_Divisions among the Moslems--Among the Christians--Crusade of
Children--Innocent III. declares he will lead a new Crusade to Syria--The
King of Hungary takes the Cross--Arrives in Syria--Successes of the
Pilgrims--They abandon the Siege of Mount Thabor--The King of Hungary
returns to Europe--The Duke of Austria continues the War--Siege of
Damietta--Reinforcements arrive under a Legate--Famine in Damietta--The
Moslems offer to yield Palestine--The Legate's Pride--He refuses--Taking
of Damietta--The Army advances towards Cairo--Overflowing of the Nile--The
Army ruined--The Legate sues for Peace--Generous Conduct of the
Sultaun--Marriage of the Heiress of Jerusalem with Frederic, Emperor of
Germany--His Disputes with the Pope--His Treaties with the Saracens--He
recovers Jerusalem--Quits the Holy Land--Disputes in Palestine--The
Templars defeated and slaughtered--Gregory IX.--Crusade of the King of
Navarre ineffectual--Crusade of Richard, Earl of Cornwall--Jerusalem
recovered--The Corasmins--Their Barbarity--They take Jerusalem--Defeat the
Christians with terrible slaughter--Are exterminated by the
Syrians--Crusade of St. Louis--His Character--Arrives in the Holy
Land--Takes Damietta--Battle of Massoura--Pestilence in the Army--The King
taken--Ransomed--Returns to Europe--Second Crusade of St. Louis--Takes
Carthage--His Death--Crusade of Prince Edward--He defeats the
Saracens--Wounded by an Assassin--Returns to Europe--Successes of the
Turks--Last Siege and Fall of Acre--Palestine lost._
The fifth crusade had ended, as we have seen, without producing any other
benefit to Palestine than a deep depression in the minds of the Turks,
from the knowledge that the weak dynasty of the Greeks had been replaced
by a power of greater energy and resolution. The famine also, which about
this time desolated the territories of the Egyptian sultaun, and the
contests[809] between the remaining Attabecs and the successors of
Saladin, crippled the efforts of the Moslems; while the courageous
activity of Jean de Brienne[810] defeated the attempts of Saif Eddin.
Nevertheless, many bloody disputes concerning the succession of Antioch,
and the fierce rivalry of the orders of the Temple and Hospital,
contributed to shake the stability of the small Christian dominion that
remained.
Each year,[811] two regular voyages of armed and unarmed pilgrims took
place, from Europe to the Holy Land: these were called the _passagium
Martii_, or the spring passage; and the _passagium Johannis_, or the
summer passage which occurred about the festival of St. John. A continual
succour was thus afforded to Palestine: and that the spirit of crusading
was by no means extinct in Europe is evinced by the extraordinary fact of
a crusade of children[812] having been preached and adopted towards the
year 1213. Did this fact rest alone upon the authority of Alberic of Three
Fountains Abbey, we might be permitted to doubt its having taken place,
for his account is, in several particulars, evidently hypothetical; but so
many coinciding authorities exist,[813] that belief becomes matter of
necessity.
The circumstances are somewhat obscure; but it seems certain that two
monks, with the design of profiting by a crime then too common, the
traffic in children, induced a great number of the youth of both sexes to
set out from France for the Holy Land, habited as pilgrims, with the scrip
and staff. Two merchants of Marseilles,[814] accomplices in the plot, as
it would seem, furnished the first body of these misguided children with
vessels, which, of course, were destined to transport them for sale to the
African coast. Several of the ships were wrecked on the shores of Italy,
and every soul perished, but the rest pursued their way and accomplished
their inhuman voyage. The two merchants, however, were afterward detected
in a plot against the emperor Frederic, and met the fate they deserved.
Another body, setting out from Germany, reached Genoa after immense
difficulties; and there the Genoese, instead of encouraging their frantic
enthusiasm, wisely commanded them to evacuate their territory; on which
they returned to their homes, and though many died on the road, a great
part arrived in safety,[815] and escaped the fate which had overtaken the
young adventurers from France.
When Innocent III. heard of this crusade, he is reported to have said,
"While we sleep, these children are awake:" and it is more than probable,
that his circumstance convinced him, that the zealous spirit which had
moved all the expeditions to the Holy Land was still active and willing.
Certain it is, that he very soon afterward sent round an encyclical
letter, calling the Christian world once more to arms against the Moslems.
Indulgences were spread, and extended in their character: a council of
Lateran was held, and Innocent himself declared[816] his intention of
leading the warriors of Christ to the scene of his crucifixion. De
Courçon, an English monk, who had become cardinal, preached the new
crusade with all the pomp of a Roman prelate, and a great number of
individuals were gathered together for the purpose of succouring
Palestine. But the kings of the earth had now more correct views of
policy; and policy never encourages enthusiasm except as an instrument.
Only one king therefore could be found to take the Cross--this was
Andrew,[817] monarch of Hungary; and the Dukes of Austria and Bavaria,
with a multitude of German bishops and nobles, joined his forces, and
advanced to Spalatro. Innocent III. was by this time dead, but the
expedition sailed in Venetian ships to Cyprus, and thence, after having
given somewhat too much rein to enjoyment, proceeded to Acre, carrying
with it a large reinforcement from France and Italy. The Saracens had
heard less of this crusade than of those which had preceded it, and were
therefore less prepared to oppose it. The Christian army advanced with
success, and many thousands of the infidels felt the European steel; but
the crusaders, not contented with plundering their enemies, went on to
plunder their friends; and serious divisions began, as usual, to show
themselves, which were only healed by the influence of the clergy, who
turned the attention of the soldiers from pillage and robbery to fasts and
pilgrimages. When the host was once more united, its exertions were
directed to the capture of the fort[818] built by the Saracens on Mount
Thabor. After overcoming infinite difficulties in the ascent of the
mountain, the Latins found themselves opposite the fortress: the soldiers
were enthusiastic and spirited; and it is more than probable that one
gallant attack would have rendered the greatest benefit to the Christian
cause, by obtaining possession of such an important point. The
leaders,[819] however, seized with a sudden fear of being cut off,
abandoned their object without striking a blow, and retired to Acre. The
rest of the season was passed in excursions, by which the Christians
obtained many prisoners and much spoil; and in pilgrimages, wherein
thousands were cut to pieces by the Saracens. The kings of Cyprus and
Hungary then turned their course to Tripoli, where the first died, and the
Hungarian monarch[820] was suddenly seized with the desire of returning to
his own dominions;[821] which he soon put in execution, notwithstanding
the prayers and solicitations of the Syrian Christians.
Still the Latins of Palestine were not left destitute. The Duke of Austria
remained, with all the German crusaders; and the next year a large
reinforcement arrived from Cologne; nor would these have been so tardy in
coming, had they[822] not paused upon the coast of Portugal to succour the
queen of that country against the Moors. The efforts of the Christians had
proved hitherto so fruitless for the recovery of Jerusalem, while the
Saracens could bring vast forces from Egypt continually to the support of
their Syrian possessions, that the Latins now resolved to strike at the
very source of their power.
Damietta was supposed to command the entrance of the Nile, and
consequently to be the key of Egypt; and thither the crusaders set sail,
for the purpose of laying siege to that important city. They[823] arrived
in the month of May, and landed on the western bank of the river opposite
to the town. A tower in the centre of the stream, connected with the walls
by a strong chain, was the immediate object of attack; but the first
attempt was repulsed with great loss, though made by the Hospitallers, the
Teutonic Order, and the Germans, united. An immense machine[824] of wood
was now constructed on board two of the vessels, which, lashed together,
were moved across to the point of assault, and, after a long and
courageous resistance, the garrison of the castle was forced to surrender
at discretion.[825] The besieging party then abandoned themselves to joy
and revelry; they looked upon the city as taken; and the news of the death
of Saif Eddin increased their hopes of the complete deliverance of the
Holy Land. The victories which Saif Eddin had gained over the Christians
were indeed but small, nor had he struck any one great blow against the
Attabecs, but he had gradually, and almost imperceptibly, extended his
dominions in every direction, and left a large territory and full treasury
to his successors. His high qualities were different from those of
Saladin, and his character was altogether less noble and striking, but he
possessed more shrewdness than his brother; and if his mind had not the
same capability of expanding, it had more powers of concentration. To Saif
Eddin succeeded his two sons, Cohr Eddin and Camel, the first of whom took
possession of Syria and Palestine in peace. But Egypt, which the second
had governed for some time, instantly broke out into revolt on the news of
his father's death, and had the Franks pushed the war in that country with
vigour, greater effects would have been produced than were ever wrought by
any preceding crusade. They neglected their opportunity; spent their time
in rioting and debauchery under the yet unconquered walls of Damietta:
and, after the arrival of large reinforcements from France, England, and
Italy, under the Cardinals Pelagius and Courçon, the Earls of Chester and
Salisbury, and the Counts of Nevers and La Marche, they only changed their
conduct from revelling to dissension. At length they awoke from their
frantic dreams, and prepared to attack the city itself; but before they
could accomplish their object, Cohr Eddin had entered Egypt, put down
rebellion, and re-established his brother Camel in full possession of his
authority. The siege of Damietta now became, like the first siege of
Antioch, a succession of battles and skirmishes. For three months the
various nations that composed the besieging force as well as the Templars,
the Hospitallers, and the Teutonic knights, vied with each other in deeds
of glory; nor were the Saracens behind their adversaries in courage,
skill, or resolution. But famine took up the sword against the unhappy
people of Damietta. Pestilence soon joined her, and the fall of the city
became inevitable.[826]
Cohr Eddin, fearful that Jerusalem might be turned to a post against him,
had destroyed the walls of that town; but now that he saw the certain loss
of Damietta, and calculated the immense advantages the Christians might
thence gain, he with the best policy agreed to make a vast sacrifice to
save the key of his brother's dominions. Conferences were opened with the
Christians, and the Saracens offered, on the evacuation of Egypt by the
Latins, to yield the whole of Palestine, except the fortresses of Montreal
and Karac, to restore all European prisoners, and even to rebuild the
walls of Jerusalem for the Christians. The King of Jerusalem, the English,
the French, and the Germans looked upon their warfare as ended, and their
object achieved, by the very proposal; but the cardinal Pelagius, the two
military Orders, and the Italians, opposed all conciliation, contending
that no faith was to be put in the promises of infidels.
Heaven only knows whether the Saracens would have broken their
engagements, or whether calm moderation might not have restored Palestine
to the followers of the Cross; but moderation was not consulted, and the
walls of Damietta were once more attacked. It was no longer difficult to
take them, and when the crusaders entered the city, they discovered
nothing-but a world of pestilence. Death was in every street; and of
seventy thousand souls, not three thousand were found alive.[827]
Discord, of course, succeeded conquest; and after having cleansed and
purified Damietta, a winter was spent in dissensions, at the end of which
a great part of the army returned to Europe; and Jean de Brienne, offended
by the arrogance of Pelagius, retired to Acre. Concessions soon brought
him back, and hostilities were resumed against the Moslems, but the legate
overbore all counsel; and instead of directing their[828] arms towards
Palestine, which was now open to them, the crusaders marched on towards
Cairo. The forces of the sultaun had greatly increased, but he still
offered peace, on conditions as advantageous as those that had been
previously proposed. The legate insultingly rejected all terms, wasted his
time in inactivity, the Nile rose, the sluices were opened, and Pelagius
found himself at once unable to advance, and cut off from his resources at
Damietta. There is nothing too mean for disappointed pride, and the legate
then sued in the humblest language for permission to return to Acre. The
Sultaun of Egypt, with admirable moderation, granted him peace, and the
King of Jerusalem became one of the hostages that Damietta should be given
up. The troops would still have perished for want, had not the noble
sultaun been melted by the grief of John of Brienne, who wept while
recounting the distress in which he had left his people. The Saracen
mingled his tears with those of the hostage king, and ordered the army of
his enemy to be supplied with food.[829] Damietta was soon after yielded,
and the hostages exchanged. John of Brienne retired to Acre, wearied of
unceasing efforts to recover his nominal kingdom; and Pelagius passed over
into Europe, loaded with the hatred and contempt of Palestine.
John of Brienne had received the crown of Jerusalem as his wife's dowry,
and it was destined that the marriage of his daughter should restore the
Holy City to the Christians. The emperor Frederick II. had often vowed in
the most solemn manner to lead his armies into Palestine, and had as often
broken his oath. At length it was proposed to him that he should wed
Violante, the beautiful heiress of the Syrian kingdom; and it was easily
stipulated that John of Brienne should give up his rights on Palestine to
his daughter's husband. Frederic eagerly caught at the idea. By the
intervention of the Pope the treaty was concluded between the king and the
emperor; and Violante, having been brought to Europe, was espoused by her
imperial lover.[830] Many causes combined to delay the new crusade, though
it was preached by two succeeding popes with all the zeal and promises
that had led to those that went before. France and Italy remained occupied
entirely by intestine dissensions; but England showed great zeal, and sent
sixty thousand men at arms to the field.[831] The emperor collected
together immense forces, and proceeded to Brundusium; but there, being
taken ill of a pestilential disease which had swept away many of his
soldiers, he was obliged to return after having put to sea. Gregory IX.
was now in the papal chair; and--wroth with the emperor for many a
contemptuous mark of disobedience to the ecclesiastical authority--he now
excommunicated him for coming back, however necessary the measure.
Frederic was angry, though not frightened; and, after having exculpated
himself to Europe by a public letter,[832] he sent his soldiers to plunder
the Pope's territories while he recovered his health. At length, in 1228,
he set sail from Brundusium, still burdened with the papal censure, which
he was too much accustomed to bear to feel as any oppressive load. He
arrived without difficulty at Acre; but all men wondered that so great an
enterprise should be undertaken with so small a force as that which could
be contained in twenty galleys; and it soon appeared that Frederic had
long been negotiating with Camel, Sultaun of Egypt, who, fearful of the
active and ambitious spirit of his brother Cohr Eddin,[833] had entered
into a private treaty with the German monarch.
The emperor, on his arrival in Palestine, found that the revengeful Pope
had laid his injunction upon all men to show him no obedience, and afford
him no aid while under the censure of the church.[834] None, therefore, at
first, accompanied him in his march but his own forces and the Teutonic
knights. The Hospitallers and Templars soon followed, and, too fond of
active warfare to remain neuter, joined themselves to the army on some
verbal concession on the part of Frederic. About this time Cohr Eddin
died; and Camel,[835] freed from apprehension,[836] somewhat cooled
towards his Christian ally. He was, nevertheless, too generous to violate
his promises, and after Frederic had advanced some way towards Jerusalem,
a treaty was entered into between the German monarch and the Saracens,
whereby the Holy City and the greater part of Palestine was yielded to the
Christians, with the simple stipulation that the Moslems were to be
allowed[837] to worship in the temple, as well as the followers of the
Cross.[838] Frederic then proceeded to Jerusalem to be crowned; but the
conditions he had agreed to had given offence to the Christians of Judea,
and the Pope's excommunication still hung over his head. All the services
of the church were suspended during his stay; he was obliged to raise the
crown from the altar himself and place it on his own brow; and he
discovered, by messengers from the Sultaun of Egypt, that some
individuals[839] of the military Orders had offered to betray him into the
hands of the Saracens. Frederic now found it necessary to depart,[840] and
after having done justice upon several of the chief contemners of his
authority, he set sail for Europe, leaving Palestine[841] in a far more
favourable state than it had known since the fatal battle of Tiberias.
Soon after the departure of Frederic, a new aspirant to the crown of
Jerusalem appeared in the person of Alice, Queen of Cyprus, the daughter
of Isabella and Henry, Count of Champagne, and half sister of Mary,
through whom John of Brienne had obtained the throne. Her claims were soon
disposed of; for the three military Orders,[842] uniting in purpose for
once, adhered to the Emperor of Germany, and Alice was obliged to
withdraw. After this struggle the attention of the Christians was entirely
turned to the general defence; and the right of the emperor, who had now
made his peace with the Pope, was universally recognised.[843]
Nevertheless, the truce which he had concluded with Camel, the Sultaun of
Egypt, did not in all instances save the Latins of Palestine from
annoyance and warfare. The whole country was surrounded by a thousand
petty Mahommedan states not included in the peace, and the Moslems left no
opportunity unimproved for the purpose of destroying their Christian
neighbours. Their incursions on the Latin territory were incessant; and
many large bodies of pilgrims were cut to pieces, or hurried away into
distant lands as slaves.
A truce had been agreed upon also, between the Templars and the Sultaun of
Aleppo; but at the death of that monarch both parties had again recourse
to arms, and the Templars were defeated with such terrible slaughter that
all Europe was moved with compassion. Even their ancient rivals, the
Hospitallers, sent them immediate succour; and from the commandery of St.
John, at Clerkenwell,[844] alone, a body of three hundred knights took
their departure for the Holy Land.
A council likewise was held about this time at Spoletto, where another
crusade was announced; and Gregory IX., who combined in his person every
inconsistency that ambition, bigotry, and avarice can produce, sent the
Dominican and Franciscan friars to stimulate Europe to take the Cross. No
sooner had the crusade been preached, and the enthusiastic multitudes were
ready to begin the journey, than Gregory and his agents persuaded many to
compromise their vow;[845] and, by paying a certain sum towards the
expenses of the expedition, to fill the papal treasury, under the pretence
of assisting their brother Christians. Those who would not thus yield to
his suggestions he positively prohibited from setting out, and engaged the
Emperor Frederic to throw impediments in their way, when they pursued
their purpose. Nevertheless, the King of Navarre, the Duke of Burgundy,
the Count of Brittany, and the Count de Bar proceeded to Palestine in
spite of all opposition; and their coming was of very timely service to
the defenders of the Holy Land, for no sooner had the period of his truce
with the Christians expired, than Camel, finding that preparations for war
were making on their part, anticipated their efforts, retook Jerusalem,
routed all the forces that could be opposed to him, and overthrew what was
called the Tower of David. He died shortly after this victory, and on the
arrival of the crusaders, a prospect of success seemed open before them.
But the operations of the chiefs were detached, and though the Count of
Brittany gained some advantages towards Damascus, the rest of the French
knights were completely defeated in a pitched battle at Gaza, and most of
their leaders were either killed or taken. The King of Navarre was glad to
enter into a disgraceful treaty with the Emir of Karac, which was
conducted through the intervention of the Templars;[846] and the rest of
the Latins formed alliances with what neighbouring powers they could. The
Hospitallers, however, would not subscribe to the truce with the Emir of
Karac[847] through jealousy towards the Templars, and there was no power
in the state sufficiently strong to force them to obedience.
Shortly after this event, the King of Navarre returned to Europe, and
Richard, Earl of Cornwall, with many knights and large forces, arrived in
Palestine. Their expedition had been sanctioned by all the authorities of
Europe, except the Pope. Henry III. conducted them in person to the shore;
the prayers and benedictions of the people and the clergy followed them,
and their journey through France was accompanied by shouts and
acclamations. On his arrival in Palestine, Richard instantly marched upon
Jaffa, but he was met by envoys from the Sultaun of Egypt--who was now at
war with the Sultaun of Damascus--offering an exchange of prisoners, and a
complete cession of the Holy Land,[848] with some unimportant exceptions.
Richard instantly accepted such advantageous proposals; Jerusalem was
given up to the Christians, the rebuilding of the walls was commenced, the
churches were purified, and the earl returned to Europe with the glorious
title of the deliverer of Palestine. The Templars would not be parties to
this treaty, as the Hospitallers had refused to participate in the other;
and thus, one of the great military Orders remained at war with the
Sultaun of Damascus,[849] and the other with the Sultaun of Egypt.
While these events had been passing in Palestine, a new dynasty had sprung
up in the north of Asia, and threatened a complete revolution in the whole
of that quarter of the world. Genjis Khan and his successors had
overturned all the northern and eastern governments of Asia; and,
spreading over that fair portion of the earth precisely as the Goths and
Huns had spread over Roman Europe, had reduced the more polished and
civilized nations of the south, by the savage vigour and active ferocity
of a race yet in the youth of being. Among[850] other tribes whom the
successors of Genjis had expelled from their original abodes, was a
barbarous and warlike horde called the Corasmins; and this people,
wandering about without a dwelling, destroying as they went, and waging
war against all nations, at length directed their course towards
Palestine. So quick and unexpected had been their arrival, that the
Christians employed in the re-edification of the city-walls never dreamed
of invasion till fire and massacre had swept over half the Holy Land.[851]
No troops were collected, no preparations made, the fortifications of the
city were incomplete, and the only resource of the people of Jerusalem was
to retire in haste to the shelter of Jaffa, under the guidance of the few
Templars and Hospitallers who were on the spot. Some few persons remained,
and made an attempt at defence; but the town was taken in a moment, and
every soul in it put to the sword.[852] The bloodthirsty barbarians, not
satisfied with the scanty number of victims they had found, artfully
raised the banner of the Cross upon the walls, and many of the Latins who
had fled returned. Seven thousand more were thus entrapped and massacred;
and the Corasmins exercised every sort of barbarous fury on those objects
they thought most sacred in the eyes of the Christians.
At length the fugitives at Jaffa received a succour of four thousand men
from their allies, the Sultauns of Emissa and Damascus,[853] and resolved
to give battle to the barbarians. The Patriarch of Jerusalem precipitated
the measures of the army, and after a dreadful struggle the Latins were
defeated, the Grand Masters of the Temple and St. John slain, the three
military Orders nearly exterminated, and the Sultaun of Emissa forced to
fly for shelter to his fortifications. Walter de Brienne, the lord of
Jaffa, was taken; and to force that town to surrender, the Corasmins hung
the gallant knight by the arms to a cross, declaring to the garrison that
he should there remain till the city was yielded. Walter heard, and
raising his voice, unmindful of his own agonies, solemnly commanded his
soldiers to hold out the city to the last.[854] The barbarians were
obliged to retire, and Walter was sent captive into Egypt.
The Sultaun of Emissa soon raised the standard a second time against the
barbarians and after several struggles, in which the monarch of Egypt
sometimes upheld, and sometimes abandoned the Corasmins, they were at
length entirely defeated, and not one, it is said, escaped from the field
of battle.[855] Barbaquan, their leader, was slain; and thus Asia was
delivered of one of the most terrible scourges that had ever been
inflicted on her.
At this time a monarch reigned over France who combined in a remarkable
degree the high talents of his grandfather Philip Augustus with the
religious zeal or, perhaps I may say, fanaticism of his father, Louis
VIII. Louis IX. was in every respect an extraordinary man; he was a great
warrior, chivalrous as an individual, and skilful as a general: he was a
great king, inasmuch as he sought the welfare of his people more than the
aggrandizement of his territories: he formed the best laws that could be
adapted to the time, administered them often in person, and observed them
always himself: he was a good man, inasmuch as he served God with his
whole heart, and strove in all his communion with his fellows to do his
duty according to his sense of obligation. Had he been touched with
religious fervour to the amount of zeal, but not to the amount of
fanaticism, he would have been perhaps too superior to his age. Previous
to the news of the Corasminian irruption, St. Louis had determined to
visit the Holy Land, in consequence of a vow made during sickness.[856] It
appears, that after the signal defeat which he had given to Henry III. of
England at Saintonge, Louis's whole attention was turned to the sufferings
of the Christians in Palestine; and so deeply was his mind impressed with
that anxious thought, that it became the subject of dreams, which he
looked upon as instigations from heaven. The news of the destruction of
the Christians by the barbarians, the well-known quarrels and rivalry of
the two military Orders, and the persuasions of Innocent IV., who then
held the thirteenth oecumenical council at Lyons, all hastened Louis's
preparations. William Longsword and a great many English crusaders[857]
joined the French monarch from Great Britain; and after three years'
careful attention to the safety of his kingdom, the provision of supplies,
and the concentration of his forces, Louis, with his two brothers, the
Counts of Artois and Anjou, took the scrip and staff, and set sail for
Cyprus. The third brother of the king, Alphonso, Count of Poitiers,
remained to collect the rest of the crusaders, and followed shortly
after.[858] The queen-consort of France, and several other ladies of high
note, accompanied the monarch to the Holy Land.[859] At Cyprus, Louis
spent eight months in healing the divisions of the military Orders, and
endeavouring to bring about that degree of unity which had been unknown to
any of the crusades. At length, early in the spring, he set sail from
Cyprus with an army of fifty thousand chosen men. A tremendous storm
separated the king's fleet, and, supported by but a small part of his
troops he arrived at Damietta, where the Sultaun of Egypt, with his whole
force, was drawn up to oppose the landing of the Christians. The sultaun
himself was seen in golden armour, which shone, Joinville says, like the
sun itself; and so great was the noise of drums and trumpets that the
French were almost deafened by the sound. After some discussion, it was
determined that the landing should be attempted without waiting for the
rest of the army. Among the first who reached the shore was Joinville,
Seneschal of Champagne, who, accompanied by another baron, and their
men-at-arms, landed in the face of an immense body of Turkish cavalry,
that instantly spurred forward against them. The French planted their
large shields[860] in the sand, with their lances resting on the rim, so
that a complete chevaux-de-frise was raised, from which the Turks turned
off without venturing an assault. St. Louis himself soon followed, and in
his chivalrous impatience to land, sprang into the water up to his
shoulders, and, sword in hand, rushed on to charge the Saracens.
Intimidated at the bold actions of the French, the Moslems fled from the
beach; and as the crusaders advanced, the unexpected news of the death of
their sultaun reached the Saracens, upon which they abandoned even the
city of Damietta itself, without waiting to destroy the bridge, though
they set fire to the bazaars.[861]
At Damietta Louis paused for the arrival of his brother, the Count of
Poitiers, and the rest of the forces; and here, with the usual
improvidence that marked all the crusades, the army gave itself up to
luxury and debauchery, which the king neither by laws nor example could
check. At length the reinforcements appeared, and Louis, leaving the queen
at Damietta, marched on towards Cairo; but near Massoura he found his
advance impeded by the Thanisian canal, on the other side of which the
Saracens were drawn up to oppose his progress under the command of the
celebrated Emir Ceccidun. No other means of passing the canal seemed
practicable, but by throwing a causeway across. This was accordingly
commenced, under cover of two high moveable towers, called _chats
chatiels_, or cat-castles, which were scarcely raised before they were
burnt by quantities of Greek fire, thrown from the _pierriers_ and
mangonels.
At length an Arabian peasant agreed, for a large bribe, to point out a
ford. The Count of Artois, with fourteen hundred knights, was directed to
attempt it. He succeeded, repulsed the Saracens on the banks, and pursued
them to Massoura. The panic among the Moslems was general, and Massoura
was nearly deserted. The more experienced and prudent knights of all
classes advised the Count of Artois to pause for the arrival of the king
and the rest of the army. The Count, with passionate eagerness, accused
his good counsellors of cowardice. Chivalrous honour thus assailed forgot
reason and moderation; each one more ardently than another advanced into
Massoura: the Moslems, recovered from their fear, returned in great
numbers; the fight began in earnest, and almost the whole of the imprudent
advance-guard of the Christians was cut to pieces. The Count of Artois
fell among the first;[862] and when Louis himself arrived, all was dismay
and confusion. The battle was now renewed with redoubled vigour; Louis
fought in every part of the strife, and the French and Saracens seemed
emulous of each other in the paths of glory and destruction. The sun went
down over the field of Massoura, leaving neither army assuredly the
victors; but the Saracens had been repulsed, and Louis remained master of
the plain.
Sickness and famine soon began to rage in the Christian camp. The Moslems
had now interrupted the communication with Damietta; and every soldier in
the army was enfeebled by disease. Negotiations were begun for peace; but
were broken off, because the sultaun would receive no hostage for the
evacuation of Damietta but Louis himself; and it was determined to attempt
a retreat. Many strove to escape by the river, but were taken in the
attempt; and the host itself was incessantly subject to the attacks of the
Saracens, who hung upon its rear during the whole march, cutting off every
party that was detached, even to procure the necessaries of life. In this
dreadful state Louis long continued to struggle against sickness, fighting
ever where danger was most imminent, and bearing up when the hardiest
soldiers of his army failed. At length he could hardly sit his horse; and
in the confusion of the flight--which was now the character of the
retreat--he was separated from his own servants, and attended only by the
noble Geoffroy de Sergines, who defended him against all the attacks of
the enemy. He was led to a hut at the village of Cazel, where he lay,
expecting every moment that the plague would accomplish its work. He was
thus taken by the Saracens,[863] who assisted in his recovery and treated
him with honour. The greater part of the army fell into the Moslems'
power, but an immense number were slain and drowned in attempting their
escape.
Several difficulties now arose with regard to the ransom of the king; the
Saracens demanding the cession of various parts of Palestine still in the
hands of the Christians. This, however, Louis refused; and conducted
himself in prison with so much boldness, that the sultaun declared he was
the proudest infidel he had ever beheld. To humble him to his wishes, the
torture of the bernicles was threatened;[864] but the monarch remained so
unmoved, that his enfranchisement was at last granted on other terms. Ten
thousand golden besants were to be paid for the freedom of the army; the
city of Damietta was to be restored to the Saracens, and a peace of ten
years was concluded. During the interval which followed these
arrangements, the sultaun was assassinated, and the fate of St. Louis was
again doubtful; but the murderers agreed to the same terms which had been
before stipulated. Nevertheless, some acts of cruelty were committed; and
a great number of the sick were massacred at Damietta. The treasure which
the king possessed on the spot not being sufficient to furnish the whole
ransom, his friends were obliged to seize upon the wealth of the Grand
Master of the Temple, who basely refused to lend a portion to redeem his
fellow-christians. At length the first part of the sum was paid; the great
body of the foreign nobles who had joined in the crusade returned to
Europe, and Louis himself retired to Acre. The Saracens had already broken
the treaty with Louis by the murder of the sick at Damietta, and by the
detention of several knights and soldiers, as well as a large body of
Christian children. The promise of peace, therefore, was not imperative;
and the Sultaun of Damascus eagerly courted the French king to aid him in
his efforts against the people of Egypt.[865] The news of this negotiation
immediately brought deputies from Egypt, who submitted to the terms which
Louis thought fit to propose; and that monarch, without mingling in the
wars that raged between the two Moslem countries, only took advantage of
them to repair the fortifications of Jaffa and Cesarea. After having spent
two years in putting the portion of Palestine that yet remained to the
Latins[866] into a defensible state, he set sail for France, where his
presence was absolutely required.
Before proceeding to trace the after-fate of the Holy Land,[867] it may
be as well to conduct St. Louis to his last crusade. Sixteen years after
his return to Europe, that monarch once more determined on rearing the
banner of the Cross. Immense numbers flocked to join him, and England
appeared willing to second all the efforts of the French king. Edward, the
heir of the English monarchy, assumed the Cross; and large sums were
raised throughout Britain for defraying the expenses of the war.
In 1270, St. Louis, accompanied by the flower of his national nobility,
and followed by sixty thousand chosen troops, set sail for Palestine, but
was driven by a storm into Sardinia. Here a change in his plans took
place; and it was resolved that the army should land in Africa, where the
King of Tunis some time before had professed himself favourable to the
Christian religion. St. Louis had been long so weak, that he could not
bear the weight of his armour,[868] nor the motion of a horse, for any
length of time; but still his indefatigable zeal sustained him; and after
a short passage, he arrived on the coast of Africa, opposite to the city
of Carthage.
Although his coming had been so suddenly resolved,[869] a large Mahommedan
force was drawn up to oppose his landing; but the French knights forced
their way to the shore, and after a severe contest, obtained a complete
victory over the Moors. Siege was then laid to Carthage, which was also
taken; but before these conquests could be turned to any advantage, an
infectious flux began to appear in the army. St. Louis was one of the
first attacked. His enfeebled constitution was not able to support the
effects of the disease, and it soon became evident that the monarch's days
were rapidly drawing to their close. In this situation, with the most
perfect consciousness of his approaching fate, St. Louis called his son
Philip,[870] and spoke long to him on his duty to the people he left to
his charge; teaching him with the beautiful simplicity of true wisdom. The
king then withdrew his thoughts from all earthly things, performed the
last rites of his religion, and yielded his soul to God.[871]
Scarcely was the monarch dead, when Charles of Sicily arrived with large
reinforcements, and unknowing the event, approached Carthage with martial
music, and every sign of rejoicing. His joy was soon turned into grief by
the tidings of his brother's fate;[872] and the courage of the Moors being
raised by the sorrow of their enemies, the united armies of France and
Sicily were attacked by a very superior power.
After a variety of engagements, Philip, now King of France, and Charles,
of Sicily, compelled the defeated Moors to sue for peace; and collecting
his troops, the new monarch returned to Europe, driven from the coast
rather by the pestilence that raged in his army,[873] than by the efforts
of the infidels.
Prince Edward of England had taken the Cross, as I have already said, with
the intention of following Louis IX. to the Holy Land; and with the small
force he could collect, amounting to not more than fifteen hundred men, he
arrived in the Mediterranean, but hearing that Louis had turned from the
direct object of the crusade, he proceeded to Sicily, where he passed the
winter.
As soon as spring rendered navigation possible, he set sail, and arrived
at Acre, where he found the state of Palestine infinitely worse than it
had been since the first taking of Jerusalem.
Disunion and violence had done far more to destroy the Christians of the
Holy Land than the swords of the infidels. The two military Orders had
been constantly opposed to each other, and had often been engaged in
sanguinary warfare. The knights of St. John had ever the advantage; and at
one time the Templars of Palestine had nearly been exterminated. The
clergy attempted to encroach upon the privileges of both. The different
Italian republics, who had secured to themselves various portions of
territory, and various commercial immunities, were in continual warfare;
and while the Saracens and the Mamelukes were gradually taking possession
of the whole soil--while the fortresses of Cesarea, Jaffa, and Saphoury
fell into the hands of the infidels, as well as all the cities and feoffs
of the Latins, except Acre and Tyre--the sands of Palestine were often wet
with Christian blood, shed by the hands of Christians. Antioch also fell
almost without resistance, and the citizens were either doomed to death or
led into captivity.
Such was the state of the Holy Land at the time of Prince Edward's
arrival. His name, however, was a host; the disunion among the Christians
was healed by his coming;[874] every exertion was made to render his
efforts effectual; and he soon found himself at the head of a small but
veteran force, amounting to seven thousand men. With this he advanced upon
Nazareth, and after a severe conflict with the Moslems, he made himself
master of that city, in which all the Saracens that remained were
slaughtered without mercy. The climate put a stop to his successes. It was
now the middle of summer, and the excessive heat brought on a fever, from
which Edward was recovering, when a strange messenger desired to render
some despatches to the prince's own hand. He was admitted; and as the
young leader lay in his bed, without any attendants, he delivered the
letters, and for a moment spoke to him of the affairs of Jaffa. The
instant after, he drew a dagger from his belt, and before Edward was
aware, had stabbed him in the chest. The prince was enfeebled, but was
still sufficiently vigorous to wrench the weapon from the assassin, and to
put him to death with his own hand. His attendants, alarmed by the
struggle, rushed into the apartment, and found Edward bleeding from the
wound inflicted by a poisoned knife. Skilful means[875] were instantly
used to preserve his life;[876] and an antidote, sent by the Grand Master
of the Temple, is said to have obviated the effects of the poison.
Edward's natural vigour, with care, soon restored him to health; and the
Sultaun of Egypt, daunted by the courage and ability of the English
prince, and engaged in ruinous wars in other directions, offered peace on
advantageous conditions, which were accepted. Edward and his followers
returned to Europe, and the Christians of Palestine were left to take
advantage of a ten years' truce.
Such was the end of the last expedition. In 1274, Gregory X., who had
himself witnessed the sorrows of Palestine, attempted to promote a new
crusade, and held a council for that purpose at Lyons, where many great
and noble personages assumed the Cross. The death of the Pope followed
shortly afterward, and the project was abandoned, on the loss of him who
had given it birth. In Palestine, all now tended to the utter expulsion of
the Christians. The Latins themselves first madly broke the truce, by
plundering some Egyptian merchants near Margat. Keladun, then Sultaun of
Cairo, hastened to revenge the injury, and Margat was taken from the
Christians, after a gallant defence.[877] Tripoli, which had hitherto
escaped by various concessions to the Moslems, fell shortly after Margat;
and in the third year from that period, two hundred thousand Mahommedans
were under the walls of Acre, the last possession of the Christians. The
Grand Master of St. John had collected together a small body of Italian
mercenaries, but no serviceable support could be won from the kings of
Europe.
The Grand Master[878] of the Temple, however, with the rest of the
military Orders, and about twelve thousand men, being joined by the King
of Cyprus, resolved to undergo a siege. The greater part of the useless
inhabitants were sent away by sea, and the garrison prepared to defend
themselves to the last. This was the final blaze of chivalric valour that
shone on the Holy Land. The numbers of the Moslems were overpowering, and
after a breach had been made in the walls by the fall of what was called
the _Cursed Tower_, a general assault took place. The King of Cyprus made
a dastardly flight, but the Templars and the Teutonic knights died where
they stood, and the Hospitallers only left the city to attack the rear of
the besieging army. Here they met with infinite odds against them, and
fell man by man, till the news came that the Grand Master of the Temple
was killed and that the city was taken. The Hospitallers then, reduced to
seven in number, reached a ship, and quitted the shores of Palestine.
About an equal number of Templars fled to the interior, and thence fought
their way through the land, till they gained the means of reaching Cyprus.
The inhabitants of the city who had not before departed fled to the
sea;[879] but the elements themselves seemed to war against them, and ere
they could escape, the Saracen sword died the sands with their blood. The
Moslems then set fire to the devoted town, and the last vestige of the
Christian power in Syria was swept from the face of the earth.