Tancred was the son of the Marquis of Odo, surnamed the good, and
Emma, the sister of Robert Guiscard who figured conspicuously in the
wars which distracted Europe just previous to the first Crusade,
which occurred under the leadership of Peter, the Hermit, and
Walter, the Penniless, in A.D. 1096. The scene of the drama is laid
at Antioch in 1097. A historian of the Crusades in speaking of the
siege of Antioch, says that the wealth of the harvest and the
vintage spread before them its irresistible temptations, and the
herds feeding in the rich pastures seemed to promise an endless
feast. The cattle, the corn and the wine were alike wasted with
besotted folly, while the Turks within the walls received tidings of
all that passed in the crusading camps from some Greek and Armenian
christians to whom they allowed free egress and ingress. Of this
knowledge they availed themselves in planing sallies by which they
caused great distress to the Crusaders. The following extract
comprises the third scene of the first act and is laid in the camp
of the Crusaders--the chiefs being in council.