at a spot where pasturage appeared abundant, and they resolved to
pitch their camp. The Christian army passed the night in the most
profound security; but on the following morning, at break of day,
detached horsemen presented themselves, and clouds of dust
appearing on the adjoining heights, announced the presence of the
enemy. Instantly the trumpets sounded, and the whole camp stood to
their arms. Bohemond, the second in command, having the chief
direction in the absence of Godfrey, hastened to make the necessary
dispositions to repel the threatened attack. The camp of the
Christians was defended on one side by a river, and on the other by
a marsh, entangled with reeds and bushes. The Prince of Tarentum
caused it to be surrounded with palisades, made with the stakes
which served for fixing the cords of the tents; he then assigned
their proper posts to the infantry, and placed the women, children,
and sick in the centre. The cavalry, arranged in three columns,
advanced to the margin of the river, and prepared to dispute the
passage. One of these corps was commanded by Tancred, and William
his brother; the other by the Duke of Normandy and the Count of
Chartres. Bohemond, who headed the reserve, was posted with his
horsemen on an eminence in the rear, from whence he could descry
the whole field of battle.
"Hardly were these dispositions completed, when the Saracens, with
loud cries, descended from the mountains, and, as soon as they
arrived within bowshot, let fall a shower of arrows upon the
Christians. This discharge did little injury to the knights,
defended as they were by their armour and shields; but a great
number of horses were wounded, and, in their pain, introduced
disorder into the ranks. The archers, the slingers, the
crossbow-men, scattered along the flanks of the Christian army, in
vain returned the discharge with their stones and javelins; their
missiles could not reach the enemy, and fell on the ground without
doing any mischief. The Christian horse, impatient at being
inactive spectators of the combat, charged across the river and
fell headlong with their lances in rest on the Saracens; but they
avoided the shock, and, opening their ranks, dispersed when the
formidable mass approached them. Again rallying at a distance in
small bodies, they let fly a cloud of arrows at their ponderous
assailants, whose heavy horses, oppressed with weighty armour,
could not overtake the swift steeds of the desert.
"This mode of combating turned entirely to the advantage of the
Turks. The whole dispositions made by the Christians before the
battle became useless. Every chief, almost every cavalier, fought
for himself; he took counsel from his own ardour, and it alone. The
Christians combated almost singly on a ground with which they were
unacquainted; in that terrible strife, death became the only reward
of undisciplined valour. Robert of Paris the same who had sat on
the imperial throne beside Alexis, was mortally wounded, after
having seen forty of his bravest companions fall by his side.
William, brother of Tancred, fell pierced by arrows. Tancred
himself, whose lance was broken, and who had no other weapon but
his sword, owed his life to Bohemond, who came up to the rescue,
and extricated him from the hands of the Infidels.
"While victory was still uncertain between force and address,
agility and valour, fresh troops of the Saracens descended from the
mountains, and mingled in overwhelming proportion in the conflict.
The Sultan of Nice took advantage of the moment when the cavalry of
the Crusaders withstood with difficulty the attack of the Turks,
and directed his forces against their camp. He assembled the elite
of his troops, crossed the river, and overcame with ease all the
obstacles which opposed his progress. In an instant the camp of the
Christians was invaded and filled with a multitude of barbarians.
The Turks massacred without distinction all who presented
themselves to their blows; except the women whom youth and beauty
rendered fit for their seraglios. If we may credit Albert d'Aix,
the wives and daughters of the knights preferred in that extremity
slavery to death; for they were seen in the midst of the tumult to
adorn themselves with their most elegant dresses, and, arrayed in
this manner, sought by the display of their charms to soften the
hearts of their merciless enemies.
"Bohemond, however, soon arrived to the succour of the camp, and
obliged the Sultan to retrace his steps to his own army. Then the
combat recommenced on the banks of the river with more fury than
ever. The Duke Robert of Normandy, who had remained with some of
his knights on the field of battle, snatched from his
standard-bearer his pennon of white, bordered with gold, and
exclaiming, '_A moi, la Normandie!_' penetrated the ranks of the
enemy, striking down with his sword whatever opposed him, till he
laid dead at his feet one of the principal emirs. Tancred, Richard,
the Prince of Salerno, Stephen count of Blois, and other chiefs,
followed his example, and emulated his valour. Bohemond, returning
from the camp, which he had delivered from its oppressors,
encountered a troop of fugitives. Instantly advancing among them,
he exclaimed, 'Whither fly you, O Christian soldiers?--Do you not
see that the enemies' horses, swifter than your own, will not fail
soon to reach you? Follow me--I will show you a surer mode of
safety than flight.' With these words he threw himself followed by
his own men and the rallied fugitives, into the midst of the
Saracens, and striking down all who attempted to resist them, made
a frightful carnage. In the midst of the tumult, the women who had
been taken and delivered from the lands of the Mussulmans, burning
to avenge their outraged modesty, went through the ranks carrying
refreshments to the soldiers, and exhorting them to redouble their
efforts to save them from Turkish servitude.
"But all these efforts were in vain. The Crusaders, worn out by
fatigue, parched by thirst, were unable to withstand an enemy who
was incessantly recruited by fresh troops. The Christian army, a
moment victorious, was enveloped on all sides, and obliged to yield
to numbers. They retired, or rather fled, towards the camp, which
the Turks were on the point of entering with them. No words can
paint the consternation of the Christians, the disorder of their
ranks, or the scenes of horror which the interior of the camp
presented. There were to be seen priests in tears, imploring on
their knees the assistance of Heaven--there, women in despair rent
the air with their shrieks, while the more courageous of their
numbers bore the wounded knights into the tents; and the soldiers,
despairing of life, cast themselves on their knees before their
priests or bishops, and demanded absolution of their sins. In the
frightful tumult, the voice of the chief was no longer heard; the
most intrepid had already fallen covered with wounds, or sunk under
the rays of a vertical sun and the horrors of an agonizing thirst.
All seemed lost, and nothing to appearance could restore their
courage, when all of a sudden loud cries of joy announced the
approach of Raymond of Toulouse and Godfrey of Bouillon, who
advanced at the head of the second corps of the Christian army.
"From the commencement of the battle, Bohemond had dispatched
accounts to them of the attack of the Turks. No sooner did the
intelligence arrive, than the Duke of Lorraine, the Count of
Vermandois, and the Count of Flanders, at the head of their
corps-d'armee, directed their march towards the valley of Gorgoni,
followed by Raymond and D'Adhemar, who brought up the luggage and
formed the rear-guard. When they appeared on the eastern slope of
the mountains, the sun was high in the heavens, and his rays were
reflected from their bucklers, helmets, and drawn swords; their
standards were displayed, and a loud flourish of their trumpets
resounded from afar. Fifty thousand horsemen, clad in steel and
ready for the fight, advanced in regular order to the attack. That
sight at once reanimated the Crusaders and spread terror among the
Infidels.
"Already Godfrey, outstripping the speed of his followers, had come
up at the head of fifty chosen cavaliers, and taken a part in the
combat. Upon this the Sultan sounded a retreat, and took post upon
the hills, where he trusted the Crusaders would not venture to
attack him. Soon, however, the second corps of the Christians
arrived on the field still reeking with the blood of their
brethren. They knew their comrades and companions stretched in the
dust--they became impatient to avenge them, and demanded with loud
cries to be led on to the attack; those even who had combated all
day with the first corps desired to renew the conflict. Forthwith
the Christian army was arranged for a second battle. Bohemond,
Tancred, Robert of Normandy, placed themselves the left; Godfrey,
the Count of Flanders, the Count de Blois, led the right: Raymond
commanded in the centre; the reserve was placed under the order of
D'Adhemar. Before the chiefs gave the order to advance, the priests
went through the ranks, exhorted the soldiers to fight bravely, and
gave them their benediction. Then the soldiers and chiefs drew
their swords together, and repeated aloud the war-cry of the
Crusades, 'Dieu le veut! Dieu le veut!' That cry was re-echoed from
the mountains and the valleys. While the echoes still rolled, the
Christian army advanced, and marched full of confidence against the
Turks, who, not less determined, awaited them on the summit of
their rocky asylum.
"The Saracens remained motionless on the top of the hills--they did
not even discharge their redoubtable arrows; their quivers seemed
to be exhausted. The broken nature of the ground they occupied
precluded the adoption of those rapid evolutions, which in the
preceding conflict had proved so fatal to the Christians. They
seemed to be no longer animated with the same spirit--they awaited
the attack rather with the resignation of martyrs than the hope of
warriors. The Count of Toulouse, who assailed them in front, broke
their ranks by the first shock. Tancred, Godfrey, and the two
Roberts attacked their flanks with equal advantage. D'Adhemar, who
with the reserve had made the circuit of the mountains, charged
their rear, when already shaken by the attack in front, and on both
flanks. This completed their route. The Saracens found themselves
surrounded by a forest of lances, from which there was no escape
but in breaking their ranks and seeking refuge among the rocks. A
great number of emirs, above three thousand officers, and twenty
thousand soldiers fell in the action or pursuit. Four thousand of
the Crusaders had perished, almost all in the first action. The
enemy's camp, distant two leagues from the field of battle, fell
into the hands of the Crusaders, with vast stores of provisions,
tents magnificently ornamented, immense treasures, and a vast
number of camels. The sight of these animals, which they had not
yet seen in the East, gave them as much surprise as pleasure. The
dismounted horsemen mounted the swift steeds of the Saracens to
pursue the broken remains of the enemy. Towards evening they
returned to the camp loaded with booty, and preceded by their
priests singing triumphant songs and hymns of victory. On the
following day the Christians interred their dead, shedding tears of
sorrow. The priests read prayers over them, and numbered them among
the saints in heaven."--_Hist. des Croisades_, i. 228-233.
This extract gives an idea at once of the formidable nature of the
contest which awaited the Christians in their attempts to recover the
Holy Land, of the peculiar character of the attack and defence on both
sides, and of the talent for graphic and lucid description which M.
Michaud possesses. It is curious how identical the attack of the West
and defence of the East are the same in all ages. The description of the
manner in which the Crusading warriors were here drawn into a pursuit
of, and then enveloped by the Asiatic light horse, is precisely the same
as that in which the legions of Crassus were destroyed; and might pass
for a narrative of the way in which Napoleon's European cavalry were cut
to pieces by the Arab horse at the combat at Salahout, near the Red Sea;
or Lord Lake's horse worsted in the first part of the battle of Laswaree
in India, before the infantry came up, and, by storming the batteries,
restored the combat. On the other hand, the final overthrow of the
Saracens at Dorislaus was evidently owing to their imprudence in
_standing firm_, and awaiting in that position the attack of the
Christians. They did so, trusting to the strength of the rocky ridge on
which they were posted; but that advantage, great as it was, by no means
rendered them a match in close fight for the weighty arms and the
determined resolution of the Europeans, any more than the discharges of
their powerful batteries availed the Mahrattas in the latter part of the
battles of Assaye and Laswaree, or, more recently, the Sikhs in the
desperate conflict at Ferozepore in the Punjaub. The discovery of
fire-arms, and all the subsequent improvements in tactics and strategy,
though they have altered the weapons with which war is carried on, yet
have not materially changed the mode in which success is won, or
disaster averted, between ancient and modern times.
Our author's account of the storming of Jerusalem, the final object and
crowning glory of the Crusades, is animated and interesting in the
highest degree.
"At the last words of the Hermit Peter the warmest transports
seized the Crusaders. They descended from the Mount of Olives,
where they had listened to his exhortations; and turning to the
south, saluted on their right the fountain of Siloe, where Christ
had restored sight to the blind; in the distance they perceived the
ruins of the palace of Judah, and advanced on the slope of Mount
Sion, which awakened afresh all their holy enthusiasm. Many in that
cross march were struck down by the arrows and missiles from the
walls: they died blessing God, and imploring his justice against
the enemies of the faith. Towards evening the Christian army
returned to its quarters, chanting the words of the Prophet--'Those
of the West shall fear the Lord, and those of the East shall see
his glory.' Having re-entered into the camp, the greater part of
the pilgrims passed the night in prayer: the chiefs and soldiers
confessed their sins at the feet of their priests, and received in
communion that God whose promises filled them with confidence and
hope.
"While the Christian army prepared, by these holy ceremonies, for
the combat, a mournful silence prevailed around the walls of
Jerusalem. The only sound heard was that of the men who, from the
top of the mosques of the city, numbered the hours by calling the
Mussulmans to prayers. At the well-known signals, the Infidels ran
in crowds to their temples to implore the protection of their
Prophet: they swore by the mysterious House of Jacob to defend the
town, which they styled 'the House of God.' The besiegers and
besieged were animated with equal ardour for the fight, and equal
determination to shed their blood--the one to carry the town, the
other to defend it. The hatred which animated them was so violent,
that during the whole course of the siege, no Mussulman deputy came
to the camp of the besiegers, and the Christians did not even deign
to summon the town. Between such enemies, the shock could not be
other than terrible, and the victors implacable.
"On Thursday, 14th July 1199, at daybreak, the trumpets resounded,
and the whole Christian army stood to their arms. All the machines
were worked at once: the mangonels and engines poured on the
ramparts a shower of stones, while the battering-rams were brought
up close to their feet. The archers and slingers directed their
missiles with fatal effect against the troops who manned the walls,
while the most intrepid of the assailants planted scaling-ladders
on the places where the ascent appeared most practicable. On the
south, east, and north of the town, rolling towers advanced towards
the ramparts, in the midst of a violent tumult, and amidst the
cries of the workmen and soldiers. Godfrey appeared on the highest
platform of his wooden tower, accompanied by his brother Eustache
and Baudoin du Bourg. His example animated his followers: so
unerring was their aim, that all the javelins discharged from this
platform carried death among the besieged. Tancred, the Duke of
Normandy, and the Count of Flanders, combated at the head of their
followers: the knights and men-at-arms, animated with the same
ardour, pressed into the _melee_, and threw themselves into the
thickest of the fight.
"Nothing could equal the fury of the first shock of the Christians;
but they met every where the most determined resistance. Arrows and
javelins, boiling oil and water, with Greek fire, were poured down
incessantly on the assailants; while fourteen huge machines, which
the besieged had got time to oppose to those of the besiegers,
replied with effect to the fire of the more distant warlike
instruments. Issuing forth by one of the breaches in the rampart,
the Infidels made a sortie, and succeeded in burning some of the
machines of the Christians, and spread disorder through their army.
Towards the end of the day, the towers of Godfrey and Tancred were
so shattered, that they could no longer be moved, while that of
Raymond was falling into ruins. The combat had lasted eleven hours,
without victory having declared for the Crusaders. The Christians
retired to their camp, burning with rage and grief: their chiefs,
and especially the two Roberts, sought in vain to console them, by
saying that 'God had not judged them as yet worthy to enter into
his Holy City, and adore the tomb of his Son.'
"The night was passed on both sides in the utmost disquietude:
every one deplored the losses already discovered, and dreaded to
hear of fresh ones. The Saracens were in hourly apprehension of a
surprise: the Christians feared that the Infidels would burn their
machines, which they had pushed forward to the foot of the rampart.
The besieged were occupied without intermission in repairing the
breaches in their walls; the besiegers in putting their machines in
a condition to serve for a new assault. On the day following, the
same combats and dangers were renewed as on the preceding one. The
chiefs sought by their harangues to revive the spirits of the
Crusaders. The priests and bishops went through their tents
promising them the assistance of Heaven. On the signal to advance
being given, the Christian army, full of confidence, advanced in
silence towards the destined points of attack, while the clergy,
chanting hymns and prayers, marched round the town.
"The first shock was terrible. The Christians, indignant at the
resistance they had experienced on the preceding day, combated with
fury. The besieged, who had learned the near approach of the
Egyptian army, were animated by the hopes of approaching succour. A
formidable array of warlike engines lined the tops of their
ramparts. On every side was heard the hissing of javelins and
arrows: frequently immense stones, discharged from the opposite
side, met in the air, and fell back on the assailants with a
frightful crash. From the top of their towers, the Mussulmans never
ceased to throw burning torches and pots of Greek fire on the
storming parties. In the midst of this general conflagration, the
moving towers of the Christians approached the walls. The chief
efforts of the besieged were directed against Godfrey, on whose
breast a resplendent cross of gold shone, the sight of which was an
additional stimulus to their rage. The Duke of Lorraine saw one of
his squires and several of his followers fall by his side; but,
though exposed himself to all the missiles of the enemy, he
continued to combat in the midst of the dead and the dying, and
never ceased to exhort his companions to redouble their courage and
ardour. The Count of Toulouse directed the attack on the southern
side, and stoutly opposed his machines to those of the Mussulmans:
he had to combat the Emir of Jerusalem, who bravely animated his
followers by his discourse, and showed himself on the ramparts
surrounded by the _elite_ of the Egyptian soldiers. On the northern
side, Tancred and the two Roberts appeared at the head of their
battalions. Firmly stationed on their moving tower, they burned
with desire to come to the close combat of the lance and sword.
Already their battering-rams had on many points shaken the walls,
behind which the Saracens were assembled in dense battalions, as a
last rampart against the attack of the Crusaders.
"Mid-day arrived, and the Crusaders had as yet no hope of
penetrating into the place. All their machines were in flames: they
stood grievously in want of water, and still more of vinegar, which
could alone extinguish the Greek fire used by the besieged. In vain
the bravest exposed themselves to the most imminent danger, to
prevent the destruction of their wooden towers and battering-rams;
they fell crushed beneath their ruins, and the devouring flames
enveloped their arms and clothing. Many of the bravest warriors had
found death at the foot of the ramparts: most of those who had
mounted on the rolling towers were _hors de combat_; the remainder,
covered with sweat and dust, overwhelmed with heat and the weight
of their armour, began to falter. The Saracens who perceived this
raised cries of joy. In their blasphemies they reproached the
Christians for adoring a God who was unable to defend them. The
assailants deplored their loss, and believing themselves abandoned
by Jesus Christ, remained motionless on the field of battle.
"But the aspect of affairs was soon changed. All of a sudden the
Crusaders saw, on the Mount of Olives, a horseman shaking a
buckler, and giving this signal to enter the town. Godfrey and
Raymond, who saw the apparition at the same instant, cried aloud,
that St George was come to combat at the head of the Christians.
Such was the tumult produced by this incident, that it bore down
alike fear and reflection. All rushed tumultuously forward to the
assault. The women even, with the children and sick, issued from
their retreats, and pressed forward into the throng, bearing
water, provisions, or arms, and aiding to drag forward the moving
towers. Impelled in this manner, that of Godfrey advanced in the
midst of a terrible discharge of stones, arrows, javelins, and
Greek fire, and succeeded in getting so near as to let its
drawbridge fall on the ramparts. At the same time a storm of
burning darts flew against the machines of the besieged, and the
bundles of straw piled up against the last walls of the town took
fire. Terrified by the flames the Saracens gave way. Lethalde and
Engelbert de Tournay, followed by Godfrey and his brother Everard,
crossed the drawbridge and gained the rampart. Soon with the aid of
their followers they cleared it, and, descending into the streets,
struck down all who disputed the passage.
"At the same time, Tancred and the two Roberts made new efforts,
and on their side, too, succeeded in penetrating into the town. The
Mussulmans fled on all sides; the war-cry of the Crusaders, "Dieu
le veut! Dieu le veut!" resounded in the streets of Jerusalem. The
companions of Godfrey and Tancred with their hatchets cut down the
gate of St Stephen, and let in the main body of the Crusaders, who
with loud shouts rushed tumultuously in. Some resistance was
attempted by a body of brave Saracens in the mosque of Omar, but
Everard of Puysave expelled them from it. All opposition then
ceased; but not so the carnage. Irritated by the long resistance of
the Saracens, stung by their blasphemies and reproaches, the
Crusaders filled with blood that Jerusalem which they had just
delivered, and which they regarded as their future country. The
carnage was universal. The Saracens were massacred in the streets,
in the houses, in the mosques."
The number of the slain greatly exceeded that of the conquerors. In the
mosque of Omar alone ten thousand were put to the sword.
"So terrible was the slaughter, that the blood came up to the knees
and reins of the horses; and human bodies, with hands and arms
severed from the corpse to which they belonged, floated about in
the crimson sea.