraclius against the King. The Conference between Philip Augustus and King Henry, which recommences the War. The Apostasy and Treason of a Templar. The Death of King Baldwin the Fourth, and of the young King, his Nephew. The Artifice of Sibyl, Mother to the deceased Infant King to obtain the Crown for Guy de Lusignan her Second Husband. The Despite of Raymond, Earl of Tripoli, thereupon. His Character, His horrible Treason, and secret Treaty with Saladin, who enters Galilee and besieges Tyberias. Division in the Council of War held by the King. The unfortunate Battle of Tyberias; which was lost by the Treachery of Count Raymond. The Advantage which Saladin made of his Victory. The Relation of the Siege and taking of Jerusalem, by that Victorious Prince. The sorrowful Departure of the Christians from Jerusalem, and the Generosity of Saladin. The Cruelty, and miserable Death of the Earl of Tripoli. The Triumph of Saladin. An Account of the Preserving of Tyre by Marquis Conrade. The Causes of the Loss of the Holy Land. p. 113. BOOK II. The Death of Pope Urban III. upon the News of the Loss of Jerusalem. The Decrees of Pope Gregory VIII. and the Rules of the Cardinals, to move God Almighty to Mercy and Compassion upon the Christians. Gregory makes Peace between the Pisans and the Genoese. Clement III. his Successor sends his Legates to the King of France, and to the King of England. The Conference at guysor's. Where the Archbishop of Tyre proposes the Crusade, which is received by the two Kings. The Ordinances, which they made for the Regulation of it. The War recommences between the two Kings, which hinders the Effect of the Crusade. Richard, Duke of Guienne, joins with King Philip, against his own Father. The Death of Henry II. King of England. His Elegy and Character. The Legates propose the Crusade at the Diet at Mayence, The Emperor Frederick Barbarossa there takes upon him the Cross; as do many other Princes and Prelates of the Empire. The Description of that Emperor. His March to Thracia, where he is necessitated to Combat the Greeks. The Character of the Greek Emperor, Isaac Angelus. The Reason why this Emperor betrayed the Ltains. The History of the False Dositheus, who seduced him, and of Theodore Balsamon. The Victories of Frederick in Thracia. The stupid Folly of Isaac. And his dishonourable Treaty with the Emperor. The Passage and March of Frederick into Asia. The Treachery of the Sultan of Iconium, and the Defeat of his Troops by a pretty Stratagem of the Emperor ' s. An Heroic Action of a certain Cavalier. The first Battle of Iconium. The Description, Assaulting and Taking of that City. The Second Battle of Iconium. The Triumph of the Emperor. The March of the Army towards Syria. The Description, and the Passage of Mount Taurus. The Death of the Emperor and his Elegy. Frederick, his Son, leads the Army to Antioch; after that, to Tyre; and from thence to the Camp at Ptolemais or Acon. The Description of that City, and the adjacent Country. The Relation of the famous Siege against it, begun by King Guy de Lusignan. The Succours of two fair Naval Armies. The Description of the famous Battle of Ptolemais. The manner of the Christians Encampment. The Reason of the length of the Siege. The Death of Queen Sibylla, and the Division between Guy de Lusignan and the Marquis Conrade, who marries the Princess Isabel, the Wife of Humphrey de Thoron. A general Assault given to Ptolemais upon the Arrival of Frederick, Duke of Suabia. A brave Action of Leopold, Duke of Austria. The Death of Frederick, and his admirable Virtue. p. 149 BOOK III. The Beginning of the Reign of Richard Coeur de Lion, King of England, and his Preparations for the Holy War. The Preparations of Philip the August. The Conferences of Nonancour and Vezelay between the two Kings. The Portrait of Philip the August. The Character of Richard King of England. The Voyage of the two Kings to Messina. An adventure of the English Fleet. A Quarrel between the English and the Messinese. The taking of that City. The Quarrel between the two Kings, and their new Accommodation. The Relation of the Abbot Joachim, and his Character. His Conference with King Richard. The Departure of King Philip, and his Arrival before Acre. The Departure of Richard. The Relation of the Conquest of the Kingdom of Cyprus by that Prince. His Arrival before Acre. A new Difference between the two Kings, and the true Causes of it. Their Accord. The Reduction of the City of Acre. The extreme Violence of King Richard. The Return of Philip the August. The March of Richard. The Battle of Antipatris. The single Combat between King Richard and Sultan Saladin. A noble Action of William de Pourcelets, who saved the Life of that King. Richard presents himself before Jerusalem at an unseasonable Time, and therefore retires, and disperses his Army into Quarters. The Marquis Conrade slain by two Assassins', of the old Mountain. The Description of that Government, and those People. A wicked Action of the Templars, which hindered their Conversion. The Cause of the Marquis his Death. Richard accused of that Crime. His Innocence is proved. Isabel Marries Count Henry, and is declared Queen of Jerusalem. Guy de Lusignan made King of Cyprus. Richard pretends a Second time to besiege Jerusalem, defeats the Enemies, takes the Caravan of Egypt, but retires by a cunning Agreement. A calumny against Richard, which he clears by a most memorable Action. The Battle of Jaffa; and the taking of that Place from the Saracens by Richard. His Treaty with Saladin, and his unfortunate Return. He is taken and Imprisoned. His Deliverance. The Justice which he demanded, and which he obtains. A new division among the Princes of the East, appeased by the Count de Champagne. The Death of Saladin and his Elegy. Division happens among the Infidels, which gives occasion to a fourth Crusade. p. 186. PART III. BOOK I. THe little disposition which was found in Europe to this fourth Crusade. The Pope resolves, at last, to address himself to the Emperor, Henry VI The Diet of Worms, where the Princes of Germany take up the Cross. An Heroic Action of Margarite, the Sister of Philip the August, Queen of Hungary, who takes upon her the Cross. The Artifice of the Emperor, who raiseth three Armies, and makes use of one of them to assure himself of the Kingdom of Naples; where he extinguishes the whole race of the Norman Princes. The Arrival of the Armies, by Sea and Land, at Ptolemais. The Truce broken by the Christians. The deplorable Death of Henry Count de Champagne, and King of Jerusalem. Jaffa taken by Saphadin. The Battle of Sidon, gained against Saphadin, by the Princes of the Crusade. The greatest part of the Cities of Palestine taken by the Christians. Emri, Brother of Guy de Lusignan, King of Cyprus, made King of Jerusalem. The Siege of Thoron unhappily raised by the horrible Treason of the Bishop of Wertzbourg, and his Punishment. Division among the Christians. The Combat of Jaffa. The Death of the Emperor Henry VI The Description of that Prince. A Schism in the Empire occasions the sudden Return of the Princes of the Crusade, who abandon the Holy Land to the Infidels. The Death of Pope Celestin III. Innocent III. succeeds him. The Elegy and Portrait of that Pope. He endeavours to set up a new and General Crusade. Fouques de Nevilli preacheth it in France. The Elegy and character of that holy Man. The Crusade is preached in England. King Richard engages many of his Subjects in it. The Death of that Prince, and his Penitence. The Counts of Champagne, Blois and Flanders take upon them the Cross. Their Treaty with the Venetians, by the Undertaking of Henry Dandolo, Doge of Venice. The Description and Elegy of that Prince. The Death of the Count of Champagne. Boniface, Marquis of Montferrat, made chief of the Crusade, in his place. The Death of Fouques de Nevilli. A new Treaty between the Princes of the Crusade, and the Venetians, for the Siege of Zara. A great division upon that Subject. Henry Dandolo takes upon him the Cross. The Siege and Taking of Zara. The History of Isaac, and the two Alexises, Emperor's of Constantinople. The young Alexis desires the Assistance of the Princes of the Crusade, against his Uncle Alexis Comnenius, who had usurped the Imperial Throne. The Speech of his Ambassadors. The Treaty of the French and Venetians with this Prince, for his Re-establishment. A new Division upon this Subject. A new Accord among the Confederate in the Isle of Corfu. The Description of their Fleet, and their Arrival before Constantinople. BOOK II. The Condition wherein the City of Constantinople was when it was besieged by the French and Venetian Crusades. The Defeat of the Usurper's Brother-in-Law by a small Party of the French. The Passage and the Battle of the Bosphorus. The taking of the Castle of Galatha. The Venetians force the Entry of the Port. An Assault given both by Sea and Land, ●o Constantinople. The Venetians take five and twenty Towers. A Sally made by the Emperor Alexis with a prodigious Army, and his Infamous Cowardice. His Flight, and the Reduction of Constantinople. The Establishment of Isaac, and the young Alexis. A Prolongation of the Treaty, for a Year between that Emperor and the Confederate Princes. Their Exploits in Thracia. A Dreadful Fire at Constantinople. The History of the horrible Treason of Murtzuphle. The young Alexis suffers himself to be surprised by the Artifices of that Traitor, and breaks with the Confederates. The Speech of Conon de Bethune to the Emperors, to oblige them to accomplish their Treaty. War declared against them upon their refusal. The Greeks attempt in Vain to burn the Venetian Fleet. The Description of that wild Fire. The consequent Treasons of Murtzuphle. The Election of Cannabus. The double Treason of Murtzuphle; who makes himself be proclaimed Emperor. The Death of Isaac, and of the young Alexis, whom Murtzuphle strangles with his own Hands. The Confederates make War against the Tyrant. His Defeat by Henry the Brother of Count Baldwin. The first Assault given upon the Port side of Constantinople, wherein the Confederates are repulsed. The Second Assault by which the City is taken by plain Force. The Flight of Murtzuphle. The Greeks lay down their Arms. The City plundered, and the Booty there gained. The Relics from thence transported to several Churches, of Europe. Baldwin, Earl of Flanders, chosen Empeperor. The Policy of the Venetians in the Election of that Prince. His Elegy and Character. The Election of a Patriarch. The Destribution of the Provinces of the Empire. The happy Beginning of the Emperor, who reduceth all Thracia. Murtzuphle surprised, and betrayed by the Old Alexis, who puts out his Eyes. The Flight of Alexis, and the taking of Murtzuphle. He is brought back to Constantinople, where for the Punishment of his Crimes, he is thrown headlong from a high Column. Old Alexis taken. His End. The Glorious Success of this Crusade. BOOK III. The unfortunate Success of those who abandoned the Confederates to pass into Syria. The Care of the Pope for Constantinople, who sends Doctors from Paris to reduce the Schismatics. The Death of Mary the Empress, Wife of Baldwin. The Death of Isabel Queen of Jerusalem. The Princess Mary her Daughter succeeds in the Realm, and Marries Count John de Brienne. The Relation how that Prince and Count Gautier his Brother conquered the Kingdom of Naples. The Exploits of King John de Brienne. The Pope procures him Aid. A piteous Adventure of some young Men, who by a strange Illusion took upon them the Cross. The design of Pope Innocent to procure a general Crusade, favoured by the Victory of Philip the August against the Emperor Otho. The Battle of Bovines. The Relation of the Council of Lateran, where the Crusade is Decreed. The Pope himself Preacheth it. His death in that Holy Exercise. A Fable concerning his Purgatory. The Election of Pope Honorius III of that Name. His Zeal and Industry to promote the Crusade. Andrew King of Hungary the Head thereof. The Princes that Accompanied him, and their Voyage. Their Conjunction with King John de Brienne. Their Expedition against Coradin. The Description of Thabor, and the Relation of the Siege of that Fortress, which had been built there by Coradin. The Return of the King into Hungary. The Arrival of the Northern Fleet of the Crusades, under the Earl of Holland. The Relation of their Adventures and Exploits against the Moors in Portugal. The Siege and Battle of Alcazar. The Victory of the Crusades. Their Voyage to Ptolemais. The Reasons of the Resolution which they took to attack Egypt. The Description of Damiata. The Account of that memorable Siege, which lasted eighteen Months. The Attack and taking of the Tower of Pharus. A Description of certain Engines of a new Invention. The Death of Saphadin upon the News of the taking of that Place. His Elegy and Character. Meledin succeeds him. An Error of the Christians after the taking of Pharus. Cardinal Albano arrives with a potent Reinforcemet to the Crusades. The Division between the King and the Legate, and the Cause of it. An heroic Action of certain Soldiers, who break the Enemy's Bridge. The Army passeth the Nile. Sultan Meledin flies. The City Besieged by Land. Two great Armies of Saracens besiege the Camp. They atack the Lines and force them. A great Combat within the Lines. The Enemy at last repulsed. The Arrival of St. Francis before Damiata. His Conference with the Sultan. The Battle without the Lines lost by the Crusades. An Advantageous Peace offered to the Christians by the Sultan. The Reasons for and against it. It is at last rejected by the Legate. Damiata taken by Night. PART IU. BOOK I. THE Condition, the manners, and the Religion of the People of Georgia, who resolve to join with the Princes of the Crusade, but are hindered by an irruption of the Tartars into their Country. The Emperor Frederick sends a considerable relief to Damiata. The return of King John de Brienne to the Army of the Crusades. The Legate Pelagius opposeth his advice, and makes them resolve upon a Battle against Meledin, who once more offers Peace upon most advantageous Terms. The Legate occasions the refusal of them. The humour and description of this Legate. An account of the miserable adventure of the Christian Army, which by the inundation of the Nile, is reduced to the Discretion of Meledin. The wise Policy of this Sultan, who saves the Army by a Treaty, which he was willing to make with the Crusades. This misfortune is followed by the Rupture of Frederick the Emperor with the Pope. The Character of that Emperor. The Complaints of Pope Honorius against him. His Answers and their Reconciliation. A famous Conference for the Holy War. King John de Brienne comes to desire assistance throughout Europe. The Death of Philip the August. His Elegy, his Will, and his Funerals. New endeavours of the Pope and the Emperor for the Holy War. The Marriage of Frederick with the Princess Jolante, the daughter of King John de Brienne, Heiress of the Realm of Jerusalem. John de Brienne is despoiled of his Crown by his new Son-in-Law. He puts himself under the Protection of the Pope Honorius. The good Offices of the Pope to pacify the Princes. The death of Lewis the eight King of France. He is succeeded by his Son Lewis the ninth. The Death of Pope Honorius. He is succeeded by Gregory the ninth. The Portrait of this new Pope. The Army of the Crusades much diminished by diseases. The Emperor takes shipping. He stays at Otranto, where the Landgrave of Thuringia dies. A great rapture between the Pope and the Emperor. The Pope excommunicates him. Their Manifests. The Revenge which Frederick takes. He passes at last into Syria. His differences with the Patriarch and the Templars. His Treaty with the Sultan, his Coronation at Jerusalem, his return and accord with the Pope. The Conference of Spolata, for the Continuation of the Crusade. The History of Theobald the fifth Earl of Champagne, and King of Navarr. His Voyage to the Holy Land with the other Princes of the Crusade. His description, and his Elegy. A Crusade published for the Succour of Constantinople. An Abridgement of the History of the Latin Emperors there. The Causes of the little Success of the King of Navarr's Enterprise. A new Rupture between the Pope and the Emperor. The Occasions thereof. The deplorable effects of that breach, which ruins the Affairs of the Holy Land. The Jealousy among the Prince's occasions their loss. Their defeat at the Battle of Gaza. The unsuccessful Voyage of Richard Earl of Cornwall. The death of the Constable Amauri de Montfort. His Elegy, his Burial, and that of his Ancestors, and of Simon de Montfort, in the Monastery of Hautebruiere. A Council called at Rome. The Pope's Fleet defeated by the Emperor's, and the taking of the Legates and Prelates going to the Council. The death of Pope Gregory. The election of Celestin the fourth, and of Innocent the fourth. He breaks with the Emperor, and retires into France. BOOK II. THE Original of the Tartars, and their Empire. They drive the Corasmins, the Descendants of the Ancient Parthians, out of Persia. The Irruption of these Barbarians into Palestine. The entire Desolation of Jerusalem. The Effect which this produced in the West. The Relation of the first Council of Lions, where Frederick is excommunicated and deposed. The Decree of the Council for the Crusade. The Decision of the Pope touching the Deposition of Dom Sanches, King of Portugal. A marvellous Example of Fidelity in the Governor of Conimbra. The Emperor's Manifest, and his Exploits. A Crusade published against him, which hinders the Effect of the General Crusade for the deliverance of the Holy Land. St. Lewis undertakes it singly with the French. He takes the Cross, and causes many of the Nobility and Gentry of France, to follow his Example in the Assembly of Paris. The Conference of Clugri for this Crusade. The Ambassage of Frederick to St. Lewis, and the wise Conduct of the King in reference to the Emperor. The Politic Reasons to justify this Enterprise of St. Lewis, with an account of what was done at the beginning of it. His Voyage to Aigues-Mortes, where he takes shipping. His arrival in the Isle of Cyprus. He commits a great Error by staying there six Months. The Death of divers Lords there. That of Archambald de Bourbon. The Marriage of his Granddaughter, Beatrix of Burgundy, with Robert the fourth, the Son of St. Lewis, from whom the Princes of the August House of Bourbon are descended. The Ambassage of the Tartars to St. Lewis, during his stay in Cyprus. His arrival in Egypt. The Battle of Damiata, and the taking of that City from the Saracens, who abandon it, and the reason of their doing so. The Entry of the King into Damiata. The Error which he commits by stopping there. The Army grows dissolute and debauched by lying idly there. The arrival of the Count de Poitiers. The Resolution which is taken of going directly to Cairo. The Situation of the Places where the two Armies are encamped. The unsuccessful attempt of the Crusades to turn the Nile. They pass the River. The first Battle of Massore, where the Count d' Artois is slain. The second Battle, and the admirable Actions of the King. The Plague and Famine in the Camp. An unfortunate Retreat wherein the whole Army is defeated, and the King, with all the Princes and Lords are taken Prisoners. An Heroic Action of Gaucher de Chastillon in this Retreat. The admirable Constancy of the King in his Imprisonment. His Treaty with the Sultan. The Original of the Mamalukes. The Revolution in the Empire of Egypt by the Murder of the Sultan. The Confirmation of the Treaty, with the Admirals. The King absolutely refuseth to take the Oath, which these Barbarians would exact from him. The Refutation of the Fable touching the pawning of the Holy Eucharist to the Saracens by the King Lewis. His deliverance, and admirable Fidelity to his Promise, and the perfidiousness of the Egyptians. BOOK III. The General Consternation all over France, upon the News of the King's Imprisonment; the Tumult, the Shepherds, their Original, their Disorders, and Defeat. St. Lewis after his deliverance performs his Articles with great Justice▪ The Admirals fail on their part. The Original of the Hospital of the Fifteen Score. The Council debates the matter of the King's return. The Reasons on the one side and the other. It is at last concluded for his stay in Palestine. Four Famous embassages to St. Lewis; from Pope Innocent, from the Sultan of Damascus, from the Ancient of the Mountain, and from the Emperor Frederick. The Death of that Emperor, and the different Opinions thereupon. An Error of St. Lewis, who loseth a fair opportunity of making use of one Party of the Saracens, to ruin the other. The Election of a Mamaluke Sultan. The gallant Actions of St. Lewis in Palestine. The Death of Queen Blanch, and the return of the King into France. The Rupture and War between the Venetians and Genoese occasions the loss of the Holy Land. The Conquests of Haulon, Brother to the great Cham, stops the Progress of the Saracens. The Relation of the Mamaluke Sultan's. They vanquish the Tartars which ravage Palestine. The Character of Sultan Bendocdar, the great Enemy of the Christians. His Conquests upon them. His Cruelty, and the Glorious Martyrdom of the Soldiers of the Garrison of Sephet, and of two Cordeliers, and a Commander of the Temple. The taking and Destruction of Antioch by this Sultan. The quarrels between the Popes and the Princes of the House of Suabia, obstruct the Succours of the West. The Histories of Pope Innocent, and the Emperor Conrade; of Pope Alexander and Mainfrey, against whom he vainly publishes Crusades. The History of Charles d' Anjou, to whom Pope Urban, the Successor of Alexander, and Pope Clement the Fourth, give the Realms of Naples and Sicily, as Fieffs escheated to the Church by Felony. His Exploits, his Battles, and his Victories over Mainfrey and Conradin. The deplorable Death of that young Prince. The Victories of Charles, cause the Pope and St. Lewis to entertain a Design for a new Crusade. An Assembly at Paris about that Affair, where the King, the Princes, and Lords, take upon them the Cross. All other Nations decline the Crusade. The Collusion of the Emperor Michael Paleologus. The Condition of the King's Army. The Resolution taken to Attack Tunis, and the Reasons wherefore. The Description of Tunis and Carthage. The taking of the Port, the Tower, and the Castle of Carthage. The Malady makes great Destruction in the King's Army. His Death, Elegy and Character. The Arrival of Charles, King of Sicily. The Exploits of the Army. The Treaty of Peace with the King of Tunis, who becomes Tributary to Charles. The return of the two Kings; their Fleet is horribly beaten by a Tempest. Prince Edward of England saved, his Vow to go to the Holy Land. His Voyage, his Exploits, and his return. The vain endeavours of Pope Gregory the Tenth, for a new Crusade. The second Council of Lions. The last causes of the loss of the Holy Land. The quarrel among the Christian Princes for the Succession to the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Death of Bendocdar. The defeat of his Successor by the Tartars. The hopes of the recovery of all Palestine, by the Arms of King Charles of Anjon, ruined by the sad accident of the Sicilian Vespers. The new division among the Princes, and the Progress of the Mamaluke Sultan's. The Relation of the lamentable Siege, and the taking of Acre by these Barbarians. All the other places are lost, and the Christians of the West wholly driven out of Palestine and Syria. The vain and fruitless attempts which have since been made to renew the Crusades. THE HISTORY OF THE CRUSADE, OR, The Expeditions of the Christian Princes for the Conquest of the Holy Land. BOOK I. The CONTENTS of the First Book. The greatness of the Subject of the ensuing History. The newness, and advantage of it. The Original of the Turks, and their Conquest in Asia from the Saracens. The Conference of Peter the Hermit with the Patriarch of Jerusalem. The Description of the Hermit. His Negotiation with Pope Urban the Second, and his Preaching the Crusade. The Relation of the Council of Placentia, that of the Council of Clermond. The horrible Disorders occasioned by the little Wars between private Persons which were tolerated in those times, and which were regulated by the Canon of the Peace and the Truce. Aymar de Monteil Bishop of Pavia, Legate of the Pope for the Crusade. The prodigious number of those who took upon them the Cross, and the Disorders that ensued. The Names of the Princes of the Crusade. An account of Duke Godfrey, and his Character. He sends Peter the Hermit before him. A Description of the Conduct and manner of living of this Solitary. He divides his Army into two Bodies. The Disorder and Ruin of the first under Gautier Monyless. The greater Disorder and ill Fortune of the second commanded by Peter himself. The Defeat of two other Armies of Crusades conducted by a Priest Godescalc and Count Emico, their overthrow by the Hungarians. The Conference of Peter the Hermit with the Emperor Alexis. The Character, Conduct, and secret designs of that Prince, and the reasons of his perfidiousness. The passage of the Hermit's Army into Asia, and the continuance of their disorders. The Italians and Germans separate from the French. The first overthrown by young Soliman Sultan of Nice. The first Battle of Nice where the other part are overthrown also by Soliman. The Voyage of Godfrey of Bullen, and the Princes that accompanied him. The Voyage of Hugh the Great, and the Princes that followed him. his Character, Conduct, and Imprisonment by the Greek Emperor. The War of Godfrey against Alexis. The Extremity to which the Emperor is reduced, and the Treaty concluded between him and the Princes. The Relation of the Conquests and Settlement of the Normans in Italy. The Voyage of Bohemond Prince of Tarentum, and the Princes that went along with him. The Voyage of Raymond de Tholose, of Aymar de Monteil Bishop of Pavia, and the other Princes and Lords which accompanied them. The Character of that Earl, his Conference with the Emperor, and the Treachery of that Prince. The Voyage of Robert Duke of Normandy, his Character, and Treaty with the Emperor. IF ever any Undertaking were capable of possessing the Historian with a just fear of defeating the mighty Expectation of his Reader, most assuredly it may be apprehended in attempting the Design of relating the ensuing History of the Crusade. And indeed amidst all the most extraordinary Revolutions which may be found either in the Establishment of New, or the Ruin of the Ancient Monarchies, one shall difficultly meet with any thing more memorable; and whether we consider the Vastness and Importance of this Famous Enterprise of the Crusadoes, or the Quality of the Persons who have fortunately executed, or unsuccessfully attempted this great Design; whether we compute the number or variety of those extraordinary Events which were accompanied with such diversity of Fortune; or, in short, if we take a Survey of those Heroic Actions which were then performed, one shall find them such, as not scarcely to be outdone even by the Romantic Achievements of the Fabulous Ages. One shall there see the Holy Wars, which the Christians have undertaken either to reconquer or preserve a Country wherein all the glorious Mysteries of the Redemption of Mankind were accomplished; and which the Worshippers of the Eternal Son of God Jesus Christ did believe that they could not, without infamy and betraying the Interest of their Religion, permit to remain under the Tyrannic Dominion of Barbarous Infidels. On the one Part, three of the greatest Kings of France: as many Emperors, the Kings of England, Denmark, Hungary, Navarre and Cyprus; the Dukes of Lorraine, Normandy, Austria and Suabia, and most of the Princes of Europe appeared at the head of their Troops, being followed by whatever was brave or gallant throughout all the Western Monarchies: on the other side the Sultan's of Egypt, of Babylon and Damascus, with all the celebrated Princes of the Turks and Saracens, who have rendered their names so famous by the greatness of their Actions, are the Hero's who must tread the stage of this History, persons so considerable, that singly they might furnish a very fair Volume. All that is surprising in unexpected successes, all that is so admirably represented in Fiction, or wonderful in the most Heroic Enterprises, will be found in the following Account, and to render it yet more valuable will be accompanied with that solid foundation of Truth, which will distinguish it from those ingenious Fictions which have been invented with so much pain, to produce some pleasure to the Readers. That I may therefore endeavour that this History may in some sort appear new, and with all its natural Ornaments, at least that it may not want that little beauty which even the most indifferent Relations seem to challenge; it is to be considered that though these matters have been often heretofore related, either in some parts by particular Authors, or in the general Histories of such Natures as have had more or less concern in this affair of the Crusade, yet the World hath not hitherto seen them wrought together into one Regular composure, with all the dependencies, consequencies and connexion's, nor with that continued Chain of Causes and Effects, and such Circumstances as might render the work so accomplished and delicate as it ought to be; and in which the charming secret which doth so insensibly allure and please, consists; and which is indeed the soul and spirit of History, and aught to be the End of every just Historian. Moreover, as the Subject is so Noble and agreeable, so neither is it less advantageous than delightful; For here one shall find the great Concerns of the Church, of two mighty Empires, and the Principal Estates of Europe and Asia: there shall one discover the causes which occasioned that glorious design so often to fall, and yet afterwards to rise again: there may we see that Zeal of our Ancestors which seems to reproach our slow imitation; Especially at a time when the Forces of one single Monarch, could he but remain assured of his Neighbours, are sufficient to ruin the Tyranny of those Infidels, whose power consists chief in those fatal divisions among Christians, which hitherto have prevented their employing their Arms to their destruction. However the hope that my endeavours will not be unprofitable, and that God Almighty whose help I implore will assist me with his Grace, and bestow that happy success, which is not to be expected from me, have given me encouragement to pursue this difficult task which I have undertaken. year 637 It was about 400 years that the Arabian Saracens under their Caliphs' the successors of Mahomet having made themselves Masters of all the upper Asia and Egypt, did also possess the Holy Land, after which time the Turks siezing upon it did by their revolt establish a new Empire over Asia, these People are originally descended from that part of the Asiatic Sarmatia which lies between Mount Caucasus and the River Tanais, the Lake of Meotis and the Caspian Sea. And whether it were, that they were dissatisfied with their present Habitations, or that they were forced from them by some new Intruders, most certain it is, that having divided themselves to search for new Regions, one part of them marching Westward, advanced by degrees as far as the banks of the Danubius; and the other far more numerous, moving towards the East, passed the River Volga, and settled in the Northern Climates bordering upon the Caspian Sea, formerly the habitation of the Scythians and Massagetes, and which at this day retains the name of Turquestan by them imposed upon it, lying all along the River Jaxartes; and not long after passing that River they extended their Confines as far as Maurenthor betwixt that River and the Oxus, or as the Greeks called it the River Araxis; year 585 and from thence during the Empire of Mauritius, by the way of the Caspian Sea they transported themselves into Persia where they made great depredations and ravaged whole Provinces. year 625 Afterwards we find that they served Heraclius in the War which he made against Cosroes. But when about the year 640 Omar one of the Successors of Mahomet had reduced all Persia under the Empire of the Saracens, the Turks to whom he allotted certain Countries, entered into his pay and served him in his Wars against the Greek Emperors for almost 400 years; till such times as the Saracens being mightily broken by their Intestine Divisions, and the Turks on the other hand wonderfully augmented both in number and Strength, they embodied themselves under a Prince of their own, choosing one of the Descendants of Salgue or Sadock, a Person to whom the People paid a singular Veneration; And in conclusion having vanquished the Saracens in three general Battles, they rendered themselves Masters of all Persia about the year 1042 and afterwards of Mesopotamia, Palestine, and Syria, changing their Religion also about the same time with their Fortune, and being converted from Paganism to the Superstition of Mahomet that great Impostor. This Victorious Prince whom the Arabians call Abutalip, the Greeks Sangrolipax, and William of Tyre, Belphet or Belphetoc, after he had spent above thirty years in the Establishment of this mighty new Monarchy in the Upper Asia; entered also the Lesser Asia with a most numerous Army, where in a set Battle he defeated and took Prisoner Diogenes, the Roman Emperor. year 1069 After which Victory the Turks under the Conduct of Cuthume and his Son Solyman, near Relations to the Sultan, seized upon the Realm of Pontus since called Turcomania, the Provinces of Lycaonia, year 1081 Cappadocia, and Bythinia, and about the Year 1081. during the Divisions of the Greeks, and the sluggish Emperors Michael Ducas, and Nicephorus Botoniatus who was deposed by Alexis Comnenius, Solyman placed the Seat of his Empire at Nice the Capital City of that Country. It was then under the Tyranny of these Turkish Princes, that all Asia, Syria, and Palestine, and the City of Jerusalem lay groaning and in Servitude, when it pleased God to inflame the hearts of the Christian Princes with a Noble Zeal to undertake the Conquest and Deliverance of the Holy Land, which they accomplished in that wonderful manner, which I am now about to relate. year 1093 Among the great number of Pilgrims which continually resorted from all the Western Parts of Europe to visit the Holy Places of Palestine, a Frenchman of Amiens in Picardy, a Solitary by Profession, whose name was Peter the Hermit, about the Year 1093. took a Voyage to Jerusalem to satisfy his Devotion towards the Sacred Monuments of the Redemption of mankind. Being arrived there, he understood from his Host the miserable condition to which the Christians were reduced; and having taken a view himself of the piteous estate of that desolate City, he resolved to confer with the Patriarch Simeon, not only to receive a more perfect Information of the truth of those Particulars, but also to deliberate with him, concerning some means of delivering the People of God from their cruel Servitude. The Patriarch who quickly perceived the virtuous inclinations and brisk temper of the Hermit, opened to him his very Soul, he recounted to him in most passionate Language the innumerable and horrible Sacrileges, which were by the Infidels daily committed within the most Holy Places, and the insupportable miseries which not only the poor Christians, but the Patriarches themselves who were treated like Slaves, had been forced to endure under their tyrannous and barbarous Lords, by the space of five hundred years. After which with many bitter Sighs he gave him to understand, that considering the lamentable estate of the Eastern Empire, the Evils which they suffered were not only insupportable, but without all expectation of Redress, unless they might hope for Assistance from the West. Peter, who was most sensibly touched with the Discourse of the Patriarch, year 1093 and the miseries of which he was an Eye-witness himself, being immediately filled with an extraordinary Zeal for the Public Good, made no difficulty to assure the Patriarch that he doubted not in the least, but if the Pope and the Christian Princes of the West were truly informed of the deplorable condition of the Christians in the Holy Land, that they would unite in a generous Resolution to break off the Manacles of their Slavery, and deliver the Holy Places from the tyrannic Yoke of the Enemies of Jesus Christ. And therefore he advised the Patriarch to write effectually to them and implore the Succour of their Arms, upon which the only Hopes of the Deliverance of the Christians of Palestine could depend; and for his own particular he very courageously offered to carry those Lords throughout the West, and to do all the Good Offices he was capable of towards the exciting of the Christian Princes to undertake an Enterprise so glorious, so necessary for the Honour, and the Common Interest and good of all Christendom. Simeon surprised with the Resolution and Courage of the Hermit, which he observed to be accompanied also with so much Wisdom, was struck with a strong Impulse, that God Almighty was resolved to deliver his People in such a manner as should redound most to his own Glory, since the Instrument which he made use of for the accomplishment of such a marvellous Work, carried such a disproportion to the Greatness of so high and so hardy an Enterprise; for in Truth Peter carried nothing promising in his Person, which might make it be believed that he was like to be a proper Negotiator of an Affair of that Importance; for he was small of Stature, and not well proportioned neither, his Aspect was by no means agreeable, and he was far from sweetening by Art those ruder Lineaments of his Visage, insomuch that by the little care he took, in which others bestow so much pains, to make himself appear tolerable, he rather resembled some savage Creature, his hair disordered, his Beard long and long neglected; and considering the Austerity of his Life, his ill shape and the meanness of his Habit, those who were not accustomed to make very curious and penetrating discoveries, could not but make a very disadvantageous Judgement of him; But coming more narrowly to consider him, it was easy to discover, that as he had been very studious in all sorts of Learning, so he had made very great Improvements in his Mind, and that together with a solid Judgement he had a great Mind, an admirable Resolution to attempt, and a marvellous Vivacity in the ready Execution of what he had resolved; that he was Master of a Natural Eloquence, capable of persuading what he pleased without Artifice; and, in short, there appeared in his Eyes a fire so quick and sparkling, and something so Noble in his Air and Mine, as was sufficient to convince one that there dwelled a great Soul in that little Body. year 1093 The Patriarch therefore who had observed all these Excellent Qualities, hearing him discourse with so much Resolution, could not doubt but that God had chosen him for the Execution of this great design, and therefore closely embracing him, with a thousand thanks he accepted of his Proposition, exhorting him with Courage and Fidelity to acquit himself of a Charge which he had with so much Zeal and Frankness undertaken; and presently delivered to his hands the Dispatches which he desired should be delivered to the Pope and the Christian Princes of the West. The Natural Generosity of a Person of Courage who had voluntarily engaged himself in an Enterprise so great and difficult, was sufficient of itself to remove all the fear which might be apprehended in the Execution; but however he was strongly persuaded, that since Providence seemed so extraordinarily engaged, nothing was able to surmount the Divine Power, and that therefore he might be confident of a happy and successful Conclusion of this Affair. Peter now resolved to put in Execution what he had promised the Patriarch Simeon, the Evening before his departure shut himself up in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, there to pass the night in Prayer, with all his Soul to implore the Succour of Almighty God upon such an important occasion; and after his Devotions falling asleep, whether it were that his imagination violently prepossessed with his intended Enterprise, acted upon his Soul more vigorously during his sleep than while he was awake, or that God was pleased to make use of a Dream to reveal his pleasure to him as formerly he had to the Holy Prophets, in his sleep there seemed to appear to him Jesus Christ in such a Condition as he was when he arose from the Sepulchre, who coming towards him and softly jogging him, said, Arise Peter and immediately go about the Charge Imposed on thee, I will be ever with thee; It is high time that the Sanctity of these places Consecrated by my Presence should cease to be profaned, and that I should deliver my People from the Cruel Servitude under which they have for so many Ages groaned. The Hermit presently thereupon awaking, felt, or at least believed he felt upon his Soul the Effects of an Impression, far different from what Common Dreams are wont to leave upon the Mind, and therefore doubted not but Jesus Christ had thus appeared to him to give him an immediate Commission from his own Mouth. This Belief which did so firmly Establish itself in his Soul, would permit him no longer to doubt the Truth of it was such a new Confirmation of the Truth of the Heavenly Vision, year 1093 that adding new Fire to his Flame, it produced in his Heart the Courage of a Hero, insomuch that he believed there was nothing able to resist his Enterprise. So that without delaying a moment, having received the Benediction of the Patriarch, he went to embark upon the first Merchant's Ship which he should meet, which in a few days he did, and happily arrived at the Port of Bari, from whence he proceeded to the Court of the Pope. The Pope then being was Vrban the Second, a Frenchman by Nation, of the Diocese of Rheims, who after he had with great applause and for the advantage of the Church managed his Legation into Germany, was created Cardinal of Ostia; and Six Years after he was chosen Pope at Terracina whither the Sacred College was retired, whilst Guibert the Antipope assisted by the Arms of the schismatic Emperor Henry the Fourth possessed the City of Rome; but Germany and Italy declaring against the Emperor, and the Antipope being forced to retire to Verona where Henry had shut himself up, urban who was unwilling to employ Force, which he could have done, to re-enter Rome, returned thither peaceably and was received by the City, although the Schismatics kept still the Castle of St. Angelo. Here it was that the Hermit addressed himself to the Pope, and having delivered to him the Letters of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, he gave him a full account of his Commission. He had all the Success he could hope or desire to find from this Pope, in whose Soul he found all the Inclination he could wish to favour so fair an Enterprise. For this Pope Vrban, who had not only a great Mind, but a large Fond of Piety and Religion, but had also been the great Confident of Gregory the Seventh, year 1074 and that Pope about twenty years before had laid a Design for the Uniting of all the Christian Kingdoms in a Holy War against the Infidels, who having ravaged all Asia were advanced within sight of the Walls of Constantinople, which they also threatened to attack. He was resolved himself in Person to march at the Head of the Christians, of whom above fifty thousand had listed themselves, and were ready to march under his Conduct; but the jealousy which he had of the ill Designs of the Emperor who refused to join with him in this Sacred Expedition, obliged him to break those Measures, and to apply himself to the defence of the Church which was in Extreme Hazzard of being oppressed by the Avarice and Violence of that Prince. But urban who had as much Courage and better Fortune than Gregory, the Obstacle of the Schism being now removed, resolved strongly to undertake an Enterprise so illustrious, so advantageous to the Glory of God, so necessary to the good of all Christendom, and which would render his name venerable, and his Pontificate Memorable to all Posterity. He therefore gave the Hermit a favourable Reception, and granted him long Audiences, the better to inform himself of the Exact Posture of the Eastern Affairs, and the Forces of the Turks and Saracens which he was to oppose. And as he quickly discovered the great Qualities of this little man whose Appearance made yet smaller promises, perceiving also his Address, good Sense, and the Conduct he had to manage this great Affair, together with the Courage and Resolution with which he Espoused the Design, he was not long before he determined, to make use of him alone for the carrying on what ever was necessary for the Design till it was fit for him publicly to appear in it. And therefore sending for the Hermit, he opened his very heart to him, in such terms as made it evident that he had as violent a Passion for the deliverance of Jerusalem from the Infidels, as the Patriarch himself who had employed him in that Negotiation. He promised him that he would employ all the Interest he had in Heaven and Earth, his Forces, his Revenue, his Reputation, and all his Pontifical Authority to form a Holy League of all the Western Princes, to oppose the Infidels who so cruelly tyrannised over the Christians in the East. But withal he informed him, that before he proceeded any further, it was convenient that he who had begun this great Affair, should endeavour to dispose the Minds of the People in all the Countries both on this and the other side of the Alps, by publishing to them those things which he had with so much Zeal and Passion related to him. There are few Examples to be produced comparable to this, which makes it appear how one single Person was able to move the whole Earth by his Constancy, Conduct and Resolution in pursuing a Holy Enterprise which he had form with so much Generosity, Zeal and Courage: and whether it were the Extreme Passion which the Hermit had to see the Design succeed and prosper, that rendered his Arguments persuasive beyond the Power of his own Genius though Naturally Eloquent; or whether the Splendour of so great a Design dazzled his Fears, and transported his Mind with a Passion for such a Novelty as carried all the Charms of Honourable and Excellent; or rather that God who had chosen this Instrument to manifest his Power and his Glory acted by him more Efficaciously upon the Hearts of men which are in his Hands to dispose of as he pleaseth, most certain it is, that never any single and so inconsiderable a Cause produced such sudden surprising, and wonderful Effects: for in less than one Year in which the Hermit by the Popes Command applied himself to this Affair, he traveled over the greatest part of Europe, treated in particular with most of the Princes, year 1094 and preached publicly in all places where he came, insomuch that he inflamed all men's Hearts with such a desire to have a share in the Glory of redeeming the Holy Land, that both Princes and People embraced the Design with an Equal Ardour, testifying a mighty impatience for the happy moment which should consummate this Holy League, wherein they were to be engaged in this Religious War. Ibid. The Pope receiving Information from this wondrous man, whom he had sent to be his Harbinger, that all things were thus happily disposed according to his most ardent wishes, believed that now was the time for him to act his part and declare himself the Head of the Enterprise; and to make use of that general Ardour to unite so many several Nations in the same Mind by Virtue of the Bond of his Pontifical Authority. And for this purpose he chose those Methods which he judged most proper and proportionate to the Importance of an Affair of this Nature and the Sovereign Majesty of the Pontificate, in calling two famous Councils particularly to deliberate upon this Affair; however he made use of other public Allegations, which were sufficient to give a colourable reason for those great assemblies; particularly the deplorable Schisms which had for so long time rend the Church, and introduced so many horrible abuses which stood need of Redress, and the power of the evil Party being much abated, principally in Lombardy where the Schismatics had committed the greatest disorders, seemed to expect it. Vrban took this occasion to summon the Council of Placentia, that so the Church might triumph over her Enemies in the same place where they had exercised their most insolent Tyrannies. During which time he was extremely solicited by Lies from Alexis Comnenius the Greek Emperor, to procure for him powerful Succours, to assist him against the Turks and Saracens, who made continual Inroads even as far as the City of Constantinople. The Pope believed that an Ambassage from this Prince Appearing to this great Assembly would extremely advance his Design, by giving him a fair occasion to excite the Christians to take up Arms, and by this means insensibly to engage them in this Holy War, which was the most probable way to impeach the Progress of the Infidels, who by pushing on their Conquests seemed even to menace the Western Empire; he therefore advertized that Emperor, that it would conduce much to the advantage of his Interest, to send his Ambassadors to Placentia where the Council was to be held in the beginning of March in the Year 1095. and where the Pope to take the advantage of so fair an opportunity was present with one of the first in order to preside over the Council in Person. There never was a more numerous Assembly in the Church than appeared at this Council, the Church beginning now to enjoy that Liberty which the Emperors had endeavoured by Arms to deprive her of, the Confluence from all places was incredible of such as desired to partake of the Glory, or to have the pleasure to contribute in any sort to this triumph of the Church. For it is certain that from all the Provinces of Italy, France and Germany, there came to this Assembly above four Thousand ecclesiastics, and more than thirty Thousand Laics, all of them possessed with an Extreme Passion to know what would be the Event of this Council. Insomuch that the Pope to satisfy the General and Ardent Expectation of so great an Assembly, during the Seven●● Sessions of that Council would have the first and third of them kept in the open Field, therein imitating the Example of Jesus Christ who taught the Multitudes that followed him, in the vast and capacious plains and deserts. It was in one of these Sessions that the Ambassadors of Alexis received their Audience: There it was that they declared to the Assembly in the most moving manner imaginable, the extreme Danger which the piteous Remains of the Eastern Empire were in, to fall under the prevailing Arms of the mortal Enemies of the Christian Name, unless the People of the West would undertake, by a potent and present Succour, to rescue their distressed Brethren from that inevitable Ruin. Vrban who was determined to advance his own Design by this Embassage, seconded these Desires of the Ambassadors with a Discourse so persuasive, that addressing himself to that innumerable Multitude of all sorts of People, who encircled the Council, before the end of the Sessions, the greatest part of those who were able to hear him, obliged themselves by a solemn Oath, to serve Christendom in this pressing Necessity. And the Heat passing from one to another, and spreading itself from Rank to Rank, one might in an instant hear from all parts of that vast Assembly, an agreeable Confusion, composed of the Exclamations of an infinite number of Persons, who unanimously by their Voice and Gestures, protested that they were resolved to have their share in the Glory of an Enterprise, where Death itself would be as Valuable and Advantageous as Victory, by bestowing even upon the Vanquished a Crown of Martyrdom. Such a Power hath Religion upon the Minds of Men, especially when it is accompanied, as it was upon this Occasion, with the exterior Ornaments of that August and Sacred Majesty, which through the Senses surprises the Soul, and without which all other Impressions are feeble and languishing. year 1095 The Pope ravished with Joy to see the Design which he had thus far so wisely conducted, thrive so luckily, exhorted the Assembly to remember their solemn Oath, when the time should come wherein they were to accomplish it; and reserving what he had further to declare upon this Subject, he closed this with four other Sessions. He thundered out an Anathema against the remainder of the Schismatics; There was condemned the Heresy of Berengarius, and that of the new Nicholaitans, who favoured the Incontinence of the ecclesiastics: There the Abuses which had slipped into the Church during the Schism, were reform, and particularly that abominable Simony, which in that time had been frequent in the Church: And to take away all Pretences, which for the future might shelter that execrable Commerce of Merchandizing sacred Things, it was expressly prohibited to take Money for Baptism, or Burials of the Dead, under which false Colours Avarice had found such plausible Reasons to shelter and disguise herself. For those reverend Fathers were persuaded that it was altogether contrary to the Liberty of the Children of God, and even to common Humanity, to charge a Rate upon Christians, either entering into that Religion, or going out of the World. year 1095 The Council being thus terminated with all the Success which the Pope could have expected, he employed the Spring and part of the Summer, in regulating the Affairs and Interests of the Church in Lombardy, according to the Decrees of the Council. Afterwards in the end of July he Embarked, and coasting the River of Genoa, and the Shoar of Provence, he went to keep the Feast of the Assumption of our Lady at Pavia in Velay, where he convoked the Council of Clermont in Avergne, to meet in the Octaves of St. Martin: Thither came from the Provinces of France, Spain, and Italy fourteen Archbishops, two hundred twenty five Bishops, above eighty Abbots, with an infinite number of Doctors and other ecclesiastics, who assisted at that Assembly, over which the Pope presided in Person, accompanied with a great many Cardinals who attended him in his Voyages. There was confirmed the Decrees of the Councils of Placentia, year 1095 Melphi, Beneventum, and Troy's, which were held under this same Pope, for Reformation of the Disorders which had been introduced by the Schism: There new Canons were made to restore Liberty to the Church formerly oppressed, and to restore to the ecclesiastics the Possession of their Benefices, Churches, Tithes, and Offerings, which had been kept from them by the Laics, from the time of Charles Martel, by the Grants of the Kings, and by the Consent, or at least, Connivance of the Bishops. After which, Vrban judging that all Matters were fairly disposed towards the Success of his great Design of promoting the Holy War, he thought it convenient to propose it to the Council; which he also did in the great Square of the City, year 1095 in a most elaborate Discourse, which he had prepared for this extraordinary Occasion, where, with all the power of his Eloquence, he delivered himself in these Terms. If in this Universal Joy which guilds the Face of this great and Illustrious Assembly there appear in mine all the Marks of a most profound Sadness, my venerable Brethren and Dear Children in Christ Jesus, you will find no Cause of wonder, when with me you shall have considered, that notwithstanding all that we have hitherto done for the Remedy of our pressing Evils, we have neglected to apply any Effectual Redress to those which are the greatest. We have indeed humbled the Power of the Schism, we have disarmed the Heresy, reformed abuses, and have reinstated the Church in the possession of those Rights which had been suffered to be lost. But alas! what pleasure can we reap from all these glorious acquisitions, whilst the pitiless Enemies of the Christian Name, continue to dishonour it and to commit the most violent Outrages and Tyrannies, and are permitted to tear the better part of us in pieces? Yes, my Brethren, the Holy Land, the City of God, the Inheritance of Christ Jesus which he hath bestowed upon his Children, having taken it out of the Hands of Jews and Pagans, that admirable Spot of Ground where the Saviour of the World wrought all the stupendious Mysteries of the Salvation of Mankind, the very Heart of Christendom, as I may term it, has for many Ages been usurped by the Infidels, by the Turks and Saracens; and we permit them insolently to triumph even over Jesus Christ himself, if I may so say, whom they seem to have chased out of the Capital City of his Empire, whilst they establish their cruel Tyranny, upon the Ruins of so many Sacred Monuments of his miraculous Conquests. What Tongue is able to express the fearful Profanations which are daily committed in those Holy Places which the Actions, the Miracles, the Blood and Sufferings of the Saviour of the world have Consecrated, and made Venerable to all Christians, who from every quarter of the Earth resort thither to pay their Religious Devotions, as if Christ Jesus himself were there personally present. And if amidsts the horrible marks of their Impiety, the overthrowing our Temples and our Altars, these Insidels have spared the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, we are obliged for that good Office to the Avarice of these Inhuman Robbers, who have imposed an Excessive Rate upon the Devotion of the Faithful Christians, whom though they cannot rob of their Faith, they despoil of their Goods, and many times by insufferable torments take away their Lives. And all this time the Christians of the West, of whom one single Nation were sufficientlyable to Infranchise the East from this unworthy Servitude, Coldly and without being moved behold the Oppression of their Brethren; as if they had no manner of share in the Injury which these Barbarians do to Jesus Christ, whilst they invade that Inheritance which solely appertains to Christians who are his Children, we suffer them peaceably to enjoy a Conquest so shameful to all Christendom whilst we lie buried in unemployed Laziness without a single thought of running to our Arms. Without running to Arms did I say, Alas! one shall see nothing now adays throughout all Europe, but Christians running into Arms one against another for their mutual Ruin and Destruction! those Arms which ought to be employed to Exterminate the Enemies of Christ Jesus, are turned against him in his Members, when they shed the Blood of their Brethren his Children: Insomuch that one would think they acted by Confederacy with the Infidels for the Ruin of Christianity, whilst that at the same time that those Barbarians bend all their Forces, their Malice and their Cruelty to destroy it in the East, these no less Barbarous Christians enfeeble the West by their Wars, their Quarrels and Contentions; by so many Slaughters daily diminishing the Number of those who might root out these Cruel Enemies of the Christian Name, whose Strength consists chief in the advantages which they make of our unfortunate Divisions. One of our Realms might with ease triumph over these Barbarians, if it were not either wholly employed to defend itself, or attack another; And what then might they not all do, if it should please the Spirit of God to unite them in the Prosecution of so glorious an Undertaking? It is for this Reason, my Dear Children, that I am now come into this most Christian Kingdom, with a design to oblige the French Nation whose Ancestors have been so celebrated for Zeal to Religion, to follow their Example, and give one to the rest of Europe to follow. The Arms of France which have formerly been so successful against the African Moors, the Arabians and Huns, under the Conduct of Charles Martel, and the most August Charlemagne, cannot be less victorious under the Conduct of the Great God of Hosts, who Exhorts you to follow him and reconquer the Inheritance of his Son, by chase out the Infidels who daily dishonour and profane it by a Thousand abominable Sacrileges. Fellow, Generous Frenchmen, Fellow your Invisible Chei●●ain in this glorious Enterprise to which you are called by your Honour, your Interest, your Religion, by all the oppressed Christians of the East, by me the Vicar of Christ Jesus upon Earth, nay by Jesus Christ himself. Represent to yourselves that your blessed Saviour, who from his Holy Sepulchre, now captive in the hands of the Saracens, triumphed over the World, Death and Hell, presents unto you his Cross. It is the Cross which he displays as his Standard to all the Christians of the West, under which Ensign it is impossible for you not to be Victorious; here shall you acquire Immortal Glory, whether you return from this Holy War loaden with the Trophies and Spoils of these Infidels, or whether in emptying your Veins by a glorious Death for the Love of God, he shall bestow upon you the Crown of Martyrdom. Mean time if the Church.— And here, as he was about to pursue his Discourse, he was Interrupted by the Exclamations and Cries of an infinite number of People, who with Tears in their Eyes, beating their Breasts with their Hands, and with their Eyes lift up to Heaven, cried out from all parts of the Assembly unanimously, as it were by a common Consent, It is the Will of God, It is the Will of God. The Pope, who resolved to make Advantage of this generous Heat, rising from his Throne, and after a long time having obtained the Silence, which by his Gesture he Commanded: He protested, That there could not be a more manifest Testimony of the Pleasure of Heaven, than this Exclamation, which proceeding from so many Mouths, could not be supposed to speak the same Language, without being animated by the Spirit of God: That for his part he received it as an Oracle, which promised all happy Success to this Holy War. He also added, That he thought it sit that a Word of so happy a Presage should be the Motto which should be wrought in the Colours and Standards of the Army, and that it should be the Word the Soldiers and Captains should make use of in their Combats, to animate each other to perform valiantly, and to give thereby a Promise of assured Victory. And in short, that those who would follow Christ Jesus in taking up the Cross in this Holy Expedition, and Inrol themselves in this devout Militia, should wear a Red Cross upon their right Shoulder, as a Mark of Distinction, to show that they had the Honour to serve under him who had overcome all Enemies by the Cross. After this, in the other Sessions, several new Decrees were made in Favour of the Crusades, and upon the whole matter of the Peace and Truce, against those horrible Disorders which in this time had wasted the Church, which indeed were so great, that it is with great Injustice that some Persons do so violently prefer the past Ages before the present. For so little regard had Men then to Laws, and so Powerless was Justice, that every particular Person took the Liberty to do what he pleased, by force of Arms, and to usurp that incommunicable Right of Sovereigns; insomuch that most of the Realms of Europe were miserably Ruined by the particular Animosities of private Persons, every one to revenge the Injuries which he believed he had received, having an immediate recourse to right himself by Arms, and to those extremities of Violence, that they spared not with Fire and Sword to manifest their Resentments against the Houses, Lands, and Persons of their Enemies. Now to apply some kind of Remedy to these horrible Mischiefs, which it was impossible totally to repress in an instant; the Bishops and Barons of France did first, and after their Example, those of other Realms made a Decree, by which, Churches, the Clergy, Monasteries, and the Religious Orders, Women, Merchants, Labourers, and Mills, were absolutely protected from these Violences; and this was called the Peace. And for other matters, it was absolutely prohibited to commit any of these Disorders from Wednesday Eve, till Monday Morning; and this was out of the particular Respect which was thought due to those Days which Christ Jesus had Consecrated by the last Mysteries of his Life, and this was called the Truce; and the Violators of either of these Decrees were publicly pronounced Excommunicate, and condemned either to Banishment or Death, in proportion to the Quality of the Violences they were guilty of. This Decree was afterward Confirmed by four Councils, which made some further Addition in favour of the Peace and Truce, as may be seen under those Titles in the Decretals; so that if one did but religiously observe the Truce as to the Days enjoined, this brutish War amongst private Persons, was so far Tolerated, that it passed for Just and Legitimate, provided any Person sent his Enemy a Challenge in a regular way: and this continued in France for above two hundred Years, till such time as, after Lewis the Saint had to little Purpose attempted to remedy it, Philip the Fourth put a Period to this Mischief by the Edict of Tholouse, in the Year 1303. Now as these Disorders were at this time thus Tolerated, in regard it was probable they would prove a mighty Hindrance to this Holy Voyage, because men's Estates during their Absence, would be exposed to the Injuries of their Enemies, therefore the Council in the first place, Confirmed the Decree of the Peace and Truce, with respect to all sorts of Persons, and that by little and little these Abuses of the Wars between private Persons might be taken away, which by reason of their long Continuance could not possibly be effected at once, this Council prolonged the time of the Truce, adding to those four days of the Week formerly decreed, all the time of the Advent, till the Octaves of Epiphany, and between Septuagesima Sunday till the Octaves of Easter, and from the Rogation Week till the Octaves of Whit-Sunday. But for the Crusades, they were under Protection during the whole time of their Service, so that their Persons and Estates were privileged till their return from the Holy Land. The Pope also granted his Indulgences, and the Remission of all those Penalties which had been incurred by the Breach of the Canons. And in Conclusion, he declared Aymar of Monteil Bishop of Pavia, his Apostolic Legate, during this Expedition: This Aymar was a Prelate of extraordinary Prudence, and a most heroic Courage, and one who had rendered his Zeal most Conspicuous, by being the first in full Council, who had from the Pope begged Permission to take the Cross, and devote himself to the Service of Christendom in this Voyage. Vrban having exhorted all the Bishops personally to publish, and in their Sermons to preach up the Crusade, throughout their respective Dioceses, terminated the Council the 29th day of November, year 1095 having in twelve days happily accomplished the greatest Affair that was ever undertaken by any of the Popes, his Predecessors; and which in a very little time was followed by a Success which changed the Face of Affairs throughout the World, whilst such prodigious numbers of People every where took up the Cross. A Writer of that time, who was at the Council, and afterwards in the Holy Land, assures us, that having strictly observed the time, and examined the matter, he was informed from many Persons of different Places, that the very same day wherein the Pope published the Crusade, the News was known in the remotest places both of the East and West; which made such a strange Impression upon men's Spirits, who either were, or believed they were supernaturally pressed to engage themselves in this heroic Enterprise, that when the Bishops came to preach up the Cross, and to excite the People to take it up, they found them so predisposed, that an infinite number of Persons of all Ranks, Qualities and Conditions throughout Europe, but especially France, immediately entered into it; and such was the Fervour with which the Design was embraced, that no sort of Considerations of worldly Honour, Interest, or Pleasure, no Delicacy of Education, nor Bonds of Friendship were able to retard Men, but they generously broke all those little Chains, to enter into the more glorious Bonds of the Solemn Vow of the Crusade. Here might you see Friends encouraging one another, and entering into this new Amity, making mutual Promises never to abandon each other; there Enemies Embracing and Religiously Swearing most inviolably to maintain the Truce; nay even the weeping Ladies, who saw themselves ready to be Divorced from their Beloved Husbands and dearest Children, yet did not cease to encourage them to pursue this glorious Enterprise, and many of them had the Courage to take a share with them, and resolved to follow them notwithstanding all the fearful Dangers, and infinite Hazards and Hardships which were to be expected from so long and painful a Voyage. Most certain it is, that as there is nothing so Perfect or Holy, which is not subject to be abused either by the Weakness or Mischievousness of Human Nature, so in the beginning of this Holy War, there happened so many strange Disorders, as might well have rendered the Event of this Enterprise most disastrous, if God Almighty himself had not appeared Engaged in it, to that degree, as even against all Appearance, by a kind of Miracle, to bring it to that glorious Issue, which was not reasonably to be expected from any inferior Power. For an innumerable company of Peasants, with their Wives and Children, which they carried in their Carts, abandoning their laborious Tillage, would also have a part in this Voyage, which was commonly called God's Voyage; so that all the Mobile of the Realm, who upon this occasion entertained a Hope of bettering their Fortunes, mingling with those who had undertaken the Cross, served to no other purpose but to put all into Disorder and Confusion; Nor was it possible to give Bounds to this tumultuary Rabble, who to authorize their Actions, had so fair a Colour and Pretext of Piety. So that the smallest Number were those whom the Consideration of the Glory of the Christian Name, or the Service of God obliged to follow this Design; but too many Engaged themselves in it, some out of Vanity and Affectation, others out of a lightness of Spirit; these for the Pleasure they proposed in the Voyage, those to accompany their Friends and Acquaintance, and many to free themselves from the Importunity of their Creditors, or to enjoy the benefit of the Truce. Great Numbers also of Monks and other Religious Persons, weary of their Profession and Solitude, abandoned their Cloisters and their Cells, and out of the Love of Liberty, took up the Cross in a different manner than that which they had obliged themselves to by their Vow, and made use of the false Pretence of Zeal to Religion, to violate one Vow by entering into another, which they had no Power to do; so that the Abbots to prevent a greater Mischief, were obliged to permit the Monks to follow the Army of the Crusade, since they were not able to hinder them who had gotten such a specious Pretence, as was the Satisfaction of their ardent Desire which they seemed to have, to take their Part in the Deliverance of the Holy Sepulchre. Nor were the Women wanting in their little Cheats; for they, to make it be believed that they were by extraordinary Ways called by God to this Voyage, invented those glittering Illusions which some believe have been renounced in our time upon other Occasions; for having found a way by the Juice of Herbs, to form certain little Crosses upon their Bodies, resembling those which the Crusades wore upon their Habits, with an impudent Malice they shown them to every body, as if they had been the miraculous Impressions of the Divine Power. There were others, who with no less Hypocrisy, whether by an Excess of ill governed Devotion, or by an indiscreet Fervour to gain a foolish Glory by a vain Ostentation of their Zeal, Crosses upon their Bodies with red hot Irons, which they shown with more affectation and seeming Pleasure, than those who wore them upon their Habits, Embroidered in Gold and Silver, could show theirs. So that Illusion, Hypocrisy, Vain Glory, and Indiscretion, the Pests of Virtue and true Piety, corrupted and profaned those Actions, which otherwise might have been esteemed the most Religious and Heroic. But that which prevented these Disorders from being so Mischievous as otherways they might have been, was the great number of great Captains, Gentlemen, Lords and Bishops of France, who followed the Princes who were of the Crusade, and were joint Commanders in this famous Enterprise, yet without pretending to have any Superiority of Power one over the other, which made it apparent that God only was their Conductor and General. The Princes then, whose Names shall be eternally Reverenced by Posterity, and who have acquired immortal Glory in all History, were Hugh the great Earl of Vermandois, and Brother to Philip the first of France, Robert Duke of Normandy, Robert Earl of Flanders, Raymond Earl of Tholouse and St. Giles, Godfrey of Bullen Duke of Lorraine, with his Brothers Baldwin and Eustace, Stephen Earl of Chartres and Blois, Hugh Earl of St. Paul, with a very great number of other Lords of the first Quality, who shall hereafter more commodiously be made known, when Occasion shall present their noble Actions, and when I come to describe, as I am about to do, the Voyage which they made by three several Ways, according as before they had agreed in the Winter, in order to their Rendevouzing at Constantinople, as they did the following Year. I am however to inform the Reader, that the Respect which I have for him, not permitting me to present him with any thing but what has the Warranty of Historical Reputation, or Authentic Acts, I shall not mention any Names but what I find Recorded in the Historians of those times; and if any Persons of Quality who pretend that some of their Ancestors had a share in this Holy War, will do me the Favour to send me Authentic Memoires thereof, I will not fail in a new Edition of this Work to do Justice to the Merits of those Illustrious deceased, and with Satisfaction to render what is due to their Memories, and their Descendants. year 1096 The first then of these Princes who advanced with his Troops towards Constantinople, was the famous Godfrey of Bullen, who although he had not the absolute Command of the whole Army of the Crusades, yet without Contradiction, he had the greatest share both in the Trouble and Glory of this first Crusade. He took the same way which Charlemagne in his Conquest had trod before him through Germany all along by the Danubius, to the Confines of Thracia. This Prince was the Son of Eustace the second Earl of Bullen, and Ida the Sister of Godfrey of Bossu Earl of Ardenna, Bullen and Verdun, and Duke of the lower Lorraine or Brabant, to distinguish it from the higher Lorraine, year 1070 which was otherwise called Mosellane, and which at that time was under the Jurisdiction of Theodorick the Valiant, the Son of Gerard of Alsatia and Duke of high Lorraine: And from him in a lineal Descent, to this present time, are derived all the Princes of that fair Duchy, which not long after his time lost its ancient Name of the Mosellane, retaining only that of Lorraine, as it doth to this day. But whether Godfrey Duke Bossu having no Children, adopted his Nephew who was of his own Name, and made him his Heir, giving him the Earldom of Bullen, which belonged formerly to the House of Ardenna; or that it came by Ida upon her Marriage with the Earl of Bullen, it is most certain the Surname of Bullen, which was given to this young Prince, hath by him, and his Heroic Actions been rendered one of the most Celebrated in the World. It is this Glorious Name which in the last Age was so happily Reunited with that of the Tour of Avergne, which by a Marriage hath received that of Bullen to restore it to its ancient Lustre, as we have seen it by the Virtues, the Dignities, the great Employments, and fair Actions of the Princes of that Noble House. As for Prince Godfrey, it was impossible for Nature to bestow a more happy Inclination to all sorts of Virtues, than which she had given him, nor was any thing wanting in his Education which might Contribute to the improvement of that Stock; such was the exact Care of his Father, who was a most Wise and Virtuous Prince, and more especially of his Mother, a Lady of a most extraordinary Merit, and an Excellent Spirit, year 1096 which she had Cultivated also by a Diligence very uncommon to her Sex, which she had employed in the Study of all curious Learning; and in truth, she was a Princess of most admirable Virtue, and of a Piety so resplendent, that after her death she obtained the glorious Title of a Saint. It is said also that by the Assistance of Divine Illumination, she did predict the future Greatness of her three Sons, Eustace, Godfrey, and Baldwin. For one Day as the Earl her Husband demanded of her what she had hid in her Lap, she being playing with the Children, she very seriously answered, that she had there three great Princes, one Duke, one King, and one Earl, which was afterwards verified in the admirable Fortunes of these three Princes. For Godfrey was Duke of Lorraine, and King of Jerusalem; Baldwin was King of the same Realm, and Prince of Edessa; and Eustace, whom some will have to be the eldest Brother, was Earl of Bullen after the Death of his Father. It is also added that she had a strange Dream before the Birth of Prince Godfrey, for the Sun seemed to descend from his Heavenly Orb and to fall into her Lap, and that she saw her little Son Enthroned in the midst of that Glorious Luminary; but it is the Humour of some Writers to render the Nativities of great Men more Illustrious, at least as they think, by Prodigies and Revelations, which after, wards the Noble Actions of these Hero's make easily to pass for real Truths especially with Persons who love to divert themselves with matters very Extraordinary and Surprising. But this is most certain, which the Countess herself with a great deal of Pleasure was used to relate, after the glorious Success which her Sons had in the Holy War, that long before there was the least Discourse of the Crusade, Prince Godfrey was used to say, that he would one day take a Voyage to Jerusalem, but not as the poor Pilgrims did, only to satisfy his Devotion, but as a Captain and a Conqueror, at the head of a Puissant Army to Chase the wicked Insidels from that Holy Place. Which must needs proceed singly from the impetuosity of his Courage, and which considering the Condition of his Fortune, very unfit to execute so great a Design, may very well pass for a Prophetic Motion, and looks like a Presage of that Glory and good Fortune which God had allotted for him, and in order to which he seemed beforehand to prepare him by a thousand Beautiful Actions wherein he acquired a most Illustrious Reputation throughout all Europe. After the Death of the Duke his Uncle, the Emperor Henry the Fourth who pretended that the Duchy of the Lower Lorraine for want of Heirs Male of the House of Ardenna was devolved to him, conferred it upon his Son Conrade, leaving nothing to Godfrey besides the Marquisate of Antwerp. And on the other side Albert Earl of Namur his Kinsman, and Thiery the Bishop of Verdun, attempted to take from him Bullen and Verdun: So that this Prince who was not yet Seventeen years of Age, was compelled to have recourse to an early Valour for the Recovery of one part and the Defence of the other part, of his Inheritance. And therefore putting himself into the Castle of Bullen, which Albert assisted by the Forces of the Bishop of Verdun had besieged, he so vigorously repulsed his Enemies in all their attacks, that he forced them to a dishonourable Retreat after they had lost the better part of their Army; and in the same quarrel he undertook a single Combat against the said Earl, in the presence of the Emperor and his whole Court; during the Combat he had the Misfortune in making a notable Blow at the Head of his Enemy, to break his Sword short within half a foot of the Hilt; but notwithstanding this Disaster, it was impossible to persuade him to determine the difference upon such terms of accommodation as upon this occasion were tendered to him, but pursuing his point he fought with redoubled Ardour, till at length having tumbled down his Enemy with a mighty Blow which he gave him with the Pommel of his Sword upon his head; being now a Conqueror he accepted that Agreement which before he had generously refused, whilst being disarmed he ran the utmost hazard of being Vanquished. And afterwards surmounting those just resentments which he might well have entertained against the Emperor who had so Injuriously deprived him of his Duchy, he nevertheless followed him in those Wars which he made in Germany and Italy, whereupon all occasions he rendered him very signal Services: and it is reported that he himself took the Imperial Eagle in the Famous Battle against the Saxons who had declared for Emperor Rodolph of Suabia, when Victory beginning to declare herself for that Prince, he ravished it from him, together with his Life, by giving him a mortal Wound with the very Cornet which he had newly taken: And afterwards when the Emperor took the City of Rome from Pope Gregory the Seventh, he was the first man that possessed himself of the breach and thereby Entered the Town. They further add, that after this falling into a most violent distemper which reduced him to the utmost Extremity of Danger, he made a Vow to undertake an Expedition to the Holy Land, as not long after did many Princes and Bishops according to the Devotion so much in Vogue at that time, and that God Almighty was pleased to manifest that this Vow was acceptable to him by restoring him to his Health beyond all Expectation, and without the application of any of the usual Remedies. Be it how it will, neither this Vow nor this Miracle, nor this entering the breach at Rome are such matters as have any certain foundation in the Historians who were his Contemporaries; but this is most certain, that, whether it were that he was sensibly touched with the extraordinary Merit of this Prince, and the considerable Services which he had received from him, or that he therein gratified the displeasure he had taken against Conrade who now began to relinquish his Interests, the Emperor put Godfrey into the Possession of the Duchy of the Lower Lorraine the Inheritance of his Mother, which he had detained from him Thirteen Years: And that he might yet link him more closely than by the mere Obligation of Duty, he was resolved to have him his Brother in Law, and gave him his Sister Adelaida in Marriage. After which Godfrey seeing himself in a Condition capable of recovering the Earldom of Verdun which Theoderic the Bishop and Earl Albert at present detained from him, that Affair was quickly determined; for the Bishop and Earl besieging Stenay where Godfrey had built a very strong Castle, just upon the Frontiers of Verdun, that from thence he might more easily assail his Enemies, this Fortunate Prince, though then very much indisposed in Health, yet combated them with so much Conduct and Valour, that he relieved the Place; and in a little time after being reinforced with the Troops which Eustace and Baldwin his Brothers brought to his assistance, he obliged them to raise their Siege, and in Conclusion they were forced by the Determination of the Bishop of Liege who was made Arbiter of the Difference, to restore the Earldom of Verdun unto Godfrey. In this flourishing Posture were the Affairs of Duke Godfroy when the Crusade for the Deliverance of the Holy Land was proclaimed; and he was in the Number of the foremost to take the Cross, which he did with that Ardency, that to give Example to other Princes to sacrifice all to the Glory of Jesus Christ, and to satisfy that importunate Desire which he had so long since cherished for this Glorious Conquest, he generously despoiled himself of almost his whole Inheritance, thereby to enable himself to raise the more and the better Troops; And for this purpose he either mortgaged or sold the Earldom of Bullen and Ardenna to Albert Bishop of Liege, whose Successors are possessed of it to this very day, Richerius Bishop of Verdun, also laid hold of this opportunity to purchase the Town and Castle of Stenay with its Dependencies, and the rest of the Earldom of Prince Baldwin upon whom his Brother Godfrey had lately bestowed it. Insomuch that by a pretty odd adventure the secular Princes impoverished themselves to serve Christ Jesus, and the ecclesiastics enriched themselves with the Spoils of these Temporal Princes, whose Examples ought rather to have incited them to the like Devotion; but they chose rather to make use of that Money, which like them they should have employed to so pious a Work as the Deliverance of the Holy Sepulchre, to advance their present Fortunes, which they saw these Princes so generously abandon for the Love of God. But if History ought to praise the Generosity of such as sold their Inheritances upon this Glorious Occalion, yet it has no Authority to condemn the Intentions of those who purchased them; Since their Design was for the better Accommodation of those Churches of which they were the Pastors and the Fathers. Godfrey by these ways having put himself into a Capacity to raise Soldiers and furnish an Equipage, was in a short time accompanied with a great Number of such as had taken upon them the Cross, besides many Princes and Gentlemen his Friends who served as Volunteers. But the fair Reputation which he had acquired throughout all Europe, and those admirable Qualities for which he was so justly valued, brought him in far greater Numbers than his Pay; for Military Men came slocking to him from all parts, especially the Eastern parts of France, the Low Countries, the two Lorains and the Provinces of Germany, every one passionately coveting to serve in this Expedition under his auspicious Conduct. One shall rarely meet in History any who ever exceeded this brave Prince either in those obliging Charms which attract men's Hearts, or were more able to manage that absolute Empire over those Spirits which had so voluntarily submitted to them: nor did he stand in need of any other Authority to govern them than what he was obliged to for his Virtue and those admirable Graces, which Nature had even to Prosusion adorned him. He was in the Vigour and the very Flower of his Age, having lived about thirty sieve years, his Complexion was Sanguine his Temper Robust, and yet such as shown the fresh Sweetness and Beauty of Youth in his mature and many Age: his Shape was admirable, his Body strait, and his Stature though something advanced above the common, yet carried a Proportion in all parts so regular, as made him only appear so tall as to approach to the pitch of Heroick; his Port was extreme Majestic, his Behaviour grave and serious; his Colour delicate and lively, his Cheeks wore the Livery of Vermilion, and his Eyes fiery and sparkling, but withal sweet and attracting, the turn of his face was most perfectly exact, his Hair light and fair, his Speech sweet, and the Sound of his Voice admirably pleasing; and with all these Ornaments of Nature, he had a Demeanour so charming and modest, that one who accompanied him in this Expedition to the Holy Land assures us, that his Conversation seemed to have more of the meekness of a Recluse than the fierceness of a Soldier; notwithstanding which upon the approach of an Enemy, when he was going to the Combat, he seemed in an instant metamorphosed into another quite different Person; he looked like a generous Lion, so much Resolution, Heat, and Fierceness appeared in his Eyes, his Voice, his Gestures and his Gate; and by how much greater the Danger was, so much was his Courage redoubled, that it had not the least acquaintance with Fear; and that Soul which Nature had planted in so fair a Body was animated with that prodigious force, that there are few examples that can come in competition with him; for neither Casque, nor Curiass, nor Shield where he bestowed his mighty Blows were any proof against his Invincible Arm, or could defend those who wore them from a certain Death: and besides all this, he was a perfect Master at all sorts of Weapons, and intimately acquainted with every secret of the military Art, insomuch that even Envy itself must be constrained to give place to the Judgement of the whole Earth, it being impossible to dispute these advantages with him, which yet were more marvellous in him who possessed them, in that they were accompanied with all the Virtues of a mighty Mind; for it is most unexceptionably true, that no Person ever better adjusted the Exercises of a military Employ, with those of an honest man and an admirable Christian; He was kind, affable, respectful affectionate, tender, and a most excellent Friend; he would caress the meanest Soldiers, and comfort them in their Hardships with the care and kindness of a Father; he was firm and in his Resolves, and one who ever kept his Word Inviolable, a great Lover of Justice, never failing to render to every Person according to his Merits; he was obliging, liberal and magnificent in every thing except what related to his own Person, which he neglected in such a manner as was well enough becoming the Person of a Soldier, though a Prince, and which rather shown a generous disdain of Pride and Luxury, than any Inclinations to what was mean or sordid. He was most curiously diligent in matters of the greatest moment, and especially how he might best please Almighty God, to whom by a kind of Miracle in a man of the Sword, he had the greatest and most constant care to unite himself by the Exercises of Devotion, even amidst the greatest crowd of his most Important Affairs, and particularly by an Assiduity in his daily making most fervent Prayers to the Divine Omnipotence. And his Piety was so far from diminishing his Native Vigour, that it added new Forces to it, and enlightened his understanding in such an extraordinary Measure, as enabled him to act even beyond admiration both as a Captain and a Soldier. Being such as I have endeavoured to represent him from the Description of the Historians his Contemporaries, or such as lived nearest to those times, it will now be no matter of astonishment, that the greatest Number of those who devoted themselves to this Holy War, came to offer their Service to this gallant man, or if at that instant he used a certain politic Dexterity whereupon the Success of the Enterprise seemed in so great a measure to depend. For Peter the Hermit particularly having addressed himself to him, this Prince immediately perceiving he should be clogged by having this multitude of unprofitable People upon his hands who blindly followed the Hermit, he concluded that to prevent the disorders which they might occasion in his Army, where they were more likely to destroy him by Famine than help him by the Sword, he contrived to send those People before under the Conduct of their own Director, who without scruple presently accepted of the Command; and indeed he thought he should have a Sovereign Power over those Person who were used to render him such Extraordinary Honours, even to downright Superstition, so prepossessed were they with the opinion of his Sanctity, and as it were charmed with his very looks and enchanted with his words. And certainly, all his actions and the manner of his living, were wonderful proper to draw the applause and admiration of the Populace, who suffer themselves easily to be affected with outward appearances, especially such as are odd and surprising; for his under Garment was of simple woollen without any dye or colour, with a great Hood the point whereof reached down to his very heels, and over all a Hermit's Mantle about his Neck which came to his knees: he went barefooted; his abstinence was extraordinary, he never eat either Bread or Flesh, but contented himself with Lentils, Fish, and a very little Wine, with which he sustained himself in the greatest Fatigues: he never kept any Money, but disposed of those vast Sums which were bestowed upon him, by distributing them among the poorer sort of the Crusades, or employed them to maintain the Soldiers, or such Persons as by his preaching were reclaimed from their vicious courses, and to marry such young women as by reason of their Poverty had taken up the Infamous Trade of sinning: He composed all differences with a marvellous Authority, and made Peace wherever he came; and, in short, he did so many good things and gained so high a Reputation, that several witnesses of admirable Credit, who saw him preach the Crusade in France do aver, that the people followed him as if he had been a man sent from Heaven, and treated him with more Honour and Reverence than any of their Prelates, and that never any man passed more generally for a Saint or for a Prophet: that whatever he either said or did, was received as an immediate Command from Heaven, and that the Common People who canonised him for a Living Saint, went so far, as to get the very hairs of his Mule, which they laid up as Relics; thus it is, that after these feeble Spirits have according to their way made a Saint of a man upon whom they dote, there is no sort of Illusion, Caprice, disorder or abuse which they will not mistake for a Divine Inspiration, nor any thing though never so fantastical or extravagant which they will not be ready to precipitate themselves into. In reality I cannot think that Peter did in the least contribute to this Superstition of the blind and injudicious Populace, but on the other hand I cannot believe, that he was at all afflicted to see himself followed by such Multitudes of People which he thought were entirely at his Devotion, and of whom he persuaded himself he should always be able to retain the Command. And that being a Gentleman who before his retirement had born Arms, the desire of Glory and some little remainders of the Spirit of a Soldier which still dwelled about his heart, might give him no sort of Repugnance to see himself at the head of a great Army; and the Nature of the War which was to be undertaken, might easily induce him to believe, that he might lawfully undertake such a military Command without affronting his Orders of Priesthood, or embracing the World which he had renounced. But it was not long before he found by woeful Experience, that he who transgresseth the Bounds of his Profession, does not prosper long; for he must needs want the Blessing of God, whose pleasure is that all persons should keep their Order and Station in the World, and not dare to undertake the Charge or Function which belongs not to them. All this time Duke Godfrey whose principal aim was to disincumber himself of this confused Rabble who from all parts were rolled together, and which he was in no sort of Condition to accommodate with subsistence, was not in the least averse to follow the inclinations of Peter; and therefore he declared him Captain General of this first Army of the Crusades, which was ordered to advance first towards Constantinople. The Hermit who would needs imitate the Duke, that he might avoid Confusion divided his Troops into two Bodies; the first, which was composed of about the third part of his foot, he put under the Command of a French Gentleman, one of his friends, whose name was Gautier, a very brave man and a good Captain, but who had no other Fortune besides his Sword, and who for that reason was usually called Captain Have-little, or Monyless. This Gentleman who had no more than eight Horsemen to guard such a numerous Infantry, began his March the eighteenth day of March, and after having with a great deal of trouble passed through Germany all along the Danubius he entered into Hungary; that Country was then governed by King Carloman, the youngest Son of King Bela, whose Grandfather was Uncle to St. Stephen the Son of Geiza, the first Christian King of Hungary. This Prince very frankly permitted them the Liberty of passage, they paying for what they had; but this could not prevent the Hungarians from very ill treating this straggling People: for being arrived upon the Frontier of Bulgaria, where they were refused the accommodations of Provisions, the Troops were permitted to live at discretion, to plunder the Country and take what they could find for their subsistence; this so incensed the Inhabitants of those Countries, that they presently took Arms, and assembling to the number of one hundred forty thousand men, they fell upon the Crusades so briskly, that they had much to do, in great Confusion, to save themselves among the Woods, after having left a great part of their Companions to the mercy of the Enemies; and Gautier with the remainder were in no small danger of perishing, being for eight days constrained to endure the utmost Extremities in passing through those vast and desolate Forests, till in conclusion, arriving at a great Town in Mysia, the Prince of Bulgaria compassionating their Miseries, did not only supply them with plenty of Provisions, but furnished them with able Guides, who carried them the best way towards Constantinople, where the Emperor disposed them in an Encampment to attend the rest of the Army, which was conducted by Peter himself. But the Voyage of the poor Hermit was yet more Unfortunate than that of his Precursor: He had about forty thousand Foot indifferently well armed, and a good number of Horse, of whom the Principal were Renard of Breis, Gautier de Bretevil, Foucher of Orleans, and Godsrey Burel of Estampes, besides an infinite Number of unnecessary People, womans, Old Men and Children, who followed the Army, some on Foot, and some in Carriages. But in truth he now quickly found how great a difference there was between Preaching up the Cross to an unarmed Audience who run to hear the Novelty, and the Conducting according to the regular Discipline of War, and Commanding those who now had Swords in their Hands. For as he Marched through Hungary, King Carloman having granted him free Passage, provided his People committed no Disorders, he undertook to signalise himself with an Action which neither comported with his being a Hermit, nor a Christian, and which both the Laws of Honour and of Prudence might justly have prohibited him to do: For under pretence of Revenging the Injury which some Soldiers of the first Army had received at Malleville, a good Town upon the Frontier of Hungary and Bulgaria, he attaqued the Place by Force, and contrary to his Faith given to Carloman, he took it by Storm, putting to the Sword above four thousand Hungarians; after which Action he retained no manner of Authority, nor was in any sort master of those People: For whether they thought themselves by the Example of their General, Authorised to take the Liberty of measuring out their own Revenge, or whether it were the desire of Booty, the Pleasure of which they now began to taste in the Saccage of this miserable Town; or whether seeing the Hermit in a Condition so different from that wherein they had Reverenced him as a Saint, they retained nothing of the former Idea of him, and they neither considered him as Peter, nor as the General of the Army, although he affected both the one and the other. However it were, it is certain, that there was no manner of Excess, no sort of Crimes, Persidiousness, Cruelty, Robberies, Murder, Fire, or any kind of Violence, which these brutish dregs of the People of France, Lorraine, and Germany, did not commit; they neither knew Discipline, or any fear of God or Man; but notwithstanding all that the Hermit could with his utmost Power do, to oppose them, they abandoned themselves to the Commission of the most horrible Ravages, all along their March through Hungary and the Confines of Bulgaria. But as one of the Writers of that time observes, who doth not dissemble the Truth, as doth William of Tyre, who writ a long time after; When once a Body, otherwise of an ill Composure, comes to have a weak and languishing Head, it becomes every day worse and worse, and cannot in Conclusion, possibly avoid a necessary Ruin. And so it happened here, for the Bulgarians and Hungarians, justly exasperated against these Wretches, took all Occasions to fall upon them; and finding them in a disorderly March, they slew above ten thousand of them upon the place, took all their Baggage and their Provisions, their Wives, Children, and the old Men who could not sly, together with two thousand Wagons, amongst which were those which carried the Treasure of Peter the Hermit. Nor was it without great Difficulty that he rallied the rest of his Troops, who saved themselves in the Woods and Mountains, and that in Conclusion, in extreme want of all things, the first day of August he joined Gautier the Monyless, who waited for his coming, little expecting to sinned him reduced to such a piteous Condition as he himself was in, being obliged to live upon the Charity and Alms of the Emperor. Now these ill Examples being extremely Contagious, it happened that in a little time after two other Armies of these counterfeit Crusades, who abused so Religious an Enterprise, following the same Methods, and rather surpassing the Disorders of the first, did also by the most just Judgement of God, perish in a most deplorable manner. For a Germane Priest of the Palatinate, one Godescale, who had conferred with Peter in his Travails, was resolved to imitate him; and therefore he did with such vehemency preach up the Crusade, that he assembled about fifteen thousand Soldiers, Germans and Lorrainers, at the Head of whom he put himself, and very peaceably, and with out any Disorder, paying exactly for whatever they took, he marched as far as Hungary: But finding there an excessive Plenty of all things, the Year having been the most Fruitful that had been known, they fell to Debauchery; so that being almost continually drunk, there was no sort of Insolence, injastice, or Cruelty, which with a horrible Brutality they did not commit against those who had so courteously Entertained them. Whereupon all Hungary by the Command of the King was immediately in Arms, in order to exterminate these perfidious Villains, so that besieging them in their Camp, they were, in short, compelled to surrender their Arms and themselves to Discretion to the Officers of the King, they giving them an assurance of their Lives; but the Hungarians furiously Incensed against them, thinking it very lawful to revenge Persidiousness by Treachery, no sooner saw them disarmed but they fell upon them and put them all to the Sword, except a very few who escaped the Massacre to carry the woeful News into their own Country to the other Crusades, who yet by their Misfortune grew never the Wiser or more Considerate. For in the beginning of the Summer of this same Year, a prodigious Multitude of People, gathered from divers parts of France, England, the low Countries, Lorraine, and that part of Germany which lies upon the Rhine, drawing along with them an infinite of Women and People of the lewdest Condition in the World, assembled themselves near Collen, where they passed the Rhine in order to join with Count Emico, who attended them with a great number of Crusades of the higher Germany, of the same dissolute Complexion with themselves. These People to Signalise their false Zeal by covering a most barbarous Action with the specious pretence of Piety, most inhumanly Massacred all the Jews whom they found at Collen and Mayence, where they forced the Arch-Bishops Palace, where Rothard the Archbishop had secured a hundred of these poor Creatures, as in a Sanctuary. But it proved no Protection against the Fury of those Barbarians, who Butchered them in a most savage manner, cutting their Throats like Sheep, sparing neither the Women for their Sex, nor the Children for their innocent Age, nor indeed was there any Sanctuary to be found against this horrible Barbarism which was inspired by Avarice, and promoted by an insatiable Covetousness of the Riches of the Jews. Insomuch that the remainders of them being reduced to the utmost Dispair, chose rather to repeat the doleful Example of Saguntum & Capua, and with their own Hand to commit the bloody Execution; so that barricadoing themselves within their Houses, the pitiless Mothers like Furies cut the Throats of their sucking Babes, the Husbands their Wives and Daughters, and the Fathers their Sons, and the Servants chose rather to dispatch each other, than to fall into the Hands of those incompassionate Monsters, who profaned the Character, and rendered the Name of Christian, of which they were unworthy, most Infamous and Detestable. But it was not long before God Almighty, by the remarkable Vengeance which he executed upon these wicked People, manifested the Abhorrence which he had of their Crimes, and that he had no Intention to make use of their Service, in reconquering the Inheritance of his Son, by the profane Hands of those who had declared themselves his Enemies, by such Impieties, as even the Infidels themselves would have blushed to commit. For this huge Army of Bedlams, which consisted of above two hundred thousand Men, of whom there were not above three thousand Horse, laying Siege to Mesbourg, a strong place upon the Danubius in Hungary, where they were denied Passage, and when they were just upon the point of gaining it, was in an instant struck with such a Panic Fear, that they fled with so much Precipitation, Blindness, and Disorder, and all perished there except a very few of the Horse, who being well mounted saved themselves by Flight: For the greatest part of them were Smothered whilst they endeavoured to pass the Morass with which the Town is Environed, others were slain by the Garrison, who upon this occasion sallying out, followed them with Death closely at the Heels; many were cut off by the Peasants who ran from all parts to take Vengeance of these Robbers, and a multitude of them were drowned, whilst endeavouring to pass the Danube they tumbled headlong one upon another, so that the Shoar of that great River was for some time covered with their dead Bodies; insomuch that this prodigious multitude of distracted People, who pretended with impunity to commit the most execrable Crimes in the World, causing a Shee-Goat to be worshipped, which was carried at the Head of the Army as their conducting Divinity, vanished in a moment, by a terrible Blow of the Divine Justice, which would not endure to be affronted by their pretended Piety, and making Religion only a Cover for those abominable Wickednesses wherewith they daily dishonoured God. year 1096 But to proceed, the Army of Peter the Hermit did not meet with a Fortune much more advantageous: It was now become very numerous by the Conjunction of an infinite number of Lombard's, Genoese, Piemontanes, and other People of Italy, who having taken upon them the Cross with the earliest, even presently after the Council of Clermont, came in several Troops by themselves without any Leaders, and being joined with those Forces of Gautier near Constantinople, they were commanded there to attend the Arrival of the Hermit by the Emperor's Order, who now began to entertain some suspicious Jealousies of this great Army of Franks, who were to be followed by others as numerous as they. So soon as Peter was arrived, the Emperor who had an extreme desire to see him, sent for him to the Palace, where the Hermit, who by the Voyage he had made into the Levant, was well skilled in the Language, and as Eloquent an Orator as a great Captain, made him a Discourse in public upon the Subject of this Expedition and the Holy War, of the Forces, and Qualities of the Princes which were expected; with which the Emperor appeared so well satisfied, that he made the Hermit very fair Presents, and bestowed upon him a round Sum of Money to buy Provisions for his Troops. After which he sent him back to the Camp, Exhorting him by no means to precipitate this great Affair, and especially not to attempt the passing of the Straits till the Arrival of the Princes; nor to expose his harrassed Troops against those of the Turks, which were far stronger than his, and against which his tired and feeble Men would be able to make no tolerable Resistance. The truth is, the greatest part of our Historians represent this Prince as the most perfidious and disloyal of Mankind; one who under the fine appearance of a feigned Friendship, covered that horrible Treason which he had contrived against the Latins, which was by a thousand unworthy Artifices to bring them to Destruction, as well as by the Arms of the Turkish Infidels; on the other side, the Greek Writers, when they mention this Emperor and this War, speak nothing like it; and the Princess Anna his Daughter, who hath written the History of her Father, in a Style Florid and Beautiful, after the Genius of her Sex, in her Alexiada, paints him directly contrary, and hath dressed him up like a Hero, a Wise and Politic Prince, who upon this Occurrence performed the most admirable things in the World. But to deal sincerely and without Prejudice, the best way in my Opinion is to avoid both these Extremes, to the end thereby, if possible, to find out Truth in the middle Way. But this is most certain, that this Alexis Comnenius was no other than an Usurper of the Empire of his Master and his Benefactor, who had given him the Command of General of all his Forces: He was a Prince who was dexterously Cunning, and a witty Dissembler, Covetous and Cruel, and one who easily made the Laws of Honour, Conscience, and Justice, comply with humane Policy, and whatever seemed to be his present Interest: And therefore it is most probable, in my Judgement, that he having so earnestly requested of the Pope, to procure him the Assistance of the Latins against the Turks, who were now become Masters of the lesser Asia, and threatened the Imperial City, that it was his real Design to receive the Crusades, and to join his Forces with them, to Defeat those encroaching and dangerous Neighbours, and to recover those Provinces which his Predecessors had lost; and that for this Reason he advised Peter, by no means to pass into Asia with those raw and undisciplined Men. But in making my Observations out of some of our own Authors, I find there were two things which made him change this Opinion, and take Measures quite different from his former Resolution. The first was that great, and indeed, prodigious Number of the Crusades, and those valiant Men who were expected under the Conduct of the Princes of France, of whose Courage and Ambition he was not too well assured. For in truth, the Pope believing it would be joyful and welcome News to him, had given him an account by Letters some time after the Council of Clermont, that in a small time he should have on Foot an Army of three hundred thousand Crusades, under the Command of those brave Princes, whose Names and Qualities he therein recounted to him, and that by the Noise which this Design made throughout all the West, he believed the Number would be augmented every day. But that which gave him the greatest Disturbance of all, was, that some time after he received Intelligence, that the famous Bohemond, Prince of Tarentum, the Son of Robert Guischard, who even in Greece had made War with him so much to his Glory and Advantage, was to make one of the Party; then immediately the Devil of State-Jealousy entered into, and possessed his Soul, that this brave Norman Prince might possibly have preingaged all those other Princes, and form such a powerful League amongst them, under the Colour of a War against the Infidels, to turn all those Arms against himself, and following the Traces of his Father's Design, endeavour to deprive him of the Constantinopolitan Empire. The second, was the insupportable Insolence of this Army of Peasants and Vagabonds, which Peter the Hermit and Gautier, after a miserable Fashion seemed to Command, who indeed were under no manner of Obedience; the Emperor Alexis had given them Liberty to Encamp without the Suburbs of Constantinople, and to Traffic with his People for all kind of Necessaries at the Price Currant; but these Brutes, who laughed at the Orders of their Superiors, took what Liberty they thought fit, and committed the very same Disorders which had been so fatal to them before in Hungary, for in five days space they made such a Desolation in the Suburbs of that City, and the places adjacent, that even the Turks and Saracens themselves could not have done more; they Plundered all the beautiful Houses of Pleasure, and the magnificent Palaces which were without the City, and afterwards burnt them; they Sacrilegiously Robbed the Churches, stripping them even of the very Cover of the Lead, which they sold to the Greeks: These fearful and excessive Brutalities, did so fortify the Jealousies of Alexis, and so exasperated him against the Latins, that without considering that these were only the Scum and Sink of the common People, as he very well understood himself; he resolved to do all that possibly he could, utterly to destroy them, and yet so far to dissemble with the Princes, as to draw to himself all the Advantages he could from their Conquests. And therefore, whereas formerly he had Counselled the Hermit to expect the coming up of the rest of the Forces, and not to expose himself with those pitiful Troops, he was now for having him immediately to pass forwards to the Straits through Bythinia: This they did, all the way commiting the same Disorder, till they came to Nicomedia, Plundering, Ravaging, and Desolating the Lands, Houses, and the Churches of the Christians, against whom these Libertines seemed to make that War, which they had vowed to make against the Infidels, neither the Fear of God, nor the Authority of their Hermit General being in the least available to stop the Torrent of their Fury. But God Almighty to vindicate the Honour of his Justice, in a little time took Vengeance on them, and punished their innumerable Crimes, making to perish by the Hands of the Turks, those who had so unworthily profaned the Cross, which they had undertaken against them: For as Peace and Unity cannot long be preserved among wicked Men who are always restless, so here it happened: For the Spirit of Division falling upon this unruly Army; the Italians and Germans separated themselves from the French, whose Humour they were not able to support, and who in reality treated them with more Arrogance and Contempt, and as our own Historians affirm, in terms far worse than I relate it, therefore abandoning Peter the Hermit, they chose for their Captain one Renaud; as appeared by his future Conduct, one of the losest and most Wicked of the whole Crew. He being employed in the mountainous Country near Nice, took there first a small Village, and presently after seized on another large Town, which he found forsaken of all its Inhabitants, but replenished with abundance of all sorts of Provisions: And whilst he there amused himself and his whole Army with Feasting and Jollity, the young Soliman Sultan of Nice, who upon the Alarm of the coming of the Western Christians, had raised a formidable Army, composed of the most valiant Turks of all Asia, came to Invest him; the better part of his Army being before defeated upon Michaelmas day, whilst going out under his ill Conduct, to surprise the Sultan by an Ambuscade, they themselves fell into an Ambuscade of the Turks, by whom they were surprised. After this the Siege was of no long continuance, for the Lewd and Cowardly Renaud, unable to endure the Extremity of Thirst, to which Soliman had reduced the Place by cutting off their Water, pretending to go out upon a Parley, went and rendered himself with his Followers to the Enemies, and turned Turk; after which the others were forced to Surrender themselves upon Discretion: And that which is the most deplorable, and remarkable piece of Divine Vengeance, is, that those Persons who had by their enormous Crimes, rendered themselves unworthy of the Grace of God, generally imitating their wicked Captain, renounced their Faith to save their Lives; There were divers nevertheless upon whom God had so much Compassion, who abhorring that detestable Apostasy, chose to obliterate the shame of their former wicked Lives, by a glorious Death, to which they generously offered themselves for the sake of Christ Jesus; some of which lost their Lives by divers kinds of Torments, and others by a lingering Martyrdom, changing their Freedom into a most cruel Slavery. The lot of the French, from whom the other Nations had separated themselves, was not much more Fortunate; they were Encamped near Helenopolis and Cybotus, which our Writers call Civitot, which are two Villages situate in the Gulf of Nicomedia, and nearest to the City of Nice, from whence they sent out great Parties to destroy the Forage about that City. But the Disorders among them were still as great, or greater than before, so that Peter himself unable longer to endure their Insolence, abandoned them, leaving the whole Command to Gautier, and retiring to Constantinople under pretence of procuring Provision for the Army. Soliman who was a great Captain, and kept good Intelligence, and who knew how to use his Victory, resolved now to attempt a second, by attacking these People who had neither Discipline, Order, nor Head, whom therefore he purposed to surprise in their Camp. But by a strange Adventure it happened that these who had just now received the sad News of the Defeat of their Companions, forced their Captains, contrary to their Inclinations, to draw out and March towards Nice, with a Resolution to fall unexpectedly upon Soliman, and surprise him whilst he was enjoying the Pleasures of his last Victory; they therefore decamped with twenty five thousand Men, divided into six Batallions under so many Standards, and with about five hundred Curiassiers on Horseback: There lay between the French Camp and the City of Nice several high Mountains covered with Woods, from whence there is a Descent into a fair Plain, where this great Town is situated. As the French passed these Mountains and Forests in Disorder, according to their Custom, making a mighty Noise, Soliman who was advanced so far on his way from Nice, with a design to attack them, little imagining they were coming to meet him, being thereof informed by his Scouts, who without being discovered by the French, gave him this Advertisement; he immediately retreated into the Plain, where he drew up his Army in Battalia. The French who were strangely disappointed to find those so near them, and in so good Order, whom they thought to have surprised, nevertheless stood not to consider whether they should fight or not, but gave a furious Charge with two of their Batallions and their little body of Cavalry, upon the main Body of the Turks; but they who were far more in number than the French, extending their Wings to the right and left, encompassed them, and cutting off the Reserves which were to follow, they poured in a shower of Arrows from all parts upon them, and charged them with so much Fury, that not being able to rally, they were in conclusion cut all in pieces. The brave Gautier Hievelittle who combated that day like a man, who since he could not hope to conquer, was resolved to fall nobly, being shot through with seven Arrows died; Renaud of Breis and Foucher of Orleans also perished with all the Cavalry, selling their lives to the Infidels at an excessive rate: Gautier of Bretevil and Godfrey Burel Colonel of Foot, who was the Person that contrary to the Opinion of the wiser Captains drew the Army into this misfortune, saved themselves among the Rocks and Bushes, retiring to those who were not yet drawn out from the Woods, but they seeing all lost dreamt of nothing but how to save themselves. But the Turks who followed them close at the Heels, pursued them with so much heat that they entered their Camp with the Fugitives, where they made a most horrible slaughter among the Women, Children, Sick People, Old Men, Priests and Monks which were lest there with a very slender Guard of Soldiers, and were generally either asleep, or, which was worse, making debauches: those who were able to save themselves from such a woeful Massacre, retired some of them into the Mountains where they miscrably perished; others to Civitot, where the Town being presently after taken by the Turks they were all made slaves. Insomuch that of this innumerable Multitude of Crusades of so many different Nations which Peter had led as far as the Bosphorus, there did not remain above three thousand men, who saved themselves in a little Ruinous Village upon the Propontis, which they defended for several days by mere desperation, and from whence they were at length drawn off and brought to Constantinople by the Emperor's Fleet, disarmed and almost naked, the Emperor being scarce able to dissemble his malicious joy for this defeat of the Christians. This was the Event of the Expedition of the Hermit, who after he had done such notable things when he acted in his own Sphere as a Hermit, a Priest, and a Preacher of the Cross to excite-men to this Holy War, came off so poorly, when he acted contrary to his Profession, and exchanged his Pilgrim's Staff for a Sword, appearing at the head of an Army with a Helmet upon his grey head, and under that the Monk's Cowl, which did so ill accord with the Equipage and the Quality of a General. This may inform us in a Lesson which cannot be too often repeated, That as the natural frame of the Universe is conserved by the Different actions of the Elements, which whilst they act in their proper places produces the most admirable Concord, but ruin and confound all when once they depart from those regular Movements; so neither can the civil World subsist longer than whilst the different functions of men retain a conformity suitable to their Condition, and that generally all is spoiled when these are confounded. But the unfortunate beginning of this Holy War, was but only a kind discharge of those corrupted Humours, which otherwise might have endangered the sounder Body of the whole Christian Army; and which enabled it to act after a far different manner, than it could possibly have done with the Conjunction of those irregular People. For in the same time whilst these matters passed in this manner in Asia in the Months of August, September and October, Godfrey of Bullen began his, March the fifteenth day of August with a puissant Army of ten thousand Horse, and seventy thousand foot, well appointed, and for the most part chosen out of the Noble Families of France, year 1196 rain and Germany, who seemed transported with joy to sight under the Conduct of such a noble General. He had also in his Company his Brother Baldwin, and among other Princes and Lords of the first Quality Baldwin de Bourg his Cousin Earl of Retel, the Counts Hugh de St. Paul, with his Son Engelram, Renald de Toul with Peter his Brother, Baldwin de Mons Cousin to the Earl of Flanders, Garnier de Grezi Kinsman to Duke Godfrey, Conon de Mountaigu, Dudon de Conty, Henry and Godfrey de Hasche; all which were sollowed by the Choicest Gentlemen and the brave Spirits of their Estates. When this Army was arrived in Austria in the Month of September, it was obliged to halt upon the Frontier of Hungary, to treat with King Carloman concerning their passage: For in Truth he had sufficient reason to be distrustful of this Army of the Crusades, after the horrible injuries which he had received from those of Peter, Godescalc and Emico. The Treaty was however quickly concluded by the open and plain dealing between the King and the Duke, who had an Interview upon a certain Bridge. The King demanded as Hostages Prince Baldwin and the Princess his Lady; and coasting all along with the Army of Godfrey, ordered the Magazines to furnish them with Provisions at a reasonable price, till such time as the greatest part of the Troops were passed over the Savus, where he returned the Hostages with a thousand Protestations of Amity to the Duke, whose Conduct and Fidelity he had in extraordinary admiration. With the same order Godfrey caused his Army to pass over the vast Countries of Bulgaria and the Territories of the Greek Emperor, according as he had promised his Ambassadors who were sent to him by Alexis, whilst he was upon his March, until at length he arrived at Philipopolis in Thracia, where he received Intelligence of the detention of Hugh the Great. This young Prince who was Brother to Philip the first King of France, had not, to speak Truth, either so much Experience, or so much Ability as the other Princes of the Crusade who were possessed of very fair Estates; but however he was a person admirably well composed, full of Honour Virtue and Goodness, extreme Brave, and of an Humour sweet and indearing: the advantage which he had by his Illustrious Birth, above the rest gave him a title to a greater Respect, and he was therefore treated with so much Honour and Duty by all, that though divers others had in reality a greater Command and Interest in the Army, yet nevertheless his Name was more Celebrated among strangers and especially the Greeks. The Princes which accompanied him in this Voyage were Robert Duke of Normandy Son to William the Conqueror, with the Noble Troops of English, Normans and Britain's; Stephen Earl of Chartres and Blois, whose power was so great that it was commonly said, that he was owner of more Places and Castles then there were days in the year; Prince Eustace of Bullen Brother to Duke Godfrey; and Robert Earl of Flanders, who following the example of the Duke of Lorraine sold his Estate to furnish the Charges of this War. These Princes who together composed a most puissant and numerous Army, having stated their measures and conferred a long time at Paris with Hugh the great in the presence of the King his Brother, put themselves upon their Way in the Month of September, and having traversed France and Italy and received the Benediction of the Pope whom they found at Leuca, and also having visited Rome and the Holy Places to implore the Divine Assistance, the Winter being too far advanced for them commodiously to pass into Epirus, they were obliged to distribute their Army about Bari, Brindes and Otranto, there to attend the coming of the Spring and the conveniency of embarking their Forces. But Hugh suffering himself to be transported by the heat of his Conrage, and the Impatience natural to Young Persons, and above all others, those of the French Nation, was not able to support this delay, but exposed himself too rashly to the Faith of the Greeks, embarking at Bari to pass to Duras, as he did very slenderly accompanied, and in a condition in no sort suitable to his Quality and the Majestic Name of France which he was to sustain during this War. But the Governor of that place, whether it were that he had secret Orders to secure such of the Crusade as he could surprise, or that he believed he should do his Master the Emperor a considerable Service by putting into his hands so great a Prince, who might serve for a Hostage to secure him against the Latins; immediately upon his arrival seized him, and sent him under a strong Guard through Byways to Constantinople where the Emperor detained him Prisoner. Godfrey who presently after this adventure arrived at Philipopolis where he received an account of it, sent immediately to the Emperor to demand the Liberty of this Prince and those who accompanied him, and in the mean time advanced with his Army as far as Adrianople. But perceiving by the Answer which he received from Alexis what he was to Expect, he acted like an open Enemy, and for eight days wasting the Country all along as he went he marched directly to Constantinople, where he raised such a consternation, that Alexis sent to him to his Camp to desire a Peace, making him all the Promises of receiving a just satisfaction. In short, Godfrey still advancing encamped two days before Christmas within view of this great City, when with joy he received Hugh the Great to whom the Emperor had now given his Liberty, and who came to pay his thanks to his Deliverer and Benefactor, accompanied with Drogon de Needle, Clerembaud de Vendeuïle and William Viscount of Melun commonly called the Carpenter, either because he was so notable an Artist in framing of Engines of War, or that according to the mode of Expression in those times, he used so terribly to hack and hue his Enemies, that neither Cask, Shield nor Curiass, was able to resist the Force of his blows. But this Peace by reason of the perfidiousness of Alexis lasted not long, for perceiving that after he had given orders privately to prohibit the furnishing them with provisions, the Army began to live at Discretion, he had recourse to Artifice, and desired Godfrey to take up his Quarters in the fair Houses, Palaces, Hamblets and Villages which lay all along the Bosphorus to the Euxine Sea, pretending the Rigour of the season was too extreme to permit them to continue in their Camp, but the truth is with a design to lock up this great Army in the little space which is between the Straight and the River which discharges itself into the Port, that there he might more easily destroy them. He had also a design to surprise the Duke, inviting him to come to the Palace to confer with him about the War; but finding that the Duke would not be decoyed, and that he did with good reason distrust him, he endeavoured again to famish the Army, prohibiting the furnishing them with any kind of provisions; he also attacked them both by Sea and Land, for he commanded out his Cavalry against those who were sent to forage, and caused many Vessels manned with Archers to fall down the River, who incessantly discharged upon such of the Soldiers as appeared. But his Enterprise prospered accordingly, for Godfrey with ease defeating the Greek Cavalry, made himself Master of the Bridge of Blakerness, in despite of all that the Emperor's People endeavoured to do to oppose him, and having without danger repassed the Main of his Army, who set sire at their parting to the Houses and Palaces where they had lain, he went and encamped in the plain of Blakerness. In the night he was attacked by all the Emperor's Forces, but he repulsed them immediately, and drive them into the Town though with little loss, by reason that they made more haste to retire than they had done to assail him. After which having for five or six days wasted all about Constantinople in revenge of the detestable infidelity of the Emperor, Alexis was compelled to desire a new accommodation: He voluntarily offered his Son John Porphirogenitus for a Hostage to oblige the Duke to come to his Palace, there to confer about the Articles of the Treaty. Godfrey who desired nothing but the means to execute his principal Design, and to pass with safety into Asia, accepted the condition; and having sent his Cousin Baldwin, du Bourg and Conon Earl of Mountaigu to receive the Prince, he made the Army retreat to their former Port upon the Bosphorus, where leaving Baldwin to command them, he with Hugh and the other Princes went up the River to Constantinople. The Emperor received them there with much magnificence, and according to the custom observed by the Greek Emperors, as a sign of amity and entire confidence, when they are minded to do a singular honour to any Prince, he would needs adopt him for his Son. After which the Emperor proposed the Conditions of the Treaty, which were reduced to these two Articles; First Alexis promised upon his Oath to aid these Princes with all his Power both by Sea and by Land, that he would join his Forces with theirs and lead them in his own Person, that he would with his Fleet continually supply the Army with Provisions, and do no sort of Injury to those who served in this War. The second was, that these Princes should reciprocally engage to do nothing contrary to his Interests; that they should restore to him such places of Importance as they should recover in Asta, do homage for others, and take an Oath of fealty to him as his Subjects for such Lands which they should hold of the Emperor. This last which was a very nice point was a long time contested by the Princes, who thought it would be very dishonourable to them to declare themselves Vassals of the Greek Emperor, but after mature consideration, that without stocking the Authority of their own Sovereigns they might become Feudaries to another lefter Prince, and swear fealty to him for such lands as they held of him; and that it was impossible their enterprise should succeed well if they should have the Emperor always opposite to them, they resolved to give him that which he desired, and to give him their Oaths and do that Homage, but with this Limitation, That they should be no longer obliged then whilst he punctually performed his Part of the Agreement. After which the Emperor, who was magnificent even to Profusion, striving to purchase a Reputation of being liberal to strangers though at the rates of Avarice and Cruelty, impoverishing his Subjects by unsupportable Exactions, loaded these Princes with Honours, and made them excessive rich Presents. And for the subsistence of the Duke's Army, he ordered every week so much money as he desired to be paid him, which nevertheless he was afterards obliged to return by the way of Spain: For this Prince who was most sordidly covetous, being Master of all the Commodities of his Empire, there was not a Merchant but who was a kind of Custom-house Officer to him, and obliged to give him an exact account of whatever was either imported or exported throughout his Dominions. Miserable is the condition of those Subjects who live under such Princes who will allow them no manner of Property in their Goods, or rather, most unfortunate are those Princes who in reality have none but Slaves and Beggars for their Subjects. In the mean time the Emperor who was informed that the other Princes were upon their March with puissant Armies, desired Duke Godfrey about the beginning of Lent to pass with his Army towards Bythinia and to encamp near Chalcedon, alleging that he could no longer sinned subsistence for his Troops in the place where they lay; but this was in reality only a politic stratagem, to avoid the assembling so near him so many Guests who were very much suspected by him; and above all others he was possessed with an extreme apprehension of Bohemond Prince of Tarentum, who presently after Easter arrived with the choicest Italians and Normans, who had made themselves Masters of the extreme part of Italy, by an adventure which because it redounds to the glory of our Nation, I shall think it no trouble in a few words to give an account of it. year 1002 About some seventy four years before this time forty Norman Gentlemen returning from a Voyage to Jerusalem where they had visited the Holy Places, arrived by Sea at Salernum, in the very time when the City was extremely pressed by the Saracens who besieged it by Land. These Pilgrims who were brave men, tall of stature, and of a good Mind, had a great desire to signalise their Zeal upon so fair an occasion; having therefore easily obtained of Gaimar Prince of Salernum Horses and Arms, and the liberty which they desired to make a Sally up on the Enemies, they issued out to so good purpose, and fought with so much Conduct and bravery in the view of the whole Town which ran to the Walls to behold them, that having filled the whole Camp of the Saracens with confusion, blood and slaughter, and burned their Engines of War, they obliged them to raise their Siege by one of the most memorable actions that is extant upon historical Record, Gaimar did what possibly he could to stay these brave men with him, and offered them most magnificent recompenses for the Service they had done; but they generously refusing assured him they expected nothing but the Reward of God Almighty for whose Glory they had combated against his Enemies of his Holy Name; and that having performed their Vows, they were under undispensible obligations of returning into their own Country. However this Prince willing by some way or other, to draw to himself some of so valiant and generous a Nation, requested them to take along with them his Ambassadors, which being agreed, the Ambassadors carried with them some of the most delicious Fruits of Champain, Italy, Pavia and Calabria, and particularly Citrons, Lemons and Oranges, which the Ancients called Golden Apples, none of which grew in Normandy. They managed their affairs there with so much dexterity that many Gentlemen alured with the Pleasure of those beautiful Fruits, but much more with the Fruits of Glory, which they hoped to gain by making War against the Saracens, followed the Ambassadors. These Gentlemen did there such memorable Actions whilst they served the Italian Princes, and the Emperor St. Henry, against the Infidels, and against the Greeks, whose Yoke they could no longer bear, as rendered their Names most Celebrated throughout all Italy; but being of an Humour not to forget themselves whilst they served others so advantageously, they took occasion to be their own Paymasters, by making themselves Masters of certain Places in Pavia, where they afterwards became very Powerful by the Accession of divers of their Countrymen who flocked thither to them, upon the Encouragement of their good Fortune and Renown. The most considerable of these was a Person of Quality, one Tancred Lord of Hauteville, who of twelve Sons which he had, not at all inferior to their Father in Courage, sent eleven of them into Italy. They were so fortunate, that in a little time a fair Occasion presented itself to them, to establish their Dominion in Italy: For Baldwin Lieutenant to the Greek Governor, being ill treated by him, craving Aid of these Normans, broke out into Terms of Defiance with him. These Eleven Brothers, the most renowned of their Nation, and to whom all the rest yielded Obedience, carried themselves with such Conduct and admirable good Fortune, that after having entirely defeated the Greeks in three Battles, they chased them out of almost all their Dependencies in Italy, dividing the Conquests among themselves. But still they acknowledged for their Captain and Chief, the eldest Brother William, Surnamed for his Valour Iron-Arme, who was the first Earl of Pavia; his two next Brother Drogon and Humphrey succeeded him, and after them the Third, which was the famous Robert Guischard. This Prince who certainly was one of the greatest Men of his Age, not contented with Pavia, by the force of his Arms, extended his Dominion into Calabria, and Conquered the greatest part of that Country, which is now called the Kingdom of Naples, and took upon himself the Title of Duke of Pavia and Calabria, for which he did Homage to Pope Nicholas the Second, restoring to him such Lands as had been usurped from the Church. He had afterwards great Differences with Gregory the Seventh, who Excommunicated him; but in the end being Reconciled, he received Absolution, and became his great Protector; and at the earnest entreaty of that Pope, it was, that he with his Son Bohemond passed the Sea to make War with Alexis Commenius, the Usurper of the Imperial Throne, out of which his Predecessor Nicephorus Botaniatos had expelled the Emperor Michael Parapinacius, who was come to Rome to Implore the Succour of the Pope and the Normans. There can be nothing more Glorious than that which upon this Occasion was performed by this admirable Prince; for he over-ran all Greece, and with no more than fifteen thousand Men, defeated Alexis in a set Battle, who Encountered him upon the Frontier of Thrace with an Army of one hundred and seventy thousand Combatants. Then leaving Bohemond in Thrace, who successfully pushed on the War, often beating Alexis, as the Princess Ann his Sister Confesses, he hasted to the Succour of the Pope, who was closely Besieged by the Imperialists and Romans in the Castle of St. Angelo; he constrained Henry the Emperor to departed from Italy; Retook Rome from the Schismatics; conducted the Pope to Salernum; returned to the East; in his Passage defeated the Fleet of Alexis; and having rejoined with Bohemond, not long after he died full of Glory, leaving his Estate to his Son Roger, who after an unkind and unlucky War, at last came to an Agreement with his Brother Prince Bohemond, giving him for his Share the Principality of Tarentum. year 1097 This Prince who was nothing Inferior to his Father in Skill or Courage, was with his Uncle Roger Earl of Sicily at the Siege of Amalphi, when the French Princes passed through Italy for the Levant; So soon as he understood the Subject of their Voyage, he declared publicly that he would be one with them; either out of his great Zeal for the Glory of God, or that he believed this might afford a fair Opportunity for him to Recommence the War with Alexis, and by Possessing some part of the Empire, establish himself in the East; for he sent some of his People immediately to Duke Godfrey to obstruct the Peace between him and Alexis: Be it as it will, for it is no part of my Province to enter into men's Intentions, after the spiteful manner of most People, and above all others, Historians, who to make themselves thought Able and Understanding, too frequently fall into this piece of Malice: It is most undoubted that Bohemond shown such a mighty Ardour for this Holy Expedition, that having in the Field torn a silken Cloak which he wore, into Crosses, he took the first himself, and afterwards presented the rest to the principal Officers of his Army, which were received with such an universal Applause, that all the Soldiers protested they would follow him, insomuch that passing quite through the quarter of Bohemond, Earl Roger was in a manner wholly deserted and forced to retire. Bohemond overjoyed at this Adventure, applied himself with incredible Diligence to make Preparation for this Enterprise, and in a short time passed the Sea after Hugh the Great, but with another manner of Equipage than that Prince had done; for he had in his Army ten thousand Horse, and above so many Foot, together with the greatest part of the Gentry of Sicily, Calabria, and Pavia, and the Princes and Norman Lords, the principal whereof were the brave Tancred his Nephew, his Sister's Son; the Earls Richard and Ranulph his Cousins, the Sons of William Iron-Arme his Uncle, Richard the Son of Earl Ranulph, Herman de Canni, Humphrey the Son of Raould, and Robert de Sourdevall. The Army passed through Epirus and Macedon, where the Greek Imperialists who had their Winter Quarters there, drawing together attended their Motions, intending, if possible, to surprise them; and at a certain Pass upon a River, when one half of the Army was marched over they fell in upon the Rear; But Tancred immediately Repassing, followed by two thousand Horse, charged them so home, that having cut the forwardest of them in pieces, the rest consulted their Safety with their Heels: He took also many Prisoners, whom he sent to Bohemond, who reproaching them for this unworthy Action, they assured him that what they had done, was by particular Order from the Emperor, notwithstanding, that that perfidious Prince had wrote Letters full of Compliments and Civility to Bohemond, by that Artifice, it seems, thinking to amuse him and make him less Careful or Suspicious. However this Blow so astonished Alexis, that to avoid a greater he sent an Excuse to Bohemond, and commanded his Officers to furnish his Army with Provisions; he also requested Duke Godfrey with the principal Lords of his Army, to meet this Prince and mediate a Reconciliation; and the Duke knew so well how to soften that great Spirit, that notwithstanding all the reason he had for his Distrusts, he brought him along with him to pay his Duty to the Emperor, and to take the same Oath with the rest of the Princes, which he did with the same Intention, lest it should procrastinate that great Design for which they had taken Arms. The Emperor received him with all the Marks of Esteem and Kindness, and believing he knew his blind side, which he thought was Ambition, he promised him that Conditionally that he would take the Oath which was required of him, he would establish this Prince in the greatest part of those Provinces which lie between Constantinople and Antioch, which he thought was an Argument to work upon his Temper. But Tancred, whether it were that he had secret Orders from Bohemond, or that he could not dispose himself to Digest an Oath which he did not approve, drew his Troops to this side of the Straight, without seeing the Emperor at all, who was forced to dissemble this Affront which was put upon him. The Earl of Flanders, who came up a few Days after, went to wait upon the Emperor with a slender Retinue, and without Difficulty took the same Oath, as the others had done. After which these Forces also passed the Bosphorus to encamp near Chalcedon with the rest. But the Arrival of Count Raymond brought such new Difficulties, as were not without great Trouble to be Surmounted. This Lord had taken the Cross the first of all others, at that same time when the Greek Ambassadors came to Pope Vrban after his departure from Clermont; and his Example was so prevalent that he was followed by above one hundred thousand Men out of Avergne, Gascoine, Languedoc, and Provence, who put themselves under his Conduct. He was a Prince of a majestic Aspect, and being somewhat advanced in Years, his grey Hairs rendered him still more Venerable, but he was only so old as to have his Experience increased and his Judgement more strong, without any diminution to the strength of his Body, which was every way Robust and capable of enduring all the Fatigues of War: He had acquired a very noble Reputation, especially in Spain, in the Wars against the Moors for Alphonsus the great, King of Castille, who gave him his Daughter Elvira in Marriage, as a Recompense of his Valour, the glorious Marks whereof he carried in his Face, having lost one of his Eyes by the shot of an Arrow; which was so far from being a Blemish, that together with his goodly Presence, it enhanced his Esteem and Reputation among the Soldiers, who had him in mighty Veneration. He possessed moreover all the good Qualities which were requisite to render him a great Prince and an honest Man; above all things a lover of Honour, Justice, and Integrity; an inviolable Master of his Word, Vigilant, Wise, and of a great Foresight; Magnificent, Prudent in his Counsels, firm and unalterable in his Resolutions: But after all this it must be acknowledged, that notwithstanding his Age and all his Prudence, he retained too much of the Genius and the Temper of his Country; for he was a mighty Opiniatre, and not able to bear Injuries, or to suffer his own Sentiments or his Will to be Opposed. The Countess his Lady, who had the Heart of a Heroine, generously followed her Husband in this Voyage, as did also his Son Bertrand, whom he was resolved to educate in this fair School of Virtue, both by his Instructions and his Example. Many great Persons accompanied him, of whom the principal were Aimar Bishop of Pavia the Pope's Legate, William Bishop of Orange, Currard Earl of Rousillon, William Earl of Montpellier, Gaston de Bearn, William de Forrest, Raiband of Orange, Raimond the first Viscount of Turenne, and several Spanish Lords, together with Bernard Archbishop of Toledo, and all the brave Lords and Gentlemen of Avergn, Gascony, Languedoc, and Provence. This brave Earl having passed the Alps, and taken his way by Lombardy and Friul, Marched quite through Dalmatia, being forced continually to stand upon his Guard to defend himself from the ancient Sclavonians, a Barbaroas People who then Inhabited that Country, and who never failed upon any Advantage to assail him, and lay Ambuscades for him all the Way till he came to Duras; from thence he entered into Epirus, and traversed all Macedon and Thracia, till he came to a Town upon the Hellespont, within four days March of Constantinople, having been forced to sight his Passage all the way against the Greeks and Bulgarians, which the perfidious Alexis, contrary to all his fair Protestations of Friendship, had caused to arm against him. However for the present he dissembled the Injury, and though not without a great deal of Repugnance, leaving his Army Encamped near that City, he advanced with a small Train to Constantinople, there to treat with the Emperor, according to the earnest Desires of the Princes who had already passed the Straight, who now desired nothing more than to come to a Conjunction of their Forces, in order to their entering upon Action. The Emperor after a magnificent Reception, pressed him also to the point of Homage, as the other Princes had agreed: The Earl smartly replied, That he would never do it, and that he was not come so far as the Levant to find a Master, nor did he intent to become a Vassal to any other besides Christ Jesus: But that nevertheless, if his Imperial Majesty would join his Forces with theirs, and put himself at the Head of the Army, he would without trouble acknowledge him for his General, and in that Quality oney him as well as any of the rest. Alexis nettled at this Denial, however stilled his ill Humour, and amuling the Earl with a pretence of treating with him further concerning the Common Interests, the Imperial Troops who were Quartered in Thracia, receiving secret Orders to that purpose, sell unexpectedly in the Night upon his Camp, who believing themselves in great Security in the Country of their Friends, kept no manner of strict Guard; this Surprise brought a strange Confusion upon the Camp, and many Soldiers were killed before they could be awakened; but after a little time these cowardly Assailants were repulsed with a very great Slaughter: The Disorder however was never the less, for the Soldiers who before had suffered so much in their march, began to mutiny, and believing that they were betrayed by their Officers who had brought them thither to be butchered, nothing would satisfy them but to return into their own Country. But the Earl who could by no means endure to think of retreating, appeased them by changing their despair into a desire of Revenge, he therefore sent openly to reproach the Emperor with this infamous treachery, and to solicit the rest of the Princes to join with him, and at once to deliver themselves from this Greek by razing his Imperial Throne. But the Princes, at the earnest prayer of Alexis who absolutely disavowed the action, and offered to make any kind of satisfaction to the Earl, made such powerful Remonstrances to Raimond, that in conclusion they not only appeased him but also obliged him for fear of losing more time to the prejudice of their great design, to take the Oath which was desired, which accordingly he did, but in these terms, That he promised to enterprise nothing contrary to the honour or the life of Alexis, provided that Prince should inviolably observe all that he had promised. But when the Homage came under debate he constantly protested that he would die before he would do it, and that the Emperor and the Princes ought to be abundantly satisfied with the Oath which he had taken. From whence they might have learned that the same Resolution in the rest might have proved no less advantageous to them, than their politic Condescension, for assuredly what colour soever may be put upon this Action, it can never redound much to their Honour in the History of their lives. But so it commonly happens, that it is the Destiny of humane Prudence to be most grossly mistaken when for its security it makes choice of Profitable rather than Honest. This dangerous quarrel being in this manner appeased, the Princes after having resolved at a great Council of War immediately to besiege the City of Nice, repaired to Chalcedon whither also the Army of Raimond marched up to join with the rest. Raimond himself and Prince Bohemond of whom the jealous Emperor was extremely suspicious, staying still at Constantinople to solicit Alexis to send the Provisions for the Army, and according to his promise to go and take upon him the Command of the Army, which they the more pressed that thereby they might be the better assured of him; but he still excused himself from the apprehensions which he had of the Bulgarians who might draw dangerous advantages from his absence. Whereupon Bohemond and the Earl presently after him having given order for the Provisions, passed the straight and followed the rest of the Princes towards Nice; and in the mean time Robert Duke of Normandy, Stephen Earl of Blois, and Prince Eustace who were yet expected with impatience, after having passed the Winte and Lent in Pavia and Calabria, Embarquing after Easter the fifteenth of April, towards the latter end of May, came up with the Christian Army and encamped near that City. year 1097 This Robert Duke of Normandy was the Son of that famous William who effaced the first infamous Surname of the Bastard by that of the Conqueror, which he acquired by his Merits in the Conquests of the Kingdom of England. This Prince was low of Stature but of a lofty Mind and a large heart, valiant and fearless upon occasion of honourable engagements, of great sincerity and integrity, magnificent in his Expenses, and liberal even to prodigality; but withal he was extreme voluptuous, and naturally averse to trouble and business, a Lover of disorderly pleasures, and especially of eating and drinking very plentifully which made him something Corpulent and unwieldy; and by these irregularities he lost the Realm of England in which his younger Brother established himself, whilst he instead of making Preparation for War, diverted himself, with making provision only for his pleasures: and this also lost him the love of the Normans, whom he oppressed with excessive Impositions and exactions, to furnish himself wherewithal to support his Luxury. However he recovered that Duchy, and resolving in some measure to imitate the Piety of his Grandfather Robert the eighth Duke of Normandy, who by an uncommon Devotion for so great a Prince went on Pilgrimage barefooted to Jerusalem, he was one of the first in taking upon him the Cross, thereby to atone God Almighty for the viciousness of his former life: he therefore generously engaged his Duchy to his two Brothers for fifteen thousand Marks in silver to enable him to undertake this Voyage wherein he suffered much in a toilsome march, and performed more when once he came to enter into the War. All matters having thus passed at Constantinople between the Emperor and the Princes, there remained only Earl Stephen and Prince Eustace, who with the Earl of Tholose were still to perform what the rest of the Princes had already done, they therefore repaired to Constantinople to pay their Homage to the Emperor who received them with all manner of honour, sparing, no charges in treating them most Royally, and in making them Presents, which in beauty, richness and magnificence surpassed all that he had bestowed upon the other Princes. After which this perfidious man under pretence of furnishing them with an able Conductor and some Troops of his own, promising that so soon as his affairs would permit, he would follow them in Person with all his Forces, gave them one Tatin a wicked fellow of his Court, whose nose having been cut off carried in his Face the ugly Witness of his horrid Crimes. It was to this infamous wretch that he trusted the great secret of his intended treachery against the Princes of the Crusade. He it was who was to give him an exact account of all occurrences, and upon occasion to put his orders in Execution for their Ruin; whilst the poor Princes who thought they had reason to be extremely well satisfied with his proceed passed the Bosphorus, and by great marches rejoined the Gross of the Army which had now begun the Siege of Nice. THE HISTORY OF THE CRUSADE, OR, The Expeditions of the Christian Princes for the Conquest of the Holy Land. BOOK II. The CONTENTS of the Second Book. The Description of the City of Nice in Blthynia, and the Siege thereof by the Princes of the Crusade. The second and third Battle of Nice, where the young Solyman was beaten. The taking of that City, and the Treachery of the Greek Emperor. The March of the Christian Army. One part thereof surprised by Soliman. The Battle of the Gorgonian Valley. The Progress of the Christian Army in the lesser Asia. The great danger of Duke Godfrey and his Combat with a monstrous Bear. The difference and little Civil Dissension between Baldwin and Tancred. Baldwin makes himself Master of the Principality of Edessa. The Entrance of the Christian Army into Syria. The Description of the famous City of Antioch. It is besieged by the Princes. The Relation of this famous Siege. The Combat at the Bridge of Antioch. The marvellous Actions of Duke Godfrey. The Approach of Corbagath with a prodigious Army to relieve the City. The Relation of the taking of Antioch by Bohemond by Intelligence in the City with one Pyrrhus. The Christian Army at the same time besieged by Corbagath. A Relation of the discovery of the top of a Spear, which was believed to be that which pierced our Saviour's side. The memorable Battle of Antioch, where the whole power of the Turks and Saracens in Asia was defeated by the Christians. The death of Aymar de Monteil Bishop of Pavia. The quarrel between Count Raymond and the Prince of Tarrentum. The taking of Marra. A strange Relation of the gratitude of a Lyon. The Siege of Arcas. The odd Story of Anselme de Ribemond Earl of Bouchain, and the deceased Engelram Son to the Earl of St. Paul. The taking of Torlosa by a stratagem by the Viscount de Turenne. The Sultan of Egypt takes Jerusalem from the Turks, breaks his League with the Princes of the Crusade. The Ambassadors of Alexis slighted. The advantageous composition with the Emir of Tripoli. The March of the Christian Army to Jerusalem. Lidda, Rama, Nicopolis and Bethlehem taken by the Christians. The extraordinary expressions of their Devotion upon the first discovery of the Holy City. AFter the Arrival of these Princes at Constantinople, Duke Godfrey and Tancred being advanced as far as Nicomedia, and having leveled the ways over the Mountains from that Town to the City of Nice, they invested that place the sixteenth day of May. They stayed some time for the coming of the other Princes, and of Peter the Hermit, who was gone into Asia to recollect some of those unfortunate Relics of his Forces which had saved themselves in the Woods. And then it was resolved without staying for the Troops of Raymond Earl of Tholose, and those of the Duke of Normandy and the Earl of Blois, which were not yet come up, that they should begin to form the Siege of Nice. Nice the Capital City of Bythinia, and which is famous to this day for the first and seventh Ecumenical Councils, which were held there against the Heresies of the Arians and the Iconoclasts, was at this time a fair and spaious City, lying about fifteen or sixteen Leagues from Nicomedia, in the middle of a most fertile and pleasant Valley, on all sides encompassed with high Mountains, except on the Western Quarter, where the great Lake of Ascanius, which by small Vessels furnisheth it plentifully with all the Commodities of the Country, serves instead of a natural Fortification, rendering it wholly inaccessible on that side. It was encompassed with double Walls of an extraordinary thickness, and flanked with very fair and lofty Towers, strongly built and placed at convenient distance to defend each other, and that part of the Curtain which was between them. It was also strengthened without the Counterscarp with a great retrenchment, admirably Palisadoed, and which was extreme difficult of access, by reason of the great number of Springs and Rivulets, which falling from the Mountains and being stopped by the Fortifications, drowned all the adjacent fields to what degrees the defendants pleased. Old Soliman who after the Turks had entered the lesser Asia pushed his Conquests by a continual succession of Victories as far as the Propontis, had taken extraordinary pains in the fortifying of this City, where he established the Seat of his Empire, that he might be so much the nearer Constantinople, and upon occasion one day pass over more commodiously into Europe. The young Soliman who about ten years after succeeded him, usually kept a very strong Garrison there, but upon the noise which the Enterprise of the Christians of the West were about to make, he reinforced it with the choicest of his Troops; for he did not doubt but in order to their opening a passage to Jerusalem, this place would be the first that would be attacked. He himself was gone into Persia, year 1097 to request the assistance of all the Princes of his Nation; and returning just in the nick of time to secure the City, he posted himself in the Mountains at the same time when the Christian Army, not suspecting that such a terrible Enemy was so near, began the Siege. However the Christians applied themselves to a formal Siege, distributing their several Quarters in his open view, their Army being far more numerous than his, and consisting in above four hundred thousand Combatants. Bohemond, after he had taken care for Provisions for the Army in a very plentiful manner, returning to the Camp, posted himself on the Northwest quarter of the City, with his Nephew Tancred who extended his quarter on the right hand even to the Lake. Godfrey of Bullen with Baldwin took the Right Hand over against the Principal Gate of the City, taking up all that space between the North and the East upon that side where the City was most strongly fortified. After them upon the South East quarter encamped Hugh the Great in the same place, where after their arrival the Duke of Normandy and Count Stephen were to make their attack so soon as they should come up. All the South side was reserved for Count Raymond who was upon his way in Bythinia and not far distant from the Camp. That part towards the West South-West which lay upon the Lake, could not be blocked up so close but that the Enemies had that way the convenience of furnishing themselves with Provisions. The Town being in this manner begirt quite round, the besiegers began briskly with a General Assault, which upon the fourteenth day of May was given at the same time upon all the several Quarters, with all kind of military Engines. The Combat was maintained all that day till the darkness of the Night obliged them to discontinue it, and was again renewed in the Morning with extraordinary fury, though without Effect. For the besieged were not only gallant men, but every minute in expectation of being relieved by Soliman, to whom they had dispatched an Express both to inform him of their Condition, and to advertise him that he might easily do it by forcing the Christian Camp on that part which lay to the Southward, which was but as yet very slenderly guarded; but it so fell out, that the Letters of the Sultan were intercepted that very day as they were going to the Town to assure the besieged that he would not fail the next morning according to their advice to attack that part of the Camp. Notice thereupon was immediately given to Prince Raymond who was not far off, who marched with such diligence, that by good Fortune the next morning very early he arrived in the Camp. He was no sooner begun to make his Lodgement, but the Turks descended from the Mountain and divided themselves into two great Bodies to attack the Christian Camp in two quarters. One party of them marched to the right, towards the South, believing according to the advice which they had received from the besieged, that the passage there was free, whilst the other advanced to the Quarter of Duke Godfrey which lay next the Earl, to prevent his sending any succours from that part, and thereby to be the better able to put his designed relief into the City. year 1097 But the gallant Raymond whom the Turks little expected to have found there, received them in so good a posture, and charged their Troops, who looked for nothing less than such opposition, with so much fury, that he presently put them into disorder, and having routed them and cut the best part of them in pieces, the rest were forced to betake themselves to a hasty slight, pursuing them to the very foot of the Mountains, whilst Godfrey in his quarter dealt in the same manner with those who made the false attack upon his Post. Nevertheless the besieged failed not at all in their Courage, but made a very obstinate defence, under the Protection of their Walls, whose strength was so great as bid defiance to all the Engines which were made use of against them; nor were they out of hopes but that still they should receive the Relief which they had sent to desire of Soliman, by the way of the Lake which still was open. Whilst matters stood in this posture, the Duke of Normandy and the Earl of Blois, arrived with their Army in the beginning of June, and took up their Posts in the Quarter assigned them at the beginning of the Siege. This was the first time that the Christian Princes had seen all their Forces together, and taking a review of the Army, they found it to be the most gallant and numerous, that ever had been seen in any Age. For without computing the Priests, Monks, Women, Children and Servants of which the number was infinite, those who were present at this general muster assure us, that there were no fewer than six hundred thousand Combatants, of which there were at the least a Hundred thousand Horse bravely armed; moreover the Venetians, Genoese, and those of Pisa who were Masters of the Sea, assisted them with a mighty Fleet, and supplied this vast Army continually with store of Arms, Engines of War and all manner of Provisions. But that which was most admirable, was, that these Noble Princes, to avoid the displeasure of Almighty God, which for their horrible disorders had ruined the former Crusades under the Hermit Peter, Godescale and Count Emico, did by their Authority and Example, and by the powerful Exhortations which the Bishops continually made to the Soldiers, so admirably regulate them, and maintained so good and severe a Discipline, that all sorts of Vices and Debauches, were banished from the Camp. During this, Soliman who was resolved to try the last of his skill for the Relief of the Town, upon a sudden made a descent from the Mountains, and made a second attack upon the Quarter of Raymond, with a Body of sixty thousand men sustained by the Gross of his whole Army: but the Count, and the rest of the Princes who were advertised of this Design of the Enemies, getting betwixt this advanced body and the rest of the Sultan's Army, put them into such a consternation that they immediately fled leaving four thousand of their companions dead upon the spot, whose heads the victorious Christians cutting off, with their Engines threw them over the Walls, thereby to strike the greater Terror into the Hearts of the besieged. But notwithstanding all that, year 1097 they continued the defence like brave men, and they were thereto encouraged both by reason that the Lake being free and open they received every day some little relief or other; as also because there were among the Turks of this Garrison many resolute men, who had determined never to abandon the defence of the place but with their lives, and among others one whose bravery, though mixed with too much of the brutal, was such, that he was from one of the Towers which he defended, looked upon by the whole Christian Army with astonishment, and his Actions seemed the Prodigies of Valour and Courage. This valiant man who by reason of his huge Bulk, extraordinary Strength, and the Fierceness of his barbarous and menacing Air, seemed much to resemble a Giant, defended one of the strong Towers which were assaulted by Count Raymond; he had been often repulsed, but yet repeated the surious Attack, when this monstrous Turk coming to the Platform, made a terrible havoc among the Assailants, tumbling down with a mighty impetuosity such as had mounted the scaling Ladders, wounding them with such vast Arrows as no Shield nor Curiass was able to resist. And not herewith contented, he insulted most intolerably over the Christians who sell under his Arms, with all the bitter and bloody railleries imaginable; for being attacked on all hands he could not forbear calling them feeble and effeminate Cowards, who were sitter for the Distaff than the Lance; and finding that his Bow and Arrows were not sufficient to drive off the Assailants, who pressed hard to the foot of the Wall, he threw away his Buckler and his Arms, and exposing himself naked to an infinite number of Arrows which were shot at him, he with both his hands fell to throwing down stones of a prodigious bigness upon those who were attempting to undermine the Wall; and which is almost incredible, if we were not assured from those who were Eye witnesses of the Spectacle, though he had above twenty Arrows sticking in him that his Breast looked as if it were bristled with them, yet he did not cease to throw down stones upon the Assailants, nor to bestow his reproachful language upon them, till Duke Godfrey who was come thither from his own quarter, not able to endure this insolence of a Barbarian, with a well placed Arrow shot him through the very heart, and tumbled him dead into the Ditch. Thus the bravest man of the Turks seemed to stay to receive an honourable Death from the hand of the gallantest of the Christians. Hitherto the besieged being not out of hope defended the place with resolution enough●; but when they saw that the Christians by the help of certain little Vessels of War which the Emperor had sent from Civitot, were now become absolute Masters of the Lake, and that Count Raimond had by undermining overthrown the great Tower which he had been so long attacking, and that the Wife of Soliman as she was endeavouring to make her escape was taken prisoner with her two Sons, year 1097 they begun to enter into a Treaty with the Emperor's People, who from the very beginning of the Siege had secretly solicited them by his Lieutenant to surrender the place to him with great promises of advantage; and though the Princes discovered this cunning Treaty and the persidiousness of Alexis, yet they did not in the least oppose the Rendition of the place unto him; so after a Siege of seven weeks the Town was surrendered upon Articles to the Emperor; and he to gain the good opinion of the Infidels if they should one day attempt to reconquer it, causing the Wife and two sons of Soliman, and the whole Turkish Garrison to be transported to Constantinople, gave them all the kind Treatment imaginable, endeavouring thereby to draw them to his Service. During which time, that he might the better conceal his cowardly Treachery under the fairest shows, he made most magnificent Presents to all the principal Commanders, and bestowed good Largesses upon the poor Soldiers, that he might after a fashion make them some Satisfaction for the loss of the Spoils of the Vanquished, which he had promised them before the taking of the City. But this Prince was resolved to perform nothing of what he had promised to the Franks, and having drawn all the Advantages he possibly could from them, at the last to work their Ruin and Destruction; which without doubt he had effected, if his former Treacheries had not been too frequent and apparent to doubt of his Intentions, and the Distrust which the Princes and whole Army had of this wicked Man, was the reason that they were always upon their Guard against him; and the Soldiers who were not given much to Dissimulation in the case, charged him openly every Day with whole Volleys of Curses and thousands of Execrations. After the Reduction of Nice, the Princes that they might not lose that commodious Season of the Year, marched immediately towards Syria, and the third day after, for the conveniency of Forage and Subsistence; they separated into two Bodies, Bohemond with the Duke of Normandy and the Earl of Blois, taking the left hand, and Godfrey with the other Princes, the right, but yet without distancing the Armies above two Miles asunder. And certainly it appeared quickly that this last Precaution was not without great Prudence as well as Necessity; for three days after this Separation, as Bohemond was got into a large Valley, called the Gorgonian Plain, where he encamped in the Night, upon the Brink of the Rivulet which runs through it, he was advertised by his Scouts, that he was like to have the whole Army of the Sultan upon his Hands; for Soliman after his Repulse at Nice, being reinforced with new Troops, coasted along the Coverture of the Mountains, on the left hand of the Christians with three hundred and sixty thousand Turks and Persians, all Horse, with an infinite number also of Arabians, who were also Cavalry; and having by his Spials understood that Bohemond, who had the least part of the Christian Army, was engaged in that Valley, he doubted not but so to surround him, as to cut them all in pieces, without their being able to defend themselves; and therefore in the Night he secretly passed the Valley, intending to surprise the Christians early the next Morning upon their decamping; year 1097 he therefore seized by break of Day upon all the Passes of the Hills, extending his Troops to the right and left, and placing them at the several Avenues leading out of the Valley. And no sooner was Bohemond advertised hereof by his Scouts, but he also discovered the huge Clouds of Dust which risen from the Mountains, and heard the horrible Cries of this vast Multitude of Barbarians, who made the Valley resound with their dreadful Shouts, thereby to terrify and surprise the Christians; and within two Moment's after he perceived Soliman himself advancing at the head of his best Troops, followed with one hundred and fifty thousand Horse, who whilst the other made a halt upon the Hills, came pouring down into the Valley, to Charge the Christians, whom he expected to find half Vanquished by their own Fear and Disorder. But Bohemond, whose Soul was not to be shaken, and who by a long Experience in War, had a mighty presence of Mind in the most dangerous Occasions; did, without the least mark of Astonishment, perform whatsoever was necessary, either to avoid or to defer the Misfortune which in this Extremity seemed Inevitable. He immediately dispatched some Cavaliers to advertise Duke Godfrey of the Danger which threatened him, and gave Command to the Infantry instantly to remove the Camp into a place between the Rivulet, and a great Morrass all covered with Reeds, and to make a Palisade of the Stakes which served them in setting up their Tents, and to fortify that with a second Circumference of the Wagons and Carriages: After which, having placed himself at the Head of the Cavalry with the Duke of Normandy and the Earl of Blois, they encouraged the Soldiers by their Looks, Gesture and Voice, exhorting them courageously to Encounter those Enemies, whom they might more justly despise than fear, having twice before seen them turn their Backs; and assuring them that they should immediately receive Assistance from their Companions, and that they could not possibly however but upon this Occasion obtain immortal Glory, either by Death or Conquest. And thereupon with an invincible Fierceness they led them to the Charge; but the Turks at the same Instant, by the Command of Soliman made a Halt, till such time as the Christians who came to the Charge with their Lances in the Rest, were within Bow-shot, and then the Turks poured upon them a whole shower of Arrows, and immediately wheeled off, yet all the time that they seemed to sly they ceased not to shoot their Arrows against those that pursued them, and ever as the Christians retreated to the gross Body, facing about and charging them as before; this new sort of Combat did extremely incommode the Christians, who could not come to Blows with the Enemy, and yet lost abundance of their Horse which were wounded with the Arrows: In the mean time the other part of the Turks Army having forced the Camp, made there most terrible Havoc, plundering and killing without Mercy the Women, Children, and ecclesiastics, and other defenceless People. The Soldiers oppressed by the multitude of their Enemies, were at their last, and all was in a manner lost when Bohemond, year 1097 to whom this News was brought, came flying to their Assistance with a party of the Cavalry: But in the mean time Soliman who saw his Design thrive so well, charged so furiously upon the Christians, that after a long Resistance they began to give ground; but the brave Duke of Normandy snatching a white Cornet embroidered with Gold, from the hands of him that carried it, and who was carried away with the Crowd of those that fled, he cried aloud, It is the Will of God, and at the same time he threw himself into the thickest of the Enemies, followed by a small number of brave Men who accompanied him; this brave Action raised so much Shame and Courage among the rest, that as if they had all on the sudden been inspired with new Vigour, they spurred up at full speed after him into the thickest Squadrons of the Saracens, overturning all on every side that opposed their Passage: This Heat was much more increased by the return of Bohemond, who having Repulsed the Arabs who came with no other Design but that of Plundering, were not able to sustain the first Shock of his Cavalry, who threw himself like a Lion into the throng of his Enemies to rejoin the Duke of Normandy, who after he had renewed the Combat seemed to sustain his People more by his Courage and Example than by the strength of their Arms; for what with Weariness, the heat of the Sun, and intolerable Thirst, their Force was so abated, that they had much to do to sustain the Combat. It is true, that even the Women upon this Occasion signalised their Courage, in the midst of a thousand Darts and Arrows carrying them Water from the Rivulet to refresh them, but alas this small Succour was too little to balance the greatness of their Distress, for being oppressed by the infinite number of their Enemies, who enlarged their Squadrons to the right and left, with a design to encompass them, having lost a great many brave Men, and among the rest Prince William the Brother of Tancred, they were obliged to give way and retire, all the way of the Retreat facing their Enemies, till they came to the Camp, where they hoped by the favour of the Retrenchments to secure themselves from the danger of being enclosed by their Enemies. But now the Arabs had also renewed their Attack, perceiving that the Christians were repulsed, and they pursued their Point so home, that the Army was reduced to the utmost Extremity, and in all appearance, could not possibly long resist the Force of so many Enemies, when the first Squadrons of Duke Godfrey's Army, who hasted to their Succour began to appear. For so soon as he understood the Danger in which the Army of Bohemond was, he with the Earl of Vermandois ran with all speed, being followed by all the Cavalry, consisting in sixty thousand Men, to their Assistance; whilst the Earl of Tholose, and the Bishop of Pavia, according as it was agreed, brought up the Infantry to the Combat. These Succours appearing upon the Mountains, being at the same time discovered both by the Christians and the Infidels, made in an instant a strange alteration in the face of the Battle, year 1097 for the Christians reassumed their Courage, when they saw Godfrey with fifty Horse join the three Princes, to communicate to them the Design which he had form with the Earl of Tholose. And Soliman who was afraid so much to his Disadvantage to engage with the whole Christian Army in the Plain, retreated towards the Hills from whence he came in the Morning, not imagining that the Christians would there dare to attack him. But he quickly found he had deluded himself; for no sooner were the Earls of Vermandois and Tholose come up, but the whole Army was put in order of Battle, just about Noon, without giving so much as time for those who had been engaged already, to take their repast, except whilst they were drawing up into their Order. The Norman Princes, that is, Duke Robert, Bohemond, Tancred, and Richard Prince of Salernum his Cousin, had the left Battalion upon that side towards the Entrance into the Valley, Duke Godfrey with his two Brothers, and the Earls of Vermandois and Flanders were upon the right, Count Raymond led the main Body betwixt those two, inclining a little to the left, that way where the access to the Mountain was less Difficult, the Horse were disposed upon the Wings and in the Intervals of the Battle, and the two Points, to the intent they might the better sustain the Infantry upon all occasions. The Princes in drawing up the Squadrons, animated the Soldiers by the sight of the Cross which they carried in the Colours, and upon their Coats, thereby to remind them of their Vow which they had made, to vanquish or to die for the Glory of him, who for their Salvation died upon the Cross; they remonstrated to some of them, That the Enemies they were to Combat, were those whom they had two several times before Vanquished at Nice; that they were for the most part cowardly Arabians, accustomed rather to steal than fight, and who were not used to set upon their Enemies but like Thiefs to rob them by Surprise, as they did now upon the Army after it was divided: But now that they saw them conjoined, they shown plainly by the little assurance of their Countenances, and their sudden Retreat, that the very sight of their Vanquishers had taken away their Courage and their Judgement, and that they ought to be looked upon as half beaten before the Engagement: They told others, That in fight valiantly as the Soldiers of Christ Jesus, and under his Conduct, they went to a most assured Happiness, either in Heaven by the glorious Crown of Martyrdom, if they died in this Battle, or if they survived it, they might expect on Earth the Riches and the Spoils of all Asia, as the product of their Victory. And that they might be understood by all, and speak all in one Word, they cried with a loud Voice, and with all their Force, as they passed from Rank to Rank, lifting up one Hand to Heaven, and with the other drawing their Swords, It is the Will of God, It is the Will of God. Whereupon the whole Army repeated the same Words, with such a terrible Harmony, that the Hills, the Valleys, the Rocks, and Mountains shook with the dreadful Echo, which repeated a million of times, It is the Will of God, It is the Will of God. After which Prayers being made, and the Bishops having given them their Benediction, the whole Army moved gently in a most beautiful Order towards the Enemy, who all this time stood firm without the least Motion, in his Post, that he might thereby secure the Advantage he had taken. After the Christians covered with their Bucklers, had sustained the first discharge of the Saracens, who darkened the very Sky with the infinite multitude of their Arrows, Count Raymond without giving them leisure to make a second Charge, ran at full speed, with Lance in Rest, upon their Squadrons, with the whole Body of his Cavalry, and they being unable to sustain so rude a Shock as was given them by the European Lancers, to which they had neither Shields nor Brest-plates to oppose, were overthrown and tumbled down Horse and Man. The Infantry which followed them close, then entering, as at a Breach, with their Swords in their Hands, without ever regarding the Enemy's Arrows, made an extraordinary Carnage, both amongst the Men and Horses; whilst in the mean time Godfrey and Bohemond, who had extended their Squadrons to hinder the Enemy's Wings from encompassing them, charged them in the Flank, and fought with good Success; but that which completed the Ruin of the Infidels, was, that the Bishop of Pavia, who according as was agreed among the Princes, having marched his Body behind the Mountain upon the left hand, immediately fell upon their Rear, which he assailed most vigorously, and with mighty Shoots, thereby the more to terrify and astonish them. For immediately the Arabs, who were not acquainted with sighting hand to hand, and who feared to be surrounded between the two Armies, began to betake themselves to their Heels, and in conclusion, the Fear and the Disorder which dispersed itself over the whole Army, put them in a moment to a general Rout; the greatest part of them saving themselves by the swiftness of their Horses, which it was in vain to hope to overtake by the heavy Cavalry of the Christians: However they pursued them till Night, killing many who in their Flight encumbered one another, so as they could not make that haste which their Fear and Danger required from them. Their Camp immediately fell into the hands of the Christians, wherein the Soldiers according as the Generals had promised them, enriched themselves with a prodigious quantity of Booty and Plunder which they found there. The Christians in these two Combats lost not above four thousand Men, among which, only three Persons of Quality who were slain in the first Attaque, William the Brother of Tancred, Geoffrey of Aigremont, and the most valiant William of Paris. The Infidels left there upon the place, besides a prodigious number of the Arabs and their other ordinary Soldiers, above three thousand of the principal persons of Quality among the Turks, being those who of all the Infidels fought the most valiantly in that Battle. The Victorious Army after having refreshed themselves two days in this Valley, year 1097 now famous for this glorious Victory, put themselves upon their March, advancing towards Syria, all the way following the Track of the flying Sultan; and this Prince having after the Battle met with ten thousand fresh Arabians, which came to Reinforce him, and upon the Road having called the scattered Fugitives, he applied himself to lay all the Country waste through which the Christian Army was to march; this reduced them to extreme Want, especially in their Passage over the Mountains and the Deserts; so that the defect of Provisions, and the Thirst, occasioned by the excessive Heats, reduced them to those Extremities, that five hundred Persons died in one day, and almost all the Horses perished. But at last, having gotten out of those Straits, they arrived about Antioch in Pisidia, which surrendered to them without Resistance, as did most of the other Cities in their Passage through Lycaonia, Cappadocia, and Armenia. For the generality of the Inhabitants being Christians, and the Turks not daring to appear in the Field, being baffled in all the Rencounters upon the Way, and therefore unable to protect them, those places sent to the Princes to render themselves to their Protection; they received the Princes with all sort of Submission, and by a thousand Testimonies of Rejoicing, made it appear with what infinite Pleasure they saw themselves delivered from the insupportable Yoke of Slavery, which had been imposed upon them by the Infidels. And therefore seizing upon Iconium, Cesaria in Cappadocia, sometimes a famous City, though now almost wholly Ruinous, Heraclia upon the Frontier of Cilicia, the Princes placed Governors in them, retaining them under their own Jurisdiction. For they thought themselves wholly disengaged from the Oath which they had made to the perfidious Alexis, who had not observed in any sort the Agreement which he had sworn to them. Thus it must happen to such cowardly Princes, who not believing themselves obliged to submit to the Laws which they themselves have made, and to which they have given their most solemn Faith, they gain nothing, in conclusion, by their Dissimulation, but the Disappointment of their Expectations, and the unprofitable Shame, by breaking their Word, of being esteemed dishonest and unworthy Men. Whilst the Army refreshed themselves in Pisidia, after such Toils and Hardships, Prince Godfrey had like to have been lost by a strange Accident, which however redounded in conclusion much to the Honour of this Prince, advancing his Reputation, Courage, and Nobleness, which appeared even to Admiration upon this dangerous Occasion. For one day entering alone upon Horseback into a Wood, where he hoped to have the Pleasure of entertaining himself some Moment's in Solitude, he heard the Voice of a Man who cried out for Help with all his Power, and advancing to the place from whence the Noise came, he presently understood the Cause; for he perceived it was a poor Soldier, who coming to cut Wood, was running quite almost out of Breath, round about a great Tree, to save himself from the merciless Jaws of a monstrous and furious Bear, year 1097 which was just ready to seize upon him. Godfrey did not long deliberate what he was to do, but transported with his Courage and his Charity, to see the Danger of one of his Soldiers, he spurred on his Horse with his Sword in his hand, towards the cruel Beast, who abandoning her first Prey, with her Eyes inflamed and her gaping Jaws, and the terrible Claws of her two fore Paws, advanced towards him, and raising herself upon her hinder Feet to throw herself upon the Horse, but being affrighted with the glittering Sword, to avoid the Blow she fell sidelong, yet so that Horse and Man came over her, she catched hold of the Duke's Coat to draw him towards her, but Godfrey nimbly recovering his Fall, and seizing upon her left Paw, which she had thrust out to lay hold upon him, he plunged his Sword up to the very Hilt, in the Belly of this monstrous Enemy, when at the same time one of his Gentlemen named Husequin, who was following the Hounds, came running in at the horrible Cries of the Bear and the Soldier, and put an end to the Life of the Beast, already overthrown by the terrible Blow which she had received; but the Duke having in drawing his Sword after his Fall, from between his Legs, given himself a cruel Wound in his Thigh, which during the heat of the Combat he never perceived, he had lost so much Blood, that after the heat of his Spirits which kept him up, began to remit, he immediately sunk down in a Swoon. This Accident, though in consequence not Dangerous, yet spread a mighty Consternation throughout the Army, as if all had been lost: For although he had not the absolute Command of a General, there being so many Princes, and the Sons of two Kings, so that all things were done by Consent and an equality of Power, yet nevertheless he had so much Authority, and so much Deference was given to his Judgement, that one shall not need to make any Scruple in saying he was the Chief, especially since the Battle of the Gorgonian Valley, where by his Valour he not only saved the Army of Bohemond, but gained the Christians a most glorious Victory, by snatching it out of the hands of the Infidels when they were just upon the point of consummating it. But not long after, it so happened, that Ambition, Jealousy, and the desire of Revenge, three Passions far more dangerous than the most furious Beasts, produced Effects more deplorable to the Christian Army, than what had like to have befallen them by this monstrous Bear, who failed in his Attempt against the Duke, who was the Soul and Spirit of the Army. For while they lay in Pisidia refreshing themselves, waiting the Recovery of the Duke, his Brother Baldwin and Tancred, two young Princes, whom the love of Glory had already rendered Rivals, entered into Cilicia by two different Ways, with two little Armies, to make themselves Masters of such Places as they could Conquer, which by the Consent of the other Princes they were to hold, and establish there their little Principalities. Tancred who took the more easy way, all along the Sea Coast, came first before Tarsus, the Capital City of that Province, and having beaten the Turkish Garrison who came out to sight him, the Inhabitants who were for the most part Christians, submitted to him, and planted his Ensigns upon one of the principal Towers of the City. Baldwin who followed by the long and difficult way of the Mountains, came in just as these matters had passed, and was taken by Tancred for some Turkish Officer who was come to relieve the Garrison, as also by a mutual Mistake, Baldwin discovering Tancred's Forces with Sword in Hand, marching up towards him, concluded him to be the Governor of the Garrison of Tarsus, who was come out to oppose his Passage; but discovering their Error, they Embraced each other as if they had been very well satisfied; but within a few Moment's Baldwin being unable to endure that his Rival should have the Glory to have prevented him in the easy Conquest of so fair a City, and finding himself stronger in Number, he would needs have recourse to Arms to oblige Tancred to yield to him half the Conquest. Tancred who was every whit as Brave and as Valiant as Baldwin, and without doubt far more Moderate, dissembling this Affront for the present, generously resigned it entirely to him, and being unwilling to be reduced to the miserable Necessity of drawing his Sword against Christians and Confederates, he thought of seeking new Conquests, and among other places he went to attack Mamistra, year 1097 one of the most considerable and strongest Towns in the whole Province. But the Virtue of this great Man who had so gloriously overcome himself, found itself very feeble some time after, when he came to encounter the most formidable Enemies, and Men of Courage, who reproached him sufficiently for performing so meanly, when it was in his Power to have acted bravely. Prince Baldwin happened by an odd Adventure to be reinforced by a Fleet of Dutch and Flemish Pirates Commanded by a Bullener, one Vinomare, who had been a Domestic formerly to his Father Count Eustace. This Captain by pure Accident was come to an Anchor before Tarsus at the same time when Baldwin had taken the Town, and being Ravished to meet there the Son of his old Master, and so fair an Occasion to change his Employ, by taking up Arms among so many famous Christian Princes, in so glorious a Cause, he immediately joined Prince Baldwin, who placed one part of his Men in Garrison at Tarsus, and desired him to stay with the remainder in the Road there, till he should send him further Orders. After which, this Prince having assured his new Conquest, marched to make others, and came one Evening to Encamp before Mamistra, where Tancred, who had just taken the Place, was busy in giving the necessary Orders for the Fortification of it, to render it stronger than before. There is nothing more easy than to revive the remembrance and sense of an Injury in a Heart already grieved to have received it, and ashamed not to have revenged it, especially being excited thereunto by the appearance of new Affronts and Outrages. Richard Earl of Salernum his Cousin, thinking that this Action of Bohemond was a second Injury which he came to offer, blew up the Flames of Dissension between them, accosting Tancred in these Terms. Ha! what now Tancred (said he) where is thy Honour? Thou has formerly been taken for Valour itself, wilt thou now disabuse the World, and reverse that fair Opinion, by making it evident that thou art the greatest Coward of Mankind? What! Canst thou suffer Baldwin, after having constrained thee in the most fierce and insolent manner in the World, to quit thy Pretensions to Tarsus, to come and Reproach thee with the Injury he hath done thee, and which thou hast tamely born; and it may be to command thee to relinquish Manistra too, whilst he assures himself thereof, by that which thou art pleased to call Moderation, but he believes to be pure Cowardice? Go, go then, if thou hast not quite lost thy Heart, but go as thou oughtest, at the head of so many brave Men, who are resolved to perish, rather than not be revenged of the insufferable Affront which is done not only to Tancred, but to all the generous Normans, who have not conquered Calabria, Pavia, and Sicily, Vanquished the Grecian Emperor, and followed the Invincible Bohemond through all Asia, there to become Slaves to one Bullener. This did not fail to raise the Courage of Tancred, and to rouse up that Anger, which he had not been able without extreme Violence to smother at Tarsus, and Shame having removed all the Obstacles which Virtue opposed, his Choler breaking out like a River swollen with a mighty Inundation, was now become furious; and amidst the Noise which this turbulent Passion raised in his Soul, he was no longer in a condition to give Attention either to Conscience, Reason, or the Interest of Jesus Christ, for whose only Sake he had taken Arms; but that he hastily snatched them up to employ them against his Brethren; so that taking five hundred chosen Horse, and two hundred Archers, he put himself at the head of them, and advanced to attack Prince Baldwin: and he seeing them coming in this manner, put himself immediately into a posture to receive them. The Combat was rough and bloody, in regard that both the one and the other fought rather by the Dictates of Fury than the Rules of Art, and that the Combatants were all in the rank of the most valiant Men of the World. It happened however in conclusion, that Tancred quitted the Field, and retired before Baldwin, who outnumbered him in Cavalry. Baldwin pursued his Advantage briskly till they came to the passage of a little Bridge, where Richard Prince of Salernum, and Robert de Anse, were taken Prisoners. Gilbert of Clermont who was engaged too eagerly in the Pursuit, had the same Fortune to be taken by Tancred; and many gallant Men lost their Lives on both sides in this unfortunate Day. But it happened that the two Captains, year 1097 without a possibility of communicating their Thoughts to each other, having in the Night considered in their cooler Thoughts, that their unhappy Dissension, which already had done too much Mischief, might occasion the Division of the whole Army, and in the end impeach the Progress of their Victorious Arms, and the accomplishment of their Vow; they therefore repent them of their rash Folly, by an extraordinary Effect of God's immediate Power, in whose Hands are the Hearts of Princes, to turn them as he pleaseth. So that the next morning sending reciprocally, and in the same Instant, their Ambassadors to each other, they both desired that Peace, which was therefore in a moment concluded, the Prisoners being on both sides restored to Liberty, and the Princes embracing each other with a thousand Protestations of a future Amity. So it is, when Peace is made between Princes with Sincerity, and by the Mediation of God Almighty, it is easily accorded, and of long continuance, but when it is only the Work of Politic Men, who cannot give it, it is not concluded without long Debates and Contests, which look like a little kind of War, and when it is concluded, it continues no longer than while they take Breath, and can make better Preparations to break it. After this happy Peace, Tancred having joined to his Troops the remainder of the Forces of the Pirates, easily conquered the rest of Cilicia even to Alexandretta, whilst Baldwin having made a great Progress in Armenia, whither he was gone to join the gross of the Army, was called to the Principality of Edessa, where he established himself by that Adventure, which I am now about to relate. Edessa an ancient and famous City of Mesopotamia, known in the sacred History by the Name of Rages, which it afterwards changed into that of Rohais, and which at this day is called Orfa, was in times passed under the Power of the ancient Greeks, who governed it under the Emperor of Constantinople, and after that the Turks had taken from him this Province, yet it was still maintained as a little Principality, paying a certain Tribute to these Infidels, who nevertheless ceased not to Tyrannize over this poor City, now hopeless of all Succours. The Inhabitants, who were all Christians, having heard of the famous Actions of Prince Baldwin, who pushed on his Conquests as far as Euphrates, defeating the Turks in all Encounters, obliged their Prince to send to him, to desire his Assistance, and to offer him the honourable Terms of being his adopted Son, and declared Successor. Baldwin did not refuse so fair an Occasion, which his good Fortune seemed to offer him, by possessing him of so considerable an Estate in Asia. He adventured therefore to pass the Euphrates, being followed by not above one hundred Horse, which were all he could spare from the keeping such important Places which he had Conquered; nevertheless with this little Troop he baffled the Turks, who either openly opposed his Passage, or laid Ambuscades in his Way to surprise him; and entering Edessa, he was received with such extraordinary Acclamations and Honours, that the good old Man who had adopted him, conceived such a Jealousy of him, that repenting of what he had done, he resolved in short, to get quit of him, and send him back at any rate. But Baldwin, after he had in two or three Rencounters with the Turks who possessed all the Country about Edessa, given a Taste of his Courage and Conduct; the whole Populace, who were ripe for such a Revolution, and wanted only an Occasion to revenge themselves of a thousand Evils which they had suffered under the Government of this Covetous old Man, ran immediately to their Arms, and besieged the Castle; and notwithstanding all the Prayers and Opposition which Baldwin made against their Intentions, they cut this miserable Man in pieces, whilst he endeavoured to escape by throwing himself from a Window opposite to that Quarter which was assaulted. After which, notwithstanding all the Repugnance which Baldwin either had, or feigned to have, thereby to show that he had no share in so horrid an Action, he was constrained the next Morning to permit himself to be solemnly proclaimed Prince of Edessa, and to be put in Possession of the Treasure of the deceased Prince, which according to the Destiny of Covetous Men, he had scraped together for another, who knew how to employ it better than himself. For with one part of it he bought the strong Town of Samosata upon the Euphrates, he who held it, thinking it better Husbandry prudently to sell it at a good Rate, than to expose himself to the danger of losing it for nothing: and with another part he levied good Troops, with which he took all the places which were capable of incommoding Edessa: and in short, in a small time he established a most powerful Estate, extending it on both sides both towards the South from Euphrates as far as Selencia upon the Tigris and towards the North as far as the strong places upon Mount Taurus. He had also the dexterity and good Fortune to unite to his Principality a great part of Armenia by an alliance with one of his Princes whose Niece he married, after the death of the generous Gundechilda his Lady, who having followed him, died at Maresia during the March of the Army of the Confederate Princes. Whilst Prince Baldwin made such a marvellous Progress on this side of the Euphrates, the Christian Army having reduced all the lesser Armenia, took the Road through Comagena towards Syria, and drew within fifteen miles of Antioch, after having taken the City of Artesia, the Inhabitants whereof having cut the throats of the Turkish Garrison, had opened their Gates to the Earl of Flanders, who was advanced with a thousand choice horse to receive it. He there made a defence for divers days with a great deal of Courage and glory against twenty thousand Turks, who came from Antioch to retake it, and who after a terrible Assault which they maintained for one whole day, were constrained to retire upon the Approach of the Christian Army, to defend the pass of a Bridge upon the Orontes about two or three Leagues from Antioch. year 1097 After the repose of a few days, during which Tancred and the rest of the Lords except Count Baldwin, came to rejoin the Army, it was resolved notwithstanding the Season was now far advanced to besiege this great City, in regard the Reputation of the Christian Arms, and the happy Success of their great design seemed absolutely to depend upon the taking of Antioch which covered the Country of Palestine. This resolution was no sooner taken, but it was put in immediate Execution: for the next morning Robert Duke of Normandy, who led the Vanguard of the Army, fell smartly upon the Bridge, which the Turks who never behaved themselves better than upon this occasion as vigorously maintained; but the Bishop of Pavia coming up to reinforce them, did so animate the Normans and the English, that some of them having forced the Barricadoes, and the two Towers which commanded the Bridge, whilst others passing over the Shallows, and some throwing themselves into the River swum over, they put the Turks to slight and opened the passage for the whole Army. That Night they encamped near the River, and the next day which was Wednesday the twenty first of October, putting themselves in order of Battle, and adorning themselves in their fairest Arms, with Trumpets founding and Colours flying, the whole Army marched as it were in a terrible Triumph and encamped within a mile of Antioch. Antioch so renowned in the Greek and Latin Histories, and which at present consists only of some part of the beautiful Ruins where sometime that noble City stood, was at that time one of the fairest and largest Cities in the World, giving place to none for the strength which both Art and Nature had bestowed upon it. It was situated in a most fertile and delicious Plain between the Mountains Amanus and Orontes, upon the River of that name, whose Stream flowed along by the Walls on the Western side, being within four or five leagues of its mouth: The Town was in length from the East to the West above a league, without comprehending the Suburbs which were very large. There were two Mountains between the South and East separated by a narrow Valley through which a little River slid along into the Orontes, all the way of its passage watering the inward part of the City; for these two mountains and two other lesser Hills were all within the Circumference of the Walls, which were of an extraordinary height and thickness, and defended by above four hundred fair Towers, a mighty deep Ditch, and a Counter-Scarp well fortified with Palisado's, and environed with a Morass and Pools of water in those parts where by reason of their lying upon the plain the Avenues to the City lay more easy of access. And besides all this there was a powerful Army of Turks within the place for its defence, as also two Castles upon the Mountain, in one of which was the Palace of Sultan Accien, who reigned in Antioch fourteen years after the Turks had taken it from the Saracens; and as he had a long time to foresee that the Army of the Christians must come upon him in their passage into Palestine, he had used all imaginable diligence to furnish himself which all things necessary to sustain a long Siege; hoping in that time to receive great succours from the Turkish Princes, and especially the Sultan of Persia who had promised not to fail him, and whom Soliman was gone to solicit in the common Cause. year 1097 And that which rendered this attempt most extreme difficult, was, not only the Greatness but the Situation of the City, which would not admit of being wholly environed, but that there was free Egress and Regress for Succours to come to the besieged. The Christian Army consisted not now in above three hundred thousand men, the Sieges, the Battles, the Diseases and Disertions, and other losses which they had sustained in their Passage over the Mountains and Deserts, together with the Garrisons which they were obliged to put in the conquered Places, had reduced them to one half; but nevertheless the Princes according to the resolution which they had taken, did not cease to form the Siege in this following manner: All the South side was left open, by reason that it was impossible to attack the City on that side, in regard of the Rock and Mountains which rendered the Passage inaccessible: So that they were contented to environ it on the side of the Plain, beginning at the foot of the Mountain on the East, and so drawing by the North towards the West between the Town and the River, which in that part for about a mile came so near the Western part, that it served for a Ditch upon that Quarter. Prince Bohemond and Tancred took their Post over against the Eastern Gate called St. Paul's Gate through which they go to the famous and delightful Suburb of Daphne, sometimes so celebrated for the Temple and Oracle of Apollo, and afterwards much more for the Tomb of that illustrious Martyr Babylas, who silenced the Devil for ever giving any more doubtful Answers to the foolish Inquirers. Hugh the Great, the Duke of Normandy, the Earl of Blois and the Earl of Flanders, were posted at the Right, drawing more towards the North to the Port commonly called the Dog's Gate. The Earl of Tholose, with the Bishop of Pavia, were encamped before that Gate, and possessed all the space between that and the third Gate, which afterwards was called the Duke's Gate, by reason that Duke Godfrey with his Lorrainers and Germans was posted there, his Quarters being extended to that place where the Orontes beginning to turn from the North to the West, slides down by the Walls of Antioch; so that the greatest part of the Army was encamped between the Town and the River, which was there passed by a large stone Bridge just over against the fourth Gate of the Town, which was therefore called the Bridge Gate. This Gate was also open to the besieged as well as that of St. George's upon the West, by reason that the River was between these two Gates and the Besiegers, who by an Error not easily to be excused, did not at first raise good Forts against these two Gates, as afterwards something with the latest they were constrained to do. But this Failure was nothing in comparison of another far greater, and which cost the whole Army very dear. For the besieged making no manner of Sallies to hinder their Approaches, and seeming to be buried in a profound Quiet, not so much as bringing one Engine to the Walls for their Defence, they in appearance looked as if they had lost all their Courage and their Hope, so that it was the Common Imagination that the Christians could not fail presently to make themselves Masters of the Town: So that hereupon they took the Liberty to ramble up and down the Country, year 1097 and to straggle all over the Villages round about to make merry, and without any necessity to waste that mighty plenty of provisions with which that fertile Soil abounded; and, in short, they neither kept Order nor Discipline in the Camp, partly by reason of the false opinion which possessed them, that this contemptible Enemy would surrender the Town without a Blow, but principally by the misfortune that both Duke Godfrey and Prince Raymond were fallen sick, which had like to have entirely ruined their Affairs. year 1097 The Enemies quickly advertised by their Spies of this disorder, failed not to make advantage of it; they began at last after so long a silence to make a mighty noise with their Engines, and afterwards instantly to assail the Camp upon all Quarters, so that the besiegers seemed now to be besieged. Their Cavalry sallying at the Bridge-Gate, over-ran that Quarter which was beyond the River, cutting in pieces all those whom they found dispersed and without Arms, as if it had been in a time of perfect Peace: Nor was it possible for their Companions to secure them, in regard that they must either by swimming or fording come to their Assistance, neither of which could quickly be performed. Others of them made Sallies either openly and in good Order, assaulting the Quarters which were negligently guarded, or by surprise creeping along the River side and the Marish among the Reeds, they fell upon such as were idly walking or diverting themselves in the Gardens and Orchards, as if they had not been in an Enemy's Country. In this manner the unfortunate Alberon Archdeacon of Mets, a young Prince of the Blood Imperial miserably perished; for as he was walking with a Lady of great Quality in one of these Gardens he was surprised by the Infidels, who cut off his head, and carried the Lady Prisoner into the City, where after the barbarous Villains had committed all the Outrages imaginable against her Honour, they cut off her head also and threw them into Godfrey's Camp. After which the Besiegers ashamed to be so affronted by the mistake of the Courage of their Enemies, began now to act after new Measures, and recalling their Ancient Virtue, to think of taking the City in good Earnest. They therefore began to attack it by main Force with all sorts of Engines, and gave a general Assault with all the Vigour imaginable; but as the strongest Engines were too feeble against those Massy Walls, and that the unshaken Towers were defended by an Army which might in the open field have given Battle to the Crusades; it was resolved to attempt it by a long Siege, and the Regular way of Art; for this purpose they laid a Bridge of Boats over the Orontes, to repulse those who had the Liberty to pass by the Bridge Gate; they built Forts to block up the besieged, and to impeach their frequent Sallies; and, in short, nothing was omitted that might straiten them of Provision, and at last oblige them by Famine to surrender the Town. But the Consumption of Provisions which so great an Army occasioned, the continual Excursions of the Turkish Garrisons who were about Antioch, who wasted all the Country, the frequent loss of Convoys, and the Rigour of the following Winter almost famished the Besiegers, so that at Christmas the Army had neither Forage nor Provisions; It is true that Bohemond and the Earl of Flanders who were almost continually on horseback, did what was possible to get subsistence, oftentimes beating the Enemy who attempted to hinder them. But as there was a general Desolation in the Country, and that there came nothing by Sea in that tempestuous and rough Season; so though for the most part they returned loaden with glory for having beaten the Turks, yet they brought but a light stock of Provision for so great a multitude, which was not easily satisfied. This great evil so terrible of itself and which increased daily, was also accompanied with so many others as must in conclusion have reduced the Army to despair; the continual Rains had so dammaged the Tents that the Soldiers lay almost quite exposed; most of the Horses died, so that there were not many above a thousand left in the whole Army. At the same time arrived the deplorable account of the Misfortune of Swenon the Son of the King of Denmark, who coming to the Siege with fifteen hundred fresh Cavaliers all brave and choice men, was by Solyman surprised in a Valley and cut in pieces. Many daily deserted, following the example of the Traitor Talin the Emperor's Lieutenant, who pretending to go to solicit his Master for succour, abandoned the Army; many also of the principal Officers of the Army withdrew, and among the rest the stout William the Carpenter Viscount of Melun. And which is most surprising, even Peter the Hermit, he who was the forwardest of all others to take up the Cross, was also one of the first who deserted it, and this great Faster, who by his voluntary austerity by which he had gained so high a Reputation of Sanctimony making Profession to eat neither bread nor flesh, was not able to resist the Severity of this constrained Abstinence, which not only the Soldiers, year 1097 but the chief commanders also supported so joyfully, rather than violate the Vow which they had made unto Almighty God. An example which gives us to understand, that there is rarely a solid Foundation for this outside Sanctimony, especially when it comes to make so great a Noise; and that commonly God Almighty permits it to be followed with remarkable humiliation, either to discover the falseness and illusion of it, if feigned, or to cure it of the Vanity of being proud of it, the best of all that is good, if it be true; and certainly the confusion which Peter drew upon himself by so cowardly an Action was sufficient to cure him of that distemper. For Tancred who foresaw the dangerous consequence of this pernicious flight, pursued these two Deserters, and brought them back to the Tent of his Uncle Bohemond, who there in the presence of all the Princes severely reproached them with their base Cowardice; but at the Importunate entreaties of Hugh the Great, whose Kinsman the Carpenter had the honour to be, they were pardoned, though with this condition, that they should publicly make Oath that they would accomplish their Vow, and not abandon this Enterprise, till they had delivered the Holy Sepulchre. In short, every day produced new misfortunes, and now the Pestilence which is the usual Attendant of Famine began to make a terrible Destruction in the Army: Whereupon the Bishops had recourse to extraordinary Prayers, and admirable Regulations were made, and severe Orders given out against the Vices and Disorders which had slipped into the Camp, and which with good reason it was apprehended were the Causes of God's displeasure against them; nor was it long before the Supernatural Efficacy of this procedure became most visible, for from that time the Plague began to decrease, and Duke Godfrey whose distemper seemed to be communicated to the whole Army beginning also to recover his Health, he by his presence inspired new life, Health, Vigour and Courage into the Soldiers. A great Succour of twenty eight thousand Horse who attempted to force the quarter of Bohemond, were defeated by this brave Prince and the Earl of Tholose; and, which is the Miracle, they had only Seven hundred Horse divided into six squadrons, with which they engaged and vanquished this great number of Enemies upon the Nineteenth day of February between the River and the Lake, where they had put themselves in Battle that they might not be surrounded. After which they returned to the Camp loaden with the spoils of their Enemies, and that which they most wanted, a great number of Horses. And as a Trophy of their Victory, they threw over the Walls a hundred of the Heads of the principal Turks, thereby also to punish the Insolence of the Besieged, who insulted over the Christians a little before, by showing them upon the Walls, one of the Standards which they had taken in a Sally wherein was painted the Image of the Blessed Virgin. About the same time the Ambassadors of the Sultan of Egypt arrived in the Camp to treat of an Alliance with the Princes, to whom he promised to join his Forces against their Common Enemies; and not long after two Fleets from Genoa and Pisa arrived very Fortunately at the Port of St. Simeon, with all sorts of Provisions which were very welcome after a five-month-Siege; but this Arrival was the occasion of a great Mischief as well as of a great advantage. For so soon as the Arrival of these two Fleets was known in the Camp, the Soldiers ran thither in Shoals, every one with Precipitation, resolving to purvey for themselves such things as they wanted. There was reason to fear that the Enemy would lay hold of this Opportunity and Disorder, and therefore Bohemond and the Earl of Tholose who were to conduct the Egyptian Ambassadors to the Port in order to their embarking, hasted with their Troops to convoy in their return, this great multitude of Soldiers, who were gone without any order, and without their Arms. And that which they apprehended fell out accordingly; for they fell into an Ambuscade of four thousand of the Enemies who had secretly sallied out of the Town by the Bridge-Gate. And meeting with these disorderly Soldiers in the Plain loaden with Provisions and without other Arms than their Swords, they fell in among them, and notwithstanding all the Valour of Count Raimond and the Prince of Tarrentum, they could not stop the Rout but that the Soldiers fled towards the Mountains leaving all their Provisions and a thousand of their Companions dead upon the place. year 1098 Godfrey who was immediately advertized of this Disaster by some who fled with the first, took a Party resolving immediately to charge the Turks whom he doubted not with the Joy of their Victory and the Greediness of the Booty to find in sufficient Disorder; drawing out therefore four Batalions sustained with all the Cavalry, at the head of whom were Hugh the Great, the Duke of Normandy, and the Earls of Flanders and Bullen, he passed the Bridge of Boats, and marched directly towards the Enemies with all the Marks of Hope and Courage: in the way he joined the two Princes whom he had given over for lost, and who after they had unprofitably used their utmost Efforts to rally their Fugitives, had disengaged themselves very fortunately from the Turks. In the mean time Accien who had an account of this Victory, and who from one of the Towers of his Castle observed this great Movement of the Crusades, began to be in pain for the return of his Men, he therefore commanded the greatest part of his Army to sally out to their Relief. He conducted them himself to the Gate, and giving order to have it shut after them, he thus addressed himself to the Soldiers; That after the advantages which their Companions had had against their Enemies, it would be a shame to them to think of Precautions, or to assure themselves of a Retreat; that this was the time that they must think of nothing but Victory or Death, and that they should never see this Gate opened to them, but after an entire Conquest of their Enemies. On the other side Godfrey who marched but slowly at the Head of his Troops, having understood by the hasty return of his Scouts, that the Conquerors who had joined the Succours from the Town, drew near loaden with their Booty, drawing his Sword and turning to his Men, after he had cast a fierce and menacing look towards the Enemy, he cried, Fellow me, It is the Will of God. Giving them to understand by this action, that upon this occasion they should trust to their Swords only without using either Lances or Arrows. Whereupon all the Soldiers in an instant drawing their Swords, and making a kind of Penthouse of their Bucklers against the Arrows of the Infidels, who running hither and thither incessantly discharged upon them, they marched gravely, neither with Precipitation nor Heaviness, till they came up to the Enemies at Swords point, thereby rendering their Bows and Arrows useless. The Barbarians terrified with this confident March, which put them out of their way of sighting, and took away the Service of their Bows, they presently recoiled upon their Reserves who were come to relieve them, and being encumbered with the Spoils they had taken, were in no condition to resist the Swords of the Christians, against whom they did not much delight to combat but at a distance, so that the Fight was not very long; for after the first Squadrons of the Enemy were repulsed, the Christians fell into the middle of them with their Infantry, and on all hands made a most horrible Slaughter of these miserable Wretches, with the mighty Blows of the Sword; so that they were totally routed, some flying to the Mountains, others towards the City, not dreaming that the Gate was shut against them. Here it was that Despair and the fatal Necessity of vanquishing or dying which Accien had denounced against them, made them renew the Combat in the view of the whole Town, which ran to the Walls and stood there as in an Amphitheatre to be Spectators and Witnesses either of their shame in being vanquished, or of their Glory in being Victors. For Godfrey after he was pretty well assured of the Victory, had disengaged himself from the Combat, with a Design to prevent the Runaways getting into the Town by cutting off their Retreat, and therefore being got to a rising Ground near the Bridge he flew like Lightning among his Enemies, who fled at full Speed, thinking he had been at their Heels, who was at their Head to stop their Career. Never was there seen any thing comparable to the Effects of that extraordinary and prodigious Force which Nature had bestowed upon this Prince; there was not one Blow of his terrible Sword which did not carry a dreadful Death along with it; here he made a Head with the Cask that was on it roll off from the Shoulders; there a whole Arm with the Scimitar which it yet grasped; some he cloven down to the very Shoulders; others he cut asunder in the Middle; filling all with Horror, Blood and Terror, year 1098 which way soever he turned himself, and at the same time the other Princes who pursued the Fugitives with their Swords at their Backs, finding them stopped by the Squadron of Godfrey, made a most dreadful Slaughter among them, or whilst they endeavoured to save their Lives, made them lose them in a manner as dreadful; for they constrained them blindly to precipitate themselves into the Orontes, where the Soldiers dispatched them with their Pikes, which the poor Wretches could no way escape but by Swimming. The Places adjacent resounded with the lamentable Cries and the Tumult of the Barbarians, dying either in the Field or in the River, which began to be discoloured with the Blood of the Slain, and the Noise was Echoed by those who from the Walls saw the woeful Slaughter of their Companions, so that in conclusion Accien was obliged to open the Gate, to help those who could to make their Escape by the Bridge into the Town. It was upon this Occasion that Godfrey performed an Action of which the whole Earth talks, as of a Prodigy of Strength and Valour, and which I should not have adventured to have given a place to in this History, if it were not attested both by all the Writers of that Age, and by the Testimony of so many Eye-Witnesses of its Truth. One of the principal Captains of the Enemies, of a Stature much exceeding the common, transported with Fury to observe that Godfrey killed all that came within the reach of his terrible Sword at the entry of the Bridge, where he had posted himself to obstruct the Passage, and that the Turks to avoid his dreadful Blows, threw one another headlong into the River, he ran up to him foaming with Rage, with his Sword advanced in the Air, and with all his force discharged so terrible a Blow upon the Duke, that he split his Shield in two pieces, which he had opposed to it, to ward it off his Head, when Godfrey raising himself upon his Stirrups, gave him such a furious Reverse, that his Sword falling upon his right Shoulder passed quite through his Breast to his left side, and made that half of his Body tumble to the Ground, whilst the other remaining in the Saddle, was carried by the Horse, who was continually pricked by the Spurs which stuck in his Sides by the convulsive Motions of the dying remainder of the Body, quite through the Town, making there such a fearful Spectacle as struck Consternation, Horror, and Despair, into the Hearts of the most resolute and daring who beheld it. The Night now coming on, and the Defendants pouring whole Showers of Arrows from their Engines upon the Walls, hindered the further Pursuit of the Victory. The Christians lost something above a thousand Men in this memorable Day, but it is impossible to recount the Loss which the Infidels sustained, for besides those which were slain upon the Field of Battle, there were above five thousand who lost their Lives upon the Bridge and thereabout, and the Number of those who were either drowned or slain in the River, was so great that they almost made a Dam with their dead Bodies; among the rest, one of the Sons of Accien, and twelve of their Amirals or Emirs, which are their chief Nobility, perished in that fatal Day; and two days after there were found fifteen hundred Persons of Quality, whom according to their Custom they interred privately in the Night, near the Bridge, with their Cimiters, their Arms, Habits, and some Gold and Silver, and other their most precious Ornaments. After this great Victory, the Besieged who were now more closely blocked up than ever, by the Forts which were raised near the two Gates which had been free, had totally lost their Courage, if at the same time they had not received the News, that the Sultan of Persia, the most potent Monarch of the East, was sending a prodigious Army to their Relief, which did something revive their fainting Hopes: And in truth, this Sultan being continually solicited by Soliman, and by Sensadole the Son of Accien, had sent Corbagath to relieve Antioch, the Person in whom among all his Captains he reposed the greatest Confidence, with a formidable Army of two hundred thousand Horse, and an innumerable Multitude of Foot of all the Nations subject to his Empire; consisting in all of six hundred and fifty thousand Men. This General after he had in vain in his Passage attacked Edessa, which was valiantly defended by Prince Baldwin, year 1098 passed over the Euphrates, and advanced towards Antioch with the Sultan's of Damascus and Jerusalem, who had joined their Troops with his Army, with an intention to attaque the Christians in their Camp. This News which gave great Courage to the Besieged, caused much Disorder in the Christian Army, so that many, and some of principal Note, despairing of their Safety daily deserted, and among the rest, the Earl of Blois was so terrified, that feigning himself Sick, he caused himself to be removed in the beginning of June to Alexandretta, whither he was followed by four thousand of his Soldiers; this Action made it be feared that others following so pernicious an Example, the whole Army would be in danger of Disbanding. But as it happened presently after, by a pleasant Frolique of Fortune, this which was dreaded as a mighty Mischief, proved in the end a great Advantage, and this News which made the Christians despair of taking Antioch, was the Occasion that one Night, presently after, it was taken in the manner which I am now going to relate. There was a Person in Antioch, a Citizen of Quality, one Pyrrhus, a Man of great Spirit, he was born of Christian Parents, and had been one himself; but for the saving his Estate he pretended to turn Mahometan, as did divers others in the fourteen years after the City came under the Dominion of the Turks. This Pyrrhus had gained so much Esteem and Credit among the Infidels, that notwithstanding the Distrust which they had of the Antiochians, whom therefore they kept very low, not permitting them to exercise any Place of Trust, or to bear Arms, yet Accien charmed with his good Qualities, and the Belief of his Fidelity, had honoured him with the Dignity of an Emir, entrusted him with the Guard of three Towers, made him his Secretary of State, and gave him a Place in his Council. This Man had a Son a sprightly young Gentleman, who at the beginning of the Siege was in a Sally taken Prisoner by Bohemond; that Prince who was no less Dextrous and Wise than Vailant, having examined his Prisoner, whose Countenance promised so fairly, found in his Soul a great Inclination to return to the Religion of his Ancestors, and that he was ready to undertake any thing to deliver his Country from the cruel Tyranny of the Turks: He therefore laid hold upon this propitious Opportunity to gain the Father, who passionately loved this Son, and offered a mighty Ransom for his Redemption; for this purpose, when he had well assured himself of the young Gentleman, who secretly abjured the Mahometan Superstition, and received Baptism, he freely sent him back to Pyrrhus, who was so transported with his Return, and the account he gave of the good Treatment which he had received from Bohemond, and the Wonders which were related to him of that Prince, that there was nothing which he did not resolve to do, to give him assurance of his Acknowledgements, and to procure the honour of his Friendship. After this Bohemond failed not to maintain a secret Correspondence with him by the Assistance of his Son, who frequently went out of the Town into the Camp, under pretence of being a Spy, as divers others did, and he laboured so successfully under the Favour of this Friendship which was made between them, that in conclusion Pyrrhus desired nothing more ardently than to reimbrace the Christian Religion, and to deliver his Country. But that which perfected this Affair, was a great Conference which the Prince had with Pyrrhus during the little Truce which was made after the Defeat at the Bridge-Gate; for after he had given him a thousand Testimonies of the tenness which he had for him, and the reason which he had to make his Fortune and a true Happiness, he said such moving things to him upon this Subject, and so well managed his Spirit, by his Arguments, his Entreaties, and his Promises, that he quickly perceived he had so entirely gained him, that he was now become absolutely at his Devotion. In short, after the Truce was broken by the persidiousness of the Turks, who in that time basely murdered one of the principal Crusades, Pyrrhus sent to acquaint Bohemond, That having now fully considered of all things, he had taken his last Resolution, which was, to be ready to serve him to the utmost; that for his own particular, it was not any sort of Fear that he had to suffer in the common Ruin of the City, that moved him to Act as he did, since he was well assured that the Christians would never be able to take it by Force; year 1098 but that it was the ardent Desire which he had to return to the Christian Religion, to deliver Antioch his Country from the Servitude and Oppression of the Turks, and to give him some undeniable Effects of that Friendship which he might expect from him, which obliged him to follow his Advice, and wholly to throw himself upon his Word, in an Affair of that Importance, wherein he must hazard not only his Fortune and his Life, but that of his whole Family. But that it was but just, that in regard he had only entrusted him with the Secret, that he should give him Assurance before any thing should be Attempted, that he should only depend upon him; And that therefore he was absolutely resolved that this should be one Condition, without which he would proceed no further, That whereas the other Princes had all the same Authority in the Army, they would yield the Principality of Antioch to Bohemond, to whom only he would deliver it, and from whom only he would expect the Accomplishment of his Promises. That upon these Terms he would put the three Towers, whereof he had the Command, into his Possession, and by Consequence the Town; That he would send his Son as a Hostage, to engage for the Truth of his Word; and that he desired him singly to consider that he had not a moment's time to lose, by reason of the Succours which were now at hand, and that it was absolutely necessary for him to Act according to these Offers, or else to resolve wholly to abandon the Design. Now whether this Norman Prince, who was mighty Politic, had laid the Train in this manner, by which he was resolved to accomplish his Ends, and therefore made Pyrrhus speak at this rate; or whether Pyrrhus himself found it effectually his clear Interest, to raise his own Fortunes by the greatness of his Friend, and therefore proposed this as the only probable Expedient; most certain it is that Bohemond accepted the Condition with all his Heart, and that he was extremely satisfied to see, that there was no possibility of taking Antioch, but by his single Interest. He nevertheless dissembled his Joy, that so his Design might succeed the better; and failed not the same day, at a Council of War, with a melancholy Air, to complain in these Terms of the present Condition of Affairs, he said, That those Evils which the Army induced were Insupportable, which they daily Suffered, and which daily increased by that long Siege, which had now lasted seven Months without making any tolerable Advance, and which was yet worse, that they were in danger shamefully to abandon the Siege, since there was no appearance that they should take Antioch, neither by Force, which their Condition would not suffer them to attempt, nor by Starving them, since the so long talked of Succours could not now be at any great Distance. There remains therefore, added he very Insinuatingly, nothing more to be done, but to try if there be any one amongst us who before the Succours arrive, will endeavour to make himself Master of the Town, either by Surprise, or by Intelligence, and gaining some in the place by Money or Promises, or any other way, which his Mind can suggest to him as most probable. And in short, that we may animate one another to this Enterprise, I am of Opinion, that for the public Good, which every one of us ought to prefer before his private Interest, we ought all to promise, that if the Design succeeds, he shall have the Principality of Antioch for his Reward, who shall perform this Exploit, and disengage the Army from this Siege which hath so long troubled it. There is certainly nothing so clearsighted as Jealousy, nothing that so soon discovers a Rival, be it in Love, or be it in Honor. And whatsoever Artifice there was in this Discourse of Bohemond, these Princes, who besides the Interest of Religion, for which they made this War, had also those of their Glory and their Advancement, easily penetrated into the Heart of the Tarentine, and making no question by the manner of his Discourse, but that he acted for himself, they all answered with some kind of Precipitation, That they were all Brothers, and all Equals, and that they would never permit that there should be any Preference among those who had equally served with the others. That there was no manner of Justice to divide the Conquest, but to those who had shared in the Pains and Danger, and that though Antioch was to have but one Master, yet it must be Lot that must choose him, and it was to Fortune only and her Power, that the Principality of Antioch was to be owing. year 1098 Bohemond seeming not to take the least Notice that this Blow was leveled at him, only smiled at the Discourse, without making any Reply, well considering, that whether they would or not, Necessity without his Help would manage this Affair, in which he could not now move but to his Disadvantage; and so it happened, for at the same time News was brought them, by those who were sent to make Discovery, that the Enemy approached with a most formidable Power. Whereupon they went again to the Council, where some were of Opinion that they should march out and meet the Enemy, with the whole Army, others were for leaving only so many as might guard the Trenches in the Camp, and to lead the rest to Battle: But Bohemond made it appear on the contrary, that neither the one nor the other of these Propositions were practicable. For in doing the first they raised the Siege, and then the Town would infallibly be Relieved; that in following the second, they must needs run the Hazzard of being beaten, since their whole Army, lessened by above half, was scarce able to oppose the Forces of the City alone. Now these things being so clear, and that there was no Expedient so proper to draw the Army out of so pressing and manifest a Danger, all the Princes except Count Raymond, found it more agreeable to Reason, that Bohemond if he could gain it, should be Master of Antioch, than that they should all be affronted by losing it after so tedious a Siege. They therefore consented, that provided he took the City, let the Way be what it would, every one should relinquish their Interest to him, with condition that the Greek Emperor failed in his part of the Agreement made with him. The Prince of Tarentum had now all that he could wish, for Alexis had already broke his Word a thousand times, so that instantly he sent to Pyrrhus, to acquaint him that he was ready to put the Matter in Execution according to those Measures which he should himself prescribe, and to desire him to let him know as soon as it was possible. Pyrrhus presently sent him an Answer, by his Son, who was to be the Hostage, with the Order which was to be observed, which after it had been Communicated to the Princes, was executed in this manner. He gave out Orders through every Quarter of the Camp, that the Soldiers should be ready to march the Morning following, being the third day of June, and accordingly at high Noon he marched at the Head of the commanded Party with Trumpets sounding, that so the Besieged taking Notice of them, might suppose they were going upon some Design abroad, and be the more secure of any thing intended against them at home; but towards the Evening, having taken a long Circuit behind the Mountains towards the South, he turned Head, and taking his March Westward to the left Hand, he stopped in a Valley a little distance from the Western Gate, where stood one of the Towers which was to be put into his Hands: From thence he sent sixty of the most resolute Soldiers with a Ladder of Ropes, of the length which Pyrrhus had directed. But as a certain Lombard, who had the Signal which was to show that Bohemond and Pyrrhus were met, was about to give it, there followed an Accident which had like to have lost all. The Turks who were ever jealous of the Christians, had received Advice that there was some Treachery hatching in the Town, and that in particular there was some Reason to suspect Pyrrhus: Accien who was resolved to clear the Matter, sent for him, as was customary, to the Council, where this matter was under Debate, and asked his Advice, to see whether he would change his Countenance, and so betray his Gild of such a Design. But this cunning Man perceiving the Intention of the Turk, without the least Hesitation or mark of Astonishment replied briskly, That nothing aught to be neglected upon such an Occasion, and that he had thought of a most easy and certain Expedient to hinder so great a Mischief. For, said he, with the greatest Assurance imaginable, there needs no more but to change the Captains who command at the Gates and in the Towers, to break all the Measures of those who may have entertained any Intelligence with the Enemies. This Expedient which appeared so proper, made them banish the Suspicion which they had entertained of him, and which they had no positive Evidence to support; but considering that such a Change could not be made on the sudden, year 1098 as Pyrrhus had well foreseen, the Execution of it was deferred till the next Morning, and then it was resolved by this means to cure the Distrusts which they had of the Christians, and thereby to quiet the Fears of the People; however Orders were given to those who went the Round that Night, to acquit themselves of their Charge with all the Care and Circumspection that was possible. Now as the Lombard began to speak to Pyrrhus, the Captain who walked the Round in that Quarter came by, with one carrying a Lantern before him; and without doubt all had been discovered, if Pyrrhus who saw him coming, had not instantly acquainted the Soldiers with it, and ordered them to fall flat upon their Bellies. After which the Round, who found all in good Order, being passed by, Pyrrhus who had so luckily escaped two such eminent Dangers, having perceived the Sign of Bohemond, threw down a Cord by which he drew up the Ladder, which he fastened to one of the Battlements of the Tower: The sixty Soldiers being now gotten up, Bohemond who was advertised by the Lombard that all was their own, ran with the rest, who mounted with so much heat, and in such a Throng, that the Ladder being overcharged pulled down the Battlement to which it was tied, which with its Fall crushed some of the Soldiers; but this did not hinder, but that the Ladder being well fastened again others mounted it with an equal Ardour; and whilst some of them made themselves Masters of the Towers, killing all the Turks which they met, others broke open a Sally-Port by which Bohemond entered, followed by the rest of his Troops, who seizing upon the Gates, by break of day the whole Army was without Resistance got into the City, where Bohemond, as it were, to take Possession, had caused his Standard to be planted. It is impossible to express the horrible Consequences of this Surprise, which being favoured by a great Wind, the sleeping Turks had scarcely heard the Noise which the Victorious Army made in their Entry. All went down indifferently which came in their way in that terrible Tumult, the very Brother of Pyrrhus was slain among the rest, being unknown, and which was most deplorable, by the Hand of his Brother Pyrrhus, as the Archbishop of Tyre writes, either because he had discovered the Design, or because he opposed it; but this is contrary to the positive Evidence of all those who were present, who affirm that Pyrrhus was most sensibly touched with this Misfortune, which was wholly to be attributed to Chance; however Bohemond did what he could to Comfort him, and gave order for the Preservation of his Family, and of all the Christians, who to distinguish themselves, came before the Conquerors singing the Prayers of the Church. The greatest part of the Turks were killed either in the Houses, or in the Streets, endeavouring either to defend themselves by sighting, or save their Lives by flying: Few there were who saved themselves, all the Gates being either shut or possessed by the Crusades; and at the last those who endeavoured to escape over the Walls, or who to fly into the Castle, were without Mercy put to the Sword. The unfortunate Accien, whether it were that his Fear had destroyed his Judgement, or that he thought thereby to hasten the Relief, or that he feared there was the same Treachery in the Castle, fled out by the Gate of the Plain in a Disguise, and having hid himself in a little Hut, he was discovered by some Christians of Syria and by them slain, and his Head presented to Bohemond. After this the Soldiers fell to Plunder, and by that piece of Witchcraft of good Fortune, which makes Men in Prosperity too commonly to forget God, they plunged themselves headlong into all manner of Debauches, as it were to make a Recompense to those great Evils they had suffered by a long Siege by committing greator: But God that he might punish this brutish Ingratitude, permitted them to fall into greater and more insupportable than any they had yet endured; for within three or four days after the Town was taken, Corbagath arriving with his Army, and having put what Men he thought good into the Castle, to attaque the Retrenchments of the Christians, and having possessed all the Avenues, and made himself Master of all the Forts which the Crusades had raised, he Encamped in the Plain between the Orontes and the Mountains, and besieged the City much more closely than it was before. So that there remaining but little Provision in the Town after so long a Siege, year 1098 and the time being too little after it was taken to lay in more, and impossible to get any into the Town, the whole Christian Army being there shut up, the Famine in a little time was so great, that the ordinary sort of Provision being spent, the Christians were reduced to the most deplorable Extremities that are upon Record in any History, either Sacred or Profain. Insomuch that many did every Night desert, and ran away to the Enemies, or climbing over the Rocks endeavoured to get to the Ships which lay in the Port St. Simeon, as did among others of the first Quality, Alberic and his Brother William de Grandmenil, who had Married the Sister of Bohemond, the Viscount de Melun, that famous William the Carpenter, who thought that Famine was a sufficient Dispensation for the Oath which he had taken to desert no more. The Earl of Blois feigning himself Sick, was gone two days before the Town was taken, and joining himself with them, they all together went to the Camp of Alexis, who was coming, or at least pretended so, to join the Crusades; and there they made all appear so desperate to cover their own ignomimous Cowardice, that that treacherous Prince, who was before resolved to do nothing, was overjoyed to meet with so fair a Pretence to alter his Course and march back again to Constantinople. In short, Matters went so very far, that the Soldiers half mad with Despair, abandoned all sort of Care of their own Defence, so that Prince Bohemond, who Commanded in the Town, was forced to set Fire to their Houses, to force them out, and put them upon Action. Things being reduced to this deplorable Extremity, it is strange what Power Religion hath upon the Spirits of Men, and how in a Moment it will raise them after once it becomes Master by the power of a strong Persuasion; for two Priests, one called Stephen, the other Peter Bartholomew, both of Marseilles, presented themselves before the Princes to acquit themselves of a Commission, which they assured them they had received from Heaven. The first said, That at his Prayers he had seen Jesus Christ, who after he had complained of the Ingratitude and horrible Crimes of the Crusades, being in the end inclined by the Entreaties of his Mother, he was come to him, and commanded him to let them know, that if they would for the future amend and turn from their vicious Ways, he would send them Succour within five Days. The second affirmed, That St. Andrew had showed him within the Church of St. Peter, the Place where they might find the Iron of the Spear that pierced the Side of our Lord, and that he had assured him that this Holy Iron should be a certain Pledge of the approaching Deliverance of the Crusades, provided they repent of their Sins; and both the one and the other offered themselves to the Flames to confirm the Truth of what they had declared. The Bishop of Pavia, who was a Person of a clear Insight, did not believe these kind of Visions, which he knew were generally the Effects of Forgery or Illusion, but nevertheless, that he might not seem to neglect any thing that might be true, and which however, might be of some Service to them, he obliged the Priests to Swear upon the Holy Evangelists, that what they said was true, being unwilling to have Recourse to those other Proofs, which had nothing in them of the Spirit of the Church, and not thinking it agreeable to Religion, by such Methods to tempt Providence. After which going to the Place which the Priest directed, they there found the top of a Spear, so that the whole Army was so persuaded of the Truth of these Visions, and that Relic, that no body durst presume to make any Doubt of it. However, the Belief did not last always, for some eight or nine Months after, as they were at the Siege of a certain Town, where they had recourse to this Relic, which was most curiously preserved by Count Raymond, a Priest who was the Domestic Chaplain of the Duke of Normandy, and a knowing Man, maintained publicly that it was a Counterfeit, that the true Spear had been long ago carried to Constantinople, and that the Provencals had put this in the Place where it was found, only on purpose to please their Earl. Upon which the whole Army was divided, the Priest of Marseilles constantly maintaining that he was ready to prove the Truth of his Revelation, by passing the Trial of the Fire, which in Conclusion the Bishops permitted him to do. After a Fast of three Days, therefore, a great Fire was made, year 1098 upon which they bestowed a Solemn Benediction, after which the Provencal taking the Iron of the Spear in his Hand, passed, excepting his Shirt, quite Naked through it, but for all the haste that he could make over that huge Pile, in the sight of the Army, who were scarce able to endure the Heat at a Distance, the poor Priest, who was a silly Man, and credulous of his Revelation, did not find the Success answer his Expectation. It is true he came out from the midst of the Flames, but so Roasted without, and Scorched within, by the Vapour of the Fire which he sucked in with his Breath, that within twelve days he died in most exquisite Torments. So that there was no longer that Reverence given to this Iron as was before, although Count Raymond would by no means be persuaded to abate of his Devotion towards this Relic, which for all this he would not believe to be False; not thinking this Accident of the Priest, which went something too high, was a sufficient Argument to prove the Falsity of the Vision, For God, he said, was not obliged to confirm by Miracles, what he was pleased to reveal to Men. But however, the Belief which was so firm while they were at Antioch, that this was the real Spear which was Consecrated by the Blood of Christ Jesus, found a most admirable Effect upon the Spirits of the whole Army, who not doubting now in the least of the Protection of God, and a most assured Victory, most eagerly demanded to be led to the Combat. The Princes, who thought it very convenient to make use of this Heat, sent Peter the Hermit with an Interpreter to Corbagath, to offer him the Combat either Man to Man, between him and one of the Princes, or himself, and a certain number of chosen Soldiers of one side and the other, or in short, a general Battle, that so they might quickly determine the Quarrel between them: And in the mean time every one applied himself to the Work of Repentance, and with fervent Prayers to implore the Heavenly Aid from God, who had promised it upon those Conditions. The Answer which Corbagath returned, was in these haughty Terms, That it was not for the Vanquished to prescribe Laws to the Victor, That it could not be long before he should have them with Halters about their Necks, and that it would be in his Power to determine their Destiny, and by what kind of Death they were to Die. Peter having made his Report to the Princes, they only acquainted the Soldiers that they must Fight, and that therefore they should be ready to march against the Enemy the next day, which was the twenty eighth of June, being the Eve of the Apostle St. Peter and St. Paul. This Order was received with a marvellous Cheerfulness, every one prepared his Arms, and fell to his Devotions, the Bishops and Priests Administered the Sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist all that Night, to the Principal Officers and the greatest part of the Soldiers. Upon break of Day the Army, which by the nine months' Siege of Antioch, was reduced to less than one half, issued out by the Bridge-Gate, divided into six great Batallions, which followed one another, every one sustained by a very small Squadron of Cavalry, for that the greatest part of the Horses were dead and eaten by their Masters during the extreme Famine, and who this day were therefore constrained to serve on Foot. Hugh the Great accompanied with the Earl of Flanders, commanded the first Body, the great Standard of the Christian Army being carried before him. One shall not find in all the fabulous Histories of the feigned Heroes, any thing comparable to the Actions of this brave Prince upon this Occasion; he was so Meager and Weak by reason of the extreme Famine which he had endured in the Siege, that he was scarce able to support himself, insomuch that he was requested by the other Princes to stay with those who were left to guard the Retrenchments which were made against the Castle. If it shall please God, said he, I will never lose so fair an Occasion of dying Gloriously for the sake of Jesus Christ. I will this day Fight at the Head of the Army; and I shall esteem myself extraordinary Happy to be of the number of those, who, by a Death precious in the Sight of God, and full of Glory in the Sight of Men, shall gain the glorious Crown of Martyrdom. In short, he was the first that marched out of the Town, and who gave the first happy Presage of the Victory, by cutting in pieces two thousand Turks, who were advanced out of the Fort to hinder the Sally. Duke Godfrey led the second Brigade composed of Lorrainers and Germans; year 1098 The Duke of Normands followed after him with his Body. After him the Bishop of Pavia with his Troops which were increased by a part of Count Raymond's, who being sick, remained in the Town with those who kept the Guard against the Castle. Tancred led the fifth Batallion, and the sixth was conducted by Bohemond. There was little need of saying any thing to inspire the Soldiers with Courage, who were already prepossessed with so advantageous Imaginations of certain Victory. A little pleasant Dew which fell upon them as they marched out, increased their Belief, and confirmed them in an Opinion that God had sent it for their Refreshment, and to give them an Increase of Strength. And in effect, whether there was any thing extraordinary in it at this time, or that their Imagination impregnated with the favourable Visions which had been published among them, acted more powerfully upon their Bodies, they felt themselves strengthened in such a strange manner, that they began to sing, and with a mighty loud Voice to cry, It is the Will of God, it is the Will of God, and made no manner of Scruple but that they were going to a most assured Victory. So soon as all the Battalions were drawn out, they marched Westward, to that Quarter where the Mountains abutted upon the River, to the end, that having them upon their Backs they might not be surrounded by the mighty number of their Enemies; after which making a half turn to the left, towards the North, where the Mountains make a kind of Semicircle, they divided every Battalion into two, thereby forming twelve, which were ranged in two Lines extending a great length, thereby to possess all the space between the Mountains and the Orontes. Hugh the Great, the Earl of Flanders, and the Duke of Normandy had the left hand towards the Mountain which covered them; Godfrey of Bullen was on the Right, extending himself to the very River, having Eustace his Brother to sustain him, together with the Earls of St. Paul and Toul, Baldwin de Bourg, Renaud de Beauvais, Valon de Chaumont, Erard du Puiset, and Tancred with his Brigade. The Bishop of Pavia was in the middle, having the main Body of the Battle, with the Troops of the Earl of Tholose, which in his Absence were Commanded by the Earls of Die and Rousillon, William de Montpellier, Gaston de Foix Prince of Bearne, Amaneu d' Albret, Raymond Viscount of Turene, Raimbaud Earl of Orange, and Peter Viscount de Castellane. Raymond de Agiles, Canon of Pavia, writes in his History, that he carried the Holy Spear before his Bishop, who although he was Armed for his own Safety, yet fought no other way than by his Exhortations, by his Voice and Gesture animating the Army, in showing them the Sacred Steel. He also adds, that by an extraordinary Wonder, which ought to be attributed to the Faith which these Soldiers had in Christ Jesus, whom they honoured in this Spear, which they believed was Consecrated by his Blood, not one Man of those who fought in that Body, received any Wound in this terrible Day. Bohemond Commanded the Body of Reserves, Composed of his Batallion, which was the strongest of them all, there being divers other Troops added to his, to the intent that he might send Succour to any of the rest which might be too hard pressed by the Enemy. One part of the Clergy which came out of the City in Procession at the Head of the Army, was placed in his Quarter, to implore the Aid of Heaven during the Combat, the other which were barefooted upon the Walls, displayed the Cross and the Ensigns towards the Army, continually giving them their Benediction, and with grievous Groans accompanied with the lamentable Cries of the Women and Children who followed them, begging the Almighty Protection of God against the wicked Enemies of his most Holy Name. In the mean time Corbagath, who had so mightily mistaken the Christian Army, was engaged in a Game at Chess, when he was informed by a Signal from the Castle that they were issued out of the Town, and finding, contrary to his Opinion, that they made Head that way, with an intention to sight him, he immediately gave out all necessary Orders for the receiving of them. For he instantly sent Soliman the Sultan of Damascus, with him of Aleppo, and a brave Turk, whose Name was Karieth, with two great Bodies of Cavalry and Infantry, to go round about the Mountain upon the right Hand, to fall upon the Rear of the Christians by the way of the Sea-Coast. But the Princes perceiving it sent a great Detachment composed of several Troops drawn from the two Wings, under the Command of Renaud Earl of Toul, year 1098 to stop those who might attack them on that Quarter during the Combat; to be short, he ranged his Army partly upon the Hills which he possessed with his Right Wing commanded by the Emir of Jerusalem, and partly upon the Plain which in that place enlargeth itself, giving a very good Scope to extend his Batallion which was commanded by his Lieutenant; the Left Wing where he had placed his best Troops to oppose those of Godfrey, was conducted by Bulgadis the Son of Accien, and Balduc Sultan of Samosatia; for he thought that these two Turkish Princes, one of which had lost his Father, and the other his Estate, would be animated more than any of the rest to avenge their particular Losses by sighting more vigorously in the Common Cause. As for himself, whether it were that his Courage failed him at that time, or that he was surprised and astonished with the Prediction of his Mother an old Sorceress of above an hundred years of Age, who to dissuade him from this War, had informed him some time before, that it was written in the Stars that the Christians should be victorious; he retired with a very puissant Body to an Eminence which was upon the left of the Christian Army, under Pretext that from thence he might best be able to discover whither to send his Orders and necessary Succours upon all occasions: But in his ill Humour wherein he was to see the Christians in so different a Condition from what he believed, and who by their possessing in the manner of their drawing up the whole Plain, appeared to be far more numerous than in Reality they were, he caused the head of a Deserter a Renegade to be out off, for that he had assured him that almost all the Crusades were dead with Famine, and that those who remained not being able to carry their Arms, would never come out of the Town but to sly away. The Christian Army in the mean time marching leisurely, more animated by seeing the Spear which was carried up on high before Aymar and by the Priests who went singing of Psalms, than by the Trumpets, advanced still forwards; when the Infidels, according to their Custom making a hideous Noise with their Instruments and Barbarous Shouts, extended themselves to the Right and Left to surround the Christians, making at the same time such a Discharge of their Arrows as for some Moment's obscured the very Sky; but this did very little Damage the Crusades, by reason that a great Westerly Wind which they had upon their Backs, drove the Arrows back again upon those who discharged them, and gave at the same time more Force to those of the Christians, which falling among the thickest Ranks, made a marvellous Havoc upon that crowded Multitude, where scarce any one Arrow fell in vain. After this first Charge, Hugh the Great, Robert of Flanders, the Duke of Normandy, Baldwin Earl of Henault, and Anselm de Ribemond, without giving the Enemies the Liberty of a second Discharge, or so much as to draw their Cimiters, sell in furiously with their Lances couched upon their right Wing, where the French, the Normans, the English and the Flemings animated by the Example of their Chieftains, with mighty Blows of Lance and Sword made a most horrible Execution among the Barbarians. Godfrey who was to charge the bravest of the Infidels which he did in a moment after, combated with no less advantage; for throwing himself like Lightning into the thickest of the Enemy's Squadrons which composed their left Wing, he bore down all that opposed him with the prodigious Force of his Terrible Sword, which the Saracens trembled at as if he had been Armed with a Thunderbolt. The Gascons, the Bearnois, the Spaniards and the Provencals of Earl Raymond, throwing away their Crossbows, and their Arrows, with which they had before done mighty Execution, pierced into the main Body of the Battle, being supported and followed by their Cavalry, till they were come to the place where Hugh and the two Roberts, after having routed the Wing which opposed them, were arrived, turning to the Right to fall upon the Rear of the Enemy. In short, the Right Wing fell to downright running away, the Left began to stagger, and the main Battle was in Disorder, when word was brought to Hugh the Great and to Godfrey, that Earl Renaud and Prince Bohemond were extremely pressed, and in danger of being defeated if they had not present Aid. year 1098 And in Truth Soliman who had marched behind the Mountain with great Diligence was entered the Plain upon the West, and had attacked Count Renaud, who was advanced to oppose him, but with Forces very unequal in their Number. However he did most bravely sustain the furious Shock of so many Enemies, till such time as joining Artifice with Force, they took from him by a new Stratagem, the Means either to attack them or defend himself. For Soliman who had observed that there was abundance of Hay upon the Plain, had caused his People to set it on Fire, which presently raised such a horrible thick Cloud intermingled with Flame and Smoke, that being carried by a strong West Wind upon the Faces of the Christians, it covered their Enemies, who all the while poured down Showers of Mortal Arrows among them through the Cloud of Smoak; this put them into great Disorder, the Horse being neither able to advance through the Fire and Smoak, nor to endure the incessant galling of the Turkish Arrows whilst they stood; so that they carried their Riders among the Reserves, and the Foot who could not retreat so fast, remained exposed to the Fury of the Enemies. There were not however above three hundred Soldiers slain, but all the rest were either taken or dispersed, for Soliman did not follow the Pursuit, but according to his first Intention advanced to fall upon the Rear of Bohemond, whom the stout Turk Karieth with the Sultan's of Damascus and Aleppo who had now also entered the Plain, had already charged upon the Flank. This Valiant Prince upon this occasion did all that could possibly be expected from the Courage or Conduct of the Greatest Man in the World; but after all it was impossible he should long be able to resist so many Enemies as did surround him, if the Succours which he had desired did not arrive more seasonably. Hugh the Great was the first that came in to his Assistance, and presently observing that the terrible Turk Karieth did the greatest Execution and encouraged others by his Example, he made one blow, which ought to render the Memory of this great Prince a Son of France, Immortal; and in Truth our own Historians in my opinion have not done him all the Justice which is his due, and which History never refused to the meanest Soldier who behaved himself in like manner upon such an occasion. For marking out this Barbarian in the middle of the Turks, whom he was encouraging, and pushing forwards against the Christians, crying to them with a loud Voice to fall on, he ran upon him with his Lance couched, and hitting him between the Curiass and the Cask, it passed cross his Windpipe, and cutting off one Passage of that furious Voice which made such a Horrid Noise, opened two others by which his Blood and his Life flowed out together. Eudas de Baugeny who carried the Prince's Colours, fell at the same time by the Stroke of a Poisoned Arrow; but William de Beleme the Prince's Esquire, animated by the Example of his Master, threw himself into the Throng of the Turks, who endeavoured to take it, and killing all that opposed him, he recovered it all covered with their Blood, and shown it to the Crusades in that Condition, being of the same Colour with those Crosses which they wore. Godfrey who loved this Prince Hugh with a mighty Tenderness, and who was reciprocally beloved by him; and Tancred whom the Danger wherein he saw his Uncle rendered furious, being in this time come in with their Troops, the Combat was renewed with more Fury than before; but it lasted not long, by reason that the Enemies utterly unable to sustain the Force of so many Valiant Princes who were rejoined against them, and who being come up to the Throng rendered their Bows useless, and their Artificial Fires vain, they now fled like the Smoke towards the Mountains, leaving in the Plain new Mountains raised by the Heaps of their slain Companions. The Princes immediately facing about, without offering to pursue them, returned to their own Party, who were still hotly disputing with those to whom this Diversion had given new Courage; but that Courage was quickly cooled by the Knowledge which the Return of the Princes gave them of the defeat of their Companions; and they who before were not able to resist them, could less do it now that they returned Victorious, and reinforced by the Troops of Earl Renaud and Bohemond to perfect and finish the Victory. It is said that there were seen a mighty number of Cavaliers in White Arms, who seemed to descend from the Mountains to assist the Crusades. Whether it were so in Reality, year 1098 or that the strong Persuasion which some might have of Aid from Heaven heightened their Imagination to represent to them this Prodigy; it is certain that the Noise ran through the Army, that the Heavenly Legions were descended to combat in Favour of the Christians, under the Conduct of the Soldier Saints and Martyrs Maurice George and Demetrius. The Bishop of Pavia however knew so well to make good use of this Credulity of the Army, that therewith he animated the Soldiers to make the last Effort against the Insidels, who now on every side beginning to stagger immediately upon this vigorous Charge turned their Backs, and thought of nothing but how to save themselves by Flight. There was between the Place of Battle and the Enemy's Camp a little Valley divided by a small Rivulet which made the Passage very difficult; now the Turks who made more haste than the Christians, having passed it some time before them, had the Leisure to rally upon the Mountain, where with their broken Troops they form a little kind of a new Army, hoping thereby to discourage some and surprise others which they thought would follow them in Disorder. But Hugh the Great with his Frenchmen who stuck closely to him, having first passed the Valley charged them so Home, that Tancred and the rest of the Princes which followed him being now come up, before they could recover the Disorder of that brisk Charge, cut them all in pieces except a few, who repenting that they had stayed so long, found no small trouble to regain the Advantage which their first slight had given them. After this Corbagath who hitherto had not quitted the rising Ground from whence he had with sufficient Cowardice beheld the Combat, without taking the least share in it, seeing that all was lost, fled at full Speed towards the Euphrates, every Hour taking fresh Horses, and never looking behind him till he was got to the further side of that mighty River. As for the rest, the Christians were so extremely weary with fight and with killing, that the Fugitives had a great advantage to escape, for there were none that pursued them except Tancred, who gave them chase for about two Leagues, till the coming on of the Night obliged him to return. The Enemies lost in this Battle one hundred thousand Horse, and so great a Number of Foot that it was not possible to compute them, and which was most remarkable, this mighty Victory did not cost the Christians above four thousand Men; and to comfort them for this inconsiderable loss, they took the Camp of the Infidels which was full of inestimable Riches; which did so re-establish the Army, that not only the Princes and Lords, but even the meanest Soldiers who had been reduced to the extremity of Misery and Poverty, found themselves in much a better Condition, and beyond Comparison far more Rich than they were before they undertook this Voyage; and that which completed the Joy was, that the Emir to whom Corbagath had entrusted the Guard of the Castle, instantly surrendered it, and with three hundred of his Men turned Christians, the rest having Liberty to retire whither they pleased. Thus was Antioch taken and preserved by the most Memorable Exploits of War which ever were performed, and which I thought myself obliged to recount with all its Cicumstances, to the End, that considering the Faults which the Crusades committed, and the fearful Extremities to which they were reduced both during the Siege and afterwards, the Reader may be satisfied that God who punishes the Offences of Men by his Justice, and pardons them in his Mercy, was the only support of this Enterprise, which in all Humane Probability must otherwise have been most unfortunate; so much doth it concern mighty Princes who make great Wars, to make it the Principal Maxim of their Policy, to gain Almighty God to be of their Party, and that by returning to him with a true Conversion of their Hearts, he may give Prosperity and Success to their Arms, without which they must expect always to have him for their most Dreadful Adversary. After this great Victory, of which the Princes gave an ample Relation to Pope Vrban, in a large Letter, as also of all which they had done till that time, they took Care of resetling Christian Religion in Antioch; and then assembling to deliberate concerning the Principal Enterprise, which was that of Jerusalem, it was resolved to defer it to the first of November by reason of the great and excessive Heats, year 1098 as also to give the Army some Repose; and in the mean time, to remonstrate to the Emperor his unworthy Carriage, it was thought fit to send Hugh the Great, and Baldwin de Mons, Earl of Henault, to press him to the Conditions which he had sworn to fulfil; to come in Person instantly and join his Forces with those of the Princes, if he expected that they on their Part should keep the Oath which they had taken. Bohemond himself, to whom all the rest except Count Raymond, had already quitted all manner of Pretensions to Antioch, did not in the least oppose this Resolution, by reason that he was well assured that all this Ceremony would produce nothing to his disadvantage. And in Truth there never was any Ambassage that proved more unfortunate. The Earl of Henault perished in the Way, and it was never precisely known what happened to him nor what was become of him, though there was a currant Report, that he was either taken Prisoner or murdered by the Greek Soldiers of the Garrison of Nice. Hugh the Great after he had treated with the Emperor, deserted the Crusades, and whether he had taken some particular Disgust against some of the Princes, or that the Divisions which he foresaw Ambition would produce among them made him despair of any good Success of the Voyage, or that some particular reason of Importance obliged him to return to France; it is certain that he returned from Constantinople in so abrupt a manner, that it hath given occasion to some of the Writers of that Time to speak not very favourably of his departure. And for the Emperor Alexis, as he knew very well that the Princes who had not at all flattered him in their Ambassage, were in no sort satisfied of his Honesty or good Conduct, he was far enough from going to Antioch; for he was too cunning and politic not to govern himself by that Maxim, That one ought always to distrust those whom they have abused; especially when they have discovered the Abuse which hath been put upon them. Now after all this, the Joy of having thus gloriously triumphed over the whole Force of the Sultan of Persia, was mightily damped by the loss of that great and good Prelate Aymar de Monteil Bishop of Pavia; who shortly after falling sick with his great Fatigues, died the first of August, to the infinite Trouble and Sorrow of all sort of People to whom he was for his incomparable Qualities deservedly dear; and indeed never were there seen greater Marks of Esteem, Tenderness and Grief, than those which the Princes, Soldiers and People gave upon this mournful Occasion. Nor was it long before it appeared by the Divisions which happened among the Princes to the hazarding the loss of all, that he was the very Soul of this great Body, who by his Wisdom and Presence kept the different and jarring Humours in an equal Poise and Temperament. For no sooner were the Princes who had separated during the Summer, reassembled in November at Antioch according to Agreement to march together to the Conquest of Jerusalem, but that Bohemond protested openly, that he would not move one step except the Earl of Tholose put the Bridge-Gate Fortress into his Hands, and one of the Palaces of Accien which he also kept. The Earl, doubtless little to the Purpose, alleged the Promise made to the Emperor, and added that for his part he was also resolved not to stir till Bohemond surrendered to him the Castle which he had in Antioch. There was a great deal of Trouble at the last to gain so far upon them, as to condescend that lest it might retard the Voyage, they should remit their Differences to the Determination of the Princes after the taking of Jerusalem. But this forced Accord endured not long; for these two Princes, who were advanced with the first with their Troops, besieged and took by Assault the great and strong City of Marra, some two or three days March distant from Antioch towards Apamia. It is impossible to describe the Heat which transported the Soldiers upon this occasion, who carried the Town without expecting the Command of the Generals; for not being able to support the Insolence, the Sacrileges and brutish Impiety of the Barbarians, who to despite them did a thousand Indignities to the Cross which they had planted upon their Walls, the Soldiers ran of their own accord to the Assault with so much Heat, Courage, and indeed Fury, that undermining the Walls and Towers, plying the Engines, and clapping up scaling Ladders on all Parts at the same time, they vanquished the Infidels notwithstanding their obstinate Resistance, and made themselves Masters of the Town. year 1098 The first man that mounted the Walls with his Sword in his hand was Geoffry dela Tour, a Gentleman of Limousin. Who had acquired the Reputation throughout the whole Army of being a most undaunted and Valiant man as was in the World, as he had made evident in a thousand fair Occasions, and principally in one, which this History cannot omit without doing injustice to the Merit of so brave a man, and without robbing itself of one of its fairest Ornaments. One day going out upon a Party as he frequently did, he heard the dreadful roaring of a Lion, which seemed rather to be a crying out by reason of some Mishap that he was fallen into, than in following his Prey to devour it; the Bold Geoffry who by the Movement of his natural Generosity, always went without a Moment's Deliberation the Way that Danger led him, not withstanding the Opposition of his Companions who would have stayed him, broke away towards the next Wood, and ran directly to the Place where he heard the Roaring; there he saw a horrible Serpent of prodigious Magnitude, who having wound himself about the Legs of a Lion had put him out of the Condition of defending himself, and that he darted redoubled Blows with his Tongue to kill him with his Poison. He was touched with the Danger of the Lion, and without thinking that in delivering him, he must give him the Liberty to fall upon himself, he struck the Serpent such a Blow with his Sword, that he killed him without hurting the Lion, and after that cut the Wreaths of the Serpent with which he was entangled; so soon as the poor Animal saw himself at Liberty, he came to acknowledge the Kindness, and in the most expressive manner, and with the greatest Submission to render Thanks to his Deliverer; for he couched himself down and licked his Feet, and after that binding himself to him as to his generous Defender to whom he owed his Life, he never would forsake him, but constantly followed him, like as a Faithful Dog will do his Master, without offending any Person except his Enemies upon whom he gave him a Sign to fall. For the Lion went ever with him to the Combat and the Chase, and never failed to provide his Master of Venison. But that which is most admirable is, that the Master of the Vessel upon which Geoffry returned into France after the Crusade, refusing to take his Equipage aboard, and amongst them the Lion who followed his Master, the poor Beast unable to support the Separation from his Benefactor, taking the Sea, so long as his Strength lasted swum after the Ship, till at last he was drowned. A marvellous Instruction of Nature, and Reproach to Mankind, whilst it shows them that Lions have done more than once that for their Masters, by the Instinct of natural Gratitude, than men can be persuaded to by all the Force of Reason; and that Ingratitude which is so common among men, defacing the fairest Character of Humanity, should not be found in the most Savage Creatures, whom the Charms of good Offices have devested of their natural Fierceness towards their Benefactors. But to return to our History, The taking of Marra revived the sleeping Quarrel between the Earl of Tholose and the Prince of Tarentum. For the Earl pretended to dispose of this Place as he had done before of Albaria and Rugia, upon which he had seized during the Summer: but Bohemond who thought there was no manner of Reason that Raimond should do that here, which he would not suffer to be done at Antioch, opposed him stoutly; and in the Dispute they so heated one the others Spirits, that the Tarentine thinking he had Reason to do the same on his part, returned, and immediately drove out all the Earls Forces out of the Forts which they held at Antioch. The Princes themselves could in no fort disapprove of this Procedure, which they found to be but reasonable, especially after having discoursed Raimond at Rugia between Marra and Antioch, they found it impossible to persuade him to hear Reason, which obliged them to leave him and return to Antioch. Thus the great Design of the Conquest of the Holy Land, which all the Forces of the Infidels had not been able to hinder, seemed in a manner to be ruined by this Difference between two Persons, otherwise reputed extraordinary Virtuous, and as wise as any of that Age. So that we may see that Wisdom and Reason instantly lose all their Authority, when once Passion by the Heart seizing upon the Mind makes herself Mistress there. year 1098 But God who was the Chief in this Enterprise, repaired that by the Zeal of the feeble and the little ones, which was in Danger of being ruined by the Great and the Wise men of the World. For the Soldiers of Count Raymond, who on one side suffered extremely for want of Provisions after they had been one Month at Marra, and on the other hand had a passionate Desire to achieve the Conquest of Jerusalem, thought that the Ambition of the Earl was the only Obstacle, who after the Example of Bohemond, endeavoured to establish his own Fortune in these Conquests, as the other had done in Cilicia during the Summer. And therefore making an Insurrection while the Conference was at Rugia, they threw down all the Walls of Marra, thereby to take away from the Earl the Temptation which he might have to keep it and stay there; and more over after his Return they protested, that if he would not immediately march in the Head of them towards Jerusalem, they would choose another Captain who they were assured would lead them; that they were resolved to accomplish their Vow, and that they did not believe they should find themselves alone, or abandoned by the other Princes. Raimond extremely surprised at this Resolution, and fearing in Truth that he should be wholly deserted by his own, as he was already by the others, his first Zeal which had been so weakened by his Jealousy against the Prince of Tarentum, began afresh to flame in his Soul, by seeing that of his Soldiers, like a Torch that is just ready to be extinguished at the Approach and Touch of another. In Conclusion he presently altered his Resolution, and setting fire to Marra to show that he had quitted all Pretensions to it, upon the Thirteenth of January he marched out barefoot in the Posture of a Penitent, by that Humiliation to repair the Scandal which he had given to his Soldiers, who had justly accused him of Ambition. He was followed with an incredible Cheerfulness of his whole Army, who made no Scruple seeing him in this Estate, but that he had taken up the same Fervour which he had so well witnessed in being the first Person who took upon him the Cross, and who upon all Occasions was wont to animate others by his Example and Persuasion to embrace it with the same Zeal. And God also was pleased to bless this generous Action, for Robert Duke of Nomandy, and Prince Tancred being advertized of this News, immediately parted from Antioch, whilst the other Princes prepared to follow, and joined him at Capharda where he had posted himself after he had quitted Marra, taking the right hand Way toward the Sea. year 1099 The taking of Antioch, and the great Victory which they had obtained over the Turks, the Persians and Arabians, had so filled all Syria, Phenicia and Palestine with the Terror of the Christian Arms, that most of the Emirs who held any Places in those Provinces under the Sultan's of Persia or Babylon and Egypt, sent their Ambassadors with rich Presents to the Princes, to desire their Friendship and Protection, promising to pay them Tribute, and furnish them with Provisions in their Passage. Now in Regard the Principal Design was to go immediately to Jerusalem, and to leave the Conquest of the rest till that was taken, the Princes thought fit to accept their Offers; only the Emir of Tripelis was refused; for Earl Raymond persuaded them to besiege Arcas by Reason of the Advice which he received from some Christians who were detained Prisoners at Tripoli, that it would either easily be taken, or that the Emir to obtain Peace would compound with them for a mighty Sum of money, and likewise restore them to their Liberty. Arcas, which others call Archis, was a very strong Town situate upon a Hill some two Leagues from Tripoli, and one from the Sea, in the middle of a most beautiful and fertile Plain which extends itself along the Lebanon and Antilebanon to the Sea shore. The Earl who thought to carry it presently, assaulted it the eleventh day of February, but the Emir having placed in it a very strong Garrison he was repulsed and constrained to besiege it, which he did to no purpose for three months, losing before it a great Number of Valiant Men, and amongst the rest Anselm de Ribemont descended from the Ancient Earls of Valenciennes, and Chastelain of that City, one of the most renowned among the Crusades; and the Accident by which it happened being altogether extraordinary, it well deserves a particular place in this History. year 1099 This brave Lord being one Night about to go to Bed having fought stoutly all that day, he saw his excellent Friend the young Engelram the Son of the Earl of St. Paul, who a little before was slain at the Siege of Marra, enter into his Tent. Now Anselm who had an undaunted Soul, and to whom the Sight of his Friend gave an extraordinary Joy, And how now my dear Engelram, said he, without being at all disordered, are you still alive, whom I saw dead at Marra? Those, replied Engelram, who finish their Lives in the Service of Jesus Christ, never die. But how comes it, Said Anselm, that I see you now incomparably more beautiful than you were before? Look, replied Engelram, showing him a most admirable Structure in Heaven, look there, and see the Brightness and the Beauty of that Palace; it is from thence that I have what you so much Admire in me. And further, added he, seeing him transported with the Admiration of that Beautiful Palace, I am to acquaint you, that there is one far more Glorious preparing for you. Adieu till to Morrow. And thereupon he presently disappeared. Early the next Morning Anselm, having made his Servants send for the Priests, he received the Sacraments, and very pleasantly said to his Friends, that they should not be surprised at what he was to tell them, but that though now they saw him in perfect Health, yet assuredly he should die that day, and thereupon he related to them what he had seen the Night preceding before he went to sleep. And the Event verified his Prediction; for the Enemy making a furious Sally, Anselm who never failed upon such an Occasion, ran thither with his Sword in his Hand, when a Stone which was discharged from an Engine, hitting him upon the Head, sent him instantly to that Beautiful Palace which Engelram told him was preparing for him in the Heavens. Now in Regard that he who recounts this extraordinary Accident, affirms upon his Salvation that he faithfully writ what he saw himself, and that besides, one cannot reasonably accuse so brave a Man as this famous Earl of Bouchain and Ribemont, as guilty of so much Weakness, as to make him pass for a Visionary Extravagant, I cannot believe there is the least Place for calling in Question the Truth of this Relation. And from hence our Brave Men may draw an Excellent Instruction, and learn that in making a Christian War, whether it be against Infidels, or Heretics, or whether it be in Obedience to their own Prince who is only responsible to God for the Justice of his Arms, which the Subjects have no Authority to examine, there is such an infinite Glory in Heaven to be acquired by their Courage on Earth, that they ought to expose their Lives with all imaginable Frankness, to all sorts of Dangers and Death itself. After this all the Advantage that was gotten during this Siege before the Arrival of the other Princes, was, that Raymond Viscount of Turenne, having with him the Viscount de Castellane, the Lord Albret, and ten or twelve other principal Gascons and Bearnois with about one hundred Horse and two hundred Foot took Torlosa, in old Time called Antaradus, a fair and great Town upon the Coast over against the Isle of Aradus, six or seven Leagues from Arcas towards Antioch. He thought to have taken it by Surprise; but that Design did not thrive, by reason he had so small a Number of Men, wherefore in the Night, at the side of a Wood which was in View of the City he caused such abundance of Fires to be made, that the Inhabitants taking his Party to have been the Van of the Army, and that all the rest was now come up to assault them the next day, they fled away that Night, so that the Viscount entered it the next Morning without Resistance, and there found so rich a Booty as rejoiced the whole Army. This Valiant Viscount was the Chief of that Illustrious House of Turenne, which in Conclusion about two hundred years since happily fell into that de la Tour d' Avergne, which by taking up the Name hath restored it not only to its first Splendour, but hath also advanced it by an other Viscount Turenne to the highest pitch of Honour to which it could aspire. This is he who after having done so many fair Actions in commanding the French Armies in Italy, in Germany and Flanders, as beyond Contradiction have given him the Reputation of a most accomplished Captain, came to add to the Heap of his Glories the Execution of his Kings Commands in this last Campagne, and who may well be celebrated as the chief Engineer of the Military Art, year 1099 and Master of all those great Qualities which are requisite in the Character of the most complete General of an Army, all which are so conspicuous in him, as justly render him one of the most admired, able, brave, and eminent Generals, even in the Opinion of the Confederates his Enemies. And certainly, it will be difficult to find any thing more admirable than the War of this Campagne, of more than ten months' Continuance, wherein he by his sole Presence, and the terror of his Name, not only stopped the Course of the greatest Army of his Enemies, and hindered them from entering into the Provinces, whilst in the mean time the King finished his Conquests; but also in Conclusion, won two Battles, one on this, the other on the further side of the Rhine, constraining them in Disorder to retire as far as the River of Mein; and after that terrible Inundation of sixty thousand Germans had thrown themselves over the Bridge of Strasbourg into Alsatia, he there gave them the Diversion of weakening themselves by Famine and Sickness; after which, in the very Heart of Winter he marched against them over the Mountains and the mighty Snows, and there either cut in pieces, and dispersed, or made Prisoners their forwardest Troops in three Combats; and in Conclusion, obliged the rest, which he had reduced to one half of what passed the Bridge, to repass it with so much Precipitation and Shame, that to save themselves in their own Country, they would not give him the Opportunity to Attack them. Thus it was that he sustained the Glory of that illustrious Name, and rendered that of Turenne far more glorious than it was in the first Crusade, after that Viscount Raymond alone took so great a City. In the mean time the Duke Godfrey, Earl Eustace, and Robert Earl of Flanders, who Marched in the month of March, with their Armies in very good Condition, Besieged Giblet, otherwise called Gabala, a Town upon the Sea between Tortosa and Laodicea; but being requested by the Earl of Tholose to come to his Assistance upon the Rumour which he had cunningly raised, that a great Army of Saracens were advancing to Assail him; they accepted the Terms which the Governor offered them to obtain a Peace, and came instantly before Arcas, where they found no other Enemies to Combat with, but those who were within the Town, who made a very brave Defence. But the two Ambassages which the Princes received shortly after, determined the Siege which had been maintained so long. For during the Siege of Antioch, they had sent their Ambassadors to Babylon, with those of the Sultan of Egypt, to conclude with him that Alliance which he had desired, and which was condescended unto upon Condition that he should join his Arms with those of the Christians; That Jerusalem with all its Dependencies, should be put into the Hands of the Christians; That he should have such other Places as should be regained from the Turks who had usurped them from him; and that the rest should be divided among them: But the great Overthrow of Corbagath, which that Prince understood some time after, made him change his Resolution; for now he imagined that he might make his Advantage of this Victory of the Christians, and that it would give him the Opportunity, if he knew how to manage it, to recover that by himself, which he could expect to have but a part of if he joined with the Christians. He knew very well that their Army was extremely weakened by the long Sieges, Diseases, and Combats, which they had endured; and that the Emperor Alexis was so far from sending them any Reinforcements, that he urged him incessantly to take Arms against them, as appeared plainly after the Battle of Ascalon, when the Letters which this perfidious Prince had written to him upon this Subject, were found in the Sultan's Cabinet: And in short, He was strongly possessed with the Belief that the Turks were so drained both of Men and Money, that they were almost entirely ruined, and could not possibly after such horrible Losses, be in any Condition to Oppose him with considerable Force. And therefore whilst they were under the Astonishment of their Overthrow, and that the Princes spent their time about Antioch, either in Diversions, or in taking little Places, or that which was far worse, in vain Contests, he sent a considerable Army into Palestine, where he took the greatest part of the Cities, and Jerusalem itself, which for a Sum of Money was surrendered unto him by the Governor, year 1099 who saw himself out of all hope of Relief. After this, when he knew that the Princes were in Phenicia, he sent back their Ambassadors, which he had detained above a Year, and joined with them his own, who were to acquaint the Princes, That having made himself Master of Jerusalem, which of right belonged to him, he did not think himself bound in Justice to put it into their Hands; but nevertheless, if the Christians thought good to visit the Sepulchre, they might do so, provided they did not come in greater Numbers than two or three Hundred; and that they came as simple Pilgrims, without any Arms, and returned immediately so soon as they should have finished their Devotions. The Princes filled with Indignation at this Insolence of a Barbarian, thought fit to treat him with Disdain, and therefore only smiling at his extravagant Proposition, they instantly dispatched his Ambassadors to him, with Order to let him Understand, That they were not to be treated like Fools or Slaves, but like his, and the Conquerors of the whole East, and that if he did not immediately Surrender Jerusalem upon this Demand, they knew very well how to take it from him, in despite of all the Power of his Empire, of which they made so very little Account, that after they had taken it, he might expect the severest Punishment due to his dishonourable Perfidy, and from which he would find, the proud Walls of Babylon, where he thought himself so secure, should not be able to protect him. Not long after this, the Princes gave Audience to the Ambassadors of Alexis, who were sent from him to Complain, that contrary to the Promise of the Princes, Bohemond kept Antioch, of which he pretended to be Prince, and also to desire them to stay for him till July, when he would come and join them with a puissant Army, and all kinds of Provisions, that so they might together, more commodiously besiege Jerusalem. Earl Raymond, who preserved still some little Remains of his Aversion to Bohemond, and who feared that they would raise the Siege of Arcas, which he had given a Suspicion, that like Bohemond, he designed also to keep for himself, was of opinion that it was fit to satisfy the Emperor, and to wait his coming before they undertook the Siege of Jerusalem. But all the others, who saw through the Artifice of the Emperor, who had no other thoughts but to impose upon them, answered his Ambassadors, That Alexis having upon all Occasions acted directly contrary to his Promises, they thought themselves absolutely discharged from the Obligations of theirs; that Bohemond possessed Antioch with the greatest Justice, all the other Princes having yielded it to him; as for the rest, that which had already passed, answered for what was to be expected from him, and that they would no longer regard his Word, which he had with so little Honour so often Violated; and that they were resolved immediately to advance without him towards Jerusalem, in order to the Accomplishment of their Religious Vow. In short, a few days after, having gained a great Victory over the Emir of Tripoli, who had the Confidence to sally out and give the Christians Battle, they granted him Peace at his Earnest Solicitation, notwithstanding that the Earl of Tholose with a strange Obstinacy, did all that lay in his power to oppose it; but with little Effect, more than the Displeasure which he had to see himself forsaken of all his People, who, as did all the rest, demanded with an incredible Ardour, without delaying about these other Places, to be lead immediately to Jerusalem. The Conditions which these Victorious Princes made with so much Honour and Advantage with the Tripoline, were these, That leaving to the Emir Tripoli, Arcas, and Biblis, which were under his Government, he should pay down a large Sum of Money, and furnish the Army with Horses, Apparel, and Provisions; That he should set at Liberty three hundred Prisoners who had been taken during the Siege of Antioch; and that if they took Jerusalem he should become their Tributary, and turn Christian. This Treaty was concluded the thirteenth day of May; and after the Repose of three or four days about Tripoli, the Army put themselves upon their March, leaving Mount Libanus upon the Left, and with good Guides following the Sea-Coast-Way, that so they might be the more easily Accommodated by the Fleet, which consisted of Venetians, Genoese, Pisans, and the Pirate Vinimarc, who coasted all along with them. year 1099 After having in three days March happily passed the dangerous Straits, where but a very few People might have stopped their Passage, they descended into the Plain of Beritus, at present called Baruth; and from thence passing over the Regions of Sidon, Sarepta, and Tyre, between Mount Saron and the Sea, they encamped in the beautiful and fertile Plain of Ptolemais, sometime before called Accon, and since named St. John d' Acre. The Emir who Commanded in so fair a Town, where there was a most delicate Port, and which would have been most Commodious for the Princes, fearing to be Attacked, immediately sent to treat with them. He furnished them with all sorts of Refreshments, and that he might quit himself of such Guests the Sooner, his Fear constrained him to promise them with an Oath, That if they took Jerusalem, and kept it twenty days against the Sultan of Egypt, he would acknowledge them for his Masters, and put them into Possession of the Town; but the contrary was soon after evident by a very surprising Accident, which shown that this Perfidious Person had quite other Thoughts about his Heart, and that it was his Fear of the Christian Army, which drew this Perjury from his Lips. For as the Army quitting Ptolemaïs', pursued their Way by Caiphas and the Passage of the Straight, which lies between the Sea and Mount Carmel, and was about to Encamp near the Lake of Caesarea, a Pigeon which was escaped from the Talons of a Bird of Prey, who astonished at the Noise of the Army, had quitted her, fell down half dead at the feet of the Soldiers; being taken up, there was found fastened to her a little Roll of Paper, in which the Emir of Ptolemais had written to him of Caesarea, that he should do all the Mischief that he could to this Army of Dogs, who were about to pass his Territories, for that he might more easily Incommode their Passage than he could, and also that he should not fail by the same way to give the same Advertisement to the other Cities. This Accident occasioned a wonderful Joy in the whole Army; for from hence they concluded, that God took a particular Care of their Interests, since he was pleased, in so uncommon a manner, to discover to them the Secrets of their Malicious Enemies. For this very reason the Princes stayed in that place, that they might with greaten Devotion celebrate the Holy Feast of Whit-Sunday, which was the nine and twentieth day of May. After which leaving the Sea upon their right Hand, as also the Cities of Joppa and Antipatris, they took the Right-hand-way which leads through the pleasant Valleys which lie at the Foot of Mount Ephraim, to Lidda, or Diospolis, a famous City of Judea, and at that time particularly Famous for the magnificent Church which the Emperor Justinian had caused to be built in Honour of St. George, in the place where that generous Soldier finished his Martyrdom; but the Saracens despairing to maintain the Town, had before ruined this noble Structure, burning the prodigious Beams which sustained the Roof, for fear the Christians should make use of them for Engines of War. At the same time the Princes seized upon Ramatha, by some called Arimathea, Rama, and Ramula, a City which the Birth, the Dwelling, and the Sepulchre of the Prophet Samuel, have rendered remarkable in the Holy Writings. The Saracens had also abandoned that place in so great haste, that they left behind them so much Provision as sufficed for three days to refresh the whole Army. And because Rama was near unto Lidda, it was thought fit to give the Fee-simple of those two Towns, together with the Tithes of the Booty, to a learned and virtuous Priest, one Robert of the Diocese of Roven, who was settled the Bishop of that place, to the intent that he should not only take Care of the Christians of Lidda, but also of such Pilgrims who resolved to pass the remainder of their Lives in the Holy Land, and with which Rama was to be peopled. This being done, the Army marched very early the next Morning Eastward, and the same Evening arrived at Emmaus, some sixty Furlongs, which is about two Leagues and a half from Jerusalem: This City which had in the time of the Maccabees been a considerable Place, was in our Saviour's time only a little Burrough, having been ruined by Varus the Governor of Syria; but it was rebuilt by the Romans after the end of the Jewish War, and in memory of their Victories they called it Nicopolis, as it was at that time called when the Christians seized it. At that instant there arrived Deputies from Bethlehem who addressed themselves to Duke Godfrey, to request him to send them present Succours, year 1099 lest the Saracens, as they had just ground to apprehend, who from all Parts ran to put themselves into Jerusalem, should in their Passage fire that City. Immediately Tancred, who was particularly united in his Interests, was dispatched thither, and who, after he had given all the necessary Orders for the Security of that Place, and had planted his Ensign upon the Church, rejoined the other Princes the day following, which was Tuesday the sixth of June, a day after three years from the first Enterprise of the Voyage so long expected, and so ardently desired; a day wherein after infinite Pains and Travels, they came with incredible Joy to see the Conclusion of their Vows. For so soon as the Army was g●● to the top of the Heights which are on the further side of Emaus, from whence there was a fair Prospect of the lofty Towers of the Holy City, the Princes, the Officers, the Soldiers, and the whole Troop of Pilgrims which followed the Army, broke out all together, as it were by Consent, into Cries of Joy, Blessing and Praises to Almighty God, which being reverberated and multiplied by the Echoes of the Rocks and Mountains with which the City is Environed, repeated in a few Moment's a million of times, It is the Will of God, It is the Will of God. And immediately they found their Hearts so lively touched and pierced with the extraordinary Sentiments of Piety, Tenderness, and Love of God, upon the sight of those Holy Places, Consecrated by the venerable Mysteries of the Redemption of Mankind, that they threw themselves upon the Ground, shedding abundance of devout Tears, and kissing with unconceivable Pleasure that Soil which had been honoured with the Footsteps of the Incarnate Word of God. Thus do present Objects without any other Assistance, make the most violent Impressions upon the Minds of Men, and such as far surpass the most profound Meditations, the most powerful Reasonings, and the most elaborate Discourses of the most eloquent Orators or Preachers, and the single View of them is more capable of softening the hardest Hearts, than the finest Discourses at a distance, which cannot possibly represent things with that Life and Efficacy, which by the Eyes passes in a moment to the Soul. Thus the Presence of those glorious Monuments of the Victories of the Son of God, after these first motions of Piety, inspired in the Hearts of the Crusades, such an extraordinary Ardour to Conquer, that they cried out to be instantly lead to the Siege of Jerusalem, not as Jewish, the Enemy and Murderess of the Saviour of the World, to destroy it, but as Christian and Captive, to deliver it from the Tyranny of the Barbarians, who hindered the whole World from the Liberty of rendering those Honour's due to the Sepulchre of Jesus Christ. The Princes therefore judging that they ought to make use of this admirable Disposition of their Soldiers, instantly fell upon forming the Siege of this illustrious City; of which, before I proceed further, it will be necessary to represent the Situation, the Strength, and the Condition wherein they found it at that time. THE HISTORY OF THE CRUSADE, OR, The Expeditions of the Christian Princes for the Conquest of the Holy Land. BOOK III. The CONTENTS of the Third Book. The Present State of Jerusalem when the Christian Princes Besieged it. The Distribution of their Quarters. The ill Success of an Assault given against the Rules of War, by the Advice of a Hermit, who pretended a Revelation for it. The Description of Duke Godfrey 's Engines. The solemn Procession of the Besiegers about the City. The second General Assault for three days together. Two Magicians who were Conjuring upon the Walls, have their Brains beaten out with a Stone from Duke Godfrey 's wooden Castle. The Artifice of Godfrey to drive the Enemies from the Walls. He is the first that by the Bridge of his Castle mounts the Walls. Jerusalem taken. The fearful Slaughter of the Saracens. By Godfrey 's Example the whole Army return solemn Thanks to God at the Holy Sepulchre. An Assembly of the Princes to choose a King and a Patriarch. The Speech of Robert Duke of Normandy upon this Subject. Godfrey of Bullen chosen and proclaimed King of Jerusalem. The memorable Battle of Ascalon against the Sultan of Egypt, and the Victory of the Christians, which concluded this first Crusade. The Return of the Crusades. The Conquests of Godfrey of Bullen, and his Death. An Abridgement of the History of the Kingdom of Jerusalem till the time of the second Crusade. The Reign of Baldwin the First. The flourishing Estate of the Christians in the East, till his Death. The Reign of Baldwin the Second. The Relation of the founding the Military Orders of the Knights Hospitallers. The Captivity of King Baldwin. His Deliverance. His Victories and Death. He is succeeded by his Son-in-Law Fowk d' Anjou. The Prosperity of his Reign. His Death, and the Regency of Queen Melesintha, during the Minority of Baldwin the Third. The Occasion of the second Expedition of the Crusades. The Relation of the two Josselins de Courtenay Earls of Edessa. The taking of that City by Sanguine Sultan of Aleppo, and afterwards by Noradin his Son. The Character of that Prince, and his Conquests over the Christians. Applications made to Lewis the young King of France. His Character, and what moved him to undertake the Crusade. He Consults Saint Bernard concerning it. The Character of that Saint, and the Order he received from Pope Eugenius the Third to Preach the Crusade. The General Assemblies of Bourges, Vezelay, and Chartress, for the Crusade. It is Published by Saint Bernard in France and Germany. The Emperor and King take up the Cross. The Abbot Sugere declared Regent in France. His Character and Advice concerning the Expedition. The Voyage of the Emperor. The Description of the Tempest which almost ruined his Army upon the Banks of the River Melas. The Fleet of the Crusades take Lisbon from the Saracens. The Original of the Kings of Portugal. The Character and Perfidy of the Greek Emperor Manuel. His underhand Treating with the Turks. The miserable Overthrow of the Emperor's Army. The Voyage of King Lewis to Constantinople, and his Reception. The Advice of the Bishop of Langress, who Counsels the King to take Constantinople; his Speech upon that Subject; the reason that his Advice was not followed; the Treacheries of Manuel thereupon. The King's Voyage into Asia. His Interview with the Emperor Conrade, and the Return of that Prince to Constantinople. The Description of the River Meander, and the famous Passage of the King of France with his Army over it. year 1099 JErusalem, which after that Herod the Great had beautified it with the most magnificent Structures, and had repaired the Temple, had been one of the Wonders of the World, and one of the fairest Cities of all the East, was nothing but a horrible Heap of Cinders and Ruins after its fatal Destruction; till such time as the Emperor Adrian, who was the last that ruined it, caused it to be rebuilt in a manner far different from what it was before. For in times-past, there was comprised within the Circuit of its Walls four Mountains, upon which it was successively Built: The first called Salem, otherwise Acra, which was founded by Melchisedeck: The second opposite to that, towards the South, and which was far higher, was the Holy and Famous Mount Zion, which David after he had taken the Fortress of the Jebusites, joined to the former by a Wall which environed it on all parts, to distinguish it from the other, which in comparison of this new City, was called the Lower City: The third was the Mountain of Moriah, between these towards the East, where the Temple of Solomon stood: And the fourth upon the North, was the Hill Betheza, where the same King built a new Town, which was afterwards much enlarged by Hezekiah, and took in all the Valley between the East and the North, to the lower Town. This Glorious City of God was afterwards destroyed by the Chaldeans; and with the Temple restored to its first Estate, in divers Ages by Zorobabel, Nehemiah, the Maccabees, and by Herod the Great, and was at the last overthrown to the very Ground, and laid in Heaps of Rubbish by the Emperor Titus Vespasian, three only of the fairest Towers called the Hippico, year 1099 Phasele, and Mariam, which Herod had builded, escaping the general Desolation; for Titus was willing to preserve them, as also part of the North Wall of the higher Town, to which they were joined, that they might remain as Monuments of the Greatness of his Victory, when Posterity should by the Strength of those make a Judgement how Impregnable that City was which he had taken, though defended by such mighty Walls and lofty Towers. But the Jews Revolting in the time of the Emperor Adrian, that Prince after he had made the most horrible Slaughter among the Rebels, caused those three Towers and the Wall also to be demolished and razed to the very Foundation; thus without designing it, entirely accomplishing the dreadful Prediction of the Son of God, That the day should come when there should not be one Stone left upon another in that miserable City. After this, that Emperor to immortalize his own Name in abolishing that of Jerusalem, caused a new City to be there Built, which according to his own Name was called Aelia, giving it also a quite differing Form from the Ancient City, whose Memory, as well as Name, he thought thereby for ever to extinguish. For he left out of it the whole Mountain of Zion, which had been the best and most Beautiful, as well as strongest part of Jerusalem, almost all that which had been called the New City, and a great part of the Lower Town. He made Mount Moriah be leveled, and enclosed that and the little Remainder of the New and Low Town, as also Mount Calvarie, which was nothing but a little Corner of Mount Gihen, which was out of the Ancient City towards the West. So that this Aelia, as it was not by one half so large as Jerusalem, so it had quite a differing Figure: For the Ancient Jerusalem in its Dimensions approached to a Square, though not altogether Regular, being something longer than it was broad, for it was Extended from North to South a good League, the Breadth from East to West being something less. On the contrary this new City, which was of a Figure altogether Irregular, yet approaching to Square, extended itself in Length from East to West some twelve hundred Paces, and in Breadth from South to North about a third part so much. Moreover the Ancient City was wholly inaccessible on the South part, by reason of the broken Rocks of the Mount Zion, which Environed it, it was also the same upon the East, having the deep Valley of Jehoshaphat between the Mount of Olives and Mount Moriah. But this New City which had Mount Zion close by the South Side of it, was easily Commanded from thence, and the Valleys having been in a manner filled up by the Romans, it was very accessible, particularly upon the North. It continued a long time in this Estate under the Power of the Gentiles, till such time as the Great Constantine peopled it with Christians, having there builded the Magnisicent Church of the Resurrection, which Encloses the Holy Sepulchre, where the Pagans had with the most impious Profaneness erected the Temple of the Idol Venus. After this quitting the profane Name of Aelia, if recovered that venerable Name of Jerusalem, a Name Consecrated by the Sacred Records, and by so many Holy Mysteries, which for ever after to this present time it hath retained. It was taken from the Romans by the Persians under the Reign of King Cosroës, and by his Successor Restored to the Emperor Heraclius; and not long after, about the middle of the seventh Age, falling into the Hands of the Saracens, the Caliph Omar, one of the earliest Successors of Mahomet, built there a round Temple of eight Angles or Faces for a Mosch, in the same place where sometimes stood the Temple of Solomon; and though it did not in the least Resemble that, except in the Greatness of the Porch, which was raised very high, and with fair Galleries, in the Middle whereof stands this Round, yet doth it to this Day retain that Name. About four hundred Years after this, the greatest part of Syria and Palestine falling under the Dominion of the Turks, they also took Jerusalem from the Sultan of Egypt, and thirty eight Years after it was retaken from them by him, making use of the Occasion which was offered him by the memorable Victory of the Christians over the Turks, in the Battle of Antioch. This Saracen Prince, who notwithstanding his Embassy, doubted not but the Christians, who looked upon Jerusalem as the end of their Enterprise, would certainly besiege it, year 1099 forgot nothing which was necessary to put it into a Condition to make a good Defence; for with great diligence he caused the Walls and Towers to be repaired, although they were very strong before, having also a double Wall; he provided the Place with all manner of Stores both of Ammunition and Provision, he caused all the Christians that were able to bear Arms to quit the City, and put into it a Garrison of forty thousand of his Best Soldiers, besides that there were twenty Thousand Inhabitants who were Armed, and to whom for their Encouragement he promised a perpetual Exemption from all manner of Taxes and Tributes. He caused also the Cisterns and Wells for six miles round the City to be filled up, and made a most horrible Waste throughout the Country, that so the Christian Army at the same Time that they were to Combat with so strong an Enemy within the Walls, might have Famine a more terrible Enemy to Combat with in the Field, and above all he hoped to destroy them for Want of Water in those dry and barren Countries where the Heat is great and Thirst most insupportable. This was the Estate and Posture in which Jerusalem then stood immediately before it was besieged by the Christians, whose Army was not in Truth so Numerous as that which defended the Place: For of that immense Multitude of the Crusades who passed into Asia and were at the Siege of Nice, there came not above sixty thousand of both Sexes, among which there were not more than twenty Thousand Foot and fifteen hundred Horse who were in a Condition to fight; the greatest part of the rest being dead, either with Diseases or in the several Encounters; some were returned, some wore put into Garrisons in the conquered places, and some followed the Princes Baldwin and Bohemond to defend their new Principalities of Edessa and Antioch. Nevertheless both Princes and Soldiers were determined either there to perish or to carry the Pince, and to accomplish their Vow either by a Devout Death, or Glorious Victory. After they had therefore repulsed the Enemies who sallied out, they began cheerfully to form the Siege in this manner; Godfrey of Bullen, Earl Eustace his Brother, and Tancred took their Post upon the West near to the Fortress which they called the Tower of David; The Earl of Tholose was upon his Right directly opposite to the Gate of this Tower, and after a little while he enlarged his Quarters Southward to the Extremity of Mount Zion, over against the Church of the Holy Virgin. The Remainder of the City on the South and towards the East was left free, in Regard the Hollow Vallius and the Craggy Rocks made the Approaches Extreme Difficult. The North side was surrounded by the Duke of Normandy, the Earls of Flanders and St. Paul, who lay before the Gate, which was then called St. Stephens, but now Damascus Gate, to the Angular Tower near the Valley of Jehosaphat. Moreover, that they might avoid a tedious Siege like that of Antioch, it was resolved to attack the Place by main Force, therein also following the Advice of a Solitary who lived with a great Opinion of his Sanctity in a Cave in the Mount of Olives; for he had promised the Christians that they should have the Victory that day, telling them he had it in Command from God to acquaint them with that Message, although it was told him on the other hand, that they were not at all provided with necessary Materials for an Attack. But as it appeared afterwards, in all kind of Affairs, but especially in those of War, it is a most dangerous Folly to quit the Rules of Art and Prudence, blindly to follow the uncertain Ways of pretended Revelations, which one ought rarely to trust, in Regard they are so often false; and when they are true one is not bound to believe them but upon Invincible Proofs; and without those one is obliged always rather to follow good Sense and Reason, which God hath given to Men next to his Divine Word, to be their Rule and Guide. However, upon the fifth day of the Siege early in the Morning a General Assault was given upon the Word of this Recluse, which was looked upon as an Oracle. Never was there seen greater Ardour in the Soldiers, whose Courage was redoubled by the certainty of their Belief in the Promise of this Holy Man that they should that very day take Jorusalem. Some part were drawn up in close Rank, and they advanced holdly after the manner of the Ancient Romans, covering themselveslike Tortoises with their Bucklers, whilst others were extended in long siles and followed them at a just distance, year 1099 to have convenient Room to make use of their Bows, their Slings and Crossbows, to drive the Enemy from the Walls with great Stones, Darts and Arrows which they showered continually upon them; whilst in the mean time the first endeavoured, in Despite of pieces of Rock and Beams which they threw down from the Walls to crush them, to come at the Wall, and with Pick-Axes, Mattocks, Levers, and such sort of Iron Instruments wanting Rams they tried to make a Breach or Passage through the Wall; and they acted with so much Force and Courage that they overthrew the Outwall, and made a Passage to the very Foot of the Inward-Wall; but that being too strong to receive any Damage by such pitiful Tools, there was no Hope but to force the Place by a Scalade; and so little Care had been taken to make Provision, relying upon the Promise of the Hermit who told them, if they had no more than one Ladder of Osiers they should nevertheless take the City, that when they came to make Use of them, there was no more than one sound Ladder, that was long enough to reach the Walls; notwithstanding which these Braves transported with mad Courage, being prepossessed with the Belief that they should carry the Town, planted that Ladder, and mounted with so much Resolution, that pushing one another upwards, many of them got up to the Top and threw themselves over the Wall, where they desperately fought hand to hand against the Saracens, who were amazed at this more than Heroic Boldness; and there is no doubt but if they had had more Ladders, Jerusalem had been that day taken; for the Enemies who did not in the least expect such an irregular and brisk Attempt, had not brought any of their Engines to the Walls. But seeing there could but by one Ladder mount a very few men, who must needs be exposed to a Multitude of Enemies without Hope of Succour, a Retreat was sounded after having lost in that rash Attempt a great many brave men, who yet sold their Lives at so dear a Rate that twice their Number of the Saracens paid theirs in lieu of them. Duke Godfrey who was ashamed of the Fault he had committed by preferring the idle Visions of a simple Hermit before the just Rules of Military Art, remonstrated to the Princes, that if they resolved to carry the Town by Force it was necessary to attack it with good Engines of War, since they were to sight with men who having once, would not a second time be surprised in their Defence against a Scalade. This Advice was approved by all, but the difficulty was, to know where they should be furnished with Materials to frame them, there being never a Forest in all the Country. For as for the famous Enchanted Woods of Ismena Clormea, Renaud and Armida, and a hundred other such like Inventions of Tasso, they are nothing but the agreeable Visions of a Poetical Fancy, which takes a great deal of Delight in pleasing others, with making new Creations, which never were except in his own or the Imaginations of his Readers, but which must as the Amusements of Fables and Chimeras, be rejected by Historians who are to entertain their Readers with nothing but solid Truth. But this is most certain, that while they were in this Trouble a Christian of the Country informed the Princes, that about three or four Leagues off in the Way that leads to Arabia, there was a Valley quite out of any Road, where in a great Cavern there was a good Quantity of large Beams of Cedar and Cypress, and that there was thereabout some Trees of which they might make very good Use, although they were of no considerable Height. The Duke of Normandy, and the Earl of Flanders went thither with some Troops being Conducted by this Guide, where they really found such Wood which they caused to be carried to the Camp. They also carried thither all the Planks, Joists and Beams of the Houses near the City, which they could sinned; and for a whole Month they wrought all sorts of Engines which are made use of in Sieges, as also some of a new Invention, according as they were designed by Duke Godfrey and Gaston de Foix Prince of Bearne, who took care of the Management of these Works; but that which mightily advanced them was, that nine great Ships being arrived at Joppa with Provisions from Pisa and Genoa, for the Army, and despairing to defend themselves in that little Fleet against that of the Saracens which was coming to attack them, they broke up the Ships, and setting Fire to what they could not carry to the Camp, the Seamen applied themselves most industriously to the building of these Engines. year 1099 All this time the Army was ready to perish with the excessive Thirst which it endured; for the Brook Cedron which divides the Valley of Jehosaphat hath very little Water except in the Winter, and the Fountain of Siloe, which is at the Foot of Mount Zion toward the South afforded but a very little Water; so that there was scarce any to be had but what was to be found two Leagues off, and that with great Hazard of falling into the Hands of the Saracens, who lay continually in Ambuscades to surprise such whose Thirst constrained them to straggle abroad to seek for Water; and besides, what was to be had was so little, and there were so many People, besides the Beasts that were to drink, that it became presently pudled and stinking. In this Extremity there could be no other Resolution, but so soon as ever the Engines which were preparing were finished to give a General Assault, with a sirm Determination either to carry the Place or perish in the Attempt. And therefore before the Execution of so dangerous an Enterprise, and whilst the Preparations were making, it was thought fit that public Prayers should be made by the whole Army, to implore the Mercy of Almighty God and to crave his Blessing and Assistance. For this Purpose after a Fast of three days upon Friday the eighth of July there was a solemn Procession, where the Bishops and Clergy barefooted, followed by the Princes and Soldiers in their Arms surrounded the City, setting out at the Church of Zion, and passing by the Oratory of St. Stephen through the Valley of Jehosaphat, and so by the Mountain of Olives, to the Place from whence Christ Jesus ascended into Heaven. Here it was that Peter the Hermit, and Arnold the Chaplain to the Duke of Normandy, made such Powerful Exhortations to reunite the Hearts of the Army, that all the Chiefs, and the Soldiers, and particularly Tancred and Count Raymond, who had had the greatest Differences, embraced each other in Token of a mutual Reconciliation, and Exhorted one another to revenge those Injuries and Outrages, which were offered to Jesus Christ by the Saracens, who at the same time made a Mock-Procession about the Walls within the City as the Christians did without, vomiting out a thousand Blasphemies against Christ, and offering a thousand Insolences and Indignities to a Cross which they opposed to that which was carried in this Devout Procession before the Christians. The next Morning Godfrey who had resolved to make his Attack upon that Quarter which is between the East and the North, because it was the weakest and the most convenient for his Engines to play, removed his Camp thither in the Night, and employed the three following Days as did the other Princes to dispose of their Engines. They had besides Rams, Slings to throw great Stones, and other such Sort of Engines which were at that time in Use to batter Walls near at hand, three great Castles of Wood of a new Structure. Every one of them had three Stories, whereof the lowest was for the Engineers and Workmen, who by great Force rolled the Machine upon its Wheels; the two others had their Platforms which jetted out from the Work, so that the Combatants who were placed in them might from thence fight as upon sirm Ground, either with their Enemies at a Distance, or near at Hand according as they were able to advance the Machine; the middle Story was as high as the Top of the Second Wall, which was something higher than the Outwall of the City. And the third Story which was raised with a narrow Top, was so framed that from thence one might see the Enemies so as to have a fair Mark at them with Darts, Stones or Arrows even to the very Heart of the City. These Wooden rolling Castles had four sides which were covered with Hurdles to prevent the Damage which they might receive by the great Stones thrown from the Walls, and the Hurdles were also covered with Raw Hides of Oxen, Camels and Horses, to resist the Violence of Fire. But that which was the Chief Design of these Machine's was, that upon the side of the third Story towards the Town, and which was just above the Platform of the middle Story Levelly with the Height of the Walls, besides the two other Covertures there was a third which was framed with Joists and Planks, and so fastened to the Engine above at the third Platform, that being suddenly let down by two Pulleys, it was to fall upon the Wall like a Drawbridge, thereby to enter into the Town. It was resolved that there should be three Attacks, and one of these Rolling Castles at every one of them; year 1099 Duke Godfrey and Earl Eustace had the first, a little below St. Stephen's Gate drawing towards the East; Duke Robert, Prince Tancred, and the Earl of Flanders with the second, made the second a little lower at the left Hand near the Angular Tower which was afterwards called Tancred's Tower. Earl Raymond made his at the opposite Angle at the South-West, with the third which could not advance till he had caused certain deep Trenches to be filled up which lay between him and the Wall. Upon Wednesday the thirteenth of July the Attack was begun, which was continued all the next day with incredible Fury; all the great Engines which were placed by the Castles played incessantly upon the Enemies, with Huge Stones, whilst at the same time the Slings, the Archers and Crossbows discharged continually upon them, the Castles advancing still forward all the Time. The Captains stood all this while in the highest Story of the Rolling Castles, accompanied with the most considerable and bravest men of the Army, to animate their Soldiers by their Example, and by the Danger which they ran, being above all others exposed as the Mark of the Enemy's Arrows. Duke Godfrey with his Brother stood upon the highest Platform of his Castle, from whence whilst it approached by little and little to the Wall, he continually discharged his lusty Arrows into the Town, and against those who defended the Walls, scarce one of them falling in Vain; for as he was without Contradiction one of the strongest men of his Time, so he was the most dextrous and the best Marksman of his Age; which hath given Rise to the Story, which will have it, That seeing three Birds flying to the Top of one of the Towers of Jerusalem, he shot them all three upon one single Arrow. And for this Reason it is, that it is the received Opinion that those vast Arrows which are kept in the Armoury of the House of Lorraine, one of the most Illustrious of the World, were his, since it cannot be doubted but he was descended from that Noble Stem. Godfrey had placed in the second Stage of his Castle the two Brothers Lethold and Engelbert most Vallant Gentlemen of Tournay, and Guicher the stoutest man in the whole Army, who encountering with a Lion had cut him in two at one single Blow of his Sword; these seconded the Efforts of their Noble Master, and being accompanied with a many other Gallant Men, they did wonderful Execution with the Sling and Arrows, and in playing their Stone Bows, which without ceasing poured continual Showers from their Platform upon the Town. The other Princes also acted with the like Vigour, some levelling the Ground, that so the Castles might more easily advance, whilst others presented the Scalade in many several places together, thereby to make the greater Diversion to the Defendants, whilst at the same time the Walls were battered continually with mighty Rams. There was one of a Prodigious Magnitude, with which after they had overthrown the Outwall to make Way for Duke Godfrey's Castle, they also played so vigorously against the Inward Wall that therewith they made a very great Breach. Those within the Town in the mean time sorgot nothing which might contribute to the rendering the Attempts of the Beliegers fruitless, whom they exceeded both in Number of Men and Engines. All their Walls were covered with them, and they opposed four of an extraordinary Size against the three Rolling Castles, from which they discharged Stones of a Prodigious Bigness, which hitting the Engines fell upon the Platforms with a Terrible Noise, crushing, overthrowing and tearing all in pieces, breaking the Braces and Posts, and crushing all those who did not quickly get Shelter from that furious Tempest. The very Air was obscured with that mighty Hail, and the Stones which were discharged from one side and the other encountering one another, seemed to Combat as well as the Men, and with a Terrible Noise fell down together among the Assailants, against whom the Besieged shoured down without ceasing their Arrows, Darts and Stones, to hinder their Approaches; they also threw abundance of Pots of Fire, and shot Fire Darts against the Machine's to burn them, and at the same time made a furious Sally at the Breach which was made by the great Ram, to which they set Fire, which was not without great Difficulty extinguished. In short, never was there seen so long an Assault, nor a Combat maintained with that Equal Obstinacy on both Parts, for it was only the Night and the extreme Weariness that obliged them on both sides to give over as it were to take a little Breath. year 1099 The Night itself however did not pass in over much Tranquillity on either part; The Besieged were in continual Fear to be surprised under the favour of the Darkness; and the Besiegers, lest they should sally out to set Fire to the Machine's which were already much endamaged, and especially that of the Earl of Tholose, which was rendered in a manner wholly unserviceable. But however they wrought so hard upon it in the Night, that the next morning the Combat was renewed on one side and the other with more Fury than before. The Christians irritated by so long a Resistance made their utmost Efforts, resolute either to lose all or to gain all; and the Saracens animated by the Success of the two preceding days, and by the hope of present Succour, which the Sultan of Babylon had promised them, fought with new Courage, and with so much Assurance of Victory, that they could not forbear insulting over their Enemies, and assailing their Assailants. Above all they aimed at Duke Godfrey, against whose Machine, whilst it advanced over the great Breach in the Outwall, they threw a vast Quantity of Fire-Works and huge Stones, one of which crushed with its fall one of his Esquires just by his side. There were also two famous Magicians whom they brought to the Walls, who promised to stop the Duke's Castle by their Enchantments; but while the poor Wretches were busy muttering their foolish Charms, a great Stone thrown from one of the Duke's Slings spoiled their Conjurations, & crushing them both together sent them down to those Infernal Spirits which they were in Vain calling up to their Assistance. The Assault had now lasted till one of the Clock in the Afternoon without any manner of Appearance of Advantage than it was the day before, when the Soldiers discouraged to see themselves so often repulsed, began a little to relax of their former Ardour, and indeed to recoil in Despair of ever being able to force so many brave Men who defended themselves with so much Vigour and Advantage, which the Saracens perceiving sent forth great Cries of Joy, intermingled with Horrible Blasphemies and Insulting Language against the Christians, reproaching them with the Cowardice and Impotence of their Crucisied God; when Duke Godfrey, whether he really was assured that he saw it, or whether his Imagination heated by the Ardour of the Combat and filled with the Images of War represented it to him, cried out amain, That Heaven was come to their Succour, and that he saw upon his left hand upon the Top of Mount Oliver a Celestial Cavalier, who shaking a shining Buckler towards the City gave the Signal to enter it: And that which is most surprising is that the Earl of Tholose who fought at a great distance from him against another part of the City, declared the same thing at the same time to his Soldiers; so that one must either conclude that these two Princes had before agreed this matter between them, to reincourage their Men when they saw them a little abate of their Courage and Vigour; or else that by chance some Cavalier of the Army at that time getting upon that Hill, was by the Princes who saw him at the same time taken for a Warriour-Saint who was descended from Heaven to their Succour. Let it be as it will, it is certain that this Vision, or at least the Belief that it was very true, had the most admirable Effect that ever was seen; for no sooner was the Report blown about, but the Soldiers persuading themselves that it was St. George, who as the whole Army believed he had done at the Battle of Antioch, was come again to sight for them, instantly reassumed such a new Courage that they became quite other men; for they returned to the Combat like so many furious Lions, and even all, without distinction of Age, Sex or Condition, rushed in to the Assault, the Sick and Maimed not Excepted, ran before the Rolling Machines'; so that having in less than an Hour leveled the Way which hindered their advancing, they pushed them Home to the innermost Wall, where for some time they fought at push of Pike and Javelin. But Godfrey who was resolute to throw himself into the Town, bethought himself of an Invention which facilitated his Passage and cleared the Walls in a Moment; for the Enemies to break the Force of the Blows of the Stones and Rams which battered the Walls, had put abundance of Sacks filled with Chaff, Hay and Wool, Rugs, and Alatresses, pieces of Cables and Ropes, and a hundred other things of that Nature which they thought would by yielding and giing way, year 1099 defend the Walls from those Blows of the battering Engines; the Duke perceiving that the Wind blew at North, and was upon his Back, made a great quantity of fire Darts be shot against that soft and combustible Matter, which catching hold of them, very easily set them in a moment all into a Blaze; the Flame which risen very high, with a mighty thick Smoke, being driven by the Violence of the Wind, upon the Faces of those who defended the Walls, and the two adjoining Towers, on the Right and Left, they were forced at last to Retire and leave the Place Empty. The Duke thereupon immediately letting down his Drawbridge, which was of an exact Height to rest upon the Wall, descended instantly to the second Stage, where putting himself at the Head of all those brave Men which accompanied him, he threw himself, with his Sword in his Hand, into the Town, having at his Side Eustace his Brother, Baldwin Earl of Bourg his Cousin, and the two Valiant Brothers of Tournay, Lethold and Engelbert, who were followed by the brave Guicher, and that choice Troop of Lords and Gentlemen, who never Abandoned the Duke. In a little while after, the Duke of Normandy, the Earl of Flanders, and Tancred, having used the same Artifice to drive the Enemies from the Walls, threw their Bridge over the Wall also, and entered at the Angular Tower, being sollowed by Gaston de Foix, the Earls Hugh de St. Paul, Gerrad de Rousillon, Raimband de Orange, Louïs' de Mouson, Conon de Montaign, Lambert his Son, and all the rest, who desired to have a share in the Glory of these great Men. In the same Instant, the Soldiers seeing that the Princes threw themselves into the Town, followed by the principal Persons of the Army, they were so Animated, that they ran to the Assault of their own Accord, every one in the way that his Courage Inspired him with, these presented the Ladders, and pushed one another forward to gain the Battlements which the Enemies had Abandoned, those mounted the second Stage of the Castles, to pass over the Bridges, and the greatest part desperately threw themselves in at the Breach which had been made the day before; so that all the North Side of the Town was immediately filled with the Crusades, who ran to break open the Damascus Gate, by which the rest of the Troops instantly Entered. So that the Victory being now Assured, they used the Right they had to it, with the utmost Rigour, against those Enemies which they thought they were bound utterly to Exterminate, to Revenge the Outrages which they had Committed against Christ Jesus, and the Barbarous Cruelties which they had so often Exercised against the Christians: All being promiscuously put to the Sword, except such as acknowledged themselves to be of that Religion; all that were found in the Streets or Market-places were cut in pieces, and nothing was to be seen but the flying off of Heads, Legs and Arms cut off, and the Carcases of Dismembered Bodies; the Streets ran with little Rivulets of Blood, and it was impossible to step without treading upon Bodies of Men dead or dying; and few there were that escaped this first Fury, for the poor Christians who remained at Jerusalem, mingling with the Soldiers, shown them the Houses of the Saracens, who killed the very Children in the Arms of their Mothers, if it were possible to extinguish that accursed Race, as God had sometimes Commanded the wicked Amalekites to be Destroyed utterly. The greatest part however of them, saved themselves in the Palace and in the Temple, believing they should there find a Sanctuary, till this first Fury of the Vanquishers began to Relent: But the Vengeance of God which pursued them, made them Assemble thither, to deliver them all together, more easily into the Hands of those whom he had chosen to Execute the Sentence of his Justice against them; For Tancred and Gaston de Foix, followed with great Numbers, Forcing those Places, made such a horrible Slaughter of those Miserables, that those who Assisted at that lamentable Spectacle, assure us, that the Temple and the Porch, were so filled with Blood, that it flowed in great Streams, and that they were forced to wade out of it quite over their Shoes. All this while Earl Raymond combated still upon his Quarter, with those who defended that part of the Town which lies between the South and West, hard by the Tower of David, where the Emir or Governor fought in Person. The Earl receiving Intelligence by three Gentlemen who were sent from Duke Godfrey, that the Town was taken; Ha! what? cried he to his People, year 1099 The French are already in Jerusalem, and we are yet disputing our Entry with these Saracens. These Words so Animated the Gascons and the Provencals, that some planting the Ladders, and others throwing the Bridge of their Castle over the Wall, they threw themselves in Flocks into the Town, where the Enemies, who at the same time understood by the horrible and consused Cries behind them, that the Christians had carried the Town, immediately fled and retired into the Fortress; the Governor then seeing the Town was taken upon all Sides, offered the Earl instantly to surrender the Place, provided he would save his Life, and give him Liberty to Retire to Ascalon: This, the Earl, who was glad to have so strong a Fort in his Power, easily accorded to; so the Emir opening the Gates, all the Earls Army entered the Town, and began on their side to do the same Execution which the Troops of the other Princes had done; all went down without Quarter, in the Streets, in the Houses, and in the Porch of the Temple, where they finished the Slaughter of those who had escaped the Massacre which their Companions had made. The Number of the Slain in this only Quarter, amounted to ten thousand, those which were Slain upon the Walls, in the Streets, and Houses, could not be Computed; it suffices to say, that all were Slain, except a very few Slaves who were spared to cleanse the City, which was doing for three days after, the dead Carcases being piled up in prodigious Heaps in the neighbouring Valleys, and so Burnt. There were about three hundred Saracens, who had saved themselves from the Slaughter, in the Temple upon the Roof, who having obtained their Lives of Tancred, and his Banner, which they erected in token that he had taken them into his Protection; but the next Morning they were all slain by some of the other Troops, whereat when Tancred was mightily displeased, looking upon it as a base Action, the other Princes appeased him, by remonstrating to him, that it might be of dangerous Consequence to spare those People, who might do them a great many Mischiefs in the War which they must expect to make with the Sultan of Babylon. In short, never was there seen a more Complete and Terrible Vengeance than this which was taken upon these Infidels, upon this Occasion; all their Houses were Plundered, and the whole Army found wherewith to Enrich themselves beyond Imagination; and such Quantity of Provisions, besides what was laid up in the Magazines, as might have served them, if the Siege had lasted, without being raised, as long as did that of Antioch. But the richest Booty was that which Tancred got in the Temple of Solomon, from whence he took an inestimable Treasure in Silver, Gold, and precious Stones, all which he most generously gave to Duke Godfrey, as to the Person, to whose only Courage and Conduct it was due; and God by this way was pleased to make him a Recompense for his Piety, which was no less Heroic than his Courage in this Rencounter. For whilst all the rest fell upon the quarry of the Spoil, he, so soon as he had taken Care for the Safety of the Town, went Bare-soot, and without his Arms, by the West Gate, Accompanied with only three of his own Domestics, and so re-entering by the East Gate, he repaired to the Holy Sepulchre, there to pay to Christ Jesus his most Humble and Ardent Thanks for the Mercy shown him, in giving him the Happiness, after so many Dangers, to Accomplish his Wishes and his Vow, in the Deliverance of the Holy City. There is certainly, nothing that acts so powerfully upon the Minds of People, as the Example of their Prince, be it Evil, or be it Good; this Devout Action of Duke Godfrey, did so sensibly touch the whole Army, that passing all of the sudden, from one Extremity to another, the Princes, the Captains, the Soldiers, the People, and generally all the Crusades, together with the Christians of Jerusalem, went in Procession to prostrate themselves at the Holy Sepulchre; and that which was most Admirable, they there paid their Vows with so many Tears and Sighs, and so many Marks of a Devotion infinitely Tender, that one could difficultly have believed that these were People who had come to take a City by Assault, and to make such a dreadful Slaughter among their Enemies, seeing them now so busy at their Devotions, and in such deep Meditation of the Mysteries of Religion, which seemed to have made so absolute a Change and Alteration in their Hearts, by the Power of that Grace of God, year 1099 which in an instant turns the greatest Sinners into the greatest Saints. Thus was Jerusalem recovered from the Infidels by the Army of the Crusades, in the fourth Year of their Expedition, the fifteenth day of July, upon a Friday, and which is most Remarkable, at the very precise Hour wherein the Saviour of the World rendered his Blessed Soul into the Hands of Almighty God his Father; as if the Divine Providence had determined so to manage the Movements of this great Affair, that the Christians should recover his Inheritance, exposing their Lives for his Glory, at the same time wherein he had assured them of Immortality and Glory in Heaven, by dying upon the Cross to purchase it for them. Eight days after this happy Conquest, during which time News was brought of the Death of the Patriarch Simeon, who was Deceased in the Isle of Cyprus, the Princes and Lords who followed them, Assembled to Re-establish the ancient Kingdom of Jerusalem, by giving it a King, as David and Solomon, and the other Princes their Successors had been, till the Babylonish Captivity. Count Raymond of Tholose was then proposed, but whether he thought himself in the Age to which he was advanced, too weak to sustain so weighty a Charge, or feared that this Civility which was offered him would not succeed, in regard his own People, who had already twice forsaken him, acted secretly against his Pretensions, he excused himself by reason of his Age, and would by no means suffer it to proceed to an Election. The same Honour was also offered to Robert Duke of Normandy; but this Prince having a great Desire to return as soon as he could, had no other design but to get his Chaplain to be chosen Patriarch; and it is with great probability of Appearance, that it was he who made the Speech which one of the Writers of that time hath transmitted to us, which proposed that double Election after this manner. My Lords, Since it is full time, after having Accomplished so happily our Vow in this Glorious Expedition, that we should now begin to think of Returning into Europe, to Govern in our Persons those Estates which God hath there been pleased to give us; and since you have also thought it expedient, with all convenient Dispatch, to take care for the Government of this Place, which we came to reconquer from the Infidels; Now my Lords, this Capital and Holy City of Jerusalem, being both a Royalty and a Patriarchate, it is necessary that it should have both a King and a Patriarchate; the Royalty and the Priesthood are so nearly linked together, and accord so well, that the one cannot be without the other; for that hath need of the Priesthood to procure the Blessings of Heaven, and this stands in need of the Royalty to support it, and strengthen that Spiritual Authority which God hath Invested it withal. It is our Duty to give our Assistance to the Clergy, in the Choice of a Pastor for this Church, who may be a Man of Wisdom, Probity, Spirit and Eloquence, capable of so great an Office; and all this we have Experienced in Arnold de Robes, who is without Contradiction, the most Knowing and Able Man of all the ecclesiastics who have followed the Army; and therefore I am of Opinion that we, who are to take Care, as much as possibly we can, of this Church, aught to Recommend him to their Election for a Patriarch. As for that which concerns a King, which is wholly in our own Power, I can see nothing that should Oblige us to defer the Election for one Moment, for it is most evident that we ought to Choose without any sort of Hesitation, that Person, whose Piety, Modesty, Prudence, sweet Temper, Clemency, Justice, Integrity, Liberality, Experience in War, Generosity, Valour, Successfulness, Reputation, and the Glory which he hath acquired in a thousand noble Occasions, whose strength of Age, of Body, of Spirit whose Nobleness, admirable Composure, and very Air of Greatness and Majesty, worthy of an Empire, and a hundred other Perfections, conspire to rank him among the greatest Kings that ever were. My Lords, All these extraordinary Qualities which render themselves so Conspicuous in the Person that possesses them, make it appear wholly unnecessary for me to name him, and must needs have prevented me in that Design, nor is it what I can say, but it comes from an Authority far Superior to mine. God himself, in giving him these surpassing Advantages above the rest of Mankind, hath himself named the Person whom he hath chosen like a second David to be the King of Jerusalem, It is the Illustrious Godfrey of Bullen, Duke of Lorraine, and that— year 1099 The Prince could not sinish the rest, for so soon as he had pronounced the Name of Godfrey, all the whole Assembly Interrupted him, crying out with the same Mind and Voice, Godfrey, Godfrey, long Live Godfrey the most puissant and pious King of Jerusalem. And notwithstanding all the Resistance which the Modesty of that excellent Prince brought to oppose it, he was obliged instantly to consent to the Election, which by so sudden and universal Consent, manifested itself to have the Divine Will and Approbation. The very same day he was Conducted to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and there Proclaimed King, amidst the Acclamations of the whole Army, and all the Christians of the Country, who came flocking in to Inhabit the City of Jerusalem. He was there presented with a Crown of Gold, which he absolutely refused, protesting that he would never wear a Crown of Gold in a City where the King of Kings, had for the Sake of Mankind worn a Crown of Thorns. And though he would not take upon himself the Title of King, yet it was constantly given him, as all the Historians of that time, and Posterity have ever since done, to this very Day; and certainly never any King better deserved to wear that glorious Title, which he adorned with so many Royal Actions; the first was of Piety, for he Founded two Chapters of Canons in the Churches of the Temple, and the Holy Sepulchre, as also a Monastery in the Valley of Jehosaphat. The second was of his Power and Authority, in Obliging Count Raymond to put into his Hands, the strong Fortress of the Tower of David, which he pretended to keep in his Possession, at least, till his Return into France though he was generally Condemned by the whole Army for it, and even by his own Gascons and Provencalls. The third was an Action of incomparable Valour and Conduct, manifested in that memorable Victory which he obtained over the Sultan of Egypt; for the Sultan coming too late to Succour his People, Advanced with a formidable Army to Besiege Jerusalem, but King Godfrey eased him of that Trouble; For so soon as he received that News, he sent to recall Tancred, and Earl Eustace, who were Marched to take the Fortress of Napolis, otherwise called Sichem and Sichar, formerly the place where Samaria had stood: And as these two Princes, who were Advanced as far as Rama, where they took some of the Enemy's Scouts, had Advertised him, that the Sultan was Encamped at Ascalon, a City upon the Sea-Coast, two good days Journeys from Jerusalem, towards Egypt, he resolved to go to meet him, and notwithstanding the prodigious Inequality of their Forces, to give him Battle. For this Purpose, having first Implored the Help of Heaven by public Prayers, at which he assisted with marvellous Devotion, he parted from Jerusalem upon Tuesday the eleventh day of August, with the Earl of Flanders, and that Arnold de Robes, who, by an Intrigue, which is no part of my History to relate, was now chosen Patriarch of Jerusalem, with the Consent of the Pope. This new Patriarch, who, for very many Reasons was not so very agreeable to the generality of the People, thought to acquire Reputation, by showing his extraordinary Zeal upon this Occasion: He therefore left Peter the Hermit to take Care that Prayers might be made to God Almighty for the happy Success of the Arms of the King, whom he would follow, carrying with him, to Encourage the Soldiers, a part of the Wood of the true Cross, which an honest Christian had hid during the Siege, lest the Saracens should profane it. The same day the King joined Tancred and Count Eustace, waiting the coming up of the Duke of Normandy and Earl Raymond, who met him at Ibelin, which was Anciently the City of Gath, one of the five Cities of the Lords of the Philistines, some few Miles from Lidda and Ramula. The next day they advanced together to the Brook Soreck, which was not above two or three Leagues from the Enemies Camp. There they found a prodigious Number of Horses, Oxen, Camels, Asses, Sheep, and Goats, which were guarded by some Arabians, who were easily Routed, some of them being taken Prisoners, by whom they gained Intelligence of the Posture of the Enemies; so that they easily Seized upon these Flocks and Herds of Cattle, but there being reason to fear that this was but a Snare, which the Sultan had laid for the Christian Army, to fall upon them whilst they were busy in dividing the Prey, the King expressly Prohibited all Persons to meddle with the Booty, and not to think of taking any thing from the Enemy, till they had gained the Battle which they were going to give them. year 1099 In short, the next Morning, being Friday, and the Eve of the Assumption of our Lady, the Army at break of day passed without any Trouble the Torrent, which at that dry Season of the Summer had but very little Water in it; and the Sultan, who could never persuade himself that the Christians would dare to be so hardy as to Advance to him, had given no Order to hinder their Passage, or to Dispute it with them. Never was there seen a greater Ardour than appeared in the Countenances of the Soldiers upon this Occasion; so much Joy, and so much Assurance of Victory appeared amongst them, though they were but a handful of Men in comparison of the infinite Multitude of their Enemies; for those who speak with the least, assure us that there were a hundred thousand Horse, and above three hundred thousand Foot in their Army; for the Sultan, who had set his Resolution, either to Preserve or Recover Jerusalem, had Amassed all the Soldiers, that possibly he could, out of Egypt, Lybia, Africa, Ethiopia, Arabia, and the Towns which were yet Possessed by the Turks, who joined with him against the Christians, as their common Enemies: And the Historians who speak the most of the Christians, will not allow them to be above twenty thousand, among which, about five thousand Horse, they being not in a Condition to Re-mount the Cavalry since the Taking of Jerusalem. But that which gave this Confidence to the Christians, besides the Contempt which they had of these Numbers of Saracens, which they made no account of, was the Zeal which they had for the Glory of Christ Jesus, and the eager Desire which boiled in their Hearts, to Revenge the horrible Blasphemy of the Sultan: For they had learned from the Prisoners, that this impious Miscreant had haughtily threatened to Extirpate all the Christians and their Religion out of the East, that he would raze the very Foundations of the Holy Sepulchre, and utterly Ruin all the Monuments of Christian Religion, and thereby spoil the Longing of those of the West, to make any more such Voyages to Jerusalem. They passed then over the Torrent, with Trumpets Sounding, and great Shouts of Joy, as if it had been in Triumph, and that they intended with their small Army to Affront the mighty Number of their Despised Enemies: But it happened by a very surprising Accident, that the Mistake of their Enemies supplied the Defect of their Number, by making them appear to be far more than in Reality they were, which mistake produced all the Effect that could have been hoped or wished, had they been really so many as they appeared to be; for that mighty number of Cattle which had been taken the day before, and which the King had forbidden the Soldiers to meddle with, followed the Army as they passed the Rivulet, and without being in the least Conducted by any, Ranged themselves in the order of Troops upon their March, as if it had been the Rere-guard of an Army, extending themselves to the left Hand, to the very Foot of the Mountains which border upon the East, covering all that large Campain, which from the Brook extends itself even to Ascalon, which lies on the right Hand upon the Sea Coast; and as these Animals filled all the Plain, even to the Mountains, and that the Horses Excited by the Noise of the Trumpets, fell to Neighing, according to their courageous Nature, in such a manner that they might be heard afar off, so these great Herds of other Cattle in Marching, raised such mighty Clouds of Dust between them and the Saracens, that not being able to distinguish clearly, they took them for part of the Christian Army, and particularly, for Squadrons of Cavalry, and consequently their Fear also multiplying them in their amazed Imaginations, they conjectured that their Number was not at all inferior to theirs; whereupon they were Seized with a general Consternation, and not being able to disabuse their troubled imaginations, they stood as if they had been stupid, thinking they were to deal with a million of Christians, who since the taking of Jerusalem, were Arrived from the West. In the mean time the Armies being thus near, there was a necessity of Fight; that of the Christians was divided into three Bodies, Count Raymond Commanded the Right Point, which was extended to the Sea, that so they might not be Surrounded on that side; The King took the Left, that so he might be opposite to the Right of the Enemy where their Principal Squadrons were ranged: The Duke of Normandy, the Earl of Flanders, Tancred, year 1099 and Gaston de Foix were in the middle with the main Body of the Battle: These three Bodies were ranged upon two Lines, in the first of which were drawn up the Infantry with very large Intervals between the Batalions, and in the second the Cavalry, following here in the new Order which the King had given and which was most exactly well performed, thereby to put the Enemies in Disorder; The Enemies were also drawn up in two long Lines, wherein the Batalions and Squadrons, had a great depth and looked like two great Armies separated one from the other a great distance, that they might not confound and indamage one another by reason of their Multitude. The Lieutenant General, who was an Armenian Renegade, and the same that had taken Jerusalem from the Turks the Year before, commanded the Right Wing, where were the Turkish Auxiliary Troops and the greatest Part of the Cavalry, which enlarged themselves towards the Mountain to charge the Christians in the Flank. The Africans and the Arabians were in the Left, and the Sultan himself with the Egyptians, environed with all his Braves of Babylon and Grand Cairo, was in the main Battle; the Ethiopians had the Van in Regard of their manner of Fight, which was to expect the Enemy with one Knee upon the Ground, and after having in this Posture discharged their Arrows, they made use of certain Iron Flails with which they discharged weighty Blows upon the Casks and Bucklers of their Enemies to break them in pieces; The Sultan had caused it to be proclaimed among the Ranks as they stood in Battalions, that there were no more Christians than that pitiful Company which faced them, and that the great Number with which their Imagination was so disturbed was nothing but a pure Illusion; that he would not have them permit one single man of these Robbers to escape, whom the Despair of being able to escape his hands, and no other reason had brought to the Battle. But the fear which had already seized upon the Judement of these Barbarians, would not suffer them to understand any thing that was said, nor give them leave to disbelieve their misinformed Senses, which told them they saw what indeed was not, an infinite Number of Enemies whom they were to encounter. The Crusades all this time advanced still deliberately, encouraged by the King, who spoke much better to them by the Language of that Joy which they saw in his Countenance, the Fire that mounted into his Eyes, and the Assurance of his Mine, Fierce and yet seeming to despise and contemn his Enemies, and by the Terrible Glittering of his Sword, than by any words he could have spoken, which would difficultly have been understood among the Noise of the Trumpets and the cheerful shouts which the Soldiers gave when they saw him in that Condition. So soon as they were come within distance, the Infantry according to the Order which had been given, all together discharged their Arrows, and at the same time the Horse ran at full Speed in the Intervals between the Batalions, with their Lances couched against the Saracens, and performed the Charge so swiftly that they did not give them Liberty to draw their Bows; above all, the Brave Duke of Normandy, who was accustomed in every Battle to distinguish himself by some great and Illustrious Action, having observed the great Standard by its shining Embroidery of Silver, and the Golden Apple which glisteren under the point of it, he ran upon him who carried it, and tumbled him dead at the Feet of the Sultan's; all the rest in their places charged so Home, and the Foot also without further troubling their Darts or Arrows, with their Swords flew in like Lightning at the Breach which the Horse had made in the Batalions, so that the Saracens already shaken with the Fear which their false Imagination had imprinted in their Hearts, made a very miserable Resistance, and so absolutely lost their Courage and their Sense, that throwing away their Arms, some of them stood as if they had been stupid, and suffered themselves to be Slain without making any manner of Defence, whilst others of them scrambled up the Trees which were there, the Soldiers fetching them down with a certain Cruel Pleasure with their Arrows as if they had been little Birds; some of them threw themselves down upon the Earth, either thinking to escape Death by counterfeiting it among the Heaps of those that were dead, year 1099 or as if they submitted to receive it according to the Pleasure of the Victors, some of them crept upon their Bellies, others continued in the kneeling Posture without stirring, as did the Ethiopians upon whom Godfrey and his Troops fell, cutting off Heads and Arms with mighty Blows of the Scimitar, in that very Posture wherein he found them with one knee on the Ground, they never offering to make one Discharge against him. Those on the Left Wing, where the Gascons and Provencals under Earl Raymond fought, made also a most bloody Execution, and charged the Enemy so impetuously, that to avoid their Death they hastened it, throwing themselves and crowding one another Headlong into the Sea, where they were swallowed up in a Moment, sparing the Victorious Christians the Trouble of killing them with the Mortal Steel. In a word, all the rest betook themselves to flight, and in flying broke and entangled those of the Second Line who had not yet struck a Blow; but yet that did not prevent their having a share in the Misfortune of the first, for the Conquerors eagerly pursued the Fugitives, killing them continually to the very Gates of Ascalon. There the Crowd was so great, every one striving to be foremost to save himself, and they precipitated one another over the Drawbridge in such Numbers, that two thousand of them were drowned and smothered in the Moat. The Sultan himself unable to stop the flight of his Men, had like there to have perished; and not thinking himself safe in the Town he quitted it, and with the haste of a flying Coward threw himself aboard the Ships which he had in the Port loaden with all sorts of Engines for the Siege of Jerusalem. It is true that some of the Crusades made too much hast to fall to the Plunder, insomuch that they were in Danger of being surprised by the Lieutenant General who had rallied some Troops to make his Advantage of such an Opportunity; but the King whose Vigilant Eye was every where, perceiving it run immediately to their Succour, and not only disengaged his own men, but cut in pieces those miserable Remnants of his Enemies, and thereby rendered the Victory absolute and complete, although it was not yet much above twelve of the Clock. After which he gave the Pillage to the Victorious Army, which got there the Richest Booty that they had hitherto met withal during the whole War: for the Great Lords of Babylon, and all the considerable Persons of Egypt and the Neighbouring Regions, were come in their most magnificent Equipage to attend the Sultan, who had also brought with him an inestimable Treasure, and vast Quantities of all manner of Provisions for the Entertainment of so great an Army: and besides, they who were to share in this prodigious Booty were but an inconsiderable Number in Comparison of those who had been Parties in the other Battles. In this Battle there were slain thirty thousand upon the place, and twice as many in the Pursuit in, the whole above one hundred thousand Men, without counting those who were stifled at the Gate of Ascalon, or those others who threw themselves into the Sea, which though they were a great Number yet it was impossible to compute them. On the part of the Christians there was not any one man of Note, nor so much as one Horseman slain, and but a very inconsiderable Number of the Infantry, and of those, most were of that unruly sort of Soldiers who disbanded themselves from their Colours to run to the Plunder. Thus the King having assured his new Kingdom by this great and Memorable Victory, led the Army back again loaden with Spoils and Glory to Jerusalem, where it entered in a kind of Triumph which was finished by the solemn returning of Thanks to Jesus Christ at his Holy Sepulchre; There Robert Duke of Normandy hung up the great Standard of the Sultan, as his Sword also, which in his Flight he had let fall, and which to add to his Offering, he bought of a Soldier who had found it. See here the true Account of the Battle of Ascalon, which was rather a flight on the one side, and a Slaughter on the other, than a Combat; which Tasso nevertheless hath rendered famous by a hundred Beautiful and Magnificent Falsities, which his Art gives him the Licence to add throughout his Poem, of which he makes this the Conclusion, as indeed it was also of this first Crusade. For the Princes and great Lords with those who had followed them, believing that they had fully accomplished their Vow, took their Leave of the King to return into their respective Countries and Habitations; year 1099 but in Regard it is the History of the Crusades, and not only that of the Realm of Jerusalem which I undertake to write, I shall not treat of that but so concisely as may be, and as it hath a necessary Connexion to that of the Crusades, in making it known by the Consequent Events, the Occasions and the Causes which gave Birth and Rise to the others, and as it shows the Condition in which the Christian Princes found the East when they were published, and when they undertook their Voyages to assist them. year 1100 After that the Crusades to the Number of about twenty thousand had quitted the Holy Land, Godfrey, who had not remaining with him more than three hundred Horse and about two thousand Foot, together with Tancred who never abandoned him, received a reinforcement from Italy, which was brought him by Dambert Archbishop of Pisa, Legat to Pope Paschal the second, who succeeded Pope Vrban. It was with these few Troops that the King to enlarge the Frontiers of his new Kingdom conquered the places which were yet untaken round about Jerusalem; After which he made himself Master of Tiberias, and other Towns upon the Lake of Genazareth, and the greatest part of Galilee the Government whereof he bestowed upon Tancred. He compelled also the Emirs of Ptolemais, Caesarea, Antipatris, and Ascalon to become his Tributaries; and the Arabian Princes beyond Jordan, in most humble manner to beg Peace of him. After which he caused the Port and the City of Joppa, which afterwards was called Jaffa, to be fortified, where he received the Succours of the Venetians, who being joined with Tancred, some time after took Caiphas at the Foot of Mount Carmel. And now after so many Toils being fallen sick he caused himself to be removed to Jerusalem, whereupon the eight day of July in the fortieth Year of his Age, and the first of his Reign he rendered his glorious Soul into the Hands of his Almighty Redeemer by a most Religious Death. He was a Prince in whom all the Virtues, Christian, Civil, and Military were assembled in the highest Point of Humane Perfection without the Mixture of any Default, so that it will for ever remain difficult to find another like him, or of whom one may without the Magnifying Vice of Flattery say the same things, even among the Catalogue of the greatest Saints. Baldwin his Brother succeeded him; and leaving to his Cousin Baldwin Earl of Bourg, the Principality of Edessa, with a few Troops marched to Jerusalem, from whence Tancred, after having rendered Caiphas into his Hands, was retired, in Order to his taking upon him the Principality of Antioch, during the Imprisonment of his Uncle Bohemond, who had, by an Ambuscade which they laid for him, been taken by the Turks. year 1101 This new King who though he was nothing comparable either in Sanctity or Prudence to his Brother, had notwithstanding many excellent Qualities and Endowments, and above all others he was most extraordinary Valiant and a great Soldier. In the beginning of the Spring making a League with the Naval Forces of Genoa, at Jaffa, he with their Assistance took Antipatris and Caesarea, and in Conclusion, in a set Battle Vanquished the Army of the Saracens of Egypt, but the Year following, year 1102 happening too wilfully and with Precipitation to engage in the Plain of Rama, without staying for his Infantry, though his Army consisted in twenty thousand Foot, and ten thousand Horse, he lost the Bactle, and many French Princes and Lords, who at that time were come to visit the Holy Places. For so soon as it was known in France, that Jerusalem was taken, there were an Infinite Number of People of all Ages and Qualities, who for Devotion undertook that Voyage; the Principal Persons were Hugh the Great, and the Earl of Blois, who being retired into France, the one before, the other after the taking of Antioch, thought to repair that Fault by this second Voyage; also the Earls William de Poitiers, Geoffry de Vendosme, Stephen de Burgogne, and Hugh Brother to Earl Raymond of Tholose, who having stayed some time at Constantinople to treat with the Emperor Alexis, joined themselves with those Princes. The other Nations, and particularly the Lombard's and the Cermans would also have a part in this Expedition; and the Number of these new Pilgrims was so excessive great, that counting also the French, there arrived when they passed into Asia, year 1102 two hundred and sixty Thousand men; but as it was nothing else but a confused Multitude of disorderly Volunteers of all sorts of Conditions which followed them without Order, Discipline, Obedience, and almost without Arms, and that the Princes and Bishops went rather in Pilgrimage than to a Holy War after the Conquest of Jerusalem, I do not reckon this among the Crusades. And indeed, there never was one more irregular, or less fortunate; for the greatest part of these ill conducted Pilgrims perished by the Miseries of the Way, or by the Arms of the Turks under Soliman with whom the Alexis had beforehand complotted their Destruction; there perished a hundred thousand men, besides an infinite Number of Women who were led into miserable Captivity. The Earl of Poitiers having lost all, was reduced to the deplorable Necessity to make his Voyage on Foot; Hugh the Great could not finish his, but died by the way at Tarsus in Cilicia. The Earl of Tholose making Use of the small Remainder of the Pilgrims to regain Tortosa from the Saracens, who had seized it, abandoned his Benefactors, and fortified himself in his Conquest, following the Design which he had always cherished to acquire some little Principality in the East. The rest after having visited the Holy Places conducted by their ill Destiny, completed their Misfortunes by joining with the King in this unhappy Battle; only the Earl of Poitiers escaped, having taken Shipping at Jaffa in order to his return into France; the rest who stayed were either slain upon the Place, as were the Earls of Blois and Burgogne, or taken Prisoners, as were the Earl of Bourges, and many other brave though unfortunate Persons. The King nevertheless escaped to Rama; and in a few days having drawn together the Troops of Antipatris, Tiberias, Jerusalem and Jaffa, into which Place he had put himself, he made a Sally to so good purpose upon his Enemies, who prepared to besiege him, that in the End he constrained them to take their Flight leaving to him all the Marks of an absolute Victory, the Field of Battle, the Bodies of the Slain, all their Engines and their Baggage. After which he took Ptoelmais, by the Help of the Genoese who besieged it by Sea with seventy Ships; he a second time defeated the Saracens of Egypt in the Plain of Rama, he took the City of Tripoli, year 1105 which under the Denomination of an Earldom, and the Condition of Homage he conferred upon Bertrand the Son of the Earl of Tholose, year 1109 who was dead about four years before; he made himself Master of Sidon, Beritus, and all the Sea-Coast Towns excepting Tyre, which he kept blocked up by the Fortress of Scandalion which he caused to be built upon the Coast some five Miles from that City, in the same place where Alexander the Great had formerly form his Camp when he besieged that City: In the End after having also built upon the further side of Jordan, the Castle of Mont-Real, to bridle the Incursions of the Arabians, and having carried his Victorious Arms even into Egypt, year 1118 he died of the Flux, and was interred near his Brother Godfrey at the Foot of Mount Calvary, in a Chapel adjoining to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. He left the Christians in Possession of four large Sovereignty's which they had conquered in the East; the first was the Earldom of Edessa which extended itself from the further side of Euphrates to the River Tigris; the second was the Principality of Antioch, in which was comprised all the Country which is between Tarsus of Cilicia, towards the West, and the City of Maraclea on the East, upon the Coast of the Phenician Sea as far as Tortosa. It was afterwards governed by Roger the Cousin of Tancred, after the Death of that brave Prince, who had governed it till after the Deliverance of his Uncle; and then returning into France, he married Constance the Daughter of King Philip the first, and after having made War in Epirus and in Dalmatia with the Greek Emperor, he died in Italy, leaving behind him a Son of his own Name. The third was the Earldom of Tripoli, which extends itself along the Sea-Coast of Phenicia beyond Maraclea as far as the River Adonis which runs between Biblis and Baruth. The fourth was the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which beginning at the same River, stretches itself almost to the Castle of Daron upon the Frontier of Idumea near unto Egypt. In this flourishing Estate stood the Affairs of the Christians in the East at the death of Baldwin the second. His Brother Eustace, Earl of Bullen, who ought to have succeeded him, was at that time in France; and in Regard there was a Necessity that they should have a King who should be actually within the Kingdom, year 1118 to maintain things in that Condition wherein they stood, against so many Potent Enemies which they had upon all hands, therefore the Earl of Edessa, his Cousin, Baldwin de Bourg, who was at that time at Jerusalem, was called to the Succession of the Kingdom, which he took upon him, leaving the Earldom of Edessa to Josselin Earl of Courtenay who was his Kinsman. Now in Regard that it was in the Beginning of his Reign that the Order of the Knight's Templars were first founded in his Palace, and that it is requisite something should be said of these Knights, as also of the other Order which was called Hospitallers, I think it will not be amiss in a few Words to inform the Reader of the Original, the Intention, the manner of Living, and the Employ of these Military Orders, which were established in Palestine under the first Kings of Jerusalem. It is certain, that before the Christian Princes had conquered the Holy Land there were Hospitallers at Jerusalem, whereof some received and Entertained the Pilgrims which came from all Parts of Christendom to visit the Holy Places; and others of them had the Charge of the Poor Sick and Diseased People, and particularly of the Lepers of which there were great Numbers in those times; Those who were called the Hospitallers of St. Lazarus are far more Ancient than the first of these, as appears by the great Number of Hospitals and Insirmaries, of the Name of St. Lazarus, which were wholly intended and principally in the East for such as were afflicted with the Leprosy. St. Gregory Nazianzen assures us, that St. Basil built one at Caesarea dedicated to the same Saint, the supposed Protector of the Lepers, and that he gave Rules to these Charitable Hospitallers, who devoted themselves to the Service of those diseased People. As for the others who made Profession to serve the Pilgrims of the Holy Land, they were not in being till a long time after, that the Merchants of Amalphi in Italy who trafficked into Syria, obtained Permission of one of the Caliphs' to build a Monastery near the Holy Sepulchre, to which they added a Hospital and an Oratory dedicated to St. John the Eleemosynary, there to receive the poor Pilgrims as well as the sick and diseased. For after they were embodied into a Community, as formerly they took Care only of the Infirm and Leprous; so now there were others who were particularly appointed to attend the Pilgrims, and both the one and the other were indifferently called Hospitallers; they lived a long time in this peaceable Exercise of Charity, under one Superior who was called the Master of the Hospital; until that after though Conquest of Palestine by the Princes of the Crusade, they took up Arms not only for the defence of the poor Pilgrims, but also to serve the Kings of Jerusalem, for whom they performed many notable Services in their Wars. And for this Reason the Hospitallers divided their Community into three different Ranks, of which the first was that of Knights who went to the Wars; the second of Friars or Brother's Servitors, who had the Charge of the Sick and the Pilgrims; and the third was that of ecclesiastics and Chaplains who administered the Sacraments; and this Company which was thus advanced into a Military Order was also confirmed by Pope Paschal the second. It was in Imitation of these Armed Hospitallers, that many others also much about the same time, taking up the Profession of Arms at Jerusalem, began to establish other new Military Orders. The first were those who had the Guard of the Holy Sepulchre for many Ages, and that King Baldwin the First, of Canons which they were before, changed them into Knights of the Holy Sepulchre. They retired after the loss of the Holy Land into Italy where they settled at peruse, and continued there, till such time as Pope Innocent the eighth sent them to the Knights of the Rhodes; the Father's Cordeliers succeeded them in keeping the Holy Sepulchre, and to this day retain the Power of giving the Honour of Knighthood to such noble Persons as resort thither to visit the Holy Places. Some time after, about the Year 1118. nine French Gentlemen, of whom the Principal were Hugh de pain, and Geoffrey the Saint Omer, going to present themselves before Guarimond the Patriarch of Jerusalem, he persuaded them so Effectually, that between his Hands they took upon them a Vow of Chastity and Obedience, year 1118 and to employ their Lives in defending the Passes, and keeping the Ways clear and free for the Pilgrims who came to the Holy Land. King Baldwin gave them Lodgings in his Palace near the Temple, and from thence they came to be called Templars, or Knights of the Temple: They continued nine Years in this manner, their Number not at all Increasing, and without all distinction of Habits, until the Year 1128, when Pope Honorius the Second bestowed upon them at the Council of Troy's a Rule with a white Habit, to which Eugenius the Third added a red Cross. And after that time, as they acquired a mighty Reputation by their Virtue, Courage, and admirable Things which they did against the Infidels, so their Order grew mightily, and became so Puissant, by the great Estates which were every where Conferred upon them, that they became equal in their Fortune to the greatest Princes; But in Conclusion, these great Revenues, which at first were the Recompenses, and the Testimonies of their Merit, became the Occasion of their Misfortune; for from thence sprung those Disorders with which they are but too justly Reproached, though possibly the Hatred into which they fell, by reason of their Pride and Arrogance, may have represented those Disorders greater than they were in Reality; yet it is certain that they gave an Occasion to the Fathers of the Council of Vienna under Clement the Fifth, utterly to Extinguish their Order, the greatest part of their fair Revenues being given to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, year 1119 who about this time Conquered the Isle of Rhodes. Immediately after the Establishment of this Order of the Templars, that of the Knights of the Teutonick Order began, being Founded by the Charity of a Rich Germane Lord, who having had his Part in the taking of Jerusalem, had resolved there to pass the remainder of his Days with his Family, in the Exercises of Piety. He, observing that many Pilgrims and poor Soldiers of his Nation, suffered extremely in a Country where no body understood them, built a Hospital at Jerusalem to receive them, and some time after an Oratory in Honour of the Blessed Virgin; many Germans drawn by the Example of his so great Charity, joined with him, and quitting their Estates to the Use of this Hospital, devoted themselves to the Service of the Poor of their Nation; and there being among them many Gentlemen, who had undertaken this Voyage, principally with a Design to make War against the Infidels, they added to this Vow, that of Fight unto Death against the Enemies of Jesus Christ, herein following the Conduct, Manner of Living, and the Rule of the Templars; until that about seventy Years after Pope Celestin the third, Erected it into a military Order, under the Rule of St. Augustin, for those of the Germane Nation only, giving them a white Habit with a black Cross, to distinguish them from the Templars. Nevertheless, they could after that do no manner of great Services to Christendom in Syria, by reason that the Affairs of the Christians were then become altogether Desperate; about thirty eight years after, the Emperor Frederick the Second, Returning from his unfortunate Voyage to the Holy Land, brought them all into Germany, under their fourth Great Master Herman Psaltza, to whom he proposed the Conquest of Prussia from the barbarous People and Pagans, who at that time Inhabited there. This Valiant Man entered the Country with his Knights and two thousand others, who took upon them the Habit after the Example of Conrade Marquis of Thuringia, who accompanied him with twenty thousand Soldiers. In three Years time they made themselves Masters of all the Country, Reducing the People to Christianity, and Built Marienburg to be the chief Seat of their Order, giving it the Name of the Holy Virgin, their Protectress. After which their Successors Possessed themselves of the greatest part of the Northern Countries, which are on both sides of the Vistula, Extending themselves and their Catholic Religion into Lithuania, continually Augmenting their Power and Dominion, till after a long War which they had undertaken against the King of Poland, that King Jagelon Defeated them in that famous Battle, wherein they lost the greatest part of their Knights, who were accompanied with the Slaughter of fifty thousand of their Soldiers, who remained dead upon the Place. So that all Prussia being almost Revolted, the Great Master to preserve his remaining Interest, was obliged to do Homage for it to Casimire King of Poland. Afterwards Frederick Duke of Saxony, coming to be Great Master, year 1118 refused to do that Homage; and after that the Knights had for a long time, under that Prince, used their utmost Efforts to maintain their Sovereign Authority; at length, Albert Marquis of Brandenburg, who was chosen Great Master, abandoning the Interests of the Order, to Establish his own particular Designs, submitted himself to King Sigismond his Uncle, who of Great Master of the Order, made him Duke of one part of Prussia, under the Sovereignty of Poland. After which, this new Duke Renouncing the Catholic Religion, and Violating his Vow of Knighthood, Married the Princess of Denmark, and in Conclusion, left to his Posterity the Ducal Prussia: So that after this time, this Order, sometimes so Celebrated and powerful, having Flourished more than three hundred Years, was in a manner quite Extinguished: It is nevertheless still kept up in Germany, where the Knights, which are the prime Nobility, possess great Estates under the Authority of the Great Master of the Teutonick Order. But whilst these Military Orders began thus much about the same time to Establish themselves by little and little in Jerusalem, that of the Hospitallers, both Ancient and Modern, which one may say, were the Model of the others, made a great Progress in Palestine, and became of great Consideration by the great Services which it Performed both in Peace and War, and upon this Account, both the number of Pilgrims, as also of Soldiers and Gentlemen, who entered into that Order, increasing daily, St. Gerard, the Provincial of the Isle of Martigues, who was Master of the Hospitallers, when Jerusalem was taken from the Saracens, built about the Year 1112. a third Hospital, giving it the Name of St. John Baptist, and there placed his new Knights, who a little time after began to form the Design of following a Conduct and Manner of Living more Austere, and more Perfect than that of the old Fraternity. And indeed, when after the Death of Gerard, Friar Bryan Roger was chosen by plurality of Voices, to be the Great Master of the Hospitallers; these new Knights of the third Erection of St. John Baptist, persisting in their first Resolution of Living in greater Perfection, would needs Imitate the Knights-Templers, and add to their other Vows that of Chastity, they separated from the Ancient Hospitallers, and chose for their Master Friar Raymond of Pavia, a Gentleman of Dauphiny, who drew up for them new Constitutions, full of solid Christian Piety, which may be seen in the Book of the Statutes of that Order, with the Approbation of Pope Calixtus the Second, in the Year 1123. as also the Privileges which have been granted to them by forty eight Sovereign Popes. After which time, to distinguish themselves from the other, they called themselves the Knights of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, and wore a white Cross of eight Angles upon a black Habit. This is that famous Order, which contrary to what usually happens to other Establishments, hath daily Increased for above this five hundred Years, Advancing to the supreme Elevation of Splendour and Glory, wherein it appears at this very Day: That Order, I say, which in all times hath had the Honour to have its Commanders and Knights of all that is Brave and Generous among the Nobility of all Europe, and above all those Princes who have been most Remarkable, and more distinguished by the Greatness of their Merit, than by their Illustrious Names or Birth; that Order, in short, which under the Celebrated Names of Rhodes and Maltha, hath filled the Earth, the Sea, and all the Corners of our World, with the glorious Trophics of an infinite number of Victories, which they have Obtained against the Turks. As for the ancient Hospitallers, who were thus separated from these New ones, with whom they formerly made up one Order, under one great Master, they still retained their ancient Name of St. Lazarus; they added to the Habits of their Knights, a green Cross, to distinguish them from the others, and maintained themselves within the Limits of their first Institution, which allowing of Marriage, consisted of three principal Vows; of Charity to withdraw themselves from the World to the Service of the Infirm and Leprous; of Chastity, either in a single or conjugal State; and of Obedience to their great Master; and above all, to be continually ready to Fight against the Infidels and the Enemies of the Church. They also performed after this, very signal Services in Palestine, year 1119 which obliged the Kings Fulk, Amaurus, Baldwin the Third and Fourth, and the Queens Melisantha and Theodora, to take them into their particular Protection, and to honour them with many Marks of their Royal Bounty; the precious Testimonies whereof, they do to this day preserve in their Treasury. It was for this Cause, that the young King Lewis, at his Return from the Holy Land, brought with him some of them into France, there to Exercise their charitable Functions, and to this purpose gave them the Supervising of all the Operations of the Infirmaries within his Realm, as also the Castle of Boni near Orleans, to be the principal House and chief Residence of their Order, on this side the Sea, as appears by his Letters Patents, of the Year 1154. Signed by the Chancellor Huges, in the Presence of the Constable Matthew de Montmorency: which was Confirmed to them by Philip Augustus, in the Year 1208; who also granted them great Privileges and Immunities, which have since been Augmented, and solemnly Confirmed by twelve of our Kings of France. In process of time the Order extended itself by Degrees through all Europe, but principally in France, England, Scotland, Germany, Hungary, Savoy, Sicily, Pavia, Calabria, Campania in Italy, where the Emperor Frederick the Second, gave them great Possessions in the Year 1225, which was also confirmed to them afterwards by the Bulla's of many Popes. It was in that flourishing Estate wherein this Order was in Europe under this Emperor, and under the King St. Lewis, that the Pope Honorius the Third Approved it, and Confirmed it anew, giving it the Rule of St. Augustin, with many great Privileges, which were also afterwards Augmented by the Bulla's of Pope Gregory the Ninth, Alexander the Fourth, Clement the Fourth, Nicholas the Third, Gregory the Tenth, and John the Twenty second, and many other Sovereign Popes, who granted to them the same Favours which were Enjoyed by the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, by which they were empowered to hold Estates given either by particular Persons, or Bodies Politic and Corporate, and all the Hospitals and Infirmaries, with their Goods and Possessions, which at any time belonged to this Order. In the time that the Affairs of the Christians were almost become Desperate in the East, after the Return of St. Lewis from his Voyage to the Holy Land, the great Master of St. Lazarus, with the greatest part of the Knights, came to settle themselves in France, where this devout King, who took this Order into his Royal Protection, and gave them of his Bounty a thousand Marks, besides other Favours which he conferred on them, became in a manner a new Founder; and in effect, it is most certain, as appears by most authentic Acts, that after this time, the principal Seat of the Order of St. Lazarus, as well on this, as the other side of the Sea, hath always been kept at their Castle of Boni, where the general Chapter of the Order ought to be kept once every three Years; and that the Kings of France have always been the Conservators and Patrons of the Order, and have nominated and appointed the great Master; That these great Masters have Exercised their Jurisdictions upon all the Knights of the Order, in all the States of Christendom, as the Generals of the Cistertians Premonstratenses, and other Orders, which at present are in France, Exercise theirs over all the Religious of other Realms. It is true, that this Order began to Relax and Decay extremely by the iniquity of the Times, during the Wars between the English and French, either by the Malice or Negligence of the Knights, who either themselves did, or permitted others to encroach upon the Estates of the Order, appropriating them to their own private Families. For this Cause it was, that Pope Innocent the Eight, at the Request of the Knights of Malta, suppressed this Order, to Reunite it with all its Estates, to that of St. John of Jerusalem, which was obtained by Emery D' Amboise, Great Master of the Rhodes, by another Bulla from Pope Julius the Second. But in regard that the Parliament of France Declared these Bulla's to be Injurious, and contrary to the Rights of the Kings of France, the Patrons of the Order, the Pope's Pius Fourth, and Pius Fifth, caused them to be Revoked, upon Remonstrance thereof made to them by Charles the Fifth, and Philip the Second; who thought themselves too nearly Interessed in the Commanderies or Places of Trust which were within their Dominions; so that the Order was again Established, with many new Privileges, by Pope Pius the Fourth, year 1119 who Created Jannot de Chastillon, his Nephew Great Master of the Order; after his Death Gregory the Thirteenth Transferred the Great Mastership to Emanuel Philibert, the Duke of Savoy, and to his Successors, granting him also the Union of this Order, with all their Estate, to that of the Knights of St. Maurice, the Erecting of which the Duke had obtained about a Month before. It ought nevertheless, to be taken for Indubitable, that these new Creations to the Dignity of Great Master of St. Lazarus, were not made but with Respect to certain Countries; and it is no less certain that it was extremely in the Prejudice of the Kings of France, who could by no means lose that Right, which they had so lawfully acquired, and for more than five hundred Years enjoyed, to have the sole Nomination of the Great Master, who ought to be Elected at Boni, the principal Conventical General House of the whole Order, and who ought to have Jurisdiction over all the Knights of what Nation soever they be. Insomuch, that all those who are called Great Masters in other Countries, are no more, to speak properly, but Deputies and Substitutes, to him who is Established and Acknowledged in France, as the King of Spain alleges in his Right, Affirming that the Duke of Savoy is only his Vicegerent in Italy, which also a very learned Civilian hath remarked, according to the Bulla of Gregory the Thirteenth. However, after all these Bulla's, reckoning from that of Innocent the Eight, our Kings whose Rights are Sacred and Inviolable, have not failed always to name, as they did formerly, without Interruption, the Great Masters of all the Order of St. Lazarus both on this and the other side of the Sea. And those of the Fraternity following, that is, Aignan, Claude de Marveil, John de Conty, John de Levi, Michael de Seurre, Francis Salviati, Aymar de Chartres, Hugh Castelan de Castelmore, and Charles de Gayan, who were provided and nominated by the Kings Lewis Twelfth, Francis First, Henry Second, Francis Second, Charles Ninth, Henry Third, and Henry the Great, never failed to take this Quality upon them, although the deplorable Condition to which the Order was Reduced in France, the small Number of Knights, and the Loss and Alienation of their Estates, took from them the Opportunity of maintaining the Dignity of their Place and Order. It was for this Reason, that Henry the Forth, after he had Gloriously Settled the three Estates of his Realm, and that after the cruel Disorders of the Civil Wars, he had put the Kingdom into a flourishing Condition, was resolved also to restore to its primitive Splendour this Military Order of the Hospitallers, from which he persuaded himself he should be able to draw very considerable Services. He therefore Chose for Great Master one of the Fraternity, whose Name was Philibert de Newstang, a Gentleman whose Birth and Merit were equally Illustrious. He went upon the King's Account to Rome, there to treat about this Affair with Pope Paul the Fifth, and did so well Negotiate what he had in Commission, that the Quality of Restorer, Protector, and Patron of the Order was reserved to the King; and the Dignity of Chief and General of the whole Order of St. Lazarus, was Absolutely, and without Restrinction, to be in him whom the King should name to be Great Master. Moreover the Pope having Created a New Order of Knights, under the Title of our Lady of Mount Carmel, at the Instance of the King he United them to that of St. Lazarus; after which time the Knights have with this double Title born for their Arms a Cross, or which is doubled, consisting of eight Points Pometty, between four Flowers-de-Lys, with the Image of our Lady in the middle. But as the Death of Henry the Great made the greatest of all his Noble Designs to Vanish, the Order of St. Lazarus, which began to Recover after having received these new Marks of Honour, did for the main stand at a Stay, continuing in the Condition wherein he lest it, till now of late it gins to Flourish in such a manner which would make one believe, that we shall one day see it produce those Fruits, which it was accustomed to do in the times of its early Force and Vigour: For the King, who undertakes nothing which he doth not most happily Accomplish, having taken up the same generous Design of his August Grandfather, whose Sir Name the Acclamation of all Europe hath bestowed upon him, will not fail to take all the most Just and Essicacious Ways, to restore this ancient Order to that Condition which may render it Serviceable to those necessary Ends for the Good of the Church and State, year 1119 which he hath proposed to himself. But it is time methinks, after this Digression, which I hope will neither be Disagreeable nor Unprofitable to the Reader, that I should now again follow the Thread of my History. year 1123 The new King Baldwin de Bourg, who had abundance of Courage and of Virtue, obtained many great Victories against the Turks, who after having Defeated and Slain in Battle the Prince of Antioch, began to menace that great City. But as he went to Succour the Earl of Edessa against Balac, the most Potent of the Turkish Princes, who had taken Earl Josselin with his Cousin Galeran, in an Ambuscade, he himself happened to be Surprised in the Night by that Emir, who sent him Loaden with Irons to the same Castle where the two Earls his Kinsmen were detained Captives. His Imprisonment however had not those dismal Consequences as were expected, for Eustace Garnier Lord of Sidon or Saietta and Caesarea, who was made Regent of the Realm, Defeated the Army of the Egyptian Saracens, who Besieged Jaffa. After which, their Navy, which consisted in eighty Sail of Ships, was entirely Ruined by the Venetians, who met with them in their Return to Egypt. year 1124 William de Bures, Lord of Tiberias, Succeeded in the Regency to Eustace, who died some few days after his Victory, and he knew so well how to make good Use of it, that taking this Occasion to Besiege the City of Tyre by Land with his Army, and by Sea with the Venetian Fleet, he became Master of the Place before the Sultan of Egypt was in a Condition to Relieve it by a new Fleet. The Earl Josselin also Escaping out of Prison, had gotten into Antioch, and Fought so successfully with his little Army, year 1125: during the Siege against the same Balac who had taken him Prisoner, that the Barbarian lost both the Battle and his Life; whereby the King also recovered his Liberty, paying his Ransom to the Princess the Widow of Balac. The Deliverance of the King was succeeded by other happy Successes. He overthrew in Battle Borsequin, another potent Turkish Prince, who had entered in Arms into the Principality of Antioch; He Defeated the Egyptians and Ascalonites, who were ready to make an Irruption into his Kingdom, and had very great Advantages over Dodequin the Sultan of Damascus, whom he went to Attaque in the very Heart of his Dominions; He took the strong Place of Raphana near to Arcas, for the Earl of Tripoli, and by his Actions made it appear to the whole World, that he was, as a most Virtuous Prince, so also, a very great Captain. year 1126 He put the whole Principality of Antioch into the Hands of the Young Bohemond, whom he also made his Son-in-Law, giving him in Marriage the Princess Alice, his second Daughter; for he had before given his Eldest Daughter, the Princess Melisentha, to Fowk Earl of Anjou, to whom he gave the two Cities of Tyre and Ptolemais, he being also in right of his Lady to Succeed him in the Realm of Jerusalem. But his good Fortune was not constant to him till his Death; for having Besieged Damascus with a Puissant Army, where were joined with him the Earls of Edessa and Tripoli, the Prince of Antioch and Fowk Earl of Anjou, he was obliged for want of Provisions, and by the Incommodiousness of the Season, to raise his Siege; and not long after, his Son-in-Law, the young Bohemon, being Surprised by the Turks, was Slain in Cilicia. After which, having given the necessary Orders for Securing the Principality of Antioch to the Princess Constantia, the Daughter of Bohemond, whom her own Mother would most unnaturally have Excluded from that Right, he died most Religiously at Jerusalem, year 1131 in the third Year of his Reign, and was Interred at the Foot of Mount Calvary, near the two Kings his Predecessors and his Cousins. Earl Fowk who Succeeded him, did also Inherit his Virtues, and above all, his Integrity and high Generosity. For after having Defended the Principality of Antioch against the Designs of his Sister-in-Law the Princess Dowager of young Bohemond, and against a mighty Army of the Turks, whom he cut in pieces near Antioch; he gave the Principality thereof to Raymond the Son of the Earl of Poitiers, giving him in Marriage the young Princess Constantia, the Daughter of Bohemond, the lawful Heiress of those Territories. He also maintained him in it against all the Forces of John the Constantinopolitan Emperor, who made two fruitless Expeditions with huge Armies, for the regaining of Antioch, year 1131 which he pretended appertained to him of Right, by the Treaty which his Father Alexis had Concluded with the Princes of the first Crusade, when they passed by Constantinople into Asia. He gloriously preserved both his own Kingdom, and the States of Christian Princes his Neighbours, against all the Forces of Sanguine Sultan of Aleppo, the most potent among all the Infidel Princes, against whom he entered into Confederacy with the Sultan of Damascus. He took from the Turks the City of Paneas or Caesarea Philippi, otherwise in Ancient times called Dan, near the two Heads from whence arises the River Jordan; he rebuilt and fortified Beersheba at the other Extremity of his Kingdom, as it was in the times of the Ancient Kings, and as it is frequently said in the Holy Scripture, he extended his Dominion from Dan to Beersheba. But some time after he happened to have an unfortunate Fall from his Horse, year 1142 as he was Hunting the Hare in the Plain of Ptolemais, of which he died in the eleventh Year of his Reign, leaving for his Successor his eldest Son Baldwin, of the Age of three Years, under the Regency of his Mother Queen Melesintha; and it was in the time of this young King that the second Crusade was Published, upon the Occasion which I am now going to relate. It was about eleven Years after that Josselin de Courtenay Earl of Edessa dying, had left for his Successor a Son of his own Name, but one who did neither resemble his Father in Virtue nor in Courage, as too plainly appeared by the Dishonourable beginning of the Son, and the glorious ending of the Father: That valiant Prince who was retired half dead, and almost crushed in Pieces by the Ruins of a Fortress which he had Attacked near Aleppo, lay Languishing in his Bed, expecting every Moment his approaching Death, when News was brought him, that the Sultan of Iconium, thinking to take the Advantage of his Malady, had laid Siege to one of his Towns called Croisson. At this News he gave order to the young Josselin, who was now arrived at the Age fit to Command, to go instantly with what Troops he could draw together about Edessa, to oppose the Enemy; But the Cowardly Youth, far from laying hold upon such an Opportunity to gain Glory and Reputation by a Victory which should show that he Merited that Crown, which by Birthright and the expected Death of his Father, was shortly to devolve upon him, coldly answered his Father, That he did not think it consisted with his Prudence to offer to Encounter an Enemy so much Superior to him in Strength and Numbers; whereupon the Generous old Prince, seeing to what an unworthy Successor he was about to leave so fair a Principality, was resolved once more to show him, even as he was dying, by his Example what his Honour obliged him to do in Defence thereof: and therefore having instantly Assembled his Troops, he caused himself to be carried at the Head of them in a Horselitter, being only able to act with his Noble Mind, which still retained all its Vigour and Force, in despite of the extreme Weakness and Languishment to which his bruised Body was reduced; as he Marched in this Condition, still Advancing towards the Enemy, Word was brought him, that the Sultan having been Informed, that he, who he thought Dead, was coming against him with a Resolution to give him Battle, had raised his Siege, and was Retreated into his own Territories. Whereupon the brave Earl, ravished with Joy at the same time that he felt himself most cruelly Oppressed with his Pains and the Approaches of Death, causing his Litter to be set down in the middle of the Army, he lifted up his Hands and Eyes all Bathed in Tears of Joy, to Heaven, and with great Devotion, he returned his hearty Thanks unto Almighty God, for all the Benefits which he had received from him, but above all, for the Favour which he had now done him, to let him die like a Prince of the Crusade, in making War against the Infidels, and that he permitted him to Vanquish with the bare Report of his Approach, and the Terror of his Name, these Enemies of Christ Jesus, and of his Holy Faith. And thus did this Christian Hero, Transported more with the Excess of his Joy, than of his Pains, render unto God his generous Soul, going to the Eternal Triumphs of a Glorious Immortality in Heaven, whilst his Army Victorious by him only, without Fight, Reconducted his Body in the Litter, as in a Triumphant Chariot, to Edessa, there to receive the Honour's due to one of the bravest Actions that ever were Performed. year 1142 Thus it was that this Illustrious Lord finished his Glorious Life, and thus it was, that with the Disgrace of refusing to hold the Place of so generous a Father, the young Josselin his Son began his Reign, which he dishonoured by a Vicious and Dissolute Life, spent in all manner of Debauches, and above all, by the Loss of Edessa, which was the cause of the Decay, and in Conclusion, of the Ruin of the Affairs of the Western Christians in the East. But is no new thing to observe, that what the Wisdom, Courage, and Vigilance of many great Men have not been able, without great Difficulty, to Establish, should be Ruined in a moment by the Brutality, Pusillanimity, and Cowardice of one Dissolute and Voluptuous Man. This new Earl Josselin quitted the City of Edessa, which his Father and the two Baldwins his Predecessors, who constantly kept their Court there, had taken great Care to Fortify, and Retired to Turbessel, a delightful House, Situate upon the Banks of Euphrates, where like a true Epicure, he drowned himself in those Vices and continual Debauches, which the mistaken World calls Pleasures, without ever regarding the weighty and troublesome Affairs of State. But to Ease him of those Toils which attend a Crown, Sanguine the most Potent and Able of all the Turkish Princes, Sultan of Aleppo and Nineveh, now called Mosula or Mussula, laid hold of this Occasion of the Stupidity of this careless Prince, and knowing that there was neither a good Garrison, nor any kind of Provisions fit to sustain a Siege in Edessa, he presently sat down before it, and by a furious Assault Carried the Place, before the Unfortunate Josselin, who was of himself destitute of any Power to prevent it, could procure any Assistance from his Neighbours; for he had too much Disobliged Raymond Prince of Antioch, with whom he lived in continual Broils, to afford him any, and Queen Melesintha was at too great a Distance, to Assemble so suddenly such an Army as was necessary to relieve the Place: So that the Conqueror had Opportunity enough to make a great Progress with his Arms, had not his ill Destiny, rather than the Christian Arms, prevented him; for as he was Besieging Cologembar, a Town upon the Euphrates, he was Slain by one of his Eunuches, who having thus revenged himself of some Affront done him by his Master, saved himself by Flight. His two Sons divided his Dominions between them, Cotebin the Eldest had for his Share Nineveh and Assyria, and Noradin the Younger Brother was Sultan of Aleppo. This young Prince, who soon after made himself one of the most Potent Princes of all Asia, had nothing about him that was either Turk or Barbarian, except the Name; and without retaining any thing of the Vices of his Nation, he made himself most Conspicuous in his Conduct by all the Virtues and accomplishing Qualities of a great Captain: He was equally Wise, Provident, Moderate, Bold, and Enterprising, Courageous, Valiant, and Fortunate, and what was most rare among Infidels, he was a Man of Honour, Probity, and wondrous Devout in his own Religion, which was Mahometan; above all, he was the most Vigilant of Mankind, the Stoutest, and most prompt to lay hold upon all Opportunities which presented themselves with the prospect of any noble Action, as appeared particularly in the Rencounter I am going to relate. Having understood at Nineveh, that Earl Josselin, being underhand Solicited by the Inhabitants, had Seized upon Edessa with a considerable number of Troops; he ran thither immediately with such Forces as he could on the sudden get together, to Invest it; this he performed so readily, that the Earl despairing to resist the Enemies within, who yet held the Fortresses, and those without, who went about to cut off all Provisions from coming to him, resolved, before all the Passages were obstructed, to save himself with his Soldiers, by quitting the City, which being accordingly put in Execution, the greatest part of the Inhabitants, who were afraid to fall into the Hands of Noradin, would also Accompany him in this dishonourable Flight. But that Prince falling upon the infortunate Inhabitants, at the same time, that those within the Fortresses Sallying out, had broken in among them at the Gate which they had set open, they were all cut in pieces, and then immediately pursuing the flying Army of the Earl, which were Retreated some two Leagues to gain a Pass upon the Euphrates, he Charged them so briskly that in the End he put them to a total Rout, so that the miserable Earl did not without great Difficulty Escape to Samosatia, year 1143 where he Arrived almost alone. Thus Noradin having no more Enemies able to keep the Field, and having so easily Regained Edessa, quickly made himself Master of the greatest Part of that Principality, from whence he Menaced the other three, and all that part of Christendom which was in the East, with utter Ruin and Desolation. In the mean time, immediately after the first taking of Edessa by Sanguine, there being great reason to fear, that that powerful Turk who had the Courage and Ambition of a Conqueror, would also endeavour the Conquest of Antioch, a Dispatch was immediately sent to request the Succours of all the Princes of the West. But the principal Application was made to Lewis seventh King of France, to whom the Christian Princes of the East, who were all of that Nation, had Recourse as to their natural Lord, and whom the cross Accident which happened a little after, put into the most favourable Disposition in the World to undertake such an Enterprise. This Prince was in the very Bloom of his Youth, being about twenty four Years of Age, he was of a most exact Shape, and of a marvellous, and in his Sex an uncommon Beauty, of a sweet Temper, Civil and Obliging, extreme Pious, Tender, and Sensible of the least Sufferings of his meanest Subjects, whom he most passionately Loved, and was no less Beloved by them; but above all, he had a most mighty Mind, and was as extreme Jealous of his Authority that it was possible for any one to be: And as that Passion carried him sometimes, as it doth more moderate Natures, to strange Extremities, his Sweetness, which happened to be mistaken by Theobald Earl of Champagne and Blois, who openly espoused all the Interests directly opposite to his, was changed into such a violent Choler, and furious desire of Revenge, so that having desolated all the Earls Territories and Possessions, he took Vitri by Assault, where he put all into Blood and Flames, and miserably burnt above fifteen hundred Persons in the great Church, who had fled thither as to a secure Sanctuary. This terrible Action which gave a Horror to all the World, was most Dreadful to himself, when he came once a little to recover out of the Transport of his Passion; and his Soul was pierced with a Grief so lively and so cutting, that it almost drove him into Desperation; so that for some time, he abandoned the Management of all public Affairs, and even those necessary Services due to his Person, and it was not without mighty Difficulty, that he was recovered out of that Abyss of Melancholy, into which he was so deeply Plunged. This was the reason, that so soon as ever he understood the Extremities unto which the Affairs of the Christians in the East were reduced, he resolved to make that his Penance, and to take that dangerous Voyage for the Expiation of so great a Crime as he had been Guilty of. So soon as he had discovered his Design to some of his principal Officers, they advised him, by no means to undertake an Affair of that Importance, until he should first have Consulted the Celebrated Abbot of Claravall, who was at that time the Oracle, not only of France, but of all Christendom. It was that famous St. Bernard, who after the memorable Things which he had done during more than ten Years, towards the Extinguishing the Schism which the Antipope Peter of Lions had raised, and the Heresies of Arnold of Brescia, and Peter Abaillard, began to take a little Breath in his Retreat at his Monastery. He was then about the Age of fifty four Years, of a Stature something above the Middle, having a Face of a very agreeable Composure, a delicate Complexion, his Cheeks fresh, and his Hair fair, inclining a little towards too deep a Yellow, his Eyes sparkling with a kind of sweet Fire, Lively and Ardent, his Air extreme Devout and Modest, but ever like a Person of Quality with a becoming Assurance, his Constitution naturally too Feeble, but much weakened by the Austerities and Labours which he had been always most assiduous in, especially his continual Studies and Inquiry after Knowledge; but this Weakness of his Body was supported by the Force of a Spirit, Lively and Penetrating, Subtle and Dextrous, Bold, yet easy and very persuading, and withal, with a Courage to which the greatest Difficulties and Oppositions were so far from being by him thought Insuperable, that they rather seemed to add Fuel to his Flame, and to provide those necessary Materials for its Subsistence, which gave it Occasion to burn and shine more Warm and Bright. year 1144 The King who knew the extraordinary Merit and Sanctity of this great man, following the Counsel which was given him, convoked against the Feast of the Nativity in the Year 1144, a great Assembly of the Princes, and Principal Lords and Prelates of his Realm, at Bourges, where he also was resolved that this Devout Abbot should be present. There it was that this Prince did first publicly discover the Secret of his Heart, and the Design which he had to go in Person to the Relief of the Christians who were very much pressed by the Infidels in the East. After which Godfrey Bishop of Langres made such a moving Discourse concerning the taking of Edessa, the Miseries of their Christian Brethren, and the Extreme Danger which the Holy Land lately so gloriously conquered by the French, was like to run of falling again under the Power of the Turks and Saracens, that he drew Tears from the Eyes of the whole Assembly, which was upon the very point of declaring their Resolution to follow the King. But St. Bernard, who was by some believed to be the great Promoter of this Voyage, was the only Person who with much Constancy opposed it, and stopped the Torrent of their Devotion which he judged had too much Precipitation, and to which he thought it convenient to give just and sitting Measures. Now as he was obliged instantly to give the Assembly whose Eyes were fixed upon him, his Advice in this Affair, he remonstrated to them, that in a Matter of this Nature, they ought by no means to pass further without consulting the Pope, to whom it appertained to declare the Pleasure of God in this Holy War, as Vrban the Second had done in the first Crusade, which had so happily succeeded. Now St. Bernard had acquired a Reputation so full of Authority that his words were received as if they had been Oracles, and therefore his Opinion having the General Approbation, the King sent his Ambassadors to the Holy Father, resolving to call another General Assembly so soon as he should receive an Answer from the Pope. The Pope then in being was Eugenius the third a Pisan by Nation, who from having been the Scholar, and a Monk under St. Bernard, became Abbot of the Monastery of St. Anastasius of the three Fountains at Rome, and from thence was advanced the Year following being 1145 to the Pontifical Dignity. year 1145 He most readily embraced the Motion; and was Extreme Glad that so fair an Opportunity presented itself for promoting the Relief of that part of Christendom which was in the East; He therefore received the King's Ambassadors with all manner of Honour, and with all the Marks of an Excessive Joy and Satisfaction; and in a short time dispatched them back again with most pressing Letters, by which he exhorted the King, year 1147 the Princes, and the Nobility of France, and not only so, but enjoined them so far as his Spiritual Authority would permit, and by Virtue of the Merits of that Obedience, to undertake that Holy Voyage, with the Spirit of Repentance, for the Remission of their Sins, and those Punishments due unto them; and further he gave to all those who undertook the Cross plenary Indulgences, and the same Privileges which Pope Vrban the Second at the Council of Clermont had bestowed upon all those who had followed the Princes of the Crusade for the Conquest of the Holy Land. He would also himself in Person have come into France to have taken a Part in the accomplishing of a Work so advantageous for the Good of Christendom; but not being able at that time to absent himself very far from Viterbum, where he than was to endeavour the Reducement of the Romans to their Obedience who had revolted, he sent an Apostolic Breve to St. Bernard, by which he appointed him to preach the Crusade in France, and Germany; and to exhort the People and Princes to take up the Cross, principally by the Motive of Penitence for the Remission of their Sins, which they should obtain by delivering their Brethren from the Tyranny of the Insidels, or in laying down their Lives in so pious an Enterprise. So that it is from hence easy to discover what was the only Argument which engaged St. Bernard in this Affair; for before that, though he was most earnestly solicited even by Sovereign Authority, yet would he never either discourse or give his Opinion upon a Voyage of that Importance as Geoffry his Secretary, afterwards the Fourth Abbot of Claraval, has assured us in the History which he hath left us of the Life of that great Saint. The King now highly satisfied to see his Design succeed so well, being so solemnly supported by the Pontifical Authority, year 1147 failed not at Easter in the Year following, to convoke a General Assembly at Verelay a little Village in Burgundy between Auxerre and Nevers. There met so great a Number of Princes, Prelates, Lords and Gentlemen, and People of all Sorts of Quality, that they were constrained to hold the Assembly out of the Town upon the Brow of a Hill which abutted upon a great Plain, which was filled with an Infinite Number of People, who ran together from all Parts of France, upon the Report of the Enterprise of a Holy War, wherein every one was desirous to have a share; there was about the Middle of the Hill a Tribunal Erected, upon which after the Letter of the Pope had been read, St. Bernard made a Speech to the People, with marvellous Force of Spirit, Eloquence and Zeal, representing to them in most Tender and moving Terms the Miserable Condition of the Christians in the East, particularly since the second taking of Edessa by Noradin. For the sad News was already come to France by the late Envoys from Antioch and Jerusalem, who were come to implore the Succours of the French. He forgot nothing that might most effectually move their Hearts; he pressed them with the Considerations of the Glory of their Ancestors, whose Conquests they were in Honour bound to defend and preserve; he urged their own Eternal Advantage, which they might assure to themselves by this kind of Martyrdom, which they Voluntarily underwent by the Spirit of Penitence, for the Abolition of all the Disorders and all the Crimes of their former Lives; and above all he insisted upon the Honour of Jesus Christ, whom he made appear as marching himself at the Head of the Crusades to Jerusalem, to be there as it were once again Crucified, if it were necessary for the Salvation of those that followed him. So soon as he had finished his Discourse, the King who had heard him with all the Marks of a most tender and sensible Devotion, rising from his Throne, threw himself at his Feet, humbly demanding of him the Cross which the Pope had sent to this pious Abbot to bestow upon him: he received it from his Hands with an extreme Respect, and having himself fastened it to his Right Shoulder, he did not believe he prostituted the Royal Dignity in any sort, by mounting in that Condition up to the Tribunal with St. Bernard, and from thence to exhort the People, as he did with incredible Zeal, to follow the Example of their King. This Action far stronger and more persuasive than all the Eloquence of the Saint, was immediately followed with a General Acclamation of all those who stood round about, who with one Voice as it were by Consent cried out, The Cross, The Cross. And at the same time Queen Eleonor, the Daughter of St. William Duke of Guienne and Earl of Poitiers presented herself to receive the Cross, and was followed by all the Great Men of the Realm, the Principal whereof were Robert Earl of Dreux, Brother to the King; Alphonsus Earl of St. Giles, Tierry Earl of Flanders, Guy Earl of Nevers; Renald his Brother Earl of Tonnerre; Yues Earl of Soissons, William Earl of Ponthieu; Henry the Son of Theobald Earl of Blois; William Earl of Varrennes; Archibald de Bourbon; Enguerrand de Couci; Geoffry Rancon de Taillebourg; Hugh de Lusignan; William de Courtenay; Renauld de Montargis; Ithier de Thoci; Guicher de Montgeay; Everard de Breteil; Dreux de Mouchi; Manasses de Bulli; Ancel de Trenel; Guerin his Brother; William Bouteiller; William Agilons de Try; and among the Prelates, Simon Bishop of Noyon; Godfrey Bishop of Langress; Alwin Bishop of Arras; Arnoeld Bishop of Lizieux; Herbert Abbot of St. Peter of Sens; and Theobald Abbot of St. Colomb, of the same City. In short, there was not one of the whole Assembly who did not protest that they would have the Cross, and St. Bernard after having thrown down from this Tribunal a great Quantity which he had caused to be made up in great Bundles, was obliged to satisfy their Importunity, to cut his Robe into small pieces, and upon the Spot to make it into new Crosses, which he dispersed among them; being forced at last to give the rest the Liberty to cross themselves since it was impossible to make so many Crosses as would suffice so vast a Number. This was what was done in the Assembly of Verelay; as for the rest the King adjourned the Deliberation of what was further to be done to another far greater, which was to be held the third Sunday after Easter at Chatres, where almost all the Arch Bishops and Bishops of France were present as if it had been a General Council. year 1146 The Resolution of the King, who was present at the Synod, with all the other Princes of the Crusade, was there generally approved; and which one cannot without some difficulty believe, if St. Bernard himself had not writ it, that which made the greatest Impression upon men's Spirits, was that the happy Success of the Voyage, and of the War depended upon him; and that it was there resolved by a Common Consent, not only that he should go along with them, but also that he should have the General Command of the Army, which could not fail of being always Victorious, under a Cheistain, who was believed to be the Disposer of God Almighty's Power, by the Gift of Miracles which all the World attributed to him. So easily do the Spirits of men prepossessed with the Opinion of the Sanctity of a Person, suffer themselves to be seduced, to take an irregular Conduct, abandoning good Sense and that Reason which God hath bestowed upon them to regulate and govern the Deliberation of those Affairs which they are about to undertake. But St. Bernard who was a man of a different Complexion from Peter the Hermit, and who knew admirably how to make Wisdom and Reason consort with Grace and Devotion, opposed himself stoutly against this Resolution, which he believed was wholly dissonant to Prudence and Reason. He writ to the Pope concerning it, and made it so evident to him who understood War, which he did not in the least, that it must needs be a Prodigy of ill Presage, to see a man devoted to a severe Profession of Religion to take upon himself the Command of the Army; that they were at last satisfied that he should do his Duty according to his Profession, in preaching up the Crusade; as for any thing more, the Weakness of his Natural Constitution and his Age gave him a Dispensation from the Toils and Hazards of a Voyage to the Holy Land. Being therefore resolved to preserve himself always within the Bounds of his Condition and to apply himself only to that which was his proper Ministry; he set himself to preach the Crusade with so much Zeal, Power, and Success, that there was never seen a greater Concourse of People, than ran from all Parts to have the good Fortune to receive the Cross from his Hands, Geossry who writes his Life, that it pleased God to confirm and approve of his preaching by a Prodigious Number of Miracles which he did in healing all kind of Diseases by his Prayers and the Imposition of his Hands. But as some of the Historians who gives us this Account produce no manner of particular Proofs, but content themselves with saying so only in general Terms, and on the other Hand it is well known that in those times, they were not so strict and exact in their Examination of those kind of Things, as they are in our days, but were rather inclined to make even Credulity itself a Matter of great Merit, I think every Person is at Liberty to believe at his own Discretion, without detracting in the least from the Eminent Sanctity of St. Bernard. And that which makes this appear more reasonable is that this great man himself, in that Apology which he made after the ill Fortune of this Voyage, does not in justifying himself, in the least inssist upon the Miracles which God wrought by his preaching, but by the Obedience which he owed to the Pope, who had commanded him to preach. Be it as it will; it is most certain as he himself says, the Obedience which he rendered to the Pope in preaching the Crusade, became so successful that it produced an infinite of Crusades; insomuch that the Towns and Villages, were almost dispeopled of their Inhabitants, except the Children and the Women, who remained as Widows during the Lives of their Husbands; thus it was that he spoke, not knowing that so many of them were to be so in Reality. As for the rest, in that time that he preached with so much Success in France, he advanced the Crusade no less by his Pen in Italy and Germany, whither he writ most Eloquent Letters, wherein he Exhorted the People to take up the Cross, with all the most powerful Motives which were Capable of touching their Christian Compassion; and in one of them he advertized the Germans to take Care that they did not suffer themselves to be seduced by a certain Vagabond Monk one Radulph who had taken upon him without any Commission to preach the Crusade, at Cologne, Mayence, Worms, Spire, Strasbourg and thereabouts, exciting the People to Massacre the Jews under Pretext of slgnalizing their Zeal against the Enemies of Jesus Christ. He writ the same in pretty Boisterous Terms to the Archbishop of Mayence, year 1146 persuading him to treat this Ignorant Monk as an Usurper upon the Sacred Office of Preaching, and as a detestable Heretic, who Authorized the fearful Sin of Murder; And understanding, that this furious Disorder increased daily by the Seditious Sermons of this Impudent Impostor, he went himself into Germany to acquit himself of the Commission he had received from the Pope, to preach the Crusade there, and arrived at Spires, where the Emperor had called a General Diet against the Feast of the Nativity. The Emperor at that time was Conrade the third of that Name Duke of Suabia, and Franconia, who after the Death of the Emperor Lotharius, of the House of Saxony, had ascended the Imperial Throne about eight Years before, and till then had reigned with abundance of good Fortune and Glory. The Devout Abbot treated with him both in Private and Public concerning the intended Enterprise of the Holy War. He there did his accustomed Wonders; and though he preached in a Language which the People did not understand, yet such was the manner of his Delivery, that it wrought more upon them, than did his Interpreters who endeavoured to make them understand what it was that he said; it was enough that the People saw him, to be as it were enchanted by his very Looks, and in Consequence to be persuaded; for they ran to him from all Parts with such Heat and thronging, that one time the Emperor was forced to take him in his Arms to defend him from the Crowd which was ready to stifle him. In short, he acted and spoke so effectually in the Dict, that the Emperor and his Brother Henry Duke of Suabia, his Nephew Frederick who afterwards succeeded him in the Empire, and the greatest part of the Princes resolved to take upon them the Cross, which they also did about two Months after at another Diet which was called for that purpose. Their Example was followed by the famous Otho Bishop of Friburgh, half Brother by the Mother to the Emperor; and after him by the Bishops of Ratisbonne and Passau, and an Innumerable Multitude of Lords, Gentlemen and Soldiers, who ran from all Parts of Germany to this Assembly to take part in this Holy War. Labuslaus, Duke of Bohemia, Odoacer Marquis of Stiria, and Bernard Earl of Carinthia, did the same not long after, and assembled a great Number of their Subjects, disposing themselves to attend the March of the Emperor in the beginning of the Spring. During which time St. Bernard after having Constrained the Impostor Radulph to retire to his Monastery, and preached the Crusade in the Low Countries, returned back to the King, who had assembled at Estampes the Estates of his Realm, in February upon Septuagesima Sunday, there to conclude, what was necessary to be done before he undertook the Voyage. This Assembly sat but three days, in the first of which he gave them an Account of the Progress he had made in Germany, and the Generous Resolution of the Emperor, and Princes of the Empire, who had undertaken to join with the French in this Enterprise for the Holy Land. This was received with so much Joy, and so great Applause, that nothing further could be done that day: the next day the way by which they should march into Syria came under Debate, where the Ambassadors of Roger King of Sicily, who were too well acquainted with the Malice and Persidiousness of the Greeks, and the irreconcilable Hatred which they had against the Franks, did all that possibly they could to persuade them to take the Sea Passage, as did the Venetians, the Genoese and the Pisans, offering them their Ports and shipping for the Commodious transporting of the Army. But on the one side, in Regard it was impossible to transport so many Troops but at several times, which would too much protract the Business, and on the other, that they could not believe that all the East was able to oppose such a flourishing Army as was then on Foot; the Resolution was taken, to sollow the same way which Godfrey of Bullen had done, and to march by Land to Constantinople; but withal to follow the Emperor at some distance, that so they might with more Ease have the Convenience of Provisions for the two Armies. Upon the third day by Express Order from the King, the Debate was handled concerning the Person who was most proper to be entrusted by the Government of the Realm, during the King's Absence in so long and dangerous a Voyage. And therein, the Opinion which all men had of the extraordinary Abilities of Sugerius Abbot of St. Dennis, year 1146 and which was so well known by his Management of the greatest Affairs of France in the time of Lewis the Gross, was so general, that without any Diversity of Opinions, they unanimously solicited the King, already of himself inclined to it, to confer that Trust and Honour upon him. This Great Man who without all doubt was one of the most able Ministers which ever served any of our Kings, was about the Age of fifty five Years, of a Shape and Stature something surpassing the middle, of a Meager Countenance, and a Constitution Weak and Tender, of a Birth no ways Eminent, but a man of a mighty Soul, and of a Mind raised as high as ever any man possessed, a Spirit lively, Subtle, Penetrating, and of a Prodigious Understanding, which he had also Cultivated and polished with all manner of admirable Learning, and which was accompanied with a most happy Memory and a most solid Judgement: Upon the matter he was Politic, Dextrous, Insinuating, Persuasive, Civil, Obliging, Liberal and Courteous to all Persons; but on the other Hand he was a most admirable Justiciary, Magnanimous, Fearless, Firm and Inexorable, and continually opposite to those, who went about to shock the Royal Authority, or to abuse their own by oppressing the Weak and Poor. And that which Infinitely heightened the Lustre of all these Excellent Qualities, was that after he had by the Advice of St. Bernard reform both his Monastery and himself, for during the Reign of Lewis the Gross who was none of the best bred men of the World, he learned so well to accommodate all the Employs of his Ministry with those Duties which became him as a Religious and an Abbot, that he lived at the Court as if he had been in his Monastery, and when he lived in his Monastrey he forgot nothing which was owing to the Court or to the Public. The King therefore following the Counsel of the Estates of France, declared him Regent of the Kingdom during his Absence, giving him for an Assistant, to command the Military Affairs, Raoul Earl of Vermandois, who though he was a Prince of the Blood, being Cousin to Lewis the Gross, yet submitted to the Authority of the Regent without the least Jealousy or murmuring; so much was that of the King reverenced even in those times, though the Royal Power was not then in any measure arrived to that high Elevation and Supreme Greatness, to which, for the Advantage and Glory of this August Monarchy we see it raised at this day. And that which was yet more extraordinary in this Choice was, that this Wise Minister whose foresight was more piercing, and reached further than others, did not only, not advise the King to undertake this Voyage, but from the Beginning did all that possibly he could to oppose that Resolution; foreseeing without doubt the Pernicious Consequences, which according to all Appearances in his Opinion it was like to have: So that it was out of pure Respect and Necessity, that he was at last obliged to cease opposing it, knowing that he should gain nothing but to be blamed for endeavouring to no purpose to hinder the Execution of a Design which coming from the King his Master, had been approved by the General Vote of four Assemblies of all the Great Men of the Realm. Notwithstanding all this, Lewis without taking it amiss, that he was almost the only Person in his Kingdom that did not seem to approve of this Enterprise, did not fail in this occasion, to do him the greatest Honour that a King can possibly do to a Subject; conferring upon him the Regency, that is, all the Royal Power and Authority during his Absence. Which makes it evident to Kings and Princes, that though their Sovereign Power dispenses with them from any Obligation, always to follow those Counsels which according to the Rules of Prudence they require from their Subjects, and which ought to be given them with all Faithful Sincerity; yet it is great Wisdom in them to leave their Counsellors at entire Liberty to give their Advice; lest otherwise they give it rather according to the Inclinations of their Prince, than the Sentiments of their own Reason, Judgement and Conscience, which ought to be the Rules of all Faithful and Wise Councillors; whereas the other, though they may have been Grateful to their Masters, and sometimes advantageous to their Private Interests, yet have too frequently proved Fatal to those who have received and followed them. As for the Abbot, he having at last submitted out of Respect and Duty to the Pleasure of his Master in Reference to his Voyage to the Holy Land, year 1147 he made a most obstinate Resistance to that of the Honour of so great a Charge; nor would he ever have accepted it, had not the King, as it were to compel him in a manner wholly sweet and obliging, had the Goodness, to have Recourse to the good Offices, and even the Commands of Pope Eugenius, to prevail with him to accept it; for it was in this Year, some time after the Convention of the Estates at Estampes, that the Pope came into France, both to secure himself from the Persecution of the Revolted Arnaldists, as also there to determine the Differences which were very hot, concerning certain new and Dangerous Propositions which were maintained by Gibert de Porea, Bishop of Poitiers. Eugenius was most honourably received by the King, and was by the Pope reciprocally received with the Pontifical Benediction in the Church of St. Dennis, where the Marks of his Pilgrimage to the Holy Land, were bestowed upon him; Lewis there desired the Pope to do him the Honour, during his Absence to take the Realm into his Protection; and the Pope to answer that Mark of Piety and Affection towards the Holy See, solemnly Excommunicated all those who during the King's Voyage should attempt any thing against the Royal Authority. After which, when the King had made all his Preparations, and had amassed great Sums of Money for the Subsistence of his Army, even to the coining of several Sacred Vessel belonging to divers Churches, and borrowing considerable Sums of many Monasteries with Promise of Repayment after the War, he went according to the Custom of his Ancestors to St. Dennis to take the Oriflame or Standard of that Saint. From thence he departed a little before Whitsunday towards the middle of June, taking his way for Mets, where was to be the general Rendezvous of all his Troops; whilst in the mean time the Emperor, as before was agreed, marched with his towards Constantinople, where they were to rejoin their Forces. The Emperor accordingly having assembled almost all the Forces of the Empire, parted from Noremberg about the End of May, upon Ascention Day with a most flourishing Army, consisting in seventy Thousand Men, at Arms all Curiassiers, without computing the light Horsemen, and with an Infantry the most numerous, and in the best Condition that ever any Emperor had seen before. After having passed the Danube at Batisbonne, crossed through Austria, Hungaria, Bulgaria, and Thracia, without any of those mischievous Rencounters which happened to the first Crusades, upon the seventh of September, they entered into a fair, large and delicious Valley, in the middle whereof ran the River Melas, in his Passage into the Gulf of that Name or the Black Sea, and sometimes borrowing the Name of Cardia an Ancient City of the Thracian Chersonesus. The Beauty of so agreeable a place, obliged the Emperor to stay there to refresh his Army, and to Celebrate the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin which was the next day. But there happened a sad Accident, which seemed to portend the unlucky Success of this fatal War. For the Army encamping while it was yet Early day, and it happening to be a Serene and Glorious Evening, and the Meadows on each side of the River extending themselves a great length to the very Foot of the Mountains, there was nothing during the whole Voyage to be seen so fair and magnificent as this Encampment. For the Camp represented some fair and lofty City, being composed of an Infinite Number of very rich Tents, which were disposed in divers Streets the whole length of the Plain as far as one could well discern, till they came to a little rising Hill, where stood the Pavilions of Duke Frederick, and appeared like the Citadel of this Enchanted City. They passed the Evening with great Jollity, solacing themselves after the Fatigues of so long a March which they had endured a little before they were to go to their Repose; after that the Bishops had begun the Solemnity of the following Festival by the Public Prayers for the Eve of Ascention, the Heavens began to be darkened with a few small Clouds which produced some light Drops rather of Dew than Rain; but within a Moment after there arose one of those furious Whirlwinds which they call Hurricanes, which made such a disorder as is not imaginable; for immediately the Impetuosity of these contrary Winds which rushed one against the other with a most dreadful roaring, was so great, that having broken all the Cordages which held up the Tents, all this City without Foundation, was partly tumbled down to the Ground, year 1147 and partly hoist up into the Air, where the Winds which wrapped themselves up in the Pavilions, made them sly about, and afterwards tore them in a thousand pieces; this Storm was succeeded by such fearful Deluge of Rain, as made a thousand little Torrents come rolling down from the Neighbouring Mountains into the Plain, which by their Rapidity carried before them Men, Beasts, Movables, and what ever they encountered in their Passage; and at the same time the Southwind the most violent of the rest, drove up the Water of the River, and swollen it with the Huge Waves of the Sea to that prodigious height, that it overflowed all the Banks in that furious manner, that all the Plain was drowned to the very Foot of the Mountains. It is impossible to express the Tumult, the Consternation, and the Desperation of the Army upon this Terrible Accident; all that the great Lords and Cavaliers could do, was to run half naked to their Horses, to get to the Mountains over this new Sea, which had now taken Possession of those Beautiful Meadows, with which they were before so much delighted: As for the poor Foot some of them got hold of the Tails of the Horses, whilst others quaking with Wet and Cold as well as Fear, followed the Track of the Horsemen; a great many got upon the Wagons as upon a Rampart, and others stood in the Places where they were up to the middle in Water, waiting for the End of this Dreadful Tempest; some by mistake falling into the River by reason the Banks could not be discerned miserably perished in the Waters, and almost all lost the greatest part of their Baggage. The loss of men however was not extraordinary in regard that the Tempest was too violent to last long. The Inundation ceased in a few hours, and the Waters falling immediately after, the dispersed Soldiers rendevouzed upon the Mountain before the Emperor, who learned in this Rencontre, how easy it is in a Moment for God to abase the Pride of men, and when he pleaseth to humble the most formidable Powers of the Earth which are weak and miserable in Comparison of him. This Prince, who entertained himself with these Pious and Christian Meditations, received this Blow of the Hand of Almighty God, with great Humility and Submission to the Orders of his Providence, and evidenced an extraordinary Greatness of Soul, and Constancy of Mind under this Affliction, thereby to encourage his Army, at the Head of which he continued to march very cheerfully; leading them to lodge in the Suburbs of Constantinople, there in some measure to recover this Loss. In this time a fair Fleet composed of above a hundred Sail of Germans, English, Flemings and French, which several private Persons had rigged out to make their Voyage more easily and quickly by Sea, was diverted by an Adventure which was worth more than one Crusade, and in which they happily found in Europe all that Glory which they went to search after in Asia; This Fleet set Sail from England the twelfth of April, having on board three or four Thousand men commanded by their particular Captains. After they had for a long time met with foul Wether and Cross Winds, at last they came to an Anchor before Lisbon thinking there to refresh themselves; when they were surprised by finding that great City besieged by an Army of Christians, to whom God sent this unexpected Succour, to take Lisbon from the Saracens, and to make it the Capital City of that Realm, which a Prince descended from the House of France had newly founded. This Prince was Henry the Grandson of Robert of France, Duke of Burgundy, and Second Son of King Robert. He being young and a passionate Lover of Glory went to seek for it in Spain, at the Wars against the Moors, towards the latter end of the Reign of Ferdinand the first King of Castille, and made his first Campagne under that famous Captain Dom Roderigo de Bivar, so well known in the World under the Glorious Name of Cid. After the Death of Ferdinand, he linked himself to Dom Alphonso King of Leon, and rendered him such Important Services in both his Fortunes, that that Prince after the Death of his two Brothers Dom Sancho, and Dom Garchia, succeeding to all the Estates of his Father Ferdinand, he gave him in Marriage his Daughter Theresa, whom he had by his first Wife Chimena de Gusman. He himself also marrying the Princess Constantia the Daughter of the Duke of Burgundy and Aunt to Prince Henry, to whom he also gave the City of Porto, and sometime after, all the Estate which he held in Portugal, year 1147 which in his Favour he Erected into the Dignity and Title of an Earldom. It is said also that he sent him with the Princes of the first Crusade to the Conquest of the Holy Land, whereupon all Occasions he Signalised his Courage and his Conduct. But in regard we find no Traces of this Voyage in the Authors, his Contemporaries, who have written very exactly of that War, I think I ought not to Incur any Displeasure, if I give little Credit to some of the Historians of Portugal, who upon very weak Conjectures have been pleased to Rank among the Heroes of that famous Crusade, the Illustrious Head of the House of Portugal, though he had such a sufficient Stock of true Glory, as not to stand in need of searching for that which may with so much Justice be disputed. That which he hath which is most certain is, that this admirable Earl after having Defeated the Moors in seventeen pitched Battles, and Conquered from them the greatest part of Portugal, which he added to that which his Father-in-Law had given him in absolute Sovereignty, he dying left this new Earldom to his Son Alphonso, who gloriously changed it into a Kingdom. For he was Solemnly proclaimed King in the Field of Battle, at the memorable Day of Ourique, where he defeated the Army of five Moorish Kings who had Assembled against him all their Forces, which consisted in more than four hundred thousand Men. The five Kings lay upon the Place Buried in the Heaps of the dead Bodies of their Soldiers, who were piled one upon another; in Memory whereof the new King, who believed that during the Battle he had seen Jesus Christ upon the Cross, who promised him the Victory, changed the Cross Azure in the Field Argent, which his Father had taken for his Coat Armour, into five Escoucheons Azure, every one charged with five Besants Argent in Saltire, to which afterwards was added a Border Gules charged with seven Castles Or. This is that valiant King Descended from a Prince of the most August House of France, from whom in a direct Line Male Issued the other sixteen Kings, who Reigned till the time of Cardinal Henry for six Hundred Years in Portugal, whose Dominions Extended afterwards into three other Parts of the World, Africa, Asia, and America, where the Heroic Piety and Courage of the Portugese, by finding a new Passage to the Indies, have Established the Empire of Jesus Christ, as well as that of their own Nation; and as one of their Rivers having for some time hid itself under the Earth, afterwards appears again and runs much greater than before; so doth the Illustrious Blood of our Kings, which hath so long run in the Royal Channel of Portugal, at length, after having for more than sixty Years ceased to appear in its natural Place, the Throne of Portugal, which it ought to fill, begin in our days to Recover itself with the Applause of all the World, in the Person of King John the Fourth, the Head of the Royal House of Braganza, who besides that he Possesses all the Title of the Infanta Catharina, is also Descended in the direct Masculine Line, as also from that of John the First, from whom are Issued the last Kings unto Sebastian. But it was this great Alphonso, the Son of Earl Henry, and first King of Portugal, who after he had taken Santaren, and all the places about Lisbon, Besieged that great City, which was Defended by above two hundred thousand Men. After he had unprofitably spent a whole Month in the Siege, having but a few Troops in comparison of such a Number of Defendants, he began to despair of his Enterprise, when he discovered this great Fleet at Sea, which he imagined to be that of the African Kings; but he presently after perceived by the Cross which they bore in their Flags, that it was a Christian Fleet. He sent immediately to be satisfied what they were, and upon what Design, and being informed that it was a Party of Crusades, who were going against the Infidels, he went Aboard the Admiral, and proposed to the Captains the Conquest of one of the fairest Cities in the World, from those Enemies which they were going to Search for in Syria. He Remonstrated to them, That God had presented to them a fair Occasion for the present Accomplishment of their Vow, in Combating for the Glory of Christ Jesus, against his Enemies, and that without exposing themselves by the Hazard of the Sea, to the Danger of never Combating them at all: That they would acquire more Honour by taking Lisbon with the Assistance of those few Portugeses who Besieged it, than they could possibly hope for, year 1147 by joining in Syria with two such Puissant Armies as were those of the Emperor and King of France, to which they would be Esteemed as nothing; and besides, that the Recompense which they might expect would be incomparably greater, giving them the Word of a King, that they should share the Conquest with him. There was no necessity for him to say more to persuade People who sought nothing but Occasion to Fight against the Saracens; they with Joy accepted the Offer of the King, and presently gave Order for the disembarking of their Troops, and went to take their Post upon the West Quarter, the King with his Army being already Encamped on the East Side of the City, in the place where now stands the Monastery of St. Vincent. If the Attacque was Hot, Furious, and often repeated by the Portuguese and the Crusades, the Resistance was no ways less on the part of the Moors, who far surpassed the Christians in Number. This made the Siege last four Months, till the twenty fifth day of October, when the City was in the End taken by Assault, all the romainder of the Saracens being put to the Sword, thereby to Extinguish that accursed Race of Men. Thus this new Kingdom of Portugal, which was Founded by a French Prince, was owing for the glorious Conquest of its Capital City, principally to the Valour of the French Men, they being the greatest Number of this Naval Army; for though there were English and other Nations among them, yet anciently the Title which the Portuguese gave indifferently to all Strangers, was that of French Men. The King also Employed them in the taking of Almada, Sintria, Palmela, and a great many other Places: After which, it being now too late to pursue their Voyage into Palestine, the greatest part of these generous Crusades, highly Satisfied with the punctual Fidelity of the King, who offered them one half of Lisbon, nobly refused it, and contenting themselves with the rich Presents which the King was pleased to make them, Returned loaden with those and Glory into their respective Countries; some of the most remarkable of the Captains being willing to remain in the Service of a King so Valiant and Liberal, settled in Portugal, and there Founded those illustrious Houses, which to this very time hold the first rank of Nobility in that Kingdom. See now what happy Success befell the smallest of the three Armies of this second Crusade, whilst the other two, incomparably the greater in Number, but incomparably the less Successful, disposed themselves to put in Execution their Enterprise by Land. For in the same time that the Naval Army made Sail upon the Ocean, the young King Lewis began to March with his by Land. The Earl of Morienne, and the Marquis de Monferat, his two Uncles by the Mother, joined him at Mets with many brave Italian Troops; he received also a Reinforcement of Troops which were raised in Lorraine by the Bishops of Metz and Toul, by Renand Earl of Monson, Brother to the Bishop of Metz, and by Hugh Earl of Vaudemont. So that this Army Royal was as strong in Cavalry, and much better Mounted and Armed, and not much inferior in Infantry to the Imperial Army, which taking the same Way, it Marched to join in Thracia. But it was Difficult for one single Province to contain such a prodigious Multitude of Valiant Soldiers, which might easily have Triumphed over the whole East, if they had been sufficiently Precautioned as they ought against the most dangerous Enemy which they had to Encounter, which was the Greek Emperor, whom they took to be their Friend. This Emperor was Manuel, the Son of Calo Johannes, and Grandchild of Alexis Comnenius, who hath rendered his Name so Infamously Odious by his Persidiousness towards the Princes of the first Crusade, and who notwithstanding, never Arrived near the height of that horrible Baseness and Wickedness of this his Grandson, of whom I speak. He was a Prince in whom both his Good and his Evil Qualities were so Interwoven, that in the beginning of his Reign, made it doubtful whether he did not deserve the Empire, of which his Father had Disinherited his Elder Brother, to bestow it upon him. For, besides that the Lustre of some Virtues which he had, seemed very well to Conceal his Vices, He was in Person very well made, tall, but stooping a little, his Face was very Pleasing, his Colour Lively, his Eyes Sweet and Winning, accompanied with a certain Smile very natural to him, and Charming to those who had the Honour to Approach him, he had Spirit, a natural Eloquence, and a great deal of Knowledge; he was besides Politic and Prudent above his Age, year 1147 which was yet but in the Flower of his Youth, and nevertheless Brave, Fearless, Hardy, Daring, and ready in the Execution of what he undertook, never considering when he saw an Enemy, whether he should give Battle or not, and one who not only Loved War, but supported the greatest Toils and Hardships of it, with as much Pleasure as the meanest Soldier of Fortune. But all these good Qualities were corrupted by his Wickedness which far surpassed them. For in the time of Peace, never was there any Prince more Dissolute than he in all manner of Debauches, without taking the least Care in the World to preserve his Reputation by concealing his Vices; for he Lived in most, scandalous Incest with the Princess Theodora his Niece, with as little Precaution as if she had been his Wife. Besides he was cruelly Covetous, rapaciously taking what he pleased, and fottishly Prodigal, lavishing all, even the Money with which he was to pay his Soldiers and maintain his Navies, giving away his Treasures without Discretion and without Measure, to his Niece, to the Eunuches, and to Strangers, who flattered him in his Brutal Passions. He was after all this, infinitely Jealous, and outrageously Cruel where he suspected, Superstitious even to Folly, especially in Judicial Astrology, believing in every thing the false Oracles of his Figure-Flingers, who Abused him to his very Death, promising him a little before it fourteen Years of a most delicious and pleasant Life; but that which is infinitely more Dangerous, he was Rash and Presumptuous in the matter of Religion; insomuch that he commanded by an Edict that a place of Scripture should be Explained in his Sense, which clearly gave it for the Heresy of Arius; at another time he put out a Decree, which openly favoured the false Law of the Impostor Mahomet. But in short, that of his devilish Qualities which was most eminent in him, was his Persidiousness, which made him commit the blackest and most horrid Crimes upon the Occasion of this second Crusade, which have rendered his Memory eternally Execrable to the whole Earth. He received at the first the Ambassadors of Conrade indifferently well, they coming from his Brother-in-Law; for these two Emperors had married two Sisters, the Daughters of old Berengarius Earl of Luxemburgh and Sultzbach; He also sent some Troops to meet the Emperor, not so much out of Respect or Honour, but to observe his Motion during the remainder of his March to Constantinople, where at his Arrival he was but very coldly Received; either because Manuel could not without some Displeasure see a Prince who took upon him that Quality, which the Greeks pretend appertained only to their Emperor; or that he feared that the Germans, who had had great Differences upon the March with the Greeks, should endeavour to Revenge themselves; or rather that he was resolved to Execute what he had plotted against them, as soon as he could possibly. In short, he did so violently press their Departure, that without giving them the Liberty almost of taking Breath, the Army was constrained to pass the Straight, upon the Vessels which he had ready to waft them over into Asia, where this perfidious Emperor had long before disposed all things for the ruin of this Army. For so soon as he understood that great Preparations were making in the West for this second Crusade, he secretly gave Advise to Mamut the Nephew of Soliman the Sultan of Iconium, who Reigned in Lycaonia, Cappadocia, and Galatia, and pressed him vigorously to take up Arms against this Army of the Crusades, which he was like to have upon his Hands. Whereupon the Sultan, immediately sent to all the Princes of his Nation, to come for their common Interest, with all the Forces they could raise, to Secure him against the Christians; which they did before one could well think it possible, sending him a most formidable Army, composed of an infinite number of Turks of the two Armenia's, Cappadocia, Isauria, Cilicia, Persia and Media. But this was not all, for this perfidious Emperor, laid of his own Soldiers continual Ambuscades within his Territories, on both sides of the Army in their March, commanding them to Kill, as they did without Mercy, all those who straggled never so little from the Body of the Army, which for that reason not being able to march at any Compass, suffered extremely for want of Provisions. Not contented with this, having promised the Emperor to furnish his Troops with Provisions for their Money, year 1147 he gave order underhand, by a cursed piece of Wickedness, to mingle Quicklime among their Flower, which was to make Bread for the Soldiers; which brought a strange Mortality among the poor Germans, whose extreme Hunger would not permit them to perceive the cruel Cheat; for they greedily devoured these poisoned Morsels, to satisfy the Importunity of their starved Appetites; and so miserably perished. He caused the Gates of all the Towns in their Passage to be shut against them, not permitting any of them to enter, to buy Provision; but if they would have any, the Greeks upon the Walls would tell them, they would furnish them for their Money, provided they first received it by Baskets which they let down to them from the Walls; and then the treacherous Villains, as if they had been inspired by their perfidious Emperor, returned only Derision, instead of Commodities, in exchange for their Silver. If at any time they were, as many were, constrained to sell some part of their Equipage, to get Subsistence, they gave them, who understood nothing of their Coins, false Money instead of current; which, when they went to buy for their necessity, would not pass in Payment. In short, there was no sort of Mischief, which this faithless Prince, who had no sparks of Honour or common Honesty left, did not invent and execute, for the destruction of this Army. But the most detestable of all his Treasons, and that which completed their entire Ruin was, that he gave them Traitors for their Guides and Conductors, who were resolved to deliver them into the hands of the Turks. There are two Ways by which one may go to Antioch; the one upon the Left, the shorter, but more difficult and dangerous, by reason of the Deserts, and the Mountains, which must be passed, in going through those more Inland Countries, which lie remote from the Sea: the other Way lay upon the Right Hand, and was further about, following all along by the Sea-Coast; but withal, this was the most secure, and most plentiful for the Subsistence of the Army. When they were arrived at Nicomedia, it was taken into Deliberation, what Course, of these two, they should take: Otho, Bishop of Friburg, and some others of the wiser sort, were of Opinion, that they should take the way by the Sea, as the most safe; especially, since they could not resolve to rely upon the Faith of the Greeks, in their Passage in an unknown Country: but the Emperor, who desired nothing but to sight with the Turks, believing that all Asia, if it were together, was not able to resist him, would follow his Guides, who promised, in a few days, to bring him into Lycaonia, a most fertile Country, and abounding with all things; and even to Iconium, where, they assured him, the Sultan would never have the Confidence to stay for his Coming. There is nothing that, in probability, can be more conducing to the Ruin of the bravest Army, than the Presumption of their General; who, believing himself invincible, does not take those Precautions, and those Measures, without which, the Greatness of his Forces serve to no other purpose, but more easily to occasion their Ruin. Conrade, puffed up with the Glory of such a flourishing Army, as none of his Predecessors had ever commanded, lost his Judgement, to that degree, that he could not see, what every common Man of Sense must needs know, that it is impossible, without extreme Imprudence, and running the most dangerous Risque in the World, to trust to the good or ill Faith of two or three unknown Persons; and thereby make them absolute Masters, both of his own Fortune, and that of his whole Army. Upon the matter, he was so blinded, that these Traitors having assured him, as he lay encamped near Nice, that there was no necessity of taking along with him more than eight days Provision, for that in that time they would not fail to bring him to Iconium: So that he suffered himself to be conducted, with all his great Army, in its magnificent Pomp, like a Victim crowned with Flowery Garlands, to have its Throat cut upon the Altar. For the eight days being past, they perceived that the Traitors, instead of taking the Right Hand, to conduct the Army into Lycaonia, had taken the Left, to engage them insensibly in the Deserts, and the Straits of Mount Taurus, towards Cappadocia; where they found themselves without Provisions, or the hopes of procuring any, in a Country so frightfully barren, that it had no other Inhabitants but Bears, Tigers, Lions, Wolves, and other wild Beasts, who dwelled among the Rocks and Mountains. The Emperor, year 1147 astonished to find himself in this terrible danger, commanded the Guides to be brought before him, where he reproached them severely: to which the perfidious Villains answered coldly, that they were not too blame, for they thought that the Army would have taken longer Marches; but they assured him, with horrible Oaths, that, provided they would make a little more haste, they should, within three days, arrive in a most plentiful Country. It is some pain to believe there should be so injudicious a Conduct in a Prince, to whom his Age, and Acquaintance with the World, aught to have given more Experience: for, instead of securing these Cheats, whose Credit ought to have been, after this, very much suspected, he left them at liberty to escape, as they did the Night following, and ran over the Mountains, to the Camp of the Turks, who daily expected them, to take their Measures accordingly. And thereupon they did not fail, immediately to appear on all sides, upon the Rocks, and the Tops of the Mountains, to invest this Army, which was now reduced to live upon the Flesh of their Horses, and know not what Resolution to take; whether to retreat, or to advance. Never was there seen so piteous an Overthrow of so gallant an Army. The Turks, who knew the Country, and who were lightly armed, flew about with ease, and without danger, on every side assailing these poor Troops, half defeated with Famine, and heavily armed, and who could not be assisted by those few Horse that were left, who were able to do little Service among the craggy and impassable Mountains. So the Infidels, who never came nearer than within the distance of their Bows, without fear of Lance, Sword, or these cutting Arms, which were of no use to those who carried them, discharged, with a Certainty of hitting, and at their pleasure, a most dreadful Cloud of Arrows upon that great Multitude, and then retired, without searing a Pursuit from the half-dismounted Cavalry: Within a Moment they would return again, to make another Discharge upon these poor People, at whom they shot, from the higher Ground, to the lower, as at a Butt; they, in the mean time, being neither able to defend themselves, nor revenge their death. So that, without the Expense of one Man to the Turk, the poor Conrade, who himself was wounded, though but slightly, with two Arrows, was compelled to abandon all his Baggage, the Dead and Dying, the Sick, and the greatest part of his Infantry to the Mercy of the Turks, who killed a great number, and carried the rest into miserable Slavery; the Emperor himself, with great difficulty, escaping, not with above the tenth part of his Army, retired to the French Camp, which was now advanced as far as Nice. For while the Emperor Conrade marched before, and was making this unfortunate Voyage, the King, after having taken a Review of his Army at Metz, passed the Rhine at Worms, the 29th of June, where he was most magnificently entertained; and the Danube, at Ratisbonne; from whence he marched to Newburgh, and so through Austria and Hungary, without any molestation: But being once entered upon the Territories of the Greek Emperor, he found, oftener than once, the perfidiousness of that unworthy Prince; who had given underhand Orders to all his Officers, to do him all the mischief which possibly they could do in his Passage. He did the same also himself, to the Ambassadors which the King had sent, accompanied with a considerable number of the French Nobility; who received a thousand Affronts and Displeasures, at the same time that this dis-loyal Man made them a thousand Protestations of Amity and Friendship. The King, however, who was resolute to pursue his first Design, and who, with case, defeated the Troops which endeavoured to oppose his Passage, dissembling these Injuries, though some there were, who counselled him to Revenge, he being much stronger than the Emperor. In Conclusion, the beginning of October, he arrived at Constantinople; where Manuel, who knew his own Gild, and was in mighty fear of such a formidable Power, as he was in no possibility of resisting, received him with all the Respects and Honours imaginable. All the Great Persons of the Empire, the Patriarch, with the whole Clergy, and all the several Companies of the City, went out to meet him; and the Emperor himself, clothed in his Imperial Robes, received him at the Gate of the great Palace. year 1147 The meeting of these two Princes was, certainly, a very great and extraordinary Appearance: they were both about the same Years, being near twenty eight; both of them of a Majestic Composure, admirably well shaped, and of noble Presence, and both of them most magnificently habited, though after a different manner: and as they both knew, admirably well, how to dissemble; the one, by Nature and Malice; the other, by Art and Prudence; there was not the least Punctilio of Respect, Tenderness and Affection, which they did not, upon this occasion, reciprocally bestow, one upon the other; They embraced, they kissed, and entertained each other, by their Interpreters, for a long time, in the Emperor's Chamber, environed with the principal Lords of the one and the other Nation: And the Emperor, after he had given the King a thousand Praises upon the Subject of his glorious Enterprise, and had wished him all manner of prosperous Success, offering to serve him with all that ever he had, his Forces and Estate, he made him be conducted by all the great Lords of the Empire, to the Palace, which was most magnificently prepared for him. The next Day, he accompanied him to the Church of St. Sophia, and the other most celebrated Churches, which the King had a mind to visit: after which, he treated him at an Entertainment, where the magnificent Preparations, the sumptuous, rich and admirable Variety, accompanied with all the usual Attendants of Rejoicing, surpassed all that ever had been done by his Predecessors, in their most splendid Receptions of other Princes and Kings. He himself also ordered, that so he might satisfy the King's Devotion, that the Festival of St. Dennis the Areopagite, the Apostle of France, whom the Greek Church acknowledged, as well as the Latin, should be celebrated with a most extraordinary Pomp; causing the Divine Offices to be performed with all the most Ceremonious Solemnity, and most admirable Music; which, to the French, who are naturally Lovers of Novelties, was most pleasing and delightful. In short, he did all that possibly he could, to please the King; saying to him such smooth and obliging things, and framing his Countenance, his Eyes, his Gestures, and all his Actions, into so perfect a Harmony and Composure of extreme Joy and Satisfaction, that the greatest part of the Lords, who judged the depth of his heart by these deluding Appearances, which lay uppermost upon his Actions, were persuaded, that he acted most sincerely, and loved the King with all his heart. But the Bishop of Langress, who was a Man of wonderful Prudence, and who observed every thing with a curious eye, easily perceived that all this was Artifice; and that under all these affected Testimonies of a feigned Amity, there lay hid some dangerous Treason, which ought, by some generous Resolution, to be prevented, by putting the Greeks, the mortal Enemies of the French, out of the capacity of doing them any mischief. Upon the Debate, therefore, of the Council, which was holden to deliberate concerning the March of the Army, which the Emperor pressed with a great deal of Heat and Earnestness; when it came to the Bishop's share to speak, he gave advice, which, if it had been followed as warmly, as it was slighted imprudently, had in a few days, put a period to the War, to the immortal Glory of the French, as well as to the universal Good of Christendom. For he said that, In his Opinion, it was neither convenient for the King to stay there any long time, to attend the coming up of the Troops which were expected from Italy; nor yet, according to the sense of others, to be so hasty to pass the Straight, to join with the Germans: but that in his Judgement, the King ought to lay hold on that fair Occasion which God Almighty seemed to present him, and to strike the last, and the great Blow to that Holy War, by making himself Master of Constantinople. This, Sir, added he, is the only, absolute, and necessary way for Your Majesty, happily to finish this War, to assure the Conquests in the East, and to make new ones, by repulsing, to the remotest Confines of Persia, those Infidels who now dispute with us the Possession of Palestine, and of Syria. For, most certainly, so long as we leave Constantinople behind us, in the hands of the perfidious Manuel, we are assured there of a most potent and treacherous Enemy; who will not fail to cut off from us all Reinforcements of men, and all Supplies of Provision; without which, it is impossible for Armies to subsist: and who will do more towards our Destruction, by his secret Correspondencies and Intelligence with our Enemies, than all the Barbarians are able, by their united Forces. year 1147 The implacable, the ineconciliable Hatred which this perfidious Nation have entertained against us, is too frequently, and too loudly proclaimed, to permit us to repose the least Confidence in them; Nor does it now sleep under these slight Appearances of Amity, but out of pure fear of the Power of our Arms; and so soon as they shall see themselves delivered from those uneasy Fetters, we shall find the same Effects, which others before us have felt and found from so many horrible Treasons of these Greeks, who have neither any sense of Honour or Honesty, or any manner of regard to the Dictates of common Faith, or good Conscience. Their Intentions are most evident; and Manuel makes it very clearly appear, that he intends, not only to tread in the steps of his perfidious Father and Grandfather, but to outdo them; since he hath had the Confidence to demand of the French Nobility, that they should do him Homage, even in the Presence of Your Majesty. Let us therefore, once for all, remove this dangerous Obstacle of our Conquests: Let us, by one generous Blow, assure ourselves, both of the Freedom of Passage, and of all the Cities of this Empire, both in Europe and Asia, which will, doubtless, follow the Fortune of this Capital City: And let us not, by a foolish Scrupulosity, spare an Enemy, who will never cease to employ all the blackest Contrivances of a mischievous Mind, to ruin and destroy us. It ever was, and ever will be lawful, to prevent our own, by his Ruin, who hath contrived ours: And were there nothing else, the repeated Attempts of his Troops, and the Baseness of his People towards us, in our Passage hither, which, doubtless, was by his secret Orders, so contrary to the Faith they had given us, and for which that dis-loyal Man will not make the least Reparation, are sufficient to legitimate the Vengeance which we ought to take upon him and his perfidious People. In short, Since this holy War which we have undertaken is just, it is also just to make use of those Ways and Means which are absolutely necessary to make it successful; and that, nothing can assure us, but the Taking of Constantinople. And to me it appears, the Voice of God, who himself seems to call us to it; and, by opening the Gates of this City to us, to give us an easy Conquest over it: for we have nothing more to do, but to cut off their Water, by breaking the Conduits, and slopping those proud Aqueducts which supply them therewith: Or if we be obliged to make use of Force, their Fortifications are all ruinous, the Towers half demolished to our hands, the Ditches almost filled and grown up, the Walls weak and defenceless, and, for the most part, ready to fall before our Faces; as if God, without the help of Engines, had himself undertaken to make Breaches, large enough in all reason for us to enter; which we may do without Resistance, since we have, not only one of the bravest Armies that ever yet were seen, but that also these pitiful Greeks, with whom we have to do, are most miserable Cowards, without Conduct, without Experience in War, and abandoned of God, for their Schism, Heresy, and horrible Perfidiousness and Impieties. For which Reasons, Sir, I argue, that before we advance any further in the Pursuit of the great End which Your Majesty hath proposed, we ought to take this Way, and this Means, which will conduct us to it, and which does not only appear of absolute necessity, but highly just, and equally easy. This Discourse of the Bishop was diversely received in the Council: Some of the Wisest approved it, but it was contradicted by the Majority, rather out of a vain Scrupulosity, than any manner of Reason which they had to oppose it. They confessed indeed, that it was a very easy matter to take Constantinople; and at the same time, they could not deny but there was all the Justice and Prudence in the World to do it: but, on the other hand they alleged, that having undertaken this War out of pure Devotion, by their Arms to deliver the Holy Land from the Oppression of the Infidels, they could not accomplish their Vow, and, by Consequence, have no hope of the Remission of their Sins, if they should chance to die in sighting against Christians, and taking their Cities from them. All this while never considering what the Bishop had so well remonstrated, That he who will most certainly attain the End which he proposes, must make use of such Means as, provided they be lawful, are most necessary and conducing to it; and that, who endeavouring the one, does the other, must of necessity, lay a Claim to the same proportion of Merits. But thus it is; When once a groundless Scruple, under the specious name of Religion, hath fixed itself in the Minds of Men, it becomes so absolutely Master, and is defended with so much Obstinacy, that good Sense and Reason, and that natural Right which God hath given to Man, year 1147 for his Conduct in the Management of either public or private Affairs, cannot come so much as to obtain a fair Hearing. But however, when it was too late, they afterwards found their mighty Error, in not following this Judicious Counsel. The crafty Greeks, that so they might hasten away the King into Asia, by giving a Jealousy to the French, whom they knew to be extreme amorous of Glory, spread a malicious Report, that the Germans had already taken Iconium, and given Chase to the Infidels, who fled before them. At this the whole Army presently took fire to that degree, that, what with their Murmur, and what with their importunate Cries, they constrained the King to pass over into Asia upon the Vessels of the Emperor, which lay ready for that purpose; and no sooner did he see the greatest part of them on the other side, but he threw off the Mask: For, upon pretext of some particular Disorders, committed by a private Soldier, who had taken some Merchandise without paying for it, he took occasion to stop and pillage all the French that were behind at Constantinople: And though the King had commanded instant Justice to be done upon the Criminal, yet he thereupon absolutely prohibited his Subjects from carrying any manner of Provision to the Army. And so fierce and furious was he now grown on the sudden, knowing that their Dependence was so great upon him, that it was not without great difficulty that he was appeased: And at the last, notwithstanding all the generous Remonstrances of the Bishop of Langress, not until there was a new Treaty concluded, by which the King engaged, that he would take neither Town nor Castle from him, and that the French Princes should do him the same Homage which the Princes of the first Crusade had done to his Grandfather Alexis: Manuel, for his part, promising to furnish the King with three or four Greek Noblemen, who had Skill to conduct his Army by good Ways; and that he would furnish Magazines of Provisions for them, during their March. The French Lords, who were ready to die with the desire they had to make haste, to have their share in the good Fortune, and the Glory, which they believed the Germane Army were now reaping, made no sort of difficulty to make that Oath to the Emperor; saying, That they did the same every day, in France, to the Lords of Fieffs, without any prejudice to the Sovereignty of the King. But the Count de Dreux, the King's Brother, believing that he should dishonour the Blood of France, if he should acknowledge for his Lord, any one, except the King his Brother, took occasion to give them the slip; taking along with him some of the most Generous, as also the Princess, his Cousin, whom Manuel desired for a Wife for one of his Nephews: And while they were hotly disputing about these two Articles, which the Bishop of Langress ever most vigorously opposed, he had Leisure enough to get as far as Nicomedia. At the same time, the King of Sicily, who made War with Manuel, with Success enough, did whatever he was able, by his Ambassadors, to oblige the King to join with him, in a League against that Emperor, and to attack him, both by Sea and Land, in Europe, and in Asia. But the Scruple which the King had still in his Mind, which made him fearful of violating his Vow, if he should make never so little a Sally from this Holy War, made him refuse all these fair Offers, contrary to the Advice of the wise Bishop of Langress; who clearly foresaw, and to no purpose foretell, the Misfortunes which would befall him and the Army, by the Perfidiousness of the Grecian Emperor. Thus the Treaty being concluded, and the Emperor, after an Interview with the King, upon the Banks of the Propontis, having sent over all the French that yet remained at Constantinople, the whole Army marched, in the beginning of November, towards Nicomedia; a City which, at that time was, in a manner, wholly ruinous. And now the Baseness and Treachery of the perfidious Manuel began plainly to appear; for the Guides and Officers which he promised to send, to conduct the Army through a good Country, and to give Orders for Provisions, were not to be found; and in the Road wherein they now were, there was very little Subsistence for the Army: so that it was resolved to change it; and quitting the lest Hand where the Provinces were very barren and desolate, year 1147 to take the Right Hand way towards the South, and to incamp upon the Lake of Ascanius near unto Nice. There it was, that in the Heat of those Desires which possessed the Army to advance, and join as soon as possible with the Germans, who were supposed to be so victorious, they were extremely surprised with hearing of their Defeat. At first the news came but by some whispering Rumours, but it was in a little time confirmed by Frederick Duke of Suabia the Emperor's Nephew, whom that unfortunate Prince, who with great difficulty had recovered Nice, with the pitiful Remainder of his ruined Army, who in their Extremity were very ill treated also by the Greeks, had sent to the King to advertise him of his overthrow, and to request of him that he might see him, to the End that from his disaster he might give him Notice of some things of great Importance in this unhappy Conjuncture. The King who certainly was a Prince the most Civil and Obliging in the World, and had a Soul of the best Temper of any man of his time, resolved instantly to prevent the Emperor in his Design of seeing him, and to endeavour to sweeten his ill Fortune by all manner of Honours and good Offices which he was capable to do him; he therefore immediately mounted to Horse, accompanied with all the great Lords and Officers of his Army, and went to find the Emperor in the Place where he was encamped, expecting the Return of his Nephew Frederick. Never was there any thing seen more Tender and Moving than this Interview; for no sooner did these two great Princes see each other, but they ran into mutual Embraces, wherein they held one the other for a long time, without being able to speak any other Language, but those Tears which the Joy, the Grief and Compassion, which moved so diversely in their Hearts, drew at last into their Eyes. The King was the first who broke the Silence, and endeavouring to force a Joy into his Lips, in Despite of the Sorrow which surrounded his Heart, he said all that it was possible in the most Christian and obliging manner to comfort the Afflicted Emperor for his Loss; he offered him all that he had, his Forces and his Fortune, and protested, that he always would esteem it as great an Honour to be his Faithful Companion in this War, as he should have done were he still at the Head of an Army, as numerous and flourishing as that which he commanded before this Disaster. The Emperor also on his part, said all that was most capable to touch the Heart of a Christian Prince; he acknowledged with great Humility, the Heavy hand of God to be justly laid upon him for the Sins of his Army, and for his own too great Presumption, in relying so much upon the Strength of his own Arms, to the Prejudice of that Confidence which he ought to have reposed in God alone, in whose Almighty Hands is the Disposal of the Fortunes of Kings. Nevertheless, he said, since God had been pleased still to give him the same Ardent Desire to accomplish his Vow, and that he had in his Extremity found out for him such a Generous Protector, he hoped that his Divine Majesty would be pleased yet to make use of him to combat the Infidels among the Arms of France, which he hoped would be happier than his, and that he was resolved never to part from them. After which the two Princes having held a great Council with the Principal Lords of the one and the other Nation, it was resolved that the two Armies should march together, following the Road which the King had already taken, in drawing toward the lesser Asia, between the Sea and Phrygia. But this Resolution of the Emperor did not continue long; for the Germane Lords some or other of them every day demanding of him leave to departed, under Pretext that they had lost their Equipage, when they were arrived at the City of Ephesus after having suffered much by the mischievous Greeks, this poor Prince found himself so slenderly accompanied that he was ashamed of himself; and believing that it was putting an Affront upon his own Character, and the Empire which he governed, to have it said that an Emperor of Germany without an Army should seem to serve under a King of France, he therefore Excused himself in the best manner that he could to the King, and sending away the little Remainder of his Infantry by Land, himself with a few Noblemen who yet attended him, took the Opportunity of the Return of the Greek Ambassadors who had followed the King to Ephesus, year 1147 and went by Sea to Constantinople, where his miserable Fortune which entitled him to pity, procured a better Reception for him from his Brother in Law the Emperor, than he found in his more prosperous Condition to whom the Attendance of a flourishing Army which he had before, gave so much Occasion of Fear and Jealousy: So Great is the Malignity of Humane Nature, that it is a Pleasure to see men become unfortunate. As for the Ambassadors which Manuel had sent to the King to Ephesus, they only seved more to manifest the base Perfidy and Malice of this Emperor, their Business was only to present the King with Letters from their Master, by which he advertized the King, that he was like to have upon his Hands such an innumerable Company of Turks that it was impossible for him to resist them; and therefore he advised him to secure himself from so furious a Tempest by retiring into some Places within his Empire where he might be in safety. The King who easily discovered the Malice of that wicked Prince, whose Design was to stop his further Progress, and by obliging him to divide his Troops to weaken himself in such sort, as that he might become an easy Prey to the Infidels, generously answered the Ambassadors, That as he did not in the least Degree stand in Fear of the Turks, so he stood in no Necessity of the Favour which the Emperor their Master pretended to do him, and that he was fully resolved to pursue his Enterprise. Whereupon the Ambassadors, according to the Orders which they had received, seeing they had unprofitably spent the other foolish Temptation of Fear, presented the King with other Letters, by which that Emperor discovered more plainly his Malicious Will; for therein he complained mightily of the Disorders which he said the King's Army committed in his Territories, and with a kind of Menace gave him to understand, that it was impossible for him hereafter to prevent his Subjects from taking Vengeance upon them upon all Occasions that should offer. To this the King who amidst all the Goodness of his Natural Disposition, ever retained a certain Air and Character of Greatness, and a Noble Fierceness, worthy of the Greatest of all Kings, made no other Answer than by a Gesture of Disdain, by a short turn Leaving the Ambassadors to carry that Account, for he would send no other, to their Master: leaving Ephesus therefore which at that time was almost nothing but a miserable Heap of Ruins, he went to pass the Feasts at Christmas in the open Fields in that fair and delicious Valley where now the rest of that City is situate. After Christmas he quitted the Sea-Coast, and advanced more within Land towards the East, drawing right toward Laodicea a City of Lydia between Tralla and Apamia, upon the River Lycus, where it goes to lose itself in that of Meander, upon the Banks whereof all the Army went to encamp in the beginning of the following Year. The River of Meander so celebrated by the Songs of the Poets, for the singing of her Swans, of which they have there created great Numbers, which never mortal man could yet find, is one of the fairest Rivers of the lesser Asia, and which in its Course waters more Countries than all the others; for it hath so many several Wind and Turn, that it is said between the Head of its Spring, and its Fall into the Sea it makes six hundred Semicircles. It rises out of a Fountain sometimes called Aulocrene, at the Foot of the Mount Selenus in the greater Phrygia, and after having moistened that fair Province, it turns from the East to the West running between the Mountains and the Hills, through those rich and spacious Valleys and delightful Meadows, which on the right Hand divide Lydia and jonia from Caria, whose Boundary it is on the left Hand, till it falls into the Egean Sea, between the Cities of Miletus and Priena. When the Army was arrived to the Banks of this famous River, it was resolved to stay there to refresh themselves for a few days in that place, which is one of the richest and most delightful Countries of all Asia. But they were no sooner encamped, but they perceived that the Turks had posted themselves most advantageously upon the Mountains which lie on both sides of the River. For the Infidels had learned by their Greek Spies, who gave them constant Intelligence, that the French marching from Ephesus, took the way for Laodicea, which lies on the further side of Meander; and there they imagined they might combat them with great advantage, and defeat them without difficulty in their passage over the River. year 1148 For this purpose therefore they divided their Army into two Parts; possessing themselves of all the Heights on both sides of the River, that when the French Army should attempt to pass it, the one should fall in upon their Rear, at the same time that the others being posted on the further Bank, should oppose the Van in their Endeavours to pass over, and in Case either of them found themselves pressed, they should retire to the Mountains which were at no great distance from them. The King presently apprehended their Design, and finding no Possibility of passing it in that place where he was encamped, by reason the River was too deep and large, resolved to pass up higher towards Laodicea; and to secure his March, he placed the Baggage and all that was feeble in the middle, ranging his best Troops in the Rear, and on his left towards the Mountains; for he feared not to be attacked either in the Front, or on that side where the River separated him from the Enemies who marched over against him to impeach his Passage. In this Condition he marched some time, but could make no manner of Progress, because he was continually obliged to make Halts, to repulse the Enemies who perpetually followed the Army, coming to make a Discharge with their Arrows without coming nearer, and then wheeling off at full Speed; immediately returning in the same manner without ever coming to handy Blows. So that the second day, seeing that he could neither sight, nor march at quiet, he stopped short about Noon, and resolved to attempt the Pass in the View of both the Armies who observed his Motions. In Truth it was a brave and Generous Resolution, but extreme difficult in the Execution; for the Meander though it be not very Rapid by Reason of its many Wind, yet it is very broad and deep. It was in the Month of January when Rivers usually are at the biggest, and it had now reigned for four days in such abundance, that its Waters were considerably increased; there was one Army at his Back, and another appeared drawn up in Batallia upon the further Bank, and in the Plain whither it was descended to defend the Pass; and if the Entry into the River was easy the getting out was difficult, the further Bank being not only possessed by the Enemies, but very steep and high; and that which made the Difficulty greater was, that there was not one fordable place to be found, all the Country People though several Examined agreeing in the Protestation that they never knew any passing there. And besides all this, so soon as any of the Soldiers entered the River to search for a Ford, the Turks on the other side also entered the River, and showered down their Arrows upon them. Nevertheless the Desire which the Army had to pass and fight the Infidels was so great, that after having tried both above and below to find out a Ford in the River, without regarding the Arrows of the Enemies, they at the last found one, turning a little upon the left hand, which those of the Country had never known. The King after he had given Orders to the Cavalry of the Avantguard to pass the Ford, he put himself at the Head of the Rear, which faced the Turks who had charged them there, and running upon them at a full Career before they had the Liberty according to their Custom to retire, he cut a great part of them in pieces, and repulsed the rest with Sword and Lance at their very Reins, even to the Mountains. At the same time Thierri Earl of Flanders, Henry the Son of Thibald Earl of Champagne, and William Earl de Mascon, having thrown themselves with the first Squadrons into the River, were followed by all the rest, and in Despite of the Arrows which like Hail were showered most furiously upon them from the opposite Bank, which did but little Execution upon those armed Troops, they gained the other Shoar, and sustained the Shock of their Enemies, till the rest of the Troops got over and drew up in Battalions. Immediately thereupon they made a most furious Charge upon the Turks, who now no longer able to use their Bows were presently overthrown; for these Barbarians having no defensive Arms, and not accustomed to fight Foot to Foot against the Franks, were constrained to give way to that Terrible Shock, and therefore betook themselves to Flight, leaving a great Number of their Men extended upon the Earth, and a great many of Prisoners; the rest were pursued to the Mountains where they saved themselves, year 1148 but the Camp which they had pitched in the Plain, fell to the Share of the Soldiers; thus the whole Army having now no more Enemy neither in Front or Rear which durst appear, passed the River with Ease, some behind the Horse, others upon the Wagons and Planks of Timber. There ran a Report in the Army, that a Cavalier in white Arms, who was never seen before nor after, passing before the rest as it were to show them the Way they were to take, gave the first Charge upon the Squadrons of the Enemy. But as it was the Humour of those times to feign such Visions, to render extraordinary Actions as this was, more miraculous, one may without scruple dispense with disbelieving this Apparition. Eudes a Monk of St. Dennis who was the Successor of Sugerius, and who was by that great Abbot recommended to the King as an able Man to serve him, both as his Chaplain and his Secretary, during that Voyage satisfies himself with saying, that there were several who affirmed they saw that white Cavalier, but that for his own particular he was resolved neither to be deceived nor to deceive others, and that he saw no such thing. He adds, like a man of Sense, that without having Recourse to this Marvel which was not easy to prove, there was another Passage not less remarkable or surprising, and which ought to be wholly attributed to the Divine Protection, and that is, that in this Attempt there was not one Person of Quality lost except Milon or Miles the Lord of Nogent who was drowned. A strange and marvellous Adventure! which we have seen repeated within a few days, by that admirable Reflux, and if I may venture to express it so, Circulation of the same Events which produces the same thing in succeeding Ages which have happened in those past so long ago. For in the War with Holland, where the King of France by the prodigious Success of his Arms made himself Master in less than one Champagne of above thirty strong places; he commanded a Party of his Cavalry to pass the Rhine not far from its Mouth, under the Conduct of the Generous Count de Guiche, where those Braves, in the View of their Enemies who were drawn up on the other side to oppose them, passed that great River, partly by a Ford till that time unknown, and partly by swimming, without any other considerable Loss than that of the Count de Nogent, who there perished in signallizing by a glorious Death, his Zeal and Courage in one of the fairest Occasions that were ever seen. But it is in short, that one ought to expect, that what ever was great or Heroic in their Ancestors, is in our time to be performed by their Descendants, under a King, who hitherto hath carried the Glory of this August Monarchy to a higher Degree, than any of his Illustrious Predecessors have done since Charlemagne. The End of the First Part. THE HISTORY OF THE CRUSADE, OR, The Expeditions of the Christian Princes for the Conquest of the Holy Land. TOME II. BOOK I. The CONTENTS of the First Book. The Rereguard of the King's Army Defeated in the Mountains of Laodicea for want of observing the King's Orders. The Description of that Combat. A most Heroic Action of the King in an extreme Danger of his Life. His March, and admirable Conduct to Attalia. The new Perfidy of the Greeks in Betraying the Royal Army. The Arrival of the King at Antioch, and his Difference with Prince Raymond. The Conquenty March to Jerusalem, where he is met by the Emperor Conrade. The Council at Ptolemaïs', where the Siege of Damascus is resolved. The Description of the City of Damascus. The manner of the March of the Christian Army towards that City. The young King Baldwin makes the first Attack, his Character, and extraordinary Valour in the Attack against the Gardens and Suburbs of Damascus. The great Combat upon the Bank of the River. A brave Action of the Emperor Conrade. An Account of the Siege of Damascus, and the Treachery of the Syrians, which occasioned the ill Success of that Enterprise. The Return of the Emperor and the King. The Murmurs against St. Bernard, and his Apology. The Conquest of Noradin after the raising of the Siege. The Death of King Baldwin and his Elegy. His Brother Amauri Succeeds him. The History of that Prince's Life, who by his Avarice looseth the Opportunity of Conquering all Egypt. The History of Syracon, who Seizes upon the Kingdom of Egypt, and leaves it to his Nephew Saladin. The Elegy and first Conquest of that Prince. The Death of Amauri, and the Troubles and Divisions which it caused in the Realm. The Conquests of Saladin thereupon. The Reign of Baldwin the Leprous. The Ambassage to the Princes of the West, to desire their Help against Saladin. The Negotiation of the Ambassadors with the Pope and Emperor, in France, and England with Henry the Second. The Artifices of that King to Elude this Ambassage. A famous Care of Conscience proposed in the Parliament at London upon this great Affair. The Reasons on one side and the other. The best Opinion rejected by the Bishops as False. The Displeasure of the Patriarch Heraclius against the King. The Conference between Philip Augustus and King Henry, which Recommences the War. The Apostasy and Treason of a Templar. The Death of King Baldwin the Fourth, and of the young King his Nephew. The Artifice of Sibyl Mother to the deceased Infant King, to obtain the Crown for Guy de Lusignan her second Husband. The Despite of Raymond Earl of Tripoli thereupon. His Character. His horrible Treason, and secret Treaty with Saladin, who Enters Galilee and Besieges Tiberias. Division in the Council of War held by the King. The unfortunate Battle of Tiberias; which was lost by the Treachery of Count Raymond. The Advantage which Saladin made of his Victory. The Relation of the Siege and taking of Jerusalem by that victorious Prince. The sorrowful Departure of the Christians from Jerusalem, and the Generosity of Saladin. The Cruelty, and miserable Death of the Earl of Tripoli. The Triumph of Saladin. An Account of the Preserving of Tyre by Marquis Conrade. The Causes of the Loss of the Holy Land. year 1148 AFTER so fair a Victory, the Greeks who could by no means endure the Glory and the Advantages of the French, began more openly to declare themselves against them than before; for now they plainly joined with the Turks, to whom they afforded not only a Retreat to Antioch in Pisidia, but gave them also the Opportunity with Ease to Assemble and Reunite their scattered Troops. Whilst in the mean time the King was in great Straits for Subsistence, and finding himself in no Condition to Attaque them in so strong a Place, drew towards Laodicea, a large City, but not so well Fortified as to be in a Condition to Resist him, and there he hoped to meet with some Refreshment for his Army. He arrived there three or four days after the Battle, but to his great Disappointment he found, by the Baseness of him that Commanded there for the Emperor, that there was no manner of Provision for the Army. It was this wicked Villain, who pretending to Convoy a party of the poor Germans who had saved themselves after their Defeat, lead them into an Ambuscade of Turks, who put them all to the Sword, and with whom, as it was before Agreed, he divided their Spoil. This Infamous Traitor, fearing, it seems, that the French would be Revenged of him for his Treachery, or else that, imagining he should not be able to Betray them in the same manner, he was resolved to do them a greater Mischief, after having caused all the Inhabitants to Retire with their Goods and Provisions to the Woods and Mountains, went himself to seek a Refuge among the Turks; so that the King was obliged to stay there, till those Fugitives could be found and persuaded to return; year 1148 after which loading their Wagons and Sumpters with Provisions, which the King, who was for rendering Good for Evil, would have them paid for, the Army decamped and took the way of Pamphilia, that so they might by Marching near the Sea have a more commodious Passage, and meet with better Plenty of Forage and Subsistence. And though they knew that both the Greeks and the Turks Coasted along with them, though at a great Distance, yet they were esteemed such contemptible Enemies, and the French were so Confident after the Victory they had gained, that there was too little care taken to stand upon their Guard: But this Presumption, as it usually happens, did not fail to be very Pernicious to this Army, which was unfortunately beaten by the Turks, by the Fault of one Man, who neglected to observe the Orders which were wisely Established by Military Discipline. the Army following the Custom of those Times, was divided only into two Bodies, one of which composed the Vanguard, and the other the Rereguard. To avoid Jealousies, these two Bodies were every day Commanded by two of the Principal Lords, who under the King took their several Turns, the King sometimes Marching with one, sometimes with the other: Every Night they Assembled in Council, at which all the Lords Assisted, where Orders were issued out concerning the Way of the next days March, and the Place where the Army was to Encamp. Now there happened to be in the Way which they must of necessity pass, a mighty high Mountain, extreme difficult of Access by reason of the dangerous Narrowness and broken Craggs and Rocks where the Army must file off. The King therefore following the Resolution which had been taken at the Council, gave Order, that they should Encamp on the Top of the Mountain, and that they should pass the Night there, and the next Morning descend into the Plain in order of Battle. He who led the Vanguard that Day, was Geoffry Rancon of Poitiers Lord of Taillebourg, who carried the Royal Standard according to the Custom, next the Orislame at the Head of this Vanguard; The Count de Morienne, the King's Uncle, with the Queen and all the Ladies of Quality were there also by very good Fortune, going before, that so they might come in better time to the Place where they were to Incamp. The King, who usually chose the Place where there was most Danger, had put himself into the Rear, that so he might make Head against the Enemies, if they should attempt to Fellow or Molest him as they had done at the Battle of Meander. Geoffry Arrived at the Mountain in very good time, and seeing the Sun yet of a great height, and his Guides telling him that if he did but make a little the more Hast, he might Incamp far more Commodiously, in one of the fairest Plains of all Asia, where he should meet with all sorts of Refreshments for the Army; forgetting therefore the Orders of the King, with extreme Rashness he descended from the Mountain, and Marched a great way to that agreeable Place which had been showed him, supposing that the Arrierguard not finding him upon the Mountain, would certainly follow him. But he took very false Measures, and in deceiving himself in this manner, occasioned the Loss of the other part of the Army, which was more miserably deceived by him. For the very same Reason which made him March forward from the Mountain to gain the Valley, made the others also, seeing the Sun so high, to make no haste to get to the Mountain, where they doubted not but to find him Encamped according to the King's Orders. By this means the Turks, who Coasted all along constantly with the Army, perceiving that the two Bodies were so separated, that it was impossible for the one to Assist the other, ran immediately to Seize upon the Top of the Mountain, where they presently cut in pieces all those of the scattering Infantry, whom they found there for the most part Unarmed, being not able to follow the Gross of the Army, and having seized the Pass, they cut off the Rereguard in such manner that it was impossible for them to join with the Van, without passing through the whole Army of their Enemies. It was a strange Surprise to these Troops, who after they were Advanced a good way up the Mountain into the straight Passages, believing there to find their Companions, instead of them to meet with their Enemies, who at an Instant discharged upon them a fearful Cloud of Arrows, and who shooting from on high upon a company who were Entangled and Disordered one among another, tumbled them down with mighty Blows of the Mace and Scimitar, year 1148 before they almost thought of betaking themselves to their Arms. The first being Overthrown tumbled upon those in the Middle, where were the Chariots Loaden with Arms, and the Beasts of Burden with the Baggage, so that the most valiant Men of the Army which followed them, were not able to get over that Stop, to Charge the Enemy, who made a horrible Butchery among those who could neither Retreat nor Advance: The Men, the Mules, the Horses, being crowded, in Shoals came tumbling down upon those who endeavoured to gain a Passage to come to the Enemies, who Fought with all manner of Advantage, since in this fearful Confusion there was none in a Condition to Oppose them. In the End, the Lords followed by their best Soldiers, and the King himself at their Head, made so good Way, that whilst the others Fled in Disorder, endeavouring to escape round the Mountain, they got up to the place where the Turks had Posted themselves in Battalia, to support those of their Troops who had made the first Charge. There it was that there was a kind of regular Combat; the French Animating one another by the Presence of the King, and by the little Account that was to be made of such as they had Vanquished at the Meander, and principally by the fatal Necessity to which they were reduced, either to Conquer or to Die. The Turks on the other hand were Encouraged by the great Advantage which they had already gained, by the Disorder in which they saw their Enemies, by the small Number of those that Charged them, and especially by the Remembrance of the Fortune of the Germane Army, which they had so luckily Defeated in the Straits of such sort of Mountains. The Fight was maintained with extreme Fury, for the French, to whom still those who could Advance joined themselves, slew in like Lions among the thickest of their Enemies, where they made a most horrible Slaughter. But the Turks, who had there their whole Army, sending in continual Troops of fresh Men to Enforce their Men, and the French, who were but a small Handful, surrounded with a vast Multitude, could do no more than it was possible for Men to do, so that it was impossible, but being drained of all their Blood and Strength, and not having time to take any Breath, but that they must sink under that Misfortune; most of those gallant Men being there either Slain or taken Prisoners; the Count de Va●ennes, and his Brother Everard de Bretuïl, Count Renaud de Tonnerre, Gauthier de Montjay, Ithier de Magni, Manasses de Bulli, and five and thirty other great Lords who Accompanied the King, lost their Lives there, in this glorious Occasion of defending his. This brave Prince still Fought with an invincible Courage, Environed with so many Enemies, and the Bodies of so many of his generous Friends who lay dead at his Feet, till such time as some one of his Cavaliers, laying hold of his Horse's Bridle, made way with their Swords quite through the Body of the Turks, and so gained the Top of the Mountain, where they Enclosed him with a Wall of their own Bodies, to defend him, till the Obscurity of the Night, which now drew on apace, favoured him with a Retreat. But the greatest part of them being Slain by a great Troop of Turks who Pursued them, without knowing that it was the King, he found himself almost alone, and therefore quitting his Horse, he scrambled up a Rock by the help of some Bows of a Tree which grew there, thinking that might be a convenient Place to enable him to defend himself from the Pursuers. But the Turks Compassing him round, some shot at him to bring him down, others endeavoured to Climb up after him, to Kill or take him Prisoner. In all appearance it was impossible that he could Escape, but nevertheless by a particular Protection of God, and by a Prodigy of Courage and Valour, he did escape this Danger. His Curiass guarded him sufficiently against the Arrows, and with his Sword cutting off the Hands, and splitting the Sculls of those who endeavoured to get up to him upon the Rock, he Defended himself with such an incredible Force, and without Weariness, that the Turks who took him for some ordinary Cavalier, surprised by his astonishing Valour, and fearing besides that here they should get nothing but Blows, and lose also their Share in the Plunder, they left him to run to the Booty, before it was quite Night, with the rest of their Companions. In the mean time some Soldiers and Servants of the Army, who under the Favour of the Darkness were endeavouring to Escape, year 1148 among the Rocks passed by the Place where the King was, and knowing him by his Voice, for he called to them, perceiving them to be of his own People; and thereupon mounting upon a led-Horse, after having wandered a good part of the Night in unknown and dangerous Places, at the last they discovered the Fires of the Vanguard, and a little after met with the Troops of Horse which were coming to meet them. For the King during the Combat, had commanded his Chaplain Eudes, the Monk of St. Dennis, to save himself as well as he could, and make haste to the Camp of the Vanguard, to order them to March instantly to his Relief; but the Way being long and difficult, and that they had not Notice till very late, this Succour came too late, and served to no other purpose but to Conduct the King to the Camp, after having found him in this pitiful Estate. It is impossible to express the Consternation which the Army was in, seeing the King so slenderly Accompanied, after the Loss of so many Lords of the first Quality, and almost all the Rereguard, except a few Soldiers who saved themselves in the Woods and Mountains, and at last found the Way to the Camp, whither they came straggling one after another all the Night. There was scarcely any Person in the Camp but what had some Share in this deplorable Loss: One lamented his Father, another his Son, this his Brother, that his Kinsman or his Friend; some ran to Embrace those of their Acquaintance, who were got off half Naked, and without their Arms; whilst others who conceived a like Hope for theirs, in vain expected those who were never to Return. However all of them Comforted themselves in this extreme Grief, by the Joy which they had at the King's Escape, after he had run such a fearful Danger of being Lost, and had defended himself from it in that Heroic manner which hath been related; and in short, all of them in the midst of this Grief and Joy, tumultuously and loudly demanded the Death of Geoffry, who had most apparently been the only Cause of this horrible Loss, by disobeying those Orders which had been prescribed him by the King, and so furiously were they Incensed against him, that nothing would satisfy them but to have him Hanged immediately: And certainly it is impossible to deny but that he well deserved to have suffered Death, but such was the Bounty and natural Goodness of the King, and the Count de Morienne, having also in a great Measure been Guilty of that Miscarriage, for whom the King had a great Value, he scaped with his Life. The next Day when they were to Decamp, the Army was reduced to very great Extremities. For they discovered the Enemies upon the Tops of the Mountains, ready to follow the remainder of the Army, and to take all Advantages to Surprise them again upon their March. The Provisions began to fail; they had twelve days March to the Place whither they designed to go, they wanted good Guides, and must of necessity pass through Countries possessed by the Turks and the Greeks who were equally their Enemies. All these Dangers and Difficulties, how great soever, did not yet abate the Courage of the French, who are usually Reproached with losing a great part of their Fire and their natural Confidence, when they are under adverse Fortune; however it did not happen so upon this Occasion, which only made them more Wise, and not less Valiant or Resolved. The King to model this new Army, divided it also into two Bodies, one of which was the Rereguard; He gave the Command of this to the Great Master of the Temple, Everard de Bars, a most valiant Gentleman, who some days before was come to join the Army with a good Troop of the Knights of that Order. The Conduct of the other he entrusted with an old Captain, one Gilbert, to whom all the others, though in Quality much Superior to him, yet, made no Difficulty to submit themselves, since the King himself protested that he would obey his Orders. But he most humbly entreated the King, to put himself between these two Bodies with a good Body of Horse and Foot, that so he might be able from thence to send Assistance to either of them, if they should happen to be much Pressed by the Enemy. The Baggage marched in the Middle, and a great part of the Horse were Ranged upon the Wings to the Right and Left, to cover the Flanks of the Army. In this manner it was that they Advanced, and in this Order marched daily towards Pamphilia, with so much Conduct, that the Enemies who Coasted along with them, and Attacked them four several times, year 1148 were continually Repulsed; and particularly one time the King seeing them Engaged between two little Rivers, Charged them so smartly, that he took a sufficient Revenge upon them for the Defeat of his Rereguard, cutting in pieces the greatest part of those Barbarians, and putting the rest to a shameful Flight. The most troublesome Enemy which he had to Combat was Want, for all the Country was either Desert, or ruined by the Enemies, who laid all waist wherever the Army was to pass; so that they were reduced to that Extremity to Eat their Horses, which they were also constrained to kill for want of Forage for so great a Number. But that which supported them still, was the Example of the King, who endured all these Inconveniences as if he had been one of the meanest Soldiers: Some he commended, others he encouraged, and liberally bestowed what he had among them to Comfort the poor Creatures; his Care was every where, and he took his Share in all the Troubles of the War, having his Curiass on almost Night and Day, and performing all the Functions of a Great Captain and a Soldier with all the Vigour imaginable; And to all this he added a Piety towards God so constant and regular, that in all the time of this laborious Voyage he never failed to attend the Divine Offices of public Prayers. In Conclusion, the Enemies after their last Defeat not daring to appear or to molest the Army, they performed this long March with the greater Ease, and about the twentieth of January Arrived near the City of Attalia, Situate upon a Bay on the Coast of Pamphylia, near the Mouth of the River Cestrius. The Governor of that City, which was under the Dominion of the Greek Emperor, fearing that he was not able to Resist so great an Army, if he declared himself their Enemy, offered the King Provisions and Ships to Transport his Army into Syria, which was the Thing he most ardently Desired, thinking himself in no Condition to accomplish so long a March by Land; for the King, who had no Engines for a Siege, and was willing to satisfy his Army by shortening the Voyage, was very ready to accept of his Offer: But there was no manner of Mischief which this Perfidious and true Greek, who held Intelligence with the Turks, did not do, to Incommode and Ruin, as far as he was able, this whole Army, during five Weeks which they lay there in Expectation of a Wind. And then he would find such a small number of Ships, and those at such excessive Rates, that the King was at last constrained to Embark himself, without his Infantry. He then treated with the Greeks, who obliged themselves for a large sum of Money, which was paid in Hand, to receive the Sick into the Town, till they should be able to endure the Sea, and to Convoy the rest who chose to go by Land, through the midst of the Turks, than to trust to these Treacherous Greeks, who notwithstanding failed not to Sell and Betray them. For so soon as the King was gone, the Infidels, who received Advertisement from these Traitors, came pouring down from all Parts, upon these who were to venture by Land; and for those who were received into the Town, the Greeks either Starved them, or inhumanly Delivered them into the Hands of the Turks, insomuch, that of all those brave Men, there was but a very few who Escaped by Land with the Earl of Flanders and Archambald de Bourbon, who generously offered themselves to be their Conductors. And now it was, that it appeared too late, to be a vain Scruple, which was to so ill Purpose opposed against the wise Council of the Bishop of Langres, who advised the Seizing upon Constantinople; and which occasioned the Loss of such a fair Army, as, if it had begun with that Enterprise so just, so easy, and so necessary, might gloriously have Triumphed over the whole East, and absolutely assured the Christians of the Possession of the Holy Land. But it is the common Weakness of the greatest part of Mankind, not to know what they ought to do, till for want of doing it, all is so far lost, that when they would, they want the Power proportionate to the Will. But as for this City, it was afterwards equally Punished both by God and the Greek Emperor, though for very different Reasons. For God to revenge the Inhuman Treachery with which they had treated the French, sent such a Pestilence amongst the Inhabitants a short time after, as swept away the greatest part of them; and the Emperor out of Madness that they had assisted the French with Provisions and Shipping, laid such a Mul●t upon them, as drained them of all their ill gotten Gold and Silver, year 1148 and reduced the Remainder to extreme Poverty. An Instance, from whence we may learn, that Injustice, Oppression and Cruelty, in the Conclusion, prove more mischievous to the Actors than to the Sufferers. In the mean time the King, who had taken the Sea, with all the great Lords, and the remainder of the Cavalry, which might yet compose a considerable Army, came happily to an Anchor at the Port of St. Simeon, upon the Mouth of the Orontes, about four or five Leagues from Antioch; into which place he made his Entry, upon the 19th Day of March, and was received with all manner of Magnificence by Prince Raymond, who was Uncle, by the Mother, to Queen Eleoner. Now this Prince passionately desiring that the King should immediately enter upon a War in Syria, to conquer for him Aleppo, and the other places belonging to the Principality of Antioch, which were yet possessed by the Turks, there was no sort of Artifice which he did not put in practice, to oblige him to undertake it. He had Recourse to all manner of Submissions and Prayers; he made use of the Solicitations of the Queen, his Niece; he made magnificent Presents to all the French Lords; and in short, he omitted no kind of Reasons, but pressed them with his utmost force, both privately, and in Council, to persuade the King, that it must be, not only for his own Interest and Glory, but for that of all that part of Christendom in the East. But at length he perceived that he laboured but in vain. The King, whether it were that he feared to engage himself in so long and so dangerous a War, for the particular Interest of Prince Raymond; or whether it were that some certain Intrigues which the Queen had in Antioch, which, no doubt, did not please him, obliged him to leave that City; he always answered Raymond, that he was fully resolved, in the first place, to go and pay his Vows at the holy Sepulchre. So that, as it commonly happens, that one violent Passion easily passeth to another Extreme; this Prince being infinitely exasperated by that Refusal, and it may be, not a little animated by another Passion in his Niece, to which he joined his, he entertained such a mortal Hatred against the King, that there was nothing which he did not resolve to do, to revenge himself. For this reason, the King, who knew he was to apprehend all things from a Spirit so furiously transported, that he valued not what he did, secretly conveyed himself by Night out of the City, in a manner not very well becoming the Majesty of so great a Monarch; and taking the Queen along with him, not much to her Satisfaction, he went and joined his Troops, which were encamped under the Walls, and marched directly towards Jerusalem, where the Emperor Conrade was already arrived, from Constantinople, where he had passed the Winter. For that Prince, who was resolved to accomplish his Vow; and who, by reason of the small Remainder of his Troops which were left after his Misfortune, gave no Jealousy to Manuel, easily obtained from him Shipping, to transport himself and his Troops, in the Spring, by Sea; as he did, to Ptolemais, or Acon: from whence he passed by Land to Jerusalem. Alphonsus, Earl of Tholose, and Son to the brave Raymond, who had so great a Part in the first Crusade, coming at the same time, to the same Port, took another Way, all along by the Sea-Coast; but he was stopped in his Journey, by a deplorable Death, as he passed by Caesarea; being unfortunately poisoned one Evening, at his Supper, without ever being known, either for what Reason, or by what Person, that execrable Fact was committed. It was no sooner known at Jerusalem, that the King, who, it was feared, would have stayed at Antioch, according to the earnest Desires and Solicitations of Raymond, was parted from thence, and that he took the Way of Tripoli, but that King Baldwin, who feared lest the Earl of Tripoli should also press him strongly to stay there, sent immediately to him, Fulcherius the Patriarch, to propound to him such Reasons as, he believed, would oblige him to make what haste he could to Jerusalem, where the Emperor had now been for some time; that so there they might take some good and solid Resolution, for the common and public Advantage of Affairs: To this the King, who desired nothing more, easily accorded; and therefore kept on his way, without staying any where, till he arrived at the Holy City. There he was received with most extraordinary Honours; year 1148 all the Princes, the Prelates and Clergy, in Procession, followed by a Multitude of the People, met him with great Acclamations; singing, as they did to the Son of God, Blessed be he that cometh in the Name of the Lord, whilst he made his Entry into the City, as it were, in Triumph: After which, all the Princes and Prelates accompanied him, to visit the Holy Places; which he did with a great Piety and Devotion. This being done, it was resolved, that there should be a General Assembly held at Ptolemais; whither all the Bishops, and the Lords of Palestine and Syria, might easily come by Sea: where, by common Consent, the last Resolution was to be taken, upon what was to be undertaken, for the Security of the Christians in the East. There never was a more illustrious Assembly seen in Palestine, than this; which was honoured with the Presence of so many great Princes. There was the Emperor Conrade, accompanied with the Cardinal Theodin, Bishop of Porto, and the Great Men of the Empire, who stayed with him; among whom, the principal were Otho of Fribourg, his Brother by the Mother; Frederick, Duke of Suabia, his Nephew; the Bishops of Metz and Toul, as Princes of the Holy Empire: as also, the Bishop of Basle, Henry his Brother, Duke of Austria; Berthold, afterwards Duke of Bavaria; William, Marquis of Montferat; Guy, Earl of Blandras; and Herman, Marquis of Verona. The King came attended with Guy, Cardinal of Florence, the Pope's Legate in his Army; and the Bishops of Langres and Lizieux: The Count de Dreux, his Brother; Thierry, Earl of Flanders; Henry, Earl of Troy's; the Son of Thibald, Earl of Champagne; Ives de Nele, and many other Lords of the first Quality, who came with him from Attalia. The young King Baldwin, with his Mother Queen Melesintha, also assisted at it; together with the Patriarch of Jerusalem, the Arch-Bishops of Caesarea and Nazareth, the Bishops of Ptolemais, Sidon, Beritus, Paneas and Bethlehem; the Earls of Napolis, Tiberias, Sidon, Cesaria, Beritus: as also, the Constable Manasses, and the great Masters of the Temple of the Hospitallers. It was a long time under Debate, what was most advantageous to be undertaken for the common Interest; and in conclusion, they determined to besiege Damascus: Which being, as it were, in the Centre and Midst of the four Principalities which the Christians held in the East, might be equally dangerous to them all. Upon this, all the Troops were appointed to rendezvous, the five and twentieth Day of May, at Tiberias; where a general Review being made of the Army, they advanced to Paneas, near the Head of Jordan; the Patriarch carrying the true Cross, or, at least, that which was believed to be so, before them. The Measures which were taken for the Siege, were according to the Opinion of the Lords of that Country, who were best acquainted with the Strength and Weakness of the place. After which, crossing the celebrated Mount Lebanon, they descended into the fair Champain of Damascus, and encamped at Daria, a little Village, about two Leagues from Damascus; from the most elevated place whereof, the Towers of that stately City were easily to be discerned. Damascus, one of the most ancient, and sometimes one of the fairest and greatest Cities of Asia, is situate in a large Plain, at the Foot of Mount Lebanon; which is watered with two Rivers, and a great number of little Springs and Fountains; which, notwithstanding its natural Inclination to Sterility, it being a hungry, sandy Soil, render it very fruitful and delightful. These two Rivers take their Rise upon the East, at no very great distance, from the Foot of the Mountain Amana, which is a part of Mount Lebanon: the lesser is called Abana, and slows all along by the Walls of the City, upon the West; the greater, which is Pharpar, and which some have confounded with the Orontes; and, for the beauty of its Streams, is called Chryorrhoas, or Golden Stream; after having passed through the City, and wandered through the Fields and the Valleys of the neighbouring Country, loseth itself under the Earth; either because, being divided into a multitude of Canals, which are drawn, to render the Earth more fruitful, that it is so diminished, that at last it ends in them; or that by some unknown, Subterranean Passages, it dischargeth itself into the Phenician Sea. It was the great Conveniency of making these Canals, year 1148 which made all that part of the City towards the North, and a great part of the West, be enclosed with a prodigious number of Gardens and Orchards, where were planted an infinite of Trees, producing all manner of Fruits, the most delicious of all the East. These Gardens were divided, one from the other, by little narrow Passages, which cutting one another, and turning and winding several ways, without any regular Art or Figure, form a kind of undesigned Labyrinth, where it was easy for those who were unacquainted with them, to lose themselves in those delightful places. Every Garden had its House, and its little Tower, according to the Mode of the Orientals, for the Convenience, and the Lodging of its Master: So that the City being very populous, the number of Gardens which covered those sides, was very great, and extended themselves almost two Leagues; so that, viewing it upon that side, it represented to the Sight a large Forest, which seemed to extend itself to the very Walls. But on the contrary, the other side, which lay to the East and South, had not so much as a Tree, a Hedge, or a Bush; but shown a bald Champaign, from whence it was easy to discern the whole City; which was defended with high Walls, which were fortified with great Towers, whereof four, which listed up their proud Heads above the rest, were of an extraordinary height and strength: and above all, it was defended by a Fortress, which was esteemed the fairest, and most regular of all Asia. This City had been taken from the Saracens, by the Turks, whose Sultan, Dodequin, made a most cruel War against the Christians, between the time of the first and the second Crusade. After his death, his Successors, seeing themselves attacked by Sanguine, the redoubted Sultan of Aleppo and Nineuch, who endeavoured the Conquest of all Syria, joined themselves with the Christian Princes, to make War against this common Enemy. They assisted them, according to the Treaty in the Taking of Paneas, which they had taken from the Christians before, and Sanguine from them again. But there being little Faith to be expected from Infidels, they soon broke the Peace, and declared themselves, as before, the mortal Enemies of the Christians. For this reason it was, that the Resolution was fised to attack them, and above all things, to carry this City, which was in a Condition to give the Checkmate to the four Christian Principalities of the East. Hereupon it was also resolved in the Council, to attack the Town on the Garden-sides, that so the Army might have the Convenience of the River, the Fruits and Forage, which were there to be had in abundance. The next Morning therefore, the Army, being divided into three Bodies, marched in good Order towards Damascus; drawing from the West, towards the North, to the Garden-Quarter of the City. The young King of Jerusalem, Baldwin the Third, commanded in Person the first Body, composed of his own Troops, and those of the Princes of Syria, who had the same Interest with him in the Siege. The French made the second, having at their Head King Lewis to support the first, which they followed at a little distance, to be always ready to afford them Succour. The Emperor, with his Germans, had the Rear, to oppose the Enemy's Cavalry, if they should attempt to fall upon them as they made their Approaches. Baldwin, who thirsted mightily after Glory, and was transported with Joy, to meet with so fair an Opportunity to display his Courage, in the View of the French and Germans, did instantly press to make the first Attack; which was easily granted him, in regard he alleged, that his People were better acquainted than the rest, with the nature of the place, and the Turn of the Gardens. He was a Prince, who was now advanced to the Flower of his Youth, being between eight and nine and twenty Years of Age: he was of Stature something less than the Middle, but of a Proportion so just and regular in all the parts of his Body, that his want of Height did not lessen that Port and Majesty of a King which he wore, and which made him be known for one, by such as had the honour to see him; the Shape of his Face, and the Turn of all his Lincaments were very handsome; his Eyes indifferent large and full, extreme sweet and sparkling, with a Fire that wanted nothing in it of Attractive; his Hair was inclining to Fair, of a lively Colour, well assuring the Beholders of the strength of his Robust Constitution; his Cheeks plump, year 1148 and tinctured with Vermilion; and in short, having in his Composure, all that was delicate and lovely in Queen Melesintha, his Mother, and the Vivacity of Baldwin the Second, his Grandfather, whom he much resembled: And, to make the Harmony complete, he had a Soul proportionable to his Body; for his Mind was quick, easy, ready and penetrating, which had been cultivated by the Study of all manner of gentile and ingenuous Learning, and which was of wonderful Advantage to him; he had a most happy Memory, and a marvellous Facility in expressing himself eloquently upon the sudden, concerning any kind of Subject of Discourse; he was naturally of one of the best Tempers in the World, of a heart truly Royal; being liberal, magnisicent, affable, obliging, complaisant, of a good Humour, and one who understood innocent and divertive Raillery, and how to use it without losing his Friend, rather than his Wit; for he was rather naturally sober, vigilant and provident, brave and undaunted in War, exposing himself freely to Dangers, and suffering equally with the meanest Soldier: And, to conclude, all his greatest Accomplishment was, that he was, above all, a most devout and religious Prince; having, among all these Perfections that could be wished in a great King, as few Failings as most common Men, being a little inclined by his Heat, to love Play, and the Conversation of the Ladies; but if he erred in any thing in this last Particular, he corrected it afterward, by a lawful Marriage. Baldwin being such as I have endeavoured to describe him, full of Courage, and Martial Fire; ambitious of Glory, in valiantly fight in view of an Emperor, and a King of France, who were followed by the bravest Men of the West, marched briskly to attack these Gardens, which, like a Labyrinth, seemed to render the Town inaccessible on that Quarter: but he found that the Enterprise was not so easy as he had painted it in his conquering Imagination; and that the Honour which he pretended to gain, was like to prove a very dear Purchase. For the Turks, who well knew that their Safety depended upon the Preservation of this Post, had placed the greatest part of their Garrison there to defend it: Some of them were retrenched and barricadoed in the Narrow Ways, where not above two could pass abreast; where they repulsed those who assisted them, with Push of Pike: Others, having broken small Holes in the Walls which parted the Gardens, pierced with their Javelins, from both sides, such Soldiers as were in the Passages, who could not come to be revenged of those Enemies, who wounded them without appearing: A great number of others were mounted upon the Turrets, and the Tops of the Houses; from whence they poured an infinite number of mortal Arrows from above, upon the Christians who were below, whilst others threw down huge Stones upon those who were wedged in those narrow Passages, and could no ways secure themselves from that fearful Hail. So that the Soldiers being neither able to advance, nor retreat, by reason of the multitude of those who pressed forward in following them, and that they were stopped by the Retrenchments, perished miserably, without being able to come at the Enemy, who attacked them under their Covertures, without partaking at all in the danger of the Combat. The young King, fretting with Anger and Madness, to see his first Attempt succeed so ill, resolved to repair the Loss, or to perish; and therefore commanded to change the Order of the Attack, and to turn the Fight from Filing two and two a breast in those narrow Ways, to the attempting to make Breaches into these Enclosures, through the Walls. Now these Walls being but low, and made of Earth, the ardent desire of the Soldiers to be revenged, re-doubled their Strength: so that they fell to pulling down the Walls with their Poniards, and other Instruments which were brought for that Service; and in a little time they had made a great many Breaches, by which they furiously entered into these Gardens. The Turks who had, for their own Security, and to keep out the Christians, shut themselves close up in these Gardens, being closely pursued, had so cut off their own Retreat, that in a little time there was made a mighty Slaughter among them: Whereupon, the others, who were yet in the other Gardens that were not taken, having taken the Fright, as well as those who guarded the Barricades, abandoned them, and saved themselves within the Town. The Ways being thus cleared, year 1148 all the Vanguard passed without any Opposition, and advanced almost to the City, where they were necessitated to a new Combat, far more furious than the first: For all the Cavalry of the Enemies, supported by the best part of their Infantry, suspecting that the Christians, after they had carried the Gardens, would run in disorder to the River, had placed themselves in Battalia upon the Banks of it, to prohibit their Approaches. The young King, who was resolved to have all the Honour of this Day, making use of the Heat of his Soldiers, who, all covered with Sweat and Dust, and burnt with Heat and Thirst, longed for the Water of the River; having instantly rallied them, he charged fiercely into the thickest Squadrons of the Enemies: But they being all fresh, whereas his People were faint, and quite tired out, do what he could, after he had made two furious Charges, he was repulsed, and his Troops put into some Disorder. There was a necessity that he must stop a little, to rally his Men, and to attend the coming up of the Main Body, which followed slowly; and was also obliged to make a little Halt, after it had joined him, for Convenience of drawing up into Order. It was upon this Occasion, that the Emperor Conrade performed an Action, which, though certainly something too rash, and a little irregular, yet aught to have given him sufficient Consolation for all his former ill Fortune in this second Crusade: For having demanded why these two Bodies which marched before his, halted so long, since he understood that the Vanguard was engaged with the Enemy, who had gained some Advantage upon them, he suffered himself to be so transported with the desire of the Combat, that running at full Speed, followed by all his Germans, quite through the Body of the Battle, without any Order, he flew, with his Sword in his hand, into the midst of the Enemies; who, unable to resist the Shock of such a furious and unexpected Charge, instantly gave Ground. It is said also, that he gave such another dreadful Blow as that of the great Godfrey of Bullen, which finished the Victory, already inclining upon his first Charge; for a puissant Turk, armed with a Curiass, having attacked him, he discharged with all his force such a furious Blow upon the place where the Shoulder joins to the Neck, that the Sword passing through the Neck, to the right Shoulder, took that and part of the Breast clear off; the Head, and that Arm and Shoulder falling to the Ground, whilst the other remained a Spectacle of Horror, for some time, upon the Horse. The Turks, amazed at this frightful Blow, immediately fled, and saved themselves in the Town, leaving all the Fields and the Rivers free to the Christians, who immediately encamped upon the Banks, and in the Gardens, with mighty convenience, both for the Men and Horses. This Victory brought such a Despair among the Turks, and the Inhabitants of Damascus, that knowing well that they were in danger of losing the place upon the first Assault which should be given, there being on that side no other Defence beside the Gardens, which were now lost, they began to think of nothing but how to save themselves by retreating. For this purpose they barricadoed all the Streets which opened that way, to the end, that while their Enemies were busy in breaking the Barricadoes, and removing the great Beams which they had laid cross the Streets, they might have the more time to save themselves and their Families by the opposite Gates, and so retreat with more Security to such neighbouring Towns as were in the Hands of their Friends. Thus had Damascus most assuredly fallen into the Power of the Christians, if Covetousness, Hatred and Envy; three furious Passions, which at this time wrought more deplorable Effects than the Arms of the Infidels, had not suddenly precipitated their Affairs, by a most infamous Treason, from a certain Hope, and a flourishing Condition, into the very Gulf of Misfortune and Confusion, from whence they were never able to recover again. Those of Damascus seeing themselves thus just upon the Eve of their Ruin, after they had barricadoed the Streets, they advised themselves again of another Means to save themselves, which did not fail of the wished Effect. After that the French had conquered the Holy Land, many Persons of both Sexes, not only of the Common People, but also of the Nobility, were married in Palestine and Syria, with the Ladies of that Country; and many of the great Lords who were in Baldwin's Army, were such as were born of those Marriages, and consequently Syrians by Birth, year 1148 and by Original, either by Father or Mother. And as these kind of Mongrels usually degenerate from the fair Qualities of the more noble Nations, and participate of the Imperfections of the other, so many of these half French, half Syrian Lords retained the Vices of the Country, and particularly, Greediness of Riches, and Avarice, which to this day is the domineering Vice and Passion of the Orientals. The Turks, and principal Men of the City, who being of the same Country, very well knew their Feeble, secretly sent some of the most dexterous and cunning of their Citizens, to these Motley Lords and Barons, whom they knew to be of the most covetous Dispositions, and consequently most capable of being brought into Treason: To these they gave all imaginable Assurances that they could desire, that they should have certain Payment made of most considerable Sums of Money, provided they could induce the Besiegers only to change their Attack, and remove the Siege to the other side of the City. Now he to whom they principally trusted the Management of this Affair, found amongst those to whom he addressed himself, Inclinations favourable as he could desire, to entertain his Propositions. Prince Raymond, who mortally hated King Lewis the Seventh, after the Affair of Antioch, had, as it is said, beforehand corrupted some of his People, and obliged them underhand, to do all that possibly they could against him, that so he might not acquire any Glory from this War. There were others who could not, with Patience, think of permitting the Earl of Flanders, as they understood it was concluded between the Emperor and the two Kings, to enjoy the Principality of Damascus; and they had rather that it should continue in the Possession of the Turks, than fall to the share of a Man, whom they looked upon as a Stranger, in regard he was not born in Syria. Thus the Envy of some, and the Hatred which Raymond had inspired into others, being joined with the Avarice which reigned equally in both the one and the other, produced the most infamous and most cowardly Treason, that it was possible for Lords of great Quality, not to say Christians, to be capable of: For, counterfeiting a marvellous Zeal for the public Good, they remonstrated to the Council, That hitherto they had taken very false Measures; That they had too long permitted themselves to be deceived with vain Appearances of a commodious Encampment upon the Banks of the River, among the Gardens and Orchards; not considering that this was the main Obstacle, which had hitherto hindered the Taking of the City; for that the River, one part whereof served for the Ditch upon that Quarter, rendered the Access more difficult, and the Attack most dangerous; That the Gardens hindered the disposing of the Machines' to such convenient Distances as were requisite for the Battery; and that the Siege being spun out to a greater length than had been promised to the Soldiers, there was great danger that being disgusted, and the great Heats beginning now to become insupportable, they would quit the Siege. That for this Reason they were in the Opinion, that they ought to remove the Camp to the other side of the City, between the South and East, in regard that there being no Gardens, nor Rivers, nor Ditches full of Water, which could hinder them from descending to the very Foot of the Walls, which were low, weak, and without Terraces on that side; and where the Besieged, having not expected to be attacked, had made no Retrenohments, there was all the Appearance imaginable that they should carry the Town at the first Assault, without so much as making use of any Engines against it. There is a great deal of Room for Wonder and Astonishment, to consider the Conduct of these three great Frinces upon this Occasion; who at other times wanted neither Spirit, nor Judgement, nor Experience in Martial Affairs, in which it commonly happens, That no Man fails twice; the first Fault that is committed being for the most part irreparable. But whether it was the Eagerness of their Desire to become Masters of the Town in a little time, which blinded them; or that they believed that it was impossible to act more prudently, or more safely than by the Counsels of those who who had the greatest Interest in the Taking of the Place; and who being Natives of the Country, must needs be much better acquainted than any others, with the Strength or Weakness of the City, they fell immediately into the Trap that was so artfully prepared for them: For, without enquiring into what might be the Consequences of so precipitate a Resolution, and without so much, year 1148 which Common Sense would have advised them, as sending according the Rules of War, any of their own People to inquire into the Nature and Strength of the Place, the Convenience or inconveniencees of making their Attack there, or so much as whether there was any Truth in what had been represented to them, they gave out present Orders to remove the Camp to the other side of the Town, to the very place, whither these Traitors, to whose Conduct they abandoned themselves, had before resolved to lead the Army, to the Intent to starve them if they lay any time there, or constrain them to raise the Siege. And in Truth, they quickly perceived that they were intolerably abused and deceived; and that the Walls were extraordinary strong and well slanked with very good Towers, that there was no possibility of assaulting the Town on that side; that the Army which had made Provision but for a few days, pretending to carry the Place so quickly by Force, was in no Condition to subsist in an Encampment, where they wanted the Convenience of the River, the Gardens and Orchards stored with Fruits and Forage; that Provisions could not be brought to them in Regard all the Places round about were possessed by the Enemies; that to return to the Camp which they had quitted so lightly, was now a thing impossibly, for that the Enemies as soon as ever they had left it, had seized upon it, and had so well fortified all the Avenues, by new Barricadoes and huge Trees which they had piled one upon another, and by great Ditches and good Retrenchments, which they had made, at just distances one from another, that now it was as easy to take the Town as to regain that advantageous Post. For this Reason the French and Germans seeing themselves so ignominiously betrayed by those very People, for whose assistance they had undertaken so tedious a Voyage, and ran through so many horrible Dangers, instantly raised the Siege and returned to Jerusalem, openly reproaching the Syrians with their detestable Treachery. After this their Spirits being too much exasperated to hope that there should ever be a firm Union or accord among People, who entertain nothing but Jealousies and Distrusts against each other, the Siege of Ascalon which was proposed in a General Assembly, was in little Probability of succeeding; for though it was strongly urged, that something of Importance ought to be undertaken, and that so brave an Army ought not to go away with the Infamy of having to no purpose consumed the Season of the Year for Action, or return without performing any thing memorable; yet the Great Lords, both French and Germane stiffly and resolutely opposed it, protesting openly, that they would never trust such a sort of People, who had neither Conscience nor Honour; but contrary to the Faith which they owed to God and Man, would for a little Money basely sell their Christian Brethren, whom with earnest Solicitations they had to their great Cost and Danger brought so far to their Assistance, and betray them into the Hands of the Infidels against whom they pretended to sight. The Emperor Conrade therefore taking his Leave of the Young King Baldwin, who was altogether Innocent and who abominated the Treason of the Confederates, re-imbarked upon the Ships of his Brother-in-Law Manuel, and sailed into Achaia, and from thence by the Adriatic, he landed upon the Territories of the Venetians, and so returned into Germany, where about three Years after he died, leaving the Empire to Frederick Duke of Suabia his Nephew, who had generously taken a part with him in the ill Fortune and the Fatigues of this second Crusade. year 1149 As for the Kings having stayed at Jerusalem till after Easter, as well to satisfy his Devotion, as to wait for some Opportunity of rendering any considerable Service to God, when he perceived that his Longer Stay was like to be altogether unprofitable, in Regard that the Count de Dreux his Brother, and the greatest part of the Princes and Lords were already gone he resolved also immediately to return into his own Kingdom. He was also obliged by the pressing Solicitations of his Faithful Abbot Sugerius, who writ to him to return, in the most pressing and yet most Tender and moving manner in the World, representing to him the Danger to which he exposed his Person and his Realm; where his Brother, who had not been too dutiful during the Voyage, had not made such haste to return before him; but to execute his ill Designs in his Absense. taking shipping therefore at the Port of Ptolemais; year 1149 he arrived upon the nine and twentieth day of July in Calabria, where he was magnificently received by the Officers of Roger King of Sicily, who were ordered to entertain him; for there is little Credit to be given to the Continuer of Sigeberts' History, who reports that the King was taken at Sea by the Fleet of the Emperor Manuel which besieged Corfu, and afterwards delivered by the Admiral of the King of Sicily. For how is it possible this should be true, since the King in his Letters yet Extant, who writes so exactly, even to the least particulars of his Return to the Abbot Sugerius, makes not any kind of mention of this Accident? he stayed three Weeks in Calabria, attending the coming of the Queen, and divers of the Nobility, who did not happen to meet with such pleasant Wether at Sea as he had in his Voyage; but at last being arrived after three days longer Stay, and a great Conference with King Roger, who came to pay his Respects to him, he parted for Rome, where having likewise for three days treated with the Pope Eugenius, he at length arrived in his own Kingdom, bringing nothing with him after so long a Voyage, as to what concerns this present Life, besides the Regret to have lost one of the fairest Armies that ever was raised in France, without doing any thing worthy of Consideration. There was nothing to be heard in all Places now, but the Piteous Complaints of such as lamented their deplorable Loss, nor was there a Family in all France and Germany almost, but had an Interest and Share in the Suffering; above all they were cruelly Exasperated against poor St. Bernard, whom they publicly reproached, calling him false Prophet, and charging him with abusing so many Princes, and so much People, whom, he had never been so Zealous, they said, to draw out of Europe but with a Design to make them perish most miserably in the Deserts of the lesser Asia, by Famine, Pestilence, and the Swords of the Infidels. And in Truth as this admirable Abbot, who was only the Preacher not the Author of this Crusade, had according to the Order which he received from the Pope not only published it, but also, as he himself avows, by particular Command and Direction, had undertaken, more than could be performed by man, to promise to those who took up the Cross, that they should meet with prosperous Success; this was to him a sufficient Subject of Mortification, in Regard it seemed to have some reasonable Foundation to establish this ill Opinion of him in the Belief of the World, and the Judgement of most men. But being a man, he was so touched to the quick with these cutting Reproaches that he was not able to dissemble the Affliction which they gave him; and though he was a Saint, and an able man, yet not able to bear this Cross himself, he made use of all the Strength of his Reason and his parts to Apologise for himself, addressing that Discourse sometime after to Pope Eugenius, which may be seen at the Beginning of his Second Book of the Considerations. There it is that appearing perfectly loosened from himself, and solely fastened unto God by an Ardent Love and mighty Zeal for his Glory, he saith, That it must of Necessity happen, that men who generally make their Judgement of things in Proportion to their Events, must upon this sad Occasion fall into Discontents and Murmur, but that it was a Satisfaction to him, to have them repine rather against him then against God; That he looked upon it as a very great Happiness, that God was pleased to condescend so far as to make use of him as a Buckler, by exposing him to the furious Arrows of wicked men, and that he willingly received the Wounds of those envenomed Darts, of Curses, which in Reality were shot against the Divine Providence; and that he was not at all displeased to have his own Reputation covered with Dishonour, so long as it might in any measure redound to the security of God's Glory; that he wished with all his Soul that he might glorify God with David, in saying as he did. For thy Sake have I suffered Reproach, Shame hath covered my Face. And in short that it was his Glory to be made like the Son of God, who saith to his Father by the same Prophet. The Reproach of them that reproached thee is fallen upon me. See here the Temper of the Heart of this great Saint under the Persecution of men's Tongues and for his Parts and Wit they appeared most admirable in his Defence, of which I will recite one Instance, the Application whereof is easy; and which he did in some measure make use of for his own Justification. Moses, saith he, to persuade the sullen People of Israel to departed out of Egypt, where they were mightily in Love with the Onions and the fleshpots though attended with insupportable Slavery, year 1149 promised to conduct them into a Land slowing with Milk and Honey the Glory of all Lands, where they should be extremely happy: Nevertheless that People miserably perished in the Wilderness, and never saw that pleasant Land, which was reserved for their Posterity, This was a mighty Promise, and yet ought not Moses to be accused either of Temerity or Malice, in Regard he acted by the Command of God, who was pleased by Miracles, to confirm what he had promised by Moses; how came it to pass then that the Event was so different from the Promise to those People, who came out of Egypt to die in the Wilderness? All the World knows that the Reason was from the People themselves, who committed a thousand Offences against God, during their murmuring Passage through the Desert: and it must not be said, that the Punishments which befell them were contrary to his Promises, for those being only Conditional and the perfect Effects of his Goodness, could not in the least prejudice the Almighty Prerogative of his Justice. It is no more but making Application of this Example to St. Bernard, and there is his Justification. He preached the Crusade by the Command of God, since he did it by the Express Command of his Superiors, which was all that he contributed to it. He promised them happy Success, and he promised it on God's behalf. If, saith he, it be demanded what Miracles I did to prove my Authority and Mission, it is a Question which my Modesty will not permit me to answer, and my Bashfulness in being unwilling to be my own Herald, aught to procure my Pardon. It is your part, adds he, speaking to the Pope, It is your part, Holy Father, to answer for me, according to what you saw, and according to what you heard. And the natural Conclusion which he draws from the whole Discourse is, that the unhappy Success of this Enterprise was wholly to be imputed to the Crimes of the Crusades, and that it was no way repugnant to the Promises of God, which being Conditional could not more deprive him of the right of his Justice then the promise of a King to one of his Subjects to bestow upon him one of the Chief Offices of his Crown, can indemnify him from the Rigour of the Laws, if he shall before he obtains it be found guilty of High Treason against his Sovereign. And certainly Otho Frisingensis, who in this unfortunate Voyage accompanied the Emperor his Brother, avows upon his Reputation, that there were mighty Disorders committed by the Crusades, and such as well deserved this terrible Punishment. And others affirm that the Christian Army was blackened with so many Vices, and especially most brutal Lust, that it is no wonder if they drew upon themselves the heavy Vengeance of Almighty God. So that if it be considered that the Crimes of these Christians were so great, and that the Punishment inflicted upon them was just, it must be great Injustice to St. Bernard, that the World should accuse him either of Malice or Treachery in preaching up the Crusade. But this hath ever been the Destiny of Great Men, to suffer as well as do great things, that so their Virtue which is above the Praises and Recompenses of men, may expect them only from God himself. year 1150 During this time, the Affairs of the Christians in the East, after the Departure of the French and Germans whom they had so basely betrayed, were reduced into a most piteous Estate. For Noradin laying hold of that fair Occasion, having entered into the Principality of Antioch with a powerful Army, overthrew Prince Raymond, and slew him in the Field; after which he took the strong Fortress of Harene and in Consequence made himself Master of the greatest Part of that Principality He also took Josselin Earl of Edessa, in an Ambush, year 1152 and sent him loaden with Irons to Aleppo, where shortly after he miserably died, siezing upon all his Dominions, chase out by force, the Greeks to whom King Baldwin and the Countess had resigned it. He also conquered Damascus, year 1154 whilst King Baldwin with all the Forces of his Realm besieged Ascalon, which after seven months' Siege was surrendered to him. It is true that this young and Valiant King, always opposed himself conrageously against the Conqueror, and more than once most gloriously vanquished him: But at length the Wise Conduct and the good Fortune of this Turkish Prince overcame all the Attempts that were made to stop the Course of his Victorious Arms. He pushed on his great Designs afterwards with more Ease by the Taking of Paneas, after the deplorable Death of this unfortunate King, who was poisoned by his Physician, and died in the two and thirtieth Year of his Life, year 1163 and the one and twentieth of his Reign. year 1163 He was a Prince who by his admirable Qualities had gained so great an Esteem, and the Hearts, not only of his Subjects, but of Noradin himself: Insomuch that the generous Sultan openly protested, that he would never draw any Advantage from the Grief and Consternation into which his unexpected Death had put the Kingdom; saying with as much magnanimity of Soul as Modesty, That he thought it decent to have a Share himself in the Grief and Respect which was due to that Prince, who ought by all Men to be Lamented, as having not left another like himself in the whole Earth. Baldwin dying without Issue, his Brother Amauri Succeeded him, a young Prince of about twenty seven Years of Age, who with a great many admirable Qualities, had also a great number of no less Vices, and above all, his Avarice was the most Predominant, and which, after he had with Success enough, made War against Egypt in the Beginning, in the Conclusion occasioned the Loss of Jerusalem, and the entire Ruin of the Christians in the East. Egypt had for a long time been under the Dominion of the Saracens, of the Sect of Ali, and the Sovereign Monarch was called the Caliph, who led an easy and voluptuous Life in his magnificent Palace of Grand Cairo, leaving the Administration of his Affairs to one, who under his Authority Commanded all his Subjects, and was called the Sultan of Egypt. He who had been Sultan, was one Sanar, and he being thrown out by his Rival Dorgan, went to implore the Assistance of Noradin, than the most Powerful among the Turks; who besides that he Possessed all Syria and Mesopotamia, had also extended his Conquests even into Cilicia as far as Iconium, having vanquished that Sultan in Battle. Now this Conquering Prince, who believed that Fortune, pleased with his Ambition, presented him a fair Offer, to Seize also upon Egypt, failed not to send a great Army under his General Syracon, a little Man, but a great Captain, whose Merit, and the Justice of his Master, notwithstanding the lowness of his Birth, had from a Slave, advanced to the greatest Charge in his Kingdom. Dorgan, who perceived the Tempest coming, that he might get Shelter, had Recourse to the young King, who dazzled with the Promise of a great Tribute, Marched into Egypt with all the Troops he could raise, but something with the latest for Dorgan, who after he had had the better of his Enemies, was unfortunately slain by a Traitor, leaving his Place to his Rival Sanar, who instantly went to take Possession of it at Grand Cairo. In the mean time the dextrous Syracon, who was resolved to make his Advantage of this Alteration, Seized upon Pelusium, now called Belbeis, fully Resolving, if it were possible, to make himself Master of all Egypt. But Sanar enlarging the Promises which Dorgan had made to King Amauri, was so jucky as to gain him to his Party, and joining their Forces against Syracon, who had not had time sufficiently to Fortify Pelusium, year 1164 they constrained him to Deliver up the Town upon honourable Terms, and Liberty to Retire to Damascus. year 1165 Nevertheless, the next Year he returned with a more powerful Army, and the King also reentered Egypt, and for a Sum of Money undertook the War against Syracon. The Success was much to his Advantage at that time also, for Syracon was Defeated in a great Battle, and despairing to Defend Alexandria, which he had taken, year 1167 against the Arms of two Kings, he was constrained a second time to come to an Accommodation, and to quit the Realm of Egypt. This did not however hinder but that at length he made himself Master of it, by the Avarice and Infidelity of that same King, whose Arms had twice, with so much Glory chased him out of it. For Amauri, blinded with the ardent Desire which he had to possess the Treasures of Egypt, after he had treated upon this Design with the Emperor Manuel, whose Niece he had married, contrary to his solemn Faith given, broke the Peace which he had made with the Sultan, year 1168 and upon the sudden taking Pelusium by Storm, and giving the Plunder of it to his Soldiers, he went and presented his Victorious Army before Grand Cairo, which doubtless, in the Consternation and Confusion wherein the Surprise had put the Egyptians, must have fallen into his Hands, if the same Avarice, which made him undertake this unjust War, had not also, together with his Honour, made him lose all the Profit of it. For fearing if he took the Town by Force, the Soldiers would have all the Booty as they had at Pelusium, he thought it his wisest Course to treat of a Composition with the Sultan; and he knowing the Covetous Disposition of the King, year 1168 amused him so long with the pretence of gathering up for him two millions of Gold which he had promised him, that the Army of Noradin, which he expected, had time to Arrive to his Succour, conducted by the same Syracon, who before had been his Enemy. Amauris, Surprised at this unexpected News, marched immediately to give him Battle, before he should join with the Egyptians. But he found that this Captain, as Politic as himself, had wheeled off, and taken another Way than he expected, and was joined with the Egyptians, who now assembled from all Quarters against him. And therefore finding that he had nothing to say to two such potent Enemies, he was forced to return without the Money into his own Kingdom, having lost his Labour, his Honour, and the yearly Tribute which the Egyptians paid him. But it was quite otherwise with Syracon, who by his Retreat, finding himself in a Condition to Execute his first Design, made Sanar be Assassinated as he came to do him the Honour of a Visit; after which, forcing the Caliph to Establish him in that Place, he easily possessed himself of all Egypt, where Noradin, whose Creature he was, willingly permitted him to Reign. But it was not long that he rejoiced in his Crimes, for he died the very same Year, leaving for his Successor his Nephew, the mighty Saladin, who besides his Age, which was pretty well advanced, and the great Experience, which under his Uncle, he had gained in War, possessed all the great Qualities, and all the Accomplishments of Body and Mind, which could be wished in a Captain, to render him, as they did, the greatest, and the most glorious Conqueror of his Age. But Ambition, which especially among Infidels, does think nothing Criminal, that may advance their Designs, and judges all things Lawful which seem necessary to obtain Dominion, being his predominant Vice. This Prince, who was not able to endure so much as the apparition or Shadow of Sovereignty, that was above him, Massacred the Caliph, and all that he could find of his Relations, making this his Pretext, That he had discovered a Plot of the Caliph and his Friends, who had the same Intention towards him. After which, he gratified the Soldiery with such prodigious Largesses out of the Treasures of that Prince, that they became his perfect Idolaters, and resolved to expose all they had for his Service and Glory: And having thus established himself in the independent Sovereignty of Egypt, which he looked upon as the first Stage of his Greatness, and the Carrier of his Ambition, he began now to entertain the lofty and aspiring Thoughts of Conquering all the East. And now it was that the Christians found themselves wedged in between two most potent and redoubtable Enemies, Noradin upon the East, North, and West, and Saladin upon the South. The Apprehension therefore of the extreme Dangers with which they were Surrounded, made them begin to think of doing all that possibly they could for their own Security: For this Purpose they sent Frederick Archbishop of Tyre, to implore the Succours of the Princes of the West, and to attack Saladin by Sea and Land with all their Forces, year 1169 before he was well Established in his new Dominions. But all in vain, for Amauri, though Assisted by a mighty Navy from the Greek Emperor, laying Siege something too late to the City Damiata, which lies upon the second Branch of the River Nilus over against Pelusium, was constrained by the excessive Floods, and the want of Provisions, to raise his Siege; and the Navy was miserably lost, partly burnt by the Fires which the Enemies threw among them, and partly drowned by a fearful Tempest which wracked the greatest part of them in their Return. And the Archbishop Frederick, after having unprofitably Toiled more than two Years in the West, where the Affairs were too much embroiled by civil Dissensions, returned without any other Effects of his Ambassage, than fair Words, and fruitless Promises. In this time, Saladin who was resolved to make use of this Advantage, year 1170 which the Disorder of the Christian Army offered him, entered into Palestine with forty thousand Horse, and took Gaza, which was the Key of the Country on that Side towards Egypt and the Sea. And not long after having levied a great Army both of Horse and Foot, he Marched on the right Hand by Idumea, that so he might secure another Passage, and fell upon the Country on the other side of Jordan, where he made a most horrible Devastation. On the other side, the Army of Noradin, year 1170 did the same about Antioch, and in Phoenicia, where the terrible Earthquake, which was felt throughout the whole East, had made such fearful Disorders, overturning the Towers, and throwing down the Walls of the greatest part of the Cities, as if it were to facilitate the Conquests of Saladin, who was the Scourge of God, the Attila of those Times, who was destined to Punish the Crimes of the Christians of Syria and Palestine. In short, to perfect the Misfortune, the King, who opposed himself with an invincible Conrage against all the Attempts of so many potent Enemies, died in the eight and thirtieth Year of his Age, just in the very Instant, when he was about to make considerable Advantages of the Death of Noradin, who was carried off by a Fever a little before. And this deplorable Accident which happened in so critical an unlucky Minute, occasioned so many Domestic Troubles in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, as were the concluding Causes of its Ruin. This Prince left for his Successor his only Child Baldwin the Fourth, who besides the Impotence of his Age, being not above three years old, was also tainted with a scurvy Distemper, which in Conclusion, became a Leprosy. Raymond Earl of Tripoli, his nearest Kinsman, being Cousin-german to the late King, by the Mother, had the Regency during his Minority; and in that time Saladin, who never miss any Occasion to advance his Power, Siezed upon Damascus by a Correspondency which he had with the Widow of Noradin, whom he married, and in short time after he took most of the considerable Places in Syria, dispoiling the young Prince the Son of Noradin, after he had Defeated his Uncle the Sultan of Nineveh, who came to Assist him, of all his Dominions. At the same time he entered into a League with the Earl of Tripoli, who engaged not to Assist his Enemies, provided that for the remainder of their Ransom, he set at Liberty certain Prisoners of Quality, which he kept in the Castle of Emessa, who had been taken by Noradin some eight Years before. Thus this Infidel Prince rendered himself more Potent than ever, by the Advantage of this Treaty, which gave him entire Liberty to Conquer the whole State of Noradin, both on this and the other side of Euphrates and Mesopotamia, year 1177 as also, all that the Sultan of Nineveh Possessed in Syria. It is true, that King Baldwin after he came out of his Minority, did what was possible for him to do in the Intervals of his Distemper, to oppose the Progress of the Conqueror, and that he obtained many considerable Advantages against him. But at length, his Distemper increasing, he was obliged to choose some of the Nobility to Govern under him, and this Choice occasioned those Emulations and Divisions in the Realm, which at the last completed its Ruin: For as when once a Sovereign Prince becomes unable, by Diseases, to manage his own Affairs; he usually grows very Jealous and Suspicious, and full of Fears to be Betrayed by those to whom he is obliged to trust with so great a Charge; Baldwin seeing himself reduced to this piteous Condition, and fearing least, Bohemond the young Prince of Antioch, and Raymond Earl of Tripoli, should attempt something against him, under pretext of his Distemper, which rendered him unable to Govern in his own Person; he therefore, without that just Deliberation, which an Affair of that Importance required, gave Sibylla his Sister, who was the Widow of William Longsword the Marquis of Montferrat, in Marriage to Guy de Lusignan, a young French Lord, the third Son of Hugh the Brown Earl of March, and Lord of Lusignan, who had made the Voyage by Sea with King Lewis the Young; and creating him Earl of Jaffa and Ascalon, year 1180 he declared him Governor of the Realm, to the mighty Discontent of the most of the great Lords, who thought themselves more worthy of that Honor. But it was not long before he had Occasion to Repent of his Choice, for he found by Experience, that he had but little Capacity for the Charge, and less Courage, as he made appear a little after, in a fair Opportunity which he had to Defeat his Enemies, if he durst have sought with them. For this Reason therefore, passing from one Extreme to another, he Disrobed himself of all his Authority, and made the little Baldwin the Fifth his Nephew, year 1182 be crowned King, an Infant of about five Years of Age, the Son of his Sister Sibylla by the Marquis of Montferrat, her first Husband, leaving the Government of the Kingdom to the Earl of Tripoli, the Man whom he had before most disgraced, and who was the declared Enemy of Earl Guy, against whom he was so incensed, year 1182 that he had recourse to Arms to be Revenged on him. But these Matters were composed by the Prudence of William Archbishop of Tyre, great Chancellor of the Realm, year 1183 who found out Expedients to patch up a kind of Accord between these two quarrelling Lords. Then it was Resolved to send with all speed a great Ambassage into the West, to desire a quick and powerful Assistance against Saladin, who now began to push his Conquests even into Palestine. For this Purpose, Choice was made of Heraclius the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and the two great Masters of the Temple and the Hospital, who were then the two most considerable Men of the Holy Land, both in regard of the Number, and the Valour of the Knights of these two Orders, who were now become most Powerful and most Famous throughout all Christendom. These Ambassadors Arrived happily at the Port of Brindes; but their Negotiation was not answerably happy to that of their Voyage: For the different Interests of the Christian Princes at that time, were such as would not permit them to engage in an Enterprise of such Difficulty, as was the Leading of an Army of Crusades into Palestine, as the Ambassadors desired. William King of Sicily was engaged in a War against the Cruel Andronicus, to take Vengeance upon that Tyrant, who had horribly Massacred all the Latins that were at Constantinople, that so he might with greater Facility usurp the Imperial Throne, by putting to Death the young Alexis, the Son of Manuel. Having therefore been able to procure nothing more from this Prince, besides great Promises for the future, they crossed through Italy to Verona, where Pope Lucius, and the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, held a great Assembly of Princes and Prelates, to determine the Differences between them, and to settle the Affairs of Italy. The Emperor, who was absolutely resolved to re-settle his Authority, which the Wars, during the Schism, which had been made with the Papal See, had so much weakened, gave them nothing but fair Words and great Hopes; and for the Pope, as he ever disinherited the Romans, who not long before had Revolted from him, he was able to do no more than to give the Ambassadors his Letters, to the Kings of England and France, wherein he exhorted them to this Enterprise, as Alexander the Third his Predecessor had before to little Purpose done. The Patriarch therefore, and the great Masters of the Hospitallers, after having performed their last Duty to the Master of the Temple, who Died at Verona, passed into France. There they were most magnificently Received and Treated by the Order of the King Philip Augustus, at Paris, to whom they presented the Keys of the Holy City, of the Tower of David, and the Holy Sepulchre, with the Royal Standard, in token that they put themselves under his Protection, and to oblige him to Succour the Holy Land, as if it were his own Kingdom, now that it was reduced to such extreme Danger by the Infidels. Whereupon a general Assembly of all the Prelates and great Men of the Realm, was called at Paris, to Debate this great Affair; and they considering that the King was not above eight and twenty Years of Age, and had no Issue, were of Opinion, That he ought not in Person to undertake such a dangerous Voyage; only Philip promised the Ambassadors, that he would move his Subjects throughout the whole Realm to inrowl themselves for this War, and that he would at his own Cost, furnish all those liberally for their Maintenance, who would take up Arms for so Just and Holy a War. This Answer was not at all to the Satisfaction of the Patriarch; however he contented himself as well as he could, upon the Hopes which he had that the King of England, upon whom they did particularly rely in Syria, would make himself the Head of the Enterprise. That King was Henry the Second, the Son of Geoffry Earl of Anjou, who had married Maud the Empress, the Widow of the Emperor Henry the Fourth, she was Daughter to Henry the First King of England; so that this Henry the Second was Grandchild both to Henry the First, and to Fowk d' Anjou, King of Jerusalem, who was the Father to Geoffry Earl of Anjou, and to Amauri King of Jerusalem; and by reason thereof he was Cousin German to Baldwin the Fourth, who was the late King of Palestine; so that doubtless he was more particularly Obliged than any other Prince, to Defend that Realm which might one Day descend to him by Inheritance. He was also more especially Obliged to it for the Expitation of the Crime which he had Committed, year 1183 in permitting the Assassins' of St Thomas Archbishop of Canterbury, to Murder him in his own Church; and he had accepted it as a Penance from the Pope, within three Years to lead an Army in Person to the Holy Land. More than ten Years were already slipped away since the Term prefixed, and he had not done any thing towards the Accomplishment of his Promise; of which he was by a Letter from Pope Lucius, reminded in Terms sharp enough, who told him plainly, that it was impossible for him to escape the severe Judgements of God, who would not permit himself to be mocked, and whose Vengeance he would have cause to Fear, if he persisted wilfully in the breach of his Promise. All these Considerations made the Patriarch hope for more happy Success to his Negotiation in England, in regard, that in this pressing Necessity, it was probable, either that the King would go in Person into Palestine, for the satisfaction of his Promise; or at least, that he would send one of his three Sons to command the Army; and big with these Expectations, he crossed the Sea with his Colleague, and in the beginning of the Year following came to London. year 1185 Henry, who was beforehand resolved not to grant what the Ambassadors came to desire, would nevertheless save his Reputation, and therefore he did them all the Honour imaginable, and took the most plausible Courses to justify his Conduct. He therefore sent for them to Reading, where the Court then was, and gave them a most favourable Audience; He very graciously, and with great marks of Goodness and Compassion, heard the Patriarch Heraclius, who in a most passionate Discourse, after he had presented him with the Keys of Jerusalem, and the Holy Sepulchre, represented the piteous Condition to which the Affairs of the Christians in the East were reduced, who he said, stretched out their beseeching Hands to him, who above all others, had so many powerful Reasons, both Divine and Humane, to oblige him to take them into his Protection. The King gave him Hopes, that he should in a little time receive Satisfaction in what he had proposed, assuring him with all the appearances of a great Sincerity, that with God's Help all should go well, and that this Affair should succeed to his Contentment: And in the Interim he conducted the Amhassadours to London, there to attend the more particular Answer, which he promised to give them, after he had first, according to the Custom, taken the Advice of the Prelates and Lords of his Parliament upon it, which he had ordered to be called against the first Sunday in Lent. And accordingly, he did not fail to call a Parliament, where, besides the great Men of England, there were also present, William King of Scotland, and David his Brother, and the Lords of that Realm, which then was held of the King of England. Now the Patriarch, as the Pope in his Letter, and himself in his Speech had done, principally insisted upon the Promise, which the King made, when he obtained his Absolution, to go in Person to the Holy Land; the King consulted the Bishops and the Abbots in the Case, to know whether, considering the present Circumstances of his Affairs, he was obliged to acquit himself of his Promise, by accomplishing that part of his Penance which was imposed on him by the Pope, and to which he had so solemnly obliged himself. This certainly was a most nice and curious Case of Conscience, and which ought in the first place to be decided; in regard, that if his Promise was binding, there was no longer place for Deliberation, and that he had but one Choice to make, which was, to acquit himself of it by undertaking the Voyage: If he was not obliged to that Condition of his Penance, than it must fall under Examination, whether of these two was most Expedient, either that the King should assist the Orientals without going in Person out of the Kingdom, or that he should himself conduct the Succours into Palestine. As for the King, to show that his Proceed were clear and with good Faith upon the matter, he would by all means, that the Patriarch and the great Master, should themselves Assist at the Debate, while this Question was under Deliberation, with full and entire Liberty, there to offer what they should judge Convenient. And withal, he strictly required of all that assisted at that Assembly, that they should faithfully give their Opinions, without any sort of Complaisance to him, and declare their Judgement upon their Consciences, which of these two was most expedient and necessary for his Soul's Health and Salvation; year 1185 protesting that he was firmly resolved to put in Execution what should be determined by the Plurality of Votes in that Assembly. The more severe Opinion assuredly was, That the King should abide by his Word and Promise, that he should accomplish the Penance which he had accepted of, and that he should go in Person to the Succour of the Holy Land: and this the Patriarch failed not to support with all the Reasons and Arguments which could be alleged: For, urged he, What is there in all Civil Society, which ought to be more sacred and inviolable, than the Word of a mighty King? Can there be any thing that ought more religiously to be observed, than a Promise made upon receiving the Holy Sacrament, at the Absolution given for an Offence, which was granted upon the Condition of accomplishing the Penance which is accepted to satisfy God Almighty? And supposing that there could be a Dispensation, so as to change it to another; Who could give that Dispensation, or make that Exchange, except the Pope, who had imposed the Penance; and who was so far from being willing to grant any such Dispensation, that he presssed the Performance of it in the most pressing Terms, and with the most terrible Menaces of the Judgements of God, if the Satisfaction was longer deferred? These Arguments, without doubt, appeared very strong: Nevertheless, all the Bishops and Abbots, among whom there were many extraordinary knowing, and very good People; among others, Baldwin Archbishop of Canterbury, a Man of most wonderful Merit; concluded with one common Consent, for the more mild Opinion; and maintained, that the King was not only not obliged at present to undertake this Voyage to Palestine, but also, that it was more conducing to the Health of his Soul, that he should stay to govern his Dominions; in regard that the Promise which he had made in accepting the Penance, was not only in its own Nature dispensable, but aught to be dispensed with, because nothing could oblige a Prince to the prejudice of another Promise which was made before it, and which was indispensable, and by which the King, by his Coronation Oath, had obliged himself to govern his Subjects, and defend them against the Attempts of all their Enemies, both Foreign and Domestic; which it was impossible for him to do in his Absence, in a Government where his Presence could not be wanting. And for what concerned one of the Sons of the King, which was desired in default of the King's going in Person, they all agreed unanimously with the Lords Temporal, that the Parliament had no power to determine upon it, in regard they were absent; and that therefore the Resolution which was to be taken upon that Matter depended absolutely upon their own Will and Pleasure. And, in short, they judged all together, that though the King had, of himself, a mighty desire to go this Voyage, yet he ought not to undertake it without first consulting the King of France, who, in respect of the Estates of Normandy, Guienne, and other Provinces which he held in the French Monarchy, was his Lord and Sovereign: But that notwithstanding, he might give liberty to his Subjects to take up the Cross, and undertake that Voyage upon the first Occasion; and that the King should advance a Sum of Money for their Support who should undertake this War, who it was promised, should follow shortly after. This was the Resolution which was taken in the Parliament of London, and with which the Patriarch Heraclius, who was of a very violent Humour, was so exasperated, by thinking all his Hopes and Endeavours were lost, that he instantly threw off all manner of Respect which was due to so great a Prince, and treated him after so rude a fashion, that it is impossible to excuse it under the soft name of Zeal, as he endeavoured to persuade the World. For the King, that he might sweeten what seemed so harsh in this matter, was resolved himself to remonstrate to the Ambassadors, whom he sent for, the Reasons which had moved the Parliament to come to that Resolution, which they esteemed so prejudicial to the Hopes of their Embassage: He informed them, that it was the fear they had, that the French, with whom they never continued long in Peace, would draw some advantage from his Absence; as also, that they were not without Jealousies and Suspicious, that his own Sons, of whom they were not too well assured, might occasion some disturbance in the Realm: but that for his own particular, he would with all his heart, give fifty thousand Marks in Silver for the maintaining of the War, year 1185 and that he would further oblige himself to maintain all such of his Subjects as would undertake that Enterprise. This certainly was very obligingly and advantageously offered by the King: but the Choleric Patriarch, fiercely rejecting the Proposition, told him very insolently, That they had no occasion for his Money, but for his Person; that they had more Gold and Silver than they desired; and that they were not come so far, but to search for a Man who wanted Money, as he did, and who therefore might, to his advantage, make a profitable War against the Infidels; and that they did not seek for Money, which stood in need of a Man who was skilled in Military Affairs, and knew how to employ it in that War. And for you, Sir, added he, speaking to him with an Air, as offensive and disobliging as was imaginable; You have hitherto reigned with abundance of Glory: But know, that God, whose Cause you have now abandoned, is about also to abandon you; and he will let you see what will be the Consequence of repaying him with Ingratitude, for all those Riches and Kingdoms which you have not obtained, but by your Enormous Crimes. You have violated your Faith to the King of France, who is your Sovereign; and you make that your Excuse to refuse this War, that you are afraid he should make War upon you: You have barbarously caused the holy Archbishop of Canterbury to be murdered; and yet, in Expiation of your Gild, you refuse to undertake this Holy War, for the Defence of the Holy Land, to which you had engaged yourself most solemnly upon the blessed Sacrament. And then seeing the King change Colour, and blush with Madness and Anger; Never believe, pursued he, thrusting out his Neck; Never believe that I have the least Apprehension of the Effects of that Fury which glows about your Cheeks and Eyes, and which the truth of what I have spoken, which you cannot endure, hath kindled in your Soul; there taking Head. Treat me as you have done St. Thomas: I had rather die by your Hand in England, than by that of the Saracens in Syria, since I esteem you little less than a barbarous Saracen. In truth, this extravagant, raving Language in a Patriarch, and a Patriarch-Ambassadour, was both inexcusable and insupportable; but the King, whose Age and Experience, and the dangerous Consequences which had followed upon the death of Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, had rendered more moderate, made a great Attempt upon himself, and generously surmounted his Passion, though the Patriarch went on, still vomiting out of indecent Reproaches, worse than before, which I am ashamed to relate. And when the Transport, into which the old Prelate had put himself was over, and that he began again to be in a tolerable Humour, the King did not, for all this, fail to treat him with abundance of Sweetness and Civility, till such time as he carried him over in his own Ship to Rouen; where, after the Celebration of Easter, he went with him to the Frontier, that so he might be a Witness of the Conference which was held for three days with King Philip, upon the Subject of this Holy War. But for all that, the Patriarch was no more satisfied than he had been before; for the two Kings remained fixed in their Resolution, and both together informed him, that their Affairs would not permit to be so far and long absent from their Dominions, but that they were both willing to assist him with such Stores of Men and Money, as might defend them against all the Power of Saladin. And thus it happened at the last, that Heraclius, who had made no scruple while he was in Palestine, but he should bring along with him, either the King of England, or one of his Sons, was forced to return, not only without them, but without the Succours also which were offered him, which out of madness he foolishly despised, contrary to all the Rules of Prudence and Reason, and to the mighty prejudice of the declining Affairs of his Master. So much doth it import Princes, not to abandon their Affairs and Interests to the Discretion of those who have so little themselves, as to suffer their unruly Passions to govern them so absolutely, as to lose even that little which they have. It is true indeed, that after all this, the Archbishops of Canterbury and Rouen, and the greatest part of the Lords of England, Normandy and Guienne, and the other Provinces which the English possessed in France, took up the Cross, as soon as the Soldiers which Philip Augustus had levied, in order to the sending them to the Succour of the Holy Land. But this beginning of a Crusade turned to no great account; not only because the two Kings did not at all engage in it, year 1185 but also because the Peace which was made between them, was shortly after broken; the occasion of which, and the renewing of the War, happened to be, by the Refusal of Richard, the Son of the King of England, to do the Homage which he ought to have rendered to King Philip, for the Earldom of Poitou, which he held of the Crown of France by that ancient Tenure: as also, by reason that King Henry refused to restore the Earldom of guysor's, after the death of the young Henry, his eldest Son, to whom it was given in Dowry with Margaret of France, his Lady, the Sister of Philip Augustus, upon Condition that it should revert to that Crown if Henry should die without Issue, as he did three Years after his Marriage. Thus the Holy Land, which was so furiously attacked by an Enemy so formidable as Saladin, remained destitute of all Assistance; and that which was still more deplorable was, that this sad Relation being reported throughout Palestine, by the Indiscretion of the Patriarch, struck the whole Country with such an universal Consternation, as produced a most dangerous Effect; for an Enggish Knight of the Temple, one Robert de St. Alban, a good Captain, but an ill Man, who had neither Religion, Honour, nor Conscience; believing, upon this Report, that all was lost as to the Christians, and that he could no longer hope to establish his Fortune amongst a ruined People, he began to think of making it among the Saracens; and to make himself considerable, in meriting well of Saladin, though by the blackest of all Crimes. This infamous Man therefore rendered himself to that Prince, offering him his Service against the Christians; and promised him, that in a little time he would destroy them, and also take the City of Jerusalem, with the Weakness whereof he was perfectly acquainted: And that he might give him such Assurance of his Truth as was unquestionable, he also added, That he was ready to renounce his Religion, and turn Mahometan. Saladin, who very well knew him by the Reputation which he had acquired, and which had given him the Fame of one of the ablest and most valiant Knights of his Order, accepted his Offers; and to engage him the more strongly to his Party, gave him his Niece in Marriage, and in consequence, a very good Army, with which this infamous Apostate committed most horrid Discorders in Palestine; but as he approached to Jorusalem, which he believed he should be able to surprise with the third part of his Troops, whilst the other desolated all the Country as far as Samaria, or Sebastia, even to Jericho, the small number of Soldiers which were in the City, with the Inhabitants, sallied out at the Postern-Gates so luckily, that the Traitor, who expected no such matter, was himself surprised, and most of his Companions being cut in pieces, he was constrained to sly with all the haste his Spurs could help him to, thereby to escape the just Punishments which he knew he deserved for his detestable Perfidy. This was some little Consolation to poor King Baldwin, who had tasted little in his Life, but went out of the World some few Days after, with this small Satisfaction; dying in the twenty fifth Year of his Age, and the twelfth of his Reign; not less with the Violence of his Disease, than with the Grief which he had, to see his poor Kingdom destitute of all hopes of Succour, and left in the hands of a feeble Infant, betwixt eight and nine Years of Age; and which was in extreme danger to be miserably torn in pieces, by the Factions and Ambition of the Great Men. And indeed, presently after the death of this Prince, year 1186 those dangerous Contests for the Regency began to break out, between the Earl of Tripoli, and Guy de Lusignan: But this Fire became a mighty Blaze by the death of the little King, which happened about seven Months after that of his Uncle, by a slow Poison which, it is said, was given him either by Count Raymond, his Governor, who had some Pretensions to the Throne; or as others believed, by his own Mother Sibylla, an ambitious and unnatural Woman, who was not able to suffer this little Infant to take from her the Hope of being a Queen. But let it be as it will, that the Malignity of Men's Natures, and the Liberty which they give themselves, to publish their own Suspicions, and the idle Reports of the People, for undoubted Truths, which hath often given Rise to the Belief of such supposed Crimes: This is certain, that the death of this Infant King gave the fatal Blow to this unhappy Kingdom, year 1186 and to the Liberty of the unfortunate City of Jerusalem. King Baldwin the Fourth had two Sisters; Sibylla, the Mother of this little Baldwin the Fifth, which she had by her first Husband, William, Marquis of Montferrat; his second Sister was Isabel, the Daughter of Mary, the second Wife of Amauri, and Niece to Manuel, the Emperor of Constaminople; who was married to Alfred de Thoron, Son to the late Constable of Jerusalem. Now Raymond, who was the nearest Relation to the deceased Kings, pretended that, in the present Condition of their Affairs, he ought to succeed to the Kingdom, to the Exclusion of the Females; and he was supported in his Pretensions by the Militia, the People, and the Judgement of King Baldwin the Fourth, who had entrusted him with the Minority of the young King, his Nephew; excluding from it Guy de Lusignan, the second Husband of his Sister Sibylla. On the other side, all the great Lords of the Realm, who were for maintaining the Succession to the lawful Heirs of the Sisters of Baldwin the Fourth, were resolute to recognize the Princess Sibylla for their Queen; but with this Condition, that some Expedient should be found out to break her Marriage with Count Guy of Lusignan, with whom they would have nothing to do, both in regard that he was not reputed either brave or able, as also, that they could not endure that a Stranger, newly come among them, should possess the Throne, to the prejudice of so many Lords of the Realm, who might fill it more advantageously. Nevertheless, Sibylla, who was altogether as dexterous as she was ambitious, having for some time concealed the death of her Son, knew so well how to gain the Patriarch, and the great Masters of the Temple and the Hospital, who made the most powerful Interest, that she procured herself and Husband to be crowned, almost at the same time that the death of the little King was divulged, before the other Pretenders could have the leisure to enterprise any thing against her. It is true indeed, that they were so transported with Madness at this surprising Artifice, that they offered to declare Alfred de Thoron King; but whether it were that he had little Ambition, or little Courage, he rejected the Tender, and went himself immediately to recognize the new King, by doing him Homage; the others thereupon, being astonished with his Action, yet followed his Example, though they detested in their hearts this Cowardly Submission of his, as they termed it, and reserved themselves for the future, by some Opportunity or other, to overthrow that Throne, to which they now submitted only in Appearance, and Compliance to the present Necessity. But it was far otherwise with the Earl of Tripoli; for he, neither able to suffer, nor to dissemble the Injury, which he thought he received by preferring his Rival, was so transported with Rage and Fury, that he immediately retired into his own Estates; and presently after, to accomplish his Revenge, committed a Fact, the most black, dishonourable and detestable, that ever was recorded in any Story. This Count Raymond the Third was descended in the Right Line from the famous Raymond Earl of Tholouse, who was his third Grandfather, and who, after he had done so many fair Actions in the first Crusade, died in the Year 1105. in the Fortress of Mount Pilgrims, about two Miles from Tripoli, which he then besieged. Bertrand, his Son, who took that City, succeeded his Father in the Earldom, which he held of the Realm of Jerusalem; and he left for his Successor, Pontius de Tholouse, his Son; who married Cecilia, the Widow of the valiant Tancred, the Daughter of Philip, the King of France, which he had by Bertrada de Monfort; who had also had by Fowk d' Anjou, her former Husband, the young Count Fowk, who was afterwards King of Jerusalem. From this Earl Pontius and Cecilia, descended Raymond the Second, Nephew to King Fowk; and who was also his Brother in Law, by the Marriage of the younger Sister of Queen Melesintha, the Daughter of King Baldwin the Second, and Wife of King Fowk. So that Raymond the Third, of whom I now speak, who was the Son of Raymond the Second, was, by his Father, second Cousin; and by his Mother, Cousin-german to King Amauri, the Father of Sibylla, and Uncle to the little King deceased. Being of this Illustrious Blood, he had also Qualities answerable to the Greatness of his Birth: for he was wise and judicious in Counsel; prudent, moderate, grave, serious, and extreme sober; speaking little, and very reserved, though he had a Spirit quick and piercing, and was of a mighty Courage, and undaunted Boldness: year 1186 He was very ready, and even eager in the Execution of what he undertook, as too well appeared in the Battle of Harenc, which he and the Prince of Antioch lost to Noradin; wherein he was taken Prisoner, and carried to Aleppo; where he continued in Captivity for eight Years, paying for his Ransom twenty thousand Pounds, the greatest part whereof he received from the King Amauri. As for the rest, he was wonderful cunning, civil, popular, and artificially complaisant to those with whom he had to do, but sierce and rugged to his Domestics, where he acted without Constraint, according to the Dictates of his morose Temper, which made itself known for Saturnine and Melancholy, by the Habit of his Body, which was thin, large and meager, his Visage melancholy, his Complexion swarthy, his Hair black and lank, his Nose hooked, his Eyes quick and fiery, his whole Phisnomy sierce and gloomy, which, in despite of all the Art which he made use of to sweeten it, made too visible Appearances, that he had at the bottom of his Soul, those untamed, tumultuous and violent Passions, which were capable of transporting him to the last Extremities of Rage and Wickedness, as made themselves manifest in that fearful manner which I am about to relate. For Saladin, who was diligent in watching how to make his Advantage of these Divisions among the Christian Princes, the noise of the Rupture being come to his knowledge, secretly sent to Earl Raymond, with whom he had before had some Correspondency. He solicited him to join their Forces together against Guy de Lusignan, and promised him to set him upon the Throne of Jerusalem, and to assist him with all his Power, to maintain him there, provided that, for the Security of his Fidelity, he would renounce Christianity, and embrace the Law of Mahomet. There are few Examples in History which make it more apparent, into what a fearful Abyss of Blindness and Madness the violent Passions of Jealousy, Ambition, Hatred and Revenge precipitate a Man, who hath once so far abandoned himself to them, as no longer to give ear to Reason, Honour and Conscience, which oppose them. Raymond, who was resolved, at any rate, that his Rival should perish, and who had no other Thoughts, but how to gratify his importunate Passions, though at the Expense of the greatest Crimes in the World, and the Damnation of his Soul; without further weighing the the Shame, or the Danger, into which, in all senses, he was plunging himself, in giving Credit to an Enemy, and an ambitious Infidel; promised all that Saladin desired, provided that he would follow his Direction, and enter into the Realm with a powerful Army when it was a convenient time, by the Way which he should advise. He therefore acquainted him only with his Design; which, that it might prosper, was to be enterprised in this manner, as he had before contrived in his Imagination: There was a necessity that he must for the present dissemble the Change of his Religion, of which nevertheless he assured him, that he would turn Mahometan; as also, that it was necessary that he should conceal his implacable Hatred to his Enemy, by pretending a perfect Reconciliation with him, that so he might more easily destroy him, when he should not have the least suspicion of him. And therefore Saladin, who also had his design to deceive him, after he had made use of him for his own Project, having highly applauded and approved of his Artifice; this Traitor, seeming to have recovered his Transports, and now to be a true Penitent, acted with so much Cunning, and so deep Dissimulation, that by the Mediation of some of the principal Lords who were of his Confederacy, and not in the least suspected by the King, he made his Peace with that poor Prince, who was ravished with Joy to think that now he had nothing more to fear from an Enemy so potent and dangerous; who, being now reconciled, and returned to his Duty, might make him also hope to receive considerable Services from him. Thus did he, as it were, deliver himself bound, Hand and Foot, into the Power of his mortal Enemy, who had sworn his Ruin, and who had already sold him to Saladin: For Raymond, who had married Eschina, the Princess of Galilee, the Widow of the Count de Bures, the Constable of the Kingdom, which was the Daughter of Hugh de St. Omer, to whom King Baldwin had given that Principality, was by that Marriage, possessed of it; and having for the purpose, after his secret Treaty with Saladin, year 1186 placed a very weak Garrison there, he advertised him to enter by that way into the Kingdom. This the Conqueror salled not to do; and having first defeated the Troops of the Templars and Hospitaliers, upon the first Day of May, in a Combat wherein the Master of the Hospital and sixty of the bravest Knights sell upon the place, he easily scized upon the greatest part of the considerable Towns, which were left in a manner wholly desenceless. And following the Advice which he received from Count Raymond, after his Accommodation with the King, he besieged Tiberias, since called Tabary, with an Army of above fourscore thousand Horse, and a great number of Foot. This was a fair and great Town, anciently called Cenerth, situate upon the West of the great Lake of Cenesareth, or the Sea of Galilee, which Herod the Tetrarch, after he had magnificently rebuilt it, and sortified it with strong Walls, and good Towers, had given to it the Name of Tiberias, after the Name of the Roman Emperor then reigning. Now the Earl having left a very slender Garrison there, Saladin attacked it without any difficulty, and took it; all that the Princess Eschina, who knew nothing of the Treason of her Husband, was able to do, being to save herself by retiring into the Fortress, with those sew Soldiers which she had to defend it, in Expectation of the Succours, which she sent instantly to desire from the King. Upon this News, the Council was divided in their Opinions. The more Wise and Prudent were utterly against attempting to relieve the place by main Force, in regard, That this could not be done, but by drawing the Garrisons out of the other Cities, to reinforce the Army, which, without them, was too weak to undertake so great an Enterprise; and that this was, in effect, to expose the whole Realm to inevitable Ruin, in case they should lose the Battle. But the Earl of Tripoli, who would not lose so fair an Opportunity to accomplish his Treason, vehemently opposed that Opinion; and maintained, That there was an absolute necessity to endeavour the Relief of the Fortress of Tiberias: That it was to lose all, to lose their Honour, by suffering the Princess, his Wife, who so bravely defended it, to perish, whilst they stood cowardly looking on: And that all the other Cities despairing, after such an Example, to be relieved, would instantly surrender to the Conquerors, and follow the Fortune of Tiberias, if it should be taken. And for any thing else, in drawing out the Garrisons from the Cities, they should thereby have so good an Army, and so numerous, that there could not be any room for Fear, but that they should beat that Enemy, whom they had so often vanquished with far less Forces. The four Sons also of the Princess Eschina; which she had by her first Husband, made a mighty Noise; and with repeated Instances, demanded Relief to be sent to their Mother. The Queen Sibylla also employed for this purpose, all the Power which she had over the Spirit of the King, her Husband, who was indeed her Creature. So that, in conclusion, the greatest part of the Lords inclining to this Opinion; some out of Complaisance to the Queen, others out of Service to the four Princes of Tiberias, and divers out of the design which Count Raymond had secretly communicated to them; it was resolved, that they should march directly against the Enemies, with all the Forces which they could draw out of the Garrisons; where none were to be lest, but such as were incapable of bearing Arms. And thus with these Troops, which were composed of a great many Men, and a few Soldiers; the Army consisting in twelve thousand Horse, and twenty thousand Foot, besides the Citizens, who were compelled by Force to serve in the War, they advanced towards Tiberias. Now as Raymond, who in Right of the Princess, his Lady, was Prince of Galilee, was better acquainted with the Country than the rest; and that he was not only esteemed a great Soldier, but that he seemed also to have the greatest Interest in the Victory, which was to deliver the Person which ought to be the dearest to him, the Conduct of the Army was unanimously committed to him. That perfidious Traitor, who gave secret Advertisement of all things to the Enemies, unfortunately, or rather maliciously engaged them in a rude and sterile Country, among the Straits of the Rocks and Mountains, where there was neither Water nor Forage. The Enemies, who only waited for this lucky Minute, failed not to encompass them with their Troops, which were far more numerous, after the same manner that the Romans had some time been enclosed in the Furcae Caudinae, year 1187 which were not more Famous by the Shameful Ignomony into which the ignorance and the Temerity of their Captains there precipitated their Soldiers, than these Straits, for the deplorable Overthrow of the Christian Army, which was betrayed into the Hands of the Infidels by the baseness of their Perfidious Conductor. It was now high Summer, in the beginning of July, when the Heats of that Burning Climate are most insupportable: and there was not one Drop of Water to be found among those Rocks, so that the Men and Horses died with Thirst, and were able to do no more; there was therefore a Necessity of resolving immediately to sight the Enemy. For though the Disadvantage was very great by reason that it was impossible to draw up the Army in Battalia, in a Post which was so uneven and so straight and broken with Rocks, that they could not attack the Enemy, but by filing off, yet it was impossible to avoid that Choice; the Army was divided into a great many Bodies commanded by the Principal Lords, who were to follow one another, who were to sustain there Companions, and who were reciprocally to be sustained by those which followed them. The Enemies expected them in good Order to cut them off, as they marched in these long Files, before they should have Leisure to form themselves into Squadrons upon the Plain, to give them Battle. The great Master of the Temple who chose to have the Van with his Noble Knights, advanced first, and charged so furiously upon those Enemies which opposed him, that overturning them upon those who followed them he put them into Disorder, insomuch that these Gallant men, who fought most Valiantly after the Example of their Captain, killing, overturning, or putting to flight all that durst oppose their first Fury, had they been sustained by the other Bodies, who had Order to follow them, the whole Army might with little Difficulty have been drawn from that disadvantageous Post, and have had the Liberty of sighting in the Plain Field, where they would doubtless have been able to have hoped or however disputed for the Victory; but here it was that the detestable Treason of the Perfidious Earl of Tripoli made itself most infamously Visible; For he had so ordered the Matter, that he himself commanded that Body which was to follow the Templars, and he had also disposed the other Troops in such manner, that all the Lords who were of his Party were to follow him. Now these Traitors would not advance, alleging that this was to lead their Soldiers to a perfect Butchery, to quit their advantageous Post and to march them thus in Files into the Plain, which was all covered with the Battalions and squadrons of the Enemies, who must needs cut them all in Pieces, taking them thus without Trouble one after another: So that these brave Knights, infamously abandoned by their Reserves, and on every side surrounded by an innumerable Multitude of Saracens were all either slain upon the Place, or taken Prisoners, not so much as one of them escaping. After this Defeat, Saladin seeing that no more durst advance to the Combat, approached to the Camp of the Christians, which yet he would not adventure to attack; but that he might complete their Dispair by taking from them all Appearance of a Possibility to draw themselves out of that wicked Strait, he caused Fires to be made in the Woods, which environed the greatest Parts of those Rocks, and set strong Guards upon all the other Avenues, that so he might sighed them with greater Advantage if they should endeavour to Retreat, But six Fugitives, who run to his Army, and to gain Credence with him, offered to become Saracens, as they presently did, having assured him that the Christian Soldiers were half dead with Hunger and Thirst, and under the greatest Consternation, so oppressed with their Misfortune, Weariness and Despair that they were scarce able to stand or go; upon this Advice he instantly resolved to Charge them; which he did with that Success, that his Army powering in upon them by the Straits which the Christians had abandoned, they fell upon these miserable People, who were crowded together, and who had neither Courage to defend themselves, nor Power to fly cross the Flames and the Rocks, that it was no longer a Combat, but a Horrible Butchery and Slaughter: So that almost all the Captains and Christian Soldiers, either perished in this miserable Day, or were taken Prisoners. Few there were who saved themselves by Flight, year 1187 except the Perfidious Raymond and his Complices, whom the Turks permitted to escape. The King seeing that all was lost, thought to have saved himself by flying, but Tokedin the Nephew of Saladin pursued him so quick that he took him Prisoner, as also the true Cross, which Rufin the Bishop of Ptolemais, according to the Custom, carried that Day in the Battle. That Bishop was armed with a Curiass contrary to the manner of all the other Prelates, who before him had carried that Holy Wood unarmed, not so much as one of them having even been wounded, whereas he notwithstanding his Armour, was shot quite through the Body with an Arrow, wherewith he lost both his life and the Cross which he carried. Tokedin, who took it, when he brought the King a Prisoner before his Uncle, presented that also to him as the most Glorious Trophy of his Victory. There never was any Victory, more sad and deplorable to the Vanquished or more complete and advantageous to the Vanquishers; a Victory which made the Conqueror's Masters of all the rich Equipage of so many Princes and great Lords, as were either Slain or taken in that Battle. And as Saladin had a mortal Hatred to the Knights of the two Orders, of the Temple and the Hospital of Jerusalem, he caused the Heads of all of them who were found among the Prisoners to be cut off in his Presence, excepting only the great Master of the Temple; so that he almost extinguished the whole Orders of them that were in Palestine, for not one of these Valiant men had once offered to fly, and the greatest part of them perished Nobly with their Swords in their Hands during the Combat. He also with his own hand slew the Brave Renaud de Chattillon, who after having a long time governed the Principality of Antioch, the Heiress whereof, the Princess Constantia, he had married, was since that Governor of the Countries beyond Jordan, where he had so often arrested the Course and of Saladin's Victories. This Prince who otherwise was a Person of great Humanity, when his Anger did not transport him beyond his Reason, yet could not bear with this Valiant man, who being by him briskly and with a little insulting over his Misfortunes, demanded some Questions, answered him with an Air as Fierce and Haughty as the other spoke to him, insomuch that the Liberty which he ought to have admired in a man, whose Courage neither his Misfortune nor his Chains could abate, provoked him to that Degree that forgetting himself, he cut of his Head with a Blow of his Scimitar, dishonouring his Victory by that Brutal Action, which was so altogether unworthy of so great a man as he otherwise was. And thus by this unmanly Action he made it appear, that it was more difficult to vanquish himself than to overcome his Enemies. As for the rest, whether it were that he repent of so shameful and cruel a Transport, or that his Avarice opposed his Cruelty; the Fear that he had to lose so many great Ransoms, which he might expect from such considerable Prisoners, made him treat them with extraordinary Civility, especially the King, the Great Master of the Temple, and the old Marquis of Montferrat, the Father-in-Law of Queen Sibylla, who being come a little before to Visit the Holy Places would needs make one in that unfortunate Battle. But this was the smallest Fruit which Saladin drew from the gaining of this Memorable Day; for being a great Captain, as able, dexterous and diligent in making the best of a Victory, as he was Valiant and happy in gaining it; and that he knew that the greatest part of the Cities were in a manner destitute of Garrisons, and without Defence; he therefore immediately marched and presented his Victorious Army before Ptolemais, a fair and flourishing City whose Haven was Necessary to receive the Fleet which was to come to him from Egypt. There were no Soldiers in the City, all those which had been in Garrison having been drawn out to recruit the Army, where they perished in that fatal Battle, and after so great a Loss, there was no Expectation of any Succour for them; so that though it was a mighty strong Place, yet it was surrendered to him in two days, upon the Assurance which he gave to the Native Inhabitants, that he would treat them most favourably, and that the Latins should have Liberty to retire whither they pleased, and that there should not be the least Injury offered either to their Persons or Goods, which they might carry away with them. He did most exactly keep his Word with them; and the Reputation which he had gained, of being a just, merciful and Generous Prince, year 1187 together with the Inability which the other Cities found to defend themselves, all the Forces of the Kingdom being so imprudently exposed upon one single Hazzard where they all perished, was the Reason, that in less than three Months all the other Cities except Tyre, Ascalon and Jerusalem yielded and submitted themselves to the Will of the Conqueror. He made some little Offer to besiege Ascalon; but seeing that Place, which was as the Bulwark of the Realm against Egypt, was extraordinary strong and well defended, he was in the Opinion, that if he must employ his Forces against these three Cities which remainded yet untaken, it was much better to begin with the Capital City: For he well hoped that after the taking of that the two others, seeing themselves separated from one another, at the two Extremities of the Kingdom, would quickly follow the Fortune of Jerusalem. It was then about the middle of September that Saladin came to encamp before Jerusalem, with the most powerful and numerous Army that he had ever before had; sierce with his Victories and rich with the Spoils of the Vanquished, and despising the pitiful Remainders of those who were shut up in the Capital City, which he looked upon as the End of his Labours and the Subject of his Future Triumph. There was in the City, the Queen Sibylla, the patriarch Heraclius, and Renaud Lord of Sidon or Sajetta, who escaped from the Battle, and was suspected to be a Accomplice in the Treason of Count Raymond. And that which without doubt was a very unlucky Presage to this poor City, was, that besides the frighted Citizens who trembled to see such a formidable Enemy at their Gates, there were but a very inconsiderable Number of Soldiers who had escaped the Defeat; and the Inhabitants of the little Villages and Neighbouring Burroughs who were come thither for Refuge. Saladin immediately caused the Besieged to be summoned to surrender the City, proposing to them Examples of others, who had experienced his Clemency, Equity, and that inviolable Fidelity with which he always kept his Word and Promise. He promised them also, that besides those advantageous Conditions which he had granted to others, and which he offered to them, he would confer greater Favours upon them, he would maintain the Privileges, the Honours and the Dignities which they enjoyed under their Kings. These were honourable Terms, and though the Defendants had not overmuch Courage, yet they had some Shame left to prevent their yielding so soon. So that an Answer was given like men of Bravery, that they were resolved to defend the Place to the last Extremities. But this Courage was not lasting being but counterfeit. For Saladin having for ten days together made continual false Attacks upon the West, to draw thither the greatest Number of the Defendants, did at the same time batter the Walls, where they were weakest and almost ruinous upon the North Part of the City: So that having made a large Breach, and that they saw he was now preparing for a General Assault, the Besieged sent out to him to capitulate upon the Fourteenth day of the Siege. Saladin, who was determined to take, not to ruin the City, admitted the Treaty and at last it was finished though with Conditions much less favourable and advantageous than those which they were offered before. For now he was resolved that every own should redeem his Liberty, by paying a certain Imposition or Poll-Money according to the difference of Ages and Conditions. That all the Franks and Latins with such as were descended from them, should departed the City, and not be suffered to carry away any more of their Goods then what they could bear upon their Backs. And that no Christians except Greeks, Syrians, Armenians and Jacobites, should for the Future be permitted to inhabit there. There never was a Spectacle more moving or more lamentable, then to see so many People of all sorts of Conditions constrained to quit the Holy City, which their Fathers had so gloriously conquered; and for which they never before had that Tenderness and Passion as now that they must leave it: But this is the usual Folly of Mankind, that they rarely perfectly know the Good things which they possess with Ease, till they are upon the Point of relinquishing them for ever. During the whole Night, which was to usher in that Gloomy day of parting, nothing was to be heard, but the Groans, the Lamentations, and the Howl of Despair, year 1187 the piteous Cries of the Women and Children, the men, the Youths and the Aged, who deplored the Misfortune of the Holy City which was now to be delivered into the Hands of the Infidels, and their one Exile, which in those sad Moment's, they could not but look upon as the greatest of their Punishments. Above all it was the Greatest Difficulty for them to leave the Holy Sepulchre, which they bedewed with their Tears, and gave it those last Kisses, which were to bid it eternally farewel. Then was to be seen the weeping Mothers loaden with their little Infants, who must now march out before they could go; the Husbands supporting them with one Hand, and with the other leading those which were but just able to go; the stronger carrying on their Backs, those whom either Age or Weakness had made impotent; and the Remainder every one carrying the Money and the most portable of their best Movables which they had, in this Order marched out of the City, every one loaden with something which either Nature or Piety, Necessity or Charity obliged them to take Care of. In this time Saladin, who would not make his Entry into the City till all the Franks and Latins were departed, obliged them by his Presence to make the more haste; for such was the Vanity of this Proud and insulting Conqueror, that he would himself assist at this deplorable Spectacle, which he considered as one of the fairest Flowers in his Triumphant Gerland. The Patriarch with all the Clergy of Jerusalem marched first, in a Condition far different from that wherein he was accustomed to appear upon the solemn days, with the sacred Wood of the true Cross, which the Emperor Heraclius had formerly recovered from the Infidels, and which was now unhappily newly fallen into their Hands again, under this unfortunate Prelate Heraclius, according to the Remark which was pubickly made by one upon him, who justly reproached him with the Disorders of his Life, so little conformable to the Sanctity of his Character. After him came the Queen Sibylla, accompanied with the two little Princesses, her Daughters, and all the People of Quality. Saladin who was Civil and Courteous, much above what could be expected from one of his Nation, who generally were not guilty of being over polished in their Manners, descended from his Throne, and receiving her with abundance of Honour and Respect, gave her all the Consolation she was capable of in her great Misfortune; by the Hopes which he made her entertain of the Liberty of her Husband, upon a reasonable Composition. He also, according to his Promise, gave her a good Convoy to conduct her and her whole Retinue to Ascalon, whither she resolved to retire. After this he saw the Common People pass buy, whose sad Equipage and miserable Condition, and above all the Woeful Cries of some Women, touched him so nearly, that the Generous Compassion which he had, made him in this Rencounter, do an Action, which the Roman Historians would have judged worthy of the Virtue of the Heroes of Ancient Rome. For as in this general Grief and Sorrow, which sadly appeared through the whole Company of these poor afflicted Exiles, he observed that the Women and the young Ladies of Quality, as well as the rest, who had nothing of the noble Air, beheld him after a manner infinitely touching, whilst with piteous Cries, and their Hands stretched out towards his Throne, they seemed in that posture of Suppliants to beg some Favour from him; whereupon he commanded all the Company to stop, and sent to know of these Ladies, what it was which they desired of him. They returned in Answer, that besides the Subject of their Sadness and Affliction, which was common to them, with the rest of their Nation, who were turned out of their Habitations, and this beloved City, they had something which was more particular, having lost in the Battle of Tiberias, some their Husbands, others their Fathers or near Relations, who possibly might be in the number of the Captives: They therefore most humbly Requested of his Majesty, that he would not deprive them of that last Refuge which they had, after the loss of their Estates, in the Persons of those who were so dear unto them, and so necessary to them in that Extremity of Misery and Poverty, to which they now found themselves reduced. Whereupon that generous Prince, who had nothing Barbarous except his Birth, when his Choler, to which he was too much a Subject, permitted him to be himself, was so nearly touched with the Words, and the Tears of these poor afflicted Ladies, year 1187 that he instantly commanded, that diligent Search should be made among the Prisoners, and that such as they named, if they were found there, should be immediately set at Liberty, and bestowed upon their Intercessions and their charming Tears: and while this was doing, he had the Civility to Discourse with them with mighty Sweetness and Humanity, giving them Consolation for their Losses, and exhorting them courageously to suffer the Disgraces and Capritios of Fortune, which is not less constant in her Persecutions to those who are in Adversity, than Prodigal in conferring her Favours upon the Prosperous. And that he might comfort them like a great Prince, he accompanied the sweetness of his Words with the Effects of a Royal Bounty; making every one of these young Ladies magnificent Presents proportionable to their several Qualities, thereby putting them into a Condition, not to have much reason to complain of the Severity of their Fortune. This without all doubt was a most great and Heroic Action, which of itself was very Glorious, but it appeared much more advantageously afterwards, by being opposed to the barbarous Brutality of the Earl of Tripoli, which cannot be sufficiently detested; for having lost all manner of Sentiments of Virtue and Humanity, which he seemed to have renounced with his Religion, he by the most barbarous Avarice, so soon as these poor Exiles were arrived at Tripoli, caused to be taken from them all that little which the Turks had left them; which reduced them to that furious Dispair, that a Woman among the rest, from whom he had Ravished by this horrible Robbery, all that she had, except a little Insant which she carried upon her Shoulders, took the poor Babe, and to secure it from the Jaws of inevitable Famine, transported with Rage and Fury, she threw it into the Sea, in the Presence of this Apostate and unnatural Earl, upon whom she discharged a thousand terrible Imprecations, to draw down from Heaven the just Vengeance of God upon him. Nor was it long deferred, for presently after, this unfortunate Prince met with the Punishment due to his horrible Crimes, to the Load of which he had now added this last. The manner was thus; presently after the taking of Jerusalem, finding that his Subjects had a Horror and Detestation of him, and that Saladin, was so far from bestowing upon him the Kingdom of Jerusalem, as he had promised, and made him hope, that he would now take Tripoli also, from him; he fell into such a Grief, or rather Rage, that running stark Mad and Distracted, he presently after his Wits, lost also his execrable Life. A rare and fearful Example, which plainly instructs us, that though Treason may be for some time advantageous to those in Favour of whom it is committed, yet it never fails to render the Traitors Odious and Insupportable; and that God himself, where Men either cannot, or will not punish it, commonly makes the Effects of it fall by some extraordinary and remarkable Stroke of his Justice, upon the Heads of those who are guilty of that abominable Crime, which in effect, while it strikes at his immediate Vicegerents upon Earth, is an Affront to his supreme Majesty, who hath entrusted them with the Government of the World. Saladin, after the departure of the Franks, was resolved to enter into Jerusalem in Triumph, which accordingly he did, with all the Pomp and Magnificence, which he believed was most proper to heighten the Lustre of his Victory, and the Conquest over all the East. He therefore entered it in the middle of his Army, which was enriched with the Spoils of the Vanquished, and the Rewards with which this Conqueror, who gave away almost all to his Soldiers, was pleased to honour them. He was followed by the captive King, who by a strange Reverse of his Fortune, appeared a Slave in the same City, where but a few Months before he had commanded upon the Throne; then came the great Master of the Temple; the old Marquis of Montferrat, and the Constable, with other great Lords of the Realm, who were taken Prisoners at the Battle of Tiberias; and last of all, by twenty thousand Prisoners which he had taken in divers Rencounters, and which after his Triumph were sent in Fetters to Damascus. The first thing which he did, after he saw himself Master of Jerusalem, was to abolish all the Marks of Christian Religion in the Temple of Solomon, where, after he had caused it to be washed with Rose-water mingled with common Water, year 1187 as it were to purify it, he went to make his Prayers to Mahomet, to return Thanks to God for his Victory. The other Churches were most horribly pro●●●ed by the Soldiers, who after having plundered them, turned them into Stables, and committed a thousand Outrages against the Cross, which they sacrilegiously dragged through the Streets, from the Temple to the Tower of David. It is said however, that Saladin had no share in these Disorders, and that he seemed not to know of them, in regard it was difficult for him to have hindered them: But he absolutely prohibited any manner of Injury to be done to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, either because he had a real Veneration for Jesus Christ, whom the Mahometans acknowledged for a great Profit; or that he was not willing to deprive himself of so great a Gain as he hoped would redound to him from the Devotion of the Pilgrims, who undertook that Voyage, to pay their Duty at the sacred Monument of their Lord and God. For he obliged the Syrians with a great sum of Money to redeem that Holy Church, to whom he left it entirely, after he had first despoiled it of all the rich Ornaments, and the precious Vessels, which the Christian Princes had there offered. He also afterward published an Edict, by which he forbidden all Persons to disturb the Christians in their Devotions, or to do any thing contrary to the Honour which was due to that Church. He further set at Liberty abundance of Captives, and commanded that all the Infirm and Sick Persons which were in the famous Hospitals of Jerusalem, should be entertained and attended there as formerly, where he also left all the Friars Servitors of the Hospitals to take care of them; which ought to render the Name and Memory of this Insidel Prince Glorious, whether it were that it proceeded from the natural Goodness of his Soul, or that he made use of it as a certain kind of Policy to win upon the Hearts of the Christians his new Subjects. Thus Jerusalem, which had been so happily delivered from the Tyranny of the Saracens by the Princes of the first Crusade, under the Pontificate of urban the Second, and governed by nine Christian Kings, all French either by Birth or Extraction, for the space of fourscore and eight Years, from Godfrey of Bullen to Guy of Lusignan, was again taken by the Barbarians in the Popedom of urban the Third, and reduced under the Power of Saladin. And not long after, Queen Sibylla surrendered unto him the strong City of Ascalon, for the deliverance of the King her Husband, and the great Master of the Templars. After which, as the Conqueror believed that he could with ease, when he pleased, make himself Master of Tripoli, which had put itself into the Hands of the Prince of Antioch, he went and laid Siege to the famous City of Tyre, which by the Virtue and good Fortune of one Person, happened to be preserved, in the manner which I am about to relate. The most illustrious House of the Ancient Marquess' of Montferrat, which was descended from the Dukes of Saxony, was at that time one of the greatest in Europe, and the strongest in Italy. William the Third, surnamed the Old, who was the Head of it, held the most considerable Rank among the greatest Princes of his time for his Virtue, for his Estate, his Alliances with the Emperor and the King of France; but above all, for the extraordinary Merit of four Princes, his Sons, which he had by the Marchioness his Lady, who was the Sister of the Emperor Conrade. His eldest Son Boniface, received the Crown of Thessaly as the Reward of those famous Actions which he did after the taking of Constantinople. William Longsword, his second Son, was designed to be the King of Jerusalem, by Baldwin the Fourth, who married his Sister the Princess Sibylla to him; but he died about five Months after his Marriage, leaving her with Child of the little King Baldwin, who soon after died. Reynier, which was his third Son, made also a Voyage to the Holy Land, where he died two or three Years before the loss of Jerusalem. And the last, who was after the Name of the Emperor, his Uncle, called Conrade, was he of all the Brothers who gained the greatest Reputation by the Glory of his Arms. This young Prince, in whose Person Nature had joined with a marvellous Beauty, a most extraordinary Strength both of Body and of Mind; and who with the heroic Courage, incredible Heat, and ready Resolution of undaunted Youth, had also acquired the Address and Prudence of an old and experienced Captain, and most perfect Understanding in the Military Art; insomuch that the old Marquis his Father, year 1188 had made no Difficulty, notwithstanding his want of a Maturity of Age, to give him the Command of an Army, which he had raised for the Interests of the Pope, against the Emperor Frederick his Kinsman, at the Solicitation of Manuel, who extremely, as well as the Pope, feared the growing Power of that Emperor; The young Conrade, so well managed this War, that in Conclusion, he vanquished the Germane Army, which was commanded by the Archbishop of Mayence, whom he there took Prisoner: and this high Reputation which he so well merited, was the occasion, that about seven or eight Years afterwards, Isaac Angelus being come to the Constantinopolitan Empire, gave him his Sister Theodora in Marriage, together with the Dignity of Caesar, and the Hopes that he should succeed him in the Empire: And truly he made it appear by a most illustrious Action, that he well deserved it: For Branas' the General of the Imperial Army, having caused himself to be proclaimed Emperor, Isaac, who had not expected any thing less, and who had neither Men, nor Money wherewith to raise them, and being also of a cowardly Spirit, believed that all was lost; and therefore instead of running to his Arms, he, as his last Remedy, had Recourse to the Prayers of the Monks, whom he assembled at the Palace to implore the Succour and Assistance of God: But the young Caesar, drawing him from among the Religious, whom he sent to pray to God in their Monasteries, remonstrated to him so powerfully, that he ought to join other Arms to those of his Prayers, to combat and oppose his Enemies, that by little and little he raised up his Spirits, till at last he brought him to the Resolution of acting, and dying, however at the worst, like an Emperor: Thereupon he made him engage all that he had, his rich Furniture of Gold and Silver, that so he might have wherewith to levy Men; and therein the young Conrade acted with so much Diligence and Readiness, that in a few days he raised in Constantinople, a very considerable number of Troops, composed of Greeks, and all manner of Asiatic Strangers, Latins, and even Turks and Saracens, who happened to have Business there. These being joined with those that belonged to the Court and the City Militia, made up a very good Army, with which he lead the Emperor against Branas', who was advanced within View of Constantinople, on the side of Blaquerness; and in the Plain which is on the other side of that Suburb, it was that he gave Battle to the Rebels, with so much Vigour, and such admirable Conduct, that he entirely defeated them; and having slain Branas' with his own Hand, he cut off his Head and presented it to the Emperor. But he presently after perceived that this Prince, according to the Custom of great Men, who rarely love those Persons sincerely, to whom they stand extremely obliged, was so far from rewarding his Services, that now he despised him, and that he would give him no other Portion with his Sister, but the vain Title of Caesar, and the Honour of wearing purple Shoes. Being therefore of a good fierce Temper, and besides, not over delicate as to matter of Conscience, he resolved to take hold of the first Occasion to abandon him, which he also did, but in a manner, which certainly neither became him as a gallant Man, nor as a Christian. He had taken the Cross for the Holy War when he came to Constantinople, and there he understood the great Progress which the Arms of Saladin made in Palestine: Now the Emperor, who was advanced with a few Troops towards the Danubius, to begin the War against the Wallachians, had left him at Constantinople, to gather up the rest of the Army, and pressed him according to his Promise, to make haste to join him with them: But he, resolving to delude the Emperor in his turn, as he had been deluded by him, instead of going to join with him, he went aboard certain Ships, which he had caused upon some other Pretext to be rigged out, with all those Troops in whom he confided; making no Scruple either to forsake the Emperor or the Princess his Lady; but as if his Marriage had been null and void, he left her, and weighed Anchor for Palestine, without knowing any thing of the defeat of the Christian Army, or the Captivity of his Father. As he approached to Ptolemais, a few days after it was Surrendered to Saladin, he was something surprised that he did not hear the Bells, which were accustomed to be rung out, when any Christian Vessels were ready to enter the Port, year 1188 but in a moment after he was more astonished, when in the place of the Cross, he perceived upon the Towers, all the Ensigns of the Saracens, by which he knew that the Town was reduced under the Dominion of the Insidels. This made him take a sudden Resolution to sail to Tyre, which was not distant above eight Miles from thence to the Northward. This City, so flourishing, and so celebrated for its Antiquity, for its Riches, and for the famous Siege which was enterprised against it by Alexander the Great, who from an Island, which it was before, made it a Peninsula, joining it by a prodigious Bank of Earth, to the firm Land of the Continent, was now under the utmost Consternation, finding itself without Defendants, and just upon the Point to run the same Fortune with Ptolemaïs'. The brave Marquis who landed in the Critical Moment, and who had abundance of Courage, Resolution, and Conduct, failed not to lay hold upon so fair an Occasion to purchase, not only Glory, but so considerable a Fortune in Phoenicia, by saving this renowned City. He therefore offered to defend them against all the Forces of the Saracens, with those which he had brought, provided they would Obey him; and as a Recompense for preserving of the City, which was so visibly exposed to the extreme danger of falling under the Power of the Infidels, that they would receive him for their Master and their Lord. All this was immediately consented unto; and therefore to secure the City, the next day he caused divers of the Earl of Tripoli, his Complices, who were discovered to have a Design to seize upon the Fortress, to be hanged for their Treason: And in short, he laboured with so much Diligence in repairing the Fortifications, by the help of the Inhabitants, and those who were retired thither from Ptolemaïs', and furnished it with all things necessary to sustain a Siege, that he saw himself in a Condition to resist all the Forces of Saladin. And that crafty Prince, fearing to receive an Affront before a City so well fortified, offered Conrade to give Liberty to the old Marquis his Father, and if he would put the Place into his Power, to recompense him with so great a Sum of Money, as should exceed all that he could reasonably hope. But when he saw the Marquis so firm, that neither Pity, nor Interest were able to work upon him; he then resolved to carry the Place by Force, and therefore attacked it by Land with all manner of Engines, and blocked it up by Sea with a mighty Fleet, to prevent the landing of any Supplies by the Shipping of Genova and Sicily. But all his Attempts became fruitless by the Valour and good Fortune, and strong Resolution of the Marquis, who by two or three stout Sallies, which he made with great Success, obliged the Turks to remove to a greater Distance: He also fitted out all the Shipping in the Port, and joining with the Fleet of Margaritus, Admiral of the Royal Navy of Sicily, he attacked the Fleet of Saladin, add defeated it so entirely, that scarce a Ship escaped, but either taken, , sunk, or constrained, to avoid being taken, to run ashore in the View of Saladin himself, who saw, but could not prevent the Misfortune; and now began to despair of Success, since it was no longer possible for him to hinder the Succours which came from Europe, to enter at Pleasure into Tyre. And there entered such considerable Numbers of them, who expected the arrival of the Army of the Crusades, that Conrade had thereby the Means, not only to establish his Dominions, but also to carry the War among his Enemies, and to meet with the good Fortune in one Encounter, among many others to take one Prisoner of great Quality, who was exchanged for the old Marquis his Father, to whom he restored his Liberty by his Valour, much more honourably than he could have done by a foolish Pity of his Captivity. But Saladin, who had a great Soul, and who was not much astonished with an Accident, which he had in some measure foreseen, nor surprised with this little Reverse of his Fortune, to which the Prudence and the Success of the greatest Captains must sometimes submit, quickly repaired this Loss by throwing himself into the Principality of Antioch, which he totally reduced in less than three Months under his Power: For he took more than twenty Places, and constrained the Capital City to come to Terms, by which they promised to surrender to him, if in a certain time they were not relieved by an Army of the Princes of Europe, more potent than his. Thus of all the Conquests which the Franks had made with so much Glory to the Christian Name in Syria, Palestine, and Mesopotamia, there remained nothing but these three Cities, Amioch, year 1188 which was not theirs neither, but upon a Condition which might fail; Tripoli, where the King, who had nothing more left of his Kingdom, was retired after his Deliverance, and Tyre, which the Marquis Conrade had so unexpectedly preserved. And that which was yet more Deplorable, was the Division which happened between the King and the Marquis, who pretended to retain Tyre, as having justly acquired it; all the Men of Spirit were upon this divided into these two Parties, so that it was of great Advantage to Saladin, that he had delivered this unhappy King, who by this new Disturbance, was the cause of the Loss of all the rest. Strange Revolution of Fortune, which in so small a time made such a prodigious Change in the Condition of the Christians and the Insidels! which though it may give one some Astonishment, yet to me it doth not seem mighty Difficult to assign the Causes, which therefore for a little we will endeavour to find. For first; The Crusades who founded the Realm of Jerusalem, and those who after them achieved those glorious Conquests, although they had their Passions, and their Failings, and were as other Men, subject to humane Infirmities, yet for the most, they were good in the main, Men who had a great Fond of Honour any Honesty, solidly Devout, and strongly inclined to the good of Religion, fearing God, and above all, most zealous for his Glory. Whereas, whether the Manners of their Successors were by little and little corrupted by the contagious Commerce which they had with the Insidel Nations, with which they were Surrounded; or that great Numbers of wicked People, who passed into the Holy, to save themselves from the Pursuit of Justice, carried thither, and left by their pernicious Examples, those Crimes to their Posterity, which they had escaped the just Punishment of. Most certain it is, that some small time before the Fall of that Kingdom, the Lives of the Christians of the East, and even of the Clergy themselves, were so horribly Desolute, that it is impossible without Horror, to represent the frightful Picture, which the Writers of those Times, and those who have Copied after them, have drawn of their Crimes. And I wish with all my Soul, that it were possible to efface and abolish the Memory of them, rather than with a kind of Scandal to expose them to the View of such honest People, whose Modesty may recoil at the reading of them. For this Reason, as God punished the Offences of the Israelites, whom himself had conducted by so many Miracles into this same Holy Land; and that the Punishment which they had so justly merited, was the depriving them of their Empire, and delivering them into the Hands of the Philistines, Chaldeans, and other Infidel People, who were the Executioners of his Justice; so did he punish the horrible Crimes of the Christians, whom he had brought into Palestine by the victorious Arms of the first Crusades, by depriving them of that Kingdom, and abandoning them to be Slaves to those People whom their Ancestors had with so much Glory so often vanquished. But farther, to give some natural Reason for this Change, the first Conquerors of Palestine were warlike and most valiant Men, accustomed to Fatigues, and such as frankly exposed themselves to all manner of Dangers, and were never known to recoil, let the number of their Enemies which they were to encounter, be never so Prodigious; they esteemed it a Happiness to die Martyrs in combating gloriously for the Faith, and for the Name of Jesus Christ: And the Orientals, against whom they fought, were at that time little skilled in Wars, cowardly, undisciplined, and half-armed People, who were not able to abide above one Shock, as having nothing to trust to but their Bows and Arrows, which they shot at Rovers, and commonly rather flying than fight: Whereas on the contrary, the Christians having exchanged with the Infidels for all their Vices, had also gotten their Cowardice, their esseminate and idle way of Living; loving Repose and Pleasure, and hating the trouble of War, and the Severity of that Discipline, which is so necessary to a Soldier, and which they wholly neglected. The Turks and Saracens on the other hand, were become mighty Warlike under their victorious Sultan's, Sanguine, Noradin, Syracon, and Saladin, who having learned at their Cost to arm themselves like the Europeans, with good Curiasses and strong Lances, had also taught them to follow their Colours, year 1188 to fight hand to hand, and had inspired them with Courage and Confidence, both by their Examples, and the fortunate Success of their Arms. And in short, The Conquerors of the Holy Land, under the first Kings, were under one sole Head, who uniformly governed the whole Body of his Estate and Army, which acted according to the Measures which he prescribed, with a perfect Unity, without Division, without diversity of Interests, Inclinations and Opinions, as if the whole Army had been as one Man, according to the Expression so frequent in the Scripture. Whereas the Turks and Saracens, were then divided almost into as many particular Estates as there were Cities in Palestine and Syria, and therefore could raise no great Armies, but what must be commanded by many Chiefs, who, for the most part, never accorded very well, by reason of the diversity of their Opinions and Interests, which made them almost continually be overthrown, though they were incomparably the stronger in number of Soldiers than their Conquerors. But upon the falling of the Realm, the Christian Army was composed of the Troops of divers Chiefs, those of the King of Jerusalem, the Prince of Antioch, the Earl of Tripoli, and the great Masters of the Temple and the Hospital, who all of them had different Prospects and Designs, which did not at all agree one with the other. On the contrary, all the Estates of the Infidels, bordering upon the Christians, Egypt, Arabia, Mesopotamia, the Realms of Damascus and Cilicia, were at that time united into one single Monarchy, under the great Saladin; and so their Army had but one Captain and Head, who being most Wise and Valiant, gave one Impression, and a constant regular Movement to this great Body, which did not act but according to his positive Orders. And certainly it is most particularly this Unity which hath always made great Armies Victorious, as may be seen in all Ages and Histories, but was never more manifested than in this last Campaign, which was so glorious and so advantageous to the King of France. For on the one part, the Emperor and the Spaniards, and great part of the Princes of the Circles of the Empire and the Hollanders, being leagued and confederated against him had raised very strong and numerous Armies to invade France, both by Sea and Land. On the other side, that King alone, without employing any other Power but his own, and giving out himself, those Orders which were with Fidelity Executed, always prevented them, I do not say, from entering, but so much as approaching France: Beat them thoroughly to the very Islands; and in Person, by main Force conquered one fair and large Province; and his Army alone in Flanders, under his auspicious Fortune, commanded by the famous Prince of Conde, having to oppose them three great Armies of the Emperor, the King of Spain, and the Hollanders, joined in one Body under three Chieftains, yet cut in pieces their Rear, took their Baggage, ravished from them more than one hundred Colours, and shamefully chased them from before Oudenard, and pursued them beyond the Scheld. And there it was, that their Commanders, having at last the Leisure to take Breath, and to complain one to another, were constrained to avow, by their Flight, which they disguised under the name of a Retreat, that as there is but one Soul in one Body, to give it Life, Movement, and the Power to perform those admirable Operations of a Man; so there aught to be but one absolute Monarch in a Kingdom, and one General in an Army, to procure the Felicity of the People, and to enable them to triumph gloriously over all the Enemies which go about to trouble their Repose, or rob them of their Happiness. But after these Reflections which I have made, according to my little Art in Politics, which possibly will not appear altogether Useless, or at least Indivertive, it is time to return to my Subject, and pursue this History of the Crusade. THE HISTORY OF THE CRUSADE, OR, The Expeditions of the Christian Princes for the Conquest of the Holy Land. PART II. BOOK II. The CONTENTS of the Second Book. The Death of Pope Urban III. upon the News of the Loss of Jerusalem. The Decrees of Pope Gregory VIII. and the Rules of the Cardinals, to move God Almighty to Mercy and Compassion upon the Christians. Gregory makes Peace between the Pisans and the Genoese. Clement III. his Successor, sends his Legates to the King of France, and to the King of England. The Conference at guysor's, where the Archbishop of Tyre proposes the Crusade, which is received by the two Kings. The Ordinances which they made for the Regulation of it. The War recommences between the two Kings, which hinders the Effect of the Crusade. Richard, Duke of Guinne, joins with King Philip, against his own Father. The Death of Henry II. King of England. His Elegy and Character. The Legates propose the Crusade at the Diet at Mayence. The Emperor Frederick Barbarossa there takes upon him the Cross; as do many other Princes and Prelates of the Empire. The Description of that Emperor. His March to Thracia, where he is necessitated to combat the Greeks. The Character of the Greek Emperor, Isaac Angelus. The Reason why this Emperor betrayed the Latins. The History of the false Dositheus, who seduced him, and of Theodore Balsamon. The Victories of Frederick in Thracia. The stupid Folly of Isaac, and his dishonourable Treaty with the Emperor. The Passage and March of Frederick into Asia. The Treachery of the Sultan of Iconium, and the Defeat of his Troops by a pretty Stranagem of the Emperor's. An Heroic Action of a certain Cavalier. The first Battle of Iconium. The Description, Assaulting and Taking of that City. The second Battle of Iconium. The Triumph of the Emperor. The March of the Army towards Syria. The Description, and the Passage of Mount Taurus. The Death of the Emperor and his Elegy. Frederick, his Son, leads the Army to Antioch; after that, to Tyre; and from thence, to the Camp at Ptolemais or Acon. The Description of that City, and the adjacent Country. The Relation of the famous Siege against it, begun by King Guy de Lusignan. The Succours of two fair Naval Armies. The Description of the famous Battle of Ptolemais. The manner of the Christians Encampment. The Reason of the Length of the Siege. The Death of Queen Sibylla, and the Division between Guy de Lusignan and the Marquis Conrade, who marries the Princess Isabel, the Wife of Humphrey de Thoron. A general Assault given to Ptolemais upon the Arrival of Frederick, Duke of Suabia. A brave Action of Leopold, Duke of Austria. The Death of Frederick, and his admirable Virtue. year 1188 THe sad news of the loss of Jerusalem, and the deplorable estate, into which the fortune of the Christians was reduced in the East, made a mighty Change upon the Spirits, and a strange Revolution of all the Affairs of the West. Pope Vrban III. who was then at Ferrara, was so strangely surprised with it, that in a Moment he found himself seized and pierced with such an excessive, and, as it proved, a mortal Grief, which, in a little time after he had heard it, carried him to his Tomb. Gregory VIII. who succeeded him, and was chosen the very next Day after his Decease, at the same time writ most pressing and passionate Letters to all faithful Christians, exhorting to take up the Cross for the Recovery of the Holy Land; promising to them the same Graces which his Predecessors, the Popes, Vrban II. and Eugenius III had granted to those who were enroled upon the two first Crusades. And to appease the Wrath of God by Humiliations, and by the Sufferings of voluntary Penitences, he ordained, That throughout all Christendom, for the space of five Years, the Fast of Friday should be observed with the same Austerity that it was in the time of Lent: And besides the Abstinence upon Wednesdays and Saturdays, he obliged himself, and all his Brethren, the Cardinals and Bishops, exactly to observe the like Abstinence upon every Monday. By which Method he made, upon the sudden, such a wonderful Reformation in the Court of Rome, that the Cardinals did not only voluntarily submit themselves to the Rigour of this Penitence, but did of themselves, without any Command from him, which certainly must strangely surprise my Readers, oblige themselves to very strict Rules for their way of Living, and the Reformation of their Manners, such as certainly could not proceed, but from Hearts perfectly contrite, and humbled before God; thereby to satisfy his Justice, and to implore his Mercy and his Pity. For being, with the Pope's Consent, assembled, to deliberate among themselves, upon what ought to be done for the Service of the Church in this pressing Necessity, they resolved, and most religiously promised, one to another, to observe these following Articles. year 1188 That they would retrench in their Families what soever was superfluous, and whatever had too much of the Pomp and Vanity of the present World. That they themselves would, for Example, be the first who would take up the Cross; and not only preach it by their Words, but by their Actions. That for this purpose, they would neither make use of Horses, Mules, or Litters; but that they would constantly go on soot, so long as the Feet of the Turks and Saracens defiled that Holy Land, which Jesus Christ had sanctified by his Presence and sacred Steps. That they would go in Person themselves before the rest into Palestine, without any other Equipage except the Cross, and the Poverty of Jesus Christ; living upon Alms. And lastly, at their Return, that they would no more receive any Presents from those who had Affairs in the Court of Rome, but content themselves with what was strictly necessary for their living in that modest Way which was conformable to their Condition. These were their great Resolves: And truly I am of Opinion, that without doing any Injury to the Memory of these good Cardinals, one may lawfully say, that their Devotion, in the Transports of its first Heats, carried them something further, than the Limits of a holy Discretion would have prescribed to them. Nor is it to be found in History, that these brave Resolutions produced those Effects which they seemed to promise, and which might have been expected from them; possibly because whilst they would do too much, they did too little, by that Weakness, which is so commonly incident to Mankind to fall very much below, when they come to repent themselves of having gone too high above those just Measures which a wise Man, after he hath once taken, will be sure in all things to observe most exactly. After this, Gregory seeing that it was impossibly that the Design of Succouring the Holy Land should prosper, so long as the Christian Princes of Europe were engaged in Wars among themselves, he resolved to send his Legates to bring them to an Accord; at least, to conclude a Truce for certain Years: And that he might do something on his part towards such an excellent Work, he went in Person with the Deputies of Genova, to accord the Differences which had occasioned a War between them and Pisa: But as he laboured very happily in reuniting these two potent Republics, who in conclusion, embraced that Spirit of Peace, wherewith he endeavoured to inspire them, he was seized with a Tertian Ague and Fever, which in a few days carried him off, in the second Month of his Pontificate. Clement III. who in twenty days after succeeded him, confirmed all that he had done, and pursued the same holy Enterprise, with the very same Zeal. He was admirably seconded by the Negotiation of William, Archbishop of Tyre, who was come to implore the Assistance of the Christian Princes. This is that great Man, who with so much strength of Judgement, writ the History of the Holy War, which he continued till a little before the death of Baldwin IU. and who, after he had so often managed the greatest Affairs of that Realm, whereof he was the Chancellor, was at last sent Ambassador into the West, upon the hope that he would negotiate in a different manner than the Patriarch Heraclius had done, whom he much surpassed in all manner of Abilities. He came into France at the same time that Cardinal Henry, the Bishop of Albano, Legate from the Holy See, arrived there: And there are some Authors who assure us, that Pope Clement honoured this Archbishop with the same Character, and joined him in Commission with the Cardinal, to treat a Peace between the two Kings of England and France, to the end they might unite in the Resolation of undertaking the War against Saladin. That War which Philip the August had declared against Henry II. King of England, for the Restitution of the Earldom of Vexin, had been terminated by the Undertaking of Pope Vrban, upon condition that the King of England, as a Dependant for those Estates upon the Crown of France, should in a time prefixed, submit himself to the Judgement of the Court of France. That Term being expired, Henry not only still retained the Earldom, which he was obliged to restore; but also the Princess Alice, the Sister of Philip, who was designed to be married to Richard, the Son of the King of England. Philip resolved to do himself Reason for such a visible Injustice, year 1188 was about to enter into Normandy with a potent Army, where Henry also was expecting him with considerable Forces, when the Archbishop of Tyre arrived very opportunely to suspend, at least, for a time, the Anger of these two Princes. And so it was, that by the force of his Genius, and his Eloquence, he procured an Interview between them, in a Plain between Try and guysor's; where they were used to meet, when they treated, one with the other. The two Kings met there, about the middle of January, accompanied with the Princes, Prelates and great Lords of both the Kingdoms: And there it was that the illustrious Archbishop employed all the Power of his Eloquence, and of his Wit, to represent in that August Assembly, The deplorable Estate into which the fatal Divisions of the Christian Princes of the East had reduced the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which the first Crusades had, from so many barbarous and Infidel Nations, so gloriously conquered with their victorious Arms. He then remonstrated, That of four puissant Estates, which they had established upon the Ruins of the Mahomitan Empire, and which extended the Dominions of the Christians, from Cilicia to Egypt, and from the Sea to the River Tigris, there remained nothing to them now, more than three Cities. That Antioch, despairing to be able to preserve itself by its own Forces, had already promised to surrender, if it were not immediately relieved by those of the West. That Tyre, without necessary Succours, was not in a condition to sustain a second Siege, having in the first lost the greatest part of its Defendants. That Tripoli was too weak to endure one; and could no longer remain in Freedom, than it pleased Saladin to present himself before it, to add it to his other Conquests. And that further, after so lamentable a Loss as that of Jerusalem, and the rest of the Holy Land, there was great danger of losing also the very Hopes which remained to the Christians in those places, from whence they might take a Beginning to re-establish the Kingdom of Christ Jesus, if those two Kings, the most potent of Christendom, did not unite their Hearts, and their Arms, to run to the Relief of Christ and his Cause, of whose only Grace and Goodness they held all which they did possess. And, in short, he said upon that Subject so many pathetic things, and in a manner, so powerful, and so touching, that the two Princes, whether they had in a former Conference, which they had, agreed this, as one of the Articles of the Peace; or that God, in whose Hands are the Hearts of Kings, to change them in a Moment, by the extraordinary Working of his Power; it is certain that they embraced one the other mutually, in the Presence of the whole Assembly; and did it with all the Marks of a perfect Reconciliation, and a sincere and cordial Friendship, as if there had never been any Subject of Discontent or Difference between them. And at the same time might be heard on all sides the confused Voices of a Multitude of People, who broke out into great Cries of Joy; and from every Quarter was to be heard, Long live King Philip; Long live King Henry: Let us go, Let us go to this War against the Infidels, under the Conduct of these two mighty Kings. Let us deliver Jerusalem, and extirpate the Enemies of Jesus Christ. The Cross, the Cross; let it be given us; the Sign of our Salvation, and the Ruin of the Saracens. These Acclamations were also presently followed with that happy Success, which attended the Legation of this brave Archbishop of Tyre, that the two Kings first presenting themselves, to receive the Cross from the hands of the Legates, they were followed by Richard, the Son of the King of England, Duke of Guienne, and Earl of Poitou, who had voluntarily taken it before the Loss of Jerusalem, but would now anew receive it from the hands of the Legates: As also did Philip Earl of Flanders, the Duke of Burgundy, the Earls of Blois, Dreux, Champagne, Perche, Clermont, Barr, Beaumond, Nevers; James Lord of Avesnes, and almost all the great Lords of France, England and Flanders, who were present at this Assembly. And to distinguish the one from the other, it was ordained, that the French should take a Red Cross, being the same they bore in the first Crusade; the English, a white one; and the Flemings, one of Green. It is said that at the same time there appeared one in Heaven, bright and shining, which helped to inflame the Devotion of those who took up the other; as if God himself had manifestly called them to this Holy War by a sacred Signal from above. And to render the Memory of so great an Action Eternal, a Cross was erected, and a Church built in the midst of the Field of this Conference; which was ever after called, The Holy Field. year 1188 After this, the Kings, to support the Charges of this War, and to prevent the Disorders which had been so injurious to the former Crusades, resolved to publish these following Ordinances: That all Persons who had not undertaken the Cross, of what Quality soever, even the ecclesiastics, except the Chartreux, the Bernardines, and the Religious of Fonteuraud, should pay one Tenth of their Revenues, and of their Movables, except their Arms, their Habits, Books, Jewels, and consecrated Utensils and Ornaments; which was afterwards called by the name of Saladin's Tenth, by reason that it was raised upon the Occasion of making this War with Saladin. That the Crusades should have liberty to raise a Tenth of all their Subjects who did not go to this War. And that the Husbandmen who undertook to go and take the Cross, without the Leave of their Lords first obtained, should not be exempted from this Impost. That all Interest upon Money lent, should cease for all the time that the Debtors were upon Service in the Holy Land. That all Persons might mortgage their Inheritances, or their Benefices, for three Years; during which time, the Creditors should peaceably enjoy them, whatever happened to the Owners. That all unlawful Games of Chance, all Swearing, Blasphemy and Disorders should be severely punished. To which were also added very admirable Orders for the Regulation of Excess in Apparel, in the Tables, and the Retinues of the Crusades; and above all, that except some old Laundresses, there should no Women be suffered to go along with the Army, as had been permitted in the former Crusades, and which had occasioned great Disorders. These Ordinances were received, and solemnly published in both the Kingdoms, where an infinite number of People enroled themselves for the Cross; some out of Zeal, and true Devotion; others to be exempted from the Tax, which though it was consented to by the Bishops, in the Parliament of Paris, which was held this Year about Mid-Lent, yet there were some ecclesiastics, who declared themselves against it tartly enough: Among the rest, Peter de Blois, one of the most knowing Men of his Age, writ against it to Henry de Dreux, Bishop of Orleans, the King's Nephew, in very hard Terms; pressing him to oppose this Ordinance of the King, which, he said, was a Breach of the Liberties and Privileges of the ecclesiastics; from whom, he pretended, no other Aids ever were or aught to be exacted, besides their Suffrages and Prayers. But this Advice of this Archdeacon of Bath in England, though otherwise an able Man, prevailed nothing upon the Bishops of France, whom he something too liberally accused of following too gentle and easy a Conduct: For they, as well as the Bishops of England, with great Justice and Reason, as well as Piety, believed that such a part of the Goods of the Church might very lawfully be employed, upon such an holy Occasion, for the Deliverance of the Sepulchre of Jesus Christ, and so many poor Christian Slaves, and in a manner, all the Oriental Churches from the Oppression and Tyranny of the Infidels. See now how Zeal, when it is a little overheated, easily becomes so false and foolish, as to blind Men to that degree, that they are not able to see that for good Sense, which common Reason alone, without other Theology, discovers so plainly to the whole World. Thus then all things were disposed for a happy Beginning to this Crusade, if the Division which, in a little time after, broke out again between the two Kings, had not turned those Arms against Christians, which they had before prepared, to fight against the Saracens. Among other Articles which were agreed upon at this famous Conference in the Field of guysor's, it was ordained, That all Matters in difference on one part, and the other, should remain in the same Estate wherein they stood before; and that no one should enterprise any thing against his Neighbour, till such time as the Holy War were determined. In this time, Richard Duke of Guienne, and Earl of Poitiers, to the prejudice of a Treaty so solemnly made, concluded and ratified, renewing the ancient Quarrel betwixt him and Count Raymond of Tholouse, threw himself suddenly into that Count's Territories, and presently took from him Cahors and Moissack. Philip, in mighty Indignation for this Action, and moved with the Complaints of the Count, who came to implore his Succour, as his Sovereign, immediately made a powerful Diversion in the Provinces of the English; where he took Castle-Roux, Busencais, Argemon, Leuroux, Montrichard, and all the places which the English at that time possessed in Avergne and Berry. Henry, on his part, did not fail to make haste to his Son's Assistance, who went to join him in Normandy. year 1188 Philip also marched thither with his Victorious Army, where he obtained great Advantages against the English, till at length, a Conference for Peace was held near Bonmoulin, at which the Earls of Flanders and Champagne, with divers other Princes, continually importuned the King to conclude, protesting to him that otherwise they would desert him, for that they were resolved to accomplish their Vow in going to the Holy War. There never was any Conference managed with greater Dexterity and Policy, than this was by King Philip: For knowing perfectly the Humour and the Interests of the King of England and his Son, he only demanded that the Princess Alice, his Sister, whom the late King, his Father, had designed to be married to Richard, and who was kept in Custody by Henry, should be put into the hands of her intended Husband, since they were now both of Age; and that Richard should be declared joint King of England with his Father, as the deceased Prince Henry had been, who had married Margaret, the eldest Sister of the Princess Alice. Henry, against whom the Prince, his eldest Son, supported by the French, had formerly made a most cruel War, fearing lest Richard, who was no less ambitious than his Brother, should create him the same trouble; or possibly, having his Soul prepossessed with another Passion, less excusable, but more strong than either Fear or Policy, would by no means agree to these two Articles. So that this Conference produced no other Effects, but only a Truce of a few Months during the Winter; and that which Philip had foreseen, did not fail to happen, to his advantage, as well as according to his Expectation; for Richard, who was of a Temper extreme ambitious and turbulent, was so exasperated with this Denial, that he instantly abandoned his Father, and passed into the Party and Interests of Philip, did him Homage for all the Lands which he held in France, and promised him an inviolable Fidelity, and to serve him against all Persons whatsoever, even his own Father; as he did. And indeed, as soon as the short Truce which had been made, came to be expired, which it did the next Spring, the King, with all his Forces, joined with those of Richard, who had drawn to his Party, besides the Gascons and Poitenins, his Vassals, many Angevins and Bretons, marched against Henry, who lay with a very few Troops at Saumur. But the Cardinal d' Anaigne, the Pope's Legate, who succeeded in the place of the Cardinal d'Albano, who was dead not long before, negotiated so happily with the two Kings, that they promised to meet in Whitsun-Week, near Ferte-Benard; and there amicably to treat before him, and the Archbishops of Reims, Bourges, Rean and Canterbury; who were to decide all their Differences. Whereupon these Prelates instantly pronounced an Anathema against all those, of what Quality soever, except the Persons of the two Kings, who should any way go about to obstruct the Conclusion of a Peace so necessary to all Christendom; and without which, the Crusade would become wholly ineffectual. The Kings, and Richard Duke of Guienne, and Earl of Poitiers, accompanied with all the Great Men of both Realms, being come to the place designed for the Conference, Philip demanded as before, That his Sister, the Princess Alice, who was affianced to Duke Richard, should be delivered to him by King Henry, who, contrary to all Justice, had kept her from him: And that John, the third Son of King Henry, usually called Sans-Terre, Without Land, to whom it seems the King, to take off that ignominious Name, had given his Interest in Ireland, should also take up the Cross. Henry, on the contrary, persisted obstinately in his Protestations, that he would never suffer this Marriage, although he said he would give his Consent, or at least, made that Pretence, that the Princess should marry John, the youngest Brother of Richard; knowing well that that fierce and haughty Prince would never suffer tamely that Indignity to be put upon him. Whereupon Philip seeing there was nothing further to be expected from that Conference, broke it up, and protested that he would do himself Justice by his Arms, since he was refused it by Reason. But the Cardinal d' Anaigne, without considering that the Injury proceeded from him, who obstinately refused to accomplish a Treaty so solemnly sworn; whereas he ought to have pressed the King of England to keep his Promise, and to restore the Princess Alice to her designed Husband, year 1188 and not to put such an invincible Obstacle to the Peace, by so manifest and unjust an Infraction of the Treaty, fell upon Philip the August, and spoke to him with a surprising Confidence, in such Language as, without doubt, Pope Clement had made no part, either of his Commission or Instructions: For he told him plainly, That if he did not entirely accord Matters with the King of England, he would put the whole Realm of France under an Interdict. To which Philip, who had a great Soul, and who was perfectly acquainted with the Extent, both of the Bounds of his own Power, and that of the Church, which are two Orders very different, and which have both their just Limits, answered him very readily, That he did not in the least stand in fear of that Sentence; and that, being most unjust, as there could be no doubt but it was, it must therefore be mill and void. That Rome never had any Right to make any Judgement against the Realm of France, whether the King should take up Arms or not, either to oblige his Enemies to do him Reason, or to chastise his Rebellious Subjects. And for any thing more, the Sentence seemed to be the Product of English Sterling, and not to proceed from a disinteressed Legate; whose Duty was to perform the Office of a common Father, in the place of the Pope, whom he was sent to represent. This was to speak like a great King, who, without Emotion, knew how to maintain the Rights of his Crown independent from any other but God alone; and to preserve his Sovereign Authority, without shocking that of the Church, whose Kingdom is wholly spiritual, and which it holds from Jesus Christ; and therefore, as he hath assured us, is not of this World. But Prince Richard, who though he had seen as many Years as Philip, was not by far so moderate; nor so much Master of his Passion, as to be able to contain himself in such reasonable Terms: For finding himself particularly interessed in this Procedure of the Legate, which wholly ruined all his Pretensions, he was so transported, that running furiously upon him with his Sword in his Hand, without considering where he was, or what he was about to do, he had undoubtedly run him through, if the Archbishops and Lords, who assisted at the Conference, had not all together rushed upon this violent Prince, to stop his Fury, and thereby given opportunity to the Legate, half dead with Fear, to secure himself by Flight from the greatest Danger that ever he had run in all his Life. The Preliminary Discourse of the Peace being thus broken, Philip, who was powerfully armed, pursued his Point so vigorously, that he took Ferte-Benard, Montfort, Beaumond, and some other places; and afterwards attacked, and by Force carried Man's, from whence Henry, who was retired thither, did, not without great difficulty, escape to Chinon, after having lost the greatest part of his Men in that Retreat, which was little better than a Flight. His Son John also, whom, among all his Children, he loved the most tenderly, abandoned him, to join with Philip, who, at the Head of his Army, passing the first over a Ford upon the Loir, took Tours by Assault. After which, the King of England, being in fear of his own Person, and having no assured place of Retreat, was forced to submit to the Law of the Vanquisher, and accept such a Peace as he would please to give him; which was upon these following Conditions: That Henry should pay to Philip twenty thousand Marks in Silver, for the Expenses of the War. That he should put the Princess Alice into the Hands of such as should be appointed by the King and Prince Richard, who was to marry her after his Return from the Holy Land. That the two Kings and Prince Richard should Rendesvouz in the Mid-lent of the Year following at Vezelay, to begin together the Voyage which they were obliged to by their Vow. That the Vassals of the King of England should take an Oath of Fealty to Richard; and that those of them who had followed him in this War, should not be obliged to render their Homage to Henry, till such time as they were to go this Voyage to the Holy Land. That the Great Men of England should promise to abandon the King, in case he should fail in the performance of any one of these Articles; and that in the Interim, Philip and Richard should hold certain Towns in Hostage, till such time as he should fully and truly have performed what was comprehended in the Treaty. It is reported, that as the two Kings were in a Treaty in the open Field, towards the end of June, between Tours and Chinon, concerning the Articles of this Peace, year 1189 which seemed very insupportable to Henry, there happened, two days successively, two most terrible Claps of Thunder, although the Heavens were so serene, that there was not the least speck of a Cloud to be seen in the Sky; at which Henry was so dreadfully amazed, that if some of his Followers had not instantly run to him, to support him, he had fallen from his Horse: and that being thereupon struck with mortal Apprehensions of some terrible Punishment from Heaven, if he persisted longer to retard the Crusade, by refusing the Peace, he accorded to Philip whatsoever he demanded, and immediately signed the Treaty. He had, nevertheless, a few Moment's after, so many terrible Assaults of Shame and Grief upon his Soul, and was, in particular, so sensibly touched with the undutiful Actions of his own Children, who had, from being one of the greatest and most glorious Princes in the Universe, reduced him into that piteous Estate, to comply so meanly and tamely to what was imposed upon him, that he presently fell desperately sick, and in three days time died, in the sixty first Year of his Age, upon the Octave of the Apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul, at the Castle of Chinon, bestowing his Maledictions upon his disobedient Sons, which he would never be persuaded to revoke, notwithstanding the repeated Instances which were made to him by the Bishops who waited on him in his Sickness. He did, however, receive the Sacrament, and Extreme Unction, with great Devotion; giving manifest Tokens of his Repentance, in submitting to the Divine Justice, which he acknowledged, had justly laid this great Change of Fortune upon him, as a Punishment for those Crimes which he had committed in his Prosperity. He had also the Misfortune, that his Domestics, every one seizing upon something, left him without any thing else but a poor Sheet to cover him. But his Son Richard, who had so furiously opposed him in his Life, gave all the Testimonies of an excessive Sorrow for his Death, and caused him to be carried, most magnificently adorned in his Royal Robes, to be interred at the Nunnery of Fonteuraud, where he had a desire to be buried. This new King himself assisted at the Funerals, where he testified, by the abundance of his Tears, that he was unfeignedly touched with Sorrow and Remorse for his Father's Death. But it is reported that, to his other Grief, he had the Displeasure to be afflicted with an odd and unaccountable Accident; for, as he approached the Corpse of the deceased King, as he lay in the Coffin, the Blood which gushed out of his Nostrils seemed to reproach him with his Ingratitude, and unnatural Rebellion, and even, as the Discourse went, the Parricide of his Father; whom his Disobedience did, in some measure, seem to have hastened to his Tomb sooner than Nature, which was yet strong and vigorous in him, had intended. He, nevertheless, stayed out the whole Ceremony, till such time as the Royal Defunct was interred in the Choir of the Church of those Religious Nuns; which verified the Revelation of a Monk, who praying, upon a certain time, for the Prosperity of the King, heard these words, which he then did not understand, but which were explained by the Event; He shall take up my Sign, and in carrying it, shall be mightily tormented: The Belly of his Wife shall rise up against him; and at the last, he shall be hid among the Veils. For, as he took the Cross for the Holy War, he carried the Sign of Jesus Christ; and he was immediately after cruelly tormented by the Persecutions of his Sons, which continued till his Death; after which, he was covered with the Veil of Death, being interred in a Choir of Veiled Nuns. We must however, do Justice to the Memory of this Prince, who was one in this Crusade, though it so happened, that he never had his part in any Action, in regard it was so long deferred by the War, whereof he was the Occasion. He was a French Man by Nation, born in the City of Man's, which he therefore used to call his Darling: and most assuredly, he was one of the greatest, and most potent Kings that ever sat upon the English Throne; and certainly, had been the most fortunate, if either he had never been a Father, or if, toward the latter end of his thirty and five Years Reign, he had not met with the Opposition of the young and invincible Philip the August, whose Fortune, supported by his Courage and admirable Prudence, was as a fatal Curb, which, according to the Prediction of the famous Morling, was to tame this fierce and haughty Leopard; or like a strong Dam, which stopped short, and broke that impetuous Torrent of his Power and Ambition, year 1189 which menaced an Inundation over the rest of France, whereof Henry already possessed a very great part: For, besides England, where he reigned as Sovereign Monarch; and Ireland, which he had conquered; Scotland, which was Tributary to him; he also possessed Normandy in the Right of Inheritance, descending to him by his Mother Maud, the Empress, Daughter of Henry I. King of England; and by Geoffrey, Earl of Anjou, his Father, who was Son to Count Fowk; he had Anjou, Maine, Touraine, a great part of Berry and Avignion, where he pretended to be Sovereign: And, in Right of Queen Eleonor, his Wife, whom Lewis the Young quitted to him, by a Canonical Sentence, he had Gascon, Guienne, Poitou, and the other Countries which depended upon them: Besides that, Britanny fell to his third Son Geoffrey, by the Marriage of the Heiress of that Country. So that he was as potent on this Side the Sea, where he was a Homager to the Crown of France, as he was on the other side, where he was King of England, and Lord of Ireland. He was of a middle Stature, but of a Shape no way handsome, by reason that he was extreme gross and corpulent, notwithstanding that he was, not only very temperate, but amidst the great Affairs in which he was always employed, and which he managed with wonderful Application, in continual Action; either travelling, or Walking, or making use of the more violent Exercises of Riding the great Horse, or Hunting; that thereby he might abate the growing unwieldy by his Fatness, to which his Sanguine Complexion had condemned him. As for any thing else, he was of Temperament, robust and sound; having a large, full Breast, and a big Head: His Eyes were blue, handsome, and full of Fire: His Hair yellow and soft, inclining something too much towards the red: His Voice hoarse, his Speech rough, and his Mind very fierce and Martial. For his Mind, he was very dexterous, and of a penetrating Understanding; but something more crafty than became so great a Prince: He had, however, cultivated his Spirit with the Study of Ingenuous Learning, which enabled him with a certain Eloquence, very easily and naturally to express himself. And there was in his Soul such a Stock of Vices, as well as Virtues, natural Perfections and Imperfections; which were so blended together, that if they would not permit it to be said of him, that he was a very exceeding good Prince, yet they very absolutely prohibit the fixing the Character of a very ill one upon him: For he was gentle and sweet to every body, when he was in dangers; but harsh, fierce and severe when he saw himself out of them: he was complaisant abroad, morose to his Domestics; liberal to Strangers, and in public, but parsimonious to his own, and too great a Husband in his private Affairs: A great Promiser, but a slender Performer; above all things, loving his Liberty, and hating Constraint, to that degree, that he could not endure to be a Slave to his own Word, or his Faith, which he made no great scruple, upon occasion, to violate. In matters of Justice, he was too slow; and sometimes, by the Interposition of Money, which he loved excessively, he would wholly remit the Execution of it. He drew great Sums from his Subjects, with which he often chose rather to buy Peace, than maintain War, in which he did not delight; though when he was forced to make War, he did it like a great Captain, and an expert Soldier; showing more Tenderness and Goodness towards his Soldiers, when he understood they were slain, and in lamenting their Deaths, than he used to show to them whilst they were living: He was wonderful kind to the Churchmen, and above all, to the Bishops, whom he always loved to have about him; but yet not concerning himself much with their Franchises and Privileges, to which he had but very little regard: He was a passionate Lover of his Children, but he was ever raising Differences among them, one with another, to prevent their falling into Quarrels with himself; but this proved an unlucky Project to him, and at last was the occasion that they all joined together against him. He was magnanimous and generous in his Enterprises; but withal, so haughtily ambitious, that he was used to say, that the whole Earth was not sufficient to satiate the Desires of a King like him: He was equally constant in his Love and Hate, which he did not easily change; a great Patron of Widows, Orphans, of poor distressed People who were without Support, of whom he took great care; above all, he was kind to such as had the Misfortune to be Shipwrecked upon the English Coasts; year 1189 abolishing that barbarous Custom which had long prevailed, of despoiling such miscrable Persons of all that which they had saved from the Sea, except their Lives, which the Country People were used to call, God's Goods: He was a great Lover of the public Peace and Tranquillity, which he maintained in his Dominion, by the rigorous Justice which he caused to be dispensed to such notorious Malefactors as were found Disturbers of them; so that he cleared his Estates of Thiefs, Robbers and Murderers: He was pious, and fearing God; but very shy and reserved to the Churchmen, after the public Penance which he did for the Death of Becket. But all these Virtues, which cannot, without Injustice, be suppressed, were dishonoured by his great Vices; and principally, by his Impudicity and Avarice; which prevailed so upon him, that, besides the Exactions, which were very great, which he imposed upon his People, he ever protected the Jews; dissembling his Knowledge of their Insolences against the Christians, because of the great Gain which these faithless Usurers made, whereof he had a Share. He would also suffer long Vacancies in the Bishoprics, to the end he might enjoy their Revenues; giving a very slender Reason in Excuse; That it was much better for him to employ that Money for the Service of the Realm, than that it should be spent in the Prodigality's of proud and pompous Trains, Pleasures and Delicacies, as the Bishops wasted it, after the manner of the wicked World, and in a way far different from the Temperance and Virtue of their Predecessors of the ancient Church. But in talking at this rate, he condemned himself, excusing one fault by committing another, far greater than that which he reproached; for he usually bestowed the Revenues upon such a sort of People as, by the notorious scandalous way of their living, even in his own Judgement, rendered themselves unworthy of them: Whereas he ought rather to have taken care that those great Revenues should have been expended according to the Rules of the Church, by the Nomination of good Subjects, and worthy Men, to those high and great Preferments: And indeed, he did, in a great measure, towards the end of his Life and Reign, make a Reparation for this Error; which occasioned him much Trouble, and raised many uneasy Scruples in his Soul; for he nominated to the Archbishopric of Canterbury, Baldwin, a Cistertian Monk, a most excellent Man; and to the See of Lincoln, he preferred St. Hugh, the Chartreux, the Person, of all the Prelates of his time, who took the holy Liberty to represent their Failings to the Kings, his Contemporaries, by that marvellous Authority which, by the Sanctity of his Life, he had so deservedly acquired. In short, The great Medley of Virtues and of Vices in this King, were also accompanied with that of his good and evil Fortune; but with this remarkable difference; that his happy State lasted thirty Years, wherein he flourished in all Earthly Glory and Felicity; whereas he was persecuted by his ill Destiny, but for the last five Years of his Life; and that too was occasioned by his invincible Wilfulness, in refusing Peace upon such just and honourable Conditions as were tendered: Whereby he brought upon himself that War, which, for two Years, retarded the Effect of the Crusade in France and England; so that it was begun by the Germans alone, with abundance of Zeal and Courage. For presently after the Conference in the Field of guysor's, where the two Kings took upon them the Cross, Henry Cardinal d' Albano, the Pope's Legate, and William Archbishop of Tyre, passed into Germany, to persuade the Emperor to undertake the Holy War. The Emperor then reigning, was the famous Frederick, the first of that Name, formerly Duke of Suabia; who after having so gloriously assisted his Uncle Conrade, in the second Crusade, succeeded him in the Imperial Throne, which he possessed for six and thirty Years, with much Glory and Prosperity; leaving throughout all Germany, Poland and Italy, the illustrious Marks of the greatness of his Courage, his Mind, his Virtues, and his admirable Actions. And were it possible to obliterate the deadly Remembrance of the Schism, which, by an unhappy Engagement, he made in the Church, and which he so long supported with his Arms, year 1189 it might with great Justice be affirmed that his Reign ought to be esteemed as the greatest of any Prince that ever the Empire had, since the Death of the celebrated Charlemagne. He was then about sixty and eight Years of Age, of a Port extremely Majestic, a Stature somewhat surpassing the middle, but of a Proportion in all the Parts of his Body, regular and Exact; and from which his Age which did him no other Injury but to render him Venerable, had not taken much of that natural Force, which he had in so great a Measure, and which was accompanied with an admirable Agility in all manner of Exercises: The turn of his Face was very fine, and the Lines delicate considering his Age; his Cheeks were plump, his Eyebrows large, his Eyes very sweet, and yet lively and piercing, his Speech agreeable, his Mouth smiling, and his Air so engaging that to whomsoever he did the Honour but once to speak, they found it impossible to defend themselves from his Charms; and he always left the Image of Majesty so deeply imprinted and graven in their Memories, that it was impossible to efface it from the Mind, or to prevent its being continually present to their Remembrance; his Hair by reason of the Change which so many Years had brought upon it, was perfect white, which still seemed to add something more Venerable to his Majesty, though the Natural Colour of it had been red, from whence he came to acquire the Name of Barbarousse, or Red beard, a Name which his fair and glorious Actions, have rendered as famous among Historians, as those others more beautiful, which have been given to the most renowned Princes to distinguish them by a particular Appellation and as an Elegy for their Virtues and Achievements. As for the Perfections of his Soul, they yet far surpassed those of his Body; for he had a most Beautiful Mind, a most happy Memory, which being joined with the long Experience, and the Care he had taken to instruct himself in all things, had made him acquire an infinite Number of such pretty Sorts of Learning and Knowledge, as might well rank him in the Catalogue of the most able men of his Time. He was extreme Wife and Judicious, Liberal and of great Humanity, Affable and Courteous to all men, condescending even to the meanest of his Subjects; but terrible to his Enemies, and above all to Rebels, a great Captain, personally Valiant and fearless in the greatest Dangers, always carrying himself with mighty Evenness, and Temper in both the one and the other Fortune, though it was his Happiness not to be much acquainted with the Worse. Being such as I have now described him, and therefore equally feared, loved and respected by all the Princes of the Empire, he had called a General Diet at Mayence to meet the Fourth Sunday in Lont, in the Year 1188. there the Legates came in Person, where after they had happily composed all the Differences, which remained between several Princes and Cities of the Empire, they made the same Remonstrances for relieving the Christians of Palestine which they had before made to the Kings of France and England. Frederick who for above ten years had fully reconciled himself with the Church, had before form that generous Resolution, for his own Satisfaction, to employ those Arms for Jesus Christ, against the Saracens, which by the Misfortunes of the Times, he had made use of against the Christians. He nevertheless demanded the Advice of the Assembly thereupon, but in such a manner as made it easily be known, what was in the Intention of his Soul; for he only proposed whether it was to the Purpose, not whether he should refuse that Assistance which Jesus Christ himself demanded of him, which was such a cowardly and shameful Ingratitude, which he knew the whole Assembly would disdain, but whether he should defer taking up the Cross, after that the French and English had with much Ardour embraced it. Whereupon all the Princes and the Prelates, and all the Deputies of the Cities, cried out with one Voice, as if the Emperor had at the same instant inspired them all, with his one Zeal and Courage, That without deferring any longer, they ought to take up the Cross, that all the World might see that the Germane Nation, especially under such an Emperor, would never yield, either in their Zeal, or in their Courage to the English, French, or any Nation under Heaven. So that now there was nothing more to be done but to conclude the Holy War and the Crusade. The Emperor at the same instant descending from his Throne to receive the Cross by the Hands of the Legates, year 1189 being assisted by Godfrey Bishop of Wirtsburgh, and Frederick Duke of Suabia his Second Son, who had already taken it himself upon the hearing the sad news of the Loss of Jerusalem, but now would have it also in Ceremony after the Emperor his Father. The greatest part of those who were present at that Assembly following that illustrious Example also took upon them the Cross with an incredible Ardour. The Principal of which were Leopold Duke of Austria, Berthodus Duke of Moravia, Herman Marquis of Baden, the Counts de Nassau, de Thuringe, de Missen, de Hollandia, and more than sixty others of the most eniment Princes of the Empire; the Bishops of Besanson, Cambray, Munster, Osnabrug, Missen, Passau, Wirzbourg and more than ten besides, all which besides the Legates, went immediately to preach the Crusade in their several Dioceses, and throughout Germany, where an infinite Number of People of all Conditions took up the Cross. But the Emperor, who knew by the Experience of the Second Crusade, that two great a Multitude occasioned nothing but Cumber, Trouble and famine in an Army, therefore caused an Edict to be published by which he prohibited, all those who were not able to expend three marks in Silver to provide themselves of Necessaries for so long a Voyage, to engage in it or list themselves for this Expedition; and also commanded those of the greatest Ability, to make the best Preparation for it that they were able, that so they might have wherewith to serve themselves in their Necessities. After which he gave Command that all the Crusades should repair to their Colours at Ratisbonne, in the Month of April, the Year ensuing, where he promised without fail to be himself upon the Feast of St. George, and that he would then immediately advance without staying for the rest. This being done he sent four several Ambassadors to so many Princes with whom he must necessarily treat, before he undertook any thing further. Henry Earl of Diets was sent to Saladin, to summon them to restore the Holy Land which he had usurped from the Christians, as also the Wood of the Holy Cross which he had taken at the Battle of Tiberias, and in Case of his refusal to denounce War against him from the Emperor. I do not here pretend to insert the Letters of these two great Princes, which pass for Currant with many Historians, in regard that it appears clearly that they are Counterfiets, and the Forgeries of some Prolific Scribe, who had more desire to please, than Art in the compiling of them, so as to render them either probable or Pleasant. Godfrey Baron of Wisenbach was dispatched to the Sultan of Iconium, who pretended to be a Wonderful Friend to the Christians, and who made many strong Protestations, that he and all his should ever be at the Emperor's Service, who might at his Pleasure pass through his Estates with the same Freedom as if they were his own. Frederick also himself at the same time writ to the Emperor of Constantinople, and sent to desire Passage through his Territories, and that he might be furnished with Provisions at the Price Currant. To this he agreed but after a very indecent manner, detaining the Ambassador without any positive Resolution, till those of the Sultan of Iconium passed by Constantinople, to go into Germany, there to make the Offers and Compliments of their Master to the Emperor. The Arch Bishop of Mayence was the only man of that Character, who succeeded most advantageously in his Negotiation, for he obtained of Bela King of Hungary all that he desired, which was the Princess his Daughter for Frederick Duke of Suabia Son to the Emperor, and Security of Passage and Provision for the Army at most reasonable Rates. Thus all things being disposed to begin this great Enterprise, Frederick, who had passed all the Lent and the Festivals of Easter at Ratisbonne to attend the coming of the Crusades, parted from thence the latter End of April with those who were already come, and descended down the Danubius, as far as Presbourg, whereupon Whitsunday he held a general Council of all the Princes, Prelates, and high Officers of his Army, to regulate their March, and to establish that good Order and those wholesome Laws against all Crimes, and Licentiousness, which were so necessary in an Army, and which he was resolved should be most exactly obeyed, as they were afterwards during the whole Voyage. In Conclusion after having caused Henry his eldest Son to be crowned King, of the Romans, he took his March at the Head of a fair and flourishing Army, year 1189 consisting in more than one hundred and fifty thousand Soldiers all choice men, with which he crossed all Hungary with King Bela, who came to receive him upon the Frontier, conducted him as far as Belgrade; from whence after a Repose of eight days he entered into Bulgaria, which he was two Months in passing, by reason that he was forced so often to combat with those Barbarous People, who laid continual Ambushes in his Passage, and whom he could defeat no other ways but by guarding the Passage on both sides of his Army, and as fast as they could be taken hanging up these Thiefs upon the next Trees where they were seized. But he had something more to do when he entered upon the Territories of the Greek Emperor, where believing he should pass as a Friend and meet with all manner of Refreshments and Accommodations for his Army, as had been promised him, he found nothing throughout, but Enemies Armed against him by the Perfidy of the Greek Emperor: but it did not fail at last to fall heavy upon him as it had formerly upon the two Comnenius' Alexis and Manuel in the two first Crusades. This Emperor was that Isaacius Angelus, who about five Years before had been proclaimed Emperor in a Sedition, which himself had raised for the Destruction of the Cruel Andronicus. He was a man who had little either Soul or Heart, but the Want of those was supplied with Presumption and Vanity in abundance, by which he made all his Follies and those Vices most apparent, which are most capable of rendering a Prince despicable and hated; for he was sottish even to downright folly, extreme light and inconstant, cowardly, Voluptuous, Effeminate, most foolishly Prodigal, and infamously Covetous; taking a Pleasure to receive from all sorts of Persons, though it were but Toys add Trifles, and making no Difficulty to take any thing that pleased his Fancy, even to the horrible Sacrilege of robbing the Churches, without any Scruple, of their Jewels, Plate and Ornaments, and even the Consecrated Vessels, to make use of at his Public Entertainments, notwithstanding that he seemed even to a strange Bigotry to make Profession of Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, to whom he made most Magnificent Offerings and honoured her with Images consecrated to her, the richest in the World, all glistering with Gold, and sparkling with the fairest Stones that could be procured. As for any thing more, he was aman without Truth, Faith and Honour, who delighted in nothing but the Enjoyment of his Riches, and the Sweets of Empire, which he soolishly promised himself he should enjoy more than Thirty Years; and in the Interim abandoning all the Care and Trouble of it to some one of his Favourites, which was sometimes a doting old Eunuch, otherwhiles some young fantastical Boy, scarcely past the Discipline of a School or got free from the Ferula, who now must manage a Sceptre, and by whom he permitted himself to be lead as if he had been a mere Child. See what sort of man this Emperor Isaacius was, who after he had promised to Frederick not only all safe Passage, but all manner of Assistance, did all that lay in the Compass of his Power against him, and that for these two more especial reasons. First for that Saladin, who knew well how to amuse him had made him abundance of Vain Promises to bestow Palestine upon him; upon Condition that he should obstruct the Passage of the Occidentals; That he should enter into an alliance with him, and thereby oblige himself to send his Galleys to his assistance and that his Ambassadors, which he had at the Court of Constaminople, should be there treated with all manner of Honour. The Second Reason was, that he permitted himself most sottishly to be seduced by the Impostures of a remarkable Cheat, the manner of which I am about to relate. There was a certain Venetian, who having got himself naturallized a Geeek at Constantinople, took upon him the Name of Dositheos', and there turned Monk in the famous Monastery of Studius, from whence he hoped that he should one day be able to Mount to the highest Dignities of the Church. Now whether this Fellow was really a great Master in the Art of Astrology and taking the true Horescope or that he was really acquainted with that which is more Criminal and the black Art, or which I think was the most easy, that he boldly played the Prophet at all Adventure, in regard he had nothing to lose but his little Credit, if his Prophecies should not prove true, certain it is that he predicted to Isaacius a long time before it happened, that he should one day attain the Empire. That Prediction had made such an Impression upon his mind, year 1189 and had gained so much Belief and Consideration with him that he believed it as an Oracle; and happening luckily to fall out accordingly, there was nothing which he thought too much to do for Dosithcos. So that some little time after having made two Patriarches of Constantinople be successively deposed under false Pretexts, he having therefore elevated them to that Dignity, he took a great Fancy to transferr his Dositheos' from the Chair of Jerusalem, whereof he possessed only the Titular Right as being one of the Imperial Cities. But he found a great Obstacle to the Accomplishment of his Desire, in Regard that in the Code of the Oriential Church, there were found certain Canons of more than one Ages standing which prohibited these kind of Translations particularly of Metropolitans, and much more of one Partiarchate to another: To surmount this Difficulty, he had recourse to a very pleasant Artifice, which was apparently suggested to him by this false Dositheos', and which succeeded according to his Wish. There was in his Court the Famous Theodore Balsamon, who of all the Greeks was esteemed the most able and skilful Canonist, and who hath left us a Digest of the Canons of little Fidelity, more than to enable the Adversaries of the Roman Church, of which he declared himself upon all Occasions the Implacable Enemy, from thence to draw Arguments of an Eternal Opposition. This man was Patriarch of Antioch, where he yet retained not the least Authority, in regard that City was wholly in the Power of the Latins, who had there a Patriarch of their own. I would by no means endure the Government of a Schismatic. Now the Emperor who knew his Ambitious Humour, and that he was capable of doing and saying what he pleased, provided he were satisfied in that governing Passion, caused him one day to be sent for in Private, where making to him a pretended Confidence he complained to him miserably of the small Number of able men that were to be found among the ecclesiastics, and in the Monasteries from whence he said Learning and Virtue seemed in a manner to be banished; insomuch that in all his Empire he could find but one man, who was capable of filling the Vacant Seat of Constantinople. So as he wished to do Honour to the Church and to be able to oppose the Latins. After which he said, as it were opening his very Heart to him, that not knowing any Person besides himself capable by reason of his merit, to sustain that great Dignity, he had along time had it in his Thoughts to translate him from the Patriarchate of Antioch, of which he possessed only the empty Title, to that of Constantinople where he might have the Opportunity of displaying more advantageously those Great Talents which God had imparted to him, and particularly, that profound Skill which he had acquired in the Laws and the Discipline of the Church: But that hitherto he never durst enterprise it, in regard that he had always heard it said, that such Translations were not lawful or according to the Canons; but notwithstanding if he who was far more knowing than any other, and who was reputed the very Oracle of those kinds of Learning, was able to demonstrate and persuade the World by interpreting the Canons, that they might very well according to the Intention of the Church upon certain Occasions be suspended, as sometimes they had been, it would be the greatest joy and Satisfaction in the World to him, and that without deferring a Moment longer, he would name him to the Chair of Constantinople. There needed no more to make Theodore yield, after the Temptation of possessing of such an elevated Dignity, which that ambitious man suffered to overcome him without making the least Resistance against it. He therefore readily answered the Emperor, that his Majesty should not fail to receive full satisfaction, and that it was easy to accommodate the Canons to his advantage. See now the deplorable Weakness of the greatest part of Mankind; who, whereas they ought to regulate their Passions, by submitting them to the Laws, choose rather on the contrary to rule the Law by accommodating it to their Passions, whilst they endeavour by their false Subtileties to persuade themselves, that it is not at all contrary to what they desire. The Emperor having thus artificially drawn him into the Snare, the next day assembled all the Bishops who were in great Numbers about the Court, to the Church of St. Sophia, where it was in his Presence proposed, whether this kind of Translation, might be allowed according to the Canons. Balsamon, who had not been wanting the preceding Night to instruct his Brethren, showed by many famous Instances out of Antiquity, that the Ancient Canons did not absolutely prohibit it, year 1189 but that they only were designed to reform the Abuse which might be made of it. All his Partisans whom, he had gained to his Opinion, and the others who were nothing so knowing as himself, especially in the Canon Law, were immediately in the same Sentiment. Thus it passed without Difficulty as their Opinion and the Translation which might really be made for the greater advantage of the Church, was also authorized and comfirmed as Lawful by the Imperial Letters. After which the Emperor who had now all that he desired, nominated Dositheos' Patriarch of Constantinople, and having thus gulled poor Theodore, left him as he found him, to starve upon his lean Honour of being still the Titular Patriarch of Antioch. However Dositheos', who made his Entry into Constantinople with all the Pomp and magnificence of a Triumph, did not long rejoice in the Enjoyment of his wretched Cheat; for the Bishop's unable to suffer that he had thus abused them ● entered into so many Cabals against him, and so wrought up the Hatred of the Populace, to whom he was already odious by the manner of his Living which was altogether unworthy of that high Dignity, that the Emperor, who would have supported him by Force, fearing it might occasion a great Sedition, was at length constrained to abandon him, and to suffer him to be deposed, about two Years after he had by Fraud obtained it, Georgius Xiphiline succeeding in his Place; so that he not only lost the Chair of Constantinople to which he had unlawfully aspired, but that of Jerusalem also, which upon his Translation was conferred upon another. But in that time that he was Patriarch of Constantinople, he absolutely governed the Emperor, and by his Delusions turned him which way he pleased; then it was that he made him believe, that the Design of Frederick was not with that powerful Army to make War against Saladin for the Deliverance of the Holy Land, and the City of Jerusalem, but a pure Artifice to cover the Design which he had to make himself Master of Constantinople. And to confirm this, counterfeiting the Prophet, he shown him certain fantastical Figures, which he said had been drawn by Solomon, to represent the future State of things; from which he assured that foolish and Credulous Emperor that Frederick was to enter Constantinople by the Gate Xylocernos, which joined to the Palace of Blaquernes; that he should commit a thousand abominably things, but that in the end he should be most severely punished. All these Fooleries he pronounced with an Air so affirmative and so serious, that this ridiculous Prince, to prevent the Effects of his Predictions, caused the Port of Blaquernes to be walled up; then Dositheos', showing him the Windows of the Highest Tower of the five which beautisie that fair Palace, would needs carry him up thither, where with two Darts, which he usually carried in his left Hand, he was to stand huffing and in a menacing Posture, which the Conjurer told him, should strike Frederick with his Germans to the Hearts, so that he should not need to trouble himself to march out to give them Battle: Thus did he expose him as if he had been all pure Fool, to the Derision of all that saw or heard of this silly Adventure. However he did not fail amidst all his Stupid Vanity, to give out the Necessary Orders, for obstructing the Passage of the Emperor, to whom at the same time he offered the most insupportable Affront; For as Frederick approached the Frontier, he sent the Bishop of Munster, Robert Earl of Nassau, and Count Walram in Ambassage to him, to desire that he might have free Passage, and Provisions for the Army, according to the Stipulations of the Treaty; this perfidious, after he had at first received them in a tolerable good manner, within eight days, threw them loaden with Irons into a dark and loathsome Prison, thereby in a manner wholly Barbarous, violating the very Law of Nations, to oblige the Ambassadors of Saladin, who used their utmost Efforts to engage him so deeply in a War with Frederick, that he might not know how to go back from his Promises to their Master. Then following the Advice of his Dositheos', who was of Confederacy with the Saracens; he armed powerfully, and sent his Cousin Manuel, the Great Master of the Horse, with a numerous Army, and Orders to dispute the Passes with the Germans; and to cut off all Provisions from them, But the Cowardice of the Greeks was but a feeble Obstacle to the Invincible Forces of Frederick; for not being able so much as to endure the sight of the Duke of Suabia, who with his Sword in his Hand, marched against them at the Head of the Vanguard, they immediately turned their Backs and abandoned the Barricades and Retrenchments which they had made at the first Pass of the Mountains, year 1189 which lead into Thracia: So that all the Army falling into that Country, the Emperor to punish the Treachery of the Greeks, permitted them to live at Discretion, as they did, finding in the Fields great abundance of all kinds of Grain, it being now August, which the Greeks, had not time to carry into the fenced Towns and Cities according to the Orders which had been given. But that which finished his Ruin, was the insupportable Vanity of Isaacius, who sending to treat with Frederick, did it in the most brutish manner in the World denying him the Title of Emperor; for he sent to him to let him understand, That he knew no other Emperor but of Constantinople, which was himself; and that if he would acknowledge him in that Quality for his Lord and Master, and give him so many Hostages as he demanded, for Security that he would Enterprise nothing contrary to his Service or Interests, and give him the Moiety of all the Conquests which he should make upon the Saracens, then, and upon no other Terms he was resolved to afford him the Liberty of the Passage which he desired. Now whether the Greek Emperor was so indiscreet to command in this kind of Insolent Language, which seems agreeable enough to his Character and his Genius; or that the Envoys, as Nicetas in excusing it, would assure us, exceeded the Limits of their Commission, is uncertain; But Frederick though he was not a little picqued, yet had the Discretion to conceal and smother his Resentment, till he had procured the Liberty of his Ambassadors: And therefore he contented himself with returning this Answer with a disdainful Smile, which manifested a great measure of Assurance, and but little Sharpness, That he trusted in God, and in all those brave men which accompanied him, that there was yet no great Necessity for his complying with such kind Terms; that for any thing more when their Master, speaking to the Ambassadors, had restored to him his Ambassadors whom he held in Chains, with so much Inhumanity, and so much against the Law of all Nations, to the Shame of the Christian Name which thereby he exposed to the Derision of the Saracens, he should have a Subject whereupon in some sort to acknowledge himself obliged to him, the Honour of God and the Empire still excepted. After with advancing daily without staying for the Answer of the Greek, and seizing without Resistance, upon all the Places in his Passage, upon the twentieth fifth day of August he encamped within View of Philioppopolis, a great and rich City upon the Hebrus, situate between three Hills at the Foot of Mount Hemus. The Historian Nicetas Acominatus, a person of Quality, and first Gentleman of the Bedchamber to the Emperor, was then Governor of that Province, whereof this was the Capital City. Now as he received every Day several Orders, by the lightness and instability of his Master's Mind, who to Day would command that all Hands should be at work upon the Fortifications, and to Morrow, that they should demolish them and quit the Town; he was, before he could do the one or the other, surprised, in such manner, as to be constrained, with the principal of the Inhabitants, to seek his Safety in quitting the City: There Frederick quartered his whole Army, to refresh his Men with the prodigious Plenty of Provisions which he found there; for the City was very Rich, by the Traffic which they had with the Armenians, who were a great party of the Inhabitants, and who loved the Franks extremely. Four Days after this, Manuel, the General of the Greek Army, being perpetually solicited by the Emperor, who accused him of Cowardice, advanced within six Miles of Philippopolis, with express Order to combat the Germans. But he was so little acquainted with War, that some of the Vancouriers of the Germans, who were abroad to discover the Enemy's Posture, having taken some Prisoners, who were straggling, took a Resolution to assault their whole Army, which they did with such Courage, that those cowardly Greeks believing that they had all Frederick's in the Head of them, shamefully turned their Backs, leaving the Field entirely to those few Germans: Nor did they after this find any thing that appeared like Body of an Army. After which, having taken some strong Places which were defended by the Alains, whom Saladin had sent to aid the Greeks, they were all, for a Terror to the rest, put to the Sword: So that seizing upon Nicopolis, Adrianople, and all the Cities which are between the Egean and the Euxine Seas, they enlarged their Conquests on both sides, year 1189 to the very Gates of Constantinople. Then it was, that the perfidious Isaacius, finding himself reduced to the last Extremities, set the Ambassadors of Frederick at Liberty, and in all suppliant and humble manner, desired a Peace. He offered all the Shipping that was necessary for his Passage into Asia, entreating that this Passage might be as quick as could be, and that he might have Hostages for his Security. But Frederick, who was resolved to pull down the foolish Pride of this feeble, but presumptuous Prince, who before would not treat with him, but as King of the Germans, made him now very sensible that he was the Emperor of the Romans; and therefore, like a Caesar, he answered the Ambassadors, That it was the Right of the Conquerors to give Laws to the Vanquished, That it appertained to him who had conquered Thracia, to dispose of it as he thought convenient. That therefore, the Year being so far advanced, he was resolved to winter in Thracia with his whole Army, to punish their Master for having so long retarded his Voyage by his foolish Perfidiousness, and giving him the trouble to beat him, and to take his Towns, where he had now no longer any Right. But if he expected any Favour from him, that he must take Care against Easter, in the Year ensueing, to provide him so much Shipping as was necessary for the Transportation of his whole Army into Asia, by the Hellespont; and to give him sufficient Security for his Promises, of which he knew he would be liberal, but which he had no manner of Reason to repose any sort of Confidence in; That he was resolved to have in Hostage four and twenty of the principal Officers and Lords of his Court, and eight hundred others of inferior Quality, whom he must forthwith send to him, together with the Ambassadors of the Sultan of Iconium, whom he restrained at Constantinople contrary to the Law of Nations. That upon these Conditions he would give him the Assurance of his Oath, that he had no designs upon his Empire, as he had vainly imagined, or at least, made a show of believing, that so he might have some Pretext, though a very ill one, for the violation of his Faith. There is certainly nothing so Insolent as a proud Coward in Prosperity, when he finds himself extraordinarily advanced by his good Fortune; nor is there any thing so Low, Mean, and Croaching, when once his Haughtiness is tamed and brought down by the reverse of Adversity. This Isaacius, who a little before boasted with insufferable Insolence, that he was the only Emperor, and next to God, the Lord and Master of other Kings, now thought himself very happy to be offered a Treaty, which gave him liberty to accept even of these dishonourable Conditions, which were sufficiently humbling for him. He therefore without Delay sent the Ratification, with the Ambassadors, the Hostages, and great Presents to the Emperor, who passed the Winter at Adrianople, till Easter approaching he went to Callipolis, where he was resolved to pass the Hellespont. There he did not fail to find far more Shipping than Isaacius had promised him, for there were of Barks, Brigantines, Galliots, and Galleys, near upon five hundred; so much haste did that poor Prince make to deliver himself from these dangerous and troublesome Guests, who had perfectly recruited themselves of all their Fatigues, and very well enriched themselves at his Expense, in so good a winter Quarter. Thus the Army, to which divers new Crusades had come to join themselves, and which was in a Condition as good or better, than when it first marched out of Germany; year 1190 began to pass the Sea upon Good Friday, the twenty third day of March, and in seven days were all transported over the Hellespont. They had so good a Passage, that not one Man was lost, such Care did the Emperor take, who was continually jealous and watchful over the Greeks; and fearing least when the first were passed over, they might set upon the last, he was resolved to embark with the last himself, as he did upon the seventh Day, and happily joined the rest of his Army in Asia, near the City of Lampsacus. The next Morning he began his March, and quitting the left hand Way, which he had found was so difficult and dangerous, when he accompanied his Uncle the Emperor Conrade, he took to the Right, by the Sea Coast, crossing over Mysia, Troas, Phrygia, and Lydia, by the Cities of Thyatira and Philadelphia, to the Meander, which he passed near Laodicea, where the Army reposed for a few days. The Inhabitants of this City furnished them with all manner of Refreshments, year 1190 with an incredible Cheerfulness, which was a pleasing Surprise to the Emperor, who now believed that the Sultan of Iconium, whose Government extended as far as that side of the Meander, would inviolably keep his Promise, which he had given him, and which he daily repeated by his Ambassadors, who followed the Camp. But he was no sooner arrived at that dangerous Mountain, which is near the Head of the Meander, and which the defeat of the Rereguard of the French Army, under Lewis the Young, had made so Memorable, but he found the Enemies in the Head of him, and presently understood that this perfidious Infidel Prince, had not made him all those fair Promises, but to draw him into the Snare, which he had artfully had by his infamous Treachery. Which should instruct Christian Princes, that they ought to take all imaginable Precaution, and extraordinary Security, when the necessity of their Affairs obliges them to treat with those People, who wanting that true Faith which they own to God, usually take no care of preserving it towards Men. This Sultan was Caïscosroës, who about ten years before had been despoiled of his Dominions by his Brother Rucratin, and was afterwards reestablished by the Greeks. This Prince had a little before concluded an Alliance with Saladin, who had given his Daughter in Marriage to his Son Melich, who succeeded him. He had also a secret Intelligence with Isaacius, who corresponded with both these Sultan's against the Latins, whom he mortally hated, as do all the Greeks, but more especially in those times: So that all the Ambassadors which this perfidious Infidel had sent to Frederick, and whom Isaacius had apparently by Force detained at Constantinople, were sent for no other Purpose but to abuse the Emperor with greater ease, and to draw him from Laodicea, into those desert Countries, from whence he had caused all the Provisions to be withdrawn, that so he might destroy that Army by Famine, and by the infinite multitude of Troops, which he had gathered out of all Asia, continually to molest the Army in their March, and to attack them at all the difficult Passes. In short, they found that the Straits of the Mountain were possessed by the Turks, but nevertheless, they were such miserable Cowards, that would not abide more than the first Shock of the Germans, who there made a great Carnage among them, and put the rest to flight. However they rallied the next Morning, and came again in far greater Numbers, but rather like Thiefs than Soldiers, vexing the Army on all Sides with slinging great Stones, and discharging their Arrows, after which they would save themselves according to their Custom, by retireing at full Speed, and then presently return again after the same manner, without giving the Germans, who were heavily armed, the possibility of coming to Blows with them; and having thus combated with them all the Day, they in the Night seized upon the Avenues of another Mountain, which were extraordinary strait, and through which they knew the Christian Army must necessarily pass the following Day. But Frederick, who disposed all things with an incredible presence of Mind, thought of a pretty Stratagem, which succeeded perfectly to his Wish. He divided his Army into two Bodies, leaving the smallest Party in the Camp, which was at the Foot of the Mountain; after which, seeming to be afraid of the Turks, and to despair of forcing the Pass, he marched in the Morning with the greatest Party quite another way, as if he designed to find some other Passage. He was not distanced far from the Camp, when the Turks really believing that his Fear was the occasion of his Flight, and the haste which he made to draw himself out of such a dangerous Place, had made him abandon his Camp; but that the desire they had of Plunder, and that Avarice which is the governing Passion of these Barbarians, blinded them in such sort, that abandoning their advantageous Post, they tumbled down from the Mountain in the greatest Disorder, to fall upon the Camp, which they believed they should rifle at their Discretion, finding it without Defence. But those who guarded it, shown them their Mistake, and defended it so vigorously, that the Emperor making a short Turn, upon a Signal which was given him by Fire and Smoak, charged them upon their Backs; so that being shut in between two powerful Bodies, they were most of them cut in Pieces, and the rest scattered, leaving the Passage free to the victorious Army. year 1190 Frederick nevertheless found it very difficult to believe that he was betrayed by the Sultan of Iconium, in regard that his Ambassadors were still in his Retinue, and they always highly disavowed these to be their Master's Troops; but it was not long before he came to be disabused; for about the Feast of the Ascension, which was the third Day of May, the Ambassadors took the Opportunity of the Night to steal away, forcing along with them Godfrey the Emperor's Interpreter; and in the same place where the Sultan Chisiastlan, the Father of this, had defeated the Army of the Emperor Manuel, about fourteen Years before, he found more than thirty thousand Men embodied into an Army, to oppose his Passage in the Straits, which might easily be maintained by a very inconsiderable Number. The Turks had gathered great heaps of Stones, that so they might, from the high Rocks, shower them down out of their Slings, upon the Christians; upon whom also they might with ease tumble down huge pieces of the Craggs, which they had before loosened for that purpose. But Frederick, very dexterously drew the Army out of that Danger also; for having promised to a certain Prisoner, that he would give him his Life, upon Condition that he should, as he offered for that Favour, conduct the Army by another way over the Top of this Mountain, which was three Miles in the Ascent, he passed it the same Day, though not without great Difficulty, and with the Loss of above a thousand Horses, and as many Beasts of Burden, who tumbled over the Precipices on the one Side and the other. As soon as he was descended into the Plain, he encamped there, to refresh his Army a little in that place, which was very commodious, in regard of the plenty of Forage: But the Turks, who with their dreadful Multitude filled all the Country, having run from all parts during the whole Night, the next Morning fell upon the Rereguard, whilst that another Party of them having cut them off from the Van, charged them in the Front. This was one of the greatest and most dangerous Combats which happened in all the Voyage; but the Dukes of Suabia and Moravia, and the Marquis of Baden, who commanded that Body, combated with so much Courage and Conduct, that they forced the Enemies to a shameful Flight, after their having left a great many of their Number dead upon the place, and without so much as the Loss of one Man, though there were a great many wounded; and among them Frederick the Son of the Emperor, who had two of his Teeth broken out by a Blow from a Sling; a great part also of the Baggage was lost; the less Valiant among the Turks, having taken the Opportunity of the heat of the Fight, to fall upon those who guarded it: After this, as the Troops of the Enemies increased daily more and more, they gave such continual Alarms, that the Soldiers were forced almost continually to stand to their Arms to defend themselves against these Infidels, who attacked them Night and Day without Intermission, though they were continually beaten; and that one time among many, that they ventured to attack the Camp by Night, there were slain above six thousand of them, and among the rest, one hundred seventy four of their most considerable Officers. But after all, These Victories could not deliver the Army from the most terrible and dangerous of their Enemies, which was Famine; for all the Provisions which they had carried with them, being either consumed by so long a March, or lost with the Sumpters and that part of the Baggage which had been taken, and all the Country being either Barren or Uninhabited, or desolated by the Enemies, who made a horrible Wast throughout; the Army was forced to kill the Mules, and Horses, which would otherwise have been lost for want of Forage; so that there remained but a few of them, and they so feeble and meager, that their Masters were so far from receiving the Benefit of being carried by them upon their March, that they were forced to walk on foot, and lead them by the Bridles: Insomuch that I cannot but relate a pretty Adventure which happened thereupon, and which the Historian Nicetas, as much a Greek all over as he was, yet thought fit to dedicate to the Memory of Posterity, as a Prodigy of Valour, comparable even to the Fables which have been invented, to frame the Heroes of the first Ages. A certain Germane Cavalier, of an extraordinary Force and Stature, being mighty unwilling to part with his Horse, who by reason of his Poverty was in no condition to carry him, marched on foot, year 1190 leading him softly at a good Distance from the rest of his Troop, when he was presently set upon by fifty of the stoutest among the Turks, who constantly hovered about the Army, and who all together discharged their Arrows against him; but this valiant Man regarding them with a Look fierce and contemptuous, received them all upon a Buckler, with which his left Arm was covered, through which he had put his Bridle, by which he held his Horse; and holding his Sword in his other hand, he kept still on his Way, without so much as once stopping or turning, till at last, a Turk more resolute than his Companions, leaving his Bow, and putting Spurs to his Horse, came galloping upon him with his Sable in his Hand, and with all his Force discharged a mighty Blow upon the German, which had no more effect than if he had struck it against a Rock; whereupon the fierce Undaunted, perceiving that he could not make a sure Blow at the Rider, who was too high for him, he with a dreadful Reverse cut off both the Horses Foreleggs at the Knees, and the poor Animal at the instant sinking upon his Stump, the Rider still sitting in the Saddle, he discharged such a horrible Blow upon his Head, that he cut him quite down to the very Saddle, and wounded the Horse into the Bargain. This so affrighted his Companions, as well it might, that taking the Soldier for some Daemon, rather than for a Man, they betook themselves to their Spurs, as if the Devil had drive them, leaving the Hero coolly, and at leisure to pursue his way to the Camp, where he arrived a good while after the rest. The Emperor all this time, still advanced towards Iconium, with a Resolution to Perish or to take that City, and both to punish the Sultan for his Perfidy, and to refresh his Army after so many Fatigues. For this Reason therefore, these cowardly Barbarïans fearing such an Affront, and believing on the other side, that they had to do, with Men half dead with Famine, resolved at length, to expect them in the open Field, and with all their Forces to put it to the hazard of a Battle. And therefore having mustered up all their Troops, which composed an Army of more than three hundred thousand Combatants, upon the eleventh day of May, they appeared in View of the Christian Army, under the Conduct of Melich, the eldest Son of the Sultan. He extended his Troops to the right and left upon the Heights which he had possessed himself of all thereabouts, as far as the Sight would reach, that thereby he might strike a Terror into the Hearts of the Christians; who after having lost so great numbers of their Soldiers, and the greatest part of their Horses, by the defect of Forage and Provisions, in such a difficult March of three Months, appeared but as a handful in comparison of such a fearful Multitude of their Enemies. The Emperor, who was one of the greatest Captains of the World, took occasion to draw an Advantage from this Action of the Enemies, who did it for their own, and to terrify the Christians by the View of all their Forces, which were to be discovered easily from their Posts; for he put on a counterfeit Amazement, and after having well dissembled a Fear, by the little Assurance of his Countenance, and the many Changes which he made in the order of his Battle, he caused his Troops to move in such a sort of Countermarch, as gave the Turks a firm Persuasion that he had not the least Intention to Fight, but rather how to save himself by a Retreat. Hereupon the first Squadrons of the Barbarians, who believed that the Victory was already as good as in their Hands, and that they had nothing more to do, but to change this Retreat into a manifest Flight, descended from the Mountains into the Plain with so much Precipitation, that they galloped with a lose Rein, and in great Disorder, with dreadful Cries, according to their Custom, after these supposed Fugitives. But they soon found their Mistake, for the Germans turning Head immediately upon them, and charging them with their Swords, quickly made them fly in good Earnest, after having left a great many stretching upon the place, to save themselves in Hast and Confusion upon the Mountains, with the gross of their Army, which was not yet come down. The two following Days passed in light Skirmishes, but upon the third, which was the morrow after Whitsuntide, there was a necessity of coming to a general Battle. Melich, who had too many Troops to be able to range them commodiously in the Ground of which he was possessed, divided his Army into two great Bodies, which he posted the one behind the other, year 1190 upon two Hills which were separated by a little Valley, that so he might be able to send what Troops he pleased from the second Hill, to sustain those who were upon the first. He commanded the first Body in Person, his Brothers being at the Head of the other, which served as a Rereguard. The Emperor himself, on his side, led the Van, and the Command of the Rear he gave to his Son, the Duke of Suabia, who had order to sustain him, by instantly following of him, to the end that they might make the more powerful Effort, by charging both together, almost at the same time, upon the first Body of the Enemies. Now the Ascent of the Hill upon which they stood in Battalia, being not very steep, the Emperor, after he had passed the prodigious Discharge of their Arrows and Stones, which had little Effect, charged upon the first Squadrons of his Enemies; after which, contrary to their Custom, they made some Resistance, whereas usually their manner of Fight, was like that of the ancient Parthians, from whom they were descended, in vaulting about, and returning to the Charge after they had wheeled off, but this Resistance lasted but a little time, for these sort of People, who were better acquainted with robbing and killing, than with this manner of sighting, not being able to sustain the furious Shock of these Germans, whose very Countenances struck them with Terror, and who dealt about lusty Blows of Pike, Sword, and Battleaxes, and made a dreadful Slaughter among such as either durst abide their Force, or had not the Opportunity to avoid it, as indeed few of them had, by reason of the greatness of their Number, which hindered the nimbleness of their Flight; so that of the boldest of them, who for some time maintained the close Fight, above ten thousand lay stretched out upon the Place. Melich, who behaved himself very gallantly, was overthrown by a Blow of the Lance, and four of the Sultan's principal Noblemen, were slain by his Side; nor was it without extreme Difficulty and Hazard, that being quickly remounted again, and seeing that all his Vanguard was entirely defeated, he saved himself upon the Hill, where the Rereguard, commanded by his Brothers, stood in Battalia. But that stood but a small time; it was already half defeated, by the Fear which seized those Troops, in seeing the woeful Slaughter of their Companions of the Van; and the Flight of the General, who in saving himself with the Flyers, carried also the Terror and the Confusion among the other Squadrons; so that as soon as ever they saw the Emperor, who marched over the Bellies of all those whom he found in the Valley, advanced gently, and in good Order against them, they presently fled at full Speed, towards Iconium, having the Christians still at their Backs, who pursued them until it was Night. That which is most marvellous in this Victory, is that the Conquerors obtained it without almost any Loss; which many attributed to the particular Protection of St. George and St. Victor, which are the ordinary Names that are called upon in Battle, and whom some affirmed that they saw combat with the Turks before the Squadrons of the Christians: which must either be attributed to some extraordinary Effect of the Divine Commission, as many times happened to the People of Israel, according to the Testimony of the Scripture itself, which relates to us the Sun's standing still in Gibeon, and the Moon in the Valley of Ajalon, and that the Stars in their Courses fought against proud Sisera, and that the Hailstones, of prodigious bigness, the Artillery of Heaven, overthrew the Enemies of God and his People: Or else it is possible, it might be the effect of what divers of them had often heard related of the Celestial Squadrons which were reported to have been seen in the first Crusade, at the famous Battle of Antioch, whose Imagination being therefore strongly prepossessed with the Impressions of those Ideas, might upon this Occasion frame to themselves the like Apparitions: Be it as it will, this is certain, that a Cavalier of Reputation, and in no sort to be thought an idle or dreaming Visionary, whose Name was Lewis de Helfenstein, affirmed it positively before the Emperor, and protested to him before the whole Army, upon his Oath, and upon the Faith of a vowed Pilgrim of the Holy Sepulchre, and of a Crusade, that he had more than once seen St. George at the Head of the Squadrons, putting the Enemies to Flight. This was also afterwards confirmed by the Turks themselves, who related that they saw, year 1190 at the Head of the Christian Army, certain Troops in white Arms, which were not where to be found among them. I must needs acknowledge, that one is not at all obliged to give Credit to these kind of Visions, which for the most part are the Effects of great Illusions; but I also know very well that an Historian hath no manner of Right, by the Warrant of his own Authority, to reject such as are supported by Testimonies so remarkable as this is; and that if he be left at his own Liberty to disbelieve them as he shall please, yet he cannot pretend to the Liberty by suppressing them, to take from his Readers, the Right which they have after the reading them, to judge of them as they think fit. Now as these Barbarians did again, with the same ease as they had fled, rally themselves, Melich having quickly reassembled them before Iconium, sent to let the Emperor know, from the Sultan his Father, that he was ready to permit him free Passage, and to furnish him with all manner of Provisions in Plenty, provided, that he would, for Form sake only, pay thirty thousand Crowns, and oblige the Armenian Christians, to yield to the Sultan those Places which they held in Cilicia, which the Historians of that time, do for this Reason, so often confound with Armenia. To this Frederick instantly answered, sweetly and calmly, according to his manner, but magnificently, and always like Caesar; That a Roman Emperor, especially at the Head of an Army of Crusades, going to deliver the Sepulchre of Jesus Christ, was not acquainted with the way of Merchandising for his Passage with Silver, when he knew so readily how to open it more nobly, with the harder Metal of the glittering Steel, which he wore by his Side, and which the Sultan should ere long find was a Key, that would not only let him out of his Country, but open to him the Gates, and give him Entrance into his Capital City of Iconium. And the following day, without staying for any other Answer, he removed his Camp, which was already within View of Iconium, and advanced towards the City to attack it. Iconium, which at this time is called Cogny, the Capital City of Lycaonia, and of all the Dominions of this Sultan, which besides this Province, extended into Pisidia, Cappadocia, Pamphilia, and Isauria, which not long after was called Caramania, was afore this time a very good City, and well Fortified, where the Pacha Governor of the Province made his Residence. But it was at this time much Greater, more Rich and Populous, environed with good Walls, and fortified with a many fair Towers, of a wonderful Thickness, and extraordinary Height; and besides it had in the fashion of a Citadel, a very great Castle situate upon a Mountain, which commanded the Town; and in the Opinion of a certain Writer, who was present at that War, the City was no way less than Cologne, which is one of the biggest and most considerable Cities of Germany. It was also very Beautiful without the Walls, there being on the West side a great Park enclosed with stone Walls, in which the Sultan's had built two magnificent Palaces, for their Diversion during the Heats of the Summer; there were also round about it abundance of Gardens, which made the coming to it on that part very pleasing, but withal very difficult, by reason that there was Convenience for the placing a great number of Soldiers, who might from those Covertures discharge in great Security their Arrows, against those who approached. The Emperor nevertheless, having commanded every Horseman to take a Footman behind him, that so upon their lighting, they might the better attack those who defended these Enclosures, easily made himself Master of them, and there lodged all the Army, with a Resolution the next Morning, being the twenty eighth of May, to Assault the City, though it was defended by a great part of the Enemy's Army; whilst the other part, which was reinforced to the number of two hundred thousand Men, was in the Field, ready to charge upon the Backs of the Christians, in case they attempted any thing against the Town. So soon therefore as the Day appeared, the Emperor without deferring upon the Propositions of Peace, which the Sultan made only to amuse him, divided the Army into two Bodies. He gave the Command of the first to the Duke of Suabia, his Son, accompanied with Florent Earl of Holland, with Order to attack the City: And the other he commanded himself, to oppose the Enemies, if they should attempt to fall upon them behind, during the Attack. year 1190 Never was there any Enterprise that appeared more unadvisable, nor never any that did more happily succeed: For the Sultan, who was issued out to repulse the Assailants, scarcely saw the foremost Squadrons, who ran upon him with their Lances conched, but that, being seized with the Cowardly Apprehension of Death, which he believed, without flying, was inevitable, he ignominiously shown them his Back; and by his timorous Example, drew all his Troops after him; who fled with such a Panic Fear, that the Germans pursued them so briskly, as not to give them liberty to shut the Gates before they also were entered with them into the City. And no sooner were they gotten in, but they put all to the Sword whom they met in the Streets and Market-places, without distinction, thereby to oblige them to retire into their Houses, and leave the Streets free. The Sultan, with great difficulty, saved himself in the Castle, with his Children, and that which was most considerable in the Court, being hotly pursued by the Duke of Suabia, who chased them with the Sword at their Backs, killing and slaying all that opposed him, or stood in his way, to the very Gates of the Fortress. Thus this great City was taken, by the fearful Disorder occasioned by the Cowardly Timerousness of one Man: And the Victors made themselves Masters of it, without almost any Loss; rather owing it to the fear of the Vanquished, than to their own Valour, since they found no Enemy that would give them occasion to exercise it, in the Execution of a generous Enterprise. All this time the Emperor, who knew nothing of the Success of those who attacked the City, was at hard Blows with the great Army of his Enemies; for they knowing that he had only a Moiety of the Army, charged him with more Resolution than was customary to them, upon the hopes which they had, that they should easily surround such a little Army, which could not possibly resist two hundred thousand Men, who assailed him on all sides at the same time. And, in truth, they assailed him in such good Order, and with so much Vigour, drawing down upon him on every side, all together, with fearful Cries, and an infinite number of Darts, Arrows and Stones, which they discharged from their Bows and Slings: Insomuch, that the Christians, who were so small a number in Comparison, and so harrassed with the Fatigues of their March, and the Combats of the foregoing Days, and almost spoiled with the horrible Rain which had fallen all the Night before, began to despair, not only of the Victory, but of their Lives. The Bishops themselves, and the Priests, habited in their Rochets, Surplices and Stoles, who expected nothing the Stroke of Death, and to offer to God their Lives as a Sacrifice, however exhorted the Soldiers, with great Cries, to do the same, and expose theirs freely, after their Example. But the Emperor, ready, as he was, to die for the Love of Jesus Christ, was yet resolved, if it were possible, to live, and live a Conqueror for the Love of Glory; and therefore, galloping amongst the Ranks, he animated them by his Voice and Gesture, and posted to put himself at the Head of the foremost Squadrons; where regarding his People with Eyes which shot Fire into the very Bottom of the most frozen Courage, he communicated to them the same Ardour with which his noble Heart was animated. What do you stand for, said he, my generous Fellow-Soldiers? Let us go, Let us go under the conquering Ensign of the Death of Christ Jesus, who calls us to the Victory: It is not in expecting Death from them, but in carrying it among our Enemies, that we must be Victors. And thereupon, setting Spurs to his Horse, he threw himself into the thickest Squadrons of the Turks, all covered with Sweat and Blood, as he was; and his Courage furnishing him with new Forces, he laid about him, cutting, overturning and kill with mighty Blows of his Sword, on both sides of him, all those that durst oppose his Fury. All his Soldiers, animated by his Example, and by seeing the danger to which their Prince exposed himself for their sakes, became, as it were, new Men; and as if they had but just freshly begun the Combat, they followed him with so much Heat, Impetuosity and Fury, that those Squadrons, unable to sustain the terrible Shock, being overthrown upon those who followed them, the Terror spread itself so among the rest of the Army, that they presently fell into Disorder, and in a Moment after, year 1190 into a downright Flight, and, according to the custom of these Barbarians, saved themselves in the Mountains, leaving ten thousand slain upon the place. After this Execution, the Emperor, who was not willing to amuse himself, by pursuing the Fugitives, lead his victorious Soldiers to the City, of the Taking whereof he was by this time advertised; where he was received, as it were, in Triumph by his Son. He gave the Plunder of it to his Army, which there found Riches, even surpassing Imagination, and a prodigious quantity of all kind of Provisions, to refresh them, after so many Travels, Toils and Hazards. The Emperor had, among other things, for his share, more than one hundred thousand Marks in Gold and Silver, which was found in the Palace of Melich, and which was the Money, which Saladin had given him as a Portion with his Daughter. The next Day the Emperor caused Prayers to be publicly sung in Iconium, and Thanks to be given for a Victory so great and memorable. The Sultan then, seeing himself besieged in the Castle, from whence he could not escape, humbly demanded Peace of the Emperor, upon such Conditions as he should please: And Frederick, whose great design was to advance as fast as possible towards Syria, to combat with Saladin, after having publicly reproached this miserable Sultan with his base Perfidiousness, did him the favour to promise him, that he would restore the City to him in the Condition wherein it was, provided only that he should furnish him with Provisions for all the time he marched through his Dominions; and that for a Warranty of the Performance of his Word, he should put into his hands, as Hostages, twenty of the greatest Persons of his Court, whom the Emperor should choose; and that, after the Repose of seven days, wherein his Army was to be Quartered, partly in the Town, and partly in the Sultan's Park, he would take his March, and quit the City, as he also did, on the 30th Day of May, arriving at Laranda, upon the Frontier of Cilicia, at the Foot of Mount Taurus; from whence, nevertheless, he did not release the Hostages, in regard that his Subjects had again molested the Army upon their March. The Mountain Taurus is the greatest, and the highest, of all those of Asia; and which, taking different Names in the several Provinces through which it passeth, or which it divides from one another, as well on this, as the further side of Euphrates, retains particularly the Name of Taurus in Cilicia; which it separates from Isauria, Lycaonia, Cappadocia, and the lesser Armenia, by a long Chain of Mountains and Rocks, extreme broken and frightful; where it lifts up itself upon the Sea-Coast, towards the Confines of Isauria, in which place it bends itself in the form of a Crescent: and after having form this great Demicircle, it comes to a Butt upon the same Sea, upon the East, near the City of Issus, so celebrated, for the Battle which Alexander the Great gained against Darius, in the Straits of these Mountains. They are for the most part, by reason of their excessive height, covered with Snow, that there is no passing of them, but in Summer; and then so broken with Precipices, so steep and ragged, that they are wholly inaccessible, except by three Passes, which are extreme narrow, and difficult of Access: So that they are called by the Greeks, Piles, or Ports, by one of which there is a necessity of passing, to enter into Cilicia. It was by that, of these three, which leads towards Cappadocia and Lycaonia, that the Emperor, after having reposed some time at Laranda, began to engage himself in the Passage of these Mountains, which could not be performed in many days, and with a great deal of difficulty. He received, during this troublesome Passage, with abundance of Joy, Livon, Prince of Armenia, the Brother of Rupin de la Montagne, who, with the principal Persons of that Country, came to wait upon him, and pay him their Respects; offering all that they had, at his Service, for his Accommodation. After they had taken their leave of him, leaving six of them to accompany him, he at last accomplished this difficult Passage, the 10th of June; and dis-incumbring himself of these tiresome Rocks, he descended into the Valley, which is watered by the River Cydnus. This River ariseth out of Mount Taurus, in the Coast of Cappadocia; from whence, entering into Cilicia, by one of these Valleys, which are form by these Mountains, it rowls its gentle Streams, extreme clear and fresh, upon its murmuring Bed of clean Gravel and Pebbles; and is not very spacious tiil, year 1190 having passed through the famous City of Tharsus, it dischargeth itself into the Ocean. History hath made this River famous, by the extreme danger which Alexander there run of losing his Life, whilst in the Heat of Summer, being all on fire with the violence of the burning Season, he would needs bathe himself in these too cool Streams of Cydnus, being then upon his March against Darius. But an Accident more deplorable, which here happened to the Emperor Frederick by the very same way, aught for ever to render the Memory of that fatal River odious. For the very same day, which was a Sunday, the Eve of St. Barnabas, this great Prince, after having dined upon the Bank of that River, which he had just passed, seeing the Water, which to him seemed very delightful, and not able to support the intolerable Heat of that Season of the Year, without making use of that Remedy which was so easy, and which he naturally loved, would needs bathe himself in those cool and refreshing Streams, notwithstanding all that was alleged to divert him from it: but he was no sooner in the River, into the middle of which he threw himself, but that the excessive Coldness of the Water seized him in a moment; and penetrating his Pores, which, by reason of the extreme Heat, were so open, combated his natural Heat and Spirits with so much Violence that, in a Swoon, he sunk down to the bottom of the Water. He was, however, taken up alive, and so soon as he began to return to his Memory, perceiving his death approaching, he gave Thanks unto Almighty God, who did him the favour to call him in his Pilgrimage, and in the Performance of his Vow; and recommending his Soul into his Hands, and offering his Life in Sacrifice for the Remission of his Sins, he presently expired. I know that many Writers report the matter otherwise, and say, that his Horse foundering in the Passage of the River, his Foot hung in the Stirrup, and so he was drowned, as he was passing into Armenia, over the River Salef: but as the most ancient Historians, his Contemporaries, and some of them who were present, positively, some of them, affirm, it was the River Cydnus: And others of them say, it was a River near Tarsus, in which he was drowned, swimming after Dinner; and that one of them informs us, that he died not till the Evening. In my Opinion, there is not the least place left for deliberation, which of them we ought to believe; especially considering that it is very easy to reconcile these Historical Differences, by what was before observed, that it was then very customary to confound Armenia with Cilicia, and that the River Salef is the same Cydnus, as the Annalist Roger gives us to understand, by the Description which he makes of those Countries. Thus died one of the greatest Princes that ever filled the Throne of the Caesars, Frederick the First, in the seventieth Year of his Age, whilst he was marching to combat Saladin, for the Re-Conquest of the Realm of Jerusalem; to which important Design, he had leveled the Way, by all those Victories which he had so gloriously gained against the Greek Emperor, and the Sultan of Iconium, the Allies of Saladin. The sole Renown of the Actions of this invincible Prince struck that famous Conqueror with so great a fear, that upon the very Rumour and Noise of his Coming, despairing to be able to maintain them against him, he caused the Walls of Laodicea in Syria, of Giblet, Tortosa, Biblis, Berytus and Sydon to be demolished; and had thoughts himself of retiring into Egypt, that he might not be obliged to hazard his Fortune against that of an Enemy so successful and formidable. He was happy in finishing a Life so illustrious, in the Course of his Victories, and before giddy Fortune, who never loves to court one Favourite long, had begun to forsake him: but much more happy in a Death so full of Glory, and of Deserts before God and Men, since he died in the generous Pursuit of his great Design, in quitting his own Empire, to re-establish that of Jesus Christ, in that mysterious Spot of Ground, where he was pleased to work, by his Life, and by his Death, the great Wonder of our Salvation. For thus it is that we ought charitably to judge of the Death of this Prince, by those things which we know of him, and not according to the rash, meddling Humour of some, who will needs pretend to enter into the incomprehensible Judgements of God, who have had the Confidence to attribute his Death to the Divine Vengeance, as a Punishment for the War which he made against the Holy See. year 1190 Great Presumption of Humane Nature! which, under the pretext of Religion and Piety, dares so audaciously undertake to regulate the Decrees of Heaven; and by a Judgement which, in its own nature, is extremely criminal, to pre-judge that which Jesus Christ himself only hath the Authority of giving, and which must be kept secret until the last Day. So soon as the general Consternation, or rather the extreme Despair, in which the Army was, by reason of this deplorable Accident, was a little over, the Princes and General Officers being assembled, by a common Consent, acknowledged Frederick, Duke of Suabia, for their General; the Emperor, his Father, at his death, having recommended the Care of the Army to him, and left it under his Command. It was with as much Joy as was possibly to be expected in such a deep Affliction, that the Army took the Oath of Fealty to him, whom they acknowledged as the true Heir, and the living Image of all the great Qualities and Virtues of his Father. And this Prince, who in reality possessed them in a degree very nearly approaching the Perfections of that admirable Emperor, made it appear quickly that he was his true Successor, by his Liberality, in bestowing great Largesses upon the Soldiers, to whom he divided the greatest part of the Treasure which fell to his Father's share at the taking of Iconium. After he had therefore divided the Army into two parts, the lesser number embarked on the Vessels which the Armenians, who then held divers places in Cilicia, furnished him withal; and himself with the greater Party, after having interred the Emperor's Entrails, and embalmed the Body of his Father, at Tarsus, took his way by Land towards Antioch, where he did not arrive till after a tedious March of six Weeks, wherein he suffered extremely, both by the defect of Provisions, and by the continual Ambushes of the Turks. But the Abundance which he found in this great City, where he was most magnificently received, was more fatal to his Army, than either all the Want they had endured, or all the Combats they had undergone, since their parting from Constantinople; for the Soldiers passing suddenly from one Extreme into another, there followed so much Sickness, such a Mortality, and at last, the Plague among them, in such a furious manner, that of a numerous and flourishing Army, which it was when it entered into Asia, there remained not more than seven thousand Foot, and five or six hundred Horse; with which, notwithstanding, the valiant Frederick marched over the Bellies of all that durst oppose him, and happily arrived at the City of Tyre. There it was that he paid the last Duties to his Father, whom he caused to be interred in the great Church, with all the Magnificence and Ceremonies of a Funeral Pomp, worthy of so great an Emperor, the Archbishop of Tyre, from whom he received the Cross, making his Elegy in a most admirable Funeral Oration. After which, Duke Frederick went to join the Christian Army, which for two years had undertaken and pursued the famous Siege of Ptolemais, in the manner which I am about to relate. When Saladin, after a Years Imprisonment at Damascus, gave Liberty to King Guy of Lusignan, he exacted from him, among other hard Conditions, that he should renounce all manner of Claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem; and to engage himself by a soremn Oath, to repass the Sea as soon as it was possible. But after he was at liberty, the Bishops declared that this Oath was in no sort obliging, in regard it was forced from him by Compulsion, and in his Restraint; and also because Saladin himself had first violated his Faith, in not delivering his Prisoner so soon as Ascalon was rendered to him, as he had promised. And for this Reason the King, who was retired to Tripoli, began to renew the War, after he had assembled a considerable number of Troops of those of his own Realm, who before durst not appear, but flocked in to him upon the Arrival of the Crusades; who seeing the French and English engaged in War, came along with Geoffrey de Lusignan, his Brother. Having gained some Advantages of the Turks in the beginning, he after went and presented himself before Tyre, where the Marquis of Montferrat, who pretended he had justly acquired the Principality of that City, refusing him Entrance, he was so enraged, that although he had not half Forces enough for such an Enterprise, yet he encamped before the place, and put himself into a posture of besieging it. year 1190 But the Patriarch Heraclius, and the great Master of the Templars, wisely representing to him, that it was impossible for him to attempt a matter of this nature, without absolutely ruining, not only himself, but all the Hopes that yet remained to the Christians in Palestine, he desisted from it; and thereupon, desperate to see that he had not one place left to him in all his Kingdom; for Tripoli appertained of Right to Raymond, Prince of Antioch, he took Counsel of his Dispair, and turning short to the Left Hand, he lead his little Army directly to Ptolemais, in hopes to take it, either by Assault, or by Surprise. Ptolemais, by some called Accon, or Acre, derives its Name from one of the Kings of Egypt, who was its Restorer, and was at that time, a fair and large City, lying upon the Coast of the Phoenician Sea. It was of a Triangular Figure, the Base of it being towards the East, the two Sides towards the North and South, and the Point ended in a Rock, which advanced itself a good space into the Sea, upon the West; where the Town becoming the narrowest, abutted upon a great, high and strong Tower, which was called the Fly-Tower, because that formerly, in that place stood a Temple dedicated to Beelzebub, which signifies the God of Flies. It also served for a Watch-Tower, or Light-House, to discover the Entry of the Haven, which lay towards the South, in a certain Bay which the Sea made in that place, which was very commodious, and capable of receiving great numbers of Ships. It was encompassed with very strong Walls and Barbicans, or Out-Walls, with large and deep Ditches and Graffs; as also, with very good Towers, placed at convenient distances, to defend each other: The principal of these, which served as a Castle and Fortress to the City, was called the Wicked Tower, by reason that the People, by an old sottish Fable, which, according to Custom, was held for an Authentic Tradition among them, had a Belief that it was built with those thirty Pieces of Money, for which Judas sold our Saviour. The Country adjacent was very pleasant, being a fair and rich Champaign, which upon the North, was bounded by Mount Saron, distant about two Leagues from the City; and upon Mount Carmel on the South, much about the same distance; towards the East it was extended to the Mountains of Galilee, from whence there arose two small Rivers, one whereof passing through the City, emptied itself into the Sea, at the Haven: The other, called Belus, flows about two hundred and fifty Paces from the City, Southwards, and is famous for having been the occasion of the Invention of Glass, by furnishing the Materials of which it was first made. For about the middle of its Course, it forms a kind of a Lake, or Marish, which Pliny calls, the Lake of Cyndevia, of a round Figure, which may be some hundred Cubits in Compass, the Bottom whereof is full of a certain Sand which by the Winds is driven into it from the Tops of the adjacent Hills, where it obtains a Disposition which inclines it easily to be turned into Glass; for being boiled and purisied in a Furnace, it turns into a transparent Mass, white and clear, almost like Crystal: And that which is most wondrous, any small piece of this Crystal being thrown upon the Banks of this Lake, in little time regains its former Nature, and is converted into the same common Sand which it was, before it was blown by the Winds into this Lake. But though this Champaign about Ptolemais be very equal and level towards the Foot of the Mountains which environ it, yet there are two Hills near the Town; the one of which is called Turon, which some have confounded with the famous Castle of Thoron, situate some three or four Leagues from thence, upon the Extremity of the Mountains of Tyre, which extend themselves to the upper Galilee: The other is called the Hill of the Mosque, on the other side the River Belus; upon which, besides that Mosque of the Saracens, is to be seen an ancient Sepulchre, which they say is that of Memnon, though without giving us precisely any Foundation whereupon to establish that Belief. This was the nature of this place, which proved the Theatre of so many brave Actions as were performed at this Siege of Ptolemais, which one may well say, was one of the most memorable which is related in any History. year 1190 This City was taken from the Christians, about the Year 636. by Omar, the Successor of Mahomet, who easily made himself Master of it, all things in Asia stooping, as it were, to receive the Yoke of this Conqueror. King Baldwin l. regained it from the Saracens, in the Year 1104. in twenty four days, by the help of the Fleet of the Genoese; and after the unfortunate Battle of Tiberias, Saladin constrained it to surrender in two days; but the Christians under King Guy of Lusignan, to re-take it from Saladin, laid Siege to it, which lasted more than three Years; where the gallant Actions which were done upon one side and the other, with all the Forces of Europe and Asia, which were there employed, either to attack it, or defend it, have rendered it most celebrated to Posterity. The King therefore being resolved to have this Town, that so he might, at least, have one in his Realm, and one by which he might with Convenience receive the Succours of the West, began to form his Siege against it about the end of August, in the Year 1188. with his little Army, which the Saracens of Ptolemais looked upon with such Contempt, that they did not think it worth the shutting of their Gates against him: And, in truth, he had not above seven hundred Horse, and about eight or nine thousand Foot, comprising the Pisans, which the Archbishop of that place had brought to the Succour of the Holy Land, and whom the Marquis of Montferrat had driven out of Tyre, by reason that he espoused the Interest of Guy de Lusignan, as the Archbishop of Ravenna, with the Venetians and Lombard's, did that of the Marquis. There were in Ptolemais four times the number of Soldiers, under very good Officers, whom Saladin had placed there, to oppose the Garrison of Tyre, and to preserve that Port; which being in the middle of his Conquests, was most convenient to receive the Fleet which he was rigging in Egypt. The King nevertheless, who had many brave Men, and who believed that he might draw some Advantage from this foolish Presumption of his Enemies, and from the Contempt which they had of this small number, did not fail to attack the place; and he did it so briskly, some attempting the Gates, which were open, and others presenting the Scalade at those places where the Walls were lowest, that they had infallibly taken the Town at that very time, if that first Fury had not been dashed by an unlucky Report which was spread about, and which they afterwards found self; that Saladin, with a powerful Army, was coming to fall upon their Rear: for without giving himself the leisure to examine whether the Report were true or false, this poor Prince, who was accused to be very defective in point of Bravery, was so terrified with the very Shadow of Saladin, that he immediately caused the Retreat to be founded, and went and fortified himself upon the Eminence of Turon, thinking now of nothing but to strengthen his Camp, and expect the Succours of the Crusades, who, during the War between the two Crowns of England and France, arrived daily, one after another, in Palestine. This was the first Error which Guy of Lusignan committed during this Siege, which was occasioned by the too great Apprehension of Danger, where there was really none. And at the same time Saladin fell into another, no way inferior on his part, in that he had not taken sufficient Precaution against what might happen: For that Prince, who then besieged the Fortress of Beaufort, which lay upon the River Eleutherus, some five or six Leagues from Ptolemais, and which belonged to the Knights of the Temple; having understood that Guy of Lusignan had undertaken the Siege of that City, he thanked God, that he had put his Enemies into his Hands, and that he had now the Opportunity to destroy the Remainder of the Christians, who were come, he said, to put themselves into their own Chains. And as those who applauded this brave Speech advised him, immediately to lay hold of so fair an Occasion to defeat them, as then presented itself; he made Answer, That the Victory being indubitable, he was resolved that his Brother, who was to join him within a few days, should not lose his share in the pleasure of it: but he became instructed by a chargeable Experiment, something with the latest for so great a Captain, That in Martial Affairs, the Loss of Time is an irreparable Error; and that, deferring the Execution of what is to be done in a Critical Conjuncture, which is not to be fixed according to Fancy and Imagination, is never to be recovered: For Victory, which usually attends a favourable moment is no more to be recalled then that happy Minute when once, the Insufficiency, year 1190 Negligence or Presumption of a Captain, permits it to slide from between his Hands. For Saladin coming in some time after with an Army of an hundred Thousand men to attack the Christians, whom he believed he should defeat without any dispute, found he was in a mighty mistake and that though he had to do with an Army which was much less than his own, yet they were far more Valiant and much augmented in Numbers in Comparison of what they were at the first. And in Fact it was composed of very gallant men, who having retrenched themselves most advantageously upon the Hill of Turon, notwithstanding all the Furious Attacks which he made both Night and Day, he was not able to force their Camp, but was at last constrained to incamp himself at the Foot of the Hill which he totally surrounded, to besiege these Besiegers, not doubting in the least but he should have them at his Discretion in a little time for want of Provisions. And certainly the Christians who had neither Force enough to fight him in the Plain Field, no Provisions sufficient to maintain their Camp, for any long time, must have been reduced to very fatal Extremities, when there appeared in a sudden a great Fleet of above Fifty Ships who with full Sail bore directly afore the Wind towards the Shoar. The Christians who from the Top of the Hill easily discovered this Navy, were presently under the Apprehensions, that this might be the Naval Force of Saladin which was daily expected out of Egypt; and those who were on Board, seeing from far a Camp upon the Top of that Hill, were reciprocally suspicious, that it was the Camp of the Turks, who having gotten Intelligence of the great Preparations in Europe, for the Succour of the Christians in Palestine, attended their Landing there, with a Resolution to fight them and prevent their Descent. But when the Fleet drawing nearer, both the Christians in the Camp perceived the Cross in the Ensigns of the Ships which they wore upon the Poops, and those who were aboard saw the same displayed in the Colours of the Camp, they mutually faluted each other with great Shouts of Joy, which presently informed Saladin of the Arrival of Succours, which was in a few Moment's repeated by an agreeable Surprise, in the discovery of another Fleet more numerous than the first, which came from the Coast of Tyre to reinforce the Camp of the Christians. The first was a Fleet of Danes and Frisons, to which were joined such of the English who were resolved not to stay till the two Kings were accorded to make their Voyage to the Holy Land. These were all chosen men, resolute to employ the last drop of their Blood for the deliverance of the Sepulchre of Jesus Christ; and they did so well accomplish that resolution, that of twelve thousand Gentlemen who arrived upon this Fleet, there remained not above one hundred alive at the End of the Siege. Their Passage also was no less glorious than advantageous to Christendom, for in their Way they took from the Saracens the City of Silves in Portugal, which they put into the Hands of the King Dom Sancho the Son of the great Alphonso: and it happened that they were at the same time joined by several other Ships, who had on board a great Number of Volunteers both Nobility and Soldiers under divers French Lords and Princes; the Principal of which were Robert Second Count de Dreux, with his Brother Philip the Bishop of Beavais, the Cousins of the King; Thiband Earl of Chartres and Stephen his Brother, Earl of Sancerre, Rayoul Count de Clermont in Beavoise, Thiband Count de Bar, Erard Count de Brienne, and Andrew his Brother, who was esteemed one of the most Gallant men of his time; William Count de Châlon upon the Saone, Geoffry de Joinville, Senescal de Champagne, Guy de Dampiere, Anseric de Montreal, Manasses de Gerland, Guy de Chatillon Upon the Marne, and his Brother Gaucher the Third, who was afterwards Earl of St. Paul, and who signalised himself under that illustious name by a thousand noble Actions, which he performed in the War against the Albigenses, and in serving Philip the August against the Enemies of the Crown, and above all in the Famous Battle of Bovines, where he commanded the Rereguard of the Royal Army. Gaucher the Second Grandfather of these two brave Lords, and his Brother Renaud de Chastillon, had formerly been in the Second Crusade under the Conduct of King Lewis the Young. year 1190 Gaucher miserable perished in the unfortunate Combat of the Mountain of Laodicea, and the Valiant Renaud, who had been Prince of Antioch, was slain by the Hand of Saladin himself after the deplorable and fatal Battle of Tiberias; Guy de Chattillon, who was embarked upon this Fleet with the French Princes, lost his Life at the Siege of Accon: So that there are to be found few Families in France, which have contributed so many great Men for the Holy War, as have been derived from this Illustrious House of Chastillon; from whence some tell us was descended that great Eudes de Chastillon, Archdeacon of Reims, Prior of Clugny, Cardinal de Ostia, and at last Sovereign Pope under the Name of urban the Second, who was the Author of the first of the Crusades. But we are otherwise informed by Alberick the Monk of the three Fountains of the Diocese of Chalons upon the Marne in his Chronicle, which is only a collection of old Contemporary Authors, and of which I have had a fair Manuscript communicated to me by M. Mabre Craymoisy, Director of the Royal Printing-House of the Lovure, who also printed this History. This Alberick in his Chronicle, under the Year 1087. which is that of the Exaltation of urban, produceth not only Guy de Basosches, as the Writer of the History of the Popes, but another Author called Hugh, who affirms that this Pope was born at Chastillon upon the Marne, and that he was Son to the Lord de Lageri, whose descendants from Rodolph, the Brother of urban, to the fifth Generation he there gives an Account of; so that Eudes the Monk of Clugny took his Surname from the Place of his Birth, according to the Custom of those times, and of our own also in some Monasteries, his Father's Name according to Panvinius being Miles; another of our most Famous Genealogists, will by all means have him to be the Son of a Lord of Chastillon, whom he calls Miles, but who never was in rerum Natura except in his own prolific Brain, since it is most evident that he was deceived, as his own Son a most knowing Person ingeniously confesseth, and is made apparent by comparing what he saith with Guibert the Abbot of Nogent, an Author of that time, who affirms that he was born in the Territory of Reims where the Seignory of Lageri lies. I have been willing contrary to my Custom to make this Genealogick Remark, to show how easy it is for Writers to be deceived in these kind of Matters, by mistaking sometimes the place of their Birth for that of the Seignory; and that when by such an Equivocal Slip one comes to be persuaded that a man is descended from such a House, into which Genealogical Stem having grafted him they presently find out for him such imaginary Fathers, Mothers and Grandfathers as never were in being, as they have done for this Pope Vrban the Second. And for this reason it is that I have not given myself or the Reader much Trouble in discussing the Genealogies of those persons of whom I have Occasion to speak in this Work, in regard that is not only very troublesome, but uncertain, unprofitable, Invidious and Vain, and in no sort proper for an Historian, who ought to leave such Researches to those who make it their peculiar Design to record the History of some Illustrious House. To return therefore to my Subject, James Lord of Avesnes, and Guise, one of the most renowned Captains of his Age, being desirous to imitate the Zeal of Gerard d' Avesnes one of his Ancestors who was in the first Crusade, joined these Princes with a good Troop of his Subjects. So that these generous French all together made more than ten thousand brave men, who burning with an earnest Desire as soon as possible to combat the Infidels had not the Power to wait till the two Kings should be in a Condition to accomplish their Vow, but caused a Fleet at their own Charges to be rigged out at Marseilles, from whence in thirty five days time they arrived prosperously in the Road of Ptolemais at the same time, that the Deigns Frisons and English came to an Anchor in the same place; so that together they form a very fair Army. The other Fleet was that of the Germans, who had gone to Sea to reinforce the Army of the Emperor, under the Conduct of the Landgrave of Thuringia and the Duke of Guelderland, who coming to ride before the Port of Tyre, had at length persuaded the Marquis of Montferrat, who was before frequently solicited by such as came from the besieged Army upon the Hill Turon, to join his Fleet with theirs, so that weighing Anchor with about twenty two thousand Soldiers aboard, they stood directly for Ptolemais, year 1190 where by a very fortunate adventure they arrived at the same time with the other Fleet. So that Saladin perceiving he had two powerful Armies in the Head of him, whose landing he could not oppose without exposing himself to be attacked by those who were encamped on the Hill, drew off into another Eminence opposite to that of Turon and there retrenched himself, in Expectation of Reinforcements, which were marching towards him from all Quarters. But the Captains of the Christian Army in a few days, having also received fresh Supplies of Crusades, French and Italians, and seeing they had more Forces than the Christians had ever before had since their coming into Palestine, as also that it would be difficult to force the Town in the View of such a Potent Army as was that of Saladin, they resolved at last to oblige him to a Battle, to which that Prince was already sufficiently inclined, There was between the two Camps a fair and large Plain, where the two Armies might with case range themselves in Battle, and from the Hills they both descended as if it had been by concert, at break of day the fourteenth of October. The Christian Army consisted in forty thousand Horse and a hundred thousand Foot, which were divided into four Bodies, drawn up in three Lines, the first which made the right Wing, wherein the King would command was composed of his own Troops, with those of France and the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. The Second which was the left, was commanded by the Marquis of Montferrat, who besides his own Troops which were the best in all the East, had also those which Eudes Archbishop of Ravenna, the Venetians and Lombard's, who were of his Party, had brought to him. The Body of the Battle which was the third was form partly of the Germans, under the Landgrave; the Danes and English, with the Pisans under their ArchBishop, who were of the King's Party. And the fourth which was the Body of Reserve, was conducted by Gerrard de Bibesford Great Master of the Temple accompanied with his Knights, and the Germans under the Duke of Guelderland, as also of the Catalonians, who had joined the French at Marseilles. Geoffry de Lusignan, and James de Avesnes with their Troops, remained to guard the Camp, and to defend it against those of the City who might sally out to attack it during the Battle. The Cavalry was ranged in the Intervals of the battalions of the Second Line; and the Light-Horse, being all Archers, were in the Front, followed by the men at Arms, who were all of the Nobility, who had acquired great Experience in the Wars of Europe, and in whom consisted the Principal Strength of the Army. On the other Side Saladin whose Army was by much more Numerous, consisting in an Hundred thousand Horse, and more Foot, divided this great Army into seven Bodies; he put six into two Lines which he opposed to those of the Christians, and the seventh was for a Reserve, besides the Troops which he left for the Guard of the Camp. Never was there seen greater Ardour or Cheerfulness in any Christian Army, than appeared upon this Day; there was not so much as one Soldier who made the least doubt of a certain Victory, and who did not look upon the Turks as a Booty abandoned to them, to enrich themselves with their Spoils; and there was one among the Captains, who seeing the Resolution of so many brave men as composed this flourishing Army, the like whereof had never been seen in the Holy Land, cried out by a horrible Trusport of his Indignation and a Presumption too justly to be blamed as Criminala, is tthere hen any Power in all Asia, which can be capable of resisting us in the Condition wherein we are? It is impossible for me not to despise this Multitude of Enemies which face us; and if God Almighty will but stand Neuter without aiding the one or the other Part, we are most assured of the Victory, since we have nothing else to do but to march to it over the Bellies of all this Army which opposes us. Insupportable Vanity of the Spirit of Mankind! which so easily loseth itself in the Foolish Ideas which its frames of its own Strength, which in reality without his Help is nothing but miserable Weakness, as too plainly appeared in the Issue of this Battle. The two Armies being drawn up stood facing one the other without attempting any thing, till nine of the Clock in the Morning, and then the first battalions of the Christians suddenly opened upon the signal given, the Cavalry advanced from between the Intervals and began the Combat. year 1190 The Light-Horse after having discharged their Arrows, covering themselves with their Bucklers, sell with Sword in Hand upon the first Squadrons of the Enemies, to whom they scarce gave time to make their first Discharge. Whereupon the Men at Arms who followed them close, entered at the Breaches they had made, overturning and kill with the mighty Force of the Lance whatever they met with that opposed them; and at the same time the Batallions of Foot, who followed at a great Pace after the Cavalry, threw themselves upon those People already disordered by the first Shock, and charged in upon them with Sword and Pikes; and in the first Heat fought with so much Fury, that they found him to recoil, and in a Moment after pressing vigorously upon them, they threw them upon the Second Line, which instead of sustaining them, were so struck with a panic Fear, that they fell into a Rout, and betook themselves to a manifest Flight, leaving the Field quite naked, that so according to their Custom they might themselves fly with the foremost. The Christians now believing themselves with the Place of Battle entirely possessed of the Victory, sent forth mighty Shouts of Joy, which still the more terrified their Enemies, who fled at lose Rein; so that Saladin himself unable to stop them in this horrible Disorder, was also carried along with the Crowd of the Fugitives. But this Joy did not last long, by reason of a sudden Change of Fortune, which happened from three or four Causes which altogether concurred in the disaster which attended the Christian Army. For first the Soldiers, who ought to have pursued their Point, and have given Chase to the Enemies to hinder their rallying, immediately fell upon the Camp, which Fear had caused those who guarded it to abandon, and fell to plundering, especially the Tents of Saladin, which were replenished with Infinite Riches; nor was it in the Power of the Captains to prevent this disorder, so much did the Sight of those magnificent Pavilions, all shining with Silk and Gold, inflame the Covetousness of the Soldiers, who gave ear to nothing but the Dictates of their Greedy Avarice. Now Saladin who was a great Captain, and perceived this Disorder, failed not to make his Advantage of it, and therefore according to the Custom of these Barbarians so conformable to their Predecessors, the Ancient Parthians, they were as quickly rallied as they had been quickly routed; of all the Christian Army, there remained none in the Field of Battle, besides the great Master of the Temple, who with his Body, without running to the Spoil, as did the rest, pursued the Victory in very good Order. Saladin finding himself incomparably the Stronger, after the Rallyment which he had made, and not doubting in the least, but he should easily deal with the rest, if he could only defeat this single Body, which was that only which was in a Condition of fight, marched instantly towards him and stopping him in the middle of his Course, obliged him to change his pursuit into a more regular Combat; the Fight was for a time on both sides maintained with a most obstinate Courage, and all the Vigour imaginable, the one fight to preserve the advantage and the Victory which they had already gotten, and the other to snatch it out of the Hands of these few who remained in order of Battle, and who could not expect to be relieved. But at length a new Re-inforcement, which Saladin did not in the least expect, and who came just in the very Heat of the Fight, quite turned the Scale of Fortune to his side. It was five or six thousand men, who during the Battle had issued out of the Town, and who having made a show as if they would attack the Camp only to amuse those who defended it, turned short to the left, to fall upon the Rear of those whom they saw in so small a number combating against their Party. So that this small number being overpowered by the Multitude of their Enemies, who surrounded them on all Parts, was at last constrained to give way, and endeavour to save themselves in the best manner that they could, after having left the greatest part of their Valiant Companions extended upon the Earth, and among others the Great Master, and the Steward of the Order, and eighteen or twenty of the bravest Knights. Saladin without losing any time turned short towards his Camp, which was full of the disorderly Soldiers of the Christians, who were so busy in plundering, that they had not so much as perceived this Action of Saladin. There was nevertheless some Rallyment made by the Diligence of the Captains, year 1190 who seeing the Danger wherein they were advanced, with those Troops which they could draw together, to oppose the first Effort of the Enemy; and some still coming after others, and putting themselves into Order of Battle as well as they could, they began again to renew the Combat, with some hope of regaining the advantage by their Valour, which they had lost by their Indiscretion. But it happened as it doth frequently, that the greatest Events depend upon the most trifling things, that a ridiculous Accident made them lose anew all their Hopes, and put all into disorder and Confusion. For the Germans who had been the most greedy of the Booty as they had pillaged the Tents of Saladin, were endeavouring to get together to secure their Booty before they returned to the Combat. It happened, that a Horse the most beautiful of all which they had taken, being broken from them, a great many of them followed him with all Speed to take him again, thereupon some of them who were already engaged, seeing them in that haste and Precipitation almost breathless, running in that tumultuous manner, there being nothing so disturbing as a sudden Fear, imagined that the greatest Part of their Enemies having invested them, were falling upon their Backs, whilst that Saladin after having cut the Templars in pieces, came to attack them in the Front. This Imagination made them instantly face about, and at that Moment seeing a great many others following the first who cried after the Horse, they made no doubt but that they fled from their Enemies who pursued them, and thereupon fell to running also, thereby drawing by their Example those who were next them, to a shameful Flight. It fortuned also at the same time, that some demanding in this Tumult and Confusion What is the Matter? Some others at a Venture made Answer that those of the Town having defeated the Guard were plundering the Camp, so that this Report being presently spread through the whole Army all disbanded, and ran with Precipitation and disorder towards the Camp, some to save that, others to save themselves, all to lose their Honour and the day, and without doubt all had been lost, if Geoffry de Lusignan, and James de Avesnes, who came out in order of Battle with the Body which they commanded, had not stopped the Turks who pursued with great Eagerness the Flying Christians and constrained them to take also their Turn of running, and making the best of their Way to their own Camp. Thus ended the unlucky Day, the Honour whereof both parties challenged as their own, and endeavoured as well as they could to frame some kind of Appearance of a Victory to themselves. The Christians for having taken and plundered the Camp of the Saracens, who were also finally repulsed by them. The Saracens for that they had put the Christians to Flight, and beaten them to their very Camp. the loss however certainly fell much more heavily upon the Saracens than upon the Christians; for the Christians did not lose above two thousand Men besides the great Master of the Temple and his Knights, and Count Andrew de Brienne, who was slain while he endeavoured to stop the Flight of his Soldiers. Whereas Saladin, beside incomparably a greater Number of Turks, which were slain in the first Charge, lost also Mirasalion his eldest Son, his Nephew Tokedin, and his Lieutenant General Migebat, who were slain upon the Place, with the greatest Part of his Officers, and the most Valiant men of his Army, who were ashamed to fly as did the rest at the very Beginning of the Battle. After this having mutually tasted of each others Courage, they did as it were by consent on both sides forbear fight, and fell to fortifiing themselves; Saladin in drawing new Troops from all the Places in his Dominions and the Christians, by working upon their Retrenchments before the Town, and making Strong Lines of Circumvallation against the Army of Saladin, Contravallation against those of the City whom they Besieged very straight by distributing their Quarters within the two Lines in this manner: The Marquis of Montferrat took his Post toward Tyre on the North to the very Coast of the Sea; Upon his left were the Knights of the Hospital, in a fair Estate which they possessed before the loss of Ptolemais. After them encamped the Genoese, upon a Hill called Mount Musard. The French possessed the quarter between the North and the East, having at their Head Robert Earl of Dreux, with the Bishop of Beavais his Brother, year 1190 the Counts de Blois, de Clermont, de Bar, and de Brienne, Hugh de Gournay, and the brave Nobility and Gentry, which came upon the Fleet which was equipped at Marseilles; and to animate them to the War, they had also with them the Archbishops of Besanson, Nazareth and Montreal, on the further side of Jordan. The English were posted more to the East, under the Conduct of Baldwin Archbishop of Canterbury, Hubert Bishop of Salisbury, and Ranulph de Glanvile. Next to them were the Flemings, accompanied by the Bishop of Cambray, Raymond the Second, Viscount de Turenne, and the Lord of Issodun, who extended themselves to the Hill of Turon. Upon the Hill was the Quarter of the King, who besides Queen Sibyl his Wise, Geoffry, and Aimar de Lusignan his Brothers, Humphrey de Thoron his Brother-in-Law, Hugh Lord of Tabary, Renaud de Sidon, the Patriarch Heraclius, the Bishops of Accon and Bethlehem, with all the principal Men of his Realm, had also with him the Viscount of Chastelleraud, with the Troops of Poiteumes, in whom he had the greatest Confidence, in regard they were his own Countrymen. The Knights of the Temple encamped next, under James d' Avesnes with his Hainaulters, over against the Wicked Tower. Lower towards the South, the Lawgrave of Thuringia, and the Duke of Guelderland were posted with the Germans, Danes, and Frisons, upon the Hill of the Mosque, on this side the River Belus. The Archbishop of Pisa, with the Pisans, was lodged towards the Port, and the Archbishop of Ravenna, with the Venetians and Lombard's, a little lower upon the Brink of the Sea, where the Lines ended upon the South. This was the Disposition of the Christian Camp during all the time of this Siege, which proved very long, for three Reasons more especially. First, because Saladin, who had reinforced his Army with a prodigious number of Soldiers, which repaired to him continually, from all the Provinces of Africa and Asia, attacked the Lines, so often as the Christians attacked the City, and that way made so great a diversion of their Forces, that they never had a sufficient Force to take it by Assault. The second was, that the Garrison being very strong, and consisting in the most valiant Men that Saladin had, under the Command of Caracoes, the most experienced of all his Captains, and under whom, he himself had served his Apprenticeship in the Trade of War, they defended themselves so well, and made such furious Sallies, and to so good Effect, ruining the Works, burning the Engines, the Towers, and the wooden Castles, which were built by the Besiegers, that after a great deal of Time and Trouble, and the loss of many of their Men, they were always, as it were, beginning, which raised so much Dispair in some, that quitting the Siege, they returned into the West; as among others did the Landgrave, after that the Besieged had burnt a Tower, which with prodigious Labour he had raised higher than the highest of the City itself. And without all doubt, this precipitate Retreat, gave occasion to that false and malicious Report, which was so much to his Dishonour, spread abroad, That Saladin had beaten him home with a golden Sword, and that by secret Confederacy, he had suffered that formidable Machine to be burnt for want of a sufficient Defence. But in short, the third and principal Reason of the excessive length of this Siege was, that both the one and the other received great Succours of Men and Provisions by Sea, whereby they still endeavoured to increase their Power. In the beginning the Christians were absolute Masters; for a few days before the Battle, they received a Re-inforcement of ten thousand Foot, and five hundred Horse, with all sorts of Munitions; and in the first Year, there came to them above five hundred Ships from Pavia, Calabria, and Sicily, who after having discharged themselves of the Men and Provisions, returned to fetch more. But this Assistance failing by the Death of William King of Sicily, and the Fleet which Saladin had rigged in Egypt, riding Mistress of the Ocean, the Besieged received all manner of Refreshments, and the Besiegers were so miserably afflicted with a cruel Famine, which constrained them to feed on the Carcases of the dead Animals; and which became so insupportable, that a Party of the Army threw themselves in Disorder, and in despite of the Wills of their Officers, upon the Enemy's Camp, that there they might get some Provisions; and in their Return, falling into an Ambuscade, were all cut in pieces. However this continued not long, in regard it was remedied by the good Conduct of the Marquis de Montferrat, year 1190 who returning from Tyre with his Fleet, which he went to sit out to Sea, defeated that of Saladin in the View of the Town, and revictualed the Camp, which in a little time received a new Reinforcement of excellent Troops, under the Conduct of young Henry Earl of Champagne, and also all kind of Provisions and Arms, which were now with Liberty brought in by Sea. Thus, as the Besiegers and Besieged, were from time to time succoured by the Way of the Sea, they were as it were, by turns, sometimes Weak and Strong, according as they had the Command of that Passage. On the other side Saladin, who believed always that the best way was to cire out the Patience of the Christians, or to famish them, would by no means come to a declsive Battle; so that Matters stood as it were in a continual Balance, neither Party obtaining any considerable Advantage over the other. But towards the end of the second Year of the Siege, there happened a new Division between the King and the Marquis of Montferrat, which endangered the Loss of all. Queen Sibyl and her Daughter being dead by the Incommodities of so long a Siege, Humphrey de Thoron, the Husband of Isabel, the Sister of the late Queen, who had not the Courage to accept of the Realm when it was offered him entire, before the Victories of Saladin, had now an Inclination to pretend to it, when it was reduced to the last Extremities. Guy de Lusignan, although with the Queen his Wife he had lost all manner of Right, which he held only from her Life, yet protested nevertheless, that being Chosen, Anointed, and Acknowledged King, he could not be divested of that August Character, which he was absolutely resolved never to quit, but together with his Life. Hereupon the Princes were divided into divers Factions: But the Marquis of Montferrat, who was the most powerful and most cunning among them, taking the Part first of the one and then of the other, with an Intention to remove them both, endeavoured upon their Division to establish himself both in the Possession of the Princess and of the Realm. And though the Enteprise, was both surprising and bold, yet it did not appear to him to be very Difficult; for being Brave, Rich, Liberal, fortunate in War, and of a mighty Reputation, it was easy for him to gain a great Party among the Princes, who knew very well there was no Comparison between him and his two Rivals. For Guy de Lusignan, had nothing that could appear in competition of his great Qualities, and Humphrey de Thoron, in his Face, his Behaviour, and his Humour, no way Martial, together with mighty Boyishness, had more of the Air of a young Girl than of a Man: And besides, the Marquis had a secret Understanding with the Queen Mother, Mary the Niece of the Emperor Manuel, and the Princess Isabel her Daughter, who had no Hatred for his Person. Now as they had all taken their Measures, the Queen Mary and the Princess, caused Humphrey to be Cited before the Bishop of Accon, the Patriarch Heraclius being then sick to Death; and upon the Testimony of Balian Lord of Ybelin, who had espoused the Queen Mary, the Widow of King Amauri, of pay Lord of Caïphas, and of Renaud de Sidon, whom the Marquis had gained; the Marriage was declared Null, upon the Pretence, that the Princess had never given her Consent; but that being extreme young, she had been compelled to marry Humphrey; and that she had always disclaimed it, and protested against it as an Act of Force and Violence. After which the Marquis publicly Married Isabel by the Ministry of the Bishop of Beavais; and carried himself as King, to the great Scandal of all good People, who plainly saw and detested this shameful Collusion, and the horrible Injustice which was done to Humphrey. It is said also, that Baldwin the Archbishop of Canterbury, was so sensibly touched with the Displeasure which he took at this abominable Action, and the Apprehension which he had of the horrible Disorders which were like to ensue thereupon in the Army, that he fell sick with the Vexation; and in five days died, as Holily as he had lived Religiously. But the greatest part adhered to the Marquis, and in regard the public Fortune seemed to depend upon him, principally for the Provisions which were to come from Tyre, even those who were not at all satisfied, yet were obliged to dissemble their Displeasure; so that a patched Accommodation was made, by which the one and the other were to remain in the State wherein they were, year 1190 in expectation of the coming up of the Emperor and the two Kings, to whom the Judgement of this Affair was to be committed. In this Condition it was, that the Affairs of this famous Siege stood, when News was brought of the Death of the Emperor, and the Arrival of the Duke of Suabia at Tyre, to whom the Marquis immediately repaired, and conducted him on Board his Fleet to the Camp, where he was received with all imaginable Honour; He took his Post among the Germans and the Danes, in the Quarter which the Landgrave had before possessed, upon the Hill of the Mosque, extending to the Bridge of the River Belus: So soon as this considerable Re-inforcement was come, it was resolved according to the proposition which was made by Duke Frederick, to make a general Assault: Which was accordingly done both by Sea and Land, with all the Courage imaginable; and the Soldiers in despite of the brave Resistance of the Besieged, did in more than one place plant the Standards of the Cross upon the Walls. It was on this Occasion, that it is reported, that Leopold Duke of Austria, made his heroic Courage most Conspicuous, by an Action, whose glorious Marks, which at this day blazon the Arms of a House, which is since become so August under the Name of the House of Austria, do eternally publish the Memory, Fame, and Glory of it. He fought from the Height of a wooden Castle, which was raised at the Entry of the Gate against the Fly Tower, and which was built upon the Deck of a great Ship. For being mounted over the Walls, followed by a few of his Men, he was so hardly pressed by the numerous Infidels, that all his Followers being slain, and being now Single, he was constrained to throw himself into the Sea, half drowned already in his own, and the Blood of his Enemies; for he had nothing but Red about him, except the white Scarf which he wore; whereupon Frederick to eternize the Memory of such a noble Action, gave him for his Arms, with the great Applause of the whole Army, in a Shield Gules a Fez Argent, which the Princes of Austria have ever since that time born. The Combat was not much more Advantageous by Land, in regard that Saladin having at the same time attacked the Lines, which he forced in many places, they were obliged to quit the Assault, to repulse the Enemies, who were at last constrained to retire. Saladin in this Rencounter, lost the greatest part of his best Men, and did not without great Difficulty disengage himself, being something too far advanced, from those who on every side surrounded him, and who pursued him a great way beyond the Lines. This was the last military Action of Duke Frederick, who, this being the second Autumn of the Siege, was by the Distemper which raged in the Camp, in a few days taken off, to the incredible Regret of the whole Army, who even adored this brave Prince, whose rare Virtue, which shined at his Death, had rendered him more Illustrious than he had been all the time of his Life, although a thousand Actions had made it most Glorious. For the Eastern Physicians assuring him that his Distemper might easily be cured by the use of Females, he without a moment's Hesitation answered, that he had much rather lose his Life, than preserve it by such a Remedy as must sully both his Soul and Body, at the same time that he had obliged himself by the Vow of his Pilgrimage, to do what was pleasing to Jesus Christ, who is the King, the Crown, and Husband of chaste and pure Souls, being all Purity and Chastity himself; and thereupon surrendered his victorious Spirit into the Hands of God, having overcome the two most formidable Enemies of Mankind, the Pleasures of Life, and the Pains, as well as Fears of Death, of which, in the middle of a flourishing and verdant Youth, he chose to receive the cold Embraces, rather than those of Life, which he could not save but by the loss of his Chastity and Purity. A rare Example, which having been followed some three hundred Years after, and in a like Age by Prince Casimir Son of Casimir King of Poland, and Elizabeth, Daughter of the Emperor Albertus, Archduke of Austria, advanced him to that degree of Sanctity, as to deserve those supreme Honours, which the Church solemnly renders to those whom she believes to be in the glorious State of the most Happy after Death. But this Death, which was so advantageous to Frederick, was most sad and pernicious to the Army; for the Germans now become desperate by having lost both their Emperor and their Prince, would no longer acknowledge any Captain, but quitted that Enterprise, year 1190 which in Conclusion had been so Unfortunate to them, and returned, as well as they could, into their own Country, a few only excepted, who resolved to Accomplish their Vow under Leopold Duke of Austria. Add to this Accident the Sickness which daily continued in the Camp, and the Famine which at some times they suffered, and by which the Army must certainly have perished, if the Marquis had not taken Care from time to time to supply them abundantly with his Fleet. This absolutely gained him all the Commanders and the Soldiers, who took his Part against Guy de Lusignan, who now had nothing left, but the vain Shadow of Royal Majesty, without the least Substance of Power or Authority. Thus the Army being extremely diminished, did nothing now but act upon the Defensive, in their Retrenchments opposing the Assaults of Saladin on the one side, and the Sallies of the Besieged on the other, till the Arrival of the two Kings, whose Voyage and Actions it is now time for me, after having given myself and the Reader a moment's Breath, to recount unto him. THE HISTORY OF THE CRUSADE, OR, The Expeditions of the Christian Princes for the Conquest of the Holy Land. PART II. BOOK III. The CONTENTS of the Third Book. The beginning of the Reign of Richard Caeur-de-Lion, King of England, and his Preparations for the Holy War. The Preparations of Philip the August. The Conferences of Nonancour and Vezelaï between the two Kings. The Portrait of Philip the August. The Character of Richard King of England. The Voyage of the two Kings to Messina. An Adventure of the English Fleet. A Quarrel between the English and the Messinese. The taking of that City. The Quarrel between the two Kings, and their new Accommodation. The Relation of the Abbot Joachim, and his Character. His Conference with King Richard. The Departure of King Philip, and his Arrival before Acre. The Departure of Richard. The Relation of the Conquest of the Kingdom of Cyprus by that Prince. His Arrival before Acre. A new Difference between the two Kings, and the true Causes of it. Their Accord. The Reduction of the City of Acre. The extreme Violence of King Richard. The Return of Philip the August. The March of Richard. The Battle of Antipatris. The single Combat between King Richard and Sultan Saladin. A noble Action of William de Pourcelets, who saved the Life of that King. Richard presents himself before Jerusalem at an unseasonable Time, and therefore retires and disperses his Army into Quarters. The Marquis Conrade slain by two Assassins' of the old Mountain. The Description of that Government, and those People. A wicked Action of the Templars, which hindered their Conversion. The Cause of the Marquis his Death. Richard accused of that Crime. His Innocence is proved. Isabel Marries Count Henry, and is declared Queen of Jerusalem. Guy de Lusignan made King of Cyprus. Richard pretends a second time to besiege Jerusalem, defeats the Enemies, takes the Caravan of Egypt, but retires by a cunning Agreement. A Calumny against Richard, which he clears by a most memorable Action. The Battle of Jassa; and the taking of that Place from the Saracens by Richard. His Treaty with Saladin, and his unfortunate Return. He is taken and imprisoned; His Deliverance, the Justice which he demanded, and which he obtains. A new Division among the Princes of the East, appeased by the Count de Champagne. The Death of Saladin, and his Elegy. Division happens among the Infidels, which gives Occasion to a fourth Crusade. year 1190 T The Crusade, which had been so solemnly sworn in the Holy Field, and which the War that was kindled between the two Kings, had so long time retarded, had at length its Effect, by the perfect Understanding, which for some time there was between Philip the August, and Richard surnamed Caeur-de-Lion, at the beginning of the Reign of this new King. For so soon as he had received the Sword as Duke of Normandy, at our Lady's Church in Rouen, and the Crown of England at Westminster, with the general Applause of all his Subjects, who saw that he took quite differing Courses from his Father, who was not at all beloved; he had no other Thoughts, but of making Preparations for the Holy War. Above all things, he applied himself to the procuring a good Treasury of Gold and Silver, but not by charging the People with the rigorous Exaction of Saladins Tenth, as did his Father, who when he had received it, made use of it in the War between the two Crowns. For this purpose he took the way of selling all the Dignities which he could, all Offices, and the Lands of his Demesnes, at a very low rate, thereby to entice the Avarice or the Ambition of unwary Purchasers, who easily suffered themselves to be imposed upon with those cheap Bargains, not foreseeing that he had Design of Reassumption after his Return, as he did, without any other Reimbursement than by allowing upon the Foot of the Account, what they made over and above their Charges of the Demesnes, during the time that they enjoyed them. But he dissembled the matter so well, and on one side seemed so truly to have a design to sell all that he could, and on the other, shown so many Marks of a ruined Constitution, which both his constant Fatigues of War, and his Debauches gained an easy Credit to, that the Purchasers, without any Difficulty, suffered themselves to be persuaded that he would never return, and that he had no other Prospect than of the present, as not having any hopes of living long. And for these Reasons it was, that very many straitened themselves to lay hold of this occasion of Profit, whereby he drew from them vast Sums, turning every thing into Money, even to protesting to those who were astonished at his Proceed, that if he could find a Chapman, who was able to buy of him the City of London, he should make no Difficulty to sell it to him. But he drew the greatest Advantages from divers Prelates of his Realm that were extraordinary Rich, from whom he drew all the Money that they had, by selling to them temporal Dignities, which they were mighty glad to add to their Bishoprics or their Abbeys. It was by this Stratagem, that he drew into the Net the Bishop of Durham, year 1190 an old Man equally Covetous and Ambitious, by persuading him to purchase the Earldom of that Province, which he would unite to his Bishopric. For that Prelate, who was ready to die with the Desire which he had to be Earl of Northumberland, gave him for that Title, all the Riches which he had for a long time been hoarding up, out of the Revenue of his Bishopric, as well as those other less honest Markets which he had made. And to this, he threw in also all the Money which he had reserved, purposely to defray his Expenses in the Voyage which he had undertaken to make to Jerusalem; thereby renouncing his Vow, his Conscience, and his Honour, that so he might become great in this World, out of which, his old Age was even now ready to chase him, which made the King very pleasantly to say, when he had gotten all his Money, That he was about to work a kind of Miracle, and to make a young Earl out of an old Bishop. He also seized upon all the Estate of Geoffry Ridel Bishop of Ely, for appearing before him with the Train of a King, at the City of Winchester; but all this magnific Pomp could not prevent the Triumph of Death, which seized immediately upon him, by this Surprise, and divested him of this stately Vanity, so unbecoming the Sacred Character of a Bishop. For this Prince believed, that these great Riches might to much better Advantage be employed in defraying the Expenses of his Coronation, than so foolishly lavished in the Pageantry of worldly Pomp; and that he might thereby spare his own, which he endeavoured to keep as a Reserve to support the Charges of his Voyage to the Holy Land. He also surrendered to William King of Scots, for ten thousand Marks Sterling, the Castles of Rocksborough and Berwick, which he had been constrained to yield to King Henry the Second, for his Ransom, he being taken Prisoner in the War between them. He also acquitted him of the Homage which he was obliged by force, to pay as one part of the Price of his Liberty. And in short, as on one hand he was resolved not to be encumbered with the multitude of the Crusades, the Multitudes of which had done more Hurt than Service in the other Expeditions; and on the other, that he knew very well, that divers of the richest of his Subjects, who had engaged themselves two Years before to undertake that Voyage, were willing enough to be dispensed with; he therefore obtained Permission from the Pope, to discharge all such from their Vow, upon Condition that they should proportionably to their Estate, contribute a sum of Money towards the Charges of the Holy War. All this joined to the Treasure of his Father, which he had at first seized upon, and which amounted to more than nine hundred thousand Livers in Gold and Silver, gave him the Ability to live after the best manner, and in a far more Royal Way than any of his Predecessors had ever done. So that he caused to be equipped in all the Ports of England, Normandy, Bretany, Poitou, and Guienne, a great number of Ships, to compose one of the fairest Fleets, which had ever before been put to Sea. For when he weighed from the Road of Messina, where he had passed the Winter, he had one hundred and fifty great Ships, fifty three Galleys, besides Barks, tartans, and other small Craft, which attended the Navy with Provisions, and Munitions of War. He gave the Command of the Fleet to Gerrard Archbishop of Ousch, and Bernard Bishop of Bayonne, to whom he joined in Commission, Robert de Sablé, Richard de Chamville, and William Fortz, Earl of Albermarle, three excellent Men in Sea Affairs, who had order, without sparing any, to put in Execution those admirable Orders, which were proclaimed for preventing of Disorders, and Punishment of Offences in the Fleet. He could not for all that, stop those which were at the same time committed almost all over England, upon the Jews, of which himself was the Occasion, though he did not command it. For as the Jews, whom his Father had always favoured, were upon his Coronation Day, contrary to his express Command, entered into the Palace, from whence they were thrust out, and some of them treated very severely, the People, who imagined that it was the King's Inclination that they should exterminate that perfidious Nation, who for their Extortion, Avarice, and other enormous Crimes, were extremely hated, fell upon them with such Fury, that it was impossible to appease them: And this Example spreading itself, occasioned a most horrible Massacre among those miserable People, in many Cities, where the young People, who had undertaken the Cross, year 1190 and wanted wherewith to furnish themselves for so chargeable a Voyage, were ravished with such opportunity of Plundering their Houses, and thereby being enabled to put themselves into an Equipage at the Expense of these declared Enemies of Jesus Christ. In this time, Philip the August prepared for this Enterprise, in a manner more regular, and did not to procure Money, take those Methods of selling Offices and temporal Dignities, to the Prelates of his Realm, who were more regular and modest than those of England: Neither did he raise any Taxes or Contributions for the Expenses of this Voyage; in regard that all the French Lords, who had taken the Cross, were resolved to accomplish their Vow; and he believed that he should have enough out of his good Husbandry, of that Tenth which was given for this War, and which still remained in Bank ever since the last Year. For this Reason therefore he caused an Edict to be published, and all concerned to be sworn in the Parliament which he held at Paris, that they should render themselves at Vezelay in the Week of Easter, from thence together to take the Voyage. And this being done, he sent Rotrou Earl of Perch into England, to advertise King Richard of his Proceed, who on his side, made those who had taken the Vow, swear the same thing upon the Holy Evangelists, in the Parliament at London. After which, the King having recommended the Care of the Realm to Queen Eleonor his Mother, having delivered her from the Confinement in which the late King had for five or six Years last kept her, and to William Longfield Bishop of Ely, his Chancellor, he embarked the fourteenth day of December at Dover, and landed the same day at Gravelling, from whence he went about the end of the Month to Confer with King Philip at Nonancour; There it was, that after they had mutually given the one to the other, all the assurance of an inviolable Amity, they caused Letters, Patents in the Name of both the Kings, to be dispatched, whereby they fixed the time of their Departure, with all their Subjects of the Crusade, and promised to each other a most sincere and indissoluble Friendship, according to the Faith which they had severally plighted to one another; Philip King of France to Richard King of England, as his Friend and faithful Liegeman; and Richard King of England to Philip King of France, as his Lord and Friend. These are the very Words of these Letters dated the thirtieth day of December at Nonancour, as they are reported by Radulph Dean of London, who writ in that time such Matters as he himself was an Eye Witness of, and in the Transaction whereof he had a considerable Share. But in regard the Time which they had limited appeared too short, for the Preparations which were of necessity to be made, the two Kings had a second Interview at Vezelay, where they lengthened the time of their Rendezvouz till the Week after Midsummer. In which time they finished their Treaty, which among others had these Articles; That if either of them died in the time of the Holy War, the other should make use of the Money and the Army of the deceased King, to carry on and finish the War. That the Lords of the two Kingdoms, should maintain a fraternal Correspondence, and that the Bishops should excommunicate all those who should enterprise any thing to the Disadvantage of the Crusades during their Absence. But it happening that about this same time Queen Isabel lost her Life, in giving it to two Twins, who did not survive her above three Days, an inauspicuous Augury was from thence drawn concerning this Voyage; either by the superstitious Humour of the People, who love to make their foolish Remarks upon such Events, and to turn every surprising Accident into a Mystery of future Consequences; or possibly it might be a kind of Presage, which God is sometimes pleased to give, as hath been frequenty observed, and was more remarkable in another Accident which happened at this very time; For as the King of England at the Church of Saint Martin in Tours, took the Marks of his Pilgrimage to the Holy Land, the Consecrated Pilgrim's Staff, by his leaning too hard upon it, broke in the Middle. This Presage gave a certain Horror and Fear to all the Assistants at the Ceremony, but not the least to this Prince, who was not of an Humour to Philosophise upon such sort of Adventures, which gave not the least Trouble or Inquietude to his unshaken Soul. year 1190 The Devotion of Philip the August was more calm and edifying: He received, upon St. John Baptist's Day, in the Church of St. Dennis in France, the consecrated Pilgrim's Staff, from the Hands of William Archbishop of Reims, his Uncle by the Mother's side; and himself took from the Altar, the Royal Standard, or the Oriflame, with all the most sensible Marks of a most tender and admirable Devotion; imploring the Aid of Heaven by his Prayers and Tears, in such an uncommon and charming Decency of Piety, as produced the like Sentiments in the Souls of all those who assisted at that solemn Action. After which, having left the Government of the Realm, in his Absence, to the Queen Adela, his Mother, he came to Vezelay, where he was met by King Richard; who, to avert the Effects of the unlucky Presage which happened to him at Tours, would there anew receive the Pilgrim's Staff before the Altar of St. Magdalene, whose Body, they say, reposed in that Abbey. From hence the two Kings marched together to Lion, where, for the Conveniency of the Troops which followed them, they divided themselves, and took different Ways; the King of France taking that of Genoa, and the King of England, that of Marseilles; which two Cities they had made choice of for the Rendezvouz of their respective Armies. At their parting, they renewed the Protestations of an inviolable Amity, which they had so frequently made, and which, notwithstanding, were presently broken at their next Meeting. And truly, it was not reasonably to be hoped, that it should be of any lasting Continuance between two Princes, whose Interests, Temperaments, Humours, Sentiments, Inclinations and Manners accorded so very little, as may easily be observed from the Portraicts and Characters, which I am going to draw from the Life, and the Truth, and to make a Present of them to the Reader. Philip was then in the very Flower of his Age, being about twenty four Years of Age, of a most admirable Shape, and a Stature something exceeding the Middle, of a Majestic Port, and an Air fierce and Martial, which nevertheless, had nothing in it discouraging the Beholders, in regard it was accompanied with that rare Beauty which Nature had so advantageously bestowed upon him; for the whole Turn and Composure of his Face was admirable, and all the Strokes of it regular and delicate; his Forehead was fair and high, his Nose a little gracefully rising, his Hair fair, his Cheeks wore a beautiful Vermilion, his Eyes were quick, and sparkled with a certain gentle Fire, which, with a kind of Fixedness in his Looks, joined with the Colour of his Complexion, manifestly showed his Temper to be naturally Sanguine, and inclining to Choler; and two little Moles which he had growing at the Corner of his left Eye, not at all to the disadvantage of its Beauty, rather augmented the Whiteness of his Skin, by the Opposition of their Blackness. But that which was the Life of this Royal Beauty, and which added the greatest Graces to all those Wonders which shined about him with such a charming Glory, was the admirable Qualities of an incomparable Mind, which made all the Virtue's necessary for a great King shine most conspicuously in his Conduct, and all his Actions: For he was extremely Religious, and even jealous for the Glory of God, for which he had Sentiments most infinitely tender, and full of a respectful Veneration: He was an implacable Enemy to Blasphemers, whom he caused to be thrown into the Seine; and of Heretics, whom he exterminated with Fire and Faggot: He was a most passionate Adorer of Equity, Faith and Justice, which he caused to be rendered to all his Subjects with the greatest Exactness, and without Discrimination, Distinction of Persons, or Partiality; merciful and compassionate to the Poor, as if he had been their Father; Liberal, but according to the Rules of Judgement and Discretion; Magnificent above the Genius, and the Custom of the Kings of his Age, but most particularly in the Expenses of his House, and the Entertainment of Military Men, in public Buildings, and Royal Foundations, as well appeared by the ruinous Walls of Paris, which he caused to be rebuilt at the same time that he was engaged in the Holy War. Upon the whole, he was equally wise, prudent and moderate in his Counsels, and quick, ardent and bold in the Execution of them; brave and valiant, even to a Fault; a great Lover of Learning, which he caused to re-flourish, especially in the University of Paris; affable, vigilant, provident; happy in War, and always invincible and victorious, year 1190 as he evidently made appear in his Wars with the English and the Flemings; and which, in the Process of his Reign, more remarkably appeared, by the glorious Conquests which he made of a great part of Poitou, Guienne, and all Normandy, of Avignion, Artois, Cambresis, Bullen, and so many other Earldoms as he added and reunited to his Crown; beginning, the first of our Kings of the third Race, the great Work which Lewis the Great hath in our time so happily completed, by giving to France the ancient Limits, from the Ocean, to the Rhine. In short, if Philip, who always triumphed over his Enemies, had had the power to vanquish himself, and that Impatience and Choler which his hot Temper raised in him, and which sometimes overcame his Reason, and for some Moment's took from him the liberty of acting according to his better Inclinations, one might say, that his Character is that of a Prince accomplished with all manner of Perfections which could be wished in a great and admirable King. And it is much to his advantage that he stands so near King Richard, who could not come in comparison with him, neither for his Body, nor his Soul; although it must not be denied, but that Prince also possessed many great and excellent Qualities; but they were mixed with so many Faults and Vices, which exceeded his Perfections, that they were obscured and sullied by them. He was about the three and thirtieth Year of his Age, of Stature very tall, but of a Shape very disproportionate, being become excessive gross, either by his Intemperance, or by a Swelling which remained after a long Quartane Ague, which had left his Vifage of a pale, Leaden Colour: His Arms were also somewhat with the longest, though very strong and Nervous; and his Thighs too short in Proportion: His Eyes were full of a Fire, but a Fire that was too fierce and ardent: His Hair extraordinary light, and inclining towards Red, which denoted his Complexion to be excessively hot and choleric, and naturally strong, if the Violence of his Exercises, his Passions, and his Debauches, had not so ruined it, as to make it appear almost quite overthrown, and wholly languishing. It is said also, that he had abundance of Cauteries, or Issues, upon his Body, in order to the continual discharging of those corrupted Humours with which he abounded; so much had that tedious Ague, and the Disorders of his Life, altered the Establishment and Foundation of his Health, and all the beauteous Lineaments of his Face, which Nature had bestowed on him. He was however, in the main, a Prince magnanimous, bold, enterprizing, brave, fearless, and of an invincible Courage, by which he acquired the Surname of Caeur-de-Lion, or Lion's Heart; a Name which the English and Normans bestowed on him, and which the Memory of those noble Actions which he so happily and courageously executed, have preserved to him to this day. It was nevertheless easily discoverable, that he had something of the Fierceness and brutality of that Animal, mixed with the noble Courage of the Lion; for it is certain, that he was most violent, rash and turbulent, subject to the Transports of Fury; hard and severe, even to Cruelty, which rendered him odious: Besides, he was inconstant, making little Account of his Word and Faith; without a true Sense of Friendship, Tenderness, or good Nature, even to the Violation of the most sacred Laws and Rights of Nature, as appears by his frequent taking up Arms against his own Father: Above all, He was as eager to draw Money from every thing, as he was prodigal in wasting it when he had it: He was presumptuous, proud and arrogant; voluptuous and debauched, even in public, and so far from being concerned to conceal them, that he would turn his Crimes into Raillery; witness the Answer which he gave one day to that holy Man, Fouques de Nevilly, who preaching before him in Normandy, told him seriously, that it was time for him to set his Affairs in order, and to quit himself of three dangerous Daughters which he had, which would certainly prove his Ruin if he kept them any longer with him. Richard, who took him according to the literal meaning, thinking that it was very easy to convince him of Imposture; That is false, said he to him, thou Hypocrite, I have no Daughters at all. Pardon me, Sir, replied the good Man, you have three very lewd ones; your Arrogance, your Avarice, and your Luxury, which will infallibly, in a little time, ruin you, if you keep them them with you. Very well, replied the King, year 1190 laughing, instead of seriously thinking of Repentance and Amendment; Since there is a necessity then of parting with them, therefore I do immediately bequeath my Arrogance to the Templars, my Avarice to the Monks, and my Luxury to the Prelates of my Realm. But as on the one side, notwithstanding all his Debauches, he had a Principle of Religion which was firmly rooted in his Soul; and on the other side, according to his impetuous Nature, he was usually in the Extremes, either of Good or Bad; he had sometimes such great Transports of Devotion, and was so sensible of the Enormity of his Crimes, that to witness his Repentance, and to satisfy God Almighty for his Follies, he would do such things as certainly, the most severe Directors of Conscience would never have thought fit to be exacted from so great a King. And that which was infinitely advantageous to this Prince was, that this Principle of Religion, summoning up all its Power in his Soul at the Hour of his Death, made him express the most rigorous Repentance that is possible to be found in the Histories of the greatest Saints. Thus, so long as a Man, more especially a Prince, preserves the Principles of true Faith, by submitting his Sentiments to those of Religion and the Catholic Church, one may still retain a Hope, notwithstanding the Infirmities to which he is subject, that this Root of Life will, in time, produce the Fruits of a true Conversion, and like a Plant which keeps its Root, how dead soever it may appear in the Winter, and despoiled of its Leaves and Flowers, yet at the Return of the Spring, it will recover its native Beauty, and pleasant Verdure. Sea now what kind of Men these two Kings were, and from so vast a difference of their Tempers and Inclinations, it will be easy to foresee, that they could not remain long in a good Understanding, one with the other, as appeared but too visibly in the Consequences of their future Voyage. Philip, whose Fleet waited for him at Genoa, parted the first, with a brave and flourishing Army, composed of the greatest part of his Nobility, and the choice Soldiers of France, though it is hard to determine precisely in what number they consisted, in regard the Writers of those times have not left us any certain Information: But this is most certain, that he was accompanied with the greatest Men of the Realm, the Principal of which were, Eudes Duke of Burgundy, Peter Count de Nevers, Renaud Count de Chartres, Geoffrey Count de Perche, Aubrey de Rullen, Mareshal of France; Matthew de Montmorency, who was afterwards Constable of France; the Counts de Beaumond, Rochefort, Valery, Dreux de melo, Lord de Loches and Chattillon; and William de melo, his Brother. The Fleet was met at Sea with a furious Tempest, which gave the King occasion to show the Greatness of his Soul, in the magnificent Gifts which he bestowed on chose who lost their Equipage, being forced to throw it overboard, for the Safety of their Lives. At last he came to an Anchor, upon the 6th of September, in the Road of Messina, where the two Kings had before agreed, the place of their Joining should be. In this time King Richard, after having waited eight days, to no purpose, the Arrival of his Fleet at Marseilles, being pushed on by his natural Impatience, he embarked himself, the 17th of August, upon thirty Merchant's Ships, which he caused to be fitted up; and after having Coasted all along, by Genoa, Tuscany and Champaign in Italy, he arrived happily at Naples; from whence he passed to Salernum, there to expect News of his Fleet, whose long and unaccountable Delay gave him an extraordinary Inquietude and Displeasure. The Fleet had put to Sea in Easter-Week, and after it had been sound beaten with a Tempest, which, they say, was miraculously calmed by Thomas of Canterbury, who had raised many worse in his Life, according to the credulous Humour of those Ages; it being affirmed by some, that he appeared upon the Deck of the great Ship called the London, that Vessel came up with Cape St. Vincent, over against the City of Silves, nine other Ships entering the River of Lesbon, where they came to an Anchor. The Miramolin, or King of the Saracens of the Western Africa, at that time made War, with a potent Army, against Sancho, King of Portugal, whom he had surprised, and who, with an inconsiderable number of Troops, had put himself into Santaren. This Prince believing that Heaven had sent him the Succour of these Strangers, year 1190 as it had before done to the late King Alphonso, his Father, requested them to help him in this his pressing Necessity. Whereupon five hundred of the bravest of them immediately went into his Service, whilst that fourscore of the most valiant young Gentlemen, who were aboard the London, put themselves into Sylves, for the Defence of that City: But Fortune, without giving them the liberty of drawing their Swords, put an end to this War, by the sudden Death of Mirmalion; after which, his Army immediately disbanded itself. The English then returning to their Vessels, sound there sixty three more of their Ships, who had put in there to refresh themselves, and all that great City in Arms against their People, who had committed great Insolences and Disorders against the Inhabitants; insomuch that Blood had been drawn on both sides, divers Houses plundered and burnt, and some of the English committed to Prison. But all these Matters being calmed by the Prudence of King Sancho, who knew very well how to pacify both Parties, the English took their leave, the 25th Day of July, and the same Day, joining three and thirty great Ships, with which Admiral William Fortz attended them at the Mouth of the Tagus, they prosperously pursued their Voyage, till they came to an Anchor before Salernum. There it was that King Richard met his Fleet, and the 30th of September arrived at the Port of Messina, where he was received by the French and Sicilians with all possible Honour, and with all the Marks of a sincere and perfect Friendship. But this was not of any long Continuance; and the good Understanding which at first appeared among these three Nations, was presently interrupted and broken by two great Quarrels which Richard had, and which were the Cause that the two Kings, instead of presently pursuing their intended Voyage, were obliged to defer it till the following Year, and to pass all the Winter at Messina. The manner was thus. William, king of Sicily, being dead without Issue, the Sicilians, who were resolved to have a King of the Race of their Norman Princes, placed his Cousin Tancred, the Natural Son of Roger, Duke of Pavia, upon the Throne, notwithstanding that, before his Death, William had caused Queen Constance, his Aunt, the Wife of the Emperor Henry VI to be acknowledged their Queen, and had declared her to be the Inheretrix of the Crown. Now Richard, without pretending to have any part in this great Difference between the Emperor and Tancred, only desired of this new King, that he would send to him Jane, his Sister, the Daughter of Henry II. King of England, the Widow of the deceased King William, that he would restore to him her Dowry, with several other things, to which he pretended; and above all, an hundred Ships, which the late King had promised to his Father-in Law, King Henry, for his Voyage to the Levant. Tancred immediately sent the Queen to him, but deferring to give him Satisfaction in his other Pretensions, Richard, who was resolved that he should do him Reason, seized upon two strong Places which lay upon the Straits. This gave such a Jealousy to the Messinese, who naturally are not too much given to forbearing, that they took Arms against the English, and beat them out of the City; and the English, no less naturally impatient of Beating, but more hot and brave than the Sicilians, ran immediately to their Arms, and issuing in Battalia, out of their Camp, repulsed these forward Burghers into the City, and put themselves into a Posture to attack it by Force. There was however, a few Moment's Truce agreed to, by the Interposition of Philip the August, who endeavoured to accommodate this Difference between them. But Richard, having discovered, or at least believing, that the Messineses had an Intention to surprise him, during the Preliminary Treaty of the Peace, began the Assault upon the Town with so much Fury, that he carried the Place; but he left it again presently, after he had received the Excuses of the Magistrates, and the Satisfaction which he demanded of them, out of Respect, as he said, to King Philip, who had his Quarter in the City, and who was not at all satisfied with these violent Proceed of King Richard. For this Reason Richard, to strengthen himself against him by the Alliance of Tancred, concluded a Peace with that King, who offered him, besides the Ships, twenty thousand Ounces of Gold, to quit all his other Pretensions; and twenty thousand more for the Portion of his Daughter, year 1190 who was to be married to Arthur, Duke of Bretany, Nephew to King Richard. So that the Conclusion of this Quarrel was the Foundation of another, incomparably more dangerous, which hereby grew between the kings of France and England. For Tancred perceiving that the French King had no reason to be satisfied with this Marriage, which was surreptitious, concluded without his Knowledge, and which directly shocked all his Interests, endeavoured to link himself more closely with the English, as he did, and to exasperate them against King Philip. And truly, finding that these two Princes were already imbroiled upon the Subject of the Taking Messina, where Richard having caused his Standards to be planted, Philip sent to have them taken down. He went to the King of England, and shown him the Letters, which, he assured him, came from the King of France, wherein he offered him the Assistance of all his Forces, if he would make War with Richard, who, he said, had no other Thoughts but to amuse him with the Show of Peace, thereby with more Ease to seize upon his Realm. Richard, although he was extremely provoked with this Procedure, yet was very well pleased to have so specious a Pretence to break with Philip. Philip complaining with Justice enough, reciprocally against him, that having, so long since, affianced his Sister Alice, he had now altered his Thoughts, and was designed to marry Berengera, the Daughter of Garcias, King of Navarre; following therein the Counsel of Queen Eleonor, who herself had conducted that Princess thither. There seemed great Foundation for the Complaints on either side, and their Spirits were wound up to that degree, as endangered the Breaking of the holy League, by a deadly War between these two Princes; which, if it had happened, had absolutely ruined all the Hopes of ever re-establishing the Affairs of the Christians in the Holy Land. But, in Conclusion, there were Expedients found out for the appeasing of this great Quarrel, by an amicable Composure, which pacified their Spirits, at least, in Appearance, and for some time. Richard protested that he would most inviolably have kept his Promise in marrying the Princess Alice, if he had not been most certainly assured, for some time before, that the late King Henry, his Father, who was known to have been most passionately Amorous of her, had not exceeded the Bounds of Modesty in his Courtship to her; and she, those of Virtue, in the Caresses which she received from him: And that, after this Discovery, all the Laws, both of God and Nature, opposed this Marriage. And whereas the Princess pretended herself to be wholly innocent of these Crimes, alleging that she had never done any thing Criminal; and that the Appearances of Kindness, which she might be accused of, in permitting the Visits of that importunate old King, as she never consented to them, so she was not in the Capacity of hindering them, which possibly might be true; yet it was impossible to repair the Blemish which her Honour had received, and which therefore to him was intolerable because it was incurable; and the malicious World would, to his Dis-reputation, believe it true, though it might be false. He therefore offered to restore Vexin, which she was to have in Dowry, and to pay her ten thousand Marks in Silver. And, in short, he passed his Royal Word to King Philip that, with the beginning of the Spring, he would be ready, without any further delay, to accompany him in the Enterprise of the Holy Land. Philip also, on his side, complained highly, and protested that the Letters were suppositious, and a treacherous Artifice, to engage him in a Quarrel with the King of England, his Ally, and Companion in Arms in this Holy War. Thus the two Kings, having once more patched up an Accord, did unprofitably renew the Protestations of their Amity, which was impossible to hold long between two Princes who had an insuperable Antipathy the one to the other. However, they passed the remainder of the Winter something more calmly at Messina; where it is said, the famous Abbot Joachim foretold the little Success, which they were to expect from their Voyage. This Man who, whilst he lived, made such a Noise and Figure in the World, and who, to this very day, ever since his Death, is so great a Riddle and Mystery, was a Portuguese by Birth, and an Abbot of the Monastery of the Cistertians in his own Country; his Way of Living, and his Conduct, was wholly extraordinary, and of which never any spoke with Mediocrity, whether it were good or evil; for some would have him pass for one of the most eminent Doctors, year 1190 the most famous Prophets, and the greatest and most miraculous Saints that ever was in the Church of God: On the contrary, Others hold him for a most impudent Impostor, a wicked Hypocrite, and a most dangerous Tritheite Heretic; for the proudest, most arrogant, and presumptuous of Mankind. But those who, without prejudice, have coolly examined all that is alleged on both sides, touching this famous Abbot, believe that, without doing him Injustice, one may keep the middle way between these two Extremes, and affirm that he was a bold and ignorant Visionary, who having a weak Head, and a strong Imagination, together with little Learning, and less Solidity of Judgement to manage it, took all his Imaginations, and his own Fancies, for Oracles; and that therefore undertaking to make Predictions, amidst a hundred things which he pretended to foretell, he must play with very ill Fortune, if some of them did not prove true, though it were by the pure Effect of Chance: So that those who had took their Measures of him, according to what he had foretold them truly, cried him up as a mighty Prophet; and the others, who had been deceived, as well as he, by his Presages, treated him as a Cheat, and an Impostor: Neither the one nor the other of these People, all this while, having the Wit to perceive that he was, in reality, neither Prophet nor Cheat, but a silly, overrun Visionary, who deceived himself first, and afterwards those who believed him, by his ridiculous Illusions, which possibly was the genuine Effect of his few Brains, and much Presumption. And for certain, this is true, that going to visit the holy Places at Jerusalem, at the Age of fifteen Years, when he hardly understood his Grammar, he pretended that the Spirit of God was infused into him, in the Church of the holy Sepulchre; and there a perfect Knowledge of all the hidden Mysteries of the Scripture was bestowed upon him, especially of the Book of the Apocalypse, whereof he said he had the Key, which no Man before him could ever find. That thereupon, without applying himself to any other Studies, he began to labour with the Visions of that Book, which he endeavoured to adjust to his own, as best pleased him; taking his own Dreams for the true Sense of those sacred Mysteries. However, he was so ingenuous as to acknowledge, that he neither had any Revelations, nor yet the Gift of Prophecy; but that he had received from God the Spirit of Understanding, as clearly to understand what was contained in the Prophecies of the Old and New Testament, as the Prophets themselves, who writ them by the Impulse of the Spirit of God. Moreover, he was a Man who affected Singularity, and who aimed at nothing but was very uncommon and extraordinary, both in his Conduct and his Doctrine; and that therefore, in the Council of Lateran, under Innocent III. he was declared an open Heretic, because he had undertaken to write, and maintain, against the Great Master of the Sentences, some Positions concerning the Trinity, which was open Tritheism; for he was of Opinion, that every Person in the Holy Trinity had a distinct, Proper and peculiar Essence, and that they were begotten, one from another. He was also presented in the Pope's Court, and accused by the Religious of his own Order, among whom he raised a most dangerous Schism. In short, He was an eternal Medler with Prophecies, Predictions, and the Affection of foretelling future Contingencies: And if some one of his Presages, by mere Chance, proved true in the Event, there were a hundred of them, so obscure and ambiguous, that might be interpreted either way; many of the most famous of those which he published with so much Noise and Confidence, being proved false in their Events, even whilst he was alive; which cannot be made appear better, than by this famous Conference which he had at Messina, with King Richard. For there being a mighty Talk of this Abbot Joachim, who was at this time in the Top of his Reputation, especially in Italy, where all People heard him as a Prophet, Richard desired Tancred to send for him to Messina, that from him he might be informed of the Success of this War which he was about to undertake, to re-conquer Jerusalem from the Hands of the Infidels. This is commonly the nature of Men, especially of Great Men, to have a longing desire to penetrate into the inscrutable Secrets of the time to come, year 1190 by a dangerous and vain Curiosity, which usurping upon the peculiar Prerogative of God Almighty, who hath reserved this Knowledge incommunicably to himself, he does not fail to punish that bold Presumption, by some Misfortune, either agreeable or contrary to the Prediction which is made. But that which gave Richard the greater desire to consult this famous Abbot was, the sad News of the deplorable Accident which had befallen the Emperor, taking him out of the World in the middle of his victorious Course, and which, it was confidently reported, had been predicted to him most clearly by the Abbot, who positively affirmed, that he should have no good Success. This gave a mighty Confirmation to all those People who had conceived this Opinion of him, that he had the Gift of Prophecy. Come he did then, and, according to his custom, taking upon him the Tone of a Prophet, he presently told the two Kings, with a serious Air, and without a Moment's Hesitation, That it was to no manner of purpose that they were going to Jerusalem, to deliver the Holy Land, in regard that the Time appointed for its Deliverance was not yet come. Philip the August, who had a most solid Mind, and who took no further care but to give good Order for the present, thereby to assure the future, in which consists the best Art of Prediction, was in no pain for this Discourse of the Abbot, to which he gave but little Credit. But Richard, who had a certain Weakness for those kind of Prophecies, had a Curiosity to be further satisfied, demanded of him, upon what kind of Knowledge he founded this Prediction, that he pronounced with such Assurance. Whereupon this Visionary, whose Head was full of nothing but the Chimeras of his own Dreams, which he made upon the Apocalypse, of which he thought he had as perfect an Understanding as St. John, who writ these Revelations, fell to interpreting the Visions contained in that Book, and especially that of the horrible Dragon with seven Heads, which would have devoured the Manchild which was to be born of the Woman clothed with the Sun. The sixth Head of this Monster, he said, was Saladin, who had taken Jerusalem, who should certainly be destroyed by the Christians, who should regain this holy City; but that, according to the Mystery of the Numbers denoted in the Vision, it should not be till seven Years, from the Taking of it, were accomplished. If it be so, briskly replied Richard, interrupting him, What have we done, to come so far to no purpose? Your Voyage, answered the Abbot, was necessary for your own Glory; for that by doing this, God will make you triumph over all your Enemies, and will elevate you above all other Princes of the Earth. The Events plainly showed, that these two first Predictions were most false, since Jerusalem was not taken in that time, and that the Voyage was, in conclusion, very unfortunate for King Richard, who fell into the Hands of his Enemies, and was very ill treated by them. But his Illusion, or rather, his Extravagance and Folly appeared much more, when, pursuing the Interpretation of this Mystery, according to the disorderly Capricioes of his own Imagination, he added, that the seventh Head of this Dragon was Antichrist, who should be born in Rome, and should be Pope: for this dangerous Devote had the Confidence to publish this Folly, and boldly to affirm, that this Enemy of Jesus Christ was, at that time, in his youthful Age. That in the Year 1199. the sixth Seal of the fatal Book should be opened, and that thereupon should ensue the Kingdom, Persecution, and the Death of Antichrist; and that the Gospel should, before that, be preached in all the World. But he might very well, himself, before his own Death, see the falseness of his Prediction. And from that time that he undertook, with so much Confidence, to maintain that Opinion, he was most powerfully confuted, and convinced of the little probability of his Prophecies, by the Archbishops of Ousch and Rouen, the Bishops of Bayonne and D'Eureux, and other learned ecclesiastics, who were present at this Conference; and shown him by Scripture, which plainly tells us, that the Time which he undertook to limit, was wholly unknown; that his Conceptions were not only false, but rash and vain Imaginations of his own Fancy, which he endeavoured to obtrude upon the World for Truths. Insomuch that King Richard himself, who now undertook to be able to confute him, made no more Account of him than King Philip had done, and no further amused himself about him. See what manner of Man this Abbot Joachim was, and what Belief he gained upon the Minds of the English and French, year 1190 who were not altogether so credulous as the Italians, many of which, though, did not believe him; but only, among the Common People, his Fictions passed Currant, as if they had been Heavenly Oracles. But it is observable, that this hath constantly been the Destiny of those who would undertake to prophesy, or to explain future Events, by accommodating them to the Mysteries of the Apocalypse, to lose the greatest part of their Reason and Understanding, by dashing against that Rock which hath split so many Spirits as, by their foolish Curiosity, have, at last, only gained the infamous Reputation of being Visionary Extravagants. The two Kings therefore, without being retarded by the Predictions of this Man, whom they sent back to his Solitude of Haute-Pierre in Calabria, to write upon the Prophets and the Apocalypse, resolved to pursue their Voyage so soon as the Season would permit. Philip, who always pressed the King of England, not to delay the time, parted the first, in the Month of March, with all his Fleet, and arrived fortunately, in two and twenty days, upon Easter-Eve, before Acre, where he was received by the Crusades with incredible Transports of Pleasure, as if an Angel from Heaven was come to the Relief of the Christian Army, which had now besieged this important Place very near three Years. So soon as he was arrived, he visited the Works, and took his Quarters so near the Walls, that his Lodgement was within less than a Discharge of the Darts and Arrows of his Enemies. He then began to plant his Slings for great Stones, his Rams, and other Engines, which played to so good purpose, and so furiously, upon the place, that in few days he had made a reasonable fair Breach. At which time the French presented themselves before it, in order to an Assault, resolved to perish, or to carry the Place, and all the Honour of the Siege. And no doubt can be made, but the City had certainly, that day, been taken, considering the mighty Earnestness which so many brave Men showed, so fresh, and so resolute, if King Philip, who always acted with great sincerity, had not been something too scrupulous upon this Occasion, even to the disadvantage of the public Interest. For whereas one of the Articles of the Treaty which he had made with the King of England imported, that they should equally share their Conquests, he understood this Article to extend even to Glory, and was resolved that Richard should share it with him in the Taking of the Town, which he was in a Condition to take without him. And therefore, contenting himself with lodging at the Foot of the Wall, he resolved to put off the Assault till his Arrival. And in truth, that Prince was resolved to put to Sea immediately after Philip, but he was constrained to defer it some time, by reason that Queen Eleonor, his Mother, who brought along with her the Princess Berengera, arrived the same day that Philip sailed. He caused these two Princesses to be magnificently received at Messina, where he affianced this new Mistress; after which, Queen Eleonor returning for England, taking with her Jane, his Sister, and the Princess Berengera, he commanded part of his Fleet to attend them, and himself, with the rest, darted at last, upon Wednesday in Passion-Week, from Messina, eighteen days after King Philip the August. It is true, the Sea was not at all propitious to him, for, upon Good-Friday, he was met by a most furious Tempest; but having, till this time been ever mighty fortunate, he drew a great Advantage from this Accident, and the Tempest which scattered his Navy, was worth to him the Conquest of the Island of Cyprus: The manner whereof I will in short recount. The Island of Cyprus, one of the fairest and greatest of the Mediterranean Sea, lying about some hundred Miles from Syria, was at that time under the Dominion of the Emperors of Constantinople, who sent thither some Duke, or Lieutenant, to be their Deputy-Governor. Isaac, a Prince of the House of the Comnenius' by his Mother, who was Daughter of another Isaac, Brother to the Emperor Manuel, had seized upon that Government, during the Empire of Andronicus, by virtue of Letters Patents from that Emperor, which this Cheat had counterfeited; and not long after, he very openly usurped the absolute Dominion of the Place, by taking upon him the Title and Authority of Emperor. After the Death of the unfortunate Andronicus, he maintained himself in his Usurpation, year 1191 against all the Forces of Isaacius Angelus, whom he defeated, with the Assistance of Margeritus, Admiral of the Fleet of William, King of Sicily. After which, as this Tyrant, who was one of the most wicked of Mankind, saw himself assured in his new Empire, according to the custom and nature of Tyranny, which is, indifferently to commit all manner of Crimes, to enjoy the first, which is committed by revolting from a lawful Master, there was no manner of Wickedness, Injustice, Robbery, Extortion, Violence, or Cruelty, which he did not exercise upon the poor Islanders, whom he reduced even to the utmost Dispair. Nor had he much more Humanity towards Strangers; for three great Ships of the English Fleet, which, by the Violence of the Tempest, had been thrown upon the Island, and stranded, in the View of Limisso, anciently called Amathus, upon the South side of the Island, this Barbarian, who presently run, with his Soldiers, to the Bank, caused all those who escaped the Wrack to be taken, and after having inhumanely despoiled them of all they had about them, and in their Ships, he caused them to be bound, Hand and Foot, and thrown into a deep Dungeon, there miserably to perish by Famine. Nor would he permit the great Ship, on Board of which were the two Princesses, and which was in manifest danger of being lost, to come within the Port of Limisso, as they had earnestly desired Permission of him to do; but would have them ride it out, exposed to the Mercy of the Seas and the Waves, that so he might have the brutish and cruel Pleasure, either to see them sink to the Bottom, or split against the Rocks. In this time, the Tempest being appeased, Richard, who had taken Port at Candia, and from thence had sailed to the Rhodes, where he reassembled his Ships; and hearing of the ill Treatment which some of his Ships had met with in the Island of Cyprus, he came and presented himself, with the rest of his Navy, in good Order, before Limisso, the 6th Day of May, and immediately sent to the Tyrant, to demand Satisfaction for the Affront had been done him, with a peremptory Command to him, instantly to set such of the English at Liberty as he had made Prisoners, and to make full Restitution of whatever he had taken from them. The furious Brute fiercely replied to the Envoys of the King, That they should go tell their Master, that he was so far from giving him the Satisfaction he foolishly demanded, that if he did not make the more haste, and take the advantage of his Sails and Oars, he must expect the same Treatment for himself. And thereupon he marched directly to the Shoar with all the Troops which he kept in Pay, and a multitude of confused, undisciplined People, ill armed, and worse ordered, who ran down in hopes of Booty, and not in expectation of Blows: But he was mightily mistaken in the Man with whom he was to deal, for Richard, furiously exasperated by his Answer, gave present Order that all his Army should make a Descent, by the help of the Barks and Chaloups; and putting himself into the first Row of the Barks, at the Head of his Archers, he reigned such a Storm of mortal Arrows, as he rowed to the Shoar, upon the Heads of his affrighted Enemies, that under the favour of that Consternation, he leapt first ashore, and was followed so courageously by his Men, who sound none to oppose their Descent, that they charged so briskly upon these Barbarians, with their Swords in their Hands, and fell into the Battalions of these cowardly and disorderly Greeks, they presently put them into Confusion, and in a few Minutes, to a manifest Flight, and in the Pursuit, made a dreadful Slaughter among them, till they got to the Mountains, where they saved themselves: Then returning, the victorious Army entered Limisso without Resistance, the Soldiers, who were to have kept it, having, for fear, abandoned the place. This happy Beginning was presently succeeded by a Conclusion no less fortunate; for the Night following he surprised Isaac, who, having rallied his People, came to encamp within five Miles of Limisso; and having cut the best part of his Troops in pieces, dissipated the rest, and taken all his Baggage: So that this miserable Wretch, abandoned of the Cypriots, who, the next day after the Victory, came to do Homage to King Richard, was constrained, in most humble manner, to beg a Peace; which he obtained upon Conditions hard enough, and sufficiently ignominious, and such as, possibly, King Richard would not have required of him; but his Cowardly Fear dictated them to him: year 1191 And he who, in his Prosperity, was so presumptuous, to imagine he could not offer too little; in this Reverse of his Fortune, thought he could never offer enough. The Conditions were these; That he should own the King of England for his Sovereign, and should do him Homage for the Island, under the Title of the Realm of Cyprus. That he should give his only Daughter and Heiress to whomsoever King Richard should nominate. That, besides delivering the Prisoners which he had taken, he should pay twenty thousand Marks in Gold, for Damages to those whom he had plundered. That he should go in Person, with twenty thousand choice Men, to serve the King in the War of the Holy Land. That, for the Security of his Promises, he should instantly put all the Places in his Dominions into the King's Hands: and that, reciprocally, the King should engage upon his Honour to restore them to him, so soon as he had accomplished all his Engagements. And, to begin with what was most shameful, he immediately came to do his Homage to King Richard, in the Presence of Guy, King of Jerusalem, and Geoffrey de Lusignan, his Brother, Raymond, Prince of Antioch, and Bohemond, Count of Tripoli, his Son, Aufrey de Thoren, and the other Lords, who were come to Cyprus, to oblige King Richard to enter into their Interests, against the Marquis of Montferrat, Prince of Tyre, whose Party King Philip the August seemed much to favour. But this Peace did not last long; for, whether this unfortunate Tyrant was ashamed of his Cowardice, or that some Person had advertised him secretly, that there was a design to make him a Prisoner, he fled the same Day, and made it be told to the King, That he was resolved never to keep such an unjust Treaty; which being the Effect of Force, and the sudden Disorder of his Judgement, by Dispair, was not at all obliging. For this Reason Richard, who was better pleased with War than Peace, which, how advantageous soever, ravished from him a Conquest which he could not fail of obtaining, instantly caused him to be pursued both by Land and Sea, with so much Heat and Expedition, that, running over the whole Island, with his Troops divided into several Parties, all the Cities opened their Gates to him, so soon as he or his Lieutenants appeared before them. So that the miserable Isaac, abandoned of all the World, who had him in Detestation, even in his better Fortune, was constrained to surrender. The Princess, his Daughter, who was in the Castle of Cherin, was the first to implore the Clemency of the King; who received her with great Civility, and caused her to be conducted to Limisso, where was the Queen, his Sister, and the Princess Berengera. After which, the Tyrant, who had now no other Retreat left, besides a Monastery fortified upon a Rock, seeing that he was about to be attacked, could not resolve to die honourably, in making a noble Defence, but, by extreme Lowness of Spirit, resolved to beg a Life, which ought to have been more insupportable than a thousand Deaths. He came then from the Monastery in the Habit of a Mourner, his Hair and Beard neglected, his Eyes overflown with Tears, throwing himself, like a Slave, at the Feet of the King; and he, who had so audaciously assumed the Title of an Emperor, submitted himself entirely to his Mercy, only making his Request, that he would not put him in Chains; which, of all the things of the World, he said, was what he most feared, and which would, assuredly, make him die with Grief. Whereupon, King Richard, who naturally loved to divert himself with the most serious things, and who was so far from being touched with any Compassion for the Misery of this Infamous, that, in regard of his woeful Cowardice, he had scarcely the Patience to see him; turning himself to Raoul, his Chamberlain, to whose Charge he consigned this miserable Man, and smiling, he commanded him to use him as an Emperor, and that therefore he should put upon him Manacles, Fetters and Chains of Silver, to distinguish him to be a Prisoner of Quality: Which Raoul did not fail, solemnly to put accordingly in Execution. Thus the Realm of Cyprus was, without any considerable Loss, conquered in less than three Weeks by King Richard, who, at the same time, married the Princess Berengera at Limisso, and caused her to be Crowned Queen of England, year 1191 and of Cyprus, with all manner of Magnificence, and, as it were, in a kind of Triumph, after such a happy Conquest. This done, he sent the two Queens and the Princess, the Daughter of Isaac, with a good Party of his Fleet, who arrived happily at Acre, the 1st Day of June, being the Eve of Whitsunday. He caused the Tyrant to be conducted Prisoner to Tripoli; and, for himself, after he had regulated the Affairs of his new Kingdom, which he put under the Conduct of two Governors, he received from his new Subjects the Value of half their Movables, which they offered him of their own Accord, that so they might have from him the Confirmation of the Privileges which they had formerly enjoyed under the Emperor Manuel. All which Matters being adjusted, upon the 5th of June, he parted from Cyprus, with the King of Jerusalem, and the Levantine Princes: The next day he passed before Tyre, where the Garrison of Conrade, fearing he might seize upon the Place, would not permit him to Land. The next Day, as he drew near to Acre, he discovered the biggest of all the Ships that he had ever seen upon the Sea, who had the Arms of France painted upon her Stem; but suspecting it might be some Stratagem, and sending out to hall her, he found it was a Ship of Saladin's, which had on Board her five hundred choice Men, Provisions, Arms and Munition; as also, Artificial Fireworks, and two hundred most venomous Serpents, in Glasses, to throw into the Camp of the Christians. Richard caused her to be attacked by his Galliots; and, after a long and furious Combat, which was maintained with extraordinary Obstinacy by those desperate People, till such time as being pierced in a great many places by the Stems of the Galliots, who ran upon her with full Sails and Oars, that she sunk to the Bottom, all the Soldiers and Mariners, who threw themselves into the Sea, or into the Ships of the Christians, to save themselves, being either drowned or slain, excepting two hundred of the principal Officers and Engineers, who were taken Prisoners. After which, Richard, landing the next day, being the 8th of June, entered, as it were, in Triumph, laden with Spoils and Glory, into the Camp before Acre. Philip the August received him with the greatest Demonstrations of Joy and Friendship. But that Prince, too generous, learned quickly after, by a dangerous Experiment, that an Excess of Virtue, which causes one to lose a fair Opportunity, especially in Matters of War, is always a great Fault in a Prince or Captain. And certainly, he ought not to have made any Scruple of Taking the City, as he might easily have done, without King Richard, whom he unprofitably stayed for so long time, while that King, more cunning, and less scrupulous, and who had not for others such tender Concerns, did, without him, take a whole Kingdom. For, in short, the missing of this Opportunity gave Rise to many Accidents, which had like to have entirely ruined the Enterprise: For the Besieged made great advantage of that long Repose, and the leisure which was given them by a kind of Truce, of which they knew not the Cause; however, they employed it to the repairing of the Breaches, and were so strengthened by little Succours, which frequently slipped into them, that they found themselves in a Condition often to repulse the great Assaults which were given against them at unseasonable times, the Opportunity being lost before. Besides, the King of France first, and after some time, the King of England, fell sick of that dangerous Malady, which made them lose their Hair, Nails and Skin, by its subtle and Corrosive Malignity, which consumes all that Matter which is necessary for the Defence or the Ornament of the Body. But the most dangerous Evil of all, and which endangered the common Ruin, was, the Division which broke out more furiously than ever between the two Kings. The ancient English Historians of that time lay all the Blame upon Philip, whilst the French, who writ at the same time, accuse King Richard, and lay all the Fault at his Door: and the reason is plain, that both the one and the other living at the same time, and writing what was done in their own time, either their Fear or their Hope, their Love or Hate, took from them the power and the liberty of writing the Truth sincerely, and without Partiality. For my own particular, who, besides the natural Love I have for it, have always made Profession to speak and write, when there is occasion, with that frank and honest liberty which can never be taken from a good Man, year 1191 and who am under no manner of Temptations from any of these Passions, which may hinder me from speaking concerning these Kings what I believe to be true, it cannot be supposed I should do otherwise, since I have nothing either to hope or fear from them; and that there is no danger, four hundred Years after their Death, any Person should so warmly espouse the Interests of their Ashes. I say then, that after having strictly examined whatever is written upon one side and the other, concerning this great difference, I find, that Richard did not use King Philip with that Respect which was due to him, as his Liege Lord for so many great and fair Provinces as he held of him in France: For as he had amassed prodigious Sums of Money in England, in Sicily, and in Cyprus, he spared no Cost to allure the bravest Men to his Party, and to draw them to his Service by excessive Profusions, and the extraordinary Advantages which he made them; insomuch that, understanding that Philip gave three Crowns in Gold by the Month to every Horseman, he promised four to such as would quit that Service, and take Pay under him. So that he seemed to endeavour to exhalt himself above his Master, and to render him contemptible. But then, on the other side, Philip, who had a great Heart, and who bore it very impatiently, to be in this manner insulted over by his Vassal, shown so much displeasure, that he gave those whom the Profusions of Richard had gained, especially the Levantines', who were most charmed with them, occasion to believe that he was not able to support his Greatness, and his Merit, to be thus topped and overshaded. Moreover, as Philip, before the Arrival of the English, had so far advanced the Works, and so beaten down the Walls, and ruined the Defences, that he might easily have taken the place, if he had not been too scrupulous of taking all the Glory to himself; whereas Richard, to whom he had given the opportunity of taking his share, by a strange Effect of Jealousy and Ambition, would by no means have the City taken whilst Philip was there; insomuch, that when the French assaulted the Town, this jealous Prince prohibited the English, either to sustain them, or to assault it on their side, as had before been resolved upon at the Council of War. This brought on Reproaches, Quarrels and Hatred, which daily increased, and grew more violent between the two Nations, than that of the War which had begun to break out before, under King Henry; there being, besides, naturally not too much Sympathy between them. That which augmented this Division was also the Difference between Guy de Lusignan and the Marquis Conrade de Montferrat, for the Realm of Jerusalem; which the one pretended to keep, and the other to have, when as Saladin was yet possessed of it: For King Philip carried himself openly for the Marquis, in the Right of his Wife; and for that being a great Warrior, who had, by his good Conduct, preserved the small Remainder of that poor Realm, it seemed much better that he should have it, rather than his Rival, who had lost it so unfortunately, for want of Courage, and sufficient Conduct. On the contrary, the King of England, for that very reason, opposed his Pretensions, being unwilling it should fall into the hands of so brave a Man; and therefore, with all his Power, he supported Guy of Lusignan, by reason that that unfortunate Prince having much Weakness, and little Merit, Richard was in hopes of disposing of the Realm according to his own Will. And, in short, the new Conquest which the King of England had made of the Island of Cyprus, which he was resolved to keep, did not at all please Philip, who demanded the half of that Realm, in virtue of the Treaty, by which they were obliged to divide equally between them whatsoever should be gained by that Voyage. But Richard maintained, either that this Division was to be restrained to such Conquests as were made upon the Infidels, or otherwise, that by the same reason he ought to divide the Succession to the Earldom of Flanders with the King, since, by the Death of the Earl, Philip pretended to have acquired a Right unto. And by reason of this Division, their Spirits were so exasperated, that while nothing was done against the common Enemy, both sides reproached each other with holding a secret Intelligence and Correspondency with the Infidels, both the one Party and the other receiving Presents from Saladin. And, in truth, this brave Saracen Prince, who was naturally generous, and made War like a noble Enemy, was used, from time to time, to send the most excellent Fruits of Damascus to the two Kings, who, in Return, sent him some of the pretty Rarities of Europe. year 1191 Thus matters were so far from being advantaged by the coming of these two mighty Armies to the Camp, which with the Forces of the Levant and other Succours come from Europe made more than three hundred thousand men, that they were reduced into a worse Condition than before, by this fatal Discord, which divided all the Christian Lords, and armed them one against the other. The Knights of the Temple, the Duke of Burgundy, all the Party of the Marquis Conrade and the Germans declared themselves for Philip. Richard had of his Party besides his own Subjects, the Hospitallers the Pisans, and those among the Levantine Princes who favoured Guy de Lusignan, the Flemings who were for the Young Baldwin, the Nephew of their deceased Earl, and who some twelve Years after obtained the Empire of Constantinople, as also some French men, among others, Henry Earl of Champagne, whom Richard had gained by his excessive Liberalities; so that the Camp seemed more dangerously besieged than the City, being attacked from without by the Army of Saladin, and more miserably within by this fearful Division, which had ruined all, unless God, who was resolved to crown the Zeal of these two great Princes, notwithstanding all the disorders of their Passions, had appeased this Tempest, and unexpectedly brought a Calm among them by the undertaking of some of the Wisest and most prudent Persons, of both Armies who made a Composure of all Differences between the two Kings on this manner. It was ordained, That they should confirm their former Treaty and most inviolable and exactly keep it on one side and the other. That they should divide between them whatsoever they should take from the Infidels. That when one of the two Kings should give an Assault to the City, the other should oppose Saladin in defending the Lines; and for the difference between Guy de Lusignan and the Marquis de Montferrat, it should be referred to the Determination of certain Judges equally chosen on both sides. And not long after a solemn Judgement was rendered thereupon by which it was decreed, That Guy de Lusignan should for the remainder of his Life continue King of Jerusalem, but that his Children if he should marry again should have no sort of Pretensions to that Crown, the Reversion and Succession whereof should remain to the Marquis and those Children he should have by the Princess Isabel his Lady, Sister to the late Queen Sibylla. That in the Interim he should have the Moiety of the Revenues of the Realm, together with the Principalities of Tyre, of Sydon, and Baruth, by holding them of the Crown; and that Geoffry de Lusignan should upon the same Conditions hold the Counties of Jaffa and Caesarea. This being done, and the Peace in this manner confirmed at least in Appearance between the two Kings, nothing was now thought upon but how to press forward the Siege; and it was done with so much Vigour, by continual battering the Walls both Night and Day and redoubling the Attacks, that the Besieged Saracens now despairing to be able long to defend the Place against so great Forces, as were now become unanimous, offered to surrender, provided they might be assured of their Lives and Liberty to retire whither they pleased, without carrying any thing away with them more than their wearing Apparel, The Kings, who were assured they could carry the Place, thought to make a considerable Advantage of that despair to which so many Brave men were reduced, whom they believed Saladin would not suffer to perish, and therefore would hearken to no Terms, unless Saladin would restore the true Cross, Jerusalem, and all the Cities which he had taken after the Battle of Tyberias. Saladin, who was obliged to turn his Arms against the Son of Noradin, who attempted to take from him Mesopotamia, was willing to consent to these very Terms, provided that the Kings should assist him against his Enemies in Person with thirty thousand Men; nay he was contented that it should be done by their Lieutenants, and with fewer Troops, to which he would join his, provided, they would serve him one Year. But whether the two Kings judged it unworthy of their Majesty, which they thought must suffer an Abasement in serving an Infidel,; or that the Son of Noradin on the other side soliciting them to join with him against Saladin, They believed that by such a favourable diversion they should be able with Ease to take from him all those Cities, they absolutely refused these Conditions. And therefore they began now more furiously than ever to attack the City, in one of which Assaults, Alberic Clement Marshal of France, after he had already gained the Walls was slain in the City. year 1191 That which was of mighty Service to the Besiegers was, that a disguised Christian, who was in the Town, and who was one of the Council, gave them frequent Advertisement by Letters, which he threw into the Camp, of all the Resolutions, which were taken by the Saracens; so that all their Enterprises being discovered, were rendered ineffectual; but this Important Service was never recompensed, in regard the Intelligencer could never be known after the taking of the City, which was at last constrained to surrender. For on the one hand Saladin who was obliged to retire, had sent to them to make the best Terms they could; on the other, there was no more Expectation of Succour for them by the Sea where the Christians were absolute Masters; and the French who by prodigious Labour, had drawn their Mines to the very Foundations of the Wicked Tower, and the eleventh of July had overthrown all the Walls, and were just now ready to set Fire to the Wooden Pillars which supported it; therefore the sieve Admirals or Emirs, who commanded the Garrisons, Caracoes, Mesiock, Helsedin, Limathos, and Jordic, hung out a Flag of Parley; and after having treated with the Commissioners, of the two Kings, the next morning the Agreement was perfected in these Articles. That they should immediately surrender the place with all the Gold, Silver and Movables, the Ammunition, Arms and Provisions which were in it, without retaining any thing to themselves more than their wearing Apparel. That they should procure from Saladin the true Cross, together with all the Christians, which he detained Captives, and that he should pay to the two Kings one hundred thousand of those pieces of Gold which were called Besans, from the Name of Constantinople otherwise called Bysance, where they were minted with the Effigies of the Greek Emperor; that in Expectation of the Performance of the Treaty, they with the whole Garrison should remain Prisoners at War; and that if Saladin did not in forty days accomplish these Articles, they should be wholly at the Discretion of the two Kings, who should dispose of their Lives and Liberties as they should judge convenient. Thus was the City of Ptolemais or Acre taken at the last by the Christians, after one of the longest and most memorable Sieges which have been ever seen, and with the loss of as many brave men as might have conquered all Asia; for besides an Infinite Number of Soldiers, Gentlemen and great Lords, Germans, English, Italians, Flemings and Levantines who perished during the Siege, either by the Malady, or by the frequent Combats which happened. The French lost there, a-among the Persons of the greatest Quality, the Counts Thibaud de Chartres and de Blois, Stephen de Sancerre, John de Vendome, Rotrou de Perche, Erard de Brienne, Raoul de Clermont. Gilbert de Tilieres, the Count de Ponthieu, the Viscounts de Turenne and the Castillane, Alberic Clement Marshal of France, Adam the Great Chamberlain, the Lords jocelin de Montmorency, Guy de Chastillon, Florem de Augest Bernard de St. Valery, Enguerand de Fiennes, Gautier de Moy, Geoffry de la Briere, Anselm de Montreal, Guy de Dane, Hugh de Hoiry, Raoul de Fougeres, Eudes de Goness, Raoul de Hauterive, and Renaud de Magni, all whose Names I have found among the Writers of those times, and which I thought myself obliged by no means to suppress; but that in this History the Reader may receive the Pleasure of finding among his Ancestors, by consulting the Pedigree, some of these Illustrious men, whose glorious Memory ought to be an Eternal Honour to those Houses who have descended from them. The City being taken, the Kings according to their Treaty divided all the Booty equally between them, as also the Prisoners and the Houses. The Cardinal Bishop of Verona, Legat of the Holy See, the Archbishop of Tyre and Pisa, the Bishops of Beavais, Chartres d' Eureux, Bayonne, Salisbury and Tripoli, solemnly re-dedicated the Churches, which the Saracens had turned into Mosches. There were also assigned to the Venetians, Genoeses, Pisans, to the Knights of the Temple and those of the Hospital the Quarters and Rights which they were to possess in the City of Acre, and in truth every thing passed peaceably and in good Order, except that King Richard, who too easily suffered himself to be transported by his Natural Violence and Choler, committed two Actions, of surious Madness, one of which proved afterwards very dangerous to himself, and the other presently to the poor Christians, which happened thus, at the same time that the French had overthrown the Walls adjoining to the Wicked Tower, year 1191 and were ready to force the Place, and that the Besieged found themselves necessitated to capitulate, before the surrender, Leopold, Duke of Austria, who attacked a quarter on the opposite part had seized upon another Tower, and had there planted his Standard, which stood there after the Reduction of the City. Richard, who for other Matters was exasperated against Leopold, in regard that as well as the rest of the Germans he had been of Philip's. Party, took this occasion to be revenged of him, as if he had usurped upon the Authority of the two Kings, and therefore caused the Standard to be taken down by plain Force, and being torn in pieces and trampled under Foot he caused it to be thrown into the Kennel, by the most insupportable of all Affronts that could be given to a Prince who loved Glory. The Germans who were naturally jealous of the Honour of their Nation, and incapable of bearing, I do not say, such a horrible Injury as this was, but even the Shadow of being contemned, had not failed instantly to do themselves reason by their Arms, which they presently took against the English; but Leopold who was altogether as brave, but something a better Dissembler than King Richard, chose rather for a time to respite his Vengeance, which he hoped to find a more fit occasion for, where he should not be blamed by enduring the pain of this Affront for doing greater Mischiefs to the Christian Affairs, which must needs suffer much by a Civil War, and which in a few days following did suffer extremely by another cruel Effect of the Violent Nature of this Prince. For seeing that Saladin persisted in refusing to satisfy the Articles of the Capitulation, which the Besieged had on his Behalf ratified, he conceived such a Despite, that he Inhumanly caused the Heads of above five thousand Prisoners which fell to his Share, to be cut off. Nor could he be dissuaded from it, by the Consideration of so many Christian Captives, to whom Saladin as he had menaced caused the same measure to be given, by a kind of cruel Reprisal, the blame of which is always laid upon him who gins. And certainly it hath always been seen, that these dangerous Examples, which are given to an Enemy in the time of War, which he always believes he hath a Right to render the like measure, for the Security of his own People, have always been condemned by others who have had the Occasion to suffer by it, and that those who give it are at last constrained to abstain the first from it, though something with the latest, and after it hath caused the Lives of so many unfortunates, as have perished either by the transports of the one or the Vengeance of the other. As for King Philip who was more moderate, he used his with more humanity and contented himself to leave the Prisoners in the Hands of Marquis Conrade, as he Passed by Tyre in his return from the Holy Land into France. This Prince who was extreme Wise, perceived on the one hand that Richard, become now more Fierce and Violent than ever, after the taking of Acre, kept no sort of Measures, and that it was impossible for them long time to keep in any Terms of Accord; and on the other, perceiving that he was daily enfeebled by the Distemper into which he was again relapsed; he might run the Hazard of dying in Palestine, without being able to do any Service to Christendom; and that in the mean time Advantage might be taken of his Absence, by invading the Earldom of Flanders, which ought to return to the Crown of France, by the Death of Count Philip. He made this to be most civilly represented to the King of England, that finding by the increase of his Distemper, he was like to be rendered incapable to serve the Affairs of the Christians in the Holy Land, he judged it more to their Advantage, that one single Commander should finish the War; and for this purpose, that he would resign all wholly to his Conduct, together with a good party of his Army, under the Command of the Duke of Burgundy. He added also, that to take from him all manner of Pretext which he might have to complain of his Departure, or the Fear that he might entertain, that he did not return into France, but to fall upon his Dominions there during his Absence, he assured him, that if he had occasion to make War upon him, it should not be till the Expiration of forty days after his Return. After which, having left five hundred Men at Arms, and ten thousand Foot, with the Duke of Burgundy, and some Troops which he lent for a Year to the Prince of Antioch, he imbarcked the first day of August upon thirty Galleys, year 1191 with the remainder of his Army; and after having coasted along by Syria, the le●ser Asia, Greece, Epirus, and Calabria, from time to time, making such Stays by the Way as were necessary for the regaining of his Strength and Health, he went to pay his Devotions at Rome. There he was received with all imaginable Honour by Pope Celestin the III. who approving of his Return, according to the Custom, bestowed upon him and his Followers, the Palms and the Crosses, in token that they had accomplished their Vow. From thence, passing by Land into France, in the Month of December he arrived at Fountainbleau, and from thence he repaired to St. Dennis, where prostrating himself before the Altar of the Holy Martyrs, he offered his Royal Robe, and gave solemn Thanks to Almighty God, who had delivered him from so many Dangers as he had run by Sea and Land, and had at last happily reconducted him into his own Kingdom. This was the Conclusion of this holy Enterprise of Philip the August, and as one may say absolutely, that it was very Fortunate, by the Reduction of the City of Acre; so it is most certain, that it had been much greater, if it had been performed by his single Forces; for being composed of the very Flower of the Nobility and Gentry of France, and conducted by the most Wise and Valiant King of that time, they might without Difficulty have Triumphed over Saladin, if the Conjunction of a most potent Rival had not enfeebled them by than unhappy Division which his haughty, jealous, and ambitious Humour occasioned among them. But in short, this is generally the Fatality which accompanies such kind of Unions, which being made among differing States and Princes for some common End, usually by the growing of Discords among themselves, terminate in the entire Ruin of those united Sentiments and Designs; there being nothing so Improsperous, especially in the Affairs of War, as want of a good Understanding and Concord among Confederates, which in reality is seldom, if ever, to be expected from the multitude of Coordinate Captains, which must needs produce Differences and Oppositions first in point of Opinion, and afterwards by necessary Consequence, in the very Union itself. But in this time King Richard, who was now the sole Commander of the Christian Army in Syria and Palestine, proved not much more Fortunate in the end of his Enterprise, by reason that he was so continually agitated by the Tempests of his own violent and tumultuous Passions, that he was difficultly at any Agreement with himself, but was become even his own Rival: For on the one hand, his Ambition, and love of Glory, mingled with some Remains of Piety and Religion, transported him vigorously towards the pushing forward his Conquests against Saladin, and above all, to take Jerusalem, which was the main End of this Crusade; on the other, the Jealousy of State, and the Fear of the Arms of Philip, whom in his Conscience, he knew to be most justly Exasperated against him, the Distrust which he had of the French which were left behind, under the Command of the Duke of Burgundy, the great Friend of the Marquis the Prince of Tyre, his mortal Enemy, and above all, his Avarice, which was his ruling Passion, and the Covetousness of drawing immense sums of Money from the Saracen Nobility, whom he detained Prisoners, and from Saladin himself, who continually solicited him for a Peace; all these Passions put him into great Discomposures of Mind, and he was under very strong Temptations of making some Truce with the Saracens, and passing immediately into Europe. But it must be said to the Glory of this King, who doubtless was one of the bravest of his Age, that at length his most no●●e Passion, which was the Love of Glory, and it may be also, that which he had for the good of Religion prevailed over the rest, and in Conclusion, carried him to the War, which he recommenced in the most glorious manner in the World. He employed some six Weeks in repairing the Breaches of Acre, and in refreshing his Army, which after the Retreat of Marquis Conrade, and almost all the Italians, and many other Crusades, whom either Poverty or Weariness, or Discontent, caused to forsake this lingering War, yet consisted in above one hundred thousand Men. After which, towards the latter end of August, he began to move, and took the right hand along the Sea Coast, to self upon such maritime Places as Saladin had caused to be dismantled. The Fleet constantly plied along the Coast with them, year 1190 to furnish them with Provisions, but he had also on his left hand the Army of Saladin, who coasted along the Mountains, to molest him by continual Skirmishes in his March, and to watch some favourable Opportunity to give him Battle upon any notable Advantage; and upon the seventh of September, the Infidel thought he had found the lucky Moment at the Pass of a River, which dischargeth itself into the Sea near Antipatris. For Saladin, who had above three hundred thousand Men in his Army, had divided them into three Bodies, one of which was posted on this side the River, to oppose the Passage of the Christians; another was ranged on the further Bank, to the intent that if the first Body should be broken, they might be ready to charge such as should attempt to pass the River; Saladin himself with the third, which was by much the greatest, and composed of the choicest of all his Troops, kept himself in the Coverture of the Mountains on the left of the Christian Army, ready to fall upon the Rereguard, at such time as the Van should be engaged with his other Troops in disputing the Pass of the River. King Richard, who had stayed some days at Caesarea, as well to refresh his Army, as to repair the Ruins of that Place, no sooner came within View of the River, but that he saw it on both sides imbanked with his Enemies, he resolved therefore to give them Battle; both in regard there was no stopping to lose the Pass, nor no retreating without manifest Danger of being surrounded, and put into some Disorder by retireing. Now as he marched always in Battalia, for fear of being surprised, his Army was instantly drawn into such Order as was convenient. The Valiant James d' Avesnes that day commanded the Van, with what remained of the Danes, Brabanters, Flemings, and Hollanders. The King led the Body of the Battle, where were the English, the Normans, the Poitevins, the Gascons, and the Levantine Troops; near his Person was the Young Henry Count of Champagne, his Nephew, who to the Prejudice of what he owed to King Philip his Sovereign, who was also his Uncle; this young Prince being born of the Sister of the King, the Daughter of Queen Eleonor and Lewis the Young, was entirely devoted to King Richard. The Rereguard was commanded by the Duke of Burgundy, General of the French Army, who was accompanied by the Templars and the Germane Troops, who followed Leopold the Archduke of Austria, who never abandoned the French, but were most strictly united with them during this Crusade. So soon as the Armies came within View, which was about Noon, the Combat was not long deferred; For James d' Avesnes, who was one of the bravest and most prudent Captains of his Age, charged so furiously upon the first Squadrons of the Enemies, who were posted on this side the River, that he broke into them twice, overturning and kill all that opposed his Passage: But being transported with the heat of his Courage, as he returned to the third Charge, followed but by a few, in comparison of that fearful Number of those who succeeded in the place of the broken Squadrons, he received a terrible Blow with a Scymiter, which cut off his Leg; notwithstanding which he sustained himself by the force of his invincible Courage, and failed not still to fight and to Slay on the right and the left, all such as durst venture within the reach of his dreadful Sword, till at last, that also with the Sword fell by another unfortunate Blow of the Scymiter, whereupon those cowardly Infidels fell upon him, and by a thousand Wounds gave him a glorious Death, after he had opened the Way to Victory by that Carnage which he had made of the most daring of the Saracens, and by the Flight of the more Cowardly. For Richard, who sustained him, and who heard him a moment before his Death, cry out aloud, Brave King, come and revenge my Death, all in Fury at his Fall, entered at the Breach which this illustrious Deceased had made, and fell in like a Thunderclap among the thickest of the Enemies, where the Flemings, mad even to despair to have lost their General, already made a dreadful Slaughter among them, that unable to stand the dreadful Shock, they turned their Backs, and fled amain towards the Mountains to save themselves. So that the Bank being on this side cleared of the Enemies, this valiant Prince, without giving the courageous English leave to cool one Moment, threw himself into the River, which at this time was but very low, and drawing by his Example, all his Battle after him, and the Vanguard, who now had no other General, year 1191 he advanced towards that great Body of Saracens, who pretended to defend the other Bank. This he did with so much Resolution, that they had not the Confidence to expect him, but instantly dispersed themselves and fled, the King not offering to put himself to the trouble to pursue them; so that finding himself Master of both the Banks of the River, where no Enemy appeared, he believed he was in perfect Possession of a complete Victory, when he found himself mistaken, and perceived at a great Distance on the other side of the River, a prodigious Cloud of Dust, mingled with Darts and Arrows, which might be seen sly from all Quarters, as also one might hear a confused noise of the Instruments of War, the cries of Men, and the neighing of Horses: This was occasioned by the greatest part of the Army of the Saracens, commanded by Saladin himself, who descending from the Mountains into the Plain, had surrounded the Arrere-guard, which he believed was at too great a distance to be secured by the main Battle: For Saladin, who was a great Captain, had cut them off so much to his Advantage, and had them so in the plain Field, that he promised himself an assured Victory, and doubted not but he should certainly either cut them in pieces, or force them to surrender at Discretion. But he quickly found that he had to do with People who were Masters in the Trade of War, who having without any Confusion, ranged themselves into four Battalions, sustained on the right and left by what Cavalry they had, form the Face of a Battle every way, and with little Loss sustained all the Efforts of the Saracens, who believed themselves already conquerors, till such time as Richard advertised of the Danger of these gallant Men, quickly repassing the River, came running at full Speed to their Assistance. Then it was, that for some time the Combat began to be more surious and bloody than it was before, the two Kings by their Voice and Gesture, but much more by their Example, animating their Soldiers to aspire to Victory. For after having done all that could be expected from two of the most able Captains in the World, Providing against all Events, giving out necessary Orders, and themselves in the Charge giving the the first Blows, it happened that in the Rencounter, knowing each other by those Marks which distinguished them from the rest, they both hit upon the same thought, and each of them believing he had sound an Enemy worthy of himself, and whom with honour he might combat, both as a Soldier and a King; they both believed that the general Victory would depend upon their particular Encounter, and that he whom Fortune should declare her Favourite, would not fail of having the Glory of singly obtaining the Victory. So both of them, at the same time, charging his Arm with a strong Lance, they furiously ran one against the other, and being both of them most Stout and Valiant Men, admirably mounted, and animated with an ardent desire of Glory, wherein Hatred had the least Share, the Shock was extreme Rude and Violent, their Lances flew into a thousand Splinters, and Richard was something disordered with the mighty Blow which he received, but he had managed his Lance with so much Address and Force, that he overthrew both Horse and Man upon the Ground: This raised a mighty Shout from both the Armies, as if Saladin had been slain; and the Saracens came tumbling in Shoals about him, so thick, either to relieve him if alive, or to carry him off if he were dead, that Richard, who was approaching with his Sword, advanced to finish his Victory, was constrained to let it fall upon less considerable Enemies, of whom he made a most horrible Slaughter, for their interposing betwixt him and Glory. Saladin, the goodness of whose Arms had saved his Life, sorely bruised in Body, and tormented with the Shame of his Fall, being mounted upon a fresh Horse, did by his speedy Flight prevent a worse Destiny, and left the Christians in possession of a cheap and perfect Victory. For seeing that a great part of his Men, frighted by the Belief they had that he was slain, had already found their Heels, and that the rest being altogether in Confusion and Disorder, retreated before the Enemy, he thought now no longer of any thing but how to save himself, and after him the whole Army thought it no Disgrace to make the best haste they could from Death and Danger, which followed them closely at the Heels. Thus the Christian Army remained Victorious on all sides, year 1191 and with so great a loss of the Enemies, that what in the Battle, and what in the Pursuit, above fourscore thousand of them were slain, and among them thirty two Emirs were found among the Dead on the Field of the Battle; so great a Victory cost the Christians but a very few private Soldiers, and not one Man of Condition, except the valiant James d' Avesne, who was slain at the beginning of the Battle of the Vanguard. But it must be said, that if King Richard knew how to vanquish in this famous Day, with all the Glory which can be gained upon a like Occasion, he had Hanibal's Misfortune, not to have the Art to make Advantage of his Victory: For if instead of amusing himself with Rebuilding the Maritime Towns, which Saladin had ruined, which might have been more commodiously done at another Season, he had marched strait to Jerusalem, most assuredly he might have taken it without Resistance, by reason that Saladin was fled among the Mountains, and those who were left there for the Defence of the Place, not being able to hope to be Relieved, and fearing to meet with the same Measure, which those who had so obstinately defended Acre, would scarcely have had the Courage to defend it against him. But whether it were his Prosperity, and the excessive Joy, with which so great a Victory had disturbed his Mind, which made him incline to taste the Pleasure of being so great a Conqueror, or whether it were, that after having done very well, one naturally loves to take the more easy part, and not to hazard that Glory which one hath already acquired; certain it is, that this is a Fault with which almost in all Ages, one hath occasion to reproach the greatest Captains; and it is observable, that most frequently they have lost the Opportunity of finishing a War, by attacking, after great Success, the Enemy, and following the fortunate Blow which they had given. Thus King Richard, after so fair a Victory, lost the rest of the Year in re-building and repeopling the Maritime Towns, and especially Jaffa, whither he caused the two Queens to come; and where in that time he ran a far greater Danger than he he had done in besieging of Jerusalem. One Day as he was hunting, he with five or six of his Gentlemen, fell into a great Ambuscade of the Saracens, where he had been infallibly taken and lead Captive to Saladin, if one of the Lords who accompanied him, whose Name was William de Pourcellets, a Gentleman of Provence, who was wholly devoted to his Service, had not done an Action which History ought to recommend to Posterity, as a most illustrious Example of that inviolable Fidelity which Servants own to their Masters, and much more Subjects to their Sovereigns, though to the hazard of their Lives: For seeing the King, who valiantly defended himself with mighty Blows of his Sword, in danger to be taken, or slain, as already four of the Company were, who lay extended upon the Grass at their Master's Feet, he cried out in the Language of the Saracens, I am the King: Whereupon, all of them desirous to have a share in the taking of so great a King, ran to him, and gave King Richard the liberty to save himself, whilst without regarding any others, they all fell with Precipitation upon him whom they took for the King. Saladin, who had nothing of the Barbarian in his Conduct, acting like a generous Prince, treated his Prisoner according to the merit of so brave an Action: And King Richard for his part, failed not to recompense him with Honours proportionable to his Deserts, for he gave in Exchange for him ten of the greatest and richest Noblemen among his Prisoners, to manifest the Esteem which he had for this brave Man, whom alone he valued at the rate of ten Princes, for whose Ransoms he might have expected very great Riches and Treasures. This was the Glory, which by his Virtue, this gallant Man acquired for himself whilst living, and which dying he bequeathed to his illustrious House, which to this day preserves its Lustre, and maintains its Rank among the most Ancient and the most Noble of Provence. All this time Saladin ceased not to lay all the Country Wast, and thereby to take away all manner of Subsistence from the Christians; as also to ruin all the Cities of Palestine except Jerusalem and two or three strong Fortresses; whilst Richard unprofitably wasted his time in rebuilding those Places, which being demolished, could give no trouble to his principal Design. He also suffered himself to be amused by a Treaty of Peace, extremely Advantageous to him, which Saphadin the Brother of Saladin pretended to negotiate between them, year 1191 by which he proposed to the King to relinquish to him all the Country on this side Jordan to the Sea, provided that Ascalon, which was to be demolished, should appertain to neither Party. These Offers seemed so Advantageous to Richard who was already imbroiled with the French under the Duke of Burgundy, that he was very much disposed to conclude with Saphadin. But at length he perceived that he was deluded, and that the Barbarian, more cunning than honest, had not begun this Negotiation but to gain time, and to throw him upon the Winter. He thereupon fell into an extreme Rage, and as Rage is one of the worst of Councillors, which puts Men upon acting without any certain Rules or Measures, to satisfy this inpetuous Passion, he blindly followed its Conduct, and at that unseasonable time of the Year undertook the Siege of Jerusalem, which if he had consulted Reason, he ought to have done, and might happily have effected it, three or four Months before. year 1192 He went therefore with Precipitation enough in the Month of January, with the whole Army, already much diminished by the departure of many of the Crusades, who were displeased with his Delays of Peopling, Planting, and Rebuilding, in which he consumed the Summer, and passing by Rama, which Saphadin in his Retreat had demolished, he advanced within three or four Leagues of Jerusalem. All the Soldiers witnessed an excessive Joy, to find themselves within View of that City, where they hoped shortly to worship before the Sacred Sepulchre of Jesus Christ, so great an Assurance had they of the Victory. But when the Counsel was assembled, the Passion of King Richard being something cooled, and the Matter debated in cold Blood, the greatest part of the Captains adjudged that the Enterprise was too rash to hope that it should Prosper. There it was remonstrated, That the Town was very Strong, and well provided, that Saladin was there in Person with the choicest of his Troops, not at all doubting but that there he was in a Condition of Security, as Affairs than stood, the Season being such, that an Army could not possibly undertake a Siege, without putting themselves, against all the Rules of Art and War, into a most manifest Danger of being Ruined; That in effect, the Country being entirely ruined by the Wast, which Saladin had made, there was not Subsistence to be found for one single day for the Army; and that it being in the deep of Winter, there was no probability of getting Provision by the Sea. And for that extraordinary Ardour which the Soldiers shown, it ought to be suspected, by reason that one might well fear, that so soon as they had visited the Holy Sepulchre, they would quit Palestine to return into their respective Countries, and abandon the new Conquests to the Saracens, who would then easily recover what had been taken from them. And for these Reasons, It was concluded to defer the Siege till the Spring should be advanced, and in the mean time to continue the Fortification of the places which had been Demolished, and above all, the City of Ascalon, which was infinitely Commodious, for hindering the Succours which might come to the Enemy out of Egypt, and to receive such as might arrive for the Assistance of the Crusades out of Europe. This Resolution was no sooner taken than it was put in Execution, though with an unconceivable Displeasure to the Soldiers, and above all to the French, who openly murmured against Richard, whom they did not stick to accuse of having a secret Understanding with Saladin. They said boldly, That Saladin had never shut himself within the Walls of Jerusalem, if he had not been very well assured that he had nothing to fear from such an obliging Enemy. And that without all question, he was ready, had the Army but once faced it, to quit the Place, and that the Garrison would either quickly have followed him, or have Surrendered, fearing to be abandoned by him, like those who so bravely defended Acre, to the Discretion and Mercy of the Vanquisher. But however it were, so soon as the Army came to Rama, a great part of it disbanded, the most of the French retiring to Jaffa, Tyre, and Acre; but this did not hinder King Richard to pursue the Resolution which had been taken, to go and fortify Ascalon, whither he went acompanied with the Count de Champagne, his Nephew, who continued always constantly faithful to him. The Dukes of Burgundy and Austria also went thither with him, but it was not long before they left him; the Austrian, because he was afresh unworthily, as he thought, treated by him, for refusing to take one part of the Town to Fortify, year 1192 which caused him, with all his Germans, to retire into his own Country; the Burgundian, because having desired him to lend him some Money for the payment of his Troops, he briskly refused him in Terms very disobliging, which caused the Duke, who before had no great Kindness for King Richard, to carry away the rest of the French to Acre; in a little time after which, there happened an Accident which occasioned a mighty Change in the Face of Affairs. The Pisans and the Genoese, to whom Quarters were assigned in that City, and who had for a long time quarrelled each other, came at last to open Hostilities, and in the Fray had committed great Slaughters one upon the other. The Genoese, who had always joined with the French, in taking part with the Marquis Conrade, called him in to their Assistance; but the King of England, to whose Service the Pisans were devoted, came so expeditiously with his Army to their Succour, that Conrade, who was already encamped before the Town, finding himself too weak to make any Resistance, was constrained to draw off again to Tyre. And within a few days after, about the end of April, as the Marquis returned from the Bishop of Beauvais, who had treated him at a Dinner, he was slain in the open Street by two Assassins' of the Old Man of the Mountain: The Prince so called was Lord of a little Estate situated in the Mountains of Phoenicia, between Tortosa and Tripoli, which consisted in ten Castles, built upon most inaccessible Rocks, and in some few Towns, which stood in the most fair and delicate Valleys which lay among these Mountains. These People, who from a Persian Word were called Assissins' or Capyciens, consisted in about sixty thousand Souls, who came from the Confines of Persia near Babylon, some four or five hundred Years before, about such time as the Arabians, the Successors of Mahomet, rendered themselves Masters of the East, and having possessed themselves of these Mountains, whose Avenues they had rendered inaccessible, they had so well fortified them, that till this very time they had maintained their Liberty independent from either the Caliphs', the Sultan's, or the Kings of Jerusalem. Their Prince was Elective, who took no other Name but that of the Ancient, or the Old Man, as a Mark not of his Age, but of his Authority and Power. And indeed that was so great, and he was so obeyed by his Subjects, that there was no manner of Danger to which they did not freely expose themselves in the Execution of his Commands, though the most unjust and barbarous in the World, even to throwing themselves headlong from any Precipice, upon the least signification that such was his Pleasure. So much power had this false Belief upon their Spirit, which they had by Tradition received from their Ancestors, and in which they took great Care to Educate their Children, that by dying in this manner, in Executing without Exception or Difference, what was commanded them by the Ancient, they should pass immediately to the enjoyment of a Life infinitely Happy in the Heavens. So that when he sent them to the Court of any Prince, either Christian or Saracen, who had disobliged him, with a Command to dispatch him, there was no sort of Disguise or Artifice, no manner of Treachery which they would not make use of, to perform his execrable Commands, without ever flinching at the most cruel Torments, which they might expect to Suffer; and in the midst of which, they would manifest a certain Pleasure, that they had with Fidelity acquitted themselves of their Commission. It is certainly very strange, that the Princes who had so much Interest to exterminate such a pernicious Nation, should so long time permit them, not only to have a Being, but looking upon them as it were, as Masters of their Lives, by the Fear which they had of these Assassins', they made them continual Presents, thereby to gain their Favour to permit them to live. For never any except the Templars, were so bold as once to offer to attack them; but they valiantly set upon them, entered their Country, and obliged them to pay the yearly Tribute of two thousand Crowns, to secure their Villages from being Plundered; but in this Prosperity of their Arms, they did an Action so Base and Wicked, as diservedly drew upon them the Hatred and the Curse of God and Men. For during the Reign of Amauri King of Jerusalem, the Old Man of the Mountain, who was a Man of Sense, having compared the Gospel with the Alcoran, sent to let that King Understand, that he with all his People, were ready to embrace the Christian Religion, provided that at the same time, year 1192 that he was received into the Liberty of the Children of God by Baptism, he might also be freed from that Tribute which he was constrained to pay to the Templars. The King, who offered to make the Templars an Equivalent to the loss they might hereby sustain, made no doubt, but that they would with Joy receive a Proposition so advantageous to all Christians, but especially to Princes, who had always reason to fear all things from these Desperadoes; but Avarice, which had already begun to corrupt that Order,, so far blinded them, that one of the Knights, upon whom the great Master would never permit Justice to be done, assassinated the Ambassador, who was come to propose a Condition so just and reasonable. This so exasperated these People, that they became more obstinate in their Mahometanism, more Enemies to the Christians, and more Assassins' than ever they had been before. It was for such a kind of Injustice that these two Russians murdered the Marquis Conrade, Prince of Tyre, for a ship loaden with rich Merchandise which belonged to a Subject of the Old man of the Mountain being forced by a Tempest to put into the Port of Tyre, the Marquis caused her to be seized, and put the Master of her to death for complaining of the Injustice which was done him. The Prince of the Assassins' sending to demand Satisfaction and Restitution of the Ship and Goods, and Reparation for the Death of his Subject the Marquis made a laughing matter of it at the first, but upon a Second demand, he commanded one of the Envoys, to be thrown into the Sea. This so incensed the old man, that he sent two of his Devotees to Tyre, who there counterfeited to renounce Mahometanism and got themselves baptised the better to cover and enable them to execute their Treason; After some time they found means to get into the Marquis his Retinue, and ordinarily to attend him wherever he went; and hereby obtained an Opportunity of stabbing him as he returned from Dinner from the Bishop of Beauvais; and though they were put to the most exquisite Torments which could be suffered, and roasted alive, yet would they never accuse any Person, or confess who it was that set them on to commit such a horrible Murder. There were some however who failed not to suspect King Richard, who was known to be his declared Enemy, and the report was so strong that it was written to King Philip the August, and he was assured that this Prince with whom he had had such great differences, had hired the Old man of the Mountain to commit this Assassinate upon the Marquis. There cannot indeed be too much Precaution to preserve the Sacred Persons of Kings upon which depends the Welfare of their Dominions; and upon this occasion, Philip took Guards about his Person, to protect himself from a like Treason, and such damnable Attempts. But neither History nor Historian ought so far to take the particular part either of Princes or Nations, as to disengage himself of that Duty which he owes to truth; and for the Interest I have in that, I think myself obliged tosay, That though King Richard neither loved King Philip nor the Marquis yet nevertheless he was, not at all culpable of these horrid Crimes of which some have with so much Injustice and so little Truth accused him, and endeavoured to blacken his Memory. And indeed the Prince of the Mountains did in a short time after wholly justify and acquit him of this suspicion, by the Testimony of his Authentic Letters, wherein he declared the true cause of this Murder of the Marquis, according to the manner which I have before recounted. And one ought with Truth to avow, that considering the Natural Humour and Inclination of King Richard, he could not be capable of so black a Treason; for although he was extreme Violent, Impetuous and mighty Impatient of Injuries and Affronts, yet he had a great and generous Soul, and made Profession openly and like a Gallant man to attack such as he believed he ought to esteem his Enemies, and was never known to have recourse to base and Ignominous Ways of taking his Revenge. And this great Courage not only taught him to despise all these false Reports, but also to draw all those advantages which an able Politician could make of such an untoward Accident, in the baseness whereof he knew he had no share. For he managed the matter so well, that without much difficulty he persuaded the Princess Isabel, the Widow of Marquis Conrade, to marry Henry Count of Champagne, to whom in regard of his Adherence to him, year 1191 he was resolved at his return to leave all that remained to the Christians of the Holy Land, the Promise which he made to the Princess to make her Queen of Jerusalem by the Exclusion of Guy of Lusignan, was the thing she most passionately desired, was the most powerful reason to induce her to this Marriage. Nor was it difficult for him to make good his Promise, in regard that on the one hand Count Henry was extremely beloved by the great men of the Country, who had no manner of kindness for Lusignan; and on the other that he promised him in Exchange for a Kingdom, which was almost wholly lost, to give him that of Cyprus, provided he paid to the Templars a certain Sum of Money for which he had engaged it to them. This despoiled Prince, whose Fortune absolutely depended upon his Protector, willingly received this Offer; so that shortly after, the Marriage was celebrated between the Count du Champain and the Princess Isabel, who from that time took upon her the Title of the Queen of Jerusalem, although Henry out of Modesty would pretend to nothing higher than that of Prince. Thus all the Forces of the Realm being united by this Accommodation, Richard put himself at the Head of them, and began the Champaign early in the Month of June, by the Siege of Darum which he took in four days, being one of the strongest Fortresses which Saladin had; and after the taking of several other places of less Importance, which he put into the Hands of his Nephew, he returned to Ascalon, where the Duke of Burgundy joined him with the French Troops under his Command. After which to save his Reputation, and that it might not appear to have been his Fault that Jerusalem was not taken, he seemed resolved to besiege and take it in good Earnest, which caused a mighty joy throughout the Army, which seemed to breathe nothing but the consummating of that glorious Enterprise. For this purpose he parted from Ascalon, and advanced to Bethanopolis between Jaffa and Jerusasalem, to the same place where he was posted before, when he had a former Design of besieging the City. When he arrived there he understood that a Part of the Army of the Saracens, was encamped behind the neighbouring Mountains, with a Design to fall upon him, when he should be about making his Lodgements; whereupon he went and briskly fell upon them, and that with so much Fury and so little Expectation, that he cut the greatest part of them in pieces, and put the rest to Flight, taking all their Baggage, and so returned loaden with Booty to the Camp; whilst this happened news was brought him, that the Caravan of Egypt guarded with above ten thousand men with all sorts of Munitions for the Relief of Jerusalem, was advancing thither and at no great distance; whereupon taking five thousand Horse, he marched upon the Eve of St. John Baptist to surprise them and charged them so Impetuously, that after having slain the greatest part of the Convoy, with the loss of not above seventeen or eighteen Horsemen, and dissipated the rest, he took betwixt four and five thousand Camels, and an Infinite Number of other Beasts of Burden, charged with Gold, Silver and precious Merchandises, not only for Necessity but delight, such as come from the Indies by the Arabian Gulf to Egypt. And this great Booty he destributed liberally among the Army without reserving any thing for himself which was more than ever he had done in all the former Battles which he had gained. And in Truth it seemed very reasonable that, after two such great Victories, and the taking of such a rich Convoy, the taking of Jerusalem could not be a thing to be doubted; but the Joy which possessed the whole Army which with incredible Ardour undertook that Enterprise, was presently after changed into an Excessive Grief, when the Resolution of returning to Ascalon was declared to them, as the Advice of twenty Captains whom Richard had chosen to deliberate concerning the Siege of Jerusalem, whilst he marched to attack the Caravan. For they all concluded, that the Siege was not by any means fit to be undertaken; alleging many weak and feeble reasons, but concealing the true ones upon which it was grounded, which was that the King of England, had strongly resolved to return to his own Dominions; and that all which he had done was but to amuse the World and to make a show, as if he would besiege Jerusalem, For he had received advice two several times, after Easter by two Expresses from England, that his Brother John, having by force displaced and driven out of the Realm, the Bishop of Ely his Chancellor, year 1192 and the Principal Officers of the Crown, manifestly intended to make himself King; he was also assured that he was powerfully protected by the King of France, who was ready by force to take Vexin, because it was refused to be surrendered to him, according to the Articles of Messina. Richard who was extreme hasty, would have immediately embarked himself, leaving to the Count de Champagne, with the Places in Palestine, three hundred men at Arms, and two thousand English Foot, together with the Forces of the Country for his Defence. But a certain Ecclesiastic, a very able man, who was near his Person, and in whom he reposed very much Confidence, persuaded him to defer his Departure for a little time, that so he might save his Honour, by making some Movement by which the World might be persuaded that it was not his Fault that Jerusalem was not taken; and upon this Account it was, that he did all that is before mentioned, and that he would have those twenty Captains of whom he was very well assured, determine the Affair concerning the Siege of Jerusalem, who by no means approved it; but urged, that it was much better to continue the Fortifications of Ascalon and Gaza, which were the two Keys of the Realm towards Egypt, and by that means to secure themselves from the Attempts of Saladin, before they undertook the Siege of the Capital City. So that Richard seemed only to defer it upon the Opinion of so many knowing men who were chosen from among the Templars and Knights of the Hospital, the Lords of the Country, and several of those who come from Europe; after which he declared publicly, that since it was judged inconvenient at that time to attempt the Siege of Jerusalem, he would there leave thee Count de Champagne his Nephew to undertake it in due time; and that for himself he was obliged to return to defend his Dominions, against such as laid hold of this Advantage of his Absence to Enterprise against him and to invade them. It is impossible to express the Mischief which this Imprudent Declaration occasioned, which he did before he had perfected his Treaty, with Saladin which was then a Foot; for Saladin seeing the Danger he was in to lose all, was contented to have some and to yield the rest to the Christians, upon most advantageous Conditions: But so soon as he perceived that he had nothing to fear from that quarter, and that upon Richard's resolving to departed, the whole Army would Instantly disband; he held so firm and fierce, that a Truce in such a manner as he pleased, was all that could be gained from him; a Truce unworthy of the Reputation and Courage of a King of England. the Army of the Crusades being herewith most furiously enraged, and almost mad, to see themselves rob of the Glory of delivering the Holy Sepulchre of Jesus Christ, which they had with so much Danger, come so far to search after, disbanded of its one accord, the greatest part of them thinking now of nothing but returning into their own Country, bestowing a thousand Curses upon King Richard, whom they accused more than ever, to have assassinated the Prince of Tyre, to have attempted against the Life of Philip the August, and sold the Holy Land to Saladin, with whom he held a Correspondence. Richard by the Grandeur of his Soul and his Natural Courage, gave himself not manner of trouble, for what was the Effect of Rage and Anger, and the Malicious pleasure, which men take to speak Evil of those whom Fortune or Merit have elevated above them or what they spoke so outrageously against his Conduct in this War; and, indeed in a short time after he made it evident by a most glorious Action, that this last Accusation was as great a Calumny as the two former. For as he arrived at Acre, where the Duke of Burgundy with the French, were also come to give order for their Return, he received advice that Saladin, understanding that the Christian Army was broken up, had laid Siege to Jaffa; Upon this news he rallied all the Troops he could, and dividing them into two Bodies, he gave one to the Count de Champagne, with Orders to march by Land, and with the other he himself went by Sea, with the choice Lords of the French and Flemings who would follow him upon this great occasion. Those who manifested the greatest Ardour, and whom among others he chose to be near his Person, were Gauchier de Chastillon, who had lost his Brother in the Siege of Acre. the Counts of Cleves, and Limbourg, the Baron of Stanford, Valeran de Luxenburg, Guy de Montfort, Bartholomew de Mortemar, Raoul de Mauleon, William de L' Estang, Andrew de Savigni, Henry de Nevile, Dreux de melo, and William de Bars. He was for some time stayed by contrary Winds, and did not arrive, till precisely the Evening of that day, wherein those who had retired into the Castle, after the taking of the City, had promised to surrender, if they were not before that time relieved. The Saracens seeing him coming, had put themselves in Battalia, upon the Bank to hinder his Descent; and the greatest part looking upon such an Attempt as impossible, advised the King to return: But this undaunted Prince, perceiving that the Castle yet held out, causing his Shallop to row close to the Shoar, was the first that leapt into the Sea, and drew the rest after him, rather by the extreme Danger to which they saw him expose himself, than by the Force of such a brave Example; and after he had routed the Saracens who fled instantly amazed at his prodigious Boldness, he stormed the Town by the same Breaches which they had made, and cutting in pieces those who besieged the Castle; he constrained Saladin with the remainder of his Troops, to retire in great disorder to the Mountains, But this was not all; for three days after, seven thousand chosen men of the most brave of all Saladin's Army, thinking to surprise him early in the Morning in his Quarters while he was asleep, taking the Alarm he so quickly rallied what Troops of Infantry could be gotten together on the sudden, and form them so well into a square Battalion, that they durst never so much as approach him; for he had so ranged his men, that between every Pike, who kneeled with one knee upon the Ground, two Crossbows were placed, one of which charged the Crossbows, whilst the other let fly the Mortal Arrows among them without ceasing; and at last seeing the Enemies disordered by the great Showers of those dreadful forked Arrows, and that they did nothing but wheel about his Battalion which had a Front every way, he by an excess of Courage, or rather Temerity threw himself on into the midst of his Enemies, although he had not with him above ten Lords, who were mounted as he was, the Chief of which were the Count de Champagne, the Earl of Leicester, Bartholomew Mortemar, Raoul de Mauleon, Andrew de Savigni, William de L' Estang, and Henry de Nevile. There he did show the Prodigies of Valour with those Generous Lords, who by his Example combated like so many enraged Lions. He relieved Robert, Earl of Leicester, who happened to be dismounted; he cut off the Arms of those who had seized upon the Lord Mauleon to make him Prisoner; his Sword like Lightning flew every way, carrying Death and Terror along with it among his Enemies, and at last seeing the General who commanded the Saracens, who was animating his men to the Combat, and reproached them of Cowardice to suffer such a handful to triumph over them, he ran up to him and with a mighty Blow of his Falchion cut off his Head and right Arm close by the Shoulder, so that he fell dead among the Horse's Feet. This dreadful Blow so terrified the Saracens, that they durst not come near him, but attacked him at a distance with their Arrows; so that at last weary of their Slaughter he returned to his Camp, the Caparison of his Horse being bristled with the Enemy's Arrows of whom he left seven hundred Extended upon the Earth without having lost any more than two of his Men. In truth such a Noble and Heroic Action, made it most apparent that there was no manner of Understanding between him and Saladin, against whom, if there had, certainly he would never have fought with such apparent Hazard of his Person to drive him out of Jaffa, after he had taken it. But all this did not hinder, but that Saladin, who saw very well that Richard, who was fallen sick after this Combat, was not only resolved but necessitated to return into Europe, obliged him in Conclusion to accept of a Truce with such Conditions as he was pleased to give, as if he had been the Conqueror. They were these. That the Christians should demolish all the places which they had siezed upon, since the taking of Acre, and above all Ascalon. That all the Coast from Tyre to Jaffa, should be in the Power of the Christians, that the rest should remain in the Possession of Saladin, except Ascalon, which upon the Expiration of the Truce, should fall to his Share who should then be most potent; year 1192 and that Richard should be satisfied from him for the Expenses which he had been at in the Fortifications of that Place. That during the Truce, which was to begin at Easter, in the following Year, and to continue for three Years, three Months, three Weeks, and three Days, the Christians should have liberty, in small numbers, freely to enter into Jerusalem, to make there their Devotions at the Holy Sepulchre. Thus this great Crusade, wherein all the Forces of Germany, France and England were employed under three of the greatest Princes of the Universe, against one single Conqueror, ended, at last, in nothing more than the Taking of one poor Town, which cost the Lives of an infinite number of brave Men; the least part of which, if they had been under the Command of one single Captain, might with ease have conquered the whole Eastern Empire. But it is never to be expected, or hoped, but that Hatred, Envy, Ambition, Jealousy of State, and Diversity of Interests, which never fail to happen among plurality of Commanders, should ever suffer these kind of Unions to continue firm or long: And it would be a kind of Prodigy, if they should not, according to their nature, produce those Divisions and Animosities, which alone, without the Assistance of other Mischiefs, are capable of ruining the greatest Enterprises, and the bravest Armies: Whereas one single Chief, with far less number, shall certainly triumph over the greatest Multitude, leagued against him, provided he hath but Patience to permit Discords to enter into the Camp of the Confederates, and will but give them leave to overthrow themselves. The Truce being signed, Richard, who found himself still worse in the unwholesome Air of Jaffa, caused himself to be removed to Caiphas; where Saladin, who had naturally a generous Soul, sent to visit him, with great Marks of Affection, Esteem and Respect: He also very obligingly received the Bishop of Salisbury at Jerusalem, who, with the rest of the Pilgrims, went thither, to offer the Vows of the King, who still continued much indisposed in his Health. And after he had most courteously entertained that Prelate, he obliged him to demand what Favour lay in his Power; and promised, he would grant it. Whereupon the Bishop requested, that, not only in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, but those of Nazareth and Bethlehem, there might be permitted to remain two Latin Priests, and two Deacons, with freedom publicly to celebrate Divine Service in those places: to which Saladin without any difficulty, according to his Word, accorded. After this, the King, finding his Health in some measure reestablished, repaired to Acre, where the Duke of Burgundy was dead of the Distemper, some eight Days before his Arrival: There he caused his Fleet to be rigged, upon which he embarked the two Queens, with the greatest part of his Forces; who, not long after, happily arrived in England: And about the beginning of October, he also departed, with the Displeasure of having on one side concluded a Truce, most inglorious and disadvantageous to the Christians; and on the other, with the Honour and Pleasure, at his parting, to have bestowed two Kingdoms, that of Jerusalem, which was a very piteous one, but yet a Kingdom, upon the Count de Champagne, his Nephew; and that of Cyprus, which he had conquered, upon Guy de Lusignan, in which House it continued two hundred and eighty Years. Thus it was that King Richard left the Holy Land, with a Promise to these two Princes, that, upon the Expiration of the Truce, he would return with more powerful Forces; and to persuade the World that this Resolution of his was in serious Earnest, he continued still to wear the Pilgrim's Cross upon his Habit. As for the rest, his natural Impatience and Temerity made him commit two mighty Faults, which rendered his Return very unfortunate. For first, Whereas he ought to have embarked himself like a great King, upon a gallant Fleet, that so he might return with Security, and the same Magnificence with which he came, he satisfied himself with one great Ship, in which he might easily, by Sea, have fallen either into the hands of Enemies or Pirates; and after that, when he was at Corsu, perceiving that his Vessel was a Slug, and made no Way, he threw himself, for the more Expedition, into a Galliot, and was, by Tempest, driven into the Gulf of Venice, where he was shipwrecked between that place and the City Aquilea; and having run a thousand Dangers in crossing through Germany in Disguise, year 1193 the greatest part of his Followers being taken Prisoners by the Germans, who pursued him, and laid all the Passages for him, he was, at last discovered near Vienna, by the Subjects of the Duke of Austria, his mortal Enemy, who made him Prisoner, and treated him with sufficient Inhumanity, in Revenge of the old Quarrel before Acre; and after some time he delivered him into the hands of the Emperor Henry VI This Prince, to cover his abominable Avarice, which made him so unjustly detain this King, only to draw a great Ransom from him, made his public Pretence, that all this was to do Reason for what Richard had done to his Prejudice in Sicily, and for the Assassinate of the Marquis of Montferrat, and those other Crimes of which he had been accused in Palestine. But Richard, who was naturally cloquent, in a full Diet before the Princes of the Empire at Spire, made his Innocence so evidently appear, that the whole Assembly was moved for him, even to Tears, and entreated the Emperor that, for the future, he might be treated like a King; which the Emperor, more out of Shame than Honour, consented to. Pope Celestin also solicited by the Letters of Queen Eleonor, which were all in the Style of Peter de Blois, who writ them; and by the Prayers and Entreaties of Gautier Archbishop of Rouen, and the Bishops of Normandy; who, upon this occasion, manifested great Ardour and Affection for the Service of King Richard, did all that he possibly could, to obtain his Liberty. He proceeded so far as to denounce the Anathema against the Duke of Austria, for daring to make a Prisoner of a Pilgrim, expressly contrary to an Article of the Crusade, which denounces Excommunication against such as should attempt any thing either against the Persons or Estates of such as had taken upon them the Cross. He also menaced the Emperor to interdict all his Dominions, if he did not presently release this prince, who came to employ his Blood and his Fortune against the Infidels, and over whom he could pretend no sort of Right. But this had very little Effect upon the Germans, who, for a long time, had been accustomed to be in no pain for the Thunders of Rome: For, notwithstanding all these Menaces, year 1194 poor Richard could not be set at Liberty, till, after above a Years Imprisonment, he paid a hundred thousand Marks in Silver before his Releasement, and left fifty Hostages, among which was the Archbishop of Rouen, for the Payment of fifty thousand Marks more; of which, the Duke of Austria was to have twenty thousand, and the third part of the hundred thousand already received by the Emperor. So that, to raise this Sum, all England was taxed; and even the Chalices and consecrated Vessels were forced to be melted down and coined. So far was this Prince, who was falsely accused to have sold Palestine to Saladin, from making any Advantage of the Crusade, that it is most certain, that, in this Expedition he spent an immense Treasure, to the great Impoverishment of himself, and his whole Realm. But as he had not made this Treaty, but whilst he was under a Force and Violence, therefore, so soon as he was returned into England, he sent his Ambassadors to the Pope, to demand Justice from him. He desired of him, that since, by virtue of the Protection of the Holy See, it was promised to all the Crusade, that their Persons and Estates should be free from Injuries, during the whole time of their Pilgrimage, that he would, by all sorts of Canonical Ways, compel the Emperor and the Duke of Austria to set at liberty his Hostages, to restore the Money which they had so unjustly exacted from him, and to make him Satisfaction for the cruel Injury which they had done him, contrary to all the Laws, both Humane and Divine. Celestin, who saw that the Treaty of the Crusade, which was universally received and confirmed, without Contradiction, was manifestly infringed in this great Article, could not refuse to do him Justice. He therefore, according to the Canons, caused these two Princes to be three several times admonished to make Satisfaction in these Particulars; and seeing that they persisted obstinately to deride his Threaten, he did anew denounce the Anathema of the Church, first against Leopold, and then against the Emperor, with all the usual Solemnities. The Duke hereupon became more obstinate, and was so far transported, as to threaten the Hostages which he had with Death. But it was not long before all the World believed, that those terrible Scourges with which the Duke was chastised, and that deplorable Accident which befell him, year 1193 were the evident Effects of the Anger and Justice of God Almighty, who would punish his Obstinacy in this World, that so he might find Mercy in the next. And, in truth, besides that many of his Cities were destroyed, either by Fire from Heaven, or by the Waters of the Danubius, which drowned the greatest part of his Country, in which Plague and Famine made a horrible Ravage, one Day, when he had made a magnificent Entertainment at Gretz, to celebrate his Birthday, his Horse falling upon him, broke his Leg; after which, a Fire in such furious manner seized upon the Part, that, unable to endure the violence of the pain of that terrible Inflammation, he caused it to be cut off; but the Inflammation, of whose Nature the Physicians were wholly ignorant, mounted from his Leg, to his Thigh; and from his Thigh, expanding its Flame through his whole Body, he then acknowledged that it was the Hand of God which was upon him, confessed his Fault, delivered the Hostages of King Richard, became a Penitent, received Absolution from the Bishops, and died in the Peace of the Church, after he had, by his last Will and Testament, ordered Restitution to be made to Richard, King of England, of all the Money which he had received from him. But it is commonly to be observed, that these kind of Restitutions, with which dying Persons charge their Executors, are rarely discharged by the Living: And Pope Innocent III. who succeeded Celestin, had not a little trouble with the Successors of Leopold, when he endeavoured to oblige them to the Performance of that part of his Will, the difficulty of Restitution persuading them against the Justice of it. But as to any thing further, it is to be observed, that neither this Leopold, nor his Successors, of whom I discourse, were at all related to those Princes who, at present, possess the Title of Austria; that Family, which, about a hundred Years after, entered into the House of Hapsbourg, being descended from the House of Alsatia, from which, that August Family, which now bears the name of the House of Austria, derives its Original. In this time the Affairs of the Christians of the East remained in great Tranquillity in reference to the Saracens, who willingly maintained a Truce which was so extremely advantageous to them, and which gave them reason to hope, that in a small time they should become Masters of all the Remainder of Syria: But they happened to be something embroiled, by a kind of Civil War, which was like to break out by the Treachery of Bohemond, the third of that Name, Prince of Antioch. For, being a Man of great Ambition, little Prudence, and less Power to support it, he had recourse to unworthy Artifices and Cheats, which he made use of to oppress the Armenian Princes, his Neighbours, whose Power and Greatness, which increased every day, gave him a troublesome Jealousy. He had, by these Cowardly ways, made Rupin of the Mountain his Prisoner, upon pretext of a Conference, and thought to have done the same to Livon, who did not only succeed in the Power of his Brother Rupin, but was also more successful, and augmented that Power, by the taking of divers places from Bohemond. This Prince, after he had made an Accommodation with him, thought to have surprised him also in the same manner; and having sent to him, to desire an Interview in a certain place, he resolved there to seize upon him, and make him his Prisoner. But Livon, who followed the Maxim of those who hold, That one ought never to trust a Man who hath once violated his Faith, came to the place appointed strongly guarded, with a great number of brave Men, whom he placed in Ambuscade, in a place at a convenient distance from the place of Meeting; and then advancing, only accompanied with two Persons, according as it was concluded between them, perceiving by the Company which Bohemond had with him, the Treachery which was intended, he gave the Signal to his People, who immediately came pouring in upon Bohemond, and surprised him, putting him into the hands of Prince Livon, who carried him Prisoner into his Dominions. Count Henry, who saw well that this Quarrel must necessarily divide all the Christians of the East, went himself into Armenia; where he was, by Livon, received with all the Respect imaginable, but with a strong Resolution, nevertheless, to draw all the Advantage he could possibly from his good Fortune, as indeed he did: For the Count so well managed the Spirit of Bohemond, year 1195 that, to regain his Liberty, which he made him understand, was never to be obtained, but upon these Terms, he at last consented, that Prince Raymond, his Son, should marry the Princess Alice, the Daughter of Rupin, and Niece to Livon: That Livon should hold all the Places which he had conquered in the Principality of Antioch, and that, for the future, that Principality should do Homage to Armenia. After which, Livon, by the Consent of Count Henry, took upon him the Title of King of Armenia; which was afterwards confirmed to him by the Pope and the Emperor. It is most certain that the Saracens might have drawn extraordinary Advantages from these Divisions which began to arise among the Christians; but the Divine Providence averted that Misfortune, by the Revolution which happened in the Empire of the Infidels, by the Decease of Saladin, who, amidst these Actions, died at Damascus, after he had tamed all the Rebels on this side Euphrates. He was certainly a Prince, notwithstanding all the Saracen he had about him, who was possessed of Virtues and Qualities, which might well be compared with those of the most famous Conquerors of Antiquity; and who, after having performed a thousand noble Actions in his Life, did one at his Death which ought to be received by Posterity, as a most admirable Lecture of the Vanity of all Earthly Pomp and Glory: For, some Moment's before his Death, calling for him who used to carry his Banner before him in all his Battles, he commanded him to tie to the Top of a Lance a Linen , in which he was to be wrapped at his Interment; and displaying it, as being the Standard of Death, which triumphed over so great a Prince, to make this Proclamation; This is all which the great Saladin, Vanquisher and Master of the Empire of the East, must carry with him, out of the World, of all the Treasures and the Glory which he hath acquired by so many mighty Conquests. A rare Spectacle, and most worthy to be eternally regarded by the greatest Kings, who, from hence, may see and know, that, though their Birth and Fortune have elevated them above the Level of Mankind; yet Death, which will one day equal them with the meanest of their Subjects, will strip them of all the Pomp and Grandeur of this World; and that nothing but the Riches of the Soul, and the Glories of their Virtue, will distinguish them from others in the Life to come. As to the rest; This great Prince, who, by the Obligations of his Birth, and the Policy of State, upon which his Interest and his Fortune depended, had, during his Life, made public Profession of Mahometanism, at his Death seemed not so very well satisfied of the Truth of that Sect; for, after he had disposed of his Dominions in favour of his Children, he divided all his Personal Estate into three Parts, which he ordered to be equally distributed among the poor Saracens, Jews and Christians, which should be found in all his Dominions. And this he did with an Imagination, that, at his Death, he having these three Strings to his Bow, though two should fail, he should be sure of the third; and that, though he lost two Thirds of his Alms upon two false Religions, yet the other falling upon the true, he should undoubtedly find Advantage by it, for the good of his Soul. Poor, well meaning Prince! He did not know that there is a vast difference between Temporal and Eternal Goods: And that though those are submitted to the Empire of Fortune, which gives or takes them, according as she pleases to turn her sporting Wheel; yet in these it is far otherwise, and that Eternal Goods are never exposed to Hazard and Adventure but they are certainly lost. The Death of Saladin presently made a Change in the Face of Affairs throughout all Asia: For, having divided his Dominions among his twelve Sons, without leaving any thing to his Brother Saphadin, who had most faithfully served him in all his Wars. This Prince, valiant and ambitious, resolved to revenge himself upon the first Opportunity; nor was it long before it was offered, and by him laid hold of: For his Nephew, to whose Share, in the Distribution, Egypt fell, being slain by a Fall from his Horse, as he was hunting, Saphadin, with Ease, made himself Master of that fair Dominion; and presently raising a powerful Army, all the Soldiers of Saladin, who had served under him, and esteemed him, infinitely running in to him, he attempted the Ruin of his other Nephews; and in a short time, either by Force of Arms, or by Treachery of their Subjects, he overthrew them all, year 1195 except the Sultan of Aleppo, to whom his Subjects always preserved a most inviolable Fidelity. Thus, whilst the Infidels armed one against another, and thought of nothing but how to destroy themselves, it was believed in Europe, that a fair Occasion was offered for the Recovery of the Realm of Jerusalem, now almost entirely lost; which gave occasion to a new Crusade, which was also followed by three others, as in the ensuing History may be seen. The End of the Second Part. THE HISTORY OF THE CRUSADE, OR, The Expeditions of the Christian Princes for the Conquest of the Holy Land. PART III. BOOK I. The CONTENTS of the First Book. The little Disposition which was found in Europe to this fourth Crusade. The Pope resolves, at last, to address himself to the Emperor, Henry VI The Diet of Worms, where the Princes of Germany take up the Cross. An Heroic Action of Margarite, the Sister of Philip the August, Queen of Hungary, who takes upon her the Cross. The Artifice of the Emperor, who raiseth three Armies, and makes use of one of them to assure himself of the Kingdom of Naples; where he extinguishes the whole Race of the Norman Princes. The Arrival of the Armies, by Sea and Land, at Ptolemaïs'. The Truce broken by the Christians. The deplorable Death of Henry Count de Champagne, and King of Jerusalem. Jassa taken by Saphadin. The Battle of Sidon, gained against Saphadin, by the Princes of the Crusade. The greatest part of the Cities of Palestine taken by the Christians. Emri, Brother of Guy de Lusignan, King of Cyprus, made King of Jerusalem. The Siege of Thoron unhappily raised by the horrible Treason of the Bishop of Wertzbourg, and his Punishment. Division among the Christians. The Combat of Jaffa. The Death of the Emperor Henry VI The Description of that Prince. A Schism in the Empire occasions the sudden Return of the Princes of the Crusade, who abandon the Holy Land to the Insidels. The Death of Pope Celestin III. Innocent III. succeeds him. The Elegy and Portrait of that Pope. He endeavours to set up a new and general Crusade. Fouques de Nevilli preacheth it in France. The Elegy and Character of that holy Man. The Crusade is preached in England. King Richard engages many of his Subjects in it. The Death of that Prince, and his Penitence. The Counts of Champagne, Blois and Flanders take upon them the Cross. Their Treaty with the Venetians, by the Undertaking of Henry Dandolo, Doge of Venice. The Description and Elegy of that Prince. The Death of the Count of Champagne. Boniface, Marquis of Montferrat, made Chief of the Crusade, in his place. The Death of Fouques de Nevilli. A new Treaty between the Princes of the Crusade, and the Venetians, for the Siege of Zara. A great Division upon that Subject. Henry Dandolo takes upon him the Cross. The Siege and Taking of Zara. The History of Isaac, and the two Alexises, Emperors of Constantinople. The young Alexis desires the Assistance of the Princes of the Crusade, against his Uncle Alexis Commenius, who had usurped the Imperial Throne. The Speech of his Ambassadors. The Treaty of the French and Venetians with this Prince, for his Re-establishment. A new Division upon this Subject. A new Accord among the Confederate in the Isle of Corfu. The Description of their Fleet, and their Arrival before Constantinople. year 1194 THere was very little probability for the Christian Princes of the East to hope for any Assistance from the Princes of Europe, where there was now not the least favourable Inclination towards the Holy War. The Kings of England and France, upon whose Protection they had always chief depended, were so far from uniting, as they did before, year 1195 in such a glorious Design, they were engaged in a most cruel War, which was only discontinued for some time, by little Truces, which served to no other purpose, but to give them leisure to take Breath a little, and thereby to put themselves into a Condition to attack each other with greater Fury than before. The Emperor was wholly taken up with putting himself into the Possession of the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, in Right of his Wife Constantia, the Empress: In pursuit of which, after the death of Tancred, he extinguished the whole Race of those brave Normans, who had so generously conquered, and so gloriously possessed those Realms for above one Age. Pope Celestin III. wasted with Age and Fatigues, being now advanced to ninety Years, was in no Condition to undertake so difficult a Task as the Forming of a new Crusade: And besides, he was extremely embroiled with the Emperor, whom he had excommunicated for the Violence which he had used to the King of England; so that he had little hope to engage him in the Enterprise. Nevertheless, after he was assured of the death of Saladin, and the great Revolutions which that had made in his Empire; which he understood by Letters from Henry Dandolo, Doge of Venice; he applied himself, with the same Zeal which his Predecessors had done, to form a Holy League among the Christian Princes, to make advantage of this fair Opportunity for the regaining of Jerusalem. For this purpose he sent his Legates throughout all Europe: He did all that lay in his power to procure Peace between the two Kings of France and England; and conjured them, at least, to send some Assistance to Palestine, if the posture of their Affairs was such, as would not permit them to go thither in Person, to deliver the Sepulchre of Jesus Christ. He writ very pressing Letters to Hubert Archbishop of Canterbury, year 1195 and Primate of all England, and to his Suffragan Bishops, to oblige them to preach the Crusade throughout England. And he was determined also to constrain, by the Censures of the Church, all such, as, having not accomplished their Vow, had quitted the Crusade, to take it upon them again; and, with all convenient Expedition, to put themselves into a Condition to undertake the Voyage to the Holy Land: Or however, if their imperfect Health would not allow of their undertaking it in Person, to send a Man in their place, who might be able to serve in that War. But, after all the Care and Pains of this devout Pope, he found very slender Effects of them in the two Realms: For Philip, who, after having discharged his Vow, no longer carried the Cross, was not at all inclined to reassume it, nor to join himself again with a Prince, of whom he had so many and great Subjects to complain; and with whom it was almost impossible that he should have any firm or durable Peace; so much did their Interests, as well as their Humours, contradict each other. However, he permitted the two Cardinal Legates, whom the Pope had sent to him, to cause the Crusade to be preached in France; where many took it upon themselves, fully resolved to undertake that Voyage with the first Opportunity that should fairly offer itself. King Richard still carried the Cross upon his Habits, as a Token that he designed, upon the Expiration of the Truce, to return to the Holy Land. But the Troubles which he daily created to himself, as by degrees they lessened his Inclinations, so also, at length, they took from him the power of putting that Design in Execution: So that he was forced to make the best of it, by persuading the Great Men of his Realm to undertake the Expedition, for the Health of their Souls, and his; and since, he said, he was not in a Condition to satisfy the Desire and Intention which he had, once more to combat against the Infidels in Person, he hoped he should, in some sort, accomplish those Intentions, by the brave Actions which those, who should supply his place, would perform in that War. But for all that, this turned to no great Account; whether it were that the Lords were a little shocked with the thoughts of a Voyage so long, dangerous and toilsome, or that they easily discovered the little Sincerity in these Discourses of the King, who, they knew, had much rather that they should stay at home, than abandon him in the Wars which he then had with France. The Pope therefore, perceiving that he was to expect little Aid, either from France or England, in such an unlucky Conjuncture, turned all his Thoughts towards the Emperor, in hopes that that Prince would not be displeased with so fair an Occasion of putting himself into good Terms with the Holy See. And in truth, this way, which seemed next to impossible, after such a notorious Breach as had been betwixt the Pope and the Emperor, had an unexpected and undifficult Success. For Henry resolved absolutely, upon this Occasion, to give the Pope all manner of Satisfaction; whether it were that he was really touched with a true Remorse for his past Faults, and that hereby he thought to oblige Celestin to restore him to the Peace of the Church; or that he was glad to have so fair an Opportunity to return into Italy with a powerful Army, where the Empress herself, highly dissatisfied with his Conduct towards the Norman Princes, had raised a potent Interest against him: It is certain that he received the Cardinal Gregory in an extraordinary manner at Strasbourg, where, at his Return from Italy, he had caused an Assembly of the States and Princes of the Empire. He most favourably heard the Speech which the Legate made to him at the Diet, when he presented to him the Letters of Celestin, in which the Pope, without taking the least notice of their former Differences, or the Anathema which he had denounced against him, exhorted him, as if there had never been any Unkindness, or Breach between them, to take upon him the Cross, and to unite all the Forces of the Empire, to gain the Glory of establishing that of Jesus Christ in Palestine. The Emperor hereupon, at least in outward Appearance, embraced that glorious Design with all his Heart, and protested publicly, that he was ready to do whatsoever the Pope should desire, in reference to this holy Enterprise; and that he was resolved to employ his Estate, his Forces, and his Life, to put it in Execution; and, following the Example of his Father, to march himself at the Head of the Christian Army, year 1195 against the Infidels. For this purpose he called a general Diet at Worms, where almost all the Princes, Ecclesiastic and Secular, were assembled, about the latter end of November. There he solemnly declared, in the Cathedral Church, his Resolution to undertake the Holy War, in a Discourse which moved the whole Assembly. After which, eight of the most famous and eloquent Bishops, every one in his Turn, did, for eight days, make elaborate Speeches upon this Subject; and discoursed it with so much Force and Zeal, that the whole Assembly took upon them the Cross; some out of a true Sentiment of Piety, and a sudden Transport of Devotion; others by the Obligation of Shame, not to follow the Example of so many Great Men, after the Throng of whom, they were necessitated, for their Honour, to permit themselves to swim along that generous Stream. Thus it sometimes happens, that Men do well, even contrary to their own Inclinations, when, by a kind of Necessity, they find themselves forced by the Company and Example of such as out of good Inclinations, and Greatness of Soul, follow the Paths of Piety and Virtue. The most remarkable of those, who, in this Assembly, took upon them the Cross, were Henry Duke of Saxony, Otho Marquis of Brandenbourg, Henry Count Palatin of the Rhine, Harman Landgrave of Thuringia, Henry Duke of Brabant, Albert Count of Hapsbourg, Adolphus Count of Scawenbourg, Henry Count de Pappenheim, Mareshal of the Empire; the Duke of Bavaria, Frederick, the Son of Leopold, Duke of Austria; Conrade Marquis of Moravia, Valeran, Brother to the Duke of Limbourg; and the Bishops of Wirtzbourg, Breme, Verden, Halberstad, Passau and Ratisbonne. But that which was the most extraordinary, and which deserves the Admiration of all Ages, was, that Bela King of Hungary being dead not long before this Diet, Queen Margaret, a Daughter of France, his Widow, the Sister of Philip the August, and who had some time worn the Crown of England, as Wife to the young Henry, finding herself a second time in a State of Freedom, was resolved to employ that Liberty, together with her Life and Fortunes, in the Service of Jesus Christ, in this fourth Crusade. For this purpose she took upon her the Cross, and solemnly engaged herself in this Holy War, with the Resolution of a true Heroine; and having joined her Troops with the Army of the Princes of the Crusade, she under went the Voyage with them, with as great Zeal and Ardour as any of them, and with far more Constancy, and firmness of Resolution. For, being ashamed of the precipitate Return of the others, who unworthily abandoned the Interests of Jesus Christ in the East, in the very Heat of the War, she only remained unmoveable in her first Resolution, and passed all the Remainder of her Days at Ptolemais, that so she might be always ready, upon all Occasions which offered, either to attack the Infidels, or defend the Christians. An Example which confirms what hath been frequently seen in other Princesses, that Heroic Virtue does not at all depend upon the Quality of the Sex; but that the weakness of Temper and Body may be supplied by the greatness of the Soul, and the Vigour of the Spirit. During this time, the Letters of the Pope, with those of the Emperor, which were sent all over Germany, produced such Effects upon the Minds of Men, already filled and prepossessed with the haughty Ideas which they had conceived of a Crusade, wherein the Empire only should be concerned; so that every City, willing to signalise themselves upon this Occasion, furnished out a considerable number of Crusades. Insomuch that the Emperor found wherewithal, abundantly to satisfy, not only the great Desire which he seemed to have to undertake the Holy War, but also that which in reality he had, which was, under this pretext, to lead a potent Army into Italy, to exterminate the Remainder of the Normans, who had caused a Revolt in the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily. And that he might play his Game with greater Success, by covering his principal Intendment under this specious Appearance of a mighty Zeal, he presented himself to take the Cross from the hand of the Legate; protesting that for the Accomplishment of his Promise, and to animate others by his Example, he was resolved to march at the Head of his Army, and, in Person, to combat against the Infidels. But whether it were that they discovered his Artifice, and saw that it would be an acceptable Service to him, year 1195 to stop him in this Design; or that they really believed, that, after the deplorable Accidents which happened to his Father and his Brother in the other Crusade, it was not at all expedient that he should engage himself, in Person, to undertake this Voyage, it is certain that all the Princes humbly entreated him to continue in the Empire; remonstrating to him, that thereby he would render greater Service to God, by constantly taking care, and providing the Necessaries for Subsistence and Recruits for the Armies which he should send into the East. So that, after some small Struggling, and faint Oppositions, he submitted to the Request of the Assembly; and, in conclusion, resolved to set on foot three great Armies, that so he might make profitable use of that infinite multitude of Soldiers who had taken upon them the Cross, throughout all the Provinces of Germany. The first of these Armies, under the Conduct of Conrade Archbishop of Mayence, accompanied by the Dukes of Saxony and Brabant, and the greatest part of the Princes of the Crusade, took its Way, by Land, to Constantinople; where, being embarked upon the Fleet of the Greek Emperor, whose Daughter Irene, Philip Duke of Suabia, Brother to the Emperor Henry, had married, they arrived happily at Antioch; from whence they marched to Tyre, and a few days after to Ptolemais. The second Army passed by Sea, and after having coasted along the Low Countries, England, France and Spain, in their Passage, they took the City of Sylves, which the Saracens had regained from the Portuguese; and fearing lest the Infidels should again seize upon that important place, which had been so ill defended by Dom Sancho, the Crusades demolished it from the very Foundation. After which, they prosperously held on their Course, and came to an Anchor in the Port of Acre, where they joined the first Army. And for the third Army, which was the strongest, and composed of the best Troops, drawn particularly out of the Dutchies of Suabia, Bavaria and Franconia, consisting in sixty thousand Combatants, the Emperor, in Person, conducted it into Italy; where, in Execution of the Design which he had so artfully concealed under the specious pretext of the Holy War, he surprised the Norman Princes and Lords who were confederated against him; and without any trouble, made himself Master of all the places which they yet held against him in the Realms of Naples and Sicily; year 1196 putting those brave Unfortunates to death by all the ways of Rage and Cruelty: Insomuch that the Empress Constantia, unable to endure this horrible Butchery which was made of those of her Nation, whom this cruel, fierce and vindicative Prince resolved utterly to exterminate, she conspired against him, both to take away his Life and Empire. And that her wicked Enterprise might prove successful, she covered it and her Resentment, for the present, with a deep Dissimulation. Henry, who believed that he had now no more Enemies who were in a Condition to enterprise any thing against him, caused the greatest part of his Army to be embarked upon the Fleet which Conrade, Bishop of Wirtzbourg, his Chancellor and Lieutenant General in Italy, had rigged the Year before, who conducted them with a prosperous Voyage, in a few days, to the Port of Acre, where they arrived very opportunely to reinforce the Germane Troops, who, for some time before, had had all the Forces of the Insidels upon their hands. For Valeran de Limbourg, who, with his Brigade, having marched with the first, was arrived in Palestine before the rest, having broken the Truce which was made with the Saracens, they, who before thought of nothing but how to ruin one another, began immediately to reunite, under Saphadin, against the common Enemy, as they esteemed the Christians. This Prince, who was a great Soldier, having presently raised a potent Army of his own Troops, and those of his Nephews, who, upon this Occasion, owned him as their General, made a great Slaughter of all the Christians who fell into his Power, thereby to revenge himself of Valeran, who, by an Action very little Christian, and of most dangerous Consequence, had in like manner treated the Saracens, whom he surprised upon his breaking the Truce. After which, by a wonderful Diligence, preventing the Army of the Crusades, he laid Siege, before their Arrival, to Jaffa, into which the King of England had put a strong Garrison before he quitted Palestine. year 1196 The young Henry Count de Champagne, who had all the Authority of a Sovereign, after his Marriage with Queen Isabel, saw very well of what Importance it was to save that Place, without which it was almost impossible to undertake the Siege of Jerusalem; and therefore he resolved to march to relieve it with all the Expedition possible, and with all the Forces of his Realm, joined to the Troops of Valeran, and those, which in such hast he could raise at Acre. But by a most sad Misfortune, as he looked out of a Window of the Palace to see the Troops march buy, and thrust himself out of the Casement, to give Orders to some of the Officers, the Frame of the Window, upon which he leaned, broke, and with its Fall drew him along, so falling headlong upon the Pavement, he broke his Neck, the accident being so sudden, Violent and Surprising, that neither those about him above, or those beneath, could once think to lay hold on him, or endeavour to break his Fall; this deplorable Accident gave a stop to the intended Succours, so that they could not make that hast in their March which the Occasion required. And as it usually happens, that one Misfortune follows another, the Garrison of the besieged City making an unfortunate Sally, Saphadin counterfeiting a Flight, drew them so far, that with his Horse he cut off their Retreat, and then turning head upon them, he attacked them so furiously on all sides, that they were all cut in Pieces. After which, forcing the City without much Resistance, he put all the Christians in it to the Sword, and to deliver himself at once from the Fears of this dangerous Post, which might so much incommode Jerusalem, he caused the City to be entirely ruined from the very Foundations. Whilst these Matters were transacting, the Dukes of Saxony and Brabant, with the other Princes of the Crusade, being arrived at Ptolemais, a Council of War was held, where it was determined to march immediately against Saphadin, in regard that his Army being at present Master of the Field after his Victory, and that he had equipped a powerful Navy in Egypt, consequently if they did not endeavour presently to remove him by giving him Battle, he must of necessity hinder all manner of Passage of Provisions both by Sea and Land, whereby they should be reduced to great Extremities at Acre. They were not long searching for an Opportunity, for Saphadin, understanding that the Christians, to draw to him to a Combat, advanced towards the City of Baruth, which he was obliged to relieve, being extreme brave, and his Army since the taking of Jaffa, very much augmented, he took the same Resolution of fight them, and to meet them half way, he descended from the Mountains of Antilchanon to the Plain by the Sea, there to oppose them in their Passage. So that the two Armies happening to Rencounter between Tyre and Sidon, the Battle was fought in the plain Field, with an incredible Courage on the one side and the other, and with far more Obstinacy on the part of the Saracens, than had ever been known in any of the preceding Wars. For as they were grown very Martial, having for so long time been accustomed to Wars without any Interruption, either against the Christians, or against those of their own Nation since the Death of Saladin, and their civil Broils; so they were mightily animated by the happy Success which they had met with in the Siege of Jaffa; and Saphadin who commanded them, forgot nothing upon this Occasion, that could be expected from a complete General, and one of the gallantest Men in the World: So that their Efforts were wholly extraordinary; whilst they endeavoured to follow the Example of so great a Captain, and to preserve the Glory and Advantage which they had already gained. On the other side, the Germans, who were no less Brave, and much better armed than these Barbarians, and who had at the Head of them so many great Princes, who animated them not only with their Voice and Gesture, but by the gallant Actions which they saw them perform, combated so generously, and so briskly pursued their Point, continually pressing upon the Enemy, without so much as recoiling a single Step, or making the least Halt, as determining either to overcome or perish, that in Conclusion the Saracens, who were never before known for so long time to maintain a standing Fight against the Christians of Europe, were put into Disorder, and in a few Moment's after, to an entire Rout and downright Flight, leaving all the Field covered with the Bodies of the Slain, among whom were two Sons of Saladin, year 1196 and more than threescore Emirs, Saphadin himself being also supposed to be slain; nor was it without great Difficulty that he escaped, being grievously wounded, after he had that day done all that became a great Captain and a gallant Soldier. This glorious Victory was followed by the Reduction of the greatest part of the Cities which the Saracens had seized; Sidon, Laodicea in Syria, Giblet, and several other Places of lesser Importance, either surrendered themselves or were taken without much Difficulty. So that they had Time and Covenience to repair the Ruins of Jaffa, year 1197 where a strong Garrison was placed, thereby to make sure of a Post so advantageous and necessary for the Conquest of Palestine. At the same time one of the Sons of Saladin, who was Master of Jerusalem, sent to the Princes to offer his Alliance, making a show as if he intended to renounce his Sect, and become a Christian; but whether with an intention only, by this Artifice to amuse them, and to divert the furious Tempest of their Arms, which he feared was ready to be poured upon his Head; or that in reality his Intention was to join with the Christians, to revenge himself of his Uncle Saphadin, who before had made War upon him, and endeavoured his Ruin, is uncertain: There also happened at the same time another unexpected piece of good Fortune to the Christians; for as in prosecution of their first Intention, they came within view of Baruth, which they designed to Besiege, they saw appear the Christian Fleet, commanded by the Archbishop of Mayence, which returned from the Isle of Cyprus, whither they had sailed to Crown, and bring along to Palestine, Emeri, who had succeeded to Guy de Lusignan his Brother, who was lately deceased without any Children. Upon the sight of these two mighty Armies, which at the same time appeared before the City, the Saracens, although they had there a very strong Garrison, were so dismayed, that they suffered the Castle to be taken by the Christian Captives, who in that Consternation found means to knock off their Irons; and in Conclusion, the Infidels despairing to be able to Defend the Place, made haste to save themselves by abandoning the Town to the Conquerors, who there found an inestimable Booty. There the Princes, to give a Chieftain to the Realm of Jerusalem, and a Successor to Count Henry, without much Trouble persuaded Queen Isabel to Marry Emri de Lusignan, who was her fourth Husband, and who joined the Crown of Cyprus to that of Jerusalem. Hitherto all things succeeded most admirably to the Army of the Princes of the Crusade; and if after this happy beginning they had marched strait to Jerusalem, it is almost certain, that in the Condition wherein the City than was, without all manner of Hopes of being relieved, and under a Prince who already seemed to Capitulate, it must either have been surrendered upon Composition, or carried by Force. But there is no time wherein it is not easy to observe, that those who have known very well how to Vanquish their Enemies, have not yet been so Fortunate as to know how to make the best Use of their Victories; and that they have lost all the Fruit of their gallant Actions, for want of taking Time and their Enemies by the Head, after such considerable Defeats: For the Crusades, whereas they ought immediately to have lead the conquering Army to Jerusalem, and to take all the Advantage they could of the Disorder of the Saracens, before they could be able to recover the Consternation of the Blow, and to re-settle their Affairs; they very unadvisedly undertook the Siege of Thoron, which was the most impregnable of all the Places which the Saracens yet held in Palestine, and the most able to stop the Course of a Victorious Army to no purpose. This place was rather a great Castle than a Town, which Hugh de St. Omer, Lord of Tiberias, had beforetime caused to be built in the Reign of Baldwin the I. about seven or eight Leagues from Tyre towards the East, to oppose the Excursions of the Saracens, who at that time were Masters of that great City. It was situate upon the top of a high Mountain, which was environed round with broken Rocks, which rendered it wholly inaccessible to an Army; for there was no coming to it, but by one way, which was very Narrow, and on each hand whereof lay most dreadful Precipices, so that a few Defendants might easily maintain it against all the Forces of the Earth, only by rolling down great Stones in this narrow Way, where not above two Men could march abreast: The Lords of Thoron had also taken great Care; year 1197 to add all that Art could do, towards the Fortification of it, as far as the Invention of those Times would admit, to render the Place impregnable. The Army coming to incamp before it in the beginning of the Winter, it was quickly perceivable that the way of Force would be to no purpose against a place of that Nature; for there were no kind of Engines which could be elevated proportionably to the height of the Walls and Towers, to batter them; the Darts, Arrows, and Stones which were thrown from below upwards, lost all their Force of doing any Execution, before they could come at the Besieged, who laughed at the vain Efforts which were used against them; whereas at the same time their Engines discharging from above, showered down a furious Tempest of Darts, Stones, and Arrows, upon the Camp, which had much to do to cover itself from the dreadful Storm. They endeavoured however, by mining, to find a Way under the Earth, after the Example of the Dictator Camillus, who by that means entered the City of Veiae, situate like Thoron upon the top of a Mountain. But the Germane Engineers who began the Work, found the Rock so very hard, that they dispaired of Success, year 1198 and were at last obliged to give it over; so that after three Months spent unprofitably in the Siege, they found themselves no nearer taking the Place, than when they first sat down before it. In the mean time Saphadin, who was cured of his Wound, had time to levy Men, and raise an Army more numerous than before, with which he intended to besiege the Christians in their Camp. Nevertheless Thoron, which began to be in great want of Provisions, and which had already desired to Capitulate, had undoubtedly fallen into the hands of the Christians, if the Avarice and infamous Treason of those, whose principal Interest it was to have it taken, had not saved it. For the Templars, who served in the Army, and whose Manners were already abominably degenerated, suffered themselves to be corrupted by the Gold of Saphadin, who promised them vast Sums if they would find out some way to cause the Siege to be raised; they therefore gained by the same way Conrade Bishop of Wirtzbourg, the Emperor's Chancellor, who either out of Jealousy and Envy of the Glory of the Archbishop of Mayence, and the Dukes of Saxony and Brabant, who commanded the whole Army; or blinded with the Lustre of the prodigious quantity of Gold which was offered him, no longer regarded either his Conscience, his Honour, his Truth, or Fidelity, Virtues which in all Ages have been the Glory of the Germane Nation; but that he joined with the wicked Templars to betray the Interests of Jesus Christ. For having persuaded the greatest part of the Italian Captains, who came along with him into Palestine, to enter into the same Sentiments with himself; these joined with the Templars made the major part of the Council: And first therefore he opposed the receiving the Besieged to Conditions, alleging that it was impossible but they must presently come and submit themselves with Halters about their Necks; and after that having spread a Report that Saphadin, who had received a most powerful Reinforcement by his Fleet from Egypt, was about to attack Baruth, at the same time that he would also besiege them in their Camp, he therefore protested that there was an absolute Necessity that they should march the next day to relieve that City. And accordingly marching out of his Quarter, with those of his Party, to take that Way, he obliged the rest of the Army instantly to raise the Siege and follow them, lest Saphadin, coming upon them, thus divided, with his whole Strength, they might fall into a worse Disaster. Thus was Jesus Christ, in his Interest, and the Reputation of his Religion, sold to the Saracens by these Traitors, as he had formerly been in his Person to the Jews by Judas. But as that Infamous received little Benefit by that ill gotten Money, and afterwards came to a deserved End; so these perfidious Men gained little by their detestable Bargain, more than the Vexation and Shame to find that the Besances, with which the crafty Saphadin had in such profusion paid them, were nothing but counterfeit Gold, which, so blinded were they at the receiving, as not to discover. And for the traitorous Bishop of Wirtzbourg, returning some time after to his Bishopric, he was unluckily assassinated by some Officers of his Chapter, with whom he had made a cruel War. Thus it is, year 1198 that by the most just Judgements of God, Treason never fails to fall upon the Heads of those who act it; to the end, that if the Infamy of such a black and cowardly Crime be not sufficient to deter those from it, who by an extreme debasedness of Soul, are tempted to commit it, they may at least be restrained by the Fear of Divine Vengeance, and the Justice of Almighty God, which never fails, where that of Men either is too short or too slow in punishing it. After this Misfortune, a mighty Division arose between the Orientals and the Germans, who now began to perceive that they were betrayed, so that separating from the Templars and Hospitallers, whom they left at Piolemais, resolving to have nothing further to do with such base and infamous Traitors, they drew off to Jaffa, to preserve that place, which they had fortified, and to defend it against Saphadin, who threatened to besiege it. And in truth, that Sultan, that he might make his Advantage of this Disorder among the Christians, after having made them raise the Siege of Thoron, took that Resolution, and came to Incamp in view of Jaffa, almost at the same time that the Germane Army arrived there. Now as it was very much weakened by the Fatigues of a long Siege, and by the Retreat of the Orientals, who had separated from the Germans, they durst not adventure upon a Battle, but satisfied themselves with molesting the Saracens by continual Skirmishes, wherein they generally had the Advantage. And particularly, one time having drawn the Saracens into a great Ambuscade which they had laid for them, they cut in pieces the greatest part of their Army; but this cost the Life of the brave Duke of Saxony, who was slain upon the Place, and of Frederick Duke of Austria, who died the night following of a Wound which he received in Combating against the Lieutenant of Saphadin, whom he overthrew dead upon the Place with the stroke of his Lance. Such a considerable Victory gave some room to hope that in a little time they might become Conquerors, and that they might happily Re-establish the Affairs of the East; but the unhappy News which arrived while these Matters were in Agitation, from the West, caused all these blooming Hopes to whither in a Moment, together with the Reinforcements which the Princes of the Crusade expected; which obliged them instantly to return into Germany, where all was in a Flame of War, for the Reason which I am about to relate. The Emperor Henry the VI who had so cruelly treated the Norman Princes in the Realms of Naples and Sicily, died a little before at Messina in the Month of September, of the preceding Year, either with the Regret which he had to submit to those shameful Conditions imposed upon him by the Empress Constantia his Wife, who with the Assistance of the Sicilians, had surprised and besieged him in a Castle, from whence it was impossible for him to escape; or as some suspected, but with more malignity than Probability, of Poison, which that Princess, who for his proud and cruel Humour, hated him, had caused to be given him. Now he knowing that he had formerly been Excommunicated by the Pope for his unjust Imprisonment of Richard King of England, in his Return from the Crusade, when he came to die he manifested great Sorrow for the same: He also sent to that King, that so he might make him some sort of Satisfaction, by the acknowledgement of his Offence; and by his last Will he obliged his Heirs to make Restitution of the Money which he had so unjustly exacted from him for his Ransom, and in case of failure, he desired the Pope to employ all his Power to see it performed. Great Weakness of Princes, who cannot resolve to make Restitution while they live, of what they believe themselves unjustly possessed when they come to die; or to think they discharge themselves sufficiently by charging it upon their Successors, who commonly are of the same Temper, and not troubled with these Sucruples till they come to die, where it is not very difficult to make fruitless Orders, which rarely oblige the Living, who may be supposed after their Example, will detain it as long as they live, and then only relinquish it, when they leave the World, and can hold it no longer. This unhappy Prince died in the very prime of his Age, being about two and thirty Years old; and when he was upon the point of putting in Execution those great Designs which he had form against the Greek Emperor, whom he had compelled by the only Terror of his Arms and Name, year 1198 to pay him a great Tribute for the Provinces which William King of Sicily had formerly conquered from the Greeks, and which they had recovered during the Troubles of Italy. He was of a middle Stature, having a weak Constitution, and a lean Body, his Face was handsome enough, but something too Meager, his Complexion was delicate and very fair, his Head not altogether large enough for the Proportion of the other parts of his Body, which were well made, and fit for all manner of Exercises, in which he was very dextrous, either on foot or horseback; he was an excessive lover of Hunting, Walking, and Field Sports, and therefore he chose the Country rather than the City, for his usual Residence, and it was very seldom that he repaired to the City, unless it were to show his Magnificence in the Spectacles and public Sports or Festivals, which he loved to make with great Magnificence, and even Vanity: This nevertheless did not in the least hinder his applying himself to public Affairs, or acting upon all Occasions with abundance of Vigour, Prudence, and Resolution; for he had a Spirit lively, penetrating, cultivated by Study, and supported by an Eloquence Easie and Natural, a Judgement solid, a Soul great and enterprizing, and a Heart truly generous. But all these noble Qualities were dishonoured by his Avarice, his Violence, and Injustice, his extreme Ambition, and above all, by his insupportable Humour, his hearse and insatiable desire of Revenge, and his barbarous Cruelty, which rendered him odious to his own Wife, by whom he held the Realms or Naples and Sicily, which made her conspire against him, thereby to stop the horrible Inundation of his Hatred and Fury. He left only one Son about three Years of Age, whose Name was Frederick, as was his Grandfather, and who afterwards was Emperor. He had caused him from his Cradle to be recognised for his Successor to the Empire; but the Princes and Estates, notwithstanding their Oath, being on one hand resolved to have an Emperor, who was able to manage the public Affairs, and on the other hand, not being able to agree among themselves, upon whom to fix the Choice, there arose a most furious Schism among them, in which some of them chose Philip of Suabia, Brother of the deceased Emperor, others elected Otho, the Brother of Henry Duke of Saxony; and both the one and the other took Arms to support and defend their Emperor. This raised great Troubles and War, not only in Germany, but all Europe, by the different Interests of the several Princes, who believed themselves obliged to join upon this Occasion with each Party. Richard King of England, joined with Otho his Nephew, the Son of his Sister, to whom he had given the Earldom of Poitiers. Philip the August, who took the opposite part to the English, declared himself for Philip; and the Pope on the contrary, who believed that the House of Suabia, whose Princes had made War against the Holy See, aught to be humbled, employed all his pontifical Authority to maintain Otho against Philip; so that this unhappy Division disturbed the whole West, and in consequence ruined all the Hopes of the Christians in the East. For so soon as the Princes of the Crusade, who were in Palestine, received an Account of this News, although after the Defeat of the Saracens before Jaffa, they were upon the point of turning their victorious Arms against Jerusalem; they instantly changed that Resolution, and by common Consent agreed to return into Germany without any Delay, although the Pope writ to them in most pressing Terms, conjuring them not to abandon the Holy Land to the Infidels; but the particular Luterest which every one of them had in one Party or the other in the Affairs of Europe, prevailed above that of Christ Jesus, and reestablished the Affairs of the Saracens, who failed not to make Advantage of their Absence, and in a short time after their Departure, to recover Jaffa, and Baruth, and all the other Places which they had taken. Thus this Crusade, which was composed wholly of the Germane Nation, some few Italians only excepted, served to no other Purpose but to manifest what hath in all Ages been too apparent, and what we do too plainly know at this very day, that the Mahometan Empire, which hath rob Christianity of the greatest part of the World, had hardly grown to that prodigious and unwieldy Bulk, or even been able to subfist, had it not been for those fatal Divisions, which support and strengthen them by enfeebling the Christians; and that all their Power would not be able to resist one of our Monarches, year 1198 had he nothing to fear either from the Ambition or the Jealousy of his Neighbours. But to comfort Christendom for this Loss, Providence raised up almost at the same time, a new Pope to unite all Europe in another general Crusade, one part whereof made it most evidently apparent, that a few Christians well united, and who have no occasion to distrust among themselves, might easily make themselves Masters of the Capital City of the Ottoman Monarchy, and consequently recover the Empire of the East. This great Pope was Innocent the III. who by an unanimous Consent, and which is not commonly known in the Conclave, was chosen the same day that his Predecessor Celestin died, being the 8th. day of January; and that which increased the Wonder, was, that he was the youngest of all the Cardinals, having not yet seen more than thirty Years; and although the more Ancient had taken mighty Pains to make their Parties, during the Indisposition of the deceased Pope, yet the Succession fell upon one lest expected. This Pope was of noble Extraction, being descended from the illustrious House of the Counts de Signie; he was of just Proportion, and very well made, having an agreeable Aspect, the Air of a great and generous Man, he had a Spirit subtle and clear, a prodigious Memory, a most solid Judgement, and a marvellous Vivacity, joined with an indefatigable Diligence; which in a short time rendered him one of the most knowing Men, that the Church ever had, in all sort of Sciences, both Divine and Humane, all which he chief gained in the famous and learned University of Paris, where he soon made himself be known and admired as the Honour and Ornament of the Age. And besides all this, he had a Soul truly Great and Noble, naturally inclined to all those Virtues which concur to the making one of the first Rank among Mankind, and particularly, great in the Church; for he was extreme Zealous, Vigilant and Active, always upon his Guard for the Defence of the Catholic Faith, and maintaining the Purity of its Principle, which is the Word of God, against the Attempts of Heretics; which he made appear in a manner, which possibly will not be disagreeable to be known, that so the Conduct of the Church at that time, in Affairs of that Importance, may be the better observed. The Bishop of Metz, a knowing Prelate, and who carefully watched over his Flock, writ to him, That there ran about in his Diocese, a French Version of the New Testament, and of some Books of the Old, very Dangerous, and which occasioned great Disorders; that those who favoured and supported them were Laics and Women, of whom the Number was very great, and who were so besotted and blinded, that with the greatest Obstinacy they held their Erroneous Opinions, and would by no means hearken to such as endeavoured to reduce them to their Reason. And then he adds, These People are arrived to those Degrees of Insolence, as openly to deride their Pastors, who go about to prohibit the Reading of those ill Translations, pretending to prove the Lawfulness of them by the Holy Scriptures; and that they impudently protested, with an incredible Confidence, that they would neither obey Bishop, Archbishop, nor the Pope himself, though he should, by a solemn Decree, condemn this Translation, which they were resolved never to forsake; and that strangely despised, and with the utmost Contempt, treated all those as simple and Ignorant, even the Priests, as well as others, who would not receive it as they did. Innocent, for the Remedy of this Disorder, the dangerous Consequences whereof he plainly saw, did not only Authorise what the Bishop of Metz had done against this Translation, but also nominated certain Commissaries, whom he associated with him, to inform against the Authors and Favourers of this Disorder, to cite them Canonically before their Tribunal, and there to Correct and pass Sentence upon them without Appeal; commanding these Commissaries, with great Care and Diligence to put in Execution the Commands which they had received from the Holy See, Because, saith he in the Decretal, Herein the Universal Church is deeply Concerned, and the Cause of the Catholic Faith lies at the Stake. This wondrous Pope, being such as I have described, burning with a mighty Zeal for the good of the Christian Religion, was no sooner settled in the Chair, but he began seriously to think of establishing it in the City of Jerusalem, where it took its first Original: For this purpose, he did all that possibly could be done by his Letters, to stay the Princes of the Germane Crusade in Palestine; But when he saw the Revolution which had happened in the Empire had recalled them all from thence, year 1198 he endeavoured to make another general Crusade in Despite of the Devisions and Troubles which those of the Empire had raised throughout all Europe. For this purpose therefore he dispatched his Legates to all places, with most pressing Letters, by which he exhorted the Kings, the Princes, the Prelates, the Nobility and the People to take upon them the Cross according to their Power, for the carrying on this Holy War, and to excite the whole World by his Example, and that of the ecclesiastics, and above all the Sacred College, he ordained that all the Clergy, who possessed the Goods of the Church, should give the fortieth penny of their Revenue, and the Cardinals the tenth for the carrying on of this Holy War. Obliging himself in particular to send considerable Sums of Money and store of Provisions for that purpose; and to raise Money for those Expenses, he caused all his Plate, both Gold and Silver to be melted down, and would be served in nothing but earthen, Wooden, or Vessels made of Glass. At the same time he sent Cardinals to Venice, Genoa and Pisa, to exhort those potent Republics to rig out their Shipping as well to transport the Crusades into Palestine, as to attack the Saracens by Sea. He also took great care to pacify the Troubles of Hungary, which hindered the Effect of the Crusade there; and which Duke Andrew, the Youngest Son of the deceased King Bela, had raised in that Realm against Henry his Brother who succeeded to the Crown. But in regard the happy Success of this Crusade depended more especially upon the Kings of England and France, the two most potent Monarchies of Christendom, who were now engaged in a cruel War, he sent the Cardinal Peter of Capua his Legate, who negotiated so skilfully and with such Success between them, that at length at a Conference which they had at Andeli, they consented to a Truce of five Years, in which time it was supposed the Enterprise of the Holy War might be happily concluded. And in the mean time the Crusade, was published in all Places but especially in France where that Devout man Fouques de Nevilli preached it by order from the Pope. This so famous man, who without Dispute was one of the greatest and most admirable Preachers that ever was, was Curate of Nevilli upon the Marne, not far from Paris, a man of a great temporal Estate, but most Zealous for the Glory of God, and the Salvation of Souls, which he endeavoured after, by exercising, with an incredible Fervency, that extraordinary Talon which he had received from God to preach his Holy word. This he did with all the Force imaginable, not only in his own Parish Church, but in all the adjacent Places, and especially in Paris, where he declared himself the Implacable Enemy of all Vices, but above all of Usury, and Impudicity, which occasioned such horrible disorders in that time, which he reproved boldly, without fearing any person, and with all the Heat and Zeal which his Temperament, ardent and billious, could furnish him with. God who at the Beginning of his Ministry, to elevate him by the Way of Humiliation, permitted him for two Years to toil and labour without any Fruit, whilst preaching with all his Power against those two Vices, some mocking him, others wholly abandoning him, whilst a third sort, took occasion outrageously to abuse his Sermons, not any one seeming to reform, or be converted by all his preaching; insomuch that he was just upon the point of quitting and giving over his preaching, despairing ever to do any good by it. But God who was resolved to make use of him, did so suddenly Change their Hearts and gave such Power to his words, that piercing like flaming Darts into the most obdurate Hearts, they made such a Prodigious Change upon the Manners of Men, that to astonishment all France seemed to be reform by him; For he did not only abolish that Extravagant Extortion and unjust Usury, which had so prevailed, that neither the Ordinances of the King, nor the Censures of the Church, had been able to repress; but he touched, the Hearts of the Usurers so to the quick, that publicly detesting their Crime, they made restitution of what they had gotten by this kind of Robbery, unto those whom they had oppressed by those horrid Extortions; and where they could not sinned those to whom they ought to make Reparation, they came drowned in Tears throwing themselves at his Feet, year 1198 and entreating him to take that unlawful Gain and destribute it among the Poor. That which added still more Force and Efficacy to his Discourses was, that it pleased God to bestow upon him the Gift of Miracles, which he wrought in the Presence of the whole World, either before or after his Preaching, curing all sorts of Maladies and Infirmities, by the sole Imposition of his Hands. The Writers of those times tell us of great Wonders which he did, and one among the rest assures us that he durst not recount all that he knew, in regard of the great Incredulity of Mankind: as for my own particular I believe that the greatest Miracle which he did, was the clearing of Paris of those Infamous Places, and the converting of so many lewd and debauched Women, some of which making the Vow of Chastity, filled the new Nunnery of St. Antonina, whic'h he sounded for so pious a Design; others of them publicly promised for the Future to lead a most austere and penitent Life; and among the Young Women, many who disinherited their Courage and their Power, accepted the Favour which he offered, which was a handsome Portion, by the help whereof they easily passed from that danderous Condition wherein they were, into that of an honest and lawful Marriage. For this Purpose he procured mighty Contributions, even the Scholars of the University raising for him five hundred Livres in Silver, and the Burghers of Paris in a Body, not reckoning the Particular Benefactions, adding above a thousand more, which was a very extraordinary Sum for those times. So many Wonders, which his Renown published of this admirable Preacher, caused the Bishops to invite him into their Dioceses, where he was received with extraordinary respect, the People and Clergy flocking to him as if he had been an Angel sent from Heaven. The good man did not hereupon grow proud and vain, or distinguished himself by any foolish Affectation; for he always went according to his Custom on Horseback, decently habited like a man of his Profession; he kept his Beard shavenaccording to the Custom of that Age; his Diet, which he always received with Benediction and giving of Thanks, was indifferently what was offered him; neither did there appear any thing singular, either in his Person or in his manner of Living; so that his preaching and his Miracles always produced good Effects, wherever he came, excepting in two Places in Normandy where he was very ill treated. For coming to Lizieux, and taking upon him with his usual Liberty and Vehemence to reprove the Disorders of the ecclesiastics, who were very irregular, they made him Prisoner, but without being able to abridge him, even in his Fetters, of the Freedom, which he took to reprehend them; so that being ashamed to detain him, after they were a little recovered from the Brutal Transport, they set him again at Liberty. After which, as he preached at Caen, doing his usual Wonders before the People, The Governor of the Castle, thinking he should do the King of England a great pleasure, the good man having been very liberal in reproving his Debauches, committed him to Prison, from whence, being in a marvellous way delivered, according to the Command of the Gospel, he shook off the dust of his Feet against them, and continued his preaching constantly to other Cities, till such time as Pope Innocent being well imformed of the Virtue and the admirable Talon, which this marvellous man had in preaching, he appointed him by his Breve bearing Date November the fifth in the Year 1198, to publish the Crusade with all its Indulgences and prerogatives throughout all France. Sometime after understanding that the Abbots of the Cistercian Order held their general Chapter, being accompanied with abundance of his Disciples, he there solemnly took upon him the Cross, as did also at the same time, Garnier Bishop of Langress, possibly to put himself into good Terms with the Pope, who was not over well satisfied with him for his Conduct. After which he made his Supplication to the Assembly, that since there were met there so many Abbots, famous for their Learning and their Virtue, they would be pleased to appoint some one of their Number, who might share with him in this glorious Employ for the Service of Jesus Christ and his Religion by assisting him in preaching the Crusade, and accompanying him in this Holy Voyage. But he could not meet with a Gratification, in his Request, it may be, year 1199 because the Pope having already given Commission to some Abbots of the Cistercian Order to preach the Crusade in France, Germany and Italy, they did not judge it convenient to draw any more of their Abbots from their Charges to employ them in this Ministry. So that Fouques departed from the Assembly, and was scarce got out of the Gate of the Monastery, where an Infinite Number of People were assembled upon the Report of the Arrival of this Holy Man; but he began to preach up the Cross with so much fervency and Eloquence, that all of them indifferently engaged themselves to take it upon them. After which having made choice of one among his Disciples, who was most capable to second him in this Exercise of preaching, he travailed over almost all France, where an infinite Number of Persons of all sorts and Conditions took upon them the Cross, whilst Herloin, a Monk of St. Dennis, a very able and knowing man, and well acquainted in the lower Bretanie did the same in all that Country; and that those whom the Pope had commissioned to publish the Crusade in England proceeded there also with admirable Success. For King Richard, who ever since his return from the Holy Land wore the Cross, as a mark of his Resolution to return thither, made a most Magnisicent Entertainment at London, where the greatest part of the Gentlemen, who resorted thither to gain Honour in the Tilts and Tournaments which were held there, engaged themselves after his Example to combat more nobly against the Saracens for the Honour of Jesus Christ. But whether this was done in reality, this Prince having an Intention to go once more to Palestine; or that it was only in Appearance, and to ingratiate himself with the Pope, that so he might fix him to the Interests of his Nephew Otho, and assure his Pretensions to the Empire is very uncertain, but let it be which of them soever, there presently after happened an Accident which put an end to his Intentions and Designs; For having understood that the Poitovins were revolted from him, he passed over with an Army so suddenly, that by his only Presence he repressed the Rebels; but though he knew how to overcome his Enemies, yet he was not so happy in conquering his Passions, and his Natural Temerity, instigated by the rebellious Vice of Covetousness, brought this brave Prince to an untimely Grave, when his Affairs were in the most flourishing and prosperous Condition. For Vinomare, Viscount of Lymoges, having found a mighty Treasure in some of his Lands, offered him one half, provided he might possess the other himself. But King Richard, who inordinately doted upon Money, resolved to have it all, alleging that the Treasure of right appertained to the Lord of the Fee; and upon the Viscount's refusal, he presently laid Siege to the Castle of Chalus, where he imagined the Treasure was kept. So soon as those of the Garrison saw their Prince in Person before the Place; fearing to fall into his Hands, they offered to surrender the place provided they might be permitted to march out of it honourably, and with their Arms; but this sierce Prince to discourage them commanded it to be signified to them, that he did not use to capitulate with his Subjects, that he was resolved to take the Place by Force, and to hang every one of them who had dared to oppose him; This terrible Menace, reduced these poor people to Despair, and that Despair begat in them a Courage and Resolution to defend themselves to the last: Whereupon this Prince, whose Heart was always a Stranger to fear, coming to take a View of the place in order to attack it, and approaching too near, one Bertrand Gourdon, a principal Officer of the Garrison, knowing him, took so true aim at him, that he shot him out of a Cross-Bow with a barbed Arrow, through the left hand and a little under his Shoulder; the King enraged with the Wound caused the Place to be so furiously stormed night and day without Intermission, that according to his Desire it was at last carried by Assault; after which he caused all the Officers and Soldiers who defended it to be hanged, Gourdon only excepted who had wounded him, and whom after his recovery, he resolved to put to death by the most cruel Punishments: But it was in vain that he promised himself Health and Revenge. For the Chirurgeon, who when he attempted to draw out the Arrow left the Head behind, being an unskilful Bungler, made so many cruel and dangerous Incisions, that the Wound Gangreen'd, and the Cure became impossible; year 1199 for in twelve days after he was hurt, he died, being in the forty second Year of his Age, and the tenth of his Reign, the sixth Day of April, in the Year 1199. He died in the Arms of Gautier Archbishop of Rouen, with so many Sentiments and Marks of true Repentance, as one shall rarely find greater among the most celebrated Saints. So rigorously did he permit himself to be treated in those Extremities of his Life, that, by his Patience and Submission, he might in some manner atone the Divine Justice, by offering to God the Sacrifice of a Heart perfectly and truly humble and contrite, and a Body mortified by the severe Pains which he endured, besides those which he suffered by his Wound. A little before his Death he caused Gourdon, who had given him the mortal Wound, to be brought into his Presence; and calmly demanded of him, Why he had endeavoured to take away his Life? It is, replied he fiercely, and very resolutely, because thou hast slain my Father and my two Brothers; because thou didst resalve, by the ignominious Halter, to take away my Life; and because thou hast done an infinite deal of Mischief in the World. And after this, there is nothing that thou canst do to me which I fear: And since I am assured of thy Death, I shall, with Joy, be ready to receive my own, though it comes accompanied with all the Terrors and cruel Torments that can be inflicted on me. And I, replied the King immediately, will, for the Love of God, that thou shalt live. And thereupon he caused him presently to be set at liberty, commanding that an hundred Pounds Sterling should be bestowed upon him, and straight prohibiting all his People to do him any Injury. But presently after the death of the King, the Lieutenant General of his Army causing him to be seized, made him be hanged and roasted alive, in a most barbarous and horrible manner. At his Death, the King commanded a good part of his Treasure to be distributed among his Domestics, and the Poor. He ordered that his Body should be interred at Fonteuraud, at the Feet of his Father, as it were, to make some honourable Reparation, by this little Humility at his Death, for the ill Treatment which he had given him during his Life: He bequeathed his Heart to the Church of our Lady at Rouen, which he had always particularly cherished: And for his Soul, he entirely submitted it to the Divine Justice; offering himself, after such an exemplary Repentance, to suffer the Pains of Purgatory, even till the Day of Judgement, for the Expiation of his Crimes. It is not my Province to judge of what it pleaseth God to determine and ordain; but this is certain, that three and thirty Years after his Death, Henry Bishop of Rochester in England, preaching, after he had given holy Orders, the Saturday before the Passion-Sunday, on which Day the Church gins the Service with those words of Isaiah, Ho! Every one that thirsteth, come to the Waters, saith the Lord; Come and drink with Joy: In the midst of his Sermon, as if it had been by a sudden Enthusiasm, he cried out, Rejoice, my Brethren, the Soul of the glorious King Richard, after having, till this time, been purified like Gold in the Furnace, is now passed into Heaven. And he affirmed it with such an assured Air, exposing to every Person all the Circumstances of the Revelation which he pretended to have had, that the Authority of a Prelate, who was known to be a most virtuous and learned Man, and who was never accused for a Visionary, made very many wise People believe, that, without Weakness, they might give Credit to it. However it be, it is not so much upon these sort of Revelations, which are liable to be doubted, as upon the manner of the Death of this great Prince, that one may reasonably found a Belief of his Salvation. However, I thought fit to recount these edifying Particularities of the Death of this King, who had so great a Share in these Crusades; that so Princes may understand, that when they have had the happiness to render unto God any considerable Service by any Heroic Action, as did this King Richard, in being the first that took upon him the Cross in this Holy War, where he performed so many brave things, they have great reason to hope that the Divine Goodness, which is never slow in rewarding the meanest Services, will recompense them by the greatest of all Favours, in permitting those to die well, who have employed their Lives in his Service, and for his Glory. year 1199 In this time Fouques de Nevilli continued his preaching the Crusade with a most wonderful Success; and after he had run through abundance of Provinces, distributing an infinite number of Crosses among the People, he at last happily finished his Enterprise, by the Engagement of two great Princes in his Design, who could not but, by their Example, draw after them a great number of considerable Persons. These two Princes were Theobald IU. Count de Champagne, Brother to Henry II. King of Jerusalem, who died by the unfortunate Accident at Ptolemais; and Lewis, his Consin-german, Count de Blois and Chartres, both of them nearly related to I hilip the August, both by the Father and the Mother. They were both young, and both passionate of Glory. And Theobald, who was a magnificent Prince, that he might declare himself with more Splendour, and draw after him more Persons of Quality, published a Tournament to be held at his Castle of Escri, upon the River Aisne, in Advent of that Year 1199. whither the principal Gentry of the Neighbouring Provinces assembled themselves, to be Sharers in those Manly Exercises. There it was that the brave Count Theobald, amidst those noble Exercises of Chivalry, which the French, and particularly the Counts de Champagne, have always so much delighted in; resolving to pass magnificently, from that gallant Representation of War, to that true and holy War which he was about to undertake, in most solemn manner took upon him the Cross, together with the Count de Blois, his Cousin. They were immediately followed by two Lords of extraordinary Merit, and high Reputation; the famous Simon de Montfort, and the valiant Renaud de Montmirail, the Cousin of Count Lewis. After which, all those who were under any particular Obligation to these two Counts, and many other Gentlemen and Barons, especially of the Isle of France, and of Picardy, also followed their Example, and took upon them the Cross. The principal among these new Champions of Jesus Christ, whose Names are most known, and which I mention in this place, reserving myself to speak of the others upon occasion of their brave Actions, were Geoffry de Joinville, Steward, and Geoffry de Ville Hardovin, Mareshal of Champagne, who, like a frank and generous Cavalier, hath obliged Posterity with the History of this War; the Counts Gautier, and John de Brienne, Gautier de Vignori, William and Villain de Neully, Erard de Montigni, Manasses de l' Isle, Guy de Chaps, Renard de Dampierre, Oliver de Rochefort, Ives de Laval, Anselme de Courselles, Henry de Montreil, Paien d'Orleans, Matthew de Montmorenci, Guy de Couci, Robert de Malvoisin, Enguerrand, Hugh and Robert de Boves, Counts d' Amiens; to whom, the Year following, joined the Counts Hugh de St. Paul, Renand de Bologne, and Geoffry de Perche, and Stephen, his Brother; with divers other Lords which followed them. And to take care of the spiritual Militia of this Army designed for a Holy War, Garnier Bishop of Troy's, who had taken the Cross the Year before, and Nevelon Bishop of Soissons, resolved to accompany this Crusade. Such a famous Action, which could not fail of making a mighty noise in the World, was the Parent of others, great Examples being commonly very prolisick, which were produced thereby in generous Minds, and Hearts, which were amorous of Glory. The young Baldwin Earl of Flanders, and Henault, Nephew to the late Count Philip, who died at the Siege of Acre, seeing himself at liberty by the Peace of Peronne, which he had concluded with Philip the August, was resolved not to be behind his Brother-in Law, the Count de Champagne, whose Sister he had married, in this glorious Career of Honour and Virtue. He therefore solemnly took upon him the Cross, in the Beginning of Lent, in the Year 1200 in the Church of St. Donatien at Bruges; as did also the Countess Mary, year 1200 his Lady, a Princess of a most Heroic Courage, and a Resolution to bear him faithful Company, and run the same Fortune with him until Death. He was followed in this gallant Action by his two Brothers, Henry and Eustace, by Thierri, his Cousin, the Natural Son of the late Earl Philip; Eustace Count de Sarbruck, Conon de Bethune, James d' Avesnes, the Son of the noble Lord of that Name, who performed so many brave Actions in Palestine; and by the greatest part of the Flemish Nobility. A part of these Princes and Lords being assembled at Soissons, could there come to no determined Resolution, in regard they were not as yet assured that they had sufficient Forces; year 1200 but two Months after, at a Meeting of all the great Men of the Crusade at Compiegne, they found themselves in so good a Condition, that there it was agreed, for expediting this Affair, that the three Earls of Champagne, Flanders and Blois, should each of them nominate two Deputies, who should be authorised with full Power, to take care of all things relating to the Design, both as to the number of Troops, and the Choice of the Men, among such an innumerable Multitude of People as had taken upon them the Cross: As also, to treat with such as it was necessary, for their Passage and Provisions. The six Deputies having debated an Affair of this Importance, found that, to secure themselves from those terrible Inconveniences which the Christian Armies had suffered in the first Crusades, by long and hazardous Land-Marches, it was much more convenient to take the Passage of the Sea; and, that the Passage might be short and commodious, with so much Provision, and so many Ships, as was necessary for the transporting of so great an Army, either into Syria or Egypt, there could not be any way more proper than to treat with the Venetians, who, without all Contradiction, were at that time, the People, of all Europe, the most powerful upon the Mediterranean Sea. This Advice therefore being approved of by the Princes, year 1201 the Deputies repaired to Venice in the Beginning of the following Year 1201. where, in a few days, they negotiared most successfully with the famous Henry Dandolo, who, for nine Years past, had been the Doge of that flourishing Republic. This Henry was a Prince of a great and Majestic Port; and being now above fourscore Years old, though, to a Miracle, neither decrepit in Body, nor decayed in Mind, his great Age rendered him still more August and venerable; he had Prudence, the consummated Effect of long Experience, a most invincible Courage, and an immovable Firmness in such Resolutions as he took for the Good of his Country, of which he was a most passionate Lover. He was a great Captain, and a valiant Soldier, an able Politician, and, even at those Years, wonderfully taken with the fair Image of Glory. Above all, he was the most dexterous Manager of Affairs; and though he were almost blind, not so much by the Decay of Nature, as the Effect of Cruelty, yet was he the clearest sighted Man of his time in Matters of State. The Occasion of the Loss of his Sight was this, About fifty Years before, being employed from the Republic, as their Ambassador at Constantinople, where he generously sustained his Character, and stoutly maintained the Interests of his Country; the perfidious Emperor Manuel, not able to bear that Freedom, caused a red hot Plate of Iron to be held before his Eyes, to put them out: But for all this barbarous Outrage, whereby he violated the Law of Nations, though his Sight was mightily impaired, yet it was not wholly lost; nor did his Eyes lose any thing, to Appearance, of their Lustre and Clearness, till, after this, he received an unfortunate Blow upon his Head at the Siege of Zara, which, if it did not altogether take away his Sight, yet left him but a very little. Notwithstanding which, never any Duke acted with more Application, or better Success, for the Interests of Venice, where his well known Merit gained him an universal Respect, and gave him more Authority and Power than either his Charge or Dignity, although at that time the Power was far more unlimited than it hath been since, by the Laws which that sage Republic hath enacted, to abridge the Authority of its Head. It was then with this great Man, that the Deputies immediately treated in his private Council, which was composed of six Senators; and they managed their Negotiation with that frankness, remitting themselves wholly to him for what they must give the Republic for the Assistance which they desired from them, that in eight days they came to agree upon the Conditions of the Treaty, which were these; That the Venetians should furnish them with flat bottomed Boats and Ships, either to pass into Syria or Egypt, for four thousand five hundred Knights with their Horses, nine thousand Esquires, and twenty thousand Foot, with so much Munitions and Provisions which should suffice this Fleet for a Year. That all the Vessels should be rigged and ready to sail in the Month of June following, and should serve them for one Year, accounting from the Day that the Fleet should part from the Port of Venice. That the Princes of the Crusade should pay for the same eighty five thousand Marks in Silver; which, according to the true Supputation, year 1201 is about eight hundred thousand Crowns French Money, which was a very extraordinary Sum in those times. But the Doge, who had a great Soul, being resolved that it should not be said that the Venetians acted just like Merchants, in furnishing Ships and Provisions at a reasonable Rate; having besides, a great desire to signalise himself upon this Occasion, and to have a share in the Glory which was to be acquired in this War; therefore acquainted them, that the Republic, to contribute to such a holy Enterprise, was resolved to join with them at the least fifty Galleys, well rigged and armed, with so many Soldiers as were necessary to serve profitably by Sea at the same time that the French acted by Land; and that they should equally part betwixt them the Conquests which should be made during the time of their Confederation. Dandolo having easily brought the great Council of forty Senators to approve of the Treaty, as also the three other Assemblies of the Notables of the City, judged that it was convenient to have it ratified by the People, whom, to the number of above ten thousand, he caused to be assembled in the place, and the Church of St. Mark; where, after the Mass of the Holy Ghost had been sung, the six Deputies being introduced, as before had been agreed with the Doge, Geossry Mareshal of Champagne, who spoke for his Colleagues, delivered himself in few, but very moving Words, to the Senate and People, after this manner; That the most powerful Princes of France having solemnly devoted themselves to the Service of Jesus Christ, for the Deliverance of his Holy Sepulchre, and Holy City, which groaned under the Tyranny of the Insidels, had, among all the People of Europe, made choice of the Venetians, as the most potent and generous, the most capable of engaging in such a glorious Enterprise, to desire their Assistance, and the Conjunction of their Forces; without which, they had no hope ever to re-conquer the holy City of Jerusalem. And for this purpose, added he, with a very odd and surprising Frankness, as on the one hand they are resolved to undertake this Conquest; and on the other, that they are fully satisfied, that without your Assistance it is impossible to succeed, they have therefore given us in Commission, to use no other Arguments to persuade you, but to prostrate ourselves at your Feet, with a Protestation that we will never rise from thence, till you have agreed to our Desires, and to such Conditions as you shall judge fit to prescribe. And thereupon they fell upon their Knees, and without saying any thing further, with their Hands extended to the Assembly in the posture of Suppliants, by that piteous Gesture, accompanied with Sighs and Groans, they moved them much more than they could have done by the most Rhetorical and passionate Discourses. And here it is that we must be forced to acknowledge, that our Ancestors had a great Stock of a certain frank and generous Goodness, which the following Ages, which have been much refined upon the point of Honour, would be far from submitting to, or imitating, upon a like Occasion. But though they did not so exactly observe all the Measures and Punctilios of Breeding, which at this day are with so much Nicety and Scruple observed, for the maintaining of the Dignity which is owing to the Character of Ambassadors, yet they had this Advantage, that many times they accomplished that in a Moment, which now costs whole Years of tedious Negotiations; which, when they are finished, are yet scarely to be confided in. This Action, which the Envoy of a Gentleman would scarce be persuaded to now, had such an Effect upon all this great Assembly, that the Doge, the Senate and the People raising them up immediately from that beseeching Posture, as it were, by Consent, all together lifting up their Hands, and their Eyes, drowned in Tears of Compassion, cried out with one Voice, We will, We will; making the Church, the Palace and the great Place resound with their repeated Echoes, which instantly ran cheerfully to the City, where they were so redoubled, that they made the very Arched Roof of Heaven ring; and embracing the Deputies, they protested that they would employ their Lives and Fortunes with these generous French Princes, for the Re-establishment of Jesus Christ in his Inheritance, and his Empire, which had been invaded by his Enemies. After which, the Treaty, which to this day remains in the Archives of St. Mark, together with the Confirmation of Pope Innocent, being ratified by all the Orders of the Republic, and signed by both Parties, with an Oath upon the Holy Evangelists, year 1201 that it should be most inviolably kept, maintained and observed, the Deputies returned into France, where the Mareshal de Champagne found the Count, his Master, sick of the Distemper of which in a few days after he died most religiously, in the very Flower of his Youth, being aged but twenty five Years, having, upon his Deathbed, appointed Count Renaud de Dampierre to be his Substitute, and in his Name to take the Voyage with the Troops which he put under his Conduct. Now the Count de Champagne having been chosen Head of the Crusade, there was a necessity of putting another in his place. For this purpose the Princes concerned, after that Eudes Duke of Burgundy, and Theobald Count de Bar, the Cousin of the deceased Count, to whom this Honour was offered, had excused themselves, by reason that they were not inclined to engage in this Voyage, deputed some to offer it to Boniface Marquis of Montferrat, Brother to that famous Marquis Conrade Prince of Tyre, who had acquired so much Honour by the glorious Actions which he performed in the third Crusade. He willingly accepted of the Honour which was done him, hoping thereby to gain Glory to himself, by being employed to procure that of Jesus Christ. He therefore instantly repaired to Soissons, where the Princes, who were there assembled, declared him Head of the Army of the Crusades, with the general Applause, and the particular good Liking and Approbation of Philip the August, to whom he had the Honour to be related. He solemnly received the Cross from the hands of the Bishop of Soissons, and the holy Man, Fouques de Nevilli. This great Preacher of the Crusade, who had done far more Wonders than ever did Peter the Hermit, year 1202 was yet more happy, in that a little time after, God was pleased to call him to receive the Recompense of so many Labours, it being not his Divine Pleasure to make further use of his Ministry than he did that of St. Bernard, to assemble the Army of the Crusades, but not to accompany them, much less conduct them to the Wars; where Priests, if they act regularly, and contain themselves within the Bounds of their Profession, according to God's Appointment, aught to make use of no other Arms but Prayers, nor to combat otherwise than Moses did against the Amalekites, by lifting up their Hands to Heaven. This holy Man died of the Disease in his Parish of Nevilli, where he was making preparation for his Voyage. He appointed by his last Will, that all the Money, which he had collected from the Charity of well disposed People, should be employed for the Assistance of the Holy Land. Thus died this devout Preacher, to whose Memory, the Church, at this day, renders great Honours; and who deserved, for his Piety, to be eternally reverenced by all the Earth. In this time the Princes of the Crusade, having made their Preparations during the Winter, about Whitsunday put themselves upon their March towards Venice, where an untoward Adventure, which they could not possibly foresee, had like to have ruined the whole Enterprise, just upon its first beginning. For on one part, the Venetians had so exactly performed their part of the Treaty, that there were more Ships rigged, and furnished with all things necessary, than was needful for the Transporting and Entertainment of the Army after their Disimbarkment, besides the fifty Galleys well armed, which they had furnished at their own Charge; so that it was but reasonable that the French, according to their Stipulation, should, before their setting out, pay so much of the Money as they were obliged to do. But on the other side, a great number of the Lords, who had promised to repair to Venice, in order to their Transportation, had changed their Resolution, and went to embark at Marseilles; as did the Bishop of Autun, and the Burgundians, John de Nele, Chastelain of Bourges, Nicholas de Mailli, and Thierri, the Cousin of Baldwin, with whom that Count had entrusted the Fleet which he had equipped in Flanders: And others of them in the Ports of Pavia; among which, the brave William de Nevilli, Henry de Longchamp, and Renaud de Dampierre, General of the Troops of Champagne; either because they believed that the Passage would be shorter, and less dangerous that way, than to embark at Venice; or that they had some Distrust and Jealousy of the Venetians; or, which is most probable, that they thought they should thereby be exempted from paying their Quota of so great a Sum of Money as was promised to be paid to that Republic. Insomuch, that there being a great number of those who ought to have contributed to the Charge, drawn off, year 1202 and that many of those who were present were not able, or rather, not willing to pay more than their first Proportion; being inwardly pleased to think that the Army would, by this Accident, be broken, and they should be at liberty to return, it was absolutely impossible for the Princes to raise the Sum which they ought to pay for the Reimbursement of the Venetians: So that, after they had generously, above what was their Part, given all that they had in Gold, Silver and Jewels, they still found themselves in Arrear thirty four thousand of the eighty five thousand Marks, which they were, by Contract, obliged to pay. Thus this noble Enterprise, which was so happily begun, ran the danger of being shipwrecked, even in the Port where it was to be embarked. But the Doge, who was a mighty Politician, made his Advantage of this Accident to serve the Republic, by furnishing the Princes, who extremely desired it, with an Opportunity of dis-engaging themselves from the trouble and perplexity of this untoward Accident. For, after he had communicated his Design to the Senate, who approved it as a most suitable Expedient to secure both their Honour and their Interest; and also to purchase them a considerable Advantage; he went to the Princes, and offered to give them time for the Payment of the residue of their Debt, till such time as the Holy War should be happily accomplished by their Conquests, provided they would presently join with the Venetians for the recovering of Zara, a strong and potent City in Dalmatia; which having revolted four or five times from them, had, about three Years before, put itself into the Power of the King of Hungary. There were a great many who stoutly opposed this Proposition; some out of a secret Malignity of Spirit, and a desire they had to see the Army disbanded; others, on the contrary, by the eager desire which they had to go immediately to the Conquest of the Holy Land; amongst whom, the hottest were some Abbots of the Cistertian Order, as the Abbot du Val de Sernay, the Abbot of Trappe, and a Germane, named Martin Litz, Abbot of a Monastery in Alsatia; who, after he had, by the Order of Pope Innocent, preached the Crusade about Baste, after the Example of Peter the Hermit, had put himself at the Head of an Army of Crusades, and conducting them by Trent and Verona, arrived at Venice a little before this Accident fell out. Great Disputes there were upon this Subject, and the Reasons which were urged on one side and the other were very plausible: Those who were against it alleged, that, besides its being a most detestable thing for Christians, who had taken upon them the Cross, to turn those Arms which they had taken up against Infidels, upon their Brethren, by making War against a Christian King; it was a known thing, that the Bulla of the Crusade declared all those Excommunicate, who should attempt any thing, during the Holy War, against the Crusades; and that none could be ignorant, that the King of Hungary, who was in possession of Zara, had taken upon him the Cross, and was making Preparation to pass into Palestine. And, in truth, Pope Innocent fearing that they would undertake this Siege, had, a little before, sent Cardinal Peter de Capua to Venice, to oppose that Design, and expressly to forbid the Crusades, under pain of Anathema, to engage therein. But on the other part, Henry Dandolo, the Doge, remonstrated, That these Lightnings of Rome were not discharged, but against such as went about to make any Advantage of the Absence of the Crusades, and thereby unjustly to ravish from them their Estates; and that they were not designed against such as, pursuing that natural Right wherewith God had invested them, and which it was not in the power of any Pope to take from private Persons, much less from Sovereigns, designed only to recover their own Estates, to reduce their Rebels to Obedience, and to constrain those who supported them to leave them to the Justice and the Clemency of their Masters. That if this were not allowed to be Truth, it must of necessity follow, that a thing so sacred as the Crusade, must be the Cause of all manner of Injustice, by favouring, and giving Protection to Thiefs, Robbers, Revolters, Rebels and Usurpers; to whom the Popes, by virtue of their Bulla's, under pretext of the Holy War, must give the Opportunity to glory in their Crimes, and to confirm themselves in their Revolts and Usurpations. That the Authority of the Church extending itself only to things purely spiritual, which were entrusted to it by Jesus Christ, year 1202 whose Kingdom, as he declares, is not of this World, could not undertake to be the Arbiter either of Peace or War, which Princes make, according as they judge it conducive to the public Good, and their own Interest. That therefore the Church had nothing to do in this Case, or to hinder them from taking Arms against the Zarantines, who, besides that they were Rebels, were also, by their continual Piracies, and destroying Commerce, public Enemies to Mankind, and particular Enemies to the Crusades, whose Passage into Palestine by Sea, as that of their Provisions, they made very unsecure and dangerous. Now as these Reasons, both on the one side and the other, appeared very strong, it was a long time before any Resolution could be taken; and in that time, many of the Germans, who were come thither under the Conduct of the Abbot Martin, having consumed what they brought with them for their Voyage, and divers others of the more Wealthy, resolving not to make War against the Christians, took occasion to return back into their own Countries. But at length, the greatest part of the French suffered themselves to be persuaded by the Reasons of the Doge, which made a strong Impression upon their Spirits, to which the necessity to which they found themselves reduced, either to join with the Venetians, or give over the Enterprise, contributed not a little towards the finishing this Agreement. Nevertheless, it was made with this Condition, that after the Taking of Zara, the Venetians should join their Forces with them in order to the attacking of Egypt, the Conquest whereof they hoped would not be difficult, which, by reason of the Famine and the Pestilence, had been extremely desolated for five Years, in which it had wanted the Inundation of the River Nilus. Dandolo ravished with Joy to have obtained what he so earnestly desired, upon this Occasion, did an Action which was wholly unexpected from him, and by which he most justly acquired immortal Fame: For, notwithstanding his extreme Old Age, and the Weakness, and, in a manner, entire Loss of his Sight, which might well have dispensed him from going to the Wars; yet one Day, in a great Assembly of the Senate, the Lords of the Crusade, and the People, being in the Church of St. Mark, he unexpectedly mounted the Tribunal, and earnestly entreated the Republic to give him permission to take upon him the Cross, and in Person to conduct the Venetian Army; and that, leaving his Son to supply his place, after the Taking of Zara, he might accompany the brave and generous Princes of France, either to partake with them in the Glory of delivering the Sepulchre of Jesus Christ, or to die with them in the pursuit of such a glorious Enterprise. These Words were received both by the Crusades and Venetians, with mighty Applause, and with such great Acclamations, mingled with Tears and Cries of Joy, that the venerable old Prince, more encouraged by the general Consent, and the glorious Testimonies which were rendered to his Virtue, descending instantly from the Tribunal, made himself be conducted to the Foot of the Altar, where, prostrating himself to offer his Life as a Sacrifice to Almighty God, to whose Service he now d●●oted the Remainder of his Days, he caused the Cross to be affixed to his Duca● Bonnet, that so it might be the more conspicuous and visible to all the Beholders. An Example so illustrious was presently followed by several of the principal Persons of the Republic. And that which augmented the Joy was, that at the same time there was seen to arrive a noble Troop of brave Germane Lords and Brabamers, who had taken upon them the Cross, with Conrade Bishop of Halberstad, and Berthold Count de Catzenelbogen. So that by the favour of these Reinforcements, the Army found itself complete, and being all embarked, in the Month of October, they parted from the Port of Venice upon the gallantest Fleet which had ever spread Canvas upon those Seas, and which consisted in three hundred Vessels charged with all manner of Warlike Engines and Munitions. Upon the Eve of St. Martin they came within view of Zara; and though, considering the height and thickness of the Walls, and the strength of its Towers, which were defended by a strong Garrison, many of those who beheld it at a distance judged it impregnable, yet the next Day they attacked the Port with so much Fury, that having dispersed those who defended it with the mighty force of Stones and Darts from the Engines, and having broken the Chain which defended it, they gained it by main Force, and landed on the other Shoar, year 1202 there to attack the City, so soon as they had made their Lodgments, and taken up their several Posts. This vigorous Attempt did so terrify the Besieged, that the next Day they sent out Deputies, to make Offers of Surrendering the City upon Condition, of only having their Lives saved. And they had most infallibly done it, if those of the Cabal, who before had endeavoured to break up the Army, had not by a most base Perfidiousness, altered their Resolution, by assuring them, that they had none to deal with but the Venetians, for that the French, in Obedience to the Pope, were resolved to undertake nothing against them. At the same time Guy, Abbot du Val de Sernay, the same Person who had done such great Things against the Albigenses, and who was afterwards Bishop of Carcassone, went to speak with the Doge and the rest of the Princes; and by a Zeal, which had like to have caused great Disorders, certainly a Zeal which made him act very unseasonably, by unnecessarily exposing to Contempt the Authority of the Holy See, he forbade them, in behalf of the Pope, to proceed any further, or to enterprise any thing against Zara, declaring those who should disobey this Order, to be Excommunicate by Virtue of the Apostolical Letters, which he there presented to them: An Action so Surprising, did so Exasperate the Venetians, that they had certainly cut this indiscreet Abbot in a thousand Pieces, if Simon Earl of Montfort, who was of his Party, had not stoutly opposed it, declaring himself his Protector, and protesting that he would obey the Holy See, and never employ those Arms against Christians, which in taking upon him the Cross, he had taken up to make War against the Infidels. But the Princes, and other French Lords, to let the Venetians see that they did not only condemn this Action, but that they were resolved, like Men of Honour, and in despite of all those who opposed it, to perform, what they had not promised, but that notwithstanding their Vow, they might well, both in point of Conscience, and for very considerable Reasons do, gave such a furious Assault to the City, both by Sea and Land, without Intermission, for five days successively, that the Besieged were compelled to Surrender upon Discretion, their Lives only saved. After this, the Season of the Year being too far declined, to think of making War in Egypt, it was resolved to pass the Winter at Zara, where the Marquis Boniface came, about fifteen days after the Reduction of the Place; for he would not embark with the rest, upon pretence of giving some necessary Orders, concerning the pressing Affairs of his Marquisate; but in reality, that he might dexterously avoid appearing at the Siege of Zara, and prevent the Displeasure of the Pope; though not long after the Pope received the Excuses which the French made him by their Deputies, and granted them the Pardon which they demanded, for the greater Satisfaction of their Consciences. He also permitted them, for the removing of all Scruples, the Liberty of Treating at all times with the Venetians, who could not be persuaded to believe themselves obliged, to desire from him the Absolution from those Censures, which they thought they had not at all deserved; for which Reason, some time after, he denounced them Excommunicated by a Decree, which the Princes thought convenient to suppress, fearing that otherwise it might give occasion entirely to ruin the Enterprise of the Holy War, as undoubtedly it would have done. It was for this Reason that this sage Pope, to whom the French Princes gave an account of their Proceed, by Letters respectful, but very resolute, after having throughly weighed the Matter, approved the Prudence of their Conduct; and some time after, their Spirits being sweetened by a more propitious Conjuncture, a Reconciliation easily ensued, to the satisfaction of all Parties. Thus it is, when Matters are managed with Charity, Sweetness, and Discretion, and that Authority acts prudently and seasonably, it ever preserves its own Rights, by preserving theirs whom it reduces by gentle Methods to their Obedience, but when untuly Passion comes to intermeddle, and to pour out its Lightnings and Thunder, with more Precipitation than Reason, it loseth itself, making those become Rebels, who would easily have been brought back again to be Subjects, and is at last obliged to have Recourse to Rigour, to make them submit to the Yoke, which with good Usage they might have, with far less Difficulty, have been persuaded to receive, year 1202 and which upon any Advantage they will never fail to endeavour to shake off. In the mean time, the Crusades had the leisure of the whole Winter, in a rich City, and the Country about, abounding with all manner of Provisions, to make the necessary Preparations against the Spring, for the Conquest of Egypt; when the Ambassadors of the Emperor Philip of Suabia, and his Brother-in-Law Alexis, Prince of Constantinople, made them suddenly alter their Design, and undertake an Enterprise, which was most glorious to the French, to whom God had designed the Empire of the East, which was translated from the Greeks to the Latins, in this admirable Manner, which I am about to relate, wherein I shall briefly recount the Cause, the Progress, the Consequence, the Execution and Accomplishment of one of the most surprising and memorable Adventures that ever was known in the World. It was about seven Years before, that the Emperor Isaac Angelus, by the most just Judgement of God, who was determined to punish so many horrible Crimes as he had committed during the nine Years of his Reign, was tumbled from his Throne by his own Brother Alexis, who took upon him the Surname of Comnenius, and who after having barbarously put out his Eyes, caused him also inhumanly to be put in Irons, with his Son Alexis, a young Prince, of about twelve Years of Age. Now it being only his Ambition, which had rendered this Tyrant so Cruel, who otherways was of a Nature Humane and Sweet enough, so soon as he believed he was firmly Established in his unjust Domination, and that he had no reason to fear that any thing Dangerous could be enterprised against him, he forgot that Maxim of Tyrants, which informs them, That he who will peaceably and securely enjoy his Usurpation, must not do his Work by halves. Insomuch that he began to compassionate those whom he had despoiled of the Imperial Dignity, and after some Years of severe Imprisonment, to restore them to a great share of unexpected Liberty. He gave Permission to his Brother to live handsomely in a Palace, which he assigned him out of the City, between the two Colomnes; and suffered the young Alexis to hold the Rank of one of the Princes of his Court, commanding him to attend upon his Person, and be his Companion in all his Divertisements. But he learned presently after, that the Policy of an Usurper ought to take better Precautions, than to bestow that kind of Bounty upon those whom he hath injustly Oppressed, which may furnish them with an Opportunity of doing themselves Reason for the Violence which they have suffered. For Isaac having the Liberty to receive all such as came to visit him, treated so secretly with the Latins, that by their means he found a safe way of Corresponding with his Daughter Irene, the Wife of the Emperor Philip. And so soon as that Princess had disposed the Spirit of her Husband, to take these poor Princes into his Protection, and to receive the young Alexis her Brother, a Merchant of Pisa undertook to carry him off in his Ship; To effect this, he caused him to be disguised like an Italian Seaman, and when the Guards, which the Tyrant sent to search in all the Ships, so soon as he understood his Flight, came aboard the Pisan, who lying at the Mouth of the Hellespont, ready to Sail, was searched with more Exactness than any of the rest: The disguished Prince, with those of his Retinue, who were all on the sudden become Mariners, boldly received them upon the Deck, and undertook himself to be their Conductor, leading them into the most secret Places of the Vessel, and thus, by not being hid, escaped most securely the Danger of being Found; so that the Ship being thereupon discharged, passed the Straight, and the Prince was safely landed in Sicily, from whence he went to Rome, to implore the Assistance of Pope Innocent; from thence he passed by Land to the Court of his Brother-in-Law into Germany, and in his Way coming to Verona, he met with abundance of Pilgrims, who were going to join the Army of the Princes of the Crusade at Venice; there some of his Retinue advised him to send Deputies to them, to lend him their Assistance for the Recovery of his Empire. They arrived at the Army whilst they were making their Preparations in Dalmatia, for their Voyage into Egypt; but the Princes judged that before they came to any Conclusion in an Affair of that Importance, it was necessary to send to the Emperor Philip into Germany, to be informed from him, what Terms the Prince of Constantinople would offer, and what was to be expected from him, year 1202 after they should have Re-established him in his Dominions. Philip, who had now upon his Hands great Affairs in Germany, to maintain himself in the Empire, which he was still forced to dispute with Otho his Competitor, and who notwithstanding extremely desired the Re-establishment of Isaac and Alexis, Irene his Empress, of whom he was most passionately Amorous, continually also pressing him with her powerful Solicitations, he acquainted his Brother-in-Law, the Prince Alexis, that in the Posture of the Affairs of Europe at present, he saw no manner of Hope of his Re-establishment, but by engaging the French and Venetians to assist him, who had now a great Army on Foot, for the Conquest of the Holy Land; and that therefore he ought for this Purpose to offer them Conditions so Advantageous, that they might be tempted to Comply with them, both out of Interest, Honour, and the public good of Christendom; and thereupon, being it was not to cost him any thing, he was the more Bold in proposing the Conditions, which the young Prince, how hard and high soever they seemed, received with Joy, and instantly closed with them; herein following the Example of those, who to deliver themselves from a present Evil, and to draw themselves out of the last Extremity to which their Affairs are reduced, promise whatever is demanded, without consulting either their own Hearts, and future Intentions, or the possibility of their Performance; but being seduced by the Hope of re-entering into the Possession of what they desire above all things, they promise what they persuade themselves they are willing to do, though in reality they are resolved, though possibly at that time, without being sensible of it, upon second Thoughts, never to perform. Philip having after this Manner gained the Consent of Alexis, instantly dispatched the Ambassadors of the Princes, together with his own, and those of his Brother-in-Law Alexis, who arrived at Zara about the middle of December. The Doge presently gave them Audience in his Palace at Zara, where all the Princes and great Lords of the Crusade, being assembled, the principal of the Ambassage, who had order to omit nothing that might oblige the Republic and the Princes, to conclude the Treaty, according to his Instructions addressed his Discourse to that august Assembly, to this Effect. My Lords, if you see appear in our Faces, more Assurance and more Joy than may seem becoming poor and miserable despoiled Persons, who come to implore your Assistance, it is to be attributed to our Hopes; for besides the Knowledge which we have of the Generosity of so many illustrious Princes and great Personages as compose this August Assembly, we have Commission to assure you, that we do not present ourselves before you with the least intention, to retard your glorious Enterprise for the Conquest of the Holy Land, but to present you with a Way most Safe, Easie, and absolutely Necessary, not only happily from this Moment to begin it, but in consequence, most certainly to achieve it, with all the Glory and Advantage which you can hope or desire: For the Subject of our Embassy is to request, that those Arms which you design to carry into Egypt, and by that Way to enter into Palestine, may be employed to render you Masters of Constantinople, by placing there the true Heir the Prince Alexis, and by overturning the Imperial Throne of the Usurper, who hath seized upon it by the most perfidious Cowardice, and the most detestable Treason that ever was. See my Lords, the shortest and most infallible Way of Conquering the Holy Land, and without which, it will be always impossible. You know, generous French, nor is it unknown to all Germany, what happened to the late King Lewis, and to the Emperor Conrade, for want of assuring themselves of Constantinople, before they passed any further, as they were advised by a most able Politician: This very Oversight was the cause of the loss of two such flourishing Armies, as might with ease have triumphed over all the East, if they had been Masters of that great City, which is the very Key of Europe and Asia; without which, one cannot, but with extreme Difficulty, and a thousand Dangers, receive, either by Sea or Land, those Assistances which are absolutely necessary, for the Maintenance of an Army, either in Egypt or Syria. Nor is it probable that you can repose any sort of Confidence in that perfidious Man who is now Master of it; for how can he be trusted, who hath so basely betrayed his own Brother, who hath banished all the Latins; who hath so barbarously affronted the Emperor Philip, and Philip King of France, both the Allies of these two poor Princes, year 1202 whom this wicked Tyrant and Usurper hath despoiled of their Dominions? This Tyrant, Barharous and Cruel as he is, yet will neither have the Courage nor the Power to resist your invincible Arms, which are supported by the Justice of the Cause; nor is there any thing so fearful, and so basely Mean and Cowardly, as a perfidious, guilty Tyrant, the terrible Images of whose Crimes, continually pursue him with the dreadful Fear of Vengeance, and render him the most Jealous, uneasy, and Fearful of Mankind: And so soon as the Prince Alexis shall be seen at the Head of this flourishing Army of French and Venetians, at whose very Names the usurping Tyrant will grow pale and tremble, all Greece, which groans under the load of his servitude, will declare themselves for this amiable Prince whom they adore; and the Tyrant who is in Execration with the whole World, believing that he is Surrounded with so many Enemies, armed for his Destruction, as there are Men in Constantinople, will endeavour, by an early Flight, to save himself, and leave you an easy Conquest over a City willing to be Overcome. And for the Advantages which you shall draw from a Conquest so Easy, and so Glorious, besides what I have already said that it appears of absolute Necessity for the happy Accomplishing of the Holy War, it is convenient to let you understand that you are to expect not only Words, but real Performances, not altogether Contemptible: For this Purpose I am to inform you, my noble Lords, that the Prince Offors, and we have ample and full Power to treat with you upon these Conditions: First, That so soon as he shall be Re-established in the imperial Throne of Constantinople, he will pay you two hundred thousand Marks in Silver, to be divided between the Confederates, for the Charges of the War, and to make Provision for the Army. Secondly, That he will accompany you in Person, with an Army, to the Conquest of Egypt; or if it shall please you better, that he shall send along with you ten thousand choice Men, and maintain them at his own Charge there, for one Year; and further, that he will, during his Life, maintain five hundred Knights well Armed, for the Preservation of the Conquests which shall be made in the Holy Land. And lastly, which ought doubtless to be the most powerful Argument of any which I have hitherto used, he promises and engages inviolably upon his Faith, that if it shall please God by your Assistance, to raise him to his Throne, that he will reduce his whole Empire under the Obeisance of the Roman Church, from which it hath been so long time separated by the Heresy and Schism After this, my Lords, Judge if the Means which we propose to you for the Execution of your Enterprise of the Holy War, is not more Safe, more Easy, and most Advantageous to you, and to the whole Church, and in short, the Thing of the World, most capable to acquire for you Immortal Fame on Eurth, and Glory in Heaven. This Discourse, which seemed so reasonable and persuasive, was very diversely received by that Assembly, who resolved to take some time to deliberate upon such fair Propositions. In truth, the Venetians and the greatest Party of the French, who, besides the Interest of the public, and the common Cause of Christianity, found also therein their own, made not the least doubt, but that the Propositions ought to be accepted; but those who had before used their utmost Efforts, to hinder the Siege of Zara, opposed them with abundance of Heat; and, above all the rest, the Abbot du Val de Sernay, who was constantly in the Head of the discontented Party, made a mighty Noise with his Monks, protesting against this Diversion, and urging that they could not, with a safe Conscience, turn those Arms against Christians, which they had taken up for a Holy War against the Infidels, for the Deliverance of the Holy Sepulchre. On the contrary, the Abbot de Los, of the same Order, a Man of great Estate and Interest, who came along with the Marquis de Montferrat, together with several other Abbots of his Party, did what was possible to confute all the Reasons of the Abbot du Val de Sernay; and endeavoured to persuade the whole Army, that the only Means to make the Enterprise upon the Holy Land succeed, was this of Constantinople, and to close with the Conditions proposed by Alexis and the Ambassadors. Whereupon, before any thing was concluded, the Cardinal of Capua, one of the Legates, at the Request of the Princes and the Confederates, went immediately to consult the Pope; who put the Matter under the Deliberation of the Sacred College at the same time, when, by an odd Adventure, the Ambassadors of the Usurper Alexis Comnenius, who came to justify the Proceed of their Master, arrived at Rome. year 1202 The Pope presently gave them Audience; and they, according to their Instructions, and the Emperor's Letters, remonstrated to him, That Isaac having been lawfully deposed for his apparent Insufficiency, the Empire could not, by Right of Succession, appertain to the young Alexis, by reason that he was born before his Father was Emperor; and that therefore, of consequence, it must necessarily belong to his Uncle Alexis Comnenius, who was legally chosen Emperor. That he therefore made it his Request to the Pope, that he would not favour his Nephew, who was supported in his unjust Pretences by Philip Duke of Suabia, the declared Enemy of the Holy See, as his Father and Grandfather had been, who had raised so many Wars against the Popes, his Predecessors. And further, they desired that he would prohibit the Crusades from going to attack Constantinople, contrary to the Vow which they had made to endeavour the Conquest of the Holy Land: And then following the Custom of the Greek Emperors, who, when they have any need of the Assistance of the Popes, always promise the Reunion of the Church, they made a thousand Protestations of the sincere Intentions of their Master; and that he would cause that Obedience to be rendered to the Pope, throughout the whole Eastern Empire, which was due unto him. But whether the Pope hoped for that Reunion from Comnenius, who was in Possession of the Empire, rather than from the young Alexis, who was a banished, despoiled Prince; and that he apprehended that the Success of this War would not prove fortunate; or that he could not, upon this Occasion, persuade himself to favour the Pretensions of Philip of Suabia, whom he did not love, and whose Competitor to the Empire he openly protected; or whether it was the earnest desire which he had, that the Expedition to the Holy Land should be more vigorously prosecuted, which made him disapprove these kind of Diversions which were made of the Christian Arms against Christians, it is certain that he received the Ambassadors of old Alexis very favourably, acknowledging their Master as an Emperor. And further, He was so far from protecting the Prince, as many of the Cardinals advised, that he sent back the Legate to the Army of the Confederates, with Letters, by which he command them, in most peremptory Terms, to march immediately to the War against the Infidels, for the Deliverance of the Holy Land, and to give over the Enterprise of Constaminople, as apparently contrary to their first Design. But in this time, the French Princes, and the Venetians, who were of another Opinion, and believed this to be the readiest Way to obtain that End; as also, considering that the Pope had said nothing in his Letters to oppose that Reason, they believed that he had been misinformed of their Intentions of making Constantinople the Way to Jerusalem: And therefore, notwithstanding his Letters, they proceeded in the Treaty, and at length finished it, by accepting of the Conditions offered by the Ambassadors of Philip and the young Alexis; they reciprocally engaging to establish him upon the Throne, and in order thereto, fifteen Days after Easter, to march with the Army and Navy, to his Assistance. The Articles of which Treaty were on each side ratified by mutual Oaths, and signed by the Doge, Marquis Boniface, the Counts of Flanders, Blois and St. Paul, and eight of the principal Lords of their Party, which, without Comparison, was much the strongest. The Division, however, still continued, and was so far from being quieted by these Letters of the Pope, that, on the contrary, it was more angmented by them; and there being such a fair Colour for a Separation, after this plain Declaration of a Sovereign Pope, many thereupon took occasion to abandon the Army; some to return into their Native Country, which notwithstanding, they never did, but miserably perished, either by Shipwrecks upon the Sea, or by Thiefs and the Peasants at Land, who fell upon them in their Passage, and rob them of all they had, even to their very Lives: Others left the Army, to go directly into Palestine; as did Simon and Guy, Earls of Montfort, with their Abbot du Val de Sernay; who were followed by the three Brothers, Enguerrand, Robert and Hugh de Boves, and all those whom they could draw along with them, either by their Example, their Persuasions, or the Authority they had upon their Dependants. The Abbot de la Trappe, who, from the Beginning, fell in with that Party, did not fail to follow it to the End, and accompanied them to join in Pavia, year 1202 with Renard Count de Dampierre, with whom being passed into Syria, he there soon learned, as well as his Companions, by the unfortunate Success of that Voyage, that it is always dangerous to join with those, who, under the pretext of Piety and Religion, cause Divisions, by separating from the main Body. Thus the Christian Army remained much weakened by the Retreat of so many brave Men, who, had they been firmly united to their Head, might have done considerable Services, and avoided those Misfortunes which, by their Separation, fell upon them. As for the Pope, he took it so heinously that the Confederates had not obeyed his Orders and Advice, that he commanded his two Legates, the Cardinals of Capua and St. Praxede, to withdraw from the Army, and sent them express Order to sail to Cyprus, and after into Syria, there, on his Behalf, to negotiate with the Crusades who were gone from Hungary, and had embarked in the Ports of Italy and Marseilles. The Princes, notwithstanding this Defection, pursued their Enterprise with more Courage and Resolution; and they had the Comfort presently after to understand that the Pope, as they had hoped, being better informed, had at last consented to their Design: So that the Venetians, after they had demolished Zara, to prevent its Revolt for the future, caused the whole Army, consisting in about forty thousand Combatants, to embark immediately after Easter. The Earls of Flanders, Blois and St. Paul sailed first, steering for the Isle of Corfu, at that time belonging to the Eastern Empire, where the whole Navy was appointed to rendezvous. The Doge and the Marquis de Montferrat stayed some time longer at the Port of Zara, to attend the Prince Alexis, who in a few days, according as had been agreed, arrived there, very handsomely attended. There he was received by the Doge with all manner of Magnificence; there were Galleys and other Vessels presented him, for himself, and those of his Retinue: And the Marquis Boniface, who had the Honour to be his Ally, and to whom the Emperor had extremely recommended the Care of him, after he had done him all the Honours imaginable, protested to him, that he would sacrifice all for his Service, and that he would never abandon him, till he saw him seated upon that Throne which the Usurper so injuriously detained from him. After this, the Fleet weighed; and, for a happy Beginning of this War, as they came before Duras, anciently Dyrrachium, a most important City of Macedonia, and one of the Keys of the Grecian Empire, the Inhabitants having learned that the Prince Alexis was on Board that Fleet, they carried him the Keys of the Place, and swore an inviolable Fidelity to him. And with this happy Presage, they proceeded, in a few days, to join the other part of the Army, which was already landed upon the Isle of Corfu. This Island is that of the ancient Pheaques, which Homer hath rendered so Famous, by the notable Description which he hath given of the Shipwreck of Ulysses upon it, the proud Palace, and the delicious Gardens of King Alcinous. It lies between the Gulf of Venice and the Ionian Sea, five or six Miles distant from Epyrus, being between twenty and thirty Leagues in Length from North to South, and about nine or ten in Breadth, a Soil Rich and Plentiful, with a City of the same Name, very Strong, and a Port very Commodious, in a Peninsula on that side which looks towards Epyrus. It was returned to the Obedience of the Greeks about fifty Years before, the Emperor Manuel by the Aid of the Venetians, having recovered it from Roger King of Sicily, who had before taken it from the Greeks. But those who kept it for the Emperor, having learned that the Army of the Crusades was going to re-establish the young Alexis, they acknowledged him for their Master, and were so far from opposing the Descent of the Army, that they promised to Surrender the City so soon as Constantinople should be taken; so that the Army Landed, and without Hindrance encamped before the City, from whence they received all manner of Necessaries for their Refreshment; and so soon as they understood the Arrival of the rest of the Fleet, they marched to meet the Prince Alexis, and conducted him to the Camp, as it were in Triumph, through the Army, ranged in Battalia, amidst the loud Acclamations of the Captains and the Soldiers, and with all the Testimonies of a most extraordinary Joy. year 1203 But it was not long Lived, for those who before the Siege of Zara, had endeavoured to break the Confederacy, either out of a De●●●e of returning Home, or as they pretended, going immediately into Syria, by a Way of their own Choosing, began here to renew their Trade of tampering with the Army, heightening the Difficulties and Dangers which they said were inevitable in this Enterprise upon Constantinople, which would engage them in a Work of many Years. By these Arts they debauched a great Party of the Soldiers, of whom they had Assurance upon Occasion, though for the present they durst not declare themselves. The Princes, who perceived it, were dreadfully afraid of the Danger which they apprehended might ensue upon their being Abandoned by the greatest part of their Soldiers, and thereby seeing themselves reduced to a Disability of pursuing the Enterprise which they had so happily begun. Whereupon after mature Deliberation, and a clear Understanding of the Matter, they concluded, that if upon this Occasion they should go about to make use of their Authority, and think by Compulsion to procure Obedience, therebeing so many considerable Lords and Gentlemen, who were not used to be so treated, it might make them run the Hazard of destroying one another, and prove a Remedy incomparably worse than the Disease; they resolved therefore upon an odd Experiment, which as it was without all Precedent, so in probability, it will never be an Example for future Imitation. For immediately mounting on Horseback, with the Prince of Constantinople, and all the Bishops and Abbots, which were of their Party, they went to find out the principal of the Cabal, who were already separated from the Army, the chief of which were Eudes de Champlite, James d' Avesnes, Peter de Amiens, Guy de Coucy, William d' Aunoy, Guy de Chaps, Guy de Constans, Richard, and Eudes de Dampierre. The Princes no sooner saw them but they alighted from their Horses, which obliged the Malcontents to do the same, being much surprised to see those great Princes come with so much Respect to Gentlemen, who assuredly were much their Inferiors both in Birth and Quality; but they were much more amazed, when the Princes being come up to them, threw themselves at their Feet, and with Eyes bathed in Tears, conjured them in the Name of God, not to abandon them in an Enterprise, upon which the Recovery of the Holy Land absolutely depended; and protested that they would never rise from that Posture, till they had obtained the Favour they desired. In truth, this surprising way, so wholly Irregular, and so much below the Dignity of Princes, had nothing of Policy in it, being apt to expose Majesty to Contempt, and render Authority dispisable to Subjects and Soldiers, who by such Submissions are usually made more Fierce, because they seem to make them more Considerable: But there are certain Moment's and Encounters, wherein a kind of irregular Conduct, wholly extraordinary, and against all manner of Forms, shall immediately gain that by Surprise, which all humane Prudence, managed by Methods, and according to Rules of Art, shall never be able to obtain by the strongest Force of Reason and Argument. These Gentlemen, afraid and ashamed to see those Persons at their Feet, whom Nature had elevated above them, and their own Choice had made their Heads, were so touched with this Action, that unable to retain their Sobs and Tears, they prostrated themselves before the Princes, and promised them entire Satisfaction of their Demands. And after having consulted a few Minutes among themselves, that so they might act more firmly by common Consent, they engaged to serve them with all their Troops, in the War of Constantinople, till the end of September, provided the Princes would promise upon Oath, upon the expiration of that Term, in fifteen days to furnish them with such Shipping as was requisite for their Transportation from Constantinople into Syria. The Conditions being accepted, and mutual Faith on both Sides given, with all the Marks of a perfect Reconciliation, they Embarked on the Eve of Whitsunday, and after having coasted all Morea and Achaia, the Fleet came to an Anchor in the Negropont, where being divided into two Squadrons, the first, wherein was the Prince Alexis, with the Marquis Boniface, and Count Baldwin, sailed to the Isle of Andros, where the Inhabitants immediately yielded themselves to their Prince: The second sailed to rights to the Straits of the Hellespont, where they made a Descent at the City of Abydus, year 1202 which is in the Entrance of the Straight on the Coast of Asia, the inhabitants immediately presenting them with the Keys of their City. So that all the Fleet had the Opportunity to assemble, as it did in eight Days after; and then passed the Chanal which seemed all covered between Europe and Asia, with Ships and Galleys, which composed the gallantest Fleet that the Christians had ever seen upon those Seas; they came to an Anchor at the Port of the Abbey of St. Stephen upon the Bank of the Propontis, on the Thracian Coast; about five or six miles from Heptapyrgium, which is the famous Castle of seven Towers. From thence, as they resolved to go to the Islands of those Seas, to secure themselves of Provisions before they attempted to form a Siege by Land against so great and strong a City, the Wind and the Current carried the Fleet from the West to the East along by the Coast of the City which is situate upon the Propontis so near the Walls, which were all crowded with Greek Soldiers, that with their Darts they might reach the Ships. The Ships also came so near as to be able to strike a Terror into the Hearts of the most undaunted, who might at one View discover three hundred Vessels, in order of Battle, which made the fairest and yet one of the most terrible Sights in the World; the Standards flying upon the Poops, the Ensigns displayed, the Flags, and Pendants flying in the Wind, the Machine's mounted upon the Decks, and the Shields of the Knights painted with their Arms, glittering with Gold and Silver, ranged all along the Hatches, seemed to represent the Battlements of some glorious City. It was in this Condition that this Gallant and formidable Navy bearing with full Sails before the Wind, was carried to the Port of Chalcedon where the Army made an immediate Descent. Chalcedon sometimes so famous for the fourth Universal Council, which was there held under the Emperor Martian in the Papacy of St. Leo, in the magnificent Church of St. Euphemia, was at this time an indifferent fair City, situate in a Peninsula, which advancing itself into the Sea at the Entrance of the Bosphorus over against Constantinople, forms upon its two sides two Ports, whereof that which is upon the East, was very large and capable of receiving a great number of ships; that which rendered it more considerable was the proud Palace, which the Emperors had caused to be built, near that City, there to enjoy the Beauty of the Place, and the Sweetness of the Country Air which hath the Reputation of being very healthful. But since the Turks are become Masters of the Empire, they have in such manner ruined this poor City and all the Country thereabout. That there remain scarcely any Footsteps either of Palaces or so much as of any Walls; nor is it any thing but a wretched Village, composed of the Cabins of a few pitiful Fishermen. The Port for want of use and care being also now so grown up with Sand, that it admits of no other Vessels but those poor Fisher Boots. There it was that upon St. John Baptist's Day, the whole Army landed and lodged themselves most commodiously, partly in the City, partly in the Palace, and the remainder in the Country Houses, of Pleasure thereabouts where they found abundance of Wealth which they put into the Ships, which had now only the Mariners aboard them. Two days after this fair Fleet was conducted to the Port of Scutari formerly known by the name of Chrysopolis, over against the Promontory of Bosphorus, or that of Acropolis, now the Seraglio, which is separated by the Straight not above a good mile. At the same time the whole Army took its March by Land, in order of Battle, along the Bosphorus, having Constantinople upon their left hand, which they fiercely beheld as their approaching Conquest, and the Subject of their future glory, and went and encamped below Scutari, upon the Bank of the Straight, fully resolved to pass it in the Sight of their Enemies, as they did in the manner, which I shall relate, so soon as I shall have given an Account of the Condition wherein the City of Constantinople then was to resist such resolute Enemies, as came generously to attack it and fully determined to carry it, or to perish. year 1203 THE HISTORY OF THE CRUSADE OR, The Expeditions of the Christian Princes for the Conquest of the Holy Land. PART III. BOOK II. The CONTENTS of the Second Book. The Condition wherein the City of Constantinople was when it was besieged by the French and Venetian Crusades. The Defeat of the Usurper's Brother-in-Law by a small Party of the French. The Passage and the Battle of the Bosphorus. The taking of the Castle of Galatha. The Venetians force the Entry of the Port. An Assault given both by Sea and Land, to Constantinople. The Venetians take five and twenty Towers. A Sally made by the Emperor Alexis with a prodigious Army, and his Infamous Cowardice. His Flight, and the Reduction of Constantinople. The Establishment of Isaac and the young Alexis. A Prolongation of the Treaty, for a Tear between that Emperor and the Confederate Princes. Their Exploits in Thracia. A dreadful Fire at Constantinople. The History of the horrible Treason of Murrzuphle. The young Alexis suffers himself to be surprised by the Artifices of that Traitor, and breaks with the Confederates. The Speech of Conon de Bethune to the Emperors, to oblige them to accomplish their Treaty. War declared against them upon their Refusal. The Greeks attempt in Vain to burn the Venetian Fleet. The Description of that wild Fire. year 2103 The consequent Treasons of Murtzuphle. The Election of Cannabus. The double Treason of Murtzuphle; who makes himself be proclaimed Emperor. The Death of Isaac, and of the young Alexis, whom Murtzuphle strangles with his own Hands. The Confederates make War against the Tyrant. His Defeat by Henry the Brother of Count Baldwin. The first Assault given upon the Port side of Constantinople, wherein the Confederates are repulsed. The Second Assault by which the City is taken by plain Force. The Flight of Murtzuphle. The Greeks lay down their Arms. The City plundered, and the Booty there gained. The Relics from thence transported to several Churches of Europe. Baldwin, Earl of Flanders, chosen Emperor The Policy of the Venetians in the Election of that Prince. His Elegy and Character. The Election of a Patriarch. The Destribution of the Provinces of the Empire. The happy beginning of the Emperor, who reduceth all Thracia. Murtzuphle surprised, and betrayed by the Old Alexis, who puts out his Eyes. The Flight of Alexis, and the taking of Murtzuphle. He is brought back to Constantinople, where for the Punishment of his Crimes, he is thrown headlong from a high Column. Old Alexis taken. His End. The Glorious Success of this Crusade. THE Imperial City of Constantinople, of which I have given the Survey and exact Description, in the Second Book of the History of the Iconclastes, conformable to the Condition, wherein it was under the Empire of Constantinus Copronymus, was neither so strong, so fair, nor so well peopled at that time, as it was now when the French and Venetians, undertook to make themselves Masters of it by plain Force; as for the Multitude of Inhabitants, the Turks having now overrun and conquered the greatest part of Anatolia, except some Maritime places upon the Bosphorus, the Propomis and the Aegean Sea, the Asiatic Greeks came generally to inhabit at Constantinople, to secure themselves from the Tyranny of the Infidels. And for its Beauty, it was so far from having lost any, that it was mightily augmented by the great number of Palaces, public Buildings and magnificent Churches, which since that time had been built, which were so increased that one might count above five hundred of them, which rearing their lofty Spires, and stately Towers, above the rest of the City, showed at once a most pleasing and Majestic Prospect to the Beholders; so that when the Crusades first discovered this great and Illustrious City from the highest places of the Port of the Abbey of St. Stephen, they were so pleasingly surprised, that they were forced to avow, that they had never seen any thing comparable to it in the whole World. And lastly for its Strength, it had all that Nature could contribute to it by its incomparable Situation between three Seas, which environed it in the Nature of a Peninsula of a Triangular Figure, the Propontis on the South, the Bosphorus on the East, and the Gulf which makes the Port, upon the North. Nor was there any thing wanting, which Art could add either towards the Sea or Land, to render it impregnable; and though the Avarice and Negligence of some of the later Emperors, had suffered it to be much weakened in the Fortifications, yet was it in such a Condition, that the greatest Captains among the Crusades, believed they had never seen any thing more difficult to be undertaken than to besiege it. For to the Landward it was encompassed with double Walls of hewn Stone mingled with Brick, with a Ditch of five and twenty paces breadth, which was filled with a Spring which never suffered it to be dry; the two Walls were eighteen Foot distance from each other, and extending from the Angle of the Propontis on the South, to the seven Towers, and from thence to the Gulf upon the North, joining the Palace and the Gate of Blaquerness. The inward Wall was one hundred Foot high, year 1203 and about twenty broad, having at just distances eighty six Towers to defend it. The outward Wall was not above half so high, but in like manner fortified with the same Number of strong Towers; and reached from the one Sea to the other upon the Thracian side, being near two Leagues in length. The Walls which were next the Sea were much lower, but very thick, being above a good mile in length upon that side, which is washed by the Propontis to the point of the Bosphorus, and defended by one hundred eighty and eight Towers; that side of the Gulf, which stretches itself towards the North, and makes the Port of Constantinople in the form of a Crescent, being above two Leagues, reacheth as far as Blaquerness, and is defended by one hundred and ten Towers; so that admitting there were men enough to guard so many Towers, which mutually defend one another, it must needs be a very difficult attempt to take the City by Assault. Besides the Port was not only defended by these Towers, and Walls, by the Acropolis or Fortress which was upon the Point of the Promontory of the Bosphorus; but also by the strong Town of Galatha, situate on the other side of the Gulf, but above all by the Tower or Castle there, from whence a vast Chain, supported by great Timbers in the Sea, was drawn to the Acropolis, and locked up the Entrance into the Haven. And for the Multitude of those who were to defend the City, it was innumerable; for there were then at Constantinople above a hundred thousand men sit to serve on Horseback, and more than three times that number of Foot well armed; besides the Soldiers of the Imperial Guard, which was very strong and composed principally of the English-Danes, whom the Greeks call Barranges, which being banished from England by Edward, who was descended from the Ancient English Saxon Kings, had betaken themselves to the Greek Emperors, who had used these People for above a hundred and fifty Years, as their Ordinary Guards. This was the Condition wherein Constantinople then stood, to the Strength of which Alexis Commenius too much trusted, believing it impossible for the Power of the whole Earth, if it were assembled together to be able to force it. This Prince had acquired the Reputation of a valiant man and a great Captain before he came to the Empire; and that was one great reason that he met with no greater Opposition in his Usurpation; for it was generally believed that he was another kind of man for War and Business than his Brother Isaac Angelus, and that therefore he would by his Arms, better support the Majesty of the Empire and its Dominions against the Barbarians, who frequently attacked them with great advantage. But it is too often seen that the Change of Fortune and a happy State, produce also a Change in the manners, and the Conduct of men; and those Vices, which before it was necessary to conceal, by the appearance of Virtue, appear barefaced when they come to have Liberty fortified by Power, and are from under the Curb and Discipline of Fear. So this Alexis was no sooner an Emperor, but that he became the most cowardly and dissolute Person in the World, never thinking of any thing but how to drown himself in Pleasures, and abandoning the Care of the public Affairs to those who either wholly neglected them, or at least regarded them only to search for opportunities of enriching themselves out of the Spoils of the public. And indeed he was certainly now become most stupid, for though it was the Town Discourse at Constantinople, what great Preparations the French and Venetians were making, and that they had undertaken to resettle the Young Alexis in the Throne, yet did he not make the least Preparations for a War; only some times in the Jollity of his Entertainments, and the Heat of his Wine, in which he plunged himself day after day; when his Head was warm he would tell those who were the Companions of his Debauches, that he would send out a Party of his Guards, who should bring this handful of Hairbrain Fellows bound in Irons, who being weary of their Lives were come so far to search for Death at so great a charge, to have the Honour to die by his Commands. Nor did he recover out of this profound Lethargy, till he understood that the Confederate Army, after the Reduction of Duras, had assured themselves of the Isle of Corfu; and then indeed he began to give Orders for the Defence of Constantinople, causing all the Soldiers which were quartered round the Country to enter into the City; year 1203 all that he could do to hinder them from entering into the Port, was to arm twenty Galleys, to guard the Chain, so disfurnished was his Arsenal by the Negligence or Covetousness of his Brother-in-Law Michael Stryphnus, the high Admiral, who had turned the Sails, the Cordage, the Anchors, and even the Bolts and Iron Nails of his Navy into Gold and Silver. Having in this manner provided for the Defence of Constantinople, so soon as he saw the Confederate Army was landed at Scutari, he drew out and encamped also with the greatest part of his Army upon the Bank of the Bosphorus, opposite to the Camp of the Confederates, who took some days to refresh themselves, before they resolved to pass the Arm of the Sea, in the sight of the Emperor and his Army, which was incomparably more in number than theirs: And in the mean time Alexis caused his Brother-in-Law with the choice of his Cavalry to pass over three or four Leagues, below the two Camps, to hinder the Latins from foraging, and to glean up such as they found straggling for Forage in the Fields. This gave an occasion to some brave men to make a happy Presage of this War, by such an uncommon Action of Gallantry, as made it equally apparent, how resolute and undaunted the French were, and what shameful Cowards those were upon whom the Emperor depended as the most Valiant men of his Army. For about fourscore Cavaliers under the Conduct of Eudes and William de Champlite, the Count Grass, who came along with the Marquis Montferrat, of Oger de Saint Cheron, and Manasses de L' Isle, being gone out to score the Fields and Convoy the Foragers, discovered at a good distance this Brigade of Greeks, wherein there was at least five hundred men at Arms, with a Proportionate number of Foot, encamped at the Foot of a Hill which covered them. This great in equality could not hinder these Valiant men from a sudden and generous resolution to attack them even in their Camp. Having therefore divided themselves into four little Squadrons, at the same time that the Greeks despising so final a number of Horse, who had no Infantry to sustain them, were putting themselves in Battle without their Camp, with an Intention to surround them, they marched to charge the Enemy, who made show of receiving them; but upon the first shock these cowardly Greeks, unable to endure the Sight of the Latins, whom they thought Devils rather than men, seeing with what Heat and Fury they ran to the Charge, immediately routed themselves and betook them to a shameful Flight, following the example of their Captains who were not in the Rear at that time; so that the Squadrons who pursued them for a good League killed a great many without resistance, whilst the rest saved themselves upon their ships, leaving the Conqueror's Masters of their Camp, where they found a rich Booty, which infinitely rejoiced the whole Army, who now regarded no more the Cowardly Multitude of their Enemies, but as a sort of People with whose spoils they were to enrich themselves. There is nothing so pitifully Timorous as a wicked man, who is attacked with a potent Enemy without, at the same time that his guilty Conscience makes a cruel War within his Soul; Alexis who was astonished at this unlucky beginning, and who had now more than ever before his Eyes the terrible Image of his Crimes, the dreadful Punishment whereof he feared the Latins were to execute, besieved that it was his best way to endeavour to make a Peace and avoid an unpropitious War, but withal without showing any Fear, that so he might obtain what he did so earnestly hope. For this purpose the next day he sent to the Princes a Gentleman of Lombardy, called Nicholas Rossi, who was an Inhabitant of Constantinople. The Lombard after he had shown them his Letters of Credence, the Confederates being Assembled in the Palace of Scutari, to give him Audience, delivered himself after this manner. He acquainted them that the Emperor his Master, was very well acquainted with their Merit and their Quality, which did not give place to any in the World, except crowned Heads; That he was well informed that they had taken upon them the Cross, and armed themselves against the Saracens, to recover the Holy Sepulchre of Jesus Christ out of their wicked Hands; that therefore he was much amazed to, find that instead of pursuing that glorious Design, they were entered upon the I erritories of a Prince; a Christian Emperor. year 1203 That if they wanted Provisions, he should with great Joy be ready most liberally to supply them with what ever they wanted, that so he might have the Satisfaction on his part to contribute something to that Holy Enterprise; that after this, he fairly desired them to retreat with all Expedition out of the Countries of the Empire, lest otherwise he should to his great regret find himself constrained to employ all his Forces against them, which had they five times the Number of Troops they had, they would find it impossible for them to resist. This was what the Envoy had in charge to say, who by the cunning Artifice of the Tyrant, was taught not to touch in the least upon that jarring String of his violent Usurpation, which he very well knew was the sole Cause of this Enterprise. It was for this reason that the Princes, after a Moment's Deliberation upon what was fit to be done upon this occasion, desired Conon de Bethune, a Knight who had the Reputation to be one of the discreetest men and best Speakers of his time to give an Answer to the Envoy, which with great Majesty and Eloquence he did in these Terms. Tell your Master from the Princes and Confederate Lords, that his Astonishment is neither rational nor sincere; That he knows better than to need any Information, that it is not upon the Lands of his Empire that we are entered, since the Empire does not appertain to him; but to the Prince Alexis his Nephew, whom you see here present in this August Assembly, and who is the only lawful Heir of the Emperor Isaac, from whom his Brother hath most unjustly and cruelly usurped the Empire. But that, if repenting of this horrible Injustice, he will come and beg his Pardon of the Prince, who hath Arms in his Hand to punish him, and at the same time lay the Crown at his Feet, which he hath ravished from him, by the most detestable Treason and Violence, the Princes hope they shall be able not only to procure him that favour, but to prevail with the Emperor Alexis to make such a Provision for him, as may enable him to pass the rest of his Days in peaceable Honour; but that without this compliance they desired him not to be so rash as to bring any more such Messages unto them. This was the answer which in the name of the Princes, was returned by the Brave and Sage Conon de Bethune, whose illustrious House, which before flourished in the Reign of Hugh Capet, in the Person of Robert Lord de Bethune, protector of Arras, hath not only hitherto maintained its first Lustre, but hath been much augmented in his Descendants by the great Employs, and the high Dignities, which their Merit and Services, have acquired from the Bountiful acknowledgements of our Kings. After this, that the Confederates might once more try what was to be done by the Ways of sweetness, before they should come to make use of Force, they resolved, to sail by the City, upon the side of the Propontis, and to show the young Alexis to the People who would run to the Walls, and invite them to declare in his Favour against the Usurper, thereby if it were possible to avoid those Mischiefs of a War, which must of Necessity be severe to such as must expect to be treated like Conquered Rebels, and Complices in the Crimes of the detestable Tyrant, But when they perceived that either the Fear of the Power of the Usurper, or the hatred which the Greeks had to the Latins, hindered the Constantinopolitans from doing any thing in favour of the Prince, a great Council of War was held the next day on Horseback in the open Field, where it was resolved, that the French should attempt to pass over the Bosphorus below Scutari, in sight of the great Army of Alexis Comnenius, which was encamped on the further Bank, and that they should attack Galatha, to make themselves Masters of the Port, at the same time that the Venetians should set upon the Galleys, which descended the Chain at the Entry of it. For this purpose the whole French Army was divided into six Bridages; the first was that of the Earl of Flanders, who had the Van, in regard that he had under his Command, more Archers and Cross-Bow men than any of the rest, who were most proper to disperse the Enemies. Henry his Brother accompanied with Matthew de Valincourt had the Second. The Count de St. Paul with his Nephew Peter de Amiens, led the third The fourth was commanded by Lewis Earl of Blois. The Brave Matthew de Montmorenci, the Son of the Constable Matthew the first, with Geoffry de Ville-hardovin, Mareshal of Champagne, was at the Head of the fifth. And the Marquis Boniface brought up the Rear, year 1203 with a fair and numerous Troop of his own Subjects, and the French who inhabit betwixt the Alps and the Rhone. Never was there seen to appear greater Courage and Resolution, than to engage in this Enterprise, which seemed to be the most rash Undertaking in the World, among all the Captains and the Soldiers: For, to show that they were all determined either to die or to force their Passage, in despite of the Army of the Enemies, though ten times stronger than theirs, they made their Wills, and received Absolution from the Bishops and Abbots; who, to encourage them to do bravely, put themselves also aboard the Ships with the Princes and Soldiers. There were about two hundred who were ranged in two great Lines: The Knights and the Men at Arms went foremost upon the flat bottomed Boats, their Servants holding their Horses, saddled and caparisoned with rich Horses of Taffeta down to their Feet, and, according to the manner of that Age, adorned with the Arms of their Masters: Upon each side of them rowed the Long-Boats, filled with Archers and Crossbows, who, as they advanced to the other side, discharged a mortal Shower of Steel, without ceasing, upon their Enemies. The second Line was composed of Galleys, every one of which towed a great Ship, that so they might come up all together, and make the stronger Charge upon the Enemy, by fight all at once on the several parts of the Bank upon which they were posted. The whole Army being in this manner embarked, every one keeping the Order wherein the six Squadrons were disposed upon the two Lines, early in the Morning, the 8th Day of July, they began to row to rights against the Enemy; who, on their side, advanced in good Order towards the Shoar. Never could there be seen any thing more terribly beautiful than this Spectacle: The Sky was mighty serene, and the Sun, which now just began to raise his glorious Head above the Hemisphere, darting his bright Beams upon the Helmets, the Bucklers, and the naked Swords, which were advanced in the Air, made such a dreadful Glittering, as being augmented by the Reflection of the Bosphorus, whose Waters being as smooth as polished Glass by reason of the great Calm which then happened, dazzled the Eyes of the Beholders, and appeared as if all the Air had been on fire. That glorious Luminary, in this Rencounter, was doubly favourable to the French, by reason that the Fleet rowing from East to West, they had it on their Backs at the same time that he shot his kind Beams directly into the Eyes of their Enemies: besides that, a small Easterly Wind rising with the Sun, drove them gently toward the other Shoar, which was at no great distance, the Bosphorus, in that place, being not above half a League over: So that one might easily distinguish the Squadrons and Battalions of the Greeks in very good Order, and in prodigious numbers, drawn up all along the opposite Shoar, and the Emperor at the Head of them, endeavouring to animate them by his Voice and Gesture, to repulse that handful of Pirates, as he called them in Contempt, who had no other Force but what they borrowed from a Brutal Rashness, and the little Esteem they had for their wretched Lives, which they might, without trouble, be quickly eased of, by throwing them headlong from the steep Banks which they endeavoured to gain, and cooling their foolish and audacious Courage in the Waters of the Bosphorus. The Shoar echoed, and the Sea seemed to tremble at the dreadful Sound of a thousand Trumpets and Cornets, and the Shouts of the Soldiers, which were terribly repeated, thereby to encourage one another, and to strike a Terror into their Enemies: The very Oars were not wanting to make up the dreadful Harmony, clashing against the Water with an extraordinary force, to gain the Shoar; which they quickly did, with an incredible Heat, both of the Mariners and Soldiers, and above all, the Captains, and the Gentlemen of Quality. For so soon as they came near the Land, the Knights, in their Complete Armour, covered with their Shields, leaped up to the Middle into the Sea, with their Swords in their Hands; and in despite of the dreadful Shower of Darts and Arrows. which the Greeks from all Parts poured upon them, they ran to charge the first Battalions, whilst the Soldiers, animated by their brave Examples, threw themselves out of the Ships, some into the Sea, some upon the Shoar, every one having a desire of the Honour of being foremost to come to the Combat; but the Cowardice of Commenius and his Greeks did not permit them that Favour; year 1203 for though at first they put on the Countenance of Soldiers and resolute Men, whilst there was no other fight but with the Crossbows and Arrows, yet so soon as they saw the French, without staying for the disimbarking of their Horses, march directly towards them, with their Swords in their Hands; this infinite Rabble turned Head, and fled with so much speed, that the Count de St. Paul, who was one of the first that charged them, pleasantly writ in his Letter to the Duke of Brabant, that they outran the very Arrows which were shot after them; so swift were their Feet, by the sudden Terror which then siezed them; and put all those Spirits, which should have actuated their Hands and Hearts, into their Heels. So that the Army was constrained to give them over to their own Fear, which pursued them, nothing else being able to overtake them, whilst the Princes had leisure to throw out the Bridges, and disimbark the Horses, and range the Army, as was before agreed, into six Squadrons. Now they imagining that Alexis Comnenius, after his Flight, was retreated to his Camp, they resolved immediately to attack him there; but he eased them of that trouble, for they presently found that this Cowardly Prince had, for his safety, abandoned it with so much Precipitation, that he had left behind him his Tents and Equipage, and all the Baggage of his Army; with which the Soldiers enriched themselves. After this, the Night approaching, they lodged themselves commodiously in the Quarter of the Jews, which was upon the Bank of the Bosphorus, near the Castle of Galatha, which they resolved the next Day to attack, thereby to gain the Command of the Haven; but they were prevented by the Garrison of the English-Danes, Pisans, and other Strangers, to whom the Emperors had entrusted the Keeping of that Place; who, by the Order of Comnenius, made a vigorous Sally the next Morning, being reinforced by an infinite Multitude of Greek Soldiers and Burghers, who continually passed from Pera to relieve them. Insomuch, that these Strangers, who were good Men, and found few of the French prepared to receive them, had, at first, some Advantage. The valiant James d' Avesnes, who was the first that advanced with what Infantry he could get together to oppose them, received a great Wound in his Face with a Lance, and had undoubtedly been slain, if he had not been instantly succoured by Nicholas de Laulain, one of his Knights, who drew him out of the Press of his Enemies, with which he was surrounded; and by a prodigious Valour, almost singly sustained the Brunt, till the rest of the Troops came up, who hasted from all Parts, to the Combat. Then it was that they furiously charged these Soldiers of the Garrison of Galatha, who sighting bravely, were most of them cut in pieces; the rest, crowded by that confused Multitude of Greeks, who presently took the Fright, fled with so great haste and Disorder, that one part of them running towards the Port, to recover their Barks, threw themselves into them with such Precipitation, that they sunk the Vessels, and were drowned, whilst others thinking to save themselves in the Castle of Galatha, did in such a manner, by their Multitude, stop up the Passage of the Gate, every one being desirous to be the foremost, that those who pursued them closely would not give them the liberty to shut it: so that, after a bloody Combat, which was maintained by these miserable Men out of perfect Necessity and Despair, and not by true Courage and Valour, the French gained the Gate; and after they had either taken or slain all such as made any Resistance, they remained Masters of the Fortress, and of the Chain. At the same time also wherein the French performed this memorable Action, the Venetians having drawn up their Fleet in Order, in the Chanal below Scutari, turned the Prows of their Galleys and Ships against the Entry of the Haven; and under the favour of a Tide-Wind, which blew from the East, just in their Sterns, they bore up to the Chain, from their Engines, which threw Darts and great Stones, battering and bruising the five and twenty Galleys, and other Ships, which lay there to defend it: Insomuch, that one of the greatest Ships coming up close to the Chain, whilst the others continually discharged against the Greeks, they cut the Chain in two with prodigious Scissors of Steel, which were opened and shut with an Engine. After which, having broken and chopped in pieces the Timbers that supported the Chain, the whole Venetian Fleet freely entered the Port, and all the Greek Vessels were either taken, disabled or sunk. This was but the beginning of the most wonderful and hazardous Enterprise that ever was undertaken; which was, to take a City, in which, for one that attacked it, the Mareshal de Ville Hardovin tells us, there were two hundred to defend it. However, in order thereunto, it was resolved that there should be two Attacks; the one by Sea, on the Port side; and the other by Land, towards the Palace of Blaquerness, near that end of the Wall which adjoins to the Haven. The Venetians undertook the first, and the French made Choice of the second, because that, in those times, they were not acquainted with fight on Shipboard, as were the Venetians, who were then accounted the most potent and able Seamen of the World, having, as it were, founded their Empire upon that Watery Element. Having therefore, for four days, made all the Preparations necessary for their Attacks, the French Army coasting along by the Fleet, marched near two Leagues to the Stone-Bridge, which is a little below the place where the River Barbyses, joining its Streams with that of Cydaris, dischargeth itself into the Bottom of the Haven. This Bridge was something longer than that which is called the Small Bridge, at Paris; and so narrow, that not above three Horsemen could pass abreast upon it: So that, if the Greeks had had any Courage, they might easily have maintained it; but they contented themselves with breaking it, and that being easily repaired in the Night, the whole Army passed over it without Molestation; and having put themselves into the same Order as before, of six Bodies, they encamped in the Valley of Blaquerness, between the City and the Cosmidium or Monastery of St. Cosmus, which was sometimes called Bohemond's Castle, because that Prince lodged there when he was at Constantinople, in the first Crusade. The Camp was immediately fortified, and the Engines prepared to batter the Curtain, and the Towers, which were on the Right and Left, near the Palace, and the Gate of Blaquerness, which was the only Quarter which could be besieged by such a small number of Men; whereas the multitude of the Enemies was innumerable, and therefore made continual Sallies, especially under the Conduct of Theodore Lascaris, the Emperor's Son-in-Law, the most valiant Man of his Nation: So that the French were obliged, almost Night and Day, to stand to their Arms, to repulse them; which did so tyre out the Army, and besides, they had no great quantity of Provisions, that there was a necessity for them to do what could be done quickly; otherwise, in a little time, they would be obliged to raise the Siege. For this Reason, after having, for ten Days, continually battered the Walls, it was with that Effect as gave them hopes they might carry the Place by Force. It was therefore resolved to give a general Assault, both by Sea and Land; accordingly, upon the 17th Day of July, by Break of Day, the whole Army fell on with all the Courage and Resolution imaginable. The Venetians had drawn all their great Ships along the Brink, in a great Line, about three Flight Shots in length, with Intervals between them, for the Galleys which lay behind them, when it was time to row close to the Shoar, to make the Descent. All the great Engines were placed upon the Decks, and the Round Tops of the Masts were filled with Archers and Crossbows, who might shoot downwards, from that Height, with great advantage: There were also, by the Main Masts, great Towers raised with strong Timber, which surpassed the height of those of the City, upon the Tops of which five or six Soldiers might go in a Front, by great and large Steps, which were made from the Top to the Bottom: They were covered with raw Hides, to preserve them from Fire; and they had long, large and strong Ladders, which were so fastened to the Timbers, that by the help of certain Pulleys, and other little Engines, which were made for the purpose, they might have the furthest end fall upon the Walls, like a Draw-bridge, or be brought to rest upon the Towers in those places where they jutted out towards the Sea. So soon as the Signal was given, all the Engines, from the Ships, began to play in an instant, and one might see an infinite of Stones, Darts and Arrows fly, to scatter those who defended the Walls; and at the same time the Bridges were thrown upon the Walls, and the Ladders clapped to the Towers, the Soldiers, three abreast, year 1203 mounting the Ladders with a marvellous Resolution, fought hand to hand against the Greeks, who being assisted both by their number, and the advantage of the place, defended themselves successfully, by rolling great Stones and pieces of Timber upon the Assailants, throwing abundance of Wild sire among them, and discharging from all the Towers a prodigious Shower of Arrows, to hinder the Galleys, who did what they could, from landing. Here the famous Henry Dandolo did an Action which exacts the Justice of all Posterity to his Memory, in celebrating his Name, as one of the greatest Men in the World: For, quite worn with old Age, and blind as he was, yet was he to be seen in complete Armour, with his naked Sword in his hand, upon the Forecastle of the Capitana, or Admiral-Gally, having the great Standard of St. Mark born before him. The old Prince, transported with a valiant Impatience, and and an extreme Heat, with which he burned, to have a share in the Combat, briskly commanded the Seamen to use their utmost Skill and Force to get ashore, upon peril of their Lives, telling them, if they did not land him presently, he would hang them up every Man. This Command, given with such a terrible Menace, and which Fear made still more strong, was followed with such a quick Obedience, that the Galley was in an instant brought to the Shoar, through a terrible Storm of Stones, Darts and Arrows, which from all parts fell upon her. Then was to be seen the Standard of St. Mark advance to the Walls, followed by the brave Doge, who caused himself to be lead to the Assault: And at the same time, by his Example and Heroic Courage, he drew the rest after him; for this sight gave so much both of Shame and Courage to the other Galleys, who stood yet aloof, that the Captains and Soldiers fearing they should fall under the Infamy of having abandoned their General in such a noble Danger, they left playing the good Husband, and rowed with all their force, like resolute Men exposing themselves, to the utmost Perils, to gain the Shoar, which they did almost all at the same time; and throwing themselves with Precipitation out of the Galleys, every Man as well as he could, striving who should get first ashore, then ran like so many enraged Lions, after their General, to the Assault. Never was any thing to be seen more furious or terrible; for the Walls on that side being lowest, and having, for ten Days, been continually battered, were in many places ruined; so that while some strove to enter by the Breaches, others presented the Scaling Ladders: the number of those who defended the Walls and Breaches far surpassed that of the Assailants; so that both the one and the other found a stout Resistance: nor did it seem probable, that such a small number were capable of surmounting such a difficult Enterprise; nor, in probability, had it succeeded, but that, all of a sudden, the great Standard of St. Mark was seen planted, and flying upon one of the Towers, no Man, to this day, being ever able to give an Account how, or by whom it was carried thither. This made the Soldiers assume new Courage; for, according to the humour of those Times, the Superstition whereof, which was so advantageous to them, the wise Captains knew very well how to improve, they believed that S. Mark fought for them, and commanded them to follow him; and the Enemies astonished to to see it, lost both their Judgement, and their Courage; so that, believing that the City was taken, and that the French were upon their Backs, they forsook the Walls, and giving all for lost, ran to secure themselves in their Houses: so that the Venetians finding no more Resistance, siezed upon a great part of the Walls, and made themselves Masters of twenty five of the hundred and ten Towers which were on the side of the Haven; and when they saw the Greeks, who had recovered their Consternation, return, with the Soldiers of the Garrison, in a prodigious number, and good Order, to dislodge them, finding it impossible, with so small a Force, to be able to maintain their Post against so many Enemies, they set fire to the adjacent Houses; which being driven with extreme Violence, by a strong North Wind which then blew, the whirling Flames were carried full in the Faces of the Greeks, which obliged them to stop, and endeavour by all Means, immediately to extinguish the Fire. year 1203 All this time the French made prodigious Attempts on their side, to gain the double Wall which they attacked near the Palace of Blaquerness. Of the six Battalious, those two which were commanded by the Marquis Boniface, and Matthew de Montmorency, were placed in Battalia between the City and the Camp, as well to guard it from Surprise, as to sustain those who made the Attack. The four others, commanded by the Earl of Flanders, and Prince Henry his Brother, the Counts of Blois and St. Paul, gave a furious Assault to the out Wall, which was vigorously defended by the stranger Soldiers, whose Courage was quite different from that of the Greeks; the Combat was long and obstinately maintained on both Sides; the Engines all this time playing with horrible Fury, and one of the Towers, which was half overthrown by Mining, and a part of the Wall, was gained; fifteen brave Knights, with two stout Soldiers, being the first that mounted them, presently planting their Ensigns there; they fought for some time with their Swords and Battleaxes, against those, who in great Numbers came to dislodge them, but not receiving timely Succours, being oppressed by Multitude, they were at last forced to leap from the Walls, leaving two of their Company Prisoners with the Enemies, who immediately carried them to the Emperor as a mighty Pawn of an assured Victory. But the News which was at the same time brought of the good Success of the Venetians on their side, gave so much Joy, and so inflamed the Hearts of the French with Courage and Emulation, that they renewed the Attack with more Fury than before, till such time as a terrible Cloud of Dust, which advanced towards them from the West, and the sound of the Trumpets, the neighing of Horses, and the noise of an infinite number of People, which they heard, but could not well discern, obliged them to quit the Assault, and put themselves in a posture of Defence. It was the Emperor Alexis, who compelled by the Cries and the Murmurs of the People and Soldiers, who openly reproached him with his Cowardice, and by the Fear which he had, lest they should fall upon him and pull him in pieces, was at last sallied out of Constantinople with above sixty great Battalions, sustained by all his Cavalry, to charge the Army in the Rear, if they should continue the Assault, or to give them Battle in the open Field if they should dare to expect it, not doubting in the least, but that he should be able to surround them, and cut them in pieces; it being very improbable that six Battalions wearied with a desperate Assault, should be able to resist sixty of fresh Men, the least of which was incomparably greater than the biggest of the other. For this reason the Princes, that they might not be attacked but in Front, ranged their Troops before the Barriers and Palisado's of their Camp, at the Foot of the Hill of Blaquerness, resolving there, firmly to expect and receive their Enemies, without being the least astonished at their Numbers; which, by Experience, they knew consisted in a great many Men, but a few Soldiers. In the Front stood the Archers and Crossbows, who were sustained by a seventh Battalion, composed of two hundred Knights, who were Dismounted; The other six Bodies followed according to their Order, which they had always observed since their Passage over the Bosphorus; there were some Companies left in the Camp, to prevent its being surprised, during the Combat. As they were thus drawing up their Troops, the Army received, with incredible Joy, the Reinforcement which the generous Henry Dandolo brought to their Assistance; for having understood that the Emperor had made this Sally, he caused himself to be immediately Conducted to the Camp, which was at no great Distance from his Post, with all the Force which he could rally, drawing what could be spared from the Towers which he had taken, and protesting that he would live and die with his Brethren and brave Companions in Arms. That which was still more favourable to the Confederate Army, was, that the Greeks had no other General, but this miserable cowardly Alexis; for by a little Frieque of Jealousy and Glory, and by a sottish Vanity, he would not suffer his Son-in-Law Theodore Lascaris, to make one in the Sally; for had he Commanded, being both a Soldier and a Captain, he would with Advantage against so few Enemies, have made use of that infinite Number of Hands, which remained wholly Unprofitable that Day, by reason that their Commander had neither Courage nor Skill enough to manage them to the best Advantage. And in reality, year 1203 as he came only with the Hope that he should be able to Oppress the Confederates with Multitude, by surrounding them on all Sides, being advanced within the Distance of the Darts and Arrows, which began already to fly from one side to the other; so soon as he saw that they would not engage in the open Field, or be drawn from their Retrenchments, he never durst take the Courage once to Attack them, but with a shameful Cowardice caused the Retreat to be sounded, and towards Evening, took the Way towards the City with his great Army, that little Handful of Men having the Confidence to follow him for some time, in good Order, discharging continually upon his Rear, he never once turning Head to give them Battle, as he might have done in the open Field. However to hid his Shame, and shelter himself from the Reproaches of the People, for this cowardly Action, he told them, as he entered the City, that he had deferred the Combat by reason it was so late, and that the next Morning he was resolved to attack the Enemies in their Camp, if they had the Courage to expect him. But at last, as when once Fear and Dispair have once seized upon the Heart of a Man, especially an ill Man, and that he hath the War which his Gild hath raised in his Soul, though he were surrounded with all the Forces of the Earth, and though he have no other Enemy to Combat besides himself and his own Fear, yet will he think of nothing but flying, and how to save himself; Thus this unworthy Prince, pursued by his own Conscience, instead of preparing for the Encounter the next Morning, secretly embarked himself at the Port of the great Palace, with a few of his Domestics, all the Gold, Silver, and the Imperial Ornaments, and fled by the Bosphorus and the Euxin Sea, to Zagora, anciently called Debeltus, a City of Thracia, at the Foot of Mount Hemus, where, by reason of his Gild, his Cowardice, and the Contempt into which he was fallen, having reason to fear some great Revolution in his Fortune, he had beforehand assured himself of a Retreat. Before Day, this Flight was discovered, and the People detesting this infamous Cowardice, and fearing moreover, lest the Army of the Latins, making Advantage of this Disorder, and such a favourable Conjuncture, should by a second Assault take the City by Force, ran by Shoals to the Prison where the Tyrant, after the Escape of the young Alexis, had caused Isaac to be detained; and seizing upon the Empress Euphrosyne and her Children, whom the unhappy Comnenius had brutishly abandoned, his excessive Fear having extinguished in his Soul all the Sentiments of Tenderness, as a Father and a Husband, they resolved to Sacrifice them in his Room, to the blind Fury of the People. They instantly knocked off the Manacles of poor Isaac, who had been so barbarously treated by his own Brother; and Fortune, who plays with the Destinies of Men, whom she mounts up and throws down, as she is pleased to turn her slippery Wheel, continuing her old Trade, she mounted upon the imperial Throne, the same Isaac, whom about eight years before, she had so tragically tumbled out of it. After which, all the Orders of the City, with the Consent of this poor old Man, who in truth, was nothing but the Shadow of an Emperor, sent Deputies to the Princes, to give them an account of the happy Change of their Affairs by the Flight of the Usurper, and the Re-establishment of the Emperor Isaac, and to desire the young Prince to come and take part of the good Fortune, and the Empire of his Father. The Princes pleasingly surprised by a thing so little expected, and which was confirmed to them by those who came from Constantinople, one after another, striving who should be the first to joy the young Alexis with this good Fortune; yet nevertheless acted with their wont Prudence upon this Occasion, and omitted no necessary Precautions, as being suspicious of the Greeks, whom by Experience they had no reason to trust; and therefore they followed the Maxim of those, who believe that one can never act more securely than by acting cautiously, and early the next Morning drew out the Army in Battalia, as if they had been going to the Combat; and then they acquainted the young Alexis, that if this good Fortune of his was true, being procured by their Arms, they did, before any other Marters were considered, expect from him an Assurance of the Performance of the Treaty, and that the Emperor his Father, should ratify it to them; whereupon the Mareshal de Ville Hardovin, and Matthew de Montmorency, with two Venetian Noblemen, year 1203 were dispatched to that Prince from the Confederates; he received them most Ceremoniously, and with all manner of Honour and Magnificence imaginable, in the great Hall of the Palace of Blaquerness. After which, having in a particular Audience proposed the Articles to him, though he found them very hard, yet was he so Overjoyed to see himself Re-established; and so fearful to lose his Empire a second time, if he should make his Deliverers and Benefactors become his Enemies, that he instantly ratified them, and caused his Letters Patents, with the golden Bulla's, to be expedited, and delivered to the Ambassadors, wherein he promised, with most solemn Oaths, that he would inviolably fulfil and perform those Articles of the Treaty. Whereupon the young Alexis was conducted by the Princes and Confederate Lords, as it were in Triumph, into Constantinople, where, after he had been received by the Emperor his Father, and the Empress his Mother-in-Law, the Daughter of Bela, King of Hungary, with all the Marks of Tenderness, and those Transports of Joy, which it is impossible to express, he was associated with his Father in the Empire, and with all Magnificence and Solemnity, upon the first day of August, crowned in the stately Church of Sancta Sophia. This noble Ceremony being over, as the Confederates had accomplished their Part of the Treaty, it was also necessary that Alexis should take Care of the performance of his Engagements. And immediately therefore, that he might satisfy the Princes in one of the most important Articles of the Treaty, he writ mighty handsome Letters to Pope Innocent, in which he renounced the Schism of his Ancestors, and acknowledged him to be Christ's Vicar upon Earth, and supreme Pastor and Head of the Universal Church; promising to render to him and his Successors, that filial Obedience which was their Due; and to employ all his Power to oblige the Greek Church to follow his Example, and to reunite itself to the Head. He also obliged the Patriarch to consent to the Reunion, and to promise him, with an Oath, that he would in Person go to Rome, to acknowledge the Pope's Supremacy, and to receive the Pall from his Hands. But these were only Letters and Promises, and Words, which were very cheap to a Greek; and Alexis easily, by this Artifice, drew himself out of this Article, in regard it was not reasonable to desire more from him upon that Point for the present; but it was not so easy for him to disengage himself from the other Articles, in which he had obliged to satisfy them with more than Words, to pay them good Money, and furnish the Troops, which he had promised to maintain in the Holy War: But however, he was dexterous enough to deliver himself, at least, for some time, from those too, hoping still, that if he could but delay the Performance, Fortune would furnish him with some Convenience or other, wholly to free himself from those hard Conditions. After he had therefore, to make a Show that he acted with great Sincerity, by doing all that he could for the present, paid them a considerable part of the Money which he owed them; one day, as he was wont, going to make the Princes a Visit in their Camp, without the Gate, by the Banks of the Bosphorus, he took occasion to Remonstrate to them on this Manner; That he acknowledged himself obliged to them for every thing, his Life, his Honour, and his Empire, and that there was nothing which he did so passionately Desire, as to manifest to them his Gratitude, by the Performance of what he had promised by his Treaty; but that if according to their Resolution, they should the next Month quit him, and retire to the Isle of Corsu, in order to the Pursuit of their Voyage to the Holy Land, it was absolutely impossible for him to satisfy his Engagements, or in so short a time to furnish them with Money, Shipping, and the Troops which he had promised them: That they very well knew he was not firmly established in his Empire, for, that his Uncle was still in Thracia, where he had a strong Party, who still owned him as Emperor, and that Theodore Lascaris had another also on the other side the Bosphorus, in Bythinia; and that for his own particular, it was too evident, that he was extremely hated by the Greeks for the Treaty which he had made with them, and that the Antipathy and Hatred which they had to the Latins, was so great, that the very Discourse of it would make them Sullen and out of Humour; and consequently, that besides, that he was not in a Condition to force them to do what was necessary for the Accomplishment of the Treaty, he should by attempting it expose himself to their Hatred, and possibly to be outraged by them, and run the manifest hazard of losing the Empire, year 1203 and his Life, together with the possibility of giving them the just Satisfaction which he desired; and more especially, if they should find him destitute of the powerful Succours of his Allies, and abandoned by his Protectors. That therefore it was, not only the Honour, but the Interest of the Princes, to perfect their Work, and to fix that Throne in Safety, upon which they had replaced him with so much Generosity and Glory. That all that he requested from them was, but for a little time to defer their Voyage, which might prove unsuccessful, and possibly fatal, if they should make too much haste; for the Winter now approaching, they must be constrained to pass it in Syria, without being able to do any thing; where they would be in danger of losing their Army for want of Provisions, which in that tempestuous and dangerous Season of the Year, they could not expect from Italy; nor if they left him in that uncertain State, could he assure them of Supplies from Constantinople. That therefore it appeared of absolute necessity, both for their own Affairs and his, to prolong the Confederacy for one Year more; or however, to defer their Voyage till the Spring: And that in that time he hoped to put his Affairs into so good a Posture, by their kind Assistance, as not to fear any thing from his Subjects, and to be able, without difficulty, to perform all the Articles of the Treaty, and to accompany them to the Conquest of the Holy Land, with an Army becoming an Emperor of Constantinople. And that in this time he would plentifully furnish them with whatsoever was requisite for the Subsistence of their Army, and pay the Venetians all their Charges in maintaining their Fleet during the War. This Discourse of Alexis found the Princes of the Crusade easily inclinable to to comply with it, for they plainly discovered in it both his and their own Interest, and that no other rational Choice could be made; but there was a necessity of proposing it to those who were under no Obligation longer than September, and, it was very probable, would not agree to it. The next Day therefore it was proposed before the whole Army, and with so much force and efficacy, by demonstrating the strength of the Reasons which supported it, that notwithstanding all the Endeavours of the discontented Party, who had so often attempted to divide the Army, who now also opposed this Offer with all their power, it nevertheless passed at last, by the general Approbation of the whole Army, in favour of the most prudent and wholesome Opinion: So that the Confederation was renewed for another Year, and the Voyage to the Holy Land deferred till the Easter following. But the Joy of this new Union was much diminished, by the unhappy Loss which then happened, by the death of the brave Matthew de Montmorency, one of the most amiable and valiant Knights of France; and who, by the glorious Advantages which his Ancestors, the Lords of that illustrious House, had acquired, and by their extraordinary Merits preserved, was infinitely esteemed, beloved, and even adored by the Soldiers. He died spent with the mighty Toils and Fatigues which he had suffered in that laborious Campaign; and was interred, with a magnificent Funeral, and general Grief, in the Church of St. John of Jerusalem. After this, That they might employ the Remainder of the Year to the best advantage, the young Emperor, accompanied with Marquis Boniface, the Count de St. Paul, and Henry, the Brother of Count Baldwin, with a considerable number of French and Flemish Troops, joined with a great Army of Greeks, marched against his Uncle, who had siezed upon Adrianople. He was easily defeated, and forced elsewhere to search for a more secure Retreat. After which, he reduced the greatest part of the Cities of Thracia under his Obeisance; and all the Revolted, both on this and the other side the Bosphorus, except the Bulgarians, who, about twenty Years before, had thrown off the Grecian Yoke, under the Conduct of their famous King Joannize. The Winter then approaching, he returned full of Glory to Constantinople, where the solemn Entry which he made lost much of its Splendour, by reason of the piteous Estate to which a dreadful Conflagration, during his Absence, had reduced the Capital City of his Empire; which happened in this manner. Among the great number of Strangers of all Nations who traded at Constantinople, there were a many rich Saracen Merchants, to whom the Greek Emperors, by an infamous Avarice, year 1203 lest they should lose the Gains they drew from their Commerce, had given liberty to build a Mosque, to the great Scandal of the Latins who inhabited the City, and to the common People, who, a little before, had pulled down their Houses. Now it happened that some Flemish Soldiers, joined with a Company of Venetians and Pisans, upon whom Isaac, to please the Latins, and regain their Esteem, had bestowed a good Largess, after a Debauch at Galatha, they resolved, either out of Zeal or Revenge, or rather the Heat of Brutish Wine, to fall upon the plunder the Houses and Mosque of these Saracens. The Saracens, at first surprised by the unexpectedness of the Action, gave way to the Outrage; but seeing themselves supported by the Greeks, who from all Quarters ran to their Defence, they took heart upon the matter, and in a Crowd flew upon this small number of Madmen who attacked them in Disorder; and charging them at once with Curses, and lusty Blows, they repulsed them, and put them to flight: But some or other among these Brutes, desperately mad to see themselves thus disappointed of the Booty, and beaten too, and it may be, to give a stop to those who pursued them, and would have treated them severely, if they had fallen into the hands of an incensed Rabble, they set fire to some Wooden Houses which were upon the Key; and immediately getting into their Barks, they repassed the Gulf. It is impossible to express the horrible Ravage this dreadful Fire made, for expanding its Flames in an instant in these Tinder Buildings, it attacked the next with a horrible Impetuosity; and instantly leaping from them to others, it run on in a Train like Wildfire, from Street to Street, till it became so masterless and raging, that there seemed no Remedy for a Mischief which looked as if it proceeded from some supernatural Cause; and, in short, it surmounted all the Power and Industry of Men, nothing being able to give a Check to its Force and Violence; for, as if some malicious Demons had managed it, one might behold the rolling Flames send out, as it were, their Detachments from the main Body of the Conflagration, and terribly throw themselves over the Tops of the Houses, cross the Streets, to a great distance, and instantly setting those all in a terrible Blaze, as if they acted by Consent, turn back again, and rejoin with the main Fire from whence they came, consuming all that they had thus surrounded between them. It happened also, by a kind of Prodigy, the Hand of God seeming to be stretched out against this unfortunate City, that the Wind which before blew from the North, and carried the Flames to the South, as far as the Propontis, came about to the South and South-West, and carried the Fire into the other Quarters of the City, which before seemed out of danger, by lying from the Wind. So that the Fire, which began about the middle of the Haven, being pushed, by these contrary Winds, higher to the West and North, extended its Rage from Sea to Sea, above a League, passing by the famous Church of Sancta Sophia, without touching it; the furious Element seeming to pay a Respect, even in its greatest Violence, to that goodly Pile, at the same time that it manifested no Compassion to the great and wealthy Streets of the Merchants which were round about it, nor the Palaces, or other Churches, or the proud and stately Edifices of the Imperial Place of the great Constantine; all which, in a little time, were reduced to Ruins, Rubbish and Cinders. Such a horrible Conflagration, which continued all that Night, and the two following Days, in its full Rage and Fury, and which was not in a Weeks time wholly extinguished, was a most miserable Spectacle to the Princes, who, from the Eminencies of Galatha, saw with an extreme Trouble, what was not in theirs, nor any Humane Power to help. One may say, however, that it was a Presage of the Ruin of the Grecian Empire, whom God was pleased thus to punish for so many infamous Treasons which they had plotted and executed against the Latins in the first Crusades, and to translate their Empire to the French, as he did presently after, in the manner which I am going to relate. There was at the Court of Constantinople a Lord of the first Quality of the Illustrious House of Ducas, nearly related to the Emperors, whose Name was Alexis, and commonly called Murtzuphle, by reason that his Eyebrows joining, and very thick, hung over his Eyes; which hath always been looked upon as a Mark of a very ill Man: And in truth, one shall difficultly find one in all History more wicked, or who had a blacker Soul, a Nature more savage and cruel, year 1203 or more capable of the most base and cowardly Treasons, to come to the Accomplishment of his own Ends. Now, as he was the most insatiably ambitious of Mankind, he easily persuaded himself, that, after the Example of Alexis Comnenius, whom he had served against Isaac, he might make himself Emperor, provided he durst undertake the Enterprise, without scrupling the greatest Crimes, to lay hold quickly of the Opportunity which seemed to favour his wicked Projection, considering in what manner of Disposition the Spirits of the Greeks were at present, in regard to the two Emperors and the Latins. And certainly, as for Isaac, besides that he had ever been one of the most fantastical Men in the World, and least capable of Governing, as may be seen by his Character, which I have given in the fifth Book of this History, he seemed, by his Imprisonment, to have lost all that little Soul which he had before; for he acted and said so many extravagant things, after he had once entertained these crazed Imaginations, that he was guilty of the most pleasant Dotage in the World; for he sancied that he was destined, one day, to be the Universal Monarch of the World, and that he should also recover his Sight, together with the Vigour and Beauty of a flourishing Youth, and become, in a manner, a Demi-God. This was confirmed to him by his Astrologers, who made a mere Fool of him, and by the Monks of Constantinople, the most of which, since their Schism, had shaken hands with Truth, Honour and good Manners, and studied nothing so much as the servile and unmanly Art of Flattering their Emperors, even in their most sottish Follies, thereby to procure good Entertainment for their Bellies, which was the chief thing which these lazy Cheats and Hypocrites regarded. These Extravagancies of the poor old Dotard brought him into the very last degrees of Contempt with the People, who made no manner of account of him, and in all public Ceremonies and Transactions, boldly named his Son before him. Nor was the Son in much better Terms, in the Opinion of his Subjects, than the Father; for, by reason of the Confederacy which he had made with the Latins, they had changed that Love which before they had for him, into the most implacable Hatred: the very name of the Latins was so odious to them, that they could not hear it without Grief and Horror, esteeming them the Cause of all their Miseries, and those Exactions which were made to satisfy the Treaty. And to augment this Detestation, the last Desolation of their City, they knew, was wholly owing to those lewd Fellows whom they protected in their Army, although it was no fault of the Princes that Justice was not done upon them; but so long as they kept themselves concealed, the impossibility of Discovery who were the Authors of that horrible Fact, which protected them from the Hand of Justice. Murtzuphle therefore, to make his Advantage of this great Aversion which the People had for the Emperors, believed that his first Step was, by Popularity, to ingratiate himself with the discontented Multitude: And this was no difficult matter; for it was no more but his declaring himself a mortal Enemy of the Latins, and he was sure of the People. And the next thing was, to find some way to create a Difference between the young Emperor and the Princes; but yet so, as that the Quarrel with the Latins might not diminish the People's Hatred against the Emperor, which such a Difference, he foresaw, would be apt to do. This, indeed, seemed no easy matter to do; but yet, notwithstanding all the difficulty, he found the opportunity, in a little time, to effect it. For this purpose, being a Man of a most supple and smooth Conversation, cunning, complaisant and assiduous; and besides, having got the Reputation of being a Man of Spirit and Courage, he presently conveyed himself into the Esteem and Affections of Alexis: Insomuch, that the young Prince, who had not too much Soul, nor was over-burdened with the Talon of Conduct and Government, made this wicked Traitor his only Confident; and that he might have him constantly near his Person, he made him the great Master of the Wardrobe. The insinuating Murtzuphle being thus got into his Bosom, made use of all the Artifices which an ambitious Cheat could invent, to render the Prince jealous, and the Latins odious and suspected to him, and to efface out of his Mind all the Obligations of his Benefactors; and, in short, to oblige him to an open Breach, and to declare War against them; pretending that he did not doubt but to be able to furnish him with all things necessary for the carrying it on, year 1203 and happy ending of it. He laboured, however, some time in vain, in regard that though he had gained a mighty Ascendant upon the feeble Spirit of the Prince, yet that very weakness of Spirit, which had delivered him up into his Hands, to dispose of him at his pleasure, proved the main Obstacle to his Design. For the Prince, who was thoroughly acquainted with the Courage of the Confederates, was in the most dreadful Apprehensions of Fear, that if he should render those, who had established him in the Throne, his Enemies, he should certainly sink under the Power and the Justice of their Arms: And this Fear was much too predominant for all the other Passions with which this Traitor endeavoured to possess and fortify his Soul. But as there is nothing so proper to beget, in low and debased Minds, Presumption, Ingratitude, Oblivion of good Offices, and take off even the fear of Vengeance, as Prosperity, which many times, by a strange kind of Injustice, makes Men seek for the Opportunities of defeating those to whom they own it, and quitting the Score of Obligations by the Payment of Injuries; so did it happen to Alexis: For, so soon as he was returned from the Thracian Expedition, which was so much to his Glory and Advantage, Murtzuphle presently fell to his old Trade of buzzing into his Ears, That he had now nothing further to fear: That he was as absolute Master of the Empire as he could wish: That now he might easily quit himself of this handful of Latins, who had only been strong, because the Greeks were weak with their own Intestine Divisions: That under the specious name of Protectors, they covered the most cruel Tyranny over himself and Subjects, by insisting upon the performance of those shameful Conditions, and insupportable Articles, which, making Advantage of his Fortune, they had extorted from him. And, in short, by his Solicitations, he so prevailed upon the young Emperor, elated by his little Prosperity, that he brought him to the Resolution of shaking off the Yoke, as he called it, which he had imposed upon his own Neck; and to endeavour to destroy those who had saved him. The Princes quickly perceived by his Carriage, wholly differing from what it used to be, that there was a manifest Change; but in a short time they plainly discovered, that, besides the Intention which he had to perform nothing of what he had promised, he also sought all Opportunities of destroying them by some sudden Surprise; and therefore they resolved to oblige him to deal clearly with them, and either to give them just Satisfaction, or to declare War. Whereupon they sent six Deputies, three French, and three Venetians, who received their Audience of the Emperors in the Palace of Blaquerness; where Conon de Bethune, who spoke for them all, addressed himself to the young Emperor, with whom only they had treated, and spoke to him in a manner extremely bold and Majestic, in these Terms. My Lord, We come hither in behalf of the Princes and Lords of the Crusade, both French and Venetians, to let you understand, that after the great and signal Services, which all the World knows we have rendered to you, they have it in extreme Admiration that you should do nothing for their Satisfaction, according to the Treaty which you yourself have sworn to perform, and which the Emperor, your Father, hath also ratified. They have often required of you the performance of those Stipulations; and we do here, this day, in their Names, peremptorily require you, for the last time, to be at last Master of your Word, and presently to accomplish the Articles of your Treaty, without longer abusing of their Patience: If you do, you shall do only what you are obliged to do, which is the only Satisfaction they expect from you: But if you refuse, we are, from them, to declare to you, that they will do themselves Justice by the same Arms which have been so auspicious to you; and that from hence forward they will esteem you their Enemy, and declare War against you; which they were resolved not to begin, till they had given you this solemn Defiance, according to the Custom of their Country, which does not allow them to steal a Victory by surprising their Enemies, but which they resolve to gain nobly, by defying you to the Combat. This, my Lord, is what we have in Commission to say to you. We have, I think, sufficiently explained our Intentions; it remains on your part, immediately to give your Resolution, and to let us know which part you choose, whether Peace or War. year 1203 This Declaration, so frank and generous, and delivered with a noble Fierceness, being what was very uncustomary in the Greek Empire, immediately raised a fearful Tumult in the Hall, where all began to exclaim, that this was an insufferable Violation of the Majesty of the Emperors, to talk with so much Confidence and Insolence; and to defy them, even upon the Throne, was an Attempt, which, since the Foundation of the Empire, never any Person before had the Presumption to execute. Above all, the young Emperor was the loudest; and foaming with Madness and Choler, broke out into most outrageous Language: Insomuch, that they who before had declared themselves most highly in favour of the Latins, now appeared the most heated and violent against them. In the mean time, whilst the Debate was hot what Measures were to be taken, and that nothing was to be heard but the fearful and confused Cries of People, who were all Speakers, the Deputies seeing there was no Conclusion, in probability, to be expected, but rather some Indignities and Outrages to their Persons, they gently descended from the Hall, and presently mounting on Horseback, returned to the Camp; and now nothing was thought on by either side, but the ensuing War. It was immediately begun by little Skirmishes between the Greeks and Latins, wherein the last always carried the Advantage. But the Greeks believing that the main of their Success depended upon destroying the Venetian Fleet, and that if they could effect that, it was impossible for the Confederates to subsist long, but that they should have them, in a little time, at their Discretion; they therefore resolved to attempt the siring of the Navy, as they lay at Anchor in the Gulf. They therefore took seventeen great Vessels of a long Built, which the Greeks call Chelandies, which they were accustomed to make use of for Fireships: These they filled with Faggots, and all sorts of Combustible Materials, and especially with Barrels of Rosin, Pitch and Grease, to put to them their Greek Fire, or Wildfire, when the time should serve. This Wildfire was called Greek Fire, by reason that the Greeks were the first that made use of it. It was invented about the seventh Century, by an Engineer of Heliopolis in Syria, whose name was Callinicus, who made such admirable use of it in the famous Battle, which the Admirals of the Navy of the Emperor Constantine Pogonatus fought against the Saracens, near Cizicum, upon the Hellespont, that he burned their whole Fleet, and thirty thousand Men which were aboard it, in the midst of the Sea; for it was the property of this Fire, not only to burn till it came to the Water, but to burn in the Water, which seemed to increase its Force and Violence; and by a Prodigy, quite contrary to the nature of these two Elements, which are Enemies one to the other, it seemed to make use of it for its Food and Nourishment. It had also a Movement wholly contrary to that of common Fire, which always raiseth itself, and with its pointed Head, aspires upward, as it were, tending to its Sphere: But this joining to its extreme Quickness, the property of heavy and Terrestrial Bodies burnt downwards, and all along to the Right and Left, with an Impetuosity proportionable to the Impression which it received from those who had the Art to manage it; for they might either throw it a great distance, by the Machine's, which were made for that purpose, after the same manner as they threw Darts and great Stones; or they might blow it by long Trunks and Pipes of Copper, through which they discharged this liquid Fire, with Impetuosity, like Water out of a Syringe, either against Men, or any thing which they intended to set on fire; and where it once laid hold, it would stick so fast, that there was no way to extinguish it, but with Vinegar, mingled with Urine and Sand; or, which is more wonderful, Oil, which is the proper Nourishment of other Fire, and which makes it more quick and violent, would extinguish this. Thus Art, whose Perfection, we commonly say, consists in the Imitation of Nature, is never more admirable, than when, in its Operations, it is so far from imitating her, that it bestows upon them Properties wholly different, and even contrary to those of Nature. For the main, this wondrous Fire was composed of Brimstone, Naphta, Pitch, the Gums of certain Trees, and Bitumen, tempered with the Water of a Fountain which had this particular Quality, and some other Ingredients, which served to produce this marvellous Effect. But this Invention is now quite lost, year 1203 particularly since that of Powder was found out, with which we make all our Artificial Fires, and which produces by our Cannons, Bombes and Mines, Effects incomparably more wonderful and terrible than those of this Grecian Fire, with its Engines, Blasts and Pipes. The Greeks having in this manner prepared their seventeen great Fireships, and charged them with the Wildfire, one Night, when the Wind blew for their purpose, a good stiff Gale at West, they sent them adrift towards the middle of the Venetian Fleet, which lay to the Leeward, at the Entrance of the Haven. All these Ships, having a Stern Wind, and all their Sails filled with it, appeared in an instant all on fire, like so many glowing Furnaces, driven before the Wind with mighty Violence, upon the Venetian Fleet; and advancing still with their whirling Flames towards them, seemed ready to set them on fire, there appearing to the distant Spectators, almost no possibility of avoiding the threatening danger. All the City ran to the Port, and to the Towers and Walls, to have the pleasure of the burning of the Navy, every one impatiently expecting the agreeable Show which they believed was ready to appear, and all of them together, as upon an Amphitheatre, clapping their Hands, and making great Shouts of Joy, with a most horrible Noise, as if all had been their own. But this Joy was quickly changed into Shame and Grief, when they saw all these artificial Fires, from which they stood gaping for such Miracles, vanish into Smoak, by the Skill and Dexterity of the Venetians, who, so soon as they saw them, leaped into their Skiffs and Long-Boats, and, with an incredible diligence, having run the Fireships one upon another, in despite of all the Showers of Darts and Arrows, which were discharged upon them, by the force of mighty Hooks and Grappling Irons, they drew them out of the Port, into the Chanal, where leaving them to the Wind and Current, they were carried into the Propontis, where at length they spent themselves in unprofitable Flames. So that the Venetians lost not so much as one Skiff; nor was there more than one single Merchantman of Pisa, which being unluckily in their Way, could not so suddenly avoid them, but that she was quite burnt down. year 1204 This Accident gave Murtzuphle a fair Opportunity of finishing the Ruin of the poor Alexis, by the blackest and most detestable Treason that the wickedest of Mankind could be capable of: For as he had a most absolute power over the Soul of this miserable Prince, who acted wholly by his Counsels, and esteemed him as an Oracle, he told him, that to secure himself from the danger wherein he was of falling, like his Uncle, under the hands of the Latins, it was necessary that he should endeavour to amuse them, by sending secretly to them, and protesting, that whatever he had done against them, was purely the Effect of Constraint; and that, for his own part, he was readily disposed to do more than he had promised, provided that they would assist him against his Subjects, who took from him the liberty and the power of keeping his Word; and that if they would assist him to become Master of Constantinople, as he ought to be, he should then be in a Condition most faithfully to perform, as he most earnestly desired, all the Articles of the Treaty. Poor Alexis immediately fell into the Snare, which was so artfully placed for him, for he instantly dispatched Envoys, charged with this Commission, to the Princes; when, at the same time, the Traitor having, by his Emissaries, blazed it all about the City, he, that very Day, being the 25th of January, raised such a furious and general Insurrection throughout the Town, that believing themselves betrayed, after having, with the greatest Insolence, charged the Emperor with a thousand Imprecations, calling him a Slave to the Latins, and a Traitor to the Empire, they ran tumultuously to the Church of Sancta Sophia, there presently to make Choice of a new Emperor. The Historian Nicetas, who was at that time Lord Chancellor, although he does, with Passion enough, declare himself an Enemy to the Latins, yet upon this Occasion, did whatever lay in his Power to oppose this Resolution; remonstrating to the People, that they were in no manner of Condition to defend the Emperor whom they should choose, against the Army of the Crusades. But the Populace, which after it is once heated, is no longer capable of Reason, or of following any other Conduct, but that of their blind and impetuous Passions, year 1204 cried out terribly that they would never stir from thence till they had a new Emperor; and in the Heat of the Tumult seizing upon the most Eniment Persons of the City, they endeavoured to constrain them, even with Menaces and the Poniard at their Throats to accept of the Imperial Crown. At last seeing that all the Ancient Senators to whom they addressed themselves, as most capable of governing, excused themselves upon divers pretences, they took a young man of a good House, whose name was Nicholas Cannabus, and notwithstanding all that he could do to oppose it, they carried him to the Imperial Throne which was in the Body of the Church upon the right side over against the Tribunal and proclaimed him Emperor, compelling the Patriarch also to Crown him. Alexis astonished at this News, ran to consult his Oracle, the Traitor, and he resolving to push his Treason to the utmost, to the end that he might procure himself to be elected Emperor in the place of Cannabus, got a Deputation instantly for himself to go to the Marquis Boniface, to whom he promised, on the Behalf of Alexis, who implored his Assistance in this pressing Necessity, to deliver to him the Palace and Fortress of Blaquerness, as a pawn of his Fidelity, provided he would instantly come with all his Forces to deliver him out of this extreme Danger in which he was. The Marquis not doubting but that the rest of the Princes would be in this particular in his opinion accepted the Proposition; but before he had the Leisure to confer with them, the Perfidious Murtzuphle being returned, failed not the Night following to advertise the Principal Persons of the City and of the Militia of this Treaty: And as he had a great Party of his Friends and Relations, so having assured himself of the Guards of Strangers, by the Lord Treasurer's Interest whom he had gained, he caused the People to be put in Arms before the Palace, to hinder the Effect of this Treason of Alexis, who as they were made to believe, had sold the City to the Latins, and for other Matters he took upon him so to order them, that they should have nothing to fear; then the Traitor making use of the Power which his Place about the Emperor gave him, entered at Midnight into the Bedchamber where the poor Prince was fast asleep, without dreaming of his horrible Treachery; he instantly awakened him, and with a trembling Voice, intercepted with Sighs, as if he had been quite out of his Senses, he told him that all was lost, that all the City was in Arms, that the Commonalty, the Nobility and Gentry with the Guards were all ready to fall upon the Palace with intent to cut him in Pieces, having understood by some of their Spies, who were come from the Camp, that he had a Design to deliver up the City to the Latins. Whereupon the amazed Prince wholly abandoning himself to the Conduct of Murtzuphle, that Perfidious Villain, who pressed him to save himself, throwing about him a Morning Gown, he carried him through many wind into a straight Place, in the remotest and most obscure part of the Palace, whither he was no sooner come, but he found men posted by this wicked Traitor, who instantly seized upon him, and clapping Irons upon his Hands and Feet, dragged him into the most horrible Prison that was in that place. This being done he went and immediately presented himself to the People, and in a cunning Harangue gave them an Account of what had passed, and what he had done to deliver them from the terrible Danger wherein they were, of losing their Liberty; he exhorted them generously with their Arms to assist him in preserving it, and the Glory of the Empire against the Latins, and to choose an Emperor, who had Courage to defend them against these Tyrants, who endeavoured to oppress them. Hereupon the Guards, and all those who were of his Faction having saluted him Emperor with mighty Acclamations, the People, who are wont in Tumults, blindly to take those Impressions which are given them, did so too, never thinking of the poor Cannabus, the late Idol of their own making, who was presently by this new Tyrant Unemperored again, and sent to the Prison from the Throne, to bear Alexis' Company. As for that other Fantome of an Emperor the miserable Isaac, who was desperately Sick, when the news was brought him of this sudden Revolution, he died in a few hours after, either of Fear or Grief, or as some believe, by the Cruelty of Murtzuphle, whose Impatience of Competitors, or even the Shadow of them, would not permit him to wait till the Disease should put an end to the Destiny of this deplorable old man. year 1204 But this is most certain, that this Barbarian being in continual Fears, lest the Latins should once more endeavour to restore the Prince Alexis, after he had two or three times given Poison to this young, unfortunate Emperor, to ease himself of the Disquiets which might rise from that Quarter, finding that they did not dispatch him so quickly as he expected, he himself went to the Prison where he was kept, and by an execrable Cruelty, which is scarcely to be found among all the Examples of the most Sanguinary Tyrants, which are branded with Infamy by Historians, he there strangled him with his own Hands. A notable Instruction for all Crowned Heads, and which may inform them, of how dangerous Consequence it is, blindly to commit themselves to the Conduct of one single Person, who having no Companions in his Ministry, has the Opportunity of betraying them without being perceived; and that there can be nothing more fatally dangerous to them, than to trust to those who have once violated their Faith, which they had given them, as this wicked man had done, who was one of the first that had declared himself for the Usurper Alexis Comnenius, when he seized upon his Brother's Diadem. Thus miserably perished the Young Alexis, who having by a manifest Perjury broken the Oath which he had solemnly sworn to the Confederates, who came to establish him in his Empire, God the just Avenger of the Persidy of Princes, of whom he is the sole Judge, permitting him to lose his Empire and his Life by another Persidy more Execrable, and by the Hands of the same Person, whom he had raised so high, and who by his wicked Counsels had persuaded him to that Perjury to destroy him. Thus one may in all Ages see, by a multitude of Examples, that great Crimes, especially of great men, are usually punished even in this Life, and most commonly by the very Instruments and Causes of those Crimes. This Abominable Parricide being in a little time discovered, notwithstanding all the Artifices with which Murtzuphle endeavoured to conceal it, the Princes, the Prelates and Confederate Lords assembled themselves to take a firm and the last Resolution upon an Affair so little foreseen or expected by them; and it was at length concluded by them, that for the present, laying aside the Enterprise of the Holy Land, they should endeavour to take Constantinople, and employ their Forces about it for the remainder of the Year of their Confederation; and that for three Reasons, first to revenge the horrible Murder committed upon the Person of him, whom they had made Emperor, and to overthrow the Throne of the Usurper, who had seized upon it by such abominable Crimes. Secondly, to do themselves Justice, by taking that by Force, which it was in vain for them to expect from the Tyrant, and which was really due to them in Virtue of the Treaty which they had made with the late Emperor Alexis. And in the last place to make themselves Masters of Constantinople, and consequently of all the Empire of the East, which was the thing of the World, the most glorious for the Crusades, the most advantageous to the Church, and the most necessary for the Conquest of the Holy Land; as had been but too evident in all the other Crusades, and without which they could difficultly Expect to be Successful, and especially when they should have this Tyrant, their mortal Enemy, possessed of it, who would certainly employ all his Power and his Malice for their Destruction; especially since now there could not be the same Scruple, which was made against the Advice of the wise Bishop of Langress, who counselled Lewis the Young, by all means to seize upon Constantinople, before he passed any further; in regard that there could not be the least Colour that the War against an Usurper, and a Parricide, against Rebels and Traitors was unjust or unlawful. All the Bishops the Abbots, and even the Friends of the Pope were so far from opposing this Resolution, that they endeavoured to promote it with all their Power, assuring the Army that in the Execution of this Enterprise they should obtain the same Indulgences, which the Pope had granted to those who went to combat against the Infidels. So that all men's minds being perfectly well disposed to it, and the Army fully resolved to perform their Duty, the War was again begun both by Land and Sea; and to encourage them, in the very beginning they met with a lucky Presage of the Success of the Enterprise, by a most signal Victory which was obtained against the Tyrant Murtzuphle. year 1204 For Henry the Brother of Count Baldwin, accompanied with James de Avesnes, Baldwin de Beavoir, Eudes and William de Chamlite, with a good Party of the most Valiant men of the Army, resolved to endeavour the surprise of the City Philea, anciently Phinopolis, situate some five or six Leagues from the Camp, on the Thracian Side near the Mouth of the Bosphorus, upon the Euxine Sea. After they had in order to it marched all night, early in the morning they came before the Place without being discovered, and presently presented the Scalade, and notwithstanding all the Resistance of the Inhabitants, who as soon as they perceived their Danger ran from all parts to repulse them, these brave men took it by Force. And the City being a Place of great Traffic and consequently very rich, they made there a mighty Booty, which, together with the Prisoners, and abundance of Provisions which they found there, they sent down the Chanal in their Barks to the Camp. And having refreshed themselves for two days, they returned loaden with the Spoils, the remainder of their Booty, towards the Camp. But Murtzuphle being advertised thereof, by Night drew out of Constantinople with a great Party of his Army, and having placed himself in Ambush near a Wood by which they must of Necessity return, he suffered the first Squadrons to pass by, and immediately with all his Forces fell upon the Rereguard which was led by Prince Henry. Now although this Surprise was very sudden and unexpected, yet this Brave Prince shown his great Courage, and admirable Resolution; for without being in the least daunted, to see so great an Army ready to charge him, and the Emperor in Person at the Head of them, or to find himself with such a Handful of men, divided from the rest, who were already advanced a good way into the Forest, and who could not come up to him in any Order but by filing off in small Parties by reason of the Straitness of the Passage; he notwithstanding all these disadvantages, made Head against the Enemy, and generously sustained their first Charge, when it came to his turn, charging them also so vigorously that he still gained Ground of them till such time as his Companions hearing the Noise of the Combat, made haste to his Assistance, and drew up in Order without the Wood Then seeing that he should be seconded by his Party, he charged with so much Fury upon the Greeks, who were already in Disorder, that they all took the Rout and followed the Emperor, who to make more haste in his Flight, lightened himself of his Buckler and his Arms, and yet notwithstanding had like to have left his Life too behind him, had it not been for the Swiftness of an excellent Horse, to whose Heels and the Spurs of his own Fear, he that day owed his Life. He left however twenty of the most principal Men of his Army among the Slain, together with a great Number of private Soldiers, and many Prisoners with all his Baggage; and that which most rejoiced the Army was, that together with the Great Standard of the Empire, they took that famous Image of the Blessed Virgin, which the Grecian Emperors, were accustomed to have carried before them in all their Battles as the invincible Companion of the Romans, as Nicetas saith, who tells us that the Emperor Zimisces after he had conquered the Bulgarians, caused it to be carried in the Triumphant Chariot, which was prepared for himself, protesting that it was to the Virgin represented by that Image, to whom he ought to render that Honour, since to her he owed the Victory. However the taking of this Banner and Image was looked upon as a happy Presage that they should gain the Empire of Constantinople, since the Blessed Virgin, to whom that Imperial City was dedicated by the mighty Constantine, seemed to forsake it to pass into the French Camp, as it were to guide and conduct them in their Entrance into the City. Murtzuphle astonished with this Blow, began now to think of attempting the ways of Artifice, having for that purpose obtained a Conference with the Doge of Venice; but with all his Arts he was not able to delude this clear sighted, blind old man, who by the Eyes of his Soul saw through all his Juggles and 'Slight of Hand. So that all things were prepared to give a general Assault upon the City by Sea; for in regard that on that side there was only a single Wall, it was believed that the French, who were to land upon the Key, making their Attack there, whilst at the same time the Venetians should make theirs by sighting upon their Ships, the place might soon and most easily be carried. year 1204 On the other side, the Tyrant who was a Soldier, and who saw that his safety wholly depended upon his strong Resolution of a stout defence, failed nor to give all necessary Orders for opposing the Latins in the best manner that he could; he marched quite through the City in his Habiliments of War, his Sword by his side, and a huge Horsemans' Mace in his Hand, encompassed with his Guards, and with a mind fierce and resolute, he endeavoured to encourage the Greeks to defend their Liberty, with a stern and menacing tone reproaching the Great men of the Empire with their Effeminate and Voluptuous way of living, and obliged them more by the fear of his Savage Humour, than by the hopes of Victory, or his Example, to betake themselves to their Arms. And as he imagined that the Latins intended to storm the City, he forgot nothing that might contribute to its Defence; he fortified the Walls and Towers; he raised them where they were low with Parapets, made of strong Timber and floored with boards two or three Stories high, that so his men might under Shelter discharge upon the Assailants. All the Curtain and the Platforms of the Towers, were stored with such a great number of all kinds of Engines, that one could scarcely believe there was in the whole World a City so well fortified and provided, or which could be more difficult to be taken. But the Princes who were not much concerned at these Preparations, knowing they signified nothing unless they were defended by men of Courage, after they had laboured in making all things ready, till Thursday, the Week after mid-lent, upon that day, being the eighth of April, they caused all the Army to be embarked upon the Ships which were ranged into two Lines, extending half a League in their Front. The Great Ships were in the first with their long Ladders in manner of a Drawbridge, which were fastened to the Masts and the Wooden Towers of an extraordinary Height. The Galleys and Flat Bottoms were in the Second, and were to advance through the Intervals which were left between Ship and Ship. Early in the next Morning all the Fleet weighed, and with the Help of Sails and Oars, crossing the Gulf in good Order, they presented themselves before the Walls: They had all the Success they could have hoped; for in Despite of the Discharge of the Enemy's Engines, and the Infinite number of Darts and Arrows which were powered upon them from the Curtain and the Towers, those who were aboard the Galleys and the flat Bottoms, observing their order of passing between the great Ships, got safely ashore, and planting their Engines all along the Key, they clapped their Ladders to the Walls; and then the great Ships coming up close, the Venetians throwing out their Bridges made of Masts and Yards, placed them against the Towers, and both the one and the other mounting Courageously went to the Assault with their Swords in their Hands. The Combat was maintained on both sides with an Incredible Fury; the Assaillants animated by the Ardent Desire which they had, and the certain hope they entertained that they should that day take the richest City in the World: And the Defendants forced by the Necessity whereto they were reduced either to Vanquish or lose all. But in Conclusion the number of these Desperate Defendants being Infinite in Comparison of the Assailants, and the Emperor who had pitched his Tents in a spacious place upon a rising Ground in the City, near the Walls, continually sending fresh Supplies, to refresh those who were weary, and the Towers which he had raised upon the Walls surpassing those Wooden ones to which they had applied the scaling Ladders; so that the Greeks fought with all manner of Advantage in discharging their Darts, Arrows and stones from the higher place, the Assailants were every where repulsed, and about three of the Clock in the Afternoon they were forced to retreat with the loss of many Soldiers and a great many Engines of Battery. This ill success did a little trouble the Princes, but it was so far from abating their Courage, that it raised it much higher, by inflaming it with a generous Despite to find themselves obliged to yield to those whom they had so often beaten. And the same Night they held a Council of War, where it was resolved that all things should be disposed within two days, to give a second Assault upon the same side, and not on that of the Propontis, as the French proposed, in regard that part of the City was not so well fortified; for the Venetians, who better understood the Sea, made them apprehend, that if they once went out of the Port, the Current would undoutedly carry them into the Chanal of the Bosphorus, year 1204 and that it was impossible to stem the Course of the Sea, or to bring the Ships near to the Walls. They therefore only added to the order which had been formerly observed in the Assault, that there should not now be one Ship allotted to each Tower, but two tied together, that thereby they might be able to attack the great numbers which defended the Towers, with greater Force than could be expected from the Soldiers of one single Ship; It was also resolved that the French should be intermixed with the Venetians, both by Sea and Land, that so the two Nations might not lay the Blame of a Miscarriage if any should happen upon one another. Upon Monday therefore the twelfth of April, they came to the Assault with greater Vigour, resolution and sierceness than before, notwithstanding that they saw all the Towers and the Walls covered with an Infinite of Soldiers. This confident Approach struck a Terror into the Greeks, who believed they should have terrified the Assailants with that number or men, and little expected the Latins would so suddenly make another Attempt, of which they so assured themselves, that they had spent the two days with great rejoicings, and abundance of Bonsires', for the Joy of the Victory. The Assault was extremely furious, and continued a long time without the French and Venetians advancing any thing more than in the first Assault or giving it over for the obstinate resistance with which they met; they sought on both sides every where with an equal desire and resolution of being the Victors, and the advantage seemed till noon to continue with the Greeks; but then a Gale arising from the Norward, proved mighty favourable to the Assailants, by driving the Ships close up to the very Walls; Whereupon two great Ships, one called the Pilgrim, the other the Paradise, being tied together by a good Omen for the Crusades, having on board of them among other French Lords, the Bishops of Soissons and Troyes, were carried so near to a Tower adjoining to the Hill where the Tyrant was posted, that they applied their Bridges and Ladders without any difficulty; immediately then two of the most Valiant Knights, one a French man, whose name was Andrew d' Vrboise, a Domestic of the Bishop of Soissons; the other a Venetian, who was called Peter Alberti, mounted courageously well covered with their Shields, and with their Scimiters in their Hands, they both leapt down together into the Tower, and were upon a signal immediately followed by John de Choisy and all the brave men which were aboard those two Ships. It some times happens in War, that there is but one single Moment, and one brave Action of some Valiant man to decide a day; those who defended this Tower, were so terrified with this Heroic Confidence of these two men, and much more by the dreadful Blows which they bestowed, making Heads, Arms and Legs fly off where ever they sell, that losing their Courage and Judgement they made all the hast they could to get out of their reach, and with Precipitation abandoned the Tower to these two Heroes and those who thronged up after them with desire to partake of the Honour of the Action. Those who sought ashore, and those who were upon the Galleys to support them, seeing that those who were aboard these two Ships, had planted their Ensigns upon this Tower, and the Greeks already took the Fright, were so ashamed to see themselves behind hand, that some of them with Precipitation throwing themselves ashore, whilst others planted the Ladders against the Walls, the one and the other mounting in Shoals, pushing, overthrowing with their Bucklers, and with huge Blows killing all those, who in this horrible disorder, into which Fear and Dispair had driven the Greeks, made any resistance; and continually pursuing their Point, with a Courage extremely heightened by the Hopes of Victory, they quickly made themselves Masters of four other Towers, and there planted their Victorious Ensigns. At the same time they who fought upon the Key, and they who descended from the Galleys and Ships, where they were employed continually to shoot against the Curtain, enraged to think that they should be the last in the taking of Constantinople, ran to the Gates, and with their Rams broke three of them open; they also who were already gotten into the Town over the Walls, having opened the others which were between the Towers, which they had taken, the whole Army entered, year 1204 and drew up in order between the Walls and the Heads of the Streets which abutted upon the Haven, that so they might not be surprised indisorder, but be in a Condition regularly to attack any that should be commanded to oppose them: For they saw the Emperor advantageously posted before them upon his Hill, and who had put his Troops in Battalia, before his Tents upon the rising Grounds which lay on each Hand of him; so that he seemed either resolved to charge the Confederate Army, to drive them again out of the City, or at least, firmly to expect them in his advantageous Post, if they should venture to attack him; and however to prevent them from proceeding further. But by the Cowardice of his men or possibly his own, and the fear he was in, to fall into the hands of the Princes, wanting the Resolution of a Valiant man to conquer or to die nobly with his Sword in his Hand, he did neither the one nor the other; for the Greeks did no sooner see the Knights in their glittering Armour mount their charging Horses, with the Visors of their Helmets down, and the Lance in the rest begin to move, to run against them, having at the Head of them a brave Lord of great Stature, whom their fear made them magnify into a Giant, but they instantly disbanded, and with all the hast they could, began to run and save themselves, some out of the City by the Dorean Gate, others in the Palace, and in the Churches which they Barricadoed to defend themselves. The Emperor at full Speed threw himself into the great Palace, which had one Gate upon the Propontis; and the greatest part of the Lords and Officers, retrenched themselves in that Quarter, and in the Palace of Blaquerness. All the rest, following that Example, ran in a dreadful disorder through the Streets to gain their Houses, the Victors still being at their Heels, who in this first fury, which was not easy to be stopped in the taking of a City by Assault, overthrew and killed all that they could reach, making a most horrible Slaughter among these miserable People; and above all the Latins who had inhabited Constantinople, made the most cruel carnage to revenge themselves, for having been banished out of it upon the great Conflagration of that unfortunate City. The Night, which now came on apace, favourably for the Greeks, stopped the Current of this Fury; a retreat was sounded, and the Princes having rallied their men in an open Place, distributed them into three Quarters and ordered them to fortify themselves there, not doubting, but that they must have more fight work to gain the rest of the City, and that the Greeks would not fail to retrench themselves in so many advantageous Posts, which they might very easily be able to defend; as in our time we have known the People of Naples and the Spaniards retrench one against the other, in divers Quarters of the Streets and in the Monasteries, and to fight for several Months in one City, as if it had been a great Province, in which one is obliged to take several Cities and Forts, to make a Conquest of the whole. Thus the whole Army was posted near the Towers and the Wall which they had taken, and which they were able to defend; the Duke of Venice encamped close by the Walls to be near his Ships, if any Attempt should in the Night be made against them. The Earl of Flanders by a happy Presage, lodged himself in the Imperial Tents, which Murtzuphle had lest ready for him upon the Hill, where he was posted during the Assault. Prince Henry and the Earl of Blois his men lay upon his right, and retrenched themselves before the Palace of Blaquerness; and Marquis Boniface took his Lodgement to the left in a quarter lying more to the East, where certain Soldiers, fearing to be surprised by the Greeks, set sire to some Houses, that, as they thought, lay too near them, and so occasioned a third sire which reduced the greatest part of that quarter of the City into Ashes. As for the Earl of Blois he was not at the taking of the City being extremely ill that day with a sit of a terrible Quartane Ague which kept him in his Bed, and hindered him from being at the Attack, which was no small Affliction to him, who was as desirous of being present there as he was stout and courageous, being esteemed, as he really was, one of the most Brave and Valiant men of his time. But all these Precautions of the Confederates were unnecessary, for early the next morning being drawn up in Battalia, and expecting to be encountered with at least a hundred thousand Enemies, they were met with nothing but Processions, which from all Quarters came before them, bearing the Crosses, year 1204 the Banners and Images of Saints to implore the Clemency of the Victors. For while the Princes were in this manner retrenching themselves in their several Ports; Murtzuphle, who had ordered all things ready for his concealed Design, issuing out of the Palace, ran about the Streets and the Market Places, animating the People to defend their Liberty against this Handful of Desperadoes, as he termed them, who had now shut themselves into a Place from whence it was impossible for them to escape, provided they could find Courage enough to oppose them, and telling them it was the easiest matter in the World to surround them, and take them alive and make them all Slaves; this he spoke with so much assurance, and protested that he would march at the head of those who had the Courage to follow him to a most undoubted Victory, that a great many of the People and all the Soldiers, resolved the next morning under his Conduct, to attack the French in their Quarters. But this Infamous Coward was so far from the Intention of executing what he pretended, that retiring to the great palace, as he said, a little to repose himself, he followed the Example of his usurping Predecessor old Alexis, and in the night made his escape upon a Ship which he had caused to be made ready for him. He took along with him the Empress Euphrosyne, Wife to Alexis, and her Daughter the Princess Eudoxia, of whom he was so desperately Amorous, that he chose rather to lose his Honour and his Empire, than to expose himself to the Danger of missing the Satisfaction of his Passion, which, cost what it would, he was resolved to gratify, as he did, by abandoning his Lawful Wife to espouse that foolish Princess. So blind and Tyrannous, is irregular Love, in a Heart which yields itself up to its Usurpation, where, when once those Gross and Earthy Flames prevail, they extinguish all the Lights of Reason, and Virtue, and even those more common Principles of good sense and Nature. So soon as this Shameful Flight of Murtzuphle was known, the People ran thundering to the Church of Sancta Sophia to make a new Emperor, and in the Tumult Theodore Lascaris, who was just returned to Constantinople was instantly chosen, and compelled to take the Helm of this Ship of the Government which was now agitated by such a Furious Tempest. But in a few Moment's after this new Prince perceiving that this Ardour of the People began to slag, and that instead of following him to oppose the Enemy, every man began to think of saving one, he also took the same Measures, and before day made his Escape in the best manner that he could. Upon this the whole City threw down their Arms and fell to their Prayers and Processions, to implore the Mercy and Compassion of the Conquerors; addressing themselves principally to the Marquis of Montferrat, who was known among them, and to whom the flattering Greeks already gave the Title of Emperor, believing that he ought to be the man. Thus by the most astonishing and prodigious Event which hath nothing comparable to it in all History, the greatest City of the World, the richest and according to the manner of those times, the best fortified, and defended by above four hundred thousand men, was taken by Assault, and peaceably possessed by the Confederates, whose Army did not consist in above twenty thousand Combatants. Which may inform the Christians, That this very same City, which at this day is neither so strong, so well furnished, nor peopled, by far as it was then, and upon the taking whereof the Conquest of the Eastern Empire would most certainly depend, could never be able to resist one of those great Armies, which their Divisions, so fatal to the Interest of Christian Religion, oblige them so often to bring into the Field for their mutual Destruction. But this is an Evil which for a long time we have deplored, and must still lament, unless it shall please Almighty God, in whose hands are the Hearts of Princes, to give a firm and solid Peace among them, and inspire the Heart of some generous Hero with Courage equal to this of these Brave French Princes, who with so few Forces accomplished this glorious Enterprise; which would not be so great an Impossibility even for their Descendants to undertake if they were in a Condition of Assurance from the Hatred, the Ambition and the Jealousy of their Neighbours. The Princes pleasingly surprised to find that they had nothing but Suppliants, where they expected Enemies, immediately, with the Generosity which always accompanies true Valour, year 1204 promised them their Lives, their Honour, their Liberty, and one part of their Estates, which they knew by the Laws of War, all appertained to the Conquerors. They therefore commanded them to retire into their Houses; and then gave the Soldiers the Plunder of the City for that day, but with strict Command to shed no blood, and to preserve the Honour of the Women, above all other things: they also commanded that all the Spoils should be brought into Common Repositories, to the End that a just Distribution might be made with Equality, according to the Merit and Quality of every Person. This being done, the Marquis of Montferrat went to the great Pal●ce of the Emperors, where were the two Empresses, Agnes the Sister of Philip the August, the Widow of the two Emperors, Alexis the Son of Manuel, and Andronicus, and Margaret the Widow of the Emperor Isaac, and most of the Ladies of the first Quality who were retired thither. The Marquis treated them with all imaginable Honour and Civility due to their Character, and not long after married the Empress Margaret. At the same time Prince Henry having presented himself before the Palace of Blaquerness, whither the greatest part of the Nobility and men of Condition were retired, they rendered themselves to him as Prisoners of War, their Lives only saved. There were found in these two Palaces most Inestimable Riches, which the two Princes caused to be most carefully guarded from Spoil and Imbezlement. As for the Soldiers, who dispersed themselves all over the City as they pleased, no man daring to resist them, the Historian Nicetas, who was present, affirms, that they committed all the most horrible Excesses that can be imagined, by all sorts of Violence, Cruelty, Avarice, Lust and Impiety, not sparing so much as the Churches, the Shrines, the Images, the Relics, the Holy Vessels, the very Boxes where the consecrated Host was kept, nor the most Sacred Mysteries of Religion, but profaned them with a thousand such abominable Sacrileges, as the very thought of them is sufficient to raise in devout Minds the greatest Horror and detestation, but on the contrary, those of our Historians, who have with the greatest Exactness given us the Relation of all the Circumstances of the taking and plundering of Constantinople, say nothing at all of this disorder, although they were more likely to know the Truth than Nicetas, who, during the first Tumult, together with the Patriarch, John Camaterus, saved himself with his Family at Selyurea. They only assure us, that the Soldiers made there the greatest Booty in Gold, Silver, Vessels, Pearls, precious Stones, Cloth of Gold, Silks, Rich Furs, and in all sorts of precious Movables, that ever was made at the taking of any City since the Creation of the World, as the Mareshal de Ville Hardovin after his manner ingeniously expresseth himself. But to speak without Dissimulation, I believe, after the matter is throughly considered, one may affirm that one of them says too much, and the other too little. For as to what concerns Nicetas, it is but reading this part of his History, and one shall be perfectly convinced, that the Excess of his Grief, and the hatred, which upon all Occasions he makes appear against the Latins, transported him beyond all Limits whatsoever, not only to speak sharply, but with a kind of Fury in Exaggerations, mingled with Invectives, injurious reproaches and most tragical Exclamations, which as they are insupportable even in a Declamer upon a feigned Subject, who is paid for making Lies and Scurrilities, are intolerable, and wholly unworthy of an Historian, who ought not to be credited when he writes after such a manner. As for our Writers who most assuredly were men of Honour and Honesty, as it is below all men of Spirit and Courage, there is great Probability that they would not be guilty of so base a Vice as lying, and cheatting the World with Falsities; though it is impossible they might think themselves dispensable, if they did not relate all the ill things, which were done, and which are impossible to be prevented in such dismal Events, as the taking of Cities by Assault. For as it is very likely that all the Soldiers, who were not Saints, though they were Crusades, might commit disorders, like to those which in our time, we have known upon such occasions; so this is certain, that the report was too public, not to be too true; for Pope Innocent, in a Letter, which some time after he writ to the Marquis of Montferrat, the General of the Army, although he at last approved of the taking of Constantinople, as a means to make the Enterprise of the Holy Land succeed, year 1204 yet nevertheless he complains of the great Excesses committed upon this Occasion, and above all, of the Violation of the Churches, which were despoiled of their Ornaments, and of their Riches. Be it how it will, this is most certain, that both the Officers and Soldiers, who before were poor, and at best, but in an indifferent Condition, as being reduced to an extreme Necessity of all things, became that day Rich, and in an instant exchanged their Wants, for a most prodigious Plenty of all things; for without accounting the Movables, the Statues, the Pictures, and the Jewels, and a hundred other things of mighty Value, and that part of the Booty which most of them reserved to themselves, notwithstanding all the Prohibitions to the contrary, yet there remained to the French, after all their Debts to the Venetians were paid, and they too had half of the Spoil, above four hundred thousand Marks in Silver, to be distributed among them; besides that a fourth part of what was thus brought to the common Stock, was reserved for him who should be chosen Emperor. And nevertheless the Greeks had time enough during the Night after the Assault, to hid, as they did, the greatest part of their Silver and best things, which they afterwards peaceably enjoyed. Besides the three dreadful Fires, must needs be supposed to have consumed an infinite of Goods and Treasure; and the Emperors, and most eminent Persons of the Empire, who made their Escape both by Sea and Land, had carried with them whatever they had, that was most portable and precious. So that hereby one may judge of the Riches of this imperial City, which fell under the Power of the Crusades, without any other Loss in the taking, than of one single Knight, who in too eagerly pursuing the flying Greeks, fell into a Ditch which they had cut in the Street, and was slain by his Fall. But in my Opinion, the best part of this great Booty, was the precious Treasure of an infinite number of holy Relics, which the Emperors, after great Constantine, had caused to be transported from the whole East, and especially from Palestine to Constantinople, and which since the taking thereof, have enriched many famous Churches in Italy, Germany, Flanders, and all Europe, especially France. For from thence came the greatest part of those which are in the Royal Church of St. Dennis, Philip the August, to whom the Emperor Baldwin sent them, in Person receiving them, and transporting them thither, with a Pomp and Magnificence worthy of the Piety of so great a King: From thence we have the sacred Crown of Thorns, the true Cross, the top of the Spear with which our Saviour's precious Side was pierced, and the other holy Relics, which are reverenced in the sacred Chapel of Paris, where they were put by St. Lewis, who by the Consent of the Emperor Baldwin de Courtenai, his Kinsman, redeemed them out of the Hands of the Venetians, to whom they were pawned. And that I may not trouble the Reader with a long Catalogue, those which are possessed by the Churches of Soissons, Troyes, Beauvais, Langres, Charters, Laon, and so many others, as appears by the Deeds of those Churches, came all from hence; and from hence it was that the Church of Amiens had the Head of that Divine Precursor of Christ Jesus, St. John the Baptist, which renders it so Famous: Nor can the Truth of that precious Depositum be longer doubted, since that Monsieur Cange, in the excellent Treatise which he hath written about that Relic, hath so solidly Established, and so cleared the Truth, by dissipating all the Clouds which have been raised to obscure it, that in my Opinion there are none but those who are wilfully Blind, but must see the Truth of it. There remained nothing now to be done, but to create a new Emperor; and for this Purpose there had been twelve Electors named, so soon as the Siege of Constantinople was resolved upon. There were six Venetians which were, the Admiral, Vitalis Dandolo, Otho Quirini, Bertaccio Contarini, Nicholas Navagieri, Pantaleon Barbo, and John Basegio; the French also named as many on their Part, which were the Bishops of Soissons, Troyes, and Halberstad, the Bishop of Bethlehem, whom the Pope had caused to pass from Palestine to the Army, to be his Agent there, John Bishop Elect of Acre, and the new Abbot of Los in Montserrat. An Election of this Nature was without doubt a very tender Affair, in regard that there being many Pretenders to this extraordinary Honour, there was great reason to fear, that those who were excluded by the Choice of their Competitors, should abandon the new Emperor, year 1204 and by leaving him almost alone, put him out of the Condition of maintaining himself in an Empire newly conquered, and wholly unsettled. Besides, there was reason to apprehend that the Electors of the French would be mightily divided, by reason of the underhand Influence of the Pretenders upon them, and that consequently the Venetians would indubitably be the Masters of the Election, who would all concur to place that Honour upon the Person of the Doge, who, notwithstanding the loss of his Sight, was most capable of Governing a great Empire, as for a long time he had made it apparent by his most admirable Government of that flourishing Republic. Notwithstanding all these Appearances to the contrary, by the marvellous Prudence of the Venetians, the Election was made in the most peaceable manner in the World, and to the great Satisfaction of all Parties. For these People being most wise and able Politicians, considered, that if they should choose a Venetian for the Emperor, they should run the Hazard of Overthrowing their Republic, which without doubt would be swallowed up in Monarchy, the inseparable Companion of the Empire; and besides, they saw plainly, that they were not in a Condition long to maintain this Empire without the Assistance of the French, and that also a new Emperor would be obliged mutually to depend of them, it being impossible for him long to subsist without their Maritime Succours. Hereupon they had no further Thoughts of placing one of their own Nation upon the imperial Throne, but turned their Endeavours and Aims wholly to the Point of making all the Advantage they could of this new Conquest, for the Increase of their Republic: On the other side, the French did themselves all the Justice imaginable, and were unanimous in their Opinion, that the Election ought to fall either upon the Marquis Boniface, who was their General, or upon Count Baldwin, in regard, that without Dispute these two Princes were the most potent of all the Confederates, and consequently, most capable of maintaining and defending the new Empire. Whereupon to avoid all manner of Disputes and Differences, which might happen betwixt them after the Election, it was by their Consent agreed, that whichsoever of them two should be Chosen, should bestow upon the other, to be held in fee of the Empire, all those Territories which formerly belonged to the Greek Empire, on the other side the Bosphorus, together with the Isle of Candia. This being done, the twelve Electors being assembled in the Chapel of the great Imperial Palace, called Bucoleon, to proceed to the Election, the six Venetians nominated Baldwin Earl of Flanders, herein following the Counsel of their Doge, with whom they had before conferred about it. That wise Prince, besides that he tenderly loved this young Prince, who used to treat the old Doge with that Respect, as if he had been his Father, believed also that he was the most proper Person to hold the Empire, as well by reason that he was in the prime of his Age, as of his Power, wherein he did assuredly much surpass the Marquis, both in the extent of his Dominions, number of Men, and in Estate; he also, by a profound Policy, wisely considered, that it was much more conducive to the good of the Republic, to choose a Prince, whose Dominions lay remote from those of Venice, as did Flanders and Hainault, whereas the Marquis of Montferrat, who was their near Neighbour, and a great Soldier, might prove a terrible Enemy, in case of any Breach between them, and being strengthened with the Forces of so great an Empire, might be in a Condition to do them much Damage both by Sea and Land. For these Reasons, the six Venetians, without any Hesitation, named Baldwin Earl of Flanders, for the Emperor, and those who were of his Party among the French, at the same time joining with them in the Choice; the others, who were for the Marquis, perceiving that it was but lost Labour to give their Votes for him, and that it would be to no purpose, but to manifest an unprofitable Imprudence to oppose them, they also closed with them, and declared themselves for Prince Baldwin; so that by common Consent of the twelve Electors, Baldwin Prince of Flanders and Hainault, was solemnly proclaimed Emperor of Constantinople, the second Sunday after Easter, and in eight days after he was solemnly Crowned in the Church of Sancta Sophia, with all the magnificent Ceremonies which were used to be observed at the Coronation of the Emperors, and with the Applause and general Acclamations of the Latins and the Greeks. year 1204 And in truth, this Prince had all the admirable Qualities which could be wished in an Emperor, and such as never failed to attract the Esteem, the Respect and Veneration, the Love and kind Affections of his Subjects. He was then in the one and thirthieth Year of his Age; of a tall Stature, a Shape extremely Majestic, and of a noble Mind; the Turn of his Face, and all the Lineaments of it were most agreeable, his Hair fair, his Eyes sweet, and a graceful Smile continually sat about his Mouth, the Air of his Face was naturally Modest, but it was such as did not in the least diminish that Fire and Vivacity which upon Occasion appeared in it. He had a very strong Constitution, and a Health, which had been so well managed with Temperance, the best Physician, that it was Proof against all the Fatigues of War, and all the Inconveniences of Life, which he pleasantly Supported, without losing any thing of his Vigour, either of Body or Mind: His Soul seemed naturally to partake of all the Virtues and Perfections of Mind, for he was, as even Nicetas himself is constrained to acknowledge, of a rare Piety towards God, and of admirable Charity and Goodness towards his Subjects, especially towards the Poor and Miserable, for whose Comfort and Relief he spared nothing; he was a passionate Lover of Justice, which he did indifferently distribute to all Persons; he was Free and Sincere, easy in his Conversation, willingly hearing what was the Opinion of those who took the Liberty to differ from his Sentiments; plain and mighty Moderate about his own Person, though wonderful Magnificent in all other things; Liberal and Bountiful to all except himself: and that which infinitely heightened all these admirable Qualities, he was so , that he never bestowed any amorous Glances upon any other Woman besides the Empress, his Wife; nor would he suffer any Lewdness or Debauchery among his Domestics, or permit such as were convicted to have in any manner violated the Laws of Chastity, to remain in his Court. This is the true Portrait of the Emperor Baldwin, who was the first of the Latins who held the Empire of Constantinople, which had been so gloriously Conquered by the Crusades. The first thing which he did, that so he might inviolably keep and observe what was decreed before this Election, was to cause one of the Venetian ecclesiastics to be chosen Patriarch; this was Thomas Moresini, whose Election, though at first it was declared null and contrary to the Canons by Pope Innocent, yet at the Instance of the Emperor, he did anew create him Patriarch; and than it was that the Greek Church was reunited with the Latin, by the Obedience which it rendered to the Pope, as Head of the Universal Church, from which it had been so long separated by Schism and Heresy. After this, there was a Division and Distribution made of the Lands and Provinces of the Empire: The Marquis Boniface exchanged the Provinces which he was to have had in Asia, for the new Kingdom of Thessaly, which he desired, that so he might be nearer his Brother-in-Law, the King of Hungary. The Venetians had the Isles of the Archipelagus, and a great part of Peloponnesus, or Morea, with many Cities upon the Coasts of the Hellespont, and Phrygia, together with the Isle of Candia, which they purchased of the Marquis of Montferrat, to whom it had been given by the young Alexis. Bythinia, under the Title of a Duchy, fell to the Share of the Count de Blois; William de Champlite of Champagne, had the Principality of Achaia and Peloponnesus, which he Conquered, and at his Death left to Geoffry de Ville Hardovin, Nephew to the Mareshal of Champagne, who had also for his Share the Province of Romania. There were also several other Principalities, Lands, and great Cities, both in Europe and Asia, conferred upon the most considerable Persons in the Army. After this, the Emperor taking the Field, before the Winter, reduced all the Cities of Thracia under his Obeisance; and to complete his good Fortune, the old Alexis, and the Murtzuphle, who still carried themselves as Emperors in that Province, fell alive into his victorious Hands, and received Justice according to their Demerits. Murtzuphle, after his Flight, was retired into a City of Thracia, about four days March from Constantinople, and having rallied some Troops, he, with them, seized upon Tzurulum, at this day called Chiorli, between the imperial City and Adrianople; But when he perceived that all Places surrendered themselves to Prince Henry, year 1204 whom the Emperor had sent before, with the Men at Arms, he quitted that open Country, and retreated to Messinople, anciently and truly called Maximinianopolis, in the Province of Rhodope, where the old Alexis had made himself be acknowledged as Emperor during the Siege of Constantinople. Murtzuphle sent to him, to offer him his Troops and his Service against the common Enemy, and entreated him to do him the Honour, to consider him, and receive him as his Son-in-Law, who could have no other Interests but his. But Alexis, whether it were that he hated him because he was more wicked than himself, or that he disinherited him, or that he was resolved to revenge the Affront and Dishonour that had been done by him to his Daughter, or possibly, that wholly Miserable as he was himself, yet he could not endure that another should call himself Emperor, he resolved to destroy him, and to punish his Perfidy by another Treason. For as the Devils in the other World are the Executioners of God's Decrees upon the Damned; so the Crimes of wicked Men in this Life, serve his Justice, in the punishing of those Offences which other wicked Men have committed. This dissembling and treacherous old Man, therefore made show of receiving these Offers of his Son-in-Law, with all the Marks of Tenderness and Affection which he could have wished; he went in Person to Confer with him, they embraced, they kissed, and reciprocally gave to each other their Faith, protesting that they would hereafter never have any other but the same Interest and the same Heart. After which Murtzuphle made no difficulty entirely to trust his Father-in-Law, and went confidently to an Entertainment, to which he was invited by him; but as he was conducted into a Chamber, where the Trap was set for him, the People of Alexis, who were in Readiness for that Purpose, fell upon him, and overthrowing him, they immediately pulled his Eyes out of his Head. Thus divine Justice, the wise Disposer of all things, ordered it, that one Tyrant should execute upon another, the same Cruelty which he himself had, about nine Years before, advised him to act upon his own Brother, the Emperor Isaac. Not long after, Alexis understanding that Baldwin, to whom all Thracia submitted, was coming against him, he fled into Macedon with so much Precipitation and Disorder, that some of the Friends of Murtzuphle, all whose Troops were disbanded, found the Means to procure his Escape: But after he had for some time wandered in Disguise with a small Attendance, intending to pass the Straight of the Hellespont, to save himself in Asia, he was surprised by Thierri de Los, who had got notice of him, and carried Prisoner to Constantinople, where the Emperor would have him proceeded against in due course of Law. He was therefore accused before the Princes of an infinite number of Crimes, and above all, of being guilty of the most detestable Parricide upon the Person of the young Emperor Alexis, who he had strangled with his own Hands. The Fact was publicly notorious, nor could he deny it; but yet he had the audacious Confidence to endeavour to justify himself, by maintaining that he had done nothing but what was most Just, and what was approved by the Greeks, and even the Relations of Alexis, who had lost his Right to the Empire, and deserved Death for having betrayed his Country in selling it to Strangers. But as his insolent Answers, were so far from diminishing his Crime, that they rendered him more Odious, so he was condemned to a Death, which might strike a Terror into all those who were the Accomplices or Approvers of his Parricide. For this Purpose he was led into the great Square, called that of the Bull, in the middle of which, the great Theodosius had erected a marble Column of extraordinary Height, which being hollow, had a Staircase within, by which they might go to the Top, upon which that Emperor had caused his Statue in Brass, upon Horseback, to be placed; but that happening to be thrown down by an Earthquake in the Reign of Zeno, Anastatius his Successor, caused his to be set up in the Room of it, and that having also the same Fate, there was nothing after set up, but it remained as a little Lodge, which was inhabited by a new Stylite, who by the means of that Retreat enjoyed a Solitude in the midst of the greatest and most populous City in the World. It was to the Top of this high Column that the Unfortunate Murtzuphle was carried, and in the view of the whole City, which might easily see it from all parts, this Square of the Bull being one of the most eminent of the seven. Hills upon which Constantinople stands, year 1204 he was thrown down headlong, and dashed in pieces. Just it was, that he should thus die by this fearful manner of Death, that from thence Posterity may learn, that if Ambition sometimes mounts wicked Men to the Eminency of Fortune, by Treasons, Poison, Murders, Parricides, and all manner of Crimes, which she never spares to prompt her Followers to, when she judges them for her Purpose. Yet does she at the last bring them, when at the top of this Height, to the most horrible Precipice, from whence their Fall is so much the more Fatal, by how much they fall from the greater Height. That which is most strange in this terrible Execution, is, that among other Figures which were carved round about this Column, there was to be seen that of an Emperor thrown down in that very manner from a Column, which the People took for a Prophetic Mark of the Destiny of this miserable Prince, conformable to an ancient Oracle, which ran currant by Tradition among them at Constantinople, That the Ox should bellow, and the Bull should weep. It is true, that the Combats and the Victories of the great Theodosius, were represented upon this Column, as are to be seen at this day at Rome, those of Trajan and Antoninus upon the two famous Columns there, which bear their Names; and thus it is possible, that among those Figures there may be the Representation of some barbarous Prince falling headlong from a high Tower, which they took for a Prediction of this Emperor's Destiny; but that there should be any real Prediction, either in this Figure, or in the Story of the Bull's weeping, to forebode the Death of Murtzuphle, is what I cannot easily believe. For in short, these sort of Prophecys, of which there are numerous Examples, are so obscure, that they either signify nothing at all, or all that one would have them signify; and that commonly they are taken in a Sense far different, from that, wherein by the Event they explain themselves. Witness that Prediction which they had, and upon which the Greeks so much relied, that the Latins should never take Constantinople by Force, because the Prophecy told them that the City should never be taken but by an Angel. But the foolish Greeks were mightily mistaken in their Interpretation, as the Event shown, there being the Picture of an Angel in the very place where the City was forced. And this aught to teach Christians, not to amuse themselves with these Predictions, which are not at all authorised by the Holy Scripture, or the Church; and ordinarily those over curious Persons, in their own Sottishness and Credulity find their own Punishment, the Event deceiving them, by proving contrary to their Hopes and Expectation, which are cheated by the Ambiguous Riddles, such as were formerly the Oracles of the Pagans. This was the tragical End of one of the Tyrants; as for the other, the old Alexis, it is true indeed, that his was not altogether so sad, but altogether as unhappy. For having for some time followed Leon Scurus, one of his Sons-in-Law, who pretended to oppose the Progress of Marquis Boniface in Macedon and Greece, when he saw that all things stooped under the Arms of this Victorious Prince, he despaired of being able to save himself; to prevent his being taken therefore he voluntarily yielded himself and the Empress Euphrosyne, with the imperial Ornaments, to the Marquis, who instantly sent them to the Emperor. After which, the poor Alexis only desiring wherewith to pass the rest of his miserable Age in some sort of Repose, there were some Lands assigned him for that purpose, but it being found out that he fell to his old trade of secret Caballing, the Marquis, to take from him the means of doing Mischief, since he could not cure him of the Will to do it, sent him Prisoner to Montferrat: Some say that he found Means to escape from thence, and to pass over into Asia, to his other Son-in-Law Lascaris, who had seized upon Nice, and against whom, this perfidious Dotard stirred up the Turks, so that he was forced to take him and clap him into a Monastery, where he had time to finish his Life in Repentance. Thus the Empire of Constantinople, about nine hundred Years after its Establishment under the great Constantine, was translated from the Greeks to the French, by the strangest and most memorable Conquest that ever was made by so small a Force, and in so little a time, being undertaken and accomplished in one Campagne. year 1204 This may disabuse those who have imagined that the Crusade was not prosperous; and certainly four great Estates established for the Christians between the Sea and the River Tigris, Egypt and Armenia, and all the Eastern Empire reduced under the Power of the Crusades, are Conquests worthy the Fortune and the Glory of the Caesars and the Alexanders. And if those who succeeded them failed of that good Fortune, or the Conduct to preserve them, it is not to be attribute to them, who did so gloriously accomplish these noble Enterprises. But as the Matters which happened afterwards, under the French Emperors of Constantinople, are not at all related to the Crusade, it is not requisite that I speak further of them, but proceed regularly to pursue the Course of my History, and to describe the Success of those who took the other Way, and followed other Designs. THE HISTORY OF THE CRUSADE, OR, The Expeditions of the Christian Princes for the Conquest of the Holy Land. PART III. BOOK III. The CONTENTS of the Third Book. The unfortunate Success of those who abandoned the Confederates to pass into Syria. The Care of the Pope for Constantinople, who sends Doctors from Paris to reduce the Schismatics. The Death of Mary the Empress, Wife of Baldwin. The Death of Isabel Queen of Jerusalem. The Princess Mary her Daughter succeeds in the Realm, and Marries Count John de Brienne. The Relation how that Prince and Count Gautier his Brother conquered the Kingdom of Naples. The Exploits of King John de Brienne. The Pope procures him Aid. A piteous Adventure of some young Men, who by a strange Illusion took upon them the Cross. The Design of Pope Innocent to procure a general Crusade, favoured by the Victory of Philip the August against the Emperor Otho. The Battle of Bovines. The Relation of the Council of Lateran, where the Crusade is Decreed. The Pope himself Preacheth it. His Death in that Holy Exercise. A Fable concerning his Purgatory. The Election of Pope Honorius III of that Name. His Zeal and Industry to promote the Crusade. Andrew King of Hungary the Head thereof. The Princes that Accompanied him, and their Voyage. Their Conjunction with King John de Brienne. Their Expedition against Coradin. The Description of Thabor, and the Relation of the Siege of that Fortress, which had been built there by Coradin. The Return of the King into Hungary. The Arrival of the Northern Fleet of the Crusades, under the Earl of Holland. The Relation of their Adventures and Exploits against the Moors in Portugal. The Siege and Battle of Alcazar. The Victory of the Crusades. Their Voyage to Ptolemais. The Reasons of the Resolution which they took to attack Egypt. The Description of Damiata. The Account of that memorable Siege, which lasted eighteen Months. The Attack and taking of the Tower of Pharus. A Description of certain Engines of a new Invention. The Death of Saphadin upon the News of the taking of that Place. His Elegy and Character. Meledin succeeds him. An Error of the Christians after the taking of Pharus. Cardinal Albano arrives with a potent Reinforcement to the Crusades. The Division between the King and the Legate, and the Cause of it. An heroic Action of certain Soldiers, who break the Enemy's Bridge. The Army passeth the Nile. Sultan Meledin flies. The City Besieged by Land. Two great Armies of Saracens besiege the Camp. They attack the Lines and force them. A great Combat within the Lines. The Enemy at last repulsed. The Arrival of St. Francis before Damiata. His Conference with the Sultan. The Battle without the Lines lost by the Crusades. An advantageous Peace offered to the Christians by the Sultan. The Reasons for and against it. It is at last rejected by the Legate. Damiata taken by Night. year 1204 Whilst the Confederate Princes, did with so much Glory and good Fortune conquer a whole Empire; those who had separated from them, to go directly into Palestine, or who had taken other ways to put themselves under other Commanders, met with all manner of ill Success; and were so far from supporting that tottering State, that in conclusion, they did nothing but weaken the poor remainders of the Christian Power in the Holy Land. The Truce which had for some time continued between them and the Saracens, having been broken by one of the Admirals of Egypt, and no sort of Satisfaction to be obtained for it, the War broke out more furiously than before, between King Emeri, and Coradin the Son of Saphadin, who was as great a Captain as his Father: By Saphadin's Orders therefore, he immediately advanced with a powerful Army, and encamped within a League of Ptolemais. Now John de Nele, who commanded the great Fleet which had been equipped in Flanders, and who stayed at Marseilles to Winter, having heard this News, made haste from thence, and whereas he should have joined the Princes who besieged Constantinople, as Count Baldwin had ordered him, he sailed directly for Ptolemais, where he landed, having more Soldiers aboard his Fleet, than there was in the whole Army of the Confederate Princes: So that with those who were already passed by the Ports of Brindes and Otranto, under Simon de Montfort, Renard de Dampierre, and the other Lords who had quitted the Confederates before they left Venice, together with that great Multitude of Bretons who followed the Monk Herloin thither, there were more Forces than might have chased the Infidels out of Palestine. But there happened so many ill Accidents to them, as ruined all their Designs; for the Plague, which began a little before in Ptolemais, raged so furiously among these new Comers, that it is reported, there died in that City at one time, above two thousand Persons in an Hour; so that almost one half of them perished of that terrible Disease, and the remainder to avoid that Danger, year 1204 instantly reimbarking, failed back again to Europe. There was also a fearful Dissension between the Christians themselves and the Crusades, occasioned by a War betwixt Livon King of Armenia, and Bohemond Earl of Tripoli, and Prince of Antioch, for the Principality of that State; and as many great Lords, and among others Renard de Dampierre, with whom Theobald Count de Champagne, at his Death had entrusted his Troops, took the Part of Bohemond, and marched to his Assistance, they were surprised by the Sultan of Aleppo, who defeated them so entirely, that there was scarce one who escaped either being taken or slain. Villain de Nevilly, one of the most valiant Men of his time, was there unfortunately slain; and his Bother William de Nevilly, Bernard de Montmirail, and John de Villiers, were taken, as Renard de Dampierre, General of the Champenois, who was led to Aleppo, where he remained a Prisoner for thirty Years; as for the poor Bretons, they having only the Monk to lead them, and he knowing better how to persuade them to take Arms, than how to manage them; they, like those who followed Peter the Hermit, were quickly dispersed, and neither knowing what they had to do, nor how to do it, they perished either by the Plague, or Famine, or the Swords of the Infidels; and the poor remainders of that great number, did not, without great Difficulty, at last regain their Country of Bretany, without having done any thing worthy of the great Zeal and Courage, which carried them out of it. But it hath been an old Observation, that Lions, with a timorous Stagg for their Captain, will all prove Hearts, and that even fearful Deer, when led by a Lion, will do like Lions. But in short, there was not one of those who separated from the Army of the Confederates, to go without them into the Holy Land, who had not sufficient Reason of Repentance, either for the Disgrace, or the Damage which he suffered. Even Simon de Momfort, who before this had done so many Wonders in the War against the Albigenses, was forced to return into France, without bringing home with him from the Voyage, any thing except the Trouble to have done nothing. So dangerous it is to quit the main Body to which one is related, and from which no better Fortune is to be expected, but like a Branch cut from the Stem of a Tree, to be blasted and withered. In this miserable Estate were the Christians in the East, and almost reduced to the utmost Dispair, when they received the News of the taking of Constantinople by the Confederate Princes, of whom, even those, who had abandoned them, were constrained to demand Help from those to whom they had before denied theirs, though it was not to be expected, that so small a Number, engaged in so great an Enterprise, as the settling of their new Conquests, and enlarging them, could, for the present, be able to afford them. It is impossible however to express the Joy which this News gave the Christians of Palestine, who now, did not question in the least, but the Way was opened for the most short and certain Deliverance of the Holy Land, from the Oppression of the barbarous Infidels. But in regard of the Fear they were in of losing all, after so many Misfortunes, as one upon the Neck of another had fallen upon them, King Emeri had before made a most disadvantageous Truce with the Infidels, for six Years; whereupon all the Crusades who were in Palestine, went to wait upon the new Emperor at Constantinople. The Legate himself, Peter de Capua, Cardinal of St. Marcellus, being sent for thither by Baldwin, to regulate the Affairs of the Church, sailed thither, and was followed by his Colleague, the Cardinal of St. Praxede, and such a multitude of the Oriental Christians, of all Conditions, that the King was, almost, left quite alone, without any Forces considerable enough to oppose the Infidels, if they should attempt to break the Truce, as they quickly after did. The Pope was hereupon mightily afraid, and extremely troubled, that his Legates should also without his Order, abandon the Holy Land. But the Providence of God averted this threatened Misfortune, by a War, which presently broke out among the Saracens, one against another; and the Pope comforted himself with the Conquest of Constantinople, which was altogether so unexpected to him. He now no longer condemned this Enterprise of the Crusades, as he had done formerly, the fortunate Success thereof fully justifying the Undertaking; And besides, year 1204 he now was convinced, that nothing could have been done more profitable and advantageous, either for the Glory of God, in the Good of the universal Church; or, in particular, for the Deliverance of the Holy Land. And for this purpose, that such a Conquest might be preserved, whereupon that of Palestine depended, he writ his Circular Letters to all the Archbishops of France, and their Suffragans, by which he exhorted and commanded them to persuade the French to take Arms, and march to the Assistance of their Brethren at Constantinople: And, above all, he desired that they would send some zealous, learned Men, furnished with Books, to labour in the Conversion of the Greeks. The University of Paris, which Philip the August had taken such care of, that it might flourish in all manner of Learning and Knowledge, was then in high Reputation throughout the World; and this wise Pope, who had himself been sometimes a Member of that great Body, writ to them upon this Subject with so much force, that many Doctors and Bachelors, persuaded by his Reasons, and inflamed with a Zeal truly Apostolical, went to propagate the Light of Truth, and the Orthodox Doctrine in the Greek Empire, which had been obscured by many Errors of the Schism. Thus the Divine Providence, which, with infinite Wisdom, takes care of all things, so disposed Matters, that, upon this Occasion, it seemed to make a retaliation, by ordering that Paris should render the same Service to Greece, which Greece had sometime bestowed upon France, by sending thither St. Denis, to be an Apostle for that Country. The Pope also, at that time, did not fail to write to the victorious Army, which had so gloriously executed that marvellous Enterprise, to oblige them to stay another Year in that Empire, to assure those Conquests, provided that, by the Infidels breaking of the Truce, there was not an absolute necessity that they should speedily repair to Palestine, to secure the Christians there, against the Barbarians. But whilst the Pope laboured with so much diligence for the Good of Christendom in the East, there happened in the Holy Land two deplorable Accidents, which very much disturbed the Joy of that happy Success of the Arms of the Confederates. The first was, the Death of the Countess Mary, Sister of the deceased Count de Champagne, Niece to Philip the August, and Wife to Baldwin Earl of Flanders, who had so generously taken up the Cross with her Husband, resolving to run the same Fortunes with him; but being big with Child, she was not at that time in a Condition to go along with him; and therefore, after she had lain in, she embarked upon the Fleet which was commanded by John de Nele. She had not been long at Ptolemais, where she landed in expectation of her Husband, Count Baldwin, before she received the News, that, after the Taking of Constantinople, he was elevated to the Imperial Throne. The Joy which this News occasioned, made such a violent Impression upon her Body, extremely enfeebled with the Fatigues of so long a Voyage, that not being able to surmount it, she died of the two Excesses of Joy and Weakness. So that the Ships which were sent by the Emperor, to conduct her with Pomp to Constantinople, to receive the Crown Imperial with her dearest Husband, transported her Body only thither, to be, as it was, with the most magnificent Ceremonies, usual upon such sad Occasions, interred in the Church of Sancta Sophia. year 1205 This sad Accident was presently succeeded by another, which brought a great Change in the Affairs of the Realm of Jerusalem: For King Emeri de Lusignan dying in the City of Acre, and the little Emeri, his Son, not long surviving him, Isabella, his Mother, the Wife of Emeri, at the same time also following them to the Tomb, the Crown, by Right of Succession, descended to the Princess Mary, her eldest Daughter, who was usually called the Marchioness, because she was born to her of the famous Marquis de Montferrat, Prince of Tyre, her second Husband. Hereupon the Estates being assembled, to provide a Husband for the young Queen, who might be able to act and govern the Realm, in a time wherein there was such need of a King of great Abilities, to supply the defect of Forces which remained in the Realm, after so many Disasters: But the Jealousy and Ambition of so many Great Men of the same Realm, not permitting them to agree in an Election of one of their own number, they being all Rivals, and resolved not to give place one to another, at last, year 1205 after they had a long time debated this tender and important Point, they resolved, that so they might steer an even Course betwixt the Natives and Strangers, year 1206 since they could not possibly please them both, year 1207 that they would not take one of the Natives of the Country, but that they would send into France, from whence the first Kings of Jerusalem came, and into no other Country, and from thence desire one of Philip the August; and thereupon they dispatched the Bishop of Ptolemais, and the Lord of Caesarea, as their Ambassadors, year 1208 to receive from the hands of that great King, some Prince or Lord of France, upon whom, together with the young Queen, they might confer the Crown of Jerusalem. There was, no question, something very surprising and unaccountable in the Conduct of Philip in this Encounter; for there were in France many great Princes and Lords of very high Quality, upon whom he might have cast his Eyes; yet, nevertheless, whether their illustrious Merit, his own particular Inclination, or some unknown politic Reasons governed him in his Choice, two several times successively, he chose, it is true, out of a very Noble House, though something inferior in Quality to many others, two Brothers, whom upon two Occasions he preferred in the Disposal of two Crowns: They were Gautier II. Count de Brienne in Champagne; and his Brother John de Brienne, the Son of Erard II. Count de Brienne, and Agnes de Montheliard. He married Gautier to Alberia, eldest Daughter of Tancred King of Sicily, who, with her Mother Sibylla, escaping out of the Prison, wherein they had been kept by the Emperor Henry iv in Germany, had fled for Refuge into France. This valiant Man, accompanied with no more than threescore Knights, and forty Esquires of the Crusades, who resolved to follow his Fortune, instead of going to Venice with the Princes, had the Confidence to pursue the Rights of his Wife, and re-conquer a Kingdom, without any other Fond than twenty thousand Livres, which he received from King Philip, and five hundred Ounces of Gold which he had from the Pope, which would raise but a very inconsiderable number of Troops, but notwithstanding this, with his few Men, he acted with so much Courage and Conduct, that after having defeated the Emperor's Lieutenants in several Encounters, he made himself Master of Pavia, Calabria, Capua, and even Naples itself, and, in a manner, the whole Realm, the Germans not daring to appear in the Field. But after so many Victories, as he besieged their General Diepold in a certain Castle to which he had driven him, the Contempt which he had of his Enemies was the occasion of his falling into their Hands; for in the Night the General surprised him in his Tent, and carried him Prisoner to the Castle, all covered in Blood, where he shortly after died, more of Grief than of his Wounds; so much nearer than their Swords had done did the Trouble and Affliction go to his heart, to see himself in the power of those whom he had so despised; complaining that he had so ill guarded himself against the Cowardly Germans, who, he said, by Daylight, though in complete Armour, durst not venture to attack the French stark naked, and unarmed. Thus, by his Presumption, he lost that in a Moment, which, by his Valour and great Abilities, he had acquired by abundance of gallant Actions, which he had performed in four Years before. As for his Brother, John de Brienne, who, among all the great Lords of France, was chosen by King Philip the August, to marry the young Queen of Jerusalem; he received that Honour with all the marks of a profound Acknowledgement, and promised the Ambassadors, before their Parting, that he would, with all the Forces he could raise, come for Palestine before the Expiration of the Truce. Now Saphadin, who apprehended there would be a new Crusade, to accompany this King, who was sent for from France, offered the Christians to prolong the Truce; but the Templars rejecting his Proposition, the War was broke out afresh when John de Brienne arrived there, which was the 3d of September, in the Year 1210. year 1210 And whereas Saphadin believed that this new King would bring a great Army with him, he found that he had only brought a few Troops, together with about three hundred Knights, who had embarked with him at Marseilles, to serve at their own Charges against the Infidels: For the Troubles of Germany and Italy, by occasion of the new Schism in the Empire, and the War which was breaking out between Philip the August, year 1210 and the Emperor Otho, who was excommunicated by the Pope; together with the famous Crusade which then began to be set on foot in France, against the Albigenses, hindered the raising of one to accompany King John de Brienne into the Holy Land. So that he was able to raise no greater Fond of Money than forty thousand Livres, which he had from the French King; and as many more which the Pope procured him from the Romans, upon his Estate, the Earldom of Brienne, which he was forced to mortgage for it. He did not, however, fail, with his small Power, to do all that could be expected from a Prince equally wise and valiant; for, presently after his Coronation, which was celebrated at Tyre, he took the Field; and entering upon the Territories of the Infidels, he took divers places from them, and returned without Loss, bringing a considerable Booty from them to Ptolemais. But so soon as the Saracens understood what a small number of Men he had brought with him out of Europe, they joined all their Forces, and came to encamp about that City with a mighty Army, commanded by Coradin; so that the Christians durst not stir out, but were in a manner besieged; especially after the Sultan had seized upon all the neighbouring Places, principally the Mountain of Thabor, upon which he built a Fortress, from whence they made continual Incursions, year 1211 even to the very Gates of Ptolemais. Hereupon the Knights, and Persons of Quality, who came along with the King, seeing they were too weak to sally and sight their Enemies in the plain Field, and being unable to suffer themselves to be locked in the City, without doing any thing, they returned, before the Winter, into France; so that this poor Prince remained almost all alone, in danger to have taken Possession of a Kingdom, only to have the Displeasure and the Shame to see himself driven out of it, unless he received some seasonable Assistance. year 1212 This News gave a mighty trouble to the Pope, who now began to apprehend that his principal Design, which was the Relief of the Holy Land, would be wholly ruined by being so long delayed; he resolved therefore, after the Example of Pope Vrban II. the first Author of the Crusades, to employ his utmost power to procure one by calling a General Council, that thereby he might engage all the Christian States and Kingdoms in it. But in regard, that, considering the present posture of Affairs in Europe, year 1213 this great Assembly could not be so soon held; and that besides, the pressing Evil required a more speedy Remedy, he writ his Circular Letters to all faithful People, to excite them to march with all possible haste to the Relief of their oppressed Brethren in Palestine: And after having renewed the Prohibitions which he had so often made before, That, upon pain of Excommunication, none should presume to sell any Merchandise, more especially any Arms, to the Saracens, he commanded certain Prayers, with Fasting and Alms, to be used in the Church, for the imploring the Mercy and Pity of God, and his Blessing upon the Council which was to be held for the taking care of the Necessities of the Church, and, above all other things, the Relief of the Holy Land. He also resolved to try other Ways, since he saw those which had before been made use of, did not prosper, and addressed himself to Saphadin, Sultan of Babylon and Damascus, who was now become almost as potent as his Brother, the great Saladin, had been, who took Jerusalem. He writ to him, to exhort him to restore that holy City to the Christians, which, besides that of itself it brought no considerable Advantage to him, put him to vast Expenses, to be always in a Condition to resist the whole Powers of Christendom, who would eternally arm themselves to take it from him. He remonstrated to him, That it was much better for him, as a wise Politician, freely, and by Reason, to do that which he must one day be constrained to do, whether he would or not, with the loss of his Honour, and possibly, all that he might, upon the Surrender of that City, quietly and peaceably be permitted to possess in the East. That it was impossible but he must, at last, fall under those Arms, whose invincible Force he was sufficiently sensible of already, and whose Courage and Valour were above all fear of Danger. That they esteemed it not only a point of Honour, but of Religion, to re-conquer that holy City, which their Ancestors had taken by Force, with not above twenty thousand Men, from forty thousand Defendants, and in the very sight of an Army incomparably greater than theirs. That in restoring to the Christians that City, which he could not long defend against them, he would thereby assure himself of the rest of his Dominions by the Peace which was offered him, upon Condition that the Prisoners on both sides should be set at liberty. year 1213 But these Letters of the Pope produced not those Effects which he hoped, and promised himself; for Saphadin, who had so frequently combated against the Christians, knew by Experience that the Crusades would overthrow themselves, if the fury of their first Efforts were but prevented; and, above all, having the Courage, the good Fortune, and the Success of Saladin, he was not much moved by the Remonstrances of Innocent, for whom he had no great Consideration. And for the other Letters which the Pope writ to all Christian People, they came to nothing at last, but to raise those great Disorders which had happened in the former Crusades: For it happened by a strange Illusion, or rather, a kind of Frenzy, which, like a Plague, spread itself over all France and Germany, the Youths of all sorts of Conditions, taking a strong Impression in their Minds that God would make use of their Hands, to deliver the Holy Sepulchre out of the Hands of the Saracens; and that he commanded them to go to Jerusalem, to achieve that high Enterprise, they assembled to the number of thirty thousand in France, and twenty thousand in Germany, who took upon them the Cross. There were many Monks and Priests, who undertook to justify this Folly by another which was greater; and, as if God had commanded it, put themselves at the Head of these Boys, and other Vagabonds, who maliciously followed them, to make some advantage of this Disorder; and it being impossible to stop the Torrent of this furious Folly, they pleasantly marched along, singing and crying all together, with all their power, Lord Jesus, bestow upon us thy Holy Cross. The greatest part of those of Germany taking disserent Roads, either perished miserably on the Way, or were despoiled by Thiefs and Robbers. Those of France, who could escape to Marseilles, were there miserably cheated by two Merchants, whose Names were Hugh le Fer, and William Porc, notorious Villains; who, having promised to transport them into Palestine for nothing, putting them on Board seven of their Ships, two of the Vessels were shipwrecked, with the loss of all those poor Boys with which they were charged: and for those who were upon the other sive, these Traitors carried them into Egypt, and there sold them for Slaves to the Saracens. It is true that God, who alone can bring Good out of Evil, for his Glory, drew this Advantage from this great Disorder, and horrible Treachery, that divers of these Innocents', whom the Infidels endeavoured to force to deny and renounce their Faith, persisted so constantly to confess Jesus Christ, for whose sake they had taken the Cross, that they chose rather to be cut in pieces, than to renounce their Faith; and by this irregular and frantic Action, came at last to obtain the Crown of Martyrdom. At last, the memorable Victory which Philip the August obtained against Otho, who, having been crowned after the Death of the Emperor Philip, troubled all Europe, gave the Pope the occasion to accomplish, by the General Council, the great Design of the Crusade, which he had begun by his Letters, and which the Preachers, by his Orders, published every where. This Emperor Otho made a most cruel War against the Pope, who had always been his Protector, so that he was, at last, constrained, by his extreme Ingratitude, to excommunicate him; as also, for his openly invading the Church's Patrimony, seizing upon what the Holy See had received from the magnificent Liberality of the Kings of France. Philip the August, who, besides that he hated Otho, as being the Nephew of his Enemy, the King of England, thought himself obliged to maintain what his Predecessors had done in favour of the Holy See, sailed not to declare himself for the Pope; and negotiated so powerfully with divers Princes of the Empire, the principal whereof were the King of Bohemia, the Dukes of Austria and Bavaria, the Archbishops of Treves, Mayence and Cologne, that they deposed this ingrateful, excommunicate Prince, and elected Frederick, whom his Father, the Emperor Henry VI. had caused to be declared King of the Romans, at the Age of three Years, and who was also King of Naples and Sicily, in Right of the Empress Constantia, his Mother. He came soon after into Germany, where he was received by the Princes, and crowned Emperor at Aix-la-Chapelle, year 1213 by Thierri Bishop of Cologne: And that he might support his Right by the Arms of his Protector, he came directly to Vaucouleur, where, after a Conference with Lewis, the Son of King Philip, he made a new Treaty with the King, and renewed the ancient Alliance, which had been between his Predecessors and the Crown of France. Otho, on his side, who had a powerful Party in Germany, believing that if he could but ruin Philip, he should be able easily to manage Frederick and the Pope, made a League against France, with the English, Ferrand de Portugal Earl of Flanders, who had revolted against his Master, and his Benefactor, who had married him to the Heiress of Flanders; year 1214 and joined the Troops of the English and Flemings, which, together with his own, composed an Army of above two hundred thousand Men: So that making no doubt but that he should be able to cut the French Army in pieces, who were not a third part so numerous, he assailed them, when they least expected a Battle, as they were passing the Bridge of Bovines. But Philip, without being dismayed at this Surprise, having put himself at the Head of the Rereguard, whilst the Vanguard re-passed the Bridge, sustained their first Shock, and gave a Check to the Enemies, till such time as the other Troops were drawn up in Battalia upon his Right and Left, according to the Orders which he had given: And then the French, animated by the Sight, the Words, but much more by the Example of their King, who this Day behaved himself like one of the ancient Heroes, charged with so much fury every where, that, after having fought victoriously in all places, from Noon till Night, the Army of the Enemies was totally routed. All the principal Captains lay stretched out at length upon the place, or else were taken Prisoners, Otho only excepted, who escaped by the swiftness of his Horse, and retreated into the Lower Saxony, where, about two Years after, he died with Grief to see himself forsaken by all the Princes of the Empire, and another Emperor generally acknowledged and received by all the Germans. This great Victory of Philip, and that which Prince Lewis, his Son, obtained, almost at the same time, in Poitou, against the King of England, having made a great Calm in the Church and the Empire, the Pope, who, during the Wars, which troubled all Europe, could not assemble the Council, now caused it to be called; year 1215: and accordingly it was held the Year following, in the famous Church of the Lateran at Rome. This was the twelfth Ecumenical Council, and the fourth of Lateran, and one of the greatest which the Church had ever had; for, besides the Pope, who presided in Person, the Patriarches of Constantinople and Jerusalem, and the Deputies of those of Antioch and Alexandria were present at it, together with seventy one Archbishops, four hundred and twelve Bishops, with the Proxies of divers others, above eight hundred Abbots and Priors, and the Ambassadors of the Emperor Frederick II. Henry the Emperor of Constantinople, of the Kings of England, France, Hungary, Jerusalem, Cyprus and Arragon. The Pope, who was a Man very learned and eloquent, opened the Session by a Speech which is verbatim inserted into the Acts of the Council, as he spoke it; and therein, after he had acquainted them, that the principal Reason why he had assembled them, was to consider how they might relieve the Holy Land, he brought in Jerusalem addressing herself to the Christians of the West, and to implore their Assistance, in the Language of the holy Scripture; representing, in a manner so pathetic and moving, the piteous Estate to which she was reduced under the Tyrannic Dominion of the Saracens, to the shame of the Christian Name, that it was impossible but the whole Assembly should be moved with it, or refuse taking the generous Resolution of employing all things for the Deliverance of the holy City from that cruel Servitude. So that, after they had established the Doctrines of the Faith, against the Heresies of Berengarius, Amauri de Chartres, the Albigenses, and the Abbot Joachim, without meddling with his Person, by reason that he submitted himself to the Judgement of the Holy See; and after they had regulated such Matters as concerned Discipline, and the Reformation of Manners, the Fathers, with the Consent of the Ambassadors of the Princes, made these following Orders for the Crusade: That the Bishops should cause it to be preached in their respective Dioceses; above all, enjoining the Preachers to press it as a thing necessary for all those who took it upon them, to put themselves, by true Repentance, into a State of Grace, thereby to preserve themselves in the Favour of God, year 1215 and to procure his Blessings upon them, and the Undertaking. That they themselves should exhort the Kings, the Princes, and Persons of the greatest Quality, to take upon them the Cross, and to contribute to the Expenses of the Holy War. That the Bishops, the Abbots, the Priors, and all other ecclesiastics, should give the twentieth part of their Revenues, and the Pope and Cardinals the tenth, towards the carrying on the Crusade. And to excite others, by his Example, to this Liberality, the Pope promised, that, besides this Tax, he would provide Shipping, and great Sums of Money for the particular Maintenance of such of the Romans as should take upon them the Cross. That the Crusades should have all the same Privileges, Spiritual and Temporal, which the former Popes had indulged to the first Crusades. That they should all be in readiness to pass into Palestine by the 1st Day of June, in the following Year. That, in the Interim, those who resolved to be of the Land-Army should come to the Rendezvouz which should be appointed, whither the Pope would send his Legate; and that those who chose rather to go by Sea, should repair to the Port of Brindes in Pavia, or to Messina in Sicily, where he himself would be present, to take care, and give Orders, for what should be needful, since he was not, as he passionately desired, permitted to pass beyond the Seas, and take the Voyage with the Crusades. That there should be either a Peace, or a Truce among the Christian Princes for four Years; and that, during that time, all public Sports and Tournaments should be straight prohibited. That those who aided the Crusades, or furnished them with Equipage, should enjoy the Benefits of the Indulgences. And, on the contrary, that such as favoured the Pirates, and such Christian Merchants as betrayed their Brethren, by selling Arms and Ammunition to the Saracens, should, as impious Traitors to God and Religion, be exposed to all the Censures of the Church. It must be avowed that our Ancestors, who acted as exactly and prudently, but with far fewer Intrigues of Nicety and Ceremony than we do at this Day, were far more expeditious in the concluding of their greatest Affairs, than in the succeeding Ages. This great Council, wherein so many, and such important Matters were debated, both in relation to Faith and Manners, so many things of a differing Nature, as the Policy and the Discipline of the Church, the Peace among the Christian Princes, and the War against the Insidels, and almost the general Interests of all Europe, was terminated in less than three Weeks, continuing only between the Feast of St. Martin, and that of St. Andrew: a time which now would scarcely be thought sufficient for the regulating of one single Preliminary Article in an Assembly of far less importance than this was: And that which is still more admirable, the Execution immediately succeeded the Debates and Determinations, no manner of Considerations, Passions or Interests being capable of stopping, or even so much as retarding it; every one gladly contributing what was his part, towards the Performance and Accomplishment of the whole Design. The Bishops preached the Crusade in all places, year 1216 with mighty Zeal, and great Success; and the Pope, to give the greater Authority to it, after he had published it in Rome, went to preach it himself in Tuscany, where there was an infinite of Crusades, every one desiring to have the Honour to receive the Cross from his own Hands. But as he was going to Pisa, to accord the Differences between that Republic, and the other of Genoa, which did something hinder the Effect of the Crusade, in his Passage by Perusa, he was seized with a violent Fever, occasioned by his great Pains, and the excessive Heats of the Season, which, in a few days, carried him out of the World. He died the 6th Day of July, in the 19th Year of his Pontificate, and the 49th of his Life, after having performed all the Duties of a Sovereign Pope, in such perfection, that there have been few of his Successors, I do not say, that have surpassed him, but that have been equal to him; and if we may give Credit to the unanimous Consent of all the Authors that writ of him, none greater, either in Learning, in Prudence, in Firmness of Resolution, in Authority, over all the Powers of the Earth, for the maintaining the Discipline of the Church in its Force and Vigour; or any more zealous for the Purity of the Faith, or more conversant than himself in all manner of virtuous Actions, which, as they are the Effects, so they are, upon Earth, the most certain Marks of a most eminent Sanctity. And from hence, doubtless, we may conclude, year 1216 that there is nothing more Unjust or more Weak, than the giving Credit to the Fable of the Apparition of this Pope being pursued by a Dragon after his Death, which demanded Justice of God against him; till at last covered all over in slames, he was condemned to Purgatory till the day of Judgement, for having committed three great Crimes in his Life, for which he had certainly been condemned to Hell for ever, if our Lady, to whose Honour he had built a Church, had not obtained the Grace for him, that he repent of them before his latest Breath. Now this which calls itself an Apparition, so plainly resembles the travelling Stories of Apparitions of this Nature, that I am astonished there should be any who should doubt of its Falsehood, so much as for a Moment; but it is the sordid Humour of low Spirits, to dishonour the Memories of the greatest Lives in the World, whom they durst scarcely speak of or look upon whilst they were in it; and nothing is more frequent than for Calumny to blast the Reputation of the Dead, by reason of that Impunity which Men hope for by being undiscovered; nor is there any thing so silly, but what will either by the Weakness of some, or the Malice of others, be believed; so that the most sottish and groundless Illusions, come many times to gain the Reputation, as well as the Name of supernatural Visions and Revelations. The Cardinal Cencius, a Roman of the illustrious House of Savelli, a Person of a great Estate, and as great Learning, succeeded Innocent within two days, by the Name of Honorius the III, and imitating his Predecessor in his Zeal for the Deliverance of the Holy Land, he at the same time writ Letters to the Princes and Prelates throughout all Europe, exhorting them powerfully not to cool in their Zeal, which they had till then manifested for the Execution of what had been Decreed in the Holy Council, in reserence to the Crusade. And the Consequence of these Letters, and the Negotiations of his Legates which he sent to all places, to press the Accomplishment of this great Affair, which lay so near his Heart, and which he followed so closely with his utmost Application and Diligence, was so successful, that an infinite number of Crusades, particularly among the Northern Nations, were ready to pass both by Sea and Land into the Holy Land, at the time appointed. He who ought to have Headed them, was the Emperor Frederick the II. who had with the first taken upon him the Cross, then when he stood in need of the Assistance of the late Pope Innocent, for his Establishment against Otho, in the imperial Dignity. He took it upon him with more Solemnity, the year after the Battle of Bovine, when all things being at Peace in Germany, he was by the Authority of Pope Innocent, the second time crowned at Aix, by the Hands of Siffride Archbishop of Mayence: There he renewed his Vow, and with a great deal of Reverence and Submission, received the Decree of the Council for the Crusade. But as he had a specious Pretext to deser his Voyage, in regard he had not been at Rome to receive the imperial Crown, nor to regulate the Affairs of Italy, the Pope thought it was not convenient at that time to press him further with the Accomplishment of his Vow. year 1217 So that Andrew King of Hungary was taken in to supply his Place, upon this great Occasion, being the only King of Europe who was in a Condition to march at the Head of the Crusades. For Peter de Courtenay, the Emperor of Constantinople, had by Treachery been taken Prisoner in Macedon, by Theodore Comnenius, who had seized upon Thessaly. Philip the August, who had already fulfilled his Vow, did not believe that he was obliged to engage himself in another Crusade, at a time when France stood in need of him to oppose the Albigenses. England, Scotland, and Ireland were extremely agitated by the Troubles which the Fury of Civil War had raised in them. The Kings of Castille, Portugal, and Navarre, were in Arms against the Moors, who always prevented the People of Spain from entering into the Crusades with other Nations, for the Deliverance of the Holy Sepulchre, by obliging them in continual Action against those Infidels, who were possessed of many of their Provinces. And the King of Arragon, was so far from joining with the Crusades, that he had taken Arms in favour of the Heretics, the Albigenses, against whom there was another Crusade at the same time. And the King of Norway, who had caused a great many Men of War to be fitted out for the Holy War, would not abandon his Realm by taking the Cross, although he obliged many of his Subjects to undertake it, year 1217 that so he might have a share in the Honour of the Enterprise. The King of Hungary was therefore the only Prince of Europe, who in Person made that Holy Voyage, and the principal Princes and Prelates who accompanied him in the Undertaking, were the Dukes of Austria, Bavaria, Moravia, Brabant, Limbourg, the Count's Palatin of the Rhine, of Los, of Juliers, of Holland, and Wida, the Marquis of Baden, the Archbishop of Mayence, and the Bishops of Bamberge, Passau, Strasbourg, Munster, and Vtrecht, as also the greatest part of the Prelates of Hungary, who would accompany their King in this War. The Cousades, whose Number increased daily, without expecting those, who not being yet ready, might well enough follow after to Reinforce the Army in Palestine, divided themselves into several Bodies for the greater Convenience of Passage. Andrew King of Hungary, with Leopold Duke of Austria, Lewis Duke of Bavaria, and the greatest part of the other Princes, took their Way by Land to Venice, where they embarked upon the Shipping of the Republic, which expected them to transport them to the Island of Cyprus, which was appointed by the Pope for the Place of Rendezvouz: It is said that upon this Occasion, to pay the Charges of their Passage, the King quitted Dalmatia to the Venetians. Another Party of the Crusades were embarked at Genoa, Messina and Brindes; where they received Orders from the Pope, by which he commanded them, with all possible Expedition to join the King of Hungary in Cyprus, and to follow him whithersoever he should judge it necessary to lead them; expressly prohibiting them, upon pain of Excommunication, to separate from the Gross of the Army, under pretence of going as Pilgrims to visit the Holy Sepulchre, in regard that he feared that this irregular Devotion, at such an unseasonable time, might weaken the Army, and enrich the Infidels, by the great Tributes which they exacted of the Pilgrims, and the continual Excursions which they made, at last, to rob them of all they had. Those of Cologne, and the Frisons, animated by the sight of three wonderful Crosses which miraculously appeared in Heaven, whilst the Crusade was preaching upon the Friday before Whitsunday, put to Sea with a gallant Fleet of three hundred Ships, and about the end of May, joining in the Mouth of the Maze, with that of William Earl of Holland, and George Count of Wida, they all together set Sail for Ptolemais by the Straits of Gibraltar. The King of Hungary arrived first at Cyprus, about the Feast of the Nativity of our Lady, and those who embarked at the Ports of Brindes, Messina, and Genoa, coming up within a few days, he parted from thence, accompanied with Hugh de Lusignan, King of Cyprus, and the Archbishop of Nicosia, who had taken upon them the Cross, and all together came happily to an Anchor in the Port of Acre. After the Army had for some time refreshed themselves about the City, where the Bavarians, by an ill Beginning, and an unlucky Presage of this War, committed fearful Disorders upon the Lands of the Christians, whom they treated most inhumanely. King John de Brienne, joined himself with the Kings of Hungary and Cyprus, with those few Troops which he had, accompanied with the Knights of the Temple, the Hospital, and the Teutonick Order. And the Truce which had been made with the Saracens being expired, they went and encamped in a convenient Place, near the Brook Kison, there to take a general Review of their Troops, and then to march directly to find out Coradin, who had already passed the River Jordan with a powerful Army, and made a show, as if he would give the Christians Battle. The Patriarch of Jerusalem, whose Residence was now in the City of Acre, believing that upon this Occasion he ought to imitate his Predecessors, who were used to carry the sacred Cross in their Wars, before the Kings, therefore in the beginning of November, being followed by all the Clergy in Procession, went to the Camp carrying a part of that sacred Wood which the Christians had preserved. For James de Vitri, who was afterwards a Cardinal, and who before had been Curate of Argentucil near Paris, and then of Ogniez in the Diocese of Liege, where he was made Canon Regular, and at this time was Bishop of Acre, and accompanied the Kings in this War, assures us that he had heard it of some ancient People in Palestine, that before the Battle of Tiberias, where they fought so unfortunately against Saladin, they being according to custom, year 1217 to carry the Cross before King Guy de Lusignan, he was advised, by a certain Presage of the future Loss, to cause the sacred Wood to be cut, and one part of it to be kept, that such a precious Treasure, in case it should be taken in the Battle, as it happened, might not be wholly lost. Upon the Approach of the Patriarch, the Kings and Princes came out of the Camp, and walked barefooted to meet him, to receive that sacred Pledge, the Instrument whereupon our Salvation was wrought, with a marvellous Devotion, and perfect Confidence in Jesus Christ, who, they hoped, would in that Sign give them Power to overcome all the Enemies of his holy Name, as he had upon it overcome all the Enemies of our Salvation. The next Morning, the Army being drawn up in Battalia, passed the Torrent, marching Eastward towards the great Valley of Esdrelon, anciently called Megiddo, now called the Plain of Faba, and that Day advanced as far as the Fountain of Tubany, in old time called Jesreel, near the City of that Name. There the Couriers, who were sent to discover the Enemy, brought word that they had seen great Clouds of Dust, so that it was believed Coradin was advancing to give them Battle. That was then the thing which the Army most desired, so that very early the next Morning, the Army marched to meet the Enemy, and entered into the great Valley of Jesreel, having the Mountains of Gilboa on the right Hand, and the Mount Hermon upon the left, with a great Morass at the Foot of it. This was a very commodious Post, where they might advantageously make the Field of Battle; but no Enemy appearing, they advanced as far as Bethshan, otherwise called Sythopolis, a great City, lying in a Plain very convenient for the giving Battle, between the Mountain of Gilboa and the River Jordan. Coradin had been there, and encamped in the Plain, boasting that there he would fight the Christian Army; but when he understood that the Kings were there in Person, and that their Army was stronger than his, he durst not tempt Fortune by a decisive Blow; and therefore following the Orders and the Example of his Father Saphadin, who kept himself at Babylon, expecting till the Christians should have weakened themselves, he was already retired beyond the River the Day before, which was the Occasion of the Dust which the Scouts had discovered, and thought he had been therefore approaching to meet the Christians. But it was the quite contrary, for he was then retreating, leaving the Country to the Kings, who after they had, with the whole Army, with great Devotion, washed themselves in the Waters of Jordan, and coasted along the Sea of Tiberias, or the great Lake of Genasareth, to visit the Places consecrated by the Presence and the Miracles of Jesus Christ, they returned about the end of the Month to Ptolemais, with a very rich Booty, and abundance of Prisoners, which they had taken in the Country of the Saracens. But this not being what was expected from so great an Army, and there appearing no Enemy to combat with in the Field, they resolved to besiege the Fortress which Coradin had built upon the top of Mount Tabor, which did extremely inconvenience the City of Acre. This Tabor, which is so famous in both the old and new Testament, is one of the fairest and most pleasant Mountains of the World: It raiseth its lofty Head in the middle of a fair Plain in Galilee, about some thirty Furlongs in height, which is near a League and half of our Measure, so that like a Pharus or watch Tower, it may be seen at a great Distance by those who sail upon the Sea, and also from the top of this Mountain one may discover a great part of the Holy Land, especially all the Champion of Galilee, the main Ocean, the Sea of Tiberias, and the Course of the River Jordan. All this Prospect lay so exactly round about it, that Nature seemed to have pleased herself in forming this pleasant round Circle, from the Base whereof Mount Tabor raiseth itself by small Degrees, lessening the new Circles with an equal Roundness to the very Top, which by reason of its Height looks like a mighty Pyramid to those who are at the Bottom of it. It is on all sides very steep, and on the North side wholly inaccessible, and there is no coming up to it on the other sides, but by very straight and difficult Passages. And though it be thus steep and high, yet receiving continually the most pure Due of Heaven, which falls sweetly from its Top, and expands itself downwards, it is clothed particularly towards the West and South, with abundance of Trees which are continually Green, year 1217 loaden with pleasant Fruits, and where the Birds, who inhabit in these agreeable Thickets, fill the Air with their melodious Songs; the Earth, which at the Foot of these Trees, is by their Shade protected from the scorching Heats, is ever green, being enameled with many Plants, and beautiful Flowers, which Nature there, without the help of Art produceth in abundance, and which by the infinite sweetness of their mixed Odours, perfume and embalm the Air which one draws in, upon that delightful spot of Ground. From the Foot of this Mountain riseth the famous Brook of Kison, which after having for a while slowed Southward, divides itself into two Rivulets near the City of Endor, about the Place where Barak descending from Mount Tabor, overthrew the mighty Host of Sisera. The lesser of these Rivulets, rowls gently towards the East, all along by the famous Hill of Hermon, receiving the smaller Springs, which fall from thence in abundance, and at last loseth itself in the Sea of Tiberias, near the City of Bethshan; the greater of these two Brooks takes a quite contrary Course towards the West, along by the Mountain of Son, and the little City Naim, and after having traversed the greatest part of the Valley of Megiddo, and growing proud with the Tribute of several little Torrents which descending from Mount Ephraim, swell its Streams, at last it dischargeth itself into the Phenician Sea, about a Mile from Caiphas, at the Foot of Mount Carmel. There was formerly a Fortress upon the top of this Mount Tabor, which Josephus, as he himself tells us, caused in forty days to be encompassed by a Wall, thereby to defend himself against the Romans, who notwithstanding took it, and demolished it. The Empress Helena, a long time after that built a fair and magnificent Church there, in the place where the Son of God was transfigured before the three Disciples; and that there might be there three Tabernacles, according to the Wish of St. Peter; there were also two fair Monasteries, consecrated to the Memory of those two great Prophets, Moses and Elias, who had the honour to participate of the Glory of Jesus Christ's Transsiguration. The Christians had always preserved these sacred Places, as well as divers others in Palestine, even during the Domination of the Turks and Saracens, to whom they paid Tribute for their Possessing of them. But Saladin, after the Battle of Tiberias becoming Master of them, caused them to be demolished, together with all the remaining Fortifications; and Coradin his Nephew becoming Master of the Field after the Retreat of those few Troops which King John de Brienne had brought with him, at his Arrival in the Holy Land, built there a strong Fortress, environed with seventy seven Towers, and put into it a strong Garrison, who by their continual Excursions, laid waste all the Country for seven or eight Leagues around Mount Tabor, even to the very Gates of Ptolemais. The Princes therefore being resolved to attack that Place, they marched the Army thither about the beginning of December; they presently found the Ascent so Difficult, that it was thought the Enterprise was next to impossible. But the Patriarch who carried the Cross, which he shown to the whole Army, marched at the Head of them with so much Resolution, followed by the Bishops, and the Clergy, singing of Hymns, that the Princes, the Officers and Soldiers were ashamed to stay behind: But, above all, the King of Jerusalem, who animated all the rest by his Example, having, at last, gained the Top of the Mountain before the rest, charged so furiously upon those who were sallied out of the Fortress, to defend the Avenues, that, after having slain the two Captains who commanded them, he forced them to turn their Backs, and make more haste into the Fortress, to save themselves, than they had done to come out of it, to repulse him; and so terrified were they by his prodigious Valour, that they abandoned those Posts, which they might easily have maintained against him, only by rolling down great Stones upon such as should attempt to mount the Hill. But this Valour signified nothing by reason of the Obstinacy, the Jealousy, and, it may be, the Treachery of Bohemond Earl of Tripoli; for a Council being held, in what manner they should attack the place, he maintained stiffly, that this Siege could by no means be undertaken, without manifestly exposing themselves to the danger of being besieged by the Army of Coradin, year 1217 who, by seizing the Foot of the Mountain, might starve them to death; or, if they should oppose him with a part of their Army, might easily cut them in pieces. It was remonstrated to him, on the contrary, that they should certainly carry the place before Coradin could come up to relieve it. But still he persisted so pertinaciously in his Opinion, and found himself backed by such a strong Party, whom he had gained, that, at length, his Advice was taken, and by one of the most unaccountable Adventures which ever was seen in War, the same day that they had, by main force, with their Swords in their Hands, gained the Top of the Mountain, in order to attack the Fortress, as they might successfully have done, they coldly descended from thence without doing any thing, as if they had fought for nothing else but to get upon the Top of Mount Tabor, to walk, and take the Air, and look about them from that delightful Prospect. The Enemies, whom they had beaten in mounting the Hill, now also took Courage; and when they saw this unexpected Retreat, took occasion to return their Visit, and beat their Vanquishers down the Hill again, killing many valiant Men with their Darts and Arrows as they descended with difficulty down those straight and troublesome Passages. This so enraged the Patriarch, that he would no longer march with the Cross at the Head of an Army, whom such a sacred Sign could not animate with more Courage. After this also, the Kings undertaking to make a third Irruption into the Countries of the Infidels in Phenicia, received there a new Disgrace, and a greater Loss than before, both by the Rigour of the Season, which was so extreme cold that many of their Soldiers were benumbed and frozen to death by the way, and by the continual Ambushes which the wild Arabian Robbers laid for them in all the Passes: But, above all, upon Christmas-Eve, they were surprised in the plain Field, between Tyre and Sarepta, by such a fearful Tempest of Wind, Rain, Hail, Whirl-blasts, mingled with most terrible Thunder and Lightning, that they had all like to have been there lost. After these unhappy Accidents, the Army, which could not subsist in such narrow Quarters as were in and about Acre, was divided into four Bodies, which separated in such a manner, that it was easy to foresee they would never meet together again: For those who were disgusted at the Proceed of the War, which were the greatest number, remained at Acre, expecting the Convenience of returning into Europe. year 1218 The King of Jerusalem, the Duke of Austria, the great Master of the Hospital, with the greatest part of the Bishops, went and encamped about Caesarea, where they caused the Citadel which formerly joined to that great City, and which had been demolished, to be rebuilt with so much Expedition and Diligence, that they had wholly finished it before the Army of the Saracens could draw together to interrupt them in the Work. The great Masters of the Temple and the Teutonick Order, with a small number of Crusades, under the Conduct of Gautier d' Avesnes, remained between the City of Acre and Caesarea, and there fortified an old Castle of the Pilgrims, upon a Promontory which advanceth itself into the Sea, near Mount Carmel; and in the clearing of the Ruins, found a Treasure which defrayed the Charges they were at in the repairing of it. The Kings of Hungary and Cyprus, with the greatest part of the Pilgrims, and Earl Bohemond, retired to Tripoli, where, a few days after, the King of Cyprus died in the very Flower of his Age. And for the King of Hungary, believing that he had accomplished his Vow, he only stayed till the Season was convenient to pass the Seas, and then returned with his Men, and all the Booty they had gotten, into his own Kingdom, where his Presence was become mighty necessary, by reason of the dangerous Troubles which had been raised during his Absence, and a deplorable Accident which happened to his House, which is not at all relating to this History; and that was the true Reason why nothing was able to prevail with him to make a longer Stay, neither the Entreaties of the Patriarch, nor the Excommunication which he thundered out against him, and all such as should follow him into Europe. But this Prince, who doubted not but the too zealous Prelate had herein exceeded the Bounds of his Power, gave himself not trouble for the severe Censure, being satisfied that he had no Power or Jurisdiction over him, and that no Power upon earth had any right over Kings in the Temporal Affairs of the Realms, year 1218 with the Conduct whereof they are solely entrusted by God Almighty, to whom alone they are obliged to give an Account of the Government of their Estates, to which, next to the Duty to God, they own their chief Care, and their chief Diligence. This Loss of the Assistance of two such considerable Kings, accompanied with so many brave Men, was quickly after repaired by another Re-inforcement, which came very seasonably to begin the next Campaigne; for almost at the same time that King John de Brienne, Leopold Duke of Austria, and the three great Masters of the Military Orders, after they had finished the Fortresses of Caesarea and the Pilgrim's Castle, were come to Ptolemais, to deliberate upon what was to be done in the posture wherein their Affairs then stood, they were agreeably surprised to see the greatest part of the Northern Fleet arrive, for they had utterly despaired of it, there having not been the least Account what was become of it since the time that it first put to Sea. This great Fleet had weighed from the Mouth of the Maze, the 29th Day of May, and had happily passed the Coasts of England and France, but they were a long time stayed, by contrary Winds, upon the Coast of Spain; and after they had been bruised by a furious Tempest, in which they lost several Ships, upon the Coast of Portugal, the rest of the Fleet, which had been separated by the Storm, had been, with great difficulty, at last met together about the middle of July, in the River of Lisbon. Now as the Earls of Holland and Wida, who were gotten up to the Port of this great City, had given Order to re-sit their Ships, the Bishops of Lisbon and d' Evora, the great Priors of the Temple and Hospital, and the Commander of the Order of the Knights of St. James of the Sword, or Palmela, and many great Lords of the Realm, came to wait upon them from Alphonsus II. King of Portugal, to remonstrate to them, That it was by a most particular Disposal of the Divine Providence, for the Good of Portugal, that the Tempest had thrown them upon the Port of Lisbon, and that it shill continued to stay them there. That thereby it appeared manifestly that God would make use of them, to drive the Moors out of the Realm; who, having seized upon the Fortress of Alcazar, held all the Country, from Algarves to the Tagus, in Subjection. That before their Fleet could be repaired so as to be put into a Condition of going to Sea, the Season for Navigation would be passed: And that if they should resolutely pursue their Voyage, yet would it be ineffectual, in regard that, before they could arrive at Palestine, it would be far advanced in the Year; that they must pass the Winter there unprofuably. That therefore it would be more advantageous and glorious for them to pass it in Portugal, and lend them their Assistance to take Alcazar from the Saracens, which they conjured them to do by the Zeal which they had to Religion; assuring them, that this Enterprise, of which they would give an Account to the Pope, would be most pleasing to him; and that thereby they should merit the Recompense of a Crusade. The Earls having proposed this Affair to the Council of the Crusades, there were many that opposed it; protesting that they would immediately go to accomplish their Vow. The Frisons, above all, appeared most determined in this Resolution; and the Matter went so far that they separated from the Earls, and parted with the first fair Wind, the twenty sixth of July, with above eighty Ships, who were followed by some others of several Nations, and though the Wether for some time proved favourable to them, they were constrained to Winter at Corneta, at Gaieta, and several other Ports of Italy. But the Earls, who after that Separation, and those which had been lost during the Tempest, had not above a hundred Ships, believed that they could not more profitably serve Christendom than upon this Occasion, resolved to undertake the Siege of Alcazar, which accordingly therefore they undertook with the Portuguese, in the beginning of the Month of August: They first attempted to storm the Place, but that Attempt not Succeeding, in regard that the Garrison, which was very strong, defended themselves with abundance of Vigour, they found themselves obliged to besiege it according to the regular Way, by Sapping and Mining; this they followed without making any great Progress, till the ninth of September, at which time a great Succour of four Moorish Kings of Andalusia, appeared within a League of the Christian Army. The Battle was not long deferred, for the Christians, year 1218 wonderfully encouraged by the Arrival of the Troops of the Templars, who, the Night before the Battle joined the Army; and much more by the Sight of the glorious Standard of the Cross, which appeared in the Air, as it were, to give them, not only the Signal of the Combat, but an assured sign of Victory and Triumph, went courageously against the Enemy, although their numbers were incomparably greater than theirs. The Battle began early in the Morning, the eleventh Day of September, with an incredible Heat on both Sides; the Christians trusting in the Aid of Heaven, which the Cross they had seen, seemed to promise them; and the Saracens in their Multitude; and besides being ranged in Battalia towards the East, they had the Sun upon their Backs, and the Christians full in their Eyes. Thus the Combat was very obstinate on both sides, Victory continuing in Suspense for a long time to which side she would incline; till at last, the Saracens, struck with a panic Fear, as if new Enemies had fallen upon them, began to stagger and recoil, and in a short time to throw down their Arms, and betake themselves to Flight, with all the Hast the desire of Safety could lend them. It is said that in the heat of the Battle, there appeared new Squadrons of Cavaliers in white Armour, who advanced at the Head of the Christians, and charged upon the Saracens with an infinite Storm of Darts and Lances, and that the brightness of their glittering Arms and Shields so dazzled the Infidels, that they were not able to endure the shining Beams, or the furious Shock they gave them, but that they instantly threw away their Arms and fled. However it happened, it is most certain that their whole Army was entirely defeated, and that there remained above fourteen thousand Saracens dead upon the Place, with two of their Kings; that they pursued the Fugitives for three Leagues, gleaning up abundance of Stragglers, who all fell by the Daughter of the Sword. They lost all their Tents and Baggage, together with a number of Prisoners, who all inquired who those white Horsemen were, who with the Lustre of their Bucklers had so blinded them, and put them into Disorder. And it is said that Pope Honorius seemed by one of his Letters to give credit to this miraculous Event. For my own particular, as I do not pretend to give all these sorts of Apparitions for Truths, which I find in some credulous Authors, which is a great though too frequent Weakness; So I think myself obliged to take care not to suppress such as have any probability of Establishment upon Truth, and are related by such credible Authors, to whom a Man of Sense and Prudence may give some Faith. After this great Victory, the Crusades returned to the Siege of Alcazar, which defended itself still for a Month longer; but at last it was constrained to surrender upon Discretion, upon the one and twentieth Day of October. There were made above two thousand Slaves of the Saracens, which remained in the Garrison, and the Place was put into the Hands of the Knights of Palmela, to whom it belonged, the great Master of which Order had signalised his Courage in an extraordinary manner, both in the Battle and the Siege. They also gave Liberty to the Saracen Governor of the Place, and a hundred of his Officers, and several of his Soldiers, who with him received holy Baptism, and renounced the Superstition of Mahomet. The Pope, to whom the Earl of Holland and the Portuguese sent the Relation of this great Success, caused public Thanks to be given to God in all Places, exhorting all faithful Christians to imitate this glorious Example, and to take Arms to fight against the Saracens who Possessed the Holy Land. But he would never consent that the Hollanders, and those of Cologne, who had gained this important Victory, should thereby be dispensed with from their Vow, as the Portuguese desired, that so these brave Men might finish what they had so happily begun in Spain, by chase the Moors from thence. For this Reason therefore William Earl of Holland, General of the Crusades, who had assured the Pope that he would inviolably observe his Orders, after he had passed the Winter at Lisbon, set Sail in the beginning of April. Having passed the Straits of Gibraltar, he was surprised by a Tempest, which lasted for three days, which so dispersed his Fleet, that without being able to unite again, some of them were forced into Barcelona, others into Marseilles, Genoa, Pisa, and Messina, from whence they continued their Voyage to Ptolemais, where they arrived one after another. year 1218 Those who arrived first were the Frisons, who had wintered in Italy. The Hollanders, and those of Cologne, came up presently after, and whilst they expected the rest it was resolved by King John de Brienne, the Duke of Austria, the Bishops and great Masters of the Orders, for the future to change the manner of the War, and instead of amusing themselves about Palestine, as they had done hitherto, to fall directly upon Egypt, and endeavour to take away the Cause, and cut up the Root of the War. It was remonstrated, That from thence came all the great Armies which the Sultan's scent to the Holy Land, to oppose those of the Crusade, and that therefore, if they could once make themselves Masters of the Source from whence those terrible Inundations of Barbarians came, which did so often deluge Palestine, there would be nothing then capable of resisting the Forces of the Christians. That the Saracens being in no manner of Apprehensions of Danger on that side, would be without difficulty surprised. That there was nothing in all Egypt considerably fortified, except Damiata; and that, after the Taking of that City, which might easily be stormed by such a potent Army, which would daily be reinforced by the Arrival of other Crusades which were expected, they might, without difficulty, march and attack the Sultan in Babylon, which was in no condition to resist them, having no Fortifications, and being only crowded with People incapable to defend it. And, in short, That this was the Opinion of Pope Innocent, in the Council of Lateran; and seemed as if he had a Divine Inspiration; and that therefore it was to be hoped, that God would assist them in the happy Execution of the great Design which himself had inspired. This Resolution being taken, all the Fleet rendezvouzed at the Pilgrim's Castle, from whence the Frisons and Cologners, who were the first that were in readiness, having chosen the Count de Sarpont to command them, set Sail, and with the favour of a Stern-Wind, which blew a lusty Gale from the Northward, they came in three Days, upon the 30th of May, before Damiata, and, by a lucky beginning of the War, made their Descent without Resistance, and retrenched themselves before the City, expecting the coming up of the rest of the Christian Army. Damiata was, at that time, one of the fairest and richest Cities of Egypt, and, without dispute, the strongest, as being the Key of the Kingdom, situate upon the Nile, about a Mile from one of its Mouths. This great River, whose Spring was for so long time unknown, is now discovered to rise from five or six Fountains at the Foot of the Mountains of the Moon, in thirteen or fourteen Degrees of Southern Latitude, and so to cross the great Lake of Zembr; and after having wandered from the South to the North, quite through the vast Tracts of Ethiopia, and the higher Egypt, it divides itself below Grand Cairo, or Babylon, some twenty Leagues from the Sea, into two Arms; one of which drawing to the Right Hand, towards the East, and the other to the Left, towards the West, form that great Triangle, which is the lower Egypt, and which, by reason of its Triangular Figure, the Greeks call Delta. These two Arms divide themselves again into others, which, discharging themselves into the Sea, make those Mouths of the Nile, whose number is very uncertain; most Authors make them seven, some nine, and others will have it that there are eleven; but William of Tyre, who had most exactly searched the number of them upon the place, assures us that there are no more than four: All which Differences may be easily reconciled, by considering that when this River overflows the Country, as it doth every Year, about the middle of June, till towards the midst of September, it than dischargeth itself by other Chanals, which remain dry all the rest of the Year; and that then it is restrained to those four, which are the natural Branches, by which its Waters flow regularly, and without Interruption, to the Sea. The greatest of the Western Chanals is called the Peleusiaque, from the name of the City Pelusium, which since is called Belbeiss upon the Nile, towards the Coast of Palestine. This City is usually confounded with Damaita, by a Mistake which certainly cannot be defended; for William of Tyre, who speaks exactly of these two Cities which he had seen, and which were besieged by Amauri King of Jerusalem, saith positively, that the King, who had by Force, taken Pelusium, anciently called Belbeis, which, it is well known, stood upon the first Branch of the Nile, towards the East, passed the first Arm of the River, year 1218 and marched at two Encampments, which is about twenty Miles, to besiege Damiata upon the Oriental Coast of the second Branch of the Nile, about a Mile from the Sea. This City was environed with a double brick Wall, towards the Nile, and a trible one on that side toward the Land, the second was higher than the first, and the third than the second, with an infinite number of Towers to defend them, and a great Ditch, by which there is a Passage into the Nile, which compasses it round about, and makes it a great Island something longer than it is broad. But that which it wants in Breadth is supplied by the fair Suburbs, which in Beauty and Riches, yield not to the City. And it being thither that all the Merchandises which come from Ethiopia and the Indies, by the Red Sea, were brought, to be from thence transported into Europe and Asia, the Sultan's had caused to be built upon the other side the River a very strong Tower, capable of containing three hundred Soldiers to defend it, from whence there was drawn a huge Chain, to one of the Towers of the City, so that there was no coming in, or going out of the Harbour without the Permission of the Sultan, who drew from them what Tribute he pleased, for the Exportation of all the Merchandises and Spiceries which were not to be had, but from Egypt. So soon as the rest of the Army, which was for some time stayed by contrary Winds, was come up, the Soldiers being marvellously animated by an Eclipse of the Moon, which they took for a certain Presage of Victory, and the Ruin of the Sultan, a Resolution was taken to attack the Tower upon the Nile, in regard that without that it was impossible to batter the City on the River side, which was the thing in design, that being the weakest part. For this purpose the Duke of Austria, and the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, caused the great Ladders, in form of Draw-Bridges, to be fastened to their Masts, such as had been made use of to be let down with Pulleys, at the Siege of Constantinople. The Germans and Frisons, under the Conduct of Count Adolphus du Mont, made a kind of a Fort upon a great Ship, which below the Round Top of the Main Mast, was like a little Castle, from whence they might commodiously shoot against those who defended the Tower; and the Templars raised upon one of the ablest of the Ships another Machine in form of a Cavalier, to batter the Enemy at the same time from another Quarter; but these Engines had not the happy Success which they had promised from them; the main Mast which supported the Bridge of the Knights of St. John, breaking in the middle, in the Fall drew along with it the Bridge; that also of the Duke of Austria, was overturned and broken under the Feet of the Soldiers, who thronged upon it, and pushed one another forward with Precipitation, every one striving to be foremost to sight with the Saracens, who expected them upon the top of the Tower. So that these valiant Men who marched with so much Heat, with their Swords in their Hands, against the Enemy, falling with their Bucklers and Swords one upon another, being entangled in the Cordage, tumbled one upon another, and wounded themselves sorely with their own Arms, before they fell from the Bridge into the River, where they were miserably plunged in the deep Waters, and being armed, and such a number of Men, Planks, and great pieces of broken Timber that hindered their Swimming, they could not possibly save themselves. The Christian Army, which saw this lamentable Accident, without being able to remedy it, was infinitely troubled at it; but the Infidels, who, from the Towers and Walls saw this agreeable Spectacle, sent forth Shouts of Joy, mingled with horrible Noises, Insultings and Blasphemies, which were so far from discouraging the Christians, that they were thereby animated more than before, to revenge these horrible Affronts & Impieties. For this Reason therefore, after they had drawn off the other two Machines' of the Templars and the Germans, which were for no purpose but to favour the other two which were ruined, it was resolved, that the Galleys and lighter Ships should pass by the Chanal of the Nile, which was between the Tower and the other Bank, that so they might make themselves Masters of the higher part of the River, and break the Bridge of Boats which made the Communication between the Town and the Tower of the Nile. This Design was as happily Executed as could be wished; for in despite of the horrible storm of Darts, Arrows, and Stones, which were poured upon them from the great Tower to defend the Passage, which the Besieged did not believe they would be so mad as to attempt, year 1218 the Ships passed up the River; and lay so that no Ship could come down to relieve the Town: then they fell upon those who defended the Bridge with so much Fury, that they broke it in divers places; so that the Tower could now no longer be succoured from the City. In the mean time a very able Engineer invented a new sort of Machin, which at last had that Effect which they had in vain expected from the others. This Man was called Master Olivier, who had been the Schoolmaster of the Church of Cologne, a most famous Preacher, and who, after he had preached the Crusade by the Pope's Order, in Germany, Frieseland, and Flanders, resolved also to go along with them, and afterwards came to be Bishop of Paderborn, and Cardinal by the Title of St. Sabine. It is to him that we are obliged for the Relation of this Siege, beginning after the taking of the Tower of the Nile, in which, by his Invention he had so great a Share, but withal so much Modesty, as not to make any the least mention of it. This Person then, who was a man of a great Soul, and mightily beloved, especially by the Soldiers which came from Cologne, with whom he took up the Cross, caused this new Machine to be made with the Charity-money which he had collected for the Crusade. He caused two great Ships to be tied together with strong Cables and Hawsers, and that they might be the stronger, he caused strong Piles of Timber, which joined the Ships together at the Heads and Sterns, to be fastened with strong Clasps and Bolts of Iron; and all along between the two Ships were laid strong Planks from the Hatches of one Ship to the other, upon which the Men might pass conveniently; and these also were strongly fastened to the Ship at each End, which kept them close from moving one from another. Upon these two Ships, thus joined firmly together, four of the strongest Masts that could be found were planted and joined together in a Square by four of the largest Yards, which were fastened to the Masts almost at the top; upon these Yards there lay joists fastened, and over them Planks nailed down in the manner of a Platform; upon this was erected a wooden Castle, higher than the Tower of the Nile; and this Castle was covered with raw Hides of Oxen and Camels, to defend it from the enemy's Fire; below this Castle, upon the Platform, was fastened a great Ladder covered with Planks in form of a Draw-bridge, which hung by Pulleys ready to be let down upon the Walls of the Tower, and this was so long that it extended several Yards over the Heads of the Ships; below this Machine there were placed certain long Tables, very thick and strong, which were so fastened to the Prows, that by the help of Ropes they might be heaved out to the Walls of the Tower, and served as Bridges for the Miners, who might be at Work below in Sapping, whilst the other attacked them above. This Work being finished, and approved by the Captains, who found it was a most proper and rational Invention for the Execution of such a difficult Design, they resolved to make use of it, and to make their utmost Effort to carry the Tower. And the better to dispose and animate the Soldiers, and to obtain the Protection of God for the Army, the Patriarch, Bishops, and all the Clergy, followed by the King, Princes, and Officers, went barefoot in Procession to the place where the Cross was kept, which according to custom was carried to this War. After which, Friday, the Feast of the Apostle St. Bartholomew, was appointed for the Day to begin the Assault; and choice was made for that Service, of Officers and Soldiers of all the Nations, who were to be Conducted by the brave Leopold, Duke of Austria, and this was done to avoid Jealousies, and that they might all be Sharers in the Glory of so great an Action. The Day, which with so much impatience was expected, being come, the Attack was made in this manner. A great Ship well armed, sailed up the Nile, which was mightily swelled, and went as it were to show the Way to the great Machine which followed it filled on all Sides, below, upon the Platform, and the Castle with those Valiant Men, upon whom the Eyes of the whole Army were fastened, as the dear Pawns of their Honour, and the Fortune of the rest. These proud of the glorious Choice which had been made of them to sustain such an illustrious Enterprise, looked upon the Danger, and the Tower with a generous Contempt, and a certain fierce and menacing Joy, which shown the Resolution they had taken, either to Perish or to Conquer; standing in the View of the City, year 1218 and the Army upon the Machine, as upon the Theatre of their Glory. The Clergy marched in Procession upon the Bank at the Right Hand of the Assailants, singing of Psalms, and imploring the Aid of the God of Armies, in favour of his Champions, against the Enemies of his holy Name: And the Infidels, who were run all to their Towers and their Ramparts, answered these Songs of Piety with fearful Howl, and horrible Blasphemies; at the same time discharging from their Stone-Bows and Slings a dreadful Shower of Stones, to break or stop this Machine, which, crossing this furious Tempest, sailed directly to the North side of the Tower, which lies to Seaward, not being able, by reason of the scantness of the Water, to get these heavy Ships into the Western Chanal, between the Tower and the Bank that lies against the Town. All the which Army was placed, partly upon the Decks of the Ships as they lay at Anchor, and partly drawn up upon the rising Grounds, nearest the Enemy, stood there to encourage the Assailants, and to be Spectators and Witnesses of the brave Actions which were to be performed in a Combat of so extraordinary a nature. So soon as the Anchors were dropped on all sides of the great Machine to keep it immovable in the distance, which was necessary for the lower Bridges and the great Ladder which hung upon the Platform, to reach to the Walls of the Tower, those who were in the Wooden Castle, gave a most furious discharge of Darts, and Arrows, from that high place downward upon the Enemies, who defended the Tower; at the same time some fastened the Bridges to the Walls, whilst others threw themselves upon them with a most Heroic Courage and without thinking of the Dangers, which threatened them in such different manners, some marched to the foot of the Tower to endeavour a Breach with the Force of Pick-Axes and other Instruments, whilst those above ran with their Swords in their hands, directly against the Saracens, who defended the Walls, whilst at the same time all the Engines of the City played upon the Assailants, and threw their Wildfire by the long brazen Conduits, from the Tower against the Castle, the Platform and the Bridges, which began every where to take sire; but there being great Provision made of Sand and Vinegar, the Infallible Cure of this evil, otherwise irremediable, it was soon extinguished in all places, except the end of the Drawbridge Ladder, which had like to have occasioned the loss of all in a Moment. For the Soldiers running violently to put out the fire, the Bridge had like to have been quite overthown by the Crowd, that was upon it; insomuch that by its leaning all upon one side, he who carried the Banner of the Duke of Austria, was overthrown into the Nile, and the Saracens who were about him, as he fell from the end of the Bridge, snatched the Colours from him. Thereupon the Barbarians gave a mighty Shout, as it were to celebrate their Victory, which they now held most certain. The Patriarch, who lay prostrate before the Cross and the Clergy, round about it, sent forth a greater to implore the Succour of Heaven, and the Army, which was upon the Hills, and perceived this Fall, fell upon the Ground, humbling themselves before God, and joining their Tears and Prayers to those of the Patriarch and the Bishops, they made all resound with their piteous Cries, which pierced the Heavens from which they desired Mercy and Helpe. Nor was it long before, so many fervent Prayers obtained it, the fire was presently extinguished, the Bridge which hung all upon one side, was set right and fised, and the Assailants, without giving the Enemy the Leisure to make a new Attempt upon the Machine, pressed up to the Walls, and pushing forward with their Bucklers in one hand, and charging with the Scimitar in the other, they loaded the Saracens with such heavy Blows, with those, and the Battle Axes, and Iron Maces, and pierced them with the Points of the half Pikes and Javelins, so that they forced them to recoil; then a brave Liegeois, who was advanced foremost, immediately leapt into the Tower, and was at the same time seconded by a young Frieslander, who throwing himself into the middle of the Saracens with a flail, the swipple of which was tied to the handle by little Chains, and which he handled in such an admirable manner; that whisking it round about with mighty Force, Swiftness, and without ceasing, he so thrashed the Infidels breaking Skulls and Arms, and in a few moments overthrowing all that came within the reach of his formidable Instrument, against which, year 1218 according to the Proverb, There was no fence, that the rest fled to the lower part of the Tower, and left the upper part to the Conquerors, who presently seized it, and planted the Victorious Ensign of the Cross in their Standards upon its Battlements. The Saracens still made some resistance, by setting fire to the planchards, thereby to stop those who pursued them and the Victory; but perceiving, that during the Combat, those below had opened a breach in the Wall, and were now ready to enter at it, they called for quarter, and yielded themselves to the Duke of Austria, who generously gave them their lives. Besides those who were slain in this furious Assault, which lasted from nine of the Clock in the morning till the next day at noon, and those who in the Night endeavoured to make their escape by the Windows, whereof some where drowned and others slain by those who in the Ship accompanied the Machine, there were about one hundred, who were taken in the Tower and made Slaves. So soon as the Tower was taken the Christrians unlocked the Chain, which shut up the great Chanal, and all the Fleet had Liberty to enter and to attack the City upon the side of the Water. The news of this loss touched Saphadin so nearly, that in a few days after, while he was making Preparation to come to the relief of Damiata, he died of Grief in his Palace at Cairo. He was a Prince who yielded nothing to his Brother, the great Saladin, either in good or ill Qualities. For if his ambition had made him usurp the Kingdoms of the East, by the Murder of his Nephews, as Saladin had seized upon that of Egypt by the Murder of the last Caliph, he had also as much Courage, Valour, Address and good Fortune, to maintain himself in them, as had that great Conqueror, who made himself Master of them and possessed them till his death. He had also this advantage above him, that during his life, he divided his Empire among six of his Sons, nine others, which he had, satisfying themselves without Jealousy with the Revenues, which he assigned them for their subssistance; they also rendered him continually a perfect Obedience, and a respect approaching even to Adoration: for this Prince, who was extreme politic, and throughly acquainted with the Genius of the Orientals, born to Servitude, maintained so great a Majesty, that unless it were when he went to the Wars, and that he appeared at the head of his Army, and that in the greatest Pomp imaginable, he was never seen in public but six times in the Year, and then with more terror than joy to his Subjects, who durst not look upon him but in the Posture of prostration, upon their Bellies with their Faces to the Earth. He left Egypt and Grand Cairo, the Capital City of his Empire, to Meledin, his eldest Son, with Sovereign Authority over all his Brothers, who held their Dominions of him. Coradin the second, and he, of his five other Sons, who most resembled him, both in Valour and Ambition, Anger and Cruelty, had the Realms of Palestine and Damascus; and for the other Provinces of the Higher Asia, they were divided among the other four of his Sons, whom he made his Successors in his Dominions. The new Sultan Meledin, who was nothing so great a Soldier as his Father, and who was of an humour sweet enough and pacific for a Saracen, nevertheless did not fail, with a great deal of Care, to make the Preparations, which Saphadin had begun for the relief of the besieged; Coradin also his Brother, the Sultan of Damascus, with whom during this War, he always acted by concert, and who understood it far better than himself, prepared on his side a puissant Army and demolished most of the Garrisons in Palestine, and, among the rest, the Fortress of Thabor, to reinforce those Garrisons, which he still kept there. As for the Christians, they did not make that use of their Victory, which they ought to have done in vigorously pressing the Siege; but as if after this great Success, they could not fail of Victory, they suffered a great deal of time to slip away, without enterprizing any new thing, against the besieged, taking unseasonably that repose, which they ought to have deferred till after their Conquest. There were also divers, who by a base desertion, contrary to their Vow, reimbarked themselves to return into Europe, notwithstanding all the Prohibitions, which the Patriarch could make, and all the threaten of the Judgements of God, by which he endeavoured, though to little purpose, to stay them. But they were not without Effect, year 1218 and indeed a dismal event it was for them. For six thousand of these Deserters, who followed Hervey de Leon, a Gentleman of the lower Bretany, the death of whose Brother made him return into France to seize upon his Estate, having been a long time tossed with a furious Tempest near the Coasts of Italy, perished by a miserable Shipwreck in View of the very Port of Brindes, not above fourscore of these miserable men being saved upon the broken Planks. A Party also of Frieselanders, who hitherto had so well behaved themselves, having abandoned their Companions, were no sooner returned into Frieseland but they were miserably swallowed up by the Sea, which having this Year broken the Banks and passed all the Bounds, overflowed all the Country with such a fearful deluge, that above a hundred thousand Persons were swallowed up of the merciless Waves. But nevertheless the loss, which the Christian Army suffered by this desertion, was quickly repaired by the Arrival of divers Troops of Crusades, who being excited by the Letters, which Pope Honorius had writ continually to all the Princes of Europe, arrived one after another during all the Autumm. The Cardinal d' Alban●, the Pope's Legate for the Holy War, arrived with the first, accompanied with a fair Troop of the Nobility of Rome, whom the Pope, who was himself of the first of those orders, had obliged to take upon them the Cross, that so they might draw others by their Example. There came also from Germany, the Low Countries, Venice, Genoa, and Pisa, and many from France, who inbarked at Genoa, with Robert de Corceone, an English man, Cardinal of St. Stephen upon Mount-Coelius, whom the Pope ordered to accompany them in this Voyage. The most signal of those, who with the consent of Philip the August, went from France, were the Counts Hervey de Nevers, Hugh de la March, Miles de Barr, upon the Seine with his Sons, and the Lords, John d' Artois, Ponce de Grancey, Ithier de Tacy, Savary de Mauleon; and among the Prelates, William Archbishop of Bourdeaux, William de Beaumond, Bishop of Angers, Gautier Bishop of Autun, Miles de Chastillon de Nantueil, Bishop Elect of Beauvais, with Andrew his Brother, and Peter de Nemours, Bishop of Paris, the Son of Gautier great Chamberlain of France, and Brother to the Bishop of Meaux and Noyon. This good Prelate, after he had for ten years governed with great Wisdom the Church of the Capital City of the Realm, where he took great care to maintain the Purity of the Faith against the Errors of Amauri of Chartres, which he caused to be condemned, resolved also to signalise his Zeal against the Infidels, by taking upon him the Cross, with which he gloriously consummated that kind of Martyrdom at Damiata, where he died after the taking of the City. Prince Oliver also, the Son of Henry the third, King of England, came by the same passage in September, with the Earls of Chester, Winchester, and Arundel, and William de Harcourt accompanied with a Gallant Troop of English, who had devoted themselves to the Holy War. The Legate being arrived with so considerable a Succour, presented to the King of Jerusalem, the Duke of Austria, and the other Princes, the Letters by which the Pope, after having extremely commended the Cardinal, informed them, that he had sent him principally to create and preserve a perfect Union in the Army, and to animate them to do well by going before them, not with the Pomp and Majesty of a Prince to command, but with that humility worthy of Jesus Christ, whom he represented, and for whose Cause the Crusades in taking up his Cross had obliged themselves to combat. But it must be avowed, that this good Prelate, did very ill acquit himself of his Charge, and acted directly contrary to the Intentions of the Pope, and the good Instructions which he had given him. For at the first Conference, which he had with King John de Brienne, to whom all the Chief of the Crusades yielded Obedience, he told him plainly and without a Compliment, that he was resolved to command the Army, alleging for his reason, that the Church having commanded the Crusade, and that the Crusades, who were come to the relief of the Holy Land, were not Subjects of the King of Jerusalem, but depended upon the Church, by the Authority whereof they had taken upon them the Cross. The King was extremely surprised with such a foolish Proposition, which he had so little expected; but as he was very discreet, he did not declare it, lest he should be obliged openly to break with a man, whose Ambition, year 1218 which keeps no measures, especially when it is supported by a great name, might carry him to dangerous Extremities, in abusing a Power and Authority, which Jesus Christ hath not given to the Church, but for the spiritual Kingdom, which is not of this World, as he himself assures us, and hath nothing to do with the Temporal. On the other side, notwithstanding this, as this Prince had a great Soul, he was resolved to do nothing to slain his Honour, or to lessen the August Character of Royalty, which he was resolved to support, with the utmost Vigour, against all that should enterprise any thing against it. He therefore kept fair with the Legate, he made no direct answer to any thing which he said, but would turn the discourse to some other Subject, always treating him with extraordinary Civility; but in the same time he continued more positively than ever to give out his Orders independent of any other Person, and caused them to be exactly obeyed, and acted in all things so like an absolute Master and a King, that the good Legate at last perceived that he had to do with a Prince, who in rendering to God with a profound Veneration, that which was due to him, knew also continually how to maintain the Rights that appertained to Caesar. This nevertheless did not fail to occasion some Trouble in the Army, by dividing the principal Officers; for those who found themselves any ways dissatisfied with the King, inclined always to the Legate, and he finding himself able to do nothing more, usually came to the Council only to give his Opinion in contradiction to the King. But at length the Arrival of the Sultan Meledin, who came down the Nile to Damiata, with a potent Army, before the Christians had passed the River to besiege the City by Land, obliged all the Commanders to reunite, and recover the time which they had wasted and lost by an extreme Negligence, and seriously to dispose themselves to Combat the Enemy. After some light Skirmishes, wherein the Saracens were constantly beaten, upon the thirtieth of November there arose such a furious Tempest, that the Sea repelling the Waters of the Nile, and breaking over all the Banks, the whole Army had like to have perished by the Inundation; many of the Ships were driven ashore and beaten in pieces, and four great Vessels, upon which there were Castles built in order to attack the City, were driven by the Wind and the Waves, against the Towers and the Walls, where they were unfortunately Consumed by the Wildfire which the Besieged with ease threw into them, in the sight of the Christians, who during that dreadful Storm were not able to Relieve them. Several Knights of the Temple, who were in another great Ship, which the Tempest had also forced to the Shoar near the City, seeing, after they had fought most valiantly for a long time, that it was impossible to resist the infinite number of the Saracens, who having on all sides surrounded them, and making themselves Masters of the Vessel, threw themselves in Shoals upon her, they imitated Samson, and resolved to bury themselves together with their Enemies; for boreing Holes in the Ship, they let in the Water so fast, that during the Combat she sunk in a Moment to the Bottom, nothing but the top of the main Mast appearing above the Water. And certainly all had been lost, if God in Mercy had not been entreated by the incessant Prayers and Tears of the Bishops, who continued Night and Day in Prayers to implore his Pity and Compassion, and that upon the third day he was pleased to cause the Tempest to cease, so that the River returned to its Chanal, and the Waters again came to their old Course, to run within their Banks. As soon as the Tempest was over, the Army, which had saved themselves by getting upon the higher Grounds, returned to their Camp, and some time after, ten Soldiers, Friselanders and Germans, performed an Action so Heroic, as astonished both the Saracens and Christians, who were equally the Spectators and Admirers of it. For the Enemy having repaired their Bridge of Boats, which hindered the Ships from passing up the River to the Place where the Army was resolved to pass the Nile; these ten brave resolute Men, having put themselves into two Shallops, undertook to gain it and break the Bridge. They set upon it then in open day, and mounting it, chased those who defended it, with dreadful Blows of the Sword, from their Posts, and having made themselves Masters of it, whilst some of them fought at the Entrance of the Bridge to defend it against all the Forces of the City, year 1218 as sometimes the famous Horatius Cocles had done at Rome, opposing the whole Army of Porsenna upon a Bridge of the Tiber; others of them broke this Bridge of Boats, and in despite of the fearful Tempest of Stones, Darts, and Wildfire, which were showered upon them from the Ramparts and Towers of the City, they brought off divers of the Boats which composed the Bridge, as it were in Triumph, to their Companions, who with the loud noise of Drums, Trumpets, and Acclamations, celebrated the Praises of their Victory, and an Action which well deserves to be consecrated to their eternal Glory and the Knowledge of Posterity by immortal History. So that this Obstacle being removed all the Ships sailed up above the City, year 1219 and the Engines being sitted for the Combat, the Resolution was taken to pass to the other side of the River, and Land in the sight of the Sultan, who had fortified all the Bank with good Retrenchments, behind which his Army was drawn up in Battalia in the great Lines, which being ranged upon a rising Ground like a kind of Amphitheatre, gave them the Opportunity of discharging all their Arrows and Darts together upon the Enemy, without being in danger of hurting one another. And in truth it did not only seem a most temerarious Action to attempt a Passage so well defended, but wholly impossible to succeed. But God was pleased in an instant to open it, against all Appearance, by one of the most extraordinary Events imaginable, and which could not reasonably be attributed to any thing besides that Providence, which he hath for those whom he hath taken into his Protection. For the same Night, which was the fourth, or fifth of February, and that all things were disposed to adventure the Passage the Morrow of the following Day, the Sultan Meledin with his Emirs, and the principal Commanders of the Army, leaving in his Camp the most resolute of his Troops to receive the Enemy, not doubting but they would be able to do it, he posted with full speed towards Cairo, as if he had been pursued by a victorious Army after a mighty Overthrow; nor could there ever be assigned any Reason for this precipitate Flight, but that sort of Terror which God sometimes fills the Hearts of those withal, whom he will punish, and of which we find frequent Examples in the Holy Scriptures. A Christian Renegade, who had for a long time served the Sultan, and who was big with the Desire of being the first Discoverer of a thing so astonishing, came running to the Bank of the Nile, and called aloud in French, that they should pass over immediately, for that the Sultan had forsaken his Men and was fled; desiring them presently to send a Skiff, as they did, to take him in, that so they might be the better assured of what he told them. In this time the Army of the Saracens seeing themselves abandoned by the Sultan, believing themselves betrayed, they disbanded, and presently fled after him in the greatest Fear and Disorder. So that the Christians ravished to see such a visible Effect of the divine Protection, passed the River without Resistance; but not altogether without Difficulty, in regard that the Banks of the Nile were so Muddy and Slimy on that side, that the Horses, whom they led by the Bridles, being up to the Saddle Skirts in the Quicksands and Quagmires, did not gain the Bank without extreme Trouble; which made it clearly appear that if there had been but a few Defendants, it had been almost impossible to have forced it. As soon as all the Army was passed over, they entered into the Camp of the Saracens, which they plundered, and then they took up their Quarters about the City, which was environed with good Lines, and a great Ditch, which was drawn from one Part to the other, to the River Nile, upon which they built a Bridge of Boats, that so they might have a Communication with those who were encamped on the other side the River to guard the Ships upon which the Attack was to be made upon the side next the Water. There was necessity however of making use of all manner of Precautions; for as the City was extreme strong, so there were in it forty thousand Men who were resolved to make a brave Defence; it was also Winter, and many Diseases, especially the Scurvy, raged among the Soldiers, and many died of them. The Siege was like to prove long, so that the Enemies had leisure to come to the Relief of the Besieged, with potent Armies. The first that appeared was Coradin, who after he had gathered all the Troops that he possibly could in Syria, year 1219 to which he joined all that could be drawn of the dismantled Garrisons he marched directly to Jerusalem, and before he passed further he set on all hands to work to demolish that Holy City, which then was held to be Impregnable; he ●ased the Walls and all the Towers to the very Foundations, the Tower of David only excepted, which could not defend itself singly, and in short reduced that strong and famous City to the condition of a miserably Village; either that thereby he might strengthen his Army by the Troops, which otherwise he must be obliged to leave for the defence of so strong a Garrison; or possibly that he feared that the Christian Army, after they had taken Damiata, would enter victorious into Palestine, and take that City, which he knew to be the end of their Enterprise, and the occasion of all the Crusades, which had been made in Europe. This being done he marched directly to Damiata; and as his Army was far more numerous than that of the Christians, which wasted every day, and also that he had seized upon certain very advantageous Posts, by the negligence of those who ought to have defended them, the besiegers found themselves in a manner as straight besieged by his Army as Damiata was by theirs; and that they were more easily and dangerously to be attacked themselves, than they could attack the City, their retrenchments being nothing so terrible or strong as the Triple Wall with which the City was surrounded. And in truth Coradin, who was a brave, and a great Captain, attempted the lines three several times with all the Vigour imaginable, and particularly upon Palm Sunday, having made himself Master of the Bridge, which joined the two Camps, he had forced them on that side, if the brave Duke of Austria, who with the Germans and Templars came rushing in upon him, had not chocked his Success, and at last repulsed him after a most obstinate Combat, maintained from morning till it was high noon. This was the last of those fair actions which that gallant Duke performed in this Crusade, for having on one side accomplished his vow, having stayed in the Levant above six Months longer than the time of Service which he had only vowed for a year; and on the other side his own Affairs recalling him into his Dominions he took Sea in the Spring; and this example was quickly followed by a great number of Crusades, who wearied with the length, and the inconveniences of the Siege returned into Europe. So that the Army being extremely weakened by this retreat, and the diseases, ran the Fortune of being at last forced in their retrenchments, if the great Succours of new Crusades of all Nations, whom the Pope pressed continually to part from all the Ports of Italy, had not come most seasonable in the very nick of time with great plenty of all manner of refreshments in abundance, of which the besiegers stood in great want. And certainly the arrival of these recruits was no more than necessary; for shortly after, Meledin having recovered his courage out of the Swoon into which it had fallen, raised an Army more numerous than the first, and marched to join his Brother Coradin, that so with their joint forces they might make one great attempt for all upon the Camp of the Christians, which they believed was then in no condition of resisting them; so soon therefore as the necessary time to make all the Preparations for so great an Action was over, these two great Armies of Saracens, having ranged themselves in Battalia, early in the morning upon the last day of July, presented themselves in good order before the Lines, and made four or five several attacks, thereby to divide the forces of the Christians, which notwithstanding their recruits, were not by far so numerous as theirs. It was fought with incredible heat and Fury on the one side, and the other; the Saracens animated by the presence of their Sultan's and the certain hope they had conceived, that they should that day deliver the besieged City: the Christians by the fatal necessity to which they were reduced, either to repulse the Enemy, or to be all cut in pieces, their camp being shut up, between two mighty Armies, an Enemy's City, and a great River, over which it was impossible for them to escape. In this time, those who attacked the quarter of the Knight's Templars, made such a vigorous impression, and returned so often to the Assault, that they forced the Lines on that side, entered the Camp, charged furiously upon the Infantry, whom the Knights had posted for the defence of that place, and pressed so stoutly upon them, that at length they put them to slight, and pursued their point so briskly, being followed by their reserves, who came crowding after them into the lines, that the entire ruin of the Army seemed inevitable, when the French and English arriving in good time with their Swords in their hands, year 1219 made these fierce Enemies stop short in their career, and again turned the Face of the Combat. For being all Fresh men, and desirous above all things to signalise their Courage by some gallant action, they charged the Enemy according to their manner, with so much fury that they forced them to recoil, and beat them back again to the Lines, where the Saracens finding themselves sustained by those without, who continually mounted over the Works, they also took their turn and as they had been themselves beaten back, so now they made the French retreat. But in a minute after, the shame and madness, which they had to be thus bassed, redoubling their Courage and their Strength, they came up to the Charge again, and three several times fell upon the Enemy with such Valour, that being unable to sustain their Fury, they tumbled over the Lines and into the ditch; when at the same time those of the City making a notably Sally, by setting fire to the Machines', which put the Christians into great fear and disorder, gave them the opportunity of regaining their advantage. Thereupon the great Master of the Temple, and the other of the Knights of the Teutonick Order, who hasted to their relief, observing that the Saracens, who believed themselves assured of the Victory, advanced with precipitation and disorder, shouting for Joy as they ran to the Charge, they marched to charge them in the Flanks on both sides, whilst the French who now took new Courage by the sight of these Succours attacked them in the Front; so that being beset on three sides by so many Valiant men, whom the danger of losing all had rendered furious, they were almost all cut in pieces, and those who followed them were chased over the Lines and the Ditch, which was almost filled up with the heaps of the slain. After which the Army falling upon those of the Town who had made the Sally, they were presently repulsed with a most dreadful Slaughter, though notwithstanding they had first destroyed a great number of Machines' by setting them on fire, which could not in that great Confusion be suddenly quenched. Thus ended this great Battle which lasted from morning until night. On the other side, the Venetians, the Pisans and Genoese, who were wholly managed by the Legate, were not much more fortunate in their Enterprise, and though they had assured him the Success was infallible, yet they happened to be mistaken; for all the new Machines', which they had built upon four great Ships, were in several Assaults, which they gave to little purpose, either broken by the Engines of the Town, or burnt by the Greek Wildfire, from which they were never able to secure them. But the greatest of all the evils, which the Besiegers suffered, was the division which happened between the Infantry and Cavalry, which had like in one day to have ruined the whole Army. For the Cavalry in those times was in a manner wholly composed of Gentlemen, who loved their ease and pleasure so much that they left the Foot to all the hard duty, and exempted themselves from it. The Foot, who believed themselves undervalved, loudly murmured against them, reproaching them with want of Courage, and accusing them of leaving them to shift for themselves in the most dangerous combats. On the contrary, the Cavalry maintained the quite contrary, saying, the Foot did nothing at all, as appeared plainly in the last Battle within the Lines, where the Infantry proved themselves good Footman in running for it, and that all had been infallibly lost, if the Cavalry had not spurred up to their assistance, and almost alone repulsed the Enemies. So that by the most foolish and strange adventure that ever was seen in an Army, both Horse and Foot, that they might manifest who had the greatest Courage and most Valour, compelled the King to lead them against the Enemy and oblige them to a Battle. It was then that St. Francis of Assize, who by the earnest desire which he had to gain the Crown of Martyrdom, by preaching the Faith to the Infidels, was come to the Camp at Damiata; and contrary to his custom, in meddling with matters, which were not religious or agreeable to his Profession, opposed himself stoutly against this foolish Resolution. And the Spirit of God being an Emanation of the divine Wisdom upon us, which agrees perfectly with good sense and reason, made him predict with a great deal of reason to these foolish Braves, that if they would be so rash, to undertake such an ill grounded Enrerprise, it would prove fatal to them. year 1219 But these People could hear no other Language but that of their Passions, and such was their Fury that they compelled their Captains to go along with them, making little Account of what St. Francis threatened them withal, who was a man of no presence, and whom they did not believe to be a Prophet. Leaving therefore a few men to guard the Camp, against the Besieged, they marched against the Enemy in Battalia, upon the nine and twentieth day of August. The Saracens upon the sight of them drew off, and retreated into a large Champaign between the Nile and the Sea, where there being no water, and the season excessive hot, they were reduced to the utmost extremities of weariness and thirst and broke all their Ranks and order, to search for water to refresh themselves. The Saracens then, who waited for this disorder, to make advantage of it, immediately faced about, and came pouring upon the Cyprus Cavalry, which was upon the left Wing, and charging them in the Flank, broke them, and dissipated them in a moment; whereupon the Italian Infantry, who were covered by them, presently fled, and after them the Horse, the Legate and Patriarch, who carried the Cross, being not able to stop them: and in short all had been infallibly lost that day, if the King, who was in the main Battle, perceiving the horrible disorder, and letting the Fugitives pass by him, that they might not hinder his march, had not instantly advanced, being followed by the Knights of the three orders, the English, French and Flemings, who stopped the Pursuit of the Saracens, and made good an honourable retreat to their Camp, where the Army entered well mortified with the ill Fortune which they had met withal in this foolish adventure. For they lost above six thousand men, besides the Prisoners, among which were the Bishop of of Beauvais, and his Brother Andrew de Chastillon Nantueil, Gautier de Nemours Brother of Peter, the Bishop of Paris, John d' Arcis, and Henry de l' Orme, the Marshal of the order of St. John of Jerusalem, and above thirty Knights of the Temple. Thus the Prediction of the holy man St. Francis d' Assize was accomplished; but he pursuing his principal design, wandered from the Christian Camp, and permitted himself to be taken by the Saracens, who, after they had given him a thousand blows, presented him to Meledin, to get the reward which he had promised to those who should bring him a Christian dead or alive. The good man notwithstanding this, preached the Gospel to him with an admirable Zeal, offering himself to the Flames for the proof of the truth thereof. But he laboured in vain as to the design which he had propounded to himself, being neither able to gain the Crown of Martyrdom, by reason that the Sultan, charmed with his discourse, his Patience, and his Virtue, was so far from putting him to death, that he gave him a thousand carresses, and all the obliging Usage imaginable; nor could he obtain the Conversion of this Prince, the fear in which he was of his Subjects being more prevalent with him than the truth which was propounded to him. So that the Saint finding there was no good to be done, took his way back again, and the Prayers which the Sultan, whose presents he refused, desired of him for his Salvation proved ineffectual by the just Judgement of God, who rigorously punishes those, who either out of fear or malice, refuse his Grace and the tenders of Salvation: For the Authors who have written for the Honour of St. Francis, that in Virtue of his Prayers, this Sultan was converted, and baptised before his Death, are under a mistake of the Sultan of Iconium, who never saw St. Francis, who this very year of the Siege, of Damiata received Baptism at his death, whereas this Sultan of Egypt neither died that year nor was ever baptised. And it is a great weakness, to give it no worse Title, to make such fabulous relations of holy men; for the Saints, who in Heaven enjoy infinite happiness, do neither desire nor stand in necessity, that those who writ their lives, or make their Eulogies should give them praises upon Earth that are not true, whether it be in magnifiing their Actions, or in attributing to them such miracles as may well be doubted, and rationally disproved, and which is the most abominable and pernicious flattery, making them so perfect in all things, as to be free from all manner of sin. That which is certainly true in this matter is, That Sultan Meledin not only treated St. Francis, but after this the Christians, and particularly the Prisoners with great humanity, sending some of the principal of them to the Christian Camp to treat of a Peace. year 1219 This Sultan, who was a better Politician them a Soldier, understood very well, that notwithstanding his Victory, he had many pressing Considerations to move him to labour all he could for a Peace. All the provisions in the City were almost spent, the Siege having continued so long that by reason of the Famine, many diseases began to make a cruel Ravage among the defendants, so that he could not hope, having so often deceived them with vain promises, but that they must come to a Capitulation, and besides he himself began to be straitened in provisions for his Army; by reason that the Besiegers being Masters of the Sea with a strong Fleet, received them in abundance and hindered all others from furnishing his Army with supplies, so that it was impossible for him longer to subsist in the Posts which now he was in. Moreover the inundation of the Nile having not been very favourable this year, he feared, that the scarcity which he foresaw, would not permit him to raise or maintain an Army if he should be obliged to continue the War; that after the taking of Damiata, he should not therefore be in a condition of resisting the Crusades, who would infallibly march against him in Grand Cairo. For these reasons therefore, after the Retreat of divers of the Crusades, who had reimbarked themselves for Europe in the Month of September, having again made an unsuccessful attempt against the Christians to force them in their retrenchments, by the consent of his Brother Coradin he sent to propose a Peace, or at least a Truce for several years, upon Conditions, which were very fair and advantageous to the Christians, which were as follow, That he would restore to them the true Cross; which was taken by Saladin at the Battle of Tyberias; That he would restore to the King all that they held in the Realm of Jerusalem, and That he would give so much money as should be sufficient to rebuild the Walls of that City, and put it into the same Condition wherein it was before; That he would release all the Prisoners which had been taken in Egypt and Syria, not only during this, but all the preceding Wars; That the strong holds of Thoron, of Sephet, and Beaufort should be surrendered to the Christians in the same condition which they were now in; and in short, that he would keep nothing but the two Cities of Crac, and Montreal on the other side of Jordan, in regard they were necessary for the Security of the Pilgrims, which should travel to Mecca, and that these two Cities should also be in some sort under the Authority of the King of Jerusalem, by paying to him a moderate acknowledgement of tribute during the time of the peace or Truce. Now this being a decisive affair, there was an Assembly called of all the Commanders, and Prelates, and the question was debated, Whether leaving the Enterprise of Damiata, the Propositions of the two Sultan's ought not to be accepted. The opinions were divers, the King of Jerusalem, and all the Lords and great Officers among the French, English, Germans, Flemings, and Hollanders were of the opinion, that they ought to be received; and without doubt this Judgement was founded upon reasons equally plausible and substantial. For, said they, that which ought to govern us in this deliberation, is the end which we have proposed to ourselves in undertaking this War: And what is that end? Is it not to reconquer the Realm of Jerusalem, and to recover the Sepulchre of Jesus Christ out of the hands of the Infidels, for the deliverance whereof so many Crusades, have from time to time been undertaken? Nor had we besieged Damiata, but upon the belief that the taking of that City would prove the most proper and conducive means to arrive at that end; and although we have now besieged the place for seventeen Months, yet we have not taken it, and it is uncertain when we shall, since not only our one Soldiers daily quit the tedious Service, but the Enemies receive daily reinforcements, and redouble their attacks, which we did not without difficulty, resist, even when we were stronger, and the Events of War being uncertain, it is but reasonable to accept those offers now, which we would willingly have embraced before the Siege. That it is but to quit a certainty for an uncertainty to refuse them, and that what we aim at ultimately is now offered unto us. That when we have taken Damiata, we should be willing to exchange it for the Realm of Jerusalem, since that is the only reason for which we endeavour to take it, and there is all the reason in the World to accept that now which will deliver the Army from all future difficulties and dangers in continuing the Siege, and not only spare the blood of so many brave men as were daily lost before the Town, but also the exposing of the whole Army to the disgrace of not taking it at the last, that if as might be objected, it was to be feared, that the Saracens never intended to perform the Condition, year 1219 which they so liberally offered, it was easy to assure themselves of performance, by taking sufficient Hostages from them; and that admitting the worst, they might so fortify Jerusalem before the Army separated, and before the Enemies could be in a Condition to obstruct them, as to render it impregnable for the future. On the other side the Legate, who rarely was in the same Opinion with the King, and who wanted neither Wit nor reason to support his own, stiffly maintained, That these Propositions ought by no means to be accepted; That this was nothing but the pure Artifice of the Sultan's, to prevent the taking of the City, which they found it was impossble for them to relieve; That all they offered being now only a naked Country, and defenceless Villages, it was easy to take it from them without the help of a Treaty; That the Infidels had no other intention, by all these seeming advantages, which they offered to the Christians, but to separate their Army, by a delusive Peace, that so they might afterwards with ease recover, what they had yielded to them only to amuse them. And for what concerned the true Cross, they were certainly informed that the Saracens had suffered it to be lost or destroyed; since Saladin, if after the most diligent search he could have found it, would most willingly have restored it, for the Ransom of so many Valiant men, and so many considerable Emirs, as were made Prisoners upon the taking of Ptolemais. And in short, that the Siege was now so far advanced, that the Defendants being reduced to the last Extremities, it was impossible but they must take Damiata, and that after that, it was easy to know what they had to do, and that then they might if they pleased, treat with more Honour and more advantage. Now as the Legate had a strong Party, and a great authority especially among the ecclesiastics, and that his reasons also were not without a Foundation of great Probability, the Patriarch, the Arch-Bishops, the Bishops, and all the ecclesiastics, together with the three great Masters of the Military Orders, all the Italians, and many other Crusades were in his Opinion; so that the others also standing firmly to their Sense, the whole Army was divided, and in perpetual contests for several days. But the Sultan, who made use of that Opportunity to endeavour to put some succour into the place, during this discourse of Peace, the King's Party, which was the least, reunited again with the Legate. Hereupon the Conferences for Peace were broken, and it was resolved to pursue the Siege with all imaginable Vigour. But it lasted not long, for one of the Towers, which lay upon a Corner of the Town, being by the force of the Machines' so ruined, that it was easy to enter by the Breach, and there appearing no great number of Defendants to secure the Breach, the Legate made choice of a very dark night wherein the Wind blew very loud, to cause it to be attacked. The Soldiers approached the Tower and the Gate adjoining, which they set on sire, and passed to the second Wall, whilst others clapped up Ladders, and scaled the first Wall in divers places without resistance; then the King being immediately advertised of this strange Success led his Troops thither in good order, and with the same facility gained the second Wall; and the next morning being the fifth of November by break of day they took the third Wall with so little resistance, that there was but one man lightly wounded in his Foot Immediately the Christian Standards were planted upon the Towers, which the Sultan's perceiving, they retired with precipitation, setting fire to their Camp and Bridge, that so they might not be pursued. Thus Damiata, which had cost so much Blood and labour for eighteen Months, was in one night taken by the Christian Army without Noise, without Tumult, there being none left in this fair and great City in Condition to defend it. For the extreme Famine which they had endured, and the diseases which followed upon it, had made such a horrible ravage, that of eighty thousand Soldiers and Citizens which were in it at the Beginning of the Siege, there were scarcely lest three thousand alive, and of those not above one hundred, who were able to bear Arms. All the Streets and houses were filled with dead and dying Persons, which the living, who with extreme weakness expected the same Fate, were not able to bury; so that the Army was forced for a long time to encamp without the City before they could get it cleansed. There were found in the City infinite Riches in Vessels of Gold, Silver, Pearls, precious Stones, Silks and all manner of Indian Drugs and Spices: year 1219 But the Saracens during the Siege having buried most of their Money, and notwithstanding that the Legate had denounced the Anathema against those who should conceal any of the Booty, which he ordered to be brought together to make a just distribution among the whole Army, yet particular persons concealed the greatest part of the Booty; so that there could never be got together above four hundred thousand Crowns in Money, which was distributed among the Soldiers. There were about four hundred among the Prisoners, who were the most considerable, who were reserved to be exchanged for those who had been taken by the Enemies during the Siege. year 1220 The Principal Mosque, which was supported by one hundred and fifty Marble Pillars, and environed by five curious Galleries, with a noble Cupelo in the middle, upon which was a lofty Spire, was consecrated to God, in honour of the blessed Virgin, and upon the Feast of the Purification, the Cardinal Legate, accompanied by the Patriarch, the Bishops and Clergy of Ptolemais, followed by the King, the Princes, the Lords, and all the Chief Commanders, went in Solemn Procession, there to celebrate the Sacred Mysteries of the Christian Religion, after which they built a new Bridge, which joined the City and the Fort, which they had during the Siege, built upon the other bank of the Nile; and than Damiata by the consent of the Legate, and the whole Army, was annexed to the Realm of Jerusalem, and to add to the good Fortune, some few days after a Party of a thousand Soldiers being commanded to go abroad for Forage and Provisions, failing up the second branch of the River Nilus, which is called the Tanitique, the Egyptians terrified by their coming, cowardly abandoned the strongest of their Castles, which was built upon the Ruins of the Famous City of Tanis, in Ancient Time the Capital City of Egypt, and the Residence of the Pharaohs, the place where Moses, to move the heart of that obdurate Prince, wrought all those memorable Prodigies, which are recorded in the Holy Story in the Book of Exodus. It is also reported, that in a place near Damiata, the Christians found a Book written in Arabic, the Author whereof, who assures us that he was neither Jew, Christian, nor Mahometan, predicted the Victories of the great Saladin, the taking of Ptolemais by the Kings of England and France, that of Damiata nine and twenty Years after; and that one day there should come a King from the East, whose name should be David, and another from the West, whom he does not name, who joining together should overthrow the Empire of the Mahometans, and recover the City of Jerusalem. But as one cannot judge of the Truth of this Prophecy by the former part of the things which it doth predict, since they were already come to pass when the Book was found; so it must be Posterity, who only can be able to make a certain judgement of the truth of the second part, when it shall happen to be accomplished, which we have not yet seen. The End of the Third Part. THE HISTORY OF THE CRUSADE, OR, The Expeditions of the Christian Princes for the Conquest of the Holy Land. PART IU. BOOK I. The CONTENTS of the First Book. The Condition, the manners, and the Religion of the People of Georgia, who resolve to join with the Princes of the Crusade, but are hindered by an irruption of the Tartars into their Country. The Emperor Frederick sends a considerable relief to Damiata. The return of King John de Brienne to the Army of the Crusades. The Legate Pelagius opposeth his advice, and makes them resolve upon a Battle against Meledin, who once more offers Peace upon most advantageous Terms. The Legate occasions the refusal of them. The humour and description of this Legate. An account of the miserable adventure of the Christian Army, which by the innundation of the Nile, is reduced to the Discretion of Meledin. The wise Policy of this Sultan, who saves the Army by a Treaty, which he was willing to make with the Crusades. This misfortune is followed by the Rupture of Frederick the Emperor with the Pope. The Character of that Emperor. The Complaints of Pope Honorius against him. His Answers and their Reconciliation. A famous Conference for the Holy War. King John de Brienne comes to desire assistance throughout Europe. The death of Philip the August. His Elegy, his Will and his Funerals. New Endeavours of the Pope and the Emperor for the Holy War. The Marriage of Frederick with the Princess Jolante, the daughter of King John de Brienne, Heiress of the Realm of Jerusalem. John de Brienne is despoiled of his Crown by his new Son-in-Law. He puts himself under the Protection of the Pope Honorius. The good Offices of the Pope to pacify the Princes. The death of Lewis the eight King of France. He is succeeded by his Son Lewis the ninth. The death of Pope Honorius. He is succeeded by Gregory the ninth. The Portrait of this new Pope. The Army of the Crusades much diminished by diseases. The Emperor takes shipping. He stays at Otranto, where the Landgrave of Thuringia dies. A great rapture between the Pope and the Emperor. The Pope excommunicates him. Their Manifests. The Revenge which Frederick takes. He passes at last into Syria. His differences with the Patriarch and the Templars. His Treaty with the Sultan, his Coronation at Jerusalem, his return and accord with the Pope. The Conference of Spolata, for the Continuation of the Crusade. The History of Theobald the fifth Earl of Champagne, and King of Navarr. His Voyage to the Holy Land with the other Princes of the Crusade. His description, and his Elegy. A Crusade published for the Succour of Constantinople. An Abridgement of the History of the Latin Emperors there. The Causes of the little Success of the King of Navarr's Enterprise. A new Rupture between the Pope and the Emperor. The Occasions thereof. The deplorable effects of that breach, which ruins the Affairs of the Holy Land. The Jealousy among the Prince's occasions their loss. Their defeat at the Battle of Gaza. The unsuccessful Voyage of Richard Earl of Cornwall. The death of the Constable Amauri de Montfort. His Elegy, his Burial, and that of his Ancestors, and of Simon de Montfort, in the Monastery of Hautebruiere. A Council called at Rome. The Pope's Fleet defeated by the Emperor's, and the taking of the Legates and Prelates going to the Council. The death of Pope Gregory. The election of Celestin the fourth, and of Innocent the fourth. He breaks with the Emperor, and retires into France. year 1220 THe report of the Victory, which the Crusades of the West had obtained against the Sultan's of Egypt and Damascus, being spread all over Asia, raised the Courage and hopes of the Christians in the East, and more particularly of the Georgians, who then were, and are at this day, the bravest among all those Nations. These People to whom that name was given, either from their particular Veneration of St. George, upon whom they call in their Combats; or by Corruption of the word Gurges, their Country being called Gurgiston, inhabit those Regions, which extend themselves from the West to the East, between the Euxine and the Caspian Sea, the Countries which anciently were called, Colchis, Iberia, a part of Albania, and also of the great Armenia as far as Derbent. They were at this time under the Obeisance of one King, who governed the whole Nation united into one Monarchy, and not divided as they are now, among many small Princes, who are not able to free themselves from paying tribute either to the Turk or Persian. They have been Christians ever since they were converted by a young Maid, a Christian Slave, in the Reign of Constantine the Great, and followed the belief and Ceremonies of the Greeks, although in some things they differ from them much, and especially in this. That they have nothing of that Aversion for the Church of Rome, which the Greeks have. They all shave the middle of their heads in form of a Crown, but with this difference among them, That the ecclesiastics have it round, like that of the Roman Churchmen, the other square, with great Moustaches, year 1220 and a long Beard which reaches down to their very Girdle. They are in the main, People well proportioned and of a good Mind, kind and obliging to Strangers, terrible to their Enemies, great Soldiers, extremely brave, even to the very Women, who like Amazons, will go to the Wars and sight most valiantly; and they are so taken notice off for this Valour above all other of the Eastern Christians, that the Saracens either out of Fear or respect, permit them to enter with their Colours flying like Soldiers into Jerusalem, and without paying any thing when they come to visit the Holy Sepulchre. But they have this great Blemish that they are most intolerable Drinkers, and make little account of such People as will not debauch with them, having entertained a brutish persuasion, that it is impossible for any persons to be truly valiant, who are not excessive Lovers of drinking. So that they never go to the Combat till they have well drunk; for which purpose they always carry to the field, a Bottle of Wine tied to their Girdles, and before they begin the Battle they presently and with Cheerfulness toss it off to the last drop, and then furiously charge the Enemies, being elevated with the Wine and half drunk. This was the Temper of these Georgians, who were now most highly incensed against Coradin, because without consulting them, he had caused the Walls of the Holy City to be demolished during the Siege of Damiata; for which, as a common Injury done to all Christians in General, they loudly threatened to be avenged on him. For this purpose so soon as they heard the news of the taking of Damiata, their King writ to the Princes of the Crusade to give them joy of their Victory, and to exhort them to follow their good Fortune, assuring them, that for his own particular,, as he should esteem it a dishonour to him not to follow the glorious Example, which they had given him, so he was resolved in favour of them to make a powerful diversion in Syria, and to attack Coradin even in his Capital City of Damascus. But all these fair hopes of chase the Insidels out of the Holy Land, quickly vanished by two unhappy Accidents, which ruined all the Affairs of the Christians in the East. The first was, that as the King of the Georgians, was preparing for this Holy War, he received advice that the Tartars, who began to make divers Conquests in Asia, were ready to fall into his Dominions; and this hindered this Valiant Prince from executing what he had so generously resolved against Coradin. The second was the deplorable misfortune, which befell the Christian Army, which having lost a great deal of time, had at last took the field to endeavour to finish in conquering the rest of Egypt, what they had so happily begun, by taking the strongest of all the Cities of that Realm, and it is this which I am now to treat of, and in few words to give an Account of the Causes of this sad event. After that the Army had passed the Winter at Damiata, and the Country about it, to recover themselves from so many Fatigues, they were so far from being in a Condition to pursue their Conquests, in the Beginning of the Spring, that they found themselves more weak than at the end of the Siege; for many of the Crusades of all Nations, believing that they had fully accomplished their Vow, and being weary of a tedious War, returned into their respective Countries: and that which weakened them still more, was, that the King of Jerusalem, who commanded the Army, quitted them and returned into Palestine. This King, who was in no sort satisfied with the Legate, who had so often shocked him, and with whom he found it impossible to keep himself in any good Terms, was not at all sorry to have a fair pretext to retire himself; and the death of Livon the King of Armenia, which then happened, furnished him with a plausible reason, to go and pursue the Right of the Queen, his Wife, who, in Opposition to the Prince of Antioch, pretended that that Realm appertained to her. Besides he said, that having heard that the Saracens of Aleppo, were fallen into the Territories of the Templars, he was obliged to go instantly to repel these dangerous Neighbours, who made Advantage of his Absence. So that notwithstanding what ever the Legate could remonstrate to him to stop his Journey, he left the Command of the Army to him, and embarked with his Troops, he carried them with him to the City of Acre, promising nevertheless to return and join the Army so soon as he could. But the long stay, which he made to no purpose at Ptolemais, year 1220 without either making War against the Saracens, or in Armenia, made it evident that the reasons, which he alleged to justify his retreat, were nothing but colourable pretences to withdraw himself. So that the Crusades having not sufficient Troops to guard the Conquests, and to march into the field, were constrained to pass the Summer without doing any thing; and in the Interim they writ to the Pope to entreat him to hasten the Supplies of the New Crusades, which were expected; and above all to procure the Emperor Frederick to put himself at the head of them, that so under so great a General, whose Commands no person would presume to dispute, there might be no more such divisions as might retard the progress of the Christian Arms. This Prince who had more than once promised that he would presently accomplish his Vow, yet continually put of the Voyage for reasons, which appeared very plausible, pretended that the present posture of the Affairs of the Empire, would not admit of his Absence; and that he had not yet received the Crown Imperial at Rome, without which at that time they were scarcely thought to be complete Emperors. The Pope therefore to take from him these Excuses, which he had hitherto made use of, sent for him to Rome, where he was solemnly crowned upon St. Cecily's day in St. Peter's Church, together with the Empress Constance his Wife; there he again received the Cross, and renewed his Vow to take the Voyage to the Holy Land, giving his Promise and his Oath to the Pope thereupon; upon which Confidence the Pope writ to Damiata, to encourage the Legate and Crusades, assuring them that in the Month of March in the following year, the Emperor would send before him, the Duke of Bavaria, the Bishop of Metz his Great Chancellor with considerable Succours, and that he himself would follow in the Month of August with all his forces. year 1221 The first part of his Promise he exactly performed, and was something better than his word; for besides that Lewis, Duke of Bavaria, according to his promise embarked in the Spring with above four hundred Lords and Gentlemen, Germans and Italians, who conducted noble Troops, which arrived happily at Damiata; he also rigged out three and forty Galleys out of the Ports of Sicily, under the Command of the Bishop of Catania, Chancellor of that Realm. The Venetians, the Genoese, and the Pisans also brought thither great reinforcements, as did the Arch-Bishops of Milan, of Genoa and Candia, and the Bishop of Brescia, who were accompanied by many Italian Lords; insomuch that the Legate who had a great longing to sight, whilst he commanded the Army, which he had once before drawn out to no purpose to meet the Enemy, and now believed that with this reinforcement, of so many brave Troops, he might more easily execute his Enterprise. He communicated his Design to the principal Commanders of the Army, the Archbishop of Milan, and all the other Bishops, who were constantly in the Council; and they who were very willing to be at his Devotion, were in his Opinion, and all concluded as he did, that such a flourishing Army ought not to lie idle, but that without waiting any longer, they ought to march against the Sultan, who had not had much time to make his Preparations, and who would doubtless perfect his Levies if they should any longer defer attacking of him. But the Duke of Bavaria and so many Lords as accompanied him, and generally all the Commanders, who were not pleased to see a Churchman at the Head of an Army as a General in the day of Battle, were unanimous in the opinion, that since the Emperor could not possibly come so soon as was desired, they ought to expect the King John de Brienne, whom the whole Army desired as their General, and who would most certainly be there in a very small time. And in truth the Pope having understood that this Prince was withdrawn in discontent, under pretence of the difference with the Prince of Antioch for the Kingdom of Armenia, had writ to him in very pressing Terms to oblige him to return to Damiata; and all the Lords of the Army, who were resolved to have a Captain of his Quality and Valour, pressed him so strongly to return and take the Command of the Army, that in four or five days he arrived at Damiata; and that which augmented the Joy of this happy return, which was so welcome, and had been so long hoped and wished by the Army was, that Count Matthew, Governor of Pavia for the Emperor, came almost at the same time to anchor in the Port of Damiata with eight Galleys, which Frederick, year 1221 who was then in his Kingdom of Sicily, had sent as a reinforcement, upon which were seven hundred of the most brave among the Nobility and Gentry of Sicily, who in their passage having met with twelve great Ships of the Saracens had sunk four, chased the rest, and taken two of them, whom they brought in as the Trophies of their Victory to Damiata. In this time Meledin, who had had leisure to make advantage of this sad division, which still continued between the King of Jerusalem and the Legate Pelagius, being marched out of Grand Cairo, accompanied with his two Brothers, Coradin, Sultan of Damascus, and Seraph, Sultan of Aleppo, and the greatest part of his Allies, which together made the greatest Army, which they had ever had, came and posted himself a little above the place, where the Pelusiack and Tanitick, the two Eastern Chanals of the Nilus, divide themselves from each other; there he retrenched himself very strongly, and built a Fortress which he called the new Damiata, with two Bridges, one upon the Pelusiack Chanal, for the Convenience of Communication with Grand Cairo, which lies upon the Bank of the Nile on the right hand; and the other upon the Tanitick, to make his Excursions as far as Damiata, that by this means he might draw the Christian Army into a Country where he believed he should most assuredly ruin them without running the hazard of coming to a Battle. And the Success proved better for him than he had foreseen or could have imagined. For immediately after the arrival of the King of Jerusalem, a great Council was held to determine, what was to be undertaken with so brave an Army as was then together. There this Prince with great Judgement gave his Opinion, That besides that it was extreme dangerous to engage the Army in such a Country, particularly at that season of the year, when the Nilus began to swell in order to its constant Immdation, it was also to no purpose to make any further Conquests there, which would weaken the Army, and not conduce in the least to the great end, which they had proposed to themselves. For having Damiata and Tanis, which were the two strongest places of Egypt, and the two Keys of the Kingdom towards Palestine, they would certainly hinder the Sultan, who durst never leave these two strong places behind him, from going to the Assistance of his Brother Coradin; and that before he could possibly regain them, they might easily reconquer all the Holy Land, and rebuild Jerusalem, which was the ultimate end of the Crusade: And that after this, if the Christians of the West, had a desire to recover Egypt from the Insidels, they might make another Crusade, to the Success whereof, a King of Jerusalem well established in his Dominions, might contribute very much. But on the other part the Legate, who after the taking of Damiata, to which without doubt, he had contributed in a great measure, and after the Retreat of John de Brienne, which shown that he was in fear of him, was now become more hot, fierce and untractable, strongly opposed this advice. And seeing himself supported in his Opinion, not only by the Bishops, but by the greatest part of the Crusades, who were lately come, who desired nothing so much as to see the Enemy, he said a hundred things with more heat than Prudence, to prove, That this was to betray the Common Cause, to let such a fair opportunity escape them of cutting in pieces a patched Army, and consequently the taking of Grand Cairo, which had no manner of Fortifications, capable of resisting them; That besides that this would be the most Illustrious action in the World, for the Glory of the Christian Name, this was to strike directly at the Foundation of the Saracen Empire, and the way to reverse it from the top to the bottom; that after this glorious Conquest there would remain nothing either in Palestine or Syria, that could oppose the victorious Arms of the Christians. And in short this Legate, who was of an humour extremely Martial, said so much, and that with Menaces of Excommunication against those who should oppose it, that the most ancient Captains among the Crusades, who when they had before opposed this Prelate, had not done it, but that the King was at their head; and the King himself fearing, that he should render himself suspected and might make the Soldiers believe, that he acted only for his particular Interest, suffered himself at length to be hurried down this impetuous Torrent, and concluded as the rest to come to a Battle. It was then in the Month of July, that the Christian Army, composed of above seventy thousand men, without computing those who were aboard the Fleet, year 1221 which consisted in a great number of Vessels, marched directly against the Sultan towards Cairo, which is about thirty Leagues from Damiata. They marched between the two Eastern Branches of the Nile, the Fleet being upon their right hand, which sailed up the Tanitique Arm, to furnish them with Provisions, and if there were occasion to combat the Vessels of the Saracens. Immediately all the Enemies which were in the Field fled and retired to the main Body of the Saracen Army on the other side the River; and the Christians taking this flight for a happy presage of their Victory, marched pleasantly, almost as far as the halfway towards Cairo, to the Angle which these two Arms of the Nile make, where they must of necessity stop, by reason that the Enemy was encamped on the other side the River, and which was extremely difficult and dangerous to pass in view of an Army more numerous than theirs. Now though the Sultan saw his Design begin to thrive so well, he having drawn the Christians to the place which he desired, yet nevertheless seeing them in so good a condition, and that they were much stronger than he had believed, he was afraid that they would at last, in despite of all his Art and Force, find some way to pass the River; the Christians having more than once before this done the same in the sight of stronger Armies than his: For this reason therefore, having no mind to be constrained to expose his Empire to the hazard of a Battle, which he was afraid he might lose, he chose rather once more to offer Peace upon the same conditions which he had before proposed; adding moreover this time that he would leave them in the peaceable possession of Damiata, with its Territories for above six Leagues round about it, provided that they passed no farther. And in truth this was all that which the Crusades could reasonably have desired or wished for; nor was it possible to make a Peace either more glorious or more advantageous to all Christendom; since thereby they would most assuredly recover the whole Realm of Jerusalem, for which only the War was undertaken, without the Expense of one drop of Christian Blood: But it hath been an observation of more than one Ages Experience, that when a Person, who is not acquainted with the Mystery and Profession of War, takes a Fancy in his imagination to the honour of that Employ, and believes that he ought to do some wonderful action to render himself illustrious and considerable by his Arms; there is nothing which he will not do to satisfy that foolish passion, which usually carries him further than his Fear, the common and natural disposition of those people, who become courageous and resolute when they think their Enemies timorous and cowardly. The Legate, who had once before rejected the Propositions of Peace, was now so far from harkening to them, that looking upon this offer of the Sultan's, as an indubitable sign, that he was in his own opinion desperate, and gave all for lost, unless he could weather this dreadful Tempest which hung over his head, he pressed the Commanders now more vigorously than ever, to come to the decision of a general Battle. This Legate was a Spaniard by birth, and by profession a Benedictine Monk, a man of Spirit and great Abilities, but of a Nature extremely fierce, and so mightily Opinionatretive, that Pope Innocent the Third, who had made him Cardinal, had at one time thoughts of depriving him of that Dignity, for opposing himself singly and pertinaciously against a Bulla, which the whole Sacred College had signed in favour of the Cistercian Monks. But that which at this time rendered him more conceited and obstinate in his own Opinion, was that he had the weakness too common in all times to abundance of people, which made him give strange credit to certain Predictions, which still discovered his Vanity and Folly, and with which he continually permitted himself to be abused. For having heard it said in his Country, that there was an old Prophecy which gave assurance, that at that time there should a man go out of Spain, who should ruin and overthrow the Sect and Empire of Mahomet in the East. He had an imagination that he might be that glorious man, who was designed by the Oracle for that mighty Action, and consequently that he ought to attempt all things to finish that admirable Adventure. And this ridiculous Fancy was the reason, that, by obstinately refusing the Peace which the Sultan offered upon conditions so advantageous to the Christians, whilst he coveted all, he lost all. So much doth it import Princes not to trust the manage of their Affairs, year 1221 but to such Persons who govern themselves by no other Rules, but those of Conscience, Reason, Honour, the Public Good, and the true Interest of their Masters. The Sultan, who then perceived that he had to do with people whose presumption had so far blinded them, that they never once perceived the danger into which by an extreme imprudence they had thrown themselves, now had no other thoughts, but how to oppose their passage with all his Forces, in expectation of executing the design which he had form of destroying the Christian Army, without ever drawing his Sword. And in truth he guarded the other Bank of the Nile so well, as it was easy for him to do with those innumerable Troops, which he had disposed in all places where there was any possbility of landing, that they could never come to lay a Bridge, so that they were constrained to stay between the two Chanals of that great River near a Month, wasting the time in little Combats and Skirmishes, with their Arrows cross the River; and in this time the Army was lessened by ten thousand men, who weary of this slow and foolish way of fight, or doubting what would be the Event, and fearing that which happened, retired in good time to Damiata. For the Nile, which at this time continually increases, being now risen to that height which the Sultan expected, he caused the Sluices to be opened, and filled all the great Canals, which cross all the lower Egypt, from the Western Arm of the Nile, which anciently was called Canopus, and afterwards Rossetta, about two miles from Alexandria, to the Pelusian Branch; and having filled these Canals, he brought his Ships in, which passing over to the Tanitique below Damiata, surprised the Christian Fleet, which expected nothing less, for they did not believe they could come thither but by the Tanitique Chanal, and by Damiata, which shut up that passage; and in this surprise the Christians not being upon any Guard, the Saracens, who were for the purpose provided of store of Greek wildfire, set the Ships on fire at their pleasure, and the Christians being unfurnished of Materials to extinguish it, the greatest part of the Ships were burnt, and they hindered the rest without any difficulty, from carrying Provisions to the Army. The Commanders finding now too late, that it was impossible for them either long to subsist there, or to pass further, thought of retreating towards Damiata, marching at a good distance from the River, and the Enemy's Fleet, which they kept upon their left hand; but they had marched but a little way, when the Sultan causing the other Sluices to be opened, all the little Ditches, which cross the Fields were presently filled, and the water continually increasing, all the Country was so drowned in a few hours, that the whole Army found themselves under an inevitable danger of perishing; insomuch that they were forced to do that which nothing but extreme necessity could excuse, by constraining them to accept what Meledin by a most surprising adventure, offered them at the same time to draw them out of that terrible danger, to which they were reduced. For whether it were that this Sultan, who naturally had abundance of humanity, could not see so many Princes and Lords of the highest Quality perish in this miserable manner; or that God, who disposeth absolutely of all hearts, did upon this occasion mollify that of this Egyptian, to save this poor Army; or at last that this Prince, who was Wise and Politic, chose rather presently to draw Damiata out of the hands of the Christians, than to put it to the hazard not to take it at all, though this Army should be lost; it is certain that he offered them a Truce for eight years, which was instantly accepted, upon condition that Damiata should be presently surrendered to him, and that he should reciprocally restore the true Cross, which had been taken by his Uncle Saladin; and that all the Prisoners, which had been taken on both sides, as well in Egypt as in Syria, should be set at liberty. Those who were in Garrison at Damiata made some difficulty of surrendering the place; but as on the one part they were not provided to maintain a long Siege, and that on the other the Sultan that he might be secure of it, would have the King himself, the Legate, and the Duke of Bavaria for Hostages, there was a necessity of yielding it; so that the Treaty was with great sidelity performed on both sides, and Meledin himself did such things as could not be reasonably expected from a Saracen, year 1221 and which at this time would be thought no dishonour to a Christian Prince to do them. For after he had caused the Sluices to be shut up, and the water to be let out to leave the Christians a free passage, he also furnished them with plenty of Provisions for five days, and upon the rendition of Damiata the tenth of September, he sent his Son to attend the King and Princes, and to furnish them magnificently with whatever was necessary for their return either by Sea or Land into Phoenicia. This was the unhappy Effect which was produced by that Division, which always continued during the whole War, between the King of Jerusalem and the Legate Pelagius, who assuredly had done much better, if according to his Profession, and the Intention of him from whom he was sent, he had not gone beyond his Commission, but had applied himself wholly to maintain a perfect Union among the Crusades, and to exhort them to do bravely; leaving the management of the War to the King, whom God hath ordained to carry the Sword, and to make use of it upon occasion as he shall judge most expedient. But that which was still most deplorable, was that this loss of Damiata, was the thing which begot that sad difference between the Emperor and the Holy See, which beginning under Pope Honorius, upon the miscarriage of this Crusade, had those dreadful consequences under the two following Popes, which produced an infinite number of mischiefs to the Church, and in Italy, and were at last the principal cause of the ruin of the Affairs of the Christians in the East. But in regard, that it is in this part of History where the Writers observe the worst measures, and for the most part on the one side and the other fall into the Invective and Declamation, which a Historian ought above all things to avoid, as the most dangerous to his honour, and the credit which he desires to have in the World, I have, therefore, endeavoured to secure myself from that prepossession, which by reason of my profession may render me suspected of partiality; and have resolved faithfully and impartially to relate matters of fact, as I find them in the most Authentic Acts and Records, and in those Author's least liable to Suspicion or Exception, without undertaking to pass my Censure and Judgement, either of the Intentions of People, which only appertains to God; or of the right, which they either had, or had not to do as they then did; leaving this wholly to the pleasure and discretion of the Reader, whom it is necessary that I should first make acquainted with this same Emperor Frederick the Second, of whom there are such different paintings and Portraicts drawn by different Historians. He was then of the Age of near eight and twenty years, of a just Stature and majestic Shape, a good Proportion, and a Complexion strong and vigorous; his Face was very agreeable, his Hair fair, inclining something to yellow, and in the turn of his Mouth, his Forehead, his Eyes, and his whole Face, there was a certain briskness, fine and sprightly, which produced in those who saw him, at the same time both Love and Veneration. As for his Mind, one may truly say that he had there a strange Medley of the admirable good Qualities of his Grandfather, and the ill ones of his Father; for like him he was of temper, very vindicative in the pursuit of his Enemies, severe and vigorous in taking his revenge even to cruelty; not too religious or exact in observing his Promises, nor overburdened with true Piety or Devotion: he was cunning, dexterous, and a notable Dissembler, commonly preferring his Interest before his Conscience; and above all, an excessive lover of the pleasures and delights of Sense, in which he would drown himself sometimes, even to Scandal and Infamy. But on the other part, it must not be concealed or denied, but that he was Master of many most admirable Qualities and Perfections worthy of a Great Prince, even by the confession of his very Enemies. For he had a Heart truly Great and Noble, he was most Liberal and Magnificent, and above all things never failed in plentifully rewarding the Services which were done for him; he was Prudent and Mighty knowing in Affairs of State, and of strong natural Parts and Reason; really brave, and a most excellent Soldier, perfectly a Master in the Trade of War; He had a Mind very quick, apprehensive, and generally knowing, and which being stored with a large stock of acquired Learning, rendered him very able in most of the Liberal Arts, but more particularly in Mechanics, which he knew even to perfection; and that which was still more rare, year 1221 he spoke six several Languages so well, that in any one of them he was able to express himself with ease and Eloquence, either in the Latin, Greek, Italian, French, Germane, or Saracen; he was a great admirer and lover of Learning, and learned men, for whose sake he caused an exact Latin Translation of the Works of Aristotle to be made from the best Copies, Greek and Arabian, of which he made a Present to the University of Bologne. Such in truth was this Prince, of whom Authors writ so differently; the various passions, with which they are possessed, too frequently transporting them with immoderate and unbecoming heat in favour of the several Parties and Interests which they follow, making some of them conceal his Vices, and speak of nothing but his Perfections, whilst others overlooking all his good Qualities, will permit the Reader to see only with their Optics his Vices and his Faults. Now the Emperor having understood in Pavia, where he than was, the sad news of the loss of Damiata, which was brought him from the East by the Great Master of the Teutonick Order, he sent immediately to the Pope, to let him know how great an Affliction this misfortune of the Christian Army was unto him, and to assure him that he would omit nothing, which in the present condition of his Affairs was possible for him to do, to put himself as soon as could be into a condition of going in Person with a powerful Army into Syria. But the Pope, who was strucken with this News, as if it had been a Thunderbolt, and whose Grief admitted of no Consolation, vented his Passion by writing to him in very hard Language, bitterly complaining of him, and accusing him of being the occasion of this Disaster, in so often abusing his good Nature, and putting off his Voyage from time to time, notwithstanding that he stood obliged to the performance of it, both by his Oath and Vow; laying to his charge the guilt of this great blow which Christendom had received by the deplorable loss in Egypt. And after having exhorted him to repair this fault by immediately conducting into Syria the Assistance which he had so often promised, protesting that if he did not do it without any longer amusing the World by his Excuses and Delays, he would declare him, and cause him to be solemnly denounced, to his confusion, an Excommunicate Person throughout the Christian World, as a Sacrilegious Violater of the Vow which he had made unto Almighty God. year 1222 Frederick, who believed that the Galleys of Italy, and the Army of Germany, which he had sent to Damiata; but above all the Importance of the War, which he was obliged to attend in Sicily, were sufficient Excuses for him, was extremely provoked by these Letters and these Menaces. And being of a violent Nature when he was shocked, and the good Fortune, which hitherto in all his Enterprises had attended him, rendering him more fierce and haughty, he openly broke with the Pope, entered upon the Lands of the Church, which he said belonged to the Empire; he chased several Bishops out of the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, who were suspected to favour the Pope, and of his own Authority named others, renewing the Ancient Pretensions of the Kings of Sicily, who affirmed that this Right appertained to them; and to justify his proceed he made a long Deduction in his Manifest, how many and great Subjects he had of Complaint for the Injustices, which he said were done him by Pope Innocent, his Guardian during his Minority, in seizing upon, and usurping his Regalities and Rights; and even by Honorius also, whom he accused to have, contrary to all Justice, exacted many things of him, which he was constrained to yield so much against his will, that so he might receive from him the Imperial Crown, which he could not in Justice have dispensed with himself in denying to place it upon the Head of an Emperor so lawfully Elected, and who had two several times before been Crowned. The Pope, who was very prudent, and of a temper very soft and sweet, was resolved not to carry matters to Extremity; and therefore he answered to these Complaints, that he was a Father; and that his Son though he were disobedient and undutiful, yet was not therefore either a Stranger or an Enemy, so long as there was any hope that he might return to his Duty. He therefore satisfied himself to answer to the Complaints and Reproaches of Frederick with abundance of mildness, in a long Letter, which to speak properly, was a Manifest, or Apology for the Conduct of his Predecessors and his own, year 1222 in reference to this Prince. He exhorted him also by other Letters, full of Tenderness and Reason, seriously to recollect himself, and to consider, that as he was Emperor, he was the Protector of the Church, and that therefore he ought not to oppress her, or take away her Liberties; but to take pity of Christianity in the East, which held up her suppliant hands to him, from whom only she had hopes of being assisted. But whether Frederick was moved by these Remonstrances of the Pope; or whether he feared the dangerous consequences of this Rupture, particularly in Lombardy, where they began to form a great League against him, it is certain that this procedure sweetened both Parties, and that the Emperor satisfied the Pope, taking all his Dominions into his Protection, and that the Pope during all his Pontificate, never proceeded further than these Menaces and anathemas, as may be seen plainly by the Letters of Honorius, and that after this, they both acted by Agreement for the Succour of the Holy Land, in this following manner. They had first a meeting at Veroli, between the Cities of Anagnia and Sora, where after a Consultation of five Days with the Cardinals, they ordained that there should be another Conference, to which were to be invited King John de Brienne, the Legate Pelagius, the Patriarch, and the Great Masters of the Temple and the Hospital, who were better able than any others to give them such an understanding of these Affairs, as might enable them to come to the last Resolution upon them. After which the Emperor sent four Galleys to bring them over, and upon their arrival this famous Conference was appointed to be held in Champagne in Italy the year following. There it was that to engage Frederick more strongly than ever to undertake this Holy War, year 1223 it was agreed by common consent, that this Prince, who had in the preceding year lost the Empress Constantia his Wife, the Daughter of the King of Arragon, should marry the Princess Jolante, the Daughter of King John de Brienne, the Heiress of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, in the Conquest whereof it was believed he would take more Interest than before, when it should be his own Estate for which he was to sight. It was also ordained, that in two Years he should part with all the Forces of the Empire at Midsummer, to which those that were present, and Parties obliged themselves by a Solemn Oath, that whoever should fail in the performance of his Promise, should be Excommunicate. After which the Pope, the Emperor, and the King of Jerusalem parted, every one to endeavour for his part, according to his power, to dispose all things for this Holy War, which was to be begun two Years after. For this purpose, the King of Jerusalem, who was able to do nothing more in Europe, but to solicit the Princes to contribute their part to this War, went to desire the Assistance of England, Spain, Germany, and above all in France, where he arrived a little before the Death of Philip the August, his Benefactor and Protector. This great Prince, who had laboured under a Quartan Ague for above a Year, and who nevertheless did not cease to visit his Provinces, and always to carry himself as a Great King, with all the strength imaginable of a Soul, which did not seem to be concerned at the weakness of the Body, died this Year at the Castle of Mante, the fourteenth day of July, in the eight and fiftieth Year of his Age, and the three and thirtieth of his Reign, which by the Glory of his Actions, by his Heroic Qualities, by his Power, and by the Force of his Arms, he had rendered the most flourishing of all that France had ever seen since that of Charlemain. And as he had worn the Cross in the third Crusade, which was famous for the remarkable winning of the City of Ptolemais; so he gave in his Will a Noble Testimony of the Zeal which he still preserved for the Glory of Jesus Christ, and for the Deliverance of his Holy Sepulchre. For among other Magnificent Effects of his pious Liberality, which are therein to be observed, for the comfort and relief of the Poor, for the Deliverance and Ransom of the Wife of Amauri, Count de Montfort, who was a Prisoner amongst the Albigenses, and for other Works of Christian Piety, he bequeathed three hundred thousand Livres for the Relief of the Holy Land; one hundred thousand to King John de Brienne, and so much to each of the two great Masters of the Temple, and the Hospital; nor was his going of the Theatre of the World less glorious than his Actions on it; year 1223 for there being at that time a Council assembled at Paris against the Albigenses, they all assisted at his Funerals, as did also the King of Jerusalem, who was also present at the Coronation of Lewis the eighth, the Son and Successor of King Philip. As for the Pope, he being persuaded that it was to be in his Papacy, that Palestine was to be reconquered, which was the thing of the World which he most desired, he did all that lay in his power to render the Crusade following most numerous and powerful. He sent new Preachers throughout Europe to excite the People to undertake it; he writ to the Bishops to oblige them to preach it themselves, and to collect all the Money, which the ecclesiastics were obliged to contribute out of their Revenues towards the carrying on of the Holy War. And in short he did all that it was possible for him to do, to oblige the Christian Kings and Princes to make Peace among themselves, and to join their Forces to those of the Emperor, and to march in Person with him to partake of the Glory of delivering the Sepulchre of Jesus Christ. year 1224 The Emperor Frederick also in this time, acted in such a manner as might make it be believed that he applied himself cordially to make preparations for such an Enterprise worthy of himself: For he caused to be built and equipped, in the several Ports of the Kindgdoms of Naples and Sicily, one hundred Galleys very well Armed, and fifty Ships of Burden, able to carry two thousand men at Arms, and their Horses, and ten thousand Foot; besides an infinite of other Vessels, which he had already in other Ports, without accounting those also, which he designed to have from the other Ports of Italy, which all together were sufficient to transport as great an Army of Crusades, as would in probability undertake that Voyage. And in regard that the War, which he then made with the Saracens, who at that time also possessed some part of Sicily, was upon the point of being very fortunately ended, would not permit him to go in person to hold the Diet in Germany to move the Princes to go to this Holy War; he sent thither the great Master of the Teutonick Order, to solicit in his behalf the Duke of Austria, the Landgrave of Thuringia, and the other Princes of the Empire, as also the King of Hungary to prepare for the undertaking of this Enterprise, promising that he would furnish all the Crusades with money, shipping and Provisions, and what ever should be necessary for their transportation. year 1225 Never was there any thing more promising or effective in all appearance than this Application of the Emperor; insomuch that it seemed beyond the Possibility of doubting, but that Frederick would certainly march at the head of a most gallant Army into the East. But whether it were that this Prince feared that his absence might prove extreme prejudicial to him in the present Condition of his Affairs, and that it would encourage the League, which he knew was form against his Interests in Lombardy; or whether it were that he was resolved before his departure to put himself in Possession of the Realm of Jerusalem, by accomplishing his Marriage with Jolante; or possibly that he thought it wholly unjust and ungenerous to break the Truce, which had been made with the Sultan's, Meledin and Coradin, by which the whole Christian Army was saved, which must otherwise have infallibly perished; it is certain that upon a request, which was presented to Honorius upon the Part of the Emperor, the Pope after having thereupon taken the Advice of the Sacred College, consented that the Voyage should be put off for two years, accounting from the Month of August in the Year 1225, till the same Month in the Year 1227, and he also consented to those advantageous Conditions, which Frederick himself proposed, and to which he obliged himself in the City of St. , in the presence of his Barons, inviolably to observe, upon pain of Excommunication, which the Cardinals of Albano, and St. Martin, the Pope's Legates to conclude this treaty, were instantly to pronounce against him in case of his Failure in the Performance of what he had promised. year 1226 Not long after the Princess Jolante, for whom the Emperor had sent the Archbishop of Capua with fourteen Galleys, happily arriving at Brindes, she was conducted by him to Rome, where the Ceremonies of their Marriage having been performed by the Pope, she was in St. Peter's Church crowned Empress and Queen of Jerusalem, with a marvellous applause of the People of Rome, who never made their joy more conspicuous, year 1226 than by all the magnificent Testimonies of rejoicing, upon this occasion. But the satisfaction, which John de Brienne received from this Marriage, which was of his own procuring, and which he looked upon as his principal support, did not continue long. For Frederick, who was resolved to have the present enjoyment of what he desired, and could not persuade his hope to live upon the spare diet of future incertainty, told his Father-in-Law, that he was absolutely resolved from that moment, to have the Sovereignty, the Rights, the Titles and the Demesnes of the Realm of Jerusalem, which appertained to him, as the Dowry of the Empress his Wife, and that he would not permit any other to enjoy them. This Poor Prince to whom the Great Master of the Teutonick Order, had promised upon the Treaty of this Marriage, that he should during his life enjoy the Realm of Jerusalem, was strangely surprised at this discourse, which he had so little expected. But as he was not in a condition to oppose the Will of an Emperor, who was resolved to make himself be obeyed, and moreover that the disobliging manner, with which he was treated, made him sensible that the Emperor was highly incensed against him, there was a necessity that he should strip himself of all, and renounce all his Rights and pretensions to that Realm to yield it to Frederick; and ever since that time the Kings of Naples and Sicily, have added in their bearing the Cross of Jerusalem to their other Arms. It had like also to have happened, that the Emperor, not contented to have despoiled him of his Kingdom, failed but little of taking his life also, as well as that of his Nephew Gautier, Count de Champagne, the Son of him who had done such gallant actions in the Kingdom of Naples, in the time of Pope Innocent. For some People having put it into the Emperor's head, that this Count, who was the Son of the Daughter of Tancred, King of Sicily, pretended a Right to that Kingdom, and that his Uncle secretly encouraged and assisted him in caballing and making a strong Party to seize upon it, this suspicion had like to have cost them both their lives; for there is nothing, which makes Princes so easily dip their hands in Blood as Jealousy of State, a disease, which, when once it gets the Possession of the minds of Great men, drives them to the most outrageous Extremities, so that it hath been often seen, that neither the Fathers have spared their Children, nor Children their Parents, when the Jealousy hath been concerning Crowns and Sceptres. The Uncle and the Nephew therefore to secure themselves, not trusting to the good Intervals of an humour, which rarely is able wholly to overcome even the most groundless suspicious, thought best to retire out of the reach of danger, the Count into his Earldom of Brienne in Champagne, and King John to Rome, where he put himself under the Protection of the Pope, who had a wonderful esteem for this Prince, and who to no purpose did what he could by his Remonstrances, and by his entreaties, to oblige Frederick to restore the Crown of Jerusalem to him for his Life; but not being able to prevail, that he might in some manner comfort him for his disgrace, he made him Governor of the greatest part of the Ecclesiastic Dominions. But although this discreet Pope, had no great reason to be satisfied, with a proceeding of the Emperor so little obliging; nevertheless as he desired nothing so much, as to quiet all those discords and Wars, which might be prejudicial to that, which he so much desired, should be made against the Enemies of Jesus Christ and his Church, he did not forbear doing what was most advantageous for the Emperor's Interest, insomuch that he persuaded the greatest part of the Cities of Lombardy, who were confederated against him, to lay down their Arms; and obliged himself to obtain their Peace and pardon, with the Conservation of their Privileges, and Immunities, upon condition that they should at their own charge, maintain a certain number of Soldiers to serve under the Emperor for two years, in the Holy War. It was for the same reason that he hindered Henry the third, King of England, from Enterprizing any thing against France, whilst Lewis the eighth made War against the Albigenses. That King prosecuted the War against them with so much heat and Zeal, that he did not spare continually to expose his Royal Person to all hazards and dangers; and after having taken Avignion, and the greatest part of the considerable places in Languedoc, he was seized with that dangerous Malady, which was got into his Army, year 1226 of which he died at Montpensier, the eight of November in the fourtieth Year of his Age, and the third of his Reign, leaving for his Successor his eldest Son, Lewis the ninth, of the Age of twelve years, under the Regence of the Queen his Mother, Blanch of Castille. This was he who by the August Surname of Lewis the Saint, which was given him by God, by the Authority which he hath given to his Church, hath made himself be more gloriously distinguished by that title since his death, than all other Kings have done during their lives, by all the most Illustrious Surnames and most magnificent appellations, which men have bestowed upon them. At last the term drawing near, wherein the Emperor had obliged himself to begin this Voyage, and that all things appeared better disposed than ever they had been before to the undertaking, the Pope believed that the deciding Blow, which he had so long desired, was now certainly to be given: And therefore redoubling his Efforts, as one shall see a Flambeau blaze out twice or thrice with mighty Force before it is extinguished, so he pressed the Crusades with so much Ardour, that an infinite number of them came from all Europe into Italy; it is reported that out of England alone there came above sixty thousand men, to whom the appearance of a marvellous Crucifix from Heaven all glorious and shining, in which were plainly to be seen the five Wounds, had given so much Courage, that they desired nothing so much as to combat and to die for Jesus Christ. But as this devout Pope believed that he should enjoy upon Earth the Fruit of so much care and pains as he had taken to assemble so many Crusades, he was taken more happily for himself to receive them in Heaven; from whence he might see, though without trouble, in a small time after, that which would have sufficiently afflicted him in this life, that the Success of this Crusade proved quite otherways than he had vainly flattered himself withal in the time of his Pontificate. But that a man may therefore never be disappointed, there is nothing better than for any Person constantly to do what he ought to do, and what he can do, without promising himself any certainty of future contingencies and Events, for which God alone is able to answer. year 1227 He died at Rome the sixth of March in the Year 1227; and two days after the Sacred College by common consent, gave him for his Successor, the famous Hugoline Cardinal of Ostia, who took the name of Gregory the ninth. He was Nephew to Innocent the third, who had employed him in the most important Affairs of the Church; a man of a mighty Spirit, well made, and of a Port extremely Majestic, very knowing, a great Canonist, and of an irreproachable Life, to whom St. Francis, whose order he took into his Protection, had predicted that he should be Pope. He was in short of great Courage, and incapable of yielding even in the greatest dangers, but withal too quick in Execution of what he proposed without fearing the Consequences how mischievous soever they might happen to be. The first thing that he did after his Exaltation, was to pursue the Enterprise of his Predecessor, and to press the Emperor Frederick to put himself as soon as it was possible into a Condition to perform what he had so solemnly promised. This Prince, who after so many delays, durst no longer desire the time to be prolonged, appointed the Rendezvouz to be at Brindes, where the Shipping lay all ready for the Transportation of that Infinite number of Crusades, who descended from all parts of Italy. But as they came into Pavia, during the great heats of the Summer, which in that Country are excessive, an Epidemical Distemper began to disperse itself among them, which took off a great number, and made others withdraw themselves, though few of them ever returned into their own Country, but perished miserably by the Way. That which further contributed to the diminution of the Army, was, that a certain Imposture, set up by some of the Principal Persons in Rome, who had no kindness for the Pope, as it appeared presently after, counterfeited an Authority and Power from Gregory, who had appointed him his Vicar, for that purpose, to take of the Cross from such as desired to be dispensed with, as to the Performance of the Voyage, and to commute their Vow into some considerable Alms, of which this Cheat made his own advantage. It is true that he was taken by the order of the Pope, year 1227 and paid the price of his imposture; but it was not till after many, who were very glad to be dispensed with from a Voyage, which they found already to be troublesome and dangerous, had quitted the Cross by this Way, which they believed was a very lawful and authentic way of being disbanded. In short, those who remained into Pavia came to Brindes, with the Emperor, and Lewis, Landgrave of Thuringia and Hesse, who had conducted a gallant Troop of Germans, who were embarked about the middle of August, and sailed towards Syria, not doubting but they should be followed by the Emperor, who seemed continually disposed and ready to part thither also. And accordingly so soon as he saw the Landgrave a little recovered of some Fits of a Fever, which he had gotten in a little Island near Brindes, whether he had gone to divert himself, he put to Sea the eight of September with this Prince and the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and those few Troops which remained. But he sailed not far, for the third day of the Navigation, he commanded them of a sudden to tack about, and stand for the Port of Otranto, alleging that he found himself much indisposed, and that in the Condition wherein he was, he could not possibly brook the Sea. But this little Voyage was very unfortunate to the poor Landgrave, for the Fever redoubling upon him, he died in a few days after, receiving the Sacrament from the hands of the Patriarch with great Piety and Devotion. He was a Prince of an extraordinary merit, and had so well profited by the Admirable Example of his Wise St. Elizabeth, the Daughter of Andrew, King of Hungary, to whom he did not yield in Sanctity; and it is said that it pleased God to make his Piety more resplendent after his death by divers Miracles, which were done at his Tomb. I cannot affirm positively what effect the death of this Prince had upon the Soul of Frederick; or whether he believed, that it furnished him with a specious Pretext to break of his Voyage; but it is certain that after this he thought no more of departing; but continually pretended that his Malady was the Obstacle to it; insomuch that near forty thousand Crusades, who were gone before him, hearing this news they also suddenly returned to Brindes, and from thence into their respective Countries. Now the Pope, who was then at Anagnia, being informed in what manner the Emperor, after having begun the Voyage, had broken it off, he was seized with an excessive Grief, seeing all the hopes, which he had of the happy Success of this Crusade, vanished in a moment. He had no Consideration of what was alleged concerning the Indisposition of the Emperor; he believed that it was all a Fiction, and nothing but a false pretext, which this Prince made, who notwithstanding all his Oaths, had no Inclination to accomplish his Vow, thereby to elude the Punishments both of God and man. And therefore without deferring any longer, and without having recourse to Menaces, or so much as giving him any notice of it, or giving him longer time as had been done before, he went in his Pontifical Robes, accompanied with the Cardinals and the Prelates, the nine and twentieth day of September, being St. Michael's day, to the great Church, where he solemnly declared him excommunicate, according to the Sentence to which he himself had voluntarily submitted before the two Legates of the late deceased Pope. At the same time he writ to the Princes, and Bishops throughout all Christendom his circular Letters, wherein he shown the reasons which had obliged him to have recourse to this severe Method, which was the Crimes, the Perjuries and the Artifices of the Emperor; and especially, That having nothing in readiness for the transportation of the Crusades at the time prefixed, that he had with a form design of mischief stopped them, that so the greatest part of the Army might perish by the Intemperance of the Air, during the excessive heats of the year as accordingly it had unfortunately happened. And in short, he said, that this Prince nevertheless having not the Power to stop them all, but that in despite of his detestable Arts, there still remained a great number, who having set sail for Syria, he had basely abandoned them, under the pretence of a feigned Sickness, by the most abominable Artifice, that so he might return into his Realm and there plunge himself in his scandalous Debauches. On the contrary, Frederick furiously incensed against the Pope, and resolving, being as he was, Potent and Vindicative, to carry matters to the utmost Extremities of Revenge, failed not also on his part to send to all the Kings of Europe, year 1227 and to all the Princes of the Empire, his Manifest in answer to the Pope's Letters, wherein, After having protested, that the pressing Affairs of his Estate, and the War, which he was constrained to make against his Rebels, had obliged him to desire those prolongations of time from the Pope, which could not with any manner of Justice be denied him; That he took God to Witness, that it was not feigned but a real Indisposition of Body, which hindered him from pursuing that Holy Voyage, which he had begun with a most real Intention of performing it; and that in despite of the Injustice, which was done him, he was resolved so soon as he was in a Condition for it, to undertake it anew. And then enlarging himself in sharp Invectives, against the abuses and the Crimes, whereof he accused the Court of Rome, he did what he could to interest all Crowned heads in that which he said was their several and particular concern; and to persuade them to unite with him, to oppose those Usurpations, which were designed against them and their temporal Rights which they held only and immediately from God alone. These Letters, which on both sides were with great diligence dispatched to all places, produced the Effects, which are usual in such quarrels as happen between Great men, which is to divide into parties the People and the Writers of those times; some declaring themselves for the Pope, others for the Emperor, and both the one and the other, accusing their adverse Party of Calumnies and Impostures. But the Emperor, who was resolved to make use of other Arms besides Invectives, that he might make his Vengeance the more remarkable, instead of seeking for the Favour of absolution as the Pope by his Letters invited him to do, found means to chase the Pope from Rome. For having got to him the Frangepanis, year 1228 and divers other great Lords, and Roman Barons, who endeavoured nothing so much as powerfully to establish their own Fortunes; He made them Princes and Feudatories of the Empire, after a manner very advantageous unto them. For he bought all their Lands for ready Money, which he presently surrendered to them again to be held of him in Fee, by making them take an Oath to do him true and Faithful Service, and to obey all his Orders without exception; so that upon their return to Rome, the Pope having upon Holy Thursday anew excommunicated the Emperor, they raised against him such a horrible Sedition among the People, who in those times did not love the Domination of the Popes, that he was constrained to quit Rome, and for his Security to retire to Perusa. In the mean time the Emperor, who omitted nothing to satiate his Revenge, terribly prosecuted the ecclesiastics, whom he believed to adhere to the Pope, ravaging their Lands, and the Patrimony of the Church by the Saracens, whom he had transported out of Sicily into Pavia, pillaging and Sacking the Houses of the Templars, and the Hospitallers, whom he held for Enemies; and by his Lieutenants making a most cruel War in the Duchies of Spoleta and Beneventum, and in the Marquisate of Ancona, from whence King John de Brienne, whom Gregory set to oppose him as his particular Enemy, repulsed his Troops, being speedily assisted by a powerful Succour from the Lombard's, who upon this occasion manifested a very great Zeal for the Service of the Church. But all these Hostilities did not at last hinder Frederick from taking the resolution to undertake the Voyage into Palestine; to which he found himself obliged by many reasons. For that it might appear that the Sickness which he had made use of for the Excuse of his delay, was not feigned, he had engaged his Word to all the Princes of Europe, that so soon as his health would permit him he would pass into Syria, and that being now very well established, there was a necessity that he should make good his Promise, lest otherwise he might incur the disfavour, and ill opinion of so many great Princes, as he should thereby delude. Moreover the Patriarch of Jerusalem, to whom he had given two Galleys at Otranto, and all the other Commanders of the Crusades, who were already passed into Syria had writ the most pressing Letters to the Pope, which he sent all over Europe to oblige all Faithful People to go to the relief of their Christian Brethren in Palestine. Besides, Frederick was afraid lest John de Brienne should put himself at the head of those, who would go and recover the Kingdom of which he had despoiled him. And in short the Empress Jolante, who died after her Lying-in, had left him a Son called Conrade, who assuring the Crown of Jerusalem to his House, well deserved that he should be at the Pains to recover it out of the hands of the Saracens; year 1228 so that all these things considered he resolved, notwithstanding the War, which he had with the Pope, to pass over into Palestine. For this purpose having assembled all the Great men of his Realm at Barletta, and those of Germany, who had followed him into Italy he ascended a Throne, which he had caused to be erected in the middle of a great field filled with an infinite number of People, who flocked from all parts to this new and magnificent Spectacle, and in this lofty manner he was resolved to declare his intention, that so it might make the greater noise in the World, and persuade the whole Earth, that he looked upon this Enterprise of the Conquest of Palestine, as an Affair which lay nearest to his heart, and which he esteemed of the greatest Importance of all others. There he caused his last Will and Testament to be publicly read, in which he declared at large what was his desire in case it pleased God to dispose of his life in this dangerous Voyage, and obliged all the Sicilian and Neapolitan Nobility, to promise with an Oath, that they would see it performed, unless they received another Written with his own hand. And this without doubt was capable of blinding abundance of People, and destroying the report, which ran currant, that whatever he had done hitherto was only perfect Pageantry to amuse the World; and that notwithstanding his repeated Vows, promises and oaths, he never had any real intention of putting himself at the head of the Crusades for the Conquest of the Holy Land. And after all this, it must be avowed, that the end did not at all correspond with these specious Beginnings. For leaving the greatest part of his Forces with Renard Duke of Spoleta, whom he declared Vicegerent of the Empire, in Italy, and his Lieutenant General in the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, he gave him Order to continue the War, with the Pope; and in the Month of August, he himself embarked upon twenty Galleys with such a retinue and an Army, as for the smallness of their number, were neither becoming the Majesty of such a potent Prince, nor proportionable to the Enterprise in which he was engaged: Insomuch that the Pope, who had the greatest Interest in this Affair, wherein the general good of the Church and the Honour of the Christian Name was so nearly concerned, sent a Prohibition to him, absolutely forbidding him to concern himself with the Holy War; it being as he said altogether insupportable, that a Prince, who was cut off from the Body of the Church by the Anathema, should appear at the head of the Army of God against the Infidels; and besides that he had nothing near the number either of shipping or of Soldiers, which by his Oath he was obliged to carry to the Holy Land, and that with that small Fleet he went rather like a Pirate than an Emperor. But Frederick the more enraged against Gregory for this Ambassage, whom he no longer now regarded but as his mortal Enemy, embarked himself and set sail in the view of the Pope's envoyes, to whom he would not condescend to give any other answer than what they received from the Sterns of his Galleys; And after having as he passed by, determined to his own advantage, a difference in the Isle of Cyprus, which he had with the Lord of Baruch, the Governor of the Young King Henry, he arrived prosperously at the Port of Acre, the Eve of the Nativity of our Lady. The Patriarch accompanied with his Clergy and People came to meet him, and received him with all the Honours which were due to an Emperor, but withal protested to him with great Freedom, that it was not permitted him to communicate or treat with his Imperial Majesty, till such time as he should have received Absolution from the Pope, to whom he most humbly entreated him to apply himself above all things, and to obtain this Favour from him, without which God would never bless his designs; and this he repeated to him several times after upon occasion. And this was the first cause of the rapture between this Prince and the Patriarch, who afterwards writ Letters against him into Europe full of sharpness and Injuries; And I must needs affirm that it hath not been possible for me to persuade myself to write my History after such Copies, as many others have done, upon the disposition of one Witness, who appears so Choleric and transported with Anger; and which is an Injury, which the meanest Person in the World before any equitable Judge would have reason to complain of, and think himself unfairly dealt withal, if being accused in such a manner, he should be condemned. Of such Importance it is to those who writ, year 1228 that when they relate the truth, if they desire to gain Credit and Reputation, they ought to do it in such a Fashion, as may not render them suspected, by mingling Invective, satire, and Passion with it, which always gives the Reader just occasion to suspect them guilty of Partialty. As for Frederick he did not show much resentment in this Rencontre, but after he had received the Compliments of the Princes and Lords of the Crusade, he satisfied himself with protesting to them, as he had ever done, that his Indisposition was the only Cause, which had obstructed his Voyage till that time; and that also the Sentence, which the Pope had pronounced against him, without giving him the hearing, and without informing himself in a judicial Way of the truth of his case, was therefore in its own Nature null and void. After which he took an Account of the Affairs of the Country, which were then in this Condition. After the Departure of the great number of Crusades, who had quitted Palestine the preceding year, upon the new retardment of the Emperor's Voyage, there were not then in Palestine remaining of the new comers, more than about eight hundred men at Arms, and ten thousand Foot, besides the Knights, which the Great Masters of the three Orders had upon the place. All these Crusades had chosen for their General, Henry, Duke of Limbourg, who after a long deliberation with the Officers of the Army, the Patriarch and the Bishops of Caesarea and Nazareth, and those of Oxford and Winchester in England, seeing themselves too weak to attack Coradin, they had employed themselves in the rebuilding and Fortification of Caesarea, and some other little Maritime places, resolving to do the same to Jaffa, in expectation of the Succours, which were to come from Europe. In this time Coradin died, leaving for his Successor his Son Melesel, of the Age of twelve years, under the Tutelage and Regency of the Emir Esedinebec: Hereupon the Sultan's his' Neighbours failed not to enterprise immediately against him; and this doubtless was of great advantage to the Crusades, who were not only delivered from the most formidable of their Enemies, but saw them also engaged in Civil Wars. This was the State of the Christian Affairs at the arrival of the Emperor, who was not able to prevent it, but that many of this small number of Crusades, believing that they had satisfied their Vow by a Years Service, returned by the Conveniency of passage, which they had that Autumn. On the other part, the Sultan of Egypt, who always maintained a good Intelligence with his Brother Coradin, was come to the Assistance of his Nephew with a potent Army, and was encamped at Napolose, anciently Sichem or Sichar, where he expected the coming up of all the Forces of Damascus, who were to join with his. Upon this, whether the Emperor believed that he could not with those few Troops he had, undertake this War but to his dishonour; or whether it was that the matter was so preconcerted betwixt him and the Sultan before his coming thither, as the common report went, although there is no manner of Foundation for it in History; or which is most probable, that he had a great desire to return with all Expedition into Italy; it is certain that he sent Count Thomas his Confident, and Balian, Lord of Tyre, to Meledin, to whom, after they had in the Emperor's name made magnificent presents, they acquainted him, That it was not at all the desire of their Master, that there should be any thing betwixt them two, which might prevent their living in perfect Amity; That Frederick, who was the most potent Prince in Christendom, was not come into the East to make new Conquests there, for that he was possessed of such large Dominions in the West, as were capable to satisfy the vastest Ambition; That the great reason of his coming, was to visit the Holy places, and to redemand the Realm of Jerusalem, which the Christians had conquered, and for so long a time possessed, and which appertained to his Son, in right of the Empress Jolante, his Mother, who was the Queen and the lawful Inheretrix of that Kingdom; That if he were satisfied in a demand so just and reasonable, he was ready to return into Europe without drawing his Sword; and therefore desired the Sultan, that by an unjust refusal he would not be the occasion of shedding so much humane Blood which might be spared, there having been so much already miserably spilt in so many cruel Battles, as had been already fought upon this quarrel. year 1228 Meledin, who had a Soul naturally inclined to mildness and to peace, as had most evidently appeared in the War of Damiata, gave the Ambassadors a favourable Audience, and promised that he would send Ambassadors of his own, who should carry to the Emperor his Answer in an Affair of that Importance, and having made them very rich Presents he sent them back to Frederick; whilst these matters were in Agitation, two Cordeliers, who came immediately from Rome, presented the Patriarch, and the three great Masters of the Military Orders, Letters from the Pope; by which he strictly prohibited them from giving any Obedience to the Emperor, and appointed the Patriarch to declare him Excommunicate: now as this could not be done without making a mighty noise, the Sultan was quickly by his Intelligencers made acquainted with it; and therefore seeing that besides that the Emperor had but a very slender Army, he was in danger of having the fortune to be ill obeyed; but yet nevertheless being very willing to deliver himself from the continual Fear which he had of some new Crusade, which was only to be done by some good and long Truce; and not doubting but now he had an opportunity to do it as he pleased; he put on a Countenance something fierce and haughty, as if he were very indifferent in the matter; however he sent his Ambassadors, who from him were to acquaint the Emperor, That he was far from refusing his Amity, but for that which concerned the Article of Jerusalem, that which was desired of him, was of such a Nature, that neither his Conscience, his Honour, nor his Religion would permit him to agree to it; in regard that the Saracens themselves had as great a Veneration for the Temple of the Lord, whither they resorted from all Parts, to worship God, as the Christians had for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, to which they came in Pilgrimage to adore Christ Jesus. But that nevertheless, if his Imperial Majesty would please to send new Ambassadors to their Master, he would make such reasonable Propositions, as that he should have cause to find himself very well satisfied. And thereupon they presented the Emperor from him with a huge Elephant, several admirable Camels, and divers other rare Animals of Egypt and Arabia: And Frederick, after having magnificently treated them, and honoured them with Noble Presents, sent them back with his Ambassadors to treat with the Sultan. That Prince, who was resolved to come to his Ends, in the manner which he had form in his own Imagination, did not presently give them Audience, but only made them be informed that they must follow him to the City of Gaza, whither he marched with his Army, leaving that of the Sultan of Damascus, his Nephew, at Napolose. This procedure made the Emperor Frederick believe, that Meledin had a Design to affront him, and therefore having caused all the Captains to Assemble, he acquainted them, that according to the resolution which they had taken, he thought it convenient to march with the Army to Jaffa, and to fortify it, thereby to secure the passage to Jerusalem, they all submitted to his Orders, except the two great Masters of the Templars and Hospitallers, who said in plain terms, that the Pope, to whom they owed obedience, had forbidden them to obey an Excommunicate Prince, and that therefore if the Orders were issued out in his Name, they would not obey them. The Emperor extremely surprised by an answer so little expected, seemed to slight it, and therefore presently put himself upon his March; but at last, when he saw these two great Bodies separated from the rest of the Army, and that there was reason to fear, that many others might be induced to follow their Example, so that he should be in a manner wholly diserted by all, except the Germans, who always continued their Fidelity to him; he made a great attempt upon himself, and reserving his Vengeance for another time, he consented that his Lieutenants should give out his Orders, not in his Name, but in the behalf of God and Christendom; and thereupon the whole Army being reunited, they continued their March to Jaffa, where they fell to work upon the Fortifications, which nevertheless were presently interrupted by the News which was received from Italy. For whilst he did all these things directly contrary to the Pope's prohibitions, which he despised and contemned, Gregory, who had been attacked in that time by his Lieutenants, who spoilt the Lands of the Church, had with the assistance of his Allies raised two good Armies, which under the Conduct of King John de Brienne, and the Counts de Celano and Aquila, his Lieutenants, year 1228 did not only drive the Imperialists out of the Marquisate of Ancona, into which they had fallen, but also pursued them into the Realm of Naples, where, after they had taken the strong place of St. German, they made themselves Masters of all the others even to Capua. And in the mean time the confederate Cities of Lombardy, solicited by the Cardinal of St. Martin, who was sent Legate to Milan for that purpose, declaring themselves for the Pope, made War against the other Cities, who were of the Emperor's Party: And after this not only the Villages of these Provinces, but the Families of the same City, being divided into these two furious Factions, which by an odd name, the Original of which is very uncertain, were called the Guelphs and the Gibelins; the first of which held for the Pope, and the other for the Emperor: these two Factions did in all places an infinite of mischief, shilling the Cities and the Villages with Desolations, Ruins, Massacres and Fires; this implacable hatred, which they had entertained one against another, arming them to their mutual destruction, and to the commission of all the most barbarous Inhumanities', and most detestable Crimes. Such are generally the miserable Consequences of the differences of Princes, in which those, who take their part, having neither their Intentions, Sentiments, nor Manners, frequently run into those transports and excesses of Fury, which bring neither Reputation nor Advantage to the Cause which they support, and, which those Princes are so far from esteeming acceptable Services, that they are the first in condemning such false Zeal, and horrible brutality. year 1229 This news of the Progress of the Pope's Army, was such a surprise to Frederick, and affrightned him so much, that to expedite his return, he was resolved to comply with the Sultan almost at any rate, and therefore sending Count Thomas with one of his Secretaries to him, they concluded a Truce for ten Years upon these conditions. That the Sultan should yield the City of Jerusalem to Frederick, together with the Cities of Bethlehem, Nazareth, Thoron, and Sajeta, or Sidon, and the Villages, which are directly upon the Road between Jerusalem and Jaffa; That it should be lawful for the Christians to fortify these places, and to rebuild the Walls of Jerusalem, of which the Emperor might dispose as he pleased, excepting only the Temple, with its appendages, which was to be reserved to the Saracens, with liberty there to perform all the Exercises of their Law; That the City of Tripoli, the Principality of Antioch, and the other places, which did not appertain to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, should not be comprised in this Treaty, and that the Emperor should not permit the Christians to assist them. This Treaty was mutually signed between them in the Month of February, and though the Patriarch, who did not approve of it, nor would have any Commerce with the Emperor, did not only refuse to perform the Ceremonies of his Coronation, but had also interdicted all the Churches of Jerusalem if he should attempt to go thither; yet he did nevertheless, make his Public Entry there, as it were in Triumph, upon the seventeenth day of March, followed by his whole Army, all the Prohibitions of the Patriarch being not able to hinder him from visiting the Holy Sepulchre The next day, which was the third Sunday in Lent, he went clothed in his Imperial Habit, with abundance of Pomp and Majesty to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where after having said his private Devotions, there being not found any one, who by reason of the interdict durst attempt to celebrate the Divine Mysteries, he caused a Crown of Gold to be placed upon the great Altar, and without troubling himself about the Ceremonies, which the Church is wont to observe in the Coronation of Kings, he went himself up to the Altar, and taking the Crown, he placed it upon his Head, and with his own hands crowned himself King of Jerusalem, with the mighty Acclamations of the Germans, and the Knights of the Teutonick Order, who highly approved of this Action, as well as the Treaty, which the Emperor had made. At the same time he writ to the Pope, and to all Christian Kings and Princes, Letters, by which he invited them in most Pompous and Magnisicent Terms, to render solemn thanks unto Almighty God, who had in this manner, by a miraculous Effect of his Power happily finished this Enterprise without Effusion of Christian Blood, and almost without Forces, which so many great Princes had not been able to execute with the most potent Armies, and after so many cruel Battles, which had been fought to oblige the Infidels to restore to the Christians the Holy City, year 1229 with the Sepulchre of Jesus Christ, for which so many Crusades had been made; and in Conclusion he made a Relation of all the Advantages, which he pretended were to be drawn from this Treaty. But on the other part, the Patriarch writ to the Pope, and to all Christian People, long Letters, in which he complains bitterly of Frederick, whom he treats in such a manner, as at the least one must say, is very injurious; there he endeavours to lay open the Shame, the Dishonour, and Illusion of the Treaty, by which he maintains, that Frederick hath betrayed Christianity; First, because it is most shameful to have the Saracens share the Holy City with the Christians; Secondly, because the Sultan of Damascus, having never given his consent to the Agreement, the Treaty signified just nothing; and in short, that all those places, which were in show, yielded to the Emperor, were in reality as much the Saracens, as they were before, since he returned into Europe without fortifying any one of them. And in truth Frederick, who took no care now but to reimbark himself and to return into Italy as soon as was possible, to recover the places which the Pope's Army had taken in his Dominions there, left all things in Palestine, in the same condition wherein he had found them, not giving himself the trouble to build either the Walls of Jerusalem, or any other of those Cities, which were yielded to him by the Treaty, insomuch that the Saracens, who were much the stronger in the Country, especially after his departure, were as much Masters as they had been before the Treaty, which Established the Affairs of the Christians in nothing but appearance. But the Emperor, who believed he had reason to charge the Pope as the Cause of all those Mischiefs, which might follow upon his hasty departure, was not at all concerned at it; but after having treated the Patriarch and the Templars very contemptuously at Acre, he commanded all his Soldiers to follow him, alleging there was no necessity for their stay in Palestine during the Treaty; and therefore upon the first day of May he departed with two Galleys only, and in a few days arrived in the Kingdom of Naples, where in a little time he recovered all the places, which had been taken from him during his absence; year 1230 and the Year following by the Mediation of Herman de Saltza, great Master of the Teutonick Order, and divers other Princes and Prelates of Germany, he made his peace with the Pope, who received him at Anagnia, with all manner of Honours, and Marks of Affection, giving him Absolution, and restoring him to all his Rights. Thus the differences of Princes, the most highly exasperated one against the other, may by a Treaty of a few days come to be determined; but many Ages ofttimes will not suffice to repair the Evils which they have produced in the World. year 1232 In this time Meledin, who was come to a Rupture with his Nephew, whom he had driven out of Damascus, fearing that during the War, which he made with him, there should be some new Crusade form in the West, sent his Ambassadors to Frederick to renew the Amity, which they had contracted, and presented him, among other precious Rarities of the East, a most Magnificent Tent, which was valued at above one hundred thousand Crowns, in which, surpassing all that ever was written of the Magnificence of the Ancient Kings of Persia, the Heavens were so perfectly represented, that this admirable Pavilion looked like the true and natural Sky; in it were to be seen the shining Globes of the Sun and Moon, which by secret Movements, turning like those glorious Luminaries, by the Skill of Art, kept exactly the same measures in their Regular Motions, which Nature hath prescribed to those two beautiful Planets; insomuch that by this well governed Motion all the Hours of the Day and Night were as well to be known by the Artificial Course of these two Globes within the Tent, as by a Dial or Exact Quadrant from the natural Motions of the Sun and Moon. It is said also, that these Ambassadors addressed themselves to the Pope, to desire peace with him; but that he dismissed them without an Audience, in regard that he would not have any Commerce with Infidels, and that he still continued in the Design of pursuing the Crusade. year 1233 And indeed, as soon as the Troubles of Italy were quieted, at least for a time, by the fervent Preach of the Religious of the Orders of St. Dominick and St. Francis, whom the Pope sent into all the Cities, to compose the Minds of men to peace, he called a great Assembly of Prelates to Spoleta, year 1234 at which the Emperor himself assisted, together with the Patriarches of Constantinople, Antioch, and Jerusalem, whom Gregory had caused to come thither to deliberate with them upon the Affairs of the East. There it was resolved, That so soon as the Truce was expired, the War should be renewed in Palestine; and that in the interim, Theoderick, Archbishop of Ravenna, should be sent into Palestine in quality of Legate, with Letters from the Pope to all the Prelates, and from the Emperor to all his Officers, by which they should be enjoined to obey him: year 1235 And in short, that the Pope should write to all the Princes, and should send Preachers to all places, to exhort all faithful Christians to take upon them the Cross, and to give notice to such as had already taken it, to hold themselves ready for the Voyage within four Years, which was exactly the time when the Truce expired, this did not fail to produce the same Effects, which had been seen in the other Crusades; for the Devotion of that Holy Voyage being the thing in Vogue in those times, there were always a multitude of People of all Ranks and Conditions, who either than took the Cross, or having taken it before, resolved with the first opportunity to accomplish their Vow. He, who upon this occasion shown the most Zeal and Fervour, and whom all the rest were obliged to look upon as their Chieftain, was the King of Navarr. This Prince was the famous Theobald, the Fifth of the Name, Count de Champagne and Brie, who renouncing the League, which the Princes had made against the Regency of Queen Blanch, and discovering the Ambushes, which they had laid for the Surprisal of the young King, her Son, thereby rendered a most signal Service to France, and to St. Lewis, who reciprocally also defended him against all the Forces of the Princes of the League, who had turned their Arms and all their Rage against him for having advertised the King of this Treason, which was hatched against him. He was the Posthumous Son of that brave Theobald the Fourth, who died in his preparations for the Crusade, of which he was the Chief, and of Blanch de Navarr, Sister of Sancho the strong, the last of the Male Descendants of Garcias Ximenes, who had reigned five Years in Navarr; and therefore according to the Custom of the Laws of Spain, where in default of Males, the Crown descends to the Daughters, this Count Theobald was in right of his deceased Mother, proclaimed King of Navarr at Pampelona, in the Month of May, 1224. He was then about the Age of three and thirty Years, a goodly Prince, of an Excellent Mind, and most Noble Inclinations, extremely addicted to the Catholic Religion, which he took great care to preserve free from Heresies in his Dominions; above all, he was liberal and magnificent, Virtues which he enjoyed as it were by Succession from the Counts de Campagne his Ancestors, who possessed these Royal Virtues in such a degree of perfection, as distinguished them from all the other Princes of their time; he was besides, of an humour sweet and pleasant, a Mind extreme quick and polite, and which he had diligently cultivated and improved by all manner of gentile Learning, and particularly Poetry, in which he had made himself an able Master, as appears by certain Copies of Verses, which he made after he had left the Court of France, to which a well known passion tied him, and in which he expresseth himself in thoughts infinitely tender, though at the same time full of that profound respect, which he had lying so near his heart. year 1236 So soon as he saw himself peaceably settled in his Dominions, and that he believed himself safe on the side of Arragon, the King of which Realm pretended some manner of ill grounded Title to that of Navarr; he was resolved to accomplish the Vow, which his Father Count Theobald had made when he took the Cross with the Earls of Flanders and of Blois. He therefore took it himself, and by his Example, engaged in the same Enterprise Hugh, Duke of Burgundy, Peter de Dreux, surnamed Illclerk, Duke of Bretagne, John his Brother, Count de Brain and Mascon, Henry, Count de Bar, Guy, Count de Nevers, the Constable Amauri, Count de Montfort, the Counts de Joigni's and Sancerre, and many other Barons of France, Navarr and Bretagne, as the Counts Guiomar de Leon, Henry de Go●tlo, Andrew de Vitrey, Raoul de Fougeres, Geoffry de Avesnes, and Fouques Paynel, who all acknowledged him for their Head and General, together with an infinite number of Crusades of France and Germany, who waited only for a General of that high Reputation to conduct them. year 1236 And certainly there was great probability of the Success of this third Effort, which was about to be made happily to determine this Crusude, if there had not happened Accidents, which could not be foreseen, which contributed extremely to the rendering it unfortunate and unsuccessful. First, by an unhappy Encounter, it fell out that the Pope was obliged to publish in the same time another Crusade for the Relief of the Empire of Constantinople, which was reduced to the last Extremity. For the French, as it is observed of them, who know much better to make great Conquests in a little time, than afterwards to preserve them very long, were not so fortunate in keeping this Empire, as they had been in gaining it; the Emperor Baldwin the First lost it, being taken prisoner in a Battle against the King of the Bulgarians, who barbarously put him to death. His Brother Henry, who succeedeed him, did truly for above ten Years, hold it with great Success and Glory: but his Successors found nothing of the same good Fortune; For Peter de Courtenay, Count d' Auxerre, the Husband of Yolanda of Flanders, Sister to the last Emperor, having succeeded him, was taken by treachery as he passed through Macedon to Constantinople, and afterwards murdered by Theodore Comnenius, Prince of Epirus; and in a short time after the Empress, who had taken her passage by Sea, died of Grief at Constantinople, after her delivery of the last Child she had by Peter her Husband. Robert de Courtenay his second Son, upon the refusal of his Eldest Brother Philip, Count de Namur, succeeded Peter in the Empire, and had the Misfortune in his time to see it miserably dismembered. For after he had lost a great Battle in Asia against John Ducas, furnamed Vatacus, the Successor and Son-in-Law of Theodore Lascaris, the Conqueror took from him all that the French were Masters of on the other side the Bosphorus, and the Hellespont. And on the other side the Prince of Epirus won from him all Thessaly, and a great part of Thracia; insomuch that after his Death, the French Barons, seeing that his Brother Baldwin, who was not above eight or nine years of Age, was not in a condition to sustain the burden of an Empire, which was in so great disorder, and attacked on all hands, they sent to desire of the Pope to have King John de Brienne, who was then the General of his Army for their Emperor, assuring him that after his Death the Succession of the Empire should return to Baldwin, who was to marry the Princess Mary, his Daughter, whom he had by his second Wife Berengera, the Daughter of Alphonsus, King of Castille. It is true that this Emperor, who was one of the greatest Captains of his time, did in some measure re-establish the Affairs of this miserable Empire, and with a poor handful of men he defeated a great Army, which besieged Constantinople, both by Sea and Land. But at last two potent Armies, Vatacus, Emperor of the Greeks, and Azen, King of Bulgaria, who had confederated against him, attacked him on both sides with very great Forces, whereas he had precisely no more men than were necessary to defend himself in Constantinople, in which he was forced to shut himself up; he was obliged to send Prince Baldwin, his Son-in-Law, to implore in Europe the Succours, which he had so often desired, and so long in vain expected; and in the midst of these Transactions he died, leaving to all Gentlemen in the History of his Life, year 1237 an admirable Example, by which they may learn, by what ways they must expect, in despite of all the disgraces of a malicious Fortune, to raise themselves to the height of all earthly Greatness and Glories. For he had nothing from his Father, who would have constrained him, contrary to his Martial Inclinations, to devote himself to the Church; notwithstanding which, he made it his endeavour to find his good Fortune in himself, and establish an Inheritance upon the Foundations of his Virtue; and by that it was that he so well distinguished himself in the Court of Philip the August, that that great Prince, who knew how to esteem men for their Virtue, judged him worthy, not only of his Esteem, but his particular Favour, and after he had acquired a high Reputation for those Gallant Actions, which together with his Brother he performed in Italy, he raised him to the Throne of Jerusalem, from whence it seemed that Fortune had not made him descend, but to mount him with more Glory by his Virtue to the Empire of the East; from whence it is easy to observe, that true Merit is the best supporter of such Noble Persons, who endeavour to obtain the favour of Kings, year 1237 who without this are apt to tumble those down for their Vices, whom they had for their pleasure raised, rather than for their Virtue. In this time Baldwin, his Son-in-Law, and Successor to the Empire, found the Pope so well inclined to assist him, that, as if he had now had no other concern, but for the Establishment of the Empire of Constantinople, he writ to the Kings of France, England, and Hungary, and to all the Bishops of those Realms, to exhort them to contribute the utmost of their power, to the Aid of the Emperor, Baldwin the Second, even so far as to permit those, who had undertaken the Crusade for the Holy Land, to change their Vow to that of succouring Constantinople. He caused also a new Crusade to be preached every where for that purpose, and that the greatest part of the money, which was designed for the Holy Land should be employed that way. Hereupon the Emperor Baldwin went into France, and from thence into England with the Bulla of this Crusade, and the Pope's Letters, which exhorted the Crusades to follow him; so that he sound a great many, who either to please the Pope, or that they thought this Enterprise less difficult and dangerous than that of the Holy Land, presently joined with him, and among others, Peter de Dreux, Duke of Bretagne, who promised to assist him with twelve thousand men. This gave so great a displeasure to the King of Navarr, the Duke of Burgundy, the Counts of Bar, Vendosme and Montfort, who had before devoted themselves for the Holy Land, and who thought very hard that one Crusade should be ruined, or at least extremely weakened by another, that they complained thereof to the Pope himself, and in a manner reproached him with Levity, and this Change, which they said was most prejudicial to the principal Enterprise, the deliverance of the Holy Sepulchre of Jesus Christ. But Gregory made them answer, that being at least as zealously interested as they in the Affairs of the Holy Land, he also understood himself better than they could inform him, and was in the Opinion that it was impossible ever to chase the Infidels out of Palestine, unless the Conquest of Constantinople was first well assured, and that now it was in danger to fall under the Power of the Schismatical Greeks: and therefore he conjured them to join with Baldwin, remonstrating to them, that this was to labour most efficaciously for the End, by applying themselves to the means, which was so absolutely necessary for the attainment of it. year 1238 The Princes nevertheless would not suffer themselves to be persuaded, but remained firm in their first Resolution: Even the Breton himself, Peter de Dreux, who had promised the Pope to serve for Constantinople, wheeled off again, and chose rather to join himself to the King of Navarr; so that by this Accident, there being a great Division among the Minds of men, some following Baldwin, others the King of Navarr, it fell out, that in the place of one great Crusade, which might have proved successful, either in Greece or Palestine, there were two very indifferent ones, which had in neither place the good Fortune, which was to be hoped and desired. This was the first Division, which hurt the Army of the Crusades, but that which happened presently after, between the Pope and the Emperor, was much more fatal to them, and had like to have ruined all. The Island of Sardinia, as well as several other Estates had been now for a long time held as Fiefs from the Holy See, and Gregory had sent thither one Roland, one of his Chaplains, to receive the Homages, and Reserved Rents, and to take possession of some Lands about Cagliari. Frederick, who notwithstanding all the Entreaties and Remonstrances of the Pope, who had sufficient cause to be afraid of his Power, was now come from Germany into Lombardy with an Army of one hundred thousand men; and having gained a great Victory over the Milanese, and reduced the greatest part of the Confederate Cities under his Obedience, he believed himself to be in a condition to make himself Master of what ever he pretended appertained to him, as being dismembered from the Body of the Empire. And thereupon those of the Principality of the Tour, which now is called Sassari, having given it to him after the Death of their Lord Vbald, he sent thither his natural Son Henry, who was usually called Entius, who presently seized upon the whole Isle, which his Father erected for him into the title of a Feudatory Kingdom to be held of the Empire. year 1239 The Pope, who was in Possession of the Sovereignty of this Isle, strangely surprised at this procedure, complained bitterly of it, and demanded reparation. But Frederick was so far from giving him Satisfaction, that he seized upon other Lands of a Bishop of Sardinia, which the Magistrates had adjudged as Demesnes to the new King; and withal he made it be answered to the Pope for good and all, that Sardinia had been usurped from the Emperors, and before those Usurpations, had always belonged to the Empire, and that for his own particular, it was well enough known, that as he was Emperor he had sworn that he would do all that lay in his Power to reunite to the Body of the Empire whatsoever had been dismembered from it, and that he was fully resolved most exactly to acquit himself of his Duty in this particular. Hereupon the Pope seeing that he remained in that Resolution, solemnly excommunicated him upon Palm Sunday, and Holy Thursday for invading the Patrimony of the Church, and such other Causes as are comprised in the Decretal, which he pronounced himself, and which he sent to all Christian Kings, Princes, and Prelates, with orders for them to publish it by the Sound of Bells, prohibiting all the Emperor's Subjects to obey him, and all the ecclesiastics from celebrating the Divine Offices in the Cities or Castles, wherever he should be. It is said also, that having declared that he was fallen from the Imperial Title and Dignity, he offered the Crown to St. Lewis for his Brother Robert, Count d' Artois, but that for very good reasons that pious King rejected the Offer; and this is most certain, that by a most discreet Policy he would never concern himself in this difference, nor be persuaded to change the Conduct and Maxims of his Government, by taking Arms against the Emperor, although he was extremely solicited to do so by the Pope, as in the following year the King gave the Emperor an account by his Letters. The War between the Pope and the Emperor began by the Writings, the Letters and the Manifests, which both the one and the other dipersed abroad, in which were contained the Accusations and the Answers, which they made, which may be seen at their full length in Matthew Paris, after which the Emperor Frederick having a potent Army, whilst the Pope sent to all places to demand the Assistance of the Princes and Republics, caused his Son Entius to enter into the Marquisate of Ancona, whilst he himself taking the Right Hand marched over Tuscany, where the greatest part of the Cities, and even Viterbum receiving him and declaring against the Pope, he advanced directly towards Rome, not doubting but that he had such a Party there, as would upon his Appearance open the Gates of that City to him. But Gregory, who in the extreme danger wherein he found himself, destitute of all humane Succours, had recourse to God, by a great Procession from the Church of the Lateran to that of St. Peter, in which he did so movingly harangue the Romans, holding between his Arms the Venerable heads of the Apostles, protesting with Sighs and Tears, that he was not in any sort able to protect them without the Assistance of the People of Rome, who were their Protectors, that they cried out with an incredible Ardour, that they would all perish in the defence of them. Hereupon the Pope, who was resolved to make his advantage of this extraordinary Zeal of the People, whilst the first heat of it lasted, caused a new Crusade to be instantly published, with great Indulgences to all those, who would take up the Cross against Frederick; and his endeavours proved so effectual, that the same Romans, who before had been raised against him, and had driven him out of Rome in favour of the Emperor, now took up the Cross against him. So easily is the Spirit of the People turned from one Extremity to another, especially when they are acted by some high Object of Devotion, and that Religion, or what they call so, which is able to do all things, when once it becomes Mistress of their Souls seems to call them to the performance of what they think their Duty. It happened therefore that Frederick coming to Rome, which he believed he should enter without resistance, was strangely surprised to meet with a whole Army of Crusades, who were marched out in Battalia to hinder his entrance, and had posted themselves under the Walls in shelter of the Engines: However he did not fail to attack them in the Order wherein they were, rather with Fury than hope to overcome them: and all those, which he took both in this Combat and during the whole War, he treated in the most cruel manner, year 1239 and in hatred of this Crusade, he caused their heads to be cut in a Cross. After this there were no kind of disorders, miseries and calamities, public and private, which this cruel War did not produce between the two furious Factions of the Guelphs, and the Gibelins, who like Infernal Furies let lose with Fire in one hand, and the Sword in the other, laid waste all the Provinces, and all the Cities of Italy, whilst to satisfy their Revenge, they buried one another under the Ruins of their miserable Country. It was this Rupture, which did the greatest mischief to the Army of the Princes of the Crusade, who were already advanced as far as Lions. For the Pope, who saw himself so vigorously attacked, was so far from giving them any assistance, that he himself desired it of all the World, and sent to them to Lions, to desire them to proceed no further, but to defer their Voyage to the Holy Land, till a more proper and convenient Season. Besides all the Italians were wholly divided between the two parties of the Guelphs and Gibelins, who made a mostcruel War against each other without thinking of the Crusade; insomuch that all those, who had a design to embark themselves in the Ports of Italy, could find there neither convenience nor safety for their transportation into Syria. For the Genoese, who were of the Pope's Party, stood in need of all their shipping to oppose the Emperor's Navy, which was commanded by his Son, the King of Sardinia. The Venetians were taken up in the Service of the Emperor of Constantinople against the Greeks; and the Pisans, who declared themselves highly for the Emperor Frederick, were taken up in his Service against the Genoese; so that there was only Province and Languedoc where the Crusades could hope for shipping to transport them. But there being not a sufficient number of shipping to supply so great an Army of the Crusades, they were forced to divide themselves; One Part with the King of Navarr, and the greatest part of the Princes, embarked themselves at Marseilles and Aigues Mortes; and the other being forced to take their Way by Land, and as the first Crusades did, to cross over all Germany, Hungaria, Bulgaria, Tracia, and all the lesser Asia, they lost a World of men in that long March, by Famine, Diseases, and the Ambushes, which the Barbarians laid for them in the Straits of Mount Taurus, insomuch that not above the third part of them ever came into Syria, where the King of Navarr, to whom the Sea had been very civil, was arrived before and in Expectation of them. year 1240 It seems that the condition of the Affairs of the Saracens at that time in the East were extremely favourable to this Enterprise of the Christians; For Meledin, the Sultan of Egypt, being dead the year before, Edel, his Successor, and Nazer, the Sultan of Damascus, who was re-entered into his Dominions, out of which he had been driven by his Uncle Meledin, made a most cruel War one against the other, so that undoubtedly great advantages might easily have been made of this division of these Infidels, if the Christians had not lost those opportunities by those divisions of their own, which ruined all their Affairs. And in truth the Emperor's Lieutenants, having by his orders renewed the Truce with the Successor of Meledin, notwithstanding all that the Templars could do to persuade them against it, they would never join their Forces with those of the Crusades, and besides, although the princes had all owned the King of Navarr for their Head, yet he found that he had nothing but the Title and Honour of the name without any manner of Authority; for every one of them would be independent of another, and act according to his own pleasure, without receiving Orders from any Person: Hereupon as the Army marched towards Ascalon, which they resolved to rebuild, the Duke of Bretany, separating with his Troops from the rest of the Army without their consent, made an irruption into the Terretories of the Sultan of Damascus, from whence, after having taken and sacked some places of small Strength, he returned with a rich Booty, & was received with great Acclamations of the Soldiers, as if he had gained some memorable Victory over his Enemies. There is no Passion so dangerous to men of Courage as Jealousy of their Honour, which by diminishing the Strength of their reason and Judgement, in proportion as it augments their natural Boldness, generally does precipitate them blindly into inevitable misfortunes. The Duke of Burgundy, the Count de Bar, and the Constable Amauri de Montfort, year 1240 were so piqued with the praises, which were given to the Breton, who in truth had done no such considerable Exploit to deserve them, that they believed it would be a dishonour to them, if they also should not do some brave thing to be talked on; Dividing therefore from the main Body of the Army, contrary to the opinion of all the other Commanders, they took the Field, and after having made a great Booty in a Country where they found no manner of resistance; puffed up with their good Fortune, they resolved to attempt the surprising of Gaza, a strong City and admirably provided; now though they knew nothing of it, it happened also, that the Sultan of Egypt had not only reinforced the Garrison, but that his Army, which advanced daily to oppose that of the Crusades, was at no great distance from the City. Conducted therefore by their ill Destiny, after they had marched one whole night with Intention early in the Morning, to execute their design before the Enemy should have notice of their march, just upon the break of day, they found themselves engaged in a Valley so deeply Sandy and lose, that both the men and Horses, who were sound harrassed by the night's march, had much difficulty to drag their Legs out of this deep Sand. The Governor of Gaza, who had by his Spies been advertised hereof, laid himself in Ambush behind some little Hills, and all of a sudden appeared upon the top of them with some of his Squadrons, but without advancing, as first resolving to observe the Countenance of the Christians. And accordingly seeing that they made a Halt, and shown some surprise to find those People in order of Battle, whom they had thought to have found asleep in their Beds, he commanded some Squadrons to descend, and charge them at full Speed; and the light Arabian Horses, running as freely upon these Sands, as if they had been upon firm ground, they made a furious discharge of their Arrows, and then retreated to their main Body, in a little time returning again in greater numbers, shooting always without coming nearer than the distance of their Arrows, and without danger of being pursued by the Christians, who did not without difficulty advance over the heavy Sands; so that wheeling and running round about the Army all day, they harassed them till Night, a Night that was to be spent in Arms, without repose, and repast, and without the Possibility of advancing or retreating, and in nothing but miserable trouble and waking despair, in which they were overwhelmed. And indeed their Fortune was much more deplorable, the next morning, when the whole Army of the Sultan being joined to the Garrison of Gaza, encompassed them on all sides, and without fear attacking the poor Soldiers already half dead, and almost unable to carry their Arms, they came to charge them with the Sword and Lance. The Christians indeed performed in despite of their Fortune all that could be expected from men of Courage, and infinitely above their Strength; but there was a necessity that they must yield to multitude with which they were oppressed, most of them being either slain or taken that miserable day: Henry, Count de Bar, one of the most Valiant Princes of his time, Simon, Count de Clermont, the Lords, John de Bars, Robert Malet, Richard de Beaumond, and many others of the Bravest and most remarkable men, remained dead upon the place; The Constable Amauri, and seventy other great French Lords, after having fought most courageously, and by their long resistance given an opportunity to the Duke of Burgundy to make his escape, were taken Prisoners and carried in Chains to Grand Cairo. Thus ended this unhappy Jealousy, Ambition, and Vain Glory, which were governed by rashness and Imprudence in this fatal Encounter of our Ancient Worthies, whose misfortune may teach all the Gallant men of our times, that they can never be truly Brave unless their Courage be regulated by Prudence in the Commanders, and Obediences in the Inferior Officers and Soldiers. This unfortunate news did so astonish all the rest of the Army, which was at Ascalon, in no very good understanding among themselves, that they presently returned to Ptolemais, where the divisions, which continued still among them, as well as between the Sultan's of Egypt and Damascus, completed the loss of all, by two most Shameful Treaties with the Infidels. For the Templars, who had one part of the Army on their side, made a Truce with Nazer, Sultan of Damascus, year 1240 upon condition that he should surrender to them the Castles of Beaufort and Saphet, with all the Territory of Jerusalem, and that they should assist him with all their Forces against Melech-Salah, Sultan of Egypt, who had dethroned his Brother Edel to possess himself thereof: and the Hospitallers, supported by the King of Navarr, the Dukes of Burgundy, and Bretany, and the other part of the Army, made a truce quite opposite to this with the Sultan of Egypt against the Sultan of Damascus. After which the King of Navarr, the Duke of Bretany, and the greatest part of the Cusades, embarking in the Port of Acre, returned into their own Country, almost at the same time that Richard, Earl of Cornwall, Brother to King Henry the third of England, arrived in Palestine with good Troops of English Crusades. This Prince, who following the Example of his Uncle Richard Coeur de Lion, had taken the Cross with a great Party of the Nobility and Gentry of England, embarked at Dover about Whitsuntide, and landing in France, passed to Paris, where he was magnificently received by St. Lewis, who lodged him in his Palace, and caused him to be royally treated, and conducted to Lions, from whence passing by Rouen, to Arles, where he was to be received by Count Raymond de Provence, he came to Marseilles, and about the middle of September, he embarked upon the Fleet, which he had sent through the Straits, and upon the eleventh of October, in fifteen days after the departure of the King of Navarr, he came to Anchor in the Road of Ptolemais. The Saracens had a strange fear upon them, for this Prince, whose very name was formidable to them, renewing the memory of the famous Richard, King of England, who by his marvellous Feats of Arms was so terrible to these Infidels, that the Women were wont to quiet their Children when they cried with threatening them with King Richard; and the Horsemen to make a Skewish boggling Horse go forward, would commonly say to him in clapping their Spurs to him, What? dost think it is King Richard? And certainly his Nephew wanted neither Spirit nor Courage, neither Money nor Conduct, to support a name so great, and so terribly to the Saracens. He did all that could be expected from a very great Prince, to put things into a Condition, so that it might be hoped the War against the Infidels might be happily prosecuted; for within three days after his arrival he caused it to be proclaimed by the sound of Trumpet through the whole City, That if any one of those, who remained in the Holy Land, stood in need of Money, he would furnish them during all the time of their Service. But he quickly learned, that in the deplorable condition to which matters were reduced, by the division, which still continued among the principal Officers, and above all the Templars and Hospitallers, there was no appearance of succeeding by the way of Arms. And therefore seeing that it was impossible to bring them to any agreement, and that the Sultan of Damascus did not at all observe the truce, whereas he of Egypt offered to continue it, with new advantages to the Christians, he resolved at last by the advice of the Duke of Burgundy, the great Master of the Hospital, and the greatest part of the Crusades, to accept of it upon these conditions, That all the Prisoners an each side, and especially those, who were taken at the Battle of Gaza, should be set at liberty; and that the Christians should enjoy certain Lands, which the Sultan possessed in Palestine. Mean time the Earl, whilst he stayed for the ratification of the Treaty, caused a Fortress to be built near Ascalon, which was finished before his departure. After which the Sultan, who acted like his Father, Meledin, with great Sincerity having signed and ratified the Treaty, which he caused to be approved by all his Emirs, he sent back all the Prisoners together with the Constable of Montfort, who during his Imprisoment had been treated more rigorously than all the others, in regard that out of his Generosity he could never be persuaded to discover the quality of the Barons, who were in Captivity with him. After which Richard, having caused the bones of the French, who were slain in the Battle of Gaza, to be gathered up, and honourably interred in the Church yard at Ascalon, reimbarked upon his Fleet and steered towards Italy. The Ship, which carried the Constable Amauri, put in at Otranto, where this Illustrious Count died by a kind of Martyrdom by the hardships which he endured in his Captivity; happy in this that he had spent the best part of his Life, either in Combating against the Albigensian Heretics, year 1241 or the Saracen Infidels for the Interests of Jesus Christ, of whom he had the Honour to be a Knight after a most particular manner, and such a one as doth not afford us another Example besides himself. For Count Simon, his Father, General of the Holy League, and the Crusade against the Albigenses, having made a great meeting of Barons and Bishops at Castelnau-d'-Arry, upon St. John Baptist's day, in the year twelve hundred and thirteen, there to celebrate with great Pomp and magnificence, the promotion of his eldest Son, Amauri, to the order of Knighthood, his absolute pleasure was, contrary the common to Custom, that the Ceremony should be performed by the Bishops. And for this purpose addressing himself to two of the greatest Prelates of their time, Manasses, Bishop of Orleans, and William, Bishop of Auxerre, who was afterwards removed to Paris, and who were two Brothers of the Illustrious House of Seignelay, whose name they bore, he obliged them notwithstanding all their modest resistance to satisfy him, telling them, that since he was resolved that his Son should be a Knight of Jesus Christ, it was reasonable that he should receive that order by the Hands of the Bishops, who represent Christ Jesus, our Master and our King. Thereupon the Bishop of Orleans in his Episcopal Habits, having celebrated Mass in a most magnificent Pavilion, which was erected in the Field of Castelnau-d'-Arry, which was filled with Knights, Soldiers and People, the Count, and Countess his Lady, presented Amauri before the Altar, supplicating the Bishops to give him the order of Knighthood, to serve Jesus Christ against the Enemies of his Holy Name; then the Bishop who officiated, and William, Bishop of Auxerre, kneeling down, girded the Sword about him, and by their Prayers begged the Blessings of Heaven upon this new Knight, who about three Months after signalised himself in the memorable Battle of Muret, where his Father with less than two thousand men defeated a hundred thousand Albigensians and Aragonese, under their King, Peter, who was slain upon the field with twenty thousand of his men. And afterwards he performed so many gallant things, following the Example and the orders of that great Captain, that some time after his death, King Lewis the eighth acknowledging him for a Son, who had rendered himself most worthy of such a Father, bestowed upon him the Sword of a Constable of France. And as this brave Count was extremely considered by the Pope, both for his own Merit, and for that of the famous Simon de Montfort, he caused magnificent Funerals to be made for him at Rome, where he was interred in the Church of the Vatican; his heart, according to his desire at his death, being carried into France, and buried under the Monument, where his Statue lies in the Church of the Nunnery of Hautebruiere, which is at this day more famous than ever, not only for the rare Virtues of so many illustrious Virgins as are consecrated to God, but also, by reason of the certainty, that besides the heart of the Constable Amauri, and the Bodies of his Grandfather and his Uncle, Gui de Montfort, there lieth interred that of Simon his Father, that invincible Champion of Jesus Christ, who with so much Courage and good Fortune combated for his Glory against the Albigensian Heretics. For as they were at work in the Year one thousand six hundred fifty six, to repair his Tomb, which is to be seen in the middle of that Church, there were found the Bones of a man and a Woman lying in their natural order, wrapped up neatly in Carnation Taffeta, which being compared with the inscription, gives no place for doubting, but that these are the Bones of this famous Count, and Alice his Wise, which are deposited in that Tomb. And this is so far from contradicting, what Peter du Val de Sernay writes, that Count Amauri caused the Body of his Father to be carried from the Field of Tolouse to Carcassone, that it is most conformable to him, because he says that he caused it to be first carried thither, and that word makes it clear to me, that he had a design to transport them to some other place, after which, according to the custom of France in that time, that they had separated the Flesh from the Bones with boiling Water, which the Historian expresseth by these words, Primùm apud Carcassonam curatum Gallico more, exportavit. They first did that to his Body at Carcassone, which the French were accustomed to do, and which sometime after was done to the Body of St Lowis, separating the Flesh from the Bones. The Flesh and the entrails of Count Simon were interred at Carcassone, and the Bones were transported into France by his Son into the Earldom, year 1241 which bore his name, and which to this day carries that of his and his great Grandfather, being called Montfort-l'-Amauri. I have contrary to my custom, made this little remark by the by, to do Justice to this Famous Nunnery, and to show, that many times People dispute much at ramdom out of passages in Ancient Authors concerning the Monuments they pretend to possess, either by reading them only in Quotations, or not examining them with that exactness as they ought, in order to their making an equitable Judgement of them. Thus it was that the Constable Amauri de Montfort ended his days at Otranto in his return from the Holy Land, at the same time that Richard, Earl of Cornwall, landing in Sicily, after he had conferred with the Emperor Frederick, passed to Rome to endeavour an accommodation of matters with the Pope, whom he found still firm and inflexible in his refolution to have entire Satisfaction; but yet nevertheless extremely troubled with the sad news, which he had received of the taking of his Legates, and all the Prelates, which he had convoked to Rome. The Pope considering the piteous condition, to which the Affairs of the Christians in the East were reduced, and that Frederick drawing his advantage from this ill Success, charged it all upon the Pope, to render him odious to all the Princes; and that he became still more powerful and more hot in his Persecutions of the Holy See, and that while the West was troubled with this War, it was impossible for any Crusade to prosper in the East; all these considerations had made him resolve in the preceding Year, according to the advice of the King, St. Lewis, who passionately desired the Peace of the Church, to call a general Council at Rome, to meet in Easter of this Year, to which he invited all the Princes and Prelates of Christendom. Frederick himself at first made some appearance of consenting to it, and in order thereto to admit of a Truce with the Pope; but he presently changed his opinion, and upon the demand that the Lombard's should be also comprised in this truce, to the end that this War might not obstruct the Freedom of passage to the Council, he took occasion to write to all Princes, whom he endeavoured to interest in his Cause, in which Letters he complained, That this Council was not called by the Bishop of Rome, his mortal and declared Enemy, for any other end, but to give his Rebellious Subjects, who were at the last gasp, the leisure to take breath, and to renew the War with more Vigour than before, at the same time when he would condemn and depose him in a Council, wherein his Capital Enemy was to preside, and wherein it was well known, that many People, who were Enemies to the Empire, and others of whom he was well assured, that they were his Creatures and dependants, were to be his Judges. That for these reasons he desired them to advertise all the Prelates in their Dominions, that they should forbear this Voyage, for which he could not promise them any safety, in regard, that though for the love of the Princes, his Friends and Allies, he was ready to favour their Subjects in all things, he was nevertheless absolutely resolved not to permit any that should be so audacious as to go to a Council, which was called against him by his mortal Enemy. Mean while he caused all the Passages to be diligently guarded, taking, imprisoning, treating ill and cruelly Massacring some of those, who adventured to go by Land; and to guard the Sea, he set out a great Fleet, and armed out twenty new Galleys at Naples and in Sicily, which towards the end of March joined those of Pisa, who were of the Emperor's Party, under Entius, the King of Sardinia. The Pope also on his side having a great Soul, as upon all occasions, he made apparent, and a Vigour much surpassing his Age, which now approached to a hundred years, and whose Courage was invincible in maintaining the Rights of the Church and the Supreme dignity of the Pontificate, writ the most curious Letters in the World to all Prelates, to exhort them by all Considerations, both Divine and humane, to despise the Menaces of Frederick, and generously to expose themselves to all hazards, for the Service of the Church in the most important of all occasions, which was to hinder her from being oppressed and rob entirely of all her Liberty, promising them withal, that he would take care to Arm so potently at Sea for their safe passage, that they should have no occasion to fear their Enemies. year 1241 And in truth he gave particular and most pressing orders to Cardinal Gregory, whom he had sent Legate to Genoa, to spare for no charges to reinforce his Fleet with a great number of Ships, which he was to join with those of Genoa; and the Genoeses, who made no doubt, but they should be able to beat all that they should encounter upon the Sea, promised with so much certainty and Confidence to the Prelates of France, Spain, England and Italy, who were come to that Port, with the two Legates of France and England, that they would conduct them to Rome without any manner of danger, that they resolved to venture that passage rather than trust to the offers of the Emperor. For that Politic Prince seeing them arrived at Genoa, notwithstanding all his menaces, changed his method; and whether it were, that he had a design to surprise them, or that he would thereby endeavour to persuade the World, that he was ready on his side to make all manner of reasonable advances, towards Peace, which could be expected from him, he offered them all the Security, which they could desire, and in such manner as should best like them for their free passage through Lombardy and Romanca, that so he might have the opportunity of informing them of the Justice of his care; it being as he said, altogether unreasonable, that, after having already been condomned by his Enemy, Gregory, without being heard, he should also be condemned by those, whom the Pope had called together to serve his own Passion against an Emperor, who desired nothing but throughly to instruct them, after which he would willingly submit to their Judgement. But the Prelates durst not trust to the Faith of a Prince, who was accused not to have too great an Honour for his word; and being encouraged by the Pope, and the Genoese Admiral, who confidently affirmed always that they should not need to fear any thing, they all in conclusion went aboard the Fleet, except the Arch-Bishops of Bourges and of Tours, and the Bishops of Chartres, and some others, who not finding the Convoy, that was promised them beyond Vienna, and judging it was not safe for them to pass any further, returned into their respective Dioceses. And certainly it appeared quickly after, that they had acted with reason and foresight; for the Enemy's Fleet, which expected that of Genoa in their passage, meeting with them about Pisa; there was a necessity of coming to an engagement, which was very fatal to the Genoese, and to all the Prelates, whom they conducted. For three of their Galleys were sunk, two and twenty taken, with the greatest part of the other Ships, together with the three Legates, a hundred Ambassadors or Procurators of Cities and Bishops, four thousand Genoese, and almost all the Prelates, who were going to the Council; among which for France, where the Arch-Bishops of Rouen, Ausch, Bourdeaux, and Besanson, the Bishops of Nismes, aged, and Carcassone, the Abbots of the Cluniaques, Cistercians, and Clairvalleys, whom Frederick, who was then at Faenza, which after a long Siege he had taken, caused to be carried bound to the Castle of the Egg at Naples, where the greatest part of them perished miserably, by their long Sufferings, only the Prelates of France escaped better by the interposition of St. Lewis, who sent to demand them of the Emperor. At first Frederick made some difficulty to deliver them, they being, as he said, his Enemies; but the King writ to him a Letter so reasonable, but withal so positive, giving him to understand, on the one hand, that they had no manner of intention to do him prejudice; and on the other, that though he had a resolution to maintain a good understanding with the Empire, yet he was not deposed to purchase it at the rate of so disobliging and dishonourable a refusal of his demands; insomuch that this Prince, as fierce as he was, being afraid to provoke a King, whom he both extremely honoured and feared, in consequence upon his more cool and deliberate thoughts, judged it convenient to satisfy him, and therefore sent home his Bishops and Abbots into France. In short this Accident, so fatal to the whole Church, and which ruined all the good designs of the Pope for the Holy Land, did so afflict him, that his extreme old Age, although wonderful vigorous, being unable long to resist the Violence of his Grief, he died of Age, and his resentment of this Blow, about three Months after, having for above fourteen years with marvellous Courage steered the Ship of St. Peter, in that terrible Tempest, which had been raised by the Quarrels, year 1241 and Persecutions of Frederick. Geossry de Chastillon, a Milanese, was thirty days after chosen by the name of Celestine the fourth, and did immediately all that he could by writing to the Emperor, Letters full of tenderness to sweeten his Spirit, and incline him to restore Peace to the Church; But the death of this Pope, which followed within ten days after his Exaltation, hindered him from finishing, what he had so happily begun. After his death the Holy See was Vacant for above two years, by reason that the Cardinals always refused to assemble, unless Frederick would deliver their Bretliren, who had protested the Nullity of such Elections, as should be made without them, and whom the Emperor persisted obstinately to detain all that time. But at length Baldwin the Second the Emperor of Constantinople, who in the extremity to which his Affairs were reduced, was come in Person to desire the Assistance of the West, wrought so effectually upon his Spirit, already shaken by the Clamours of all Christendom, that he restored them to their Liberty. And then by common consent Cardinal Sinibald de Fiesque, was chosen at Anagnia, upon the twenty fourth day of June, year 1243 who took the name of Innocent the fourth, which he rendered so famous by his Virtue, and by his Knowledge in the Canon Law, of which he was called the Father. It was the General belief of the World that this Election, would fully re-establish the Peace of the Church, in regard that this Pope, while he was Cardinal, had been a mighty Friend to Frederick, and that at first the Emperor, sent to him a magnificent Ambassage, to congratulate him upon his Exaltation, to offer him whatever was in his power, by submitting himself entirely to him in all things, the Rights and Dignities of his Empire and his Realms always excepted. After this also he sent his Chancellor, Peter de Vignes, and Thadeus de Sessa, who promised solemnly in his behalf, and with an Oath, that he would stand to his Judgement, as to the satisfaction, which he was to make; insomuch that there seemed to remain no doubt, but Peace would be concluded. But this belief was quickly lost; for the Pope having sent his Legates to the Emperor, to let him know that he was ready to receive him to peace and to the Communion of the Church, provided, that he purged himself of those Crimes, for which Gregory had condemned him; and that Innocent on his side was disposed to give him satisfaction, if in a General Council, which should judge of it, it should be found that he had offended. This so exasperated the Emperor, that he carried matters to the utmost Extremities, so that the Pope finding that he was not in safety in Italy, was obliged to take refuge in France, which hath ever been the Sanctuary and retreat of persecuted Popes. year 1244 But as the first and the greatest care which he had, so soon as he was elevated to St. Peter's Chair, was to re-establish Jerusalem, and to secure it to the Christians, by procuring all the Princes of Europe to contribute to the rebuilding of the Walls of that City, so as to render it impregnable, it was at the same time, that he received a terrible Surcharge of grief, by the sad news, which he received of the entire desolation of that Holy City, and the horrible Profanation of the Sacred places by the Corasmins, whom the Tartars, who ravaged the whole East, had chased out of their Country. And this is the Subject, which I am next to recount, this miserable accident being the principal Cause of the seventh and last Crusade, which was wholly managed in a manner by the French, under the King St. Lewis. THE HISTORY OF THE CRUSADE, OR, The Expeditions of the Christian Princes for the Conquest of the Holy Land. PART IU. BOOK II. The CONTENTS of the Second Book. The Original of the Tartars, and their Empire. They drive the Corasmins, the Descendants of the Ancient Parthians, out of Persia. The Irruption of these Barbarians into Palestine. The entire Desolation of Jerusalem. The Effect which this produced in the West. The Relation of the first Council of Lions, where Frederick is excommunicated and deposed. The Decree of the Council for the Crusade. The Decision of the Pope touching the Deposition of Dom Sanches, King of Portugal. A marvellous Example of Fidelity in the Governor of Conimbra. The Emperor's Manifest, and his Exploits. A Crusade published against him, which hinders the Effect of the General Crusade for the deliverance of the Holy Land. St. Lewis undertakes it singly with the French. He takes the Cross, and causes many of the Nobility and Gentry of France, to follow his Example in the Assembly of Paris. The Conference of Clugri for this Crusade. The Ambassage of Frederick to St. Lewis, and the wise Conduct of the King in reference to the Emperor. The Politic Reasons to justify this Enterprise of St. Lewis, with an account of what was done at the beginning of it. His Voyage to Aigues-Mortes, where he takes shipping. His arrival in the Isle of Cyprus. He commits a great Error by staying there six Months. The Death of divers Lords there. That of Archambald de Bourbon. The Marriage of his Granddaughter, Beatrix of Burgundy, with Robert the fourth, the Son of St. Lewis, from whom the Princes of the Angust House of Bourbon are descended. The Ambassage of the Tartars to St. Lewis, during his stay in Cyprus. His arrival in Egypt. The Battle of Damiata, and the taking of that City from the Saracens, who abandon it, and the reason of their doing so. The Entry of the King into Damiata. The Error which he commits by stopping there. The Army grows dissolute and debauched by lying idly there. The arrival of the Count de Poitiers. The Resolution which is taken of going directly to Cairo. The Situation of the Places where the two Armies are encamped. The unsuccessful attempt of the Crusades to turn the Nile. They pass the River. The first Battle of Massore, where the Count d' Artois is slain. The second Battle, and the admirable Actions of the King. The Plague and Famine in the Camp. An unfortunate Retreat wherein the whole Army is defeated, and the King, with all the Princes and Lords are taken Prisoners. An Heroic Action of Gaucher de Chastillon in this Retreat. The admirable Constancy of the King in his Imprisonment. His Treaty with the Sultan. The Original of the Mamalukes. The Revolution in the Empire of Egypt by the Murder of the Sultan. The Confirmation of the Treaty, with the Admirals. The King absolutely refuseth to take the Oath, which these Barbarians would exact from him. The Refutation of the Fable touching the pawning of the Holy Eucharist to the Saracens by the King Lewis. His Deliverance, and admirable Fidelity to his Promise, and the perfidiousness of the Egyptians. year 1244 ALICE that vast Tract of Land, which anciently comprised the Asiatic Sarmatia, the two Scythia's, the one on this side, the other beyond the Mount Imaus, with the third, which was unknown to Ptolemy, from Tanais to the Straight of Anian, was formerly called, as it is at this Day, Tartary, from the Name of the River Tartar, or Tattar, which dischargeth itself at the farthest part of this vast Continent towards the East into the Northern Sea. It was inhabited by an infinite number of People extremely Barbarous, who were called Tartars and Mongols, and who for a long time lived without Cities, without Laws, without Civil Policy, being divided into divers Troops, who had every one their Conductor, to lead them from time to time into divers places proper for the feeding of their Flocks and Herds, till such time as one named Cyngis obliged all the rest, either by cunning or by force to acknowledge him for their Master and their Sovereign. Then he took the Surname of Can, which signifies Master, Prince, and Emperor; and after having instructed and disciplined his new Subjects, he lead them, about the beginning of this Century, into Indostan against King David, to whom they were Tributaries, and having vanquished him in a great Battle, he put him with his whole Family to death, excepting one of his Daughters, whom he married, and made himself Master of all that Country where his discendants, which are called Mogul's, a name of the Tartars Reign even to this present day. After which this Can being slain with a stroke of Lightning, his Son Hocloda-Can, who had as much Courage and Conduct as Ambition, endeavoured the Conquest of all Asia, and having divided his Troops, whose number was infinite, into four terrible Armies, the Conduct of three of which he gave to three of his Sons, year 1244 and to his Lieutenant Cabesabada; the first of them moving Northward, seized in Europe upon the Regions lying between the Tanais, the Taurick Chersonesus, and the Euxin Sea, which at this time are called the lesser Tartars. The second, after having desolated the great Armenia, and the Country of the Georgians, penetrated Westward as far as Transylvania, Hungary, and Poland, even to the Confines of Germany, putting all before them to Fire and Sword. The third entering into the le●ser Asia, there defeated Gajazadin, the Sultan of Iconium, and compelled the Turks to pay Tribute to the Tartars. The fourth having subdued all Persia, obliged the Corasmins, the Descendants of the Ancient Parthians to go in search of their Fortunes beyond the Tigris and Euphrates; whereupon they addressed themselves to the Sultan of Egypt, to desire of him some place of residence, they being driven out of their own Country by the Tartars. This Sultan, who did not like such dangerous Guests, and yet, who was very glad to make use of them against his Enemies, caused it to be told them, that he left to them all the Country of Palestine, upon which they might without difficulty seize, in regard, that the greatest part of the places there were open, and without defence. And this he did in revenge, because almost all the Christians of the Holy Land, following the Advice and Example of the Knights of the Temple, having broken the Truce, which they had made with him, had confederated against him with the Sultan of Damascus, his Enemy, upon condition that he should relinquish to them all Palestine, from Jordan to the Sea. Certainly there is nothing more unlawful or dishonourable than to violate one's Faith, when once it is given, whether it be even to Infidels and Barbarians; for he who receives it does at the same time acquire a natural Right to the observing of it so long as the Treaty continues, except he does first violate and infringe it himself. And the true Religion, which Christians profess, can never, without being rendered extreme odious, be pretended as a sufficient Reason to authorize Persidiousness, which it prohibits, and which it abhors; and therefore we have frequently seen, that the Breach of Faith, which men have covered with the specious pretext of Religion, as if God would permit us to deceive those, who differ from us in their Belief, hath always been followed by some great Misfortune; which justifies the Providence of God, by making it apparent that he is so far from approving such Infractions of mutual Treaties and Stipulations, that he does most visibly and terribly punish such as are guilty of them, as was manifested in this Rencounter. For the Corasmins being assured of the Protection and the Assistance of the Sultan of Egypt, who resolved to make use of them to revenge himself of these Infractors of the Peace, which had been mutually sworn between him and the Christians, instantly threw themselves all over Palestine with a fearful Number, which covered all the Country like some mighty Inundation, which being form of a thousand Torrents, precipitates itself from the Mountains, and overflows all the Banks with a furious Tempest. They did in consequence commit the most horrible mischiefs, plundering, sacking, burning, murdering, and ruining all before them, without resistance in this Surprise; and after having taken and cut in pieces six thousand Christians, who upon the noise of their approach had fled into Jerusalem, they attacked, and without difficulty forced the pitiful Retrenchments, which had been there thrown up in haste, and entering with the Sword, they slew all they met, cutting the Throats of such as had taken Sanctuary there, even upon the Altar of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which till then had been reverenced by the Saracens themselves; and by a thousand execrable abominations profaning all the Sacred Places about the City; and in short, they did what ever Cruelty, Avarice, Luxury, Impiety, Rage and Fury, and all the most brutish Passions could inspire the most brutish and unnatural of all mankind withal. At last, all the Forces of the Christians in the Country being joined with those of the three Great Masters of the Military Orders, and the Succours of the Sultan's, their Allies, they came to a Battle near Gaza, where the Corasmins had joined the Troops of the Sultan of Egypt. The Battle lasted two days, the seventeenth and eighteenth of October, wherein the Christians fought with more Courage, but also with greater misfortune than ever they had done in all their former Battles. year 1244 The whole Army, was divided into three Bodies. Gantier the third, Count de Brienne, and Jaffa, Nephew to King John, and the Son of that Count Gautier, who died in the Conquests of the Realm of Naples, commanded the Left Hand Body, with the Knights of the Hospital. The Sultan of Chamella or Emessa, who conducted the Confederate Saracens, had the Right, And the Patriarch, accompanied with the other Knights and Barons was in the main Battle. He had sometime before excommunicated the Count, upon his refusing to give him a Tower in the Castle of Jaffa, to which he pretended, it being called the Patriarch's Tower. This Prince, who was a very good Christian, and unwilling to have any thing lie upon his Conscience, which might hinder him from courageously exposing himself to death, demanded absolution of him two several times before they came to charge. And as this Prelate without doubt criminally rigorous, and too severe in an occasion of this nature, persisted obstinately in his refusal to give it him. The Bishop of Rama, a man of great Courage, and who made use of the Sword in this War against the Insidels, as well as of the Cross in his Church, unable to endure that by this accident so much leisure was given to the Enemies to range their Troops, cried out aloud, My Lord, Let not this Scruple trouble you any longer, Let us charge. The Patriarch is in the Fault, and therefore I absolve you in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost. And thereupon the Count, who took it for a sufficient absolution went to the Charge with his Lance couched, and being followed by his Valiant Bishop, he threw himself into the thickest Battalions and Squadrons of the Enemies, in the place where he observed the Prince of the Corasmins environed with all the most brave of his Army. The Sultan of Emessa also on his side did very Nobly, but he was not followed by above two thousand of his Saracens, the others flying upon the first Charge. Nevertheless, the Christians, though abandoned by these Cowards, yet never fought more bravely, being resolved rather to perish in the Field of Battle than ever to quit it. So that after having always maintained their ground without ever recoiling one step in two days from Morning until night: at last oppressed by the Multitude of their Enemies, who were not only stout men, but also infinitely surpassed them in number, and of whom notwithstandhing they made a horrible Carnage, they were almost all either slain upon the place, or taken Prisoners. So great was this defeat, that there escaped with the Patriarch, Robert, and some of the Bishops and Abbots, not above three and thirty Knights of the Temple, six and twenty Hospitallers, and three of the Teutonick Knights, the Constable, Count Philip de Montfort, Prince of Tyre, Nephew to the Illustrious Count Simon, and some hundreds of Soldiers, who retired to Ascalon, from whence they came to Ptolemais, were all was in the utmost Consternation for this dreadful loss. The great Masters of the Temple and the Teutonick Order, were slain upon the place, and the Master of St. John of Jerusalem, was taken Prisoner and carried in Irons into Egypt; as was also the brave Gautier de Brienne, who after he was taken did an Action, which made him triumph even in his Captivity over all the Forces of his Conqueror, and which doubtless deserves to be recorded to his immortal glory. For the Prince of the Corasmins, who thought to make advantage of his being taken, to gain the City and Castle of Jaffa, caused the Valiant Count, to be bound under his Arms to a Cross, which he had erected before the Gate of the Castle, telling the Soldiers of the Garrison, who from the walls beheld this woeful Spectacle, that he would in the most cruel manner put the Count to death, except they presently ransomed his life by the surrender of the place. But this invincible Hero, making a Sacrifice of his life to Jesus Christ, to save that little remainder of his Inheritance in the Holy Land, cried to his Soldiers as loud as ever he could from his Cross, that they should take no care for him, but leaving him to the rage of these Dogs, to whom he should be obliged for the Crown of Martyrdom, that they should courageously defend the place with which he had entrusted them not only for himself, but to preserve it for Jesus Christ, for whose only sake they had come into Palestine. So that the Barbarian losing all hope of gaining the place by this cruel Artifice, and not daring to attack it by main Force, he would not also lose the opportutunity, which he had of making an agreeable Present to the Sultan of Egypt, year 1244 to whom he sent the brave Count with the other Prisoners: and in a few days after the Saracens of Grand Cairo, who esteemed him their greatest and most terrible Enemy, having demanded him of the Sultan, who durst not deny them, they fell upon him with the Fury of cruel Wolves or enraged Dogs, and after having made him suffer an Infinite number of horrible Torments, they tore him in a thousand pieces, acquiring for him a thousand Palms, and a thousand Crowns of Martyrdom, for one which he had wished, and which he believed he should have obtained upon his Cross before Jaffa. Some years after St. Lewis, who had the Memory of this great man in singular Veneration having recovered his Bones, which the Admirals of Egypt caused to be restored to him, he rendered to him at Acre, all the Funeral Honours which were due untohim, who had so gloriously given his Life to the Honour of Jesus Christ. As for the Corasmins, who had exercised so much cruelty upon the Christians, and had committed so many horrible Sacrileges in the holy places, they afterwards fell out among themselves, and the Sultan of Egypt having drawn from them all the Service, which he expected, he drove them out of his Dominions, so that they all miserably perished by the hands of the Saracens themselves, who united all against them for their destruction, having a horror for them as the most wicked and most execrable of all Mankind. Mean time the news of the lamentable desolation of Jerusalem, and the defeat of the Christian Army, and of the dangerwherein those few, which remained, were to be presently besieged by the Sultan of Egypt, being brought to the Pope, made him resolve to make his last Efforts, to procure Succours for them from a General Council, which he had convoked. For this Pope, fearing to fall into the hands of Frederick, had saved himself by Sea at Genoa, his Native Country, and from thence he went by land by Montferrat and Savoy to Lions, where he put himself under the Protection of the King of France; resolving to follow the design of his Predecessor, year 1244 to redress the Evils of the Church by a General Council; for the calling whereof he sent his Circular Letters throughout all Europe. It was held at Lions the year following, and was opened upon the Eve of the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul the Apostles. It was at this Council that the Cardinals received from Innocent the Red-Hat for a distinction of their Dignity, and the Obligation which they had to lose even their Lives for the cause of God and of his Church, especially in this Persecution of the Emperor Frederick. The Patriarches of Constantinople and Antioch, as also those of Aquilea and Venice, assisted at this Council, together with one hundred and forty Arch-Bishops and Bishops of France, Italy, Spain, England, Scotland, and Ireland, the Deputies of many other places, the Abbots of Cluni, the Cistercians and Claraval, the General of the order of St. Dominick, and the Vicar of that of St. Francis, as also a great number of other Abbots and Priors of the same Kingdoms. There came scarcely any at all from Germany, for fear of offending the Emperor, nor from Hungary, by reason of the irruption, which the Tartars had made at that time into those Countries. Baldwin, the Emperor of Constantinople, who came to desire assistance from the Pope was there also together with Raymond, Count of Tholose, Raymond, Berenger, Count de Provence, and the Ambassadors of the Emperor, the Kings of England, France, and the other Christian Princes. Affairs of the greatest moment certainly passed with wonderful Expedition, in those times in Comparison of what they do in our days. For this great Council, wherein matters of the Greatest Importance were treated of, the smallest of which would now take up much a longer time, and would be discussed and debated with extraordinary difficulty, was finished in three Sessions. In the first of them the Pope being seated upon a Throne, which was raised in the great Church at Lions, having at his Right hand the Emperor of Constantinople, and upon his Left the other Princes, he made a most Pathetic Discourse, in which comparing his pains and Grief to those of Jesus Christ upon the Cross, he said that the Church had received five great Wounds, from which it was impossible but he must be extremely sensible of her pain. The first, was the abuses and disorders, which were so frequent among the ecclesiastics. The Second, was by the Insolence and the Tyranny of the Saracens, year 1245 who had profaned the Sacred places, and laid waste the Holy City, and were upon the point of taking all that remained in Palestine from the Christians. The third Wound was that which was given by the Schism of the Greeks, whose power, though it had been brought down, yet now began to rise again and even to threaten Constantinople, which was reduced to the last Extremities. The fourth was by the furious irruption of the Tartars, into Hungary, even to the very confines of Germany, where they filled all with Blood, Slaughter and Ruin. The Fifth was by the terrible Persecution of Frederick, who exposed the Church to all those Sufferings, for which Pope Gregory had cut him off from the Body of the Church, in which he not only persisted, but daily augmented his former guilt by new and greater Crimes. After which, the Patriarch of Constantinople, and Valeran, Bishop of Berylus, who was sent by the Patriarch of Jerusalem to implore the Succour of the Christians of the West, gave a Relation of the deplorable condition, wherein the Affairs of the Latins were in Greece and Palestine; And then Thadeus de Sessa, the Judge of the Imperial Palace, and the Emperor's Ambassador, rose up and spoke to the Council in the name of his Master. At first, that he might gain the Favour of the Assembly, he repeated in general, and few words, what the Pope had said concerning the Saracens, Greeks, Tartars, and the Emperor, and protested, that Frederick, whose Power by reason of so many Victories, as he had gained against his Enemies, was greater than ever it had been before, offered himself withal his heart to employ all that he had, his Fortunes and his Arms, to reduce the Greeks to reason, and to repulse the Tartars, and that he was ready to go himself in person, and at his own charges, into Palestine, to drive out the Corasmins, and there to re-establish the Affairs of the Christians, which were in such ill terms; and that in the mean time he promised to restore to the Church whatsoever should be found that he had taken from it, and to make all the satisfaction that could be expected, if in any thing he had offended. To this the Pope, not doubting but all this was said, as an Artifice to surprise and amuse the Council, only answered, that they were not met there to talk of new promises, but to see that he performed those, which he had already made upon his Oath, which he had so often eluded. And then, added he, after having so often deceived us, what Caution will he give to Warrant, that which he promiseth? The Kings of France and England, boldly and without delay answered Thadeus, ought not they to be accepted? By no means, replied the Pope, because if he should again fail in his promises, as thereiss reason enough to believe that he will, we shall be obliged to take our remedy against these two Kings. So that the Church for one Enemy, which she hath now upon her hands, shall then have three, which are the three most puissant Princes in all Europe. Then Thadeus continuing his discourse to come to the point, which was in question, and upon which he was desired to insist, he endeavoured to answer precisely to all the Crimes, which the Pope had objected against Frederick. And being very dexterous and wonderful Eloquent, he spoke with so much Art, and gave so soft and plausible a turn to his defence, that there were very many in the Assembly, who appeared highly satisfied. But Innocent, who was a very able man, and who was perfectly well acquainted with all the Circumstances of this Affair, replied instantly to all that the Emperor's Ambassador had said in defence of his Master, and answered to every particular, with as much exactness and Strength, as if he had been a long time before prepared, by seeing what Thadeus would say upon this Subject. And this was what was done in this first Session. In the Second, which was held eight days after, upon Tuesday the fifth of July, divers Bishops, especially the Spaniards, who were come in greater numbers to the Council than any other Nation, tendered an accusation consisting in many Articles against the Emperor, urging the Pope to condemn him, especially upon this whereon they insisted principally, That it was the intention of that Prince, as appeared by his own Letters, to dispoil the ecclesiastics of all their Estates, and to reduce them to the same condition that they were in, during the times of the primitive Persecution. The Ambassador on the other side endeavoured to satisfy the Council in every particular of the Charge. year 1245 But perceiving that the greatest part of his Judges, were not like to be favourable to him, he desired, that at least it might be deferred for some days till the third Session, to the end, that the Emperor, who he assured them was upon his way to come to the Council, might have time according to his desire, to make his appearance. To this, the Pope willingly consented, as believing that if that Prince were present, all differences would easily be adjusted. And although many, who desired that this Affair should be quickly determined, opposed it, he gave twelve days respite, in which they laboured in the private meetings to regulate all the other matters, that were under debate. At last the term being expired, and that the Emperor, who would by no means acknowledge the Council to be the Judge of his differences with the Pope, did not appear, the third Session was held upon the Monday, being the seventeenth day of July, where the seventeen Decrees, which were made for the reformation of manners and discipline, were approved, as also those, for finding out the ways to secure the Empire of Constantinople, and to oppose the irruption of the Tartars, and for the Publication of a Crusade, against the Saracens, who possessed the Holy Land. That which was decreed upon this Article was, That the Crusade should be preached in all places; That those, who had already taken upon them the Cross, and had not accomplished their Vow, should be constrained by the Prelates to take it up, upon pain of Excommunication; That the Ancient Crusades, and those who should take it up anew, should at a certain time and place to be appointed, repair to the Pope to receive his Benediction; That there should be either a Peace or a Truce for four years, among all the Christian Princes; That during all that time, there should be no public Tournaments or Tilt held; That the Lords of the Crusade should retrench all manner of Superfluity, and Vain Magnificence in their train, their Equipage, their habits, and their Tables; That the Bishops should take great care to exhort their People, and especially such upon whom they imposed any Penance for their Crimes, to contribute some part of their Goods to the Holy War; and that they should keep an exact Register of what was thus collected; That all the ecclesiastics should be obliged to pay for this War the twentieth part of their Revenue for three years, those only excepted, who took up the Cross themselves; and that the Pope and the Cardinals should pay the tenth to give an example to others, who might be ashamed not to follow them. And in short, all the Privileges granted by the Councils, and by the Popes in Favour of the Crusades were confirmed, and all those Punishments denounced by the Bullas and the Canons against such as enterprised any thing against the Persons or Estates of the Crusades, or against such as favoured the Pirates, or carried Arms to the Infidels, were also ratified. And for the obtaining the aid of God Almighty, it was ordered that Prayers should be made in all Churches in the Octaves of the Nativity of our Blessed Lady. After this the Cause of the Emperor, who had refused to appear, was taken into consideration; And as his Ambassador Thadeus, perceived that the Sentence, which was already prepared, was going to be pronounced by the Pope, he protested aloud against it, to stop it from proceeding any further, crying, That he appealed to a general Council. To which the Pope replied with great Moderation, That this was one that all the Prelates and Princes had been called to; and that if the Bishops of Germany, and some others were not present, it was the Fault of his Master, who had hindered them from coming. On the other part, Hugh Bigod, William de Chanteloup, and Philip Basset, the Ambassadors of England, who favoured Frederick, the Brother-in-Law of their King, whose Sister he had married, to gain time presented to the Pope Letters in the Name of the whole English Nation, which contained two very nice points, wherein they demanded to have Justice done them; and which doubtless would take up a great deal of time. The first was upon what the late King John had done, who in despite and contrary to all right, as well as against the Inclination of all his People, had, they said, made a Donation of England and Ireland, to the Pope, to have the Crown for the future held of the Holy See; which they protested was wholly null and void, the Archbishop of Canterbury, having in the name of the whole Body of the Realm opposed it. The Second was a complaint to the Pope that his Legates, Nuncio's and other Ministers, year 1245 whom he sent into England, besides the levying of the Peter-pences, made there under a thousand Pretexts such insupportable Exactions upon the People, as they were resolved no longer to suffer. To this, Innocent, who easily discovered the Artifice, answered coldly, That the Council being not assembled for those matters, the discussion of them must be deferred till some other time, wherein they might be debated more fully and with more leisure. And then, after having acquainted the Assembly with how much respect, Honour, and all the Testimonies of a sincere affection, he had treated the Emperor Frederick, both before and since his Pontificate, and acquainted them how many times, he had ineffectually endeavoured to reduce him to his Duty by mild and gentle methods, he first pronounced the Sentence against him viva voce, and afterwards caused it to be read, by which, He declared him excommunicate; deprived him of the Empire and all his Realms, and of all manner of Honours, preeminences and Dignities, for all those Crimes, which are therein at large expressed, absolving all his Subjects from the Oaths of Allegiance, which they had taken to him; and expressly prohibiting all manner of persons under pain of Excommunication, to acknowledge him either as Emperor, or as King, or in that quality to give him either Counsel or Aid: And at the same time the Bishops, who held the Tapers lighted in their hands, approved and confirmed the Sentence, and in extinguishing them, pronounced the Anathema against him. After which, the Pope rising from his Throne, began the Te Deum, with which Hymn this famous Council was concluded; in which, there was neither Decree, nor Canon made concerning matters of Faith, though there were many Heresies in those times, there being nothing made, but certain Regulations for the Discipline of the Church; and after the Judgement, which was given against Frederick, the Pope decided nothing, but a Politic and tender Affair of State, in which all Sovereigns seemed to have a great Interest. For upon occasion of this Council, the Estates of Portugal being dissatisfied with their King Dom Sanches, whom in by reason of the weakness of his Mind, they believed unfit and unable to govern, they sent to Lions the Archbishop of Braganza, and the Bishop of Conimbra, to request from the Pope, that he would permit them to place upon the Throne his Brother, Prince Alphonso, who was his presumptive Heir, and who possessed all the admirable Qualities, which could be desired in a King. Innocent, who understood that an action of this nature might produce very dangerous Consequences, would by no means consent to what they desired; yet nevertheless he was willing, that Alphonso should govern in the room of the King, to whom he ordered, that they should give a sufficient allowance for the support of his Royal Dignity, in what ever place he should choose for his retreat. But the most of the Governors of places would not at all consent to this Change, which they did not believe to appertain to the spiritual Jurisdiction, to which the Popes in Virtue of their Authority derived from Jesus Christ, either aught to pretend, or had any Right to determine. And consequently they refused absolutely to receive Alphonso, contrary to the Oath, which they had taken to the King. And the Action, which was done upon this occasion by the generous Martin Flecho, Governor of the Castle of Conimbra, deserves the commendation of all Posterity. This brave man having maintained the Siege against Alphonso with so much constancy, that having spent all their Provisions, he and the Soldiers were reduced to feed upon Hides and the Cover of Trunks; at length a Message was sent to him, that now he might surrender the place and yet save his Honour, by reason that Dom Sanches, the King was dead at Toledo without Issue; he desired a Truce for so many days as was necessary for him to go thither and return back again; which being granted, he took Post and so soon as he came thither, he caused the Tomb of the King, his Master, to be opened in the Presence of a Public Notary and Witnesses, and seeing that he was really dead he put the Keys of the Castle, with which that Prince had entrusted him, into his hands, and had it recorded; And then returning within the Term, which he had demanded, he set open the Gates to receive his new King; leaving to all Subjects an Illustrious Example of that Inviolable Fidelity, which they own to their Sovereigns; and a fair Copy for all Soldiers, to show them in what manner they ought to defend a place they are entrusted with, that so they may answer the expectation, of their King, who hath done them the Honour to commit it to their keeping. year 1245 Mean time the Council being thus ended with the Condemnation of Frederick; that Prince, who was then at Turin, conceived at it an extreme grief mixed with Fury, Choler, and Contempt, which he manifested by a most surprising Action. For causing his Crown to be brought to him, he put it upon his Head, and then addressing himself to those about him. This Crown, said he, which you now see upon my head, is not to be disposed of, or lost by the Decrees of the Pope or Council; there must be other kind of Arms employed to take it from me, and there will be whole Rivers of Blood let out before that be done. And thereupon he writ to all the Kings and Princes of Christendom, large Letters, in which he answered in Order to every particular point of the Sentence, showing the nullity of it by all the reasons, which could be drawn either from Law or Fact, and above all he endeavoured to interest all Kings in his Cause, which he said was the Common Cause of all Sovereigns. He protested that he did in this occasion, defend not only his particular, but all their Rights in maintaining as he did, That though those Crimes which were falsely objected against him, and those which might be objected against any other Princes, were undoubtedly true, yet neither Popes, nor Councils had any manner of Right to punish them by depriving them of the least part of their Temporal Rights, over which Jesus Christ had not given them any manner of Power, and consequently did not in any way appertain to them to concern themselves about. Adding further, that as he was not the first Prince in whom ambitious and meddling Popes had endeavoured to depose and dispossess of their Crowns, so he should not be the last, unless all Kings would join with him to oppose an Usurpation so dangerous and prejudicial to the Rights of all Crowned Heads, who for their Temporal Dignities depended upon no other except God alone. He remonstrated to them, that according to his observation, the source and Spring of all this disorder was the overgrown Temporal power of the Church; and so far was he from retracting what he had been accused for in the Council to have said, that it was necessary to reduce the ecclesiastics to the condition, wherein they were in the Primitive Church, that he took God to Witness that this was his Intention, and to begin with the greatest and the richest; and that this was certainly a work of great Charity, to take from them those great Riches, which were the Cause of all their disorders, and to reduce them to that State of happy Poverty, which rendered their Predecessors like to the Apostles by doing of Miracles, and not thinking to triumph like Kings, but by their Sanctity, and the holiness of their Lives and Doctrine, imitating and submitting themselves to Jesus Christ. And in short he exhorted all Princes to join with him to take from the ecclesiastics, of what quality soever, all that was superfluous, to the end that contenting themselves with a little, they might have the greater Liberty to serve God the better. I must needs say that there are many things to be answered to this design of Frederick, and that it is easy to oppose it with many invincible reasons. But this shall not hinder me here from making one little remark, which so far as I believe hath never been made by any Person, and which may be of use to such as apply themselves to reading of History. Matthew Pariso, an English man, and a Monk of St. Alban, a rich Abbey in England, who writ in those times, declares himself openly upon all occasions for Frederick, whom he praiseth rather with the Affectation of an Orator than the Modesty of an Historian, and does so eternally exclaim against the Popes, whose conduct he blames in a Manner, which is displeasing even to those, who are not too favourable to the Holy See; but in this place he turns his Style on the sudden, and his own Pittance coming to be touched in the Revenue of his Monastery, which according to Frederick's Design was to be retrenched; he declames fearfully against this Emperor, saying, that by his writing at this rate he lost all the Reputation, which he had acquired of being a Wise and Prudent Prince, and rendered himself extremely suspected of Heresy. This makes it evident, that an interested Writer, changeth his opinion, not only according to the Nature and Quality of the Persons, which are changed, but according to the differing Prospects, which his Interest gives him, in which he finds himself engaged in what he writes. year 1245 So that in making use of this Author, who hath very good things, I have endeavoured to make a just difference betwixt what he writes, as himself, and those authentic Pieces, which he produceth, which give great insight into the true History, such as are the Relations sent by those, who had a share in the Affairs then transacted, the Letters of the Popes and Princes, as also those of the Emperor, which contain, what I have now related, and which the continuator of Baronius, hath inserted into his Annals, printed at Rome, where the Reader may find this and much more to the same purpose that I have recounted, But Frederick did not satisfy himself with Writings, but pushing on his Sentiments to all things, which his Vindicative Nature, and his Anger furiously inflamed could transport him, there was nothing which he did not attempt, or which he did not put in Execution to revenge himself of the Pope; persecuting and ruining his Relations, banishing and dispoiling them of all their Estates, as he did all the Priests and Bishops, who refused to celebrate the Divine Offices in those places where he was; constraining all the ecclesiastics to pay the third part of their Revenues to maintain the War against the Pope. Making use of Fire and Sword and all those Violent Ways by himself and his Gibelins against all those, who were of the Pope's Party. So that the Pope was obliged in his own defence against such a Potent Enemy to cause a Crusade to be preached by his Cordeliers against him and his Sons, who on their side acted with as much Violence and Ardour as their Father. Thus the Succours designed for Constaminople, against Vatacus, the Greek Emperor, and those for Hungary against the Tartars, were frustrated, and the Troubles of Germany and Italy, which ensued upon the Condemnation of Frederick and the Crusade which was published against that Prince, were so many diversions, which weakened the Principal Crusade in such a manner, that notwithstanding that, it was resolved in the Council against the Saracens. Of all the Kings of Europe, there was none, except St. Lewis, who with the French only undertook the Holy War, he having taken upon him the Cross, even before the Council of Lions. For as in the Year before, after his return from the War of Poitu, where he had so gloriously vanquished the Earl of March, and the English, at the Battle of Tailebourg, he fell sick in the Month of December, and by the Violence of the Distemper, he was reduced to that Extremity, that he was believed to be dead, remaining without pulse and without Sense for one whole day; insomuch that they were consulting of his Funerals, when suddenly coming, as it were, out of an Ecstasy, and blessing God, who had drawn him from the Gates of Death; and looking upon the Standards by, he made choice among all the Bishops, who where assembled in his Chamber, of the Bishop of Paris, who was at that time the famous William d' Avergne, whom his learned Writings, and the eminent Sanctity of his life have rendered so much celebrated. He presently called him to him and desired him to fasten a Cross to his Right Shoulder, as a mark of the Resolution, which he had taken after the example, of his Grandfather, Philip the August, and his great Grandfather, Lewis the young, to undertake the Holy War, for the deliverance of the Sepulchre of Jesus Christ: and he spoke to him in a manner so resolute, either because in that Extremity wherein he was, he had made a Vow to take upon him the Cross if it should please God to deliver him, or else as an ancient Writer assures us, that during this long Swoon, which Nanges calls an Ecstasy, he had a Vision in which he thought he saw the Christian Army vanquish by the Saracens, as it was before Gaza, and heard a Voice from Heaven, which said to him, King of France, Go and revenge this irreparable Loss. Let it be how it will, it is certain, that notwithstanding the Prayers and the Tears of the two Queens, his Mother and his Wife, who conjured him upon their Knees to defer the taking of such a Resolution till he was in a better condition, he protested that he would neither take any nourishment, nor Medicine, till such time as he had received the Cross. Insomuch that in conclusion the Bishop of Paris, all in Tears, fastened the Cross upon him, whilst the Queens, the Princes, his Bothers, and all those who were present began afresh to weep as if he had again been at the point of death; but he on the contrary with a pleasant Countenance and a perfect assurance, notwithstanding his extreme weakness, year 1245 protested, that God would restore him to his health for the accomplishment of his Vow. And in short, in a little time he recovered, and whilst he stayed till the condition of his Affairs would permit him to pass the Sea with a powerful Army, he continually sent great Succours of men and money into Palestine, with many Knights of the Temple and Hospital to encourage the Christians of Syria, to defend themselves vigorously against the Forces of Egypt in Expectation of his coming in person to their assistance. Hereupon Pope Innocent in Execution of the Decree of the Council of Lions, touching the Crusades, sent Cardinal Eudes of Castle- Roax, Bishop of Tusculum, his Legate, into France, to publish it in that Realm. The King received him at Paris, with all kind of magnificence, and to give the greater weight to the Publication of the Crusade, he called to meet in the Month of October, in the Octaves of St. Dennis, a great assembly of the Princes, Prelates, and Barons, where he spoke so powerfully to animate them to the Holy War, taking upon him the Office of a Preacher after the Legate, that the greatest part of the Assembly following his example, took upon them the Cross. The most Illustrious and signal among them were the three Princes, the Brothers of the King, Alphonsus, Count de Poitiers, Robert, Count d' Artois, and Charles, Count d' Anjou. The Princesses, their Ladies, imitating the example of the Queen, who resolved to go along with the King, also took upon them the Cross. So much Piety and Courage, so much love had they for these three brave Princes, their Husbands, that they would also partake with them, the pains and the dangers of this War, leaving to them all the Glory, to which their Sex would not permit them to pretend. Also Hugh, Duke of Burgundy, Peter, Duke of Bretany, William, Earl of Flanders, Hugh de Chastillon, Count de St. Paul, and Gautier de Chastillon, his Nephew, Hugh de Lusignan, Earl of March, and his Son Hugh the Brown, followed them, together with the Counts de Dreux, de Bar, de Soissons, de Blois, de Retel, de Montfort, and de Vendosme. The Lords, John de Beajeu, Constable of France, John de Beaumond, Admiral, and great Chamberlain of France, Philip de Courtenay, Guion de Flanders, Archambald de Bourbon the Younger, Raoul de Couci, John de Bars, Gaubert, and John de Apremont, Giles de Mailli, Robert de Bethune of Arras, Oliver de Termes, and Simon, Count de Sarbruc, and Lord de Comerci, Companion in Arms with the famous Seneschal de Champagne, John Sire de Joinville, so celebrated for the gallant Actions, which he performed in this Voyage for seven years, and for the History, which he writ of the great Actions of St. Lewis, and for the extraordinary Esteem in which he was to this great Prince for one of the most Wise and most Valiant Knights of his time, insomuch that he thought him worthy to be honoured, with being his particular Confident. There were also many great Prelates, who resolved to be of this Crusade, as Jubellus, de Mathfellons, Archbishop of Rheims, the Holy Man Philip Berruier, Archbishop of Bourges, most Illustrious by his Virtues, by his Doctrine, and by his Miracles, Robert de Cressonsart, Bishop of Beauvais, Garnier, Bishop of Laon, William de Bussy, Bishop of Orleans, and lastly the Cardinal Legate, whom the Pope had designed, not only to publish the Crusade in France, as he did in many Provinces, but also to accompany the King in this War. It was with this magnificent and fair train of Lords of the Crusade, that Lewis, accompanied with the Queen Blanch, his Mother, came about the end of November, to the Famous Abbey of Clunie, where the Pope, who was arrived there from Lions, met him with twelve Cardinals, the Patriarch of Constantinople, and a great number of Prelates, to confer with the King, where in Person he celebrated the Mass in his Pontificalibus, upon St. Andrew's day. It is said that this Famous Abbey, was then of so great extent, and had so many apartments, that the Pope, the King, the Queen, the Cardinals, the Princes, Prelates, and Lords, were all lodged most commodiously there with their Domestics, without giving any disturbance to the Religious, or obliging them to quit their Chambers, or any places in the Monastery, which were designed either for their Service or for the performance of their Functions. The Pope, the King and Queen Blanch were there for seven days in continual secret Conferences, which as it was believed, were principally to treat of a Reconciliation, year 1245 between the Emperor and the Pope, lest that unhappy difference, might either retard or weaken the effect of this Crusade; but all came to nothing, although this did not hinder King Lewis, who was equally Wise and Religious, and who would not enter further, into that Affair than became him, from living perfectly well with the Pope, and yet without breaking with Frederick, who at the same time did what lay in his Power, to preserve himself in Amity with the King. And truly not contenting himself only to have writ in his own defence, as he did to other Kings presently after the Council of Lions, he sent to him the year following, the famous Peter de Vignes, his Counsellor, and William d' Ochre, one of the principal Ministers, with Letters addressed to all the French, by which, after having complained of the Enterprises, which he pretended the Pope's abusing their Power, made upon the temporal Rights, both of Princes and private Persons, in many differing ways, which he exposed; he protested, that provided this abuse were reform, he was ready to submit to the Judgement of the King and his Barons, all the differences, which were betwixt him and the Pope; and moreover provided, that either the Lombard's, were obliged to give him that Obedience, which was due to him; or in case of their refusal, that whilst he endeavoured to compel them to it, the Pope should not support them in their Rebellion, he promised to go to the Conquest of the Holy Land, either by himself, or with the King of the Romans, or to send thither the King his Son, as King Lewis should judge to be most convenient, and not to give over the Enterprise, until the Christians were put into possession of the whole Realm of Jerusalem. And if this Peace could not be had upon these reasonable Conditions, yet he offered the King to furnish him with Provisions for his whole Army, with shipping and all the Assistances, which he could wish from him, either by Sea or Land. And to make it appear, that he would perform, what he had promised, he writ to all his Officers in the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily, giving them Orders to furnish the King liberally at the price Currant, during the whole time of the War in the East, with Arms, Horses, Victual, and all manner of Provisions, forbidding all manner of Persons to hinder the transportation of them upon any pretext whatsoever. These Letters, which were sealed with the Golden Bulla of Frederick, and dated in the Months of Sptember and November, in the year 1246, year 1246 are kept in the King's Treasury at Chartres, and are inserted at large in the learned observations of Monsieur du Cange, upon the History of St. Lewis, written by the sire Joinville. And certainly it must be said, that this Prince did not make only vain and Verbal Offers of his Service, either to amuse the King, or to acquit himself of a pure piece of Civility without any other effects: For he gave such orders in all his Ports, and especially in Sicily, for the transporting of Wines, Corn, and all kind of refreshments into the Isle of Cyprus, where the King erected his Magazines, that the Army found there a prodigious abundance of all things necessary for their subsistence; so that the King held himself mightily obliged to this Prince, and the Queen Mother writ to him Letters full of acknowledgements, testifying her real sense of his kindness by magnificent presents, which she sent him; adding that, which without doubt was most agreeable to him, by confessing that all France was obliged to him for the Conservation of the King's whole Army. In the mean●htime St. Lewis, who owed the first of his Care to his Dominions made no great haste of his departure, by reason that he was resolved first to finish what remained to be done before he engaged in so long and dangerous a Voyage; And indeed it must be said, that such persons as speak not very favourably of this expedition of St. Lewis, either are no great Politicians, or else most unreasonable and unjust. For it is impossible that there could be taken a more favourable Conjuncture, more just Measures, or more safe Precautions than those which he took upon this occasion, to make an Enterprise of this nature successful, to the Honour of France, without running any manifest hazard; an Enterprise wherein in those times the greatest Princes of the World thought the greatest of their Glory did consist. For all his Kingdom enjoyed a profound Peace, after the glorious Victories, which this Prince, who was one of the most valiant and wisest that ever Reigned in France, year 1246 had gained over the Princes of the League, over the Duke of Bretany, the Counts of Tholouse and March, and over the King of England, and the Prince Richard, his Brother, who had endeavoured to support the Earl of March, and by a pretty piece of Policy he carried along with him all the Princes, and all the Great men of the Realm, who might give any Suspicion, or the least occasion to fear, that they had either the Power, the Will, or the Temptation during his absence to trouble the Repose of his Dominions. For of the two most mutinous Spirits, of whom he had most reason to be distrustful, he took one of them, which was the Earl of March, along with him; and the other, which was Raymond the Young, who was Earl of Tholouse, who had also taken upon him the Cross, died before the Voyage, leaving his Dominions to Alphonsus, the King's Brother, the Count of Poitiers, who had married the Princess Joanna, his Daughter and Heiress; and the King, for his greater assurance, sent that Prince to establish himself in his new Dominion of Languedoc before he embarked himself, as he afterwards did, to go and join him in the East. Moreover he deferred his Voyage for almost four Years, to take the advantage of two fair occasions, which presented themselves, the one to reunite the County of Mascon to the Crown, which he bought of the Countess, who, after she had distributed the money, for which she sold it to the poor, retired to the Nunnery of Maubuisson, and there professed herself: the other was to bring the County of Provence into the Royal House, which had been separated from it for above three hundred Years. For Raymond Berenger, the Fifth of the Name, and the last of the Catalonian Family, who had reigned in Provence, being dead the year preceding, the King knew with so much Art how to gain Romee de Villeneuve, and Albert de Tarascon, the trusties and Guardians of the Princess Beatrix, the remaining Daughter of the four, which Count Raymond had had, who was Sister to the Queen, and the Heiress to the Count; that he obtained her for Charles d' Anjou, his Brother; and without losing of time, advancing towards Provence with one part of the Army, which was ready for the Holy War, he broke all the measures of James the King of Arragon, Cousin German to the deceased Count, and hindered his carrying the Princess away by force, as he had designed if he could not procure her by other ways, in order to oblige her to marry his Son, and by that means to retain this fair County in his Family, which lay so conveniently for him. During this time Lewis had all the leisure which could be reasonably desired to make his preparations and provisions, year 1247 which were the greatest that ever had been seen; and also to settle that Public Peace and Tranquillity which he had so happily given to all his Dominions, and to assure himself on the side of England also. For he prolonged the Truce, which had been made with that King two or three Years before, after the Victory of Taillebourg, and also engaged the Pope to be the Guarranty that it should be inviolably observed, as it was during all the time of his absence, although the English hearing of his being taken Prisoner endeavoured to break it. In short, this Wise Prince neither went as the first Crusades had done by Land, and thereby he avoided the dangers, into which they had fallen, of perishing by Famine, and the miseries which attended those vast Desert Countries, which were possessed by the Barbarians, neither did he go with a confused Multitude of all manner of Persons and People, who were to be gotten together, who served for no other purpose, but to put all into disorder; but with a good Army consisting in betwixt thirty and forty thousand men, which was such a number as the Great Alexander had when he went to the Conquest of Asia; but this Army was composed for the greatest part of Gentlemen, and choice Soldiers, such as were capable of marching over the bellies of all that Egypt and Syria could oppose against them, unless some accident should happen, or some extraordinary misfortune befall them, against which no humane Prudence can give any Warranty or Assurance. And that which was most considerable, the whole Army was absolutely at his disposal, in regard that it consisted wholly of French; for the King of England would not permit the Bishop of Berytus, who went thither to preach the Crusade, to publish it in his Dominions, alleging that he stood in need of all his Subjects to defend himself against his Enemies, if they should attack him. year 1245 King Lewis having wisely provided all things necessary for his Voyage, which he undertook in his very prime strength, being about three and thirty Years of Age, he had nothing further to do but to take care of the Government of his Realm in his absence, and this he left to his Mother, Queen Blanch, the most able Woman, and most capable of Governing of any of her time; after which he went, according to the Custom of those Ages, to St. Dennis, to receive the Oristame, the Scarf, and the Pilgrim's Staff, which he did in great Solemnity, for he parted from Paris upon the Friday after Whitsunday, in the year 1248. accompanied with the two Princes, his Brothers, the Legate, year 1248 and the most part of the Princes of the Crusade, being preceded by all the Processions of the whole City, which were followed by an infinite number of People, who, all in tears, marched from the Palace to the Nunnery of St. Antonina, singing Psalms and Litanies for the prosperity of his Voyage. From thence he went by Burgundy to Lions, where he made his Entry with all manner of Magnificence, for never any King was better acquainted with the Art of making his Royal Majesty most conspicuous in those Public Ceremonies, where he was minded to show it; and the Historians of that Age inform us, that among other remarkable Circumstances of this Magnificent Entry, there were an hundred Knights, who being completely armed, and mounted upon their great charging Horses, caparisoned with their Coat Armour, according to the manner of those times, marched before him with their Swords drawn in their hands; and this is that which our present King, who in Magnificience and Grandeur surpasseth all his Predecessars, hath revived in our days, to render to the Majesty of our Kings, that which St. Lewis himself, as great a Saint as he was, judged necessary upon some occasions, for the manifesting his Lustre and his Greatness. After this, the Holy King having again conferred with the Pope, who kept his Court at Lions, descended by the Rhone, and went to take Shipping with the Queen upon the twenty fifth of August, at Aigues-Mortes, where the greatest part of his Fleet waited for him, the remainder being at Marseilles, there to take in the rest of his Army. After which setting sail upon the twenty seventh, he arrived about the twentieth of September in the Isle of Cyprus, where the other Ships, which came from Aigues-Mortes, and Marseilles, sooner or later, as the Troops came up, which were to be embarked upon them, came to join him in a little time after. There it was that St. Lewis committed a great Error, which must not be dissembled, and which most assuredly was the cause of his Misfortune, by following, against his own Judgement, the advice of the Lords of his Army, and the Barons of the Isle of Cyprus; For one part of them being very glad to repose themselves, and the other to have time to prepare themselves for the Voyage, which they promised to undertake with the French, and they lay so continually at him, that they persuaded the King contrary to his Inclination to stay in the Island till after Easter, pretending that the Winter was now approaching, and that it was most convenient to expect the coming up of several other Troops, which were to arrive; and this occasioned two great Mischiefs; For first, the Waters in the Island were nothing so wholesome, as those of Egypt, and the Air was very bad, and not at all favourable to Strangers, who were not accustomed to it, by reason whereof Diseases fell into the Army, and considerable numbers of them died, and divers even of the first Quality to the number of at least an hundred and fifty, among whom were extremely regretted, the Counts de Dreux, Vendosme, St. Paul, and Montfort, the Bishops of Beauvais and Noyon, and the Illustrious Archambaud de Bourbon. This is he, who was the last of the Race of the Archambauds, who having held, during the time of seven Counts of that name, Bourbon, and a great part of Avergne for three hundred and eight years, lost them happily for the Glory of that House, by the Heiress thereof, marrying into the August Race of St. Lewis, there to revive again in the most glorious manner in the Descendants of that King, who are raised, as we see them at this day, with greater Splendour than ever, to one of the tallest Thrones of Christendom. For the Prince John de Burgogne, the second Son of Hugh the Fourth, who was of this Crusade, having married Agnes, year 1248 the Inheretrix of Archambaud, had by her only one Daughter, Beatrix de Burgogne, a Princess of the Blood of France, by her Father, and Heiress of Bourbon, by her Mother. Robert of France, the fourth Son of St. Lewis, and Count de Clermont in Beavoise, married this Princess Beatrix, by whom he had Lewis, who took the Surname of the Inheritance of his Mother, and was the first Duke of Bourbon; and from him, by James de Bourbon, Constable of France, his second Son, are descended the Princes of that Royal House, of which the Eldest, after the Race of Valois was Extinct, succeeded to the Crown of France, from Henry the Great, whose Grandson Lewis fourteenth, the Inheritor of his admirable Virtues, and the glorious Surname of The Great, hath with the Crown rendered that Name the most August, and the most revered of all the Earth, which he hath received from so many Kings, his Predecessors, accounting from this St. Lewis, to whom he is the Twelfth in a Lineal Succession. And I cannot believe that this Digression will be disagreeable, which I make of this Genealogy upon so favourable an opportunity, since it falls in so naturally with the Subject of my History, which I now am about again to pursue. The second ill consequence which this too long stay in the Isle of Cyprus produced, was the leisure, which was thereby given the Saracens, who were then at War among themselves, to reunite, or at least to suspend their private quarrels, to put themselves into a condition to oppose the Forces of the Christians. And in truth, when the King came to Land in the Isle of Cyprus, the Sultan of Egypt, who sometime before had seized upon Damasous, and all the other Sultan's upon his hands, who were united against him for their common defence, and would not treat at all of any peace, as he desired, unless he would first withdraw his Forces out of Syria. He was himself sick at Damascus, and fearing that the Christian Army should in the mean time fall into Egypt, he was at last obliged at least to obtain a Truce from the Sultan of Aleppo, and to draw off his Army from before Emessa, which he had besieged; so that if St. Lewis in stead of stopping in Cyprus, had gone directly to attack Egypt, he had found it without any Forces capable of resisting him, and might have made himself Master of it, with very little difficulty. Whereas during these six Months, which were spent unprofitably in this Island, the Sultan of Egypt had all the time and opportunity, which he could desire to accommodate matters with the Sultan of Aleppo, and to recover of his Distemper; as also to draw his Army into Egypt, and there to raise new Troops, and put all things into a posture to receive the Christians: on the contrary, the King's Army was extremely weakened by this long time of lying still; and besides consumed all the great Provisions, which had been made; insomuch, that unless the Emperor, Frederick, and the Venetians to whom he made applications for Provisions, which the Isle could not furnish him withal, and who served him with it, in a manner infinitely obliging, had not furnished him, he had been constrained to return into France, without doing any thing at all. It was during his stay in this Island, and towards the end of the Year, that he received from Nicosia the Ambassadors of one of the Tartarian Princes, whose name was Ercalthay, and, who was then in the most Eastern Parts of Persia. After they had presented their Letters of Credence, which were written in the Persian Language, and in Arabic Characters, and translated into Latin by Father Andrew, a Monk of the Order of St. Dominick, who had formerly known these Ambassadors in Persia, whither he had been sent by Pope Innocent, they informed the King, that the Great Cham of Tartary had about three Years before been baptised, having been converted by the good Example and the Exhortations of the Empress, his Mother, the Daughter of a King of the Indians, she having always been a Christian; That their Master, Prince Ercalthay, who had also for a long time been a Christian, had been sent by the Great Cham, with a Potent Army against the Calife of Baldac, as great an Enemy of the Christians, as the Sultan of Egypt. That that Sultan to affright the Sultan of Mussule, or Nineveh, who was also a Friend of the Christians, had written to him, that the King of France, being come to attack Egypt, had been defeated at Sea, and had lost above sixty of his Ships, which had been carried in Triumph into Damiata. They added, that their Master had not doubted but that this Defeat by the Egyptians was a pure Fiction; year 1248 and that therefore having understood that a King so renowned throughout the World, was come to make War upon Egypt, he had sent them to inform his Majesty, that he was marching to besiege the Calife in Baldac in the beginning of the Summer, and therefore requested him at the same time to attack Egypt; and that the Sultan and the Calife being thereby hindered from mutually assisting the one the other, they might both of them with more ease come to the ends, which they had proposed. All this, which these Ambassadors had related, and the account which they gave of the puissance of the Tartars, was exactly conformable to the Letters, which the Constable of Armenia, who had made a Great Voyage into Tartary, had before written to the King of Cyprus; so that St. Lewis received them with an incredible joy, year 1249 and himself conducted them upon the Holy Days of the Nativity and Epiphany, to the Divine Offices, caused them to be entertained at his own Table, and kept them there till the beginning of February, that so he might treat with them with more deliberation. After which he dispatched them, loaden with Noble Presents, together with Father Andrew, and two other Religious of his Order, two Cordeliers, two Secular ecclesiastics, and Gentlemen Attendants, whom he sent Ambassadors, some to the Prince Ercalthay, and others to the Great Cham, with most Magnificent Presents, both for the one and the other. There was sent to the Great Cham, among other Rarities and curious Pieces of great value, a most Sumptuous Tent of Scarlet, in form of a Chapel, where was to be seen in rich Embroidery, all the Mysteries of the Life and Passion of Jesus Christ, admirably represented in Silk raised with Gold, there was also belonging to the Chapel sent all the necessary Ornaments and Furniture for the Celebration of the Divine Offices; as also to each of them a small piece of the Wood of the Holy Cross; and the King writ to them Letters full of the Spirit of Religion, with which his Soul abounded, in which he exhorted them to persevere in the love of God, who by his Grace had been pleased to illuminate their Minds. and had called them to the happy knowledge of himself. The Legate also on his part did the same, writing to the Mother of the Great Cham, and to all the Christians of that huge Empire, exhorting them to take great care to preserve themselves in the true Faith, and the Unity of the Catholic Church, under the Obedience of the Vicar of Jesus Christ upon Earth. After this the King spent the rest of the Winter in pacifying some troubles among the Christians, especially those of Syria and Palestine, and in according the differences, which were between the King of Armenia, and the Princes of Antioch, who were continually in some quarrel or other. He caused also a great number of slat bottomed Boats to be built in order to the landing of his men; and at last after he had assembled all his Troops, who were with part of his Ships in the neighbouring Islands, and had received a reinforcement from Europe, of about two hundred English Gentlemen, conducted by William Longsword, Earl of Salisbury, who were resolved to have a share in this War, and after he had escaped the Treachery of certain Saracens, who were come disguised into Cyprus with intention to poison him, he embarked the Week before Whit sunday, together with Henry, King of Cyprus, and set sail for Egypt. But being by ill weather, which separated his Fleet, driven into Limisso, he parted the day after the Feast from that Port, and with a fair gale of Wind arrived in four days before Damiata, which place he resolved to besiege. Damiata, of which I have formerly given the description, both as to its Situation and Strength, was at this time nothing so well fortified, as it was when about thirty Years before it was taken by the Christians, after a Siege of eighteen Months; neither was it defended by such gallant men as those, who sustained that long Siege; and the Sultan of Egypt, Melech-Salah, although he was a great Soldier, yet was much declined from his first Vigour, being in a weak and languishing condition, by reason of the great Sickness, which he had had during the Winter at Damascus. Nevertheless, as he did expect, that the King would make his first attempt against the City of Damascus, which was the Key of Egypt, he brought thither all the Army, which came with him from Syria; and so soon as the Signal was given from the Tower of Pharus, that the Christian Fleet appeared, he ranged his Army along the Shoar, and caused his Ships and Galleys to descend to the Mouth of the Nile; year 1249 so that the first object, that appeared before the Eyes of the French, were two great Armies, one by Sea, to oppose their Entry into the River; the other by Land upon the Brink of the Shoar to hinder their descent, from which two Armies they heard the terrible noise of their Instruments of War, and the dreadful shouts of so many millions of Saracens, as made the Arched Roof of Heaven resound again; the Sultan himself, as ill as he was, would put himself at the head of them, armed completely from head to foot in his fairest Arms, all of fine Gold, and sparkling with precious Stones, which receiving a marvellous reduplication from the shining Beams of the Sun cast such glittering Rays, as made him seem all on fire. Hereupon the King held a Council with the King of Cyprus, the Duke of Burgundy, and William Hardoum, Prince of Achaia, who came from Morea, John d' Ybelin, Count de Jaffa, who was come from Palestine, and with the rest of the Princes and Great Lords. They were all in the Opinion, that they ought not to endeavour a descent in View of two such great Armies, they having not the third part of the number of their Enemies, and that they ought rather to expect the arrival of those, who had been separated by the Tempest, among whom there were above twelve hundred Knights, who were the choice men of the Army. But the King maintained the contrary opinion, and made it clearly appear, that if they deferred it any longer, they might put themselves in evident danger of losing all, in regard that they had no Port, to which they might retire and secure themselves from a sudden Tempest, which as it had done before, might chance to overtake them, and either separate them, or force them ashore upon the Enemy's Coasts. And that besides this delay, would not only give the Enemies an increase of Courage, but the time to retrench themselves with greater advantage. This resolution of the King, and the Power of his reasonings, having dissipated the Fear, which they had, That they should not succeed in their attempt with so small a number, it was ordered that the next morning, they should move directly against the Enemies if they should again appear, to dispute the descent the day following accordingly, being the Friday after Whitsunday, the greatest part of the Knights and Soldiers, descending from the Ships in their Arms into the Shallops and flat-Boats, which were built in the Isle of Cyprus for the purpose, the King ranged them in two great Lines, which extended upon a long Front, to possess the whole length of the Bank, upon which the Enemies stood in Battalia, in the same posture as the day before, only the Sultan was not there, by reason that his sickness increasing, he had caused himself to be carried to a Country house, about a League from Damiata. The King was upon the right hand accompanied with the two Princes, his Brothers, the King of Cyprus, the other Princes, and the Flower of the Nobility and Knights, who encompassed him with their Boats; He was in his with the Cardinal Legate, who himself carried his Cross, which he held up aloft to animate the Soldiers by beholding the Saviour of the World represented, dying for them, and for whose sake, they were going to expose their Lives. The Bark, which carried the Oriflame or Banner of St. Dennis, went before all those, which accompanied the King; The Count de Jaffa was upon the Left hand, drawing towards the Mouth of the River, and appeared at the head of his Vessels, in a magnificent Galliot, painted all over with his Arms. And Count Errard de Brienne was in the middle of these two Squadrons, with Baldwin de Reims, who led a thousand Gallant Knights. As soon as the Signal was given all these Vessels began to row towards the shore, and so soon as they approached within distance the Archers and Crossbows, made a furious discharge to scatter the Enemy, who advanced to the Bank shooting without Intermission from their side also; and at the same instant, sooner or later found themselves aground according as the Sea was deeper or shallower, in divers places to which they rowed, the Soldiers leapt out of the Boats, and advancing out of the Water upon the Sand, they drew up in their Battalions, covering themselves with their Bucklers, and presenting the points of their Pikes and Swords to their Enemies, who durst never so much as once charge them. One of the first Barks, which landed, was that, which carried the Banner of St. Dennis; which the King no sooner perceived, year 1249 but without staying till they could run his Barge aground, and notwithstanding all the remonstrances of the Legate, who used his utmost Power to restrain him, he threw himself into the Sea up to the very Shoulders, his Shield hanging about his neck, his Cask upon his head, and with his Sword in his hand; he had in this Posture advanced directly against the Enemy, if those who crowded after him, had not in a manner by Force stopped him till the Knights, who animated by his Example precipitated themselves overboard, with the desire to come up to him, had put themselves into order of Battle, as they did presently after. Hereupon the Saracens, whom those, who were already landed, had beaten and repulsed twice or thrice, seeing that the whole Army began to move to charge them in good order, and that the King himself marched at the head of his Battalion, they no longer thought of sighting, but after a faint resistance, the Governor of Damiata, who commanded them, being slain upon the place, with two Admirals, and a considerable number of their men, they presently fell to running with so much Precipitation and disorder, that they had not time to break their Bridge of Boats, by which they entered into Damiata. And that which was still more surprising was, that they instantly quitted the City, which was one of the strongest in all Egypt, and after having set fire to the Magazines and Merchants Warehouses, they marched out, and retreated towards Cairo. And to complete the good Fortune of this famous day, at the same time that the Army gained the shore from the Enemy, and that they fought upon Land in this Heroic manner, the great Ships and the Galleys entering almost without resistance into the Mouth of the River, constrained the Saracens Ships to save themselves by Flight, as they did all, except those, who having sailed up the River as far as the Bridge, could not pass so soon through the passage, which they had made, but that they were taken by the Christians. And in truth all this seemed to look like something miraculous, to see a puissant Army, which consisted principally in Cavalry, routed in so short a time by so few men, all on foot, and all moiled in the Mud and Water, so that they could not land, but in small numbers, and had scarce time to draw themselves up into some disorderly Battalions; and that the Ships, in which there were scarce any besides the Seamen, should overcome and dissipate a great Navy well armed; but above all, that one of the strongest Cities of the East, which it was believed could never be taken but by Famine, should immediately after be abandoned by men, who after all this were excellent Soldiers, and wanted neither Skill nor resolution, as had well been made appear both in Syria, and as too well appeared afterwards in Egypt. But besides that they were amazed at the Courage of the French, and the surprising Boldness of the King; and that God, as it may well be believed, possessed their hearts with that kind of Panic fear, which makes valiant Men sometimes lose both their Judgement and their Courage; I find that a false Rumour, which was brought them of the Death of the Sultan, by some, who came from Cairo, and which was believed to be true by both the Armies contributed much to this extraordinary Event; in regard that all the principal Officers, had an inclination to go directly to Cairo, to take care of their particular Interests; in this great revolution of Affairs, which the Death of the Sultan would in probability make; so that they thought no longer of Fight, or of keeping a City, which they chose rather to set on fire, than to leave it entire to their Enemies. However it was, it is most certain that they did abandon it, and that so much of the Bridge of Boats, as their precipitation had given them leave to break, having been in a few hours repaired, a great part of the Army marched over and seized upon it, and having extinguished the Fire, and cleansed the Houses, and put the great Mosque into the condition wherein it was, when it was consecrated to God in the Honour of our Lady, at the first taking of Damiata, thirty years before the King made his solemn entry into the City. And certainly he did it in a manner, which evidently shown, that he had an intention, that God alone should have the Honour of the Triumph of such a memorable Victory, which had not been gained, but by the extraordinary wonders of his Power and his Goodness. For he commanded that the Cross should enter first, year 1249 and should immediately be followed by the Legate, the Patriarch, the Archbishops, the Bishops, and all the Clergy singing Hymns in the praise of the great God of Armies: after which the King, accompanied with the Queen, the King of Cyprus, the Counts D' Artois and D' Anjou, marched bareheaded and barefooted with a profound Humility, giving all the Glory to God only: he was followed in this manner by all the Princes, the Lords, the Officers, and the whole Army, which afterwards continued there all the Summer, and the Autumn, partly in the City and partly in the Camp, which he caused to be fortified against the Saracens, who endeavoured to surprise it. That which made him take this Resolution was the fear of falling into a misfortune by the inundation of the Nilus, as the Christian Army under King John de Brienne had done. But in regard that the River does not begin to swell till towards Midsummer, if they had marched presently towards Cairo, and not deferred it to an unseasonable time, as they did afterwards, it is almost certain that in the disorder, which the Sultan's Sickness, and the defeat of his Army had occasioned, they might have had time enough before the rising of the Nile, to have taken that great City, which being not at all fortified, would upon its Reduction, have made them Masters of all Egypt without ever drawing the Sword. But it is the Misfortune which usually attends Prosperity, which is apt so to Blind, and unbend men's spirits, and to make them slacken their pace in the full Career of their pursuit of Glory, and then to stop, when they ought by acting most vigourosly to seek that safe Repose, which is only to be had by going through with their great designs. The Pious King was not able to oppose the Torrent of Opinions, which ran so impetuously strong for their stay at Damiata, under a hundred specious pretexts, which were alleged for it; and during this stay so fatal to their Affairs, the Army not only wasted with this long idleness, but pulled down upon themselves the just Vengeance of the incensed Omnipotence, by all manner of dissoluteness, and the most shameful and infamous Debauches, into which both the Officers and Soldiers continually plunged themselves; nor was it possible for St. Lewis by his utmost Efforts to prevent them either by his Reproofs and Exhortations, by his orders, which were ill observed, of by the Punishments which he did inflict upon the Criminals, in banishing many Officers of his own household from the Court, or even by that which is ordinarily most prevalent from Kings, by the admirable examples of all manner of Virtues, which upon all occasions were so conspicuous in his Life and Actions. At length, the Count de Poitiers, who had been so long expected, arriving about the end of October, with his Sister-in-Law, the Countess D' Artois, and a great and Noble Reinforcement of the choice Gentlemen of the Arrierban, a Council was held, to consider what enterprise was to be undertaken. And in this matter there were two Opinions, very remote and different. The first was maintained by the Duke of Bretany, who was of Opinion that they ought to Attack the City of Alexandria, in regard that if they could take that place, they should thereby become Masters of all that side of Egypt; that they should be Masters of an admirable and safe Port for the Fleet to ride in; that they should thereby have the great conveniency, not only of receiving the Succours of Men and Provisions, which they should stand in need of, but also be able absolutely to hinder any from coming to the Enemies by Sea. But the Count D' Artois declared himself for the second Opinion, and strongly argued, that as the certain way to destroy a Serpent was to crush his head; so to finish the Conquest of Egypt in a little time, the certain way was to march directly against Cairo, which was the Capital City of the Realm. This advice, which seemed most plausible, in regard it seemed to carry more Honour in it, was embraced by all with great applause; and thereupon the King gave orders for the Army to march, which they did upon the twentieth of November. I have showed formerly that the Nilus entering into the lower Egypt, a little below the Grand Cairo, which is also the ancient Memphis, divides itself into four Arms, which when this great River increases, as it doth certainly more or less every Year, from about the Feast of St. John the Baptist, till towards the middle of September, it also makes several other great Channels, which remain dry when the Waters fall, and retire within their proper shores, from whence as before was observed arises that opinion so common among Authors, year 1249 who frequently talk of the seven Mouths of the Nilus. The Ancient Pelusium stood upon the first of these Branches towards Palestine. Damiata was situate upon the second Arm towards the left hand, about a good mile from the Sea; for as for the City of that Name at this time, it stands above two Leagues further up the River, and upon the other side; there is also a little City called Massora on the other side the River in the Land of Goshen, upon the Road that leads to Cairo, in the place where this second Arm divides itself from the first. And this is the true situation of these places, as appears evidently by the Consequences of this History; and that which hath occasioned so much trouble in these matters, is the confounding of these Names, whilst they give to the first of the Arms of the Nilus, that of Rexi or Rossette, which at present is the Name of the Fourth, and was anciently called Canonique upon which Alexandria stands, as the second upon which Damiata was situate was called the Tanitique. It was near the Angle which the parting of these two Arms of the Nilus, form near Massora, that the Saracens were encamped with all their Forces, commanded by the Emir Secedun Faroardin, the most renowned and bravest of their Captains, to whom the Sultan Melech-Salah, who was almost ready to breathe his last, had entrusted the Government of all his Dominions, and the Conduct of his Army against the Christians, in expectation of the return of his Son Almoadam, whom he had sent into Syria to raise new Troops. The King's Army which had received a reinforcement of the Troops of the King of Cyprus, those of the Prince of Achaia, of all the Forces of the Templars and Hospitallers, together with those brought by the Patriarch, and the Arrierban of France, which the Count of Poitiers had happily conducted to Damiata, consisted in sixty thousand Men, whereof there were twenty thousand Horse; these were as many as were sufficient to have conquered the Realm of Egypt, if they had been as well disciplined, and as obedient to the Orders of the King, as they were brave and resolute. But every one was for acting according to his own Opinion; and St. Lewis, who together with his Devotion had as much Courage and Resolution, as was capable of making him like a Hero desire to combat his Enemies without fear of the greatest dangers, either had not power or severity sufficient to make himself be obeyed, and to cause the discipline of War to be exactly observed. The Army therefore Marching over the Bellies of all those who presented themselves to oppose them or molest them in their passage, and the Knights of the Temple having cut in pieces five hundred Saracen Horse, who pretending to come over to the King, had a design treacherously to surprise his Person, a little before Christmas came to incamp in sight of Massora, over against the Army of the Saracens, the River only parting them, but which could not hinder the Christians from the Resolution of passing it, that so they might come to a Battle with them. It is certain that there was committed a second mighty Error; for whereas they ought to have sounded the River above and below to have found some Ford, as King Lewis the Young had done at the Famous passage of the Meander, they endeavoured to make a Causeway, over this Arm of the Nile, and to turn the course of the River, that so they might gain a free passage for the Army. For this purpose they built great Wooden Towers with several stories of Stages, upon which the Crosbows and Archers were placed; there were also Wooden Castles, and covered Galleys built for the defence of the Labourers; and eighteen Machines', the Invention of Josselin Courvaut, a great Engineer of that time, were framed in the manner of a Counter Battery, to oppose six great Machines' of the Saracens, which did terrible Execution upon the Army; but after they had spent near two Months in these Works, with the loss of a great many Men, year 1250 they found themselves no further advanced than at the beginning; for the Enemies ruined more in one day, than could be repaired in five, and all the Machines' were either broken by their Slings, which discharged against them stones of a Prodigious bigness, or else burnt by the Greek Wildfire, which was discharged upon them in a most dreadful manner. For these Fires which were with an extreme violence thrown from a certain kind of Sling through their Pipes, which were almost as large as our Canons, appeared in the Air like flaming Dragons of the bigness of a Barrel with a long train like a Rocket, year 1250 which making a noise like thunder, and afterwards falling down, darted themselves against the Men and the Engines with the same impetuosity, as one shall see the Waves of the Sea, during a Tempest, dash themselves one after another against the Rocks which lie upon the Shoar; insomuch that nothing was able to resist the furious outrage of this Fire, which in a moment consumed whatsoever it met withal; so that they now despaired of making their passage by these ways, when chance presented them with that which they ought long before to have found out by their own diligence and industry. For at length the Constable Imbert de Beaujeu, acquainted the King that an Arabian, who had deserted the Enemies, offered to show them a Ford something below the place where they were encamped, provided they would give him five hundred Besants. The Condition was immediately accepted, and the Arabian was assured of his Reward, if his Promise proved true, and thereupon it was resolved, trial having been made, that the next Morning, being Shrove-Tuesday, one part of the Army should pass the Ford, whilst the other guarded the Camp against the Enemies, who had the passage open on the other side, and thereby might fall upon them in the Rear. The King with the three Princes, his Brothers, resolved to be of the number of those, who were to pass the Ford, whilst the Duke of Burgundy remained to guard the Camp. The next Morning early the Troops were divided into three Bodies; the Vanguard was given to the Templars, Robert Count d' Artois lead the Body of the Battle, and the third the King reserved as the Reerguard to himself, commanding the Troops, as they landed on the other side, to draw up in the same manner. In this Order they marched along the River, descending to the Ford, which was found very dangerous and more difficult than they believed, there being in it several places so deep, that the River being high, they were forced to swim. However they passed it without loss, in the view of three hundred Horse, who made show as if they would defend the Pass; the Templars being in the Van, according to the King's Orders, drew up first in Battalia, and stopped in expectation of the passage of the rest. But the Count d' Artois was no sooner got to the other side of the River, but that seeing the Saracens fly, he galloped in pursuit of them, with his whole Brigade at full speed. The Templars, who could not endure to be put out of the Port, which the King had assigned them, cried out to them to halt till the rest of the Army was drawn up, but all was to no purpose, in regard that a stout old Knight, whose Name was Fouquant de Melle, to whom the King had committed the charge of the Count d' Artois, being deaf, understood not what they meant, but on the contrary cried out with all his might, following the Count, Fall on, Fall on, the Day is our own. Whereupon the Templars losing all their patience, and believing their honour would suffer, if they did not advance, spurred up after the Count, without staying till the King was passed, and charged with the first, even to the Camp of the Enemies over against the Causeway, in the place where all their Machines' were, upon which they instantly seized. But they were not satisfied with this, for seeing that those who guarded them, being surprised with such a brisk Attacque, which they did not in the least expect, fled towards Massora, they followed them at full speed, and passing after them quite throw the Town, into the Champion, upon the Way to Cairo, never considered the danger to which they exposed themselves, of being surrounded by the gross of the Army, which advanced from the other side of the City, to fall upon their Rear. And thereupon the Fugitives perceiving their disorder, and the small number of those, who so blindly pursued them, and seeing themselves succoured by their Men, who advanced to their relief, they faced about, and stopped the Pursuers, constraining them to think of a retreat. But it was now to late, for when they thought to repass through the Town of Massora, they found all the streets possessed, and stopped by the Saracens, who having surrounded them on every part, and discharging upon them from the houses, as at a certain mark, they were almost all Slain, the Count d' Artois himself fell there also, after he had for a long time defended himself in a House which he had gained and Barricadoed against the Enemy, and with him Raoul de Couci, and above three hundred Knights with their Attendants, year 1250 as also two hundred Templars there lost their lives, after having made a wonderful Slaughter among the Saracens, both in the Field and in their Camp. The Great Master of the Temple, who made a shift to disengage himself from his Enemies, yet lost one of his Eyes in the Encounter; and Peter, Duke of Bretany, with some others who fought like Lions after his Example, retreated from this Slaughter all covered with Wounds and Blood, which issued in great quantity from his Mouth; the Seneschal Joinville, and the Lords, Hugh de Trichasteau, Peter de Nevil, Raoul de Vanon, Erard d' Esmeray, Hugh of Scotland, Renaud de Menoncour, and a few more, who were not got over when the Count ran upon the Enemy, were invested with above six thousand Saracens, who coming from all quarters charged them most furiously; and after having slain the Lord de Trichasteau, and wounded almost all the rest, they were just upon the point of taking them all Prisoners, when they were stopped by the relief which the Count d' Anjon brought to their assistance, and in a moment after forced to retire to the gross of their Army, there appearing to them a mighty Cloud of dust, which rise from the Neighbouring heights, from whence also was to be heard the fearful Noise of Trumpets, Cornets, Drums, Flutes and Fifes, mingled with the neighing of Horses, and the shouts of War, like those of Men, who were going to the charge; which made them imagine that all the Christian Army was ready to fall upon them. And in truth, it was St. Lewis, who having understood the disorder of his People, was advancing to their assistance, with all his Men at Arms, and had made a halt upon that eminence, to give out his Orders according to the Condition wherein he should find his own Men and the Enemies. There was never any thing that appeared more beautiful and withal more formidable than this Prince, so soon as this Cloud of dust which covered him was dissipated. For whether it were that his charging Horse, was really larger than any of his Guards, or that he raised himself upon his styrops, to speak to his Men, and to encourage them in this dangerous occasion, or that God was pleased to increase his Majesty in this great Day, and to make him appear taller than he was, it is certain, that the Sieur Joinville, who saw him in this condition from the plain where he was, assures us, that he surpassed all the Knights that were about him by the Head and Shoulders; it was in this posture that having his head covered with a Golden Cask, a mighty Germane Sword in his hand, his Shield upon his left Arm, an assured countenance, and a Noble Fire sparkling from his Eyes, which pierced the hearts of his Soldiers, communicating some part of his generous Flames to every one that saw him, he so animated his People, that many gallant Men, without staying for the Command, flew to charge these six thousand Saracens, who were retreating; and they also receiving them like Valiant Men, and, contrary to their custom, Fight Foot to Foot, there never was seen in all these Wars a more furious Combat than this, which was maintained with mighty blows of the Sword, the Mace, and Battle Ax. The King, who beheld this great Combat, transported by a generous impatience to come to blows, was upon the point of spurring up after his Men, to throw himself into the midst of his Enemies; but John de Valery, one of the wifest and most experienced Knights of his time, remonstrated to him, that it was not there that the affair was to be decided; but that there was a necessity to draw up in Battalia, more to the Right hand along by the River, that so he might not be surrounded by the Enemy, who without this precaution might easily fall upon his Rear; and that also by this means he might receive succour from his Forces which were on the other side of the River with the Duke of Burgundy, who now having no Enemy at their Head might have time enough to lay over a Bridge. And the event presently showed that this was wholesome advice. For the Saracens, who after the defeat of the Count d' Artois, and the Templars no longer doubted of the Victory, came all together to attack the King, whom they would easily have encompassed with their innumerable multitude, if he had not been secured by having the River at his back. The Combat was long and bloody, and the Enemies charged at first with so much Vigour, and gave such a furious Volley of Darts and Arrows, that many of the King's People believing all was lost, year 1250 thought basely, how to save themselves by getting back again over the River, but with the ill fate of Cowards, who commonly find their Death by flying, they unhappily in their amazement mistook the Ford, and so were drowned. But the invincible courage of the King, and the Heroic Actions, which upon this occasion he performed, again established all, and even constrained Fortune at last to declare in favour of Virtue. For having overthrown the Enemies, and with his Sword in his hand charged into the thickest of their Battalions, he presently drew after him, by the greatness of the danger to which he exposed himself, and by his example, all the Lords and Knights, who were about his Person, and who all of them shown prodigious effects of Valour, but yet not comparable to those, which this Noble King performed; for being got mingled with the thickest of his Enemies, at some distance from his Men, six of the bravest of the Saracens fell upon him, and laid hold of the bridle of his Horse, to carry him away by Force, before he could be rescued; but he disengaged himself from them all by his own single Valour; and by the blows which he bestowed among them, for he overthrew one with his Buckler, and spurring his Horse against a second, laid Horse and Man upon the Ground, a third he ran quite through the Body, and with a dreadful reverse made the Head and Cask roll from the shoulders of a fourth, and one of them still hanging upon his Bridle he cut off both his hands at the wrists, and so passed over the Bellies of them all, still pursuing his point and advancing, as resolved either to vanquish or to die; so that if it had been a private Soldier, who had so bravely acquitted himself, he must have been esteemed an extraordinary Prodigy of Courage and Valour. These great Actions, did so increase the Courage and Strength of all his Men, that after they had for three hours after Noon sustained the utmost Efforts of so many thousands of Enemies, who believed they should easily Triumph over so small a Number, they constrained them to recoil, and, at last, after they had in vain attempted to regain their advantage, to draw off towards the evening, leaving to the Conquerors their Machines' and their Camp, upon which the Count d' Artois had seized at the beginning of this Famous Battle. The Slaughter was great both on the one side and the other, but especially of the Saracens, who left among the Slain, with which the whole Field was covered, the Valiant Fracardin their General, and divers of their Admirals, who were surprised and slain in the Camp. The King with those few Men, who escaped this bloody Day, lodged himself near the Machines', which had been taken, and which the brave Gaucher de Chastillon, to whom the King gave the Guard of them, preserved notwithstanding all the Attempts which the Saracens, who were posted close by, vainly made, under the savour of the darkness, to recover them. The two following Days were employed in fortifying the Camp, and passing over the greatest part of the Troops, which were in the Duke of Burgundy's Camp on the other side the River, and certainly this diligence was no more than necessary; for the King was advertised by his Spies, upon the Thursday in the evening, that he, who succeeded Fracardin, was resolved to attack the Camp the next morning with their whole Army, which had received a great reinforcement from Grand Cairo. For this new General, whom the Saracens had chosen for his extraordinary Valour and admirable Conduct, having caused to be carried round the Camp upon the top of a Lance, the Coat of Arms of the Count d' Artois, which was richly Embroidered with his Arms, the Flowers de Lys Or, caused it to be Proclaimed, that it was the King himself, who was slain, and that the Christian Army being in the utmost Consternation after the loss of their King, and so many gallant Men as were slain in the Battle, they ought to Attack them instantly in those feeble retrenchments, without giving them leisure to recover or to save themselves. The Saracens, who believed that they were to be led to a certain Victory, and to the Booty, rather than the Combat, by their great shouts of Joy, witnessed, that they were ready to march against the Enemy; and accordingly it was resolved, that they should go the next Morning to attack the Christians in their Camp. The King, who had received this advice, made very good use of it; for having disposed all things during the Night for the receiving the Enemy, he caused the Army to dislodge about break of Day, and divided it into eight Bodies, year 1250 which he placed in Battalia before the Retrenchments, which lay all along the bank of the River, the Army was drawn up all upon one line, that so they might possess the whole length of the Camp, and make head against the Enemies in all places, if they should attack them on all sides at once, as by reason of their infinite multitude it might very well be imagined they would. The Count d' Anjou, who commanded the first Body, was upon the Right hand, above the River, towards Cairo; and had a this left, Guy d' Ibelin the Constable, and Baldwin his Brother, High Steward of Cyprus, who lead the Auxiliaries of that Kingdom. The Valiant Gaucher de Chastillon, followed with the third Body, composed of the brave Nobility and Gentry of France. William Sonnac, Great Master of the Temple, made the fourth, with the little remainder of his Knights. Gui de Malvoisin, one of the stoutest Knights of the Army, led the fifth. The Earl of Flanders was with his Body posted in the place where the Retrenchments turned towards the River, to secure the Camp on that side. Joinville, Seneschal of Champagne was upon his left, drawing down to the River, and the Count de Poitiers, who was next him, appeared alone upon Horseback, at the head of a great Battalion, which made the last of the Bodies, to whom Josserand de Brianson, who came along with him, joined himself with twenty of his Knights, who fought that Day on Foot: so that the two Princes, the Brothers of the King, had the two Wings of the Army. The General of the Saracens, who observed it, and who was a great Captain, ranged his Men also according to the order of the King's Army, and extended himself upon two great lines, which answered to the length of the Retrenchments. He placed all his old Soldiers upon the first, dividing them into so many Battalions, which were sustained by his best Horse, which were drawn up in a separate Body before the Army. All his Battalions were incomparably stronger than the Christians, and he strengthened them more or less according as he observed the opposite Battalions, which they were to encounter, were Stronger or Weaker. For as for Cavalry the French had but a few, the greatest part of the Horses having been either killed or wounded in the last engagement. Upon the second Line he ranged an infinite number of new Troops, which were come to him from Cairo, and all the upper Egypt. The Armies stood thus facing one another till about Noon, when the Saracens began to move from all p arts, and with dreadful shouts mingled with the sound of an infinite number of Drums, Trumpets, and Cornets, they charged upon all the French Battalions all together, with so much Fury, that those, who had for a long time been acquainted with the Wars in the East, assure us, that they had never seen the like in all the Battles, wherein they had fought against the Saracens. For at the same time that some of them discharged their Darts and Arrows, in infinite Numbers, to disorder the Christians, the first Ranks of their Infantry, running in to them, threw from their long Brazen Pipes, their dreadful Wildfire among them to break their Ranks; and at the same time the Cavalry, which followed them, endeavoured to enter by the breaches, which the Fire had made, and to hinder the Soldiers while they were buisy to secure themselves from the Wildfire, from closing their ranks and getting into order again. The Battalion of the Count d' Anjou which received the first charge from the left Wing of the Enemies, and was at first so disordered, that the Soldiers not being able to rally again presently, that Prince was in great danger either to be slain or taken by the Saracens. The King, who was in the middle of his Troops, to give the necessary orders for all things, being advertised of the extreme danger of his Brother, did an Action, which it will be very difficult to find one to equal it, even among the most boasted Actions, of the so much celebrated Heroes of Antiquity. For he had no sooner received the News, but without deliberating one Moment, and without staying to give out his Orders, or even so much as commanding any to follow him, he ran to his relief, and spurring his Horse at full speed towards the Battalion of the Count, breaking throw the Crowd, he threw himself with his Sword in his hand, like Lighting into the middle of the Saracens, who were carrying off the Count, wounding, overturning, and trampling under his Horse's feet what ever opposed his passage, laying about him on both sides upon the Insidels with his terrible Sword, year 1250 whose furious blows made Heads and Arms fly off at every stroke, receiving himself also a thousand blows of the Sword and Mace upon his Cask and Shield; till at last he forced his passage through all the Darts and Wildfire, which on all sides were Lanced at him, and came up to his Brother and disengaged him from his Enemies. After which being seconded by that brave Prince and his Men, who animated by the sight of this Prodigy of Valour, were now become quite other Men, he repulsed, routed, and at length put to flight the remainder of the Enemies, who opposed him, after so great an Action. But that which was still more odd, was, that the Count de Poitiers, his other Brother, who fought upon the Left, against the Right Wing of the Saracens, had at the same time a Fortune much resembling that of the Count d' Anjou, but a deliverance from his danger in a manner wholly different. For the Enemies having overthrown him; as they had done his Brother, defeated his People, who were all Infantry, and forced the Camp on that side, making the Count a Prisoner; they were now leading him away, without any hopes of his being relieved by the King, who could not work the Miracle after those others he had done to be present in two places at one time. Thereupon the Sutler's, the Grooms, and Servants, who were all Armed, and even the Women, who followed the Camp to sell Provisions, not contenting themselves to cry out for help, ran upon their Enemies with so much resolution and charged them so furiously, the Men with Swords, the Women with great stones, that they drive them out of the Camp, and followed them so closely still beating of them, till they came up to those, who were carrying away the Prince; they presently caused them to quite their Prize, and consult their safety by running away, and he thereupon instantly rallying his Battalion, marched to sustain these brave Sutler's of the Camp. And certainly the Courage and Valour, which so much to their Honour they manifested upon this occasion, makes it evident, that provided they have heart and Resolution, the most Heroic Actions may sometimes be performed by all sorts of Persons, of what Quality or Profession soever, nay, even by the weaker sex, since Virtue makes no distinction among such as follow her, with equal Courage and Resolution. The Fortune of the Knights of the Temple was not altogether so good; for there being but a few of them left after their defeat in Massora, and their weak Retrenchments which they had made of the Planks, which they had pulled off from the Engines, which had been taken from the Saracens, being quickly burnt by the Greek Wild-sire, they were so overpowered with the multitude of their Enemies, that they were almost all cut in pieces, together with their Great Master, who having lost his Eye in the first Battle, lost his Life also in this second. But at last all the other Bodies were Victorious, and constrained their Enemies, after a most bloody Combat, to retire and leave behind them a great number of their bravest Men dead upon the place; and to the Christians the Glory to have gained the Day without Cavalry, and for the most part without defensive Arms, in regard, that the Wounds, which they had received in the first Battle, would neither permit them to put on their Curiasses, nor to endure to Fight on Horseback, and in short to have vanquished them upon such great disadvantages, repulsing so many Horsemen, who were well Armed, against whom they fought. This was what King Lewis took notice of to his Lords and to the principal Officers of his Army, thereby to raise their Courage and their Hope; but nevertheless the plain truth was, that as on the one hand they did not find themselves in a condition to attack those Enemies whom they had with difficulty repulsed; nor able to force them, so as to March against Cairo; so on the other, a longer stay in the place where they were encamped, was but daily to weaken themselves, and to give the Enemy the leisure to fortify themselves, they ought therefore after these two Victories to have retired to Damiata, and not to have stayed so long, till it was impossible for them to make a safe and honourable retreat. But so it was, that they stayed there all the Lent; whilst in the mean time the new Sultan Almoadan Caiatadin arrived at Massora with a puissant Army, which he brought with him from the East. This redoubled the Courage of the Saracens, who, to let the Christians understand their Arrival, year 1250 received them with all the Testimonies of rejoicing. And on the contrary all sorts of misfortunes came rolling one upon the neck of another, to the disadvantage of the Christians, who were not able to guard themselves against them. For the infection of the dead Bodies which they had thrown into the Nile, and which after the breaking of their Galls, floated again upon the Water, and were stopped at the Bridge, which was made for the Communication of the two Camps, putrefying, infected the Air, and filled the Camp with diseases; and above all the Scurvy in that moist Country seized upon the Soldiers, insomuch that there was scarcely a Tent, wherein every Day there was not found some Person either Dead or Dying. The Vessels also which brought Provisions from Damiata to the Camp, by the way of the Sea and the River, were all taken by the Sultan's Galleys, who possessed themselves of all the passages of the Nilus, both above and below. Two great Convoys also, which came by Land, were entirely defeated by great parties of Saracens, who continually ranged the Campaign, to hinder any thing from coming to the Army. So that all Provisions being thus cut off, abundance perished most miserably by Famine; and they were reduced to feed upon certain Fishes of the Nilus, which being fed with the putrid Carcases of the Slain, Poisoned rather than nourished, such as were forced to live upon such corrupted food. At last, to complete the Misfortune, the King himself was seized with this Disease of the Camp, so that in conclusion the Army after having in vain so obstinately and long contested with so many Evils, was obliged to resolve upon a Retreat, which certainly in the condition wherein they were, was impossible, and which two Months before, they might have hoped to have done with Honour. It is true, that before this there had been some overtures of a Peace or Truce between the Commissioners of the King, and those of the Sultan, and that it proceeded so far that the King was to surrender Damiata, and that the Sultan also should yield to the Christians all the Places which he held in the Realm of Jerusalem. But it appeared plainly, that this was not proposed by the Sultan, but to amuse the King; for he had the confidence to demand that, which there was no probability that it should ever be condescended unto, which was that for the security of the Treaty, the Person of the King should be delivered to him as an hostage. Whereupon one of the Commissiones, Geoffrey de Sergines, one of the wisest and most Valiant Knights of that Age, briskly broke up the conference, protesting that the French would choose rather to be cut all in a thousand pieces, than to endure being always subject to the intolerable reproach of having given the King of France for an Hostage, or to owe their safety to such a base and detestable submission. It was therefore upon a Tuesday, the fifth of April, that the Army attempted to retreat in view of an Enemy, whose Forces were infinitely augmented by the conjunction of new Troops, which he had received from time to time, from all parts of his Empire. All was done that could possibly be represented to the King to oblige him considering his Sickness, to go before the Army, and save himself as did the Legate, and divers Bishops, who went off in a great Galley, which breaking through the Saracens, arrived safe at Damiata. But he constantly refused, protesting that he would die a thousand times, rather than abandon so many Gallant men, who had so generously exposed their Lives for his, and the Service of God. Thus by his orders, they began in the Evening to embark the Sick and wounded upon those Vessels, which were come up the Nilus, for the Service of the Army, when they approached Massora; and for himself taking his way by Land, he put himself with Geoffrey de Sergines, into the Reerguard, which was led by the brave Gaucher de Chastillon. But certainly it was impossible, without running the danger of losing all, to make a movement before an Enemy, who was ten times stronger, and who only watched for this opportunity, to fall upon an Army already half overthrown by Famine and Diseases; and in truth they followed them so quickly, that they had not so much time as to destroy the Bridge, but that the Enemy passed it almost as soon as the Reerguard were got over, whilst that a Party of the Saracens falling into the Camp, pitilesly cut the throats of all the Sick and Wounded, who waited upon the bank of the River, year 1250 for the Vessels that were to take them in. After this there was nothing to be seen throughout, but a fearful disorder, which was followed by the most entire and lamentable loss, that any History ever gives a Relation of; for on the one part, of all the Vessels which went down the Nilus, to save themselves by Sea at Damiata, there were only a few Boats, which secured themselves under the favour of the Legate's great Galley, which opened her way by the Force of her Oars; all the rest were either taken or burnt by the Saltan's Fleet; and one might hear the piteous cries of the Poor Sick Men, who not being able to throw themselves into the River, to yield themselves to the Enemies by Swimming, were miserably consumed by the Flames, whilst the greatest part of those who could get out of the burning Vessels, either perished in the Waters, or were slain by the Saracens. On the other side, those who went by Land, finding themselves presently surrounded by an infinite multitude of Enemies, were so vigorously at tacked on all sides, that after having in vain done all that was possible to defend themselves, and to make way through so many Battalions, and Squadrons, as environed them, they were either all taken or Slain, not so much as one escaping. There it was, that Guide chastel of the House of Chastillon, upon the Marne, Bishop of Soissons, a most Valiant Man, who chose rather to die by this kind of Martyrdom in a Holy War, than to be taken Prisoner, threw himself single, his Sword in his hand, into the middle of a Squadron of Saracens, who presently gave him that happy Death, which he sought among a thousand Swords, in Fight against the Enemies of Jesus Christ. The Greeks indeed are often used to reproach us, that our Priests and Bishops make no scruple of going to the Wars and Fight contrary to the Canons, which prohibit them under most rigorous penalties, to manage Arms; and I must acknowledge that there have been great disorders in this particular among us in former Ages, and that the Popes have frequently complained of it to our Kings. But in these times of the Crusades, our Ancestors believed well, that the Canons did not extend to these Holy Wars, to which when the ecclesiastics had devoted themselves, by taking up the Cross, as well as the Laics, it was permitted them to fight against the Infidels; and esteemed as Lawful as for a Shepherd, who leaves his Flock to pursue the Wolves if he can to kill them. Neither was it known that for this they ever abstained from the exercise of their sacred Function; witness the Valiant Chaplain of the Lord de Joinville. He was a Priest and constantly officiated for his Master, but that nevertheless did not hinder him, but that Armed with a Curiass, and his Head covered with an Iron Cask, his Sword in his hand, he went and attacked six Captains of the Saracens singly, in the sight of both the Armies, and beat them all, to the admiration of all the beholders, who could not but praise his Courage, and his bravery. This makes it clear, that the Canons and the Councils, which are the Laws of the Church, aught to be taken and interpreted according to the usage which they permit or tolerate. However it be, the Bishop of Soissons, believed that inexposing himself in this manner to a certain Death, he should acquire a Crown of Immortality, both in fame upon Earth and in Heaven; nor ought it reasonably to be doubted but that he did. At the same time Gaucher de Chastillon, his kinsman, who Commanded the Rearguard, performed an Action of the like extraordinary Merit, and which deserves the Honour of Posterity, the Recompense of Heroic Actions, of which it may be, his was one of the greatest that was ever done. For having posted himself the last Man, in a narrow passage, through which the King was to go, to gain a little Village called Kasel; he alone for a long time sustained the shock of all the Saracens, upon whom, facing about, he threw himself like Lightning, kill and slaying, all those whom he could overtake; and then, after he had pursued them a while, making his retreat, whilst he received their Arrows and their Darts, upon his Shield, his Curiass, and his Body, which was all bristled with them, he would return again upon his Enemies with greater fury than before, and every time as he charged, raising himself upon his Styrrops, he cried amain, Fellow Chastillon, Fellow Chastillon, my Noble Knights! Where are all our gallant Men? And thus he maintained continually this strange kind of Combat, wherein he was singly against them all, year 1250 till such time as being oppressed with the throng of his Enemies, who yet were not able to dismount him, they wounded him with a thousand Swords and Javelins, and at last cut of his head, as he still sat upon Horseback. Thus heroically died this brave Lord, in the eight and twentieth year of his Age, sacrificing so great a Life, worthy of a much better destiny, with so much Courage for the safety of the whole Army, which nevertheless he could not save by his glorious Death. For this Obstacle being removed, the Saracens pursued their Victory so eagerly, that they came up even to the Person of the King, whom the Faithful and Valiant Geoffrey de Sergines covered with his Body, and with his Sword in his hand, made those stand further off, who had the confidence to approach him. But in conclusion, all that they could do, whilst they did to no purpose perform the bravest Actions in the World, was to Conduct the King into Kasel, and it being impossible there to defend him against the whole Army of the Saracens, which had already enclosed the rest of the Troops, and the Life of the King being in great danger, who was reduced to that condition by his Sickness, that he seemed to be in the last extremity, a Herald, either of his own accord, or by order, having Proclaimed that they should lay down their Arms, and not expose the Life of the King, all yielded, and submitted themselves to the discretion of these Barbarians, who did not fail accordingly to make a most Barbarous use of their Victory. For immediately, without Mercy or Compassion, they cut the throats of all the Sick and Wounded, which they found in the Army; and then having separated all the Persons of Quality, the Captains and Officers, from the private Soldiers, and the Servants, they did upon the spot, cut of the heads of all the last, who had the constancy to refuse renouncing of Jesus Christ, making so many Martyrs, as there were Christians thus brutishly Murdered. As for the Persons of Quality, who were Prisoners, the Covetousness of the Infidels prevailing over their Cruelty, they spared their Lives, in hopes to draw from them, considerable Sums of Money for their Ransoms: but they treated them in their Imprisonment in a worse manner, than the most unfortunate Slaves are wont to be used among Christians; and that they might make them suffer in their Souls as well as Bodies, they vented before them a thousand Blasphemies, and committed a thousand outrages against the Cross, thereby to dishonour that adorable God and Man, who was Crucified upon it. And that which was most surprising in this Rencounter, and which ought to serve the Christians with an excellent instruction, which God was pleased to give them from the Mouth of one of these Barbarians, which will one day confound them, if they do not change their superstitious sentiments, was, That an old Saracen Lord, who, by the richness of his habiliments, and by the great train of Armed young Saracens, who accompanied him, appeared to be a Person of the first quality among the Infidels, coming into the Pavilion, where most of the Lords were put, gravely demanded of them by an Interpreter, if they believed really that their God was made Man, and that he had suffered Death for them upon the Cross, and that he was raised from the Dead after three Days? All the Lords, who believed they should instantly be made Martyrs, upon their frank confession of Jesus Christ, answered with one Voice, and without the least hesitation, That this was their firm belief. If it be so Messieurs, replied the Wise Saracen, comfort yourselves in your Affliction, you have not yet suffered Death for your God as he hath done for you; and since he had the Power to raïse himself again, you ought also to believe, that having had so much kindness for you, and having so much Power, he will very speedily deliver you out of your Captivity and Misfortunes. And thereupon without saying any more he instantly withdrew. And in truth he could not have said a greater thing. For certainly it is all that can be said to Christians, to give them the strongest and most solid consolation, in the greatest of all adversities, which may befall them, in this Mortal State. And this was it without doubt this admirable thought, in which Lewis had been long confirmed, and from whence this Holy King drew that incomparable constancy of Mind, which made him appear greater in this Gulf of his Misfortunes, into which he was plunged, than ever he had appeared upon his Throne in France, in the fairest day of his Triumphs, after so many Victories as had laid all his Enemies under his Feet. year 1250 The first thing which he did, after he was come out of the long Swoon, into which his weakness and the pain of his Disease had thrown him, and in which it was thought he would have expired, was to ask of one of his Chaplains for the Book of his Prayers, which he presently said for that day, with the same Peace and Tranquillity, that by custom he had acquired, as if he had been in his Oratory at Paris. He praised God with all his Soul, that he was found worthy to suffer for his sake, and resolved that he would do nothing for his deliverance to the prejudice of his Honour or his Conscience, or disadvantageous either to his Realm, or to the Affairs of the Christians in the East. It is true that at first the Sultan, either that he was moved with Compassion for the miserable condition, to which he saw so great a Prince reduced, or rather that he feared to lose his Ransom, treated the King with great Humanity, and gave Order that he should be served with all manner of Care and Honour, sending to him the most able of his Physicians, who being acquainted with the Nature of the Malady, with which he was afflicted, in a few days put him into a condition quite out of danger. But the Infidel soon returned to his own Natural Barbarity, and seeing that the King constantly refused to surrender any of those places, which the Christians held in Syria and in Palestine, he suffered himself to be so brutishly transported as to threaten to put him to the Bernacles, which was a kind of most cruel Torture, which the Saracens made use of to Torment their Enemies, or their Criminals withal, by dislocation of all their Bones. But when he saw that this admirable Prince received all his Menaces with a generous disdain, and without Emotion; and that he remained fixed in his first Resolution, he treated him more reasonably, and caused it to be demanded of him, whether besides Damiata, he would give a Million of Bysances of Gold for his Ransom. The Lord Joinville reduceth it in his History to five hundred thousand Livres, which in my Opinion, aught to be understood of so many Crowns in Gold, for there is no manner of probability, that a Bysance of Gold, which was a considerable Price, as appears in all Historians, should be of no greater value, than six pence of our Money. To this the King answered instantly, with a Marvellous greatness of Soul, that he would give that Million for the Ransom of the Prisoners, and Damiata for his own, in regard, he said, it was dishonourable for a King of France, to buy himself with Silver. This so surprised the Sultan, who like a Merchant had demanded much more than he thought aught to be given, to come at last to the finishing of a bargain, that he cried out, that the French King was too Free and Generous, so soon to agree to pay so great a Sum, upon the first demand, and that he would quit him of one hundred thousand, and content himself with four of the five hundred thousand Livres. Thus the Treaty was quickly concluded, by which it was agreed, That there should be a Truce for ten Years; That all the Prisoners which had been taken on either side in Egypt or in Syria, as well those which had been taken since the Truce, which the Emperor Frederick had made with Sultan Meledin, as those which had been taken since the Arrival of the King in Egypt, should be set at Liberty; That the Christians should peaceably possess all the places which they held in Palestine and Syria; That the King should pay eight hundred thousand Bysances of Gold, for the Ransom of all the Prisoners, and surrender Damiata to the Sultan for his own; That all the moveables which the King, the Princes, the Lords, and in general all the Christians, should leave in Damiata, should be there secured by a Guard from the Sultan, till such time as the King should send shipping to transport them whither he pleased; That all the Sick, and those who had any Affairs at Damiata, might remain there in safety, till they were in a condition to be removed; And that then they might with Freedom retire whither they should please; And that the Sultan should give those, who went by Land, a Convoy, until they arrived at some place in the Possession of the Christians. This being agreed, the Sultan sent to the King the two Counts, his Brothers, all the Princes and Great Lords upon four Galleys, which fell down the River to a certain Place, where there was a Wooden Palace, built for the Sultan, upon the Bank of the River, and a Magnificent Tent erected, where the King and this Prince had an interview, in the beginning of May, about a Week before Ascension Day; where after having reciprocally confirmed the Treaty, year 1250 the King promised the Sultan, that within three days he would surrender Damiata to him: Insomuch that now there seemed to be nothing which might hinder or retard the Liberty of the King, when upon a sudden their happened a strange Revolution in Egypt, which overturned all; and as an unexpected Tempest happening at Sea, forces out a Ship when she is just ready to drop her Anchor, and happily to enter into the Port, so this unforeseen Accident, which in a moment changed the Face of Affairs, ruined all the fair hopes of the approaching deliverance of the King, and did not only plunge him again into the same Afflictions, but put him into the manifest danger of losing both his Liberty and his Life. The manner of this change was thus. The Sultan's of Egypt had for their Guard a great Body of Militia, of ten or twelve thousand Choice Men, much like which we have since seen, and which to this day continues among the Turks, composed of Tribute Children, of which those who are looked upon as most proper to be made Soldiers, are instructed in Military Discipline, and enrolled among the Guards of the Prince, which are called Janissaries. For the Sultan's caused to be bought in Europe and Asia, and especially in the Countries which lie between the Euxin Sea, the River Tanais, and the Caspian Sea, and in the greater Armenia, great numbers of Slaves, and reserving the lustiest young men, and the Children of those who were born to these Slaves in Egypt, after having caused them to be carefully instructed in all Military Skill, they placed them into this Body of Soldiers of their Guards, which were called Mamalukes, which in their Language signifies Servant or Slave, and in regard that they were bought with the Sultan's money, and knew no other Master, they were entirely at his devotion. And according as these Mamalukes made themselves considerable by their gallant Actions, they were advanced in their Charges, and made either Captains of Troops, or Governors of Cities and Provinces, which in the Arabian Language were called Amir, or Emir, and which the Writers of those Times have expressed by the Term of Admiral, which we have borrowed from the Saracens; and it is fit to advertise the Reader, that one of our Writers, hath had the confidence to affirm, that we make use of that word upon this occasion, out of Ignorance; when in truth, he himself was ignorant of the true Original of the Word, and was not acquainted, that all the Learned World have constantly used it in this sense, giving indifferently to these sort of Persons the Title of Emir, Amir, or, as it is expressed in Latin, Admiral, as in the Greek also, as may be seen in all the Historians of those Times. But it was ever thus, that they who see the least are the most confident in pronouncing their decisive opinion; for having but a short sight, which yet in their opinion is very good, they have not so much as the Art of thinking or doubting there may be something which at present they either do not discover, or cannot see. Now the last of the Sultan's, taking notice of this powerful Body of these Mamalukes, who were the bravest Soldiers of the East, began to stand in fear of their Captains; and for this reason, when any one of them grew Rich, or very considerable for some great Action, they did not fail under some pretext or other to take them out of the way of their Jealousy; thus the deceased Sultan Mclech-Salah-Nayem-Addin, put to death the Admirals, who at the Battle of Gaza had taken the Counts de Bar and Montfort. His Son Almoadam Gaiat-Addin returning from the East to take possession of his Empire, had at his first coming to the Crown, by this wicked and to him unfortunate Policy, taken the Principal Charges from all the Ancient Admirals, the Captains of the Mamalukes, and had conferred them upon those Strangers, whom he brought along with him into Egypt. This did so furiously provoke the Captains against him, that fearing, lest being now so firmly established by his Victory over the French Army, and the recovery of Damiata, he should follow the Example of his Father, and put them to Death; they resolved to be beforehand with him, and to cause him to be slain by the Mamalukes, who they were assured were at their devotion; and accordingly the next day, after he had conferred with St. Lewis, his own Guards set upon him just as he risen from the Table after dinner, and when he endeavoured to save himself in the highest of the three Towers, year 1250 which were in this Wooden Palace, which had been built upon the bank of the Nilus, they set it on fire, and constrained him to throw himself half burnt into the River, where he was pursued by the furious Mutineers, who murdered him close by the Galley where the Seneschal of Champagne was, who from thence beheld this horrible Execution. After which, one of these Executioners having pulled out the heart of this miserable Sultan, had the brutish impudence to enter into the King's Tent, and in showing it to him, to say, What wilt thou give me as a reward for having slain thine Enemy, who, if he had lived, would have done the same to thee? To which St Lewis made no other reply, but by a Look, which made him know, that he had a horror for this execrable Parricide. At the same time the greatest part of these Murderers, following the Admirals, entered like so many unchained Furies, with horrible Cries, and dreadful Menaces, their Eyes sparkling with rage and fury, and with frightful Countenances, in which was painted the lively Image of their Crime, they all together presented the points of their naked Swords to the Throat and Breast of this admirable Prince; who without the least sign of astonishment, and without losing any thing of that Royal Air which inspires the most barbarous Persons with respect for Sacred Majesty, appeared so resolute, and easy in the middle of these Savage Beasts, as if he had been among his Barons. And whether it pleased God, who governs all hearts, suddenly to sweeten those of the Barbarians, and to calm the storm of their sury; or that these Admirals were unwilling to lose the benefit of their Crimes, by losing the Ransom of the King, which they might divide among themselves, they proceeded no further than to Menaces, thereby to oblige him immediately to ratify the Treaty which he had made, and presently to put Damiata into their hands. At the same instant their Companions, who acted by agreement with them, used the Princes and the Lords, who were aboard the Galleys, at the same rate; so that they believing, when they saw them come rushing in upon them with their Swords in their hands, that they should all be presently butchered by the Infidels, they all fell upon their knees to confess themselves to an Ecclesiastic, who belonged to the Earl of Flanders. The Sire de Joinville saith, that as he was holding his neck ready for these hangmen. The Steward of Cyprus Gui d' Ibelin, who believed also that he was going to Execution, confessed himself honestly to him; and he adds very ingeniously, that in good faith he gave him the best Absolution that he could, giving him all that God had given him power to give; but tells us that he could never remember one word of what the Cypriote confessed, so was he prepossessed, and taken up with the thoughts of that death which he saw present before his Eyes. But all this was done by the Emirs for no other reason, but to gain by these Menaces, the present ratification of the Treaty, which lay close to their hearts in consideration of that great Sum of Money which they hoped to get before there should be a new Sultan. The King, who had resolved to surrender Damiata for his Ransom, in regard that he found by the Opinion of all the Lords of his Council, that it was absolutely impossible to keep it in the condition wherein his Affairs then stood, answered coolly to the Admirals, that what he had once agreed aught to be unchangeable, and that he was ready to renew the Treaty with them, which he had before made with the Sultan. Whereupon it was again concluded upon the same conditions on one side and the other, only with this addition, That before the King parted from the River, he should pay two hundred thousand Livres to the Admirals; That the Count de Poitiers should remain their Prisoner at Damiata, till the whole was paid; That for the security of the payment of two hundred thousand Livres more, they should keep the Sick, the Munitions, the Arms, and the Machines', till such time as the King should discharge this Sum in the City of Acre. There remained nothing now to be done, but to confirm this Treaty by a Solemn Oath on the one part and the other, as the Admiral's desired. They made theirs in the strongest terms, in which it could be made according to their Law; but when according to the Counsel which was given them by some Renegadoes, they would have imposed upon the King a dreadful Oath, conceived in these Terms, That in case he should fail in the accomplishment of his Promises, he would be reputed perjured; as a Christian who had renounced his God, his Baptism, and his Gospel; and as one that in despite of God had spit upon the Cross, and trampled it under his Feet; year 1250 he had such a horror for these fearful Expressions, that he protested he would sooner lose his Life than wound his Conscience by taking such an Oath. There were however learned men, and Persons of Authority, who maintained that he might with a safe Conscience take it, provided, that he was resolved to perform in reality all that he should promise. The Patriarch of Jerusalem also, whom the Admirals had already caused to be tied to a Stake to torment him, because they believed that it was he who had put this Scruple into the King's mind, cried out to him, that he should boldly take the Oath, and that he would be answerable for, all that was criminal in it; so did likewise one Master Nicholas an Inhabitant of the City of Acre, who was very much esteemed by the Saracens, in whose Customs and Language he was very skilful, and of whom they made use in such occasions, as his industry might be serviceable to them; and he told the King plainly, to persuade him to it, that if he did not take this Oath, the Infidels were resolved to cut off his Head, and those of all the other Prisoners. But all this was not able to shake the constancy of St. Lewis, who would by no means expose himself to the danger of committing what he thought so black a Crime; but answered, with an admirable resolution, That they might do what they pleased, as for his own particular, he would never do a thing of that Nature, which was against his Conscience. Whereupon the Emirs, admiring the greatness of his Soul, were so far from doing him any outrage, that they submitted with respect, and receiving Law from him, satisfied themselves with such an Oath as he was pleased to take. This shows us with how little light of Judgement and Integrity, the Protestant John de Serres, hath in his History recorded, as an undoubted Truth, one of the most improbable Fables that ever was invented, when he tells us that St. Lewis for the security of his Promises pawned to these Emirs the Box wherein it was kept, and the Sacrament of the Eucharist. For what appearance is there that this Holy King, who chose rather to die than to take an Oath, which he believed was contrary to the Law of God, although he was assured that he might do it with a safe Conscience, would thus throw Pearls before Swine, and deliver Jesus Christ himself, whom he believed by a faith so lively to be present under the Species of that adorable Sacrament, and like Judas put him once again into the hands of his mortal Enemies, to be exposed to those Outrages and Indignities which they might offer. And in reality with all my search I could never find, nor can there one single witness be produced of such an Extraordinary Action, nor among all the Authors of that time, any one Writer be found, who hath said the least thing upon which it is possible to lay the Foundation of such a groundless Calumny. The Pledges which St. Lewis gave for the security of the two payments, are positively told us. Alphonsus, Count de Poitiers his Brother, for the first; all the Sick, all the Munitions and Engines for the second; that there is neither necessity, room, nor one word concerning the Holy Sacrament. How then can he dare to assure us that St. Lewis left it in pawn with the Barbarians? A Modern Writer ought to say nothing of the Ages past, but upon good Warranty from the Records of those Times for what he writes; for otherwise he is so far from being a good Historian, that he becomes a paltry Romancer and Inventor of Fictions. And herein du Haillan is excusable, who having given this Account in a few words, adds very honestly, that there is no certainty of this Story. And the Continuator of William of Tyre, Heroldus, another Protestant, is much an honester man, when he tells us plainly, that all this is a mere Fable, which hath been raised upon an ill grounded conjecture, as many learned Persons have observed; For by reason that after this the Egyptians caused a Chalice with the Hostia, to be represented upon their Money, their Tapestry hang, and their Public Buildings, some have conjectured, that the reason was in commemoration, that St. Lewis had left there the Ciboir or Box, and the consecrated Hostia: But from whence can one draw this untoward consequence? or is it therefore that conjectures, and such feeble conjectures as this must be imposed upon us for Truths in Fact, that men take the liberty to publish them, as things of the greatest certainty? If conjectures be of any value, it is more reasonable and natural to say, That the Egyptians did this, as in Triumph, and that these were the Public Trophies and Marks of the Victory, year 1250 which in defeating the Christian Army, they believed they had gained against the God of the Christians, who was adored in the Eucharist, and to whom they knew very well that St Lewis did most assiduously pay his duty with an infinite respect. And this is the more credible, in regard that this great Prince after his return into France, carried money to be minted, whereupon was to be seen Manacles, to show his imprisonment, and thereby to animate the French one day to revenge upon the Saracens, the Injuries and Outrages which they had received from them during their Captivity. I have thought it necessary, in short, thus to refute this gross mistake, that so I might prevent many, and some even among the Catholic Writers, who have suffered themselves to be miserably deceived, and who have misled others in relating a thing so little credible, upon the bare word of Paulus Jovius, who is their only Warranty for it in the first Book of his Eulogies, which he hath written of illustrious men, in that of Saladin. And yet even this Author saith no more, but barely without quoting any Person, That it is reported that St. Lewis gave him for a pledge the Holy Sacrament. And so little doth he know what it is that he says, that in the same place he adds, that it was to Saladin, or as he believes it is most probable, to his Brother Saphadin that St. Lewis gave this Pledge. Whereas it is of public notoriety in History, that these two Sultan's were dead, the one above fifty, the other more than thirty years before the War, which St. Lewis made in Egypt. How can any one then pretend to be so far in the Right, I do not say to assure it, but even to relate upon the Authority of a Modern Historian of so little exactness and fidelity, as Paulus Jovius, a thing so little probable, and so highly injurious to one of the greatest, and without contradiction one of the holiest Kings of Europe. But further, all the Mamaluke Admirals, and the Saracens themselves were of a quite different opinion, and could not imagine that St. Lewis was so cowardly, as at last to resolve to give them for an Hostage, the Eucharist which he adored, after that Geoffrey de Sergines had protested, as he did before them all, that they would all choose to perish rather than give the King himself in Hostage, as the Sultan had demanded. For they were so smitten with the bright lustre of the Royal Virtues of this great King, and with that Majesty with which he treated them, as if they had been his Subjects, and indeed his Prisoners, as they would say themselves in admiration of the strength of his Mind, the greatness of his Soul, and his Heroic Courage, that one day in sounding before his Pavilion, in honour of him all their Trumpets and Warlike Instruments, they had it under debate, whether they should choose him for their Sultan; and there was nothing that obstructed it, besides his Resolution to do nothing which might in the least shock his Religion, the Exercises whereof he would perform aloud like a Master, and as if he were assured, that they durst not so much as entertain a thought of opposing him; so that they were used to say, That he was the most Fierce Christian, that they had ever seen. And one may from hence well judge, whether after this these Emirs would have the Confidence to demand from him to put that into their hands which they knew he acknowledged to be, and worshipped as true God. And that which was yet most admirable in this adventure, was, that this Holy King demanded sometime after of the Lord De Joinville, what his opinion was in this matter, and supposing the Admirals should offer him the Crown, whether he should accept it? to whom the good Seneschal, after his manner answered very bluntly, That he should be a very fool to accept it, and trust himself to these Villains, who had murdered their Prince. And I, answered the King, For my part, I declare to you, that I would never have refused it. And this without doubt proceeded from the pleasure with which he was ravished, to have so fair an opportunity of sacrificing himself, by accepting this Empire, for the re-establishment of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ in Egypt, where Christianity had sometimes flourished by an infinite multitude of the Servants of God, in the first Ages of the Church. The Treaty being thus at last confirmed by all parties, according to the agreement, the King surrendered Damiata, upon the Friday after Ascension-Day, and was at the same time set at Liberty himself with all the Prisoners, so far, as that the four Galleys fell down the River to the Bridge of Damiata, into which place Geoffrey de Sergines entered, early in the Morning, year 1250 to deliver it into the hands of the Saracens, after he had drawn out all the French, together with the Queen, who after the Imprisonment of the King, had been reduced to great extremities. For so soon as she received the sad news, she fell into such an excessive grief, that believing she was upon the point of falling into the hands of the Saracens, she threw herself upon her knees, before a Knight of fourscore years of Age, who never forsook her, and obliged him to promise her with an Oath, to grant her one request, which she desired him to do for her; and this was, that if the Saracens took the City he would cut off her head; the Old Knight promised her he would, adding with great frankness, that before she had done him the Honour to desire it of him, he had already resolved to do it, thereby to put her into a place of security, and out of the Power of those Barbarians, The Extremity and Violence of her grief, brought her also into her Travail three Days before her time, and she was delivered of a Son, to whom they gave a Surname, drawn from her Affliction, calling him Tristan, as being in truth the true Son of her Sorrow. And upon the same Day understanding that the Pisans, the Genoese, and all the rest of the People were resolved to abandon the place, fearing the Siege, and Famine, she prevailed so far upon them with her Prayers, and Tears, that they were contented to stay, she promising to furnish them with Provisions at her own Charges, which she did at the Expense of above three hundred thousand Livres. At length the Queen, the Legate, the Bishops, and the Duke of Burgundy, who retired thither in a good hour, together with all the Garrison, which was Commanded by Oliver de Termes, embarked upon the Ships which expected them below the Bridge, and steered away directly for Acre, according to the Order of the King; and the Saracens entered into Damiata, where presently making themselves Drunk with the Wines they found there, they most brutishly slew all the Sick, and fired the Machines', which according to the Treaty they were to surrender. But the Admirals did far worse, for instead of delivering the King and the Prisoners, so soon as Damiata was put into their Possession, they put it under deliberation, Whether they should not rather cut all their throats; and one among them maintained, that having committed so great a Crime against the Law of Mahomet, as they had done in killing their Sultan, they should yet commit a greater, as he shown them out of one of their Books, if they should suffer the greatest Enemy of their Law, to escape with his Life out of their hands. And the matter went so far, that the four Galleys rowed up the River till they came within a League of Cairo, insomuch that all the Prisoners, except the King, whom they Guarded in his Pavilion upon the Bank of the River, had now lost all manner of hopes of Life or Liberty. But at last the better Opinion prevailed, and there were some among them who urged vigorously, that if, after having slain their Sultan, they should again imbrue their hands in the Blood of one of the greatest Kings in the World, after having given their Faith to him, by such a Solemn Treaty; they should pass through the whole Earth, for the most infamous, and the most abominable of all Mankind; but to speak truth, I am rather of an Opinion, that the eight hundred thousand Bysances, which they would have lost by committing such a horrible Crime, without any manner of advantage, was the weight which turned the Scale, and was the strongest reason to persuade them, for this time at least, to be honest, and to keep their Word and their Oath. And this informs us, that interest is the best Guarranty of any Treaty, being the thing which hath more Power over most People, to oblige them to stand to their agreements, than all the Oaths, and all the Hands and Seals which they can give. Thus then, after two and thirty Days Captivity, the King, all the Princes, and the Lords of France and Cyprus, and of the Realm of Jerusalem, with the poor remainder of Soldiers, which there was left after such a terrible defeat, wherein there were lost near thirty thousand Men, were set at Liberty, the Count de Poitiers, only excepted, who was kept at Damiata for the security of the first Payment, and the same Evening the King was Conducted by twenty thousand Saracens, who to do him Honour, Marched on Foot, to a large Genoese Galley, which attended him below the Bridge, and upon which he embarked with his Brother Charles, year 1250 Count d' Anjou, Alberic Marshal of France, the Lord de Joinville, Philip de Nemours, who sold the Town of that name to the King, the brave Geoffrey de Sergines, and Nicholas, General of the Order of the Trinity or the Mathurins. The others went aboard the Vessels which were prepared for them, and the next Day the Counts of Flanders, Bretany, and Soissons, accompanied with divers Great Lords, took their leave of the King, and set Sail for France, where they all happily arrived, except Peter de Dreux, Duke of Bretany, who being very much indisposed when he took Ship, died upon the Sea three Weeks after. His Body was carried by his Knights into Bretany, where he reposeth in the Nunnery of Villeneuve near Nantes; and although the War which he made with St. Lewis in the beginning of his Reign, and which thrive so ill, that he only got by it, the shameful name of Illclerk, will be a blemish to him in History, yet his Zeal and Courage, which he made so highly conspicuous in his two Voyages to the Holy War, have so effaced that blot, by the Blood which he therein shed, for the interest of Jesus Christ, and by the happy Death which he found in that service, that one may lawfully give him a place among the Hero's of the Crusade. The King stayed yet two Days, the Saturday and the Sunday after Ascension, upon the River in his Galley, in expectation of the finishing of the first payment, that so the Count de Poitiers might be set at Liberty, and understanding in the Evening of the Sunday, that there wanted thirty thousand Livres to make up the two hundred thousand, and that the Templars, who had store of Money aboard their Galleys, refused to lend him so much, under pretext that by their Rule they were under an Oath, to part with nothing of their Revenue, but to their Great Master; the devout King made them know upon this occasion, that he was their first and their greatest Master, and that he would dispense with this Article of their Rule, from which they could every day dispense with themselves, in other points that were much more Essential. For the Lord Joinville who executed his Orders most punctually, going into one of their Galleys, with a good Hatchet, which he had already lifted up to break open one of their strong Coffers, in the name of the King; the Marshal of the Temple, who found that he would be obeyed, caused the Keys to be given him, and thereupon he took out what Money he pleased, and the King, who was very well satisfied with the Action, instantly caused to be paid to the Saracens, not only the thirty thousand Livres which was wanting of the Sum which was due, but also ten thousand more, of which they had cheated themselves without perceiving it, in weighing the Money in their Scales. So exact was this incomparable Prince, religiously to observe his Word and Faith, even to those who had none themselves, and who had so brutally violated that which they had given him, with so many horrible Oaths. After which the Count de Poitiers, whom the Saracens set at Liberty, being come up to the Road, which Philip Count de Montfort, where the King, who after the Money was paid, was now gotten, and stayed for them; they set Sail, and in a few Days, came happily to an Anchor in the Port of Ptolemais, where this great Prince was received with as much Joy for his deliverance, as there had been sorrow for his Captivity. THE HISTORY OF THE CRUSADE, OR, The Expeditions of the Christian Princes for the Conquest of the Holy Land. PART IU. BOOK III. The CONTENTS of the Third Book. The General Consternation all over France, upon the News of the King's Imprisonment; the Tumult, the Shepherds, their Original, their Disorders, and Defeat. St. Lewis after his deliverance performs his Articles with great Justice. The Admiral's fail on their part. The Original of the Hospital of the Fifteen Score. The Council debates the matter of the King's return. The Reasons on the one side and the other. It is at last concluded for his stay in Palestine. Four Famous Ambassages to St. Lewis; from Pope Innocent, from the Sultan of Damascus, from the Ancient of the Mountain, and from the Emperor Frederick. The Death of that Emperor, and the different Opinions thereupon. An Error of St. Lewis, who loseth a fair opportunity of making use of one Party of the Saracens, to ruin the other. The Election of a Mamaluke Sultan. The gallant Actions of St. Lewis in Palestine. The Death of Queen Blanch, and the return of the King into France. The Rupture and War between the Venetians and Genoese occasions the loss of the Holy Land. The Conquests of Haulon, Brother to the great Cham, stops the Progress of the Saracens. The Relation of the Mamaluke Sultan's. They vanquish the Tartars which ravage Palestine. The Character of Sultan Bendocdar, the great Enemy of the Christians. His Conquests upon them. His Cruelty, and the Glorious Martyrdom of the Soldiers of the Garrison of Sephet, and of two Cordeliers, and a Commander of the Temple. The taking and Destruction of Antioch by this Sultan. The quarrels between the Popes and the Princes of the House of Suabia, obstruct the Succours of the West. The Histories of Pope Innocent, and the Emperor Conrade; of Pope Alexander and Mainfrey, against whom he vainly publishes Crusades. The History of Charles d' Anjou, to whom Pope Urban, the Successor of Alexander, and Pope Clement the Fourth, give the Realms of Naples and Sicily, as Fieffs escheated to the Church by Felony. His Exploits, his Battles, and his Victories over Mainfrey and Conradin. The deplorable Death of that young Prince. The Victories of Charles, cause the Pope and St. Lewis to entertain a Design for a new Crusade. An Assembly at Paris about that Affair, where the King, the Princes, and Lords, take upon them the Cross. All other Nations decline the Crusade. The Collusion of the Emperor, Michael Paleologus. The Condition of the King's Army. The Resolution taken to Attack Tunis, and the Reason's wherefore. The Description of Tunis and Carthage. The taking of the Port, the Tower, and the Castle of Carthage. The Malady makes great Destruction in the King's Army. His Death, Elegy and Character. The Arrival of Charles, King of Sicily. The Exploits of the Army. The Treaty of Peace with the King of Tunis, who becomes Tributary to Charles. The return of the two Kings; their Fleet is horribly beaten by a Tempest. Prince Edward of England saved, his Vow to go to the Holy Land. His Voyage, his Exploits, and his return. The vain endeavours of Pope Gregory the Tenth, for a new Crusade. The second Council of Lions. The last causes of the loss of the Holy Land. The quarrel among the Christian Princes for the Succession to the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Death of Bendocdar. The defeat of his Successor by the Tartars. The hopes of the recovery of all Palestine, by the Arms of King Charles of Anjou, ruined by the sad accident of the Sicilian Vespers. The new division among the Princes, and the Progress of the Mamaluke Sultan's. The Relation of the lamentable Siege, and the taking of Acre by these Barbarians. All the other places are lost, and the Christians of the West wholly driven out of Palestine and Syria. The vain and fruitless attempts which have since been made to renew the Crusades. year 1250 Whilst matters went thus in the East, the news, which was received in France, of the two Victories, which the King had gained near Massora, was followed with a false report, which was currant, of the defeat of the Sultan, and the taking of Grand Cairo. And this coming from the Court of the Pope, to whom the Bishop of Marseilles, who had seen it in Letters Written to the Commandator of the Hospital of St. John, had sent it, Men being apt easily to believe that which they passionately desire, there was no doubt made but it was true; so that all was full of rejoicing, even then when upon the sudden, they were obliged to change this excessive joy into an extreme afflicton, by the certain intelligence which they received of the loss of the whole Christian Army, and the Captivity of the King and all the Princes. And this Affliction was followed by most furious disorders, year 1250 which were occasioned by the illusion and folly of some, and the extreme Wickedness of others, who made use of the simplicity of the former to commit, with impunity, the most detestable Crimes, under the false pretences of Zeal and Piety, for the deliverance of the King. In Germany a Troop of Vagabonds, mingled with young People, and the Scum and Refuse of the Peasantry, ran all over, crying that they must make a Crusade for the deliverance of the Ring of France. And a certain Hungarian Apostate, of the Cistercian Order, one of the most prosligate Villains in the World, but very able and Learned in many Languages, put himself at the head of them, and undertook to be their Captain Conductor. For this purpose he passed into France, with his Company, and fell to Preaching as if he had been a Prophet, and published this Crusade, as he said from God Almighty, for the deliverance of the King, telling of a world of Miracles, Visions and Revelations which he had, especially from the Blessed Virgin and the Angels, which these simple well meaning People, especially the Countrymen and Shepherds, looked upon as the express Commands of God. For he said himself, and caused it to be Preached also by his Impostors, whom he sent abroad, that Jesus Christ, who was the good Shepherd, and Innocence itself, was resolved to make use of Shepherds, and the good innocent Country People for the deliverance of the best King in the World. And herewith he assembled an infinite number of young People, Shepherds and Peasants, who, leaving their Teams and their Toils, their Flocks and Herds, took upon them the Cross, and took up Arms; all the Rabble joining with them under this new head of the Crusade, thereby to gain their Liberty under such a specious pretext, as this of the deliverance of the King. And in truth it was an Army of Villains, of Thiefs, Murderers, and Sacrilegious Wretches, which was divided into Companies, who had a Lamb painted in their Colours, which gave occasion to their name of Shepherds. He also himself created Captains among them, who were called Masters, to whom he gave the Sacrilegious Licence, to exercise the Sacerdotal and Pontifical Functions: so that they undertook to bless the People, giving remission not only for Sins already committed, but such as should be committed for the future, making Marriages and Divorces according to their pleasure, committing a thousand other Sacrileges, and above all, declaring War against the Priests and Monks, whom they cruelly Murdered, alleging they had drawn down the indignation of God upon the People, and were by their dissolute Lives the cause of the King's Misfortunes and Captivity. The People at first were so Sottish as to favour these new Crusades, who, wherever they came, committed infinite disorders. Those of Orleans were so silly as to permit them to do what they pleased in their City, where they put all the Clergy to the Sword. They would have done the same at Berri, where they began to Plunder; but they found there some People too Wise and Courageous to endure it. For after they had been driven out of Bourges, where they thought to have done the same they did at Orleans, the Gentlemen of Berri took Arms together with the Commons, and pursued these Robbers, and overtaking them between Mortemer and Villeneuve upon the Char, they cut the greatest part of them in Pieces, together with their Apostate General, who was slain upon the place. The remainder of this Rout, who saved themselves by Flight, and all that could be found of them in the other Provinces, perished shortly after, either by the Halter, or by the hands of such as followed the Example of these brave Gentlemen of Berri, to whom the Queen Regent, was obliged for the Tranquillity, which they restored to the state in the absence of the King, who in this time was busy in the Affairs of the Realm of Jesus Christ in the East. The first thing which he did after his Arrival at Ptolemais, was to deliver all the Saracen Prisoners according to his Promise, and to send Men and Ships into Egypt, to bring the Christian Captives from thence, according to the Treaty, as well those, who were taken last, as those who had been made Prisoners after the Truce of the Emperor Frederick with Sultan Meledin, who had so generously exposed their Lives and Liberty, for the Glory of Jesus Christ. But these perfidious Admirals, who already repent, and reproached their own folly as they called it, in letting so great a King escape out of their hands, could never be persuaded to restore more than four hundred, year 1250 of above twelve thousand, whom they held in Chains at Cairo, unless he would pay more Money for their Ransom. It is reported also, that they did most inhumanely cause the Eyes of three hundred of the most Noble and bravest among the other Captives to be put out, before they sent them back to the King, thereby to put them out of a condition of ever being able to bear Arms against them any more. And it was, as it is credibly believed, in Memory of these three hundred blind Gentlemen, that St. Lewis afterwards founded the Famous Hospital of the fifteen score at Paris, as it is declared in the Bulla which Pope Sixtus Quartus, gave in the year one thousand four hundred eighty three, in favour of that Famous House, wherein there are at this Day maintained three hundred poor blind People of both Sexes, according to the intention of their Founder St. Lewis. But it was not here that the Perfidy and the Cruelty of these Infidel Emirs stopped; for besides that they would never restore either the Arms, the Horses, the Munitions, nor the Baggage of the Christians, they picked out all the handsomest young Men, and making them kneel down one after another, under a Scymiter which the Executioner held up ready to give the blow, they pressed them to renounce Jesus Christ, and embrace the Law of Mahomet. And in truth some of them overcome by a Cowardly fear of Death, abandoned their Religion to preserve a Criminal Life, which rendered them Infamous before God and Man, for their base Apostasy; but the greatest number of them despising the Menaces of these Barbarians, died gloriously in confessing Jesus Christ, for whose sake they had taken upon them the Cross. And thus it was that the Success of this Crusade, which appeared so unfortunate in humane appearance, became most happy in the sight of God, whose Glory was highly exalted by these new Martyrs. The King was surprised with this News and the perfidiousness of these Barbarians, meaning well himself he thought during all the time of the Truce, which he had concluded for ten years, that nothing was to be feared as to Palestine; but now perceiving he was deceived, although he had caused the Ships to be made ready for his return into France, yet he called an Assembly of all the Princes and Lords both of France and Palestine. Where having opened to them the condition of his Affairs in France, where it was apprehended that the English would make advantage of his absence; as also the terms in which they then stood with the Egyptians, who openly infringed the Treaty of the Truce, and that in the most Barbarous and insolent manner in the World, he commanded them to consider seriously what they thought fit to advise him thereupon; and to give him their Opinions within eight Days, Whether he ought to return into France, or remain some time longer in the East. The eight Days being expired, the Council was reassembled, where there were two Opinions, directly opposite one to the other, proposed. The first was that of the greatest number of the French who concluded, That he ought with all convenient Expedition to return into France. First, to give the necessary Orders for the Affairs of his Realm, which stood in great necessity of his presence. Secondly, in regard that having but a very few Knights, and Soldiers, and who having nothing to subsist upon, nor being Master so much as of any one place in the Realm of Jerusalem, he could not remain there either with safety, Honour, or Advantage to himself or the Affairs of the Christians in the East. And that he might serve them much more effectually, if after having been sometime in France to raise Money, and Levy new Troops, he should have a desire to return into Egypt, to take Vengeance upon these perfidious Enemies of God, who had so barbarously violated their Faith and Treaty. But all the Knights of the Temple, and the Hospital, the Patriarch, the Prelates, and all the Lords of Palestine, Cyprus, and Syria, and even divers of the French Lords among which was the High Steward of Champagne, the brave Lord Joinville, declared themselves of the contrary opinion, and strongly urged, That the Honour of the King, and welfare of all Christendom in the East, obliged him to stay some time longer in the Holy Land; That it would be most shameful to abandon so many brave Men, as had so faithfully served him in Egypt, and also to expose them to the fury of their Enemies, who would find them after his retreat much weaker than they were at his coming thither; That it was most certain that in the condition wherein things were, the Christians of Palestine would not stay there; year 1250 but so soon as they should see the King depart, they would also abandon the Country, and retire to Places of safety, and therefore his sudden Retreat must of necessity occasion the loss of all the Realm of Jerusalem, for the Conquest whereof the Christians of Europe, and especially those of France had spent so much of their Blood, and undertaken so many Crusades; and that so many thousands of poor Captives, who sighed in the Prisons of Cairo, whereof many were the Relations, the Allies, or the Friends of those who were in the opinion for the King's return, would be reduced to the utmost despair, having once lost all hope of even a possibility of their deliverance; since the Infidels would have nothing either to hope or fear from the Christians, after having once chased them out of Palestine. And in conclusion, they added, That the stay of the King in the Holy Land for some time longer, would without doubt produce the quite contrary Effects to all these Misfortunes, which would infallibly be consequent upon his return; That it was well known, that the King notwithstanding all his losses sustained in Egypt, was in a condition to repair one part of them, and to strike a terror into his Enemies, in regard that all the Money which he had yet expended, he had drawn out of the Purses of his Receivers, who had gained it unjustly from him; That he had still his whole Treasure entire, with which he might raise store of good Troops, and that so soon as it was known that he would pay well, he could not want Soldiers, but that men at Arms, and Knights would resort to him from all places, with which he might serve himself, upon the present occasion, to very good purpose, there being in reality so great a Division among the Infidels, that the Sultan of Aleppo, the most potent of the Saracens of Syria, made War against those of Egypt; That he had already taken Damascus from them, And that he was resolved in Person to lead his Army into Egypt to revenge the Death of the Sultan his Cousin, whom those infamous Mamalukes had so barbarously murdered; That the least advantage which the King could draw from this War, would be to oblige these perfidious Wretches by the fear which they would have lest he should join with their Enemy, to set all the Prisoners at liberty; That however hereby he would hinder the Infidels from invading the Lands of the Christians; And that in the mean time he might fortify the places, which were demolished; and thereby leave the Country in a Condition to defend itself whensoever at last he should be obliged to return and leave the Holy Land. After he had patiently heard all these Reasons, the King took eight days more to consider of what Resolution he ought to make; after which having again caused his Lords to be assembled, and imploring before them the Light and the Grace of God's Holy Spirit, he spoke to them in these Terms. That he gave all of them hearty thanks for the Counsel which they had on both parts given him; That if any worldly consideration could oblige him to return into France, most assuredly it was the Interest of his Realm, to which he owed his Principal Applications, and his greatest Care; But in regard that he was sufficiently satisfied, that France had nothing to fear, so long as it was under the wise Government of the Queen, his Mother, who had Forces, Courage and Conduct enough to defend it against all those, who should in his absence have any designs against it, he was resolved not to abandon the Interests of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ in Syria; but that he would stay there some time longer to put them into a posture of safety; That nevertheless he left all Persons, who had a desire to it, at liberty to return if they so pleased; but withal he promised also on the other side to all those who were resolved to run his Fortune, that he would make their choice so advantageous, that they should have sufficient reason to be satisfied with it. This Discourse of the King moved the whole Assembly, though with very different Sentiments; in some it excited tenderness and Devotion, so that they devoted themselves most hearty with this amiable Prince to the Service of Jesus Christ; in others it occasioned Grief and Sadness, by understanding the King's Resolution, which was so unexpected to them, and by seeing that their honour obliged them against their Inclinations still to remain in Palestine. But hereupon St. Lewis did not fail presently to give out Commissions, and Money for making of Levies; however for the satisfaction of the Queen, his Mother, he sent home the two Princes, his Brothers, into France, whither he writ to all the orders of the Realm, that admirable Letter, by which, after he had given them a full account of all the transactions, which till then had happened, he exhorted them by all the considerations both Divine and Humane, year 1250 to come and share with him in the Glory, which was to be acquired by generously sacrificing their Lives and Fortunes to the Service of Jesus Christ. Whilst these things were doing, the King, who made his preparations with so much diligence, received the Ambassadors, which came to him from Europe and from Asia. Pope Innocent sent to give him consolation by his Legates for his misfortune; and writ to him most excellent Letters, dated from Lions the twelfth of August, by which, after he had said all the finest and most Christian things suitable to give consolation to a Prince in Afflictions of this nature, he conjured him by no means to abandon Palestine; but offered him all that he himself should think the Holy See was able to assist him in. The Sattan of Damascus also by his Ambassadors, desired the conjunction of his Arms against the Mamalukes, promising to yield to him thereupon the whole Kingdom of Jerusalem; to which St. Lewis willingly accorded, provided that the Admirals refused to give him satisfaction. But they fearing the Arms of the King offered to give him all manner of satisfaction, and to surrender to him all the Realm of Jerusalem, which was in their hands, provided that he would assist them against the Sultan of Damascus, who, they said, offered the King what was none of his own. And to manifest at this time that they dealt sincerely, they sent immediately to him all the Christian Prisoners, as also the Bones of Count Gantier de Brienne; and sometime after the King peremptorily demanding that as a preliminary, before he would enter upon a new Treaty with them, they sent him the Heads of the Christians, which they had set upon the Walls of Grand Cairo, and all the Children and Young People, whom they had compelled to deny the Faith of Christ; which alone were considerable Effects of the resolution, which this Prince had taken to stay in Syria. The Ancient of the Mountain also, who at first, according to his insolent custom, had sent to demand a kind of Tribute, which the other Princes had been used to pay him, that thereby they might live in safety, sent new Ambassadors to him, with presents of Rock-Crystal in divers Figures, which was the only Rarity of his Country, desiring his Amity and Protection in a most submissive manner. And the King in return also sent him, with rich presents, Father Breton, a Dominican, who was very skilful in the Saracen Language, to endeavour his conversion, although that pious design was not followed with answerable Success. But that which was most taken notice of by the French Lords, was the Ambassage of the Emperor Frederick, who believing the King was still a Prisoner offered him all that lay in his Power for his deliverance; and assured him, that he had writ in most positive terms to the Sultan of Egypt, of whose death he was then ignorant, to let him know, that he would renounce his Amity and his Alliance, if he did not immediately restore the King to Liberty, with all his People, who were Prisoners. In truth the greatest part of the French Lords disinherited the Intention of this Emperor, in regard that although the King would never break with him, notwithstanding his differences with the Pope, yet nevertheless, that Prince had always manifested a displeasure, because St. Lewis had protected Pope Innocent, by affording him a Sanctuary in France, and giving him the Liberty to hold a Council at Lions, where matters were carried so high against him. However they rejoiced mightily, that these Ambassadors did not arrive till after the King had regained his liberty; in regard their was reason to be afraid lest if they found him still a Prisoner they might possibly have endeavoured underhand to hinder his deliverance: But let it be as it will, this was one of the last Actions, good or bad, that Frederick did, for he died not long after in the same Year at Tarentum, the third of December. As the Actions of his Life were diversely discoursed of, so was also his Death; some will have it, That he died impenitent, without any fence of God or Religion, without Sacraments; That he was poisoned, and also strangled by the hands of Mainfrey, one of his Natural Sons, whom he had made Prince of Tarentum, and who, by this Parricide, thought to seize upon his Treasure, and the Kingdom of Sicily. And the Monk of Milan, makes no manner of difficulty to send him directly to Hell, loaden, as he clownishly enough expresseth it, with a Sack full of his sins. On the contrary others affirm that he died very peaceably in his Bed, between the Arms of the Archbishop of Palermo, year 1250 who gave him absolution, he having confessed himself, with marvellous Sentiments of contrition and humility; that he forgave all his Enemies, and submitted himself wholly to whatsoever the Church should ordain concerning the restitution of what appertained to it; by his Will giving great Alms to pious uses, and commanding, that for the health of his Soul, all the Prisoners which were in the Empire, and in his other Kingdoms, except Traitors to the State, should be set at Liberty; and in short, saying and doing all the great things which might give hopes of his Salvation, But it is frequent to find in History Relations directly contrary one to another, which the Passions of contemporary Historians, who have been engaged in different Parties, have left us, and wherein it is not very easy to distinguish Truth from Falsehood, which many times fails not of very plausible Probabilities to impose upon the Reader. For my own part, who if I could avoid it, would neither deceive any, nor be deceived, I leave the Judgement of this Dead Prince to God Almighty, to whom only it appertains, and in his Character, which I have given, I have drawn both the good and the ill qualities, which appeared during his Life; and as to what appertains to the History of the Crusades, I only say, that as appears by an extract out of his last Will and Testament, which may be seen in the Imperial Constitutions of Goldastus, he gave a Legacy of a hundred thousand Ounces of Gold, towards the carrying on the War for the recovery of the Holy Land; and certainly this deserves so well, that an Historian of the Crusades, is bound to show some respect to the Memory of an Emperor, who after all, performed many most brave and noble Actions, if he had not had the misfortune to do some very ill ones. year 1251 Mean while, the King finding, that he had now an Army able to take the Field, he parted from Acre towards the end of the Winter, and went to incamp near Caesarea, which the Saracens had demolished, and which he undertook to rebuild and fortify, as he did, neither the Sultan of Damascus, nor the Egyptians offering to oppose him; in regard that both the one and the other, were in continual hopes to conclude their Treaty with him, and to strengthen themselves by his assistance in the War which they were about to make. Here it was that the Admirals of Egypt, to anticipate their Enemy and engage the King into their Party, sent their Commissioners to assure him, that they were ready to surrender the Young Runnegadoes, and the Heads of the Christians, which they had set upon the Walls and Towers of Grand Cairo, and that they would also acquit him of the two hundred thousand Livres, which were yet unpaid, which the King resolved before he would treat with them, in regard that they had broken the Truce, by not observing the Conditions of their former Treaty, and thereupon, as the Admirals gave him all the Satisfaction, which he demanded, he appointed them a day to meet him at Jaffa, where a new Treaty was to be made, by which the Admirals obliged themselves to put into his hands all the Places of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, to which they should for the Future make no more pretensions; and the King reciprocally promised to assist them with all his Forces against the Sultan of Damascus, their Enemy. So soon as the Sultan, who was a man of Courage and Conduct, understood that the King had accorded with the Egyptians, he sent twenty thousand men to seize upon the Passes between Egypt and Palestine; but this did not hinder the King from leading his Army to Jaffa, the Castle whereof was very strong though the Town was wholly ruinous; and fell to rebuilding and fortifing of it at great charges and with incredible diligence, although the Enemies gave continual Alarms to his Camp, and daily made a show as if they would attack it. This made the Mamaluke Admirals, who had not yet set their Army on foot, and therefore durst not repair to Jaffa, request the King to defer their Interview, and to appoint another day, when they might be in a condition to attend him; and in the mean time the Sultan of Damascus, having assembled all his best Troops, took a review of them about Gadres, which was anciently called Gadara, a strong City on the other side the Sea of Galilee; and from thence passing over the Jordan he went and joined with thirty thousand Horse, which he had sent before him to the Frontier of Egypt, into which he entered to revenge upon the Admiral's the death of his Cousin. And they who had had leisure to prepare for his coming did not fail to give him a welcome like men of Courage, year 1251 and who understood War. It came presently to a Battle, and at first the Sultan had the advantage, breaking in upon one of their Wings so vigorously, that he put it into disorder, and wholly routed it. But the Egyptians, understanding that their Army was Victorious in the other Wing, rallied, and came to the charge more furiously than before against their Vanquishers; and then those also, who had been Victorious on the other side falling upon their Rear, cut them in pieces and made the Victory so complete, that all the Sultan could do was to save himself, and retreat to Gadres sorely wounded, with two thousand men which only escaped in that Bloody Battle. After this great Victory, the Admirals made a sudden turn like able Politicians. For now perceiving that they had no more need of the Arms of the King, they believed that to preserve to themselves the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which by Treaty they were obliged to surrender unto him, it was much better for them to make Peace with the Sultan, who seeing himself abandoned by the King, would without doubt be very glad to revenge himself, and for fear of having both Armies upon his Hands, year 1252 to accommodate matters with them. They sent therefore to him to Gadres, offering him Peace, and at the same time desiring it from him. They excused themselves for the death of the Sultan of Egypt, his Cousin, by the necessity, which they had to prevent their own by giving him his; and remonstrated to him, that it was for their Common Interests, rather to unite against the Christians, who were their Common Enemies, than by their divisions to give them the opportunity to make use of their Arms to the mutual destruction one of another. The Sultan, who desired nothing so much, willingly hearkened to the Proposition, so that without any difficulty, a Peace was presently concluded betwixt them; and the King by too long deferring to conclude with the one or the other of them, was miserably deceived by them both, and lost not only the noblest opportunity of recovering the Kingdom of Jerusalem by an honourable Treaty, but on the sudden found he had two puissant Enemies, to encounter, who would now no more hear either of a Peace or a Truce, and who might easily have both been ruined, by keeping up the Quarrel between them, and uniting with the one against the other, as they both desired. But though the King was a great Saint, we must not believe that Saintships render men infallible, especially in Policy, and above all not in matters of War, which is the remotest thing from Religion, whose Principles are those of Love and Peace. All the advantage, which the King gained by this Rencontre, was to quit himself of the two hundred thousand Livres to the Admirals, which yet in reality he was no ways obliged to pay, after they had so perfidiously broken their first Treaty. Sometime after they had made this Peace with the Sultan of Damascus, although they saw they had nothing to fear, either from this Prince, their Ally, or from the Christians, who were in too weak a condition to attack them; yet considering that it was impossible for their Empire to subsist any considerable time without a Head, they resolved at last to create one of their own Body to the exclusion of the Arabians, Egyptians, and all the Descendants of the Great Saladin and Saphadin. And being well assured that there were none able to oppose them, they accordingly chose for their Sultan one of the Mamaluke Admirals, whom they named Azzadin Aibec, or Elmahec: For there is not one of these Sultan's, but who have different names, in divers Authors, who have writ concerning them. This Sultan was a Turcoman by Nation, and from thence it is, that many Historians call him Turquemin. However from this time the Mamalukes held the Empire of Egypt, not by Succession but Election, till the Year one thousand five hundred and seventeen, when Selim the Emperor of the Turks conquered it, after he had in a great Battle overthrown and near Grand Cairo taken Tomombey their last Sultan. Mean time the Sultan of Damascus under the Favour of this Peace, having assembled his Army, came with thirty thousand men to discharge his Indignation upon the Territories of the Christians. He presented himself before Acre, and threatened to fire the Suburbs, if they would not redeem them from that danger, with fifty thousand Bysances of Gold; but the Lord of Assur, the Constable of the Realm, thought fit to pay him in another Metal, year 1252 and sent him away loaden with Blows instead of the Money he demanded. And from thence therefore having understood, that the King, who had rebuilded Jaffa, was about to repair Sidon or Sajetta, had but a few Troops with him, by reason that he had sent the greatest part of his Soldiers to seize upon Belinas, formerly called Caesarea Philippi, he marched with a design to surprise him. The King, who was advertised thereof, was obliged to retire into the Castle and to quit the Town, which was not yet in a condition to be defended. The Saracens therefore having surprised and cut in pieces two thousand of the Servants and Peasants, who followed the Camp, entered without resistance into Sidon, which they once again demolished, overthrowing the Walls to the very Foundation. But the Sultan being afraid that the other part of the Army, which had by force taken Belinas, should march and take Damascus, he marched away in all haste to defend his Capital City. Whilst the Troops which he feared, having not been able to take the Castle of Belinas, and being drawn from a dangerous Country by the Wise Conduct of Oliver de Termes, one of the most hardy and Valiant Knights of the Army marched back again by another way to join the King of Sidon. year 1253 It was at this place, that this great Saint did that admirable Action of Charity and Humility, which to this very day surprises all men's minds with wonder, for that he might oblige both the Officers and Soldiers, to render with him the last duty to those poor creatures, who had been slain by the Saracens, and lay unburied, whose Bodies lay half putrefied above ground near the City, he himself took the most infected of them upon his Royal shoulders, carrying those to their interment, whose offensive smell was scarcely to be endured, without showing any manner of aversion for his loathsome burden, as did those of his retinue, and without receiving the least inconvenience from these infected Bodies. A rare example even among the greatest Saints, but much more among the greatest Princes, and which may well make the delicacy of those blush, who being so much below such elevated Majesty have such an extreme aversion for the Exercises of Christian Piety, when they are never so little contrary to the Inclinations of Nature; so that they are only contented to serve God when they can so accommodate his service with their own, as that they may do it without losing any thing of either their profit or their pleasure. After this, the King, according to the desires of the Lords of the Country, began to repair the ruins of Sidon, which he made stronger than ever it had been before. He did the same to the City and Castle of Caiphas, which was very necessary for covering the City of Acre, whose Walls and Towers also he took care to repair, and to fortify the Suburbs in such a manner as to put them in safety against the attempts of the Saracens. This did so much surprise them with wonder, that they were not able sufficiently to admire the Power, the Riches, and the Magnificence of this great King, who after he had, as they thought, by his extreme misfortune lost all in Egypt, had still so much treasure as to defray those prodigious expenses, which it is well known are so necessary for the maintaining of Armies, building of Cities, and erecting of Fortresses. In short, during the time that he remained in the Holy Land, he fully satisfied his devotion to God as well as his Duty to the Interest of the Country, for he visited the Holy Mountain of Tabor, and the Sacred Chamber of Nazareth, where, accompanied with the Legate and all the Lords, he celebrated the Feast of the Annunciation with the magnificence of a King, thereby to honour God more eminently among the Infidels with the Piety of a Saint, and to inflame the devotion of the Christians of the Country, who generally were not addicted too much to it, or to lead their Lives conformable to the Holiness of those sacred places, which they did inhabit. Above all, he had an extreme desire to visit the Holy City of Jerusalem, whose Walls the Saracens had rebuilded, and who would willingly have given him the liberty to enter into it as a Pilgrim. But his Council did not think it convenient, that one of the greatest Kings of Christendom ought to go thither to worship Jesus Christ before his Holy Sepulchre, before he had conquered it from the Infidels; for otherwise they said, the other Princes, who after him should undertake the Voyage to the Holy Land, would believe themselves acquitted of their Duty, year 1253 when they should have accomplished their Pilgrimage as the King of France had done, which might be of great prejudice to the Crusades, the end of which was to be the deliverance of Jerusalem. year 1254 The King, who was resolved that his private Devotion and Piety should never be prejudicial to the Rights of his Royal Majesty, which ought to be maintained inviolably, yielded his desires to this advice; And therefore, after having acted for five years so advantageously for the Affairs of the Holy Land, by putting all the Maritime places of the Country into a very good condition; having received the sad news of the death of Queen Blanch, his Mother, for whom he had ever had a most Infinite tenderness and Reverence, and seeing that thereupon his presence would be absolutely necessary in his Realm, he resolved at last to return. But for the safety of Palestine he left the Legate there with considerable store of money, and a good part of his Army, under the Command of the Wise and Valiant Geoffrey de Sergines. After which, upon the three and twentieth of April, he embarked with the rest of his People upon fourteen Ships, in the greatest of which he would have, together with the Queen and the Princes, his Children, Jesus Christ himself present in the most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, both for the consolation, and the security of his Voyage. And it was under the Conduct of this Divine Pilot, who nevertheless seemed sometimes to sleep during the Tempest, that having escaped the most extraordinary dangers, which during two months he had run at Sea, he at last landed at Years, from whence coming into France, he went directly to St. Dennis, to render most humble thanks unto Almighty God for his return, which he acknowledged he had obtained by the intercession of the Holy Martyrs, the Protectors of France. The Queen, who in an eniment danger of suffering shipwreck had made a Vow, that if she escaped, she would send a ship of Silver to St. Nicholas in Lorraine, did not fail to accomplish it. She caused this Ship to be made, wherein is to be seen her Picture from the Life, together with that of the King, and the three Princes, her Children. The Steward of Champagne, and Joinville, who had persuaded her to make this Vow, did himself carry this Offering, marching barefoot from Joinville to this famous Church of St. Nicholas, where it hath pleased God to continue to this day, the working of an infinite of Wonders for the Honour of this Holy Bishop, the Protector of those who sail upon the Sea. year 1255 But whilst France enjoyed the happy Fruits of the Presence of the King, who by his wise Government maintained it in a most profound tranquillity, Palestine began to feel those misfortunes, which fell upon it in his absence, by the deadly division, which had he been there he would have prevented, and which was the last cause of the loss of the Holy Land. The Venetians, the Genoese, and the Pisans, who had most advantageously served in all the Crusades by their shipping, had in Acre their quarter and their Jurisdiction assigned them, and their Magistrate, who was Independent of any other; though the Church of the fair Monastery of St. Sabas was common to the three Nations for the celebration of the Divine Offices. The Venetians and the Genoese, who in those times rarely agreed, had abundance of quarrels under divers pretences, which served to cover the true cause of all these Embroilments, which in truth was the Jealousy of State and the Ambition, which they had to be the sole Masters of the Sea; and every one of them equally pretended, that this Church appertained solely to their Republic. And whereas Alexander the fourth, who succeeded to Pope Innocent, had declared that the Church ought to be in common to the three Nations; the Genoese, who first received this declaration, nevertheless being supported by the Authority and the Forces of Count Philip de Montfort, who was then the Governor of Ptolemais, chased the Venetians from the City, and seized upon the Church and the Monastery, which they fortified in the form of a Citadel. They took for their Pretext a great violence, which a Venetian had offered to a Genoese, whom he used very scurvily, and which had been sufficiently revenged by the Genoeses upon the Venetians, who would never receive the excuses, which had been offered to them in the name of the Republic, which constantly disavowed these actions of private Persons. The War then being declared in this manner, by the Way of Fact, year 1256 the Venetians, assisted by the Pisans, who declared for them, in renouncing the Amity of the Genoese, with whom they were confederated before, rigged out a potent Navy, year 1257 with which they seized upon the Port of Ptolemais, burned the Genoese ships, entered the City and there fought, gaining by Inches the quarter of the Enemy; besieging and forcing the Monastery, year 1258 the Church of St. Sabas, and chase from Ptolemais Count Philip and the Genoese, who retreated to Tyre; from whence, coming the year following, with nine and forty Galleys and four great men of War, they came to a great Battle which they lost between Ptolemais and Caiphas. So that the Cities, the Princes, the Lords and all the Knights of the Country, being divided upon this quarrel, some declaring for the Venetians, and others for the Genoese, their happened between these two Potent Republics a most cruel War, which being from time to time suspended by Feeble Treaties, which were quickly broken, continued for a whole Age, to the great prejudice of all Christendom, and especially to the Affairs of the East, being the principal Cause of the irreparable loss of all. And certainly the Saracens of Syria and Mesopotamia had not failed upon such a deplorable opportunity, as was this miserable division, to have ruined the Christians of the Holy Land, if God had not at the same time raised other Enemies against those Infidels to destroy them. For the Tartars having subdued all Persia passed over the Tigris under the Conduct of Halon, the Brother of Mangon, the Great Cham of Tartary. That Prince, who is reported to have been a Christian and a great Enemy to the Mahometans, having endeavoured to push his Conquests to the Mediterranean Sea, was now going to lay Siege to the City of Bagdad, which is not, as hath been believed, the ancient Babylon of the Chaldeans, which was situate upon the River Euphrates, and of which there are now not so much as the ruins remaining. For this which still carries something of the Name, is above fifty miles from Euphrates, and stands upon the Tigris, near the place, where was anciently the Famous City of Seleucia. There was the principal Seat of the Mahometan Empire in those times, where the Caliph, whom all the other Sultan's acknowledged at least in appearance for their Head, and the chief Priest of their Law, kept his Court. Now the Caliph, then in being, as he was not at all martially inclined, so was so extremely covetous, that though he was prodigiously rich, yet would he not be at any Charge, either to fortify the City or to maintain a good Garrison; so that the City was instantly taken by the Tartar, who after he had put to the Sword all the Saracens, which he found there, caused the miserable Caliph to be locked up in one of the Chambers, where his Treasure lay, amongst an infinite quantity of Rich Furniture, Plate Money, and Jewels, telling him with a terrible and Bloody Raillery, that since he so delighted in Riches, and was so passionately in Love with Gold and Silver, he should be treated according to his Inclinations, and eat nothing less delicate than Gold. Thus this Unfortunate Miser, who was the last of the Caliphs', the Successors of Mahomet, died with hunger, in the midst of a most incredible abundance of Gold, Silver, Pearls and Gems, the sight whereof would not content nature, or satisfy her necessities, and with which, if he had known how to use them, he might have avoided this miserable Destiny, and at least have died nobly at the head of an Army sighting for his Life and Liberty, with this Treasure, which would have raised and paid them and have possibly secured him from this insolent Tartar. A great but most just punishment of a Covetous Wretch, who having all his Life made Idols of his Riches, without daring to touch them more than if they had been most Sacred things, deservedly learned at his death, that these false Divinities had not the Power either to save his Soul or his Body, and that Gold and Silver are no further valuable than by the good use which is made of them. year 1259 After this Victory the Tartar Prince entered into Mesopotamia, which yielded to the Conqueror without resistance, took Edessa, passed the Euphrates, made himself Master of Samothracia, Emessa, Haman, Harenc, and all the places which the Sultan had taken from the Christians in Syria; besieged, and by storm took Aleppo, which is thought to have been the Ancient Berea; and there he took the Sultan Prisoner, whom he carried in Irons to Damascus, constraining the Inhabitants to yield, after they had seen their Captive Sultan put to death before their Eyes. And from thence returning with a small retinue into Tartary upon the news, which arrived of his Brother's death to whom he was to succeed, year 1260 he left the Command of the Army to his Lieutenant Cathogoba. And he, who was imbroiled with the Christians, whom before he seemed to favour, entered into the Realm of Jerusalem, and there took Caesarea and Sidon, and began to threaten Ptolemais, when the Christians received a sudden assistance from Egypt, from whence they lest expected it. The first of the Mamaluke Sultan's Atbec or Elmehec, having been strangled in a Bath by his own Wise, after he had reigned five years; the Admirals, who revenged his death by the Punishment of this Murderess of her Husband, by common consent made choice of his Son Almansor, who was within a year dethroned by one of his Emirs, whom the rest placed upon the Throne and made him Sultan, giving him the name of Melech Elvahet. This new Sultan, who was a great Captain, searing that the Tartars, after having conquered Palestine would come pouring into Egypt, resolved to prevent them. For this purpose therefore having drawn together, all the Forces of Egypt, he entered into Palestine, and made an Alliance with the Christians of the Country against their Common Enemies; and after he had for three days refreshed his Army about Ptolemais he marched directly against the Tartars, who ravaged Galilee, and upon the third of October gave them Battle in the Plain of Tiberias, where he cut the greatest part of them in pieces and routed the rest, and slew their General Cathogoba upon the place; and having thus delivered himself from this formidable Enemy, he returned covered with Glory and loaden with Spoils into Egypt. But a while after, one of his principal Emirs, whose name was Bondogar or Bendocdar, who continually importuned him to turn his Victorious Arms, against the Christians, seeing that, contrary to the Custom of these Barbarians, he would not violate the Faith which he had given them, he most barbarously murdered him, and caused himself to be chosen Sultan by the Mamalukes, who infinitely esteemed him for his Courage. And in truth, as he was the most brave, the most able and Politic, so he was also the most wicked, , and most cruel of all these Barbarians. For to the end, that he might reign in safety, he put to death all that he could find of the race of the former Sultan's; and in a little time fourscore of the Admirals also fell, under divers Pretexts, as Sacrifices to his Jeasousie, being in reality guilty of no other Crime, but the fear of the Tyrant, who believing that they were as wicked as himself, was under the continual apprehensions, whilst they were living, that they should treat him one day in the same cruel manner as he had done his Predecessor: and by this procedure he rendered himself so terrible to all his Subjects, that no person durst so much as adventure to make a Visit to an acquaintance, or to talk with a particular Friend, lest it might raise a Jealousy in the Sultan, which did not fail to be followed by the death of him against whom it was conceived. But as for any thing else, he had whatever was requisite to make him a Conqueror, for he was Bold, undertaking, fearless, cunning, vigilant, sober, chaste, not permitting his Soldiers, either Wine or Women, which he said weakened both there Bodies, and their Minds, and took away from them all the Vigour of Warriors, and above all he had Fortune for his Reward, and a constant Success when ever he acted by himself. Such a Person was Bendocdar, who had not slain his Predecessor, but because he refused to make War against the Christians, against whom consequently he did not fail presently to lead the Victorious Army, which had defeated the Tartars. year 1261 This was most fatal to the Christians of the Holy Land. For the Infidels having at first defeated the Troops of the Lords of Baruth and Giblet with those of Ptolemais, year 1262 and the Templars, who were got together to oppose this Enemy, who surprised them, he wasted and ruined all the Country, as far as to Antioch; after which he came and presented himself with thirty thousand Horse before Ptolemais, year 1263 ruined the Suburbs and came up to the very Gates of the City, not a man daring to Sally out to oppose him; he ruined the Church and Monastery of Bethlehem, year 1264 took Caesarea by Treason, the City and Castle of Assur by a long Siege, and the impregnable Fortress of Sephet by composition. But the Infidel, basely broke his Articles, year 1265 for he put to Death the Governor and the whole Garrison, which consisted in six hundred Men; because that having given them one Night's time to resolve whether they would save their Lives by turning Mahometans, they were so encouraged by the Fathers, James of Pavia, year 1266 and Jeremy of Geneva, two fervently Religious of the Order of St. Francis, and by the Prior of the Temple, that the next Day they all unanimously chose to lose their Heads, which were accordingly taken from them, to receive the Glorious Crown of Martyrdom. As for the two Cordeliers, and the generous Prior of the Temple, who had so well animated the others to suffer for the sake of Christ, they also received the Palms of Victory, but after a manner more Glorious than the rest. For the Tyrant furiously incensed against them, for having snatched the Prey out of his hands, and rob him of what he thought to have made the Glory of his Victory, was so filled with Rage and Madness against them, that he caused them to be roasted alive, and cruelly beaten with Cudgels, whilst they were in this dreadful manner exposed to the Flames, and afterwards causing them to be dragged to the place where the others were beheaded, he caused their Heads also to be cut off there. But he had the amazing displeasure, to see that God did Honour to his Martyrs, by a Heavenly Light, which he himself with all his Saracens, saw shining every Night about their Bodies; insomuch that he was obliged for the hiding of their Glory and his own Infamy, to enclose the place with a mighty high Wall, to hinder the sight of this wonder, so confounding to his, and so honourable to the Christian Religion. year 1267 But he still pursuing the Torrent of his Conquests, which found nothing that was able to stop their impetuous Course, took the City and Castle of Jaffa by treachery, a little after the Death of Count John, for he never durst attempt it so long as that Noble Earl lived. He also made himself Master of the Fortress of Beaufort, and the most part of the places which appertained to the Templars. And after having ravaged all the plain Country about Acre, Tyre, and Sidon, and burned the Suburbs of Tripoli, he turned once again short upon Antioch. year 1268 He found that great City so unprovided of all manner of necessaries to sustain a Siege, by reason of the absence of Prince Conrade, Cousin of Conradin, to whose assistance he was gone into Italy, that he took it without resistance, slew there seventeen thousand Men, and carried above a hundred thousand into Captivity. Thus this City so illustrious, that it was sometimes called the Eye of the East, in regard of its admirable Beauty, and which the first Crusades were not able to take but with a nine months' Siege, which a thousand Heroic Actions, which were there done, have rendered so Famous in History, was taken in a moment, and desolated to that degree by the Mamalukes, that it became a vast solitude, as it still continues to this Day. So little assurance is there of any thing in this World, where there needs no more but one Moment to Ruin and Destroy what hath been growing a many Ages. Thus Bendoedar who found no more Enemies in the Field, to give the least check to his Conquests, still pushed his good Fortune forward into Syria, whilst the Christians of the East, divided into divers Factions, seemed to combine with him for their mutual destruction. And in vain were any Succours expected from the West; for the Assistance which the Armenians and the Tartars came to desire against the Saracens, were always either hindered or diverted by the Quarrels, which continued between the Popes and the House of Suabia, and which were not to be determined, but by the downfall of that Noble House, to raise upon its ruins that of France, which consequently took up the design of that Crusade again. And it is this which I am now obliged to relate for the finishing of this History of the Crusades. After the Death of Frederick the Second, Pope Innocent did not fail to Excommunicate Conrade, the Eldest Son of that Prince, because he styled himself Emperor, against William, Earl of Holland, whom some Germane Princes, who were of the Pope's Party, had chosen to oppose Frederick. Conrade, who wanting the good qualities of his Father, had all the ill ones, and all the fierceness, the Cruelty, the insatiable desire of Revenge, and the implacable hatred against the Popes, entered with great Forces into Italy, where he was with joy received by the Gibelins, and favoured by the Venetians, upon whose Shipping he passed the Gulf into Pavia; and having joined the Troops of his natural Brother Mainfrey, his Lieutenant General in that Realm, year 1268 he reduced under his obeisance, in a short time, what ever had declared for the Pope, and having at last taken Naples, he there executed his most cruel Vengeance, by the Desolation of that fair and flourishing City. This so amazed the Pope, Innocent, who after he had struck him with the Anathema, had no other Arms, to which he might have recourse to oppose him, that he believed he was obliged, to cause a Crusade to be published against him; which without doubt did not contribute much to the Success of that which proved so unfortunate against the Saracens. And at the same time he caused the two Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily to be offered, first to Charles d' Anjou, who would not then accept them without the consent of the King, his Brother, who was then in Syria; and afterwards to Richard, Brother to Henry, the King of England; but he also refused them, not thinking it was at all agreeable to Justice or a good Conscience, to despoil the young Prince Henry, his Nephew, to whom the Emperor Frederick had left, for his share, the Kingdom of Sicily. Whilst matters stood thus, Conrade, who had underhand procured the Death of this little Prince, his Brother, that he might have his Kingdom, died himself of Poison, which as it was believed was given him by his Brother Mainfrey, to whom, as not suspecting him Guilty of his Death, Conrade left the Tuition of his Son Conradin, than an Infant of the Age of three Years. Innocent resolving to take advantage of his Death, went and presented himself before Naples, where in hatred of Conrade, he was received with great Applauses. Mainfrey himself, being surprised, also submitted to him, and was received with all Civil treatment. But presently after throwing himself into Nocere, whither the Emperor Frederick had transplanted the Saracens of Sicily, he raised an Army and took the Field, and Fortune declaring herself at first in his favour, he in a Battle defeated the Army of the Pope, which was Commanded by the Cardinal de Fiesque, the Nephew of Innocent, who being then Sick, when he received this News at Naples, died in a few Days after. Alexander the Fourth, his Successor, had also the same Fortune; for having Excommunicated Mainfrey, this Prince, who from the Example of his Father, had learned not to fear these Roman Thunderbolts, Marched directly against the Pontifical Army, which had taken the Field under the Conduct of Cardinal Vbald; and he, not being so great a Captain as his Enemy, also lost a Battle which was fought between them. Hereupon Mainfrey, fierce with these two Victories, and sure of the Favour of the Populace, which always follows the strongest side, caused himself to be Proclaimed King of Naples and Sicily, with as much ease, as he had with dexterity caused the report to be spread of the Death of the little Conradin, his Nephew. After which he lead his Victorious Army into the Ecclesiastic Estates, where finding little resistance, he seized upon the County of Fondi, and his Partisans being animated by the report of his Victories, the Gibelin Faction became presently the most powerful, but principally in Lombardy, Tuscany, and even in Rome itself. Alexander astonished with this Progress, and fearing that he should at last fall under the Power of such a formidable Enemy, had recourse to the King of England, and following the Example of Innocent, he offered him the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily for his Son Edmund, to whom he also sent the Investiture of them: and to oblige that King to undertake the enterprise, he absolved him from the Vow, which he had made in taking the Cross, to be of the Crusade against the Saracens in the East, by changing it into that which he caused to be Preached every where against Mainfrey. Also fearing lest the Partisans of the House of Suabia should place Conradin upon the Imperial Throne, in the room of Count William, who had been slain in the War against the Frieslanders, he sent Prohibitions to all the Electors, requiring them under pain of Excommunication, not to choose that young Prince. But all this, which signified just nothing against Mainfrey, did a World of mischief to the Crusade, which was designed against the Saracens. The Parliament which the King of England had called at London, upon the subject of the Neapolitan War, would give the King no Money; and afterwards all the great Men of the Realm, happening to be Embroiled with the Royal House, this Project of the Pope's did not Succeed. And for Germany, one part of the Princes having chosen for their Emperor Alphonso King of Castille, and the other, Richard Earl of Cornwall, year 1268 Brother to the King of England, there arose a Schism in the Empire, which occasioned mighty Troubles and Disorders there. So that Italy, Spain, England, and Germany, having so many troublesome Affairs upon their hands, there remained only France in a condition to serve the Holy See, to any purpose in this occasion, and all Christendom indeed against the Infidels. For this reason therefore Vrban the fourth, the Successor of Pope Alexander, having again vainly tried the way of a Crusade against Mainfrey, which, for want of Money to pay the Crusades, came to nothing, and seeing himself straitened by that Prince, who joining with the Rebels of the Church, had constrained him to withdraw to Orvieta, he had at last recourse to France. He therefore made new Offers and Solicitations to Count Charles of Anjou and Provence, to accept the Realms of Sicily and Naples, as Fiefs escheated to the Church by the Felony of the Princes of Suabia, who had enjoyed them after the Normans. And that he might do this more effectually, he sent the Archbishop of Cosenca into England, to redemand from the King, and Prince Edmond his Son, the Right which he had invested him within these Kingdoms, to which they could now no longer pretend, since they had not accomplished the conditions upon which it was granted. After which, Simon de Brie, Cardinal of St. Cecily, passed as Legate into France, to bestow the Investiture upon Charles, who accepted of it by the King's consent, and upon the pressing Solicitations of the Countess Beatrix, his Lady, who was ready to die with longing to be a Queen, as well as her three other Sisters, who had been so for a long time. He therefore promised the Cardinal, that he would presently March with a Powerful Army against Mainfrey. And accordingly after that Clement the Fourth, the Successor of urban, had confirmed his Election, he Sailed from Marseilles with thirty Stout Men of War; and arrived safe at Rome, where he expected his Land Army, which this new Queen, like a Female Hero, led over the Alps, quite through Italy, receiving, all the way as she passed, the Auxiliary Troops of the Guelphs; and being come thither, she was Crowned Queen, as the Count was King of Naples and Sicily, in the Church of St. John of Latran, by five Cardinals, delegated by the Pope, for the performance of that Ceremony, he himself being then at Perusa. After which the new King at the Head of his Army took the Field, and forcing the passage of Goriglian, and the Fortress of St. German, he Marched directly towards the Enemy, and in short, gave Mainfrey Battle near Beneventum. The Battle was bravely fought by Mainfrey, who shown himself a great Captain and Valiant Soldier, but in Conclusion he lost it; abundance of his gallant Men, and he himself remaining among the Dead. After which the young Conradin, who was now about fifteen years of Age, coming with a flourishing Army of Germans, strengthened with the Gibelins of Tuscany and Lombardy, attempted to recover the Inheritance of his Father, but not being able to pursue the advantage, which he had entirely at the beginning of the Battle, which he fought against Charles, he lost all. For Charles, who knew how to improve his error to his own advantage, in conclusion won the Day from him, near the Lake of Celano, in a second Victory more Glorious and Complete than the first. But his Policy, without doubt too severe, not to say inhuman in this Rencontre, made him dishonour it, by cutting off the head of this unfortunate young Prince, and that of Frederick of Austria, by a Conduct which had nothing in it of the Genius, and nature of St. Lewis, or of the French Lords, who all condemned this Action, as Posterity will certainly do, and which as it fails not to do justice to the good or evil Actions of Princes, will certainly never pardon to his Memory. In the mean time the great progress which the Saracens daily made in the East, against the Christians of Syria, during the troubles of the West, arriving at Rome, the Popes, urban and Clement, failed not to write to St. Lewis, and to the other Kings to pursue the Crusade, which had been begun against these Barbarians. But those which the Popes were obliged, at the same time, to publish against the Princes of Suabia, and the Wars of Italy, obstructed the doing of any thing effectually towards the General Crusade, till such time as Charles, after his two great Victories, was peaceably established in the possession of his two Kingdoms. For then the troubles of Italy being appeased, year 1268 and Peace settled throughout all Europe, the Pope and the King, by agreement, took up the design of that Crusade, which it was impossible to execute, whilst the private ones were published against Mainfrey. King Lewis, as much St. as he was, could not hinder himself from retaining a boiling displeasure, for the unhappy Success of his attempt upon Egypt; and moreover inflamed as he was with a Zeal for the House of God, he was wonderfully afflicted with sorrow to hear every Day, that Bendocdar was ready to swallow up all, and to chase the Christians wholly out of the Holy Land of Palestine. It was therefore his passionate desire to take up the Cross again, and to employ the remainder of his Days in combating against the Enemies of Jesus Christ, for the reconquering of his Inheritance, which was almost entirely lost. But in regard he was unwilling it should be said, that in a matter of this importance, he acted by the sole movement of his own Inclinations, he sent privately to Pope Clement one of his Confidents, to Communicate to him his design, and to desire him to send a Legate into France, with Command to exhort him, and all his Subjects, to undertake the Holy War. The Pope, who was very Wise, considering that this Great Prince had already done beyond what could be expected from a most Christian King, in the War against the Infidels, deliberated a long time about this Affair. But at last, having well examined the matter, he kindly assented to the King's desire, and highly approved of his Pious Design; and consequently resolved not to lose so fair an opportunity to form a Holy League against Bendocdar, to which, in the beginning of his Pontificate, he had exhorted not only all the Kings of Europe, but also the King of Armenia, and Abagas, the King of the Tartars in Persia. For this purpose therefore he sent Simon de Brie, Cardinal of St. Cecily, his Legate, into France, and the Cardinal Othobon into England, with order to pass from thence, as he also did, into Spain and Portugal; then he ordained, as he had done formerly, that the Religious of the orders of St. Dominick and St. Francis, should Preach the Crusade through all Germany, as far as Denmark and Poland. But nothing of all this had any Success, except only in France, by the diligence, the Care, the Example, and admirable Zeal of St. Lewis. For so soon as the Legate was arrived, this devout King called a general Assembly of the Princes, Prelates, and Barons of his Realm, to his Royal Palace in Paris, where with all his Power and Eloquence, animated with his Ardent Zeal, he himself exhorted the whole Assembly To take upon them again the Cross, to avenge the Injuries which the Saracens had for so long time done to Jesus Christ, in the fairest part of his Empire, and to maintain the Christians in their proper Inheritance, out of which the Sultan of Egypt and his Mamalukes, the particular Enemies of the Name and Nation of France, were upon the point of driving them, unless they were speedily assisted. He protested, That he was resolved, even though he were abandoned by all the rest of the World in such a Noble Enterprise, to pursue it vigorously himself, and to employ all that he had, his Forces, his Fortunes, and his Life in this Glorious Service; and that he should infinitely rejoice to lose it in his Service, who had laid down his precious Life for the Love which he had to Mankind, in that precious spot of Earth, for the Recovery whereof he exhorted all the French, who he doubted not had doubtless the same Courage with which their Ancestors had so gloriously conquered it, to take up their Arms and accompany him in this Noble Enterprise. A Discourse of this Nature spoken with unexpressible Graces, and by so great a King, whose Age, Experience, Wisdom, Equity, and Love, which he had for his People, and above all his Eminent Sanctity, rendered so much beloved and revered by his Subjects, did so sensibly affect the Hearts of all the whole Assembly, that after the Legate had made his Speech upon the same Subject, and the King himself had with a Marvellous Devotion received the Cross, the greatest part of the Princes and Lords, following his Example, also took it upon them. The first among them were the three Princes his Sons, Philip his Eldest, John Tristan, Count de Nevers, and Peter, Count d' Alenson, Alphonso, Count de Poitiers, and Tholouse, his Brother, Thibald, King of Navarr, and Count Palatine of Champagne, his Son-in-Law. Robert, Count d' Artois, his Nephew, John Son to the Duke of Bretany, Son-in-Law to the King of England, the Counts, Guy of Flanders, Philip of Nemours, Guy de Laval, and Philip de Montfort. year 1268 The Lords de Courtenay, de Beaujeu, de Montmorenci, de Harcour, de Valeri, de Needle, d' Estrees, de Longueval, de Varennes, de Clermont, de Fiennes, de Rochefort, de Mirepoix, de Cleri, de St. Cler, de Roye, de Precigni, de Chastenoy, de Saux, de Beaumout, de Mailly, de Vandieres, de Lionne, d' Auteil, d' Orillac, and the brave Oliver de Termes, all Illustrious Names, known, and still reverenced in our days, after so many Ages, in the Persons who are honoured by them, and who have done them Honour by their Merits. These were followed by all the other Knights and Lords of the Assembly, except only the Lord Joinville, High Steward of Champagne, who having had enough of the first Voyage, dispensed with himself for the second, alleging that by the first he had ruined his poor Subjects of the Lordship of Joinville; and in the ill humour in which he was by reason of this second Undertaking, which he did not at all approve, he hath written very plainly, That it was the opinion of many Learned Men, that those who gave the King this Advice sinned mortally, in regard that the King was so weak in Body, and brought so low, that he was but just in a condition to maintain that Peace and justice, which by his presence he caused to flourish in his Kingdom, and which would by his absence be most certainly banished from thence. But this was not the opinion of Clement the Fourth, who was esteemed one of the most learned and pious Popes, which the Church had ever had, and who, St. Lewis, having consulted him concerning this Voyage, extremely approved of it, as did also the Confessor of this Holy King. And this makes it evident, That in all times the most severe Casuists have not always been the most knowing, nor the safest advisers in difficult matters. After this great Action, St. Lewis applied himself with an indefatigable Zeal, to dispose all things for the Crusade, sparing neither diligence, pains, nor cost to put it into a condition to have better Success than he had met with in his first Voyage, and to draw along with him not only the French, his own Subjects, but also such of other Nations, as were willing to share with him in the Enterprise. And for this purpose he did what was possible in conjunction with the Pope to make an Accord between the Venetians and the Genoese, that so they might enter with him into this Holy Union: But it was all Labour in vain, for these two Republics, whose difference occasioned so many mischiefs to Palestine, had too much animosity one against the other, to unite so easily or so quickly. As for the Venetians, who had at first treated with him for his passage, they at last excused themselves from furnishing him with Shipping, by the fear which they said they had, that the Sultan of Egypt resenting it, should seize upon all their Effects within his Ports. But the Genoeses, who always ran counter to their Enemies, and who upon this occasion acted more nobly, offered him theirs. He also by his Royal Liberality obliged Edward, Prince of England, to take up the Cross, a Prince whom he highly valued for his Spirit and his Valour, and gave him thirty thousand Marks in Silver, to put him into an Equipage to accompany him like a great Prince; offering the same Sum to James, King of Arragon, who had some years before taken upon him the Cross. The Pope also on his side did not fail to excite the Kings and Princes of Europe, as also the Greek Emperor, by the Example of St. Lewis, to join their Arms with those of this great King for the deliverance of the Holy Land from the oppression of the Sultan of Egypt, who wanted not above two or three Cities, to be Master of all that the Christians possessed in Syria, Palestine and Egypt, since the time that they were conquered by Godfrey of Bullen; but all was in vain. Ottocare the King of Bohemia, the Dukes of Saxony, Bavaria and Brunswick, Otho, Marquis of Brandenburg, and divers others, whom Clement excited to take the Cross, and some of which had already taken it, were so encumbered by the Schism of the Empire, and besides so exasperated by the Death of Conradin, which for a long time rendered the Name of the French odious to them, that they could not be persuaded to entertain a thought of uniting with them in the Holy War. The King of Castille, who disputed the Empire, and whose Brother had been taken with Conradin, was in the same opinion. The King of Portugal, Alphonso the Third, took the Cross indeed, and abstained a Grant to receive the Tenths of all the Goods of the Church in his Realm for the Holy War; but after all he performed nothing. year 1269 James, the King of Arragon, made the fairest advances in the World towards this War: He protested in the Assembly of the Princes at Toledo, That he would accomplish his Vow, although his Age seemed to dispense with him for it, and notwithstanding all that could be done to divert him from it. He promised at Valentia to the Ambassadors of the Greek Emperor, and to those of Abagas King of the Tartars, that he would go in Person into Palestine against the Sultan Bendocdar. He also caused a fair Fleet of Men of War to be fitted out at Barcelona, and a great many Galleys, and embarked himself in the beginning of September, one thousand two hundred sixty nine, a year before St. Lewis. But being near the Isles of Majorca and Minorca met with a furious Tempest, which threw him upon the Coasts of Languedoc, he went no farther than Aigues-Mort, from whence he returned by Land into his own Kingdom; alleging, for the hiding of a certain shameful and criminal Passion, which governed his Soul, and which possibly was the true cause of his altering his resolution, That he was well satisfied, that God dispensed with him for his Voyage, which he made known by this accident was not at all pleasing to him; so that there were only some few Ships of this Fleet which arrived at Ptolemais, with Dom Ferdinand Sancho, the Son of this King, who presently after returned again without doing any thing. As for what concerned the Greek Emperor, he acted in this occasion only like a Politician, for his own private Interest, without ever intending to have any share in this War. This Emperor was Michael Paleologus, who, about eight years before, had taken Constantinople by Treachery from the Latins, who lost that Empire under Baldwin the Second, which Baldwin the First had so gloriously conquered with the French and Venetians, about fifty eight years before. This Greek Prince, who feared to be attacked on the side of Asia by Bendocdar, after that Sultan should have conquered Syria and Palestine, and who was already on the Coast of Greece by the New King of Sicily, did all that possibly he could with the Pope and the Princes of the West, to engage them in a War against the Saracens. And in regard that the Pope had written to him, That the way to secure himself from the Arms of the Latin Princes, was to unite the Greek Church with the Latin, and to go in Person as did St. Lewis to this Holy War, he promised Shipping, Provisions, and Soldiers, and all that could be desired for the War. He also sent his Ambassadors into France, offering to make the King the Arbiter of the difference which was about the Reunion of the two Churches, but St. Lewis, who would not undertake to be Judge in a matter of this nature which was purely spiritual, remitted him to the Judgement of the Sacred College, the Holy See being then vacant by the Death of Pope Clement, who deceased about the end of the preceding year. But after all, this Emperor, who was extreme politic, had no desire or design, either to make a true Reunion, or to join with the Latin Princes in the Holy War. All his Design was only to engage them in a Crusade, and thereby to deliver himself from the fear which he had of the Saracens, and the King of Sicily. So remote are the Intentions of Princes, who act purely according to the Maxims of human Policy, from what they seem to appear to those with whom they negotiate, with a design to delude them. And for the King of England, to whom the Pope had at first sent the Cardinal Othobon, his Legate, he was too far advanced in years, and too much oppressed with his own Affairs, by reason of the troubles of his Realm, to be in a condition to perform the Vow, which he had made, in taking upon him the Cross, and to acquit himself of the Promise by which he was engaged to the King to accompany him in this War with five hundred Knights, for whom the King gave him a years pay in hand; and believed that without restoring the Money, he satisfied fully for all, in giving his Blessing to his Son, Prince Edward, who not being in a condition to enter upon Action till after the Death of St. Lewis, was able to do almost nothing in Palestine. Thus of above two hundred and fifty thousand men, which were levied in Europe, there were none but the Troops of St. Lewis, which were about sixty thousand men, and the few Spaniards, which went with the King of Navarr, his Son-in-Law, which were in a condition to pursue this Voyage. Nevertheless, he undertook it with so much resolution, as if he had had the Forces of the whole Earth. year 1269 The difficulty was only to resolve whither he should go, and after having a long time conferred upon this Affair with the Ambassadors of the King of Sicily, he resolved at last to go first against Tunis, before he undertook to attack the Sultan of Egypt. It was for this purpose represented to the King, that he ought to begin with the Realm of Tunis, if he would go immediately, as in reason one ought to do, to the Spring and the Root of the Mischief; in regard that it was from Tunis that the Sultan's of Egypt drew their principal Forces; their Horses, and the best of their men: And besides that in leaving this Kingdom in their Rear, as they must do if they marched directly against Egypt, or into Palestine, they must expose themselves to the hazard of losing their Convoys and the Supplies which were to come from Europe, which would run the Fortune of being defeated and taken by the Shipping of these African Pirates, who were continually crusing upon the Seas: There were also many other Politic Considerations added, which are easy to be found out, when People are resolved to maintain an Opinion. But in Truth that which was most prevalent, was, that the Inclinations of the two Kings were both conformable to this Enterprise, for two very different Reasons. For Lewis, who, like a great Saint regulated all his Actions by the Principles of Piety and Christianity, believed that in showing himself before Tunis, that Moorish King, who had given him hopes of his Conversion, would turn Christian, and be baptised, which the King most passionately desired, as appeared by what he said to the Ambassadors of that Prince, whom he commanded to acquaint their Master, That he would be contented with all his heart to be a Slave to the Saracens again, and to pass the rest of his Life in the most dreadful of their Dungeons, and never more to see the Sun, provided that the King of Tunis would with his whole Realm embrace the Faith of Jesus Christ. But Charles, who was more Politic than Devout, resolved to make use of such a fair opportunity, to assure himself of that Realm, which without doubt was very convenient for the security of the Coasts of Naples and Sicily. Thus the two Brothers resolved each upon the same thing, though both of them for private Reasons, which they did not impart to any Persons, but only concluded upon the Enterprise against Tunis; the King, who foresaw that it would not meet with a general approbation, reserved the Declaration of his Resolution till he came to Cagliari in the Isle of Sardinia, at which place he had appointed the Rendezvous of his Navy. year 1270 All things being thus disposed for so great an Enterprise, the King declared Matthew de Vendosme, Abbot of St. Dennis, and Simon de Clermont, Count de Needle, Regent's of the Realm during his Absence; and after that having taken the Standard of St. Dennis, according to the custom of his Ancestors, as also the Scarf and the Pilgrim's Staff, he parted the first day of March, in the year one thousand two hundred and seventy, accompanied with the Cardinal d' Albano, whom Pope Clement had nominated his Legate for this Crusade, and came to Aigues-Mort, where he did not embark till the beginning of July, at the same time that the other part of his Fleet sailed from Marseilles, and at last all of them, after having been sound beaten by a furious Tempest, arrived at Cagliari. There it was that the King held a great Council of War, to which all the Princes, the Lords, and principal Officers of the Army were called. He then proposed to them the Enterprise of Tunis; and after it had passed by plurality of Voices in the affirmative, although there were many who had much rather have gone directly to the Holy Land, they set sail and steered away directly for Africa, and within two days about the twentieth of July came within view of Tunis and Carthage. Upon the Coast of Africa, over against Sicily, there is a Peninsula, whose circumference is about three hundred and forty Stadia, or two and forty miles, which advanceth itself into the Sea between two Gulfs, which it there makes. That which is upon the West, forms itself into a most commodious Port, and the other turning a little between the East and South, joins itself to a very narrow Chanal, by which there is an Entrance into a great Lake, which Extends itself three or four Leagues within the Land; and which hath since been called by the name of the Lake of Guletta. It was in this fair Peninsula, that the famous Rival of Rome, year 1270 the Ancient City of Carthage stood, in the place between these two Seas. But since its last destruction by the Arabian Saracens, about the seventh Age, there remained nothing at the time of this Crusade amidst the Ruins of that Magnificent City, but a little Burrough upon the Port, which was called Marsa, and a Tower upon the point of the Cape, with a strong Castle upon the Hill of Byrsa, where anciently stood the Fortress of Carthage. About some five Leagues from this great City, drawing towards the South East, a little below the Gulf and the Lake of Guletta, there stood a little City called Tynis, or Tynissa, and at present Tunis, of which the Great Scipio made himself Master before he besieged Carthage, and which afterwards grew so great by the Ruins of Carthage, that it was in the time of St. Lewis one of the greatest, fairest, and strongest Cities of all Africa. For the Walls which the Turks afterwards demolished, were forty Cubits high, with very good Ramparts, and Fortresses to support them, and with divers Towers to flank them for their mutual defence. It had eight Gates with their Portculliss, a very deep Ditch, which environed it on the Land side, and all manner of Fortifications, which were used in those Times, with large Suburbs which contained about ten thousand Houses. But it was still become much greater, since the greatest part of the Moors of Granada, who had been driven out of Spain, retired thither, and applied themselves to all manner of Arts and Trades. It is at present a kind of Republic under the Protection and Domination of the Grand Signior, ever since it was taken by Sinan Bassa from the Spaniards, in the year one thousand five hundred seventy four; It had before been twice taken by the Spaniards, once by Charles the Fifth, in the year one thousand five hundred thirty five, and a second time by Don John of Austria, after the Battle of Lepanto. But formerly it had been under particular Kings, since a certain Person, one Abraham Aben Ferez, who commanded there for the King of Morocco, usurped this Realm from him about sixty years before this Crusade, and it was his third Successor Muley Otmen Ostensa, who reigned at Tunis, then when St. Lewis, whom he had made to hope his conversion, undertook this Voyage. At first this Holy King had reason to believe that this Prince had an Intention to accomplish his Promise, by reason that there was not found any who opposed his landing, and that he had opportunity to seize the Port of Carthage, and after that the Tower, almost without any resistance. But he was quickly disabused, by seeing a great Army sally out of Tunis, to relieve the Castle of Carthage; but that did not hinder, but that it was taken by the Seamen only with the assistance of five hundred Crossbows, which they desired of the King, assuring him that they would carry the place by Scalade, which they accordingly did with so much Courage and Success, that they made themselves Masters of it in an instant, without any other loss than only one of their Companions, whose Death they revenged by that of all the Saracens, who defended the place, who were partly cut in pieces, and partly smothered in the Vaults, whither they retreated to save themselves, and to the Entries of which the Seamen put fire. The King, who was advanced and drawn up in Battalia between the Castle and the Enemies, to hinder their relieving the place, stopped them so well by the brave Countenance which he made, that the Saracens durst never quit their Post; they retired at Night towards Tunis, and satisfied themselves with returning every day in greater numbers, giving continual alarms, and pickeering on all sides according to their manner, without staying in one place, either regularly to attack one Quarter, or to march in Battalia and combat foot to foot with their Enemy. This was what was done in this last Enterprise of St. Lewis in nine or ten days, towards the end of July. For in regard the King of Tunis had an Army composed of an infinite multitude of Arabs and Moors, who had always a safe retreat under the Walls of Tunis, which was extraordinarily provided with all sorts of Machines' of War, it was not thought convenient by his Council to attack them, or to undertake the Siege of the City before the arrival of the King of Sicily, who was daily expected. In the mean time the King retrenched himself, and fortified his Camp in a Valley below Carthage, whither the Enemies came continually to Skirmishes, in which they constantly had the worse, but without ever coming to a General Battle. year 1270 But the King of Sicily, whom St Lewis daily pressed to hasten thither, and who notwithstanding did not arrive till a Month after him, was the Cause, by his long delay, of the unfortunate Success of this Voyage, which he had with such earnestness advised for his private Interest. For it being high Summer, which is a season very improper, for making of War in Africa, and that they wanted refreshments, and above all fresh Water, which is very scarce in that Country; Diseases, and especially the Flux and Fevers, fell into the Army, and in a short time made a most fearful destruction. The greatest part of the bravest and youngest men of the Army were unable to resist the violence of this terrible Enemy, which daily carried off abundance of them. And among the rest, John Tristan, Count de Nevers, a Young Prince of about twenty years of Age, died upon the third of August, and the King, his Father, who loved him most tenderly, although it was a most sensible Affliction to him, yet sacrificed it to the Will of Heaven, with the resignation and constancy of a Christian Hero. The Cardinal Legate did not survive the Young Prince above four or five days; and Philip, the eldest Son of St. Lewis, was also seized with a quartan Ague, of which, by the Strength of his Age, and the heat of the season, he was quickly delivered. But the King, his Father, who had already fallen into the Flux, being shortly after seized with a continual Fever, left the whole Army languishing with extreme Grief for his death, which happened the five and twentieth day of August, after he had received the Sacrament with an admirable Presence of Mind, an incomparable Piety and Sedateness of Spirit, having nothing in his heart or upon his lips, but the Glory of God, for which only he had undertaken this Voyage. He was constantly saying with a dying, but Intelligible Voice, to those who applied their Ear to his Mouth to receive his last words. For the Love of God let us endeavour some way to have our Holy Faith preached and received at Tunis. Ah! My God, whom shall we find to send thither to declare thy Gospel? It must be such a one, would be say, naming a certain Religious of the Order of St. Dominick, who was known to the King of Tunis; and with these Zealous Ejaculations, and this Apostolic fervency, which he had for the conversion and salvation of Tunis, he rendered his pious Soul into the hands of Almighty God, precisely at the same hour, that Jesus Christ gave up his to his Father, making the same wishes for the Salvation of the whole world. I have believed that in the quality of an Historian of the Crusades, I was obliged, in giving an account of the death of St. Lewis, to recount this admirable circumstance, which is so essential to my Subject, since it shows so well what was the end, which he proposed to himself in forming this Enterprise of Tunis. and for the other particularities, which in such a wonderful manner appeared in his death, and all that which is so precious before God in the death of the greatest Saints, as they do not properly began to my Crusades, I leave them as well as the other admirable and Holy Actions of his miraculous life to those able Writers, who so many years ago have promised us, and who as I hope will write it exactly after so many Originals and so many Copies, as the Writers of his own and the following times have left us. I shall only add, to give some Idea of his Body, and of his Mind, that he was then about the Age of five and fifty years, of a middle Stature, and a delicate Complexion, but which he had greatly weakened by his great Austerities. His Visage was something long, but full, his Forehead large and Majestic, his head a little inclining to one side, his Eyes extreme sweet, his Mouth little and pleasing, his Speech easy and very agreeable, and in his whole Person, an Air of Goodness so winning, and so charming, especially in a King, that it was impossible to look upon him without loving him, or to love him without paying him that respect which was due to the Majesty of so great a Prince. And for the Qualities of his Soul, whether Natural or acquired, one may say, That there are few Princes, who have possessed them in those high Degrees of Perfection as he did; for he had an admirable composure of Spirit, quick, and clear, and which he had cultivated by the Study of polite Learning, and a solid Judgement; so that he was always the most able Person of his Council, always penetrating further than any of them, when any difficult matter was under consideration, having very easy conceptions of things, and expressing himself extempore, with much Gracefulness and Ingenuity, year 1270 whatever he had to deliver; governing much by himself, especially after his return from the Holy Land, but yet never acting but with the advice of his Council, except in the Treaty, which he made with the English, to whom, to oblige them to quit the rest, he surrendered Guienne and Gascony, not out of any scruple, as Nangis writes, since he himself acknowldged in Council, that the Kings of England could not pretend any Right to them; but for Peace sake: although herein his Policy was much mistaken, by reason that this Treaty having brought a Stranger into France, brought a War upon it, which lasted above two hundred years, before he could again be expelled out of it. This indeed is the only blemish, with which St. Lewis can be reproached for having in this occasion, contrary to the advice of his Council, suffered himself to be too far misled by the Goodness of his Nature. For as for any thing else, there was nothing to be found in his Life but an admirable composure of all Royal and Christian Virtues, in a most exact Temperament. For he was the most valiant, courageous, fearless, firm and in the midst of the greatest dangers; and withal the most sweet, pacific, kind, and most easy of Mankind. Austeres, humble, modest, devout, respectful to the Holy See, zealous for the Glory of God and the Salvation of Souls; retired, patiented, and mortified, above all that is admired in the most Apostolic Men, and the most Renowned among Recluses for their penitent Life: and yet nowithstanding at the same time he was obliging, affable, complaisant, and of an agreeable humour in his Conversation, familiar with his Confidents, easy in his Domestic Affairs, an admirable Husband, an indulgent Father, a sure Friend, a good Master and a most excellent King, loving his Subjects, and reciprocally beloved by them; firm and inexorable in causing Justice to be done, his Ordinances, and Laws to be observed; Jealous of the Rights of his Crown, and those of the Gallican Church, conformable to the Common Law, against all the abuses, all the Novelties and the endeavours of such as would shock them; he was liberal and magnificent in the ordinary expenses of his Household, in Ceremonies and public entertainments, which upon certain occasions he made very much to the Honour of France, with a Splendour and Majestic Pomp, far surpassing all his Predecessors, which made him be equally admired both by the French and strangers. In short there was never seen a more perfect accord, than what appeared in this admirable Monarch of Royal Majesty, mingled with true Sanctity of Christianity, without Illusion, without Weakness, and without Defaults. And I cannot tell whether one can find another, of whom may be said with so much Justice, what I have said of this Christian Hero; to finish in one word his Character and his Elegy, That he Was the greatest King of a Saint, and the greatest Saint of a King, that ever any age hath known. The Army of France was under an extreme consternation for the death of the Holy King, and for the Indisposition of Philip his Successor; and their was great probability, that they should in that very moment abandon this unlucky Enterprise if the King of Sicily, who was in a great measure, by his long delay, the Cause of this ill Success, had not by a strange adventure arrived with a fair Fleet at the very same time that his Brother, the King, breathed out his last. As he was a great Captain, and that his Army, which was composed of Neapolitans, Sicilians, and Provencals, was very fresh, and he, having still in his head his first design to assure himself of the Kingdom of Tunis, in at least making the Saracen King become his Tributary; he easily persuaded the French, that it was for their Honour to finish the War, which they had begun with so much Courage, and which they might bring to a happy period being strengthened by the Conjunction of such a Potent Army as desired nothing so much as to be led to the Combat against the Saracens. Hereupon the Army advanced towards Tunis to block it up more closely, and for three Months there were every day some little Encounters with the Moors, who always went off with disadvantage; And it is also reported, that they were once overthrown in a set Battle, that their Camp was taken and plundered, and that such of them as fled, thinking to save themselves in the City, blindly precipitated themselves into those trenches, which they had digged in the Fields, with a design to have the Christians fall into them: but in regard those of our Historians, who writ in those times, say nothing of any such matters I dare not be confident of the truth of them. year 1268 That which is very certain, is, That the King of Tunis seeing, that the Christians daily gained upon him, and that he was always beaten, fearing that in conclusion he should lose his Kingdom, he sent to desire a Peace, or at least a Truce, offering to submit to such conditions, as the two Kings themselves should judge to be fair and reasonable. This matter was long debated in the Council of War, in which many were of opinion, that the Siege ought to be vigorously pressed on, without harkening at all to the Proposition of the Saracen King, who, they said, after the losses, which he had sustained, was in no Condition for any long time to defend the City. But the King of Sicily remonstrated to them, That if they should take the Town, of which they were not to be too confident, yet it was impossible for them to keep it, in regard, That though the whole Army might be commodiously quartered there, it being now very near Winter, they could not receive either from Italy or Sicily so much provision as was necessary for the subsistence of the Troops; and that if they left there only a Garrison, it would not be able to defend it against all the Forces of Africa, which would most certainly attack it: And therefore he concluded, that the way for them to come off with Honour, and safety in this Affair, was rather to treat with the King of Tunis in an honourable and advantageous manner, and like Conquerors, rather to give him Law, than to put themselves into the manifest danger of losing all. Thus, in regard that King Philip was also very willing to go, as soon as he could, to take possession of his Kingdom, a Truce of ten years was concluded with this Insidel Prince upon these following Conditions. That he should presently pay a round sum of Money, upon which they were agreed to defray the Charges of the War; That he should deliver all the Christian Slaves, which were in his whole Realm; That he should permit the Religious of the Orders of St. Dominick and St. Francis to preach the Gospel, and to build Monasteries there, and to all his Subjects Liberty to receive Baptism; And that he should yearly pay to King Charles a Tribute of forty thousand Crowns, which was the sum that the King paid to the Pope for the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily. See what were the aims of Charles for his private Interest; and what it was, which made many honest People murmur against him, as believing that he had no mind to take Tunis, because he could not hope to dispose of it as he pleased, and that he had not advised this War but for his own Ends, to make this Saracen King his Tributary. Prince Edward of England also, who arrived before Tunis with his Fleet, at the same time that this Treaty was concluded, could not hinder himself from making the extreme displeasure, which he had at it, appear publicly, especially, when he saw that the Fleets of France and Sicily, without thinking any further of their principal design, which was the Holy War, were upon the point of returning home. And indeed so soon as the King of Tunis, who was very desirous to quit himself of these People, who had put him into the fear of losing his Capital City and his Kingdom, had delivered the Captives, and paid the Money which was agreed upon by the Treaty, the two Kings embarked; Philip with the Bones of his Father, which, according to the Custom of those times, were separated from the Flesh; and Charles with the Flesh and Entrails of that Holy King, which he caused afterwards to be magnificently interred in the Church of the Abbey of Montreal near Palermo. And certainly it was very advantageous to these two Kings, that they carried with them, in their Ships, the Sacred Remains of that Saint, which preserved them from that Lamentable Wreck, which the greatest part of the others suffered in View of the Port of Trepano in Sicily; eighteen of the biggest men of War, and a great number of smaller Vessels, with all the Money which was received of the King of Tunis, and above four thousand men were cast away in this Tempest; and it was not without great difficulty, that the Kings were able to make the Port of Trepano, where Thibald, King of Navarr, who was sick before, when he came from Tunis, in a few days after his landing, died; Queen Isabella his Wife, the Daughter of St. Lewis, did not survive him long, for about four Months after she died at Years in Provence. And for King Philip having taken his way by Land as far as Messina, he passed over into Italy, and so crossing quite through it and France, he came to St. Dennis, year 1270 whither he brought the Relics of the King, St. Lewis, his Father. They were received at Naples, at Rome, and at Viterbum, where the Cardinals were assembled upon the Election of a Pope, and at all other Cities in their passage, with honours of a different Nature from those, which are accustomed to be given to Kings, and which sufficiently shown that they were esteemed to be in a Rank much Superior to them, the Voice of the People, which is said to be the Voice of God, being a forerunner of that of the Church, which six and twenty years after solemnly canonised him for a Saint. year 1271 Mean time Edward, Prince of England, who had renewed his Vow during the Tempest, and which he weathered so well, that he lost not one of his ships, sailed towards Ptolemais, where he arrived in the Month of May, having only three hundred Knights, English and French, with John, Duke of Bretany. It was with these few Troops, strengthened with five hundred Frisons, and another small Reinforcement, which Prince Edmond, his Brother, brought to him from England, that he hindered Bendocdar, who had taken divers Castles about Ptolemais, from besieging that City. He also prevailed with the Tartars, the Enemies of this Sultan, to enter into Palestine to oppose the Progress of that Conqueror. But as on one part these Barbarians, after having according to their manner ravaged the Country, marched home again; and on the other that Hugh, King of Cyprus and Jerusalem, not being strong enough to do any great matters, obtained a Truce of Bendocdar, who concluded it with him only to amuse him, he was able to do nothing of Moment. And therefore as soon as he was recovered of a dangerous Wound, which he had received from an Assassin, whom he trusted, and whom he himself killed with the same poisoned Dagger, with which the Traitor had struck him, he returned opportunely to take possession of the Kingdom of England, which Henry, his Father, dying left unto him. year 1272 Thus this Crusade, from which there was reason to expect such great things, produced no manner of Effects for the deliverance of the Holy Land. And since that time there could never any more be raised, although the Pope's had frequently made great attempts to excite the Zeal of Christians, therein to imitate that of their Ancestors. For first of all Gregory the tenth, who from being only Archdeacon of Liege was chosen Pope after the See had been vacant for three Months, then when he was at Ptolemais with the Prince of England, did more than any of his Predecessors to unite all the Christian Princes, and even the Greeks and Tartars in a Holy League to chase the Saracens out of Palestins and Syria. year 1274 And it was he, who particularly for this design, about two years after, held the second Council of Lions, which was one of the greatest and most numerous Assemblies, which the Church had ever seen; for there were present at it above a thousand Prelates, with the Ambassadors of two Emperors of the East and West, of the Kings of France, Cyprus, and all the Christian Princes beyond the Sea, together with those of all Europe; besides that James, King of Arragon, and the great Masters of the Temple and the Hospital were there in Person. There a Decree was made for the prosecuting the Holy War, and an Alliance was made for this purpose with Abagas the King of the Tartars, who had sent his Ambassadors thither. There Michael Paleologus, was recognised for Emperor of Constantinople, upon condition That he should join with the Latins in the War against the Sultan of Egypt; and there the Election of the Emperor Rodolph was confirmed, upon Condition, That he should march at the head of the Crusades into Palestine, which he also promised to the Pope with an Oath, receiving from his hands the Cross at Lausanna, whither he followed the Pope after the Council in his return to Italy. year 1275 But in conclusion all this produced just nothing; either because People were disgusted with this War and such a dangerous Voyage, or that having been so long accustomed to hear of this War, they were not at all moved with what was no Novelty. Insomuch that the Cordeliers and the Jacobins, whom the Pope sent all over Europe to preach up the Cross, could not meet with so much as one man, who would take it. Michael Paleologus, who had made a Reunion of short continuance between the Greek and the Latin Churches, had never any other intention, but thereby to hinder the Latins from uniting again to recover Constantinople, and to restore Baldwin, who did what lay in his Power to that purpose, year 1275 especially with Charles, King of Naples and Sicily. Rodolph, who from a bare Count of Habsbourg near Bale, issued from a younger Brother of the House of Alsatia, was come to be raised to the Empire, thought of nothing but how most powerfully to establish his own House in Germany; and herein he succeeded so well, that it is since become so great and August under the Illustrious name of Austria, which this Emperor bestowed upon it, in giving that Duchy to his Son Albert, who afterwards also came to be Emperor, as well as his Father. So that this Emperor Rodolph never accomplished the Vow, which he had made between the hands of the Pope, who himself gave the Cross to him and to his whole Court, and yet nevertheless he was not excommunicated for it, as Frederick the Second had been. Abagas singly was not strong enough to stop the Course of Bendocdar's Conquests, who insolently laughed at all the vain attempts of the Princes of the West, and openly threatened to make all the whole East the Trophy of his Arms, and oblige it to submit to his Empire. And as for the poor Christians of Palestine, who most pressingly implored the succours of Europe, they every day themselves advanced their own ruin by the fatal Effects of their division, which became still greater by the Quarrel, which arose among them at this time, concerning the succession of a Kingdom, which thereby they made all the haste they could to lose. The Subject of this Quarrel is one of the points of History, which Writers have made the least clear, and which in fews words I will endeavour to explain. Isabella the Daughter of Amauri, King of Jerusalem, and Heiress of that Realm, had four Husbands. The first was Aufrey de Thoron, by whom she had no Children. The Second was Marquis Conrade de Momferrat, Prince of Tyre, by whom she had the Marchioness Mary, who married John de Brienne, and made him King of Jerusalem. Of this Marriage issued Jolanta, the Wife to the Emperor Frederick the Second, Mother to the Emperor Conrade, who was Heir to this Realm, and consequently without contradiction left it as of right to the Unfortunate Young Conradin. The third Husband of Queen Isabel, was Henry, Count de Champagne, whose Daughter, Alice, married Hugh de Lusignan, the first of that name, King of Cyprus, by whom she had the Princess Isabel, who was married to Prince Henry de Poitiers, the Son of Bohemond the fourth of that name, Prince of Antioch, and of Plaisance, the Daughter of Hugh, Lord of Giblet. From Henry de Poitiers and Isabel de Lusignan, sprung Hugh the third, who after the death of his Cousin Hugh the Second, who died without Issue, was King of Cyprus in Right of his Mother. The last Husband of Isabel, the Daughter of Amauri, King of Jerusalem, was Emeri, King of Cyprus, who had by her the Princess Melisantha, who was second Wife to Bohemond the fourth, Prince of Antioch, and Father to Henry de Poitiers, and by her he had the Princess Mary of Antioch, who was the Subject of this difference. For immediately after the death of Conradin, Hugh the third, the King of Cyprus, who was descended in a right Line, from Alice de Champagne, the Daughter of Queen Isabel by her third Husband, passed into Palestine; and at Tyre, caused himself to be crowned King of Jerusalem, in right of his Grandfather. But the Princess Mary of Antioch maintained, that the Realm appertained to her, in regard that being the Daughter of Melisantha, she was nearer by one degree to Queen Isabel, than Hugh, who was the Son of her Cousin. The Process hereupon lasted a long time. The Princess Mary opposed the Coronation of Hugh; but perceiving that the Patriarch took little notice of her opposition, she appealed to the Holy see, and came in person to pursue her right before Pope Gregory the tenth, who appointed Delegates for the Examination of the matter. She also presented herself to the Council of Lions, and there demanded Justice. And the cause being remitted to the Barons of the Realm, who neither esteemed, nor much loved King Hugh, the Princess at length with the consent of Pope John the twenty first, judicially transferred to Charles d' Anjou, King of Naples and Sicily, all her Right and Title upon certain conditions, by a Treaty, year 1277 which was signed by the Cardinals and the Prelates of the Court of Rome. And by this Right it is that the Realm of Jerusalem, which hath been possessed by the Princes, of the House of Suabia, Kings of Sicily, as Descendants from Queen Isabel, year 1277 by Jolanta her Granddaughter, the Wife of Frederick the Second, was devolved to Charles d' Anjou, and his Posterity, and for this reason the Dukes of Lorraine, who are descended from Ranatus d' Anjou, King of Sicily, by Jolanta his only Daughter, Mother to Ranatus, Duke of Lorraine, bear the Cross of Jerusalem, together with the Arms of the House of Anjou, which they have added to their Achievements. The Kings of Arragon, who usurped Sicily from the Anjovin Family, and after them the Kings of Castille, heirs to the House of Arragon, have also taken to their Arms, the Cross of Jerusalem, and the Title of that Realm. And thus these Princes have pleased themselves with the Shadow, the Name, and the empty show, leaving the Body, the Substance, and the reality to the Infidels, the weak for want of Power, and the strong for want of Zeal, choosing rather to employ their Arms in less difficult Enterprises. For it is more easy to take what may be had of what is our own, than to recover what belongs to us, and might be had, though not without trouble, charge and hazard. In the mean time Charles, who resolved to take possession of his new Realm, sent Roger, Count de St. Severin, to Ptolemais, where he was received by the Governor, who put the Fortress into his hands. And King Hugh having refused two or three several times, to appear before the Barons, to make out the Reasons of his pretensions to that Realm, they acknowledged Charles d' Anjou for their King, and did him Homage; which did still more augment the Division, by reason that the King of Cyprus having his Party, although it was weak, yet was it able to give abundance of trouble, even in Ptolemais, which he had like to have surprised. And certainly there was much danger lest Bendocdar, who was so admirably skilled in making his own advantage in such opportunities, should lay hold of this to seize upon those small remainders, which were yet possessed by the Christians in Syria, but that God himself was pleased to deliver them from this formidable Enemy. For this Sultan receiving information, that the Tartars had besieged a Fortress which he had upon the Euphrates, he Marched immediately to relieve it, and causing his Cavalry to Swim over this great River, he thought to have surprised his Enemies; but they received him so well, that they cut in pieces almost all his Troops; and it was not without great difficulty that he himself escaped, having received a dangerous Wound in the Encounter: but at last he got to Damascus, where the Flux and Fever coming upon him, by reason of his Wound, he died in a few Days after the Battle. It is impossible to express the joy which his Death occasioned among the Christians, but it was much increased by the taking of the Fortress of Margath, and by the Defeat of the Saracens, who endeavoured to retake it from the Knights of the Temple; but above all by the great Victory of the Tartars: for these People being entered into Syria, laid all waist before them, without giving any Quarter to the Saracens, when at length Melech-Sais, the Successor of Bendocdar, Marched out of Egypt with an Army of two hundred thousand Men to give them Battle. The two Armies met and fought most furiously in the plain of Emessa, and after a most terrible Slaughter on both sides, the Egyptians in conclusion lost the Day; and the Tartars, who had also lost abundance of Men, satisfying themselves with their Victory, and the huge Booty which they had taken, returned again beyond the Euphrates. This without all doubt had been a conjuncture extremely favourable to the Christians; and Charles King of Sicily, who was the greatest Captain of his time, an extreme lover of Glory and Greatness, and who, at the Solicitation of Pope Gregory the Tenth, had taken the Cross, and as King of Jerusalem had the principal Interest in the Holy War, would certainly have led a powerful Army into Syria, to recover the Realm of Jerusalem, as was the Expectation of the whole World. But the cruel adventure of the Sicilian Vespers, year 1281 which happened almost at the same time, having overthrown all his designs; did also ruin all the hopes, and the Affairs of Christendom in the East. For on the one side King Hugh, year 1282 who had been obliged to return into Cyprus, entered now again into Syria, year 1283 to make advantage of the Misfortune of King Charles, and seized upon Tyre; year 1284 and after his Death which happened at the same time, King Henry his Son, who succeeded to his Brother John, was received in Ptolemais, besieged, and in five Days took the Fortress, year 1286 and caused himself to be Crowned King of Jerusalem; this also made the division increase among the Christians, who divided themselves between the two Parties. On the other side the Sultan Melech Sais, retook the Fortress of Margath, and made himself Master of the Castle of Laodicea, and that of Crac, which was one of the strongest places in Syria; year 1287 and as at last he was preparing to lay Siege to Tripoli, he abandoned all, upon the news which he had of the Death of his Son, and returned into Egypt, where Elsis one of his Emirs, who was mightily esteemed by the Mamalukes, tumbled him from the Throne, and was chosen Sultan in his place, by the name of Melech-Messor. This Sultan, who was a great Soldier, reentered presently into Syria, where he besieged Tripoli, year 1288 and at last took it by Assault. Seven thousand Christians were there Slain, year 1289 and the rest saved themselves by Sea, partly in Cyprus, and partly in Ptolemais. The Sultan who was as able and dexterous, as he was Valiant, caused this great City to be demolished, that so he might not be forced to keep a whole Army in Garrison there, and after having taken several places thereabout, he made a very advantageous Truce for two Years, thereby to frustrate the Design of the Forces, which he foresaw, would be sent out of Europe against him. And indeed a very considerable assistance, which the Pope sent at his own charges, into the East, upon twenty Venetian Galleys, arriving not till after the conclusion of this Truce, was constrained to return without doing any thing. It happened also that an infinite conflux of People, of all Nations, without Order, and without Leaders, coming to Ptolemais, and finding not employ, committed so many disorders, indifferently upon the Lands of the Christians and the Saracens, that the Sultan, who only wanted an occasion to break the Truce to his advantage, laid hold of that which he believed very favourable, to execute the design which he had upon Ptolemais, whilst the Christian Princes, whom he knew to be engaged in Wars one against another in Europe, had neither Power nor Will to assist it. year 1290 For this purpose, as he had always a powerful Army on Foot, he entered suddenly in the Month of October, in the year following, and advanced towards Phoenicia; and then when he was upon the point of going to invest Ptolemais, the Emir, whom he had made his Lieutenant, thinking by the favour of the Soldiers to obtain his place, gave him Poison whereof he died. But this did not prevent the Execution of the Design; For the Mamalukes, who loved Melech-Messor extremely, pulled the Traitor who had poisoned him, in a thousand pieces upon the spot, and Proclaimed his Son Ely, Sultan, by the name of Melech-Seraph. This new Prince resolved to pursue the design of his Father, who at his Death conjured him, not to suffer his Body to be Interred, before he had taken the City, and driven out the Christians. And for this purpose therefore, without giving them leisure to make any advantage of this so sudden and great change, turning short to the left hand towards the Sea, he came and laid Siege before Acre or Ptolemais, upon the fifth of April, year 1291 in the year one thousand two hundred ninety one, with an Army of one hundred and sixty thousand Foot, and threescore thousand Horse. Ptolemais, of whose Situation and Strength, I have given an account in the fifth Book of this History, was at this time one of the fairest, richest, and most flourishing Cities of all the East, by reason of the great Commerce of all the Merchandises, which were brought thither from Egypt and Asia, by Land and Sea, to be from thence transported into Europe. And as it was become the Capital City of the Realm, since the taking of Jerusalem, and the Sanctuary, where all the Christians of Palestine took Refuge, after the loss of their Cities, so it was also then more Populous than ever it had been; and such great Industry had been used in these late times, in fortifying it, that it was thought to be impregnable; above all having at least thirty thousand Men well Armed to defend it, besides eighteen thousand Crusades, who were arrived there a little before, without a Commander. But this unfortunate City had within its Walls, two kinds of Enemies infinitely more formidable than all the Forces of the Saracens, and which were the cause of its being lost. year 1291 The first was the division which occasioned most fearful Disorders, in regard that besides that there were two Factions, which held one of them for the King of Cyprus, and the other for the King of Sicily, the Venetians, the Genoese, the Pisans, the Florentines, the English, the Templars, the Hospitallers, the Teutonick Knights, the Princes of the Country, and even the Patriarch, and the Legate of the Pope, would every one so divide the Government, as to be independent upon all others; so that it might be said, that there were in Ptolemais, so many different Cities, as there were quarters possessed by these Orders, and different People, who were not only without a Head, whose Supreme Authority and Orders they should all obey, but who were for the most part in Arms one against another. And that which was yet more deplorable, and which doubtless was the principal cause of the Desolation of this unfortunate City, was, that the Corruption of manners was so great, and the irregularities of People's Lives, or rather the inundation of all manner of Crimes, and even of the most Infamous and Scandalous Vices, were so excessive and horrible, that the Divine Justice was even necessitated to exterminate such an abominable Race of Men, who calling themselves Christians by their Actions, so Wicked and Impious, Blasphemed that and his Sacred Name among the Infidels. So that one may say, as one of the Authors of that time does, who was a long time in the Holy Land, and averrs it for a deplorable Truth, That of all the People which inhabited Syria and Palestine, the Christians were the most notoriously lewd and wicked. The Sultan, who had such a numerous Army, and composed of expert Soldiers, and above all his Mamalukes, who were extreme brave, attacked the City upon the Land side by main Force, battering the Walls and the Tower's Night and Day, making abundance of Mines every where, and sapping the Foundations of the Towers, particularly those of the Tower called Judasses', or the Cursed Tower, which was as it were the Fortress of the City. The besieged also at first defended themselves vigorously, being in continual hopes of relief by the way of the Sea, which they had open, and being united for their better defence under one Chief, whom by common consent they chose among all the Captains, which was William Beaujeu, Great Master of the Temple, a most Valiant Man, and perfectly skilful in Martial Affairs. But there arrived to their assistance only five hundred Foot, and two hundred Horse, who were conducted by the King of Cyprus. And the Great Master of the Temple being unfortunately slain with a poisoned Arrow, they lost their Courage, and finding themselves without a Commander, they fell into all their former Quarrels and Disorders; insomuch that the Saracens, who had already made themselves Masters of two or three Towers, giving a General Assault, upon the eighteenth Day of May, carried the City first by the Gate of the Cursed Tower, and after by all the other passages, which those of the City basely abandoned presently after, to save themselves upon the Ships. But nevertheless there were but a very few that escaped, who threw themselves first into the Ships; and who with the King of Cyprus, and the principal among the Knights and the Officers of the Nations, arrived at last in the Isle, after having been in great danger of perishing by a dreadful Storm, which overtook them in their passage; for by a surcharge of Misfortune, the Sea ran so high that Day, that the greatest part of those, who, to avoid the Swords of the Saracens, threw themselves into the Water, thinking to gain the Ships, were Drowned. The Patriarch himself, who had already boarded a Galley, upon which he was just going to embark, desiring out of his Charity to take into his Skiff, as many as he could of these miserable People, which were in Shoals got into the Water to come to the Ships, was sunk to the bottom, by the too great Number with which the Boat was loaden, and at least at his Death did the Office of the good Shepherd, who gives his Life for his Sheep, although he could not thereby save theirs, by dying for them in this manner. All the rest were exposed to the fury of these Barbarous Victors, who filled all with Death and Slaughter, making Slaves of all those whom the Sword spared, after they had, by all manner of Disorders and Violence, glutted their insatiable Cruelty and Lust. There were there always a certain Number of Virgins, consecrated to God, who nevertheless found out a Marvellous way to preserve their Virginity inviolated, even by the assistance of these Enemies of their Honour, year 1291 the Barbarous ravishers. For the Abbess of the Nunnery, which was of the Order of St. Clare, seeing that the City was taken, and that they could not escape the hands of the Saracens, whose Cruelty was less terrible than their brutish Lust, she exhorted her Daughters with a most Heroic Courage, and an admirable servor of Spirit, to imitate her example, if they would preserve that treasure, which ought to be a thousand times dearer to them than their Lives. And thereupon she cut of her own Nose, making herself horribly deformed in the Eyes of Men, to be admirably beautiful in the sight of God, whom only she desired to please. All the others doubtless animated by a like inspiration of the Holy Spirit, which had formerly inspired a Holy Abbess in England, in the same manner, did presently the same Execution upon themselves, by their Blood to extinguish the brutish Flames of these Barbarians, who finding them in this condition, which gave them a horror, they instantly Murdered them all, and by this obliging Cruelty, gave them the means to add the Palm of Martyrdom, to that of their Virginity, and as the Scripture expresseth it, to wash their Robes in the Blood of the Lamb; to have the Honour to follow him. The Cordeliers, who were their spiritual Fathers, and had a fair Convent in Ptolemais, were also all Slain without Pity, and above sixty thousand perished in this fatal loss of the City, or were carried Captives into Egypt. The next Day, which was the nineteenth of the Month, the Templars, who yet held the principal Tower of the Temple, after having cut in pieces three hundred Saracens, who were entered into their quarter, and who during a Capitulation, had attempted the Honour of the Ladies, had a destiny like that of Samson: For they were all overwhelmed with the fall of their Tower, which was overthrown with the Sape, and which Buried with them under the same Ruins, the Enemies which did Attack them. Thus the Famous Ptolemais, which had been taken a hundred years before, by Philip the August, King of France, and by Richard Coeur-de-Lyon, King of England, after having maintained a Siege of three years, against more than three hundred thousand Crusades, who came thither successively, was retaken by the Sultan of Egypt, in four and forty Days, and with it the Christians lost all their Courage and their Judgement to that degree, as to suffer all that remained to them in Syria, and the Holy Land, to follow the same, or rather a more shameful Fortune, than that of Ptolemais. For those who might very well have defended Tyre, a City which was extremely strong, forsook it, and fled away upon their Ships, so soon as they heard the sad news of the loss of Ptolemais, so that the next Day the Saracens entered it, without resistance. The Templars which were in Sidon, and in the Pilgrim's Castle, did the same, upon seeing one of the Lieutenants of Melech-Seraph, prepare to besiege them by Sea. And those of Baruth, trusting to this perfidious Emir, who had promised to treat them as Friends, if in his passage through their Lands, they would repair to him, were all either cut in pieces, or sent in Chains, to suffer a miserable Captivity in Egypt. And thus these four Maritime places, being all that remained to the Christians in the Holy Land, after the taking of Ptolemais, were also lost, and it was precisely at this time, that they were wholly chased from thence, a hundred ninety and two years after that Godfrey of Bullen, and the other Princes of the Crusade, had so gloriously Conquered and founded this Realm, which continued for near two hundred years, under fifteen or sixteen Kings. And this makes it appear that it cannot be absolutely said that the Crusades were unfortunate, no more than that by the same reason it can be maintained that the enterprises of the great Cyrus were not prosperous, because the Monarchy of the Persians, which he founded by his Conquests, did not last more than two hundred years, under thirteen Kings. But such is the fatality of all Earthly things, which after their Birth and Establishment, increase and continue till a certain Period, which Nature, or rather Divine Providence hath prefixed to them, as the term of their perfection, after which they decrease either insensibly, as in natural productions, or else suddenly by some great Revolution of Fortune, by which they cease to be, what they had never been, but upon that necessary condition of fatality, that one Day they are to be no more. As for the rest, the Victorious Sultan that he might take from the Christians the hopes and the desire to recover what they had lost, year 1291 and to hinder them for the future from becoming Masters of the Sea, by the taking or any of these Maritime places, he demolished, , and overthrew from the very Foundations all these Cities as well as Ptolemais, which having been one of the fairest Cities of the World, but also one of the most wicked, is no more at present but a miserable remnant of ruins the greatness whereof make apparent both that of the City, when it was in its flourishing estate, and that of the terrible punishment which it drew upon itself by its Enormous Crimes. This sad news of so great and unexpected a loss, did wonderfully surprise Pope Nicholas the fourth, who for above a year last passed had used all imaginable industry to form a general Crusade of all the Christians of the West against the Mamalukes, who continually threatened Palestine. He had with powerful Solicitations, invited all the Kings of Europe into it, and had prevailed so well, that Edward King of England had declared himself chief thereof, and had made great preparations throughout his whole Kingdom, to put himself into a Condition to march at the time, which this good Pope had named, which was at the Feast of St. John Baptist, in the year one thousand two hundred and ninety three. When in the mean time, he understood, that the Christians had lost all in Syria, in the Month of May, one thousand two hundred ninety one. This was like a mighty clap of thunder, which did mightily amaze him, but which nevertheless did not hinder him from redoubling his endeavours by his Letters, by his Legates, and by his Preachers, whom he dispatched to all places, to excite the Christians to take upon them the Cross, and to unite the Princes of the East and West, and even the Kings of the Tartars, the Iberians, Georgians and Armenians with their forces in the design to recover together from their Common Enemy, what had been lost for want of this Union. But the Evil being now believed to be desperate and without Remedy, all that this Pope did, and all that his Successors endeavoured to do afterwards upon this Subject, was never able to produce one Crusade, to procure the recovery of the Holy Land. year 1296 Boniface the eighth upon the desire of Cassan King of the Tartars in Persia, that the Princes of Europe would join with him in a War against the Sultan of Egypt writ indeed to them, but in terms so high and lofty, that there were not any, who would take notice of them. year 1311 Clement the fifth, following the Example of his Predecessors, acted in the Council of Vienna by the way of powerful exhortation, and caused it to be ordained by a particular Decree, that the Cross should be preached in all places, for the recovery of the Holy Land, and there were many of all Nations, who took it upon them. But as it was only a confused Multitude, without any head of Reputation, the Princes of those times, having other interests than that of the Holy Land, he gave them all absolution from their Vow, and sent them back into their own Countries. year 1328 That which was done upon the same Subject under Pope John the two and twentieth made a far greater Noise, but produced no more effect. This Pope, who with a mighty passion desired the reestablishment of the Empire of the Christians in Palestine, acted by Agreement for this noble end, with King Philip de Valois, who was then the most potent and renowned King of France, especially after that glorious Victory, which he obtained against the Flemings at Cassel. For this purpose he created Patriarch of Jerusalem the famous Doctor of Paris, year 1330 Peter de la Palu, a noble Burgundian or Brescian, of the Illustrious House of the Lords of Varembon, a Religious of the Order of St. Dominick: and the King, who had procured this Dignity for him, in honour of his extraordinary Merit, sent him presently after into Egypt, with order to treat with the Sultan about the restitution of Jerusalem upon reasonable terms, before he went to compel him to it, by making War upon him with all the Forces of Europe. And in the mean time Philip taking the opportunity of a Pilgrimage, which he made to Marseilles, to do honour to the sacred Relics of St. Lewis, Bishop of Tolouse, his Kinsman, went also to Avignion to confer with the Pope concerning this great Affair, where the Pope gave him the tenths of all the Ecclesiastical estates in France, to be employed in the Holy War. year 1334 But as this great Enterprise could not be so quickly put in Execution, by reason of the troubles, year 1334 which the fatal Schism of Lewis of Bavaria had raised in the Church. Philip, to whom the Patriarch of Jerusalem, who was returned from his Embassy, had given an account of the Obstinacy of the Sultan of Egypt sent some time after to Avignion, Peter de Roger, Archbishop of Rouen, a Prelate of consummate Wisdom and learning, where at length a Pope was chosen to the throne of St. Peter by the name of Clement the sixth. This great man very strongly harangued the Council upon the necessity of a general Crusade, and upon the means, which the King, his Master, had taken to make it successful to the glory of the Church, provided that she would contribute her Authority to it. He promised also with an Oath, that this generous Prince should march within less than two years at the head of the Crusades; so that the Pope declared him General of the Holy League, and confirmed to him the Grant of the Tenths for six years, and sent to him the Archbishop with a most ample Commission to bestow the Cross, and all the privileges and prerogatives, which the former Popes had granted to the other Crusades. Thereupon the King in Ceremony received the Cross from the hands of the Prelate in his Chapel at Paris, with John, King of Bohemia, and Philip, King of Navarr, who were then at his Court, and so did the greatest part of the Barons of the Realm. He also made his preparations with extreme application and excessive cost, surpassing all that any of the Kings his Predecessors had done upon the like occasions; causing to be rigged in several Ports, the fairest Fleet that ever France had seen, which was able to transport forty thousand men at Arms with their Horses, and which was furnished with all sorts of Provisions in prodigious abundance. He had also taken great care, to publish this Crusade throughout Europe, and had engaged the Kings of Arragon, Majorca, Sicily, Cyprus and Hungary, the Republics of Venice and Genoa, to join their Arms with his, that they might all march together under his Conduct against the Sultan. So that it was thought this mighty Army of Crusades, would consist in three hundred thousand Combatants, which already made the whole East to tremble, and filled the whole Earth with the Glory of the name of France and the noise of such formidable preparations. But as there is nothing more required to the fixing a mighty Engine and rendering it , but to stop the secret Springs, which give it that violent Impression, which draws upon it the Eyes and admiration of the Spectators, by its prodigious movement; so the War which in the midst of these transactions, Edward, King of England, declared against Philip, having stopped this Prince by obliging him to turn his Arms another way, and to defend himself, all this great Crusade, about which he had taken such care and pains, became vain and fruitless. And all the forces of the Princes of Europe, being divided between these two great Enemies, England and France, there remained none to go into Egypt and Syria to combat against the Enemies of Jesus Christ. And thus the War, which the English made with France, and which at length drive them out of it, hindered the War of the Holy Land, which the French had undertaken to make against the Infidels, from having a conclusion answerable to its beginning, and the general expectation, that thereby the Infidels should be chased out of the Inheritance of the Son of God. year 1336 And this seems to me, to be all that was any ways considerable, which was ever done afterwards in regard of Palestine. For the great endeavours, which were afterwards made by the Pope's, Nicholas the fifth, Calixtus the third, and Pius the Second for the Reunion of all Christians in a Holy War, were not for the Recovery of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Matters than were far different, and all the care was how to oppose the furious Torrent of the Conquests, of the Ottoman Family, Mahomet the Second after having taken Constantinople, year 1453 already beginning to threaten Hungary, Greece and Italy. As for Syria it was ever abandoned from the time that the Christians, had been chased out of it by the Sultan of Egypt, after the taking of Ptolemais, and much more after that Selim, year 1494 the Emperor of the Turks conquered Palestine and Egypt from the Mamalukes. The fear which there was, that his Grandson Selim the Second, after the Conquest of Cyprus, should fall into Italy, obliged Pope Pius the fifth, Philip the Second, King of Spain, year 1571 and the Venetians to unite their Forces against such a dreadful Enemy, against whom the famous Victory of Lepanto, of which so little advantage was made, signified nothing as to the regaining of Cyprus, or any other of his Conquests from him. It hath been frequently seen since that, and even in our days, that the French, the Italians, the Poles, the Germans and Hungarians, have united themselves, against these fierce Ottomans, who think of nothing so much as raising their Empire still higher upon the ruins of the Christians; but these Unions have proceeded no further, but to prevent them from pushing on their Conquests further, rather than for the recovery of what they have gained; and I know not by what enchantment it happens, that the Turks have ever gained upon the Christians, and that the Christians, who are much Superior to them in Courage and Soul, think they do enough if they resist them, when they are attacked at their own doors, without ever daring to undertake to go directly against them, to snatch out of their hands, what they have despoiled them of, or to overturn their Empire. I know there are Writers, who have endeavoured to make such a Design appear not impossible to be executed, according as they have imagined, and chalked out the ways, which ought to be taken to make it succeed without much difficulty; which certainly were the most certain way to recover the Kingdom of Jerusalem. As for my part, who must acknowledge the deficiency of my Understanding in matters of War and Policy, I shall not undertake to reason upon that Subject, which is neither any part of my Profession nor design. It sufficeth me that God hath done me the favour to permit me to finish an enterprise so difficult as this of writing, at least with great fidelity, and with all the exactness I have been able, as I think I have done, this present Work of the History of the Crusades for the deliverance of the Holy Land. FINIS.