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 enterprize 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.
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.[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 brat
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
anything 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.
The fifth was more important, and had a result which its projectors
never dreamed of--no less than the sacking of Constantinople, and the
placing of a French dynasty upon the imperial throne of the eastern
Caesars. Each succeeding Pope, however much he may have differed from
his predecessors on other points, zealously agreed in one, that of
maintaining by every possible means the papal ascendancy. No scheme was
so likely to aid in this endeavour as the Crusades. As long as they
could persuade the kings and nobles of Europe to fight and die in
Syria, their own sway was secured over the minds of men at home. Such
being their object, they never inquired whether a Crusade was or was
not likely to be successful, whether the time were well or ill chosen,
or whether men and money could be procured in sufficient abundance.
Pope Innocent III. would have been proud if he could have bent the
refractory Monarchs of England and France into so much submission. But
John and Philip Augustus were both engaged. Both had deeply offended
the church, and had been laid under her ban, and both were occupied in
important reforms at home; Philip in bestowing immunities upon his
subjects, and John in having them forced from him. The emissaries of
the Pope therefore plied them in vain;--but as in the first and second
Crusades, the eloquence of a powerful preacher incited the nobility,
and through them a certain portion of the people, Foulque, Bishop of
Neuilly, an ambitious and enterprizing prelate, entered fully into the
views of the Court of Rome, and preached the Crusade wherever he could
find an audience. Chance favoured him to a degree he did not himself
expect, for he had in general found but few proselytes, and those few
but cold in the cause. Theobald, Count of Champagne, had instituted a
grand tournament, to which he had invited all the nobles from far and
near. Upwards of two thousand knights were present with their
retainers, besides a vast concourse of people to witness the sports. In
the midst of the festivities Foulque arrived upon the spot, and
conceiving the opportunity to be a favourable one, he addressed the
multitude in eloquent language, and passionately called upon them to
enrol themselves for the new Crusade. The Count de Champagne, young,
ardent, and easily excited, received the cross at his hands. The
enthusiasm spread rapidly. Charles Count of Blois followed the example,
and of the two thousand knights present, scarcely one hundred and fifty
refused. The popular phrensy seemed on the point of breaking out as in
the days of yore. The Count of Flanders, the Count of Bar, the Duke of
Burgundy, and the Marquis of Montferrat, brought all their vassals to
swell the train, and in a very short space of time an effective army
was on foot and ready to march to Palestine.
The dangers of an overland journey were too well understood, and the
crusaders endeavoured to make a contract with some of the Italian
states to convey them over in their vessels. Dandolo, the aged Doge of
Venice, offered them the galleys of the Republic; but the crusaders, on
their arrival in that city, found themselves too poor to pay even half
the sum demanded. Every means was tried to raise money; the crusaders
melted down their plate, and ladies gave up their trinkets.
Contributions were solicited from the faithful, but came in so slowly,
as to make it evident to all concerned, that the faithful of Europe
were outnumbered by the prudent. As a last resource, Dandolo offered to
convey them to Palestine at the expense of the Republic, if they would
previously aid in the recapture of the city of Zara, which had been
seized from the Venetians a short time previously by the King of
Hungary. The crusaders consented, much to the displeasure of the Pope,
who threatened excommunication upon all who should be turned aside from
the voyage to Jerusalem. But notwithstanding the fulminations of the
church, the expedition never reached Palestine. The siege of Zara was
speedily undertaken. After a long and brave defence, the city
surrendered at discretion, and the crusaders were free, if they had so
chosen it, to use their swords against the Saracens. But the ambition
of the chiefs had been directed, by unforeseen circumstances, elsewhere.
After the death of Manuel Comnenus, the Greek empire had fallen a prey
to intestine divisions. His son Alexius II. had succeeded him, but was
murdered after a very short reign by his uncle Andronicus, who seized
upon the throne. His reign also was but of short duration. Isaac
Angelus, a member of the same family, took up arms against the usurper,
and having defeated and captured him in a pitched battle, had him put
to death. He also mounted the throne only to be cast down from it. His
brother Alexius deposed him, and to incapacitate him from reigning, put
out his eyes, and shut him up in a dungeon. Neither was Alexius III.
allowed to remain in peaceable possession of the throne; the son of the
unhappy Isaac, whose name also was Alexius, fled from Constantinople,
and hearing that the crusaders had undertaken the siege of Zara, made
them the most magnificent offers if they would afterwards aid him in
deposing his uncle. His offers were, that if by their means he was
re-established in his father's dominions, he would place the Greek
church under the authority of the Pope of Rome, lend the whole force of
the Greek Empire to the conquest of Palestine, and distribute two
hundred thousand marks of silver among the crusading army. The offer
was accepted, with a proviso on the part of some of the leaders, that
they should be free to abandon the design, if it met with the
disapproval of the Pope. But this was not to be feared. The submission
of the schismatic Greeks to the See of Rome was a greater bribe to the
Pontiff, than the utter annihilation of the Saracen power in Palestine
would have been.
The crusaders were soon in movement for the imperial city. Their
operations were skilfully and courageously directed, and spread such
dismay as to paralyse the efforts of the usurper to retain possession
of his throne. After a vain resistance, he abandoned the city to its
fate, and fled no one knew whither. The aged and blind Isaac was taken
from his dungeon by his subjects, and placed upon the throne ere the
crusaders were apprized of the flight of his rival. His son Alexius IV.
was afterwards associated with him in the sovereignty.
But the conditions of the treaty gave offence to the Grecian people,
whose prelates refused to place themselves under the dominion of the
See of Rome. Alexius at first endeavoured to persuade his subjects to
submission, and prayed the crusaders to remain in Constantinople until
they had fortified him in the possession of a throne which was yet far
from secure. He soon became unpopular with his subjects; and breaking
faith with regard to the subsidies, he offended the crusaders. War was
at length declared upon him by both parties; by his people for his
tyranny, and by his former friends for his treachery. He was seized in
his palace by his own guards and thrown into prison, while the
crusaders were making ready to besiege his capital. The Greeks
immediately proceeded to the election of a new Monarch; and looking
about for a man with courage, energy, and perseverance, they fixed upon
Alexius Ducas, who, with almost every bad quality, was possessed of the
virtues they needed. He ascended the throne under the name of
Murzuphlis. One of his first acts was to rid himself of his youngest
predecessor--a broken heart had already removed the blind old Isaac--no
longer a stumbling block in his way--and the young Alexius was soon
after put to death in his prison.
War to the knife was now declared between the Greeks and the Franks,
and early in the spring of the year 1204, preparations were commenced
for an assault upon Constantinople. The French and Venetians entered
into a treaty for the division of the spoils among their soldiery, for
so confident were they of success, that failure never once entered into
their calculations. This confidence led them on to victory, while the
Greeks, cowardly as treacherous people always are, were paralysed by a
foreboding of evil. It has been a matter of astonishment to all
historians, that Murzuphlis, with the reputation for courage which he
had acquired, and the immense resources at his disposal, took no better
measures to repel the onset of the crusaders. Their numbers were as a
mere handful in comparison with those which he could have brought
against them; and if they had the hopes of plunder to lead them on, the
Greeks had their homes to fight for, and their very existence as a
nation to protect. After an impetuous assault, repulsed for one day,
but renewed with double impetuosity on another, the crusaders lashed
their vessels against the walls, slew every man who opposed them, and,
with little loss to themselves, entered the city. Murzuphlis fled, and
Constantinople was given over to be pillaged by the victors. The wealth
they found was enormous. In money alone there was sufficient to
distribute twenty marks of silver to each knight, ten to each squire or
servant at arms, and five to each archer. Jewels, velvets, silks, and
every luxury of attire, with rare wines and fruits, and valuable
merchandise of every description, also fell into their hands, and were
bought by the trading Venetians, and the proceeds distributed among the
army. Two thousand persons were put to the sword; but had there been
less plunder to take up the attention of the victors, the slaughter
would in all probability have been much greater.
In many of the bloody wars which defile the page of history, we find
that soldiers, utterly reckless of the works of God, will destroy his
masterpiece, man, with unsparing brutality, but linger with respect
around the beautiful works of art. They will slaughter women and
children, but spare a picture; will hew down the sick, the helpless,
and the hoary-headed, but refrain from injuring a fine piece of
sculpture. The Latins, on their entrance into Constantinople, respected
neither the works of God nor man, but vented their brutal ferocity upon
the one and satisfied their avarice upon the other. Many beautiful
bronze statues, above all price as works of art, were broken into
pieces to be sold as old metal. The finely-chiselled marble, which
could be put to no such vile uses, was also destroyed, with a
recklessness; if possible, still more atrocious. [The following is a
list of some of the works of art thus destroyed, from Nicetas, a
contemporary Greek author:--1st. A colossal Juno, from the forum of
Constantine, the head of which was so large that four horses could
scarcely draw it from the place where it stood to the palace. 2d. The
statue of Paris presenting the apple to Venus. 3d. An immense bronze
pyramid, crowned by a female figure, which turned with the wind. 4th.
The colossal statue of Bellerophon, in bronze, which was broken down
and cast into the furnace. Under the inner nail of the horse's hind
foot on the left side, was found a seal wrapped in a woollen cloth.
5th. A figure of Hercules, by Lysimachus, of such vast dimensions that
the thumb was equal in circumference to the waist of a man. 6th. The
Ass and his driver, cast by order of Augustus after the battle of
Actium, in commemoration of his having discovered the position of
Antony through the means of an ass-driver. 7th. The Wolf suckling the
twins of Rome. 8th. The Gladiator in combat with a lion. 9th. The
Hippopotamus. 10th. The Sphinxes. 11th. An eagle fighting with a
serpent. 12th. A beautiful statue of Helen. 13th. A group, with a
monster somewhat resembling a bull, engaged in deadly conflict with a
serpent; and many other works of art, too numerous to mention.]
The carnage being over, and the spoil distributed, six persons were
chosen from among the Franks and six from among the Venetians, who were
to meet and elect an Emperor, previously binding themselves by oath to
select the individual best qualified among the candidates. The choice
wavered between Baldwin, Count of Flanders, and Boniface, Marquis of
Montferrat, but fell eventually upon the former. He was straightway
robed in the imperial purple, and became the founder of a new dynasty.
He did not live long to enjoy his power, or to consolidate it for his
successors, who, in their turn, were soon swept away. In less than
sixty years the rule of the Franks at Constantinople was brought to as
sudden and disastrous a termination as the reign of Murzuphlis: and
this was the grand result of the fifth Crusade.
Pope Innocent III, although he had looked with no very unfavourable eye
upon these proceedings, regretted that nothing had been done for the
relief of the Holy Land; still, upon every convenient occasion, he
enforced the necessity of a new Crusade. Until the year 1213, his
exhortations had no other effect than to keep the subject in the mind
of Europe. Every spring and summer, detachments of pilgrims continued
to set out for Palestine to the aid of their brethren, but not in
sufficient numbers to be of much service. These periodical passages
were called the passagiuum Martii, or the passage of March, and the
passagium Johannis, or the passage of the festival of St. John. These
did not consist entirely of soldiers, armed against the Saracen, but of
pilgrims led by devotion, and in performance of their vows, bearing
nothing with them but their staff and their wallet. Early in the spring
of 1213 a more extraordinary body of crusaders was raised in France and
Germany. An immense number of boys and girls, amounting, according to
some accounts, to thirty thousand, were incited by the persuasion of
two monks to undertake the journey to Palestine. They were, no doubt,
composed of the idle and deserted children who generally swarm in great
cities, nurtured in vice and daring, and ready for anything. The object
of the monks seems to have been the atrocious one of inveigling them
into slave ships, on pretence of sending them to Syria, and selling
them for slaves on the coast of Africa. [See Jacob de Voragine and
Albericus.] Great numbers of these poor victims were shipped at
Marseilles; but the vessels, with the exception of two or three, were
wrecked on the shores of Italy, and every soul perished. The remainder
arrived safely in Africa, and were bought up as slaves, and sent off
into the interior of the country. Another detachment arrived at Genoa;
but the accomplices in this horrid plot having taken no measures at
that port, expecting them all at Marseilles, they were induced to
return to their homes by the Genoese.
Fuller, in his quaint history of the "Holy Warre," says that this
Crusade was done by the instinct of the devil; and he adds a reason,
which may provoke mirth now, but which was put forth by the worthy
historian in all soberness and sincerity. He says, "the devil, being
cloyed with the murdering of men, desired a cordial of children's blood
to comfort his weak stomach;" as epicures, when tired of mutton, resort
to lamb for a change.
It appears from other authors that the preaching of the vile monks had
such an effect upon these deluded children that they ran about the
country, exclaiming, "O, Lord Jesus, restore thy cross to us!" and that
neither bolts nor bars, the fear of fathers, nor the love of mothers,
was sufficient to restrain them from journeying to Jerusalem.
The details of these strange proceedings are exceedingly meagre and
confused, and none of the contemporary writers who mention the subject
have thought it worth while to state the names of the monks who
originated the scheme, or the fate they met for their wickedness. Two
merchants of Marseilles, who were to have shared in the profits, were,
it is said, brought to justice for some other crime, and suffered
death; but we are not informed whether they divulged any circumstances
relating to this matter.