_THE CRUSADERS AND PILGRIMS._
A MONK HISTORIAN ON THE CRUSADES.
The old chroniclers are elated with a fine enthusiasm when narrating the
exploits of the first Crusaders. Orderic the monk, who died about 1141,
thus describes the situation: "Lo, the crusade to Jerusalem is entered on
by the inspiration of God; the people of the West miraculously flock
together from many nations, and are led in one united army to fight
against the execrable Saracens, who so long had defiled with their
abominations all that is sacred. Never, I think, was a more glorious
subject presented to those who are well informed in military affairs than
that which is divinely offered to the poets and writers of our age in the
triumph of a handful of Christians, drawn from their homes by the love of
enterprise, over the Pagans in the East. The God of Abraham renewed His
ancient miracles when, actuated only by their zeal to visit the Messiah's
tomb, and without the exercise of the authority of kings or any worldly
excitement, but by the simple admonition of Pope Urban, He assembled the
Christians of the West from the ends of the earth and the isles of the
sea, as He brought the Hebrews out of Egypt by the hand of Moses, and led
them through strange nations until He conducted them to Palestine, gave
them victory over kings and princes and the assembled forces of many
nations, and enabled them gloriously to conquer strongly fortified cities
and to reduce towns under subjection to their arms. I, too, though the
least of all the followers of the Lord in a religious rule of life, for
the love I bear to the brave champions of Christ, am ambitious to
celebrate their valiant achievements."
CRUSADES BENEFICIAL TO THE CHURCH.
The crusades brought the civilisation of the West in contact with that of
the Arabs, who were more advanced in some respects. Literature, science,
navigation, and trade benefited. Large feudal estates were sold, and
citizens of towns were enriched and set up by kings as a counterpoise to
overpowerful vassals. The sees and monasteries became purchasers of large
estates on easy terms. But the Popes were the chief gainers by the
crusades. They acquired control over Western Christendom, and over the
emperors, kings, and princes who engaged in this service, and plighted
their faith to carry through great enterprises. The Popes claimed
sovereignty over lands wrested from the infidels. But, above all, it gave
the Popes a continual pretext for sending legates to interfere in every
country and levy contributions, which, at first voluntary, soon took the
form of rights to perpetual tribute.
THE PRACTICE OF PILGRIMAGES TO PALESTINE.
The desire of Christians to visit the tombs of martyrs and famous saints
may be considered almost natural, but it received great encouragement from
the Empress Helena's discovery of the cross. The early Fathers were not
emphatic in favour of the practice, for Jerome declared that heaven was as
accessible from Britain as from Palestine. But in the sixth century the
passion grew. Pilgrimages were projected and accomplished on a great
scale. Hospitals were endowed for entertaining the pilgrims along the
great highway. Pilgrims were exempted from toll. Charlemagne ordered that
lodging, fire, and water be always supplied to them. In Jerusalem there
were caravansaries for their reception. The pilgrim set forth amid the
blessings and prayers of his kindred or community with his simple
outfit--the staff, the wallet, and the scallop-shell; he returned a
privileged, in some sense a sanctified, being. Pilgrimage expiated all
sin. The bathing in the Jordan was, as it were, a second baptism, and
washed away all the evil of the former life. The shirt which he had worn
when he entered the holy city was carefully laid by as a winding-sheet,
and possessed, it was supposed, the power of transporting him to heaven.
The stable of Bethlehem, the garden of Gethsemane, the height where the
Ascension took place, had a fascination for every eye. To gratify the
pilgrims, the descent of fire from heaven to kindle the lights round the
holy sepulchre had been played off from an early period before the
wondering worshippers. Jerusalem also became the emporium of relics. Each
pilgrim would bring back a splinter of the true cross or some special
memorial of the Virgin or a famous saint. The demand for these was great,
and the supply was inexhaustible. At a later period the silks, jewels, and
spices of the East mingled in the mart of holy things. Down to the
conquest of Jerusalem by Chosroes the Persian, in 614, the tide of
pilgrimage flowed uninterruptedly to the Holy Land; and even the Saracens
in 637, when the conquerors, did not prohibit them, though the dangers
increased.
EARLY TRAVELS IN PALESTINE.
The earliest traveller from Western Europe to the Holy Land who has left
an account was Pierre Pithou from Bordeaux in 333. But pilgrims were often
going on the same journey. In 385 St. Eusebius of Cremona, and his friend
St. Jerome, and a large company also visited the chief places. Soon after
St. Paula and her daughter went the round, and on Mount Zion they were
shown the column to which Christ was bound when scourged. In the seventh
century St. Antoninus went there also. When the Saracens obtained
possession of Jerusalem in 637, they soon saw that it would be to their
advantage to preserve the holy places and profit by the charges so many
strangers were willing to pay. The French bishop, Arculf, visited
Palestine about 690, and afterwards visited Northumberland and Iona.
Pilgrims thereafter up to 980 brought worse and worse accounts of their
treatment and the profanations of the holy places. The celebrated Gerbert,
afterwards Pope, returned from a visit in 986, and suggested that the
Christian world ought in some way to interfere. Soon after pilgrims went
in armed bodies, and serious quarrels occurred. The news that the Church
of the Holy Sepulchre had been thrown down excited great consternation in
Europe about 1048. Changes in the rulers occurred at that time. At last
Peter the Hermit, in 1095, raised to a frenzy all the adventurous
enthusiasts till they arranged the First Crusade.
THE WAYS OF PILGRIMS.
The fashion of going on pilgrimage became noticeable in the fourth
century, the Holy Land being the chief attraction. Hospitals were founded
at convenient places to accommodate pilgrims. The order of Knights
Templars was founded to escort the caravans and protect them in wild and
dangerous places. Rome and the shrine of St. James at Compostella or
Santiago were added in the Middle Ages as centres. Rich and poor joined in
this desire of travel. The pilgrims repaid their entertainers with the
news they carried from distant countries. Before a man went on pilgrimage
he first went to his church and received the Church's blessing and
prayers. He lay prostrate at the altar while the priest and choir sang
over him appropriate psalms, such as the twenty-fourth, fiftieth, and
ninetieth. Then his scrip and palmer-staff were blessed and sprinkled with
holy water, and the Mass was celebrated. The proper costume or pilgrim's
weeds were a grey woollen robe and felt hat, staff, scrip, and
water-bottle. Some went barefoot as a penance, or made a vow not to cut
hair or beard till the pilgrimage was accomplished. If the Holy Land was
the destination, the robe was signed with the cross, as a special sign and
token, and each, after accomplishing his round of holy places, was
entitled to wear the palm, and hence was called palmer. The sign of the
Compostella pilgrimage was the scallop-shell. The sign of the Canterbury
pilgrims was an ampullar flask, so-called from the vessel in which the
blood of the martyr Thomas à Becket had been collected. These flasks were
at first of wood, but latterly of lead and pewter. A bell was often added
to the ampulla. Besides the badge, these pilgrims had their gathering-cry,
and the Canterbury pilgrims lightened their journey with song and music
and sometimes the bagpipe. When the pilgrim returned home, he presented
himself at church to give thanks. Often a procession would go to meet the
returning pilgrim, especially as he usually brought presents of silk
cloths to the churches for copes or coverings of the altars. The emblems
of these pilgrimages were often depicted on the pilgrim's tomb.
PETER THE HERMIT (A.D. 1095).
When the Turks supplanted the Mohammedans as masters of Jerusalem, being a
more fanatical and barbarous race they treated the Christians of Palestine
as slaves, and pilgrims found it more and more dangerous to gratify their
lifelong passion to visit that country. The growing indignation at this
treatment found a noble champion in Peter the Hermit, who died 1115. He
went the round of Christendom, and found all ready to enter into some
great confederation, if they only knew how, to rescue the holy places from
these accursed infidels. Peter was a Frank from Picardy, of ignoble
stature, but with a quick and flashing eye; his spare, sharp person was
full of fire from the restless soul within. He had himself visited the
Holy Land, and his heart burned within him at the sight of the oppressions
of Christian men. He told everybody he had had a vision when he was in the
Temple; and the voice of the Lord Himself was heard in these very words:
"Rise, Peter; go forth to make known the tribulations of My people; the
hour is come for the delivery of My servants, for the recovery of the holy
places!" Peter at once went forth, and had interviews with the Pope and
with princes and great men, and all saw and confessed he was a true
prophet. He rode round Europe on a mule with a crucifix in his hand, his
head and feet bare; his dress was a long robe girt with a cord, and a
hermit's cloak of the coarsest stuff. His eloquence was heart-stirring,
mingled here and there with tears and groans; he preached in pulpits, in
highways and market-places. He beat his breast. He appealed to every
passion--to valour and shame, to indignation and pity, to the pride of the
warrior, the compassion of the man, to the religion of the Christian, to
the hatred of the unbeliever, to reverence for the Redeemer, to the
avenging of the saints, to the hopes of eternal life. He invoked the holy
angels, the saints in heaven, the Mother of God, the Lord Himself. He
called on the holy places, on Zion, on Calvary, on the holy sepulchre, to
give forth their voices against these infidels. He held up the crucifix,
as if Christ Himself was imploring them to be ready and act at once.
Peter's eloquence struck the true chord of sympathy, and electrified the
crowds who listened and echoed his enthusiasm. Gifts showered upon him.
All ages and both sexes crowded to touch even his garment. The very hairs
that dropped from his mule were caught and treasured as relics. All
Western Christendom gradually rose as one man in obedience to the spell.
The Pope, Urban II., caught the contagion, and summoned and harangued the
Council of Clermont in the same style. He called on all men through their
bishops to rise and deliver these holy places, which were made dens of
thieves and stalls for cattle, and were polluted and defiled by atrocities
not to be named. While Christian blood was shed, it was time for them to
gird on their swords. He assured them the Saviour Himself, the God of
armies, would be their guide in battle. The wealth of their enemies would
of course be theirs. He offered absolution for all sins; there was no
crime which might not be redeemed by this act of obedience: absolution
without penance would be granted to all who took arms in the sacred cause.
Eternal life would be the portion of all who fell in battle or in the
march to the Holy Land. For himself he must remain aloof; but while they
were slaughtering the enemy, he would be perpetually engaged in fervent
and prevailing prayer for their success. At the close of this harangue all
admitted and felt the force of the enthusiasm, and exclaimed, "It is the
will of God! it is the will of God!" The contagion spread. France,
Germany, Italy, England, furnished wild multitudes, eager and ready to
enlist in this glorious warfare. All began to sharpen their spears and
collect their outfit for a grand enterprise, certain to be a success.
POPE URBAN PREACHING FOR A CRUSADE (A.D. 1095).
When Pope Urban in 1095 preached at the conclusion of the Council of
Clermont, he thus urged on the faithful to join the crusade: "We see that
the breadth of the whole world is now full of faithless and blaspheming
Pagans, who worship stocks and stones. They have occupied as a perpetual
possession the third part of the world, and that part wherein all the
Apostles, except two suffered martyrdom for the Lord. They have also, with
shame be it said, possession of Africa, that land which gave to mankind
the Holy Scriptures and extinguished the errors of infidelity. They claim
possession of our Lord's tomb, and sell to our pilgrims for money
admission to the holy city. Gird yourselves then for the battle, my brave
warriors, for a memorable expedition against the enemies of the cross. Let
the sign of the cross decorate your shoulders; let your outward ardour
declare your inward faith. Turn against the enemies of Christ those
weapons which you have hitherto stained with blood in battles and
tournaments among yourselves. Let your zeal in this expedition atone for
the rapine, theft, homicide, fornication, and deeds of incendiarism by
which you have provoked the Lord to anger. In virtue of the power which
God has given us, however unworthy of it, to bind and to loose, all who
engage in this expedition in their own persons and at their own expense
shall receive a full pardon for all the offences which they shall repent
of in their hearts and with their lips confess, and we promise to the same
and to all who contribute their substance an increased portion of eternal
salvation. Go then, brave soldiers, secure to yourselves fame throughout
the world; disown all fear of death. Those who die will sit down in the
heavenly guest chamber, and those who survive will set their eyes on our
Lord's sepulchre."
THE CRUSADERS' HUNGER FOR EARTH OF PALESTINE.
At the time when the First Crusade was organised, Pope Urban harangued a
vast crowd of the clergy and laity, urging them to join it, and adding:
"What can be greater happiness than for any one in his lifetime to see
those places where the Lord of heaven went about as a man?" All then
believed the soil of Palestine to be sacred. Even its dust was adored. It
was carefully conveyed to Europe in bagfuls and pocketfuls, and the
fortunate possessor, whether by original acquisition or by purchase, was
considered to be secured against the malevolence of demons. St. Augustine
relates a story of the cure of a young man who had some of the dust of the
holy city suspended in a bag over his bed. It became a fashion for each of
the pilgrims to bring some home in his bag. At Pisa the cemetery of the
Campo Santo was said to contain five fathoms of holy earth brought in 1218
from Palestine by the Pisans. Friends and neighbours walked with an
intending pilgrim to the next town, and loaded him with their
benedictions, and turned back with many tears. The village pastor
delivered a staff to the pilgrim, and put round him a scarf or girdle,
with a leathern scrip or wallet attached. They all believed that a prayer
in Jerusalem was worth ten thousand common prayers in other places. There
were hospitals and houses of rest provided for weary pilgrims on the road.
In their first battles, they fancied they saw figures riding on white
horses, and in white armour and cloth of gold, all in the air, helping
them with celestial weapons. When they first caught sight of Jerusalem,
all eyes were transfixed and bathed with tears and shining with rapture as
they gazed on that hallowed spot.
HOW A PENITENTIAL CRUSADER WENT ALONG.
William, Count of Poitiers, before setting out on his crusade to the Holy
Land, took his leave thus: "I wish to compose a chant, and the subject
shall be that which causes my sorrow. I go into exile beyond sea, and
leave my beloved Poitiers and Limousin. I go beyond sea to the place where
pilgrims implore their pardon. Adieu, brilliant tournaments! adieu,
grandeur and magnificence, and all that is dear to my heart! Nothing can
stop me. I go to the plains where God promised remission of sins. Pardon
me, all you my companions, if I have ever offended you. I implore your
pardon. I offer my repentance to Jesus the Master of heaven; to Him I
address my prayer. Too long have I been abandoned to worldly distractions;
but the voice of the Lord has been heard. We must appear before His
tribunal. I sink under the weight of my iniquities."
HOW THE CRUSADERS GOT RID OF SPIES (A.D. 1097).
In 1097, while the Crusaders were besieging Antioch, they were alarmed by
the knowledge that there were spies in the camp out of every unbelieving
nation in the East, who found it easy to remain undiscovered by calling
themselves merchants from Greece, Syria, or Armenia, who brought
provisions for sale to the army. These spies witnessed the famine and
pestilence which prevailed in the camp, and the pilgrims justly feared
that this intelligence would spread to their destruction. The princes were
at a loss what to do; but Beaumont, who was a shrewd man, about twilight,
when his comrades were all engaged throughout the camp in preparing their
supper, commanded several Turkish prisoners to be put to death and their
flesh to be roasted over a large fire to be prepared for table. He further
instructed the servants, if asked what they were about, to reply that
general orders had been given that in future all Turks who should be
brought in prisoners by the scouts should be served up for food both to
the princes and the people. All the army soon heard of this remarkable
news, and the Turkish spies in the camp believed that it was done in
earnest. Fearing, therefore, lest the same thing should happen to
themselves, they left the camp and returned to their own country, where
they told their employers that the men in the Crusaders' army exceeded the
ferocity of beasts; and not content with plundering castles and cities,
they must needs fill their bellies with the flesh and blood of their
victims. This report spread throughout the most distant countries, and by
this means the grievance of spies was put a stop to.
CRUSADERS DISCOVERING THE HOLY LANCE (A.D. 1098).
When the Crusaders were besieged by the Turks in Antioch in 1098, and
suffering from famine and despair, and many men failing in courage and
escaping by night from the walls, thence called rope-dancers, a sudden
gleam of confidence came to their relief. A priest of Marseilles, named
Peter Bartholomey, though known to be of cunning and loose manners,
suddenly knocked at the door of the council chamber to disclose an
apparition of St. Andrew, who thrice appeared to him in his sleep, and
called on him under heavy threats to reveal the commands of Heaven. The
saint had thus addressed Peter: "At Antioch, in the church of my brother
St. Peter near the high altar, is concealed the steel head of the lance
that pierced the side of our Redeemer. In three days that instrument of
eternal and now of temporal salvation will be manifested to His disciples.
Search and ye shall find; bear it aloft in battle, and that mystic weapon
shall penetrate the souls of the miscreants." The Pope's legate, the
Bishop of Puy, listened with coldness, but Count Raymond eagerly welcomed
this revelation. The attempt was made, and after prayer and fasting the
priest of Marseilles introduced twelve trusty spectators, and barred the
doors to keep out the excited multitude. The ground was broken and dug to
a depth of twelve feet and nothing found; but in the evening, when the
guards were drowsy, Peter, in his shirt and without shoes, boldly
descended into the pit in the dark with the head of a Saracen lance, and
this he pretended with devout rapture to discover by its gleam as the
genuine relic. The chiefs affected to recognise the discovery and to
inspire enthusiasm. The gates were thrown open, while a procession of
monks and priests chanted the psalm "Let God arise and let His enemies be
scattered." The holy lance was entrusted to a faithful leader; three
knights in white garments also suddenly appeared to help the Crusaders,
whose spirits were roused to the highest pitch.
THE HOLY LANCE PUTS THE INFIDELS TO ROUT (A.D. 1098).
When the holy lance was discovered and the Crusaders were in the highest
enthusiasm and marched out of Antioch, the Sultan Corbogha was so struck
by their impassioned, stern, and indomitable aspect, that he had
misgivings, and even made proposals which were haughtily rejected. The
battle was long, stubborn, and at points indecisive, but at last the pious
and warlike enthusiasm of the Crusaders prevailed over the savage bravery
of the Turks. The Sultan soon fled away towards the Euphrates with a weak
escort. Tancred pursued till nightfall the retiring hosts. The Christian
chroniclers say that 100,000 infidels were slain, while only 4,000
Crusaders were left on the field of battle. The camp of the Turks was
given over to pillage, and 15,000 camels and many horses were secured. The
camp of the Sultan Corbogha was a rich prize and an object of admiration.
It was laid out in streets, flanked by towers, as if it were a fortified
town; gold and precious stones glittered in every part of it. It was
capable of accommodating 2,000 persons. Beaumont sent it to Italy, where
it was long preserved. After that battle, says Albert of Aix, every
Crusader found himself richer than he had been when starting from Europe.
Nevertheless the effect on the Crusaders was disastrous. Some abandoned
themselves to the licence of victory, others to the sweets of repose. Some
longed to go home; others to push for further conquests. After long
debates and rivalries the majority decided to wait till the heat of summer
was over before attempting to capture Jerusalem. It was eight months
before the bulk of the Crusaders began to move on.
THE CRUSADERS TESTING A DOUBTFUL POINT.
In 1099 the Crusaders were at Marra, when a dissension existed between
Beaumont and the Count of Toulouse, and murmurs arose among the armies as
to the delays thereby caused. The Count, in order to satisfy the people,
passed on to a city called Archis, and pitched their camp near the sea
coast. The Christians besieged the city a long time, but without success.
Here the question was again mooted concerning the lance with which our
Lord's side had been pierced. Some said that it had really been appointed
by Divine inspiration for the consolation of the army; whilst others
maliciously contended that it was a stratagem of the Count of Toulouse,
and was no discovery at all, but invented solely for gain. A large fire
was therefore kindled of a size sufficient to terrify the bystanders; and
when all the people were assembled together one day, the priest Peter, to
whom the discovery of the lance had been made, underwent a perilous
ordeal, for when he had offered up a prayer he took the lance with him and
passed unhurt through the midst of the fire. But as he died a few days
afterwards, the ordeal did not give entire satisfaction to the opposite
party.
THE CRUSADERS' FIRST SIGHT OF JERUSALEM (A.D. 1099).
When the Crusaders, in the spring of 1099, marched from Antioch towards
Jerusalem, and reached some spot sacred to history, the natural greed and
jealousy among the chiefs were too apparent. A warrior-chief would rush to
plant his flag first on a town or house and claim to be its possessor.
Others, more earnest, marched barefooted beneath the banner of the cross,
and deplored among themselves the covetous and quarrelsome temper of their
leaders. On reaching Emmaus, a deputation of Christians came from
Bethlehem to bespeak help, and Tancred, in the middle of the night, with a
small band of a hundred horsemen, went and planted his own flag on the top
of the church at Bethlehem, at the very hour at which the birth of Christ
had been announced to the shepherds of Judæa. Next day, on June 10th,
1099, at dawn, the army of Crusaders from the heights of Emmaus had their
first gaze at the Holy City. Tasso, in "Jerusalem Delivered," thus gives
voice to the scene: "Lo! Jerusalem appears in sight! Lo! every hand points
to Jerusalem. A thousand voices are heard as one in salutation of
Jerusalem. After the great sweet joy which filled all hearts at this first
glimpse came a deep feeling of contrition, mingled with awful and
reverential affection Each scarcely dared to raise the eye towards the
city which had been the chosen abode of Christ, where He died, was buried,
and rose again. In accents of humility, with low-spoken words, with
stifled sobs, with sighs and tears, the pent-up yearnings of a people in
joy, and yet in sorrow, sent shivering through the air a murmur like that
which is heard in leafy forests what time the wind blows through the
leaves, or like the dull sound made by the sea which breaks upon the
rocks, or hisses as it foams over the beach." It was thought at the time
there were 20,000 armed inhabitants and 40,000 men in garrison of
fanatical Mussulmans. About 40,000 Crusaders were outside of both sexes,
of whom 12,000 were foot soldiers and 1,200 knights.
CRUSADERS PREPARING TO ASSAULT JERUSALEM (A.D. 1099).
While the crusading army were preparing their scaling towers and engines
for hurling stones, one day Tancred had gone alone to pray on the Mount of
Olives and to gaze upon the Holy City, when five Mussulmans sallied forth
to attack him. He killed three and the other two took to flight. There was
at one point of the city ramparts a ravine, which had to be filled up to
make an approach, and the Count of Toulouse issued a proclamation that he
would give a _denier_ to every one who would go and throw three stones
into it. In three days the ravine was filled up. After four weeks' labour
a day was fixed for delivering the assault; but as several of the chiefs
had serious quarrels, it was resolved that before the grand attack they
should all be reconciled at a general supplication with solemn ceremonies
for Divine aid. After a strict fast, all the Crusaders went forth armed
from their quarters, and, preceded by their priests barefooted and
chanting psalms, they moved in slow procession round Jerusalem, halting at
all places hallowed by some fact in sacred history, listening to the
discourses of their priests, and raising eyes full of wrath at hearing the
scoffs addressed to them by the Saracens, and at seeing the insults heaped
upon certain crosses they had set up, and upon all the symbols of the
Christian faith. "Ye see," cried Peter the Hermit, "ye hear the threats
and blasphemies of these enemies of God. Now this I swear to you by your
faith, by the arms ye carry, to-day these infidels are full of pride and
insolence, but to-morrow they shall be frozen with fear. Those mosques
which tower over Christian ruins shall serve for temples to the true God,
and Jerusalem shall hear no longer aught but the praises of God." The
Christians raised a great shout in answer to their apostle, and repeated
the words of Isaiah: "They shall fear the name of the Lord from the west,
and His glory from the rising of the sun."
THE CRUSADERS CAPTURING JERUSALEM (A.D. 1099).
On July 14th, 1099, a third assault had been made against the city of
Jerusalem; the machines of the Crusaders threw millstones against the
walls, while the citizens threw pots of lighted tow, which would easily
break, so as to destroy the machines. The enemy during the assault brought
up two witches to enchant the machines and render them useless, but while
they were enchanting a large stone struck both of them dead, and then a
great shout arose among the besiegers. Duke Godfrey's men threw fire on
the bags of straw and cushions of the wall, then threw a bridge to one end
of the tower, by which he and his men entered, and then opened the gate of
St. Paul, at three o'clock on Friday, the hour when Christ had yielded up
the ghost. The Turks were then put to death in such numbers that no one
could walk the streets without treading on dead bodies. When Tancred
learned that many Turks had fled for refuge within the courts of the
Temple, his men rushed inside and slew great numbers, and it was said
carried off much gold and silver. Meanwhile, horse and foot were pouring
into the city, and every inhabitant met with was slain, so that the
streets flowed with blood. Ten thousand Turks were said to have been slain
within the precincts of the Temple alone. The Crusaders, dispersing
through the streets, and searching every secret place they could find,
drew out master and mistress with their children and all their family from
the secret chambers, and either put them to the sword or threw them
headlong and broke their necks. He who first got possession of a house or
palace claimed it as his own permanent property; for it had been agreed
amongst the princes that, when the city was taken, each should keep what
he could get. And thus, whoever first took possession of a house fixed a
banner, shield, or some kind of weapon at the door as a sign to others
that the house was already occupied.
THE CRUSADERS' FIRST VISIT TO THE HOLY PLACES (A.D. 1099).
When Jerusalem was captured in 1099, and the spoils had been collected by
the pilgrims, they began, with sighs and tears, with naked feet, and with
every sign of humility and devotion, to visit each of the holy places
which the Lord had hallowed by His presence, and in particular the Church
of the Resurrection and of our Lord's Passion. It was most pleasant to
behold with what devotion the faithful of both sexes, whilst their minds
were exhilarated with spiritual enjoyment, approached, shedding tears, to
the holy places, and gave thanks to God for having brought their pious
labours and long service to the desired consummation. All thence derived
hopes that it would be the earnest of a future resurrection, and these
present benefits gave them a firm expectation of those which were to come,
that the earthly Jerusalem which they now trod would be to them the way to
the heavenly Jerusalem. The bishops too and priests, having purified the
churches of the city, and especially the precincts of the Temple,
consecrated to God the holy places, and celebrating Mass before the
people, gave thanks for the blessings which they had received. Many men of
the greatest credit affirmed that they saw their dead companions going
round with the princes to visit the holy places. The venerable Peter the
Hermit, by whose zeal the undertaking was commenced, was now recognised
and affectionately saluted by all. When all the places had been visited,
the princes returned to their houses and hostels, to enjoy the gold,
silver, jewels, costly garments, corn, wine, and oil, besides plenty of
water, from the want of which they had suffered so much during the siege.
There was an abundance of everything that could be desired, and the market
was maintained at low prices.
ST. BERNARD ROUSING A SECOND CRUSADE (A.D. 1174).
As Louis VII., in his quarrel with the Pope, had once invaded Count
Theobald's dominions, and burnt alive thirteen hundred Christians, his
conscience led him to restore the balance by slaughtering as many
infidels, and hence he pressed the Pope to direct a second crusade. The
Pope took the matter up, but was glad to devolve the burden of agitating
among the nations on Bernard. This pleased Louis equally well, and at
their joint solicitation meetings were arranged to be harangued by the
inspired monk of Clairvaux. Pale and attenuated to a degree almost
supernatural, even the glance of Bernard's eyes filled his contemporaries
with wonder and awe. That he was kept alive at all appeared to them to be
a standing miracle. But when the light from that thin calm face fell upon
them, when those firm lips gave out words of love, devotion, and
self-sacrifice, they were carried away with their feelings. A stage had
been erected on the top of a hill, where a vast crowd, headed by the King
and his knights, was collected. The mere sight and sound of Bernard's
voice stirred up a sea of faces, and brought out a unanimous shout
demanding "Crosses! crosses!" Bernard began to scatter broadcast among the
people a supply of crosses, as the pledge of their wild enthusiasm. He
also kept up the enthusiasm by visiting the towns of North-western
Germany, and he enrolled his thousands of enthusiasts. He said at last he
had scarcely left one man to seven women. All the chroniclers of the day
describe a succession of miracles as attending Bernard wherever he went.
Soon all the chivalry of Europe were ready to advance to the Holy Land,
conquering and to conquer.
A FRENCH QUEEN AS A CRUSADER (A.D. 1147).
When Eleanor of Aquitaine was Queen of Louis VII. of France, being
beautiful, a fine musician and songstress, and expert in the songs and
recitations of the troubadours, she was so carried away by the eloquence
of the monk Bernard when preaching for the crusade that she vowed to join
her husband and go to the Holy Land. Her youth, beauty, and gaiety made
the King do anything. She made her court ladies array themselves like
Amazons, and act as her bodyguard. They joined in the exercises eagerly as
in any frolic, and sent their distaffs as presents to the knights and
nobles who had not courage to go from home. The freaks of these ladies led
to many mishaps and disasters in the field; and instead of obeying orders,
the Queen and her Amazons insisted on encamping in a lovely, romantic
valley, which deranged all the wisest plans, and led to the loss of seven
thousand of the flower of French chivalry. She then began to flirt with
her uncle, a handsome old beau, whom she met for the first time at
Antioch, and her vagaries caused disgust to Louis, who left her in a huff.
When she entered Jerusalem, the burning object of every Crusader's dreams,
she was in such a fit of temper that she saw nothing interesting, and then
began a lasting quarrel between her and the King. While Louis was
besieging Damascus she had to be kept in personal restraint at Jerusalem,
and even started another flirtation with a handsome young Saracen. After
great disasters and vexations, the King and Queen left Constantinople, and
reached France in 1148. She never ceased to mock the King for his dowdy
habits during the next four years while they lived together. In 1150 the
young Prince Henry of England, aged seventeen, first saw the Queen, and
she was fascinated by him, and took measures to marry him after securing a
divorce from Louis. The celerity of her marriage to Henry in 1152, after
obtaining her divorce, astonished all Europe, she being thirty-two and
Henry twenty.
ST. BERNARD AFTER THE EVENT OF HIS CRUSADE.
The influence of St. Bernard in rousing the Second Crusade was due to the
reputation he had acquired above all his rivals and contemporaries, who
knew that he had refused all ecclesiastical dignities, and yet was the
oracle of Europe, and the founder of one hundred and sixty convents. He
was warned, however, by the example of Peter the Hermit, and declined any
military command. After the calamitous event of his great undertaking, the
Abbot of Clairvaux was loudly accused as a false prophet, the author of
the public and private mourning; his enemies exulted, his friends blushed,
and his apology was slow and unsatisfactory. He justified his obedience to
the Pope, expatiated on the mysterious ways of Providence, imputed the
misfortunes of the pilgrims to their own sins, and modestly insinuated
that his own part of the mission had been approved by signs and wonders.
A PILGRIM PRINCE BRINGING RELICS FROM THE HOLY LAND (A.D. 1172).
Henry, Duke of Saxony, married Matilda, then a girl of twelve, eldest
daughter of Henry II. of England, in 1168, and four years after the Duke
resolved to visit the Holy Land, not as a fighting Crusader, but only as a
pilgrim, so that his feet might stand and his knees bend where once the
feet of the Saviour had stood. He took costly presents, and while
approaching Jerusalem the clergy came forth to welcome him, chanting hymns
and songs of joy. He made magnificent offerings at the Holy Sepulchre, and
left money to keep three lamps perpetually burning before the holy shrine.
Henry visited all the sacred places, was fêted by King Baldwin, and then
by the Turkish Sultan. The Sultan, after presenting Henry with a gorgeous
cloak, ordered eighteen hundred war-steeds to be brought out that the
guest might choose the best, and it was then decorated with silver bits
and jewelled saddles. He was also offered a lion and two leopards, as well
as six camels loaded with gifts. The Emperor at Constantinople was equally
liberal, and gave manuscripts of the Holy Gospels and many relics of
saints and martyrs. When Henry reached his home in Brunswick and displayed
his treasures before his duchess and their subjects, he found in his
collection the following gems: a tooth of St. John the Baptist; a great
toe of St. Mark; the arms of St. Innocent and St. Theodore; a scrap of the
dresses of the Virgin Mary, of St. Stephen the protomartyr, St. Laurence,
and Mary Magdalene; some of the wood of the cross; a few splinters from
the crown of thorns; a piece of the column to which our Lord was bound
when scourged; a part of the table used at the Last Supper; and many other
rarities. The wood of the cross was enshrined in a large silver crucifix
decorated with fifty-one pearls, thirty-nine corals, and ninety-six other
jewels. These spoils were distributed among the different churches in
Brunswick and the monastery of Hildesheim, and received with immense
satisfaction and pride.
THE POPE WRITING UP ANOTHER CRUSADE (A.D. 1187).
In 1187 Pope Gregory VIII. sent a letter to the faithful, reciting that
"whereas we doubt not that the disasters of the land of Jerusalem which
have lately happened through the irruption of the Saracens have been
caused by the sins of the whole people of Christendom, therefore we have
enacted that all persons shall for the next five years on every sixth day
of the week fast on Lenten fare, and wherever Mass is performed it shall
be chanted at the ninth hour, also on the fourth day of the week; and on
Saturday all persons without distinction who are in good health shall
abstain from eating flesh. We and our brethren do also forbid to ourselves
and to our households the use of flesh on the second day of the week as
well, unless it shall so happen that illness, or some great calamity, or
other evident cause shall seem to prevent the same, trusting that by so
doing God will pardon us and leave His blessing behind Him." The princes
of the earth, on receiving these mandates and exhortations of the Supreme
Pontiff, exerted themselves with all their might for the liberation of the
land of Jerusalem, and accordingly the Emperor, the archbishops, bishops,
dukes, earls, and barons of the empire assumed the sign of the cross.
THE EMPEROR'S HYPOCRITICAL CRUSADERSHIP (A.D. 1189).
Frederick I. (Barbarossa), Emperor of Germany, was said to have joined
Henry II. of England and Philip of France in a crusade from mere worldly
ambition rather than any sincere devotion. An Arabian chronicler, Ibn
Gouzi, thus describes his visit to Jerusalem before leaving the East: "The
Emperor was ruddy and bald. His sight was weak. If he had been a slave, he
would not have been worth two hundred drachmas. His discourse showed that
he did not believe his Christian religion. When he spoke of it, it was to
sneer at it. Having cast his eyes on the inscription in letters of gold
which Saladin has placed above the venerated chapel, which said, 'Saladin
purged the Holy City from those who worshipped many gods,' he had it
explained to him; and then asking why the windows had gratings, he was
told it was to keep out the birds. He answered, 'Yes, you have driven away
the sparrows, but instead of them you have let in hogs,' meaning the
Christians. When the Emir, enforcing the Sultan's order to avoid what
might displease Frederick, rebuked the Mussulmans for uttering on the
minarets the passages in the Koran against the Christians, Frederick,
hearing of it, told him, 'You have done wrong. Why for my sake omit your
duty, your law, or your religion? By heaven, if you come with me to my
states----'" At this point the chronicler's account was mutilated, and the
rest is unknown.
FULK OF NEUILLY, THE PREACHER OF THE THIRD CRUSADE (A.D. 1195).
As Peter the Hermit was the soul of the First Crusade and St. Bernard of
the Second, so Fulk of Neuilly, who died 1202, was the missionary of the
Third Crusade in 1195. He had been wild in youth, but settled down and
attended the lectures of Peter the Chaunter in Paris, and took copious
notes of the brilliant passages. He then poured forth Peter's eloquence in
his own next Sunday's sermon, and began to be considered eloquent and
stirring. One day his hearers were so overwhelmed with enthusiasm that
they tore their clothes, threw away their shoes, and cast themselves at
his feet, demanding rods and scourges to inflict instant penance on
themselves. Usurers came and threw their gains at his feet. The Pope,
Innocent III., heard of Fulk's enthusiasm and highly approved it, and
suggested to him a mission to stir up the people. He did so, and went the
round of France, distributing crosses, blessing wells, and working
miracles. He shaved and wore a sackcloth shirt and rode on a palfrey. He
received vast subsidies. But notwithstanding his zeal and success, a
profound mistrust settled on mankind that these holy alms were devoted by
the Pope and him to other uses. He died of fever in 1202, supposed to have
been brought on by grief at these malappropriations. Other preachers,
especially the Abbot Martin, had also kept up the missionary enthusiasm,
and at last a crusade of Cery began in 1200, the fruit of this stirring of
the people.
DEATH OF RICHARD I., A CRUSADER (A.D. 1199).
While Richard I., who had returned from Palestine in 1194, was in 1199
besieging the castle of Chalus in Limousin and was reconnoitring it on
all sides, one Bertram de Gurdun aimed an arrow from the castle, striking
the King in the arm and inflicting an incurable wound. A physician
attempted to extract the iron head from the wound, but took out only the
wood at first, and in butcher fashion had to probe again for the rest. The
King, feeling that he could not survive, disposed of his wealth, and then
ordered the arbalister to be called to his presence. The King asked what
harm he had done that the bowman should kill him. The latter at once made
answer that the King had slain his father and two brothers with his own
hand, and also had intended to kill the speaker, but that he, the latter,
was quite ready and willing to endure the greatest torments, being well
content that one who had inflicted so many evils on the world should do so
no more. The King pardoned the soldier and ordered him to be discharged;
but the King's servants, notwithstanding, privily flayed him alive and
then hanged him.
FRENCH AND VENETIANS PILLAGING CONSTANTINOPLE.
When the French and Venetians in 1204 besieged and pillaged
Constantinople, the Emperor's wife and child had to take refuge in the
house of a merchant. The patriarch escaped, riding on an ass without
attendants. The conquerors entered the Cathedral of St. Sophia, tore down
the veil, the altar, and all its ornaments. They made a prostitute mount
on the patriarch's throne and sing and dance in the holy place, to
ridicule the hymns and processions of the worshippers. The tombs were
stripped of everything saleable. There were many Pagan statues which
peculiarly provoked the contempt and zeal of the invaders. The statues of
the victorious charioteers, the sphinx, river-horse, and crocodile, of the
she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus, of the eagle and serpent, and other
designs of Pagan heroes and goddesses, were cast down and disfigured and
then burnt. The most enlightened of the invaders searched for and seized
the relics of the saints; and it is said that the Abbot Martin transferred
a rich cargo to his monastery of Paris. The supply of heads and bones,
crosses and images, served the wants of the churches of Europe, and proved
most lucrative plunder. The libraries also shared the general fate.
THE POPE TURNS ON CRUSADERS AGAINST THE HERETICS (A.D. 1208).
The southern part of France had long been noted for the variety of
heresies caused amongst its mixed population. In 1145 St. Bernard went
forth to preach against the heretics of Toulouse, where there were
churches without flocks, flocks without priests, and Christians without
Christ, where men were dying in their sins without being reconciled by
penance or admitted to the Holy Communion, and their souls sent pell-mell
before the awful tribunal of God. But even St. Bernard could make little
impression on the ungodly population, who drowned his voice and caused him
to shake the dust from his feet and to curse the town of Vertfeuil. He
died in 1153, and for fifty years later the heretics of Southern France,
generally called the Albigenses, vexed the orthodox souls of Popes and
Church Councils. At last, about 1208, a fiery and zealous Crusader, on
returning from Palestine, was enlisted by Pope Innocent III., and aided by
two Spanish monks to extirpate, since they could not hope to convert,
these troublesome heretics whom the Pope described as worse than the
Saracens. A rally was made of all the fanatical offscourings in the world
to help in this heretic hunt, and for fifteen years all the towns and
strong castles of the South were taken, lost, pillaged, sacked, and
massacred with unbridled ferocity. The brutal Simon de Montfort, after the
massacre of chiefs, confiscated the lands and appropriated these to
himself. It was a relief to Christians when that unscrupulous bandit,
after besieging Toulouse for nine months, was killed by a shower of stones
discharged from the walls in 1218.
CRUSADERS FEROCIOUS AGAINST HERETICS (A.D. 1209).
The Crusaders, in 1209, though zealous for their religion, scarcely showed
a glimmering of its influence in the conduct of their warlike operations
against the Albigenses. They spread desolation wherever they went,
destroying vineyards and crops, burning villages and farmhouses,
slaughtering unarmed peasants, women, and children. When La Minerve, near
Narbonne, after an obstinate defence, yielded and the besieged were
offered their freedom if they recanted their heresy, one of the Crusaders
shouted out, "We came to extirpate heretics, not to show them favour."
This voice from the crowd sharpened their fury, and one hundred and forty
of both sexes were burnt to death. At a castle called Brau, De Montfort
cut off the noses and tore out the eyes of one hundred of the defenders,
leaving to one of them one eye only, that he might lead out the rest. At
Lavaur, Almeric and eighty nobles were ordered to be hanged; but because
one of the gibbets fell down in using it, they were all butchered with the
sword. The sister of Almeric, being deemed an obstinate heretic, was
thrown into a well and a pile of stones upon her. A chaplain of the
Crusaders at one place reported that four hundred captives were burned
with immense joy. One lady at Toulouse, lying on her deathbed, being
charged as a heretic, was carried out in her bed and burnt amid the
merriment of the orthodox. Yet Simon de Montfort, who had been chosen
general of these brutal legions, after despatching so many dissenters of
the period, on returning to Northern France was hailed as champion of the
faith, and the clergy and people met him in procession, shouting, "Blessed
is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." At the siege of Beziers, it is
mentioned, where Catholics and heretics both joined in defending their
town, Arnold of Citeaux incited the Crusaders to slaughter not only men
but women and children indiscriminately, brutally adding, "Kill them all;
the Lord knoweth them that are His." The series of campaigns against the
Albigenses was said to give the Pope the idea of establishing the
Inquisition as a more effectual way of putting down all heretics.
HOW THE ORTHODOX VIEWED THE ALBIGENSES (A.D. 1214).
In 1214 the depravity of the heretics called Albigenses, who dwelt in
Gascony, Arumnia, and Alby, gained such power in the parts about Toulouse
and in Aragon that they not only practised their impieties in secret, but
preached their erroneous doctrine openly. The Albigenses were so called,
says Roger of Wendover, from the city of Alba, where that doctrine was
said to have taken its rise. At length their perversity set the anger of
God so completely at defiance that they published the books of their
doctrines amongst the lower order before the very eyes of the bishops and
priests, and disgraced the chalices and sacred vessels in disrespect of
the body and blood of Christ. Pope Innocent was greatly grieved, and
enjoined the chiefs and other Christian people that whoever undertook the
business of overthrowing the heretics should, like those who visited the
Lord's sepulchre, be protected from all hostile attacks both in property
and person. The Crusaders met in large assembly, and then marched to lay
siege to the city of Beziers. The heretics there, on seeing their
assailants, scornfully threw out the book of the Gospel, blaspheming the
name of the Lord. The soldiers of the faith, incensed by such blasphemy,
in less than three hours' time scaled the walls, and sacked and burnt the
city, and a great slaughter of the infidels took place as the punishment
of God, but very few of the Catholics were slain. After a few days, when
the report of this miracle was spread abroad, the followers of this
heretical depravity fled to the mountains, and abandoned their castles,
which were stocked with all kinds of food and stores.
THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE (A.D. 1212).
While the fever for crusading against heretics was kept alive in 1212, a
singular development occurred among the little children, who copied what
they saw. A shepherd boy named Stephen, at the village of Cloies, near
Vendome, arose, who professed to have been commanded by the Saviour in a
vision to go and preach the cross. This tale at once was accepted, and he
gathered children about him, who went through the towns and villages
chanting, "O Lord, help us to recover Thy true and holy cross." The
numbers increased as they went along, so that when they reached Paris they
were computed at fifteen hundred, and at Marseilles at thirty thousand,
marching under banners, crosses, and censers. Parents in vain tried to
keep their children from joining in the enthusiasm, and it is related that
those who resorted to locks and bars were confounded on seeing these give
way and allow the little captives to go free. Stephen, like his betters,
was credited with miraculous power, and the threads of his dress were
treasured as precious relics. He was carried along on a triumphal car, and
had a miniature bodyguard. At last some buccaneering shippers, on pretence
of giving them a free passage to Egypt and Africa, kidnapped and sold them
as slaves. While this juvenile army was parading through France, a like
movement was set on foot by a boy, Nicolas, in Germany, but his following
was less successful, and soon became scattered. The sagacious Pope
Innocent, in alluding to these childish outbreaks, was pleased to observe
that the children put to shame the apathy of their elders.
MORE PREACHING OF THE CRUSADE (A.D. 1236).
In 1236, says Matthew Paris, on a warrant from the Pope, a solemn
preaching was made both in England and France by the brethren of the
orders of Preachers and Minorites and other famous clerks, theologians,
and religious men, granting to those who would assume the cross a full
remission of the sins of which they truly repented and made confession.
These preachers wandered about amongst cities, castles, and villages,
promising to those who assumed the cross much relief in temporal
matters--namely, that interest on debts should not accumulate against them
with the Jews, and the protection of his Holiness the Pope should be
granted for all their incomes and property given in pledge to procure
necessaries for their journey; and thus they incited an immense number of
people to make a vow of pilgrimage. The Pope afterwards sent also Master
Thomas, a Templar, his familiar, into England with his warrant to absolve
those Crusaders whom he chose and thought expedient from their vow of
pilgrimage, on receiving money from them which he considered that he could
expend advantageously for the interests of the Holy Land. When the
Crusaders saw this, they wondered at the insatiable greediness of the
Roman Court, and conceived great indignation in their minds, because the
Romans endeavoured thus impudently to drain their purses by so many
devices. For the preachers also promised the same indulgence to all,
whether they assumed the cross or not, if they contributed their property
and means for the assistance of the Holy Land. The Pope thus accumulated
an endless sum of money to defend the Church. But peace was soon after
made and the project abandoned; nevertheless, the money was never
restored, and thus the devotion of many became daily weakened.
ESCAPING THE CRUSADE BY PAYING MONEY (A.D. 1241).
Matthew Paris says: "In 1241, in order that the wretched country of
England might be robbed and despoiled of its wealth by a thousand devices,
the Preacher and Minorite brethren, supported by a warrant from the Pope
in their preaching, granted full remission of sins to all who should
assume the cross for the liberation of the Holy Land. And immediately, or
at least two or three days after they had prevailed on many to assume the
cross, they absolved them from their vow, on condition that they would
contribute a large amount of money for the assistance of the Holy Land,
each as far as his means would permit. And in order to render the English
more ready and willing to accede to their demands, they declared that the
money was to be sent to Earl Richard; and, moreover, they showed a letter
of his for better security. They also granted the same indulgence to old
men and invalids, women, imbeciles, and children who took the cross or
purposed taking it, receiving money, however, from them beforehand for
this indulgence, and showed letters testimonial from Earl Richard
concerning this matter which had been obtained from the Roman Court. By
this method of draining the purses of the English an immense sum of money
was obtained, owing to the favour in which Earl Richard was held; but we
would here ask who was to be a faithful guardian and dispenser of this
money; for we do not know."
ELOQUENT ENTHUSIASM OF THE MASTER OF HUNGARY (A.D. 1251).
In 1251 a religious frenzy arose in Flanders and France under the name of
the Pastoureux or Shepherds. It began among the lowest classes, who
attributed the imprisonment of their king, St. Louis, by the Mussulmans to
the neglect and avarice of the clergy. A champion arose, called the Master
of Hungary, an aged man with a long beard and a pale emaciated face, who
spoke three or four languages, boasted that he had no authority from the
Pope, but he clasped in his hand a roll which he said contained
instructions from the Blessed Virgin herself. He said she had appeared to
him encircled by hosts of angels, and had given him this commission to
summon the poor shepherds to the deliverance of their godly King. This
awful personage excited the most intense interest. He was an apostate
monk, who in his youth had imbibed atheism and magic from unholy sources.
He it was who in his youth led a crusade of children who had plunged,
following his steps, by thousands into the sea. His eloquence and mystic
look attracted wondering crowds. The shepherds and peasants left their
flocks, their ploughs, and their fields, and, regardless of hunger and
want, roamed after their leader, till they swelled to thirty thousand, and
then to one hundred thousand men. They moved in battle-array, brandishing
clubs, pikes, axes, and weapons picked up at random. Provosts and mayors
were panic-stricken at the swarm of banners of the cross and standards of
the Virgin and angels. The Master scornfully spoke of the clergy and
usurped the offices of the Church, distributing crosses and dispensing
absolution. He taunted the monks and friars with hypocrisy, gluttony, and
pride. It was rumoured that the mob was miraculously fed. He entered a
church and declaimed eloquently on the vices of the enemy. At last riots
arose, and his head was cloven by a battle-axe, and the leaders were
killed like mad dogs till the multitude disappeared.
DEATHBED OF ST. LOUIS OF FRANCE, CRUSADER (A.D. 1270).
For seven years after his return from the East in 1254, St. Louis, King of
France, could not rest in his mind till he had again entered on a new
crusade to reconquer Jerusalem and deliver the Holy Sepulchre. But he kept
his own counsel and awaited the progress of events. In 1261 he told his
parliament that there should be fasts and prayers for the Christians of
the East. In 1267, on convoking his parliament in Paris, having first had
the precious relics deposited in the Holy Chapel set before the eyes of
the assembly, he opened the session by ardently exhorting those present to
avenge the insult which had so long been offered to the Saviour in the
Holy Land, and to recover the Christian heritage possessed for our sins by
the infidels. And next year, in 1268, he took an oath to start in May
1270, and to take his three sons, aged twenty-two, eighteen, and
seventeen. He urged Joinville, his biographer, to take the cross and join
him; but Joinville flatly refused, thinking the King would do far more
good by remaining at home. The King was in weak health, and the plan of
the expedition was long unsettled, and at the last moment he decided first
to go to Tunis, as he had a notion that he might convert the King,
Mohammed Mostanser, who had long been talking of becoming a Christian. But
on reaching Tunis on July 17th, 1270, it was found that the French must
first fight the Mussulman prince, and the army was ill provisioned and
unready. On August 3rd the King was attacked with epidemic fever and kept
his bed in tent. He called his son and daughter and gave them the best
advice; and after giving an interview to a messenger from the Emperor sent
to bespeak his good offices, the saintly King ceased to think of the
affairs of this world. He kept repeating prayers for mercy on his own
people, and that they might return safely to their own land. He now and
then raised himself on his bed, muttering the words, "Jerusalem,
Jerusalem. We will go up to Jerusalem." He retained possession of his
faculties to the last, insisted on receiving out of bed extreme unction,
and on lying down upon a coarse sackcloth covered with cinders with the
cross before him. On Monday, August 25th, 1270, at 3 p.m., he died,
uttering these last words: "Father, after the example of the Divine
Master, into Thy hands I commend my spirit."
CRUSADERS ENTERTAINED ON THEIR WAY HOME.
When Earl Richard, brother of King Henry III., returned in 1241 from the
Holy Land on his way to visit the Emperor, Frederick II., and the Empress,
the sister of Richard, he was received with the greatest joy and honour in
the various cities, the citizens and their ladies coming to meet him with
music and singing, bearing branches of trees and flowers, dressed in
holiday garments and ornaments. On reaching the Emperor, Richard was
treated with blood-letting, baths, and divers medicinal fomentations to
restore his strength after the dangers of the sea. At the end of some
days, by the Emperor's orders, various kinds of games and musical
instruments, which were procured for the Empress's amusement, were
exhibited before him, and afforded great pleasure. Amongst other
astonishing novelties there was one which particularly excited his
admiration and praise. Two Saracen girls of handsome form mounted upon
four round balls placed on the floor--namely, one of the two on two balls,
and the other on the other two. They walked backwards and forwards,
clapping their hands, moving at pleasure on these revolving globes,
gesticulating with their arms, singing various tunes and twisting their
bodies according to the tune, beating cymbals or castanets together with
their hands, and putting themselves into various amusing postures,
affording, with the other jugglers, an admirable spectacle to the
lookers-on. After staying with the Emperor about two months, Earl Richard
took his departure, loaded with costly presents.
A DYING KING BEQUEATHS HIS HEART AS A CRUSADER.
When Robert Bruce, King of Scotland, was on his deathbed in 1329,
Froissart tells how he made this dying request to his friend Sir James
Douglas: "'Sir James, my dear friend, none knows better than you how great
labour and suffering I have undergone in my day for the maintenance of the
rights of my kingdom, and when I was hardest beset made a vow which it now
grieves me deeply that I have not accomplished. I vowed to God, that, if I
should live to see an end of my wars, and be enabled to govern this realm
in peace, I would carry on war against the enemies of my Lord and Saviour
to the best of my power. Never has my heart ceased to bend to that point;
but our Lord has not consented thereto, for I have had my hands full in my
days, and now at the last I am seized with this grievous sickness, so
that, as you all see, I have nothing to do but to die. And since my body
cannot go thither and accomplish that which I have so much at heart, I
have resolved to send my heart there in place of my body, to fulfil my
vow. I entreat thee, therefore, my dear and tried friend, that for the
love you bear to me you will undertake this voyage and acquit my soul of
its debt to my Saviour.' On the knight promising faithfully to obey his
command, 'Praise be to God,' said the King. 'I shall die in peace, since I
am assured that the best and most valiant knight of my kingdom has
promised to achieve for me that which I myself could never accomplish.'"
When King Robert Bruce died, his heart was taken out from his body and
embalmed, and the Douglas caused a case of silver to be made, into which
he put the heart and wore it round his neck by a string of silk and gold.
He set out to the Holy Land, attended by a gallant train of Scottish
chiefs; but on touching at Spain he found the Saracen King or Sultan of
Grenada, called Osmyn, then invading the realms of Alphonso, the orthodox
Spanish King of Castile. The latter King received the Douglas with great
honour, and persuaded him to assist in driving back these Saracens.
Douglas consented; and during a battle, seeing a comrade surrounded by the
Moors, he took from his neck the heart, flung it into the thick of the
enemy, and rushing to the spot where it fell, was himself slain. The body
of the good Lord James was found lying above the silver case, as if to
defend it had been his last effort. His companions then resolved not to
proceed to the Holy Land, but to return with the sacred heart to Scotland,
and it was buried below the high altar in Melrose Abbey.
THE HOSPITALLERS AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARS (A.D. 1118-1313).
A monastery for the benefit of Latin pilgrims had been founded at
Jerusalem about 1050 by some wealthy merchants, and a hospital of St. John
the Baptist was attached to help sick pilgrims and protect them against
robbers. The Hospitallers soon separated from the monastery when the
Crusaders arrived, and their dress was fixed as black with a white cross.
Kings and nobles came to the assistance of this charity with gifts and
endowments, and Raymond du Puy, on becoming master of the hospital in
1118, drew up rules which enjoined a regular system of begging alms for
the poor, and each member when travelling was to carry a light with him,
which was to be kept burning all night. The order of Knights Templars
began about 1118 from similar motives, the object being to protect against
the robbers the highways used by pilgrims. At first the Knights Templars
were very poor, and the seal of their order showed two knights riding on
one horse, a symbol which some explain as indicating poverty, and others
as indicating brotherly kindness. Hugh de Payens and other French knights
were the first members, and soon attracted attention, especially as St.
Bernard, a nephew of one of the knights, warmly commended the institution
and drew up rules for them. Each knight was restricted to keep three
horses only, not to hawk nor hunt, not to receive presents nor use gaudy
trappings in their equipments. They were charged always "to strike the
lion," which was understood to mean the infidels. They were forbidden to
lock their trunks, to walk alone, or to kiss their mothers or sisters.
Their habit was said to be white with a red cross on the breast. The order
began modestly, but soon included three hundred knights of noble families,
and these attracted wealth, and this in time gave occasion for pride,
insolence, and defiance of ecclesiastical discipline. The Knights Templars
by degrees became a half-monastic and half-military order, attracting all
the spirited youths of Europe. St. Bernard called them a perpetual sacred
militia, the bodyguard of the Kings of Jerusalem, and a standing army on
the outposts of civilisation. Lands, castles, riches, were given to them.
The Popes patronised them. For two hundred years they kept up their
credit, and fought with consummate valour, discipline, activity, and zeal
for the cause of Christianity. They then excited the enmity of Philip the
Fair, who coveted their wealth, and as an excuse for attacking them said
he had heard of the secret vices and depravity of the order, and accused
and arrested all that were in France in 1307. They were subjected by him
to fearful torture to make them confess, and many confessed anything and
everything, being thereby able to escape further tortures. De Molay, the
Grand Master, confessed, retracted, then confessed, and again retracted.
Edward II. caused those Templars settled in England to be arrested also.
In 1310 fifty-four of the French Templars who denied the charges were
burnt in Paris. De Molay, after being six years in prison, was burnt in
1313, protesting his innocence and that of the order. Philip the Fair was
present part of the time. Philip's avarice and desire to confiscate their
property were thought to be the moving cause of this atrocious tyranny, as
he had borrowed money from them to pay the dowry of his sister, the Queen
of England. The ashes of the victims were carefully collected and
treasured as relics. It was afterwards currently believed that Molay at
the stake summoned the Pope and the King (Philip), as the authors of his
death, to appear before the judgment seat of Christ within forty days and
a year respectively, and that each of them died within the time assigned.
Philip, at the age of forty-six in 1314, met with an accident while
hunting in the forest of Fontainebleau, from which he never recovered,
leaving a name detested for every kind of despotism and oppression; and
his chief minister, Marigny, was hanged soon after. Pope Clement V. had
acted with a mean and cowardly acquiescence in the King's acts, and died
in the same year.
CRUSADERS' FAITH IN PROVIDENCE.
De Joinville, in his Memoir of St. Louis IX. of France, says that when
they were returning in 1254 from the Sixth Crusade, this accident happened
on board the ship of the Lord d'Argonnes, one of the most powerful lords
of Provence: "Lord d'Argonnes was annoyed one morning in bed by the rays
of the sun darting on his eyes through a hole in the vessel, and calling
one of his esquires, ordered him to stop the hole. The esquire, finding he
could not stop it inside, attempted to do it on the outside, but his foot
slipping he fell into the sea. The ship kept on her way, and there was not
the smallest boat alongside to succour him. We who were in the King's ship
saw him; but as we were half a league off, we thought it was some piece of
furniture that had fallen into the sea, for the esquire did not attempt to
save himself nor to move. When we came nearer, one of the King's boats
took him up and brought him on board our vessel, when he related his
accident. We asked him why he did not attempt to save himself by swimming,
nor call out to the other ships for help. He said he had no occasion to do
so, for as he fell into the sea he exclaimed, 'Our Lady of Valbert!' and
that she supported him by his shoulders until the King's galley came to
him. In honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and to perpetuate this miracle,
I had it painted in my chapel of Joinville, and also in the windows of the
church of Blecourt."
COLUMBUS VOWING ANOTHER CRUSADE (A.D. 1493).
Columbus was in spirit a crusader rather than a maritime discoverer. The
moment that the terms were fairly settled, he opened his project to Queen
Isabella (herself a proselytising Catholic), and suggested that the vast
wealth of Kubla Khan which he expected would accrue from his discovery
should be devoted to the pious purpose 'of rescuing the Holy Sepulchre of
Jerusalem from the power of the infidels.' When he came home in triumph,
he made a vow to furnish within seven years an army, consisting of five
thousand horse and fifty thousand foot, for the rescue of the Holy
Sepulchre, and a similar force within the five following years. How
tenaciously he held to his purpose we may gather from the fact that, when
he was brought home in chains to Spain and was in the deepest sorrow and
distress, he prepared an elaborate appeal to the sovereigns to undertake
the fulfilment of the vow which his poverty and weakness forbade him to
redeem; he wrote at the same time to the Pope, affirming that his
enterprise had been undertaken with the intent of dedicating the gains to
the recovery of the Holy Sepulchre; and that the evidence might be
complete, he reaffirmed it solemnly in death by his last testament, and
committed it as the dearest object of his heart, the most sacred purpose
of his life, for fulfilment to his heirs. When Columbus after his first
voyage told his story to Ferdinand and Isabella, they fell on their knees,
giving thanks to God with many tears, and then the choristers of the Royal
Chapel closed the grand ceremonial by singing the _Te Deum_. He was
created a Don, with reversion to his sons and brothers, rode by the King's
side, and "All hail!" was said to him on State occasions. He brought with
him nine Indians, as specimens of the wide field for future proselytes,
and these natives were baptised. One of them, after being baptised, died,
and the authorities of the time, as Herrera relates, were pleased then to
declare that he was the first coloured person to enter the kingdom of
heaven. Twelve missionaries, under charge of a Benedictine monk, were sent
out to take charge of the souls of the other Indians, and bring them to a
knowledge of the Holy Catholic faith. And Admiral Columbus was specially
charged besides to make them presents, and to deal lovingly with them.
Columbus was all his life aware of some prophecy that Jerusalem was to be
rebuilt by the hand of a Christian, and he looked forward to be that
Christian; and he used to say that he would try and discover the exact
kingdom of Prester John, who was known to be in want of missionaries to
help him.
NUMBERS OF CRUSADERS.
The First Crusade, which was led by Peter the Hermit, by Walter the
Penniless, by a German priest, and by some nondescript leaders, consisted
of a mob of a quarter of a million of people, and other contingents
swelled the number to 880,000. When they succeeded in capturing Jerusalem,
they massacred ten thousand inhabitants, including women and children.
Then Godfrey, throwing aside his armour, clothed with a linen mantle, and
with bare head and naked feet, went to the Church of the Sepulchre. The
First Crusade captured Nice, then Antioch after a severe siege, and then
Jerusalem; and then a king was elected and remained. The Second Crusade,
stirred up by St. Bernard in 1144, consisted of some 1,200,000 men,
including Louis VII. of France, and was a total failure. The Third
Crusade, in 1189, including Richard I. of England, was also numerous, and
consumed twenty-three months in besieging Acre, but it ended in small
progress. The Fourth Crusade, in 1203, stopped short at and attacked
Constantinople. The Fifth Crusade, in 1228, resulted in a treaty by which
Palestine was left to the Crusaders. The Sixth Crusade, in 1244, including
Louis IX. of France (St. Louis), was utterly defeated, and Jerusalem
pillaged by the Turks. The Seventh Crusade, again including St. Louis and
Edward (afterwards Edward I. of England), in 1270, ended in abortive
efforts to keep possession of the Holy Land, which was at last abandoned
to the Saracens.
THE MODERN GREEK CHURCH AND ITS PILGRIMAGES.
Ricaut, in his account of the modern Greek Church two centuries ago, says:
"The Greeks were extremely fond of visiting their churches and chapels,
especially such as were on precipices and places very difficult of access;
and indeed the greatest part of their devotion consisted in such voluntary
fatigues. On their first arrival at the church or chapel, they crossed
themselves over and over, and made a thousand genuflexions and profound
bows. They kissed the image which was erected there, and treated it with
three or four grains of the choicest frankincense, and recommended
themselves to the Blessed Virgin or the saint whom the image represented.
But in case the saint did not incline his ear and hearken to their vows,
they soon made him sensible of their resentment. Here, as in other places,
these pilgrimages and peculiar foundations of chapels were looked upon as
meritorious, and became the effects of mere superstition."