Italy was not less agitated than Germany; the thunders of Rome, so

often hurled at Frederick, had redoubled the fury of the Guelphs

and the Ghibellines. All the republics of Lombardy were leagued in

opposition to the party of the emperor; the threats and the manifestoes

of the pope would not allow a single city to remain neuter, or leave

peace an asylum in the countries situated between the Alps and Sicily.

The missionaries of Innocent employed, by turns, the arms of religion

and of policy; after having declared the emperor to be a heretic and

an enemy to the Church, they represented him as a bad prince and a

tyrant, and dazzled the eyes of the people with the charms of liberty,

always so powerful a motive upon the minds of nations. The sovereign

pontiff sent two legates into the kingdom of Sicily, with letters for

the clergy, the nobility, and the people of the cities and country.

“We have not been able to see without some surprise,” wrote Innocent,

“that, burdened as you are, living under the opprobrium of servitude,

and oppressed in your persons and your property, you have hitherto

neglected the means of securing yourselves the sweets of liberty. Many

other nations have presented you with an example; but the Holy See, far

from accusing you, is satisfied with pitying you, and finds your excuse

in the fear that must hold possession of your hearts under the yoke

of a new Nero.” On terminating his letter to the Sicilians, the pope

endeavoured to make them understand that God had not placed them in a

fertile region and beneath a smiling sky to wear disgraceful chains;

and that by shaking off the yoke of the emperor of Germany, they would

only second the views of Providence.

Frederick, who had at first defied the thunders of Rome, was terrified

at the new war declared against him by the pope. The interdict placed

upon his states, the terrible array of the maledictions of the Church,

strongly affected the minds of the multitude, and might at length shake

the fidelity of his subjects; he himself felt his courage forsake him;

his party in Italy grew weaker every day; his armies had experienced

some checks in Germany; many conspiracies had been formed against his

life, and amongst the conspirators, he had the grief to find some of

his servants whom he had loaded with kindnesses. This haughty monarch

became convinced that he had no course but to seek a reconciliation

with the Church, and addressed himself to Louis IX., whose wisdom and

piety rendered him the arbiter of sovereigns and nations. Frederick,

in his letters, promised to abide by the decision of the king of

France and his barons, and engaged, beforehand, to go in person to the

conquest of the Holy Land, or to send his son, the king of the Romans.

In order to interest Louis in his cause, the emperor offered to supply

him with provisions, vessels, and everything he should stand in need of

in the expedition to the East.

Louis eagerly embraced this opportunity for reëstablishing peace in

Europe and assuring the success of the holy war. Several ambassadors

were sent to the pope at Lyons, conjuring the father of the faithful

to listen to the voice of mercy rather than to that of anger. The king

of France had two long conferences with Innocent in the monastery

of Cluni, and supplicated him afresh to appease by his clemency the

troubles of the Christian world; but enmity had been carried too far

to leave any hopes of peace; it was not possible for Innocent and

Frederick to pardon each other sincerely the outrages they had mutually

committed. The emperor had spared neither threats nor violences against

the popes; he did not hate them more for the injuries he had received

from them than for those he had done them. On the other side, it had

for a length of time been determined, in the councils of Rome, to

effect the overthrow of the house of Swabia, which was suspected,

and with reason, of entertaining the project of invading Italy and

establishing the seat of imperial domination in the city of St. Peter.

This policy, embraced with ardour, had assumed all the character of a

personal vengeance in the mind of Innocent. The triumph, even, of the

pontiff, whilst flattering his pride and ambition, appeared to double

his hatred, and the hope of completing the ruin of his enemy rendered

him implacable.

In vain the emperor of Germany, overcome by fear rather than won by

the love of peace, promised to descend from his throne, and pass

the remainder of his days in Palestine, on condition that he should

receive the benediction of the pope, and that his son Conrad should be

raised to the empire. This entire abnegation of power, this strange

abasement of royal majesty, produced no effect upon Innocent, who did

not believe, or feigned not to believe, the promises of Frederick;

in vain Louis IX., whose mind was incapable of suspecting imposture,

represented to the pope the advantages that Europe, Christendom, and

the court of Rome itself might derive from the repentance and offers

of the emperor; in vain he spoke to him of the vows and the safety of

pilgrims, of the glory and peace of the Church; the discourses of the

holy king were scarcely listened to, and his pious mind could not view,

without being moved with disgust, this inflexible rigour in the father

of the Christian world.

Whilst the report of these discords, upon gaining the East, spread

joy among the infidels, the unhappy inhabitants of Palestine gave

themselves up to despair on learning that so many untoward events

retarded the preparations for the crusade. Several messages from

the Christians beyond the seas were sent to the sovereign pontiff

to intercede for a prince from whom they hoped for such powerful

assistance. The patriarch of Armenia wrote to the court of Rome

to demand favour for Frederick; he demanded it in the name of the

threatened Christian colonies; in the name of the city of God,

fallen into ruins; in the name of the sepulchre of Christ, profaned

by barbarians. The pope made no reply whatever to the patriarch of

the Armenians, and appeared to have forgotten Jerusalem, the holy

sepulchre, and the Christians of Syria; he had, indeed, but one

thought,—that of carrying on the war against Frederick. Innocent

pursued his redoubtable enemy even to the East, and endeavoured to

induce the sultan of Cairo to break his engagements with the emperor of

Germany. The sultan of Cairo received, with as great joy as surprise,

a message which informed him so authentically of the divisions that

existed among the Christian princes; he answered the pope with a

severity full of contempt; and the more he was pressed to be unfaithful

to the treaties made with Frederick, the more he affected to display a

fidelity from which he hoped to obtain an advantage over the Christian

Church.

It was at this period that the emperor of Germany, urged on to despair,

in some sort justified the most violent proceedings of the court of

Rome by his conduct. He could not pardon Louis IX. for having remained

neuter in a quarrel that interested all Christendom, and if the Arabian

historian Yafey may be believed, he sent an ambassador secretly into

Asia to warn the Mussulman powers of the expedition projected by the

king of France. Throwing off at once the tone of submission to the

pope, he resolved to repel force by force, and violence by violence.

Some successes which he obtained in Germany, raised his courage, and

completely dissipated all his scruples. He laid siege to the city of

Parma, at the head of a formidable army. Horrible cruelties signalized

his first triumphs; the bishop of Arezzo, who fell into his hands, with

many other prisoners of war, were loaded with irons, and handed over to

the executioner without even the ceremony of a trial.

In the intoxication of success, Frederick threatened to cross the Alps,

and attack Innocent within the walls of Lyons. Heaven, however, would

not permit the execution of a project formed by hatred and revenge. The

Guelphs beat and dispersed the imperial army. Fortune changed, and the

irresolute character of Frederick changed as suddenly with it. Victory

had inflamed his pride and redoubled his fury; a single defeat cast him

into despondency, and rendered him again accessible to fear. From that

time he resumed the part of a suppliant to the pope; from that time

protestations and prayers seemed to cost his terrified mind no effort.

As the extent of his empire gave umbrage to the court of Rome,

Frederick promised to divide his dominions, and give Sicily to his son

Henry, and Germany to his son Conrad. He submitted his religious belief

to the examination of several bishops, and sent their decision to the

pope. He went at last even so far as to promise to come in person to

solicit the clemency of Innocent. The sovereign pontiff had just caused

the count of Holland to be nominated emperor, in the place of the

landgrave of Thuringia, who had died on the field of battle. In this

state of things he dreaded less the hostilities and angry threats of

Frederick, than he did his protestations of submission and repentance.

The supplications of princes and nations, who demanded favour for a

power he wished to destroy, annoyed Innocent; they seemed to accuse

him, in the eyes of Christendom, of obstinacy in his refusal, and

without inducing him to renounce his policy, only embarrassed him in

the execution of his designs.

The pope remained constantly inflexible; but astonished Europe began

to ask what powerful interest it was that commanded all these rigours.

Frederick, pursued with so much inveteracy, found at length the number

and zeal of his friends and partisans increase. Germany, Cologne,

and several other cities, rejected the decrees of the Holy See, and

proceeded to violent excesses. The angry pope launched all his thunders

against the guilty, and by an injustice which characterizes these times

of discord and vengeance, many of the penalties he pronounced extended

to the fourth generation. This senseless rage completed the alienation

of men’s minds, and the fanaticism of heresy was added to the furies of

civil war.

As the court of Rome, under the imposing pretext of the crusade,

levied tributes in all the states of Europe to keep up the fire of

sedition and revolt, so many violences, and so much injustice infused

dissatisfaction everywhere, and gave birth to a spirit of opposition

among nations even, that had been exempt from the consequences of the

terrible quarrel. The commissaries of the Holy See ruined the provinces

of France; they pervaded the cities and countries, compelling

the curates and chaplains of the nobles to sell all their little

property; they required from all, church dues; and from religious

communities, now the twentieth for the crusade against Constantinople,

then the tenth for that of Palestine, and at last a contribution

towards carrying on the war against the emperor. The French nobility,

stimulated by a feeling of patriotism, by the spirit of chivalry which

led all the _preux_ of that time to enter the lists against iniquity

of any kind, and perhaps also by the fear of being oppressed in their

turn, spoke loudly in favour of Frederick, and expressed their anger

at seeing the kingdom of France a prey to the agents of the pope. Just

remonstrances were at first made; but in a short time no measures

were observed, and they proceeded so far as to agitate the question,

whether they ought to acknowledge a pontiff, whose conduct appeared so

contrary to the spirit of the Gospel, as the vicar of Jesus Christ.

The principal French nobles at length formed a confederacy against the

proceedings of the pope and the clergy. Throughout this new struggle,

Louis IX., equally removed from that sacrilegious impiety which

pretends to brave everything, and from that superstitious pusillanimity

which believes itself obliged to suffer everything, managed to restrain

the excesses of both parties, and maintain peace; the league which was

then formed, without embittering men’s minds, succeeded in enlightening

them; it served, during the absence of the king, to repress the

enterprises of the Holy See, and many writers trace to this period the

origin of those Gallican liberties which have constituted the glory of

the French clergy up to modern times.

Nevertheless, Louis IX. was constantly employed in preparations for his

departure. As no other route to the East was available but that by sea,

and as the kingdom of France had no port in the Mediterranean, Louis

made the acquisition of the territory of Aigues-Mortes, in Provence;

the port, choked with sand, was cleansed, and a city large enough to

receive the crowd of pilgrims was built on the shore. Louis at the same

time busied himself in provisioning his army, and preparing magazines

in the isle of Cyprus, where he meant to land. Thibault, count de Bar,

and the sieur de Beaujeu, sent into Italy, found everything necessary

for the provisioning and transport of an army, either in the republic

of Venice, or in the rich provinces of Apulia and Sicily, whither the

directions of the emperor Frederick had preceded them.

The fame of these preparations soon reached Syria, and the authors of

the times describe the Mussulman powers as struck with terror, and

as immediately and earnestly employed in fortifying their cities and

their frontiers against the approaching invasion of the Franks. Such

popular rumours as were then in circulation that history has deigned

to preserve, accuse the Saracens of having employed perfidious means

and odious stratagems to avenge themselves upon the Christian nations,

and ruin their enterprise. It was asserted that the life of Louis IX.

was in danger from the emissaries of the Old Man of the Mountain; it

was reported in cities, and the multitude did not fail to give credit

to it, that the pepper which came from the East was empoisoned; and

Matthew Paris, a grave historian, does not hesitate to affirm that a

great number of persons died of it before this horrible artifice was

discovered. We may well believe that the policy of the time itself

invented these gross fables, to render the enemies they were about to

combat more odious, and that indignation might increase and animate

the courage of the warriors. It is natural also to suppose, that such

rumours had their origin in popular ignorance, and that they gained

credit from the opinion that was then entertained of the manners and

characters of infidel nations.

Three years had passed away since the king of France assumed the cross.

He convoked a new parliament at Paris, in which he at length fixed the

departure of the holy expedition for the month of June of the following

year (1248). The barons and prelates renewed with him the promises of

fighting against the infidels, and engaged to set out at the period

assigned, under the penalty of incurring ecclesiastical censures. Louis

took advantage of the moment that the magnates of his kingdom were

assembled in the name of religion, to require that they should take

the oath of fealty and homage to his children, and to make them swear

(these are the expressions of Joinville) “that they should be loyal to

his family, if any misadventure should befall his person in the holy

voyage beyond the seas.”[281]

It was then that the pope addressed a letter to the nobility and people

of France, in which he celebrated in solemn terms the bravery and

other warlike virtues of the French nation and its pious monarch. The

sovereign pontiff gave his benediction to the French Crusaders, and

threatened with the thunders of the Church all who, having made the vow

of pilgrimage, deferred their departure. Louis IX., who had no doubt

requested this warning from the pope, saw with joy all the nobility of

his kingdom hasten to join his standard; many nobles, whose ambition he

had repressed, were the first to set the example, for fear of awakening

old mistrusts or incurring fresh disgraces; others, seduced by the

habitual spirit of courts, declared themselves with ardour champions

of the cross, in the hope of obtaining, not the rewards of Heaven, but

those of the earth. The character of Louis IX. inspired the greatest

confidence in all the Christian warriors. “If, till this time,” said

they, “God has permitted the crusades to be nothing but a long course

of reverses and calamities, it is because the imprudence of the leaders

has compromised the safety of the Christian armies; it is because

discord and licentiousness of manners have reigned too long among

the defenders of the cross: but what evils have we to dread under a

prince whom Heaven appears to have inspired with its own wisdom,—under

a prince who, by his firmness, has succeeded in suppressing every

division in his own country, and is about to exhibit to the East an

example of all the virtues?”

Many English nobles, among whom were the earls of Salisbury and

Leicester, resolved to accompany the king of France, and share with him

the perils of the crusade. The earl of Salisbury, grandson of “Fair

Rosamond,” who had gained by his exploits the surname of “Long Sword,”

had just been stripped of all his possessions by Henry III. In order

to place himself in a condition to make preparations for the war, he

addressed himself to the pope, and said to him, “Beggar as I am, I

have made a vow to perform the pilgrimage to the Holy Land. If Prince

Richard, brother to the king of England, has been able to obtain,

without taking the cross, the privilege of levying a tax upon those who

have just laid it down, I have thought that I might obtain a similar

favour;—I, who have no resource but in the charity of the faithful.”

This discourse, which informs us of a very curious fact, made the

sovereign pontiff smile: the earl of Salisbury obtained the favour he

asked, and deemed it his duty to set out for the East.

The preachings for the holy war, which had produced but little effect

in Italy and Germany, had nevertheless been successful in the provinces

of Friesland and Holland, and in some of the northern kingdoms.

Haco, king of Norway, celebrated for his bravery and exploits, took

the oath to fight against the infidels; and the Norwegians, who had

several times distinguished themselves in the holy wars, followed the

example of their monarch. Haco, after completing his preparations,

wrote to Louis IX. to announce his approaching departure. He asked him

permission to land upon the coast of France, and to furnish himself

there with the supplies necessary for his army. Louis made a most

cordial reply, and proposed to the Norwegian prince to share with

him the command of the crusade. Matthew Paris, who was charged with

the message from Louis IX., informs us in his History that the king

of Norway declined the generous offer of the French king, persuaded,

he said, that harmony could not long subsist between the Norwegians

and the French,—the first, of an impetuous, restless, and jealous

character, the others, full of pride and haughtiness.

Haco, after having made this reply, thought no more of embarking,

and remained quietly in his kingdom, history being perfectly unable

to discover the motives which produced this sudden change. It may

be believed, that in accordance with the example of several other

Christian monarchs, this prince had made use of the crusade as a

cloak for his political designs. By levying a tax of a third upon

the revenues of the clergy, he had amassed treasures which he might

employ in strengthening his power. The army he had raised in the name

of Christ might minister to his ambition much more effectually in

Europe than in the plains of Asia. The pope, from whom he had received

the title of king, at first exhorted him to assume the sign of the

Crusaders; but everything leads us to believe that he afterwards

advised him to remain in the West, where he hoped to raise in him one

more enemy against the emperor of Germany. Thus the king of Norway

had promised to go into the East in the hope of obtaining the favour

and protection of the court of Rome; and to preserve this favour and

this support, he had but one thing to do, and that was to forget his

promises.

However this may be, it is certain that the pope, at that time, took

but very little interest in the success of the eastern crusade. We

may judge of this by the facility with which he liberated so many

from their vows of fighting against the infidels: he went even so far

as to forbid the Crusaders from Friesland and Holland to embark for

Palestine. In vain Louis IX. made some serious remonstrances on this

head; Innocent would not listen to him. Engrossed by one passion, he

found it much more advantageous to grant dispensations for the voyage

to Syria; for, on one part, those dispensations which were bought with

solid money, contributed to fill his treasury, and on the other, they

left soldiers in Europe that he might arm against his personal enemies.

Thus France was the only country in which the crusade was really an

object of interest; the piety and zeal of Louis IX. brought back all

those whom the indifference of the pope had cooled; and the love of the

French for their king, replacing religions enthusiasm, sufficed for the

removal of all obstacles. The cities whose liberties the monarch had

protected, voluntarily sent him considerable sums. The farmers of the

royal domains, which were then very extensive, advanced the revenues

of a year. The rich taxed themselves, and poured their hoards into

the coffers of the king; poverty dropped its mite into the poor-boxes

of churches; and we may add, that at that period there was scarcely a

will made in the kingdom which did not contain some legacy towards the

expenses of the holy war. The clergy were not content with addressing

prayers to Heaven for the crusade, they paid the tenth of their

revenues for the support of the soldiers of the cross.

The barons, nobles, and princes, who equipped themselves at their

awn expense, imposed taxes on their vassals, and found, after the

example of the king of France, the money necessary for the voyage in

the revenues of their domains and in the pious generosity of the towns

and cities. Many, as in other crusades, pledged their lands, sold

their property, and ruined themselves, to provide means to support

their soldiers and knights. They forgot their families, they forgot

themselves in the sad preparations for departure, and appeared never to

look forward to the period of return. Many prepared themselves for the

voyage as they would have prepared for exile or death; the most pious

of the Crusaders, as if they only went to the East to find a tomb, were

particularly anxious to appear before God in a state of grace; they

expiated their sins by penitence; they pardoned offences, repaired the

ill they had done, disposed of their goods, gave them to the poor, or

divided them amongst their natural heirs.

This disposition of men’s minds was greatly to the advantage of

humanity and justice; it imparted generous sentiments to people of

property; whilst, in the wicked, it awakened a remorse that was nearly

allied to virtue. Amidst civil wars and feudal anarchy, a crowd of men

had enriched themselves by strife, rapine, and brigandage; religion

inspired them with a salutary repentance, and this time of penitence

was marked by a great number of restitutions, which for a moment

made the triumphs of iniquity to be forgotten. The famous count de

la Marche set the example; his conspiracies, his revolts, his unjust

enterprises had often troubled the peace of the kingdom, and ruined a

great number of families; he became desirous of expiating his faults;

and to mitigate the just anger of God, he, by his will, ordered a

complete restitution to be made of all the property he had acquired

by injustice and violence.[282] The sieur de Joinville tells us, with

great simplicity, in his History, that his conscience did not reproach

him with anything serious, but that, nevertheless, he assembled his

vassals and neighbours to offer them reparation for the wrongs he might

have done them without knowing it.

In those days of repentance monasteries were founded and treasures

lavished on churches: “The most sure means,” said Louis IX., “to avoid

perishing like the impious, is to love and enrich the place in which

dwells the glory of the Lord.” The piety of the Crusaders was not

forgetful of the poor and infirm; their numerous offerings endowed

cloisters as asylums for want; hospices, or small convents, for the

reception of pilgrims; and particularly leper hospitals, which were

established in all the provinces, the melancholy abodes of victims of

the holy wars.

Louis IX. distinguished himself by his liberality towards churches

and monasteries; but that which must particularly have drawn upon

him the blessings of his people, was the care he took to repair all

injustice committed in the administration of government. The holy

monarch knew, that if kings are the images of God upon earth, they are

never so truly so as when justice is seated beside them on the throne.

Restitution-offices, established by his orders in the royal domains,

were charged with the repairing of all wrongs that might have been

committed by the agents or farmers of the king. In most of the great

cities it was the duty of two commissaries, one an ecclesiastic, the

other a layman, to hear and decide upon complaints made against his

ministers and officers: a noble exercise of the supreme authority,

which rather employs itself in seeking out the unfortunate to assist

them, than the guilty to punish them! which watches for the murmurs

of the poor, encourages the weak, and submits itself to the tribunal

of the laws! It was not sufficient for Louis to have established

regulations for the administration of justice,—their execution excited

his most anxious solicitude. Preachers announced the intentions of the

king in all the churches, and as if he thought himself responsible to

God for all judgments pronounced in his name, the monarch secretly sent

holy ecclesiastics and good monks to make fresh observations, and learn

from faithful reporters, if the judges whom he believed to be worthy

men, were not themselves corrupt. The historian pauses complacently

over this touching picture; so noble an example presented to the kings

of the earth, appeared likely to bring down the blessings of Heaven

upon Saint Louis; and when we reflect upon the deplorable results of

this crusade, with the chroniclers of his own time, we feel astonished

that so many calamities should have been the reward of such exalted

virtue.[283]

The preparations were now carried on with redoubled zeal and activity;

all the provinces of France appeared to be in arms; the people of

cities and country had but one thought, and that was the crusade. The

great vassals assembled their knights and troops; the nobles and barons

visited each other, or exchanged messengers, in order to settle the

day of their departure. Relations and friends engaged to unite their

banners, and place everything in common—money, glory, and perils.

Devotional practices were mingled with military preparations. Warriors

were seen laying aside the cuirass and sword, and walking, barefooted

and in their shirts, to visit monasteries and churches, to which the

relics of saints attracted the concourse of the faithful. Processions

were formed in every parish; all the Crusaders appeared at the foot

of the altars, and received the symbols of pilgrimage from the hands

of the clergy. Prayers were put up in all churches for the success

of the expedition. In families, abundance of tears were shed at the

moment of departure; and most of the pilgrims, on receiving these last

endearments of their friends, seemed to feel, more than ever, the value

of all they were leaving behind them. The historian of Saint Louis

tells us, that after visiting Blanchicourt and Saint-Urbain, where

holy relics were deposited, he would not once turn his eyes towards

Joinville, for his heart was softened at the idea of the beautiful

castle he was leaving, and of his two children.[284] The leaders of

the crusade took with them all the warlike youth, and left in many

countries nothing but a weak and unarmed population; many abandoned

castles and fortresses must, naturally, fall to ruins; much flourishing

land must be changed into a desert, and a vast many families must be

left without support. The people, no doubt, had cause to regret the

nobles whose authority was supported by kindnesses, and who, after

the example of Saint Louis, loved truth and justice, and protected

the weak and the innocent; but there were some whose departure was

witnessed with gladness; and more than one town, more than one village,

rejoiced at seeing the donjon, from which they had been accustomed to

experience all the miseries of servitude, empty and abandoned.

It was an affecting spectacle to see the families of artisans and

poor villagers lead their children to the barons and knights, and say

to them: “You will be their fathers; you will watch over them amidst

the perils of war and of the sea.” The barons and knights promised to

bring back their soldiers to the West, or to perish with them in fight;

and the opinion of the people, the nobility, and the clergy, devoted,

beforehand, all who should fail in this sacred promise, to the anger of

God and the contempt of men.

Amidst these preparations, the most profound calm prevailed throughout

the kingdom. In all preceding crusades, the multitude had exercised

great violence against the Jews; but by the firmness and wisdom

of Saint Louis, the Jews, though depositaries of immense wealth,

and always skilful in taking advantage of circumstances to enrich

themselves, were respected among a nation they had plundered, and

which was now completing its own ruin by the holy war. Adventurers and

vagabonds were not admitted beneath the banners of the cross; and, upon

the demand of Saint Louis, the pope forbade all who had committed great

crimes to take up arms in the cause of Christ. These precautions, which

had never been observed in former crusades, were highly calculated to

insure the maintenance of order and discipline in the Christian army.

Among the crowd that presented themselves to go into Asia, artisans

and labourers met with the best reception,—which is a remarkable

circumstance, and clearly proves that views of a wise policy were

mingled with sentiments of devotion, and that, though the ostensible

object was the deliverance of Jerusalem, hopes were entertained of

founding useful colonies in the East.

At the appointed time Louis IX., accompanied by his brothers, the

duke of Anjou and the count d’Artois, repaired to the abbey of St.

Denis.[285] After having implored the support of the apostles of

France, he received from the hands of the legate the pilgrim’s staff

and scrip, and that oriflamme which his predecessors had already

twice unfurled before the nations of the East. Louis then returned

to Paris, where he heard mass in the church of Notre Dame. The same

day he quitted his capital, not again to enter it before his return

from the Holy Land. The people and clergy were softened to tears, and

accompanied him to the abbey of St. Antoine, singing psalms by the way.

There he mounted on horseback to go to Corbeil, at which place the

Queen Blanche and Queen Marguerite were to meet him.

The king gave two more days to the affairs of his kingdom, and confided

the regency to his mother, whose firmness and wisdom had defended and

preserved the crown during the troubles of his minority. If anything

could excuse Louis IX., and justify his pious obstinacy, it was his

leaving his country in profound peace. He had renewed the truce with

the king of England; and Germany and Italy were so occupied with their

own internal discords, that they could not give France the least

subject for alarm. Louis, after having employed every precaution

against the spirit of disaffection, took with him into the Holy Land

almost all the powerful nobles that had disturbed the kingdom. The

county of Mâcon, sold at the end of the preceding crusade, had recently

reverted to the crown; Normandy had escaped from the yoke of the

English; the counties of Thoulouse and Provence, by the marriage of the

counts of Anjou and Poictiers, were about to become apanages of the

princes of the royal family. Louis IX., after he took the cross, never

ceased in his endeavours to preserve the recent conquests of France, to

appease the murmurs of the people, and remove every pretext for revolt.

The spirit of justice, which was observable in all his institutions;

the remembrance of his virtues, which appeared more estimable amidst

the general grief caused by his departure; the religion which he had

caused to flourish by his example, were quite sufficient to maintain

order and peace during his absence.

As soon as Louis had placed the administration of his kingdom in other

hands, he gave himself up to the exercises of piety, and appeared to

be no more than the most meek of Christians. The dress and attributes

of a pilgrim became the only adornments of a powerful monarch. He

wore no more splendid stuffs, no more valuable furs; his arms even,

and the harness of his horses, glittered with nothing but the polish

of steel and iron. His example had so much influence, says Joinville,

that on the voyage not a single instance of an embroidered coat was

seen, either upon the king or any one else. When endeavouring to reform

splendour in equipages or dress, Louis caused the money he had been

accustomed to expend in these to be distributed to the poor. Thus royal

magnificence was in him nothing but the luxury of charity.

Queen Blanche accompanied him as far as Cluny. This princess was

persuaded she should never see her son again until they met in heaven,

and took leave of him in the most affectionate manner; the tears of

mother and son bearing witness to the truth of their grief at parting.

On his way, he saw the pope at Lyons, and conjured him, for the last

time, to be merciful to Frederick, whom reverses had humiliated, and

who implored pardon. After having represented the great interests of

the crusade, after having spoken in the name of the numerous pilgrims

who were abandoning everything for the cause of Christ, the pious mind

of the king was astonished to find the pontiff still inexorable. The

king then directed all his attention to the prosecution of his journey.

Innocent promised to protect the kingdom of France against the heretic

Frederick and the king of England; the latter of whom he always styled

his vassal: he witnessed without regret the departure of a prince

venerated for his love of justice, whose presence in Europe might be an

obstacle to his policy. The sovereign pontiff had not much trouble in

keeping his promise of defending the independence and peace of France;

for the discords he excited in other states preserved that kingdom from

all foreign annoyance during the time of the crusade.

The fleet, which awaited Louis at Aigues-Mortes, was composed of

twenty-eight vessels, without reckoning those that were to transport

the horses and the provisions. The king embarked, followed by his two

brothers, Charles duke of Anjou, and Robert count d’Artois, and the

queen Marguerite, who did not dread less the idea of remaining with

her mother-in-law than that of living away from her husband.[286]

Alphonse, count of Poictiers, deferred his departure till the following

year, and returned to Paris to assist the queen regent with his

counsels and authority. When the whole army of the Crusaders was

embarked, the signal was given, the priests, according to the custom in

maritime expeditions, sang the _Veni Creator_, and the fleet set sail.

France had then no marine, the sailors and pilots were almost all

Spaniards or Italians. Two Genoese performed the functions of

commanders or admirals. A great part of the barons and knights had

never before seen the sea, and everything they saw filled them with

surprise and dread; they invoked all the saints of Paradise, and

recommended their souls to God. The good Joinville does not at all

dissemble his fright, and cannot help saying: “A great fool is he who,

having any sin on his soul, places himself in such a danger; for if he

goes to sleep at night, he cannot be certain he shall not find himself

at the bottom of the sea in the morning.”[287]

Louis IX. embarked at Aigues-Mortes, the 25th of August, and arrived

at Cyprus on the 21st of September.[288] Henry, grandson of Guy of

Lusignan, who obtained the kingdom of Cyprus in the third crusade,

received the king of France at Limisso, and conducted him to his

capital of Nicosia, amidst the acclamations of the people, nobility,

and clergy.

A short time after the arrival of the Crusaders, it was decided in a

council, that the arms of the Christians should, in the first place,

be directed against Egypt. The reverses that had been met with on the

banks of the Nile, in preceding wars, did not at all alarm the king

of France and his barons; it is even more than probable that Louis,

before he left his kingdom, had formed the design of carrying the war

into the country from which the Mussulmans drew their wealth and their

strength. The king of Cyprus, who had recently received the title of

king of Jerusalem from the pope, the more strongly applauded, this

determination, from its giving him reason to hope to be delivered from

the most formidable of his neighbours, and the most cruel enemy of the

Christian colonies in Syria. This prince also caused a crusade to be

preached in his kingdom, for the sake of being placed in a condition

to accompany the French Crusaders, and associate himself usefully in

their conquests. He proposed to the king of France and his barons to

wait till he had concluded his preparations. “The lords and prelates of

Cyprus,” says William of Nangis, “all took the cross, appeared before

Louis, and told him they would go with him wherever it should please

him to lead them, if he would stay till the winter had passed away.”

As Louis and the principal French nobles appeared but little disposed

to delay their march, the Cypriots spared neither protestations of

friendship, caresses, nor prayers to detain them. Every day was devoted

to rejoicings and feastings, in which the nobility and wealthy men of

the kingdom exhibited the splendour of eastern courts. The enchanting

aspect of the isle, a country rich in all the delicious productions of

nature, particularly that Cyprus wine which Solomon himself has not

disdained to celebrate, seconded in a powerful manner the entreaties

and seductions of the court of Nicosia. It was decided that the

Christian army should not depart before the following spring.

It was not long before they became fully aware of the error they had

committed. Amidst the excessive abundance that reigned in their camp,

the Crusaders gave themselves up to intemperance; in a country in which

pagan fables placed the altars of voluptuousness, the virtue of the

pilgrims was every day exposed to fresh trials; a protracted idleness

relaxed the discipline of the army, and, to crown these evils, a

pestilential disease exercised great ravages among the defenders of the

cross. The pilgrims had to lament the death of more than two hundred

and fifty knights from this calamity. Contemporary chronicles mention

among the lords and prelates that were victims to it, the counts of

Dreux and Vendôme, Robert, bishop of Beauvais, and the brave William

des Barres; the army had likewise to regret the loss of the last of the

race of the Archambault de Bourbons, whose county became afterwards the

heritage of the children of Saint Louis, and gave to the royal family

of France a name that it has rendered for ever illustrious in the

annals of that country.

A great number of barons and knights were in want of money to maintain

their troops, and Louis freely opened his treasury to them. The sieur

de Joinville, who had no more than one hundred and twenty livres

tournois[289] left, received from the monarch eight hundred livres; a

considerable sum in those days.

Many of the nobles complained of having sold their lands and ruined

themselves to follow the king to the crusade. The liberality of Louis

could not possibly satisfy all these complainants. A great number of

knights, after being ruined by the abode in the isle of Cyprus, could

not endure the idleness they were condemned to, but were anxious to set

out for Syria or Egypt, hoping to make the Saracens pay the expenses of

the war. Louis had a great deal of trouble to restrain them; historians

agree in saying that he was _only half obeyed_; therefore, he had

much more frequent occasion to exercise his patience and evangelical

mildness than his authority; and if he succeeded in appeasing all

discords and suppressing all murmurs, it was less by the ascendancy of

his power than by that of his virtue.

Differences arose between the Greek clergy and the Latin clergy of

the isle of Cyprus. Louis succeeded in putting an end to them. The

Templars and Hospitallers appealed to him as judge in their constantly

reviving quarrels; he made them swear to be reconciled, and to have no

other enemies than those of Christ. The Genoese and Pisans resident

at Ptolemaïs, had long and serious disputes, both parties having

recourse to arms, and nothing appeared able to check the fury and

scandal of a civil war in a Christian city. The wise mediation of Louis

reëstablished peace. Aitho, king of Armenia, and Bohemond, prince of

Antioch and Tripoli, implacable enemies, both sent ambassadors to the

king of France: he induced them to conclude a truce: thus Louis IX.

appeared among the nations of the East as an angel of peace and concord.

At this period the territory of Antioch was ravaged by vagabond bands

of Turcomans; Louis sent Bohemond five hundred cross-bowmen. Aitho had

just formed an alliance with the Tartars, and was preparing to invade

the states of the sultan of Iconium in Asia Minor. As the Armenian

prince enjoyed a great reputation in the East for skill and bravery,

many French knights, impatient to display their valour, left Cyprus

for the purpose of joining his standard and sharing the fruits of his

victories. Joinville, after having spoken of their departure, says

nothing of their exploits, and only informs us of their unhappy destiny

by these words: “not one of them ever came back.”[290]

Fame had announced the arrival of Louis throughout all the countries

of the East, and the news produced a great sensation among both

Mussulmans and Christians. A prediction, that was credited in the most

distant regions, and which missionaries found spread even through

Persia, announced that a king of the Franks was destined speedily to

disperse all infidels and deliver Asia from the sacrilegious worship

and laws of Mahomet. It was believed that the time was now come for the

accomplishment of this prediction. A crowd of Christians hastened from

Syria, Egypt, and all the countries of the East, to salute him whom God

had sent to fulfil his divine promises.

It was at this period that Louis received an embassy that excited the

curiosity and attention of the Crusaders in the highest degree; the

marvellous account of it occupies a conspicuous place in the chronicles

of the middle ages.[291] This embassy came from a Tartar prince, named

Ecalthaï,[292] who professed himself to be converted to the Christian

faith, and displayed the most ardent zeal for the triumph of the

Gospel. The head of this deputation, named David, remitted to the king

a letter filled with sentiments expressed with so much exaggeration as

ought to have rendered it doubtful; he said that the great khan had

received baptism three years before, and that he was prepared to assist

the expedition of the French Crusaders with all his power. The news of

this embassy soon spread through the army, and from that time nothing

was talked of but the promised succour of the great khan or emperor of

the Tartars; the leaders and soldiers flocked to the residence of Louis

to see the ambassador of the prince Ecalthaï, whom they considered _as

one of the first barons of Tartary_.

The king of France interrogated the deputies several times respecting

their journey, their country, and the character and disposition of

their sovereign; and as all he heard flattered his most cherished

thoughts, he conceived no mistrust, and discovered no signs of

imposture in their replies. The Tartar ambassadors were received at

his court, and admitted to his table; he himself conducted them to the

celebration of divine service in the metropolitan church of Nicosia,

where all the people were edified by their devotion.

At their departure, the king of France and the legate of the pope

charged them with several letters[293] for the prince Ecalthaï and the

great khan of the Tartars. To these letters were added magnificent

presents; among which was a scarlet tent, upon which Louis had caused

to be worked “The Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God,

and all the other points of faith.” The king wrote to Queen Blanche, as

did the legate to the sovereign pontiff, to announce the extraordinary

embassy that had arrived from the most distant regions of the East.

The propitious news of an alliance with the Tartars, who were then

looked upon as the most formidable of all nations, spread joy among

the people of the West, and increased their hopes of the success of the

crusade.

Missionaries that were sent into Tartary by Louis were very soon

satisfied that the conversion of the great khan was nothing but a

fable. The Mogul ambassadors had advanced many other impostures in

their accounts, which has induced some learned moderns to think that

this great embassy[294] was nothing but a trick, the contrivance

of which may be attributed to some Armenian monks. However it may

be, there can be no doubt that the Moguls, who were at war with the

Mussulmans, might have some interest in conciliating the Christians,

and might be led, from that time, to consider the Franks as useful

auxiliaries.

Winter, in the mean time, was drawing towards an end, and the period

fixed upon for the departure of the French Crusaders was approaching.

The king of France ordered a great number of flat-bottomed boats

to be constructed, to facilitate the descent of the Christian army

upon the coast of Egypt. As the Genoese fleet, in which the French

had embarked at Aigues-Mortes, had left the port of Lemisso, it

required considerable trouble to get together, from all parts, vessels

sufficient to transport the army and the numerous magazines formed in

the isle of Cyprus. Louis IX. applied to the Genoese and Venetians

established on the coast of Syria, who, to the great scandal of the

knights and barons, showed, in this instance, more cupidity than

devotion, and placed an exorbitant price upon services demanded of them

in the name of Christ.

At this time Louis received a communication from the emperor of

Germany, still pursued by the thunders of Rome. This prince sent

provisions to the Crusaders, and expressed great grief, in his letters,

at being unable to share the perils of the holy war. The king of France

thanked Frederick, and sighed at the obstinacy of the pope, which

deprived the defenders of the cross of such a powerful auxiliary.

Preparations were continued with the greatest activity; every day fresh

Crusaders arrived, who came from the ports of the West, or had passed

the winter in the isles of the Archipelago, or on the coasts of Greece.

All the nobility of Cyprus had taken the cross, and were preparing

for their conflict with the infidels. The greatest harmony prevailed

between the two nations; in the Greek as well as the Latin churches,

prayers were offered up to Heaven for the success of the Christian

arms; and throughout the host nothing was talked of but the wonders of

the East, and the riches of Egypt, which they were about to conquer.

Whilst enthusiasm and joy were thus exuberant among the Christian

warriors, the grand masters of St. John and the Temple wrote to Louis

IX., to consult him upon the possibility of opening a negotiation

with the sultan of Cairo. The leaders of these two orders anxiously

desired to break the chains of their knights who were detained in

captivity since the defeat of Gaza; they did not otherwise partake with

the Crusaders their blind confidence in victory; experience of other

crusades had taught them that the warriors of the West, at first very

redoubtable, almost always began their wars with splendour, but that

afterwards, weakened by discord, exhausted by the fatigues of a distant

expedition, and sometimes led away by their natural inconstancy,

they only thought of returning into Europe, abandoning the Christian

colonies to all the furies of an enemy irritated by former defeats.

According to these considerations, the two grand masters would have

wished to take advantage of the powerful succours from the West, to

conclude a useful and durable peace. The mode of negotiation presented

them much greater future advantages than a war, whose chances were

doubtful, and whose perils might, in the end, all recoil upon them.

Their pacific message arrived at the moment when nothing way spoken of

in the Christian army but the conquests they were about to make; when

all minds were heated by the enthusiasm of glory, and the hope of a

rich booty. The proposition alone of peace with the infidels was a true

subject of scandal for these warriors, who believed themselves called

upon to destroy, throughout the East, the domination and the power of

all the enemies of Christ. The general surprise and indignation gave

credence to the blackest calumnies against the grand master of the

Temple, who was loudly accused of keeping up a secret intelligence with

the sultan of Cairo, and of having joined in barbarous ceremonies to

bind this impious union. Louis IX., who did not come into the East to

sign a treaty of peace and to deliver only a few prisoners, shared the

indignation of his companions in arms, and forbade the grand masters

of the Temple and St. John to reiterate propositions insulting to the

Christian warriors, insulting to him.

The Crusaders, intoxicated with their future success, were not aware

of half the obstacles they were about to encounter; they thought

more about the wealth than the strength of their enemies; acquainted

with neither the climate nor the country to which their wishes were

directed, their ignorance redoubled their security, and fed hopes that

were doomed soon to fade away.

The leaders of the crusade were particularly sanguine with respect to

the divisions of the Mussulman princes, who were quarrelling for the

provinces of Syria and Egypt: in fact, since the death of Saladin,

discord had rarely ceased to trouble the family of the Ayoubites.

But as their dissensions broke out in civil wars, and as civil wars

rendered the population more warlike, their empire, which grew weaker

every day inwardly, often, consequently, became the stronger outwardly;

when common danger united the Mussulman powers, or that one of those

powers mastered the rest, everything was to be dreaded from an empire

always tottering in peace, but which seemed to derive fresh strength

from the animosities and perils of a war against the Christians.

Malek Saleh Negmeddin, who then reigned in Egypt, was the son of the

sultan Camel, celebrated by the victory gained at Mansourah over the

army of John of Brienne and the legate Pelagius. Driven from the throne

by a conspiracy, he endeavoured to recover it by arms; conquered, he

fell into the chains of his rival, and profited by the lessons of

adversity. Very soon, the esteem in which his abilities were held; the

hatred which the prince who reigned in his place inspired; the want

of change, and perhaps a certain partiality for revolt and treason,

recalled him to empire. The new sovereign showed himself much more

skilful and more fortunate than his predecessors; he knew how to

preserve obedience in the provinces; to maintain discipline in his

army; and to keep fear alive among his enemies. He had taken advantage

of the arms of the Carismians to get possession of Damascus, and to

crush both the Christians and their allies. From this period Negmeddin

extended his conquests upon the banks of the Euphrates, and at length

gathered under his laws the greater part of the empire of Saladin.

At the moment Louis IX. landed in the isle of Cyprus, the sultan of

Cairo was in Syria, where he was making war against the prince of

Aleppo, and held the city of Emessa in siege. He was acquainted with

all the projects of the Christians, and gave orders for the defence

of all the avenues of Egypt. When he learnt that the Christian army

was about to embark, he immediately abandoned the siege of Emessa,

and concluded a truce with enemies of whom he entertained very little

dread, to return to his states that were threatened with invasion.

The Orientals considered the French as the bravest people of the race

of the Franks, and the king of France as the most redoubtable monarch

of the West. The preparations of Negmeddin were commensurate with

the dread these new enemies naturally inspired. He neglected nothing

in fortifying the coasts or in provisioning Damietta, which was most

likely to be the object of the first hostilities. A numerous fleet

was equipped, descended the Nile, and was placed at the mouth of the

river; an army, commanded by Fakreddin, the most skilful of the emirs,

encamped on the coast, to the west of the mouth of the river, at the

very same point where, thirty-three years before, the army of John of

Brienne had landed.

All these preparations would, no doubt, have been sufficient to meet

the first attacks of the Crusaders, if the sultan of Cairo had been

able to direct them himself, and command his troops in person; but he

was attacked by a disease which his physicians pronounced to be mortal.

In a state of things in which everything depended upon the presence and

life of the prince, the certainty of his approaching end necessarily

weakened confidence and zeal, cooled the general courage, and was

injurious to the execution of all the measures taken for the defence of

the country.

Such was the military and political situation of Egypt at the time

Louis embarked from the ports of the isle of Cyprus. Many historians

say, that before his departure, according to the custom of chivalry, he

sent a herald-at-arms to the sultan Negmeddin, to declare war against

him. In the early crusades, many Christian princes had in this manner

addressed chivalric messages to the Mussulman powers they were about to

attack: it is quite possible that Louis might imitate this example; but

the letter attributed to him bears no character of truth about it. The

same historians add, that the sultan of Cairo could not refrain from

tears on reading the letter of St. Louis. His reply, quoted in Makrisy,

is at least conformable to his known character, and to the spirit of

the Mussulman princes. He affected to brave the unexpected threats

and attacks of the disciples of Christ; he referred with pride to the

victories of the Mussulmans over the Christians; and whilst reproaching

the king of France with the injustice of his aggressions, he quoted in

his letter this passage from the Koran:—“They who fight unjustly shall

perish.”

This message contained predictions that were but too fully realized

in the end. There is nothing, however, to lead us to believe that

any correspondence was then established between Louis and the sultan

of Cairo. Prudence, at least, required the king of France to send

messengers and emissaries into Egypt, to reconnoitre the state,

strength, and resources of the country. It is more than probable,

that in preceding crusades it was not only in obedience to the spirit

of chivalry, but to ascertain the position of their enemies that

ambassadors were sent; we must confess, however, that we cannot find

in any chronicle of the times evidence of their having taken any

precaution of this kind. A foresight which might bear the slightest

association with timidity, stratagem, or even policy, was not the least

in accordance with the character of Louis and his knights. History has

no hesitation in affirming that the Crusaders, ready at this period to

embark for Egypt, knew nothing of the countries into which they were

about to carry their arms, but that which they had learnt from the

uncertain accounts of common report.

The signal of departure was given on the Friday before Pentecost; and a

numerous fleet, in which embarked the French army and the warriors of

the isle of Cyprus,[295] sailed gallantly out from the port of Limisso.

“This was a thing most beautiful to behold,” says Joinville; “for it

appeared as if the sea, as far as the eye could reach, was covered with

the sails of vessels, which were to the number of eight hundred, as

well large as small.” All at once a wind blowing full from the coast

of Egypt gave rise to a violent storm, which dispersed all the fleet;

and Louis IX., who was forced to put back to port, found, with great

grief, that at least the half of his vessels had been carried by the

wind on to the coasts of Syria. At this moment of disappointment,

however, unexpected reinforcements arrived, which restored the hopes of

Louis and his captains. These consisted of the duke of Burgundy, who

had passed the winter in the Morea; William of Salisbury, at the head

of two hundred English knights; and William of Villehardouin, prince of

Achaia, who forgot the dangers of the Latin empire of Constantinople

to go and fight the infidels on the banks of the Nile and the Jordan.

Without waiting for the vessels which the tempest had dispersed, they

again set sail, and the fleet, with a favourable wind, directed its

course towards Egypt. On the fourth day, at sunrise, the watch on deck

cried, “Land! land!” A sailor, who served as pilot, ascended to the

round top of the leading vessel, and such was the sentiment which the

sight of the land inhabited by the infidels inspired in the Christians,

that this man cried out, “We have nothing to do but to recommend

ourselves to God; for here we are, before Damietta.” These words flew

from rank to rank, and the whole fleet drew as near as they could to

the vessel of Louis IX. The principal leaders endeavoured to get on

board of it; the king awaited them in a warlike attitude and exhorted

them to offer thanks to God for having brought them face to face with

the enemies of Jesus Christ. As the greater part of the leaders seemed

to fear his life would be too much exposed in the course of a war which

must be terrible: “Follow my example,” said he to them; “leave me to

brave all perils, and in the midst of the hottest fight never once

think that the safety of the state and the Church resides in my person;

you yourselves are the state and the Church, and you ought to see in me

nothing but a man whose life, like that of any other, may be dissipated

like a shadow, when it shall please the God for whom we combat.” Thus

Louis forgot himself and his state, and before the infidels, the king

of France was but a simple soldier of Jesus Christ.

This discourse animated the courage of the barons and knights; orders

were given for the whole fleet to prepare for action. In every vessel

the warriors embraced each other with joy at the approach of peril;

such as quarrels had alienated, swore to forget all divisions and

injuries, and to conquer or to die together. Joinville says he forced

two knights, who had been irreconcilable enemies, to make peace, by

persuading them that their discord might draw down the maledictions of

Heaven, and that union among the Christian soldiers could alone open to

them the road to Egypt.

Whilst the Crusaders were thus preparing, the Mussulmans neglected

nothing for their defence; their sentinels had perceived the Christian

fleet, from the walls of Damietta, and the news was soon spread

through the city; a bell, which had remained in the great mosque since

the conquest of John of Brienne, gave the signal of danger, and was

heard on both sides of the river. Four Mussulman galleys advanced to

reconnoitre the strength of the Crusaders; three of them were sunk, and

the fourth, getting back with great difficulty to the Nile, announced

to the infidels what enemies they had to contend with.

In the mean time the Christian fleet advanced in order of battle, and

cast anchor within a quarter of a league of the coast, at the moment at

which the sun had performed half his daily course. The shore and sea

presented the most imposing spectacle; the coast of Egypt was _lined

with all the powers of the soldan, who were people goodly to look

upon_. The sea appeared to be covered with ships, over which floated

the banners of the cross. The Mussulman fleet, laden with soldiers and

machines of war, defended the entrance of the Nile. Fakreddin, the

leader of the infidel army, appeared amidst their ranks in a panoply

so splendid, that Joinville, in his surprise, compares him to the sun.

The heavens and the earth resounded with the noise of the bended horns

and the naccaires,[296] a kind of enormous kettledrum, a thing very

frightful to hear, and very strange to the French.[297]

All the leaders assembled in council in the king’s vessel; some

proposed to defer the descent till the vessels which had been dispersed

by the tempest should rejoin them: “To attack the infidels without

having all their forces, would be to give them an advantage that might

greatly elevate their pride; and even if success were certain, it

appeared but just to wait, that all the Crusaders might have their

share of the glory they came so far to seek.” Some went still further,

and spoke of the embarrassments and perils of a descent in an unknown

country; of the disorders which must accompany a first attack; and of

the difficulty of rallying the army and fleet, if the obstacles they

met with should prove invincible. Louis IX. did not at all agree with

this opinion: “We have not come thus far,” he said, “to listen coolly

to the menaces and insults of our enemies, or to remain, during several

days motionless spectators of their preparations. To temporize is to

raise their courage, and weaken the ardour of the French warriors. We

have neither road nor port, in which we can shelter ourselves from

the winds, or from the unexpected attacks of the Saracens; a second

tempest may again disperse what remains of our fleet, and deprive us

of all means of beginning the war with a chance of success. To-day God

offers us victory; later he will punish us for having neglected the

opportunity to conquer.”

The majority of the leaders were of the opinion of Louis IX., and it

was resolved that the descent should be made on the morrow. A strict

watch was preserved during the night; a vast number of flambeaux were

kept burning, and vessels were placed near the mouth of the Nile, to

observe the motions of the Saracens.

At daybreak the whole fleet weighed anchor, and the Mussulmans at the

same time got under arms. Their infantry and cavalry occupied the

entire shore of the point at which they expected the Crusaders to land.

When the vessels drew near the shore, the Christian warriors got into

the barks that accompanied the fleet, and ranged themselves in two

lines. Louis IX., accompanied by the two princes his brothers, and his

chosen knights, placed himself at the right point. The cardinal legate,

bearing the cross of the Saviour, was on his right hand, and in a bark

in front of him floated the oriflamme of France.

The count of Jaffa, of the illustrious family of Brienne, was at the

left point towards the mouth of the Nile; he appeared at the head

of the knights from the isle of Cyprus and the barons of Palestine.

He was on board the lightest bark of the fleet. This boat bore the

arms of the counts of Jaffa, painted on its poop and prow. Around his

standard floated banderoles of a thousand colours, and three hundred

rowers impelled the vessel through the waves like the flight of the

swallow over the stream. Erard of Brienne, surrounded by a chosen

troop, occupied the centre of the line, with Baldwin of Rheims, who

commanded a thousand warriors. The knights and barons stood erect in

their boats, looking earnestly at the shore, lance in hand, with their

horses beside them. In the front and on the wings of the army, a crowd

of crossbow-men were placed to keep off the enemy.[298]

As soon as they were within bow-shot, a shower of stones, arrows,

and javelins was poured at the same instant from the shore and from

the line of the Crusaders. The ranks of the Christians appeared for

a moment shaken. The king commanded the rowers to redouble their

efforts to gain the shore. He himself set the first example; in spite

of the legate, who endeavoured to restrain him, he plunged into the

waves, in full armour, his buckler over his breast, and his sword in

hand; the water being up to his shoulders: the whole Christian army,

after the example of the king, cast themselves into the sea, crying,

“_Montjoie! St. Denis!_” This multitude of men and horses, endeavouring

to gain the shore, elevated the waves which broke at the feet of the

Saracens; the warriors pressed on, clashing against each other in their

progress—nothing was heard but the noise of the waves and the oars,

the cries of the soldiers and the sailors, and the tumultuous shock of

the barks and vessels, which advanced in disorder.

The Mussulman battalions assembled on the shore could not stop the

French warriors. Joinville and Baldwin of Rheims landed the first;

after them came the count of Jaffa. They were drawing up in order of

battle, when the cavalry of the Saracens came pouring down upon them;

the Crusaders closed in their ranks, covered themselves with their

bucklers, and presenting the points of their lances, checked the

impetuosity of the enemy. All their companions who had reached the

shore, immediately formed in rear of this battalion.

Already the oriflamme was planted on the shore; Louis had landed.

Without giving the least reflection to the danger, he immediately fell

on his knees to offer up his thanks to Heaven; and springing up again,

filled with fresh ardour, called his bravest knights around him. An

Arab historian relates that the king of the Franks then caused his tent

to be pitched, which was of a bright scarlet, and attracted all eyes.

At length, all the army being landed, a sanguinary contest began on

every part of the coast; the Saracens and Franks, seeking and attacking

each other, formed one conflicting mass. Nobody remained inactive; the

two fleets quickly became engaged at the mouth of the Nile. Whilst

the shore and the sea resounded thus with the shock of arms, Queen

Marguerite and the duchess of Anjou, who remained on board a vessel at

a distance, awaited in terrible anxiety the issue of the double battle;

they offered up fervent prayers, and pious ecclesiastics assembled

around them, joined in holy psalms to obtain the protection of the God

of armies.

The fleet of the Saracens was soon dispersed; many of the vessels

were sunk, the remainder escaped up the river. In the mean time, the

troops of Fakreddin, broken in all directions, retired in the greatest

confusion; the French pursuing them up to their intrenchments. After

a last desperate struggle, the Mussulmans abandoned their camp and the

western bank of the Nile, leaving several of their emirs on the field

of battle: nothing could resist the French, animated by the presence

and the example of their king.

In the course of the battle several messenger pigeons had been sent to

the sultan of Cairo, whose malady confined him in a small town situated

between Damietta and Mansourah: as no answer was received, a report

of his death began to prevail, and completed the discouragement of

the Egyptian troops. Many of the emirs were impatient to know, and at

the same time were doubtful of the fate that awaited them under a new

reign. Several deserted their standards, and by that means augmented

the disorder: towards evening the whole army dispersed, and the

soldiers, abandoned by their leaders, thought of nothing but seeking

safety in flight.[299] The Crusaders remained masters of the coast

and of both banks of the Nile; and this glorious victory had cost but

little Christian blood, for only two or three knights were killed: of

the French nobles the army had only to deplore the count de la Marche,

who appeared to seek death, and, dying thus by the side of his king,

expiated, say our historians, his numerous treasons and crimes.

Towards the end of the day, the tents were pitched on the field of

battle; the clergy chanted the _Te Deum_, and the night was passed in

rejoicings. Whilst the victorious army was thus giving itself up to

exultation, the greatest confusion reigned in Damietta; the fugitives

had passed through the city, spreading, as they went, the contagion

of the fear that pursued them. Fakreddin himself gave no orders for

the security of the place: the inhabitants expected every instant to

see the French enter; some dreaded a surprise, others feared a siege;

there was no one to reassure them, and the darkness of night came on

to complete their terror and confusion. Fear rendered them barbarous;

they pitilessly massacred all the Christians that were in the city;

the troops, on retiring, pillaged the houses and set fire to the public

edifices; whole families abandoned their homes, carrying with them

their furniture and movable wealth. The garrison was composed of the

bravest of the Arab tribe of the Benou-Kenaneh;[300] but fear gained

dominion over them as well as the rest; they abandoned the towers

and the ramparts intrusted to their guardianship, and fled away with

the army of Fakreddin. Before the dawn of day, the city was without

defenders, and almost without inhabitants.

The columns of flame that arose from the bosom of the city were soon

observed in the Christian camp; the whole horizon was on fire. On

the morrow, at daybreak, the soldiers advanced towards the city, all

the gates of which they found open. They met with nothing in the

streets but the carcasses of the victims immolated by the despair and

fanaticism of the infidels, and a few living Christians, who, having

contrived to conceal themselves from the murderers and executioners,

had, in their turn, massacred all the Mussulmans whom age and

infirmities prevented from flying with their compatriots. The soldiers

returned to announce what they had seen, and could scarcely gain credit

from their companions. The army advanced cautiously in order of battle.

When they were assured that the city was deserted, the Crusaders took

possession of it. They employed themselves, in the first place, to

stop the progress of the flames; then the soldiers spread themselves

throughout the city, for the purpose of pillaging it, and all that

escaped the conflagration became the reward of victory.

In the mean time, the king of France, the pope’s legate, and

the patriarch of Jerusalem, followed by a crowd of prelates and

ecclesiastics, entered Damietta in procession, and repaired to the

great mosque, which was once more converted into a church, and

consecrated to the Holy Virgin, the mother of Jesus Christ. The French

monarch, the clergy, and all the leaders of the army, marched with

heads uncovered and barefooted, singing psalms of thanksgiving, and

attributing to God all the glory of this miraculous conquest.

The news of this victory was soon spread through all the Egyptian

provinces. The continuator of Tabary, who was then at Cairo, informs us

in his History, that this event was considered as one of the greatest

calamities. All Mussulmans were sunk in despondency and fear; the most

brave even despaired of being able to save Egypt.

Negmeddin was still ill, and unable to mount on horseback; the defeat

of his army, and the victory of the Christians, were announced to him

by the soldiers and inhabitants that had fled from Damietta. He broke

into a violent rage against the garrison, and pronounced a sentence of

instant death upon fifty-four of the most guilty: in vain they alleged

the retreat of the emir Fakreddin as an excuse; the sultan said they

merited death for having feared the arms of their enemies more than the

anger of their master. One of these, condemned to suffer with his son,

a young man of singular beauty, implored the sultan to allow him to

die first; the sultan refused even this grace, and the unhappy father

underwent the agony of seeing his son killed before his eyes, ere he

himself was handed over to the executioner. When we reflect upon the

barbarity of these executions, we are astonished that a prince without

an army should find instruments to execute his wrath, or even that he

should dare to display it in this frightful manner upon deserters and

cowards; but this public and awful exhibition of punishment, which

kept up the belief in the power of the master, acted strongly upon the

minds of the multitude, and assisted in bringing back the vulgar crowd

of the Mussulman soldiery to discipline and order. But it was not thus

with the principal emirs; already but little disposed to tremble before

a sovereign whom they regarded as their own work, and who stood in

such need of their support. The sultan would willingly have punished

Fakreddin, but the circumstances, says an Arabian historian, dictated

patience. He contented himself with addressing a few reproaches to him.

“The presence of these Franks,” said he to him, “must have something

very terrible in it, since men like you cannot support it during one

whole day.” These words created more indignation than fear among the

emirs that were present, and some of them looked at Fakreddin, as if

to tell him they were ready to sacrifice the sultan; but the print of

the cold hand of death was on the brow of the sultan, and the sight of

a dying man took away the wish to commit a useless crime:—deplorable

situation of a prince who had within a few leagues of him a formidable

enemy, that he was not able to contend with; near him traitors, that

he did not dare to punish; and who, whilst seeing his authority every

day diminish, and feeling himself hourly dying, appeared to have no

salvation to expect for either himself or his empire!

During this time the Crusaders established themselves in Damietta

without obstacle; Queen Marguerite and the other princesses, with the

legate and the clergy, occupied the palaces and principal houses; the

rest of the city was abandoned to the pilgrims who did not bear arms:

the towers and ramparts were guarded by five hundred knights, and the

Christian army was encamped upon the plain on the banks of the Nile.

In this situation the Crusaders only thought of enjoying the fruits of

their victory in peace, and appeared to have forgotten that they had

still enemies to contend with.

The sultan of Cairo had caused himself to be transported to Mansourah,

where he endeavoured to rally his army, and re-establish discipline

among the troops. Whether he had recovered from his terror, or that he

was willing to conceal his alarm and the progress of his malady, he

sent several messages to Louis IX. In one of these letters, Negmeddin,

joining menaces to irony, congratulated the king of France upon his

arrival in Egypt, and asked him at what period it would please him to

depart again. The Mussulman prince added, among other things, that

the quantity of provisions and agricultural instruments with which

the Crusaders had burdened their vessels, appeared to him to be a

useless precaution; and to perform the duties of hospitality towards

the Franks, in a manner worthy of himself and them, he engaged to

supply them with corn during their sojourn in his states. Negmeddin,

in another message, offered the king of France a general battle on the

25th day of June, in a place that should be determined upon. Louis IX.

answered the first letter of the sultan by saying that he had landed in

Egypt on the day he had appointed, and as to the day of his departure,

he should think about it at leisure. With regard to the proposed

battle, the king contented himself with replying, that he would neither

accept the day nor choose the place, because all days and all places

were equally fit for fighting with infidels. The French monarch added,

that he would attack the sultan wherever he should meet with him; that

he would pursue him at all times and without intermission; and would

treat him as an enemy till God had touched his heart, and Christians

might consider him as a brother.

Fortune presented King Louis with an opportunity and the means of

accomplishing his threats. The Crusaders, whom the tempest had

separated from the fleet, continued to arrive every day, and the

knights of the Temple and of St. John, who had been accused of being

anxious for peace, joined the banners of the army, and breathed nothing

but war. They were acquainted with the country, and with the best

manner of combating the infidels; and with this useful reinforcement,

the king was able to undertake an expedition against Alexandria, or,

by obtaining possession of Mansourah, render himself master of the

route to Cairo. After the taking of Damietta, several of the leaders

had proposed to pursue the Mussulmans, and take advantage of the terror

that the first victory of the Christians had inspired. But the period

was approaching at which the waters of the Nile began to rise, and the

remembrance of the overthrow of Pelagius and John of Brienne, dispelled

the idea of marching against the capital of Egypt. Before he pursued

his conquests, Louis wished to wait the arrival of his brother, the

count of Poictiers, who was to embark with the _arrière_ ban of the

kingdom of France. Most historians view in this delay the cause of all

the evils that afterwards befell the Crusaders. We have nothing like

sufficient positive documents to test the truth of their opinion; but

we may say with certainty, that the inaction of the Christian army

became, from that time, a source of most fatal disorders.

These disorders began to break out when the division took place of the

booty made at the taking of Damietta. To animate the courage of the

Crusaders, the treasures of this city, the entrepôt of the merchandises

of the East, had often been boasted of; but as the richest quarters had

been destroyed by the conflagration, and as the inhabitants had, when

they fled, taken their most valuable effects with them, the spoils were

very far from answering the hopes of the victorious army. In spite of

the threats of the legate, several of the Crusaders had not brought all

that fell into their hands to the common stock. The whole of the booty

obtained in the city only produced the sum of six thousand _livres

tournois_,[301] to be divided among the Crusaders, whose surprise and

indignation found vent in violent murmurs.

As it had been determined that no division should be made of the

provisions, but that they should be preserved in the royal magazines,

for the support of the army, this resolution, so contrary to ancient

usages, gave birth to loud complaints. Joinville informs us that the

_prud’homme_ John of Valery, whose stern probity and bravery were the

admiration of the whole army, addressed some warm representations

to the king on this subject. John of Valery alleged the laws of the

Holy Land, and the custom pursued till that time in the crusades; he

mentioned the example of John of Brienne, who, at the first conquest

of Damietta, had only retained one-third of the riches and provisions

found in the city, abandoning the rest to the general army. This

custom was even less consecrated by the holy wars than by the feudal

laws, according to which every lord carried on the war at his own

expense, and by right had a share in all the plunder obtained from

the enemy. But it might be objected, that Louis IX. furnished most

of the leaders of the army with money, and by that the counts and

barons had renounced the conditions of the feudal compact. This law

of the division of provisions, which had, in fact, been observed in

preceding crusades, sufficiently accounts for the scarcity that had so

often desolated the Christian armies. The pious monarch was anxious

to avoid evils that were the fruit of want of prudence and foresight,

and refused to listen to the complaints of most of the French nobles.

Thus, says Joinville, scarcity continued, and made the people very much

dissatisfied.[302]

This spirit of dissatisfaction was quickly joined by other disorders,

the consequences of which were still more deplorable. The knights

forgot, in their fatal inactivity, both their warlike virtues and the

object of the holy war. The riches of Egypt and the East being promised

to them, the lords and barons made haste to consume, in festivities and

pleasures, the money which they had obtained from the liberality of the

king, or by the sale of their lands and castles. The passion for gaming

had got entire possession of both leaders and soldiers; after losing

their fortune, they risked even their horses and arms. Even beneath the

shadow of the standards of Christ, the Crusaders gave themselves up to

all the excesses of debauchery; the contagion of the most odious vices

pervaded all ranks, and places of prostitution were found even in the

close vicinity of the pavilion inhabited by the pious monarch of the

French.

To satisfy the boundless taste for luxury and pleasure, recourse was

had to all sorts of violent means. The leaders of the army pillaged the

traders that provisioned the camp and the city; they imposed enormous

tributes upon them, and this assisted greatly in bringing on scarcity.

The most ardent made distant excursions, surprised caravans, devastated

towns and plains, and bore away Mussulman women, whom they brought in

triumph to Damietta. The sharing even of this sort of booty often gave

rise to angry quarrels, and the whole camp resounded with complaints,

threats, and confusion.

One of the most afflicting phases of this picture was, that the

authority of the king became less respected daily; as corruption

increased, the habits of obedience declined; the laws were without

power, and virtue had no longer any empire. Louis IX. met with

opposition to his wishes, even from the princes of his own family.

The count d’Artois, a young, ardent, and presumptuous prince, unable

to endure either rivalry or contradiction, proud of his military

renown, and jealous to excess of that of others, was in the habit of

constantly provoking the other leaders, and of heaping upon them,

without motive, the most outrageous affronts. The earl of Salisbury,

to whom he had behaved very ill, complained of him to Louis, and

being unable to obtain the satisfaction he demanded, in his anger

pronounced those memorable words: “_You are then not a king, if you

are unable to administer justice._” This indocility of the princes,

and the licentiousness of the great, completed the disorder; every day

relaxation of discipline was observed to increase; the guarding of the

camp, which extended far over the plains and along the banks of the

Nile, was scarcely attended to; the advanced posts of the Christian

army were constantly exposed to the attacks of the enemy, without being

able to oppose any other means of resistance than imprudent and rash

bravery, which only increased the danger.

Among the Mussulman soldiers sent to harass the Crusaders, the most

successful in their mission were the Bedouin Arabs; intrepid warriors,

indefatigable horsemen, having no other country but the desert,

no other property but their horses and arms, the hopes of plunder

supported them through all toils, and taught them to brave all dangers.

With the Arabs of the desert were joined some Carismian horsemen, who

had escaped from the ruin of their warlike nation. Accustomed to live

by brigandage, both these watched night and day, to dog the Christian

soldiers, and appeared to possess the instinct and activity of those

wild animals that prowl constantly around the dwellings of man in

search of their prey. The sultan of Cairo promised a golden byzant for

every Christian head that should be brought into his camp; sometimes

the Arabs and Carismians surprised the Crusaders who wandered from

the army, and often took advantage of the darkness of night to get

access to the camp; sentinels asleep on their posts, knights in bed in

their tents, were struck by invisible hands, and when day appeared to

lighten the scene of carnage, the barbarians fled along the banks of

the Nile, to demand their wages of the sultan of Egypt.

These surprises and nocturnal attacks had a considerable effect in

reanimating the courage of the Mussulmans. To raise the confidence of

the multitude and the army, great care was taken to exhibit the heads

of the Christians; all captives were paraded about in triumph, and the

least advantage obtained over the Franks was celebrated throughout

Egypt. Contemporary historians, led away by common exaggeration,

talk of the most trifling combats as memorable victories; and we are

astonished, at the present day, to read in the history of a period

so abounding in great military events, that in the month of Ramadan

thirty-seven Christians were brought in chains to Cairo, that they

were followed, some days afterwards, by thirty-eight other captives,

among whom were distinguished five knights. The activity of Negmeddin

appeared to increase as his end approached. He employed the greatest

exertions to get together all his troops; was indefatigably attentive

in watching the movements of the Crusaders, and seldom failed to take

advantage of their errors. Men were employed night and day in repairing

the towers and fortifications of Mansourah; the Mussulman fleet, which

had ascended the Nile, cast anchor immediately in front of the city.

Whilst these preparations were going on, news arrived that the garrison

of Damascus had taken possession of the city of Sidon, belonging to

the Franks, and that the important place of Carac had just declared in

favour of Negmeddin. This unexpected intelligence, the sight of the

prisoners, but above all, the inactivity of the Christian army, which

was attributed to fear, completed the dissipation of the terror of

the Mussulmans. Whilst new reinforcements were every day arriving in

the camp of the sultan, the people flocked in crowds to the mosques

of Cairo and the other cities of Egypt, to invoke the protection of

Heaven, and return thanks to the God of Mahomet, for having prevented

the Christians from taking advantage of their victories.