EFFORTS OF THE GERMANS TO OBTAIN CYPRUS.
So much attention has lately been called to the concluding chapters
of Herr von Löher’s most interesting work, that we feel compelled to
present them, in an English form, even at the risk of incurring blame
in some quarters, for unnecessary repetition. Throughout the whole of
his travels in the island, our author, shocked at the scenes of neglect
and mismanagement presented to his eyes, was constantly indulging in
reflections on what a different fate might await its inhabitants could
they be annexed to the mighty empire of his fatherland. Indulging in
this strain of thought, he presents us with a lengthy account of what
was done there by his countrymen in former days.
In a short and rapid sketch of these pages, we will endeavour to give
only such details, as may be new and interesting to our readers, and
suppressing as far as possible all such matter as has already appeared
in the body of the work. Long after the Crusaders had been expelled
from the Holy Land, says Löher, they still retained the fortresses
of Jaffa, Akkon, Tyre, Sidon, Beyrut, Cæsarea, Antioch, Tripoli,
and other strongholds, the governors of which ruled over, and gave
commands to, a multitude of knights and people there resident. The
Christian forces, then dispersed over all Syria, should have united
under the imperial leadership, and opposed their serried ranks to the
forces of the Crescent. This was manifestly the plan of the second
Frederick, Emperor of Germany, whose idea was, to put the Christian
forces under the command of Hermann von Salza, the renowned Preceptor
of the German order. This was he, who, in a conference at Ferentino, at
which the Pope, the Emperor, and King John of Jerusalem were present,
proposed that Frederick should marry Isabella, the daughter of the
last-mentioned sovereign, and thus ally her inheritance, the kingdom
of Jerusalem, with his possessions, whilst her father should merely
have the honour of being nominally a king. The proposal was received
joyfully by all parties. The imperial marriage took place in the year
1225, at Brindisi, where the bride’s father surrendered the sceptre of
Jerusalem into the hands of his new son-in-law—not, however, without
compulsion. Frederick forthwith received the homage of all present,
and sent a herald with three hundred knights to the Holy Land, to
ratify and complete the homage paid to the emperor—who, if he intended
to bring the crusade to a successful end, must necessarily be the
legitimate lord of the soil.
The Cyprians, however, thought that Frederick, after a time, would be
in a position to assume the feudal sovereignty of their island, for the
kingdom had in former times been an appanage of the Emperor Heinrich
the Sixth, his grandfather. The late King Hugo the First had been for
ten years engaged in the crusade, and when he died, his only son, the
heir to the throne, was but nine months old.
The Emperor Frederick the Second at length discovered, how powerless
he was to remodel the affairs of the East. The knights and merchants
had ordered matters according to their own pleasure. The barons with
their feudal retainers occupied their castles in perfect independence;
the king was only their leader, and the feudal parliament the court in
which they decided everything according to their pleasure. With these
uncontrolled nobles we must rank three orders of knights, forming as
many well-established and wealthy brotherhoods, in which the military
and monkish characteristics were united. These ecclesiastical warriors
were armed in complete steel, and claimed princely prerogatives. In the
towns were guilds and corporations, combinations of merchants and men
of business, who watched over their own interests, and resisted the
innovations of the arrogant nobility. Among all these petty powers, who
were incessantly quarrelling among themselves, Frederick found it a
difficult task to introduce harmony, and harder still to bring them to
acquiesce in his authority.
Frederick had already proclaimed in Ferentino, that the conquest
of the Holy Land should no longer be carried on in the name of the
knights, but of the king only, thus intimating, that the whole of it
should belong to himself. In Cyprus, matters were arranged upon a
very different basis; here the supreme authority was shared among the
barons, and the power of the king jealously circumscribed.
So long as the authority of the emperor was maintained in Cyprus, he
held the key of all the opposite coasts of Syria, Asia Minor, and
Egypt, and consequently, to possess the sovereign power in this island,
was from first to last the great object of Oriental policy. In 1218 the
last King of Cyprus died, having on his death-bed appointed his wife,
Alice, regent. The knights, unwilling to submit to the authority of a
woman, compelled her to share her rule in the island with Philip of
Ibelin as co-regent. Meanwhile feuds sprang up on all sides, and every
occurrence seemed to increase the discord. The Franks in the East had
been vitiated by Byzantine manners, and fought each other with the
bitterest hatred, quite unmindful of their original mission, which was
to deliver the Holy Land from the heathen. Quarrels soon arose between
the Latin and Greek Churches, and Cyprus became the arena where bloody
combats took place.
Frederick now entered the capital of Cyprus, and there all the princes
and barons interceded for Ibelin, who declared that he and all his
followers were ready to submit to the emperor, and atone for their
delinquencies. The emperor did not seek revenge, but simple justice;
and was extremely desirous of securing the support of Cyprus, and
the wealth obtainable from that source, and thus the affair was soon
arranged; the barons, under the emperor’s command, acquiesced, and a
general amnesty was proclaimed upon the following terms:
The emperor was to be the sole guardian of the young king until he
completed his twenty-fifth year. The government of Cyprus and its
revenues should be placed in the hands of the emperor, and all the
fortified places in the kingdom delivered up to him. All the Cyprian
knights who had not sworn fealty to the emperor should immediately
take the oath of allegiance. Ibelin, in behalf of the ruler of Beyrut,
recognised the emperor as King of Jerusalem, and did homage to him
under that title, and agreed that all claims, relative to the castle of
Beyrut, should be settled by the court of Jerusalem, and an account of
all revenues due, since the death of King Hugo, should be laid before
the court of Cyprus. The hostages demanded by the emperor were set at
liberty. Ibelin and all the Cyprian barons, with their followers, were
to accompany Frederick to the Holy Land, and serve him there till the
end of the crusade.
All these conditions were punctually carried out, the oath of
allegiance administered, and the castles, as well as the revenue, given
up. The emperor had achieved a complete victory. Cyprus remained for
several years under his command, and its king was formally declared
a prince of the German empire. The emperor next appointed revenue
officers and treasurers, in all the castles and bailiwicks of the
island, and made arrangements that the money thus raised should be sent
after him into Syria. To these offices, as well as in garrisoning the
castles, the emperor appointed his own knights by preference, and these
gladly accepted such desirable appointments.
After all these things were arranged, the emperor came to Famagusta,
and the next day, the 2nd of September, seven weeks after his landing
in Cyprus, embarked, taking the young king with him, and accompanied
by all the chivalry of the island. Their landing was effected at
Beyrut, Sidon, Sarepta, and Tyre, as Frederick was desirous of becoming
more intimately acquainted with the coast of Syria; he probably
likewise intended that the armies of the Crusaders, employed upon the
fortifications of Sidon and of Cæsarea, should enter Akkon while he
remained upon the coast. In the last-mentioned city, the most populous
and the most important in the Holy Land, the emperor was received with
great ceremony. The Crusaders, more especially those from Germany, were
jubilant; the clergy sang hymns of praise; the Templars and the Knights
of St. John did homage to their sovereign, by kneeling before him and
kissing his knees, according to the custom of the times. Nevertheless
Frederick was well aware that, to use the words of an old writer, he
was in a land where neither God nor man had ever yet found truth or
loyalty.
The truth of this he soon found out. The Cyprians formed by far the
greater part of the host of Eastern warriors, led by the high marshal
Felingher, but the number of these was not more than two thousand. Rome
had already taken her precautions. A Papal bull was issued denouncing
Frederick, and he was placed under an interdict. Messages both from the
Pope and the Patriarch warned the knights not to obey the emperor’s
commands, and it was promulgated amongst the soldiery, that Frederick
was under the curse of God, and of the Church, and that all his acts
were of no effect. Multitudes of the Crusaders, despairing of the
success of their undertaking, deserted. The Knights of the Temple and
of St. John fell away from the emperor’s standard, and the rest of
the warriors of the Cross refused to be led to battle. The Cyprian
barons began to discuss the question whether the oath they had taken
to Frederick, was not overridden by the feudal allegiance they owed to
their king.
The Germans who had come over with the emperor under the command
of their leader, Hermann von Salza, kept their plighted faith, and
were the only supporters of the imperial authority: these, however,
taking them all together, knights and squires, soldiers from Germany,
Sicily, and Lombardy, hardly amounted to twelve thousand men. With
so feeble an army—with the Eastern knights partly at open enmity,
partly vacillating, with the clergy altogether inimical—it was quite
impossible for Frederick to think of giving battle to the unbelievers.
He established himself in a camp near Akkon, and while he strengthened
the defences of Joppa, gave all his attention to the establishment of
a secret understanding with the Sultan. Overtures to this effect had
in truth been already made by him from Italy, and during his stay in
Cyprus had been still further advanced.
Immediately on his arrival in the Holy Land it became clear what
were the necessities of his position, and what there might be a
possibility of his obtaining. The possession of the holy places; a
free pass for pilgrims in Syria and Palestine, who must necessarily
be under Christian jurisdiction; peace secured by the strength of the
fortress and the solemn oath of the Mussulmans; all these were secured.
Jerusalem, which, for nearly half a century had been in their hands,
was, with the surrounding country, again placed in the power of the
Christians, who held, moreover, Bethlehem and the intervening land.
Joppa and a strip of country between that town and Jerusalem; Nazareth
and the road from thence to Akkon; the fertile plain of Sidon; and
in its neighbourhood the castle Turon, commanding the entire coast;
all these castles and towns were permitted to be again fortified,
and on the other side the Sultan promised that he would raise no new
fortifications. All Christian prisoners, some of whom had been a long
while in the hands of the Mussulmans, were to be set free. This peace
was to last during ten years. All these arrangements were to be
confirmed by the solemn oaths of both the contracting parties.
When the terms of this peace became known in Joppa, great joy was
manifested by the Christians who accompanied the emperor to Jerusalem,
where, on the day of his arrival (March 18, 1229), he offered up
thanks in the church of the Holy Sepulchre. After this, approaching
the high altar, he placed the crown of Jerusalem upon his head, and
then returned to his place. No priest was allowed to take part in the
rejoicings, which included festivities of every description. Their
general, Hermann von Salza, read before all the soldiers and common
people a manifesto by the emperor, explaining why he had not been able
to come before, and telling them that the Pope had been compelled to
publish his bann by pressure of circumstances, and that everything
should now be arranged to secure peace among the heads of Christendom.
Next day the Patriarch of Jerusalem assailed him with the Papal
interdict. Frederick, in order to give no pretence for suppressing
public worship, returned to Joppa, and from thence to Akkon.
Here the emperor remained for about five weeks, doing everything
which his position allowed to make peace with the adherents of the
Pope, at the head of whom stood the Patriarch of Jerusalem. The
patriarch, however, found him, to use his own expression, “unhealthy
from the crown of his head to the sole of his foot,” and seemed rather
exasperated than otherwise at all the good that Frederick had achieved
in so short a time. The proud Templars and Knights of St. John, were
furious because the chief control lay no longer with them, but with
the Germans. Even the ecclesiastics were principally from France, very
few of them from Italy. Probably at no period of the world’s history
has a body of men existed so steeped in pride, so full of haughtiness,
luxury, and immorality, as the Templars. Well might they think that
in his heart the emperor had the intention of expelling them from
the Holy Land. The governors of the towns had instructions to watch
them strictly, and from his first arrival in Syria, the emperor had
endeavoured to give the ascendancy to his German followers, while he
scarcely concealed his design of making the huge possessions of the
Templars and Knights of Jerusalem subservient to the worship of Christ,
instead of ministering to their insatiable debaucheries.
No wonder, therefore, that the burning hatred of the Templars was
aroused. Were it now possible to trace out all their conspiracies
against the life of Frederick, we should indeed have to deal with a
tangled web, while the enmity of the Pope still further increased the
dangers that surrounded him. The whole land was filled with the Papal
troops, whose business was to plunder and to destroy, so that all the
energies of the emperor were put in requisition to govern and defend
the unhappy country. Balian of Sidon, a man universally respected,
a nephew of Idelin and Walter d’Allemand, who deeply reverenced the
Church, were appointed chief governors, and all fortified places
received efficient garrisons and abundant supplies of provisions.
Above everything else, Frederick had in his mind the kingdom of
Cyprus. That rich island must now furnish him with money to pay his
officials in the Holy Land, and to supply his army with provisions
and warlike stores. The kingdom of Jerusalem was no longer in a
condition to pay the heavy costs; it now indeed consisted only of a
few straggling towns, and a narrow strip of the sea-coast of Syria.
Cyprus had already been made to pay considerable sums, which had been
forwarded to the emperor, and in addition to these, the Archbishop of
Nikosia found himself compelled to contribute largely; and now, before
taking their departure for Akkon, came Amalrich von Balas, Hugo von
Giblet, Gavain von Chenichy, and Wilhelm von Rivet, all belonging to
the highest nobility in Cyprus, who had all of them conspired against
Ibelin, and so represented him to the emperor, that he was deprived of
his lordship. Undoubtedly they had all been sent for by the emperor
himself, who thought that the best way to insure the safety of the
island, was to put it into the hands of his most trusty friends, under
the auspices of the young king. These five noblemen were instructed to
form a regency, which should continue for three years, during which
time they were to protect and govern the country, and to send over year
by year ten thousand marks to be paid directly into the hands of Balian
and Werner in Syria.
And now, after these arrangements, the emperor thought himself secure,
and hoped that at least for a few years he should be able, not only
to hold Cyprus, but also to defend his little kingdom of Jerusalem.
At the end of that time he trusted that the people would have become
accustomed to his government, or that at least he should be able to
return with a greater force and more freedom of action.
That Frederick did accomplish a great and good work in the Holy Land
there can be no doubt. It is impossible to read the letters or records
handed down from those times without remarking that amidst the whirl
of events where ambition, hatred, avarice, and national jealousy
reigned on all sides, obscuring and crippling all efforts to do good,
the honest endeavours of Frederick to ameliorate the condition of the
country, were not altogether unsuccessful.
On the 1st of May, after a stay of not more than eight months in the
Holy Land, the emperor took ship at Akkon, accompanied by the young
King of Cyprus and the Marquis of Montserrat. As the boat which put him
on board left the land, Ibelin shouted after him a parting adieu, on
which the emperor called out to the assembled multitude, that his mind
was quite at ease, inasmuch as he knew that he left them in good hands.
The imperial fleet crossed over to Limasol, and here Frederick
celebrated the marriage of his ward, the young king, with Alice,
daughter of the Marquis of Montserrat. He then put in order the affairs
of the island, arranging that the regency should regularly transmit
to the governors of Jerusalem or Akkon money wherewith to supply the
garrisons and officials in the Holy Land.
The emperor attached great importance to the possession of the Cyprian
castles and fortresses. Already in the preceding year he had made
every preparation for their defence, by putting each of them under the
command of some distinguished officer, and had brought with him from
Akkon whatever could be spared in the way of munitions of war for their
safe keeping. As he was about to leave the island for the second time,
he stipulated that the regents should have no power over the castles
until the transmission of the money to the Holy Land had been regularly
completed.
The seaboard of Cyprus at that time had no fortresses, with the
exception of the capital city Nikosia; even on the south-western coast,
where a mountainous district occupies nearly one-half of the island,
there was no castle of importance, the hills moreover must at that time
have been covered with wild-growing forests. The life and wealth of
the island consisted in the rich maritime slopes and fertile plains,
which extended along the shore from Famagusta and Larnaka, as far as
the mountainous tract, which extends all along the northern side of the
island.
Behind the chain of mountains are narrow slips of fertile soil,
producing abundance of excellent fruit, in the midst of which is the
principal haven Keryneia. From this town deep dells and rocky gorges
run up into the mountains, leading to the fortresses St. Hilarion,
Buffavento, and Cantara. These three castles are built upon the smaller
chain of mountains, which, rugged and steep, rear themselves in
innumerable peaks and crags to a considerable altitude.
Before the time of Frederick the Second, Buffavento is scarcely
mentioned, but it then became one of the principal defences of the
island, indeed it seems to have been quite impregnable, so long as food
and water could be procured on the summit of the mountain upon which
it stood. Victuals were, however, much more easily obtainable on the
heights of St. Hilarion, a much larger place, situated a little further
westward. Even Kantara, lying to the north-east, could boast of more
than one wall.
The town of Keryneia, however, where the haven was situated, was most
strongly fortified, inasmuch as it was well adapted to the reception of
food and military stores arriving from the coasts of Syria, Asia Minor,
or even Italy, which could be immediately forwarded to the fortresses
above mentioned.
Had the eagle eye of Frederick at once seen how Cyprus could best be
defended by a limited body of troops, he could not have been better
prepared for the events which subsequently happened. A war soon broke
out which, during several years, continued to rage throughout the
island, the history of which gives a most variegated picture of the
doings of the knights beyond the sea, _chevalerie d’outre-mer_, as they
were called by the Eastern warriors.
Homeric combats upon a fair field, trials by battle, the beleaguering
and defence of castles, codes laying down the nicest points of honour,
or of right, biting satires and new war songs, followed each other, as
incessantly as did the victories or the defeats of the combatants. That
all the knights displayed wonderful bravery is undeniable. As the head
of the imperial forces, we may mention the knightly Marshal Felingher,
Balas, called by Navarra in his history, “the Fox,” and Hugo de Giblet,
who, on account of his grimaces, was nicknamed “the Ape.” Ibelin seems
to have made himself more conspicuous than the rest. His brave sons
and their friend, the merry poet, Philip of Navarre, as also the wild
“fighting cock” Anselm de Brie, afforded materials for innumerable
anecdotes.
All this time Cyprus suffered severely, owing to the discord which
existed between two parties of nobles, whose enmity at length involved
Syria and Palestine, where the Templars and Knights of St. John,
together with what was left of the priesthood, raged with unmeasured
hatred against the emperor, whose witty jests, aimed at the silly
practices of the monks, had given great offence, more especially when,
after the example of the Templars, they displayed their insatiable
avarice. The dissensions among the Cyprian nobles were, indeed,
the cause why all the arrangements made by the wisdom and care of
Frederick, in treating with the Mussulmans, fell to the ground.
Still, for a time, the treaty which had cost so much trouble continued
in force, notwithstanding that one of the two governors in the Holy
Land, in whom the Emperor had reposed so much trust, Walter d’Allemand,
joined the party of his mortal enemies, and himself became a Templar.
Frederick, meanwhile, had scarcely set foot in Italy, than he fell like
a thunderstorm upon the Papal soldiers, and fairly swept them from
his territories. He then began to diminish somewhat the possessions
of the Templars, who had multiplied in Italy with a rapidity almost
incredible. In truth, wherever a chapter of the order was established,
the country around was immediately put under contribution, and so many
farms, mills, castles, and woods were taken possession of, either by
way of purchase or exchange, or seized upon as donations, that their
power increased wonderfully. From the Templars, more especially, a cry
soon rose that Frederick intended to make the kingdoms of Jerusalem
and Cyprus portions of his empire, so that they would both belong
exclusively to the Germans, a cry which was incessantly repeated by the
Jerusalem patriarch. It was also said that, seeing that the kingdom of
Jerusalem would be inherited by Frederick’s little son, Conrad, his
proper guardian would be the nearest relative of the last wearer of
that crown, they, therefore, wished to put him under the care of the
Queen Alice, and in this way prolong the duration of the regency.
It now became evident that the rule of the emperor in the Holy Land
would not be of long duration, and his enemies next resolved to
endeavour to wrest from him the kingdom of Cyprus. Still, the regency
of five retained supreme command in that island, and acted altogether
in accordance with the emperor’s instructions. The young king wrote to
his imperial guardian to say how delighted he was at the advantages
obtained over his enemies, but that he was grieved to find that the
emperor did not write to him more frequently concerning his views and
projects, and still more so, that he could not explain matters to him
_in propriâ persona_.
The Ibelins, in the meanwhile, were in want of some pretext for raising
an insurrection in Cyprus. About the spring of 1230, there was a call
for an extraordinary tax of about three thousand marks, which the
emperor had directed to be sent to the Holy Land. The knights, who were
of Ibelin’s party, declared against this, assigning as a reason that,
not having been assented to by the feudal court, the imposition of a
new tax was unlawful. As their stewards refused payment, their goods
were seized, and the amount taken from them in corn and cattle.
And now Philip of Navarre appeared upon the island, and secretly
endeavoured to raise adherents. At first his answers to the inquiries
of the authorities seemed satisfactory, but as they became more and
more evasive, the regency thought fit to compel him to show his true
colours. All the barons were invited to attend the feudal court, and
there, in the presence of the young king, were asked whether they were
friends to the emperor, the king, and the regents, or whether they were
to be regarded as enemies.
A New Testament was brought, and Philip of Navarre was invited to swear
true allegiance upon the holy book. He wished to speak privately to
each of his questioners, but this was refused. He then declared that
his fealty was due to the queen-mother, and to the lord Ibelin. At
this Hugo von Giblet exclaimed in a rage, “If I had my way you should
be hanged, or I would have your tongue torn out,” and immediately
ordered the arrest of the offender. On this Philip hastened to where
the king was sitting, and, bending the knee, said, that his safety had
been guaranteed by the regents, as he would prove with his sword, and
immediately taking off his glove, cast it on the ground.
Several knights endeavoured to pick up the glove; but Philip cried
out that he would only measure swords with the regents, as they only
were his equals in rank: fetters were however, soon brought into the
hall, where the contumacious noble was imprisoned until the approach of
darkness. The rest all took the required oath, and it was understood
that all who refused to do so would forfeit their rich domains.
In the night, while Philip’s conduct was the theme of every one’s
conversation, he made his escape from the court-house, and presented
himself in the cloisters of the Knights of St. John, who immediately
afforded him shelter and protection. Here he assembled around his
person about a hundred and fifty men, collected provisions and warlike
stores, which were stored up in the strong tower of the castle, and
resolved to defend himself against his pursuers. Meanwhile he sent a
private message to Ibelin, informing him of all his proceedings, which
he described in verse.
The regents dared not to attack the monastery of St. John, which
enjoyed all the privileges of a religious house, while Ibelin at once
landed with a strong force in Gatria, and marched in all haste to
Nikosia. The few troops, which were hurriedly sent to oppose him, were
easily dispersed, and in a very short time he presented himself before
the capital. For the sake of saving his honour, he had written a letter
to the young king, saying how it pained both him and his followers,
to have left their allegiance in the Holy Land, but that they were
unable to do otherwise, in order to defend their own possessions;
should he blame them for their conduct, they relied upon their rights
as established by feudal law. The regents were utterly surprised; they
at once collected such forces as they could muster, and marched out
through the city gates. In vain did they seek for priestly interference
for the purpose of establishing peace between the conflicting parties.
On the 23rd of June a furious battle took place. The regents wore
golden tiaras on their helmets. One of them, Gavain von Chenichy, slew
Ibelin’s father-in-law, the old constable; Walter von Cæsarea, Gerhardt
von Montagu, and other friends of Ibelin, likewise lost their lives.
The regents, however, were particularly anxious to get hold of Ibelin
himself, and fifteen knights galloped forward in search of him. This,
it would appear, caused considerable disorder amongst the imperial
troops; and when Philip of Navarre, with a strong body of men, made
his appearance upon the battle-field just at this critical moment, the
troops of the regents were completely defeated. Ibelin in the meanwhile
had sought refuge in a farm-house, where he was powerless to defend
himself, but from which, after the battle, he was set at liberty by his
son Balian and Anselm de Brie.
And now appeared the foresight of the emperor in fortifying the castles
upon the mountains, in which the vanquished troops found a safe asylum.
On the very evening of the battle, Balas, Bethsan, and Giblet, bringing
with them the young king and their best troops, repaired to St.
Hilarion. Rivet, with his followers, sought protection in Buffavento,
and Chenichy, by dint of spurring, succeeded in reaching the still more
distant castle of Kantara. From these three castles it was easy to
reach the sea-coast at Keryneia. Ibelin, however, hastened to prevent
their escape. While he himself surrounded Keryneia, Balian took a
position before St. Hilarion, Philip of Navarre before Buffavento, and
Anselm de Brie before Kantara.
Anselm had devised a new kind of battering ram with which he broke down
the outer wall, and as he personally hated Chenichy, laid in ambush
watching for him day and night, until at length, taking an opportunity
when the regent was seen on the battlements, took deadly aim at him and
shot him with an arrow. Rivet, who knew Buffavento to be impregnable,
came there from Kantara, and when he saw the fortalice was in good
condition and well manned, went over into Asia Minor to bring over more
troops, and was there killed.
The three other regents occupied the extensive and strong fastnesses of
St. Hilarion; here they not only repelled every attack, but every now
and then made sallies, broke through the palisades of the besiegers,
and obtained fresh supplies.
Upon one occasion Philip of Navarre was struck down and fell as though
dead. On seeing this a man upon the wall exclaimed, “the verse-maker
is dead, now we shall have no more of his bad songs.” Philip, however,
recovered during the night, and the next day, taking up a tolerably
safe position, he favoured the garrison with a new ballad.
The defenders of Keryneia became at length tired out; for a length
of time they had received no pay and had suffered much from want of
provisions. A day was fixed, and if by that time no help appeared, they
agreed to surrender, more especially as they saw that the castles were
closely invested and their occupants had no chance of escape.
Ibelin was now enabled to bring up more troops to the siege of St.
Hilarion. That fortress, however, was now no longer in a condition to
brave him as it had done before; the place was closely invested on all
sides, and the garrison in dire want of provisions, for by this time
the insurgents had taken possession of the whole island; even the young
king Heinrich suffered severely; he frequently made his appearance
upon the battlements and shouted to the besiegers who had brought him
to such straits.
Ibelin next resolved to send Philip of Navarre, who had shown great
ability in conducting negotiations, into Italy, hoping to obtain help,
either from the Pope or from the King of France.
At this juncture Ibelin proposed to Balian and his associates to
surrender the young king and the fortress into his power, promising
that if they did so, they should be well treated and should retain in
all honour whatever property they possessed. The garrison, which had
long suffered the greatest privations, and saw nothing before them but
a lingering death from famine, at last consented, and Ibelin attained
his object. Balas, Bethsan, and Giblet made over to him the youthful
Heinrich, and took a solemn oath that they would not again bear arms
against the insurgents.