THE OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAINS.
1191
The conquest of Jerusalem by Godfrey of Bouillon.--History of
the contest for the title of King of Jerusalem.--A delicate
question.--The Crusaders' motives.--How Richard and Philip took
sides in the quarrel.--The reason of the importance of the
quarrel.--The French maintain Conrad's cause.--Richard's bargain
with Guy.--Richard's reasons for acceding to Conrad's cause.--The
coronation of Conrad.--His assassination.--The Hassassins.--The
Old Man of the Mountains and his followers.--The reckless spirit
of the Hassassins.--Seizure of the murderers.--The torture as a
means of eliciting evidence.--Conflicting accounts.--Uncertainty
respecting the motive of Conrad's murder.--False and spurious
honor.--General opinion of Richard's conduct.--Suspicions of
Philip.--The events consequent on Conrad's death.--Appearance of
Count Henry.--He becomes king of Jerusalem.--The question at
rest.--Dissatisfaction.--The king's proclamation.
One of the greatest sources of trouble and difficulty which Richard
experienced in managing his heterogeneous mass of followers was the
quarrel which has been already alluded to between the two knights who
claimed the right to be the King of Jerusalem, whenever possession of
that city should by any means be obtained. The reader will recollect,
perhaps, that it has already been stated that a very renowned
Crusader, named Godfrey of Bouillon, had penetrated, about a hundred
years before this time, into the interior of the Holy Land, at the
head of a large army, and there had taken possession of Jerusalem;
that the earls, and barons, and other prominent knights in his army
had chosen him king of the city, and fixed the crown and the royal
title upon him and his descendants forever; that when Jerusalem was
itself, after a time, lost, the title still remained in Godfrey's
family, and that it descended to a princess named Sibylla; that a
knight named Guy of Lusignan married Sibylla, and then claimed the
title of King of Jerusalem in the right of his wife; that, in process
of time, Sibylla died, and then one party claimed that the rights of
her husband, Guy of Lusignan, ceased, since he held them only through
his wife, and that thenceforward the title and the crown vested in
Isabella, her sister, who was the next heir; that Isabella, however,
was married to a man who was too feeble and timid to assert his
claims; that, consequently, a more bold and unscrupulous knight, named
Conrad of Montferrat, seized her and carried her off, and afterward
procured a divorce for her from her former husband, and married her
himself; and that then a great quarrel arose between Guy of Lusignan,
the husband of Sibylla, and Conrad of Montferrat, the husband of
Isabella. This quarrel had now been raging a long time, and all
attempts to settle it or to compromise it had proved wholly
unavailing.
The ground which Guy and his friends and adherents took was, that
while they admitted that Guy held the title of King of Jerusalem in
the right of his wife, and that his wife was now dead, still, being
once invested with the crown, it was his for life, and he could not
justly be deprived of it. After his death it might descend very
properly to the next heir, but during his lifetime it vested in him.
Conrad, on the other hand, and the friends and adherents who espoused
his cause, argued that, since Guy had no claim whatever except what
came in and through his wife, of course, when his wife died, his
possession ought to terminate. If Sibylla had had children, the crown
would have descended to one of them; but she being without direct
heirs, it passed, of right, to Isabella, her sister, and that
Isabella's husband was entitled to claim and take possession of it in
her name.
It is obvious that this was a very nice and delicate question, and it
would have been a very difficult one for a company of gay and reckless
soldiers like the Crusaders to settle if they had attempted to look at
it simply as a question of law and right; but the Crusaders seldom
troubled themselves with examining legal arguments, and still less
with seeking for and applying principles of justice and right in
taking sides in the contests that arose among them. The question for
each man to consider in such cases was simply, "Which side is it most
for my interests and those of my party that we should espouse? We
will take that;" or, "Which side are my rivals and enemies, or those
of their party, going to take? We will take the other."
It was by such considerations as these that the different princes, and
nobles, and orders of knights in the army decided how they would range
themselves on this great question. As has already been explained,
Richard took up the cause of Guy, who claimed through the deceased
Sibylla. He had been induced to do so, not by any convictions which he
had formed in respect to the merits of the case, but because Guy had
come to him while he was in Cyprus, and had made such proposals there
in respect to a conjunction with him that Richard deemed it for his
interest to accept them. In a similar way, Conrad had waited upon
Philip as soon as he arrived before Acre, and had induced him to
espouse his, Conrad's, side. If there were two orders of knights in
the army, or two bodies of soldiery, that were at ill-will with each
other through rivalry, or jealousy, or former quarrels, they would
always separate on this question of the King of Jerusalem; and just as
certainly as one of them showed a disposition to take the side of Guy,
the other would immediately go over to that of Conrad, and then these
old and half-smothered contentions would break out anew.
Thus this difficulty was not only a serious quarrel itself, but it was
the means of reviving and giving new force and intensity to a vast
number of other quarrels.
It may seem strange that a question like this, which related, as it
would appear, to only an empty title, should have been deemed so
important; but, in reality, there was something more than the mere
title at issue. Although, for the time being, the Christians were
excluded from Jerusalem, they were all continually hoping to be very
soon restored to the possession of it, and then the king of the city
would become a very important personage, not only in his own
estimation and in that of the army of Crusaders, but in that of all
Christendom. No one knew but that in a few months Jerusalem might come
into their hands, either by being retaken through force of arms, or by
being ceded in some way through Richard's negotiations with Saladin;
and, of course, the greater the probability was that this event would
happen, the more important the issue of the quarrel became, and the
more angry with each other, and excited, were the parties to it. Thus
Richard found that all his plans for getting possession of Jerusalem
were grievously impeded by these dissensions; for the nearer he came,
at any time, to the realization of his hopes, the more completely were
his efforts to secure the end paralyzed by the increased violence and
bitterness of the quarrel that reigned among his followers.
The principal supporters of the cause of Conrad were the French, and
they formed so numerous and powerful a portion of the army, and they
had, withal, so great an influence over other bodies of troops from
different parts of Europe, that Richard could not successfully resist
them and maintain Guy's claims, and he finally concluded to give up,
or to pretend to give up, the contest.
So he made an arrangement with Guy to relinquish his claims on
condition of his receiving the kingdom of Cyprus instead, the unhappy
Isaac, the true king of that island, shut up in the Syrian dungeon to
which Richard had consigned him, being in no condition to resist this
disposition of his dominions. Richard then agreed that Conrad should
be acknowledged as King of Jerusalem, and, to seal and settle the
question, it was determined that he should be crowned forthwith.
It was supposed at the time that one reason which induced Richard to
give up Guy and adopt Conrad as the future sovereign of the Holy City
was, that Conrad was a far more able warrior, and a more influential
and powerful man than Guy, and altogether a more suitable person to be
left in command of the army in case of Richard's return to England,
provided, in the mean time, Jerusalem should be taken; and, moreover,
he was much more likely to succeed as a leader of the troops in a
march against the city in case Richard were to leave before the
conquest should be effected. It turned out, however, in the end, as
will be seen in the sequel, that the views with which Richard adopted
this plan were of a very different character.
Conrad was already the King of Tyre. The position which he thus held
was, in fact, one of the elements of his power and influence among the
Crusaders. It was determined that his coronation as King of Jerusalem
should take place at Tyre, and, accordingly, as soon as the
arrangement of the question had been fully and finally agreed upon,
all parties proceeded to Tyre, and there commenced at once the
preparations for a magnificent coronation. All the principal
chieftains and dignitaries of the army that could be spared from the
other posts along the coast went to Tyre to be present at the
coronation, the whole army, with the exception of a few malcontents,
being filled with joy and satisfaction that the question which had so
long distracted their councils and paralyzed their efforts was now at
length finally disposed of.
These bright prospects were all, however, suddenly blighted and
destroyed by an unexpected event, which struck every one with
consternation, and put all things back into a worse condition than
before. As Conrad was passing along the streets of Tyre one day, two
men rushed upon him, and with small daggers, which they plunged into
his side, slew him. They were so sudden in their movement that all was
over before any one could come to Conrad's rescue, but the men who
committed the deed were seized and put to the torture. They belonged
to a tribe of Arabs called Hassassins.[F] This appellation was taken
from the Arabic name of the dagger, which was the only armor that they
wore. Of course, with such a weapon as this, they could do nothing
effectual in a regular battle with their enemies. Nor was this their
plan. They never came out and met their enemies in battle. They lived
among the mountains in a place by themselves, under the command of a
famous chieftain, whom they called the _Ancient_, and sometimes the
_Lord of the Mountains_. The Christians called him the _Old Man of the
Mountains_, and under this name he and his band of followers acquired
great fame.
[Footnote F: The English word _assassins_ comes from the name of these
men.]
They were, in fact, not much more than a regularly-organized band of
robbers and murderers. The men were extremely wily and adroit; they
could adopt any disguise, and penetrate without suspicion wherever
they chose to go. They were trained, too, to obey, in the most
unhesitating and implicit manner, any orders whatever that the
chieftain gave them. Sometimes they were sent out to rob; sometimes to
murder an individual enemy, who had, in some way or other, excited the
anger of the chief. Thus, if any leader of an armed force attempted to
attack them, or if any officer of government adopted any measures to
bring them to justice, they would not openly resist, but would fly to
their dens and fastnesses, and conceal themselves there, and then
soon afterward the chieftain would send out his emissaries, dressed in
a suitable disguise, and with their little _hassassins_ under their
robes, to watch an opportunity and kill the offender. It is true they
were usually, in such cases, at once seized, and were often put to
death with horrible tortures; but so great was their enthusiasm in the
cause of their chief, and so high the exaltation of spirit to which
the point of honor carried them, that they feared nothing, and were
never known to shrink from the discharge of what they deemed their
duty.
The stabs which the two Hassassins gave to Conrad were so effectual
that he fell dead upon the spot. The people that were near rushed to
his assistance, and while some gathered round the bleeding body, and
endeavored to stanch the wounds, others seized the murderers and bore
them off to the castle. They would have pulled them to pieces by the
way if they had not desired to reserve them for the torture.
The torture is, of course, in every respect, a wretched way of
eliciting evidence. So far as it is efficacious at all in eliciting
declarations, it tends to lead the sufferer, in thinking what he shall
say, to consider, not what is the truth, but what is most likely to
satisfy his tormentors and make them release him. Accordingly, men
under torture say any thing which they suppose their questioners wish
to hear. At one moment it is one thing, and the next it is another,
and the men who conduct the examination can usually report from it any
result they please.
A story gained great credit in the army, and especially among the
French portion of it, immediately after the examination of these men,
that they said that they had been hired by Richard himself to kill
Conrad, and this story produced every where the greatest excitement
and indignation. On the other hand, the friends of Richard declared
that the Hassassins had stated that they were sent by their chieftain,
the Old Man of the Mountain, and that the cause was a quarrel that had
long been standing between Conrad and him. It is true that there had
been such a quarrel, and, consequently, that the Old Man would be,
doubtless, very willing that Conrad should be killed. Indeed, it is
probable that, if Richard was really the original instigator of the
murder, he would have made the arrangement for it with the Old Man,
and not directly with the subordinates. It was, in fact, a part of the
regular and settled business of this tribe to commit murders for pay.
The chieftain might have the more readily undertaken this case from
having already a quarrel of his own with Conrad on hand. It was never
fully ascertained what the true state of the case was. The Arab
historians maintain that it was Richard's work. The English writers,
on the contrary, throw the blame on the Old Man. The English writers
maintain, moreover, that the deed was one which such a man as Richard
was very little likely to perform. He was, it is true, they say, a
very rude and violent man--daring, reckless, and often unjust, and
even cruel--but he was not treacherous. What he did, he did in the
open day; and he was wholly incapable of such a deed as pretending
deceitfully that he would accede to Conrad's claims with a view of
throwing him off his guard, and then putting him to death by means of
hired murderers.
This reasoning will seem satisfactory to us or otherwise, according to
the views we like to entertain in respect to the genuineness of the
sense of generosity and honor which is so much boasted of as a
characteristic of the spirit of chivalry. Some persons place great
reliance upon it, and think that so gallant and courageous a knight
as Richard must have been incapable of any such deed as a secret
assassination. Others place very little reliance upon it. They think
that the generosity and nobleness of mind to which this class of men
make such great pretension is chiefly a matter of outside show and
parade, and that, when it serves their purpose, they are generally
ready to resort to any covert and dishonest means which will help them
to accomplish their ends, however truly dishonorable such means may
be, provided they can conceal their agency in them. For my part, I am
strongly inclined to the latter opinion, and to believe that there is
nothing in the human heart that we can really rely upon in respect to
human conduct and character but sound and consistent moral principle.
At any rate, it is unfortunate for Richard's cause that among those
who were around him at the time, and who knew his character best, the
prevailing opinion was against him. It was generally believed in the
army that he was really the secret author of Conrad's death. The event
produced a prodigious excitement throughout the camp. When the news
reached Europe, it awakened a very general indignation there,
especially among those who were inclined to be hostile to Richard.
Philip, the King of France, professed to be alarmed for his own
safety. "He has employed murderers to kill Conrad, my friend and
ally," said he, "and the next thing will be that he will send some of
the Old Man of the Mountain's emissaries to thrust their daggers into
me."
So he organized an extra guard to watch at the gates of his palace,
and to attend him whenever he went out, and gave them special
instructions to watch against the approach of any suspicious
strangers. The Emperor of Germany too, and the Archduke of Austria,
whom Richard had before made his enemies, were filled with rage and
resentment against him, the effects of which he subsequently felt very
severely.
In the mean time, the excitement in the camp immediately on the death
of Conrad became very strong, and it led to serious disturbances. The
French troops rose in arms and attempted to seize Tyre. Isabella,
Conrad's wife, in whose name Conrad had held the title to the crown of
Jerusalem, fled to the citadel, and fortified herself there with such
troops as adhered to her. The camp was in confusion, and there was
imminent danger that the two parties into which the army was divided
would come to open war. At this juncture, a certain nephew of
Richard's, Count Henry of Champagne, made his appearance. He persuaded
the people of Tyre to put him in command of the town; and supported as
he was by Richard's influence, and by the acquiescence of Isabella, he
succeeded in restoring something like order. Immediately afterward he
proposed to Isabella that she should marry him. She accepted his
proposal, and so he became King of Jerusalem in her name.
The French party, and those who had taken the side of Conrad in the
former quarrel, were greatly exasperated, but as the case now stood
they were helpless. They had always maintained that Isabella was the
true sovereign, and it was through her right to the succession, after
Sibylla's death, that they had claimed the crown for Conrad; and now,
since Conrad was dead, and Isabella had married Count Henry, they
could not, with any consistency, deny that the new husband was fully
entitled to succeed the old. They might resent the murder of Conrad as
much as they pleased, but it was evident that nothing would bring him
back to life, and nothing could prevent Count Henry being now
universally regarded as the King of Jerusalem.
So, after venting for a time a great many loud but fruitless
complaints, the aggrieved parties allowed their resentment to subside,
and all acquiesced in acknowledging Henry as King of Jerusalem.
Besides these difficulties, a great deal of uneasiness and discontent
arose from rumors that Richard was intending to abandon Palestine, and
return to Normandy and England, thus leaving the army without any
responsible head. The troops knew very well that whatever semblance of
authority and subordination then existed was due to the presence of
Richard, whose high rank and personal qualities as a warrior gave him
great power over his followers, notwithstanding their many causes of
complaint against him. They knew, too, that his departure would be the
signal of universal disorder, and would lead to the total dissolution
of the army. The complaints and the clamor which arose from this cause
became so great in all the different towns and fortresses along the
coast, that, to appease them, Richard issued a proclamation stating
that he had no intention of leaving the army, but that it was his
fixed purpose to remain in Palestine at least another year.