A.D. 1099-1103.
MORE than six months had passed away since the taking of Antioch,
and several of the leaders of the crusade still thought nothing of
commencing their march to Jerusalem. As soon as Raymond gave the signal
for departure, his soldiers, and the knights who accompanied him, broke
into loud demonstrations of joy and a revived enthusiasm. The count of
Thoulouse was followed by Tancred and the duke of Normandy, who were
both impatient to accomplish their vow and conquer Palestine. Conducted
by these three leaders, a great part of the Christian army traversed
the territories of Cæsarea in Syria, Hamath, and Edessa. From all parts
both Christians and Mussulmans came eagerly to meet them, the former
to beg their assistance, the latter to implore their clemency. Many
emirs came to conjure Raymond to plant his standard on their cities’
walls, to protect them from pillage, and render them safe from the
enterprises of the other Crusaders. The pilgrims everywhere on their
passage received provisions and rich tributes without the trouble and
risk of fighting for them. In the course of their triumphant march, the
sweetest fruit of their labours and the terror that their arms inspired
was the return of a vast number of Christian prisoners, whose death
they had mourned, who were sent to them from the neighbouring cities by
the Mussulman chiefs.
They drew near to the sea-coast, and advanced, almost without obstacle,
as far as the vicinity of Archas. This city was situated at the foot
of Libanus, two leagues from the sea, in a territory covered with
olive-trees, and rich with corn. The count of Thoulouse, either from
a desire to conquer so rich a country, or from being provoked by the
insults and threats of the infidels, resolved to besiege Archas.[142]
In order to inflame the courage of his soldiers and associate them with
him in his project, he promised them as a reward for their labours,
the pillage of the city and the deliverance of two hundred Christian
prisoners confined in the citadel.
In the mean time Godfrey, Eustace, and Robert, count of Flanders,
had not yet set out from Antioch. They did not begin their march
before the early days of spring. Bohemond accompanied them as far
as Laodicea,[143] and then returned to his capital, after having
promised his companions to rejoin them before Jerusalem. At Laodicea
the Crusaders liberated the Flemish pirates who had taken the cross at
Tarsus, and who, for more than a year, had been detained prisoners by
the Greeks, the masters of that city. At the same place the Christian
army received a reinforcement of new Crusaders from the ports of
Holland and Flanders, and the British isles. Among these new defenders
of the cross was Edgar Atheling, who, after the death of Harold, had
disputed the crown of England with William the Conqueror. He came to
endeavour to forget the misfortunes of his country under the banners of
the holy war, and at the same time to seek a refuge from the tyranny of
the conqueror. The English and the new Crusaders from other countries
were received with great joy into the ranks of the Christian army,
which, however, pursued its march towards Palestine very slowly.
It grieved the greater part of the leaders to be obliged to traverse
such rich provinces without establishing their domination in them.
There was not a city in their route upon the walls of which one of
them had not a strong secret inclination to plant his standard. These
pretensions gave birth to rivalries which weakened the army, and
prevented it from making useful conquests. Raymond still obstinately
prosecuted the siege of Archas, which opposed to him the firmest
resistance. Godfrey went to lay siege to Gibel or Gibelet,[144] a
maritime city, situated some leagues from Laodicea. The leaders of the
army never consented to unite their efforts against the Saracens, but
sold to the emirs, by turns, their inaction and their neutrality.
The only expedition in which success crowned their bravery was the
attack of Tortosa.[145] Raymond, viscount de Turenne, the viscount de
Castellane, the seigneur d’Albret, and some others of the principal
leaders of the Gascons and Provençals, with a hundred horse and two
hundred foot, presented themselves before this city. The inhabitants
closed their gates, manned their ramparts, and forced the Christians
to retreat. The leader of this expedition, Raymond de Turenne, who had
not a sufficient number of troops to undertake a siege or force a city
to surrender, had recourse to a stratagem, which succeeded. At night
he caused to be lighted in a neighbouring wood such a number of fires,
that the inhabitants of Tortosa were persuaded that the whole Christian
army was come to attack them, and before the break of day they all fled
to the mountains, taking with them their most valuable effects. On
the morrow the Christians approached the city, the ramparts of which
they found deserted, and entered it without resistance. After having
pillaged the houses, and given up to the flames a city they could not
keep, they returned to the camp loaded with booty.
The Mussulmans shut up in Archas still held out against the Christians.
Although the army was encamped in a fertile country, they soon began
to experience the want of provisions. The poorest of the pilgrims were
reduced, as at Antioch, to feed upon roots, and dispute with animals
the leaves of the trees and the grass of the fields. The numerous
clergy which followed the army sunk into the deepest distress. Such
as could fight went to ravage the surrounding country, and lived on
pillage; but those whom age, sex, or infirmities would not permit to
carry arms, had no hope but in the charity of the Christian soldiers.
The army freely assisted them, and gave up to them the tenth part of
the booty obtained from the infidels.
A great number of the Crusaders yielded to the fatigues of the siege,
and perished with misery and disease, whilst many fell by the hands of
the enemy, who defended themselves with obstinate valour. Among those
whose loss was most regretted, history has preserved the name of Pons
de Balasu; he was highly esteemed in the army for his intelligence, and
up to his death had written the history of the crusade, in conjunction
with Raymond d’Agiles. The Crusaders also gave their tears to the
memory of Anselm de Ribemont, count de Bouchain, whose piety and
courage are much praised in the chronicles of the times. Contemporary
authors relate his death as attended with such wonderful circumstances
as deserve to be preserved, because they afford a strong idea of the
spirit which animated the Crusaders.
One day ’we follow the relation of Raymond d’Agiles) Anselm saw enter
into his tent young Angelram, son of the count de St. Paul, who had
been killed at the siege of Maarah.[146] “How is it,” said he, “that
I see you still living whom I saw dead on the field of battle?”
“Know,” replied Angelram, “that they who fight for Jesus Christ do
not die.” “But whence comes that strange splendour with which I see
you surrounded?” Then Angelram pointed out to him in the heavens a
palace of crystal and diamonds. “It is thence,” he added, “that I
derive the beauty which surprises you; that is my abode, and there is
a much more beautiful one being prepared for you, which you will soon
inhabit. Farewell; we shall meet again to-morrow.” At these words,
adds the historian, Angelram returned to heaven. Anselm, struck with
this apparition, the next morning sent for several ecclesiastics, and
received the sacraments; and, although in full health, took leave of
his friends, telling them he was about to quit the world in which
they had known him. A few hours afterwards, the enemy having made a
sortie, Anselm flew, sword in hand, to meet them, and was struck on
the forehead by a stone, which, say the historians, sent him to the
beautiful palace in heaven that was prepared for him. This marvellous
recital, which was credited by the Crusaders, is not the only one
of the kind that history has collected. It is useless to remind
our readers that extreme misery always rendered the Crusaders more
superstitious and credulous. Although the siege of Archas had no
religious aim, and even turned the pilgrims aside from the principal
object of the holy war, it was not thence less abundant, according to
Raymond d’Agiles, in miracles and prodigies of all sorts. The belief
of the people was frequently supported by the most enlightened of
the leaders, who found it necessary to warm the imaginations of the
soldiers to preserve their authority. Every day fresh parties were
formed in the Christian army, and the most powerful were always those
who circulated a belief in the greatest number of miracles. It was
during the siege of Archas that doubts arose among the pilgrims about
the discovery of the lance which had had such an effect upon the
courage of the Crusaders at the battle of Antioch, and the camp of the
besiegers became all at once divided into two great factions, strongly
opposed to each other. Arnold de Rohés, according to William of Tyre,
a man of dissolute manners, but well versed in history and letters,
was the first who dared openly to deny the truth of the prodigy. This
ecclesiastic, who was chaplain to the duke of Normandy, drew into his
party all the Normans and the Crusaders from the north of France;
whilst those of the south ranged themselves on the side of Barthélemi,
who was attached to the count de St. Gilles. The priest of Marseilles,
a simple man, who himself believed that which he wished others to
believe, had a new revelation, and related in the camp that he had
seen Jesus Christ attached to the cross, cursing the incredulous, and
devoting to the death and punishment of Judas the impious sceptics
who dared to search into the mysterious ways of God. This apparition,
and the menaces of Christ, highly excited the imaginations of the
Provençals, who had no less faith, according to Raymond d’Agiles,
in the tales of Barthélemi, than in the evidence of the saints and
apostles. But Arnold was astonished that God should only reveal himself
to a simple priest, whilst so many virtuous prelates were in the army;
and, without denying the intervention of the divine power, he was not
willing to admit any other prodigies than those performed by the valour
and heroism of the Christian soldiers.
As the produce of the offerings made to the depositaries of the holy
lance were distributed to the poor, the latter, who were in vast
numbers in the army, were not sparing in murmurs against the chaplain
of the duke of Normandy, and they attributed to his incredulity, and
that of his partisans, all the evils that the Crusaders had suffered
during the siege of Archas. Arnold and his party, which increased every
day, on the contrary attributed the misfortunes of the Christians to
their divisions, and to the turbulent spirit of a set of visionaries.
Amongst these debates the Crusaders of the northern provinces
reproached those of the south with want of bravery in fight, with being
less anxious for glory than pillage, _and with passing their time in
ornamenting their horses and mules_.[147] The latter, on their side,
did not cease to reproach the partisans of Arnold with their want of
faith, and their sacrilegious railleries, and, without ceasing, opposed
new visions to the reasonings of the incredulous. One had seen St. Mark
the evangelist, another the holy Virgin, and both had attested the
veracity of the priest of Marseilles. Bishop Adhemar had appeared to
a third, informing him that he had been kept several days in hell for
having entertained some doubts of the truth of the holy lance.
These recitals only served still more to inflame the minds of the army,
and violence often came to the support of trickery and credulity. At
length Barthélemi, seduced by the importance of the part he was made
to play, and perhaps, also, by the miraculous tales of his partisans,
which might strengthen his own illusions, resolved to terminate all
debates by submitting to the ordeal by fire. This resolution restored
calm to the Christian army, and all the pilgrims were convoked to
be witnesses of the judgment of God. On the day fixed ’it was Good
Friday), a funeral pile, made of branches of olive, was erected in
the middle of a vast plain. Most of the Crusaders were assembled,
and everything was prepared for the terrible ordeal. The flames had
already mounted to a height of twenty cubits, when Barthélemi was
seen advancing, accompanied by the priests, who walked in silence,
barefooted, and clothed in their sacerdotal habits. Covered by a simple
tunic, the priest of Marseilles bore the holy lance, surrounded with
floating streamers. When he arrived within a few paces of the pile, one
of the principal of the clergy pronounced in a loud voice the following
words: “If this man has seen Jesus Christ face to face, and if the
apostle Andrew did reveal the divine lance to him, may he pass safe
and sound through the flames; but if, on the contrary, he is guilty of
falsehood, may he be burnt, together with the lance which he bears in
his hands.” At these words all the spectators bowed, and answered as
with one voice, “Be the will of God accomplished.” Barthélemi threw
himself on his knees, took Heaven to witness the truth of all that he
had said, and, after recommending himself to the prayers of the bishops
and priests, rushed through the funeral pile at a part where an opening
of two feet wide had been made for his passage.
The numerous spectators lost sight of him for a moment, and many
pilgrims, says Raymond d’Agiles, were beginning to lament him,
when they saw him appear on the side opposite to that by which he
had entered. He was immediately surrounded and pressed upon by an
innumerable crowd, who cried out “miracle,” and were eager to touch
his vestments. But Barthélemi was covered with mortal wounds. He
was carried in a dying state to the tent of the count of Thoulouse,
where he expired a few days after, still protesting his innocence and
veracity. He was buried beneath the spot where the funeral pile had
been erected. Raymond of St. Gilles and the Provençals persisted in
regarding him as an apostle and a martyr. The greater number of the
pilgrims allowed themselves to be satisfied with the _judgment of
God_,[148] and the miraculous lance from that time ceased to work
miracles.[149] In vain the Crusaders from the southern provinces
endeavoured to substitute for it the ring and cross of of Adhemar; they
attracted neither the devotion nor the offerings of the pilgrims.
Whilst the Crusaders were detained before the fortress of Archas, they
received an embassy from Alexius. The Greek emperor wished to impose
upon the Latins, by promising to follow them into Palestine with an
army, if they would allow him time to make the necessary preparations.
Alexius in his letters complained of the non-performance of the
treaties by which he was to be made master of the cities of Syria and
Asia Minor that had fallen into the hands of the Christians; but he
complained without bitterness, and showed so much circumspection in his
reproaches as proved that he likewise had some wrongs to repair. This
embassy was but ill received in the Christian army. The leaders accused
the Greeks of the death of the count of Hainault, and reproached the
emperor with his shameful flight during the siege of Antioch. They
despised his complaints, and gave no faith to his so often broken
promises.
The Latins hated Alexius ever since the siege of Nice. Hatred guided
them on this occasion better than the most clear-sighted policy could
have done; for in the end, if we are to believe their historians,
they learned that the emperor of Constantinople maintained a secret
understanding with the caliph of Egypt, and that his design was to
retard the march and the progress of the Christian army.
The caliph of Cairo, who was governed by the same policy as Alexius,
kept up relations with the Crusaders which circumstances rendered
more or less sincere, and which were subordinate to the fear which
their arms inspired. Although he negotiated at the same time with the
Christians and the Turks, he hated the former because they were the
enemies of the prophet, and the latter because they had deprived him
of Syria. His object was but to profit by the war, so as to regain his
possessions and extend the limits of his empire. For several months he
had been master of Jerusalem, and as he trembled for his new conquest,
he sent ambassadors to the Christian army. This embassy arrived in the
camp a short time after the departure of the deputies of Alexius.
It was accompanied by the deputies whom the Christians had sent into
Egypt during the siege of Antioch. On their arrival at Cairo they had
at first been well received by the caliph; but as soon as he learned
that the Christian army was in a desperate situation, they were thrown
into dungeons, and only owed their liberation to the triumphant march
of the Christian army, which filled the East with the fame of its
victories. Their unexpected return gave the greatest delight to their
brothers and companions. They listened with emotion to the account of
their captivity, and loud cries of indignation arose throughout the
army against the caliph of Cairo.
The Egyptian ambassadors did all in their power to justify their master
and appease the anger of the Christians. They had brought with them
magnificent presents, destined by the caliph for the principal leaders
of the army. They were to present to Godfrey of Bouillon forty thousand
pieces of gold, thirty mantles, and several vases of gold and silver;
to Bohemond they were to offer sixty thousand pieces of gold, fifty
purple mantles, several precious vases, rich carpets, and an Arabian
horse whose harness was covered with plates of gold. Each leader was
to receive a present proportioned to his military reputation, and
to the idea that was entertained of his importance in the Christian
army. When the ambassadors had distributed the presents of the caliph
according to his instructions, they demanded permission to speak in the
council of the leaders. They announced that their master had delivered
Jerusalem from the domination of the Turks, and that he anxiously
desired to maintain peace with the Christians. After having declared
the benevolent and friendly dispositions of the caliph, and after
having repeated that it was his intention to protect pilgrimages and
the exercise of the Christian religion, they finished by declaring that
the gates of Jerusalem should only be opened to _unarmed Christians_.
Upon hearing this proposition, which they had already rejected amidst
the miseries of the siege of Antioch, the leaders of the Christian army
could not restrain their indignation. As their only answer, they came
to the resolution to hasten their march towards the Holy Land, and
threatened the ambassadors of Egypt to carry their arms even to the
banks of the Nile.
The Crusaders were drawing together their troops, which had so long
been dispersed, to march together towards Jerusalem, when they were
attacked by the emir of Tripoli. A prompt and bloody defeat was the
reward of the temerity of the Mussulman prince. After having lost a
great number of his soldiers, he was obliged to purchase peace and the
safety of his capital by the payment of a considerable tribute to the
Crusaders. He furnished them with provisions in abundance, sent back
three hundred Christian prisoners to the camp, and, to leave no pretext
for future hostilities, he engaged to surrender the places he possessed
when their standards should float over the walls of Jerusalem.
The Crusaders, satisfied with this promise extracted from fear, had no
more enemies to combat, and now only thought of that one conquest which
was to assure them all others. Raymond alone did not partake of the
new ardour of the Christian army; he was fixed in his determination to
remain before Archas, and only gave up the siege when his soldiers had
a second time threatened to abandon his colours.
The Crusaders commenced their march towards Palestine at the end of
the month of May.[150] The inhabitants of Phœnicia had finished their
harvest. The Christians found provisions everywhere, and admired
on their passage the rich productions of Asia, which they already
looked upon as the reward of their labours. On their left rose the
mountains of Libanus, so often celebrated by the prophets; between
the mountains and the sea, the fields they traversed were covered
with olive-trees, which grew to the height of elms and oaks; in the
plains and on the hills were oranges, pomegranates, and many other
sorts of trees unknown in the West. Among these new productions one
plant, the juice of which was sweeter than honey, above all attracted
the attention of the pilgrims: this plant was the sugar-cane. It was
cultivated in several of the provinces of Syria, and particularly in
the territory of Tripoli, where they had found means of extracting from
it the substance which the inhabitants called _zucra_[151] According
to Albert d’Aix, this plant had afforded great assistance to the
Christians when assailed by famine at the sieges of Maarah and Archas.
This plant, now become of such importance in commerce, had been till
this time unknown in the West. The pilgrims made it known in Europe,
and towards the end of the crusades it was transported into Italy and
Sicily, whilst the Saracens introduced it into the kingdom of Grenada,
whence the Spaniards afterwards conveyed it to Madeira and the American
colonies.[152]
When the pilgrims were all united to continue their march to Palestine,
they must doubtless have been struck with terror as they contemplated
the losses they had experienced. More than two hundred thousand
Crusaders had been cut off by battles, famine, misery, and disease.
A great number of them, unable to support the fatigues of the holy
pilgrimage, and losing all hope of seeing Palestine, had returned to
the West. Many had taken up their abode in Antioch, Edessa, and other
cities from which they had driven the inhabitants, and which they were
obliged to defend against the infidels. With all these deductions,
the army which was to achieve the conquest of the Holy Land scarcely
numbered fifty thousand fighting men under the banners.
The leaders, however, did not hesitate to pursue their enterprise. They
who did remain in the ranks had borne every trial; they did not drag
in their train a useless, embarrassing multitude; and it was much more
easy to supply them with provisions and establish order and discipline
amongst them. Strengthened in some sort by their losses, they were
perhaps more formidable than they were at the siege of Nice. The
remembrance of their exploits increased their confidence and courage,
and the terror which their arms inspired might well make the Saracens
believe that their army was still innumerable.
Most of the princes whom the war had ruined were in the pay of the
count of Thoulouse. This species of degradation was doubtless painful
to their pride; but as they approached the holy city it might be
said that they lost some of their indomitable arrogance, and that
they forgot both their pretensions and their quarrels. The most
perfect union now prevailed among the Crusaders. In their impatience
to see Jerusalem, neither mountains, defiles, rivers, nor any other
impediments at all damped their ardour; the soldiers would not even
consent to take repose, and often, contrary to the wishes of their
leaders, marched during the night.
The Christian army followed the coasts of the sea, where they might
be provisioned by the Pisan, Genoese, and Flemish fleets. A crowd
of Christians and pious solitaries who inhabited the neighbouring
mountains, hastened to meet their brethren of the West, brought them
fresh provisions, and guided them on their way. After a painful march
over rocks and along the declivities of precipices, they descended into
the plain of Berytus, and traversed the territory of Sidon and Tyre.
Whilst they remained three days on the banks of the river Eleuctera,
they were assailed by serpents called _tarenta_, whose bite produced
death, attended by violent pain and unquenchable thirst. The sight
of these reptiles, which they attempted to frighten away by striking
stones one against another, or by the clashing of their bucklers,
filled the pilgrims with fear and surprise; but that which must have
much more astonished them was the strange remedy for their bite which
the inhabitants pointed out to them, and which without doubt must have
seemed to them far more a subject of scandal than a means of cure.[153]
The Christians, having still continued to march along the coast,
arrived before the walls of Accon, the ancient Ptolemaïs, at the
present day St. Jean d’Acre. The emir who commanded in this city for
the caliph of Egypt sent them provisions, and promised to surrender as
soon as they should become masters of Jerusalem. The Crusaders, who had
no idea of attacking Ptolemaïs, received with joy the submission and
promises of the Egyptian emir; but chance soon made them aware that he
had no other intention but that of getting them out of his territories,
and raising up enemies against them in the countries they were about
to pass through. The Christian army, after having quitted the country
of Ptolemaïs, had advanced between the sea and Mount Carmel, and were
encamped near the port of Cæsarea, when a dove, which had escaped from
the talons of a bird of prey, fell lifeless among the soldiers. The
bishop of Apt, who chanced to pick up this bird, found under its wing
a letter written by the emir of Ptolemaïs to the emir of Cæsarea.
“The cursed race of the Christians,” wrote the emir, “have just passed
through my territories, and will soon cross yours; let the chiefs of
all the Mussulman cities be warned of their march, and let them take
measures to crush our enemies.” This letter was read in the council
of the princes, and before all the army. The Crusaders, according to
the account of Raymond d’Agiles, an eye-witness, broke out into loud
expressions of surprise and joy, no longer doubting that God protected
their enterprise, since he sent the birds of heaven to reveal to them
the secrets of the infidels. Filled with new enthusiasm, they continued
their route, drawing away from the sea, and leaving Antipatride and
Jaffa on their right. They saluted in the east the heights of Ephraim,
and took possession of Lydda ’the ancient Diospolis), celebrated by the
martyrdom of St. George, and of Ramla, famous for the birth and tomb of
Samuel.
When arrived at this last-named city, the Christians had only a march
of sixteen miles to be before Jerusalem. The leaders held a council,
in which some of them proposed to go and attack the infidels in Egypt,
instead of undertaking the siege of the holy city.[154] “When,” said
they, “we shall have conquered the sultan of Egypt, the cities of
Alexandria and Cairo, with Palestine and most of the kingdoms of the
East, will fall under our power. If we go straight to Jerusalem, we
shall want both water and provisions, and we shall be obliged to raise
the siege, without having the power to undertake anything else.” Such
of the leaders as did not agree with this opinion, answered, “That the
Christian army amounted to no more than fifty thousand combatants, and
that it would be madness to begin a march to distant, and, to them,
unknown regions, and where they could look for no assistance. On all
sides they must expect dangers and obstacles; nowhere should they be
free from the dread of want of provisions; but the route to Jerusalem
was much more easy than that to Alexandria or Cairo. The Crusaders
could pursue no wiser plan than to continue their march, and prosecute
the enterprise they had begun, leaving it to Providence to provide for
their wants, and protect them from thirst and famine.”
This latter opinion was adopted, and the army received the signal for
departure. The cities which lay in the route of the Crusaders were all
abandoned by the infidels. The greater part of the pilgrims endeavoured
to get in advance of each other, that they might be the first to obtain
possession of the places and castles that were thus left without
inhabitants. The Crusaders, says Raymond d’Agiles, had agreed among
themselves, that when one of the leaders had planted his standard upon
a city, or had placed any mark whatever on the door of a house, he
should become the legitimate possessor of it. This imprudent agreement
had given birth to ambition and covetousness in the soldiers as well as
the barons. Many, in the hope of obtaining rich possessions, abandoned
their colours, wandered about the country, and spread themselves even
as far as the banks of the Jordan. In the mean time, those to whom,
according to the expression of the historians, _nothing was more
dear than the commandments of God_, advanced, barefooted, under the
standard of the cross, lamenting the error of their brethren. When they
arrived at Emmaus, a considerable city in the times of the Maccabees,
and which was then no more than a large village, known under the name
of Nicopolis, some Christians of Bethlehem came to implore their
assistance. Touched with their prayers, Tancred set out in the middle
of the night with a detachment of three hundred men, and planted the
flag of the Crusaders upon the walls of the city, at the same hour in
which Christ was born and was announced to the shepherds of Judea.
During this same night a phenomenon appeared in the heaven, which
powerfully affected the imagination of the pilgrims. An eclipse of
the moon produced all at once the most profound darkness, and when
she at length re-appeared she was covered with a blood-red veil. Many
of the Crusaders were seized with terror at this spectacle; but those
who were acquainted with the march and movements of the stars, says
Albert d’Aix, reassured their companions by telling them that the sight
of such a phenomenon announced the triumph of the Christians and the
destruction of the infidels.
By the break of day, on the 10th of June, 1099, the Crusaders ascended
the heights of Emmaus. All at once the holy city presented itself
to their eyes.[155] The first who perceived it exclaimed together,
“_Jerusalem! Jerusalem!_” The rear ranks rushed forward to behold the
city that was the object of all their wishes, and the words, “_It is
the will of God! It is the will of God!_” were shouted by the whole
army, and resounded over Mount Sion and the Mount of Olives, which
offered themselves to the eager gaze of the Crusaders. The horsemen
dismounted from their horses, and marched barefooted. Some cast
themselves upon their knees at beholding the holy places, whilst others
kissed with respect the earth honoured by the presence of the Saviour.
In their transports they passed by turns from joy to sadness, and from
sadness to joy. At one moment they felicitated themselves with touching
the last term of their labours; and then wept over their sins, over the
death of Christ, and over his profaned tomb; but all renewed the oath
they had so often made to deliver the holy city from the sacrilegious
yoke of the Mussulmans.
History furnishes very few positive notions of the foundation and
origin of Jerusalem. The common opinion is, that Melchisedec, who is
called king of Salem in Scripture, made his residence there. It was
afterwards the capital of the Jebusees, which procured it the name of
the city of Jebus. It is probable that from the name of Jebus and that
of Salem, which signifies _vision_, or _abode of peace_, was formed the
name of Jerusalem,[156] which it bore under the kings of Judah.
From the highest antiquity Jerusalem yielded in magnificence to none of
the cities of Asia. Jeremiah names it _admirable city_, on account of
its beauty; and David calls it _the most glorious and most illustrious
city of the East_. From the nature of its entirely religious
legislation, it always showed an invincible attachment for its laws;
but it was often a prey to the fanaticism of its enemies as well as
that of its own citizens. Its founders, says Tacitus, having foreseen
that the opposition of their manners to those of other nations would
be a source of war, had given their attention to its fortifications,
and in the early times of the Roman empire it was one of the strongest
places in Asia. After having undergone a great many revolutions, it
was at length completely destroyed by Titus, and in accordance with
the denunciations of the prophets, presented no more than a horrible
confusion of stones. The emperor Adrian afterwards destroyed even its
ruins, and caused another city to be built, giving it the name of
Aëlia, so that there should remain nothing of the ancient Jerusalem.
The Christians, but more particularly the Jews, were banished from it.
Paganism there exalted its idols, and Jupiter and Venus had altars upon
the tomb of Jesus Christ. In the midst of so many profanations and
vicissitudes, the people of the East and the West scarcely preserved
the memory of the city of David, when Constantine restored it its
name, recalled the faithful, and made it a Christian city. Conquered
afterwards by the Persians, and retaken by the Greeks, it had fallen
a bloody prey into the hands of the Mussulmans, who disputed the
possession of it, and subjected it by turns to the double scourge of
persecution and war.[157]
At the time of the crusades, Jerusalem formed, as it does at present,
a square, rather longer than wide, of about a league in circumference.
It extends over four hills; on the east the _Moriah_, upon which the
mosque of Omar was built in the place of the temple of Solomon; on the
south and west the _Acra_, which occupied the whole width of the city;
on the north the _Bezetha_, or the new city; and on the north-west the
_Golgotha_, or _Calvary_, which the Greeks considered to be the centre
of the world, and upon which was built the church of the Resurrection.
In the state in which Jerusalem then was it had lost much of its
strength and extent. Mount Sion no longer arose within its enclosure
and dominated over its walls between the south and west. The three
valleys which surrounded the ramparts had been in many places filled
up by Adrian, and the access to the place was much less difficult,
particularly on the northern side. Nevertheless, as Jerusalem under the
Saracens had had to sustain several sieges, and as it was at all times
exposed to fresh attacks, its fortifications had not been neglected.
The Egyptians, who had had possession of it for several months, took
advantage of the tardiness of the Christian army to put it in a state
of defence.
Whilst the Crusaders were advancing slowly towards the city, the
lieutenant of the caliph, Iftikhar-Eddaulah, ravaged the neighbouring
plains, burnt the villages, filled up or poisoned the cisterns, and
surrounded himself with a desert in which the Christians must find
themselves a prey to all kinds of misery. He caused provisions for
a long siege to be transported into the place; he called upon all
Mussulmans to come to the defence of Jerusalem, and employed a great
number of workmen, day and night, to construct machines of war, to
raise the walls, and repair the towers. The garrison of the city
amounted to forty thousand men, and twenty thousand of the inhabitants
took up arms.
At the approach of the Christians, some detachments of infidels had
come out from Jerusalem to observe the march and proceedings of the
enemy, but were repulsed by Baldwin du Bourg and Tancred. The latter
had hastened from Bethlehem, of which he had taken possession. After
having pursued the fugitives up to the gates of the holy city, he left
his companions and repaired alone to the Mount of Olives, from whence
he contemplated at leisure the city promised to the arms and devotion
of the pilgrims.[158] He was disturbed in his pious contemplations by
five Mussulmans who came from the city, and finding him alone attacked
him.[159] Tancred made no effort to avoid the combat; three of the
Saracens fell beneath his arm, whilst the other two took to flight.
Without either hastening or retarding his speed, Tancred rejoined
the army, which, in its enthusiasm, was advancing without order, and
descended the heights of Emmaus,[160] singing these words from Isaiah,
“_Jerusalem, lift up thine eyes, and behold the liberator who comes to
break thy chains_.”
On the day after their arrival the Crusaders employed themselves in
regularly laying siege to the place. The duke of Normandy, the count
of Flanders, and Tancred encamped towards the north, from the gate of
Herod to the gate of Cedar or of St. Stephen. Near to the Flemings, the
Normans, and the Italians, were placed the English, commanded by Edgar
Atheling, and the Bretons, conducted by their duke, Alain Fergent, the
sire de Chateau-Giron, and the viscount de Dinan. Godfrey, Eustace, and
Baldwin du Bourg established their quarters between the west and the
north, around the enclosure of Calvary, from the gate of Damascus to
the gate of Jaffa. The count of Thoulouse placed his camp to the right
of Godfrey between the south and the west; he had near to him Raimbaud
of Orange, William of Montpellier, and Gaston of Béarn. His troops at
first extended to the declivity of Sion, and a few days afterwards he
pitched his tents upon the very summit of the mountain, at the place
where Christ celebrated Easter. By these dispositions the Crusaders
left free the sides of the city which were defended on the south by
the valley of Gihon or Siloë, and towards the east by the valley of
Jehoshaphat.[161]
Every step that the pilgrims took around Jerusalem brought to their
minds some remembrance dear to their religion. In this territory, so
revered by the Christians, there was not a valley, not a rock which
had not a name in sacred history. All that they saw awakened or warmed
their enthusiasm. They could not withdraw their eyes from the holy
city, or cease to lament over the state of debasement into which it
had fallen. This city, once so superb, looked as if buried in its own
ruins, and they then might, to employ the expression of Josephus,
have asked in Jerusalem itself where was Jerusalem? With its square
houses without windows, surmounted by flat terraces, it appeared to
the Crusaders like an enormous mass of stones heaped up between rocks.
They could only perceive here and there in its bosom a few cypresses
and some clumps of aloes and terebinthi, among which arose steeples in
the quarter of the Christians, and mosques in that of the infidels.
In the valleys and the fields adjacent to the city, which ancient
traditions describe as covered with gardens and groves, there struggled
into growth a few scattered olives and thorny shrubs. The sight of
these sterile plains, and of the mountains burnt up by an ardent sun,
offered to the pilgrims nothing but images of mourning, and mingled a
melancholy sadness with their religious sentiments. They seemed to hear
the voices of the prophets which had announced the servitude and the
misfortunes of the city of God, and, in the excess of their devotion,
they thought themselves called upon to restore it to its ancient
greatness and splendour.
That which still further inflamed the zeal of the Crusaders for the
deliverance of the holy city, was the arrival amongst them of a great
number of Christians who had come out of Jerusalem, and being deprived
of their property and driven from their homes, had sought assistance
and an asylum among their brethren from the West. These Christians
described the miseries which the Mussulmans had inflicted upon all the
worshippers of Christ. The women, children, and old men were detained
as hostages, whilst such as were of an age to bear arms were condemned
to labours which surpassed their strength. The head of the principal
hospital for pilgrims had, with a great many other Christians, been
cast into prison, and the churches had been pillaged to furnish support
for the Mussulman soldiers. The patriarch Simeon was gone to the isle
of Cyprus to implore the charity of the faithful, and save his flock,
which was menaced with destruction if he did not pay the enormous
tribute imposed by the oppressors of the holy city. Every day new
outrages were heaped upon the Christians of Jerusalem, and several
times the infidels had formed the project of giving up to the flames
and utterly destroying both the Holy Sepulchre and the church of the
Resurrection.
The Christian fugitives, whilst making these melancholy recitals to
the pilgrims, exhorted them to hasten their attack upon Jerusalem.
In the very first days of the siege, a solitary, who had fixed his
retreat on the Mount of Olives, came to join his prayers with those of
the Christians driven from Jerusalem, and conjured the Crusaders, in
the name of Christ, whose interpreter he declared himself, at once to
proceed to a general assault. Although destitute of either ladders or
machines of war, the Crusaders yielded to the counsels of the pious
hermit, believing that their courage and their swords were sufficient
to destroy the ramparts of the Saracens. The leaders, who had seen so
many prodigies performed by the valour and enthusiasm of the Christian
soldiers, and who had not forgotten the lengthened miseries of the
siege of Antioch, yielded without difficulty to the impatience of the
army; besides, the sight of Jerusalem had exalted the minds of the
Crusaders, and disposed even the least credulous to hope that God
himself would second their bravery by miracles.
At the first signal, the Christian army advanced in good order towards
the ramparts. Never, say the historians, did the soldiers of the cross
evince so much ardour; some, joined in close battalions, covered
themselves with their bucklers, which formed an impenetrable vault over
their heads, and endeavoured with pikes and hammers to destroy the
wall; whilst others, ranged in long files, remained at some distance,
and plied their slings and cross-bows in driving the enemy from the
ramparts. Oil, boiling pitch, large stones, and enormous beams were
cast upon the front ranks of the Christians without putting the least
stop to their labours. The outer wall began to fall beneath their
strokes, but the inner wall presented an insuperable obstacle, and
nothing was left to them but escalade. This bold method was attempted,
although only one ladder long enough to reach the top of the walls
could be found. The bravest mounted, and fought hand to hand with the
Saracens, who were confounded with such rash courage. It is probable
that the Crusaders would have entered Jerusalem that very day if they
had had the necessary instruments and machines; but so small a number
of them could gain the top of the walls, that they could not maintain
themselves there. Bravery was useless; Heaven did not perform the
miracles which the solitary had promised, and the Saracens at length
forced the assailants to retreat.
The Christians returned to their camp deploring their imprudence and
credulity. This first reverse taught them that they must not always
expect prodigies, and that before they proceeded further they must
construct machines of war. But it was very difficult to procure the
necessary wood in a country of barren sands and arid rocks. Several
detachments were sent to search for materials; and chance discovered to
one of them some large beams, which Tancred caused to be transported
to the camp. They demolished the houses, and even the churches in
the vicinity of the city which had not been given up to the flames,
and every available bit of wood that had escaped the ravages of the
Saracens was employed in the construction of machines.
In spite of their discoveries and exertions, the progress of the siege
did not answer to the impatience of the Crusaders, nor did they appear
likely to be able to avert the evils that threatened them. The most
intense heats of the summer set in at the very time the pilgrims
arrived before Jerusalem. A scorching sun and southern winds, loaded
with the sands of the desert, inflamed the horizon. Plants and animals
perished; the torrent of Kedron was dry, and all the cisterns had been
filled up or poisoned.[162] Under a sun of fire, and amidst burning and
arid plains, the Christian army soon became a prey to all the horrors
of thirst.
The fountain of Siloë, which only flowed at intervals, could not
suffice for such a multitude. A skinful of fetid water, brought from
a distance of three leagues, cost as much as three silver deniers.
Overcome by thirst and heat, the soldiers turned up the soil with their
swords, and burying themselves in the freshly-moved earth, eagerly
carried to their lips every moist clod that presented itself. During
the day they looked anxiously for the night, and at night longed for
the break of day, in the constantly disappointed hope that the return
of either the one or the other would bring some little freshness, or a
few drops of rain. Every morning they were seen to glue their parched
lips to the marbles covered with dew. During the heat of the day the
most robust languished beneath their tents, seeming not to have even
strength left to implore the assistance of Heaven.
The knights and barons were not at all exempt from the scourge which
devoured the army, and many of them exchanged for the water of which
they stood in daily need, the treasures they had won from the infidels.
“Pity, on account of this extreme thirst,” says the old translator
of William of Tyre, “was not so much due to the foot-soldiers as the
horsemen; the foot-soldiers could be contented with a little, but the
horsemen could only supply their horses with drink at great expense. As
to the beasts of burthen,” adds the same historian, “there was no more
account taken of them than of things already dead; they were allowed to
stray away in the fields, where they died for want of water.”
In this general misery the women and children dragged their exhausted
bodies across fields and plains, seeking sometimes a spring and
sometimes shade, neither of which existed. Many who strayed from the
army fell into the ambushes of the Saracens, and lost either their
lives or their liberty. When some fortunate pilgrims discovered a
spring or a cistern in a remote or obscure place, they concealed it
from their companions, and prevented their approach to it. Quarrels of
a violent nature broke out on this account daily; and not unfrequently
the Crusaders drew their swords for the sake of a little muddy water;
in short, the want of water was so insupportable an evil, that they
hardly noticed the scarcity of food. The intensity of thirst and the
heat of the climate made them forget the horrors of the famine which
seemed to pursue the Christians everywhere.
If the besieged had at this period made a _sortie_, they would have
easily triumphed over the Crusaders, but the latter were defended by
the remembrance of their exploits; and in the distress to which they
were now reduced, their name alone still inspired the Saracens with
dread. The Mussulmans likewise might entertain the belief that their
enemies could not long resist the joint calamities of famine and
thirst. The old historians here employ the most pathetic expressions to
paint the frightful misery of the pilgrims. Abbot Guibert even goes so
far as to say that men never suffered so many evils to obtain benefits
which were not of this earth. Amidst such calamities, says Raymond
d’Agiles, who was himself at the siege of Jerusalem, many forgot their
God, and thought no longer of either gaining the city, or obtaining
the divine mercy. The remembrance of their own country increased their
sufferings; and so great was their discouragement, that some deserted
the standards of the crusade entirely, and fled to the ports of
Palestine and Syria to wait for an opportunity of returning to Europe.
The leaders clearly saw there was no other remedy for the evils the
army endured but the taking of Jerusalem; and yet the labours of the
siege went on very slowly, for they had neither wood enough for the
construction of machines, nor workmen with necessary implements. In
addition, a report was current that a formidable army had left Egypt
for the purpose of relieving the city. The wisest and the bravest were
beginning, in such a critical situation, to despair of the success of
the enterprise, when assistance was afforded them of an unexpected
kind.
They learned that a Genoese fleet had entered the port of Jaffa,
laden with provisions and ammunition of all sorts. This news spread
the greatest joy through the Christian army, and a body of three
hundred men, commanded by Raymond Pelet, set out from the camp to
meet the convoy, which Heaven appeared to have sent the Crusaders in
their misery. This detachment, after having beaten and dispersed the
Saracens they met on their passage, entered the city of Jaffa, which,
being abandoned by its inhabitants, was occupied by the Genoese. On
their arrival, the Crusaders learnt that the Christian fleet had been
surprised and burnt by that of the infidels, but they had had time to
get out the provisions and a great quantity of instruments for the
construction of machines of war. All they had been able to save was
transported to the camp of the Christians. This convoy arrived under
the walls of Jerusalem, followed by a great number of Genoese engineers
and carpenters, whose presence greatly revived the emulation and
courage of the army.
As they still had not sufficient wood for the construction of the
machines, a Syrian conducted the duke of Normandy and the count of
Flanders to a mountain situated at a distance of thirty miles from
Jerusalem, between the Valley of Samaria and the Valley of Sechem.
There the Christians found the forest of which Tasso speaks in the
“Jerusalem Delivered.”[163] The trees of this forest were neither
protected from the axe of the Crusaders by the enchantments of Ismen
nor the arms of the Saracens. Oxen shod with iron transported them in
triumph before Jerusalem.
None of the leaders, except Raymond of Thoulouse, had sufficient money
to pay for the labours they had commanded, but the zeal and charity of
the pilgrims came to their assistance. Many offered the remains of the
spoil taken from the enemy; the knights and barons themselves became
laborious workmen; and every arm was employed, and everything in motion
throughout the army. The women, the children, even the sick, shared
the toils of the soldiers. Whilst the more robust were engaged in the
construction of rams, catapultas, and covered galleries, others fetched
water in skins from the fountain of Elpira, on the road to Damascus,
or from a rivulet which flowed beyond Bethlehem, towards the desert
of St. John. Some prepared the skins that were to be stretched over
the machines to render them fire-proof, whilst others traversed the
plains and neighbouring mountains to collect branches of the olive,
the fig,[164] and some other trees of the country, to make hurdles and
faggots.
Although the Christians had still much to suffer from thirst and the
heat of the climate, the hope of soon seeing the end of their troubles
gave them strength to support them. The preparations for the attack
were pressed on with incredible activity; every day formidable machines
appeared, threatening the ramparts of the Saracens. The construction
of them was directed by Gaston of Béarn, of whose skill and bravery
historians make great boast.[165] Among these machines were three
enormous towers of a new structure, each of which had three stages,
the first for the workmen who directed the movements of it, and the
second and third for the warriors who were to make the assault. These
three rolling fortresses were higher than the walls of the besieged
city.[166] At the top was fixed a kind of drawbridge, which could be
let down on the ramparts, and present a road by which to penetrate into
the place.
But these powerful means of attack were not the only ones which were to
second the efforts of the Crusaders. The religious enthusiasm which had
already performed so many prodigies was again to augment their ardour
and confidence in victory. The clergy spread themselves through all the
quarters of the army, exhorting the pilgrims to penitence and concord.
Misery, which almost always engenders complaints and murmurs, had
soured their hearts, and produced division among the leaders and the
soldiers, who at other times had disputed for cities and treasures, but
for whom then the most common things had become objects of jealousy and
quarrels. The solitary from the Mount of Olives added his exhortations
to those of the clergy, and addressing himself to the princes and
people: “You who are come,” said he, “from the regions of the West to
worship the God of armies, love one another as brothers, and sanctify
yourselves by repentance and good works. If you obey the laws of God,
he will render you masters of the holy city; if you resist him, all his
anger will fall upon you.” The solitary advised the Crusaders to march
round Jerusalem, invoking the mercy and protection of Heaven.
The pilgrims, persuaded that the gates of the city were not less likely
to be opened by devotion than bravery, listened with docility to the
exhortations of the solitary, and were all eager to follow his counsel,
which they regarded as the language of God himself. After a rigorous
fast of three days, they issued from their quarters armed, and marched
barefooted and bareheaded around the walls of the holy city. They were
preceded by their priests clothed in white, carrying images of the
saints, and singing psalms and holy songs. The ensigns were displayed,
and the cymbals and trumpets sounded afar. It was thus that the Hebrews
had formerly marched round Jericho, whose walls had crumbled away at
the sound of their instruments.
The Crusaders set out from the Valley of Rephraim, which faces
Calvary; they advanced towards the north, and saluted, on entering into
the Valley of Jehoshaphat, the tombs of Mary, St. Stephen, _and the
first elect of God_. On continuing their march towards the Mount of
Olives, they contemplated with much respect the grotto in which Christ
sweated blood, and the spot where the Saviour wept over Jerusalem. When
they arrived at the summit of the mountain, the most imposing spectacle
presented itself to their eyes. Towards the east were the plains of
Jericho, the shores of the Dead Sea and the Jordan; and to the west
they saw at their feet the holy city and its territory, covered with
sacred ruins. Assembled on the very spot whence Christ ascended into
heaven, and where they still sought for the vestiges of his steps, they
listened to the exhortations of the priests and bishops.
Arnold de Rohés, chaplain to the duke of Normandy, addressed them
in a pathetic discourse, conjuring them to redouble their zeal and
perseverance. When terminating his discourse, he turned towards
Jerusalem: “You see,” said he to them, “the heritage of Christ trampled
underfoot by the impious; here is, at last, the worthy reward of all
your labours; here are the places in which God will pardon all your
sins, and will bless all your victories.” At the voice of the orator,
who pointed out to them the church of the Resurrection and the rocks
of Calvary, ready to receive them, the defenders of the cross humbled
themselves before God, and kept their eyes fixed upon Jerusalem.
As Arnold exhorted them, in the name of Christ, to forget all injuries,
and to love one another, Tancred and Raymond, who had had long and
serious disputes, embraced each other in the presence of the whole
Christian army. The soldiers and leaders followed their example. The
most rich promised to comfort the poor by their alms, and to support
the orphans of the bearers of the cross. All forgot their fatal
discords, and swore to remain faithful to the precepts of evangelical
charity.
Whilst the Crusaders were thus giving themselves up to transports
of devotion and piety, the Saracens assembled on the ramparts of
Jerusalem, raised crosses high in the air, and treated them with all
kinds of outrages, at the same time insulting the ceremonies of the
Christians by their gestures and their clamours.[167] “You hear them,”
said Peter the Hermit; “you hear the menaces and the blasphemies
against the true God; swear to defend Jesus Christ, a prisoner, and
crucified a second time by the infidels. You see him who expires afresh
upon Calvary for the redemption of your sins.”[168] At these words the
cenobite was interrupted by the groans and cries of indignation which
arose on all parts against the infidels. “Yes, I swear by your piety,”
continued the orator, “I swear by your arms, that the reign of the
impious is near its end. The army of the Lord has only to appear, and
all that vain mass of Mussulmans will disperse like a shadow. To-day
they are full of pride and insolence, to-morrow they shall be frozen
with fear, and shall fall motionless before you, like the guardians of
the sepulchre, who felt their arms escape from their hands, and fell
dead with fright, when an earthquake announced the presence of a God on
that Calvary on which you are going to mount the breach. Still a few
moments, and these towers, the last bulwark of the infidels, shall be
the asylum of the Christians; these mosques, which stand upon Christian
ruins, shall serve as temples for the true God, and Jerusalem shall
only henceforward hear the praises of the Lord.”
At these last words of Peter the most lively transports broke forth
among the Christians; they embraced, shedding tears, and exhorting each
other to support the evils and the fatigues of which they should so
soon receive the glorious reward. The Christians at length descended
the Mount of Olives to return to their camp, and, taking their route
southward, they saluted on their right the tomb of David, and passed
close to the pool of Siloë, where Christ restored sight to the man born
blind. They perceived, further on, the ruins of the palaces of Judah,
and marched along the declivity of Mount Sion, where other remembrances
arose before them to add to their enthusiasm. Towards evening, the
Christian army returned to their quarters, repeating these words of
the prophet: _The nations of the West shall fear the Lord; and the
nations of the East shall see his glory._ When they had regained their
camp, the greater part of the pilgrims passed the night in prayer; the
leaders and the soldiers confessed their sins at the feet of their
priests, and received their God, whose promises filled them with
confidence and hope.
Whilst these things were passing in the Christian camp, the most
profound silence reigned over the walls of Jerusalem; nothing was heard
but the voices of the men who, from hour to hour, from the tops of the
mosques of the city, called the Mussulmans to prayer. The infidels
came in crowds to their temples to implore the protection of their
prophet, and swore by the mysterious stone of Jacob to defend a city
which they called the _House of God_. The besieged and the besiegers
were stimulated by an equal ardour to fight and to shed their blood,
the former to preserve, and the latter to conquer a city which both
held sacred. The hatred which animated them was so violent, that during
the whole siege no Mussulman deputy came into the Christian camp, nor
did the Christians deign to summon the garrison to surrender. Between
such enemies the shock must necessarily be terrible, and the victory
implacable.
The leaders of the Christian army being assembled to decide upon the
day for attacking the city, it was resolved to take advantage of the
enthusiasm of the pilgrims, which was at its height, and to press
forward the assault, the preparations for which were rapidly going on.
As the Saracens had raised a great number of machines on the sides of
the city most threatened by the Christians, it was agreed that they
should change the dispositions of the siege, and that the principal
attack should be directed towards the points where the enemy had made
the least preparations for defence.
During the night Godfrey removed his quarters eastward, near to
the gate of Cedar, and not far from the valley in which Titus was
encamped when his soldiers penetrated into the galleries of the temple.
The rolling tower, and the other machines of war which the duke of
Lorraine had caused to be constructed, were transported with incredible
difficulty in face of the walls he intended to attack. Tancred and the
two Roberts got ready their machines, between the gate of Damascus
and the angular tower, which was afterwards called _the tower of
Tancred_.[169]
When the Saracens, at daybreak, saw these new dispositions, they were
seized with astonishment and affright. The Crusaders might have taken
profitable advantage of the alarm which this change created in the
enemy, but upon steep ground it was difficult to bring the towers
up close to the walls. Raymond in particular, who was charged with
the attack on the south, found himself separated from the rampart by
a ravine, which it was necessary to have filled up. He immediately
made it known, by a herald-at-arms, that he would pay a denier to
every person who should cast three stones into it. A crowd of people
instantly flew to second the efforts of his soldiers; nor could the
darts and arrows, which were hurled like hail from the ramparts, at all
relax the ardour and zeal of the assailants. At length, at the end of
the third day, all was finished, and the leaders gave the signal for a
general attack.
On Thursday, the 14th of July, 1099, as soon as day appeared, the
clarions sounded in the camp of the Christians; all the Crusaders flew
to arms; all the machines were in motion at once; the stone-machines
and mangonels vomited showers of flints, whilst under the cover of
tortoises and galleries, the rams were brought close to the walls. The
archers and cross-bowmen kept up a continual discharge against the
rampart; whilst the most brave planted their ladders in places where
the wall seemed to offer least resistance. On the north, east, and
south of the city, the three towers advanced towards the ramparts,
amidst the tumult and shouts of the soldiers and the workmen. Godfrey
appeared on the highest platform of his wooden fortress, accompanied
by his brother Eustace and Baldwin du Bourg. He animated his people by
his example; and every javelin that he cast, say the historians of the
times, carried death among the Saracen host. Raymond, Tancred, the duke
of Normandy, and the count of Flanders fought amidst their soldiers;
whilst the knights and men-at-arms, animated by the same zeal as their
principal chiefs, flew from place to place where danger called them.
Nothing could equal the impetuosity of the first shock of the
Christians; but they were everywhere met by an obstinate resistance.
Arrows, javelins, boiling oil, Greek fire, fourteen machines which the
besieged had now time to oppose to those of their enemies, repulsed on
all sides the attacks and the efforts of the assailants. The infidels
issuing through a breach made in their rampart, attempted to burn the
machines of the besiegers, and carried disorder among the Christian
ranks. Towards the end of the day, the towers of Godfrey and Tancred
could no longer be moved, whilst that of Raymond fell to pieces. The
combat had lasted twelve hours, without victory having inclined to
the side of the Crusaders, when night came to put a temporary end to
the efforts of both parties. The Christians returned to their camp
trembling with rage and grief; the leaders, but particularly the
two Roberts, lamenting _that God had not yet thought them worthy of
entering into his holy city, and adoring the tomb of his Son_.[170]
The night was spent anxiously on both sides, each deploring their
losses, and trembling at the idea of others they were likely to
sustain. The Saracens dreaded a surprise; the Christians were afraid
that the Saracens would burn the machines they had left under the
walls. The besieged were employed without intermission in repairing
the breaches made in the walls; whilst the besiegers were equally
active in putting their machines in a state of service against a fresh
attack. The following day brought a renewal of the same dangers and
the same combats that the preceding one had witnessed. The chiefs
endeavoured by their speeches to raise the courage of the Crusaders;
whilst the priests and bishops indefatigably visited the tents of the
soldiers, promising them the assistance of Heaven. The Christian army,
filled with renewed confidence in victory, appeared under arms, and
marched in profound silence towards the points of attack, whilst the
clergy walked in procession round the city.
The first shock was impetuous and terrible. The Christians were
indignant at the resistance they had met with the day before, and
fought with fury. The besieged, who had learnt the approach of an
Egyptian army, were animated by the hope of victory, and their ramparts
were protected by machines of a formidable description. The mutually
discharged javelins hissed on all sides; whilst stones and beams
launched by both Christians and infidels were dashed against each
other in the air with a frightful noise, and fell upon the assailants.
From the height of the towers, the Mussulmans unceasingly hurled
lighted torches and fire-pots. The wooden fortresses of the Christians
approached the walls amidst a conflagration which was increasing on all
parts around them. The infidels directed their attacks particularly
against the tower of Godfrey, upon the summit of which shone a cross
of gold, the sight of which provoked their utmost fury. The duke of
Lorraine saw one of his esquires and many of his soldiers fall by his
side; but although himself a mark for all the arrows of the enemy,
he fought on amidst the dead and the wounded, and never ceased to
exhort his companions to redouble their courage and ardour. The count
of Thoulouse, who attacked the city on the south side, brought up
all his machines to bear against those of the Mussulmans: he had to
contend against the emir of Jerusalem, who animated his people by his
words, and appeared upon the walls surrounded by the _élite_ of the
Egyptian soldiery. Towards the north, Tancred and the two Roberts stood
motionless at the head of their battalions, on their rolling fortress,
impatient to employ the lance and sword. Already their rams had, upon
several points, shaken the walls, behind which the Saracens in close
ranks presented themselves as a last rampart against the attacks of the
Christians.
In the midst of the conflict two female magicians appeared upon
the ramparts of the city, calling, as the historians say, upon the
elements and the infernal powers. They could not, however, themselves
avoid the death which they invoked upon the Christians, and fell dead
beneath a shower of arrows and stones.[171] Two Egyptian emissaries,
sent from Ascalon to exhort the besieged to persist in their defence,
were surprised by the Crusaders as they were endeavouring to enter
the city. One of them fell covered with wounds, and the other, having
revealed the secret of his mission, was, by means of a machine, hurled
upon the ramparts where the Saracens were fighting. But the combat had
now lasted half the day, without affording the Crusaders any hope of
carrying the place. All their machines were on fire, and they wanted
water, but more particularly vinegar,[172] which alone will extinguish
the species of fire employed by the besieged. In vain the bravest
exposed themselves to the greatest dangers to prevent the destruction
of the wooden towers and the rams; they fell, buried under the ruins,
and the flames consumed even their bucklers and vestments. Many of the
most intrepid warriors had met with death at the foot of the ramparts;
a great number of those who were upon the towers had been disabled;
whilst the rest, covered with sweat and dust, fatigued by the weight
of their arms and the heat, began to lose courage. The Saracens, who
perceived this, uttered loud cries of joy. Among their blasphemies
they reproached the Christians with worshipping a God who was not able
to defend them. The assailants deplored their fate, and, believing
themselves abandoned by Jesus Christ, remained motionless on the field
of battle.
But the combat was destined soon to change its appearance. All at once
the Crusaders saw a knight appear upon the Mount of Olives, waving his
buckler, and giving the Christian army the signal for entering the
city.[173] Godfrey and Raymond, who perceived him first and at the
same time, cried out aloud that St. George was come to the help of the
Christians! The tumult of the fight allowed neither reflection nor
examination, the sight of the celestial horseman fired the besiegers
with new ardour; and they returned to the charge. Women, even children
and the sick, mingled in the m_êlée_, bringing water, food, and arms,
and joined their efforts to those of the soldiers to move the rolling
towers, the terror of the enemy, nearer the ramparts.[174] That of
Godfrey, in spite of a terrible discharge of stones, arrows, and Greek
fire, advanced near enough to have its drawbridge lowered upon the
walls. Flaming darts flew, at the same time, in showers against the
machines of the besieged, and against the sacks of straw and hay,
and bags of wool which protected the last walls of the city. The
wind assisted the fire, and drove the flames upon the Saracens, who,
enveloped in masses of flame and smoke, retreated before the lances
and swords of the Crusaders. Godfrey, preceded by the two brothers
Lethalde and Engelbert of Tournai, and followed by Baldwin du Bourg,
Eustace, Reimbault Creton,[175] Gunher, Bernard de St. Vallier, and
Amenjou d’Albret, rushes upon the enemy, pursues them, and upon the
track of their footsteps enters Jerusalem. All the brave men who fought
with him on the platform of the tower, followed their intrepid chief,
penetrated with him into the streets, and massacred all they met in
their passage. At the same time a report was spread in the Christian
army that the holy pontiff Adhemar, and several Crusaders who had
fallen during the siege, had appeared at the head of the assailants,
and had unfurled the standard of the Cross upon the towers of
Jerusalem. Tancred and the two Roberts, animated by this account, made
fresh efforts, and at last threw themselves into the place, accompanied
by Hugh de St. Paul, Gerard de Roussillon, Louis de Mouson, Conon and
Lambert de Montaigu, and Graston de Béarn. A crowd of heroes followed
them closely; some entering by a half-opened breach; others scaling
the walls with ladders; and many leaping from the tops of the wooden
towers. The Mussulmans fled on all sides, and Jerusalem resounded with
the cry of victory of the Crusaders, “_It is the will of God! It is the
will of God!_”[176]
The companions of Godfrey and Tancred beat the gate of St. Stephen to
pieces with axes, and the city was at once thrown open to the crowd of
Crusaders, who pressed forward and contended for the honour of dealing
the last blow to the conquered infidels.
Raymond alone still experienced some resistance. Warned of the success
of the Christians, by the clashing of arms, and the tumult he heard in
the city, he endeavoured still further to animate his soldiers. The
latter, impatient to join their companions, abandoned their tower and
machines, which they could no longer move. They planted ladders and
swords, by the means of which they mounted the rampart, whither they
were preceded by the count of Thoulouse, Raymond Pelet, the bishop of
Bira, the count de Die, and William de Sabran. Nothing now could stop
their progress; they dispersed the Saracens, who with their emir had
taken refuge in the fortress of David,[177] and soon all the Crusaders
united in Jerusalem embraced, wept for joy, and gave all their
attention to the completion of their victory.
Despair, however, for a moment forced the bravest of the Saracens to
rally, and they charged with impetuosity the Christians, who, in
the security of victory, were proceeding to the pillage.[178] The
latter were even beginning to give way before the enemy they had so
recently conquered, when Everard de Puysaie, of whom Raoul de Caen has
celebrated the bravery, revived the courage of his companions, placed
himself at their head, and once more spread terror among the infidels.
From that moment the Crusaders had no more enemies to contend with.
History has remarked that the Christians entered Jerusalem on a Friday,
at the hour of three in the afternoon; exactly the same day and hour at
which Christ expired for the salvation of the human race. It might have
been expected that this memorable epoch would have awakened sentiments
of mercy in their hearts; but, irritated by the threats and protracted
insults of the Saracens, incensed by the sufferings they had undergone
during the siege, and by the resistance they had met with even in the
city, they filled with blood and mourning that Jerusalem which they
came to deliver, and which they considered as their own future country.
The carnage soon became general, for all who escaped from the swords
of Godfrey and Tancred, fell into the hands of the Provençals, equally
thirsting for blood. The Saracens were massacred in the streets and in
the houses; Jerusalem contained no place of refuge for the vanquished.
Some sought to escape death by throwing themselves from the ramparts;
others flocked in crowds to the palaces, the towers, but particularly
to the mosques,—but nowhere could they escape the pursuit of the
Christians.
When the Crusaders made themselves masters of the mosque of Omar, in
which the Saracens defended themselves for some time, a frightful
repetition ensued of the scenes of carnage which attended the conquest
of Titus. Horse and foot entered the mosque _pêle-mêle_ with the
vanquished. In the midst of the most horrible tumult nothing was heard
but groans, screams, and cries of death; the conquerors trampling over
heaps of bodies in pursuit of all who endeavoured to escape. Raymond
d’Agiles, an ocular witness, says that under the portico, and in the
porch of the mosque, the blood rose up to the knees and the bridles of
the horses.[179] To paint the terrible spectacle which was presented at
two periods in the same place, it will suffice to say, borrowing the
words of the historian Josephus, that the number of the slain by far
surpassed that of the soldiers who immolated them to their vengeance,
and that the mountains near the Jordan in moans reëchoed the frightful
sounds that issued from the temple.
The imagination turns with disgust from these horrible pictures, and
can scarcely, amidst the carnage, contemplate the touching image of the
Christians of Jerusalem, whose chains the Crusaders had broken. They
flocked from all parts to meet the conquerors; they shared with them
all the provisions they had been able to steal from the Saracens; and
with them offered up thanks to God for having granted such a triumph to
the arms of the Christians. Peter the Hermit, who, five years before,
had promised to arm the West for the deliverance of the Christians
of Jerusalem, must have profoundly enjoyed the spectacle of their
gratitude and exultation. Amidst all the Crusaders, they appeared only
to see him; they recalled his words and his promises; it was to him
they addressed their songs of praise; it was him they proclaimed their
liberator. They related to him the evils they had suffered during his
absence; they could scarcely believe what was passing before them;
and, in their enthusiasm, they expressed astonishment that God should
thus have employed only a single man to stir up so many nations, and to
effect such prodigies.
The sight of the brethren they had delivered, no doubt recalled to the
minds of the pilgrims that they were come for the purpose of adoring
the tomb of Christ; and the pious Godfrey, who had abstained from
carnage after the victory, quitted his companions, and, followed by
three attendants, repaired without arms and barefooted to the church
of the Holy Sepulchre.[180] The news of this act of devotion was soon
spread through the Christian army, and immediately all vengeance and
all fury were at an end; the Crusaders, casting away their bloody
vestments, made the city resound with their groans and their sobs, and,
conducted by the clergy, marched together, with their feet bare and
their heads uncovered, towards the church of the Resurrection.