chivalry, supported the Crusade with all their influence, until wars and
dissensions nearer home estranged them from it for a time. The two kings
met at Gisors in Normandy in the month of January, 1188, accompanied by a
brilliant train of knights and warriors. William of Tyre was present, and
expounded the cause of the cross with considerable eloquence, and the
whole assembly bound themselves by oath to proceed to Jerusalem. It was
agreed at the same time that a tax, called Saladin's tithe, and consisting
of the tenth part of all possessions, whether landed or personal, should
be enforced over Christendom, upon every one who was either unable or
unwilling to assume the cross. The lord of every feof, whether lay or
ecclesiastical, was charged to raise the tithe within his own
jurisdiction; and any one who refused to pay his quota, became by that act
the bondsman and absolute property of his lord. At the same time the
greatest indulgence was shewn to those who assumed the cross; no man was
at liberty to stay them by process of any kind, whether for debt, or
robbery, or murder. The king of France, at the breaking up of the
conference, summoned a parliament at Paris, where these resolutions were
solemnly confirmed, while Henry II. did the same for his Norman
possessions at Rouen, and for England at Geddington, in Northamptonshire.
To use the words of an ancient chronicler,[14] "he held a parliament about
the voyage into the Holy Land, and troubled the whole land with the paying
of tithes towards it."
[14] Stowe.
[Illustration: PHILIP AUGUSTUS.]
But it was not England alone that was "_troubled_" by the tax. The people
of France also looked upon it with no pleasant feelings, and appear from
that time forth to have changed their indifference for the Crusade into
aversion. Even the clergy, who were exceedingly willing that other people
should contribute half, or even all their goods in furtherance of their
favourite scheme, were not at all anxious to contribute a single sous
themselves. Millot[15] relates that several of them cried out against the
impost. Among the rest, the clergy of Rheims were called upon to pay their
quota, but sent a deputation to the king, begging him to be contented with
the aid of their prayers, as they were too poor to contribute in any other
shape. Philip Augustus knew better, and by way of giving them a lesson,
employed three nobles of the vicinity to lay waste the Church lands. The
clergy, informed of the outrage, applied to the king for redress. "I will
aid you with my prayers," said the monarch condescendingly, "and will
entreat those gentlemen to let the Church alone." He did as he had
promised, but in such a manner that the nobles, who appreciated the joke,
continued their devastations as before. Again the clergy applied to the
king. "What would you have of me?" he replied, in answer to their
remonstrances: "you gave me your prayers in my necessity, and I have given
you mine in yours." The clergy understood the argument, and thought it the
wiser course to pay their quota of Saladin's tithe without further parley.
[15] _Elémens de l'Histoire de France_.
This anecdote shews the unpopularity of the Crusade. If the clergy
disliked to contribute, it is no wonder that the people felt still greater
antipathy. But the chivalry of Europe was eager for the affray: the tithe
was rigorously collected, and armies from England, France, Burgundy,
Italy, Flanders, and Germany, were soon in the field. The two kings who
were to have led it were, however, drawn into broils by an aggression of
Richard duke of Guienne, better known as Richard Coeur de Lion, upon the
territory of the Count of Toulouse, and the proposed journey to Palestine
was delayed. War continued to rage between France and England, and with so
little probability of a speedy termination, that many of the nobles, bound
to the Crusade, left the two monarchs to settle the differences at their
leisure, and proceeded to Palestine without them.
Death at last stepped in and removed Henry II. from the hostility of his
foes, and the treachery and ingratitude of his children. His son Richard
immediately concluded an alliance with Philip Augustus; and the two young,
valiant, and impetuous monarchs united all their energies to forward the
Crusade. They met with a numerous and brilliant retinue at Nonancourt in
Normandy, where, in sight of their assembled chivalry, they embraced as
brothers, and swore to live as friends and true allies, until a period of
forty days after their return from the Holy Land. With a view of purging
their camp from the follies and vices which had proved so ruinous to
preceding expeditions, they drew up a code of laws for the government of
the army. Gambling had been carried to a great extent, and proved the
fruitful source of quarrels and bloodshed; and one of their laws
prohibited any person in the army, beneath the degree of a knight, from
playing at any game for money.[16] Knights and clergymen might play for
money, but no one was permitted to lose or gain more than twenty shillings
in a day, under a penalty of one hundred shillings. The personal
attendants of the monarchs were also allowed to play to the same extent.
The penalty in their case for infraction was that they should be whipped
naked through the army for the space of three days. Any Crusader, who
struck another and drew blood, was ordered to have his hand cut off; and
whoever slew a brother Crusader was condemned to be tied alive to the
corpse of his victim, and buried with him. No young women were allowed to
follow the army, to the great sorrow of many vicious and of many virtuous
dames, who had not courage to elude the decree by dressing in male attire.
But many high-minded and affectionate maidens and matrons, bearing the
sword or the spear, followed their husbands and lovers to the war in spite
of King Richard, and in defiance of danger. The only women allowed to
accompany the army in their own habiliments were washerwomen of fifty
years complete, and any others of the fair sex who had reached the same
age.
[16] Strutt's _Sports and Pastimes_.
These rules having been promulgated, the two monarchs marched together to
Lyons, where they separated, agreeing to meet again at Messina. Philip
proceeded across the Alps to Genoa, where he took ship, and was conveyed
in safety to the place of rendezvous. Richard turned in the direction of
Marseilles, where he also took ship for Messina. His impetuous disposition
hurried him into many squabbles by the way, and his knights and followers,
for the most part as brave and as foolish as himself, imitated him very
zealously in this particular. At Messina the Sicilians charged the most
exorbitant prices for every necessary of life. Richard's army in vain
remonstrated. From words they came to blows, and, as a last resource,
plundered the Sicilians, since they could not trade with them. Continual
battles were the consequence, in one of which Lebrun, the favourite
attendant of Richard, lost his life. The peasantry from far and near came
flocking to the aid of the townspeople, and the battle soon became
general. Richard, irritated at the loss of his favourite, and incited by
report that Tancred, the king of Sicily, was fighting at the head of his
own people, joined the _mêlée_ with his boldest knights, and, beating back
the Sicilians, attacked the city sword in hand, stormed the battlements,
tore down the flag of Sicily, and planted his own in its stead. This
collision gave great offence to the king of France, who became from that
time jealous of Richard, and apprehensive that his design was not so much
to re-establish the Christian kingdom of Jerusalem, as to make conquests
for himself. He, however, exerted his influence to restore peace between
the English and Sicilians, and shortly afterwards set sail for Acre, with
distrust of his ally germinating in his heart.
[Illustration: THE ISLAND OF RHODES.]
Richard remained behind for some weeks in a state of inactivity quite
unaccountable in one of his temperament. He appears to have had no more
squabbles with the Sicilians, but to have lived an easy, luxurious life,
forgetting, in the lap of pleasure, the objects for which he had quitted
his own dominions and the dangerous laxity he was introducing into his
army. The superstition of his soldiers recalled him at length to a sense
of his duty: a comet was seen for several successive nights, which was
thought to menace them with the vengeance of Heaven for their delay.
Shooting stars gave them similar warning; and a fanatic, of the name of
Joachim, with his drawn sword in his hand, and his long hair streaming
wildly over his shoulders, went through the camp, howling all night long,
and predicting plague, famine, and every other calamity, if they did not
set out immediately. Richard did not deem it prudent to neglect the
intimations; and, after doing humble penance for his remissness, he set
sail for Acre.
A violent storm dispersed his fleet, but he arrived safely at Rhodes with
the principal part of the armament. Here he learned that three of his
ships had been stranded on the rocky coasts of Cyprus, and that the ruler
of the island, Isaac Comnenus, had permitted his people to pillage the
unfortunate crews, and had refused shelter to his betrothed bride, the
Princess Berengaria, and his sister, who, in one of the vessels, had been
driven by stress of weather into the port of Limisso. The fiery monarch
swore to be revenged, and, collecting all his vessels, sailed back to
Limisso. Isaac Comnenus refused to apologise or explain, and Richard, in
no mood to be trifled with, landed on the island, routed with great loss
the forces sent to oppose him, and laid the whole country under
contribution.
[Illustration: RICHARD I. AND BERENGARIA.]
On his arrival at Acre he found the whole of the chivalry of Europe there
before him. Guy of Lusignan, the king of Jerusalem, had long before
collected the bold Knights of the Temple, the Hospital, and St. John, and
had laid siege to Acre, which was resolutely defended by the Sultan
Saladin, with an army magnificent both for its numbers and its discipline.
For nearly two years the Crusaders had pushed the siege, and made efforts
almost superhuman to dislodge the enemy. Various battles had taken place
in the open fields with no decisive advantage to either party, and Guy of
Lusignan had begun to despair of taking that strong position without aid
from Europe. His joy was extreme on the arrival of Philip with all his
chivalry, and he only awaited the coming of Coeur de Lion to make one last
decisive attack upon the town. When the fleet of England was first seen
approaching the shores of Syria, a universal shout arose from the
Christian camp; and when Richard landed with his train, one louder still
pierced to the very mountains of the south, where Saladin lay with all his
army.
It may be remarked as characteristic of this Crusade, that the Christians
and the Moslems no longer looked upon each other as barbarians, to whom
mercy was a crime. Each host entertained the highest admiration for the
bravery and magnanimity of the other, and, in their occasional truces, met
upon the most friendly terms. The Moslem warriors were full of courtesy to
the Christian knights, and had no other regret than to think that such
fine fellows were not Mahomedans. The Christians, with a feeling precisely
similar, extolled to the skies the nobleness of the Saracens, and sighed
to think that such generosity and valour should be sullied by disbelief in
the Gospel of Jesus. But when the strife began, all these feelings
disappeared, and the struggle became mortal.
The jealousy excited in the mind of Philip by the events of Messina still
rankled, and the two monarchs refused to act in concert. Instead of making
a joint attack upon the town, the French monarch assailed it alone, and
was repulsed. Richard did the same, and with the same result. Philip tried
to seduce the soldiers of Richard from their allegiance by the offer of
three gold pieces per month to every knight who would forsake the banners
of England for those of France. Richard endeavoured to neutralise the
offer by a larger one, and promised four pieces to every French knight who
should join the Lion of England. In this unworthy rivalry their time was
wasted, to the great detriment of the discipline and efficiency of their
followers. Some good was nevertheless effected; for the mere presence of
two such armies prevented the besieged city from receiving supplies, and
the inhabitants were reduced by famine to the most woful straits. Saladin
did not deem it prudent to risk a general engagement by coming to their
relief, but preferred to wait till dissension had weakened his enemy, and
made him an easy prey. Perhaps if he had been aware of the real extent of
the extremity in Acre, he would have changed his plan; but, cut off from
the town, he did not know its misery till it was too late. After a short
truce the city capitulated upon terms so severe that Saladin afterwards
refused to ratify them. The chief conditions were, that the precious wood
of the true cross, captured by the Moslems in Jerusalem, should be
restored; that a sum of two hundred thousand gold pieces should be paid;
and that all the Christian prisoners in Acre should be released, together
with two hundred knights and a thousand soldiers detained in captivity by
Saladin. The eastern monarch, as may be well conceived, did not set much
store on the wood of the cross, but was nevertheless anxious to keep it,
as he knew its possession by the Christians would do more than a victory
to restore their courage. He refused, therefore, to deliver it up, or to
accede to any of the conditions; and Richard, as he had previously
threatened, barbarously ordered all the Saracen prisoners in his power to
be put to death.
The possession of the city only caused new and unhappy dissensions between
the Christian leaders. The Archduke of Austria unjustifiably hoisted his
flag on one of the towers of Acre, which Richard no sooner saw than he
tore it down with his own hands, and trampled it under his feet. Philip,
though he did not sympathise with the archduke, was piqued at the
assumption of Richard, and the breach between the two monarchs became
wider than ever. A foolish dispute arose at the same time between Guy of
Lusignan and Conrad of Montferrat for the crown of Jerusalem. The inferior
knights were not slow to imitate the pernicious example, and jealousy,
distrust, and ill-will reigned in the Christian camp. In the midst of this
confusion the king of France suddenly announced his intention to return to
his own country. Richard was filled with indignation, and exclaimed,
"Eternal shame light on him, and on all France, if, for any cause, he
leave this work unfinished!" But Philip was not to be stayed. His health
had suffered by his residence in the East; and, ambitious of playing a
first part, he preferred to play none at all than to play second to King
Richard. Leaving a small detachment of Burgundians behind, he returned to
France with the remainder of his army; and Coeur de Lion, without feeling,
in the multitude of his rivals, that he had lost the greatest, became
painfully convinced that the right arm of the enterprise was lopped off.
After his departure, Richard re-fortified Acre, restored the Christian
worship in the churches, and, leaving a Christian garrison to protect it,
marched along the sea-coast towards Ascalon. Saladin was on the alert, and
sent his light horse to attack the rear of the Christian army, while he
himself, miscalculating their weakness since the defection of Philip,
endeavoured to force them to a general engagement. The rival armies met
near Azotus. A fierce battle ensued, in which Saladin was defeated and put
to flight, and the road to Jerusalem left free for the Crusaders.
Again discord exerted its baleful influence, and prevented Richard from
following up his victory. His opinion was constantly opposed by the other
leaders, all jealous of his bravery and influence; and the army, instead
of marching to Jerusalem, or even to Ascalon, as was first intended,
proceeded to Jaffa, and remained in idleness until Saladin was again in a
condition to wage war against them.
[Illustration: BETHLEHEM.]
Many months were spent in fruitless hostilities and as fruitless
negotiations. Richard's wish was to recapture Jerusalem; but there were
difficulties in the way, which even his bold spirit could not conquer. His
own intolerable pride was not the least cause of the evil; for it
estranged many a generous spirit, who would have been willing to
co-operate with him in all cordiality. At length it was agreed to march to
the Holy City; but the progress made was so slow and painful, that the
soldiers murmured, and the leaders meditated retreat. The weather was hot
and dry, and there was little water to be procured. Saladin had choked up
the wells and cisterns on the route, and the army had not zeal enough to
push forward amid such privation. At Bethlehem a council was held, to
debate whether they should retreat or advance. Retreat was decided upon,
and immediately commenced. It is said, that Richard was first led to a
hill, whence he could obtain a sight of the towers of Jerusalem, and that
he was so affected at being so near it, and so unable to relieve it, that
he hid his face behind his shield, and sobbed aloud.
The army separated into two divisions, the smaller falling back upon
Jaffa, and the larger, commanded by Richard and the Duke of Burgundy,
returning to Acre. Before the English monarch had made all his
preparations for his return to Europe, a messenger reached Acre with the
intelligence that Jaffa was besieged by Saladin, and that, unless relieved
immediately, the city would be taken. The French, under the Duke of
Burgundy, were so wearied with the war, that they refused to aid their
brethren in Jaffa. Richard, blushing with shame at their pusillanimity,
called his English to the rescue, and arrived just in time to save the
city. His very name put the Saracens to flight, so great was their dread
of his prowess. Saladin regarded him with the warmest admiration, and when
Richard, after his victory, demanded peace, willingly acceded. A truce was
concluded for three years and eight months, during which Christian
pilgrims were to enjoy the liberty of visiting Jerusalem without hindrance
or payment of any tax. The Crusaders were allowed to retain the cities of
Tyre and Jaffa, with the country intervening. Saladin, with a princely
generosity, invited many of the Christians to visit Jerusalem; and several
of the leaders took advantage of his offer to feast their eyes upon a spot
which all considered so sacred. Many of them were entertained for days in
the sultan's own palace, from which they returned with their tongues laden
with the praises of the noble infidel. Richard and Saladin never met,
though the impression that they did will remain on many minds, who have
been dazzled by the glorious fiction of Sir Walter Scott. But each admired
the prowess and nobleness of soul of his rival, and agreed to terms far
less onerous than either would have accepted, had this mutual admiration
not existed.[17]
[17] Richard left a high reputation in Palestine. So much terror
did his name occasion, that the women of Syria used it to
frighten their children for ages afterwards. Every
disobedient child became still when told that King Richard
was coming. Even men shared the panic that his name created;
and a hundred years afterwards, whenever a horse shied at any
object in the way, his rider would exclaim, "What! dost thou
think King Richard is in the bush?"
The king of England no longer delayed his departure, for messengers from
his own country brought imperative news that his presence was required to
defeat the intrigues that were fomenting against his crown. His long
imprisonment in the Austrian dominions and final ransom are too well known
to be dwelt upon. And thus ended the third Crusade, less destructive of
human life than the two first, but quite as useless.
The flame of popular enthusiasm now burned pale indeed, and all the
efforts of popes and potentates were insufficient to rekindle it. At last,
after flickering unsteadily, like a lamp expiring in the socket, it burned
up brightly for one final instant, and was extinguished for ever.
The fourth Crusade, as connected with popular feeling, requires little or
no notice. At the death of Saladin, which happened a year after the
conclusion of his truce with Richard of England, his vast empire fell to
pieces. His brother Saif Eddin, or Saphaddin, seized upon Syria, in the
possession of which he was troubled by the sons of Saladin. When this
intelligence reached Europe, the Pope, Celestine III., judged the moment
favourable for preaching a new Crusade. But every nation in Europe was
unwilling and cold towards it. The people had no ardour, and kings were
occupied with more weighty matters at home. The only monarch of Europe who
encouraged it was the Emperor Henry of Germany, under whose auspices the
Dukes of Saxony and Bavaria took the field at the head of a considerable
force. They landed in Palestine, and found any thing but a welcome from
the Christian inhabitants. Under the mild sway of Saladin, they had
enjoyed repose and toleration, and both were endangered by the arrival of
the Germans. They looked upon them in consequence as over-officious
intruders, and gave them no encouragement in the warfare against
Saphaddin. The result of this Crusade was even more disastrous than the
last; for the Germans contrived not only to embitter the Saracens against
the Christians of Judea, but to lose the strong city of Jaffa, and cause
the destruction of nine-tenths of the army with which they had quitted
Europe. And so ended the fourth Crusade.